#yeah I gave him HIS nose. We could do with a version without the prosthetic just this once :) as a treat
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skrunklyprisonprincess · 2 months ago
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Jefftember Art day 10! wow we're still going are we? Todays prompt... POE I'd never seen The Black Cat so I had my first viewing in prep for it today and oh boy his performance in this was amazing... Not a side you often get to see this man act out. There were plenty of crimes against cats however... if you choose to watch this one be warned.
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Also had a good time listening to the Nevermore audio while drawing this, I highly recommend. The performance becomes increasingly plastered throughout the runtime. Oh and there is rapping.
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thebaddestofbatches · 3 years ago
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The Bad Batch Preferences pt. 1
Kissing
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Crosshair
Favorite Place: Just behind your ear and along your jaw. He prefers to wrap his arms around you from behind and these places are easier to reach. Plus they’re more sensitive and he likes to watch you squirm.
Makeouts: Definitely. And frequently. Whenever he gets back from a mission, you do something he finds hot, or just because he hasn’t kissed you in awhile.
First Kiss:
It was hot on Techitua. Dusty too. You lowered your shades on your nose, a polarized version of Tech’s goggles as Crosshair opened a case on the ground.
A makeshift shooting range was set up parallel to the Marauder, a metal piece with a target spray painted on it placed at a distance of 25 meters.
Hunter had told you that if you wanted to stay on board, you needed to know how to defend yourself and assigned you to Crosshair, without even asking if you had any prior experience.
“Alright. I don’t expect you to be top notch with this thing.” Crosshair said, his tone borderline patronizing as he removed a small blaster from the case. “Blasters take a lot of practice to use correctly and you’re only a doctor. I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t hit anything.”
You raised an eyebrow at him and took the blaster from his hand. Barely looking at the target, you took aim and fired one, two, three, four, five shots.
Crosshair’s slack jaw and a quick glance told you they all hit the bullseye.
“You forget, soldier,” You said smugly. “I’m an army doctor. I can rip you apart and put you back together just as easily.”
Crosshair’s toothpick hit the dirt and then he was on you, smashing his lips to your hungrily.
.*(*)*..**(*)**...**(***)**...**(*)**..*(*)*.
Echo
Favorite place: Your hand. He likes to hold your hand and bring it up to his lips for absentminded kisses. When you cup his face, he turns his head and presses kisses to your palm.
Makeouts: Not too often. He’s shy after all his modifications and you definitely have to initiate them, but once he relaxes, then he’s into it.
First Kiss:
“Dang ferreck!” You swore as the control panel of the rescued radio shocked you for the fifth time that night.
You gave it a swift thump on the top in retaliation, gritting your teeth.
You needed this to work. It had to work. It’d been so long since you heard real music.
Another try at the wiring and another spark that singed your fingertips. You let out another string of curses and tossed your screwdriver onto the counter with a clank before thumping your forehead against the table repeatedly.
There was a gentle touch on your back that stopped your assault on your cranium. You didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. You could feel the poke of Echo’s prosthetic through your tunic.
“You alright?” He asked.
“No,” You grumbled into the metal.
Echo sighed quietly and after some shifting behind you, you raised your head to see his human hand disconnect two crossed wires and reconnect them at new points. There was a fizz of static and then a gentle song began to float through the speakers.
You let out a whoop of joy and leaped to your feet, grabbing the clone by his collar to pull him down for a quick kiss.
“Thank you!” You squealed, snatching up your screwdriver again and leaving Echo standing there, stunned and pink.
.*(*)*..**(*)**...**(***)**...**(*)**..*(*)*.
Hunter
Favorite place: Your neck. He likes to feel your pulse point and kiss the sunmarks and spots along your skin. It’s also one of the best places for him to get your scent.
Makeouts: Not as often as Crosshair, but frequent. He likes to be affectionate with you and when he gets time or feels stressed, being around you and close to you is his priority.
First Kiss:
You’d been separated from the Batch in a marketplace and were now wandering aimlessly.
As you passed an alleyway you heard a whistle and a man sidled up to you.
“Hey gorgeous,” He said. “Where you going?”
“Away from you,” You muttered, but he heard it anyway and snorted. “Feisty girl.”
A gag rose up in your throat and you increased your pace. Behind you the man called. “Hey I’m talking to you! Though I appreciate the view!”
A hand landed on your butt and you whirled, fist raised to deck the stranger for daring to touch you. Before you could though, someone stepped between you and punched him, hard.
You looked up to see Hunter, a deep scowl on his tattooed face as he glowered at your harasser.
“Don’t touch her,” He growled, drawing up to his full height.
The man spat and launched himself at Hunter, sending them both rolling to the ground.
There was some yelling and sounds of fists hitting bodies before Hunter scrambled to his feet breathing hard as your harasser lay on the ground, groaning.
Hunter turned to you with worried eyes and you punched him in the arm hard and then quickly pecked his lips. “You didn’t have to make a scene.”
“Sorry,” He said, not sounding sorry at all as he pulled you in for another kiss.
.*(*)*..**(*)**...**(***)**...**(*)**..*(*)*.
Tech
Favorite place: Your forehead and temples. He can get so busy with this or that and a quick peck to the forehead is his go-to for affection when he’s caught up in something.
Makeouts: Usually whenever he gets an idea he wants to try with you. He learned affection mainly from books so he’s picking up more and more as he goes. Usually you initiate the sessions. However, when he gains confidence later in the relationship, things get more serious as he experiments.
First Kiss:
“Tech?” You called from the porch of your hideout. Hunter had sent you to fetch the male for dinner and so far he was nowhere to be found.
“In here!” The clone called and you followed the sound into the shed to see Tech holding two vials above a pot.
“What’re you doing?” You asked leaning on the doorframe.
“I’m testing a theory. The substance excreted from the fire salamanders’ skin may have some properties that can boost our explosives.” He replied, carefully tipping the vial of white powder in, followed by the orange liquid.
“And you thought it was a good idea to test that in my shed?” You said, quirking a brow.
The technician had the decency to look a little abashed. “Well it isn’t in the house.”
He set the tubes aside and picked up a firestarter, holding it over the pot. “And a spark to trigger the reaction..”
Crack. Fwoomp! Boom!
The small windows shattered and you ducked as a blaze burst up from the pot and then died out just as quickly, sending up a cloud of ash and dust.
When the smoke receded, you heard Tech give a small cough and looked over to see his whole face covered in soot and the front of his normally gelled back hair spiked up.
You burst into giggles, picking up a small cloth from the worktable and approaching the clone to wipe his goggles clean.
He blinked at you from behind the lenses, like he was surprised to see you and you smiled. “That went well.”
Tech gave you a sheepish look. “I’m sorry about the windows. I’ll fix them tomorrow.”
You laughed again, waving him off. “It’s alright. I was prepared for damages when I brought you lot here.”
He gave you a grateful look and suddenly you couldn’t help yourself, darting forward and pecking his lips.
