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vivalas-vega · 2 years ago

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shot through the heart / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader

i guess i only know how to write and post at 3 am lol -- I saw a few prompts on a post i reblogged a few days ago and got inspired to write this !!! i hope you all like it and as always let me know what you think !!!

shot through the heart / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader

add yourself to my taglist

prompts: ��looks like we’ll be trapped for a while…” - “you’re pretty” “you’re drunk”

word count: 3.5k

warnings: drinking, language, a lil makeout sesh

The energy in the air was infectious, nothing but laughter and love filling the space while the alcohol flowed freely. Your feet ached beneath you as you danced and sang along to an early 2000’s classic, smirking as your teammates watched through impressed eyes as you seamlessly balanced on one foot to unfasten your heel before switching to the other without missing a word or a beat and tossing them nowhere in particular. You took Rooster’s outstretched hands and swayed your hips in rhythm with his, you weren’t even sure what you were all doing at this point could be considered singing, but you were doing it anyway, spurred by the open bar and overwhelming joy in the room.

“Don’t be fooled by the rocks that I got, I’m still I’m still Jenny from the Block!” you sang around your laughter as Rooster passed you to Phoenix and from the corner of your eye you could see the man of the hour and his bride coming to join you. Mindful of her train you twirled her around in circles before she tried to drop it low the best she could in her form fitting gown.

“Careful, Mrs. Machado, don’t tempt me,” you giggled as you passed her back to her now-husband, slipping away from the group and making your way to the bar where Penny was sitting alongside Maverick.

“Not tending bar and yet here I find you,” you teased as you ordered another paloma.

“You all wore me out, I don’t know how any of you are still dancing,” she laughed and Maverick nodded in agreement.

“Oh, can’t handle a little dancing, Mav? Thought you were better than that,” you shot back and he laughed.

“Just you wait,” he warned before you went back to the floor, standing on the fringe as you watched your friends… no, your family having the time of their lives with the biggest smile on your face.

“Taking a breather?” A voice said suddenly beside you and you looked up to find Hangman, that megawatt smile never leaving his face once today.

“Refueling, I made this playlist and there are some good ones coming up,” you said before taking a hearty sip of your drink.

“Hey, you can only take half-credit,” he said, narrowing his eyes down at you and you just waved your hand in his direction.

“You contributed nothing but distractions,” you joked, recalling the night you two had set aside some time to tackle your task from the bride and groom.

“That’s enough Taylor Swift,” Hangman groaned and you just shook your head.

“It’s a wedding, Hangman. There’s never too much Taylor. Besides, these are requests directly from the bride, I’m just fulfilling my duties.” The bride was your best friend Abby, your biggest cheerleader and confidant from elementary school days, no matter the station or deployment your friendship had never wavered and when you met Coyote upon your return to Top Gun you knew without question you needed to get the two of them together.

“Okay, well this has to be on the playlist…” he said, trailing off as You Give Love a Bad Name poured through your bluetooth speaker and you just shook your head as Hangman started bobbing his head along and singing with such conviction you were sure he thought he was Bon Jovi himself. You couldn’t stifle your laughter watching as he stood and walked around the coffee table, giving you a performance worthy of the biggest of stages. You tried to fight it, you really did, but you loved this song just a little bit more than you wanted to rain on Hangman’s parade. Soon you were dancing around your living room with him, shouting lyrics and laughing until your sides ached.

It felt like fate… if you believed in that sort of thing, and you weren’t sure if you did but suddenly Bon Jovi was belting through the speakers and Hangman was giving you that same look he had that night, challenging you as he started to back up slowly with his hands up as if to say ‘you coming?’ Of course you were. You downed the rest of your drink, casting it aside on a nearby table and chasing after him. The two of you danced around each other, in your own little bubbles as you let loose and enjoyed the song yet somehow still completely in sync, turning to face each other at the exact same moment to shout ‘shot through the heart and you’re to blame, you give love a bad name’ before letting out loud laughs and continuing to move to the beat.

The entire squad had their eyes on you, their movements slowing as they watched the two of you so wrapped up in your own world, not paying attention to anyone but the other and once they broke through the shock of seeing you this way they were grateful. You and Hangman never really got along, not necessarily adversaries but definitely not friends either. They’d all assumed you’d become attached at the hip with your mutual love for classic rock, borderline obsessional investment in professional sports and similar skill set at a pool table but you just weren’t. You never really clicked. In the air you were consistently in tandem, the only person on the team he actually worked well with but once you touched down on the tarmac it was awkward exchanges and minimal interaction at the Hard Deck. It wasn’t until that night in your living room after a few too many glasses of wine and an impromptu dance party that you finally connected.

“Oh god, I love this song,” you said breathlessly as it morphed into ‘Autumn Town Leaves’ by Iron & Wine, flowing through the space and he just grinned down at you.

“You did pick it,” he said and he held out his hand for you to take. “Dance with me?”

“What have we been doing all this time?” you asked with a playful smirk and he just rolled his eyes before taking your hand for himself and pulling you into him. Earlier in the day you didn’t feel quite so small beside him… not when he clinked his beer bottle against yours in a pre-ceremony toast, not when you walked down the aisle as maid of honor and best man, not when he stood to steady you after your heel almost slipped off the edge of the raised platform during your speech but standing here now, easily swaying to the beat with your hand firmly in his grasp and the other around your waist you felt so small, so vulnerable under his gaze.

“You look like you’ve been having a lot of fun tonight, I’m glad,” he observed, pulling his eyes from yours to look around the space for a moment. “You did all of this, it’s impressive. I wasn’t sure you’d be able to pull off her casual and intimate vibe in this setting.” You really did have your work cut out out for you, with the knowledge of a sudden deployment always looming you’d rushed to pull everything together when you knew everyone could be there, leaving you closely monitoring (harassing, as Hangman would call it) a few local venues before snagging a rather fancy ballroom in a beautiful beachfront hotel thanks to a last minute cancellation. With the majority of the lights turned off, a hell of a lot of string lights, and carefully curated décor you’d managed to pull it all together. “You did good, kid.” You flushed under his praise, not entirely sure how to handle it.

“I wanted them to have the wedding they deserve,” you said softly, peering around his shoulder to watch the couple wrapped up in complete bliss as they danced a few feet away.

“Well, the way I see it, this reception is for you. A celebration for all your hard work.”

“You didn’t do so bad yourself, best man. Thank you for helping when I needed it,” you replied and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips, drawing your eyes down before you forced them upwards.

“Thanks for asking, thought I was going to have to force you to delegate,” he teased, twirling you out and away from him before pulling your chest into his back, arms wrapped around you as your hands flew up to brace yourself, gripping onto his forearm.

“I know how to delegate,” you protested and you felt him rumble with laughter behind you.

“No, sweetheart… you don’t,” he twirled you again, bringing you face-to-face again as the song ended and switched to something more upbeat but you felt trapped, not wanting to let go of his hand, not wanting him to remove his from your waist.

“I, uh,” you stumbled over your words as you realized your position under the weight of his gaze. “I have something I need to grab for Abby before they slip off for the night.” you said as you pulled away and made your way to where you’d been with Rooster and Phoenix earlier, looking for your shoes.

“Everything okay?” Rooster asked, watching as you frantically searched under tables and cursing yourself for being so careless with where you’d put them.

“Yeah, uh… just need my shoes. Have a feeling a place like this would frown upon me stomping around the common areas barefoot,” you replied.

“You and Hangman are very chummy tonight,” he stated and you looked up briefly to glare at him.

“I don’t know what you’re- it’s wedding politics. The best man and maid of honor are like… I don’t know, a team for the whole wedding,” you shot back and he let out a loud laugh.

“Slow dancing and that little Bon Jovi moment, which by the way felt like some kind of inside joke and was very alienating and uncomfortable to be around, is not politics but, whatever you say,” he sighed, grabbing your shoes from under a nearby table and handing them to you and you took them before all but running out of the ballroom and into the brightly lit lobby of the hotel. All of your earlier coordination was lost as you struggled to balance while fastening your heels and waiting for the elevator to arrive, stumbling in when the doors opened, letting out a sigh of relief as you leaned against the back wall.

“Oh, for the love of-” you muttered when a hand stuck through at the last moment, prompting the doors to reopen seconds before they’d shut as Hangman slid in and stood before you with a confused look on his face.

“You good?” he asked, looking you up and down and noting your slightly dejected posture in stark contradiction to how exuberant you’d been all night.

“Yeah, just a last minute bridal present… don’t want to forget it,” you answered, wanting him to drop it and get off on the next floor.

“You sure? You seem off,” he pressed and you looked up at him with annoyance.

“I’m fine, Hangman,” you said just as the elevator shuddered beneath you and your hands flew out to grip the metal bar behind you as it sputtered to a halt. The harsh lighting cut out, leaving you in complete darkness for a few minutes before fluorescent emergency lights flickered on with a faint buzz. “No… no, no, no this is not happening.” you groaned, stepping forward to press the call button to the front desk, listening to it ring and ring before disconnecting. In your periphery you watched Hangman slide down the wall and stretch his legs out before him, patting the space beside him and you sank to the floor with a sigh.

“Looks like we’re trapped,” he stated and you turned to look at him with annoyance for the most obvious observation.

“What gave you that impression?” you asked with an eye roll and he shrugged beside you.

“Someone will notice we’re gone soon, we’ll try the call button again in a few minutes… they probably just went to break,” he said, trying to diffuse the tension.

“No, they’ll probably think I went to pass out somewhere and you snuck off with one of the other bridesmaids that have been ogling you all evening.” you said with thinly veiled contempt for your fellow bridal party and he chuckled.

“Aren’t they supposed to be your high school friends too?” he asked and you just shook your head.

“I love Abby, I really do but… they’re her friends from the cheer team and I didn’t know why she was friends with them then and I don’t know why she’s friends with them now.”

“Were you not a cheerleader?” he teased.

“Are you really asking me that?” you asked and he laughed, nodding his head in agreement.

“Yeah, definitely not the type.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” You knew you had insinuated it first but you suddenly felt offended.

“You said it!” he defended, shooting his hands out in disbelief.

“You didn’t have to agree with me!”

“Do you want me to think of you as the cheerleading type?” he asked and this stumped you.

“Well, no, but-”

“Then why are we arguing?”

“I don’t know, I just… we’re in this fucking tiny metal death trap just waiting to plunge to our deaths so perhaps I’m a little on edge,” you sighed.

“We fly around in cramped cockpits and dodge literal missiles for a living and this is what has you rattled?” he asked as if it was the silliest thing in the world, and really it was.

“At least in my cramped cockpit I have the canopy, I can see all the open air around me and I’m in control. Here I am at the mercy of some bottle blonde at the front desk sticking around to do her job long enough to get us out of here.”

“Have faith in the bottle blonde,” he chuckled and you leaned your head back against the wall. Silence settled over the two of you and you tried to ignore the way his eyes trailed over you… something they’d been doing a lot more recently. Until that night with the wedding playlist you weren’t even certain he noticed you… and frankly you didn’t really notice him either. Even over surface level conversations when you were left alone by the rest of your friends you often felt like he was looking right through you, but you never cared because your eyes were always darting around looking for somebody else but now you felt undeniably seen by him and you didn’t like the way it prickled your spine and sent a wave of warmth flooding through your chest and flushed your cheeks. You didn’t like the way his hand felt against your waist and you definitely didn’t like how weightless you felt when he twirled you around. You also didn’t like the fact that those were all lies. “You’re very deep in thought,” he said suddenly, pulling you from your daze.

“I’m not,” you replied softly and he subtly nodded, eyes still trained on you and your heart beat out of rhythm for a moment when they locked with yours. He looked as if he was about to say something, like it was right there on the tip of his tongue with that mischievous glint in his eyes and you cocked your head slightly. “What?”

“You’re pretty,” he stated simply.

“Oh, you’re drunk,” you laughed, brushing him off entirely as your ears burned.

“Only a little, and you’re pretty,” he repeated and you furrowed your brows at him for a moment.

“Well, you’re pretty too.” you replied a little awkwardly and he chuckled.

“I wanted you to know, just in case someone hasn’t told you today… which would be a damn shame if they haven’t, that you were the prettiest girl in that room tonight.”

“Don’t tell Abby that,” you said softly, still trying to deflect as you looked down to your hands in your lap.

“I wouldn’t want to tell Abby that, I only want to tell you,” he hooked his finger under your chin and pulled your gaze up, “I don’t - uh… I’ve wanted to tell you that for a long time,” he confessed. “Since the first day I met you but good grief you know how to make a guy feel invisible,” he chuckled. “Which is okay, we’re just coworkers… you’re under no obligation to give me the time to tell you you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen but you are, and I just wanted you to know that.”

Your breath hitched in your throat as he dropped his hand from your face, “we’re not just coworkers.”

“We are, and that’s okay.”

“I didn’t think you ever noticed me… not really, not unless we were in the air. I didn’t mean to make you feel invisible,” you said softly and he shook his head.

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way, sweetheart. And for the record, I always notice you.” You smiled at this, cheeks warming as you looked up at him with bright eyes and it just reaffirmed what he already knew… the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen.

“I wasn’t just returning the compliment out of obligation earlier, I really do think you’re pretty,” you said and he frowned.

