#the whole chaos batch is so ND

[jgvfhl]

The Number Lads Get A Night Out

Let them have nice things :) The lads deserve some relaxation time and some delicious noodles courtesy of the Noodle Grannies themselves. Please enjoy the shenanigans! Also I'm like. So close to 1000 followers??? Thank you??? 💖✨️

Words: ~6K

Warnings: None! Just happiness

Link to Number Lads Master List.

This list includes the link to the story on Ao3, but I will say that version is about... one chapter behind, but it's catching up.

The Chaos Batch's screen names are as follows:

mayhem_man = Nero

Grim Reaper = Sixes

RedBastard = Thire

beefcara = Bacara

mayhem_man: hello sixes

Grim Reaper: Nero

mayhem_man: I have been informed by one of my ARCs that you are… how did he say it

mayhem_man: “gaslight girlboss gatekeeping” the location of the noodle bar

RedBastard: LSKJDFLKAJDSFLKJSDLKFS WHAT

beefcara: What does that mean??

Grim Reaper: Tell Zero snitches get stitches.

RedBastard: ummmm okay but why are you gaslight girlboss gatekeeping??

beefcara: I would like to repeat my question from earlier. What the kriff does that mean??

mayhem_man: it means sixes has been keeping the noodle bar’s location a secret from all but two of his little number pals, including my ARC Zero.

RedBastard: why?

Grim Reaper: Because I could.

beefcara: girlboss??????????

mayhem_man: which of course is not a good enough reason to deny someone noodles

mayhem_man: I will give you until our next leave to rectify this or I’m bringing Firebolt with me next time we go for noodles

RedBastard: oh gods please not them

Grim Reaper: Why are you so dramatic about this, Nero?

mayhem_man: because i can

Grim Reaper: Understandable, have a horrible day

beefcara: I’m still confused

RedBastard: I’ll explain it when I see you next

-scene break-

The commander had always been cryptic, from the moment Nines had known the man. But this was a new level of enigma. He stared at his comm, reading and re-reading the message in the Numbers group comm from Commander Sixes that had arrived minutes ago when the 212th flagship had come out of hyperspace.

What did it mean?

No one had replied to it yet, probably because Sevenset was busy and no one else knew what to make of it. The entire message read as follows:

DEATH: I know some of you lot are due for leave soon. Go have fun.

DEATH: And Zero: snitch to your commander again, and I’m having words with you.

These messages were followed by an unmistakable series of numbers and punctuation comprising coordinates to somewhere… presumably on Coruscant? Why else would he have mentioned leave, after all.

As it happened, the 212th was on a short leave soon, mostly for resupplying and refitting after their previous missions. Nines would admit, he was curious. He hadn’t looked up the coordinates yet because he’d been busy making sure Ghost Co. was set for arrival out of hyperspace, and he would be busy for some time afterwards as they prepared for transport down to the surface. Then again, maybe he wouldn’t have to, considering the Numbers were some of the nosiest troopers he’d ever met, and he lived with Waxer.

So, he reasoned he could just wait long enough and he would find out exactly what the commander had just sent them.

He didn’t have to wait long.

As his and another squad loaded into a transport ship, his comm pinged, so he switched hands holding the handle above him and opened it.

Double Trouble: wait what is that

Double Trouble: holy shit

high fives: where is that?

#1 Boy: oh I know where that is!

Loopy: fascinating

Double Trouble: IT’S THE NOODLES IT’S THAT NOODLE PLACE ELEVNS WAS THERE

d0nut man: FINALLY

DEATH: Zero.

d0nut man: i mean thank you sir

high fives: oh awesome!! Echo wanna go get noodles??

That caught Nines’ attention. Did the 501st have a break too? Maker help the Guard. He shook his head, putting his comm away for the remainder of the flight. At least Do-si-do would finally get his noodle fix and stop complaining about it in the group comm. And, now he considered it, he might join him in that endeavor. Rations were boring, and if he found the place was actually clone-friendly and reasonably priced, he might have to visit.

Turns out, he didn’t have to make that decision, because within a few hours of Commander Sixes gracing the group with the location of this restaurant, the Numbers had figured out who was going to be dirtside, who had a free evening, and Do-si-do had told everyone in those categories to “be there or be square.”

Well. Nines had been wanting to try these noodles. So he made his way over to Little Sriluur on the chosen night, bringing along Wooley, because it was a rare thing for a trooper to wander through nattie neighborhoods by himself. They arrived at the coordinates an hour or so past sunset, and the street was still brightly lit from neon signs and glowing shopfronts.

Nines was still reading his HUD, watching their coordinates as they approached those specified, when Wooley tapped his arm.

“What?”

“Dude, use your eyes, not your scanner,” he said, pointing up.

A lit sign hanging vertically down the side of a building near the end of the walkway read Noodle Bar with a martini glass at the bottom.

“Oh.”

As they got closer, the entrance appeared, an arched doorway with an awning, and a smaller sign above it that read Sun’s Noodle Bar with a picture of a bowl of noodles underneath the words. A steady number of weequay, togruta, and other races filtered in and out of the door.

“Moment of truth?” Nines asked, eyeing the crowds.

“Sure is.”

When they got to the doors, they got a few odd looks from passersby, but nothing short of brief surprise or curiosity. That was understandable. The nearest barracks were whole kliks away. But when they entered, both of them hesitating briefly before finally removing their helmets (it usually made natties feel better), the server at the welcome kiosk just smiled like they were any other customers.

“Are you here with the other troopers?” he asked, perfectly civil.

“Uh… I think so?” Nines answered.

“They’re all upstairs.” He pointed to their left where a staircase began against the wall, disappearing up into a second floor.

Nines and Wooley exchanged glances. “Thank you,” Nines said, trying his best to mask his uncertainty.

As they walked towards the stairs, he glanced around the restaurant’s first floor. The floor plan was basically square, with a round bar at the center with what must be some kind of lift down to the kitchens and up to the second floor. He saw a shadow rise through the column as they walked, supporting the theory. The atmosphere was nice, the walls painted a warm yellow-orange, with dark wooden tables and chairs, deep maroon booth cushions, and intricate geometric designs inlaid into the wooden furnishings. Strings of small lights hung from the ceiling around the walls, over windows, reaching into the center like spokes on a wheel, and rows of them hung over the stairs, illuminating their journey upward.

The second floor was almost like the first, but smaller by about a third. What was a central bar and service station downstairs now stood against one wall to their far right, and a sliding metal door marked “Authorized Personnel Only” stood beside it. Interesting that it would be on the second floor. The walls here were a shade of lavender, if he had to call it anything, but it was warm and welcoming. The furnishings were largely the same as downstairs, as were the strings of lights, but the wall tapestries were different.

Before he had much of a chance to study them, he heard his name called. Looking around, he found Do-si-do waving at him from one of a pair of tables that stood next to each other at one end of the room. He recognized a few others there, as well as a few clones outside of their little group.

“Okay then,” Nines said to Wooley. “Clone-friendly indeed.”

When they got to the table, Do-si-do got up to greet them, which made Nines realize he’d never actually met him in person before.

“Hey, I’m so glad you could make it,” he beamed, offering a hand, then grasping Nines’ forearm enthusiastically when it was given. “Who’d you bring?”

“This is Wooley,” Nines said, turning slightly. “Wooley–”

“I’m Do-si-do,” the pilot cut him off, greeting Wooley in much the same manner Nines had received. “C’mon, have a seat. This place is wizard!”

They took the empty seats at Do-si-do’s table, mainly because he knew the most people there. Fives and Echo smiled and waved at him and Wooley as they sat down across from each other, and Captain Rex nodded from beside Echo. Fours was seated at the other end of the table across from Do-si-do, surprising Nines with his presence at all. This didn’t seem like Fours’ preferred kind of night out. But, it was probably better than a normal bar.

The other table next to theirs was mostly green. He recognized Zero and Commander Nero from the holocall with the other commanders, which had honestly made Cody smile more than he had in weeks at that point, so Nines could excuse the constructed chaos. The other two 118th troopers took a minute. After wracking his brain, he finally realized one of them had a black handprint tattooed over his mouth. Echo’s “Handprint Buddies” then. What were their names? He’d need a reminder. Commander Sixes and Commander Bacara were there as well. Commander Thire must not have been able to take the evening off with his batchmates.

He brought his attention back to his own table when Captain Rex tapped the table with the side of a menu in front of him. “First drink is on the house,” he said.

“Really?” Nines took the menu, glancing around at the others. Echo had something like a Cosmopolitan, the captain had a clear drink steaming in a red ceramic mug, and Fives had a Sunset with some variation on the typical fruit blend.

“Wow.” Wooley’s eyebrows had gone up as he read the menu. “That’s… a lot of margaritas.”

