#look I'll call myself full stack at a stretch

[dreamswillbeyourwintermeat]

People at my new job keep trying to talk to me about databases and I wish they would stop. I am a frontend girlie first and foremost and as far as I'm concerned data comes from a magical black box called Database Land and the details are simply not my concern.

[sollyinpurplepants]

TUGS Writing

I survived Milton, and we didn't lose power or shingles! I did remember an old fic idea from 2018/2019 where Hercules got himself beached doing a delivery Up River, and had been thinking about while working last night.

It is set after Raritan, so we have some leftover snow and tensions! Here is just a premise... aka the beginning of the fic!

Spring had come to Bigg City Port. Though there was still snow on the ground, the warm air started to melt the ice away. The Port Authority eagerly opened traffic to incoming ships, and the Star Tugs couldn't be more grateful. The Bigg Freeze had stretched them thin, and had frayed their nerves. Now, they had the chance to make up for lost revenue and beat the Z Stacks to more lucrative work.

It was a mild March afternoon, with a light rain bearing down on the estuary. Ten Cents and Big Mac were on their way to guide a pair of schooners into port. The schooners had small icicles, but their crews were in good spirits. Both tugs were relieved, and were about to sail up to them when-

Clank clank clank!

Big Mac grumbled and started to dampen his engine. "Ah, great. My propeller's makin' that rattling sound again." He bluntly remarked, cocking his wheelhouse to behind him. "I thought it'd go away if I cut power to m'engine, but it's still there."

"Ye sure you can still do this tow, Big Mac?" Ten Cents asked with a worried expression. "Yer propeller's sounds like it's about to give out any minute! I can manage the schooners on my own, but it'll take a lot longer."

Ten Cents was right. While Hercules was gone on his charter, Big Mac had to take over most of his towing duties. The work, unsurprisingly, had put tremendous pressure on his propeller. The harbor tug knew that Star and Marine was making little money, and that he would be out of service for weeks if something broke.

"Don't worry, laddie. Once we get this work done, I'll be checkin' myself into Lucky's." Big Mac said to Ten Cents with a small smile. He spied the pair of schooners, and his smile grew bigger. "I just don't wanna risk us being stranded if my propeller gives out."

Ten Cents wasn't convinced. "I'll be close by if you need any help." He replied, sailing past Big Mac to meet up with one of the schooners. "Just give me a hoot!"

Big Mac was impressed by Ten Cents' gesture. "Thank ye Ten. I think we can manage this if it's the two of us." He said, steaming up to the schooner closest to him. "I think."

Once the schooners' crews had tossed their tow lines to Ten Cents and Big Mac, the two tugs worked to get them hooked to their cleats. Once Ten Cents was secure, he asked, "Ready?"

"Ready!" Big Mac answered, blasting his hooter. "Let's get these schooners home!"

The air was tense as the two tugs towed the schooners out of the estuary. Ten Cents was on high alert in case Big Mac's propeller failed, and could be seen stealing glances at Big Mac to see if he hadn't stalled. Big Mac travelled at a slower pace, but thankfully, the rattling sound did not return. Just as the two Star Tugs entered the harbor limits, Big Mac sighed a breath of relief.

It did not last long. Little did the tugs know that a tanker had strayed from the main shipping lane, and it was heading right for Ten Cents.

Big Mac panicked when he saw that Ten Cents wasn't looking ahead, and he started to pick up speed. "TEN CENTS, LOOK IN FRONT OF YOU! TURN TO YER STARBOARD SIDE!" He called out. He blasted his whistle too in an attempt to catch the tanker's attention.

Ten Cents had turned around in time, and was mortified by the sight. "Ay, you're gonna strike us at this speed!" He called out to the tanker, trying to turn right as Big Mac directed. "Slow down!"

Ten Cents was fast, but the schooner was slowing him down. To make matters worse, the gap between Ten Cents and the tanker was shrinking fast. Realizing that a collision was inevitable, Big Mac undid the tow lines to his schooner and started to charge at full speed.

"I got you Ten!" Big Mac exclaimed. As he started to pick up speed, his propeller started to make a rapid rattling noise. Once he was on Ten Cents's starboard side, Big Mac threw his tow lines and pulled him-

"GAH!"

Ten Cents grimaced as Big Mac's propeller made a final rattling sound before it was replaced by an audible crack.

Big Mac's propeller had failed.

Fortunately, the tanker had heeded the tugs' warnings and came to a stop just a few yards from them. Ten Cents turned to face Big Mac, grateful that their lives were saved. His joy turned into worry as Big Mac was reeling in pain. "Big Mac, you good?" He asked, but all he got was a pained groan.

To make matters worse for Ten Cents, Zorran came up from Big Mac's starboard side. He had been sent by Captain Zero to tow vessels out of quarantine, but he had his reasons for despising the work. "Well well well, what do we have here?" He mockingly asked. "A crippled Star Tug and another whose hands are clearly full." He examined Big Mac's body for external damage. "Looks like your Captain's been working you to death again."

“Shut yer mouth Zorran!” Big Mac snapped, biting his lip to try and suppress the pain. “That tanker didn’t look where it was going and almost got Ten Cents killed!”

"You were travelling in its path, that’s why! I saw it all myself!" Zorran said, taking a quick glance at the tanker. He steamed up to Big Mac and said, "Imagine Star’s embarrassment when he sees me towing you into port. I'm just doing your Master Switcher a service." He then gave Big Mac a rude nudge. "Now shut up and hand me the tow money."

Unknown to Zorran, the commotion had caught the attention of one irate tug. Hercules was returning back to port after going on ice breaking duty for the Port Authority, but he received a distress call from one of the schooners. He was unsure what the schooners meant, but seeing Zorran with his little brother made Hercules' blood boil. He came from behind, sailing up to Zorran's port side before blasting his whistle.

"Now what’s happened here, I wonder?" He asked, shooting a filthy glare at Zorran. 

"Your brother strayed into a main shipping lane and almost got himself killed." Zorran spat. "Besides, your Captain's overworking you all if Big Mac's propeller's fouled."

Hercules was furious, but there was a calm that caused Zorran to become unnerved. "As if your own captain doesn't overwork you to death." He pointed out, noticing the leftover welding from Zorran's repairs. "I know what you're doing, Zorran." He smiled, creeping ever so slightly closer. "You're trying to cover the expenses for your own repairs." When Zorran rolled his eyes in a last act of defiance, Hercules said in a harsh voice, ��Move your mouth again, and I’ll finish what Mako started. Now beat it."

[natavinsmoke06]

To describe Jared's house. It would actually be counting how many regulations it was breaking,and go wonder how it was built like that to begin. Inside what one would describe as a hallway between two buildings is a path. Claustrophobic for most but passable. You walk for a few minutes passing the sides of the buildings. And then the sides of other buildings and another. You stop there and to your left you'll see a scrapyard full of stray cats always on the move. To your right there it is an even more stretched path. You will see it in the end. But the path there is full of things making it even more difficult to walk inside. Hanging clothes, gas tanks, an improvised dog wall that has to be put up and taken down every time you pass by. No matter how skinny you are, you'll bump into something. But you'll get there. You'll find a simple wooden door just putting little to none pressure it will open, guess that with all that to just get here it makes it pointless to have a lock.

The first thing you'll see is actually one of the smallest things in the room, Squishy the dog that will insist to be held high and caressed for as long as you stay. And his brother la rata who'll ask for the same treatment.

Once you are finished with that you'll look to the room and start questioning everything. A little table with some chairs that marks the living room, but just some to the right it's the kitchen, barely a place to cook and prepare but better than nothing it's what this house tells me. Fridge right there making the space of the living room/kitchen/Bathroom more little. And yes the bathroom is also by the side of the kitchen, separated by a wall and enough space for the toilet and the shower the entry being just a curtain.

To the other side of the room is a Tv used more as a music player. And by the right are the metalic stairs going upstairs, be careful while you go up. The second floor is a little less chaotic you'll see a bed and a lot of hanging ropes across the room, around the floor full of toys, and things that clearly tell you that this was a child's room, a shelf full of dinosaur dolls, old elementary school books and so on. From what I know this is the room of Jared's mom. In front of the bed is a next set of stairs, these aren't actually stuck to the wall but are functional. Not me but if you don't think about the fact going down the wrong way could make you fall it's easy. But for the moment you'll go up and you'll see it. Our objetive. Jared's room. Being greeted by a Tv in the floor and a PS4 by the side. Jared's closet with his alternative clothes, mostly black but with some green and pastel shades here and there. She actually uses the closet like a place to put all her posters and stuff. And there's the bed stuck to the wall to the side is the only window in the place and it's generous calling it that it's just the hole. According to her there have been plans to put the glass for years but seeing the way here I see why it has not been fulfilled.

There's another set of stairs to the roof but I can't describe it to you I have not been there. But those stairs are even more shaky while the rest are metal stairs those ones are wood and clearly movable. By simple logic that's where they clean their clothes but I don't think I'll ever be upstairs for that.

So there you have it. The weird building, that is my friend's house. A building built like you take the rooms of a department and stack them one up each other. Just one of the hundreds of thousands of houses in this city. So weird for someone like me but so ordinary for my friend and her family. Not that is a bad thing. Their way of living is just that living. Whit what you have. It explains so much about her. Her way of seeing the world or the lack I myself have of culture of my country just for living in a more privileged part of the same city. But with all our differences we still found each other. I say different parts of the city. But it is so reachable just 20 minutes separating us for years so far and close at the same time. I would have never known her, if I hadn't tried teaching another friend Yu-Gi-Oh!. Funny how the world works making you pass by thousands of people each day but having the privilege to talk to a bunch of them. Each with their own lives.

I guess this is the conclusion. Nothing new Ik, I just wanted to see for myself if, I could write something. Just anything. I won't find answers. I'm sure if you are reading this you'll already know what feelings I'm talking about. I just needed to express something to prove myself I could. And yes anyone can see this I decided I just hope reading this isn't a waste of your time thanks for reading it

[littleladymab]

@qt-kt and i have been lost in kalluzeb hell so i decided to write some little canon-compliant vignettes to feed us only i've lost steam half-way through because i need to return to things with Plot™ so enjoy the ones i have written i might eventually return with the second half.

Edit to say if you're still liking and reblogging this one please go dig a little further and find the full version up on AO3, get all the goods with a little extra leg work. If i remember to update this post again I'll include a link because I'm on mobile rn but please go read the finished thing that doesn't have the typos and is also, you know, finished.

+++

"You're doing that thing again," Zeb says, his voice cutting in through the silence that had settled in around him.

"What thing?" Kallus asks, annoyed at himself. He hadn't even heard Zeb approaching.

Instead of a proper answer, Zeb gestures a clawed hand at Kallus' face -- swirling it absently in the air like he means to indicate a general miasma than a specific problem. "That thing with your face."

Kallus frowns and Zeb says, "Ah, you're making it worse."

"This is just my face."

"It's your gloomy face. Your Imperial face."

"This is just my face," Kallus repeats. "Just because I was one of the few Imperials you knew who didn't hide behind a full helmet doesn't mean that it's an Imperial face."

Zeb shrugs as he drops onto the bench beside Kallus. Doesn't ask if he can; simply does. A gesture of familiarity that Zeb insists he's earned after Atollon (and Lothal and Skystrike and Bahryn), but he's still a stranger to. "You don't make it all the time. Just when you're in a mood."

So Kallus tries a different tactic. "What makes it different?"

The Lasat leans in close and studies him, looking for the line that divides Kallus Imperial face from this mysterious second one. "This one is emptier," he says with a low voice like he's telling a secret. "You tend to make it when you're alone or troubled. When you think too hard."

How long must you have looked at me to figure that out? Kallus wants to ask but doesn't. It's a bridge he's not willing to cross -- even after Atollon (and Lothal and Skystrike and Bahryn). "The old me has been dumped out when I defected," Kallus answers instead. "There's a lot of me to fill back up, but I guess I haven't really figured out the man I want to be yet." It's more honest an answer than he originally wanted to give and any attempt at turning it into a joke failed the moment he opened his mouth.

It makes Zeb laugh, though. Loud and full-bodied as he throws his head back with the force of it. An overwhelming outpouring of emotion that Kallus wonders if he'll ever be brave enough to experience.

Instead he soaks up the sound. Drinks it in and lets it start to fill the hollow empty corners of himself that still cling to that Imperial façade.

+++

This is how he falls in love, he realizes -- with the rebellion, with this new life, with Zeb. He is a jug, emptied and wanting, slowly filled to the brim. By the time Kallus realizes, it's too late and the contents are already overflowing.

+++

It was always nothing until, suddenly, too late, it was something.

+++

"Everyone still calls you Kallus," Zeb remarks one day as they help organize crates of supplies.

He shrugs. "I still call myself Kallus."

Zeb regards him curiously. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why not use your name?"

He furrows his brow and takes a moment to stretch his back. "My name is Kallus."

Zeb seems frustrated by this response, which doesn't really make sense. He has no reason to be so invested in what people call Kallus. "No more than my name is Orrelios. It's just weird that you're content with everyone calling you by your last name."

Kallus shrugs again. "Truthfully?" he asks as he reaches for the next stack of crates.

"Preferably."

"I've long since stopped thinking of myself as Alexsandr. As long as I've been a part of the Empire, I've always been Kallus. Or I've been ISB 021, or Fulcrum. Commander. Agent. Rebel." From the corner of his eye, he can see that Zeb has stopped moving and is watching him intently. "I haven't been Alexsandr since I enlisted so… A long time now," he finishes with a huff of laughter.

Zeb makes a grumble that might be in agreement, might be to the contrary, but says nothing.