Tech immediately turned scarlet. “What was that for?”
You shrugged. “For being you.”
And then you passed him the cloth with a wink. “Hunter says dinner’s ready. You should probably clean up a bit before you come inside.”
.*(*)*..**(*)**...**(***)**...**(*)**..*(*)*.
Wrecker
Favorite place: Your cheeks and nose. He likes to pepper kisses all over your face. He’s so enraptured by you that he wants to keep you close at all times to make sure you’re real. Plus he’s a massive cuddlebug.
Makeouts: On occasion. But this boy is too much of a teddy bear for anything more than gentle loving touches. He’s slow and sweet and so very careful with you.
First Kiss:
The Batch was pinned down in an abandoned bunker as a gang faction gathered outside. Echo was doing his best to reboot the turrets while Tech worked on the doors, but unless it happened fast, you weren’t getting out of this unscathed.
You were peering out one of the broken windows with Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker picking off grunts where you could, but they had greater numbers and illegal firepower.
A shot from a bike mounted turret hit the wall above your lookout and the ceiling caved in, causing Wrecker tackle you, cradling you to him as he rolled away.
“You alright?” He asked, pushing off of you, his voice higher than normal.
“Yeah.” You said and Hunter swore as glass shattered behind you.
“Echo!! What’s the status on those defense systems?!”
“Same as you asked thirty seconds ago!” Echo snapped. “These circuits are rubbish! This place should have been scrapped for parts years ago!”
Parts.
A light bulb went off in your brain and you immediately turned to Wrecker. “Give me a charge!”
“Why?!”
“Trust me!”
He gave you a look you couldn’t read under the helmet, but dropped an explosive in your palm.
Immediately you started dismantling it. “I need a gravmag, some wires, and anything explosive we can spare. Oh and Echo’s arm.”
“What?” Said Echo.
You ignored him and started your hunt for parts as you snatched a screwdriver, a multipurpose laser tool, and pliers from Tech’s backpack, stripped a console, broke Crosshair’s gravmag off of his grappling hook, and took three more charges from Wrecker. You dismantled, screwed, and rewired before beckoning Echo over and having him weld it all together.
“(Y/N),” Wrecker asked as he fired off another shot. “What are you doing?”
You waved him off as you activated your new, shoddy weapon of mass destruction and bolted for the window, lobbing it as hard and far as you could.
“Hit the dirt!” You yelled and there was a large boom and the whole building rattled.
When the dust cleared, you beamed proudly at the clear landscape.
The gang that had been surrounding your hiding place was now lying unconscious having been thrown a good 50 meters in all directions at extreme speeds.
“What-“ Said Crosshair in his rare stunned tone. “What did you do?”
“Simply,” You said. “I reversed the polarity and made it into a big bang.”
Wrecker whooped and tossed his helmet aside, scooping you into a bear hug and peppering kisses all over your face. “THAT’S MY GIRL!”
You turned pink and he drew back from you enough to press a sweet kiss to your lips, which only served to fill your face with crimson.
There was an awkward cough from one of his brothers and Wrecker turned a similar shade of red, setting you back on the ground.
“Er-“ He said, patting your shoulder awkwardly. “Good job.”
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ericsonclan · 3 years ago
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Changed for the Better
Summary: Clementine finds Louis practicing his archery skills and decides to hang out with him.
Word Count: 1758
Read on AO3:
Clementine carefully walked down the staircase of the admin building, making sure her footing was firm on each step. Her fingers brushed against the dusty staircase railing, staying there in case her prosthetic decided to crap out. It wasn’t a common occurrence - in fact it grew rarer and rare with each improved version that Willy made - but still. Clementine knew it was better to be safe than sorry.
After a minute or two she was done with the stairs and on her way to the door. With a heavy push she opened it, revealing the sounds and sights of the courtyard. Willy was busy trying to get some sort of tool back from Garbage who was determined to add it to her little den. AJ was right beside his friend, giving chase and hurling sharp insults at the possum.
“Get back here, stupidhead!”
“Hey, don’t call Garbage stupid!” Willy jumped over some supplies that had been taken out of the basement. “She's just excited about her new den!” The two friends continued to argue as they pushed themselves to the limit to chase the feral creature. The pair did a circle, passing by Omar who was on the watchtower being ever diligent while his mind was consumed with new ways to flavor the food better. Willy and AJ continued the wild chase, sliding under the joined hands of Prisha and Violet who had just returned from fishing.
“Be careful, boys!” Prisha called out to the rambunctious pair who gave thumbs up before going off like shots again. Prisha and Violet shared a look then started up their conversation once more as they passed by Ruby and Aasim who were preparing Molly for a ride. The horse seemed just as excited as them at the thought of a nice ride around the courtyard.
As Clementine wandered down the steps she couldn’t help but smile and feel her heart bubble with warmth. It really was amazing finding a place like this, a home with people she cared about deeply. Her eyes wandered round the courtyard once more in search of her husband. But it wasn’t her sight that drew her to him first but her ears as the steady thunking of arrows appeared to her left. Clementine felt her heart flutter excitedly when she spotted Louis practicing his archery. It took him a few seconds to notice Clementine walking over as his focus was primarily on his shooting. But as soon as he did his face lit up with joy and he placed down the bow to greet his wife with a hug. Immediately his arms wrapped around Clementine and he spun her around once before setting her back down on the ground and planting a big kiss on her cheek.
“Come to see my amazing archery skills?” He gave a playful smile down at Clementine.
“Yep, I need to see if I’m going to be replaced as the master archer around here,” Clementine placed a small kiss on his nose before intertwining her hand with his. The simple gesture filled her heart with excitement even after all this time but it also held a depth of security and safety within it. Clementine knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was happy and safe whenever she was with Louis.
“Uh oh, better not say that in front of Aasim,” Louis grinned and leaned forward, his warm breath tickling Clementine’s ear. “I’m sure he would get his goatee in a twist if he heard a claim that he wasn’t the best archer,”
“Eh, let his goatee twist,” Clementine smirked, causing her husband to laugh.
“Have I told you how much I love you yet today?” Louis swayed their joined hands as he walked back to the bow.
“Only about a dozen times so far. I’ve definitely got some catching up to do today,” Clementine brushed her thumb on the top of his hand, finding herself lost in the brightness of Louis’ eyes for a second.
“Well, you’re gonna be chasing me all day because I’m gonna keep saying it. I love you, my darling,” Louis placed a kiss on Clementine’s hand and looked at her with a loving expression.
“I love you too,” Clementine smiled when she saw how happy those words made Louis. His joy radiated off his face as bright as the sun as his classic dorky smile shone through. Pressing a kiss to Clementine’s cheek he let go of her hand and strode forward, his confidence building as he picked up the bow. Notching an arrow, Louis pulled back the bowstring and steadied his breathing. After a moment he released the string, causing the arrow to go flying and land fairly close to center. Clementine smiled at that; Louis had really improved over all this time. Louis caught sight of her proud smile, making one form on his own lips as he notched the next arrow.