“They are one of our specialties.” A new voice from somewhere behind Nines’ side of the table caught everyone a little off-guard, and Captain Rex had to work not to choke on his own drink. “Those and the sake, which the captain should drink and not inhale.”

Nines twisted around to follow a weequay woman as she rounded their table to stand at its end, dressed in a soft pink layered dress with blue and red accents. She was old, her brown skin wrinkled beyond that of younger weequays, but her grey eyes were warm and bright, and her long braids were decorated with colored ribbons and metal charms.

“Hello, my dears,” she said, putting down a stack of larger menus in the center of the table. “My name is Mira. I am one of the lucky owners of this fine establishment.”

“Hi,” Nines said. “Are you who we have to thank for keeping Elevensies and Ahsoka Tano alive a while back?” He glanced at Fives, who rolled his eyes. He was still a little annoyed about how that whole episode had played out.

“Not me directly, no,” Mira answered. “My wife Saleha took care of that. She’s more… experienced with those things.” Leaving them to wonder what that meant, she looked to him and Wooley. “Can I get you boys some drinks? First one is on the house. Guests of our commanders are always well taken care of. May I know your names?”

Nines glanced up at the other table briefly. Our commanders, was it? Alright then.

Wooley answered first. “I’m Wooley. A jogan margarita sounds amazing,” he said, setting the drink menu down near the edge of the table. “Salt rim, please,” he added before she could ask.

Mira nodded, then turned to Nines. He glanced back over the menu briefly, but he he didn’t really feel like branching out tonight. “Nines. Corellian iced tea for me, thanks.”

She collected their menus. “Those will be right out to you,” she said, and gave a tiny bow before moving on, drifting to the next table over to stand between Commander Nero and Commander Sixes and hand out menus over there.

Do-si-do pounced on the menus, eagerly opening one and starting to scan the pages.

“Someone’s excited,” Wooley remarked, waiting for Fives to pass him one instead.

Echo snorted. “Yeah, well, someone’s been begging Commander Sixes for the name of this place for weeks,” he said, bumping Do-si-do with an elbow.

“And?” the pilot said, his bleached curls bouncing as he looked up sharply. “Have you seen some of these noodle bowls? The dumplings?”

Nines shook his head, his eye once again falling on the empty seat between Fives and Wooley. Fives’ helmet sat on it, and he’d put a protective hand on it when they’d arrived, like he was saving it. “Are we still expecting someone else?” he asked, taking his own menu as it was handed down.

Captain Rex answered. “Ahsoka said she might be able to join us. So… we’ll see.”

He nodded. “That’s nice. I hope she makes it.” No one had heard anything from or about the former Padawan, and he could imagine her brothers were eager to know she was safe.

He opened his menu.

Holy shit.

He kept flipping, and the menu kept going and going. The appetizers seemed endless, and when he'd finally gotten to the end of those, the soup dishes started and went on for a page and a half. Then there was a section for… raw seafood? He'd heard it was a delicacy in many places, but he'd never seen it himself. After that came a section of stir fry and rice dishes, and he honestly had no idea there was so much you could do with rice and vegetables. He glanced up at Wooley as he turned the next page, seeing his own confusion mirrored in his friend's face. After the stir fry came the famous noodle dishes, and he had to admit, they looked magnificent. But he was after dumplings, where were the dumplings?

“Am I allowed to marry food?” Do-si-do asked. “Because I think I want to.”

“Dude, we’re clones, we can’t even marry a person,” Fives replied with a frown.

“No, he has a point,” Echo said, pointing to the menu. “I’d marry this spiced nuna ramen.”

“You haven’t even tried it yet,” his brother said.

Their captain smirked behind his own menu. “And you don’t know if you’re its type, Echo.”

Echo gasped. “Rex, I am a delight. It is a known fact that I will get a boyfriend before Fives does.”

“A known fact?” Fives demanded, setting his menu down on the table. “Since when?”

Nines shook his head, glancing briefly down at Fours and Do-si-do. The Marine was practically hiding behind his menu, and probably would be until it was taken away. Do-si-do, amazingly, had forgone examining the noodle offerings to lean over for all the gossip he could get from the conversation happening next to him. Typical Do-si-do. When he looked over to Wooley, he saw his friend’s eyebrows were lopsided as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. At least he’d had some experience with the 501st before. Throwing someone off the deep end with those guys was just mean.

Captain Rex cooly sipped his sake. “Since Echo asked everyone in your squad which of you would get a partner first, and everyone said Echo. You were asleep.”

“What?” Fives said, his utter indignation making everyone except Fours smile at least. “When–why did you–what? And since when are you a delight, Echo? You’re a kriffing menace!”

While the conversation descended into batcher banter, Nines leaned forward and told Wooley, “This is why Commander Sixes and his batch call the five-oh-first ‘Rex’s Freaks,’ by the way.”

His friend nodded. “Yeah, I can understand that.”

Finally, when the conversation had truly started going downhill, Captain Rex set down his menu and put a hand on Echo’s head. “Domino. Domino, we’re in a public setting.”

“Echo started it.”

“You took the bait.”

“Domino. Please.”

Echo smirked and went back to his menu, and his captain finally removed his hand from his head. Nines had a lot of respect for Captain Rex, and most of it went towards his abilities to wrangle his troopers and General Skywalker at the same time. Cody had his respect for much the same reason, only it applied to Generals Kenobi and Skywalker, as well as the rest of the 7th Sky Corps. Also Cody was awesome.

While the two ARCs had been having their discussion, Nines hadn’t noticed Commander Nero moving from his seat at the other table until he was already standing near the end of their table. His presence made them all sit up a little taller. Okay, well everyone except Fours, who sat bolt upright immediately. Some things didn’t change.

Captain Rex looked up. “Commander.”

“I’m always amazed at how effective ARC training is on the field,” Commander Nero said.

“Oh, I am too, sir,” the captain said, looking to Domino.

Echo sniffed. “Why Rex, I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” Fives stuck his tongue out at him.

Commander Nero smiled briefly. “Anyway,” he said, “I wanted to let you all know it means a lot to Mira and her wife that you guys are here. They love having clones around, so if you’re ever on Trip Zip and need somewhere to eat, they’d be thrilled.”

“I’m just glad Commander Sixes finally gave us the location,” Do-si-do said, eyeing the commander at the other table. He must have noticed, because he brought his right hand to his face and very pointedly scratched his nose with his middle finger.

“Yeah, well, he’s a stubborn bastard,” Commander Nero smiled. “We all are, truthfully, just he and Bacara are a bit more petty about it.”

“Banthashit!” Commander Bacara called over. “You’re worse.”

Captain Rex raised an eyebrow at him. But further conversation was interrupted by a cheerful voice from the bar on the far side of the tables.

“A jogan margarita and a Corellian iced tea?”

Nines couldn’t help the smile from forming on his face, and he watched Fives, Echo and Captain Rex all cycle through expressions of shock and disbelief before breaking into huge smiles.

Ahoska came to stand next to Commander Nero, and he moved a little to the side to let her set down the drinks by Nines and Wooley. She still wore her akul headgear, although her Padawan beads were gone, but she seemed happy enough regardless. Her robes and armor had been replaced by a dark red shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants and shoes, and a tan apron tied around her waist where her lightsabers used to hang.

“I had the iced tea,” Nines said, and she set down the glasses in front of each trooper.

Then she darted around Commander Nero to Captain Rex and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind. “Hey, guys!”

“Soka!” Fives grinned.

“So this is where you ended up, eh?” Echo asked, reaching up to pat her shoulder when she hugged him.

Commander Nero shrugged. “Well, Saleha took a liking to her, and they’ve always had a spare bedroom in their apartment upstairs, so.”

Ah, that explained it. These women were serial adopters apparently, given the earlier comment about “our commanders.” Good. They seemed like good people. Ahsoka came around the other side of the table as the 118th’s commander retreated to his own, taking the seat Fives’ helmet had been saving for her. She hugged him like she had his brother and captain before she sat down.

“Hey, Commander,” Echo called over, and of course all three of them looked up. They seemed to figure out who it was for, and then only Commander Sixes was paying attention. “Did you know by depriving us of this location you were also depriving us of our little sister–”

“Shut up, Echo.”

Captain Rex snorted. “I’m glad you’ve found a place, Ahsoka.”

She smiled. “Yeah. I guess I kind of have the uh… Numbers here to thank for it,” she said, looking around the table. “If you guys hadn’t found Elevensies and introduced him to Commander Sixes, that whole thing would have been a lot uglier.”

Do-si-do beamed. “Well, you’re welcome for dragging everyone into it.”

Soon after Ahsoka appeared, Mira returned, and Nines finally tried his drink. He had to admit, it was damn good. He nodded at Wooley, who looked just as pleased with his.

The old weequay stood at the end of their table. “Is everyone ready, or should I give you more time?”

Everyone looked around the table, waiting for objections. Nines shrugged. “Looks like we’re ready,” he said. “Do-si-do?”