It's not until they're finished with the crates that Zeb finally asks, "Then can I call you Alexs?"

Kallus stops, stares, tries to wrap his head around the question. "Have you been thinking about that this whole time?" It's the only response he can manage.

"Maybe," Zeb answers awkwardly as he rubs the back of his head and refuses to meet Kallus' gaze. "It just, I dunno. Seems unfair? Your name is a part of you, so why not reclaim it?"

Why not? he thinks in a sudden reckless rush. Why not remake himself now that he's cast off the Imperial trappings?

The thought is weirdly terrifying. Who is he, if not himself? He knows Kallus, the limits and capabilities of that man. He doesn't know Alexs.

"You can," he says slowly. "Though I may not answer to it. Not until I get used to it."

"A work in progress," Zeb agrees, cuffing him on the shoulder.

Yes, that sounds right. Not broken, just emptied. A work in progress, waiting to be filled.

+++

It was always nothing until, suddenly, too late, it was something.

+++

Kallus looks from the packet of freeze-dried vegetables to Zeb. "You're serious?"

Zeb takes the packet with a huff. "Of course I am."

"You know how to cook?"

"Don't sound so surprised, Agent." He taps Kallus square between the eyes with the packet -- making him scrunch up his nose. "There's a lot of things about me you don't know."

Kallus opens his mouth prepared to ask before he realizes he doesn't know where to start. He doesn't know where he's allowed to cross. As always he's too aware of his role in Zeb's past. That there's a huge chunk of time ripped away in the after-effects of war and eradication. "What is your favorite thing to cook?"

"Stew. A recipe I learned from my uncle. I've never been able to get it right because there's some spice and a root that were native to Lasan that I don't have access to anymore, but I enjoy the challenge of trying to find a replacement." Zeb answers without hesitation, without any sort of insinuation. Perhaps he forgot who he was talking to. "Most of the time though I just like to find new ways to make basic rations taste better. Very rarely do I get to make an actual dinner like this."

"Ah, rations. I'll have you know I was very excited to finally not be eating the standard Imperial fare that even these basic rations were oddly delicious."

Zeb laughs -- not the full-chested guffaw he does, but a softer, fonder chuckle. The one he only gives when its just the two of them, caught by surprise by the suddenness of the comment whenever Kallus lets slip something new. "Then you're staying for dinner."

Everything goes hot and cold inside Kallus all at once, though he's careful to keep the reaction from his face. "I can't."

"Yeah, you can. You just don't want to."

Kallus opens his mouth only to find that once again he's at a loss for words. "I shouldn't," he amends. Does he want to? That's a question he doesn't give himself a chance to consider. "I… have work to do."

Zeb doesn't look up from the pan that he's mixing the vegetables on. The Ghost doesn't have a large kitchen, but its dwarfed even further by the side of the Lasat delicately using a pair of long, thin sticks to stir. "Alright. Help until you have to leave."

There's plenty that Kallus can respond to for that. A hundred little quips come to mind, but he dismisses them as he moves to the sink to wash his hands. He moves up to the counter alongside Zeb, taking up the indicated knife and dicing the meat. It's been ages since he's done any sort of food prep. Not since he left home. The Empire always provided.

The shapes he makes are lopsided and uneven and more than once he comes close to slicing the tip of his finger. But he's determined to see the task through, even when Zeb does that chuckle again which means he spares a moment to watch.

"Don't laugh," Kallus says and nudges Zeb with his elbow.

"I should have known you weren't perfect," Zeb answers.

This startles a laugh of disbelief out of Kallus. "Oh, no. No, there's your first problem. Why would you ever think that?"

"A trick of the light." Zeb takes the cutting board from Kallus' frozen hands as if he has no idea the implication his words have. "Fill that up with water, will you?" he asks, jutting his chin at the pot in question.

Kallus takes it wordlessly from the stovetop and steps away to the sink.

This is why he can't stay. He forgets who he is. The domesticity is nearly overwhelming in a time and place where he can't afford it. Soon, Kanan and Ezra will be back from their training. Hera will return from the command center. Sabine will emerge from the depths of the base, covered in paint. They will be the family that Kallus used to hunt -- and Zeb has the gall to joke that, in the right light, he might have thought Kallus was perfect.

"I have to go," Kallus says, setting the pot back on the burner. He doesn't look at Zeb as he dries his hands off on his pants and turns for his jacket.

There's a grumble of an unasked question from the Lasat, but in the end he doesn't say anything.

Except that as Kallus moves to slip past him, Zeb holds out a hand with a ration bar.

He looks up, brow quirked skeptically.

"Since you like them so much that you're not going to stay for dinner," Zeb explains, and taps Kallus on the forehead directly between the eyes. "Next time, consider staying?"

Kallus can't help the smirk and plucks the ration bar free only to shove it back against Zeb's chest. "Next time, I'll consider it."

Zeb's answering grin is as warm as his hand as he catches Kallus' fingers and the bar before they can pull away. He doesn't say anything as he holds on for an unsteady thump thump thump of Kallus' pulse.

The touch withdraws and Kallus returns to himself only changed in some small way that he can't quite identify. 

+++

Zeb holds the hat up in his hands like it has personally offended him. "We're supposed to go in disguise."

"That is generally the first step of not being caught immediately, yes," Kallus agrees.

Zeb waves the hat around in the space between them. "This thing is so ugly that I think it will draw more attention to us."

Kallus takes the thing from Zeb, holding it between both hands to study it. "I don't know, I saw plenty of Lothal citizens wearing these when I was stationed there." He shakes it out and reaches up to pull it on to Zeb's head.

There's a grunt of surprise from the Lasat as the hat doesn't quite fit over his head correctly, and Kallus laughs as he tries to fix it. "Stop flinching," he scolds and lifts up one of the flaps to free the chin strap trapped beneath it.

"I feel like a bantha with blinders on."

"Nonsense." Kallus presses a knuckle to the underside of Zeb's chin, forcing him to lift his head so Kallus can buckle the strap beneath it. He takes a step back to see the image in full and can barely restrain the snort of laughter. "You look…"

"Ridiculous." Zeb attempts to claw off the hat, forgetting that its fastened beneath his chin, and ends up getting tangled in it.

"I was going to offer dignified to be nice, but you're making it real difficult right now."

"Oh," Zeb says from the depths of the hat before finally emerging -- fur ruffled and ears flicking in suppressed amusement. "You were trying to be nice. That would be a first."

From the hold, out of sight from where they're tucked away in one of the corridors, Kallus can hear Ezra and Vizago. They don't have much time before he'll join Rex in the cockpit and the others will leave.

The crew of the Ghost, leaving it behind in the hands of the only two people willing to volunteer for this mission. Two people who will be sitting by uselessly, unable to help if anything should go wrong.

Zeb takes the hat from Kallus' hands and shoves it into a pocket of his jumpsuit. "Alexs."

It's been almost a year of trying to get used to that name, and he still has a hard time. He looks up to meet Zeb's gaze. "Hm?"

"We'll be alright. We always are."

Kallus could play along, comment how he knows just how resilient the Spectres are. But instead he says, "You don't know that."

"We kicked your ass on more than one occasion."

"I'm not the biggest threat anymore." Kallus breathes in deep, shoulders heaving with the sigh. "Not that you'll listen to anything I have to say."

Zeb steps closer -- a subtle shuffle to close the distance between them. "Well, what do you have to say?"

Kallus focuses on the hum of the ship beneath his feet, of the warmth radiating off of Zeb, of the unspoken challenge in his eyes. He straightens his posture a degree and says, "I'm looking forward to being in command of the Ghost while Hera is planetside."

Zeb stares at him in stunned silence before breaking down into laughter. "Alright, alright," he concedes. "I won't tell her that you said that."

"No, do, that will inspire her to be even more efficient than she normally is."

"You love to make things difficult."

"I live for it," Kallus agrees, though he allows the small smile. He breaks the eye contact when he hears the sound of the puffer pigs being disturbed. "I should go. Let you finish getting ready."

Zeb catches onto his forearm before he can move too far away. "Just got one thing left," he says and leans down to kiss Kallus.

It's short, over too quickly for him to fully realize and respond. He stares at Zeb in stunned silence.

"For good luck," Zeb says as if that explains anything.

"Be careful," Kallus blurts out. The only thing he can think to say that truly encompasses the storm of emotions suddenly raging inside of him. "Come back safe."

Zeb's surprise melts into a smile that is equal parts fond and reckless. "I'll see you later, Agent."

They turn away at the same time -- Kallus towards the cockpit and Zeb towards the storage. He's a soldier with no time to play at being something new or different but for the first time in a long time Kallus thinks he might be willing to try at being Alexs again.

+++

Kallus understands the exact cost demanded by the Empire in order to ensure freedom. He just never expected to feel it so closely. Perhaps that's because he never expected to be free of the Empire himself every other time he calculated the toll.

It was always a price paid by others until Lothal.

He had thought the Ghost crew invincible -- after all, they had beat him more than once. They faced Vader and Thrawn and the might of the Empire and survived. Lothal reminds Kallus that there's a difference between survival and victory.

They survived Atollon, they were victorious over Lothal.

They lost Kanan and Ezra but they won a planet.

+++

Hera lands the Ghost on the outskirts of the city. Ketsu takes Sabine by the hand and pulls her out of the ship -- into the throng of people that spill through the streets. Rex and Azadi go to Hera, speaking to her in low voices that Kallus doesn't want to intrude on.

So he follows after Zeb. Down into the hold where there are boxes of spare medical supplies mixed in with munitions and food. They work in silence activating the repulsor functions and lead a small train of crates towards the city's edge.

People spot them and run to help and Kallus finds the mindless task of distributing the supplies easier than thinking about what happened. Focus on next steps instead of past ones.

When the first batch has been sent off, he turns to go prepare round two -- only to find Zeb standing a few paces away with eyes staring back in the direction of the old communication's tower. The one he coopted for his Fulcrum transmissions.

Ezra's tower.

Kallus steps up beside Zeb and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hey."

The Lasat doesn't jump, but his ears twitch at the sound. "Hmm?"

It would be incredibly stupid to ask how are you. Kallus can read the answer plain as day. So instead he asks, "How is your foot?"

"My foot?"  Zeb seems to come out of his reverie enough to be confused, which is a bit of an improvement. He looks down at the foot in question, toes wriggling in the shortgrass and dirt. One has a red welt as a sign of a minor abrasion but otherwise isn't that bad. Just a promise of a bruise. "It's fine."

"Let me look at it."

"I don't need medical attention," Zeb says, the words almost coming out as a growl. "There's others that--"

"You flung yourself into the inner workings of a shield generator to fight an assassin. Just let me check you over, okay?" Kallus grabs Zeb by the elbow in a hold he's used on unruly troopers before and drags him back to the ramp.

By now, others have taken over the job of unloading the food and medical supplies so Kallus takes two of the unused munitions crates and sets them up to the side of the ramp.

"Sit," he orders, and Zeb does. "Leg."

With a sigh Zeb sticks out the leg and Kallus pulls it into his lap to investigate.

They've had no time to talk since Kallus returned to Lothal. He hasn't been able to check in on any of them and the only one he's managed to hold onto has been Zeb. Hera and Sabine will be coping in their own way but Kallus needs to at least feel like he's helping somehow.

"Alexs."

He doesn't respond, busying himself with a closer inspection of the injury. It is as minor as he thought, not even the potential for scarring. He still takes the time to apply antiseptic and wraps a bandage around the injury.

"Alexs."

Kallus pauses, hands settling on Zeb's knee. He doesn't lift his head. "I feel like such a fucking hypocrite," he eventually says as the silence continues to drag out between them, neither certain how to break it. "I worked for years to try and bring you down. And now here I am mourning the loss of two soldiers."

Zeb shuffles a bit on his crate but doesn't pull his leg away. "A lot has happened between then and now. They were more than soldiers, they were your friends."

Hardly, Kallus doesn't say. "They were your family."

"Yeah…" Zeb says, and Kallus winces at the sheer exhaustion in the single word. "Yeah, they were."

A dry laugh finally works its way out of Kallus. "Well at least I can save a little face knowing that not even Thrawn and Pryce could take you down so I don't feel like I did such a bad job failing to secure you all."

Zeb chuckles. "If we were going to go, it would always be at our own terms."

"And you've won."

"We've won." There's an emphasis on the word that brings Kallus into the fold, that reminds him he's no longer an Imperial.

Kallus exhales and lowers his head -- doubling over until he presses his forehead to Zeb's knee. Words jumble together in his thoughts but nothing feels right. Everything is too pithy or feel too selfish or hollow.

Zeb's hand lands on the back of his head, warm and comforting, and Kallus feels the tension train from his shoulders. The clawed fingers card through his hair as both of them let the moment pass in silence.

There are things to be said but they can wait.

For now, they can breathe.

[sensitivebish26]

Yandere! Chef Saltbaker x Reader

A/N: it’s finally here! Parts 1 & 2 together!! Thanks for waiting <3

SPOILERS:

This an AU where Saltbaker DOES WIN!

