#not convin and sorry if it sounds like that in the beginning?

[phcking-detective]

HOT SINGLE ANDROID IN YOUR AREA WANTS TO FUCK

Gavin barely even notices the annoying pop ups anymore. He’s tried a dozen different scans and virus protection programs, but obviously they’re not going away.

And it’s kind of fair.

Not that he would ever admit this shit out loud, but his views have ... OK, they haven’t changed. Not technically. He always thought androids were watching him and--like--alive in there. Screaming on the inside. So fucking creepy. But every time he went on one of his “rants” about how they were going to rise up and kill everyone, people scoffed and very condescendingly told him “they’re just machines” and “you’re paranoid, Reed” and “do you need to take your BPD meds again?”

So yeah. Technically, his “views” on androids have stayed the exact same: they’re secretly people, they hate us for abusing them, they’re going to rise up.

HOT SINGLE ANDROID INTERESTED IN YOU

Ugh. And of course the one single time he decided to be an ass and take out his anger issues on someone everyone swore up and down didn’t have any feelings or experience pain, the little fucking twink bot went crying to Hank with his big boo-boo bambi eyes, and then Lieutenant “throw them all in a dumpster and light them on fire” suddenly hated HIM for being the racist asshole.

Whatever. If sucking it up--wait no. Taking it on the chin--fuck! If not complaining about Connor infecting his terminal with horny malware as a revenge-prank is what puts all that shit behind them, then fine.

HOT SINGLE ANDROID WOULD LIKE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE

Wait. That doesn’t sound like malware.

Gavin stares at the newest pop up for a moment. He’d started ignoring them, so he can’t remember when they switched from saying shit about single androids--plural--in his area to one singular android.

Not plural.

He tries to casually glance around the bullpen without being obvious. Connor isn’t here, but would he even have to be? He can like, wirelessly do this shit, right?

Also, isn’t he fucking dating Hank??

OK, so maybe he’s imagined it a few times.

With HANK, not Connor. No one could work underneath the DPD’s youngest, hottest lieutenant for years and not have a wet dream or two, OK?

HOT SINGLE ANDROID OPEN TO EXPERIMENTATION

Yeah, that’s a six syllable word, definitely not horny malware. But what kind of “experimentation”? Does Connor think that’s what swinging means? He wouldn’t--

If he’s cheating on Hank, Gavin will kill that cocky little ipod shuffle for real this time.

Shit, but what’s he going to do? He can’t click on it and accept ... whatever the fuck this is ... without looking like he’s actually interested, and he’s not going to do that to Hank.

Maybe he should ask Nines what the hell his brother is up to.

“H--”

The hey dies in Gavin’s throat when he looks over and realizes Nines is already staring directly at him. His partner’s LED swirls yellow.

HOT SINGLE ANDROID GROWING IMPATIENT, DETECTIVE

Gavin honestly feels like he just got shot in the chest. Like when you’re wearing a vest, so the bullet doesn’t kill you, but all your mcfucking ribs break at once and you can’t breathe and you’re not dead thank god but fuck at what cost??

OK, so maybe he’s imagined it a few times.

It’s not his fault everyone he works with is hot! So maybe he’s imagined with lots of--and Nines was just, like, included. In his horny daydreams. Wet dreams. Nightly jack off sessions.

Whatever! Anyone would be attracted to him.

He just didn’t ever think it would actually happen. That it could happen. They’re partners, for fuck’s sake. Just because Hank and Connor want to shit where they eat, doesn’t mean Gavin planned to be that stupid in real life.

Oh god, Nines is still staring at him. He’s like a stupid little baby bird mesmerized by a snake. A beautiful, blue-eyed--

No! Get it together, Reed.

YOU MAY CLICK X TO DECLINE, DETECTIVE

Gavin grabs the mouse and desperately clicks on the message itself before his brain can interfere. CGI confetti bursts across his screen and an invitation appears to La Antoinette’s in Bricktown at 8 pm.

Oh my god.

He knows this was really made by Nines too, because his partner is approximately ten million times more expressive via text than in person. The confetti matches perfectly with the hundreds of smiley faces and hearts and a couple of knives, but mostly--

Oh my god.

Nines likes him. Nines HAS liked him.

Gavin looks back over at him. Nines sits at his desk with his back perfectly straight and his hands neatly folded in front of him. His face looks as impassive and slightly-bored as ever, but that’s because Cyberlife only programmed four facial expressions into him and he’d have to trust a technician to install more like they’re fucking DLC.

His LED circles yellow again.

YOU WILL PICK ME UP AT PRECISELY 19:30 FOR OUR RESERVATION

Oh my god.

“Ye--” Gavin stops and clears his throat to get back down to a normal octave. “Yeah. Seven-thirty, right. But uh, can you get rid of the naked androids on my screen now?”

Nines continues to stare at him without expression, but the bare no-skin androids to either side of the pop up messages disappear. A new picture pops up, and he thinks it will be more details for their reservation until his brain processes that it’s a torso-shot of an android--Nines, has to be--in a black dress shirt tucked in but unbuttoned all the way down to show off his chest and pump, hands in the action of taking off his belt.

BANG BANG. Shot directly in the chest twice. A double tap. Gavin wheezes as he tries to remember how to breathe like a functional human being, but all blood previously in his brain has now relocated immediately to his dick.

“Incentive,” Nines says.

The picture disappears, thankfully for Gavin’s sanity, which is currently fracturing. 

Sure, he and Nines have gotten close. Maybe Nines spends more time at Gavin’s apartment than his own, maybe he sits in the chair next to Gavin’s bed and spends the night sometimes, maybe they already eat lunch and dinner together regularly and Nines will wake him up in the morning and make him coffee and they’ll lay on the couch together at night to watch action movies and documentaries and

And they’re dating. Shit. He’s been dating his fucking partner for months now FUCK Tina was right and she’ll never let him live it down goddammit.

So the date part makes sense. But Gavin would swear before God, Jesus, and Captain Fowler he’s never gotten any sexual vibes off of the android. 

Shit, that’s probably why he didn’t realize they’ve been dating each other.

He grabs his cellphone.

love ur incentive super hot bby

but we dont have to have sex tonight

can take it slow

or like

not take it anywhere but dating

Gavin makes himself stop texting before he sounds even dumber than he already does. He looks up and checks Nines’ face instead. Just because the android can’t make clear facial expressions doesn’t mean there’s nothing to see. 

It’s in the way he shuts his LED off so it can’t spin red, and the way he finally looks away from intensely direct eye contact to stare off to the side. Moving his hands off the desk and into his lap so no one can see his fingers twitch at an inhuman speed.

Yeah, Gavin knows his partner.

<3 <3 <3

Noted. But may we still try certain sexual activities, detective?

Gavin knows from the way he can hear Nines’ processors whirring from across the desk that he’d be blushing if he could. And then when the android looks back at him from beneath his lashes, LED back on and spinning a shy blue--

God, he’s going to date the fuck out of his partner and take him home and kiss him all over and suck his cock so so good.

“Anything you want, baby.”

[monchikyun]

X. tattoo on your shoulder

“I… I miss you.” He lets the tears freeze over on his reddened cheeks as he tracks the footprints left around the grave. They are all his. Gavin is the only one present in this gloomy place this late at night. It’s a wonder he even managed to sneak in, given the sheer amount of pain he’s in. His fingers have gone numb from the cold, while his heart has slowly been turning into an icicle ever since the moment he kicked Connor out.

“I’m sorry for not visiting more often. It’s just..” too hard. He dreads the memories born on the day the one person he loved enough to die for did exactly that. “I’ve met someone… someone good,” he sniffles, remembering the reason he isn’t there with him. “You would adore him, ...just like I do.” A broken piece of laughter escapes his throat, which prompts him to finally wipe the crystallising liquid out from his face. It stings as it comes off, providing him with the punishment he craves.