The pilot nodded seriously. “I was decanted ready.”

Mira smiled. “Aiya, let’s not keep you waiting.” She produced a small datapad and a stylus for it, then looked up expectantly.

One by one, they gave their orders. Ahsoka gave hers without even glancing at a menu, but she had been living here for a couple months now. Lucky girl, from what Nines had seen coming out of the kitchens around them. Perfect spot for a growing carnivore. He himself ordered a dumpling sampler with a side of Shili kybuck soup, and he was very much looking forward to trying everything.

When Mira had collected their menus and gone to the other table, Echo leaned forward to talk to Ahsoka. “So? How is it on the outside?”

She paused, looking down at her folded arms on the tabletop. “It’s… so different,” she said finally. “I mean, of course, I miss you guys, and I miss Anakin and Obi-Wan all the time. I don’t miss getting shot at, though.”

They laughed. Captain Rex raised his cup. “I will drink to that. You’re a lot safer here than with us, kid.”

“Yeah. I still think… I still think leaving was the best thing for me at the time,” she went on, her gaze once again falling. “I was just so confused and… and angry. And I knew the Jedi could have taken care of me–I could have taken some time off the field and did what Barriss did, take some time to recenter but…” She shook her head. “I dunno. After all that scrutiny from the Senate, and what happened to Barriss with those conspiracy theory goons?”

They nodded. They all knew the mixed emotions that had followed the tribunal and general hubbub around the Temple bombing. Ahsoka had faced the brunt of it.

“You’ve earned some time to yourself,” Captain Rex said. “I’m glad you’re getting some.”

She nodded. “How is everything, though? I can’t get the same information I used to.”

Nines shrugged. “War rages on.”

Fives added, “Rex finally managed to get a promotion to stick to Hardcase.”

His captain rolled his eyes and shook his head as Ahsoka’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Really? How?”

This wouldn’t have anything to do with this new rumor Nines had heard, would it…?

The captain spread his hands a little, leaning back in his chair. “The five-oh-first finally has its own demo team. And I appointed Hardcase as their leader.”

“That sounds like a nightmare,” Wooley said.

“It’s insane,” Echo agreed.

“But it’s working!” Fives grinned. “He reports to Jesse, and Jesse works though most of the stupidity by the time Echo gets it, and it’s working!”

“Go figure,” Ahsoka said, smiling along. “Are they any good?”

The captain nodded. “They’re effective, yeah.”

“Happily effective,” Echo added.

“Huh,” Nines said, his gaze drifting over to the 118th troopers. Didn’t they have an entire company dedicated to blowing things up? Firestorm? Something like that. He’d have to pick Zero’s brain about it. Hell, maybe Captain Rex should meet up with their commanding officer to get some advice.

Turns out, he wasn’t the only one on that train of thought. Fives leaned back and tapped one of the Handprint troopers–the other ARC. “Hey, Pixel.”

Pixel twisted around. “What?”

“What’s that name of that group you’ve got that blows up everything?”

Pixel’s brows rose. “Firebolt Company, why?”

Fives gestured to Captain Rex. “Firebolt Company! See, I told you, they have an even bigger version.”

The uninformed newcomer to the conversation shot a confused look at Echo, who explained. “Torrent Company just made our first dedicated demo team, we might need some pointers.”

“Ooh, cool!” The other Handprint trooper had turned around too, his smile distorting the black handprint tattooed over his mouth. Ouch… “How big is it?”

By that point, the other members at the far table had started listening along.

“Why are we talking about Firebolt?” Commander Nero asked, shooting a cautious glance at Commander Sixes and receiving a very eloquent raised eyebrow in response.

“Why are we shouting across a table when we could just move them together?” Commander Bacara said, and he did make a good point.

“Okay, okay, no one likes a know-it-all,” Commander Nero replied, getting slightly confused looks from the other commanders. Then he stood up and gestured to the tables. “Well? Were you just saying things to hear your own voice? Let’s go.”

Luckily for everyone around (and there weren’t many patrons nearby), they were military men, and they accomplished the simple task with nothing short of battlefield precision. Commander Nero gave the orders and directed Zero, Pixel, and the other trooper to help Fives and Echo move the chairs from between the tables, and there would undoubtedly be a little rearranging of seats to be done once the other chairs wouldn’t quite fit on either end. But, the other table had had two empty seats, so the end result wasn’t too squished.

Wooley ended up next to him instead of across from him, and once everyone was seated again, Commander Nero prompted Captain Rex to explain himself, which he did. Largely, the conversation was meaningless to Nines. He had no desire to be much of an officer, or be anywhere near a demo team in the field. But, the captain seemed to enjoy picking the other commander’s mind, and he would no doubt need the advice, from what Nines recalled of the stories about Hardcase.

Beside him, he saw Ahsoka lean over to Echo from where she sat between the two ARCs. “Where are you guys headed next?” she asked, a bit quieter than the conversations around her.

Echo took a drink from his conical glass, glancing around at the other patrons he could see. He finished his scan of the area and set down his glass to trace out words on the table top.

Ringo Vinda.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes. “Mid-rim, right? Space station or planet?”

“Station.”

She nodded again, her expression sharpening minutely. Battles in space were more dangerous by far than those fought dirtside. One wrong explosion, and a whole platoon could be sucked out into the cold crush of space. She knew that. She was what? Seventeen? Eighteen? And she knew that.

He shook his head, taking a drink himself to shake the concerns that brought. There was no use in them. War was war, and the Jedi had joined.

“Just you guys, or is there another battalion going?” Ahsoka asked, yet another astute inquiry.

Echo once again traced on the table. 962.

“That’s… Masters Tiplee and Tiplar, right? The twin sisters.”

Twins? Nines had no recollection of learning about any twin generals on Kamino, but his time on Kamino had been a lifetime of battles ago. He knew what he needed to know, and if he needed to know more, he’d take the time to learn.

Echo nodded. “Commander Doom is their CC.”

“Looking like an easy one, or… no?”

The ARC shrugged. “Can’t tell from here. Shouldn’t be terrible, though.” It was impossible to tell if he said that genuinely, or as a way to assuage her regret at being unable to go help them win. Both was just as likely as one or the other.

He paused his eavesdropping when Wooley nudged his elbow. “Why don’t more clones know about this place?” he wondered, looking around. “I mean no one’s even given us weird looks, and there’s almost a dozen of us. Including Domino.”

“That’s a bit harsh.”

“Fine, they’re being civilized, I know, whatever. You get my point.”

Nines nodded his understanding. “I do, I do. I guess the commanders come here often enough for it to be… normal?”

They both looked over to the three commanders.

Commander Nero was still engrossed in regaling some story to Captain Rex, his eyes shining with utter delight as he used his hands to gesture at what could only be a truly thunderous explosion in the narrative. Commander Sixes sat on his other side, deep in conversation with Commander Bacara next to him. They weren’t even looking at each other, the Marines commander looking down at the table top, his finger tracing and retracing the inlaid pattern in the wood as he talked. But he was clearly just as engaged in the conversation as his brother, who was talking fixedly at a point by the stairs. The conversation seemed to concern some level of violence, because he saw the commanders both gesticulate at least once each like they were ripping something apart with their hands.

Regular, sure. Commonplace, perhaps.

“Normal might be a stretch,” he said aloud.

Wooley snorted. “Well, we’re genetically engineered soldiers. What’s normal got to do with it?”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

They didn’t have much longer to wait until the doors of the large lift opened behind the bar and a whole half of the bar swung open to accommodate the large serving carts that arrived. There was a pair of them, the first of which Mira pushed, the cart hovering a few inches off the ground like a landspeeder might. But Nines’ attention rested on the old weequay only momentarily, because behind her, now backlit from the lift as the doors closed, was, by comparison, a towering togruta pushing a similar cart.

Judging by her age and the familiarity with which this togruta manoeuvered around Mira and the tables, this had to be the other owner. He hadn’t learned her name yet, but they made quite the pair together. Mira’s wife was about two feet taller than her, with warm red-orange skin, rich fuschia stripes on her montrals and lekku, and glittering metal and jewels adorning her nose, brow, arms, hands, and lekku. Dark red fabric draped over her shoulder and wrapped around her waist over a long black dress, all embroidered with flowers and small birds.

She came to their side of the table while Mira went to the other side. “Hello, gentlemen,” she said. “My name is Saleha. I believe you’re all ready to eat, yes?”

Do-si-do was literally gazing at the steaming plates and bowls. “Yes, ma’am.”

She laughed a little, and set about naming the dishes to get them handed out as soon as possible. When she had finished setting out the bowls and other dishes, including little bottles and bowls for various sauces, she asked, “Does anyone want cutlery instead of chopsticks?”

