#my attempts to scare people on purpose is laughable but me walking into a room has scared so many people

[whimsyprinx]

skills include: walking quietly and scaring people by suddenly appearing in a room that had previously been empty

[lavendersb]

Our Ultimatum

Chapter 1: Charity 

Boba Fett x Reader

Summary: Finding yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place, you take a gamble and seek the mercy of the new ruler of Tatooine.

Warnings: Spoilers for S2 Ep8 (It’s set some time after the end credit scene), implied age gap, Boba flirting the entire time, mentions of slavery, gratuitous use of the phrase ‘little one’

This is just an excuse for me to be h*rny over king boba i’m so sorry, the smut will probably be in the next chapter! 

Things couldn’t get much worse.

Life had never been easy on Tatooine. With the harsh weather, the hellish wildlife, and the abundance of seedy criminals there wasn’t too much to celebrate on the planet that you had grown up on. You’d always been conscious of the risk of poverty, on this desert world it seemed almost everyone was working off their last credits and thankfully you’d always managed to make yours stretch.

That was until a few cycles, ago when things had taken a turn for the worst.

You see, though the rebellion had brought with it many prosperous outcomes, like the end of the Empire and a half-decent attempt at eradicating slavery, it had also caused a few problems. Tatooine, being the hub of criminal activity that it was had faced a rather thorough clean-up, and the New Republic had pretty much scared away the local bounty hunters guild, taking with it most of the planets custom. Since then raiders seemed to pillage every town on a near weekly basis, leaving you and many others penniless and desperate.

You’d just managed to scrape by, but since losing your job and being evicted from your sorry excuse for a home you’d been faced with a tough decision. One that had lead you on this perilous trek through the desert.

With just the clothes on your back and a small satchel of your few personal belongings, you were headed to Jabba’s Palace, or at least the palace that had once belonged to Jabba the Hutt. Since the death of the Huttese criminal overlord, the Palace had changed hands many times, most recently into the possession of a notorious bounty hunter with a growing monopoly on the criminal underworld. You didn’t know much about this new leader, other than the fact he ran a tight ship, but sadly he might be your only hope.

You’d heard stories of destitute citizens like yourself travelling the Dune Sea to offer their services to the Hutts, a life of slavery in exchange for a roof overhead and a meal every-day. Much more than what most could expect living free. You could only hope that this new leader would be open to the same sort of offers. You’d never thought you’d end up in this situation, but the universe works in mysterious ways.

The palace was a great, monstrous thing towering high above the rocks and dunes surrounding it. You’d once heard it had as many floors underground as it did above, even containing its own exotic animal menagerie. Perhaps you’d soon find out for yourself if that were true.

“What business do you have here?” an armoured guard called out as you approached the doorway to the palace’s main tower.

Adjusting your grip on your satchel, you try to regulate your breathing.

“I’ve come to see Boba Fett,” you announce in what you hope is a determined tone.

The guard seems unconvinced, turning to his partner and laughing beneath his leather helmet. Suddenly you feel very small, and painfully aware of how pitiful you must look right now.

“He’s a busy man,” The guard says, turning back to you “He doesn’t have time to talk to kids like you”

“If I had any other choice, I wouldn’t be here. I’ve come here to offer my services” You snap back, angered by his patronising tone.

The guard bristles, incensed by your little outburst. He shifts his weight and raises his blaster slightly, just enough for you to feel the threat there, but before he can respond his partner interjects.

“Look, sweetheart, this isn’t the place for you. Go back to town and don’t worry yourself with what goes on in here. It’s grizzly business.”

He’s right. You can feel how out of place you are, but right now that just isn’t an option for you. The only thing waiting for you back in Mos Eisley is an empty stomach, your only shot at a future is behind those big metal doors.

Slowly you reach for your pocket, bringing out your last fistful of credits and holding them out in front of you. It’s laughable really, barely enough to buy a bottle of Spotchka and yet it’s all you’ve got to bribe your way in.

“This is all I have left. You can have it if you let me inside��

The guards stare at the pile of credits for a moment, before the first one reaches forward and takes the whole lot.

“Fine. If you’re so sure it’s what you want” he snaps, motioning for his other (and arguably nicer) partner to let you in.  

The guard opens a small door behind him, ushering you through ahead of him. You try to ignore the look of pity he gives you as you step past him.

You emerge into a large, cavernous hall dimly lit with warm lights that hang suspended from wires of various lengths from the ceiling. Distantly you can hear the sound of many people talking and laughing, perhaps some music too. In the centre of the room, a wide descending staircase leads to the lower levels, curving off to the left and into the darkness. It sounds like that’s where all the noise is coming from.

The guard nudges your shoulder softly, gesturing towards the stairs.