“I don’t know what to do. I’ve never felt something this… strong for anyone and it’s killing me that I can’t do anything about it.”  Because he’s afraid, because he has issues with self-control, because he has become so used to his miserable existence that he can’t accept the possibility of being happy for once… and other such excuses. How pathetic can one be before it starts endangering the people around him?

“I must be boring you. Never mind me and my stupid problems, how have you been doing up there, ...are they treating you well?”

He places his palm over the name etched on the marble slab and squeezes his teary eyes shut. “Merry Christmas. I hope I’ll see you again one day, mother.”

After letting himself give his mind to sorrow, the absence of his android becomes an urgent priority. How on earth is he going to apologise for this one he can’t begin to imagine. All he can think about is getting back to his friend. If something bad happened to him while he was alone Gavin would never forgive himself.

The first thing he does after he enters his car is trying to dial up his number. A difficult task for his trembling fingers, but at last he can hear the voice he loves so.

“Yes?”

“Hey. Can you- can you send me your GPS coordinates so I can come pick you up?”

The notification sound arrives sooner than Connor’s answers, which makes him calm down a bit. But the android keeps saying nothing, resulting in his stress levels rising right back up.

“Connor.”

“…”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

 He’ll tell him that a thousand times over as soon as they’ll come together again.

The drive there is dreadfully long, accompanied by the melody of his unfruitful thoughts. Connor has all the right in the world to be mad at him, and Gavin shouldn’t expect him being ready to jump straight into his arms, even though that prospect is more than alluring.

But nothing justifies creating pictures of the android’s dead body in his head. Stuff even his nightmares won’t show him. All the talk about Connor’s potential demise the other day has raised up his overall anxiety and he has to do everything just to unthink the snow tainted by a pool of blue, a hole in milky white plastic. An empty look blaming him for stealing life away from those sparkling eyes.

A hand waving at him in greeting.

Oh. He’s almost driven past Connor without stopping, all because his mind has been too full of imaginary corpses to notice the real thing. 

“I’m sorry.” It’s the first thing his mouth automatically lets out, just like he figured it would.

“Hello to you too.” Fortunately, Connor behaves like his usual self, so maybe he still has a chance to turn their trip around.

“Are you okay?” It’s Gavin who should be asking that, seeing as his friend is covered head to toe in snow. He really wants to brush it off his hair and coat, a privilege he’s just lost.

“Yeah,… no.” The least he can do is be honest. “Do you… do you want to go home… or?”

Connor shakes his head in disapproval, sticking out his hand to him.

“We could stay here.” His palm holo-projects a web-page of some nearby motel, stating that they have vacancies for weary travellers just like them.

“Yeah, that would be great.”

---

When he said it would be great, he meant absolutely fucking horrible. No one has told him they would be forced to share a room, that he would have to be placed in a situation where he could easily slip up and do something he might regret yet again. Maybe he should just accept his eventual demise and get the most out of it while he can.

“You should eat something.”

“Not hungry.”

“I packed a healthy snack for you.”

“What are you, my wife?”

Connor gives him that deviously innocent look which never fails to make his blood rush straight to his face.

“Okay, okay, but let me take a shower first.”

He starts undressing his jacket, having gotten comfortable in the warmth the sparse room provides.

“I’m not mad or anything, by the way.”

“You should be.”

“No, I understand that sometimes a person has to be alone in order to figure stuff out.”

“I-“

“We don’t have to talk about it now. There’ll be plenty of time later... if you choose to tell me, that is.”

In the course of their short conversation, he’s already stripped most of his upper layers, finding himself only in his sleeveless undershirt. Not something he intended to do, but it’s not like he has something to hide anyway. 

Out of a sudden, the atmosphere gets even heavier than before as he becomes very self-conscious and notices Connor staring at his shoulder, the same one he likes to cry on.

“May I?”

There it goes again. The perfect opportunity to back away.

“Sure, go ahead.”

Smooth fingers outline the numbers painted on his skin with a feather-light touch, like he’s an ancient relic that could get fractured if the android pressed too hard.

“It’s the date my mother died.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

The words he has no right for tonight. But who is he to reject Connor’s sentiment.

“It’s beautiful, though.” His younger self thought it cool to add some angel-like wings and flowers around the number, so it doesn’t look as sad. He doesn’t mind the look of it that much but never has he thought someone would like it even more.

“Is that where you went,… to see your mother?”

He only nods, since he’s afraid his voice would betray his returning grief.

“I see.” It’s the last thing Connor says before placing a small tender kiss at the place where the two wings meet.

His chest splits in two and Gavin knows that there is no coming back from this.

@a-convin-new-year

[nctzendreamz]

HOMECOMING — PART I

Prologue / Part l / Part ll / Part lll 

Summary: The year is 3030, and the divide between the rich and poor couldn’t be greater. Wildwood University is the most prestigious school in the entire world, but it isn’t only because of the impeccable flying cars that can be seen best during the fuchsia lit nights, or the dexterous education everyone receives. It has secrets. A lot of secrets.

Genre: Gang!AU, Futuristic!AU, Dystopian!AU

Warnings: Vivid descriptions of violence, foul language, drug use, and murder.

Taeyong had never been on a train before. In NEO, there was no reason to use them. No one could afford to go anywhere, but even on the rare occasion that you had no children, and owned a buisness successful enough to have the cash, you couldn’t past the test; the certification test.

The purpose of the certification test was to ensure that people who resided in NEO, or practically anywhere that had the familiar smell of poor water systems and hunger breath, couldn’t cross the border that lead to the “brightest place on earth”; Valhalla. They asked impossible questions, but most importantly, you couldn’t have a criminal record. Something impossible in poverty and they knew that.

Valhalla didn’t feel like a real place. I mean, Taeyong knows it’s real because they always drop the brochures from their solar powered helicopters four times a year; one for every season. Everyone always runs and practically slips on eachother’s drool to get the newest addition of the futuristic landmarks they decide to bless the masses with. Photo’s only, of course.

Taeyong finds it to be quite taunting. To actually give these people any hope that they could make it over. It was hilarious.

If you work hard, you too, can see the light. Absolutely pathetic.

Currency wasn’t a familiar term back home either. You purchased what you needed with other things; your body, drugs, or being a child.

Everyone had sympathy for the children that came into the convinence stores with dark hands, and heavy bags under their eyes indicating they had the weight of the world on their shoulders, but also the slouch that proved they knew even now that there was no out. This was life. Now, they just had to figure out how to live it.

He’s alone right now. The sound of the tracks and rails continuously slapping against eachother was unfamiliar, but he didn’t mind it. He enjoyed hearing new sounds, smelling new things; good or bad. Even the scenery that laid before him wasn’t too harsh.

He can see the homeless on the streets, currently trying to prepare for the storm that was predicted to come tonight. With the small amount of privilege he has, there is a radio in their residence. Maybe this was because if not for that, everyday would seem like a hurricane was out to murder them all for good. Black and white vision didn’t leave room for much imagination.

“I haven’t taken this drive in a while, kid.” The man conducting this ride hadn’t spoken a word to him this entire time, but he didn’t mind the conversation. Even with his lack of communication skills, he was willing to put in an effort.

“That’s nice.”

“You know, I think we should throw a fucking party. I mean, you have to be extemely intelligent to be going across the border. A fucking genius.”

A drunken confession. Not surprising to Taeyong as everyone in NEO was on something. Or everything.

