#my last piece of him w the planet rings made me realize how much i love him in pretty rainbow colors

[quirkle2]

where the fuck is he

[katerinawinters]

Predator: Huntress Alpha ch 8

"Is this…" she paused, looking around the narrow space in disbelief. "Is this your apartment?"

 Jarak looked from her and followed her line of sight around the cramped space, trying to see what she saw before nodding.

 "Jarak, it's so tiny!" she blew out an exasperated breath as she sat the fruit on a narrow counter jutting from the wall in an area that looked to be a small kitchenette. Turning back around to the hunter, she gave him a confused look. "You're way too big for a tiny apartment like this. Is rent high here or something?"

 Tilting his head in question, Jarak lifted his gauntlet and clacked the tips of his claws against the data-pad. Entranced, she watched him as he read the holographic information before closing it and lowering his arm.

 "I do not pay rent," he answered firmly.

 For a moment, Justice let the little scene playback in her head and remembered the backward lettering he pulled up from his gauntlet, with a slow spreading smile of realization, she fought back the urge to laugh. He had looked up the word rent.

 Pressing her lips together, she stifled her laughter to ask another question, but Jarak's eyes narrowed as he watched her closely, and he cut her off.

 "Yautja do not use money. We gain what is needed ourselves. We bring honor to our clan, and if I am worthy, the clan leader will decide what to bestow to me."

 Nodding, she walked toward the bed which dominated most of the back wall, save for the two doors on either side of it, the bed looked properly proportioned, at least. Although, she noted it was another black leather mattress. Pulling Larsa from the harness, Justice carefully put her on the bed.

 "So, does your leader not think you are worthy enough for a bigger room than this?" She asked, genuinely interested. Maybe this leader of Ojibwe was a real dick. She knew it was only a matter of time before she would need to meet the reigning yautja, and she wanted to know as much as she could about the hunter beforehand.

 Turning in place, Jarak watched her as she sat cautiously at the end of his bed and shook his head once at her question. "Rakkah is a worthy leader. He has shown respect to my victories. He has offered me much, but I need little. I have taken a ship as one of my bounty payments, that is all I require."

 Right now, she was positive she possessed more information about yautja than all the galaxies combined. Nodding once more, Justice glanced around the cramp quarters and reassessed. It was spartan, just like the hunter's ship. Besides the ridiculous amount of weapons lining the left wall, there was not one other piece of personality lying about like it was in her apartment back on LV594. Baby toys had been scattered across the living room floor. Dirty clothes, hers and Larsa's were sitting in a pile by the door ready to be taken to the laundry unit, and the single holo-photo of her and her sisters kept on a tiny piece of flimsy, all smiling and posing within their suits and guns, tucked under her pillow. All lost to her now.

 Running her fingers softly across the bottom of Larsa's soft foot, she looked up to the hunter. Whatever he saw shining back in her eyes made the hunter stiffen suddenly.

 "Stay here, I will return," without waiting for a reply Jarak turned and left through the only door.

 Justice waited until the door shut once more before finally standing. Taking off her backpack and pulling the gun's strap over her head, she sighed just as her stomach let out a deep growl. Walking over to the kitchenette, she surveyed the simplicity of it: a counter, a sink, and a glass refrigerator nearly tall as she was holding a huge rack of raw marbled meat inside.

 A meal of champions, she thought wryly.

 Washing off the fruit, Justice took a tentative bite and smirked at the tart flavor. Grabbing and washing three more, she began to walk the length of the apartment. Similar to his ship, the uneven black walls were covered in various striations and grooves, hiding a number of hidden compartments and interactive displays. Circling back around until she was at the bed, she stopped in front of one of the two doors. Pushing the data-panel, she was surprised at the spacious--of course, all black--bathroom beyond.

 Stepping into the bathroom, she was relieved to see that this one had a large blank space of wall next to the data-pad. Scrolling through the yautja lettering, she found the selection she wanted and tapped it. The portion of the wall next to her shimmered and rippled as if the metal had turned to water before blinking into a dark mirrored surface. Looking at herself in the floor to ceiling mirror, Justice sighed. Her clothes were filthy with dirt and grime, and her braids, which hung to her waist, faired no better. Picking one up, she was beginning to pick out some of the dirt trapped within the coiled braid when the door to the apartment swooshed open again.

 Stepping in holding two black leather sacks, Jarak walked towards the kitchenette counter.

 "The other human women have provided you this," he waved a hand brusquely to the bags and stepped back.

 Justice looked up at him in surprise. "There are other humans on your planet?"

 Well, there goes that theory of her being the first to have collected such rare yautja information, she thought sorely.

 "Yes, Rakkah's mate and Akur's," he replied as if she knew the mentioned hunters.

 Too tired to delve into the subject, she began to reach for the sack as he turned back toward the door.

 "Wait, you're leaving?"

 Pausing, the towering hunter did not turn around as he answered. "Yes."

 Justice felt a twinge of guilt as she looked around the tiny space. "I don't want to kick you out of your room--your very small room," she added with a smile as he turned to look at her directly. "To be honest. I kind of expected you to put me in some sort of holding cell."

 His eyes glimmered in the shadow of his pronounced brow ridge, and his fanged mouth beneath his mandibles moved slightly. "We have no holding cell," he informed her seriously. "Yautja do not take prisoners."

 "Right," she nodded, crossing her arms and leaning on the counter to her right. "Yeah, you just kill whoever you don't like or send the rest to your creepy science ones."

 Jarak didn't argue that.

 Not sure what else to say, Justice looked away. "Where are you going to sleep?"

 "I do not currently require sleep," Jarak responded, his naturally aggressive tone at odds with the simple statement.

 "But what if you did and you wanted to sleep? I have no problem sleeping on a couch…" she paused, looking around the empty place once more. The front of the apartment was suspiciously empty as if it were designed for seating, but she would bet her last credit that the hunter used the bit of open space to train in. "Ok, floor," she corrected.

 "No," his deep tone was final.

 "Fine," she said, throwing up her hands and turning back towards the bed to sit next to Larsa. "I'm not going to argue with you. If you want to go sleep in a tree or whatever, be my guest."

 As if completely satisfied with that option, Jarak turned back around and began walking to the door.

 "Wait, how do I contact you," she called out just as the door opened. "...if one of your brethren tries to come in here or something happens and I might need you," she explained. "I would like it to be said I at least attempted not to go with my natural inclination of shooting first."

 Slowly, Jarak turned his head until one eye caught her gaze over his shoulder. "No one would dare come into my space."

 Like all statements from the hunter, the words were simple, but the meaning was lethal. Letting her gaze drop past the red tips of his long dread-like spines, she observed the strong striation of muscles corded along his wide back, tapering down to his narrow waist. Justice remembered the way the hunter had slung the adult xenomorph by its tail with ridiculous ease as if it were the size of a cat, and she couldn't imagine too many people or even other yautja crossing Jarak and surviving.

 Opening his data-pad on his gauntlet once more, he turned around fully and stepped back towards her until he stood only a foot away. Holding out his hand, he gave her a waiting look.

 Justice cocked her head in a smile as she obediently laid her hand in his. "How did you know what my rings were for?"

 With a gentleness that seemed wholly strange on the humongous crab faced alien, Jarak carefully turned her hand over until her palm pressed against his. Justice could feel the rough ridges of his tough skin press against hers and marvel at the heat that radiated through it. For something with no discernable heat signature, he sure was hot to the touch, she thought. Again that made her think of the amazing sleep she had against the creature the other night.

 Touching one of the two white and silver rings she wore on each hand, Jarak activated her personal computer.

 "I am yautja," his voice growled out over her like a rumbling blanket made of storms and thunder. "There is little I do not know."

 Watching him type on the holographic keyboard her ring projected, Justice gave him an evil grin that caught his attention. "But you didn't know what rent was."

 Entering the data with a gruff growl, Jarak turned on his heel and left.

 Inside the sacks, Jarak had brought her was proof enough that a human lived on the planet: two thermos-like containers filled with still warm food, bottles of shampoo and soap, a pillow, and even a few baby things.

 Justice stared at a stuffed giraffe and turned it over in her hand in absent thought. Were the yautja purposely bringing human women with children back to their planet? And if so, why? It couldn't be torture, she thought as she looked at the hastily written note on a piece of flimsy that she found in the bag as well. Supposedly the woman, named Ember, was more than excited to meet her. Following the helpful instructions on the flimsy, she walked up to the wall near the kitchenette and activated the data-pad, and searched for what the note told her. With a push of a button, a drawer popped out of the wall to her right, and Justice smiled.

 A basin that is what yautja called their washing units. Shaking her head in a smile, she thought it was fitting. A washing machine was much too verbose for the towering Jarak to say. Basin in his deep guttural voice was much more appropriate.

 Stripping off all of her clothes until she stood completely nude, Justice stuffed her clothes into the drawer-unit and activated the washing cycle. Walking back to the bed, she grabbed one of the sacks in one hand and scooped up Larsa in her other arm. Settling the grunting baby onto the pillow on the bathroom floor, Justice fiddled with the controls on the shower until a black wall raised from the floor. Stopping just above her knee, the half wall turned the bottom of the large black shower into a tub. Pressing a few more commands, Justice filled the tub with water before stepping in with a deep groan. Sitting down, Justice was surprised at the spaciousness of the tub. It was deep and perfectly long enough for her, which was rare indeed.

 Closing her eyes for a few precious seconds, she was about to let her head lie back against the wall when Larsa began to fuss. Adjusting so that breasts were pressed against the bathtub's wall and her arms were folded on the rim, Justice stared down at her daughter.

 Catching her mother's eye, Larsa opened her tiny toothless mouth and let out an agitated sound. Justice rummaged in the bag with one wet hand and pulled out the soft giraffe. Making little noises, she knew Larsa enjoyed, Justice danced the doll over the baby and played with her from the rim of the tub, letting the sight of the little girl's gummy smile soothe her.

 "We're in a new place," she whispered as she kissed the giraffe's mouth against the side of Larsa's cheek. "We are surrounded by big scary-looking hunters, but it will be ok," she said, repeating the kiss on the other fat cheek. "Soon, mommy will meet their leader and hopefully talk him into letting us stay for a little bit."

 Playing with her until she was content to quietly look around on her on, Justice grabbed the large sea-sponge that was tucked in the bag and dipped it in the water. Water dripped and splashed as she raised each leg to the surface of the deep tub and ran the soft sponge over her legs. Her mind drifted back to LV549 and the "woolly woolies" in the primigenius. The large docile tusked mammoths were most likely safe but no doubt scared and lonely. For a year now, she had been working with the beast, studying their glowing tusk and their behaviors. Over time she had become attached to them. Their liquid black eyes staring at her with eternal patience as she fed them their favorite leafy treats while she performed her never-ending scans. Even Larsa had learned to enjoy the large beast, engaging them in a battle of stares that made Justice's eyes feel dry just thinking about it. Now her mammoths were bound for an early death on the infested planet. Before she fled the lab, Justice had made sure to call all her mammoths in from the outside enclosure and back into the lab before sealing it off. Inside they would have access to their daily reserves of water and food, but the supplies would run out, and the poor, gentle beast would starve--if they were lucky. Justice could only pray that the xenomorphs wouldn't sense the beast through the reinforced walls of the lab and work their way inside.

 Standing up in the now tepid water, Justice paused, looking around. There were no towels. Did yautja not dry themselves with towels? That made no sense. No one this advanced and this meticulous with their technology walks around soggy after each shower, she thought resolutely. As the water drained at her feet, she stood naked and braced one hand against the wall as she jabbed a finger at the control-screen in the shower, going through the options. Stopping at one foreign yautja word, Justice repeated it a few times in her head, searching for a translation. Gusting? After a second, her eyes widened in realization, and she smiled. Pressing the button, she stood back. Narrow vents opened up along the sides of the shower stall, and warm air began to blow through them.

 Dry, she stepped out of the shower stall and scooped up Larsa and her things. Changing, cleaning, and getting Larsa ready for sleep, Justice walked naked across the room and found the "gusting" option for her now clean clothes. Letting it run its cycle, she walked back towards the bed and sank down on the mattress, letting the cool leather press against her naked skin. Rummaging through the second bag, Justice grinned at the folded sheet tucked at the bottom and flipped out, spreading it partially over Larsa.

 Positioning her gun to the right of her, Justice stifled a yawn as she took a big gulp of the soup from the thermos. Fatigue was catching up to her. She needed to be rested for tomorrow because if for some reason things went south, she would need more than enough energy to fight her way off yet another planet crawling with aliens.

 by katerina winters

[capricornus-rex]

A Legacy Begun (2)

Chapter 2: The Wedding | Cal Kestis x Reader

Summary: After a long time of running and fighting, you and Cal decided to finally settle down after all these years to raise a family. However, it was never a life of peace whilst the shadow of the Empire looms over your heads.

Prompted by Anon: Hiya! Still taking any requests? If so, can you write something about Cal and JediReader finally settle down and have a kid or something.

A/N: Alexa play A Thousand Years by Christina Perri & Steve Kazee ;;;///w///;;;

Also posted in AO3

Additional prompt: My fic idea

Tags: Scruffy! Cal Kestis, Daddy! Cal Kestis, Adult! Cal Kestis, Jedi Family, Jedi Offspring, Force-Sensitive Offspring, Settling Down, Rebel Alliance

Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3 | Masterlist

2 of ?

Two days before the big day, Merrin woke up early—perhaps the earliest you’ve seen her up—and she told you to wash up and get dressed. She dragged you along to the town that sat on the valley, a trek away from where the Mantis sat in a forest clearing.

It is clear that she was excited for you and Cal, and wanted to be of help to you in time for your celebration.

“Have you ever attended a wedding, Merrin?”

“I can’t say I have, but that’s what makes me excited—I get to see one for the first time, and it’s yours, no less!”

Her enthusiasm was new to you, normally, when she’s curious about something—beyond the knowledge that she has from living in Dathomir—she would only inquire, question after question until her mind has been sated. But this display of hers was unique—there was a child-like glee in her as she tugged your hand in hers, leading you into the town with the objective of the perfect dress.

“Don’t the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers in Dathomir have a sort of union?”

“We’re not a celebratory kind, [y/n]. Once a Nightsister finds her mate in the Nightbrother village, that is that, apparently,”

“I see,”

The city, known as Reema, was a sizable settlement whose business districts and residential areas mingled together—as well as the peoples that resided there. It was a town abundant in textiles, exotic foods, as well as a sturdy, construction material whose raw state originates from a bluish-green mineral called Zakora found in the planet’s oceans and deeper reefs—giving the citizens’ homes a decorative, mosaic-like effect.

You made it clear that you want everything to be simple yet perfect. Merrin already understood that you were not one for grandeur. There was one street in the business district that had a whole row of stores that sold fabrics and pre-made clothes. Some of the shops had a dress or two displayed behind their glass window; but you two girls skipped most of them since they didn’t fit your taste or they priced the clothes unreasonably… or both.

“I think we’ve swept the entire street in search of your dress, [y/n],”

“It’s okay, there’s no need to rush. We can take a break if you like, Merrin,”

“Of course,” the Nightsister’s eyes trailed over your shoulder. “There’s some shade over there.”

“Perfect! Come on,” you take her hand and bring her along to the bench underneath a tree.

After taking a breather, you and Merrin agreed to have one last sweep before heading home. Hopefully by then, you would have found what to wear before heading back to the Mantis. The two girls walked together through the street, passing by the same shops but stopping to look at the ones you’ve skipped.

Merrin gave a slight tug of your hand when she stopped to see a dress hop that stood out from the rest.

“This looks promising,” the Nightsister commented.

“Come on, no harm in trying,” you added.

Perhaps, it might be the smallest atelier you’ve seen in this street. The person who greeted you was a young woman, you’re under the impression that she was an apprentice seamstress, but upon examining the studio, you realize that she worked alone.

She was startled by the sound of her door chimes ringing upon your entrance, she fumbled about on her work desk and she stomped through piles of fabric that pelted the floor.

“H-Hello,” she stammered shyly, embarrassed by the mess. It seemed that she wasn’t expecting any visitors.

“Hi there,” you warmly greeted.

Merrin looked around the place, “Do you work alone?”

“Yes, m-my name is Milana,”

“Hello, Milana, is it alright with you if we take a look around your shop?”

“Please, by all means, miss,”

You flashed a friendly smile as you thanked her, she managed to repay the gesture and awkwardly leaned against the edge of her worktable. She constantly fiddled with a strip of cut fabric, anxiously watching these two ladies who just entered her shop. The young girl’s head was racked with questions that she answered herself in her mind.

“For what occasion, may I ask?”

“A wedding,” Merrin answered, then bobbed her head to you. “For her.”

The young lady’s eyes lit up, suddenly enthused, and she tried to break out of her awkward demeanor.

“Oh! I have a section specifically for that,” she chirped. “Please, follow me here.”

Her studio had another room, neater and less cluttered than the main space, two racks hugged the walls and another work desk sat by the window of the room—but a dress on the works occupied the table instead of drawings and sketches. She helped you out in deciding the designs by asking you what kind of style you wanted.

“Just something simple, Milana, please. I don’t want to go through puffy skirts and wide sleeves anymore!” you joked.

The young designer had an array of dresses that nearly fitted your taste—pertaining to your preference of straight skirts, slim sleeves, and minimalist designs.

Eventually, after scouring every dress she has out in the racks, Milana spotted you pulling out a particular white dress—its transparent neckline gave the illusion that white leaves, sown and expertly shaped with beads, crawled up to a lady’s bosom, though it lacked sleeves; and the skirt is made out of billowy tulle. You instantly fell in love with it.

“May I?” you smiled.

“Oh, of course, miss!”

Merrin helped you in fastening the back of the dress, minutes later, you come out of the fitting room—which was only a nook covered by drapes—and the two girls gasped upon your appearance. You walked up to the front of the mirror, turning around to get a look of yourself in different angles, you even attempted to do a little twirl so the skirt flared.

“Aww [y/n],” Merrin fawned.

“This is it!” you giggled.

“It’s perfect, Miss [y/n]! Simply immaculate!”

When you announced in the studio room that you’re taking it, the young designer ran towards a closet that sat beside the mirror. She pulled out one of the drawers and produced a small box.

“Originally, when I made that dress, it had to go with this,” she flipped the lid open, revealing a silver headpiece. The designer explains that it should be worn on the back of the head and no particular hairstyle is required for it to be securely worn on the bride’s hair.

While Milana explained, Merrin already knew what to do with your hair on the wedding day. Milana also provided a selection of shoes for you, admitting that you were used to boots for most of your life, you decided to play it safe and chose the cream-colored heels that were only two inches high.

You couldn’t thank the young designer enough, you insisted paying a little extra for her help and she had no other choice but to accept—although she did it with great gratitude and bade well wishes to you for your wedding.

—–

Today’s the day.

You wake up with a rapid heartbeat and clammy palms.

The wedding happens in the afternoon, Cal had found the perfect spot where the ceremony will be held. It was customary that bride and groom don’t meet on the day itself, thus, both of you slept in separate rooms—you slept in the same bunker as Merrin and Cere last night while Cal remained in the original quarters.

For the rest of the day, Merrin and Cere delivered food and drink to you and would allow you to go around the ship—granted that Cal was absent in the Mantis—and this went on until three hours prior to the ceremony.

“How are you feeling, [y/n]?” Cere asked, placing her hand on your shoulder.

“Nervous,” you awkwardly chuckled.

Cal had already got himself cleaned, his red hair slicked back while his growing stubble remained undisturbed, and donned his crisp black ensemble piece by piece: starting off with a long-sleeved tunic over a short, black leather vest, and finishing it off with black pants and boots.

“How do I look, BD?”

“Beee! Trill, chirp!”

“Yeah? Thanks, buddy,” he chuckled. “Well, here goes.”

He marched out of his quarters, passing by the bathroom door and heard the water running, he heard you humming and giggling in between the song. He smiled to himself and imagined what you’d look like when you come marching towards him.

You finished washing yourself, returned to the shared room and Merrin delivered your entire outfit. The Nightsister assisted you once again in fitting the dress, only now did you realize that the dressed emphasized your curves, you put the shoes on while seated and she began working on your hair. Merrin’s slender fingers created an elaborate braid that crowned the back of your head, she secretly used a little bit of her magick to make sultry waves on the remaining length of your hair, and for the finishing touch, the crown of silver leaves nestled above the braid. You also splurged on some makeup for this day: you drew winged lines on your eyelids, painted your lips to a soft pink, and brushed your cheeks with powder and blush.

“There, you’re ready,” Cere cooed, examining you from head to toe and resting her fingers underneath your chin.

Merrin stood by Cere’s side to take a look at you as well, she smiled, triumphant and proud of her masterpiece on the bride.

“You’re so beautiful, [y/n], the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen,” the Nightsister fawned.

"Thank you so much," you squeaked, grateful of the help you've received from the two ladies.

“We’ll see you there, okay?”

“Okay, Cere,” you breathed.

They embraced you and kissed your cheek one by one before leaving the room. Five minutes later, you finally walk out of the ship. Your bouquet of flowers rested on the lounge table. The entry ramp was left open and you take the deepest breath you’ve ever taken in your life.

“Here it goes, [y/n],”

You take the first step out of the ship, you were so nervous at the moment that you could feel your footing unstable—even though you practiced walking on the ramp with the shoes on for a whole day—but you managed to get to flat ground. You were surprised to find one of the male partisans back in Kashyyyk. It was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one. He was to deliver you to the aisle, to your husband-to-be.

“Cere said it was a surprise,” the partisan added.

You gripped your bouquet and continued your march with the partisan guiding you, following the path showered with flower petals of all colors.

Cal stood by the lake, awaiting for your entrance; Merrin, BD-1, Greez, and the rest of the witnesses stood at the side of the path waiting for you as well. When a splash of white caught Cal’s eye, and you appeared in the arch that the trees formed, he almost stopped breathing. His heart leapt at the sight of you—dressed like a demure goddess, the length of your hair spilled over your shoulders, and your face naturally glowed with the sunset as you smiled while walking the aisle.

“Wow…” he gasped.

Cal found you more beautiful than the sunset behind him. Your eyes spanned across the lake’s clearing and found some familiar faces like Mari Kosan and a few partisans you’ve personally befriended. In the gradually shrinking distance, you and Cal traded shy smiles. It felt like your legs were moving on their own, but you didn’t resist them. You knew that you were walking into a newfound life to share with the man you love.

His tears instantly welled up and he had little to no time to fight them back, and then his heart pounded faster and faster for every step you took. You finally stood a mere inch away from him. He bit his lip as he smiled, you caressed his cheek and then a single teardrop escaped his eye.

“Darling…” you whispered, running your thumb across his cheek to wipe away the tear.

He offered you his arm and you linked it with yours. The both of you turned to face Cere who presided the ceremony.

“Here I stand before two individuals, whose bond was forged, grown, and then strengthened by time and by the Force. They have willed to nurture that bond through this ceremony of marriage and for the times to come,”

Cal couldn’t help but steal a glance at you, the gesture was returned when you turned to smile back at him as Cere stated her opening remarks.

“May the words of their vows express their unbreakable connection that run as deep as the Force itself.” She cued.

The bride and groom faced each other.

Cal reached for your hand and you willingly took it as he recited his vows.

“Lo, behold my Maiden, for she will cast away my fears that reside in the Dark. She is my torch that will lead me away from the shadows of doubt, to whom I will forever hold on to. To you, [y/n], my beloved wife, I commend my heart, life, and soul—all this as the Force wills it.”

Next, you reached for his free hand to which he gladly took as you said your vows.

“Lo, behold my Knight, for he will combat the haunts of the Dark. My shield to conceal me from the evils, to whom I will always find shelter in thy arms. To you, Cal, my husband, I commend my life, heart, and my soul—all this as the Force wills it.”

Finally, Cere took a step back and ignited what used to be Trilla’s lightsaber—instead of a bright red beam, a blade as white as bleach emerged from the hilt—and she instructed both of you to kneel.

“By the will of the Force, I dub thee, [y/n] Kestis—wife of Cal Kestis.” She hovered the saber above your shoulders and then concluded her dubbing by hovering the blade over your head.

She then repeats the gesture when it was Cal’s turn, “By the will of the Force, I dub thee, Cal Kestis—husband of [y/n] Kestis. All this as the Force wills it, and so shall it be for your joined days until the end.”

After her oration, you and your husband stood up.

“You may kiss the bride.” Cere declared.

Cal cupped your cheeks, pulled you in for the sweetest, most tender kiss of your life, his stubble tickled your face but you didn’t care; you wrapped your arms around his neck, pressing your lips against him as you smiled in between kisses, and applause and cheers filled the forest. When he pulled away, your new husband snuck another kiss on the tip of your nose, warranting a tiny chuckle from you.

“I love you,” he whispered to you.

