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samspenandsword · 2 years
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SFW Alphabet: Sergeant Hunter
Summary: SFW alphabet for everyone’s favorite clone dad, Sergeant Hunter Pairing: Sergeant Hunter/Reader — gender-neutral reader with no mentions of their appearance Rating: GEN — SFW Warnings: None — Fluff and romance, established relationship headcanons, some language, mentions of war and canon-typical violence, sibling shenanigans, kissing and physical affection, mentions of children and having a family Word Count: 3.7k
You can find the template I used here
NSFW Alphabet
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A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)
Hunter is pretty affectionate. He really enjoys being close to or touching you in some way. A hand on your waist or back, brushing the hair from your face, hugging you, squeezing your shoulder, holding your hand, keeping a hand on your knee or thigh. He is openly affectionate, not as much as Wrecker (who has no awareness of the concept of PDA), but to the level where if you’re not comfortable with that level of open, casual touch then you will need to communicate this to him. He’ll respect that 10000%. Hunter also isn’t afraid to kiss you in front of others. Not full-level make out, but a quick goodbye kiss, or a peck on the cheek when you make him laugh. Again, if open affection isn’t your thing, make sure to set that boundary, otherwise Hunter is going to be showing everyone that you’re spoken for. He’s also a sergeant, however, so when I say he’s openly affectionate, I just mean in front of his brothers or the general public. In more formal military settings, he is both expected to and wants to maintain a modicum of professionalism. You test his patience however lol.
B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) 
Hunter as a best friend is more like an older brother than anything, even if he’s technically younger than you. He’s protective, he’ll tease you about your crushes or choice of drinks and snacks. He’ll listen to you vent and offer advice, and he’ll give you as many hugs as you want. He steals your hairbrush without asking (it’s remarkable how much his smirk resembles Crosshair’s every time he does this), scolds you for forgetting your jacket, makes you a warm drink when you need comforting, buys you drinks at 79s and breaks the fingers of those who get too frisky, teaches you self-defense, keeps all your secrets, embarrasses you mercilessly by reminding you of every time you’ve fallen flat on your face in front of someone attractive (both literally and figuratively), grumbles when you steal his bandanas, nearly pisses himself laughing every time you do a surprisingly good impression of Crosshair’s haughty sneer or Tech’s patented sniff of derision, even Echo’s impressive eye roll, and Wrecker’s infamous snoring. And most of all, Hunter will always be there for you. You are part of his squad, and no matter the differences between you all, Hunter protects his squad. 
C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) 
Being in a relationship with Hunter, whether romantic or platonic, means cuddles will happen. Either way, Hunter adores you and, as mentioned, is openly affectionate. I genuinely believe that for all of Hunter’s heightened senses, he is pretty comfortable with touch and can even be a total cuddle bug when he wants to be. However, due to his heightened senses, there are times where he can get overwhelmed. You’ll have to learn how to read him and his body language, because there are definitely times where he isn’t in the mood to be touched. He won’t ever deny you, of course, because Hunter is a giver and caretaker before anything else, especially in the days following the fall of the Republic (au au au au), but learning to read him when he’s feeling overstimulated will make him feel so special. 
D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)
Come on, is there any other answer? Hunter absolutely wants to settle down. He sees families on his missions, and children and backyards and farms, and he wants that. He wants it so bad his chest aches sometimes. As soon as the war is over, he wants to settle down with you and start a family. Hunter’s not a great cook, he’s been living off military rations his entire life, but he wants to pull his weight at your home. If you cook, he’ll wash the dishes. If you do laundry, he’ll change your sheets. If you go get groceries, you’ll come home to find the floors clean and windows sparkling. You’re his partner, not his servant. You’re a team, and Hunter never wants you to feel like anything less than that. 
E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)
I feel like I have this answer for a lot of Clone Wars era characters, but I believe that Hunter would only end a relationship if he felt like it was putting you in danger. Especially following the fall of the Republic (au au au au). Associating with a clone deserter is a surefire way to put a target on your back, and Hunter just wants to keep you safe. He might try to end it for that reason. And being the gentleman he is, Hunter would definitely want to have that conversation in person. He still loves you, and you deserve a proper face-to-face about this. 
F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) 
Hunter would propose after two months if he had less self-control. The man falls hard and fast, so much so that even he is a little overwhelmed by it. He is committed to you, 1000%, right from the start. And if you get along with his brothers? If you hit it off with Omega? That’s it. Game over. The man is fully in love with you. In short, Hunter is an all-in sort of guy. There are few things more important to him than loyalty and commitment. 
G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) 
Emotionally, Hunter tries to be on the gentler side. His life, especially during the war, and maybe even afterwards, does not lend itself to stability, so he tries his best to give you that in your relationship. He never wants you to feel pressured or rushed or overwhelmed. But inevitably, a relationship with Hunter is passionate. Both emotionally and physically. Because he feels so deeply and you are one of the few consistent, safe, stable things in his life. It’s so hard not to return his passion, because it’s Hunter, and falling in love with him just seems so easy and inevitable, so how could you not?
H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) 
Hugs actually aren’t as common as other types of physical affection in your relationship, but they definitely still happen. They most often happen when you two are reunited after a mission (that is, if you’re not the medic for the Bad Batch like we all internally want to be), or just before he has to deploy again. There are a lot of “I’m so glad you’re alive” hugs, and side-hugs when you two feel like being cuddly and romantic and making Crosshair roll his eyes and gag. There are a lot of hugs where Omega is crushed between the two of you, and hugs where Wrecker is nearly crushing both of you with his exuberance. So hugs happen, but Hunter would much rather express his feelings for you with a kiss, or by cuddling on a couch or bed. He does, however, love to hug you from behind. He doesn’t do it often, but you both love it every time he does. 
I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) 
In a relationship as inevitably deep and passionate as the one you share with Hunter, he would pop the L-word much sooner than generally considered appropriate. To be honest, it is likely that the two of you may be experiencing feelings at vastly different paces. He manages to bite his tongue however, because the last thing he wants it to make you uncomfortable by shoving his feelings in your face. You definitely notice that in the first months of your relationship, Hunter very much lets you set the pace when it comes to verbal affection. But if you happen to be as competent on the battlefield as he is, or if you’re particularly good with his brothers and Omega, Hunter might just let those three little words slip.
J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)
Hunter is prone to jealousy. Not because he doesn’t trust you or anything close to that, but because he knows he snagged someone insanely attractive and desirable and he wants everyone to know that. He will plaster himself to your side at bars, hold your hand in public, kiss you openly. In a more true sense of jealousy, Hunter does have to reign it in sometimes if you’re not a member of their squad. Because he comes back to you, hears all your new stories about life on your planet, and gets a little upset at all the times he misses out on. Because there are a lot of people out there who could spend every moment of their lives with you, and Hunter just realistically can’t give you that during the war. 
K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)
Kisses are the most common form of affection in your relationship. Hunter just loves to kiss you. He kisses your cheek, your temple, your forehead, your nose, your neck. You have experienced everything from quick pecks on the lips, to tender kisses, to long, passionate kisses, to full-on horny makeouts, and everything in between. But besides your lips, because Hunter could makeout with you for hours if he had the time, his favorite place to kiss you is right over your pulse point, because he can hear and feel the way it leaps when he does so. Not to mention you scent is so strong there, and he loves burying his face in your neck. He personally loves it when you kiss his jaw, especially if it’s the only place you can reach because you’re shorter than him. He finds it so adorable every time you stretch onto your toes and press a kiss to his jaw. And oppositely, if you’re taller than him, he melts every time you lean down, dip beneath his jaw, and press your lips to his skin. 
L = Little Ones (How are they around children?) 
Okay folks, we all know that as soon as Hunter got used to the idea of Omega being around full-time, he became A+++ dad material. Just one more Star Wars dad for us all to fall in love with (and make no mistake, I love Din Djarin, Kanan Jarrus, Bail Organa, and Plo Koon so much). Hunter might be somewhat nervous and hesitant to have little ones of his own, but once his life settles into something resembling peace, he becomes more and more open to the idea. And he has no qualms about adoption vs natural birth. He really does just love the idea of raising children with you. He wants a family with you. 
M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) 
Mornings with Hunter tend to not be the most relaxing, to be honest. If you’re not being woken up by Omega and her endless amount of energy, you’re being woken by an argument between Echo and Tech, or Wrecker crashing his way into the barracks or through the ship. Very rarely do you and Hunter have the opportunity to have lazy mornings together. Most often, the both of you get up, dress, eat, and are instantly ready to go. 
N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)
Opposite of mornings, nights are the calmer times for you and Hunter. His brothers and Omega have likely gone to bed already, so the both of you can just settle in together. One of Hunter’s favorite ways to spend quiet time with you is just to be with each other in bed, slowly and steadily falling asleep. There is no where he feels safer than beside you.
O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)
Hunter’s not inclined to spill his guts about all his insecurities and trauma on the first date, but he’s also not a brick wall (Crosshair). Over time he’ll open up, as the two of you grow closer. He’s always willing to tell stories of him and his brothers on their missions. And then, later, he’ll tell you stories of the shit they got up to on Kamino growing up. Eventually, he’ll start to reveal his insecurities, though he tries not to phrase them like that. A lot of the things Hunter reveals are things he doesn’t say — more than most of his brothers. Learning to read him will bring the two of you closert, and when Hunter realizes you’re noticing things about him, he’s never felt more seen.
P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) 
We all know Hunter gets angry, of course he does, he’s human. But Hunter’s anger has a high threshold. He’s been putting up with Crosshair and Tech and Wrecker his entire life. There are things he has simply learned to tolerate. So he gets annoyed, and irritated, but his real anger is not as common. But there are some things that definitely get him going. And truly, no one seems to anger him as much as his brothers sometimes lol (sibling culture, my dudes). When it comes to a partner, however, Hunter tries incredibly hard not to let anger get the better of him. He never knows when he’s going to be deployed, so the last thing he wants is for the two of you to fight and then he has to leave, maybe for weeks, before you can reconcile. With you, especially, he wants you to always try working through your anger and fights and not let them fester.
Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every ittle detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)
Hunter has a memory for the small things, the offhanded things you mention liking or enjoying. But something the bigger facts get lost in the shuffle. He’s jotted down your birthday somewhere because he can guess it within three days or so, but can never for the life of him remember exactly which day it is. He might also not remember exactly how long you’ve lived where you are, or who your favorite band is. But he does remember that you apparently had a pair of socks when you were 14 with tookas on them and have been lamenting their loss ever since you wore them through. Hunter also remembers that you crave that one specific junk food when you’ve had a bad day, and the story behind your childhood nickname. So yes, he remembers things about you, of course, but it’s usually the strangely specific things. 
R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)
Hunter remembers, so distinctly, this one time, before the fall of the Republic (au au au au). He and his brothers were all piled into your apartment. Crosshair and Tech were on your couch, arguing loudly over what to watch on the holo. Somewhere behind them were Wrecker and Echo, the ARC trying desperately to keep Wrecker from accidentally breaking everything in your apartment. You were in the kitchen, trying to put together a meal for the six of you, whether by ordering in or cooking. Hunter remembers looking at you, from where he sat in an armchair, and seeing the smile on your face. It was nothing short of fond. And between that smile, and the way you had accepted the five of them so readily into your space and life... Well, if Hunter hasn’t yet realized he’s in love with you, this is when it happens. 
S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)
Hunter is pretty protective. To be fair, Hunter is protective of everyone he feels even a modicum of care for. And he is a naturally caring and giving person. It’s what makes him such an effective sergeant — he respects the skills of his crew, is able to maximize their effectiveness as a team, all while still taking care of them. So Hunter is used to protecting others, and isn’t sure how he’d react if someone was similarly protective of him. It’d take him a bit to get used to, but over time would come to realize it was just a natural way for you and him to show your care for each other. 
