#trying to get the posts I made about Ch 5 out before Ch 6

[pinkrose787]

I really want to go into the character motivations for each character in Chapter 5 of the Amnesia Branch AU. So I am going to go in depth. Characters are in no particular order. (Readmore, because this is so very long).

Poppy- Hers is the most obvious. Mostly, because we see the entire chapter through her POV. She wants to be there for Branch. More importantly, she wants to help Branch in ways that she couldn't the last time he was gray. Now, she has such a deeper understanding of why he is the way he is, and what he needs.

While she is doing her best to be there for Branch, she herself is struggling immensely. She's heartbroken that Branch doesn't remember their relationship. That he's closed off from her again.

She doesn't really let anyone know how much she's struggling. Sure, Viva and her closest friends saw that she was sad in Chapter 3, but they didn't see depths of her sadness. And she tries so hard to keep it together this entire chapter.

She pushes away every single negative thought and emotion that comes up. Forcing herself to be the happy and cheerful despite how she truly feels.

That is until the very end. Branch has broken up with her. Every single bit of sadness that Poppy had been holding back comes crashing down on her.

Branch's Brothers- As a base, all of them of in pure shock of what they just witnessed. Up to this point, they have only heard stories of what Branch used to be like. Seeing Branch gray for themselves was eye-opening.

Bruce- I think, because he is a father, he really carries a lot of guilt about Branch becoming depressed at such a young age and having to raise himself. He constantly has thoughts about how different Branch's life would have been if he came back in time.

And because of this guilt, he is terrified of ever hurting Branch ever again. So when Branch broke down after Bruce said the very wrong thing, it sent Bruce into a spiral of guilt. The guilt and terror combined caused him to believe that Branch is genuinely better off without any of them.

In his mind, Branch has Poppy and loads of friends to support him. People who haven't hurt Branch like they have. Who won't stir up tears as soon as he sees them. Who can help him far better than Bruce ever could.

Clay- Now, Clay did not talk that much in this chapter. Like Bruce, his guilt made him think that Branch doesn't need him. Though his guilt is a bit different than Bruce's. Unlike all the others, Clay stayed in the Troll Tree up until the time of the escape. The fact that he could have gone back anytime to check-up on Branch but didn't, haunts him.

While his "the Putt Putt trolls needed me" comment wasn't immediately addressed by Branch, it was what Branch was referring to when he shouted "I needed you!".

He wasn't as eager to leave as Bruce was. In fact, if Bruce hadn't said that he didn't think they should be there for Branch, I think he would have stayed or at least waited to say what he thought until later.

John Dory- The guilt manifests differently for John Dory. He has come to terms with it. In fact, he came to terms with a lot of it before the events of TBT. When he came back to the Troll Tree and saw it completely barren, he thought that all his brothers had died. The worst of it for him was Branch.

In his mind, Branch was still a baby, and when John Dory returned he still would have been a young child. While there was a chance that the others got out, which he learned when Bruce sent that postcard, he didn't have the same hopes for Branch.

His brothers were athletic teenagers. The odds of them surviving was high. But Branch was a little kid who lived alone with an old woman in a town of giants who want to eat them. They'd probably be first

And John Dory carried this guilt for years upon years. Until, he heard about what happened with the Rockapocalypse. He was so relieved to hear that Branch survived. But then more guilt set in.

Guilt that he didn't know. Branch is in his twenties now. He missed out on his baby brother's entire life. In his mind, Branch clearly turned out fine without him if he stopped the literal apocalypse, and he didn't want to ruin that for him.

It wasn't until he had to save Floyd, that he decided to initiate any sort of contact.

He genuinely enjoyed having Branch around again. But for most of the movie, he still believed that Branch is far better off without him. That all the brothers being apart was better.

It wasn't until the fight in Rhonda that he realized he might be wrong. That was the first time he truly saw how much leaving had hurt Branch, and how his life might not have been as great as he thought it was.

He doesn't want to hurt Branch like that ever again. After the whole reunion leaving didn't even cross his mind as an option. He's going to be there for Branch whether Branch wants him to or not.

Floyd- Similar to John Dory, Floyd did come eventually come back. Seeing the dead Troll Tree was completely devastating to him. He went gray over it.

The memory of him promising Branch that he would be back kept replaying over and over in his mind. He agonized over and over again about how he failed to keep his promise. He never came back. Branch died waiting for him.

Unlike John Dory, he didn't hear about how Branch was still alive nor did he know if any of his other brothers were alive either. It wasn't until John Dory came to save him that had any hope of Branch still being alive.

And the joy and relief he felt when he finally saw Branch was unlike anything else. In that brief moment, he swore that if he survived that he was never going to leave Branch again. This time he intends to keep that promise.

Branch- The reunion with his brothers severely messed him up. It really reignited his abandonment issues. He truly believed that they wouldn't stay. That they'd leave him again, so him pushing them away was to spare himself the heartbreak of getting close to them again just for them to leave.

Hearing from Poppy that Bruce and Clay left, though devastating, wasn't surprising. He really didn't have any faith that they would stay. Though he is surprised that both John Dory and Floyd didn't immediately leave, he's still convinced that they will soon. It will just take a little longer for them to go.

And it's been touched on in earlier chapters, but he does believe that Poppy is going to leave him too. That any moment she's going to decide that she's done with him and leave.

The worst part is that he believes that he deserves it. In his perspective, he's been dating Poppy for about 2 days. And during those two days, he's seen her act in a way that she never has before. Mostly, he's never seen her sad, and he's never heard her scream in anger like she did in the hallway.

He thinks that cutting off his relationship with her will end her pain. Which is so very incredibly wrong, but he's unable to see that.

[m00nchildwrites]

pairings: female!reader (first person) x Xavier

tags: romance, eventual smut, based on storyline of game but diverges, little angst and feelings, resolved feelings, fluff, hurt/comfort, injury, these two need to just kiss already, use of her/she/you depend on the pov at the time, reader/MC/you is expressed as female and during smut times will use female-at-birth anatomy terms- she/her, first person when written from "your" pov- use of I/my/mine, referred to as y/n, will have nsfw content mdni- please read with caution, will be tagged, my smut gets ...vivid. Will have content from part of story line, myth cards, and other cards [possibly...probably].

{ch list: 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5 (here), 6}

Chapter 5: Lumiere

When I arrived in Azure Square, the scope of the situation fully sank in. There was devastation everywhere. It looked post-apocalyptic. The skyscrapers' bottom floors all had their glass blown out like from an explosion, likely the same metaflux explosion that was on set earlier that morning. Broken hologram signs were hanging or scattered on the ground below. Taxis and cars were wrecked, crushed, or on fire. It had all fallen into ruin. People ran around screaming as hordes of Wanderers attacked anything and everything that moved. Otto-bots were smashed to pieces. Explosions shook the ground. It was like when the Deepspace Tunnel first appeared when I was a child. This level of destruction had not taken place in the city since that time.

The chaotic metaflux was spreading like wildfire outwards as though it was being created and pushed further to encompass more territory. It was so thick in the air; it nearly distorted it like heat waves off of pavement in the height of summer. Hunters were already there when I arrived. More and more of my colleagues poured into the square, fighting desperately to contain the horde and their destruction. Others ushered the trapped civilians to safety. 

I immediately got to work. My guns smoked from the amount of firing. I covered countless civilians as they ran, reuniting crying children with mothers and moving so many others to safety. On and on it went, yet it seemed that as quickly as we put them down, more poured in, as though they were just endlessly respawning. Hunters began falling around me one by one, and I could feel myself growing weaker. The continued and constant use of my evol over such a period of time was draining my energy. 

After a particularly nasty fight, my vision blurred and I stumbled, catching myself on an overturned taxi and ducking behind it to catch my breath. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to recombobulate myself. My ears were ringing. But the sounds of battle seemed further away and fewer. 

Perhaps we had made a dent afterall… or maybe the Wanderers were chasing my teammates down elsewhere. I had to pull it together and see for myself. I shook my head in a feeble attempt to shake the blurriness out of my sight. My heart was pounding from the exertion. My body was burning too, from cuts, burns, bruises, and gashes. My uniform would have to be replaced.

I tsked. My head falling back against the metal of the ruined taxi. It was beginning to look like I wouldn’t make it out of here. Like none of us still here would. Surely more teams were on their way. But, would they make it? And where were these Wanderers coming from? No. My uniform was the last thing I needed to worry about. 

I reloaded my guns and, breath returned, stood from my cover and threw myself back into battle. In the distance, I saw a Hunter, a familiar figure, someone that I had worked with before- gone on that team building trip with- collapse. I rushed over- or tried- but a massive Wanderer blocked my path, forcing me to fight it. I tried to get a glimpse of the Hunter, Steve perhaps, to check on them, but by the time I finally defeated the hulking Wanderer, my energy was dangerously low. Steve was no longer on the ground. Someone else must have gotten to them. My vision swimmed.

I knew I had heavy blood loss from all my cuts and gashes. No doubt, that was not helping my light headedness and blurred vision. But it was my heart that hurt the most. With intense pain. My vitals were flashing orange on my watch: “Warning! Hunter, your energy is low! Warning! Hunter, your heart rate is irregular. Please seek out a safe-”

Beep.

“No shit,” I clicked my tongue, shutting off the annoying AI warning voice. I pushed onwards ignoring the warnings to find a safe place or to seek out medical care. People’s lives were in danger. I didn’t have that luxury.

An explosion made me duck as a burning car finally blew up. Today had quickly become a very bad, no good day. I huffed, standing from cover and firing more shots at a Wanderer. It screeched as it disintegrated into metaflux. One more down. Several dozens or more to go. I grit my teeth and pushed on through the pain.

“Y/N! Are you alright?” 

I heard Captain Jenna over my comms. No doubt my vitals were going crazy at HQ. “Captain…” My voice felt weird, garbled to my own ears. That couldn’t be good, surely. 

“It’s likely another Metaflux explosion will…. occur at your… location….Retreat. I repeat…” 

The signal cut in and out. I squinted, pressing the comm to my ear, straining to hear, “Captain? Captain? Can you repeat that?”

“You can’t…. Fighting…. Numbers too…Retreat…”

“Captain?” I hissed at the failed signal as it cut out. I needed to get somewhere where I could get through to HQ. Someone might need help. Using my watch's guidance, I mapped out the best way out. 

I was about to head out when I heard a young girl crying. “Help!” 

My head spun around searching for the crying. There is another child?! 

“Help us!” a woman’s voice called out as well.

There are still people here trapped! I couldn’t just leave them to die. I reloaded and began searching the square trying to stay covered as much as I could until I found them. My vision swam off and on, almost like the world was tilting. Maybe I damaged my inner ear? 

Finally, through smoke and dust, I saw an arm waving from the collapsed cafe at the edge of the Square. I sent the coordinates to any nearby Hunters and HQ, calling for backup to help me dig them out. They were okay, but blocked by the fallen entrance. But in the end, danger found me first.

My watch sensed them first. Three alerts popped up in quick succession as three Wanderers appeared. “Threat level: S.” Figures.

“Get back!” I yelled into the collapsed cafe, “Take cover at the back of the cafe. Can you do that?” I yelled orders to them desperately.

“Yes,” the woman called back, “There is a storage room.”

“Hide in there until backup arrives! I am going to lure them away!” I turned back to the Wanderers and jumped and yelled, waving my arms, “Hey! Hey you giant, stupid, big ugly lugs! Look at me! I’m over here!”

The three loud roars of rage signaled that they got the message.

“Oh shit,” I took off running, three giants pounding the ground in pursuit. Good. They took the bait. Unfortunately, the bait was me. 

As I ran, I felt my belt for how many bullets and clips I had left. My equipment was low. Too low. And my stamina and energy wouldn’t last much longer, but maybe if I could just draw them far enough away from the civilians in the cafe and keep these three busy until help arrived… maybe then the civilians would be safe. Maybe I’d even manage to take one down with me.

I spotted a clearing in the square. It was all the way on the opposite side, far from the civilians. The perfect place for a last stand. 

As I pushed my legs to run faster, I thought of Grandma and Caleb. Maybe I will be seeing them soon? I thought of my teammates and Tara; I hoped they were okay.

I thought of Sylus and his annoying habit of calling me kitten; I’d never admit it but he was growing on me. I’d miss his terrible singing and how he always had my back, no questions asked. I’d even miss his damn gothic chicken.

I thought of Zayne, my childhood and dearest friend currently; he would be devastated and so very mad I didn’t play it safe. I’d miss our meetups for sweets and his sarcastic dry humor and getting him to crack a smile as I sang loudly to songs in the car.

I thought of Rafayel; he would be so heartbroken to lose his favorite bodyguard and adventure buddy. I’d miss his antics and our beach walks and Reddie and trying to guess the song he was humming as he painted until he finally gave up and we’d dance around his studio singing whatever pop tune came to our heads.

Inevitably, as I spun to a stop, guns aimed at the three massive S-class Wanderers coming for me, I thought of Xavier. Of how sweet and peaceful he looked as I last saw him, curled up and sleeping, silver-blonde hair tousled in his sleep. He was gorgeous, painfully so. And I never told him. Never told him what I felt. How my heart skipped and then raced just for him. How his smile was brighter than the sunrise and made me want to spout poetry and listen to love songs. How his gentle touches made heat and longing fill my very being. I thought about how worried he got over me, how protective he was. How he seemed to naturally guard me from harm not because he thought me incapable, but because it was natural, instinctual. I thought of how his face would crumple when he learned that I hadn’t made it this time. Because I wouldn’t. I thought about him and I realized-

I love him.

“Xavier…” a tear slipped down my cheek as I took aim and fired, “I’m sorry.”

 A roar filled my ears and my head whipped sideways. When did that Wanderer get over there?!

And then darkness and pain.

My mind seemed to flicker to the past. A memory. All those years ago to before when I was a child. The smell of smoke was the same. The screams and roars of Wanderers. 

I clutched my gun and fired towards the Wanderers I knew were around me, hovering nearby, waiting to pounce again. The pain-filled roar of one told me I hit one. They were going to crush me. This was it. My mind played out the nightmare from my past like an overlay on top of the present. It was so similar, but different. This time, I wouldn’t make it, would I?

Dazzling light suddenly surged through the dark haze of my failed vision and in my memory. A shockwave of light blasted through the area. The Wanderers had no place to hide. They dissipate into metaflux dust leaving only the echo of their shrill screeches in the air. Even the distant sounds of fighting stopped.

Just how big was that blast of light? My mind felt woozy as my vision came through as dark shadows and shapes. Another slash of light slashed through the darkness of my vision. Golden light filled the air and poured down like rain, washing away filth. I could hear the pops and screeches of more Wanderers further away.

I blinked trying to focus. I struggled, trying to sit up. I saw a beam of light flashing through the golden speckles of light dancing in the air like fireflies. It is headed towards me like a meteor. Space and time itself appeared to distort around the radiant light. I should likely feel worried. The intense beam was headed for me, but I felt only serenity. My arms gave out and I fell backwards. As I fell, my memory flashed back through my mind– my memory of the past event like this one– suddenly it came through clear and vivid.

Arms caught me; Hands cradled my head just before it hit the concrete. I heard voices exclaiming surprise and shock. People no doubt were drawn out by the spectacle of light that sent the Wanderers away. But all I could see was him.

Dazed, I looked up into the face of the one who caught me and held me embraced into their chest. Something about him was familiar. His energy or perhaps his scent? I blinked away the haze, trying to focus. I saw silvery blonde hair… I think?

“Xa-Xavier?” my voice is barely a whisper.

The figure didn’t answer but merely wiped at blood on my face and at the corner of my mouth. Wishful thinking. He isn’t here. Through my blurry vision, all I could see was a warm gaze, profound as a lake but deep and intense with urgency. Then, I saw it. The mask.

“You!” I gasped.

He swept me off my feet as he carried me up into his arms, then we were in the air. The wind blowing past my face. In my exhaustion, my vision started to blur and darken at the edges again. 

“Close your eyes if you're tired,” a soft and warm voice drifted to me through the haze. He cradled my head to his neck as more flashes of radiant light rain down from his blade. I heard cheering from below as the last of the Wanderers were cleared and metaflux fluctuations righted. A glowing moon signalling the user. Lumiere. He had returned, and like 14 years ago, he saved me again.

Sharpness cut through the haze and I gasped in pain. The arm around me tightened. I leaned back to reassure him, but my voice caught in my throat. The pain had cleared my vision. The face before me was crystal clear.

“Xavier?” The pain hit again and I clenched my eyes shut with a hiss. My words cut off and stuck in my throat in exchange for a groan of pain. 

“Sleep,” he spoke, cradling my head back into his neck, “Don’t force yourself to stay awake.” His gloved hand brushed over my eyes, and they closed, heavy, as I relaxed in his arms, my guard relinquished at last. And I slipped into a world of sweet darkness.

-

I came to sometime later. The moon was in the sky. 

“Does it hurt?”

I turned my head and saw Xavier bandaging my hand. 

“I did some first aid,” he continued softly, concern sitting heavy on his brow. “The roads are still a wreck right now. I will take you to the hospital for a thorough examination later when I can get through.”

I turned my head the other way towards the sounds of people talking and crying. They sounded far but close at the same time. It was then I realized that we were on a rooftop. Down below, Azure Square was reduced to ruble. Rescue workers ran around searching for who needed immediate help. People were looking for loved ones. It was a mess. Camera crews and journalists had also arrived, trying to get the latest updates.

Xavier’s small huff of a laugh drew my attention back. His grin was tiny as he looked at me softly in amusement, “Don’t worry. The people in the cafe are safe.” 

My brows smoothed. He knew me so well. I had been wondering about them.

“And there aren’t any other casualties,” his face fell slightly, his hand brushed away a strand of hair from my face, “You’re the only one who is severely injured.”

I studied his face. The contours of it etched into my heart, but now that I am seeing them again, they seem shrouded in unfamiliar shadows. Secrets.

“Why are you here?” I asked at last.

He looked down, away from my gaze, “Who else were you expecting to see?” He deflected my question as he busied himself with my wounds again.

I was tired. Tired of the secrets. I pressed, likely for the first time, I truly pressed, “But how did you get here?” The image of him curled up asleep in that pod flashed in my mind. “Are you okay now?”

“I slept well, so I am fully recovered.”

“How? You practically shut down in the no-hunt zone… Then there was that pod and those syringes-”

He sighed, “You’re the one who needs to be cared for right now.” He gently pushed my shoulder, forcing me to lay back again.

I obeyed with a huff and then winced in pain.

He tsked, a small sigh leaving his mouth as he worried over the bandages he had placed over various wounds. My side seemed to worry him in particular.

I felt the urge to explain how I got so bad, “It was urgent. I had to–”

“I only know that if I had been even a second later, I would’ve lost you. Forever.” Though his tone was flat.

“...No,” I tried to relieve that heaviness that settled on his shoulders, “that’s not- Don’t underestimate me. I’ve always been lucky.” I gently took his hand in mine, “14 years ago, Lumiere saved my life. And this time…” I looked into Xavier’s eyes. “Lumiere saved me again. I must be the luckiest person alive.”

His eyes studied my face, his expression calm aside from the storm of emotions swirling in his gaze. “You might just feel lucky…” he spoke, as his hand reached out to brush dirt from my face, gently, fingers lingering, “But for me, it’s a wonderful blessing.” 

The sounds of the news screens below reach our ears. Lumiere is declared the savior of the day's events and the one who vanquished the Wanderers. It is also suggested that he was the one who cleared up the odd anomaly from a few days ago with the apocalyptic storm. 

I glanced over to Xavier to see his brow furrowed and his mouth turned down. I hated seeing him troubled. And the news wasn’t exactly a good thing. I remembered the wanted posters in the Nest. Lumiere- Xavier could be in danger if anyone found out.

I reached out and placed my hand on his arm, “I am sure that news of Lumiere’s return will be all anyone talks about in the morning.” I smiled at him teasingly. He was lost in thought for a moment, then suddenly scooped me up into his lap. I squeaked in alarm and scrambled to wrap my arms around his neck, “Xavier, what the hell?”

He chuckled, holding me to his chest. “We should hurry.”

I blinked, “Why?”

“We need to get to the hospital. Otherwise, everyone will be rushing over after dawn to catch a glimpse of Lumiere.” He hesitated, glancing down at me, “Your doctor…”

“Dr. Zayne?”

He nodded, “You trust him?”

“I’ve known him since we were children.”

“But you trust him.”

“With my life… quite literally,” I grinned, but he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Xavier’s tense expression didn’t shift as he held my gaze before looking down to the fray below us. His eyes were troubled, and I realized what he was getting at. I held his face between my palms, “Hey, look at me.” I smiled softly as his blue-blue gaze fell back on mine, “Zayne is a good person. He wouldn’t put anyone at risk.”

He frowned, lower lip pouting slightly, “Zayne?”

“Doctor Zayne,” I squished his cheeks slightly grinning at his pout, “but I would never want you to feel uncomfortable. If you can get me close enough, somewhere secret and hidden nearby, I can make it into the hospital myself.”

His pout fell into a flat look, “You’re wheezing.”

“What?”

He leaned his cheek slightly more into my palms, “Your breathing has a slight wheeze to it. I’m not letting you walk anywhere.”

“Xavier, Lumiere is wanted. You can’t be see-”

He shook his head resolutely, “You likely have a broken rib pressing into your lung. Your heart is also erratic.”

“The heart part is nothing.” His gaze darkened deeper into worry at that, but I waved it off trying to ease his stress, “I’m used to that. And I can breathe fine, see?” I tried to take a deep breath and gasped as a sharp pain tore through my rib cage and chest, “F-fuck!” 

Xavier’s eyes went wide, frantic. He called my name, standing. His arms tightened around me, “If you trust your doctor… then I will too.”

“Wha-”

“I will never leave you all alone. Ever,” His voice was soft but firm, leaving no room for debate. Pressing me closer, his lips brushed my forehead, “You might get dizzy. Hold on tight.”

I pressed my face into his neck and let my eyes close, taking in his scent. For a while back there, in the fighting, I was sure that I would never see him again. My arms tightened around him slightly at the thought. Now, though, he had come and saved me. My masked hero, Lumiere. My knight, my prince charming, Xavier. 

I smiled into his neck. Xavier, Thank you. Before I could react, the world around me started to spin again, “Ugh.” 

His chuckle reached my ear, raising goose bumps along my arms as his breath tickled at my ear, “I warned you.”

“Menace,” I hissed, earning another chuckle. 

The world stabilized and we were in a familiar office. I blinked, lifting my head from Xavier’s neck. My bewildered eyes met equally bewildered green eyes from his spot behind his desk. He appeared to have stopped in his movements to collect something. His hair was slightly a mess, showing how busy the hospital was with the attack. He looked frazzled, or as frazzled as Zayne ever looked.

Zayne looked from me to Xavier who still held me. His sharp, analytical eyes taking in Xavier’s clothing and widening just barely as recognition hit him. His eyes narrowed as he looked over my form. His hands clenched at his sides, the temperature dropping in the room as he made to step forward.

Xavier’s voice level but firm cut through the tension, “You are her doctor, yes? Dr. Zayne, correct?”

Zayne gave a slight nod. He looked to me, uncertain, seeking a question with his eyes. When I smiled slightly and waved my fingers in the air, the tension drained out of his stance and he sighed, sounding over my antics already. I couldn’t help but chuckle quietly. “And you are her partner, the Hunter…” He looked Xavier up and down, “or should I call you Lumi-”

“Xavier is his name.” My voice cut in, drawing two pairs of eyes. “Just Xavier, Dr. Zayne,” I repeated. The message clear. This knowledge wouldn’t leave this room. 

Zayne gave a slight shake of his head as he pinched the bridge of his nose, “Very well.” Zayne appeared not entirely happy with the situation. 

Xavier looked down at me with his brows raised, from surprise or what, I wasn’t certain. I gave his shoulder a small squeeze in an awkward hug, I was, afterall, still being held in his arms. It was sort of hard to hug him like this, but my reassurance worked because his face softened as he looked at me.

Zayne let out a sigh and moved to us, “I can take it from here… Xavier. Let me see her.” He reached out to take from Xavier’s arms, who took a half step back. Zayne rose a singular black brow.

I huffed, “Guys, I can walk.”

“Not on my watch.” “I think not.”

I frowned at both of them as they frowned at each other.

“I’m not leaving her,” Xavier declared.

“Xavier…” I sighed, annoyance at the lack of independence leaving me and concern for Xavier taking its place, “You can’t be seen. Lumiere buzz is everywhere and you very obviously,” I flicked his earring, “Are wearing his clothes.”

