#sgt gadriel

[refinedstorage]

I fell onto your blog cos you drew the sexiest damn Sgt. Gadriel I've ever seen and its a bonus jackpot that the rest of your blog is top notch too. Keep up the good work, soldier.

i am but a tourist but I appreciate a beautiful man when i see one 😌🙏🫡🫡🫡

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 7

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

Woooooweeeeee babes. Looks like our favourite couple is finally catching a break. Or are they?

Blood and gore under the cut, as well as loads of general 40kness. Apologies for spelling or grammar errors.

If this is your first time here, welcome! If you like the look of this fic but aren't caught up, check out the master list here to see all the parts I've done so far :)

Otherwise, thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

Gadriel is sure he's lost consciousness at least twice now. This time, rather than spur him back to life with yet another blow to his wounds, Severus allows him to awake on his own. Gadriel's eyes are heavy. His vision, a swirling mess of black and white spots. When the haze fades enough for him to actually see, he finds a a deep, rippling pool of blood at his feet.

The poison still hasn't worn off. Even after... Throne, how long has it been? An hour? A day?

"Hey! Angel!"

Gadriel raises his eyes.

"There you go," Severus smirks. "Stay with me, now. We're not even halfway done yet."

The slaver flicks his right wrist- the mechanical one. The metal joint clanks with the movement, and several, large droplets of blood are sent flying off its pointed knuckles.

"You know," Severus muses. "I'm thinkin' maybe I don't give you to the Drukhari after all. I'm thinkin' maybe I'll just bleed you like a pig, then strip you for parts. You angels got a lot of fun things going on under the hood; things that I bet'll sell real nice on the black market."

He flicks Gadriel's chest with his forefinger. Gadriel's mind is so lost amidst its agony, he doesn't even feel it.

"I mean, you've got what; two supercharged hearts and three superlarge lungs? A layer of subdermal armour as thick as steel and the literal progenoids of a demi-god jammed up in your neck? You're priceless, really! Still a pretentious little shit, of course. But a priceless one at that!"

Vaguely, Gadriel wonders what the dark eldar wyche must think of all this. He'd expected her to argue, or even just react. But when Gadriel casts his eyes to where she's standing at the back of the...

She's gone.

Gone? But where? Did she get bored? Have other duties to attend? Prisoners of her own to torture, perhaps?

Wait. Wait. He remembers something. A feeling, an idea. Formed ages ago, before blood loss and shock had vegetated his brain.

"Mmm. Yeah. Tell me, how's that been working out for you?"

"Not great. But soon, I expect that to change."

"Oh? And how do you figure that?"

"You'll see... "

I'd been waiting, Gadriel realises. Waiting for her to leave. And now she's gone. That means I can...

As if on cue, acidic saliva stings the back of his tongue.

"What else you got?" Severus continues to ramble. "You got a rib plate instead of cage? Surely that will go for something. Oh! And all those little bits of tech that hook you into your armour. Now, to the right people, those will go for bags!"

Dropping his chin to his chest, Gadriel mutters something unintelligible.

"Sorry?" Severus says. "Did you say something?"

Again, Gadriel murmurs. But again, no words are discernable.

Scowling, Severus closes in on Gadriel, turning his ear towards the space marine's face. "Speak up, damn you. Use your words."

"I said," Gadriel mutters. "That you forgot one."

"One of what?"

"One of the organs that seperates a space marine from a human."

Avarice ignites within Severus' black, soulless eyes. "Well, go on, then!" he demands. "Tell me!"

Now, finally, Gadriel raises his head. "It's called Betcher's gland," he says. His voice is little more than a hoarse, croaking whisper.

"Betcher's gland, huh?" Severus says. "Haven't heard of that one. What is it?"

Gadriel locks eyes with the slaver. He licks his lips. "It allows us to spit acid."

As he'd suspected, Severus is slow on the uptake. For all his cruel behaviour and love of technical jargon, the bastard is about as clever as he is brave. That gives Gadriel plenty of time to work up a glob of saliva large enough to hoick into the man's face. It lands on his left eyebrow.

Initially, Severus recoils in surprise and disgust. But before the slaver can curse Gadriel or punish him for his slight, the acid begins its grisly work.

Severus' eyebrow evaporates, the flesh beneath it popping and hissing as it retreats from his skull like melting plastic. His brow bone kisses the open air, then blacken and turns to gluggy, carbon ash. An acidic droplet lands in the centre of his left eye. The entire thing pops like an infected cyst.

Severus drops to the floor. Limbs locked up, mouth ripped open in a terrible scream. He claws at his melting face, but that only spreads the acid to his hands. The fingers of his alien hand remain mostly intact. His organic ones, meanwhile, are stripped to the bone in seconds.

Gadriel watches the man writhe and wail at his feet with half a smile- he's too exhausted to laugh; the exertion of it might just make him pass out again. But Throne dammit if he's not enjoying seeing this bastard is so much agony.

If this is where he is to die, there are few sights he'd rather be seeing. Well, in truth, there's only one.

If it can't be Ellie's face, let it be the face of her tormentor as it's melted off with acid.

Gadriel smirks to himself. Twisted as it is, there's a lot of romance in that. He appreciates it. Surprising how much he appreciates it. Surprising he even remembers what romance is, after everything he-

Throne. I'm loosing it. Can't keep my thoughts straight.

Must be the blood loss. Catching up with him.

How did it take in the end...

Can't see Severus anymore. Just black. Black and screaming. Blood and steel.

How long has he been here? An hour? A day?

Gadriel doesn't know. He doesn't...

"Gadriel!"

That voice...

It's her.

Ellie.

His Ellie.

Gadriel's smile widens a little. How kind of his mind to flash her memory before him as he dies. It would've been nice, however, to have seen her face one last time.

"Gadriel! Can you hear me? Open your eyes, darling. Please, open your eyes."

Gadriel can't. He knows he can't. He tries- how could he not try for her? But his body, his mind, they are lightyears away. He doesn't even feel the pain anymore.

I'm sorry Ellie, he would tell her if he still had a voice. I'm sorry to abandon you again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Gadriel!" Ellicent cries. "Gadriel, can you hear me?"

He doesn't look up. Doesn't even move. His head is entirely limp in her hand. Blood is literally lapping at the sole of her boot. His skin is as grey and clammy as a corpse.

"Open your eyes, darling." Ellicent's voice is meek with tears. "Please, open your eyes."

Nothing. Still nothing.

Oh Emperor, please. Please no. Please don't do this. Not again.

Thundering footsteps behind her. Ellicent looks over her shoulder in time to see Titus enter the room. His helm moves sharply between her and Gadriel. "Step aside," he says. Though it is an order, his voice is surprisingly soft. It's enough to coax Ellicent away from Gadriel and do as the Ultramarine says.

Titus exchanges his bolter for his power sword, activating the weapon with a plasmic whine. With one clean slash, he severs Gadriel's chains.

Gadriel collapses to the floor. The pool of blood beneath him splashes up his front. He lands on his knees, slouches forwards. Both hands clutch at his right side and terrible scream tears through his entire body.

Ellicent drops to her knees in front of him. Grabs his tear-streaked face and presses her forehead to his. "Gadriel. Darling, look at me."

He's trembling in her grasp. His breath, barely more than short ragged gasps. But he's alive. He's awake. And at the sound of her voice, he even manages to lift his head a little.

"... E... Ellie..."

Ellicent chokes on a sob. "Yeah. It's me." Throwing her arm around his neck, she hugs him tight.

Gadriel doesn't have the strength the speak. Nor to lift his arms to return her embrace. Even so, he manages to reply by nuzzling his face into her neck.

Weeping openly now, Ellicent kisses his cheek. "I know," she murmurs. "I'm here. I've got you."

To her left, ceramite clangs against the floor. "Can you walk, brother?" Titus asks, crouching beside Gadriel.

Without pulling away from Ellicent, Gadriel turns his head towards the other space marine. "I..." He's cut off by a grimace, followed by a vicious bout of wracking coughs. Titus touches his shoulder. "I'll take that as a no." Sheathing his power sword at his back, he carefully takes Gadriel's arm and slings it over his neck. Ellicent, taking her cue, gives Gadriel one last kiss on the cheek before releasing him and scampering out of the way.

Titus hauls Gadriel onto his feet with a grunt, putting an arm around his waist. Gadriel cries out with the movement and sags heavily against his armoured brother. Titus, however, holds him up with relative ease. Letting Gadriel's arm hang loose around his neck for a moment, he reaches for his hip. Ellicent notices another holster, from which he extracts a weapon. Small, thick and glowing a bright, humming blue.

A plasma pistol.

"Have you used one of these before?" Titus asks her.

Ellicent nods.

He seems to stare at the side arm for a second. Then, he offers it to her. "Take point," he says. Then, in a tone that's slightly softer:

"Keep us safe."

Ellicent is taken off guard. His allowing her to guide him through the ship is one thing, but to offer her a weapon? That's-

Cut it out, Ellicent snaps at herself. No time for that right now.

She takes the weapon from Titus. It's weighty, but we'll balanced. The fact it's projectiles are energy, too, should make its recoil easy to handle despite her single arm.

Looking back up at Titus, Ellicent nods.

"You've got it," she tells him.

Titus returns her nod. Then, he touches the side of his helm. "Squad Talasa, this is Titus. I've got the sergeant. He is alive, but badly wounded. Have an Apothecary on standby to receive him."

A pause.

"Affirmative. Broadcasting my locus now. Inform me when you are two minutes out. Titus out."

He drops his hand from his helm.

"Is that our rescue?" Ellicent asks.

"It is mine and Gadriel's, yes."

His tone is terse, pointed. Thought Ellicent feels her hackles rise, she keeps her own emotions on a leash. "Fair enough," she answers.

Turning away from the pair of space marines now, she steps towards the door. As she does, her metal foot clinks against something. She glances down. Her eyes widen at what she finds.

It's an arm. A bionic arm. Attached to the shoulder of a human man lying on his back. Half his face is gone. Melted, as if by acid. Even so, Ellicent would recognise him anywhere.

Severus.

She crouches beside him. His mouth is agape, but no sound comes out. His left eye is a watery puddle within his skull, and the flesh of that entire side of his face is entirely eaten away. Only bone remains. And even that is pot-holed and blackened. But his chest is moving. Breath still wheezing in and out of his throat. His one good eye also tilts towards her.

A chill runs through Ellicent's body. It is not, however, from fear. "I knew it was you," she murmurs. "If there was one thing you hated more than the idea of me escaping, it was the idea of my being saved."

Severus says nothing. Just wheezes at her. The contempt in his remaining eye, however, is palpable.

"Who is that?"

Ellicent turns to see Titus looking at her from over his shoulder.

Ellicent glances back at Severus. At his still-melting face. Gadriel must've spat on him; it's the only explanation she can think of. If that is the case, then the acid isn't anywhere near done with him yet. Another few minutes, and he'll be either dead or totally vegetated. The thought brings a smile to her lips.

"Dunno," she says to Titus. "Some kinda serf, maybe. He's too far gone though. Not worth saving."

"Perhaps we should give him the Emperor's Mercy, then."