Nines blinked, looking down around his bowl and plate and realizing there were no forks or knives, just… two sticks and a spoon. He saw Wooley doing the same beside him. Looking up and around, he saw the three commanders with their gloves and vambraces off, skillfully manipulating their noodles around with the chopsticks like they’d been doing it for years.

Lucky bastards probably had been.

“I’d like some,” he said, giving a somewhat sheepish smile.

“Yeah, me as well, ma’am,” Wooley added, and Captain Rex and Echo followed suit.

Saleha put down forks and knives wrapped in red napkins for them, then moved away, pushing the cart back to the lift with her wife. Nines saw Echo’s face pinch into a little frown as he unwrapped his fork.

Ahsoka asked what he was wondering. “I thought you knew how to use chopsticks, Echo.”

“Yeah, I do,” he said, “but ever since getting all those burns up my arm, it’s not very comfortable.”

“Well, you’re still better at it than me,” Nines offered. “I never even learned.”

Echo smiled, twisting a bundle of noodles onto a fork and blowing on them to cool them down. “Fives kept dragging me to these takeout places where they handed ‘em out. We got curious and looked up how to use them on the ‘net.”

He nodded back, sipping tentatively at a spoonful of soup.

Oh wow, that was good.

Everyone must have thought similarly, because the table was almost entirely void of conversation as everyone started eating. He was a little glad the soup had some spice in it, so he couldn’t inhale it in two seconds the way his brain and stomach were wanting him to do.

Wooley, who had also ordered some dumplings, reached to take one of the bottles of sauce Saleha had delivered with their food. “What is this?” he said, turning it to read the label. He looked up across the combined tables. “Commanders?”

The three looked up at the same time, which was kind of amusing.

Wooley held up the sauce. “What are these?”

Commander Nero answered. “Oh, that one’s the homemade hot sauce,” he said, pointing with his chopsticks to the bottle of orange sauce. “That’s better for the soups or noodles if you want extra kick. That one,” he said, pointing to the bottle of brown liquid on the table, “is called soy sauce, and it is amazing, and should go on and inside of your dumplings.”

Nines couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the immediate and comprehensive reply. Wooley smiled at it, and said, “Sir yes sir,” so just Nines and Pixel either side of him could hear. They both smiled at it.

While Wooley filled one of the tiny bowls with the dark brown sauce, Nines couldn’t help his curiosity. “Commander Nero, may I ask how exactly you found this place?”

All of the 118th troopers’s heads pivoted to their CO, eager anticipation visible on almost all of their faces. Pixel seemed a more subdued soldier than Zero or the other one.

Commander Nero glanced at them, then looked at Nines. “No, you may not.”

The 118th troopers deflated slightly. Well then.

“He was drunk and committing crimes,” Commander Bacara said.

“I can kill you in your sleep,” his brother replied breezily.

“My room’s booby trapped beyond recognition, you’d never make it two steps inside.”

“I can still firebomb–”

Commander Sixes cut them off. “Maker’s sake, will you two just eat your damn noodles?”

The two commanders eyed each other and went back to eating their damn noodles.

There was a brief pause before he heard Captain Rex say, “I don’t want to hear it, Fives.”

Presumably, Fives was about to point out that the commanders were allowed to have their disagreements, but he and his batchmate had been silenced too soon. After another pause, slightly longer than the last, the trooper whose name still escaped Nines spoke up.

“Commander Bacara, what did you mean when you said you room is booby trapped beyond recognition?”

Before Commander Nero had a chance to cut in, the Marines commander answered, “It means you’d be dead in about three seconds if they’re armed and you walk in like an idiot.”

Nox blinked. He looked at Fours, who nodded seriously. “You’re allowed to do that, sir?”

“Of course he’s not, Nox,” Commander Nero said. “But what doesn’t get reported doesn’t exist.”

Zero nudged Nox. “Yeah, like your secret stash no one’s supposed to know about?”

Nox’s eyes went comically wide. “No! You didn’t!”

“I didn’t!” Zero assured him. “It’s fine. I may have simply helped myself to a finder’s fee–”

“No! Commander!”

“What do you want me to do about it, Nox?” their commander said. “He found it fair and square. Get better at hiding your stuff, you’re in Whisper Co.”

Nox sighed, glaring at Zero as he returned to his bowl of noodles. “Yeah, they’re also in Whisper,” he muttered. “That’s the problem.”

The whole evening followed a quiet repetition of little discussions working up into small disagreements until it was shut down by someone else–and honestly, in Nines’ experience, that was how a lot of interactions with clones tended to go. They were soldiers, they spent their time trying to make dying feel like a worthwhile proposition, so their methods of letting off steam were usually a little coarser than the average civvy. But it was nice.

It was weird as hell, but it was nice.

The food was absolutely as good as Do-si-do had hoped, if his silence and constant smile were anything to go by. Before he’d started eating, he’d managed to find the self-control to take a picture of his bowl of ramen to send it to the Numbers chat so Sevenset could see it. He had the feeling those two missed being able to see each other in person more than the rest of the bunch, so he was glad Sevenset got to be included somehow. Rancor must be on a mission or asleep, though, because they didn’t get a reply that evening.

Mira and Saleha were coming and going fairly frequently. He figured as the owners, they had plenty of other people managing the place for them, so they flitted around, making sure everything was going smoothly, but that still left them with plenty of time to come talk to the commanders or Ahsoka. They just seemed so nice, it honestly amazed him. The commanders–even Sixes and Bacara, the rougher, gruffer of the three–let them pat their shoulders or put a hand on their heads like they were cadets.

Their kindness and open compassion even worked a little magic on Fours. The quiet Marine actually blushed a little under Mira’s compliments to his hair, and Nines caught him holding a brief conversation with Fives a little later on, although it was far too quiet to hear across the table. Seeing that, Nines knew those women could be trusted.

He just knew.

Warm happy feelings, yes? Yes. @mercurydancer @23-bears @theultimatesandwich @rndmpeep @soclonely as usual, let me know if you want to be added to the tags!

[askwenjing]

So... how do I feel about the series finale?

Well, I have mixed feelings about it.

What I like about it:

1. Hemlock and Rampart's deaths - they deserve it.

2. Nala Se sacrifices her life to destroy the databank - it's a fitting fate for her.

3. Emerie survives and starts a new life. I thought she's going to die.

4. Echo gets to shine.

5. Omega causing chaos and leading the kids out of Tantiss.

6. Prison breakout like Narkina 5 situation

7. Omega hugs Crosshair.

8. Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega and Echo survive (as predicted)

9. GILF Hunter

10. The epilogue is good - bittersweet to see Omega has grown up and chose to join the Rebellion.

But I have many issues about it:

1. Tech is actually gone... I can't believe that the crew dragged us with false hope. It is so cruel. Tech deserves a good ending!

2. There is a lack of mourning and paying tribute to Tech. He's only remember for his usefulness and intelligence, not as a loving brother. This is hurtful for the ND community.

3. The whole CX-2 identity - it turns out he's a nobody... but why so much focus on him and why so many clues pointed him to Tech? I suspect that CX-2 was supposed to be Tech, but something happened behind the scenes and changed it, but they didn't change the script. It's like they want to satisfy both Tech is Alive truthers and non Tech is Alive people - and they fail both of us.

4. What is going to happen to the Force-sensitive kids? We saw Echo and Emerie brought them on a shuttle and probably went to Pantora to meet Riyo Chuchi. I think they are later sent to Naboo (where Kelleran Beq hid Grogu?)

5. Scorch's death. I was 50/50 for his death, but I really wish they could have kept him alive.

6. Crosshair's hand gets cut off. I know people say that by losing his hand, Crosshair is forced to face his trauma. His arm was trembling, without his shooting hand, and using an unfamiliar blaster. He took a deep breath and took a leap of faith, and made the shot to save Omega. Of course, the mental trauma still remains but at least he now have the space to heal on Pabu. However, they glossed over him still dealing with trauma after returning to Pabu. I don't like that.

7. The memes and "jokes" about Crosshair losing his hand, saying "now he has lost his hand, he doesn't have to deal with his hand shaking anymore!" I struggle with anxiety and depression, and my hand was shaking before and during the finale watch - the episode was anxiety driven to me. I find the scene was giving the message "if you want to solve your anxiety, then cut off your problems!" I can't cut off my problems, and that is just ignoring the problem... it's not healing... It's made worse when I found out the Kiners made a cryptic tweet about a chef chopping off a fish's head and it was referring to Crosshair losing his hand... and they thought it was funny. I lost respect on them.

8. The CX Troopers are basically Knights of Ren - they look cool but quickly disposed of. I hate that.

9. The time jump only made me wonder what was Echo's fate. Since the Clone Rebellion didn't work, I assumed the worst that Echo died for his brothers... and if that's the case, the Bad Batch never mentioned him, as if he didn't matter to them! I also assumed Emerie died as well.