“But you know what, I know about you.” He starts, but Taeyong doesn’t move a muscle. He had been injected with enough Indigo to last him the next 48 hours; enough time to get on the campus without a squeak. Sooman promised he would give him further instructions later on. “I know you have some connections. But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I don’t know what you do, but I respect it.”

“Do you?”

“I do.”

Being so high, Taeyong can’t speak any longer. His hand rummages through his black bag that usually held his heavier weapons, and he feels for the blanket that never left his sights. It’s old place was on his bunk he shared with Jaehyun. He had the top. Now that he thinks about it, Jaehyun was quite jealous that he was the chosen one for this particular mission. He joked, saying that he must have sucked enough dick for a lifetime, considering he was obviously better looking, and more charming, but didn’t get chosen.

Taeyong simply shrugged, one of his signature moves. “I’m a better shooter, a more cold blooded killer, and my dicks bigger.”

But back to the blanket. Secretly, he was able to preserve the scent. His parents scent. This blanket, although seeming like a rather childish need, was his safe place. It was the last thing they gave him before he came downstairs one morning, expecting a large breakfast becuase they promised him. And they never broke promises. But instead he found them dismembered, blood splattered all across their wooden floors.

Even while thinking about his nightmare, there was no anxiety. He falls into slumber more peacefully than he ever had before, as he doesn’t have his guard up. No one is out to get him right now. He’s on his way to Valhalla, after all.

Also, thank God for Indigo.

Hours had passed, followed with the drunken conductor spewing on about how NEO could make it out. Become a real city, and purge its current anarchy position. Taeyong took the seat all the way in the back, so he obviously thought he was getting a response. Taeyong heard none of it.

Oddly enough, he feels himself waking up just when the train seemed to be slowing down. Taking a plane, or a jet, would’ve been so much quicker, but he doesn’t mind the good rest. It’s supposedly night time now, but there is a glow radiating from the sky. Damnit, he wished he could see the color. It was rumored to be fuchsia every single night. Every damn night.

Taeyong begins to stretch out his back muscles like a swan, preparing himself for his true specialty. He looks out the window, making sure they are in the correct location. The woods are steep; trees everywhere. According the brochures, this was a frequent camping spot for the residents of Valhalla. You had a perfect view of the burning stars that always left the weather warm, and sweet.

In his pocket, he feels around for the paper. He knows he can’t experience those luxuries right now, but it’s not against the rules to imagine, right?

A sweet vanilla scent always fills Camp Lolly! Maybe it’s because we wanted it to match with the pink sky! Or maybe it’s because you deserve it. Either way, you need to bring the whole family! Opening March 21, 3030.

Taeyong chuckles to himself. Cute, he thinks, already feeling the familiar rush of blood bounce around his anatomy. He hasn’t even touched his pistol yet, but his mouth was watering. He even felt his member getting excited, something he had never in his life experienced. He had never been dosed with this much.

“I don’t know why we stopped here.” The conductor takes another swing of his drink. “But I trust you. Wasn’t our conversation just amazing this whole trip? You know, maybe when you come back we can catch up in different ways?”

With the silence that filled the train, you would assume that he wasn’t in it. But that was the best part. A sky fox, he was. He’s crawling on the floor, looking nothing less of a demon. The sight is horrid, and as he approaches his prey, he can feel his eyes flashing. He had never been able to look in the mirror to see if this was a real thing. If the color was actually a bright purple color. Regardless, it feels good. It feels so good, he wants to scream.

“Taeyong? Where are—

Splat.

The pistol is silent even as it cools off, smoke receding from the hole. There’s a fat blood stain on the window, and it brings comfort to Taeyong. He can’t smell it, but he inhales deeply anyway. God, he wanted so badly to keep going. To take this high and do things he had never done before. Shoot him more, squeeze his throat to see if he can make it burst. But there’s no time for that.

“Sorry, buddy.” He laughs loudly. “But you talk too fucking much. Also, bosses orders.” He looks at the watch he always sported on his left wrist; tapping it twice. The text he recieved just minutes before the train showed up hologrammed above the dead body.

Get rid of him when you get there safely.

With his black gloves on, and his mask now covering his identity, he throws the man down the stairs of the train. He cleans the leftover blood on his way out, and with the strength of a million men and woman, he carries his body to the deepest parts of the greenland.

“Did you handle it?”

“Of course I did.”

“I know you can’t see it, but how does it look? It looks different, doesn’t it?”

Different was an understatement. Taeyong had found a safe place to finish his resting, and he was so ready. He was so ready to step foot onto the campus, class.

“They have black bricks.” He stares up, eyes rushing to search for everything. The scenery screamed the future. He can hear cars zooming down the road. They’re everywhere. People are laughing, and walking around with genuine smiles on their faces. Girls are with boys, and they’re not being assaulted, or being forced to show themselves just so they can eat. Some are even holding hands.

The grass seems so soft. More than ever now, does he want his colored vision. Grass is green, but he knew this grass was greener. Possibly a completely different shade of green.

“They have a lot more than black bricks, boy.” Sooman laughs, finding this whole ordeal too adorable. “They look clean don’t they?”

“Mhm.” Taeyong swallows.

“Your Indigo is wearing off.”

“How do you know?” He’s asking questions, but he’s not even listening. He’s quite distracted with the rumble echoing through the sky. On the brochure it always describes the day as blue. So that’s what color he was going with.

“You’re feeling a lot right now.”

“I can take extra. I don’t want you to think—

“Calm down, boy. You deserve to have fun. Starting today, no more Indigo for you. First and foremost, people will start asking you questions, and if your senses are off, it’ll expose you completely. But at the same time, you obviously can’t just stop taking them completely. You’ll be a mess. You’re smart enough to split the grams in half, lessening the dosage, aren’t you?”

“Are you sure? I mean—

“God, I’ve haven’t heard you ramble this much since I found you.”

That sentence brings an unfamiliar tingle to Taeyong’s chest. As usual, that days pops right into his memory, but he’s not content. He can feel his blood pressure rising slightly as he can see the blood again. The way their eyes were in the back of their heads, and their skin was pale.

“Sorry.” Is all he can muster.

“Take a half right now. It will calm you down. Call me when you see her.”

“Okay. See you when I come back.” He speaks, immediately hanging up the phone. Why the fuck did he just say that? So fucking sappy, and weird.

He continues to walk around the large campus. He can still feel that shaking, and it’s making him quite anxious. Just how he was feeling when he got this mission. The worst part of it all, or maybe the best part, was that his mission wasn’t what was bringing him the slight shake. He had literally been sent to murder the president of the most prestigious university in the world, and his entire family, but no sweat.

“Excuse me.” He finally speaks, noticing a girl, white hair, cruising cooly beside him. They happened to be walking over a bridge, assisting them over water. Beforehand, he thought he saw little fish swimming around in it, but he would have to test that later.

“What’s up?”

“What is that vibration? I’m new here.”

“Oh come on, don’t tell me you don’t know?”

His heart slightly stops, but he catches himself as his feet continue to scrape against the cobblestone walkway. He doesn’t care if it’s annoying the girl. He enjoys the sound.

“It’s landing hour. All the people who have flying cars are arriving at school as we speak. Some of them come in flocks, some alone. Most in flocks though.”

“Flocks?” He questions with an innocent head tilt. He knows what the word means, but he wanted to know what kind. Did they have gangs here too?

“You know, sports teams?” Her voice is becoming lighter, indicating she either was really annoyed with his idiotic questions, or she genuinely felt sorry for him.

“Yeah of course!” He corrects, turning his inner liar back on. More like outer liar. Not being on Indigo was way harder than he ever could’ve imagined. Especially when talking was his only way of finishing his mission. “I just mean, what kind of sports do they have here.”