Eyes still on Severus, Ellicent shakes her head. "No," she says. "No, we don't have time. Besides, the gunshot would alert every xenos still here to our location." She gets to her feet. Severus follows her with his eye. She could be mistaken, but she swears she sees a flicker of pleading somewhere behind it.

Ellicent curls her upper lip in disgust. Then, without a second glance, she turns her back on him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Where are we right now, in relation to the ship's outer hull?" Titus asks.

Ellicent clears the next hallway, sweeping the sights of her plasma pistol across it. Nothing.

By the Emperor, Titus has really aired this place out. "Far," she answers his question. "We're basically in the belly, right now." She looks at him from over her shoulder.

"Can you get us closer? To the outer hull, I mean?"

"Sure," Ellicent replies. "We keep moving down, we'll hit utility. Only walls thinner than those are the hangars."

Titus gives an affirmative grunt. "Take us there."

"Can I ask why?"

"You may. But I'll not be telling you."

Ellicent just smirks at that. Irritating as Titus' continued mistrust of her is, she understands it. And with him being the only one of the two of them who can carry Gadriel, she's not about to antagonise him, either.

With every second that passes, her beloved's condition grows more and more dire. He's slipped out of consciousness again, head lolling against his chest as Titus drags him along. Ellicent has to suppress the urge to go to him. To grab his face and scream at him to wake up.

Stay focused. The best way you can help him is to stay focused.

As they leave the torture chambers behind, the interior's architecture begins to change. Colours shift from black to grey. The rib-like structures lining the walls gain hard, mechanical edges, and the lighting gets significantly brighter. All are signs that they've finally reached the ship's utility levels. Means they're not far now.

It also means they start encountering the enemy.

Titus never made it down here. As such, the Dark Eldar force hasn't been thinned. When they hear the clang of Titus' ceramite and smell the stench of Gadriel's poisoned, thinned blood, they come swarming like flies. But most of the warriors here carry swords and knives. And Ellicent's fire is as ruthless as it is accurate. Alien heads, hearts and throats all explode under the glare of her plasma pistol. Soon, their wake is littered with charred and decapitated corpses.

In Ellicent's hand, the plasma pistol vibrates like an anxious heart. Its grip is becoming warm. The blue light from its chamber taking longer and longer to dissipate after every shot. She keeps this up any longer and the damned thing is gonna explode in her hand.

"Titus!" she shouts over her shoulder. "How far away is your rescue!"

"That depends," the Ultramarine booms. "How far are we from cargo?"

"This is utility!"

"In that case: two minutes."

"Thank the Emperor," Ellicent breathes.

At the next curve in the hall, Titus sets Gadriel down. He draws his bolter, aiming it straight down the corridor ahead. Ellicent, meanwhile, covers their rear. She glances at Gadriel. Throne, he looks like a corpse. Again, the urge to drop to her knees at his side threatens to overwhelm her. But again, Ellicent makes herself suppress it.

"The hell have we stopped for, Titus?" she hisses.

Titus' reply couldn't have been shorter or more curt. "Rescue."

Ellicent looks at Gadriel again. Her heart rages.

"We're in the middle of a Throne-damned hallway," she growls. "I can hear the xenos getting-"

"We hold this position," Titus says.

"Why the f-"

"Trust me, Ellie."

That makes Ellicent pause.

He knows my name; he used it. Not just my name, but the one Gadriel gave me.

Before she can process the implications of that fact, Titus is shouting at her. "Contact! Both sides!"

Ellicent blinks her head clear. Lifts her plasma pistol and stares down its barrel. It's just as the Ultramarine had said. Drukhari. Dozens of them. Sprinting down the hall with blades in hand.

Ellicent sets her jaw; aims and open fires.

At first, she manages well. The hallway is long, with very little cover. It creates a bottleneck; a funnel, that forces the xenos straight into her line of sight. Means Ellicent rarely misses. And every shot that lands is a killshot. But like a storm rolling over a hill, inch by inch the Drukhari start closing in. Ellicent can't keep up. Worse, the plasma pistol is starting to overheat. Won't be long until it's too hot for her to hold.

Heart pounding, she glances behind her. "Titus! Where the fuck is your rescue?!"

Her voice is almost entirely drowned out by the roar of his bolter fire. Somehow, though, Titus hears her anyway.

"Any moment now! " he bellows. "Hold fast!"

"Emperor save me," Ellicent scowls.

A shriek at her front whips her back around. A Drukhari- a wyche- is mere metres from her now. Ellicent raises her pistol, pulls the trigger-

The weapon shudders, spitting blue sparks from its chamber.

It's overheating. About to blow. Shit!

The wyche cocks back her sword arm. A cackling, sadistic grin contorts her thin, scarred lips.

Ellicent meets it with a snarl as she tosses the melting-down plasma pistol at the bitch's face.

It detonates like a shock grenade. Charging the air, flooding it with the stink of ozone and electricity. The wyche tumbles backwards, her head completely vaporised. She didn't even get the chance to scream.

But she isn't the last. More are coming. And Ellicent just lost her only weapon.

"Titus!" she screams. "I know you said to trust you. But-"

The next sentence dies on her lips as the wall to her left explodes.

The air ignites with fire and shrapnel. Swearing, Ellicent drops to the floor and covers the back of her head. Gale-force winds whip through the hole, howling like a thousand banshees, threatening to grab Ellicent and tear her out of the ship. The sudden change in air pressure make her ears pop and throb.

Ellicent squints through streaming, dust-filled eyes. Searching for Titus; for Gadriel; for anyone.

She can hear ceramite clanking, bolters firing-

Bolters. Plural.

Ellicent wipes her eyes on her forearm. Through the haze, she manages to make out Titus, but with him are two figures also clad in Ultramarine armour. On the other side of the hole in the wall, she catches a glimpse of a ship's open door.

A Thunderhawk, she realises. This is... This is our rescue.

Staggering to her feet, she hunts for Gadriel. There he is, slung between the two new marines while Titus covers them. Without a second thought, Ellicent sprints towards the blast hole. Just as she'd suspected, a Thunderhawk is hovering outside with its backdoor lowered and a squad of Astartes braced inside.

Ellicent stands aside as the pair carrying Gadriel's guide him towards it. Her heart skips a beat as they step outside, but the Thunderhawk is so close they barely even have to jump.

She finds Titus. Bolter still in hand, he goes to make his jump next. When he sees Ellicent, though, he suddenly stops.

"Go!" he shouts at her.

Yet again, the order utterly surprises her. But she doesn't argue with him. Steeling her nerves, Ellicent clambers to the edge of the breach, sets her toes on its edge. Before she can think twice, she jumps. Landing hard on the Thunderhawk's deck, rolling over her side and skidding to a halt. Titus leaps after her. His landing makes the entire ship shake. The moment his boots touch the floor, the Thunderhawk is gone. Tearing away from the gouge it had blasted into the Dark Star's side, its rear doors clamping shut. Ellicent's ears pop again. Her skin burns in the absence of the roaring wind. She has so many questions: who these space marines are, how they get here, how in the hell Titus had managed to coordinate such a daring, dangerous maneuver. But right now, such things are secondary concerns. Right now there's on one thing she can think about.

Gadriel.

He's laid out in the centre of the floor, flat on his back eyes still shut. Ignoring the two enormous warriors already looming over him, Ellicent shoves her way to his side. She drops to her knees. Crawls up to his head and jabs her fingers into his neck.

"Come on," she whispers. "Come on. Don't do this to me."

Her heart stammers. Pulses: a pair of them. One for each of his hearts. Both as rapid as they are weak.

Ellicent chokes on the lump that's formed in her throat.

A large hand grabs her shoulder. She looks up to see it belongs to Titus.

"Move aside," he says. "The Apothecary needs space to work."

Numbly, Ellicent does as she's told. Watching through watering eyes as her spot beside Gadriel is taken by yet another Ultramarine. He has his back to her, meaning she cannot see what he's doing. But she can imagine it. Taking Gadriel's bio readings. Injecting him with adrenaline, stimulants and pain suppressants, then pumping his veins full of blood-replacement fluids. Trying to keep his hearts beating, his lungs breathing, until they reach wherever it is they're going.

Walking backwards until her back finds a wall, Ellicent slides down to the floor. She hugs her legs, drops her chin on her knees. Tears are streaming down her face, but she hasn't the energy left to cry.

All she can do pray.

Please, Gadriel, she thinks. You promised you wouldn't abandon me again. You promised.

You promised.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Home stretch now, team. Almost time to see if happy endings truly are possible in the 41st Millennium...

Till then, stay safe out there xoxo

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @justfreakynothingelse

[demidevil-dog]

Honestly, most of the reason why I'm so besotted by Sgt. Gadriel of the second company is because I can never tell what his hair color actually is because there's never any fucking natural light on the game.

[justanothermemestrider]

Omg yes! Any excuse to ramble about my ocs I'm gonna take with both hands!

My current 40k oc is a woman named Ellicent, better known as "Ellie". She is the childhood sweetheart of Sgt Gadriel (from the Space Marine 2 video-game, if you're unaware :)) who lost contact with him after he joined the Ultramarines.

I'm working through writing their story now; a fic series called Nothing Ever Stays Dead. It's very angsty, but very romantic, and I'm super proud of it so far (if I do say so myself lol). If you want to check. it out, the link to part 1 is here! Xoxoxo

Reblog and tell me about your Warhammer OCs!!!

(seriously, I see so many cool fanart and fanfiction, I want to learn about everyone!!)

[refinedstorage]

yup

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 8

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

Second to last part, guys. We're at the penultimate chapter. If you need to catch up, or this is the first of this series that you're seeing, head over here to see the masterlist.

No warnings for this one other than for spelling and grammar mistakes (there's always a handful that slip past me haha)

Thank you for reading and please enjoy :) and if you do enjoy, then please, leave a comment! I love receiving and reading them ❤️❤️❤️

Gadriel's eyes drift open.

The face of a ceiling greets him. Tall, grey, lined with thick, twisting pipes that weave between decorative gothic archways.

Sharp-shaped chandeliers spew harsh white light, stinging his eyes and making his temples ache.

Gadriel furrows his brow. He recognises this place. In fact, it looks an awful lot like...

"Gadriel?"

A voice to his right. Male. Baratone. Familiar.

Is that...

Slowly, Gadriel turns his head.

Sitting at his bedside, wrapped in a simple black robe, is another Astartes. His skin is dark; his face noble, but kind. The enormous scar running up the left side of his head is new, but even so, Gadriel would recognise him anywhere.

"Chairon."

His squadmate smiles. "The Emperor protects," he says warmly.

Gingerly, Gadriel eases himself upright. The right side of his abdomen aches at the movement, but he manages it with a clenched jaw. "You're..." He murmurs to Chairon. "You're alive."

"As are you, brother. Though, if you don't mind my saying, that is by far the greater revelation of the two."

Gadriel smiles ruefully. Carefully, he touches his side, where the throbbing is most potent. He's naked from the waist up, and as such, he can feel the taut, ribbed skin where the harpoon wounds have started to scar over. Dark bruises blot the skin around them, as do little red marks from where the Apothecary must have had him plugged into life support machinary.