Plus it’s gonna be a mature (18+) story later on

~~~~~

The Inkwell Isles, once full of trapped souls, now free and at peace. It was another beautiful morning, the birds were chirping as the sun slowly shined its way through your window. You sat up and yawned as you stretched your sleepy body.

    "Man, that was a great sleep! I wonder if those troublemakers have anything planned for today." You thought aloud as you got out of bed and started getting ready for the day.

Time skip

    When you finally finished getting ready, you started heading to your best friend's house, Cuphead and Mugman. Once you reached their place, you knocked on the door and moments later Elder Kettle opened up.

    "Oh, hello (y/n)! Come on in, the boys are having breakfast. Boys! You have a visitor!" Elder Ketle declared loudly as you followed him to the kitchen. Sitting at the table were the two brothers, eating up their plates stacked with pancakes.

    "Hey, (y/n)!" They both happily greeted you. You gave a warm smile and a 'hey!' in return. After Cuphead and Mugman finished with their breakfasts, all three of you said your goodbyes to Elder Kettle and headed out.

    "That was a great breakfast! Now we have all the energy for today!" Cuphead said as he raised his biceps, looking full of confidence.

    "Is there something special going on today?" You asked, unbothered by his demeanor.

    "We're going to see a friend of ours who asked for our help for something, not sure what though. But we're going to need to go to Inkwell Isle 4 to do that," Mugman said, "wanna come along with us?"

    "Heck yeah! I've been craving for an adventure!" You claimed excitedly as the three of you made your way to the ferry.

Mini time skip

    As the ferry was arriving to the 4th island, you noticed a young ghostly girl waiting by the dock.

    "Hey, who's that?" You asked.

    "That's our friend we've been talking about, Ms. Chalice! She told us she knows someone who can help her become alive again!" Cups stated. Just as the ferry stopped, Ms. Chalice eagerly greeted the cup brothers.

    "Hey, fellas! It's great to see you guys, and just in time! Here." Ms. Chalice handed Mugman a chocolate chip cookie. He took a big bite out of it and in a flash they switched places! You and Cuphead just stood there in shock. Mugs was now a ghost and Ms. Chalice... alive!?

    "Hey look! It worked!! Now I can finally introduce myself properly. I'm Ms. Chalice, but you can just call me Chalice for short. It's real swell to meet you!" Chalice cheered as she reached her hand out to you. You smiled and took her hand.

    "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Chalice! I'm (y/n). The boys here were just explaining to me about your situation and how you know someone who can help."

    "That's right! C'mon, I'll take you guys to him. You can meet him and I can show him that his cookie works!" Chalice exclaimed as she led you all into the town of Inkwell Isle 4. Arriving at a local bakery, Chalice happily skipped in, with the boys following right behind. You hesitated, something didn't feel quite right... You just shrugged the feeling off, thinking you were just anxious for the adventure, and headed inside.

As you walked in, you looked around. It was a cute little bakery with the most delicious looking sweets on display and the most amazing smells.

“C’mon, (y/n), ya slowpoke,” Chalice hollered to you. You slightly blushed from being flustered and embarrassed as you quickly headed over to the counter, “meet my friend who made this possible, Chef Saltbaker!” You finally noticed the man she introduced you all to, the supposed owner of the bakery. He was a tall, chubby yet muscular man with the most heartwarming smile. He let out a slight, deep chuckle before speaking.

“It’s an absolute pleasure to meet you! And your name is?” You snapped out of your daze, blushing even more than before.

“Oh, s-sorry! I-I’m (y/n), it’s a pleasure to meet you as well!” You gave a slight giggle as Saltbaker just kept looking at you with that smile on his face. The more you looked at him, the more charming he became. But just then, Chalice and Mugman switched back to their original places. Chalice frowned upon this as Mugs and Cups sighed in relief.

“Oh, my! That cookie… the taste is sweet, but the effect is brief. Fret not, though! I’ve come up with this recipe that will allow you to have complete control over the astral plane! The Wondertart! Which also means no more switching bodies.” Saltbaker declared as he held out a recipe. Cuphead took it as you all gleamed with excitement and hope.

“However,” the chef said in a low and serious tone, “these ingredients can only be found where the most fearsome foes around reside!”

“That won’t be a problem for us! We can handle any foe in our way!” Cuphead proclaimed as the other two cups cheered in agreement. Unlike the cups, you were powerless. You were never able to truly help with the battles Cuphead and Mugman dealt with, during their soul-nabbing times, that is. You were always supporting them though, cheering for the boys and giving them both a big ol’ hug once it was all over.

“Well,” you started speaking, grabbing everyone’s attention, “this doesn’t look like the adventure for me. You cups better stay safe while I sit this one out.”

“Aw, c’mon, (y/n)! We just can’t leave you behind!” Cups whined.

“Yeah! You wanted an adventure, too!” Mugman whined as well. The three cups were trying to convince you to go when Saltbaker interrupted.

“Ya know, I’m still perfecting the recipe. If you’d like to help, you’re more than welcome to, (y/n).” You gave Saltbaker a soft smile in return.

“Yeah, let’s do that! Besides, I need some practice with my baking anyway. It’s been a while!” You claimed. The cups cheered and eagerly said their goodbyes as they rushed out, determined to get those ingredients. Once they were gone, you turned your attention towards the large chef. He still had that loving smile on his face. You just couldn’t help but gaze at him some more. You finally noticed that he’s… made of glass?

“Well, shall we get started?” Chef Saltbaker’s deep voice broke the quiet air, snapping you out of your daze once again.

“Y-yes, absolutely! So what do we need to do to get started?” You followed Chef Saltbaker to the back of the bakery. It was a cute little kitchen (upstairs & not the dungeon!), full of sweets and cutlery all around. Saltbaker stopped at a table that looked like a large chopping board and turned around to look back at you.

“Well, first things first. You said you need some practice? We can start with simple recipes for now, if that sounds good to you?” He suggested as he readied himself to do some baking. You nodded in anticipation.

You and Chef Saltbaker began to cook a whole assortment of sweets such as cookies, cakes, pastries, and more! The two of you seemed to have good chemistry and opened up to each other fairly quickly. As you guys chatted, you both started to realize you shared a few of the same interests, baking being the main one. You grew up always having a love for baking, as it was something you enjoyed doing, though it was more of a hobby than a lifestyle. Saltbaker secretly admired you for your love of baking, one of the many things he would soon start to admire you for.

As the hours passed, your worry for the little cups was starting to rise. Chef saltbaker noticed this and gently placed a firm hand on your shoulder.

“Are you ok, (y/n)? You seem like you have something on your mind.”

“O-oh, yeah. I’m ok. It’s just been a long time since the cups left for those ingredients. I hope they’re ok…” you muttered as you glanced up at the clock that was hanging on the wall. Saltbaker gave your shoulder a quick squeeze before letting go.

“You realize it can take the cups days until they can get all the ingredients, right?” Saltbaker said as you looked back at him in shock. But quickly your shock faded to embarrassment.

“Ugh, that’s right,” you groaned as you palmed your forehead, “I totally forgot! They were gone for like almost two weeks last time they had to fight some foes!”

“Well,” Saltbaker chimed in, “it is starting to get late. Why don’t you go on home and get some rest. I can clean the rest up.” The large chef assured you as you nodded in response.

“Alright then. Thank you for letting me help bake, Chef Saltbaker, it was fun!”

“Please, just Saltbaker. Or even Salty for short~” The chef cooed at you. You blushed slightly as you gave a light giggle.

“R-right. See you tomorrow, Salty!” You left and started heading to the docks, already excited for the next day with the chef.

~~~~~

Thank you for reading <3

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

Zine production

I spent the day figuring out how big I want my zine to be, and how many pages it will have. Most tutorials online suggest using a single sheet of 8½ by 11 folded and cut like so

but that leaves one side completely blank, and you only end up with 8 really tiny pages (actually only 6, plus the front and back cover). That's not gonna cut it for what I'm trying to do, so I started thinking about production costs. This zine is a labor of love, I'm not looking for or expecting a profit, but I do want to keep costs down so I can send it to as many people who want it without completely breaking the bank. I would ideally like to make it full sized, like a real magazine, but that would be prohibitively expensive (in no small part because I'd need to find jumbo sized paper and a compatible printer).

I'm sticking with standard 8½ by 11 copy paper because it's readily accessible, but how am I gonna divide it up? My first thought was to fold it hamburger style so each page is 5½ by 8½ and then stapling them together in the centerfold, BUT that only gets me 4 pages per sheet. I want it to have some heft, I'm thinking 32 pages minimum, which comes out to 9 sheets of paper when we include a cover. 9 sheets per zine out of a stack of 500 is 55 copies and some change (I don't expect to distribute 55 copies per issue; hell, even 10 seems lofty to me, but 5 is probably achievable, so doing the math means I could make 11 issues of 5 printings per ream, but I digress). That a pretty good start, but I could stretch it twice as far if I instead cut the sheets in half before stapling them together. This means each individual sheet of paper produces 8 pages. I would only need 4½ sheets per issue, meaning I could get 22 5-print issues per ream, or 11 10-print runs if I exceed expectations.

Let's call it 5 sheets. Half a sheet for the front and back cover, 4 sheets for content (32 pages), and the remaining half sheet could be an insert, like the maps in National Geographic, or a mini poster you can remove if you don't mind the staple holes (I loved it when the magazines I read as a kid included posters in the center, though always ended up tearing them up and taping them back together)

Like so:

Each page is now 4¼ by 5½, smaller than I would like but closer in size to the standard amateur zine. Worst case scenario I can scale it back up to 4 pages per sheet, if I desperately need more space. I'll be hard pressed to consistently fill 32 pages of content by myself, and 16 wouldn't be bad at that scale, so we'll see how things go. Nothing is set in stone, this is still the very early stages of development. All I'm doing right now is visualizing the scale of my endeavor.

I'll keep you posted.

[yungbud]

Hi my love! When you have time could you write an fluffy & smutty imagine where the reader gets insecure & worries or compares themselves to Ashley? (Halsey) & Dom finds out & shows the reader how much they mean to him & how much he loves them daddy kink in there with the smut please & a lot of praise & saying "I'll take care of you pretty girl" 🥺

Word count:4.1k

TW?: mostly angst and fluff, but mentions of daddy kink and adult themes obviously its smut.

A/n: anything for you my lil nugget 🥺 Smut is at the bottom you horny cunts. I hope it was everything you wanted and more <33

*rewrite

You knew better. Unfortunately, you were self destructive and couldn't help yourself. It was 3AM and Dom was fast asleep beside you, and had been for hours. You, however, had chosen to watch a video before bed. It was titled “Yungblud being cute for 6 minutes straight.”, but of course one video turned to five or six more, until eventually you came along another video. This one was called “Halsey and yungblud cute moments.” and the cover photo was of them in onesies, one of Dom's arms wrapped around her and the other holding the camera. You could feel the pit begin to grow in your stomach. Glancing over at Dom to check he was still asleep, you pressed play on the video, flipping over so you were facing him, so that if he did wake up he wouldn’t see what was on the screen.

It was ridiculous, honestly. How could you be jealous of her when you were the one laying right next to him. It broke your heart the way he looked at her, you couldn’t help but wonder... is that how he looks at you? Why would he? She’s so beautiful, look at jawline, look at those eyes and her voice. Oh god... her voice, she's a musician. You loved music, but you had never been musically inclined and at best you could go hard on the triangle. But her, she understood it all, down to the tour life. When he was overwhelmed with work or couldn’t find a melody, she could help, when he didn’t know how to deal with all the attention, she could help. She was like the perfect mentor/ girlfriend combo. She connected with him in ways you would never be able to. She got it.

Your finger hovered over part 2 of the video, a moment of hesitation before pressing it. You tapped twice more to skip past the person's intro, wasting no time in getting to the painful stuff. 

One of the first clips was Halsey talking about the night they met. You knew it was unhealthy, but you couldn’t look away. She described it so beautifully, taking a moment to mention that of course she would because she's a writer and that's how she saw the world, her world was so beautiful. Dom deserved to live in her world. 

She went on to say that they had met up in a bar to chat, to which you remembered why. It wasn’t a coincidence, Dom liked her music. He looked up to her. Just another way you could never be who he needed. 

You couldn’t help it. He’d made the trade down of the century and everyone knew it. You paused the video momentarily, subduing the verbal attack on your ears and laying your phone down on your chest. Heavy breaths slid past your lips as you tried to calm yourself from a full blown breakdown.

 You glanced once more over at Dom, ensuring he was asleep before letting a single tear slip down your face. You used the blanket to wipe it away, basking in the shitty feeling you had created for yourself. You decided that was enough of that, shutting off your phone and plugging it up for the night. After laying there silently for a moment you scooted a bit away from Dom. 

You didn’t really feel like being held by him tonight.

----

The first thought in your head the next morning was of the events of last night, the same shitty feeling digging itself into the pit of your stomach.

“Fuck.” You sighed

“Sorry, I was borrowing one of Dom’s shirts. I didn’t mean to wake you.”  You turned your head to acknowledge the presence in the room. It was Tom, bent over and digging through a pile of Dom’s clothes.

“All good.” You murmured, flipping onto your stomach and burying your face in the pillow. It smelled like Dom.

Soon after you heard the door shut behind Tom as he left, your head lifting from the pillow. You didn’t know what to do, you didn’t really feel like being around Dom today. You couldn’t get past the feeling that he was ultimately worse off with you, that he had settled for less.

You hated the way you felt, your face drooping back into the pillow in an attempt to hide and ended up dozing off, the late night pity marathon catching up with you.

About an hour later you were awoken to Dom’s lips on your forehead. Your eyes met momentarily as you blinked the sleep out of them, reaching upwards in a stretch.

“ ‘ello sleepy head.” Dom says, planting another kiss, this time to your nose. You roll over, replanting your face in the pillow once again, “Are you going back to sleep?” He asks

“Tired.” You mumble back, voice muffled by the pillow.

“It’s 1pm.” no response “How late did you stay up last night?” He asks, laying his head on the pillow next to yours. You shrugged.

“Are you feeling alright, love?” You shifted your head so that you were looking at him, cheek still pressed softly against your pillow “Are you feeling a bit sick? Is it cramps? I can make you a cup of tea and get you some pain killers.” He continued, offering to help you in any way he could. He just wanted to know what was wrong with you, so he could help you. He hated the idea of you up in bed all alone feeling ill. He considered skipping the studio today, he was already cutting it close on time.

