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phoenixyfriend · 4 years ago

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Auntie ‘Soka and Little Leia (and Rex)

The counterpart to Uncle Ben and Little Luke (Original Post, Chrono)

Listen. You all knew this was coming.

This got... very long and detailed and I’m going to have to clean it up and post to AO3. As in, this was supposed to be 2-3k and is literally ten times that long. It crossed 25k. And the initial section actually glosses over a bunch, actual fic-style writing starts at “That, of course, is when things get interesting.”

Warnings: discussion of various canon traumas (most relating to being child soldiers), general PTSD, several scenes featuring dissociation or panic attacks upon being triggered, and canon-typical violence.

Rated T, gen.

I still want there to be de-aging nonsense involved so Ahsoka is physically a late teenager despite having a solid two decades of field experience behind her (we’re pulling her from Malachor).

Leia, much like Luke, is now six. She just came from being a rebellion general. She is not happy about being a child. She was already short, this is just mean. She’s a human espresso.

UNLIKE BEN, Ahsoka is not happy about this turn of events. Being seventeen-ish is not helpful in the outer rim. She’s a female togruta, young and healthy, and in the Outer Rim, caring for a small human child. Sure, she has her lightsabers and plenty of combat experience, and she can keep them safe, but she’s just one person, and a major target for those looking to make some quick cash. It doesn’t matter how good she is; she needs sleep at some point.

It makes my heart happy to treat Ahsoka and Rex as two halves of the same black ops specialist so you know what, he’s there too! He’s physically like... 10-12 in natborn, maybe. They’re not sure, because clones age weird. He’s moderately more useful than Leia (who is very competent but also physically six, and short for that age), but he’s still... very small.

Reminder that none of them have been born yet.

Ahsoka has a harder time explaining WHY she has children with her, since she's barely more than a kid herself, and clearly unrelated by species. She sometimes just says “Oh, my adoptive brother’s kids” since it’s kind of the truth for Leia and she’s not touching the actual truth about Rex with a ten foot pole.

Ahsoka definitely knows about Leia being a Skywalker, or at least has suspicions that Bail never outright confirmed but was conspicuously quiet about. She does tell Leia about it, but it’s not like that means anything, right? Just, you know, your dad was my teacher! I don’t have to tell you he became Va--oh shit, you already knew that part. Well, fuck. What do you mean he had a son? OH SHIT, PADME HAD TWINS.

Alt take for explaining why she’s got kids: She’s my foundling, I know her name as my child (Leia shut up!!!)

(Ahsoka can fake Mandalore. Sometimes.)

That said, there is... significantly less gambling and significantly more theft to get to Coruscant.

As previously stated, Ahsoka is a black ops kinda gal, and more importantly, she looks like a fairly attractive young woman in the Outer Rim, with two children in good health. She’s a target, and also not the kind of person one generally gambles with. If she does gamble, people get upset when she doesn’t lose, in ways they don’t get upset about Ben doing the same, because she’s, again, a cute teenage girl. It’s exhausting.

As things go, she largely ends up stealing from people who deserve it and/or smuggling herself and her charges into someone else’s ship. They’re small, they can hide. Sometimes she can get them all passage by working as a mechanic, she’s good at that.

Once they’ve got a handle on when they are, they have to decide on Names. None of them have been born yet, so technically they could use their own names without anyone Knowing. Rex and Leia might not even be born, depending on how successful they are at, you know, stopping the war and everything. Ahsoka, though, she’s going be born in two years, and there’s no reason to prevent it, so... she doesn’t want to steal baby-her’s name. That would be mean.

Leia is already calling her “Auntie ‘Soka” when she can for reasons like “selling the bit” and “manipulating adults” and “making us both feel better after we had a mutual breakdown about Anakin being Vader.” Ergo, she decides that whatever new name she picks better include that in some way, and decides on “Sokari” because it sounds pretty.

Overall, they don’t... they don’t actually make it very far before there’s an Incident. Again, teenager with small children. They spend a lot of time hiding out in space ports looking for an opportunity.

That, of course, is when things get interesting.

Specifically, Ahsoka spots a Mandalorian.

She doesn’t recognize the armor. She does recognize the sigil, and thinks ‘well, they’re more likely to help than some,’ because from what she’s heard, the Haat Mando’ade are Decent People Overall. Her view is a little biased, mostly on account of the sheer level of grudge she has against Kyr’tsad. It’s fine! The True Mandalorians have the same grudge, right? And Mandalorians like kids and Ahsoka hasn’t slept in five days and it’s fine. It’s fine! IT’S FINE.

“Oh shit,” Rex whispers, before she can suggest anything. “Oh fuck.”

“Stop cursing,” Leia hisses, elbowing him. “People are going to notice.”

“That’s the Prime,” Rex panics, mostly quiet. Ahsoka’s heart drops, because fuck is right. “That’s Fett.”

Leia isn’t impressed. Ahsoka just angles herself between Fett and Rex and hopes that he doesn’t see them. That’s just asking for trouble.

Unfortunately, Ahsoka is in fact running on none sleep with left trauma, and doesn’t notice Fett walking up and dropping into a seat across from them until he’s actually done so, removing his helmet to glare a little more efficiently.

“Wanna explain why your kid has my face?”

Ahsoka later tells herself that he’s killed Jedi and that’s why he can sneak up on her, and that she can be forgiven some slip-ups with the exhaustion being what it is, and that she’s obviously going to be dealing with some emotional instability in light of the sudden return of teenage hormones and new forms of anxiety that are markedly different from those she was dealing with a few weeks ago.

What Ahsoka wants to say is “that’s kind of a long story,” or “maybe he’s a cousin,” or “kriff off, I don’t know you,” or maybe even “he’s a clone.”

What Ahsoka actually does is burst into tears, which is embarrassing for her, for Fett, for the kids, and for the entire rest of the bar.

It really is the straw that broke the eopie’s back. Even when she was actually this age, she didn’t exactly cry much. Objectively, Fett quasi-aggressively asking a valid question shouldn’t send her into a panic. She’s been through torture and worse. She shouldn’t be crying.

But she is, sobbing her eyes out with no control, and he’s just sitting across from her and looking uncomfortable while Rex wraps his little arms--oh Force he’s so small--around her, and both ‘children’ glare at Fett.

“So, I’m going to take it she didn’t kidnap you from a loving family or do something illicit with a blood sample,” Fett says, after it becomes obvious that Ahsoka’s not going to be ready to talk any time soon.

“She didn’t,” Rex says stiffly, with just the right emphasis for Fett to catch what’s implied. Ahsoka just keeps her head down, eyes pressed against the heels of her palms, trying to get her body to stop rebelling against her.

Fett’s eyes dart to Leia, who folds her arms and draws herself up, every bit the unimpressed princess. “My father claimed her as a sister, so she’s my Auntie ‘Soka.”

The man dithers a bit, the conversation clearly not going where he’d expected. “Right,” he says. “You--you’re all kids. I thought she was a little older, at least, but I didn’t have a good look at her face before.”

She is older, but actually admitting that is only going to make this worse, both for her pride and for her chances of making it out alive.

“Where are you staying?”

“What?” Leia bites out.

“You’re kids, you’re alone, and you’re clearly not okay if you were trying to hide the one with my face as blatantly as you did, and then... whatever this is, when I confronted you,” Fett explains. Ahsoka lifts her head to glare at him, but it’s probably not doing much with the way her eyes are rimmed with red and still wet. “Don’t give me that look, ad’ika, your kids looked as confused and horrified by that as the bartender did. They obviously didn’t think it was normal either.”

Well, kriff you too, Ahsoka thinks.

“And what do you mean by ‘blatantly,’ here?” Leia challenges. It’s adorable, but Ahsoka watched this tiny girl shoot a man last week, and wonders when people are going to start taking that seriously.

“There’s a lot of people in this galaxy, and I don’t exactly have the clearest memory of what I looked like at that age,” Fett says, slow and careful like he thinks they’re dumb. Ahsoka decides to chalk it up as being because Leia’s visibly six. “I would have thought it was just a coincidence if you hadn’t put in effort to hide him.”

Leia huffs, and Rex glares harder. Fett just sighs, like they’re all going to give him grey hairs.

“You can explain whatever the hell’s going on,” Fett says. “I’ll let you stay on my ship, there’s a spare bunk and you’re small.”

“For free?” Rex demands.

“A night on a bunk in exchange for information,” Fett clarifies. “We can negotiate from there.”

Ahsoka takes a few moments, notes that both of the others are waiting on her for the decision, and cringes. She doesn’t feel steady enough to carry that. She has to anyway.

“Rex?” she asks, voice rasping after the breakdown of the past few minutes.

“Yeah?”

“How much?”

He looks up at her, eyes calculating, and grimaces. “We don’t want Order 66. A warning is better, even if we... share information.”

She nods, and turns to Leia. “Any premonitions, princess?”

Leia glowers, cute and furious. “No.”

“No, don’t tell, or no, you aren’t getting any vibes about sharing info one way or the other?”

“The latter,” Leia clarifies, huffy to the last.

“Right,” Ahsoka says, and then just... hesitates. “Fett...”

“You’ve got conditions,” he guesses.

She bares her teeth in what could have, through a squint and perhaps a few drinks, been called an apologetic smile. “Just one, really.”

“Yeah?”

“No hurting, killing, or turning us in for bounties,” she says. “Any of us.”

“You’re children, I wouldn’t.”

She blinks at him, slow and careful. She hesitates. She reaches down, out of sight, sees him stiffen.

She unclips her sabers from her belt and puts them on the table.

His eyes are fixed on the weapons the second they enter his line of sight, and don’t move as he clearly realizes why she made the condition she did.

“I left years ago, because I couldn’t stay without it ruining me,” she says. Still slow. Still careful. She’s so tired. “But if I want to keep Leia safe, I have to get back to Coruscant.”

His eyes finally lift from the sabers, expression blank. “Just her?”

“Rex doesn’t have the same monsters coming after him,” she says. “If it were just me and him, I’d worry less. Leia’s a different kind of target.”

“You’re putting a lot of faith on the table by telling me that,” Fett says, voice flat and toneless. “Considering my occupation.”

“She’s a child,” Ahsoka says, feeling heavy and boneless. “Even with what I was and will be, even with what money you would get from the right buyer, you wouldn’t.”

“There are other risks.”

“There are.”

They stare at each other for too long, probably, and then Fett jerks as Rex kicks him under the table. The boys glare for a moment, and then Rex says, “If she weren’t good, I’d still be a slave to those who grew me.”

Fett blinks, and then nearly growls the word, “What?”

“She freed me,” Rex reiterates. “While I was trying to shoot her.”

Ahsoka lifts a hand and puts it on his far shoulder, pulling him into her side. She doesn’t meet Fett’s eyes again, because part of her is back on Mandalore, dodging her own soldiers and crying out as her family dies across the galaxy.

Fett breathes in. Breathes out. He puts a hand to his head, visibly frustrated. “Fine. A good Jedi kid, and two smaller kids, one of which is apparently in some way mine.”

Rex makes a face, which is fair, but also not helping.

“To the ship,” Ahsoka says, putting her sabers back on her belt and sliding out of the seat. “I’m... I’m Sokari.”

“You already know my name.”

“I do.”

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

Fett watches her like she’s a predator, which has the benefit of being accurate and slightly flattering. She lets other two take care of most of talking, and then Fett tells her to sleep first, and talk in the morning.

“You’re dead on your feet, jetii,” he snorts. “And that crying jag didn’t do you any favors. Sleep.”

So she does, and Fett doesn’t even wake her. He just lets her sleep. He watches her in the way of a guard. She sees him when she gets up to use the ‘fresher in the middle of the night, but he doesn’t even comment when she collapses right back into the mediocre cot she’s borrowed for the cycle.

Rex and Leia are safe, her hindbrain tells her, even in the depths of sleep. Her mind curls around theirs in the Force, and she trusts that they are here. They are not happy, but they are alive and unharmed, and that has to be enough.

When she stumbles her way to true wakefulness, groggy and loose-limbed, Fett greets her with caf.

“The kids wouldn’t let me near you,” he tells her.

“They’re good,” she says, cupping her hands around the mug. She feels wobbly, in every sense. Her body, her mind, her emotions, her connection to the Force. Nothing is on-kilter right now. “Did they tell you anything?”

“They waited for you,” he says. “But the little miss needed a nap of her own. They’re down in the other bunk.”

“I didn’t notice,” she admits. She should have. She’s Fulcrum. She’s a veteran of the Clone Wars. She’s... she’s supposed to be better than this.

“How long?” he asks, and then when she squints up at him, he clarifies. “How long did you fight?”

“My last fight--”

“No, whatever war you came out of,” he says. Her chest twists cold. “I don’t know if the Jedi sent you into it or if you waded in yourself once you left, but you move like a soldier.”

“I was,” she confirms. “But... but I don’t want to talk about the details. Not until the other two are here.”

He frowns at her. “Is there anything you can talk about?”

She shrugs and looks away, trying to take solace in the warmth of the caff she holds above the table, as if it can hide her, guard her, from the disgraced Mand’alor across the table.

“Jedi?”

“I’m not officially a Jedi,” she says, voice quiet. “Not anymore.”

“Then what do I call you?” he asks. “We’re not exactly close enough for names.”

“Torrent,” she says. “It’s not--I can’t claim my family name anymore. But I can claim Torrent, so I will. And if you want a title, I was a commander.”

“Bit young for that.”

“I got the rank when I was fourteen,” she says, and watches his face do something complicated and unpleasant. “Don’t. I know your own culture puts children on the field that young.”

“Not in command.”

She shrugs. “Yeah, well... the soldiers were technically younger. Adults, but...”

Ahsoka can see the way he casts about to figure out what species grows at that rate. He guesses a few, and she shoots all of it down.

She won’t tell him. Not until Rex is awake.

This part of the story is his.

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

When Leia tries to sit alone, a foot away on the bench like a proper adult, Ahsoka refuses to let it happen. She pulls the younger girl to her side and quells protests with a glance. It’s a decent skill, but she’s not sure how long it’s going to work on her niece-in-spirit.

“Your body needs the chemical release of skinship,” she says, and Leia glares at her. “I spent way too much time with the boys to not know about this. Deal.”

Rex sits close enough to knock their knees together under the table, and his warmth is the old comfort she needs.

“Do you want the story you’ll believe, or the truth?” Ahsoka asks.

“What’s the difference?”

“One of them involves something so impossible that even most Jedi wouldn’t believe it,” she tells him.

Fett folds his arms and leans forward to rest them on the table, challenging but oddly open. “Try me.”

“Time travel.”

He blinks, just once, fully controlled. “That’s a tough one.”

“There were only three Jedi left alive when I died,” she says. “Or... whatever it is that happened to me. I think I died. All I know is that one moment, I was thirty-two and dying, and the next, I was... seventeen again, and had these two with me. All of us younger than we were. None of us have even been born yet.”

She refuses to look him in the eye. “They both outlived me by... six years, maybe. Got caught up while traveling instead of dying. Leia was twenty-two. Rex was thirty-five. I’m not technically the oldest anymore. I mean, physically I am, but that doesn’t mean anything, and it’s not exactly doing us any good, and--”

Rex bumps his shoulder to her arm. “I dunno, Commander. I’ve spent a long time looking older than I should. Nice to look younger for once.”

She shoots him a small, pained grin. “Could be worse, yeah.”

“Let’s say I believe you.”

Her attention snaps back to Fett, who’s looking damnably blank, and is showing even less in the Force.

He waits a second for her to relax back into her seat.

“Let’s say I believe you,” he repeats. “How’s ‘Rex’ connected to me? What’s so special about Leia there? And what war did you fight in that has you acting like a veteran?”

“Three years in the clone wars,” she whispers, glancing to Rex and forcing herself to not go for her sabers to defend against an attack that her paranoia says is coming and the Force says is not. “Then almost all the Jedi were wiped out at once, and I spent a year... drifting. Then black ops for the next fifteen.”

“Black ops,” he repeats, still damnably flat.

“There was a Sith Empire,” she says, and she can hear her own tone growing somehow emptier. “Glassing planets. Enslaving entire species. Committing genocides all over. Of course, there was a rebellion, and of course I joined it. I was one of the only people left with Jedi training. For all that I’d left the Order, I still had a duty to the universe.”

His eyes flit to Leia, who shrugs and tries to look prim. “I was adopted and raised by one of the founders of the rebellion, a movement built on the desire to instate freedom and democracy in a galaxy that had lost even the pretense.”

“That why you’re special?”

Leia smiles, thin and patronizing. It doesn’t fit on her little face. “I’m special because my biological father was one of the most powerful Force users in history, and his Fall to the dark side and choice to become a Sith is why the Emperor’s rise was nearly uncontested. I do not like power, but it’s in my veins and I can’t change that. Force users are... a lucrative trade, and I’m still the size of a child, so I can’t fight back. I’ll be safer in the Jedi Temple, even if I don’t want to be a Jedi.”

Fett looks to Ahsoka, makes to ask a question, and then shakes his head. Not the time, maybe.

“So, that’s all... very complicated and I don’t know how much of it I believe, but it doesn’t explain...” he trails off, and sighs. “My kid, or whatever you are. I heard you mention clones.”

Rex grins. It is not a kind expression.

“Let me tell you about Kamino.”

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

Ahsoka has no idea if Fett believes them. Either he thinks they’re telling the truth, or he thinks their delusional kids. Whatever the case, he offers to take them closer to the Core. Ahsoka quietly offers to take a look at his engine in return, and then pretends not to notice when Fett awkwardly drifts to and away from Rex.

“They put chips in our brains to make us kill the Jedi we respected, cared for, even loved. I tried to shoot ‘Soka, Fett. She was seventeen and risked her life to get that chip out of my head while I was trying to kill her. I have never hated myself more than when I woke up and realized what I’d almost done, and I was one of the few that were able to fight it. I heard the stories of dozens of brothers who woke with their chips having degraded and chose to eat their blaster rather than live with the guilt of the orders they’d followed without question because of a thrice-damned Sith slave chip in their head.”

“So no, I won’t call you father or acknowledge you as clan until you do something to prove you’re worth it, shared blood or not.”

What Ahsoka does get out of the arrangement, for all that Fett’s route mostly takes them on a meandering path that isn’t faster than their previous system, is sleep. She gets to rest. She gets to trust that Fett won’t kill Rex, out of guilt for something he hasn’t done, that he won’t kill Leia out of a worry that she’s just a delusional child, a real child, that he won’t kill ‘Sokari’ because it would ruin any chance of gaining Rex’s favor, ever.

She’s not safe, won’t believe she can be until she’s in the Temple and Sidious is dead dead dead, but she’s safer than she’s been in a long time.

Every night, Ahsoka wakes up and stumbles to the little galley, deaths and torture sparkling behind her eyes with the energy of a thousand lost Jedi, ten thousand mourned brothers and sisters.

She is not the only one of their little group to be a survivor of a near-total genocide, but Rex could not feel his brothers die in the Force, even if his nightmares featured what they heard of suicide missions by the emperor’s favored shock troopers, and Leia had... Alderaan had more off-world survivors than there had been Jedi at all.

It’s not worth comparing their pain. It’s stupid to even think it. Part of her can’t help but do it anyway.

“Caf?”

She feels a lek twitch in response to the voice of the only other person on board who can reach the top shelf. “I probably shouldn’t.”

“Whiskey?”

“That’s a definitely shouldn’t.”

“Hoth chocolate?”

“...please.”

She doesn’t lift her head from her arms until the mug clicks down in front of her, ceramic on plastisteel.

“Do I ask what it was this time?”

She shrugs. “It’s hard to explain to non-sensitives.”

“Try me anyway.”

Ahsoka twists the Hoth chocolate in her hands, takes a sip as she thinks. “The Force isn’t just one thing. It’s... energy and philosophy and spirit, a sense of being that ties the entire universe together. Sentient and inanimate and living and dead, empty space and lush forests and stifled cities. For those of us who are sensitive to it, it’s possible to feel the life of everyone around you, theoretically possible to feel entire systems. If you have a Force bond, like a master and padawan, that can stretch across planets, even systems if one or both are particularly powerful.

“So just... just imagine, for a moment, what it’s like to feel the screaming of all those Jedi in the Force as their trusted men shot them down.

“Some of them were close enough that I could feel them die,” she manages. “I... it’s horrible. It’s horrific. It’s not something I can ever forget, and I want to. I want to forget what that moment was like. Not that it happened, but...”

She can feel the tears. Fuck..

“You want to dull the edges.”

“Don’t we all?” she asks, scrubbing the back of her hand across her eyes. “Leia lost her entire planet, billions of people, and she was forced to watch. Rex... Force, I can barely imagine, and I was there for most of it.”

Fett watches her, measuring. “From what he said, they were as much your brothers as his, by the end.”

“No,” she immediately denies. “They could have been, maybe, but the ones I was closest to died earlier, and then I left, and by the time the Empire rose, all but a handful were... no. Rex, I will claim as a brother in all the ways that matter, but I don’t get to do that with the rest. I don’t have the right.”

“You’re hard on yourself.”

“Fate of the galaxy, my good bitch. Guess who’s got it on her shoulders.”

He snorts at her, and nods at the mug. “Drink your Hoth chocolate. We’re landing in eight hours, and you’ve got kids to look out for.”

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

There’s a twitch in the Force when they land, something pulling at her in a way she barely feels. She’s had her shields up so fully for so long that it’s natural to hide away what she is to the point where she can hardly tell what anyone else is, either. It takes more than a moment to remember how to let herself spread out across the world.

“Auntie ‘Soka? Why’d you stop?”

She doesn’t have an answer to Leia’s prodding question. “I don’t know.”

It’s almost familiar. Old and half-forgotten, not the same as what she remembers, but--

“This way,” she says, and wanders off into the crowd. Leia and Rex follow without question. Fett curses and rushes through the rest of his transaction with the docking attendant. The sound of him jogging after them is almost funny, with the armor, but she can’t focus on that.

Ahsoka slips between people with the ease of a career built on such a habit, children trailing like ducklings. She knows this feeling, she knows this person, what is she missi--

“Oh,” she breathes, going stock still. She knows that face. She knows those braids. She even knows the presence.

Younger than Ahsoka had ever seen her, but unmistakably Master Billaba.

“Torrent, what the hell?” Fett demands, finally catching up. “You can’t just run off like that!”

“It’s Depa,” she says, eyes still fixed on the woman parsing through a datapad with an irritated vendor. She has a padawan braid. It doesn’t feel like Master Windu is on-planet, so this might be a solo mission, a... oh. Senior Padawan, Knight Elect. This is the kind of mission taken to test if she’s ready to be promoted.

Ahsoka feels light-headed.

Fett waits for her to elaborate, but she can’t. This was Kanan’s master. This was a member of the High Council. This was a woman who died and--

“You need to sit down,” Fett says, not a touch gruff. He puts a hand on her shoulder and guides her off the main walkway. “I’m... going to talk to the woman in the Jedi robes. You three just stay there and don’t get kidnapped.”

Ahsoka nods, feeling like she’s not quite inhabiting her own body.

It’s Depa.

Her eyes track Fett without conscious control, and her montrals pick up the sound.

Depa looks up when the armor comes close enough, free hand tensed in a way that says she’s preventing herself from reaching for a saber in reaction to the heavily-armored individual standing several feet away.

“Mando,” the woman says. “May I help you?”

“Are you Depa?”

Depa doesn’t do anything so dramatic as gape or step back, but she does blink rapidly for a moment. She then folds her hands down in front of her, drawing her spine up ramrod straight. “I am Jedi Padawan Depa Billaba, yes. May I ask why it is that you need to know?”

Ahsoka imagines Fett grimacing, or rolling his eyes, or maybe dithering. She can’t tell from this angle, and he has a helmet on besides. It turns his awkward silences into judgmental ones.

“I’ve had some Jedi kids on my ship, hitching a ride,” he says at length. “One of them recognized you and then just... froze.”

“You have our younglings in your care,” Depa says, carefully not accusatory, but close enough to be a warning.

“Not quite,” he says. “The one that actually came from the temple is seventeen. One of ‘em isn’t Force Sensitive, and the last one is but hasn’t been to Coruscant before. They’re trying to get the little one to the Temple for her own safety.”

Depa considers that, and then passes the datapad to the vendor. “Lead on.”

It’s surprisingly simple, really. Fett did all the talking.

And then Depa is standing right in front of her.

“Like I said,” Fett sighs. “She froze up.”

“Hello,” Depa says, hands laced together inside her sleeves. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

Ahsoka shakes her head. “I know of you. I’ve seen you spar. You’ve never spoken to me.”

All true. A little misleading, but it’s fine, it’s all fine.

Depa waits a moment, and then says, “You seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”

“Sokari T-Torrent,” she manages. The words feel clunky in her mouth, the sound abrasive for all that it’s just her own voice, no different from usual. A little shaky, maybe. She can feel a cool breeze on her upper arms. Shouldn’t she have armor? She should have armor. “It... it’s been a long time since I’ve seen another Jedi. I’m having a hard time believing you’re real.”

“I see,” Depa says. “Perhaps we should take this somewhere more private? You seem a little unsteady.”

Ahsoka lets herself be led back to the ship, in the company of Mand’alor Jango Fett, Jedi Padawan Depa Billaba, Princess-General Leia Organa, and good old Captain Rex.

It’s like the start of a sick joke.

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

Fett and Depa talk where she can hear, but they rarely address her directly. Both seem to realize that she’s not particularly useful right now. Leia and Rex are pressing up against her at the little table in the galley, and Ahsoka lets them.

This is real. She can feel Depa in the Force, recognizes her energy even if it’s not quite what it will-was-could-have-been. This is happening.

It’s a textbook Traumatic Stress Response case, one of them says.

Fett has his helmet off. Ahsoka’s sure that’s wrong for some reason. She thinks he might already be on wanted lists. Should she worry about Depa trying to arrest him?

Depa asks about Rex at one point. Fett tells her that someone cloned him without his knowing, but the kid is more comfortable with Ahsoka so they’re still working on what that means for him.

It’s more or less true. Rex squeezes her hand the one time someone suggests separating them. She’s not letting that happen unless Rex wants to leave for whatever reason. They’ve worked apart before. They can do it again.

“Auntie Soka? You’re shivering.”

Is she?

Leia cuddles in closer, and Ahsoka runs a hand over her hair. It’s an absentminded motion, and for all that she knows Leia’s hair is fine as silk, it feels like plastic in the moment.

“I don’t think I’m okay,” Ahsoka announces. The words hang in the air like lead balloons, and she can feel Depa staring at her. “I haven’t been for a very long time.”

“Yeah, we noticed,” Fett says. “Do you need to lay down, Torrent?”

Does she?

“No,” she says. “I... I don’t know what I need.”

“The spicy drink,” Rex tells them. “It’s grounding.”

Right. That.

Fett goes to grab it, and Depa continues to watch.

“How long ago did you leave your master?” Depa asks. “Or... did he die?”

Ahsoka closes her eyes and shakes her head. She can feel the shivers now, tremors in her biceps and a shudder she can’t control in the height of her ribcage. Her teeth grind together, jaw like stone.

“You don’t have to answer that,” Depa assures her. “I’m... going to recommend you see a mind healer on Coruscant.”

That was a forgone conclusion.

A cup clinks onto the table. Fett’s back. “Drink.”

She does.

Depa and Fett continue discussing it as “the adults” at the table. She’s older than both of them. Rex is older than all of them. Ahsoka follows about half of what they say. She agrees with most of it. Rex bullies his way into speaking when she doesn’t, without her even asking, because he knows her mind as well as she does. Fett rolls with it. Depa lets him.

She’s going to reach out to the Temple and see about getting them a ride back to Imperial Center Coruscant.

Fett makes Soka go to bed, taking Leia with her.

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

She feels more like a person come morning.

Depa’s sitting at the table, datapad in her hands and caff on the table in front of her.

“Good morning,” Ahsoka says, rough and croaking, and Depa’s eyes flick up to meet hers. She nods a shallow hello.

“Feeling better?”

“Much,” Ahsoka says, and goes about gathering a breakfast. There’s definitely some dried meat in here. She can get something fresh when they stop by the market later.

“I was hoping to speak with you about your options,” Depa tells her, once she’s sat at the table. “Fett and your friend Rex took care of most of the negotiation, and I feel like I have an idea of what would work best for you.”

Ahsoka nods slowly. “Okay.”

“There is a Master-Padawan pair a few planets away,” Depa says. “The Council informed me when I spoke with them about you and your wards. They’d be headed back to the Temple in a few days anyway, and the Council has agreed to extend an offer to Fett to handle the transportation. The presence of a Jedi Master on board will allow for him to get in and out of the Core unmolested, and we’d like for you and yours to have a Jedi escort, given what happened yesterday afternoon.”

Her complete spiral into nonbeing?

“I understand,” she says instead. “I suppose Fett agreed because he’s still trying to get Rex to like him?”

Depa shrugs. “That part isn’t my business.”

Of course it isn’t.

“Rex can stay with me for a while, right?” Ahsoka finally asks. “I know it’s not exactly protocol, but I’m...”

“In need of a support system until you’ve seen a mind healer, and against all odds, the child is part of it,” Depa summarizes. “Yes, I recognized as much. I think the Council will be able to allow some leeway there. I don’t know if he’ll enjoy it, given that all the others his age are Initiates, but we can adjust as necessary. On that note... Do you know Leia’s midichlorian count?”

“No,” Ahsoka says, and hesitantly adds, “But her biological father was my Jedi Master, and I’m told his count broke records even as a child. Given what Leia’s shown so far... it’s why I’ve been in a hurry to get her to the Temple.”

Depa frowns at her, clearly working through the implications of a Jedi having a daughter and still teaching... and then visibly dismisses the situation, eyes closing to breathe in the steam of her caff.

Biological father certainly implies a child that was raised by her mother or adopted out so the Jedi father could remain in their chosen career without a conflict of interest or duty.

She’ll tell the council the truth, or... at least Master Koon. Master Kenobi is still a padawan, but she can tell Master Koon.

She already told Jango Fett, of all people.

“Padawan Torrent?”

Her head snaps up. She hasn’t been a padawan in over fifteen years. It’s weird to hear. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I asked if you wanted some time to think it over before I presented the offer to Fett,” Depa says.

Ahsoka gets the distinct feeling that Depa is planning a report to the Council that has ‘needs a mind healer’ underlined at least three times.

“No, I’m--I’m fine. That sounds like a good plan.”

“I’ll speak with him, then. Would you like to come with?”

"No, thank you.”

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

Fett agrees. Ahsoka’s pretty sure it’s all to do with Rex and maybe Leia. It’s probably nothing to do with ‘Sokari.’ She’s a Jedi, an adult in mind and in body, or at least close enough to count. She’s a damn sight more ‘enemy’ to Fett than the other two are. Not as much as Depa, maybe, but Fett’s been playing nice with her for Leia’s sake.

He plays nice with Ahsoka for Rex’s. That’s all.

They’re only a few planets over from the meeting point, and they have a few days to hang around before the escort meets them. Depa hadn’t given them a name--apparently it could have compromised the opsec for the Jedi team--but Ahsoka’s pretty sure she’ll be able to identify almost anyone. She gets the feeling that the Force is going to send her a familiar face, just as it did Master Padawan Billaba.

Ahsoka lets herself feel the world around her. It’s dark and dreary, in the sense that the beaten-down port is full of petty crimes and less petty horrors, but it’s still lighter than most of the Empire had been. She sneaks away from the ship at night, ignoring Fett at her back, and performs a bit of vigilante justice while she can. She’ll be banned from doing so as soon as she’s reinstated as a Jedi, probably, but for now... for now, she can look at the drug cartels and ‘they’re not slaves, really’ workers and do something to help.

She doesn’t use her sabers. She doesn’t need to. It’s been a long time since she has, for small fry like these.

“What are you doing?” Fett asks her, landing heavily behind her back.

“Chip removal,” she says, hand pressed to the slave’s leg. Her eyes are closed, but she can hear him shifting. “Let me concentrate, I don’t have a meddroid for this.”

He’s silent until she finishes, and waits until the people she’s helped are on their way to the planet’s freedom routes. He doesn’t ask what she did with the owners.

“You’ve done this before.”

“Regularly,” she confirms. “You?”

He doesn’t answer that, just ambles over to the the chains and stares down at them.

“Fett?”

“You go through this like it’s as easy as breathing,” he says. “It’s... impressive.”

“I guess?” she hesitates to continue. “I’m... I don’t think of it that way. This is the easy stuff. A time-waster that helps people. If I wanted to help for real, I’d been going after Jabba or Sidious or--”

“How old were you?” he asks, turning on his heel to face her dead-on. The vocoder of his helmet pulls the emotion from his voice. “When did this... these missions, the slavery battles, when did that start for you?”

“Fourteen,” she says. She’s not entirely sure, really, what counted as a mission for ending slavery and what counted as just a part of war, but she can round down. “Maybe fifteen. It’s a bit of a blur.”

“And you just kept doing it.”

“Of course,” she says. “If I have the time and the energy, if I need to do something and there’s nothing official on my hands, why not?”

He doesn’t answer her.

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

Rex greets them before she does.

Ahsoka, in her defense, is asleep at the time. It’s a restless sleep, but it’s enough that she doesn’t sense the nearing Force signatures until they’re almost at the ship.

She recognizes one of them.

“Auntie ‘Soka?” Leia questions, when she lurches to her feet and starts pulling on her boots with all the energy of a zombie. “Where are you going?”

“Jedi,” Ahsoka grunts. “Here.”

“I see.”

Leia dresses to follow her, in a little coat that’ll withstand the chill of the outside air, and Ahsoka makes it to the cargo hold just in time to hear Rex saying, “I’m not shaking your hand until you put your gloves on, Vos.”

She laughs to herself, breathless with the knowledge of what she’s about to find. She jumps the railing of the upper walkway, drops down just in front of the Master-Padawan team, and keeps her back to Fett and Rex. “Hello, there.”

One human, one Kiffar. She knows the latter.

“Would you be Sokari Torrent?” the Master asks.

“I am,” she says, with a slight bow. She can tell there’s a bit of judgement for how she’s dressed, but they’re covering it well. A Shadow and his trainee know the value of armor better than most Jedi bother with. “I’m afraid Padawan Billaba didn’t inform me of your names before we met.”

“And yet your friend knew my padawan,” the Master says.

“By reputation,” she says, as smoothly as she can. “I’ve encountered Quinlan Vos before, though I doubt he remembers--”

“I’d remember someone like you,” Quinlan interrupts, with a grin she’s sure is meant to be charming and rogueish.

He’s... very young for her, and not her type. Mostly, she wants to pat him on the head, but that probably wouldn’t go over very well. She still looks like she’s younger than him.

“Anyway,” she says, turning back to the master, “I’m afraid I still don’t know who you are, Master.”

“I am Tholme,” he says, with the bow that a Master gives a Padawan. She feels a little slighted, but it’s fine. She looks the right age, it’s fine.

It’s not like they know.

“It’s nice to meet you, Master Tholme,” she says. “My charges are Rex Torrent, the young man behind me, and currently coming down the ladder is Leia Antilles. I’m sure you’re aware of Jango Fett.”

“The Mand’alor,” Quinlan volunteers, and Ahsoka can almost hear Fett’s teeth grinding.

“Don’t call me that,” he says. She’s sure he’s got a hand drifting for his blaster.

“There isn’t a whole lot of room on the ship,” she says before the men can get into whatever weird contest she’s sure someone might start. Her bet’s on Fett. “But Leia and Rex are small enough to share with me, so I’m sure we can make it work.”

“There’s spare rolls for anyone comfortable with sleeping in the hold,” Fett grunts. “Or on the floor in the passenger room.”

“Well, I guess I could ask for a little help fi--”

“Vos,” Ahsoka snaps, letting her voice take on the kind of ‘obey me or get fresher duty’ irritation that she’d perfected back when the rebellion still had her managing people, before they’d realized she was more use in the field. “Do not.”

There’s a moment’s pause, and Tholme looks unimpressed with that raised eyebrow, but the kind of unimpressed that’s split between his own padawan and the stranger before him.

“Um,” Quinlan says. “I just--”

“No,” she cuts him off. “No flirting.”

It’s weird and uncomfortable and she’d have maybe been okay with it if she was actually the seventeen-or-eighteen-ish(?) that she looked, but she’s not. She’s in her thirties and Vos is... what, twenty? Twenty-one? No.

He stares at her, and she wonders momentarily if she’d gone too far in the direction of judging his intentions in the Force and preempted actual flirtations.

“I’m sorry?” He offers, looking confused, but ashamed. “I, uh, I’ll keep that in mind.”

She definitely preempted the actual flirtation.

Fuck.

Ahsoka closes her eyes and breathes in. Breathes out. Opens her eyes. “Right. That was... I’m not sure how much Padawan Billaba told you about me.”

“Enough,” Tholme says. He moves forward and puts a hand on Quinlan’s shoulder. Ahsoka has no idea if it’s to comfort him or hold him back. “I didn’t share most of it with my padawan, but I have a general understanding of what’s going on.”

Quinlan darts a look at his teacher, but Ahsoka doesn’t acknowledge it. It’s fine. Everything is fine.

“Thank you for your understanding,” she says, and bows, and stiffly turns away to walk to the galley.

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

Leia squirms into the bench seat, shoving her way under Ahsoka’s arm like a particularly wriggly tooka.

“What was that?” Leia demands, the authority of a rebellion general rather useless in the squeaky voice of a child.

“What was what?”

“The whole thing with Padawan Vos,” Leia says. “You blew up at him before he even did anything.”

That’s pretty true.

“I felt the flirtation coming before it happened and reacted inappropriately because I panicked. I’m significantly older than him, but I can’t tell him that, so it’s just awkward and uncomfortable and... I’m not okay, Princess. I haven’t been for a long time.”

“Yeah, we can tell.”

“Leia.”

“What? I need therapy too! Captain Rex needs therapy! I’m pretty sure Fett needs therapy! You, Fulcrum, you really need therapy. None of us are okay.” She huffs, wiggling impossibly closer. “I don’t like it, but it’s true.”

“I know,” Ahsoka groans. “I just... I just need to hold out until the Temple.”

“Will you be able to hold it together if you see someone you actually care about?” Leia demands. “What are you going to do when you see Kenobi?”

“Stop.”

“I’m serious, you--”

“Leia, that’s enough,” she snaps. “I was fighting that war before you were even born, and I’ve dealt with the consequences since. I know the risks and I’ll thank you to remember who taught you to control your own mind.”

Leia stiffens, sucking in a sharp breath. “That was uncalled for.”

“You’re not the child you appear to be,” Ahsoka reminds her, not a little sharply. “You want to dish it out, be ready to take it. What will you do when we see Bail Organa? When we see the toddler that is Anakin Skywalker?”

“I get it.”

“I’m not sure you do,” Ahsoka mutters. She isn’t surprised when Leia ducks out of the embrace and leaves the galley. She lets the girl go, guilt warring with the memory of how Master Kenobi had more than once spoken that way to Anakin at the height of the war. The fact that she’s an adult in the body of a child isn’t an excuse for poking at Ahsoka’s open wounds. It was cruel and unnecessary, and unbecoming of a... not a Jedi. A princess. A politician.

She rests her head on her arms and zones out. She should meditate, but that seems like... too much effort.

She can feel Vos and Tholme setting up in the room they’ve been assigned. Neither seems particularly angry. Most likely, Tholme’s given the absolute shortest explanation of ‘child soldier, dead master, highly traumatized and emotionally unstable’ to Vos to smooth over the incident in the cargo hold. Rex is with Leia; he’s agitated, but less so than Leia herself. Fett’s annoyed, in the cockpit, but he seems annoyed as often as not. There’s a shudder at lift-off, and a few minutes later, they’re in hyperspace, headed for the Core.

Fett finds her, falls into the other bench in full armor, and drops his elbows onto the table. The helmet clunks down a moment later.

She doesn’t lift her head. “What do you want?”

“Do I need to keep Vos away from you?”

“What?”

“Vos. He made you uncomfortable. Was that him being someone that hurt you in the future, or just the interaction being awkward?”

She lifts her head. She stares at him. “What?”

He leans back and crosses his arms. “Do you need me to tell Vos to stay the hell away from you?”

She’s gaping. “You realize I’m thirty-two, right? I can handle my own battles.”

“You’re also traumatized as hell and everyone can see it,” Fett argues back. “If Vos himself is a trigger, I can handle it.”

“He’s not,” she tells him. This is strange. Fett’s being strange. “He was actually a friend of my grandmaster’s. I’m just uncomfortable with the flirting because I’m a lot older than he realizes, and I can’t tell him that.”

He nods sharply, and then looks away. The silence sits.

“Thanks for asking?” Ahsoka says, well aware of how her confusion over the offer turns it into a question. “I mean, thank you for... caring.”

I guess, she finishes in the privacy of her own head. Or at least pretending to.

Fett makes a face, still not facing her. He eyes the galley instead. She can guess where his thoughts are going. The galley is... not very big, especially with six people on board instead of one, but she’s sure they’ve stocked up enough. On the off chance they do go through more than expected, because of how many growing bodies are in residence, they can stop off and buy more. They have those resources now.

Jango never does ask what she did with the slavers.

“Who’s going to cry if I spice things properly?” he asks.

“Probably Leia,” she says immediately. “Vos will try to power through it even though he’s going to be overwhelmed. No idea about Tholme, but I think he’ll keep a straight face whether he likes it or not. Rex and I are fine, ‘hot’ was pretty much the only flavor of seasoning the GAR had.”

“GAR?”

“Grand Army of the Republic.”

He finally looks at her.

“You already knew I was a child soldier, Fett; don’t act surprised.”

“That doesn’t mean I like hearing about it.”

“I was fourteen. That’s old enough by Mando standards, Fett. Just think back, when did you get on the battlefield?”

“I take your point,” he says, lip curling unpleasantly. “It just hits different now that I’m old enough to look back and think of how damned young fourteen really is.”

Ahsoka shrugs. “Yeah, well--”

“You said the clones were ten.”

There’s the rub, isn’t it?

Of course it was about the clones.

“...closer to seven, by the end. Kamino was just making speedies at that point. Triple growth on the average instead of double, but averages in that case meant they’d been growing at double rates for six years and then got forced through four growth cycles in a single year to beef up the army when we kept losing men.” She looks down at the table, picking at a scratch in the plastipaint with her nail. “Rex and the rest of the ones from the beginning were basically twenty in mind and body, even if they’d only been decanted ten years earlier. The speedies... I always wondered. They’d gone from functionally twelve to functionally twenty in a year. That’s not... even in Kamino, that can’t have been normal. They didn’t act like adults, not the way the originals did.”

Fett rubs at his face, groaning. He swears under his breath in three different languages.

She pities him, if only because he hasn’t actually done any of this yet. He’s paying for the crimes of a man he likely won’t ever become.

She kicks him under the table. “Wanna make tiingilar and see how long it takes Vos to start crying while he insists it’s fine?”

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

Dinner is when the questions start. Some are relatively easy. Others, not so much.

“My Master was Leia’s biological father,” is an easy truth to share. “She inherited his power, so I need to get her to the temple for her own safety, because home no longer is.”

“Yes, her adoptive parents were unfortunately killed rather recently. We’d prefer not to talk about it.”

“Rex is with me. Where he goes, I go, and vice versa.”

That one gets her an odd look.

“I thought...” Quinlan trails off, gesturing between Rex and Fett.

Fett keeps his face impassive, but his discomfort and guilt leak into the Force. “I didn’t know Rex existed until I ran into these three in a spaceport cantina a few weeks ago.”

Quinlan blinks at him, looks at Rex again, and then turns back to Fett with a grin that might have been described as ‘saucy’ if he were less smug about it. “Wild oats, huh?”

“Are you shitting me right now,” Leia whispers, and Ahsoka elbows her.

“That was inappropriate, padawan.”

Quinlan’s grin fades as Fett just continues to eye him.

“Um, so--”

“How old is the kid?” Fett interrupts.

Darting eyes answer him, as Quinlan tries to gauge Rex. “Ten? Maybe twelve?”

“And how old am I?”

“...early thirties?”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

Quinlan’s grin fades further as he does the math.

“I’d have been between fifteen and seventeen when he was born,” Fett says, tone flat. “Between fourteen and sixteen at conception. I know damn well I wasn’t doing anything that could have resulted in a kid at that age.”

Quinlan rallies. “So, brothers?”

Tholme sighs loudly, hand over his eyes.

“I’m a clone,” Rex says, and Ahsoka can feel the amusement he gets out of Quinlan’s confused shock. They’d both had plenty of respect for Master Vos, but Padawan Vos was nothing but trouble. “Harvested genetic material, grown in a tube, inconsistent aging meaning I don’t even know how old I am for sure.”

“I broke him out,” Ahsoka adds, which is half true.

“There was a chip in my head,” Rex adds, with a bright smile. Quinlan’s discomfort grows. “She got it out. Also, lots of brothers. None of them are... around anymore. The creators were trying to make an army.”

Vos and Tholme have no response. Fett looks like he’s been carved out of stone. Leia’s just ignoring them and picking at her food.

Ahsoka lifts a hand and, without looking, Rex high-fives her.

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

“Drop your elbow.”

Ahsoka tries to cover her smile at the dirty look that Leia shoots Fett. Fett remains unimpressed by the glare of royalty, just gestures for the girl to do as he said.

“I know how to fight,” Leia grumbles. “I took lessons. I was good at them.”

“And I’m better,” Fett says, leaving no room for argument. “You want the Torrents to take over?”

The Torrents. Rex and Soka. She likes being referred to that way. Like they’re a team that never got split up.

Force, she wished they’d never gotten split up.

“Again,” Fett orders, and Leia moves through the Mandalorian kata with ill grace in her emotions and all grace in her sweeping limbs.

Well, as much grace as an undersized six-year-old can, at any rate.

“Think he’ll ask me to spar her again?” Rex asks, dropping down into the seat next to Ahsoka and passing her a drink.

“Maybe,” she acknowledges. “I think he’s wondering if it’s worth asking Vos to spar with her, so she gets more experience with size differences.”

“Hm?”

“She flinched at his face again,” she tells him. “The whole... thing with Boba, I guess. She still won’t tell me why Fett triggers her sometimes, but he’s not pressing her to spar with him, and there’s only so much she can get out of fighting me. Asking Tholme would be presumptuous, but Vos is just a padawan. I think it’d work out.”

“And you?”

She looks at him, already feeling a cresting wave of bullshit she doesn’t want to deal with. “What about me?”

“Are you going to spar with the Jedi?”

She should. She hasn’t sparred with a saber since she got tossed back into a body only half-familiar to her. She’s let Leia borrow the shorter one to learn some basic blocking moves, Shii-Cho and then, with hesitance, the first Soresu form. Another time, she loaned it to Rex to practice some attacks; they both know that the next time he picks up her saber in battle, having lost his weapons or she her grip, it will be neither the first or last time he wields a sword of light. None of that, however, is... sparring.

None of that is against someone who knows what they’re doing.

How long has it been since she sparred with anyone other than Kanan and Ezra?

How long has it been since she sparred without the looming specter of Darth Vader in the back of her mind, without fear of the Inquisitors, without the knowledge that any saber held by someone other than her two friends would be red as blood and twice as drenched.

Would she be able to hold back as she fought?