T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) 
Hunter puts a lot of effort into the time he spends with you. He wants to make your dates special. Especially if you’re a member of the unit and you get to spend every day together. So the times with just the both of you should be something special and different, and Hunter genuinely puts in the effort to make them so. Your favorite flowers. Dinner reservations. Romantic getaways. A bottle of your favorite wine or drink. He wants not only the time you spend together to feel special, but for you to feel special and loved as well. 
U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) 
Hunter can be overprotective. Not in the sense of him giving you his jacket when it’s approaching chilly outside, and not in the sense of him protesting to you coming on missions. And not even really in the sense of him plastering himself to your side at bars when you get intrigued looks (though he does do that), or when he holds your hand in busy cities. Hunter’s true overprotectiveness comes out in the aftermath of a battle or mission, especially in the early days of your relationship. He might try to convince you that you’re better off with another unit, or back at home, away from the war. He’s overprotective in the sense that he wishes desperately that you could be shielded from the horrors of the life he leads, and it has led to a few arguments between you.  Hunter also does not do laundry. The stench in the Bad Batch’s barracks is partly because of Wrecker’s molding snacks, sure, but also because of the multiple pairs of dirty black undersuits lying in piles on the floor, and the bedsheets that haven’t been changed in months. Please teach him how to do basic chores, dear god. 
V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)
Hunter’s not the most vain person in the galaxy, but he still likes to maintain his appearance. Especially his hair. He spends a lot of time on his hair when he can. Especially because the majority of the time, it’s stuck under his helmet. So when he gets to show his hair off, he’s going to make sure it looks good. Hunter also likes to keep his armor looking good. He buffs out the scuffs and scratches when they get out of control, touches up the paint when it’s needed. He also loves his tattoo, and I’d hope anyone who gets half their face tattooed ends up liking the result lol. But Hunter really does like it, and he enjoys the way it enhances his natural good looks. So admittedly, he likes looking good for himself, but also for you. Hunter, for as confident and self-assured as he is, does possess that tiny hint of insecurity that he is a clone, and that there are a million men out there that look very similar to him. So he likes to look good, for both you and himself. 
W = Whole (Would they feel imcomplete without you?) 
In an everyday since, no. He doesn’t feel incomplete without you, because he always knows, while he’s gone for weeks at a time, that he has you to come home to. In a grander scheme, maybe. Before meeting you, Hunter didn’t really feel incomplete. However, after meeting you, something slid into place. Something he hadn’t realized was missing. If he were to lose you, it would take a long time for him to adjust to the hole you would leave in his and his brothers’ lives. If he would ever fully adjust at all. 
X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them)
Beyond physical touch, which is something Hunter very much takes comfort in, I headcanon Hunter’s love language as quality time. During the Clone Wars there was rarely a time when he wasn’t on a mission or just with his brothers. This doesn’t change much after the fall of the Republic (au au au au), so one of the ways he shows that he really cares for you is when he carves out time for you, plans a date or outing where the two of you can spend time alone in each other’s company. He knows he doesn’t have much time to give, but he still wants to give you as much time as he possibly can. Because he loves you, and you deserve at least that much.
Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)
Showboating is something Hunter doesn’t really enjoy. Accolades, bragging, showing off. It really doesn’t do it for him, or anyone from the Bad Batch. Whether you’re a friend or partner, he cannot stand someone who would use your relationship to gain status or clout. Or even in a less conceited sense: Hunter just doesn’t like anyone he knows showing him or his brothers off. 
Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)
The reality of Hunter’s heightened senses means the constant stimuli of day-to-day life for him wipes him out. He can and will fall asleep in seconds if he allows himself to. And when he sleeps, he is liable to cuddling you like a teddy bear, but he is equally liable to flipping onto his stomach and burrowing his head beneath the pillow to block light and sound. It’s both hilarious and concerning. 
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awhitehead17 · 2 years
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Still I find you next to me
TimKon, 5+1 Things, One Bed, Established Relationship, Anxiety, Anxious Tim, Good Boyfriend Kon, Lack of communication, Overthinking.
Summary: It’s probably the first time anyone in a relationship has thought this, but Tim wishes they had two beds instead of the one. He doesn’t mind sharing with Kon however only having the one bed in the room doesn’t help his problem he’s recently been having, if anything it makes it a whole lot worse.
Enjoy! :D
In hindsight, Tim really should have thought this through more. This is the worst possible time for reality to hit him.
It’s late in the night, or rather early hours in the morning, and he cannot sleep. He and Kon called it a night a couple hours prior and without thinking about it Tim automatically followed his boyfriend to his bedroom and got ready for bed as Kon did. Together they shuffled underneath the covers and after bidding one another a goodnight with a kiss they settled down to fall asleep.
It’s now as he lies there in bed that Tim realises his mistake. He should have not gone to bed with Kon. Not that sleeping next to Kon is a bad thing, it’s just that Tim isn’t entirely comfortable with it yet.
The idea of sharing a bed with anyone, not just Kon, makes him feel too conscious and uncomfortable, he’s paranoid he’s going to accidently wake them up, or that he may fidget too much and annoy them. He doesn’t know why he’s so worried about it but it’s never really been a thing until recent years after he started crashing in random places with his teammates.
It’s now nearing 3am and Tim curses himself because he should have gone to his own room instead of following Kon to his. It’s too late to head to his room, Kon would wake up in the morning and question why Tim wasn’t there and in order to not lie to his boyfriend Tim would be forced to explain his weird sharing a bed phobia thing he's got going on.
Tim sighs quietly and tries to force himself to relax enough so he could go to sleep, meanwhile Kon is next to him dead to the world. Lucky bastard. Unfortunately Tim is now caught in the ruthless cycle of where his brain won’t switch off enough for him to go to sleep and then he's getting agitated because he can’t sleep which is making him even more agitated which is making it more difficult to sleep and so forth.
What makes the situation worse is that this isn’t their first time sharing a bed. In the years they had been best friends and then the couple months they’ve been dating, they’ve shared beds before but never in this sense. The previous times have been either quick naps on couches, or passing out together from pure exhaustion or dozing off while binge watching TV. They’ve never intentionally gone to bed together. This is completely throwing Tim in all different kinds of directions.
Tim looks at the clock on the bedside table again and finds only ten minutes have gone by and groans internally. That’s when Kon suddenly starts shifting next to him, sucking in a sharp breath and freezing in place Tim waits in anticipation to see what Kon is doing, however all his boyfriend does is change the position of his legs and lets out a long sigh and continues to blissfully sleep on.
Tim breaths out gratefully. It’s already been a long night and he knows there’s still a long way to go. He knows he's going to be tired tomorrow from the lack of sleep but as long as he doesn’t wake Kon up then that’s the main thing.
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Now he’s clocked on to it Tim can’t help but notice how stiff and tense he becomes anytime he and Kon lie together, although he has picked up on that he isn’t as bad on couches as he is on beds. Thankfully Kon hasn’t seemed to notice his behaviour yet, at least if he has he hasn’t said anything to Tim about it.
The next time Tim gets worked up oversleeping next to Kon is when his boyfriend suggests they go to bed at the end of movie night with the team. From where they were snuggled up on the couch underneath a blanket, Kon had leaned in close letting his lips ghost over the ridge of his ear while he whispered somewhat seductively that they retire for the night.
Unfortunately Kon’s words had the opposite reaction to the desired effect he had been going for. Tim instantly freezes up at the idea of going to bed together. It wasn’t the idea of sex that put him off, he was always happy to participate in those activities, it was the concept of sleeping next to each other throughout the night which would inevitably happen after their so called activities. As the whole thing has been on the forefront of his mind Tim gets worked up over it far quicker and easier than normal.
Noticing his reaction Kon instantly pulled back and checked in with him, the seductive tone completely gone from his voice as he asks if Tim is okay. Keeping his gaze on the screen playing the film Tim merely nods.
Without making it seem more obvious that there’s something off with him Tim ends up once again in Kon’s room after the movies. He and Kon silently get ready for bed, their earlier conversation seeming to have killed any mood that may have once been the focal point of the night and Tim tries to not dwell on it. He does feel guilty for ruining Kon’s mood though.
Saying their goodnights they climb into bed and share a kiss before settling down for the night. They don’t cuddle which Tim was both disappointed and pleased about, but more than anything else Tim finds himself already worked up about being in bed with Kon. Kon, the lucky bastard that he is, instantly falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, Tim could hear soft snores coming from his left.
Tim tries. He really does attempt to fall sleep next to Kon that night. He turns onto his side, tucking his arm underneath the pillow and buries his face into fluffiness of it, sadly the comfort of the position last no more than a couple minutes before the urge of needing to turn back over is too great to ignore. Gritting his teeth Tim turns around and does his best to not disturb Kon in his slumber.
It's easy to say he doesn’t sleep well that night. He may get a twenty minute nap here and there where he dozes but never actually falls into a deep sleep.
By early morning he’s overly tired and beyond agitated. When he glances at the clock for the eighth  time in the space of five minutes Tim knows it’s time to call it quits with the charade of pretending to sleep. Being as careful as he could Tim untangles the sheet from his body and climbs out of bed. Continuing with being as quiet as he could, Tim gathers up with clothing in the dark before making his way out of Kon’s room and silently shuts the door behind him.
Because of the time it is Tim doesn’t plan to try and go back to sleep, instead he heads to his own bedroom and gets dressed in some workout gear before heading to the training rooms. It’s not the first time he’s done an extra early training session so at least he can play on that if anyone – Kon – asks what he’s doing, it’s a plausible excuse really, also it provides the opportunity to work off some of that agitation he’s still feeling.
Sure enough when Kon finds him almost three hours later as Tim is finishing up he asks if everything is okay and Tim simply shrugs stating he wanted to get some extra training in that day so he got up early to do so. Tim doesn’t let Kon question him further by stepping up to his boyfriend planting a kiss on his cheek and wanders out of the training room in order to go and shower. As he walks away Tim knows he’s only just managed to dodge a bullet there.
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It shouldn’t surprise Tim that he feels the same awkwardness sleeping next to Kon when they’re at the farm as he does when they’re at the Tower but it still does.
He lies there, next to his peacefully sleeping boyfriend, annoyed at himself and at the world. It takes all of his self-restraint to not groan out loud and throw a fit at the unfairness of it all while at the same time he fights the urge to cry out his all of his emotions.
As he stares into the darkness of the room Tim’s mind wonders. While he’s annoyed he couldn’t sleep, and how conscious he is about waking up Kon, it also doesn’t help that his brain doesn’t turn off long enough for him to be able to relax. His mind is working about a hundred miles per hour, thinking about all kinds of different things and random shit he doesn’t know how his brain has comes up with it.
In life, it takes a lot of things to go right for you to stay alive but only a couple things to go wrong for you to die.
Right, Tim shakes his head to clear that thought from his mind, thanks brain, time to really stop thinking now.
Already knowing what the rest of the night is going to be like Tim saves himself the struggle and simply climbs out of bed as soon as he knows Kon isn’t going to wake back up any time soon. He probably spent an hour in bed at the most this time and while he feels bad about leaving Kon alone Tim just can’t make himself stay in bed trying pitifully to fall asleep knowing he’ll only get up in the morning feeling ill from tiredness.
Tim quietly makes his way out of the bedroom and heads for the living room of the farmhouse. Thankfully it’s just them two in the house as Ma and Pa are staying in a hotel that evening, the elderly couple had stopped for the night as they travel back from up state after visiting some friends. Before settling down on one of the living room couches Tim decides to do a detour to the kitchen and helps himself to a cup of tea. He’s long grown used to helping himself in the Kent farmhouse, he knows he’s more than welcome to help himself to anything available and he feels comfortable enough to do so, anytime he visits the farm all the Kents (Kon included) regularly tell him he’s welcomed to have anything he wants.