"You've been out for a couple of days now," Chairon says gently. "The Apothecary said he'd never seen a space marine loose so much blood. The lieutenant filled me in on everything that'd happened. It sounded awful, Gadriel. Truly awful."

His sympathy tugs at Gadriel in a way he did not expect. "Well, it certainly wasn't pleasant," he answers wryly. "But by all accounts, it could have been worse."

Chairon leans forwards to clasp Gadriel on the shoulder. "Indeed, brother. Indeed."

As he says this, there is a graveness in his voice. The same reluctance one might hear in someone withholding dire news from a loved one. Slowly, a thick heavy knot is forming in Gadriel's stomach. "Listen, Gadriel," Chairon says. "The lieutenant... he told me."

"Told you what?"

Chairon doesn't answer. His silence, however, is answer enough.

"Before you say anything," he eventually says. "Do not worry. While I... cannot claim to relate to your situation, I've spent enough time with the mortals to know what love is, even if only as a conception."

He gives Gadriel's shoulder a squeeze. "I can imagine what you might feel for this woman, how strong those feelings are in spite of what she is in the eyes of the law. I sympathise with you, Gadriel. Both you and her."

Gadriel's throat tightens. "Thank you, brother," he whispers.

Releasing his shoulder, Chairon nods.

"Do you know where she is?" Gadriel asks him.

Chairon frowns. "I..." He trails off into a sigh. Suddenly, the tightness in Gadriel's throat isn't from affection anymore.

"Chairon-"

"Titus wanted to tell you himself, but he was called away."

"Chairon," Gadriel says again. Half as loud, but double the menace. "Where is she?"

His brother looks at him sadly. "You're not going to like this..."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Arrested?!”

Titus glances up from the data slate in his hand. “Gadriel,” he says, surprised. “I did not know you were awake. The Apothecary said-”

“She saved my life, Titus!” Gadriel snarls. “She helped you save me!”

The lieutenant sighs. Like Gadriel, he is in casual attire; dark breeches, a light, loose fitting shirt. He’s in his quarters, sitting on the edge of his bunk. Placing the date slate down beside him, he pushes himself to his feet with a tired grunt. “I understand that you are angry-”

“Angry?” Gadriel’s blood roars as he clenches his fists tight. “Titus, I am livid-”

“-but do not forget your place,” Titus finishes sternly. “I am still your superior officer. You will speak to me as such.”

Gadriel bites the inside of his cheek. As good a friend as he considers Titus, his talk of protocol and rank right now grate him to the bone. “I need to see her,” he says. “Tell me where she is.”

“I can’t allow that yet.”

“Why?”

Titus answers slowly, like he’s choosing his words with care. “Because at this time, I am the only officer aware of her existence. And until you and I have had a chance to speak, I want to keep it that way.”

That gives Gadriel pause. “You… You haven’t…”

“I am not blind, Gadriel,” Titus says. “Neither to what she means to you, nor to everything you said when you first stepped in here. But, I cannot say the same about our superiors. And I certainly cannot say it for our chaplain, at the very least.”

Slowly, the sound of blood roaring in his ears starts to fade. Uncurling his fists, Gadriel exhales sharply through his nose. Then, he strides over to Titus, turns and plonks himself down on the edge of the lieutenant’s bunk.

“By the Golden Throne,” he mutters.

The bunk creaks as Titus sits beside him. “The moment we arrived in the hangar, I had Talasa escort her straight to my quarters,” he explains. “There, she remained while I saw to it that you were treated and Captain Acheron was debriefed- though obviously, I did not tell him about Ellie. After that, I personally moved her to a solitary confinement cell in the brig. It sounds cruel, I know. But they are the only cells without bars, and therefore the only ones where she could remain unseen.” Titus pauses then. He has more to say, Gadriel can tell, but it seems the words are causing him issues. “I… had the magos investigate her implants,” he finally says. “Discreetly, of course. But what he reported was dire to say the least.”

“How so?” Gadriel asks.

“Apparently, much more than merely her arm and leg are necronian.”

Gadriel already knows that somewhat; Ellie had mentioned it when explaining how her cybernetics had slowed her aging, made her more resilient. But he does not know the full extent of it. “Can you elaborate?”

Titus sighs. “If the magos is to be believed- which I think he is- up to eighty-percent of her internals have some kind of xenos taint. Including organs, blood, bones and even parts of her brain. As far as science is concerned, she’s more necron than-”

“Don’t,” Gadriel hisses. “I get it. But do not speak of her like that."

Titus’ jaw clenches slightly, but he lets the outburst go. “Like everything else about her, I’ve kept it to myself. The magos has also sworn his secrecy. She’s been in solitary ever since. Waiting for you to wake up and… for me to figure out what to do.”

Gadriel puts his head in his hands. This is worse than he thought. So much worse.

Oh Ellie…

A beat of tense silence passes between them. So too are a dozen unspoken things. The largest of which weighs on Gadriel like a noose cast from lead. Eventually, it is also the one which Titus chooses to voice. “I don’t have many options here, brother. And the longer she remains a secret, the fewer even those options become.”

Gadriel drops his hands from his face, but does not look up. Instead, he simply stares at his palms.

“When we were on the Dark Star, she told me what had happened to her. What Severus had done.” Old anger bubbles up the back of his throat, but with a bite to his lip, Gadriel leashes it. “She was his slave, Titus. Even the xenos implants she has- she did not take them willingly. Severus cut her up and stuffed her with them- he butchered her. She is as much his victim as anyone else he’s kidnapped or murdered.”

“I believe you,” Titus says. “But you and I both know that the laws of our Imperium aren’t open to such nuance.”

Gadriel closes his eyes. As if by not looking, he might be able to make it not true. He knows better than that. He knows it better than most. But he feels… he feels…

“Sergeant?” Titus asks.

Gadriel shakes his head. “I can’t lose her, Titus,” he says quietly.

Gently, Titus clasps his shoulder. “I’m sorry, brother. Truly, I am.” He pauses as if meaning to add more, but it seems he can come up with nothing else.

Gadriel doesn’t answer. He can’t even muster the energy to meet his lieutenant’s eye.

“Your serfs have already prepared your quarters for your return,” Titus eventually says. “But, if you would like, you can remain here as long as you need.” His hand falls from Gadriel’s shoulder, and the bunk gives another creak as he stands. “But I fear I must leave you. There is… much I need to do.”

Gadriel hears the automatic door slide open. Before Titus can leave, though, he finally looks up again. “Titus.”

The lieutenant stops, turns around.

Gadriel stares at him with cold intention. “I won’t let them execute her.”

“Gadriel-”

“I meant what I said; I can’t lose her. I won’t. Even if it means standing against you and my brothers, I will not lose her.”

Titus looks at his brother with sadness in his eyes. “I sincerely hope it won’t come to that.” He leaves, after that, the door slamming shut in his wake.

**********************************************

As far as solitary confinement cells go, the one aboard the Resilient is really quite nice. There’s a bunk and a chair; even a genuine lavatory with a basin to wash her hands. It’s clean, she’s served a decent meal twice a day, and the lights turn on and off at regular day-night cycle, giving her a sense of the passage of time. It’s leagues above a Drukhari holding cell; even above the quarters that Severus had had her sleeping in. If her mind were a little more still, Ellicent might even find herself savouring her stay here.

But her mind is not still. It's a raging storm. Anxiety is the rain, and panic is the wind. She doesn’t know if Gadriel is alive; what’s going to happen to him. She doesn’t know what’s going to happen to her; if she is to be executed, tortured, turned into a servitor. Just the other day, an ad-mech magos dropped in to run endless scans on her, bringing a new, horrifying potential fate for her to contemplate; being cut open and biopsied in the name of science.

Ellicent hasn’t slept for days. Hasn’t eaten in longer, despite the decent meals. She spends every day and night curled up on her bunk, laying on her side with her knees to her chest. At first, she cried. When she ran out of energy for that, she simply lay there. Catatonic. Dead to the outside world. Hunkering down against an invisible storm.

When her cell door slides open, she doesn’t even open her eyes.

“Ellie? It’s me. Lieutenant Titus.”

Ellicent’s voice is hoarse from disuse. “Are you here to kill me?” she mutters.

“Not yet,” he admits.

Ellicent smirks to herself. “I appreciate the honesty, harsh as it is.”

Titus hasn’t a reply for that.

“How’s Gadriel?” she asks quietly.

“He’s alright. Woke up just a few hours ago.”

Ellicent’s relief is the first positive thing she’s felt since arriving here. It’s enough to drive her to tears. “The Emperor hasn’t abandoned me yet,” she whispers.

“He’s deathly worried about you,” Titus adds. “He told me outright he’d betray the Ultramarines if it meant keeping you alive.”

That makes Ellicent open her eyes. “He’s not in trouble for that, is he?”

“If his superior were anyone else other than me, then yes, he would be. And you would likely be already dead.”

Lifting her head, Ellicent pushes herself upright. Her hair is out, falling past her shoulders and gathering around her waist in tangled curtains of scarlet. She drags it out of her face, then turns around to face the lieutenant. He’s out of his armour, but no less intimidating. Standing in front of her now-closed cell door, his arms are folded across his chest and his gaze is as hard as stone. Ellicent crosses her legs in front of her. Hugs her remaining arm around her middle. “What makes you so different, then?” she asks.

Titus’ jaw clenches slightly. He does not answer right away. “There are… two reasons,” he finally says. “Both of which are personal.”

“Well, this will be interesting.”

Titus shoots her an unamused look, but continues nonetheless. “First of all, I empathise with you two. I myself have a… partner.”

Ellicent blinks. “Seriously?”

Titus nods. He does not, however, elaborate further. “Therefore, I understand what my brother feels for you. For me to not acknowledge that would be- as Gadriel himself put it- hypocrisy.”

“What’s the second reason?” Ellicent asks.

“That would be what I know of Gadriel. Not just as a friend, but as a soldier.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Briefly, Titus averts his eyes. “Sergeant Gadriel- at least, from what I have gleaned from my time with him- is not… generous with his trust.”

Ellicent smirks. “Yeah. Him and everyone else who grew up in an underhive.”

“Even so, it is no less true. Suspicion comes naturally to him. If he believes there to be the smallest sign of betrayal- even if it is imagined- he will hold onto it. Even act on it.”

“Still not seeing your point here,” Ellicent says.

“My point,” Titus says. “Is that if Gadriel, of all people, was willing to lay down his life to protect you, to betray his chapter and his mission just to see you again, that says a lot. Not only about the depth of his regard for you, but about your trustworthiness and your pureness of heart.”

Now, it’s Ellicent’s turn to avert her gaze.

“So, where does that leave us, then?” she asks. “Me and Gadriel, I mean?”

The Ultramarine lets out a tired sigh. “That is a very good question.”

“You got an answer, yet?”

“I…I may.” Unfolding his arms, Titus leans back against the cell door, slipping his hands into the pockets of his breeches. “That is why I’m here, in fact. To discuss it with you.”

Ellicent bites her lip in thought. Her own sense of suspicion is beginning to rise, now. But what other choice has she got?

Shit. How many times have I said that in the last fifty years?