“No, I feel fine. Just need a nap. I must’ve stayed up later than I realized, s’all.” You knew you needed to tell him. Every silent moment was filled with you trying to convince yourself to just say something to him. Just talk about it. Just let him in.

“Okay, if you’re sure. I’ll be out of the house at the studio, but Tom and Adam are here if you need them. I’ll tell them to be quiet so you can get some rest.” You smiled in response, your eyes closing as he rubbed his thumb lovingly against your cheek “Hey, I love you.” he says, your eyes opening as you mumbled back an I love you of your own, your lips meeting in a chaste kiss before he stood back up and slipped out the door.

As much as you would’ve loved to, you didn’t sleep at all after he left. Tom and Adam had made good on their promise to stay quiet, but it didn’t make much of a difference when that little voice in your head wouldn’t shut up. You opted for distracting yourself with your phone, scrolling through instagram and hoping the memes would brighten your mood. For the most part they did, acting as a simple distraction. 

Once you felt a bit better, you decided part of the reason you felt so bad today and last night was partially due to the fact that you hadn’t had anything to eat. You went to the kitchen to prepare yourself lunch, hearing Tom and Adam talking quietly in the other room.

While you were preparing your food you accidentally bumped into a stack of dirty dishes that had built up in the kitchen. You didn’t see what happened and when you turned to check nothing looked broken, but it was loud.

“Y/n?” Tom asks, tilting his head to get a better look into the kitchen.

“Hm?” You respond after a few moments of quiet deliberation. You weren’t exactly ready to be observed as awake, but you didn’t have any other choice, besides blaming it on an intruder who broke in with the intent of stealing the beloved orange tree outside, but when they arrived in the kitchen and were met with such a disgraceful mess decided they had no choice but to clean up after us. Of course, that might have stirred up a bit of a panic. They loved that orange tree, after all.

“Oh you’re finally up. Are you feeling alright? Dom said he thought you maybe came down with something.” Adam says

“I’m alright, thanks for asking. I’m just making myself lunch.”

“Come sit with us while you eat. We’re playing uno.” Tom invites. When you’re done making yourself food, you decide maybe it would be best to join them. It’s not good for your mental health to be stuffed up in your room pitying yourself all day.

You sat with your food in front of you, watching silently as they played.

“You wanna be dealt in the next round? It’s more fun with three players.” Tom offers, you give him a nod in response as your mouth is full of food. As you nod, Adam plays a red six, which ultimately leads to his demise as Tom then plays three red draw 2’s, stopping Adams hand as he goes to pick up and continuing to lay a red skip, then a yellow one, changes the color back to red and ends on his own red 3. You all laughed as Adam was absolutely massacred, almost choking on your lunch.

“There ain’t no coming back from that. Just tap out man.” You say through your laughter, reaching over to place a comforting hand on Adam. You all had small conversation as you finished your lunch, but soon you were done and the cards were passed out.

After a game or two, the round was paused as Adam stood up to get himself a glass of water, Tom and you shouting out your own drink orders from your place in the living room. By the time Adam was back at the table the running conversation had died down a bit. You began to think about why you’d been in bed all day, and the fact that Dom still attributed it to a small sickness. You felt the insecurity growing inside you once again, and you finally decided to talk about it.

“Did you guys like Ashley?” You ask, as inconspicuously as you could manage.  You watch as they glance at each other, taking a sip of your drink to occupy your mouth.

“Yeah, she was cool,” Tom says, Adam nodding in confirmation “Why?”

“Just curious, I guess. Did you guys ever hang out?” You tried to play it off as casual conversation, but you got the feeling they were picking up on the fact that there was something more under the surface.

“Not really. Not without Dom, even then it was rare. Who’s turn was it?” Tom continued, feeding into your curiosity while trying to maintain the card game.

“Yours, I think.” You paused for a moment, thinking of your next question “Do you think she was better for him than I am?” Your eyes met with Tom’s as the words left your mouth. He stayed silent for a moment and you couldn’t tell what the emotion on his face was. It felt weird, confiding in your boyfriend’s friends. Usually you could tell what your friends were thinking, or have an idea about what they might say, but you didn’t know these two like that.

“Like how?” He asked, nodding towards you to silently mention it was your turn.

“I dunno, they have the same career.” they let out a small laugh at that.

“She knows how to play a guitar so she loves him more?” Adam says

“Well, no, but…” you tried to remember what you were anxious about “she gets it. She knows what it's like to be on the road all the time and not see your family, she knows about the mental toll being in the public eye has and how to deal with it, she knows how to help if he’s nervous about performing.”

“What makes you assume that?” Tom asks

“She’s been doing it so long.”

“Well, yeah, but knowing how to do that isn’t a part of the job description. It’s less about knowing how to be famous and more about knowing the person you’re with. If it was about that, most people in Dom’s life don't get it. But we get Dom, and that’s what he cares about. You get him, so you have nothing to worry about.” Tom says softly. He made a surprisingly good therapist. 

You nodded, picking up 4 cards and sorting through them in your hand.

“But that doesn't mean you get to hide in your room cause you’re insecure. Just cause we’re talking about it doesn’t mean you don’t still need to tell him.” Tom continues, his chin resting in his hand as he looks at you.