Once he’s got his steaming cup of tea ready he heads back into the living room and grabs a blanket from the back of the couch before settling down onto the plush cushions. After a moment of just sitting serenely in the peace and quiet of the room Tim reaches for the remote on the coffee table in front of him and turns the TV on. After finding some mind numbing content – there really isn’t much too choose from at this time of night - he puts it on mute and sticks on the subtitles so he doesn’t accidently wake Kon up with the noises.
Tim’s not sure how long he spends judging what the shopping channel is trying to convince him to buy but at some point he must have drifted off to sleep because the next thing he knows is that he’s being lightly roused by his boyfriend. As Tim blinks, feeling somewhat groggy from his sleep, he finds Kon kneeling in front of him wearing a frown.
“Tim, how long have you been here?” Kon asks sounding concerned.
“I don’t, I uh…” Tim rubs his eyes and tries to wake up properly. Seeing as the room is now bathed in golden light from the sun he squints at Kon, “what time is it?”
“It’s 6:30, I’m about to go and tend to the animals.”
At least Tim has enough brain power in him so he doesn’t blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. He gives himself a second to think before answering. “An hour maybe, not long.”
Even in his half asleep state, god he hates mornings, Tim could tell Kon didn’t believe his words. Fortunately instead of prodding him for the truth Kon lets out a sigh and shakes his head. “Okay. Why don’t you go back to bed and grab a couple more hours of sleep. I’ll tend to the animals and make breakfast then I’ll come and grab you okay.”
Already on his way to falling back to sleep Tim hums and nods in agreement. Kon smiles and stands up, he leans down and presses a kiss to his forehead and helps him up off the couch before shuffling him off to the bedroom to get more sleep.
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The next time Tim is faced with sleeping next to Kon he doesn’t even go to bed.
The reason he never made it to bed that night is half because of avoidance and half because he genuinely got distracted by work that he completely lost track of time.
He and Kon are in his bedroom in the Manor. Kon had come around after declaring ‘it’s been too long since they last saw each other’ and decided to make a physical appearance. Tim certainly wasn’t complaining about it, he loved seeing Kon and being able to talk to him without a screen in the way is so much better, plus there’s the bonus he actually gets to physically hold and kiss Kon whenever he wants.
After an amazing dinner prepared by Alfred, he and Kon retired to Tim’s room for the night. While it wasn’t Tim’s scheduled night to go out on patrol he still had work to do and the rest of their evening had been spent with Kon lounging on his bed watching Netflix while Tim multitasked between working and talking to Kon. They chat about anything and everything and Tim feels himself smiling widely in a way he hasn’t done for a while, probably since he last saw Kon which had been a couple weeks ago.
As they chat Tim loses track of time, not that he had ever been tracking it to begin with, and he only notices how late it is when Kon yawns loudly from his bed. Feeling guilty Tim turns around on his chair so he faces Kon and for the first time he notices how close his boyfriend is to falling asleep.
“Hey, if you want to go to bed I don’t mind. You didn’t have to stay awake for so long when you’re clearly tired.” Tim tells him with a small frown.
Kon yawns again and waves a hand around dismissively. “No it’s okay. It’s just been a long day but hitting the hay sounds great right now,” Kon glances at him knowingly, “will you be joining me?” By his gaze alone Tim could tell Kon already knows his answer but his boyfriend probably felt complied to ask anyway.
Tim shakes his head. “I still have a bit to do but once I’m done I’ll join you.”
Kon hums passively, looking disappointed but unsurprised by his answer. “Alright, just don’t be too long.”
“I won’t be. I just have to finish this while I’m at it.”
As Kon gets off his bed and heads for the ensuite, Tim gets the rest of the room ready for his boyfriend. He turns the TV off and changes the lamps over so it’s only his small desk one on, he removes anything other than the pillows from the bed and pulls back the covers so it’s all sorted for Kon when he’s finished his nightly routine.
Tim’s settled at his desk by the time Kon comes back into the room wearing nothing but his boxers. From out of the corner of his eye Tim couldn’t help but stare at his boyfriend, of course he’s trying to be subtle about it but from the sound of Kon’s laugh he’s clearly been caught in the act. Perhaps if it was another night where Kon wasn’t exhausted and Tim wasn’t caught up in his work they could have done something more before going to sleep but unfortunately tonight is not that night. From opposite sides of the room they bid their goodnights and fall silent.
A sense of déjà vu washes over Tim when he’s shaken awake the next morning. He finds Kon next to him wearing a disapproving frown on his face and it takes a moment for him to realise why. Right. He fell asleep at his desk sometime during the night.
Tim finished what he had been working on not too long after Kon had gone to bed so really that’s when he should have called it a night, after all that’s what he had told Kon he’d do, however the thought of accidentally waking Kon up as he climbs into bed was enough to stop him from approaching the mattress at all. In the end he found another project to work on instead and mentally prepared himself to pull an all-nighter.
Clearly that hadn’t happened because Kon found him slumped over his desk fast asleep. His boyfriend looked less than impressed and all Tim could do was flash him a sheepish smile and play it off like he normally would.
============
Tim should have known that eventually Kon would corner him about his behaviour towards sharing a bed at night. It’s been happening for weeks now and clearly Kon’s had enough because he ultimately decides to confront Tim about it.
When Kon decides that he wants to talk about it, it’s a random weekday night and Tim is caught off guard by it and didn’t have the chance to mentally prepare for the conversation. He knows that was Kon’s intention. The unexpectedness of it didn’t allow him the chance to come up with realistic arguments to validate his behaviour meaning he was left stumped when trying to answer Kon. If there’s one person he can’t lie to, it’s Kon.
The team had been sent on a mission in a different city and because it needed to be completed during the day they ended up renting out a large condo (discretely hidden in the city) to serve as their base for the duration of the mission.
During the evening when they were lounging around absently watching a film on the TV, Kon gets up from the beanbag he had been on and stretches and glances around the room. “We’re calling it a night now, so see you lot in the morning.”
The sentence gets him a few odd looks considering what the time is but no one comments and everyone simply bids their goodnights. From his place on the love seat Tim gives him his goodnight but doesn’t pay much attention because he's busily on his phone prepping for the mission. He only looks up from the device when he feels like he’s being watched and finds that everyone in the room is in fact staring at him.
“What?” He asks in confusion. Had he done something wrong? What did he miss?
Kon narrows his eyes at him and jerks his head to the side in the direction of their room was. “We’re, meaning you and I, Tim, are going to bed. Right now.”
Tim sends his boyfriend a baffled look. “Are we? I’m okay, you can go ahead and I’ll join you later. I’m not tired.”
Kon continues to stare at him and Tim has no idea what he's thinking. “That wasn’t a request.”
A beat of silence goes by. Tim is completely thrown off by the sudden no nonsense tone Kon has going on. The tense atmosphere between them is broken by Cassie groaning loudly.
“Oh for goodness sakes! We’ve told you guys to keep your foreplay to yourselves and not do it in front of us.”
Tim breaks eye contact with Kon to glance at Cassie who is looking both annoyed and bored with their behaviour. The whole thing only adds more to Tim’s confusion, is Kon demanding them to go to bed an euphemism for them to have sex? Did he miss the memo? Usually when one of them hints towards that sort of thing it’s more playful and both parties quickly get on board but Tim hasn’t picked up any of the sort from Kon this time.
Kon rolls his eyes at Cassie’s words and send the blonde a pointed look. “Tim and I need to talk actually.”
That only adds makes Tim even more confused than before. He glances around again and catches some of the curious looks sent his way, Tim could only shrug back in response because he has no idea either.
“Should we reorganise the rooms if you guys are breaking up?” Bart pipes up from where he’s sprawled out on the floor surrounded by empty food packets.
Kon scoffs, “what? No. We’re not breaking up. Tim and I just need to talk about something and now is the perfect time.” Kon turns to Tim wearing a determined expression. “Let’s go.”
Figuring he doesn’t have a choice in the matter Tim slowly climbs to his feet and reluctantly follows Kon through the condo to their shared room. Being the only couple on the team they got dibs on the only room with a double bed in it, everyone else is split between the rooms that all have twin beds in them. Tim mentally wishes he had a single bed, not that he doesn’t mind sharing with Kon and is grateful they’re sharing a room, however only having the one bed doesn’t help his ‘problem’ he’s recently been having.
After stepping through the door Kon shuts it behind him and Tim takes a tentative seat on the edge of the mattress and sends his boyfriend a worried look. “Are you okay Kon? You said we’re not breaking up, which I’m relieved about by the way, but what’s wrong. What’s with the sudden need to talk to me?”
Kon comes and stands in front of him, he glowers at Tim and crosses his arms over his chest. “You tell me Tim. I’ve been waiting for you to approach me about it for a while now but since you haven’t I decided to come to you instead.”
When Kon pauses Tim waits for him to elaborate his point although when he doesn’t Tim throws his hands up exasperatedly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Kon!”
Huffing Kon shakes his head as if Tim's being the unreasonable one.
“Sharing a bed with me Tim! Why won’t you sleep with me?” He pauses and blinks as if realising what he said before quickly adding, “and I mean literal sleeping, not sex. You’re never in bed with me for a whole night, I can’t remember the last time I woke up with you by my side.”
Freezing Tim gapes at Kon. He’s shocked with the fact he’s now having to face reality of his problem and he’s got no idea on how to deal with it. It’s so stupid and embarrassing that Tim really would rather not talk about it.
“I uh… well, um…” Tim mumbles for a moment before trailing off unsure on what to say or even where to start. Unfortunately Kon takes his lack of explanation the wrong way instead of seeing Tim’s embarrassment of the situation and jumps the gun.
“Am I that revolting to sleep next to or something Tim? Is it that bad having to share a bed with me that you never actually do so? So what, we have sex and that’s all we get to do on a mattress, we never have lazy morning make outs or cuddles.”
The more Kon talks the worse Tim feels. When his boyfriend stops speaking Tim tries to explain but he can’t seem to find the words to articulate his thoughts and feelings on the matter. His silence only fuels Kon’s frustration.
“Have you got nothing to say Tim? Not even an explanation? And here I was thinking we agreed to always share our thoughts and feelings no matter what.”
To that comment Tim manages to find some words. “We did! I do talk to you Kon. You’re the person I trust most in this world.”
“But apparently not enough.” Kon says dejectedly. His voice has gone soft now, the frustration and fight having drained out of him. His boyfriend looks hurt at the idea of Tim not truthfully talking to him and it breaks Tim’s heart, he had never intended to hurt Kon like that.
Tim feels his emotions building up and there’s a pressure developing behind his eyes. As he looks up at Kon he refuses to cry. “It’s not like that I promise Kon, it’s just – god – it’s so embarrassing I don’t know how to explain it. But please don’t think it’s anything you’ve done, it’s not you it’s me, I’m the one with the problem here.”
Kon breathes out a long sigh and to Tim's surprise he comes and crouches down in front of him, his hands land on Tim's knees squeezing them reassuringly.
“Talk to me Tim,” Kon whispers, “tell me what's going on. You know I won’t judge.”
Swallowing a lump in his throat Tim covers Kon’s hands with his own and holds them tightly. “I don’t think I can say it Kon. It’s so embarrassing to even think about.” He has to glance away after that admission, unable to face his boyfriend any longer.
Tim feels Kon squeeze his hands and he’s grateful when Kon doesn’t pursue the topic, he’s pretty sure that if the conversation continued on for any longer Tim will end up breaking down and that’s the last thing he wants or needs right now.
“Okay.” Kon says with a sense of finality. “What about to tonight though? Would you like to share or I can go somewhere else?”
The question only makes Tim want to cry. He sighs, hating the words that he’s about to say, “I can go somewhere else, I think it’s best we stay separate for now.”
