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woniverse-writes · 9 months

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"MOTH TO A FLAME (part 1)"

Bada Lee x Fem!Reader

part 1 ⟶ part 1.5

series masterlist

summary: y/n l/n is the youngest team member of Jam Republic, competing in the second season of Street Woman Fighter. she’s got the sweetest smile and the most vibrant personality, but she also may or may not be the biggest hothead on the show when it comes to defending her teammates. apparently that’s attractive to Bada Lee.

word count: 9k (holy shit)

warnings: swearing, reader is described as cute and small a lot, Bada is kinda confusing with her feelings, also this isn't proofread so... sorry for any mistakes lol- lemme know if I missed anything!

“I think Jam Republic is finally coming out-” someone states and the excited conversations start to fill up the studio. Jam Republic walks into the fight zone for their first introduction and they're all just very happy to be there. All the girls are smiling but Audrey and y/n have the biggest smiles on their faces out of anyone. Everyone is commenting on how pretty they are and how their smiles are so precious

“Wow, Audrey is like a doll! So pretty…” Tatter is outwardly in awe of the girls, much like some of her other teammates. But their leader, even though she agreed, was trying to keep the girls’ confidence up.

“True, but we’re prettier” she replied in a motherly tone and patted the blonde girl's head, causing them all to smile and giggle. Minah notices Jam Republic approaching the area they’re seated in, and shares a mischievous look with Lusher, before adding to the conversation-

“Y/n’s like a princess though. No one’s beating that” she states matter-of-factly, anticipating her leader’s response. Bada opens her mouth to say something but right as she’s about to speak, she and y/n make eye contact. Y/n smiles even bigger than she already is, eyes twinkling, and she bows politely greeting team Bebe. Bada is lowkey rendered speechless because she’s pretty sure she just saw an angel.

“Oh- h-hello” she struggles to speak and immediately after y/n turns away, Bada is grimacing and covering her face out of embarrassment, her teammates now laughing at her distress. She tries to laugh it off and put on a smile because of all the cameras around- she just really hopes they didn’t catch that and it won’t be aired.

As Jam Republic continues to stride across the stage, past all the other crews, getting a feel for the room, they finally settle in the middle- waiting for their video to be played. Audrey and Y/n are holding hands and giggling excitedly, while the rest of their team shares similar smiles and affectionate chuckles towards their youngest members.

Then the review video plays…

“I think they all want to be the main character- how are they ever gonna work together?” Y/n can’t help but huff out a laugh of disbelief, but she’s not quite angry yet. She felt a little twinge of annoyance but other than that, she thought it was kind of funny.

“I’m gonna steal the spotlight from you” Audret whispered sarcastically, bumping her shoulder, causing y/n to laugh. They were smiling and giggling again… until the others started targeting her and Audrey.

“They’re like babies- I don’t think they’ll have any real skill.” All the members are just nodding and keeping their composure, with light smiles, except for y/n. Her smile has dropped into a frown and her brows are furrowed as she tries to understand how these people could so willingly make assumptions about them. And it only kept getting worse-

As their individual dance clips started to play y/n could already feel the tension inside her start to rising. After Kirsten, Ling, Latrice, and Emma’s clips all played- Y/n’s was next. It was a somewhat recent clip of her dancing to “Basics” by TWICE, where she’s got her signature bright smile, and is bouncing around, just enjoying the choreography. She loves that choreo and has always been proud of it because it was fun, so her smile started to come back a little while watching it. She tried ignoring everyone’s words, and for the most part, it worked, but she was still able to hear-

“Isn’t this too juvenile? She doesn’t seem competitive at all.”

And if there’s one thing y/n hates- it’s people doubting her passion. She’s always been very dedicated to dance, but she also learned how to have fun and enjoy it, while still working hard to always be improving. But to be honest, it didn’t upset her too much because she never really cared what people’s opinions were on her- as long as she was happy, healthy, and kind y/n couldn’t care less what people thought. Unless it was about someone she cares about, then that’s when problems arise.

Audrey’s video played right after y/n’s and even though the older girl was keeping it together and even sporting a small smile, the same could not be said for her teammate. Y/n listened to everyone laugh and jeer at her friend, and she felt genuine violence start to bubble inside her. How dare they laugh at her? Who do they think they are? She clenched her jaw and felt any bit of respect she had for these people leave her body. Y/n was already over this shit.

“I think they’re pretty dancers, but that’s it- they’re just pretty dancers.” The other teams ‘ooh’ at this and letter other noises of enablement. By now Y/n’s face has totally dropped, and there’s no expression besides a deadly look in her eyes. While everyone else is brushing it off with some laughs, especially Audrey, y/n can't help but feel her anger fully ignite into a blazing fire. Their video came to an end and while others applauded respectfully, y/n stood there- arms crossed with her head tilted slightly, a stone-cold expression overtaking her face.

"Oh my god- y/n is the only one not smiling anymore" Akanen pointed out from Tsubakill’s side of the room. To which Rena gasped and replied “Eh?! Oh no! She looks so upset!” and the others all focused solely on her. other teams seem to be thinking similarly.

"Audrey is laughing about it like it's nothing and y/n looks like she's about to kill everyone who picked her as the worst dancer…" Mina Myoung jokes, laughing at the young girl. Some of her members laughed with her, while others just observed with cautious eyes. They didn’t want to accidentally make eye contact with Jam Republic’s seemingly small but mighty dancer.

"From everything I've seen of Y/n, I never thought I'd see her without a smile- more importantly I never thought I'd see her look that angry" Harimu gasps, gripping Redy’s shoulders, pulling herself to hide behind her slightly. Peaking over Redy’s shoulder, she listens to the older girl reply in a tone just as fearful as her own. "I didn't even think she'd be able to make such a scary face" Redy laughs but trembles a little.

"Oh my- wow, she looks so much older with that look on her face…" Funky Y openly expresses how baffled she is to her crew, with wide eyes and mouth slightly dropped open. Yoonji replies quickly in a frantic tone

"Like she's not a baby anymore, suddenly she became a Lion" she animatedly expressed with a growl after to prove her point. And her members can’t help but huff out a few laughs and roll their eyes at her antics. But still- even as they joke around, all are still weary of how y/n will act now.

All of the dancers quickly took notice of y/n’s 180 switch in vibe, and couldn’t help their conversations- some frantic, some laughing and continuing their degrading energy that got her all worked up in the first place, some fearful… and then there was Bebe.

"Woooah… what happened to cutie y/n? She's scary now-" Bada marvels at the small girl standing at the back of her team, with her arms crossed. She really was just as confused as everyone else on how y/n could go from being this darling princess with a dazzling smile and sparkly eyes- to this ice-cold girl who might start calling people out by names soon if she gets pushed any further.

Bada’s teammates look at her, and some nod, while Tatter holds back a laugh, mumbling her leader’s words to herself,

“Cutie…” Minah and Lusher hear her and start giggling, causing Tatter to start giggling as well. Bada doesn’t seem to hear them- that or she just pretends not to, cuz she sits there, unbothered, leaning her elbows on her knees, observing the scene before her with a barely-there smirk.

y/n continues to glare at the screen ahead of her and tries to contain her rage. Latrice puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and y/n just nods her head, poking her inner cheek with her tongue, trying her best not to say something that will definitely get her kicked off the show. Audrey sees how furious her bestie is and turns to poke her cheek playfully, of course with a smile still on her face

"heyyyy, don't stress. It's okay!" she puts an arm around the younger girl's shoulders and continues

"Plus this is just another great opportunity to show everyone what we've got!" and of course, Audrey, ever the optimist, successfully calms her down. y/n sighs and leans into the taller girl.

"I know, I just hate how almost all of them think we suck just cuz we're young."

"well they also think we suck cuz we're pretty" And Basically everyone watching is like- "Aw they're still cuties, even though y/n can be scary".