“Speaking of the goateed man, it seems like him and his lady are about to go on a romantic horseback ride together,” Louis nodded back at Ruby and Aasim. Clementine turned around and saw Ruby getting up on the horse before holding out her hand and hoisting Aasim up onto the saddle as well. Aasim’s arms quickly wrapped around Ruby’s waist and the two shared a smile before kissing. Soon they were off, guiding the horse around the courtyard at a casual pace as they spoke soft, tender words to each other.
“Yeah, we should go horseback riding again,” Clementine saw the excitement twinkle in Louis’ eyes and she immediately reacted to that, her nose crinkling with happiness.
“We should, and we’ll still be better than Prisha and Violet on horseback,” Louis took another shot, the arrow hitting a bit closer to the center this time. “Last time they tried to ride a horse it was a disaster,” Louis chuckled at the memory and Clementine couldn’t help but laugh as well. It had lasted all of two seconds before it went disastrously wrong. Although she supposed it couldn't have gone too well considering that with Prisha’s one working arm and Violet’s limited sight they were at a huge disadvantage. Louis seemed to have read her mind in that moment as he spoke his next words. “Prisha is too stubborn to let horseback riding not be a possibility for her and Vi though. She’ll keep on trying until she masters it. Such is the price for being a stubborn romantic,” Louis shook his head good naturedly. He knew that Violet was going to be the same way though; it was definitely a similarity between her and Prisha.
After a few moments the conversation shifted and the couple began to talk about this and that: chores that needed to be done, dreams for improving Ericson, dates that needed to be had. All great conversations but it wasn’t until many, many arrows in that a new topic came up that stuck out. As Louis pulled back the drawstring once more, he said something that made Clementine’s attention pull away from the target.
“Thanks, Clementine,”
“What for?” Clementine focused on Louis who released an arrow then let the bow fall to his side. He looked back with a warm smile. “For inspiring me to change for the better,” Those words made Clementine’s heart warm as she stood frozen by them. Louis turned his attention back to the target and prepared another shot.
“Because of you I finally stepped up and realized that Ericson was a place worth protecting and that I was a person who could do that.” An arrow thunked into the red line right outside the center. Louis slowly notched another arrow. “You made me want to give myself another shot and I did. It took me a while to believe in myself like you did but I got there. Because of you, I became a better version of me,” Louis’ fingers let go of the bowstring and the arrow flew true, embedding into the center of the target. He glanced back at Clementine and noticed that she was making her way towards him.
“Louis,” Clementine took her husband’s hands in hers and gave a tender smile up at him. “You’ve inspired me too. You challenged me, showing me that it's important to enjoy the everyday moments that life brings. It's thanks to you that I’m standing here today, being the person that I am,” Clementine reached up a hand and gently cupped the side of Louis’ face as his eyes shimmered with emotion.  “ You helped me become a better version of me,”
A tear suddenly slid down Louis’ face, making Clementine panic.
“Shit, Louis-”
“No, no, this is a happy tear,” Louis smiled at Clementine before kissing the palm of her hand and placing it back on the side of his face. His own hand pressed against the top of hers as he leaned into her touch. The two of them looked deeply into each other’s eyes before their lips met in a warm kiss. Deepening the kiss, the couple held onto it for a few more moments then pulled apart. Their foreheads rested against each other as the feeling of love flowed through their veins, both of their hearts overflowed with their feelings for each other as they took in this moment. But the moment eventually passed and Louis shifted the topic.
“Did you see that bullseye I made?”
“I did,” Clementine smiled at how happy her husband was.
“Heh, eat your heart out, Aasim. Turns out I am the greatest archer of all time,” Louis grinned as he pulled on the sides of his coat. “I’ll be sure to tell him that at dinner tonight,”
Clementine chuckled at those words. “That’s going to really ruffle his feathers,”
“Especially if you agree with me,”
“Okay, I’ll do it, but I want a foot massage tonight. My foot is really getting sore,” Clementine glanced over at her husband who pretended to be weighing out his choices.
“You drive a hard bargain, m’lady. Deal!” He smiled and shook Clementine’s hand before stealing a kiss. Clementine smiled into the kiss and held Louis close before pulling back.
“Well that’s a new way to seal a deal,” Clementine held a playful smile on her face which Louis instantly mirrored.
“True, but I like it,”
“Me too,” Clementine stole one more kiss then let go of Louis as a new conversation started, both of them falling back into the casualness of conversation as their hearts happily swelled because they were near the one they loved.
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pigeontheoneandonly · 5 years ago
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Jane & Sam, Part 5: Back Home
This is the next installment of my Shaynor series, Never Marry a Soldier. It’s a post-destroy, hearts-and-rainbows, everyone lived version of Mass Effect, exploring Jane and Sam’s relationship as well as the lingering mysteries the reapers left behind. (Please see the masterpost for links to all parts!)
As it turned out, Jane’s little favor was more than willing to make a slight detour to the Citadel and pick them up.
Ash gave her a full-body hug as soon as she cleared the airlock.  “Damn, skipper, it is good to see you.”
“I should be calling you that now.”  She slid away, not without a smile.
“Yeah, well, it wasn’t like I asked for it.”  Ash rubbed her head, uncustomarily self-conscious.  She hadn’t asked— but she sure as hell was not disappointed when Jane recommended her to the post after she retired from the Normandy. She turned her attention to Traynor. “Sam.”
They embraced briefly.  Sam tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.  “This feels so strange.  I never thought I’d be back here.”
“We’ve missed you,” said Ash, sincerely.  “The new kid’s alright.  Learning the ropes.  But he’s not you.”
“Flatterer.” But Sam looked pleased all the same.
Jane cleared her throat.  “I really appreciate this.  You just can’t get a flight out to Rannoch, even in the fleet.”
While most forces had dispersed back to their homeworlds after the relays were repaired, the Citadel fleet had been reinvigorated, as bonds forged in war proved difficult to break.  And Jane Shepard had a berth on any of them.  The quarians, however, had turned inward, focused on rebuilding their civilization.
Ash shrugged. “It’s not a problem.  The Council’s asked me to check out a little problem on the outer rim.”
Jane suppressed the twinge of jealousy.  She was, technically speaking, still a spectre, her experience valuable even though her body had betrayed her.  “You do much work with Kaidan these days?”
“Less than you’d expect.”  She sat back on her heel and crossed her arms.  “Pretty sure he’s still, uh, acting as the Council’s unofficial line to the Shadow Broker.”
Sam let out a dry hah.  “He’s got a line into something, alright.”
Jane nudged her. Ash let out a chuckle.  “Kind of a shocker when he and Liara turned up together at your wedding.  I spent half the reception wringing that story out of him.  Apparently, they got together not too long after Liberation Day, it started getting serious, and they realized they’d never actually told any of us.”
“And it was a good excuse, the whole team together in one place for the first time since the war.” Jane shook her head.  “Makes sense, though.  They’ve been close for years.”