“Just pretty? Not devastatingly handsome and the man of your dreams?”

“Well, that’s just a mouthful,” you giggled and he couldn’t help but smile at the sound. You’d subconsciously drifted closer, allowing your thigh to press against his and you felt your heart hammering in your chest, almost drowning out his words entirely.

“But you didn’t deny it,” he smirked.

“I didn’t deny it,” you confirmed and you felt his breath fan over your lips as he inched closer, eyes searching yours for any hesitation, any indication that he was misreading this moment and trying to will it into something else. The air between you felt charged, igniting a buzz along your skin as your breathing grew ragged under the weight of the anticipation and you pushed yourself forward slightly, eyes fluttering closed and allowing your lips to brush against his slightly. His fingers trailed up your neck, gently grasping the junction of your throat and your jaw to pull you closer and envelop you in a kiss. You melted into him, your hand moving to rest atop his as your other cupped his cheek. It was slow, slower than you might have anticipated from him if you’d ever given yourself the chance to think of what this moment might be like. He was taking his time, savoring the moment and prolonging it as long as he could. When his other hand gripped at your waist you let out a soft moan, parting your lips and allowing him to explore you with his tongue and the taste of him made you dizzy… faint spearmint and scotch. It was more intoxicating than the tequila you’d been drinking like water all night and you felt drunk from his touch as his hands wandered down, sliding over your leg peeking out of the slit in your dress. Desire thrummed through your veins as you moved your hand to tangle your fingers in the hair at the base of his head, gently pulling him further into you as you lowered yourself to the floor completely and created space for him to slot himself between your legs. You were so lost in the moment, in the feeling of his weight on top of you and how intentionally he was kissing you that you didn’t even feel the elevator shake to life beneath you as you trailed the heel of your shoe along his leg. You didn’t hear the ding of the doors opening when you tangled your hands in his hair as he kissed down the expanse of your neck and you almost didn’t hear the shocked gasps of your friends as they witnessed your compromising position on the floor of the elevator but that… that you did hear.

The two of you shot up, Jake all but lifting you to your feet as you smoothed your dress and tried to avoid the eye contact of every single one of your teammates, spare Coyote and Abby, standing before you. They all filed into the elevator silently, and Bob carefully handed you your clutch.

“Grabbed that for you,” he muttered and you nodded in thanks as your cheeks burned.

“Party was winding down, thought we’d head back to Rooster’s room for a little after party if you’d like to join,” Phoenix said, with a knowing smirk on her face as she watched the numbers tick by on the screen above the door.

“Sounds fun,” you said, clearing your throat and out of the corner of your eye you saw Rooster fist bump Jake and you used your clutch to hit him in the chest as Fanboy succumbed to his laughter. One by one you all joined in, filling the small space with the sound and you carefully tangled your fingers with Jake’s, looking up at him with a soft smile. “To be continued?” you whispered, barely to be heard over everyone else and he nodded.

“To be continued.”

part two

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ladyelissarose · 2 years ago

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‘Because I Care’

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin x female aviator reader- callsign ‘RedHood’

Best friend to lovers

Warnings: mentions of a fight, angst, Jake not knowing how to express his feelings and neither does reader. Fluff in the end and kinda cute. Enjoy!!

Summary: While attending an after party from a Naval Awards Ceremony, RedHood went on her own after Jake picked a random girl to be his date. But Jake only did this to hide his strong feelings for RedHood, but what will happen when he catches someone laying their hands on her?

RedHood, who was known as ‘Red’ to most, stood in between Coyote and Rooster as Coyote tried to get some embarrassing story out of her,

“No no Red! Tell him ‘how’ you got your callsign RedHood! Let me tell you guys, it’s hilarious-“

“Oh shut it Coyote, maybe we should tell them yours-“

Rooster laughed out loud,

“Oh don’t worry Red, I already know that one, and I was actually there too. When we graduated at the academy and Javy chased a coyote’s ass in the parking lot after he stole Javy’s certificate!!”

Red wheezed out a laughter as she punched Coyote’s arm hard,

“Dumbass you told me a whole other story!-“

Javy stopped her hand from giving him another punch as he confessed,

“I know but I was just trying to impress you!!”

She let herself go from his grip as she smirked,

“Oh really? Ok ok... I see now.”

Phoenix came along and welcomed everyone with her beautiful smile and shining brown eyes,

“Hey fellas! What’s the laughter all about? Oh and I already got a table just for us.”

Red was the first to embrace Phoenix with a kiss on the cheek as she beamed,

“Oh thank you honey! Aaaaand, we were just talking about how-“

Rooster helped Coyote escape the embarrassment of having his callsign story told again as he insisted,

“How Red has never told another soul besides me and Hangman about how she got her callsign!”

Before Red could try and change the subject or even play it off with an offer for drinks, Phoenix squealed as she tugged in Red’s arm,

“OMG I NEED TO KNOW!! Such a strong callsign must have quite the backstory!”

Red huffed out a little fake laugh as she glared at Rooster,

“Oh.. ha ha.. yeah I’m sure it does.”

Rooster’s face went pale at Red’s angry darts of glares, but he was quick to forget when Little Bob joined the group with a tray of fresh cut fruits that he had picked out from the fruit bar (being the quiet and observant one of the group paid off every time, he got to know all of them pretty well. And he liked it, especially when he got to see their genuine happy smiles when they saw their favorite fruits picked out and put on a tray for them.)

“Oh Bobby, did you pick out those strawberry’s for me?”

That was Red who was once again running from the fact that everyone was still trying to get the embarrassing story out of her lips. But she felt that gawking over Bob for him getting them fruit would distract them for a minute. And it kinda worked when the all saw their favorite fruits. Phoenix sauntered towards Bob and picked the biggest cantaloupe as she pinched his cheek lovingly with her free hand,

“Aw Bob, that’s why I love you as my WSO.. you know my favorite fruit is cantaloupe, unlike Rooster who I’ve dated for three months thinks it bananas.”

Rooster scoffed while grabbing a handful of green grapes and popping one in Bob’s mouth as his way of thank you.

“Oh baby don’t snitch me out like that, I thought you said bananas over the phone-“

Red and Coyote snickered behind Rooster and Phoenix who argued like an old married couple. And Phoenix went on as she questioned with a hand on her hip,

“And how does banana sound like cantaloupe? But it does if your not paying attention to me while messing around with Hangman at the grocery store while I’m at home with cramps!”

Rooster looked at Red and Coyote for help and to be one his side, but his so ‘helpful’ friends just shrugged with a shit-eating grin, and Red only made it worse as she batted her lashes at Phoenix,

“Baby Nix, there’s no excuse, bananas and cantaloupes sound nothing alike. Bad Rooster.”

Rooster frowned at Red as he stole a strawberry from her hand ignoring her gasp like a child as he complained,

“You say ‘Bad Rooster’ like if I’m a dog. Where’s Hangman anyway? I’m sick you you kids bullying me.”

Maverick’s voice swam into the conversation smoothly as he stepped into their little huddle,

“He just got here, looks like he’s got a date too, so be nice to her please.”

Fanboy walked next to Maverick joining in as he added with a big smile,

“Oh yeah, and she’s hot- ow!”

That was Payback who elbowed Fanboy’s ribs as he called to them,

“Anyways... Come on guys, there seating us now to start the dinner.”

Everyone began to walk away, except for Red who was like on pause, frozen completely. She didn’t think seeing her best friend, the one and only sunshine of Texas, Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, with someone else would trigger her today, but it did. They’ve been friends all their life, from the beginning of joining the academy to now, which was more than five years, now that they worked together and their profession was being in Top Gun. Jake dating other girls had never effected her before, she knew from heart and knowing him for so long, that he was definitely a ladies man, but she had been daydreaming for a while now, hoping that he would ask her to be one another’s date for the after party, but clearly he didn’t.

Maverick was who touched her shoulder softly, tugging her out of her headspace with a sweet tone,

“Sweetheart, are you ok?”

Red looked his way, not responding, before looking back at where Jake was, with his date. Maverick didn’t need to know more or told anything, he knew exactly what was going on, and he felt bad, because he knew both their secrets. Jake and Red were secretly in love, but were too scared to confess it to one another. Maverick only sighed lowly, as he said simply while grabbing Red’s hand gently, tugging her towards the table,

“I know how you feel, I was just like you at one point.”

Red thought about his words for a second before asking with curiosity,

“With Iceman?”

Maverick sent her a small smile,

“Yup, but it all ended when I told him how I felt-“

“But Jake won’t take me. At least I doubt he would.”

Maverick shook his head, happy to know he was right on track with the conversation,

“You’ll never know until you ask, or talk about it... now come on, let’s enjoy this evening, yes?”

Upon arriving at the dinner where everyone sat, Red gave Maverick a small kiss on the cheek,

“Thanks MavDad.”

“No problem kiddo.”

The first to hear Red’s voice speaking to Maverick was Jake, who stood up immediately, kinda forgetting about who he came with, as he happily jogged up to Red with his arms wide open, taking Red in for a tight hug. When he let her go he looked her over once as he smiled,

“My my Red!! Well you look very beautiful tonight.”

Red tried not to blush, because she was a sucker for his sweet words, and also because his hot date was there, and she didn’t want to cause problems over her going head over heels for his charm, so she subtly thanked him,

“Why thank you Hangman, you don’t look too bad yourself.”

With a cheeky grin Hangman replied,

“That’s cause I’m good, too good to be true-“

Rooster came between the two as he put an arm protectively over Red’s shoulders saying,

“Shut the hell up Hangman the only good ones here is Phoenix and Red-“

Hangman grabbed Red’s arm trying to pull her away from Rooster’s hold as he scolded playfully,

“Hey chicken nugget don’t interrupt me-“

And in that second a loud noise was made, as someone cleared their throat, trying to grasp attention onto themselves, Jake’s date. Jake turned around to see her, but it was like his mind didn’t register what she wanted, cause his head was so full of Red in that moment. But that caused him to get elbowed on the side by Red as she said in a tone a little to high and pitchier than normal, trying to include the girl as if she knew her, and liked her,

“Oh Hangman! This must be the girl you were telling me about, ain’t she pretty!?”

Jake’s date sent Red a proud smirk before extending her hand to Red while sitting down,

“I’m Gabriella, you must be Jake’s wingwoman?”

Red ignored the fact of how unclassy Gabriella was by shaking hands with her while sitting, but she ignored that as she replied kindly,

“Yes I am. And I’m Y/n Y/l/n, callsign RedHood, but you can call me Red.”

Gabriella raised a brow as if she was displeased, or like if Red wasn’t good enough for her, thinking she was higher and better than her as she put forth with a prideful tone,

“Oh, ok. I’m a assistant for the mayor here, a pretty good and high paying job honestly.”

Jake didn’t like how Gabriella spoke, but he loved how Red responded, not caring about how people sometimes undermind her,

“Oh how wonderful! Filing papers all day and writing down schedules for a grown man seems to suit you well, how nice.”

Phoenix let out a low snort and Fanboy tsked, Red simply sent Gabriella a cute smile before taking her seat that was in between Maverick and Rooster, her best bodyguards. Gabriella only mad-dogged Red before speaking in a baby voice to Jake, trying to appear supposedly cute and sweet wanting all of Jake’s attention, while unbeknownst to her, she was just annoying the hell out of the whole dagger squad. Good thing was, that Coyote and Rooster who were the loudest, spoke over Gabriella’s squeaky voice as they told bad jokes and old stories. Red glanced at Jake a few times to only find him already staring back at her, with pleading eyes that only begged for help, as Gabriella clung onto his arm like a koala, talking his ears out. Red felt bad for him, but couldn’t help him, she tried to convince herself that it was his fault, for bringing her. She instead entertained herself with Phoenix, Bob, and Maverick who all together silently tried to get Red’s mind and eyes off of Jake, only for the sake of not causing problems between the two with Gabriella. All in between the situation, they happily enjoyed their dinner and dessert, and now everyone here and there departed to go to the bar they had, to drink their meals and night away. Red was one of them, as she addressed to the rest,

“I’m going to grab a drink at the bar.”

Everyone smiled at Red sweetly, except Gabriella who mocked,

“So early at night? You must be the drunky of the squad huh?”

Maverick under the table tugged at Red’s white pants, trying to signal for her to be nice, and the better person, because he saw her fists clench at Gabriella’s words. The table then grew quiet, not knowing what to say, worried they might make it worse, but a calm, Texan voice broke through as he said to Gabriella and the rest,

“Red got the drinking from me, huh Red? Here’s my card, get one for yourself.”

Gabriella just about shit her pants at Jake’s words, and grew pissed when he saw him pull out his card for Red to take.

Red bit back her original comment that was geared towards Gabriella at first, but when Jake spoke, she changed her words and instead replied while taking his card,

“Thanks Jake.”

Jake sent Red a small nod as he mouthed to her,

‘I’m sorry’

Red read Jake’s lips and sent him a wink, showing him that it didn’t matter to her, or at least lying to him to comfort herself and him. Red adjusted her dress whites and hat before walking away, to which Phoenix followed behind closely as she informed,

“I’ll come with you Red, come on sweetie.”

Phoenix wrapped her arm with Red’s as they walked to the bar, and when they got there Red spoke loud and clear to the bartender as she asked politely,

“I’ll like two Old Fashions please.”

