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porcelian · 3 months ago

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YOU'RE MY MAN (OF BRIGHT LIGHT)

PAIRING: jason todd ✗ gn!reader ;

SYNOPSIS: While at a fair with your sweet boyfriend Jason, you run into an unexpected, but welcomed suprise ;

ANON ASKED: " Okay, but Jason taking the his secret girlfriend to the fair, they're having a good time playing games, winning prizes, eating funnel cake, when they run into the bat fam and he's forced to make an introduction and once he sees how great they all get along, all his anxiety dissipates. She does comment on how insanely good they all are at those precision games. " ;

WORD COUNT: 1.4k ;

NOTES: cross posted on my AO3.

♯ MASTERLIST ; NAVIGATION.

THE LIGHTS COVERING THE FAIR HANG LIKE STARS IN THE SKY ABOVE YOU. The bright colors dance across the fair as you and Jason walk hand in hand down the painted road. The different stalls and stands covered in red and white striped tents spread an infectious sweet aroma in the air, warming the atmosphere around you both.

Jason can feel your hand tighten around his as your eyes dart around the fairground, following anything that catches your eye.

The day has been spent checking out rides, such as the turning Ferris Wheel and the fair blanketing the ground with its vivid hues as you both watched from such a height. He remembers how thrilled you were looking down, grasping his hand with yours.

He also remembers only looking at you, the sea of tents, balloons flying high in the sky, and people mingling long forgotten.

You had all his attention.

The lights from below reflect in your eyes. “Isn't it beautiful?” you question.

Jason focuses his gaze on you. “It is,” without a doubt, “beautiful.

*****

The picture of you and him in that cramped photo booth appears in his mind over and over again. The walls were decorated with a rainbow of colors; the glitter spread through the narrow space, sticking onto your clothing and messy hair.

Surprisingly, he doesn't feel constricted and trapped in such a place. A carefree grin breaks out on his face, a matching one to your glowing smile.

You move your hand to his face, pushing the strands of hair away. You say something about him being handsome, and he feels the warmth rise to his cheeks.

He can only huff and turn to face the other way as you let out a small giggle, “You are handsome; why deny it?” The same pink hue appears on your cheeks as well. The words are engraved into his mind, not that he has the courage to say that yet.

The camera flash snaps him out of his reverie. The black-and-white strand of photos rests in his hands as a thumb caresses the surface. The picture of you two side by side, hands intertwined, is forever burned into his mind.

*****

It’s something about your face when you're focused that enamours Jason. Maybe it’s the way your eyebrows furrow together when you are concentrating. Maybe it’s the way you bite your lip, lost in thought. Or it’s the way you are oblivious to the world around you.

Oblivious to his stare that won’t leave your frame.

Even now, as your hands grip the water pistol, fingers tense yet precise, Jason can’t tear his gaze off of you.

You groan as you miss another shot at the moving duck. “Oh, for god's sake,” the yellow-colored cutout stares at you mockingly. “This is so rigged!” Your gaze is stuck on the Nightwing plush sitting on the stand as a prize, with its dark blue and black suit. “I need that plush.”

Jason chuckles at your predicament before being shushed by a glare from you. “You give it a try, big guy,” you say, shoving the orange-blue water pistol in his hands. It looks comically small in his hands.

“Watch and learn,” he gives you a smug smirk as he steps closer to aim at the ducks moving in rows above the light blue waves, until a familiar mess of blonde and raven-blue hair catches his attention.

Shit.

“Jaybeans?” Your concerned voice rings through his ears. “Are you okay?”

The voices of Steph and Dick grow closer and closer as he gives you a panicked look, which you only answer with a confused, wobbly smile. They don’t know about you; you don’t know much about them! The only time you have interacted with his family was a baking competition with Alfred (in which he used salt instead of sugar, but that’s beside the point).

He didn’t want it to go like this! He wanted to invite you to dinner with his family (and pray they don’t scare you away with their antics).

He remembers when Dick caught a glimpse of your guys’ text a few weeks back, something along the lines of Get back home safe, honeybee, from you. He can still picture Dick's shocked and teasing face as the older brother held the phone high up away from Jason's grasp.

Honeybee? Isn’t that adorable?

I swear to God if you don’t give me that back—

He snaps himself out of the memory and tries to convince you to check out the funnel cake nearby. “I heard it’s delicious.” His eyes dart around as you give him an unimpressed look.

“Nearby?” you ask, “isn’t it on the opposite side of the fair? I’m not walking that far; my feet hurt!”

“I’ll carry you.”

“But, what about my Nightwing plush?” You pout as you point to the mini version of his brother; granted, you don’t know that it’s his brother. Curse that plush.

“Jaybird?!”

Well, shit.

You both turn your heads to the source of the voice: a girl with messy blonde hair and jeans (with a purple heart sewn into it, you note) and a taller man with blue eyes approach you and Jason.

Jason feels as if he’s going to break the water pistol in his hands in two.

"Didn't you think we’d see you here?” Stephanie speaks up first before turning the attention on you. The three of you break into a conversation. Jason’s the only one who sees the teasing glances his siblings send his way, while you stay oblivious to it all.

He should be happy that you are getting along with his family. Heck, this is what he was preparing for all these months. But he didn’t want it to go like this! On top of that, it feels as if he’s being left out of the conversation.

“So, are you two on a date?” Steph asks, putting the emphasis on the date part of that sentence.

“Yep, we are!” You answer with a glowing smile, “It’s so nice to finally meet you guys.”

Jason is glaring daggers at the two of them, but Dick and Steph don’t seem like they're going to let this go (their grins seem to confirm that).

They shush any attempt of his at getting in the middle of you three, their attention all on you. Questions like: How’d you meet? When did you guys become official? Are you working for any villains as a henchman, by any chance?

You answer with the same elegance as Jason loves about you, holding your head high and easing into conversation.

It’s only when Dick turns to look at the water pistol in Jason's hands and the lone Nightwing plush resting on the prize shelf does he address his little brother, “Trying to win the Nightwing plushie, are you Jaybird?”

Jason can feel his cheeks burn up. “...Yes.”

Dick gives him a small, genuine smile, one that speaks of that one sentence that he always hears from his brother: I’m proud of you, Jay. Maybe this isn’t so bad. He feels all the worries slowly leave his body as the scene finally sinks into his mind. His siblings are here, and you are here, talking and having a truly good time.

Yea, this isn’t so bad.

“Oh!” Steph speaks up, “Let me try!”

“I’m warning you, those ducks are rigged so you lose,” you tell the blonde before moving closer to watch, eyes curious.

“Watch and learn!” (Just like Jason) She aims, and it hits the swimming duck, “bullseye!”

“Whoa,” you exclaim, “that was perfect! Where did you learn to aim like that?” you ask, genuinely curious.

Steph's face freezes up in surprise. She fumbles with the plush being handed to her before pushing it your way. “It’s a talent, I guess? Aren’t I lucky?”

“Runs in the family?”

“..Yes?” She mumbles with a wobbly smile before throwing an arm around your shoulders. “So, you ever need to win another plush; you know who to call.”

Dick lets out a small chuckle while Jason glares at the Nightwing plush in your hands. “A fan?” Dick asks.

“Duh, but Jaybeans over here is more of a Red Hood enthusiast.”

“Babe—”

“What?”

The voices of his siblings and you slowly drown out the sounds of the fair. Jason watches the three of you talk and joke like you’ve been friends for ages. He might deny it, but god, he feels so happy right now. Happy that his family is getting along.

He feels at peace, and it’s all thanks to you guys.

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the-real-dannix · 25 days ago

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There are degrees of shipping people with the Batfam. Like a spectrum even for established relationships.

And each non-bat can be anywhere from full civilian to other JL to someone turned this character into a bat by proxy.

My favorite is bat by proxy because it's a hilarious thing to me.

I mean, the ships that come to mind where the later works really well are Birdflash and TimKon. Which makes it better. Because Wally is a Flash and Kon is a Super. Two of the other rather large clans of themed leaguers with two of the other more recognizable family heads. I mean, throw in JayRoy and it's three of the others and adds in the Bruce v Oliver fun.

And the Bat by proxy thing.

I don't mean they just side with the Bats over the rest of the League. I mean they start becoming Bats by virtue of always being around them.

Like Wally just accidentally learning to be better at hearing people sneaking up on him because if he's gonna go to brunch with Dick at the Manor he has to be able to dodge these near silent people. Especially Damian, who will stab him if he fails a vibe check, and Tim, who will steal and solve your cases or hack your phones ringtone to be stuck at the loudest setting and playing Barbie world for every notification and there is no in between our way to tell which kind of day it is. So none of the League can sneak up on Wally. And he's smiling and capable like Nightwing but has also picked up that steal slightly crazy smile and no other flash is quite as scary as Wally.

Or Kon, after being constantly threatened with kryptonite by Steph, Jason, and Duke at various points just gives up and learns how to fight through the weakness and goes through enough bat training to be able to survive when he and then he's one of the best trained Supers in hand to hand and no one understand how. And because he's always around Tim, he gets really good and reading people. Because his life can and will depend on being about to tell if Tim is approaching someone at a gala for WE business or for RR business. Even the other supers are confused at how quick his is to pick up in the slightest shift in body language.

And Roy. It was easiest for Roy, going from Arrow to Bat. But that doesn't mean he didn't have to just get used to casually collecting blackmail as some kind of twisted way of showing love. The first time Tim gave him and Jason a photo of them on a date where neither of them knew Tim was watching or talking pictures Roy is shook. By the tenth he's finding it endearing and hoping that Tim manages to get around Jason's traps to get done candids of Lian. No other arrow is quite as stealthy, despite the red of his costume.

