#removed his own eye to have better aim with his sniper

[dizautonomia]

Actually I found him on Discord

Posting this to remind my future self to post my octoling oc

[hugmekenobi]

S3: The Bad Batch (5)

Chapter Five: The Return

Gif by @theworstbatch

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Ever since Eriadu, Clone Force 99 had been a fractured squad. Months have passed but you're finally back with the Batch but Omega is still out there and you won't stop until you find her again.

Chapter Summary: Will a mission to an Imperial facility be the thing that allows you, Hunter and Crosshair to reconcile?

Masterlist for S1 and S2

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, again we have my interpretation of headspaces, limited use of y/n, fluff, reference to past character death, angsty conversations, PDA (kissing and some brief spicy thoughts), brief innuendo, mentions/ references to scars and torture, reader, Hunter and Crosshair are all a lil mean to each other, me making up how the Force works, I give some of Crosshair and Hunter's past fights some more lore, fun family teasing dynamics

Word Count: 8K

Author's notes: Had a lot of fun incorporating reader into this one! Hope you like it too! And the work for Ch6 will begin today too!

Omega released a content sigh as she opened her eyes upon feeling the warmth of the sun on her face. As she took in the familiar walls and gave Lula an affectionate squeeze, part of her still couldn’t believe she was really here again.

“Looks who’s awake!” Wrecker called out jovially.

“How’d you sleep?” Hunter enquired as she came down.

“Better than ever.” She replied. 

“Delivery from Shep and Lyana.” Wrecker chucked her a piece of fruit.

“Another one?” Omega remarked lightly as she caught it. It had been a few days since they’d returned to Pabu and Shep and Lyana had been incredibly accommodating in the provision of clothes and food since she’d been back.

“They’re happy you’re back.” You said cheerily as you handed Wrecker and Hunter their mugs of caf and sipped from your own. Since being back, you’d all slipped out of your armour and for you this had also meant allowing the warm Pabu sun soak into your skin so there’d been occasions where you’d removed your top layer and gloves. You’d stopped hiding the scars from your torture, but it had meant you needed to fill Omega in on certain events.

“And so are we.” Hunter added with a smile as he slipped an arm around your waist.

“Where’s Crosshair?” Omega asked as she looked around the ship.

“He wasn’t on the ship when we woke up.” Wrecker replied.

“He’s… still adjusting.” Hunter added.

“I’ll check on him.” Omega said breezily before she departed the ship.

The three of you shared a mildly concerned look as she left.

--

Crosshair watched his shot go wide yet again.

“Greetings, Omega!” AZ shouted with a cheery wave to the girl standing in the distance.

Crosshair glanced her direction but quickly went to focus on shooting the fruit out of AZ’s hand again but released a low groan as he saw that his hand continued to quiver, making his grip and aim unsteady.

Omega made her way down to the beach cove and gave Batcher a few dotting pats before she came to crouch beside Crosshair. She noted the bowl of fruits on the rock he was positioned behind. “Shep and Lyana found you then?”

“Their ability to do so is uncanny.” Crosshair responded dryly.

“I know what you’re doing, Crosshair, but you can’t keep hiding. You need to talk to them.” She advised, the ‘them’ referring to you and Hunter.

“I’m not hiding. I’m training.” Crosshair deflected as he readied his rifle and got the fruit in his sights, but his shot missed. He stared at his hand in anger and aggravation. What good was a sniper who couldn’t make a simple, unopposed shot?

“You know, I’m sure AZ could look at your hand for you.” Omega suggested.

Crosshair exhaled a sharp sigh. “I’m fine.”

Sensing his wall was well and truly up on the matter, she changed tact, “So what skills does this require, besides good sight?”

“Being a sniper is more than just looking scope. It’s about patience. Reading the environment.” He half-turned his head. “And knowing when you’ve got eyes on you.”

Omega looked up past his shoulder to see the three of you watching them from the top of the cliff edge.

“They don’t trust me.” Crosshair stated matter-of-factly.

“Give it time. But you will have to talk to them.” Omega reminded him with a soft pat on his back.

Crosshair only gave a non-committal hum before he went back to his rifle.

--

“Not sure it was a good idea to give Crosshair back his rifle.” Hunter commented.

“Omega trusts him. That’s good enough for me.” Wrecker replied. “And well, he hasn’t tried to kill you yet.” He added, looking to you.

“Oh, yes, that’s a great comfort, Wrecker. Thank you so much.” You replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Wrecker raised his hands in appeasement. “All I’m saying is that it might be an idea to talk things out again.”

“Cause that went so well last time.” You muttered.

The sound of a ship approaching interrupted further discussion.

Hunter glanced up to see Echo’s shuttle and he whistled down to the other two but as he got up to leave, he noticed the stare you were giving him. It was pointed but there was something else behind it that he couldn’t quite label, “What?”

“ ‘What?’ he asks like I can just give a simple reply as to how whistling is attractive.” You mumbled, avoiding his gaze as you rather hurriedly stepped past him.

Hunter smiled at your back and fondly shook his head in your direction before he caught up to you and Wrecker.

--

“It’s Echo!” Omega cheered as she saw the ship fly overhead.

“Perfect.” Crosshair grumbled.

“I have tabulated your shooting accuracy. Your target success rate was at 53%. Well below your average.” AZ helpfully informed him.

Hearing that only made his mood worse. Crosshair did not respond to the droid, instead he just trailed behind Omega as they made their way to the top of the island.

--

You grinned as you saw Echo and Omega share a brief hug.

“What? No hug for me?” Crosshair quipped as he approached.

Echo scoffed, “That depends how good your intel is.”

Crosshair grunted in return. At least that felt somewhat normal.

--

The sun was setting as the six of you took your seats around Shep’s table, the golden glow adding some much-needed softness and warmth to the atmosphere. He’d been kind enough to let you all use his residence as a place to gather and think- there had been numerous offers of setting up places of your own since you’d all returned but until this business with Tantiss had reached an official conclusion, it felt too much like tempting fate to accept.

“They were using clones for testing, taking samples. Most were held in the detention wing, but I never saw what was in the vault.” Omega told the rest of you. “Even Emerie wasn’t allowed access.”

“Emerie?” Echo repeated.

“She works for Hemlock. She’s a clone, like us. Like me.”

Echo reflected on that for a moment before he addressed Crosshair, “And what about you? Anything else to add?”

“I was a prisoner. Not much to tell.”

You and Hunter both narrowed your eyes at him. He was holding something back.

“We’ve been searching for this base for a long time. Accurate intel’s hard to come by. We need to know all we can before making any moves.” Echo said.

“We have Nala Se’s datapad, but it isn’t working anymore.” Omega slid the device over to Echo. “If we can get it online, we should be able to pull more intel on Tantiss.”

“It could have schematics, entry points.” Hunter theorised. “Maybe even the coordinates of the base itself.”

“Imperial encryption will be a problem, especially without Tech.” Echo said, his tone solemn.

The mood shifted and your eyes couldn’t help but drift over to the empty seat at the end of the table. Regardless of everything else, it was obvious the loss was felt by all of you.

“Plugging it into an Imperial terminal will bypass the encryption.” Crosshair stated after a moment of heavy silence.

“Where do we get one of those?” Wrecker asked.

“I know a facility. Remote, understaffed. It shouldn’t be a problem to infiltrate.”

Hunter debated the risks in his head, “Crosshair, Echo and I will go to this remote facility. You three will stay here.” He looked to you, Wrecker and Omega.

You frowned at him.

“We’re finally together and you want to split us up?” Omega argued.

“Yeah, I’m with the kid on this one.” You piped up.

“We just got you both back. I’m not going to risk either of you getting captured again.” Hunter replied firmly.

Your gaze softened, “Hunter, not that I don’t appreciate the concern, but there’s no way I’m letting you go to an Imperial facility with just two other people. No matter how understaffed it might be.”

“With me, you mean.” Crosshair muttered, the double meaning behind your words was not so subtle. “One of these days you’re going to have to trust me.”

“Give me a reason to.” You snapped back. Hunter’s gentle squeeze of your knee stopped you from saying anything more.

The others all shared in fretful looks of concern.

Omega spoke up to get her argument in before one started again between you, Hunter, and Crosshair. “And I left all those clones behind. I need to do this, Hunter.” Omega implored.

Hunter glanced between Wrecker and Echo who both nodded. He then faced you, and he could tell by the resolve in your eyes that he wasn’t going to win this one. He gave a resigned but agreeable nod of his head.

--

The tension between the two clones could be cut with a knife as they passed each other on the ramp.

“Don’t hold it against him. He’s only worried about you.” Crosshair explained to Omega as Hunter moved out of earshot. He picked up the next case of supplies.

“I know.” Omega said begrudgingly. “You think I should stay behind too?”

“You’re capable, but you are still a kid.”

Omega only scoffed, “I’m older than you are, little brother.” She taunted.

“Never going to quite get used to that.” You said to yourself, sliding your gloves on and long-sleeved top over your head before grabbing your limited pieces of armour from the pile of supplies. You reapplied it as you passed the two of them. But the smile and quiet laugh Crosshair allowed himself at Omega’s words wasn’t lost on you either. You boarded Echo’s ship but saw Hunter standing in the doorway watching as Wrecker walked towards the two of them. Is that-

Hunter offered a rigid nod by way of reply.

“I don’t know if this’ll still fit, but, uh, here.”

Crosshair turned to the sound of Wrecker’s voice and opened the case he held out for him, but he wasn’t expecting to see what he did. And whether he’d want to admit it or not, the meaning behind the fact that they’d kept it after all this time touched a part of him. “My old armour.”

“Yeah, it never felt right to get rid of it.” Wrecker admitted before he boarded the ship.

--

With all of you properly kitted up, the ship came out of hyperspace and entered the ice planet’s atmosphere.

“On approach. Reading minimal life signs, if any.” Echo announced.

The ship landed and the group of you got ready to disembark.

Echo gave the scanners one last preliminary glance, “No heat signatures inside of the depots, and nothing on comms. There’s no one here.”

As you followed the helmeted example of the others and pulled your hood and mask up, and made your way out, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you’d been here before. Something about it felt eerily familiar but you couldn’t fathom why. You dismissed Hunter’s questioning glance and continued further down the steps. Clearing your mind, you studied Tech’s datapad with Hunter.

“Hey, it does fit.” Wrecker said with a laugh as he half-turned and saw Crosshair come outside in the old black and red 99 armour.

You, Echo, and Hunter all looked too, and the sight automatically transported you back in time, but it was now clouded by a lingering darkness.

Crosshair grunted as he fiddled with it and his eyes caught the ice vulture screeching in the now clear and serene sky. This place certainly looked different in the sunlight and without the violent snowstorms, and he only wished the outcome from this mission would be more successful than last time. Your voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“You said this outpost was remote, not abandoned entirely.” You didn’t bother to hide the element of accusation in your tone.

“Well, I didn’t get daily intel briefings in my cell.”

You rolled your eyes at the unsurprising uncooperative response and watched as Hunter moved past you and closer to his brother.

“I get the feeling there’s more to this place than you’re saying.” Hunter said, the distrust in his voice seeping through.

Batcher’s barking disrupted any potential reply and you all turned to see what had got her riled up.

Hunter pulled out his macrobinoculars, “The sensors are giving off a high-frequency tone. She must be reacting to it.”

“What are the sensors for?” You asked Crosshair.

“Perimeter detection against local raiders.” Crosshair responded, already fearing but knowing where this path of questions might lead.

“You didn’t think to warn us about these raiders before?” You countered heatedly.

“No, they were all dealt with.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Take a guess.” Crosshair snarked.

You only shook your head and scoffed.

The answer didn’t please Hunter either and he found himself standing opposite Crosshair once again only this time he felt himself feeling more confrontational than he’d been before, “Just following orders?”

“If you’re scared, why don’t you wait on the ship. I’m sure someone could offer you some… comfort.” He added with a barbed nod in your direction.

You glowered at him and found yourself uncaring if one of their typical fights ensued. You’d seen them both in hand-to-hand many times and you knew who would come out on top in that scenario.

Hunter took half a step forward after the comment, but Echo pushed them both back.

“Hey, kill each other later. We’re here for a reason. Let’s crack into the datapad and get out of here.”

Omega watched the rest of you head to the base, but Crosshair was yet to follow, “I said talk to them, not argue with them.” She chastised.

Crosshair only sighed and muttered, “They started it.”

Omega released an exasperated breath of her own at the lack of from all three of you and made her way to the base too.

--

As the group of you approached the doors, you saw that the doors were blocked by multiple layers of snow.

You couldn’t help but smile behind your mask as you saw the way Batcher excitedly joined Wrecker and Hunter in the digging process.

With Batcher’s assistance, enough snow was dissipated, and you were able to make your way to the doors.

Wrecker pulled them apart and you all entered the facility.

Omega made her way over to the sound of beeping and took up position by one of the consoles and turned the power and lights on, “The power to this outpost has been nearly depleted by the sensor beacons.”

“Then we need to divert all power to this depot.” Echo directed.

“On it.”

“No one else thinks that’s a risky idea?” You tugged your mask down. “We don’t know if there was more that they were meant to keep out.”

“Nothing showed up on the scans, we should be fine.” Echo replied casually before he signalled to Omega that she should keep going.

Echo took up position by another console and took off his helmet like the rest of his brothers.

“So why’d the Empire abandon this place?” Wrecker wondered aloud.

“I guess it served its purpose.” Crosshair said.

“Hmm. Sounds familiar.” Echo said flatly.

You and Hunter watched as Crosshair moved away from the rest of you towards a darkened section of the room.

--

Crosshair shone his torch around the space and saw the collection of discarded clone helmets and he remembered what it had been like when he’d first arrived here. He remembered the respect Mayday had shown him. A respect and understanding that he hadn’t experienced for a long time, and he knew he couldn’t leave them like this.

Hunter observed his actions. He knew his brother and he wouldn’t behave like that for no reason. Whatever had happened to him clearly held more significant than he was letting on.

You too studied Crosshair carefully as he respectfully but solemnly placed the helmets on the crates. Whatever you were sensing about his place was lingering around him. A quick tap on your shoulder brought your attention back to Hunter who jutted his head back towards the rest of the group.

--

“That should do it.” Omega said as the sensors officially powered down and the power diverted so now the entirety of the outpost was lit.

You all crowded around Echo’s position as he plugged the datapad into the system, “Ah it’s working.” He began to digest the copious amounts of information on the screen. “Look at this manifest. There are even more clone prisoners on Tantiss than we thought.”

You all simultaneously turned towards Crosshair who had emerged from the other room.

Crosshair didn’t say anything, instead he noticed Batcher’s agitated growls and the way she was looking outside.

“Where are you going?” Hunter queried as he saw Crosshair heading towards the exit.

“To check the perimeter.”

You and Omega both went to follow them out, but Echo stopped you both.

“Uh, let them work it out. We have to finish this data transfer.”

“But-” You began to object.

“You three rile each other up too much. This won’t be solved by you all looking for ways to score points.” Echo reminded you sensibly.

You may not like it, but you knew deep down that he was right. You watched the two of them fade into the distance before you turned back to help with the datapad.

--

“Are you going to be my shadow everywhere?” Crosshair asked, removing the toothpick from his mouth, and turning around to face Hunter.

“I know you. There’s more you’re not telling us, and I’m done waiting. Start talking, Crosshair. What did you do to finally get on the Empire’s bad side? Betray them, like you did with us?” The last words were said with particular feeling behind them.

Crosshair glanced down at his hand as the tremors started once more. He curled his hand into a fist and shook it out.

--

“Any schematics on there?” Omega asked Echo.

“None that I’m seeing. Just medical records. I think this is all we’re gonna get. At least it’s something.”

You registered a faint rumbling that reverberated around the outpost, and you noticed Batcher anxiously pacing and sniffing the floor. “Batcher?”

Omega turned upon hearing you and she recognised the unusually tense behaviour being exhibited by her dog. “Something’s wrong.”

--

When he’d been met with stony silence, Hunter had closed the distance between him and his brother, “You thought we’d take you back and not ask questions? I don’t think so. Tell me what changed.” The lack of reaction from his brother was infuriating and it got the better of him. He shoved Crosshair’s chest. “What happened, Crosshair?”

Crosshair avoided Hunter’s intense stare as he went through all the possible outcomes of this interaction, but it all came back to one key detail- he wasn’t able to avoid this any longer, “I killed an Imperial officer.”

Hunter was taken aback. It had been a growing suspicion in his mind, but hearing it be true was an entirely different matter.

“So, yes, I did betray them after they betrayed me.” Hunter may have gotten him to say it, but he wasn’t the only one who knew how to push the correct buttons. “Oh, don’t pretend like this is all about me. I tried to warn you, Hunter.” Crosshair turned his back to him. “I risked everything to send you that message. You ignored it.” He turned again so he could see his words finding their mark. “You let Omega be taken to Tantiss. She went through what she did because you failed.” His emotions started to take control as he shoved Hunter back, “You’re angry because she escaped with my help, not yours. And as for (Y/N)-”

“Don’t-” Hunter snarled.

But Crosshair was in full flow now and although part of him knew he’d regret saying them, he couldn’t help himself as the words spilled from his mouth in a way that he knew would cut his brother deeply, “She thought she hid them in time, but I’ve seen the marks around her wrists from binders that were secured too tightly. I’ve seen the scars on her back. Whatever hell she went through is on you too.”

Hunter clenched his jaw so hard that his teeth hurt. White hot rage coursed his veins and all he could see was red but before he could act, Batcher’s distant barking got his attention. It was then he felt the ice beneath them shaking. “Move.” He yanked Crosshair forward just as- what could only be described as a giant ice wyrm- erupted through the snowy ground.

The resulting impact of the ice cracking had seen to it that the ship collapsed further into the snow, but they couldn’t worry about that now, the two of them scrambled to their feet and sprinted back to the base.

--

You all watched anxiously as the other two made their way back with the creature hot on their heels.

When they got close enough, you all retreated further inside, and they managed to dive through doors just before Wrecker shut them.

There was a deep bellow and growl from the creature as it crashed against the doors.

“I guess we know what the perimeter sensors are meant to keep out.” Omega said agitatedly.

Echo felt your standard ‘I told you so’ stare being trained on him. “Not the time.” He groused.

“ ‘We should be fine’ I believe is what you said.” You remarked, raising your eyebrows at him whilst Hunter and Crosshair got to their feet. “I can’t get the ship-” There was another harsh growl and the entire base shook, bringing all of you to your knees.

“Great, what now?” Wrecker grumbled as he turned his torch on.

“I can’t get the ship out of the snow with that thing out there.” You finished your previous sentence as you stood up. “We have to restore power to the sensor beacons.”

Echo jogged over to where Omega had originally rerouted the power. “There’s a fuse box for the reserve energy grid in the back of this compound.”

“One of us needs to get over there and reset the grid manually.” Crosshair said.

“I’ll do it.” Wrecker volunteered immediately.

“And I can get the defense system reactivated once the power’s back.” Omega said.

“We’ll have to draw the creature beyond the sensors before they reboot, or we’ll be trapped inside the perimeter with that thing.” Hunter reminded everyone.

“I’ll do it.” Crosshair said to him.

“Not alone. We’ll do it together.” Hunter replied firmly.

“You sure about that?” Crosshair challenged.

Echo saw you getting ready to also volunteer to go so he placed a hand on your wrist to subtly tell you to stop, “We’ll spot you both from the tower.”

You shot Echo a questioning look but nodded all the same. Brotherly bonding? You guessed, although you wished it was under different and safer circumstances but then again, this felt pretty fitting for them.

Echo gave you a small nod.

Hunter gave you his macrobinoculars before addressing all of you, “Then let’s get to it before it tears the place apart.” Hunter ordered.

--

Helmets and coverings were back on as Wrecker opened the door and you all waited for Hunter’s signal.

Satisfied that the cost was clear, Hunter made the first move and all of you went to your decided positions.

--

“Three o’clock!” Crosshair shouted as he saw the wyrm angling towards Hunter who was a few metres ahead of him. He drew his rifle and opened fire, but they weren’t making contact, the ice was too good a cover.

Hunter turned his head to see the animal explode from the ground. He was able to dive out the way of its jaws but as he landed, he felt the ice crack beneath his feet, and he plummeted downwards.

--

You put down the binoculars and inhaled deeply before releasing a slow, calming breath. You tapped your comm. “Did you just fall through the ice?” You asked, already knowing the answer.

“I’m fine.” Came his reply.

He may have been fine, but you could hear the slight strain in his voice. A series of annoyed grumbles left your mouth- how many times was this man going to fall through/from things?

“Why? Why is there always a huge monster?” Wrecker’s voice said through the comms as he made his journey across the show. “Echo, (Y/N), do either of you see it?”

“An excellent question.” You muttered to yourself as you and Echo continued to scan the area for the creature. “We don’t have a visual.” You said into your comm in answer to Wrecker’s second question.

--

“Can you get outside the perimeter from down there?” Crosshair called down to Hunter through the hole in the ice.

Hunter scanned the tunnel ahead with his torch. “I’ll follow the tunnel north. Find out.”

“We’ll track you from up here.” Crosshair said. The ‘we’ now referring to him and Batcher who had joined the fray after seeing Hunter fall.

--

You and Echo continued to search for the creature from your posts.

“Target spotted. It’s right on your tail.” Echo said into the comm to Crosshair. “About a hundred meters and closing.”

“Got it.” Crosshair acknowledged. He came to a stop and drew his sniper. He fired at the oncoming shape in the snow, but the result was the same as before and his trembling hand wasn’t helping matters. He shook it out yet again and repositioned his stance just as the wyrm resurfaced. His shots kept hitting the creature’s shell until one of them finally hit the inside of the mouth, causing it to retreat back underground.

“I think I just made it angrier.” Crosshair mused into the comms.

“Fantastic.” Hunter replied dryly as he continued to run through the tunnel.

--

After finally digging through all the snow that had been blocking the entrance, Wrecker finally made it inside, “Okay, I’ve found the fuse box. What’s next kid?”

“Good. Now prime the breaker.” Omega instructed.

--

“You’re about 400 meters from the perimeter.” Crosshair said into his comms for Hunter’s benefit.

You kept your sights trained on Crosshair and the area around him, “No sign of that thing.” You said into your comm, but you weren’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

--

As they passed the perimeter, Crosshair followed Batcher’s lead this time as she sniffed the ground before letting out an excited bark as she began to dig.

“We’ve found a weak point in the ice. We’ll try to break through.” Crosshair said to Hunter, giving Batcher a praising pat.

“You’ll try?” Both you and Hunter said together.

“Glad you two heard me properly.” Crosshair retorted.

“Crosshair, I swear if-”

“I’ve got him.” Crosshair reassured you with more sincerity than he’d anticipated as he and Batcher began to dig through the ice.

--

“Alright. Breaker’s primed. What next, kid?” Wrecker asked as the screen finally lit up.

“Cycle the navigator. That should be to the right of the main breaker.” Omega replied.

Wrecker did as she said.

--

“Things are getting close in here. Am I gonna have a way out or not?” Hunter asked as the sounds of growls and ice cracking echoed around him.

“If you end up where we hope you do.” Crosshair responded.

“Boom! Power’s online.” Wrecker interjected.

“Hunter, should I activate the beacon?” Omega asked, her hand hovering over the button.

“Wait! We have to make sure the wyrm is past the perimeter.”

--

Crosshair shot into the ice to weaken it and create a bigger opening.

The sound of falling ice and light shining into the tunnel grabbed Hunter’s eye and he made his way under the opening that Crosshair had caused.

“Get up here!” Crosshair urged.

“Not yet. Where’s the wyrm? I can’t find it.”

--

The sound of him refusing to get to safety sent a wave of anxiety through your body but you focused up and helped Echo look around but neither of you could see anything.

--

“It’s past the perimeter!” Hunter said into his comm as a deep bellow sounded in the tunnel and he saw the wyrm emerge ahead of him.

Crosshair pressed his own, “Omega, activate the sensors!”

“Bringing them online now.”