The bartender nodded his head as he replied nicely,

“That’ll be right up ma’am, anything else?”

Red shook her head,

“That’ll be all, thank you.”

Soon they got their drinks, and sat on the stools turned around to face the crowd who looked happy and peaceful at their own tables. Red thought her night was going to be calm, maybe even a little drunk too, but she unfortunately only got to complete one of those things. Already have downed more than one tequila, and a few more Old Fashions, Red was kinda tipsy, but more alert than usual, which was why she went on guard immediately, when she heard Phoenix’s pleading,

“Can I have my Dixie Hat back please?”

Red faced Phoenix as she saw her extending her hand high up towards a man that stood in front of her, wearing an ugly smirk as he taunted,

“Only if I can get your number I said. So what’s it going to be?”

Red could see the frustration on Phoenix’s face, she stood up for her as she boldly said,

“It’s going to be nothing, now give it back.”

The guy only liked down at Red as he teased,

“Oh there’s two of you, that means I-“

He then reached for Red’s Dixie cap but before he could even get close she smacked his hand away as she warned him,

“Don’t touch me or anything that’s on me, now give me her hat back.”

He grew a little upset at the fact of how Red smacked his hand, and even more when she showed him that she wasn’t interested in his games, which in fact she really wasn’t, she was actually getting very irritated and almost mad. Mad how this guy thought he could mess with her best friend Phoenix. Jake watched from the distance, because he couldn’t move from where he sat, as Gabriella held onto him and kept him in place. And Jake didn’t want to be rude and mean, walking from Gabriella to be at the bar with Red. But if it was any other time, he would’ve been there right at her side, like he always did. But when he saw the commotion rise, he got Rooster’s attention, who was facing away from the bar.

“Hey Roos, can you check on the girls, they’ve been gone for a while, I know they wanted to have their own time-“

Hangman didn’t even have to finish when Rooster turned around to look for the girls, and saw Red standing with her chest puffed up against a guy who was trying to get to his baby Phoenix, you bet he got up fast,

“I got it.”

Jake was about to follow when he felt a strong grasp on his though that kept him seated, he turned towards Gabriella as she told him with batting eyelashes,

“Don’t worry about them, you worry too much. Just stay here with me, they’re fine-“

“I just want to check on them-“

“You don’t need to.”

Jake looked down at her hand on his thigh and gave up on himself, thinking that ‘ok, maybe she’s right’

Before Rooster could get there, Red told the guy one more time,

“Stop being a jerk, and give the hat back.”

The guy’s eyes darkened and finally lowered the hat as he asked,

“Do you really want it back?”

Phoenix saw Rooster coming and sighed as she tugged on Red’s jacket,

“Rooster’s coming Red let him deal with him-“

Red don’t hear her as she said at the same time,

“I want it back now.”

“Then have it you little bitch.”

Red expected the guy to hand it to her, but he instead punch her in the stomach with it. Now that Jake clearly saw, and that was what set Jake off as he seethed standing up,

“Son of a bitch!-“

Gabriella tried to grab him but he pushed her hand away, she gave him a look of hurt as she complained,

“Jake it’s not your fight!”

But Jake didn’t care to hear her as he began to walk away, with Coyote and Payback trailing behind him. Red had hunched over clutching her stomach as she let out a groan, the guy didn’t give a damn about what pain he caused as he laughed at Phoenix and Red,

“You made it hard on yourself, I wanted it to be easy-“

BAM!!!

A loud, crushing punch was landed on the guy’s jaw by Jake, who had ran to the scene, to get his share of pain on the jerk.

Rooster had pulled away Red and gave her to Payback who he picked up bridal style and walked away, Rooster then grabbed Phoenix and checked on her to make sure she was ok, which she was and insisted that she go check on Red. Rooster let her go at the same time another punch was heard, as Jake and the guy went at it hard. And before you knew it, Rooster, Coyote, Jake and even Fanboy got into the fight as 3 other guys showed up for their jerk of a friend.

It took a few long minutes until a few other standbys came and separated the fight, putting a distance between the dagger squad and the other men. Rooster came out with a nose bleed, Fanboy got his arm twisted, Coyote got a couple of hits on the jaw, but Jake, Jake was the worst, he had a searing pain on his ribs, back, and face which was beat up pretty badly, but that’s cause he fought the most. Maverick made sure that the jerk that hit Red got taken care of by the police, saying he assault her. And Rooster drove to the hospital in Jake’s truck, persistently saying that he had to be checked out in case he got a broken bone or rib. Jake was upset about going, but obliged anyway once he arrived and went in to be checked. Rooster called Red and told her what had went down, and asked if she was ok,

“What about you Red, are you ok?”

Red sighed as she wiped her mouth,

“Yeah I am... vomited out all the tequila and shit.... how’s Jake?”

Rooster sat in the waiting room as he replied,

“I don’t know yet, Doc just called him in, but he was pretty bad... he got pissed off real quick.”

Red felt terrible for Jake engaging into a fight that wasn’t his, but now she could only hope for the best as she said,

“Phoenix and I are on our way over there, I’ll see you then.”

“Ok, drive safe.”

About 15 minutes later Phoenix and Red met up with the Dagger squad as they sat in the waiting room, Maverick was the first to approach Red as he asked worriedly,

“Are you ok sweetheart? How’s your stomach?”

Red hugged him tight as she replied,

“I’m ok MavDad.. it was just a hard punch that’s all.”

Maverick squeezed her tight, feeling like a protective father over his daughter who got hurt by a guy, he had given himself that position, and wasn’t gonna let it go anytime soon, if not ever. Just in that moment the Doctor walked in as he gave the news,

“Mr.Seresin is going to be ok, no bones are broken, he’s just got pretty bad brushing. That young man is pretty tough, but stubborn as heck, he refused to take Advil or aspirin.”

Rooster sighed heavily,

“Oh yeah, that’s Jake alright, always trying to be the tough guy. That means he’s ok.”

The doctor smiled at Rooster and at the rest of the dagger squad, happy to see how they were all there for support.

When the doctor gave the clear for them to see him, Red was the first to say,

“You guys go first... I want to talk to him... alone.”

Everyone understood the assignment, and left to see Jake after each of them gave Red a big hug and kiss on her head, (Bob was the more sensitive one, he cried when he saw Red get hurt, she was like a big sister to him, and Maverick made sure to ask Red over 20 times if she was going to be ok, which Red assured him that yes, she was just ok) It didn’t take long until the Squad came back, signaling for Red to go in, Phoenix approached Red last as she put forth,

“Don’t be afraid... don’t think.. just do.”

Red nodded agreeably,

“Thanks Nix...”

“No, thank you for stepping up for me, you’re a real friend.”

Red embraced Phoenix and let her go,

“I’ll always be, for you.”

Jake sat on the medical bed, trying to check his wrap around his body, after the doctor told him to not touch them at all. He was completely shirtless with a gauze wrapped around his chest, and some on his left arm, his bruises were exposed completely. He then heard a sudden knock on his door, and thought it was the doctor, so he right away said,

“Come in.”

The door could be heard opening, and then a small voice came out,

“Jake?”

Jake heard the voice and reached for his medical coat throwing it over his back and covering his front wanting hide his growing and darkening bruises. It was Red’s voice that he had recognized, and he didn’t want her to see his body. Upon seeing her walk into the room, he sent her his usual, happy grin of sunshine as he beamed,

“Hi sugar... came to see me?”

Red’s face fell at the sight of Jake’s bruised up cheek,

“What happened to your pretty face?”

Jake lifted a teasing brow as he tried to ignore the pain on his side,

“What do you mean? I’m looking at it and it looks as pretty as always?”

Red stood confused for a second before she caught on to his cheeky comment. She then shook her head with a scoff while walking up to him slowly,

“Always being sappy, I’m talking about yours silly.”

With a click to his tongue Jake tried to brush it off,

“It’s nothing Sugar don’t worry-“

Red stepped closer as she pressed on,

“Did those guys hurt you? The ones at the dinner-“

Moving closer to the edge of the medical bed to get off Jake insisted,

“It doesn’t matter-“

But halted his moves when he heard Red’s voice tremble slightly,

“I-It does when you- when you look like this Jacob! What happened?”

Thinking that maybe showing Red his beat up body wouldn’t effect her as much or get her more upset, (maybe she’d just call him a whiney baby and leave) he slipped off his coat and extended his arms while he looked at himself saying,

“It’s not that bad Red, it’s like nothing I haven’t seen before, especially when you’re in the Navy and a big cocky ass like me-“

“oh..”

A soft whimper could be heard but Jake didn’t think to much of it as he went on, but now looking up to Red,

“It can happen to-wait... a-are you crying? Why the tears sugar?”

A tear slipped off Red’s cheek as she cried softly,

“Because you got hurt, and you didn’t have to you could’ve just left with your date. And pretend like I- ... well I don’t know like I wasn’t there or that nothing was happening?”

At hearing her words Jake’s eyes widen with shock,

“Red I could never leave you... never. Especially when I saw a man put his hands on you, I couldn’t let you go-“

Letting the tears come out more with a sob Red tried to argue,

“But why Jake I shouldn’t matter-“

With a stern voice Jake confessed,

“Because I care!!”

Red was silenced at Jake’s words, and listened attentively as he added with a calmer voice,

“Because I care... about you. And you’re right... I could’ve left you hanging, but I didn’t because I truly care about you.”

Red wiped her teary eyes spreading her forgotten mascara as she questioned with a slight frown,

“But Jake you had a date, she even got upset when you threw yourself at me, forgetting her... why would you do that?”

He reached out his hand and gently grabbed Red’s hand, pulling her to stand in between his large legs as he poured out his long hidden truth, with his glistening green eyes gazing into Red’s lovingly,

“I only brought her for backup.. because I was too shy to ask such a gorgeous, strong, independent woman like you to be a date for a guy like me.”

Red’s mouth fell agape as she gasped Jake’s name softly,

“Jake...”

Grabbing both of Red’s hand he continued,

“I really care about you, I mean- Gosh I love you Red. More than anything in my entire life. My heart has known it forever but the day my mind registered it was when you, out of everyone I knew, chose me to be your Wingman. You could of had anyone else, someone less cocky and dependent, yet you chose my stuck up ass and saw the best in me... your heart chose to trust me, no matter what.”

Red let go of his left hand to cover her face, sobbing into it as she cried,

“Oh Jake.. you really love me?”

Blood running cold for a mere second at Red’s question, Jake hesitated for a moment before replying nervously,

“y-yes.. I do. I love you.”

Before Jake could do or say anything else, he was met with warm hands on his cheeks as searing kiss fell on his lips, leaving him very surprised, but very relieved at the same time. He tilted his head a little to deepen the kiss as he used his hands to grasp her hips and bring her closer to him, pressing up against his bare chest. They both grew warm inside, not necessarily because of their very close proximity, but because they were igniting one another fires with true love. Jake leaned into her gentle touch as he squeezed her hips tightly, earning his tongue entrance to taste and dance with hers when she opened her lips with a low moan. But soon Red separated from the kiss first, which made Jake chase after her soft lips. But he was glad they didn’t reconnect in the moment when she confessed with a sigh, while leaning her forehead on his,

“Jake.. I love you too... so so much.”

Jake batted his puppy eyes to her from where she looked down at him as he smirked,

“I know you do... that’s why you kissed me-“

Red rolled her eyes playfully,

“Oh shut up-“

“Make- oomph!!”

Indeed Red made him shut up with another breath taking kiss, now wrapping her arms around his neck, careful not to touch his bruised up back, (though she desperately wanted to run her hands across his broad and muscular back, but there’s always another time... especially when he’s was hers now) Jake wrapped his muscular arms around her entire form, bringing her impossibly closer to him, smiling into the kiss when he felt that she did first. Moving away to take a much needed break for air, Jake then embraced Red tightly and tucked his face into her neck before asking sweetly,

“Want to come home... with me?”

Red kissed his head happily as she replied,

“Of course... Wherever you are is home for me.”

Jake then pulled away excitedly,

“Great! Now, let’s get out of here before the doctor sees us.”

Red stepped away so she could help him off the medical bed carefully as she questioned with worry,

“But sugar.. Jake, shouldn’t you wait for them to clear you?”

In that moment Jake realized that he would be addicted to Red’s gentle touch, as he let her help him put his shirt on as he responded quickly,

“Yeah I should, but then they wheel me out of here and that’s embarrassing. That’s why I had already signed everything and paid the bill, so I never see this place again. Come on baby.”

Red knew Jake hated to be seen as weak or incapable of taking care of himself, so she clearly understood why he didn’t want to follow hospital protocol and be wheeled out. She complied with him as she tightened her grip on his hand after he had grabbed it and kissed it.

“Ok... let’s run then.”

“WAIT WE NEED TO FOLLOW PROTOCOL AND WHEEL YOU OUT SIR!!”

Jake suppressed his laughs and he tugged on Red’s hand watching her try to hide her giggles too, while they were running away like rebellious teenagers that were caught at a frat party.

“Come on!! come on!!”

They ran past all the nurses and through the doors, running straight for Jake’s Red Truck, now bursting out in laughter, excited to have been able to escape.

“This is hilarious!”