“Liara spent a lot of time with him while you were in the hospital,” Sam volunteered.  “His father had just passed away.  I think she saw giving him a shoulder as a chance to repay him for consoling her after she lost her mother.  And, well, things grew from there.”
“They’re just both so damn private,” Ash griped.  “C’mon.  Let’s get you squared away.”
Jane shouldered her bag and ambled after her with her usual thumping limp, into the CIC. Sam sighed.  “I hope they’ve fixed the water pressure in the ladies’.”  
Ash shook her head.  “Nope, but you two get top billing.”
Jane stopped. “I’m not taking your bed, Ash.”
“No offense ma’am, but it’d be just plain weird to have you bunking with the crew.  For all of us.”  She coughed.  “And you do not want to witness what Vega’s done to the X.O.’s quarters.  It’s got that bachelor stank.”
Sam wrinkled her nose.  “How is that possible?  I didn’t think anything could smell worse than that gym of his, in shuttle bay.”
Ash shrugged. “The shuttle bay’s big and open. The X.O.’s cabin is small.  And saturated.  Believe me.”
They reached the elevator.  She tagged the door and stepped aside, offering a salute.  Jane tchted.  “I’m retired.”
“Be that as it may, ma’am.”  Ash held herself at attention.
She rolled her eyes and returned it, before stepping into the elevator.  “As you were, marine.”
“Aye aye.” Ash turned neatly on her heel, and went to the galaxy map, as the doors shut.
Jane bit her lip, feeling abruptly very tired.  Sam slid her arm around her waist.  “It’s strange, being back here.”
“You said it.” She bent, scratching idly at the spot where the prosthetic met her flesh.
Then Sam touched her face.  Drawing her eyes to her own.  “Nobody can take away what you did on this ship, or the woman it made you.  Some turian ships are over three hundred years old. Think about it.  Long after we’re both gone, this will still be Commander Shepard’s ship.  A coveted posting.”
Her mouth thinned. She pulled away, watching the elevator register its arrival on Deck 1.  “I never thought I’d be almost thirty-four and already buried, while I’m still alive.”
The doors opened. Sam took her hand and drew her out onto the utilitarian foyer.  “Enough is enough.”
“I don’t—”
She rose up on her toes and kissed her, drawing her fingers through her hair, forcing Shepard to drop the bag.  Not that she minded much.  Her hands found her waist.  It might have been a minute or an hour later when Sam drew back, cupping her face and looking her in the eye.  “Jane Shepard, you have your entire life before you.  You’re a woman with all the choices in the world and you’re acting like you’ve been backed into a corner, because one of those endless doors closed.��
Shepard started to look away, but Sam turned her face back, refusing to let it go.  “And I’ll be there, every step, whatever you decide. But I won’t watch you waste away moping. I won’t have it.  Are we clear?”
For a long moment they stood like that, fierce brown eyes boring into stubborn green.  Then Shepard took a step forward, maneuvering Sam back into the bulkhead, and lavished a kiss on her neck.  “I love you, you know that?”
Her eyes fluttered shut.  In a slightly strangled tone, she managed, “I am not explaining to Ashley why we had to wash her sheets.”
Shepard mumbled into her collarbone.  “That’s what the shower’s for.”
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mydarlingvioletine · 6 years ago
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Just a Puppy Crush - Chapter 3
Ship(s): Violet/Clementine
Media: The Walking Dead Game (Season 4)
      Violet stood nervously at the bottom of the steps leading to the porch, a gulp forming in her throat as she held tightly onto her backpack.
“Here goes nothing.” Violet took a deep breath, and walked up the stairs, the wood creaking under her feet from the weight.
        She heard Louis and Clem’s voices before she even knocked on the door. It sounded like playful arguing, which was interrupted by a familiar and soothing voice. Mr. Everett. His voice was followed by a soft and raspy female’s voice, most likely Carley.
Violet raised her fist to knock on the door, it swinging open before she got the chance. Face to face with a shocked Clementine, Violet’s eyes widened and her breath got caught in her throat.
       “Hey, there you are!” Clem exclaimed, throwing her arms around Violet’s shoulders, squeezing her arms to her sides. “I’m so happy you made it.”
Violet grinned at the contact, then looked over Clem’s curls to see Mr. Everett, a glint of.. something unrecognizable in his eyes. Carley was clinging onto his arm, a wide and genuine smile on her face. Violet cleared her throat and ducked her head, as Clementine stepped back, taking her pack from her hands.
      “You must be Violet.” Carley broke the silence with a bright, almost blinding smile.
         So that’s where Clem got it from.
“Here, let me take your bag. Karaoke machine is all set up, Lee’s gonna start working on the fire any minute now so you can make s’mores,” Carley cleated her throat, jabbing Lee lightly in the side for emphasis.
      Once he feigned exhaustion and started towards the fire pit, Carley clasped her hands together, looking down happily at Violet.
“I’m gonna give your dad a hand with the fire,” Carley beamed at Louis, nudging him with her elbow. “Get it? A hand?”
      “Very good, my grasshopper,” Louis chuckled, holding his forehead as if he had a headache. “You’ve definitely got a leg up on Clem.”
Clementine groaned, detaching her prosthetic leg to wack Louis in the chest. “Can’t believe you dragged my mom into this shit. Cmon, come look at the cake my uncle Omid made for me.”
        Clem led them into the kitchen, and the fresh smell of pancake batter and bacon hit Violet like a pile of bricks. The pale yellow walls were barely visible under a bunch of family pictures, newspaper clippings, and post cards plastered on the wall.
Violet’s eyes landed on a picture that couldn’t have been more than a year or two old. It was Lee, with AJ hoisted up on his shoulder. AJ was cradling a gigantic trophy, which Clem was cupping her hands underneath, to make sure he didn’t drop it and shatter it. She figured Carley was taking the picture. They all looked so happy.
       “My brother’s tournament,” Clem’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts, reeling her back into reality. “Last summer, we had to go on this super long road trip across the coastline. Stayed in all these fleabag motels, pretty much ate fast food for an entire month. I still get stomachaches sometimes.”
“Did you visit any beaches?” Violet asked, her eyes slowly taking in all of the decoration on the wall. Much more different than the minimalist style she had going on at her trailer. It was a lot more home-y.
       “Yeah, whenever we could. God, it was so fucking fun... Oh, don’t bring that up in front of Carley though,” Clementine’s eyes twinkled with recognition as she giggled to herself. “She got burnt... so bad. Would hardly go outside for the rest of the summer.”
“Speaking of beaches and sun burn,” Louis interjected, looking down at his phone as a couple pings came through. “Brody’s gonna be here soon.”
     Loud thumps from upstairs shook the house, leading down the staircase. Clem seemed unbothered, pulling the cake out of the fridge.
It was huge. Like a wedding cake. 3 layers of blue frosting, sides decorated with white and blue flowers, speckled with darker sprinkles. On the top of the cake was a candle in the shape of a C, for Clementine.