You descend into what might be the busiest, loudest room you’ve ever been in. Filled with all sorts of species conversing loudly in groups all over the room, underscored by music that emanates from somewhere you can’t see. It’s dimly lit with a low ceiling that makes it feel like the room is about to collapse in on you, and the gravity of your situation slowly starts to dawn on you.

The guards were right, this Boba Fett really is busy, and you know you don’t belong here.

“He’s up there. Say what you need to say and try not to get me into trouble” the guard says, before stepping back against the wall and out of sight.

You look to where he had pointed, and instantly your blood runs cold. At the back of the room, sat on a raised dais and surrounded by the fiercest looking soldiers you’ve ever seen is the man you’ve come here for. He sits sprawled across a large stone chair- no, throne in his green Mandalorian armour that seems almost black in the low light. He has his face turned towards a woman beside him, her dark hair plaited tightly on her head as she nods along to what he says.

As though she has felt your stare she looks up. Saying something you can’t quite make out, she refocuses the armoured mans attention to you, and now, even from the other side of the room you burn something fierce under their combined gaze.

Boba Fett readjusts himself on the throne, spreading his legs just a fraction wider in a way that is both devastatingly inviting and frighteningly dangerous. He tilts his head, and you take this as your cue to step forward, weaving through the crowd until you reach the space before the dais.

“Are you lost, little one?”

Oh dear.

His voice rings out clear despite the noise around you. His pitch is low and measured, and pierces right into you. For a moment he’s rendered you useless, until you remember he asked you a question.

“No,” you respond in a voice you hope is as clear as his.

He huffs out an amused laugh and tilts his helmet. A few of the soldiers that surround him have turned their attention to your conversation as well.

“Forgive me. It’s not very often I get to see pretty things like you down here. As you can see I move in very specific circles” He gestures with his fingers, and you follow where he points.

Not that you needed to. You’ve been well aware from the minute you set foot down here that you don’t blend in with the numerous bounty hunters and criminals that fill the palace.

“But it seems you’ve come here with a purpose. What can I help you with?” Boba says, leaning forward slightly.

Right, you’ve practiced this. You had plenty of time whilst walking the desert to plan what you were going to say, and now as you face Boba Fett in all his imposing majesty, you’re infinitely glad you did. You probably couldn’t voice an original thought right now even if you tried, not with the nerves coursing through you under Boba’s unwavering gaze. You take a slight breath, ready to begin your well-rehearsed spiel.

“I have nothing. No money, no food. I’ve heard the stories about the people who came here looking to work in exchange for shelter- “

“You mean the slaves?” The dark-haired woman interrupts, throwing you off your rhythm and forcing the words to die on your tongue.

“Well… yes” you say, barely above a whisper.

“How dare you?” Hisses a zabrak bounty hunter that’s been lurking beside the throne “comparing our actions to that of the Hutts?”

The zabrak jumps down from the raised stone plinth, stalking towards you and causing you to shrink away. You’ve barely opened your mouth and already you’ve managed to ruin things. Honestly, you wish the ground would swallow you up.

“That’s enough, I’ve taken no offence” Boba warns, and the zabrak eases off slightly “but you should know we don’t do that here. Strangely enough there is some semblance of morality among us”

“I’m sorry” you offer lamely, hoping to repair some of the damage done in this conversation.

Boba studies you from beneath his visor for a moment, before offering out his hand to you.

“Come here” he asks, and not wanting to cause any more offence, you comply

Tentatively you step forward, eyeing the leering zabrak cautiously before taking Boba’s hand. Your hand fits neatly into the leather of his gloved palm, and he easily helps you up onto the dais to stand directly before him. Boba inspects your face again.

“You look tired, little one. Did you walk across the Dune Sea?” You faintly notice he hasn’t released your hand yet, still clasping it gently in his. You nod, not trusting your words just yet. Boba makes a quiet sound of sympathy that makes your heart flutter, much to your horror.

“And where did you walk from? Where’s home to you?”

His voice has dropped so it’s barely a whisper, a conversation just for the two of you alone.

“I don’t have a home.”

Boba doesn’t respond right away, instead reaching up to thumb the threadbare and sandy material of your tunic. He does so for a moment, seemingly lost in his thoughts before snapping his head up to face you.

“You must be tired. Follow my friend here, she’ll take you somewhere you can rest,” Boba points to the dark-haired woman beside him “Her name is Fennec.”

Shocked by his response, you can only babble out a strangled little “thank you” before Fennec promptly takes you by the arm and starts leading you away. As she ushers you into the crowd again, you turn one last time to meet Boba’s visor. He gives you a nod before you disappear into a hallway.

“I’ll admit you’ve got courage coming all the way here” Fennec says as she leads you along “most people choose come by speeder, the Dune Sea is a dangerous place”

“Well, I didn’t have many other options” you say, taking in the hallways you pass through, trying to commit them to memory.