Jake opened the passenger side and ushered Red in with a cheeky smile,

“I know I am, now come on get in.”

Seconds later he was in his designated seat and pulling out of the parking way, heading for the streets. They drove for a few minutes while giggling to themselves, before Jake pulled into an empty parking lot abruptly, sending Red forward but back with the jerk of her seatbelt,

“Jake what was that for- Oophm!!”

Jake had unbuckled and threw himself at Red as he grabbed her face and crushed his lips onto hers, desperate to feel her lips again. Red unbuckled her belt and let Jake grab her hips and bring her over to his side and resting her on top of his thighs, long forgetting his bruises and pain as he melted into her touch. Red locked her arms around his neck as she deepened the kiss, breathing hard through her nose to avoid separating from his lips. Jake opened his mouth during the kiss to take a deep breath, and let out a groan when Red let her tongue slip into his mouth deliciously. After Red pulled that move, they now gave opened mouth kisses as their hands wandered everywhere, not getting enough of one another. Low groans and soft moans could be heard here and there, hard breathing filled all the corners of the truck as they made out heavily and passionately. But soon their sinful but heavenly moment was cut short when a certain ring tone filled the air,

‘Shawty had them apple bottom jeans!!

Boots with the fur!!!-‘

“Holy shit what the hell!!”

Red sat back from Jake as she felt a vibration from under her, but Jake apologized profusely as he said,

“It’s not my cock baby I swear, i-it’s my phone- let me get it-“

‘The whole club was lookin' at her!!

She hit the floor !!

Next thing you know

Shawty got low, low, low, low, low-‘

Red couldn’t help but start laughing and giggling as Jake’s hand went in between her legs to reach his phone that was resting between his thighs, she was laughing because first, his searching hand was tickling her and second, because of the ring tone he had that sang out loud.

Jake caught onto how she was giggling and asked,

“What’s got your giggling you silly baby girl?”

Red stopped his moving hand from in between her thighs as she tried to catch her breath,

“You’re tickling me, and that ringtone-“

She then stopped talking as she let the ringtone song go on,

‘Them baggy sweat pants and the Reeboks with the straps!

She turned around and gave that big booty a slap!’

“Jake it’s hilarious!! Who’s the caller?!”

Jake let out a soft chuckle as he replied,

“It’s Maverick.. him and I had a dance off a while ago, and he beat me to this song, so I picked it for his ringtone.”

Red awed as she moved her hand from Jake’s and squeezed his cheeks,

“Awww baby you lost? Baby you’re to cute and funny- aww!!! Look at this squishy face!-“

Jake giggled at Red’s laughing and change of topic, but caught her jump in his lap again as the phone started vibrating again, but this time she reached for it and pulled it out before clicking the green button and handing it to him with an innocent smile,

“Here you go Jake-“

Jake really didn’t want to answer the phone but instead keep messing around with Red, but it was too late,

“Oh Babe wait-“

“Seresin? Did you just call me babe?-“

Jake took the phone immediately and pressed it between his ear and shoulder as he covered Red’s mouth just in time before she could bust into another fit of giggles,

“No- no sir... I think you heard wrong, what’s the matter?”

Maverick voice came through in a concerned tone as he explained,

‘Uh the hospital just called me and said that you ran out with a random girl, instead of staying to be wheeled out and cleared by your doctor... is that true?’

Jake moves to look down but then went right back up at Red’s face when she licked his hand, her shoulders were shaking for how hard she was trying to laugh, but Jake only shook his head and gave Red’s forehead a kiss before replying to Maverick,

“Uh yeah about that... so just know, I’m very ok, like totally fine, Rooster is the one that exaggerates. Then um... well I walked out with being wheeled out because I don’t like it-“

‘Who did you walk out with? Do you have somebody with you? I just wanted to make sure you’re ok, I saw how hard those guys hit you before our boys got them off of you.’

Maverick always being his overly protective fathered self, had Jake choosing to give up the truth in the end, but his hand was yanked off Red’s mouth by her hand as she said happily,

“Hi Maverick!!!”

Mavericks voice changed tone to a much sweeter and slightly higher pitched as he replied,

‘Oh hi sweetheart! Are you there with Jake?’

Jake lightly pinched Red’s thigh as she stuck her tongue out at him,

“Yessss sirrrr! I got him here and I’m taking him home, the doctors are crazy for underestimating his strength, he’s doing just all right Mav. I promise I got him taken care of!”

Jake awed at how Red stood up for him, he only craved her more from that moment on. Maverick then replied,

‘Alrighty then kiddo, thank you for picking him up before he went crazy with the nurses.. take care of him for me.. I’ll see you guys on Saturday for our barbecue.’

Red ran her fingers through Jake’s hair,

“It’s no problem at all Mav, thanks for everything... I’ll see you Saturday, love you.”

‘I love you too... and I love you Jake don’t go all cry baby on me-‘

Jake scoffed,

“I don’t cry! But I appreciate the love, love you too.”

Soon Maverick hung up on them and that’s when the real tickle fight started, Jake grabbed Red’s hip holding her down while his other hand tickled in between her thighs, she squealed and laughed out loud as he said in a teasing tone,

“So you think it’s funny to answer the call when I’m trying to make out with you?!-“

Red tried to paw his hand away as she half laughed and talked,

“I-It was Maverick!! You- you had to answer!! Ahhh!! Time out!! Time out!!”

Jake latched his lips onto her neck kissing at her weak spot and explained in between,

“I’ll stop if you promise to be my girlfriend! And you know whatever else comes with that!”

Red heard his words clearly and tried to answer, but he was tickling her so much she couldn’t make out a clear sentence or word. And it was even harder to accomplish such when Jake was sucking on her neck, already marking her and claiming her as his. Out of frustration of not being able to give a clear answer, Red let out a loud and long moan, which caused Jake to slightly stop so his ears could take in her every sexy sound, and that’s when Red finally had the chance to scream,

“OK OK!! I say yes!! I’ll be your girlfriend and you’ll be my hot boyfriend!!”

Jake laughed and smiled as he finally stopped and rested his hands on her hips,

“That’s my girl... thank you.”

Red sucked in a deep breath and wiped her forehead before leaning her body against his with her face hidden in his neck as she replied,

“You’re welcome handsome... and thank you for caring for me.”

Jake wrapped his arms around her form as he leaned his head against hers, feeling her soft breath hit against his neck,

“I’ll always care about you.. because I love you.”

Red hummed happily and kissed his neck,

“I love you too.”

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songoftrillium · 1 year ago

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NPC Spotlight: Burned Hide

art credit @morggo licensed to use with permission

CW: Animal death, fire, scars, generational trauma beneath the read-more link.

Wolf-Born, Galliard, Athro Older Brother, Master of the Rite

One day, Ape was sitting on the back of a horse, and stopped at the foot of Dume’fa. Ape doesn't know whether to go around her or try to go over her. One asks a nearby wolf, "Wolf. Does she have a rocky face?" And Wolf says that she does. Ape orders the horse onto her face and gets stuck in her logfall and underbrush. Ape shouts to Wolf, "One said she has a rocky face!" And Wolf says, "One did, Ape, all mountains have rocks for faces. Keep sinking and one will find it, this one is certain," And Wolf howls for one’s packmates to gather. — Burned Hide

Despite having had no visible likeness to her kin, she was the direct descendant of Rala Blood-Claw, and the last living descendant of any member of Tawatuy. Born the pup of a lone wolf and her two yearling packmates, her siblings and she had spent their early years catching trout and hunting for grouse, deer, rabbits, and elk in the fall, moving farther into the cascades over winter when the canyons and high desert turned bitter and cold. This had traditionally been the time when Younger Brother roamed into the region along with the Northern Paiute and Yahuskin, though times had changed since then. Her story began with the fall of Gulaka’i. Her grandmother, Aleshanee In-The-Sun, had witnessed numerous other garou begin succumbing to the Bitter Rage. Heeding the warnings of Muskrat, she had worked tirelessly to save as many wolves around Gulaka’i during the Snake War and the war of Rogue River as she could. She had eventually been taken by a Bitter Rage in her attempts to save more tribe members. Her once sweet, playful nature had been reduced to a frothing spittle in 1867. She was survived by her kin-pack, which had lived in the canyons just south of what is now Valley Falls, many miles away from Dead Mountain. When those wolves roamed too close to the cattle ranchers near Paisley, many ate poisoned meat and died painful deaths. A pack of yearlings had dined on grouse earlier that morning and had not gone on the hunt, sparing their lives. Those surviving wolves formed a pack with a number of coyotes; and in the spring of 1899, Burned-Hide was born.

In 1900, Burned Hide's first change, and the first time she'd channel Rala Blood-Claw, occurred simultaneously. A fire had broken out that raged out of control through the canyon and reached the top of the plateau, destroying 75 homes in Lakeview. When the ash began raining down, she tried to locate her pack. Overcoming her own fear, she let her human mind take over, and ran into the fire. The only thing on her mind had been her family and their safety. She ran across hot coals, and through flame, scalding her paws and igniting her fur. Charred, and choking on smoke, she located them sheltering beneath an overturned boulder.

The smoke was too much and she collapsed. That’s when Rala and she had a whispered communion in a language she was surprised to understand. In their first communion, Rala egged her to her feet, and whispered to her what happened to her Grandmother. To their family’s family, and their families. Rala held out the words and lives of the wolves that came before them, and the wolf, breathless and forgetting her pain, reached out with her heart and caught it in her teeth.

The wolf transformed into her hispo form, and feeling her breath returning to her, led her family to safety. Even with her newer, stronger wolf form, she nearly succumbed to the heat and the smoke, had she not seen a family of muskrats fleeing northwards. She had followed them, fighting against all wolf instincts and fording the creek all the way to Thaervarmet. Despite wincing when she stretched her scars wrong, they had only served to add to the beauty of her heart, and year after year, she ran with the wolves. In her own words, the scars were marks of pride that showed her family just what they meant to her. Her life as a garou was one that saw her be one of few wolf-born to live to old age. Her springs were spent with her kin back home in the canyons where she was born. Among the creatures found there, they include 11 mexican gray wolves, 7 coywolves, and 10 coyotes all coalesced into an informal family of sorts, all hunting together with multiple kin leading.

Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma 5, Manipulation 3, Composure 2, Intelligence: 3, Wits: 4, Resolve 4 Abilities: Alertness 3, Assbeating 2, Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Empathy 4, Expression 5, Intimidation 2, Primal-Urge 3, Subterfuge 2, Animal Ken 4, Leadership 4, Melee 2, Performance 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3, Enigmas 2, Forestry 3, Investigation 2, Linguistics 3, Medicine 1, Nation Lore 5, Occult 4, Politics 3, Rituals 4 Gifts: Prey Mind, Beast Speech, Master of Fire, Uncloak the Hidden, Coyote Howl, Scent of Sight, Oaksong, Lore of the Land, Hand of the Earth Lords, Spirit’s Horse, Whisper in the Dark, Catfeet, Distractions, Song of Heroes Rage: 4 Gnosis: 9(3) Willpower: 6 Fluster: 2

Backgrounds: Animism 5 (Champion), Patron 12 (Muskrat 7, Dume’fa 5), Kinfolk 3, Allies 3

Rites: Any Needed Maneuvers: Evasion

Equipment: Medicine bag, Awakened Tarweed Seeds, Awakened Juniper Berries, Awakened Trillium Seeds

Appearance: True to her name, Burned Hide is heavily disfigured, with the majority of her body a lattice patchwork of only partially-healed burn scars covering over 75% of her body. This include some of her eyes, which appears to be blind,doesn’t focus and is constantly weeping tears. Despite this, the shaggy cheek tufts and leaner build present her as a Mexican Gray Wolf, bearing no resemblance to her historic relation. Her expressive eyes are the color of dark juniper bark. Despite her scars, the way she carries herself gives her a sort of Wyld quality that is strangely beautiful, and all conducted beneath a veneer of self-control that belies her passion for expression.

Roleplay Tips: You are bold and unapologetically passionate. You carry the weight of Tawatuy on your shoulders and love in your heart, and become irritable when you’re not feeling heard. Your frequent communion with Rala has instilled in you a deeply-critical view of leadership, and there have been numerous times where you have handed the wheel over to Rala Blood-Claw herself, in a manner of speaking, unleashing a rancorous warrior when you do. You believe she was the true voice of reason in the face of Voruk’ny’ket, and you being the sole descendant of Tawatuy are living proof of that. Your duties to Gulaka’i that pull you away from here are also one of your biggest fears; that you won't be able to keep this family safe. You would give your life to save Gulaka’i, but only if you know your family will be saved. When near the hearts of septs, or in late spring, you are always shaking your head, for all the butterflies that land on your face drink your tears away. Your hidden strength is your Animism. The ability to channel and use up to 5 dice will grant you a base dice pool of 11 in homid form. This could have you, true to Rala Blood-Claw’s form, go toe to toe with Legends and hold her own. That hidden power gives you confidence, despite being small and 76 years old. You’d be a legend in your own right, did you not have Rala’s habit of mouthing off to whoever is in charge.