      “I call first taste!” A young voice behind them interrupted, revealing the young boy in all the pictures. He dragged the chair to the table in what seemed like seconds, but Clem’s reflexes were quick enough to grab him before he got to the cake.
“AJ, we’re gonna have it later, okay?” Clementine held the sulking kid under her arm with as much ease if he was a football. “This is my little brother, AJ. Kiddo, these are my friends Louis and Violet.”
        “Ah, the famous Alvin Junior,” Louis knelt down to be eye level with the kid, who crossed his arms and looked past him, towards the cake. “Heard you got my buddy Marlon good.”
AJ’s expression softened for a moment, and Clem put her hand on his shoulder, lightly squeezing it in reassurance. “He’s really sorry about that. AJ has a thing about people sneaking up behind him.”
        Louis gave an understanding nod, before straightening his posture.
“Don’t ever do it.” AJ’s voice was raspy, clearly trying to be intimidating. It brought a smile to Violet’s face, reminding her of a younger version of herself.
      “Loud and clear, little man.” Louis snorted to himself, his gaze turning towards Violet. “Vi, introduce yourself to the little lad.”
Violet’s face turned hot at the sudden shift of attention on her. She shakily outstretched her hand, a grinning Clem in the corner of her eye.
          “I’m-“
“Violet,” The kid’s demeanor changed completely, dropping his crossed arms to his side. “Clem told me about you. We got chicken nuggets in the fridge for you.”
     “We have chicken nuggets in the fridge for you,” Clem corrected, earning a soft nod from AJ, who’d gone back to doing the little hand stimming motion that she was so used to Tenn doing. “They’re dinosaur-shaped.”
The doorbell suddenly rang, and AJ booked it out of the kitchen and towards the door. Clem sighed before following behind him, shooting Violet and Louis an unreadable glance.
      Louis took advantage of the privacy to swing his arm around his shorter best friend, grabbing Violet’s arm and spinning himself while she stiffly stood there, trying her best to keep her feet planted on the ground.
“Didja hear that? Karaoke, Vi!” Louis pressed, trying his best to dip himself without falling on his ass. “So, Bop to the Top or You’re the One That I Want? I call Sandy’s part, though.”
     Violet snorted, shoving him away just as the soft, melodic tune that Brody’s voice carried out throughout the halls.
“Brody!” Violet practically threw herself into the arms of her auburn-haired friend, who was timidly taken aback, but returned the hug anyway. “Here, Brode’s got a much better voice than I do.” Violet had turned the tall, flustered girl around and nudged her towards Louis.
     Brody’s smile turned bright as she and Louis started discussing all the possible duets they could do.
Violet turned back to Clementine, who was leaning against the doorframe, eyes narrowed as she looked down at the floorboards. Violet pressed herself up next to her, snapping Clem from her daze.
      “You okay?” Violet asked, watching Clem as she fiddled with her hands, pushing back her cuticles.
“Yeah,” Clementine breathed out, a faint smile crossing her features. “It’s just... my brother. Not AJ, my older brother. He’s away at college and last time I talked to him, he said he wouldn’t miss my birthday for anything, but... Lee told me he and his boyfriend are going through a really bad breakup. I dunno, I’m just worried.”
      Clementine took a picture frame that was lying on the kitchen table, and held it so Violet could see. Her finger landed on a tall, lanky kid, who was affectionately giving AJ and Clem noogies. He had brown, shaggy hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Clementine smiled down at the picture, her eyes welling up at the corners.
“Uhh... fuck.” Clementine put the picture back on the counter with more force than she meant to, knocking over a box of graham crackers. “Shit.”
      Clem knelt down quickly, trying desperately to scoop up the broken graham crackers off the ground. Violet knelt down beside her and started helping out. Her brain short-circuited when she brushed hands with Clementine, but she quickly snapped out of it, dumping the cracker fragments into the trash.
“We have a couple other boxes, don’t worry.” Clem reassured her, opening the drawer parallel to her head to reveal a bunch of s’mores ingredients. “Thank you, Vi.”
     Violet smiled at the girl in front of her, the light reflecting from the window above the sink illuminating the right half of her face. In the new contrast, she noticed a faint scar across Clementine’s nose, almost completely invisible in any other setting. The amount of visible freckles across her nose and cheeks multiplied in the light, like an intricate pattern or a constellation.
“Vi?” Clementine’s soft tone interrupted her musings, and Violet stepped back on impulse, hands instinctively returning to the pockets of her sweatshirt.
      They both now noticed that Brody and Louis had left the kitchen, and were now sitting around the lit campfire with Lee and Carley. “Cmon,” Clem grabbed the boxes of graham crackers and held them to her chest, using her free hand to grab at the jumbo marshmallow bag.
Violet reached for the Hershey’s bar, following Clementine down the porch and towards the fire pit to join the others.
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pinkipie100 · 7 years ago
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Lance and the 25 Days Chapter V: Clay
Yo, guess who? Also, later that usual! HAHAHAHAHA, THAT MEANS ANOTHER MORNING REBLOG, HAHAHAHAHA!!! Okay, hysteria and sleep deprivation aside, I’m pretty proud of this one; Pidge is my favorite character, and I’d die for her, so whenever I get to write her, it’s a real blast! Another note is that at the end of this chapter, I included something as a humor aspect that I should have realized was a stupid idea. The thing about Ficcember is that I want to keep it as broad as possible, so I want to keep it both strictly clean of ships, as well as clean in general; it seems my sense of humor simply cannot go long without dropping swears. I apologize, but I because of this, I have censored the word completely. Those who know the book, or heck, even those who haven’t can probably fill in the blank if they so desire. Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!
Words:2012
Category: Gen
Contains: brOT3 Shalluridge, dreidels, Holt Family Feels [esp. Matt], triggering peanuts, Gunderangst, black paladin!Lance, in a way, considerate!Lance, bedtimes stories, censorship, Go the F*ck to Sleep
Takes place the afternoon after the Space Mall escapade in Chapter IV.
Allura was observing Pidge carefully as she measured out the sculpting sand. The young paladin appeared to run complex calculations completely mentally as she determined the correct proportions and weight for the dreidel to spin properly, like a top. Hunk had given the teen a set of tools to help her sculpt, and she had smoothed the sides of the dreidel to perfection. Allura gasped when Pidge picked up a tool only to ruin the perfectly flat sides of the dreidel, carving in an indent. Pidge explained that the princess had no need to worry, as everything she was doing was intentional. Allura resumed spectating while Pidge carved strange symbols. They had some features similar to Altean, but they were otherwise unrecognizable to the young Altean woman.
Pidge, once finished carving the indents, held one side of the dreidel up to Allura. She told her, “So this one-” she pointed to a three-pronged symbol, “-is shin. When you spin that, you add a piece of whatever game currency we’re using to the pot. This-” Pidge signaled to a symbol on a different side, “-is nun. When you get this, it means you don’t do anything, and the next person spins. This next one-” Pidge gestured to a symbol that looked like and unfinished box, “-is hey, and the player who spins this gets half of the pot. This word, everyone’s favorite-” the green paladin smirked mischievously, “-is gimel, and it means you get to take the whole pot.”