“Yeah, of course.” You agree

~~~

You could hear Dom the second he walked in the house, engaging in a small conversation with the boys before making his way up the stairs. You heard his footsteps trail down the hallway and eventually meet your bedroom door, your eyes closing as you listened to it creak open.

“Love? Are you up?” Dom whispered, shutting the door softly behind him. You remained silent, trying to regulate your breathing like that of someone who’s asleep. He sighed, which made your heart crumple a bit. You wondered if you should respond, he might’ve had a hard day, but the nerves took over and you remained silent. 

“You’re still sleeping?” He asked, partially to himself, before exiting the room once more. You could hear him talking with Tom from outside the door.

“Has Y/N been asleep all day?”

“Uh, no. She came out and ate lunch and played uno with us around 2. Is she asleep now?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

You planned on talking it out with him, and up until he walked into the house you were, but you were suddenly overcome with intense nerves and all you wanted to do was hide.  You figured you would get a good night's rest and talk it out with him in the morning, that way if it went badly he would be out for most of the day at the studio and you wouldn’t have to sit in awkward silence as you tried to sleep.

He entered the room once again, stripping himself of his clothes as he preferred to sleep half naked, before joining you in bed. You felt his arms wrap around you, pulling you into him and wrapping you both in the blankets. Flipping over to face him, you nuzzled closer into his arms.

“Y/N?” He asks again, shifting to see if you’re awake. You hum in response this time, curious as to what he might have to say.

“Are you feeling better?” He asks, his hand returning to your cheek as it was this morning. You nod, letting out a small, genuine yawn as you nuzzle your face into the crook of his neck.

“How was your day?” You ask, shifting the conversation. 

“It was good. We finally got that song done, I think i’m gonna play with it a bit more tomorrow though. It’s good but I think it could be better.”

“You always think it can be better.”

“It always can.” He states simply, making you smile. You loved that about him, his pure determination and dedication to his craft. It can always be better.

“How was your day? Tom said you guys played a bit of uno, who won?”

“It was alright. Yeah, him and Adam were playing when I came down so I decided to join them. I think overall it was probably Tom though, I think he was cheating.” Dom laughed a little at the claim, brushing his fingers through your mess of a hair.

“So...” You began, needing to get a word out so you wouldn’t bail on talking about this. God, you hated confrontation. Especially when it was about something you were feeling. 

Dom hummed in response, the gentle reminder to continue breaking you out of your thoughts.

“I wasn’t sick today.”

“No?” He encouraged

“No. I was a bit tired though. But, that wasn’t the problem. I was watching youtube last night and I came across a video someone made. It was, like, a compilation of cute moments or whatever so I watched it cause it was cute. Then I watched another, and a few more, and eventually I came across a video that was called ‘Halsey and YUNGBLUD being soulmates for 3 minutes’... and I watched it.” He lets out a small, quiet snort, not entirely catching onto  the vibe of the conversation.

“Jeez, how do they come up with this shit.” He remarked lovingly

“Heh, yeah. It’s just… I watched it and I saw the way you talked about and looked at her… It just got me thinking, yenno?”

“I don’t. What’d it get you thinkin’ about, beautiful?”

“I just felt like maybe you regretted being with me. Maybe you’re still bummed that you guys broke up and you ended up with me. Like maybe you still miss her.” You admit. It’s silent for a moment as he takes it all in, you almost expect him to confirm your suspicions.

“I’m so sorry, I can’t believe I made you feel like that.” He took a moment to think carefully about his next words “I know it must be hard to hear me talk about someone else like that, you can’t really escape my past relationships because of who I am. I honestly never thought of that. I love you, okay? Not anybody else. Obviously she and I had something, but it’s completely in the past and I don’t regret a thing because it led me to you, and I love you so much. You’re my fookin soulmate, I mean it. I’m not gonna let that slip out of your head ever again.” He said, punctuating it with a passionate kiss.

You expected the kiss to end rather quickly, but it didn’t. It kept going, building in intensity as you scooted closer to one another. 

“I love you.” You whisper, breaking the kiss momentarily

“I love you so much, pretty girl” He responds, his hand coming up to hold your jaw.

“Hmm, show me.” You whisper, pulling him closer. His hand slides down your side and onto your thigh as your lips meet again, taking your bottom lip between his teeth and pulling away lightly before indulging in the kiss once again.

Dom’s hands didn’t stay in one place for long, moving about your body as you made out, pausing his actions for a moment to take your shirt off, placing a kiss to each of your breasts before moving his lips up to your neck, leaving little marks for you to find in the morning. A chill ran down your back as he bit down on your ear, his hands massaging your breasts before reaching behind you and unbuckling your bra, throwing it off to the side and shifting his attention to your nipple. Taking it into his mouth, he presses his tongue flat against it as you lie down to give him a better angle.

His tongue flicking against your nipple while his hand plays with your other nipple. He swapped between which he used his mouth on and which he used his hand, making sure to give them both equal attention,  your hands tangling themself into his hair while he did so. When he was satisfied he pulled away, causing you to let out a small whimper as you felt his lips leave you, making their way down your stomach in a series of wet, open mouthed kisses.

When he made it to your underwear he licked a single stripe, taking his his sweet, sweet time. First, kissing his way up one thigh, then back down and ghosting his lips over the area you needed him both, taking a moment to inhale your scent before kissing his way back up the other leg, and right back down. 

“Please.” You whine

“Shh, I’m gonna take care of you, pretty girl.” He hushed, pulling your panties down your legs and glancing up at you as he did so, mimicking your pout before placing a chaste kiss on your clit. You leant your head back, closing your eyes as you waited patiently for him to begin. 

He started off slowly, licking up your slit as he took his time with you. Dom loved to use his tongue anytime he could, you loved it too. When he ate you out, it wasn’t just tongue, he made sure to pay attention to your clit and use his fingers when needed but on nights like tonight, where he really wanted to drive you crazy, he made sure to use a lot of tongue.

“You taste so good, pretty girl.” He whispers, his breath fanning against you, his hands wrapped around your thighs as he lost himself in you, holding you like if he didn’t you would take his meal away. You tried your best to suppress the moans he was pulling out of you, knowing Adam and Tom were just rooms away. The way he was working you left you wishing you had come to him with this sooner. Your hips came up to meet his actions, your hand placed firmly on the back of his head, pushing him as far into you as he could go, eager to meet your release. 

“That’s it, pretty girl, ride daddy’s face. Let daddy show you how much you mean to him.” He hums, taking a moment to catch his breath. You do as you’re told, the request putting you in anything but a bratty mood. You let out a small moan as he continues his actions, your hips setting the pace.

Once again, it started off slow, until you began to work yourself up. Your hand reached down, tangling itself in his hair once again, tugging as you tried to push yourself further down, your hips speeding up while you bite your tongue to keep down the moans that clawed their way up your throat.

You could feel the pressure building up in your stomach, squeaking out to Dom that you were gonna cum before releasing on his tongue. He let you remain there for a minute, riding out your high while he massaged and kissed your thighs. When you had fully come down you move yourself off his face, making your way down to his bulge where you began to unbutton his pants. His hand quickly came down to stop you.

“Tonight’s supposed to be about you.”

“I wanna make you feel good too.” You say, giving him a small pout. He stops to think for a moment before taking off his pants pulling you over him, giving himself a few painfully slow strokes before slipping himself inside of you. Your hips rocked carefully against him, still sensitive from your last orgasm. His hands continued to massage your hips as you found your pace, finding it harder and harder to remain silent.

“You’re so beautiful, pretty girl. Daddy loves to watch you bounce on his cock.” Dom growls, his hips coming up to meet yours, the sound of skin slapping against skin filling the room, you give up on holding back your moans at this point as it’s already very obvious to anyone in the house what's happening upstairs. 

The bed was creaking, your skin  slapping together as he thrust into you, unable to cease the  loud moans falling past your lips. Your legs began to shake as you approached your second release. Dom pulls you close, holding you, the gentle gesture in sharp contrast with the way he’s pounding away at you.

“Please can I cum.” You whimper

“One moment,” he interrupted himself with a groan “I wanna cum with ya, love.”

You held on as best you could, melting into his grasp as he worked towards finishing himself off. Soon after he growled a barely audible “Cum.” signifying his release. You moaned against each other, Dom pulling you closer as close wasn’t close enough. He maintained his actions, riding through your orgasm with one hand in your hair and the other lovingly stroking your thigh.

“Daddy’s got you babygirl.” He whispers into your ear, hushing you as you come down from your high.

When you finally felt well enough to sit up, your muscles hurt from the strain so you and Dom decided to have a bath.

He got up to run the bath water just the way you liked it and insisted on carrying you there, because ‘You’re hurtin’ so you can’t walk.’

You didn’t mind, though, laying your head on his shoulder as he carried you princess style into the bathroom. Luckily, the boys were in their rooms with the doors closed, presumably to suppress some of the noise.

The warm watered soothed your aching as you sat with Dom behind you, his wet hands stroking your arms with his head buried in your neck while he whispered sweet nothings in your ear.

After that night, you didn’t think you’d ever question your relationship with Dom again.

[sad-baddie001]

Allmight: Symbol of peace

Yn POV

^quirk: Agility, Super human agility and senses.

   *beep* beep* beep*

   I rolled out of bed and stood up stretching as much as possible before dropping to the floor in a sitting position. I spent  a while meditating before I got up to make my coffee. I turned the radio and coffee maker on as I began to go about getting ready for my day.

   I teach pre-K students and they are the little joys of my life. My entire life revolves around teaching them, they mean everything to me. I've been teaching pre-K for almost 6 years now and it's truly what makes me happy. I packed up everything I needed for class today and scanned myself over. I wore my black leggings with my knitted brown sweater and low tops. I grabbed my bags and headed toward the door. I locked up and made my way to work.

   The crisp fall air hit my face as I opened the door to leave out. "Woah—nope." I closed the door and ran back inside to grab my coat. I put it on along with my scarf before actually starting my journey. I began my walk as I listed to the crunchy fall leaves as I stepped on them. The Autumn season always made me happy even as a child. There has always been something about she cool crisp atmosphere that caught my interest.

   As I reached the school I walked into class and began to set up for my class. I cleaned the desk and plugged in my water heater. The classroom was already toasty as I began to place the kids mugs on their desk. I took out my laptop and began to play music at a low volume. I checked my watch as I began to make my specialty hot chocolate for my class. I finished just in time as my children began to filter into the classroom.

   "Good morning Ms. YN!" I turned my head to the door to see the smiling beautiful faces of my class begin to rush in. A huge smile spread across my face as they lined up one by one in front of me. "Good morning my lovely students!" I hugged the man each one by one before they headed to assigned seats. They sat smiling wide, staring at their cups. We made them as an arts and crafts project and they absolutely love them.

   With my entire class in attendance the morning bell rang. I took another sip of my hot chocolate before standing up and addressing my class. "Okay kids, today we are going to have a very special visitor." They began to whisper among themselves. "Okay, okay, quiet down. Would anyone like to take a gue—." I knock on the door cut me short. All headed turned to the closed door as the children were literally sitting on the edge of their seat. I couldn't make them wait any longer, they would just be cruel. "Come in." I said as I eyeballed the expressions on the kids faces. The door creaked opened slowly as a tall figures ducked into the door way.

   Almight pov

  "Come in." I heard a delicate voice through the door. I slowly pushed the door open and crouched down through the door way stepping into the classroom.  Immediately I saw the entire class full of children jump from their seats as little feet scurried toward me. I closed my eyes and braced for impact. When I noticed I wasn't covered in pre schoolers I opened my eyes to see the students all back in their seats perfectly and the teacher now in the back of the classroom. "Now class, how do we greet our guest?" Her soft voice rang through the classroom before the students responded.

"Good morning Almight! Welcome to our classroom!" Their small voice spoke in unison as they were barely able to stay in their seats. I was at a loss for words. I have never seen children so young and so well behaved. "Good morning children! And good morning to you Ms...?" I trailed off as I looked over to the teacher awaiting her name. "Ms. Yn" A smile played upon her lips as she responded. Her smile was bright and welcoming. "Good morning Ms.Yn." I said completing my sentence.

   "It smells amazing in here, may I ask what you all are drinking?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" A student raised his hand drawing my attention toward him. "Yes young man?" I asked as I called on him.

  "Well Ms. makes us specialty hot chocolate sometimes to keep us nice and toasty."

   "It smells delicious."

   " Actually Almight ive made you some as well. No one in the class is left out ever. Here you go." She said as she handed me a hand painted mug with my head on it as a cartoon drawing. I felt my face flush pink as I thanked her. I took the tiny mug from her hands as we made brief eye contact. "How about we all take our first morning sip together?" She asked.

"That sounds like a great idea." I held the cup to my lips as the class did the same. I took a sip and felt a sense of comfort. This was the best hot chocolate I've ever had. It was sweet and the perfect temperature but there was something about this hot chocolate that didn't taste like normal hot chocolate. Some more. It taste amazing. My eyes dropped down into the mug trying to figure out what was giving off this amazing flavor.

"T-this hot chocolate...... IS PLUS ULTRA!"

Yn POV

   I felt my face heat up as I took another sip of my hot chocolate. I love when people enjoy my

hot chocolate. The class giggled as did I seeing the hot coco mustache on Almight's face. "Almight, you've got a hot coco mustache." He let out a loud hearty laugh before speaking. "Well it just shows how delicious your hot chocolate is." I sat my mug down and handed the symbol of peace a napkin. He wiped his face as I leaned against my desk, addressing my class.

   "Today the symbol of peace will be helping us our with class so let's be on our best behavior. Who knows, maybe if we behave he'll come back another time." The class went crazy with excitement at the thought of almight being in their class not once but twice.

We started the day out with some songs and and math before moving into reading. Next it was time for gym. Without me having to ask Almight got the students to line up single file and follow him to the gym. He strutted down the hall heroically as the class copied his walk. It was amazing I just had to take a picture. When we got to the gym the kids did their warm up stretches before they had free play. Almight played with the kids as I planned out the lesson plan for the rest of the week. The children stacked were in a cheerleading pyramid as Almight pretended to be their coach. Something felt off as I looked up over toward the children. I jumped up as I saw all the children about to topple over. I quickly dashed over to the children and began to catch them placing them down one by one in a safe spot. I wiped the sweat off my my forehead as I was now back in my original spot. I looked up to see Almight looking over at my with his mouth slightly gaped open. I gave him a soft smile as I went back to lesson planning.

After gym it was time for lunch. I took the children to the cafeteria and returned back to the classroom to see Almight sitting at my desk with two wrapped boxes. He placed his phone down before speaking.

"Ms. Yn, have lunch with me? It's the least I can do since you made me some of your delicious hot chocolate this morning." I tried to dial back my smile as I blushed. "I'd love to but I'm not sure that's such a good idea." I looked away for a moment trying to avoid his gaze.

   "Oh?" He asked as his tone dropped slightly."Well how about you tell me about it. It'll just be two people having a conversation." I hesitated before nodding my head in agreement and walking over. He stood and pulled out my desk chair. "No it's fine, I'll sit here." I sat atop my desk with my legs crossed. Almight began to unwrap one of the boxes as he spoke.