“So it seems,” she responds, before turning to face you.

“You know if you really want to work for us we could probably sort something out. We can try and find you a job that’s safe and out of the way”

You’ve stopped outside a door, and the woman quickly presses a few buttons on the keypad to open it. Inside you catch a glimpse of a room, its fairly plain but still much nicer than anything you’ve ever had before. The bed looks divine, and you can’t wait to burrow under the covers and rest.

“I’d like that” you respond with a grateful smile; glad your little insult earlier hadn’t ruined all your chances here.

“I’ll see what I can do. There’s a refresher in there. You should wash, and I’ll find you something clean to wear. Rest as long as you need.”

Thanking Fennec you head inside, dropping your bag at the foot of the bed and reaching out to feel the sheets. They’re soft to the touch, but the sand that coats your body in a fine layer falls onto it, ruining the silky texture. Stepping back you begin to strip from your clothes, unwinding the binding that seals the cuffs of your sleeves and trousers. They’re supposed to keep the sand from getting under your clothes and irritating your skin, but in their threadbare condition the bindings haven’t done their job. When you shake out your trousers, half of the Dune Sea seems to fall out of them.

The shower amazes you. It’s a decent size with strong water pressure and it takes you a few moments to figure out how to change the temperature. You take your time under the water, enjoying how relaxing it is compared to the sonic showers you had used your whole life. When you’re sure you’ve washed away all the sand on your body, you wrap yourself in one of the soft towels and pad back to the main bedroom.

Someone had left a set of new clothes for you on the bed, a simple grey tunic and loose-fitting trousers, socks, underwear, and over by the door a soft looking pair of shoes. As you change you vaguely register your growing hunger but thinking of the soft sheets and just how tired you are, you decide that’s something you’ll fix after your nap.

As you lie under the covers in silence, you can just about make out the distant sound of chatter from the throne room. If you concentrate hard enough, you think you can hear Boba, his voice cutting through the noise as he calls out words you can’t make out.

It’s plaguing your thoughts. The kindness he showed you and the feel of his hand holding yours. The way his gaze pierced you even from behind his dark visor. This bounty hunter king was not at all what you expected him to be, but funnily enough you weren’t too mad about that.

  You wake to a series of short knocks to the door.

“Hello?” you call out blearily, trying to regain your senses as you switch on the bedside lamp.

The door slides open to reveal Fennec. She steps inside, leaving the guard she brought with her in the hall and smiles at your groggy state.

“Seems you slept well” she quips.

“Yes, thank you,” you say, reaching up self-consciously to fix your hair.

“Boba wants to talk. Get yourself ready and follow the guard, he’ll take you to him” Fennec says.

The prospect of speaking to Boba again sent your mind into a frenzy. Your brief conversation earlier had left you dumbstruck, his measured tone and focused interest in you effecting your brain in an almost embarrassing way. How were you supposed to pull yourself through an entire discussion with him?

Fennec leaves you to get ready. You do your best to calm your hair, splash some water on your face, and slip on your new shoes, and as the guard leads you through the palace hallways, you work on trying to steady your nerves.

The room you’re led to is empty. It has the same stone walls and floors as the rest of the palace, and windows in the ceiling illuminate the sizeable stone table that sits at its centre. The table is set for one, with a decent amount of food and a large bottle of spotchka. You’re quickly reminded of your hunger but don’t dare take even the smallest piece of food without permission.

“You gonna eat that food or just stare at it little one?”

Boba’s voice makes you jump. Spinning around you see him standing in the doorway, hands resting on his belt as he watches you. You can’t quite manage to make your mouth work, and in the absence of a response Boba steps forward, walking past you to take a seat at the table.

“Come on then.” He points to the chair in front of the plate of food.

He doesn’t need to offer again. Even if Boba has rendered your brain useless, your stomach is still fully aware of its need for food, and you waste no time getting stuck into the meal offered to you. Boba chuckles softly at the speed at which you eat.

“Spotchka?” He lifts the bottle of glowing blue liquid.

With your mouth full, you shake your head. Boba nods and pours himself a glass instead.

You’re so preoccupied with your food that you nearly miss when the bounty hunter lowers his head and removes his helmet to drink. Suddenly your food is a lot less interesting, now your undivided attention belongs to the face of the man opposite you.

He’s older than you, that was no surprise, and handsome too in a hardened, grizzly way. The scars, however, that wrap around his handsome face have certainly piqued your interest. Of course it makes sense for a bounty hunter to have a few scars, but scars of that severity must have a particular story behind them.

“I’m not the nicest to look at, am I?” Boba quips without looking up at you. His tone is light, thankfully not offended by your staring.