Running her hand through her hair, she scowls. Not at Titus, but rather, her situation.

Whatever he’s proposing, it can’t be worse than Severus. Surely, it can’t be worse.

“Fine,” she replies. “Tell me, then. What are you thinking?”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Just one part left, guys. Will our couple be allowed to stay together? Or will they be yet another 40k tragedy?

Stay tuned to find out!

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @passionofthesith @finchly-tintinnabulation @justfreakynothingelse

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 9

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

Someone break out the confetti and the party poppers cause IT'S FINALE DAY BABYYYYY 🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎊🥳🥳🥳

(if you need to catch up, the masterlist with all the previous parts is here)

We got typical 40kness and some real nsfw-ness under the cut, as well as inevitable spelling and grammar mistakes, which I apologise for.

I got a longer A/N at the very end, so for now, thank you for reading, and if you'd like, please consider liking, reblogging or commenting :)

Enjoy!

Despite Titus’ offers, Gadriel does not stay in the lieutenant’s quarters nor return to his own. Instead, he heads straight for the training hall. He needs to exorcise this anxiety. Flush it out with sweat and rage. It’s the only thing he can think of that might help. 

It doesn’t.

He lifts weights, punches bags and swings training blades. But no matter how much he exerts himself, his mind will not rest. Soon, his still-healing wounds start to twinge. But Gadriel welcomes it; pursues it, even. Pushes his body to the point of pain in the hope that it might smother his thoughts and distract him from his feelings. 

But that doesn't work either. Even when it pushes him to tears. Even when he's forced to take a knee and lean on his training blade because it feels like his stomach might just tear open. The fear won't fade. The frustration won't fade. The guilt, the worry, the helplessness… 

Gadriel drops his chin to his chest. He's breathing hard. Sweat pours down his bare chest and runs down his face. Soon, though, it is joined by tears. And his breathing becomes interrupted by choking sobs.

I can't lose her. Like some sort of twisted carousel, those same four words spin around and around in his head. I can’t lose her. I can’t lose her. 

With a grunt, Gadriel forces himself to his feet. He returns his blade to its rack before collecting his shirt and stalking out of the training hall. He’s bound for his quarters, but it isn’t to rest or cool off. He needs his undersuit, his armour. He’s not going to let her spend one more minute locked in another cell, waiting for death. Damn what Titus had told him. Damn what the Codex or his duty demands of him. Those things had taken her from him; wiped her from his mind, made him break his promise without him even realising it. But no longer. Never again.

Because I can’t lose her. Not again. I can’t. 

He reaches his quarters in no time. Once again, his serfs have left the door unlocked and Gadriel curses them for it under his breath. Usually, he would only reserve a modicum of irritation for such a thing, but with how dark his mood is at present, it feels like a personal slight. 

The door slides open as he approaches. Eyes low, Gadriel thunders inside like a storm. 

“Not a bad place you’ve got here.”

Gadriel staggers to a halt. Both of his hearts stop dead in his chest. 

“Smaller than what I expected,” Ellie says thoughtfully. “What with how big you are and how much space you take up. But still, it’s nice. Almost… quaint.”

She’s perched on his bunk, one leg drawn up towards her chest, the other hanging off the bed’s edge. Her tattered tunic and leggings have been replaced by a grey jumpsuit that Gadriel recognises as a repurposed engineering uniform. Still short of a prosthetic arm, Ellie has tied the sleeve on its left side into a knot at the shoulder. And that’s not the only modification she’s made. She has cinched the suit’s waist with a leather belt so as to show off her figure and left the front unzipped to reveal the low v-neck of the tank top she’s wearing underneath. She grins as Gadriel takes in the sight of her; the fact that she’s here, right now. Alive and free and smiling. 

Ellie opens her mouth to say something, probably some other quip or humorous remark. But before she can, Gadriel has her in his arms. Dropping to his knees in front of where she sits, dragging her into his body, holding her as if she might turn to ash in his grip at any moment. 

Tears well within his eyes. He buries his face into Ellie’s neck before letting them fall.

Despite how tightly he’s holding her, Ellie manages to free her arm and wrap it around his neck. Gadriel feels her cheek press against his, hears her chuckling softly. 

“It’s good to see you, too,” she says. 

“What are you doing here?” Gadriel asks. His voice is muffled by her hair and the crook of her neck. “How are you here? Did you escape?”

“Escape? No! No, nothing like that.” Gently, Ellie starts to draw away, presumably to meet his eye. Gadriel, however, refuses to let her go.

“Gadriel,” she says softly. She brings her hand to the back of his head, runs her fingers up and down his scalp soothingly. “It’s alright. I’m okay. I’m not in any danger, I promise.” 

Gadriel waits one cycle of deep, ragged breath before finally relaxing his grip. His arms, however, remain firmly wrapped around her. Ellie pulls away, cupping his cheek and guiding his gaze up to meet her own. 

“What’s going on?” he asks. 

“Sit down. This is… this might take a bit to explain.” 

Gadriel does as she says, getting to his feet before joining her on the bunk. He sits on her right side, taking her hand in both of his enormous ones. Ellie smiles lightly, but she must see the worry still lingering in Gadriel’s face, because immediately after, her expression turns reassuring.

“Titus and I have worked something out,” she says. “A way for me to stay here with you without putting either of us at risk.”

“How?” Gadriel’s tone is sharper than he’d intended. Already, he’s wary of this “way”. As much as he trusts Titus, any compromise made with the laws of the Imperium is a dangerous thing. Dangerous, and rarely without sacrifice. 

Ellie continues. “Did Titus tell you that he had Magos Galeo examine my cybernetics?”

“Yes. He said the results were dire.”

“That’s… certainly a word for it,” Ellie says ruefully. “But it wasn’t the one the Magos used. See, he called it “extraordinary.””

Gadriel narrows his eyes. Without thinking, his grip around Ellie’s hand tightens. Ellie picks up on it right away. “I know what you’re thinking, and at first, I was thinking it, too. But Galeo doesn’t wanna dissect me- he wants to recruit me. As a sort of… unofficial apprentice-slash-assistant.”

“And you agreed to this?” 

“I mean… yeah,” Ellie says. “It was either that or I try to become a chapter serf. But that never would’ve worked; not when I’m eighty-percent alien metal. If my life was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ultramarines, I’d have been executed on the spot.”

“I would also never ask you to indent yourself to anyone,” Gadriel adds. “Not even to me.”

That makes Ellie smile. “Oh, you sweetheart you.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know.” Leaning into him, she rests her head on his shoulder. “And I’d have never put you in that position.” 

“So… a Magos’ assistant, huh?” 

“Far as ad-mech go, Galeo seems pretty chilled-out. He wants to still study me, of course- that’s really the only reason he wants to keep me close. But his rank will mean I’m well-protected, and my status as an unofficial member of The Machine Cult will keep pretty much everyone else off my back, for the most part.” He feels her shrug. “It’s the best I can hope for. Titus thinks so too. Besides, could be fun. As creepy as the ad-mech can be, they’re fascinating in their own way.” 

Gadriel is quiet for a moment. He looks down at his lap, where he’s holding Ellie’s hand. It’s entirely dwarfed by his own, enormous ones, as if she were a porcelain doll. 

“Gadriel? Are you okay?”

Unable to look at her, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry you have to do this,” he says quietly. “I’m sorry you can’t just… stay.”

“It’s not your fault,” Ellie replies. 

“I know, but… it feels like it is.”

“Why’s that?”

Gadriel sighs. In the pit of his stomach, something hot and heavy is pulling at him. The same thing that’d driven him to his knees back at the training hall. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I… I just wish there was something I could do. But the only thing I can think of is leaving the Ultramarines, and I can’t even do that.”

He squeezes his eyes shut. “I’m useless to you, Ellie,” he murmurs. “I can’t protect you. I’ve never been able to protect you. Not from the Underhive. Not from Severus. Not even now.” 

Ellie sits up, leaving his skin cold as she lifts her head from his shoulder. She withdraws her hand as well, and in his state of emotion, Gadriel fears she is about to leave. But instead, she brings her hand to his face. There’s pain in her eyes, but it isn’t hers. It’s his. 

“Gadriel, listen to me,” she says. “This arrangement with the Magos… it’s not your fault. It’s my choice. If I wanted, I could have chosen exile. I could’ve fled to some backwater sector, put down a few roots and live the rest of my life in relative peace. But I don’t want that, Gadriel. Not as much as I want to be with you.” 

Gadriel goes to shake his head, but Ellie stops him by tightening her grasp. Gently, she caresses his cheek with her thumb.

“And everything else that has happened to me,” she continues. “It isn’t your fault, either. You didn’t abandon me; you were taken away. And when they had you, you had as much of a choice in what you did as I did when Severus took me. I understand that now. I didn’t at first, and I’m so sorry for the things I said to you then. But now I do. And I don’t blame you for any of it.”

The affection in her gaze is almost too much for Gadriel to withstand. When was the last time someone had looked at him like that? With so much love; not for his service or his position or his duty, but simple, genuine love for him? 

Of course… It had been her.

“And, you know,” Ellie continues. “Now that I think about it, in the end, you didn’t even break your promise, either. You did come back. It may have been by coincidence, and it may have been fifty years late, but you did it. You came back to me. Just like you-”

Gadriel leans across and kisses her hard on the lips, smothering her last words. Cradling her cheeks with hands too gentle for their size and design. If the kiss takes Ellie by surprise, she doesn't show it at all. Sliding her hand up the back of his head, she tangles her fingers in his hair; her favourite thing to do when they kiss, ever since they were teenagers. With that thought, a surge of memories overcomes him; the first time she'd kissed him, during one of the many night they'd spend gazing up at the stars from the roof of his mother's slum; all the kisses of good luck, goodnight and goodbye that had followed; the kiss that had led to their first night shared together. Like a river finally freed from a concrete dam, all these memories come flooding back to him. With every one that returns, his love for her swells more and more. 

Ellie is sitting in his lap now. Knees either side of his waist, her breath growing short as she works her mouth against his. Gadriel can feel her breasts pressing against his chest, the squeeze of her thighs as she straddles him, his hips almost too broad for her legs. Tension coils in his belly. A wave of heat flushes his entire body before pooling between his legs. He lets himself fall backward, pulling Ellie with him so she's flush against his front. The bunk creaks with the impact. The weight of her body on top of his floods Gadriel's nerves with a concoction of comfort and pleasure so potent it almost makes him gasp. It also twinges the wounds in his right side, and the gasp that pulls from him, Gadriel can't manage to stifle. 

Ellie breaks the kiss, pulling away and looking at him in concern. “What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Sheepishly, Gadriel shakes his head. “I'm fine. It's only my side.”

“Oh, Throne!” Despite her dark complexion, Gadriel sees Ellie's cheeks suddenly redden. “I completely forgot, I'm sorry!”

Gadriel laughs. “You're fine. Don't worry.”

She runs her hand through his hair. The sensation sends goosebumps prickling across his skin. “If you say so,” she whispers. “Though, maybe it'd be better if you were on top; less chance of me accidently bumping you, then.”