“Well, we have the typical stuff. Swimming, floating rollerskating, but our most popular team is the speed demons. Electrical NASCAR. Hard to explain? you just have to see it in person. Complete jocks. So hot.” She gushes.

“Interesting.” He notes. “Why can we feel them, but not see them?”

“You see, everyone thinks that just because you go here that you’re rich. But that’s not true. I only drive a Tesla! My parents would never even think about buying a flying car! Even though I’m at the school that fucking invented them—anyways,” she breathes, slapping herself a quick time, “they have privileges, like their own parking lot. If you’re on the other side of the campus, you can see them rolling in, but from here? They don’t think we deserve it.”

“Right.” His lips are now folded into a thin line, wanting so badly to scoff at her. She was complaining about having a Tesla, when he had never even been inside a car. Fuck you. He thinks to himself. He’s not stupid enough to say it outloud. This girl is clearly naive, even if annoyed, and he knows he can get more information out of her.

They finally make it over the bridge, and Taeyong continues to observe the campus. There’s more students on this side. He can see ramps, and people using their hoverboards to skate and do tricks. It’s almost an electrical current thats surrounds the boards; lightning. They have no shoulder pads or knee, clearly knowing they are safe. No danger in sight.

“I never asked for your name?” He slides in, adjusting her book bag strap ever so slightly. He notices her blush.

“Mackenzie.” She chokes out. “You?”

“Lee.” He answers simply. “You like it’s here? Other than not having a flying car?” He chuckles. She can’t see or hear the aggression behind it. If his drugs weren’t wearing off, he might have fed on her like the idiot she was later tonight.

“I love it.” She sighs in content. “You meet a lot of great people here who just want to keep the world a beautiful place. Valhalla is...magical. Funny enough, the flying car guys may be hot jerks, but one of them has a sister.”

His ears perk up immediately. This can’t be this easy, can it? The chances of your name about to leave her mouth was actually quite slim, but it was possible. And a possibility is an opportunity.

“Really? Who?”

“Johnny and Y/N. Hottest people here. I know I say hot a lot, but they’re like—sexy. Most popular kids on the campus.” Her hand reaches for his own, and she slyly takes his schedule from his hand. She opens it promptly as they hault at a large pair of stairs. It’s a hologram, and rumor has it; your feet tingle when you walk on it.

Everyone gets a boost! The sign floats.

“Funny enough, she’s in the class. We all have class together.” She smirks. She’s happy. She thinks she has a chance to get with him; or at the least, get in his pants. “Environmental science.” She finishes. “Lucky me.”

He laughs, this time loudly. It echoes, and he sees her smiling even brighter from the sound. This makes him laugh even louder, taking his first steps into his new life; temporarily of course. It does indeed tingle, and feels himself waking up even more.

“No, Mackenzie,” he breaths out, taking a hand and swiping it through his hair ever so gently. “Lucky me.”

When he walks in, his heart stops. The ceiling seems to be unreachable as it practically touches the moon. He also can see right through it, although it seems to be able to protect from horrible weather conditions.

“Also lucky both of us, we’re here.” Mackenzie walks up to a black door; a keypad floating in the center. Her thumb locks itself on the scanner, and it opens immediately. Well, more like dissapeared. He quickly follows behind her, but is stopped and shocked, causing him to hiss.

“What—“ he ravels, rubbing his stomach from the pain. From the other side, he can see her, laughing at him. She thinks it’s cute.

“Everyone has to use their thumb print.” She confesses.

“You couldn’t have told me that before I walked behind you?”

“Everyone has to learn.”

Real funny, Mackenzie. More now than ever did he know she was going to be added to his list.

He sticks his thumb on the pad, and sticks his foot through to be safe. He’s in, and he can see so many people inside. The desks are all levitating; it’s unbelievable. He looks to see if there’s a professor, but there’s nobody. At least not yet.

“You can sit with me. Study buddies?” She cooes, locking his arms into hers, and for a split second, he almost reacts. He was not used to so much affection, not even with his brothers. They weren’t touching unless their hands were around your throat.

Once again, he’s following her lead. She hops on seemingly thin air, adjusting herself into the chair. He does the same, and now that he’s up, he can look around. All over, he can see familiar images. The images from the brochures.

Goon Lagon! Limy likepark! Winter frost!

There’s also a huge map resting in the back of the classroom. He’s too far to read what it says, but he wants so badly to know if NEO even made the cut. Do these people even know it exists? Probably so, right? A smile is creeping on his face again, because he really did it. He’s a monster, invading their world.

He’s caught up in his thoughts, but not so much that he doesn’t notice the door clearing again. He immediately breaks into a cold sweat when he sees who’s coming in.

It’s you. Johnny can also be seen, and he prays that he’s not in this class as well. That would make things so much harder. The two of you hug, followed by hoots and hollers from the guys floating in the back. They must be on the team, too, as they sport similar coats.

Your walk; it’s addicting. The sway in your hips is something Taeyong wasn’t acccustomed to, and the outfit you sport. He can’t see it, well the color, but in reality you’re wearing an orange tube top that read “NASCAR”, and has a car zooming on a track as a finishing touch. Your orange pants match perfectly. You had combat boots, just as he did on your feet, and shades were covering your face. You looked exactly what Mackenzie said you were; popular.

He expects you to find a way to sit in the back. Those seem to be your people. Your potential protectors. But without even thinking about it, seemingly, you hop up right beside him. You remove your shades from your face in dramatic fashion, and your eyes; they’re beautiful. They don’t even have to be a bright color. They’re just black to him, but they’re sparkling.

And yet, he’s unfazed. You’re nothing special, he thinks. A pretty face was nothing.

[voidpants]

“Wanna go out sometime?” convin, post-canon, pre-relationship?

heyyyyyyyyyy nonnie sorry this is so late i totally forgot about it orz

"I respect you, Gavin, which is why I'm going to tell you what's going to happen here, and just expect you to take the fucking order without whining."

"Wow, not even gonna let me in the fucking door before you lay some shit on me, huh."

"Shut the fuck up, kid."

"Fuck you too, Jeff."

"The RK800 is coming back. Passed his exams, and he starts here next week as a uniformed rookie."

"No."

"Yes. I'm making him your problem."

"Jeff, no."

"Gavin. Not to say anything that'll further inflate the fucking blimp you call a head, but you're my best guy. Any other uniform or detective I could put him with, he'd run circles around. It'd be fucking embarrassing for everyone involved, but honestly? Mostly for me. So. He's all yours. Try not to get your ass beat again."

"God, I fucking hate you."

"Noted, Detective."

---

The thing is, despite the... everything about the entire fucking situation, working with Connor is good.

In the past, Gavin's never remained partnered for very long.

According to his former partners, it's because Gavin is an arrogant, uncompromising sociopath, and that's... a fair assessment of his character, probably.

But the real problem has always been that they just couldn't keep up.

See, Gavin's good at his job. He's great at his job. Gavin is a goddamn fucking genius, and he's got the single minded dedication to apply that genius for as long and as hard as he needs to to see results.

Gavin doesn't have fucking time for people who either can't follow the way his mind works, or aren't committed enough to the job to do whatever it takes to see a case closed.

But Connor...

Connor keeps up. Gavin never has to explain his leaps in logic, because Connor just fucking sees. He's just right there, building off them as if they were his own, expecting Gavin to follow his own leaps like it's just a given.

And as far as dedication goes, he's as obsessively laser focused as Gavin could possibly ask for.

It's the most satisfying professional relationship Gavin's ever had in his life.

Now if they could just interact outside of the context of an active case without a repeat of the evidence locker looming in the distance, that would be great.

---

Gavin's hiding in the break room.