“No!” You say, before you can stop yourself “Wait no…I mean… I think you’re very nice to look at”

Wow, how eloquent.

Boba seems to find your flustered state very amusing, laughing lowly as he looks at you over the rim of his glass.

“Well thank you, and I’ll be sure to thank the sarlacc for not maiming all of my face”

A sarlacc? Well that certainly explains the scarring, but how could anyone survive a sarlacc pit? It seems that the more you learn about this bounty hunter king, the more questions you’re faced with. Your face must give away your thoughts, as just when you open your mouth to question him he pipes up again.

“You’re an open book little one, I’ll tell you about it some other time. Now though, I want to talk about you” He says, placing down his spotchka.

You tell him nearly all of your life story, from your name to your rather precarious financial situation and Boba listens diligently despite your babbling. By the time you’ve finished explaining to him the decision you had made to come to the palace, Boba has sat back in his chair, studying you.

“I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality so far, its far more than I deserve after the way I spoke to you earlier,” You conclude, but Boba wave his hand in dismissal.

“It’s hardly an issue, your courage and honesty endeared me to you” he says, “but I want to do one thing more for you,”

“Yes?” you prompt softly.

“I’m going to take you up on your offer. I’ll give you work, and you can stay here at the palace, but I will be paying you a salary.” He lets the offer hang in the air. You’re too shocked to respond, this is much more than you thought you’d be given.

“You’d be free to leave our employment at any time, and you can stay in the palace for as little or as long as you want. I want you to understand you won’t be a slave here, you’ll always have your own autonomy,” He elaborates.

This is certainly not what you expected from such a hardened figure. It seemed almost comical for the leader of the criminal underworld to be offering you, a nobody, this level of charity. It baffled you.

“I- thank you,” you respond, mouth numb with shock and unable to fully articulate yourself.

Boba downs the last of his spotchka before fixing his helmet and rising.

“You’re very welcome. Finish your food, little one. We’ll find you some work in the morning.” Boba turns to exit, leaving you alone at the table with your mind running a mile a minute to process your new situation. Jumping up from your chair, you go to stop him before he leaves.

“Wait,” you say, reaching out to grab his arm. He turns back to face you quickly, and for a moment you worry that you’ve overstepped a boundary by laying hands on him. When the scolding you’re anticipating doesn’t come, you continue.

“I don’t understand, why help me like this?”

Boba cocks his head.

“Why would I not?” He says simply.

“You could have just accepted my original proposition or sent me away.”

“Do you want me to send you away?” Boba quips. Leaning towards you, you can almost hear his teasing grin behind his visor.

“No,” you respond.

“Must a man always have a reason for his ways?” He reaches out to smooth the collar of your tunic, letting his fingers skim across your collar bone.

For some reason you’re not entirely convinced by his answer, but the feeling of his touch does a remarkable job at diverting your attention. His fingers follow the tunic’s neckline, stopping when he reaches the lowest point of the shallow v neck. He lingers there for a second before raising his hand to tap your chin with the back of his curled forefinger and let out an amused little huff at your dumbstruck expression.

“I’ll see you soon, little one.”

[whispedcream]

played leon’s and then seraphina’s route. kinda disappointed that roxana’s actions weren’t brought up during THAT scene in leon’s route while sera got flavor text about it. so :)

Apple Tree

pairing: leon x (implied m/nb) keeper rating: general notes: spoilers for kotdan, kotsam nephilim route spoilers, reyna is [redacted] :) summary: you’re forced to think about your parents’ relationship when leon’s empathy powers are brought to attention. 

As soon as Seraphina mentioned the words Leon and empath so casually your sleep deprived brain decided it just about had enough. Yet you still had enough energy to cycle through a thousand thoughts per second. All of those thoughts being about one singular person. The woman who ruined your life, as well as your father’s. 

You can’t bring yourself to look at him because you’re scared of what you might see. Seraphina finally manages to look back at you from across the room. You watch as her face subtly changes from uncomfortable to guilty. She doesn’t have to use her powers to know what you’re thinking about. 

Fate has been nothing but cruel even before you were conceived. With shiny eyes you try to process if these are even your tears. They had to be. You didn’t struggle to learn and understand compulsion ever since the incidents with Secretary Monroe or even Reyna. By design you are a keeper. You should be stronger now to withstand an empath of all things. 

Your body feels numb when your father comes to mind. You don’t want to end up like him. You don’t want to repeat the cycle. 

The similarities are laughable. How Leon asked you out for the first time as if you were a novelty. The Nephilim raised human was a new shiny toy to play with. Was that how Roxana viewed your father? He was just a simple human born into a family of Nephilim. He was different and unlike the rest. Just like you. 