Once Crosshair saw the sensor activate, he reached the end of his rifle down into the tunnel for Hunter to grab onto to pull him out of there. He helped him to his feet just as the wyrm shattered through the ice and the three of them began the run back to the inside of the perimeter.

They dived across the boundary and were relieved to find that the wyrm refused to go any further. It let out an aggrieved howl before moving away from them.

--

You put the binoculars down with a deep sigh of relief as you saw them sitting within the safety of the perimeter.

--

Hunter joined Crosshair in taking off his helmet so as to allow more oxygen to enter his lungs after that rather strenuous task. He then glanced over to see a restrained but warm look on Crosshair’s face as he stroked Batcher.

It was then that something seemed to tentatively slide into place. This mission, weirdly enough, had helped to fill in the gaps. It had brought a sense of normality back and when it had truly come down to it, Crosshair had helped get him to safety.

Crosshair felt Hunter looking at him. He angled his head to meet his stare and as his brother offered a small but sincere nod of gratitude, he gave one back in return.

--

You tugged your hood and mask down and shielded your eyes from the sun as you saw the two oncoming figures and their animal companion.

Echo and Omega came to join you and the three of you watched as their return journey was interrupted by Wrecker running up to them and embracing them both in a needed- but rather one-sided- group hug.

You chuckled as you observed the scene ahead of you and, despite your own worries about Crosshair, it felt good to see that there was room for reconciliation- at least with his own brothers anyway. You weren’t sure how you fit into the equation yet.

“See? They always work it out. And I don’t even see in blood this time. That’s progress.” Echo stated light-heartedly.

“I think the worst I saw between them was after the stampede of Reeks. We wound up having to fix more injures than what we started with.” You reminisced with a smile. The stressful part memory of the incident was pushed to the back of your mind as you remembered that by then, you and Hunter were both experiencing the same feelings for each other. Of course, you hadn’t exactly known that at the time, that information had come out much later.

“Do you know what that was about?” Echo asked you.

You fully looked at him now. “No? I’d left to get more medical supplies. I’d assumed Crosshair just called him an idiot for coming down there after I fell in.”

“I mean, that phrase was certainly used but not in the way you thought.”

You didn’t like the teasing insinuation in his tone. “Then why?” You asked carefully.

“It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that he was the first one down there to get you out and took a horn to the rib for his troubles…”

A tossed your head back and humiliated groan left you, “No…”

“Crosshair saw a lot from you two, he always knew just what to say to get the reaction from Hunter that merely proved what we all already knew.” Echo chortled, “Well, almost everybody.”

“Are you kidding me?” Embarrassment graced your face.

“I mean it was so obvious by that point…”

“Yes, Echo.” You mumbled as you exhaled a short, sharp breath.

“The fact that a wounded Hunter still chose to have it out with Crosshair rather than admit it was something else that caused him to come to your aid without an ounce of strategic thinking…”

“Thank you, Echo.” You said through gritted teeth as you saw the delighted grin on Omega’s face as she heard all of this.

“Didn’t you put it together that after that moment you two started ending up in a lot more tiny spaces with conveniently ‘broken’ doors?”

“Alright, you’ve made your point.” You interjected hastily before he could carry on. The obliviousness and- quite frankly- idiocy that you two had conducted yourselves in for the longest time was an element of your relationship you’d rather forget.

Echo merely shot you a knowing smirk, “You never said I was wrong.”

“I’m moving away from you now.” You gave his shoulder a playful shove.

Omega watched you jog away from them but the emotions she was experiencing were far more conflicting. “Do you think the intel we recovered will help you and Rex?”

“We still don’t know the coordinates of Tantiss. But between the datapad and all you and Crosshair have told me, we’re closing to finding and freeing those clones.” Echo replied.

“I wished I could’ve done more to help them.” Omega reflected with regret.

“You did all you could, kid.” Echo laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “And you did exactly what you’re supposed to do. You got out of there.”

--

You managed to give Crosshair a genuine smile of thanks as he and Wrecker passed you by.

Hunter regarded you curiously, “You didn’t need to meet me, I was-”

You placed a hand on his chest and brought yourself closer to him. You didn’t know if your headspace was because things had gotten unnecessarily nerve-wracking or because you’d just been reminded of how much time the two of you had wasted but, in all honesty, you didn’t really care, “I’m going to be unprofessional right now.”

He was too busy getting carried away with the feeling of your body pressing against him to properly register your words, “What-” The rest of his question evaporated as he instantly found himself on his back in the snow with you straddling him and it was a position he didn’t mind being in one bit. His hands instinctively came to rest on your hips.

Stop falling through things. That’s four times now. You scolded affectionately as you traced your lips along his jaw and nudged the side of his nose with yours.

“Is that an order?” He rasped into your ear, teeth grazing the sensitive spot behind it.

“A very firm one.” You murmured before planting a brief but sensual kiss to his lips. You got to your feet, pulling him up with you at the same time. You feigned a look of seriousness and propriety, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, Sergeant, I have a ship to recover.”

Hunter found himself not quite wanting to be revert back yet. He kept a hold of your hand and as you went to leave him, he tugged you back to him and kissed you passionately. His hands caressed your back and tangled themselves in the fabric of your top and he used your surprised gasp to deepen the kiss.

You parted from him when your lungs rather inconveniently insisted that they have some air. You stroked a hand through his hair as you saw the emotions behind his eyes. There was more behind that action than just a response what you’d just done. You couldn’t be sure as to what that could be but the only time, he hadn’t been around you was when he’d followed Crosshair outside the first time. “What did he say?” You asked, your voice quiet and soothing.

“Nothing.” Hunter replied quickly. They’d been words designed to strike a nerve and they’d been said and used in anger, he shouldn’t have let them resonate.

“Hunter-”

His relationship was on the mend with Crosshair, and he knew that process still had to start with you both. And… and he wanted that for you two. There’s be no sense in bringing it up and causing further strife when he’d already had your reassurance on the issue. “It’s nothing. Not really.”

You searched his eyes for any lingering hesitation or reluctance, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” He confirmed. Hunter angled his head towards Echo’s ship “Go rescue the ship so we can get outta here.” He said with a fond grin.

“Sir, yes, sir.” You saluted him humorously before you stepped away and made for the ship.

--

Crosshair had watched the two of you from afar. What he had witnessed wasn’t wholly different to how things had been before Kaller but there was something more to it now. What he had seen between you both was pure and unfiltered. There was no hiding, there was no denial or deflection anymore. There was no question or doubt to be had in the intensity and genuine nature of the feelings- in the love- the two of you shared and if he had any shot of fitting back in, he needed to make things right with both of you.

He took a deep breath for courage and headed in your direction.

--

You gently lowered the ship onto more stable ground and released a few tired breaths.

“Not bad. Guess there’s some benefits to having you around.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Crosshair come to stand next to you, but you didn’t look at him yet, instead you nudged the toes of your boots through the snow. “Uh huh.” You answered distantly. “Surprised you’re wanting to stand so close to me.”

The way your posture tensed as he approached had not gone unnoticed, “I think we should talk.”

“Oh, do you?” You replied hotly.

Crosshair exhaled an irritated sigh, “Seriously? This is me trying here, can’t you meet me halfway?”

You breathed heavily and fully turned to face him. You crossed your arms as you signalled that he was to go first.

Crosshair cleared his throat before he started to speak, “Seeing that poster… seeing what you truly were and knowing that they all- that he- knew that day on Kamino… I was brought back to that time and all I could think about was how could he fall in love with a Jedi but not the Empire.”

“The two aren’t the same, Crosshair.” You replied sombrely.

“Believe me, I know that now.” Crosshair remarked wryly.

You uncrossed your arms and spoke to him candidly and kept your voice steady, “We can’t get past this if all you see when you look at me is that wanted image of me. If all you see when you look at me is the things that I’ve done. If all you feel when you look at me is hatred because you think my people committed treason.” You stopped as you felt the emotions rise in your throat as they threatened to overcome you. You swallowed roughly before going again, your voice still steady but it had dropped in volume, “If you think I should’ve died along with the rest of them that day… then- then the friend that I had is truly gone.”

Crosshair’s eyes flitted to the ground, then to your lightsaber before he looked back to you, “I really thought the Empire was the way forward… for all of us. I can’t- I can’t speak for how I would’ve acted back then. I wish I could, but I can’t.” He swallowed harshly, “But I can tell you how I will be now.”

“And?” You asked quietly.

“I- I might need some time to adjust but- but as far as I’m concerned, you’re still the same person we met on Devaron that got our asses out of a tricky spot and who fit in with us like you’d been a part of things since the beginning. I won’t turn on you.”

You narrowed your eyes slightly as you studied him but there was no deceit behind his words. No deception or trickery in his face. He meant what he was saying, and it filled you with hope. “Really?”

“Really.” He confirmed before half a smile tugged at him mouth, “Plus, even if I wanted to, I don’t fancy my chances with the rest of them if I tried something.” He joked.

You visibly relaxed. Being at odds with him was never something you wanted to be and if he was open to starting afresh then you could be too. “If it helps, since I chose to leave the Order, technically speaking, I’m probably not even counted as a Jedi anymore.”

Crosshair hummed out a short laugh, “It’s something, I guess.”

“Believe it or not, a wanted ad was not how I planned for you to find out so, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in the time after Devaron.”

He dipped his head in acceptance. “Probably did yourself a favour.” He mumbled sheepishly.

“Probably.” You agreed with a soft laugh.

There was a beat of mildly uncomfortable silence between you before Crosshair spoke in an attempt to ease some of the lingering awkwardness, “So, you and my brother…”

“Don’t start.” You said with an exasperated grin as you held out your hand to him.

Crosshair faltered for a second, but he willed his hand to stay steady as he mirrored your actions.

As you clasped it, you were hit and overpowered by the familiar sensation you had been questioning since arriving and it all connected to the clone in front of you. You withdrew your hand swiftly as the realisation hit you, “It was here.” You said with a shaky breath.

Crosshair was caught off guard by the intensity of your reaction and the words that followed. There’d been no way for you to hear his conversation with Hunter and he hadn’t said anything to anyone else. “I don’t know what you mean.” He denied uneasily.

But you knew now, he couldn’t lie to you about it, “What happened to you to get you to Tantiss. It was on this planet.” You said, titling your head at him, concern, and compassion in your gaze.

The certainty in your voice told him that there’s be no point in lying to you. Crosshair gulped. “How’d you know?”

“I felt it. Months ago, I felt it. I didn’t know that it was you, or what exactly was going on, but I sensed something.” You paused for a second, “I felt the cold and the isolation. And- and the pain. A lot of pain.” You said gravely as you fully comprehended how things had gone for him.

Crosshair avoided your stare. “Well, I made a lot of choices that led me to that.” He said with plenty of self-deprecation.

You laid a delicate hand on his shoulder, “Crosshair, you should never have to experience that type of pain. What you had to go through…” You trailed off with a knowing sigh before continuing, “I’m sorry, really I am.”

Crosshair looked at you with a different type of intensity, “You didn’t either.”

Your breath caught in your throat. You had not been as careful as you’d thought you’d been and it was your turn for denial to spill from your lips, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You may not be a Jedi, but you’re not the only one who can pick up or notice things people think they’re hiding. Sharpshooter, remember?”

You fidgeted with your gloves and found yourself unable to look at him. “They tortu- I did some things- made some choices that I-” You scrambled trying to find the words to explain what he’d seen.

Crosshair shook his head at you to get you to stop, “I’m not in a position to judge, I was wrong to do so when we left that moon.”

You saw the sincerity in his face and nodded gratefully.

You two shared in the quiet of a new mutual understanding before you puffed out a short breath to reset and you activated your comm, “The ship is good to go.”

“And, uh, everyone is still in one piece?” Came Wrecker’s tentative reply.

Crosshair shared in your eye roll. Evidently the others had been even more sceptical about this moment than he’d been.

“Yes, Wrecker. Civilised conversation is a possibility sometimes.” You kidded in return, “Now, can we please leave this planet?”

--

Crosshair waited for Hunter to emerge from the base as the rest of you boarded the ship. As he saw him getting ready to walk past, he called his name, “Hunter?”

Hunter paused and glanced back at him expectantly.

“I… thought I knew what I was getting into with the Empire. I thought I was being a good soldier.” Crosshair admitted, keeping his back to him in case the look on his face was the one that he feared he would see.

Hunter took a second to find the right words, “Nobody really understood what was happening back then.”

Crosshair lifted his head in surprise at the accepting tone in Hunter’s voice. Maybe there truly was a way forward. He turned around, “I’ve done things. I’ve made mistakes.”

“I have regrets too, Crosshair. All we can do is keep trying to be better.” He found his eyes being drawn to yours as you waited by the doorway, but he brought them back to his brother. “And who knows? There might be hope for us yet.”

Crosshair stole one last glance up at the ice vulture screeching in the sky. Hope? Not a sentiment he had been overly familiar with these past few months, but he needed it. He started to walk towards the ramp.

Hunter paused to stand by you as you leaned against the entry way. The supportive and loving way you were looking at him made his heartbeat that little bit faster but there was also a mischievous gleam in your eyes that sent warmth thrumming through his veins. “Stop that.”

“Am I not allowed to look at you, sir?” You queried, a teasing lilt to your voice. A delighted smirk graced your face as you saw the way his throat bobbed as he attempted to remain composed.

He caged you against the wall, “You can’t play that game right now.” He warned, his voice a low rasp.

Your own breathing hitched as his body pushed against yours. “What game?” You managed to murmur.

“Oh, well, if this behaviour is going to continue to be a running theme, you can just leave me here.” Crosshair said with light-hearted mocking. “I don’t know what’s worse, dealing with you two now or dealing with how you to were before all this became... official.”

“You get used to it!” Omega called from the belly of the ship.

“We hardly ever interrupt them now!” Wrecker added.

“Cut it out!” Hunter barked as he stepped away from you and gathered himself.

You also took a moment to straighten up and shake off the lingering anticipation in your veins.

“Yeah, plus he’s a lot more relaxed since they finally worked up the courage to actually make it real!” Echo’s voice entered the conversation.

“I’ll bet.” Crosshair remarked with a smirk.

“Get your ass on the ship.” You retorted with a good-humoured shove to his back.

Crosshair chuckled quietly to himself as he half-stumbled into the ship.

“Back to professionals?” Hunter advised as he shook his head in response to the antics of his family.

“Probably a good idea.” You agreed with a pleasant grin before the two of you fully entered the ship just as the ramp came up and it took off.

--

It may have been at your expense, but that small teasing moment had symbolised that the mending of the relationships you all had once was indeed possible. Finally, things were starting to feel more like the used to be.

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @andreaaxy, @dominoeffectsworld, @arctrooper69, @nightmonkeysstuff, @notgonnaedit

[phoenixfire-thewizardgoddess]

bizarre but fun headcanon

facing down a threat of frustrating proportions such as say... the Vees making a scene outside the hotel gates as if that will stop any retaliation

with Mimzy by his side, pretending to play apologetic matyr because she might have fucked up and pissed off the small yelling doll one of the VVVs by doing something unholy that she refuses to elaborate on

Alastor reches out a hand towards the woman who rolls her liquid black not-eyes in fond exasperation, as if this isn't her fault in the least.

she then pulls a ludicrously long sniper rifle from her cleavage and its taller than she is, causing some confusion to the onlookers from the hotel

"Where was-...?"

"Don't ask. You don't wanna know." Husk replies, chugging the bottle to hand. Not enough alcohol to deal with this broad slinking back into their lives.

Intriguingly, Alastor cocks the weapon and then removes his monocle, placing it into a slot upon the barrel. And it immediately becomes apparent that the supposed fashion accessory is in fact the missing scope.

Suggesting two things immediately

The first, obviously is that this isn't the only time Mimzy has supplied this specific weapon to Alastor

And the latter, naturally, is that anytime he stared down at you through it, he literally had you In His Sights. And wasn't that unnerving?

"Oh Voooooooox....?" the Radio Demon trills, the distortion in the tone like knives down a chalkboard. "...I believe you're about to have an unforseen interruption to your broadcast..."

"What are you on about, you talentless old-timey motherfucke-... oh shit, get down, he's got that fucking rifle!"

Laughter fills the air as Vox takes a regular bullet to his throat, leaving him glitching and leaking, but ultimately mobile. Valentino, sadly, takes a rather pointed round to the crotch... and any laughter Angel may have allowed to escape was subtly covered up by Alastor's own cackle.

Velvette has a knee blown out, and then Mimzy is on her like a pair of alleycats spitting over territory. Fantastically, the whole mess is televised for the duration of however long it takes Vox to realise what's airing on his channels and cut the feed.

Nothing quite like the humiliation of fellow sovereign overlords, who really should know better, in front of the press after all. Especially when it's vibrantly clear that the Radio Demon wasn't even aiming to kill... but he easily could have. That the Vees are being sloppy in their insistence of superiority.

And, true, they had the right to demand Mimzy be ousted to face the consequences of her actions... but they shouldn't have driven her to the point of sucking up her own pride to go back to Alastor for help. Heck, they're lucky she hadn't run to Rosie and pulled a full apology tour, because the cannibette overlord would have sauteed them without getting a drop on her beloved frock.

"Should we... be doing anything in particular?" Charlie asked, confused. Startling as the rifle is placed in her hands.

"Why, if you wish to join in for a spot of team bonding, I'm sure we can get you a steady enough shot to at least blow off the insect's other antennae in the next ten minutes..."

"Whoa-no, no... no thank you." she doesn't drop it, but does hold it out like a particularly explosive bomb.

"Your loss. Now, tell me how t'aim down this little doohickey of yours, 'cause my guns are more spray and pray types..."

"Angel NO, this won't help your redemption..."

"But I could blow the cock right off my boss, which should give me a few days off, til he heals, right?"

"I-... well, true."

"Then hurry up with the lesson there, Smiles, because I'd hate for him to crawl away in the meantime."

"Indeed, well, you will need to close at least half your eyes for this..."

Vaggie soothes Charlie's conscience with soft words, to the side, and wonders what her life even is anymore. Husk doesn't say much, but appears slightly too pleased when a rumpled Mimzy limps back over with a darker eye than she left with. Victorious, but at a cost.

"Well I showed that little flapper how we fought in the war, didn't I? Let's see her try to tear up one'a my gals again, I'll rip her damned limbs off and make her watch us eat 'em next time I find her making one of my dancers into model confetti."

"And is the lovely Athena well, now she has reformed?" Alastor asked, absently as he redirected Angel's hands on the weapon to steady the barrel. "Watch for recoil, my good man, or it will blow your shoulder clean out of the socket, ha!"

"Yeah, she's more upset now she's all together again. But I stand by beating the shit outta that bitch and blowing up that studio of theirs. If my girls ain't safe, none'a the Vees get t'be either!" Mimzy spits, as if the Vee brand name is too vile to contain in her mouth.

"Quite right. Now, my effeminate friend, do give the insect a blowjob he'll never forget..."

Angel was so shocked by the innuendo he nearly missed the shot, hands jerking up to cover up the hysterical laughter that threatened to escape. The shriek of indignant pain Valentino let out as his mothhood blasted across the sky was... music to Angel's ears.

Even Husk couldn't hide his grin.

"Excellent. Well, if that concludes things, I'm sure we can count this as today's little redemption exxercise over whatever was planned with that glitter and fingerpaints mess in the lounge. Really, Charlotte, could yo-... Niffty, no dear! Stab them later!"

The Radio Demon has to snag the overeager maid with a tendril, as she giggled past with her angelic blade. "Aw but siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiir..."

"Really, my dear, if you kill them with that we don't get to watch them suffer next time they cross our boundaries, hmmm? How about you take..." A rather large machete appeared from the mystical stroage space between worlds (Mimzy's impossible rack), "this one, and send them on their way instead?"

"Niffty NOOOOOOOOO!" Charlie squeaks in horror.

"Niffty YES!" Angel cheers as she launches herself at the television, who shrieks and hurls himself towards a power pole.

"...what did I miss?" Lucifer frowns, appearing amidst the group iinto a scene of utter chaos.

"You don't wanna know." Vaggie mutters, rolling her eye. "And if you did, I don't know how to begin to explain it to you."

"The not-good Bad Boys and their Bad Girl are gone, sir!" Niffty explains, making the King jump because when did she get there right in front of him? She's covered in blood. "It was FUN!"

"And now, in the spirit of things, Your Majesty... might I trouble you to duck?"

"Oh hardy-har-har..." Lucifer rolls his eyes and is then unceremoniously thwapped into the front stairs by a tendril as a blast of lightning shot back up the hill at where he'd just been. Alastor side-stepped it with ease.

"Do at least try to aim, picture box!" he taunts, as Lucifer pops back upright.

Garbled static curses follow the proclamation as the TV Overlord gathers his business partners to flee into the electricity with.

Grinning, Alastor turned to the gathered. "Alright, I believe it's Angel's turn to cook lunch today... would you care for some assistance in this endeavour? I'm sure I could spare Husker..."

"Yes, please. Thank you. Can I suck ya di-..."

"Quite enough of that. One more word and you go from making lunch to being lunch, my good man."

"Oooh, inta vore, huh?"

A rather sharp record scratch. "Into what now?"

Angel slings a too companionable arm about the Radio Demon's shouders. "Oh Al, do I have some new and awful terminology for you to learn today... but, if you stick about, I'll also show ya my nonna's technique for getting perfect pasta consistency in her lasagne..."

"...a cruel bargain. Alright, if you must..."

"Well, ya see some people might see a cannibal eatin' people and they go Oh No that's Awful... and some, well, they get the horny tingles. And-..." the front doors thankfully shut on that conversation.

"How mad is he gonna be when Angel explains that some people find it erotic when they see him swallow other sinners whole?" Husk asks, just to stir the pot.

Charlie blanches.

"Uh, Dad? Would you mind... being on standby for when Alastor has a little eldritch nightmare moment?"

"Hah, yes. As long as I get a photo of his face when he finds out."

"I swear I'm surrounded by all-powerful fuckin' children..." Husk mutters, stomping back inside.

----

etc.

Literally couldn't think of an end without making this four times longer and into an actual story, just wanted to headcanon it was a monocle slash sniper scope secretly in plain sight.

[80s4life]

You Take Good Care Of Her Pt.2

Word Count: 1,440

Status: Requested!

Fandom: The Expendables {1-3}

A/N: This was just a little extra spice to add to the first part.  A fluffy, happy ending for all the Lee lovers!

Relationship: Lee Christmas x Reader

Summary: When the mission goes south and leaves the reader injured, feelings arise to the surface in a swarm of feelings at the thought of losing each other, especially when the only things worth while is the other in their lives.

Warnings: mentions of blood, fluff OVERLOAD, language (We’re dealing with grown-men-children okay?)

Masterlist The Expendables Masterlist  Part One

{not my gif}

Despite his attempts, he knew he wouldn't ever be able to resist her, and for that, he didn't care what he had to go through, he was going to have her. Because she was his, and he was hers, no matter who knew.

And now we continue...

With his newfound set of mind, Lee made it his priority to say hi to Y/N every morning, smile, wave, and even engage he in conversation.  "You really are desperate aren't ya?" he thought, trying to be as gushy and nice as possible.  He was trying to be so different he wanted to gag.  Sometimes he wondered if this new act was something that Y/N would get used to and he would have to keep up this act for the rest of his life.

Y/N knew Lee was being weird.  The first thought she had was that he was sick, but now, as he openly made eye contact with her, spoke to her, even sometimes winked, she found herself thinking of the knives expert more than she thought she ever would.  He was sweet yes, but she's lying to herself if she didn't like the true Lee she knew.  Back when he was very avoidant of her, she saw who Lee truly was, but at afar.  He was snarky, mysterious, funny, British to the bone, and strong mentally and physically.

Barney saw this shit from the very beginning.  But, even as he didn't want his baby sister falling in love and being left brokenhearted, he knew the two good enough to know that they needed each other.  At one point, once he saw Lee start acting like a lovesick puppy, he started to secretly root for them, joining the ship Yin Yang and Toll had built months ago.  This didn't mean he was going to make it easy for the man either though.  They still all had a job to do and love is going to get in their way if they don't focus.