And the JL, even the 'families' they came from, know that they have the ability to appear normal. To blend with the rest of the League, but the longer they're with their Bats the more cryptid they become. Until Flash finds himself unsettled by Wally in the same way as the other Bats. And Big Boy Blue refuses to train with Kon for a different reason than before, no longer because of the clone thing but for the same reason he avoids training with any of the Bats. And Green Arrow finds himself looking over his shoulder for Bruce and Roy on the Watchtower.

And their secrets are more and civi identities locked down. No names in my the field and they never slip these days. Like any good Bat.

New Leaguers meet these converts and can't tell the difference between the Bats Batman chose and the ones the other Bats brought into the fam.

And the rest of the League starts to wonder: is being a Bat contagious?

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givemewallywestorgivemedeath · 2 years ago

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I'm thinking that when he says this:

He's gotta mean the future, right? The Earth at this point is entirely drained and dying so it can't be anywhere on Earth. He might be talking about another universe or something but idk. I'm betting it's the future. (Especially with how Max was trying to go there in the beginning, it ties that plotline back in)

But also look at these two. This is practically the same person.

Even comparing him to Linda and Irey, he still resembles Bart more.

Also! They made him Tornado Twin purple in the group shot!

Really throwing my 2 cents out there, that the mysterious young man in OMW is related to Bart somehow. Like their physical resemblance, maybe that both of them have a grumpy mood.

But more important I think, I still believe it wasn't a coincidence that Bart was the one that feel attracted to find him when he was in that battery (and randomly Bart decided steal it at all costs), if it wasn't for that they wouldn't even find him.

I am standing with @givemewallywestorgivemedeath's theory that it is some version of Don but honestly he could be a rando speedster or Bart's own child or nephew from some other reality.

If Adams doesn't give us something about this dude I am going to be disappointed. It is a fair move on his part to make him a random new face in the lineup of speedsters but it would be really disappointing I feel.

If he is a random new character, then I hope he becomes an interesting new regular.

#this dude is driving me insane because all his little cut off sentences clearly indicate that he is someone #he's got a secret mysterious backstory and it will have to pay off #so its literally down to 'is he Wally's kid or Barry's kid?'#and tbh there is a lot of evidence for both. im still going with Barry but hey he could be Wally's for all i know #one thing though is people think he's Wally's son because of the flash forward to Wallys son being kidnapped in the OMW special #but that wasn't a dystopian future. that was just a normal timeline. and this kid outright states that he was from a bad future #he was a parole officer of sorts or whatever he said #so... yeah.. no.. Wally and Linda wouldn't let their kid do that. and the OMW special had the whole Flash fam alive as well #so he's not from that timeline #i do think that this is increasingly looking like Barry and Iris' kid that ISN'T Don and i will be upset if they introduce a new West Allen #without the twins #i will be very upset

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on-the-clear-blue · 24 days ago

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An idea I had about the Bat fam and what kind of music they would listen to

Alfred: prefers silence but on nights where he needs something in the background, surprisingly, Alfred is a fan of country music, preferint older artists but he is favorable to some newer stuff as long as it isn't stadium country.

Bruce: Old punk and metal, like the kind he heard at a punk bar he got in with shitty ids, in the late 80s high on acid with Harvey, this man thinks Nirvana was great but thought they didn't go hard enough.

Dick: as a child? Show tunes, if Disney put it out this man was humming it while kicking goons asses, later on in life? Dick has blossomed into musicals, but like, the kind your not thinking of, Dick belts out songs from Cats all the way to "Veronica open the please! Veronica open the door!" While banging on Tim bedroom door.

Barbara: Is a major fan of Lo-Fi, loves it since it is music but the lyrics don't distract her from doing her work, will play it in the library when it's slow

Jason: he grew up on the streets and that doesn't get a lot of options to listen to music...except in stores where they play the days top 100, he gets Vietnam flash back during Christmas time and he hears Mariah Carey, after his death and resurrection, he found rap and fell in love, loves all the lyricism and word play, has played Not Like Us on repeat for the last week even after the beef was done.

Cass: hard core death metal...and classical music. She does ballet dances to both. Nuf said.

Tim: as a child he was the kid who ripped fanaf songs off YouTube and played them as his ring tone, he still has those songs in rotation but has added folk punk and really obscure bands he finds with like 3 listeners...also is a fan of yacht core music...

Steph: Taylor Swift Girly, shares Dicks love of showtunes, huge BTS stan (while dating Tim she repeatedly "left" Tim for Jimin when ever they argued...Tim still has beef with him to this day)

Duke: Oldies, I can see him going through his parents old vinyls and tapes after they got jokerized to feel close to them and now he learnt all of Elvis's discography.

Damian; Anime songs. Cried the first time his listend to Blue Bird, listens to J-rock when he is painting, and even though he will try and hide it, he has a secret love for Bollywood music as well, probably was introduced to it while doing an early assassination with the League and kept with it as he left.

(Plus a few that I could think of)

Kate: she strictly listens to Alpha male work out music Playlists, heavy on the dubstep, can and will bench press your body weight to show you that no Chad SHE is the alpha here. (As well as Girl and red and Rio Romeo)

Bernard: listens to fan made game songs, meme songs (has all of the polish cow dance song memorized) chronically online taste, also has worked in kitchens so has a deep knowledge of rap and rock.

Roy: Dad music, loves a good jam sesh rocking out to KISS but because of Lian he now is immune to Baby shark being used as torture.

Jon: is a literal child. He is 12 and thinks that skibidi toliet is the best thing that has graced this world, he will tell Lex Luthor that he has Ohio Rizz, then do the griddy in the air and fly away.

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artemismoorea03 · 1 year ago

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DP x DC: Deaths Song

Mostly have DC in mind for this one but again, it could work for Marvel too.

Danny is quiet no matter which form he's in. He's quiet and withdrawn from the rest - sure when they ask him a question or it's a topic he knows stuff about or interested about he can go on forever! Typical traumatized teenager with big interests and no outlet.

He's as helpful around the house as he is on the streets, helping Alfred reach the otherwise impossible crevices of the manor which would otherwise only get cleaned twice a year. He doesn't complain and will often offer his help just to keep busy.

It's during one of these 'spring cleaning' events that Alfred hears it for the first time.

Danny is singing.

It's quiet and muttered, but it's there. Alfred doesn't comment and instead listens to the voice as it stays soft. It's hard to tell from where he is standing but from what he can tell it sounds like he's singing in another language.

He discovers later it's French.

One by one the rest of the Bat-Fam catch Danny or Phantom mindlessly singing when he's doing something absent mindedly or when he doesn't think anybody is listening. Each time it's a different language which is impressive on it's own but what they're more focused on is the fact that Danny feels safe enough to sing.

Like a bird once caged and trapped he was finally starting to share his songs once again.

The Justice League has no idea about Danny's past though, just one of many tightly guarded secrets about the newest member's history. They know he's half-human, that he protected Amity park for years without any help from outside sources but they have no idea about the hells he went through.

So while they're all reading through debriefs and looking through paper after paper they're all caught off guard when he starts gently singing to himself once again. It's in English this time and just an absent minded action which Batman had grown used to.

It made the others freeze though and look towards Phantom as he continues singing, completely unaware of his own actions as he floats above his chair, laying in thin air as though there was a table under him.

In the end it's Flash who breaks the silence, not by commenting on the singing but instead joining in as he goes through his own paperwork. Phantom tenses, looks at Flash as the other members look down but as Flash continues Phantom starts singing again.

One by one the league joins in, even those who hadn't originally lived on Earth had learned the iconic song and those who hadn't learned it quickly enough.

Soon the paperwork was forgotten as the energy in the Watch Tower got more and more energetic, as Phantom and Flash were the first ones who got out of their seats to dance but they were far from the last. Captain Marvel joined in and little by little others did. They broke their character little by little.

Something Batman couldn't understand until he saw the look on Phantom's face. A genuine toothy grin surrounded by almost teary grins of some of the heroes. They weren't acting like fools because they had too much energy but because in the minds of the Justice League they were making a dead kid smile.

"Come on, B! Join in!" Flash said, and Batman sighed.

He was the last one at the table but the look on his newest sons face was impossible to ignore. Finally he got up and stood by Danny, humming softly and clapping while the others continued to sing and even do the actions along with the song.

Later, long after the meeting was over and they were getting ready to leave somebody made the comment;

"Who would have thought the Song of the Dead was YMCA."

Which caused Danny to bend over with wheezing laughter.