But unlike Roxana, Leon changed. While still arrogant and stuck up at times, he treats you with kindness and love. He looks at you as if you are a star; gleaming and glittering in the night sky. These changes were noticeable to practically everyone. From the way he put a smiley face on your waffles during your spring break with the twins. To how he looked at you across the kitchen table in your own house during Thanksgiving. Aunt Dru had the time of her life poking fun at both Leon and Henrik that night. That still didn’t deter the way he looked at you or held your hand. 

He loves you. Roxana was never known to love.

Leon is not Roxana.

You are not your father.

Leon is Leon.

You are you. 

It was difficult, but you manage to pull yourself back to reality as you hear Leon speak again. He sounds broken. You still can’t bring yourself to look at him, and you can feel how much it hurts him. Leon doesn’t know about the Constellation Project or your mother’s role in everything. Yet he knows of her and what she did to your family. You’re both terrified. 

“Asteria,” Leon says, horrified, and you know he’s still looking at you. “You probably don’t even love me.” He finally breaks down.

That’s when you bring yourself to look at him, and part of you regrets it. She’s there looking at you through his frightened, yet beautiful, blue eyes. It takes all of your strength to not pull back as Leon struggles to decide if he wants to reach out to you. He doesn’t want to hurt you, but she’s still there. She’s mocking you like she always does in your nightmares. 

She mocks you by standing near Leon’s bed in the dark. No matter what you can never will your body to move in those dreams. All you can do is watch in fear and scream silently into the night. Afraid that she is going to hurt him again.

Roxana Castella is a dead woman and yet she continues to inflict pain on everyone you care about.

Forcefully shoving the fear out of your body, you grab Leon to ground yourself. “No. No, Leon that’s not true.”

You love him. You truly want to believe that you love him. You can only hope he loves you back.

Seraphina leaves the room and you lose him. Leon breaks away from your arms with some struggle. You don’t want to lose him. 

The next couple of minutes are a whirlpool of emotions. Leon cuts into himself in an attempt to prove himself guilty. To reveal himself as a murderous monster. His mother dies before your very eyes. It’s not his fault though. None of this was his fault. You’re regrettably more at fault than he’ll ever be. 

It takes time, but you manage to catch Leon again and guide him to the common room couch. You hold his face gently in your hands as you wipe away his tears. His hands are balled into fists in his lap as he ignores the fact that his hand is still bleeding red. Your mouth feels dry like sandpaper, but you still try to counsel him. His mother’s death was not his fault at all. This was all because of Anetha. 

This was all probably because of Roxana too, but he doesn’t need to know that right now.

Leon laughs faintly as he leans into your palm. “Guess we’ll never know given that, according to nymphy, my magic makes people love me. Asteria, you shouldn’t trust me at all.” 

Leon’s horror isn’t masked at all by his usually charming lopsided grin, entirely at odds with the terror in his wide blue eyes. You can’t help but to feel some kind of relief that you can only see yourself reflected off of them. He can’t stop fidgeting in your hold, as if your gaze is the only thing keeping him from flying out the window and never looking back. 

“Oh, Leon. . .,” you sigh. “I. . . I know this is a lot to take in. But we’ll get through this.” 

Leon would never walk away from you on purpose, so that is at least a start. 

He laughs painfully, as if laughing is his only option other than screaming. “If I don’t kill you with my powers before then.”

“A lot of people have tried that already,” you assure him. “Somehow, I don’t think you’re going to be the one to succeed.”

The nagging part of your brain tries to make you think about what would you do if you ever found yourself in that kind of situation with him. Dying is not an option. Killing Reyna was proof of that. There was no guilt then, but with Leon? You shove those thoughts back into the dark for now. 

Instead you rub soothing circles on his back, and the two of you stay like that for a long time.

[plus-size-reader]

His Queen

Kylo Ren x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 1825 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Reader is training to be a fighter for the First Order but Kylo has other ideas 

———————————————————————————————————

Never once had Kylo set foot in the training barracks and that wasn’t a streak he was particularly excited to break. He’d never needed to better himself, because as far as he was concerned, there was no better than him in all the galaxy. He had this natural gift that he never really needed to work on, but you didn’t. You were a bit clumsy and a smidgen uncoordinated, and while Kylo didn’t typically waste his breath on people like you, there was something about you. He wanted to make you better, as well as other things, so he chose to train you himself.

You were devoted to the First Order, and your heart was in all the right places but when it came down to it, you just couldn’t get used to wielding your lightsaber. It was a miracle that Kylo noticed your struggle before Hux or Snoke, because it was basically guaranteed that they wouldn’t have been as inclined to help you. That was where the Rebels differed from the Order, the resistance relied on each individual in their regime, but to the Order, you were replaceable.

Kylo didn’t notice you at first, just another face in the crowds of upcoming Knights of Ren but for some reason, once he saw you and took notice, he couldn’t get you out of his head. You weren’t built like a soldier or a fighter at all, your body was soft and comforting, the body of a Queen, not a warrior.