Bada can't help but laugh at them, specifically y/n

"She's pouting now. Cute." She chuckles softly with a small smile on her face, as she sits, elbows resting on her knees, with her hands clasped. Lusher can't help but side-eye her leader and chuckle as well but for a different reason

"Bada, you seem a little too interested in her" She snaps out of whatever daze she was in, sitting straight up and looking over at Lusher for a second, before turning to look back at the front where Jam Republic is now exiting

"I'm interested in a lot of people here." she explains cooly, surveying the room

"Not true-" Tatter leans over from the other side of Bada to look her right in the eyes "We can all tell you haven't found a single person here interesting, until her- or at least her team."

____________

"She looks kind of scary now…" Yoonji whispers to her teammates looking at y/n. Redlic looks in the direction Yoonji is looking at and laughs a little.

"What're you talking about? y/n? She looks like a kitten trying to be a lion." Now the rest of ManneQueen is staring at Jam Republic, specifically y/n l/n. And sure enough, instead of her usual bright and smiling self, her eyes were back to being fiery and to put it bluntly, she looks pissed the fuck off again. Waackxxy was the one to turn to Redlic and go-

“No, she’s definitely got something fierce going on right now… I hope she has a lot of battle cuz I’m kind of interested in her now…” causing the rest of her team to laugh and agree. On the other side, Jam Republic is having their own discussion regarding y/n.

“I think you should just wait and see- maybe no one will even pick you as a “no respect” dancer!” Ling tried cheering up her younger teammate.

“No I want someone to battle me- I want everyone who voted for me and Audrey to come and try us” y/n fired back with her arms crossed as she leaned back into her chair. She really did look intimidating, especially with her makeup and hair done. Audrey on the other hand was not feeling the same fire-

“Uhm, maybe we don’t need everyone to want to battle us…maybe just a few.” Audrey started to reason,

”Cuz I don’t know if you remember, but there were a LOT of people that voted for us as the worst dancers…” which caused Kirsten and Ling to sigh, and y/n to roll her eyes and clench her jaw.

“Audrey, my love, I’m very well aware of how many people think we suck-“

“You don’t suck-”

“Thank you Emma, but please give me a second”

“Y/n take a deep breath and check your well-being”

She sighed at their team leader’s advice, knowing it was to help her out and so that she didn’t get too fired up with her teammates. It’s not that y/n doesn’t get along with them- it’s the furthest thing from that, she adores her teammates- but she gets very passionate about everything, and she’s a bit of a hothead. On top of all that, y/n is very protective of those she cares about, some of those people being her dear teammates.

“I’m sorry” she mumbles a bit, but ultimately huffs out the response. To which Kirsten replies with a motherly “thank you”, causing the others to chuckle.

“I just don’t understand how they can all collectively make the assumption that we’re not as good as them- for what? Why? Because we’re foreigners? Because we smile a lot? Because we’re pretty? To me THAT just sounds like jealousy” y/n continues to rant, frantically moving her hands and arms about, expressing her frustration- and her team just listens patiently for her to finish. Once she finally lets out her final huff and relaxes back into her chair with her arms crossed again, and a pout now sporting her face, her teammates can’t help but smile gently at their youngest member- some even trying to hide giggles and chuckles of endearment.

“Y/n, sweetheart, you’ve gotta remember- not everyone thinks like you- I wish they did, but they just don’t” Kirsten starts to comfort her, and places a hand on her head, trying her best to calm down the passionate young girl.

Kirsten always felt like asking y/n to join her team was one of the best choices she made in regards to being a leader. She knew the younger girl had experience in kpop dance styles, having performed at multiple k-con stages and doing countless covers from other groups, even choreographing her own routines to kpop songs for fun and still getting the attention of the original artist. Kirsten also saw an unlimited amount of potential in y/n and saw how quickly and easily she absorbed everything around her. The only thing she was worried about was how young she was. it wasn’t a huge concern to her since their whole team was pretty young, but when it came down to it, Kirsten ended up adding Audrey in as well, and the two hit it off right away! To be completely honest- Kirsten felt as if the three youngest members were her babies. Audrey being the sweet angel of a golden child, Emma being the responsible oldest, and y/n being the chaotic troublemaker who’s always trying to pick a fight with someone for hurting her sisters.

“You just need to remember that we’re here to dance, have fun, and gain a new experience… alright?” Kirsten has successfully reduced her gremlin child to a less angry (but still very pouty) version of herself.

“…alright” y/n mumbled.

“Thank you. Now please stop pouting, you look like a kicked puppy and the others will probably start picking on you soon” Kirsten teased lightly, which caused Audrey to join in and start poking y/n’s cheek, leading to Emma tugging gently on her hair, and Ling poking her other cheek, all while Latrice coos at her and pats her head. This all of course causes her to start whining and complaining playfully at her members teasing.

But the endearment for each other doesn’t end outside of the members' little cluster. the love for Jam Republic, and specifically y/n, has now spread to the entire studio. as everyone originally took notice of the youngest member’s slight temper tantrum, most didn’t really know what she was ranting about, but they could tell she was once again not happy at all. The two teams sitting nearest to Jam Republic happened to be Bebe and 1Million, who originally both had members that intended to battle y/n, but after hearing her rant, some opinions changed.

“I like her style! She’s very passionate” Harimu laughed as she explained her newfound interest in Jam Republic’s youngest.

“That’s what I was thinking- I don’t even wanna battle her anymore, especially after how scary she looked before- I just wanna watch her tear up the stage with all her energy” Redy chimed in.

“Do you think we should go up to her during break and try to become friends?” They begin to laugh and joke around about their shared interest in y/n. But their team’s older members aren’t quite on the same level of endearment.

“Ya- you two should be trying to take her down before befriending her, don’t you think?” Lia warns the two girls, who just look at each other and start giggling.

“I don’t know if I’d necessarily wanna go up against someone with her temper” Redy starts off jokingly, but Harimu is already coming back in a teasing mood-

“Yeah cuz you’d probably cry.” Which has Redy letting a gasp- her jaw dropped to the floor, eyes wide with shock and (false) betrayal.

The other team seated next to Jam Republic isn’t as chipper as 1 Million though, as their leader is trying to convince her team to stick with their guts.

“You wanted to battle her at first for a reason- why would that reason change if you still haven’t seen her dance?” Bada asks Kyma, Sowoen, and Minah. They all voted y/n as the worst dancer because her style was too “pretty” and they thought she relied on having cute expressions. Bada didn’t entirely agree with her teammates, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. She even originally stated how she thought y/n’s style was refreshing and youthful, but she was worried about how she’d be with darker concepts.

“Well- I mean- she seems kinda crazy…” Cheche halfheartedly joked, but in reality, she was being completely serious.

“Why? Because she’s angry? She should be angry. Being voted as the worst dancer isn’t something to be happy about…” Bada replies calmly. No one really says anything, as they all are just trying to process whether or not their leader is provoking them, or if she’s defending their opponent because she thinks she’s cute.

Bada sighs and stands up to stretch. She wants her team to not only be amazing dancers, but critical thinkers too. Of course, Bada wants a win, but she also wants her team to be strong- and if going up against someone with untouchable morale and endless energy will force her teammates to be stronger, then that’s what they need to do.

She also may or may not be personally interested in seeing what y/n is made of. After all, she caught her attention originally with her bright smile and explosive personality- then again shortly after with how serious and intimidating she gets when people question her abilities. Bada thought her bold expressions and reactions to things were an endearing contrast from her cute or refreshing facials used when dancing. So now having seen y/n in stark opposition, she’s even more interested.

They all finish up introductions and meet the judges, then are sent off to get changed and prepare for the battles that are about to ensue. Jam Republic’s hideout is full of conversation from the second they enter the room.

“Well besides y/n almost setting the place on fire, I think that went well!” Ling chirps, smiling in faux satisfaction at her teammates, who let out variations of laughs.