#dp x dc #dpxdc prompt #my prompts #dc x dp prompt

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lazydoodlesandfanfic · 10 months ago

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DC (EXCLUDING MAINLY BATMAN/FAM) MASTERLIST

*DISCLAIMER: SOME STORIES MAY BE TAGGED FOR WRONG DEMOGRAPHIC (ie, Not GN, male or fem) IF SO, PLEASE POLITELTY INFORM ME SO I CAN FIX IT

CLARK KENT/ SUPERMAN

A Kent And A Wayne (Clark Kent X Wayne!Male!Reader)

Effects Of The Toxin (Clark Kent X Wayne!Male!Reader)

DIANA PRINCE/ WONDERWOMAN

Motherly (Diane Prince X Teen!Reader)

Family Visit (Diana Prince X Daughter!Reader)

Snow Day (Diana Prince X Reader)

Washing Up (Diana Prince X Male!Reader)

BARRY ALLEN/ FLASH

Little Gifts (Barry Allen X Wayne!Reader)

Anyone But Him (Barry Allen X Wayne!Reader)

Another Speedster (Barry Allen X Reader)

The Wayne Mystery (Barry Allen X Fem!Reader)

Sorry!(Barry Allen X Fem!Reader)

Cancelled Plans (Barry Allen X Fem!Reader)

Please Stop (Barry Allen X Fem!Reader)

Actual Flirting (Barry Allen X Male!Reader)

Caught Red Handed (Barry Allen X Fem!Wayne!Reader)

How Did It Come To This? (Barry Allen X Sibling!Reader)

JUSTICE LEAGUE

Would You Kindly? (Justice League X Male!Reader)

Hidden Scars And Memories (Justice League X Male!Reader)

MULTIPLE

New Start (Roy Harper X Male!Reader X Jason Todd)

A Mostly Successful Mission (Jason Todd X Male!Reader X Roy Harper)

Keeping Secrets (Dick Grayson X Male!Reader X Wally West)

The Quiet Son (Bruce Wayne X Son!Reader X Justice League)

Father's Day (Bruce Wayne X Male!Reader X Clark Kent)

No More Joker (Harley Quinn X Fem!Reader X Poison Ivy)

City Siren's Daughter (Harley, Ivy & Selina X Daughter!Reader)

Nightmares (Harley Quinn X Daughter!Reader X Ivy)

Their Redemption (Harley Quinn X Daughter!Reader X Ivy)

One Of Us Hurt (Bruce Wayne X Male!Reader X Clark Kent)

VILLAINS

Penguin's Friend (Ed Nygma X Male!Reader)

Waiting For You (Jerome Valeska X Fem!Reader)

My Responsibility (Jonathan Crane X Fem!Reader)

There For Me (Harley Quinn X Batsis!Reader)

Never Going Back (Harley Quinn X Daughter!Reader)

We Could Be A Team (Deathstroke X Daughter!Reader)

Colleagues (Jonathan Crane X Fem!Reader) Pt 1/ Pt 2

OTHER

What Happened?! (Leonard Snart X Reader)

Close Your Eyes (Leonard Snart X Reader)

Nothing Else (Leonard Snart X Fem!Reader)

Secret Meetings (Leonard Snart X Fem!Reader)

We're Having A Baby? (Leonard Snart X Fem!Reader)

She's My Sister! (Leonard Snart X Fem!Reader)

I'm Not Letting You Go (Leonard Snart X Fem!Reader)

Future Child (Leonard Snart X Daughter!Reader)

Saving Up (Harrison Wells X Trans!Male!Reader)

Stubborn And Injured (Raven X Fem!Reader)

Not Fireproof (Raven X Reader)

Blues Music (Teen Titans X Reader)

A Little Help (Batman X Scarecrow) Pt 1 / Pt 2

Finally Married (Rip Hunter X Reader)

Cant' Wait (Mick Rory X Fem!Reader)

Sneaking Out (Mick Rory X Fem!Reader)

#Batman #Superman #Wonderwoman #flash #clark kent #diana prince #barry allen #justice league #teen titans #Harley Quinn #Poison Ivy #Catwoman

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birdflashweek · 1 year ago

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Prompts Announcement!

Prompt List

Day 1: Secret Flash Fam | "Take Me Home" | Speedforce

Day 2: Vampire!Dick | "Have we met before? I swear I know you." | Identity reveal

Day 3: Oblivious | "You're in love, sweetie” | Childhood friends

Day 4: Hostage | "I'm dying." "That's a paper-cut." | Villian AU

Day 5: Meeting the Family | "Batman is going to kill me." | Reverse Robins

Day 6: Coparenting | "I don't want to lose you." | Nightwing and Flamebird

Day 7: Missions together | "That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard.... I'm in." | Fake dating

Remember, you can always use any prompts for any rating fic. If you want to write an NSFW fic for an NSFW prompt or vice versa, feel free to. You can use one or more of each day's prompts in your fic, and it doesn't matter how you use them, as long as it's Birdflash focused and you're 18+ if you're writing anything NSFW.

Have fun and get writing! Birdflash Week starts March 3rd!

[FAQ] [NSFW] [Collection] [Discord]

#birdflash #dick grayson #wally west #dc comics #dick grayson x wally west #wally west x dick grayson #young justice #fandom event #dc #nightwing #prompts #writing prompts

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reaperlight · 25 days ago

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Secrets Laid Bare (Part 1)

[More post Venom 3 with the murder fam Au]

[Tw: suicide mention]

[Eddie rotting depressed in bed.]

Frances: [Meditating and levitating at the foot of the bed.]

Eddie: Woah... like, what are you doing?

Frances: Well, since you asked I've been working on getting better control of my powers.

Eddie: You're being uh... awfully quiet for that... [Glancing at her levitating again] I didn't know you could fly?

Frances [smirking]: Oh, that's not the only trick up my sleeve. I've found a quirk of my psionic powers is that they respond best to mental anguish. And right now, Brockilicious, you are a feast.

Eddie: Well... I'm glad that you can get off on my suffering, I guess.

Frances: Not "get off," you're my battery. By being near you you're giving me a power boost so I can search further.

Eddie: Search further?

Frances: So I can find what they took from you.

Eddie: Oh! Can you... can you really?

Frances: Yes. Now, please let me concentrate.

Eddie: ...Do I need to think sad thoughts or something?

Frances: That would be helpful, yes.

Cletus [clearly jealous]: ...you used to do that with me.

Frances: Because you were in constent torment all the time, darling. Since we met again...It isn't as potent. I think your new powers are dampening it.

Cletus: So what do I need to do?

Frances: You don't have to do anything. I've got all that I need for this right here.

Cletus: But--

Frances: Baby, it's a good thing that you're getting better. I am feeding off of Eddie's anguish because he's depressed to the point of being suicidal. I do not want you harming yourself.

Cletus: ...but, do you still like me?

Frances [exasperated]: ...Cletus, I married you.

Cletus: But do you like, like me?

Frances: Baby...

Cletus: My angel, I know... Ever since... ever since my execution. There's been this dark, dangerous side of me I can't control and... [lost] I've never felt so out of control. I'm afraid I'll hurt you. I did hurt you.

Frances: And I forgive you. Did you forget who you're talking to? I know. I understand we can't control what forms our mutations take--

Eddie: Woah, woah, woah. Wait what? [to Cletus] You didn't tell her?

Frances [confused]: Tell me what?

Cletus [just as confused]: ...tell her what, Eddie?

Eddie: You didn't tell her about Carnage?

Cletus [annoyed]: Yes, Eddie of course she knows about Carnage. What the hell kind of question is that? You've seen me with her with Carnage. That's one of the first things I did when I found her again. I don't keep secrets from my wife.

Eddie [pinching the bridge of his nose]: Okay, okay just... back up here. What do you think Carnage is?

Cletus: Huh?

Eddie: Go on, take a wild guess.

Cletus: [*clearly put off-balance by the question*] ...I don't know Eddie. I'm not a scientist. I, we... Frances and I, we just assumed it must have activated some mutation when I drank your blood... Say if you drank my blood would that get you your Venom back?

Eddie [*tempted for a moment at the possibility*]: I... no. It doesnt work that way or rather... it wouldn't be the same. I do appreciate the offer though. I know you didn't have to--that was kind of you.

Cletus: [*flashing a genuinely happy black-toothed grin*]

Eddie: So you really don't know?

Cletus: What am I supposed to know... [annoyed] How am I supposed to know?

Frances: I know that he turns into a sexy red weredragon-octopus monster thing and that he's my soulmate [*comes down from levitating to sit in his lap, causing that rotten black maw to grin wider*] That's all I need to know.

Eddie: Carnage, you didn't tell him?

Carnage: Well, I tried but...

Eddie: But what?

Carnage: His mind wouldn't accept it at the time. It was easier to go along with it.

Cletus: ...what? [To Carnage] You lied to me?

Carnage: I never lied.. you didn't listen to me and made up your own reality and it became easier to play along. In any case a convenient lie is easier than having to drag you around while you were catatonic and risk you getting arrested again.

Cletus: Eddie, what's going on? Please, give it to me straight.

Eddie: Okay, before I say anything I need you all to try and stay calm.

Cletus: That's... not reassuring.

Frances: Is he sick?

Carnage: No I devoured his illness.

Cletus: What?!

Carnage: Have you not noticed less pain in your stomach lately? Since we met?

Cletus: [*the light of understanding, he clearly does know exactly what Carnage is talking about*]

Carnage: Do you not yet understand? I. Protect. You. But that's a discussion for another time. By all means Eddie, tell them what I am. Maybe he'll actually listen to you.

Eddie: I uh.. I'm just worried if we need to plug our ears or... or if I'm gonna get skewered for saying it.

Carnage: I will behave if she will.

Frances [glaring]: I will control myself. I've gotten better at it.

Eddie: Okay. First of all with Carnage... whatever is going on with Frances, the uh mutant thing? I'm pretty sure that's not what's happening here.

Cletus: Oh...

[clearly disappointed not having this in common with his wife]

Eddie: Okay, like... do you know what Venom is?

Frances: Your power. That they stole from you, correct? Because you're like Cletus?

Eddie: Or rather Cletus is like me, yes. But it's more than that.

Cletus: That black dragon-octopus thing, right? You looked very cool by the way.

Frances: Yes, very goth.

Eddie: I... Thanks. I'll... if... if I see him again, I'll be sure to let him know.

Frances: ...Him?

Cletus [clearly dejected]: I assumed it was either a mutation or... or demonic possession. It's the latter isn't it?

Eddie: No, but uh, you're on the right track. It's a symbiote. An alien that needs a host to live--

Frances: You're an alien?

Cletus [nervously]: Like E.T. phone home?

Eddie: ...Yes.

Cletus: Seriously, little green men?

Frances: But not little... or green.

Cletus [chuckling]: Explains why I never felt like I belonged on this planet.

Frances: You're just like Superman!

Eddie: No, uh not like Superman.

Frances [Hugging her husband]: Well he's my Superman.

Cletus: Oh.

[Eddie paused in the telling as they were clearly distracted by their makeout session. Frances was probably getting a big boost from him now as he was missing Venom dearly at the moment*]

[*Carnage cleared their throat*]

Cletus: Sorry, Eddie. You were saying?