His boyfriend doesn’t argue and when Tim glances at him he catches the disappointed look on his face before it changes again. “It’s okay, I’ll go somewhere else tonight.”
Then just like that Kon gets to his feet, plants a kiss on Tim’s forehead, and heads for the door of the bedroom. He’s gone before Tim could even think to react. Tim stays seated on the bed, left staring at the space Kon had just occupied feeling nothing but guilty and awful.
Predictably, that night Tim didn’t sleep very well. And this time it isn’t because he was too conscious about waking up his boyfriend, quite the opposite really. His mind thought about nothing else other than Kon and Tim felt himself drowning in his guilt for how their conversation played out.
Thankfully in the morning none of the team commented about him and Kon. They clearly picked up on that something happened between them but thankfully kept their questions to themselves. Going forward Tim knows he's going to have to face his problem and speak to Kon although for now that’s a task for another day. He’s got a mission to compete.
============
Tim hates hospitals. Well, more accurately, the infirmary. To be honest he hates any healthcare setting that involves a loved one being unconscious on a medical bed with various of wires and tubes attached to them that’s helping to keep them alive.
His boyfriend is unconscious on the bed before him, he’s breathing somewhat shallowly, different parts of his body are covered with white bandages and the parts of his usually immaculate skin that aren’t covered by bandages is painted with various shades of blues and browns from deep bruising.
From his position next to Kon’s bed Tim’s sat in a rather uncomfortable plastic chair holding one of Kon’s hands in both of his own. As small as it is Tim finds the physical touch grounding, of course he’d rather hold all of Kon but at least it’s something. He doesn’t know how long he’s been there although it’s certainly been long enough for his lower body to have grown numb, people have been and gone, some of them trying to coax Tim away so he can get proper rest but Tim’s refused to move anywhere.
Kon’s current state is a result of a battle gone bad. His boyfriend had already been running low of energy before the 36 hour battle that took place. Kon had fought with everything he had but the enemy had been crafty and unfortunately they had tricks up their sleeves that allowed them to get the upper hand over his superpowered teammates, including his Kryptonian. It’s thanks to Bart’s quick thinking that they were able to get Kon back to the infirmary and treated which ultimately saved Kon’s life.
Kon’s woken up a few times since then however each time he’s been groggy and adorably confused. It helps ease Tim’s mind that he’s waking up and appears to be on the road to recovery even though it’s still worrying that he hasn’t bounced back as quickly as he normally does when injured.
Tim’s distracted from his thoughts when he feels Kon’s hand twitch in his own. Looking up Tim focuses on his boyfriend’s face to watch for any signs that he may be waking up.
“Kon?” His boyfriend shifts on the mattress and lets out a low groan in discomfort. “Hey, c’mon Kon, wake up for me.” Tim gently probes him, selfishly wanting to see Kon’s blue eyes open once again.
Another groan is made but it’s paired with Kon’s eye lashes fluttering as he tries to open them up. Tim squeezes his hand in encouragement and soon enough Kon is looking at him with a tired expression.
“There you are,” Tim says softly, “how are you feeling?”
Kon slowly blinks and it takes a moment for him to answer. “Like Krypto’s ran me over while going 100 miles per hour.”
Tim snorts, amused by his comment. Eventually he gets a proper answer out of him and Tim helps him to drink some water before feeding him a small helping of dry food. Once the foods been digested Kon is already on his way to falling back asleep.
His boyfriend buries his face into the pillow behind him and then turns slightly so he could look at Tim, unable to help himself Tim smiles and reaches out to brush a hand through his hair. Kon hums in contentment and his eyes slip shut and it’s when Tim is sure Kon is fast asleep that he goes to pull away but he’s stopped when Kon grabs his wrist instead.
“Stay,” Kon whispers, the Kryptonian changes his hold on Tim’s wrist until their fingers are intertwined, “please.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Tim tells him resolutely. Nothing will make Tim move from Kon’s bedside until his boyfriend is back on his feet happy and healthy.
Kon shakes his head which makes Tim frown. His boyfriend tugs his wrist and shuffles sideways on the bed until there’s a gap on the left side. When it clicks to what Kon wants Tim sighs and stops Kon’s tugging.
“Kon I can’t. There’s not enough room and you need the space so you can rest properly.”
“I want to feel you.” His boyfriend continues his insistent tugging. “I know you don’t feel comfortable with it but I want you next to me. Please.”
Tim meets his gaze and that’s his downfall, Kon has a powerful puppy dog look as it is but it’s only made stronger because of his current state regarding his injuries. Tim cannot do anything but obey his request.
After several moments of shifting and rearranging Kon on the bed where Tim isn’t getting in the way of any wires and tubes still attached to him, the two of them soon find a comfortable position where Tim is reclined against the pillows and Kon is tucked up against his side with Tim’s arm wrapped around him holding him close.
As soon as he’s got what he wanted Kon instantly falls asleep against him and Tim doesn’t mind it at all. The dead weight against him will probably cause pins and needles later on but in this position Tim can easily feel the way Kon breathes and it helps him know his boyfriend is going to be alright.
Even with Tim’s weird issue of not being able to sleep next to Kon, something they eventually had talked about, a topic which occupied hours of their time, Tim for once doesn’t feel anxious about it. He doesn’t feel worried that he’s going to wake Kon up and with him in such close proximity of his boyfriend if anything goes south Tim is right there to deal with it. This is most certainly the best solution for everyone involved.
The next time Kon wakes up he feels a weight pressed against him and before he could panic about it his mind comes up with an answer to what it is. To say he’s shocked is an understatement but more than anything else Kon is elevated. His boyfriend is peacefully asleep next to him and Kon is the one holding him, the two of them having switched positions during their slumber. Kon knows they’ve got a long way to go yet but he’s glad this is the start in the right direction, it’s just a shame it's happened when he's severely injured. Well, beggars can’t be choosers, Kon will take it. He soon settles back down and listens to Tim’s steady heartbeat and breathing as he drifts off.
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Harry Potter Reclist.
Fanfiction reccomendations of any General rated Harry Potter fics. If you like this reclist, drop me a follow and maybe a comment for other reclists! Happy Reading!
Details:
Warnings: None
Rating: General
Taglist: none (If you want to be added, drop a comment!)
Legend: 🤣: Crack
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Thanks for Reading!
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truly we are in the midst of a Tennaisance
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sivan325 · 2 years
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For @augustwritingchallenge - Day 1 - Underwater
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ratedc · 9 months
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imagine if ranboo were on ao3. they would write the most gut-wrenching nauseating devastating angst fics for like. goat simulator or something probably
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somerandomdudelmao · 6 months
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Hi Cass! Wanted to spread the word about a video coming out on the 7th from Saberspark about RotTMNT. Lots of people are thinking that this might get the show back on Nickelodeon's radar!
I work at the studio. So I personally believe the thing that brings a show back to life is money. Not fanart or reviews. If the studio realizes that Rise can bring in money, they'll bring it back. It's simple. You want to save Rise, buy official merch and subscriptions to services that show it
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thankyou-taeyeon · 29 days
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TAEYEON × Louis Vuitton × Vogue Korea (2024 March issue)
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loafbud · 9 months
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I WAS POSSESSED TO DRAW THIS FROM THE DREAM I HAD THIS MORNING 💀💀💀
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"distant relative" i assume you are referring to my father?
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samspenandsword · 2 years
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Welcome to the Faire: Thrawn/Reader (GN)
Summary: Every year, your planet hosts a Faire, a festival where citizens can come enjoy food, fun, merriment, performances, ancient sports, and historical art. As one of the local artisans who hosts a booth at the Faire every year, it is both the most fun and stressful time of the year for you. But one weekend, between the kids with sticky fingers and half-drunk tourists, you encounter someone who seems genuinely enthralled with your work.  Pairing: Grand Admiral Thrawn/Reader — gender-neutral reader with no mentions of their appearance other than a costume.  Rating: GEN — SFW Warnings: Renaissance festival inspiration, jaded!artist reader vibes, narrative heavy, made up planet and history, use of real-world mythology as inspiration, mild descriptions of war, peril, and war imagery, talks of art and war, first meeting, very light attraction and fluff, the tourism industry deserves its own warning.  Word Count: 3.8k
Just a quick note about this piece, I rated it General/SFW, but it does have some talks of war and the violence and realities that come with that (this is Star Wars folks). Please read this piece with that in mind. 
Also, my recent trip to the Renaissance Festival and rewatch of Rebels inspired this piece. 
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You were sweating buckets beneath your costume. You had chosen the wrong day to wear thick, swathing, black fabric. It covered your entire body, wrapping you into a shadow that was meant to resemble a historic assassin costume. A longsword hung from your waist, secured with a large belted scabbard. A dagger was strapped to your opposite thigh, and across your back was slung a custom recurve bow and quiver. A deep black cowl was drawn around your head, so completely that none of your feaures could be observed. You usually enjoyed dressing in costumes every day of the Faire, and you had an impressive collection of costumes ranging from your current assassin garb to a dewy sea spirit to a fierce dragonborn to a poor peasant. You loved dressing in costume. But today was scorching, and your outfit stuck uncomfortably to your sweaty skin as you hunched over one of your displays. 
You were a sixth-generation weaponsmith. Your family shop and business had been around for all those generations, but that was common for most businesses on your little Outer Rim planet. Everything from cantinas to inns to farms were family-operated and passed down through the generations. And for all those generations, your family created weapons and art inspired by the ancient ways. 
The display you were hunched over cradled a display of daggers, in varying lengths and weights and styles. Single-bladed, double-bladed, etched, engraved, leather-hilted, wood-hilted, sheathed, curved, warbled. Your eyes narrowed at the fingerprints on one of your daggers — a six-inch, double-bladed weapon with etchings of constellations. The metal itself was a dense, black metal forged into a deadly point. The hilt was toned to a bright silver, matching perfectly with the etched stars. The grip was narrow for comfort, and the pommel contained a single black jewel. 
You stared at the dagger, not because it was a work of art (it was), but because little fingerprints littered the blade. 
You specifically asked guests to only handle the weapons by the hilt, so that you didn’t have to spend so much time polishing your display weapons every night. You also specifically didn’t allow anyone under the age of 18 to handle any weapon, lest something happen. But evidently this did not stop parents from letting their sticky-fingered children put their hands all over sharp, actual weapons. 
You sighed beneath your cowl, picking up the dagger in deft hands and weaving towards the back of the booth, where you could clean the blade in hopeful peace. 
The Faire was fun. No doubt. In fact, it was genuinely your favorite time of year. Every year, a wealth of people came to your booth to ooh and ahh over your work: fellow artisans, weapons collectors, historians, Faire cast members who bought weapons for their performances, simple admirers. You appreciated everyone who came to your booth with genuine respect and interest. But with every child or parent that didn’t follow your basic safety rules, you were forced to remember that the Faire, as much as you enjoyed it, was also the most stressful time of the year for you. 
You were a weaponsmith, and an artist. Your art was weapons. And your weapons were art. You made both practical weapons: weapons made to be used, and weapons that were meant for display more than anything else. Your booth was scattered with any ancient weapon you could think of. Knives, daggers, swords, axes, maces, staves, staffs, bows, arrows, crossbows, even darts. You also sold quivers, belts, scabbards, holsters, and sheathes. One of your employees, a lifelong friend and colleague, was the leatherworker who made the sheathes, belts, holsters, quivers, and scabbards for your weapons. You had two other employees: a fellow weapons and metalsmith, and an apprentice. 
The leatherworker and apprentice were both working the booth with you today, and the both of them were chatting with visitors. Your fellow weaponsmith was manning the shop in town today. 