“I can’t believe they think so lowly of us” Audrey finally expresses her disappointment, sharing a kicked puppy look with y/n, who longer feels angry, just tired. The younger of the two just leans her head on her friend's shoulder and stays quiet.

“I know, but that’s exactly why we’re gonna go out there and show every single one of them how wrong they were, right?” Kirsten encourages with her once again motherly tone and warm smile.

Bebe’s hideout conversations on the other hand are going quite a bit differently than Jam Republic’s…

“So moral of the story: I’m scared of a five-foot-nothing, angel-faced, baby who may or may not have the ability to shoot lasers out of her eyes.”

“Minah, what the fuck are you even saying right now-” Tatter sits and stares at her teammate with a concerned look. Minah and Kyma have been going back and forth since they got back about how they regret picking y/n as their no-respect dancer already, because of how quickly and drastically her personality changed when she got upset.

“I’m just saying- I feel like if I looked her in the eyes at that moment, I would've died.” Minah replies dramatically, and Kyma nods her head enthusiastically in agreeance. Bada huffs out a laugh and rolls her eyes at the two members’ antics.

“You do realize she’s still just a kid, right? You have nothing to worry about. Even if she does look scary, she’s probably all bark and no bite” Bada smirks slightly and leans back comfortably on the couch in their space.

“Weren’t you just saying how cute she was?” Lusher side-eyes her as she questions.

“Yes, and? That’s exactly my point. She’s too cute, so there’s no way she’d actually be able to go through with whatever she looked like she could've done.” Bada reasons, shrugging. Everyone just sighs and new conversations arise.

After all the teams have finished preparing, they all head back down to the main studio and take their seats again. The judges are all prepared and after a slight re-introduction by Daniel, the host, the battles are set to begin.

Bada being part of the first battle of the season was definitely necessary, and her win practically secured her spot as the best dancer involved in the program.

Everyone was hyped especially the members of Jam Republic, who were all just very happy to be there- even y/n, who had managed to calm down from her original state of rage, and now she’s back to her excited, vibrant self, of course wearing a giant smile. The girls all cheered and at some point (she doesn’t know when) y/n ended up clinging to Emma with wide eyes and jaw dropped. After Bada finished everyone obviously went crazy with an uproar of applause, but y/n could only let out a few claps, as she was still shell-shocked. Ling glanced at her teammate and started laughing

“Did you enjoy that y/n?” Y/n, still in a daze, puts the back of her hand on her cheek, then her forehead

“My face feels so hot right now”

“Oh my god y/n! You’re like- actually a tomato!!” Kirsten noticed her youngest dancer’s flustered state and couldn’t help but bring attention to it. With all her teammates' eyes on her now, they giggle as she starts whining and covering her face, collapsing into a ball on the floor. She looks up at Ling, who gently pats her head, and goes

“I don’t think I’m gonna survive this” sending all of her members into a fit of laughter over their youngest dancer’s uncontrollable admiration.

“The way she got up in Redy’s face- UGH I WOULD’VE DIED” she continues fangirling, catching the attention of a few of the other dancers- specifically from Bebe. Lusher is the first to glance sideways at y/n with wide eyes and a hidden smile- she’ll have to tell Bada about it afterward.

When it’s revealed that Bada won, y/n just about flew twelve feet in the air, that’s how high she jumped. Bada acted coolly and honestly pretty cold toward Redy, but the second she made eye contact with y/n, she smiled charmingly causing the already flustered girl to smile even brighter. She sits back down with her crew and Lusher leans over to whisper in her ear,

“I think y/n really likes you” she teases, causing Bada to roll her eyes and glare.

“Enough…” the older girl warns playfully, in tow causing Lusher to raise her hands in defense.

“Alright, fine- but just know she really enjoyed your performance.” and the conversation ended there.

During Kirsten’s battle with Waackxxy, the members of Jam Republic are once again hyped up, but this time- it’s tenfold.

Y/n is standing on top of the front row of their team’s bleachers, jumping up and down so much that at one point she nearly slips. Emma and Audrey are of course both there to keep her out of trouble (like always) and they all make eye contact before bursting out laughing

From across the room- Bada is pretty much just as invested as they are. Except she’s a little more focused on one of the members who ISN’T currently dancing. She of course paid attention to Kirsten’s battle and was genuinely blown away by her style- But Bada couldn’t help but get distracted by the small girl a little bit behind her, screaming and jumping like her life depended on it. She tried not to smile or laugh at y/n’s antics but she couldn’t help it when she almost fell off the bleachers. At first- when she watched her slip, Bada felt herself tense up, almost as if her instant reaction was to reach out and try to catch her from across the room. But once she realized y/n was alright (and that she’d have been fine had she fallen from the short height) she shook her head laughed, but more at herself for feeling so protective of this girl she hadn’t even spoken to yet.

Shortly after Kirsten’s first battle, Audrey has hers- Which means, y/n is about to be at her peak of hype woman realness. When Audrey's name is called, y/n shoots straight up and gets right to hyping her best friend up. She’s smiling and rubbing her shoulders and shaking her around a bit to show her excitement, and finally, the two do their signature handshake that they’ve done before every performance together since they became friends

Bada again watched from the opposite side, and she couldn’t help but feel extra critical while watching Audrey. There was nothing wrong with Audrey’s dancing! In fact- Bada was thoroughly impressed, (but she wishes she wasn’t). Instead of catching y/n’s reactions, this time she was totally focused on the dancers- Bada was curious as to what made y/n so defensive of Audrey, and now she understands a little better. That doesn’t ease her feelings of discomfort though, especially as the battle comes to an end and she watches y/n pounce on Audrey the second the timer runs out. What frustrated her even more was how quickly she became self-aware in that moment. Wait- why do I care so much? She was asking herself as her eyes darted to the floor.

And when she was announced the winner, Bada applauded and cheered, but again felt bitter seeing Jam’s Republic’s two youngest members be cute together. Now all Bada can focus on is why she herself is so bothered by y/n clinging to her teammate, and smiling like Audrey just won the Olympics.

“She seems like a really clingy person” Bebe members all look at Bada and then follow her line of sight to Audrey and y/n- or rather y/n sticking to Audrey and congratulating her. Lusher is the first to speak up again,

“Audrey?” she questions, peaking over at Bada in confusion, whose eyes are fixed back on y/n.

“No, y/n”

“Oh, of course”

Lusher’s response is sarcastic and causes the others to laugh lightly at the sub-leader’s attitude towards their oldest member. Bada once again has no reaction as she’s too focused on y/n smiling angelically, celebrating Jam Republic’s win.

“Omg please don’t tell me you’re already jealous” Sewoen teased and Tatter laughed hysterically. Bada raised her eyebrows and finally turned to look at the girls.

“Me? What would I be jealous of?” she pouts slightly when she talks. Even though she seems all tough, and tall, and cold- only one of those things is true. Bada is really a big softie- a baby angel trapped in a 5’9 body. Her teammates know this all too well as they halt their teasing for a moment to admire their cute leader. But that obviously doesn’t last forever.

“Bada-” Lusher tilts her head, exasperated. She stares at the older girl for a few seconds in disbelief, before letting out a huff of a laugh again. Bada’s eyes just widen as she looks around at her team- she really is confused, because while yes- she is starting to realize she may have a genuine crush on y/n, Bada thought she was doing a pretty good job at hiding it!

“What?? I’m serious- I'm not jealous of anyone” She tries to laugh it off and move on but the only reaction she gets is a few side-eyes from the other members. So she lets out a sigh and hangs her head in embarrassment.

“Let’s just leave it please” She smiles timidly, and THIS causes the other girls to laugh.

Many more battles occur before it’s finally Y/n’s chance to dance. When she’s called up to pick her no-respect dancer, y/n smiles brightly and walks to the center.