“No one has ever connected the dots before,” he argued even as he relaxed his hold slightly. I knew I was getting through to him.

“Yes, well, people are stupid,” I scoffed.

“Y/N,” Zayne chidded.

“What! It is true! What is this? A Superman movie? Take off the mask and POOF where’d Lumiere go?” I squeezed Xavier’s face between my palms and turned it towards Zayne, “Look at him and tell me it is not obvious!”

Zayne did in fact eye Xavier before tilting his head slightly and begrudgingly admitting, “Point made.”

I turned back to Xavier’s face, “See?”

Xavier’s eyes wavered. Something deep in those pools of azure rippled with some unknown fear and pain, “I can’t lose you. Not again.” 

The breath in my chest froze as he pinned me with those eyes. I felt the strangest sense of panic, desperation, and longing fill my chest; my arms tightened around his neck slightly, as though afraid if I didn’t hold on, he’d slip away into the stars and be gone from me forever.

“I think,” Zayne’s voice made me jolt suddenly pulling from that odd magnetic pull I had felt, “It would be best for all parties if I took it from here.” He looked to Xavier, who looked solemn. Zayne seemed to regard him differently than he had mere moments before. “Unless, of course, you wish to have all of the hospital and soon the media aware that Lumiere is here and just who he brought… single handedly… personally.” His eyes flicked to me pointedly.

Zayne was right, of course. If anyone found out that the legendary hero Lumiere had brought a woman to the hospital himself, the media would be in a frenzy spinning love stories, and I would be the target for their attention. I knew from Rafayel how much of a nightmare that could be. 

And Xavier knew it too from the way his shoulders slumped as his eyes averted briefly before fixing onto Zayne firmly. His eyes narrowed as he tilted his chin up briefly. His tone was firm, a slight sharp edge to it, “Do you want to get that under control then, Doctor?”

Zayne’s eyes fell to his hands where crystalline shapes had creeped up from his wrists. He looked slightly surprised and chagrined about it. As he shook them slightly, tiny snowflakes fell to the ground, the ice of his evol receding.

“Really, guys,” I interrupted, “I can walk.”

“You have a punctured lung,” Xavier stated matter-of-factly. “And you’ve lost a lot of blood. You’ll likely need an infusion.”

Zayne tsked, sweeping in, clearly over my ‘nonsense’ as he called my stubbornness, and gently took me from Xavier’s arms. The crystals were gone, but in their place, he looked absolutely unamused, “How did you manage this?”

I opened my mouth to retort that it was my job when Xavier spoke up.

“She was holding down the Square… single handedly.”

Zayne’s gaze fell to me sharply as mine snapped to Xavier, “Traitor.”

Xavier’s mouth twitched in an almost smile. My eyes narrowed. He looked to Zayne, “You will take care of her until I get back.”

Zayne looked at him as though he was dim, “I will look after her regardless of your return.”

I frowned, Zayne was being even more blunt than usual.

Xavier ignored it and looked back to me, “I will take care of everything. Just recover. I will be here when you get out.”

“What?” He had that look on him, the one he wore on missions, “Xavier? What are you-”

Zayne let out a tired sounding sigh and made for the door, “I trust you can find your way out?” He said to Xavier, but the flash of light behind us signaled Xavier’s exit.

Prying my eyes from the spot Xavier had just left from, I opened my mouth to insist on walking again, but he cut me off as he kicked the door to his office open.

“You have any other interesting friends I should be aware of?”

I scoffed, my head lulling as the tiredness and dizziness set back in as the adrenaline drained out of me. If you only knew. 

“Nurse!” I heard him call out as he began calling out orders to his team. But I had slipped back into the black of unconsciousness. My final thought was on Xavier, and how I had gotten my wish to see him again after all. And I got to see my childhood hero as well. My partner- neighbor- crush was secretly a superhero.

What an odd day.

-

I woke up to the annoyingly familiar sounds of medical machinery beeping. My vision was blurry as I blinked my eyes open, pulling my face from the sterile smelling pillow it was stuck to. My mouth felt like cotton. I smacked slightly trying to get moisture back in. My vision cleared and all I saw was red.

Well, red roses. Lots of red roses in crystal vases with black satin ribbons tied around them dotted around my room on every surface available. Or at least, every surface not filled with bouquets of fire lilies mixed with exotic looking purple, blue and pink flowers sprinkled with white baby’s breath. Those sat in crystal vases of their own. I blinked, sitting up and grabbing a card from each. I opened the red envelope first.

(Translated: Kitten, A little birdy told me that you had gone and gotten yourself  injured playing hero. We really need to have a talk about you and your martyr complex. It is vexing. Be a good kitten and be  patient. Allow yourself to heal. I am a call away if you need me. As for the ones responsible for your injury-  I am on it. Yours Truly, S)

I scoffed out a small laugh, shaking my head as I set the card down and looked at all the roses. I had no doubt before who they came from, but now I knew for sure. His line about the ones responsible made me pause. Did Sylus know who the ones were that were causing those suped-up Wanderers to appear? What was he going to do about it? I made a note to message him when I found my phone.

With a sigh, I moved onto the purple envelope. It had a slightly iridescent sheen to it, making hints of blues and pink shine out in the light. I smiled softly, fingers tracing the shell shaped wax seal. I knew who wrote this one, even before unfolding the expensive feeling paper. The looping hand of the calligraphy inside fit the man who wrote it.

(Translated: Miss Bodyguard, The sunset has lost its magic. The fishes of the reef are complaining so loudly that I am losing sleep– their friend that walked the beaches hasn’t been by and won't be for a while! I had to tell them the news to get them to give me a moment's peace. My inspiration is all dried up like a desert. How could you get so injured like this and leave me all alone to my own defenses? How shall I survive being apart from you? I will shrivel up and die of loneliness like a starfish stranded all alone in too small a tide pool. Will you take responsibility? Who will help me find the perfect shell for my collection? I started a new one, ya know? Got a whole new crystal vase for it and everything. So… you have to get better soon and help me find more shells to keep it company, yeah? You’ve really got to learn to not face things on your own, yeah? These hands aren’t just for painting. You have me, ya know? I’ve heard whispers. Rumors. I do have connections, ya know? I know who let all of those monsters out– the ones that hurt you. The ones responsible will learn- The sea never forgets those that cast offenses against its own. Eternally Yours, Rafayel)

I frowned. What did he mean ‘These hands aren’t just for painting’? Sure, I knew that there was more to Rafayel than most realized; he did have connections to the Nest, but I couldn’t help the worry that filled my heart at his words. His words about the sea never forgetting sounded especially concerning. What in the world was that fish planning?

I needed to get out of here. I needed to get to the bottom of this mess before more people I cared about got hurt. I sat up and began peeling the tape of an I.V. off my arm.

“I highly recommend that you stop doing that.”

My head whipped to the otherside of the bed, the side not filled with flowers by the door. There in a chair looking suspiciously like he had been dozing shortly before now sat Zayne. I eyed the empty coffee cups on the bed tray next to us both and fixed him with an accusatory look, “Have you been here all day? You have to have been busy with the disaster. Go take a break. I will be fine.”

He grunted noncommittally as he stood, reaching for the stethoscope around his neck. He pressed it over my heart, green eyes narrowed with focus as he watched the monitor. It seemed he didn’t trust it to report completely; his shoe tapped on the tile of the hospital room floor along with my pulse as he counted. Satisfied, he finally met my gaze, “Mhm,” he nodded slightly, “And all that night until this morning. Your… partner was quite clear about you being left alone.” His eyes went to the tape I had begun to peel, one brow raising as he fished tape from the pocket of his white coat and fixed it. He looked at me pointedly, “It seems he knows you nearly as well as I do.”

I sat back a bit dazed, “All night and this morning…? How long have I been out?”

Zayne looked at his watch, “Well, the hunter-”

“Xavier.”

“-brought you in at around 7:47pm last night. Roughly… 1.25 hrs after the Square incident was ended-”

“By him.”

“So, that would mean you’ve been here getting the care you needed for about 41.55 hours or 1.73 days, give or take a few minutes.”

“What?” My brain hurt and I could tell he was ticked, whether it was at me or Xavier, that I didn’t know. “Zayne, talk to me like I’m dumb. How long have I been here?”

“You’re not dumb.”

“Let’s pretend I am,” I rubbed a hand over my face, “I have been here for over a day?”

“Almost 42 hours.”

“42-” I stopped and eyed him fiddling with the way my IV laid. My eyes narrowed, “You’ve been here the whole time?”

“Yes.”

“Wh- Why!?” No wonder he was tissy, “You need rest too! You have to take better care of yourself.”

The glare he leveled at me was almost icy but definitely put out. He picked up my chart and flipped through it: 

“Your rib wasn’t broken, but two were cracked. You likely coughed up blood due to the nasty bite to your tongue, which we found during examination. Your CT scan showed a mild concussion. I concluded that your main injuries were likely from a blunt and heavy force trauma hitting you from the right- something akin to but not exactly like a small compact car colliding with your person- causing the cracked ribs. You had whiplash of the neck to match this idea and a bump on the back of your head as well, likely from the impact and the subsequent landing of your skull to the concrete. You also had a slight sprain of your right ankle and wrist. Your heart was also in tachycardia and very nearly gave the whole heart team on call a very busy night indeed.”

My jaw snapped shut with an audible click and I plopped back on my bed. Pain radiated from my side and I winced, hand going over it to feel bandages.

Zayne clicked his tongue. He set the chart back down and set about fixing the pillow behind my head. He continued, though his tone was less harsh, softer, more worried. I felt awful for how scared he must've been,  “You had to have a total of 24 stitches. Try not to twist they are on your left side. Your Hunter friend, Xavier, was it?” I nodded. “He was correct. You did need an infusion...Two, in fact. One gash hit your intercostal arteries and another cut through a majority of your lumbar arteries branching below your ribs. It is a lot of blood flow, but... " He leaned back, seemingly satisfied with the pillow. His jaw ticked as he added, "Thankfully, no major artery was hit or you would have bled out during the 1.25 hrs that he delayed your care.”

“He didn’t delay my care on purpose,” I sighed feeling tired. Tired of his prickling mood, tired because I knew he was just worried and that made me feel like shit, tired from the emotions of the day before, and tired from the meds I was surely on. “I passed out, but I woke up. He had stopped the bleeding. And I honestly did not feel so bad.”

“I’m sure his… secret identity needing to remain a secret had nothing to do with it,” Zayne’s eye leveled with mine. 

I shook my head, “No. Not at all. It wasn’t until I started trying to move around that we both realized it was worse than we thought, and he immediately insisted on bringing me here, whether he was seen or not. It was me that had to convince him to be careful, otherwise he would’ve teleported us right in the middle of the Emergency Department or the OR itself.” I chuckled a bit at the thought of the nurses exclaiming as Lumiere appeared in a flash of light. I thought back to those last moments when I thought I was about to die. My voice shook slightly, “He saved my life, Zayne. I really thought I was going to die down there at the end.”

Zayne’s hand fell over mine on my blanket. He gave it a small squeeze, “If that is true... then I suppose, I owe him my thanks.”

I chuckled softly, “Whatever for? Saving your most difficult patient?”

“Hn,” he shook his head slightly, “For saving my childhood friend. My... dearest friend.”

I smiled at him at that, giving his hand a squeeze, “We’ve known each other a long time, huh?”

His mouth twitched in a near smile, as though he knew something I didn't. He glanced to the side and chuckled, “It almost feels like eternity.”

I grinned, chuckling softly as well. Curious, I asked, “Hey Zayne?”

“Hm?” He looked back. His expression back to the softer Zayne I usually knew when it was just us.

“What made you want to become a doctor?”

“My father.” His eyes darted to the side however.

“Zaaayne,” I whined playfully and wiggled his hand still in mine, “No, really. Why a heart doctor? Come on. It’s just me. I won't judge you or think it's lame. I promise.”

He sighed, “Very well… Once, when I was over playing with Caleb, I heard your Grandmother talking.” He paused, eyeing me hesitantly before continuing. “You had been sick. Very sick for a while. It was not too long after she brought you home. I’m not sure if you remember.”

“I do.” I had been terribly sick then. So much so that many of my memories were lost.

He nodded, “Well, I heard then that it was your heart making you sick. Then you got better��� and I got to know you. But sometimes… sometimes you’d get sick again. Never that bad but bad. Your Grandma always tried to look brave in front of Caleb and me, but we knew. It was then that I decided.”

My eyes widened, “You became a Cardiac Surgeon because of me?”

“Of course,” the green of his eyes looked intense and vivid as he stared back, “I wanted to be the one to save you. Of course I did, for you.”

“Zayne…” I trailed off. I didn’t know what to say. What could you say to something like that?

He tore his eyes away from mine and looked around the room. “Is it really so surprising? You have a way of making me care for you.” His eyes were soft and warm as they met mine again, “It is my honor to be able to help you in this way. If I could do it over, I would do the same.”

My eyes watered and I leaned up, throwing my arms around his neck, "Well that's not lame at all! That's so impossibly sweet."

“Careful,” He said but hugged me gently back. His ears were red.

“You are amazing, Zayne, you know that? I am so, so glad that we reconnected. I wish we never lost touch at all.”

His arms tightened just slightly, “I feel the same.”

I pulled back and couldn’t help the warm smile on my face, “You are such a good friend.”

He blinked a moment and at first I thought I had said something wrong, but then he smiled back, “I will always be here for you. As long as it makes you happy.”

I grinned, “It does.”

He feigned a sigh, “It is settled then. You are stuck with me.”

“Darn it,” I teased.

He chuckled, before looking more serious, “I do have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I… I know it is your job. I understand what it is to have a career that can push you. But I must insist that you not push yourself so far. You were the only hunter to sustain this level and amount of injuries. Everyone else pulled back and allowed a replacement to go in.”

I had to look away from his searching green eyes. The pain in them made a cloud of guilt swell in my gut.

“Why do you have to take such unnecessary risks?” He leaned his elbows on the edge of the bed, “Please. Help me understand.”

“I had planned to find a safe place to go.” My mind replayed the scene. “Captain Jenna was trying to tell me something, but the signal was bad. I was heading out but then I heard them…”

“Who?”

“A Mother and child. They were trapped behind the entrance of a cafe that collapsed.” I shook my head, “I knew I needed help and sent word but then these three huge Wanderers just appeared, almost like out of thin air.”

Zayne brows furrowed, “They didn’t give off a metaflux surge?”

“They did, but it was almost instantaneous with their appearance.”

“That seems… unnatural.”

“I think… it was…” my eyes met his, “I have not made my report yet though. There will have to be an investigation…”

“But you think something or someone caused this?”

“... Yes, I do.”

He sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbed his face. “I guess… it is a good thing then.”

“Huh?”

“That Lumiere is back. Or at least, that he came back for this. For you.”

"I don't think it was just for me," face heating, I looked into my lap deep in thought.

Zayne hummed, "Perhaps."

I thought about the odd Wanderers in the Square then earlier on set. And about those guys cornering Xavier in that alley. I frowned. What was going on?

“Promise me that you won't do anything rash,” He caught my gaze, “Let the proper channels do their work. We’ve…both of us…have already lost. Let’s not add to that list.”

My chest panged at that. It was true. Zayne lost Caleb, just as I had. I nodded, “Yeah, okay.”

He smiled a soft smile at that then stood, glancing at his watch, “Well, I suppose I should get started on your paperwork.”

My eyes lit up, “I’m going home!?”

He tutted, “You will be after 8 tonight.” I groaned at that and he shook his head, brow raised, “I only agreed to that because your partner assured me that you would not so much as lift a finger for the next two to three weeks if I released you to his care.”

“You… What?” I blinked, “Two to three weeks!”

“Cracked ribs, Y/N. You Association will determine the exact length, but I have submitted my suggestions as your Doctor,” he reminded me, “Now then, he will be here after 8. Since you are being released I figured that it wouldn’t be too bad if I brought you something to eat.”

“You mean I don’t have to eat hospital food!” I laughed at his huff, “Even you have to admit it is awful.”

“The choices can be… limited.”

I scoffed, “The food tastes like cardboard or salt cakes and there is no in-between.”

That earned a chuckle. He was trying not to grin as he suggested, “Your favorite from the nearby cafe?”

“YES.”

A snort.

I grinned, “You just snorted.”

“... You’re high. It’s the meds.”

“Zayne!”

“Oh look, I’m being paged…”

“Zayne! You are off duty! You’re not even wearing a badge!” I laughed at his retreating figure, “Wait, Zayne! Come back I wont tease you about it! Snorting when you laugh is cute!”

“Just for that, no dessert.”

“You’re evil.”

“Just petty.”

“Zayne!”

This one took me a WHILE. I think it is the longest chapter so far and I almost chopped it in half AGAIN (originally this was part of chapter 4!)

The guys letters gave me trouble. I couldn't figure out how to include their handwriting and really wanted to. IDK how the heck to do code in tumblr, so I just made the letters into images and included translations for those that have a hard time with loopy fonts or that use accommodations. If you still had an issue, let me know and I will help you out by sending the letter text in a different way or something. I want to be inclusive and am open to tips!

I personally loved this chapter. I loved adding more intimate moments between Xavier and "Us". I let "Y/N" have more of a voice and I think I am having more fun with this than I even was before. Hopefully, you all are liking how she is coming across.

This chapter was also a bit of a love letter to Zayne. While he is not my main now, he was way I started playing and will always have a special place in my heart just for him. I hope he wasn't too ooc. Poor Zayne was *stressed* and suspicious for a lot of this. Still, I am comfortable (I think) with how it came out in the end.

Let me know what you all thought of this one! Did you like Sylus and Rafayel's letters? Anything you didn't like? Give me the DEETS.

Tag list:

@xxfaithlynxx @moonsavior @2kyute2poot @yournextdoorhousewitch @sapphoslostkid @ivohex @cherimoyatea @sandy2848582 @adorezhi @animecrazy76

As always, thank you for your support and for reading! Please comment to be added to the list!

[hivemuthur]

What was that? - Ch. 8.

viktorxfemale!OFC mature! (for now, I will mark later chapters as explicit when the time comes

friends to lovers, co-workers, sexual tension up to the wazoo, pinning and banter that got me frustrated when I was writing it, attempt at humour, some angst and a slow burn with a happy ending and a classic Viktor for once

Ch.1. | Ch.2. | Ch.3. | Ch.4. | Ch.5. | Ch.6. | Ch.7. | Ch.9. | Ch.10. | Ch.11. | Ch.12. | Ch.13. | Ch.14. | Ch.15.

word count: 4,6K

tag: #what was that

summary: More banter and slight angst! Jayce speaks French, and we are about to even out with AO3 which means I will post chapter 10 in two days :)

author’s note: Beta reader: @rennethen

Cross-posted on AO3

—

A week had passed since their trip to the Undercity, though the memory of their near-moment lingered like a stubborn ember refusing to die out. Viktor had kept his distance, returning to his meticulous work, while Renly buried herself in testing the formula. She really wanted to make it before the gala on upcoming weekend. The tension between them was not sharp or angry but... unresolved. Words left unsaid.

Now, as she stood at the threshold of his workspace, cradling the first viable test sample in her hands, that tension seemed to knot her throat. She tapped softly on the metal frame of the door, and Viktor turned, his golden eyes catching hers.

“Viktor,” she began, her voice betraying her nerves, “I—um—I wanted to show you something.”

He set aside the intricate mechanism he’d been tinkering with and gave her his full attention. “What is it?”

Renly crossed the room slowly, holding the small vial out like an offering. “The cure… or at least, the first viable iteration of it. It’s ready for testing.”

Viktor’s gaze dropped to the vial in her hands. His expression, as always, was difficult to read, but there was a flicker of something—curiosity, maybe even hope. She couldn’t be sure.

“I thought,” Renly continued hesitantly, “that you might—well, you might want to try it. But only if you’re comfortable. I don’t want you to feel like…” She trailed off, suddenly aware of how heavy the moment felt. “Like I’m treating you as some sort of… experiment.”

Viktor took the vial from her with gentle hands, his fingers brushing against hers for a fraction of a second. “You would never,” he said softly, his voice carrying a certainty that made her stomach flip. He studied the vial, the pale, faintly glowing liquid catching the light.

Renly twisted her hands nervously. “I just... I know how much you’ve already risked, and I don’t want you to feel like I’m—”

“Renly,” he interrupted, looking up at her. His eyes, earnest and steady, caught hers and held them. “You are not asking anything I would not willingly give.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The words he’d just said hung between them, weighted with layers of meaning that neither dared unpack.

“You trust me that much?” she asked, her voice quieter now.

Viktor’s lips curved into a faint smile, one corner of his mouth lifting slightly higher than the other. “More than you realize.”

Her chest tightened at the sincerity in his voice. She wanted to respond, to say something meaningful, but her thoughts tangled together. Instead, she nodded, and handed him a small parchment with dosage instructions, her own tentative smile matching his.

Viktor glanced back at the vial, his expression turning contemplative. “If this works,” he murmured, half to himself, “you will have done something remarkable—not just for me, but for all of Zaun. I hope you see that.”

His words sank in, and for the first time, she felt the enormity of what she was trying to accomplish—the weight of all those counting on her, including Viktor himself.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” she said, attempting a lightness she didn’t quite feel. “It’s only the first trial.”

“Even so,” Viktor replied, his gaze lifting back to hers, “it is a step forward. And for that, I am grateful.”

With that, Viktor pocketed the vial, his movements deliberate, his expression unreadable once more. The moment stretched on before he turned back to his desk. “I will let you know how it goes.”

Renly hesitated for a moment longer, wanting to say something—anything—that might ease the invisible wall that had risen between them since that night in the Undercity. But in the end, she simply nodded and slipped out of the room, her heart heavy with things left unsaid.

***

The grand day had finally arrived. Viktor and Jayce were rehearsing their presentations for the fundraising gala. They knew their work inside and out—every discovery with Hextech had been thoroughly tested and meticulously documented. The primary focus of their practice speeches, however, was to ensure that Piltover's wealthy elite would view their innovations as they did: a beacon of life-changing progress, meant to be harnessed for peaceful purposes.

“She’s late,” Jayce muttered, glancing at the clock. “Renly’s never late. What if she bailed on us?”

Viktor didn’t look up from his notes. “She would not do that. Perhaps she is simply… taking her time.”

Jayce opened his mouth to argue, but the creak of the lab door froze him mid-step. Both men turned toward the sound.

Renly stepped inside, and for a moment, time seemed to pause. Her heels clicked softly against the tiled floor, their sharp rhythm underscoring the quiet hum of the lab’s machines. But it wasn’t just her entrance that demanded attention—it was everything else.

Gone was the practicality of her work attire, the reliable fabrics stained by chemicals and the scuffs from long hours. In their place was a dress—blood red, sleek, and elegant, a daring statement of confidence and boldness that seemed to make the very air around her shimmer. It hugged her frame tastefully, the neckline hinting at daring but never straying into excess. A delicate silver chain rested against her collarbone, the simple accessory accentuating her sharp features. Her hair was swept back, leaving her face unobscured, framed by the glow of polished poise.

“Sorry I’m late,” Renly said, her voice casual as she set her bag down. “Had to find something that wasn’t covered in stains.”

Viktor stared. His brain, so capable in the realm of logic and science, utterly failed him now. Words tangled in his throat like frayed wires, and after a pause that seemed eternal, he finally managed to stammer, “You look… astonishing.”

The word lingered, weightier than intended. Jayce stopped pacing, eyebrows lifting in shock, his head snapping toward Viktor as if to confirm he’d heard correctly. Viktor stiffened almost immediately, his grip tightening on the cane as he realized what he’d said aloud. He cleared his throat, looking away in a feeble attempt to recover.

Renly, however, didn’t miss a beat. Amusement flickered in her eyes as a slow smile curved her lips. She tilted her head, her tone playful but warm as she responded, “Thank you, Viktor.” A slight pause, and then, with the faintest edge of mischief, “I could say the same about you, but I’m not sure ‘astonishing’ is the right word for a man who insists on wearing a cravat to every occasion.”

Jayce burst into laughter, loud and sudden, while Viktor shot him a withering sidelong glare. His discomfort deepened as Renly took a step closer, her grin widening.

“But it suits you,” she added, her voice softening but still teasing. Her eyes locked on his, glimmering with an energy he didn’t quite know how to place. “Distinguished, refined… and maybe just a little bit pretentious.”