“I love you too,”

The wedding was immediately followed by a banquet celebration courtesy of Greez. The Lateron really cooked up a storm when he served the slow-cooked Nerf roast to the table, a Jogan berry cheesecake, and Phillak steaks. Pouring two glasses of wine, the newlyweds linked arms with glasses in their hands.

“Bottoms up!” you and Cal said in unison as you drank the wine from each other’s glasses, chugging down the slightly strong liquor and fighting off the bitter taste.

Your guests laughed and applauded once both of you finished your wine. Evening had washed over Cerinda, the moonlight’s reflection rippled in the lake and fireflies dotted the space like starlight while you and Cal perform your first dance as husband and wife.

“To the newlyweds!” Mari Kosan proposed a toast, raising her glass and everyone followed suit.

They lightly tapped their glasses, urging the two of you to kiss, Cal was the first to cave in. When he spun you in his hand, he pulled you in closer to him so that his lips meet yours once more. Applause filled your ears once again, both of you could feel each other smiling in the middle of the kiss.

Your fingers raked his hair and then your hand trailed to his jaw, the prickly hairs of his stubble brushed roughly against your nails.

“This is the best day of my life,” Cal cooed.

“Here’s to forever?”

“Forever and ever, my wife, until the galaxy ends.”

[dadolorian]

Just like me - Part 3

A/N: Here it is, part 3, i hope this makes up for their little split in p2  Credits: Thank you @oloreaa​ for being my Beta reader/editor !

Title: Just Like me Fandom: Prospect (2018) Ship: Ezra/Reader Warning: More talk of injuries/mental issues as a result. Word count: 6K + KILL ME Master List Request status AO3 Link Previous part Next part - coming soon

It was a good year and a half later when you landed back on central next. Almost two years since you had met Ezra originally. Simultaneously feeling like a lifetime had passed and feeling like you had just seen him yesterday.

True to your word, you had taken the next job you could, taking a standard contract to mine a newly discovered mineral deposit on a sulfur heavy moon for scientific research. It was a decent enough pay once you handed in your harvest to the research team. It didn’t provide you the rush that Aurelac harvesting did, though. It was the kind of job that was a ‘safe bet’, not a gamble, like it was on the Green. You might have waited for something more exciting, but you had wanted to leave central as soon as possible after you had said your goodbyes to Ezra. Wanting to push the memory of him away as quickly as you could. Stupidly believing that out of sight meant out of mind. You followed that job up with another on the same planet, harvesting a highly conductive metal similar to gold, it was used in electronics. It was not the most dazzling payload you had ever collected, nothing exciting or too complicated like the Aurelac, it was backbreaking and tiring, but it filled your pockets well. Despite it being the busiest job you had ever been on, constantly surrounded by the other harvesters on the teams or the research scientists, it was the loneliest you had ever felt on the job.The loss of Ezra’s companionship screamed loudest at you during that time, much to your annoyance. You had taken the job to distract yourself from him, not lament even more.  As you laid in the crowded communal bunk, surrounded by people, physically closer to more people than you ever had been in your entire life, but more alone than ever. Ezra had made you feel like the only other person in the entire galaxy when you spoke, that feeling had not faded due to distance or time. What was once something that made you feel special, important, the center of the entire universe, now made you feel isolated and lost, forgotten, with no Ezra around, feeling like you were the only other person in the universe suddenly became soul crushing. You longed to see him more than all the points in the galaxy, you dreamt about losing yourself in a conversation with him once more, of becoming bewitched in his sparkling dark eyes and alluring, crooked smile. Oh to simply have him curled up beside you on your bunk, not even speaking, just there. You did not slowly start to forget about him as you had originally feared you would.

The return to Central was significantly different this time around, your days aboard the ship home made you more resentful of your past self, as you wandered the halls the two of you used to explore. You couldn’t bear to spend extended time in your quarters, that was where you had enjoyed his company the most, choosing to be in there only for sleep. The departure was much quicker than the last time, you pushed yourself through the busy crowd gathered in the ships entrance foyer to get out as quickly as possible. While the weather was nothing to note when you had last departed, this time it was raining, and dark, well into the night. The ship had landed much later than scheduled due to a passing meteor shower which only dampened your mood further. You had not once stopped thinking about him, you had been convinced you would get over him eventually, you often scolded yourself for how much you yearned for him, the two of you were never anything more than friends but you longed for him the way you imagined you would have a lover. It was like he was your other half, and now a piece of you was missing, ironic for two people who had both physically lost parts of themselves. Returning to the place you had last seen him did nothing to change those feelings. You pushed it away once more, cowardly retreating away from your feelings once again when given the opportunity to make things right. You knew he had to be somewhere on the planet, huddled up in a little home with Cee, you hoped so at least. He was ready to put so much work into becoming her guardian, it would be a huge disappointment if he had been unsuccessful. It would be so easy, to just go grab a phone and call, you knew the number by heart now. You would often trade your books for new ones on a job but you refused to part ways with the one Ezra gave you, even if the messy scrawl was etched into your brain forever. It was the only reminder you had of him, the only proof that he had ever actually existed in your life. You were never able to separate from it, no matter how much you had wanted to push his memory away. You passed the payphones, considering it for the briefest of moments before the call of the job listing board won out to you. Calling him meant confronting the emotions you were trying to bury, and facing your fear. ‘Coward,’ Ezra's voice echoed in your mind, the same thought that you heard every time you considered reaching out. You were terrified of what he would say if you ever saw him again. Shaking those thoughts out of your head, you made your way over to the flickering, beat up screen displaying all the departures, groaning as you went through them all. The next sling out for your company was more than a month away, meaning you had two options, stick around and take a break, or change to a different company. If you changed, you would forgo your 2nd class lodgings and ship, you didn’t have a hush deal with anyone else, so you would have to rent a pod just like every other prospector, your own quarters and ship was a luxury you did not want to pass up. You didn’t even have the chance to use your own ship for the last job, it seemed like a waste to not use it. You groaned loudly in annoyance, running your hands through your hair as you relented that you would have to wait for the time being, last time you never had the opportunity to revel in the spoils of your harvest. 

You supposed this time you could, maybe that would be a better distraction. You trudged out of the arrivals and departures terminal you were in, past the wall of payphones again, hesitating for just a moment before pushing on, through the rain to walk to the strip where you knew there would be hotels. You didn’t bother with a cab, the strip wasn’t that far away and you were cheap, you could walk the distance. Your tired body protested however, the long boring trip after months of backbreaking work, mixed with the rain and delay in arrival, it all wore you down, the emotional baggage you were carrying certainly didn’t help much either. A walk that should have taken you five minutes tops once you left the space port took you close to twenty. The light rain turned into a downpour. It couldn’t get any worse.  

Of course, when someone says ‘it can’t get any way worse’ the universe always seems to prove them wrong. And it seemed the ‘merciful’ universe was conspiring against you, because as you arrived on the hotel strip you were angered to find two were locked, no one bothered to come to the door no matter how many times you rung the service bell, one was shut for construction, another two were out of rooms and the last had a rather snooty desk clerk who decided, just by looking at you, that you couldn't afford their luxuries and you were promptly shooed away. You gave him a piece of your mind as you were escorted away, angrily flipping the clerk off as security escorted you out. This was the industrial district, not a place where high end clients tended to stay. You almost cried as you walked the streets alone, too tired to try and find a new place on foot or even formulate a plan. You were all but ready to collapse in a bus stop or under a bridge, ready to admit defeat and sleep anywhere that was dry when a buzzing light caught the corner of your eye. A singular, beat up old payphone. His number flashed in your head again. You were all but ready to push the temptation away until you realized you were already inside and dialing. Perhaps you were just a little too tired and desperate to stop. Your stubbornness vanishes in hopes for a dry, warm place to sleep. You held your breath in anticipation and dread, a potent mix of emotions swirled through your mind as you waited for it to either ring off or for him to answer. You weren’t sure which one you wanted more. “Hmm? Who the fuck is calling me so god damn early in the morning?” a familiar, tired voice groaned. Your breath hitched. “I swear you telemarketers never understand people need to sleep, I have to wake up early tomorrow- today I imagine for wor-” “Ezra” You whispered, voice barely there, interrupting his tired rambling. “A-Angel?” He gasped, sounding considerably more awake and alert. The two of you listened in silence, him waiting for your response, you struggling to talk. “Y-yeah, it's me,” you sighed, eventually breaking the silence, curling in on yourself to protect yourself from the cold and his reaction. “W-well not that I'm not happy to hear from you, because I am, exceedingly so, but what the matter? Why are you calling?” he asked cautiously, hopefully. “I-uh, I landed back in central like an hour ago...” you whimpered just a bit “I have nowhere else to go. No Hotels and no ride...” You heard some quick shuffling on his end, it sounded like fabric, sheets maybe? He was getting dressed, your tired mind eventually concluded. “Where are you? I’m on my way,” he said. Nerves and panic overcame you for a moment, suddenly faced with the realization that you would see him, as much as you wanted too, you were too scared to face the reality of being confronted by him again. “N-no, there's no need for that,” you stammered. “I shouldn’t have bothered you, I'm sorry I woke you-” “Don’t hang up!” he begged, pleading. It reminded you of the last night you saw him. Guilt stabbed you in the stomach and twisted.  “Please, it's no trouble at all….. I’m not letting you sleep out there all alone, in this rain nonetheless. I am begging you, please let me help you out of this situation. I just want to make sure you're safe, so please, where are you?” You hesitated, biting your lip and listened to his deep, calming breaths before telling him your current location, tiredly reading dim, fluttering neon signs to help him figure out your exact position. He sounded pleased as he was getting ready to race out the door, apparently you weren’t too far from his home. He had to hang up as he headed out, begging you not to go anywhere before he galloped out his door. Once you were greeted with the dial tone once more you hung up the phone and sunk down slowly to the floor of the payphone, too tired to keep standing and soaked to the core as you waited for him. You weren’t sure how much time had passed, but you had almost fallen asleep, shivering in the cold when soft knocking on the glass roused you. There he stood, on the other side of the glass, drenched to high heavens, goofy, crooked grin you had missed so much, he greeted you with a wave of his one arm. He opened the door with a struggle, you shivered more as the cold night air hit you, and he helped you to your feet. “Easy, Angel, let's get you out this cold and into something dry,” he said, taking your bag from you and leading you in the apparent direction of his home, with his arm securely around you. His hand kept caressing you as you walked, and he constantly glanced at you as if checking you were really there. It was a good thing he lived so close, because apparently he didn’t have a vehicle. You supposed that made sense, driving with one arm would be difficult. He helped you walk all the way there, encouraging you to walk just a bit further each time you sagged tiredly. Before too long you were pulled into his small apartment, too tired to take it in and ready to collapse once more, on the floor if you had to, soaking wet or not. “Angel, I'm going to run the shower for you,” he said, setting your bag down. “I know you’re tired, but you are soaked to the bone. So let's get you warm and dry, hm?” he suggested leading you gently into an equally small bathroom. He ran the shower for you before going off to collect some dry clothes and a towel. “Here, get yourself all warmed up, you can wear these, your bag’s just as soaked as you are I am afraid, it doesn’t fare well for any of your spare clothes,” he said, handing them over to you. Grey sweats and a plain black t-shirt, they were his. “I’ll make the couch up , and you can take my bed.” You began to tiredly protest, mumbling an insistence that you would take the couch, but he wouldn’t allow that. Instructing you to get yourself warm and dry before you got sick. The only reason you relented, apart from being too tired to put up a decent argument, was because he wasn’t going to shower and warm himself up until you were done. Getting him sick wouldn’t help your guilt. Once you were finished in the bathroom, dressed in the spare clothes of his you walked out, half dead, he led you to the bed, helping your groggy mind remove your prosthetic, he placed a towel under it and leant it against the wall upside down. It was something you had never told him to do, but he had most likely noticed you doing it after every shower, back on your return from the Green. A gentle hand tucked you in, hushed whispers to you of how happy he was to see you again as he placed a soft kiss to your forehead and wished you sweet dreams. You weren’t sure how much your tired mind was conjuring it up, but you felt him caress your cheek tenderly before finally leaving. You were quick to drift off, the smell of him surrounding you and the sound of the shower running relaxing you and letting you finally succumb to sleep. 

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Happy chatter and a boisterous laugh awoke you the next morning. Alarmed, you sat up quickly trying to figure out just where you were. The room was unfamiliar, a bed with worn, plain sheets, a dresser partially opened with unfolded clothes spilling out, your prosthetic leaning against the wall. The bedside table and the dresser had multiple novels piled on top of them, but otherwise the room lacked any other personal touches that might have helped your sleep delayed brain. You were alone, and in clothes that weren't yours. Thoroughly confused, you were about to panic, before the smell hit you, a familiar masculine smell you had not forgotten, even after such a long time. A smell you associated with safety, books and a singular warm arm embracing you. Ezra. That’s right, you had called him out of desperation last night. You listened to the voices in the next room, you recognised them as both Cee And Ezra. They were laughing together, you couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but they were happy, relaxed. You sat in silence, trying to figure out what to do. There was that stubborn side of you that wanted to run, to double down on the stupid belief that you had kept since you last saw him, simply because you were too prideful and afraid to admit to yourself that you were wrong. But realistically, you knew you could run anymore, you were in his bed, you would have to face him and accept the truth: that you had fucked up, that cutting him off had not made anything easier, that you had been miserable for the past year and a half, even though you had ended your friendship with him to avoid that happening. ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ you thought to yourself as you heard what sounded like the front door close, and the muffle conversation ended. A few seconds later a gentle knock rapped at the door, Ezra cautiously poked his head into the room. A smile spread on his face when he saw you sitting up and awake. “Angel!” he praised, allowing himself to enter the room. He sat himself on the edge of the bed and took one of your hands in his, stroking your knuckles softly. “I have just made some breakfast for the Little bird, there's still plenty left, would you like some?” he asked, the familiar charming smile that you had missed so much still plastered on his face. You sighed and nodded, giving a timid smile back, put your leg on and quietly followed him out into the main living area, still holding his hand as he led you to your seat at the kitchen counter. Now actually awake you took note of the space. It was small, nothing fancy, just the basics in terms of furniture. A very small lounge area right by the front door, the kitchen directly to the right, with a small island and bar,. A similar sized table and matching chairs stood by the windows, and three doors in the little ‘hallway’ by the kitchen, the bathroom, Ezra's room and what you would assume was Cee's room. The only personal touches around the place was a mess of papers and more piles of books, just like in his room. You were too busy looking to realize Ezra had been speaking as he cooked up some breakfast, it was pancakes. “-And Birdie’s hoping to apply for a literary scholarship, she has the aspiration to become an author, surprise surprise. I instructed her that she has to dedicate at least one of her books to me, and that I intended to get her first copy, signed, mind you.” You managed to catch the end of what he was saying as he finished serving up your breakfast, putting the plate in front of where you were sitting at the little counter bar. He leaned onto the counter opposite you with a smile, allowing you to dig in. You ate in silence, appreciating just how much better the food was compared to the ship you had just gotten off. You were steeling yourself for the conversation that was coming, tension hanging in the air. “I missed you,” he eventually said after you had been sitting silently for too long. You didn’t know what to say, as usual, so you just kept on eating awkwardly, not looking at him. Mentally scolding yourself, ignoring your issues had proven to be ineffective, why do you bother keeping it up? “Please don’t tell me you already regret calling me Angel?”  He sighed at your lack of response, brushing some of your messy bed hair from your face so he could see your eyes better.  You shook your head. “N-no, I just don’t know what to say. I’m not like you Ezra. I can’t just..say how I really feel.” Frustrated with yourself, you looked down at your lap. “Did you miss me?” he asked, voice a mixture of hope and nerves. You sighed loudly, did he really think you didn’t? “Of course I did, Ezra,” you whispered, looking up and meeting his gaze. “I have found myself unable to stop thinking about you Angel,” he confessed, rubbing the back of his neck and turning away from your gaze. “Nothing I have done has quelled the longing in my heart for your company. I am happy, with this new life I have built with my Little Bird, but I must concede that I have not been successful in my endeavors to find a friendship that meant half as much as yours did to me.” Yet again you were at a loss for words, tears welled up in your eyes and you bit back a sob.  “Angel?” he asked, concern thick in his voice when you let out the chocked sound and the dam inside you broke, the tidal wave of emotions crashing through you that had been pent up inside you for the past year and a half. He was quick to round the counter and pull you off your seat and into his embrace, soothing you with gentle strokes to your back.  “Easy, Angel, easy,” he soothed. “Tell me what is upsetting you so?”  You shook your head, unable to articulate yourself the way he seemed to do so with ease.  “Are you upset about seeing me again?” he tried, you shook your head no again. “N-no, I’m happy to see you again, Ezra, really,” you mumbled into his shirt as you continued to cry.  “But these are not happy tears, Angel,“ he pointed out, cupping your face gently and directing your gaze to his. He brushed a tear away with his thumb. “You are not crying because you are happy to see me. Which perturbs me. I beg of you to tell me what’s wrong?”  “I’m just…” you trailed off trying to find the words, he was looking at you with such patience and support, silently encouraging you to continue. How could you have ever pushed him away? How could you hurt him like that? You did not deserve his kindness, his care, and yet, after pushing him away for no other reason than stubbornness and pride he still, still dropped everything to come help you out, even in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. You wanted to confess every thought, every regret for what you had done, proclaim to him how wrong you had been and that you were an idiot for not listening to him. But those words were trapped, all you could manage was a quiet whisper of “I’m sorry.” His body slumped as he let out a breath you didn’t notice he had been holding. His soft smile grew as he shook his head and pulled you in a tight embrace again.  He placed a soft kiss on the crown of your head. ”And here i thought something was wrong,” he sighed, gently nuzzling the top of your head with his cheek. “I forgive you, of course I forgive you,” he murmured, not letting you go.  He was just too good to you. “You were right,” your voice tight and eyes filled with more tears that threatened to spill. Your fingers gripped the material of his shirt tightly. ”I-I was just being stubborn and there was no reason to cut you out. How can you even look at me? All it did was hurt me more and I let it happen. I hurt you, Ezra.”  He kissed the crown of your head once more. “That you did,” he began,“But I forgive you anyway, Angel. You did not do it out of malice or rancor. I cannot blame you for a misguided belief that you were protecting yourself, as much as your actions pained me, not when you have accepted your faults and have come to amend them.”  “B-but I didn’t,” you admitted in shame, burying your face in his chest. “I had multiple opportunities to call you before last night, I passed them all up until my circumstances changed and I became desperate. I was actively trying to avoid seeing you again until I ran out of options.”  “Such a stubborn woman,” he murmured, rocking you ever so gently in his embrace. “I truly do not care about any of that now, Angel. All that matters is that I was gifted the pleasure of seeing you again. That you did eventually decide to grace my life with your presence once more." Ezra beamed at you, before continuing, "I have sorely missed your company and I am simply too overjoyed about your return to me to even entertain thoughts about anything else." He paused, shifting slightly. "Just please tell me, now that you are here that you will not leave me once more?”  Your arms cautiously wrapped around his middle. “I’ll have to go back to work eventually,” you muttered. “Not like that Angel, you know what i mean,” he said, cupping your face again so you could meet his gaze. “Tell me you won’t cut me out again,” he said, brow stern and eyes searching yours, searching for a truthful response. 

Your lip trembled.”I won’t,” you whispered, voice quiet but resolve clear. “Okay, good,” he sighed, releasing his gentle hold on your face. “Then that is all that matters. We can put the past behind us and continue on.”  “Just like that?” you asked, struggling to accept he was willing to forget everything that went wrong.  “Do you want to sit down and talk about it?” He asked. “I am more than willing to, if that's what you wish Angel.”  “M-maybe not right now,” you sigh, not quite ready to resolve all that emotional baggage just yet.  “When you’re ready, then,” he said, soft encouragement in his voice, kissing your forehead and releasing his hold on you. “Come, let's get you sorted. Your belongings are still soaked, we can get them all washed and dried,” he hummed, trying to cheer you up.  “I can do it at the hotel, when I find one,” you said, not wanting to trouble him.  “H-hotel?” he asked, “I hope I do not come across as too selfish but I would very much like you to stay here. If you’re receptive to that idea?”  “This is your home Ezra” you pointed out. “I don’t want to invade.”  “Nonsense, you are more than welcome. I know it’s not fancy like some of the hotels you can stay at, so I understand if you would choose one over my humble little apartment, but in all honesty I was hoping you would stay, if only for a short while.”  “What about Cee? This is her home too,” you pointed out, brows furrowed in worry. “I spoke to Birdie this morning before she left for school. She is more than happy to have you stay as well,” he said, folding up the blankets still thrown on the couch as best he could. “I made sure of that. I would never invite someone to stay if she was uncomfortable with the idea.”  “I don’t want to trouble you any further-” you started. “It’s no trouble, please Angel,” he said, cutting you off. “I am asking because I want to, and I am not ready to say goodbye to you yet, even if it is just for a few hours.You can even take my room-” “Keeva no, Ezra,” you sighed. “I’ll stay, alright. I don’t want to say goodbye just yet either, but I am not going to make you sleep on the couch in your own home.”  “I am quite alright with it Angel,” he said.  “Yeah right,” you scoffed. I can tell just by looking at that thing you don’t fit on it properly. I’m smaller, I'll actually fit on it. And that’s final,” you said poking him in the chest. He was about to protest again, ready to insist  but you interrupted him before he had a chance to voice himself. ”If you do not accept me sleeping on the couch I will go find a hotel,” you said, tone stern as you crossed your arms, challenging him to continue.  He sighed, giving up. Reluctantly letting you take the couch so you would stay. 

It felt good to have him back in your life, helping you once more, and you him, there was still a little tension between the two of you which you would have to talk about eventually, later, as you had agreed. For the time being, it was just nice to have him back. He helped you with all your wet clothes in his apartment buildings tiny laundry room, the two of you sitting opposite the running machines on the scuffed ground side by side as you waited, catching up. Absence had done nothing to wear at the connection you shared. He told you of the difficult process of becoming Cee’s legal guardian, the hoops he had to jump through. The desperate search for a stable job and apartment so he could provide for her. You felt another pang of guilt, having abandoned him in such a difficult time, but he assured you he felt no ill will. He now had 2 jobs, one meaneal labour job that wasn’t so difficult he couldn’t do it with one arm, and another at the spaceport you had just departed from, he was essentially a security guard. It was basic work, he had told you, nothing he took particular pride or passion in, just something to pay the bills and provide for Cee until she went to college. He confessed just how much he missed prospecting, he chased that thrill of a good harvest just as you did. He begged you to tell him tales of your last exploit back out into the stars. “Sorry Ezra, my last job was far from a thrilling adventure” you huffed, amused. “No gems or exciting digs. Just backbreaking labour to mine some standard ore, and help a research team dig up a newly discovered mineral.” “Angel, that sounds more than stimulating to me,” he said with a grin, stupid puppy dog eyes sparkling at you in hopes of a tale. “Tell me,” he urged excitedly, puppy dog eyes sparkling at you that you couldn’t resist. You sighed. “I don’t think I've ever been on a job so physically demanding. Nothing like the drops down to the Green. It was this huge team led by the researchers,” you explained, eyes cast down in thought as you tried to remember details. “It was… lonely,” you admitted casting your gaze down. “There was a potential for a pharmaceutical use for the mineral, it was difficult to collect, and fragile, so they hired big teams to collect as much as possible. Huge professional gig so everything was provided, and we got paid by the day as well as bonuses if we managed to collect more than the minimum requirement.” He whistled at that in awe. “Damn Angel, that sounds like that meant one hell of a payload when you were done then.” You hummed in agreement. “Yeah, not going to lie, it was a little boring compared to Aurelac harvesting, and difficult, but it was more than a decent pay,” you huffed in amusement before continuing. “The next one was basic, just, mining for ore. Standard kinda job, not one of the thrill seekers things either.” “We all get those kinds of jobs every now and then,” he nodded, leaning back and closing his eyes. You could imagine him reliving the memories of his former life behind those closed lids.  Playfully nudging his shoulder to get his attention, you grinned at him when he brought his wistful eyes to meet yours. “You’ll be back there, soon enough,” you encouraged. A sad smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I truly want that to happen, Angel,” he sighed, tearing his gaze away to stare off at the opposite wall. “I must confide that I have begun to fear my severed arm has proven to be far too arduous to deal with certain tasks. I have taught myself to become ambidextrous in my writing but there are things I have discovered are too… difficult to accomplish now that I am without part of myself.” You listened to his concern with an understanding smile before leaning against him, resting your cheek on his shoulder, looking up into his sorrowful eyes that were staring into the distance. “Do you remember when I told you it gets easier?” you asked, barely above a whisper, he glanced at you before nodding slightly, sighing as he did so. “I meant it,” you continued. “It will get easier Ezra, when you get a prosthetic, well then, the world better watch out.” You took his hand in both of yours, giving it an encouraging squeeze and smiling at him. “What if I can't?” he asked, brows furrowed in worry , giving away a hidden fear. “What if I do not bounce back? And I stay this broken shell of my former self?” You rolled your eyes, he was the dramatic sort sometimes. “Ezra, look at me,” you whispered as he tore his gaze away again, you cupped his face lightly to bring it back to you.  You weren't one to initiate physical affection from him, but his absence had made you crave it so much during your time apart, that you were willing to throw a little caution to the wind.   “You’re not some ‘shell’-” you started, cut off when huffed and rolled his own eyes, not agreeing with you. ”Hey now, I never knew you before this,” you gestured to his missing arm with one hand. ”I didn’t know Ezra before, I only know this Ezra." To underline that, you poked him in the chest with a single finger. "And I like this Ezra.” You playfully flicked his forehead afterwards, laughing as he pouted at you. “Don’t pout at me like that, mister,” you snickered as he rubbed his forehead. “Look, ok, I don't think you're this shell, in fact, I wish I could express just how amazing I think you are, Ezra,” you started again, shy smile on your face. “But I know how you’re feeling, I’ve been there too, remember? I’m just like you. So if you’re having any self deprecating thoughts because you’re an amputee, then I'm afraid I will have to take that as a personal offence, because if you’re less of a man for losing your arm, then by that logic, I’m less of a woman for losing my leg.” Raising your chin at him, you stared him in the eyes, challenge written in your face. He looked at you, aghast, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. “Angel, I would never think that way of you-” “Good, then you can’t think that way about yourself either. It’s not allowed,” you said sternly, not allowing him any room to argue. “You lost an arm, so what? It’s a part of your life now and you just have to deal with it.“  He queried his brow at you.  “I think I prefer your gentle consolations over this,” he mumbled, making you snort with laughter.  “Sometimes, it helps to have a dose of reality. Recovery is a long process and it can’t always be soft encouragement. Sometimes it’s better to give you a shove than to hold your hand,” you said, letting go of his hand to empathize the point. “I like when you hold my hand, Angel,” he whispered, hand reaching to take yours back but hesitated. “Makes me feel safer than I have felt in a long time,” he said, you weren't sure if he was talking metaphorically or not, but either way it made your stomach flip.   “Well,” you began, feeling a little flushed over his innocent little comment, voice pitched for a moment as you composed yourself. “You need a shove right now, but I hope me standing at the sidelines shouting that you can do it is a good enough substitute.”  “So long as you are there Angel, it's more than enough,” he smiled, resting his hand on your knee instead. The machines in front of you finally finished their cycles, bringing the two of you two back to reality. You smiled and patted his shoulder before getting up off the floor so you could remove the clothes from the machines.