“Fascinating! So, this is a gambling game?” Allura asked. Pidge nodded with a cute smile, and the princess voiced, “I thought that gambling was illegal for children on Earth, Shiro. Isn’t that what you told me?”
Shiro, leaning not far from the two on the kitchen wall, chuckled a response, “Well, it is if it’s real money, but this is just a game. You gamble with things like chocolate coins, or typically other small food pieces. Sam always told me Katie hated it when they used peanuts as the currency.”
Pidge concurred furiously, saying that Matt suggested it every year, and their mom always complied, much to Pidge’s chagrin. The smallest paladin complained that Matt did that specifically to rig the game against her since she wanted nothing to do with the gross, dry nuts, so she did everything in her power to get rid of them, even cheating by feeding them to Bae Bae. She recalled with a cringe that last Chanukkah, Matt had just sat across the table, staring at her, crunching down the peanuts when he won.
Once Pidge was finished regaling of her family’s dreidel shenanigans, she sighed, her figure collapsing. Shiro and Allura’s faces shifted to mirror the green paladin’s despairing countenance, and at Shiro’s sympathetic prompting, Pidge revealed the cause of her upset. She vented, “I was just thinking about playing with Matt, you know? He had his own dreidel, and he whittled it himself, just like I carved this one. My mom showed him how… Anyway, we played our own separate games at the Chanukkah parties my parents would host all the time, and I just remember that he loved playing dreidel. Probably because he won,” she cringed fondly, “but looking back on it, we created a lot of memories from playing together, just the two of us. The thing is…” Pidge paused, shoving her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose as her head drooped and Allura put a supportive hand on her shoulder, “…I brought his dreidel with me to the Garrison.” Shiro uttered the paladin’s name in sympathy, walking closer to her and placing his own hand on Pidge’s free shoulder. “It’s the one that Hunk probably saw, and I brought it because I wanted to give it back to Matt when I found him. Only, the night we found you, Shiro, I didn’t realize that I had been playing with it that morning, so when I went out to scan for frequencies that night, I forgot it wasn’t in my bag. By the time I checked for it in my bag, we had already taken down that Galra ship with Voltron for the first time and become the Defenders of the Universe. I still regret it, and I’m worried that I may never get to give it back to him, even if I do find him…”
Shiro stopped Pidge there, cutting her off, “Pidge. You’re going to find your brother. We’re going to bring him back; you have to know that. You’ll get to play dreidel with him again, this time with your own lucky dreidel.”
Allura agreed with the black paladin, putting in that if the two faced off using Pidge’s own dreidel, Matt would finally lose to his sister. Pidge laughed at this, claiming that she doubted it, but she wouldn’t mind losing to Matt again as long as it meant that he was right there with her, doing something other than worrying about a Galra attack or one of them being in the custody of those villains. Shiro guffawed and added that Matt would probably feel the same.
Allura straightened back up as Shiro patted Pidge’s back, and she scanned the kitchen for the other Altean on the ship. “Where is Coran? Shouldn’t he be learning about Chanukkah games as well? He’d love this! …especially since it’s gambling; it’s practically a mini version of the unilu swap shops he used to love so!” Pidge answered that she noticed that Lance had dragged the Altean off to a private room right after they had gotten back from the Space Mall, this time unscathed by Varkon’s pursuit. She assured the young woman that Coran could learn to play dreidel when she re-explained it to the other boys.
The trio was disrupted, however, when Lance came over the intercom of the ship, calling for all to meet on the bridge. Pidge proudly dunked her finished dreidel in the water for it to harden, then obeying Lance’s orders. Shiro and Allura followed too, and the princess joked to Shiro that it seemed that Lance was the holiday black paladin, earning her a hearty chortle from Pidge whilst the man himself scoffed.
Hunk had met up with Shiro, Pidge, and Allura along the way to the bridge, and upon entering, they encountered Lance standing front and center authoritatively, Coran standing behind him and to the side in support.
“Alright, Team Voltron! I was a little busy doing some holiday logistics after we got back from the Space Mall, but I think we’re all ready for a report now!” Lance proclaimed. He pointed to his best friend, inquiring, “Hunk, what’s the food situation?” Hunk answered that there was more than enough to feed the whole team including Keith as their plus one. Shiro brought up Hunk’s idea for the Olkarion feast, and once the yellow paladin delineated his idea, Lance pondered for a moment, then confirmed, “Yeah, that sounds like a super selfless idea! Maybe selfless enough for the Olkari to throw us a para-” a groan from the team indicated to Lance that this was not the time, so he finished, “-Ahem, Hunk, we should absolutely do that. You and I can contact Ryner and make plans for a refugee cookout in the Olkarion woods! So, Shiro, you’ve got some decorations for the ship, right?” Shiro smugly smiled before grabbing his shopping bag from his paladin seat and picking some representative decorations from it. He showed off the Anbytorian stones he’d foolishly purchased, believing them to be peppermint bark, but then proposed that they could be made into tree ornaments. Lance applauded Shiro’s creativity, followed by the rest of the team. Shiro then pulled out some silver string along with cerulean ribbons so that the team could make the halls festive for Hanukkah. Pidge gave her approval, and Lance’s accompanied hers. The man then started pulling out some deflated-looking items that looked like balloons, explaining that they were, apparently, floating lanterns that could be both lit and inflated by simply charging them through a Galra-issued charging station. Lance questioned if they even had one, to which Shiro pointed to his Galra arm, grasped a lantern with the prosthetic, and illuminated it. The lantern puffed up at a frightening speed, then ascended into the ceiling like a rocket. Coran suggested that Shiro should probably charge them with the lowest power setting his hand could offer.
“Great! So, it looks like we’re all set with decorations, except for the tree. Here’s the deal,” Lance began. “Allura, Coran, and I weren’t able to find any Christmas tree, or flora of any kind, at the Space Mall.” The boys and the Alteans groaned in disappointment, at which Lance twisted his face at the Alteans because, hello, they were there, but he amended, “That doesn’t mean we won’t have a tree, though! I won’t sleep until one is found! If I have to wormhole us to the next dimension MYSELF, I’LL DO IT!” Shiro squinted slightly, anticipating another threatening Christmas spirit episode, but Lance seems to have averted it. The red paladin announced, “In the meantime, we’ve got lots to do, Team Voltron, so…!” Pidge slumped in dread of more work, expecting Lance to start bossing them around to start hanging decorations and whatnot. “…get some rest, everyone.” Pidge, caught off guard at Lance’s tender tone, gazed back up to him while he added, “Today’s been a hard days’ work, so we’re going to need to rest our muscles for all of the hard labor of decorating for tomorrow. I’m proud of you, team, you really pulled it together on short notice!”