"So I actually have a lot of respect for this dancer, and I kind of selfishly chose her for the opportunity to share the stage with her and feed off her energy…" she starts, making sure to survey the whole room before eyes finally land on Bebe

"No way she's gonna pick Bada", "is y/n really about to pick Bada???", "Ya, she must be insane" excited murmurs fill the studio as everyone anticipates her pick.

Bada tries to keep her expression neutral, but she can't help how her eyes widen when she makes eye contact with the young dancer standing in front of her crew. Bada thinks y/n looks cute holding the mic with both hands, poking her tongue out and smiling nervously.

Y/n takes a deep breath and walks slowly toward the team she's been eyeing up

"For my no respect dancer, I'd like to battle Bebe's…" It feels like everyone is holding their breath. Y/n holds eye contact with Bada but breaks it with a nod

"Lusher"

Everyone goes crazy, even Lusher herself- She stands up and bows, smiling brightly, and as she starts to descend the bleachers they're sat in, she turns to Bada with wide eyes and whispers-

"I for sure thought she was gonna be calling your name…" she started seriously

"Hm… guess not yet" she teases her leader and Bada shoves her away

"Ya, go dance or something" she mumbles, already exhausted from dealing with the teasing of her members. Lusher meets Y/n halfway and actually reaches out to shake her hand, to which a nervous Y/n excitedly and politely bows and shakes her hand

"Good luck" Lusher smiles gently and y/n's eyes twinkle a little more at the kindness

"Thank you so much, you too!" and then they're separating and heading back to their sides to start the battle. Bada can't help but roll her eyes at her younger teammate, because while she's appreciative of the good sportsmanship, she knows it's really just to tease her more. Once Lusher heads back to Bebe’s side, Bada is behind her with a hand on her shoulder, talking calmly and softly.

"You know this is a cutthroat competition right? You're not supposed to be nice to your opponent- especially since she chose you as her "no respect" dancer-" Bada begins firmly

"Bada, did you listen to a word she said before? Or did you block it all out after you realized she wasn't talking about you?" Tatter laughed, once again taking the opportunity to tease the group leader

On the other side, Jam Republic is also teasing their group member

"I for sure thought you were gonna pick Bada" Latrice stated, massaging y/n's shoulders, shaking her around a bit to keep her energy up. She didn't say anything, just laughed and rolled her eyes. Noticing the lack of reaction, Ling reaches over and pinches her cheek-

"Are you kidding, y/n would probably forget how to breathe if she had to go up against Bada" causing them all to burst out laughing, including the youngest. She moves out of they're teasing reach and steps onto the dance floor. Daniel introduces the two again and allows them to do their little speeches before the battle actually starts. Y/n goes first and she has that same nervous smile back on her face, but her eyes still twinkle with excitement

"As much as I do respect you, I apologize because I'm still going to compete and perform like I don't" she finishes, trying to seem cool, but she ends up giggling a little. Everyone obviously loses their shit and starts screaming, and even Lusher is clapping and nodding with approval

"Y/n-ya" Everyone's eyes widen, especially Y/n's, as they anticipate Lusher's comeback

"I appreciate your admiration, but there won't be any sharing of the stage, cuz it's all mine" and cue the 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the other dancers, and y/n just smiles and nods. They turn over their mics and prepare for the music to start

"First up- Bebe! LUSHEEEEER" Daniel shouts out and the music comes in as everyone cheers. She starts with some smooth groves and then hits all the accents once the beat drops. Y/n just felt happy to be there, face scrunched up showing how impressed she is with her opponent's moves. Bada tried to solely focus on Lusher, but she couldn’t help but eye up the opposing dancer. and if anyone happened to notice and ask her about it, Bada would just tell them that she was inspecting the competition for the sake of her team…

As Lusher's time runs out, she finishes off strong by getting in y/n's face and ruffling the shorter girl's hair while smirking, causing her to giggle and poke the inside of her cheek with her tongue. She nodded as Daniel announced the switch, and she anticipated everyone's reactions

CL's "Tie a Cherry" starts playing from the pre-chorus and everyone gets even more hyped- some were jumping around and screaming, some grabbed onto their hair, some just had wide eyes and jaw dropped. Lusher stood similar to the last group- eyes wide and jaw dropped to the floor, but she still smiled and laughed in astonishment. Y/n smiled coolly and nodded her head to the beat before bouncing to get into the feel. She does a quick spin around and her vibe has completely changed again-

Everyone notices the different look in her eyes and they all start fangirling amongst themselves again, expressing how excited they are to see her dance. Lusher stands back and watches, amused and somewhat proud, like she's just got herself a new friend- a friend that challenges her by picking a song that she already danced to with the artist.

Bada on the other hand is trying to control her emotions and reactions again- standing behind with the rest of her team, hand covering her mouth, brows furrowed. She's stressing rn, but not because she's scared that Lusher will lose (frankly, she could care less about that) but rather because she doesn't know how she's gonna last a whole season of watching y/n dance without reacting in the most obvious ways possible- especially since she has a reputation to uphold. Now- Bada has never really cared about that type of stuff, she's chill and doesn't really care whether or not people think she's cool. But this- this feeling she gets while watching y/n dance- is a whole new level of uncool. To be completely honest- Bada feels pathetic.

y/n's been hitting every beat, leaving it all out on the floor- her movements are explosive and captivating. So much so, that certain viewers are mesmerized even by the smallest aspects of her performance that she doesn't even have control over.

"Woooow… how does her hair just perfectly fall into place…" Bada's mesmerized voice doesn't fit in with the chaotic energy and screams, so it catches the attention of Tatter, who looks over to see a dazed leader with a slight blush painted on her cheeks, and she bursts out laughing.

"Bada… you need to pull yourself together" she laughs. but right as she finishes her sentence and looks back to watch the rest of the dance, the iconic "razzi shots" line occurs and y/n handles it perfectly.

Right as the "razzi shots" line is played through the speaker, y/n's whole body reacts as if electrified- her articulation is so on point that the final hit of her movement mixed with her unmatched expression sends everyone spiraling into a frenzy. And it only got worse as her next movements were smooth, yet articulated combinations of body rolls and hip swivels, leaving everyone with jaws dropped. No one expected the cute, sometimes fiery, girl to have such an alluring, sexy side to her. Especially Bada, who is now fumbling between covering her eyes and her mouth cuz she's so flustered she doesn't know what to do. And the fact that she doesn't understand why she's feeling this way is making her even more flustered.

Y/n's time is about to run out as she slides onto the ground, and with a flip of her hair, she hits a sexy pose that's all tied together with a seductive smile. The applause are the loudest they’ve been so far, everyone is beyond baffled after watching her perform. She stays in her pose for a second, basking in the attention, and to make it even better she daintily bites her finger and puts on a cute-clueless kind of sexy facade. As if she didn’t just completely destroy everyone’s expectations of her.

After a couple of seconds of holding her pose, she laughs at herself and stands up, first bowing to Lusher, then turning to the audience on her side and bowing- which causes another uproar. Y/n’s brilliant smile is back and she can’t help but clap her hands and cheer with everyone else. The sweet girl who loves to perform was back and she was once again just happy to be there.

The time comes for the judges to decide the winner and in a clean sweep, 3-0, y/n takes the win. Everyone cheers, and y/n comes running up to Lusher to shake her hand again, but Lusher pulls her into a hug instead before pulling back and holding onto the smaller girl's shoulders.

"You're literally so amazing- I was totally joking before, let's share the stage all the time" Lusher jokes around, a genuine smile on her face, but still a teasing lilt in her voice.

"Oh so now you wanna share cuz I won?" y/n teases back, causing Lusher to laugh and shove her shoulder gently, the two girls smiling and giggling together.

"You wish that was you, huh?" Tatter whispers to Bada as they watch from their seats. Bada just turns to look at her with the most fed-up look, causing the blonde to let out a snort of a laugh. As Lusher strides back over to Bebe’s side, she’s smiling still as she looks at her team and shrugs her shoulders. They all hurry to pat her on the back and tell her how well she did, no matter the outcome.