Eddie: Well uh you're a human actually. Well as far as I known. Unless there's something about your family I don't know--

Cletus: Well they're assholes but I'm guessing that's irrelevant to the current discussion. So like what do you mean then by... alien?

Eddie: I mean you have an alien living inside you.

Cletus [throat dry]: So like... I've been body-snatched?

Frances [horrified]: Chest-buster?

Cletus: It laid its eggs in me?

Eddie: Uh... kinda, No. I don't know if eggs are involved but... uh, yes. It came from Venom somehow? Spawned, split off? I don't know. But like... it's not exactly body snatched. At least it wasn't for Venom and me. When it goes right. It's living together, with another person in your body. A weirdly shaped person but a person. Bonds are about compromise, it's a... relationship. It's...

Eddie [realizing for the first time]: It's like marriage.

Eddie [gasping]: Venom is my husband.

Frances: Your husband? So then Carnage...

Cletus [panicked]: It's not like that. Baby, I swear, it's not like that!

Carnage [annoyed, grabbing Cletus possessively with big red claws]: Yes, I'm just a third wheel, apparently.

Frances: ...If you'll excuse me.

Cletus: Baby, no.

Frances: Gotta go, shriek coming on. And think I got enough misery for now.

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secret-flash-family-weekend · 7 months ago

Text

Prompt submission form is open!

Please keep in mind that we are only accepting gen prompts (not NSFW or romantic!) NSFW or romantic shipfics are totally allowed, however prompts are not!

@dc-event-calendar

#flashfam #secretflashfam #secret flash fam #secretflashfam2024 #dc events #dc comics #the flash #barry allen #wally west #jay garrick #kid flash #bart allen #impulse #prompt submission

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charlie-pippin-faraday · 2 months ago

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My danganronpa v3 chapter 6 running commentary:

"MY NAME IS MAKOTO??????"

excuse me you black-haired bitch you're not makoto naegi

bro what the HELL was going on in that cutscene i'm so confused

"if my actions result in your deaths so be it" nah there's something wrong here, that doesn't sound like that keebo i know

keebo's protecting us he's stalling keebo i love you i love you so much

guys i gotta level up my FRIENDSHIP POINTS to move ROCKS

ah shit fam we finally found kokichi's lab. it looks like a door from fallout in a literal tunnel underground lol

kokichi wants to be a batman villain so bad

is kokichi actually the ultimate improv comedian or something what is this

what is the "inconsistency" in the hope's peak academy book that shuichi pointed out but won't tell me? come on now don't leave me hanging. is it that makoto established the academy for normies actually? or is it something to do with the secret DR2 killing game?

i'm not wrong about either of those facts, am i? am i misremembering? didn't makoto say in i think the anime that he wanted to establish the new hope's peak for everyone and not just ultimates? and weren't the events of jabberwock island kept a secret from the general public? the fact that he was trying to rehab the remnants of despair in the neo world program was supposed to be a secret, right? to protect them?? am i wrong about that??

that flashback light only had me more confused

woah you can go outside and watch an action sequence of keebo fighting an exisal that's fucking sick

kokichi has the wax figure of rantaro?? just strung up by his bed?? what the????

oh THAT'S where the caged child document went!

so he really WAS the leader of the ultimate improv comedy group

i bet they do flash mobs

i think a more accurate title for him would be "ultimate little shit"

obsessed with the whiteboard in his room with all our pictures on it. he wrote who murdered whom, then wrote "suspicious" by maki, "weird" by keebo, "trustworthy?" by me, and "annoying" by the monokubs lol

REAL makoto naegi??? in the flashback flesh???

hell yeah we're FINALLY going to rantaro's lab!

...now that i'm in here i instantly regret it i don't like it in here

how did kokichi know about the vaults in rantaro's lab early enough to leave those notes? did HE even leave those notes? and WHY do the vaults have a monokuma USB in them?

is it gonna have that message from rantaro that we saw in a cutscene earlier?

ha i knew it

ultimate survivor? maybe himiko wasn't joking when she said maybe he went on a bunch of game shows lol. get this man to CBS

"i never imagined rantaro the first victim would come up again like this" i mean, *i* could! at least i was hoping. there were way too many unanswered questions about him

the voice of one of these unnamed classmates in this flashback sounds SUSPICIOUSLY like bryce papenbrook. i've learned never to take his presence lightly in these games

cold sleep room?!

aw hey the whole gang back together in the flashback! man it's been awhile since i've seen some of these people

i'm sorry, kaede has a TWIN??????

bro this game actually game overed me because i spent too much time clicking on people to talk to. I WAS TRYING TO BE THOROUGH IN MY INVESTIGATION!!!!!!! i didn't think it would do that to me, i just thought the time limit would be done once i'd completed everything. ffs

...motherkuma?

oh the mastermind just be making flashback lights to include whatever memories they choose? so yeah they all have to be COMPLETE crap

if himiko suddenly reappeared and is once again being super unhelpful about how she escaped the sealed hidden room, i'm guessing that means there's another door to that room

oh shit fam a hidden passage in the girl's bathroom? hm

hey they repaired keebo's ahoge! which was the key to his inner voice clearly

ha i knew those "small bugs" were actually cameras of a sort

"i'll hit them with my 'all your relationships will end up being love triangles' curse!" damn himiko that's cold. i feel like a remnant of despair would enjoy that tho

you know, if you'd asked me to predict who my final group would be, i NEVER would have guessed himiko and tsumugi. maki absolutely, keebo maybe, but never those two. this is such an odd grouping to be the final one

wait how the fuck do you know about jabberwock island, shuichi? or was that less secret than i thought?

i need to know more about this "previous game" rantaro survived

god how i fucking WISH rantaro was the ultimate game show host that would be so funny

your honor my girlfriend kaede was innocent!!!!!!!

are you telling me that the throwaway joke the game grumps made about the shot put ball landing right next to rantaro and not actually hitting him is what ACTUALLY happened???

i knew everyone kind of brushing off that tsumugi went to the bathroom back in chapter 1 was odd

we're doing a closing argument now? we haven't even hit intermission. i assume part 2 of this trial is just gonna be off the rails then

they're literally all begging tsumugi to tell them she's not the mastermind but she can't do it

dude if kokichi were here he would be tearing her apart verbally

junko the 53rd?! new ultimate despair?

is tsumugi just doing a REALLY effective cosplay rn?

they all keep trying to tell me that kokichi was a remnant of despair but i don't believe he was

don't tell me that makoto went back on his promise to have hope's peak be for normies

i like to believe that toko wrote this book

yeah i knew all those memories were fake as shit. we're in like a hunger games arena i'm calling it now

lol they weren't even hope's peak students? i'm willing to be they're not even ultimates at all, and not a single one of their backstories is real

i like to imagine everyone who's died so far is watching this from another room like everyone eliminated from a season of the bachelor or survivor watching the finale episode

the ONLY piece of evidence leading me to believe anything told to us might've been even remotely real is kaito's strange illness. other than that, i'm fairly certain every single thing told to us about the backstory and the outside world is fake. i bet there is no gofer project, there were no meteorites, there is no disease

what the- HAJIME?????

mahiru? okay this is starting to get a little batshit. felt some whiplash when she turned into hiro and then soda

hey don't you DARE turn into makoto naegi that feels disrespectful

bro does this take place in a different universe from the other two games???

this is getting way too meta

i have no idea where this goes from here if this isn't in the same universe as the other games

wait are we actually in a time loop of sorts, like i'd predicted awhile back?

oh dude i just noticed there are little "V"s and "3"s in the eyes when tsumugi is cosplaying

is this girl really blaming her actions on ~society~?

bro this is getting WAY too meta. like, past the point of being fun

shuichi just shouting at them to shut up is my mood rn

is this a roundabout way of saying they're all quote-unquote actors?

damn even that illness was fake huh

bro not her actually becoming soda to make the tenko comparison 😂

guys i'm not really sure what to make of this. idk where to go from here

like i genuinely feel like a bucket of cold water was just poured on me. like. what the fuck is this

guys i'm gonna be real: this fucking sucks. i've never been a fan of "it was a dream this whole time and none of it mattered or was real" storylines. it's lazy writing. and i really feel it here

bro i got the BAD END??

...or maybe not?

oh my god is keebo gonna be my actual savior??

i knew keebo was the only bitch around here i could trust

hang on am i playing as keebo now?? it's my dream. he had an ahoge for a reason! the TRUE true protagonist! this game is starting to redeem itself

lol of course that was an antenna. and he was basically the first person camera for the audience? interesting

you know this means in the final chapter the audience wasn't watching the rest of us running around finding clues for the situation, they were watching keebo fight exisals lol

ULTIMATE HOPE ROBOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

there's always an ultimate hope at the end of these. and it's very interesting that unlike the other games, they didn't have it be the character i was controlling for a majority of the game. and tbh i think that was the correct choice. shuichi you're great and your heart's in the right place but you're not the ultimate hope lol

oh this is now a battle to save keebo's life???????? oh i am putting my ALL into this

the fuck kind of rules are these? even if we win we gotta sacrifice two of us? huh?

speaking of, what happened to the 11 other people in this game? are they actually dead? or not? that feels very unclear now

i gotta fight shuichi in verbal sword battle? i gotta fight essentially myself?

i was never good at the sword minigames i could never figure out the best way to control it

oh man that poor boy is just so clinically depressed

and the fact that we had that sword fight to clair de lune...oh man

shuichi i am unsure about this logic of yours

oh am i shuichi again now?

yes shuichi we stan a weak king

tsumugi don't you dare talk as makoto you're making a mockery of everything he stood for

wait now i get to be himiko too? i better get a turn as maki by the end of this

oh thank god i do

thank goodness i didn't enable the "more time" skill

did they fry keebo?????????? unforgiveable unforgiveable UNFORGIVEABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my god they took him over i hate this. let me go back to playing as keebo again