“I should,” she acknowledges, eyes on where Fett is nudging Leia’s feet into position for some kind of leveraging flip. She’s so small. “It would probably be a good idea to spar against a master at some point.”

“Do you think you can?” Rex asks.

“I never knew him,” she says. “And he isn’t Dark. It should be fine.”

Rex nods, taking her word for it. They watch as Leia stumbles on a final move, and Fett gestures for her to sit down and get a drink.

“That man is a terror,” she informs them.

(She’d once described him as a slave-driver. She had not made that mistake twice.)

“Least it’s not Kamino!” Rex tells her cheerfully. When Leia refuses to look impressed, he laughs at her.

Ahsoka has a half-second’s warning before heavy boots thud to the ground next to her. “What’s Kamino?”

“Hello, Vos, it’s nice to see you too,” she drawls. “I’m good, thanks for asking, and yourself?”

The boy-not-quite-man rolls his eyes. “Hi, Torrents; hi, tiny one.”

Leia glares at him next.

“So, Kamino?”

“Planet by Rishi,” Rex says.

“Why were you there?”

“They specialize in cloning.”

Ahsoka covers her mouth as the conversation drops into the same awkward gap that always happens when Quinlan stumbles into a subject he didn’t know to avoid.

“Like... you were made there, or you were researching how it works for your own--”

Ahsoka slaps a hand over his mouth. “Now’s a great time to stop talking.”

He licks her palm.

She bares her teeth and arches her fingers just enough to press nails into his cheek.

He bites at her palm, and she yanks her hand away.

“You’re all children,” Leia accuses, conveniently forgetting that Ahsoka and Rex are both over a decade older than her.

“I can throw you the length of a swimming pool,” Ahsoka tells her. “One of the fancy competition-ready ones that would make a Tatooinian cry. You are absolutely the child here.”

“Using the Force is cheating, sir,” Rex informs her.

“Only if there’s a competition,” Ahsoka shoots back. “And proving that a certain princess is a small child is not a competition. It’s a declarative fact.”

“I’m going to rip open the seams on all your tops except the ugliest one,” Leia decides.

“Try me,” Ahsoka challenges. “Adi’ka.”

A low, rough cough interrupts them. “Are you done?”

Fett has his arms crossed, and an eyebrow raised. He knows they’re all adults here, and is entirely unamused. As the silence drags, the eyebrow climbs a little higher.

“Done with what?” Quinlan finally asks, thereby volunteering himself to spar in hand-to-hand with Jango Fett, as one does.

“Poor, poor Vos,” Rex laughs, watching as Fett barks out orders at Quinlan every five seconds to fix his footwork, to stop dropping his guard, to stop wasting energy on flips instead of just dodging the easy way.

“Throw him!” Ahsoka calls. To her delight, Fett obliges.

The thing is, Quinlan isn’t bad at brawling. He’s got training, endurance, skill. The man knows what he’s doing, objectively. He’s just not a match for Fett, and is used enough to relying on his saber that his hand-to-hand skills are rusty. They are perhaps less rusty than those Jedi who don’t take questionable jobs in the Mid-Outer Rim, and Ahsoka’s got a suspicion that Vos regularly gets into bar fights in his downtime, but none of that is enough for him to actually do more than survive against Fett without his saber.

Even the saber wouldn’t help, if Fett had his armor.

“Whose idea was this?”

Ahsoka cranes her head back and smiles. “Hello, Master Tholme. Vos... volunteered.”

“Did he know he was volunteering?”

“No comment.”

Tholme snorts, crossing his arms and eyeing the spar in front of him. “I thought Fett hated Jedi. Giving us a ride for the sake of you three is one thing, but why is he teaching my padawan?”

Ahsoka shrugs. “Constructive bullying?”

There’s a small twitch of a smile, quickly gone. “He said something wrong, I’m guessing?”

“There was no way he could have known,” she dismisses. “We’re just, like, ninety-percent tragic backstories.”

“You’d think the Force would warn him,” Rex notes.

“That’s not how the Force works,” Leia chides.

“No, no, he’s right,” Ahsoka corrects. “The Force does sometimes step in to stop a person from saying something stupid. However, Padawan Vos is at an age where people think they are very rational while being more irrational than they likely ever will be again.”

“Do I want to ask what you were doing at that age?” Tholme asks.

“Running bla...” she trails off, then whips around to gape at him.

He smiles, bland and unassuming. “Does Fett know?”

“Know... what?” Ahsoka asks.

“That you’re significantly older than you look,” he says, voice just low enough that the sparring duo can’t hear him. “All three of you.”

Ahsoka turns back to the spar, only catching Tholme out of the corner of her eye. “He knows.”

“Mm. Were you planning on telling the Council?”

“Yes.” That part was never in question. “How did you figure it out?”

“I am a good investigator,” he says. “And you rely a little too heavily on your physical forms to obfuscate. Were it just one of you, that wouldn’t be a problem, but the pattern repeated across three is a little easier to discern.”

“I hoped the whole ‘child soldiers’ thing would be a bigger distraction,” Ahsoka mutters. She glances at Leia and Rex. Both of them are used to being in charge to some degree, giving orders and making contingency plans, but in this... in this, Ahsoka is in charge. They’d decided that at the very start. It didn’t matter that Rex had lived longer and had more experience, or that Leia had held the highest Rebellion rank of the three of them. Ahsoka had been agreed as leader, and they were relying on her.

They’re waiting on her orders. Stiff and unhappy, in Leia’s case, but they trust her.

“Will you be telling Vos?” She asks.

“No,” Tholme says. “Your secrets remain your own unless they endanger us, and I’ve a feeling they won’t be.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Rex jokes, smile not reaching his eyes. “I’ve been working with this family for too long to trust that trouble won’t find them around the next corner.”

“This family?” Tholme repeats.

“Sokari was telling the truth about her master being Leia’s biological father,” Rex says. He shrugs. “I worked with him, with his wife, with both of his kids, with his master and his padawan. All of them, to a one, are trouble magnets.”

“Ah, but that’s not the secret that’s putting us in danger,” Tholme points out. “Simply existence as a Jedi.”

Rex shrugs. “Fair enough. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, though.”

Ahsoka lurches to her feet, turning with a smile and dancing backward into the the stretch of empty cargo hold they used for such things. “A spar, Master Tholme?”

He looks past her, to Quinlan, and raises a brow. “Would you not prefer to spar with someone a little closer to your level first?”

She barks out a laugh. “Master Tholme, I’m afraid I’ve spent more of my life fighting to survive than having normal friendly spars. My style is more lethal than the average, and you’ve already seen what war’s done to my mind. I ask to spar with you because, if I lose control, if I slip in time or react on an instinct that isn’t appropriate, I trust that you’ll be more able to stop me than a senior padawan.”

He smiles. “Yes, I gathered as much. Still, better to ask. Shall we wait for them to finish up?”

Ahsoka shrugs, turns, and yells. “Clear the deck!”

Rex snorts behind her, and lowly mutters, “Sir, yes, sir.”

She smirks at him over her shoulder. “At ease, Captain.”

“That’s ‘Commander’ to you, I got promoted,” he sniffs, chin held high.

Heavy steps herald Fett’s arrival at their little group. “The hells are you doing?”

“I’m going to have a spar with a Jedi Master, and I want you and Vos to not get stabbed.”

“I’m not that easy to injure in an actual fight, let alone by accident,” Fett grouses. He looks up and over at Vos, who is already significantly taller, if a fair shot less built. “This one, on the other hand...”

“Hey!”

Ahsoka laughs and backs into the center of the cargo hold, drawing her sabers. “Don’t worry, Vos, I won’t play dirty. You’ll probably get your master back in one piece.”

He wrinkles his nose at her. “Getting a bit ahead of yourself there, aren’t you? He’s a Jedi Master and former Watchman. You’re... what, eighteen?”

Ahsoka raises a brow and activates her sabers, tapping the blades together and watching as more than one person winces. “Wanna bet on how long I last?”

“No,” he says immediately, stepping back to join Rex on the bench. “You’ve already blindsided me enough. I’m not dumb enough to fall for whatever you’ve got up your sleeve.”

“I don’t have sleeves.”

“Armwarmers-slash-greaves, then.”

“Greaves go on the legs, these are vambraces.”

He throws his hands up in the air. “I’m just going to stop talking now!”

“Good plan,” Leia snarks, and then literally hisses when Rex ruffles her hair.

Tholme lights his saber and sinks into an opening stance.

Ahsoka mirrors him.

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

She wins, but barely. She's had a few weeks to practice her forms, has sparred hands-only with Rex and Fett, but this is her first real try at using her sabers against a person, instead of a blaster or thin air, since she arrived in the past. She’s only mostly adjusted to her body.

But Tholme is a healer and a watchman, not a duelist. Ahsoka held her own against Ventress, against Grievous, against Maul when she was this age. Still adjusting to her body or not, her lineage is one of battle, and it bled true.

“You’re terrifying,” Quinlan tells her after they’re done, smiling like the sun as he hands her a towel. “Please never turn that on me.”

She laughs at him. “Would you believe that I’m out of practice?”

“Out of practice with what?” he asks, horrified and fascinated. “Fighting Sith Lords?”

“Among other things,” she says, and smirks when he chokes on his drink. “Multiple darkside users who claimed to be Sith, at least. One being a full Lord, one that was disowned by his master, and one that was apprenticed to a Banite apprentice, so she wasn’t technically allowed to be a Darth because of the rule of two.”

Tholme meets her eyes past Quinlan’s shoulder, head tilted and eyes half-shut in consideration. He’s taking her seriously. He knows what she’s not saying.

“How...” Quinlan trails off and shakes his head. “You know what, no. Asking you people questions never ends well.”

“Good plan,” Ahsoka says, clapping a hand down on his shoulder. “Also, you need to spar with Fett more. Your footwork is shit.”

“It is not,” Quinlan gripes. “You’re all just scary good at this stuff.”

“You mean surviving?” Leia pipes up, and smiles innocently when Quinlan turns to pout at her.

“You’re getting bullied by a six-year-old,” Rex informs him.

“Yeah,” Quinlan sighs. “I know.”

Ahsoka laughs, and it’s fine. It’s all fine. For a week, everything is honestly great. She trains, she laughs, she works through the nightmares.

Then fucking Denon happens.

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

Denon is a city-planet on the intersection of two major hyperlanes. It’s the kind of place where they stop for two things:

Fuel.

Paperwork.

Technically, there’s a whole mess of paperwork they have to fill out to continue along this specific hyperlane, since they aren’t official Republic ships, and don’t have the licenses to just pass along like ships that are pre-registered to the Trade Federation or the like. They could sneak past--literally all of them know smuggler’s routes--but it’s honestly less of a pain to do things legally. They have a Jedi Master. They have cash. Some of that cash wasn’t quite legally acquired, but nobody needs to know that.

It’s supposed to be a pit stop. That’s all.

It’s just a pit stop.

But no, the galaxy isn’t that kind and Ahsoka’s luck is currently being compounded with a Skywalker, two Fetts, and Vos, which means that of course they run into trouble. Of course they do. There was never any other option, was there?

“Motherfucker,” Ahsoka snaps, lifting her head up and slamming her drink on the table.

The glass is empty. That’s good. They’re in a restaurant right now, a little splurging after weeks with only each others’ company, and spilling the sugary child-friendly juice with that move would have drawn way too much attention from the servers.

“Language,” Tholme says, voice idly unconcerned.

“Sir?” Rex asks, kicking Ahsoka under the table. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wr--that jackass,” she hisses, getting to her feet. “Rex, grab a blaster, I’ve got shebs to kick.”

“Okay,” Rex says, grabbing one out of Fett’s holster and scooting out of the booth before anyone can tell him not to. “Whose?”

“I didn’t even know that he was... osik, I don’t have jurisdiction,” she realizes. “I don’t have any record of wrongdoing. I can’t arrest him since we don’t have evidence of criminal wrongdoing...”

“Are you two going to explain what’s going on?” Vos asks. “Or sit down, maybe?”

Ahsoka makes her decision. She eyes the window--the restaurant in question is a little dingy, but it’s also several dozen stories in the air. “Rex, remember the thing we did on Geonosis that you hated?”

He pauses, and then sighs heavily. “Yes, sir. I remember the... yeeting.”

Hah. That slang doesn’t even exist yet.

“Great. With me!”

It’s a good thing the windows are forcefields instead of transparisteel. A bit of a twist to the energy and they’re gone.

She only hears a little screaming before the wind tears all noises away while they plummet.

They land lightly--of course--and Ahsoka wraps them both in a don’t notice me aura. Nobody even notices that they’ve just come from above. It’s great that she can just Do These Things again, and get brushed off as Weird Jedi Shit, instead of worrying about the Empire. She’s missed being able to jump out of windows without fear.

Rex follows her as she starts running through the city. They don’t have comms, and he’s still so small, which means he can’t keep up with her even if she runs at normal speeds without Force enhancement.

“Should you carry me?” he asks, before she can figure out if it’s worth suggesting. She did it a few times before they joined up with Jango.

“It’s not... urgent, I think,” she says. She hesitates to speak, even as she keeps jogging with Rex at her heels. “Honestly, I’m trying to figure out if there’s anything I can ding him for so we can attack him. It’s all well and good that I can beat him right now, but all the crimes I know about haven’t happened yet, so it wouldn’t be legal...”

“Commander?”

“Hm?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.”

She scrolls the conversation back mentally, considers, and says, “Oh.”

“Who’s getting steamrolled?”

“Uh, Maul’s here,” Ahsoka admits.

“Ah,” Rex says. He makes a face. “I understand the desire to jump out a window, now. I don’t agree with it, but I understand.”

Ahsoka laughs. “I mean, I just... every time I’ve seen him for almost twenty years, it’s been like... on sight, you know? We’ve never not attacked each other, except when I needed him to cause problems on Mandalore. But I always knew I was in the right, then.”

“So... what do we arrest him for?” Rex prompts.

“Um... carrying a lightsaber without a license?” she hazards. “We’ll need Tholme there. Hopefully I can just shout at him and he’ll attack me, but I think he only went full nutjob after Master Kenobi cut his legs off. He might be too controlled to try to kill me just for yelling at him.”

“...do we have to stalk him?” Rex asks, sounding like he’d most likely sigh if he weren’t mid-run.

She scoops him up and swings him around onto her back before she answers. “I think we have to stalk him, Rex’ika.”

“Don’t call me that.”

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

Maul is... exceptionally sneaky, actually. Either that, or he hasn’t done anything wrong yet. Ahsoka’s betting on the former, because she’s seen this particular skocha kung take over a planet before anyone realized he was the most dangerous person around.

Or maybe he’s just not committing crimes, and is in fact just here to buy groceries.

He’s examining a papaya.

She fantasizes about jumping across the market and greeting him with a heel to the cheekbone.

“Are you imagining a flying kick, Sir?”

“Yeah...”

“He’s examining a papaya, Sir.”

“I know...”

“Does he know we’re here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Do you think I should go hit him?”

“No.”

“Should I hit on him?”

“No, Sir. I would not advise that.”

“He’s looking at the neloms.”

“I can see that.”

“Why does he have to be so bo--did he just fucking bite a nelom?”

“It appears so, Sir.”

“Like... like rind and all. Just bit the little fucker.”

“Seems it.”

A scuff of metal. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

Ahsoka tips her head around to peer through the grate. “We’re spying, Fett, what does it look like we’re doing?”

Rex cranes his head. “We’re hanging upside-down from a fire escape to get a look at a suspected Sith Apprentice that is currently shopping for various fruits, Mand’alor.”

Ahsoka waves. “Hi, Master Tholme.”

“Sokari,” the master greets. “This seems a very conspicuous way to spy.”

She shrugs as well as she can from this angle. “Yes, but you see, this way’s more fun.”

“Is it now.”

Rex shifted. “He’s on the move!”

“To kill someone?!”

“No, to the deli meats.”

“Kriff.”

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

Apparently, Tholme and Fett had told Quinlan to take care of Leia, as Leia had wanted to finish her juice and refused to get involved in the Torrents’ nonsense. According to her, if they couldn’t be bothered to explain the nonsense, they didn’t need her.

This was true and accurate.

Quinlan shows up while they’re still stalking Maul, having moved to a low rooftop for a decent vantage point with less likelihood of being spotted. He’s giving Leia an eopie-back ride, and the pout on her face at needing it is adorable. She pouts harder when she sees them.

“Are you even trying to hide?” Leia scoffs.

“Not really,” Ahsoka admits. She’s got Fett’s binoculars out. “I’m not sure he’s caught wind of the fact that we’re here yet.”

“Or he has and he’s just biding his time to escape while we’re distracted,” Tholme points out.

“Meh,” Ahsoka says, avidly devouring the visual that is a teenage Maul glaring at leafy vegetables. “I just want him to do something so I have an excuse to beat his ass.”

“Do I get to know who?” Quinlan asks, setting Leia down on the roof. “Or are we going to keep being completely unwilling to share information?”

“Baby Sith Lord,” Ahsoka says. “He’s fifteen. A child.”

“A baby,” Rex agrees.

“You’re... that’s... ugh,” Quinlan groans as loudly and as dramatically as he dares, flopping down to the rooftop. “Master Tholme, please tell me this isn’t a real Sith.”

“He’s Dark,” Tholme confirms. “Sith is... up for debate until we have evidence.”

“He’s a bitch is what he is,” Ahsoka mutters. She observes the teenager in question stop to poke at some pink tomatoes. “E chu ta, break the law, already!”

“Does he have a lightsaber?” Quinlan asks. “If he has a lightsaber and no Jedi ID or specialty license, we can probably arrest him.”

“Auntie Soka doesn’t have a license or ID,” Leia points out.

“She’s got a Jedi escort,” Tholme says. “And if our supposed Sith is polite and plays nice, we can probably escort him to the Temple as well.”

Rex snorts derisively.

“Do you know why he’s on Denon?” Fett asks.

“No clue,” Ahsoka admits. “Evil reasons, probably.”

“You’re useless,” Leia tells her.

“Thanks, princess, how’s that attempt to open the jam jar by yourself coming?”

Leia says something very inappropriate for a princess, for a child, and for a lady. It’s fairly appropriate for a soldier, which is admittedly what she’s been for a few years now. Ahsoka sticks her tongue out at the girl like the mature operative she is.

“I wish we could still get him to lose his osik by just showing up and insulting him,” Rex mutters, low enough that Quinlan probably can’t hear.

“I wanna punch him in the face,” Ahsoka confesses. “I want him to try to punch me in the face, and fail.”

“Don’t bully the baby Sith,” Rex admonishes.

“He’s a Sith.”

“He’s fifteen, it’s tacky.”

“But it’s Maul.”

“I know, but you’re tw--significantly older than him.”

“But... but it’s the motherfucker himself.”

“...you can bully him a little, but only because he’s a Sith.”

Fett steals the binoculars. “You can borrow them again when you stop acting like children.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Rex says, dry as Ryloth. “I’m ten.”

“Pretty tall for your age,” Ahsoka mutters, and then giggles.

“Don’t steal my jokes,” Rex says. He elbows her, hard.

“You know,” Quinlan says, slow and tired. “Master Tholme and I are trained investigators.”

Ahsoka and Rex look at each other, and then up at him.

“Okay?”

“...do you want me to find actual evidence of this guy doing something criminal?”

“Oh, yes please.”

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

Quinlan, as it turns out, is not overselling his skills. He does catch Maul doing something illegal later that day. It’s a little more ‘stealing corporate secrets in the dead of night’ and less ‘torturing people for kicks,’ but it’s still enough to legally arrest him. Quinlan attempts to do so.

Quinlan does not succeed, and is forced to jump out a window to avoid getting cut in half. Maul follows, steals a passing speeder by throwing out the driver, and takes off. Someone--looks like Tholme--drops back to save the driver, but the rest of them give chase. Ahsoka gleefully takes point on that, of course. She’s the best pilot.

(Rex looks bored, but someone is likely to puke by the end of the night. She hopes it’s not Leia, who insisted on coming for some fucking reason.)

“How the kriff is a teenager that good?!” Quinlan yells, clinging to the edge of the speeder to avoid getting tipped out as Ahsoka swerves around a corner with a wild laugh.

“He’s a Sith!” Leia shouts over the wind. “What do you think?”

Quinlan is not impressed by the claim of Sith.

Ahsoka screeches as she drifts across four lanes of traffic and into an alleyway to pursue Maul. He’s pretty good at dodging cross-building walkways, but she’s better. She bares her teeth, hissing, and tries to pick a plan.

“Vos, how’s your aim with Force throws?” She calls to the backseat.

“Uh, decent?”

“Great! Fett’s the projectile!”

Vos takes a second longer to process that than Jango does.

“I’m wh--”

He cuts off, screaming, and is flung forward by Quinlan to crash headfirst into a teenage Sith.

“Take the wheel!” Ahsoka commands, not waiting to see who follows the order, because Fett and Maul are both getting to their feet, the other speeder is about to crash, and she’s not sure who’s going to win that fight.

She jumps from the speeder they’ve been violently dragging around Denon, and lands feet-first on Maul’s... shoulder.

Hm.

That definitely dislocated something.

“You should wear armor!” she chirps at him, drawing both sabers and grinning as he whirls to face her, eyes wide with hate.

He’s utterly silent.

That’s disturbing. Expected, but disturbing.

“Did you just throw me?” Fett demands, higher pitched than she’d normally expect.

“No, Vos threw you.”

“Because you told him to!”

“Yeah, it’s a good strategy!”

“It is not!”

“Why not? Throwing people was standard practice in the GAR.”

She can’t see his face, but she’s pretty sure he’s about ready to strangle her.

Ahsoka cannot, at that point, continue snarking with the father of her best friend, because there’s a red lightsaber coming for her throat, and she should probably worry about that. Maul’s very good at killing people and she’d like to avoid becoming part of that statistic.

As she is quickly reminded, he is... fifteen. And shorter than she’s used to. And already injured.

It’s really, really easy to take him out, actually.

At some point, the other speeder was safely recovered before it caused property damage, and their own is landing a few meters away with Vos and the kids.

“You have Force-negating cuffs, right?” Ahsoka asks.

“No, Master Tholme has them.”

“Oh,” she says, and grimaces. “I guess I’ll just... keep sitting on him then.”

Maul snarls, and she raps him on the skull. “Stop that, it’s uncivilized.”

Rex snorts.

Jango makes a noise that is incredibly frustrated with the lot of them, and turns on Rex. “Was she telling the truth?”

“About?”

“Throwing people being standard practice for the GAR.”

Rex’s face goes pained. “It was in the five-oh-first. And a few others.”

“What’s the GAR?” Quinlan asks.

“None of your damn business,” Fett snaps.

Quinlan throws his hands up in the air again. “Come on! I just proved I know what I’m doing!”

“And their tragic backstory is none of your business, prudii!”

Quinlan blinks at him, and then glances at Ahsoka. “Um.”

“He called you a shadow since your training, um, seems to be pointing in that direction,” she says as carefully as she can. “We were theorizing.”

“Wh... you actually paid attention?” Quinlan asks, looking horribly confused. “I thought I was just annoying you.”

Ahsoka laughs at him. “Oh, Vos... I’ve been running black ops for... much longer than most would guess. Trust me, I know another spy when I see them.”

She smiles as kindly as she can, because she hadn’t actually meant to make him feel left out or unwanted or... well, she’d been pretty patronizing, especially for someone seemingly younger than him. The smile does not work. Quinlan just looks kind of horrified about how young she just implied she started spy work.

Granted, she’d been sixteen for Zygerria...

Deciding to ignore him for a bit, she shifts on Maul’s back and pats him on the cheek. “Don’t worry, Baby Sith. We’re going to get you lots of nice therapy. Mind healers, no Sith tortures, all that fun stuff. Maybe some plushies.”

“You’re also getting therapy, right?” Quinlan asks. “Please say you are. I’m required for the specifics of my training and if anything you’ve said is true, I feel like you really need it and I’m scared of what’ll happen if you don’t.”

Ahsoka laughs, knowing exactly how empty it sounds. “Oh hell, if I didn’t get therapy, I imagine Kix would rise from the grave to force me into it.”

The name means nothing to anyone except Rex, and... ah, yeah, she told Fett about Kix a few weeks ago.

“No more throwing me without warning,” Fett grumbles, dropping to sit on the ground next to her. “Especially not at baby Sith Lords.”

“I am not a child!” Maul spits.

“He speaks!” Ahsoka cheers. “Aw, I knew you could do it.”

“’Soka, I told you not to bully him,” Rex complains. “It’s tacky. You’re being tacky.”

“I’m allowed to be tacky,” Ahsoka declares. “I’ve died twice, that’s, like, permission from the universe.”

“You’ve died twice?” Quinlan asks, back in ‘fascinated horror’ territory. “Wait, no, I shouldn’t ask--”

“Too late! The first time was on a planet that doesn’t exist and my Master lost his mind, killed a god, and used the good favor of another god to have me brought back to life at her expense. Not in that order.”

“I--what? No, that’s--what?”

Ahsoka smiles brightly. “You asked.”

Tholme finally shows up with the cuffs.

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

“You should eat something.”

He glares at her.

“Baby Sith Lords need to eat.”

He keeps glaring at her.

“Maul, you’ll never get big and strong and ready to kill if you don’t eat your vegetables.”

He bares his teeth.

“No, I don’t eat my veggies, but I’m a Togruta, so if I eat too many vegetables I throw up.”

Rex kicks her thigh, right on the faulds. “What did I say about bullying the Sith Lord?”

“Not to.”

“And what are you doing?”

“Making him eat his vegetables.”

“Soka.”

“Rex’ika.”

He kicks at her again. “Get up, we’re swapping out the watch.”

“But I wanted to hang out with my favorite little criminal mastermind.”

Rex drops to the floor and presses his forehead to her shoulder. “How the hell is being around this guy the first thing to make you cheer up in weeks?”

“I’m allowed to be mean to him.”

“He’s going to bite you.”

“I’ll bite back.”

Rex jabs a finger into her ribs, and she squeaks. “Go get something to eat, Commander.”

“Fine,” she huffs, rolling to her feet and moseying along to the galley. She walks in on Tholme and Fett having an argument about the ways in which Jedi and Mandalorians differ. Quinlan’s on the side, watching with wide eyes, and little Leia’s drinking a juice box at his side, tucked up under his arm and occasionally saying things to fan the flames. Ahsoka assumes she’s enjoying herself.

She opens the cooling unit, looks over the contents, and pulls out a raw leg of eopie mutton. She leans against the counter, bites into the chilled-but-not-frozen meat, and uses the back of one hand to wipe the blood off her chin. The ‘real adults’ don’t notice.

“I’m like ninety percent sure you’re doing this to mess with me but also...” Quinlan trails off, staring at her with horror. “Why?”

“A girl’s gotta eat.”

“Yeah, but all the obligate carnivores I know are like... generally holding to basic rules of courtesy when it comes to not grossing people out,” Quinlan says. “Like, I don’t chew with my mouth open. You don’t... eat in the most intimidating--did you just crack the bone with your teeth?!”

Ahsoka smirks at him, using her free hand to take away the shard of bone so she can suck out the marrow without eating the bones themselves. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this isn’t polite society. We’re in a galley on a bounty hunter’s ship, and I’ve been living on the run or in an army for most of my life. Table manners are optional.”

“No, they’re not,” Leia orders. “Fett, it’s your ship, tell her to--”

“--and another thing!” Fett snaps at Tholme, clearly paying less than no attention to the food argument.

Ahsoka keeps on eating, trying to catch wind of where the discussion’s at. Mostly, it seems to be at ‘talking past each other.’ Neither of them seems to have fully grasped more than the absolute most basic parts of the other culture, and that’s only enough to insult each other, not actually have a constructive conversation. She’d have expected more out of Tholme, at least. He’s not exactly young.

“Hey, quick question,” she says, in a moment where both of them have paused for breath and the opportunity to seethe. “Fett, when’s the last time you worked with a Jedi, or any member of a Force-based religion, before I popped into your life?”

His nose scrunches up as he makes a face.

“And Tholme, when’s the last time you worked with anyone from the Mandalorian system?”

Tholme’s reaction isn’t any more gracious than Fett’s.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she says. “Vos, were either of them actually interested in that conversation, or just looking for an excuse to yell?”

“Now listen here, jetiika--”

“Fett,” she snaps. “I am not a child.”

“And neither am I,” he growls right back. “This is my ship, and I damn well don’t need you treating me like a misbehaving youngling. You’ve got a problem, you bring it to my face, not get all smug about people’s tempers blowing over.”

Well, then.

She smiles thinly. “Of course.”

He stands with his arms crossed, in full armor save for the helmet. She puts aside the eopie meat and wipes her hands, smiling until she can put her hands on her hips and let it drop to a challenge.

“You know, I’m just--I’m just gonna go,” Quinlan mutters, pulling Leia out with him, the girl hanging from under one of his arms. “This, uh, this looks like a problem for... you folks. Um. Yeah.”

He sidles out.

Tholme doesn’t.

Fett rubs at the bridge of his nose, and then gestures at the table. “Sit.”

“I’d prefer not to.”

He drops his hand and glares at her. “We have another week on this ship together. We are going to have this conversation. Sit.”

She sits, right on the warm spot left behind by Quinlan and Leia. She crosses her arms, lifts a brow, and waits.

Fett takes the seat across from her. Tholme leans against the counter.

“We all know you’re older than you look,” Fett says. “I heard Tholme mention it, I know that much has been shared. You’re acting like an actual teenager, and I’ve... I’ve put up with a lot. I am trying to keep things civil, particularly with you. I’ve tried to be friendly. You’ve been fucked up since we met, fine, everyone’s got trauma. The thing where you’ve started talking shit to our faces for what seems like your own amusement? That has to stop. You’re older than me, Torrent. Fucking act like it.”

She blinks at him, slow and not exactly happy, and turns to Tholme.

The man shrugs. “I was planning to put up with it until we arrived to the temple and handed you over to some mind healers. Fett doesn’t have that kind of time.”

There’s a curdle in her stomach, defensive and angry and guilty.

“You’ve been... a bitch,” Fett finally says. “You know that. I’m not going to mince words. You’ve been holier-than-thou and rude and condescending, and aiming that at Antilles is one thing, when you’ve apparently known her since she was a toddler and taught her things. Aiming at the rest of us isn’t going to fly. We’re all adults trying to share a space. Stop acting like... just like you have been.”

There is no defense to be made that they aren’t both already aware of.

She closes her eyes and tries to strangle the burst of irrational rage.

Their accusations aren’t unfounded.

They deserve an apology.

She is in the wrong.

She’s felt freer than she had in years, and in that freedom allowed herself too much rein, let herself lace her words with barbed wires and poison instead of sparks and spices, comments that were cruel instead of just joking. Too familiar. Too comfortable.

“My behavior’s been inappropriate,” she finally says, the words clumsy and too big in her mouth. “You’re right about that. I’m sorry, and I’ll endeavor to keep a tighter rein on my less pleasant behaviors in the future.”

At least she only lashes out with words. It could be worse.

She opens her eyes, fixes her gaze on the wall behind Fett, wrestles her expression into stiff neutrality. “Am I dismissed?”

“...uh, no, not after that,” Fett says, sounding just a little horrified. “What the hell was that?”

Tholme hisses out a breath. “Let her go.”

“No, this needs to be discussed, that’s not a healthy rea--”

“Fett, let her go,” Tholme insists, low and heavy.

Fett looks between the two for a moment, seems to come to a realization he doesn’t like, and then gestures almost violently towards the door. “Fine. Go.”

She walks out, doesn’t sprint. She’s stiff. She’s controlled. She’s the one that fucked up, so it’s fine if she doesn’t feel great right now. Getting called out on one’s own failings as a person isn’t something to get upset about if the failings are real. The feelings are real and normal, but this was her fault, and so it’s up to her to fix it, and she can’t let them know it hurt her, because this was her mistake.

She goes to the cargo hold.

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

Ahsoka works out her frustrations on Fett’s punching bag. She does not augment herself with the Force, just uses raw strength and technique, ignoring the tears that press at her eyes.

She’s fine.

It’s not weird. It’s not odd. It’s not strange to not notice she’s been kind of a bitch since her mood came up with the whole Depa thing, and then Maul. She’s been mean, mostly to Vos and Fett, and nobody’s confronted her about it until now. They let her have room for her trauma, and she hadn’t reined it in. She’s just gotten worse.

‘Snippy’ she’d always been, but age apparently hadn’t fucking tempered it.

“Um.”

She catches the punching bag, breathing heavily and covered in sweat. She hasn’t worked out all the twitchy, nervous energy yet.

“Vos,” she greets, once she’s caught herself enough that her voice won’t waver. He’s on the other side of the bag, but she knows his voice. “Do you need something?”

“You’re kind of... projecting,” he tells her, drifting to where she can actually see him. “Not self-loathing, but, um, recrimination? You just don’t feel very good and I was hoping to help”

Why in all the Sith hells does he have to be nice.

“I got called out on my behavior and wasn’t ready to face the fact that I’d kriffed up,” she tells him. “I’ll be fine. And I’m... sorry. I haven’t been fair to you and was using you as an easy target for some of my ruder comments.”

“I mean, I kind of figured,” he admits, coming closer. “I’ve been tutored by Shadows before, and a lot of them act like you. I just assumed it was more of that.”

“I still shouldn’t have let myself run loose like that,” she says. “I’m... it wasn’t appropriate. I shouldn’t have let it happen.”

He shrugs, not meeting her eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No,” she says. “Not with... not with you. Or anyone other than Rex and a mind healer, really. Most of it is...”

She trails off, distantly noticing that her eyes are tearing up enough to blur her vision, and her nails are digging into the bag in a way Fett won’t appreciate.

There’s so much that beat her down, never quite breaking her, that she doesn’t even know what made her act the way she does.

“Want to spar?”

She looks over at him, wonders what he sees that makes him want to fight her when she’s visibly unstable.

He smiles, kind and easy, and it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. It’s genuine in intent, if not in energy. He wants to help. “You all keep saying I could work on my hand-to-hand. Just take off the armor so I don’t break a finger, maybe.”

“You’re serious.”

“No, I’m Quinlan.”

She’s going to wipe the floor with this boy. “You sure you wanna fight me?”

“You won’t be able to meditate until you do,” he says. He’s right, damn him. “The other option is that I go get your... vod, I think? I go get Rex and you two can talk it out since you trust him with more. I don’t want to do that, though, he’s still a kid.”

She eyes him, lips pressed together and mind awhirl with emotions and thoughts she’d tried to beat out of her head and into the bag. “Ever fought someone without the Force?”

“...yes?”

“Was it cuffs?”

“Oh, you meant me not having the Force,” he realizes. “Er, no. Is... is that something you’ve done a lot?”

She smiles at him. “You’re planning on Shadow work. That means getting captured and stripped of everything you are at some point, Force included. Unfortunately, the cuffs are in use on a very annoying Dathomirian right now, so we’ll have to make do with you shielding like your mind’s a Kessel Spice Mine.”

“...do I want to know how often you’ve been captured?”

“No, you don’t.”

When he comes at her, it’s easy to dodge. It’s easy to tap him on target points, little pokes that show she could take him out, but isn’t going to until he’s learned something. He stays grinning throughout, letting her take the lead, and he treats her like... like a knight. Like a teacher. He’s stepped back and gone from trying to impress her as a fellow padawan, to proving himself to a full knight.

She’s not sure when that change happened, or why or how, but it makes things much smoother. She wants to think that it would have even if she hadn’t gotten a wakeup call from Fett.

So she treats him the way she treated Ezra, for the year she’d spent traveling with Kanan. She treats him as a student that’s willing to learn, good but not yet great, competent but not yet ready to survive. She draws him into the kind of chest-heaving exhaustion that tells a fighter just how much energy they waste.

(Ahsoka may have had her own style, but her grandmaster had been the pinnacle of a Soresu user. She’d spent years on the frontlines of a war. She knew the worth of conserving energy, and she’d teach it to any who stepped in to challenge her.)

“Who taught you to fight like this?” He asks, when they’ve taken a handful of moments to circle each other. His steps are heavy, sure, planted. Her own are light and ready.

“Soldiers,” she says. It’s true enough.

“Not your Master?” he asks, just as he tries to kick for her upper arm. It’s a safe question. For anyone else, it would be a safe question.

But for Ahsoka, it’s another chink in the armor, after a maelstrom of emotion, a storm of self-loathing, a dervish of instability.

She doesn’t break right away.

She spirals. She fights Quinlan, but doesn’t quite see him. Her strikes get sloppy, her feet stumble. She can’t make herself meet Quinlan’s eyes, not when the scrape of his heel against the metal sounds like the rasp of a breathing machine. Her shields get fuzzy, she knows, and she leaks what she feels into the air, making it sour and thick. She doesn’t notice, because all she can see, all she can--all she can hear and feel and--

She drops to her knees and grabs at her head, trying to stop it.

“Sokari?”

She breathes. In and out, harsh and jagged but natural in a way that the damned respirator wasn’t.

Her master her teacher her brother the traitor the hound the executioner

Her face is hot. Something prickles. It might be tears.

She tries to say something, tries to say a name or a request, tries to make anything come out of her mouth that isn’t the broken wail of a woman who hasn’t let herself think about how she died.

She feels herself pulled into someone’s arms, and she can’t quite tell who, but they’re bigger than she is, and feel warm and worried. They care. They don’t understand, they’re scared, but they care.

Her hands shake, clutched to her chest and she can’t breathe she can’t make herself take in enough air to do a Force-damned thing the empire is going to feel her her shields are down and broken and her emotions are spilling and the empire is going to find HER ANAKIN IS GOING TO FIND HER AND--

“COMMANDER!”

Rex.

Rex is here.

Her breath is coming so fast that she’s hiccupping more than she’s actually inhaling. She feels small hands in gloves on either side of her face, and then her forehead presses to something warm.

Rex. A Keldabe kiss. Her brother, her partner, her other half. He’s here. He’s calm. If he’s calm, then things are fine.

“What happened?” Light voice, high voice, small and distant. Leia. Little Leia little princess Leia she’s in danger she’s in trouble Anakin will--

“Commander.”

No. Here and now. She needs to focus on here and now. Her throat feels cold. She breathes too fast, still. She can’t stop it.

“I don’t know.” That’s Vos. He was... they were doing something. He was here. Talking to her. “We were sparring, and she just--”

Right, sparring.

“I don’t know if I said something?” He offers, voice pitching up, unsure and worried. Is he the one holding her? He’s the one holding her. That’s embarrassing.

“Commander?” Rex prompts. “Commander, can you open your eyes?”

She tries. She can’t. She shakes her head.

“Soka?” he asks, voice quiet. “Where are you?”

“F-F-Fett,” she manages. It’s enough.

“And where were you?”

His voice is so soft. So worried. She held him the same way after Mandalore, after Order 66, after all his brothers, all her friends...

“Soka.”

Her mind is spinning, and suddenly all she can hear is Anakin Skywalker is dead. I destroyed him.

Her breath hitches, and she wails.

“Commander,” Rex tries again, but her head is a vortex of Then you will die and Perhaps this child and not the Jedi way.

Our long awaited meeting.

I destroyed him.

Then you will die.

She can’t breathe she can’t breathe she can only see that yellow eye that’s too familiar but belongs to a stranger can only hear a voice that shouldn’t exist can only mourn and break and--

“Soka?”

“Malachor,” she manages. “I--h-he--I died.”

“What did you say?” someone asks. A vod. It’s the right voice, almost, rough and business-like, not accusing anyone yet, and... and... no. No. Not one of her boys. It’s Fett.

“Um, right at the end? I asked her who taught her to fight like this,” Quinlan says, nervous. “And she said it was soldiers. And I joked, I asked that it wasn’t her Master, and she didn’t answer that. A couple minutes later, she just started...”

“Oh, Soka,” Rex whispers, pulling her closer. “Commander, just breathe with me.”

“H-h-he, he just--R-Rex, he j-just--and I c-c-couldn’t--”

“I know,” her captain whispers. “I know, just breathe with me.”

“He k-k-k-killed me,” she sobs, falling out of the Keldabe and into too-small arms. “I l-loved--he was my broth-ther and--and he just--he killed me, he didn’t even stop.”

“I know,” Rex whispers. “Soka, I know.”

Of course he does.

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

“It was just bad timing,” Rex says, once they’re in the room she’s been sharing with her little family, curled up under a blanket and watching the floor like it has all the secrets to how she lost her world three times over.

“Is there anything we need to keep in mind?” Fett asks, gruff and uncomfortable. She wonders if he’s angry that she took his necessary confrontation and turned it into this mess.

“Don’t bring up her Jedi Master,” Rex says, and pulls her in when she shivers. Her eyes squeeze shut before she can stop them, tears beading up again. “Just... don’t. It’s too soon.”

“He’s--”

“He Fell,” Ahsoka interrupts. “I thought he died, but he became a Sith. And fifteen years later, we ran into each other, and I refused to join him in the Dark, so he tried to kill me.”

Fett swears, low and muffled. She thinks he has a hand over his mouth.

Quin and Leia aren’t there. She thinks they’re keeping an eye on their Baby Sith prisoner. That’s good.

“Soka,” Rex whispers, and she buries her face in his shoulder. She’s too old to be this kind of mess. She’s thirty-two. She’s Fulcrum. She’s...

She’s in need of a lot of therapy.

“We can avoid the subject unless you bring it up,” Tholme promises. “Definitely until the Temple. Is there anything else we shouldn’t talk about?”

Ahsoka can practically feel Rex’s deadpan look. “Sir, we’re a trio of child soldiers ripped from everything we know. Every other sentence is a risk. We’re just... working our way through.”

There’s a knock at the door. Oh. Quin and Leia.

“Just figured we’d drop this off before we went down to visit Mr. Grumpy-Face,” Quinlan whispers. He still thinks Leia’s a child. He’s trying to make things less terrible for her. That’s nice. “We decided he’ll be less angry if he tries Hoth chocolate, and made some for everyone.”

They definitely made it for Ahsoka herself, and Maul was an afterthought. Still. It’s sweet.

“Commander?” Rex prompts, jostling her a little to try and get her to sit up.

“Gimme a sec,” she manages. It takes longer than it should to push herself away from him, to accept the mug that Leia gives her, too-serious worry in the furrow of her brow and the twist of her soul.

She doesn’t look six. She doesn’t even look twenty-two. This girl was always too old for her skin, forced to grow up in the hostile fear of the Empire.

“Thank you, Princess.”

She sips.

She can barely taste it beyond the ashes she imagines coating her tongue.

I destroyed him, her memory echoes. His slightest hesitation before he made the final move, it haunts her. She almost reached him. If only she’d tried harder, yelled louder, been better...

She shivers.

“Do you need help falling asleep?” Tholme asks. “I’m a regular healer, not a mind healer, but...”

She probably should.

She takes another sip of her drink, willing herself to taste it. It’s good. She likes it. She knows she does.

“Can you make it dreamless?” she whispers.

“It doesn’t always work, but I can try,” he tells her.

She nods. “When I finish the chocolate.”

“Of course.”

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

Everyone’s careful around her for days. The whole decision to be nicer doesn’t mean anything when she’s walking about in a daze of too few emotions, drained of everything she could feel in favor of a grey cloud of fluff in everything she does.

She does forms. Single saber and Jar’kai. Ataru and Djem so and Soresu. Reverse grip, regular grip, partial reverse on either side.

Again. Again. Again.

She loses herself in the motions, not meditating so much as just empty.

Rex worries. Fett worries. Vos worries.

Leia and Tholme keep their shields locked up tight, and she doesn’t know how they feel. She thinks Leia might be judging her. She think Tholme might be pitying.

Maul simply hates. It’s an old and familiar sensation to walk into, and she takes unthinking comfort in his rage. She’s silent instead of snippy, when she plays the role of guard, and they stare at each other in silence. His eyes burn, and she wonders how much he’s heard of her nightmares.

“You need to talk,” Rex tells her, when he finds her with a cold cup of caff, eyes fixed somewhere beyond it all. She lifts her head. “Soka.”

She just stares at him.

He sighs and pulls her into a hug. “Commander, please.”

She can’t.

Ahsoka stares at the wall behind him, resting her chin on his head. Her neck itches under the lek at the back of her head, a little tingle of a feeling that she can’t bring herself to do anything about. The pale light of the galley is sharp against the chipped paint of the metal that surrounds them. It hurts her eyes to look, but it’s not the deep and dark lit only by red--

Then you will die, her memory growls.

She flinches.

“Breathe,” Rex tells her, too-small hands clinging at her back. “Just breathe, ‘Soka.”

She curls in tighter and tries to just breathe.

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

“Tell me something good.”

Ahsoka blinks. She looks at Leia. She doesn’t have the energy to parse that.

Leia chances a look at Rex, who isn’t leaving Ahsoka’s side any more than he has to, and Fett on the other side. Tholme’s asleep and Quin’s on Baby Sith duty. It’s just people who know, right now.

The little girl across the table, the child senator, the spy, purses her lips and huffs in irritation. “You knew my biological father before he became one of the worst people in the galaxy. Both of you did. Tell me something good about him.”

Good things.

About Anakin.

“You fought a war as a Jedi,” Leia prompts. “Surely you must have done some good things with him, or at least thought you were.”

Did they?

Every mission ended in tragedy or was just a ploy of Palpatine’s. Every saved life was just...

Wait.

“He built Threepio,” she finally says. “Your father wi--I mean, Bail wiped Threepio’s memory after the Empire rose, for your safety, but Anakin was the one who built him.”

Leia sits up, eyes brighter. “I didn’t know that. I... was Artoo involved? Did he build R2D2, or...”

“No,” Rex says, “But Artoo was his favorite astromech, and they always pushed each other into stupid stunts. We risked a hell of a lot to save that droid, more than once, and I didn’t find out until you started working with the Rebellion full-time, but Artoo and Threepio were the witnesses for your bio-parents’ wedding.”

Leia gapes at him. So does Ahsoka. (Fett doesn’t know enough to care.)

Rex grins, and if it looks a little forced, that’s fine. “He had a holo recording. I was one of the few people left that knew about the marriage that might have wanted to see, so Artoo offered. It was... sweet.”

He waits, probably for Ahsoka to add something herself, but she has nothing.

“I think that’s when they swapped droids, since Threepio was more useful to a politician and Artoo did his best work when we set him loose on the enemy.”

“He never changed,” Leia muses. “Did he always swear that much?”

“Yes,” Ahsoka answers, as Rex laughs. “Always. All the binary I learned started with the best swears.”

She tries to think of another good memory, something else that Leia might appreciate. Her mind ticks back to saving Stinky, which is just a terrible option, because that mission started with Hutts and ended with the Battle of Teth. That massive loss of life, all for the son of the creature that had put Leia in chains.

She wonders if she has anything in her memory that doesn’t end in blood and graves.

“Soka.” Rex.

“Hm?”

“Remember that time Fives and Echo got lost in the undercity their first time on leave, and we had to get the General to help us find them?”

She does.

He’s right, that’s a good story.

“Okay, so what you have to understand,” Ahsoka says, already digging the faint details out and dusting them off, “is that these boys were ARC troopers, top-notch, terrifyingly competent once they got through specialty training, and loyal as hell. Echo had memorized the reg manuals front to back, and Fives was... well, Fives ended up being the only person to figure out the chips before they went into action. Point is, the Domino twins were good... eventually. Just like everyone else, though, they started out shiny.”