Dropping down in the forests below, the Expendables, clad in black suits, weapons to attack 5 states, and high tech gear to guide them through the thick forest.  Barney, splitting the team off to get to the best views of the town under attack, tells the group where to go while giving them all ear pieces to keep up with communication.  Gunnar, going along the outskirts where the forest meets the open town lands, squats, getting a visual on the sniper at the top tower, utterly excited to finally use his new toy: a big ass bazooka.  Toll and Yin Yang sticking together to find shelters near one another but still separated.  Barney, not wanting to leave his sister alone on a mission, appoints Lee to her, knowing the two have each other's backs while still not getting into Barney's dangerous line of sight.

As the group splits, its only natural for the foreign enemies to spot them.  With the first cry, most likely to alert the opposing team's members, made Y/N's stomach tie up in knots, always an unsettling noise to be paired with the impending war ahead.  Times like these make her go into a dangerous trance, back to the war and military she was a part of for 10 years.  Even as the images flash through her mind, she tries hard to yank them away, focusing her for the time being.

As the war raged on, the pairs of teams the Expendables once had have broken up accidentally, communication soon being cut off during the blasts and explosions, leaving Y/N alone.  She had dropped it as she was taking cover from the harsh blows.  With her ear piece gone, she had missed Yin Yang as he had pinpointed the next blast of a missile, not their own, but the rivals as they aimed in her direction.  The team screaming her name through the earpieces, not knowing if she could quite hear them.  By the time Y/N saw her attacker, she only had minimal time to run away.  Getting a great distance away, her lungs burned as he leg caught a rock.  The missile falling seconds later, far away, but not far enough to stop her from the debris crashing and colliding with her small form.

Lee had turned a corner just in time to watch the horrific event play out in his eyes.  Sprinting, he rushes to Y/N, seeing her bloodstained clothes, cuts, and bruises.  Upon his arrival, she looked at him with such fear and pain, almost as much to make her cry as the adrenaline started to run out, the sheer intensity of the pain finally settling in.  Lee held her tight, moving themselves to the closest form of shelter, plopping down, and cradling her body into his own.  She was sitting in his lap, arms weak, and head leaning on his shoulder.  She had made it out fairly lucky now that Lee had gotten a closer look, but not lucky enough for a piece of shrapnel to lodge itself within her torso.

"Your gonna be fine, I swear!  You have to be okay!  I should've never left you behind," Lee almost choked out, as tears threatened to fall.

"Lee, I'm fine.  See?  It's just this piece, if you don't touch it, it doesn't hurt, so can ya' please stop shaking me?" Y/N responded jokingly, trying to lighten the mood as she didn't want Lee to spike her anxiety even higher.  "Do you have an earpiece on you?  Please, get Barney," she asked, wanting her brother more than ever.

"Yeah...Yeah I can do that," he said as he contacted Barney, holding Y/N in an iron grip.  "I was so worried you were dead...I didn't know what I would do with myself if you had. I- I-" Lee stuttered, getting lost in her Y/E/C eyes as they peered up at him.

"You what Lee?" she asked, starting to feel a little lighter with the amount of blood dripping.

"I love you Y/N," he admitted, now fearing for her life more now that he had admitted what he's wanted to say for forever.

With this, a lazy smile appeared on Y/N's face, chuckling lightly with delight, "I love you too Lee."  He could only muster a look of utter disbelief before the rest of the gang showed up, the rest of the mission finishing out in a blur.  At some point, whilst making their way to the hangar of the plane, Y/N had dozed in and out of consciousness, seeing Lee running her away from the mission's town, seeing the plane, the shrapnel being removed by Barney's concentrated and light hands, and later, waking up in a bed, in the hospital with Lee in the chair beside her.  Both of his hands wrapped around her tiny one.

He wakes up once he felt the bed move slightly, Y/N stretching her long worn out body.  Lee bounces out of the chair immediately, asking her if she needs anything, "The only thing I need is this British guy to sit next to me and play with my hair," Y/N responds playfully, Lee smirking as he takes off his boots, keeping his socks, and laying beside Y/N on the hospital bed, both dozing off together.

Click

A quick, almost blinding light flashes once as snickers and mumbling was heard in the direction of the hospital room door.  With the pair now fully awake, and possibly more afraid than they were when Y/N was attacked, they both make eye contact with the res of the Expendables watching the pair, Barney front and center.

"Look, I-" Lee had started, trying to come up with an excuse for how they ended up like this, but ultimately coming up empty and out of excuses.

"No, ya' gonna listen to me.  You take good care of her, ya' hear me?  I'm gonna bust ya' balls if ya' don't, alright?" Barney answered defensively.  "You have my blessing, but ya' better not fuck it up.  I'm warning ya'," he continues, motioning for the team to give them privacy, Toll wiggling his eyebrows before he walks out.

Y/N, falling into a fit of laughter, moves to lay on her back, unable to flip on the right from where the stitches from the shrapnel were placed.  She looks up at Lee, him blocking her from the edge of the right side, her falling in the blissful feeling of love.

"I'm gonna be walking on eggshells for awhile I guess..." he glances at Y/N before continuing, "but I know it's worth it."

With this, Y/N cups Lee's right cheek, pulling him down lightly to capture his lips with her own, sealing the bond they've spent forever building.  Knowing that wherever, whenever, they are always a team, and are always going to be better as long as they are together.

[bimormondisaster]

Four times Crosshair helped his brothers and one time he did the best he could.

Hello! This is my first time doing something like this so I hope you enjoy it. I'm still very new to writing and I suck at editing so I'm sorry for any mistakes.

Word count: 2,781

Warnings:

Wrecker- Mentions of blood, violence, Hurt character.

Hunter- Mentions of overstimulation and migraines

Echo- Nightmares

CT-9904- That scene from s1 e1 tbb

Wrecker (Cadets, age around 16)

The feeling of the clone’s face against Crosshair’s fist was satisfying. Even after the blood started to cover his knuckles, he kept punching. It wasn’t until the cadet’s eyes closed that he stopped. He let the boy’s tunic go, and he hit the ground with a dull thud. He would wake up eventually and Crosshair would inevitably get punished but right now he didn’t care.

He was alone when he got the com. He was getting cleaned up after some private training., about to meet his brothers in the cafeteria but when Hunter told him that kriffen reg had landed Wrecker in the med bay he changed course.

He made his way to the medbay. Stopping only to wash the blood off his hands. Looking in the mirror he noticed his hair was getting grayer. He wasn’t sure why his hair was graying so early but he didn’t mind it. Wrecker always teased him about it but he thought it made him look more mature.

The med bay door slid open revealing Hunter sitting beside a bed as Tech paced. A droid was hovering over the bed occupied by Wrecker.

Hunter stood as he walked over. “What took you so long?”

“I was busy.” He forced himself to look away from Wrecker’s bloody and bruised form and to Hunter. “How is he?”

Tech answered first. “Under these conditions, there is a 15 percent chance that he will wake up in the next hour, Every hour after that the chance goes up by 7.5 percent until hour five where if he’s not awake by then the chances lower by-”

“He’s going to be fine.” Hunter supplied, sending a comforting smile to Tech. The droid left without a word and the boys settled down. Wrecker’s face was swollen. The left side of his face was covered in bandages, including his eye. Every moment that he watched, that he saw his brother in this state, his fury grew.

“What happened?” He asked through clenched teeth.

Hunter and Tech shared a look and Tech adjusted his goggles.

“No one knows yet,” Hunter said.

His hands tensed into fists. The quickly bruising knuckles protested but he didn’t care. That’s when he saw it. Lula, tucked in beside Wrecker, was looking almost as bad as its owner. One of the ears was hanging on by a thread and a leg was missing.

Without saying anything Crosshair stood up and grabbed the stuffed toy.

“I found the leg in the hall.” He pulled it out and offered it to Crosshair who took it without a word.

Crosshair didn’t know how to sew but he tried his best with the supplies he could find in the med bay. They all waited. Hunter as still as possible, trying to keep the squad as calm as possible. Tech buried himself in his padd and tried to distract himself. Although every hour Crosshair could hear him whisper the new odds of Wrecker waking up.

Crosshair folded in on himself completely focused on fixing Lula. His long legs protested being forced into the chair, his back ached from being slouched, but he didn’t mind. After two hours Lula was all fixed up. It wasn’t what Crosshair would call a good job, but it was the best he could do. He just hoped it was enough.

Tech

If Tech wasn’t dead at the end of this Crosshair was going to kill him. Not surprisingly the job went bad and now they were in a shootout. His scope allowed him to see the chaos in the warehouse from the hill he was nested on. Amongst it all was Tech. Who disobeyed orders and abandoned his cover; running like a kriffin idiot trying to get to the computer.

“Tech get under cover!” Hunter’s voice came through the comm.

“No can do Hunter. If I can just-” Tech was cut off as more droids entered the warehouse, open firing.

Crosshair cursed under his breath and started to pick them off. There was little chance of this mission succeeding but that’s where they worked best. In the midst of the blaster fire, yelling, orders being called, and explosions he noticed something. Another blaster was shooting into the warehouse at Tech who had, so far, dodged the fire purely by dumb luck. He watched carefully, tuning out the bickering in his ear.

A streak of a blaster shot through the air heading for the very clueless Tech who was pinned down. Without thinking he aimed. Time slowed as he watched the bullet fly through the air. His finger tightened on the trigger and in the time of a heartbeat he fired. The bullets collided and went wide, missing Tech who was quickly getting surrounded.

He aimed again, this time at the chains holding up the large doors. He shot. The first chain broke. Reaming at the other chain he fired again. His brothers could handle the droids, He’d handle the sniper. He shot again. The chain rattled but stayed in place. Another shot and the door dropped crushing the few droids underneath.

“Cross what’s happening? Was that you?” Hunter’s voice broke through the wall of concentration he put up.

“Little busy” He replied, moving positions to aim where the other nest would be and waited. One breath, two, three, there. Movement caught his eye as someone poked their head up. His finger tightened and he felt the familiar kick of his gun. The figure dropped and He stood.

By the time grabbed a speeder and made his way to the warehouse the fight was over and other than a few burns and cuts his brothers were safe.

Hunter

Hunter was having another bad day. He didn’t have them as often as he did when they were cadets. He had learned how to suppress it better. Or, Crosshair suspected, how to hide them better.

However, he still had days where he was easily overwhelmed. They all knew the signs. Talking quieter, flinching more, headaches, tensing at the smallest sound, not wanting people to talk or touch him, sitting further away from the group. Crosshair had had migraines before and remembered how awful those were, he was glad that he would never have to deal with increased senses.

Hunter was in the cockpit looking out the window. Everyone had tried to give him as much space as possible so they were making themselves busy elsewhere. He set a steaming cup of the tea he always drank when he had bad days down as gently as possible in front of Hunter and sat across from him. They sat in silence for a time. He watched Hunter slowly sip the tea.

“Thank you,” Hunter whispered

“You should go lay down. I’ll keep the others quiet.” Although he had lowered his voice Hunter still winced.

“I’m okay, We’re almost to the mission anyway.”

Stubborn as always. Wordlessly Crosshair checked the computers, there was an uninhabited planet not far from them. He entered the coordinates and the ship changed course.

Hunter raised a questioning eyebrow and he just gave him a smile.

“Where are we going?”

“Jargon. It’s quiet.”

“Cross I-” He glared at the dash that beeped and sighed. “Thank you”

He hummed in acknowledgment. The mission could wait a few hours, or even a few days, as long as his brothers were okay.

Echo

Crosshair couldn’t sleep. He and Echo had just gotten back to the ship after a week away. Tech, Hunter, and Wrecker were still away and weren’t expected until at least the next day. Why Hunter decided to make him go alone with the new guy was beyond him. He wasn’t interested in making friends. He had his brothers and that was more than enough.

He laid in his bunk staring up at the ceiling. The ship was eerily quiet with everyone being away. As much as he wanted to enjoy it, it filled him with dread. He had grown to love the noise and chaos that came with the bad batch and missed it when it was gone.

He heard movement and was pulled from his thoughts.

“No… No” Echo was murmuring. He sat up and got out of bed to see what was going on. Quietly making his way over he could see Echo tossing in his bunk. His first instinct was to call for Hunter. This was more of his thing. However, that wasn’t an option.

Kneeling beside the bed he put a hand on the clone’s shoulder. “Echo,” Echo responded by getting louder.

“No! Please!”

“Echo!” He shook him. “Wake up.”

The tossing stopped and his eyes opened with a deep breath. He tried to sit up but the hand stopped him. “Rex will come back for me!”

“He already has.” He removed his hand and leaned back to give the man some space. Dealing with nightmares wasn’t anything new. They all had them.

Clarity came into Echos eyes. “Crosshair?” He sat up, still breathing heavily.

“You had a nightmare.” It was a fact and yet Echo looked down ashamed. Crosshair watched carefully as Echo looked everywhere but him. “I’m sorry I woke you.” With that, he laid back down. Crosshair internally cursed both the regs and Hunter.

Nightmares were a part of life for the clones however the regs had something against talking about them. They preferred to keep the pain a secret, pretend it wasn’t there. Why they were taboo to talk about was beyond him. He had spent many nights listening to his brothers talk about theirs and he had spent almost as much time sitting up with at least one of his brothers because of his own nightmares.

While he understood why and even accepted bringing Echo aboard he still wasn’t that close to him and didn’t plan on getting close. He was, after all a reg. A reg who had special abilities now, but a reg nonetheless. He knew that Hunter wanted him to let Echo in the way he had let in his brothers. He also knew that he didn’t care what Hunter wanted. However, as he watched Echo close his eyes and pretend to fall back asleep his heart twisted.

He stood. “Come with me.” Without waiting he walked out of the ship. On his way out he grabbed a blanket.

A few moments after he walked out onto the ship’s ramp, Echo joined him.

“Crosshair? Is there a problem?” He still looked scared. Like any minute he’d be sucked back into his dreams never to return.

“Sit.” Echo did as was ordered. Sitting on the ramp. The black sky was filled with twinkling stars. Cross put the blanket over Echo’s shoulders and sat next to him.

Crosshair was looking straight ahead. “If you are going to be a part of the bad batch you need to learn to accept help.”

“I don’t know what you-”

“Fresh air is the best remedy for nightmares.” He turned to look at Echo. “There is no use in keeping them bottled up.”

They sat there most of the night. Echo told him about his time before being taken, his brothers, his commanders. He told him about Fives and Rex. He told him about his time as an unwilling traitor to the republic he loved.

They both silently promised to not talk about that night again. Echo didn’t want to be embarrassed and Crosshair didn’t want this responsibility any more than he needed to take it. Or at least that’s what he would say if pressed.

The next morning Crosshair was woken up by his brother’s arrival. Their part of the mission was a success. And as the five of them walked into the ship and Crosshair figured that maybe four brothers wouldn’t be so bad.

CT-9904

Good soldiers follow orders.

The rest of the bad batch was in the hanger. Predictable. They always thought they were a step ahead. Now he would show them how flawed their thinking really was. They were cowards trying to run away.

Hunter walked out from behind the crates. Reckless a small part of him thought. He ignored it. He had eyes on Wrecker, Echo, and Omega. All behind the crates. Tech was most likely in the ship.

“Best stand down Sargent,” He said. They were in a standoff and Crosshair knew who would win when the time came. The traitors wouldn’t hurt him. “Make it easy on yourself.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Hunter replied.

Yes

‘Quiet’

“We should’ve killed that Jedi. You disobeyed orders” Why didn’t Hunter follow the orders? If he had just been a good soldier, a good leader, then none of this would be happening.

“I did what I thought was right.” Hunters snapped, stepping forward.

“You never could see the bigger picture.” He shrugged. “Now surrender.”

Let them go.

Hunter glanced back at the group as they prepared for a firefight. Wrecker put his helmet on.

These are your brothers.

“Is that an order?” Hunter looked back at him.

He let out a chuckle. “I guess it is.”

Don’t do this.

“Well, I guess I’m disobeying that one too.”

They stayed staring at each other. Waiting to see who would make the first move. He spat out the toothpick.

Stop, please, no.

‘Quiet,’

His finger tightened as the thunder rumbled. He wanted Hunter to come peacefully. Why did Hunter never listen? He didn’t want to hurt them.

But he would do what he must.

In one motion he lifted his arm, set the blaster on it and fired. Hunter ducked and it hit the ramp of the ship. A part of him was screaming that this was wrong but he continued. The clones he was with open fired. Clone force 99 returned fire and two smoke bombs were thrown. They moved in.

He took aim again. This time using a heat sensor. He let off a few shots then waited. They needed to clear the smoke and when they did…

The sound of metal hitting metal rang through the air as the smoke cleared. Wrecker was in the middle of it and through one of the container lids, knocking some clones down.

Taking aim all he could see was the second one coming for him. He rolled out of the way as the containers fell where he was moments ago.

He aimed.

NO!

He shot, hitting Wrecker’s armour. He’d survive.

This time Wrecker fell. His brothers wouldn’t fall for it but the girl might and if he got a clear shot on the girl Hunter would soon follow.

Sure enough, a blonde head poked out from behind the crates and he fired again. He missed as she was pulled back undercover.

The ship started up. They couldn’t go. They needed to stay, needed to see that this was the right thing.

“Seal the bay doors!” He ordered. The clone to his right. He ran for the panel on the wall.

A light started flashing and a warning alarm beep. The door didn’t shut.

“Sir! Someone is overriding the controls.”

Tech.

He took aim once again. Hunter was giving Omega orders. She would be his target as they tried to leave.

“Only one way out Hunter. Your move.” He said.

Traitor.

The voice was loud and annoying. He shook it off.

He put his finger on the trigger.

“Go!”

Hunter and Echo stood and fired. Moving into the walkway, towards Wrecker. Towards the ship. Moving forward to cover he fired. He made it behind the crates and mentally kicked himself. Why wasn’t he aiming properly? This should be over already.

The last clone fell, hit by the oncoming fire. He turned his head to try and see where they were but couldn’t see them. Only the blaster bolts. He stood and took aim. Hunter was in his sights. This time he wouldn’t miss and he wouldn’t have mercy.

Stop!

His finger tightened on the trigger when suddenly electricity ran through the gun. He watched it drop and looked to where the shot was fired. Standing on the ramp was Omega. Blaster in hand.

He could swear he heard laughing from somewhere inside of him.

He pulled the blaster off of his hip and aimed. Omega shot first. Both the shots missing as he ran for cover.

You’ve lost. Let them go.

The ship lifted off and he ran towards it. Firing. None of his shots hit and soon the door was shut.

He stopped running once they were in space. He put the blaster away and took off his helmet. He looked into space as the mix of emotions bubbled inside of him. They left him. He failed his first mission. He knew Wrecker would live and his brothers would be okay. That’s all that matters.

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain"

Chapter 7

"Observations"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Nothing really! Just thank you to everyone who's been reading, liking, commenting and reblogging my story! 😊 You guys are amazing! ❤

《 Chapter 6

》 Chapter 8

All chapters

Explanation: After the skirmish on Felucia, Crosshair and Hunter get serious about Kimber. She and Echo also have their talk about Echo's experience on Skako Minor.

After Echo had told them he would go to Kimber and told them to go, Hunter, Tech, Rex and Wrecker had finished off the ground force and then dashed into the facility. Once they were inside, they took out whatever remaining Droids were inside with Tech's help when he decided to reprogram one of the Droids to where he could control it, thus redirecting its fire onto the other Droids. Afterwards, Hunter had run up to the turret that had almost shot Kimber, took control of it and had turned its aim towards the other turret, taking it out immediately. With the destruction of the tower, the Separatist facility was theirs.

As they exited the outpost, they spotted Echo and Crosshair...and Kimber, her helmet removed and lying limp in Crosshair's arms.

"Kimber!" Hunter immediately called out, rushing over to them with the others behind him.

"Take it easy, Hunter," stated Crosshair as Hunter came up to them and removed his helmet. "She merely fainted."

"I'd imagine this much action was a bit more than she bargained for," added Echo.

Looking back down at her, Crosshair then said, "Though, I'll admit: she did well for her first mission."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.

"A compliment from Crosshair...it's a shame Kimber isn't conscious because she would've just witnessed a miracle," Tech declared.

"Stow it, Tech," Crosshair sneered.

"She should be okay," Echo reassured the others.

Hunter gazed down at Kimber's face. She looked so serene, which was definitely better than how she appeared when they first found her. By the stars, she truly was beautiful. He had seen it before, but now that she was healthier and healed, her beauty was more accentuated. To his memory, he couldn't remember seeing a more fair and lovely being anywhere. He then recalled hearing her cry out when the Droids were shooting at her and the fear that had arisen within him at the thought of her being harmed on their account. That was the last thing he wanted to happen; she was an innocent woman who didn't deserve to be thrust into their war, even if she did choose to come on her own. He couldn't ask anymore of her. What she'd done to help them that day to take the Separatist facility was already more than enough. Kimber deserved better than this; better than them. She deserved to be back home on Tatooine...despite his perhaps selfish wishes in not wanting her to go back.

He faced Rex and asked him, "Captain, what should we do about her? Should we take her back to Coruscant...or do we take her back to Tatooine?"

Rex's expression was uncertain and he let out a sigh. "I don't know. I feel that choice should be left up to her. I need to report to the Generals. I'll be back." With that, he walked a few yards away out of sight.

Crosshair and Echo both carefully laid Kimber up against the tree behind them. By the facility, Tech and Wrecker were disposing of all the Droid wreckage.

"She must have done something right for you to compliment her the way you did," Hunter said to Crosshair, who had stepped back from Kimber, removed his helmet and stuck another toothpick in his mouth.

With a frown, Crosshair said back to him, "I may be a skeptic, Hunter, but I know a good sniper when I see one." He glanced down at Kimber, resting soundly against the tree. "Despite when the Droids were firing at her, she held her own well for a simple woman from Tatooine. She has skill." His eyes narrowed curiously.

That didn't go unnoticed by Hunter. "I know that look. What are you thinking?"

Looking back at him, Crosshair told him, "I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to have her tag along with us a little longer."

Astonished at that statement, Hunter replied, "Are you crazy? Crosshair, she isn't a soldier. She's not made for a life like this. Besides, she has family on Tatooine who are probably wondering where she is. We need to take her back."

"Think about it, Sarge. She was the Tuskens' prisoner for long enough that she lost track of the amount of time she was with them. Don't you think her family would've found her before we did?"

That was a question Hunter didn't expect and, for a brief moment, was unsure how to answer. Finally, he just said, "Perhaps they presumed her dead...and we shouldn't keep her from them any longer. We only took her with us to Coruscant because she needed better medical help and Echo didn't want to risk the Tuskens getting to her again."

"Aren't we still taking that risk by taking her back anyway?" Crosshair asked, folding his arms.

Hunter once again was stumped. He couldn't deny that Crosshair made a point with that question, but he shook his head and said, "It's not up to us, Crosshair."

"You're right...it's her choice. Have you even asked her if she wants to go back to Tatooine?"

"I...," Hunter began, but then he faltered. In truth, he had never actually asked Kimber about that. He simply assumed that she would want to because it was her home planet.

Crosshair spoke up again, "I personally think she could be a good asset to the team and perhaps, we could give her that choice eventually. Not that you would complain about that."

"What are you talking about?" Hunter questioned him.

A mischievous grin appeared on Crosshair's face. "I may see things well from a distance, but I notice things up close, too, Hunter. Don't think I haven't seen the way you've been looking at her and how protective you've been of her. You're beginning to care about her."

Put on the spot, Hunter turned his face away to hide his reaction. He should've known that, out of everyone in the squad, Crosshair would be the one to pick up on those little nuances. He guessed he wasn't as good at hiding it as he thought.

Though, in the moment, he didn't want to be vulnerable and admit it, so he said in response to Crosshair a bit defensively, "I simply want to keep her safe, Crosshair. Kimber wasn't born for war like we are. She deserves a better life than anything we can offer her and I don't want her to come to harm again."