10. I already knew anything about Cody and Wolffe would be left for another series.

11. I can't believe we didn't see GILF Wrecker and Crosshair. They all three should be there to bid farewell to her.

12. Batcher became Hunter's dog... she was more of Crosshair's therapy dog...

13. I hate that they didn't explain much about Project Necromancer - the casual viewers would be so confused.

14. Corbett and Rau still played around Omega's M-Count as a mystery box even in the interviews after the finale. She is NOT Force-sensitive - it's just her blood can accept Force-sensitive blood and retain its M-Count, so it's useful to create Force-sensitive clones. They play around for too long and many people are left confused why Omega never used the Force on the Zillo Beast. I want them to confirm a "no!"

15. The Zillo Beast just left... so why the Empire needed to clone a Zillo Beast?

16. Corbett and Rau said that CX-2 was a mirror of Crosshair, then why it was Hunter who killed CX-2 instead?

17. Some Wrecker girlies feel that Wrecker is treated as a tool for his strength like Tech is treated as a tool for his intelligence. Yeah, it's messed up.

18. I find it a bit sad that Hunter, Omega, Crosshair and Wrecker just choose to settle down on Pabu when the Empire is still expanding its power.

19. They should cut off Fennec and Ventress episodes - they serve nothing to the plot.

20. So many loose threads - Why the Kaminoans created female clones? Did Crosshair really remove his inhibitor chip?

21. I don't like Hunter only has tunnel vision on Omega.

22. Omega didn't even use her energy crossbow! She didn't even bring it in the epilogue! What was the point?!

23. Rex, Gregor and Howzer are not even in the finale! Well, at least Howzer lives.

24. Crosshair saying "Clone Force 99 died with Tech". It sounds like he resents Tech and his family... which is out of character.

To be honest, I was numb about the ending. Something was off, and I could feel it. The more I process it, the more dissatisfied I feel about the ending. I have broken down crying not because I didn't get what I want, but more like I felt betrayed by the writers.

To me, the Bad Batch is about celebrating inclusivity and diversity - that we can be true to ourselves. This series has given me hope for the future that we can love ourselves and others for who they are. This dream seems impossible based on my real-life experiences, but the Bad Batch keeps me safe and nurtures my dream. Seeing the fanarts, fanfictions and headcanons have given me more hope for the future despite all the obstacles ahead. That is why I write so many Bad Batch analyses because I want to share my knowledge and findings to many people, hoping that they can understand the powerful messages from these stories that may change their lives.

I appreciate each Bad Batch member, and I can see myself in them. I want my analyses to assure other people that they are loved for who they are. I even finished the Clone Wars arc analysis hours before the series finale, because I thought that the finale would have parallels with the Clone Wars episodes. After all, the title is "The Cavalry Has Arrived", which is said by Wrecker in the Clone Wars arc. Alas, I don't feel like we have gotten that...

After some discussions and analyses, I feel that season 3 has done a disservice to the Bad Batch, and Omega is the only main character who benefits all. No hate to her, but I just wish the rest of the Bad Batch are given the same respect they deserve. The Bad Batch is an idea of George Lucas that Dave Filoni later brings them to life for Clone Wars before cancellation. I feel that Disney only prioritize characters made under the Disney Star Wars banner, and that's Omega. No hate to her. The series finale feels like Disney has disrespected the last of George Lucas' works, because I couldn't comprehend what valuable life lessons from all of these.

Moreover, to see the crew dragging us with false hope, making jokes about Tech's sacrifice and that he lives, joking about Crosshair losing his hand, remembering Tech only for his usefulness and intelligence, giving Hunter tunnel vision of Omega, sidelining Wrecker and Echo, and ruining Crosshair's character arc in the last two episodes (actually I feel that except Omega, the rest of the Bad Batch suffer from character assassination)... It feels that they never cared about us. It's like my dreams and hopes for a better future where everyone can be true to themselves have been shattered… The Bad Batch is all about celebrating inclusivity, and the crew ruined it.

Besides breaking down to tears about the constant reminder that nobody cares about my anxiety attacks, the whole talk of Tech only being remembered of his usefulness and intelligence opened wounds in my heart. Growing up, my family used my excellent grades to boost their image. My father used my grades and talents to boost how he was a great father when in fact he was rarely present in my childhood. When I was around 24, I learned from my aunt that if I wasn't smart or talented, my father would never recognized me as his child. This realization shattered my worldview and that's how I ended up in a dark place. I was there for more than a year until my epiphany about the Bad Batch pulled me out there. My father did apologize for his actions and want to make amends.

Yet... I am back in the dark place once more because of season 3... and it's been a year since I am out of the dark place... it feel worse than "Plan 99" because I felt that everything I have worked on, with my tears, sleepless nights and heavy research... has come to mean nothing... my mental struggles mean nothing... and it seems life means nothing... it's only hopelessness and the cruel, harsh reality...

Star Wars is about hope. It is a modern-day myth that George Lucas uses to uplift people's spirits. But why do I feel so... numb, empty and betrayed?

I will still stay around the Bad Batch fandom, since I always enjoy the fanfictions, fanarts, fan comics and headcanons, and I prefer them over the actual series. I will eventually write my season 3 analysis, but I still have to process it. For now, at least I make the right choice for my OC to be a Jedi, so I am going to do a "fix-it canon" then.

Will I be able to leave my dark place? Someday, yes. I believe that because Tech says, "we will find a way, like we always do." Although my wounds may take a long time to heal, I will still keep fighting. I know that I must never give up hope. I must keep fighting for that dream, no matter how impossible it seems.

[jiminrings]

Hello hello 🥺 I miss Hobi nd I just wanted to request a drabble piece with him as a teacher and your also a teacher and somehow??some students??? Ship you two??? And the next thing you know, they're trying to get you two together and oh boy...chaos ensues :') there's no pressure 🤗🤗 stay safe Hannah! 💞💞

base line

pairing: hoseok x y/n

wordcount: 3k

glimpse: hoseok swears that you’re intolerable, but maybe that’s just because you don’t greet him good morning like you usually do :D // gif isn’t mine!!

notes: my first hobi drabble!!! thank u for requesting and waiting babie!!! this threw me back to when i was in preschool and one of my earliest memories ever was me being a teacher’s pet and being able to read straightly and coherently :D (i am a mess now hee-hee)

you love your job

YOU LOVE YOUR JOB!!!!

YOU LOVE YOUR JOB!!!!!!!!

you shouldn’t even call it a job if you’re genuinely enjoying what you do, right??

there’s just some days that you feel like you’re going to sit down the puzzle-matted floor in the middle of the class, tuck your head in between your knees, and sCREAM then yeet yourself out to the corridor

ok but listen

you really do!!

you studied for this!! you have a degree!!! you have a license!!! being a preschool teacher has been the career path you’ve always wanted to take!!

you like being around kids in general and taking care of them and teaching them!!

your age gap with your older brother isn’t exactly small and that meant that growing up, you had to keep up with him!!

because FUCK coloring books and building blocks :-) let me read your textbooks :-) i can’t read but i wOuld like to pretend and bond with u

jin has kids of his own and since it’s only the two of you, that automatically meant that you’re the favorite aunt!! well because after all you are the only one

you’re young and you’re hip and you watch animated shows still!! you can resOnate with them!!!

seokjin can’t make his two-year old eat his steamed carrots but YOU can!!

aha you have now established power <3

but ya know,,,

being a teacher is different from being an aunt!! it’e worlds apart because not everything that applies to your nephews and nieces, also applies to other kids necessarily

obviously you can’t treat every kid to the park once they master their ABCs and can grip a pencil properly

you’re just exhausted ok!! it doesn’t make you love your job any less

it’s just as simple as that

wait actually no

there is ONE more hiccup in your job and at this point, the thought of it plagues your mind beyond your place of work

not it

h i m

jung hoseok — your co-teacher!!

your co-teacher that helps you in handling a batch of fifteen preschool kids for hours, two batches a day, five days a week

hoseok whose hair smells like vanilla and flowers and is never not wearing an article of beaded jewelry and has the good voice that could make three to five year olds listen

.,.,. hoseok.,.,.,. who isn’t yours.,.,.,

and hoseok.,.,., who probably hates you.,.

you’re not trying to make a reach but you FEEL it,,,, you feel it in your knees and your spleen that oh god your co-teacher probably resents you and just tolerates you to not make the kids worry :((

it doesn’t certainly help too that uhm

well

aha

... you may have a tiny crush on hoseok

maybe you really do like him or oR!!

or maybe you just see him practically like everyday and you find yourself paying more attention to him and finding details that you normally wouldn’t find for any other person besides him but-

“good morning, hoseok!!”

you mostly make french toast every morning because:

a) you’d probably eat it as often as you could until you could no longer look at it anymore and practically barf at even the mention of it

b) baby it’s EASY

c) you can make it as a batch and that way you won’t have to wake up every morning to cook for yourself

d) tastes immaculatE whether warm or cold

e) jungkook gave you his recipe after nagging him everyday for a month <3

you knew how to make it in the first place but uh well,,,.,,

jungkook is jin’s regular babysitter for his kids and he’s very organized although you won’t admit that

he’s carefree but like disciplined at the same time y’know

like YES eunji you can take a sip of my orange juice that ur appa told me not to give you BUT you need to drink one whole sippy cup of water okay??? say yes uncle goo

and he’d also have snacktimes and he’d make his own and french toast is one of them

one time you came over and babysitted with jungkook and u snuck out a piece from eunji’s bowl and wow

𝔀𝓸𝔀

every time you came over you’d make him cook and he’s all??? 