It's a pretty shit place to hide, admittedly, what with the full view from the bullpen, and no furniture big enough to give him any sort of cover.

But it has the coffeemaker, so it's still preferable to literally any other hiding place in the building.

Besides, it's not as if anyone is going to come look for him in here, even if everyone in the precinct is one hundred percent aware of where he is.

He really shouldn't have blown up. He can admit that, privately, to himself, in his own head, where the thought can stay and get quarantined and die a fiery death.

Connor had just been trying to be friendly. Probably. Talking about something that wasn't the latest stiff. He wouldn't even have needed to do any fucking scans to know about Gavin's cats, it's not as if Gavin doesn't have his moments of being an obnoxious pet owner. But Connor had just opened his mouth, with that... stupid fucking smile on his face, and asked about their breeds, and that itch that's always under Gavin's skin when the android looks at him had just fucking snapped into an almost painful buzzing, and then he'd started yelling.

At least he hadn't thrown any punches, thank fucking God. He'd been sorely fucking tempted once Connor had started replying to whatever dumb shit was spilling from Gavin's mouth, unflinchingly level and reasonable. But then he'd said some stupid shit about Connor deviating, factory settings, and police work, like a fucking jackass, and Connor's mouth had gone tight and he had leaned in, LED flickering from yellow to red, and told him: "Walk away, Gavin."

And it didn't calm the crawling in his skin, but at least it made him painfully aware of how he was one wrong move away from getting curb stomped in a reasonably well-trafficked corridor, in view of at least two security cameras.

So he'd stormed off to the break room to attempt to drown himself in a coffee cup and regret never learning how to fake being a functioning human adult for even five minutes.

He wishes he’d had his tablet on him so he could have done some paperwork while mainlining his coffee; he feels awkward sitting around wasting time when there are reports waiting to be meticulously filled out and filed. But fuck if he’s going out to the bullpen before he can be reasonably sure he won’t fucking meltdown as soon as someone looks at him.

Someone clears their throat behind him, and Gavin freezes, because there are a grand total of three people who’d dare, and since Anderson is retired, and Jeff left three hours ago, there’s only one option.

Connor looks… neutral, when Gavin finally manages to turn around. Which means he’s absolutely still pissed.

“Officers Wilkins and Morgan wanted coffee,” he says, not clipped, but definitely not anywhere close to friendly either. “They were both apparently too concerned with your mental state to come get some for themselves. Can I please use the machine?”

“Uh, sure,” Gavin says, eloquently, as he shuffles back to give Connor access.

“Thank you, Detective Reed,” he replies, smiling blandly, and ah shit. He only calls him Detective Reed when he’s angry and planning to be fucking unpleasant about it.

Fuck Gavin’s entire life.

He watches Connor grab two cups and beginning to fix them up with coffee, looking perfectly calm and comfortable, except  for the yellow LED at his temple. At least the silence seems to be awkward for both of them.

Gavin needs to fix this. It hurts him deep in his soul to admit it even to himself, but he fucked up, and he needs to actually fix it, instead of just enduring until hopefully Connor gets over it and they start pretending it never happened.

Fuck.

“Uh, about earlier...” he starts, and cringes at how fucking dumb and awkward he sounds.

Connor freezes mid-movement, LED flashing red. It lasts only for a split-second, then he’s calmly stirring sugar into one of the cups again. “Yes?”“I, uh. I… shouldn’t have said that.” God he’s so fucking bad at this. How did two people who talked at others for a living produce this?

This time, the pause in Connor’s movement looks deliberate. He doesn’t speak, and he doesn’t turn, and Gavin assumes that means he’s supposed to keep up his pathetic attempts at groveling.

“I was out of line,” he forces out, trying to remember if he ever learned how to sound genuine. “I’m the last person who should be judging someone for… literally any work related life choices. I just… I don’t know, I was an asshole for no fucking reason.” He thinks he’s going to throw up. “I’m sorry.”

There’s no reply. Connor doesn’t say anything, just keeps thoughtfully fixing up his friends’ coffees, and Gavin feels distantly angry about that, somewhere deep under the rising panic and feverish terror. He fucking hates feelings, who the fuck thought those were a good fucking idea?

He takes a sip of coffee, proud of how his hand isn’t shaking, to stop himself from marching out of the room and up the stairs to throw himself off the fucking roof.

“Do you want to go out sometime, Gavin?”

Gavin doesn’t choke on his coffee, but it’s fucking close. He can’t have heard that correctly. There’s no way. No fucking way. Nuh-uh. Nuh. Uh.

“I’m sorry?”

“Yes, I know, you said that already,” Connor says, turning to smile at him, warmer now, and oooooh, this fucking asshole.

“Don’t get fucking smart with me, you smarmy plastic fuck,” Gavin growls, stepping in to poke Connor in the chest. “What the fuck was that?”

He looks down at where Gavin’s finger is poking him, brushing it away with his hand, then back up to meet Gavin’s eyes, look on his face like he thinks he’s too stupid to live. “It’s a simple question, Gavin. Do you. Want. To go out. Sometime?”

And Gavin doesn’t know how to react, because this situation has just stopped making any sort of sense, so all he can think of to say is “What the fuck?”

And Connor.

Connor.

This plastic motherfucker.

He smirks, running his eyes down Gavin’s body, tongue coming out to wet his lips, looking like a fucking predator and Gavin has never felt so objectified in his life.

“Well,” he says, shrugging, eyes running back up to Gavin’s face, and Gavin is suddenly painfully aware he’s blushing like a dumbass kid in the middle of the department break room. “That does seem like a more productive way to work out our interpersonal tension than antagonizing each other until it comes to blows, considering that I can, and would, snap you like a twig.”

Gavin swallows helplessly, too fucking loud, and Connor grins like a fucking shark.

“Unless that’s what you like, of course,” he says lightly, and Gavin can’t look away from his eyes, dark and warm, and full of promise. “I’d be willing to give it a try in a scenario where I wasn’t being provoked with personal attacks.”

He stays there, in Gavin’s space, for a few moments, waiting, before patting Gavin’s chest. “You can think about it,” he allows, before turning to pick up his coffees. “Come join me in the bullpen when you’re ready,” he throws over his shoulder as he leaves. “We have a case, and you’ve been slacking off for long enough.”

Oh.

Oh, fuck.

[byeolbitsky]

Calling for You

Genre/Warnings:  Fanfiction, Random, Apocalypse, Zombies etc. Contains blood, Gore, Violence, Character Death, Cursing, Mature Content, maybeee rape? or mention of it.

Characters: Seventeen & OC’s, Kpop Idols.

"All this time, I thought I had you figured out and I knew who you finally are, you show me a different side of you that even the closest Person to you didn't know about."

It would have happened sooner or later but for it to happen this soon was a Surprise for everyone. No one, not even the Goverment or the Scientists would have predicted that. The Virus had spread, way too early and for it to be able to spread meant that someone had freed it from its convines and that meant that someone from the Corporation had stolen it before they could test the Virus out and make a Cure for it, if needed.

"What is going on?" "Why are People attacking People?" "What are you doing?! Stop!"

Panic, Blood, Violence, Screams, Fear and Gun Shots are the haunting sounds of day and night everyone will have to encounter from that day onwards.

25th of June

Everything went like every single day, at least until that moment.

The Idols were all scathered around in the Halls, some recording themselves for their fans, some of them taking pictures together and then there were some that interacted with their Fans through the windows, waving at them with smiles on their faces.

Today would be the last day for Seventeen's Promotion and their Stage was planned to happen a little bit later on.

They saw some Fan's walking in and out of the Broadcasting station and probably waiting for their turn to cheer for their Idols.

Just like any other day... it seems, until the TV's showed the news.