Hunk expressed hesitance, since Lance always decorated on the first of December no matter what, but Lance answered that he, himself, was tired as well. Lance dismissed everyone, and Hunk softly and fondly grinned at his best friend’s consideration. He, of all people, knew how hyper Lance was about Christmas, so the teenager was proud of his lanky friend’s restraint for the team’s sake.
Lance abruptly protested to everyone leaving, though, as there was one more favor he needed done before he went to bed. The team sighed.
Shiro yawned, smacking his lips while he waited. The sound of the shower had stopped a considerable amount of time ago, and he couldn’t but help growing slightly impatient. He called for Lance in the bathroom, wondering when he’d be done, and for the fifth time, Lance stated that he was ‘almost done.’ Shiro sighed through his nose.
At last, the bathroom door slid open, and Lance exited through it in his pajamas and blue lion slippers. Lance apologized to Shiro for taking so long, but made the excuse that the art of after-show skin care simply could not be rushed. The red paladin then tucked himself and and shimmied into the position of optimal comfort.
“Okay, so, the whole thing should’ve been transcribed on there by Hunk. It’s under the file ‘Lance’s Christmas Bedtime Story,’” Lance told the black paladin.
“This one?” Shiro indicated, and Lance confirmed it. “So, your mom still read you this even while you were in the Garrison.”
“Oh, yeah,” Lance bobbed his head enthusiastically. “We just did it over a video call; it was practically just like she was there! She read me this for the first time back when I was four, back during that December I woke up to decorate.”
Shiro nodded, then opened the file on his tablet. He then recited the transcribed script: “‘The cats nestle close to their kittens, / The lambs have laid down with the sheep. / You’re safe and warm in your bed, my dear. / …please go the ~QUIZNACK~ to sleep,’ Lance, your mom read this to you?”
“Yeah,” Lance put simply. “What of it? Go on.”
Shiro, eyes bulging out of his head, dramatically turned back to face the script, shrugging off his concerns. He continued:
The windows are dark in the town, child.
The whales huddle down in the deep.
I’ll read you one last book if you swear
You’ll go the ~QUIZNACK~ to sleep...
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nitewrighter · 8 years ago
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Hi, love your writting style. ;D If you're not to busy could you write a short meihem (junkrat x mei) fanfic with the prompt 4. "I can never tell if you’re hitting on me or not.” I hope you'll have a great day!
Ahhh the Meihem shippers have been very patient with me. Okay! Here we go!
“I don’t understand how you can fight in the cold wearing so little,” said Mei as the team was heading back to the Orca.
“Hm, I’ll tell you my secret if you give me your coat,” said Zarya, grinning.
Mei giggled. “So you are cold!”
Junkrat, seeing Mei in apparent good spirits, attempted to join in. “I get cold just lookin’ at ya!” he said, sauntering up alongside her.
“Then you should look somewhere else,” said Mei.
Junkrat was sort of left standing there with his mouth hanging open slightly, “Well–what I mean is—”
“Or put on a shirt!” said Mei, “Don’t complain about the cold if you’re not even wearing a shirt!”
“I’m not complaining about the cold–that was— Well you know, I was just being–I was trying to—”
Height-wise he towered over her, but there was something both terribly intimidating and incredibly disarming when she pushed her glasses up her nose, and glared up at him with her eyebrows furrowed.
“Y’know, I was just…” Junkrat trailed off and looked over at Zarya to back him up but she simply smirked and shrugged. “Anyway—” Junkrat cleared his throat, “I think I hear Roadie calling…”
“I didn’t call you,” said Roadhog, from several feet away.
“Coming, Roadie!” said Junkrat, hurrying over. Junkrat matched Roadhog’s more slow-going gait to allow Zarya and Mei to slip out of earshot.
“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong,” muttered Junkrat. He turned to Roadhog, “I mean…I’m… attractive, right?”
Roadhog gave Junkrat a long and steady look. “Are you really asking me that?”
“Come on, Roadie,” said Junkrat.
Roadhog sighed. “You’re all right,” he said, scratching at his armpit. 
“So what am I doing wrong?” said Junkrat.
“I’m not getting into this with you,” grumbled Roadhog.
“Well fine! Not like I’d get any good advice from you anyway!” snapped Junkrat.
Back on the Watchpoint, Lúcio and Genji were relaxing on the couch, with Lúcio quietly listening to his own work-in-progress music and trying to map out the beats on a notebook page to figure out where to tweak it, while Genji was reading through some mission briefings on recent Talon encounters.
“Oi. Jumpy guy,” Junkrat called, “Got a question for ya.”
Lúcio and Genji both glanced up. Junkrat pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “y’know what. Fine. I’ll ask both of ya.”
Lúcio and Genji both exchanged glances.
Junkrat took a deep breath. “’sabout… Women–or I guess–relationships–flirting–what have you.”
“Mei,” both spoke at the same time.
“Wh–Seriously?” said Junkrat.
“I talk to McCree,” said Genji.
“And I’m not an idiot,” said Lúcio.
Junkrat frowned. “Look, he said, vaulting over the couch with his prosthetic arm and plopping between Genji and Lúcio, “You both got someone, right?”
“Yes,” Genji and Lúcio both said hesitantly.
“Well how’d you make that happen?” said Junkrat.
“I dunno,” Lúcio shrugged, “D and I always just hung out together and then eventually we just decided we could hang out, like, together.” 
“You’re telling me you did absolutely nothing and you just got together?” said Junkrat.
“Well, we had some close calls on missions,” Lúcio rubbed the back of his neck, “Kind of makes you realize some stuff. I guess that sped stuff along. But mostly it was just because she’s like… my buddy, you know?”
“Right–Okay yeah you’re not a good example,” said Junkrat.
“I’m not a good example?” said Lúcio.
“Look, no offense, but you’re a fabulously charismatic international music star freedom fighter and philanthropist with perfect skin and a smile that could bring a puppy back to life. Of course it’s easy for you,” said Junkrat, folding his arms. 
“Thank… you?” said Lúcio.
“Yeah so you’re no help at all,” said Junkrat. Lúcio frowned and Junkrat turned over to Genji, “What about you, Tin-Arse?”
“What about me?” said Genji, flatly.
“Well… you’re all sorts of fucked-up under that shiny helmet, yeah? How’d you and the Doc get together?”
Genji sighed, “If you must know, I first met Doctor Ziegler shortly after my brother left me on the brink of death. The first time I saw her I—”
“Gonna need the abridged version, mate,” said Junkrat.
Genji paused. “Very well. I would say I first started recognizing my feelings for Angela during a mission to the southwest when—”
“Can you abridge the abridged version?” said Junkrat. 
Genji made a half-scoff half snarling sound beneath his faceplate and then spoke very flatly. “I nearly died. She saved me. I was full of rage and vengeance and spent several years taking down my family’s crime empire. She was kind to me. I developed feelings for her, and—”
“You hooked up?” said Junkrat.