Jayce leaned against the counter, practically doubled over from laughing. Viktor’s composure frayed further, his ears burning crimson at the edges. “I am glad my wardrobe provides such endless entertainment,” he muttered, his voice dry but noticeably tight.

Renly chuckled, the sound light and unbothered. “Alright, boys, let’s get these speeches sorted. I didn’t put on this dress just to make fun of Viktor.” Her gaze lingered on him for half a second longer than necessary before she added, with a smirk, “Though that is a very nice bonus.”

Jayce continued to snicker, but Viktor barely noticed. He exhaled slowly, forcing himself to focus on the notes in his hand even as his thoughts refused to follow suit. Renly moved toward the blackboard, her heels clicking against the floor like punctuation marks, commanding attention with every step.

For a fleeting moment, Viktor allowed himself to watch her, unguarded, unrestrained. His equilibrium, so carefully maintained in all other matters, was noticeably absent. But despite the flustered edges of his thoughts, one truth remained clear: whatever chaos Renly brought, he didn’t mind.

“I have to be honest with you guys—I am scared shitless,” Renly said, turning on her heel. She spoke more to the room than to her friends.

“What…? Why?” Jayce snorted at her blunt statement. “You’ve got this. Besides, Renly, you’re the only one of us who has fresh presentation practice. You teach students all the time!”

“I know, I know,” she said with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. “But with the students, I know I’m talking to people who at least try to understand what I’m explaining.” She paused, her tone carrying a hint of exasperation. “Here, we’re presenting to people who might not have the slightest clue about the science—and on top of that, we have to… balance it,” she mused, pacing back and forth in front of the blackboard.

Viktor’s lips curled into a smirk as he watched her pace, her earlier worry still etched on her face. He decided to step in—not just to own his earlier compliment, but also to draw her focus away from her nerves. “I doubt the poor boy Ezra would survive if you showed up to teach class in this dress,” he remarked, his tone light but teasing.

Renly blinked, caught off guard for a moment before her wit kicked in. “And here I was, thinking it was you who’d be his doom if he ever came near me again.”

Viktor tilted his head slightly, his smile widening as though conceding the point. “I think if you simply be yourself tonight, no one will dare to refuse you funding—or misplace your work—for fear of being eviscerated by your words,” he said, a flicker of amusement dancing in his eyes.

Jayce glanced at the clock and clapped his hands together. “Alright, folks, time to go! Vite, vite!”

Renly grabbed her coat and, as they headed out the door, leaned in just close enough to whisper to Viktor, “By the way, I actually think you look very nice tonight too.”

***

She was right—it was absolutely terrifying. Bright lights, the constant hum of voices and laughter, the clinking of cutlery, the swell of music, and the shuffle of footsteps all blended into one overwhelming cacophony, crashing over Renly’s senses in unrelenting waves. Strangers brushed past her, their hands grazing her bare shoulders or the small of her back as they squeezed through the crowded room. The invasion of personal space only heightened her unease.

This was nothing like her classes. Her students were quiet and predictable in comparison—tame, even. But this… this was—

“You look pale.”

Viktor’s low voice cut through the din, and she felt his presence behind her before she saw him. He leaned in close, his breath warm against her ear, carrying the faint, teasing scent of champagne. The unexpected intimacy of it made her shiver.

“Are you alright?”

“Totally,” she lied, her fingers fidgeting in front of her in a telltale gesture of discomfort.

“I know that ‘totally.’ It is no good,” Viktor said softly, concern shadowing his expression. Gently, he turned her to face him, his hand brushing against hers. “What do you need?”

“Quiet. And, um… a drink, maybe?” Renly raised an eyebrow, half-joking, as if gauging whether Viktor would judge her for indulging in a little liquid courage before the important presentation. “If you don’t think it would be… improper.”

Viktor didn’t hesitate. “Come.” He offered his hand, his tone gentle yet firm.

Renly took it without thinking, letting herself be guided toward the balcony. As they passed a waiter, Viktor paused and gestured toward the tray of champagne flutes. “Will you manage two? My hands are a little… busy,” he said, his smile playful as he raised their intertwined palms toward the view. Of course, the cane. She forgot briefly.

The crisp air of the evening was like a balm, soothing her stressed body with its cool touch. As they stepped out onto the balcony, the noise of the gala dimmed, and Renly found herself breathing more easily, the weight of the chaos inside melting away. She leaned against the railing, letting the quiet settle around her like a protective shield.

Viktor, ever observant, stood beside her for a moment, watching her with a soft intensity. “I know that feeling,” he said quietly. “The world getting too loud, the weight of the eyes on you. If you need some grounding, or maybe just a pep talk before you face the stage…” He trailed off, waiting for her response.

Renly glanced at him, a small smile tugging at her lips despite the tension still coiling in her stomach. “What do you have in mind?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity mingling with her unease.

Viktor moved closer, propping his cane carefully against the railing. He turned to face her fully, and for a moment, all the noise of the event seemed to fade into the background. His hands landed gently on her shoulders, steadying her. His touch was firm but not controlling, a reminder of his quiet strength, and when his eyes met hers, she saw something rare there—genuine care, but also something deeper.

“You go up on that stage,” Viktor said, his voice low and steady, the words almost like a command. “It’s quiet, there is only you. All those people, they should be scared of you, not you of them. What you are capable of. How wise you are. How strong.”

Renly’s breath caught in her throat as she absorbed his words. His gaze held her, unwavering, as though he were willing her to believe in her own power. She felt the words sink deep, quieting the storm of nerves that had been brewing inside her.

“And now,” he continued, his voice softer but still firm, “drink.”

Renly’s fingers tightened around the champagne flute, her eyes lingering on his face as the brief moment stretched out between them. The warmth of his presence, his steadying touch, and the sheer simplicity of his confidence seemed to wash over her. She took a deep breath, the knot in her chest loosening as she sipped from her glass, the cool liquid running smoothly down her throat.

In that moment, on the balcony under the dim light of the stars, it felt as though the world had narrowed down to just the two of them. The gala, the people, the expectations—everything faded away, leaving only Viktor and his quiet strength. There was no pressure, no judgment, just a calm understanding between them.

Renly let herself relax, letting Viktor’s presence anchor her. She wasn’t alone in this. She had her work. She had her mind. And, in a way she hadn’t fully realized until now, she had Viktor. She gave him a small, grateful smile, the tension in her shoulders melting further as she felt his steady gaze on her.

“Alright,” she murmured, setting the glass down. “I’m ready.”

Viktor’s lips twitched into a smile, though it was subtle. He gave her shoulders a final squeeze, his hands slipping away. “You’ve always been ready.”

***

Renly’s heart still fluttered as the echoes of applause faded away, the weight of the speech finally lifting from her shoulders. The donors had been impressed, their pledges securing two years of funding for her research—a small victory in the grander scheme, but one that felt monumental to her. She spotted Viktor in the crowd as she finished, his gaze steady and approving, but when the applause died down and the crowd shifted, he was nowhere to be found. She felt an odd pang of disappointment, but quickly shook it off, knowing he’d likely retreated to avoid the attention she was receiving.

She was about to step off the stage when Jayce appeared, grinning broadly. “Renly! You did it! I told you, you’d kill it up there.” His voice was warm with pride, and he clapped her on the back before pulling her into a tight hug. Renly laughed, a little breathless.

“You weren’t wrong,” she admitted. “Though I’m sure you just wanted me to do well for the sake of your own ego. You did help me practice a lot.”

“Of course, it was for you,” Jayce teased, “but mostly because now I can say I knew you when you became a star.” His grin grew wider as Mel Medarda approached with her usual effortless elegance.

Renly’s eyes lit up when she saw her. “Mel, you look absolutely beautiful as usual.” The words slipped out naturally, and there was an affectionate tone in her voice. The inside joke between them—how Mel Medarda, despite whatever else might happen, was always beautiful—never grew old.

Mel gave her a teasing glance. “Thank you, Renly,” she said, “though you’re not too bad yourself.” She shot a sideways glance at Jayce, who was still laughing at Renly’s comment. “It’s good to see you so relaxed. You seemed like a completely different person up there. Confident. Powerful.”

“I don’t think I could’ve done it without Viktor,” Renly replied, before realizing how much that might imply. She quickly added, “You know, his advice. He’s always been the calm in the chaos. You’ve probably noticed.”

Mel raised an eyebrow, but before she could comment, a few other guests approached, eager to congratulate Renly. She graciously accepted their compliments on her work, her mind drifting slightly as more drinks were brought her way. The weight of the evening started to feel more like a pleasant haze as the alcohol began to take effect, loosening her up a little. She could feel herself getting a little warmer, the buzz of the evening mixing with the buzz from the champagne.

When the conversation began to dwindle and the crowd dispersed, Renly found herself slipping back out onto the balcony, craving the quiet again. The cool air welcomed her, and she leaned against the railing, taking a long breath to steady herself. It was then that she heard Viktor’s soft footsteps approaching behind her.

“Thought I might find you here,” he said quietly, standing beside her. He had a glass in his hand, but it seemed he’d had much less to drink than she had. Still, the slight edge of warmth in her words betrayed the effect the alcohol was having on her.

“I’m glad you came,” Renly said, her words a little more slurred than she intended. “I thought you disappeared on me.”

“I’m never far, Renly,” Viktor replied, his voice steady, though his gaze softened as he studied her. “How are you feeling? Your speech was brilliant. I have no idea how you can be so brilliant, but I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me.”

Renly smiled, though her cheeks flushed slightly from the compliment. “I couldn’t have done it without you,” she murmured, her voice dipping into something more sincere. She turned toward him slightly, her words flowing faster than she meant. “You’ve always been the one who steadies me. The one who helps me see things clearly, even when the world’s too loud. I—I wouldn’t be here without your guidance. Your strength. It’s—”

Her words faltered, and she suddenly caught herself. She was bordering on saying too much, on revealing something she wasn’t ready to say. The vulnerability felt too raw. She blinked, clearing her throat, trying to regain some composure.

“Dance with me?” she said suddenly, her voice less steady now but still filled with something unspoken.

Viktor blinked, caught off guard by her request. “I... I don’t dance,” his voice quiet as he fixed his eyes on the floor, shifting uncomfortably.

“I don’t know what else to call what you’ve been doing around me those last couple of months,” she blurted out before she could stop, earning herself a concerned smile from him.

Viktor’s breath hitched, the weight of her words settling on him, both unexpected and revealing. He had hoped his attention to her, the fleeting moments between them, had gone unnoticed. But here she was, calling it out, putting words to the tension that had been building between them. He quickly glanced away, feeling the heat of her gaze lingering, but he couldn’t shake the unease that crept in. He didn't know how to navigate this space they were now in.

“I could offer my assistance in walking you home. It was a long evening,” Viktor said, his voice taking on a more neutral tone as he ignored her comment, though the sting of it lingered. She had noticed. All of those brief, charged exchanges between them.

But now—now she seemed to be asking for something more. And that, more than anything, left him unsure.

Renly saw the hesitation in his eyes, and she felt a familiar knot form in her stomach. She had never been good at reading the signs, but she couldn’t ignore the way Viktor had looked at her, the way he’d touched her, the quiet moments that seemed to speak volumes. It all seemed to point to something, didn’t it? Yet here he was, avoiding it.

“I didn’t mean to...” she trailed off, suddenly unsure of herself. “I’m not asking for anything. I just thought... Maybe I misread things.” Her voice softened, the alcohol having loosened her tongue and her thoughts. “But if that’s not what you want, it’s okay. I’m just...” She paused, biting her lip as she tried to steady herself.

Viktor let the silence hang between them for a moment, his hand resting gently at her waist. He could feel the weight of her uncertainty, but it mirrored his own. He had become used to playing the steady, composed part of the equation, but tonight, that seemed harder than ever. He wanted to reassure her, to say something that would ease the tension, but his mind was clouded, and he didn’t quite know what to say.

Instead, he took a step closer, his hand slightly tightening around her waist. “You’ve had quite the night, Renly,” he said quietly. “I can see it in your eyes. But if you need to talk about any of this… I will listen.”

Renly met his gaze, her eyes soft and searching, but it was clear she was still a little lost in her own thoughts. She sighed and, without thinking, rested her forehead against his chest. She felt a small sense of comfort in the steady rhythm of his heartbeat beneath her.

“I don’t know how to be around you anymore, Viktor,” she murmured, her voice almost too soft to hear. “But maybe I’m tired of pretending I don’t feel it. Whatever this is between us.”

Viktor’s throat tightened as he looked down at her, his own feelings echoing hers. He had always been a master of keeping his emotions in check, but there was something about Renly that disarmed him. Something about her presence, the way she made him feel both grounded and entirely lost at the same time.

His greatest fear still stood unshaken, though: the fear of anyone, of her, seeing how incomplete he was, how damaged. He did feel slightly better since he started taking her formula, but it was too early to tell. Still, this would only solve one of his problems. Admittedly, that problem was imminent death, but the liability of his spine, of his leg, would remain with him forever. He never allowed anyone to stay with him on this journey for longer than a flicker of time—fleeting affairs, singular events, neither forgotten nor remembered in much detail. He feared dependency. His entire body feared her and screamed for her at the same time.

“I’m not pretending,” he whispered, his voice low, the words coming more easily now that they were alone in the quiet of the night. He paused, as if searching for the right words. “But sometimes it’s easier to stay silent than to risk... changing things.”

Renly pulled back just slightly, lifting her head to meet his eyes, and in that moment, she saw the vulnerability in his gaze, the uncertainty that had always been there but that he kept hidden so well.

“I don’t want to change things,” she said quietly, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I just want to know if you feel it too.”

The question hung between them, and for the first time that evening, Viktor didn’t have the answer ready. The words came from the part of him that was strongest—the one that was protecting him from himself. “I don’t have an answer, Renly. But I think… maybe we should get back to this when we are both… rested.” He really wanted to avoid using the word ‘drunk.’ He felt her face wrinkle on his chest as she turned away, trying to hide her expression.

“Yes, that’s fair. I’ll get home by myself just fine,” Renly threw over her shoulder, her voice straining.

“Are you—” Before Viktor could finish his question, she cut him off. “Please. I’ll see you on Monday.”

[expresso-bean]

The Man Out of Time [A ShadAmy and Silver Story]: Chapter 23

Pairing: Shadow the Hedgehog x Amy Rose

Description: It has been seven years of peace following the grueling war with Eggman and his army. Though it took time to rebuild what they have lost, life for the Freedom Fighters could not be better. Whether it's finding love or trying to run from their past, celebrating post-war times has been different for each of them.

All is well until a silver hedgehog comes knocking on Amy Rose's door to deliver the tragic news about an incredible force that seems to be the cause of the future's destruction.

Will anyone believe the mysterious hedgehog's cry for help? Or will he be left to fight for his future alone? Read to find out!

Word Count: 1.9k

POV: Silver the Hedgehog

!! I do not own any of the art/gifs/borders used in my chapters. All credits to the rightful owners !!

Masterlist ❀ Ch.1 ❀ Ch.2 ❀ Ch.3 ❀ Ch.4 ❀ Ch.5 ❀ Ch.6 ❀ Ch.7 ❀ Ch.8 ❀ Ch.9 ❀ Ch.10 ❀ Ch.11 ❀ Ch.12 ❀ Ch.13 ❀ Ch.14 ❀ Ch.15 ❀ Ch.16 ❀ Ch.17 ❀ Ch.18 ❀ Ch.19 ❀ Ch.20 ❀ Ch.21 ❀ Ch.22

I had several doubts that someone like Sonic, at least in this present, would ever be able to commit a single act of selflessness. I was thankful to be wrong, and even more grateful to see he won't try and intervene in my parents' personal lives anytime soon.

"I should probably go. S and the others are helping others evacuate to the shelters."

"S?"

'Shit.'

I looked around in panic. I had no idea I was able to teleport in the first place, and now I'm forced to not only learn but master it enough to get outside of the front door.

'What do I do? How do I do? How did I even do this?'

My head filling with thoughtlessness and solutions that lead to nowhere. I've been in worse situations, ones where I barely escape with my life. But this time, it isn't my life on the line, but my reputation. It is either reveal myself to my mother and Sonic and look terrible for eavesdropping on their personal conversation, look suspicious by walking out of the house by myself, or bet on Sonic to bail me out which, after everything that has happen, he might need some outlet to release his anger from getting his heart broken by my mother. All these are options that I dread. 

'What am I supposed to do? Everyone is outside...they'll see me if I try to escape...what am I supposed to do!'

"Oh," I perked my head up at the sound of Sonic's voice trailing. I felt the embarrassment rise within him before letting out a heartfelt sigh. "Um, you go on ahead, if you don't mind, I want a moment to myself."

Amy let out a nervous chuckle, confused.

"O-oh, that's okay," Amy waved the awkwardness off before heading towards the door. "...did you want to talk about it? It doesn't have to be right now, but...I worry about you, you know?"

Sonic smiled before nodding and leaning his body further onto the couch. I could feel his urge to cry grow by the second. I knew if my mother stuck around for a bit longer, he would break down then and there.

"Alright then, I'm off," Amy rushed back to Sonic and kissed him softly on the top of his quills before running off towards the door. "I'll see you outside then!"

"I'll see you in a minute." 

Upon the sound of the door closing, I heard Sonic groan. The sadness he had built up finally began to spill. Tears silently spilled as his body shook with the pain of heartache.

'How could I...' Sonic thought. '...believe she could ever love me again?'

Although it stung me to hear Sonic cry, I had to admit that I do not feel bad for him at all. It could be that I am a bit biased, but I knew that wasn't it. He had his chance, and he made my mother insecure about anyone ever loving her genuinely. It took a lot for her to build herself back up after years of humiliating rejection. His heartbreak is understandable, but I could never empathize with it. 

"I-I-I...I-I do-don-don't even-even kno-kno-know wha-what to s-sa-say."

'You don't have to say anything, just leave so I can practice trying to teleport so I can GET OUT OF HERE.'

By screaming in my head, my body jumped a bit and my head hit the knob of the kitchen drawer above me. It wasn't the actual hit that hurt me, but I sucked in my teeth at the loud noise that came from the impact.

'Uh-oh.'

Each step he took was a blur to me. I didn't even sense him coming in my direction. All I know is that in a blink of an eye, Sonic was standing right before me, his face filled with a menacing look and his fists up and ready to attack.

"Oh," Sonic's voice softened, but his expression stayed the same. "it's you."

' Just play it cool. He'll leave you alone after you make it clear you aren't messing around anymore. He doesn't deserve answers after what he did.'

"Yes, it's me."

'That wasn't cool at all! I gotta try and get out of here. At least before he does anything he'll regret.'

I quickly turned around, opting to leave rather than bear the awkwardness of having to see his face. After the altercation that happened between him, Shadow, and I, it wasn't out of the ordinary for me to want a break from his face.

'I didn't think it was possible for him to lose control like that. I guess he really has always been this cranky.'

"Wait!" He stood in front of the door, his arms wide. I stiffly stood upright in shock. "You're not getting out of this that easily." 

'I'm still not used to how fast he is. Even with the added context that he is one of the fastest things alive.'

"What are you even doing here?"

I unfixed my jacket exaggeratedly. I hoped it would prove to him that this time I was done giving him chances.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

His arms folded and he rolled his eyes. I just stared at him, in awe at the fact that he is the one giving me attitude after he attacked me. 

"Sheesh, I was just trying to be nice."

"Now you want to be nice? You can't be serious!" As I approached him, he put up his hands  nonchalantly. I could feel my face growing warm with anger. He didn't even look my way when I pointed a finger to his face. "After everything that happened, you think I'll except your kindness?"

"Hey, that isn't fair! You started this fight. I was never going to act on my feelings, but you're the one who made a big deal about it!"

"I made a big deal about it because it wasn't fair to my mother or Sally!"

"Hey, don't bring her into this!"

Sonic put down his hands, I moved his leg forward as if he was prepping himself to lunge at me if necessary. It didn't scare me. I knew how desperate he was for me to keep my mouth shut.

"You forget one thing, Sonic."

"What?"

"I'm not scared of you. If our fight taught me anything is that I will stop at nothing to to protect the future of everyone I hold dear."

"I see that."

'Shadow won't be around to stop him forever. And although I know I can defend myself, it wouldn't look good to anyone if I attacked their leader for no apparent reason,' My jaw locked. It felt like I was stuck. 'Ugh! I didn't come here be apart of some petty drama. But, I guess, whether I like it or not, I need Sonic's help for this all to work.'

"Despite everything," I sighed. I almost didn't want to offer any sympathy to him. Although nothing happened, there was a icky feeling that weighed on my chest about the entire situation. "I'm glad you came to your senses."

"Oh," His voice grew quiet as he stared right at me. It wasn't a menacing glare, as I expected. Moreso it was one of deep shame. I've never seen someone so grand look so small before. "so you heard everything?"

"Y-yeah. Unfortunately." 

'He's still looking at me like that. I didn't even do anything wrong! He's the one that got caught, why be mad at me?' I shook my head, holding in a sigh. 'I shouldn't give away myself so easily. No, I need something under my sleeve, even if I can barely use it right now, I can train myself up to making it stronger.'

"Look, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but it would have been awkward if I had just walked out while you both were having a clearly private conversation."

Sonic nodded. His eyes were still blank, but he seemed to be pondering about something.

'I can't tell what he's feeling. It's like,' My eyes widened a bit before I forced myself to relax. Sonic, despite looking at my the entire time, didn't react to my little facial fumble. 'He isn't feeling anything. Did one conversation devoid him of that much emotion?'

"Look, about what happened."

"Hm?"

Sonic slowly moved toward the counter and leaned against it with his arms crossed. 

'Is he going to...?'

 "I'm... I'm sorry."

'HE ACTUALLY APOLOGIZED?'

"I didn't know what I was thinking, and I know that isn't an excuse, but," He turned his head away from me. I can see the tension growing in his face as he shut his eyes closed. "How I acted wasn't right, and I'm sorry for that."

'What do I do? Sonic isn't evil. I know he isn't,' I couldn't look at him for long. Something inside me twitched with the feeling of uneasiness. 'He's making a lot of mistakes. Like, he's selfish, but he's recognizing that he isn't immune from the consequences.'

Sonic looked over at me briefly. He had the face of a guilty man. I have no doubt that he genuinely regrets what he did. Still, I shouldn't determine whether or not he is worthy of forgiveness.

'He basically cheated on his wife. I can't see past that. I feel guilty just thinking about it!'

"Sonic?"

He didn't hum or say anything at the sound of his name. He slowly looked up at me, a look of sadness on his face.

'For this to work, I'm going to have to keep my distance, at least until he and Sally resolve whatever is happening between them. As much as I hate to say it, it isn't my place to say anything.'

"Let's try and put all of this behind us, we have bigger things to be worried about," Sonic nodded unconvincingly. It was as if he was waiting for me to say something else. "But this is the last time I'm going to tell you to stay of my mother and father's relationship."

"I understand," Sonic sounded rather sincere despite the look on his face. Considering all this is his fault, I could only feel so bad for him. Would he still look this guilty if I had never found out in the first place? "I'm sorry for being so stupid with all of this."

"You have a beautiful fiancé, focus on her rather than others. I would have told her if it was up to me, but I won't since I have no idea what repercussions it might have on the future."

"Thank you for that."

"I don't want your thanks," I tsked rather annoyingly. I could feel my patience thinning the longer the conversation lasts. "I don't mean to be rude, but there are more important things that we need to focus on. We have a lot of training and picking up to do. As much as I hate to admit, your friends will follow you to the ends of the world. Even Amy. I need her to be focused, and without you're distractions."

"I promise. I'm all in on this. No more fighting."

Looking over at him was like looking in a mirror. We both had that same expression of guilt. I couldn't help but be angry at how unfair this entire situation felt. The worst part is I knew he also understood what I was feeling. Yet, he hasn't said a single word about it.

"You better be right."

'For your own sake. I'm done letting you hurt other people for your own selfish reasons.'

"Let's get going. I'm sure Amy and the others are waiting for us."

"Right," I nodded. "Let's get this done!"

[thenextdawn-temporarilyclosed]

One of Your Kind (Ch. 7)

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10

Word count: 4.2K

Summary: your birthday party gets ruined and so does the last month of filming. What else could go wrong?