#world of darkness #werewolf: the apocalypse #dead mountain #werewolf the apocalypse #werewolves #older brother #garou tribes #npc bios

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the-ace-with-spades · 9 months ago

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Trying to make myself write like a monkey pilot and so random bits from worldbuilding of this fic that are only mention or not even included (this is trans Bradley fic, for people who have not read it, but some bits are universal - I'm sorry for the rambling)

Merlin has a flight school in Nevada - this is where Bradley gets his commercial pilot licence, not long after he starts medical transition. Merlin runs it with his second wife, Nandini, who was the original owner and main flight instructor. They met through Slider, who got his commercial through her school, and they got two kids and their daughter had a crush on Bradley everyone in their family holds against her any time they meet for family gatherings.

Slider, by the way, retired from the Navy the same year as Mav started on the path to become a test pilot, and got a commercial and then airline pilot licence. Mav makes fun of it constantly.

Jake and Bradley (then pre-transition) talked extensively about their future life together and in Jake's mind, it was a given they would get married and have kids eventually, they'd just wait for the right timing or until they were at certain ranks/positions. Bradley did want all of it, he just never thought/imagined how it'd actually look with him as wife/mother, only vaguely with Jake as a dad and his own image completely avoided (kinda hard to explain but it's like a very blurry picture where his own figure would be even blurrier).

Bradley still wants to get married and have kids. Once the whole wife/mom bit became husband/dad thing, he's no longer uncomfortable about the topic. He knows being pregnant would be difficult because society sucks but he's pretty sure he's at the stage of confidence when he can pull it off.

Jake's mom is the nightmare mother-in-law people joke about. For real. She is terrible to all of her kids' partners, but she is especially terrible to Bradley (pre and after transition) because Jake is her little miracle baby.

Coyote joined Jake's squadron just as Bradley left the Navy, which means he met Jake in the middle of a heartbreak and well, that's basically why he's not the biggest fan of Bradley (even if sometimes it shows in ugly ways).

Bradley and Jake also had very different mindsets about their relationship during the break-up period of six years. Bradley had been a bit in denial and tried to force himself to move quickly, thinking that ever being with Jake was impossible (or you know, a fantasy only possible in his head...). Jake up until he sees Bradley, now after transition, at the Hard Deck, thought they were like magically destinated to be together and they'd meet again at some point. He dated some girls, mostly on Coyote's insistence, but he never hit it off with any woman, liked to say he was 'ruined for life' for Bradley and never stopped believing they'd find each other again despite the years apart piling on.

Mav and Ice renewed their vows and had a second wedding after Ice went into remission. Bradley was the officiant, mostly because Ice and Mav had a massive fight about whose witness he should be.

This is implied ?? but Ice's cancer went in remission because I imagine Bradley being there and Mav being there more often because of Bradley meant Ice'd go to the doctor earlier than in canon and had better chances given it was at an earlier stage when it was found. You know, a butterfly effect and all that.

Bradley and Ice spent weeks after Bradley's top surgery playing DCS, most often in the F-14 sim with Bradley in the RIO seat, sometimes with Slider providing commentary. As stated in the fic, Slider is the one to pop the idea and install the whole thing. Ice and Mav often play while goes through his oncology treatment and Ice often uses his puppy eyes to make Mav play as the RIO (rather than have two planes and Jester AIs)

Jake has a strange view on gender, which isn't necessarily bad, but it can be disheartening to Bradley, especially at the beginning. It's almost as if he doesn't see people's gender but who the people are (kinda like similar to not seeing skin colours??) which can be great when you don't want to be perceived/treated by just gender (like Bradley pre-transition) but can be ignorant if you do (like Bradley after transition). He is also terrible with labels and doesn't really believe or use them.

(A bit nsfw/tmi ??) Bradley chose his preferred type of top surgery based on the desire to keep the sensation of his nipples (buttonhole has a higher probability of keeping the feeling), mostly because it was a really sensitive part of his body, but ended up not keeping the full sensation on one side, which is always a possible outcome with any top surgeries, and after a few more months on T realized that his chest isn't really that sensitive anymore anyway. It's probably one of the very few things he misses.

I'm absolutely ecstatic because readers picked up on it, but Jake's been so jealous of Mav the whole time the fic's been going on and it'll continue until he realizes who Mav is to Bradley actually. You can only imagine how horrified he is when he realizes how terrible of a first impression he made on Mav.

While Mav is not a fan of Jake, Ice is trying to be very neutral. Objectively, he's not the biggest fan of Jake either, mostly because he's never going to be a fan of any of his baby boy's partners, but he thinks Bradley is an adult and should be able to make his own decisions. He also knows that a lot of people would have told him Mav is no good for him and it's not true at all so he's trying to trust Bradley's judgment.

someone please make me write, i just stare at the open document and change words in already written dialogues

#(sif) lamp tag #tgm #hangster #trans bradley rooster bradshaw #idk what to tag here its a hangster fic with a side of icemav parenting (or vice versa)

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fandomassimilator · 8 months ago

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Prewett twins hc bc I need more of them

-identical twins (i know in cannon they’re brothers but it’s better this way)

-Fabian’s older by seven minuets

-Gideon was the more serious of the two, but they’re energies bounced off each other well

-Identical but never had to play it up, Gideon’s hair was longer, Fabian always wore a million bracelets, small things that made them different

-still completed sentences and had mental conversations ( magical twins)

-Absolute menaces to ‘Little Mol-Molls’

Gryphindors(they tried to take death eaters in a 5v2 ofc they’re gryphindors)

-Gideon was gay, Fabian straight, they constantly teased one another about it

-about once a year for three years in a row they would get into a real fight around Easter , this was so predictable they faked having it for two years after on easter

-called each other ‘gid’ and “fay’

-Bill and Percy’s favorite uncle was Gideon, Charlie’s was Fabian, the rest don’t remember the two of them

-Menaces at Hogwarts as well, but only did large scale pranks

-the reason magic carpets are banned in magical Brittan (never proven guilty)

-Pranks included: making everyone wake up in different beds in different house dormitories, stealing the house points hourglass, sending 100 letters to professor mcgonagall from the owlery at breakfast (banned for the rest of the term), making Flitwicks toupee dance, anti-gravity spells in corridors, hosting toboggan races down the moving stairs, inter-house after dark quidditch games that sadly didn’t nt carry over as there were a lot more racists in new generations, taking aging potion and sitting at the staff table, replacing Binns and HoM teacher (lesson was excellent 10/10), trying to enchant the sorting hat to put kids in house prewett and turn their hair ginger, ACTUALLY SUCCEEDED AND ARTHER NEVER DID MANAGE TO GET HIS HAIR BACK TO BROWN, replacing owls in owlery with tropical birds trained to deliver letters (only went wrong when a staff member who’s owl was already out tried to use one), making Molly’s birthday a school-wide event, spiking the pumpkin juice with various harmless potions for fun, switching quidditch robe colors while players were playing to sow confusion, once banned from quidditch stealing the cup, charming the oldest crustiest brooms to look like their owners and stitching them out, stealing every single chair in the entire building and the sequel, stealing every table in the castle, enchanting cockatrice to play marching band, chanting the lyrics of the schools song, ‘general mischief ’,

-best friends with Zerioch Zonko

-played chaser (rip the third guy)

-Gid had a dragon tattoo among others on his arm,

-Fabian would let his nephews draw on him

-Died minutes apart, clutching each other

-Fabian died first, Gideon felt it and followed seven minutes later

-‘worst seven minutes of my life’

-watched over all their nephews and placed bets on their houses

-befriended James and the like in heaven

-fully supportive of their twin nephews

-the first people Fred saw when he got off the train in heaven

-fox patronus, coyote animagus forms (only learned how to transform after death)

-tried to look after their dead nephew but it was hard some days

-Greeted their little sister when she finally passed

#harry potter fandom #Weasley family #prewett twins #fabian prewett #gideon prewett #mauraders generation #Prewett family #harry potter headcanon

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buttercupbread06 · 2 months ago

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HELLOOOO HIIII sorrysorry, idk how this works exactly but uhhhhh yea <:3

1) Does ur OC have a voice claim? If so who? [any]

3) What song describes your OC? [any]

14) Who's a character your OC cannot stand! it's on sight when they see them! [any (but curious abt Michele)]

15) Will your OC ever retire? Do you see them making it? [either Gonzalo, Michele or Adri]

20) If they fight, what's their weapon of choice? [any, curious on Mika tho 👀]

27) What's their spirit tamagochi? or an animal you associate them with [any (although I have an idea of most of them dkxndkfn)]

29)Imagine a mood board for your OC! What's on it? (Make it if you want!) (not necessary, just sillying rn)

hii thanks for writing the questions i love you

1). Gonzalo kinda sounds like the singer in Dance With Me (Topline Addicts), but only that song in specific for some reason?? Michele sounds like Snufkin in the English dub (I dont even watch Moominvalley, I just saw a clip once and thought "yeah that's my daughter"). I haven't found Mika's exact voice irl yet, sadly.

3). Gonzalo is very Sucede/Desarraigo (by Extremoduro) coded, but I'd like to mention Everything She Wants (Wham!), High and Dry (Radiohead) and Lágrimas Desordenadas (Melendi). Very father of him for the most part, I like to think. He also likes all of those, by the way, Extremoduro and Radiohead are his favorite bands (GOD HE'S LIKE ME FR)

Mika depends on the time of his life, honestly, but I relate Using You (Mars Argo) and Cynical One (TV Girl) to him. There's more, though, I just don't want to yap too much.

Extra: The Mind Electric (Miracle Musical) for Michele, Califórnica (La Gusana Ciega) for Adriana, and basically anything sung by Betty Hutton could be Becky's :33

14). I'm going to be very honest, DMC doesn't have enough characters for Michele to hate someone. However, she IS bitter about Fortuna as a whole because no one even tried to protect them as a child. Sure, it was supposed to be a secret, but giving him away that easily and never wondering where the kid went is... Interesting.

Adri hates Kimball AND Caesar, as she should, but that could apply to basically any Legion dude/NCR soldier. I don't think I've ever told you this, but Mika has beef with Leo's parents especially after Leo actually gets famous (basically because they didn't support their son enough and he was there to see it, and because I believe they'd be fake about it years after and Mika just wants to strangle them with a coat hanger) (he keeps it to himself but he calls his mom to talk 40 minutes worth of shit right after they leave lmao).

20). Michele has a sword (canon), Gonzalo technically owns a glock 22 because he's a cop but to me his canon weapon is his stupid little revolver in FNV, Becky likes energy weapons, Adri prefers dynamite and Mika doesn't fight or kill people but if he did he'd get an AK-47, I'm sorry.

27). I just looked through every single Tamagotchi thingy and I've decided to go with animals. Mika: Weasel

Gonzalo: St. Bernard dog

Michele: Something between a barn owl and a dove

Becky: Milksnake

Adriana: Either a coyote or a Mexican pink tarantula (it's not even pink wtf :c)

29). I'm not doing that right now but I might reblog this post with stuff I found on Pinterest/pictures I took that remind me of them.

#cw arachnid #just in case #cw snakes #are people even scared of those?#idk i think they're cute but it feels right to cw

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theamityelf · 10 months ago

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Okay, I was asked which canon DR characters would serve as animatronics to the DR protags in the FNAF AU, which opened up a new world to me, so let's do this:

First of all, Komaru. (The other protags will get separate posts.)

Komaru I think would have the Warriors of Hope as animatronics. She's in a Security Breach type setting, which is already fun because she could either be (as the original premise suggests) the security guard or (as the game Security Breach suggests) a random person who isn't supposed to be in the Pizzaplex after hours. Maybe a scenario where Komaru is just a rando in the Pizzaplex and Toko is the Security Guard trying to get her out of the building despite the malfunctioning animatronics.

(For the record, in another branch of the FNAF AU, Toko is FNAF 3. She passes out from a ventilation error and Syo demolishes Springtrap, the end. 🤣)

If Komaru is the security guard, then her objective isn't to leave but instead to help the animatronics fight off whatever virtual presence is hacking their system and making them act violently toward everyone, including her.

Narratively, Masaru is the Chica equivalent, in that he's the first threat Komaru faces. I'm going to say he operates similar to Foxy from the first game, in that he's the fast one of the group. He's the one you need to either be paying attention to or have really good reflexes. Once he's rebooted and back to his normal self, he goes around dismantling STAFF bots to make Komaru's job a little easier, in that she no longer has to evade them. He has star-shaped shades and he still has his red hair. If all the animatronics are animals, he's a rabbit.

Jataro stations himself in the security office so he always knows where everyone is. He doesn't attack by himself, but he plays blaring music from the loudspeakers in whatever room Komaru enters, so the other animatronics always know where she is hiding. (This is why Komaru probably reboots him either first or second. He is really bad for her stealth, and because he stays in the security office, it's easy to find him. Ironically, it's almost like he's playing FNAF against her.) He's the least popular character in-universe, so he wears a Masaru mask from the gift shop. The Pizzaplex is full of unsold plushies of him that have had their heads ripped off by either Jataro himself or Kotoko. If all the animatronics are animals, he's either a tortoise or a groundhog.