   "I'm listening."

   "Well what would the kids think? Ya know? I usually get my lunch and go eat with them."

  "I'm sure they wouldn't mind you having lunch without them today." He said as he unwrapped the box completely as opened it up. Amazing smells radiated from the bento box as I saw the marvelous food.

"So I saw in the gym earlier. Can you tell me a bit about your quirk?" He asked as he leaned on the desk slightly, giving me his full attention.

"Sure, so my quirks name is agility. I'm basically very agile with increased senses. So what you saw earlier in the gym was just me doing normal people things at an accelerated speed. But it wasn't an easy quirk to improve upon. It took countless hours of gymnastics and speed training and LOTS of combat training—." I felt something press against my leg slightly. As I looked down I saw Almight pushing the unwrapped box off food toward me. He flashed his heroic smile at me.

"You're not going to give up, are you?" He didn't respond, he only continued to smile at me. I hopped up from the desk and walked behind it. I went into my bag that was next to Almight and pulled out the bento box I had packed for the day. I held in front of me before speaking. "I'll eat, but only if you eat what I brought. But this is NOT lunch, this is just two people talking and eating."

"Okay, let's trade." I handed him the bento box in my hands and sat back down. I watched as he opened the bento box and immediately took a bite. The atmosphere around seemed to have shifted as he placed his hand over his heart.

"This is......the best cooking I've ever had." My entire face turned a bright red as I immediately looked everywhere else in the room.

"Please, you're too kind. It's just something I threw together."

"Oh please Ms.Yn, you're being too modest. How do you do it? Family recipes?"

My face went flush even more as I looked down at the floor. "Actually I just put a little love into everything I make."

"Well it's absolutely amazing." I looked back up at him and he was blushing just as hard as I was with the same cheesy smile. We continued to talk as we enjoyed each others food. His food tasted just as amazing as it smelled. I felt like I was in heaven. Before long it was time to start class again and the students began to return.

Almight POV

My phone began to ring as the students filed into the the classroom.

"One moment, I have to take this." I stepped out of the classroom and answered the call, it was Nezu calling.

"Hello?"

"Ah! Almight! So nice to hear from you. Midnight has gathered all the faculty in my office and she told us that there has been someone to peak your interest. You must come back and tell us all about it over tea."

"Well actually sir I—."

"See you soon." I let out a deep sight as he hung up the phone before I had time to respond. Note to self: don't call Midnight—even when no one else answers the phone.

I walked back into the classroom and walked over to Ms.Yn. She looked up at me and I almost wasn't able to tell her soft beautiful face.

"Duty calls." She nodded as she understood what I meant.

"Well can I get a picture of you with my class?"

"Of course."

"Duty calls young heros! How about we all get a photo before I leave."

The class all ran over to the back of the classroom as Ms.Yn pulled out her phone. The children crowded around me as she raised the phone.

   "Now what kind of picture would this be if you're not in it?" I placed my arm around her torso and pulled her into my side.

   "Okay let me set up the camera." She said as she bolted to her desk and propped up her phone. She put the timer on and ran back over. I pulled her back into my side as I balanced children on my shoulders and one atop my head.

   "Everyone say PLUS ULTRA!" She wrapped her hands around me the best she could, I looked down to her blushing and smiling face as she posed for the picture. I couldn't help but think to my self how beautiful this woman is.

"PLUS ULTRA!!!"

*click*

   She jumped over the children and over to her desk. I grabbed the bento box she had given me and walked over to her. I looked down at the picture she was smiling so widely at and noticed the pink shade that dusted me face. Hopefully no one else will notice.

   "Here you are Ms. Yn" she turned on the heels of her feet to face me. "Keep it, you can return it to me when we have lunch again."

   My face was now beet red as I tried to contain my excitement. "I-I'll uhh, I'll come see you after school. Does tomorrow work?"

   "Works for me. Now go be a hero."

   "Don't worry about a thing, I'll take care of everything. Farewell class!" I said as I began my way out of the classroom.

   "GOODBYE ALMIGHT!!"

*BUMP*

I turned my attention back to where I was walking noticing I hit my head on the low door frame. Giggles came from behind me as I nervously chuckled and crouched out of the door. I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I dashed out of the school building and leaped through the air.

"PLUS ULTRA!"

[xxkellsvixen19xx]

Spotlight: Life Of A Troubled Celebrity Heartthrob Ch 5.1

Word Count: 7,019 *Between Both Parts

Colson woke up first as moonlight beat down on his face. He sat up and stretched his lean body. When he had planned this trip he hadn't anticipated falling asleep on the boat. He looked at Y/N and didn't have the heart to wake her but she slowly opened her eyes when he stirred.

"What time is it?" She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"It's just a little after midnight. We should get back it's a bit cold out here." He threw the blanket over Y/N. "You can go back to sleep while I drive us back."

"I think I'll come and keep you company." She stifled another yawn.

"If you insist. I won't complain." He kissed her long and hard.

"I wish we could stay this way forever." He sighed as he held her face in his hands.

"No you don't. You would probably get bored in a few minutes." She joked.

"Spend the night with me." His face was illuminated by the moonlight, piercing blue eyes pleading with her. He didn't want this night to end. All he wanted was to spend more time with her. Not in a sick perverted way but he just wanted to be close to her-to hold her and never let her go.

"Colson I-"

"All I want to do is hold you okay? No second base..unless you want-"

"Don't push it Baker." She laughed and swatted his shoulder.

"Okay let me get you out of here. Stay here it's warmer okay?" He straightened the thick blanket over her. Then went over to start the engine and steered the boat back to the estate. She snuggled under the warm blanket and dozed off.

"Sorry to wake you sweets but we're here. I would carry you out of the boat but we would both end up in the water." He laughed as she squinted up at him.

"Okay." She said her voice horse and her head still groggy.

Y/N stumbled across the gangplank, Colson laughed as he scooped her into his arms and carried her into the house. He took the steps up to his room, kicked the door open and laid her down gently on the soft bed. She even tried to protest when he removed her shoes but he pushed insisted.

"Colson that isn't necessary. I can do that myself. I'm not an invalid." She was wide awake now.

"Your feet are stone cold Bambi! Should I run you a bath?" He rubbed her feet but his efforts were futile.

"Hmmm, I think I'd love to soak in a warm bath right now." She rolled her neck and stretched out her body. Colson couldn't help but stare and was glad Y/N couldn't read his thoughts right now, because they were anything but clean.

"Am I allowed to join you? I'm cold too." He said as he stood and made his way to the bathroom.

"Sure why not? I'm sure the jacuzzi is big enough for both of us.." Y/N taunted him. She leaned back on the bed a naughty smile on her face. She couldn't understand where her sudden boldness came from? It was probably because she was sleeping on her feet and her brain wasn't functioning in its full capacity. I mean who takes a bath after 1:00am??

"Careful what you wish for Bambi.." He wagged his finger at her. "I just might call your bluff sweets." He ran the bath water and added some strawberry scented bubble-bath. He walked back to the bedroom and found Y/N undressing.

"Oh! Sorry-I didn't-you should have-" He sputtered, his hands flew to cover his crimson face. Y/N threw her head back and laughed.

"Really Baker! Is this your first time to see a girl half-naked?" She threw her play-suit in his face as she walked past him and into the bathroom. Colson caught it before it hit the floor and stood there confused. He didn't want to misinterpret anything but that action right there, seemed like an invitation to him. Maybe it was time for him to test the waters..literally.

Y/N had left the bathroom wide open..another sign. He proceeded cautiously through the door, there was no going back after this. Y/N was lying in the tub with her hair tied up in a messy bun, her eyes closed as if she was asleep. Colson stood at the door and removed his clothes silently. He slipped into the jacuzzi and sat opposite Y/N and waited for some sort of reaction from her.

"Took you long enough to get here Baker. I almost fell asleep waiting for you." She said drowsily. Her eyes remained closed.

"You're hungry? I've asked Alison, the housekeeper, to bring us something. We can eat once we're done."

"Hmmm." Replied.

Food was the last thing on his mind right now. He wanted to eat something that was sitting right in front of him-in fact he wanted to devour her-to ravish her until they were totally spent. But with a lot of difficulty, he restrained himself and told himself good things come to those who wait.

"You need help staying awake sweets?" He slid over to her side and pulled her towards him.

"What did you have in mind?" Her eyes flew open and he saw the desire ignited in them. Now was the time he would make his move. The look in her eyes gave him the green light and told him everything he needed to know.

"A few things.." He brushed his lips lightly against hers and heard her inhale sharply. He teased her with feather-light kisses until her breathing was ragged. Then he kissed her thoroughly, his tongue touching every inch of her mouth.

They were interrupted by a loud knock on the door. They sprang apart but made no move to answer the door. Colson's arctic orbs burned into Y/N's brown ones and no words needed to be said. He stepped out of the tub and wrapped a fluffy bath towel around her body, their nakedness no longer an obstacle. She was swept of her feet and carried into the bedroom and laid on the bed. Colson hovered over her as if seeking permission to continue. She pulled him closer and their lips melted into each other again-but the incessant knocking was a mood-killer.

"You probably should get that." Y/N whispered into his lips as he looked down at her, frustration contorting his features. He let out a low angry growl and hopped off the bed to answer the door. Y/N felt sorry for whoever was standing on the other-side.

"Jax! What is it? It's almost two in the morning!" Colson scowled as he open the door just a crack.

" Anyway-you requested food so I offered to bring it up-" He motioned to the food cart, "plus there is an urgent matter that need your immediate attention..before it hits the press in a few hours. Byron and Andre are waiting downstairs"

"Let me get dressed. I'll be right down. Leave the cart outside I'll get it just now." Colson shut the door and got dressed quickly.

"Is everything okay?" Y/N pulled the covers over her and sat up.

"Yeah-you can eat and I'll join you in a bit." He wheeled the food into the room and kissed her on the forehead before dashing out.

Y/N jumped out of bed and went to rummage through Colson's closet, in search of a T-shirt or PJs that would fit her. She came so close-again-but she wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed. She stood in the closet and noticed they was woman's clothing neatly stacked in a shelf, while the dresses and jackets were hanging on the rails.

Y/N's heart sank as she fingered the clothing. The clothes seemed fairly new and were about her size. Probably they belonged to one of his many girlfriends and he had forgotten to hide them away or he had meant for them to remain here. She gave herself a mental shake, grabbed a pair of pink PJs and slipped them on, even it meant taking a risk of him being upset with her.

"Thank you floozy, for leaving your clothes in Colson's closet." She muttered to herself, as she dived under the covers, her appetite gone. What did she expect anyway? Of course he had a constant stream of girls sleeping over and she was probably just another statistic. But she still wanted him. Even as the silent tears slid down her face and onto the therapeutic pillow, her heart still yearned for him, for his touch, for his presence and a whole lot more.

It wasn't long before she nodded off to sleep.

********************************************

"What do you mean I signed the wrong document?? Don't I pay you to make sure that never happens??" Colson flipped over the glass table in a rage. Andre loosened his tie and cowered in the corner, beads of sweat scattered on his forehead.

"Look Colson, why don't we all take five? Let's step outside so you can get a bit of fresh air and collect our thoughts?" Byron put his hand on Colson's shoulder and he shrugged it off, before storming into the cool night-or morning rather.

Dawn was breaking and while Colson loved to watch the sunrise, he didn't derive any joy from it today. It had turned from a beautiful day to a nightmare-his worst nightmare. He sat by the poolside and hung his head in his hands. How was he going to get out of this mess? Most importantly how was he going to explain it to Y/N? Yet again he had got her entwined in his drama. He ripped of his t-shirt and dove into the water, did laps back and forth until he was spent. The sun was peeping threw the clouds when he jumped out and collapsed onto the well manicured lawn.

Byron stood over him and handed him a towel and a robe after he had dried himself. Alison had begun to serve breakfast out on the patio and Jax was barking orders to the bodyguards. Security was on high alert as per Colson's instructions. Y/N would need a bodyguard as well, once the story got out.

"I'm going to go break the news to Y/N before she hears it from someone else. Please don't come anywhere near my room until I say so. If anyone so much as knocks..there will be hell to pay." Colson stormed back into the house and ran up the stairs to his room. Y/N was still sound asleep when he jumped in behind her. He put his arms around her and held her like it was the last time. After what he had to tell her he was sure she would never want to see him again, because it would throw her world into absolute chaos.

"Hmm..you're cold." She protested, still half-asleep.

"Sorry baby I had an early morning swim.. I just need to hold you right now. Is that okay?" He snuggled closer to her and tightened his hold. The talk would have to wait until she was well-rested. He made sure to switch off both their phones earlier on so he was safe for now.

"Hmm..You okay?" She asked.

"Yeah-please go back to sleep baby." He kissed her hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Andre please explain to me again how you messed up the paperwork? You always so articulate and careful. What went wrong this time? Your wife giving you problems man?" Byron paced up and down Colson's study, where he, Andre and Jax were having a closed door meeting.

"I had printed out the revised contract for him and Y/N to sign right? Then my sister-in-law asked me to process her papers for a marriage contract so I could submit them to the courts, then she could get her marriage licence. But I know someone that can take a shortcut and-somehow I mixed up the documents so-Colson and Y/N signed-in actual fact-not only a marriage contract but a marriage certificate. I don't know how I missed it..probably it was in between their documents and they mistakenly signed it. Well..it was my mistake but I then went on to submit it to court now-" Andre sighed and gulped down his third glass of whiskey, forgetting that it was only a little after 6:00am.

"Now some douche from the marriage office got his dirty hands on the documents and is blackmailing us for freakin' $5mil. Thanks for that Andre. Thanks a lot!" Byron spat. He pulled at his hair in agitation and threw deathly daggers at Andre.

"Look I know I messed up okay?? I'm probably going to be out of a job when Colson walks back down those stairs..I'm so screwed." Andre sank back into the couch and covered his face with a cushion. "Plus that guy has given us until noon to pay up or else.. "

"He's leaking it to the highest bidder." Byron finished off distastefully.

"How are we going to fix this Byron?" Andre sat on the edge of his seat.

"Unfortunately, you have hit a very sensitive spot..Colson is rather fond of Y/N and has developed a strong attachment to her. He doesn't know it yet but I think he's actually in love with her." Byron put his hands in his pockets and stared at the carpet thoughtfully.

"Yeah. I noticed.." Andre pursed his lips. "I'm finished aren't I?"

"Yeah." Byron nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Morning sweets." Colson leaned over and kissed Y/N on her forehead. "You sleep enough?"

"Ye-ah, I guess..we had a pretty late night." She sat up and stretched out her arms. "Sorry for wearing these PJs-I needed something to wear." She said sheepishly.

"What?? No need to apologize sweets, they're yours." He smiled.

"Mine?"

"Yeah-" He shifted nervously," Look Y/N there's something I need to tell you." He swallowed hard not being able to meet her eyes.

"Y/N? Wow-this has to be serious then." She pushed her back and propped herself on the headboard. "I'm listening.."

Colson explained the mess up that Andre had got them into. Y/N's face went from confusion to shock. After Colson was done she sat quietly, staring into space.

"So..what you're trying to tell me is that we're married??!"

"Yes." He finally met her bewildered expression. "We can get an annulment-"

"No! I don't want that on my record." She raised her hand.

"Tell me what you want me to do? I know apologizing is pointless but I really am sorry Y/N." Colson held her hands and looked intently at her. The remorse clearly displayed on his handsome face.

"Say something baby. Please?" She still hadn't responded to his question and it was beginning to scare him.

"I'm sorry..I need to go home." She hoped off the bed using the other end, wanting to escape. The walls felt like they were caving in and she found it hard to breath. She had to put some distance between them so she could think straight. How could she be married to Colson Baker? Married??