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

“Tholme’s hiding something.”

Ahsoka wonders if Leia will just leave if she ignores her enough. Probably not. This was the girl that got kicked out of boarding school for leading a sit-in at age seven. She’s got patience.

“His job requires him to hide a lot of things,” Ahsoka says instead. “Not as many as Vos will have to, eventually, but a lot.”

“He’s hiding something from us,” Leia insists, visibly frustrated that Ahsoka isn’t as upset about this as she is. “Something important.”

The way she says ‘important’ is clumsy and impacted by the missing baby tooth. She can’t say the r. It comes out as ‘im-poh-ten,’ which is adorable, and if Ahsoka comments on it, she’s probably going to get punched by a six-year-old.

“The Force doesn’t care,” Ahsoka says. “I trust his intentions, if not him as a person.”

“If you don’t trust him, then why trust his intentions?”

“Leia, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I trust one and a half people in the galaxy,” Ahsoka points out. “Me not trusting a person isn’t a sign of anything except my paranoia. The only person I trust fully and without reservation is Rex. Even you, I only mostly trust, because my brain starts screaming if I think too hard. That’s why you’re the half.”

“Okay, whatever, paranoia aside,” Leia barrels on, “He should tell us. Whatever it is that he’s hiding, we deserve to know. We’re not children that he can just hide things from for our own good.”

Ahsoka presses her lips together. “Leia. Princess. I know you’re used to holding all the cards--”

“This isn’t about me being a control freak!”

“It is, though,” Ahsoka soothes, and smiles. “Your mother--the bio one--was the same way. You spent years as one of the leaders of the Rebellion, so obviously you’re used to having all the information, and people reporting to you... but Tholme is a Jedi Master. He reports to the Council and the Republic. Do you know how many people I kept secrets from while I was a padawan? We’re an unknown, Leia. They have no proof that we’re on their side, especially since we’re traveling with Fett.”

Leia crosses her arms and glares as hard as she can.

“I’m not going to bother him,” Ahsoka says. “I’ve already had, like, five unrelated mental breakdowns. I’m putting this on hold until we get to the Temple and I can trust that there’s a healer on hand to sedate me or something.”

“You... want to be sedated?”

“Leia, this... really should be obvious, but a Force-Sensitive losing their osik the way I have been isn’t actually safe. I know I broke a weapons rack last week.” Ahsoka gestures vaguely. “If the Jedi Master isn’t telling me something for reasons that might relate to my clear and obvious mental instability, I’m going to assume he’s got a point.”

“So he should tell me or Rex.”

“We’ll be on Coruscant in four days,” Ahsoka soothes. “Just... let it be. They won’t hurt us.”

“You don’t know that.”

Ahsoka shrugs. “I don’t have to. The Force leads me in all things, including this.”

Leia isn’t impressed by that, but Leia isn’t impressed by much in the first place.

She strides off in a fit that is, perhaps, more influenced by her six-year-old emotional control than she’d like to admit. Ahsoka lets her. It’s not worth the argument.

It’s only a few minutes later that Fett strides in, takes the seat Leia was just in, and asks, “What would it take for you to teach me how to use a jetii’kad?”

She blinks at him. “You want to learn how to use a lightsaber?”

“Yes.”

“...why?”

“Viszla.”

“I see.”

She does.

Ahsoka taps her fingers against the table, eyeing him with the kind of interest she copied from Master Kenobi, years ago. Fett doesn’t fidget, but she thinks he might want to. He just looks back, waiting for her judgement.

“You’ll need to justify it,” she finally says. “It’s a significant difference from what you actually did, so I need to know your reasoning for doing it, and your plans for once it’s done.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s step one,” she corrects. She tilts her head, considering. “My standards for you aren’t built in a vacuum, and you know that. Explain to me what you plan to do and how you plan to do it, and if I approve...”

“You’ll help me achieve it.”

“Maybe,” she allows. “A lot of that depends on Rex.”

“I expected as much,” Fett says. “He is... an admittedly large part of the reason.”

“He would be,” she says. She gives the silence a few more seconds to sit awkwardly between them, and then stands up. “I’d guess you’ve been brainstorming already. Do you have it written down or is it mostly just in your head so far?”

“I’m still... debating options, so to speak.”

She grins, and the shape of the predator’s smile, the baring of teeth... that almost makes him step back. She can see it in the twitch of his muscles. Smart man.

“Follow me,” she says, and doesn’t wait for him to stand. She strides out with tooka-light steps, hears the heavy beskar tread behind her, and goes to the cargo hold. Fett’s confusion grows tangibly behind her, especially when she tosses him a wooden quarterstaff. She picks up the other and spins it in one hand.

“You’re going to fight me,” she tells him, stretching and letting the staff help with the process. “And while we fight, you’re going to tell me what your plans for Mandalore are.”

He mimics her, but there’s a frown on his face. “And why staffs?”

“You and I, we’ve only sparred bare-handed,” she says. “I need a feel for how you fight with a weapon anyway. These are a good start.”

“Not the beskad?”

She grins, and the twitch is back. “No. That can wait. We start with the staffs.”

He takes a stance, and she mirrors him. She lets him strike first with a weapon, but she’s the one that asks all the questions.

(He is the only one on the ship that can fight her one-on-one right now, and he can win. Still, she makes him work for every inch, and what she doesn’t win in bruises, she wins in words.)

(Fett might yet be a proper Mand’alor, but Ahsoka learned war from her brothers, negotiation at the knee of a general and in the shadow of a prince, and government at the side of duchesses and queens.)

(If he wants her help uniting his people, he needs to prove that he can hold them together once she’s gone.)

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

Ahsoka’s interrogation of Jango’s plans is thorough, and she’s not the only one involved. She brings Leia in, and has her join in on the grilling. She maybe laughs as the twenty-seven-year-old survivor of Galidraan, the Mand’alor, a man who has killed Master Jedi with his bare hands, gets lectured on various government structures by a tiny girl that's missing several teeth and needs to sit on books to see the table properly.

Still, Leia knows this better than any of the rest of them do. The girl might have grown up heir to a monarchy, but she got a classical education and was drilled on democracy and all associated forms of government. Where Ahsoka knows military protocol and law enforcement, intersystem relations and defensive measures, Leia knows agricultural subsidies and welfare programs, infrastructure and education.

Ahsoka may know how to find out if someone’s breaking a zoning law, but Leia knows why it exists in the first place.

“And I grew up in a cult,” Rex says, when an argument on that topic breaks out. Everyone that hasn’t heard the joke-that-isn’t-a-joke stares at him. “The Jedi grew up in a religious meritocracy; Leia grew up in a monarchy; and I grew up in a cult.”

Ahsoka elbows him. He’s not wrong, but still.

Unfortunately, Ahsoka is about forty-seven percent sure that Leia will put her foot in her mouth when it comes to Mandalorian culture, blunt as the girl is. That prefrontal cortex isn’t anywhere near as developed as it should be, either, so impulse control for the princess isn’t great. Ahsoka refuses to let Leia and Fett talk about ways to mend the breaks between tradition and the pacifism of the New Mandalorians without either Rex or Ahsoka herself as a mediating presence. Tholme sits in a few times, but while he knows that Leia isn’t really six--though not about the time-travel, yet--Quinlan doesn’t.

They admittedly end up doing this while he’s on Maul-sitting duty.

“It’s like he doesn’t even care about making nice with the people that, at this point, make up the majority of his people!” Leia grumbles one night, as Ahsoka kicks over a step stool so the girl can brush her teeth. “He may not like the New Mandalorians, but from what I understand, it’s still early enough to prevent the majority of the cultural bleaching you brought up. If he stays this stubborn--”

“Leia,” Ahsoka says, and the girl’s mouth snaps shut. “I’m aware of your reasons for not trusting his intentions. But if I may say? Chill.”

“He’s not even trying!”

“He’s trying a hell of a lot harder than he did in the original timeline,” Ahsoka reminds her. “Brush your teeth.”

“I’m not a--”

“Teeth.”

It’s a little worrying, how the child’s brain affects Leia, but... well. That’ll pass in time, hopefully. Until then, Ahsoka gets to be the aunt she should have been. This includes tucking Leia in, which the girl grumbles about despite the fond waves of comfort that enter the Force around her. Ahsoka doesn’t call her out on it, just brushes back wisps of hair to plant a kiss on Leia’s forehead, and then does the same once Rex stumbles in, grumbling about the limitations of a cadet’s body, but far more ready to follow the protocol that is bedtime.

Rex doesn’t pretend to not like getting tucked in, for all that he’s sharing with a grumbly, already-asleep princess. He smiles up at Ahsoka, lets her hug him, and pretends they can be a normal family for five seconds.

Quinlan’s making a late night snack for himself in the galley. Tholme is guarding the Baby Sith. Fett...

Ahsoka goes to the cockpit, takes the copilot’s seat, and watches hyperspace pass them by.

It takes long minutes before either of them say anything.

“Do Jedi believe in souls?”

His shields are up, locked up tighter than the innermost chambers of the Imperial Palace. She has no idea where he’s taking this question. She has to cast about for an answer.

“That depends on how you define a soul,” she finally says. “Leia told me about Force Ghosts. A Jedi Master who underwent the right meditations and training could pass into the Force upon their death without losing their sense of self. They could remain themselves, to an extent, and interact with force-sensitive individuals. I don’t know if they could last that way indefinitely, but depending on your definition, I could argue those ghosts were evidence of a form of soul.”

“So you believe that the dead pass into the Force, but that what passes could be a soul. Something must exist for a sense of self to disappear at death in a way that impacts the Force as you understand it, and many would use the word ‘soul’ for that something.”

“Mm,” Ahsoka considers it. “I’d say that’s pretty accurate. You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”

“What about those not yet born?”

Her fingers feel cold, and she finds herself no longer able to watch the passage of hyperspace as passively as she had, and her eyes catch on streaks and motes of what is not dust, her vision unable to keep any more still than her heart.

“Oh,” she hears herself say. “The clones.”

It’s a long time before he answers, but the walls come down. He carries a confused sort of grief with him, guilty and a mite resentful. His questions have been building for longer than she’d thought. His voice is rough. “I’ve taken plenty of lives, but I’ve never known the name of someone I erased from existence before they were even born.”

“The stories we told Leia about the brothers.”

There’s a grunt of agreement from Fett, so those dots at least connect.

“I take it my answer wasn’t helpful,” she manages to say.

“Will they still exist?” Fett asks. “Will they be born elsewhere? Or is... is a soul something that only comes into existence after the body does?”

“I have no idea,” Ahsoka admits. “I want... I want to think that I’d be able to find them eventually, to recognize them, if their souls are still born into this world elsewhere.”

“And if your Sith finds someone else to build his army out of?”

Ahsoka looks at him, sharp and pointed. “You wouldn’t.”

“They’ll be doing it anyway, if their plans are as ironclad as you say.”

“You’re already associating with Jedi,” Ahsoka says, fighting the urge to break his nose. “They wouldn’t approach you, not now. They can’t leverage your anger against you. They won’t know everything, but they’ll know that you have friends among the Jedi.”

“You think they can’t come up with better lies?”

He has a point. He has more than one point and she hate hate hates it.

A Jedi does not hate.

I am no Jedi.

“You’re going to have to convince me,” she says. “Especially if you want to somehow balance this with the darksaber thing. I won’t teach you how to fight with it if you’re not planning to retake Mandalore.”

“That’s how they’d sell it,” he says. “Retaking Mandalore. An army ostensibly for the Jedi, and ultimately...”

“You’d build an army of slaves.”

“No, I’d be the inside man for when they build that army anyway.”

She holds his gaze. She looks away first.

“Torrent?”

“I’m thinking.”

He lets her.

“I’ll need to talk to Rex. Probably Leia.”

“Understandable.”

“I don’t like this.”

“I’m only just considering it. It’s an idea, not a plan.”

“That’s the only reason I haven’t ripped your throat out with my teeth.”

“Hyperbole doesn’t suit you.”

She glares at him, and leaves, her mind chopping up and laying out every possible angle on Fett volunteering to do the exact same thing as last time, but somehow worse.

Great. Just what she needed.

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

Ahsoka isn’t there for the shouting match between Rex and Fett, but she doesn’t have to be. She can hear it form clear across the ship, and Rex comes to her afterwars. He’s been crying, which isn’t as surprising as it could be. These bodies are still prone to such things, and will be for years. She doesn’t comment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks.

“We need to take out Sidious before he starts anything on Kamino.”

“Agreed,” she says. “It’ll be hard, though.”

“I don’t care.”

“What did Fett say?”

“That if it wasn’t going to be my brothers, it would be someone else’s. Either we stopped the cloning from happening at all, or we mitigated damage by being there.”

“I don’t think Sidious is going to tap him for it,” Ahsoka admits. “Not unless you’re willing to stage that kind of fight publicly enough for Fett to claim the Jedi poisoned you, family, against him. It could work, but it’s a gamble.”

He knows all of this.

“I miss them,” he says, and she cards her fingers though the curls he’s managed to grow in the past weeks. “I just... even at the end, I had Wolffe. I knew Boba was out there; I wouldn’t be surprised if the beskar let him survive a Sarlacc. I had brothers. Not as many as I used to, but there was always someone. I miss them all, so much it hurts.”

“It wouldn’t be them,” she reminds him. She pulls him closer, puts her cheek to his head. “It would be the same process, the same faces, the same training, even, but the boys themselves...”

He clings to her and shudders.

“Rex?”

“I can’t force them to grow up the way I did. I want them back. Sidious is going to make the army no matter what. Someone’s going to suffer, and I don’t want it to be my brothers, but they won’t exist otherwise, and...”

“And it’s an impossible choice,” she summarizes. “And it sucks.”

“It’s sucks Gungan balls, ‘Soka.”

She laughs, and feels him smile against her shoulder. Good. He needs to smile more.

“He’s still trying to get me to like him,” Rex says. "He’s still making an effort, and he never did that for anyone except Boba, and it’s weird. I don’t know what to do with any of that.”

“Gain a brother,” Ahsoka whispers, and she feels him jerk against her. “If that’s what you want.”

“He’s not vod.”

“Same blood as all the rest, and you’re older than him, so he’s not really in a position to be a parent to you like he was to Boba,” she says carefully. “You don’t have to do anything, if you don’t want to, but... I think he’s trying. I think this means a lot to him, and that he isn’t any more sure of what to do than you are. You don’t have to forgive him for what he did in the future, you don’t have to accept when he reaches out, you don’t have to ever talk to him again after we reach Coruscant if you don’t want, but I think... I think it’s worth at least considering what you have to gain. I think it’s worth looking at what he’s trying to give you.”

Rex huffs. “Why couldn’t he just be the shabuir I knew in training?”

“Something happened between now and then?” she offers. “I don’t know. I never met him in the original timeline. I just know the guy that keeps trying to get on my good side so you’ll like him.”

He outright scoffs. “Soka, that’s not the only reason he’s trying to get on your good side.”

“...I’m a former Jedi who talks trash to his face,” she says slowly. “And I cried on him. There is no reason for him to be nice to me, other than you.”

“He thinks you’re cool and a good person and wants you to be his friend.”

“Bantha poodoo.”

Rex grins in a way that goes straight to smirking. “Soka, I’m not joking. Jango Fett wants you to be his friend.”

“Kriffing why?” she asks, more than a little horrified. “I’m a mess, look like I’m ten years younger than him, have gleefully kicked his ass in front of an audience; I even told Vos to throw him at a baby Sith Lord. Putting up with me is one thing, but I’m... I’m only barely not a Jedi. I’m a historical enemy of Mandalore, and part of the community he hates more than anything, and--”

“And his reaction to you kicking his ass was pure Mando,” Rex says. “In that he now thinks you’re a badass, and thus worth being friends with.”

“I can’t believe that. I physically cannot.”

“Soka, just accept it. The Mand’alor wants to be friends with you.” He scratches at his scalp. “I mean, he met you while you were protecting what appeared to be children, and it’s apparently still early enough for him to care about that.”

She leans back in her seat, eyes on the wall ahead of her and back against the cool metal of the other side. Rex falls back with her. She wonders if Rex changed the subject so they didn’t have to talk about deciding how many of his brothers get to exist, and whether or not he can swallow the bitterness of his history to have a connection with at least one member of his blood. She doesn’t ask. If he wants to change the subject, that’s his right.

“I don’t... no.” She denies it as well as she can, and then the implications dig a little deeper. “Is this me accidentally signing up to be the Jedi Order’s official liaison to the Mand’alor?”

“I mean, this point in time... they’ve got Kenobi for the Duchess, yeah?” Rex shrugs. “Good relations with the system are probably a good thing, and you’ve got a stronger connection than Tholme and Vos.”

“Ugh,” she says. She rubs a hand against her head, and then lurches to her feet. “Fine! Fine. If it’ll get him to retake Mandalore before the Sith decide to bribe him with an army he doesn’t get to keep, I’ll teach him how to fight for the kriffin’ Darksaber.”

“That’s what makes the decision for you?”

“Well something had to!”

They only get one lesson in before Coruscant, but the lesson lasts a full day, and Ahsoka’s got his comm number. Fett’s a quick learner anyway, and Tholme was there to give pointers where Ahsoka couldn’t.

He won’t measure up to a Jedi in saber-to-saber combat, but he doesn’t need to. He just needs to learn enough to turn all those skills with a beskad to something that works with a jetii’kad.

(The balance of a saber is wrong to those used to a physical weapon. The inertia doesn’t work the way anyone expects. There’s no need to worry about damaging the blade.)

(Fett is good. Ahsoka is better. And, bless his heart, he knows it.)

(She will mold him into the shape of someone who not only can, but should rule a system with a history like that, and he damn well knows that too.)

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

“Dropping out of hyperspace in T-minus twenty seconds.”

The Slave I is not, in fact, a Venator-class starship, or anything else near the size and smoothness of the ships that Ahsoka grew up on. This is a bounty hunter’s vessel, and the drop to real space jolts like nothing else. Ahsoka’s in the copilot seat for the return, but Tholme’s going to swap with her as soon as they’ve got confirmation that there were no problems with exiting hyperspace, and nobody’s shooting at them.

“We’re not going to get shot at,” Tholme had assured her.

“I always get shot at,” she’d told him.

“I have our clearance,” he reminded her, seeming more amused than frustrated. “There’s no need to worry about getting shot at.”

“I also always get shot at,” Jango had thrown in.

“Okay,” Tholme had allowed, after several minutes of his trust in the Temple warring against Ahsoka and Jango’s learned paranoia. The looks Quinlan had darted around the room when Leia and Rex also claimed ‘chronic getting-shot-at disease’ had been a treat. The paranoia of a Watchman and a future Shadow was great, but the paranoia of three revolutionaries and a galaxy-wide criminal was greater. “You can take us in close enough to get in radio contact, but the second we have to ask for clearance and a vector, I’m in the seat.”

She’d agreed, of course. She was paranoid, not inexperienced.

“We’re much less likely to get shot down by ground control if you tell them we’re with you,” she’d said, to his hilariously apparent metaphysical exhaustion. “Obviously.”

“Good enough,” he’d sighed.

What that means is mostly just that Ahsoka gets to watch the distant star at the center of Coruscant’s system grow rapidly brighter. She can pick out the constellations she’d grown up with, the stars the creche had projected on the ceiling every night, the ones that she may not have seen from the surface, but had greeted her and then sent her on her way every time she left on yet another campaign that lost her men their lives for a Sith Lord's wretched plans. These were the shapes and stories she’d never seen again as Fulcrum, a woman so hunted that to come within a dozen subsectors of the planet was to court her death.

For sixteen years, she hadn’t ventured closer than Alderaan, save for a single trip to Chandrila.

And now, maybe twenty minutes away at this speed, was the Temple. It was home.

A home that didn’t know her, that had sentenced her to death, that had hosted the rampage of her former master... but home nonetheless.

“Stable?” Fett grunts.

“Thrusters are good,” she confirms.

“I meant you.”

Ah. “I’m... fine. As good as I could be, anyway.”

She hesitates, but manages to speak before he does. “You?”

“I’m not the one walking into an entire building of triggers.”

“Only because you’re not entering it,” she says. “It’s the home of your ancestral enemies who, bad info or no, killed off a whole lot of your friends.”

“I get to leave,” he says. “You don’t.”

She plans to needle him a bit more, maybe on something a little less based in both their traumas. She needs to talk, if only to fill up the silence and keep herself from reaching out to all the lights in the Force. It’ll be too much, she knows.

Tholme enters the cockpit. “Change of plans.”

“Better be a good reason,” Jango says, voice flat.

“Leia’s crying.”

Ahsoka’s unbuckling herself before she can process the words fully. “What?”

Leia doesn’t cry for no reason. Her emotional control is as difficult as the body makes it, but she doesn’t just cry. There’s always a cause.

“I don’t know. Rex said to get you,” Tholme explains. “She was saying a name. He seemed to recognize it.”

Not good not good not good. If Leia was feeling the Emper--No. She cuts the thought off there. No catastrophizing. Information first.

“What name.”

“Luke. Mean anything to--and she’s gone.”

Ahsoka ignores him, just sprints to where she knows the ‘young ones’ are. They’re all in Maul’s room, because nobody wants to be alone with him now, but it’s the worst time to leave him without supervision. It’s not the worst option; he mostly refuses to talk, still.

This holds true, because he definitely isn’t talking when she bursts in. He’s sitting on the bench, in a corner, hugging his knees and watching Quinlan try to calm Leia down.

“Captain, sitrep.”

“Vos and Tholme attempted to show Leia how to reach out to feel the Temple from a distance. They felt that it would be a good use of the time, and an interesting exercise at this distance. She attempted to do so, struggled for several minutes, and then reacted with shock. She has repeated the name ‘Luke’ several times since then, and we’ve been unable to fully calm her down. I asked Tholme to get you, as you are the only Force-Sensitive on board that understands the situation in full.”

“Understood.” She nods to him, and then goes to nudge at Quinlan. “Vos, move.”

“Torre--”

“You can sit behind her, hold her in your lap like you did when we had lunch the other day, but I need to get in her face.” She waits for him to comply, and then drops to her knees and takes Leia’s hands in her own. She radiates calm and assurance, even though she knows Quinlan’s probably been doing the same since this started. She dips her head enough to get in the girl’s line of sight, waits for her to meet eyes.

“Princess,” she says, and meets Leia’s eyes. “What did you feel?”

“Luke.”

From this distance... they’ve got half the system to go, at least, and Leia’s training shouldn’t reach that far for anything more than the fact that the Temple is there. Ahsoka could feel unshielded individuals from here, if she focused, but she’s also been doing this much, much longer. The twins theory holds more water than ever.

“Can you show me?” Ahsoka asks, instead of asking for more clarification. She squeezes Leia’s hands and smiles. “In the Force?”

Leia nods, and closes her eyes. It’s not the first time they’ve done this, but it’s the first time in a while that Leia’s needed Ahsoka to guide her through.

Luke’s light, for all that it’s unfamiliar to Ahsoka, is brilliant among the rest of the signatures in Coruscant. Like Anakin and Leia, he’s a star in his own right, but he’s brighter. He doesn’t have Anakin’s bitterness or Leia’s righteous anger, just... light. Ahsoka had asked Leia to show her instead of looking for herself because she’d expected to not recognize the boy, but she needn’t have. He’s unmistakable.

He’s so bright that she almost misses the other signature that she does recognize. She shies away, knowing that it would be there, but... but it’s almost twinned with another nearby. Not identical, but different in a way that comes with age, with trauma, with... death.

Leia hadn’t arrived alone, after all.

Why would Luke?

Her eyes snap open, her hand coming up not-quite-fast enough to clap over her mouth as she gasps. She feels a shudder, one that starts in her shoulders and reaches deep into her ribcage, finds a home in her chest and doesn’t stop.

“Oh fuck,” Quinlan whispers. “Torrent? Um, Sokari?”

Rex steps closer. “Commander?”

“That shabuir faked his death again,” she manages. “Three times, Rex!”

He blinks at her. “...I know way too many people who fit that description, Soka.”

“Master Ke--” she cuts herself off. He might have changed his name, just like she had. There’s already an Obi-Wan here. Rex seems to be figuring it out, but she needs to give him another hint.

“He pulled a Hardeen,” she stresses, and Rex’s eyes snap shut with a tired groan.

“Who?” Leia asks, her own tumult of emotion paused in the wake of Ahsoka’s shock. There’s a hope and relief to her, and Ahsoka belatedly realizes that her main worry had been that she’d misidentified what was going on, that she’d given herself a false hope. Ahsoka’s internal reaction, her approval and awe at Luke’s presence, had trickled over enough to give Leia the reassurance she’d needed.

Unintentional as it was, Ahsoka was glad that she’d succeeded in helping her charge.

“Er...” she trails off. “I don’t know what name he’s going by, right now. We’ve spent so long in hiding...”

“The man Luke knew as Crazy Old Ben,” Rex says, and Leia’s eyes light up.

“Oh,” she breathes. “General O--no, names. The High General, then.”

“Yeah,” Ahsoka says, not a little soft. “Yeah, I guess death didn’t stop him any more than it stopped me.”

“I could have told you that,” Leia says, smiling far too widely. She squirms where she still sits on Quinlan’s lap. “He was... he taught you, right?”

“As much my master as the official one,” Ahsoka says. She glances as Quinlan, feels Maul’s gaze on the back of her head. “Your f... my official master was very young when I was assigned to him. He wasn’t ready to teach, wasn’t even ready to be a knight, entirely, so my training was split between him and his master.”

Quinlan pops in at that moment, “Your grandmaster was military, too?”

We all were, she thinks. Even you, in your own way.

“I landed in their care mid-battle,” she says carefully. “It was a complicated situation.”

He nods, and she vaguely notes that he’s got his arms wrapped around Leia, and his chin tucked on top of her head. She isn’t sure if Leia’s noticed, but Quinlan’s picked up ‘baby’-sitting duty so often recently that she’s fairly certain he’s all but declared her ‘little-sister shaped.’ It doesn’t matter that Leia’s older--she’s still taking the juice boxes and gummy snacks that Quinlan shoves at her every single snacktime.

“Do you think...” Rex trails off, something uncomfortable twisting in the Force, even though his face keeps it mostly hidden. “My brothers. If the General survived and... and made it back...”

“I didn’t feel any,” Ahsoka says, because she knows she’d have noticed if it was anyone she’d met, and likely any clone at all. They all felt different in the Force, but they all held a spark that made her know it was one of them. “I’m sorry, Rex’ika.”

“A long shot,” he says, that dash of hope shriveling up. He must see something in her face, because there’s a curl of warmth in him, even if his smile is brittle. “It’s fine, really. I have you, ‘Soka.”

Rex and Ahsoka. Two halves of one whole.

She can’t wait to hear the lectures on attachment, the way people who haven’t seen her wars try to criticize her for clinging to any chance at still having a will to live. She can’t wait to see them justify telling her that it’s selfish to hold her sanity in her hands and refuse to let the grief take it away. She can’t wait to stare someone down for asking her to ‘learn to let go’ after she’s lost her family, her life, her universe three times over.

Most of the Jedi are more sensible than that, are reasonable enough to see those shades of grey and how to approach rules in the spirit they are meant instead of the rigid letter, but there will be some.

There will be more than enough telling her she is wrong to hold her oldest, closest, best friend as dear as she can.

Attachment, they’ll say.

What they’ll mean is ‘codepedence.’

They won’t be entirely wrong.

She reaches out for him, lets him fall into her side and stay there, closes her eyes and reaches out for the man she’d long called father, when they’d still been in each other’s lives.

This time, past the deafening flare of surprise-love-hope of the little star next to him, she can feel him reach back.

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

The second the ship has landed, even before Tholme and Fett are done with the checks, Ahsoka’s waiting at the exit. She strains her hearing so she’ll know the second the system will let her open the massive door of the cargo hold.

Leia clings to her side, and the boys stand to her back.

Quinlan’s stressed enough that she can feel it like a cloud. She is very much not trying to feel that stress. Quinlan’s stress levels, back where he’s got Maul so he can keep an eye on Ahsoka and the Baby Sith at the same time, are so low on her priorities list that it’s a a little sad.

It doesn’t take long for her to be able to punch the button and open the damn door.

It opens slowly. She bounces on her toes, because there’s a beacon of light and a steady, familiar glow on the other side, and she’s so, so close. She can’t see through the crack yet, because it’s day in this part of Coruscant, and the sunlight is blinding against the dark of the hold. So close. She’s so close.

“The hell’s wrong with you?”

Fett? Fett. He’s already here to get off? This door’s slow.

She doesn’t answer him, because the door is finally open enough to let her out, and she leaps through the gap.

She lands on a pourstone floor, feels pebbles and grit compress under her boots, frantically looks around as her eyes adjust to light and--

The High General, the Negotiator, Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, looking just as he did when she first met him, if a little less armored and a little more fed. The hair, the beard, the crinkle in the corner of his eyes. His spirit is a little older, his smile a little more strained, his posture a little more tired, but it’s him.

He spreads his arms, low enough that she could have dismissed it if she’d cared less for hugs, except she’s almost as small as she was when they met.

And every other hug she’d given back then had been, functionally, her being a living missile aiming her montrals for someone’s organs.

She’s a little more aware of how to avoid stabbing her friends in the intestine now.

“Master!”

She sprints for him, collides and sobs, feels him stumble back and then sink to his knees on the too-hard floor, and can feel the tears pouring out of her already. Her breath hitches, and she wails like a child, and that last part of her that couldn’t even grasp at safety shreds itself. His arms are tight around her, warm and strong and Master Kenobi don’t you dare leave again.

It doesn’t matter that Sidious is out there, that the Republic’s been building towards war for a century, that even now someone’s kicking up the Trade Federation. Her dad is here.

“I’ve missed you too, my dear,” he says, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, the bristles of his beard scratching along the skin of her forehead. Off to the side, the binary suns that are Luke and Leia grow brighter in proximity, so bright she can barely bear it.

(“Fett, why the kriff are you reaching for your blaster?!”)

(“Torrent said her master tried to kill her.”)

(“Different guy, that was a different guy, put the blaster away.”)

(“You could have just warned me.”)

(“I didn’t expect you to go for a shot on sight!”)

(”Calm down, Jetiika, if I was going to shoot on sight, we’d already be in a firefight.”)

She ignores everything.

“If you fake your death one more time, I swear I’m going to kill you myself.”

He tries to pull away to talk to her more directly. She does not let him. He apparently resigns himself to this, because he just adjusts how he’s sitting and pulls her in closer.

“In my defense, I was far from the only one presumed dead that took advantage of that status, by the end,” he says, letting her slump into his lap and cry herself dry. “I’m proud of you. You know that, I hope.”

She nods against his chest, smearing tears and snot across the linen and wool. She doesn’t care that they’ll need a thorough washing. She can have her public breakdown and it’s fine because Master Kenobi is here.

He doesn’t even know what she’s spent the past fifteen years doing. Luke wouldn’t have known. He doesn’t know she’s thirty-two and broken, beyond a shadow and cut down by her own master. There’s so much he doesn’t know but the Force rings with the truth of it: he’s proud of her anyway.

“I’m going by Ben, now,” he mutters against her montral. “There’s already an Obi-Wan here, after all. Still, I remain a Kenobi.”

She can’t make the words come out of her mouth. She’s overwhelmed, so much so that speech is a mite bit beyond her.

Sokari Torrent, she presses along the frayed bond that’s knitting itself back to life with every breath they take. Leia was already calling me Auntie Soka, and Rex and I both took Torrent, for...

“For the men you lost,” he mutters. “Yes, that’s fitting.”

He smells like sapir tea and a spiced beard oil.

There’s a whirl of activity about her, greetings and ‘a Sith apprentice?’ and introductions. She distantly notes when Fett almost shoots Dooku before Rex shuts that down and advises the Master to leave the area before things spiral out of control. She feels Ben stand, and she stands with him, clings to his side like a child and trusts that whatever happens, whatever needs to happen, he’ll take care of it until she can stand on her own two feet without swaying.

Rex grabs her free hand, and she feels herself settle back into her skin, bit by bit.

She’s back at the Temple. The twins are safe. Her grandmaster is here. She has her other half.

They can save the galaxy this time.

She’s alive she’s home she’s okay.

She’s okay.

Everything’s going to be okay.

578 notes · View notes

live-the-fangirl-life · 3 years ago

Text

The Last One

The Court - Throne of Glass x FRIENDS - Fic Series

S10, E17/18 : Rowan, after realizing he's still in love with Aelin, chases her down, refusing to let her go. Meanwhile, Elide and Lorcan welcome their baby...or babies, into the world.

Episode chosen for Rowaelin Month 2021. Day 12: Delayed Love Confession

Fic Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Read on Ao3 | Rowaelin Month Masterlist

Warnings: Language, Mentions of Sex, Mentions of Birth

7860 words

*******

Rowan woke up to the bed shifting. He cracked an eye open, still cloudy with sleep, and watched Aelin sit on the opposite edge while she pulled her shirt over her head, concealing the bare expanse of her back.

“Hey.” He croaked, voice still rough.

She turned and gave him a soft smile, whispering, “Go back to sleep, I have to go home.”

Rowan wanted nothing more than for Aelin to never leave his bed, but he knew she had things to do so instead he said, “Oh, okay.” He reached a hand across the sheets and grabbed hers, “Last night was amazing.”

She finished putting on one of her shoes and looked back at him with that same soft smile, “It really was.”

Rowan tried to read the emotions that flashed across her face but then she was standing and bending over to draw him into one last kiss. Her palm rested on his cheek while his gently cupped the back of her head before they pulled away. Rowan kept his eyes on Aelin as she left his room and he didn’t fall back onto his pillow until he heard the sound of his apartment door clicking shut behind her.

***

Elide was scared. Scratch that—terrified. Elide was terrified, but she kept her calm as best as she could while she held Asterin’s hand.

Elide had thanked all the gods she could name for Asterin coming into her and Lorcan’s lives. After getting married and enjoying the first few months of bliss, she and Lorcan decided to try having a baby, but after months of negative pregnancy tests and too many doctors visits, they were told it likely would never happen for them. Devastated, they thought through their options and settled on adoption. But even then, they knew it would take some time.

Elide remembered some afternoons spending hours sitting by the phone desperately hoping it would ring and be someone from the adoption agency to tell them they’d been picked. When they’d finally gotten the call and met Asterin, a young woman who was looking for the perfect parents for her baby, they knew it was meant to be.

Now, standing in the delivery room, Elide held Asterin’s hand as the woman powered through another contraction.

“Breathe, breathe, breathe,” Elide coached encouragingly, “good.”

“Are you fully taking over, or do I get to say breathe?” Lorcan asked as he walked to Elide’s side beside the bed.

She scoffed and tilted her head to meet his eyes. “No. Last time, you said it like a sociopath, and it creeped her out.” She turned back towards Asterin who looked tired, “Can I get you anything? Ice chips?”

“No,” Asterin shook her head, “I’m okay.”

Elide nodded and smiled, “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

As she started to walk out of the room, Lorcan’s hand shot out and gripped her elbow, stopping her.

“Where are you going?” He asked. She could almost detect a hint of nerves as he spoke.

Elide raised a brow, “To the bathroom.”

Lorcan lowered his voice so that only Elide could hear. “You can't leave me alone with her.”

“What?” She asked incredulously.

Lorcan ran a hand through his long hair, and now she could definitely see nervousness etched across his face. “This is exactly the kind of social situation that I am not comfortable with” he grumbled.

Elide snorted, “What kind of social situation are you comfortable with?”

He leveled a stare at her. “It's just that we've never spent any time, you know, alone together.”

Elide rolled her eyes at her husband, “You’ll be fine,” she took a step and turned back, giving him a small smirk, “No, you won't, but I'll be back in two minutes.”

Lorcan sighed but grumbled okay.

He walked back over to the woman lying in the hospital bed, trying his best to seem calm, but by the grimace she shot him, he wasn't doing a very good job.

“So, uh,” He grasped for something to say, “any plans for the summer?”

“I don't know, maybe travel? I wanna do some flying again.”

Lorcan hummed, still not sure what to say. If Elide had still been in the room, she’d have laughed at how ridiculous he looked. Standing well above six feet, with his hands fidgeting and swaying on his toes from being so uncomfortable in the moment.

“So, you ever wonder which is worse, you know; going through labor or getting kicked in the nuts?” Lorcan asked the first thing that came to mind and immediately regretted it. He should've just kept his mouth shut.

“What?” Asterin asked, her eyebrows scrunching in disbelief.

“I mean, uh,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “One of life's great, unanswerable questions. I mean, who knows? Maybe there's something even more painful than those things?” Lorcan cringed and suggested, “like this.”

***

Lysandra walked into Fenrys’ apartment to see him holding two small fuzzy animals.

“Good morning,” She said hesitantly.

“Hey!” Fenrys grinned, lifting up the creatures.

“What's that?” Aedion asked, following Lysandra into the room.

Fenrys grinned, “It's my house-warming present for Elide and Lorcan.”

Lysandra and Aedion shared a look.

“It's a baby chick and duck,” Lysandra said, unnecessarily. “You know they’re living in the suburbs right?”

“Uh-huh,” Fenrys nodded, “And I named them Chick Jr. and Duck Jr.”

Aedion snorted, “I didn’t see that coming.”

“Yeah, I figure they'll love it at the new house, you know?” Fenrys set the animals down, “It has that big backyard. And then, when they get old, they can go to that special farm that Lorcan took the other chick and duck to.”

Lysandra raised a brow at Fenrys and hummed, unable to say what she actually wanted to say.

Aedion barely held in a grin as he nodded sagely to Lysandra and mocked, “Yeah. It's a shame people can't visit there.”

Fenrys was cut off as Rowan showed up and joined them in the apartment,

“Guess what?” Lysandra whirled on Rowan, smiling, “we’re almost all aunties and uncles!”

“What?” Rowan asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Fenrys said, “Asterin went into labor last night. Elide and Lorcan are at the hospital right now!”

“Oh, my gods.” Rowan grinned at the thought of a massive Lorcan holding a tiny baby. He shook his head, glancing around, “Is Aelin here?”

Fenrys glanced towards Aelin’s room, “Uh, I think she's still asleep. Hey, how did it go with you guys last night? She seemed pretty pissed at you.”

Rowan couldn’t—wouldn’t—suppress his smile as he thought about the night before. Being with Aelin again was better than he remembered, and he cursed himself for all the time they’d missed out on.

“Yeah, we, uh, we worked things out.”

Lysandra’s eyes widened as she watched him, “What's that smile? Did something happen with you two?”

Rowan chuckled, “Hey, I'm not one to kiss and tell,” then he muttered, “but I'm also not one to have sex and shut up.”

Apparentally, his last words weren't as quiet as he thought.

Aedion groaned, wincing “Dude, that's my cousin.”

Rowan ignored Aedion as Fernys laughed, “Oh my gods, You and Aelin?”

“I know, it's great.” Rowan didn't think his grin could get any wider.

Lysandra hugged him, squealing, “So what does that mean? Are you guys getting back together?”

“I…” He trailed off, frowning. They hadn’t actually talked about it before Aelin had left earlier that morning. “I don't know. We didn't really get to talk about it.”

“But do you wanna get back together?” She pushed.

Rowan didn’t hesitate as he said with certainty, “Yeah, I do. it just felt so right. When I was holding her, I mean, I never wanted to let her go. I want to be together.”

Lysandra, Aedion, and Ferys all had matching smiles as they listened to Rowan.

Then Fenrys spoke up and Rowan felt himself deflate.

“So is she still going to Paris?” He asked, still holding the small animals.

Rowan had been so caught up in the happiness of last night and that morning that he’d completely forgot the reason why he and Aelin had been so emotionally worked up their argument caused the tension to finally snap, leading them to spend the night together.

Aelin had been offered an amazing job. A perfect job. Perfect, except for the fact that it was in Paris and not New York

She'd had said goodbye to each of their friends. Except him. She’d cried and laughed and reminisced with all of them. Except for Rowan.

He’d been so upset, so angry. How could Aelin not have anything to say to him, after all these years, after all they’d been through?

When he’d confronted her, she’d told him, devastated, “If you think I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everybody else, you're wrong. It's because you mean more to me.”

He’d stopped her, not needing to hear anymore as he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a searing kiss. She’d been shocked, unprepared for Rowan’s actions. She’d stepped away, searching his face, before pulling him towards her and kissing him again.

Gods, how could he have forgotten that she was leaving?

“Wow, I hadn't thought of that. I hope not.” Rowan didn't know how he would deal with Aelin leaving now. He’d just realized that he still loved her, and now he might lose her. But how could he expect her, or ask her, to stay? What kind of person would that make him? A desperate one? A man in love? Or an overreaching, entitled one who thought he could step in the way of one of the best opportunities she'd ever been given?

He would have to talk to her before he spiraled any further.

“Oh, this is so great!” Lysandra exclaimed, unaware of Rowan’s churning thoughts, “You guys might get back together, Elide and Lorcan are getting their baby, and there are chicks and ducks in the world again!

They all looked towards the sound of a door opening to see Aelin emerge from her room.

“Good morning,” She smiled at them and ignored the pointed looks and wiggling eyebrows of her friends.

“Hey,” Rowan smiled at her.

She walked up to him and greeted him quietly, “Hey.”

“How’d you sleep?”

She smiled, “Good, you?”

He matched her grin, “Good.”

Fenrys snorted, “I bet you did!”

Aelin flipped him off, shooing him, Lysandra, and Aedion away. Once they’d left, Rowan cupped her face and swooped down to kiss her. It felt like coming home.

When they broke apart, they both wore soft smiles.

“Last night was wonderful,” Aelin told him, rubbing a hand down his arm.

“Yeah, it was.”

She kept her eyes on his as she told him, “I woke up today with the biggest smile on my face.”

He tried to keep the satisfaction off his face but failed and she huffed a laugh, rolling her eyes before softening her features again.

“I know, me too,” Rowan told her, moving one thumb to brush along her cheek. “It was...you know, it was like one of those things you think is never gonna happen, and then it does, and it's everything you want it to be.”

She nodded, “I know,” Aelin leaned up to press another soft kiss to his lips before pulling him into a hug to say into his ear, “it was just the perfect way to say goodbye.”

In that moment, at her words, Rowan felt like his heart shattered into a million little pieces.

***

The hospital room buzzed with excitement.

“It's just a little bit more, honey.” Elide held Asterin’s hand as the young woman pushed again.

She sobbed, more in frustration than anything else “Help me! This hurts!”

Lorcan stood a step back and asked, “Is it really that bad?”

Both women glared at him with a ferocity that made him want to be swallowed up by a hole in the ground.

“Yeah,” Asterin answered through gritted teeth, “I think it's time to kick you in the nuts and see which is worse!”

Elide sighed as she was reminded of the words Lorcan reluctantly relayed to her earlier. She looked back at him, “No tact.”

The doctor cleared his throat, drawing all their attention towards him, “The baby's head is crowning.”

“Oh my God!” Elide cried, walking around to see, “That is the most beautiful top of a head I have ever seen! Lorcan, you have to see this!”

Lorcan had never looked more uncomfortable. “I'm okay.”

Elide whirled on him, “Lorcan, you don't wanna miss this. This is the birth of your child!”

His child. The words rang through him and sparked some sense of resolve. He shook himself of his discomfort, outwardly at least, and stepped up behind Elide to see what she was seeing.

“Wow.” He murmured reverently, “Disgusting.”

Elide scoffed but Loracn gripped her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

“Here we go,” The doctor said, glancing back up at Asterin “Start pushing.”

A shill cry broke through the air and Elide and Lorcan watched as the doctor held up a beautiful little baby. When Elide ripped her eyes away from the infant as the nurses cleaned it, she looked up to find Lorcan already staring at her with tears in his eyes. They didn’t have to say anything, they both felt the same overwhelming sense of love.

“It’s a boy.” The doctor said, leaning back and adjusting his gloves.

“A...a boy!” Elide beamed at Lorcan as he stood open-mouthed before showing her the widest smile she’d ever seen on the man.

“A boy.” He breathed.

“Oh, you did it!” Elide went back to Asterin’s head and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She leaned closer to the girl and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Asterin smiled at them both, “I'm really happy for you guys.”

“How do you feel?” Lorcan asked.

She sighed, “So tired.”

The doctor sat back into position, saying, “Well, you don't have that much time to relax. The other one will be along in a minute.”

The hand Lorcan had been rubbing down Elide’s back froze, as did both of their breathing as they slowly turned to face the doctor with eyebrows up to their hairlines.

“I’m sorry,” Elide said slowly, aware that Lorcan hadn’t resumed breathing yet, “who should be along in a what now?”

The doctor gave them a weird look, “The next baby should be along in a minute.”

“One.” Lorcan finally regained his ability to speak. “One baby. We signed up for one baby.”

“You know it's twins, right?” The doctor asked slowly

Elide laughed hysterically, “Oh, yeah! These are the faces of two people in the know!”

“I…” The doctor trailed off, “I can't believe you didn't know it's twins! This has never happened before.”

“Oh wow,” Loracn snorted incredulously, “That makes me feel so much better.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair.

“Wait,” Elide faced the doctor, “did you know it was twins?”

He nodded slowly, “Yeah, it's here in the paperwork we got from the clinic.”

Elide then spun around to Asterin, “Anybody tell you?”

Asterin furrowed her brows, “I don't think so. Not explicitly.” she insisted. “they did mention something about two heartbeats. But I thought that was just mine and the baby's. They kept saying both heartbeats are really strong, and I thought well, that's good 'cause I'm having a baby.”

Elide let out a shaky breath trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. “This is unbelievable.”

Lorcan gripped Elide’s arm and tugged into the corner of the room. “Can I see you for a second?”

Elide had never in her life seen Lorcan look more unsure of what to do. His hands were shaky as he gripped hers. “What do we do?”

She took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes. “What do you mean what do we do?”

“Twins.” He stated urgently, “Twins!”

Seeing Lorcan so frazzled oddly calmed Elide down. “Lorcan, you’re panicking.”

“I sure as fuck am, join me!”

She cracked a half-smile, “Lorcan, take a breath, it’s going to be okay.”

“Elide, we are not ready to have two babies!” his eyes were still wide in shock and fear.

“That doesn’t matter!” she hissed, grabbing his arms and making him focus on her. “We have waited so long for this. I don't care if it's two babies. I don't care if it's three babies! We are taking them home because they are our children!”

Lorcan’s face softened and she watched as a steady resolve found its way across his face and through his body. They took a breath together and he pulled her into a hug and kissed her forehead gently. When he pulled away, he had a small smile reserved only for her. “Okay.”

“Okay,” she repeated, her arms still wrapped around him.

“Okay.”

“Okay!”

“Okay!” he laughed, and this time it wasn’t fear clouding the sound, but joy.

“It looks like we're about ready over here.” the doctor called, and Elide and Lorcan walked back towards Asterin.

When another cry sounded, the doctor lifted the second baby, declaring, “It’s a girl.”

“A girl?” Lorcan asked quietly, a smile growing.

“Indeed.” The doctor replied, passing her to be cleaned up.

Spinning towards Elide, Lorcan said excitedly, “Well now we have two different ones!” then he whirled back to the doctor and put on his stoniest glare, “And that's enough!”