“Y/n is no joke, you guys should be scared to challenge her for sure now.” She looks specifically at the three who had picked her as their no-respect dancer. Causing them all to sigh and chuckle a little in defeat.

“It’s okay- we’re stronger. We have to be.” They all turn to look at their leader in disbelief. They've all noticed how she’s been acting toward y/n, and find it hard to believe Bada actually thinks they could beat her- shit they would even agree that Bada doesn’t think anyone could beat her.

“Whatever you say, captain…” Tatter replies and they all turn their attention back to the front.

As everyone finishes up their individual dance battles, and the battle of the aces finishes off- the teams are released to go prepare for the group battle. Everyone begins heading to their respective rooms, but one dancer stalls behind her crew by a few steps. y/n keeps peaking over her shoulder every so often, to glance back at Bebe. She simply wanted to ask Lusher for her phone number, but the girl didn’t seem to be with her team. She eventually stopped walking altogether and when y/n looked forward again, she realized the rest of her team was so far ahead she’d have to jog to catch up.

“Were you looking for someone?” y/n whips back around and is met with the rest of Bebe, more specifically their leader, who is a lot closer than she expected her to be. Her eyes turn into saucers and she seems to struggle a little to find words.

“Oh- actually- well yeah actually I was…” y/n nervously smiled and looked up at Bada, hoping that her face wasn’t turning red already. Bada gave a gentle smile in return. She looked relaxed, cool, but in her head she was trying to keep calm and not squeeze the cute girl in front of her.

“I was wondering where Lusher went, actually.” the Jam Republic dancer spoke up a little more confidently this time- still very shy, but definitely was able to speak without stuttering, which is progress!

“Mmm” Bada hummed and nodded, seemingly understanding. She held eye contact with the younger girl, before asking,

“Why?” to anyone on the outside looking in, this situation probably looks like a gang of scary tall women harassing some poor girl- which is exactly what Audrey is thinking when she turns to ask y/n a question and looks back to see her many meters away, conversing with Bebe’s leader, while the rest of the crew stands behind her.

“Oh my god- we lost y/n” she starts to panic, causing all the older members to whip around and look at Audrey like she’s crazy, then look at the spot next to her where the youngest member usually stood. Kirsten takes a deep breath before releasing it and shaking her head, Emma and Ling are genuinely in shock, and Latrice just looks at each of the members before laughing and starting to head back towards the direction they came from, to retrieve their baby.

Meanwhile, said baby is still struggling through a conversation with “the love of her life”, as she described to her team after watching Bada battle Redlic.

“Uhm- well I was looking for Lusher hoping I could get her number, or give her mine, cuz… because I really enjoyed dancing with her!” y/n finishes off strong and Bada just tilts her head in an amused, yet condescending way. Y/n finally took the opportunity to actually look at her, and wow, does she wish she didn’t, because if her face wasn’t on fire before, it sure is now. Bada was standing confidently with her feet planted shoulder-width apart and her hands casually in her pockets. Y/n was usually good at acknowledging an attractive woman leaving it at that- but this shit was just too overwhelming for the poor girl.

“She went to go refill her water, but she should be back soon. We were obviously heading to our room so if you wanna come back with us and wait for her, you’re more than welcome to.” Tatter speaks up in a chipper voice from beside Bada. She could see how red the girl’s face had gotten and wanted to help her out a little by putting her focus on something other than Bada. although her comment only seemed to make it worse-

“Oh! Oh no, that’s okay! I don’t want to intrude, and I- I should probably get back to my group anyways to prepare for the battle-” y/n frantically starts to ramble, her face somehow even brighter red than before. Bada couldn’t help the amused smirk that spread across her face.

“How about you just give me your number and I’ll give it to her?” Bada cuts her off, and not only do y/n’s eyes grow four times in size but so do Bada’s teammates’. They all try to discreetly glance at each other without freaking out, cuz since when was their leader this bold???

“Yeah… yeah of course.” Bada smiles and y/n is about to give her number, right when-

“We seriously need to put you on a leash, girl” Latrice laughs and puts her hand on y/n’s shoulder, leaving her to jump in surprise a little, not expecting her crew to have showed up behind her. The young girl let out a relieved sigh and then a tired laugh. She glanced back at Bada and the rest of Bebe then bowed slightly.

“Thank you so much for your help, but I'll just keep an eye out and try to catch her later” she speaks softly and smiles politely before moving to finally head back to her waiting room with her members. As she’s about to round the corner, y/n looks over her shoulder and shouts a sweet “good luck!” then waves cutely.

Bebe is still standing in the same spot they were in when y/n left when Lusher finally made her way back to them.

“Why are we just standing in the hall… I thought you guys would be back in our room already.” She eyes up her crew suspiciously, looking at every one of them before landing on Bada.

“Well, we would’ve been if Bada hadn’t decided to harass y/n” Kyma pipes up, and Lusher sends a look that can only be explained as concern and disbelief toward Bada.

“Excuse me, I did not HARASS her???” Bada looks over at the girl with an incredulous look.

“Right, you just tortured the poor girl and acted so cold she probably thought you were gonna eat her-” “EAT HER???? WHAT AM I NOW? A WOLF???”

“Well-” Tatter chimes in this time, “you did kind of give off that vibe when she was talking to you just now.”

“Okay- we can get back to unpacking that later. Why was she even over here?” Lusher interrupted the flow of conversation. Bada sighed and hesitated before sharing

“She actually was looking for you…” she started calmly. Noticing Lusher’s confused expression, she continued

“y/n was asking for your number… said it was because she really enjoyed dancing with you.” Bada smiled a little as she shared this information with her teammate, who in turn also smiled. Lusher’s wide eyes and light grin, made Bada realize how she actually had the opportunity to get y/n’s number and failed miserably.

“But she said she’d come find you later, so be on the lookout.” the group leader stoically expressed. Lusher hums and nods, mentally pocketing the information. They finally head back to their room and begin to prepare for the battle.

As ALL of Jam Republic enters their room, the first they do after shutting the door is all turn to face y/n. All of the members stare in anticipation, waiting for her to burst.

“So are you gonna tell us what the hell you were doing talking to Bada Lee?” Latrice urges with a teasing grin. Everyone continued to wait for y/n to start excitedly ranting, but it never came.

“I feel…” the youngest starts and they all lean in slightly, waiting for her to express everything vividly,

“I feel really confused.” She finishes her statement in a daze and honestly, the members are now convinced she’s totally out of it.

“Oh my god… what did she say to you?” “Are you okay?” “Do we need to fight her?” Emma and Audrey go back and forth with their questions, hurrying to bring y/n to sit in between them on the couch.

“She just… she’s… I just really love women, and I think I specifically am going to fall in love with that woman, and I think I'm gonna die” she rants outwardly, still in a daze. All of her members lean back slightly, flabbergasted by the youngest’s statement. Kirsten tries to keep her jaw off the floor but she puts up a hand and tries to dismiss the situation for the time being

“Well… uh… alright should we prepare for the battle, and revisit this later?” “yes please” “alright awesome, thank you for sharing y/n” “yeah, no problem”

All teams have gathered again in the main competition area for the group battle, all fired up again and ready to rumble. The energy is high as all groups compete, the mission’s final ranking is announced and Jam Republic celebrates their decent rank of fourth place. With Bebe placing right above them in third, y/n turns to the groups and claps for them, making eye contact with Lusher and giving her a thumbs up, which is returned.

They wrap up and begin to head back to their rooms again. Y/n approaches Bebe with a bright smile and hopes that Lusher will come right forward and save the other girl from embarrassing herself again in front of the group’s leader. But it turns out Lusher has other plans. She skips down the bleachers and smiles at y/n before walking right past her.