You couldn’t remember being so happy since the last good day the two of you had spent together. He helped you hang up your clothes on a small drying frame in his apartment, he playfully waggled his eyebrows at you as he hung up your underwear, to which you were mortified and threw a wet sock at his smug face as he cracked up.

He had called in sick from work that morning, you later found out, so he could spend the whole day with you. You sat with him on his couch, chatting with him as if the two of you had never been separated. Cee returned home late afternoon, it warmed your heart to watch Ezra get up and greet her with a small hug and ask her about her day, offering her help with any homework she had. She said hi to you, a soft smile on her face as she made her way to her room to do her homework, refusing Ezras offer of help.

She emerged again close to dinner time, Ezra having ordered takeout to ‘celebrate’ your return. You were left alone together as Ezra went to collect your meals at the apartment gate. “It’s uh, really nice to see you again,” Cee said to fill in the slightly tense silence. The two of you never had a meaningful conversation with each other, accepting that the other just came with having Ezra in your life. “It’s nice to see you again too,” you said truthfully, giving her a soft smile. She shook her head, “no, i mean, yeah. It is nice to see you but I meant, I’m happy your back. Da- Ezra has been kinda mopey, since he last saw you. He’s happy again, is what I was trying to say. He’s missed you.” “I’ve missed him too,” you said, charmed that she cared so much for her adoptive father's happiness. “He hasn’t shut up about you you know?” she said rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly as she revealed something Ezra probably wouldn’t want her telling you. “He kept asking me what he could have done differently, or wondering what you were up to, he was really worried about you, not knowing where you were.” You felt a pang of guilt hit your chest. “I didn’t mean to hurt him Cee, I hope you know that.” “Yeah, I do,” she sighed. “ I wasn’t happy to see him so upset, but no one was angry at you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, he’s happy now and you’re back together again.” “Together?” you balked. “W-we’re not together, just… friends. That’s all we are, friends,” you clarified feeling flustered and your face heating up. Cee snorted. “You’re just like him I swear-” she laughed , shaking her head as the front door opened and Ezra returned, brown paper bag in hand, declaring dinner was served with a cheerful tone. You didn’t have a chance to ask Cee what she meant, distracting yourself from your slightly flustered mind by helping Ezra serve and carry everything over to the couch where the two of you sat. Cee sitting adjacent from you on the floor, a content smile on her face as she watched Ezra happily chat with you while the three of you ate your meals.

TAG LIST @oloreaa​ @chaotic-noceur

[bisexualsforprompto]

Guilt and Love Chapter 4

“So demon spawn whos this soulmate we’ve heard so much about?” Teased Jason at dinner. “None of your business Todd.” Damian replied curtly. Dick started to crack up, “He-he has Ladybug on one wrist! And a French girl on another!” Jason almost spat out his steak, “Two soulmates?! Damnnnn. When’d you get so smooth?” Damian rolled his eyes. “Well, not really smooth if one is an insect!” Dick continued chuckling. Jason joined his laughter while Tim stifled a laugh. Bruce decided his son probably had enough ridicule, “That’s enough boys.”

“Fineee.” Jason snickered until he was able to calm himself down. Damian picked at his food, something didn’t sit right with that blonde kid and he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He was barely paying attention to his family’s antics. He also couldn’t stop thinking about the Ladybug on his wrist. Some kind of superhero maybe? Damian stood up from his seat at the table and began to walk down to the batcave. “Where are you going?” Tim asked. “I need to research a certain blonde heathen.”

Turns out the blonde heathen was a model named Adrien Agreste, son of the famous designer Gabriel. Damian researched him for hours on end without avail. He recognized the presence of everyone who walked down to the batcave and when they realized he wouldn’t leave the computer he recognized their departure too. Damian couldn’t find anything all that helpful so he switched gears to look for superheroes named Ladybug. He didn’t expect to find anything but oddly enough there were thousands of hits, he clicked on the first site, a video clip.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news! Nadja Chamack reporting live on the akuma Queen Wasp. Here are our heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir on the scene once again!” “Ladybug”...Marinette had also mentioned her Damian realized. She’d also mentioned Chat Noir, but as if he did something wrong… He quickly changed gears and searched Chat Noir. The post from the Ladyblog came up.

As of 2:27pm this Thursday Ladybug has confirmed that Chat Noir is no longer coming to fight akumas. Did our dynamic duo have a falling out? Stay tuned! Alya, Ladyblogger out!

‘Interesting’, Damian thought. ‘Marinette called that kid Chat. Maybe there is a correlation.’

“Damian it’s three am.” Dick said as he walked over to the boy at the computer. “And?” Damian asked, eyes still glued on the screen. “And don’t you want to be well-rested for your little coffee date tomorrow?” Damian narrowed his eyes at his brother, “How did you know about that?” Dick punched Damian in the arm playfully, “Hah you’re not denying it’s a date. And I may have overheard…” Damian scowled, “Overheard or eavesdropped?” “Who can say really?” Damian growled, “I can’t believe you.”

“Don’t change the subject. Come on you have to sleep.” Damian rolled his eyes, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” He continued scrolling trying to learn about Chat Noir and Ladybug. “Hey that’s my line!” Tim said as he rushed into the room with coffee in hand. “First Grayson now Drake, you just keep multiplying.” Dick picked Damian up much to his chagrin, but he was too tired and Dick was far too much bigger than him so he squirmed until he realized he wasn’t going to win this battle. Dick threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and carried him to his room.

Dick threw his adopted brother on his bed, “Stay.” “Not a dog Grayson!” Dick chuckled, that statement was the last thing to come out of Damian’s mouth before he drifted to sleep.

Damian woke up to the sound of his phone ringing, it was 8:30am, he should’ve woken up awhile ago. He answered the phone groggily, not checking the caller ID. “Yes?!”

“Oh my gosh! I’m sorry did I wake you up?!” Asked a panicked girl with a heavy French accent on the other end. “Marinette? No, no sorry. What were you calling about.” He perked up a little. “I was just calling to see when you wanted to go for coffee.” Damian winced when he remembered the time, “Maybe make that brunch. How about 10?” Damian could practically see Marinette’s grin over the phone in her answer, “Sounds amazing! Where would you like to meet?” Damian was a little groggy but he still wanted to treat Marinette well, as she should be treated, “Can I have the address of your hotel? I can pick you up and take you somewhere. Maybe give a small tour of Gotham since you haven’t been here before.” He wasn’t nervous for her response, no way. He wasn’t afraid she was going to yell at him for asking for the place she was staying, absolutely not. It was ridiculous to imply such a thing.

“Sounds perfect! I’ll send you where I’m staying!” Marinette exclaimed. Damian let out some breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Perfect, I’ll be there at 10 sharp.”

~~~~~~~

Marinette brushed her hair once more for good measure. “Can you imagine Tikki?! He’s so chivalrous, he’s picking me up!” She sighed dreamily as Tikki giggled. “I hope you enjoy the date Marinette, you deserve it!” Marinette grinned as she took her purse and walked out of her room.

~~~~~~~

“Oh Marinette where are you going?” Asked Lila with a sickening sweetness. “None of your business Lila.” Lila faked sniffling and Marinette turned around, prepared to tell her off but then saw her surrounded by the whole French class. They were not happy, even Adrien who was normally impartial. “Are you going off with that Wayne kid?” Adrien asked stone faced. “So what if I am?” Marinette asked her ex partner. He ran after her and dug his nails into her skin, “Don’t leave. He’s bad news.” Marinette struggled, “Let go of me Adrien!”

“You heard the lady.” Said a voice causing Adrien to jump back. There in full glory stood Red Hood, Nightwing, and Red Robin. “W-what are you doing here?!” Squeaked the model. The class gawked at the heroes before them. Dick wanted to say they were here to check on their newest member of the family, but he figured Damian would not appreciate them giving away their identities. “That’s not important, but what is important is not touching a girl when she says no. And what’s important is not just standing by and letting it happen!” Jason, the hothead he was, yelled at the class. The class fled tails between their legs out of the lobby.

Marinette smiled, “Thank you. That was much appreciated! So I’m guessing Robin told you I’m his soulmate…” Marinette was a little surprised, Robin had seemed so...Not like the others. If he teammates were kind maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. “Wait, wait you met Robin?” Marinette gave them a confused look, “Uh yes…” Nightwing stood in shock, “Do you know his identity?” Marinette shook her head, “Of course not. Believe me I know how important secret identities are.” Nightwing stood in a stupor just like his brothers, this meant she had two names on her wrist like Damian. ‘Could this mean Marinette was Lad-‘ Nightwing’s head started to pound. ‘What was I thinking about? I can’t remember.’

Damian walked into the lobby of the Wayne hotel, when he saw his brothers in costume talking to Marinette he immediately regretted telling them where she was staying. Damian gave them the death stare as Marinette skipped up to him. Nightwing gave him a look, it said ‘I need to tell you something.’ Damian nodded at the silent communication and headed out with Marinette.

~~~~~~~

“So Damian I need to tell you something.” Marinette fidgeted with her fork not looking her soulmate in the eyes. She felt so bad that she hadn’t immediately told him that she had two soulmates. A loud ringing made Damian fall out of their engrossed conversation. He checked his phone and almost gasped, “I’m sorry, Marinette but I really have to go. To be continued?” Marinette nodded, although she was enjoying his company she was nervous to tell him about her second soulmate. “I’m going to call my butler to pick you up.”

“B-butler?!” Marinette exclaimed. Damian gave her an odd look, “Uh yeah…” The pieces started to click in Marinette’s mind. She hid her face in her hands, “Oh my god you’re that Damian Wayne!” She banged her head on the table. Damian almost chuckled, although it was refreshing to know his soulmate was sweet to him without knowing he was rich. “I’m going to have to take the car I drove you in, but Alfred will be around soon. Let’s do this again soon Marinette, if you’re available, of course.” Damian said shyly. Marinette nodded as she stifled a blush. ‘She’s kind of adorable’ Damian mused as he left the café. He checked his notification from his father once more, it simply read “Killer Croc”. Damn it why couldn’t Damian just live in a normal city?!

~~~~~~~

Croc wasn’t all that difficult, especially not with him, his father and all his ‘brothers’ there to help. What was difficult was explaining to his brothers that he never met Marinette as Robin.

“I’m telling you Grayson, the only time I’ve ever seen Marinette was as Damian.” He protested. “But baby bird, if that’s true that means your soulmate was lying about meeting Robin!” Dick said, millions of warning signals going off in his head. Damian shook his head, “Or it means she met somebody she thinks was Robin. Drake pull up the security footage from Marinette’s hotel, specifically last night.”

Tim pulled up the feed and Damian scowled, oh how heads were going to roll...

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[araxiis]

Not Like Our Own- Kuzupeko

Fluff, very very brief angst

Words: 1523

A/N: I needed some concerned partner Fuyuhiko in my life, hope you enjoy :)

Read on Wattpad

~

It had been 5 years since the destruction of the neo-world program. The first year was spent almost entirely waiting for the "dead" to wake up, and caring for them when they did. After everyone was awake and recovering, however, the class made the peculiar decision to stay on the island, as they were not thrilled to see the carnage left behind by their broken halves. Besides, it's not like they all had much to go back to.

Peko was one of the last to wake up, just over a year after the final trial. From the moment she opened her eyes, her and Fuyuhiko were inseparable. He was by her side every step of her recovery, and she loved it. On the island, they were free to love each other. No rules, no boundaries, no penalties of death. They rarely went anywhere without the other, moving into the same cabin almost immediately after Peko woke up. Of course, there was no escaping the leers and comments of their classmates, but surprisingly, they didn't mind. For the first time in their lives, they were able to freely share their love for one another, publically and privately. It was just the two of them, and it would stay that way.

Or at least, that's what they thought.

Peko carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and placed her hands on her knees. Fuyuhiko had left a while earlier to eat breakfast with the others, and she had told him she would be there shortly. She didn't tell him why, though, simply saying she had 'something to take care of'. Fuyuhiko didn't mind. He was happier than he'd ever been, and trusted his girlfriend with every fiber of his being. Peko mindlessly stared at the wall, head dizzy with thoughts. She was snapped out of her daze by the sound of the cottage door creeping open.

"Peko? You okay?" Fuyuhiko stuck his head through the door, his voice echoing through their small home. He saw Peko in the center of the room and quickly made his way to her side, leaving the door to fall shut behind him. Peko's gaze never left the wall, but she responded with a slight nod.

"You never showed up at breakfast, I just wanted to make sure everything's alright..." Fuyuhiko said, placing his hand on the small of her back. Peko sighed. She knew she had to tell him.

"Fuyuhiko-" she began.

This concerned her partner even more, purely because of how out of the ordinary it was. Even at their most intimate, Peko had a tendency to refer to him as her 'young master'. It was a little weird sometimes. He turned so his upper body was facing her, and placed his hand over hers. Peko laced her fingers through his and took a sharp breath through her nose.

"Fuyuhiko, I'm pregnant." Her eyes never left the wall.

"I- you- wh-" Fuyuhiko stuttered, shocked. "You're-" he trailed off.

Peko nodded once, slowly. "Holy shit," he practically yelled. "Holy fucking shit, Peko! This is-"

He cut off again when he saw Peko's expression. Her eyes were closed, and there was a steady stream of tears running down either side of her face. Fuyuhiko was stunned. Even at her lowest, he had never seen Peko quite like this. He moved closer and wrapped both of his arms around her shoulders protectively. "Hey," he said gently. "What are you thinking?"

Peko shuddered. "I- I never had a mother. Or a father, or a real family of my own. It's not a stretch to say that I had a rather abnormal upbringing and.. I d- don't know the first thing about being a mother," she wrapped her arms around her still-flat abdomen. "I'm scared, Fuyuhiko."

Peko's voice broke when she said his name, and her body began to shake. Her vision was dizzy with fear. Thoughts and what-ifs spiraling and pulling her deeper into the darkest depths of her mind. She felt as though she were falling. Falling forever, into empty space...

Fuyuhiko tucked his hand under Peko's chin and kissed her sweetly, breaking her out of her trance. He wiped the tears off her face and smiled at her, his good eye filled with pure love. He took both of her hands in his.

"Peko, I understand. I mean, you've met my parents, and they're both goddamn pieces of work, to say the least. 'Cause of them, I promised myself that if I ever had a kid, I would be the best fucking dad on the planet. And you," he gently touched her face, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Are the strongest, smartest, most beautiful woman there ever damn was. Hell, this kid couldn't ask for a better mother if it wanted to. I know you're scared, and hell, I am too, but I swear to God, I'll be with you every single step of the way," Gently, he laid his hand over Peko's stomach. "Given all the shit we've been through together, I think we can handle it."

He looked up at Peko. She was still staring at the wall, but her eyes had softened, and she had the smallest trace of a smile playing on her lips. Fuyuhiko kissed her again, and this time she responded, melting into the arms of the man she was in love with.

When they broke apart, Fuyihiko grinned at her. "Peko, we're gonna be parents." He curled his arm around her waist and rested his hand back on her stomach. She placed her hand on top of his, and the two smiled at each other, giddy and love drunk and completely terrified. After a moment, Fuyuhiko broke the silence.

"Well, I guess this is as good a time as any."

He got up and stood in front of Peko, who's eyes widened in confusion. The confusion turned to pure shock as she watched him get down on one knee and pull a small box out of his pocket.

"I shoulda done this a long time ago," Fuyuhiko began, his face flushed pink. "But it never felt like the right time. I wanted it to be perfect. For you."

Peko covered her mouth with one hand, the other still resting on her stomach. She felt herself beginning to cry again as Fuyuhiko continued.

"This feels right. You want our little one to have a real family, yeah?"

Peko nodded silently.

"So let's do it. Let's be a real fucking family," Fuyuhiko grinned as he opened the box to reveal a small, simple, gold ring.

"You, me..." his eyes flickered down to where Peko's hand rested. "And our baby." Quickly, he leaned forward and softly kissed Peko's stomach. He stood slowly, and cupped his hands around her face.

"I love you, Peko. So fucking much. Will you marry me?"

Peko was stunned. The life she had dreamed of for so long was suddenly, finally, falling into place. She blinked through her tears to look at Fuyuhiko, and in his eye she saw her future. Their future. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She panicked slightly, knowing she had to find a way to respond before Fuyuhiko got the wrong idea.

In a rather out-of-character gesture, Peko grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his lips toward hers. He submitted happily, dropping the ring box on the floor behind him and tangling his hands in her hair. They fell backwards onto the bed, Fuyuhiko being extra careful not to put any of his weight on her stomach. Their kiss was passionate, hungry, longing, anything but gentle. They had done this countless times before (obviously), but this was... different. This was more than just an expression of love, or a precursor to something more intimate. It was more of a reassurance. A confirmation of their commitment to one another. Peko had never verbally answered Fuyuhiko's question, but that was okay. He had every answer he ever needed.

She was lying in his arms.

He pushed himself off her (gently) to retrieve the ring box from the floor. He slid the band onto Peko's finger, and was relieved to see that it fit. The two embraced each other as closely as they could. They had no idea how they could get married and raise a child on the island, but hell, it didn't matter. They were the happiest they'd ever been.

Fuyuhiko gazed lovingly at Peko, his now-fianceé and the mother of his child, and wondered how the fuck he got so lucky. Suddenly, he was hit with a realization.

"Shit, Peko, you never got breakfast," he said, standing up from the bed. Peko laughed quietly.

"I suppose you're right," she smiled.

"Well, c'mon then," Fuyuhiko continued. "You're eatin' for two now."

As she stood up, he looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Giggling, she gave him a gentle kiss on the nose.

"Let's go tell everyone the news."

[ramheavenandhell]

Rick and Morty Forever and One Hundred Years – Chapter 3: Coming over for Dinner

Warnings: still keeping the Rick/Morty slow burn going, also some dissing Jerry (but who likes him anyway?) Summary: High school AU in which Rick and Morty are not related, but classmates in the same grade. Rick is the super popular kid in school. Morty is the kid that no one wants anything to do with. So how did they end up becoming friends? And is it actually a good or a bad thing that they are? However, the most important question is, could they maybe be more?

Rick and Morty Forever and One Hundred Years – Chapter 3: Coming over for Dinner They were still inside the garage and Morty was still wandering around with a big trash bag in his hand, filling it with the empty beer cans that were strewn all over the floor. By now he had his emotions back under control and Rick had probably also calmed down again – or, at least, Morty hoped that he did. It was hard to tell with the other being so silent and busy tinkering with his portal gun. He looked over to the teen who was leaning over his workbench and staring down as the pulled apart gadget while also double-checking with his blueprints to search for the mistake. "Hey, Rick." Morty started. "Why don't you just let the portal gun be for now and work on something else instead? I mean, what about the space car. Don't you want to finish that one first?" The brunet's eyes drifted to the piece of machinery that was the leftover of a car that Rick had picked up from some scrapyard. This one had been already in the garage long before Morty had even met Rick and was one of his longest lasting projects yet. The first time that he had seen the car, which's model couldn't really be identified anymore, he had thought that it maybe was a DeLorean and Rick was trying to build a time machine. As Morty had told the other his thoughts though, he had commented, "This isn't "Back to the Future", Morty!" Rick didn't really see the point in building a time machine – though, he said that he probably could, if he really wanted to – and revealed that he was actually planning to convert this piece of scrap metal into a space cruiser. While a time machine would have been cool, Morty also realized that time travel came with all sorts of risks. Travelling through space – while also considered dangerous – sounded exciting, too, and the brunet had actually started to look forward to the completion of the space ship…uh, car. "I would continue to build the cruiser, but I started with the portal gun and had hoped to complete it so I can get the materials that I would need for the car easier." Rick began to explain. "You know, that I can't just use any material for it, right Morty? It would need to endure really high temperatures for the start but also for returning into the planet's atmosphere and I also don't want to have to build a new one after every landing, so it also needs to withstand the impact of that. But in truth that isn't even the biggest problem that I have. I mean, I know how to get those materials. At this point it just takes a lot of time and money…" He sighed deeply and threw the screwdriver that he held in his hand hard on the work surface before he turned in his swivel chair around to Morty. "You do know how NASA is sending their rockets into space, right Morty?" The boy nodded at that, having watched quite a few launches on TV or videos of it on the internet. "The method that they're using is just is-it-it's archaic!" The blue-haired teen sounded offended. "And do you know how long it takes for them to get to mars, Morty? It's taking them around 7 years! Seven long fucking years, Morty!! And that is when they time it with mars being in its closest position to earth. Mars! A directly neighboring planet!!" Rick stood up from his chair and began to walk around as he began to wildly gesture with his hands. To anyone, he would have looked like a madman now and would probably freak people out, but Morty was already used to his best friends antics and was only mildly worried. "You know, Morty, when I go out ther-to—into space, I don't plan to hang around on just a planet in the-the-the neighborhood. I want to be able to travel through our solar system and get to the next one over in no more than a single day." Rick continued and his eyes looked as if he was currently not in the garage but with his thoughts far, far away. "So the crucial thing that I need for the space cruiser is a new fuel. One that hasn't been invented on earth yet, that-that no human had even thought about yet!" He suddenly stopped pacing and looked at the ground. "But I'm afraid that there might not even be materials on earth that I could use to create such super fuel… So maybe, I need to focus on something else that allows me to travel off-planet—or, no! Even further than that! Maybe something li-like—that allows me to create a rip in space and time so that I can go to different dimensions…?" "Holy crap! How late is it?!" Morty's sudden yell completely ripped Rick out of his current train of thoughts. "What? Why do you need to know?" "'Cause I need to g-go—get home a-a-as soon as school's out, so my parents won't know that I skipped again. I-I-I'm still grounded, too, o-or have you forgotten that?" The brunet turned into full-on panic mode as his eyes fell on the clock that hung on the wall. "W-wa-wait! What if the principal called my parents again? I-I-I'm sure he called them again since I was skipping classes!!" "Calm down, Morty. I fixed the phone and also rigged Vag's mobile. His call went through the call divert earlier and I reprogrammed the AI to imitate your dad, so chill out. Here, take a—listen to that." With those words, Rick pulled out his mobile and dialed a number. He put it on speaker and held it up so Morty could listen with no problem as well. After a few rings, the receiver picked up and a voice that sounded like his father suddenly spoke. "Hello? Jerry Smith here. Who is calling?" "Hi. Am I talking to Morty's dad?" Rick asked. "Yes, I'm Morty's father. Jerry Smith. And I looove sucking biiiig, sweaty boners and licking disgusting, furry testicle sacks." Came the natural-sounding reply. Rick laughed loudly and hung up again. "See?" "That doesn't really sound like my dad! I mean, it's his voice but he would never talk like that!" Morty protested with a frown. "What? I think that this totally sounds like him." Rick argued back. "How can you say that, Rick? You haven't even met my dad yet." "Yeah, not in person…" the other drawled off. What was that supposed to mean? Could it actually be that Rick had…? Morty got a bad feeling as a certain suspicion was dawning on him. It couldn't really be that Rick had installed cameras and microphones in his house, or could it? Why would his best friend do something like that? And when should he have done that? Rick had never actually been over to his house…other than that one time when Summer had thrown a party on that weekend when their parents were gone, much to Morty's dismay who had to help cleaning the mess up again to avoid them both getting into trouble. However, it was impossible to think that his best friend had wandered through the house and planted this stuff without anyone else noticing. Also, he was pretty damn sure that his best friend had been too busy partying. No, it was impossible to think that Rick had bugged his house somehow. While it was technically possible for him to do something like that, it made no sense. Rick couldn't have done that! Morty hastily shook his head to get rid of his paranoid thoughts. "Anyways. When did you even do that?" "Last night, after we came back from watching the meteor shower." Last night? When had Rick slept then when he had been doing all that stuff last night? "I know that I messed up that one time. Even though that usually never happens. But I rectified it and I sure as hell won't make the same mistake twice, so stop looking at me like that, Morty!" The brunet shook his head again. "Still, I need to get home really quick or I get in more trouble than I already am!" "What can your parents actually do to you at this point? Lock you up in the basement that you don't have?" Rick joked. The humor was lost on the yellow-shirted boy and even if his friend might have a point, he still frowned deeply at the other. "Okay, okay. I'll give you a lift." Rick said and went to grab their helmets. The prospect of getting a quick ride home finally calmed Morty down and he accepted the helmet with a small smile on his face. Sometimes Rick was really a great friend…even though Rick was the reason why he was in all this trouble to begin with.