***

Lysandra, Aedion, Fenrys, and Rowan sat in the coffee house, Cadre Coffee, as Rowan told them what Aelin had said earlier.

“And then she hugged me and said it was the perfect way to say goodbye.” Even repeating it now, felt like chewing on broken glass.

“What did you say?” Fenrys pried.

Rowan sputtered, “Nothing. What do you say to that?” What could he say to that?

“Rowan,” Lysandra pleaded, “you've got to tell her how you feel.”

“I can’t do that to her.” He sighed, defeated. “I can’t lay that on her right before she’s supposed to leave.”

“Rowan,” Aedion leaned forward, making sure he held the silver-haired man’s attention, “Aelin doesn't know that you wanna get back together. If she did, she might feel differently. She might not even go.”

“You really think so?” he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Just then, Aelin breezed into the coffee shop.

“Hi, guys!” She waved before walking up the counter.

Rowan watched her a moment. “Alright, you know what? You're right. I should at least tell her how I feel.” He could do that. He had to do that.

"Rowan, wait!" Fenrys called from behind him.

Rowan spun around, "What?"

Fenrys grinned, "Can you get me a muffin?"

Rowan gave him a one-finger response and took a step towards Aelin.

“Aelin?” Nox, the barista who’d worked at the coffee house for as long as any of them could remember, got her attention.

“Yeah?”

“I know you’re leaving tonight, but I just have to tell you. I love you.”

Rowan stood frozen in place, mouth open, as he watched the scene unfold.

“I... I don't know if that changes your plans at all, but I thought you should know.” Nox nodded earnestly.

“Nox, Oh,” She placed a hand on his shoulder, “I love you too. Probably not in the same way, but I do. And, and when I'm in a café, having coffee, I'll think of you.” She kissed his cheek before waving towards the group and leaving the coffee house.

Rowan sat down, meeting the shocked gazes of his friends. “Oh, my gods!”

Lysandra snorted, “Unbelievable!”

"Hey," Fenrys leaned forward, "you know what might help?"

Rowan glared at him and scoffed, "I'm not getting you a muffin!"

***

“We're going to take Asterin to recovery now.” The nurse told Elide and Lorcan as they each held one of their babies.

“Oh wait,” Elide caught Asterin’s hand, “There's something that we want to tell you. We decided to name the girl-baby Asterin.”

She smiled, “Oh, that’s just like my name!”

Elide held in a laugh. It was clear Asterin was either still on some medications or just very, very tired.

“Okay,” the blonde woman said, “I'm gonna go and get some rest. I'm really glad I picked you guys. You're gonna make great parents. Even Lorcan.”

Despite his eye roll, Elide saw the pride and gratitude in Lorcan’s eyes.

“Bye, Asterin.” Elide called as she was pushed out of the delivery room.

“Bye.”

Moving closer to Lorcan, Elide cooed, “Oh look at all their teeny fingers and toes.”

“I know,” he smiled widely, making him look younger, “You ready to trade?”

“Okay!” They tried maneuvering a few different ways but eventually gave up. Switching babies when you only have two hands is not an easy feat. “Alright, let’s see…”

“Maybe later?” he suggested.

“Perfect.”

***

At Elide and Lorcan’s apartment, Lysandra found Fenrys hunched over the coffee table.

“Hey, what are you working on?” She asked, walking into the living room.

He grinned, “It’s a ‘Welcome Home’ sign for the baby.” He held up the large sign which read Welcome Home Baby in red paint beside a funky-shaped red blob.

“Uh,” Lysandra squinted, “Is that supposed to be the baby?”

Fenrys rubbed the back of his neck, looking sheepish. “No, I sat in the paint.”

She snorted just as Rowan walked in.

“Hey,” He nodded at them.

“Hey, so did you talk to Aelin?” Lysandra asked.

Rowan ran his hand through his hair and sighed, “No, and I'm not going to.”

“What?” Lysandra asked incredulously at the same time Fenrys jumped up and asked, “Why not?”

Rowan dropped into a seat at the kitchen table. “Because she's just going to shoot me down. You guys saw what happened with Nox.”

Lysandra scoffed and lightly hit him upside the head. “How can you compare yourself to Nox? I mean, sure, he's sexy in a more obvious way.” She smirked as Rowan glared. “You have a relationship with her, you slept together last night. For gods’ sake, you’re Rowan and Aelin! You’re Rowaelin!”

Rowan huffed, standing up, and told her harshly, “Yeah, and she still wants to go! It's pretty clear where her head is at.” He sighed, shoulders slumping. “Look, even if I were going to tell her, I don't have to do it now. Okay? I'll be seeing her again. We've got time.”

“Gods, Rowan!” Lysandra tried to make him see reason. “No, you don't! She's going to Paris! She is going to meet somebody. Do you know how many hot guys there are in Paris?”

The door opened before Rowan could get another word in and Aedion strode in carrying a rolled-up paper.

“Hey,” He said as he walked over to Lysandra to kiss her before setting the paper on the table.

“Hey, babe,” Lysandra smiled. “Whatcha got?”

“Oh,” Aedion brightened and unrolled the piece of paper. “I made a little something. If I had more time to work on it, it'd be better, but.” He shrugged, revealing a precisely drawn sign reading Welcome to the World, Baby Lochan.

“Damn, Ashryver,” Rowan nodded appreciatively “that’s really good.”

Fenrys scoffed, still standing next to his sign, and rolled his eyes, grumbling, “You know, the baby can't read, Aedion.”

Lysandra laughed as Aelin opened the door and strode in.

“Hi. You guys, my car just got here,” she said dejectedly. “I can't believe they're not home yet! I have to catch my stupid plane. I wanna see the baby!”

Fenrys spoke up, “Elide called a few minutes ago from the car. She said they should be here any minute. And apparently, there's some big surprise?”

As if on cue, Elide carefully pushed the door open and stepped inside carrying a small baby.

Aelin couldn’t hold in her gasp and none of them tried to hide the misting in their eyes.

“Oh, my gods!” Aelin beamed as she walked to Elide, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“Oh, El!” Lysandra gushed, rushing forward.

“So tiny,” Rowan murmured, coming up next to Elide as Fernys and Aedion joined the small group, too.

They turned as they heard another set of footsteps enter, turning to see Lorcan walk in carrying his own small bundle.

“Oh!”

“What the—”

“What?”

“Oh, my gods!”

“Holy sh—”

Five different exclamations happened simultaneously as all their eyes darted between the two babies.

Rowan shook himself and clasped Lorcan on the shoulder, “Okay, awkward question. The hospital knows you took two, right?”

Lorcan glared at Rowan but neither man could keep the grins off their faces as they looked down at the infants.

“Yes, Whitethorn, it’s twins.”

“They’re precious,” Lysandra cooed, making funny faces at the one in Elide’s arms. Aelin, having said hello to that baby, stepped next to Rowan to gaze down at the one Lorcan held.

“This is a boy,” Elide told them, gesturing to the one she held. “And that’s a girl,” she nodded to Lorcan’s.

“Her name is Asterin,” Lorcan told them, not looking away from his daughter’s face.

“Oh, hey, that pregnant lady’s name was Asterin.” Fenrys nodded.

Aedion snorted, “It’s a shame you two didn’t spend more time together.”

Aelin aww’d and patted Lorcan’s arm, the two of them sharing a rare, warm smile.

“The boy we named Cal, after my dad.”

“Oh, you guys,” Aelin whined, “I can't believe this. But I have to leave now, or I'm gonna miss my plane."

“I’m just so glad you got to meet them,” Elide said, watery, pulling Aelin into a hug.

“Me, too,” Aelin told her. “I'm just sorry I'm not gonna be around to watch you two attempt to handle this! Alright, I can't say goodbye to you guys again. I love you all so much.”

I love yous were exchanged and Aelin walked to the door.

“Rowan?” She caught his eye, “come here.”

He nodded and followed her into the hall, shutting the apartment door behind him.

“Rowan, I,” She paused, grabbing his hands and looking into his face with such genuine sadness it made his heart crack and made him want to pull her into his arms and not let go. She took a breath and continued, “I just want you to know, last night...I'll never forget it.”

He cleared his throat, willing the lump in it to disappear. “Neither will I.”

He cupped her cheek and she leaned into the touch. Aelin pulled him in for a hug, holding on tight. When she pulled away, Rowan used every ounce of strength to unwrap his arms from her body, to step away as she walked down the hall and away from him.

When Rowan walked back into the apartment, Lysandra sat next to him and asked, “So, you just let her go?”

Rowan couldn’t reply, he just replayed the last two days over in his head.

“Maybe that's for the best.” Fenrys chimed in, taking up the empty chair. “You know? You just... Look, you gotta... You gotta think about last night the way she does, okay? Maybe sleeping together was the perfect way to say goodbye?"

Lysandra groaned, “But now she'll never know how he feels!”

Aedion walked over and said not unkindly, “Maybe that's okay. You know? Maybe, maybe it’s better this way? I mean, now you can move on. I mean, you've been trying to for so long, maybe now that you're on different continents…”

They kept talking but all Rowan could hear was a buzzing in his head.

“I don’t want to move on.”

He said it quietly but they all stopped talking and looked at him.

“What?” Aedion asked, unsure he heard Rowan correctly.

“I don’t.” Rowan shook his head and stood up. “I want to be with her.”

“Really?” Fenrys asked, excitedly

“Of course really!” Lysandra answered for him.

Rowan kept nodding. “Yeah, I’m gonna go after her. I have to.”

“Yeah, you are!” Lorcan cheered from the living room. Rowan didn’t even have time to find his friend’s enthusiasm funny.

“Finally!” Elide added her own cheer, smiling between Rowan and the babies.

“Come on,” Lysandra urged, standing up and following Rowan to the door. “My car’s downstairs, I’ll drive you to the airport.”

“Okay!” Rowan faced his friends again, “wish me luck!”

A chorus of Good Lucks followed him out the door.

***

“Hey,” Fenrys called excitedly to Lorcan and Eide once Rowan and Lysandra had left, “can I give you guys your house-warming present now?”

The couple shared an amused look before Elide told him, “Now, that you can do.”

“Great! Hang on a minute.” Fenrys left their apartment to walk across the hall to his.

“Okay, my little feather babies where are you?” he muttered as he caught sight of the empty box he’d put them in earlier. “Oh shit.”

He hastily looked in the kitchen, living room, and bedrooms. “Chick Jr? Duck Jr?” he called, running a hand through his hair anxiously. “Don’t hide from mama!”

***

“Lysandra, slow down!” Rowan urged as they almost took out a bicyclist.

She rolled her eyes, “Do you wanna get to Aelin in time?

“Of course I do, but I want to be alive to do it.”

Lysandra huffed at his dramatics but eased up on the gas. Slightly.

Finally arriving at the airport, Rowan and Lysandra rushed past the hoards of people, trying to maneuver their way towards Aelin.

“Rowan!” Lysandra called as he made to run down the hallway. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Aelin.” Obviously.

“What?” She grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the ticket counter. “What, are you just gonna walk up to her at the gate? Have you never chased anyone through the airport before?”

“Not since the last time I chased the love of my life—no I haven’t Lys!”

She rolled her eyes as she kept dragging him away from the terminals. “You have to get a ticket to get past security, Idiot.”

Oh, right.

“Shit, we’re never gonna make it.” he hissed as they got caught behind the human embodiments of snails on their way to the counter.

***

“Miss, your boarding pass, please.” The gate attendant asked Aelin as she approached.

“Right, of course.” She dug through her purse then frowned, not seeing it. Flashing an apologetic smile to the people behind her, she took her purse off her shoulder and rummaged through it frantically. “Shit, shit, shit.”

The attendant cleared his throat. “Your boarding pass.”

Internally cringing, she put on her most charming smile. “You know, I had it,” she forced a chuckle, “Oh, you wouldn’t believe this—”

He looked unimpressed. “Miss, if you don't have your boarding pass—”

“I have it, I have it! Okay, I don’t have it, but I remember that I was in seat 32C,” she leaned in closer and winked, “because that’s my bra size.”

He sighed again. “Miss, you must have your boarding pass.”

Aelin huffed and stepped out of the line. “Okay, fine! But you know what? If I was in 36D, we would not be having this problem.”

Muttering to herself, Aelin scoured all her bags, finally brandishing the ticket and rushing back to the counter. “Here it is!”

***

Finally getting up to the ticket counter, Rowan slammed down his wallet, demanding, “I need a ticket.”

Lysandra pouted. “Just one? I drive you all the way down here, and I don't get to see how it works out?”

“Fine, fine,” he corrected irritatedly, “two tickets, I need two tickets.”

Lysandra sighed dramatically and leaned into Rowan, giving him her most overexaggerated doe-eyes. “We're on our honeymoon” she stage-whispered to the woman behind the computer.

The ticket agent merely raised a manicured brow and asked, “Destination?”

Rowan already had his credit card ready, “whatever’s cheapest.”

Lysandra sighed again, “I’m so lucky.”

Rowan leveled a glare at her and she tried not to laugh.

Once inside the terminal, Rowan sprinted toward the first departure timetable he could find. “Okay, flight 421 to Paris. I don't see it, do you see it?”

Lysandra stood next to him, eyes scanning the board. “No, did we miss it?”

“No, no, no. That's impossible,” Rowan told her. “It doesn't leave for another 20 minutes.”

“Maybe we have the flight number wrong? Hang on, let me call Elide.”

She stepped aside, impatiently waiting for Elide to pick up her phone.

“Hello?” the new mom answered.

“Hey! It’s me. Here’s Rowan.” Then she thrust the phone into Rowan’s hand.

“Elide, do you—”

“Oh, my gods, Rowan, wait until you hear the cute little noises the twins are making. Listen.”

“What? No, Elide.” Rowan cursed as he heard unintelligible baby sounds. “Elide, Elide, Elide, Elide—”

“Oh sorry,” she said, “They were doing it before.”

“Elide! Listen, please. I need Aelin’s flight information.”

“Oh, sure, hang on.” he could hear ruffling paper as he paced back and forth. “Here it is, it's flight 421. Leaves at 8:40.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, its not on the board.

“Flight 421,” Elide repeated, “leaves at 8:40, Newark airport.”

Rowan froze, his heart sinking. “What?”

“Newark airport.” Elide gasped. “Where are you?”

But she already knew the answer.

“JFK.” he breathed, utterly defeated.

***

If Rowan wasn’t so upset, he would be fearing for his life as Lysandra sped through the streets at breakneck speed.

“Lysandra, forget it, okay? Newark is like an hour away. There's no way we're gonna make it in time.”

“She’s got her phone,” Lysandra braved a glance at him, narrowly avoiding another car, "you could call her.”

Rowan scoffed, “I am not doing this over the phone.”

“You don’t have any other choice!” She insisted before reaching for her own phone and calling Aelin.

It rang once. Twice.

“Hello? Lys?” Aelin’s voice rings out from the speaker and it was like a tether Rowan desperately wanted to hold onto.

“Aelin?” Lysandra answered, relieved. “oh, good. Hey, by the way, did you just get on the plane?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Leaning over, Lysandra hissed, “For what it's worth, we would have caught her if we were at the right airport.”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Rowan sniped.

“Uh, Ae, hang on,” she tried pushing the phone into Rowan’s hand but he adamantly refused to do this without being able to look Aelin in the eye.

“Lys? Is everything okay?” Aelin asked, worriedly.

Glaring at Rowan, Lysandra struggled to find a reason for calling. “Uhm, actually no. No, you've...you have to get off the plane.”

“What? Why?” Aelin sounded bewildered.

“I just,” Lysandra sighed, shooting another glare at Rowan, “I have this feeling that something's wrong with it. Something is wrong with the, uh,” she paused again before snapping her fingers and declaring, “with the left phalange.”

“Lys, babe, I'm sure there's nothing wrong with the plane. Look, I have to go. I love you, and I will call you the minute I get to Paris.”

***

On the plane, Aelin hung up the phone only to feel the man beside her tap insistently on her shoulder.

“What was that?” he asked, looking anxious.

“Oh,” Aelin waved a hand dismissively, “that was just my friend. She told me I should get off the plane because she had a feeling that there was something wrong with the left phalange.” She chuckled, sure it was just Lysandra’s way of finding an excuse to talk to her again before the flight took off.

But the man started to fidget. “Okay, that doesn't sound good.”

“I wouldn't worry about it.” Aelin again waved him off, “She's always coming up with stuff like this, and you know what? She's almost never right.”

“But she is sometimes?”

“Well…” Aelin trailed off, thinking about all the things Lysandra has had an intuition about.

Her hesitation was apparently enough to send her seatmate into a tail-spin because he instantly got up and tried to grab his suitcase, only for the flight attendant to stop him.

“Excuse me, sir, where are you going?” The woman asked, curtly.

“I have to get off this plane, okay?” he insisted, then gestured towards a wide-eyed Aelin. “Her friend has a feeling something's wrong with the left phalange.”

He said it loud enough that other passengers began to panic, while Aelin sheepishly shrugged at the annoyed flight attendant.

“There is nothing wrong with the plane, sir.”

He finally got his bag down and cried, “The left phalange!”

The attendant looked incredulously between the man and Aelin, “There is no phalange.”

“Oh my God. This plane doesn't even have a phalange!”

Aelin watched, wincing, as more passengers overheard and insisted they, too, get off the plane. Person after person marched out the aisle and soon Aelin loosed a long breath, “This is ridiculous,” she watched another two people leave. “Yeah, okay.”

Grabbing her own bag, she followed the crowd off the plane.

***

Rowan doubted he’d ever felt as frantic or desperate as he did right now.

He and Lysandra finally made it to Newark, bought another ticket, and raced to Aelin’s gate.

“Where is she?” He muttered, almost pulling out his hair with how forcefully he raked his hands through it.

“I don't see her,” Lysandra answered.

“Aelin!” Rowan shouted, not caring about the stares he garnered. “Aelin Galthynius!”

“Oh!” Lysandra gasped, pointing towards a crowd, “There she is!”

“Aelin!” He yelled again, pushing past people as he tried to run onto the boarding gate.

“Woah,” the gate attendant stopped Rowan, “excuse me, sir, do you have a boarding pass?”

“I just need to talk to someone,” he pleaded.

“I’m sorry, you cannot go any further without a boarding pass.”

“Gods, please, I just need—”

“AELIN!” Lysandra shrieked, getting everyone’s attention including a specific blonde who rushed back out the gate and stood gaping at Lysandra and Rowan.

“Oh my gods,” she looked back and forth between the two before her gaze locked and held with Rowan’s as she breathed, “What—what are you guys doing here?”

“All you,” Lysandra nudged Rowan then made herself scarce

“What? What is it?” Aelin demanded, pulling Rowan aside, “Rowan, you're scaring me. What's going on?”

“Aelin,” Rowan didn’t know where to start. “Okay, the thing is,” he trailed off again. How could he tell that he loved her? How could he wrap up ten years—more than that—of falling in love with her, even at times when he didn’t know it. How could he explain that to her?

“Rowan?”

He took a deep breath. “Don’t go.”

“What?” Aelin asked, shocked.

“Aelin, please, don’t leave. I am so gods damn in love with you. Please, don’t go.”

Aelin stood open-mouthed, her eyes shimmering with an emotion he didn’t dare name. “Oh, my gods.”

He groaned, “I know, I know. I’m an idiot and a bastard, and any other name you want to call me. I shouldn't have waited until now to say it, Hellas, I shouldn’t have waited until now to realize it, but,” he shook his head, locking his gaze with hers. “That was stupid, okay? I'm sorry, I’m so sorry, but I'm telling you now. I love you. I’m in love with you. Please, do not get on this plane.”

“Miss?” a throat cleared behind them, making Aelin blink and drag her watery eyes away from his. “Are you boarding the plane?”

“Aelin,” Rowan took her hand, urging her to stay, “Aelin, please. I know you love me, too. I know you do. Don’t go. Stay.”

“I,” Aelin looked between Rowan and the gate attendant with shock and regret etched across her face. “I have to get the plane,” she whispered.

“No, you don’t.” Rowan held tightly to her hand.

“Yes, I do.” despite her protests, she didn’t pull her hand away.

“No,” Rowan stepped closer, cupping her cheek and reveling in the fact that she leaned into his touch. “You don’t.”

“Rowan,” her words barely louder than a breath, “They're waiting for me, I can't do this right now, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.”

He couldn’t understand what was happening. Rowan couldn’t accept that she was walking away.

“Aelin.” he pleaded, one final time.

She took a shuddering breath. “I’m so sorry.”

Rowan stood unmoving, felt his breathing freeze and his heart cease beating if just for a moment as he watched Aelin walk away from him and board the plane.

He wasn’t aware of people moving around him or of Lysandra coming to stand next to him before pulling him into a hug murmuring I’m sorry. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings as he walked towards Lysandra’s car or his walk back to his apartment. All he knew was that he’d just watched the love of his life walk away and there would soon be an ocean between them.

***

Lorcan sealed the last box of his and Elide’s things.

“Wow,” Elide sighed, looking around the bare apartment. “Everything’s packed.”

“It’s weird,” Lorcan replied, looking around the space he and their friends had occupied for so many years.

“I know.” She stood on her toes and he leaned down to meet her for a kiss.

“So, uh,” Fenrys spoke up from the kitchen, “does this mean there's nothing to eat?”

Elide snorted while Lorcam tried his best to reign in his smirk. Turning, Elide told him, “I put three lasagnas in your freezer.”

He beamed, “I love you!”

She chuckled as the door opened and Lysandra walked in.

“How’d it go?” Elide asked

“So did you guys make it in time?” Aedion spoke at the same time from his place against the fridge.

“Yeah,” Lysandra sighed, “Yeah, he talked to her, but she got on the plane anyway.”

“Where’s Rowan?” Lorcan asked her, knowing Rowan would be hiding away, brooding.

“He went home,” Lysandra frowned and leaned into Aedion’s embrace. “He didn't want to see anybody.”

***

Sitting on his couch, Rowan noticed his answering machine beeping. More out of muscle memory than an actual urge to listen, he pressed the button.

“Rowan, It’s me.”

Rowan jolted, a mess of emotion flying through him as he listened to Aelin's voice filter through his machine.

“I just got back on the plane. I feel awful. Gods, Rowan, that was so not how I wanted things to end with us.”

End. Rowan braced himself, he had to get through this message.

“It's just that I wasn't expecting to see you, and all of a sudden you're there and saying these things...and now I’m sitting here thinking of everything I should’ve said that I didn’t.”

Rowan heard her take a shuddering breath.

“I didn't even get to tell you that I love you too.”

His breath caught, and hope filled him for the first time since he’d been standing in front of her.

“Because of course, I do. I love you. I love you. Gods, Rowan, I love you.”

He held his breath, he almost couldn’t wrap his brain around what he was hearing, what he’d longed to hear.

“What am I doing? I love you! I need to get off this plane—”

“Oh my gods,” Rowan listened, wide-eyed as he heard Aelin argue with a flight attendant.

“Excuse me? I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, but I need to get off this plane, okay? I need to tell Rowan I love him.”

“Miss, can't let you off the plane.”

“Let her off the plane!” Rowan screamed at his machine.

“Oh, please, you don’t understand. Isn’t there any way you can just let me off—”

Beeeeep.

The message ended and Rowan was left sitting on the edge of his sofa staring disbelievingly at his answering machine.

“No!” He jumped up, carding a hand through his hair, “No! Aelin! Oh, my gods, did she get off the plane?”

“I got off the plane.”

Rowan whirled around so fast he thought his neck might snap. Aelin stood in his doorway, suitcase in hand, staring at him with a watery smile and eyes that blazed with surety.

“You got off the plane.” Rowan breathed and strode towards her, holding her face in his hands as she grabbed his arms, each clinging to the other, not able to let the other go.

Rowan wasn’t sure who moved first, but the next moment he was kissing Aelin, It was as if all the years of pining, love, heartbreak, and friendship, barreled through them and into a kiss full of promise. All the mistakes of the past, all the time wasted, was over. Now, they could finally be Rowan and Aelin. Finally.

When they pulled apart, still unable to let the other go, Aelin leaned her forehead against his and told him, “I do. I do love you.”

Rowan brushed a tear from her cheek and smiled down with all the warmth he could gather. “I love you too, Fireheart. And I’m never letting you go, again.”

“Good," She nodded, gripping him tighter, “because this is where I want to be, okay? With you. Always with you. No more messing around.”

“That’s right,” he agreed, “we’re done being stupid.”

Aelin kissed him again. “You and me, alright?” She looked him in the eye and saw everything she felt mirrored there. “To whatever end.”

“This is it. To whatever end” He echoed, pulling her in for another kiss.

***

The seven of them stood in the now-empty living room of Elide and Lorcan’s apartment. The new parents each held a baby, Fenrys sat with Lysandra and Aedion near the large window, and Aelin leaned into Rowan who had his arms wrapped around her as they stood to the side.

“Wow,” Aelin murmured, looking around the bare space.

“I know,” Rowan said into her hair, “It seems smaller somehow.”

Fenrys glanced at the walls a minute before asking, “Has it always been purple?” His answer consisted of several snorts.

Lorcan and Elide strapped Asterin and Cal into their stroller. Elide sniffed, facing everyone else, “Oh, uh, I promised the landlord we’d leave our keys.”

She said it to Lorcan, but each of them walked toward the counter to place their own keys. Elide laughed, looking at seven pairs of keys to a two-person apartment.

“I guess this is it,” Lysandra commented mournfully.

“Yeah,” Aedion wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “I guess so.”

At Elide’s sniffle, Lorcan pulled her into his arms. Through the fabric of his shirt, they could hear her say, “This is harder than I thought it would be.”

Gathering herself, Elide unwrapped her arms from Lorcan’s middle before turning to hug Aelin who’d come to stand next to her.

“Do you guys have to go to the new house right away?” Aelin asked, “Or do you have some time?”

“We have some time.”

“Okay,” Rowan grabbed Aelin’s hand, “should we get some coffee?”

“Sure,” Fenrys smirked. “Where?”

They all laughed as they walked out of the apartment that had become so important to each one of them. Aedion helped Lorcan carry the double stroller down the stairs, followed closely by Elide. Lysandra and Fenrys were bickering, but smiling as they walked. And Rowan and Aelin had their arms wrapped around each other, not daring or wanting to let the other one go. They shared a smile, and with one last glance at the closed apartment door, they left.

*****

Taglist:

@acourtofsnakes @allthebooksunderthemoon @astra-ad-mare @becarefuloflove @bisexual-genderfluid-loki @booklover41802 @charlizeed @cookiemonsterwholovesbooks @danibutterr @doubt-less @emily-gsh @enormousbooklover @foughtconquered @fromthelibraryofemilyj @hakunamatatazz @i-have-but-one-brain-cell @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato @jorjy-jo @lemonade-coolattas @mariamuses @mayhemories @midsizewitch @miserablesmusings @morganofthewildfire @nehemikkele @rowaelinismyotp @rowansfirebringer @sayosdreams @sheharahu @sleeping-and-books @stardelia @story-scribbler @superspiritfestival @surielandiareendgame @swankii-art-teacher @tomtenadia @westofmoon @whimsicallyreading @moodymelanist @angelic-voice-1997 @realbookloverproblems @gracie-rosee @julemmaes @yesdreamblog @the-regal-warrior @rowanaelinn @thestoriesyoutell @autumnbabylon @sunflowermoonshinewrites @maastrash

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aurora077 · 3 years ago

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The Value of Recognition - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Well shit

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13934252/1/The-Value-of-Recognition

“Wei-qianbei, are you okay?” asked Lan Sizhui. Healer Zhang had been quietly filling in Second in Command Pan about what they knew so far, but the juniors had been focused on their Senior Wei and the adorable child who they couldn’t believe was actually the irascible Sect Leader Jiang. As such, they noticed when the mood on that side of the table dropped.

One minute everything was fine and he was enjoying the food and the next, Wei Wuxian’s chicken had slipped out of his chopsticks, Jingyi style, and had (luckily) landed on his bowl of rice without him noticing a thing. He’d fallen silent and seemed to be far away. None of them knew why he was reacting this way to the toddler’s innocent words.

“Who’s A-Ying?” Ouyang Zizhen whispered to Lan Jingyi.

“Beats me…”

But he remembered something and it seemed to click. “Wait.. Do you think... that it’s Wei-qianbei?” Jingyi replied, thinking of all the Wei Yings Hanguang-Jun had said since his return.

“Young Master Jiang,” said Jin Ling, also concerned about Wei Wuxian’s reaction and as straightforward as his uncle he asked, “Who is A-Ying?”

“A-Ying is A-Ying,” he chirped, “Wei-shufu said A-Ying will be fwens with A-Cheng, like A-die and Wei-shufu. But he didn’t bwing A-Ying.”

Jin Ling seemed like he’d caught on. He looked between his xiao jiujiu and Wei Wuxian with a mix of pity and sorrow.

Wei Wuxian had noticed none of this. His head was filled with white noise. Wei Changze. When did Jiang Cheng meet Wei Changze? Jiang Cheng never mentioned meeting his parents. And he himself didn’t remember ever being to Lotus Pier before Jiang Fengmian found him (though granted he did have a shitty memory). Mini Jiang Cheng said his Wei-shufu promised to bring A-Ying to play with him. Was that… Did it never happen because his parents...didn’t make it back?? Was three year old Jiang Cheng’s memory of Wei Changze the last time he ever set foot in Lotus Pier? Grief held his heart like a vice at the thought.

Wei Wuxian did not remember how long he was on the streets. He vaguely remembered being around five in the only memory he has of them that remained clear. Him, getting a little too big to ride on his father’s shoulders, but his father humoring him anyway. His mother was laughing and happy, sitting on a donkey and looking at them fondly.

His years on the street blurred together. All he knew was that his parents were on a night hunt and when they were done they would come and get him. But he waited and waited and nobody came. Eventually the food they had left him had run out and he had gotten hungry and wandered away from their camp (and later, couldn’t find his way back). He’d had to fight other children, even adults, for little scraps of food and the best places to find shelter for the next few years. And of course, the worst thing to happen to him was those feral street dogs who would chase him and bite him, especially if he’d managed to scrounge up any little food from the stuff people threw out.

(“Senior Wei.”)

When Jiang Fengmian had found him and taken him home, he was amazed at the beauty and splendor of Lotus Pier. To a nine-year old who’d been on the streets for years, he had never seen such a sight. If he had been there before, he would have surely remembered it! He could only conclude that he hadn’t gotten the chance to visit Lotus Pier. He didn’t recognise Jiang Cheng when he met him as a child and Jiang Fengmian had only said that this would be his home now. He hadn’t asked him if he remembered him or Lotus Pier.

Wei Wuxian hadn’t gone with Jiang Fengmian because he knew him, he had gone because the man said he knew his parents and had offered him food and shelter. By then, he was old enough to know that his parents were never coming back.

My god, his parents. When was the last time he thought about his parents? He’d told Jiang Cheng to leave the past in the past. The bitterness and the pain. He’d wanted them both to move forward and live happily. But now he was staring the past in the face, forced to confront things he had buried. Things he hadn’t even known he’d buried.

(“Master Wei?” “What’s going on with him?”)

Jiang Fengmian had rarely actually talked to him about his parents aside from the time he’d found him and told him they were his friends. He’d doted on him and treated him like he was his own son (unlike his actual son who’d gotten treated coldly many times, causing an argument between Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan every time without fail…).

It made Wei Wuxian feel terrible. He was happy that Uncle Jiang liked him and treated him well, but it felt really horrible to be the reason why Jiang Cheng’s face fell every time Wei Ying was praised and he wasn’t. He’d loved his grumpy shidi and causing him pain was the last thing he’d ever wanted to do. (Though he’d managed to do it time and time again.) But he’d meant it that day when he’d told Jiang Cheng that he didn’t want people assigning him to other households. His parents had been real people in this world. It was funny that now, it was Jiang Cheng who had to remind him of that, albeit unknowingly.

When was the last time he’d thought about his parents?

He choked back a sob.

(“Wei Wuxian!” “What is happening right now, is he okay?”)

How did he never know that he looked like his father? Who was left alive that knew his parents? Lan Qiren? (A man who disliked his mother... and hated him.)

Who was left to talk about them and honor their memory? Wei Wuxian had been so young and his memory was poor. He hardly remembered them at all. Why did nobody ever tell him he looked so much like his dad that a toddler, who surely couldn’t have interacted that much with the man, could recognise him in Wei Wuxian’s face to the point he’d thought it was him?

(“Senior Wei, can you hear me?”)

Wei Wuxian, in his obliviousness, had not even realised that was the case. Because he hadn’t known. Oh he’d heard about his mother. How she came down from Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, how she’d been so much like him. How Jiang Fengmian had loved her but she chose his father anyway. Just like Cangse Sanren, is what people said about him, once upon a time that is. Rarely anyone mentioned his father. And now, nobody mentioned them at all. Because nobody (save the uptight Lan Qiren) could even remember them. They were like footnotes in the grand scheme of his life.

His parents were footnotes in his life. He hadn’t intended to do it, but it seemed like they were part of the past he’d left behind when he told his shidi to leave it there.

He felt like weeping.

And indeed he must be, because the sound of it reached his ears. He reached a hand up to wipe his tears but.. his face was dry?

He felt a tug on his sleeve.

“Wei-shufu, A-Cheng is sorry.”

His vision cleared. Oh. He was surrounded by worried faces and a now teary-eyed baby, whose cries were a lot more silent than before but also a lot more sorrowful now.

“Wei-shufu don’t leave A-Cheng. A-Cheng will be good,” he cried, “Pwease don’t tell A-die A-Cheng was bad. A-Cheng won’t ask for A-Ying.”

Tears silently slid down the toddler’s face, and that was the impetus for his to fall too. He picked up the toddler and cuddled him, hiding his own teary face from the others in the child’s hair.

“Who said A-Cheng was bad? Was it the scary geges?” (“Hey!” protested Lan Jingyi.)

He stroked the child’s head consolingly, trying to control his own sorrow. He didn’t know what expression he had on his face when being struck with the past, but he hadn’t meant for the child to think he was to blame.

“A-Cheng didn’t do anything wrong. Wei-shufu was just missing his family.”

(Lan Sizhui gasped. It seemed like he too realised what was going on. He shared a look with Jin Ling. Wen Ning too had realised what was happening, and if a corpse could have cried, he would be sobbing on his friend’s behalf.)

“W..wei-shufu c..can *hic* bwing them to ‘otus Pier too,” said Xiao Cheng, sniffling.

Oh that precious little thing. “Maybe next time,” he deflected, “This time your Uncle Wei is here for you.”

He patted the child’s back. “Don’t cry now, come on, let’s finish your breakfast okay?” A-Cheng nodded. But he was quiet and let Wei Wuxian feed him the rest of his meal. Everyone else was subdued as well, each thinking that those two people never seemed to be able to escape an encounter with each other unscathed.

------

With the awkward breakfast over, Wei Wuxian had pushed his emotions aside; he’d reflect on those another time. Right now it was time to get down to business.

“Second in Command Pan, can I call you Senior Pan? That’s a bit of a mouthful isn’t it?” he quipped.

Pan An huffed but acquiesced.

“Okay so Senior Pan, Healer Zhang has briefed you already on what we know. With your sect leader currently… indisposed… Lotus Pier of course will be your responsibility and I beg your leave to help and to use the library etc as needed. It falls to you to grant us permission to stay but if we have it I promise I’m going to do everything in my power to make this right. A-Ling has a sect to run as well so the both of you can’t do everything alone. It’s going to be difficult enough to contain the news of what happened. People talk and lots of people would have seen Wen Ning bringing him in last night. The Lans have a song called Inquiry which I’m sure you’ve heard of. Lan Sizhui is proficient enough and I thought we could start our investigation by communicating with the spirit to find out what exactly it cast.”

“I admit Master Wei, I’m not pleased to have to accept your help for this. But yes you have my permission to do what it takes to break this curse, even though Sect Leader might break my legs when he... comes back,” said long suffering second in command Pan. “Why would A-Die bweak gege’s legs?” asked A-Cheng innocently. Crap.

“Uh your A-Die isn’t going to break anyone’s legs, A-Cheng,” Wei Wuxian laughed sheepishly. “Gege was just joking,” said a panicked Pan An.

Healer Zhang facepalmed. “Young Master Jiang, may I make a suggestion?” she said earnestly, seemingly invested in going along with the idea that he was in charge while his father was away. She had not, however, forgotten for a moment that this child was in fact her sect leader. He was responsible to a tee and would take Wei Wuxian’s words about being in charge to heart, even as a toddler. But he was also a child at the moment and there are some things you just don’t discuss in front of a child. Especially when it was about him. He would hear his name come up and wonder what he had done and how would they explain things to him then?

He hesitated but nodded.

“Why don’t you and your Flower-gege go with Flower-gege’s friends to do a patrol of the sect? Your Uncle Wei, Sizhui-ge, and Second-In-Command Pan have some boring adult things to talk about.”

Mini Jiang Cheng looked up at his Flower-gege who smiled encouragingly. “Okay,” he said softly, wanting to do his best while his family were away. He already messed up and made Wei-shufu sad. Maybe A-Die would give him a hug if he did a good job and didn’t cause any more trouble..

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nadisabug · 4 years ago

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Zuko’s Story

Summary: Y/n is a fan of tea, but she's an even bigger fan of the cute boy who sells it at the Jasmine Dragon. Prompts: 1. “I think I’m falling in love with you, and it scares me.” 4. “I’ve always been in love with you, since the beginning.” 11. “You look beautiful.” 23. "I really like having you around." Fandom: ATLA Pairing: Zuko x reader Warnings: none A/N: This is for @fromthewatertribe‘s 1k event! This was an idea I had before but saw your prompts and knew it would fit perfectly!

I slowly sipped on my tea, eyeing the cute server. I had been gawking at him for who knows how long, but I knew he wouldn't notice. He never noticed.

I knew his name was Lee by hearing it around the shop. I had been coming every single day for the past three weeks during my little brother Cam's bending lessons. I wasn't a bender, but he was, and I was determined for him to learn. Ever since our father had been taken away for bending when the fire nation raided our village, I knew he had to learn. I ran away with him the day I learned he could bend, refusing to let them take him too. As a result, we ended up as refugees in the last safe place there was, Ba Sing Se. And, even though money was so unbearably tight, I insisted that he go to regular lessons to learn how to bend. I was not going to let his talent be wasted.

"Would you like more tea?" I was startled out of my thoughts my a low voice beside me. I looked up quickly and had to fight back a blush. Of course it was Lee.

"No thanks, handsome," I blatantly flirted with him like usual and pressed a coin into his palm. He blinked a couple times before closing his hand around the coin. I got up and left him at the table, exiting the shop. It was about time I picked up Cam anyways.

I began to walk in the general direction of Cam's lessons. I didn't make it far, though. After a few minutes of walking, I was roughly pulled into an alley. I tried to scream, but a hand muffled my attempts. I twisted and thrashed, but my assailant had caught me well off guard so there was not much I could do to free myself. So, I stopped trying to free myself. I decided to wait until I saw an opening and take it. I had a whole plan in motion but it was shattered when I saw who had grabbed me.

"Lee?" I mumbled through his hand. I scrunched my eyebrows together and relaxed in his hold. It was only then that I processed how close we were. He had my wrists clasped behind my back, the rest of his arm pressing his body to mine. He was half a head taller then me, so he was looming over me.

"How to you know my name?" He rasped angrily. He lowered his hand from my mouth, which I appreciated, but when he brought it back he was holding a knife. I guess I preferred being muffled. He held the blade to my throat as a threat.

Well, I guess he finally noticed my staring.

"I heard it around the shop," I answered truthfully. To be honest, I was scared out of my mind. But, I was also a little bit turned on. This guy was really hot and the tough guy act sure wasn't helping my heartbeat. He was a lot cuter up close, I thought, then cursed at myself. That's what I was thinking about when I had a knife to my throat? However, for some reason, I didn't feel like he would hurt me. Be it the result of my crush or intuition, I just couldn't bring myself to be scared.

"Why do you stare at me all the time? What do you know? Do you know who I am?" He paused for a millisecond. "Answer me!" He shouted.

I opened and closed my mouth, I was sure I looked like a koi. "I, uh, don't know how to answer that," I replied carefully. "But I have no idea who you are or anything else pertaining to you for that matter."

"Then why are you always in the shop? And why do you always stare at me?" He asked the same question again and I knew I would have to give him a response. He wasn't going to let this one go.

"I like tea?" I said meekly. He gave me a hard stare in response. I sighed in defeat and slumped a little bit. I broke eye contact and looked off to the side to make sure no one was coming. It would be hard for Lee to explain his way out of that one. "Can you let me go at least?" I finally sighed. "I am not going to hurt you, you are the one with the knife."

Lee frowned but nodded and let me go. I shook out my arms, slightly numb from the awkward angle, and sighed in relief.

"Now tell me," Lee began, raising his knife to my throat again. "What business do you have with me?"

I rolled my eyes and pushed the knife away, no longer really scared. If Lee was a bad guy, he never would have let me go. "None? Listen if you want the truth, here it is. I think you're cute so I like going to the shop and watching you work. Nothing malicious."

"Oh," he said softly, lowering his knife.

"I am really sorry for staring at you all the time, I'll stop coming if that's what you want-well of course it's what you want of course you don't want some freak staring-"

"No." Thankfully, Lee cut off my rambling. "I, uh, well... I don't mind, well it's not that I don't mind but I really like having you around the shop."

"Oh," I breathed, a flush rising to my cheeks.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly and looked away. He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and quickly added, "You bring the tea shop a lot of business!"

"Oh," I said again, this time less excited. "Yeah I guess so," I muttered dejectedly.

"Well that's not it," Lee quickly followed up. "I mean I like your presence in the tea shop, you're really nice and tip well and ugh that's not what I mean I am just going to stop talking."

"I think that would be for the best," I chuckled. Then I looked at him again. He was so unbearably cute and I was sure I would never get another opportunity like this again, so I decided to go for it. "Look, I think you're really cute. Want to go out sometime?"

"Uh, I just held a knife to your throat," he responded dumbly. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, now. Date?"

"He would love to!" A voice shouted from the opening of the alley. The old man who ran the tea shop, Iroh, walked towards us.

"Uncle!" Lee called indignantly. "Why are you here?"

"I was worried when you left so abruptly and good thing I came because you almost would have messed up this date with this lovely girl," Iroh shot me a wink.

"How long were you there?" Lee asked, a flush of embarrassment rising to his cheeks.

"Long enough," he quickly responded. "How about tonight at sundown in front of the shop," Iroh asked me.

"Sure," I nodded. "He's gotta make up for this whole endeavor somehow," I smirked and shot Lee a look. With that, I waved goodbye to the two guys and headed off to pick up Cam. This wasn't such a bad day afterall.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Okay Cam, I want you right in bed at sundown, you hear me? No waiting up for me."

"Why, you planning to be out late with your boyfriend?" Cam shot back all too happily.

"No, because you have your lesson at sunrise," I said quickly, making sure I had everything I needed. Would Lee pay? I wasn't sure but I brought my purse just in case. "I worked hard to get us to the middle ring so that you could have a proper teacher and I will not have you being late!"

I felt Cam roll his eyes and sigh at me. "Yes, mom," he groaned. "At least tell me his name."

I turned to Cam, pursing my lips. I had tried to keep this whole date a secret from him, but having a nosy 12 year old in the house wasn't conducive to secrets. He had found out shortly after I picked him up, asking why I was late and accusing me of being out with a boy. When I flushed and stammered in response, he jumped on the opportunity. That was his go to accusation, it just so happened that this time he was right. Not in the way he thought, of course, but partially I suppose. I mean I did ask Lee out on a date.

I thought for a moment, then figured Cam would find out at some point who it was, especially if we went on more dates. I tried not to get my hopes up at the thought.

"It's Lee."

Cam gasped dramatically. "From the tea shop?"

"Yes from the tea shop," I huffed and spun on my heel. I walked over to a mirror hanging on the wall and checked my makeup one more time. I needed to leave soon if I was going to make it on time.

"To imagine, a love blooming from malicious stalkering-"

"I keep thinking you cannot get more stupid and then you prove me wrong every single time," I sighed.

Cam gasped dramatically again. "Wounded, by my own sister!" He cried. "Besides, am I wrong that you stalk him? I bet what happened was he confronted you about your stalker-ering and you were all like 'I've always been in love with you, since the beginning of time-'"

"Oh hush." I turned towards the door so that he couldn't see my blush. I mean, he wasn't that wrong. Lee did confront me about the stalk- watching of him, and I did confess in a way. "I am leaving now. When will you be in bed?"

"By sundown," Cam responded in a high pitched voice, obviously mocking me.

"Okay, bye. Be good," I said as a final goodbye and left.

My walk to the Jasmine Dragon was uneventful at best. Once I got there, I saw Lee outside. He was wearing a nice suit, his hair parted in the middle and slicked to each side. I whistled as I approached.

"Nice 'do, hot stuff," I grinned. He turned to face me, and unless I was mistaken, a blush rose to his cheeks.

"You look beautiful," he blurted, then flushed a bright red that I knew I wasn't imagining.

I was caught off guard by his blatant confession, and I felt a heat creep up my neck. "Uh, thank you. You don't look to bad yourself, though I do think I like your hair all messy better."

"Oh." Zuko reached up and ruffled it, messing it all up. "Like that," he smiled.

"Like that."

"It took my uncle ten minutes to do my hair," he commented.

"Well it took you a few seconds to mess it up, now come on, let's go. I know a great restaurant that's super cheap but super good," I said and grabbed his hand, tugging him after me.

Eating was awkward if anything. Lee wasn't the biggest conversationalist, not wanting to talk about anything about himself, and the food was mediocre at best. It was cheap, though.

"Let's split the bill," I said when we were done eating. Lee opened his mouth to argue, but I stopped him. "I picked the place so it is partially my fault the food was so bad."

"I didn't know you were in the kitchen," Lee smirked.

"You don't know a lot of things about me," I grinned cheekily. At that, Lee's face darkened. He was hiding something big, I knew it. It was probably something about his past, seeing as he was so guarded about it.

"Come on," I said, breaking the tense silence. "Let's get out of here."

The waiter arrived and we paid our check. Luckily, they gave us two cups of tea to go. I took mine and Lee took his and we were on our way.

"Ugh," I groaned, sipping my tea. "This is disgusting, its so cold."

"Here," Lee reached out and took it from me. He held onto it for a second then handed it back. Miraculously, it was hot when he handed it back.

"What the..." Then it hit me. The only way he could have done that was if he was a firebender. I looked up at him in surprise, ready to make a run for it, but then I took another look at him. It wasn't like a Earth bender gave him that scar, and he was here for a reason, probably to start over. That's why he was so defensive about who he was when he questioned me earlier today. So I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He hadn't hurt me yet, and he didn't hurt me when we thought we were alone in that alley, so I doubted that he'd hurt me now.

"Thanks," I finally decided on with a smile. I let him walk me back to my place, knowing Cam was probably still awake. When we reached my door, I turned to him. "Thank you for taking me out."

"Thank you for uh, not getting mad I held a knife to your throat," he replied, shyly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, I don't know if I'm still over that," I said with a small smirk. "I might need another date to see if I forgive you."