“Bada, can you get y/n’s number for me, I have to use the restroom- thanks!” she shouts as she retreats, causing all of her teammates to laugh in shock, except her leader. Bada, unprepared for the confrontation, is a little flustered and doesn’t know if she’ll be able to put up the same act as before.

Bada stands from her seat and calmly and coolly strides towards y/n. She pulls out her phone and opens the contact app, handing it to the small girl with a relaxed, almost bored, expression. When y/n doesn’t do anything at first, she looks up at Bada with wide puppy eyes, and Bada swears she stopped breathing for a second.

“You can just put your information in my phone and I'll send it to Lusher” the team leader explains, hoping y/n can’t tell how worked up and tense she is right now.

“Oh- yeah. duh” Y/n awkwardly laughs and enters her information before looking back up again with bright eyes to ask-

“Can I give myself a contact picture?” She doesn’t seem awkward or nervous at all when she asks for permission, and Bada finds it adorable. She couldn't help the endeared laugh that escaped her, and she was honestly okay with it because afterward the vibe totally changed.

“Of course you can give yourself a picture” Bada responds with a gentle, amused smile and y/n feels her nerves start to dissipate, as Bada’s genuine smile makes her feel warm and fuzzy, and she never wants to stop seeing such a beautiful thing.

Y/n poses for her contact photo by simply doing a peace sign and sticking out her tongue. Bada again giggles at her cuteness and thanks her when she hands her phone back. She’s about to speak when the Jam dancer beats her to it-

“Even though I technically gave you my number for Lusher, you should definitely still text me too, so I have your number as well!” y/n confidently speaks, but the blush painting her cheeks betrays her nerves. Bada’s eyes widen, genuinely shocked at her bold request.

“Of course- I’ll text you right now.” and so she does. Y/n giggles as she watches Bada take a similar selfie to her, which she receives moments later.

“That’s for my contact picture by the way-” the older girl jokes, which causes y/n to burst out laughing. She was surprised that this Bada was the same person as the one who almost had her fainting in the hallways earlier. The two talked and laughed some more- they really couldn’t get enough of each other.

“You know, I was freaking out during your battle with Redy- when you got in her face and started like- making fun of her height or whatever you'd call that- oh my god it was amazing! My face got so hot watching that” y/n excitedly expressed her admiration, but realized a few seconds too late how she possibly exposed herself. And she felt her face heat up immediately when Bada tilted her head and smirked teasingly.

“Oh? Why was your face all hot? Huh?” Bada teases, standing firmly with her arms crossed over her chest. She steps up to y/n, similarly to how she did with Redy. except when she’s directly in front of her and able to look over her head entirely, Bada glances down at y/n who’d already staring up at her with those wide puppy eyes that have been trapping her all day, her mouth slightly hung open.

Y/n is holding her breath- the way Bada is looking at her right now is making her want to cry. She’s so close, and the tone she uses while teasing y/n makes the younger girl weak in the knees, ready to fold at any second. She tries to stay aware, but y/n can feel her eyelids start to droop, as do Bada’s. The way she’s looking at her- with half-lidded, seductive eyes- y/n doesn’t understand how she got here, but the last thing she wanted for was it to end.

Bada had to remind herself there were many other people and cameras currently around, so she looked y/n up and down, smirked slightly (yet effectively), and backed away. She cleared her throat, but the smirk remained on her face, in fact- it was even bigger than before.

“I’ll text you later, okay?” She’s still close enough to where she can speak softly, and it makes her heart rate pick up when she realizes how flushed and dazed the younger dancer is in front of her. Bada raises her eyebrows slightly when she doesn’t get a response, to which y/n reacts quickly with a firm nod. Bada giggles at her and continues to tease.

“Ya- you should really learn how to use your words, puppy” Bada smiles condescendingly and y/n’s eyes widen once again. She lets out a small gasp when the older girl ruffles her hair before walking away.”

“I’ll text you, y/n!” Bada shouts over her shoulder and y/n just stands there, astonished. She eventually makes her way back to her crew, who watched the entire thing go down.

“What the FUCK was that-”

notes: thank you so much for reading!! sorry that this is so long and there wasn't any "real" romance written in yet. this is definitely a slower burn series, but it's because I like to build up every detail of a story haha. hoping to have the next part ready by the middle of this week, please look forward to it!!

#moth to a flame #bada x reader #street woman fighter 2 #street woman fighter x reader #bada lee x reader #bada lee

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acatalystrising · 1 year

Text

After a new job, relationship, and now an upcoming move to plan for, I’m FINALLY back to writing! Here we have, at long last, chapter four of Moth to a Flame! This story has taken so many turns and I have a million ideas, so there will be more chapters to come! For now, I hope you enjoy!

Here are the links to chapters one, two, three, and five!

Minor nsfw, no other warnings.

Moth to a Flame Chapter Four

“Having trouble, mesh’la?”

Boba Fett’s deep rasp had taken a uniquely playful tone as he walked beside you, the clinking of his spurs breaking the calm silence. He watched you carefully, brow raised, a knowing look in his dark eyes - eliciting yet another furious blush as you tried to regain your balance.

You’d fallen in love before, of course. Had your doomed relationships that went nowhere, leaving you with only a broken heart in their wake. But this? Stars, you’d never had a person make you feel like this.

Head still spinning from the kisses in the rancor pit, you’d nearly tripped as you ascended the palace steps.

“Oh, I’m fine, just clumsy,” you managed to right yourself and smirk at your own expense, “wouldn’t be the first time I’ve tripped on my own two feet.”

But it’s the first time I’ve fallen this hard…

You almost said it. Almost voiced the roaring thoughts in your head, but they were locked behind your lips - past experiences and fears strong enough to curb your tongue.

“Then we’ll use precaution,” Boba extended a gauntleted arm with a smooth flourish as he walked beside you. “Allow me.”

“Such a gentlemen,” you placed your hand on his arm and he chuckled, the sound warming your chest and making you weak-kneed all over again.

You snuck a glance at him as you both passed a set of windows, the moonlight filtering through the hewn stone, illuminating the pathway beyond. Your jaw nearly dropped when you saw his green armor glinting in the pale lighting, which cast a silvery sheen onto his eyes and skin. Maker, he was gorgeous. His broad frame overshadowed yours, study and resolute - the build of a warrior. Every scar, every muscle spoke of a life spent as a vicious bounty hunter, someone many still feared. This once again served as a reminder of the danger he posed - not merely for the weapons he carried, but for the weapon he was.

And yet, he was gentle with you.

“Like what you’re seeing?” His voice was soft, softer than you’d expected for someone of his reputation, and you frowned, noting a hesitation there.

If you didn’t know any better, you’d suspect that Boba Fett, of all people, doubted his worth. For all the power, grace, and confident charm he exuded, you suspected there were many wounds hiding behind those honeyed brown eyes.

“Always,” you gripped his arm tighter as if that alone could reassure him, to help him see the truth you were discovering. “How could I not?”

The beskar was cool to the touch - but it didn’t frighten you. Relief, not dread, washed through you as your fingers ghosted over chips in the paint. You felt grateful for the armor that kept him safe, helped him stay alive all those years to be here, now…with you.

He hummed, brows furrowed in thought. For a moment, he seemed so far away - mind lost in the spiraling galaxy above. You didn’t know what dwelled in that mind, but stars, you wanted to learn, to dive deep into vastness that was as wide as space itself. Wanted to help him see he wasn’t alone, as he’d shown you.

“Thank you…for everything.” You finally spoke, voice equally soft, and he regarded you with a gentle stoicism you now understood to be rapt attention. “I’m not…used to this. I’ve done what I can to care for the animals, my friends…but I’m just…me. I’ve never caught the attention of anyone important.”

His dark brow flicked up as he silently helped you up the next flight of steps, lips set firmly as he guided you through his palace. It was ironic, that after all these years of fearing the likes of Jabba the Hutt and Bib Fortuna, you found yourself exploring the halls of their former home with the new Daimyo. Someone who, unlike them, was fair and just - walking beside you in thoughtful silence.