The Faire seemed busy. Well, busier than normal. The Faire was always busy. And to be perfectly honest, you had a prime spot on the fairgrounds, neighbored by the archery booth, a hair-braiding stall, and a tea booth. So your stall always saw a lot of foot traffic. But today the fairgrounds seemed truly packed. And between that, the heat, and the numerous people disregarding the basic safety rules of your booth (you saw the leatherworker catch a child’s hand as they went to grab a knife by the blade), today was wearing you thin. You couldn’t wait for the archery tournament. It would give you the chance to step away from the tourists who saw your work as entertainment at some amusement park rather than what it actually was: art. 
“Impressive.”
It took a moment for the voice to break through the haze of muscle-memory you were in. Polishing and cleaning weapons was practically second nature to you. But at the sound of the soft compliment, you looked up.
You were not expecting the being your eyes landed on. 
The Chiss man was tall, imposing, striking. His blue hair was slicked back, and though he wore civilian clothing, it was clear from the way his red eyes roved the weapons on display, and the rigid line of his back, and the tall set of his shoulders, and the simple way he clasped his hands behind his back, that he was military. You couldn’t imagine what he was doing on your planet, but it was not your place to ask. 
“Thank you.”
The Chiss man’s eyes did not leave the walls of your booth, but he continued to speak to you. “It is clear these weapons have been masterfully created. With care and passion. I take it you are the artisan.”
It wasn’t a question, and his gaze finally fell on you. Despite the layers you wore, you felt stripped bare under those crimson eyes. You knew, realistically, that he couldn’t truly see your features, and yet all the same you felt as if he could, as if he could see everything. And with the way his eyes traced the outlines of your costume, and bored into your cowl as if he could see you, he could only be analyzing you as much as he just analyzed your art. 
“I am. One of them, anyway.”
“Hmm.” He turned back into the booth, his attention shifting to the one display in your booth that was inside a glass case. The case contained your most precious, expensive, exhaustive, special, personal favorite creations. A pair of matching daggers with etchings inspired by the legends of the Jedi and Sith of Old. A scroll, painstakingly aged and inked and colored with an ancient, bearded tree inspired by one of your favorite childhood stories and legends. A large crystal, cut and sculpted and smoothed into the model of a dancer. A bow carved with the forests of your home. And the centerpiece: a sword. 
A longsword not dissimilar from the one at your hip. You’d spent over a year forging, etching, and toning the blade. Etched across its broad, impressive length of wickedly sharp and deadly bladed metal was a story everyone from your homeworld was familiar with, but would mean nothing to an offworlder. 
So you were genuinely surprised when the geam of the Chiss’ eyes shifted from analyzing, to admiring. 
He was admiring your creation. Openly. So much so that his entire stance and being slackened with it. 
“Who is the figure there on the blade?”
You hesitated to answer. Not because you didn’t believe his interest, it was quite obvious, but because you were further surprised by his genuine curiosity. 
“What their name was has now been forgotten. We call them Solaris.” Your eyes unconsciously drifted upwards, as if you could see straight through the wooden roof of your booth, past the clouds and daylight, and into the depths of your galaxy, where the light of a long-dead star no longer shone. Legend told that the star shone brighter than any other, and that your ancestors used its light to guide them and navigate across the planet. 
“Solaris was an artist. But when a clan of ancient warriors came to our home, intent on pillaging our planet, stealing our culture, massacring our people, we were called upon to fight back. Our people had not seen war in centuries. We were artists, farmers, musicians, bakers. But some of us had not forgotten the ancient ways to fight and defend our home. Solaris’ father was our general. His spouse, our leader. Their three eldest, our commanders. Solaris was the youngest. Too young. And they lost their entire family overnight in a battle we call The Coming of Revelation. The beginning of the end. That battle started it all.”
Your gaze fell to your beloved longsword. There, at the base of the blade, just at the start of the guard, showed a fire. And within the flames stood five figures, and a sixth, just outside the flames’ reach, their hand extended, reaching for their family. Deadened, blackened etched trees hid figures with dripping swords, and figures in humble garb fleeing. 
The flames receded. What was left resembled a graveyard, the skeletons of forests and spirits of people laid to rest there. A single figure stood amongst the waste. 
“Solaris knew it was up to them to lead what remained of our people. But they were faced with a difficult decision.”
The Chiss man hummed. “To hide and survive, but give up their home. Or to wage war, and risk complete ruin.”
His eyes continued to admire the blade, traversing its scenes with painstaking care. He noted everything. Every detail. And knew that creating this masterpiece had taken every skill and trick this artisan possessed.
There was nothing more exquisite than an artist who put their heart, soul, and skills into every piece they created. It was the mark of a true artist. So the Chiss found his focus returning to the artist, allowing himself to become enraptured in the story and passion of their masterpiece. 
“Solaris did both. Rather than risk rash action, they took their people into the mountains, where they hid and survived. For ten years, they recovered, planned their attack. Solaris stepped up in every way. They trained in combat. They used their skills as an artist to study the enemy and their ways. They used their practical artisan skills to improve their armor, mining the ore in the mountains for metal. Our people learned how to hunt. Learned how to track. Learned to scavenge, to spy, to strategize, to infiltrate, to wage war. 
The next portion of the blade showed a range of caves. Glittering veins lined their length, intersected by figures now garbed in armor and leathers. Amongst the hunters, amongst the children, amongst the women, the elders, soldiers, the miners, stood a single figure, marked by a single star on their chest. The etchings continued to hold detail so minor and small most would miss it; like the slump of the figure’s shoulders when they were alone, and the strong tilt of their chin when surrounded by others. The varying lengths of their hair from year to year, the shift from simple clothes to thick leathers and chained armor, even a gleam to shadowed, baggy eyes. Most would miss all this, but the Chiss caught it all. And continued to admire both the art and the artist. 
“And after ten years of pain, of forcing themselves to be strong for their people, of having our people depend on them, Solaris took the war to the invaders. Ten more years of war waged. War so brutal and bloody it decimated all but our people’s spirit and memory.”
The brutality and bloodiness of the ancient war was next depicted on the blade. Scenes most could not imagine, let alone stomach seeing. Seeing those scenes etched upon a blade gleaming with a honed double-edge planted stones in the stomach of any who cared to look.
So rarely was a piece so emotionally evocative in the all-encompassing way this one was. The Chiss’ enrapture grew. And his stance took him closer to the artist and their masterpiece, leaning ever closer to the objects of his growing admiration. 
“The final night came to pass, and by the end of the Battle of the Morning Star, the invaders were no more.”
The Chiss man’s analyzing, gleaming eyes finally shifted to something else. They narrowed, falling to you, and his lips pursed lightly. 
“And what happened during this battle?”
You felt a smile touch your lips, though he could not see it. Still, the tilt of your head conveyed to him both a pride in your work and an openness to him. 
“You tell me.” Your head tilted towards the sword, and his own lips tilted. An invitation. One he readily accepted. 
The figure of Solaris was not front and center. They did not stand before their army, but among them. Not crowned, or furred, or heralded. But in the same armors and weapons and leathers as their people. A sword in their hand, a dagger on their thigh, a bow on their back. Mountains against a sky, a single star shining bright, mirrored on their chest. Their people numbered far less than the army shadowed by still-barren trees. But the strength in their hearts and stances far outweighed the numbers of the broken army before them, with exhausted features, broken armor, and stained weapons. 
What could’ve been the beginning of a bloody, civilization-ending battle was rife with tension. Even etched, still and lifeless. The Chiss man leaned forward to observe it all, a tension in him he imagined lived in everyone present that fateful night. 
You had called it the Battle of the Morning Star. A battle. 
But Solaris had drawn no weapons. Instead, they stood, amongst their people, with their arm outstretched, their hand open. Extended toward their enemy. 
The Chiss actually felt his expression slacken. He knew you saw the realization in him, your head tilted in a clear display of both pride and amusement. 
“Our people were once warriors. But they were also artists. Musicians. Farmers. Bakers. No one knows exactly what passed that night. What Solaris said, or did. But as the morning star, the sun, rose the next morning, the war was ended with a peace that allowed us, all of us, to become so once more.”
And at the very tip of the bladed masterpiece, in the center of an eight-point, shining star, was a single figure, in humble clothing, their arms laid to rest. 
“Where once there were two peoples now there is one. That war is history. Our history. But Solaris is legend. Any true proof of their existence is long gone, but their story lives in us nonetheless. And their spirit, whether it has endured since the war, or was born of legend, lives in us all.”
You looked at the military man before you. You met his eyes. He held your gaze, even though he saw no eyes beyond the shadow of your cowl.
“There is a lesson in Solaris’ warfare. From artist, to warrior and leader, to artist again. And I think Solaris may have understood, more than anyone, just how much art and war can exist together. They aren’t opposites or opposers. They’re compliments. And there is much to be learned from each.”
The Chiss had not asked why you made art of weapons, or weapons of art. But he was the first being you’d encountered that you felt compelled to tell. 
Six generations now your family had done this. But it was more than a legacy to you. And for some reason you couldn’t quite fathom or pinpoint, you wanted, needed this being to understand that.
And he did. He very much did.
“Is this piece for sale?”
His voice was smooth. And truly, he seemed more soft-spoken than you’d expected of a military man. It sent pleasant tingles across your skin, until his words caught up with you.
Yes, the Solaris Sword was for sale. For a price no one would ever pay. You’d done that not because that’s what it was worth (though that was also a reason), but because you had been scared of the idea of parting ways with your piece someday. Maybe because you were surrounded by people who grew with the legend of Solaris, who had become numb to the majesty of their story.
You had always feared your Solaris Sword would end in the hands of someone who didn’t fully appreciate the sheer work, passion, and heart you’d put into the piece. 
But you no longer felt that fear. Because you had seen the rapture in this being, and knew that art was to be shared.
“It is.”
“I would prefer to broker the sale in a more... private setting. Might we meet when the Faire closes for the evening?”
The Chiss, for the first time since your encounter, adopted what seemed to be his usual stance: shoulders back, head held high, hands clasped at his back. You knew your current encounter was ending.
“Come to my shop this evening. We can finalize the sale there, and if you wish, can see pieces not on display here at the Faire.”
Crimson eyes lit up with interest. But he gave a simple nod.
“Very well.”
______________
It was dark by the time you got everything settled and packed from the Faire. The archery tournament had come and go swiftly, the red of the center of your targets keeping your thoughts on the intensity of your Chiss visitor’s scarlet eyes rather than the tournament. Eyes that saw everything. Eyes that missed nothing. 
Least of all your art.
And funnily enough, he’d seemed to see you, just as much.
Your assassin costume had long been shucked, and a good use of the sonic had cleaned you of the day’s sweat and grime. You stood now in your closed shop in regular clothes, comfortable and casual. You were an artist. Your art made the impression, not you. You sat at the counter, your art pad sitting before you. You tried to occupy yourself by scrolling through design drafts, trying to shove down your nerves.
What if he didn’t show? What if he’d changed his mind?
Fears that plagued every artist under any sun.
But as you flipped to another design, a gentle knock sounded on your shop door.
The Chiss man was now donning an Imperial officer’s uniform. And between that and your own casual clothing, it was like you both were seeing the real versions of each other now. Him, an officer with an art appreciation that lended itself to his brilliance in warfare. You, a sixth-generation civilian artist who could fight with the weapons they made, but had never seen battle. 
Those intense eyes took you in, drinking in every feature that had previously been hidden like you were the art piece. And though his expression never shifted from a neutral, relaxed state, his eyes shone with something you dared to name approval. Perhaps because you were not afraid to show who you truly were.
And this being appreciated being able to truly see both the artist and their art.
The Solaris Sword rested in its usual stand, encased in glass that displayed its story, and crossed with a scabbard that’s simplicity betrayed the beauty of the sword itself.
“It is truly exquisite.”
You would never get used to compliments on you work. Especially the ones spoken by those who truly meant it. 
But this being did not seem to be one for flowery gratitude. And to be honest, neither were you. So you simply said,
“Thank you.”
“How did you become an artist?”