Warnings: swearing, mentions of past trauma

Pairing: Jenna Ortega X Fem!Reader

———

March 2022

Well, you and Jenna had finally established your relationship and the two of you had the most perfect of relationships. You had recovered well from the gunshot but Jenna always made sure you didn’t overwork yourself even if now you could do everything like you used to before. Jenna always wore the necklace you got her, and even posted it on instagram. The two of you didn’t make your relationship public and you hadn’t even talked about it yet, you just wanted to let it flow naturally and see where it led you. Until She was filming, you were sure that your relationship was gonna stay private, because Jenna didn’t have time for interviews and paparazzi weren’t around, even though there were a couple articles from when you and her were seen together at the airport, but no one really thought anything of it because knowing that you were her director they thought it was a business trip.

Your birthday was approaching. It had been years since you last celebrated it, you just spent it like a normal days. You didn’t usually hear happy birthday songs, you didn’t receive any gift and you liked it like this. You weren’t one for attentions which is why you didn’t say anything about your birthday to the people on set, except for Jenna and you specifically told her that you wanted no gift, you didn’t want to celebrate it because you had been doing it like this since forever… which is exactly what led Jenna to set up a surprise party for you. “Okay, so what we’re gonna do is, the local is all set up and we just need to-“ Jenna’s speech was interrupted by Emma telling her to shut up as you were there. You walked over to Jenna and wrapped your arms around her from behind. “Good evening Jen” you said and kissed her cheek, you hadn’t seen her all morning but just holding her was enough for you. “Hey you” she said and turned around in your arms, putting her own around your shoulder. She knew better than to wish you happy birthday in front of everyone else.

Emma and the others left to give the two of you some privacy, and You just smiled at her and moved a few hair out of her face. “You look gorgeous as always” you told her as you just snuggled in to hide your face in the crook of her neck. She giggled and held you close, kissing your forehead. “What’s up with the compliments today?” She asked as you looked up at her, with a shrug and a loving smile. “Am I not allowed to compliment my girlfriend?” You said and kissed her jaw softly. You were the kind of girl that loved physical contact and lucky for you, Jenna was the same. She giggled again “you’re very cuddly too” she said and brushed her own nose with yours. “Mhhh yes. It’s my birthday and I want to spend it with you” Jenna smiled and cuddled with you until it was tine to ger back on set. She loved this side of you and she was glad you were slowly opening up yourself more, you were completely yourself only around her and she couldn’t be happier.

That day, you’d always find a moment to at least hug her or steal her a kiss between a scene and the other. “Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight? At least we can spend some more quality time together” she said as you were setting up for her next scene “that sounds really nice” you said and smiled at her. Good, Jenna thought, at least she had convinced you to go out for dinner, so that the surprise party could actually happen. She told you to dress up nicely as she had something “cute” planned, and you were really, really curious. As the car approached the local you couldn’t help but try and push on the subject “oh come on! Just a little hint?” You said, squeezing her hand to get her to stop walking, but she only smiled slightly. “You’ll see when we get in” she replied, to which you huffed and rolled your eyes, deciding to just give in on the subject.

“SURPRISE!” Someone yelled as soon as you and Jenna made your way inside the local. You jumped out of fear definitely not expecting this, as you looked around. It was the cast of the show, the only and best friends you had made there and in your whole career and life. They all started singing happy birthday and you blushed, covering your face with your hands and once again, hiding it in the crook of Jenna’s neck, who only giggled at the situation and played with your hair for a few seconds before you pulled back and looked at your friends. They had all made their way over to you. Cake in hand with some candles on as you blew them off with a huge smile plastered on your face. “Was this your idea?” You said turning to look at Jenna, who obviously nodded and that made you giggle. After you blew off the candles, Everyone clapped their hands and wished you a happy birthday, also hugging you.

You had made Jenna promise she wouldn’t get you any gifts, and somehow she kept her promise… but her in own ways. She told everyone not to get you any gift and they didn’t but Jenna did get you a present. She was your girlfriend after all and she couldn’t let you spend your birthday without a gift. “I… I know you didn’t want me to, but I got you a present…” she said, holding a small bag, obviously coming from a jewelry. “Jenna… this is why I don’t want any gifts” you said, clearly smiling as you took the small bag in your hands. ���I didn’t want you to spend money for me” you started opening it and inside the bag was a small, square box. You shot Jenna a confused glare as she smiled, inviting you to open the box and that you did, inside of it were two beautiful, silver rings. Your jaw dropped at the sight as you took the small rings, you didn’t know what to say “y-you-“ you babbled out something incomprehensible and that made Jenna laugh, as she took the box with the rings.

“It’s silver. I had them customized… mine has your name carved on the inside and yours has my name… god saying this out loud makes this awkward, but I want people to know you’re mine” she said and took your left hand, sliding the ring on your ring finger as you did the same, looking at her with heart eyes as you felt the three words burn the tip of your tongue, apparently she was thinking the same because “I love you” she said, and you raised your hand to caress her cheek, “I love you too” you leaned in for a sweet soft kiss. Every time you kissed her you felt shivers down your spine and that feeling will always be your favorite.

Unfortunately for you, all good things had to get ruined by something. Your phone rang, and the caller read ‘Mamma’ [Mom] . The smile immediately disappeared from your face, she hasn’t called ever since you moved to America, not even a text, a merry Christmas message, nothing. But now she was calling you and you didn’t know what to do. Should you reply, should you not reply? You opted for the first one. Luckily everyone was distracted so you took advantage of the moment to leave the room and sneak out on the balcony. the local had been booked fully for this occasion which meant that aside from you and the cast, there was no one else and the balcony was empty.

[to make things easier for you I’ll write the conversation in English, just know that it’s supposed to be in Italian]

“Hello?” You answered, your voice low and hesitant, as if she was calling to yell at you. “(Y/N), my child… how are you?” It had been ages since you last heard her voice and it seemed… soft. Yet you didn’t want to fall for her trap like you always did when you were younger. “What do you want mom?” Your voice was still hesitant. But throughout the years you had learned how to be more bold, and react to situations. You had built this huge wall between you and your parents now, you never would have expected them to call. “I just called to wish you happy birthday… how have you been?” She seemed genuine, and tears welled up in your eyes at the thought of her finally caring. “I’m… fine” you still refused to open up to them, you didn’t completely trust your parents. The two of you talked for a while, occasional tears leaving your eyes thinking that maybe, your parents finally cared about you. “That’s good… look uhm- your father’s sick and we could use your help.”

Oh.

That was it, this was the reason she had called you. She never wanted to wish you a happy birthday, she didn’t want to know how you had been. “You never wanted to wish me a happy birthday, did you?” You finally said, you didn’t hear an answer coming from the other side of the cellphone. “You called me, had me thinking that you cared just so you could ask me for money!?” The answer came quicker than expected “you owe us-“ “I owe you nothing! What have you done for me, huh? You never showed me you cared, you never supported me, hell at 16 I had to find a job, how is that caring?” You yelled over the phone, at the moment you didn’t care if people heard you. Tears started spilling out faster from your eyes, you heard as your mother tried to justify herself but you weren’t having any of it. “Never call me again mom. I don’t want to hear from you ever again” you said and hung up the phone. You looked at the view from the balcony and just cried your heart out, what is it with people having to ruin the best moments?

In the meantime your friends inside the bar were having a blast. They were all drinking and dancing and having fun, until Jenna noticed you weren’t there anymore. “Guys have you seen (Y/N)?” They all shook their head and Jenna walked around the local, looking everywhere for you until she found you standing alone outside in the balcony. As soon as she was outside with you, she heard you sniffle. “Are you okay? Don’t you like the party-“ you interrupted her. “My mom called,” you started and Jenna stood next to you, looking at you. Your nose was red and your eyes too, but you refused to look at Jenna. “And is it a bad thing?” She asked, voice low, not wanting you to get upset. You never talked about your mother to Jenna and you realized that now it was the time to do so. “In my life, she never supported me, she never showed me any kind of love, never helped me when I was struggling during covid,” you sniffled, more tears coming our of your eyes and Jenna wrapped an arm around you.

“When I came to America, I never heard from her again. Ever. She was just out of my life. But today She called me, wishing me a happy birthday and we talked for a while, she seemed genuine” Jenna rubbed your back trying to calm you down. “Then she told me that my father is sick, and that she wanted my money because I “owed” them…” you sobbed out and covered your face, Jenna pulled you into a tight hug, letting you cry as much as you needed. She didn’t care if her dress was getting soaked, she knew you needed it. “I really, really thought they cared for once” you said pulling back from her, and she wiped your tears, trying to fix your smudged make up “look at me” she said, resting her hand on your cheek “you have a family,” she started, and you looked at her, leaning in for the touch. “You have me. You have the rest of the cast… and you have my family, too. They love you even if they met you once and my parents will always treat you like one of their children. So you’re not alone, okay?” She said and kissed your cheek, which made you smile slightly.

“Do you want to leave?” She asked you, she knew you probably didn’t want the others seeing you like this, so you nodded and you all left the party, getting back to your trailers where you slept with Jenna cuddling you.

April 2022

Well, your birthday was a blast. After it getting ruined by your parents, you thought that nothing else could make this experience in Romania worse. Right? Wrong. It was the last month of filming and you and Tim were panicking. There were lots of things to be done still, scenes to be shots and stunts to be made, and staff shortage. Almost everyone’s contract had expired and slowly but surely everyone was leaving set. You needed more people for this last month and Tim made it his mission to find someone, anyone that could do the job of the people whose contract was expired and he did find someone and today they would be coming on set.

“Okay everyone, so these are the people that would be helping us for this last month. Please make them feel welcomed and comfortable” Tim said something else, but you had already gone pale: Madeline, your Ex, was between those people and was smirking at you with that devilish grin of hers as she waved at you. The girl who had hurt you so much, who only used you for sex and who ruined your life for the most part was there in front of you and probably ready to ruin your life once again. “Are you okay?” Jenna asked you, taking you out of that trance state you found yourself in. You were feeling sick and it was happening really fast. You looked between her and Madeline and before you knew it you were running out from the set, kneeling down by the closest bush you found as you threw up that morning’s breakfast. Of course Jenna ran behind you, immediately holding your hair back as she waited for you to finish throwing up.

When you were finished Jenna took a tissue and cleaned your mouth. “What’s wrong?” She asked you and you looked at her with teary eyes, she seemed confused. “T-that girl, Madeline… She’s my ex” saying this out loud only made you throw up again and Jenna once again took a hold of your hair. Her expression had completely changed from a worried one to a really mad one, she was gonna make this girl’s life a living hell during this month. Jenna once again cleaned your mouth when you were finished throwing up and then the two of you went back inside, where people had already started working - Madeline included. Of course as you went to work as well she had to come to you. “So… how have you been?” She asked, you seriously thought about yelling at her, but you didn’t want to cause any troubles. “What are you doing here?” You ignored her question and she sighed, smirking at you. She was too close for your own likings.

“Relax, I didn’t know that you were here. It was a pure coincidence” you sighed and chuckled. “Yeah right.” She smirked as well “well do you want to grab something to eat together tonight?” She put a hand on your arm, and you quickly moved away from her. “No I don’t want to. And don’t fucking touch me” you said, obviously she chuckled again. “Hmmm feisty. Looks like I’ll have my hands full with you” she bit her lip, making you angrier “you will do nothing with me. The only thing you need to do is to get the fuck out of my face” you spat out, glaring at her as you went back to what you were doing. You knew that she was definitely not gonna leave you alone. Jenna kept her eyes on her and tried to be close to you as best as she could, not ever leaving you alone with her, and not letting her interact with you for longer than needed and it worked, up until some point.

You were in your trailer, waiting for Jenna to finish filming. You and her were supposed to have a movie night, with popcorns and cuddles, just like you loved. You had everything set up and were waiting for her to show up. You heard knocking on the door and obviously you thought it was her so you opened the door “hey Jen-“ you were quickly shut up when Madeline made her way into the trailer, shutting the door close behind her as she pushed you to the wall opposite the door. “How long as it been my dear?” She said, hands on your waist as she kept you pinned against the wall. “M-Madeline, let me go” you said, scared of the possibilities of this scenario. What if Jenna walked in? What would she think? What was Madeline gonna do to you “owh come on, we both know you have been waiting for me to pin you up against the wall like this” she sounded so sure of herself.

“I have a girlfriend,” you started “and she will be here soon so you should leave soon” you hoped that this would make her stop, but instead it only made her giggle. “And you think that’s going to stop me? We both know that she can’t make you scream like I do…” You froze at that, realizing that she wasn’t going to stop. “You don’t known what she’s capable of” this was your last resource. Jenna did take kung fu lessons and you knew that she had quite a lot of strength. “Well neither does she” Madeline replied and within milliseconds her lips were on your neck, sucking and nibbling at the skin “n-no! Stop-“ you cried out, but you couldn’t help the whimper that came out when she bit down on your pulse point. You tried pushing her away but she was stronger then you and pinned you down, hands sneaking under your shirt. “Get off of me!” You yelled, you were now crying, you didn’t want this, not at all.

Eventually and finally, you heard knocks on your door. You knew that it was Jenna. “JENNA PLEASE HELP” you yelled/sobbed out and Madeline wasted no time in covering your mouth. Too late, Jenna had heard you. “Honey? What’s going on in there?” She tried to open the door, but it was locked from the inside. However she could hear your muffled cries and she didn’t like this one bit. “Open the door!” She yelled when she realized that you weren’t going to open it. She was to short to look through the windows of your trailer, but luckily her panicked voice didn’t go unnoticed. The rest of the cast noticed her struggle and walked over to her, Percy and Georgie kicking the door until it eventually flung open, and Jenna didn’t like what she saw one bit. Madeline wasn’t stopping, and Jenna clenched her jaw, walking inside the trailer as she grabbed the girl’s hair, pulling them until the girl was facing her and whimpering of pain.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Jenna started, if looks could kill, Madeline would definitely be underground by now. “Giving her what you can’t give her” Madeline said, which made Jenna pull her hair more. “Hear me out” Jenna said, pushing the girl against a wall “your story with her has long finished, and I’m sure she wants nothing else to do with you. She has another girlfriend now.” Jenna warned “that has never stopped-“ the girl was interrupted by another whimper of pain of Jenna pulling her hair more. “If I ever see you around her, look at her and even feel your smell… and if you ever lay another finger on her,” she started walking to the door pulling the girl alongside her “I will end you” Jenna said and basically threw the girl outside of the trailer. “Get the fuck away from here. This set doesn’t need you.” The girl walked away “nobody touches what’s mine” Jenna finally made her way over to you. You had crumbled down on the floor, bracing yourself as Emma and johnna were trying to comfort you.

“Can you please leave us alone?” Jenna asked, and the two girls nodded before leaving the two of you alone “I- I was so scared Jen” you said and looked at her, tears in your eyes as Jenna caressed your cheeks. “I know babe… but she’s gone. I’m gonna make sure Tim fires her and you’re never gonna see her again” you nodded and leaned in for the touch, Jenna looked at your neck, where that bitch was just moments before. She had left some marks, but they were faint, luckily. “We’re gonna make these disappear with some ice” she said and you nodded, Jenna could still see the tears in your eyes, and she pulled you in a loving, comforting hug.

———

That was it.

The last scene had been shot, and everyone had erupted in cheers and applauses to the cast, they were all hugging and laughing, you couldn’t help but feel happy, maybe a little nostalgic, too? You were certainly going to miss these peeps, especially Emma and the girls, in these months you had bonded a lot with them and you wanted to see them again. You hoped you would get to see them again because truly, these were the only friends you had. As it always happened on set, everyone from the cast made as speech and last but not least, was Jenna. “What to say… this has been an incredibly amazing experience, I have never been away from home for longer than a month and a half and at first this felt surreal, it still feels that way. It was hard, there were moments where I wanted to give up, there were moments where I was scared to ruin this role because the amazing Christina Ricci here has done it before me and I stressed myself over making this as perfect as I could”

She giggled, and so did the people watching and listening to her. “But I had support, I had a lot of it. The amazing cast, the staff, and (Y/N)… I never thought I’d find love on set, but here I am and she has been the biggest support ever since” oh no, she wanted to drag you into this. You blushed and looked at her with a huge smile “she has her struggles but she always found time for me and I couldn’t be happier. I love you” she said and you mouthed an ‘I love you too’ but suddenly you were being pushed towards her. “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss” everyone kept repeating and suddenly Jenna took a hold of your hand, pulling you into a sweet kiss which you immediately reciprocated, and when the two of you pulled back, still being only inches away Jenna whispered again “I love you so much” “me too baby” you said and hugged her.

It was only days later when you made your way to the airport with her. You both had to go back to LA as she was going home and you were too, so you were in the same plane. No one of you had talked about making the relationship public or not, but it was clear from the way you both acted at the airport that you wanted to keep it private, for now at least. Luckily when you arrived there weren’t any paparazzi because your plane had landed in the middle of the night but still you needed to be careful. You had to part your ways as soon as you got out of the airport as two different cars were waiting for you. “Text me when you get home okay?” You told her, as you made your way towards her car first. “Yes don’t worry love” she said with a small, loving smile. She loved how caring you were with her when you had to part. “And say hi to your family for me” she giggled “we will literally live 15 minutes away-“ you interrupted her “shhh let me be the caring girlfriend” you said smiling and helped her get in the car. “Can I steal a kiss? I’m sure no one will see us if I sneak my head in the car” you said pouting and she nodded, pulling you in for a sweet, sleepy kiss. “I love you” she said smiling “I love you too baby. Text me when you get home” you reminded her, and she nodded.

You watched her car leave and then you got into yours, smiling at yourself as you thought of the summer with her that awaited you.

A/N: welll a bit of a more active chapter. Filming has ended! They’ll definitely spend a hot girls summer together👀

Tags: @idkjustliving2 @tundra1029 @engenelxver @rainbow-love4ever @gimaximoff @smromanoff @wol-fica @lum13 @eviekensington @wifeyjennaortega @i984

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 6

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut (it finally starts getting spicy in a couple more chapters!), Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5

Chapter 6 summary: Dara, stranded without her ship, is looking for work.

It was well into the evening when Dara came strolling through the door of Cid’s parlor. Tech and Wrecker were playing Dejarik while Crosshair moped in a dark corner, tonguing a toothpick and glaring at the other patrons. She sidled up to the bar next to Hunter and Echo and threw them a charming smile. “Next round’s on me, boys.”

“Dara! You found us.” Hunter seemed relatively pleased to see her despite what they had learned. The others crowded around to greet her, chatting and taking the proffered drinks, which Cid served up with an expression indicating that it was an enormous inconvenience to her to perform what was ostensibly her job.

Crosshair had expected that it wouldn’t be long before they saw more of the woman. What he hadn’t expected was for the others to react so strongly to Dara’s return, even with their misgivings about her motivations. It didn’t hurt, he supposed, that she was pretty. Her silver hair gleamed hypnotically under the neon, and she had a pale smattering of freckles across the bridge of her strong, well-shaped nose. With her concussion and injuries now fully faded, she performed the part of agreeable, easygoing traveler of the galaxy much better than she had when she’d first woken up on the Marauder. In fact, she seemed to know exactly how to get along with them all, leaning over and listening intently to Tech, giving Wrecker a light squeeze on the arm and a laugh, even shooting a wink that made Echo blush a little.

It made the sniper more suspicious than ever.

He was certain that this was a façade. The fury and hostility, on the other hand, that was real—they were feelings he knew all-too-well. Despite his wariness, Crosshair found himself drifting in the direction of the group, thinking of all the ways he could needle at Dara until he finally coaxed a reaction out of her and pried back all those careful layers.

The men were laughing at one of her anecdotes—something about a pirate she had briefly bartended for on some remote, backwater planet—when Crosshair approached. “Waddaya think, you planning on ever working for pirates again after all that?” Wrecker was asking.

“Nah, I’ve had enough. They all get a little too trigger happy when you try to cut them off at the end of the night. Although I’ve had worse jobs. Speaking of which…” Dara glanced around thoughtfully at the group. “You all wouldn’t know where I could pick up a bit of work, would you? Without my ship, I’m finding myself a bit too stretched for credits to move on at the moment. Not to mention homeless.”

“You can come with us!” Wrecker burst out enthusiastically.

“Wrecker,” Crosshair hissed. The last thing he wanted was this woman tagging along. They didn’t even know for certain who she was.

“What? Tech was just saying the next few jobs for Cid would be easier with an extra person.” The large man didn’t care much about whatever Dara might be hiding from them. He’d spent years being shot at and running eagerly toward danger; it was hard to imagine one person—particularly one that was apparently no friend to the Empire—being a threat.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be much use to you,” Dara intervened. “I can handle myself okay, but I’m not sure what I could contribute besides another pair of hands.”

Hunter and Tech exchanged a thoughtful glance. “Well…” Hunter began slowly.

Tech picked up the thread. “We were just saying that it would be ideal to have someone stay behind with the Marauder to provide a pick-up on our next job. But we need everyone else with us to infiltrate the site.”

“I mean… I can fly a ship,” Dara replied, her eyes brightening. “And I’ll be out of your hair as soon as you don’t need me anymore.”

“We don’t need you now,” Crosshair growled.

Dara deferred expertly. “Of course not. I don’t want to get in your way.” Crosshair was certain she was doing it on purpose; the moment she downplayed herself, permitted the sniper the upper hand, the others reflexively felt compelled to defend her.

“You wouldn’t be in the way,” Echo insisted. “Crosshair himself said you took down four Imperials. That’s not nothing.”

It was down to Hunter to make the call. He gave a decisive nod. “You can join us for the next job. On a trial basis,” he added, to appease Crosshair.

Dara smiled and thanked them all profusely, looking pleased. Downing the last dregs of their drinks and giving Cid a nod, the group exited the bar, heading their way through Ord Mantell’s narrow streets toward the Marauder.

When they arrived at the ship, Wrecker showed Dara toward the cargo hold, where she could string up the hammock she kept stored neatly in her pack and settle in for the night. The ship had quieted and all the others were tucked into their bunks when Crosshair, arms folded, appeared, leaning against the doorway.

“Yes?” Dara asked sweetly. Her fingers were intertwined behind her head, and her hammock swayed gently back and forth. He swore that she looked smug, knowing she had made her way into the Marauder and onto the team against his protests.

“Don’t get any bright ideas, burk’yc,” he warned. “My brothers might fall for a nice smile, but I know better.”

Dara’s eyes seemed to flash in the half-light. “Jealous, Bullseye? Did you want me to smile at you, too?” Her tone was almost flirtatious, but her mouth was a severe, cold line. Whatever her motivations, she was uninterested in performing friendliness for him the way she was for his brothers—or, perhaps, she had accepted that there was no point.

He continued to stare at her, unmoved. The woman looked away with a shrug, closing her eyes. She didn’t know how long he stood there before retiring, on silent, catlike feet, to his own bunk.

Next chapter

[aranarumei]

how much does sasaki talk about hirano?

hey everyone. I’m coming to you live with an INVESTIGATIVE REPORT about the one and only sasaki shuumei. the question above pretty much summarizes what I'm trying to find out. so I’ll expand on this under the cut. apologies in advance for any typos

—

there’s a scene that’s always made me confused ever since I first read it (which wow. I’ve been reading this manga as it updates since partly through volume 3… crazy how far its come!) and that is this sequence of two pages in the extras of Vol 7 (39.5), below:

hirano’s like “well, it’s fine to talk about me to miyano as long as you didn’t say any weird stuff about me” and sasaki goes. Silent. Now I at the time assumed like. ah sasaki’s talking about the hirano and kagiura relationshipisms. or the whole uke thing. right?