Chapter One - Start and Explanations

25th, June

"I have nothing to say...?" Jihoon waved his hands infront of his face, trying to avoid the Camera Seungkwan was holding but the younger boy was persistent in filming the small boy infront of him.

"Woozi doesn't seem to be in the mood today, so moving on... HOSHI!" The Camera swung around and landed on the boy's surprised face which was stuffed with food. The snacks he had in his hands immediately laid down on the table infront of him, and pushed aside only to be devoured by the giant sitting next to him.

"We just caught Hoshi pigging out on the snacks we brought." Jeonghan snickered behind the Camera, Hoshi pouting at the elder one's remark. "He is going to gain those chubby cheeks back again, if he continues that is." Seungcheol walked over to Hoshi and Mingyu, only to snatch a few of the snacks away from the giant's grabby hands.

"We only have like 20 Minutes until we have to go out for a Rehearsal." Wonwoo informed everyone as soon as he walked into their waiting area. "The girls are ready too!"

They were paired with a new girlgroup which had debuted just at the beginning of that year. Everyone called them the Monster Rookies already, eventhough they came from a smaller and not so well know Agency, they made their group name big with their talents and Visuals. Their CEO's thought that it would give both groups big benefits if they collaborated and stuck together in a CO-ED Group Project.

"Hey! The girls are waiting in the grand hall." The Manager told them and the Stylists ushered all of the Members out after fixing their appearance.

"I like this dark theme today. Makes me look sexier than usual." Mingyu giggled. Seungkwan turns around and gave him a judging look. "You look like a failed tan Ken doll which had been repainted over and over again to fit a Certain Image only to end up with black clothes so the other paint jobs wouldn't be revealed." A voice said from behind Seungkwan and he immediately recognised the soft and raspy voice from one of the girls, Jade.

"Noona!" Seungkwan tried to hug her but one of the older girls just pushes him aside and hugged her instead. "You just didn't push me away from her?!" Seungkwan pointed an accusing finger at his elder and the girl just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Ya'll are so childish." Jade said and pushed her member away from her, not too hard of course. "I am totally not in for affection today, sorry." Jade walked past everyone and into the grand hall where the rest of her members were waiting for them to come. "I don't have such a good feeling today." She glanced to look at Jeonghan who was casually swinging an arm over her shoulder. The boy turned to look at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you getting sick?" Mingyu who was behind the both of them grabbed her and put the back of his hand against her forehead and shook his head, signalling Jeonghan that she was fine, no fever whatsoever.

"No. I don't feel sick. I just feel unwell, my gut feeling is telling me that something is not right." Jade pushed the doors open, making everyone's head turn towards the entrance. "I feel the same." Wonwoo chimed in and both of them exchanged looks with each other. Jade and Wonwoo are known by fans and their members to have a kind of twin connection. When one was feeling unwell, the other would too. Sometimes they would even say the same thing out loud and their birthdays are close to each other, thus making them into 'twins from other parents'.

Anju, one of Jade's members run up to her with a concerned face expression, pulling the girl to the Center of the room by force.

"You told me you had a bad feeling the whole day right?" Jade nodded and stared at her, already knowing that something weird is going on right now. "We might have a Reason why, now. Look!" Anju told her and pointed towards the Screen's around the room which normally had ads or previous performances on Display. But as of right now, they showed yellow and red screens with the bold black and white letters written on them and a small screen cut-out showing them a woman clad in a suit, talking to the camera.

Everyone in the Room went silent as soon as a shrill sound came on. It was kind of annoying since it lasted for a long time but it did got the attention from them all.

"Attention. This is not a Test. Here by I have to tell all Citizens to stay in their Buildings. If you are outside and hearing this, find a Building to stay inside and barricade yourself up. No one is allowed to go outside as of now. The Goverment will send help once they have figured out a solution to this chaos. Stay inside, stay safe. " The Woman's screen disappeared and the TV Screen's showed the Scenery outside.

"What is going on outside?" Anju shook Jade by her Shoulders as if demanding an answer from her.

"I don't really know, yet." Is all Jade could answer before one of their managers grabbed her and pulled her with him towards a more secluded area. "What is it?"

"Your Teammates called. They said they're in the building with us already preparing everything for the worst. Jade, it's time to tell your members about your past life. This seems to be a serious case outside and they don't know if you would even make it back." He looked at her with the most serious yet concerned look on his face.

She sighed and slit outside the room, already knowing where her team was located at.

She sprinted up the few flights of stairs and pulled the door to the right of her open, revealing shocked faces of her teammates. "Leader!" One of the males, Leon, screamed in surprise. "You are already here?!"

Gunho, the second in command handed her the bag with her gear in it. "We missed you. We also have two new members now, after you left, we were assigned to babysit them." He joked and nodded towards two very young looking boys. The two of then were clad in more gear than the other's, showing that they were newbies in the team. Both of them bowed to her.

"Nice to meet you two. Listen to us and you won't get killed. Also don't let yourself get killed by trying to play the hero. You have three rules. Listen to us. Don't play the Hero game and Don't die." Jade walked into the bathroom which was connected to the waiting room they were in at and quickly changed out of her stage clothes and got rid of her makeup, apologizing to her stylists in her head for ruining their hard work.

"Lou-ming and Sara, you two get on the roof. Be ready to snipe at anything that looks suspicious." They saluted and made their way to the rooftop. "The two newbies. Dom and Keith, wasn't it?" The both of them nodded. "I want you all to evacuate everyone in this building, no information leaking, no expression showing. Just evacuate. Make sure they all are shut into their rooms. Give them instructions on how to handle this situation and that's it. When you're done, come downstairs to the grand hall. " Jade looked towards the remaining members. They all started to head down to the grand hall, earning them some weird looks on the way.

"Jade, where were you and what are you wearing?!" Jihyun, one of her members, the leader asked her. All eyes were on them. The halls had gone quiet again after their entrance, yet again.

"Attention! We are a Team send by the Goverment. We specialise in evacuating, educating and securing the people. So if you would kindly listen to us for a moment and have a seat right here, we would appreciate it." Gunho screamed at the top of his lungs and everyone complied.

Jade gently pushed her member down to the floor to sit right infront of her. She gave her a slight smile before standing inbetween her team mates.

They started to tell them about the situation and how they should stay inside until the coast was clear. "You need to understand that this is a serious and very dangerous situation we are in right now. If you don't listen to what we have instructed you to do so, you might be losing your life if you don't." Chase, the third in command told them and patted Jade on the back, already putting his in-ears in.

Jade sat down in the circle of her friends, her managers also joining in.

"I haven't told you guys about the things I have done before I became a Trainee, right? No, I haven't, at least not to all of you." She glanced to the manager she had talked to.

"I had been doing many jobs before, some very normal ones and some more unique. This is the last job I did. A Man named 'Carter Johnson' someone from the Goverment was scouting young talented people with skills that have been unpolished. They teached us random stuff like those they teach at school, University even. Only that you don't major just in one field but in all of them. They also teached you unusual stuff, martial arts, close and far-off combat, Survival in odd lands and Army knowledge. They were planning for this a long time ago, I guess, seeing that many had been scouted. We were called the Elite of the Special Forces. They wanted us to know, if a Biohazard happens, we should know what to do." She let out a big sigh after that.

"I was the Captain of this team. I had approximately twenty men and women in my team. After a mission which we had attended to, five of them died. We were being sold out to the enemie beforehand and the guy that had sold us out died with the incident. I blamed myself for my carelessness and quit there even with if I had to force it. Then I decided to follow my dreams and I became a Trainee. That's how I met all of you guys." She patted on of her Members thigh, already seeing the sad look in her eyes.