For a handful of moments, Gadriel doesn't understand her full meaning. When he finally does, his eyes blow wide. “Do…Do  you mean-”

“Throne, Gadriel, you're giving me deja vu here.” Ellie grins from ear to ear. “Yes. That's exactly what I mean.”

The coil in Gadriel’s stomach tightens. It's joined, however, but a pang of anxiety. “Are you certain?” he asks. 

“Darling, what did I just say about deja vu-”

“No, no. It isn't like that. It's…”

Her expression turns serious again. “What?”

“Well… It’s…” Gadriel pauses to take a breath. Gather his words. “I'm not… the same as I was before.”

As sharp as always, Ellie understands his meaning right away. “Oh Gadriel…”

“I don't want to hurt you,” he whispers. “I don't want to– to frighten you.”

“You could never do either of those things,” Ellie says. She emphasises the point with a kiss. “Besides, you're not the only one,” she adds. “Eighty percent necron, remember? I'd say that makes us about even, don't you think?”

The quip makes him smile, but his anxiety is not so easily dissipated. “Ellie-”

He's cut off by warm skin touching his bare chest. Lifting up his shirt, Ellie slides her hand up and over his right pec. Her fingers trace his scars; both those sustained in battle and those left by the surgeries that'd turned him into what he is now. When she reaches the top of the muscle, she finds its neural port; one of dozens of black cybernetic nodes riveted into Gadriel’s body. Her thumb brushes over its surface. It sends stimulated shivers running through his entire being. “You could never hurt or frighten me, Gadriel,” Ellie says again. “Never.”

Then, ducking her head, she presses her lips to the same neural port from before. A soft, involuntary moan tumbles from Gadriel. He claws his fingers into the linen sheets beneath him. 

“Now,” Ellie whispers into his chest. “Flip me over. Take me. I'm yours, Gadriel. I've always been yours, and I always will be.” She kisses the port again. Again, shivers grip his entire body. “So, take me.”

That is all Gadriel needs to hear. 

*********************************************

Clasping his hands around her waist, Gadriel reverses their positions. Throwing Ellicent onto his bunk, he looms above her, framing her head with his enormous, thickly-built arms. A giggle escapes her lips. Throne, he’s enormous now. And strong. She can see it in his bulging forearms, the vice-like grip he has on the sheets beside her head. The strength to crush a skull in his fist, to turn bones to dust with a single punch. She’d always known that, of course; but it was one thing to see a space marine’s size and strength and another entirely to be pinned underneath it. But Ellicent isn’t afraid; she’s enthralled. And she knows underneath all of those scars, enhanced muscles and reinforced bone is her Gadriel. And as she had promised just moments before, he could never frighten her. He could never hurt her. 

Ellicent grabs a handful of his shirt, starts dragging it towards his head. Gadriel rears up to pull it off the rest of the way, then tosses it to the floor. Even years ago, when they’d been underhive street-rats, his body had always been impressive. But now, it’s like a work of sculpture; his chest and shoulders almost burst with the size of their muscles, and his abdomen is a terrain of shapely rises and valleys. Neural ports and surgery scars form symmetrical patterns all the way down his front, while battle scars- gashes, stab wounds and energy burns- are slashed more haphazardly. The pair of wounds from the Drukhari impaler have also scarred over, but instead of the dull pink or white of his other scars, these are still a bright, tender red.

Carefully, Ellicent runs her hand across his torso, then his chest, before finally cupping his cheek in her palm. Gadriel leans into her touch. Closing his eyes, covering her hand with his own. But it is only for a moment. Just like her, desire is tugging at him. And when he reopens his eyes, it burns as a hunger that’s almost animalistic. He grabs the shoulders of her jumpsuit, working her arm free from its sleeve before sliding it underneath her hips. Ellicent kicks it the rest of the way off, leaving her in just her panties and a thin white tank top. The latter, Gadriel practically tears off her. But when his eyes land on her naked torso, he pauses. Ellicent knows why. She’d been anticipating this moment. Dreading it. 

Carved into her skin, zig-zagging over her right hip, spilling across her breast and reaching up towards her shoulder, are lines of metal. Necronian metal. Pitch black and glowing green. They’re artifacts from her augmentations; each one marking a spot where the alien technology had been imperfectly woven into her flesh and grafted to her bones. Ellicent watches Gadriel’s expression anxiously. In her heart, she knows he won’t judge her. But even so, her fear remains. Finally tearing his eyes away from her shame, Gadriel meets her gaze. She smiles weakly. “I know. Horrifying, right?” 

Gadriel’s face softens. He touches her face, his hand so gentle despite its size. She waits for him to say something, but he does not. Instead, he lowers his head, cups her mutilated right breast and takes its nipple in his mouth. 

Ellicent lets out a gasp. Goosebumps ripple across her skin and her fingers claw into Gadriels’ scalp. Arousal throbs between her legs, made so much sweeter by the unspoken things he's telling her with his actions. That he doesn’t care what’s happened to her. He doesn’t care what she’s become. He loves her all the same. The same way he did when they were young. 

“Gadriel…” his name falls from her lips as a whimper. Her voice is weak with need. “Gadriel…”

With a final kiss, Gadriel releases her breast. His hands find the hem of her panties. He only manages to get them halfway down her thighs before his own desire overwhelms him and he buries his head between her legs. 

Ellicent’s whimpers turn to cries. Her hand forms a fist in his hair, dragging him closer, pressing him harder. Throne, how she has dreamed of this. How she has prayed to have him back, to have him take her like this all over again. In the decades since their separation, Ellicent had shared her bed with other men; but it was only to turn out the lights, close her eyes and pretend it was Gadriel. But now, she never has to pretend again. Because he’s here. He’s right here. And Emperor knows she is never letting him go again. 

She can feel her sex growing slick. Like a fire on the horizon, she can see orgasm approaching fast. But Ellicent doesn’t want it. Not yet. Not until he’s there with her. 

“Gadriel,” she says, sharper this time, so he knows it is not merely a whimper. 

“My love,” he murmurs into the skin of her left inner thigh. The feel of his breath makes her body shiver. 

“I’m- I’m ready for you.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes,” Ellicent breathes.

Gadriel looks uncertain, but he obliges. Rearing up once more, he unties his breeches, pulling them down to the knees. His cock springs free. Purple, aching and larger than even she had been anticipating. He sees the surprise on her face, and his already flushed cheeks turn a shade redder. “Ellie, I’m-”

Ellicent sits up, silencing him with a kiss. “Not a word,” she says through a smile. “It’s perfect.”

He pauses for a moment. “If I’m hurting you,” he eventually says. “You’re to tell me, alright?"

Ellicent strokes his cheek. “I promise.”

That seems to be enough to set him at ease. Laying her back down, he adjusts himself so his hips are aligned with hers. Then, sliding an arm under her waist to support her, he enters her as slow and gentle as he can. 

Sounds of stimulation tumble from both of them; Gadriel’s low rumbling moans, Ellicent’s sharp, high-pitched gasps. Ellicent grips the massive muscles of his shoulder blades, as her body stretches and throbs around his enormous length. She can feel his back moving with his breath, which is quickly growing shallow and rapid. But he doesn’t move. Not yet. 

“Are you okay?” he rasps into her ear. 

Ellicent gives herself a moment to catch her breath. “Oh, Throne,” she whispers. “This feels like my first time again.”

“Is… is that a good thing?”

Ellicent gazes up at him through half-lidded eyes. Her lips part in a gentle smile. “What do you think?” 

Gadriel returns her smile. Still holding her around the small of her back, his other arm cradles the back of her head. Then, finally, he begins to move. 

Immediately, stars burst in Ellicent’s vision. Her hips buck against his, grinding against his pelvis. Gadriel grunts with every long, deep thrust, the sound loud, primal and utterly lusting. Ellicent throws her head back. Her exhales devolve into breathy, whimpering pants. The tension in her belly winds tighter, tighter. Kicking her panties all the way off, she locks her legs around Gadriel’s waist. Pulling him closer. Thrusting him deeper. Winding the coil tighter, tighter. 

“Ellie…” he moans into her ear. “Ellie, I-”

“I know, darling,” Ellicent gasps. Throne, she can barely even form words. 

“I… I-”

A tremendous growl cuts him off. He buries his face into the crook of her neck and his thrusts suddenly double in pace. Ellicent cries out in ecstasy. Her legs fall from his waist as they tremble uncontrollably. The tension between her legs finally snaps and orgasm seizes her every nerve. Gadriel isn’t far behind. As her body squeezes him, his growl becomes a roar, and with one final, penetrating thrust he spills his seed within her. Ellicent breathes hard through her mouth. Slickness, both Gadriel’s and her own, trickles down the inside of her thigh. Her fingers find Gadriel’s hair. Gadriel lifts his head before pressing his forehead to hers. His eyes slip closed, followed by Ellicent’s. For several moments, they remain like this. Bodies interlaced, hearts pounding in a shared, slowing rhythm. Coming back to one another from their shared high. Ellicent is the first to break the silence. “What were you about to say just now?” she whispers. “Before… you know…”

Gadriel’s voice is low and gravelly from his laboured breath. “I was about to say I love you.”

Ellicent opens her eyes. Wrapping her arm around his neck, she kisses him fiercely on the lips. “I love you too,” she murmurs. “More than anything in the world.” 

Eventually, Gadriel rolls onto his side, taking her with him. Ellicent curls up against his body, resting her cheek against his chest. She can hear his heart beat; slower and louder than the last time she’d listened to it like this, but no less familiar. She smiles lightly to herself. 

“I had something else I wanted to ask you." 

“Anything,” Gadriel replies. 

“All the humans aboard this ship- from serfs to the mechanicus staff- they all call you “My Lord.”"

“That’s right. What of it?”

“Well,” Ellicent says. “If I’m going to be the assistant to the Magos-”

“Oh, Throne-dammit,” Gadriel mutters. 

“Does that mean I have to call you that, too?” 

Gadriel scowls. “I swear on the life of the Primarch-”

“What’s the matter, my lord? Is thy Lord Astartes ailed by something?”

“Keep that up,” Gadriel grumbles. “And so help me, I will hand you over to the Inquisition right now.��

Ellicent laughs. “You wouldn’t dare.”

He pretends to think about it for a moment. Then, draping his arm around her shoulders, he plants a kiss on the top of her head. “You’re right,” he says finally. “I wouldn’t. Not even with a bolter to my head.” 

Ellicent waits for the punchline, but it never comes. Instead, he says it with complete earnestness. It makes her smile. “You’re the absolute sweetest thing, you know that?”

Gadriel kisses her crown again. “Just to you,” he whispers. 

Ellicent’s smile broadens. Soon, it is joined by the sweet sting of joyful tears. It's really him, she thinks; things she already knows, but still finds so unbelievable. He never abandoned me. And after all this time after being taken away, he found his way back to me. 

**********************************************

We did it! Hooray! We made it to the end- and it was a happy ending!!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has read, liked, commented on and/or reblogged any part of this fic series. It took a long of time and energy to make, so seeing all your feedback and responses just motivated and inspired me to no end.

This isn't the last of Ellie and Gadriel, either. I plan to do some more, cool things with their characters and their stories, so stay tuned for that!