"Mm-hmm...," Crosshair hummed, twirling his toothpick with his teeth, clearly unconvinced by Hunter's explanation.

Just then, they heard Kimber groan.

The two of them focused their attention on her as they noticed her eyelids fluttering open. Hunter got down onto a knee right in front of her.

"Kimber?" he said.

"Hunter?" she asked back, her eyes now fully open.

"She's awake!" Hunter called out to the others.

At his call, Echo, Tech and Wrecker all came jogging over to them.

"Kimber, are you all right?" Wrecker asked, concerned.

She straightened up against the tree, rubbed her head and responded through another groan, "Yeah...yeah, I'm all right. I guess that fight took a lot more out of me than I thought."

"You did great," said Echo, laying his hand on her shoulder.

"Even Crosshair said so," stated Tech, which earned him a little shove in the arm from Crosshair.

Kimber suspected from his reaction that Crosshair wasn't typically one to offer any sort of acclaim that often. She met his gaze and decided she wouldn't make a big deal out of it for his sake, so she simply gave him a smile and a respectful nod. He gave her a nod back.

"I assume you took the facility?" she asked, looking between all of them.

"Indeed, we did," answered Tech. "Though, it's mostly thanks to your advantageous strategy."

Kimber scoffed. "I really didn't do much."

"Give yourself some credit, Kimber," Hunter told her. "Were it not for your help, we wouldn't have been able to capture this outpost as easily if at all. You really helped us out."

"He's right," spoke Rex's voice as he came up behind the rest of them. He grinned, impressed, down at Kimber as he said, "You really proved yourself today. You should be proud."

Kimber blushed timidly.

"Let's finish the cleanup here, boys," Rex then ordered the Bad Batch, "and Tech, I'll need you to help gather all the intel we can from inside this facility."

"You've got it, sir," Tech responded gladly, pulling out his datapad and making his way back to the entrance of the outpost.

Rex then looked at Echo and said, "Echo, why don't you take Kimber back to the Marauder while we finish things up here?"

Echo bowed his head in response.

As the rest of the squad moved out to carry out Rex's orders, Hunter stayed behind for an extra moment. He simply gave Kimber a bright, reassuring smile and he gently grasped her hand while keeping his eyes on her. To Kimber's relief, she didn't feel triggered or have the urge to retract her hand this time and she couldn't hold back her own smile as she took in the warmth of his touch. After that, Hunter stood up and went off to join the others.

Once he was out of earshot, Echo came in front of Kimber, offered a hand out to her and said with a devious look in his eyes, "Don't think I didn't see that."

As she took his hand and stood up with his help, she asked, "Didn't see what?"

"That smile on your face when Hunter touched your hand," he answered as they began walking away from the outpost. "You're still smiling."

Embarrassed, Kimber turned away, covering her hand with her mouth.

Then he snickered. "Oh and your face is now as red as the Sergeant's bandana."

"Shut up, Echo!" she exclaimed, mortified, shoving him in the arm, which made him chuckle even more. She exhaled loudly. "I...don't even know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything about it," he assured her.

The look he was giving her told her everything: he knew full well that she was attracted to Hunter, but he was going to keep her secret; he wouldn't say anything about it to anyone.

"Thank you," she sighed.

He simply nodded and they kept going.

After a few minutes of silence, they were almost to the Marauder, but then Kimber stopped in place. Echo noticed this shortly after realizing she wasn't next to him and he looked back over his shoulder.

"Kimber? Is everything okay?" he asked her, moving back towards her.

She suddenly looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "I want to say I'm sorry."

Taken aback, he questioned her, "What are you sorry for? You haven't done anything to me."

"Echo...I know about the Citadel...and Skako Minor."

His face turned from confusion to understanding once he heard her say that. He sighed and asked, "Is this why you said you wanted to talk later?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Rex told you, didn't he?"

Kimber simply nodded.

"I had a feeling he would, since I hadn't had the chance to tell you myself," he said nonchalantly. "I don't mind, though. He's the only person I would want to tell my story other than myself."

"That's why you've been so attentive to me...because you understand, in a way, what I've been through...because you, too, were a slave."

He gave her a nod. "Yes. I didn't want you to feel alone."

She stepped closer to him, her voice trembling. "Echo...you suffered so much more than I did. Yes, I was beaten and tortured often, but you were made into a human machine! You were hooked up to the computers of an entire facility and your mind was used against your will! Then you were rescued and walked away from that only months ago! Echo...how do you do it? How do you possibly cope with that every day?"

"Trust me, I'm reminded about it daily," he responded, holding up his scomp arm, "and I knew that would be the case. I knew I could either let it haunt me and I would be miserable or I could accept that this was who I am now, learn to live with it and I'd be...less miserable. Believe me, I'm still haunted by it." His eyes went distant. "I have nightmares still from time to time. Both about the explosion at the Citadel and what happened on Skako Minor...but that's part of being a soldier. Sometimes, you have to recover from things quicker so you can get back out in the field and help those who need you."

"That doesn't seem very fair."

"It might not be, but I don't mind. I helped the Republic gain their victory over Anaxes very shortly after I was rescued. I was ready to get back in and help, especially when I was unwittingly part of the reason why they kept getting defeated. That's just part of who I am."

Kimber was stunned listening to him. He truly was such a selfless person who didn't seem concerned with his own self. His priorities seemed to be with other people; the Republic and her. How could he have suffered so much and still be so caring and level-headed?

He kept going, "We found you on Tatooine and you said you had been made a slave. In that moment, I knew I couldn't leave you there. I knew once you were out of the Tusken camp what you would experience and I knew I could help. I may have overstepped in having the Bad Batch take you to Coruscant, but I didn't trust leaving you on Tatooine at the time. I know soon we'll have to take you back, but--"

"No!" Kimber suddenly cried out.

Echo was startled by her outburst. He said nothing, but stared at her, puzzled.

"I can't go back to Tatooine," she told him. Just as Echo was about to ask her why, she said, her voice breaking, "I have nothing left there. When the Tuskens took me, they...they...."

Fearing what she was about to say, he went up to her, put his hand and his scomp arm on her shoulders and urged her, "They what? Kimber, what did the Tuskens do?"

A sob escaped her throat as she confided, "They...destroyed my home...and they killed my parents. I have no one...I have nothing."

Unable to hold herself together, Kimber clutched at her heart and her knees buckled beneath her. Echo caught her around the waist, supporting her, and guided her down to her knees. Once she touched the ground, she fell against Echo's chest and wept. He held her tight and close and didn't say a word, his heart breaking at her revelation and listening to her crying. This poor young woman truly was alone in the world. Was there anything he could do for her?

After a few minutes of letting her cry, Echo finally said to her soothingly, "I am so sorry, Kimber. I know you're hurting now...but I promise, I'll find a way to help you."

She shook her head against his chest. "No...you don't need to," she said in a strained voice. "I don't want the others to know."

"Why not?"

"You boys already have worried too much about me and I don't want to give them anymore to worry about. I don't want to be more of a burden to your squad than I already am."

Echo brought his hand to Kimber's cheek and raised her tear-filled gaze to meet his. "Kimber, you are not a burden to us," he stated firmly. "It was our choice to bring you with us to Coruscant and to look after you. We wouldn't have brought you with us here if you were a burden. If you told the others, I know they would all be willing to help you out."

Sadly, she shook her head again. "You all have already done enough for me. I can't ask anymore of you. I'll let you take me back to Tatooine and let the others think I'll be okay...but then I'll board a transport and go somewhere else...and find my own way."

"Kimber...," Echo groaned, unsure and unhappy with what she was saying, but then he stopped himself. This wasn't the time to argue with her. So he grasped her by the shoulder and said, "Come on, let's get you on the ship."

He helped her back up to her feet, wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and walked with her to the Marauder, praying silently to the stars that he would still find a way to help her somehow. Despite what she said, there was no chance he was going to let her go back to Tatooine now that he knew she would be alone.

He would find a way...he had to.

[captainkurosolaire]

Prompt #27 ~ Warfare

♫Till I Die♫

The fall of Garlemald's effects ran-through out the realm suddenly the shift of power had been flipped over. As many of the countrymen deserted, or those scattered, were pursued. Now they understood what it was like to be the spoils to war. Hunter's turned to prey. A privateer ship supporting under the banner of the Crimson. Chased pursued in the open seas of an attempted escape, a remnant squadron. Their division shattered as their Empire was crumbling to dust. The divisional commander of her ship was taking huge mortar's although the sea-vessel was sturdy and advanced, was taking blows, her men were taking hefty causalities, hearing in screams. They couldn't flee from this. In the fang's of revenge, under the skies of war, monsters were born. The people who once felt were fighting for righteousness, become no-better. These Privateer's were rejoicing. "Commander. Two more alliance accompanying vessels of the opposition have ascended over waves, we've nowhere to go!" The morale of her people were descending. "We've deserved this outcome. It was an honor." Her sentimental tone, spoke they'd rather imperial salute each-other, and commit suicide before becoming prisoners. Right in their contemplated end. The shift was about to turn again.

"A third vessel had wedged between the middle of their reinforcements!" Was shortly called out, giving them further, resolve of hopelessness, before... "Wait. The middle-vessel is bombarding the others!" Suddenly a massive ship rising over tides, removing the fake red Maelstrom banner had been withdrawn into an iconic pirate flag hoisted. Upon the bow-spirit was a tricorne-man. Treading past the destruction of two smaller privateers vessels. The ambush assault left them fodder out-maneuvered. Gathered man, etched in warpaint, they were banned ready for a fight. To intervene between this naval battle. The Seeker leapt back to his decks to bolster. "I would ask ye my Crew, within my helm. T' PRAY for yer enemies. Give them an early moment of silence. For these poor unfortunate soul's will b' educated, they'll earn their red-coats upon this Sun!" He roared and screamed with a warrior shout That followed behind others. "Give Boy-Lad his sea-legs. Let him earn his stripes t' walk over bones!" A crippled and amputated legless fighter crawled on the floor in disbelief, as Sol made augmented prosthetic legs. Unified chaos positioned, to invade the vessel of the privateer from behind. "Aid th' carrier of Garlean's, give all others no-quarter!" Viciously a stampede of leaps was drawn, it was anarchy. Projectiles flung back and forth, sniper shots from the crow's nest of the Worldly Finder started picking off them. Each Crewmate nearly about to be butchered by an opposition was protected by another, they fought as sword and shield, and reversed the roles. Rallied by a leader who was believed-long-flung dead. The brute Seeker skirmishes an assortment of parries to one of the swashbucklers before pulling out a sheathed revolver in the other hand and angling it under his chin and pulling the trigger in a massacre. Completely butchery. Blood of not his own making savagely drew over his face. As he bellowed another victoriously battle-cry that kept even his own injuries gaining on Crew to fight-on. The Garlean's left their hunker, to unity in bewilderment anyone would fight under their behalf. The Captain was almost executed by an aimed shot musketeer but was shot back by an assault rifle of the imperialist. The buccaneer brought terrifying laughter. "THEIR NUMBERS ONLY GIVE US MORE HEADS T' ROLL!" Not only bolstering morality to his own fighters, but also was making hesitation and fear start wearying the grip's of his oppositions, a tactician of dirty behavior. How long have they gotten to do anything they wanted? Or used the excuse of the Garlemald for them to justify or blame their heinous antics? These seas held no discrimination. Yet being constantly corrupted. Putrid borders, barriers for entries, they started skewering Beast Tribes because they strictly took advantage of the Calamity. They put a price-tag on the seas, owning it. Law and restricting and it's no different than what Captain's seen before, they're vindictive and greed-coated. Yet unlike Garlemald who were openly wanting to conqueror, the Maelstrom and Grand Companies alike played fantasy pretend. They're unbeatable, the good! Couldn't do any wrongs, existed of no poison. Bullshit, in war there was no such thing. It's a contest of ego. How many times had the Captain seen a Maelstrom get promoted after they violated his kinsmen, while preaching they were pirates... How many times did he watch them do nothing as people plead in the dirty-alleys before a gal went abducted and missing. These seas would find freedom from vile. Disarray and unorganized, suddenly being attacked by two-sides, the privateer's were being annihilated. Counter measured every-time they brought their marine scholars out, their magic was cancelled by the Historian of the Goldbrand, the purest faith in the Twelve, who brought them no harm, other than silencing their spells. The God's weren't on their side, they belonged to this pirate. That fiendish outcast hound of an Xaela, who ghoulishly shrieked, was feasting on arm's while slewing them in beheaded messes. A Quartermaster

followed by impaling them and hurling the smaller runt's of the enemies. Captain leapt up off that mountain of a Hellsguard on his Crew and bounced off his shoulders dexterously onto the stern. Exchanging in runaways some jumping overboard. "Draw them from th' seas back up here! Their corpses is unworthy t' share with the benthos!" Angry swarming came to their noisy vocalized leader. If they could just behead that blasted vermin then all of them would crumble to despair. He played defensively and evaded one of them about to slayed, was sniped from afar. The handicapped soldier got a puncturing stab on one of the men to protect his Captain before collapsing as his new leg's were already damaged and punctured. The Seeker picked up the adrenaline as blood cut's were protruding from his cheek. He threw his coat onto one of them and jabbed a series of quick deft dirks. A swishing blade came again as he relied on his above-feline scents. The thing he was mocked for by these giants. Doing a handstand leg, disarm from twisting the wrist of the deathly aggressor. The Seeker rolled away and jumped off the stern and swung a leap into the cabin, where he saw the frantic Head-Captain of this enemy helm, run-into, gathering up belongings to attempt plotting retreat. Unexpectedly a flintlock shot at his leg making him fall over all his glistening golds and gil he was trying to rummage into a burlap sack like a coward trying to recollect himself. He brought his own gun out but was disarmed by the wrist from another firearm shot, "Cap'n Daniwyrn... Ye have lost your sense. Recall me." These two knew each-other full and well, this was more than just a one-sided squabble, now. It held harboring emotion. "...Yer supposed t' b' blimey dead!" The callus blood-thirsty Seeker lowered his arm. "Dead is what ye did t' someone I loved. Well, I got yer message. Ye saw t' remove her head cause she moved t' me. If you couldn't have her, neither ov' us could." He lectured in all this chaos-warfare and took a menacing seat. "See, I am not here for revenge on you. This goes beyond that. Now, ye made a crime, sin I find very offensive..." The sea-wolf tried regaining himself while trying to also slowly scoot his bottom and get back his disarmed gun. Knowing was about to be sentenced to a horrific death, or believed. "You have tainted these seas, Daniwyrn. The punishment fer losing your sense. Is crueler than death by my hand. It's t' live as such." He shot the ear's respectively of the privateer. Then the Seeker stood up. Fiendishly brought out his coeurl toothed carved dagger and carved out eye to eye from his enemy. While he was screaming in anguish and incomprehensible pain never able to reel back. He cut that tongue like a fleeting ribbon.

Taking the senses of someone who lacked senses firstly. A fitting treatment, barbarically exercised. He bathed in all the blood over his inferior feline frame. "I know you can't hear me, see, nor speak, though I'm also a nice-guy, I'll leave ye with yer gun... if get the opportunity you should kill yourself." He'd savagely trail, beating his enemy who barely was functioning, stuck in a haze, discombobulated, suffering severe blood-loss. Loading and priming the revolver with one bullet, he'd force it into the arm's of his blind foe and make him squeeze it. Captain walked out as if this was just a regular circumstance. The duty of returning. Closing the cabin door. Hearing a procedure gun-shot ring-throughout. A signal was overhead horned, "They've got more crimson reinforcements!" The battle sizzled and the sparks were over. "Let us gather up, plunder post-haste. Burn this shite down." They took the Garlemald survivors and retreated, licking wounds but won victorious.

[the-silentium]

Murphy day - Epilogue

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 -  The survivor

Pairing: Bad Batch x Reader, Hunter x Reader

Words: 2708 words

Warnings: None.

A/N: This side story became a prologue, so y’all enjoy this lil piece of fluff. If you guys have requests or ideas for some side stories, don’t hesitate to ask!

Taglist: @haloangel391​

Fors is an Original planet. I do not give permission to people to use it for their own fics, the planet, the animals, the Nightmares, the lore or anything related to Fors. Thank you.

"Today's the day!" Wrecker exclaimed excitedly, opening the door so quickly that it hit the wall before bouncing back to hit his arm. 

Unbothered, he pushed the door back to approach your frightened form on the bed to hit your shoulder playfully. 

"Ready to return to the ship, pilot?" He laughed like this was the funniest joke of the universe. Well. In a sense it was. 

"I'm discharged?" You asked, hopeful to finally get out of the medbay. Patch and Mylana have been very kind from day one and you were eternally grateful for their support through your healing process. But you were ready to get away from the white walls, bacta smells and occasional nocturnal pain screams down the hallway.

"You are!" He confirmed, placing a pile of neatly folded clothes with your clean boots on the bed beside your folded legs. "Crosshair got you some clothes." 

Your eyebrows shot to your hairline, well, what remained of it. To reduce the swelling of your brain they had to shave some of your hair to access the skull so Mylana offered to do a sidecut to save the remaining of your hair and make you a bit more fashionable. You were glad that you accepted, the style definitely suited you and the appreciative look you received from a certain sergeant made you forget what the word 'insecurity' meant. Added to your apparent scar, you looked badass. 

"Is there another Crosshair on base? 'Cause I don't think we're talking about the same Cross." You maintained his gaze, bewildered. 

Sure, the sniper had warmed up a bit to you. He came to visit, rarely, but still came nonetheless. He didn't talk much but his company was enough. He usually brought you holobooks about ships, from their mechanics to how to fly them. 

He'd sometimes talk about some of his flying experience or recall some pranks he and Wrecker pulled on the regs if you sighed from boredom enough times. Oh and he brought you a tiny cup of caf one time. Tiny victories. 

But to get you clothes? That you noticed were the right size? You must have done a lot more progress than you thought. 

"Yeah. Said the gown would smell bacta." He bent over to sniff near your shoulder. "And he's not wrong." 

You rolled your eyes, pushing his shoulder away.

"Fine. Wait outside, I'll change." 

With a salute, he exited the room and closed the door slowly this time. 

You grabbed the clothes, quickly pulled the socks on, followed by the black cargo pants. You admired in awe the lots and lots of pockets and immediately thought how many things you could put in them. Your own cargo pants didn't even have that many pockets. You swiftly removed the gown, folded it in a ball before throwing it in the basket in the corner of the room, cheering silently when you aimed right at your first attempt. Your arm really got better in the last 2 weeks the cast has been off. 

You traced the scars on your inner arm and abdomen, your proofs that you survived hell and came back stronger. With a smile, you pulled on the grey long sleeve shirt Crosshair chose for you. You pulled up the sleeves a bit until they reached just below your elbow and stepped in your boots to hurriedly get out. 

"Looking good Y/N!" Wrecker whistled looking you up and down, catching the attention of the nurses office. 

"I have to agree with that." Came Mylana's voice, admiration in her eyes as she nodded with a grin.

"It's all thanks to you." You winked at her, passing a hand through your shaved side, carefully avoiding your sensitive scar. 

"I dare to think that I did a good job with those stitches. I should have some credits." Patch appeared from around the corner, datapad in hands. 

"You did and I can't thank you enough!" You laughed, hugging him when he opened his arms. 

"You're welcome. Take care of yourself. No jumping off cliffs again." He chided, letting you go with a pat on your shoulder to join the nurse station. 

"I will! And I fell! Big difference!" You countered, earning a scoff with a shake of his head. 

"Well, this is goodbye until next time then! Although it would be nice if you weren't injured." Mylana hugged you, her hand softly patting your back. 

"I'll be careful mom." You snarked, chuckling. "See ya Lana! Take care!" You jogged to join Wrecker who took a head start. 

He walked you through the medbay, walked a long hallway and finally showed you the hangar where you spotted a familiar ship stationed at the far end. You took a deep breath in, letting out a moan at the smell of fresh air, oil and smoke. 

"I missed this." You informed Wrecker, arms open wide at your side to feel the breeze stroking your exposed skin. 

"I know what you mean." He resumed walking, glancing at you as you followed. "I was in the medbay for a month for that." He reminded you, pointing at his scar on the side of his face. 

"I was in there for three." You deadpanned, looking around to take in the clones moving crates around and the mechanics repairing ships. 

Before you knew it, you reached the ship where Hunter was waiting down the ramp. 

"Looking good." He approved, the smirk deforming his tattoo, the sight of which sent tingles to your fingertips. 

You remembered all too well the day Hunter fulfilled the one condition you asked for. 

"That's what I said!" Wrecker said, passing you to enter the ship. 

"Welcome aboard the Havoc Marauder." Hunter became more serious, his hand presenting you the interior of the vessel. 

You followed his lead, taking in all the information he gave you about the ship while creating a mental map of the structure and rooms. 

You weren't surprised when he showed you your cot, a small bed pushed against the far wall of a room where two sets of bunks were occupying the side walls. You quickly figured that a ship had very limited spacing and that you would sleep near them all. You weren't a fan of sleeping in your underwear anyway, the lack of clothing making you feel vulnerable. 

"Here." Hunter caught back your attention, a well-known knife and tap in his open hands. 

You took them back, eager to be your whole self again. Pocketing the tap, you traced the old tree carved in the wood of the knife handle, finding a deep comfort in the movement. 

"What does it represent?" He asked, genuinely curious. "The tree." 

"It's my family's crest. We've always been close to the jungle." You smiled, remembering the day your dad offered you the knife. "This knife has been passed down for many generations now-" 

You frowned at the light bleating sound echoing through the ship. This was unusual. 

"What was that?" You asked and when you turned around, Tech and Crosshair were in the doorway. You slipped the knife onto the nearby bed. 

"That? Nothing." Tech replied too nonchalantly. 

"You took him too?" Your eyes widen as a small green horned Shinehorn poked its head between Crosshair's legs. 

Your face broke into a smile as you fell to your knees to receive the excited animal into your arms. You patted his head and scratched its sides, stopping when Tech closed Shiny's mouth when he started to make happy noises. 

"He slipped in when we weren't looking. And he's not supposed to be here." He informed you, releasing Shiny slowly to make sure be wouldn't start babbling again. 

"Oh. Okay." You stood up. "Are you guys keeping him?" 

"Unfortunately, if the GAR finds him he'll be thrown away. So we have to take him back." Tech explained to your disappointment. 

"It'll be your first flight. Without pressure, perfect to practice. Tech will be there to help you." Hunter told you, watching closely for your reaction. 

"Cool! I feel ready for this." You affirmed, confident. Every day for two months you prepared yourself. You were ready for a first practical test. Your hands shot to your pockets by habit, reminding you of something. 

"Crosshair!" You exclaimed to everyone's surprise. You almost laughed at their slightly wide eyes. "Thanks for the clothes! I love them!" You flashed him a toothy grin, bouncing from your toes to your heels. 

"You're welcome." He grumbled, moving his signature toothpick in his mouth, snapping his fingers and leaving the room. To your surprise, Shiny followed Crosshair diligently, his tail straight up in the air, alert to Crosshair's commands. 

You watched him go and disappear around the corner, eyes wide, mouth slightly open in shock. 

"He tamed him!" You yelped, pointing to the empty spot that Shiny occupied only moments ago. 

"Yeah. He knows many commands now." Tech took a seat on a bunk, holding your gaze. "Stay, come here, lay down, light up and turn off. " 

"Aw it's so sad that we have to take him back there." You pouted, but you knew why it was necessary. Didn't mean you had to like it though. 

"It's for his best interest." Tech chipped, standing up to leave the room. "Oh and I brought you some food from the mess. Figured you'd get out of the medbay before they could give you your lunch." He told you in the doorway before going elsewhere when you thanked him for the kind gesture. 

"Think you're ready?" Hunter asked from his spot leaning on the opposed bunk. 

You smirked. "Doubting me Sergeant?" You asked, mischief sparkling in your eyes. 

"No. Simply confirming with you." He cleared, raising an eyebrow at your expression. 

"Then I confirm. I'm ready for a test run. I know all those manuals by heart and it's as boring as it sounds." You chuckled. 