"Our Teachers and the People that have been working with us, they were reluctant to let her go. She was the best out of the best. She was what you called a Genius in all the fields they needed her to be. So letting her go was very hard for all of us but Jade being Jade, she was too stubborn to give into the pleas of us. So she left without ever looking back at us. You know, when she turns her back at you and walks away without looking back again, this means she is over with you." Chase a Teammate told them and gave them a slight yet sad smile.

"We really did like her as our Captain. She way a born Leader for this. She was strict when she needed to, yet sweet and caring when she was around us on our free time. She had always put others before herself and even if she was injured badly, she would still make sure that we were treated first. She makes the people she treasures her first priority." Jade took a glance at Chase, a frown appearing on her face, ready to speak but the buzzing sound of their Intercom interrupted their deep talking session.

"Captain J. Sky from Team A.X1 here. What is it?" Jade took the intercom and pressed it close to her ear. The earpiece she was wearing wasn't connected yet, she noted.

"Captain Sky, nice talking to you after such a long time. I have to tell you that your Area had been conterminated with the Virus and I need you to secure every Civilian in your Building, make sure everyone stays in a room off the ground floor and every entrance should be barricaded. You have permission to shoot anything that seems dangerous to you. Further instructions will follow. Stay safe." The lady on the other side ended the call.

Her Friends all looked at her with a concerned look on their faces, her frown had deepened throughout the conversation and this made them worry more.

"This seems like a joke to some of us but a Virus broke out and this Area we are in is conterminated." The girl watched them all exchange some looks of disbelief and utter terror before one of her members stood up in a panic and pointed at the Entrance of the Hall.

"What is wrong with the Guard?!"

 next>

Masterlist

[dingoat]

The Right Way | Part Fifteen

[ previous | the beginning | next ]

Honestly, with Ulfran no longer having any regard for the long-term implications of abusing his use of the Force, and Ahuska’a’s utter delight in wreaking chaos and taking lives, breaking into the facility in which Kassandra was being held was almost too easy. Truly, they brought out the worst in one another.

The stir they’d caused in the upper levels left them reasonably free to seek passage to the wing they intended to break Kassandra out of; a few sharp bolts of lightning and a couple of slit throats quickly silenced guards and prisoners alike who tried to make their way more difficult. They felt invincible, and behaved as though they were.

When he finally saw her, Ulfran very nearly derailed their plans entirely. A snarl fixed upon his face and blue-tinged electricity crackled once more at his fingertips; only to be cut short with a savage cry of pain as Ahuska’a’s whip slashed against his hand. “You---!” he seethed, rounding on her, only to be whipped again to the sound of an infuriating bark of laughter.

“I saw that! Whatever business you have with her though, doesn’t matter now. You know why we need her.” The Bothan sneered at the man, who conceded her point but not without buffeting her back with the Force, just once. Her expression snapped to a glower, as it always did when he used what was, ultimately, a superior power against her, and she pushed past roughly to stare at the Chiss behind the containment field they now faced.

Kassandra stared up at the pair, not comprehending, a bubble of fear welling up in her chest. The fangy grin that leered at her through the purple tinged energy field was hideously unsettling, as was the harsh red gaze of the furious looking man just a step behind.

“Oh, hello,” Ahuska’a crooned as though meeting a new pet, tilting her head and waving a hand toward Ulfran. “Go on, lower the field. I want a better look at her. How do you two know one another, again?”

“We don’t…” Kassandra said quickly, backing up into her cell as the field went down, her own glowing eyes wide and reflecting her fear. She’d relinquished control of her life a long, long time ago, and had survived simply by keeping attention off her back, with obedience, raising the ire of neither her guards nor her fellow inmates. “I’ve never seen him before. Who are you? What… what are you doing…?”

Ulfran clicked his tongue and shrugged. “You mean to say Lyrisal never mentioned me…?”

Kassandra stared, squinted at him, even while she cringed away from the Bothan with the frighteningly hungry eyes who stalked ever closer into her space. “I don’t… know?”

“Not once. She never brought up the dearest friend of her training days?” Did he actually sound a little hurt?

Slow, disbelieving recognition dawned on the Chiss’ features. “Kane?”

“Ulfran, now,” he snapped abruptly, like the sound of his old name was physically painful, “…but yes.” A thread of satisfaction wove its way back into his tone.

Fear struck at her more sharply as the possibilities began to circle her imagination. Was this revenge? But the Bothan had said...  “It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault, surely you don’t blame me for what happened, look at me! You left, you left, you great hypocrite, you can’t hold it against her for wanting-“

“Shhhhh shh shh,” Ahuska’a tapped a finger to Kassandra’s lips with a lazy smile, while Ulfran simmered behind her. “Hush, little puppy. We’re not here to harm you. In fact, you’re going to help us!”

The Chiss swallowed hard, flinching away, only to find her chin caught up in the Bothan’s clawed hand.

“We’re going to fix everything,” Ahuska’a purred, having put all the pieces into place and feeling quite thoroughly smug about it. She lifted Kassandra’s chin and stared at her thoughtfully. “And once we have, you two can fight over Lyrisal all you want.”

Kassandra made a tiny gasp. She didn’t understand any of this, but was suddenly desperate to know more.

In the timeline where Crow turned left, Ahuska’a, Ulfran and Kassandra plotted to raid the Ve’lora family vaults. In the timeline where Crow took the right path, however, Ulfran plotted alone.

He was working for the Kor’var family, under the arrogant thumb of the head of the household, Lord Hadrex. He was a peculiarly eccentric Bothan with a fondness for dark artifacts and an eagerness to ally with the Sith Empire quite uncharacteristic of his species. That being so, it was an easy matter for Ulfran to find his way onto the Bothan’s staff, and even easier to coax information from the him. Ulfran barely had to tickle his thoughts, so willing was Hadrex to wax on Sith philosophy and include an actual, genuine Sith in his plans.

As all self respecting Bothawui citizens did, Hadrex sought power. And the road to power he pursued was profoundly useful to Ulfran, as Hadrex had a pact with the terribly wealthy and influential Ronan Ve’lora after saving his life in their youth. Ronan, claiming to be forever indebted to him, promised the hand of his first born in marriage to the Kor’var line… but Ronan had a single son, and Hadrex had only managed to sire sons himself. He was desperate for a daughter.

It didn’t take long for Ulfran to piece together the fact that it wasn’t just political power that Hadrex was vying for- he, too, was after access to the Ve’lora vaults. Possibly for the exact same artifact Ulfran was. Suddenly his job was not just to secure the Shard; but to beat the unscrupulous, power-hungry Bothan to it.

Time was wearing on. If another year passed without a viable heir being produced, the Bothan Council would step in and nullify the pact, at no shame to the Ve’loras, for the good of the family. Hadrex was running out of time, and had begun seeking out less than legitimate ways to marry into the more prestigious family. And Ulfran was helping him. Find a Bothan; somewhere, out in the galaxy. No records, no traceable lineage, preferably little to no attachments… falsify some DNA sampling, and present her as a long lost heir, a youthful dalliance between Hadrex and household staff. The small burden of shame would be far outweighed by the benefit of taking on the Alora Clan name.

Ulfran, of course, saw this alliance as his way in to the fiercely protected Ve’lora family vaults… until, he realised who the young Bothan that Hadrex had discovered and set his sights on was.

For a man who’d shrugged off so much throughout his life, who had faced torments and darkness with his head held high, who’d helped excuse all manner of deplorable things, oh, it had been a long time since he’d felt such dread in the pit of his stomach. When he was shown the snippets of security footage sliced from a Mos Ila patrol droid, when he saw the little blonde Bothan being shielded from blaster fire by… by them…

“I beg you, my Lord,” Ulfran tried to keep his voice level as he pleaded with Hadrex, wincing inwardly at having to refer to him as such. “Don’t pursue this. This target will only bring trouble.”