“It’s in my blood.” You briefly told him of the founder of your shop, your great-great-great grandmother who apprenticed to the elderly, widowed and childless weaponsmith. She learned all he had to teach, and with it opened this shop. She passed on what she knew to her children, and to their children, and the next, and the next.
And now it was yours. You gladly maintained the shop. But to you, and to all your ancestors, it was about your art.
“I am prepared to offer you —”
You choked at the amount. It was twice what you had priced the piece at. He stared at you with thinly-veiled amusement.
“I would be a fool to decline,” you worked out. “But are you sure?”
“I pay what art is worth.”
His voice and tone was almost flippant, but his crimson eyes were fervent. 
It only increased as you shifted in your bashfulness.
The deal was struck. After you processed his credits and packed the sword, scabbard, and display for transport, you couldn’t help pausing. This sword had been a labor of love for you, and your heart was filled with melancholy as you held it in your hands for the final time.
“You will miss it.”
An observation, not a question.
“Yes. An artist, no matter how prolific or famous or new, always has a part of them that is loath to part with their creations. I am no different. But I know this piece will be in the hands of someone who genuinely admires and cares for it. And that is all I can wish for.”
You met his eyes, unable to help admiring the man: the perfect curve of his back, the broadness of his shoulders, the sharpness of his jaw, cheekbones, and brow. He could be a work of art himself.
“Art is to be shared,” you said, quietly enough it was almost said to yourself. “Never hoarded, or hidden, or ignored. Art is universal. And I am glad to share mine.”
His lips quirked just the slightest bit, your smile, and passion, reciprocated. And he might have said something in response, but his gaze was then caught by your pad, still shining with the design you’d flipped to just before his arrival. 
“A chimaera,” he said, nearly gasped. You plucked your art pad from the counter, a smile continuing to touch your lips.
“A creature of myth,” you said.
“Not one easily defeated.”
“No,” you agreed. “Only with the help of a creature of the sky, and a mighty weapon, did a hero of old defeat the chimaera. Or so the myths say.”
The Chiss man was quiet for a long moment, his expression contemplating.
“Do you take commissions?”
“I am an artist. I make my living on commissions.”
His lips quirked at the quip. “As much as I would love to stay and see each masterpiece you have ever created, I have little time remaining this evening. But I would like to commission a piece using a chimaera design. A sizable piece.”
“How sizable?”
His eyes crinkled with a sly, secret humor. “Sizable.”
You couldn’t help a huff of a chuckle. “Very well. Might I have the privilege of knowing the name of my newest client?”
His lips quirked again, in a more full, real smile than he’d granted you before.
“Thrawn.”
______________
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awhitehead17 · 2 years
Text
So close, yet so far
TimKon, Fantasy AU, Dragon rider Tim, Warlock Kon, Curses, Established Relationship, Fluff, Humour. 
Summary: Tim never realised how much he took for granted when it came to his relationship with Kon. It isn’t until the two of them are cursed that he notices how much he misses all of those little things they do. With the curse leaving both Tim and Kon frustrated they each try to get by until they come up with the solution that’ll break the curse so they can be properly together again. 
Enjoy! :D 
A constant prodding by something small is what causes him to rouse back into consciousness. Not wanting to get up yet Tim grumbles and bats away the thing persistently poking him, when the poking finally ceases he lets out a sigh and settles back down so he could fall back to sleep. Unfortunately his relief is short lived because the prodding comes back and this time it’s in full force, while it wasn’t hurting him in any way it just happened to be more annoying than anything else.
A low growl and sharp teeth nipping his ear is what finally causes him to wake fully. Groaning Tim forces his eyes open and moans when he’s blinded by bright sunlight, he instantly covers his eyes with a hand and this time slowly opens his eyes to adjust to the light.
Another growl sounds out and Tim turns his head to the side to find his dragon staring intensely at him. The two of them have a staring match until the small dragon steps forward and nips his ear a second time, Tim grits his teeth and gently shoves the dragon to the side.
“Okay, okay. I get it. I’m up. Geeze Mela.” Tim grumbles to his companion.
After years of training and working Tim is a successful dragon rider who has long been bonded to one of the mighty creatures. Mela is the dragon he’s bonded to and he wouldn’t trade her for the world. She’s a metallic silver dragon with two short horns on the front of her head, she has leather wings that sprout out from her back and her body ends with a long thin tail. She can shift sizes, her smallest form (which she currently is in) is no bigger than a kitten and her largest size is taller than several buildings put together.
The creature lets out a whine and Tim frowns wondering what’s causing the dragon’s odd behaviour. Normally Mela is more than happy to let him sleep in, the little dragon herself being a late riser (which was adorably enduring for a creature of her kind) so why the push to get up now?
Dread starts building up inside of him at the thought of Mela being unsettled. “What's wrong?”
Mela darts off without another word and Tim finally pushes himself up into a sitting position from where he had been lying down, the new perspective gives him a chance to get a clear view of his surroundings. Tim freezes when he realises that he was in fact not at home like he thought but rather instead he finds himself in the middle of the street with various of people all staring at him as if he’s from another planet.
Now alert Tim rapidly looks around to try and work out what happened. Why on earth is he in the middle of the street?
Mela appears in front of him again, having flown back to him from wherever she had run off too. The dragon darts forward and grabs the edge of Tim’s sleeve with her teeth and starts tugging in a clear indication that she wants Tim to follow her.
Taking a breath Tim gets to his feet. He pauses when he feels himself tilt to the side unsteadily but once he’s sure he’s found his footing he stands up straight and follows his dragon to wherever Mela wants him to go.
He’s currently outside a store, one very similar to all the rest in the town with it’s one floor, bricked foundations and wooden panelled roofing. It’s not even anything special as it’s just a grocery store. Tim’s mind is still rather foggy so he can’t yet connect the dots to why he’s there and what happened that landed him to be unconscious in the middle of the street.
Mela leads him to around the back of the building and suddenly everything fades into the background once he sees what’s behind the store amongst all the trash.
“Kon!”
Tim exclaims his boyfriend’s name and rushes over to his side. Falling to his knees Tim scans him looking for any signs of injury or anything else. Before he could react further Kon gasps and shoots upright into a sitting position and his eyes dart around all over the place obviously trying to catch up with the latest events.
“Kon, hey it’s me, you’re alright. Okay? Just breathe, you’re okay.” Tim calmly talks him down and gets his attention once he seems to settle.
“Tim?” Kon blinks at him and Tim nods. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. You?”
Kon frowns, looking confused, and places a hand to his forehead. “Yeah… what happened?”
Feeling uneasy Tim shrugs. “I don’t know. I only just woke up too, on the other side of the store in the middle of the street. I’m guessing you can’t remember either.”
“It’s blurry,” Kon admits with a grimace.
A rumble gets their attention and they both turn to look down at Mela who is glancing between them with wide eyes, her pupils having expanded leaving no iris’ left. Kon smiles and leans down to stroke a finger over Mela’s head and spine, earning him a happy purr.
“Hey Mela, glad you’re okay.” Kon mutters to the dragon affectionately.
The scene has Tim smiling but sadly it doesn’t stay when he remembers where they are and the fact they can’t remember how they got there. Getting to his feet he dusts his clothes off.
“C’mon, let’s go, we’ll head back home and see if we can work out what happened.” He holds out a hand for Kon to take, his boyfriend doesn’t hesitate to reach out and grab it however when their palms are about to touch something forces them apart.
The two of them share a look before trying again. They wear identical frowns when their hands wouldn’t meet.
“Kon take my hand.” Tim demands, his tone just short of snapping.
Kon huffs and glares at him. “I’m trying. I don’t know what’s going on.”
When they try again the same result happens where their palms deflect away from the other. They try their other hands only to have the same thing happen.
After a moment Kon gets to his feet on his own and they try another time but their efforts seem futile because no matter what their hands wouldn’t connect. Tim couldn’t describe it, the best he could compare it to is two magnets repelling against each other when the same poles are facing each other, no matter how much force is used to get them together they won’t meet.
Pursing his lips Tim looks at their hands before looking up at Kon’s perplexed face before looking at their hands again. He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it again quickly after realising he’s unsure on what he’s going to say.
The two of them stand there in a disbelieving silence for a while until a rumble from Mela breaks the spell.
Kon looks at Tim with a determined look. “Come here.”
Before Tim could move towards his boyfriend Kon is already reaching for him with his arms open as if he’s going to pull Tim in for a hug. Surprisingly, yet not so much, Kon’s arms never reach him, they don’t end up wrapped around him in the way Tim loves so much. Disheartened Tim watches as Kon’s arms seem to bounce away from him whenever they get close, it appears like Kon is hugging a force field that’s around Tim although they both know that is not the case.
Kon eventually gives up and his arms fall flat against his sides. His boyfriend looks somewhere between angry, sad and confused. Tim’s feeling the same way.
“What the fuck happened?” Kon whispers.
Tim sighs and runs a hand through his hair before pinching the bridge of his nose. Something happened to them before they were knocked unconscious, they just need to remember what they were doing in town and go from there. It was Tim’s day off so he didn’t need to do any collections or errands that day and Kon – to his knowledge – was free of duties too, so what were they doing?
A sudden weight appearing on his shoulder gets his attention and Tim glances to the side to find Mela perched there, her small body curling around his neck like a scarf. She lets out a whine, as if she’s feeling the same heaviness of the situation as they are, and nuzzles Tim’s jaw in her own affectionate way. Tim lets out a small smile and strokes over her glistening scales with a finger.
As he strokes her an idea comes to mind. “Hey Mela, can you fly to Kon for a moment, go and perch on his shoulder.”
When neither of his companions protest, Mela jumps off Tim’s shoulder and glides over to Kon’s shoulder opposite him. She lands lightly and curls around Kon’s neck in the same way she had done with Tim. Seeing this Tim hums in thought.
Looking at his boyfriend he says, “Mela isn’t affected by whatever this is between us. That may or may not be a good thing.”
Kon raises an eyebrow. “Dragons aren’t usually affected when it comes to things magical. They have their own entity when dealing with things like that, as you would know being a dragon rider. Her not being affected probably means the targets are just us, no one and nothing else. That’s saying if the thing behind this is in fact magic related.”
“Just why?” Tim enquires thoughtfully. There’s such a big gap in their memories which plays a key part in what happened. Taking a deep breath Tim shakes his head. “We’ll figure it out at home. We’ll get out the streets and go from there.”
-----
The topic of how they’re going to solve this matter between them gets brought up again when they’re ascending the stairs to their home. The two of them had moved in together into a small flat above the local bakery just last year. The move had been the next step in their relationship and finally having a space they could call their own was exhilarating.
“We’re not going to my father about this.” Kon protests from a step behind Tim.
“Why not?” Tim questions with a huff. He reaches the door first and digs out the key from his pockets. “He's probably the best option we have to figuring this out.”
“We don’t need to get anyone else involved. We can work this out for ourselves.”
Rolling his eyes Tim turns around to stare at his boyfriend in disbelief. Even Mela, from her position on his shoulder, makes a noise that sounds like a snort. Tim raises an eyebrow. “As much as I love your optimism and confidence in us, I don’t think we can, especially if this is a magical occurrence,” he turns back to the door and opens it up, leading the way inside their home, “you’re a mage Kon and a powerful one admittedly but spell work is not your forte.”
The door slams shut behind Kon. “Hey! I could know something about this….”
Tim doesn’t even bother entertaining the idea. They both know this is out of both of their elements as much as Tim hates to admit it. In his time of riding he’s come across a whole wide of variety of things but nothing like this before.