THEY ERASED HIS PERSONALITY??????? i'm never forgiving this game. this last chapter is like the finale of how i met your mother

at least he came back to say goodbye 😭

I CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT THIS FAR AND THEY FUCKING TOOK KEEBO FROM ME NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

can't believe i had to fight keebo and not tsumugi in the final battle

"we're friends, aren't we?" oh shut the fuck UP, tsumugi

no votes? thanks keebs

keebo fucking razing the place to the ground and executing everyone else in the process was NOT how i expected this game to end

oh shit they pulled a fast one on me with this epilogue - shuichi and maki and himiko lived?!? damn

they've made it unclear whether or not this is ACTUALLY in the same world as makoto and friends ughhh

i hate that they ripped keebo from me at the last second. they erased his personality and made him self-destruct. he was the hero but at what cost. this is a personal betrayal

could they rebuild him? maybe? all i want is a reunion with keebo and the survivors (VERY small survivor pool this time btw)

i'm going to be thinking about keebo nonstop for days fyi

guys, i gotta be real with you. this was the most unsatisfying horseshit. it felt like nothing mattered, and honestly it felt like they were making a mockery of us for enjoying the previous games and content. i didn't like it. and honestly it felt...lazy? like i had been speculating so much about how this would connect with the rest of the danganronpa plot and how this would build upon the already established story and characters. like you should've seen the theories i had in my head (one of my best ones: tsumugi was a rogue hope's peak student who idolized junko and wanted to do a killing game in her honor. keebo was a plant from makoto and the future foundation/academy to guide the others and eventually help lead to their rescue - that would've been a great plotline tbh). but no, none of that happened, it didn't build on the story, it didn't add to it, it wasn't part of the same story. it was just............nothing. it didn't lead anywhere, it didn't build up to anything. it just went nowhere and did nothing, it wasn't connected. it felt like all the investigating i did to find out the truth was a waste of time, and all the plot twists and turns that happened and all the choices the characters made had no fucking payoff. it was so frustrating. there are so many creative choices they could've made to build on the story in the danganronpa world but...that meta bullshit was not it.

in other news, i have already started writing a fanfiction: an alternate version of v3 that actually takes place in-universe, therefore making all the games connected! and i think what i've thought up is pretty good, ngl. it might be related to that theory i mentioned above. if you're interested in reading, lmk and i'll work to write it faster!

and thus officially concludes my v3 gameplay commentary! i might post here and there about my experiences in the bonus modes as i do them

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #danganronpa v3 spoilers #drv3 #shuichi saihara #tsumugi shirogane #keebo #danganronpa keebo #drv3 keebo #k1-b0 #maki harukawa #himiko yumeno #rantaro amami

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crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf · 3 months ago

Text

Disgrace Chapter 5 : Crosshair x F!OC

After the night they had these two attempt to clear the air and ask the questions they've been avoiding, but even as Tah'nyem divulges some of her darkest secrets Crosshair can't help but notice the sudden coldness from his traveling companion. He's left with the decision as to whether or not he lets her pull away as they leave the liminal moon, crossing from his world to plunge headfirst into hers.

Chapter Specific Warnings: Mixed Messages, Brief descriptions of assault and murder (past tense), Gambling, Drinking, Mentions of hiring prostitutes, Heights, Kissing and then more kissing, Unwitting PDA. Crosshair holds a small child.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Authors Note: I was looking this over and found that the first page of this chapter had somehow gotten deleted :') I rewrote it but it has been a weekend fam.

Me: I don't write fluff, no sirree. Also Me:

✨✨✨✨Put the child on the Crosshair✨✨✨✨

Word Count: 7057

Dynamic: Princess x Guard, Speed running Co-dependancy, A Mangy Cat and his Aggressive little Chihuahua. She's a damsel, she's in distress- she can handle it.

<-Previous Chapter - Read On Ao3 {START HERE}

Music Inspo- Pleasure, By Justice Listen on Spotify - Listen on Youtube

-+-=Chapter 5 : Pleasure=-+-

I spread the tattered remains of my bag over the bed spread, and turned to the boxy droid I had found above the utilities

“You think you can fix it?”

01101110 01101111 00100000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101100 01101100 01100101 01101110 01100111 01100101 00100000

A small terminal on its arm flipped to reveal a needle, and with a flash and whir of metal the gap in the luggage was closed. The droid turned, game me a little salute, and collapsed back into its dormant state. You could still see where the rip had been but the stitchwork was good and solid.

Soft snoring drifted to me from the hall and I looked up at Crosshair’s sleeping shadow in the bottom bunk.

We had stayed on the beach for quite some time... watching the planet rise.

Eventually the moment ended, Cross gathering our things, wrapping my silk shirt about my shoulders as he ushered us back into the safety of the bunker where we drifted off contentedly to our beds for some much needed, deep sleep.

Looking for more to occupy myself, I opened a few more cabinets around the room, eyeing my father’s emergency wardrobe.Getting an idea I grabbed a pair of suede slacks and a vibrant patterned silk shirt, spreading them on the bed.

“Hey, little buddy, I’m sorry to keep waking you, but do you think you could handle a bigger project?”

The droid peaked out of its folded position to look at the fabrics I selected.

01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100010 01101001 01100111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01101010 01100101 01100011 01110100

That at least sounded interested.

“Do you think you could take these in to fit me?”

It circled the garments, then looked me up and down. Apparently pleased with its eyeballed measurements it picked up the pant leg, as well as it could, and pushed it towards me.

01011001 01100101 01110011 00100001 00100000 01001110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110111 01100101 01100001 01110010 00100001

That sounded like an affirmative. I took the garments and slipped them on, noticing the light bruising on my inner thighs that suspiciously resembled hip bones. A small smile ghosted over me before I stifled the memories of the night and let the little machine get to work.

The droid put-putted about on its tiny hover engine, tugging and sewing fabric, a little laser knife trimming where it needed it.

“You couldn't have done that yesterday?”

I looked up from watching the droid tuck and stitch the waist of the slacks. Crosshair stood in the door frame, scratching the stubble that now covered his chin as he stifled a yawn. His eyes roved over the sleek, black pants suit that was emerging out of the altered materials. It concealed quite a bit more than a draped, oversized button up.

“Wouldn't that have been a tragedy,”

I turned my attention back down.

“I'd like to be able to tuck the legs into boots, please,”

He crossed the room to sit on the bed in front of me.

“Tragedy, huh?”

“Mm, don't tell me you have regrets, Life's too short, my friend,”

“No, no regrets…”

“Something though?”

“... Questions,”

Oh..

I sighed,

“... Nothing's changed. It would be unwise to continue, you know that… one time thing,”

His eyes seemed to pinch a moment, but it was fast.

“Not… that,”

He reached out, taking my right hand and stroked the small, purple scars barely noticeable on my thumb and forefinger.

“Who was he?”

Oh.

“You saw that, did you?”

“Only an idea of it,”

I sighed, as the little droid whistled that it was finished.

“Thank you … uh,”

I looked at the casing on the little bot,

5T-KH

“Hmm, can I call you Stitch?”

The droid whistled in what I've started to take as a, “yes,” and flashed a little display showing a low battery symbol before it shut into sleep mode once more.

I sat on the bed, and though I wasn't looking at him I could feel the weight of his gaze.

“You don't have to tell me, I wanted to ask, just… thought it intrusive, until…”

He trailed off making a vague gesture suggesting,

“Until, last night,”

Curiosity was an odd look on him, but maybe that's just because I hadn't known him long.

“Unkles Rah’den and Rah’dheko Kan…”

“Relations?”

“No, I was just encouraged to call them my Unkles, they were long time customers and family friends,”

Silence. A beat, two, and then a whisper,

“What did they do to you?”

It was a rough question, and for a second anger flared over me at his audacity… but I squelched it. I wasn't mad at him, this was an old, sleeping anger.

“It wasn't me… It was Kahtzi,”

He was quiet now, leaving the decisions on how much to divulge in my hands.

“She thought they were handsome, was always into the super buff type y'know, and uh, asked me to recommend her to them,”

I laid back on the bed to stare at the ceiling, sliding my palms on the comforter to hide how slick they suddenly had become.

“I never got a good vibe from them, but… I didn't think… that,”

I paused, anxiety high, but my voice had gone cold.

“They beat. her… bloody, Cross”

My words, though quiet, hung heavy in the air, my voice thick with the anger that still boiled over the old wound. Guilt and fear and vengeance.

“So, what did you do about it,”

He knew already. He saw it after all, as he looked at his reflection against the shadows in my mind.

“Widow’s Thistle, it's a native plant on Ga’hah, ve~ry toxi~c… I pretended I didn't know, or just didn't care, about what they did, I seduced them, and once we were alone…I stabbed them with thistle needles.”

I looked over my knee at him as I summarized the murder, I swear a small smile crossed his face.

“I only saw one,”

“Mm, one of the bastards survived, I stabbed into Rah’Den’s blood stream but lost the element of surprise… Rah’Dehko almost overpowered me, but ended up with an eyeful of toxic needle,

He lived but is horribly disfigured, face all a mess of purple and green veins… bacta doesn't work on skin affected by the toxin,”

“No consequences?”

“No, Vah'hadarr took care of things…”

I trailed off, thinking about my father's past actions and a small wave of fear turned me from chilled to frozen.

I've been acting selfishly��

I looked at him again, sitting there with elbows on his knees, chin on folded hands. He was staring hard at the wall as if working out the same conclusion.

“Well, I showed you mine… what's your deal, huh?”

“Some other time,”

He got up and went to the fresher, a second later the water was running, and I exhaled long and slow, calming my heart that had, at some point, started to race.