SMACK.

Hadrex’s gloved hand backhanded Ulfran across the face, as he responded with a snarl. “Not if you do your job right, Sith. I don’t pay you for your opinions…”

Ulfran stepped slowly out of reach, and kept his flashing eyes averted. “But my counsel is not unfounded. I know who you’re about to cross, and if she is anything like the rest of them… there’s a reason we wanted minimal attachments…” he was cut short by another advance from the dark furred Bothan noble, the threat of another slap.

“So do not cross them! Make them believe there is no hope, I know you are capable of that. I want this girl, and you will deliver her to me posthaste.”

That wasn’t the only time he’d tried to persuade Hadrex to another course of action, but the Lord would have none of it, having become utterly fixated on Ahuska. Still, if he performed the job neatly enough, perhaps he could still see this through. Find the girl, have her marry, get in the good graces of the Ve’lora family and access their collection… and be gone, before Lyrisal’s damned crew inevitably discovered the truth and came searching. Perhaps he could avoid their wrath.

But he did not perform his job neatly at all.

He vastly underestimated the strength of Crow’s mind, when he tracked the Bounty Hunter down and tried to pull enough information from his head to pre-empt his and Ahuska’s future movements. No subtle in-and-out from the shadows; no, Crow had picked up on Ulfran’s presence near immediately, and the two men had locked in physical battle. Ulfran had staggered away less two fingers and a thumb, half burned, his own memories a shambles, mixed with what thoughts he had managed to pluck from Crow’s head... but most dangerous was the fact that he had entirely, completely made himself known.

Ulfran knew his time was limited.

He discovered, in Crow’s stolen thoughts, Ahuska’s desire to visit Lothal. He took a gamble and beat them there, where he began to lay down his plan. It wasn’t enough to simply kidnap her; the Deserters would be on his trail in a heartbeat. He had to fake her death, he had to make them truly believe she was gone—and against all odds, he succeeded.

Crow sat in the dew soaked grass, his back against one of the sheer, towering rocks that jutted skyward from the ground. He toyed with his blaster, passing it back and forth between his hands, as casual as someone mulling over what to have for dinner, but his gaze was locked out toward the horizon. His flat, grey gaze. The hot spark of life that burned so brightly behind his eyes had been extinguished.

Ahuska was gone.

‘I don’t want to see Dad like this again,’ Nela keened. ‘I know. I’m sorry.’ And Ulfran meant it.

He had taken Ahuska, and she had resisted savagely every waking minute. He had broken Crow’s spirit, and if not for his friends and his daughter, if not for Nela insisting something was wrong, the bounty hunter may never have left the plains of Lothal. He had assisted Hadrex in his lies and his forgery, he had convinced poor young Kovar Ve’lora that Ahuska would be a most exceptional wife. That he would be happy with her, and eventually, she with him. He had threatened Ahuska into compliance, and though he’d told himself repeatedly he would never actually follow through, that he would never truly make her forget the one she loved… he had it in him. Ulfran forced himself to acknowledge just how far he might have gone. Eyes locked so firmly on his job, on his end goal, the people he harmed along the way had begun to matter less and less. He agonized over the terrible things he did to meet his ends, but did them anyway, so what was the purpose of his self-torment? What good was his conscience, if he did those things anyway?

‘If you didn’t feel that way, you’d be someone different. You’d be the other one. It’s okay. We found you in time.’

----

Phewwww I’m getting so close to the end now! It’s weirdly challenging trying to summarise months and months of RP in a few paragraphs; I could carry on forever if I let myself! Boundless thanks to @humanrevolt for making all this happen with me and as ever for trusting me to write his characters in this monster of a tale. Thanks, too, to any of you out there who have actually been following this along! I hope it’s been some level of entertaining, aaa.

[bleusarcelle]

Do you think that Keith and Axca are actually related like could they be siblings. Because Keith's mom was galra and his father was human. So Axca who is a girl is more galra than human and Keith who is a boy is more human than galra.

TBH???

My feelings for these two are quite complex? I think? Bc at the first glance I was like BOOM. KEITH’S MOM. MYSTERY SOLVED UNLIKE BUZFEED UNSOLVED.

But ofc then, after reading comments and theories and whatnot, I was like ‘yo, true true, a sibling could be?’ 

And tbh, I like the sibling connection WAY more, and we know for SURE that there’s something going on between these two or at least something is building up where these two will be the main topic around it. 

If they ARE siblings, god, it could be a lil heartbreaking tbh? bc ….I mean, maybe they were both lonely through out most of their lives? Until they found ppl to call their own family bc they didn’t have anyone else?

So once they realize that they have a connection, blood? bonds? and they find out they are family? God, imagine the heart break that the only one you could call blood family is on the side you are fighting against.

Like, they trying to reach out the other, to convine them to join them bc they are family and they are supposed to be together, like they were meant to be, but it hurts so much bc they cant and wont, and they both know it. 

And just because I’m such a lil shit, I can’t take this scenario out of my head. 

Axca pants, left arm hanging limp on her side but gun still raised high in defense. It looks precise, steady and so damn deathly but God, can she feel the faint tremble and she hates that she knows the reason why.

Keith just stares at her, heavy breathing from his mouth as bood keeps falling from his nose and the gash on his forehead, covering most his right eye in a deep red. It looks wrong, so wrong. They are supposed to be fighting side by side, they have always been supposed to be fighting together not against each other.

A push a way. The trigger it’s only a push away and she can’t do it. 

“Come with me,” Axca mumbles, swallowing the lump on her throat and scowling at herself when her voice wavers, “Join us. Join our cause, your legacy.”

How many times have they had this argument. How many times have they fought, nail and foot, for the other one to see the truth about their fighting beliefs. How desperate were they to convince the other to joing them because they can’t let go of the small part of hope that the other meant for them to have a family, the family they had been taken from them since the begining. 

Why is it so bad to have your family by your side? Is that so wrong?

“You belong with us, your people, your blood.” Axca snarls, angry tears at the edge of her eyes but refusing to fall, “You belong with me, by my side, as my brother.” 

It’s only a tick, but it’s enough for her to actualy enlight a spark of hope inside her. 

It gets crushed as soon as Keith sighs and leans back, a resigned sad look on his dark blue eyes.

“I don’t.” Keith whispers, “I don’t belong with you -”

Another step back and her finger twtiches dangerously. 

“I have never belonged to you and your people -” 

The ringing noise in her eyes grows, her vision becomes blurry and there’s a burning sensation in her stomach.

“I belong with my family,” Keith, shoulders dropping in relief as the echoes of Team Voltron’s voices start appearing around them, one by one, getting louder by the second, “You’re not them. You’ll never be them. I’m sorry.”

And then he turns. He gives her his back, as if she wasn’t holding a gun at him, only a breath away from the trigger. As if she wasn’t the enemy but actually someone to be trusted.

Something spills, her voice cracks but her words echo around them as the trigger goes off.

“Me too, brother.”

*looks over the shit I just wrote* Yeah, so it’s 2 am, I’m allowed to be shitty. 

A N Y W A YS I GOT CARRIED AWAY. Basically, I love siblings relationships between the entire team Voltron are just precious but,…damn, it woul dbe really interesting to see what the HECK is going on between these two because we KNOW for sure they ARE connected somehow!!!! S O ME OHW HAROLD. 

idk who harold is, dont ask me.

So yeah! I suck at theories, but I can make shitty scenarios, so eeeeeeeeeeeeeeey.

Keith doesnt die…btw, like, it sounds like it, but he doens’t. COme on.