“No,” said Genji, clearly getting a bit frustrated now, “I finished taking down my family’s crime empire but was not sated because I had never confronted my brother, and was slowly realizing my hatred towards myself. I left Overwatch and set out searching for my brother who did this to me. I… did not even say good bye to her.”
“This is terrible advice,” said Junkrat.
“You did not ask for advice! You asked how Angela and I got together!” snapped Genji. He huffed. “I can stop if you wish.”
“No–actually she’d probably hate you for that, so I think I can work with this,” said Junkrat, “Keep going.”
“I–”  Genji pressed a hand over his visor, exasperated, “Overwatch fell and I was terribly worried about Doctor Ziegler and I realized I still had strong feelings for her.”
“So you went back to her and you hooked up,” said Junkrat.
Genji folded his arms. “No, I found my Master. I started writing to Doctor Ziegler. I spent 5 years traveling the world and coming to peace with myself in Nepal–it was long and difficult but it was during this time that I finally found harmony between–”
“I said the abridged version, mate,” said Junkrat.
Genji sighed. “Winston issued the recall. I returned to Gibraltar with my master. I reunited with Doctor Ziegler. We flirted, but little more than that. Then she nearly died and she’d say I saved her but really without Miss Zaryanova—”
“Skip to the end,” said Junkrat.
Genji paused. “Well… I don’t know where to go from there. We got together shortly after the incident with Reaper in Volskaya.”
Junkrat’s brow furrowed. “Well that’s all very exciting and morbid but I think I’d like to do this without either of us nearly dying and probably without the 8 years of me being up my own arse.”
Genji glanced off with a “Hmph.” A snicker escaped Lúcio. Junkrat pushed himself up off of the couch. “Well you’ve both been a real big help.”
“Really?” said Lúcio.
“No,” said Junkrat, “But that’s okay! I can figure this out! I don’t need anyone’s advice!”
“Oi. Death-From-Above. I need your advice,” said Junkrat, walking into the Watchpoint gym.
Pharah looked up from the weight she was doing curl-ups with, “What?”
“I’ll spot you,” said Junkrat, motioning over at a barbell and a bench.
Pharah shrugged and let Junkrat spot her while she did bench presses.
“So… you and Symmetra, huh?”
“Yes,” Pharah said, grunting slightly as she lifted the weight.
“Real smart lady, that Symmetra,” said Junkrat. 
“Mm-hmm,” said Pharah, doing another rep.
“How’d you get her to like you?” the question came out of Junkrat more whining and desperate than he had anticipated and a half-breathless laugh escaped Pharah as she did another rep.
“Honestly?” said Pharah, “I was an idiot for three months and then something clicked somehow.”
“Well I’ve been an idiot for six months and it’s doing jack shit!” said Junkrat.
Pharah smirked and did another rep. “You can’t force things,” she said, a slight grunt at the end of her sentence, “You make your moves when you see an opening, but you don’t force the openings, do you understand? And if she’s not interested, then she’s not interested.”
“Gotcha…” said Junkrat.
“Did you ask Satya how we got together?” asked Pharah, doing one last rep.
“Well…I did, but she just made this face,” Junkrat pursed his lips and arched his eyebrow in aristocratic displeasure.
“Sounds like my Satya,” said Pharah and Junkrat helped her set the bar back onto the rack.
“We agreed no one is going after anyone’s bounties,” said McCree, as he fired at target drones on the practice range.
“Got it, mate, just had a question for ya,” said Junkrat.
“Is it about Mei again?” said McCree, shooting down another drone.
“Nooo no, nope, not about Mei. I’m just really curious about you and the archer,” said Junkrat.
“Why do I feel like this is somehow about Mei?” said McCree.
“It’s not about–Alright it is indirectly about Mei. But I’m serious about you and your cosplay buddy.”
“We’re not in cos–” McCree started, then stopped himself, “Okay. I’ll bite. What do you want to know about me and Hanzo?”
“Well… When you first met, he punched you in the face,” said Junkrat.
“After I tackled him, yeah,” said McCree, “I mean he was breaking onto the Watchpoint. But that was pretty much water under the bridge once Genji cleared stuff up with him.”
“Well yeah, but still you’re.. y’know really different from each other. I mean, there’s no way you two would be together without all this Overwatch business.”
“Eh. Wouldn’t say we’re that different,” said McCree, reloading his peacemaker, “I mean, both pretty much raised by criminal organizations, I had a bounty on my head, he had assassins on his ass…”
“Both avid cosplayers….” said Junkrat. McCree just scoffed.
“I guess what I’m saying is, it’s easy to think you’re at odds with someone just because you’re so different, but… sometimes different things can mess people up in the same ways. You gotta keep an eye out for that stuff,” McCree paused, “Y’know, I don’t think I ever asked you–Why her?”
“Why–Have you seen her, mate?”
“Well, yeah she’s cute but–”
“Cute?! I believe you’re mispronouncing ‘most beautiful woman on the Watchpoint.’ Objective fact,” said Junkrat.
McCree snorted, “So it’s all looks?”
“Well, no, just–” Junkrat rubbed the back of his head, “She gives a shit about the world.”
McCree raised an eyebrow. “Most people give a shit about the world.”
“Well yeah but—Not the way she does,” Junkrat leaned against a wall behind McCree, “Most people give a shit about the world because there’s something that’s important to them in it. Friends, family, you know. It’s their stuff. People care about the world because that’s where all their stuff is. She’s got her friends, but well–Everyone just let her be a popsicle for years down on that Ecopoint, so I dunno how much that’s worth to her. I dunno. Omnium explosions change you. I spent years of my life pretty sure that this world was a sphere of burning garbage that I would happily just ride into the sun and grab all the loot I can while doing so. But for her…” Junkrat shrugged, “This world can take everything from her–hell it practically has already—but she’s still working harder than anyone to make sure this shitty planet has a future and this world isn’t going to give her anything back for it and she doesn’t care. She’s a bit crazy in that regard,” Junkrat smirked, “A real good kind of crazy,” Junkrat paused and then finally glanced back at McCree, who was standing there, staring at him, “Why’ve you stopped shooting?”
“Why the hell don’t you say something like that to her?!” said McCree, “You’ve been throwing ice puns at her this whole time when you’ve got all that goin’ on under the hood!?”
“I dunno,” said Junkrat, shrugging, “Bit hard to put something like that into post mission banter. Can’t exactly throw myself out there.”
“Okay fine,” McCree sighed, “Yeah. Start small. Just say one nice thing to her post-mission. One nice thing.”
“Gotcha. One nice thing,” said Junkrat.
By the time Junkrat managed to get the nerve up to speak to her again, were heading back to the Orca after a relatively uneventful mission in Oasis.
“Oi, Mei!” Junkrat called.
Mei glanced up from walking and tweaking at her Cryo-gun’s settings. “What,” she said flatly.
Junkrat felt himself break a sweat.. He awkwardly made finger guns at her and said, “…Ice job back there.”
“Ugh,” Mei continued walking.
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