“y/n are you SURE eunji told you she wants two bowls of french toast?? to herself?? are you sURE???”

lmao he’s figured it out late that it was you who kept eating the french toast because he peeked at the bowl and then??? eunji’s mouth doesn’t bite THAT big?? 

not unless a toddler’s mandible is already that big and he’s been wrong all along 

so the french toast?? yeah you put it in your cute tupperware with the cute waterproof stickers in the lid

AND SPLIT HALF WITH HIM

one loaf is to four squares and two of those are for hoseok :D

minor problem tho

he doesn’t take up your offer :((

maybe it’s just yOU who’s the problem at this point because you tried bringing other food and ?? he just shakes his head no and gives you a curt smile

every morning, you greet him!!

“good morning, hobi!!”

you call him that because that’s what jimin and namjoon call him since they’re your co-teachers!!!

... although maybe it’s just for friends of his only...... a-and well maybe you aren’t his friend

.... aha anywAys!!

you leveled it up a notch and switch up your greetings

“good morning handsome!!” or like “heeeeey cutie!!” or maybe even “hi sunshine!!!”

you: :D

him: :|

every afternoon, you ask him if he wants anything from the vending machine in the faculty room

every month, the principal gives tHREE bottomless cards to the best-performing teachers and that basically meant you don’t have to pull bills from your wallet to pay for overpriced soda

you’ve gotten it twice consecutively in the last month

free pass or not, if hoseok finally tells you what he wants from the vending machine, then you’d get it for him in a heartbeat and less

vending machine talks r some of the best talks and you want that :((

sometimes he’ll tell you that he’s full, or shake his head no, or semi-rudely glances at you and sets his head down and that translates to no

every weekend, you ask him if he feels ____ because you totally have that in ur apartment

“it feels a bit hot, no? good thing i have a new airconditioning unit :D”

no you don’t have a new airconditioning unit

you just had jin clean out the filters while you were at work and it’s basically the same thing, right??

pls say right

you’re basically FLIRTING with him

and you feel useless about it because you haven’t made any progress whatsoever no matter your approach :((

at first you didn’t feel embarrassed whenever namjoon pointed out your crush on hoseok

in fact, the whole faculty knows but you’re just gonna ignore that

you didn’t feel like a FOOL because it’s hoseok you’re making strides towards to

he’s worth the embarrassment that you don’t feel at all

and he doesn’t notice and doesn’t care and he probably won’t talk to you if you are the only preschool teacher in this school besides himself

you’re starting to feel the secondhand embarrassment joon always points out to you multiplied to five

oh god what you’re doing is LAUGHABLE

it’s even more painful to look at yourself in a third perspective because you look like an utter fool chasing after him and all he does is push you away

you’re tired of trying 

it’s okay :)

hoseok looks like someone who’d tell all about your doings to his groupchat and they’d laugh at you together

wait no that’s quite a reach

you’re probably not even tHAT important to be made fun of in the gc :((

fine then

you’re gonna focus on everyone and everything else besides him -- it’s not like he’s even gonna notice anyway!! not that it’d matter

if hoseok can sleep at night peacefully without even acknowledging you, then you could sleep at night without him crossing your mind

sike

you kept thinking about not thinking of hobi last night that in return you did think about him

but that is the LAST time ok

you’re gonna start tallying this morning

wait a minute!! you don’t have to tally because you genuinely need to not care and be indifferent!! 

....

oh....

wait this was easier than you expected

you feel a weight out of your chest when you kept your eyes on the ground when you passed by hoseok in the hall

you felt nervous initially because you never skip a day of not being all googly-eyes for him but you know!!!! this was actually nice!!!!

for a change yOu’re the one who’s unaffected and as cold as it sounds -- 

it feels good to not care :D

“up please!! up!!” 

you’re feeling so zen and un-dejected that you forget for a moment that you’re still in class and yOU’RE the teacher

and it’s hyunjin!! one of the younger kids in class

also he’s quite the troublemaker and intentionally likes teasing you and being play-mad at him makes him giggle to no end

he does nOt vibe with hoseok he’d jus keep a straight face on and ??? no ur not teacher y/n

he’s tugging at whatever he could reach and if he turns out to be holding a marker in his hands then you might just Pass Away

you comply to hyunjin’s request but you know you’re gonna put him down in two seconds because you know that the other kids are gonna see and-

yeah nevermind

it’s now a carrying train :D

you just made up that name on the spot

it’s a line of kids going up to your arms, and then you passing them to hoseok, and then putting them down to the ground and them running back to the line again until everyone’s satisified

bAsically you’re passing around kids and it’s hoseok who calls off the game because you have no backbone sometimes when it comes to four-year olds

throughout the whole time though, hobi feels like something’s wrong

he just can’t place it

he’s trying to sniff so hard if someone had a toilet accident and he can’t smell anything??

maybe his shoelaces skipped a hole??

either way there’s just something wrong in the back of his head

anyways he better snap out of his daze before you ask if he’s okay or if he needs anything

..

....

........

why are you not looking at him

....

......

....

wAIT WHY ARE YOU NOT LOOKING AT HIM

huh

that’s weird

but you always look at him??? and he can see you in his peripheral vision and this time he can’t even see you glancing when his head’s turned????

hmmm

omg

his prayer’s been answered!!

honestly hoseok finds you kinda annoying and he’d like it if you just leave him alone and stuff and give up whatever it is that you’re doing

you finally got the message :D

yeah that’s good :D

hoseok’s okay he’s cool he’s happy he totally feels complete

“let’s stop now?”

hobi leans in to tell you because he counted and this is hyunjin’s third time on him

you’re kinda lost because he stops this game in his own accord but whatever

you just give him a smile and what’s THAT supposed to mean???

“oh sO do you want another round?? or??”

he’s enunciating it for you but it’s more for him actually

you just wave him off

.... communication.... where is it

he’s gathering the facts so far.

you’re not looking at him!! that’s fine

you didn’t call him handsome but hEh he’s handsome even if you don’t call him that

not that he needs comforting words and compliments.. or whatever...

that he can let pass because he doesn’t really care

but what he dOES care about is why are you not offering him anything right now???

where.,., WHERE is his french toast

he’s been putting his hand on his tummy for the past five minutes and rubbing it in circles and he’s ALSO humming every now and then

jimin’s lost as he’s writing his agenda for the week and hobi’s across him looking constipated and relieved at the same time

aHEM

ok what’s happening now

you’re... not trying to wedge into the same table he’s in.. ?

you plop right next to namjoon and he instantly throws his arm around yours because he’s been looking for you too

“hey!! how did your recipe night go??”

you reckon that joon allotted another evening for trying out new things because it helps him destress!!

he shudders just by thinking about the smell in his apartment and how opening the windows didn’t do shit

“tasted so bad i couldn’t even eat it :((“

mug cake is the actual devil!!!

imagine having to crack an egg along with a couple other things in a mug and cook it in a microwave and it doesn’t turn as good as the ones you’d see in youtube videos

congrats you now have bread stuck in a mug that smells like chocolate but tastes absolutely nothing like raw eggs

there’s an irritable scowl on his face and great now hobi just feels worse

it’s been almost a week

and practically everyone knows that something’s wrong going on with him and they don’t know wHY

some people dO have an inkling though,.,.

“ah, what seems to be troubling my best teacher?”

principal min drawls out as soon as hoseok enters his office before rolling his eyes at him

normally in other schools you’d be fIRED if you disrespect the principal but nah :D

yoongi takes pride in being the cool principal

he’s so cool that everyone’s in a first-name basis with him

he’s not your typical principal!! normally they’d be preppy and he’s not that much but when he sees the kids??? immediately goes soft

“you say that to EVERY teacher”

lol everybody knows that but no one points it out

he’s so grumpy that even the principal took notice of his behavior!!!

“there’s nothing wrong, okay??”

hobi says it in more of a scoff and that just goes against what he said

yoongi’s sitting here,,, eating his plain loaf of bread aND minding his own business,, and then now hoseok’s mad at him??