Lee's eyes darkened. "I don't know if I can do this-"

"Oh come on," I sighed. "I liked spending time with you, I hope you liked spending time with me. It's not like we're going to get married, just hang out a bit more. Come on, one more date and that's it."

Lee sighed. "One more date. And that's it."

"And that's it." I agreed with finality.

After that, we started going out on dates every few days. We went to festivals together, tried out new restaurants, and even went out on picnics. It was on one of those picnics that I finally decided to confess to him. We were up on a hill under the shade of a great tree, looking out over the sprawling city. We had lapsed into silence.

"I need to tell you something-" We both said at the same time. We both flushed and turned away.

"You first," I said.

"No you." I stayed silent, staring at Lee expectantly until he sighed and caved. "Fine. I think... Well look. There's still so much you don't know about me. I've done some pretty horrible things in my past."

"I think people can change," I asserted.

Lee shook his head. "Terrible, horrible things. Things no one should ever dream of doing. But I did them. I thought that I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could restore it to me... but now... now I am not so sure." He turned to me and grabbed my hands. "Ever since I met you I've felt like I was an impostor, a fake pretending to be someone I wasn't. Now I think this is me." He sighed and closed his eyes. "What I'm trying to say it that I think I'm falling in love with you and it scares me."

I leaned up and moved to kiss him, but he pulled away. "Why?" I said, hurt in my voice.

Lee grasped both of my cheeks and pulled our foreheads together. "Listen, I have to do something before we can be together. I need to make up for my mistakes. I got a message last night inviting my uncle and I to serve tea to the King. I think it's a trap. The Avatar is in the city which means my sister is not far behind."

"Your sister... Who are you?" My voice was barely over a whisper, I was surprised it didn't get lost in the wind.

"I am Zuko, Crown Prince of the Fire Nation."

I paused, my head reeling. I knew he was a firebender but the prince? The prince of the Fire Nation? It was a lot to take in. Luckily he gave me my time and waited patiently for my next question. "And you think its a trap but you're still going to go?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Yes. I need to stop running away from my destiny. You helped me realize that I'm not bad, I can be good."

"What is your destiny?" I asked breathlessly.

"To teach the Avatar firebending."

I pulled my head away from his so that I could get a good look at him. "Then go. And don't you dare not think about coming back for me."

"I will." Lee- no, Zuko looked like he was hesitating, then he pulled me into ferocious kiss, stealing my breath away from me. When we separated, we placed our foreheads together, gasping for air, our breaths intermingling.

"You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that," I gasped, but smiled.

"I feel the same," Zuko smiled too. "Now come on, let's go."

With that, he walked me home and then walked right out of my life, leaving me to wonder if I would ever see him again.

#Ahhh sorry this was getting so long #i might make a reunion part if you guys like it #but anyways #I loved writing this and thank you to nina for hosting this event!#and congrats on 1k!#ninas 1k event #fromthewatertribe #zuko x reader #atla x reader #zuko imagine #prince zuko #atla imagine #atla #avatar: tla #ps i may be writing another shhhh dont tell nina lol

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grimbeak · 4 years ago

Text

How Pirate Jay Au Jay deal with the rest of the seasons

DotD:

*I haven’t watched this ep in 4+ years so Im just gonna focus on the bruise at the end

*Very happy that his bf is no longer a ghost! Now he can give surprise hugs without faceplanting on the floor! (Kai comments that they’re ‘going to be even worse now’)

*Oh yeah and he’s happy to see Morro bc that happens ig

S7:

*Spends most of it having literally no idea what’s going on

*Acronix tries to manipulate him ab his mom and Jay’s like ‘bitch stfu’ so it doesn’t rly work out

*He honestly doesn’t care ab the fact that Wu’s dying all that much bc he’s only known him for a few months (and he’s still a bit upset about the whole ‘banishing my mom instead of trying to talk to her’ thing)

*He doesn’t have Ed n Edna to worry ab so he just fucks around a bit before going ‘fuck it’ and grabbing the timeblade before anyone else can get to it

*he didn’t have a vehicle he just ran

*pirate coat flowing in the wind

*Anyway Kai eventually rants to him ab his parents being supposedly evil and jay’s like ‘oh no,,,, how awful that must be for you,,, can’t relate,,,, at all,,,’ which earns him a smack on the head

*Ray and Maya see this new lightning master and are like ‘um is no one else concerned about this’

S8:

*Jay searched for Wu for a year (despite not givin a fuck lmao) purely to spend a year with his boyf. That was the only reason.

*He is freak tF out by Lloyd’s voice change:

‘WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM’

‘he’s fine it’s just puberty- you literally went through this jay’

‘NORMAL HUMAN FUNCTIONS DON’T WORK PROPERLY IN THE CURSED REALM MY VOICE NEVER CHANGED BITCH’

‘is that why you’re still so short’

‘FUCK OFF I NEED TO EAT MORE APPARENLY’

*Harumi is just unimpressed with him her description of him is smthn like ‘the pirate ninja who has no self control’

*He instantly knows she’s the traitor but no one really listens to him

*He laughs at them when they figure out he was right

*Jay gets a very quick rundown of what happened with Garmadon and is no longer laughing

*uhhh canon events happen ig

S9:

*Yeah pretty much canon events as well except for the fact that Jay is freaKING OUT about the fact that there are DRAGONS

‘jay we can make magical dragons’

‘YEAH BUT THEY’RE MADE OF ENERGY AND OUR OWN EMOTIONS THESE ONES ARE NOT’

*He still loses it for a bit but instead of him just giving up completely it’s more like he’s drunk

S10:

*No proposin yet because they’re literal children and also shits goin DOWN

*goin down like cole

*sorry

*They have to physically restrain Jay from jumping down after Cole when he falls

*when kai re-makes the golden weapons jay’s kinda like ‘ohhh so that’s what the nunchucks looked like b4 you guys melted them cool cool’

*Cole’s back!! Jay’s happy!! Everyone wins!!

*no one wins bcuz Lloyd’s dead. When he comes back Jay offers him an invite to the club of ‘we died but not anymore’. Zane and Jay were previously the only members.

S11:

*uhhh what happens in this season again

*nothing important so lets move on

S12:

(Pre-season 12, Jay gets an odd feeling, and finds Clutch Powers just about to open the teapot of tyrahn. He smacks him and goes ‘no’ before kicking it into the ocean. Ninjago city is safe once more.)

*Nothing really changes except for the fact that he actually calls the cult that he made a cult and they only cause anarchy

*Cole just points to where the crowds are running from and is like ‘jay’s over there’

*Also Jay has literally no idea what’s going on in this video game world bcuz like everything is just weird and he hasn’t really had time for games with all the heroing going on

*Bruise happens n they dance

*Jay is horrible at dancing but they do it anyway

*Canon stuff (except Nya dies in the car with Kai for bruise reasons)

*Cole sacrificing himself at the end fuckin hurts bcuz last time Jay died in Cole’s arms,,, now it’s the opposite (sorta lmao)

*At the confrontation with Unagami, Jay’s just like “look dude the people who were supposed to protect me threw my mom who was pregnant with me into the cursed realm without even giving me a chance to live, so let’s just both agree that our families suck and move on” and Unagami’s like “Sure that makes sense”

*They bond over having no idea what anything is at any time

S13:

*Jay is so proud of his boyfriend getting a season

*Jay please stop breaking the fourth wall I’m trying to write

*Vania tries to flirt with Cole, Jay responds by fuckin making out with him in front of everyone

*y e a h

*the queen tries to marry him and jay’s like ‘uh i have a bf’ and she’s like ‘not anymore’ and nya’s like ‘im his lesbian sister let me fight you for him’ and the queen’s like ‘do you wanna get married instead’ and nya’s like ‘uh no i have a gf too’ and the queen is like ‘well i can’t marry the green one he’s a minor’ and lloyd’s just so confused

*Cole does his Thing with his new 3 poly uncles

*Uh stuff happens

*Bruise

*No one’s really sure who the queen ended up marrying but they’re never going back there just in case

The Island:

*Jay likes his flower crown. He wears on the brim of his pirate hat.

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lemurious · 4 years ago

Text

Like starlight turned to flame

for @alkarinqque for @officialtolkiensecretsanta

Happy holidays and thank you so much for a wonderful prompt! Hope you enjoy what it turned to! <3

cw: death

They stand before Eönwë, huddled in cloaks that offer little protection against the rain pelting their bodies, and their hands seek each other.

Elrond can barely focus on the question and does not understand why Eönwë even considers their kindred to be a choice, when to him it has only ever been family. How could he think of himself as anyone other than an Elf, Noldor and Sindar mixed, as his grey eyes and black hair can attest, and secretly, while berating himself for excessive pride, he likes to tell himself that he got the better parts of both. The boundless curiosity and the compassion. The courage and the protectiveness. Everything he and his brother have managed to scrounge up from their two sets of parents lost to the iron law of the Valar, whose emissary is now looking down at them, waiting for their response.

Elrond tears his gaze from the figure in shining mail, seemingly immune to the downpour, back towards the disorienting sight of a sunken shore, their homes now lying under the wave. He wonders if their grief will ever fade. This year, it has kept returning like a tide, swallowing him in the heavy silence of their childhood being gone, forcing him to pace the hallway of their ramshackle house until he would give in and knock on Elros’s door, curl up in a chair next to his brother to watch the flames dance in their fireplace through the long winter night. Together.

At least they have each other, he thinks, for the last fleeting moment before Elros squeezes his fingers hard enough to hurt. Before Elros looks at the Herald of the Valar and says in a voice loud and firm: “I choose to belong to the kindred of Men, my lord.”

---

Idril has dragged her husband through the crumbling tunnels and foaming waves, from the only home they have ever known turned to ash and ruin, through the doom that has been hanging over her head since she was too young to remember, through the wrath of all the Seas encircling Valinor, and she will be damned if she has to lose him to something as simple as death.

She stands tall and straight, a circlet of diamonds on her head, the steel of her feet shining like silver, Curufin’s best work, her eyes ablaze with the light of the Trees that could never be quenched, not even by the darkness of Helcaraxë.

Idril Silverfoot, who has walked through ice and looked death in the face and then dared to be happily married anyway, stares right into the face of Mandos and demands that Tuor be allowed to join her as one of the Eldar.

After all, even the Valar have admitted that Tuor has brought hope to Arda, ignoring her part as usual, though now she is glad about it, because it helps her make her case to keep Tuor with her, immortal as he secretly believes himself to be anyway, having been raised among the Elves.

“Your plea has been accepted,” says Mandos, “but the balance shall be retained. One born from you will have to leave the Elvenkind and become a mortal Man instead.”

She attempts to argue some more, but Mandos is implacable, and in any case she cannot think far beyond the joy of having rescued her husband from what they both consider to be the Doom of Men – what cruel foolishness would it be to call it a Gift?

She already knows that they will not take her son, who has been cursed to ride the skies with a Silmaril in the front of his ship, a mortal body could never survive the slow, quiet destruction wrought by the fire imprisoned within the jewel.

Idril’s grandsons are all but lost to her, she has never met them, even their own mother barely knew them and could tell her little about them when questioned.

Idril has always been a survivor and she knows that it inevitably means making the kind of choices that could pull her apart if she is not careful enough. She only hopes that whoever will be born of her blood and destined for mortality will be strong enough to make their life a happy one in spite of all their losses.

---

Before the bleakness of the aftermath, there was the terror of the War, and just before that, a moment of respite, a time to set aside the fears, and learn to fight, and sing, and gather mussels on the shore.

A moment to hold the hands of the two Elves who have turned from captors into fathers in record time, to call their names to ward against the nightmares. A moment to feel like children again, like the sons of someone still within their reach.

Elros swears to treasure every one of these moments after the evening when, during one of his solitary strolls along the beach, a figure rises from the waves and introduces himself as Ulmo, the Lord of Waters.

Elros shivers in fear, frozen on the spot and unable to move even if the alternative is drowning. But Ulmo does not threaten to drown him, instead, he looks on as if with a great sorrow, and tells of yet another doom that the Valar have now hung above their heads.

“You will be asked to choose,” he says. “And if neither of you accepts the Doom of Men, Lord Mandos will choose for you.”

Elros has never considered himself of any kindred but Elven, but he knows that neither has Elrond, and more, that Elrond, if given a choice, would spend his entire life learning the Elven lore by night, healing the wounds left by the long sequence of wars by day.

Meanwhile Elros has to admit to himself that he does not have any passion save the vague but persistent wish to one day become a great lord and rule a kingdom, a prospect so dim, given his circumstances, that he keeps scolding himself for naivety.

He could become a Man, he thinks, but he feels so young when confronted by the enormity of the decision. So childlike. He just does not want to, which reminds him of his tears when he clutched his mother and watched her kiss him and his brother and walk away. The only clear memory he has of her.

He is too scared to accept this doom for himself. Could he do it for his brother?

---

“You have been deep in thought all day, and they do not seem to be pleasant thoughts,” says Maglor to Elros, who keeps lingering in the kitchen after dinner, long after Elrond ran off back to the library as always, and Maedhros went outside to try to repair the roof that has just started leaking again. “Would you care to share them with me?”

Elros shakes his head. He tells himself that he should not add to his father’s worries, though deep inside he is terrified that Maglor would make him choose. Or that Elrond would find out, and would then insist of taking the curse upon himself instead, and he would never, ever be able to forgive himself for dragging his brother into it. Yet he feels that if he had to face all of it alone he would crumble, and then the truth would come out anyway, with all its terrible consequences.

“Atya, have you ever regretted something you have not done? Especially, something that – that could have helped one of your brothers, though he would have never found out?”

Maglor looks shocked. He turns away and visibly struggles to compose his face before answering. “Too many times, kid. I should have… told my brothers not to follow our father. Should have stopped them at the gates of Doriath… Should have… should have stood in the place of the one my brother loved the most, on that muddy battlefield, for maybe then he would have lived and my brother would still be happy and carefree. Should have kept all my brothers from pursuing the Silmarils at any cost.”

“But you could have been killed!”

“I would not seek death, but it is not always a wrong choice to risk your own life to protect those you love.”

Elros suddenly lunges at Maglor, wrapping his arms around his waist, and hugs him tight.

“Thank you, Atya,” he sniffles. “Could you sing me a lullaby tonight, as I fall asleep?”

“Tonight and any other night, for as long as you wish,” Maglor replies, a little confused and worried about what has just happened. Well, it is a miracle those kids have managed to be as cheerful as they are, most of the time, given what they already had to live through.

---

Elrond lets go of Elros’s arm in disbelief. That is what Elros chooses to do? Has he ever really known his brother? And does it mean - does it mean that after such a brief lifespan of Men they will never again -- he turns to look at Elros, to yell at him, call him a traitor.

He sees that Elros has gone deadly quiet, teeth clenched, staring straight ahead, but Elrond knows his brother and can tell that he is shaking in fear.

Elrond’s anger evaporates in an instant, as he pulls Elros into a massive hug and whispers in his ear: “It will be alright. I understand. It may not be my choice, but you will always be my brother.” He feels Elros relax with every word.

---

Mandos is kind. He gives Elros many times the lifespan of Men and lets him build a home halfway between his mother and his brother, though he misses his fathers the most, all of them, and all of them are lost – in the fire, in the sky, on the shores. Like the Silmarils.

Elros raises children of his own, and tells them that their siblings will be the strongest bond they will ever have, so they would better cherish it. They listen, these kids with dark grey eyes, too large in their faces, too solemn for their age. They had to grow up quickly, as befits the children of Men and the heirs of the High King.

Uncle Elrond visits every year and tells them stories, and teaches them the arts of healing, and stands with Elros on the tallest tower watching the stars fade into the West, awaiting one of them, forbidden for the other.

They whisper their memories to be kept for as long as one of them lives, and swear an oath to find each other, and all their parents, again, however long it took them and even if it meant going beyond the circles of Arda.

---

When time comes for him to leave, Elros does not even feel cheated, just ready. His children have long grown up, he has become a grandfather and a great-grandfather so many times he finds it difficult to remember all the names.

He calls for Elrond, who has been at his side for days, and suddenly there is a shadow on the other side of his bed, and a familiar voice begins a lullaby Elros remembers from his childhood. “Thank you, Atya,” he murmurs as the colors begin to fade.

In the end, he did not even have to lie, Elros thinks. It was his choice, perhaps for a different reason than Elrond might have guessed, but it was, truly, his, and it brought him the kingdom he did not dare to dream of, and the family he could have never imagined, loved even fiercer because of their mortality, like a flame that has its own beauty compared to the starlight.

He would make his choice a thousand times over, Elros admits to himself as the walls fade into the mist, and he feels more than hears the voice of Mandos rumbling in his ears, assuring him with the sadness of one who is forced to deal in law, and not in love, that he will grant the brothers their own oath in recompense for the ones he has bestowed upon them, that it will not be their final farewell.

#tss2020 #lemur writes #my fic #elrond #elros #idril #mandos #cw: death #maglor #a bit of kidnap dads

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emmy-writes-sometimes · 5 years ago

Text

According to Him

You’re Chris Evans’s daughter, and you have a hard time finding friends who want you for you instead of who your father is.

“Some of you,” your teacher started as she began handing out exam packets from the other day. “Did fabulously. Others…” You were the third seat in the first row, and the third person to get a test plopped down on your desk. 67. Your dad was going to be pissed at you.

“Thanks,” you said anyway, slinking down into your seat. The bell rang, and since you had your test, you scrammed. You walked down the hallway to the other room, where you usually met your best friend Saige to give her a ride home.

“She doesn’t get it,” you heard Saige say to your other friend Hannah. “The only reason we’re with her is because of her dad. And…” Your face turned red hot as you walked into the room on complete and total impulse. She stood up from the desk she was at, looking over at you, and she gave you the most fake smile you’d ever seen in your life. You looked at her, and she looked at you.

“So you only care about me because of my dad? And the last ten years doesn’t matter?” You asked loudly. Her face was turning red, too, and Hannah was just standing by.

“Wait, Y/n,” she started saying. You didn’t listen to her. You just blew past her and into the rapidly clearing hallway, leaving the building to go to the parking lot. You needed to get out of there, now, before you blew up.

“Don’t even start,” you said to your so-called friend, crossing your arms across your chest. You tried to hide the tears in your eyes by looking away, but it didn’t work. She could see you were crying. Why were you such a crybaby?

“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that,” she tried to say.

“Well, I did!” She looked guilty, and for a minute you thought that maybe she was being genuine. Maybe she was just out of line and didn’t mean the things she was saying. But who the hell would say something like that without meaning it?

“You need to realize who you are,” she said in response. She was calm. She definitely meant this. “You need to realize that as long as people know who your dad is, nobody’s going to like you for you. You’re never going to find any real friends. So maybe you should just stop trying and take what you can get.” You swallowed at her words. They cut into your chest like a knife. Mostly because they were true, but you thought she’d be different. These people had gone to school with you since you were a little kid, and by definition they shouldn’t care who your dad was. But it seemed that they did, and you were as naïve as they thought you were.

“Thanks for giving me a lot to think about.” It was all you could say in response. You couldn’t even fathom another response. You were angry, but you weren’t Hulk angry and you weren’t going to lash out because that just wasn’t who you were. You were just going to slink back home and cry like the idiot you were.

“I’m just telling you the truth. And the earlier you hear it, the easier your life will be.” You just turned, pulling at the lanyard you kept in the side pocket of your backpack. You found the key fob of your car, your luxury car that your dad got you because he thought you deserved it, and started the walk back to it. That just made you think even more. Your friends loved your car, and so did you. And your dad didn’t get you a fifty thousand dollar car because he wanted to turn you into a spoiled brat, he got it for you because you made honor roll four semesters in a row and he wanted to reward you. Just like how you didn’t live in a multi-million dollar mansion because he wanted to spend that much money on a house. He just liked it and it happened to be that much money. Just like how you didn’t mean to be the daughter of one of the most well-known actors in the world. It just happened.

You got into your car and slung your backpack into the seat beside you, hearing your laptop inside of it crash against the seat. You didn’t mean to do that. You noticed that Saige was still watching you from beside her own car, and just as you pressed the button to turn on the ignition, your other ‘friend’ Hannah was walking up to her. They were probably going to talk more shit because of course they would. They’d probably talk about the sad little rich girl driving away crying. Because that’s what you were doing as you drove. Crying.

All you wanted to do was go home and cry in the comfort of your room. Your dad wasn’t supposed to be home. He was supposed to be meeting with the Governor downtown that day, and usually he ended up staying for a few hours to take pictures with staffers and other state employees. You were used to him being gone, he usually was. If he was gone for more than a day, though, he would call your uncle or one of your aunts to stay with you. This was one of those times you wished he was gone.

You didn’t mean to sound ungrateful to him, ever, because you knew he loved you more than anything else in the entire world and he only tried to be the best father he could. But sometimes he just didn’t understand things, and your friends using you was probably one of them. And you didn’t want to cry in front of him about it and make him feel guilty for doing the bets he possibly could.

“You can have five minutes to cry,” you decided out loud as you left the school and started driving toward the house. You sunk into your seat and merged into traffic just as your mind let loose. You wanted to disappear. You didn’t want to go back to school and face them, mostly because you didn’t have any other friends in Boston. Saige and Hannah were really it, probably because they had been your best friend since you were kids. You would have to live the next three years with the humiliation of the world knowing you didn’t have any friends.

You were in the midst of having your cry when you pulled up to the house, and when you spotted your dad’s Audi you swore your heart stopped. That was right. He was in Boston tomorrow, not today. Shit. You pulled into the driveway and gave yourself fifteen seconds to calm down. One, two, three, four… Your phone lit up with a text from one of your friends back in L.A, revealing your wallpaper was a picture of you and Saige at homecoming. And that made you slide back down again, even as you reached over to change the picture to one of Dodger.

You got out of the car, taking your backpack from the floor of the passenger side, and walked in the gate as quietly as you could. Dodger didn’t bark at you, instead just looking over his shoulder from where he was chewing on a rawhide bone. At least the dog loved you for you. Or maybe it was just because you were the one who got him puppucinos every Friday night.

“Hey, buddy,” you said as you kneeled down. He stepped on your uniform skirt and sat down in your lap, wagging his tail as you pet his soft fur. “You love me, right?” You got a whimper in response, one that definitely meant yes, and you sniffled. You must have sat there for a few minutes, just petting him, because your phone chimed again and the text you’d gotten was fifteen minutes ago.

“I’ll be back to feed you soon, bubba,” you said with another sniffle, wiping your tears away with the sleeve of your jacket that was now covered in copper-colored dog hair. He crawled off your lap and let you stand up again, walking into the house. You debated on calling out for your dad, but you knew where he probably was. And you knew that he didn’t need this burden on him when he was trying to get another project going. So you walked up the stairs and into the hallway. Your room was all the way at the end of the hallway on the right, and the office was the first door on the left. So you had to walk past it, and you tried to stay calm and casual and…

“Hey, sweetheart, how was school?” You stopped dead in front of the office door, and you must have taken too much time trying to decide on whether to tell him the truth or not because he could see right through you. “Okay, come sit.”

You put your backpack down outside the door and walked into the office. You sat down on the couch in the corner of the room, not meeting his eyes. He was dressed like he was going out, and hopefully that meant he had a meeting later and he could leave you alone for awhile.

“Do you need to talk to me about anything?” He asked, looking at you. You felt the pressure building up inside of you and wondered if you should say anything. But you hated lying to him, so you didn’t.

“Well, I failed that AP Human Geo exam,” you started, hoping he would buy that. “I’m sorry for being such a continuous academic disappointment.” He cracked a smile.

“You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to disappoint me. I know that’s not all that’s going on, so spill.” He locked his computer and spun around in his chair, giving you his full, undivided attention.

“I heard Saige talking to someone earlier,” you said, refusing to look at him. “So I confronted her about it after school. She said that I don’t have any friends that care about me for who I am. They only care about the things I have. And that people only care about who you are, and using me to get to you, and she said the sooner I accept it the sooner I’ll be happy, but I’m not happy, and I got in the car and it just reminded me that…”

“Honey, you’re spiraling,” Chris interrupted in a quiet voice, one that was probably meant to comfort you. “She’s probably just going through something and…”

“No. She meant it. And I just… I feel like such shit for not seeing it.” Normally you’d get a language!, but this time your dad was just silent.

“Not seeing what?”

“That they just want to use me to get to you. And I don’t wanna make you feel bad, but I just…”

“It is kinda my fault,” he said. “I cursed you, and I’ll admit it.” He walked over to where you were and sat down beside you, putting an arm around you. “I’m sorry she said that to you.”

“I just…” You put your head in your hands, trying not to cry in front of your dad. “I just feel so dumb. Like I should’ve seen it before. Especially… I thought she was my best friend. And now I just don’t have any friends and I don’t even want to show my face and…” You sighed. Your dad rubbed your back and pulled you into a hug. He was all you’d ever had and the last thing you wanted was for him to feel bad.

“Well, you can’t just skip school.”

“I know.”

“But how about I take you on a field trip tomorrow downtown? And if you think it’ll help, we can look at switching schools or try and get you back on a soccer team or something.” You sniffled, nodding. “And I’ll make my special pesto eggs tomorrow morning.”

“Okay.”

“I promise you will find people who love you for you. I did. And it took me awhile, but now I have friends that I wouldn’t trade for the world. I know this sucks, but at least you don’t look like uncle Scott at your age. And you got the braces off.” You smiled a little bit. “You are so smart and beautiful and funny and I swear you’ll find your people. And they’re not gonna give a damn who your dad is or what kind of car you drive or what neighborhood you live in.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

A/N: I loved writing Chris as a Dad! I hope the person who requested enjoys 💕

#Chris evans fluff #chris evans imagine #chris evans x teen!reader #chris evans x daughter!reader #chris evans x reader

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hitbythunder · 4 years ago

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Chandrilan Moons - 1

A Kylo Ren x Reader story with much angst, possessiveness and dark themes (warnings will be updated as the story progresses) –> Read also on AO3

Summary: Growing up under the loving care of your foster-mother, Leia Organa, there had been nothing for you and Rey to want for. Though not of kin, you loved Rey as your sister and spent a happy childhood with her on Chandrila. But when the boiling galactic politics demanded for Leia to take action, for the Resistance to rise and fight, the girls could no longer evade the cruelty of the world. Kylo Ren sought a map as a key to revenge, to freedom, and had no use for a force-unsensitive young girl like you. You were simply a means to an end. Until his darkness latched onto you, drawn in by your light as you were by the demon that is Kylo Ren - inevitably gravitating towards each other, bound to be one. Like the Chandrilan moons.

****

____________________________xXx____________________________ 1- Prologue

+On board the Finalizer, orbiting Jakku+

The echo of heavy footsteps, determined and ominous in their approach, were enough of an announcement to have each trooper filled with dread. While the prison sector of the Finalizer had rarely been a much frequented place, the imminent presence of the Commander had the corridors wiped clear of any living soul having lost their way here. Except, of course, for the poor sods assigned to guard the occupied cells, frozen in place as their superior rounded the corner. In a cloud of pitch-black cloth he moved, his long cape and flowing robes billowing in the wake of his powerful strides, almost seamlessly melting into the surrounding's black walls and floor. Only the stainless steel details of his helmet gave him away, glistening in the dim light. Like a demon, a creature born of darkness, he seemed to glide like an ominous shadow along the hallway, swallowing everything in his path. Even morphed into the blackness of clothes and interior, he was imposing in a frightful way and with the hood drawn deep over his unique helmet, the Commander appeared like a giant walking among men.

For many he was indeed an otherworldly creature, the heir of darkness as the direct descendant of the legendary Darth Vader and exceptional force-user, Klyo Ren. His name alone having grown men tremble in fear, striking terror among both enemy and his own men. Because no one was safe from his violent tantrums and unabashedly display of power. Though not even a handful of (living) people were acquainted with the scope of his abilities.

Kylo didn't acknowledge the troopers at the door, not beyond how one tolerates the presence of a fly but just barely so, and entered the prison cell holding the Resistance pilot. He too was just an insect to Kylo, a vessel which had no use apart from the memory-cells its brain possessed. Said brain cells held a clue to Skywalker's whereabouts, a vital piece of information which Kylo longed to obtain. To find his uncle, to confront him with all the hatred and rage Kylo had harnessed against him over the years since the fateful night at the temple, and to kill him slowly and painfully once in his clutches. Sweet and alluring, the prospect of revenge had been whispered to him in lonely moments, promising so much more power once the cursed Jedi ceased to exist. And Kylo craved that power, which would enable him to surpass and free him from his own master - a sadistic and foul creature that used Kylo like a trained dog, at his beck and call, while keeping his powers from further development. Although it had been Snoke who had led and taught him in the ways of the dark side, Kylo couldn't shake the feeling that his master had become envious of his capabilities as a force-user, thus putting any progress on hold. Apparently, a useful weapon ought to be powerful but not threateningly so, as to keep it under control and so that it didn't surpass its usefulness.

But Kylo had enough of it, growing hatred simmering in the core of his mind and blending so neatly with the cacophony of negative emotions there, that Snoke had not the slightest idea of his apprentice's developing enmity. The brunt of Kylo's hate translated into raw violence on missions, a welcome outlet whenever it all became too much for him.

Patience was a key to success in this case and so Kylo bode his time, gathering strength through his own training and through spilling blood in the name of the dark side. There wasn't a more beautiful color than the red liquid of life, bright and vibrant as it flowed freely, turning almost black when seeping into the earth. Just like Skywalker's blood would, once Kylo got hold of him and the anticipation thereof thrilled him to a point of barely restrained impatience. Translating in an even shorter temper and unpredictable moods these days. As well as zero tolerance for insects that dared to waste his time, like the pilot currently restrained in front of him.

"I will get the information I want." Kylo growled through the voice-coder of his helmet, a rasping and sinister tone in the otherwise quiet cell, and increased the onslaught on the pilot's mind without mercy. "Even if it means to pick your brain apart."

Unable to uphold the playful bravery, Poe Dameron's excruciating screams bled through the durasteel walls onto the hallway.

+++ +Two days earlier - Resistance Base on D'Qar+

"Rey, wait up! Rey!" I called across the hangar area, running towards a particular X-wing starfighter and its ready-to-board pilot. Heads turned as I passed them, but ignoring their perplexed stares, I made a zig-zag through the small crowd in my way. Rey turned to find me in front of her, slightly panting and cheeks flushed from the sprint.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were practicing the harpiton." Rey surprised us both at how reprimanding that came out and we bristled in unison at the notion of her sounding like our foster-mother. Rey seemed very excited, perhaps even nervous, about her very first flight in an X-wing starfighter, type 406-G with upgraded shoot-assistant and improved hyper-drive, based on carbo -

"D'Qar to Rey! Hello, is anybody home in there?" I waved her hand in front of Rey's face, far too long for her liking. She gently swatted my hand away, replied:

"Sorry, you were saying?"

"Stars, I guess I don't even want to know where you always drift off to." I sighed, but then continued with a fond smile. "I came to wish you good luck for your flight and to remind you to make me a holo-gram of the stars up there."

"Thanks and don't worry, little sis, soon you'll fly among the stars too." Rey replied as we hugged, then beamed with barely contained joy. "See you later, sis!"

I slowly made my way back to the entrance of the underground-base, one last look over my shoulder confirming that Rey had taken off for her flight-lesson into space - being among the stars literally! To play the harpithon (a mixture of a harp and a hang) seemed bland, if not ridiculous, in comparison and I highly doubted that my playing skills would be of any use in the war.

What a world it would be if music could bring peace., I mused as I strolled through the hallways of the ever bustling base, soon reaching the more quieter area where the private quarters lay. We girls shared a room, spacious enough to get along but still rather stuffy, especially with the unwieldy harpiton in the middle. I began to practice, my fingers gliding along the strings and drumming against the round metallic corpus at the bottom. Soon I lost myself in the soft tunes, for it always reminded me of my home-world Chandrila and of the many childhood-years I had spent there along with Rey - always with Rey. Though we were not blood-related, we had grown up together and became as close as sisters could be - perhaps even more so because we shared unknown origins - under the gentle care of our foster-mother Leia Organa.

Back then, when Leia had been a senator, she had participated in a charity-program for orphans and had taken us girls in. Little Rey had been about 3 years and I still a new-born then. Leia's position as senator had provided well for us, without wanting for anything, though Leia had never spoiled us. We had had a happy childhood, with all the ups and downs of family-life that made it worthwhile. And although we had learned rather early not to be of the same kin, we had grown to love Leia like a mother.

With Leia's husband, Han Solo, it had been quite a different story. We had rarely seen him, because of his occupation as smuggler Han tended not to remain in one place for long - and also, as we had always suspected, he had never approved of Leia's decision to adopt us. He didn't say so himself and Leia would never admit it, but the distinctly reserved manner in which he behaved around us - not unkind but also far from loving - which was often paired with an almost painful expression, made us doubt his affection towards us. Although Rey in her youthful optimism had always tried to reach out to him (thus perhaps her affinity for technology and ships), Han refused to become the father-figure we longed for. It was only us girls, Leia and her handmaid Gemma in a small but luxurious estate in Hanna City (capitol city of Chandrila).

Much later, when I was about 15 years old and Rey 17, we learned that there had been a child before us, a son of Leia' and Han's blood. The son whose loss - Leia never told us what had happened - had torn the parents apart and suddenly we understood both Han's reticence towards us and Leia's wish to save us orphans from an unknown future.

At about that time, the former Imperialists had spread the rumor that Lea was Darth Vader's daughter and further she had some affiliation towards Kylo Ren - the rising apprentice of the dark side - was her son. Leia had neither confirmed nor denied any of it and kept her secrets close, always avoiding our questions regarding that matter so that eventually it became a taboo among those surrounding her. But the rumors remained. Of course, these accusations - though unproven and doubted by many - had harmed Leia's position in the senate, enough to force her to resign her seat as senator. Ultimately, she decided to leave our home and travel around the galaxy in order to form the Resistance. Still teenagers at that time, we weren't involved at all and remained on Chandrila. It had been three difficult and sometimes lonely years for us girls, at the prime of our puberty. We both tried to find distractions for missing Leia: Rey in her training with the Force and an interest in technology; and I in acquiring a broad knowledge of the galaxy and its history, languages and customs, which in included the ways of the Jedi as well as their sinister opposite the Sith. Though the sources of information available to me at that time had been limited and always supervised by Gemma with a watchful eye. It had required quite some finesse of me to sneak even grains of info about Darth Vader or Kylo Ren past her.

Essentially we tried to be good daughters Leia would be proud of and when she finally allowed us join her here on D'Qar, we were happy beyond the moon. That was 4 months ago and while D'Qar didn't feel like home, I was just glad to be with Leia and Rey, my family.

Engrossed in both play and thought, I hadn't noted the knock on the door, nor the swishing noise as it opened and was rather surprised when Leia sat down on the bed to my left.

"You play very lovely, dearest." she said, a fond smile on her faintly highlighted lips. Despite her rank as General, Leia had always kept the regal posture and an excellent choice of clothes that stemmed from her royal upbringing. And in times as these, a tough but wise leader was exactly what the Resistance needed.

"Thanks, it's a song I've composed myself." I replied as I shifted my chair backwards, away from the harpiton, in order to turn my body fully to Leia. "Though I was wondering if ..." my eyes dropped to my lap, to the ceiling, anywhere but Leia's intense brown eyes. "...if there aren't more useful skills for me to obtain."

"___________..." Leia sighed, knowing even without the Force where this was leading.

"I could become a pilot - not of a starfighter but perhaps a freighter? Or I could-"

"We've had this discussion many times before, dear, and my answer hasn't changed." Leia put in with finality, not wanting to draw this out (yet again).

"But it's not... I feel miserable sitting here while Rey is up there-" I pointed to the ceiling, imagining Rey having the best time of her life while flying "-becoming an even better pilot than Poe." I huffed in annoyance, continued though with a calm yet sad expression: "I know I'm not as good as her at combat or piloting but there must be something I can do to help our cause!"

Leia regarded me for a moment, silently waiting for me to regain my composure and return to a sensible mind-state before she answered:

"Don't compete with your sister, dearest. Your capabilities might not be obviously useful as of now, but trust me they are of great value and one day the Resistance will need a smart, well-educated lady just like you."

"Mhm..." I nodded solemnly, unsatisfied by the answer given but unwilling to continue a lost discussion. As kind as Leia's words were, they only sugar-coated the fact that I would never be like Rey. Rey who was athletic and agile in her movements, cunning and brave during fights while also having a knack for mechanics and technology. And as if that wasn't enough, every-body's darling Rey was a decent Force-wielder too.

Since early child-hood, Leia had always watched out for signs that we may be connected to the Force, having us forgo some simple tests once in a while, and at the age of 13 Rey's powers had finally awakened. Well, no such luck for me though, because the Force seemed to shun me despite my best efforts to connect with it. Resulting in another shortcoming on my part in comparison to Rey and excluding me from the special bond Rey and Leia therefore built.

Leia's famous brother, Luke Skywalker, had already vanished into his self-imposed exile to stars-knew where. So in lack of a proper teacher, Leia had to manage not only her role as senator in a rather turbulent political period, but also her new responsibility to educate Rey in the ways of the Force. They had spent countless hours together and sometimes I had joined them to at least understand the theory of the matter, albeit unable to perform the practical parts. We learned of the eternal conflict between light and darkness in the Force, as well as about the Jedi order and its fight against the former Empire - a substantial part of galactic history which many thought of as legends nowadays. And although I knew that it wasn't anybody's fault but pure chance, I had always envied Rey and deep down wished to be just like her. Knowing that it never would be.

#kylo ren x reader #angst #drama #slow burn #fanfic #star wars fanfic #kylo ren #self insert

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greytoiletpaper · 4 years ago

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Out on Allen Street, it��s 7 in the Morning

Set in the Street Siblings au by @a-sketchy-character | @streetsiblings without which I may not have had the motivation to write this much.

Drizzle | Deluge | Squall | AO3

Chapter 4: susurration

The world is dark.

Somehow, she knows how many marks and cuts criss-cross her body; how many bruises decorate her like a canvas. But she can’t feel them, not even one.

Instead, all she can do is listen, tuning in to the rain as it pours, as red droplets fall in time off of Mad Dog’s blade. If she really listens to the sound, it almost sounds like a different boy’s laughter.

She focuses on the noise and it alone, her body so perfectly still.

Mad Dog thrusts his blade to her chest, and Cassandra’s eyes open.

They’ve only been in Gotham for a week, yet, it feels like he never left. At least for Park Row, the “Crime Alley”, the city has never changed. Slowly, the Red Hood and Ravager make the area their own. He does everything to make sure that the Bat never catches a whiff of what he’s doing. He knows it is pointless; even if Bruce knew, he would be too much of a coward to venture into the evil heart of the city.

It infuriates him, the remnants of the old argument. If Batman was ever truly needed. It would be - no, should be - here. In the black, beating heart of Gotham, where crime and cruelty channel through its citizens as if it were in their own blood. Yet for all he prattles about his crusade of justice, Bruce will never set foot into Crime Alley; too hung up on the ghosts of his past to banish the ones that haunt others.

It’s why he’s wearing the original persona of the man who murdered him. Jason had lived these streets, born and raised and died because of them. Deep down, Jason understands what Bruce simply refuses to believe. Some people simply want to watch the world burn, and they can never be stopped, only carefully controlled, managed or otherwise taken out. He never wants what happened to him to be inflicted on someone else. Not if he can help it.

Now, Red Hood is here, slinking through the darkened hallways of Arkham. Past every guard and camera until he arrives at one particular cell. He knocks on the door, and a mop of neon green flips upwards.

The madman beams; his eyes are whirlpools of chaotic energy.

“What’s this? Birdy clipped his wings!” The Joker begins, guffawing like a howling hyena. “I was wondering when you’d come back to see me, little Jay.”

To his credit, Jason doesn’t react. The pneumatic seals of the helmet hiss as it comes off. The Joker never takes his eyes off his face.

“There you are, my boy. Just like your uncle Jay” The lunatic says without tone, feral grin seeming plastered. “Say, you seen Cass anywhere?”

That makes him shift uneasily on his feet. The Joker leans in close, almost conspiratorially.

“You think the Bat ran her out? That he…” Something morbid flashes in the eyes of his monster. “Killed her just like I did you?”

Jason wants to drive his fists into the man’s back. Stamp on his legs until the bones shatter. Bludgeon him over and over with whatever is on hand until the madman’s flesh is nothing but paste. Instead, he stands frozen as the cackling echoes around the room and in his ears.

“I’m not doing this for you,” Is what he says. “And I’m not doing this for me either.”

His hand lifts the pistol from its holster.

“I’m doing this because someone has to do what Batman can’t.”

The Joker takes the words in stride, nodding to himself. To Jason, it’s the calmest he has ever seen him.

“Not a fan of the whole motorcycle fetish style, but to each his own,” The madman’s eyes, still rotting in their own insanity, meet his. Something about the gaze seems so clear despite the instability. “You’re going to be wonderful for the Red Hood name.”

He sighs.

“When you do it, boy, make sure you get as much of the colour out of me.”

Jason nods and presses the barrel into Joker’s forehead, closes his eyes, and everything is silent.

He presses his hand to the glass, the rain sliding down the pane on the other side, its streams the same lengths as the rivers that flow from his red crown.

Fact One, a statement: Roman Sionis is the Black Mask, one of Gotham's most powerful crime lords with connections running deeply in the underground drugs and weapons trade.

Fact Two, an amendment: Roman Sionis is the Black Mask, arguably one of Gotham's most powerful crime lords with sizeable connections in the weapons trade.

Fact Three, a truth: He is absolutely livid with the Red Hood and the Ravager.

Roman stares at the text on the notepad; he picks it up and throws it across the room.

In the space of two nights, the new duo had taken over his entire drug operation and cut off every tie Roman had to Crime Alley. Internally, he thinks ‘cut off’ is still too lacking a description. Half of his thugs breathing through tubes for days. Pimps found castrated and dangling from lampposts. Drug dealers with their mouths frothing as they dissociated. If the rumour mill among villains is anything to go by, Red Hood had killed the Joker in his own damn cell. Roman shudders. He’d seen the images from the crime.

The pair are definitely a threat, and Roman needs him gone as soon as possible. Hiring the Joker would have been one of the best choices: effective, relatively cheap and definitely motivated to take on whoever dares don his previous mantle. Alas, reality disagrees.

Black Mask picks up the phone, ready to dial the more expensive alternative. He sighs and hopes they don’t call Deathstroke the ‘Terminator’ for nothing.

Cassandra dives away at the last second, adrenaline flushing through her body and lifting the fog from her mind. Her opponent’s blade impacts with the ground, firmly planting itself the whole way. Mad Dog, clearly thrown off, becomes an easy target with her renewed energy.

She does not hold back, unleashing a flurry of blows to the assassin’s chest, even as he tries to hold his defence together. With renewed focus, she redirects every strike he makes and strikes him back thrice as hard.

It is not long until Mad Dog is at Cassandra’s mercy, nearly a bloody pulp under her hand.

“Finish it,” Shiva calls suddenly, and she almost complies. But, with her hazy vision, the images of Faizul and the assassin blend together. The vertigo Cassandra is feeling becomes sharper, and she’s drowning in it.

In her hesitation, Shiva tuts and stabs her own blade into Mad Dog’s heart, crimson fluid spraying in all directions.

Cass doubles over, desperately heaving, and liquid green purges from her body.

Bruce stares up at the readout on the Batcomputer. There are new players in Gotham, but there’s something that makes them stand out from the others. They make headway faster than he’s ever seen it, clearing out and claiming Park Row as their own territory in a week.

Twenty-seven confirmed kills and thirty-four hospitalisations. He would have stopped with his investigation then and there. Yet, the detective in him tugs the back of his mind. He checks through the names again and finds that each one is attached to a laundry list of crimes that become more appalling the further he reads.

Then Red Hood killed the Joker; and for the first time since the madman’s debut, Gotham is quiet.

Bruce rubs his face in his hands and turns to the screens entirely dedicated to monitoring his daughter Cassandra. (The memorial makes itself known in his peripheral vision.) Her work in Hong Kong as Black Bat had been phenomenal so far. Every story he can find of her weaves the same story: Black Bat, hero of the Forgotten. Of the waylaid and the oppressed.

What would they think? Bruce finally turns to the statue, mouthing the words on the plaque to himself.

“Can you promise something for me, Bruce? Just one thing?”

“Anything for you, Jaylad.”

He tears his eyes away.

Damian becomes cagey whenever either of the three vigilantes come up in conversation. It is suspicious, but he has had the lesson very solidly ironed in his mind how unconducive to understanding he can be. So, he gives his son his space.

Despite the child's refined nature, little pieces of him remind him of Jason, far beyond the boy's temper, pride, or even his cursing. Bruce had seen Damian in the library once, his fingers tracing the spine of a newer copy of Huckleberry Finn.

Red and orange flash by his primary monitor, and Bruce pulls himself from his thoughts.

Batman rises, ready to confront whatever ghosts will taunt him in the shadows.

The world roars in her ears, and no matter how hard she tries, Cassandra can’t stop the erratic sequence of deep breaths that claw out her throat. For once she’s glad she’s not wearing her old costume. The mask reminded her too much of smoke inhalation and chains and-.

“Why?” She rasps in a throaty, breathless voice that has not escaped her for years. “Why would you do this?”

“Can’t a mother test the progress of her daughter?” Shiva replies coolly. Her stance gives off nothing, so Cassandra does not deign her a response.

“He went looking for me, you should know.”

Her head snaps up.

“He was curious. A unique girl who can read the body as if it were a book and a unique woman who can do the very same? An unlikely coincidence,” Shiva turns her head away, ducked down as if she had already admitted too much. “He asked me, if it was my choice to leave you with your father.”

“It wasn’t.”

Sandra nods.

“He told me that was, and I quote, ‘a load of shit’.”

“Sounds like Jason,” Cass mutters under her breath. A hush falls between them, not comfortable but not unwelcome either.

“It is not me you came here for,” Sandra says with such conviction that Cass can’t help but gape in her disbelief. Of course, she did. Shiva gave birth to her.

Before she can voice her thoughts, Sandra grasps her shoulder and wraps her arms around Cass.

“You’ll find your brother soon. I can promise you that.”

Gotham rumbles, her shock snaking through the crown of her scalp. She knows that tonight is the night; when events will pass and tear the whole city asunder. For better or for worse, she cannot tell.

But she is eager to find out for herself.

“Think that’s a wrap for tonight?” Jason asks quietly, almost inaudible over the Gotham rain. It’s the only coherent sentence he’s made in days, so Rose takes what she can get.

“Probably, you’re not shanghaiing me into grabbing groceries, right?”

“Maybe,” He chuckles, but even though his voice is filtered by their comms, she can tell it’s forced. “Anyone ever tell you how similar some of our problems are?”

“Really? You realised this just now?” Rose rolls her eyes because, honestly. “I mean, at least your dad isn’t some psycho assassin supervillain.”

“Aww, Rosie, making your old man sad. Truly, I’m hurt,” Hues from orange and blue armour melt from the shadows as Deathstroke emerges, eyeing her. “You don’t wear the uniform like Grant did.”

“It’s not meant to and either way, I barely knew him or Joey.” She draws her blades, trying to hide how much her arms are shaking. It doesn’t help. “No thanks to you.”