Tim makes his way into the kitchen and takes a seat down at the table with a sigh. A glance at the windowsill where their sundial is tells him it’s mid-afternoon. As soon as he’s sitting, Mela silently uncurls herself from around his neck and makes her way down his arm and onto the table. Tim watches as his dragon potters over to the fruit basket in the middle of the table and grabs an apple with her teeth, the small dragon struggles to drag the fruit over to Tim but once she’s in front of him she drops it and sits back on her hunches looking rather proud of herself. Tim couldn’t help but smile. Knowing what she wants Tim grabs his pocketknife from his pocket and starts slicing the fruit up into small bite size chunks and feeds her the pieces.
While he’s busy with Mela, Kon had followed him into the kitchen and was busing himself in making them a couple drinks. Once he's done he makes his way over to Tim and holds out the mug for him to take and without thinking about it Tim reaches out to take it from his boyfriend but startles when he feels the same repelling force from earlier appear again. The two of them share a sad knowing smile. In the end Kon places the mug on the table and goes and settle in the chair opposite Tim.
In between feeding Mela and drinking his coffee, Tim looks over at Kon, his mind going over their situation and what they could do to solve it. “If not your father then who do you suggest we go to?” He asks after a moment of silence.
Kon shrugs, looking lost and helpless. “I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t want to involve him.”
Tim shakes his head, knowing a partial reason on why Kon is against getting his dad in involved. “Kon, this isn’t the time to be holding grudges against him. We’re going to need his help.”
Clearly Tim hit a sore spot because Kon sends him a cold glare. “He lied to me Tim, for years he kept it secret when I deserved to know!”
“I know!” Tim reassures him. “I know, I’m just saying we’re not going to solve this by ourselves.”
“What do you suggest then? We hit the library looking up every spell possible to see if there’s a record to what we’re going through, or if there’s a potion we can create and then we’d be cured?”
“That's what we need to find out. First thing we need to do is remember why we were at that grocery store. It’s not anything special, just one in the town centre. How did we get there, what happened leading up to it?”
A thump sounds out and Tim watches with both amusement and annoyance as Kon smacks his head against the table. “I. Don’t. Know.” He boyfriend grits out.
Tim recalls that morning from what he could remember, hoping something will click into place as he goes through what happened. “We woke up, it’s both of our days off so we didn’t rush. Once out of bed we had breakfast and decided on what to do for the day. You wanted to do nothing and stay in bed but I wanted to go out. We ended up leaving to do…. something?”
Kon perks up, throwing him a thoughtful look. “We bumped into your brother downstairs as we left.”
Before he could reply a chirp sounds out and Tim glances down to find Mela looking up at him expectantly with another apple by her side. When she had grabbed it Tim has no idea. Giving his dragon a disapproving look, he grabs the apple and places it back into the fruit basket.
“No. I’m not giving you another one. You can wait.” He tells her firmly. Not liking being told no, she opens her eyes up and looks at him yearningly, sadly for her the look doesn’t work on him anymore. “No Mela. You can wait until dinner.”
The dragon huffs at him, even sending a little bit of smoke his way, and turns around to face Kon. His boyfriend looks amused and Tim just knows she’s trying on that look with him too. Kon doesn’t fall for it either.
“If Tim said no, then it’s a no from me too. You know this.” He tells Mela gently with a smile.
Knowing she’s not getting her way, the dragon huffs again and this time takes off from the table and flies out of the kitchen to disappear somewhere within the flat, probably her nest that’s been built in their bedroom.
Looking back at Kon he continues the conversation, now remembering what had been said “Yeah, Jason was returning back to the bakery after running some errands,” Tim glances at Kon, “maybe we should go and speak to Jason, he may be able to fill us in on some stuff.”
Kon shakes his head, against the idea. “No, he won’t be much help. I don’t think we conversed, not that I can remember anyway.”
Feeling restless energy building up inside of him, Tim gets up from his chair and begins to pace the length of the small kitchen. His mind is split into two. He’s desperate to know what he’s not remembering and why he couldn’t remember, then on the other hand he wants to solve this situation with Kon. He wants to touch his boyfriend. Not being able to touch Kon, or even go near him, is driving Tim crazy and it’s making him realise he misses all of those little things they do. The holding hands, comforting squeezes, hugs, resting against one another.
As he paces across the kitchen on what must be his tenth round, something on the side catches his attention. Pausing his movements Tim steps to the counter and finds it to be a piece of paper with his own handwriting on it, it’s a note reminding him to visit Babs sometime later in the week.
Seeing the woman’s name gives him an idea, lifting the piece of paper up in the air he beams at Kon, feeling hope for the first time since waking up in the middle of the street.
“There is someone who may be able to help us after all!”
Tim shows Kon the paper and when his boyfriend holds out his hand to take it from him he doesn’t hesitate to pass it over, only remembering a second later when their hands repel that they can’t do that. Feeling his smile falter Tim drops the paper down onto the table for Kon to see, once he’s out the way his boyfriend picks it up.
“You want to go visit Babs.” Kon states after reading the note.
Tim nods affirmatively. “If anyone’s got the knowledge to help us, it’d be her.”
“When do you want to go see her?”
Checking the time with their sun dial on the windowsill, Tim shrugs. “How about now? She would be done with work and if we’re lucky we can catch her at her workplace instead of at home.”
“Yeah okay,” Kon agrees easily getting up from his chair, “the sooner the better.”
Heading for the front door of their flat Tim whistles for his dragon. “Mela let’s go!”
A moment later Tim and Kon are by the door waiting for the dragon to appear. When she doesn’t Tim frowns and whistles again. When she stubbornly stays hidden Kon laughs.
“She’s mad at you because you refused her a second apple.”
Tim shakes his head in disbelief, “I don’t understand why she likes the damn things so much. She certainly lives up to her namesake.” Turning back into the flat he raises his voice. “If you come now, I’ll give you an extra apple after dinner.”
A beat goes by and just as Tim’s about to call out again a flap of wings could be heard and his dragon finally comes into view, apparently the promise of extra fruit does the trick. Mela lands smoothly on Tim’s shoulder and curls around his neck making a purring noise as she does so and Tim rolls his eyes fondly.
“You wouldn’t think she’d be able to shift into the size of several buildings put together would you?”
Kon snorts, doing the job of locking the door behind them before they descend down the stairs. “No you wouldn’t, but that’s what makes her special.” Smiling Tim gives his dragon a stroke along her spine with his finger.
When they arrive to speak to Babs at her workplace, they find she isn’t alone. When they walk into the room and see the second person leaning against Bab’s desk Tim sighs and curses softly. As much as he loves his eldest brother, he didn’t want to be dealing with him that day. Dick will ask too many questions and be a nuisance instead.
Seeing no point in delaying the inevitable, Tim strides into the room without further hesitation and earns himself a couple of curious looks to his sudden arrival.
“Hey Babs, Dick.” Tim greets them with a restrained smile, he wished he was greeting them for a different reason.
Babs raises an eyebrow and leans away from her desk to give him her full attention. Her eyes flicker from him to Kon as his boyfriend comes to stand beside him, well as close as he could get at least. “Tim, Conner, nice to see you. You timed that right, I’ve just finished for the day. What can I do for you?”
Tim shares a look with Kon and turns back at Babs, though he couldn’t help the apprehensive glance he sends Dick’s way, and explains to her what’s happened to the two of them that morning and why they’ve decided to approach her about their problem.
Once he’s finished talking Babs is wearing a contemplative expression. His brother on the other hand looks concerned. “Are you two okay though?” He asks worriedly, straightening up as he speaks.
Tim waves his concern to the side. “Yeah, we’re fine, except you know the whole not being able to touch each other thing and the amnesia we’re experiencing.” Dick isn’t impressed with his answer and Tim acknowledges his flat look with a shrug.
“Are you able to help us Babs?” Kon’s voice brings Tim back into the moment. He turns and finds his boyfriend leaning against the desk opposite the professor. “Anything at all?”
“There may be something…” she mumbles after a moment. The red haired woman turns to Dick and points him over to the far wall of the room where a large floor-to-ceiling bookshelf is placed and instructs her boyfriend to grab several different books from her extensive collection.
Seeing that this is going to take a while Tim wonders over to a chair and sits down on it, making himself at home. As Dick runs back and forwards between the bookshelf and Babs’ desk he inspects the room with curiosity. It’s Babs’ classroom and where she holds all of her lectures, being a professor at the only university in the town grants her a large lecture hall filled with seats that slope to give each one a view of Babs’ desk at the front. The door they entered from is to the left and the bookshelf Dick is currently emptying at Babs’ command is on the right.
Kon comes and settles a couple seats away from Tim as Babs announces she’s got everything she needs. Silently the woman starts flicking through pages of different books of all shapes, colours and sizes, clearly on a mission looking for something in particular.
Mela, who’s been silently sleeping on Tim until this point, wakes up and observes the room before standing and stretching. She takes off from Tim’s shoulders to circle the room and ends up touching down by Dick who greets her with a stroke and a smile.
Tim’s unsure on how much time passes by as they wait for Babs to do her research but he sighs in relief when she finally announces she think she’s found something.
“I thought your current situation sounded familiar and I couldn’t work out where I had heard it before. Going through some of my books I wanted to see if I could find any record of something like this happening before and thankfully I was right when I thought I recognised it.” As Babs talks her voice drops slightly and every word she says is clear and precise, Tim imagines this is her ‘professor’ tone.
“This book recalls similar situations that you’ve found yourselves in. Where different couples couldn’t either, talk, see, remember or touch one another.”
When the woman trails off Tim sends her an expectant look, waiting for the catch. “Okay so what else is there to it? Does it mention anything about the amnesia? What about how we fix it? Can it be fixed?”
Tim’s a little stressed out by the end of his volley of questions and he knows it shows through by the tone of his voice and his actions as his body tenses up.
“Hey Tim, easy okay. We’ll get the answers, just be patient.” Kon calmly tells him holding up a hand to placate him. His boyfriend looks like he wants to hug him but unfortunately they know that isn’t currently an option. Also sensing his distress Mela flies back over to him and lands on his shoulder, she presses her snout into the skin underneath his jaw, offering her own support and comfort.
Tim takes a deep breath and settles back down into his seat with an apology. If Babs was affected by his outburst she didn’t show it.
“When you said you suspected the cause of this to be magic, you are right, it is magic. Although it’s not a spell but in fact a curse.”
Her words leave Tim blinking at her. He’s both surprised and not to hear that. Before he could question it she continues talking, running a finger along the page of the book she reads from.
“And like every curse, there is a way for it to be broken. What binds your love together has been undone. Correct what has been broken to become whole again.”
There's a beat of silence following her words until Kon snorts seeming incredulous of the whole thing and honestly Tim doesn’t blame him. “You aren’t being serious right? A riddle to break a curse that’s been placed on us. Of course, why didn’t we see this coming! Who would curse us? What have we done?”
Those are fair questions to ask but sadly none of them have the answers to any of them.
For the first time in a while Dick speaks up from his position next to Babs’ desk. “I can look into it, whoever cursed you most likely casted the amnesia spell too. I’ll do what I can with my contacts from the details you’ve given but it’ll be a long shot I’m afraid, that’s even after narrowing down the population into warlocks.” His brother looks almost rueful for how little help he can offer them. Tim takes back his earlier comments of him being a nuisance.
“Anything that may help would be much appreciated, thanks Dick.” Tim acknowledges with gratitude.
Closing the book with a loud bang Babs sends them a calculating stare. “So you two knuckle heads need to try and work out that riddle and in the meantime I’ll search through my archives to see if there’s anything else about the curse. Dick will do his part to try and find this wayward warlock.”
Seeing that there’s nothing else to be done or said, Tim and Kon agree and give their farewells and leave the room.
Their mood is sombre during the walk back to their flat. The two of them are quiet as they each reflect on the information they’ve been told. As Tim thinks it over, he watches Mela who’s taken to flying ahead of them and stopping to do a flip before flying back to Tim and repeating the process. He knows she’s showing off, trying to make him smile and while he appreciates her efforts they don’t much to improve his mood.