Kotoko operates similar to Monty, in that she's the bruiser of the group. Where Masaru is fast, Kotoko is strong. She can pry elevator doors open, throw tables, and stuff like that. Komaru is just running through the atrium and Kotoko is lobbing STAFF bots at her. I'm going to say she's highly susceptible to music, and specifically lullabies. It's impossible for Komaru to reboot her before Jataro, because she needs Jataro to play a lullaby in order for Komaru to even approach Kotoko. Her branding is very pink. If all the animatronics are animals, then she's a coyote.

Nagisa is the Freddy equivalent, in that he's the animatronic who is helping from the start, but he has a different mechanic than Freddy, in that he will act against Komaru when the other animatronics are watching, so not only can't he be used against them, but he is in fact dangerous when they're around. If all the animatronics are animals, he's an owl.

Monaca is interesting, because I could see her taking on the role of Gregory in a way. Maybe Komaru finds her in the Pizzaplex and is like "Little girl, where are your parents? You shouldn't be here alone after hours?" But when she tries to approach her, the animatronics attack and Komaru later finds out that Monaca was the one who hacked their system. Maybe Monaca is living in the Pizzaplex to escape her awful family and is using the animatronics to protect herself so she can't be made to leave. Or maybe Monaca is also one of the animatronics who was hacked, and she's the last one who needs to be rebooted. If she is an animatronic, and if the animatronics are animals, then she's gotta be a cat.

Nagito is the Daycare Attendant. Sun and Moon, Hope and Despair, c'mon. Sometimes he's accompanying Komaru through the Pizzaplex cheering her on, and sometimes he's siding with the other animatronics and putting obstacles in her path.

#danganronpa #komaru naegi #danganronpa fnaf au #fnaf #toko fukawa #genocider syo #nagito komaeda #masaru daimon #nagisa shingetsu #jataro kemuri #kotoko utsugi #monaca towa

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khr-guilded-cage · 6 days ago

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Uchiha Yuka was once the 'Red Eyed Demon' of Konoha Uchiha Clan

She hated fighting, hated begin a shinobi, but in this new world, taking up her old title and reputation was necessary for her survival

A reputation of a ruthless and unforgiving killer, skilled and clever. It wasn't even hard. With her false Guardians begin their annoying selves and all but demanding to be friends, Yuka threating to kill them all wasn't even hard.

Her rage and fure towards her abusive bastard of a handler is loud. 'Why would I want a abusive pedophile as a tutor when I already have a FAR BETTER TEACHER?'

She burned Hayato Gokudera's (the only non-civilian of the group, Mukuro wasn't Mafiosi) face when he tried to snatch her from Touka's grasp, threatened to cut off his finger and take the Ring back if he didn't behaved himself and dropped the Right-Hand shit

Gokudera begged and screamed at her, yelling that he was a better Storm and Right-Hand (Obito was her Right-Hand, not that Coyote ever listened) and he just wanted to prove himself worth of the great Vongola

Yuka scoffed at the kneeling burned teen. 'You failed as a friend and a family and now was nothing more but a bait to act as a Guardian for my Real Storm Guardian's safety. Gokudera Hayato, you are nothing but a meat shield and a bodyguard to die a worthless dog death for what you did.'

Yuka sneered at Reborn. 'Better off having those useless delusional bastard baby Guardians doing something useful for once and begin baits while my real Guardians are safe and protected and free to live as they want. I wont have my family suffer because of Vongola's stupid messes. My family wont join this fucking shithole of Famiglia anyway, they deserve better than this worthless bullshit.'

She is also open about how they werent her Real Guardian, just a butch of placeholders taht she wont even care of they were all killed. Mukuro may be a possible friend, but the rest can die.

'The fake Guardians can keep their Rings if they want, let them fight an die for the Famiglia that they doomed they Sky to, lets see if those worthless Elements are useful for something at least

When Gokudera nearly dies protecting her and Yuka didn't even borther visiting him in the hospital, Trident Shamal attempts to leave with his student. Yuka laughed at his face. 'He doomed Tsuna to Vongola, now he is trapped here in this hell with me as the boss. He will live and die for me now. Should have think twice before lettingthe kid in such a stable position. Now he just a Meat Shield that will die soon just like poor Tsuna.'

She didn't trusted Nono and critized his incompetence and sheer arrogance in protecting her, the man should have stepped down a long time ago and now everyone - her family included - is paying the price for his mistakes.

'No wonder his sons are either dead or trying to murder him' Yuka said when a Ganauche attempted to praise Timoteo. 'A child killer and a kinslayer like him just die I can piss in his corpse, this pathetic senile old fool needs to fucking be murdered already.'

Yuka gave him a smile, cold and sharp, a promise of blood and violence. 'Thankful I can burn down the worthless Vongola when the old fucker die and murder you and all your fellow Guardians. You gave the enemy l the throne, now deal with it'

Yuka....didn't like killing. But those people are deaf to any other language. So she did, she killed assassins send after her, she used Amaterasu in the CEDEF agents because she feel like hurting Sawada Iemitsu, she killed a personal hitman of the Ninth and a underboss for insulting her. Uchiha Yuka wasn't Sawada Tsunayoshi, not a meek little child they can tame and break like a puppet

She would be a ruthless and bloodthirst again, at least pretend to be a heartless woman she was forced to be as a shinobi

But her Guardians could be safe and happy under her protection without having to fight. Yuka hunffed. 'The Vongola is not worthy my Guardians, they are bright and powerful, I wont have they wasted in this dumpster fire of a pathetic family. They are BETTER than this shithole. And, like me, they own your little worthless Vongola nothing.'

The Vongola Nono she insults and and undermines in every interaction, making clear she hates the man with passion and wants him and his Guardians DEAD, openly looking at them with distrust and rage for daring manipulate and use her as a puppet. The internal striffe is big in the Famiglia and factions started to divide after she made Xanxus a fool in the Ring Battles and keep making a reputation for herself of a ruthless and powerful boss who takes disobedience as a personal and burned her own false 'Storm Guardians' because he annoyed her

Nono's faction was confused if they should support 'Sawada Yuka' when the 'young Vongola' hated the old man so much.

Uchiha Hoshi proved himself worth of the Uchiha surname. Shisui absolutely loved teaching the man how to protect his daughter from the Vongola.

His arguments with Ninth Generation starting to become legendary around the Mansion

"I would appreciate if you would stop interfering in my plans for young Sawada Yuka."

Hoshi raised an dark eyebrow, looking decidedly unimpressed. "I would appreciate it if you stopped harassing my daughter and her friends and cousins and left my child of your 'plans'. She owns Vongola nothing and has no real reason to fix your stupid mistakes. I won't have you put her in jeopardy for your amusement like you did to Sawada Tsunayoshi. And her name is UCHIHA Yuka, not Sawada. You will do well remember that, old man.'

Nono glared, the air becoming harder to breathe. "While I regret the necessity, but my heir must play her part, she is Vongola blood and has a duty to the Famiglia and the bloodline, lest we all are doomed." He imposes himself like he had any authority over them.

Hoshi snorted. 'You are doomed. My beloved Masako's daughter would never allow some old bastard fool dictate her life. Much less someone that tries to take her from her Real Family, Vongola will fall and be reduces to ashes. Your fault, fool, for trying.'

'She's Vongola.' Iemitsu said, with a mulish expression. 'She must serve the Vongola and stay with us.'

'No, she is a Uchiha. My daughter. My blood. My child. My family. And never, NEVER, will be yours. You will never take her from me. You are handing Vongola to an enemy.'

The Vongola would learn how to bow, maybe they forgot how to, Kings often do.

#katekyo hitman reborn #khr #uchiha yuka au

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femoso-seben · 11 months ago

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Livestock AU pt. 2

pt.1,

- Kangal! Price and Llama! Alejandro are very proud of their land and territory. Alejandro only lets in a few dogs Price of course they’re old friends and Border Collie! Gaz, on one condition, Alejandro does the discipline.

- The ewes hybrid finds Alejandro very handsome and he always gets the treats the farmer gives the sheep. The small Lambs will scream and cry if they get lost and Alejandro will go rescue them.

- When rams are introduced into the herd Alejandro has to give the poor ram hybrid a long list of Dos and Don’ts (mostly don’t). Alejandro is highly protective of his ewes and will not take disrespect towards them.

- the heard of sheep is renounced for their wool production so theirs about 6,000 sheep Gaz is the only heard dog working there (because Al can not stand anyone else than agreeable Gaz)

- Gaz has befriended most of the Ewes and has a good rapport with most of the Ewes there is one older one, who gives him shit and calls him Sonny, Honey, and Sweetpea while not moving.

- Gaz does a lot of bearding of the sheep walking the parameter and reporting back to Alejandro. Alejandro spends most of his time with the Lambs or pregnant Ewes who walk the field. He chooses to be in the center of the herd.

- Price speaks with the head farmer often with Laswell to protect the farm better, then spread out to tell their underlings.

- Kangel! Ghost mostly walks around the perimeter of the farm’s land marking his territory and scenting the area to keep pesty coyotes and wolves away. Usually Barn Cat! Roach follows after Ghost

- Ghost struggles to socialize with the other dogs and sees all herds as his true family. The Farmers had to socialize with him and Ghost bonded with Price first, shadowing him before branching off

- Ghost have the deepest scariest bark and the first time all the herd animals heard it they ran for it hiding behind their guardian.

- Ghost also prefers the cats for their quietness (except for Roach who can have a one-way conversation with himself) Ghost tried to snide Laswell once got the smacking of his life (Laswell has his most respect besides Price)

- Great Pyrenees! Soap was added before Gaz but after Ghost. When the fowls were added they were too noisy for either Price or Ghost. So soap was brought in. Sociable and talkative will know all the inside bird drama from the duck, chicken, and Goose Hybrids.

- Soap spends most of his move getting the birds into their fields and feeding them before walking the inner area looking to help anyone who needs it. Usually ends up Chilling with Rudy since Al forbids him in the sheep acres (gets very sad when Gaz has to lead to do his job and not chat with him. Have tried begging Alejandro still refuses. Did cry himself asleep he really wanted to hug the fluffy ewes and lambs)

- Soap sometimes shadows Ghost and slowly his happy calmish demeanor rubs off on Soap and becomes his second bonded friend. After the morning recon, they explore the scents to see if theirs any threats, and then Soap runs off to tell Price and gather the boys

- Soap is a strong guardian dog once the fowl were moved to a field and a building was erect Soap ends up fighting off the Coyotes often at night who try to snatch one of his gossiping birdies. Ghost does Join since that’s where the action is.

- Coyote! Valeria and Soap have the most enemies-to-lover vibes while having the gayest vibes too. They flirt but in like a hateful way. Valeria has a mate somewhere and goes after the fowls mainly when she and her mate are having pups or to piss off Soap.

- Barn Cat! Laswell was gotten before any of the livestock and when both Alejandro and Price were added she instantly put them in their place. Al and Price like having her import and her inner network of barn cats from other barns do a lot of inter-barn cat political activities.

- Roach and Laswell sometimes go off for a few days to the cat conference and come back with knowledge! Once Rat! Makarov invaded and wreak other barns Laswell was very adamant about catching that criminal

- Laswell needed more men and told the Farmer she needed more soldiers that’s where Barn Cat! Farah and Alex were added and they have been waging war

- Makarov and his forces once trapped Alex and got his leg caught onset some debris. He has a permanent limp but still works as a Barn cat.

- Makarov and Konni forces live under the dirt and in tight spots spying.

- the farmers got so annoyed they gathered SpecGru hunting association (hunting dogs ready to hunt rats) they got a lot of Makarov’s forces but rats reproduce quickly so they came back

- lastly added to the man Guardian and the farm were the Goats (mostly use to make Goat cheese) was Alpaca! Rudy. A very pretty hybrid that Al instantly was attracted to. Rudy is a good alarm system but isn’t likely to fight but will.

- Alejandro saw Rudy in another field and thought about jumping the fence to chat but Gaz put him in his place

- the first-time livestock guardian 141! Ran into Wolf! Graves his shadow company pack were stalking a Goat and Rudy alerted everyone.

- a tense stand-off between Ghost, Price, and Soap. They had to use intimidation to scare off the wolves.

- German Shepard! Nik is the Farmer's personal pet and likes to come around to collect the chicken eggs and sometimes tell wild stories to the young guardian dogs (Gaz and Soap haven't decided of his tails are real or not)

- Young Barn Cat! Reader tends to follow Laswell around and sit in the garden and sunbathe, stalk the chicks, and get chased off by Soap.

- Kitten! Reader and Makarov got beef after the giant ass Rat Makarov popped up next to Kitten! Reader. 141 are now on the lookout for the giant rat.

- soon once Cat! Reader grows up they will join the fight against Makarov and Konni group

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

Any request for this AU is welcomed!

inspired a little by @tacticalanklebiter3000 and @frogchiro

#141 #call of duty #cod x reader #simon ghost riley #captain price #john soap mactavish #cod #kyle gaz garrick #modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #vladimir makarov #valeria garza #alejandro vargas #Livestock Guardian Au #gary roach sanderson #kate laswell #cod nikolai #philip graves #shadow company

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virtuouswhitehatorganization · 7 months ago

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Green Rod Worrying Miss Heed Is Going To Be Omega's Partner Again

[Green Rod is pacing around about the new news about Miss Heed being pardoned and excuses for her crimes, while Omega looks on worrying about her.]