The drive towards Morty's home was a silent but not an uncomfortable one. "Rick? Please drop me off here. I'll walk the rest home." Morty suddenly spoke up when they were just a few streets away from his house. Rick stopped his vehicle as requested, but asked. "What? Why? I can drive you to your front door. This isn't like last night when you snuck out." "It's so my parents don't see you. I'm not supposed to hang out with you anymore." The brunet took off the helmet and stood up from the motorbike. "They think that you're a bad influence on me." Rick scoffed at that after he had also slipped his helmet off. "As if." However, his face said the opposite as if he knew exactly that he was not good for Morty. That being around the innocent boy was tainting him and Rick would eventually destroy him because he was toxic… "Hey! How about I ask my parents to invite you over for dinner on weekend or something, so that they can see that you're not so bad?" Morty tried to lighten the mood with this ingenious offer. "What good would that do?" Rick didn't see the point. "I doubt that your parents are going to agree to that." At Morty's crestfallen expression, he quickly added, "But if they're okay with it, sure. I'll show up." The brunet smiled brightly at that answer and maybe it was just a trick of the light, but it looked like Rick was blushing. "Great! I'll ask my parents and let you know when to come over. I'm sure when they see what a good guy you are, they'll let me hang out with you again. I'll still be grounded though, but at least you can come over to visit me or something." Rick looked a bit skeptical and if Morty was honest, he wasn't quite so convinced either. He knew that Rick wasn't really such a good guy – he was sometimes, but that was it. This would only work if Rick presented himself from his best side. But surely, he would manage to do that for one evening, wouldn't he? Well, Morty hoped at least that he would. He bid his best friend goodbye and hurried home, careful to get his timing right so to not arise suspicion. Apparently, that didn't matter though because shortly after he entered, his dad called him over into the parlor. Both of his parents were sitting on the couch and watching TV and they were miraculously not arguing with each other. "Morty? Have you hung out with your friend Rick again today?" Jerry asked skeptically. The question made Morty nervous. Did Rick's invention fail again and the principal had called even if his friend claimed that it worked perfectly earlier? Deciding that this might just be a trick question to make him confess something that they didn't know about, the brunet put on his best poker face and answered. "Well, we're in almost all the same classes, so I can't really avoid him at school, Dad." Jerry still bore with his eyes into him as if he was trying to poke hole in his son's logic. "He's got a point, Jerry." Beth spoke up. "We can't make Morty avoid his friend at school. That's ridiculous." "Sorry, that I don't want our son to hang out with that hooligan and end up becoming a criminal." The older brunet fired back. "Rick isn't a hooligan!" Morty protested before his mother even had the chance to reply something. Having his parents' eyes completely focused on him again made nervousness flare up in his gut once more, but now that he had their attention, he needed to pull through. "He-he really isn't such a bad guy. And you can't judge him because you don't know him. You've never even met him, Dad." "Well, I can't see how that's going to change." Jerry protested back. This was the perfect prompt that Morty had been waiting for. "Then how about we invite him over for dinner on weekend?" Beth was the one who was quicker to answer now. "Oh, that's a great idea, Sweetie! It would be nice to meet your friend Rick in person for once." "Beth!" Jerry protested and looked anything but happy at the prospect of inviting a potential criminal inside his house. "Oh, c'mon, Jerry. Morty had never a friend over at our house. And this also a good chance to see with who our son is hanging out with." She tried to give her husband an encouraging smile. Jerry only sighed and gave in. "Fine." Morty was glad that his parents had actually accepted his idea. And all of that without even breaking out into one of their big arguments like so often, which usually ended in both of them ignoring their son completely and leaving the issue that he brought up unresolved. "Great! I'll tell Rick! Uh, tomorrow at school!" He quickly caught himself on that one. If he let them knew that he got a new phone from Rick, they would immediately confiscate it again. After he hurried up to his room, he immediately texted his best friend the good news. The response he got didn't sound as enthusiastic as he felt right now, but it was good enough. Rick promised him that he would show up. Okay. Fine. I'll come over for dinner then.

On Saturday evening, Morty was so nervous and excited that he wasn't even sure that he could eat dinner without throwing up. Honestly, he felt like he might barf right now. He constantly glanced at the clock. Rick was supposed to be here any moment now and he hoped that he wouldn't give his parents a bad first impression by being late – because his parents didn't care if it was "fashionable" or not. Morty paced through the parlor and was driving his sister, who was sitting on the couch and trying to watch TV, almost insane. "God, Morty, calm down. This is just Rick who's coming over and not your girlfriend or something like that." The notion of a girlfriend threw Morty so out of his loop that he stumbled over his feet. Luckily, he still caught himself before crashing head first into the couch table. He didn't need another scar on his head or Rick making fun of him for it again. Before Morty could comment on what his sister just said, he was interrupted by the sound of a familiar engine roaring right in front of their house. It was Rick! Forgetting everything else, he stormed to the front door and swung it open to greet his friend. Rick just got off his motorcycle and pulled the helmet off, then ran a hand through his spiky hair to fix it, before he ventured over the brunet who was waiting for him like a puppy that had waited for his owner to come home. Morty noticed that the other hadn't bothered with dressing up. He wore basically the same blue t-shirt and khakis that he wore every other day. It made Morty feel a little silly, since he had actually pulled out one of his better dress shirts – a yellow button up shirt with the top two buttons undone – for the occasion. Thankfully, he had decided to stick to his simple jeans, or he would have felt completely overdressed now. "Hey." The other greeted him casually as he finally reached the front door. "Hi, Rick. C-come in." Morty invited overeagerly. "What's with the outfit? You're having a date after this dinner thing?" Rick snickered a little. A blush immediately worked itself up on Morty's face. God, he did feel overdressed now! "U-uh, no. Ju-just thought since you see me ina-in my plain boring t-shirt ea-every day that I could wear sum-something different for yo—for once." He quickly caught himself at the end there. "Looks good on you." Rick commented as he obediently followed the other teen into the parlor. "Tha-thanks, Rick." Morty stuttered to the obvious compliment and turned a tiny bit redder. No one had ever complimented him on his looks before… "Hey, Rick." The redhead that was still lazing on the couch greeted casually. Rick took a seat right next to her and they fist bumped. "Hey, Sum-Sum. What's up?" "Nothing much right now." Obviously, Summer and Rick already knew each other from school. While Morty's sister was usually someone who fawned about all the hot guys in school, Rick had been an exception to the rule. Or, maybe she had had a small crush on him and was over it already. Whatever the case, since he was one of the popular kids, she tried to stay in his good favors and they could probably consider each other as friends. At least they were cool with each other. It was at least one thing that Morty didn't need to worry about. His entire worries were focused on how his parents would think of Rick. "Wasn't there supposed to be dinner?" Rick asked, but looked like he already made himself feel at home in front of the TV. "My mo-mom and dad are still in the kitchen, but it should be done pretty soon." Morty hastily explained. "I-I-I should probably check up on them and see if they need any help." Without waiting for a response, he already made a beeline straight for the mentioned room. Both of his parents were indeed still standing at the stove and adding some last spices to the food – or rather discussing if and what spices should be added to it. In all truth, the sight of his mother cooking was such a rare one. Usually she was too busy with work and when she did cook something, it was always something microwaved or warmed up frozen food. Cooking wasn't her strength, but thankfully his father was pretty decent at it. This made Morty occasionally wonder if it was the reason why his mother had actually married him, so she wouldn't need to worry about that anymore. "I'm telling you, there needs to be more salt in the sauce." Beth argued. "Believe me, Beth, there doesn't. The roast is already plenty salted, so if you add anymore to the sauce, it would be too much." Jerry argued back. "Yeah, but if you eat the sauce together just with the potatoes and vegetables, it tastes too stale." "No one eats it that way!" "Um—" Morty dared interrupting his parents who were already salty enough from their discussion that no spice would be needed for dinner anymore. "R-Rick's here." "Where is he right now?" His father asked, not looking happy about the news at all. "H-he-he's in the den. Watching TV with Summer." Morty quickly added the last part before his dad would come down on him for leaving his friend unattended in their house. "This is great, Sweetie. Dinner is almost ready." Beth smiled, though it did look a little forced. "Be a darling and set up the table, will you?" "S-sure." The small brunet went over to the cupboard and got out the plates. "And be careful not to drop the plates." The blonde added in a chastising tone. She acted as if he let plates drop every day or something. Which was of course not the case! Even if he was a little clumsy sometimes, he wasn't a little kid!! "I won't drop them, okay?" He replied in a slightly annoyed voice. However, just after he said that, the tableware almost slipped from his fingers. He barely managed to catch the dishes again before they crashed on the floor. …that was a close one. Deciding to be a bit more careful and acting as if that hadn't just happened, he proceeded with setting up the table. After all the tableware and the food was placed and everyone was called to the table and seated, Rick was the one who began with the conversation. "I knew from Morty that you are a very intelligent woman, but he never mentioned that you are such a beauty, too, Beth." He directed at the blonde. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't even ask if first name basis is okay with you. I can call you Mrs. S. if you prefer that." "It's okay. You can call me Beth, Rick." Morty's mother giggled, obviously flattered by the compliment. Jerry looked horrified between his wife and the guest, not believing that this was happening. "Hmm. The food's delicious. Did you cook it?" Rick asked after he took a first bite. "I'm the one, who cooked it." Jerry interrupted rudely. "It was a combined effort." Beth said and threw her husband a warning glare for that. "Well, I can certainly taste your love in it, Beth." The blonde giggled again. "Oh, you." Morty swallowed nervously as he could feel the tension rising in the air around him like thunderclouds that were gathering overhead. Just what was Rick doing? It was nice that he got along with his mother, but his dad was throwing glances at his best friend that could potentially kill. "Hey, Morty. Could you please hand me the salt?" Rick suddenly asked. Morty's mother threw another glance over at her husband as she said. "I'm sorry, Rick, that the sauce is a little stale. I wanted to add some more salt to it, but someone else wouldn't let me." The yellow-shirted teen's mouth dropped and he stared in disbelieve at his best friend, who only grinned. Had Rick somehow overheard that conversation in the kitchen and did this purposely? But how could he have overheard that? Summer would have surely caught him if he would have gotten up from the couch to eavesdrop on them. Again, Morty felt paranoia settle in as he had the suspicion that Rick might have planted microphones inside the house. While he had no reason to do that, he certainly had the means… Despite the bad feeling in his stomach, the brunet followed the request and passed him the saltshaker. "Thanks." For a moment, there was silence around the table and only the typical noises that accompanied the devouring of a meal could be heard before Jerry finally decided to land his first strike against their guest. "So, Rick. I've been wondering what you have actually planned for your future? With skipping school all the time, the goals can't be really that high, right?" "What the hell, Jerry?" Beth hissed. "Dad?!" Even Morty was shocked at that direct approach of his father. "That's a low blow, Dad." Summer, who had been silent until now, threw in. "Nah, it's okay." Rick assured the people, who were clearly on his side here. "I know that I'm not attending school very often, but that's because I think it's stupid. As for what I'm planning to do in the future, I'll be a scientist. In fact, I already am one, which is also the reason why I'm so frequently absent from high school." "Morty mentioned that he's helping you with some projects." Beth's friendly demeanor was back. "Any breakthroughs yet." "A few, but nothing that I'm too proud of." "So, what? You've been winning a few school science fairs? What are the prizes for those? Hundred dollar or something?" The older brunet still sounded unimpressed. "Oh, I'm not wasting my time with science fairs. However, I do sell my inventions or the patents to them, so I make quite a sum on the side." The blue-haired teen was smug now. "I'm sure, I earn more with that then you do, Jerry. Oh, wait! You're unemployed, so that doesn't really sound like such a big feat. In comparison to you everyone makes more money." Jerry's facial features derailed, but the statement made Beth laugh loudly while Summer whooped at the comeback. Even Morty couldn't quite hide the smile at his father's epic defeat even if this was not how the evening was supposed to go and he should be rightfully worried now. The family patriarch shut up after that, however, he still threw occasional angered glances at the spiky-haired teen, who entertained the rest of the family during dinner with his charm, wit and funny jokes.

After Rick had left and Morty fell into his bed, completely exhausted from the events today, he thought that maybe it hadn't gone that bad. At least his mom seemed to like Rick and his sister had always been cool with him. Just his dad seemed to have a dislike for the teen, but that was also not completely unexpected after what had occurred. Deciding that it was more important to him what his mom thought about Rick, since she was always the one who had the last word, Morty decided that it was a success. However, as the voices of his arguing parents reached his ears, he sighed. It didn't particularly mean that they were quarreling about Rick right now. They always found something to argue about, but it was most likely that their current fight was related to the events of this evening. Morty decided that he didn't want to give a fuck about it this time and pulled his pillow over his head so that he could sleep in peace. This was how he dealt more and more often with his parents' arguing lately. Not that there was anything that he could do about it. He tried, he honestly did, by helping around the house, trying to be a good boy and acting responsible, but it didn't help. Summer kept saying that it would only stop once they would finally divorced, and while Morty did see her point, he didn't want that. He just wanted for his parents to make up and love each other as they used to in the past…they surely still did. They just needed to see past their disagreements and learn to be happy with their lives again. Morty didn't really know how his sister was able to be so calm about it. She didn't particularly care if they argued unless it involved her, which led to an even bigger argument that always ended with Summer storming to her room crying and claiming that she would leave – but she thankfully never did, because Morty could stop her every time – and their parents continuing to fight. She certainly didn't seem scared by the prospect that they might eventually "walk different ways". With uneasy thoughts and the dull voices of his parents in the background, Morty eventually fell asleep. Just across the hall, Beth and Jerry Smith were still in a heated discussion. And unsurprisingly it was about none other than Rick Sanchez. "I don't know what your problem is, Jerry! Rick is a decent kid. He's smart and he's already earning money and not by delivering newspapers. He's good for Morty and you should be proud of our son that he managed to find a friend like that." Beth was currently busy taking out her earrings as she looked angrily back at her husband through a small mirror. "I don't know, Beth! Is he really such a good friend?!" Jerry argued back. "Because if I were a decent teenager, I wouldn't be openly flirting with my friend's mother!!" "He wasn't flirting!!" "Oh, let's see here! Calling you by your first name. Making you compliments. To me that certainly sounded like flirting! And you were flirting right back at him!" "No, I wasn't! What are you even saying?!" "You were!! You were acting like a panther!" "Excuse me?" "I mean, uh…what are they called again…?" Jerry looked lost for a moment. "A cougar, I mean!" "You're being ridiculous, Jerry!" "Am I, Beth?! Am I really?!" The blonde huffed, crawled under the covers on her side of the bed, turned off the light and laid on her side, her back facing the brunet. For her this conversation was over. Jerry also laid down, but the male was still brooding. For him this conversation was far from over yet.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

[ardett]

What’s Promised

Description: Matt finds his way as time ticks down to his acceptance to the Garrison. 

OR a series of vignettes full of promises made and promises kept.

Author’s Note: Written for the @vldmattzine! 

I'm decently pleased with this fic and I was honored to be a part of this zine! The finished product was really beautiful and if you didn't get to grab a copy, please enjoy this!

As always, feel free to check it out on Ao3!

5.

Matt is five when Katie is born.

He’s small, his handprints miniature compared to his dad’s, and the kitchen counter still towers above him, but Katie is even smaller. And chubbier. He pokes her cheek a couple of times in the cradle before his mother gently reprimands him. She says he looked like this when he was born too, soft and round. He doesn’t know if he believes her.

“Ka-tie… Katie.” He tries her name out loud. She doesn’t look like a Katie. She just looks… pudgy. “Pi- Pudgy,” he pouts. His mother ruffles his hair and he squeaks, ducking away.

“Come on, Matthew, let Katie get some sleep.” She guides him towards the door.

“When are we going to be able to play together?” Matt glances back at the cradle where a contented gurgle sounds. He thought for sure he would at least get a playmate out of this, but she’s too tiny to do anything fun. She can’t even talk yet. All he’s heard so far is blubbery giggles and the occasional whine.

His mother laughs. “Not for a while, baby. Don’t hold your breath.”

The first time Matt holds Katie, he’s struck by how warm she is. She radiates her own bubble of heat. Their mother reminds him to support the head and he does as she nuzzles against him. Her tiny, pudgy fingers grasp at his clothes. There’s so much life in her, even as small as she is. Her eyes are big and blinking, her breaths a bit weezy, and ever so gently against his chest, he feels her heartbeat.

He smiles and thinks that even though he wanted a brother, a baby sister might be even better.

4.

Matt can recite his four times tables forwards and backwards.

He’s working on his times tables up to ten forwards and backwards now but he doesn’t have anyone to practice with. He tries to practice with a classmate during recess but the other boy just looks at him strangely. He says they’ve only learned up to three.

Matt asks his teacher about it later, while everyone is grabbing their coats from their cubbies.

“I want to make sure you’re being challenged, Matthew,” she says. “You should be learning new things in school. If you already know it, there’s no need to keep quizzing you on it.”

“But…” His brow scrunches. “But other people aren’t taking the same quiz I am?”

“There are a few kids in other classes taking the same quizzes as you. But it’s true, most of your peers aren’t.”

“But their quiz is easier. That’s not fair!” He pouts and wrinkles up his nose.

“It’s not easier for them. Multiplication is as hard for them as division is for you. Does that make sense, Matthew?”

“No,” he frowns.

“Hmm, tell you what.” His teacher jots something down on a piece of paper. “I’ll call your family later, okay? They’ll be able to explain it to you a little better than I can.”

“What?” Matt’s hands grips the edge of the desk. “But I didn’t do anything wrong! Why do you have to call my parents?”

The bell rings a second time and his teacher gets up from her desk to bring them out to their buses. “You’re not in trouble,” she says as she shoos him towards his coat. “I’m just going to discuss some things with your parents to make sure we’re all on the same page. Okay?”

Matt nods, even though he doesn’t really get it, and works on his division tables on the bus ride home to distract himself.

They do talk about it when Matt gets home.

“So your teacher called today, Matt,” his dad says, glancing up from where he cuts another piece of chicken.

Matt almost bursts into frustrated tears right there. Instead, he only stabs at his food and mutters, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Hey, buddy. We know you didn’t do anything.” His dad leans down to meet Matt’s downcast eyes and sticks out his tongue once they make eye contact. Matt laughs despite himself. “That’s not what this is about. So you wanted to know why you’ve been taking different tests than the other kids in your class, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Your brain just works a little bit differently than your classmates. Some things, like maybe math, come easier to you than other people.”

“Now,” his mom interjects. “That doesn’t mean anyone is less than you are. Everyone’s good at different things. Some kids might be really good at sports. Some kids are good at art. Being smart certainly isn’t anything to be ashamed of but remember that being kind is the most important thing you can be.”

“I know, mom,” Matt grumbles.

At the end of the year, the school asks Matt and his family if they want to accelerate him but, in all her kindergarten prowess, Katie protests, “No! I’m going to catch up! It’s not fair if Matt gets even more ahead.”

Matt agrees and Katie gives him a huge smile.

3.

Matt hasn’t slept in three days.

His computer is mocking him, cursor just blinking and blinking until the screen dims and he moves his mouse to wake it again. He’s only typed three new words. He has to write at least another paragraph tonight.

Why do you want to attend the Galaxy Garrison? the application reads.

He holds back a groan and leans back in his chair, rubbing at his burning eyes. He almost wants to write, my dad works here, you have to accept me, but he can’t be that obnoxious and pretentious. He really does want to attend the Garrison but putting it down in words is like prying out his ribs one by one. Awful.

Finally, he turns to his still unfinished math homework. At least that should come easy to him.

It doesn’t. He can’t even do math correctly. How could he ever think he had a chance at the Garrison? Even if he gets in, they’ll crush him.

The lead of his pencil snaps.

Matt growls through his teeth and clicks the top for more lead for almost a minute before realizing the mechanical pencil must have run out of graphite. He roots through his bag (too aggressively) and throws the case of extra lead on his desk. He rips off the cap (too violently) and sticks of lead scatter across the table’s surface and spill onto the floor.

This time, he actually does scream. He slams his head into the desk. There are footsteps in the hall and the creak of his door opening. He doesn’t look up.

“Matt? Are you doing alright, honey?” He screws his eyes shut as he feels his face heating up. “Matthew?”

“I’m fine,” he chokes out, and there is it, the first tear. When it becomes clear his mom isn’t going to leave, he lifts his head. He swipes at his eyes and mutters again, “I’m fine. You don’t have to stay.”

His mom walks closer. “Why don’t you take a break? You’ve been working on this for weeks now.”

“And it’s still not done, mom! I need to…” A frustrated snarl escapes him as more tears drip down his face. “I just need to finish this.”

He doesn’t resist as his mom leans down to hug him. It makes the tears come even faster until his throat starts to burn and ache. “Dad’s going to think I’m so stupid,” he whispers into her shirt.

“Neither of us thinks you’re stupid.” She kisses the top of his head.

“But what if I don’t get in?”

“Then you don’t get in. You’ll go somewhere else and you’ll have a wonderful life and you’ll do great things. And we’ll still be proud of you.”

Matt smiles, still a small and fragile thing, and pulls away. He rubs at his cheeks with his sleeve. “I just… I want to go there so bad,” he confesses.

“I know, baby. But for tonight, why don’t you try and get some sleep? You can try again tomorrow, okay?” She taps on his desk.

“Okay,” Matt agrees.

The funny thing is he can’t fall asleep. He’s trying. He’s been trying for two hours. And all he’s really been doing is laying down on his bed, staring at those stupid, completely inaccurate glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling, and thinking about how much he wants to fly among them.

For years and years, he’s heard his dad recount his adventures. Missions to the moon and watching the world from so far above and glimpsing solar flares lick panes of reinforced glass. He wants desperately to be a part of something greater, something bigger than the world itself, and he knows he has to leave the bounds of this planet to do it.

As his eyes drift closed, the glowing stars wink at him. Maybe they’re making a promise.

2.

The two of them have spent their lives together. The Holt siblings: the menaces, the geniuses, the inseparable.

Matt never minded when Katie hung out with him and his friends. She’s as witty and funny as the best of them. It never felt like the babysitting it started out as. Once Katie gets older though, his friends start to question it.

Isn’t she old enough to stay home alone? Does your little sister have to sleep over too? It’s not that we don’t like her, man, she’s great, but doesn’t she have her own friends?

The last comment makes Matt pause. Of course she has friends. He can’t imagine why someone wouldn’t want to be friends with Katie. But… she never has any friends over. She never talks about her friends. He’s never even seen her with other kids from her school.

Matt bites his lip. That can’t be right. There’s got to be something he’s missing.

His friends invite him over to watch a movie a few days later and when Katie asks if she can come to, Matt inquires as casually as he can, “Maybe you want to go over to one of your friends’ houses. You never seem to hang out with them.”

Only silence answers him. Matt glances up to see Katie’s fingers paused over her keyboard. She swallows and goes back to typing. “Nah, they’re all busy,” she says.