Thank you again, I hope you enjoyed, and stay safe out there xoxo

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @passionofthesith @finchly-tintinnabulation @justfreakynothingelse

[gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan]

That is very Sgt. Gadriel. And through out the whole thing he's likes "big bro Titus PLEASE talk to me?"

And Titus (I Have Trauma) no.

Look, I know Sergeant Gadriel is meant to be a tough, quick-tempered, critical character. A little bit of resistance and tension to Titus' character. But I CAN NOT see him as him as anything but a feisty little kitten. You know, the type that hisses and shows his needle claws. But the moments he scratches your arm, he starts picking the wound apologetically and proceeds to roll on his back, exposing his belly.

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 5

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

Good news! Gadriel and Ellie finally have a moment to talk alone.

Bad news! That quiet moment is taking place in a Drukhari ship.

If you missed part 4, you can catch up here :)

I know I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but I am so grateful for all the support this series has had so far. So, all you lovely people, thank you for reading, liking, reblogging and commenting <3

Once again, I've butchered the lore a little bit. But tbh I've been doing that this entire series so hopefully you guys are used to/expect that from me by now 😅

Violence and 40kness under the cut, as well as some light ellusions to some nsfwness at the start. Apologies for spelling and grammar errors, and thank you for your support :D

Love, Memestrider xoxo

When Gadriel walked through their bedroom door, Ellicent had known right away. She'd been dreading it. Praying that it wouldn't happen. But the moment she saw the look on his face, she'd known.

"You've been accepted," she said.

Gadriel closed the door behind him. He let out a tired sigh before turning to face her once more. "I asked if I could return home to say goodbye. They were reluctant, but said yes."

Ellicent closed her eyes. Her knees felt weak, and she sat on the bed lest they give out on her entirely. "Have you told your mother yet?"

Gadriel visibly recoiled from the question. "She said she was happy; that she was proud. But I could tell it was a lie. She wants me to leave about as much as you do."

"Can't say I blame her," Ellicent said.

Gadriel gave her a sad, sympathetic smile. It only infuriated Ellicent more. Taking a seat next to her, he clasped his hands in his lap, eyes fixed on the floor as if ashamed.

"I leave tomorrow," he said quietly.

Ellicent looked at him "Seriously? When?"

"First thing." Still, he refused to meet her gaze. "You and Mum probably won't even be awake yet."

Ellicent bit her lip as a wave of tears threatened to overwhelm her. She was so angry with him. So angry. Why did he have to be so selfless? Why did his heart have to be so noble that he would do something like this for the mere chance of making her and his mother's lives just a little bit better?

"So... What happens next?"

"Well, assuming I pass all of my trials and actually become an Astartes, I can request to have you both transferred to someplace in Ultramar."

"You can request? You mean, it isn't guaranteed?"

"I don't know. It's... It's not a commonly done thing, apparently." Chewing his cheek, Gadriel clenched his hand into fists. "But I'll make it happen. I promise I will."

"You better," Ellicent whispered. "If you can't, then this whole thing would have been for nothing."

They both lapsed into silence. Heavy, tense and melancholic. Tears were flowing freely down Ellicent's cheeks now. The grief she'd been anticipating for months now had broken free of its cage, and is now sewing painful knots in her belly and chest.

Why? She continued to ask herself. Why did it have to be like this? Why did he have to go?

"Ellie?" She felt Gadriel's hand wrap around hers. "Talk to me. Please."

Ellicent sniffed, wiping her eyes with her free hand. She met his gaze and found that he, too, had started to weep.

Her body moved without thinking. Throwing one leg over him, she straddled his lap before pulling him into the fiercest, most passionate kiss she thinks she's ever given him. It took him off guard. So much so, he almost fell backward onto the bed. But he didn't hesitate in returning it. Sliding his hands up her back, he gripped her nape hard, pressing her into him and working his mouth against hers.

The taste of him was wonderful. His scent and touch, the closest things to bliss Ellicent had ever had. And she was about to loose him. The world was trying to take him away. A sob rises into the back of Ellicent's throat. She had to break the kiss in order to let it out. Gadriel cradled her cheeks in his hands, pressed his forehead to hers. He let her take all the time she needed to catch her breath. His own, soft exhales were warm against Ellicent's lips.

Ellicent intertwines her fingers in his hair. It's tangled and coarse, and slightly damp from the humid air outside. But to Ellicent, it's as soft and beautiful as silk.

"I want more, Gadriel," she whispers.

She feels his brows furrow against her forehead. "Do... Do you mean?"

"I do."

"Are you sure?"

She'd expected him to be hesitant. While they had shared a bed for as long as Ellicent had been living with Gadriel and his mother, they'd never slept together. Not for a lack of attraction, of course; Gadriel was easily pretty enough to pass as a high lord's son, and even before he'd started training for the Astartes, his body was a well-sculpted work of soft muscle and olive skin; and while Ellicent is less certain of her own physical attributes, Gadriel has told her time and time again how stunning her figure is, how her eyes reminded him of falling stars.

But even so, their relationship had always been built on emotional intimacy- sex was a line they were yet to crossed.

But Ellicent couldn't wait any longer.

"I am," she said in reply to his question. "I want you, Gadriel. I love you. And if the world is so determined to take you from me tomorrow, I want to have you tonight." Gently, she covers his hands with her own, brushing her thumb across his knuckles. "But of course, all of that is moot unless you'll have me too."

Gadriel's reply is instant. "Of course I will."

"Then please," Ellicent whispered. She pressed her palm against his chest. Felt his now-racing heart beating against her skin.

"Take me."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Welcome to the Dark Star," Ellie says quietly. She hugs her legs a little tighter, resting her temple on her knees so she is facing him.

It's only then that Gadriel notices she's missing her left arm.

"Where's your prostethic?" he asks.

Ellie glances at her empty shoulder socket. Her expression, like her voice, is totally flat. "They took it. Weren't keen on the idea of locking me up with my hyperphase sword." She raps her knuckles on her right knee, making a soft clanging sound. "Let me keep my leg, though. So that's something, I guess."

"But why?" Gadriel asks. "I mean, why are you even here? I thought these xenos were allied with you."

Ellie meets his gaze. Something hot flashes behind her eyes. "They're allied with Severus. Not me."

"But do you not work for him?"

Her next words come out laced with poison. "More like I'm indentured to him."

Despite himself, her words leave Gadriel feeling relieved. I knew it, he thinks. She's not here by choice. She's not a traitor."

"But I see your point," she continues. "And typically, it'd be right: Severus does keep the Dark Eldar off me. But then I fired off that flare and..."

She lapses back into morose silence. Gadriel feels a twinge in his chest unrelated to any of his wounds.

"I'm sorry," he says quietly.

"Don't be," Ellie replies. "It's not your fault. I knew what I was doing, how he would react. I'm just sorry you got hurt because of it."

Gadriel swallows thickly. "I... I'm not just talking about that."

Ellie cocks her head for a moment. "What are you..." Her face suddenly drops. "Oh. Right."

The sad silence returns. Ellie's eyes drop to the floor as she fiddles with a crack in the floor. Small ribbons of light catch her cheeks; tear streaks, Gadriel realises.

He forces himself to take a breath. From the moment he'd seen her again, the same terrible question has been plaguing his mind. But he can't hide from it any longer. Not when they may be so close to death.

"What happened to you, Ellie?" Gadriel asks. "How did you end up involved with... with people like this?"

Her reply is sharp as a blade. "It wasn't willingly. I can tell you that for nothing."

"I'd already guessed as much," Gadriel says gently. "But, truth be told, that only makes me more desperate to know how it all came to pass."

For a long while, Ellie is silent.

"Are you sure?" she finally asks.

The way she says it makes Gadriel's throat close over. "Yes," he answers. "Please."

Ellie goes quiet again. Her gaze returns to the cold, dank floor. "About six months after you left," she says. "Your mother died. Same sickness that killed my Dad. I couldn't stay in the house after that. Too much loss. I swear I could feel it coming out of the walls."

A twinge of grief pangs in Gadriel's chest. He'd already assumed that his mother was likely dead by now- if not from disease, then certainly from age. But nevertheless, the confirmation from Ellie still stings.

"I lived off the streets after that," she continues. "You know, stealing from topsiders, raiding trash piles, fighting for the best abandoned building to sleep in for the night; all the standard type stuff." She lets out a sigh. "Then Severus showed up.

"I don't know how much you know about him, from your mission briefing or whatever, but his main shtick is that he's a slaver. A trafficker. He and his cronies zip around the galaxy, visiting feral hive worlds and plucking healthy-looking vagrants off the streets to... Well, to do whatever he wants."

Gadriel swallows the lump in his throat. "And he..."

"Yup."

"Throne, Ellie."

With her one remaining shoulder, Ellie shrugs. "Wasn't just me. He probably took about a hundred people in the end. I was taken in my sleep. Hit over the head, woke up in the belly of some disgusting cargo bay." Briefly, she looks around her cell. "It wasn't too dissimilar to this, actually. Except a lot less roomy, with more people crammed inside. Most of the people Severus takes are to sell- that's what he's allied with the Dark Eldar for. But sometimes, he'll come across someone he takes a liking to, and he'll keep them as his own."

Once more, Gadriel's mouth fills with acidic bile, and the corners of his vision turn from black to red. When Ellie sees the look on his face, she forces a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it wasn't like that. Not with me, anyway. Only reason he liked me was 'cause I could handle myself in a fight. He saw a killer in me, not a play-thing. Probably the only stroke of luck I've had during this whole thing."

The only thing Gadriel can think to do is nod. "How about your arm and leg?" he asks. "How'd you loose them?"

"I didn't loose them," Ellie says. "Severus took them."

"He took them?"

She nods. "He'd have taken the others too, if he'd had enough necron parts lying around. But he only had a left arm and right leg, so that was all he could replace." She touches her empty shoulder socket. A soft, harsh laugh slips from her lips. "Another stroke of luck on my part, I guess.

"He made me his hit-man," she continues. "His errand girl."Defend this cargo, Ellicent. Kill this officer, Ellicent. I've got a pack of space marines coming after me, so set a trap for 'em and kill them for me, Ellicent. If you refuse me again, I'll let the Drukhari have you, and you'll be begging me to take you back." That was my life. For fifty years. And the cybernetics, they affected the rest of my body. Hardened my bones, slowed my aging right down. Meant death was hard to come by; even when I wanted it to."

Her voice is so full of emotion, it almost sounds devoid of it. Like an overloaded fuse, there is so much pain in her words, she can't possibly express it anymore. Gadriel's eyes well with tears. He can't stand this. All of these things happening to Ellicent. His Ellie. The girl he's loved from the moment he was old enough to understand what love even was.

All these things have happened to her, and I didn't save her. I didn't even try.

The silence that falls between them is a physical presence, one of hurt, foreboding and grief. Gadriel's wounds continue to scream at him, but compared to those coming from his hearts, they're little more than whimpers.

"So," Ellie mutters. "Now that you know all of that, I have to ask..."

Gadriel closes his eyes. He waits for her next words he were waiting for an executioner's axe to fall.

"Do you still remember the night before you left?"