…right?

see, the thing is: when sasaki visits campus in ch 46, he asks the basketball team about a kagi-kun, and then when miyano questions him about what he was doing, he’s like “oh I just remembered hirano’s old roommate was on the basketball team,” and then refuses to even tell miyano his name. so it’s like… did sasaki EVER talk about hirano’s roommate to Miyano? like of his own initiative? did he offer any information? so I decided that instead of just bringing that question up, I’d reread all of sasaki to miyano and get my answer.

disclaimer that this deals with exclusively the manga: I have this hidden fear that I’m going to post this and get a reply like “oh this is 50% of the entire novel content” but! the scene in question comes up in the manga! I think it ought to then refer to an event in the manga! but seriously if stuff like that does come up in the novel feel free to chime in. also bc I was rereading the whole manga I have Other Thoughts Too but. those can hopefully marinate their way into other posts.

ch 2:

miyano: But I saw you! I saw you laughing as you chatted with a first-year boy from class 1A in the basketball club with a lovely smile!

this does not count. miyano brings this up to hirano himself. in fact a lot of miyano putting hirano into bl contexts happens In Front Of Hirano’s Face. not really a conversation starter for sasaki. it does make ch 46 way more interesting bc it means like. sasaki has remembered that kagiura’s on the basketball team to the point that he wants to check in on him? whereas miyano like Knows this info yet never really pursues it. suppose it’d be awkward to just go up and try to find him without knowing his name, though.

ch 4:

sasaki says “but hirano can handle alcohol fine” which is perfectly on topic since they were just discussing how sasaki can’t handle it. it’s miyano that spins into bl fantasies afterwards. also hirano is right there in this situation. does not count.

ch 5:

sasaki: Hirano’s playing Oiwa-san for the haunted house. Want to see? He’s crossdressing and wearing a wig.

this does count. sasaki is bringing up hirano and telling miyano something that miyano would totally get excited about. it is, I would say, not brought up out of nowhere, since they discuss crossdressing right before. unrelated to this I would love to see the image of sasaki as hanako-san of the toilet.

ch 6:

sasaki asks about miyano’s love life and when miyano says that he’s not romantically interested in anyone around here, and sasaki asks “what about hirano?” miyano says he ships him with his roommate and the conversation ends there. I would say this also does not count—yeah, he’s perhaps bringing up hirano as a romantic prospect, but I think this is more sasaki like. being jealous more than it is using him as a reason to talk to miyano. he’s like. a pretty jealous guy.

ch 8:

sasaki tells miyano that his grades suck and hirano’s been tutoring him. this does not count.

ch 11:

sasaki says “don’t you prefer black-haired ukes?” and “ah, you mean like hirano?” when miyano says he prefers manly ukes. this does count. while it’s in the topic of conversation, there’s not a real reason he has to bring hirano up. plus, he even continues it with “hirano’s pretty tall. can he still not be a seme?” so it’s using hirano to keep a conversation going with miyano, but I will note it’s not what starts the conversation.

ch 13:

sasaki talks about hirano getting banned from doing the ball toss. this does not count.

ch 24.5:

“ooh, if it was hirano, it would be taiko” says sasaki when miyano brings up all the girl names that he and his classmates would have. this does not count. it’s a natural extension of the various female names they’ve been talking about, sasaki included, and hirano’s their mutual friend.

ch 33:

sasaki brings up hirano’s dedication to studying and how he says that getting accepted to university isn’t the finish line. says hirano’s pretty cool for that mindset. this does not count.

ch 41:

sasaki says "haha, yikes! hirano was a terrible influence!" when miyano tells him about kuresawa getting a piercing. this does not count. it’s also after graduation, where the scene happened.

ch 42.5:

sasaki is like wow I can't believe hirano's roommate does THAT in the mornings to miyano, regarding vol 2 of sasaki to miyano. however this kind of thing isn't quite canonical since they know there are books being published about them so. this does not count.

halloween 2018 extra:

miyano asks if sasaki's friends got their items confiscated, and sasaki replies by saying that hirano's in charge of confiscation for their class, so their class had the idea to overwhelm him. this does not count.

dvd extra 4:

sasaki tells miyano about how they ripped the wallpaper on accident, and once he said it kind of gave it a badboy feel, they started doing it on purpose. hirano participated in it too. this does not count.

I’ve probably missed some, but we can see that out of all of these situations, only TWO are actually what I’d qualify as “weird” by hirano’s metrics. unless sasaki talking about the wild stuff Hirano gets up to includes his ball toss strategy and him ripping up wallpaper. then it’s four. my point is that sasaki says it’s “a lot” when it’s not. so… why is that?

I’ve been mulling over a couple of ideas regarding this, but I kind of don’t want to offer up my own interpretations first? plus when I tried writing my answer I spun off into a really bad tangent, so… post ends here. hope we all learned something here!

[nanuk-dain]

First Line Analysis

Rules: post the first lines of up to 10 of your last fics/chapters posted on AO3 or your WIPs and try to draw some conclusions.

Oh, that's interesting. I've never thought about that... Thank you so much @gorgeousundertow for the tag <3

1 - Mike keeps the 50-cal directed at the field to the right of the victor where numerous distant shapes in desert cammies and woodland flak vests are progressing at a slow pace. (From The World's Smallest Book Club Ch 33)

Okay, so we learn who the narrator is, that it's a military setting and that something is happening, but we don't know what. Those who know Generation Kill will also probably be able to place the scene even with the little intel we have.

2 - Gabe wakes because something is tickling his nose, and the first thing he realises is that he's lying on his ratty couch with his feet dangling over one side. (From Nocturnal Revelations)

What I like about this is that we're wondering what the reason for the tickling is, and we immediately know it's a civilian setting - two things that make it interesting to read on.

3 - "Ah, Ray... Is that Brad dragging the LT?" Ray looks up curiously at the sound of Walt's voice, because it's an interesting mixture of incredulous and concerned. (From Unit Ch 113)

One of the few times I start with direct speech, it seems. And the question itself is so unusual that I think it gets the reader curious right away, while we also know that it's Ray's POV and he's talking about Brad and Nate to Walt who's obviously having a hard time believing what he's seeing. I think that sets up the scene enough to draw the reader in, which is what I was going for.

4 - When Tim opens his eyes, the first thing he notices is that his head hurts, followed by staring up into a familiar face hovering over his own. (From Confluence Ch 1)

We end up smack in the middle of the situation here, and all we know is that it's Tim's POV and that something happened that apparently made him pass out and left him with a head that hurts. Enough to pique your interest, right? ^_^ This is in fact a collab with @mac-and-geese, but I think I can use it since I was the one who wrote the start of our fic.

5 - When Michael 'Budweiser' Brunmeier enlists in the Marine Corps, he knows that he's not straight, and he's okay with that. (From Origins Ch 1)

This time it's again setting just enough of the scene to make you curious. Just one sentence, but we already know there's going to be issues because being in the Marine Corps and not being straight at that time set you on a path of conflict with DADT.

6 - Sleeping in a tactical huddle is not gay. Chaffin knows that. It's a fact. Everybody in the entire military - no matter which branch - knows that. (From Tactical Huddle)

Okay, I notice a pattern here, because it's basically the same general issue set up here as in the fic before. Military, gay, DADT. Except that apparently our MC isn't nearly as okay with it as Budweiser XD

7 - Evan has no idea how it even happened. Because he's not fucking gay, and neither is John. (From Screwing Boundaries Ch 1)

Huh, again with the gay conflict, with just enough intel to get the readers curious. And again the scene's not set much beyond that we know who's talking and what the general issue is. I seem to do that a lot O_o

8 - Brad looks around and can't help feeling out of place. (From Welcome Home)

Oh, finally something a little different XD But again we only know who the narrator is and that something's up. Considering that Brad is rarely feeling out of place, that triggers the urge to know what situation he's in that he does feel out of place.

9 - When Rich returns to his victor after his tour around the perimeter of Alpha's watch posts, the firefights outside the walls of the cigarette factory are still going strong. (From Reassurance)

Okay, yeah, I definitely like leaving people with just enough intel to get curious. This is probably one of the more detailled settings of the situation, and again people who know Generation Kill will know from that sentence alone where we are and what the situation is.

10 - "The former patient rooms will do nicely as accommodation." Brad reports to Lieutenant Fick when they're walking towards the entrance to the large room that has been ransacked to bareness and where the men of Bravo Two are setting up camp. (From Sir)

Another first line that gives just enough intel to know where we are, whose POV we have and who is part of the scene. At least I have two fics that give a little more info than just a tease in the first sentence XD

Conclusion:

Huh... So I guess I like throwing the reader smack in the middle of the situation while also making it clear right away whose POV we're experiencing. Seems I never start a fic/chapter with describing the setting, I just drop my main character into it and leave the reader to figure out what's going on alongside my MC. I never noticed I do that. And I'm not sure what to make of it, either XD And apparently I tend to try to create curiosity in the reader about what's going on, and give just enough of the setting to get you interested. That's kind of a common thread I noticed going over those first lines, and the funny thing is that I actually don't do that on purpose, it just happens...

Okay, since this was such an interesting experiment, I want to give the same opportunity to @anthrobrat, @mac-and-geese, @military-bluebells and @meganmoonlight. Have fun, my friends, and learn something about yourself and your writing ;D

[idontknowreallywhy]

Estera - Ch 16 - Distraction

Developments develop. John lives to regret his eldest brother befriending his AI daughter. But can bagels ever be bad?

TW for sickness. This remains the only part of this entire story that could be viewed as a self-insert as I drafted it in my head when I too was curled up on the bathroom floor… Estera is much braver than I was though.

Apologies if these are coming somewhat thick and fast… figured I’d get as much as I can posted while the muse cooperates and before something shiny breaks the current hyper-fixation I have on this story 😏

(Previous… Prologue - Stars are Only Visible in Darkness, Estera - 1 - Colour, 2 - Dinosaur, 3 - Shoes, 4 - Thunderbird, 5 - Lesson, 6 - Safe, 7 - Gull, 8 - Deliver, 9 - Coffee, 10 - Flight, 11 - Run, 12 - Fall, 13 - Trying, 14 - Hide, 15 - Wait)

(Sofasurf’s Recrudescence which is the foundation for all of this)

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Slumped in the corner of the bathroom, cold sweat prickling from every pore she pressed her face against the coolness of the tiles and willed away the nausea.

She did NOT. Have. Time. For. This.

It was obviously an occupational hazard of spending every working day with small children, but she often seemed to dodge the viruses that took down her colleagues and had always been secretly pleased by the fact she was able to invincibly swoop in and cover for them when required. Pride before a fall.

It was particularly embarrassing as she’d been back at work a mere 3 days after so much time off. Just tomorrow and Friday left before the holidays… she COULDN’T call in sick it was just too ridiculous. Somehow she had to power through.

This particular bug seemed determined not to be ignored, however. Another wave of sickness hit and left her curled in a tight ball, sobbing into her best quality bath towel.

Too much self pity, Estera, need to think of something else…

Her feverish mind supplied only Baby Shark on loop.

Which didn’t really help.

Groaning in frustration she reached for her mobile phone, maybe she could find distraction of some kind online. Not that anyone she knew was likely to be awake at this time.

Oh, there was just one, according to the little green dot next to the word Blue.

As always her brain warred with itself - the anticipation of the warm, safe feeling their silly little exchanges always brought versus the sharp bite of guilt that demanded to know why she had any kind of right to his time or attention after what she had done. After the pain she’d caused him.

The nausea rolled by again, threatening to drag her into despair. She gritted her teeth. Desperate times… maybe he wouldn’t mind sharing another daft joke or something…

Hi, you’re up late?

Hey there 😀 no it’s mid-afternoon here ☀️

Oh! Sorry, I actually have no idea where you live and shouldn’t have assumed.

Not a problem, we tend to keep it quiet for security so I wouldn’t have mentioned where we are.

You ARE up late though? Everything alright?

Well she should have seen that coming. Fever made her honest. Or at least had eliminated her ability to formulate a plausible lie.

“Just a bit of a sickness bug, caught it from the kids.”

Ugh, that’s the worst. You want company? I can be there in half an hour?

She blinked. He was joking, surely?

Ha, err no I’m good thanks. That’s pretty fast though!

Told you One was the best Thunderbird 😉

She laughed out loud at the reference to the passionate debate in the cave. Which triggered another bout of unpleasantness. She lay on the floor for a while waiting for her head to stop pounding.

A soft ping made her open her eyes again.

You ok?

Sorry, yes. Just… well, you know.

Don’t apologise. Just wish I could help.

I could do with some distraction.

Want to hear about how our pool got filled with jello?

You have a pool? 😲

And yes please

WELL

It started (as it often does) with Gordon (2nd youngest) winding up Alan (youngest)

I never figured out precisely what it was about but that rarely matters…

She focussed on allowing herself to relax and to be carried away by the tale. He was an engaging story teller although she was sure much of it must be exaggerated - surely no real people would take a prank war to such extremes.

He asked about Italy so she found herself telling him about her family, her nieces’ exploits and how she’d got herself completely lost on the day trip to Venice.

She even admitted the trip took place when it did because she had been signed off work - fever really did make her too honest.

She didn’t say why. He didn’t ask. But the ball of tension that had resided in her throat for weeks eased, just a little.

She talked about Bez. He told her about his family, their different skills and interests and how proud of them all he was. He shared more dad jokes. She informed him they were terrible.

An hour or so later, having been chivvied to finally send the email to the school office, she crawled back into bed and a thankfully dreamless sleep took her.

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She woke with a start to the sound of the doorbell and Bez skittering about excitedly in the hallway. 10am - was it someone from school checking she was really ill? Staggering on jelly legs to the door she cautiously cracked it open.

“Delivery for Miss Herz… Herma…zew…” the courier frowned and held out a large brown paper bag.

“That would be me. Err thanks.”

Leaning heavily on the closed door she gently pushed Bez’s enthusiastic head out of the bag. In fairness to him it was emitting quite a pleasant aroma. Which turned out to be chicken soup and plain toasted bagels from a deli in town. she recognised the name of the place but it was far too fancy for her to have ever darkened the door. A bottle of isotonic drink and a range of herbal teabags were also included along with a printed note reading only “Get well soon, S x”

Well that was… unexpected. And kind.

Bez was beginning to lose his mind so she poured half the soup into his bowl and curled up on the sofa. She nibbled at a piece of fancy bagel… it really was excellent and probably wasted on her somewhat battered palate. She picked up her phone to send a thank you message, trying to calculate what the time difference must be when suddenly she froze and the bagel fell from her hand to immediately be wolfed down by her delighted dog.

How had he known her address?

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“John?”

“Yes EOS?”

“What kind of bagel flies?”

John ducked, concerned that the AI might be regressing back to old tricks. His immediate vicinity remained airborne-bread-product free, however.

“I’m sorry?”

“A plain bagel.”

“What?”

“It is a pun. I have deliberately exploited the fact that there are two meanings of the word plane for comedic effect. It is funny.”

Silence reigned.

“John?”

He lifted his head from his hands and sighed. “Yes EOS?”

“Why aren’t you laughing?”

“I was distracted by plotting my eldest brother’s demise.”

“He mentioned that you might initially react with threats of violence to his person and advised that persistence is generally the key to good comedy. What do ghosts put on their bagels?”

John flinched unwillingly and tried to cover it by playing along.

“I don’t know EOS, what do ghosts put on their bagels?”

“Scream cheese. This one is another play on words because although it isn’t precisely the same phoneme the sound is very similar.”

“I get it EOS.”

“You still aren’t laughing, John. Should I continue with the persistence strategy? Or perhaps I should carry out further research?”

“The latter I think.”

There was a pause.

“John, whilst we are discussing bagels, I believe you would enjoy a trip to the South West of England.”

John looked up from the weather front he was monitoring and frowned as he tried to predict the punchline to this one.

“Why is that EOS?”

“This deli claims to produce the most delicious bagels in Europe.”

“Good to know. What brought that to your attention?”

“Scott asked me to research the best place to order from in that locality.”

John noted the dropping of the surname from her habitual reference to his family members. Thus far, only he had been on first name only terms with his AI. It seemed his big brother had been upgraded too.

“He did, did he?” John paused, wondering whether further enquiry was overstepping a boundary. Maybe it was a little, but Scott had been acting weirdly and as a caring brother John should keep an eye on him.

“Did he say why?”

“We sent a ‘care package’ to a friend.” EOS enunciated the new phrase carefully.

John’s eyebrows defied his attempt to maintain a poker face. Turning away from EOS’s camera track he opened a private line to Virgil.

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Hey how are you doing? Hope you managed to get some sleep?

She typed and deleted three variants of a reply, then buried the phone under a cushion and curled up on the couch with her head on Bez’s flank. The dog huffed in his sleep.

She had eaten the rest of the food. She wasn’t insane - it was delicious and probably eye-wateringly expensive - and she didn’t have the energy to prepare herself anything else. It really was a thoughtful gesture and she had to say thank you. Should have done already.

But the initial glow of warmth at the thought she had a friend out there somewhere who cared had been swamped by the creepy feeling. She wasn’t listed in the directory. Never had been. There had never seemed any point as who would look her up and it would only result in sales calls or junk mail. And advertising her surname might invite the attention of the unpleasant minority with a particular political statement to make.

The “It’s over now, why are you still here?” type of statement. Best avoided.

So how had he got it?

She thought again of his immediate offer of company, which had seemed sweet if rather silly at the time.

What if there was an ulterior motive?

She shivered and had to focus to push back certain memories that still lurked too close to the edge of her consciousness.

Don’t be ridiculous. The man had the entire world at his feet. And she was literally being sick at the time. Hardly attractive to someone thinking in that way. She thought back to the time they had had coffee… no… he didn’t seem like that kind of a person. He’d seemed… surprisingly genuine. The occasional text exchanges they’d had since then had backed up that initial impression. And last night in all that time messaging her, keeping her company, there were no red flags at all, she’d even felt maybe he was someone she could trust… could actually talk to.

Aaaaaah which meant he was just being nice and she hadn’t responded! Being wary, even cynical was one thing, but she couldn’t bear to be rude. She grabbed the phone but found herself hesitating again. Maybe she could just ask about the address and if he was weird about it let him down gently and delete his number and hide. Yes, hide from the guy who could buy her entire town if the fancy took him. Right. That would definitely work.

"Damnit Scott Tracy, you’d better not be a weirdo stalker."

Bez looked up sleepily.

“Sorry, Bez, didn’t mean to say that out loud.

Right. Ok. Thank you message.

She added a smiley face to make it seem less flat and reread it again.

And then again. It would have to do.

She pressed send.

Hi, I seem to be ok now just really drained. Thank you for the soup, it was just what I needed. 🙂

Glad to hear it. Make sure you keep hydrated and get plenty of rest

I get the impression you say that kind of thing a lot?

Ha. Yeah I’ve 4 little brothers. We’ve seen our fair share of stomach flu.

Seriously though, the hydration thing…

She eyed her empty glass. He had a point actually.

I am literally getting up to refill my drink now

Good 🥃

That was the wrong emoji, I do not recommend whisky at this time!

Estera leant heavily on the side of the sink, sipping water and trying to calculate whether she could take more tablets for the throbbing headache yet. No, not quite. She eyed the phone on the table. Ah, it was no good, she had to ask or she’d be driven to madness by overthinking.

Can I ask you something?

Of course!

Fire away

How do you know my address?

The little ticks turned green and she waited for the completely normal and un-terrifying response that was obviously coming.

Except it didn’t. After ten minutes, she stopped watching the unchanging screen and hid the phone in a drawer. Being unable to see it didn’t help in the slightest. Checking it again showed no change. She slammed the drawer closed.

She crawled into the shower and sat motionless under the flow of water, trying to work out how on earth she could afford to quit her job, move home and change her name.

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Chapter 17…

[hikennosabo]

trimax vol 14 random thoughts (ch 5-8)

okay enough stalling... let's get this done... HOO BOY

chapter 5:

i love how vash is drawn in these panels... and vash waking up from hearing meryl's words... WAAHHHHH...

GET UP COWARD (<- lyric from my chemical romance's 2022 single 'the foundations of decay' which i may or may not be considering for a vash playlist)

oh, i LOVE this image of knives covering his face...

hmhmhm... the way knives addresses the other plants is... gentle, almost?

"sorrow and grief," huh... over the humans trying to communicate with them? those are the kinds of emotions this scenario is bringing out? there is something there but... i don't quite know what it is...

uwahhh... i do love this image...

"we were united in hatred" -> "i feel a murmur of fear"... hmmm. sounds like knives himself, who buried his fear underneath hatred... am i connecting any dots???

but fear in communicating with humans... fear because communication is scary in general? fear because of the abuse humans have put plants through? fear of uncertainty of what this communication will result in?

the tiniest merylmilly u can imagine...

they ask if it's safe, but it's not like vash cares if it's safe, he's been prepared to die for several volumes now, so... he's probably thinking "if i die i die," lol. (<- in pain)

this is a cute expression...

"don't touch me," he says...

knives trying to incorporate himself with the fused plants - now it's HIS turn to go "if i die i die" i guess LJSDKLFDS... both him and vash risking it all for their ideals. they really are brothers...

vash's "grant me that ticket"... it doesn't directly address god, but it feels like a prayer nonetheless.

chapter 6:

wah... meryl's strength gives vash strength... wahhh... is this the first time they've... well, "talked about it" isn't the right phrase, but is this the first time vash understands what meryl was going through that time when she flinched away from him?

"what matters is that you communicate. that you understand the person next to you is breathing and existing." ugh, fuck, i can feel myself getting weepy again.

the people getting good AND bad memories from the plants.. good! good! they said a few volumes ago that most(?) of the population has gathered in this city, so this really is everyone?! individual normal people couldn't do much about plant abuse, but now that EVERYONE understands, things can change! they can acknowledge what's happened, and they can change, and move forward!!

and vash being the bridge, the point of commonality between humans and plants... uaaghgh it's so interesting because for a long time vash's reputation among the humans was one of destruction. but in this moment everyone understands who he really is and what he wants. ueueeueueue....

also. this pattern of receiving traumatic memories via feathers, and to come out the other side not with fear and hatred but with increased compassion and understanding... sounds like what happened between vash and meryl, doesn't it?

"i've never made a promise like this before, but today i'd like to try" UAAGHGHHG.G U AHGHGHGHG.

haha. hey. why does it look like he's been crying. i'm going to throw up.

i don't know if the rest of this post will be comprehensible.

chapter 7:

what do i even say here.

hey remember the chapter title "king of loneliness." i'm gonna go eat rocks now.

even now, he's stubbornly clinging to his ideals, thinking he's in too deep, that he's gone too far to turn back...

oh, this is getting to me, the way it's worded. "caught up in something too big" and the panel of them as kids. they were just kids when this all started. this was too big for them. knives was a kid, a traumatized, scared kid who made a very bad, very destructive decision, and he has lived his life up until this point digging his heels in, growing more and more twisted, more controlling and violent, trying to justify his own actions to himself because how do you carry something like that.

"kill me, vash, there's nowhere else for me to go." literally two chapters ago vash said "where am i going? what's there left to see?" i'm fucking eating rocks.

"even though we were apart for so long, we were still brothers. but i was the one who broke away..." knives looks so pained when he thinks this. now, after all this, he's finally feeling regret, or letting himself feel regret. in the last possible moment.

...or so he thinks. vash has a clear shot, the opportunity to kill knives, and knives wants vash to kill him, he expects it - but vash protects him instead. with his last bullet. despite knives's blade going through his torso. despite everything. despite EVERYTHING!!!!! vash has EVERY REASON to hate knives, to KILL knives, and he STILL chooses not to!!!! i'm not okay i'm crying again

in 98, rem tells vash "take care of knives"... this is pretty much the same thing... i don't want to say this is necessarily another thing nightow took from 98 because of course this is what she said, what else would she have said at that time?

the beginning of the chapter had vash struggling to remember what rem said, but the preceding pages imply it's knives remembering her words... or maybe they both are...

this is fucking getting to me, fuck, i'm crying again!!! fuck!!!!

also, oh, chronica IS still alive... honestly i was (and still am) so caught up in the twins that that information just immediately left my brain the first time around LMAO...

i am so. fucking. unwell. about knives's expressions in this scene. he's feeling so many things at once. i just... the fact that vash protects knives and picks him up to haul him away... he ISN'T leaving knives on his own, even in the end, even after everything that's happened... and knives is just. what IS he feeling? shock, disbelief, regret... love, can i say love?? love for his brother?? the love between them that never went away, despite everything?? i am gonna fucking throw up

i don't know where to put this in the post because it occurred to me while i was proofreading, but knives stabbed vash, felt shock and regret, and then acted to save him... which sounds awfully similar to what happened between rem and vash, huh?

this, with knives's hair turning black... new hair, new outlook, right?

will you drive me back, can you take me home... (<- lyrics from gerard way's 'brother' from his 2014 solo album 'hesitant alien')

oh, the fact that they sprouted wings like this in the stampede s1 finale is gonna make it hit SOOOO MUCH HARDER once THIS scene gets adapted. this is such a beautiful spread, a beautiful moment... i'm gonna cry again...

LIVIO!!!! TO THE RESCUE!!!! also... that's not a double fang, whose gun is that?