“Yeah?”

“Yep.” Katie doesn’t look up.

“I mean… I’m just asking because I feel like I never see you hanging out with anyone in your grade, you know?”

Katie slams her laptop closed and Matt jumps. “Look, if you don’t want me there, just tell me!”

“W- What?” Matt stammers but Katie is already storming from the room. “Katie! Katie, come on!”

Matt curses under his breath with a groan, running his hands down his face. He really messed up this time, didn’t he? (Did he? He doesn’t even know what set her off.)

He flinches as he hears Katie’s door bang shut and the house rattles along with it. He finally gets to his feet and makes his way to Katie’s room. He knocks first but there’s no answer.

“Katie?” Matt sighs into the silence and leans his head against the door. “Katie, I didn’t mean it like that. I want you there. I really do. I love hanging out with you. You’re, like, the smartest person I know. I just want to make sure you have friends, which I know sounds so stupid, but… You have other friends, right? Other than me and my friends?” Matt waits, before asking again, “Katie?”

“I have friends, Matt! Just go away already!” She sounds a bit more watery than Matt had hoped but he doesn’t know what else to do. So he leaves it.

Matt privately wonders how to fix this while he lays awake in his bed until his door creaks open. He sits up, eyes widening at the sight of Katie. She’s rubbing at her eyes and at first he thinks it’s because of sleepiness but as she comes closer, it’s clear she’s crying.

“Matt?” she whispers. She crawls onto his bed as he sits there, frozen and useless. “I lied.”

A shock of cold spears through his heart. All he can seem to muster is a, “Hm?” but she barrels on.

“I- I don’t have any friends. They all h-hate me and they think I’m such a nerd and the only time they ever want to talk with me is when we have group projects-”

“Katie.”

“-and it’s just cause they want me to do all the work and then when I don’t do it they say that’s why they hate me and now you don’t even want to be around me so it must just be me-”

“Katie!” Matt grabs her shoulders and Katie jolts. “I want to be around you. I love spending time with you.” She looks away. “No, I mean it. No one else gets quantum frequencies like you do, right?” She laughs a little at that and Matt smiles before it turns again to a frown. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Katie curls into herself. “Because you have friends. And it’s just… It’s more complicated than that. I’ve spent my whole life trying to catch up to you, accelerated classes, skipping grades, and it makes all the other kids hate me even more. And I didn’t even catch up! You’re going to leave and then I’m really going to be alone!”

“Well, we don’t know-” Matt tries.

“Come on, you’re getting in. And I want you to. I know it’s your dream. I don’t want you to have to worry about your stupid younger sister.”

“Don’t say that. You’re a lot of things but you’re definitely not stupid.”

“Thanks,” Katie scoffs. “I don’t know. It’s just… hard.”

“It gets easier. When kids are your age, they’re insecure, you know? You make them nervous. I actually used to eat lunch with my guidance counselor instead of in the cafeteria.”

“Really?” Katie sniffles and Matt feels like a failure of an older brother.

“Yeah, really. I didn’t meet my friends until middle school.”

“So I have to wait.”

“I guess. But you’ll be okay.” Matt pulls her in for a hug and she lays on his chest for a few seconds before wrapping her arms around him and returning the embrace. Matt doesn’t know what else to say but as he gently strokes her hair and hugs her a little tighter, he hopes this is enough.

“Alright. Thanks, Matt.” Katie untangles herself and gets up, wiping away the last of her tears. She pauses right before she exits the room. “I just want you to know… I’m going to be okay. If you get in and have to leave. I mean, it’s going to suck for a little bit but I can handle it. And then I’m going to meet you at the Garrison.”

Matt doesn’t need a pinkie promise to believe her.

1.

In the mail, Matt receives one acceptance letter. (And at home, Matt has to say one goodbye.)

Matt doesn’t even read the rest of the letter from the Garrison. He’s starts crying, crying, as he reads the header that says, Congratulations! His mother snatches the paper from him as he buries his head in his hands but it’s tears of relief coursing down his face.

“Oh my god,” he whispers into his palms. His mom honest-to-god squeals and hugs him, knocking him out of his shock. “Mom,” he grumbles but a smile creeps onto his face as it hits him.

He made it in. He’s going to the Galaxy Garrison.

“I knew you could do it.” His mom brushes a hand against his cheek before pulling away. She claps her hands, grabbing her phone from the counter. “We have to tell your dad! He’s going to be so proud.”

He is. He promises to them that even though he won’t be able to make it to Matt’s graduation, he’ll be the first one to greet him when he arrives at the Garrison. “It’ll be good to have another Holt around,” he says.

Katie takes it much better than Matt thought she would. It’s been another bad day at school, he can tell, but as he shares the news, he sees the fire light in her eyes. This only motivates her further.

Summer comes and goes faster than Matt can ever remember. His things are slowly packed into boxes, clothes and photos and books and tangled headphones. Saying goodbye to his home is much more sweet than bitter. He can feel the stars nearly at his fingertips, so close, and he’s ready to reach out and grab his future.

Katie and his mom drive him down to the Garrison. Hugs are exchanged as his dad greets them at the gate. Boxes are moved and furniture is shuffled about. He looks out the window of his new room, the realization that this is his life now hitting him hard.

He breathes deeply and smiles.

Katie lingers after their mom goes to start the car, the goodbye sticking in both of their throats. Her toes draw circles in the dirt and she holds her hands behind her back, gaze fixed on the ground.

“I’m going to miss you,” she finally mumbles.

“I’m gonna miss you too, Pidge.”

She huffs a laugh, muttering, “Don’t call me that.” The smile fades a bit. “Seriously though, I am going to miss you. Don’t forget to email or call or something.”

“I will. I promise.”

“Okay.” Katie finally meets his eyes. “This is only goodbye for now. Not for long. Because I’m going to catch up.” She jabs at his chest to emphasize her point. “Just wait.”

Matt grins and nods. He pulls her in for one last tight hug before she goes to follow their mom.

As they drive away from the Garrison, Matt sees Katie mouth, See you soon.

To the wind, he whispers, “I know.”

[ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes]

Write Me a Lullaby Part 14

Summary: Delilah has been writing to her Penpal for almost six years. She doesn't know his real name and she doesn't know what he does for a living. When she's set to meet him, she's surprised to find out she's been falling in love with Sebastian Stan

Chapter Summary: The baby arrives!

Warnings: Labor, childbirth

Note: I have no childbirth experience. Everything I know is from other fics I’ve read...sort of like everything else in my life.

   Almost nine months in and I was about ready to pop. My due date was approaching quickly and Sebastian was reluctant to leave me alone. He was worried that I would go into labor and he’d be elsewhere. But he was still due to be filming and I wouldn’t let him put it on hold.

           So he was at the studio when my water broke. I hardly even noticed until I felt the back of my jeans were soaked. It took me a few moments to actually realize what had happened. I stared at Rocket as if he could tell me I was about to have a baby.

           “Hello?”        

           “Hey, are you still on set?”

           “Yeah, I’ll be another hour, want me to pick up dinner?”

           “Sure, yeah. Uh…make that extra though.”

           “What?”

           “Get dinner for one more too.”

           “Are you expecting company?”

           “Yeah, in a few hours. Maybe six hours…”

           “What? It’s already seven o’clock, who’s coming in six hours?”

           “Surprise!”

           “Delilah, you’re not making any sense, what is going on?”

           “Uh, so remember like nine months ago we had sex and then…”

           “Wait, are you talking about the baby?”

           “Yeah.”

           “The baby? As in the baby is coming? You’re going into labor?”

           “I think so.”

           “Delilah!” Sebastian sounded just as stunned as I felt. “You’ve been rambling for like ten minutes why didn’t you just tell me when I picked up the phone?”

           “I don’t know! I don’t really know what’s going on, I’m really freaking out!” I started to panic.

           “Okay, okay, okay, don’t freak out. Just breathe, uh, I’ll grab a cab. Should we call an ambulance?” I heard him start to grab a few things.

           “I don’t know! I’ve never had a baby before!”

           “Fuck, okay, okay, okay.” He said a few words to someone on the other side of the line. “I’m having Chris pick you up, he’s in the area. He’s going to drive you to the hospital and I’ll be there when you get there.” He said.

           “Chris?”

           “Yes, just grab your things for the hospital and go downstairs. Try not to panic. I’ll see you soon.” He hung up.

           I grabbed my pre-packed bag for the hospital and looked at Rocket. “Okay, uh, you stay here. I’ll be back with a baby, okay?” I winced as I felt a contraction hit me. I walked carefully down to the sidewalk and saw Chris pull up a few minutes later.

           “Are you okay?” Chris rushed out of the car and grabbed the bag from me.

           “Uh, I think so. I’m having a baby though.” I said as if he didn’t know already.

           “C’mon, Sebastian’s on his way to the hospital.” He helped me into the car and started driving to the hospital. Thankfully, we didn’t get caught up in too much LA traffic and made it to the hospital in one piece.

============

           I waddled with Chris to the maternity ward where Sebastian was already pacing. He jumped to help me into a wheelchair.

           “You’re already checked in, c’mon.” He walked beside me as a nurse brought me into a room.

           An hour later, and Sebastian and I had calmed down a bit. It was still a shock that we were going to meet our son that night, but we were more prepared than we initially were.

           “Alright, so we’re at the hospital, Delilah’s having contractions, we’re just waiting now.” Sebastian turned the camera to me. I smiled when I saw Georgeta and Anthony.

           “Hi,” I waved. “Your grandson is on his way!”

           Georgeta was nearly in tears. “Oh, Delilah, we can’t wait to meet him.” She gushed. “Sebastian, please send us pictures the second he is born.”

           “I will, mom.” He promised. “I’ve got to go, I’ll keep you updated.” He hung up the facetime call and sat back down. “Chris said there are already people wondering if the baby is coming.” He said.

           “It’s because you rushed off set.” I reminded him. “You probably weren’t very subtle about it.”

           “Well, you were very subtle about your water breaking.” He grinned and kissed my hand.

           “I didn’t want to give you a heart attack by just saying ‘hey the baby’s coming!’. I was trying to be clever.” I pouted.

           Sebastian chuckled. “Well, have you thought of any names yet?” He wondered.

           “I haven’t decided yet. I will when I see him.” I said and rubbed my stomach. I sighed softly and winced as I felt another contraction. “They’re getting closer together.”

           “It’s only a matter of time.”

==============

           Midnight rolled around and the baby was starting to crown. I gripped onto Sebastian’s arm as I went through the motions of pushing and breathing. It helped to have him coaching me through it, knowing he was there made it easier.

           “One last push, Delilah.” The doctor instructed and I heard our baby start to cry as he breathed in the air for the first time.

           “Mr. Stan, you can cut the umbilical cord.” The doctor clamped the cord and Sebastian cut. His hands were shaking terribly and he had tears running down his face.

           I was breathing steadily as I reached out to take him into my arms. He was still a little sticky but I didn’t care. I held my son close to my chest and cried. I couldn’t compare the feeling to anything I’d experienced before. It was thrilling and comforting. But it was powerful and I couldn’t imagine ever letting go of him.

           “Luca…” I whispered as I saw his face for the first time.

===============

          After Luca was cleaned up and swaddled, Sebastian and I just sat on the bed staring at him. It was like he was the rarest thing on the planet and we couldn’t look away. To us, he was.

           Sebastian held him close and wrapped an arm around me. “He’s absolutely perfect.” He murmured for the fifth time. He kissed my temple again and hugged me close. “You’ve given me such a gift.”

           I smiled tiredly and reached over. I let Luca take my finger in his tiny hand and squeeze it gently. “I love you both so much,” I whispered. “My two loves.”

           Luca opened his gray eyes and looked up at Sebastian. He yawned contently and squirmed a little in his swaddle.

           Sebastian had to wipe his eyes again; he seemed utterly amazed by every movement Luca made. “You’ve made me the happiest man alive.” He kissed my cheek and then kissed Luca’s forehead.

           I fell asleep for a bit and woke up to Sebastian talking softly to our son.

           “You’ve been alive for a whole day!” He whispered. “What do you think so far? Do you like it? Do you love your momma?”

           I opened my eyes and looked over at him. I smiled and winced slightly as I sat up. I was still a little sore after the delivery.

           Sebastian looked over at me. “Did I wake you up?”

           “No, it’s fine. I missed him.” I laughed and reached for him.

           He stood up and sat down on the hospital bed with me. He propped Luca up so I could see him.

           “Hi, my love,” I whispered and rubbed my thumb over his little cheek. Luca opened his eyes and moved his hand out of the swaddle.

           “It’s so crazy having him.” Sebastian couldn’t pull his eyes away from him. “He seems too perfect to be real.” He chuckled. “I can’t wait for everyone to meet him.”

           “They’re going to be so jealous of our little angel.” I cooed.

           Luca wriggled around and his face scrunched up as he began to cry.

           “Aw, baby, it’s okay.” I scooped him up out of Sebastian’s arms and held him close to my chest to try to soothe him. It was heartbreaking to hear him cry. He hiccupped softly and started to settle a little bit as I rubbed his back.

           “He just wanted to be with his mom.” Sebastian smiled warmly and gently brushed back Luca’s hair.

           “It looks like he’s going to have his daddy’s hair.” I giggled. “He’s going to be such a charmer.”

           Luca yawned and a little smile formed on his face.

           Sebastian and I watched with pure love in our eyes. “He’s perfect.” I murmured and kissed his forehead.

           “Hey…uh Luca, what do you think about having a little wedding when you get a little older?”

           I glanced over at him. “What?”

           He reached into his pocket. “I wanted to give you a better proposal but it feels perfect being here with you and our little man.” He opened a small ring box.

           “Sebs…” I couldn’t help but let my tears start to form in my eyes. I was so overwhelmed with how happy I was, I couldn’t stop crying.

           Sebastian winced a little. “Are you crying because you’re…”

           “I’m happy,” I assured him. “I’m so happy, I love you so much.” I reached over with my free hand to kiss him deeply.

===========

           I reached into the back seat to unbuckle Luca from his car seat. We were bringing our son home for the first time and I was so excited. It would just be Sebastian, Luca, and me for a few weeks. Of course, family and friends would be in and out visiting but we were now our own little family.

           Sebastian locked his car and wrapped an arm around me as we walked up to the apartment.

           “Here we are.” I cooed as I walked in. “Luca’s first day home.”

           “My mom wants another hundred pictures.” He chuckled as we settled in.

           “Well, I don’t blame her, he’s just so darn cute.” I giggled and yawned.

           “Do you want to take a nap?” Sebastian asked as I sat down on the couch. “I’ll watch him for a bit. “I’m sure he’ll just be sleeping.”

           “You’re heaven sent.” I let him take Luca from my arms. I lay down and he used his free hand to drape a blanket over me. “I love you.” I yawned again and closed my eyes.

==================

           After about an hour, I woke up and found Sebastian asleep with Luca sleeping as well in his arms. I smiled warmly and grabbed my phone to take a picture. I stood up and went to take Luca from his arms.

           Sebastian jolted a little bit. “W-what?” He opened his eyes and looked around.

           “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”

           “I tried staying awake but it was such a long night waiting for this kid.” He stretched and chuckled.

           “He was worth it.” I nuzzled Luca’s cheek. He opened his eyes and moved his hand to grab my hair.

           “Chris is coming around soon if that’s okay. Anthony’s coming Saturday. My parents are flying out next week. We’re going to have to start booking appointments for him.” He laughed.

           “He’s going to be more popular than his daddy very soon,” I said and scrolled through my phone to show Sebastian the picture I took.

           He smiled and looked proud. “Can I post that?” He asked. “I think people want to know that you’re both okay.”

           I nodded. “Of course. He can make his debut in the world.”

Masterpost

[guitypleasure052016]

Powdered Sugar

Prompt: A simple trip to the grocery store turns sour when a new guy in town doesn’t realize who your old man is.

You strolled down each aisle trying to remember everything you needed. You cursed yourself for forgetting your list at home. This was incredibly important, you were hosting a family dinner and while you and Tig had been together for a while now, you knew that it was super important to nail this dinner. You had decided on a low key but delicious menu. You were making your mother’s famous bolognese sauce along with multiple trays of a hearty lasagna that you were sure would both fill and feed all of the SAMCRO family that would be arriving at your home in two days time. You knew the ingredients for the sauce and lasagna by heart as Tig requested you make them often, however you were having trouble remembering the ingredients for your side dishes, a ricotta stuffed zucchini, and a Caprese salad. You were lost in thought trying to determine how much cheese you needed to buy when you felt a sudden jolt. You were quickly broken out of your stream of thought as you looked up to notice the cause of the sudden stop, you had rammed carts with another shopper. He had a big smile on his face and seemed to want to engage you in conversation but you quickly apologized and scurried away. You didn’t have time to deal with idle small talk or with Tig’s temper when he saw some random guy chatting you up. Besides Tig had gone to get gas in the car and pick up your prescriptions from the pharmacy so you had to be quick.

You continued your shopping and were on the hunt for your last item, a bottle of balsamic vinegar. You had found the aisle where they were, but of course, the brand you wanted was on the very top shelf. Tig always teased you for being so picky when you shopped but your mom and grandma had raised you to cook a certain way and they had the beloved brands that they had passed on to you. You looked around to determine how you were going to reach that precious bottle on the top shelf. Any idea you had ended in all of the bottles falling to the ground and shattering, so you figured your best bet was to stand on your tiptoes and pray that you could somehow reach. As you strained to reach the top shelf, you felt an unfamiliar body press up against you from behind as a long hairy arm reached up beyond your own and grabbed your balsamic. You recoiled at the sudden touch and proximity of the stranger, quickly pulling your arm back into yourself and spun around finding yourself face to chest with the man whose cart you had rammed earlier. You suddenly thought that perhaps that accident wasn’t so accidental after all. You looked up and saw the most idiotic looking smirk on his face clearly enjoying himself. 

“Looked like you could use some help sweetie”, he drawled. You rolled your eyes and quickly ducked underneath of his arm to escape the overpowering smell of the entire bottle of Axe cologne he had clearly doused himself in on his way out the door. You grabbed the bottle from his hand, payment for his annoyance, dropped it in your cart, and shot him your nastiest death glare and quickly walked away. This idiot was persistent though as he quickly caught up and stepped in your path causing you to have to come to another quick and sudden stop. You took a deep breath, holding your anger in, not wanting to make a scene. You looked up at him expectantly, waiting for whatever gross and corny pickup line you were sure was coming your way. You tuned him out while he talked, taking in his features to relay them to Juice later to look up for some retaliation in case this creep went too far. He was muscular, the type that looked like he drank nothing but protein shakes and frequently set off the lunk alarm at Planet Fitness. He was wearing a Fresno Pacific University sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a scuffed up pair of knock-off Nikes. He had platinum blonde hair ruffled and styled like the typical frat boy and the tiniest bit of scruff on his face. He’s the kind of guy who you “might” have found attractive on a drunken night out in college but at the moment, he was royally pissing you off. He had to be from out of town, any local guy would have noticed the crow tattoo on your collarbone and backed off quickly. 

“Move now before I run you down”, you growled, knuckles turning white as you gripped the handle of your shopping cart trying to contain your anger and frustration with this moron.

 “C’mon now beautiful, no need to be testy. I’m just looking for a friend”, the blonde buffoon murmured while eyeing you up and down.

 You looked him dead in the eye and held your ground, and growled, “I have enough friends, now move your ass or I will run you the fuck down”. He smirked and made no indication of moving which you took as a sign that he wasn’t taking you seriously so you rammed your cart into him as hard as you could and while he was bent over in pain, you took the opportunity to quickly scoot around him with your cart and head to the checkout line.

After an excruciatingly long wait in line behind a soccer mom with at least 37 coupons, you were finally all checked out and ready to leave. You walked out to the parking lot and spotted your car but you didn’t see Tig anywhere. You suddenly remembered his preoccupation with the bakery across the street when he dropped you off so you figured he was probably there buying them out of powdered doughnuts. Thankfully you kept the spare key in your purse, so you unlocked the car and started loading the groceries into the trunk. After unloading the groceries, you walked over to the cart corral to return your shopping cart. After pushing your cart into the corral, you turned around and found your path of exit blocked by the giant blonde cretin from earlier. Before you had a chance to speak he started off as if he’d been rehearsing this convoluted pickup strategy in his head. 

“ Listen honey”, he stated, “I think you’ve got the wrong idea about me, I’m not trying to give you trouble. I just want to get to know you, sweetheart. I’m in town visiting family, but it’s boring over there. So, what do ya say? Let’s go get a drink”.You shot him another death glare.

 “I have a man, and even if I didn’t a jack off like you is the last guy I would want to grab a drink with”, you asserted and moved to push by him. Those damn protein shakes must’ve been paying off cause he did not budge. You stood there and looked up at him, placing your hands on your hips, waiting for the next pick up line.

 “Why you playing hard to get babe, any girl from FPU would kill to go out with the blonde buff quarterback from the football team, you should count yourself lucky”, he proposed while placing one of his hands on your shoulder. 

You swallowed down the bile rising in your throat and responded, “I don’t like blondes, and like I said before I have a man”. Before he had a chance to respond you ripped his hand off of your shoulder. You then used your right hand to squeeze and hold on to his hand and then used your left hand to contort his elbow, bending it and spinning him around to come face to face with your old man who had a arrived on the scene and had a look of murder in his eyes.

Tig placed the donut he was eating back in the paper bag he was holding and brushed the powdered sugar out of his mustache.

 “Hey doll, I got us some donuts”, your old man uttered as he held out the bag of donuts to you. You released your grip on the blonde neanderthal and grabbed the bag from your old man. Now that his hands were free, he used them to grab the collar of the out of towner and yank him out of the cart corral, throwing him to the ground. After turning around to give you a once over, confirming that you were not hurt, he began pummeling the creep. You quickly skipped around the side of the cart corral and planted yourself on the edge of the trunk. You sat and watched your man beat up the pompous quarterback while you munched on the donuts from the bakery.

After the asshole had sufficiently learned his lesson and was laying on the ground, groaning and cursing, Tig once again grabbed him by the collar but this time he dragged the frat boy over towards you. 

“You see that tattoo you piece of shit”, Tig snarled while nodding to the crow tattoo on your collarbone, “If you ever come across another woman with a crow tattoo, I suggest you leave her the fuck alone or else this is going to happen again but tenfold. Do we have an understanding”? The neanderthal nodded his head in agreement but had the nerve to spit at you. Before you had a chance to respond, Tigs’ ring covered fist collided with his face and he fell to the ground. The guy was still squirming and cursing so you took it upon yourself to hop up off of the trunk and kick him in the balls. That shut him up pretty darn quick. Tig looked over at you with a look of pride on his face that quickly turned to annoyance when he realized the once full bag of donuts was now completely empty. 

“Seriously doll, here I am defending your honor, and you can’t even save me a Boston Kreme”, he whined.

 “I’m sorry Tiggy”, you teased, “But you know how it is, I needed a snack to munch on during the show”. 

“I guess I can forgive you”, Tig responded, “As long as you share the crumbs”. At this, he closed the distance between the two of you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you in for a passionate kiss. As you broke apart, you chuckled reaching your hands up to brush the powder sugar from his lips and his mustache while he kept his arms wrapped firmly around your waist. 

“Do I have any on my face?”, you inquired. 

“Oh yeah”, he responded, I’ll get it”. He was true to his word, cleaning the powdered sugar off of your lips by pressing several wet and sloppy kisses all around your mouth.

 “Now c’mon darlin’, we’ve got some cooking to do”, he declared as he released you from his grip.

 As the two of you got in the car, he grabbed your hand and turned to you laughing, “Hey now at least we have a good story to tell at dinner”.

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[flowerpot101]

His Love

Clark Kent x Reader

Request: Can I request an imagine where Clark meets his soulmate and then they've been together a long time and everyone just kinda admires their relationship and thinks it's really cute and stuff how much they love each other and act cheesy with each other but are different to everyone else? Thanks

Word Count: 2091

She knew it was soon before she would meet him, her clock slowly ticked down to zero as she walked. Her apartment was just a block away when someone ran passed her and snatched her purse from her shoulder causing her to fall forward to the ground. Quickly getting up and running after the man, he was far too ahead of for her to catch up. Slowing down her pace as she came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, she let out a huff; there was no way for her to get her purse back since there was no one else on the streets but her.

Turning around to go to her apartment, she heard a swooshing noise behind her, “Excuse me, ma’am?” She heard from behind her.

Turning around, she took a step back when she came face to face with Superman. Looking down to his hand she saw him holding her purse, lifting the bag forward, “I believe this is yours.”

Y/n let out a sigh of relief and nodded her head, “Yes it is thank you so much.” As she reached for her purse to take it from him, their hands met and an electric shock went through them.

They’re eyes widened as they realized what just happened, her head turned down to her wrist and saw the clock had hit zero. Looking back up to him with her mouth agape, she breathed in, “I gotta go.” Beginning to back away, “Thank you again!” She said as she ran off to her apartment and away from him.