The question takes him completely off-guard. And the memory it brings... Gadriel can't help but smile. "Of course," he says.

Ellie nods. "Do you remember what you said to me? When it's was all over?"

As quickly as it had come, his smile dies. "I said I loved you."

"Before that."

Gadriel averts his eyes. "I said I'd come back."

"No," Ellie replies. "You didn't just say it. You promised me. You looked me in the eye and you swore it."

"... I... I know."

"So why didn't you?"

Gadriel goes to chew the inside of his cheek, but winces as his teeth grate broken, bleeding skin. Seems the Dark Eldar's poison has kept even that wound from closing, too.

"And don't lie to me, okay?" Ellie adds. Her tone isn't accusatory; instead, it's almost a plea. "I don't want... poor excuses or anything like that. I just want the truth. No matter what it is. Surely I deserve that, at least."

"Of course you do," Gadriel says.

Ellie doesn't reply, but her silence indicates she's waiting for him to continue.

Gadriel looks down at his hands. Already, they're slick again with his own blood.

He takes a deep breath, ignoring the pangs of protest the movement sparks from his wounds, and clenches his hands into fists. "Do you know what re-education is?" he asks.

"No," she answers.

"It's the psychological aspect of Astartes' creation. Just as thorough and invasive as the surgeries and the physical training. But, arguably, it's more important than both."

He hears Ellie shift in her seat. "I don't think I like where this is going," she mutters.

Gadriel exhales hard through his nose. This time, the spike of pain that follows is enough to make him grimace. "I didn't even know it was a part of the process until it was happening to me," he says. "But if I did... I don't think I'd have joined."

The astonishment is Ellie's voice is tangible. "Do you really mean that?"

"I told you I wouldn't lie, didn't I?"

For a while, Ellie is quiet. "What did they do?" she asks softly.

Gadriel closes his eyes. His thoughts suddenly don't feel like his own. The very thing he's trying to tell her about, it doesn't want him to. It's fighting him. Filling his lungs with stones so he cannot speak, hijacking his thoughts to he cannot remember. But Gadriel refuses it. Pulling his eyes up from his fists, he looks at Ellie's face, takes in her scarlet hair and twinkling eyes. He uses them as anchors. As lifelines. For fifty years he's let this thing stand between him and the one he loves. He'll be damned if he's going to let it happen again.

"We were hypnotised," he says. "Then for days, we were fed these pict-casts and vox-recordings. I don't know what they were, but they had been developed by psycho encoders. They were meant to indoctrinate us, I suppose. I don't really remember much from those weeks, only that it was... unpleasant. I remember my throat being very sore after the end of every session. Like all I'd done the entire time was scream."

"You probably did," Ellie says quietly.

Gadriel doesn't respond to that. He doesn't know how. "After that," he continues, dropping his gaze again. "They let Librarians- psykers- into our minds. Again, I... don't really know what they did. But as I think about it now... It was after I'd had those sessions that my life before the Astartes became difficult to recall."

"Difficult how?"

"As in, it felt like a dream," Gadriel says. "Like a fantasy. You and Mum- you were... figments of my imagination. You weren't real. Nothing that came before my becoming an Astartes was real."

"Until you saw me again," Ellie whispers.

Gadriel feels tears prick his eyes. "Until I saw you again. After that, everything came back with startling clarity."

He musters the courage to look at her again. The expression he finds on her face almost breaks him.

"So..." she whispers. "So you never abandoned me."

It's not a question, so much as a statement. Tears roll down her cheeks again, but there's a smile on her face.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Gadriel pushes himself off the wall. He crawls up to the bar wall on his knees, collapsing against it as consciousness threatens to leave him once again. Grimacing, he clutches one hand on the hole in his stomach. But the other, finds Ellie's hand. "If I had known I would've been forced to forget you," he rasps. "I'd have never joined the Astartes. I mean that. From the bottom of both my hearts, I mean it."

Ellie chokes on a stifled sob. Bringing his hand to her lips, she kisses his knuckles. "I'm sorry, Gadriel. I'm sorry I doubted you. I never should've. I should've known-"

"You should've known no such thing," Gadriel murmurs. "And you had every right to resent me."

Tears are rolling down his cheeks now, too. Dropping his hand, Ellie sidles up closer, reaches through the bars and gently wipes them away with her thumb. Her skin is rough with callouses- far more so than he ever remembered. But right now, it's the softest, more comforting thing Gadriel has felt in a long time.

"If these bars weren't in the way I would kiss you right now," Ellie says.

Gadriel smiles softly. "You took the words right out of my mouth."

Footsteps outside his cell make both of them turn.

Long shadows creep up the hallway's wall, moving in time with the steps. Gadriel doesn't need to wait, however, to know exactly who they belong to.

"Wakey wakey, space marine!" The voice is gravelly, feminine, and undeniably inhuman. "Someone wants to see you."

The Dark Eldar wyche prowls up the Gadriel's cell door, clad in leather and bone and wielding a spear. She unlocks the door with a click, before dragging it open and slipping inside.

"No," Ellie says, gripping Gadriel's hand.

Gadriel pulls free to cup her cheek. "Let go, Ellie. It's okay."

"No it isn't. It's-"

Through the bars, the wyche slams the butt of her spear into Ellie's face. Gadriel shouts her name, but the word devolves into a cry as the dark eldar kicks him in his wounded side. "Come on now," she purrs. "Cut that out. There'll be plenty of time for screaming later."

Dark spots flash before Gadriel's vision. The agony in his side is so intense, he can barely even draw breath. Grabbing him by the back of his undersuit's collar, the wyche drags him from his cell. The furious, desperate screams of Ellie follows them all the way down the hall.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm sorry to have to do another cliff hanger. The wait for part 6 shouldn't be too long, I promise.

Thanks again for reading, and please let me know what you think of the story so far! Your comments and tags are literally food for my soul ^^

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @justfreakynothingelse

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Masterlist

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

Gadriel and Ellicent have known each for years. Growing up in the belly of an underhive with no one but each other to rely upon, the bond they grew to share was all but unbreakable.

Until it wasn't.

Now, fifty years after circumstance tore them apart, fate has brought them back together. Only now, Gadriel is a sergeant of the Ultramarines. And Ellie is... something else.

So, what happens now? Can that unbreakable bond of theirs be mended? Or has war, pain and time ground it too far down for it to ever recover?

(cover art by @yanagikou and @galgannet respectively)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hey hey everyone! How're all doing?

With NESD completed, I thought it was time I put together all the parts into a masterlist, to make reading it all a little easier :)

So here it is!

Heads up: I wrote this before the Data Vault update in SM2 gave Gadriel a canon first name and backstory, so neither are mentioned in this fic because at time of writing, they didn't exist. So, yeah. Just wanted to throw that out there lol.

Thank you for reading, and if you enjoy, then please consider liking, commenting and reblogging- I absolutely love reading and receiving them <3

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Part Four

Part Five

Part Six

Part Seven

Part Eight

Part Nine

An Epilogue

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 6

Sgt Gadriel x Childhood Friend OC

We got angst and suffering under the cut, babes. But, also some hope! A nice change of pace if you ask me.

If you missed part 5, then you can read it here :) Otherwise, the opening this time is nsfw, and the section after that has a splash of torture in it, so be aware of that. Also spelling and grammar mistakes are to be expected.

Otherwise, thank you for reading, thank you for your support and please enjoy yourselves!!!

Ellicent clawed her nails into Gadriel's back. Her lips parted, back arching as his next thrust sent lightning skittering through her core.

"Gadriel," she panted. "I-"

"I know, my love."

"I- I can't-

"It's okay-" His voice cracked over an involuntary moan. "You're doing so well."

Ellicent squeezed her eyes shut. Gadriel nuzzled into her, lips grazing her throat, her collarbone, her breasts. Lightning struck her nerves again. The coil in her belly wound tight enough to break. Ellicent locked her legs hard around his waist and buried her face into his neck.

Just seconds after that, orgasm came. Ellicent screamed into Gadriel's shoulder as pleasure rolled through her in a crashing wave. Her body squeezed him tight, pulling another moan from his lips. His rhythm faltered, then stalled, and Gadriel clutched her painfully close as his own release finally came over him.

Ellicent felt hot and moist between her legs. Down the inside of her thigh, she felt a warm trickling wetness.

Gadriel was breathing hard, his forehead pressed into the centre of her chest. Ellicent brought her fingers to his head and tangled them with his hair. Her own breaths were shallow and panting.

"By the Emperor," she muttered. "How have we never done this before?"

Gadriel laughed. Crawling up her body until they were face to face, he cradled the back of her head with one arm. "I guess we didn't know what we were missing." He kissed her on the nose, then the lips. "Until now, that is."

He went to pull out, but Ellicent stopped him with a quiet word. She wanted to savour that feeling yet- the feeling of him inside her, that beautiful, aching fullness. When she told him as much, Gadriel blushed redder than she'd ever seen him before. But he was more than happy to oblige. Scooping his arms beneath her waist, he lay atop her, careful not to crush her, but blanketing her with his weight and warmth. One hand still tangled in his hair, Ellicent rested her other across his back, tracing the length of his spine up and down with her fingertips. She felt his skin prickle and a soft, pleasured hum emitted from his throat.

"Gadriel," she breathed.

"I'm here," he spoke into her neck.

Tears pricked the backs of Ellicent's eyes. "Promise me you'll come back."

Gadriel lifted his head. He looked at her with such affection and longing, it made her heart melt.

"I promise," he said.

Carefully, she touched his face. Traced his lips with the tip of her thumb. "I love you," she whispered.

Taking her hand, he kissed the centre of her palm. "I love you, too."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The wyche drops him in the middle of another cell. Smaller, barless, and roughly the shape of a circle. Hanging from the ceiling on opposite sided are thick, heavy-looking chains. The xenos drags Gadriel towards them, pulling him up to his knees. Then, one by one, she wraps the chains around his wrists and strings him up; a crucifixtion without a cross.

Immediately, Gadriel's shoulders burn from the awkward angle. But that pain pales when compared to that gushing from the holes in his side. He grits his teeth, glares up at the xenos murderess through a haze of fury and blood loss. The alien only smiles.

Without taking her eyes off him, she steps back towards the cell door and bangs her fist against it several times. "Monkeigh!" she shrieks. "You may enter. But be quick about it, now; this one isn't far from expiration."

With a grating hiss, the door slides open. The man who enters is lanky, long haired and has an alien prosthetic arm not unlike Ellie's. The door snaps shut behind him and he makes his way over to where Gadriel is strung up. Vaguely, Gadriel feels a hint of recognition. The metal arm, greasy hair, the conniving black eyes; he's seen them somewhere before.

The mission briefing. The target. This is him.

Archibald Severus.

Somewhere within his agonised, blood-starved brain, a hateful flame ignites. It burns away his haze, sharpening his vision and kicking his breath back to life.

This is Ellie's kidnapper. Her butcherer. Her slaver and tormenter.

A sudden, unexpected surge of strength hits Gadriel's body. He lunges for Severus with a snarl on his face. The chains snap taut, rattling loud enough to echo. Severus, the coward, startles at Gadriel's display. "Oh my," he says, smoothing out the front of his coat in an attempt to recover his composure. "You're a spritely one, aren't you?" He looks back at the dark eldar wyche. "You sure he's that close? Or you tryna get me killed?"