Green Rod: No! No! This isn't fair! That witch deserves to rot in prison! Not have her crimes covered up!!!

Omega sighed: I know Green Rod, but sadly we just have to live with it and hopefully not have to interact with her anymore.

[Green Rod then looked up to her mentor with a worry gaze.]

Green Rod: I know. But what if she wants to go back to having you as a partner, she seems to have ties with people to make it happen. What if she will try to kick me out? I don't want her to hurt you again like she did when she brainwashed you and Coyote.

[In Omega's honest opinion, he really wasn't over Miss Heed's betrayal of their relationship. He had thought they were good friends until he brainwashed him and his archnemesis. A year of life lost because of her, coming to terms with the things he was forced to do under her, how she robbed him of his finances by being made to donate to her, and just who knows what else. In anyone else's situation he would should be angry at her, but he more than not felt disappointed someone he put trust broke and abused it.]

Omega tried to give assurance: Whatever happens I will try to stand my ground against her and hopefully peace will listen.

[Green Rod sighed not so sure, but she tried bring up solution.]

Green Rod: You know I don't usually invoke my dad. But maybe he could help just this one.

[She then whispered.}

Green Rod: If he's up to actually helping me for once.

[They both then just nodded and went to fight crime for the day.]

#villainous #villanos #villainos #miss heed #villainous oc #oc #villanos oc #omega nuclear #villainous omega #villanos omega

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elfwitchtrickster · 2 years ago

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Maverick x reader Part 2

Part 1:

Part 2:

Rooster tries to help you get Maverick

_______________________________

🕚2 months later 🕟

"You know sitting here and staring at him isn't gonna make him like you" Rooster said, following your gaze that was fixed upon a certain auburn-haired captain. "Talking to him isn't gonna help either" Y/N grumbled. "It will, just try" Rooster said but Y/N brushed him off.

"Plus you know what happens every time I try to talk to him" she whined. "I stutter and mumble and my voice gets really high and" she groaned not bothering to finish. "What if I talk you up to him then?" Bradley asked taking a sip of his drink. "Won't that just make him think I'm a nervous weirdo" she asked.

"No, Maverick loves feeling confident, and I'm sure he'd love to know he can still pull a woman, after 60-" he was cut off when you elbowed him in the stomach. "My point is, he's not gonna think you're a weirdo, he thinks you're super smart actually" he said and Y/N's grew wide.

"Really?" She asked and Bradley nodded. "Yeah, you know that stunt you pulled the other day when we were practicing dog fighting, Mav was super impressed, said he wouldn't even have thought to use it himself" Rooster said, oblivious to Y/N's jaw dropping.

"Maverick was impressed by me?" She asked, unnaturally shrill. She pressed a hand to her throat, cheeks tinted pick. "You see the problem" she said and Bradley nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, your wingman is here to do all the work, all you have to do is fly off into the sunset" he said, throwing an arm around her shoulders and mimicking a plane flying into the distance with his hand.

He clapped her on the shoulder before he got up and crossed to the other side of the bar where Pete was playing pool with Coyote and Payback.

She sat for about 20 minutes, watching the two chat, ignoring the side glances from Maverick she'd get every once in a while. Eventually Rooster came back and ordered another drink. "So?" She asked anxiously as he slowly sipped his coke.

"Go outside and see for yourself" he said, flicking the water droplets on his glass with his finger. Y/N carefully slipped of the barstool and balanced in between hers and Rooster's chair. She took a deep breath, downed a shot and strode out to the balcony. She knew she was walking rather fast but she was afraid if she slowed that she wouldn't go at all. She made it to the doorway and paused.

There was Maverick, leaning over the railing staring at the sea with a beer in one hand. The wind was blowing his hair and she could see a glint of gold in his eyes from this angle. Her foot felt like it weighed 100 pounds as she stepped out of the Hard Deck and onto the balcony. Pete turned around at the sound of her footsteps. No turning back now.

She stepped forward timidly, joining Pete at the railing. He smiled at her and she turned to face the other way, faking looking at the beach. Neither one spoke for a couple minutes before she heard the sound of Pete's voice.

"You know one day, a long time ago" he said with a chuckle. "Back when I was in top gun, my plane went down" he said and Y/N turned to listen but now it was him that was looking away, staring at the ocean. "We landed in the ocean. I was fine but" he paused. "My RIO didn't make it" he said quietly.

Y/N's hand covered her mouth in shock. "When I swam over to him, the whole parachute was covered in blood" he swallowed thickly. "He was my best friend. After I lost him I basically had no one" he exhaled slowly. "I cut off my girlfriend at the time, cut off everyone. It took everything in me just to get in a plane for months" he said.

Y/N reached her hand out and placed it upon his. He didn't look at her but he looked down at their hands and smiled softly. "I ended up pushing away anyone who got too close" he continued. "I mean I had friends, a couple pilots from my top gun days, students that I taught.

But I never let anyone get too close. Because I realised..." he squeezed the edge of her hand. "That I'd never experience that type of pain again, if I never let anyone in. And I was fine with it, lived like that for about 30 years. And then you came along" Y/N's eyes widened at his words.

"It's been a long time since I've felt this way for anyone. And that scares me... a lot. But I've been talking to Rooster and it took a while but" he paused. "I've given this a lot of thought and I really want to give you and me a try" he said in a low voice.

Y/N could feel her breath quickening, and her whole body grew hot. Her ears started ringing as she replayed Maverick's words over in her head. 'I really want to give you and me a try' echoed in her mind. She replayed it again 'I've been talking to Rooster and it took a while but' then she was confused.

"What do you mean it took a while" she asked. "How long is a while?" Maverick smirked at her softly. "About five months" he answered and her eyes widened. "F-five months?" She asked open mouthed. He nodded with a chuckle.

"Sorry it took so long" he said, Y/N was still in shock. "So what do you think? Wanna give us a shot?" Y/N knew what she wanted to say but the words struggled to make their way out of her mouth. "Wait- how did you know I liked you?”

Maverick's smirk grew wider as he looked down at her. "Sweetheart, it was obvious" he said and her cheeks flushed pink. She was silent for a second trying to make sense of everything that had happened before she blurted out a response.

"Yes- I- yes!" She practically jumped into Pete's arms wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She buried her face into his neck as he rubbed her back gently. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head as he pulled her close. She pulled back slightly, but Maverick didn't let her go. He brought a hand up to stroke her cheek as she played with the hair on his nape.

They stood there like that for a while before Maverick spoke "We should probably go inside" he whispered. "I think Rooster's gonna break a window, with how long he's been staring at us" he said nodding behind her at the moustached man who ducked out of view when he realised he had been caught. They laughed and walked inside hand in hand, earning cheers from the rest of the dagger squad.

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vivalas-vega · 2 years ago

Text

easier / part two / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader

another part with these cuties !!! as always pls lmk what you think !!!

easier / part two / jake ‘hangman’ seresin x reader

add yourself to my taglist

read part one

word count: 4.6k

warnings: language, mentions of death/killing, physical fighting

Everything felt dull, like you were experiencing life through a dusty haze… every moment felt like when you first wake up and the room is splashed with muted rays of sunshine filtering in through half-closed blinds, the sounds of the morning birds dampened by windows. You thought it was likely a coping mechanism while you tried to process the rollercoaster of emotions wreaking havoc on your mind and body… anger, sadness, grief, guilt, gratitude. Sometimes it all flooded in at once and the only feeling you could really register was numb.

Cyclone had assigned you a therapist, someone he thought would be good for you to talk to after an incident in the air left everyone rattled and questioning your grip on reality. She was kind enough but you didn’t really have it in you to put any weight behind her words and advice, she simply didn’t get it and you couldn’t be angry at her for it. How could she? She’d spent her life in classrooms before graduating to a neutrally decorated office with a plush couch and a personal mini fridge. Her life path was drastically different from yours, calmer and safer, you never once expected her to understand anything you were going through. There wasn’t really anyone for you to be angry with, this is what you had signed up for. Perhaps if you tried hard enough you could work up the chain of command to pinpoint the individual who had deemed this an imperative mission but it wouldn’t change anything. You knew the mission in and out, knew the details and knew what you were stopping. It was a necessary evil and what you did protected your country from something bigger than anyone involved. No, it wouldn’t change anything at all, you did what you had to… at least that’s what you told yourself every morning when you awoke and every evening before you fell into a restless sleep.

But today? Today was a good day, or as good as they seem to get anymore and you were choosing to enjoy it. Carpe Diem or whatever. Music filled the Hard Deck along with the laughter of your friends as they exchanged friendly fire over games of pool or darts and you were content to sip your beer and watch as they lived. It felt rather cliché to you, feeling so much more appreciative of these moments since the mission but staring death in the face really did put things into perspective and there was the emotion you felt the most guilty about… gratitude. It felt wrong, feeling so grateful that you ending the lives of two pilots from the opposing side meant your team stayed in tact, it meant you got more of these nights. It meant you got to nurse your beer and watch Rooster lead the bar in song from his perch at the piano, you got to watch Phoenix throw her head back and listen to her beautiful laughter as she talked with Bob and Fanboy, you got to referee pool matches between Coyote and Hangman, talk with Payback about how they were acting like petulant children.

And there was Hangman… Jake as you finally started calling him of late. The situation had paved the way for you to see a completely different side of him, someone who was always there, even when you didn’t want him to be. You’d tried everything you could think of… no matter what you said or did, no matter how many books you threw in his direction he continued to show up and perhaps that was another thing you could feel angry about… you just didn’t think you deserved his compassion and kindness. You did what you had to do but that didn’t change the fact that you did it.

“Stop thinking,” Hangman said softly as he came to stand next to you, looking down at you sitting atop a bar stool you’d stolen and pulled over to the outskirts of the pool table.

“I’m not thinking,” you shrugged, taking a sip of your drink nonchalantly.

“You’re a shitty liar, you know that?”

“Maybe that’s what I want you to think,” you smirked over the rim of your glass and he just shook his head.

“So, I have a proposition for you,” he said and you narrowed your eyes at him.

“You’re propositioning me right here, in the middle of the bar, with Bobby right there?” you asked, gesturing to the WSO who had snuck up behind Jake to join in on your conversation, growing tired of Fanboy going on about his latest show obsession. Even Bob had his limits.

“Not that kind of proposition, but it might help you blow off some steam…” he trailed off, wiggling his eyebrows as you glared at him, “no? Alright, well offer stands if you change your mind. I was thinking you could come to the gym with me tomorrow morning.” you shot Bob a look, something along the lines of pleading but he just shrugged as he watched in content silence.

“I can think of about a dozen other things I’d rather do on my day off than wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go to the gym with you,” you said, punctuating your distaste of the idea with an eye roll as you took another swig of your drink.

“Well, it’s more of a boxing gym than a traditional gym, I think a physical outlet could be good for you and since you’ve turned down my other offer for physical release…” You shoved his shoulder, smirking when some of his beer spilled from his cup and landed on his shirt.

“First of all, Rooster was right, we need to set up a douchebag jar for you. Second, I don’t want to box.” you shrugged as Phoenix and Rooster joined as well.

“Come on, it’s actually really fun once you get the hang of it,” he pleaded and you just shook your head.

“We’re boxing tomorrow? I’m in,” Rooster said and Hangman sent him daggers with his eyes.

“This was not an open invitation, I was asking Siren,” he stated and Rooster held his hands up in defense.

“My bad, didn’t mean to crash your date.”

“Not a date, and not happening,” you replied and Phoenix just shot you a knowing look.

“It’ll be good for you. The gym is technically open to the public but it’s more of a spot for other service members from all branches, active and retired. It’s a good place, everyone is there to work something out.”

“I appreciate the offer, Hangman, but no thank you.” you sighed as you took another drink and silently willed the subject to change.

“I talked to Mav, he convinced Cyclone to let it count towards your mandatory therapy hours,” he said and your head snapped up.

“Sorry, what time did you say?” you completely flipped your outlook, now thoroughly interested in this proposition and he smirked in victory.

“I’ll pick you up at 8.”

The sun was obnoxiously bright as it poured through your windows, and you groaned as you saw the drapes thrown completely open and covered your head with a pillow as a dull ache settled between your temples. You combed through your memories, trying to tally how many drinks you’d had last night and it all became a bit of a blur after number four. Your increased workload and questionable mental health had resulted in you drinking less and less on nights out and effectively killing your tolerance but for whatever reason you and the team had decided to cut loose and you groaned as you forced yourself out of bed to wash off the previous night and silently prayed you hadn’t done anything too embarrassing.

Just as you stepped back out into the cool air of your bedroom with your freshly washed hair in braids donning just a sports bra and athletic leggings a knock sounded at your door and you checked your watch to see that Hangman was early. You threw the door open to see him as chipper as always and it further soured your mood, how this man was never affected by alcohol the morning after would always aggravate you. You looked questioningly at the two bottles in his hands filled with liquid that was too unnaturally colored for it to be considered edible or healthy and he extended the barbie pink one towards you.

“Preworkout, better than coffee and it’ll help the hangover you’re clearly currently experiencing. Picked you up a different flavor, didn’t think you’d like mine,” he said, softly shaking his own green bottle.

