#soft sounds from another planet series | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dreamywriter143 · 1 year

Text

My Dearly Detested

Status: Part One (7 part Mini-Series, 1/7)

Genre: Enemies to Lover troupe, Angst, Rude Neteyam, Comforting Lo’ak, some fluff, Romance, violence. Mentions of blood.

Warnings: Depictions of blood, Battles and cursing. Rude Neteyam😭. Reader is older then Neteyam by 1year.

Parings: Neteyam X Y/n (Reader)

Summary: Neteyam hates Y/n. He never liked how she always bested him in everything and never once sought the praises he was accustomed to. She had no one, yet she had everyone in the palm of her hand. He despised her, and that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. The but happens when the RDA threat comes and Jake tasks her with watching his sons? Neteyam can’t help but grow a newfound hatred.

Word count: 4.4k

_________________________________________

The beauty of Pandora never ceases to amaze Y/n. The forest is surrounded with foliage, beautiful fauna and trees as high as the eyes could see. It was simply breathtaking. It didn’t matter how familiar she became with the environment around her, new discoveries seemed to amaze her every day. The simple yet striking beauty, that is her home planet. Eywa'eveng.

Y/n regulates her breathing, perched on a tree branch high above the ground. Over the years she had mastered her skills to perfection, she could walk the entire forest without a single sound. Something she was quite proud of as many admired her for it.

Y/n peers down below her, her bow at the ready. The perfectly hand crafted bow seemed weightless under her hold as she grips it tightly. Her eyes scan her target, who was oblivious to her presence. She carefully pulls back to reach for an arrow, aligning it against her bow with ease. She had been following a lone yerik for a while now. She watches it bend its long neck to munch on a plant near him.

Y/n pulls her arrow back, her eyes zoning in on its head. A clean headshot, sure to relieve the creature from pain. Taking a sharp intake of breath Y/n whispers a silent prayer under her breath.

‘Eywa rutxe’ srung ‘sno’ (Eywa, please guide me) (A/N: Also, the translation may not be accurate. Please ignore that!)

In a flash Y/n lets go of her arrow, striking the yerik with deadly force knocking in down immediately. Y/n lets out the breath she was holding in, jumping down the greenery below. Her feet land with a soundless thump, her feet carrying her towards the moaning yerik.

Y/n peers down at the animal, crouching down beside it. Her hands caressed its body reassuringly as it laid beneath her, letting out soft whimpers of pain. Thankfully Y/n’s precision was on point, her arrow landing exactly where the nociceptors were. The pain receptors of the brain. After her Tsahik training Y/n made it her mission to learn more, her intellect and drive was enough to push herself through tedious teachings proving to be effective in the long run.

“Shhh, Shhhh little one” Y/n whispers, taking out her knife from its sheath. The animal whimpers, seeming to accept its fate.

“Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi irayo” Y/n whispered, inserting her knife into the yerik sliencing it. She carefully pulls out her arrow in the process, her lips formed in a saddened frown. (I See you, Brother, and thank you)

“Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì” (Your spirit goes with Eywa, your body stays behind to become part of the People)

Finishing off with the prayer her nimble fingers closes the creature's eyes, letting out a long sigh. Y/n's ears perk up to the sound of footsteps, the pattern of the steps proving who it was that approached her.

“Another clean kill, I must say you never cease to surprise me numeyu” (Student) Tarsem teases, walking towards the large catch of the day. A proud smile adorned his lips as he glanced down at Y/n. His student who seemed to grow up too fast for his liking. It seemed like just the other day when Y/n would latch onto his leg begging to join him on his hunts with her watery pleading eyes.

Now, Y/n was an established warrior. She completed her Iknimaya a while ago with flying colors gaining admiration and respect amongst the clan. She had grown as a warrior and as a woman. Her rights were done long ago and she grew to become a beautiful Na’vi. It didn't go unnoticed how many suitable men who ogled her, wanting to court her.

Her locks were long and always braided neatly, adorned with beautiful beads and pearls. Her hips grew wider as did her height, though she was still shorter than Tarsem and many other men. It didn't stop her fierce personality. Her e/c eyes, unique and eye-catching. Y/n was the epitome of beauty, requests to court her being asked regularly. But Y/n never reciprocated any gestures, her mission to become the best warrior was far too important. She had stated loud and clear that she had no intention of finding a mate, even at the ripe age of 20.

Tarsem’s mom would always scold her, claiming it was the perfect time to find a mate and start a family. But even with all her accomplishments, Y/n still felt unfulfilled. She felt like she didn't quite accomplish her goal, and she wouldn't let anything stop her from reaching that feeling of fulfillment.

“Numeyu? Really?” Y/n chuckles, wiping her arrowhead while she stands up. She hated how short she was compared to the Tarsem who still towered over her.

“Oh, sorry taronyutsyìp. I keep forgetting how grown up you are!” (Little hunter) Tarsem tosses back, loving the way Y/n’s little nose twitches at the nickname. He places his arm over her head teasingly, displaying how tall he is compared to her. Y/n huffs out in annoyance.

“Yea? Well, at leas-”

“Tarsem!”

An urgent voice calls out, running towards the duo. Kay’m, Tarsem’s friend and fellow warrior, bursts through the bushes. Y/n bit her lip from bursting out in laughter. He looked to be in disarray, leaves caught in between his locks making him look silly.