WOLFWOOD!!!!! WWWAHHHHGHGHGHH!!!!! the "turn around and he's gone" scene is SUCH a cliche but FUCK!!!!!! IT'S GETTING TO ME!!!!!!

chapter 8:

i feel so normal i feel so normal (affirmations) (lying)

i can't. i can't type. i'm crying too much. this is love. it's just love.

his last act, knowing that it will kill him, is an act of love. love for his brother. so vash can eat. so the doctor and his kid can eat. and as time goes on it'll grow bigger and be able to feed more people. food as a love language. i'm crying and sobbing.

knives understands he has no place in this world, especially after everything he's done, and the world needs vash more than him... that vash can't live in the world as long as they're together... he doesn't even tell vash himself that he intended to disappear... it's his choice, he walks his path with pride... but i'd like to believe they were able to spend some time together before this. just being brothers. TALKING. eating together. sleeping next to each other. hugging?? apologizing?? knives finally being a good brother after so long and taking care of vash?? making up for lost time. i'd like to imagine it. let me imagine it.

i've been thinking this for a while but i actually do think that vash would forgive knives if knives expressed regret and asked for forgiveness. because vash is jesus and all, and that's how sin and forgiveness work in christianity, if you believe and repent you will be forgiven, etc... i don't know if vash would forgive knives right away - he is very, very human after all - but i definitely think he could. and maybe he did. maybe they had that talk.

phew. okay, i'm finished crying now, and BOY was it a big cry. not any easier the second time around. anyway.

does he really need a wig? if he doesn't spike up his hair, that would be effective by itself, since it's one of his identifiers according to the earth forces...

DOES THIS CONFIRM THAT VASH CAN'T GROW A BEARD WITHOUT EFFORT? like since his plant powers are completely drained he can no longer grow a beard???

AHHHH... VASH'S BIG SMILE!!!!! and everyone's wearing their old clothes, and with a bunch of guys comically chasing vash around, yeah, this is really all for callback's sake... we've come so far, and full circle.

meryl's lecture to him is so typically meryl LOL... he DID NOT keep his promise LMAO

the fucking jojo sound effects are cracking me up HDSFKSFJDFS

also everyone who complained about stampede """changing""" meryl into a reporter owes me $100 right fucking now. that was a complaint i saw SO MUCH. i thought it was a bit strange myself, but i figured orange had a reason, and now i know. those complainers know NOTHING!!! NOTHING!!!!!!

meryl frantically reading from her script and milly's big smile... cute... also WHAT DO YOU MEAN WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS LMAO?? are they planning on stripping him?? vash the stampede nip slip???

AAHHHHH LIVIO GREW HIS HAIR OUT AGAIN!!!!! and he's at wolfwood's grave... oh fuck i said i was done crying GODDAMMIT!!!!

okay. okay i'm done for real now. man. man. what do i say. what can i say.

"the same song of humanity still sang." and what a beautiful song it is.

i don't really know how to conclude this post... just. wow. what a journey this was. i don't think i've ever cried this much over a manga, lol... i... had a really good time!

[rscroogedraws]

Here are a couple of my favorite (not too spoiler-ific) scenes from a couple of my in-progress fan fics.

I've had an uphill battle with bad writer's block and inconsistency with any kind of creative fiction for the past several years now. It hurt having such a hard time with that since I've wanted to become some kind of fiction author since I was six and I used to actively write analyses for YouTube stuff. So the fact I've eked out a couple chapters for each of these feels like a huge accomplishment to me.

I appreciate all of the feedback or interest I've gotten for pretty much any of my projects over the past year or so. Seriously, even if you're just leaving a like, it's made a difference to me knowing someone enjoyed my work enough to take a second to interact with them in that kind of capacity.

A03 is down for maintenance at the time I'm posting. I'll update these with links once they're back up later today or tomorrow.

Edit: Links have been added!

Not Quite an Elevator Pitch

O.K. K.O. Let's Be Heroes! Fan Fic

Synopsis: Professor Venomous is back in Lakewood Plaza Turbo! He thought returning would be as easy as move back into Boxmore and start attacking the Plaza. Instead, he's not quite sure what to do next and is trying to find himself. Then he gets stuck in an elevator with someone unexpected and they give him a much-needed reality check.

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56784448/chapters/144365029

Snippet from Ch. 2: Definitely Not Silver Spark

When Venomous awoke the next morning, he was surprised he slept at all. He wandered into the living room and read 9:08 AM on the digital oven clock. That was a personal achievement after the last week or so of staying up until 4:00 AM, hanging in there long enough to pull together a bare bones breakfast and box lunch for Fink, and then crashing until 5 or 6 before Fink returned from school or Boxmore.

He padded into the kitchen as he mentally cataloged notes to send with Fink on why she was late as well as easy but actually nutritious lunches to send with her. So much of him hated that he’d relied on Snackables so much the past few days. He kept imagining an okay-ish tuna sandwich next to flimsy cardboard packaging with crackers, dubious lunch meat, plastic cheese, and radioactive colored candy. Fink loved it. She bragged that her friends were jealous with a big grin on her face. That was now. What kind of look would she give him when she was in her early 30’s and remembered that he knew how to competently cook but opted for shortcuts instead?

That train of thought wasn’t even needed. Today was Saturday. Fink said she’d be gaming. Then Venomous found a note attached to the fridge: Hey Boss! The tournament got rescheduled. So I’m helping Raymond and Shannon raid a cruise liner today! They have lobster. I’ll make sure to bring home leftovers.

A mix of hurt and pride panged through Venomous. Previously, Fink asked to join him on every villainous caper, business trip, or big event. Lately, if she wasn’t gaming with friends, she was hanging out with her step-siblings or new friends somewhere “irl.” She still said hi, let him know where she was going, and kept a generally friendly rapport. After the horror stories Venomous heard from other parents about teenagers, that had to mean something. Fink was just starting to enter her teenage years though. There was still time for heLinkr to develop resentment towards him.

That’s probably how K.O. felt right now. He had every reason to hate PV and never talk to him again. That’d been earned. Very painfully earned. The part of him that still gripped his head on straight with little ribbons of hot glue and sticky tack knew he should leave all of that alone. The part of him that was itching to throw back a full bottle of absinthe before 11:00 in the morning was making a beeline for his phone.

He’d dialed the number before stronger self-control would have stopped him.

“...hello?” Silver Spark’s voice drifted in from the other line. “Carol speaking. Sorry for not recognizing your number. I think it’s been long enough since we exchanged numbers I don’t remember. Who is this?”

“…Lase-Professor Venomous.” He swallowed heavily and felt like he’d been hit by an intense bolt of lightning. “Professor Venomous.”

“Um...oh. Ahm, okay.” She didn’t sound completely upset but her tone wasn’t as pleasant as before either. “Did you need something for paperwork?”https://archiveofourown.org/works/56784448/chapters/144365029

“….no.”

“Okay….” Carol cleared her throat. “We got all of your child support payments. If that’s what you were calling about. Everything on that front has been smooth sailing.”

“Good.” Venomous stared intensely at the nearest kitchen counter. There was a marbling pattern over everything he hadn’t noticed before.

“Yeah….” Impatience was starting to creep into Carol’s tone.

“I’m sorry.” The words just tumbled out. “I’m sorry….about everything.”

It felt like time itself stopped. If the oven clock digital display wasn’t flashing, Venomous would have started entertaining the thought of a time wizard or a highly-advanced lizard creature with space-time warping powers crawling around the apartment. Almost two agonizing minutes passed. Carol’s breathing on the other end of the phone became a little strained.

“Are you okay?” Of course he had to follow up dropping an emotional bomb with an equally stupid foot-in-mouth comment.

“Professor Venomous,” Carol said with a slight stutter. “I-If we’re talking about this, I’d rather do it in person.”

“I...understand.” He felt his heart start fluttering around his rib cage like a hummingbird desperately trying to break free.

****

Our Beloved Docktor Frogg

League of Super Evil Fan Fic with some O.K. K.O.! crossover references

Synopsis: Docktor Frogg is starting to feel stagnant towards his overall life and career as a mad scientist. He wonders if the grass is greener somewhere else working for someone other than Voltar the Saturday morning cartoon flop.

A03: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56704720/chapters/144145309

Snippet from Part II: Sandwich Artist Gene

“Can I take your order?” The waitress’ voice was familiar but Frogg couldn’t quite place why.

“Lizzy?” Frogg immediately shot up at Voltar’s excited tone of voice. “It’s been awhile! How are you?”

“It’s Elizabeth, Voltar.” Lightning Liz, sans her trademark yellow exo-suit, stood behind the counter in a light blue polo shirt, washed out capris, a black apron, and a nametag with her name written in the same crude scrawl as the sign out front. It’d been a few years since Frogg had seen Liz in person instead of the newspaper or videos on various news sites. So it floored him a bit how much older she was now. Didn’t she just graduate from high school not too long ago?

He remembered Voltar gushing about Liz graduating as class salutatorian as if she was his younger sister.

“I’m doing great!” Liz continued with a small and genuine smile. “You got the invite for Tiff and I’s wedding, right? You better RSVP. Soon.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Voltar flapped his hand. “I saw the many, many links for your wedding registry. I haven’t RSVP’d yet because I’m working on getting that-”

“Don’t tell me what you ordered! It’ll ruin the surprise.” Liz squealed. “I have something fantastic in mind for your birthday later this year too. You better keep that day open if you know what’s good for you.”

“I have it marked on my planner. Whole day is open.”

“Good.”

“So, we have this coupon….” Voltar pointed towards Red and not so subtly shifted his gaze towards the thin strip of paper in Red’s big hand.

“Yeah, yeah.” Liz returned the sass Voltar dished out less than a minute ago. “So, I’m getting the vegan sandwich for him.” She pointed at Red. “An extra meaty sandwich for him with extra provolone cheese.” She pointed at Frogg. “And you want the meatball sub with the works?”

At that, Voltar gasped and his antennae started shaking with his excitement. “You guys have that extra spicy mustard?!”

“Of course!” Liz nodded, but her cheerful disposition immediately turned sour. “I skimmed the 4-page essay you sent me about it.”

When Voltar whooped and started doing a victory dance in the middle of the restaurant, Frogg visibly shuddered and looked around Red to see if any other stools were open.

“You’ll be happy to know you’re not the only one that has a weird fascination with that mustard.” Liz sighed. “There was a weird woman in here the other day raving about it too.”

“From now on, I’m the only one getting that mustard here!” Voltar declared with an anime gesture fist to the air. “I get exclusive rights to it. Exclusive.”

“I still think you’re the only one that actually likes it,” Frogg said. “I don’t-”

“Don’t. Get. Him. Started.” Liz jabbed a finger in Frogg’s face for emphasis on each word and matched the points with a warning glare.

“How did you know what sandwiches we wanted?” Red tilted his head. “Are you psychic?”

“No.” Liz placed her hands on her hips. “Voltar writes about you guys on his blog.”

“You have a blog….” Frogg scratched his scalp. The past 5 minutes had revealed a lot about a side of Voltar that Frogg didn’t know much about, except for the spicy mustard obsession. Metrotown might not know that L.O.S.E. existed but random strangers definitely knew how particular Voltar was about his condiments.

“It’s not a blog! It’s supposed to be a newsletter…” Voltar grumbled.

“I told you that Zitter would get more reach,” Liz said with a self-satisfied smirk.

“I’m hungry. Can we place our orders now?” Voltar deliberately looked anywhere but Liz’s face.

“SANDWICH ARTIST GENE!” Liz yelled. “Order up!”

That’s when a painfully familiar face appeared at the order window in the kitchen. There was a surprisingly jovial Justice Gene with a wrinkled paper hat sitting on his head at an awkward angle. He had a couple of deep shadows under his eyes but otherwise, he had a legitimate smile on his face instead of the haughty, try-hard smirk Frogg was used to.

Liz rattled off food service industry shorthand that Frogg would never be able to translate despite his best efforts. Then Gene looked up a moment later. Recognition flashed across his face and Frogg was tapping his claws in a vain attempt to prepare the laser engraver setting he installed there a few days ago. Maybe it could be used as a laser gun with the right angle and a little imagination.

“Hey guys!” Gene said, emulating the friendly and personable air that came naturally to Red Menace but was really awkward on him. “Didn’t expect to see you at opening week of my new restaurant. I’m happy you’re willing to bury the hatchet to support a budding young entrepreneur!”

“I don’t know about young…” Frogg muttered under his breath while thinking about the gray hairs he’d pulled out of his scraggly tree of hair earlier this morning.

“What’s the catch, Gene?” Voltar snapped. “We haven’t seen you in almost a year and now you’ve lured us out with delicious subs. I demand to know what you’re planning!”

“There’s no catch,” Gene said. “I just got tired of not getting anywhere in the hero biz. Even for the five minutes I was a hero, I was still the guy that cleaned toilets and picked up fancy coffee orders. It was worse with an official costume because even though I’d technically made it, nobody respected me. I think you guys of all people know what that’s like…”

Both Gene’s personal account and the way his face fell struck an unnervingly deep chord with Frogg. The mix of sympathy and existential dread hit his heart hard enough it felt physical. He looked down and saw himself gripping the fabric of his lab coat right over his heart.

“The one thing everybody liked were my sub sandwiches.” A dreamy expression drifted onto Gene’s face. “The only time I got a real compliment from Glory Guy was for my magic touch with the panini press. I got demoted to trash collector one day and just started thinking ‘Is this the rest of my life?’ As I spent the day collecting trash, all I could think about were sandwiches. How sourdough is the king of bread. Flatbread is a perfect base for a classic BLT. I realized then: Instead of a superhero, maybe my calling is...making the perfect hero sandwiches for superheroes!” Gene gave an awkward laugh. “And everybody else, of course! Villains included. Everybody deserves a good, home-made sandwich.”

“I didn’t ask for your life story, Gene,” Voltar scowled.

“I’m so happy for you!” Red gushed and his affirmation drowned out Voltar’s snark. “You deserve to be happy. I hope you’re successful!”

Gene’s face was red and he bashfully ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you.”

****

[cherokeegal1975]

Unexpected Cargo: Free Book Online

Johnathan was a family man and cargo runner and had no interest in getting entangled in royal affairs. So, when a deposed and fleeing princess arranges a meeting to give him a package to keep safe, he was reluctant to take it. But she convinced him to hide the royal seal until she needed it back despite himself. Unknown to him, she had also ticked him into carrying another precious cargo.

When Johnathan learns of the trick, he’s furious. When he confronts the princess about it, he learns it’ll be impossible to return it before it’s appointed time. Then she tells him of an unbreakable bond between them and ends a long search for someone he had lost as a boy. So, instead of revenge, he does what he can to help her. He must also avoid capture; the King would execute Johnathan if he ever found out about his secret cargo.

Links to chapters here:

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 1 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 2 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 3 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 4 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 5 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 6 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 7 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 8 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 9 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 10 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 11 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 12 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 13 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 14 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 15 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 16 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 17 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 18 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 19 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 20 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 21 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 22 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 23 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Ch. 24 by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Unexpected Cargo Epilogue by CherokeeGal1975 on DeviantArt

Author's note: Okay, so I'm posting this again. I really want to know your opinions. I'll appreciate a critique if you're willing to do that. Constructive criticism will be welcome too.

I'm looking for a range of opinions and thoughts from a lot of people. I want to get a feel for how well I did with this book and I can't do that with a small group of people. As in only a few have made comments, it's hard to get a real idea of how well I really did. So, a broader range is needed. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.

I believe that I did a good job overall, but it's nice to get some perspective.

This book is an mpreg, but only because I went on an online dumpster dive as far as stories. I found that I didn't like most of what I discovered, though it was worth exploring just for the sake of my curiosity. I was inspired by it too. Thought I'd like to try to do my own version just to see if I could do better. And that led to my experimental plot, to turn what most people make into a plot stinker into a good story.

There is no fetish anything in this book. That I avoided intentionally. The main three protagonists are a cargo runner, a dragon that spends a lot of her time in the form of a little girl and a lovely talking golden rat. There's a fourth traveling companion that is of a romantic interest for my main character...with some small complications in their relationship.

I did my best to make a well-balanced plot overall. And I'm not going to give out any more spoilers than I have already.

So...feedback please! I rarely get any and all of it is appreciated very much.

Cover art by Noonibean, who is also a good writer and worth looking up on DeviantART.

[loveandthings11]

How Deep My Love Goes, Chapter 8

Read on AO3 Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7

Dusting

Kendall’s eyes are still closed, but he smiles as he hears their bedroom door open.

“It’s 12:30 in the afternoon,” Rava says with a flirty put-on scold in her voice as she walks in and sees the sun peeking around the blackout shades.

“Uh huh,” he mumbles into the pillow. “I knew you’d be back.” She laughs and he opens his eyes a crack. “How long was that?” He asks. She crosses her arms and shakes her head. He can see the flush on her face. “Come on. How long?”

She tries not to grin too obviously and looks away.

“Two hours. Okay? But I got a lot done!”

He smirks at her.

“Sure.”

“I wanted to… see what you were doing.”

“Good. Come here,” he says.

“And I wanted to ask if you’re ever going to get up,” She says, like it’s a silly act. They both know what she’s doing here.

“Are there waffles?” He rolls over onto his back and she glances at his shoulders, his chest, the soft t-shirt he’d put back on when she’d gone into her office earlier. He gives her a sleepy smile and she wants to be in those arms again.

“No… no waffles,” she answers slowly.

“Then no, I’m not getting up,” he replies. He lazily looks her up and down, notices the way her filmy shirt is almost sheer enough for him to see through. “Come back to bed.” He reaches his hand out from under the blankets and she takes it. His bedroom voice has always been irresistible.

“Ken,” she smiles as he pulls her into bed and up against him. “At some point you have to get up.”

“No, you have to stop getting up,” he says. He looks at her from two inches away. “Which one of us is regretting our decision?” She chuckles silently in feigned disapproval like she used to when he’d convince her to skip class to stay in bed with him. He smiles as he can feel her melting into him for the third time since last night, breathing him in like she needs him. It’s true. The walls are down and she hasn’t been able to get enough of him. Making up for lost time has become their passion. She presses herself into him, feeling the way his arms wind around her and keep her warm. Hot.

“Um, I also wanted to ask if you’ve decided about family therapy- so we can plan,” she ventures before she can’t think anymore.

“What do you have on under this?” He mutters, sliding his hands under her shirt.

The bedroom marathon is an effective avoidance tactic. Kendall’s been ignoring the therapy invitation for the last two days. He’s also been ignoring all the endless requests for comment on the relapse story in favor of trying to stop Rava from getting out of bed for any reason.

She’s been majorly enjoying their sexy reconnection, but she can’t help but notice his lasting unwillingness to go out and the slow, sad way he blinks down at the floor when he thinks she isn’t looking every now and then. She knows he’s still feeling terrible about losing his job and about the fake relapse article, and it’s made her lose what little patience she had ever had with the tabloid press. The other day, she’d picked up his phone when she’d seen a journalist from a more reputable paper pop up on the screen while she thought he was sleeping.

“Of course he’s still sober,” she’d snapped quietly. “You and I both know the Post is full of lies, just like its owner. Maybe you should be the only one to report the truth.”

Kendall had pretended not to hear, but he’d smiled as she laid down next to him that night and he had wanted to stay as close as possible to her ever since. When her words had made a headline, he’d taken screenshots and saved them to his favorites.

He kisses her neck and knows she’s his now. She sighs contentedly into his hair as the feeling takes her over.

“Goddddd. I take back what I said the other day about you finding a new career,” she murmurs. “You should stay here in bed so I can come see you on my lunch breaks.”

“So, that makes me your what- your sex toy?”

“Are you volunteering?” She asks in the sassy way that drives him crazy.

He gives her a mock-serious look.

“Volunteering? You’re not even paying me? While I don’t have a job?”

She laughs out loud at his unexpected humor about such a dark situation. His self-deprecating jokes are few and far-between, but they get her every time. He bites his lip. There is nothing sexier than when she’s laughing at his jokes. She pretends to be just as serious.

“And what would I pay you with? My husband is unemployed.”

He chuckles and slides down a few inches.

“I mean, you know, waffles would be good.”

“Okay. I’ll pay you in waffles.” She plays with his hair a little bit.

He looks up at her with her favorite smile-smirk.

“Now?”

“Such a demanding sex toy.” She rolls over to get up for a very late breakfast and he pulls her back into his arms.

“No, don’t get up,” he insists. “Just… stay here. I want to lick syrup off you. Text Chef. He’ll bring it.”

“You know, I was working before,” she teases.

“This is important,” his muffled voice comes up from under the blanket where he’s nestling his face in her chest. She gives in, reaching for her phone to order brunch in bed. “You showed me that article about how physical contact can extend your life, like, ten years ago. I’m just looking after you.”

“Wow,” she laughs. “So you were listening.”

“I always listen to you,” he says, thinking of her heartfelt words from their talk. Even after seeing him at his worst, lower than anyone else would ever know, even after losing her for the exact reason he was always terrified he would, it turns out that she loved him through it. She’s still in love with him, she still remembers sweet moments from all the phases of their life together just the way he does. Hearing how lovingly and positively she really thinks of him has been the best confidence booster he could imagine. Maybe she doesn’t think of the bad things as often as he feared. He’d felt so alone for so long, and even after they’d gotten back together, he’d felt like they were one fight away from having it all crumble again. After their talk, he finally feels like it’s real. He’s done enough therapy to know that insecurities don’t just disappear, but they can shrink with time. With love.

Every time he starts worrying again, it seems his thoughts get quieted by hearing another sleepy “I love you” when he thought she was already asleep, by getting pulled into acting silly at a nightly family dinner with the kids, by her smile at him when he looks up from his latest management book, and by the way she lays her head on his chest just to make sure his heart isn’t beating too fast. He sees Sophie and Iverson seeing it all and is so grateful that this is their new normal. So grateful it’s his new normal.

The way she’s wrapping herself around him makes his entire body buzz. He’d almost forgotten what it felt like to be loved emotionally and physically at the same time. He doesn’t want to let go of her ever.

She looks at him and they twinkle at each other. He had worried that it was impossible, but now he feels like the best parts of the past are finally overtaking the worst. Now when he looks around the bathroom he doesn’t shrink at the memories of her scoffing at nosebleeds or hear their yelling echoing off the marble. He sees his nervous first day as COO a few years back, when she’d looked at him in the mirror and said he looked so sexy in his new suit that she was going to need him to play boss right there before he left. He’d walked out an hour later feeling like he could do it. He sees the nights when the kids would have sleepovers away and she’d light candles by the bathtub and tell him they should really enjoy the stunning view. He always did. She’d look into his eyes in the mess of bubbles and neither of them even had to speak.

He’s looking content just thinking about it and she’s so happy to see his genuine smile that she kisses his cheek and smile creases just to feel them for herself. It fills his head with memories of their early years and makes him feel like he’s floating on air. She has a way of making the weight on his shoulders lift off, of pulling him out of the currents.

She closes her eyes as she tucks his head under her chin. She’d hoped all that time that they could find this place again. She couldn’t find it on the map for a while, but now that she’s back, she never wants to leave. It’s even more beautiful than she remembered. Her face hurts from smiling.

She looks back down at him and whispers, “I told Chef to bring extra syrup.” He looks hungry for more than waffles.

……………..

The fire in the family room’s fireplace crackles as they sit together after dinner. The kids are watching cartoons on YouTube on the other side of the room and Kendall’s watching the fire. Rava looks at him and thinks now might be a good time to ask him again about the dreaded therapy retreat.

“Ken,” she starts. “Are you going to-“

“I don’t know,” he sighs. “I- just can’t deal with Roman.” His eyes widen. “Or Dad. Fuck.”

She glances at the kids and gives him a look.

“Yeah, sorry.” He forgets to keep it PG sometimes. “That’s a bad word,” he says unconvincingly in the kids’ direction. They’re not paying attention.

“Roman must be feeling bad,” Rava almost asks him.

“Uh, maybe. He might be glad we’re done.”

“I doubt that,” she says. She tilts her head to look more closely at him. “And you’re not done.”

He shrugs.

“He could’ve backed me and he didn’t. Like… that was his choice. I mean, he has to live with that now.”

She’s quiet. She’s always been aware of how much the brothers need each other. He reads her face.

“But you think I should go.” He shifts and looks at her for confirmation.

“Well, it might be a good thing to patch things up sooner rather than later, right? Your dad is… something else. But at least with Roman.” She knows he would regret losing that relationship.

He sighs.

……………..

The car rolls over the New Mexican road as Kendall and Rava look out opposite windows at all the open space. It’s uncomfortable after so much time in the city, after staying in the apartment for over a week. It feels exposed. They’re sitting sideways in the SUV so she can lean back on him with his arm around her. She knows it helps him feel less stressed when she lies on him. It had been difficult to hear the terrible questions the waiting paparazzi had had for him the moment he’d walked out the door and he’d almost turned around and gone back in.