“That was… thoughtful,” you said suspiciously as you set it on your entry table to pull your running shoes on and if you hadn’t been so focused on the throbbing of your head and correctly lacing your shoes you might have noticed the way his eyes trailed your form, lingering on the leggings that clung so tightly to your legs he was certain they’d been painted on.

“You sure I can’t join?” Rooster asked, startling you slightly as you turned to notice him eating his breakfast at the kitchen island.

“Positive,” Hangman sighed, urging you out the front door and into the passenger seat of his truck where the two of you sat in relatively comfortable silence, spare a few teasing remarks from you of his choice in music. You focused on the coastline out your window, enjoying the push and pull of the ocean before you pulled off into a parking lot that was fuller than you’d anticipated, it being so early on a Saturday morning. You took a moment when you walked in to survey the gym, looking over the various equipment scattered throughout and the two boxing rings situated prominently in the center and you didn’t have a chance to say anything before a rather large man with tattoos head to toe approached and clapped Hangman on the back.

“Hangman! Good to see you man, who’d you bring with you?” he asked, looking down at you with a bright smile that didn’t really match his exterior.

“Billy, this is Siren, Siren this is Billy. He owns the gym,” he introduced as you stuck your hand out for him to shake but he instead pulled you in for a brief hug.

“Ah, the famous Siren. From what I hear you are the best of the best,” he said and you flushed.

“Well I don’t know about that,” you chuckled and he just shook his head.

“If Hangman said it, it’s true. You’re a badass, own it, everyone in here is,” he said and you took in the various people around the gym. It was easy to tell just from looking at them that they were all in the service in one way or another, before you could take too long of playing one of your favorite games (guessing who was Army, Navy or Marine) your attention was pulled back to the two men before you as Billy rested a hand on your shoulder. “Well, welcome to the gym, if you need anything just holler.” he said before leaving the two of you alone and you just smirked at Hangman.

“Don’t start-”

“The best of the best, huh? Didn’t know you felt that way about me,” you teased and he just shook his head as you laughed and approached the ring, setting your bag on the edge and kicking your shoes off. You were about to jump onto the platform when you felt two strong hands grip your waist and lift you up, placing you softly on the edge as he hopped up. You looked at him inquisitively before stepping over the ropes and as he went to hand you a pair of gloves you just shook your head, grabbing your hand wraps from your bag and securing them quickly.

“What, you think this is my first rodeo?” you asked and he looked dumbfounded as he watched you wrap them with the proper technique.

“Well, kinda…” he said and you just scoffed as he put the mitts on and walked to the center of the ring. “Alright, don’t hold back… wanna see what we’re working with here,” and you smirked at him again, fully knowing he didn’t believe for a second you knew your way around when it came to sparring. You went on the offensive immediately, landing good hits on the mitt and when you thought you’d knocked him off his game enough you stepped in and placed an open-handed smack to the top of his head, giggling as he stared at you in shock.

“Hey! No head shots,” he protested and you just raised your eyebrows at him.

“That was for not thinking I could possibly know what I’m doing,” you retorted and placed your hands up. “Let’s go again, don’t hold back.” you mocked. You continued to land good hits on the mitts, causing him to stumble back once in a while but you found yourself growing annoyed with how he wouldn’t try to block or defend in any capacity. “Come on, Bagman, who invited who to spar?” you asked as a particular blow sent him stepping backwards and throwing his hands up in time-out. You turned when you heard Billy chuckling, not having noticed he’d been watching the whole time as he tossed a water bottle to Jake and stepped into the ring.

“I don’t think he anticipated you being better than him at this, where have you trained?” he asked you as you chuckled.

“Bagman here never anticipates someone being better than him. I took some classes back home in LA when I was younger to learn self defense, turned out I really enjoy it. I haven't been in the ring in a while though.” you answered as you stole the water from Jake.

“Well, you don’t show it. What do you say to a real sparring partner, no mitts? Afraid Hangman here can’t keep up with you,” he said, patting him on the back and you smirked at Jake’s expression. You wanted to feel bad, you really did, seeing as it was his idea to invite you here but once you stepped onto that mat you realized how much you missed this, how much you needed it.

“Hell yeah,” you said, tossing the bottle back to Jake and adjusting your wraps.

“Alright, Siren, you set the tempo and force, I’ll match you,” you nodded as you brought your fists up and waited for him to give you the go ahead. The two of you slipped into a rhythm quickly and you immediately appreciated the way he didn’t seem to hold back with you. He matched your energy perfectly and gave it right back to you, not letting you get away with anything the way that Jake had. You went to block a hit and gasped as you felt your back collide with the mat, blinking against the harsh lighting above you pouring directly into your eyes. You huffed out a laugh as he helped you up and you shook it off, the defeat lighting a new fire under your ass.

Jake watched from the sidelines, in complete awe of the way you moved, bobbing and weaving as you put up a hell of a fight against the scariest person in the ring this gym has ever seen. You didn’t seem deterred or nervous in the slightest, he realized the only other time you looked this in your element was when you were in the cockpit and he internally chastised himself for being so foolish in inviting you here as if he was introducing you to something new and exciting… and he found it amusing that you knew this and let him think this right up until the moment you almost knocked him on his ass. He’d never tell you but the past few weeks had been just as hard on him as they had on you, he had gotten to a place with his trauma where he was okay with it. It had its very own home nestled in the darkest parts of his mind and he accepted its presence long ago, but seeing you go through the same thing he did at the beginning had his heart aching in ways he hadn’t ever anticipated. Sure, he always liked you even when you didn’t necessarily like him. He thought you were sharp and cunning, really the only person on the team he felt threatened by professionally, and you were just about the kindest person he’d ever met to boot, but that didn’t mean he thought he would ever be so invested in your wellbeing… and he was. From the moment he heard you announce your kill over the radio he felt his blood run ice cold, he knew in that very second that your life was about to change completely, that you were about to change completely and he wanted to do everything in his power to stop it. Why? That was the part he hadn’t quite figured out yet.

He winced as you hit the mat once more, and he caught the glimmer of frustration in your eyes as you hopped back up, snapping out of his internal monologue to focus on the way Billy was egging you on. “Come on, Siren, know you can do better than that.”

You went on the offense, landing a few sharp jabs to his abdomen and dodging his attempts to flip the roles. You came an inch away from sweeping his legs right out from under him when he caught you off guard, placing a kick to your ribs that knocked your breath out and opened you up to be pinned to the ground. “Billy,” Jake warned, taking a step forward but you accepted Billy’s hand pulling you off the ground and shook your head.

“I’m fine,” you panted, but Jake didn’t seem fully convinced. He knew this was his idea, but in his mind you were going to be engaging in low-impact sparring with him, not going all out with someone who happened to coach MMA fighters. You set yourself up again, waiting for Billy to make the next move and you exhaled sharply as you took another hit but you were determined to not let your focus waver. To an outsider this may have been insane, but for the first time in weeks you finally felt like yourself again. You didn’t feel like you were spiraling out of control and you didn’t feel like the tidal waves of emotions churning in your mind at all times were a hindrance… no, right now they were fueling you and with each hit you gave and received you felt the weight of them begin to subside. You bobbed your head to the side, hooking his arm with your own to neutralize him and used your foot to pull him off balance sending him crashing down to the mat with a thud and you exhaled in relief as you extended him your hand.

“There it is, Siren, don’t lose that energy,” he prompted and you nodded as you got back into it and any victory you’d felt was wiped away as you hit the floor again and you felt frustration begin to grow in your chest. Billy picked up on this and switched up his tactics, now purposefully taunting you and trying to draw it out of you. “Come on, I know you can do better than that. You can, right? Or did you lose the fire in that cushy cockpit of yours?” Somewhere in the back of your mind your suspicion was confirmed that he was Army, the reference of a cushy cockpit sending irritation prickling up your spine and sharpening the jab you landed to his side.

“Might be cushy but at least it requires skill,” you shot back. Jake watched as you two danced around each other, blocking every advance and waiting for the other to actually go for it as you focused on your breathing and your technique. The way you fired back on his every quip intended to aggravate you reminded him a lot of the way you did the same with him at the Hard Deck over the pool table… only with much higher stakes. He instinctively took a step forward when you staggered backwards, and he could immediately tell that your mind was no longer here.

“Fight through it. Don’t back down,” Billy prodded as he made another light advance towards you and you blocked it half-heartedly.

“Come on, man, don’t push her too far,” Jake warned but you didn’t quite hear it as you tried to put your fists back up.

“You brought her here for a reason,” he said, brushing his warning off entirely. “Use it, Siren, come on.” He said with another light jab and you snapped back into it, swallowing back the emotion that was thick in your throat and going on the offensive. You quickly had him on the mat and your chest heaved as you stuck your hand out for him.

“You good?” he asked, giving you a once over and you nodded as you caught your breath. “That was great, but I think that’s enough for today,” he said, placing his hand on your shoulder and you just nodded again. “The stuff you’re working through right now can’t fully be solved in a shrink's office, plus the view is a hell of a lot better.” he said gesturing to the wall of windows overlooking the beach, “I’m here every morning, you let Hangman know you wanna come in before work and I’ll get here early, I better see you here again soon.”

“I will… thank you, Billy, I really needed this.” You gave him a smile as he left the ring and Jake helped you hop down as you slipped your shoes on and ignored the way he was looking at you.

“If I’d known you could fight like that I might antagonize you less,” he joked and you let out a breathy laugh as you walked towards the doors.

“Can’t ever judge a book by its cover, Seresin.” you said as he guided you towards the beach after grabbing your bag from you and tossing it in the bed of his truck.

“Feel better?” he asked as the two of you sank down into the sand and set your gazes on the waves lapping the shore ahead of you.

“I actually do, didn’t realize how much I missed being in the ring. Life got busy, I guess,” you said and he nodded beside you.

“Helps take back some control. Billy was serious about his offer. He’ll be here at five am every day if you want him to, clearly I am not the sparring partner you need but you should keep coming. This is a great place to fight through it and use everything you’re feeling to your advantage but I just want you to know you don’t always have to fight through it.” he said and you sighed softly as you leaned back on your hands.

“I know, I just… Maverick let me know there’s been talk about promoting my rank. I know they’re grooming me to step in for Maverick as the leader of this team and I just don’t want anyone to think I can’t handle it.”

“No one would think that.” he said, ignoring how you lightly scoffed, “I’m serious. Everyone sees how you bust your ass, having an off day doesn’t mean you’re not deserving of the promotion or that you can’t handle it.”

“On some level I know that but… it’s just easier for me this way, I guess another way for me to try and regain some control.”

“And look, you can yell at me and pick fights and throw as many books at my head as you want but this is a better outlet for you if you’re hellbent on keeping it together at work. Billy’s good at this, he went through some shit in Afghanistan and he now dedicates his time to helping other service members work through their shit.”

You grimaced at his words, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be yelling or throwing anything at you. You’ve been… I don’t know, you’ve really surprised me these last few weeks.”

“Yeah yeah, don’t go telling anyone I’m a big softie. I have a reputation to uphold,” he joked and you playfully shoved his shoulder.

“For what it’s worth, you should show this side more often. It’s a good look on you.” you said, turning your attention from the water to look at him, smiling softly when he met your gaze.

“This is reserved for only a select few,” he said and you nodded before looking back to the ocean.

“Well, I like soft Jake. I know I haven’t really said it yet but… thank you, for everything you’ve been doing. You just being here and trying to find ways to help me out of it, I really don’t think I could do this without you.”

“You could.” he said, and this pulled your attention back to him. “You’re the toughest person I know, you can do anything, Siren, but I’m happy to be here if it helps lighten the load.” You smiled before resting your head on his shoulder and watching the waves. There was always something about the ocean that made everything feel so much more manageable to you, looking out into something so vast and unpredictable made things seem small in comparison but in this moment you were certain the ocean wasn’t the only thing making things feel that way.

“What made you want to be here?” you asked, “before this… we were never really close, in fact you were the only person on the team I actually felt distant from.”

“I really don't know,” he sighed. “Something shifted when I heard you on the radio that day, I guess I knew what was coming and I wanted to try and be for you what I didn’t have. I blame you for that by the way, helping people was never really my first instinct before I met you.”

“Glad to assist in the character growth,” you joked and he nudged you off his shoulder and lightly tipped your head back to look at him.

“I think I created distance on purpose, you came into the Hard Deck that first night and completely blew me out of the water… went on to show me you can be the best in the air and be cocky and arrogant without being a total jackass in the process and I don’t know… I guess I didn’t like it,” he laughed. “I also didn’t like how much I looked up to you. Not really something I’m used to, I figured if there was some distance and we weren’t really close, disappointing you wouldn’t feel quite as bad.”

“Vulnerability, this is another good look on you,” you said and he chuckled.

“Yeah well, you make me want to be different.” he replied and you didn’t miss the way you inched towards one another, or the way his eyes flicked down to your lips and lingered for a moment before returning to your eyes.

“Jake…” you sighed and he just nodded.

“I know,” he said, tucking a strand of hair that escaped your braids behind your ear, “you’re not ready for something like that. Doesn’t change anything, I’m here no matter what.” You rested your head on his shoulder again and he lifted his arm to bring you in closer, allowing you to lapse into comfortable silence for a moment.

“You’re good, you know that?” you finally said and you felt his chest rumble beneath you as he chuckled.

“Yeah, I am good.”

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