He pushed himself up before taking a few steps in your direction, only stopping when a single inch separated your chests. 

"I bet that those manuals would be much more interesting if you'd read them out loud." He said lowly, eyes darting down to your lips before returning to your eyes, calculating. 

"Now, I really doubt that." You rolled your eyes at his silliness. "I'm sure you'd fall asleep without a problem though." 

"I'd have nice dreams then." He smirked and you couldn't stop yourself. 

Your hand rose to the ink at the corner of his mouth, tracing its length carefully like you did that day he completed his part of the deal. Rising up to his cheekbone and temple, his head moved to the side to feel more of your fingers ghosting his skin before they finally entangled themselves in his locks. 

He groaned, eyes closing in contempt like every time, his touch deprivation made him like putty in your hand. After that first day, he soon became your most frequent visitor and the Batcher who knew you the most. In turn, you became the first person outside of his brothers to know him well. 

"I sure hope so." You whispered, closing the distance between your lips to take his breath away in a passionate kiss, your lips moving with his in perfect tandem. He followed your rhythm, too entranced by all of you overtaking his senses to be able to take the lead. 

His fingertips barely touched your waist that you pulled away, the mischievous glint he distinguished before sparkling stronger. 

"I have duty in the cockpit." 

You tried to pass by him but he quickly blocked your way with his body. 

"My hell of a catch-" He growled, his lips crashing back on yours, this time initiating the dance that you eagerly repeated. "-is a tease." He finished, eyes half close but loaded with desire. 

"Only for you, sir." You purred, pecking his lips one last time when he straightened at the title, his breath catching in his throat. 

You noted the reaction for later and ducked to the side to grab your knife from the bed and took off to the cockpit where you'd execute your very first attempt at flying a metal can. 

On your way you took hold of the food Tech gathered for you and you sat in the pilot seat, checking the board before you with all its buttons, switches and levers while eating. You were happy to find out that you knew the vast majority of their functions. 

"These are your credentials." Tech showed you his datapad, where your name appeared on top of the page with numbers and letters just beneath it, forming your personal code. 

"How did you get that? I didn't do any studies here and even less enrolled in the army." 

"Simple." He started, scrolling down to a particular section of the page. "I hacked the system through an encrypted connexion, created you a new identity within the GAR and gave you all the background needed to be a real pilot." He showed you your supposed diplomas and certifications of countless hours of flying practice that you really didn't have.

"Wow. I'm a genius." You noticed the grades attached to some of your supposed diplomas. 

With high distinction, some of them read. 

"Well, to be assigned to a team of elite commandos, you kinda need to be." He shrugged like it was pure logic. 

"You say that but you got me. The freak who never flew before and lived on a planet where we still used bows to hunt." You stated flatly, pointing to yourself. 

He met your eyes, blinking a few times behind his glasses to process what has been said and maybe find how to answer correctly. 

"Can I take back what I said?" He asked, starting to feel the hot water he just put himself in. 

"So you think I'm stupid?" 

"What?!" 

"If you take back the fact that I'm supposed to be a genius to be able to work with you, then you think that I'm stupid." You pointed out for him, enjoying how a rosy tint invaded his cheeks. 

"N-no! Not at all!" He stammered, clearly panicking over his own words. 

"Relax Tech, I'm kiddin'." You laughed, almost dropping your food.  

"What's going on here?" Hunter asked, suddenly entering with his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Tech called me stupid." You pushed him under the bus before taking a bite of your lunch. 

"No I didn't!" He defended himself, the high octave of his voice almost made you choke on the food.  

"Tech, don't insult our pilot." He reprimanded jokingly before leaving. 

He slowly turned to you, the residual pink on his skin vanishing by the seconds, his half-closed eyes burned holes through your skull. 

"I'm not helping you fly this ship." He grumbled, insulted. 

"I'll do my best!" You affirmed before lifting a hand to your chin in thought and pointing to a random button. "That's the hyperdrive, right?" You faked innocence. 

Tech blanched a bit, eyes widening all the while shaking his head in mild crisis. "You're not flying this ship!" 

You shot your hands in the air in defense, chuckling at his expression. "Okay I'm done shitting you! Promise!" 

Then you proceeded to name and explain the function of each button, each switch and each lever. He approved, sometimes adding stuff you couldn't learn in books and soon you were ready to depart. 

"No more jokes." He glared before patting your shoulder and left the room to tell the others that you would soon initiate the take-off sequence. 

You contemplated the hangar from your venture point, munching on some dry bread when you realized that you've felt more alive when you were stuck in a medbay bed for two months than you've ever felt in your life in the village. 

The reckless gesture of leaving your house on Murphy day was stupid but it bring you so much more than you first anticipated. Instead of having a single day where you weren't stared at with distrust or even disgust, you found companionship, kindness, people who'd gladly talk to you instead of whispering among themselves behind your back. 

Relief tears welled up in your eyes when you became aware that the heaviness weighing you down daily was gone. You were happy. 

You found your home.

[kamilah-the-bloodqueen]

Chapter I: The Detective

Notes: I have decided that I am going to rewrite my Mafia AU with (hopefully) better quality overall (plot, exposition, character development, angst, slowburn, etc). If not for the sake of better quality - then let’s just say it’s for my own entertainment and I’ll select a different name for this AU. I am still working on ‘Remember Me’ and ‘The Cafe’ which are also 2 AUs I have in the works in addition to the dozens of one-shots and fic requests I also am working on - this AU just came to my mind and it’s flowing really well so I’m writing it now. I’ll put the rest of my rambling in the tags. 

Pairing: Kamilah x MC (Amy Donovan)

Word Count: 2111 (Aiming for 4000+ words per chapter after this one)

Tags: @samanthadalton @cloud9in @shows-simp-card @alleycat97 @veenast @maskedalienfreak (If you’d like to be added/removed please let me know - also specify if you’d only like to be tagged for this series or all my work etc etc.)

Warnings: Violence, Blood, Language, Graphic Concepts, Death (Please be cautious - the theme is pretty dark and some of these chapters will be graphic so if you feel hesitant at all feel free to skip those chapters - I’ll try to make the story flow even if you do skip them :) )

“Stay with me, don’t leave me please god no please...Ashton...no…” Amy sobbed as she held her dying brother in her arms, his blood spilling onto her white blouse as she held his head close to her heart. She desperately placed a hand over the bullet wound in his chest as tears rolled down her face. Her heart broke with every small gasp that left his paled lips, she cupped his face in an urgent attempt to meet his eyes one last time as she said goodbye to her best friend. “Damn it...you...I love you..I love you okay? I’ve always loved you...god I’m so sorry...I’m so sorry…I...I’m going to avenge you...I swear I will..” She rocked back and forth with his corpse in her arms as the distant sound of police sirens grew nearer and nearer. 

“Amy...promise...promise…” Ashton gasped as his body grew colder by the second as blood spurted from his mouth, “promise you’ll live your life for me…” His low voice faded into a whisper and then to silence as police cars pulled up to the heartbreaking scene. Several FBI agents stepped out of their vehicles, most of them moving around the site and keeping their distance from Amy, only one of them stepping towards her as she spoke in a soft whisper. 

“I...I promise...Ashton…” 

The soft footsteps of the agent stopped behind her as she let out a long shaky breath, her arms gently lowering her brother’s corpse onto the pavement. 

“Marco...I...I have to avenge him.” Amy stood with confidence, her sadness replaced by a burning fury that was unparalleled to any anger she had ever felt in her life. Her bloody hands curled into tight fists as she reached for her gun, glocking it and placing it into her messy hidden holster. 

“Amy...just...breathe...maybe it’s better for someone else to take this one. We don’t want you to get hurt or to make any rash decisions-” Marco placed his hands in the air as Amy furiously turned to him, her brown eyes burning right through him as she stepped towards him. 

“My brother was just killed..no...brutally murdered by the Mafia and you’re telling me I can’t take the case so that I may avenge my brother? You think that I can’t handle this line of work Marco?” Amy’s voice was calm despite her posture, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she let her shoulders relax. “I can assure you, if anyone should take this case, it should be me. I’m young but I’m experienced - I come from a long line of FBI agents and you damn well know I can handle myself in a fight.” 

“Well, it’s not my decision to make but I’m sure we can talk to Otto about it. He likes you and he knows you’re effective - I don’t doubt that he’ll let you handle this case...and that’s why I suggested for you not to take it but I suppose you’re also our best agent for the job…” Marco lowered his voice as Amy sighed with a soft chuckle, her soft eyes meeting his before she began walking towards the black jeep. 

“Marco, if you thought I was a driven investigator when it’s not personal...you have no idea what I am capable of when it is personal…” Amy popped the jeep door open and started the engine as Marco frowned through the driver’s window. They exchanged a silent nod of agreement as Amy sped off towards their headquarters while Marco turned back to the bloody scene, letting out a soft whisper as he regained his composure. 

“...that’s what I’m afraid of Donovan…” 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Amy parked the jeep in her executive parking space with a screech, as her heavy footsteps rang through the empty garage. She sighed to herself as she approached HQ, making sure her gun had its safety on and that she looked somewhat composed despite her blood stained clothes and obviously puffy eyes. She pushed the doors open as everyone turned to her, their faces stricken with shock and fear as she strided towards Otto’s office. 

“Otto.” She threw the door open as a sturdy old man looked up from his disorganized desk, his gaze shifting from shock to empathetic as Amy leaned over with both her hands resting on the desk.

“Donovan I know what you’re going to ask and the case is yours.” Otto met her gaze as Amy let out a sigh of relief, letting her shoulders slump as she seated herself across from the man. 

“Thank god, I thought I was going to have to threaten you or something. Do you have the files for me?” 

“They’ve already been sent to your office, along with proper equipment, your team debriefing, and a generous amount of funding - so you better be the woman for the job.” 

“Perfect, you’re always a step ahead of me when it comes to these types of things Otto.”

“That’s the only way we’d survive Amy. Now, onto more important matters, are you alright darlin? That...when Maria heard the gunshots and the screaming...and then the crying...we...we all knew what was happening. If you need a few days, or even a week or longer before you start...just let us know...no need to jump right to it if you need the time to grieve.” Otto leaned back in his leather chair, his hands gently placed over Amy’s as he scrunched his nose in an attempt to shift his glasses up. 

“I appreciate it Otto, but if I’m going to be effective, it’s going to be best to start working now while the tracks are fresh. Can I get Mituso to run diagnostics on any fingerprints on that gun? I doubt we need an autopsy but I don’t mind letting Ashton’s body be studied for a few days before the funeral.”

“Alright Donovan, if you say you’re fine then I believe you. Yes I can get Mistuso to run an Autopsy, why don’t you head to your office to clean yourself up and then debrief. If we get any information we’ll email it to you and let you know, meanwhile if you come to any conclusions on your own about the case, well, you know how to handle it.”

“I’ll see myself out then, thank you Otto.” 

Amy softly shut his office door before striding to the elevators and hitting the ‘up’ button. A tall man approached her from behind and placed a firm hand on her shoulders as the elevator dinged upon arrival. She slowly stepped through the doors, her hand hitting the button for the eighth floor as she rested her head on the wall. Once the elevator doors opened she made her way towards her private bathroom, allowing herself to undress and change into a similar outfit, except the blouse, pants, shoes and everything else was black. She sized herself up in the mirror, satisfied in her appearance before she made her way towards her office. The doors opened after she scanned her photo ID and tears rolled down her face as she met the eyes of the man slumped at her desk. 

“Jackson...I…” Amy hurried to hug him, knowing it was as hard on him as it was on her. 

“Ames...did...did he suffer? Tell me he didn’t suffer…” Jackson’s eyes dripped with tears as Amy held him close. 

“I...if he did...I...just don’t think about it Jackson…” 

“I loved him. We were all like family, I...god Amy I was going to propose to him and now I’ll never get the chance…” 

“Jackson...I’m...I...I’m sorry…” 

Tears streamed down their faces as they stood there together, the sound of their sniffles and sobs filling the office before they pulled apart. 

“Otto doesn’t usually let someone from my department work in cases like this but...he let me petition and I’m in your squad.” 

“Jackson...can...okay…” 

“I can handle it Amy. If you’re allowed to work on this case...then I think I should be able to work on it too.” 

“Fair point. We need to start now though, despite our grief we’re going to get the best leads while it’s fresh. I want these bastards to pay for what they did with blood.” Amy slammed her fist into the table as Jackson slid her a hefty stack of beige files. 

“I assume these are the leads we have right now?” 

“Yes, although there’s not as many as there appears to be. We know who killed him, and we know who he works for but the issue is...well...I’ll let you have a look for yourself. I’m going to go talk to Otto about upgrading my rifles, I’m going to need more than a sniper rifle for this case.” 

“Alright, call me if you need me later Jackson. I’ll be here all night looking over all of this.”

“Yeah. See you Amy.”

“Jackson?”

“Stay safe out there okay? You’re the last person I’ve got now…”

“You too Amy, I’ll rendezvous with you tomorrow.”

The door clicked shut as Amy rested her head in her hands. She winced softly as all of her physical injuries caught up to her, her legs growing sore from all the chasing, her arms sore from the hand to hand combat, the cuts and bruises on her torso and head finally coming to light as she felt a wave of exhaustion overtake her. 

“There ain’t no rest for the wicked.” Amy mumbled to herself as she pulled out her coffee maker and brewed herself a generous portion of coffee. As she finished pouring the coffee, she caught sight of the frame resting on her desk - with a photo of her with her family at the beach. She shortly found herself breaking down after, as she held the frame in her chest, her whole body shaking with anger, sadness, fear and shock as she reminisced on when her family wasn’t all dead. “I...how can I do this…? No...I have to do this...or I have to die trying…” 

Amy shakily brought herself to her feet, gently placing the photo back onto her desk as she sipped on her coffee and began scanning the files. There was no question about the assailant, or his employer - it was the level of difficulty that was the issue. Killing a lower level hitman in the mafia was no fuss for the FBI - those targets were messy and unimportant to the mafia, so there was no major backfire after those eliminations. Amy opened the four files that laid on her desk, taking in the four faces that rested within each. 

Antonio Santiago

Marksman - Hitman (Level 8) 

Description: Male; Strong build with broad shoulders; Brown hair - usually shaggy or slicked back; Right handed; Tends to dress in black and white with a leather jacket; Light Brown eyes

Age: 26

Height: 5’11 

Warnings: Typically carries two handguns, a concealed knife, peppery spray, taser and has assault rifles hidden within his vehicles

Total Assassinations: 27 

Amy picked up his photo, taking in the face of her brother’s murderer - his description was pretty generic but after taking in the photo Amy knew she’d be able to recognize his nose on the spot. 

“It’s crooked, oooh when I get my hands on you Antonio - I’m going to punch you in the nose so fucking hard it’ll be straight. I’ll make sure of it.” Amy calmed herself down, knowing she’d lose her leads if she lost control and didn’t plan accordingly. She closed his file and pushed it aside as she reached for the other person file, waiting to read over the two previous incident cases later. 

Kamilah Sayeed

Primary Mafia Arms Dealer and Top Assassin

Description: Female; Lean and Muscular build; Medium length brown hair - either in a ponytail or worn down; Brown eyes; Ambidextrous; Tends to dress in a black or maroon suit with heels

Age: 30

Height: 6’0

Warnings: Carries two concealed handguns at all times; Usually accompanied by two or more discrete bodyguards; UNSAFE TO ENGAGE ALONE; Very skilled in hand to hand combat; Seductive and Flirtatious; Ruthless and Merciless

Total Assassinations: 288 

Amy gazed at the woman’s image, captivated by the depth of her eyes as she narrowed her sight. The woman was beautiful, but deadly and Amy knew that. 

“It’s always the pretty ones that are psycho…” Amy laughed lightly as she folded the file and collapsed into her chair. She closed her eyes and rested her hands on her desk as she slowly drifted off to sleep. 

[vaguely-concerned]

The Mandalorian Chapter 14 rewatch thoughts, in which there is much ado about Looking

let’s get the most Look heavy out of the way first lol

- the scene of din holding the silver ball is shot from below, like we often get when we’re in baby’s POV because grogu’s almost always gazing up at him. so the camera/audience is looking at him through the child’s eyes still, in a way, just to emphasize the connection even more. h e l p  m e

that firmly established ‘din looks down, baby looks up’ rhythm paying for itself yet again 😭😭😭 also I love the effect that because of the smoke it looks like he’s standing in a serious thunderstorm, while the sky is actually really bright and lit up with only light cloud cover from other angles. it plays into this thing that... this is basically the end of the world for him, and barely anyone else knows or cares. he or the baby never appear in the sequels, din doesn’t have a huge ~*destiny*~ within the Force, his world is so much smaller than what we’re used to in star wars -- his grief at having it come crashing down around him is only a black cloud around him, it doesn’t block out the sun on a galactic scale ala anakin skywalker. he’s not Important. except actually he’s the MOST IMPORTANT, perhaps exactly because of that. (he certainly is to me) y’know? well I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t, I’m not sure I know. but my heart is so full.    

- for a good portion of the scene where din is picking through the ashes of the razor crest (;_____________; still not over it) boba is actually looking at fennec looking at din

more precisely he seems to be looking at her while din is looking at the silver ball, and is looking at din and having some kind of Emotion while din finds the beskar spear

hm. I am now exTREMELY curious to know what boba and fennec’s relationship is actually like in more detail. strictly canonically I’m pretty sure there shouldn’t be enough of an age difference that he could sort of be a father figure, but... there’s something here, some parallells being drawn

the shots of them right before din finds the ball is interesting too -- you have fennec looking at din with a pained flinching sort of sympathy

and then she looks down and glances half towards boba like she’s checking in with him out of the corner of her eyes, but she’s not seeking gaze contact at all, she’s not asking him about anything or even initiating contact (it comes across better in motion but this was the best I could do to show it)

presumably they’ve already decided they’re going to help din, from the matter of fact way they inform him about it right afterwards, but there’s something complicated going on here within fennec at least, I think, it makes me want to know more about her backstory. (boba does look at her when he says they’ll help, and he’s trying to meet her eyes even if she doesn’t reciprocate)

and then at the very end of that scene boba is looking at fennec again, and she’s finally meeting his eyes and they both seem pretty satisfied and pleased (I guess doing the right thing has not necessarily figured hugely in either of their careers lol)   

sideline but boba has so many excellent Stances in this episode, it’s wonderful. he looks so steady and grounded

- also boba and fennec are close enough that the smoke actually affects their point of view for now and darkens their world too. how’s that for a metaphor for empathy hahaha 

- it’s actually quite sweet of boba to take the time to explain his own state of mandalorian-ness to din, like he’s at least eliminating the one source of uncertainty and tension that it’s in his power to remove haha  

(I wonder if he’s also gauging din’s reaction to the concept of foundlings? I’ve seen some people theorize that it might not be a recognized tradition across all of mandalorian space (then again... what even is, the only true mandalorian trait is accusing someone else of not being mandalorian right) and that it was one of the apples of cultural discord in the civil wars)

- the whole journey boba’s face goes on as he watches din with the spear... I do not understand what it is exactly but I am OBSESSED with it, his eyes are doing some things and it makes my heart feel funny

he pretty quickly glances away with a sharp inhale of breath that’s some shade of ‘well. fuck.’, but I can’t quite tell you exactly what’s going on there haha

- okay so honestly -- maybe we find a force user to train the baby and maybe we don’t, but not having din be an active part of that training either way would be a fucking CRIME. din clearly just has so much fun being able to engage with him like that, as does the baby, and it gets results. if someone shows up to help with this I hope they have the insight and flexibility to understand that. (listen to baby’s excited squeal and din’s breath of laughter before he encourages ‘come on, you can do it’! it’s consistently the most engaged and happy we see din and baby obviously feels safe doing this with him when he doesn’t with anyone else, come ON)

- the soft soft mando and baby music kicking in when din gives grogu the silver ball back and tells him he’s special T_______T oh my actual god  

- I love the way boba’s just... studying din all the way through their first meeting, it’s such a look of cold, dispassionate but not necessarily unkind evaluation. that’s the gaze of a bird of prey or something, it’s perfect (his eyes have softened significantly when looking at din towards the end of the episode, I guess that whole father son situation hit a tender spot huh lol)

- din’s shoulders rise up immediately when fennec starts talking about the bounty on grogu :’)

it also seems he’s a little 😬 about being in such a hurry back in chapter 5 that he missed that she wasn’t actually, y’know, dead haha, he slumps a bit uncomfortably and there’s also the “I owe you one” later on

- oh to have the utter yet unwarranted confidence of this storm trooper behind a minigun, still blasting away as the boulder crushes me

- I want to say something to gideon about what sorts of things a man must be compensating for to take the time to gleefully gloat at AN ACTUAL BABY, but thankfully I’m way too classy for that

- fennec shand using her entire strong but slender sniper’s frame to push that boulder off the cliff... poetry

I love that one pose she does jumping backwards off the stones at one point too, it’s so graceful, she looks like a dancer

- this entire scene of boba fett fucking eliminating storm trooper after storm trooper is doing some stuff to me, I can’t lie

it’s so AWESOME to see a mando interact with their armour in the same natural and expert way as din -- bo katan & co didn’t really have that many surprises and tricks to theirs, it’s more sleekly functional, boba and din’s have a different feeling to them, more personal to them and lived in, in a way (probably because they work alone much more often and need some tricks up their sleeves)

bo katan’s armour is for War and has been for generations, theirs is more just to Live as themselves? does that make any sense?   

- I wonder what it feels like for din to try to push through the force barrier - he’s making sounds not just of exertion but with a little bit of pain to it?

- I really like that when boba says “I was aiming for the other one” fennec clearly knows he’s not joking, she doesn’t smile or anything. it makes it feel like they actually know each other quite well at this point

- grogu makes small sleeping baby noises when he’s passed out on top of the stone Y____________Y  

- genuinely touched by how much better boba’s armour looks in the next episode, after him having it back for like a week max. LOVE what this show does with the relationship between a mandalorian and their armour and how it’s almost a living thing when it’s with them, and dead when it’s taken away

- the way boba leans forward a little in his seat when he spots the big ship *chef kiss* it so instinctively reads as him watching something dangerous, and after seeing the way he went through all those troopers like a hot knife through butter you fucking KNOW that if he’s unsettled you’re damn well unsettled too haha

[shnuggletea]

This is my entry for the Inuparents Day 2021! I was paired with a lovely and talented artist @kirrtash​. She'll be posting this fic with her art on her AO3 account for us. You can also find her Ko-fi account here! Make sure you check out her page for the AMAZING art that goes with this fic! I'm so glad I got to work with her; this was a true collab as I really felt she was working with me the entire time. I enjoyed every minute of this event! Thank you so much @inuparentsday​ for hosting and sharing with all of us! 

Link to AO3 HERE!!!

If you want more from this event (and trust me, you totally do) here's the Tumblr page! I would post the AO3 page buuuuutttt yeah I deleted mine lol! But there is one as well!!

Playlist is right here!!

TAGS!!!

@underwater0phelia​ @lavendertwilight89​ @mamabearcat​ @nartista​ @nopenname22​ @echobows​ @superpixie42​ @smmahamazing​ @redflamesofpassion​ @jme-chan​ @cstorm86​ @cicleydark-light​ @ruddcatha​ @lavaffair​ @kirrtash​ @sistasecbhere​ @obsessandfangirl​ @britonell​ @lordofthechips​ @mcornilliac​ @faolenwolf​ @classyhumanathletepalace @keichanz​ @phoenix-before-the-flame​ @artisticloveexpressitsall​ @lamuertadehambre​ @noyourenotreal​ @mitty-san​ @thenoammonster​ @little-deeluna​ @royaltrashpanda​ @sailorbabydoll92​ @storyweaver2017​ @malditamigs​ @adorabubblesblog​ @lilms-obsessed @petri808​ @anniehcresta​ @fan-dumpp​ @itzatakahashi​ @utakuprincess​ @theschultinator​ @all-too-ale​ @little-inukag-obsessed​ @theseagullqueen​ @queenofthesquirps​ @jolinaaa00​ @knowall7k​ @neutronstarchild​ @fawn-eyed-girl​ @eringobroke​ @sapphirestarxx​ @clearwillow​ @dangerouspompadour​ @misspepperpottss @kagometaishostory​​ @egosolivagant​​ @fandompromptsandfun​​ @fandomartlover​​ @fanficnewbiee 

Chapter One

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

It was a cold night. The kind that made your skin tense as soon as you stepped out into it. It also had a tendency to make a man’s scrotum shrivel and seek warmth. Not something they liked to talk about… usually.