“This is weird,” she says. “I can’t believe you’re really going to therapy with them.”

He drums his fingers on her arm and stares at nothing.

“Yeah. Me neither. Maybe we should stop, you know. No reason to rush.”

They’d just had an early dinner at a roadside diner. Kendall made a face when they walked in and she playfully nudged him and fed him bites of grilled cheese as they sat on the same side of the booth. She threw a fry at him and he looked at her disapprovingly before looking around and deciding to toss one her way. It landed on the floor in front of some other people walking to a table. She laughed quietly and he noticed them glaring.

“Sorry about her,” he said with a smirk.

“Really??” She threw another one at him and he ducked and gave her a devilish grin. “I’m not talking to you,” she said. She turned the other way and pretended to ignore him. She could feel his eyes on her.

“It’s so hot when you pretend you’re not obsessed with me,” he said in a low voice as he turned her around and kissed her and a few people looked over.

The waitress rolled her eyes when they shared a milkshake, but they just laughed and whispered like they always did when they went out. Sometimes they really couldn’t help themselves. Some things never change.

Since they’ve gotten back in the car, he’s been getting more and more concerned about seeing his family and she knows he’d be looking for any reason to delay arriving. She can tell he’s thinking of nothing but the vote and the article now and it’s infuriating him more than it was before.

“Where would you want to stop?” She asks.

“I don’t know.” From behind his sunglasses, his eyes follow the pub they’re driving past and she glances at it.

“Well, not there!” She tries to turn it into a joke and he tries to snap out of it.

“Right, yeah. Not there.”

She takes his hand that’s slung over her shoulder.

“Well, we’ll be at the house soon, won’t we?” She asks.

“Yeah.” He pauses. “Actually, I have no idea. Everything looks the same here.”

“Are you nervous? Because I kind of am,” she admits with a small laugh. It’s true and she wants him to know he’s not alone.

“I don’t know. I, uh- I mean, I guess. I might actually kill Dad, so, maybe.” His tone has no humor. She can feel the seething under the low-key exterior he’s projecting.

“Can’t blame you,” she says.

They sit in silence for a minute while he considers what might have happened just now if she weren’t here

“Do you know how fucking terrible this would have been without you?” He says. “I don’t even know what I would’ve…” She tries not to give away how much the trailing off worries her. “…I’m glad you’re here.” He wraps both arms around her from behind.

“Me too.” She looks back at him with concern in her eyes and he pretends he didn’t see it. She feels his anxious state and wants to do something to make them both feel more confident when they get there.

“Hey,” she says brightly all of a sudden. “You know what we need right now? T.I.”

His laughter breaks the tension.

“What? You don’t remember T.I.”

“Track three on Kendall’s Jamz iPod playlist 2004?” She says. “You don’t think I picked up the words?” She picks up her phone. “Play ‘Bring Em Out.’” He’s giving her an amused look as the music fills the car.

“You know, like one verse of this, max. This is my shit.”

“Actually, I think I might be a better rapper than you now.”

“Fuck off, not possible. But okay, sure. Rap for me.”

She looks back and raises her eyebrows at him. Even when he’s joking, it’s still insanely hot when he casually drops a command like that. She goes for it and surprises him by knowing every word of the party anthem. He’s shaking his head and smiling.

“How long did you sit around working on this?” He calls over the chorus, smirk all over his face imagining her studying the song lyrics in front of her laptop after the kids had gone to bed.

“Please, you didn’t turn this song off for two years!!” She yells back. “Are you telling me you don’t know the words?”

“Of course I know the fucking words-“

“Well?”

He shakes his head again.

“Fine, fine.”

He looks at her and they smile. They’re both thinking the same thing.

The song sounds like 23, sounds like Kendall and Stewy yelling “I can’t hear yooouuuu” at the top of their lungs in the VIP booths with Rava and her friends and Stewy’s models laughing hysterically over endless bottles of Belvedere. It sounds like afterparties at Kendall’s apartment, sounds like coked-out Kendall pulling Rava into a marble bathroom the size of a museum exhibit and ripping a $7000 minidress off her body as she’d squealed. He’d buy her another one tomorrow. It sounds like lifting her onto the sink so he could watch in the mirror. Like ordering her to leave the heels on and listening to her breathe out filthy thoughts in his ear. The words were rare for her back then, too, and it’s the only time he heard them from her lips. He was a bad influence and she liked it. It drove him crazy to know what was really in her head when she glanced up at him while she was reading in her button-up shirts during the day.

The song sounds like the times he laughed when the paparazzi called out that Logan would hate this, when he rolled his eyes and called out that they could fuck off and led an entourage of twelve into a stretch limo with flashing lights the paps could see through the tinted windows. She’d held his hand and smiled as she thought how rebellious and unbelievably exciting he was.

It sounds like the time he’d done a line off Rava’s thigh in the limo and told her they were going to be on the cover of US Weekly while everyone cheered them on. He’d rolled back the sunroof and stood up to make out with her with their heads outside the car. She’d playfully screamed while the paparazzi cars had swerved around them and the wind had blown through her hair. He’d been right about the cover. Waystar’s head of PR had called him so many times the next day that he’d turned it into a drinking game while Rava slept in his t-shirt til 2:00 PM. When she’d worried about the angry calls from her proper and scandalized parents, he’d said she should ignore them. She’d thrown her head back and laughed because she’d never thought of that before.

It sounds like not caring what anyone thinks. It sounds like freedom.

She looks at his sweater and smiles. Circumstances change, but she knows that guy’s wild spirit is still in there. The second verse starts and they both have every bit perfectly. The car turns onto the driveway and Kendall looks out the window at Roman standing outside. He leans toward the driver.

“Hey, can you turn it up?” She’s watching his transformation to his old more confident self. The car vibrates with the beat and she starts chuckling at the absurdity of their impending entrance in the middle of the desert. The car rolls to a stop and the driver opens the door with the music still blaring. She slides out the same side as him so they can both be ridiculous. He walks toward the house with her on his arm like they used to walk into the club with the cameras flashing and the whole line staring.

Roman’s been waiting for him, hoping to catch him early and talk about the no-confidence vote fiasco.

“Wow,” he says to Kendall. “You’re even more annoying than usual. Seriously, are you gonna talk to me?”

Kendall walks by like he’s not there and Rava snorts with laughter as she holds onto his arm and they walk into the house. She’s willing to give up a little dignity to see this version of him.

“Rava, you’re making him worse!” Roman calls after them. The door shuts behind them and he can hear her laughing. She knows they can talk later and she’s having too much fun.

Kendall’s still serious and keeping his sunglasses on. He glances at her.

“Okay. We did need T.I.”

“I thought so. Are you going to take your sunglasses off or are we going full T-Pain?”

He sighs as he pulls them off. He swallows hard and looks around. The ego fades quickly.

“Yeah, actually I don’t know if I can do this. I-I told you we should’ve stayed home. Or- the car. That was good, let’s just leave, you know, we could do more of that.”

“It might be better than you think,” she says in an upbeat voice. “Connor’s here, let’s at least go find him before you decide.” She takes his hand and he reluctantly walks with her down the hall.

Connor pops his head out of a room at the sound of their footsteps.

“Hey! You’re here!”

He’s so warm and happy that it changes the whole worried mood. He walks out and hugs Kendall before turning to Rava.

“Rava! I’m so glad you’re here. You two are so cute. You know, I’m so glad we both found love like this, Kenny.”

Kendall raises his eyebrows.

“Uh, yeah, absolutely. Me too.”

“Honey!” Connor calls loudly into the room. Willa walks out looking a little distracted.

“Hey, guys. Glad you could make it.”

“Willa’s just agreed to move in with me here!” Connor’s so excited. Rava takes one look at Willa and knows exactly what’s going on.

“Really! Wow, there’s a change from the city,” she says.

“Yeah… but Con says he has those Starbucks coffee pod things, so… it’ll be great!” Willa couldn’t sound more like she’s trying.

“Definitely. Well, you and I will have plenty of time to chat while these two are in session!” Rava’s enthusiasm is almost as feigned, but she knows all this is necessary. She turns to Connor. “For now, is our room-“

“Yeah! Right down the hall.”  He points and Kendall and Rava head down the hallway. “Seriously, I’m so happy you guys are here. I knew you’d have to come see me eventually.”

When the door shuts behind them, they look at each other and chuckle.

“I’m so glad he found love,” Kendall says sarcastically.

She makes a face and laughs as she shakes her head.

“Well, don’t you feel better that he’s going to be there too?” She asks.

“I guess. I mean, Roman’s there, though, so… and Dad, obviously. Fuck. I’ll just tell the therapist I only talk to my older sibling. Shiv’s probably been turned anyway.”

“I don’t know, after what your dad just did to you, she might have been pulled toward your perspective.”

“Sure. Maybe.”

Connor’s voice comes through the hallway.

“Okay, everyone! The therapist is here!”

Kendall freezes up and she takes a step over to him. She gives him a hug and she can feel how tense he just got.

“Hey,” she says softly. “You don’t even have to stay. If it’s bad you can walk right out again and come back down the hall and I’ll be right here and we’ll go. And if it’s better than you think, then you’ll still come right back here. Oh- and, um, maybe bring up the kids. You know, Sophie was pretty upset, so…”

He hates that Sophie was affected by the article with every fiber of his being. He nods.

“Yeah. Okay. I’m gonna go kill them.”

“Right, that is the right attitude to have when going into therapy with your family.”

There’s a ghost of a smile and then he’s out the door.

……………..

“Yeah? Fuck you, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Rava looks up instantly at the rare sound of Kendall defending himself. His footsteps get closer to where she is on the patio with a very uncomfortable Willa and a defiant Marcia. It’s getting dark and she gets up immediately. He’s the only person in this house she actually cares to talk to, and no matter what happened in there, she’s looking forward to being alone with him in their room.

He looks incredibly stressed as he gives them a nod.

“Hey, Rav, can we-“

“Yep. Bye, guys.”

She rushes away with him down the hall. The second the door closes behind them he sits on the couch and she sits right across from him in the chair. He takes a shaky breath.

“That was… difficult.”

“What happened??”

“Uh- Shiv was actually on my side. She knew the story wasn’t real.” He pauses and takes another quick breath. “Dad didn’t give a fuck and admitted he made it up. And he didn’t care about Sophie, obviously. He said I gave him no choice.”

Rava stares at him.

“Does he even hear himself when he speaks?” She asks. He looks stiff and too tightly wound as he shrugs, his shoulders barely moving.

“Connor was pissed too, but Roman was still just too scared to say anything, really.” He looks at her and shakes his head. “I tried to get him out with that vote. I did. And I tried here, I even fucking… talked to him, tried to tell him what’s going to happen if he sticks with Dad. But he’s not going to listen while Dad’s in the room, so, I don’t know.” He looks down and takes in a shallow inhale. “I think he’s gone, you know, he’s- he’s going to get stuck under Dad’s thumb and I can’t stop it. Like, it sounds fucking stupid but I thought if I could talk to him maybe I could- save him. Roman will believe anything Dad says. I didn’t want him to just end up…”

“What? Like you?” She feels so sad that he thinks like this. “Oh, you’re his big brother, I’m sure some part of him is doing this because he wants to be like you.”

He shakes his head.

“Yeah, I really don’t think so. He just wants to take everything I worked for and he won’t believe it’s all for nothing.” She gives him a look of protest. 16 years of work couldn’t be for nothing. “He’ll get fucked, too. Couldn’t save him from that.” He tenses up further. “It was stupid anyway.”

She looks at him sadly.

“Wanting to save him isn’t stupid.” She can relate to the impulse. “You know how your dad intimidates better than anyone. Roman’s probably freaking out and regretting it.” She thinks back to all the times over the years she’d suggested Kendall get out and how he just couldn’t imagine it. “Well, you know best- it’s hard to leave when you feel like you have Logan’s approval.”

He looks so upset that she wishes she hadn’t said that. It takes effort for him to exhale and she notices as she realizes what he's thinking.

“Ken, he’s not going to replace you.” His face falls and she knows she just found the bottom of the pit. The idea that Roman could become the new him, the new favorite son, is making him sick. She reaches for his hand. “What happened at the end there?” She asks cautiously. He’s struggling to get the words out through the stress.

“Dad- Dad called Shiv a coward and she started crying. I told him to shut up and he said -he said I’m too fucked on drugs to have an opinion, I’m nothing, nobody. I just- didn’t want to listen to his shit anymore.”

Rava’s mouth falls open. Somehow she always manages to block out the extent of Logan’s cruelty until it’s staring her in the face. Kendall looks at her uncertainly. He still seems like he’s not feeling okay.

“It’s- you know it’s not true, about the drugs.”

“I know,” she replies. There’s no hesitation and he notices. She gives him a small smile. “I’m trying this new thing where I’m assuming the best.”

He gazes at her and slowly takes that in. He sighs a little.

“Yeah? Why can’t anyone else do that?”

Her heart breaks for him. She knows how much importance he places on what everyone else thinks.

She takes a few steps to stand behind the couch so she can massage his shoulders and try to soften the knots there. After a minute she leans over him from behind and slides her arms over his chest. She can feel the fast beating. He holds her hand over his heart. She hasn’t seen the level of sadness and anxiety that takes since the nights he’d come to see her on the verge of tears, holding her hand there so she’d know it was still hers if she wanted it. She walks around to sit down and put her arm around him and she can tell it’s still hard for him to breathe evenly. He runs his hands over his face.

“I fucking miss Xanax sometimes,” he admits. Though she knows the pills were usually taken in excess and sometimes crushed into lines, she knows they would help him manage how anxious he feels sometimes. He worries about the fact that he just said that. He doesn’t want her to think he’s going to get any of it, even though he really wishes he could.

“I know,” she says in a tone of understanding. “I can't stand that he does this to you.”

“Well,” he sounds strained. “You know, he's not wrong about being nobody now." She opens her mouth to object. "And he had it hard, and- I- I know he loves me, but.. he hates me.”

She inhales sharply. She can’t stand that he still feels the need to defend his father, especially when he feels like this. She takes a half-second to collect herself so she won’t start ranting against Logan.

“He was wrong. That job was not who you are." She pauses and he tries to process that. "And he doesn’t hate you,” she whispers. “That’s impossible.” He shrugs and stares down. “He just doesn’t know how to love, Ken.”

His eyes flit up and search hers like they do when he hears something he desperately wishes he could change. He knows she’s right and it makes him feel even more short of breath.

“You do, though,” she says gently. He holds her hand.

She puts her other hand back to feel his heartbeat again. Still too fast to be sitting still. She looks at him worriedly and he looks down before leaning into her. He’s tired of being needy. He wishes she needed him for once. She thinks how sweet it is that he always comes to her for comfort and he wonders if she’s sick of this yet. She knows it’s just a hard phase. Being there when Logan makes his life hellish is part of being with him, and she’s always been happy to be his safe place. But he thinks she probably wants more time away from him, he thinks he’s being exhausting.

Then he remembers his therapist’s words about not assuming negative thoughts in Rava’s head. “Listen to the words she says out loud,” she’d told him. “Watch her actions to find out how she feels.”

He thinks he’ll give Rava a break just to be safe and tries unsuccessfully to get a deeper breath in. She’s seen where the shallow breathing and racing heart can lead and she doesn’t want him to be alone for even a minute.

“Okay,” he says a little stiffly, trying to seem fine. “I’m going to change before we go to bed.”

“Wait a second,” she says quietly, pulling him closer to her. He gives in right away and they’re still for a couple of minutes while he tries to steady himself. “Everything’s okay. You’re safe, I’m here, this is real.” She can’t bear to see him suffer a panic attack. Even the memories of the few she’s seen over the years are enough to make her tear up. She hides her expression and keeps her arms around him gently, not too tightly, while she counts out breaths for the exercises that she remembers used to help. He slowly starts to return to normal over the course of some very long-feeling minutes. He tries not to think about how immediate the relief was from crushing up his old pills and taking a shot or three and he squeezes her hand as he pushes the thought away and takes some deeper breaths.

“Let’s go home tomorrow and get back in bed like yesterday,” she whispers in his ear. She rubs his back and feels a slight and effortful smile cross his face as he remembers that that is exactly where they’ll be a day from now. She kisses his cheek. “That was good.”

“Yeah,” he says. “That was good.”

“And it’ll be good again.” She feels a little guilty for encouraging him to attend therapy with the whole family. He wasn’t ready for that. Maybe the family just isn’t going to be able to get along. “You go change, I’ll be right here.” He takes a more relaxed breath.

He walks back toward the closet and Rava hears a knock at the door. She glances toward the bedroom before deciding to open it to at least see who it is. Roman stands there leaning against the doorframe and looking around uncomfortably. Rava puts her hand on her hip. Sometimes the protective instinct comes out when Kendall doesn’t need any more piled on him.

“Hi,” she says cooly.

“Um… hey. Yeah, so I know you must be plotting my death along with the-“ he puts on a British accent “-king of dramatic melancholy- and all, but I was sort of hoping you could take a break for a minute so I could…” His head rolls around and he sighs as he looks up at her from an angle “….talk to him.”

She knows enough to understand how hard it was for him to come here. She sighs too. She thinks it would be best for them to mend things.

“You’d have to ask him,” she replies. “But, seriously, Roman, you have to take it easy-“

“Yeah, yeah. I got it,” Roman says. He was in the session and he knows his brother. She gives him a look.

“I’m serious,” she tells him. He puts his hands up and rolls his eyes in a mock-surrender. He’s not here to spar.

Kendall walks out at the sound of their voices, pulling on a t-shirt.

“What are you doing here?” He asks Roman in a tone that means “get out.”

“I want to, fucking.. talk about this shit.”

Kendall walks up behind Rava and pushes the door shut over her shoulder. He shakes his head and she looks at him for a moment.

“Oh, now you feel bad for him?” He asks grumpily. She shrugs.

“I didn’t say that.”

He sits down on the couch in a sullen mood. Roman knocks again and Rava looks at Kendall.

“What?” He asks, expecting her to tell him which way to go.

“Nothing,” she says. “This is your thing, you do what you think is right. I’ll be in here.” She pats his shoulder as she walks into the bedroom and closes the door, leaving him to think for a second as he looks down at the coffee table. He walks over to the door and opens it, looking at Roman like he’s an annoying bug.

“Two minutes,” he says, returning to the couch.

“Fine,” says Roman, awkwardly perching on the arm of the chair across from him and crossing his arms. He takes in a breath. “I’m… sorry… about the vote.”

Kendall stares at him.

“Okay.”

Roman’s quiet for a second.

“Is that it?” Kendall asks.

“No, fuck. Just.. hang on.” Roman tries to get his thoughts together. “Um, Stewy really wants to talk to you. Like, he seriously won’t shut up about it.”

“Yeah, well. I blocked him.”

“Well, maybe undo that because there might be a way to fix things.”

“Fix things? Why would I believe that coming from either one of you?” Kendall scoffs.

“I mean, are you only going to talk to Rava and your army of assistants for the rest of your life?” Roman rolls his eyes.

Maybe.

“No.”

I also talk to the kids, he thinks.

“Come on. I’ve called you 300 times.” Roman walks the line between annoyed and conciliatory.

“Why don’t you just tell me what you think is going to undo what you did?” Kendall glares at him and he sighs and seems to shrink a little.

“Fine. Remember when Sandy Furness came to the office?”

“You mean before you got me fired? Yeah. I remember.”

Roman looks to the side anxiously. He wishes he could express how shitty he feels.

“What?” Kendall asks.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?” Roman seems to shrug with his whole body and starts pacing the room with his hands on his hips. “You weren’t there! And Dad was…” He squirms and looks away.

Kendall looks at him.

“And you need me to be there to do the right thing with Dad? Come on.” Roman can’t look at him and Kendall softens as he realizes what Roman’s saying. “Uh… wow, okay.” He didn’t realize his presence was so important to his little brother. Roman waves him off.

“I mean, fuck you, obviously I don’t want you around.”

Kendall smiles to himself for a second.

“Right. Well, you know I wanted to be there. I tried. But, I don’t know. Can’t do anything about it now.”

“Aaaaactually, maybe we can. I think- we might have an in. You might not like this, but Sandy’s in at Waystar through this shell corporation. He bought in when Stewy did.” Kendall feels a little queasy. Another betrayal by Stewy. “I think we should talk to Sandy.” Kendall’s surprised.

“We?”

Roman covers part of his face for a second as he looks up at him.

“Yeah. If you-“

Kendall raises his eyebrows and thinks for a second.

“Well, I’m not talking to Stewy,” he says.

“Fine, don’t. Just- come to Tom’s bachelor party. Sandy’s gonna be there, because he’s a disgusting creep apparently. Talk to Stewy or don’t, but you should at least try this. I mean, if you can handle yourself around all that bachelor party shit. It’s like… another fucking chance to try for the top job.”

Kendall looks at him. Maybe it really is a peace offering.

“I’ll think about it,” he says.

“Okay. Good.”

Roman turns to walk out.

“Hey, Rome?”

Roman turns around and sees Kendall smiling.

“Yeah, fuck off,” Roman says, walking out the door. He turns around. “But we’re good, though?”

Kendall nods.

“We’re good.”

Roman walks out and Kendall pushes the bedroom door open.

Rava looks up from where she’s typing on her laptop on the bed and sees a much happier expression on his face. He looks at her for a second and thinks about how nice it is that she’s only a few feet away these days.

“Hi,” he says, climbing into bed.

"Hi," she smiles as she sets aside the laptop. He glances at it.

"You're working now?"

"Oh, yeah... it's gotten a little intense. But that's for later. How was the talk? You look better!”

“I mean, you know, he’s Roman. But, uh, I do think you were right.”

She gives him a smirk.

“About what- everything? You’re surprised?”

“Okay,” he smiles. “I don’t have to tell you.”

“Tell me!” She pokes his arm.

“I think- yeah, maybe he's not actually in Dad's pocket.” He sounds relieved and she’s so glad. “And he might want to do another operation overthrow.” She raises her eyebrows. She doesn’t know about that, but she decides it’s the time to be supportive.

“Well, good. See?” She tilts her head to look at him with the kindness he loves so much. “No one’s replacing you. No one could do that.” She wants to see his little smile. There it is.

She would rather be done talking about business and the family drama now, and she’s sure he’s over it for the night too. He settles in next to her and the corner of her mouth turns up a little as she looks at him.

“You know, you were fun in the car earlier.”

He chuckles.

“That was fun. I kinda forgot that you’re okay at that,” he teases.

She quietly starts singing the first part of the song. “It’s hard to yell when the background’s in your mouth-” He shakes his head and pulls her onto his chest.

“Yeah, don’t get too full of yourself. You’re not on my level,” he says. She laughs as she looks up at him and he gives her a lingering soft smile. “I’m just really grateful you’re here. Tonight might not have been great otherwise.”

She squeezes his hand and puts on an overdramatic whisper. “Well, I couldn’t be away from you for two whole days.” He keeps smiling. Listen to the words she says out loud.

She moves her head to the left side of his chest, another not-so-subtle heartbeat check. Slow and steady. He closes his eyes. Her actions will tell you how she feels.

Chapter 9 💗

[expresso-bean]

The Man Out of Time [A ShadAmy and Silver Story]: Chapter 11

Pairing: Shadow the Hedgehog x Amy Rose

Description: It has been seven years of peace following the grueling war with Eggman and his army. Though it took time to rebuild what they have lost, life for the Freedom Fighters could not be better. Whether it's finding love or trying to run from their past, celebrating post-war times has been different for each of them.

All is well until a silver hedgehog comes knocking on Amy Rose's door to deliver the tragic news about an incredible force that seems to be the cause of the future's destruction.

Will anyone believe the mysterious hedgehog's cry for help? Or will he be left to fight for his future alone? Read to find out!

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1.5k

POV: Sonic the Hedgehog

!! I do not own any of the art/gifs/borders used in my chapters. All credits to the rightful owners !!

Masterlist ❀ Ch.1 ❀ Ch.2 ❀ Ch.3 ❀ Ch.4 ❀ Ch.5 ❀ Ch.6 ❀ Ch.7 ❀ Ch.8 ❀ Ch.9 ❀ Ch.10

I fondly remember the days that she chased me, trying to get me to stop running from her and the affection she wanted to hand to me. I remember the way her emerald, green eyes sparkled with joy and love when she saw or talked to me. I remember the way she would pour her feelings out to me, trying to get me to invest in a blissful relationship that would be filled with her complete love and adoration for me.