“You! Come here” he called, his commanding voice stopping all movement in the training room. No one dare move under the criticizing gaze of the Commander. You kept your gaze to the floor, he couldn’t have been talking to you, so you didn’t have to worry about upsetting him. It was much better to avoid his eyes and risk missing something than staring at him in his mask.

Never had you seen what the Commander looked like under his mask, and you never would, but there was still curiosity there. You wondered if he was old and shriveled, or maybe aged and handsome? He could have been young but you didn’t think so, he didn’t carry himself the way a young man would. “Can’t you hear? FN-2537 -here now” he yelled, obviously losing his patience the longer he had to stay in the training wing. It was below him and he had no problem with expressing that.

FN-2537 ...that was the number sewn into your top. When the soldiers were coming up in the ranks, they were numbered. It was easier to identify them and also helped with reminding them that they were nothing but a number in the eyes of the Supreme Leader. Slowly, you stepped forward, keeping your eyes on the ground. You knew your place at least, that was a good start as far as Kylo was concerned.

“Follow me” his voice was masked by the voice enhancer built into his mask. You were shocked at his order, you’d never even spoken to him and now for some reason, he wanted to see you in private. If he wanted to scold you for something, he could have done it in front of there other trainees. And even if he was planning on killing you, there was no reason to take you somewhere else just to do that. “Did I do something wrong, Commander?” you asked, hurrying your steps in an attempt to keep up with his own long strides.

The man didn’t answer, keeping his eyes straight ahead and his posture rigid. The anticipation of what he had in store for you was ripping you apart. As if it was bad enough, when the two of you reached his room, he sent his other guards away.

He held the door for you, which seemed odd considering your low status and it took you a moment to decide if it was worth it. On one hand, you didn’t really have a choice but you knew stepping into that room may be the last thing you ever did. Still, you took a breath and crossed the threshold into the Commander’s quarters.

It was poorly lit and industrial, looking in on it, it was hard to believe that anyone actually lived there. There were no personal touches to be seen and it was cold, both in temperature and character. You were so preoccupied with studying your surroundings that you didn’t realize he closed the door behind him. With that single action, you were trapped with the Commander with nothing but dead air hanging between you. ‘“Sit” he suggested, though you knew it was an order so you did as he said, not giving even a second to hesitate.

The entire interaction was very strange, the two of you were completely hidden away from anyone else and still he stood in the doorway, staring at you. In truth, he didn’t know what to say to you. It was easy to order you here, he could have done that in his sleep but getting you to stay was a different thing entirely. You were so close, and yet it seemed as if you were a million miles away, your frame was stiff and straight as you waited for some kind of reprimand.

You didn’t know what you did but Kylo Ren of all people wouldn’t need a reason to skewer you on his lightsaber. Maybe he’d had a rough morning and just needed to use you as a punching bag for a few hours...whatever it was, it didn’t exactly inspire comfort. “You’re wondering why you’re here” he started, stepping toward you slowly. His boots thud on the floor, making you tense with each purposeful step. It didn’t stop until he was right in front of you, his chest heaving up and down as he took in breath.

If there was one thing you knew for sure, it was that the Commander was broad and built unlike any man you’d ever seen. His thick, lean waist lead into his wide chest and shoulders, you could practically see his muscle rippling beneath his uniform. You allowed a slight nod, keeping your eyes on his mask, only occasionally flicking them down to his lightsaber in his belt.

As if satisfied with your silence, Kylo turned toward the wall away from you. You thought he was going to leave but before you could ask him what he was doing, his large hands found the side of his helmet, which released with a click and a burst of smoke. Part of you wanted to avert your eyes, unsure if you were allowed to know who was beneath the mask but you couldn’t help but take a peek. For a moment, your view was obstructed by all of his black locks falling into place around his face, but you didn’t mind. His eyes were deep brown, instantly reminding you of the rocks of Eadu under fresh rain. His skin was raised and scared across his eyes but that in no way took away from how handsome you found him.

You’d seen the Commander so many times but the moment that helmet came off, it was as if you were seeing Kylo Ren for the first time. “You have no business out there, making a fool of yourself” he scoffed, his voice gruff and deep as it ripped through his throat, catching you off guard. As if you needed another reason to find this man attractive, he just gave you one. It wasn’t right, Kylo was your Commander, and mask or not, that lightsaber was too close to you for comfort.

Every part of you wanted to argue with him, and assure him that you could do it but again, you knew it wasn’t your place so you bit into your tongue and tried your hardest to stay neutral. “You will stay here with me instead” he said, confusing you. You understood his words but you couldn’t figure out why he cared. There were a hundred or so others training with you and yet, you were the only one sitting on the Commander’s bed.