Well, that doesn't seem fair.

I scooped up the little droid box, putting it back in the utility cubby on its charging port and leaned down to grab the clean laundry out of the wash. The gown was trashed and I pondered pulling Stitch out again but I was in the mood to just abandon it. Crosshair's suit was ready though and I brought it to the fresher, walking in briefly to leave it on the counter.

“You're suits here, I'm gonna make us some breakfast,”

“Mm…”

It was oddly domestic, this set up, and it was starting to make me uneasy.

We need to get out of here before this gets out of hand.

I should have held that thought, as I rounded into the kitchen and caught sight of the data stick blinking on the counter.

~~~

We prepped to go. The instructions led us to a separate shed with extra fuel, and while Cross made sure the ship was filled, I was grabbing necessities from the bunker.

All the ready-to-eat food from the kitchen, travel cloaks from the hall closet… What else?

Oh!

I ran to the utility cubby and snagged Stitch from the little shelf, tucking it into my bag with the extra food and credits.

All set.

Confident I was now wasting time, I left, old boots contrasting oddly against the fine fabric of my improvised outfit. They fit, but had a lot of wiggle room and I tried to adjust my gate to the odd sliding feeling, slipping on the stones a few times as I quickly made my way back to the shuttle where Crosshair was waiting.

The latest set of instructions had us marked to land in the busy port in Nohct City on the dark side of the tidal locked Ga’hah. My father’s good relations in Coruscant had allowed a delay in implementing chain code systems for the tourist port, we can land without registering. From there we meet a transfer who will help us through to one of the edge stations, where we then take the civilian rail to Sohn on the opposite side of the equator mountain range. Complicated, but easier than trying to covertly land directly in Sohn or apparently, send someone to pick me up directly from Nohct.

Once the moon rotates to face away from its planet, we'd be off. I looked up at the sky now, the massive edge of the gas giant curving across the horizon as it set, still partially blocking the view of the sun. It was almost time.

I boarded the little ship, dropping the full satchel behind the co-pilot seat and took in the clone lazily reclined in the other, feet on the dash, toothpick in mouth.

“How long have you been done?”

“Ages,”

“You didn't think to come back for me? Could've helped me carry that,”

I pinched him between the plates on his arm and he slapped back playfully.

I looked around the dismal little craft.

Yup, still depressing.

“Everything's ready to leave this place, huh?”

There was an unintended sadness to my tone.

“Almost,”

It must have carried over as a hand slipped around my wrist, drawing me closer to the other chair.

I knew that look, and resisted, pulling back against the insistent, guiding pressure.

“What's wrong?”

I sighed, that tingle of fear pricking the edge of my consciousness as I met his questioning eyes.

“We shouldn't, Once we leave here…”

He tugged more forcefully, and my knees buckled against the chair cushion. I caught myself from falling into him completely, hands finding purchase on the headrest. I had him pinned, but he had the power as he turned my chin down with one hand, tossing his pick aside with the other.

“For the road?”

…

Kriff it, can't do any more harm…

I leaned down and met his lips, sharing a final kiss before we left our private sanctuary.

We pulled back slowly after several minutes, a little too hot under the collar to be wise. At some point I had crawled more into the seat to straddle him, the buttons to my top mysteriously undone.

“You ever been to Ga’hah before?”

It felt silly asking something so basic now.

“No… tourist trap isn't it?”

“Nohct City sure is, it's where the race track’s located,”

“That I know,”

“You like pod racing?”

“No… that's where we meet our contact,”

~~~

We abandoned the small shuttle in the docking lot, avoiding the attendant droids taking registration and payments while slipping into the throngs of landed people making for the entrance gates to Nohct City.

Great spotlights framed the gate's pillars, the top of which held up a large arch with carvings of the Three Southern Moons which, if you looked up, loomed large in the sky casting the Southern half of Ga’hah in light and tepid warmth.

The first impression of the planet was a garish spectacle of bright lights, flashing signs, and various holograms showing examples of the performances held within the buildings they stood upon.

I noticed Crosshair watching a recording of a towering blue Twi’lek performing an impressive operatic above us as we were swept into the bustling thoroughfare.

“You want her?”

I had to nearly shout to be heard over the din but he caught what I said and his attention snapped to me. I pull him closer to me to make it easier to talk.

“She'd normally be above a soldier’s pay grade but… I could get her for you, as a thank you for a job well done?”

He didn't answer, eyes flicking back to the recording with an expression of discomfort. My mind wandered to his goodbye kiss.

I'll be home soon, the mission complete…

“Would it be more tempting if I came along? We could take her together…”

I purred it, and caught the look of surprise I was waiting for.

Tahny girl, what are you doing?

“Not enough time? Maybe you'd prefer to look me up when you have some leave, back on Coruscant, Kahtzi and I could take care of you…”

The offer was teasing, but there was a hopeful sound to that last part that wasn't a part of the script. A flurry of things passed behind his eyes, his tells were subtle, but easy to learn. I had hit the nerve I was apparently looking for.

“What about it being a one time thing?”

I need to back off…

“Me and you? Like that? Sure… you have your orders, but your orders only last as long as the mission, right? You can come see me again?”

… That's not backing off.

I must have reminded him we had a purpose here because he looked back around the crowd. We were jostled by the masses before I could bully an answer out of him and he grabbed hold of my arm, guiding us out of the rushing current of incoming tourists.

As the path opened up into a wide square I pointed ahead of us.

Framed against the backdrop of the sun lined mountain range, the massive complex that housed the racetrack glowed like a beacon against the sky.

“That's the track, when do we meet our connection,”

He tapped the data stick and checked the projection against the holopad I took from the bunker.

“The meetup is in four hours,”

“So time to kill…”

I glanced around the busy square.

Ah, yes!

“Let's get some caf and cool our heels, yeah?”

“We should lay low,”

I sighed..

“That is laying low, c’mon,”

I hooked his arm and headed to a building off the main corridor, there were groups of spun metal chairs and tables collected under strings of colorful beaded lanterns. Steering for a table with a good view of the square I fished a handful of credits from the bag still in tow.

“Here, go grab us something, I'll stay put,”

I crooked my fingers in promise and he hesitated, wanting to protest but unable to find a reason that wasn't petty. Eventually he gave up and asked,

“What do I get,”

I shrugged at that.

“Whatever they recommend,”

He stood a moment looking at the credits in hand before turning to the service counter.

I watched him talk to the Ga'haiian manning the storefront, his shoulders giving away his tension as he leaned on the counter to wait for our order.

A group crossed my line of vision, and I lost sight of him a few moments as the current ran it's course through the tight aisle between tables. When it cleared however, and I caught sight of the man again I noticed a youngling had broken away from the throng of people and had clung to his leg, mistaking him for whichever chaperone had lost track of him.

Crosshair jumped, which caused the kid to jump, realizing the clone wasn't the face he was expecting. The child immediately dissolved into tears.

“Oh…”

I got up to help but Cross was dropping to a knee, still stiff- but with practiced confidence; saying something that slowed the tears and soon the little one was nodding along hopefully. The youngling was answering now, and Crosshair sternly picked him up to sit on his shoulders, making the kid taller than the Ga'haiians speckling the crowd.

I stayed standing by our table, watching the adorable, if not odd little spectacle play out. He looked good with a little tyke on him like that.

I caught the soft smile that had started to creep up on me and reset myself into something more neutral. The soldier was pointing to something in the middle distance and the child nodded enthusiastically. They were gone, Crosshair darting into the crowd with surprising dexterity as he delivered the kid back to a pair of panicking adults several paces away.

He caught me watching him as he made his way back to the counter and I tilted my head in a slight bow raising my hands to give him a soft round of applause.

My goodness, I think he just blushed.

I sank back into the metal seat as he was handed two cups topped with whipped foam. One swiftly appeared before me and I flashed him a little sly smile.

“Good work, soldier,”

“On the caf?”

“On the kid, dummy, looked more natural than I expected… you do that kind of thing a lot?”

“Use to…”

We both sipped our beverages, the bitter acid cut with a sweet, berryish syrup. It was rather good.

“Is that a story you're willing to tell me?”

“... Maybe,”

Well, that's progress I suppose, but I knew more than he was telling and it was difficult to keep biting my tongue.

And Kahtzi says I'm avoidant.

“I thought your tattoos were cultural,”

I looked up,

“Hmm?”

“Your makeup,”

He cocked his head to the Ga’haiian girl behind the counter.

“They don't seem to have it, or the ink on your arms,”

“Oh… they wouldn't,”

I traced over the fading ink on my wrists,

“The dedication ceremony isn't really practiced much, I started doing it at some point to be fashionably unfashionable and ended up just… enjoying it,”

“And the tattoos,”

“These are a practice amongst the nobles of Sohn, most Ga'haiians don't have them,”

…

“You didn't think to mention that earlier?”

“They're not that noticeable…”

His eyes narrowed and darted back to the few visible natives casting unsubtle glances in our direction.

“I mean it's not uncommon to visit Nohct,”

“We should get off the street,”

“Easy, we're in civilization now, no one's gonna just… jump out at us,”

He didn't ease, instead standing, making an attempt to down the rest of his drink. A feat which would've looked more serious if he didn't get foam on his nose in the process.

Stifling a giggle I handed him a napkin, standing as well. The man was never completely wrong, and my marks were drawing some attention.

“Let's go somewhere I'll blend in better,”

I took his arm and started guiding him up the main corridor towards the Grand Casino perched over the prized raceway. It wasn't the only casino lining the massive passage, but if we were to find any congregation from the elitist Sohn side they'd be at the qualifiers banquet. Which, we should avoid, but no one should blink at me wandering around the casino with a bodyguard.

The building was massive once you were in its shadow. Its front was carved from a solid block of lush blue stone forming sweeping, shallow staircases. Gold inlays were hammered into every step as it led through gates of glowing neon lights blinking a dazzling pattern that would give you a headache if you stared at it directly.