“Is that Slade?” Jason’s voice is like music to her ears, relaxing her muscles in the ways she needs.

“I made your brothers stronger,” There’s an edge to Slade’s voice, sharp as the glistening blade he brandishes. Ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. “I suggest you come with me so you can be the same.”

“What, dead because of problems you caused?” She laughs shakily, grimacing under her mask. “I suggest you fuck off.”

“I’m coming, Rose.”

“No can do. There’s a hit on the two of you, and its fait accompli,” Deathstroke makes a ‘what-can-you-do?’ gesture and Rose darts forward, her tears faster than the raindrops that dance on her skin.

Batman has followed the Red Hood for hours now, and he has no idea what to think. He expected someone wielding the Joker’s former identity to be as insane as the Clown Prince himself. Yet, the red helmet only bobs up and down as if it were in conversation rather than rotating listlessly.

Despite how antithetical the new face in Gotham is to his beliefs, some actions catch him off guard about the man.

While he has seen no deaths on this patrol, with every bone the criminal breaks, the same hands offer food to street children and escort working girls to their homes. Bruce is thrown, viscerally, into a memory of the bird that flew beside him to do the very same.

The Dark Knight watches him stalk through Park Row, freeze and then take off in another direction.

It is time.

He pursues the criminal, sprinting across the rooftops of Gotham, gliding above catwalks and fire escapes. Within minutes, he overtakes and blocks the path ahead of Red Hood, who curses and vaults over his body.

Or at least, he tries to as Batman grips the man’s ankle and slams him back into the pavement. Hood never misses a second, drawing a knife and swiping at his limbs. He lets go; the man faces him again, twirling the knife round and round.

“B,” A modulated voice hangs in the air, but there is a quality to it that tickles his conscious, like an old ghost whispering in his ears.

“Red Hood, I suggest you surrender peacefully, or I –.”

“Cut the act, alright? You think that just because you’re Batman, nobody can be above you,” Red Hood laughs. Through the modulator of his helmet, it comes off as hollow. “The truth with a saying like that –.” The knife is stowed away. “– It just means nobody is beneath you either.”

The criminal grapples him; kick, jab, punch, kick again in a rapid dance of attacks that Bruce can barely keep up with. Some of the criminal’s movements are achingly familiar yet so foreign that the composite form nauseates him. Red hood strikes over and over until he actually has him, the Dark Knight, pinned.

“And some of us can’t wait to drag you all the way down.”

Jason had always had a gift for speaking. His sister’s hands may be knives, but his words were bullets.

Breaking out of the Red Hood’s hold, that is what Bruce muses in his mind.

They’ve been at a game of cat and mouse for so long now. Locked in a chase of diving and darting around a maze of alleyways and rooftops. Jason drops on one of them and turns to face his pursuer, who draws short away from him.

“What, can’t work it out?” He triggers the seals on his helmet as he lifts it off. Without the lenses he can see, even in the rain, the second Bruce recognises him. “You really didn’t care enough to remember my name or something?”

“Jason,” Bruce’s tone gives off nothing and everything. “W-Why are you doing this? How are you –.”

“I’m doing this because you refuse to do what needs to be done.” Jason snarls, venom laced in every word. “You want to rule them by fear, but you never go any further with the ones who aren’t afraid.”

“Jason, I don’t under-.”

“I died for your cause, and in less than a year you shove some other kid in the uniform so he can die too!” He is raving now. He also doesn’t care. “You let my murderer run wild and slaughter thousands and when someone finally steps up to do what needed to be done, you cut her out?”

“I had to –.”

“Had to what? Isolate her? Run her out of the only family she’s ever known? She was my sister, my whole fucking world; who believed in you and you left her like she means nothing to you! Cass is gone now, and that is your fault!”

“If you would –.”

“Do you even remember? That the only thing I ever made you swear to me, that you vowed on your life, was that you’d never let her down?” For once this night, his voice isn’t angry or vicious. It is a void, detached from any feeling. “Guess I should have known better.”

He knows, almost intrinsically despite the years, that if there is one thing that Jason has said tonight, those are the words that pierce Batman’s defences. It’s why he lets Bruce rush forward like he wants to. Allows the chase to continue. When he jumps, Jason lands in an apartment that carries the same bloodstains that leaked down his mother’s arms a lifetime ago.

Black Bat arrives in Gotham, and superficially, it is empty. She almost hails Barbara when bright flashes shine in her peripheral vision. Lo and behold, Deathstroke and an unknown are locked in a duel below her.

Cassandra drops from above, and at that moment, she kicks Deathstroke into a wall hard enough to knock him unconscious. His opponent, she notices, stops immediately.

Before her is a girl, hair silver under the moonlight, garbed in orange and black.

Then the Batmobile rounds the corner, a small figure rising from the hatch.

"Black Bat," Robin says, "You have not responded to Oracle, she was-."

Damian's eyes bug out once he notices the girl beside Cassandra. She fully expects him to snarl or draw his ridiculously long katana. Instead, uncharacteristically rushes forward and embraces the girl tightly instead.

"Wilson. A-are you finally assisting us in Gotham?" Damian says, even with his head buried in a shoulder. "Drake may be intelligent, but his incompetence with the sword is impossible to rectify."

"Missed you too, D-man," The girl chuckles and ruffles the boy's hair. "I would help, but what’s up with tall, slim and broody over there?"

Cassandra crosses her arms expectantly at Robin, who obviously only just remembered her presence when he unlatches himself immediately. His cheeks may be red, but Damian still raises his chin proudly.

"I found her, Rose," His body language and eyes seem to sing. "I found his ukht."

The girl spins sharply, wolfish eyes drawn wide. “You’re her,” Rose breathes, awe rippling off her body. “You’re Cass.”

She would have flinched, but the body language is so familiar. Cass tilts her head.

“Yes.”

Rose grabs her arm so hastily that she almost rips it back in shock. But something is so honest about her body language that Cass relents, letting the girl lead her where she is needed.

He kneels, tracing the dark stains. Behind him, Batman pauses. Not even he would dare to disturb the sanctity of this room.

“Jaylad, please -.”

“Don’t call me that. That isn’t who I am,” Jason rounds on Bruce. He gestures to the shattered window, the ripped upholstery, and the bloodstained floor. “This is what I grew up being, what I never wanted anyone else to.”

He taps the insignia on Bruce’s chest with his pistol.

“That, right here, was your promise to people like me. People that needed help and protection,” He spits. “And you couldn’t even do it for the ones closest to you.”

"I just want to-."

"Want to what? Parade your antiquated sense of morality to hide, while the rest of the world suffers for what you refuse to do? Or cast out others from taking it in their own hands?"

Tears are building in his eyes, but he wipes them away while Batman stands ramrod straight.

"I don't think you understand. That you've never understood," The man begins, and Jason gapes because what the hell does that mean? "If I let myself cross that line, even for Joker, I won't ever come back."

"You know what I think about that, Bruce?" Jason breathes deeply, feeling the whispers of the Pit roaring with the heavy rain in his ears. "I think that's a huge self-aggrandizing load of bullshit."

He charges forward, knocking Batman's legs from under him and ramming his face into the ground. Batman is down to his knees before either can even blink.

"And I'm so fucking tired of hearing it."

Jason levels the barrel at Bruce’s forehead, torbernite lining the edges of his vision, engulfing him in an absence.

“What’s the use of you learning to do right when it’s troublesome to do right?”

Then, her voice shatters the tension in the air, gripping his heart and silencing the susurrations of the rain that suffocated his ears.

“When it ain’t no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same.”

“Cass?” The boy in the alleyway says. A gun. An apple in his hand. The girl falters in the doorway, her fist tongue clenches, and she nods.

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queenraikichi94 · 4 years ago

Text

A song to heal a tired soul 26 (Raikichi x Piers)

Rated: Teen and mature

Warnings: Bad language, NSFW, TW mention to death

Note: Raikichi is around 25-26 years

----------------------PART 26-------------------------------

Fire was around us. Lumiose City was a big chaos. People and Pokemon running away, trying to seek refuge while Team Flare, with the power of the ultimate weapon, was going to destroy everything. I managed to get Xerneas out of Lysandre’s labs and now I was on my way to confront that man. When I was flying on my Mega Charizard X, something attacked us. It was him, with a very big Pokemon; the one that attacked us. Yveltal? I didn’t know. I fell from my Charizard and ended on the floor, getting my right leg very wounded and my ribs broken; I noticed the terrible pain of the broken ribs when I moved and when I breathed. Fuck. At least, Glaceon and Charizard were less wounded than me. My Charizard was still mega evolved so she could still fight together with Glaceon.

“Look at you” Lysandre said, landing in front of me, with his Mega Gyarados at his side, but not sight of the other Pokemon “The mighty and invencible World Champion is now on her knees. Bow and show respect to the new King of Kalos!”

“Never” I said, using my extensible battle staff to stood up since my right leg was very wounded “I would never serve a false king!! You’ve taken AZ’s machine to cause problems and chaos!! You don’t understand what the last ruler of Kalos finally understood!! Destroying this world and creating another one following your stupid ideals of beauty...Is insane!! There is beauty in everything, but you don’t want to see it!!”

“SILENCE!!” Lysandre yelled as his Gyarados roared, but my two Pokemon didn’t flinch “I respected you...And I thought on you to lead at my side my new world, but it looks that I have to destroy you if I want to continue with my plans”

I started to feel a calm wave of energy that I quickly recognized. Xerneas was near, but before I could do something, I heard Sycamore calling me and then, he ran to approach me. In that moment, Lysandre ordered his Gyarados to attack us with Hyper Beam and I didn’t think too long; I pushed Sycamore away, and I ended recieving the attack and then, everything turned black as Augustine called my name before I passed out....

I woke up suddenly, sweating and panting a bit. I checked the hour and I cursed for myself when I saw that it was 3 o’clock in the morning. Piers was still sleeping, and I sighed in relief that he didn’t wake up with all the movement I did when I was having that freaking nightmare. With a sigh, I exited the bed and after putting my sleepers and my sleeping coat on, I exited my room and went to the garden terrace. Corviknight was sleeping on her nest, and Honchkrow on his perch, but when I sat down next to the nest, Corviknight covered me with one of her big wings. “Sorry, girl, I didn’t want to disturb your sleep” I said and then, I heard steps approaching us. It was Glaceon, who had woken up too and now was at my side, licking my hand and rubbing her fur againts my arm. “Pokemon are incredible...You know when someone has problems”

Glaceon meowed and Corviknight chirped, making me chuckle and then, Corviknight pulled me closer to her until I ended half on her nest, half on the grass of the garden. “Hey, I’m not a little Pokemon” I said and when she ruffled her feathers, I couldn’t help but chuckle cause the feathers tickled me. “Corviknight, please, I know you want to confort me but you’re a bit heavy and I have half body out of the nest”

Corviknight moved a bit to allow me to exit the nest and sat down on the soft grass, with Glaceon at my side, but Corviknight covered us with her big wing in order to keep us warm due the cold weather of the night. I cursed my mind to make me had that stupid dream. Why now? It was because I joined the Interpol again? I sighed and rubbed my eyes with a yawn when I heard my uncle approaching me. “Kiddo, do you know what time is it?” he asked sitting next to me

“Yeah...” I said with another yawn “Sorry, a stupid dream made me jump off the bed”

“Do you want to talk about that?”

“Well...I think I had the dream cause my mind remembered all the things I passed when I was in the Interpol...”

“And what was the dream about?” my uncle asked

“It was about the second time I was near dying” I said before sighing again

“Does Sycamore know about this?”

“No, I didn’t tell him about me joining the Interpol again...I need to find the proper moment...Fuck, why it couldn’t be another way to deal with the furtives? Piers was very worried and he’s still worried about me taking again those dangers...And Sycamore...He was broken inside cause he didn’t know if I was going to make it...Piers was broken inside when I was dealing with that pneumonia; I don’t want to think on how broken he would be if instead of a pneumonia, I had to deal with deadly wounds...”

“Is understable...But let me tell you something, Raikichi” uncle Kabu said “Maybe you’re again with the Interpol, but this time, you’re not alone. In the past, you used to be alone, but this time, we will be with you”

“Thanks, uncle” I said with a soft smile and he ruffled my hair

“That’s my niece” he said with a chuckle “You should return to bed before Piers notices that you aren’t there”

“True” I said with a chuckle as I stood up “Good night, uncle”

“Good night, kiddo”

I entered inside and went to my room, followed by Glaceon, who jumped on the bed and curled after yawning. I removed my sleepers and my sleeping coat and slipped under the covers, only to get embraced by Piers when he felt me lying down next to him. “You’re cold...” he said clinging more and cuddling more next to me.

“Sorry, I had a bad dream and I went to the garden to calm myself down...I didn’t want to wake you up”

“Wanna talk about it?” Piers mumbled, still sleepy as I sighed soflty on his neck, my hands on his chest and my legs tangle with his.

“Not now...Let’s say that I’m still assimilating that I’m again in the Interpol...” I replied with a yawn “Good night, my love...”

“Good night, babe...”

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

Another week passed and the day of my official match againts Cynthia arrived. The Sinnoh Champion arrived a day before the match and I offered her to guide her through Galar, but she wanted to explore by the own and after many hours without knowing anything of her, we went to search her and we find her exploring ancient ruins in the Wild Area. She was also an historian, like me, and she liked to go by her own, so when she asked me about the different cultural places that were in Galar, I told her and she went to discover them by herself.

So the day of the match arrived and it was early morning when I decided to wake up since Cynthia wanted to have breakfast with me. So there I was, haf asleep, taking a shower at 5 o’clock of the morning. “Damn, Cynthia, why you have to make me get up this early...” I mumbled to myself as I exited the bathtub in order to get dried and dressed. Once I got dried and dressed, and my hair into a ponytail, I exited the bathtub while I put my glasses on before putting my accesories on as well.

“Kiddo, you know what time is it?” uncle Kabu asked when he saw me entering the living room

“I know, I know” I said with a sigh “Cynthia wanted to have breakfast with me and since she wanted to have it early, I had to wake up early”

“And Piers?”

“He wanted to come with me” I replied and then, I chuckled when I heard my fiancée exiting the room in order to go to the bathroom to take a bath while I checked my notifications and after some minutes, Piers was also ready “Morning, babe”

“Remember to tell your friend Cynthia that some people want to sleep more” he said with a yawn as we exited the house, with Glaceon at my side “Where are we going to have breakfast?”

“Hammerlock” I said as we took a Flying Taxi that would take us to Hammerlock “Since the match is today and is in Hammerlock...”

“Alright...” Piers said with a yawn “And Sycamore?”

“He’s still sleeping” I replied “He will join for us, before the match”

Piers nodded and then, he leant his head on my shoulder, making me giggle a bit. The travel to Hammerlocke didn’t take us a lot, so in less than thirty minutes, we arrived at Hammerlocke. We exited the Flying Taxi and after stretching a bit, we went to the meeting place where we agreed to meet Cynthia. I texted her telling her we’d arrived, and then, we sat down on a bench. The weather was cold, but it wasn’t cold like other days, and lucky for us, it wasn’t snowing.

“So, this Cynthia, when did you meet her?” Piers asked as he embraced me

“During my firts journey through Sinnoh, when I was visiting Celestic Town” I said “We met in the cave that had ancient insctiptions abaout the Legendary Pokemon our legends talk about”

“I see...” my fiancée said and then, he turned his head on the direction that Glaceon pointed. A tall woman with blond long hair and black outfit was walking towards us. It was Cynthia. “I suppouse she’s Cynthia, right?”

I nodded and we stood up in order to greet Cynthia. “Raikichi, I hope you aren’t mad with me for asking you to have breakfast at this hour” she said

“Don’t worry” I said “Oh, I want to present you Piers”

“So this is the famous Piers” she said smiling “Is an honor to meet the first Dark type Gym Leader”

“Thanks, I guess” Piers replied a bit shy

“Aw, don’t be shy” Cynthia said with a chuckle, making both me and Piers blush “Well, let’s have breakfast!”

Piers sighed a bit in relief and I couldn’t help but squeeze his hand gently while we followed Cynthia. She guided us to a coffee shop near the Stadium, and since the weather was cold outside, we entered inside. Once there, we removed our jackets and took a seat on the table Cynthia booked for us. Glaceon yawned and started to lick her fur while we waited for the waiter. Piers and me asked for some hot chocolate with pancakes and for our surprise, Cynthia asked for some ice cream with her breakfast. “Ice cream?” Piers asked confused while the waiter also took note of some food for Glaceon.

“I love ice cream” Cynthia said

“I can confirm that” I replied “She loves ice cream. A LOT”

“Oh, c’mon, don’t be like that”

“Cynthia, I remember the day when you spent near an hour trying to choose an ice cream flavour”

“Okay, point taken” she said laughing “So, about the wedding, tell me. Have you planned some things?”

“Yeah, we decided what wedding suits we’re going to wear and we spoke with our friend Augustine about some wedding details” I said “But we have more things to think about it”

“Wait, Augustine? Augustine Sycamore?” Cynthia asked and when I nodded, she chuckled “I would never thought on meeting professor Sycamore here in Galar. You know he was one of the best students professor Rowan had, don’t you?”

“Yes, and it was professor Rowan’s research about Pokemon evolution the thing that made Augustine to move to Kalos and study the Mega Evolution phenomenom” I replied and then, I noticed that she was looking at me with a lil mischievus gaze “W-What? Why are you looking at me like that? Is because I call him by his first name?”

“Kind of” she said “Sycamore is someone known by the fact he never allows anyone to call him by his first name; only people he really trusts are allowed to call him Augustine”

“Well, it’s normal. When he founded his lab in Kalos, a lot of people understimated him for being a young professor, and some of them used to bully him making jokes using his name together with bad words. Even notable researches didn’t call him professor Sycamore” I said, remembering when Augustine told me the reason of not allowing anyone to call him by his name “For years he felt ashamed due the lack of respect, even if he was doing great progress with his research. Those people rejected to refeer to him as Professor Sycamore, saying that he was a kid craving for attention”

“Really? They really did that?” Piers asked, a bit of anger on his voice

I nodded and Piers sighed “That fault of respect made him not to have enough trust on himself to show people that he was a good professor, but when he was going to give up, professor Rowan called him and made him to gain the enough courage to shut those people’s mouths when he showed them his progress, and when they started to treat him with respect and refeering him as Professor Sycamore, he recovered all the trust he had...But since that day, he only allowed people he really trusted to call him by his name. Now he has left that hard part of his past behind, but he’s still keeping the thing of not allowing people he doesn’t trust to call him by his name”

“I see...And I see that he trusts in you a lot, right?”

“Well, we’re friends afterall” I said and Piers nodded

Then, our breakfast arrived at least. While we ate it, we talked about more topics, including if I was going to have more official matches, but I said that this one was going to be the last one cause I wanted to have more time for me and because the Gym Challenge was near its end.

After having breakfast, Cynthia decided to go by her own to visit different places of Hammerlocke while Piers and me decided yo go to Mototoske to pick Sycamore cause we wanted to train before my match and Sycamore wanted to see us training. Once we arrived at Mototoske, we went to pick Sycamore and together, we went to my uncle’s Gym after he told us we could use it to train.

“Still sleepy, Augustine?” I asked him with a bit of teasing as we went to the battle arena

“A bit” he replied with a soft yawn as Piers and me took positions “Wait, Cynthia’s ace Pokemon is a Garchomp, right?”

“Yeah, and I’m sure she can Mega Evolve her Garchomp” I said

“Then, why you don’t train with Piers and me at the same time?”

“That sounds good” Piers said and after kissing me, he called his Obstagoon while Augustine called his Garchomp. We started the training, Glaceon managing to dodge the attacks from both Obstagoon and Garchomp. In the middle of the training, Augustine made his Garchomp mega evolve, and despite of facing a mega evolved Pokemon and Obstagoon, Glaceon showed that she was able to deal with the two of them.

Near lunch time, we decided to finish the training. Garchomp returned to normal, and both Piers and Sycamore called their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs after giving them some Sitrus Berries. Glaceon ate her Berry before stretching and then, we went out of the Stadium in order to book a table on a restaurant near my uncle’s house. While we walked to the restaurant, I recieved a message. My Rotom Phone flew to my hands and when I checked the message, a groaned the low enough to not be heared by Piers and Sycamore, but my fiancée noticed that I stopped walking while I read the message, so he turned and approached me.

“Babe?” Piers asked gently “Is something wrong?”

“Eh? No, no. Don’t worry. I was checking something” I said and we approached Sycamore, who was also worried “Really, don’t worry”

“Sure?”

“Yes, is nothing serious” I replied and when both my fiancée and Sycamore shared a worried look before looking at me I sighed “Really, nothing serious. Now let’s go. I’m really hungry”

Piers nodded and Sycamore sighed softly as we went to the restaurant. Once there, the waiter guided us to our table. We removed our jackets and after putting them on the backchairs, we sat down on the chairs. We waited a bit until another waiter came to take note of the food we asked for and then, they brought us some fresh water. The food arrived minutes later, and as we had lunch, we talked about the strategy I would use againts Cynthia, having in mind all the training I did together with Piers and Augustine.

After the meal, we decided to go for a walk now that the weather was giving us a break. I needed to get my mind in order since in few hours I woould be battling Cynthia, and a walk was the best option, so there we were, Piers and me holding hands while Sycamore told us about some of the discoveries that he made between Mega Evolution and Dynamax and Gigantamax. Augustine sometimes was like a child with new toys when we talked about new discoveries, but it was part of him, getting excited when he discovered something new, but who I was to judge him? Piers sometimes said that I was like a child with something new when I made a new discovery. With a smile on my face and after stealing a kiss from Piers’ lips, we continued our walk.

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

Night arrived and in Hammerlocke Gym, everyone was really hyped about the match. I was in the changing rooms, putting my World Champion cape over me, but I could hear the people screaming of excitment. Glaceon tilted her head and then, she rubbed her soft fur onto my bare leg with a purr. “Don’t worry, girl” I said once I put the cape over my shoulders “We’ll win this”. Glaceon meowed and together, we exited the changing rooms, heading to the battle arena, where Cynthia was waiting for us.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this battle for the World Title!” the referee started to say “Today will be watchers of the last battle for the World Title during the Gym Challenge of this year, and I’m sure this battle will be great!! Now, let me present you the two opponents!! Both are from Sinnoh, but one of them is the World Champion and the other one is the Sinnoh League Champion, and I’m sure she will do everything to get the World Title, so give them a big applause, cause here are Raikichi and Cynthia!!”

Once in the battle arena, I removed my cape, ignoring the cold breeze that made my skin have some goosebumps. Then, Cynthia called her Garchomp out of her Pokeball and of course and as I suspected, she had a Garchompite on a necklace around her neck. “This is going to be interesting” I murmured to myself

“Remember. this battle will be one versus one, and when one of the Pokemon of one of the opponents is out of combat, the battle will be over” the referee said “Now, who will win this battle? Will Cynthia take the World Title away from Raikichi or will Raikichi keep the title with her? Let’s see it now and let’s the battle begin!!!”

“Garchomp, use Brick Break!!”

“Glaceon, dodge it!!”

Garchomp was fast, but Glaceon was even faster, so she dodged Brick Break easily, taking Garchomp by surpsrise. Both Pokemon shared a challenging glare, telling each other that they would give everything in this battle. “Glaceon, use Ice Beam!!”

Of course, Cynthia’s Pokemon dodged it, but my goal wasn’t hitting Garchomp with it. “Glaceon’s accuracy is a bit bad, isn’t it?” Cynthia said

“I’m not sure about it” I replied and when she looked to the battlefield, she gasped “I told my Glaceon to use Ice Beam to create the perfect terrain for us. Now, Glaceon, use Hail at max power!!”

Hail covered all the battlefield, with dark clouds upon us. Also, Garchomp was suffering the indirect damage of the move, and I smirked when I saw her trying to protect herself with her arms. Glaceon’s Snow Cloak activated thanks to the Hail, and Cynthia knew that she was in problems now. “Let’s keep the preassure on” I said “Glaceon, use Triple Axel!!”

One, two, and three hits. Glaceon hitted Garchomp with Triple Axel three times, making the Match Pokemon suffering a lot of damage. “C’mon Garchomp, use Flamethrower!” Cynthia said and Glaceon moved quickly, but she ended recieving damage from Flamethrower. Garchomp threw another Flamethrower, but this time, Glaceon dodge it.

“Clever” I said “Using a move like that when Glaceon was near enough that she couldn’t dodge it completly, but we are a box full of surprises. Glaceon, Healing Bell on you!!”

Glaceon used Healing Bell, healing herself and removing the damage she recieved from Flamethrower. “Now, Double Team at the same time you use Quick Attack!!”

Multiple copies of my Pokemon appeared as they started to run to Garchomp, who was confused seeing multiple Glaceon around her. Then, I ordered Glaceon to use Iron Tail, and the moved hitted Garchomp directly, making her suffer a lot of damage that made the Match Pokemon to step back a bit.

“Garchomp, use Draco Meteor!!”

“Glaceon, block it with Blizzard!!”

Blizzard blocked Draco Meteor easily thanks to the power the move recieved thanks to Hail, and in that moment, Cynthia smirked and made her Garchomp Mega Evolve. Now Garchomp was slower than Glaceon, and we needed to use that in our advantage. “Garchomp, Dragon Claw!”

“Ice Shard!!”

Mega Garchomp got blocked again by Glaceon’s move, and when I noticed that Hail was starting to disappear, I told Glaceon to use Hail again in order to keep the preassure over Garchomp. “Triple Axel!!” I ordered, and despite of Garchomp trying to protect herself, Triple Axel made contact, making her suffering more damage. “Now, is our turn to finish this battle. Maybe you have Mega Evolution, but I have something that will defeat your Pokemon.” I said as I activated my Icum Z “From the coldest and hardest blizzards, from the most beautiful winters you rise up and shows your eternal beauty, shining with the first rays of the winter sun” I said “Glaceon, use Subzero Slammer!!!”

The Z move hitted Mega Garchomp directly, and after the dust and ice little crystals dissappeared, Garchomp returned to normal as she fainted, giving the victory to us. “Ladies and gentlemen, one more time Raikichi has showed that she will do everything to keep the World Title with her, cause the victory of this battle is for the unbeatable World Champion Raikichi!!!”

The crowd went wild as Cynthia called her Garchomp back to her Pokeball and I gave Glaceon a Citrus Berry that she ate happily. “That was a good match” Cynthia said once she approached me “It reminded me to the battle we had the day after you won the Sinnoh league and decided to challenge me to get the World Title, title that you won and I recovered the title of Champion of the Sinnoh League”

“Thanks, Cynthia” I replied smiling

After that, we went to the changing rooms, were I got embraced by my fiancée, who kissed me and peppered my face with more kisses when we paeted our lips from that sweet and tender kiss. “I’m so proud of marrying you, babe” Piers said, making me blush a lot

“Thanks, love” I said as I put my Champion cape inside my bag and then, I put my jacket on me

“That battle was magnifique!” Sycamore said “I could see that you really recovered your joyful battle spirit”

“Since there are going to be a lot of people out there, why you don’t go to Mototoske and have dinner there?” uncle Kabu said

“And what about you, uncle?”

“Don’t worry, kiddo” he said with a chuckle “Is your night. Be free of enjoying it with your fiancée and you best friend.”

“Thanks, uncle” I said and then, I looked to Piers and Sycamore “Shall we?” I asked and when they nodded, we took a Flying Taxi, with Glaceon at our side, and went back to Mototoske.

It didn’t take us too long to arrive to Mototoske, and once we exited the cabin, Augustine took us to the Budew Drop Inn restaurant and after locating a table that was on the VIP zone of the restaurant, we took seat. Glaceon meowed and when I nodded, I allowed her to return to her Moon Ball, just in time cause few minutes later, the waiter came to take note of the food we were going to eat, and of course, the drinks. This time, Piers choosed a sweet soft wine with a soft fruit scent, and when Sycamore tasted it, he got surprised.

“Whoa, this is one of the best wines I’ve ever tried” he said and Piers chuckled

“Budew Drop Inn and Hotel Iona shared the same wineries, so I thought that it would be perfect to give a try to one of the wines we will be offering in our wedding at Hotel Iona” my fiancée replied

“Good choice then”

We talked during the dinner, savouring the food and the wine, and of course, the memory of that night near two months ago popped in my mind, and it looked that it also popped as well on Piers mind, and when we looked to Sycamore, his smirk confirmed that he remembered it as well.

“Are you...sure of...” Augustine started to ask. As he promised after the first time we did a three some, he wanted to make sure that both me and Piers wanted to do it again cause he didn’t want to force us, and when we both me and Piers nodded, he blushed.

We finished the dinner and then, we went to the main hall of the hotel in order to take the elevator. Once inside, Piers started to kiss my lips while both his hands and Augustine’s hands were stroking my skin under my shirt, making me shiver and moan. Once the elevator reached the floor where Sycamore’s room was, we quickly entered inside his room and after closing the curtains and locking the door, I got my lips again againts Piers’. Since the wine we drunk this time was a bit stronger than the other that we took the other night, we only drunk a bottle, but was enough to make us more aroused. I smirked when I saw both Piers and Augustine’s bulges getting so hard that they groaned when they felt that their clothes were very tight around their hard cocks. I quickly removed my clothes, and once I got completly naked, I kissed my fiancée as my hands where busy with his shirt, and when his shirt was in the floor, we parted our lips, getting my trapped by Augustine’s as his shirt fell to the floor while Piers removed the rest of his clothes.

“Look how hard both are you are~” I said with as I licked my lips

“Hey, babe” Piers said “I have an idea~”

Piers looked at Sycamore before looking at me and when I understood, I smirked and nodded, enjoying when Augustine blushed so madly when he saw both of us kneeling in front of him. “W-What are...” he tried to said but then, he got interrupted by a moan when I gave a quickl lick to the tip of his cock before sucking it. After sucking him a bit, I popped his cock out of my mouth and allowed Piers to suck Sycamore’s cock, and for some reason that made me get more aroused. Augustine moaned more and more, as both me and Piers switched turns in order to suck him, taking short breaks to take breath and to kiss our lips as my hand bumped Sycamore’s cock up and down. “Ah...Ah...Fuck, don’t stop...” Sycamore moaned, starting to pant and to tremble

“Look at our Kalosian handsome man...You can’t even talk...” Piers said as I sucked Sycamore and with my free hand, I masturbat my fiancée soflty, making him moan and then, Augustine came, spilling his seed inside my mouth. “That was quick” Piers said as I popped Sycamore’s cock out of my my mouth and I swallowed before standing up with my fiancée and kissing Augustine, making him taste himself on my lips

“W-Well, I didn’t expect that” Sycamore said blushing madly as he cleaned himself

“Wanna try it with me?” I asked him as I got Piers againts the wall. Lust was on my fiancée’s eyes, desiring to see both me and Sycamore sucking him as we did with Augustine before. Sycamore blushed madly but when he saw me kneeling down in front of Piers, he nodded and did the same. I smirked and then, I licked first the tip before starting to suck my fiancée’s cock, and after some sucks, I allowed Sycamore to taste my fiancée’s candy. Piers moaned and groaned in pleasure as our friend sucked on him. Of course, I played with Sycamore’s cock as he sucked on Piers, and when my turn arrived, we shared a kiss before I sucked on my fiancée again. “This feels so fucking good...” Piers said between moans and then, he came with a loud moan. I pulled his cock out of my mouth and after swallowing, both me and Sycamore stood up in order to get cleaned before getting myself trapped between Piers and Augustine. PIers kissed my lips with passion as Sycamore bited and kissed my neck, and while Sycamore’s hands were playing with my breasts, Piers’ hand was now stroking my wet entrance.

“You’re so wet, babe~” Piers said as I opened my legs a bit, allowing him to intruduce a finger inside my vagina, making me moan. Then, a second finger and then, a third finger. As Augustine played with my breasts and nipples, and also kissed and bited my neck, my fiancée moved his three fingers inside my sex, as he kissed my lips and my neck, making me moan so loudly that we were lucky that the room was soundproof. “My Queen...My naughty Queen...” Piers said

“Ah, fuck, fuck” I managed to say “P-Please, faster...”

“I can’t hear ya~”

“Move those fucking fingers faster, Piers” I said with a groan. Piers chuckled but moved his fingers fasters, making me moan more “Ah...I’m going to...”

But a loud moan interrupted me as I came. Piers removed his fingers inside me and then, I grabbed his wrist and when I licked his fingers, tasting myself, he blushed madly. “That’s my naughty Queen~” he said

“This Queen wants her throne now” I said with tease in my voice. Piers blushed but nodded. He laid down on the bed and then, I put myself over him, with my wet entrance over his face. He started to lick my entrance, making me moan and then, Sycamore got next to me. I started to suck his cock while Piers sucked my entrance, switching between his tongue and his fingers as my free hand reached his cock and started to estimulate it stroking the tip. The three of us moaned as heat waves hitted our cores. When I started to feel near my orgasm, I stopped sucking on Sycamore and stopped masturbating Piers, telling them that it was time for them to switch. Now, Sycamore was the one sucking on my entrance as Piers gave me that candy of his to taste again while my free hand was busy with Augustine’s cock. Again, it didn’t took me too long to feel my orgasm near, and also, to feel their own orgasm near too, so I made them stop again. “I don’t want you to come...And also I want to have the longest orgasm in my life~”

“Raikichi, babe...” Piers said with a groand as he kissed me “Don’t do that...We want to come so badly...”

“And you will come~” I replied as they got cleaned before taking the packages I gave to them

Once they got their cocks covered by the condoms, Piers laid down on the bed again, his back againts the sheets. Then, I put myself over him, and once I got his cock lined with my entrance, I slowly went down, moaning as his length filled my vagina. Slowly, I leaned down in order to kiss him as Sycamore got some lub and stroked my ass and once he got it lubricated, he slowly pushed his cock inside my ass, making me moan again, and when I nodded, both of them started to move. My body was over sensitive and with each penetration, my moans got louder and louder. Piers and Sycamore moaned as well as he moved a bit fast. Our bodies wer so sensitive cause I didn’t only deny my own orgasm, but also, their own, since I wanted the three of us to have a long orgasm tonight.

“Ah...Ah...Fuck, fuck” I said between moans “That’s it, that’s it...Ah, don’t stop...C’mon, give this naughty Queen all she wants”

“As you wish, my Queen” Piers moaned as both him and Sycamore moved faster “My love, my muse...”

“You’re starting to get very tight...” Augustine moaned before kissing my neck

And then, the three of us reached our desired orgasm, and as I wanted, it was a long one. We panted as we tried to recover our breaths after the long orgasm. I leant my head on Piers’ chest while Augustine leant a bit on me before standing up and taking his cock out of my ass careful. Then, Piers did the same, getting his cock out of my vagina with care, and when both of them removed the condoms and after covering them with tissues and throwing them to trash bin, both Piers and Sycamore went to the bathroom and then, they returned with a small bucket filled with warm water and clean towels to get ourselves cleaned. After that, Sycamore went to the bathroom to put there the bucket with the towels while my fiancée laid down next to me, being him the big spoon. Piers kissed my shoulders and neck with tender as his arms embraced me. Augustine returned minutes laters, laying down at the other side of the bed, facing me. He covered us with the blankets, and like that other night, I was now between my fiancée and my best friend.

“I have to admit that I’ve enjoyed more this three some” Augustine said and both me and Piers chuckle

“True...” I said “I loved seeing both of you begging for your orgasms”

“You know I’ll get my revenge, babe” Piers said kissing my neck as he hugged me a bit tightly

“We’ll see that” I replied, teasing my fiancée before yawning

“Tired?” he asked and I nodded, making him smile “Then, sleep well, my love...”

“Good night...” I said, and the three of us fell asleep together.

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

“You have a work to do, agent Yukigami. If your superiors tell you to kill the objetive, you do it”

“I can’t do that. We have justice for something. If we really want to make him pay for what he is doing, we should bring him to justice”

“And what would you do if you’re in trouble and the only thing you can do to save yourself is killing the enemy?”

“I’ll try to find other way”

“And you cant us to stop understimate you...You maybe be the World Champion, but you’re the youngest agent here and as I can see, you’re still very soft with somethings.”

“Going there and killing the objetives isn’t how the Interpol works!”

“We’ll see how you will act when you find out that killing the enemy is your only way to keep alive. Now go, agent Looker is waiting for you”

-----------

“Look at you, might World Champion” Ghetsis said as I fought to get my hands untied “N has failed, but I’ll destroy you...Or maybe...I could enjoy with you...”

“YOU DON’T DARE TO TOUCH HER” N yelled, only to get hitted by one of Ghetsis men

“Shut up, monster that speaks with Pokemon” the old man said, pulling my hair so hard that hurted me, but I didn’t show any signs of pain “Join me and I will allow you to live...”

“You’re a fool, Ghetsis” I said and when he made the grip on my hair less tight, I got free and then, Glaceon cut the rope of my wrists and once I got my wrists free, I picked the Light Stone that the Team Plasma grunts loyal to N recovered and with a whirl of fire, Reshiram appeared, ready to fight at my side.

“Quick, agent Yukigami!” one of my superiors yelled at me “Tell Reshiram to kill Ghetsis!!”

“I won’t do that”

“DO WHAT I ORDER YOU”

“SHUT UP” I said “If we kill him, we won’t make him pay for his crimes. There is always another way that doesn’t imply killing the enemy”

“He doesn’t deserve to be alive”

“You’re being like him, deciding who has the rights to live and who doesn’t deserve to live” I replied “Reshiram, we need to rescue Zekrom first. Then, we’ll deal with Ghetsis”

The battle started, and it got intensified but then, I had to interjece to protect N. In that moment, I recieved a Poison Jab and a Slash in my belly, and slowly, everything turned dark as I heard someone calling my name and other one saying that I was weak, that I should had killed Ghetsis and then...Silence.

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

I felt a bolt of pain on my belly, just in the place where my scars were, and with a groan, I opened my eyes. It was around 4 a.m, and that fucking dream had woken me up. I waited to the pain to dissapear and after few minutes, I sighed and looked to both my sides. Piers and Sycamore were sleeping pacefully, and my fiancée embraced me a bit tightly; I was sure he noticed I was having a nightmare, cause when I started to relax, he also relaxed his embrace. I smiled when I saw the tattoo on the left side of his chest that also covered part of his left shoulder. It was like mine, two gracideas, but he got it in a normal way, not the way I got mine with hammer and cishel. I remembered the day he told me he wanted to get a tattoo, so we went to Wyndon to the best tattoo artist in all Galar and when he asked the artist to tattoo him two gracideas, I couldn’t help but blush, especially when he told me that he wanted the gracideas cause for him, there were a symbol of our love, of the bond that we shared and kept us together.

With another sigh, I thought on the dream I had. I wasn’t the first dream I had of that style, and all those dreams started after I decided to join the Interpol again. Fuck it. Why those fucking dreams had to hunt me again? Why they had to hunt me now? Was my brain telling me to fuck me off after joining the Interpol again cause it was telling me I did wrong? Maybe. Maybe I did wrong but there wasn’t any more options. And of course, Sycamore didn’t know it. I wanted to tell him, dammit, I wanted to tell him so bad, and despite of being one of my closest friends, I couldn’t tell him yet...And I knew the reason. He was so angry with Looker while I was recovering in the hospital. He accused him and the Interpol of putting me in danger sending me to dangerous missions. Of course, my duty as World Champion was protecting people and Pokemon, and if I had to battle evil people for that, I would do it, but being with the Interpol added an extra of danger to that. And for that, Sycamore blamed Looker and the Interpol. I couldn’t blame Augustine for being that angry; when I was in the hospital, Sycamore confessed his love for me, and I couldn’t blame himn to be angry since he was really afraid of loosing me...And now I was there, thinking on how I could tell my best friend about me joining the Interpol again. I was afraid of seeing him angry or upset. Piers understood why I joined them again, but I was afraid of Augustine’s reaction.

“Babe?” Piers mumbled on his sleep “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, don’t worry...Just a bad dream” I murmured as I let him embrace me again “Sorry for waking you up...”

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not now, babe...” I replied with a yawn as I closed my eyes “I want to sleep...”

“Okay...Rest well...I’m here for you...”

I smiled as he hummed a lullaby for me, his arms around me as I faced him with my eyes closed, letting the sleep take me to dream again.

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

Again, another nightmare. This one was about me facing Lysandre. Again that nightmare. I tried to get back to sleep again, but now it was my biological clock the one that wouldn’t allow me to sleep. Fuck it. I checked the hour in the phone. 7 am. I sighed again and with a lot of care, I managed to get out of the bed without waking up Piers and Sycamore. Then, I picked Piers’ shirt from the floor and I put it over me. I smiled softly when I noticed that the scent of his cologne was still there. I went to the bathroom in order to take a long bath. Normally, I would wait for Piers, and in this case, for Sycamore too, but I didn’t want to disturb them, so I decided to prepare the bath for me at that moment. As the water was fillinf the bathtub, I looked to the mirror. Then, the words of some of those agents popped in my mind.

““You are weak”

“You are useless”

“You should have killed him, but you let him stay alive. Death was the only punishment he deserves”

“Weak, you are a weak and filthy bitch that doesn’t deserve to work with us”

Stop, stop, stop...But the words didn’t stop. “Stop it!” I growled as I punched the mirror without thinking and with the enough strenght to break the crystal in pieces. It took me few seconds to start to feel pain on my left hand and when I opened my eyes, I gasped when I saw the broken mirror, with blood on it and then, I looked my hand with blood and crystals piercing my skin. There was also blood on the sink, and of course, more little crystals fragments with more blood.

“Fuck it, fuck it, fuck it” I said trying to find something to remove the crystals as I cursed cause I didn’t close the bathroom’s door, and of course, the crash alerted Piers. I heard him calling me from the bed and when I didn’t reply, we quickly came to the bathroom and approached me when he saw the scene.

“Raikichi, what happened here?” he asked as he helped me to remove with care the crystals I had piercing my nuckles

“N-Nothing...Is was an accident” I said as I tried to control my trembling hands

“Just an accident? By Arceus, you punched the mirror very hard, babe”

“Hey, what’s going...?” Sycamore started to say half asleep as he entered the bathroom before blinking twice “What the heck happened here?”

“Raikichi punched the mirror so hard that she broke it and now she has some crystals on her hand” PIers said as Sycamore knelt down next to him to help him

“It. Was. Just. An. Accident” I said with a groan as I tried to control also the pain, with my other hand making a grip so tight on the stool that the knuckles of my right hand turned white. Then, I heard both Piers and Sycamore gasped and when I looked at them and saw that they were scared of my voice tone, I took a deep breath and relaxed the grip on the stool “S-Sorry...”

“Hey, it’s okay, darling” Piers said as he finished removing all the crystals and once he made sure there weren’t more crystals piercing my skin, he told Sycamore to give him the first aid kit while he took a clean bucket with warm water in order to clean the blood of my hand. “Here, hold on me”

“Piers, I can walk”

“You were trembling a lot minutes ago” my fiancée replied as he helped me to enter the water while Sycamore put the crystal pieces on a bag and then, he put it in the trash bin before entering with us in the bathtub. We made the water overflow a bit, but we didn’t care in that moment. Once we made sure the water tap was closed, Piers started to wash my hair while Sycamore washed carefully my wounded hand “Wanna talk about it, babe?”

“Uh?” I asked after returning back to reality and noticing that Piers was asking about what happened “No...Not now...”

“Raikichi, you can tell us is something is bothering you” Augustine said

But my silence told them to stop asking. Piers knew that sometimes, he should gave me some time to tell things. He was trying not to ve overprotective with me cause he didn’t want to make me feel overwhelmed, and Sycamore looked at me with worry on his eyes, like Piers. Once I was cleaned, I managed to get out of the bathtub first. The wounds were still bleeding, so after cleaning the blood, I looked in the first aid kit for something to use in order to treat my wounds, but my fiancée was faster and once he got out of the water and got a bit dried and the bathcoat on him, he took my hand gently and started to apply the ointment on my wounds. Then, once he was done with the ointment, he covered the wounded zone of my hand with bandages, and made them stay tightly so I wouldn’t lost them.

“Here you are” he said and then, he kissed my forehead “Hey...Don’t cry, please...”

Was I crying? Fuck. PIers smiled softly and wipped my tears away while Sycamore, that got out of the bathtub as well, put a dried towel over my shoulders when I started to shiver. “Sorry...I didn’t want to disturb you and...” I started to said but Piers interrupted me kissing my lips

“Don’t continue that phrase, love” Piers said as I stood up and removed the towel in order to get dried and then, to put the bathcoat over me and the slippers on my feet “Now go to the bed and try to sleep a bit more while we clean this mess.” he added as he and Sycamore got the slippers on their feet

“Let me help at least...”

“Please, Raikichi” Augustine said “Go to the bed and try to sleep”

“But...” I tried to say, but Piers kissed my forehead and told me with his gaze to go to bed “Okay...Just call me if you need help”

Both Piers and Sycamore nodded and then, I went back to bed. Of course, Glaceon was waiting for me on the bed. It looked that she felt that something was wrong and she got out of her Pokeball. She meowed and sniffed my wounded hand before rubbing her face carefully againts it before I laid down in bed. Glaceon curled next to me and then, I closed my eyes, trying to sleep again.

--------------------PIERS’ POV---------------------

Once we made sure Raikichi was in bed, we closed the door with care before starting to clean the blood stains on the floor and on the sink. I sighed as I kept cleaning the blood while Sycamore made sure that there weren’t any more crystals in the sink and in the floor. Both of us decided not to ask Raikichi about the incident cause we didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but that didn’t avoid us of being worried for her.

“Did she tell you why she punched the mirror?” Sycamore asked as we kept cleaning

“No...And I didn’t want to insist, at least not for now” I replied “But I think it was cause she had another nightmare”

“Another?”

“Yeah...She had a first one, but she calmed down and managed to sleep again” I said “I’m sure she had another one later and well, she didn’t punch the mirror with intention”

“I’m worried” Augustine said and I looked at him “When she was in Kalos, she asked me to get a boxing box that she could punch when she was stressed, and when she felt like that was cause bad things happened with the Interpol...That’s why I’m worried”

Dammit, Sycamore was starting to suspect. It was true that Raikichi told me not to say anything to Sycamore cause she wanted to tell him first once she found the enough courage to do it, but Sycamore was also my friend, and inside me, a little part of me wanted to tell him, but I wouldn’t betray my fiancée and I wouldn’t break the promise I made for her. “I’m worried too” I said as we finished cleaning the bathroom and once we put the bag with crystals in the trash can and the clothes with blood stains on the dirty clothes bag, we exited the bathroom “But let’s give her the time she needs, ‘kay? I don’t want to insist cause I don’t want to make her uncomfy, at least, not for now”

“Me neither” Sycamore said with a sigh “Listen, I’ll get dressed and I’ll go to the restaurant to ask for some food for the breakfast”

“Sounds good” I said “I’ll stay with her, oh, and...Don’t tell the recepcionist about the mirror...Not yet”

Sycamore nodded and after removing his bath coat, he got dressed and groomed and with the shoes on, he exited the room, closing the door behind him, and leaving me and my fiancée alone in the room. I went to the bed and after removing the bathcoat and putting clean underwear, I laid down next to her. Glaceon looked at me and nodded as she curled again, but when I stroked Raikichi’s face gently, she opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me. “Hi...” she murmured kissing me.