It was a peaceful quiet, really.

Contemplative, even. In truth, you didn’t mind - it was comforting in the way a mountain would assuredly always stand. The way the stars shone in the sky, lighting your path home in the dark. True as the suns and moons that blazed above in celestial wonder. Boba Fett was only a man, you knew - but he felt like something eternal.

“You intrigued me the day we met.” When he finally spoke, he was achingly somber, those dark brows furrowed in thought as he led you down an adjacent hallway. “I’ve been alone for…a long time. Didn’t think that would ever change. Took weeks for Fennec to convince me to return.”

Weeks? You found it difficult to picture this big, broad bounty hunter being afraid of anything - much less your rejection.

“Stars Boba, I’m not scary. Sure, I was frightened at first when you stopped by,” you shrugged with a small grin, meeting his waiting gaze. “Think about it - the most renowned bounty hunter, now our Daimyo, back from the dead, walking into my clinic.”

“Didn’t wish to frighten you.” He looked away, fumbling with the helmet tucked at his side as if looking for a means of escape.

You noted the rigid posture, the squared shoulders, the armor that went much deeper than beskar draped over his heart. A heart that, despite all the things he’d done, the blood he’d spilled, had always been something soft…something wanting love. It broke you, to see it - a soul so akin to your own despite your vastly different experiences. Perhaps you weren’t the only one who bore inner scars still mending.

“Boba.” You stopped, waiting for him to do the same, softening your voice the way you would for a pacing, caged animal. You didn’t see him that way, of course, but you recognized when someone felt trapped.

He paused, shifting on his heels to face you, expression guarded, a great weight lingering in his eyes. And damn it all, those eyes were an ocean, one you’d willingly drown in. There was a wisdom there, beyond his years, a depth of pain that spoke of decades of trauma and loneliness. Stars, you wanted nothing more in than moment than to love him so fiercely, so wholly, he could set it all aside - if even for a moment.

Maker, what all had this devastatingly beautiful, broken man endured?

“I’m not afraid. In fact, you’ve captured my heart, I think.” You dared to speak your mind, smiling nervously as you forced yourself to continue. “You have since you first set foot in my clinic.”

Boba’s eyes locked onto you, gleaming in the moonlight, and you swore to the stars you saw hope.

“The feeling,” his lips curved in a fond, yet sad, smile - watching you with such intensity you felt his gaze bore into your very soul. “Is mutual.”

You could only nod, so moved by the dualities of his gentleness and strength as he resumed leading you down a hall you recognized, the one that led to the dining room.

The truth was, you’d been alone for so long.

His words both warmed your heart and left an ache lingering in your chest. In your experience, good things didn’t last. You’d lost much in your life, and you couldn’t help but wonder…would you lose this, too?

“You’re quiet,” Boba’s voice rumbled through you as he led you into the dining room. “Something wrong?”

You blinked, realizing you felt so comfortable with him that you had slipped deep into your thoughts. Whether he knew it or not, he’d proven to be safe enough for you to lower your guard - and that didn’t happen with many.

“No,” you regarded him with a smile, finding him watching you with rapt attentiveness. Once again, the hunter in him was too keen - something you were still adjusting to…but he deserved the truth. “I don’t…have much of a family. You’ve been so kind, and I enjoy your company, I just don’t want it all to…”

Silence fell as the words cut off in your throat, as if held by back an invisible fist around your neck.

He led you to the vast spread of food, pulling out a chair for you in silence. He sat at the head of the table beside you, graciously waiting for you to gather your thoughts. You didn’t want to admit it - admit that you were afraid. Not of him anymore, no, but of losing him. That mental shift had happened quickly - very quickly, you might add - and it forced you to face the real question at hand. Stars, had you already fallen in love with Boba Fett?

“Look at me, sweet girl.”

Boba’s voice was soft, rumbling through you like a caress, prompting you to meet his gaze. You found a raw adoration in those amber shot eyes, so intense it left you breathless.

“There’s no hidden motive,” he placed a hand over yours, gloved fingertips lightly caressing your knuckles. “We’ll take things however slow, or at whatever pace, that you wish.”

You nodded, and his lips curled in an easy smile that made your heart race, but his gaze still held a note of seriousness that commanded your attention.

“I’ve no intentions of walking away,” he raised a brow, moving to lift his hand from yours. “Unless you ask me to.”

You mourned the loss of his touch and fought the urge to lean forward and take his hand back in yours, heartbeat still pounding in your ears as you shook your head.

“I’d never ask that,” you smiled, fears melting away. His mere presence did that - cutting away the darkness in your mind. “So I suppose you’re stuck with me, my Daimyo.”

“With a beauty such as you?” He lifted a cup in his big hand and raised it to his lips with a devilish smirk, voice impossibly husky. “If I’d ever be so lucky.”

You watched him drink, eyes locked on you, and couldn’t help but squirm under his gaze. It was intense, to feel so captured, and yet so at home.

“Please, eat,” he gestured at the spread of food, armor glinting in the firelight. “Look like a princess in that dress.”

Heat blossomed on your cheeks as you raised one of the cups to your lips, the wine smooth and sweet on your tongue.

You weren’t sure if it was the alcohol, the food, his close proximity, or all three - but you felt nearly euphoric as you and Boba conversed well into the night.

It quickly became apparent that he was brilliant…more brains then you’d expected from a man with his brawn. Stoic and direct, but with a surprisingly dry, humorous side - he never missed an opportunity to compliment you, his smirks and light touches sending you spiraling deeper and deeper into an abyss that you never wanted to escape.

“I’m still curious about the nexu,” Boba crossed his broad arms, leaning back into his chair, brow slightly raised as he regarded you with a small, crooked smile. “What do you plan to do with her once she’s older?”

“They’re native to thick jungles and heavily forested areas, but adapt well to new environments.” You took another sip of your wine and shifted in your seat, suddenly wishing he was closer, that he’d kiss you again. “I’m hoping to train her, and eventually build her a nice, big enclosure.”

“Tell me if you need assistance,” he set down his fork and wiped his bare fingers clean with a napkin, and a very, very traitorous part of you watched those thick, yet nimble digits with another blush. “The animals deserve good lives.”

Think about the topic. Think about your nexu. Don’t let your mind wander… you swallowed, nodding, glancing away and taking another gulp of wine. Gods, you were in trouble. Kriff, kriff, kriff, he’s so attractive. I just want to…

“I…thank you,” cheeks burning, you shifted again to press your thighs together in a sad attempt to alleviate the ache in your core, and his gaze flitted over you like a caress - those dark, beautiful eyes flecked with gold locking on you with intense focus.

Damn it all, of course he’d notice. He was a bounty hunter, the best bounty hunter - he knew how to observe people. And right now, you were hopelessly tipsy bordering on drunk, and he was reading you like a book.

“You seem distracted…something the matter?” He quirked a brow, the corner of his lip curved in a sly smirk. “You can tell me, mesh’la.”

Oh gods, the man was toying with you. You’d willingly walked right into the hunter’s snare…and he knew it. He had you right where he wanted you, and you couldn’t have been happier.

“Oh, I…I’m fine,” heat crawled over your ears, and you knew you were blushing, dipping your head down to take another sip of your wine, the potent wine loosening your tongue. “You’re just…so beautiful. That’s all.”

Boba fell silent, and for a moment you worried you’d offended him. You anxiously glanced back up, only to find his trademark scowl replaced by a uniquely shocked expression.

“You mean that?” His tone was gruff, brows lowering with confusion, he gestured at his face with a shrug. “Even though I’m…this scarred?”

Oh maker, you wanted to hug him. Kiss him senseless and show him just how attractive you thought he was.