The alien's only reply is a raspy cackle.

Scowling, Severus turns his attention back to Gadriel. Despite being on his knees, Severus still must look up to meet Gadriel's eye. Clearly it's something that irks the baseline. From that fact, Gadriel draws what strength he can. For now though, his rage is more than strength enough.

"So," Severus says at length. "You're Gadriel, huh?"

Gadriel curls his lip in disgust. "And you're the heretic rodent I was sent here to kill."

"Mmm. Yeah. Tell me, how's that been working out for you?"

Gadriel bares his bloodied teeth in a rueful grin. "Not great," he admits. "But soon, I expect it that to change."

"Oh?" Pointedly, Severus looks between the chains holding Gadriel up. "And how do you figure that?"

In the back of this throat, acidic saliva stings his tongue. Gadriel throws a glance at the dark eldar wyche still lurking behind Severus. "You'll see," Gadriel replies.

For a moment, Severus seems genuinely amused. But in the moment after, that amusement devolves into something far more sadistic. "Well, that's alright," the slaver says. "There'll be time later for all that later. Till then, though, I've gotta mutual friend I wanna talk to you about."

If looks could kill, Severus would've just been taken by the Warp. "You don't deserve to speak of her," Gadriel hisses. "You don't even deserve to have her in your thoughts."

Severus seethes at him. "The fuck do you know about it, huh, angel?" The last word he spits, as if it were poison. "You think you have the right to speak to me like that 'cause you're bigger and uglier than us little old baselines?"

"No," Gadriel says. "I have the right because you're a sad, cruel little man." In his chains, he clenches his fist. "You also hurt the woman I love."

Severus snorts, feigning some sort of sick amusement. But his poker face isn't anywhere near as good as he thinks it is. Gadriel can see the anger glowering behind his eyes. And behind that, a flicker of genuine fear.

"You pretentious shit. Thinkin' you're better than me." His necronian hand closes into a fist. Before Gadriel can brace himself for it, Severus punches him in his wounded side. Gadriel bellows like a wounded beast. His blood splatters Severus' arm, the front of his coat, so shockingly scarlet that it almost seems to glow. Gadriel drops his head, breathing hard and ragged through his mouth. Nausea clenches his gut like a steel clamp. Both of his hearts pound relentlessly, trying to keep his blood pressure from plummeting any further than it already has. But Gadriel knows the faster they beat, the more blood they pump out of his wounds.

"Thinkin' you're better than me," Severus says again. "Well, let me tell you something, angel; Ellicent isn't yours to love anymore! She belongs to me. She's my weapon, my slave. You don't got no right to her, none at all!"

He punches Gadriel again. Same spot. Just as hard. Gadriel's roar echoes through the small cell. So too does the clink of his chains as his body sags against them.

"Bastard!" Severus hisses. Again, the slaver hits him, and again he cries out in agony. In between Severus continues to rant, but Gadriel has lost the faculty to hear him. All there is pain. Blinding. Excruciating. Completely and utterly soul-crushing.

And the dark eldar wyche hasn't even gotten involved yet.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ellicent bites her bottom lip. Her fingers tremble, desperately trying to keep the wire steady. She's picked locks before- even Drukhari ones, once or twice- but she's working at an awkward angle here; balanced on one leg, reaching through the bars, then twisting her arm around to reach the lock on the far side of the door. And, more potently, the anxiety in her chest is making her nerves- and her hands- woefully unsteady. Beside her, her necronian leg lies in pieces. It'd taken forever to dissemble, what with her single arm and lack of tools, and it will take just as long to put back together again. But if she was going to get out of here, she needed wire; and the artificial tendon that runs from the top of her prosthetic's calf down to its heel was the piece she had the most immediate access to.

Balancing on her left knee, Ellicent twists the wire left, then right, then left again. Sweat trickles down her brow. It mixes with the tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Come on," she whispers. "Come on, come on, come on."

Somewhere within the door, metal clicks.

Ellicent almost cries out in joy. The Emperor hasn't abandoned me yet.

Gently, she removes the wire from the lock. After testing that yes, she had indeed cracked it, she sets the door back into place and crawls back to where her prosthetic is. Quickly as she can, she works to piece it back together. As anticipated, it takes forever, and it's an absolute pain in the ass.

By the end of it, her fingers are aching, and the callouses on her forefinger and thumb have split open and started to bleed. Ellicent gets to her feet, gives her leg a test bend and extention. The knee joint is a little stiff, and there's definitely something off with her ankle. But it'll have to do.

Slowly, so as not to make a sound, Ellicent slides the cell door open. The hallway is as well lit as her cell, in that it is barely lit at all. It's perfect; will make moving around this ship undetected just that little bit easier.

The innards of Dark Eldar ships are as twisted and insane as their architects. Walls shaped like rib cages. Pitch black corridors that wind, twist and double back like several labyrinths slammed together. But, as confusing as they may appear to be, there is method to their madness. And during her five decades under Severus' boot, Ellicent had been on enough Dark Eldar vessels to have figured out that method.

They'll have taken him to a torture chamber, she thinks. Assuming I'm in the holding cells now, then the nearest chamber should be one or two levels below.

Ellicent moves as fast as she can without her foot falls making a sound. Her breath like glass in the back of her throat. Every corner she rounds has her heart leaping into her throat, but mercifully, no xenos cross her path. Eventually, she finds the first set of stairs. She descends them two at a time.

The moment the door to the next corridor opens, Ellicent knows she's found the first torture chamber. Visually, this level is identical to the one above, save for the lack of the barred doors. But the sounds...

It's an ambience of suffering.

Groans. Cries. Sobbing. Screaming. Fists banging on walls and nails clawing at chains. Every kind of voice is part of the cacophony. Men and women. The young and the old. A handful, Ellicent believes might even belong to other xenos. It's impossible to tell what horrors might be dragging such sounds from their victims' throats. Ellicent tries to push such thoughts from her mind. "Focus," she mutters to herself. "Have to focus."

With grit teeth, she scampers through the chamber, listening closely to its symphony of agony around her. She doesn't hear Gadriel. There are also no xenos down here, either. That last fact is starting to make her nervous. These levels always have at least a squad of guards prowling the halls. So, where the hell could they all be?

Movement in her peripherals snaps her from her thoughts.

But that's all she has time to do. Before she can even blink, a giant fist clamps around her neck and drags her down a nearby passage. Gasping, Ellicent grabs at it. Feels cold, wet metal under her hand. She raises her robotic leg, preparing to kick at her attacker's knee. She freezes, however, when she feels the barrel of a bolter bury into her ribs.

"Do not struggle," a modulated voice mutters into her ear. "Do not move."

Ellicent's eyes widen. She recognises that voice. "Titus? That you?"

"You recall my name. That's observant."

His grip around her neck is tight, but not so much that she cannot breathe. Doesn't make her any less scared- one twitch of his pinkie, and the Ultramarine could snap her neck.

"What are you doing here?" he asks her.

"I was captured," she answers. "So was Gadriel."

A pause. Almost sounds like a hesitation. "The sergeant lives?"

"Yeah. Dark Eldar have moved him, though." A lump appears in Ellicent's throat. She swallows it with a gulp. "I... I think they're torturing him."

Titus lets out a growl. Wordless, protective and brimming with hatred. Ellicent swallows again. "I'm looking for him now, if you-"

The grip around her throat tightens. "If I what?" Titus hisses.

Ellicent stifles a wince. Her heart pounds hard in her ears. She knows for a fact that he can hear it, too. "I was going to say, if you wanted to come with. I've been on ships like this before; I know my way around. I know where they'll be keeping him."

Titus' silence is deafening.

"I haven't forgotten what happened on the rooftop," Ellicent says quietly. "I know what you must think of me-"

"Are you certain?"

Ellicent pauses. "Of what?"

"That you know where they are keeping Gadriel."

"If he's not here," Ellicent says. "Then he'll be either on the level below or the one below that. I guarantee it."

The bolter withdraws from her side. One finger at a time, the fist around her throat unfurls. Ellicent steps away before spinning to face him. Like Gadriel, the shredders had done a number on him. His armour is scratched and dented, its noble blue paintjob almost entirely stripped down to the ceramite beneath. Blood stains his hands and chest, but pointedly, Ellicent realises most of it is not human.

Guess that explains where all the guards went.

"Come then," Titus says, turning back towards the main corridor. "Lead on."

Ellicent looks at him, stunned. "Truly?"

"Yes. Now move it."

Questions sit on the tip of Ellicent's tongue, dozens of them. But she hasn't the time to ask them. Gadriel doesn't have the time.

"Okay," she says. "Follow me."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Woooooweeeeee part 6 is done babyyyyyy

If you made it this far, then thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Part 7 is coming soon, so watch this space closely!

Till then, stay safe out there xoxo

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @justfreakynothingelse

[justanothermemestrider]

I did a pencil portrait of Sgt Gadriel

I've always struggled at drawing men, but ngl I'm super happy with how he turned out!

[justanothermemestrider]

Omg yessssss so happy I'm not the only one who sees the potential!

I'm using this as a premise for the oc I'm gonna ship with Sgt Gadriel- a childhood sweetheart he meets and reconnects with, with some heavy angst and drama thrown in ofc XD

What if a Space Marine were to see someone they knew from childhood, as in, from before they became an Astartes?

I've seen a little lore about space marines from different chapters seeing their families again. Obviously, the Salamanders are known to rotate their marines off duty so they can visit their families, I've seen in a book one time a scene where an Ultramarine sees his father again, and all my night lord girlies probably know about Talos and his mother ;; But, in my mind, there's so much space here to play with creatively. What about siblings? Or childhood friends? Or what about some stories fully based on this idea? Like, what if an older brother, born and raised in the slums of an under hive, joins the Astartes in an attempt to lift his family out of poverty, only for him to never come back, making some of his family resent him? Or how about a guardsman meets a space marine in battle and discovers they are none other than their childhood best friend? Or their childhood sweetheart, even?

Idk, thought it was a fun idea so was worth sharing lol

[justanothermemestrider]

So glad I'm not the only one who sees it.

Lowkey gonna use this prompt for the oc I wanna ship with Sgt Gadriel

What if a Space Marine were to see someone they knew from childhood, as in, from before they became an Astartes?

I've seen a little lore about space marines from different chapters seeing their families again. Obviously, the Salamanders are known to rotate their marines off duty so they can visit their families, I've seen in a book one time a scene where an Ultramarine sees his father again, and all my night lord girlies probably know about Talos and his mother ;; But, in my mind, there's so much space here to play with creatively. What about siblings? Or childhood friends? Or what about some stories fully based on this idea? Like, what if an older brother, born and raised in the slums of an under hive, joins the Astartes in an attempt to lift his family out of poverty, only for him to never come back, making some of his family resent him? Or how about a guardsman meets a space marine in battle and discovers they are none other than their childhood best friend? Or their childhood sweetheart, even?

Idk, thought it was a fun idea so was worth sharing lol