“God damn it’s cold! My balls are up my ass!” Toga said at a level that made it even more inappropriate.

Miya shook his head, the image of Toga dancing on his toes to stay warm filling his brain. “How unpleasant that must be for you…”

“No, seriously! And those are big balls…”

Sitting back from his scope, the Monk pulled his shoulder-length black strands back and tied them there. “Just because we’re on comms doesn’t mean you have to talk so loud. No one is supposed to know you’re there, remember?”

“Right, right, right,” Toga was silent save for his huffing, warming up his hands with his breath, “still fucking cold though…”

“For fucks sake, aren’t you a demon? The temperature shouldn’t bother you!”

Pulling the sight around, Miya zeroed in on the loud mouth, shifting on his toes just as he knew Toga would be. He lifted his gold eyes right at him, somehow knowing Miya had turned his sights onto him. “Yeah, I’m a dog demon. I’m just as if not more sensitive to cold than insensitive humans like you!”

“Say that a little louder, I don’t think the old lady across the street from you heard it.”

“She needs new batteries in her hearing aid…”

“You couldn’t possibly know that!”

“I do, she just told the Shopkeep when she went inside.”

“Can you focus? Use that extra sensitive hearing to find our target?!”

“Can’t find what’s not there, Miya.”

“Then keep searching, Toga!!”

It was silent again but only for a second. “Now who’s being too loud…” Miya growled, getting to his feet and pacing away to kick something. “Calm down, you’re going to have a stroke.”

“Why the hell do I put up with you?”

Miya didn’t need to see Toga to know he was smirking. “Cause I’m the best. And who else you got? Myouga?” As much as he didn’t want to, a laugh sputtered loudly out of him, one the dog demon would have heard even without their comms. “See? You need me and I need you. Now get back to your post.”

Sighing and groaning, he did as ordered; laying down on the cold pavement of the thirty-story building he was perched on. He wasn’t an idiot, Toga placed him this high to keep him ‘safe’ if they found who/what they were looking for. It had been over an hour but Miya knew better than to question Toga’s judgment. Or Myouga’s intel.

Toga was cursing the inconvenience of it all. Winter was by far his least favorite season and he swore the others knew it too. It was why they waited until the middle of the season and hours after sunset to pull this crap. It was all to mess with Toga and nothing anyone said would change his mind about that. The heat from playing with Miya flooded out quickly so he was back to bouncing on his toes.  It made his two blades smack against his thighs but that was a nice distraction from the cold as well.

Black toboggan on his head was large enough to cover his ears and his long silvery-white hair covered his neck. But it was his fucking hands and feet, his fingers and toes numb with cold. 

He hated cold feet. 

Humans passed and didn’t even glance in his direction. And why would they? Humans had no clue of his existence. Him or anyone similar (like Miya) were a secret from the world. Even though Miya was far from a demon; he wasn’t human either. It was that difference that had Toga placing Miya on the high building and far from the fight. If there was even a fight to be had. 

He wouldn’t be surprised if this was all a rouse to force him to stand out in the cold all damn night!

That was until he smelled it. “Miya… they’re here.”

“You’re sure?”

Toga glanced upward towards the tiny dot. If he were human, he wouldn’t be able to see the agitation on Miya’s face. But he wasn’t human and it was always there. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

He pulled out So’unga and moved to the outer edge of the alley he hid in, glancing around. “Toga, get back! I’m here to scout not you!”

“Even with that scope you still see shit.”

“Toga, it’s an order! Get back!!”

“I’ll be fi….”

Toga was cut off, ice splitting up from his feet towards his heart. Leaping back, he avoided impalement with relative ease. When he found the perpetrator, Toga didn’t hold back his laugh in the slightest. “Good to see you too, Snowflake.”

The cat demon was growling at him and it had just as much to do with the fact that she was a cat and him a dog as it did that he called her ‘Snowflake’. “That’s not my name!!”

“Right, right, right. What was it again?” Toga teased.

If she wasn’t wearing a black hoodie that covered up all her fur, it would be standing up in anger. “It’s Toran, prick!!”

She slung out her arm and ice followed in a path along the ground. Toga stepped to the side to avoid it; making it seem like child’s play. “Well that’s not very nice. At least my nickname for you is a term of endearment. Yours sounds like an insult.”

Toga had his lower lip popped out and Toran roared, pissed. “IT IS AN INSULT!!!”

Glancing around, Toga saw that his little distraction had worked; the street was clear of all possible casualties. They had all seen the display the kitty cat had made and smartly left the area. Which was good because now Toran was tearing up the whole area with her rage; jagged and angry ice breaking up the sidewalk and pavement as it shot upward without warning.

Toga jumped and dodged it all, keeping his hands in his pockets. “Ice. Just had to be ice.”

The already frigid air was made much colder with the glacier that surrounded them. A small arena of sorts, Toga released a slow breath and watched the white puff float away. 

Toran broke out of her thoughts of murder for a moment and spun to find him; realizing quickly (but too late) that it was just the two of them now. “What have you done?!”

“Me? You’re the one creating your own ice castle. You know, for an Ice Queen, you sure are hot headed.”

Toga smirked while the cat hissed, throwing out her arm again. Only this time the ice didn’t form on the ground. It shot out of her hand like a missile; long and sharp like a spear. Aimed right at his heart.

He moved out of its way with little struggle. “Careful there Snowflake! Pretty sure your Boss didn’t order you to kill me!”

Toran shuddered and then turned her head back and forth to work out the tension. “No. Not not you.”

The smirk that grew on her face had Toga dropping his. Spinning on his feet was a pointless gesture, they had comms after all. “Miya! Look out!!”

This was why Toran’s attacks were lackluster and easy to dodge. He had thought she was holding back to keep from killing him. But no, it was because her attention and powers were split; ice racing up the front of the building Miya perched on. It shot out of the top in deadly spikes completely destroying the top floors of the short tower. And Miya was silent. Myouga hadn’t told them the target but given the location Toga had assumed it was a human they were after. And he was half right.

“He’s a human with demon powers. Powers that are extremely dangerous for demons; a Black Hole. Why you’ve allowed him to not only live but also stay by your side is a wonder, Fighting Fang. He shouldn’t be allowed to live…”

“Miya has lived just fine by mine and your side for a time. You pick now, of all, times to kill him?!” Toga screamed.

Toran’s smirk grew to a grin and she shrugged. “Orders are orders.”

“Oh?” They both turned and found the monk, a little out of breath, but with his sniper rifle on one arm and his hand out at the ready. “Good to know my life is worth so little. But I knew that already.”

Toga rolled his eyes at the drama queen. Miya had his fist closed tight but the runes that covered the cursed hand were removed. He was ready to kill. 

“You won’t do that! Not with Fighting Fang so close! You don’t have the control to suck up only me!” Toran said while shaking with her fear.

Miya tilted his head to the side at her and glanced over at Toga. “That’s true. But he’s such a pain in the ass…”

“HEY!”

The monk used the small distraction to whip his rifle up and fire. He got Snowflake in the upper thigh and she released a loud whimper mixed with a roar. The shot to the leg didn’t slow her down as she leaped away over her ice walls.

Toga turned back to his friend, a lopsided grin on his face. “I knew you wouldn’t risk it, buddy.”

“I should have. She got away.”

Now at his side in a flash, Toga clapped a hand on Miya’s shoulder. “You got her in the leg! Without aiming!!”

“I was aiming. For her gut. I missed.”

“But not completely!”

Miya pulled away roughly from his friend and surveyed the damage. “Those nosy people are going to have a coronary when they get word of this.”

“Speaking of, we should get out of here. I’m sure they’re already on their way.”

Toga grabbed Miya by the collar and hoisted them both to another high building; one not destroyed and closer to the scene below. It was a mixture of cops and men in lab coats. Toga didn’t know how much Miya could make out from their distance but he was sure the ones in lab coats were the ones that were at the last mess they made. One in particular was hard to miss; his long black ponytail stood out amongst the others. And he was becoming a constant in their lives.

He was becoming a problem.

“Izayoi, take a look at this for me please.”

Setting down her notes and her pencil, Izayoi straightened her lab coat as she made her way to her colleague’s microscope. Quickly, she pulled back and tied her long black locks out of her way and leaned over. Her colleague had stepped back out of her way and said nothing; so there was no bias.

“This can’t be right. It appears… deformed.”

“Right? I thought so too!”

Stepping back, Izayoi took the sample’s file and began reading. “It says here it was taken from an incident on fifth and Topsail last night? But it doesn’t say anything about the incident or those involved.”

The woman next to her nodded in silence and Izayoi handed her back the file, hurriedly leaving the lab to the one down and across the hall. The man she was looking for was directing boxes that looked like they were filled with ice of all things. He glanced up at her and quickly signed the form in his hands and pushed the attendant off hurriedly. “Dr. Hime, how are you finding your new lab?”

Izayoi shook her head. “It’s fine, Dr. Setsuna, but I’m here about the samples you sent us?”

“What about them?”

“Well… what are they?!”

He chuckled at her and she felt her blood rise to her temples. “That’s your job to figure out, isn’t it?”

“Sir, all science aside, it’s difficult to ascertain much from a few drops of blood when we know so little about it…”

“Run it through the database and see if you get a match.”

She squeezed the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Izayoi liked her job, she really did, until it started to become some kind of cloak and dagger operation and Takemaru got promoted. “We already did that and it came up with nothing.”

“Of course it did.” Takemaru mused quietly.

“Excuse me?” 

Izayoi’s attention shot up to her boss but he shook his head with a fake smile. “Nothing. Just mark everything that you find in what you have, Izayoi.”

She turned and left quickly; part in frustration but also because it bothered her greatly when Takemaru spoke informally to her. Just because he was her boss now didn’t mean it was appropriate. Quite the opposite. With so much more going on, Izayoi let it go. For now.

Back in her lab and feeling safe, she looked over the blood sample again. Five had been taken and although they all looked the same they had different locations marked in their file. Izayoi looked again, taking the sample her colleague had away from her (and she was gracious to have it off her plate too). Switching back and forth, Izayoi looked over the DNA results again. They were inconclusive; the only recognizable strands reminded her of feline DNA while the rest were mutated or something. But she noticed one thing; although from different locations the blood was from the same person.

“Maybe the cat DNA is the answer?” She asked herself. The lab was empty as Izayoi got lost in her task. 

Even though all the same, she didn’t want to risk any more contamination, taking each sample and amplifying them. Polymerase Chain Reaction took a few hours so Izayoi left for the small cafeteria (more like a break room with a coffee maker and vending machines) for a cup of coffee. She had taken a seat at the small table in the middle when bodies hustled hurriedly past the door.

Leaving her cup behind, Izayoi leapt to her feet and followed as fast as she could behind the small group of overly excited Scientist. They went to the loading bay which was odd in itself. The loading bay was for supplies like chemicals and printing paper. Nothing exciting came through here except when her new genetic analyzer arrived. Izayoi doubted this many were excited over something like that. It was also far too late for a delivery; already nearing ten pm. 

Standing off to the side, she hid as she watched the large armored car as it backed into the loading dock. A few men in police uniform hopped out; Izayoi’s confusion and curiosity increased at the sight. One opened the back doors while the other stood right behind, his weapon up and armed. 

Everything that Izayoi could have possibly imagined dropped to the floor and shattered as a man walked off the truck. His long silver hair was pulled back and swung as he looked around at the group of men that surrounded him. It was pretty.

Izayoi shook her head of the thought, focusing on the man. His red jacket and dark jeans hid his body from her but he looked normal otherwise. He had drawn purple streaks on his face just under his eyes for some reason. She couldn’t see his eyes from where she hid or make out many details of his face but the purple was hard to miss. 

Her eyes traveled down to his hands; cuffed in front of him. He had long, sharp looking nails. And they looked thick and dangerous even from a distance. Her thoughts were interrupted when the man lifted his joined wrists and held his hands up. Everyone jumped except her as she watched with rapt attention; intrigued to just what the man was going to say.

“I come in peace.”

Her eyes rolled instantly and she let out a loud huff. What the hell was this guy even doing here? And why was the staff of Takemaru’s lab about to wet themselves with excitement?

She hadn’t seen him the entire time, too focused on the ‘specimen’ on the truck, but now Takemaru stood before the strange man with a wicked looking grin. He looked over the man in cuffs but said nothing to him, turning to his men who salivated behind. “Take him to the lab.”

They didn’t take the usual hallway. Instead they took the man the back way designed for deliveries. Izayoi stepped back and completely out of sight; sneaking down the hall and back to her lab. When the noise from Takemaru’s lab reached hers, she slowly left hers again and snuck down the hall. When she peeked inside, there was nothing out of the ordinary so she straightened herself and walked right in. Only to be stopped by Takemaru.

“Dr. Hime? What are you doing here?”

“I work here.” She said plainly. “I’m still working on those samples you gave me…”

“Oh there’s no rush. You don’t need to worry about them anymore.” He said, waving a hand at her like it was no big deal.

“I don’t need to worry?! Sir, I spent all day running them. I’m not about to drop them…”

“Fine, Izayoi, you do what you need to. In your lab.”

He was kicking her out and she resisted the urge to run from the informality; stretching on her toes to look around him instead. “Did you get a new project?”

Takemaru swayed and moved in her way more, blocking her view completely from spying the back of his lab. “It’s ‘need to know’.”

Izayoi seethed. Ever since Takemaru got promoted (over her) he acted like it was some kind of ‘boy’s club’. That’s what it was, all the men in the room moving around without issue while she was stuck in the doorway. She was sure that was how Takemaru got promoted instead of herself. Even with a few women on the board it was very much a ‘man’s world’ in the lab as of late. As much as it pissed her off they did give her a nice raise. And she loved her work as well as those who worked in her lab. 

She would put up with it for now until a better offer came along. As it stood, this was the only lab in town that could handle her caliber of study. Didn’t mean she had to pretend she was okay with it, huffing as she turned on her heel. “Whatever, Dr. Setsuna. Enjoy your new toy.”

Let them think they’re keeping their secrets. Izayoi was sure she would figure them out soon. She hated secrets. Secrets and liars her two main pet peeves. It was the reason she became a scientist. To discover all the secrets the world held and to uncover any lies. This was all just another mystery for her to unravel.

And unravel, she would.

[sagedgeek]

Acceptance

Part 5 of The Whispers of Fate (A Rey Djarin fic)

Summary: Din learns the importance of his new responsibilities, and finds it’s creating an unwanted conflict in him regarding the fate of his new bounty. Meanwhile, Rey’s beginning to feel the concealed aftershocks of the child’s latest display of his abilities and it creates a surprising tension in their relationship.

Rating: Gen (Platonic)

Word Count: 4.6k

Previous Chapter ~ Masterlist ~ Next Chapter

After his rather unpleasant runin with the mudhorn, Din finds himself at the peak of exhaustion. His armor has been wrecked and he can feel the heat of bruises beginning to swelter along his back and arms. But he’s satisfied and relieved that he survived, and the children made it out relatively unharmed. Physically speaking at least.

The baby saved him, using some sort of sorcery to lift the 20-ton beast right off its feet. It had drained the child of all his energy and he still lay there dozing quietly in the pram floating alongside them like all life had been sucked from his tiny body. It was proving to be rather worrying, considering the kid still hadn’t shown any signs of waking up after several hours of travelling. Din tells himself the worry he feels is just a matter of earning less pay for not bringing the promised bounty in alive, but he’s never been all that great of a liar. Even when he first encountered the child in that bunker, he’s felt conflicted. He’d never encountered a bounty quite like him and it fed into the culturally ingrained partiality he holds towards children. Children were sacred. And now… after he quite literally owes his life to the small thing, there’s a sense of honor and duty aggravating the conflict.

So, he refuses to acknowledge it, preferring to condition his feelings as he would for a simple business transaction, because that’s all it was. There was no attachment necessary; child or not. This was a bounty.

But then he looks down at Rey, sitting beside him on the trunk, and he feels a sharp twist of guilt in his chest which causes him to stir uncomfortably in his seat.

She’d fallen quiet ever since the incident, silently staring out at the desert landscape through the orange tint of her visor as she again wore the oversized helmet on her head. Her clothes were crusted in dried mud, as was her face beneath the helmet, and some had even dried in her hair, but he knew that wasn’t what was bothering her. She’d been radiating a nervous energy ever since the incident, and she was skittish. Din never thought he would see the day where he witnessed the strong and eager young girl to act so shy and hesitant, continuously toying with the folds of his cloak that she’d gathered in her lap. She refused to speak or meet anyone’s gaze despite Kuiil’s numerous attempts to coax her into a conversation.

Din has seen this happen before… she was in shock. His near miss with the wooly beast had startled her, and she’d been in hysterics at his side trying to pull him away from its corpse after he’d driven his vibroblade into its meaty neck. And she damn near devolved into a sobbing fit when he told her he had to go back in that cave to retrieve the egg for the Jawas. She refused to stray more than even a foot from his side, practically glued to his hip as they had walked, and even now as they sat on the drag trailer led by Kuiil and his blurg, they sat hip to hip.

He never should have allowed her to convince him into letting her tag along.

The heavy silence continued to follow them on their journey and neither child looked to be snapping out of their trances anytime soon. Once the sun began to set and they’d been travelling for a good few hours, it was easy to see Rey was finally beginning to fall prey to her exhaustion. She swayed from side to side, eyes blinking lethargically as she continued to nod herself back awake. Din looked at the other kid then, still sleeping peacefully in his pram, deciding to check on him and let Rey succumb to her sleepiness in her own time.

“Is it still sleeping?” Kuiil asked.

The question peaked Rey’s attention and she quickly blinked awake to turn and look over at the baby floating along on Din’s other side.

“Yes,” Din responds, reaching out to grab for the cradle. He adjusts one of the blankets while he’s at it, then pulls back before he could do any more.

“Was it injured?”

Rey turns her head up to look up at him, eyes red and wide with question.

“I don’t think so. Not physically.”

“Is he going to be okay?” Rey squeaks, speaking up for the first time since they’d left the Jawas. She drops his cloak and lays her palm on his leg with a question in her eyes. And Din places his gloved hand atop of hers to offer a small pat of reassurance.

He found that he didn’t like it when she was scared or upset. Particularly when it was his fault.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Kuill answered for him when Din hesitated to answer her. “Explain it to me again… I still don’t understand what happened.”

“Neither do I.” He mutters.

He turns back to Rey, and she’s staring down at her lap now, where his cloak remained draped over her legs like a blanket. Her eyes drooped once more and he could see the tears trailing down her face through her visor, which had cleared a path through the dried dirt on her cheeks.

“Why don’t you get some rest, kid.” He told her. He thought she would fight him, but she didn’t. She just turns over her palm beneath his and grabs his hand, gripping two of his larger fingers in her fist tightly as she shuffles even closer. He glances down at their hands and his head cocks slightly to the side in confusion. Her helmet hits against the metal of his armor with a sharp click, and she grunts as she tries to situate herself in a position that wasn’t uncomfortable while wearing the helmet. Then he feels the soft weight of her head press against his upper arm as she lies against the dirty fabric of his tunic sleeve just beneath his right pauldron. Din could feel the warmth radiate from her tiny body and he knew this time she wasn’t sitting close just because she was cold…

So, he curled his other fingers loosely around her smaller ones, thumb gently stroking back and forth over the back of her mud-stained hand.

She made a soft contented noise, which near startled him, but then she sagged against him with relief and immediately her breathing evened out to small puffs, and just like that she was asleep.

He waited for a few more moments just to make sure she was asleep before he so much as twitched, body stiff and tense in his uncertainty. And when nothing terrible happened he relaxed, easing the tension in his shoulders. Then he reached over with his left arm to pull her a little closer so she wouldn’t end up slipping off the crate. When he did this, she jostled just a bit and he froze in place while she shifted against him. She ended up pulling her knees up towards her chest and turning further into him, but otherwise she remained asleep. The bend of her knees draping over one of his legs.

Her neck was bent at an odd angle, so he reaches up slowly to remove the large helmet from her head, setting it aside so she could rest comfortably without it. He pushes back the mess of hair that’s disrupted once he removes it, clearing it out of her face with gentle fingers and he moves his arm to wrap it around her back as her head falls into the crevice of his arm. He tells himself it’s just a matter of making her more comfortable or preventing her from slipping off the swaying sled as she slept, but he knew better. A primal sense of protectiveness flushed through him, and whether it was misdirected worry for the baby in the pram, or just the inevitable development of adoration he felt for his new Foundling, he couldn’t tell. All he knows is now there’s something new here besides the sense of duty to his creed.

He’s spent his life following that call of his creed. Every decision and whim, every choice he’s had to make and everything he’s ever learned has been in an effort to fulfill his duty to his tribe and the Mandalorian creed. There’s never been anything else, or anything more. He wears his armor, he speaks the language, and he provides for his tribe. He sacrificed the menial appeals of living to lead a life of honor and order. He’s always prepared to die, walking into every battle or conflict knowing that only two outcomes will ever come out of it. He’ll win… or he’ll die. And he’s always been at peace with knowing that one day his life will end by satisfying the wish of every Mandalorian; the honor of a warriors death. He’s come close more times than he could count, and never had It fazed him to dread over what ‘could have been’ if he hadn’t sensed the knife aimed at his back, or the sniper lurking along the dark roofs through the night. He was prepared to die at every moment… yet this time was different … For the first time, he was tempted to run away. He was afraid. His hand had shook as he lifted his blade and, kriff Rey’s screams called out for him to run, to move, to do anything but kneel there and wait for death.

And Maker he was tempted. He didn’t want to die; not yet. Not now that he has something new to live for, but he never lowered the damn blade.

Then the kid saved him… And Rey ran to him, collapsing right on top of his body to cling to him as she sobbed, tugging and pulling at his arm and clothes in an attempt to move him away from the downed creature.

She worried for him. And she trusted him-- depended on him to protect her and take care of her. It was a startling realization he came to while he lifted her the best he could and limped away from the corpse because she refused to let go. He’s been alone for so long; he hadn’t encountered these things so potently since he was a child… before the Mandalorians, and even then he was the one who depended on his parents and, later, the Mandalorians. Sure, the tribe depended on him to bring back currency and other essentials to survive in the covert, and they worried for his safety, but none would bat an eye at another loss to add to the long list of dead warriors written along the hall of memories of Mandalor.

And now he sees her here, sitting beside him, looking to him for comfort and trusting he will watch over her as she slept. It provoked an instinctive blaze of determination in his belly that had not been there before, and he holds her closer.

He can sense Kuiil staring back at him, and he looks up to lock his gaze with the Ugnaught.

“She told me your story.” He says, turning back to face the path. “It is surprising to see such a strong attachment after only a few days.”

Din nods his head, looking out at the horizon as the sun finally slips past the orange rocks. “My tribe said the same about her.”

Kuiil pauses. “… I was not speaking about her… she is a child; it is expected. Yet you… a Mandalorian of your nature? Now that is a surprise… and yet you do not tell her you are as her father?”

Din stiffens slightly in his seat. It’s a notion he hasn’t acknowledged since the kid had been pushed into his care. It was one thing to be a caretaker, another thing entirely to be a father.

“I’m not… on either counts.”

“But she is your Foundling?”

“I am not her father. She has a family that I’ve promised her I’d look for.”

“Do you intend to?”

“Yes.”

Kuill turns back around to look at him, then nods towards the pram floating alongside him. “And what of that one?”

“What about it?” Din growls.

“According to your creed… he is a Foundling as well. Is he not?”

And that was exactly the line of thinking Din had been refusing to trail down.