That had been a week ago, she felt so stupid for running off like the way she did but who wouldn’t? She had just found her soulmate and it was fricken Superman. She needed time to absorb in the new information, she knew if needed that she could find him easily. When she had gotten home that night, her clock had finally fallen off, over the next couple of days, people kept asking her questions about it but she just shrugged it off and giving them a short reply.

Today she was at one of her favorite cafes for lunch; it wasn’t as busy as other days which she greatly appreciated. It was just her and a couple of other costumers, and then she heard the bell ring indicating someone had just walked in. Looking up she saw Clark, one of the people that also worked at the Daily Planet. They had never met for they were on separate floors and did different things.

For some reason as she looked at him, something felt familiar to her like she knew him. Clark turned around when he felt someone starring at him, there he saw you sitting at one of the tables all alone. His eyes widened when he realized it was you, turning back around to order his drink as he waited, he tried to come up with a plan to talk to you. Grabbing his drink and turning to go walk towards you, you were already gone. Clark let out a deep sigh and headed back to work.

                                     The Next Day.

 Clark just got out of a meeting, while he walked back to his cubicle, he saw Y/n talking to Lois. He knew this was the perfect time to do this, walking about to the two woman he let out a small grunt letting them know of his presence. The two turned around with smiles on both of their faces.

“What can we do for you Clark?” Lois asked.

Then Clark was hit with nerves, “Uhm…” Swallowing deeply before continuing, “I was wondering if I could talk with Y/n… privately.”

Y/n eyes furrowed down wondering what he wanted since they didn’t exactly work together, “Sure… Do you want to go to the roof?” Y/n said hesitantly.

Clark nodded his head then they were off to the elevator, Lois just watched as the two went with a smirk upon her face. She knew about the run-in you had with Superman last week and she couldn’t be any happier for the two of you.

Y/n looked out to the horizon of the city, listening to all the buzzing noises around her. Turning to look at Clark as he fumbled with his hands in apprehension, she tilted her head before asking, “So, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?”

Clark looked up at her; he couldn’t help but look at how beautiful she looked as the sun hit the side of her face slightly. He had no clue on how he was going to tell her that they were soulmates, he was worried to death when she would realize that he was Superman. He didn’t want to put her life at risk but the bond between them kept getting stronger by the day.

“Clark? Is everything okay? You look like you’re going to be sick,” she said in her sweet tone.

He nodded his head before taking a deep breath in, “I need to show you something and I need you to promise me you won’t freak out.” He said while walking towards the ledge.

“Okay,” she said hesitantly. “Why don’t we step away from the ledge though?”

Letting out a deep sigh, he began to fall forward, letting gravity take him, and he could hear her run towards the ledge as she yelled out his name. As she looked over, she couldn’t see him anymore then a whoosh of air hit her face and a loud thump was heard behind her. Turning around abruptly, her hair swinging around her, she stared wide eyes with her mouth agape; Clark who had just fallen off the ledge, now stood before her like nothing had happened.

“W-what… Wha-at…” She couldn’t form any words; she was stunned with what she had just seen. Quickly shaking her head to make it clear, “What in the world was that?!” She yelled out.

Clark just stood there before taking his glasses off, “I’m Superman,” he said quietly and unsure.

Her eyes widened as her head tilted backwards slightly, her mouth kept opening and closing like a fish, trying to come to terms with what he just told her. Then it hurt her, “Oh. My. God.” She whispered out to herself before her head looked towards him and softly said, “We’re soulmates.”

Clark nodded his head then she began to laugh hysterically, her hands came up to the top her head, he stepped forward, “If you don’t want to be with me then—“

Interrupting him, she shouted out, “Of course I want to be with you!” Walking towards him, “Clark, you’re an amazing and sweet guy, why wouldn’t I want to be with you?”

“Because being with me means putting your life at risk,” Clark said sadly.

Y/n’s hand came up to cup the side of his face, “I know. But if it means that I get to be with you, the one who was meant to be, then I don’t care.”

They both smiled at one another while they stared into one another’s eyes. Their bond was growing and blossoming into something like no other. They stood there for another couple of minutes before returning back to their work places, making a promise to one another to meet up when work was over.

                                     Four Years Later.

 Y/n watched Barry spar with Arthur in the bat cave as she remembered the time she and Clark had found one another. She still couldn’t believe they had been together for four years now. Clark hadn’t returned from the mission that he had left earlier in the day for but she knew he would be here shortly.

Over the past couple of years, she and the Justice League have gotten quite close; Bruce even had let her work down in the cave from time to time. When Alfred can’t help out with a mission, she’s the one that will stay back and speak to them through their ear pieces. She and Diana had gotten quite close since they were the only females. Arthur and Y/n were good friends; she was always there for him when he started to deeply miss Mera. Victor and Barry were another story; they were both young so she always made sure to watch out of them the most. But overall, everyone was happy as they could be.

Y/n turned away from the two men sparring and walked up to the kitchen to make something to eat. She said a quick hello to Diana as she passed her and went into the kitchen. Quickly she began to make herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, her thoughts began to wonder over to Clark, and recently it seemed like that was happening more often, to the point where it was the only thing on her mind.

As she began to spread the peanut butter across the bread she felt strong arms wrap around her and warmth engulfed her. She leant back into him as she continued making her sandwich; she then began to make one for Clark knowing that he most likely was hungry after the mission. Clark pulled away so she could put everything away, he grabbed his sandwich watching her with love then she came walking back over and hopped onto the island in the middle of the room to sit.

They both ate their sandwiches together, Clark had his back leant against the counter across from her. Both were having their own private conversation while everyone else watched from the adjoined dining room. Y/n couldn’t hear what was being said but Clark did and she knew he was listening when his smile kept growing, he couldn’t help it though, not when they’re gushing about how adorable they are together or how lucky he was to have Y/n in his life and as a soulmate. Both of them stayed where they were for a little bit longer, laughing and chatting away.

Y/n hopped off the island, dusting off any crumbs that had gotten on her and went to go wash her hands and as she grabbed the towel, Clark repeated the same action. Once again Clark had his arms around her and leaned down to plant a small kiss against her lips, pulling away slightly as small smiles graced their lips, he then plants another kiss upon her lips.

They could hear awes coming though the kitchen, pulling away from one another as everyone walked in.

“You guys are so adorable,” Diana cooed out to you.

Y/n smiled as she looked down to the floor, slowly she began to become shy; she was always a private and shy person when it came to her love life or personal life in general. She and Clark tried to stray away from public affection when everyone was around. They didn’t want anyone to feel awkward or bad that they hadn’t found their soulmates yet. Everyone talked amongst themselves, all about different things from new video games to tactics for future missions.

Y/n watched as Clark talked with Bruce, his face became moody the more they talked between one another. But turned away when he caught her starring causing him to smirk her way, she began to get up and go stand by him when she saw that their talking was becoming heated. Y/n didn’t want any yelling or arguing, and with those two, it was bound to happen. She gently grabbed Clark’s hand beginning to pull him away, he looked down at her and she gave him a look that told him not to fight her. He let out a sigh before letting her pull him away from the conversation he was having with Bruce.

She said a quick goodbye to everyone as they laughed and once out of the kitchen, Clark’s hands were on her again and her laughter was filling the hallway. He began to tickle her while they walked upstairs and from the kitchen they could feel everyone’s eyes on them as they watched in admiration. Y/n then ran up the stair to get away from Clark as quickly as she could before he attacked her. But it was too late; he had already picked her up into his arms and began his attack of tickles.

Downstairs in the kitchen, everyone could hear their laughter. All of them couldn’t be any happier for the two and for the ones who still hadn’t found their soulmates; it gave them hope that they would have something similar to what you two had.

@dekahg

[sp4c3-0ddity]

Shopping for Disaster

Category:  Gen Rating:  T Word count:  ~6000

Summary:

Allura just wanted something sparkly, and Pidge just wanted to get her ears pierced. And they will, after a mishap involving a kid, a Druid, and a Galra ship.

A/N:

yes, it’s another trip to the space mall with Pidge and Allura. admittedly i lost my steam a bit there at the end (writing is a learning experience) but i hope you like it!!

Read it on ao3

Or below the cut:

Allura lured Pidge into an impromptu visit to the space mall with the promise of a new video game, but so far she had yet to see that pan out. Instead Allura linked their arms together – quite literally bonding them – and towed her past every shop, peeking into windows for ‘something sparkly’.

“With what money?” Pidge grumbled when they paused outside an expensive-looking jewelry store…though she supposed resources scarce on Earth were not necessarily scarce on other planets.

“With this money.” Allura whipped out a wad of cash from her fanny pack – fashionable on Altea ten thousand years ago, apparently – and flashed them at Pidge. But after a tic she reconsidered, glancing furtively around at other shoppers lest they mug her right out in the open, and stuffed the cash back into its hiding place.

Pidge narrowed her eyes at the hidden money. “Do you really think Altean cash is still in circulation?” she said skeptically.

Allura frowned. “No, I suppose not,” she admitted, “but I’m sure there will be a money changer around here. Or a bank that will honor universal exchange rates…”

Pidge raised an eyebrow and didn’t point out that Altean currency would’ve stagnated and become valueless ten thousand years ago.

“All right, tell me this, Pidge,” Allura said with a sideways glance at her. “What is something you’ve always wanted but never had the chance to get?”

Pidge snorted. “Can’t you ask something a little easier on our first date, Princess?”

“First—oh, a joke!” Allura laughed pleasantly. She dragged Pidge past the fountain where she’d gone diving for coins with Lance last time and towards the food court where Hunk had so briefly become an indentured servant. “We’ve known each other for a while now,” Allura pointed out as they walked, “and we’ve fought alongside each other. Also, it needn’t be a loaded question; in fact, I can tell you right now I’m quite hungry and would love to try those.” She pointed to an item – Pidge suspected at random – pictured on the menu above Vrepit Sal’s.

“I’m not hungry,” Pidge told her.

Allura rolled her eyes. “Please humor me, Pidge,” she said. “I would like to treat you since you agreed to come.”

“You bribed me and have yet to deliver,” she pointed out. She unlinked their arms and crossed hers.

Allura considered her, frowning thoughtfully and tapping her chin. Her fingers wandered to her ears and tugged on her dangling pink earrings, and then she brightened, smiling before Pidge could become uncomfortable with the close scrutiny. “Do you like…jewelry? I’ve never seen you wear any.”

“It’s a little impractical for battle,” Pidge quipped. “And…I don’t have any out here, but I had some at home.” She remembered a few necklaces, some bracelets, mostly cheap painted plastic and nickel stuff from the stores that catered to preteen girls, along with a few pieces of gold that her mother stored in the safety deposit box at the bank. But other than that… “I’ve always wanted earrings.”

“Oh?” Allura clasped her hands together, beaming. “Your earrings aren’t pierced then?”

Pidge pinched an earlobe between her thumb and forefinger, tugging lightly. “No, my mother told me I could get them when I turned sixteen…which I probably am by now.” She frowned; it was still so strange to think she could’ve passed her sixteenth birthday and not even known it.

“Yes, that’s perfect, then!” Allura said. She grabbed Pidge’s elbow and turned them around, back towards the jewelry store they spotted earlier, but this time she went a little less reluctantly, even enthusiastically, a smile tugging on the corners of her mouth.

At least until a child with scaly green skin and a ridged boney structure ringing the top of their head skittered across their path, forcing them to a stop. “Keith!” they said when they caught sight of Allura. “Can I get an autograph?”

Allura froze, and Pidge watched the odd facial gymnastics of her expressions as she went from a reflexive scowl to something more pleasant but still…displeased. She bit her lip to keep from snickering as Allura cleared her throat and said, “I’m sorry, but my friend and I are in a hurry, so—”

“Aw, come on, Keith,” Pidge said, elbowing Allura in the side. “Channel your inner Lance and give the kid an autograph.”

“And who the quiznak would I even sign?” Allura hissed at her.

Pidge covered her mouth to hide her amused grin. “So…Keith will definitely sign something for you,” she told the kid. “Do you have a paper or something or?”

“Yes!” the reptilian kid said with a wide grin. “My mother has something, so I can show you?” They pointed behind them, towards the exit that led to the shuttle parking lot.

Allura exchanged a glance with Pidge, who shrugged and said, “It would be an interesting story to tell everyone when we get back to the Castle.”

Allura rolled her eyes but seemed to agree, for she let the kid take her by the hand and lead her away, Pidge following a few paces behind.

Outside the mall the night sky with few stars – light pollution – greeted them, nighttime traffic flying overhead and hovering nearby as late shoppers left and arrived. The kid led them past the automatic doors, across the hover vehicle parking lot and towards the shuttle parking further away.

“You came all that way without your mother?” Allura wondered, glancing over her shoulder at Pidge.

“She trusts me,” the kid said gleefully. They then waved at a shadowed figure standing out of the light.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Pidge said, right as a shock travelled up her spine, paralyzing her limbs and leaving her mouth gaping with a cutoff scream.

“Pidge!” Allura exclaimed, withdrawing her grip from the child’s, right as a helmeted figure struck her with a stunner.

Pidge collapsed, curling in on herself while her skin still tingled with static. The scent of burning hair made her nose twitch, and she groaned, trying to move limbs that wouldn’t obey her.

Distantly she saw Allura fall, and past her another tall helmeted figure passed the reptilian child a few GAC. “Thanks, kid,” they said.

The child turned and sprinted away without a second glance.

“W-what a-an asshole,” Pidge muttered.

She blacked out right as someone picked her up off the ground.

Allura awoke in the dark, the space quiet except for a distant humming…the humming of a huge spaceship’s engine, she quickly realized. She rolled onto her back and sat up, holding a hand to her aching head, though that wasn’t her only physical discomfort since she’d been asleep on the floor for longer than she could guess.

Allura felt along the floor, crawling until her hands collided with a wall. She stood slowly, wary that the ceiling could be low, but when her head didn’t brush it she relaxed and leaned against the wall, until she remembered what happened before she fell unconscious:

The Colotic boy holding her hand and leading her and Pidge into a trap.

“At least shapeshift into something less recognizable,” Coran had suggested when he’d been unable to dissuade her from this diversion.

“Why?” Allura had retorted without looking towards him, to busy searching her closet for something suitable to wear. “The Coalition is as strong as ever, and our enemies are far weaker now.”

“Still, I would feel better if—”

Allura pulled out a pair of white trousers that she hadn’t worn in a while, and then turned to smile at Coran. “You worry too much,” she’d told him. “I’ll be fine! And I won’t be alone.”

Except now she was, and she couldn’t even begin to guess where she could find Pidge and how to go about freeing her – along with herself.

Allura slid along the wall, her fingers questing for a crack or an imperfection that could indicate a door or even a vent. Finally, they touched on nearly undetectable gap in the corner between two walls, so thin even her fingernails wouldn’t fit into it.

With a growl, Allura sat on the floor, crossing her legs. Perhaps she could reach out and contact the Blue Lion with her mind, attract her to rescue them like the Red Lion went to Keith. She closed her eyes – though it was already plenty dark – and rested her hands on her ankles, regulating her breathing so she took steady breaths of the stale, recycled air circulating the ship.

In. She inhaled the way her combat teachers taught her, long ago, filling her lungs to bursting.

Out. She exhaled slowly through her nose, emptying her lungs as much as she could in a single huff.

Her thoughts calmed, occupied by the exercise. Blue? she thought, cautiously. She could feel all the Lions – the ship carrying her, and hopefully Pidge as well, couldn’t be too distant from the Castle yet – but even her bond to the Blue Lion seemed faint.

Something hissed, interrupting her effort to meditate, and Allura’s eyes shot open as violet light flooded the room, right as a long shadow fell across her.

Allura tilted her head back, eyes narrowing as she took in the tall Druid standing before her. She stood, slowly and composed despite the beating of her heart. Take control of the situation, she advised herself. You need to find out where they’re keeping Pidge.

So she demanded, “Where’s my friend?”

“The Green Paladin is being held elsewhere on the ship,” the Druid, to her surprise, responded immediately.

“And I trust you are being hospitable to her?” Allura said, tone heavy with sarcasm. “At least more hospitable to her than you are to me?”

The Druid stared at her, and because Allura couldn’t see their eyes, their gaze unnerved her, seemed to penetrate her in an unfamiliar, uncomfortably invasive way.

It felt like an interrogation, though they had yet to ask any questions.

“We have no reason to be inhospitable yet, Princess Allura,” said the Druid.

Allura bit her lip. Of course they knew who she was, especially if they’d already discovered Pidge’s identity. “And what can I do for you to keep it that way?” she wondered.

“Answer our questions as they come,” they said, “and we need not torture you or the other Paladin.”

She raised an eyebrow at them, resting her hands on her hips and feigning a calm she did not feel in her confinement. “The other Paladins will notice we’re missing,” she said. “Actually, I’m sure they already have.”

“Certainly,” agreed the Druid, “but while you and the Green one are here, they will be unable to form Voltron.”

“The Lions are quite—”

“I have no doubt the Lions are formidable individually,” the Druid interrupted, “but the High Priestess hypothesizes that the current generation of Paladins has yet to reach their full potential, which is why I am quite confident that a rescue will be difficult for them to mount while missing two Paladins.”

Allura dropped her hands, clenching them into fists as she frowned. Oh, so they knew about the switch too? But Lance—oh, but Keith was still with the Blade. Allura scowled, but she hadn’t really thought she could rely on rescue anyway. No, she and Pidge were on their own, prisoners aboard a Galra vessel housing a Druid.

“Fine,” she said, feigning a willingness to cooperate. “What is it you wish to know?”

The Druid said, “We will begin our interrogation with the Green Paladin. We suspect she will break quicker, and you are too valuable a prisoner to risk without cause. Be at peace, Princess Allura, for now.”

Allura reached into her trouser pocket right as the Druid turned their back, gratified that whoever must’ve searched her upon capture had dismissed her nail file as an unlikely weapon. Then, while the door to her cell slid shut behind the Druid, she wedged the tip into the shrinking gap and smirked when it held.

“This should be fun,” she said when no one outside the cell took notice after several doboshes, but the sentiment died as soon as the Druid’s final words hit her, and she realized she’d have to act quickly if she wanted to free Pidge.

Allura swept her sweaty hair up into a bun, tying it with a bit of string from her pocket. She brushed a few loose strands out of her face and tucked them behind her ear, then after another deep, composing breath, she gripped the nail file wedged between the door and the wall, pushed it a little further in, and tugged.

With a grunt, the gap in the doorway widened enough that Allura could grip the edge with her hands. She pulled with all her strength, and though the door resisted, she managed to produce a gap wide enough to fit her body through.

A narrow hallway lined with cells and illuminated with violet and red light greeted her, along with a Galra soldier that flinched into attention as soon as he caught sight of her. He raised his blaster to shoot, but Allura fell on him quickly, grabbing the barrel of the blaster and swinging it and him around until his back collided with the wall.

The soldier fell, dropping the blaster, but before he could get to his feet, Allura kicked his head, knocking his helmet clean off. It fell with a too loud clang, rolling almost halfway down the hall without stopping. He opened his mouth to shout for help, but then she slammed the butt of the rifle against his head.

Finally he slumped, lying prone and unconscious on the floor.

Heart pounding with exertion, Allura stripped him of his armor and equipment as quickly as she could before cramming his body into her cell. She then dressed in it, hooking the blaster at her belt alongside a communication device that buzzed with static, a voice emitting from it.

“Sergeant Hart, report!” they said. “What was that sound coming from the holding cells?”

Allura unhooked the com from the belt and brought it her lips. She cautiously pressed a button at random and, pitching her voice a little deeper, said, “All clear, sir! Just dropped my helmet!”

A beat, then:  “All right. Be more careful, Sergeant.”

Allura exhaled in relief and returned the com to her belt. She shifted, growing taller and wider, and when she peeked at her hands her skin was purple. Satisfied with her handiwork, she walked down the hall, only stopping to bend and pick up the dropped helmet, and proceeded away from the holding cells.

Unsure how to go about finding Pidge, Allura approached the first soldier she saw and smiled at him. “Hello! I’m new aboard this vessel, and I was wondering if you might direct me to the location of my next shift?”

The soldier frowned at her, the tip of a fang peeking out from between his lips. “Where is your next shift…Sergeant?” he asked, eyes drifting down to peek at a badge on her armor’s breastplate.

Allura imitated his frown and said, “I’m to guard the prisoner picked up from the swap moon.”

The soldier eyed her suspiciously while sweat beaded down Allura’s forehead. “You just came from that direction,” he told her.

“No, no, not that one.” She nodded her head back towards the hallway of holding cells. “The other one.”

“Oh, that one.” The soldier nodded in understanding and said, “She was taken to the interrogation chamber.” He grimaced. “She’s a Druid prisoner now and under their guard. Nasty buggers.” He patted Allura’s shoulder consolingly. “You’ll get used to working under them…eventually.”

“Yes, so…?” Allura prompted, hopeful that, despite the ominousness, his thawing towards her would help her find Pidge.

“Oh, are you sure that’s where your next shift it?” he asked. “Because no one except their personal assistants work directly with them, and you have to be rising in the ranks for—”

Growing impatient and not a little alarmed, Allura grabbed the soldier by the arm and pulled him close enough to her that she could look directly into his eye. “Just tell me where the interrogation chamber is,” she said. “If you don’t, I know a good place to stash your body.”

The soldier swallowed and told her, “Three levels down and forward. Follow the signs towards the lab.”

“Thank you.” Allura pushed him away from her and flashed him a grateful smile as she passed, all too aware of him grabbing his own communication device and muttering frantically into it. So she walked quickly, impatiently tapping her foot as the elevator descended three levels.

While she waited, she studied the emergency guide etched into the elevator wall, memorizing the route to the ship’s escape pods…which were at the rear of the ship. Allura frowned and patted the rifle at her hip, hoping she could find a weapon with which she was more comfortable while she and Pidge made their undoubtedly frantic escape.

When the elevator doors slid open, soldiers lined the hall beyond, lying in wait.

“Quiznak,” she muttered, unhooking the blaster from her belt and hefting it – with it point the right way. She stepped out of the elevator, and after dodging a whole volley of blasts wished for nothing more than her Paladin armor and the shield she could activate at her wrist.

Allura didn’t bother aiming as she shot at her assailants. She shot at random, in a way that would make Hunk proud while horrifying Lance, and alternated between firing and bludgeoning with the rifle, using the weapon in a way it was never meant to be used. Her powerful swings felled soldiers in only a few blows, and the narrow hallway worked to her advantage as she fought her way through while the armor – with or without shield – did its job and deflected most of the shots.

It was built to protect especially from friendly fire, after all.

Allura swung one soldier by the arm at a few others and mused about the poor quality of training within the Empire. They wouldn’t even hold a candle to the old Galra troops Zarkon led ten thousand years ago!

By the time she reached the end of the hall, encountering the first sign that read ‘LABORATORY’ in simplified Galra script, she’d left a trail of unconscious and groaning bodies in her wake, her lungs screaming for air while her heart tried to burst free of her chest. But she kept moving forward, towards Pidge and the Druid, despite knowing that she would meet even more resistance than this now that the ship was on high alert for the escaped prisoner.

Pidge hummed the last song she heard on the radio on Earth softly to herself while she waited to be tortured, though it wasn’t so much a coping mechanism as it was a way to keep herself busy – and to annoy the guard left in the room with her, and if there was anything she’d learned from Lance since meeting him, it was to never underestimate the power of irritation.

Unfortunately, the Galra soldiers that worked directly with the Druids seemed to be made of sterner stuff than the rank and file. This one hadn’t even glanced in Pidge’s direction since he’d strapped her to the table.

Pidge experimentally wiggled her hands and ankles, but of course the restraints held as tightly as they had last time she checked. Even the one across her chest barely gave her enough room to breathe.

She huffed, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face in frustration. She wiggled her toes – they wanted her entirely barefoot – and tapped her fingers, growing antsy while she waited, accompanied by the guilt at her role in leading Allura into a trap.

“So…” she said aloud to the guard in the opposite corner. “What song would you like me to hum next? That one was ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’, by the way. Maybe I should sing the next one instead though?” She paused, giving him a chance to respond, but when he didn’t she continued, “I think I’ll sing ‘Space Oddity’ this time. It does kind of remind me of my dad, and if I start crying that’ll probably make your job easier, right?” Still no reaction.

Pidge rolled her eyes and started singing, “Ground control to Major Tom—”

The door slid open, interrupting her, and she struggled to pick her head up to see who it was, only for the shot of a blaster to ring out, hitting the guard in the corner and finally getting a peep out of him as he collapsed, groaning in pain.

“Lance?” she said, confused but hopeful. “There’s no way—”

“Pidge?” A Galra soldier hovered over her, and Pidge recoiled, until she recognized the voice as Allura’s. “Are you all right?”