“Hey...Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up” I said smiling

“Don’t worry...” she replied with a yawn as she sat down on the bed. I sat down as well, embracing her and letting her to leant her head on my shoulder “Sorry...”

“Don’t say that, babe...”

“Is...I should have told you but...I’m...” she tried to say as I stroked her wounded hand gently.

“Don’t worry for that now, babe...” I said and then, I stood up when Sycamore entered in the room with the breakfast. I quickly went to help him with the food and while we put the breakfast on a table, I noticed that Raikichi wasn’t in bed. “Babe?” I asked when I saw her going to the bathroom

“I’m going to refresh my face” she said as she entered the bathroom followed by Glaceon, closing the door behind them.

----------------RAIKICHI’S POV-----------------------

With a groan and a sigh, I refreshed my face. Of course, washing my face with only one hand cause the other was bandaged was a bit difficult, but I was acommodated to those things...Then, the memories of when I had to deal with things and troubles alone popped in my mind, but I quicky put them away as I shook my head before refreshing also my nape. Glaceon rubbed her soft fur againts my legs, making me smile softly. With another sigh, thinking on what happened few hours ago, I exited the bathroom, followed by Glaceon.

“Do you feel better, my love?” Piers asked embracing me before sitting down with Sycamore in order to take breakfast

“Yeah, much better” I replied smiling softly as I took my cup with hot cocoa

“And the hand?” Sycamore asked

“Now it isn’t hurting, so that’s good” I said “Oh, I have to go to Mototoske Airport. I agreed with her to meet her in the Airport before she takes the plane back to Sinnoh”

“Oh, then we could go with you” Piers said but when he was going to say something more, his Rotom Phone vibrated and when he checked it, he cursed to himself “Shit, I forgot completly that today I have to go to Circhester to check some of the wedding things with Gordie and Melony”

“Wait, Raikichi isn’t going with you?” Augustine asked

“In other conditions I should go, but since today Cynthia leaves Galar, is my duty as World Champion to say goodbye to her, so Piers agreed to go to Circhester”

“I see..Then, if you don’t mind, I can go with you, Piers” Sycamore said

“That sounds good” my fiancée said smiling

We finished the breakfast and after getting refreshed and dressed, we left the room. We took the elevator and once we reached the recepction, I explained I had an accident in the bathroom and despite of the receptionist insisting that I didn’t have to pay the mirror, I gave them the money cause it was my fault that the mirror was broken. They accepted the money and after saying sorry again, we left the hotel.

“If you need something, call me, ‘kay?” Piers said hugging me before kissing me

“I will, babe, don’t worry”

“And if something happens...”

“Piers”

“Yes, babe?”

“I’m going to be okay, don’t worry”

“But...”

“I’m only going to say goodbye to Cynthia, just that” I said with a soft chuckle “Both you and Augustine should go. I’m sure Gordie and Melony are waiting for you”

“Okay...I love you, Raikichi” he said

“I love you too, Piers”

Piers smiled and went with Sycamore to take a Flying Taxi that would take them to Circhester, while I made my way to Mototoske Airport followed by Glaceon. Once I was there, I checked the phone. I arrived a bit earlier, but I didn’t mind waiting for Cynthia there. I sat down on one of the branches inside the airport, and Glaceon jumped onto my lap with a purr. I smiled softly and I stroked her fur, giving thanks that nobody noticed us. That was good; the last thing I wanted was to be surrounded by press.

“Hey, Raikichi” someone said and when I turned my head, I smiled. It was Cynthia

“Morning” I said, standing up once Glaceon jumped to the floor

“What happened?”

Fuck, she saw my wounded hand. “Oh, this? Just an accident”

“An accident?” Cynthia asked rising an eyebrow but she quickly changed the topic “Anyways, before I go back to Sinnoh, I want to give this to you” she added giving me a package “C’mon, open it”

I opened the packaged and I had to contain my tears when I saw what was inside. It was my pendant with Arceus symbol with three small crystals that represented Palkia, Dialga and Giratina; the pendant my maternal grandmother gave to me when I started my journey, not only as Pokemon trainer and Coordinator, but also as an historian.

“H-How...How did you...I lost it battling Cyrus before trying to stop him in the Distorsion World...How did you recover it?”

“With some help, but I managed to recover it” she said smiling “And I wanted to give it to you before I return to Sinnoh”

“Cynthia...I...Thank you so much...”

“Well, Saturn helped as well”

“Wait, Saturn?” I said. Sarturn used to be Cyrus’ second in command when Team Galactic was still up, and I had to say it but during the time I was infiltrated in their ranks as Cassiopea, Saturn treated me better than some veteran agents from the Interpol, and that was saying a lot. In fact, from the three commanders that Cyrus had, Saturn was the only one that didn’t have any idea of Cyrus’ true plans, and since he also helped me during the battle againts Team Galatic leader, I spoke in Saturn’s defense. The last thing I knew of him was that he opened a coffee shop with books so people could read books while they had their drinks, and that the name he put to his coffee shop was ‘Cassiopea’s Grace’. I smiled and nodded as I allowed Cynthia to put the necklace around my neck “Thank you so much, Cynthia...Also, tell Saturn that I’m grateful with him for this. I should call him one of these days”

“Be sure that I’ll talk with him” Cynthia said with a smile before hugging me “Take care, Raikichi. Don’t let anyone to break you down.”

“I won’t allow that”

“And be sure that I will be here for your wedding” she added before taking her things “Well, I have to go. See you soon, my dear friend”

“Good bye, Cynthia. Have a nice trip back to Sinnoh” I said with a smile

Cynthia smiled as well and went to take the plane that would take her back to Sinnoh. Then, I exited the airport followed by Glaceon. I checked my Rotom Phone to see if Piers had send me a message, but I didn’t get new messages, so I suppoused he was still with Sycamore, Gordie and Melony in Circhester. After putting my mind in order, I decided tot ake a Flying Taxi to Hammerlocke. I needed some distraction, I needed to relax myself, to find something that could help me with the chaos that was in my mind. Something or someone. Once I entered the cabin with Glaceon and after telling the driver that I wanted to go to Hammerlocke, I started to think what I was going to do there while the Flying Taxi flew to the city of great history. The most sure thing was that Raihan would be training since he was going to recieve the challengers soon, but he was a good friend, and sometimes, he acted like a brother for me, and I needed someone to listen to what was going on my mind. I needed advise, and courage too.

After more than thirty minutes, the Flying Taxi arrived at Hammerlocke. Glaceon and me exited the cabin and went to the Hammerlocke Stadium. There, I greeted the recepcionist, who told me to wait in the waiting room, but when I was going there, Aria, one of Raihan’s Gym Trainers, arrived.

“Oh, Raikichi, we didn’t know you were going to come here” she said

“Yeah, I think I should have told you that I was going to come...Is Raihan busy right now?”

“Well, he’s training cause soon he will be recieving the challengers” Aria said and then, she looked at me “But I can tell him you’re here, so he can also take a break before training again. Wait here”

I nodded as Aria went to find Raihan. I sat down on one of the chairs, and Glaceon sat down next my feet, in alert and on guard. The wounded hand was hurting a bit, but I could deal with that pain. I sighed as I put in order the things I wanted to speak with Raihan while I waited, and after few minutes, Aria returned followed by Raihan. I stood up and smiled softly. “Hi, Raihan. Ahm...Sorry for not telling you I was going to come here, I didn’t want to disturb your training but...” I said, trying to explain myself

“Don’t worry, Raikichi” he said, interrupting me with a soft smile. “Aria, tell the others that I will take a long break. You can train by your own while I’m with Raikichi” he added and when Aria left the place, he looked at me “C’mon, we’ll take something warm to drink and we’ll go to one of my favorite spots in the city”

“Raihan?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks...I mean, I...”

“Don’t worry” Raihan said smiling and guiding me to get some warm drinks and once we got them, we went to the Vault, but not inside. He sat down on a bench next to the entrance, and I followed him. Glaceon, of course, was always at my side, sitting next to me in order to lick her fur. “Here, take this” he said giving me a warm cup of capuccino with hot cocoa and a bit of cream on the top with some chocolate toppings.

“Thank you...” I said as I gave a sip to my warm drink, enjoying the delicious taste of it. Then, I looked up and smiled softly. Raihan was right; the sights from the the Vault’s place were incredible.

“C’mon, tell me. I’m all ears”

I let out a big sigh before loosing my smile. “Turn off your Rotom Phone and make sure we aren’t being spied”

Raihan looked at me but instead of saying something, he nodded. He send a message to his trainers to avoid anyone to go to the Vault and after that, he turned his Rotom Phone off and for more security, he called his Flygon and his Duraludon to watch over the place. “Well, now we are safe. No one is listening” Raihan said

I nodded and sighed again. “I’m...scared. Listen, seeing that the situation with the furtives made me return with the Interpol, so now I’m with them again...And well, when I punched this morning a mirror and Piers came to help me, I rejected his help at first and then...I’m scared...Scared of returning to how I used to be in the past, when I had to be alone...I’m also afraid of loosing Piers...”

“Why do you think that? Piers loves you, Raikichi”

“I know but...Since I returned to the Interpol, I can’t stop thinking on that...On Piers leaving me cause I’m not the brave enough to protect him or our friends...Or to see him in danger...I...”

“Listen to me, Raikichi” Raihan said, putting both cups apart in order to grab me gently by my shoulders “And look at me” At first I kept looking down, but I ended looking at him “Piers won’t leave you. Piers won’t stop loving you, cause he really cares about you. He really loves you, Raikichi, and if you need help, be sure he will be there for you”

“Then why I have all these thoughts in my mind?” I said getting myself free from his grip and leaning on the stone, my arms crossed as the breeze played with my hair.

“Because you have fear of being alone”

When he said that, I turned and looked at him. Both me and Raihan stood in our places without moving until I felt tears pouring from my eyes. I quickly wipped them again, but then, Raihan approached me and hugged me gently before we sat down again. “Piers told me a bit of what happened to you when you used to work with the Interpol in the past, and for how you reacted this morning according what you’ve told me...You’re afraid of being alone again” Raihan said “Nobody should pass through the same things as you, Raikichi, and I’m still trying to understand why those damn agents wanted you to do things alone and to be alone...But believe me when I say that Piers won’t leave you. He won’t do that. I understand that those thoights you have is because you don’t want to experience the same again”

“Raihan...”

“Tell Piers about how do you feel. Tell him about your fears. He’s the man who you are going to marry with, so open yourself more and tell how are you feeling with all those feelings that are hunting you” Raihan said and then, he smiled “And don’t worry, everything will be fine”

I took a deep breath and then, I nodded, drinking my warm-well, now it was a bit colder and once the cup was empty, Raihan took it to throw it to the trash can once we got down of the place where we were. “Thanks...I really needed to explain myself and I’m grateful with you for helping me to have my ideas more clear”

“Well, we’re friends, and I don’t like to see my friends suffering, you know” Raihan said smiling again as we took the elevator to go to the main floor “Well, I have to go back to my training”

“True...Sorry for interrupting your training” I said, a bit embarrased

“Hey, I don’t care about that. You needed help and I wanted to help, so there’s no need of saying sorry” he said

“Yeah...Thanks for everything, Raihan”

“Your welcome, Raikichi” the Dragon type Gym Leader said, smiling and showing slightly his fangs “So, what’re you going to do now?”

“I think I’m going to fly on Corviknight before going to meet Piers and Sycamore” I replied as I called Corviknight out of her Pokeball, and then, I mounted on her, followed by Glaceon “I wish you luck with your trainings, Raihan”

“Thanks, and take care”

I nodded and then, I told Corviknight to raise up and fly. We left Hammerlocke without thinking on a place to return. I still needed some more time for me to put my ideas in order before returning to Mototoske, and when we were flying over the Wild Area, I spotted a Gyarados and an Inteleon battling near the water and then, their trainer. I told Corviknight to land next to the Pokemon and when Glaceon and me got down of the Raven Pokemon, I got tacklehugged by Gyarados.

“O-Okay, I missed you to but...I need...”

“Gyarados, don’t do that” someone said and Gyarados let me free, allowing me to take a deep breath “Raikichi? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine” I said and then, I smiled “Hi, Iwalani”

Iwalani was my cousin. I grew up without any more relatives of my age, so when during my training with the Interpol in Hoenn I discovered that in fact I had another aunt by maternal line, that was my mother and uncle Juan’s sister, and that I also have a cousin, I got shocked at first but then, I was happy, cause despite of she being three years younger than me, I finally met a relative more less of my age. Of course, the most shcoking thing wa sknowing that her father was Archie, the leader of Team Aqua, but for the time I met them, Team Aqua had changed since Archie found out that to make Pokemon happy, he didn’t need Kyogre, so he stopped searching the legendary Pokemon after being near of making it destroying Sotoopolis with Groudon, and after that, he made Team Aqua collaborate with the Interpol. In my case, Lance took me there to ask Team Aqua for help during my infiltration training, and Archie showed to be a very good teacher, and a very good father and uncle-yeah, I still remembered those big hugs he gave to me when he discovered that he had a niece. After the training, we parted ways, but Iwalani showed herself in Sinnoh, and then, few months after my arrival at Galar, she arrived as well, and despite of being by her own all this time, she managed to make new friends.

“So, what brings you here, cousin?” Iwalani said as we watched our Pokemon playing together

“I needed to put my ideas in order”

“And what happened to your hand?”

“I punched a mirror too hard”

“You what?!”

“I punched a mirror” I repeated

“You used to do that when you got angry or frustrated with the Interpol...What happened this time?” she asked

I sighed and I told her what happened this morning, how I reacted with Piers and also with Sycamore, and my talk with Raihan. Iwalani sighed but smiled softly. After I ended telling her everything, she put a hand on my shoulder. “Is normal that you acted like that...But you should have told your fiancée...”

“I know but...I have these feelings and...I’m scared, Iwalani”

“I know, Raikichi, but since you returned this time with the Interpol, you said you were going to be part of the boss group, right? Then, make those fools to shut their mouths” my cousin said standing up “For Arceus shake, you’re the World Champion, you are over them. You’re also the Queen, right?” she said and I nodded “Then show them what happens when they mess with the Queen!”

“I don’t know that doing the same I did with the enemies we chased is going to be a good idea”

“Of course it will be! If they don’t want to learn to respect you bt the good ways, they will learn to respect you by the bad ways. You’re the strongest trainer I’ve ever met, and you have more courage than some of those fucking agents that claim to be the bravest of the Interpol. I’m sure that if they had to battle againts someone that is using a legendary Pokemon, most of them would be so scared that wold run away as the cowards they are!”

“Maybe you’re right...But you are acting like your father right now” I said rising an eyebrow

“C’mon, even your father would tell you the same” Iwalani said “You’re Raikichi Yukigami. You are the World Champion. You are the Queen! Is time to show those cowards that no one messes with you without paying the consequences!”

I looked at my cousin, and then, I chuckled and stood up. She was right. Since I joined the Interpol, I allowed those thoughts and feelings return, but first, I needed to deal with the ones that were disturbing me since this morning, and for that, I needed to return to Mototoske and talk with Piers. Part of me was still afraid due those fucking thoughts but I had to confront those thoughts. It was in that moment when I remembered that I didn’t turn on my Rotom Phone, and I gasped when I checked it and saw multiple calls from Piers. “Fuck” I said as I called Glaceon and Corviknight “I have to return to Mototoske. Piers has been calling me and I didn’t remember to turn on my phone, so I imagine he’s very worried right now”

“Oh, then go. I have also to go back to Postwick. Leon’s parents are waiting for me and I don’t want to make them wait too much”

Oh, it was true. Leon and Iwalani started a relationship after Piers and me started to date, but Iwalani and Leon didn’t confess their love for each other yet. Despite of that, and knowing that Iwalani didn’t have a place to stay, Leon talked with his parents and they were agreed and happy of allowing Iwalani to stay with them. My uncle, well, our uncle Kabu still distrusted her, and when he knew she was here months later my arrival, he refused to let her stay with us, and I could understand why he distrusted her, but also, he should needed to start trusting Iwalani, but it would take time. For all these years, the only niece he had apart of my mother, my uncle Juan and my aunt Kimiko, was me, and knowing after several years that Kimiko had a daughter with Archie got my uncle Kabu more shocked than me when I met Iwalani for the first time. He felt betrayed by his own niece Kimiko for hiding her daughter, but also, he also felt betrayed by the fact that she had Iwalani with the man who let free Kyogre and near destroyed Hoenn with Groudon, and to add more things, she had her with Archie when he was still with those plans of locating Kyogre in order to control and use it for his evil plans. With a sigh, I mounted on Corviknight, followed by Glaceon.

“Have a nice flight back home” Iwalani said “And don’t worry about Kabu. I know you want him to change his opinion about me, but let’s give him the time he needs for that. I don’t blame him for not trusting me; in fact, he is on his right to not trust me since I’m a former member of Team Aqua and the things with my father and my mother”

“I know, but...”

“Don’t worry about that, ‘kay?” sha said and I nodded “Well, see you soon then”

I nodded and after saying goodbye to my cousin, Corviknight flew back to Mototoske. The flight didn’t take us too much time, and when the sun was started to set, we arrived to Mototoske. Glaceon and me got down of Corviknight and after calling Corviknight back to her Pokeball, I went to meet Piers and Sycamore, followed by my loyal Glaceon, but when I spotted Piers and he spotted me, he ran approaching me and I found myself embraced between his arms on a very tight hug.

“Raikichi, I was so worried” he said when he let me go before hugging me again, this time gently, and then, he peppered my face with kisses “You didn’t reply my calls and messages and I was starting to think that something bad happened to you...I’m so glad you’re safe...”

“Hey, I’m okay...I’m sorry, after saying goodbye to Cynthia I went to Hammerlocke to speak with Raihan and then I went by my own and met Iwalani in the Wild Area before realizing what time was...Sorry for worrying you, darling” I said as he leant his forehead againts mine before letting Sycamore hug me as well. His hug was softer but also, a bit tight. “Sorry for worrying the both of you...I needed some time for me...”

“We understand, Raikichi” Sycamore said “And what about your hand?”

True. I moved the hand and hissed a little bit after noticing that it was hurting a bit, but I didn’t notice it until now. “It hurts a little but, but I didn’t notice it was hurting before...Maybe it was cause I was so distracted in other things that I didn’t realize about the pain”

Piers and Sycamore smiled softly and then, Piers took my wounded hand and kissed it gently, making me blush. “Listen, why you don’t go back home? I’m sure Raikichi needs to rest and both of you need to talk about things” Sycamore said

“Augustine...At least, let us walk with you to the hotel” I said

“Don’t worry, Raikichi” Sycamore replied with a chuckle as he called his Garchomp out of her Pokeball “Garchomp will be with me all the way back to the hotel. I have still some more days to stay here before returning to Kalos. Really, go home and rest.”

“Thanks, Augustine” both me and Piers said and after saying goodbye to him, we went back to my uncle’s house while Sycamore went back to the hotel. “I’m sorry, Piers”

“Sorry for what?” he asked as we kept walking, holding hands

“For worrying you and...”

“We can talk about that once we’re home, babe” my fiancée said with a soft smile

I nodded and together, we walked back to my uncle’s house. During the walk, Piers told about what he and Sycamore did on Circhester, that was choosing some wedding decorations and also, to show Piers some ideas Melony and Gordie had for more wedding things for the big day.

We arived and before I could use the keys to open the door, my uncle opened it. “I was waiting for you both” he said as we entered and then, he closed the door while Glaceon went to the living room as Piers and me removed our coats. “Raikichi, can we talk?”

“Sure, uncle”

“Then I’m going to prepare you a relaxing bath” Piers said and both me and my uncle nodded

Uncle Kabu took me to the sofa and we sat down, and then, he took my wounded hand gently and removed the bandages to see the wounds, ignoring me telling him not to do that. It was in that moment when I froze, and my uncle noticed it. “Kiddo?” he asked and then, I blinked twice

“Sorry...Is...” I tried to say but sighed as I let out soft sobs “Why is this happening? Why I can’t get ride of this?”

“Hey, Raikichi...” my uncle said stroking my back gently “Is not easy to get ride of all the things that happened to you...Is not easy to forget those years, the things you did or the way you were...”

“But I don’t want to feel the same again! I’m scared of being alone!” I said, crying as I wipped my tears away “I...When I punched that mirror and Piers came to help and I told him not to help me...And all of those things came back to my mind after I decided to join the Interpol again...I hate it...I hate it...I don’t want to be alone again....I don’t want Piers to...I’m scared of ending alone...I...”

“C’mon here, kiddo...” uncle Kabu said hugging me “You’re not alone, Raikichi. We won’t allow you to be alone again...”

“I just want to get ride of those thoughts...”

“And you will...But it takes time, kiddo...”

“I know...” I said with a sigh before standing up “Thanks, uncle...I’m...I’m going to take that bath...”

“And I’ll do a proper meal. Go and relax, kiddo”

I nodded and went to the bathroom with Glaceon, only to be hugged by Piers when I entered after closing the door behind me. Was he crying? Yeah, he was, but also, I was crying as well. “Piers...I’m...” I tried to say but when Piers shooked his head gently and started to stroke my back and hair, I couldn’t help but cry and let all those tears away. Moments before I was trying to control it but now, in my fiancée’s arms, I couldn’t. “I’m so sorry, Piers...I should have trusted you more and not trying to reject your help like that...I’m scared, Piers, I’m scared of seeing you leaving me cause I’m not the enough brave or strong to protect everyone...Of being alone again with all the problems and...I’m also scared of not being able to make it if I have to deal with the danger and...”

The sobs avoided me to keep talking properly, and I couldn’t help but cough when I chocked with my sobs as I cried. Piers held me strong, but also, with tender. Words weren’t needed in that moment; he knew it, so he held me againts him as I kept crying until I started to feel exhausted. Slowly, I calmed down, trying to control the small hiccups I got after crying loudly.

“Better?” he asked gently as he stroked my face gently

“Yeah...” I replied softly as I removed my glasses in order to rub my eyes, and then, he hugged me again before kissing me gently “Piers...I’m so sorry...You’re the man I love, the one who has my heart and love...And I feel so stupid for not trusting you more and...I mean...”

“It’s okay, my love” Piers said smiling softly “I’m not going to blame you for that, babe...But I’m going to ask you something”

“Uh?”

“Let me help you. Let me help yo deal with the things that worry you. Let me help you to deal with that mark that those years in the Interpol left on you...Is so hard to see you suffering like that...Is so hard to see you thinking on those years...Let me be at your side and help you with this” he said “You’re not alone anymore, Raikichi. I will make sure that you won’t be alone anymore.”

“Piers...Don’t tell me that you heard the talk I had with my uncle...” I said and when he nodded, I sighed “Since I decided to return to the Interpol, I’ve been fighting to keep my trust in myself up but...When I woke up this morning, the words of those agents that used to understimated me cause I was young, ignoring that I was the World Champion, appeared in my mind again and without thinking, I punched the mirror, begging for those thoughts and memories to go away...I should have told you this before but...”

“Hey, it’s okay” Piers replied “You didn’t want to tell us at first cause you had your reasons, and I didn’t want to insist...But I’m glad you managed to tell me...”

“Yeah...But I thought you would be a bit upset cause I didn’t trust you...”

“Oh, my silly, dearly, lovely Queen, do you see that I’m upset?” he said smiling softly and when I shooked my head, he chuckled a bit “How in this world I could be upset with you, my love? I knew that you were having trouble, but I told you to take your time to tell me cause I understood that you needed time to put your mind in order, so please, don’t think I’m upset cause I’m not upset. And of course, I won’t leave you. I will be at your side”

“Even if I face danger?” I asked and when he nodded, I got a bit tense before relaxing “I don’t want to...”

“If we face danger together, we’ll be able to be successful againts it, more than if you face it alone. And remember that we have also our friends”

I nodded and Piers kissed me before hugging me and then, he helped me to get ride of my clothes, and once he got naked as well, we entered in the bathtub. Glaceon was still there, curled on the soft carpet that was in the floor, and when Piers and me were in the bathtub, covered by the warm water and the soft foam of the bath bomb, Glaceon approached us, sitting next to the bathtub.

“Piers?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t tell Sycamore about this...I want to tell him”

“Sure, babe”

I smiled as I allowed Piers to give me a massage as Glaceon used Healing Bell. Slowly, I noticed that the wounds of my hand started to heal and then, when I looked at my hand, I looked at it with surprise cause I didn’t get any scars for those wounds. “Thanks, girl” I said and Glaceon meowed happy as she kept using Healing Bell to make sure the wounds of my hand were completly healed.

After the bath and after getting my hand healed, we got dried and dressed with our sleeping clothes. We exited the bathroom and went to the kitchen to help my uncle with the dinner, but by the time we went to help him, he was finishing preparing the desserts. “Did the bath relax you?” uncle Kabu asked as we had dinner

“Yeah, and thanks to Glaceon, the wounds of my hand are healed and gone. And look, no scars on my hand”

“That’s good, kiddo”

Both me and Piers chuckled and we spent the rest of the meal talking with my uncle about the wedding, but also, about the Gym Challenge. After having dinner, I started to feel my eyelids a bit heavier, so I went to my room followed by Glaceon. In the room, Sango, my Obstagoon, was sleeping pacefully with Piers’ Obstagoon. I smiled as I removed my glasses and slipped under the covers of my bed. Glaceon jumped onto the bed and curled at my feet just in time, cause minutes later, Piers entered in my room, and after closing the door behind him and removing his ponytail, he laid down next to me, embracing me. I turned to face him and I smiled as I closed my eyes, my hands on his chest.

“Tomorrow will be a better day” he said

“Yeah...” I said with a yawn

“Sleep well, my Queen, I love you”

“I love you too, my King...” I said and then, I fell asleep.

#piers x oc #pokemon sword and shield #trainersona #raikichi pkmn #pokemon OC #a song to heal a tired soul

3 notes · View notes

adenei · 4 years ago

Note

“Go. You go and don’t even think about coming back here.” for Romione 😊

@my-patronus-is-a-champagne-glass Thanks for the prompt! I really loved writing this one!!

************************************************************* Hermione stood up from her desk and gathered her things. “Elizabeth, I’m taking the afternoon. I have an appointment outside the Ministry. I’ll see you on Monday,” she said to her colleague and friend.

“Ooh, more wedding stuff?” Elizabeth whispered.

Hermione smiled. “Something like that.” The wedding was only a month away now, so her assumption was justified.

“Brilliant! Have a great weekend, Hermione!”

“See you,” Hermione responded as she made her way to the lifts.

Hermione was headed to see a mediwitch at St. Mungo’s. Everything had been seemingly fine with her since Malfoy Manor, save for a few spasms now and then if she exerted too much energy on any given task. She’d recently talked to Fleur who had made the suggestion. Hermione had tried to reassure Fleur that she was fine, and she was the one to thank for that, but Fleur wasn’t convinced.

‘Zer could be hidden damage zat I did not catch. It would be best to have a mediwitch check for ze things I could not.’

So Hermione was on her way to get the work up done, and to be reassured of a clean bill of health.

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

Ms. Belmont, the mediwitch, had just finished performing a number of spells, which was the last part of the work up. Hermione had already been administered potions, and answered a series of extensive questions about what she remembered of the events of Malfoy Manor before this point. She genuinely liked the woman who was helping her.

“Well, Ms. Granger, I have good news and bad news after reviewing the scans.” Ms. Belmont said.

“Oh?” Hermione asked.

Ms. Belmont nodded. “Despite the extensive time and force you were under during the Cruciatus, your body has not undergone any significant damage. You were incredibly strong in fighting it. However, the spells did detect layers of scar tissue around your lower abdomen, around the outside of your uterus. It will likely affect your ability to conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy in the future.”

Hermione stared at the mediwitch. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was expecting to hear, but it wasn’t that. She’d never even thought there could be any repercussions in that area of her life.

“It’s not to say that you can’t get pregnant, but it will be more difficult. Luckily, the uterus itself is not damaged, but the scar tissue around the outside could cause problems as it needs to expand as a baby grows.”

“I see,” was all Hermione could say.

“I will be more than willing to work with you if you and your partner come to a point where you are ready to start a family, of course. Do you have any other questions for me?” Ms. Belmont asked.

“Er, no, not right now. Thank you,” Hermione said.

“Of course. Please don’t hesitate to owl if you need anything.” Hermione nodded at the mediwitch’s words and gathered her things.

She exited St. Mungo’s, and began walking down the street. Ms. Belmont’s words were echoing in her brain as she walked aimlessly. Hermione was having trouble thinking straight. She turned down an abandoned alley and apparated away. She found herself not in front of her own flat, but in front of Shell Cottage. Her body seemed to be working of her own accord as she felt her hand knock on the door.

Fleur opened the door after a few moments. “Hermione! Please, come in. Victoire just settled in for a nap.” As she shut the door and turned to look at Hermione, she noticed the look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

Hermione sat on the couch in the sitting room. “It’s...I’ve just been to see a mediwitch. She was very nice, did a full work up and everything. I’m truly always amazed at how Magical medicine works…” she trailed off.

Fleur was busy heating the kettle for tea, and gathered mugs from the cupboard. When Hermione didn’t continue, she turned to her and asked, “Eez everything okay?”

“Y-yes, for the most part. The only thing she found was some scar tissue.”

Fleur poured the hot water in the mugs and brought them over, sitting across from Hermione. “Where eez the scar tissue?”

Hermione’s throat tightened as she looked down and clutched her lower abdomen.

“Oh, Hermione I am so sorry.” Fleur said. This was what she was afraid of.

“It’s- I’ll be fine. I just- I needed to tell someone. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Ron. How is he going to want to marry me still if I can’t-”

“Hermione, do not speak like that,” Fleur stopped her, but before she could continue, Victoire began crying in her room upstairs. “Please, take all ze time you need here, but do not make any rash decisions.”

Hermione sat quietly sipping her tea as Fleur tended to Victoire. She kept trying to come up with ways to tell Ron. He didn’t even know she’d been to the appointment at all. She remembered back to the times they’d talked about the prospect of kids and starting a family someday. His face always lit up at the prospect, and he was such a wonderful uncle to Victoire. Hermione felt the tears start to stream down her face. She couldn’t take that away from him.

Fleur came down a while later with Victoire in tow. “Listen, Hermione, you are more than welcome to stay, but I promised Molly zat we would be by for dinner, and Bill eez meeting us there.”

“Oh! Of course, it’s fine. I need to get going anyway. I should probably get home before Ron wonders.”

“I’m so sorry. You know I am always here if you need to talk, of course. We’ll see you on Sunday?”

“Yes, yes of course. Thank you for the tea.” Hermione then told Fleur she’d rather apparate than floo, and saw herself out as she heard Fleur lock the front door and floo to the Burrow.

The sun was warm and the fresh air felt nice against her skin. Hermione decided to walk on the beach before settling on an abandoned log, watching the water. She thought she’d put the war past her. The nightmares had stopped ages ago, everyone had healed, and then she had to go and tear open all those old wounds. Tears began to fall again. How could she have been so stupid to believe she’d walked away from the Cruciatus Curse unscathed, by Bellatrix Lestrange no less.

Hermione had lost track of time, having forgotten to wear her watch that day, as her thoughts began to spin out of control. She wasn’t sure how long she was sitting there, and was only brought back to reality when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. No, no, no, I’m not ready. I can’t confront him yet, she thought.

“Hermione? Hermione!” Ron called as he moved quickly towards her. “Why didn’t you come home? I stopped by your office to pull you away from your desk for the day, but Elizabeth said you’d left for the afternoon, but then you weren’t at the flat either. I checked your parent’s house and the Burrow, and that’s when Fleur said you’d been here, but she thought you’d gone home.” He paused to look at her, noticing how she stared straight ahead, instead of looking at him. “What’s wrong?” Ron made to move to her side, but stopped abruptly when she backed away and held her hands up as if to stop him.

“I’m sorry. I just, Ron, I really need to be alone right now. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“What? Hermione, where were you this afternoon? What happened?” Ron was confused by her reaction.

Hermione shook her head. “I can't right now. I just need a little space! Please, just-. Go. You go and- and don’t even think about coming back here. Please. Not right now. I’ll be home later.”

“But Hermione-”

“Ron, please!” Her voice broke ever so slightly. It was all she could do to hold it together. She couldn’t do this right now. She needed more time to process this on her own.

“No,” he said. They hadn’t had a row like this in years. Ron had no idea what had happened, but the look he’d seen on Fleur’s face earlier indicated she knew more than she was letting on.

“Ron, why can’t you just give me the space I’m asking for?” she pleaded with him.

“Because we’re not in school anymore, Hermione! I’m not just going to walk away and let you sort it out and ignore me. We’re getting married in a month! I thought we were past this!” He let the frustration take over his words.

“You may not be saying that anymore after you do find out what this is all about,” Hermione realized a moment too late that the words had escaped her as she clasped her mouth with her hands, hoping the ocean breeze prevented her quiet words from being heard.

“What are you on about?” Ron sat down next to her in disbelief of what he’d just heard. The anger had dissipated and now all he could feel was fear. The fear that he could be losing her. He softened his tone. “Hermione, please. Talk to me.”

Hermione closed her eyes as a few more tears escaped. “I went to see a mediwitch today.” She waited a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. “To- to make sure there were no...lingering effects from the Cruciatus Curse.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“Because I was sure it would all check out to be fine, and I didn’t want to worry you.” Hermione sighed.

“But it’s not fine. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here right now.”

“No,” she said plainly.

“Please tell me.”

Hermione took a deep breath in and exhaled deeply. “There’s a good chance I may not be able to carry a child. It’s not- It’s not definitive, but she said I could have a harder time because of the layers of scar tissue that’s built up around my uterus.” Hermione subconsciously moved her hand over her stomach.

Ron felt like he’d been sucker punched. Not because of Hermione’s confession, but because she thought he might not want to go through with the marriage because she might not be able to have children. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

“Hermione, love, I wish you would have told me. That I could have been there with you.” He tried to reassure her.

“I’ll understand if you want to call things off, since I can’t give you a family.” It was as if she hadn’t heard him, or felt his arms around her.

“I’m not going anywhere, so bloody get that thought out of your head right now. You’re my whole world, Hermione. Kids or no kids, that doesn’t matter to me. You matter to me. We’ll figure this out together. I love you.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

She felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her as she melted into him. “I love you, too.” She looked up at him, her eyes finally meeting his. Ron kissed her hard then, channeling all of the emotion he felt into that one kiss.

When they broke apart, Hermione chewed on her bottom lip before admitting, “I just thought we were finally past it. The nightmares are gone, the pain is gone, but now this will always be a constant reminder. It’s like she’s haunting me on purpose.”

Ron shook his head. “No. Don’t even think that. You haven’t let her get the best of you yet, so we can’t let this setback change anything.”

“I know, I know.” Hermione said. He was right after all. “I’m sorry I tried to push you away. I was just so scared.”

“Well, being alone never helps anything. Learned that the hard way. I hate to break it to you, Hermione, but you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Ron said as he played with her hair.

“Good.” Hermione said through a smile. “Can we go home now?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

Send me a prompt!

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kylo-hen · 4 years ago

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Physical Education

A/N: This is my first fic I’ve ever published please be gentle lmao. Feedback is welcome though, I have no clue what I’m doing and it shows.

Clyde Logan & Sadie’s Teacher!Reader

Warnings: None I can think of other than probable grammatical error and fluff

Summary: Sadie decides to bring her Uncle Clyde to career day and he hits it off with her teacher.

Physical education

Teaching is not a learned skill. It’s not taught like math or science, and it’s not something you can take as an extra-curricular in high school. Yes, you can get better over time and with practice but sometimes it just comes down to whether or not you have the gift. Patience.

When I was younger, I used to wait in line at the bus stop dutifully like my mama taught me, hair tied up in an updo that probably took mama way too long to do in the ungodly hours of six am. She used her steady practiced hands to guide my hair into the place she wanted, and that’s when I learned I came from patient people. She would listen to my stories with rapt attention, nodding when needed, and interjecting her own wisdom only when she knew it was right. She was the most patient woman in the world and I learned everything I knew about teaching from her.

When she passed, I knew she just wanted me to be happy, she never pushed me to be anything less than that. She waited out all the phases, the trials and errors of my college years, the rough patch of rebellion in high school, and even the short time after college when I had refused to do anything but take care of her in her final months of life. She urged me to go and work more than part time at big earl’s dinner down the road, she urged me to use my gift.

After she was gone, the funeral was finished, and the casserole pans returned to the PTA moms who lent them, there wasn’t much tethering me to the once special town that I lived. The memories there were more bitter than sweet and I couldn’t bring myself to stay. So, when the time was right and the dust settled, I applied to teach in all parts and I promised the first job that gave me a green light would be the one to take. That’s what got me to where I am today, a third-grade teacher in Boone County, West Virginia.

I enjoy teaching third grade; they have such big hearts and rarely ever is there an issue of behavior more than an over-excited kid in class. They look at the world so with wonder in every instance and my job is to facilitate that growth. This being my first year at Boone County Elementary school came with a rather big learning curve, with everyone knowing everyone else in town it was hard to break into the system the town had somehow set up. There was an unspoken understanding of respect and honor to some, not that those always earned it, and that others were destined to repeat the past.

Sadie Logan was one of those poor souls labeled with a curse of some kind. The kids in her class mentioned it at all given occasions when Sadie proved herself smarter and stronger than them. Sadie was smart as whip, funny as all get out, and had a big heart full of love for the people in her life. She sat with me in my room before class and I taught her all sorts of things from checkers, to long division. When the spring came around so did the third-grade class’s career day, which Sadie’s usual excitement for school seemed to double.

The morning after the day was announced and the forms were sent home, Sadie came bursting into my room with her usual intense excitement, “Miss L/N!” she called out.

“Is that Miss Sadie Logan already?” I teased while she hung her backpack on her hook that lined the wall opposite of the board, “I could have sworn It was too early to have a monkey in class!” She flipped around with a loud laugh and a piece of paper in her hand.

“I’m not a monkey, Miss L/N!” she approached my desk proudly, “I gotta question ‘bout career day though!” She swayed back and forth as she waited for me to respond.

“Alright then Miss Sadie, shoot.”

“Well, I told my mama ‘bout it and she wanted Moody-” at the mention of his name I felt my skin start to crawl. He wasn’t my favorite parent having already disrespected me on meet the teacher night back in October. His wandering eyes and condescending attitude made me want to cry by the end of the night. I just hoped he wouldn’t rub off on sweet little Sadie.

“- to do it, but Moody said he can’t just stop workin’ for some stupid fair!” She sighed exasperatedly like he had personally offended her, which I’m sure he did, “which is st- it’s silly, Miss L/N! So, when my Daddy came by to pick me up for ice cream, I asked him!” she grinned ear to ear, I hadn’t met her father but Sadie spoke so highly of him I couldn’t imagine him to be anything less than a proper gentleman.

“So, your daddy’s gonna’ be the one comin’ in?” I asked softly, after she paused taking a big breath.

“Well, not quite! I talked to my daddy and he can’t because he’s gonna be workin in the mines that day and he don’t have enough time off to be able to come!” I frowned at her words, I was really hoping to have her father come so I could tell him how great Sadie was in and out of class. I also know how happy she would be to have her dad there to sit with her at lunch and tell stories and play with her at recess. “But don’t worry! He came up with an even better plan, but I gotta’ ask your permission first!” She beamed up at me in the thought of her plan.

“Now what did your daddy think up for ya’?” I asked, excited to hear more of the shenanigans he had planned for the two of them.

“Since he couldn’t come and Moody couldn’t either! And mama don’t have a job!” I gave her a look, telling her to respect her mama whether she had a job or not. “what? S’not mean if I’m just bein’ honest Miss. L/N!” She defended herself.

“I know that Sadie, but it’s your tone a’ voice.” I spoke softly to the girl, “Your mama works hard to make sure you’re happy and healthy and that’s very important.” I explained and she seemed to take a moment to let the words sink in. “So, if your daddy can’t come and neither can Moody, and you don’t want your mama to come, then who’s comin’ in for ya?” I asked putting the girl back on track.

“Well, My Uncle Clyde said he could do it!” She bounced excitedly, “And he’s real cool too! He was in the army and now he has one arm and he’s super tall and sometimes he puts me on his shoulders and walks me around and I can touch the clouds!” She rambled on about her uncle excitedly. Sadie had mentioned her uncle Clyde in passing, she knew he was a veteran, that he liked goin’ with Sadie and her dad to the fair, and now that he was super tall. A warm glow in my heart began to bloom at the idea of meeting someone from her dad’s side of the family. Sadie was such a good kid that the side of the family must be a good one.

“That sounds like a great plan! What do you need to ask permission for?”

“Well, my mama said that since he wasn’t my… legal guardian I had to ask.” She spoke like her mama made her rehearse it before dropping her off this morning. “So, is it alright if my uncle comes instead?” She pleaded with me.

“That’s just fine with me Miss Sadie.” I spoke, taking her slip from her to sign off on the change of plans, as I finished my signature the bell rang and with it the rest of the class began to filter their way into the classroom. “Why don’t you put this in your take home folder and find your seat before we start the pledge?” I smiled down at her and she beamed back before heading to her desk. With Sadie in her seat and the rest of the class milling about, the day began.

Career day came around quicker than I’d have liked. I had pushed of decorating until the morning of, which I’m currently regretting as I stand on a chair desperately trying to pin up the second half of the banner, I had made last week. I had already hung some streamers, set up extra seats, and re-arranged the desks so they’re in a semi-circle. I also lugged my old card table from my garage for the refreshments the parents were bringing.

With not much time left before class I found the second half of the banner was going to be a bigger stretch than I was anticipating. Beads of sweat began to collect on my forehead, I thanked all that was holy I had extra deodorant in my desk just in case.

If I stretched just a couple inches further the banner would be perfectly taught, as I pushed one last time to secure it, I heard the door open behind me.

“Miss L/N!” Sadie shrieked in excitement, bounding into the class, unfortunately for me when I tried to swivel to greet her, I miscalculated the end of the chair. Once I was about halfway facing the girl my foot began to slip, and I braced myself for the impact of the floor beneath me.

Instead of the floor meeting my impact I was embraced by a solid chest and the aroma of deep pine, leather, and a smokey bonfire. I felt the firm arm that circled my waste, it was warm and sturdy like my mother’s hands in my hair when I grew up, or my grandfather when he would come by to fix stuff around the house before he died. The feeling was like waking up on Sunday and it smelled like the first feeling of fall. When I opened my eyes, it was even more enchanting.

When Sadie mentioned her Uncle Clyde, she should have said he was younger than her father. She also could have warned her how attractive he is. No, that would have been weird. Clyde looked down at me with concern in his whiskey colored eyes, a deep furrow in his brow, and I couldn’t help the heat that crept up from my spine into my chest and face. The awkward shame of being a complete clutz in front of this incredibly attractive man.

“You alright ma’am?” He asked in a soft voice, oh god his voice, that only made me want to hide under my desk than confront the fact I’ve made an absolute fool of myself.

“Yes,” I stammered out, re-gaining my upright footing on the ground and straightening out my clothes only to realize the man standing in front of me is well over six feet tall. I stared up at him with wide eyes before I realized he was waiting for me to say something, “I’m so sorry, Mr. Logan this isn’t how I expected to meet anyone today,” I looked around to make sure no one else was here but Sadie, “My name is-“

“Miss L/N,” He finished for me with a small polite smile, “Sadie talks ‘bout you a lot, she loves your class.” He compliments and I felt my heart grow at the praise.

“Well, I love having Sadie In my class, she’s a bright lady, and please, call me y/n,” I clarified, which wasn’t something I was planning on doing with parents, but he wasn’t Sadie’s guardian.

“Well then, y/n, you can call me Clyde,” He extended his arm to shake and I took it happily. “Do you want me to hold the chair while you finish up with the banner? It’s too nice to be hangin’ from one side.” He complimented again which was sending shockwaves of joy through my veins.

“That would be really helpful Clyde, thank you.” I replied, carefully stepping up to the chair and grabbing the end of the banner. With the steady help of Clyde, hanging the banner was a breeze. Once it was set and I stepped off the chair, with another helpful hand from Clyde, I was able to breathe fully.

Sadie, who had been sitting in the back corner of the room I had set up for a comfortable reading center, popped up. “Uncle Clyde, what’d you pack for lunch?” She was dead set on the odd question.

“Aunt Mellie packed us the same lunch Sadie bug, so I reckon’ I’ll have what you’re havin’.” He spoke in few words but I hung onto each as if they would be the last he ever spoke in front of me.

“Miss L/n?” she turned her attention to me, “Are ya’ gonna eat lunch with Uncle Clyde and me?” She spoke, sometimes on special days teachers sit with their students at lunch, but today was not one of those days.

“Not today Sadie, I’ve got to stay in here and guard the room from the hallway trolls!” I exaggerated for her delight. She giggled and when I looked up, I saw Clyde had a soft endearing smile on his face that made me want to jump head first into him.

“We oughta’ leave her to that for lunch huh Sadie bug?” Clyde offered and Sadie nodded earnestly plopping back down in the corner to finish her book. Clyde looked back at me bashfully, like I had caught him in a private moment.

“It’s real sweet for you to be here today.” I started as I walked to the refreshment table, “Would you like a coffee?” I offered him. When I turned back, he snapped out of the daze he was In and nodded silently as I poured him a cup into a cheap Styrofoam cup. “I don’t know many uncle’s who would step up like this. Cream?”

“Erm- no. No, thank you.” He stammered and I handed him the cup, “Us Logan’s tend to be a tight knit bunch.” He affirmed my beliefs.

“That sounds nice.” I hummed, sipping my own coffee from earlier.

“That’s what families do.” He stated, underplaying the significance of his situation.

“Not all families,” I murmured mostly to myself.

“Hm?” He asked for clarification, I hadn’t even realized he heard me.

“Oh! Nothing, sorry, I was talking to myself really.” I felt the embarrassment rise in me again. When I looked up at him to say something the bell rang. “Well, hope you enjoyed the quiet, I doubt you’ll be gettin’ any more of that here.” As if proving my point, the class, and their respective parents filed in for the start of the day.

The whole morning was filled, one by one people explaining their job, how they got it, why they like it, and what the best thing about their job is. That’s followed by a series of questions from the students which almost never have anything to really do with their job.

Clyde was the last to go, explaining how he was in the army, why he joined the fight, he told a story about one of his friends he met in Iraq and that he’s a bartender now. After a couple minutes of explaining what a bartender is, and what he does now that he’s not in the army, the kids finally asked about his hand. I expected him to get a little agitated maybe, or shy, but really, he took the questions in a stride.

“How do you pee with one hand?” one of the kids questioned, his mother immediately blushing out of the second-hand embarrassment, but before Clyde could answer or the mother could reprimand him, I interrupted.

“Mr. Bradley, you know better than that sir.” I began softly, “Remember last week we talked about boundaries, well you’ve gotta apologize for breakin’ Mr. Logan’s boundaries.” I reminded him, and he let out a disappointed apology at the man.

“S’alright, I actually get that one a lot from people a lot older than you.” He joked and some of the parents in the back laughed it off. “’Sides I got this fancy arm here now.” He lifts up his sleeve to show off the dark green prosthetic. It looked incredibly high tech and impressive, but all I could wonder was how that metal would feel in contrast to his skin.