“It is also according to my creed to honor my word and provide for my tribe. This child is a bounty, and will bring honor and resources back to the Mandalorians… I already have one too many Foundlings as is.”

“Well, honor your word you must,” Kuiil mutters. “I have spoken.”

***

Rey proved to be an invaluable asset in rebuilding the Crest.

Din hadn’t intended to wake her when they came upon the ship. He had laid her down on the trunk and draped his cloak over her as a blanket, but soon the loud clang of metal woke her from her slumber, and she was insistent on helping.

Her understanding for such a young child was impressive. Of course, there were several holes in her overall knowledge which she would get frustrated by, but Kuiil was there to patiently walk her through whatever it was she struggled with. She sat right beside him on the ground, leaning against the Ugnaught as she watched him explain and rewire the device in his lap. Din watches them as discretely as he could, happy to find that Rey found a friend she trusted and admired.

That’s when he decides he needs to accept every aspect of this new responsibility. Protecting her from the dangers of the galaxy isn’t his only job… it’s also his job to teach her about the universe, the different languages and cultures, and the history of his own people. She needs training on how to defend herself, and how to survive when he’s no longer around for her to depend on. So many things… but he thinks this particular interest of hers is a good place to start. Kuiil was much more knowledgeable regarding mechanics, but Din knew enough, and he intended to teach Rey whatever it was she wanted to know. And if he couldn’t provide the knowledge… then he’d do his best to find someone that could. The kid was smart and had so much potential. He didn’t want her to be held back because of him.

Soon they’re all three standing in the threshold of the hull, the closed pram parked snuggly near the ladder rungs, and Rey has Kuiil wrapped up in a tight hug. The Ugnaught gladly hugs her back just as tightly.

“I wish you would come with us.” She mutters into his cowl after he turned down Din’s offer.

“Don’t fret child. I’m sure we will see each other again.” He holds her by the shoulders and pulls her back so he can look down at her. “I hope you find whatever it is you are looking for and know you will always have a place to stay if you ever find your way back here.”

She nods sadly. “I’ll miss you though.”

“Don’t waste your woes missing me little one. You have a long life of adventure awaiting you, and there is no need to look back. One day you shall return, and we will pick up where we left off, there will be nothing to miss, only something to look forward to.”

Rey’s nose puckers cutely. “I’ll still miss you though.”

Kuiil chuckles and Din smirks beneath the helmet. “And I, you.”

He looks up at Din. “Take good care of her Mandalorian,” then he looks back down to Rey, “and you take care of him. He will need you more than you think.”

He lets go of Rey, giving her a gentle nudge closer to Din, and he lifts a hand to rest on her shoulder as they watch Kuiil leave. He gives Rey one last wave and walks down the ramp, mounting his blurg.

“Good luck with the child,” he says with a final wave to Din. “May it survive and bring you and your tribe a handsome reward… I have spoken.”

Din nods goodbye, and Rey’s left arm rises to wave at him enthusiastically.

The ramp slowly rises at Din’s command from his vambrace, and he uses the hand on her shoulder to steer her towards the ladder rungs leading up to the cockpit. The pram follows them up, and he situates it in the seat opposite where Rey usually sat.

The girl was at the control panel, peering out the viewport, down to Kuiil who was waving up at her with a smile on his face.

“Take a seat,” Din tells her, as he begins powering up the engines.

She does as he says and scrambles for her seat, eager to help with liftoff, which mostly consisted of pressing a few buttons and flipping a few switches that didn’t do much of anything Din couldn’t do himself up front, but it kept her happy and satisfied her eagerness to help fly the ship.

From what he’s seen though, she’s good at following instructions which is a very important skill in his opinion, and she knows her fair share of ship mechanics, so he makes a bit of a spontaneous decision that he’ll know he’ll grow to regret.

Maker knows she’ll never leave him alone about it after this.

“Would you like to pilot the ship?” He asks her, tilting his head to the side just a bit in acknowledgement.

She jumps from her seat with a wide grin on her face. And Din was happy to see that her worry and fear seemed to be gone and she was back to her happy, hyper self. “Really?!”

He nods, a small smirk growing beneath his helmet. He pats his leg in invitation.

She jumps at the opportunity, rushing up to his side. She just about launches herself into his lap, but then hesitates after she has both hands braced against the metal plate on his thigh. She looks up at him nervously, like she was making sure she had permission.

“C’mon,” Din coaxed gently. He grabs her arm and lifts, helping her climb onto his knee.

She knew quite a bit already, but Din still walked her through the process and kept a steadying hand on the yoke and throttle as she lifted the ship off the ground. It was a bit of a shaky start, but Din couldn’t really expect anything more of her when she’s had little to no practice. Once they were in the air, hovering slightly above the muddy ground beneath the ship, she grinned, waving at Kuiil again to show off what she was doing, but Din quickly grabbed her hand and guided it back down.

“Don’t take your hands off the controls, kid. Don’t need you to crash once we just fixed her.”

“Oops, sorry.” She apologized, gripping the control in both hands again.

The ride was still a little bumpy as she guided them out of the atmosphere, even with Din’s help, but otherwise it was pretty damn good for her first try. Of course, he won’t be letting her fly on her own anytime in the near future, but with some practice and some time she’ll make a mighty fine pilot. He’s sure of that.

He sets the coordinates and soon they’re cruising in the right direction.

“Why don’t you go down to the hull and get cleaned up?” He suggests to Rey, already beginning to lift her off his lap. “I’ll come down and prepare food, then you should get some sleep. It’s been a long couple days.”

“I’m not tired anymore though!” She exclaimed. Her feet hit the floor as he places her down and she grunts in irritation.

Din knows better.

“You need to sleep.” He argues.

“But I wanna play with the baby when he wakes up!”

Din stands. He towers over her in the small space. He doesn’t mean to, but he does.

“He’s not waking up anytime soon. Now it’s time for bed.”

“Can’t I at least say goodnight?”

Din nods and waits for her. Rey approaches the pram, grasping the sides of the round cradle as she tries to rock him awake.

“Baby,” she whispers softly, “Baby.” She frowns and reaches out to touch him. “Are you sure he’s okay?” She asks Mando with a worried crease between her brows.

Her palm rests for just a moment over the baby’s forehead and Din hears her gasp sharply in terror. He stumbles forward a couple steps in worry, trying to find the danger that had her so panicked.  

“What? What is it?!”

Her hand doesn’t move; she doesn’t move. Her face is partially concealed by the dimness in the cabin, but her eyes are open wide and welling with tears, the stars and tiny lights reflecting almost perfectly in the dark. Din reaches out to touch her, but as soon as he does she snaps her hand away from the pram, cradling it against her chest like it’d been burned. She breathed heavy and stumbled backwards as quickly as she could manage without tearing her fearful eyes from the baby. She collides right into him.

“What’s wrong?” He still didn’t know what had happened, and now Rey began to cry, full with ugly sobs and strained keens of fear. She turns abruptly and reaches her arms up in the air towards him, eyes squeezed shut as the tears leaked from them.

Din doesn’t know why he thinks to do it, or why he does, but he lifts her off the ground by the underarms and holds her against his chest. “What is it? What happened?” He asks again. He didn’t like not knowing what was bothering her so severely. Had the baby hurt her with his sorcery? Was it something else in the cradle that she had touched? Was it the baby himself?

He frowned and looked over at the child in the pram. He didn’t look to have any thorns or quills… but Din had only ever touched him with gloved hands so he couldn’t have known.

Her arms begin to wrap around his neck, but he grabs the hand that had touched the baby and pulled it around so he could examine it for any wounds or lingering slivers.

There was nothing.

Maybe the baby’s skin was poisonous to the touch… he’s seen it before… but hadn’t Rey touched him before now? And, again, there was no rash or inflammation on her hand. Then again, it was dark.

He was helpless with no clue as to what had Rey so upset.

He soothed his thumb over the unharmed skin and turned his head to turn his gaze back onto the sobbing girl. He lifted his hand to clear away the loose hair that had matted to her face due to the tears, and when he pulls his hand away her arms loop around his neck and her face drops into his cowl. He braces one hand against her back, completely clueless.

“Why did he make me see that?” She sobbed into his collar.

“See what?”

“I don’t know! T-That!” She emphasizes, “An-and now I feel weird and hurted all at the same time!”

Din frowns then looks down at the baby. He reaches beneath the rim of his helmet and tugs off his glove with his teeth then reaches out to place a few fingers on the baby’s forehead.

Nothing.

“Where does it hurt?”

“Everywhere!” She curls further into him, grunting in discomfort as she shifts to try and get situated against his cuirass. Now, unwrapping her arms from around his neck to clamp her hands over her ears and whine.

“Ok, well let’s go down and get cleaned up, and I’ll check you out, alright?”

She nods but doesn’t relinquish her hold where she’d wrapped her legs around his waist tight to compensate for the lack of her arms around his neck. So he carries her down the ladder and bends down to place her on her feet in front of the fresher. It takes some coaxing and a few minutes for her to calm down, but soon she’s apologizing and wiping her tears away quickly before disappearing behind the door.

She comes out with freshly cleaned hair, looking down at her hands. She sits down on a crate he pulled out for her across from his, and she held out her hand towards him, palm up, to examine.

He takes it gently and looks closer for any sign of injury or inflammation that he might have missed in the dim lighting earlier.

“It doesn’t hurt no more. Just tingles a little. An-and I feel weird.”

He drops her hand and holds out the small plate he prepared for her, consisting of some jerky and freeze-dried greens he’d stocked up on last he was on Nevarro.

“Weird how?”

She shrugs and gnaws on the jerky. “I don’t know. It makes me feel all floaty,” she places a hand over her stomach, “but in a nice way, but also bad.”

And that didn’t make a lick of sense. So, Din just sighs, writing off the incident as a minor accident.

He notices she’s staring at him.

“You’re hungry,” she states definitively, tilting her head slightly to the side then holding out her half-eaten piece of jerky.

As endearing as it was for her to constantly try and care for him by offering portions of her food, he holds up his palm to decline and begins to stand. “I’m fine. You finish eating and go to bed.”

“Are you going to bed too?”

“No,” he shakes his head.

And she stands from her crate with a frustrated guffaw. “But you’re tired and hungry! You gotta sleep.”

Din mutters in frustration, because, yes, he was well aware that he was tired and hungry, but there was a time and place for everything and now wasn’t the time to rest or eat. Not for him at least. For her, it was most definitely bedtime as soon as she finished her meal.

“I’m not hungry or tired. I’m perfectly fine.”

“You are! I can feel it!” She continues to object with a sharp glare.

Din sighs and gently takes the now empty plate from her hands and guides her towards her blanket nest.

“Well, you continue feeling whatever it is you want, but for now you need to rest.” She grumbles something nonsensical as she crawls beneath the covers he was holding up for her.

“You’re stressed. What are we doing tomorrow? Is it dangerous?”

Din sighs and situates the covers beneath her chin. “You are filled with many assumptions this evening, aren’t you?”

She stares up at him, waiting for a proper answer and he relents. “I’ll tell you what we’re doing when the time comes. Now… go to sleep.” He places his hand over her entire face in an effort to silence her and make her close her eyes, but she only giggles. He might huff out a small laugh too after he removed his hand to reveal her wide eyes staring up at him in delight and her grinning mouth, but no one needed to know.

He turned out the lights and headed back up to the cockpit, only to find the baby had awoken. The baby stares at him and watches closely as Din takes his seat.

“Nice to see you’re still alive, kid.”

~ Next Chapter ~

A/N: Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts :)

[alit0my]

prompt, if you'd be so kind: remember the scene where booker found out andy is mortal and freaked out? let's say she got her immortality back somehow, but booker is still TERRIFIED that her, joe, nicky or nile will lose their immortality and die. and one time on a mission either joe or nicky get shot and the wound oozes blood like crazy and booker completely panics and freaks out that he doesn't even notice that the wound is already closing? and the team has to calm him down?

okay so this has been sitting in my asks for a while so im sorry, also im sorrynotsorry i made this OT3 bc i lowkey wanted it to be and you didnt say otherwise xD hope you like it!

~

As sniper, Nicky was usually away from the gunfire, keeping watch over the team as they infiltrated the buildings that contained the bad guys. Usually, he had one of the team beside him being his spotter so he could focus on aiming and pulling the trigger, - taking someone’s life for the betterment of the world - but not for this mission. An uncanny amount of guards were reported to be inside this particular encampment, meaning that the others had to be on the inside while Nicky and his scope patrolled the perimeters. 

Meaning he was also unprotected from most angles, his only cover being his all-black clothing and tactical gear. 

~

This particular mission required a certain amount of stealth, and Booker felt out of place. Being the tallest and biggest in build out of the team, he couldn’t help but feel like he would screw this up. Arguing that he should be with Nicky as his spotter to stay out of the way, Andy gave him this look that would have terrified a normal being, but Booker’s been on the end of those looks for over two hundred years now. 

So now here he was, sleuthing his way into the building alongside Joe feeling unsure of himself and also worrying about Nicky. Theoretically and practically, Booker knows that Nicky has enough experience in the field that he can look after himself, but he just had this feeling that would not leave him. 

“Stop thinking too loud,” Joe murmured as he sidled up to the corner, peeking his head around the wall to look for guards. “Nicky will be fine.” 

“I know that,” Booker huffed, tugging his beanie more securely over his head. “I don’t like it when he doesn’t have cover, and this is the worst mission for me to be on.”

Joe quickly drew his suppressed weapon and fired a few shots, dropping three guards at the end of the hall before turning back to Booker, cupping the back of his neck and tracing lightly over the skin behind his ear with his thumb. “Book, Nicky will be alright. He’s gone solo before, so calm down and focus. He’ll be waiting for us when we get out of here.” 

Booker sucked in a breath and nodded, mustering up the confidence to continue on and not let his worry get the better of him. “Alright, sorry. Let’s go.”

Joe grinned and removed his hand from Booker’s neck before raising his weapon once more. They moved in silence until they met up with Andy, Nile, and Quynh, who had already dispatched the head of the organisation and were rifling through the papers that scattered the room. Exhaling but not relaxing, Booker took guard at the door while the others took photos and filed away any useful information they could find. The feeling of unrest was sitting deep inside his gut, and would not leave him no matter what he told himself. 

“Are we done?” Booker asked gruffly, shifting his gun. Joe glanced at Andy before shaking his head slightly, walking over to the Frenchman and placing his hand on his shoulder. 

“Do you want to go back to Nicky? The girls can finish up here,” Joe asked, smiling when Booker nodded. Squeezing his shoulder, Joe picked up his own gun and turned towards Andy who was already looking at him. “We’ll meet you at Nicky’s post.” 

She smirked, shuffling some papers so they were neat and placing them in a separate pile to the others. “Don’t get distracted on the way.” 

Booker was already out the door when Joe turned around, and he rolled his eyes fondly at the Frenchman. Jogging lightly to catch up, he took Booker’s hand to slow the man down. 

“Book,” Joe whispered as he tugged, forcing Booker to a stop. “What’s gotten you so worked up tonight?” 

“I just have a bad feeling,” Booker mumbled, looking away. “I don’t think I’m over what happened with Andy.” 

“That was twenty years ago, Andy is fine now you know that,” Joe reasoned as they continued their walk, not wanting to get caught. He watched as Booker struggled to find his words, so he simply squeezed the man’s hand gently. “It’s alright to be worried though. I don’t want you to think that I’m putting you down for feeling like this.” 

“No, it’s fine,” Booker replied as they neared the exit. “I know that Andy is okay and I know we don’t know why she regained her immortality-” 

“Get down!” Joe said suddenly in a low, harsh tone, pulling Booker by the arm out the exit and towards cover. Crouching down behind a dumpster, they listened intently as the gravel road crunched under tyres and then under boots. Booker checked his mag for ammo and reloaded, handing Joe one knowing he was empty as well. 

“How many?” Booker whispered. 

“At least five, we can take them out easily,” Joe replied, peeking his head out to double check. “Three are heading for the door, two are still on the other side of the car.” 

Booker nodded and they waited, watching the three guards walk towards the entrance. Joe made a signal and they set off, Booker heading towards the trio of guards with his gun raised and Joe sneaking around the car, slicing down the guard with his scimitar. Shooting the members of the group another two times each to ensure their lives were now in the hands of the ferryman, Booker turned and glanced at Joe who looked lost. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“There’s only one over here. I’m missing the other,” Joe replied, turning to his lover who glanced up to Nicky’s post. Frowning, Booker slung his rifle to his back and started running towards the hill, ensuring to stay hidden and keeping his eyes and ears out as this lone enemy was nowhere to be seen. 

And that terrified Booker. 

With Joe right behind him, they reached Nicky’s post just in time to spot the gun poking out from the bushes, time frozen as the shot went off and hit Nicky in the neck. Booker screamed and ran to Nicky as Joe shot the assailant multiple times, emptying the clip in the rifle and returning to where Nicky was set up to find Booker frantically shrugging off his jacket and pressing it to Nicky’s neck with shaky hands. 

“Non, non, non, non, Nicky! Allez, non! S'il vous plaît!” Booker choked back a sob and watched as his jacket soaked up the blood. Fuck. That was a lot of blood. Too much blood. Booker knew that was too much blood. His eyes were bleary with tears as he kept pressure on Nicky’s neck, not registering that the bleeding had ceased, nor the words coming from Joe’s mouth. 

“Book! Booker!” Joe gently pulled the man into his arms, wrapping them around the Frenchman as he shook with tears, the pair falling backwards. “Sebastien! Look, he’s fine. He’s fine.” 

Booker sobbed and shook his head. There was so much blood gushing out of Nicky’s neck, and he couldn’t handle the possibility of losing Nicky, not now. With his eyes closed and leaning heavily against Joe, who was running his hand up and down Booker’s bicep to calm him, the Frenchman failed to notice Nicky suck in a breath and groan, a hand reaching up to trace the skin that had been penetrated by the bullet. 

“Nicolo,” Joe whispered to his lover as he sat up. Nicky frowned at the sight of Booker breaking down so catastrophically and crawled his way over to the pair, removing the firearms and taking the Frenchman’s hand. 

“Sebastien,” he spoke, voice cracking. He reached up to the man’s face and wiped away the tears that fell down his cheeks. “Sebastien, open your eyes for me.” 

Nothing was registering in Booker’s mind. He could faintly hear voices and feel himself against a hard body, but he was so overcome with grief for Nicky to notice the man sitting right in front of his face, watching as he sobbed his eyes out. 

“What happened, Yusuf?” Nicky whispered as he began to remove the bulkier items on Booker’s person, gently pulling the beanie off the man’s head. “Why..?” 

“I don’t know. He’s been worried about you the entire time we were inside,” Joe replied and ran his fingers through Booker’s now free hair, gently pressing a kiss to the man’s head. Nicky frowned and turned his attention back to Booker, who’s tears had stopped streaming down his face. Cupping the man’s face once more and wiping away the salty tear tracks, Nicky leaned in close and pressed their foreheads together, noting the shakiness that radiated off the other man. 

“Sebastien, come back to us,” Nicky whispered. “I am fine, I am alive. You need to calm yourself, Booker. Please.” 

They sat there for a while, so long in fact that the others had caught up to them. Booker had only just stopped shaking uncontrollably, and had cracked his eyes open slightly. Sucking in a breath, he pulled away from Nicky’s embrace and did a double take before surging forward and wrapping his arms around the Genoan, hugging him tight and letting out a strained laugh. 

“Hey, Book,” Nicky smiled and pressed a kiss to the man’s temple. “It’s alright, I’m alright.” 

“I thought- I thought-,” Booker mumbled, slightly panicky. He pulled away slowly and looked down, embarrassed. “I’m sorry.” 

“Nonsense,” Joe whispered from behind him, the steady wall keeping Booker from completely falling backwards. “Do you want to talk about it?” 

At the shake of Booker’s head, Nicky slowly moved away and started to pack up his sniper rifle, making sure to keep within vision of the pair. Turning to the women who had given them some privacy, he signalled that they were good to go and he helped Booker to his feet, together they collected the items that had been stripped off the Frenchman, including the bloodied jacket that was by his post. 

The entire walk to the getaway car was silent bar Joe softly whispered confirmations into Booker’s ear and Nicky humming in agreement. 

They had to have a talk about what just happened but for now, getting to the safehouse was top priority. 

~ 

Booker sat on their large bed wrapped up in his favourite woolen jumper that was stolen from Joe. He played with his shaky fingers absentmindedly, a blank stare on his face as his mind ran rampant. 

He felt foolish at how he overreacted at Nicky being shot. 

Images of Andy bleeding out in Copley’s living room flashed across his vision, the result of a bullet from his own gun. The consequences of that moment still haunted him, and the thought of losing Andy still made his breath hitch. 

Feeling the mattress dip on either side of him pulled Booker out of his thoughts and he glanced up at the pair who had joined him. Joe grabbed his hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a reassuring kiss to Booker’s knuckles, and Nicky ran his fingers through Booker’s freshly washed hair. Each touch made Booker feel grounded and secure and safe and loved. 

“We have to talk about it,” Joe murmured as he faintly brushed his lips over Booker’s knuckles. “But we don’t have to do that now.” 

“No, not right now, please,” Booker replied softly and closed his eyes, leaning into Nicky’s hand massaging his scalp. They maneuvered themselves under the covers with Nicky in the middle at Booker’s insistence, as that way he would be safe. Nicky smiled and shuffled back into Joe’s arms, opening his own for Booker who gladly slotted into them and pressed himself close to his lovers. 

Booker knew he would have to open up to the men about his reaction to Nicky’s death, but for now he was going to hold both of them close and not let go. 

~

AO3 Link 

[jeonggukingdom]

splinters of love • day XXVIII [jjk]

pairing  ⟶ jeon jeongguk x fem!Reader

summary  ⟶ a collection of drabbles (one for each day of April) based on prompts by an online prompts’ generator site. Specifically  ⟶  • day XXVIII ↳ in which Jeongguk finally arrives home incredibly late and finds you asleep on top of the covers, completely naked.

genre  ⟶ smut, fluff?

rating  ⟶  18+

word count ⟶ 1.899 words

warnings  ⟶ graphic depictions of sexual intercourse, dirty talk, oral sex (receiving), jeongguk calling you a dirty little girl, and a naughty one... because I need that in my life, don’t judge me.

series masterlist  ⟶ here  (links on mobile may not work, if you’re looking for all the works in this series, you can click on the “!splintersoflove” tag and you’ll find them all there!)

He didn’t believe there were things worse than staying late at work to finish an assignment in time during the weekend—especially when you had made plans to spend the night watching movies and cuddling—but he was wrong.

Worse than being stuck at work way beyond working hours was being stuck in traffic after that. For two whole hours.

He called, he texted, he apologised and cursed at his luck and his life and even at himself for finishing his work too late.

By the time he got out of his car, walked the stairs to your shared apartment and let himself in, he was positively exhausted and fed up.

It didn’t come as a surprise to him that you were nowhere to be seen, that the house was held in darkness and that he couldn’t ear a single sound coming from any of the rooms.

You were probably asleep, he concluded while removing his jacket and hastily getting rid of his tie to finally breathe in more comfortably and let his body relax.

He walked through the apartment making sure to be as silent as possible not to disturb you and a little smile painted on his lips at the thought of catching fast asleep on your bed with that adorable pout on your lips.

The thought of you always made him feel warm and giddy inside, even after so many years together.

His fingers touched the wooden surface of the door, they slightly pressed on it until it started moving and the smile deepened on his lips as the warm light of the abat-jour filtered through the crack.

You had fallen asleep with the light still on.

Guilt tugs at his heartstrings at the thought of you waiting for him for so long even though you were probably just as tired as him after a long day at work similar to his very own.

Those thoughts though are quickly swept away by what his eyes meet next.

There you are, peacefully asleep on the covers but unlike his predictions, you are completely bare.

Jeongguk gulps down at the sight of you like this, naked and waiting for his return with the evident desire of feeling him between your legs.

His mouth runs dry, his eyes fixed on the supple curves of your body as the desire of touching you, savouring you, starts burning him from the inside out.