“Oh, you know,” Pidge said, waving her fingers as Allura worked on unclipping the restraints keeping her body and limbs in place, “I’m just taking a nap.”

“Good,” Allura said, either completely missing Pidge’s sarcasm or accepting that it meant she was all right.

Which she was, now that Allura was there.

Pidge sat up as soon as the restraints recoiled, rubbing the faint bruising already on her wrists. “How’d you get free?” she asked Allura.

“I can explain that later,” she said, taking her arm and helping her down from the table. “Right now we have another problem.”

“You mean other than escaping the ship?”

“Yes,” Allura admitted. “Unfortunately, I was a bit sloppy with my own escape.”

Pidge frowned. “Oh, great,” she said. “Does this mean half the soldiers on the ship will be waiting for us just outside the lab?”

“Oh, almost definitely.”

Pidge slumped and wished for her bayard, and her armor, and her Lion, and all the special features that came with them. “And even if we managed to get to an escape pod, we’d still have to worry about a tail, unless…” She trailed off, an idea taking hold, and smirked at Allura. “I can’t get you something sparkly, but flashy I might be able to do.”

Allura regretfully discarded the Galra armor right before – after some persuasion from Pidge – shrinking smaller than her true size, small enough that she and Pidge were at eye level.

“How does it feel to be as short as I am?” Pidge wondered.

Allura glanced down at the vent in the wall, the grate blocking it already torn off and set aside. “I can’t say I’m fond of it,” she admitted.

“Yeah, well, you get used to it.” Pidge held the communication device belonging to Sergeant Hart in one hand, toggling through the settings for…something. But when a crystal at the top projected a map – the layout of the ship – she grinned triumphantly.

(Allura stifled a groan; she might’ve been able to find Pidge so much more easily if she’d known that was there.)

“All right, here is the engine,” Pidge said, zooming in at a point close to the back of the ship. “This puts us pretty close to the escape pods, at least, so that’s one less thing we have to worry about. But”—she pointed to a set of rooms opposite the escape pods, on the other side of the engines—“these are the barracks, so reinforcements will come from there.”

“And how do we overload the engines and give ourselves enough time to escape?”

Pidge frowned. “I think…we’ll have to go to the bridge for that.” Now the projection displayed a room in the top-center of the ship. “We’ll have to split up; I’ll go to the bridge and, from there, kill the security systems on the way to the engines. You’ll head to the engines – you’ll have to fight off anyone in your path, but I’ll do my best to slow them down from the bridge – and there should be a control room there, where you can directly and more efficiently destroy the internal workings.” She smiled. “It should be a lot like the Castle’s, especially according to these design specs.” She pulled those up on the display, but before Allura could attempt to interpret them, Pidge waved them away and pocketed the communication device. “Then we meet at the escape pods. The ship won’t blow, exactly, but it’ll be so badly damaged that they can only send fighters after us…unless I seal the hangar doors from the bridge.” Pidge shrugged, looking far too pleased with herself about this.

Allura raised her eyebrow. “And how will I get to the engines without you to lead me?”

Pidge confiscated another communication device from a nearby soldier they’d already disarmed and, after changing a few settings, handed it to Allura. “The active channel on there is also active on mine.” She patted her pocket. “I’ll direct you where to go once we split up.”

Allura met Pidge’s eyes, and her confidence in their hastily thought up plan gave her confidence as well, so she nodded. “Then we’ll do it your way,” she said.

“All right, let’s go.” Pidge waved her towards the grate, but she entered first, crawling on hands and knees until her feet – still bare – disappeared inside.

Allura followed after taking a bracing breath – she’d never much cared for small confined spaces, and since spending ten thousand years inside a cryopod that discomfort hadn’t been soothed. She was wary of every sound they made – their elbows knocking against the walls of the vents, their breathing echoing, any peep that might escape their lips – but no grate opened, no one challenged them inside. In fact, Pidge seemed almost comfortable, like she was the queen of this windy maze of a castle.

“Oh, we’re here,” Pidge whispered after stopping suddenly, when Allura almost tripped over her feet. She felt along the floor, then moved forward a little. “I need you to open it up.”

“Right.” Allura crawled a little more until her fingers slipped through the gaps in a grate. She gripped tightly, wiggling to check what leeway she had, before pushing against it as hard as she could.

Fractures spread in the already corroded metal, and Allura added a foot for leverage. The grate then broke off, slipping from her grip and falling to the floor of the bridge below.

Allura and Pidge peered down at a small group of soldiers a short distance below, all of whom glanced up when a mostly intact metal grate fell. Allura smiled and Pidge waved, right before telling Allura to keep going straight and that they would be in contact.

She slid from the hole and fell onto a soldier, a blaster confiscated from another one in her hands as she fired at them.

Allura watched and angled her own blaster down, taking out the soldiers that tried to sneak up on Pidge from behind; and she wasn’t sure if it was her imagination, but she thought her aim actually improved!

Within doboshes the room was vacated of conscious Galra soldiers, and Pidge already set to work locking the bridge’s doors. She then looked up at Allura and said, “I’ve got this! Keep going to the engine.”

“All right,” Allura said. She returned her blaster to her belt and turned carefully inside the narrow vent, facing her destination.

The systems aboard this Galra vessel functioned just the same as aboard any other despite the Druid in command, which meant that Pidge could infiltrate it with uncanny ease, and without even her prepared translation program within reach.

“Thank you standardized systems,” Pidge muttered, smirking as she found the security protocols between the bridge and the engine rooms.

First she shut down most of the alarms – the ones that she could access indirectly – and unlocked all the doors in Allura’s path. After dragging an unconscious Galra soldier for the use of his handprint, Pidge locked the fighter hangar doors. Then, the pièce de résistance:

Pidge found the microphone to the ship-wide intercom system and turned it on. “Attention, soldiers! There are two intruders aboard and they have infiltrated the bridge! Everyone not on duty, report to the bridge immediately and take them out with extreme prejudice! Vrepit Sa.” She clicked it off, and though she doubted that what she said was consistent to protocol, she was sure she’d achieved her objective and that every soldier aboard the ship would stay out of her and Allura’s path to escape.

Hopefully.

Pidge pulled the communication device from her belt right as Allura contacted her.

“Pidge, what were you thinking?” she demanded. “They’re coming right for you!”

“Yeah, which means their eyes aren’t on you,” Pidge pointed out. Without waiting for Allura’s impending lecture, she found an alternative route away from the bridge, one that would have less resistant traffic, and took it, barely escaping the attention of the first of the soldiers that she’d lured to the bridge. She ducked out of the way of the doorway, hiding in a shadow just beyond an alcove and out of sight of any other soldiers passing by.

“Pretty soon,” she told Allura, keeping her voice low, “they’re going to be too busy looking for us in the wrong place, and then from there they’ll be too busy trying to get in or out.”

“What do you—”

Pidge pressed a button – repurposed while she was in the bridge – on her linked communication device and watched as the doors to the bridge slid shut. “I hacked their security system,” she said. “I control it from my com.”

She lingered only long enough to make sure that the soldiers still filing down the hall were preoccupied with attempting to help their comrades inside escape – and those confined would be frantically trying to get beyond Pidge’s own security measures.

“I’m on my way to the pods now,” Pidge said to Allura. “I’ll see you there.”

“Yes, I suppose you will,” Allura agreed. When Pidge didn’t respond immediately, she clipped the communication device back onto her belt and continued forward.

Per Pidge’s promise and efforts, the path ahead was mostly clear of soldiers, enough that she’d grown to her preferred size as soon as she’d emerged from the vents. She was still forced to duck around corners to avoid sentries and drones, but thanks to the blaster in her hands and the blade she now had at her belt, she was far from defenseless.

Allura followed the path laid out by the map projected from the com to the engines. Shadows filled the voluminous chamber, the corners and edges so dark they were out of sight, and the cavern was crisscrossed with catwalks leading to different parts of the hardware for the engineers to access.

After consulting the engines’ design specs, Allura selected a catwalk leading to the largest engine, the only one almost constantly operating, though rarely at full power. If she irreparably damaged that one, she and Pidge would have nothing to fear once they escaped; the ship would destroy itself once it gave pursuit, the engine overloading as it tried to achieve full power.

Allura blasted a continuous stream of laser fire at a crucial part, interfering with the engine’s function. Then, satisfied that the damage was substantial and enough, she turned and headed the way she came, running in her hurry to leave the engines behind and making her way to the escape pods.

A hall away, lightning struck Allura, traveling up her spine and making her hair stand on end. When the shock faded, she fell to the ground on hands and knees, hissing at the pain dancing through her nerves. Not again, she thought, eyes wide as she frantically scanned the hallway, searching for her assailant.

Left, she thought. The electricity traveled from her left hand first, so—

Allura raised her blaster and fired it towards her left; the shadows there coalesced, momentarily revealing the lurker who vanished as the shot pierced them.

“I hate Druids,” Allura grumbled, straightening and holding the rifle firmly in both hands, dreading the next blow.

Allura was late. The path was clear, the escape pod ready for their escape, but Allura was late.

Pidge put the communication device up to her mouth again and said, “Allura?”

This time, she answered immediately. “I’m kind of in the middle of something, Pidge,” she said, breathless and sounding pained.

“Where are you?” Pidge demanded. “And who—” Where did I screw up…again?

“Not far from – quiznak – the escape pods.” A shot from a blaster sounded. “It’s a quiznaking Druid.”

“I’m on my way.” Pidge clipped the com back onto her belt and sprinted in the direction Allura indicated, towards the engines. She came across her standing stiffly, eyes flitting rapidly from side to side, a blaster in one hand and a sword in the other.

Pidge gripped her own blaster tightly in both hands, warily scanning the hall for the Druid. “Where’d it go?” she asked Allura.

“Quiznak knows,” Allura said.

The Druid appeared just behind Allura, raising their hands in preparation for an attack, but then it spotted Pidge and vanished.

“Back to back,” Allura said once Pidge pointed them – or their absence – out. She turned, putting her back to Pidge’s, and they turned in a slow circle.

“Why don’t we just sprint for the pod?” Pidge suggested, tone quiet.

“And leave that thing alive?” Allura said, scandalized.

“Okay, point taken.” Pidge narrowed her eyes, searching, searching… At a rustle in a corner, she raised her blaster and fired a shot, but it was only her own shadow shifting as she and Allura pivoted in place.

The Druid then reappeared in front of Pidge, but this time, before she could fire at them, they said, “Why do you think we would leave you alive?”

“Come on!” Pidge said. “Make your move and stop putting it off!”

Her goading worked, and the Druid raised their hands and attacked, but this time something was different about their attack, light arcing violet rather than white.

At a light pressure from Allura’s elbow pressing into her arm, Pidge spun so that Allura faced the Druid instead, absorbing the attack – the quintessence – and firing it back at them with a frustrated cry.

The quintessence struck hard and fast, faster than the Druid could vanish, right in the center of their hood. They gave an unholy screech, limbs thrashing, and doubled over.

Pidge shook her head, disrupting her horrified fascination, and grabbed Allura’s wrist and towed her to the ready escape pods. She followed stiffly and mutely, her weapons slipping from her grip, climbing into the pod after Pidge without protesting.

Pidge took the pilot’s seat right as the pod ejected from the docking bay. She steered them away at full speed and asked Allura, “Can you keep an eye out for pursuit? I know I covered our bases, but…” She shot a worried glance at her, in time to see her inhale bracingly.

“I’m fine,” Allura reassured her. “At least we know those…Druids can be…killed.” She stared at her hands, shook her head, and switched half the viewscreen to scan the pod’s rear.

Pidge navigated away from the ship, back towards the moon with the space mall. Her heartbeat slowed as they pulled further and further away from the Galra ship, and she relaxed.

“It’s crumbling,” Allura told her. “It won’t be able to chase us.”

“Good,” Pidge said with a smirk. She turned her head and met Allura’s eyes.

Allura smiled back, and laughed. “Now what?”

“Now we return to the mall,” Pidge said, grinning. “You promised I could get my ears pierced, right?”

“Right,” said Allura, “but on one condition.”

Pidge raised an eyebrow at her, taken aback by her serious tone. “What?”

Allura narrowed her eyes at her and said, “Not one word to Coran.”

Ticketing illegally parked shuttles and pods was Varkon’s least favorite part of his job. There was nothing fun or exciting or evil-vanquishing about leaving little slips of paper taped to the front of a vehicle.

But illegal parking inconvenienced the good shoppers that made the effort to park legally, so the least Varkon could do was inconvenience the rulebreakers.

Still, he never expected the imperial pod landed on the curb just outside the mall’s exit, anymore than he expected the note scrawled in childish Galra script:  an apology, and a request for the craft to be scrapped for parts, along with a signature.

Pidge and Allura, Paladins of Voltron.

Varkon glanced around furtively before pocketing the note. He couldn’t remember a Paladin from The Voltron Show named Allura, but he appreciated these delinquents’ gesture.

He still wrote the ticket.

[remainingso]

So last weekend I went crazy and watched Justice League and Thor: Ragnarok in the same day, which mostly meant I had a killer headache at the end of the day, but also now I have a lot of Thoughts about these movies. Mostly about how they use humour, since a lot of my other thoughts have been articulated in better ways by other people. 

Okay so I’m really only comparing the two movies because I watched them back to back, and also I think because the comparison elucidates an interesting point re: humour and superhero movies in general. The tldr: Justice League tried really really really hard to be funny and the jokes were fine, but felt mostly grafted on/undermined existing things in the franchise; the humour in Ragnarok worked surprisingly well for me (a person who generally dislikes movies built on Wacky Space Hijinks, see my unwavering distaste for Guardians of the Galaxy despite everyone and their mothers telling me it’s wonderful) and I think it’s because it feels like a necessary and ingrained part of the movie. 

Spoilers under the read more

SO 

Largely, the humour in Justice League is disparate from the drama of the movie. People make quips at each other, or Barry makes a weird non-sequitur and we laugh at him, I, uh, actually am struggling to remember any of the jokes that cropped up as I type this now, tbh, which probably shows you how pointless most of them were. It...quite frankly reeks of Joss Whedon+the kind of humour in the Avengers. Characters all standing in a circle quipping at each other + big action scenes where some heroes get off a couple of one-liners that are simultaneously funny and Cool, big finale finish, yay! 

Which isn’t necessarily bad, but given the general tone of the DCEU so far, it felt ridiculously out of place. Especially since a lot of the movie isn’t devoid of the more Snyder-y elements (see: slow motion montage of Shitty Things Happening In The World like a Muslim shopkeeper being yelled at because Racism Is Bad and a homeless man sitting with an incredibly on the nose sign that reads ‘I tried’ (like. really??? really????)). So what the weird quippy humour mostly does is just break the atmosphere of seriousness the rest of the movie is clearly trying to achieve. It feels both grandiose and nonchalant, which aren’t tones that mix very well. 

So what struck me as really amazing in Ragnarok was that it was hilarious and the jokes worked really well to tie into our understanding of Thor’s character arc throughout the movie. 

I’ve never liked Thor as a character, by which I mean I thought he was funny and an interesting foil for Loki, the longtime Fave, but when my brother asked me who my favourite Ragnarok character was, I surprised myself when my answer was Thor himself. Not Loki, cunning petty snake of my heart. Not Valkyrie, badass Hot Mess in all sense of the word ‘hot’. But. Thor. And the more I thought about it, the more I think it was because what Ragnarok did really well was render Thor utterly powerless and letting us see what becomes of him after that. 

I’ve always thought that the one way to make me like a character I didn’t before is to take away all their power, and this is basically what happens here. What was really clever, though, I think, is how they did it. Namely, through humour. A lot of the humour in Ragnarok is slapstick. I...lost count of how many times Thor passed out. And furthermore, a lot of the jokes come from undermining Thor’s ego and making him look stupid (see: the teleportation w/Dr. Strange, him getting knocked around by the Hulk, everyone being all “God of Thunder who??????”). There’s this one scene when Thor’s in Hulk’s sweet apartment and he’s kicking stuff around, and his answer to what’s wrong is just that he’s pissed. 

He’s mad that Asgard is dying, and he’s stuck in this alien planet that should normally be a piece of cake for him to handle, and he can’t do anything. 

And then you slowly realize that you’ve been complicit. We feel his powerlessness and shame and frustration more strongly because we’ve been engaging it throughout the movie by laughing at him. 

I don’t think the humour in Justice League isn’t well done. I think it’s genuinely very funny. It was vastly entertaining to sit through. I laughed when Aquaman spilled his secrets accidentally because he was lasso’d, I laughed at all of Barry’s antics, but like a lot of other humourous movies, I never thought they built up to anything in particular, because they don’t really have to. 

But I was really blown away by how nuanced the humour is in Ragnarok, because it has so much lasting power, because it made me love Thor more than I ever thought was possible. Also notably the first Thor movie did take away his powers, but all their jokes were built on, well, how ridiculous of a human Thor is, because Thor is a fucking powerhouse of a human. So he didn’t have his powers, but more importantly, his reputation with the audience is firmly intact. His frustration doesn’t ring as strongly. In Ragnarok, we get a whole slew of people who best Thor, not necessarily through physical means, but systemically, the entire movie’s structure is working against him, and so are we as the audience. How do you bring a god of thunder to his knees? You laugh at him. 

[aafterhours]

The Sound of Silence

#Challenge of Raven

Pairing: Michael x Reader

Warnings: angst

Words: 1841

Prompt: “You don’t have to fight your brother. You don’t have to start an Apocalypse. Please, spare the world. Spare me.”

Author: Silena 

A/N: pFFFFT I CAN’T BELIEVE I’M POSTING THE FIRST FANFIC OF THE BLOG. Thank you Raven aka @bloodstained-porcelain-doll for adding me in your challenge. Please excuse any grammar and vocabulary mistakes I’ve made. I’m not a native speaker, but I still try to improve every day! Thank you for reading and I hope you’ll enjoy!

The familiar sound of the bells ringing filled your ears and brought you back to reality. Raising your head in an instant, you checked the room for the rest of the devoted believers of God, only to realize that you were the last one left still praying. Some of the nuns were changing and gathering the candles while just a few were brooming the corridors. Blinking a few times you took a deep breath and shook your head. You then proceed to recall the events of the past few months and put them in an order, your first memory being the stunning pair of white and gold wings Michael carried on his back. It wasn’t easy to forget them even if you tried. Truth was, you weren’t religious at all. You went to the nearest church and attended the Mass to pray to him and not to his Father. You thought that if there was one person who could stop him from fighting Lucifer, it was you. A light tap on your shoulder brought you out of your thoughts, making you look up to meet the calm look of the priest.

“Excuse me, miss. I didn’t mean to startle you.”  His smooth voice filled your ears

“N-no, father. Excuse me. I didn’t realize the Mass had ended.” You apologized, standing up and taking your first step.

Feeling the priest’s hand on your shoulder once again, you stood still and turned around to face him, meeting his concerned eyes and sweet smile.

“I don’t know what has happened to you, child, but I could tell you were praying for something very intensely. Please, keep in mind that He is always on your side. Never lose your faith.” he told you, widening his smile.

You looked down to your feet, wiggling your toes underneath your dog slippers. Going to church wasn’t in your plans that night, so you just went ahead wearing your pajamas and an oversized hoodie, just to convince yourself that if you caught a cold, it wouldn’t be your fault. You really wanted to blurt out that you were praying to an angel and not God himself, but you kept your thoughts hidden, raising your head and smiling at the polite man.

“Thank you, Father.” You nodded, turning to head to the doors of the building

The cold wind of the night hit you as soon as you stepped outside and admired the beautifully lighted but deserted scenery of the road in front of you. Hugging yourself tightly, you began to walk the stone path in the church’s yard. You parked the car a fair distance from the church for no reason and now you had to pay the cost. The walk to your car felt brief as you marched deep in thought of your beloved angel. You knew that Michael was trying to be a good soldier, an obedient son. But that didn’t cancel the fact that bringing the Apocalypse and fighting Lucifer would end the world, including you and your loved ones, destroying every opportunity for a new, better life, away from hunting, danger and pain. He was taking away your chance for a fresh start and as much as you loved him you couldn’t accept that. You needed to convince him that the fight he wanted to give was completely avoidable, if only he let you help him.

Without even realizing it, you finally reached your car, eagerly shoving your hand in the pocket of your hoodie to find the keys and unlock the driver’s door. Before the key was fully inside the lock, you saw the light from the street lamps flickering, hearing the familiar sound an angel’s wings flapping. Taking a deep breath, you turn around taking in Michael’s proud figure.

“You came.” You mumbled “You answered my prayer.”

Quickly approaching him, you wrapped your arms around his torso, nuzzling your nose in his vessel’s chest and enjoying his sweet warmth. Soon, you felt his hands resting on the back of your head and in the middle of your shoulder blades, gently stroking your hair, as his warm lips left a kiss on your forehead.

“How could I not?” You heard his deep voice questioning “Your prayer was heard through the whole Heaven. Even if I wanted to avoid it, I would not be able to.” He admitted, stroking your cheek

You pulled away, crossing your arms over your chest and sighed deeply before you rose your eyes to look at him.

“We need to talk.” You started

“Clearly.” He answered as a matter of fact

“And something tells me that you know exactly what the topic is.” You continued, resting your weight on your right foot.

He nodded, taking a serious and collected look on his face as he spoke.

“Y/N, we’ve been over this so many times and yet, you never fail to bring the subject back again.” The angel noted, mimicking your movement of crossing your arms over your chest

“Well, since it affects me, I think I get to have a chance to convince you to stop.”

“Y/N, this fight is between me and my brother. It has nothing to do with you.” He snapped, looking at you sharply

“It does! Michael, this fight is going to destroy humanity!” you argued waving your hands angrily

“I told you. You are going to be safe. I will make sure that you will be completely unharmed after everything.” Michael tried to assure you

“Michael, how on EARTH am I supposed to be unharmed when I know that I’ll be alone? This war isn’t just going to finish your job. It’s going to strip all human beings from every right of life and dreams they’ve ever had!” you raised your voice ever so slightly, taking a step towards him

“Sacrifices must be made, Y/N You know that.” He shook his head bitterly

“Are you listening to yourself? You’re going to destroy an entire planet for the sake of an ancient vendetta!” You exclaimed “Please stand down! We can find another way to defeat Lucifer. Together!”

You didn’t think that his eyes could look even harder at you, but they did.

“You are asking me to act like a coward?” he asked quietly, anger boiling in his eyes

“No, darling. I’m asking you to understand what you want to do and get out of it. Bringing the Apocalypse and killing off all the humans, is cancelling completely what God told you about loving us more than you love him!” you explained

“I am an obedient soldier. A good son. I’m following his orders exactly as they came from him, as he is the creator of the world and his aspect is perfection. Are questioning the aspect of God himself, Y/N?” he asked you

“W-what? No, Michael! Just listen to me for a moment” You snapped grabbing his face in your hands and locking your eyes with his as your foreheads touched

“You don’t have to fight your brother. You don’t have to start an Apocalypse. Please, spare the world. Spare me.” You pleaded

His crystal blue eyes roamed over the features of your face for just a few seconds, only to close in disappointment. He grabbed your forearms and pushed you away.

“You, I am going to spare, my love. But I couldn’t care less for all the other humans walking this earth.” The angel stated, turning his back at you to leave.

“Goddammit, Michael!” You yelled breaking into tears “By sparing only me, you are ruining me! You might as well kill me with everyone else! If humanity goes down like you want it to, I’ll go down with it too! Because living a life without my family and my friends is as good as not living at all!” you screamed as the cascades of tears soaked the skin of your cheeks.

Michael didn’t move a single bit. You watched him as his proud stance had turned into a defeated one, his head tilted downwards and his arms fallen on his sides.

“Dammit.” You sniffled “You’re asking me to stand beside you calm, as the word I was born into crumbles into bits and pieces. I can’t do that. Please stop.” You sobbed the last part hugging yourself to get warmer as the chilly air of the night rushed through your bones.

The archangel turn around, looking at your small and sad figure. He couldn’t stand seeing you like this. It was ripping his heart in half. On the other hand, he couldn’t disobey his Father because of love. That would make him corrupted. Fallen.

“Do you love me, Y/N?” He asked you softly

You whiped the tears off your eyes, looking at him surprised. You didn’t speak. You didn’t nod. You just looked at him, prospecting his question. Did you truly love him? Or were you just excited by him?

“Because if you do, as you claim to do, you will follow me. And you will let me fulfil my duty. You will not corrupt me.” He exclaimed bitterly

You didn’t need to hear anything else. Your vision went blurry and the blood in your ears rushed through your veins, his words still ringing in your head.

“No, Michael. I can’t do that.” You gave him a sad smile, raising your hands by your sides “I am human. And humans have free will. Following you under your conditions would be called obedience. Not love. And I refuse to surrender like that to you.”

The blue-eyed man took a shaky breath without losing his sharp and collected look.