Crosshair kept glancing at his feet as we crossed the threshold into the massive gambling den. There was an epitaph inscribed on the precious stone foyer in Ga'haiian.

“By Be'llahl’s Pleasure”

I translated, and he looked up at me.

“What is Be’llahl the god of…exactly,”

I laughed at that and pushed him further into the building out of the way of incoming patrons.

“Isn't it obvious?”

We had reached the floor where groups of people gathered around tables of spinning, whirring devices. Some threw dice, some dealt cards, all were engrossed in the thrill of the game. Beautiful men and women of multiple races walked between the tables carrying drink trays to guests and little droids darted about the floor, cleaning up spilt ice and the occasional stray credit. The walls were draped in portraiture of the escorts available and their performance times, many of the faces familiar.

He still looked like he was waiting for an answer, so I gestured to the examples around us.

“What do you see?”

“Gambling.”

“Mm, yes one indulgence, what else?”

“Booze,”

“And sex, and beauty, and music, and food”

“I don't get it,”

“Be’llahl is a pleasure god, li’nen, specifically pleasure for the sake of it, who gave birth to culture itself… not like any one believes in the old gods these days, more of a mascot really,”

He chewed a toothpick, processing the clanging, bleeping, whirring casino floor, and I poked his side.

“It’s telling you to relax and have fun,”

Getting an idea, I grabbed him again, pulling him into the game pit.

“I'll show you what I mean,”

I steered us to an embankment I was well familiar with.

“What's this?”

He eyed the attendant with distrust.

“You'll like it, watch,”

I slid some credits onto the counter for show and the attendant passed me a basket with three little darts inside.

The holoscreen flashed and suddenly displayed a starfield. It looked like it went on forever. Buttons on the console in front of me lit up with the chances 1x, 3x, and 5x displayed. I put a single credit in the 1x tray and the screen zoomed in. I could now make out a star system rotating rather quickly, planets and moons orbiting in a predictable pattern with different point values.

I took a dart, and aimed at a slow moving moon worth the lowest value, hitting it with a generated pop as the physical object penetrated the hologram and buried itself into the game's backboard. The little moon exploded and the value was added to my payout.

The next shot I took missed, and my points dropped down to zero. Same with the third, and the attendant took my credit while thanking me for playing.

I never got better at this game, so I shrugged and handed a credit to Crosshair.

“In your wheelhouse?”

He was already sliding the credit into the highest payout slot and taking the offered darts.

I couldn't make much out at this level, being zoomed into a galaxy band, the heavenly bodies revolving in still a predictable, but wildly complicated dance. All the targets were small, but the high value pieces were also fast, and often blinked behind other obstacles.

“Careful now, a negative score will have us in debt,”

He just smirked and tossed the first dart, sending it through a dust belt. It hit its mark true, and the bonus was added to the tally. He caught on quickly.

A girl came to my elbow and offered me a complimentary spritzer and I accepted, sipping the weak drink and snagging another for Cross, who was letting the bet roll for another round of darts. They'll be free while we're playing and I weighed the idea of getting sloshed at one of the more cushy tables with a low buy in. I set the drink at his elbow and he seemed to sip at it without thinking, quickly engrossed in the game.

Glad he was relaxing, I stepped a few paces away and scanned the busy Casino floor. Guests lingered about at various betting tables, families steering their younglings away to more age appropriate activities, and security keeping an eye on things. They blended in well, but once you saw them they seemed to be everywhere.

A group of Katjarls began hissing at each other at one of the bars. Before it turned into a full out yowling match security was already there to break it up. No causing a scene here.

I turned back to the game bank and nearly choked on my drink as I shuffled back to the counter.

“Thank you! That'll be all for us,”

I slammed my hand between the attendant and Cross’s outreached one waiting for more darts.

“What happened to low profile?”

I hissed, taking in the score counter.

“You couldn't have held back a little?”

My fault, but by Be'llahl I was gone a karken second!

“What's the problem?’

The hair raised on the back of my neck as he leaned down to talk low in my ear. He sounded like he was masking disappointment with an air of irritation.

“Fleecing the house is not how you go unnoticed,”

“And how would the gentleman like his winnings?”

The attendant had cocked an eyebrow at me, putting the ball in my court as to what to do about the ridiculous payout.

“What's the charity this quarter?”

“Oh… uh, that would be for the Rebuilding the Ravages of War fund, Miss,”

“Perfect, give us a fifth and donate the rest,”

The Ga'haiian nodded, and winked at the faded ink on my forearms before heading off to count the credits.

I expected a protest that never came and tilted my head to look at the soldier next to me, armor partially hidden by the cloak we took from the safe house. He was standing in a forced casual position, staring craters into the back of the boy counting out winnings to the far side of the game bar.

Maybe he needed the cash…

Too bad, I wouldn't want that kind of attention even if we weren't… on the run? Underground?... Whatever. Walking away with that kind of money would have the higher ups in a tizzy. At least donating it helps their taxes so they're more likely to look the other way. We'll need a new way to kill the time.

I tapped his elbow to signal him to wait for the credits and stepped a few paces into the carpeted walkway. There were less bodies mingling away from the bars and tables and a breeze wafted through from somewhere unseen. A small bit of peace in the clamoring din of the game hall.

“Tah'nyem Ra! Dollface, what are you doing here?”

I spun on my heel, coming face to ruffles with a familiar costume.

“Jar’ath!”

I hugged the man with genuine enthusiasm, his slight build leaned into me and we kissed each other's cheeks where our tattoos smudged into color. His skin had gone pale, telling how long he'd been outside of Sohn.

“It's been so long, I haven't seen you-”

“Since you ran off to play ‘Madam’ on Coruscant? Mhmm, I remember,”

He flicked his bangs out of his eyes, the white hair hiding the streak of black over his ear as he fixed me with a faux haughtiness.

“Oh, don't sound so hurt, it's not like you didn't have your own career, What is it these days? I suspect that's why you're here?”

“Stars sake it's why I've been stuck here. It's qualifier season, Ga’hah’s hosting and I'm the MC! Can you believe it?”

I giggled at his outlandish gesturing as he complained.

“Didn't you always want to host the races?”

“Mm, true, and honestly couldn't be happier, despite Riot Racing having all the draw these days…”

He jutted his chin towards the game counter where Cross was being handed a satchel embroidered with the casino's motto.

“Who's Mr, uh… scary?”

He trailed off as the Clone sloped over, towering over the two of us as he drew even with my shoulders. Despite the glower in his demeanor I relaxed once he was near again, not wanting to leave him alone long where he seemed so… out of his element. It's like ships or a gunfight were the only places he felt comfortable.

“Jar’ath Saijen, this is Commander Crosshair of the Imperial Army, he's my guard for the event,”

With my father being given the governorship this wasn't a far off fib.

“Oh~h, a soldier,”

He extended a hand, all painted blue to the elbow and glittery pink gemstones on the nails. Crosshair took it, shaking it briefly. If the flirty tone registered he did well hiding any reaction.

“Mhmm, ye~ah, and how long have you been Kriffing little Miss Ra here?”

He may as well have struck me, the way my mouth hung ajar.

“Oh don't look so shocked! I've known you, how long? You're not this relaxed around someone lest you've bedded them, and when have you ever had a bodyguard? Tell me I'm wrong,”

He wasn't, and now turned to size up the clone.

“You're a tall one, not the tallest, obviously… but how's that work with a shorty like Tah’nyem? Do you use a stool or just avoid shower sex?”

I felt my cheeks warm slightly, making this the second wave of embarrassment in less than a week. I was getting soft.

Jar'ath let go of Crosshair's hand, who had frozen at the blatant questioning and I moved to redirect the conversation.

“Ah-”

It came out as a squeak. I cleared my throat and tried again.

“He's a friend, with the end of the war we have a lot of men looking for alternative work, I'm… gauging interest,”

Crosshair's eyes snapped to mine, but he didn't contradict my story.

“Oh? He's a clone, right? Can tell by the eyes… I'm not sure what the draw would be, you've kriffed one you've kriffed them all, he's different though isn't he… custom order?”

He went to feel up the armor plating, causing Crosshair to tense, but before he could move I was already there- hand wrapped tight around the slim, painted wrist.

“Watch your tone Jar’ath, I just said this is my friend, try not to be rude… er,”

He gasped in a patented exaggeration.

“Oo, look at you! It's like you care! Does Kahtzi know? She's gonna want a piece once she figures out you like him, like him”

I released his arm, sighing, there was no winning with Jar’ath. He'd been like this since we were young. It was his defense against the other kids who'd try to bully us smaller half bloods. Always the last word, never showing a shred of anything but amusement.

“I'll kill you later, but for now… where's the best place to get away from the crowd? We've been jostled for what feels like hours and I'm tired of it,”

I glanced at Crosshair. It was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking, but it was clear he wasn't fond of my old friend. Couldn't really blame him, Jar'ath’s invasiveness was like water in the hot oil that was Cross’s defensive silence.

“Mm, li’nen, it's your lucky day,”

He reached into his top and pulled out a key card.

“When the floor manager saw your friend's take piling up he wanted me to escort you to the main box party for the race, I'm guessing you haven't been yet…”

Kark, I knew we had drawn attention…

“Bu~t, you'll never guess who's in with all those nuvvy wuds today, Bly’ju Duhanis!”

I recoiled.

“Oh, no, please keep me far, far away from Bly,”

“Who's Bly?”

We both turned to look up at Cross, who had spoken for the first time in the exchange.

“Oh, sweetie he's one of little T’s suiters, isn't that right, Tah’nyem?”

“The most irritatingly persistent one,”

I groaned, thinking of the incessant holocalls that had me changing registries more than anyone would ever think to.