"Y/N! Wait!" She slammed the bathroom door in his face and locked it. "Can we talk about this?" He leaned his head against the door.

"Please sweets? Can you allow me to fix this? We're in this together remember?" The door suddenly flew open and she stood there, tears streaming down her face. It tore his heart into a million pieces seeing her like that.

"How are you going to fix this Colson?! Huh?! Please tell me??!" She cried out and started to punch his chest. He grabbed her wrists and crushed her against his chest.

"I'm really sorry okay? I'm going to fix this. Trust me okay?" He cooed as he smoothed her hair with his hands. "It's killing me to see you like this-I can't-" His voice broke and he buried his face in her neck.

They sank to the bathroom floor still in each others arms. Y/N's cries were now sniffles and her head was lying on Colson's shoulder. This was a perfect disaster. How would he even fix it? Where would he begin?

"You want to get out of here?" He broke the silence.

"Yes. Please take me as far as possible. I don't think I'll be able to handle any of this right now." She pleaded with him, her eyes still brimming with tears. He stood up and held out his hand to her and she grabbed on it as she got up.

"You can take a quick bath while I take care of our travel arrangements. Don't worry about packing clothes or anything like that-all I want is you." He kissed her gently on her lips and left her in the bathroom.

She took a quick shower and dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. There was breakfast waiting for her at the corner table, so she wolfed down a slice of toast and cheese, washed down with a glass of orange juice. When she went downstairs in search of Colson she heard loud voices coming from the poolside.

"You're fired!" Colson shouted to Andre.

"Colson it was a mistake-" Andre tried to reason.

"One that is going to ruin an innocent girls life!" Colson shot back. "Just leave! Get out of my face!"

"Wait!" Y/N called out as Andre made his way to leave.

"Y/N, please stay out of this. Let me handle it okay?" Colson walked over to her and held her shoulders.

"Andre stays." She challenged.

"What? He's responsible for-"

"He stays." She said firmly.

"No he can't-" Colson protested.

"As your wife, I say he stays." His eyes softened, he dropped his hands and stepped back to look at her.

Everyone else stared at the exchange in awe. Andre breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He really needed this job, he was the sole breadwinner in his family. He had a lot of people that depended on him.

"Fine." Colson said with clenched teeth. "But you will owe me big time Bambi."

"Can we leave now before the circus begins?" She said.

"Yeah-Jax we're good?" Colson asked visibly relaxed.

"Sure thing boss." Jax replied.

"Great. Now I can go and give my wife a real honeymoon. We might even have to consummate the marriage. What do you think Bambi??" Colson put his arm around Y/N and gave her a knowing look.

"Don't push it sweetie." She rolled her eyes but her heart was hammering wildly against her chest. How was she going to handle being totally alone with the sexy, irresistible Colson Baker?

*********************************************

"Who's this?" Colson barked into the phone.

"Is that the way to greet you best friend?" Slim chuckled softly.

"Hey, how's it going dude? You alright?" Colson sat on the edge of the bed.

"I would be alright if you got me out of here. Today preferably. Otherwise..I might be tempted to bribe one of the nurses to-"

"Slim you know this is for your own good. You almost died man! I can't have that on my conscious again." Colson ran his fingers through his hair and sighed audibly. Slim needed to stay in rehab, but he didn't seem to understand that. This could be his only hope of staying alive, he had too many close calls so far.

"Listen, if you don't get me out of here this very minute then you're going to force me to do something that we will both regret. You more than me though-because you have so much more to lose." Slim said aggressively, "don't push me Col."

"That sounds like a threat?" Colson scowled. "You know better than to do that." He tut-tutted.

"Really?? How's that sweet doe-eyed obsession of yours? I wouldn't mind-" Slim taunted.

"Leave Y/N out of this okay! Touch her and you're finished. You will never work in this country again." Colson stood and gripped the phone tighter. His anger emanating through the phone.

"She might be sweeter than Dani...Now Dani was wild in the sack man, I can understand why you were hooked on her..it's a pity she had to die.." He mocked.

"You are the reason she's dead!" Colson shot back.

"Oh no, no, no. Don't give me all the credit man. You are as much to blame." Slim said deadly calm.

"Go to hell!" Colson cut the call and smashed his iPhone against the wall.

Slim had pushed him too far this time and he was going to pay dearly. How did someone claim to be your friend and then do something that contradicts the statement? How could he threaten Y/N, the only person that he had shown any remote interest since Dani?

"Hey Col, everything okay?" Byron entered the room with caution.

"I want Slim gone. I don't care how you do it but I want him gone." Colson punched his hand with force. "He dares to threaten me? Threaten Y/N?? After everything I've done for him and this is what….I want him gone." He said through gritted teeth.

"Okay," Byron sat down slowly, "I won't even ask, you can tell me whenever you're ready... But the jewelers are here, they're waiting in the study." He stood up again and turned at the door. "You can come down when you've-calmed down."

Colson went to freshen up and went to fetch Y/N from her room. He knocked softly and couldn't help but smile, when she opened the door for him. He dipped his head and kissed her softly on the lips and deepened the kiss as he felt her respond. He pushed her back onto the bed as he sought solace from the only place he knew. Sensing his need she poured herself into him and gave as good as she got. Colson finally broke off the kiss reluctantly, their breathing heavy and their eyes hazy.

"I really don't want to do this sweets, but..we have to go downstairs." He sighed and pushed back Y/N's unruly hair, "the jeweler is here and I'd like you to pick out your ring or rings, whatever you prefer is fine."

"Colson..you don't have to do this. This isn't even a proper marriage." Y/N protested.

"I know sweets but if we're going to do this then I suggest we play the part to the T. otherwise no one will believe our little story." He said as he sat at the edge of the bed.

"I thought we weren't giving in to the blackmailer's demands?" she sat up and tried to salvage her hair. She grabbed the brush on the dresser and swept it through her hair.

"We're not, we're going to beat him at his own game." Colson watched her, mesmerized.

"You okay there Baker? Would you like a spin?" She waved the brush in his face and laughed.

"Would you..brush my hair? No one's ever done that-well besides my stylist." He shrugged.

"Sure..if you really want me to.. I might as well start performing my wifely duties." The brush felt so good as it swept though his hair, he couldn't help but groan in appreciation.

"That feels so good." He closed his eyes and leaned into her. His hands went round her waist and before he could venture any further there was a loud knock.

"We're coming down in a minute-go-away!" Colson called out, his hands still wrapped around Y/N.

"We should go babe, its a quarter to eleven." Y/N didn't realize the slip but he did.

"Don't ever stop," he said.

"What?" she frowned.

"Don't ever stop calling me that," he pecked her lips and stood up. Y/N nodded dumbly, unsure how to respond.

"Let's go Bambi," he pulled her hand and led her downstairs.

The study was already occupied with the jewelers, Jax and Byron. Colson walked in and looked around, not at all pleased.

"Right this is what's going to happen-I want every one out, including you two," he pointed at the jewelers, "this moment is between my wife and I, no one else. We will let you know on how much to bill us once we've decided. I don't want her to feel pressured or uncomfortable so get," he pointed towards the door.

Everyone shuffled out wordlessly and Y/N turned to Colson with a frown.

"Was that necessary Baker?" she folded her arms.

"Yes," he simply said, "shall we begin Mrs Baker?" he pulled out a chair for her.

"Thank you Mr Baker," she smiled at him as she sat down.

"If you keep looking at me like that then I'm going to be forced to kiss you until you breathless," he stared into her big brown eyes.

"I dare you," she whispered, her heart racing.

Colson didn't need to be urged on any further; he pulled Y/N off the chair and brushed his lips over hers, torturously slowly and softly. Y/N strained her lips towards him in an effort to deepen the kiss and appease the havoc that simple act was causing in her body.

"I think we have to stop now-otherwise I won't be able to control myself," he leaned his forehead on hers.

"Okay," she replied, in barely a whisper.

"I know I promised to keep my distance..but I can't Bambi..you make it so hard..especially when you look at me like that," he gulped, "with such intensity-such innocence, I don't want to taint you," he tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Colson..there's something I need to tell you.." Y/N diverted her gaze from him.

"Please don't say you want to leave-" he looked at her, in anguish.

"No that's not it," she shook hear head vehemently.

"Then what is it?" he turned her chin up and searched her face for answers.

"I'm not a virgin," she removed his hands from her face and went to sit down on the chaise, at the far end of the room.

Colson stood there, his hard-drive still trying to process the information that she had just laid on him. She wasn't a virgin? But that was good right? But why did she seem so sad, instead of relieved? Was she perhaps raped? Abused? He would make them pay, whoever it was they would pay, he would find them and make them pay, he thought. Y/N took his delayed response as a bad sign. She should have told him sooner, then maybe he wouldn't look so disappointed.

"Y/N, look at me," he sat next to her and held her hands, "I don't care okay? That's irrelevant sweets."

"What?" She frowned slightly.

"Sorry-that came out wrong-let me re-phrase okay?" he gave her a lopsided grin, "It doesn't matter to me okay? I know you have a past and it's nothing to be ashamed of sweets. Mine is probably ten times worse than yours," he laughed. "This doesn't change the way I feel about you okay?"

"I thought you would be disappointed," she said with despair.

"Never," he cupped her face in his hands.

"But you don't know the full story-" she protested.

"And I don't need to okay? When you're ready to tell me then you will-but for now please choose a ring baby?" They laughed and lightened the tension.

She finally settled on a simple ring in platinum with a ruby and a double row of round brilliant diamonds. They had matching wedding bands in white gold, encrusted with white diamonds. They instinctively exchanged weddings bands and smiled at each other, as they slipped the rings on each others fingers.

"You're mine now," he said before he kissed her softly.

"Does it work both ways," she countered as her heart fluttered.

"Try getting a divorce and you will see exactly how it works," he smiled at her as he held up his iPhone and took multiple shots of their rings and entwined hands. They started goofing around with the camera and took more funny photos and Colson posted the best ones on his social media; until Byron knocked on the door.

"Colson it's almost noon and the pressure is on.. you're good to go?" Byron peered through the door.

"We're more than good By, check my latest tweet," he scrolled through his phone showing Byron the photos and social media posts., "it already has over 20,000 views in less than ten minutes.

#shesaidyes #ilikeditsoiputaringonit #relationshipgoals #itsofficial #mrsandmrsbaker

"Well, this is very convincing! Hey, even I'm falling for it," Byron chuckled, "you guys have great chemistry so it will be easy for the media to eat it up."

"The only person I want to eat it is the blackmailer," Colson said as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

"Andre managed to trap him. We have managed to trace the call and he's on his way to pick him up-with the cops of course," Byron said with satisfaction.

"At least Andre did something right for a change," Colson scoffed.

"Babe, can I go and call my mom now? I promised to call her ages ago and I'm sure she's in hysterics by now.." Y/N put her hands on Colson's chest and Byron raised an eyebrow.

"Sweets, I can't apologize enough about all this-" he held her face.

"Don't- it's not your fault okay?" she kissed him again.

"I'll be up in a moment, let me finish up here okay?" Colson kissed her forehead and she left.

"So..Babe??" Byron laughed, "I got a feeling this isn't pretend anymore.."

"Shut up," Colson said, "when are you going to release the press statement? Is my jet ready? I need to get to New York for that charity benefit tonight."

"Yeah, I'm on it. We can leave for New York, whenever you're ready," Byron said.

"Great, I want to leave now. Can you ask Jax to pick up Y/N's friends and meet us at the airstrip? I'll go and make sure my bags are packed." Colson's phone rang as he made to leave.

"Baker," he said.

"So I guess congratulations are in order bro?" Slim said.

"What do you want??" Colson stiffened.

"Hey bro! Chill out! Why are you all up tight?? You just got married man! Loosen up," Slim laughed.

"You're kidding right? You have some nerve-"

"Dude, you need to chill okay? Are we still going to the charity benefit?" Slim asked.

Colson sighed as he raked his hair. "You bust out of rehab didn't you?"

"You know me too well Col," Slim cackled.

*********************************************

"I still can't decide what to wear!" Liv said, exasperated. She had gone through the closet about a million times and was even more confused than before.

"Don't worry, Michelle will be here soon," Y/N looked up from her phone.

"So has your Mom calmed down yet?" Lisa asked as she plopped herself onto the bed.

"No, she's freaking out for days!" Y/N frowned. Ever since they announced their marriage her mother was inundated with calls and was being hounded by the media again. Mrs Y/M/L/N was upset that Y/N got married without telling her and felt like she was way in over her head. She had even demanded Y/N catch the first flight home but she was adamant about staying with Colson. For now they had agreed to disagree.

"Hallooo there Mrs Baker!!" Ashleigh barged into the room and launched herself onto Y/N, causing them to fall off the bed.

"You could have just said hi like a normal person," Y/N giggled as Ashleigh straddled her.

"I leave you alone for a couple of days and you come back as Colson Baker's freakin' wife!" Ashleigh pretended to strangle her, "Oh-my-days! Will you look at the size of the rock on that ring???!"

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Y/N twisted the ring on her finger.

"Thanks for the heads up by the way," Ashleigh scowled.

"Sorry Ash, it just happened," Y/N said, out of breath, "Let me up!" she protested.

"Such things just don't happen-oh hey there Lisa! Liv!" she hugged them.

"Right, everyone in the sitting room now, we don't have much time," Michelle bust open the door and commanded everyone to start getting ready, "Y/N you're up first, Colson will be coming for you soon."

"Oh, I thought I was going with everyone else.." Y/N said.

"Not a chance, you're Colson's wife now so it's a whole new ball game. Congratulations by the way," Michelle smiled, "you need to get your make up done so you can stay in here. Let me just grab my bag, I'll be right back."

Michelle had chosen a Chanel emerald embroidered fishtail maxi dress. It accentuated all Y/N's curves, a low-cut back exposed her smooth tanned skin; fashioned from a luxurious velvet and lace material with hand embroidery all over the dress. The fishtail design and mermaid hem created a perfect silhouette. Her hair was swept up into a neat bubble-bun and a smokey-eye look for her make-up, her lipstick was a matte in crimson.

"You clean up nice Mrs Baker," Michelle admired her handiwork and handed Y/N a matching clutch purse.

"Good job as always! I can't even recognize myself," Y/N twirled around.

"Colson will not be able to keep his hands off you tonight, hope you're on birth control," Michelle joked and they laughed. There was a soft knock on the door and Michelle opened it on her way out, "hey Col, she's all yours."

Tagged: @kellysimagines

[breaddaerb]

Long time no see bread. It is I, again, the one who is always watching and hungry : SOVIPER ANON

*EVIL LAUGH*

Can I have, maybe, just asking, only if you want to, some arguing with a cute end? Maybe my couple being really passive-agressive but loving each other in the end...

And if you keep writing this amazing stuff, I'LL BE BACK

*EVIL LAUGH* *SMOKE* *SOVIPER ANON OUT*

[ sova x viper IV ]

✎↷: AHHH ITS TEAM ROCKET

well you know if you put it this way, i can’t really say no! let me just say, soviper anon, when i got the request about if i had any soviper content, i snorted to myself and thought of you. yeah! you’re that special, friend! anwyays, enjoy the ship content! didn’t reread this one over tooo much since i had it packed away for a few days now :D

As Viper watches Sova’s blonde hair whip down the hallway in a flurry of stomps and muttered curses, she knows she’s done something wrong.

Well— it wasn’t wrong in her eyes. All she had done was suggest that his owl could be improved by lacing his tracking dart with poison. It was more lethal, wasn’t it? If he could subdue someone while they worked, they’d get stacks of progress done instead of needing to beat around the bush.

Somehow, her partner has gotten offended by it. She already knows that his inventions are held dear to him, given his own cybernetic eye, but what’s the harm in an idea for improvement? He told her it ‘wasn’t that simple’ and ‘not everything needed to be a nuclear weapon’, and Viper brushed him off. It’s dumb and petty to her, so she doesn’t see the need to stop the Russian when he runs away. It’s not her fault that he’s upset.