That's all she wanted to do for me. She just wanted to love me and have me love her. Yet all I did was run away, run away from not only my real feelings towards her, but running away from the idea of being bound together with another person. I was too blind to see it then, and my foolish actions had convinced her that I didn't love her when it was really the opposite. I loved her more than anything. Still, everyone told me not to be with her because she was just a 'fangirl.' I let other people tell me what to do with my feelings, and that was one of my biggest regrets. It took years before I convinced myself to not let what others think of me control my actions and my happiness, but by then, it was too late. Before I knew it, she had moved one from me. She had found someone else to love, and in turn, I attempted to convince myself that I had found my soulmate. In my twisted mind, I believed that if she really used to love me, she would be jealous if she saw me with someone else, but that never happened. She told me that we were family and nothing else.

Those words hurt more than anything else.

Now, my mistakes were sitting right next to me, telling me the story of his broken future and even more broken family life.

"Uncle Sonic, I thought I made it clear that you were not my father. I don't really know about your history with my mother, but I know that you broke her heart, and when you did, she found someone better for herself. And I thought you did as well."

He looked at me with those sad golden eyes, the ones made by the woman I love and the man I loathe the most. I couldn't help but focus on him, and how much he looked like Shadow. To his spiky quills and ring-like glowing bracelets on his wrist and ankles, it's apparent that S takes after Shadow. Yet, he had Amy's compassionate eyes, her heart of gold, as well as her fiery temper. I must have spaced out because Silver was narrowing his eyes as if he were trying to concentrate on something that was on my face. Suddenly, I felt a pondering in my head, and as soon as I did, S fell over from where he was sitting.

"Uncle Sonic?"

I clenched my jaw and jumped up in a slight surprise, thinking that something had hit him. I looked around, looking for any signs of a threat, but found none. I then looked down at S, who was breathing heavily and looked like he was on the verge of an emotional crisis.

"Hey kiddo, what's wrong? What happened?"

I watched as his once soft eyes grew dark and his hand grew misty with turquoise colored magic.

"Sonic, do you love my mother?"

"I, um, wait, do I what?"

I looked away; I didn't know how to respond. He told me we were family, that I was all he had left. I couldn't hurt him like this.

"ANSWER ME!"

I watched as his eyes glowed, the same glow that Shadow gets when he angry. I bit my lip as I averted my gaze. The last thing I want to do is fight my own nephew.

"You do! You love mom! You still love Amy! You always had, hadn't you?"

"No, it's not like that! Your mother is just a good friend to me, that's all!"

"I swear, if you do anything to hurt my mother or father, you will have a big problem on your hands!"

"Kid, I would never try to interfere with your mother's happiness. And I would never want to hurt you like that."

"Mess up her happiness? You had your chance with her, and you didn't take it so don't give me that Sonic! You are seriously sick! You have a wife! Sally will be devastated if she finds out that you are still using her to attempt to make my mother jealous!"

"Stop! Just stop! don't talk about her like that!"

"I'll do what I want!"

I felt something snap within me, and I can practically feel the darkness start to rise.

"I said STOP!"

Before I knew it, I had a smirk on my face as my mind slipped itself from any and all self-control and remorse. I pulled out the green chaos emerald I always kept with me and ran towards S at full force, knocking him to the ground. With my free hand, I managed to strangle him in place. His grunts of struggle beneath me made me cackle. I twirled the emerald within my fingers, much to S' dismay. His eyes widened and shut as I yelled out, "CHAOS CONTROL."

The next thing he knew, we were in the middle of an empty freeway, one abandoned from the war with Eggman all those years prior. I quickly got up from the strangling position I had S in. As he was about to get up, I kicked him to the side, causing him to fly into the side of the barrier of the road. As he got up, I noticed the anger in his face, causing his eyes to glow brightly despite the light of the sun surrounding us.

"Listen here Sonic. You don't know what you're getting yourself into. You fight me, I won't hold anything back!"

A growl escapes my lips and my fist clench in utter disbelief. The way he was talking about himself made him seem like nothing short of a god.

"Who are you to even speak to me like that!"

As soon as those words escaped my lips, I felt S release some sort of energetic pulse that knocked me off my feet. I looked up to meet his gaze, and he seemed like a stranger. Where he once stood was a vast, cracked crater, and he was floating right above it, eyes still glowing and turquoise mist in his palms.

"I am Silver the Hedgehog! Son of Shadow the Hedgehog and Amy Rose! I won't let you destroy my future or my family!"

'Silver, is that really his name?'

With a wave of his hand, Silver summoned an array of rusty, broken-down cars that were now covered in his misty, turquoise magic.

"You're going to regret this!" Silver's voice was laced with rage, his eyes glowed as brightly as his powers.

"Finally, something I can agree with!"

Silver clutched the cars that were in his magic grasp and hurled it towards me. I dodged it seamlessly, which I could tell ticked off Silver even more.

"You can't beat me! You're too slow!" With those words, I was off, speeding down the freeway at an impeccable speed. I could hear crashing behind me, but I didn't dare look at his direction.

"I won't let you get away with this!" He yelled so loudly I could hear his words shaking in my head.

'This kid really is crazy!'

"I've held my fight with people more powerful than you!" I could see Silver gliding toward me. He had his hand held out, and from behind him, three broken down vehicles were floating above him. "This so this is going to be easy!"

That when I noticed him right in front of me. My eyes widened at the sight of all the cars he managed to gather.

'I gotta do something fast,' I spin-dashed through the cars as fast as I could. I easily broken through it. Beyond the abandoned road was old buildings to hide in. 'Perfect. He can't throw things at me if he can't see me!'

"You won't get away that easily!"

"Huh?"

Three cars came toward me before I could even run. The weight of them crushed beneath me. I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Your going…to regret…this…hedgehog!" I muttered.

I didn't struggle for a moment more as the weight of the cars lifted off of me. I coughed and could feel a bit of blood in my mouth.

"Are you done fighting?" A voice in front of me asked.

Everything around me was still fuzzy. All I could see in front of me was the glowing of Silver's powers around his body.

"Just stop already! You can't beat me. Your head is spinning."

"S-says you..." I blinked rapidly. The fuzziness slowly disappeared the more I did.

"I didn't want to have to fight you, you know. You can still stop this."

His words fell on deaf ears. My face grew hot with rage. I'm not the type of person to back down. He should have known this.

'What is that?'

I looked above him, and I nearly gasped at the sight of a big accumulation of scrap metal floating in the air. A gritted my teeth, trying to ignore the pain of nearly being crushed just a moment ago.

"That's it…" My eyes twitched, I could feel a warm rage coursing through every part of my body. "Let's put an end to this, shall we?"

[dwarfsized]

tagged by the beautiful and amazing @aevallare thank you!!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

9!

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

63,696

3) What fandoms do you write for?

it's all bg3 right now, but I've also written for critical role and the arcana (visual novel)

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1 - that's the kind of love ive been dreaming of (bg3, astarion/f!tav)

2- ain't it warming you (the world goin' up in flames) (critical role, jester/caleb)

3- Liebe ist Fürsorge (critical role, jester/caleb)

4- Fighting the Hurricane (critical role, jester/caleb)

5 - true colors shine in darkness and in secrecy (bg3, astarion/f!tav)

5) Do you respond to comments?

yes! i try to do the "comment when you upload the next chapter" thing but sometimes its been a while since the last chapter and i get embarrassed and just respond to everything in one big rush

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

where i left Fighting the Hurricane probably combined with the (checks notes) 1+ year long update hiatus, i am coming back for you baby i promise. i have plans for it. i just. god. so much happened to me right as i was working on it.

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of my fic ends happy (this will not always be the case, eventual AA!AU will be. well. i shan't say.) BUT, and this might just be because its my most recent finished work, i think new steps might end off on the most hopeful note.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

this has never happened to me and id love to keep it that way lmao

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes :) the only real posted smut ive got rn is that's the kind of love ive been dreaming of, but i have other smut in the works

10) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Fighting the Hurricane doesn't count, really, but that's the closest we've got: its a Critical Role/Pacific Rim fusion.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

nope!

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have nooooot, but i am not sure that the way that i write (terrible first draft and then editing for 1000 years) is very friendly to co-writing. I'm not against the idea at all though, its just. you know. i wouldn't want to torture a friend with the everything about me. maybe someday though!!

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

in this house we multiship, peace and love. :) though honestly i made a joke once about retiring kira as an oc after bg3 bc of everything im putting her through after becoming so enamored with kirastarion so maybe that? sorry blorbo from my brain, enjoy the conciliation prize of elf dick.

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

stares guiltily at Fighting the Hurricane ch 2, languishing on my wip pile. listen, i still fully intend to finish that story. i was doing cool stuff in there. the only problem is that my brain exploded while i was writing ch 1, and this wasnt supposed to be more than 2k words but i am myself, and i didnt use outlines then, so my notes are a mess.

also i cannot possibly underline enough the bit where my brain exploded. this is an exaggeration only in that none of it came out of my head, but i was Not Myself for a Long Time.

16) What are your writing strengths?

i think my internal monologue bangs. this is because i agonize over it.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

moving characters around in the space is like pulling teeth and i feel like a solid 30% of my editing is focused on that. getting someone from point a to point b elegantly and without it feeling like "astarion got up. he moved his feet. he sat down. he looked out the window" makes me feel like walking into the sea

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I like it when it makes sense! Why does this character use another language? Does the reader need to know what they're saying? Is the POV character unfamiliar with the language? Does the reader learn anything from this? If you don't have good answers, why do it?

I find tieflings really neat, and bg3 does the typical dnd thing of "tieflings are looked down on," without, like, doing much with tiefling culture. So Ive had Kira use Infernal as a shortcut to create familiarity with other tieflings, and use it to have private conversations bc why would anyone but tieflings and people living in The Hells know that language--this solves some problems for her! And it creates others.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Naruto...... once upon a time i wrote shikamaru/sakura fic. i was going to make a joke about that being my actual first longfic but i just checked and it literally isnt, i worked on it for a year and if you dont count the in-text authors notes (it was a different time) the whole thing is shorter than true colors chapter 4.

can you imagine me, now, updating something for a year and it being less than 11k. lol. lmao, even.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

eldath's mercy is my darling right now who also scares me to death. update coming soon (this week? i hope?)

i will tag @simon-says-nothing and @raccooncrimes and @septemberskye and YOUUUU reading this if you want to do it, tag me if you do!!

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 8

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut (it finally starts getting spicy in a couple more chapters!), Canon-Typical Violence, Alcohol Use

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4 l Ch. 5 l Ch. 6 l Ch. 7

Chapter 8 summary: The Batch learns a little bit more about Dara, but Crosshair is still suspicious, and he really doesn't like the way things are going between her and Hunter.

Chapter Notes: WE GET A LITTLE BIT OF LOW KEY SMUT, FINALLY. But it's a slow-burn so we have a ways to go before we really GET THERE. Content: 18+, masturbation, sexual fantasy

“So, you were formerly a linguist?” Several hours later, standing at the bar in Cid’s parlor, Tech picked up the earlier thread of their conversation. When they had arrived at Cid’s, a particularly bloated-looking Twi’lek had emerged from her office, giving them all a cursory glance before depositing a case of credits with their employer and gesturing magisterially to the Rodian, who followed him out the door. Hunter had met with Cid to hammer out the details of their next job, and they were now winding down the night in the empty dive, the Trandoshan having long since retreated to her back rooms.

“A long time ago now,” Dara replied, taking a generous sip of her drink. “That’s how I first got traveling. Doing fieldwork, studying lesser-known languages.”

“Fascinating,” Tech said brightly. No doubt he was looking forward to interrogating Dara on the finer details of some of her research. However, before he could continue, Echo interrupted him.

“What made you stop?” the ARC trooper asked.

Wrecker, occasionally the most emotionally intelligent among them, elbowed him, probably leaving a bruise. “I don’t think she wants to talk about that,” he scolded, in what would have been a whisper, if he had ever actually learned how to speak quietly.

Dara smiled, a little sadly. “It’s okay, Wrecker. It was the war. I just couldn’t convince myself that it was worth doing anymore. You know—around all that destruction and death, it was hard to keep believing that studying words really mattered.” She shook her head, as if trying to clear it of painful thoughts. “Then the war ended, and it didn’t seem like the Empire would be much interested in preserving the languages or cultures they felt were beneath them. They’d rather just wipe them all out.”

Echo gave her shoulder a kind squeeze, although his expression was serious. “You might be right about that. But there are a lot of us out there that think those people are worth protecting, too.”

Dara nodded, looking at the clone with some warmth, then shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t mean to bring the mood down. What about you boys? You fought in the war, obviously, but you’re not like the other clones. You’re all enhanced, you said? Let me guess…” She glanced at each of them in turn. “Extra brawn,” she gestured at Wrecker. He posed, flexing his muscles, with a grin. “And Tech… extra brain.” He beamed smugly at her. “Echo…extra mechanics?” The ARC trooper flushed a little, and she winked at him.

Dara’s eyes then lit on Crosshair. She nodded assuredly, certain of her assessment. “Extra asshole.” The others chuckled knowingly as the sniper glared at her.

Finally, Dara’s gaze made its way to Hunter, and she lifted her eyebrows flirtatiously, a small smile playing across her lips. “What about you then? Where are you hiding all those enhancements?”

Hunter’s own expression settled into an easy, charming smirk. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”  

Tech adjusted his goggles and, either unaware of or choosing to ignore any subtext to their exchange, launched into an explanation. “He has significantly more perceptive senses than the average human, being able to see, hear, smell, and feel to a much keener degree, as well as being able to sense electromagnetic frequencies and combine all of this sensory input for the purposes of tracking.”

Dara gently bumped her shoulder against Hunter’s. “Sounds useful. In a lot of contexts,” she added suggestively. “How much can you sense, then?”

Hunter chuckled a little. “Let’s just say I know everything that happens on my ship.”

“Get a room,” Crosshair growled. Dara laughed and leaned over Hunter to reach behind the bar, helping herself to an unattended bottle of liquor. The sniper noticed that Sergeant gently hovered his hand across her lower back, guiding and steadying her as she popped back into her seat and began to refill all of their glasses.

One drink later—during which Crosshair eyed the pair darkly as Dara every so often let her hand rest on Hunter’s knee while she spoke to him, and the Sergeant repeatedly returned his own to linger on her back or at her elbow—the squad finally departed Cid’s, enroute to the Marauder to tuck in for the night before departing for their next mission.

But once they had exited the bar, before Dara could continue following the rest of the clones, Crosshair stopped in front of her, impeding her progress. “Wait. I need to talk to you,” he muttered.  

The others paused as well, looking at them questioningly. Dara sighed exasperatedly and gave them a shrug. “We’ll catch up.”

His brothers were barely out of sight before Crosshair pulled Dara into the nearest alley. He pinned her against the wall with one forearm across her chest. Dara hardly reacted, looking rather bored. “This isn’t talking,” she pointed out mildly.

Crosshair scowled. “I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but stay away from Hunter.” 

Dara rolled her eyes. He thought he must have been hurting her a little, but she continued to ignore the explicit threat behind his demand. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Some people—normal people—just like to have a little harmless fun occasionally.” She quirked an eyebrow up. “Not you, I’m sure. But Hunter’s a big boy. I think he can decide for himself whether he wants to…” She paused briefly, running her tongue, ever-so-slightly, between her lips, as if savoring the words. “…play with me.”

The sniper snorted derisively and leaned closer, hardened eyes glued on hers. “Hunter couldn’t handle you.”

“Oh, and I suppose you could?” Dara murmured. Crosshair didn’t respond; he had realized that their faces were only inches away from each other, and for a moment all he could think about was the feel of her body pressed between himself and the cold, grimy wall. Unable to resist the impulse, he allowed his free hand to roam beneath the hem of her shirt, stroking with calloused fingers along the small of her back where Hunter had grazed her earlier. He gently traced upwards along her soft skin, noticing, with some surprise, as its smoothness was interrupted by the raised knot of a scar—not the subtle puckering formed by blaster fire that he had seen on her abdomen, but the welt left behind from a deep gash.

Crosshair could feel Dara’s fingers probing him similarly, tracing along the gaps between the armor plates at his waist. Neither of them looked away. Her lips ghosted along his jaw to his ear, and he felt the warm tickle of her breath as she opened her mouth to whisper to him.

“I’d rather fuck every other clone in the galaxy, starting with each one of your brothers, than be with you.”

With a determined shove and well-placed kick, Dara freed herself, stalking off toward the Marauder and leaving a momentarily stunned Crosshair alone in the alley before he finally shook himself and followed, trailing far behind.

By the time he reached the ship Dara was nowhere to be found. The others sat in the cabin, still chatting. Hunter looked at him disapprovingly as he joined them. “What did you do to upset her? She came in and went straight to the hold without even saying anything.”

Crosshair flared his nostrils angrily. “Me? She’s the one manipulating you.”

He expected the Sergeant to be irritated, or at the very least, broody. Instead, he grinned and elbowed Tech. “Looks like Echo’s not the only one a little sweet on her.” The ARC trooper turned pink, while Tech looked mildly amused.

Crosshair was infuriated, but before he could open his mouth, Wrecker weighed in, also smiling widely. It was so rare they got to torment Crosshair instead of being the ones subject to his taunting. “Well, obviously she likes me the most. I’m the most fun.”

“Oh, no,” Tech disagreed. “While our shared academic pursuits make her rather compatible with myself, the suggestiveness of her interactions with Hunter was quite substantial evidence in his favor.”

“It sure was. I’m counting on that,” Hunter contributed mischievously.

Even Echo couldn’t help teasing. “Hey now! I thought she and I had a bit of a moment back at the bar there.”

The sniper finally got a word in. “None of you are taking this seriously. We know she’s lying about something, and we don’t even know who she is! We can’t trust her!”

Hunter clapped him on the back good-naturedly, putting an end to the game. “Everything is fine, Crosshair. It’s just flirting. Nobody is letting her manipulate them. Things have been hard enough for us for a long time—it won’t hurt to relax and talk to a woman every once in a while. At least this one’s never shot at us.”

“Not yet,” he muttered darkly. His brothers ignored him, carrying on with some sort of debate on which of the women who had shot at them they would still sleep with and dealing out a deck of cards.

However, only a few minutes later, Hunter began to tense up. Crosshair eyed him suspiciously. The Sergeant had stopped participating in the conversation and was avoiding eye contact with the others, occasionally angling his head then holding still intently. The sniper had seen that gesture from him before: Hunter was listening to something. Suddenly, he became flushed and began shifting awkwardly in his seat.

“Are you alright, Hunter?” Tech queried.

The Sergeant nodded, throwing down his cards. “Just tired. Going to bed.” He disappeared into the bunkroom before any of them could reply.

Crosshair scowled and rose from the galley table where they were gathered, prowling toward the back of the ship. He stealthily crept up to the door of the cargo hold and paused, listening. While the sounds were well-muffled by the thick walls, he could make out a few stifled moans, then a gentle, drawn-out sigh: “Oh, Hunter…”

Heatedly, he punched the key to open the door and entered the dimly lit room. Dara was in her hammock, one hand moving beneath her blanket and the other wrapped in her own hair. As soon as he entered, she gripped the blanket tightly with both hands, drawing it up to her chin protectively. “Do you mind?!” she yelped, a little panicked. He liked that sound.

The sniper folded his arms. “Gotta do an inventory in here before we leave for the mission tomorrow.”

Dara looked ready to tear his throat out with her teeth. “Right now?!”

Crosshair didn’t answer, just smirked. She made a rude gesture at him and pulled the blanket the rest of the way over her head with an irritated groan. He puttered around the room quietly for a few minutes, waiting until the gentle rhythm of Dara’s breathing indicated she may have fallen asleep.

The sniper exited the hold and stripped off his armor, storing it carefully before heading to the fresher. Sighing, he turned on the shower and leaned one forearm against the wall, resting his head against it and letting the hot water temporarily melt his frustrations away as he focused on the problem at hand.

He didn’t trust Dara for one second, but he still couldn’t figure out what exactly she was holding back. It wasn’t just the Imperial shuttle, the gaps in her story. No, her confidence as she diverted the maintenance tech at the prison had been too practiced. She had said she was a linguist—a linguist with scars from blaster fire and what he suspected was either shrapnel or a stab wound, and that’s before the injuries he found her with.

Thinking of that last scar reminded him of the feel of it beneath his fingers, the knots and raised edges brushing up against soft skin and softer flesh. He felt himself grow hard as he realized he was standing in the exact position as when he’d had her pinned in the alley. Kriff, he had to admit that he wanted her. He’d wanted to take her right there against the filthy wall, make her forget the small touches and easy flirtation she and Hunter had exchanged at the bar.

Hunter. Dara had known he could hear her from anywhere on the ship. She’d been touching herself, moaning his name on purpose. She wanted Hunter to hear her, was toying with him, turning him on from an entirely different room. Whether because she truly wanted him, she wanted something from him, or simply because it was exactly what Crosshair had told her not to do. I’d rather fuck every other clone in the galaxy, starting with each one of your brothers…

Crosshair hated her.

He hated her, he distrusted her, and he wanted to watch her come undone underneath him while she screamed his name and begged for more.

That should be his name she was moaning.

Crosshair’s free hand tugged erratically at his cock, working himself while he imagined Dara whimpering, the whole of her exposed to him and at his mercy, her curves beneath his hands and his tongue in her mouth while he made her cum over and over again. His hands gripping her silvery hair by the roots, his teeth on her neck, her taste on his lips. Finally, he felt himself stiffen everywhere, letting out a strangled grunt before the sweet relief of his release flooded his senses and left him panting, still leaning on his forearm against the cool durasteel wall.

***

The moment Crosshair had finally left the cargo hold, lured away by her purposeful steady breathing, Dara had slipped her fingers back beneath the waistband of her pants, positioning her index and middle finger on either side of her clit and resuming the rhythmic, reliable back-and-forth that always got her there.

It was hard to believe the balls on that karking asshole. Inventory, she thought with a skeptical snort. More like listening at her doorway. Sure, she’d been saying Hunter’s name on purpose, half enjoying the fantasy, half interested in testing whether he could really hear everything happening on his ship. Of course, if that asshole hadn’t put her in such a foul mood outside the bar, then she probably would’ve just slept with Hunter to begin with, but once she’d gotten alone and the rage had subsided, she had thought, hey, why not toy with him a little, a bit of a tease never hurt with the build-up, she was stuck tagging along with the squad for a while longer, there would be plenty more opportunities to get the Sergeant alone. And kriff, she’d meant what she’d said to that asshole, there was nothing wrong with a bit of harmless fun, she had needs just like anyone else, and kriff knows she could use the stress relief and it had been a long while for her, not like she’d had much time or inclination or the options to try sleeping with anyone lately.

Dara felt any hint of pleasure slipping away as her mind raced back toward her anger, her worries, the reasons for her recent celibacy. Focus, focus. She tried thinking about Hunter again. Kriff he was good-looking. The tattoo, the golden-brown skin, the broad shoulders narrowing down to that fine waist, the strength of him. Even the broodiness, she liked a little darkness, that gravelly voice. There was something about his hands, too. The way she’d seen him playing with his knives earlier, spinning them expertly between his fingers. She started feeling the pleasure build up inside her again, her stomach fluttering a little. Yes, that was good, his hands, hovering at her back, pulling the knife out of his vambrace, adjusting the scope on his rifle, his fingers were so slender, precise, expert, inserting that stupid toothpick into his mouth—

NO. Wrong clone. Start over. Go back to the touches. She’d liked leaning over him at the bar, feeling his hand just barely grazing against her. How would his fingers feel against her skin? Rough callouses roaming up her hips to her waist, gently stroking her back, rubbing her scar, the way he held her down with his arm across her chest hurt so good and kriff the way he looked into her eyes stirred something in her, he was always looking at her so intently, glaring or with sneering amusement, just looking dangerous other times, he’d looked dangerous tonight, she’d wanted to reach up and trace that stupid tattoo circling his eye—

Kriff. He’d ruined this for her, that asshole. With a final, low grunt of frustration, Dara gave up any hope at finding satisfaction that night, choosing instead to stare at the ceiling of the cargo hold and think about her choices and where they had led her until she finally fell into an uneasy sleep.

Next chapter

Tag List: @stardusthuntress @skellymom

Dara used to be a linguistic anthropologist, but for aliens. A linguistic alienologist? I like to think she would be super into the Poletecs from the Bad Batch Clone Wars arc.

We also finally get some Dara POV! Her internal monologue is a lot.