“Why?” you muttered, instantly regretting opening your mouth. Kylo crossed the room to once again stand in front of you, although this time there was a softness in his manner that didn’t put you on edge as it did before. “You are too beautiful to be scarred and maimed in battle-so I intend to make you my Queen-” he started, kneeling down so he was now eye level with you. “-To preserve your beauty” He hummed, his gloved hand taking your chin between his fingers and staring down into your eyes.

Kylo Ren thought that you were beautiful, okay, sure. No man had ever really found you beautiful, it was part of the reason you got into the Order in the first place. Other girls from your planet were getting married and starting families but not you, you wanted to kill something, to become a mercenary that no one would dare cross. “I don’t understand, Am I a poor fighter?” you questioned, if he was going to force you to stop training, you at least wanted to know why.

“Laughable” he answered, a little too quickly for your taste. There was an odd charm about him that you couldn’t ignore even if you wanted to. He liked to pretend that he was a hardened killer but you knew the truth, you knew that he was broken over everything else. “If you wish to make me your Queen, I’m allowed to speak freely, yes?” you asked, instantly worrying Kylo that you were going to refuse his proposal.

You’d been separated by this unspoken social contract for so long that you wondered how far you could push him. It was clear to you now that he wasn’t going to kill you so, why walk on eggshells? Kylo nodded, his eyes boring into your own as he waited for your words. Rejection wasn’t new for the man but this would certainly be the quickest it’d happened yet. “Is it lonely? Here all alone” you questioned, catching him off guard with such a strange question.

He supposed it was rather lonely, sitting in this room all alone every evening only to walk the halls alone all day. “Yes, I suppose it is” He allowed, trying to figure you out. You didn’t seem too bothered by the fact you couldn’t fight anymore and you also didn’t seem to care that he wanted to claim you but for some reason, you wanted to know about him. “And that’s why you need me...you don’t want to be alone?” you voice was more confident now, you’d realized something.

The Commander may have had everything, power and respect, fear but he lacked all the things a man needed. No family, no kindness and no love, he was crying out for someone to love him and he wanted you.

[kaleflutterdust]

PUPPY POWER → KELIA

TAGGING → Delia J Milori (@deliajubilee) & Kale Gigglebottom

TIMELINE → Friday, November 9, 2017

SETTING → Some kind of Walt animal shelter

SUMMARY → Kale and Delia J get a puppy.

Kale walked through the streets of Walt with his hands jammed in his pockets. For someone who was about to get a dog, he wasn't nearly as excited as he'd been the night before -- the knowledge that DJ had been keeping secrets from him, whether on purpose or not, had him feeling kind of down. Still, a deal was a deal, and he did really want a dog. Maybe he even needed one now that he'd been totally demoted in his friend trio. He finally came to a stop in front of the animal shelter, leaning against a wall and pulling out his phone to look up cool names for dogs instead of peering around while he waited for Delia J.

DJ skated to the animal shelter faster than she ever did on rollerskates, since for the first time ever she wasn't half focused on listening to some educational podcast, and instead tried to get to the shelter before Kale did. He was already mad at her for not letting him in on the Lux secret as soon as she'd told Alicia, so she didn't want to make it worse by making him wait outside too long for her. Unfortunately, by the time she slowed to a stop in front of the building, Kale was already there leaned against a wall looking at something on his phone. "Hi Kale!" She cried out exuberantly, taking a running jump into giving him a giant over the top hug to make up for her tardiness and also to hopefully make him feel loved enough to get over the accidental slight. "Are you excited about meeting our new puppy!" She chirped excitedly, looking up at Kale with her best attempt at an adorable smile, mentally refusing to remove her arms from around his body until he returned it.

Kale glanced up at the sound of his name; even if he hadn't been expecting her, he would have recognized the sound of DJ's voice anywhere. His instinctual grin spread across his face as she flung himself at him in a hug, although it faltered a little when he remembered that she was only acting like she loved him because she'd totally forgotten to tell him about her fake boyfriend. Still, he hugged her back, his arms draping loosely around her as he said, "Yeah, I was just looking up named and stuff. I'm guessing Hammerhead's not allowed, either? Although it sounds like one syllable names are better anyway, but Hammerhead would be so badass and make people scared for our dog to headbutt them," he pointed out, pulling back from the hug and offering her a tight-lipped smile.

DJ frowned at Kale's lukewarm reaction to her greeting and rolled back reluctantly, crossing her arms against her chest. "No shark names at all, Kale. This is a dog we're sharing and puppy headbutts are cute." She said trying to say what she meant sternly, but not as mean as she typically would've. "Let's name him something actually cute, okay? But like I told you, we're not naming him until we meet him, so let's go in already." She said, uncrossing her arms and reaching out to grab Kale's hand to pull him along inside.