“Of course I do,” you leaned forward, subtly scooting your chair closer to his, heartbeat pounding like a drum. “What a silly thing to say. Scars don’t make people ugly, they’re signs of survival. Marks of honor. And yours make you stunning.”

The sound that emitted from deep in Boba Fett’s chest was the closest thing to a strained groan you’d ever heard him make. And gods, it nearly sent you spiraling. You shifted closer to the edge of your seat, breath snagging in your throat when he scooted his chair back and regarded you, head tilted to the side, legs spread, fingers steadily tapping the armrest as if he were on his throne. If you hadn’t already been blushing, your face was assuredly as red as the suns when he shifted his hand and patted his muscled thigh, voice a beckoning purr.

“Come here, little one. Take a seat.”

Oh. Good. Gods.

How the kriff were you even supposed to move? And yet you stood before your speeding thoughts could process the actions, moving on wobbly legs to stop before him.

He regarded you with a stern expression, save for the glimmer of a smile in his eyes, a subtle softness which prompted you to sit on his thigh. A strong arm curled around you, hand resting comfortably at your hip, holding you securely against him even as a chuckle rumbled from his chest, sending more heat curling to your core.

“You’re the beautiful one. So perfect.” He lifted a hand to caress your jaw, touches feather light as he explored your skin. “This okay?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, voice hoarse, heart pounding so loud you wondered if it would burst. “You, you’re…”

“I’m what, princess?” He shifted, and your cheeks burned when you felt his hardened arousal solid like durasteel beneath you. “Remember what I told you earlier, sweet flower - use your words.”

You nodded, daring to lean further against his chest, closing the remaining distance between you, the contradictory coolness of the beskar and warmth of his body oddly comforting. Kriff, the things you’d only do with Boba.

“You’re…unlike anyone I’ve met before.” You took a breath, trying your best to gather your thoughts as his fingers traced circles over your skin, nearly sending your poor brain into a mad spiral. “You make me feel safe.”

He nodded, a certain pride shining in his eyes at that, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your pulse point. He lifted a hand to your face, fingers caressing your bottom lip, hesitating. You dared to flick out your tongue over his finger, and he growled, dropping his hand to your chin and guiding you into another kiss with more rumbled praise.

“Good girl.”

You whimpered against him, you couldn’t help it, core clenching around nothing even as heat pooled between your legs. Just the fact of knowing that he was so close, that he was affected by you too, made your thoughts blur until you no longer knew what end was up. And yet he was so, so strong, holding you as he deepened the kiss. Protective, ensuring you wouldn’t fall. Respectful, always waiting for you to take the next step.

“Liked that, hmm?” Boba drug his lips along your cheek, warm breath washing over your skin. “Tell me if I should stop.”

“Please don’t,” your voice was nearly breathless as you tried to string your words together. “Please…”

He hummed, kissing your neck, then your jawline, dragging his lips up to capture yours. You leaned into him, deepening the kiss, shifting so you were straddling his lap. He grunted, pressing a hand to the small of your back, guiding your hips in a slow grind.

It had admittedly been a while since you’d been with someone. And there’d been a reason…a reason you’d elected to ignore for the moment. Trauma be damned - you wanted this with Boba, wanted him. So you ignored the flare of panic spiking in your chest like an errant flame.

This was Boba. He was safe.

He wanted you to feel protected, even now.

So you moved with him like you imagined water would flow, following his movements, letting him guide you. You ground against his length, eliciting a deep groan from the Daimyo, and dared to press kisses along his powerful jawline and down his neck. His own kisses were all encompassing, demanding, yet soft as you explored him, slowly lowering a wandering hand to his pants.

“Mesh’la,” Boba’s voice was impossibly gruff, yet direct enough to get your attention. You stopped your advancements, looking up at him with a frown. “You’re drunk. Don’t wanna make you do anything you’ll regret.”

“You’re not…I want this,” you pressed a kiss to the corner of his lip, anxiety worming it’s way into your chest. “Unless you don’t…”

Boba wrapped both of his arms around you and held you flush with his armored chest, amber gaze dark, locked on you.

“I want you, ad’ika.” He caressed your cheek with the back of his hand, the light touch sending a shiver down your spine. “Been a bit since I’ve been with someone. Wanna do it right.”

Heat flared in your cheeks and you looked away, swallowing hard, head still spinning.

“Yeah…it’s been some time for me, too.”

Boba’s fingers found your chin, gently lifting your face to meet his. As always, he bore his trademark sternness, brows lowered, gaze intense, as he seemed to observe you from a new lens.

“Your former partners…they didn’t care about you.” He spoke gently despite the severity of his expression, thumb gently caressing your throat, a reminder that there was no judgement - no shame.

And it hadn’t been posed as a question.

“Well,” you sighed, a weight in your chest resurfacing and threatening to pull you under. “No…”

He nodded, lips pursed in thought, thumb still stroking your neck.

“You deserve better,” he finally gave you a warm smile, a softness you hadn’t expected dancing in his eyes. “When the time comes, if you’ll have me, I’ll ensure you’re never left wanting again.”

Stars, his gentleness and caring words nearly made you want to cry. You managed to nod, still too overcome by the influx of emotions to speak. He gently rubbed your back, and you curled against him, held securely in his arms.

“We’re all fighting our pasts,” he kept his voice low, soft, soothing - similar to the way you’d been with him earlier. “We can learn to heal together.”

You nodded, tucking your chin against his neck, and closing your eyes with a soft sigh. He held you close in a comfortable silence, as if he understood more than you’d expected.

Every single day, you’d fought. Endured, to be strong. Struggled for everything you had, for the name you’d made for yourself and your clinic. Sacrificed so much for the animals you loved. And for the most part, you’d done it all alone. But now…perhaps you didn’t have to.

“I…” you finally spoke, albeit hesitantly - stars, how were you supposed to explain trauma? “Thank you…”

“Should be thanking you for giving an old bounty hunter a chance,” he held you close, resting his chin over your head in a gesture you swore was protective. “You’ve had a lot to drink. If you want that, let’s wait for a special occasion, hmm?”

“Okay.” You gripped his arm tighter, pressing a kiss to his knuckles. “Because I do want that. With you. I just…have my own demons to face.”

“We’ll face them together,” he ran a hand through your hair with a gentle caress.

You nodded, snuggling against him, a heaviness settling in your bones as exhaustion slowly took you over.

“C’mon little one, let’s get you home.” Boba’s voice rumbled sweetly through you, and you nodded, letting him gather you in his embrace.

By the time you made it back to the clinic, Boba helped you upstairs to your rooms, a hand at your back, ensuring you wouldn’t fall.

You were too tired to worry about the presentability of your home, letting him guide you to your bed without a single fleeting concern. Once you were nestled under your covers, he stood at your bedside like some kind of green armored guardian angel, a softness in his gaze that contradicted his powerful physique.

“Boba…” you wearily reached for him, words starting to slur. Damn, you were drunk. And exhausted. But for the first time in a while, you felt happy.

“What is it?” He raised a brow at you, gently taking your hand in his.

“Please…stay? Just…wanna be close.” You held onto his hand as tightly as you could. “You make me feel safe. Please?”

He was silent for a moment, and just as you began to worry he’d refuse, he reached up and fiddled with one of his pauldrons, removing the piece of armor with practiced ease. You watched him remove that legendary beskar that kept him safe, that marked his identity, all too aware of the implied trust in the moment.

The bed depressed with his weight as he joined you under the covers, clad in his undershirt and pants. He wrapped his arms around you and pulled you close to his chest, thundering heartbeat melodious to your ears.

“This okay?” His voice was soft, so achingly gentle it made you want to kiss him again.

“It’s perfect,” you twined your legs with his, feeling so warm and protected, your anxieties melting away. “Thank you.”

He hummed a response, a hand carding through your hair, lulling you to sleep.

“Goodnight, mesh’la.” His voice was gentle, soothing, as your consciousness faded to black. “You’re safe with me.”

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