He steps inside the room slowly, his fingers brushing against the edge of the bed as he walks towards you with a little devilish grin on his thin lips.

His digits brush against your naked calves and you stir in your slip, emit a hum that kind of sounds like his name but do not crack your eyes open which makes him chuckle under his breath.

“You waited for me naked all this time and now what? You’re just going to sleep?”

He tilts his head a little to the side while his fingers move against your skin and inch upwards until he is grasping one of your thighs to pull it a little to the side so that he can bask in the sight of your naked sex completely exposed to his eager eyes.

Your lips form a deep pout and in any other occasion Jeongguk would deem it quite adorable but right now, his mind is foggy with desire and impatience drives his every movement.

His breath hits your face as he brushes his nose against yours ever so slightly while calling your name.

The sound is soft and sweet like honey in your ear while his hand turns rougher around your naked flesh.

A jolt of electricity runs through your body then, goosebumps gather on the flesh and your eyes open to fix inside his impossible onyx gaze.

“Baby,” you coo, your voice still thick with sleep and Jeongguk smiles at you, sweetly pecks your lips while his fingers inch even upward to slightly brush against your core.

You shiver at the sudden touch, sigh at the way he looks down at you with utter desire and his lips turn into a smirk once more.

“What a dirty little girl, waiting for me all naked on our bed,” he muses to himself and you feel heat rush to your cheeks at the pet name—which he knows way too well to be your absolute weakness.

“Did you touch yourself while you were waiting for me?”

“A little,” you admit before biting your bottom lip to further provoke him.

It works. It always does.

“So naughty,” he rasps out before licking his lips while his eyes travel from your face to the treasure hidden right between your lovely legs, “And what were you thinking about while doing it, mh?”

“You.”

“Me?” He tilts his head to the side, amused, “Doing what? Tell me.”

You gulp down heavily, emit a little sigh recoiling the memory of your deep fantasies and how real they almost felt while your hand was brushing against your sensitive bud.

“Tasting me,” you whimper out as you spread your legs wider for him in a silent beg for him to show you just how lacking your imagination is compared to the real deal.

“Is that so?” He breathes out as he ever so slowly climbs onto the bed. His body fits perfectly between your legs, his hands on either side of your face as he languidly kisses your mouth.

Your eyes close, your mouth parts for him and in an instant, you are melting into him, your heart beating frantically between your lungs and arousal growing right between your legs.

Your hands tug on his hair a little until he grunts for you, the sound blissful to your ears.

He doesn’t utter a single word as he pulls back from your lips and you watch him with rapt eyes as he slowly descends until his head is lodged right between your legs.

His eyes are fixed on you, his lips barely a few inches away from your core and the sight of him like this is already enough to have your back arching towards the ceiling and your hands grasping the sheets.

A knowing smirk stretches his lips to the side and as you heavily gulp down, his devilish tongue darts out of his mouth to get its first taste of you.

The contact is short but blissful and it has your throat running dry, your eyes closing and your mouth begging for more.

His fingers wrap around your thighs, dig into the flesh in a way that is bound to leave some marks and then, he is tasting every little inch of your core, lapping at your folds, sucking around the little bud.

It’s pure heaven.

You call his name in soft whimpers as arousal mixes with his saliva rendering your lips deliciously sleek.

He loves the sight of your glistening core, the sound of your sighs and mewls, the sensation of your body thrashing as he ravages you whole.

It is the very idea of having you moaning underneath him as you cum that dictates his every movement and how fervently his tongue laps around your core.

The sound you emit as he moves right between your folds and gets a true taste of you is absolutely delighting and lord, does he want you to do it again, over and over until it is embedded inside his memories forever.

“You feel so good,” you whisper, your voice thick with both excitement and pleasure.

“Do I live up to your imagination?” He asks between your legs, his warm breath making you shiver as it hits the sodden flesh.

His lips wrap around your clit, tug on it until a deep moan erupts from your mouth and your breathing turns heavy.

“You…you are so much better.”

You can’t see the smile full of satisfaction that adorns his lips then but you can almost feel it against your flesh.

Your eyes are closed shut, your hands balled into tight fists around the covers as you tug on them while your back arches even more for him.

It is then that his fingers come out to play, trace your lips ever so slightly while his lips keep torturing your clitoris.

It takes a few desperate whimpers in the form of his name for his digits to move past your lips, plummet right inside of you in a way that has you moaning loudly for him, trashing beneath him.

He loves it, he loves every second of it and he wants more of it. He wants it all, everything you have to give.

His fingers are relentless inside of you, scissoring and curling in time with his suckling atop your mound and the sounds you emit are so lewd they even bring heat to your cheeks.

Sweat glistens on your forehead as your hips start rolling onto his face in the desperate search for more, just more.

One of your hands flies to his hair, grasps the locks and tug on them until he is grunting over and over again adding delicious vibrations to his ministrations.

“Oh… oh!”

The tip of his fingers hits your pleasure spot and your vision turns white, your mouth hangs open as your body starts moving for an entire second with the shock of the sudden wave of pleasure that engulfed it.

You always forget just how good he can make you feel, just how easily he can bring you down and damn, does Jeongguk love to remind you over and over again.

“Right there,” you coo, no, you plea and he listens. Jeon Jeongguk, always the most eager lover.

He aims at that spot hidden deep within you with the precision of a sniper and he hits once, twice, three times, four times, fifty times… damn, you’ve lost count.

“Jeongguk!” The obscene scream that leaves your mouth sends shivers all down his spine, turns his member uncomfortably hard in the confinement of his tight pants and turns him even bolder, desperate even to bring you down.

Your toes curl as he tugs hard on the little bundle of nerves, your vision turns white and your body starts shamelessly quivering beneath him as your orgasm hits you full force.

It comes and it keeps on coming and coming until you are sure the bed covers are beyond salvation, soiled by your juices.

You whimper at the sudden loss of his fingers between you, you whine as his mouth detaches from your core and then you sigh as his lips come crashing down yours into a kiss so fierce it leaves you absolutely breathless.

“If you’re going to welcome me like this every time I’m late after work, I might consider doing it more often,” he speaks those words right inside your ear and you chuckle whilst your arms wrap nicely around his neck to bring him to your lips once more.

You kiss until you cannot breathe anymore, you kiss until your lips are too swollen to keep on going, you kiss until your eyes are closing, you kiss until he is wrapping you in a tight hug and lulling you to sleep and then, when morning comes, it is your lips that wrap around his sex instead to bring him down until his voice turns raw and all he can utter is your name, over and over again.

Copyright © 2020 by jeonggukingdom. All rights reserved. Do not repost, do not steal, do not translate without consent.

[psychedelic-ink]

This is my commission for @smol-fatale ! Sorry for the delay, I had to work on this a bit longer then I anticipated since the ones I wrote before never felt right :’) Thank you so much for commissioning me and letting me post it! I hope you enjoy this!

Pairings: Chiara (OC) x Sanji , Zoro x Sanji (established relationship) , Sanji x Chiara x Zoro (implied) 

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Romance

Word count: 2.5k

Summary: After Chiara sacrifices herself and gets injured, Sanji is angry that she would put herself in harms way without thinking about the consequences. 

Commissions | Ko-Fi

Chiara gritted her teeth as her eyes darted between the marines who surrounded both her and Usopp. Honestly, they were just supposed to get a couple of supplies and return to the ship, it wasn’t supposed to be a life or death situation. Sure, maybe she was over exaggerating, this wasn’t the first time they were surrounded by marines but the amount of the soldiers just seemed to be unend this time. How long were they supposed to fight these fools? 

Quickly her gaze went from the soldiers and to Usopp, she could tell that he was thinking the same thing as her. The sniper sighed and pulled down his goggles. He shot a quick glance at her. 

“Let’s try to make an opening,” he said as he pulled out his trusty slingshot. “And run for it when we do.” 

“Aye aye.” 

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

Chiara groaned as she felt herself being laid on a bed. By the smells alone she could tell that she was in the sick bay. Feeling two hooves holsting her shirt up, Chiara tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was fighting a shit ton of marines with Usopp, then...a bullet shot, but it wasn’t aimed at ther it was aimed at the sniper. 

“What happened, Usopp?” Chopper’s worried voice reached her ears. 

“W-We…” he stuttered, sounding equally distraught. “We were fighting marines, I don’t know how they found us but there were so many of them...one of them fired and she pushed me out of the way.” 

“Did she get cut anywhere, do you know?” 

“It should be just the bullet wound.” 

Oh, so that’s what happened. 

“Alright, you can leave Usopp, I’ll let you guys know when I’m done.” 

Chiara felt Chopper put something plastic over her nose and mouth, her eyes fluttered as she was lulled into a deep slumber. 

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

When Chiara came to her senses, her whole body ached. Tongue sticking to the roof of her mouth, her eyes darted to the bedside table in hopes to find a glass of water. But in addition to finding a pitcher full of crystal clear water, she also found Sanji sitting next to her. He hadn’t noticed that she was awake, his eyes were glued to the side and he was shaking his leg furiously. He bit his bottom lip and Chiata recognized the signs of withdrawal. Has he been here long enough to crave a smoke so bad? 

“Oh you’re awake.” 

Sanji noticed her gaze on the pitcher and quickly filled her a glass of water, he helped her straighten up and placed the glass on her chapped lips. Normally, she would’ve just snatched the glass away from him and done it herself, but her arms felt too weak to actually do such a thing. 

The water was soothing as it went down her throat, with big gulps Chiara finished the glass in seconds. Sanji placed the glass back on the table and held the pitcher. 

“Do you want another glass?” 

“No,thanks.” 

Sanji removed his hand from the pitcher and started to tweak at the ends of his shirt. Chiara could sense something was off, but to be honest something always was off when the two of them were alone. She could tell there was something bothering him, something that he itched to just say. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked instead. 

“Better.” she replied simply. 

“Good.” 

“Just spit it out Sanji.” 

This seemed to take him by surprise. His only visible brow was raised as his eyes widened. The cook sighed and leaned back into the chair, scratching the back of his head, he stared at the ceiling. 

“Why did you jump in front of a bullet?” 

Chiara, her eyebrow raised with visible confusion, shot him a puzzled look. Sanji was unaware of this as he continued to stare at the ceiling, his leg still bobbing up and down. 

“I didn’t jump in front of it just for the fun of it you know,” she replied, slightly agitated. “If I hadn’t done that Usopp would’ve gotten shot.” 

“How is it better if you get shot?” 

Sanji had lowered his gaze back to her. Her eyes were cold and pierced through her. She started to sweat and her pulse quickened. Chiara was surprised that her body reacted so strongly towards a look, especially a look that Sanji gave her. She swallowed. Her mind scanned along all the things she could reply with and none of them felt like something the cook would be happy to hear and none of them held any consolation. But lucky her, Sanji continued to talk. 

“You shouldn't just sacrifice yourself like that,” his voice now raised a bit. “Usopp’s body can handle it, you’re a wo—” 

“You gotta be kidding me,” Chiara cut him off before he could finish. “I am so sorry Sanji,” she snapped rolling her tongue. “I’m not going to let one of my crewmates get shot instead of me because I’m a “woman”.” 

“You could’ve died!” he snapped back, his brow visibly twitching with anger. 

“Usopp could’ve died too!”  

“He should’ve been protecting you, not the other way around!” 

“What do you care, just leave me alone.” 

Chiara’s voice had grown eerily low, almost like a whisper. She sounded cold and her words were like weapons. Sanji had visibly stepped back with that, his leg finally stilling as he got up. He didn’t look at her, turning around, his heart felt heavy in his chest. 

“Fine, get well soon.” 

Chiara let her head fall back against the wall, staring at the sealing, tears stung the corner of her eyes. Why did he have to make everything so complicated for her? She was confused, confused as to why she felt so hurt, so angry. Whenever they were alone she ended up feeling so undeniably naked and bare in front of him. She had no right to feel this way and she certainly had no right to make Sanji feel like that as well. 

The door closed and she let out a long sigh. 

When was everything going to stop being so complicated? 

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

After the incident everything was pretty much normal except for Chiara’s and Sanji’s relationship. Their friendship was already on thin ice but after their discourse it seemed like even that fell under water. They never talked, only if they had to, no one really seemed to notice but Chiara’s mental state was suffering. Despite being angry at the cook’s misogynistic words that she should be protected just because she was a “woman”, she did miss talking to him. 

Sanji had seemed to crawl into a shell as well, he seemed more dependent on Zoro. Sure, he would still flatter the females of the ship with countless desserts and sweet words but something was off in the way he did it. Chiara saw the two men fade into the back of the ship and converse for what seemed to take hours. Chiara was curious but then again she couldn’t really say anything. But the fact that she could so clearly feel Sanji’s distraught made her feel even worse. 

The days continued to go on like this, Sanji avoiding any kind of contact with her and her doing the same, only looking at him when his back was turned or during combat. He didn’t seem to notice any of it. It seemed like he was only focused on not bothering her in any way. 

And now Chiara sat among Nami’s tangerine trees, listening to the leaves rustled and taking in deep breaths of the citrus smell. She was trying to clear her mind, if such a thing was possible, and maybe try to figure out a way to fix everything. 

“Hey,” 

Chiara jolted and turned her head towards the voice. Zoro appeared between the leaves, he had a gentle smile on his face as he stared down at her. Chiara pulled her knees close to her chest and averted her eyes with a pout. She heard Zoro sigh and sit down next to her, cross legged. 

“You can avoid the cook forever you know?” he said and she could feel his gaze staring into her soul. 

“I know that,” Chiara mumbled. “I just don’t know how to talk to him, he makes me so angry.” 

“I get that, he pisses me off too.” 

Chiara shifted her gaze to Zoro, she was curious as to why Zoro was actually here, talking to her. To be honest Chiara always admired the swordsman and always felt some sort of closeness, she couldn’t quite name it and opted to call it an admiration of strength and level headedness. 

“He was really worried about you,” he continued, locking his dark eyes with hers. “I don’t agree with what he said, but believe me that he wasn’t trying to upset you.” 

“Well yeah I know that much,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But does his intentions really excuse his weird ass behaviors?” 

Zoro chuckled, “Well...no but you two could at least talk about it. You two might seem opposite from each other but you’re more similar to him than you think.” 

“Is that so?” 

Chiara’s mind faded into her own thoughts. It didn’t seem like Zoro was going to elaborate on what similarities they had. Maybe he wanted her to figure it out on her own? Or maybe he just wanted her to talk it out with Sanji. Chiara didn’t quite know how that conversation would go but then again she trusted Zoro and his views. If Sanji was bothered about the situation enough that Zoro felt like he had to intervene, the situation really must be dire. 

But then again she really wouldn’t know what to say so she decided to be straightforward. 

“What should I say to him?” 

Zoro thought for a bit as he looked off into the distance, then shrugged. 

“Just be honest.” 

━━━━━━━━┛ ✠ ┗━━━━━━━━

A week had passed since her conversation with Zoro. Chiara really wanted to talk with him but her overthinking and the fact that Sanji was avoiding her, as kindly as he could, made it difficult for her to catch him alone. 

Finally as a last resort she decided to ambush him while it was his turn to be on the lookout. She climbed up the crows nest as silently as she could, and gently creaked the door open. Chiara couldn’t help but smile when she saw Sanji looking out with a soft blanket around his broad shoulders. 

He flinched at the sound and turned around, Chiara couldn’t tell if he was relaxed or nervous to see her. 

“Hey,” she began, closing the door after her. “Whatcha doing?” 

Sanji gifted his gaze back to the window and continued to watch the horizon. 

“Lookout.” he said nonchalantly. “You?” 

“I…” Chiara quickly made her way and sat down next to him. Sanji stiffened but didn’t oppose to the fact that their shoulders were touching. “I wanted to talk.” 

“About what?” 

“Us.” 

That seemed to snap Sanji out of his trance. He looked at her, wide eyed and his eyes quickly scanned her features as he tried to understand if she was serious or not. His over the top reaction made Chiara sight and contemplate whether Sanji was ready or not to have such a conversation. Her eyes fixated on the floor she attempted to get up. 

“You know what, never mi—!” 

Before she could fully stand up, however, a strong grip took a hold of her wrist and pulled her back down. Chiara let out a groan as she fell back to the ground right next to Sanji, he was looking at her with a piercing gaze, seeming much more calm than before. 

“What did you want to talk about?” 

Sanji let go of her wrist and Chiara took in a sharp breath, startled. She pulled her knees up to her chest and directed her gaze towards the sea. 

“I think we’ve been misunderstanding each other and... I want to stop.” Sanji stood in silence, prompting her to go on. “It’s just… I hate it when you act as if I can’t be strong because I’m a woman but in reality I am strong and it pisses me off that you can’t see that-” 

Sanji cut her off, “I know you’re strong, it’s just… I was worried and hate it when you do stuff without giving a second thought of what might happen to you.” 

Chiara wasn’t ready to hear how Sanji’s voice trembled. Her eyes wide, they shifted back to him. The cook was staring directly at her with a pained expression. A knot forming in her throat, she swallowed. She wasn’t the type to think about herself when someone she cared for was in danger and she never thought that self sacrifice could so easily hurt another. 

“I…” 

Chiara was lost of words, gazing into each other's eyes, they inched closer without even knowing. The blanket that Sanji had laid across his shoulders pooled to the floor, the ship gently swayed them, she felt as if she was put into a trance. 

Then Chiara felt Sanji’s lips. 

It was soft, tender and full of love. Then Zoro’s words echoed in her jumbled up thoughts “just be honest” , the swordsman wasn’t talking about being honest with Sanji but to herself. She felt so afraid to be vulnerable in front of people, in front of them for the longest time. But truth be told, maybe she had fallen for two men instead of one. 

Sanji’s the one to break the kiss, his gaze immediately shifting to the floor. Chiara could read the traces of regret all over his face. 

“I’m sorry.” he quickly muttered, his fingers ghosting over his lips. “I wasn’t supposed to do that.” 

“It’s...okay,” she took in a shaky breath. “It was nice.” 

“Do...do you have a crush on me?” 

The question caught her a bit by surprise but she couldn’t help but smile at his shy tone. A hint of pink decorated his cheeks. 

“I do but...I’m a bit confused since it seems I might like Zoro as well.” 

“We actually talked about that.” 

Chiara shot Sanji a confused look, the cook was quick to explain what they had been discussing with the swordsman and apparently they had been discussing it for a while. Zoro liked her too but wanted both Sanji and her to work it out before they proposed anything. Chiara was both happy and worried. She didn’t want to disturb their already established relationship and...to be frank she felt like she was a mess. Way too much to deal with. 

“I don’t want to come in between you two,” she voiced out her thoughts. “I don’t want to disturb anything.” 

“You won’t.” Sanji replied, quickly. “We both care for you Chiara. Both of us and you care about both me and Zoro right?” 

“Y-Yeah.” 

Sanji pulled her into an embrace, he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. 

“You don’t have to answer right now, we can talk to Zoro before you decide anything.” 

Chiara nodded, happy that she could talk to both of them. After weeks of silence from Sanji, they were finally talking again. Realized that there was something more to share then friendship. 

Chiara was excited of what the future held. 

[stxrrywildflower]

red cell (1)

pairing - spencer reid x reader

summary - you’re apart of the bau’s red cell team and meet a certain profiler from washington d.c.

warnings - mentions of case, cursing

word count - ?

note - this is part one and fairly short but the later parts will be longer

part 2

part 3

the only word you could use to describe your job was underground.

you were apart of the bau’s red cell team which consisted of you, gina lasalle, jonathan simms, mick rawson, and your leader, sam cooper. the five of you worked under the fbi but did things your own way, following the rules just enough that you got paid and kept your jobs. the best thing was that you didn’t have to follow a ton of proper procedure or dress code as the other higher up teams had to do. it was more your speed as well as helping people which was your main goal.

the team arrived in washington state for a case revolving around people being shot in the same style as famous celebrity assasinations. it was right up your ally with what your team spencialized in. you had made your base in an underground abandoned laundromat. it was pretty good for your teams standards. upon arrival, your team has gone in different directions across the city to gain more information. you, however, remained at your base with the intent of getting some weapon practice in.

you grabbed a sparkling water out of the fridge before sitting down. your sniper rifle was laying on the table in front of you, waiting to be repaired. on the team, you were a profiler, just like everyone else, but your main specialty was combat. you were an incredible fighter and trained with pretty much every weapon there is. your best was your sniper rifle which came in handy on many cases.

the scope was removed as you had the intention of cleaning and replacing it. just as you stood up to grab a part, you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. your sniper remained on the table, as did your drink.

“drinking on the job y/n? i’m surprised,” a familiar voice spoke from behind you.

you spun around, a slight smirk on your face. “coming all the way to washington to criticize me? i expected more from you hotchner,” you replied before embracing the older agent. his team behind him, looked on, immensely confused at this girl hugging their boss.

another familiar voice stood out. you turned to rossi, who adorned a bright smile. “dave!” you greeted, hugging him. you grinned as you were greeted in italian before stepping away.

“y/n, this is my team agents morgan, j.j., prentiss, and reid. you already know rossi,” hotch spoke. you greeted them all individually before stopping in front of reid. “doctor reid, i’ve read a paper or two of yours. very impressive work,” you smiled.

reid stepped back and looked at this so called agent in front of him, as did the rest of the team. you didn’t look much like an fbi agent. you were dressed in black doc martins, not very good work shoes they considered, black skinny jeans, a white tank top, and then a black leather jacket on top of all that. a gun was strapped to the left side of your hip as well as three knives on the right.

“where’s the rest of your team?” hotch asked. you moved back towards the table, sitting on the edge and placing the rifle across your lap as you continued to clean it. “out,” you responded, shutting one eye to look through the scope. hotch have you a look. “what? they’re out getting more information, nothing illegal,” you responded defensively.

“i assume you’re working this case too?” you spoke before standing up and moving to where the targets were set up. hotch nodded, “we got called in this morning.”

“wait so you two know each other, and rossi too?” the agent you remembered as emily asked.

you turned to hotch and rossi. “they were my mentors in the acadamy. helped me become a better profiler,” you informed them. “only thing we couldn’t help her with was her weapon accuracy,” rossi smirked. hotch playfully rolled his eyes.

“someone’s jealous i’m still a better shot that him,” you started aiming your tone at hotch, smiling widely, “after graduating, i spent about a month doing different job interviews for the fbi before finally deciding to join this team. figured it was the best fit.” you took the knives off of where they were secured in your hip and narrowed your eyes at the target in front of you.

“well strauss did have something to do with it,” rossi reminded you.

upon mention of her name, you chucked one of your knives, a satisfying thud echoing as it hit the bullseye. “strauss?” morgan asked, a little shocked at your throwing ability and reaction to the name. you sighed and stared at your feet. “strauss originally wanted to use me as her pawn, sending me from team to team every few months until i found out information on the members. then, i would have been transferred again. i said no and decided that the red cell team was much more relaxed with the rules and barely under strauss’ jurisdiction,” you explained, throwing your remaining two knives at the target.

“i would give you information on the case but i don’t have anything. someone should be back soon and i can have them meet you at the police station. but other than that i have nothing,” you informed the team infront of you, keeping your eyes on reid as he shifted nervously. “reid i want you to stay here and once a remember of the other team arrives, analyze the information and then send it over,” hotch ordered.

with that, hotch thanked you before his team exited the laundromat and made their way back to the cars. “so y/n,” j.j. started. “an incredible agent, just doesn’t like following the rules after the strauss interference,” rossi responded.

spencer lingered back, learning against the wall as you rummaged through your scopes, trying to find the right one.

“the conquest scope would probably be best,” the geniuses voice echoed behind you. you turned around meeting his gaze. “oh really?” you responded. “it’s the best balance out there.”

you shrugged before securing the scope reid had recomended onto your rifle, shooting him a smile as you did so.

“so you’re a certified genius?” you asked, starting a conversation with the agent in front of you. “i have an iq if 187 so yeah i’m technically a genius. kinda all i have going for me,” spencer joked.

you pressed your lips together. “not all you have going for you,” you replied with a wink. spencer was about to respond but stopped when gina and mick appeared at the doorway.