“don’t show me bread sTOP showing me bread!!”

the next day hobi’s so grouchy <3

there’s a circle that the kids are in and it just keeps going in and out

you and hobi are in the middle and each time they sing, the circle keeps getting sMALLER

now normally y/n from a week ago would blush to death

but present y/n just feels awkward and kinda :// at the whole situation

it’s not really a tight squeeze tbh but hoseok kEEPS going forward torwards you to the point that his arms around you already

he’s obviously flustered and he’s trying to recompose himself but you’re barely meeting his eye contact

okay now that hurt

god he’s just so left behind with what’s going on :((

and he won’t say this now but fUck he misses you!!! a lot!!!! he feels like pavlov’s dog and he’s automatically wired to miss your affection whenever he’s aware of your presence

does he uhm

does he l-word you??

“and that’s it!”

you’ve just finished teaching them how to fold a paper boat :D

that is a BIG achievement okay you’re actually serious

it teaches them how to be more patient and pay more attention!!

“you can give them your mom!! or if you have a tiny crush on someone in the room then-...”

lil seungmin steps right up to give you a boat

yes it’s wonky and the folds aren’t really done properly and won’t float in water but wow!!! that’s so cute!!!

you immediately thank him and ruffle his hair 

he’s such a cute kid omg 

“thank you s-...”

however hyunjin wOn’t be affected by that

with a huff does he march over to you and his long hair’s getting in the way (hobi just tied it awhile ago) but nO that is not important rn

he gives TWO paper boats but the other one he just stole it from jisung lmao

the kids are catching up and sUddenly it’s a competition to who gives who paper boats

there’s a fair share of boats between you and hoseok

you’re awed bc wow they really did learn and yOU taught them and it’s just so fulfilling to see wonky wittle boats :’’)

“give to who??”

the tiny felix sitting by your side tugs at your shirt and he’s pointing to the boat you made yourself sitting on your palm

“o-oh!”

how did you get put in the spot by preschool kids

oKAY definitely not hobi

maybe you can call namjoon from the other room???? or maybe even yoongs and-

the sudden shrieking in the room brings you down from your thoughts and you’re quite frantic trying to catch up

the commotion?? ur palm

hobi himself folded a crane!!

:)

and it’s sitting snugly in your palm

:)

he’s been feeling so lost the past week and he realized that it’s because of yOU and how he’s so dense to drive you away when all he wants to do is keep you close

hobi’s never really beamed at you directly like that before

you might just cry

hyunjin’s kicking the air and so does every kid who has googly eyes for their teacher 

but it’s okay 

it’s all okay because hobi’s looking at you the way you look at him and he’s the most gentle and pleasing thing you’ve ever laid your eyes on

it’s his turn to put his chin against his palm, a knowing smile on his face before he asks

“do you feel chilly tonight?”

[bangtann-bangdamn]

Nocturne

<Yoongi x Reader>

Part 7 - Bad Idea

It was supposed to be easy: confess your love for Park Jimin and spend the final moments of the year locked in his arms. Only one problem – he has a new girlfriend and now you need to save face. Good thing Yoongi is willing to play pretend. But how long until you catch feelings for the quiet music man?

January 2nd – 12:07pm

You were silently cursing as you jogged to the café. You were running late. You hated running late. It was something your mother had taught you and Jungkook, although he seemed to forget that lesson more often than he forgets to charge his phone. It wasn’t so much about being late that was the problem. It was that being late demonstrated that you cared very little about what you were late to. No matter how hard you tried, you could never seem to make yourself care any less. Every time the clocked ticked even a minute past the time you were supposed to be somewhere, it was like you had downed ten coffees. You could feel the blood pumping through your veins. You became more aware of the sound of your footsteps on the pavement; of conversations you drifted past. The feeling would stay with you for the rest of the day, reminding you that you had shown that you didn’t care enough.

At least this time, you argued to yourself, it wasn’t your fault. Hye-jin had walked out of her room ten minutes before you had wanted to leave. She took one look at the box of muffins on the counter and got a look on her face that made you regret even asking her when Yoongi was working. You knew you should have risked just turning up at the café and hoping for the best.

“Where are you going?” She slyly asked, moving to inspect the muffins closer.

You stepped in front of her, hoping to block her view of the muffins. You knew it was stupid. So what you made blueberry muffins? A lot of people liked blueberry muffins. They were Jungkook’s favourites after all… well, second favourite. Okay, so maybe Jungkook didn’t have a favourite muffin because he never took the time to actually taste them before devouring them, but that wasn’t the point. You just couldn’t shake the feeling from the pit of your stomach that as soon as Hye-jin saw the muffins she would put two and two together and come up with Yoongi. And you really didn’t want her coming up with that conclusion.

“The café,” you said slowly, watching as Hye-jin’s expression slowly lit up.

Okay, so it really didn’t matter whether she saw the muffins or not, she was still coming up Yoongi. You mentally slapped yourself for being so stupid. Why didn’t you just say you were meeting Jungkook for lunch?

She hit your arm with a grin. “Shut up! No way. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“It’s not.” You held out your hands to calm Hye-jin before she got carried away. Which was an occupational hazard with living with Hye-jin. She was prone to romantic fantasies and no matter how dire the situation, she always managed to find the romantic side. It was one of her traits that had drawn you to her in the first place. You remember the first time you met when she had dramatically flopped down beside you at a party and told you that she was going to marry Taehyung one day. It was why she kept going back to him after all these years, you mused. That every time he hurt her, every break-up, every argument, it was all leading to the romantic end. The moment she got her Prince Charming.

And now she’s got it into her head that Yoongi was your one. You couldn’t really blame her either. You had encouraged it by stupidly admitting that you had kissed him. And that one time you had accidentally confessed that you thought Yoongi was kind of cute…

“Give me five minutes, I’ll come with you.” She clapped her hands together, acting as if you hadn’t just spoken.

Your mind raced as you tried to find a way to stop her from joining you.

“No!” You grabbed her arm. “I’m not going there to see Yoongi. I’m just meeting Jungkook.”

“So, the muffins…” She pointed to the box behind you with her brow raised.

“For… Jungkook,” You said slowly, nodding your head with what you hoped was enough conviction. It was partially true, for the record. After he commented on your Instagram post, you had decided to be a nice sister and make him his own batch. Sure, they weren’t baked to perfection like the ones for Yoongi were, but Jungkook wouldn’t notice. You doubted he would notice or care if the muffins he received weren’t the perfect golden brown.

“Right. So why did you ask when Yoongi was working then?”

Damn it, she had you.

“Um… because I… was going to make him some, but then I realised that it was probably going to send the wrong message.”

Hye-jin narrowed her eyes. “Wrong message? What wrong message?” She folded her arms across her chest and you knew that no matter what you said, she would still come to the same conclusion.

“That I… like him?” You answered uncertainly. You cleared your throat. “Hye-jin, Yoongi’s nice and everything. But it’s not like that. It was just a kiss.” You wait for her reaction, watching as she continued to stare you down. You fold your arms behind your back, playing with the hem of your shirt.

“Oh, I see.” Hye-jin nodded, a smile playing on her lips. You knew that whatever she had just discovered, it was likely to be the opposite of what you had said that had made her smile.

“You do?”

“Yeah.” She sighed dramatically, her smile still plastered on her face. “I see. I’ll let you go deliver your muffins to… Jungkook.”

You closed your eyes, knowing that you needed to set her straight and that there really was nothing going on with you and Yoongi before she started planning your wedding or something else equally lucrative. You glanced at the clock in hopes that you had time to sit her down and explain and realised that you were going to be late.

“Oh no.” You let go of the hem of your shirt, forgetting all about setting the record straight as you grabbed the box of muffins and shoved them in your bag.

“I’ll see you tonight!” Hye-jin called after you as you raced to put your shoes on. “And I want to hear everything about your lunch date with Jungkook.” She emphasised his name in such a way that you knew she wasn’t really talking about your brother.

You closed your eyes, burying the feeling of standing up for yourself. Denying that you had feelings for a guy you barely knew right now was only going to make Hye-jin think you did have feelings for him. Instead, you vowed to clear the air when you got home.

“Bye!” You called behind you as you made your way out the front door.

-

The bell rang out above you as you pushed open the café door. The café was busy as normal, if not a little busier, as you joined the end of the queue. Yoongi wasn’t alone behind the counter and, when he saw you in line, you could swear that you saw a small smile grace his lips before returning his blank stare to the customer he was serving. The other server, another male who you assumed to be Mark (considering that was the only other name you knew from the café), was running around behind Yoongi trying to fulfil orders as quickly as Yoongi was taking them. Slowly the queue moved until you were the one ordering.

“What can I get for you?” Yoongi asked. He looked at you like you were any other customer, but as you met his gaze, you noted that they looked a whole lot less blank than he had for every other customer. Or maybe that was all in your head.

You smiled at him. “It’s not what you can get for me, but what I can get for you.” You dug through your bag and presented the plastic container of muffins.

Yoongi hesitated as he stared down at the muffins. “I thought I told you I didn’t want muffins.”