He and Kon only speak again once they’re back at their flat. It’s now late and past dinner time, not that it’s going to stop them from eating, Tim sits at the table while Kon works on putting together a meal for them. His dragon has flown off into the apartment, most likely for a nap so once they’re done Tim will make sure to leave some food out for her.
“What binds your love together has been undone. Correct what has been broken to become whole again.”
Tim repeats Babs’ words from earlier, wondering what the hell they mean. He asks Kon the question and gets a shrug as an answer.
“I don’t know Tim. Your guess is as good as mine. It could be anything.”
“Well c’mon,” Tim urges him, “you’re the mage between us you should be able to come up with an answer!”
Kon sends him an unimpressed look over his shoulder. “For the thousandth time, the correct term is warlock. You know I hate the word mage.”
“I could call you a wizard if you prefer?”
“Absolutely not. I’d take mage over wizard thanks.”
“I’m glad we could come to an agreement. Anyway, spell, curse, us. What do we do?” Tim bends down and rests his head against the table with a groan.
He sits back up a moment later in time for Kon to approach the table with two plates. His boyfriend places the plate down as close as he could before taking the seat opposite him. The two of them tuck into their food while discussing the matter at hand.
“There’s nothing wrong with our relationship, so it’s a mystery to what could be ‘broken’.” Kon comments with a frown.
Tim hums. “It’s also a question of what ‘binds our love’? Last I knew we haven’t participated in any soul binding spells or rituals. What is there to break?”
The two of them fall silent at the question and they both end up getting lost in their thoughts over the matter, thinking mostly about what it could mean for them.
After they’ve finished eating and have cleared up, having to swap places so they could each do the chores of cleaning and putting away the dishes, they decide to call it a night and start to get ready for bed. Where they would normally use the tiny bathroom together they quickly found that they wouldn’t be able to do so now, having to get ready separately Tim uses the opportunity to prepare some snacks for Mela (making sure to give her extra apple) while Kon uses the bathroom and once he's done Tim takes his turn.
Because of their situation they were apprehensive about getting into bed, unsure on how it was going to work. Since they couldn’t touch each other it raises the question of whether their bed would be big enough for the two of them to be in at the same time. They decide to give it a go and see what happens, depending on how the night goes depends on what actions they take.
The next week proves to be challenging. Both Tim and Kon are growing more agitated each passing day with their situation, not being able to touch one another is driving them both insane. One of the only things keeping Tim sane is that he’s able to keep Mela close to him and also that at least he and Kon can be somewhat near one another even if they aren’t touching.
They keep up with their jobs, their work keeping them fairly distracted from their issue when they’re not at home. There’s been no updates from neither Babs nor Dick which frustrates Tim but he understands.
A breakthrough hits Tim while he’s out riding Mela.
The two of them go out flying at least twice a week that’s for fun, they cross over the town and over to the nearby coast, sometimes they’d adventure further to some nearby mountains or visit a neighbouring town just to change things up.
On this particular day Tim and Mela were visiting another town, Tim had wanted to drop by to see some friends while he had free times between jobs and while the two of them walked through town, Mela currently the size of a horse who was striding alongside him, they came across a large metal grid in the shape of a heart. On this metal framing there were hundreds of little padlocks, all different shapes, sizes and colours, some had inscriptions on them while others were plain.
Seeing this Tim stops dead in his tracks as the revelation hits him like a freight train.
Their padlock. His and Kon’s padlock is the key to undoing the curse that’s been placed on them. Back in their own town, on their own local love lock frame, he and Kon have a padlock themselves, one of which they locked in place together when after they shared their first “I love you.”
Tim thinks it over, the lock must have come magically undone when they got cursed, perhaps if they go and visit the padlock and relock it then the curse may lift. If that isn’t the case then maybe they get themselves a new lock which may do the trick. Tim’s not sure but what he is sure of is his next steps. Turning to Mela he gets his dragon’s attention as she had been drawn to two cats playing down the street. If Tim hadn’t been one-track minded he would have found Mela’s curiosity rather amusing.
“Mela. C’mon let’s go, it’s home time.” Tim waits for her to focus on him and seeing what he wants she lowers her body down so he could swing up onto her back onto the saddle placed there. Within seconds she’s launched into the air and the two of them are making their way back home. Mela’s smaller form making it easier to glide through the air making the journey quicker than what it would have been if she had been full size.
Once they touch down, Tim dismantles and takes off in a sprint to go and find Kon. Considering the day and time, he should be able to find his boyfriend near the outskirts of town at the arena. The town had a makeshift arena, one that had been created by teenagers who wanted to practice their magic and sword fighting away from adults, over time it became an official place to do practising on and for lessons to be taught at. Kon would be here doing lessons in offense and defensive magic to young warlocks.
As expected he finds Kon in the middle of the arena in front of a small group of kids. Not caring about the audience Tim sprints over the group shouting Kon’s name. In his determination and lack of awareness, Tim realises he’s going to fast too late and is unable to stop himself from crashing into Kon, unfortunately due to their circumstances Tim simply bounces off Kon and lands in the dirt on his ass.
“Tim! Gods above are you okay? What’s going on?” Kon exclaims his concern and looks at Tim with a mixture of worry and bewilderment.
Ignoring his now bruised coccyx, Tim stands up and dusts himself off. “I’ve worked it out! I know how we can break the curse!”
Kon blinks at him in a shocked silence for several moments. It gives Tim the perfect opportunity to look into his beautiful blue eyes which were reflecting the sun high in the sky that day. The moment is broken when one of the young kids Kon had been teaching speaks up, reminding the two of them they had an audience.
“Class dismissed. I’ll see you guys next week.” Kon calls out distractedly. The group all grumble but head away without any complaints.
Tim launches into an explanation about his day and how it lead to him working out that their padlock may be the key to breaking the curse. When he first started talking Kon looked intrigued and eager, as his story went on it changed to one of confusion before ending with an expression of understanding.
“We need to go to that love lock frame, now!”
The two of them break out into a run in the direction towards the love locks, Tim’s is mildly aware of Mela flying behind them, his dragon having shifted into her smallest form while they had been talking.
Minutes later they reach the frame and the two of them immediately start scanning for where they had placed theirs all those years ago, many more have been added  since then making it more difficult to find.
“Here!”
Kon’s shout gets his attention and Tim hurries over to where his boyfriend is standing at the opposite end of the frame, this one being in the shape of the word ‘love’, and Tim looks where Kon is pointing to see that their padlock is unlocked. Tim observes the lock, it’s the same as he remembers, a classic square padlock with a keyhole at the bottom of it. The colour is a shimmering sliver that reflects colourfully in the sunlight, it’s the same silver that covers Mela. Kon had picked the lock up for them with Mela in his mind. Tim had melted when Kon shared the reasoning with him, it meant more than anything about how accepting his boyfriend is of his dragon. Wanting Kon to have his mark on it too, Tim engraved Kon’s family symbol onto the front of the lock, the symbol itself resembling an ‘S’ shape.
Kon holds the now open padlock in his palm and shows it to Tim. “So we just simply lock this back into place and the curse will break?” Disbelief bleeds into his tone as he talks and Tim could only shrug in response.
“Maybe? I don’t know, this is just a guess.”
Taking a deep breath Kon shuffles closer to the frame and fits the lock into place, just before he closes it Tim gets in as close as he could and allows his hand to hover over Kon’s as his boyfriend locks the padlock shut. An audible click sounds out and a heavy pause follows the silence. Tim and Kon share a frown, the two of them waiting for something to happen, not that they knew what they were waiting for.
“Did it work?” Kon asks.
Tim glances down at his hand to find it still hovering above Kon’s and his heart drops. He still can’t touch Kon.
“I don’t think so.” Tim says despairingly. On his shoulder Mela lets out a low noise and pushes her snout into Tim’s jaw, offering a comforting touch. Tim backs away and runs a hand through his hair feeling disheartened and agitated. “Back to the drawing board it is.”
“Hey,” Kon calls out to him and instinctively Tim turns to look at him, “I love you. That hasn’t changed.”
At Kon’s firm declaration Tim smiles, “I know, I love you too.”
His boyfriend steps in close and keeps eye contact, his expression now showing determination. “We’ll figure it-”
Tim blinks when Kon abruptly stops talking. He sends his boyfriend a concerned glance, “Kon? You okay?” And that’s when he feels it, a gentle nudge against his foot. Looking down Tim’s eyes widen when he sees the tip of Kon’s boot nudging against his, he had stepped in too close and accidently hit Tim’s foot with his own, this being something that shouldn’t have been possible because of the curse.
It takes a moment for the realization of what that tiny touch means. When it does finally sink in Tim snaps his head at the same time as Kon and instantly they’re moving towards each other, immediately wrapping their arms around the other because they now could. Feeling Kon’s arms around him makes him want to sob, the relief he’s feeling run through his body isn’t like anything he’s felt before, he knew he missed it but didn’t realise how much until now. He doesn’t want to let Kon ago again.
Being embraced by his boyfriend for the first time in a week Tim loses track of time. He doesn’t know how long they stand there hugging but they only pull apart when Mela begins to restlessly wiggle in between them and starts making impatient noises. They each laugh and even though they separate they don’t let go of one another.
“We should probably head home don’t you think?” Kon says with a wide smile.
Tim couldn’t help but reciprocate the gesture, he squeezes the hand still tightly holding onto Kon. “I think that’s a good idea.” He reaches up with the other hand and strokes Mela who’s settled on his shoulder with her tail curling around his neck, “I believe this one is getting impatient.”
Kon fondly rolls his eyes. “Kids these days huh?”
“Can’t take them anywhere!” Tim jokes with a laugh and knowing they were talking about her Mela nips harshly at his ear causing Tim to wince but it doesn’t stop him from laughing.
As they walk down the path, heading home, all Tim could think of is where their hands are joined and how right it feels. He knows there’s still work to be done, after all the wayward warlock hasn’t been caught yet and there’s still the problem about their amnesia but for now Tim can relish in the fact he gets to hold Kon again after what feels like forever without being able to do so.
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HI fellow LotR fan!! If all of the characters in the trilogy were snakes, what snakes would (at least some of them, I know there's a lot) they be?
Ooooh that's so fun!
Bilbo and Frodo: ball pythons. They're cute. They're a lil bit shy. It's perfect!
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Sam: rosy boa. Vibes are right and there's a flower in the name
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Merry and Pippin: western hognoses 10000%
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Gandalf: the oldest, scrungliest ratsnake that ever did live
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Aragorn: I'm biased because I have a rainbow boa named Aragorn, but rainbow boa
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Legolas: Trans-Pecos ratsnake
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Gimli: dwarves have rattlesnake vibes. Gimli would be a timber rattler!
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Boromir: Egyptian cobras. They're cool and easily corruptible by the lure of power
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Faramir: Egyptian false cobras, kind of like Egyptian cobras but not as cool
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Eowyn: a coachwhip!
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Ringwraiths: black mambas!
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Mouth of Sauron: cottonmouths are by far the funniest choice. A bit literal but whatever
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Arwen and Elrond: blue racers!
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Gollum: this awful AI-generated snake I found once that made me laugh so hard I saved it to my computer
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rinpenrose1900 · 4 months
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I came downstairs and my brother was all "Rin Rin Rin have you heard the news have you heard the good news" and I was fully expecting it to be something related to Christmas or our family with how excited he was and then he just said "did you see there's new Holostars" I CAN'T ESCAPE EVEN IN MY OWN HOME
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snailmug · 10 months
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i just watched charlie's stream from during gen loss and the foreshadowing is making me crazy
"today we are doing something absolutely crazy! something never before seen on twitch"
"the truth is actually behind you but you cant see it"
charlie slimecicle, i am gnashing my TEETH
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ratedc · 1 month
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genloss will always be a winner to me !!
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