Kale sighed but accepted the defeat; if he argued too much DJ would probably just forget to tell him more important stuff in her life, like that their dog ran away while she was watching it or that she was married or something. "Fiiiiine, no shark names. Unless he's got like, a built in mohawk that looks like a shark fin," he added in jest, letting DJ pull him inside. His mood was instantly forgotten, though, at the sounds of tiny yips and tails thumping against crates the second they walked in. The puppies were excited to have visitors, and he was excited to meet them -- maybe too excited! It would be hard to pick just one, but DJ might be better at narrowing it down than him. For now, he just crouched down at the first puppy he saw, saying, "Hey, little guy! Are you a guy? Oh, wait, crap, no, you're a girl, we don't want one of you, sorry!" He patted the little white fluffy dog's head gently through the bars and then stood back up, saying, "Guess I better let you take the lead, you'll probably find the right one on the first try."

DJ skated away from Kale to look around almost as soon as he stopped to bend down for just one puppy. Hearing the little excited yips from all the puppies in crates had DJ racing around at top speed trying to look at every barking dog. So it was almost laughable when Kale had stood up to say that she could probably find the right one in the first try, because at that point she was looking at dog number four. "Uh I guess so. But question, are we only getting one dog? Because there are like three that I want to take home right now." She replied, skating across the room to stare at a particularly bouncy black mutt barking at her.

Kale raised his hand to cover a laugh, although DJ had a point... there were two of them, and she had a sister and he had a half-sister and they had Alicia and... "How many people do you think we could convince to get in on the puppy action? Because we could totally get one puppy per person, so with you and me and Alicia we can get AT LEAST three," he suggested. "I mean, we have separate cottages, it would be sad if we had to split time or if I had to like, move into your house part time instead of hanging out at my way cooler house." He stuck his tongue out at her, watching her skate off towards the black puppy but crouching beside a spotted one that he didn't think was a dalmatian instead. "Okay, little guy, these are my fingers, if you manage to lick my thumb first you're the puppy for us," Kale whispered, resorting to desperate measures to try and pick. The puppy licked his pinky instead, though, and he felt disappointed as he walked over to DJ's dog instead. "How's this one doing? Does he seem like a keeper? Do you think he'd be good at catching a tennis ball?" Kale asked, trying to think of other ways to judge the doggos instead of just cuteness since ALL of them were cute.

DJ giggled, not even a hundred percent if she was even joking about actually getting multiple dogs. She really did want to take a bunch of them home, not even splitting them up between houses." DJ left the black dog to go love on some of the other dogs in cages, but it didn't take that long for her to drift back to the black one. "This one is definitely a keeper. I don't care if he can catch a ball or not. I'm naming him Salem and he's mine." She answered with absolutely certainty, practically vibrating out of her skates as she reached through the bars to pet the puppy that immediately started licking her hand instead of letting her pet him.

Kale had thought the one that Delia J was crouching near was cute, but as she'd wandered to give other puppies a chance, he'd found a little brown puppy with a white face and old man whiskers. It looked so funny, his old face and his obviously young body, but he perked up when Kale was with him and it was so hard to walk away from him, even when Delia J started saying that the black one was the puppy for her. "But... Salem needs a friend, right?" he asked as he walked over to her and the puppy, casting a glance backwards towards the little beardy boy instead. "It would be so lonely if it was just you and me and Salem and he didn't have any other dogs to play with like, at the dog park or when we're in class and stuff, right?" he added hopefully. He knew the plan had been to get one dog, but... two was okay, right?

DJ didn't really look over at Kale when he found another dog. She was too busy loving on her new baby boy and trying to guess how fast she and Salem could probably go if she skated during walks/runs. "I don't know, Kale." DJ replied distantly, not even really aware that Kale was coming up behind her as her words started sounding more like coos to the dog than actually part of their conversation. "Salem might not feel super special if we get more than one dog at a time. And he's such a special little boy, I think he should come alone. Maybe you can back another time and get him? Like with Leesh or Aspen so you guys can bond better?"

Kale started to pout when DJ said that they shouldn't get more than one dog at a time after all, but he crouched down beside her and the little dog instantly licked him, and the poor beardy pup was instantly forgotten. "Awww, hey little dude!" Kale cooed at the puppy, suddenly understanding why Delia J was such a fan of this guy in particular. He had so much energy, but in the way that made a person smile instead of groan at having to keep up. And instead of casting glances backwards at the other puppy, he just muttered, "Yeah, that sounds good, doesn't it, buddy? You'll get a new friend when you're ready for it, right now you just get to know your brand new parents instead!" He turned to DJ, his eyes hopeful as he asked, "Are you sure I can't give him a shark-y middle name, at least?"