“You know, our big strong Commander could probably knock some fear into the boy,”

Jar'ath once again made to push up against the fitted armor only for Cross to step out of the way.

“Discretion, for once Jar'ath? For the love of Be'llahl?”

“That is blasphemy, little T, it's my pleasure to be as I am and do as I do, yes?”

“Would that infringe on my pleasure? Which may come to a crashing halt if it fell to the wrong eyes or ears?”

I glanced pointedly at the taller man, once again quiet but had shifted to stand closer to me and slightly more hidden from Jar'ath.

“Uhg, fine, but only because I love you and I already solved the problem anyways,”

He jiggled the key card.

“For high rollers like you, I convinced them to give me an unused key, you want privacy, I have you more then covered, Just be grateful I recognized your ass from all the way over there,”

He put the key card in my hand, and leaned in to kiss my forehead.

“Gotta run, the show's about to begin!”

And with an exaggerated bow, he was gone, the flamboyant fabric of his costume getting lost amongst the garish tourist chic pouring through the hall towards the arena where the day's qualifier races would soon be starting.

I turned to Crosshair and was startled to find him staring at me rather intently.

“What? What's the look?”

Not waiting for an answer I started moving us in the direction of the stadium seating looking for the number on the key that would indicate floor.

“You didn't even try to deny it… us,”

“There's no us, Wouldn't have been much point anyways, Jar'ath is the best cold reader in the business, practically clairvoyant, and he's known me longer than most so I'm particularly easy,”

He leaned into me, breathing against my hair as another group shoved by us on the way to the glowing stairs at the back of the game hall.

“So you do like me?”

I faltered from my relaxed stride and he chuckled. Sending him a cold glance we started up the stairs to the private balconies.

“So, if he knows you so well, why didn't you tell him the real story?”

The amount of people around us thinned as we ascended to the more expensive seating levels, eventually coming out into a quiet, empty hall. Plush carpeting muffled our steps and I lowered my voice.

“Well, didn't want to tell him much, its difficult to lie to him but he knows I wouldn't put much effort into covering up a tryst besides what's expected of me, hopefully he just thinks that's all I'm doing,”

Not like he'd sell me out to assassins, he would just find my present circumstances more amusing than my sex life… and he’s a varp of a meddling gossip.

“Hide… trysts often?”

“I think I just said I didn't, but what you really seem to be asking is how often there's a tryst at all.”

We had come even to a door emblazoned with a matching symbol to the key I was holding. Some of his behaviors were starting to make a pattern and I brimmed with irritation.

“I told you before, not as often as people would like to believe… If I didn't know better I’d say your words hold a tinge of jealousy,”

I pressed the key to the reader with a huff and entered the empty box. The balcony was wide with small tables scattered about, plush chairs tucked in. It was dark and I left the light off, not wanting to draw any more attention to us alone up here.

“Would it be wrong… if I was jealous?”

“You'd be a fool to form such a feeling about me, We knew this wasn't something that could continue… this story doesn't have a happy ending,”

I felt his arms weave about my shoulders, gently pulling me against his chest.

“I don't care about the ending…”

I blinked rapidly to chase away the heat that suddenly stung my eyes. Illogical reaction, there was definitely something wrong with me these days. Shrugging his arms off me I pulled away.

“Foolish,”

The divider overlooking the track was a low, sturdy stone and I leaned against it looking down to the checkered line where a horde of racers were standing by their pods waving to the crowd. Jar'ath could be heard over the cheering masses as he introduced each entry, little droids flew about, buzzing to each contestant. Giant holo screens showed the projections, flashing between the smiling racer and shots of their supporters in the crowd.

Crosshair approached me slowly, sliding into the soft light filtering in from the stadium and leaned next to me with his back to the crowd.

“Forget the end, What about now?... You and I…”

“You and I still have our duties, there's no escaping that,”

My tone remained one of admonishment, eyes casting about the other lit boxes on our level.

Even if we do see each other again…

“There,”

I pointed across the way to a crowded balcony. It was a few floors down but open to the sky, creating a larger banquet space framed by the backdrop of mountains. At its center booth, a handsome Ga'haiian sat in a white suit. Tall, tan, pure white hair slicked back and falling over his shoulders. Women lounged about, giggling and hanging about his neck trying to steal a kiss. The people around him were obvious sycophants, latching to the wealth and power, but the man didn't seem to mind.

Crosshair followed my gesture, catching as the man poured a sparkling bottle of something over the head of a fawning girl and laughed.

“That is my suitor, Bly’ju Duhanis, son of the richest family of Ga'hah and the galaxies most pompous idiot,”

The poor drenched girl smiled weakly as Bly moved his attention to the wait staff, knocking a tray out of one of their hands as he demanded more bubbly.

“Charming,”

“Isn't he? I hate the man… everyone knows that I despise him, and yet he's most likely to be my future husband, eventually he'll make my father an offer he can't refuse, his family can make almost anything happen and he feels… entitled to me,”

“Any particular reason?”

He was only half listening, a wandering hand bringing cool fingers to trace the lines on my forearm.

“Stood up for me once when we were kids, he got a broken nose and now considers it a blood debt, ignoring the fact that he turned to bullying me and my friends as an immediate reaction,”

I pulled my arms closer about me and away from his touch, adding a bite of accusation to my tone,

“And then there's you… what do you think the Empire will do when they find out you let them escape? ‘They won't be able to hide forever,’ right? It rings in you over and over,”

He stiffened, his hand that reached for me faltering.

“Oh come on, we're already neck deep in Secret Town here, how about we go over some of yours?...What's the plan once the Empire realizes they're alive? Will they just ignore it, or shove you into a cell never to be seen again?... Perhaps they'll just kill you.”

The events had been laid clear in his mind, the thoughts well tread as he went over them again and again, betrayal begetting betrayal. It wasn't easy to forget.

“That's not for you to worry about,”

He pushed off the barrier and moved behind me, arms forming bars against my sides as he leaned in again.

“I said I don't care how it ends,”

But if we keep doing this… I will.

He was nuzzling into my hair, keeping the contact light, whispering so that his lips barely brushed against my ear.

“I may never come back… I could die tomorrow, you could too… but that still leaves tonight,”

He was using my own sentiments against me.

I turned to face him, hips backed to the stone, arms weakly pushing him away, but my resolve was slipping as he refused to back off. His persistence remained gentle, as if to still the frightened animal he saw struggling behind the eyes that were avoiding his. Another light touch, a stroke of my cheek, turning my chin to meet his gaze as he had on the crimson moon.

“Tell me then, that once was enough, tell me your satisfied… and I'll never ask again,”

I don't know when the script had switched, my position as predator slipping away as I felt the web of him close around me. Suffocating.

His boot suddenly kicked mine out with a quick hooked motion, forcing me into a wider stance as he leaned in, holding my gaze. Those strong fingers now tracing a trail up the inseam of my suede pants.

A whistle pierced the air as the racers shot ahead on the speedway with a chorus of roaring engines. The onlookers were now reliant on the screens projecting feeds from the blind curves of the track as the roar echoed and dulled. The sudden rush of noise and excitement from the crowd shook me with adrenaline.

He didn't let the rush go to waste, letting his thumb caress just inside the crease near my groin, causing a wave of heat to crash onto the cold chills running down my spine. It was just a brush, a tease, serving it's purpose of relaxing my inhibitions.

“Don't make me wait forever…”

“Implying that you would?”

“Life's too short for regrets, that's what you said isn't it?”

…

“Tahny…”

Sighing in resignation as his hands slowed, sliding up to rest on my hips, I hesitantly leaned my head against his armored shoulder, breathing him in to ignite the sparks he was stoking within me.

He had me.

Fine then…

I leaned back, stroking his cheek… holding his eyes with mine as I crooked my fingers in promise, pressing the symbol to his chest.

“For whatever time we have, you, CT-9904 Crosshair, may have of myself, Tah’nyem Ra… as you like,”

“By Be'llahl?”

“... By Be’llahl,”

I was lifted to sit on the edge of the stone, his arms bracing me so I needn't fear falling as his lips found my neck, planting little kisses under my ear.

“As I like?”

Here's to recklessness and bad decisions…

“As you like,”

Letting myself give in, I wrapped my arms over his shoulders, bringing my lips to meet his and allowing the world to fall away again.

He was pressed to me, nothing but air to my back as the kiss deepened, becoming more possessive as the warmth of his tongue dove between my lips, searching desperately for mine. I wrapped a leg about his hips to keep steady, trusting him not to pitch us over as I answered his desperation with a soft moan.

Pulling away to find my neck again, he alternated between soft kisses and sharp little nips between my ear and the collar of my shirt… I had to resist breathing his name with each little jolt. He had shifted to hold me steady with one arm, his dominant hand set to exploring again, up my chest and into my hair.

I was frustrated at the thick plates over his shoulders and slid my hands to his ribs, curling my fingers into the sole gap to tug at him. He bit my neck slightly harder, making me gasp, before moving back to kissing me, hand still holding me still by my hair.

This was different than before… an odd bliss to it, only broken by a quiet, buzzing that had slowly crept up to us. The crowd below had broken into wilder cheers and jeering.

Our attention snapped to the small hover droid, scanning us onto holo screens under a gaudy, romantic banner. Jar'ath was saying something about a cutest couple award, suddenly finding himself at the top of my hit list.

I did my best event smile and wave routine as Cross and I slunk back into the shadows of the box. The screens were now zoomed in on Bly, shaking and furious as the desperate girl attempted to lean in for a kiss. The camera cut as he turned to storm off, pulling his security in tow as he went. It was safe to say he probably recognized me.

Great, more people on my tail.

“Cross, can you see the announcer booth from here?”

“Yes…”

“Shoot Jar'ath for me,”

He grinned at that.

“My pleasure.”

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