The guilt welcomes itself into her mind when Sova doesn’t show up to dinner that night. She’s brooded on her own for nearly the whole day, taut and put at her wit’s end as she reevaluated their conversation over and over again. Viper was now stationed in the living room with Reyna, her plate of food pulled into her lap. There wasn’t much chatter between them beside the idle remark, but Viper couldn’t ignore the deep stare that the Mexican was giving the American, as if she was being observed. It frustrated her.

When it eventually got to be too annoying for Viper, her head snapped up, eyes venomous. “What are you looking at?” She gruffed, tone harsh ended and sharp.

Reyna didn’t even flinch. “Someone is upset today. What’s the matter, serpentine?”

Viper placed her dinner down, stomach twisted into sour knots. She did not need the woman pressing on her, especially when Sova was still MIA.

“What could you possibly get out of hearing it? Some reassurance that at least one of us has a life?”

Chuckling, the purple haired woman disbelievingly shook her head and ran a clawed hand through her mane. Reyna was always painfully— and obnoxiously— smug about the amusement she got out of seeing Viper’s frustrations.

However, it doesn’t take much for Reyna to continue, thoroughly entertained by Viper’s ruffled feathers. “Ay, nono, hermanita. Nothing like that,” she grinned, leaning forward with a hand beneath her chin. “The owl is not here today, is he?”

The tense of Viper’s hands answer the question for her.

Her gaze sharpens, and Reyna resembles a predator ready to prey. “Trouble in paradise, I see.”

This is more than what Viper will ever come to handle, but she’d be damned if she admitted that Sova’s peaceful ways have begun to rub off on her.

(He would be delighted to hear that. It’s not everyday where you turn a war criminal into a slightly safer, more peaceful murderer.)

“It’s none of your business,” she grumbled instead, stubbornly chewing on a forkful of lettuce. Reyna is pleased with this reaction, if her tittering beside the woman is any indication.

“I should express empathy for the others in our little group, don’t I? This includes the boy of yours.” Slipping from her seat, Reyna rises to refill her glass of water. She knows Viper is listening to her because of the vehement stare that bores itself into the back of her head, lasering through the flesh.

When Reyna turns around to face Viper again, the American is already rising out of her seat and making a beeline for the exit of the living room. It’s laughable at how on edge this woman is at a pointlessly minuscule conversation, but she’s trying her best and her ‘stabilizer’ isn’t there, so someone help her.

“You are yet to talk to him, no? I have heard that apologies are useful in situations like these— unless you plan on lurking around like a measly rat.”

Viper doesn’t take these words well, scowling at the doorway with her face pulling into a frown. “You don’t know him like I do. I would suggest that you’d stay out of it, vampire.”

Reyna sleazed over the countertop, a smug expression on her face. “Oh, but I do? Sabine, you must learn with the softer ones. Sage may play hard to get with me, but it does not mean she avoids me. You on the other hand..”

At this point, she’s heard enough and she flees the living room for a quieter, emptier space. On a normal day, it’s not difficult to block out Reyna’s charms and her games. They both know this. And yet she finds herself bothered, flames of guilt licking up the insides of her stomach as she comes to stop in front of the very doors that she’s been dreading the most.

She needs to start somewhere. Somewhere is... here.

Her knuckles rap against the door, and the scientist paced up and down the hallway while she waits like the maniac she is. In fact, she’s so caught up in it that she doesn’t realize when the door opens with her lover’s head peeking out of it.

Sova doesn’t look too tired, in her observation. His skin retains brightness, and his hair is still fluffy and thick. He looks fine, in all regards, but she knows he’s not. It never is.

“Hi,” she musters after a moment of silence. Sova gets this look of conflict, and before she’s able to say any more, he sighs and opens the door wider, granting her entree.

Sova’s room is something she’s well acquainted with by this point, but she doesn’t have the courage to sit down and make herself at home like the other times. Viper stands numbly in the middle of the room, observing Sova go about his life.

Abruptly, he clears his throat, which may have scared her out of her skin if she wasn’t caught up in the storm that was her mind. Right, she was here for a reason.

“I am... sorry.” Viper admits slowly, arms closing in over her chest. “I didn't mean to upset you, owl. I am unsure of where I messed up, but I hope you know that I take full accountability for it. Whatever it may be.”

Her head dips sincerely, and while it feels wrong to speak in such a vulnerable way, Sova looks ecstatic. His eyes widen like he hadn’t expected that and seriously, who would when it comes to the untouchable Viper? She was called that for a reason.

The Russian engulfs the smaller American woman, and Viper’s clearly put off if not surprised by the physical contact. An apology doesn’t typically incite or encourage affection, according to her observations. Normally, emotions boil and spark at the very sight of one, but Sova defies her standards by the simple way his fingers tenderly held onto the sides of her hips. How expected of him.

“It wasn’t that big of a deal,” he mumbles, but Viper gives him a pointed look and the man concedes. Sova looks softer than ever like this, and what it does to these.. stirring emotions in her chest, she isn’t fully sure.

Viper’s thumb presses along Sova’s collarbone. “Then what was it, Sova?”

He goes quiet, either savoring the embrace or thinking about what he was going to say next. It happened to be both.

“I don’t want a mean bird.”

She blinks. Once, then twice.

“..what?”

Sova shies away, his face pinker when he speaks up. “The owl. It means a lot to me. I wouldn’t.. want to see it be used to torment people so much. It’s meant to be cute.”

The last part goes mumbled, and because she’s so close to him, she can make out each and every word. She shouldn’t be rendered speechless by something so.. pathetically and adorably childish, but that’s exactly what ends up happening.

“You’re telling me that you got mad,” she makes a gesture with her hands, tone raising. “just because it’s cute? Really?”

He frowned deeply, like he had a plenty reasonable excuse. “Is that so wrong?”

Viper wants to bite at him and pull her hair out. This built up stress, tension, the boiling, all of it for this little reason. She’s close to blowing her top off when she distinctly remembers that this, although minimal to her, was why she fell for Sova in the first place. How dare her heart betray her in the name of science and humanity? She was disgusted...

...and more cuddly than usual, with her head burrowing itself into the crook of his neck. Sova is still pouty, though he indulges her with a light pat to her back and a chuckle. Viper can’t believe she was tortured the whole day just for this.

“You felt tortured?”

Shit. She didn’t mean to say that out loud.

“..no. It was an exaggeration, owl, think nothing of it.”

A wide smile stretches across his face, giddy and warm and everything that Viper needs to relax. He leans in, placing a kiss against the crease of her hair.

“It’s okay, Sabine! I felt the same way. It’s hard to go about without seeing you by my side.”

“Oh, be quiet.”

[loridrabbles]

Imprisoned | Dogma x Reader (Part 29)

     Dogma stood in the empty locker room, sliding his armor onto his body and snapping it into place. As he held his chestplate, he traced his fingers along the paint he had added years ago. He thought for a moment about making some changes. He's not the person he was when he left and something new would be a little way to show it. For now, he decided to add two names down each vambrace, etched into the blue paint that was already there. It didn't take him long for (y/n) to be written down his left arm and Saoirse down the right. It wasn't perfect, but it would do until he had time to finish it. Right now, he had to get to the barracks and make sure his footlocker was in order. He slung a leather bag of GAR issued toiletries, washcloths, and other everyday supplies over his shoulder and made his way to the barracks.

     Inside, Tup was in his usual spot on the top bunk, Fives relaxing back in his bottom bunk with a leg dangling over the edge. Jesse leaned against the bunk next to Dogma's. A few shinies lingered around, but most of them were doing their own thing, reading manuals, anxiously polishing their blasters, all things Dogma used to do. He walked to his bunk, smiling weakly at the others and set his back next to his footlocker.

     "Well, would ya look at what the loth cat dragged in." Jesse said, looking over at Dogma who was beginning to open the latches on the locker.

     "Never thought we'd see your mug around here again." Tup said, jumping down from his spot, elbowing Jesse in the side, hoping to earn a chuckle.

     "Y-yeah." Dogma responded. Just as he went to flip the locker up and open, Jesse slammed his hand down on top if it, shutting the lid. "Wh-"

     "There's an empty bunk down there." Jesse said. Dogma stood there, mouth slightly agape, trying to think of something to say, a little confused at the warm welcome he was receiving.

     "B-but this is my bunk." He said, pointing to the neatly made, unslept-in bed.

     "Yeah? Well it was your bunk." As he spoke, he placed his foot on the top of the locker resting his elbow on his thigh. "Now, that's your bunk." He said, nodding his head in the direction of a footlocker that was already opened.

     "But that's Kix's bunk."

     "Kix isn't here." Tup added.

     "He's coming back...soon."  Dogma was still confused, unknowing of what to do.

     "Well when he comes back, he can have this bunk."

     "Alright guys, that's enough." Fives said, sitting up, tucking the book he was reading under his pillow. "Give 'm his bunk."

     "N-no it's ok. I'll...take Kix's." Dogma said, picking up his bag. As he walked away he could hear a few muffled chuckles coming from Jesse and Tup, and some harsh whispers from Fives.

     He sighed, peering down into the empty locker and began placing his belongings inside. He made sure everything was in order, neat, and placed where he was taught in training. As he was finishing up, and folding the leather bad to be tucked under the bunk, he heard footsteps.

     "Hey." He heard Fives as he sat on the bed next to his. "Sorry about them. They're still...a little upset about everything that happened on Umbara."

     "I see that." Dogma said. He couldn't look him in the eye. "You're...mad at me too?"

     "No." He answered. "Well, I was a little at first, but I can't stay angry."

      Dogma watched him sitting comfortably on the bed as he sat as well.

     "Why not? I tried to have you killed too."

     "Because I used to be a lot like you. I-"

     "I'm not like that anymore." He interjected.

     "What I'm saying is, I used to follow people like a sheep. Echo, my batchmate, I used to look up to him a lot. I wouldn't do anything he wasn't doing. He read reg manuals every night, sometimes aloud and it would rub off on me. I found myself following every order too strictly and couldn't adapt to situations. My performance in training was...lacking."

     "Really?" He asked. "But, you're an arc trooper."

     "Yeah." He laughed at his comment. He reminded him of the young cadets he would see waving at him and calling his name as he walked through Kamino in full armor. "I learned. Even after I became an arc trooper, I kept learning. Still, I would follow Echo around like his shadow. I mean, we were best friends, but when I lost him, I struggled. And, not just because I missed him, but because I wasn't used to being on my own, calling all the shots."

     "I never would have guessed. You're always so confident in everything you do."

     "I am, but I had to learn to be." Fives said. "I would second guess my decisions and taught myself that just because someone didn't tell me to do it, doesn't mean it's wrong."

     Dogma smiled bitterly, his mind still racing about the other troopers.  He sighed, and twiddled his thumbs thinking of something to say.

     "I know I've changed, but how will they know?" He finally asked.

     "Ah, don't worry about them. They'll come around. Besides it doesn't matter in the end."

     Fives looked him over. He looked a little thinner than usual and if he was a cadet, he probably wouldn't be allowed to leave Kamino until he was up to par. His armor fit a little ill, and his blacks were ever so slightly loose around his neck. His eyes fell to the new markings on his forearms.

     "Hey, what's that." He said, pointing, tilting his head to try and make it out. "(Y/n)? How is she doing by the way?"

      "Good." He smiled. "She's home keeping busy and is healthy as ever. I still have a little work to do." He chuckled.

      "And the other name? How do you say it?"

      "Saoirse. Our daughter." His smiled spread wider across his face.

      "That's such a pretty name. How did you think of it?"

     "(Y/n) talked about always wanting to have children and had a long list of names in her head she always wanted to use. We picked it because of the meaning. Freedom."

     "That's fitting." Fives said, rocking back from where his arms rested on his legs and crossed them over his chest. "So, what's it like? Being a dad."

     "Well, I'd only been home for a week, but so far it's...amazing. Very busy and you don't get a lot of sleep, but I couldn't ask for her any other way." Dogma reached under the bed and pulled out the leather bag he had placed there and reached between the folds, pulling out a stack of pictures he had with him in prison. "These are some pictures of her over the months." He said, handing them to Fives who slowly flipped through them.

      "You've probably gotten this countless times before, but she's beautiful." He said. "I've never seen a child that I know both the parents of. It's crazy how she looks like the both of you. Like she has your eyes, but her nose. I half expected her to look like a female you." They both laughed.

      "I kinda did to. Genetics are weird." Dogma said, tucking the pictures back under his bunk.

      "We had better start heading to that meeting." Fives stood, stretching a little. They began walking together to the meeting room. "Believe it or not, news doesn't travel very well around here, mostly because Rex likes to keep his mouth shut on major details. Why don't we head to the mess afterwards and you can tell me about the last....pff how long has it been, 2 years?"

     "Yeah, almost." He said, scratching the back of his head.

     "We can work on getting you back into fighting shape." He playfully punched his shoulder.

     "Alright. I gotta fill out this armor sooner than later."

[shieldmaiden5]

"It's a boy", the doctor said cheerfully. My mother grinned in excitement.

I awoke in a panic. How could I dream about my own birth? What did it mean? At the very least I had still woken up..

I stood and stretched, deep in thought. It wasn't until I reached the bathroom that I let out a high pitched shriek. I ran my hands over my body in a panic. Whirling around to look in the mirror, I took in breasts, long brown hair, and my mother's almond shaped eyes. "I'm a girl?!"

Forgetting my morning bathroom needs, I darted back into my room, flipping on the light and looking around. My highschool football trophies were replaced with gymnastics medals. My tall dresser had changed to a low one with a large mirror atop it. Pictures of a young girl who looked quite a bit like my reflection, with her arms draped across other girls her age. Some of which looked vaguely familiar from my days in middle school. Tentatively, I opened the dresser drawers and breathed a sigh of relief. Jeans, t-shirts, a few button ups. They were all in a more feminine cut than I was used to but not something I was opposed to wearing.

I dressed quickly and hurried downstairs, following the smell of pancakes wafting from the kitchen. "Good morning Allie," called my mother, looking up from her post by the stove. "Syrup is on the table," she handed me a small stack of pancakes, "you'd better hurry or you'll miss the bus." Allie is my name, I thought as I tried to act normal. I had no memories of this life. Not of my name or of gymnastics or of the other girls in the photos upstairs. My mother plopped a bookbag on the table and pointed at the clock over the stove. I nodded at her with a mouth full of pancake and took it, then headed outside just as the bus rolled to a stop.

I climbed nervously on board, avoiding eye contact with everyone as best I could. "Allie!" I looked up in surprise to see Matilda, a girl from the next street over that I'd never spoken to much. At least, not that I had any memory of. "Over here," she called, patting the seat next to her. I sat down gratefully. "Morning, girl! Anyway, I was thinking about what we should do for our science project and-" I let her go on, nodding encouragingly and trying not to show the shock and confusion on my face. The way she spoke made it seems as though we were best friends, excited to have been partnered for this project.

The bus squealed to a halt, jolting us forward and ending her stream of ideas. I was relieved and petrified at the same time. What else had changed? Who were my friends? Were my classes the same? Following Matilda anxiously off the bus and into the building, I slumped a bit, trying to attract as little attention as possible. I ran face first into my best friend Marc. At least, he used to be my best friend. "There you are babe," he said, taking my hand with a grin.

"Oh, it's your man! I'll see you in physics then," Matilda said with a wave. My man? I could feel panic rising in my chest as I struggled not to rip my hand from his.

"Are you okay," he asked, peering down at me with concern. "You look a little off today."

"I..think I left something on the bus," I lied and pulled away.

"Oh, alright. I'll wait for you here then." He smiled kindly as I turned my back and walked as calmly as I could back out the door. As soon as I was past the doors I broke into a run, putting as much distance between myself and that strange, false life as I could. I haven't looked back.

Everyone dreams, but your dreams are special. You found out years ago that your dreams never come true. Whatever your dream, it will never happen. This one particular night you had quite a few drinks, and when you fall asleep the world of dreams washes over you once again. You dream of your birth.