Before I could go any deeper into that thought the bell rang and it was time for recess. I stood in front of the class, next to Clyde, and announced “Alright friends! It’s recess time, I want you all to line up with your parent’s behind Mr. Logan here, and we’ll go out.” I grabbed my keys and stood just in front of Clyde watching the mass of students and parents file into a nice line.

Once everyone was set, I led the class out the classroom, down the hall and out a side door to the playground. I led them to a big oak tree next to a bench in the shade. “Alright friends! I know all my smart children know this but once the recess monitor blows the whistle we meet back here!” I announced, mostly for the adults. “Now, make sure you’re all careful and nice to each other, if your guests want to play, they can but if they don’t, we have to do what?” I asked, waiting for their response.

“Respect their choice.” The class answered in a monotone fashion, just ready to get on the playground. So, I dismissed them and in a varying degree of excitement the crowd dispersed. Most parents went off with their kid but Clyde seemed to linger back.

“Mind if I hang back for a bit?” He asked politely gesturing to the bench I was already seated on.

“Not one bit,” I allowed and he sat with a gruff sigh, “I’m surprised you’re not bein’ pulled in a million directions. After the boys found out you were in the army, I thought they’d be buggin’ ya to play with them.” I wondered aloud, watching the young kids kick around a soccer ball in the field.

“I think that’s Sadie’s doin.” He answered shortly, only elaborating when I gave him a confused look.

“She talkin’ bad about you behind your back?” I asked.

“No, I think she was hopin’ you and I’d be friends.” I stiffened, my quick little crush on him must be obvious for his third-grade niece to try and throw me a bone.

“Oh, Clyde I’m sorry, if you don’t want to sit with-“ I began, but he cut me off.

“Don’t worry Darlin, if I didn’t want to sit with ya’ I wouldn’t be.” He affirmed in his sturdy assured manner of speaking. I subconsciously moved closer to him. “I hope you don’t mind my askin but, what brings you to Boone County?” He asked innocently.

“Well Clyde I’d tell ya’ but I think it would take me a couple drinks first.” I avoided the answer, knowing if there was any chance this man liked me back it would be squashed by me crying on him at the playground.

“That does seem to be my specialty darlin’.: He replied smoothly, gaining a confidence I hadn’t seen in him earlier. Maybe he was being polite, but I hoped he was just getting more comfortable with me.

“Well, then you should have no trouble making drinks strong enough to get my secrets from me.” I rebutted; it was a little too honest for my liking but the way Clyde was looking at me made me want to tell him all my little truths.

“I’ve got different ways of gettin’ secrets out of a lady and gettin’ you drunk ain’t one.” He responded with an understated grin, it’s like he knows what he is doing to me.

The rest of recess was spent under the sturdy oak tree on a bench talking to Clyde about trivial things. He didn’t bring up anything from my past that he may want to know and vice versa. I was curious how a man like him could be single until it hit me that he never really specified that he was in fact single. The thought of Clyde having a wife or girlfriend at home waiting for him made my stomach turn all throughout the lunch period. I thanked God that I was able to regroup in my room rather than stand in the cafeteria monitoring the kids.

I spent most of the period cleaning up the room and setting out a craft that would take a good portion of the rest of the day since the kids weren’t going to their usual elective class. This helped even my mind out of funk Clyde put it in. Just as I felt like my brain, and its hormones, mellowed out there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, Clyde stood there with none other than Sadie on his shoulders.

“Hope ya’ don’t mind Miss L/n!” Sadie said excitedly, “Uncle Clyde and I finished lunch early and snuck out!” She let out a mischievous laugh.

“Well,” a chuckle slipped past my lips, half in shock and half amusement of their antics, “Since you’re still with Clyde I can let you get away with it just once.” Clyde’s cheeks burned at my statement and I shot him an innocent smile. He ducked through the doorway enough to get Sadie through safely, then brought her down careful not to drop her.

“Sadie, since you’re here would you out a worksheet at every desk for me?” She nodded and worked diligently to do what we asked. I turned to Clyde who was unceremoniously eating a cookie from the table of refreshments. “So, what brings you from the cafeteria? Mrs Lowells Cookies?”

Clyde, not expecting to be seen mid-cookie, chokes a bit, “No-“ He pauses to regain composure, “No, I er- I didn’t want you ta be lonely in here?” His questioning tone and red cheeks told me it wasn’t the full story, but like we did under the oak, I didn’t push him.

“Oh? That’s awful sweet Clyde, was its Sadie who offered to keep me company?” I asked knowing that it was most definitely not. Sadie was a social butterfly, and lunch was her domain in the third-grade class. “Hm? Sadie?” Clyde smirked, knowing full well I was onto his schemes, “Of course Miss L/n, what are you trying to insinuate here?”

“Nothing Mr. Logan,” I took a step closer to the man, being mindful there was still a child in the room, “What did you think I was insinuating?” I challenged his notion and was met with a blossoming blush and shy smile.

“Nothing improper,” he raised his hand to show three fingers, “Scouts honor darlin’.” At that a burst of joy exploded in my chest. Clyde Logan was a gentleman through and through and it made me want to burst.

“Alrightie then Scout, how bout’ you help little Sadie pass out papers, lunch is just about over.” He broke his gaze and it felt like the world around me faded back into view. I wondered how many women sat across his bar and felt the same. Am I just another girl falling under the spell of a charming, well-mannered, one-armed, bartender? I turned to look at him passing out the papers with all the seriousness of a drill sergeant in basic training. It was incredibly endearing.

Yet again, the bell rang and the moment of wonder between Clyde and I was interrupted by the trickling stream of students.

The rest of the day was surprisingly chaotic for a worksheet and a craft. Two bottles of glue were spilled, both by adults, and there was a cotton ball fight that led to two students’ clips being moved to yellow and two parents sent to the hall to cool off. The headache that was reverberating around my head after a day spent taking care of the students and the parents must’ve been the biggest one in a long time. As I was cleaning up, I found that Sadie had left one of her drawings on her desk, which was odd because Sadie always made a point to take hers home for her dad.

I took the paper and put it on my desk to save for her, and once I was satisfied with the state of the room, I decided to see what the drawing was. On one side of the page was a nice tree over looking some flowers and a house, a skilled drawing for their age, but that was nothing new for Sadie. On the back however, it was a very different message.

Miss L/n, my uncle Clyde thinks you’re pretty. He works at the Duck tape bar every night except for Mondays (or whenever he gets sick).

p.s.: you should marry him so you can be my aunt.

I never did take Sadie for a match maker, but then again I can’t complain when I’ve got another reason to go visit a particular bartender, and hope that he felt the same chemistry I did.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Again, first fic so please interact or leave some feedback! Would love to hear if anyone wants more!

#Clyde logan #clyde logan x reader #teacher!reader #y/n #physicaleducation #fanfic #sadielogan #boonecounty

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inessencedevided · 5 years ago

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The Untamed, episode 42 - watching notes

I was up playing partygames over discord until 3 am yesterday, so I didn't get to watch another episode. I complained about it to my friends, which in turn made them complain that I sounded like I would rather watch my "gay chinese fantasy show" than spent time with them. I contemplated saying yes, but decided to keep my friend instead :D

And we were currently in the middle of a confrontation with Jiggy (as I've been informed he's called ... what? ^^) who apparently murdered his son to keep some secret, which with how this shows is going, I wouldn't be surprised is them going full game of thrones and ... you know what I'm talking about

Oh right, Su She is there

He's the Jin Zixun to my wei Wuxian. As in, I can never remember his name or why I should care 🤷‍♀️

(But thus time I DO remember who he is. That is, after lwj said his name ^^)

I'm so sure that jgy hit all evidence by now, btw

Okay, no. his wife is still there

Su She might be an asshole but his hair piece is gorgeous :D

What does it say about me that my first thought about that dagger was COOL!!! 😱😱😱

How dare you take Wen Qing's name in vain! 🤬

😱

I thought she'd stab him!!! Not herself :'(

I'm a bit surprised that with 5 cultivators in the room, no one does more to save her

Oh, JGY is a damn good actor!! I mean we knew that before, but now his apparent confusion and grieve for his wife seems even more (dare I quote lwj?) shameless

Lan Xichen, i know you love him but ...

Fun fact: In German, we call fake tears "Krokodilstränen". Literal translation: "crocodile tears"

That's what this is 😐

Especially about the nie Mingjue

Poor Nie Huaisang 💔💔💔

"Taking the head. Who in the world would have done such an insane act?" GEE, I WONDER ...

Sorry, I still find jgy fascinating, but this is so uncomfortable to watch, knowing at least part of what really happened 🙈

Lord, give me the power to murder people with one gaze like Lan Wangji 🙏

This whole conversation is so supremely uncomfortable

I'm still unsure if Jin Guangyao really doesn't suspect that "Mo Xuanyu" isn't who he says he is or if it's just a very convincing act 🤨

Favourite trope: Hanguang Jun, Yiling Laozou's knight in shining armour

First of all: Hot

Second of all: Lwj internally: DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TOUCH HIM I ONLY JUST GOT HIM BACK AND WE HAVEN'T EVEN MADE OUT YET

probably

Also, for a split second there, you saw Jiang Cheng leap forward with a real look of concern on his face, like his first instinct was to help wwx himself 🥺🥺🥺

HE'S USING SUIBIAN AGAIN!!!

This feels so huge! 😱

I'm weirdly emo about a sword rn :')

His cover is blown of course

And him and Jin ling just had a good relationship :(

NHS, JL and JGY: How could it BE that this is Yiling Laozou???

Meanwhile Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng

"With the right kind of sacrifice, it can safe one who was seriously injured." Is this another instance of "we can't say this it's necromancy because censors, but y'all damn well know this is necromancy because no one falls down a cliff and then lies there "seriously injured" for goddam 16 years"?

I'm all teary eyed at lwj not even hesitating to flee with wwx :')

Jin Ling 💔🥺

Fuck you Jin Guangyao for playing at his pain!!!

Omg they're as good as holding hands!!! 😭😭😭

Of course, wax is pushing lwj away, OF COURSE. Self-sacrificing idiot!

That mask reveal was *chef's kiss* the drama! The gasps! The ... long-suffering "here we go again look" from lan Xichen :D

I LOVE IT WHEN LWJ SPEAKS UP!!

"You're wrong."

So simple. Yet saying so much: "I kniw him. I trust him. I chose this."

And OF COURSE Wei Wuxian gives him another way out

BUT THESE TWO FINALLY GET THEIR SHIT TOGETHER AND COMMUNICATE THEIR THOUGHTS! FINALLY!

"Did you believe in me back then?" YES, I WAS JUST TOO AFRAID TO SAY IT,SO MY CONCERN CAME OUT AS ANGER 😭😭😭

And the single logged bridge again 😭😭😭 I adore that metaphor! And I love that they chose to show us the flashback. Because last time, wwx and lwj parted, took different roads so to speak, one the one of defiance, the other the one of orthodoxy. Neither wanted to part ways, but neither probably thought that they had much of a choice. But they did have a choice and they made it. And lwj has already expressed his regret over that. So here he is again, using his second chance without a thought.

Because lwj believes that wwx is right, MORALLY, so he will go against his clan, reputation be damned, and stand with the man he loves ... finally. He'll choose what they both believe to be right and walk with him "until it's dark" :')

And THAT'S WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS SO MUCH!! It's not just that "oh they're so cute and they compliment each other so well, they must be soulmates uwu". Most of all they share a common morality!!!

I'm so goddamn amazed at this ship! This is not I was thought I was getting when I boarded it, but goddamn it I'm loving the ride! 😭😭😭

And .. just, the look in Lan Wangji's eyes ... they have 50 swords drawn on them, but guessing from the look on his face and the softness of his gaze they might as well be at their wedding 😭😭😭

He looks like a man entirely at peace with his decision :')

Just ...

Look

THEM!!!

They're holding hands in that last shot!!!! 😭😭😭

I'm absolutely floored at how utterly beautiful this scene is! "Romantic" seems too insignificant to describe it. It feels more like 42 episodes worth of love and pining and misunderstandings coming to their natural conclusion

My heart is so full right now guys :')

Very nice of these 50 people to wait for their moment to pass before attacking. Very considerate 😁

"Are we going to fight or not." "Too much talking" I WANT 50 EPISODES OF THESE TWO BICKERING!!! 😭😭😭

Jin Ling :'(

Noooo

I don't know who my heart is bleeding for more here

Jin ling doesn't deserve to have to shoulder his parent's and uncle's pain :'((

All this supporting each other when injured? That's the good stuff

And those flashbacks ... wwx finally FINALLY realizes that lwj never hated him for his actions, he was afraid for him :')

Tbf,the guy has a sliiiight communication issue 😐

That quote about how lwj is at his side now that everyone else despices him!! That's it THAT'S THE SHIP!!😭😭😭

Oh, lwj took him back to cloud recess

I'm surprised he was allowed to, tbh

Ooh, so Mo Xuanyu knew something!

And... someone else must now know about him?

Also, I didn't realise that wwx still had a cut from the curse

I gotta take a moment to scream about HOW UTTERLY DOMESTIC AND AT EAS THESE TWO NOW ARE WITH EACH OTHER!!! 😭

XICHEN!!!

I should have known that the OG wangxian shipper would support them

But he still trusts Jin Guangyao. Not that I'm surprised

It's so weird to see anyone on this show in trousers btw 😅

"You're more than I can handle." Lol ^^

"You trust Master Wei, while I trust Jin Guangyao." Oh boy ...

I feel like this might be more of a confrontation than these two brothers had in their entire lives

Love me some detective-wwx

Poor Xichen 😔 he doesn't want to believe it

Somehow, wwx with a white underrobe makes me think "that's what he looks like when he and lwj accidentally swab robes" :D

Uuuh! The restricted section forbidden chamber!

So ... jin Guangyao somehow got this piece of music from the lan library?

But he's good! He's really good! He consistently uses others weaknesses and prays on them so that they act in a more extreme manner, but not so much that others would suspect foulplay. Case in point: nie Mingjue's death by anger and (more recently) the way he played towards Jin ling's feelings.

Aaaand another rather abrupt end in the middle of a conversation. That's one thing this show does not do well 😅

Anyway, I'm not complaining this episode send my shipper heart (BECAUSE I'M SO DWEP DOWN THIS RABBIT HOLE AT THIS POINT) fly with joy!!

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose 🖤💙🖤💙

#the untamed #sophie watches the untamed #wei wuxian #wwx #lan wangji #lwj #wangxian #lan xichen #jin guangyao #jin ling #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #nie mingjue #the untamed liveblog

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lynelovespopculture · 4 years ago

Text

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 13-FIGHT TO THE FINISH *SEASON FINALE

THE SPELLMANS MUST USE ALL THEY HAVE TO DEFEAT BLACKWOOD ONCE AND FOR ALL.

Faustus was awakened by the sound of clashing swords. He opened his eyes and saw that he was lying on the soft grass. It took a minute to remember. Yesterday, he, Prudence, and Ambrose had crossed over a magical time barrier into their ally’s Elizabeth Tudor aka queen Elizabeth I’s, world. A world frozen in 16th century England, simply because its people willed it so. Faustus got up, off the grass, and saw his daughter and Elizabeth were some 30 feet away, practicing their swordplay. Faustus smiled; they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“Good morning, uncle,” Ambrose yawned, getting up himself. “Do you suppose Prudence is just trying to calm Elizabeth down?”

Faustus chuckled. “Maybe she is.”

They all knew that Blackwood had stolen Elizabeth’s kingdom and declared himself emperor. But when they first got there, they were blindsided by a royal wedding happening that very day. They were all surprised, but Elizabeth was absolutely fit to be tied when they discovered that the new empress was none other than Lilith! Her famous temper was on full display, as Elizabeth was fuming, slipped away from the group. She went down to the main floor, heading straight for Lilith and Blackwood. There would surely be a confrontation if Faustus didn’t teleport them all away quicker than lighting.

“Why did you do that?!” Elizabeth demanded.

Faustus stepped forward. “Must I remind you that we have yet to come up with a plan of attack and yeah, the fact that Blackwood is immortal?”

“So am I!” Elizabeth said through gritted teeth.

Ambrose and Prudence broke up the fight by pointing out that it was getting late and it would be dark soon. They also noted that it would be safer to make camp out in the woods rather than risk being spotted if they stayed in town somewhere. Faustus’s inner snob wanted to say no but when Elizabeth, the rightful queen of the very kingdom, agreed it was hard to say no.

Faustus’s mind returned to the present as he slapped Ambrose on the back good-naturedly on the back. “Come on, let’s go see what we can dig up for breakfast while the ladies finish their workout?”

All they could find in the woods were nuts and berries. No one really minded that much as they all sat around the campfire.

“So,” Prudence said slowly, “I get that Lilith always had a thing for power, but what I can’t figure out why Blackwood would marry her.”

“Simple,” Elizabeth responded. “The only thing more valuable than a male heir to a ruler is 2 male heirs. Blackwood made that quite clear when he announced Lilith’s son as his royal highness, Prince Alexander.”

Faustus thought of last night too, not for Lilith’s son but for his own. After all these months, it felt so good to see Judas again, even if it was just for a few moments and from afar. The fact that he was still with Blackwood made Faustus’s blood boil. “So what’s the plan?” he asked the others.

“Well, according to the council letters, we know that Blackwood used a spell to win the people. Can’t we use the same spell and use it in Elizabeth’s favor?” Ambrose suggested.

Elizabeth immediately shook her head. “That would still leave the people bewitched. After 500 years of faithful service, I won’t do that to them. I refuse to take away their free will.”

Faustus shifted uncomfortably as the all too familiar guilt set in. He loved Zelda every bit as much as Elizabeth loved her people yet didn’t he once take Zelda’s will away from her? That wasn’t you, that was the curse, Faustus reminded himself with the very words Zelda used so often. Damn it! Mentally, he knew how to distance himself from Blackwood, but would these emotional scars ever heal? Faustus made himself focus on the task at hand. “What we really here is an anti-spell; to put everything back the way it was.”

Elizabeth smiled. “Sounds perfect.”

They sneaked back into the village to collect an empty barrel. They almost got caught at 1 point but Faustus saved the day by pretending to be the emperor. Then they rolled the barrel back into the woods, found a lake, and filled it with seawater. It was heavy as Faustus and Ambrose pulled it right side up again.

Elizabeth slid her hand over the water as if calming the tiny waves. “I, the lord of English wind and rain, will end the emperor’s reign of pain and my people’s memories shall be regained!” With a smile, Elizabeth turned back to the others with a smile. “Now, we just need a test subject.”

The wagon driver saw the boy wave him down a mile away. When he got close enough, he stopped the wagon as Ambrose came up to him. “Hello sir, sorry to bother you, but there’s a fallen tree that you can’t get around, blocking the road up ahead and it’s too heavy for my friend and I to move. Will you please help us?”

The man nodded. “Of course.”

He hopped down off the wagon and he and Ambrose walked to the tree.

Ambrose pointed. “You take that side and I’ll take this one.”

The man groaned. “Boy, this thing is really stuck!”

Little did he know that Ambrose was holding down the tree by magic. 10 minutes later, when Prudence gave him a nod, Ambrose released the spell and the tree finally gave way.

That’s when Prudence walked up to them and gave them both canteens of water. “You gentlemen must be thirsty after all that physical labor.”

Ambrose pretended to take a drink. “By the way, my friend and I are new here. I know this might be a stupid question, but who runs the kingdom?”

“Why, Emperor Blackwood, of course.”

Ambrose and Prudence exchanged a glance while the man took a drink.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you. Who did you say?” Ambrose tried again.

“I said that the emp-um, no, why did I say that? It’s Elizabeth, of course, Queen Elizabeth.”

“I’m glad you feel that way.” Elizabeth came out of her hiding place.

The man bowed. “Your majesty!”

“Now, now, there will be plenty of time for that later.”

“Imposter!” The man hissed as soon as he saw Faustus.

Elizabeth caught up with the man. “No, he’s not the emperor! He just looks like him. Come with us and we’ll explain everything.”

They explained to him the whole long story. As luck would have it, the wagon was filled with barrels of ale, the man was delivering to a local saloon. Just a few drops of the anti-spell in every barrel and everyone in the saloon were themselves again and it didn’t stop there. In less than a week and a half, thousands of Elizabethans had been turned back to normal, and not 1 of them chose to stay loyal to Blackwood.

Night had fallen before Lilith realized that she didn’t know where the carriage was bringing her. “Driver, where are we?” When the driver said nothing, Lilith grew angry. “I am your empress and command you to tell me where we are!”

Silence.

They rode a little further before the carriage door opened and a man helped Lilith out. Lilith looked around and saw that they were at a camp with tents as far as the eye could see

“Where are we?” Lilith repeated for the 3rd time.

“The queen wants to see you.”

“Queen? What queen? There is no queen, only the emperor and I! Now, take me home!

Lilith tried to get back into the carriage but the driver blocked her way and then a guard came over and lead the way to a tent in the back and the men left Lilith alone. Before Lilith knew what was happening, the E necklace flew off her throat.

“First of all, this,” Elizabeth came into view, holding the E necklace, “was always mine. Second of all, if you’re waiting for me to bow, you’ll be waiting forever."

“Elizabeth?! I thought they told me that you left.”

The redhead nodded as she fastened the E necklace in its proper place. “You’re right, I did leave. I went to Greendale to help the Spellmans with that nasty dark lord problem you left them with. As soon as I learned that Blackwood falsely won my people, I returned to reclaim my throne.”

“But my husband already beat you.”

Elizabeth smirked. “Your husband? Come now, Lilith, you’re a smart woman. You know that Blackwood is a curse, and you can marry a curse no more than you can marry a chair. And he didn’t beat me, I surrendered because, at the time, I thought that’s what my people wanted. Besides, in your quest for power, you made a mistake, my mother’s mistake. You only have a consort’s power and you’ll only keep that power if you keep the insanity curse happy.”

Lilith rolled her eyes. “Is this all you wanted to tell me?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “No. You see, I had you brought here to give you a warning.”

“A warning?”

“Yes and be grateful. For we both know that I owe you nothing, yet I know I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t at least try to convince you to leave Blackwood, if only for the sake of your infant son.”

“But I have nowhere else to go.”

You know, I find it very ironic that you settled for the 2nd spot in my kingdom just as the power you’ve always wanted becomes available.”

“What do you mean?”

Elizabeth crossed her arms and stepped forward. “I’m speaking of the throne of hell. It’s free to claim.”

Lilith was shocked. “How can that be?”

“Lucifer is unable to rule as Zelda and I trapped him inside the body of that pathetic so-called council member and Sabrina, that sweet, smart girl, wants nothing to do with her father’s kingdom so that leaves the throne empty.” Elizabeth watched Lilith’s eyes widened as she digested this new information. “Do with this what you will but mark my words, when I make my attack against Blackwood, I will show no mercy to either him or anyone foolish enough to stand with him.” Elizabeth went to the edge of the tent and gestured. The men reappeared and led Lilith back to her carriage.

Although Lilith would never admit it, deep down she knew that Elizabeth was right. Sooner or later, Elizabeth would face Blackwood head-on and she would win. Elizabeth always won and Lilith had been a fool to believe that she wouldn’t return. At first, Lilith was sure that Elizabeth was lying about Lucifer and the throne of hell, but then while she was leaving, Lilith saw Faustus, Prudence, and Ambrose. Lucifer had to be captured or they would surely be dead. Now Lilith had to go get her son and rush back down to hell before 1 of those damn court demons even thought about claiming HER throne. The carriage finally pulled up to the palace and Lilith rushed inside. As she reached her bed-chamber, Lilith noticed that her favorite guard was on duty just outside the door. She knew it was crazy; it had only been a little over a week and as far as everyone in the palace was concerned, she was married. Yet, Lilith couldn’t explain it, but when it came to this 1 guard, she felt…drawn to him. Odder still was the fact that she had never seen his face, as he always wore a helmet that covered it. Lilith shook her head; this wasn’t the time to think about that. As soon as Lilith got to her room, she dismissed her maids and started to pack for her and the baby. Lilith was busy running around, gather things up that she didn’t notice when the guard came in.

“Madam, what are you doing?”

“Um, well- “

Then the guard saw the suitcases on the bed. “You’re planning to run away, aren’t you? Not that I can blame you, rumors are growing stronger every day that Elizabeth is coming to regain her throne and that the emperor��s days are numbered.”

Lilith was shocked. “If the news has already spread to the palace, why haven’t you fled to Elizabeth’s camp?”

“I respect Elizabeth as queen, truly I do,” He said slowly, “but I have no wish to serve her nor the emperor, I only wish to serve you. For some reason, I feel…drawn to you.”

What he said, took Lilith’s breath away. “Take your helmet off. Let me see you.” He did remove his helmet and Lilith’s heart leaped into her throat. “Adam?”

He nodded. “Yes, my lady, I am Adam, 3rd earl of Marsters.”

He must be an ancestor of Mary Wardwell’s Adam, Lilith thought as she stepped closer to him. “Tell me, do you want to serve me, or do you to be with me?”

“Both,” he whispered before kissing her.

“Adam, I hope you like warm weather.”

3 nights later, Elizabeth couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking about her meeting with Lilith. Perhaps she had been too cocky, maybe she has shown her hand too soon. Maybe Lilith was back at the castle right now, telling Blackwood all she knew. Elizabeth groaned, going around in circles like this was doing her no good. She rose from her cot and fastened her cloak into place. After a half-hour, Elizabeth dismounted from her horse and sneaked into the palace. It wasn’t hard at all to find Blackwood’s rooms, for he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

“What do you mean you can’t find her? It’s been over 3 days!”

“I’m sorry, sire, but we’ve looked everywhere for Empress Lilith and Prince Alexander. They’re gone.”

Well, what do you know? Elizabeth smiled from behind her hiding place. So, Lilith did make the right choice. Elizabeth was on her way out when she heard another angry male voice.

“Ow! What are you doing? Trying to poke me to death or something?!” The young man demanded.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I’ve told you before we even started that I’m no good at sewing.”

“I thought you were being modest since sewing is woman’s work. Oh, forget it, you’re just as useless at this as you are at pleasing me in bed!”

The poor girl fled the room, crying. Elizabeth stepped back into darkness, as not to be seen. Then Elizabeth looked into the slightly ajar door. You must be Judas, Elizabeth thought as she recalled conversations she had with both Faustus and LJ about how arrogant Judas had become and how hard it would be for him to join the Spellman family. Perhaps Elizabeth could help with that. She waited until Judas to get into bed before Elizabeth began to hum, slow and soft. Still humming, she stole into the room and sat down on the bed beside Judas and checked to ensure that his pulse was still steady. Then she sang.

“Hush, child, the darkness will rise from the deep and carry you down into sleep, child. Guileless son, I’ll shape your belief and you’ll always know that your father’s a thief. And you won’t understand the cause of your grief, but you’ll always follow the voices beneath. You will expose his puppeteer behavior, for you are the proof of how he betrayed her loyalty. Guileless son, each day you grow older, each moment I’m watching my vengeance unfold, for the child of his body and the flesh of my soul. He will die in returning the birthright he stole!”

Ambrose yawned and stretched as he left the tent. When he finally looked straight ahead, he couldn’t believe what he saw. “Uncle! Uncle Faustus, wake up! You got to see this!”

“What? What is it?” Faustus stopped speaking as soon as he saw what Ambrose saw. The sun was just coming up and it seemed like Elizabeth was walking out of it. In her arms, she carried a slumbering Judas. Her cloak draped over him like a blanket. Faustus and Ambrose looked at each other and then ran to Elizabeth.

Faustus was gobsmacked. “Elizabeth, why- how- where did you find him?”

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I was worried that Lilith would stand by Blackwood. I sneaked into the castle to learn that she did leave. On my way out, I found him.”

“Why is he asleep?” asked Ambrose.

“He’s in a magical coma. This way he can’t hurt himself or others, the way LJ did. Someone should stay at his bedside to tell him why the Spellmans aren’t the bad guys and once all the poison that Blackwood fed him over the years washes away, the spell will wear off and he’ll awake on his own.”

Faustus’s jaw dropped. “That’s amazing! Why didn’t I think of a spell like that?”

Elizabeth shrugged. “You keep forgetting, I’m a lot older than you.”

Ambrose took Judas from Elizabeth and Faustus led the queen into breakfast.

It might have been morning in that world, but back in Greendale, it was late at night. Hilda yawned as she locked up the storefront. Then she went to the living room, in the back, and picked up the baby.

“Well, Cordelia, it seems that it’s going to be just you and me for a while. Your uncle C is out back still talking to his supplier and Zelda’s not here yet.” The baby cooed. “Oh, don’t you worry, love, I expected your mother to be late. Today was the 1st day of the school term and your poor mommy has no less than 5 new teachers to train.” Hilda rocked the baby to sleep and half an hour later, she answered the knock at the door.

“Hello, sorry I’m so late.”

“No problem, Zelds. Come on in. Would you like a cup of coffee or something?”

Zelda smiled kindly at her younger sister. “No, thank you, Hildie, it’s getting late. I should get Cordy and head on home.”

Hilda nodded. “Yeah, that made sense, you must be tired. Now that school has started and with you not sleeping at night.”

Zelda looked up from greeting her daughter. Who told you that I’m not sleeping at night?”

Oops. “Well, Sabrina was in here earlier with her friends and she might have mentioned that she hears you pacing in your room every night?”

Zelda sighed and sat down on the sofa. “Oh, Hildie, you’re right. I haven’t been sleeping because I’m just so worried. Do you know what today is?”

“The 1st day of school?”

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Other than that, sister! It’s been a month since Faustus, Ambrose, and Prudence went off to Elizabeth’s world. 1 whole month! I thought for sure they would be back by now. What’s even worse is that Faustus hasn’t found a way to contact me. I know that they’re in another dimension but Hecate, Faustus was in hell, trapped in Lucifer’s body and he still found a way to get in touch. Sometimes, I think that they can’t get in touch, that Blackwood has already- “

“Zelda Phonia Spellman, don’t you even think of finishing that thought,” Hilda instructed. “Elizabeth is immortal and if things really did get that bad, I’m sure that she would’ve found a way to get to us.”

Zelda smiled, for her sister’s words did give her comfort.

“For now,” Hilda continued, “I think that it’s best for us to stay patient and adopt the motto that no news is good news.” She put an arm around her sister in an effort to comfort her and Zelda sighed as she rested her head on Hilda’s shoulder. Such a somber moment was expectedly followed by cheerful whistling as Dr. C came in. It was enough to snap Zelda into action, as she got up and started to put Cordelia’s jacket on her.

Hilda turned to her husband. “So, how was your meeting, dear?”

“Wonderful! That Mike is always a laugh riot! Oh, and he gave me this!” Dr. C reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a precious object.

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “A pen?”

Dr. C shook his head. “Not just a pen, it got disappearing ink! It’s a classic! Here, Zelda, you can have it. I got like 3 cases in the back.”

After giving her brother-in-law an unsure look, Zelda took the pen and left.

“Your Majesty!”

It was a week later in the other world, and a royal aide rushed into Blackwood’s room. “The traitor Elizabeth and her entire camp have been located.”

“Excellent” Blackwood smiled. “I knew that stupid half breed couldn’t hide forever. Prepare the horses, we shall leave at once.”

20 minutes later, Blackwood was at the head of his army as they pulled into the camp. Oddly enough, no one seemed afraid of him.

“Elizabeth Tudor!” Blackwood called out, shouting. A moment later, the redhead came out of a tent and headed toward the men on horseback, the Spellmans right behind her. Meanwhile, Blackwood continued to speak. “You and your loser friends are exposed as traitors to my crown. Surrender now or prepare for war.”

Elizabeth shook her head. “There will be no war. I won’t let my people’s blood be shed over you and if anyone should surrender, it should be you.”

Blackwood laughed. “Me surrender to you?! Why would I do that?”

“Because, you ill-mannered curse of insanity, you have unknowingly stepped into my trap. Seize him!”

Before he even knew what was going on, Blackwood was being dragged off his horse by his own guards. “What are you doing?”

“They’re obeying their true leader,” Elizabeth explained. “You know; war was never an option. I did worry about what I was going to do with the people who stayed loyal to you but no one ever did.”

Blackwood addressed his guards. “You can’t possibly follow her! She a woman and a half-breed! She shouldn’t even exist! I’m a better leader by far!”

“LAIR!” Someone yelled. The Spellmans were shocked to see Judas stomping across the yard. They have checked on him just this morning and he was still asleep. But now, he was awake, awake, and angry.

Blackwood smiled. “Judas, my son.”

“I am not your son! I am his son!” Judas shouted, pointing to a nearby Faustus. “I don’t know how or why, but I woke up 5 minutes ago and everything suddenly became so clear.” He turned to the crowd. “Do not trust this man! For 16 years, he has done nothing but lie and use me and my sister.” My sister thought Judas. The things he’d done to Judith. Hades, the things I’ve done to Judith.

“Enough of this,” Blackwood declared before he head-butted 1 guard and stole his dagger to injure the other. Then, blade raised high, he advanced on Judas. For his part, the boy was frozen to the spot. He couldn’t speak, move, or react whatsoever. Judas felt himself being pushed out of harm’s way, but it wasn’t until he saw Faustus on the ground, the dagger firmly lodged in his father’s lower back, did he understand what had happened.

“No!” cried Judas.

“Father!” cried Prudence.

“Uncle!” cried Ambrose.

“Guards! Seize him!” Elizabeth’s order was much more stern this time. Instead of just 2 guards that held him like before, Blackwood was advanced on by 50 men. Content that the villain was surrounded, Elizabeth turned to the threesome that hovered around Faustus. “Close your eyes, think of home and I’ll teleport you.” She instructed, “I’ll join you there later.”

They all closed their eyes and when Ambrose, Prudence, and Judas opened their eyes, they were in the front hall of the Spellman house. Before they could react, however, they could hear footsteps. It was Hilda, Sabrina, and LJ coming in from the kitchen.

“I thought I heard something,” Hilda said to the girls before she saw the others and gasped. “You’re home!”

“Yes, but Blackwood stabbed Father.” Prudence explained.

Hilda took charge. “Let get Faustus upstairs, then.”

Zelda was upstairs with the baby, so she wasn’t aware of what was going on until the others passed by the nursery. She hurried into the hallway. “Faustus? For Hecate’s sake, what happened to him?”

“Blackwood stabbed him.” Ambrose said simply as they bought him into his bedroom and laid him on the bed. Faustus’s eyes were closed and his body was still, too still.

Fear for her husband chilled Zelda to the bone. “Is-is he…dead?”

Ambrose checked his pulse. “No, he’s steady, but I think he’s in a coma.”

Hilda shook Zelda out of her funk and both sisters began to dress the wound.

“This is all my fault! That dagger was meant for me!” Everyone looked up to see a shell shocked Judas in the doorway.

“Judas!”

Before he could start crying, the boy ran away.

Zelda started to go after him but LJ put a hand on her arm. “Let me go to him.”

Judas sat on the sofa but jumped up when he heard footsteps. Judas relaxed when he saw it was his sister. “He tried to kill me, Judith! The man, not man, he’s just a curse, but he did raise us and he tried to kill me without batting an eye and now because of that, our real father might die. Also, he lied to us, our entire lives about everything.”

LJ nodded. “I know. I understand, I’ve been there too.”

“You were the smart one. You ran away because he was horrible to you. Because we were horrible to you.”

“He was always pinning us against each other. It’s over now. We don’t ever have to see him ever again.”

Judas shook his head. “The coven here will never accept me. I’ve already been baptized into the church of Judas.”

“So, you’ll be re-baptized, if you want to into the Order of Hecate,” LJ assured him. “As the whole coven was, as Father was and as I plan to be. Talk to Zelda about it, she’s the high priestess.”

“A woman cannot be a high priestess.” Judas gasped and covered his mouth. “I sorry, it just came out.”

“Judas, it’s okay. Not one expects you to change a lifetime of thinking in a day, but you corrected yourself. That’s a good sign.”

Her brother still seemed unsure.

LJ sat down with him by the fire. “Do you remember when we were very young, no more than 3 or 4, and we used to dream about a house with a family that would accept us no matter what? Despite what we were taught, I believe that this is that house, and the Spellmans are that family.”

For the 1st time that day, Judas smiled.

True to her word, Elizabeth showed up 3 hours later, bringing with her the finest witch doctor she could find. As the witch doctor gave Faustus a complete exam, Elizabeth took Zelda aside.

“I bought Blackwood back to this world, as Faustus requested,” Elizabeth explained, “I left him in the woods, chained up and heavily under guard. Now, I completely understand why Faustus wanted to deal with Blackwood himself, but given all the times Blackwood has escaped justice before, I think it’s just too dangerous to wait. Faustus told me all about the plan that you and he worked out, so, I think we should just do it.”

Zelda instantly nodded. “I completely agree.”

With that, the 2 women went downstairs and out of the house, Zelda stopping just long enough to something out of her coat pocket. When the queen and the high priestess got to a deep wood, they came across 2 guards, taking turns beating up Blackwood. There was a 3rd guard nearby, digging.

“That’ s enough, gentlemen. We’ll take it from here.” Elizabeth said casually.

The 2 guards bowed and stepped aside.

“You?!” Blackwood hissed as soon as he saw Zelda. “I killed you!”

“You did,” Zelda agreed. “But I have 3 words for you; Cain pit, moron.”

Elizabeth folded her arms. “It’s over, Blackwood! There’s nowhere left for you to turn, to hide and the council can’t help you now.”

Blackwood laughed. “You bitches really are stupid! I can’t die!”

Zelda and Elizabeth exchanged a look and smiled. “Who said about dying? It’s just saving us a step.” Zelda said before handing Elizabeth her cell phone and started to explain.

Blackwood raised an eyebrow. “What are you doing now?”

“Oh, we’re going to record this, for Faustus, when he wakes up.”

“He’s not going to wake up! Unlike me, that weakling can and will die.”

Angry, Zelda stepped forward. “Faustus is not going to die! I won’t let him and another thing- “

“Zelda,” Elizabeth cut in. “Don’t even bother, he’s just stalling.”

“Right” and just like that, Zelda was calm again. “The sooner we get done with you, the sooner I can get back to my husband. Look there” Zelda pointed to the pit. “Most mortals stop digging at 6 feet, but Faustus and I decided to double it to 12. We want to be careful just in case you escape your coffin.”

“What coffin?”

Zelda snapped her fingers and a casket from the funeral home appeared at her feet. “That one.” Zelda grabbed the chains and yanked Blackwood toward her. “Now, it’s my turn to put you in a box!” Zelda hissed. Zelda practically threw Blackwood into the coffin, spelled him still when he fought to get out, put the top on, and secured it all by wrapping the coffin up in the 2nd pair of chains. All the while, Elizabeth recorded it all. It was only when Zelda was with the casket in the pit that Elizabeth remembered. “High priestess, it was at this point of the plan that I shared a suggestion with Faustus and he loved it. Might I show you?”

Zelda smiled and nodded. “Please.”

After calling over a guard to taking over the recording, Elizabeth teleported herself to beside Zelda. After looking around, Elizabeth plucked a pebble from the ground. After putting the pebble on the coffin, Elizabeth spelled it into the size of a bolder.

“Very nice,” Zelda smiled.

After filling in the grave, Zelda walked home alone. Elizabeth had to get back to her world. After all, Elizabeth had a whole kingdom to put back together. As Zelda reached her driveway, she looked up and gasped in horror. Most of the family was already standing around the out of place cement truck. The most shocking thing was that cement was being poured into the Cain pit!

Zelda ran up to join the others. “What are you doing?” Zelda demanded of the cement truck driver. “Stop it!”

The worker seemed annoyed. “Listen, lady, I’m just doing my job.” He showed Zelda his clipboard. “See, right here. It says to fill in Lot 34, which is what I did.”

“Might I suggest that you get glasses because this says to fill in lot 43 which is on the other side of the yard!” Zelda pointed angrily.

The worker checked his notes and turned red. “Oops, sorry. I promise I’ll fix it 1st thing Monday.”

“Monday?!” Zelda shrieked. The worker said more things like it was getting late and his wife and supper, yet Zelda barely listened. All she could think about was Faustus might not live until Monday. After the worker left and the kids went back inside, Zelda dropped to her knees.

“It’s already hardening, Hildie. I simply don’t believe this! We’ve never needed the Cain pit more. After all that’s happened, my Faustus can’t die!” Zelda burst into tears.

“Then we just have to keep him alive,” Hilda rocked her sister as one would a child.

For 3 nights in a row, Zelda sat by her husband’s bedside, refusing any offers from the others to relieve her. Around midnight on the 3rd night, a thoughtful Prudence brought her a warm blanket. She was wrapped up in the blanket when Zelda awoke, stiff and sore at dawn. Faustus was still out cold, but Prudence was next to her father, sound asleep. Zelda got up and put the blanket on Prudence. As she did, Zelda flashed on another night, shortly after her marriage, when she tucked Prudence into bed at the academy. The curse was heavily upon Faustus, but Zelda could never regret that night, for it was the night they made Cordelia. Speaking of Cordelia, the baby slept through her diaper change. When she checked on them, Zelda found Sabrina and Ambrose were both asleep. Downstairs, in the parlor, she found both of the twins asleep on the sofa. Judas’s head rested on the right arm, LJ the left, and their feet were intertwined in the middle.

Faustus, darling, Blackwood is gone and all our children are here and happy. You can wake up now. Zelda thought as she looked out toward the now filled Cain pit and sighed. Even if that worker did show up today, she doubted that the mortal would fix the whole problem in 1 day. With another heavy sigh, Zelda walked into the kitchen and lit up a cigarette. Zelda didn’t like it, but she could only think of 1 place of turning to for help.

“Elizabeth told me that you reclaimed hell’s throne,” Zelda told Lilith as soon as the minion showed her in.

“How thoughtful, you wanted to congratulate me in person.” Lilith smiled.

“No,” Zelda said firmly. “I’m not here for that.” Zelda went on to explain about Faustus.

Lilith frowned. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. My reign is still in its infancy and I have to show the court I put their needs ahead of doing favors for an outsider.”

“Since when am I an outsider?” Zelda demanded to know.

Lilith shrugged. “You’re not a part of hell’s court. You’re no longer a member of the church of night of night or the church of Lilith.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to say that the church of Lilith was not actually official, but Zelda was able to sallow it. She did say, “You owe me. How soon we forget. I’m the 1 who helped you who smuggled your newborn out of here and you put both my family and me in danger, and when Lucifer came for you, you disappeared! Only to show up again as the consort of the man who wanted my family dead.”

“Lilith? Honey? Come back to bed.”

Zelda blinked in shock as she beheld a man in a robe and holding Lilith’s son. Lilith went to him. “I’ll be right there, Adam.”

Zelda folded her arms. “Adam?”

Lilith shook her head. “It’s not what you think. He’s not Adam from the garden or Mary Wardwell’s Adam. He’s,” Lilith smiled “My Adam.”

“So, you get your true love while mine dies? That’s unfair!”

Lilith sighed. “Alright, perhaps we can reach a mutual deal.”

A shiver ran down Zelda’s spine. “A deal?”

“I am the queen of hell now and if anything unforeseen should happen to me, then my little Zander will follow me. Who better to rule beside him as his consort than the divine child, the one fated to become the most powerful witch the world has ever seen?”

“You want me to promise you the hand of my 6-month old daughter in marriage to your 1-month old son?”

Lilith nodded. “Yes.”

“Alright.”

Lilith was beyond shocked. “Really? I mean, wonderful. Shall we?” The 2 women walked to a side table where a paper that outlined the deal proofed into thin air. “Let’s get you a pen.”

“I bought my own.” Zelda sighed her name to the paper. “Well, I must get going.”

Zelda didn’t even get across the throne room before Lilith cried out. “Hey! Why did your signature just disappear?!”

“Damn it! I thought that trick pen would buy me more time.”

“Why try to trick me at all?”

“Because I saw the fear in your eyes when I agreed to your terms. You have no idea how to help Faustus.”

“I’ll figure it out.” Lilith snapped. “Now, sign the deal for real.”

“Never! I will not compromise my daughter’s future for what I want in the present. I am not Edward!”

“Then, enjoy widowhood!” Lilith hissed.

Zelda shook her head. “Faustus won’t die; I won’t let him! I don’t care if I have to break the world in 2, I will get my husband back!”

Easier said than done. Aside from phone calls made on the hour, every hour, to check on Faustus’s non-changing condition, Zelda spent the entire day in the school library, trying to find something, anything that would help. She found nothing. It was dark when Zelda got home and she couldn’t help but notice that the Cain pit was still wrecked. As soon as Zelda entered the house, she heard voices in the kitchen.

“Where did you get this?” asked Hilda.

“It was in the last box I unpacked from the supply from Riverdale. Will it help?” asked Dr. C.

Hilda bite her lip. “It might. I mean, it says here that the spell with shrink Faustus’s wound by putting some of it on the witch who cast the spell but still- “

“What are you two doing?” Zelda asked.

“Nothing!” Hilda declared as she hid the spellbook behind her back. Zelda raised her hand and the book float up and into Zelda’s waiting hands.

After studying the book for a moment, Zelda smiled. “This could work!”

“But sister!” Hilda objected. “This spell is unstable. It could possibly kill you both.”

“It says right here that the spell is only dangerous if Faustus is not my soulmate which he is.”

Hilda sighed. “Zelda, you can’t know for sure.”

“But I am sure!” Angry and annoyed, Zelda ended the conversation by teleporting herself into her room and locking the door. It wasn’t long before knocking at the door. For the most part, Zelda ignored the noise, but then she saw her daughter in her basket.

Zelda stoked Cordelia’s soft cheek. “Don’t you worry, my dark angel. I’ll bring your daddy back to us, I promise.” Zelda blinked and the basket showed up outside of the door.

“Open the door! Zelda Phoina Spellman, open this door at once!” Hilda screamed.

Zelda just put a silencer spell on the door and went to lay down next to Faustus. “I don’t care what anyone else says, I know we’re soulmates,” Zelda whispered and kissed his lips. Zelda magically summoned a knife. She winced in pain as she sliced her palm open and did the same to Faustus’s hand. Holding his hand tightly in hers, Zelda rested her forehead against her husband’s.

“Now, my beloved, let the spell begin. As we are now flesh to flesh, heart to heart, and blood to blood. Let your sorrows be my sorrows, your joy my joy, and your pain, my pain. From now until the world is done, you and I are one.”

Zelda groaned as Faustus’s wound became her own. The family came in just as Zelda passed out from the pain.

3 days later, Zelda heard faraway noises as she slowly opened her eyes. Then she saw Faustus, sitting up in bed, and watching cell phone footage.

He turned to her. “You did it! You got rid of Blackwood!”

“And you got our son home at last. If they agree, I’d like to adopt the twins as soon as possible.”

Faustus smiled. “I love you so much, dearest. This is a new beginning and we are going to have that quiet, boring life, I can feel it.”

And he was right…for a while.

#chilling adventures of sabrina #caoz chapter 13 #fanfic #zelda spellman #faustus blackwood #spellwood #hilda spellman #sabrina spellman #ambrose spellman #prudence night #Lilith #adam #elizabeth tudor #cordelia spellman #season finale #save caos #renew caos

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