“Then I believe we have finished our business here, miss Y/N L/N.” He responded, rising his jaw at you in a deceptive manner

“Indeed, we do, Archangel Michael.” You reassured him, trying to control your voice

The next moment the lamp of the street light exploded, as the faint sound of his wings indicated that he left. Unable to hold yourself up straight, you rushed in your car, plopping on the driver’s seat and gripping at the wheel of the vehicle. A few moments passed and you finally let yourself break into tears once again, at the loss of your mate. You wished love didn’t hurt this much. And you wished you were never a hunter. But most of all, you wished that Michael would gain his free will someday. You wondered if your smallest prayer, the simplest cord and shortest word would be enough to bring Michael back and prevent the Apocalypse. You were afraid to find out.

In the drive back to your place you realized two things. One, Michael and you would never be truly happy. It was for the better that you were separated. And two, that if those Winchesters were willing to bring down the Apocalypse, they were going to need as much help as they could get, including you. So the first thing you were going to do the next morning? Call the brothers and make an alliance against Michael and Lucifer. An alliance to turn against your mate.

[gwyvian]

Resistances and Dalliances

Chapter 5: Tears of the Sky

Ryder woke with a start, drowsily wondering what had possessed her to sleep in a place that made every muscle in her body burn and knot in the worst way possible, and she groaned and rolled onto her back to try to ease at least a little bit of her discomfort. The last vestiges of a contented dream were still clouding her mind like a gentle fog, but it didn’t take long for her to remember where she was and what had happened when her eyes began to bring the world into focus again and found Evfra beside her, sitting against a leg of the table with his chin propped speculatively in one palm, eyes staring broodily at the wall across from them.

He was also not wearing a stitch, a fact which simultaneously fascinated her and made her feel a little awkward for looking. Despite the flustering memory of being in his arms as she drifted off to sleep coming into her mind unbidden, she couldn’t help but feel that she was intruding on his privacy, especially considering how grim he looked; it wasn’t an encouraging expression right after intimacy.

“So… where do we go from here?” Ryder asked as casually as she could and felt her cheeks flush as Evfra’s eyes touched her.

“You’re awake,” he said, avoiding the question.

Ryder averted her eyes and began to search around for her clothes; she still felt cold inside and the floor wasn’t exactly warm, despite the heat of the lamp bathing everything in its orange glow. She sincerely hoped she hadn’t embarrassed herself by falling asleep at the wrong moment when sheer exhaustion overtook her and she was beginning to feel increasingly self-conscious the longer Evfra didn’t commit to an opinion on what they had shared. Most importantly, she felt too exposed at that moment, vulnerable in a way that she did not like being while there was still this tangible uncertainty between them.

Evfra seemed to sense her unease, because he added, “I suppose I see what some others see in your kind.” His eyes went back to the wall.

Ryder dressed hastily, beginning to shiver, and let the silence stretch until she had almost all her clothes and armor back in place. Every inch of her seemed to have suffered from their earlier ordeal, her hands and arms were crisscrossed with cuts and she found a few bruises on her ribs and legs that were beginning to purple. All in all, she didn’t feel particularly attractive at the moment, which did not improve her mood, but she was proud of how she managed to avoid dwelling on thoughts of slapping Evfra silly for his idiotic lack of feelings when he had practically swept her off her feet earlier, or the ringing absence of admiration or displays of affection to soothe her nerves, or the casual dismissiveness with which he ignored her now, or his backhanded compliment, or…

Their eyes met again as she strapped the last piece of equipment in place and he very obviously noted her state of dress, as if surprised by it. Well what did he expect on a planet undergoing an ice age? she thought irritably, but nevertheless his look made her almost regret not waiting a little longer. Almost. Cold or no, she felt a little too damp this close to the lamp with all her armor on to trap the moisture in, but at least she no longer felt like her soul was bared before the insufferable man. She wished she didn’t have flashbacks of tender kisses along her neck or his almost rough, passionate embrace every time she looked at him. Clearly he didn’t feel at a disadvantage in his undress, nor did he seem to be plagued with such memories as he continued to just sit there without even a hint of embarrassment.

“Angara choose partners with serious intentions usually,” he said finally, and for a wonder he sounded uncharacteristically hesitant. His eyes were still like glaciers, though the more she studied them the more she realized that there was something different in the way he looked at her. It wasn’t warmth, but it was… a familiarity?

Ryder thought she knew why he sounded that way, though. Relief surged in her, but she was startled by how much his unspoken rejection hurt. She hastily composed her face and tried to let go of the inevitable feelings of inadequacy, irritated at herself for feeling them in the first place. It wasn’t about her personally, she was sure; it still stung that apparently he didn’t find her irresistible enough to forego this part of the conversation, though. Not that she had expected anything else; she just couldn’t imagine it going any other way.

“I cannot have a family again,” Evfra continued. Not exactly the gentlest way to put it, but it at least it was some consolation that there seemed to be a definite hint of regret in his eyes. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on her part, fulfilling a need to mend the laceration his words striped across her ego.

“It’s fine,” she replied stiffly, pressing her lips together to keep the building lump in her throat from putting a betraying quaver in her voice. She didn’t want him to misunderstand and think that she wanted more from him, after all. After a deep breath, she felt it was safe to speak again. “It was a one-time thing. You needed an outlet, and I suppose so did I.”

“Good,” Evfra said, finally standing. He stepped closer to her and unexpectedly ran a tender finger down her cheek. “Do not mistake this as a lack of desire for you,” he continued, bluntly as ever, “I know your heart is elsewhere and on my part I cannot let myself be distracted. The Resistance needs me. They are my only family and I cannot, I will not, give them anything less than my whole being, for the sake of my fighters and for all angara everywhere.”

Ryder quivered, fighting sudden hot tears of mingled despair and rage and she pulled away from him, turning her face away to hide it and he didn’t try to stop her. Why did he do that? It was bad enough that she was reacting like a schoolgirl turned down by her first crush; she wasn’t even sure if she liked Evfra at all in the first place.

“I think you made that pretty clear already,” Ryder replied stonily, though she tried to moderate her tone. She grimaced, concentrating on one spot away from him as she struggled to regain control over herself, trying to blink the tears back without letting a single one fall while keeping up the appearance that she was just fine with it all. She was fine with it all, she didn’t expect or want a… relationship with him; she did wish he would stop talking about not wanting it, though.

Well, perhaps it was a lie that she didn’t like him; he had put notions in her head before anything happened between them – but they had all been harmless fancies with no possibility of realization. Now that they had crossed over that threshold, she found she had no idea where they stood or how she was supposed to act. How did you keep a professional tone with someone you experienced cathartic passion with and ignore how unexpectedly fulfilling it was? No one had ever needed her like that before and even if what had happened was just a physical thing, the fulfillment had certainly been an emotional one. At least, that’s what Ryder felt she had poured herself into.

“Take me back to Aya,” Evfra said, “I’ve been away long enough.” He began dressing and, despite herself, Ryder couldn’t help but watch out of the corner of her eye. She was ready to admit she was a little taken with the way his shirt hung off his shoulders, crumpled and half-donned as it was. She felt a little calmer now that it seemed their conversation about what had happened was conclusively over; if he was changing the subject, there was nothing more to say.

“Any chance the Resistance could lend us a shuttle to get back to the Nomad?” Ryder asked, trying for briskness. She really didn’t relish the idea of braving Voeld’s climate again so soon after escaping it and though their brief time in Techiix was restorative, her body definitely had a ways to go before she could push it again.

“Those shuttles have important work to do, not carry you around for your leisure when you can walk,” he replied disapprovingly.

Ryder smiled. It was comforting to hear him his old, gruff self. “I had to try,” she said and the remark provoked a grunt from him.

When their eyes met again though, she saw again that familiarity, only now it struck her as an unquenched thirst for connection when he looked at her. Something profound had changed between them irrevocably and no light-hearted jabs at him would take that away. She wasn’t sure if she regretted that or not. That look did make her a little angry at him, though; if he was going to keep his distance, he should moderate his eyes and not make her squirm with uncertainty every time they met hers.

They left the room behind and from the moment they stepped outside Evfra’s whole manner changed. He radiated calm confidence and he seemed to have regained an ineffable equilibrium she hadn’t seen in evidence since they left Aya behind and their misguided ‘mission’ began. He acknowledged everyone that called out to him, but his long strides did not leave room for conversation, for which Ryder was thankful. She wasn’t prepared to face angaran honesty if any of them happened to notice and ask why she and Evfra had been closeted together for such a long time.

“Evfra,” Ryder broke the silence, “before we go back to Aya, maybe we should track down that Roe—uh, the angaran who lead us to the cave,” she amended hastily, partly not wanting to be overheard and partly not wanting to antagonize the Resistance leader. She remembered that he didn’t believe that the man they had met was a Roekaar, though she herself was convinced beyond a doubt. Evfra would see reason, but she didn’t think she had the leverage to convince him otherwise just yet.

“We’re done with that. You stay if you want to, but I am needed on Aya,” Evfra said with a finality that left no room for debate.

Ryder went on anyway, undeterred. “Isn’t it worth it to just check? He was poking around the very device which led us into a trap, you can’t call that coincidence. Not to mention that he was the one who shouted that name to you.”

Evfra sighed vexedly. “Very well, I will send a team to find him. Do not ask any more than that.”

“Fine,” Ryder said with relief. “I guess I’ll just… hang around headquarters to hear the results of that then,” she glanced at him sideways to catch his reaction, but beyond an ever so subtle twitch, he did not react at all.

Ryder thought the time of day must have changed, but to her eyes Voeld’s bleak skies were perpetually the same grim shade of gray no matter what hour it was. At least there was light enough to see; the road to reach the Nomad wasn’t exactly treacherous, but her footing was still far from steady. Somehow she managed not to slip every five steps and be faced with coming into physical contact with Evfra again and again; it did happen a few times, and each occasion left her trembling worse from memories than the cold. She wasn’t sure she could bear much more of that without tossing dignity to the winds and admitting that she wasn’t sure she was through with him yet, and as soon as that thought occurred to her, she decided that the man or the cold, or both, had simply addled her brains. It certainly was an uncomfortable realization.

They made the journey in silence and at least on Ryder’s part, she spent the time mulling over how to convince Evfra to pursue the investigation of the Roekaar, especially to clear the Inititative’s name beyond any doubt. She thought she must have helped the Resistance leader dodge the emotional harm intended for him by helping him release those feelings – thinking of it that way made her giddy, pleased and mortified all at once – but she was sure that there was more to this scheme than what they had encountered already. Besides, she truly wanted to punish the one responsible for using his own mother as a tool to break him in the first place.

Absorbed in thoughts of how to phrase her argument to Evfra and the brief, wistful daydreams of their time together which intruded into those thoughts, it seemed like no time at all that they were climbing into the Nomad and heading for the Tempest. The way her knees trembled and almost buckled as soon as she bent them to climb inside was a rude reminder that she was far from recuperated. In comparison to their trek across the almost seamless white expanse to where they had parked what seemed like an age ago, the portion of the journey travelled in the Nomad felt almost unreal as they glided effortlessly to the ship. When they finally rolled aboard the Tempest and climbed out, it occurred to Ryder that Evfra hadn’t barked any lurid instructions at her about hiding his presence; she wasn’t about to bring it up, though.

Being home again was sweeter than she expected, as if somehow the universe righted itself and she could properly sort out all the experiences she had gathered planetside. She immediately instructed Kallo to take them up and set a course for Aya over the comm, already immersed in fantasizing about a shower. The blood and sweat lost its charm very quickly, although she rather enjoyed Evfra’s lingering moonkissed scent clinging to her here and there, as if he had laced ambrosial snowy flowers through her hair and across her skin, masking everything else; perhaps getting rid of that reminder of their time together would help soothe the inexplicable hollowness she felt knowing it wouldn’t happen again.

Everything seemed to be going remarkably smoothly and she was almost sure she would be able to reach her quarters and seclude herself from everyone without having to talk to anyone – maybe even sort out her feelings if she was lucky – but as fate would have it, no one was where she expected them to be; their passage did not go unnoticed.

“Welcome back Ryder – Evfra!” Suvi said in feigned surprise, emerging from the Med Bay and passing them by. “It is a pleasure to have you aboard. I had no idea you were on Voeld.” She exchanged a smirk with Lexi over her shoulder, who was standing behind in the Med Bay’s doorway.

Ryder groaned, closing her eyes.

Evfra nodded to the science officer in sour acknowledgement without saying a word and Ryder wasn’t sure if he caught her mocking tone or not; she couldn’t tell by his reaction, since that expression seemed to be the default one he greeted everyone with. Then, to her horror, he headed straight for her quarters. Ryder practically scampered after him, hissing for him to stop, which he ignored. As they passed Lexi, she gave Ryder a friendly smile and a very speculative look and Ryder could feel her inquisitive eyes on their backs as they disappeared into the Pathfinder’s quarters. Evfra stopped once he was inside, examining her furniture disapprovingly, eyes travelling from couch to bed and everything in between.

“Evfra, you definitely can’t stay in here,” Ryder said as soon as the doors shut behind her, mortified.

“Why not?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“Well, they’re my quarters. I want to change and…”

“We have been intimate, there’s not much more to hide.” He frowned at her, clearly not understanding what the fuss was about.

Ryder gaped at him. “Uh, well,” she stammered, running a harassed hand through her hair. “You’re not hiding anymore, you could go anywhere on the ship, but if you spend your whole journey here they’re going to get the wrong idea.” Especially if she walked out of here fresh and clean; she dearly hoped her face wasn’t nearly as crimson as it felt.

“How is that the wrong idea?” he asked, frown deepening in confusion. “That’s exactly what happened.”

Ryder covered her eyes. How could she explain? He wanted to keep things professional – she didn’t think he was capable of ‘friendly’ – but didn’t seem to realize that even rumors of a possible dalliance would completely change their relationship in ways he probably did not want to experience, if only he knew about them.

“Look, Evfra, you said you don’t want anything between us,” she said awkwardly, not looking at him. “If you start flaunting that you bedded me,” the wording made her blush, but she wanted to drive her point home firmly, “no one from the Initiative will believe that we’re not in relationship. Everything we do will be scrutinized under that microscope, they’ll drag you into conversations because they think I have influence over you and I wouldn’t be surprised if your own people started to think of you differently.”

Evfra made a noise of disgust. “Your people have a strange way of going about this. What more is there to it than an expression of feeling? Even I have them, if I don’t share all of them with everyone.”

Frustration built into prickles of anger; the man was stubborn as an ox. “I would very much like to be alone for a time,” she said coolly, crossing her arms.

Evfra gave her a flat look. “You have an AI in your head. You are never alone. And you don’t have time to sit around here, I need to get back to Aya,” he said forcefully.

“You’re not very subtle, are you,” Ryder gritted her teeth before finally letting out a slow breath, giving up. “Fine, stay. I’ll be on the bridge.” As she was leaving, she rolled her eyes to the ceiling when Evfra immediately made himself comfortable on her bed, nodding in what passed for approval for him.

If anyone asked… she realized a simple denial would not work, but maybe if she just kept her distance and behaved as if nothing were out of the ordinary she might get away with it. Feeling angry, grimy and increasingly desperate for some time alone, she stalked through the ship to find a secluded corner and Evfra’s haste be damned, but Kallo’s urgent voice over the comm stymied that plan.

“Ryder, we’re receiving a distress call. Aya is under attack, the message isn’t clear but it sounds like someone is trying to perform an orbital strike!”

“What?” Ryder gasped. “Under attack by whom?”

“The reports say… it’s the Initiative,” Kallo said anxiously. “It could be the exiles, but they’re definitely our weapons.”

Ryder cursed, punching the wall. “On my way,” she said grimly, flexing the hand she had punched with painfully. She tried to focus on the anger she felt, it seemed to rejuvenate her, but a cold knot was building in her stomach as her thoughts kept straying to how she would explain this to Evfra; and whether she could continue to believe that her people hadn’t been behind it all from the start after all.

[passionate-noona]

child whisperer

Group/Member: BTS // Taehyung

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 2.029

Prompt: AU w/ Taehyung 11 I’m babysitting and I’m half tempted to kick this kid to the moon, please come over and make sure that doesn’t happen.

Summary: Still a little rusty because of the recent writers block I’ve been having. I hope you guys enjoy though~

Masterlist // AU Prompt List // Dialogue Prompt List // Rules

From all the stories that you had heard your co-worker share in regards to her son, you would have thought that he was the sweetest little boy on the planet. Pictures aligned her desk of him, that sweet smile shining through with one missing front tooth. Some pictures showed him dressed head to toe in his baseball clothes, and others showed him hugging and laughing with friends or family. Anybody who looked at the pictures or heard the stories about him would think that he was a great kid. You had been one of those people, and it had been a reason why agreeing to babysit him had been such an easy decision. Not only did you think it would be fun but you also really liked your coworker, so when she’d gone to you distressed about her usual babysitter canceling last minute, you hadn’t given it much thought before agreeing right away to fill in.

As you came to realize with many things however, expectations and reality were two extremely different things. The sweet little boy who liked hugs and playing nicely that you had imagined in your head and thought you knew through many pictures was far from the truth. The reality of the matter was this; you were babysitting a demon child.

Hiding behind the couch in the living room, you could still hear the boy yelling and hollering as he ran through the house, nerf gun in hand that he had been relentlessly shooting you with for over an hour now. When you’d first walked through the door, he’d been smiling sweetly next to your co-worker, smiling up at you and even partially hiding behind his mother’s leg.

“Don’t mind him, he’s just being a little shy,” she’d said to you.

You’d thought it had been adorable and had smiled right back, giving him a little wave. Then his mother had left though, and his true self had come shining through for all the world to see.

“Monster!!! Must kill the monster!” was what he’d first screamed as the first nerf bullet hit you dead in the forehead, effectively stunning you for a few seconds as you were unable to comprehend what had just happened. There literally could be no way that this was the same boy that you had seen a mere few minutes ago, nor was it the boy that you’d seen in the pictures.

“Jiho! That is not okay,” you’d said, trying to keep your voice calm but stern at the same time. The little boy hadn’t even heard you though as he ran circles around you, continuously pulling the trigger and hitting your back and stomach with the foam bullets.

“Die! Die! Die! Die!” Jiho had hollered relentlessly before taking off into another room.

“What the hell did I get myself into?” you mumbled to yourself just as an overly excited and active Jiho came back, new nerf gun – a much larger one than before – in hand as he continued his attack on you.

For almost an hour you tried everything you could do to get him to calm down. You tried offering different games for him to play, all of which he expressed his hate for with a stuck-out tongue. From there you attempted to get him to come and have a snack with you, some crackers and carrot bites with some juice; he’d knocked over the juice spilling it all over your lap before tossing his carrots on the ground. By this point you were already at your whit’s end and the clock was saying you still had four more hours to go. You didn’t even want to know what was going to happen when his bed time rolled around.

So, that was how you had found yourself behind the couch. Between your raging headache and irritation, you weren’t sure how much longer you were going to be able to last before your temper started up. Why the heck was it so hard to get kids to listen? Your own nieces and nephews always listened to you, and they loved your cooking, and they also thought you had great game ideas. All your areas of expertise – at least that you thought you had expertise in – were being turned away and sneered at by Jiho.  You were running out of ideas, and you know that the longer you stayed behind the couch, the greater chance that he was going to come and find you. That’s when you go the idea though.

“Jiho, I’m going to use the bathroom, please try and behave,” you said as you stood up from behind the couch. Jiho only responded with some sort of war call as he climbed up onto the couch and began jumping up and down on the cushions.

“This had better work…” you mumbled under your breath as you made your way to the bathroom, closing and locking the door. Three rings later and your savior had answered the phone.

“What’s up beautiful?”

Even the sound of Taehyung’s voice had you calming down as you let out a sigh, back slumping against the bathroom wall.

“I thought that you were babysitting right now.”

“I am babysitting, and that’s why I’m calling you,” your voice is kept down, part of you scared that Jiho is standing outside the door listening in on your conversation and ready to attack. “Taehyung, I need your help, you like kids, right?”

“Yeah, I love them…but why do you need my help?” he asks.

Biting your lip, you let out a sigh and just say it. “This kid is the actual spawn of Satan.” There’s silence on the other end of the line before Taehyung suddenly bursts out laughing. “It isn’t funny!” you hiss into the phone, double checking the lock on the door. “He seriously won’t listen to a word that I say and he’s been attacking me with nerf guns and yelling and screaming and he stained my pants with apple juice,” you say, noticing the visible pout in your lip when you look towards the mirror.

Taehyung can even hear the pout in your voice as you continue and that’s what gets him to finally stop laughing. “Aww babe,” he sooths. On the other end, he’s already getting his jacket on because really, he has nothing else going on and what could be so bad about this little boy? “It’s okay, Taehyung is coming to the rescue, just hold tight.”

***

Fifteen minutes later when you hear the knock on the door you nearly run to it, immediately undoing the lock and throwing the door open, revealing Taehyung’s smiling face. “Oh, thank god.” Reaching forward you grab his shirt and yank him inside.

“Is that candy stuck in your hair?” Taehyung asks, leaning forward and examining the sucker that Jiho had sucked on for no more than five minutes before launching it at you. Your glare is enough of an answer for Tae as he pulls his hand away, thinking it’s probably not best to try and remove it.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” you grumble, crossing your arms just as a loud screech rings from down the hallways. “Please, just help me get this child under control,” a clear bagging tone laced through your voice as you look at Taehyung.

“No worries babe, I’m an expert with kids,” and with that he marches down the hallway towards the noise. You can’t help but watch his back and think that he’s the bravest man you know; you just hope that he comes back in one piece.

Whatever it is that Taehyung is doing with Jiho, it seems to work though. It gives you time to straighten up the living room so that it doesn’t look like an utter bomb went off, and it also gives you time to actually make dinner. His mother had left ingredients for what she said was his favorite meal so you get to making it in no time. As it cooks you decide to go and check up on what the boys are doing, slightly worried that you haven’t seen Taehyung since he arrived. As you make your way to Jiho’s bedroom though and push the door open, you’re pleasantly shocked at what you see.

Firstly, there are Legos everywhere. It’d be nearly impossible to step into the room without getting one jammed up your foot. But there in the center of the room is the largest Lego building you’ve ever seen, Jiho and Taehyung at the center of it as they bicker over what piece should be placed where and if they should start building extensions.

“Hey…” you say tentatively, not really wanting to interrupt since Jiho is clearly very well behaved at this point, but knowing that they need to stop and eat. Looking up from the building Taehyung shoots you a smile.

“We’re building a skyscraper,” Jiho yells towards you before Taehyung can say anything. He simply shrugs his shoulders at you when you give him a confused look. Jiho hadn’t calmed down for a second for you after his mother had left and now he was calmly building? Either you were just horrible with kids or Taehyung was the child whisperer.

“I see that. I just finished making dinner though if you’d like to both take a break and come eat?” you ask, fingers crossed that this would go smoothly too.

“That sounds perfect!” Taehyung yells, grabbing onto Jiho as he was bending over to pick up more Legos. The little boy lets out an excited squeal, the pieces falling from his hands as Taehyung expertly makes their way through the maze of pieces on the floor. You smile at this before stepping back out and leading the way to the kitchen. In no time, you have everybody settled with food in front of them, and to your surprise Jiho is sitting calmly next to Taehyung and eating like no tomorrow. You keep shooting Taehyung looks that scream ‘how’ but he simply winks at you and continues to chew on his food.

Later when all the dishes are cleared and cleaned, and Jiho is completely passed out in his bed with pajamas, you finally face Taehyung with crossed arms and a full-on pout. “How were you so good with him? I swear he didn’t listen to a word I was saying when it was just me and him, and yet he does literally everything you tell him to do.”

Taehyung simply lets out a chuckle as he pulls you into his arms, petting your hair. “He misbehaved a little when I first started playing with him. I just kept redirecting him and told him that it was more fun to play when both people were having fun,” he said as you pulled away and looked up at him.

“I think you’re just amazing with kids,” you sigh as you rest your check against his chest. The rumbling of his laughs go into you, making you smile.

“It’s good practice for when we have our own.”

This makes you shoot your head up again, eyes big as they look into his. “Our own?”

“Yeah…our own,” he says back, that boxy grin taking over his face. You smile just as largely back at him and squeeze him into you even more.

“Not for like ten more years though…” you mumble, Taehyung laughing again. “I’m pretty sure I would have gone crazy if you hadn’t come over.”

“Next time you babysit him just have me come right away.”

With a snort, you simply shake your head, “Who said there was gonna be a next time even?” that’ when you notice the sheepish look on Taehyung’s face.

“I may have told him that we’d babysit him from now on if that’s what he liked,” his hand coming up and absently scratching his head as you only groan and smack him. “Oh, come on it isnt’ that bad, and plus now we’re alone…wanna be the naughty babysitter who ignores the kid to make-out in the living room?” his eyebrows wiggling at you.

“You’re so dumb,” you say as you pull away from him.

“Is that a yes then?”

“Totally.”