“And I thought I told you that you were getting them regardless.” When he made no move to take them from you, you placed them on the counter.

Job done, you thought. You couldn’t help the smug smile as Yoongi continued to stare down at the container. You could see it in his face that he didn’t really want to object to the muffins, and you couldn’t blame him. You put your heart and soul into baking, so when a batch of muffins turned out as good as the ones in front of Yoongi, you couldn’t help but take a little pride in the way people reacted to them.

You smiled at Yoongi as you took a step away from the counter. You knew that this would be the worst place for Jungkook to find you. Him seeing you talk to Yoongi would cause more chaos than you were willing to endure. As is, the moment he saw that Hye-jin wasn’t working, you knew he would have questions. You hoped you could dodge any question about Yoongi until everyone could forget about your kiss.

Damn that kiss.

“Oh Yoongi, love. You can’t say no to muffins! Especially ones made by this lovely young lady.” A woman joined you by the counter, lightly placing her hand on your arm as she smiled at Yoongi.

“I wasn’t going to reject them.” Yoongi snatched the box and placed it beneath the counter before making his way around to the other side. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming until this evening?” He asked the woman. He looked between the woman and you and, for the first time that you could remember, you saw something on Yoongi’s face. His eyes widened, his lips were slightly parted as his gaze refused to settle. He was panicking.

“I was, but then I realised I missed my son terribly and I thought I would make the effort to get here sooner.” She cupped his cheeks for a moment before turning to you. “Now, are you going to introduce me to this wonderful young lady.” She smiled at you. It was a brilliant kind of smile, nothing half-assed about it. She smiled and her whole body radiated her happiness. You couldn’t help but smile back at her.

Yoongi sighed. “Mum, this is Yn. Yn, this is my mother.”

“Oh, so this is Yn!” Yoongi’s mother clapped her hands together as if you were her favourite celeb in the world.

You frowned at Yoongi before returning your attention back to his mother. “Hi.” You smiled. That was until she threw herself at you, wrapping you tightly in her arms. Over her shoulder, you looked at Yoongi. “Why is she hugging me?” you mouthed, but you knew he was going to be no help. He was staring at the pair of you like he had just seen a ghost.

“It’s so nice to finally meet Yoongi’s girlfriend!” His mother announced as she let go of you.

His what now?

“Oh I’m not-” You began to say, but were cut off by Yoongi.

“Yep, this is her! My girlfriend.” He stepped beside you, slinging his arm around your shoulder. You looked up at him, hoping your expression conveyed just how confused you were.

At least Jungkook wasn’t here for this.

“Girlfriend?!” Jungkook stood from where he was seated at the table directly behind you.

“No!” You pointed at Jungkook as Yoongi instantly announced “Yes!”

This was not good. This was so not good.

You turned your attention back to Yoongi and slapped his shoulder with the back of your hand.

“What is going on here?” Yoongi’s mother asked, glancing between the two of you. All her previous happiness had dropped from her face and she was looking between you like she wasn’t sure what she was seeing.

“That’s what I would like to know, Yn.” Jungkook frowned, crossing his arms as he stepped beside Yoongi’s mother.

You could feel the panic starting to set in, the way the world was starting to close in on you. You didn’t know what was going on, that was the truth.

How could a simple kiss on New Year’s be so confusing?

“Yn, a word?” Yoongi had the audacity to ask, nodding his head for you to follow him. He led you to the storage room, closing the door quickly behind you.

“Why are you introducing me to your mother as your girlfriend, Yoongi?” You rounded on him immediately, placing your hands on your hips in an attempt to seem more intimidating. At least, that’s what you hoped you looked like because you honestly felt like a toddler on the verge of a meltdown.

“Ha. Funny story. My mum has been harassing me about getting a girlfriend for years. At Christmas, I lied to her and told her that I had a girlfriend, but I didn’t tell her a name because, well, it was a lie. Then, yesterday she started questioning me about meeting my girlfriend and how she didn’t even know her name and I… gave your name. I’m sorry, please play along just for this afternoon.” He took your hands in his, even going as far as getting down on one knee so that you were gazing down at him.

You snatched your hands back. “Wha- no! My brother’s going to think I lied to him about this! Not to mention Hye-jin!”

“Please!” He rose to his feet again and clasped his hands together for a second. When it became clear that you weren’t going to budge, he rubbed his chin with both hands. “What if we make this mutually beneficial?”

“I don’t see how it’s going to be mutual. The only person benefitting here is you.”

“If you’re dating me, your brother won’t question your thing with Jimin.” Yoongi offered.

“I don’t have a thing with Jimin.” You pout. No, his stupid girlfriend had put an end to that dream. It was dumb anyway. Jimin was so far out of your league, it was unreal. He was so kind, and patient, and sweet, and funny. And the only sweet thing about you was the muffins you baked.

“Well, it will diffuse attention away from it, anyway.” Yoongi shrugged.

You frowned. “Why does your mum want you to have a girlfriend anyway?” It didn’t make sense to you. From the moment she found out about your kiss, Hye-jin had made the effort to tell you just how talented Yoongi was and how every major orchestra was already looking into hiring him after university. It didn’t make sense to you that his mum was focusing on his love life.

Yoongi sighed, running a hand through his hair. “It’s not so much as she wants me to have a girlfriend, just… she thinks I’m too old to be single.”

“Because that makes sense. You’re what? Twenty-five?”

“Twenty-six and it does when you know she wants grandkids. She’s not getting any younger.” Yoongi muttered.

“Seriously?” You raised your brow at him.

“Look, I helped you on New Year’s Eve. Help me now. We can break up whenever you want, I promise.”

“So, if I wanted to break up now?”

“Well, no. Not now.”

“Relax, I’m kidding. Partially, anyway.”

Okay, Yn. Think. Pros and cons. Pros: it’s going to be a whole lot easier to convince Jungkook that there’s no issue between you and Jimin if you have a boyfriend. Hye-jin will stop talking Yoongi up. Jin will stop talking about your lack of a love life. Jimin might realise his feelings for you and break up with his girlfriend.

Okay, maybe not that one.

Cons: you have to fake date…which is pretty much dating. Which means you’re probably going to have to spend time with Yoongi. Which could mean that real feelings might... That’s the cliché, right? You fake date and then you fall in love? But you already know that you won’t fall in love with Yoongi. How could you when you’ve already met the one.

Oh god, you’re spiralling. Time to stop thinking. Just pick one.

“Fine. I’ll do it, I guess. I mean, I could tell Jungkook that it’s still new and when he asked the other day, we hadn’t really talked about things. Then I’m not really lying to him…” But even as you said the words, it sent a surge of panic through you. This was nuts. This was an insanely stupid idea. You obviously shouldn’t go through with this. The cons far out weighed the pros.

God, why were you so stupid?

“Thank you.” Yoongi pulled you into a hug. His arms wound around your waist and you settled your hands on his shoulder. “Thank you,” he said again, squeezing you slightly.

“You’re welcome,” you replied softly, closing your eyes as you wondered just how much trouble this was going to cause. You pulled away, not far enough to break the embrace, but enough that you could see his face. “But we need to talk about boundaries.”

“Of course.” Yoongi nodded his head, brown eyes never leaving yours.

You shivered when he shifted the position of his hands slightly. You stepped back completely, breaking his hold.

“Yeah, we should probably get back out there. Before they start thinking we’re doing more than talking.” Yoongi laughed, already moving towards the door.

You stood there, completely frozen as his words washed over you.

“Doing… more…?” You repeated softly as you stared at Yoongi’s back.

He opened the door, apparently unaware of your current shock, as he turned back to face you.

“You ready?” He held out his hand for you to leave first.

Yes, this was certainly a bad idea. But there was no way to back out of this now.

<Part 6 (x) Part 8>

Tag list: @salty-for-suga​ @lylanie12​ @agusttaegid​ @mochiteddybear​ @misscheesecakeee​ @thebluemoonlight​ @yourhoneymilkandtea​ @lidda​ @detectivebourbon @rjsmochii​ @taeshuworld​ @sessi03​ @alyssa20077​ @dreamcatcherjiah​ @shay-the-turtle​ @jisnuq​ @herosvillians87​@itiswhatitisnt88​ @meowmeowyoongles​ @lyndseygoregasmxo​ @bang-tan-fan​ @sunrisemcp​

If you want to be added to the tag list, send me an ask!

AN: It’s been a while, I know. But I’m back with this update. I don’t know when the next update will be, what with Christmas and everything right around the corner, but I’m hoping to get back onto a regular writing schedule soon. I’m not saying I’m going on hiatus, because I’m still going to be here. But my updates are going to take a hit. I’m sorry! 

As for the tag list, a couple of you didn’t come up when I tried tagging you. If you’ve changed usernames, please let me know. I’ve left you there for this update, but I’ll be removing you unless I hear from you. Sorry!