“Yes? What's the matter?” Tarsem asks, taking a step away from Y/n. He seemed to notice the look of mild worry over his friend's features, causing his tail to twitch in attentiveness.

“The Olo’eyktan wishes to speak to you” He gasps out, trying to regain control over his breathing. Tarsem furrows his eyebrows but nods nonetheless.

“He wanted to speak to Y/n as well”

Y/n’s ears perk up, her eyes looking towards Kay’m in question. Sure, Y/n was very close to the Sully’s. She grew to spend most of her free time with Kiri and Tuk, who she loved dearly. The little girl always tried following Y/n around in pure awe. Though Lo’ak had grown up a lot over the years, Y/n still found herself covering up for him, trying her best to keep him out of trouble when his brother couldn't. Speaking of Neteyam-

“He didn't say why. But it's urgent. I'll take care of this, please go right away” Kay’m urges, his tone serious. Y/n glances down at her kill, letting out a sigh of defeat.

“Lets go”

~~~~~~~~~

Y/n follows Tarsem’s lead towards the Olo’eyktan tent, nodding to the Na’vi who smile at her presence. Y/n loved the village, but she loved the forest more. The only time she spends her free time in the village would be when she would come to restock her arrows, hang around her guardians and Mo’at or to pick up Kiri and Tuk to accompany her in exploring.

“What are you doing here?” a sharp voice calls, stopping Y/n mid step. Thankfully she stopped when she did , or else would have collided against Tarsem who also froze at the cold tone. Y/n turns her head, her ears folding upon taking in the figure standing a few feet away from her.

He stood tall, much taller than her. His braided locks fell past his shoulder, his visor still placed neatly fastened on his forehead. The gear he wore proved that he was flying his Ikran prior to now. His posture was stiff, his broad veiny muscles folded against one another as he eyed Y/n. She watches nervously as his piercing unwavering gaze trails from her face all the way down to her toes. It made her feel warm, and cold at the same time. Warm because she didn't understand the fuzzy feeling she felt whenever he stared at her. Cold because she knew what his stare always meant, hatred.

The only other warrior that could be considered a rival to her feats of accomplishment. The only other warrior that despised the very soil she walked upon.

Neteyam.

“The Olo’eyktan called for both of us” Tarsem informs, his jaws slightly clenched.

He looks back at Y/n who snaps from her trance. He nods forward indicating for her to follow, before stepping into the tent. Y/n hurries to follow only to be intercepted by Neteyam. He stepped near her, his gaze shooting straight down her soul. Y/n gulps, her palms growing sweaty.

“H-Hi” she stutters out, in a meek attempt to erase the awkward atmosphere. Neteyam snorts at her words, throwing one last glare her way before disappearing inside the tent.

Y/n huffs out before stepping inside as well. The first thing she notices is how tense everyone looked. Jake stood tall, his eyes holding worry. Neytiri paced around, her fear wafting off her in waves.

“Yes Sir, I’m quite familiar with that area” Tarsem replies snapping Y/n from her thoughts. She takes a step beside her former teacher, her head held high. She had to force herself to look straight, to avoid the harsh stare Neteyam sent her way from his spot across the tent.

“Yes, That's why I've called you two. We don't know where she could be and I don't want to alert the clan by sending a search party….yet” Jake responded calmly. Y/n’s eyes widen, she glances around frantically. She knew Kiri had lessons with Mo’at, and Lo’ak was always busy during this time hanging out with Spider. That only left one Na’vi unaccounted for.

“Where is Tuk?”

Neteyam curses under his breath, his scoff not going unnoticed. “Can't you hear? She's been missing since the morning.” He relays, ignoring how Neytiri hisses at his tone. Y/n frowns, turning her gaze to Tarsem. She must have been so deep in her thoughts that she missed the part where Jake had debriefed them on what the situation was.

“We’ll look for her, don't you worry about it Sir” Tarsem declares, ignoring the staring contest Neteyam was having with Y/n.

Neteyam turns to his father after hearing Tarsem’s words. He held back the urge to raise his voice.

“I’ll help too. You won’t be needing her help, Tarsem and I can take care of it ourselves” Neteyam pipes up, stepping forward.

He was deeply worried for his sister, he got the call from his father while he was out on his solo hunt. He immediately rushed home in order to find her, he just didn't see why Y/n had to be included. His rival who he despised. He would do anything in his power not to ask for her aid. He didn’t want to be indebted to her in any way.

“Neteyam” Neytiri calls warningly, her tone of embarrassment for her son's behavior.

“Sorry mother, it's just that I’m sure we can handle it. Tarsem will be on ground, and I can be in the air. If we have both terrains covered we’ll be able to find her before the sun sets” Neteyam explains, throwing an apologetic smile towards his mother for his odd behavior. Jake looks to be contemplating the idea when Y/n steps forward, in front of Tarsem.

“Sir!”

Y/n felt her resolve break. She cared a lot for Tuk, and not to mention it was her duty to ensure the safety of her people. Especially the children of Toruk Makto. She felt honored to be considered to search for her, but she wouldn't stand back and let Neteyam take that away from her. Memories of the many times Neteyam tried to keep her out of hunts and excursions rack her brain. She was never one to fight back, always keeping her head low and quietly following her duties blindly. But now, today, she had enough.

“With all due respect I know the forest like the back of my hand. I know the forest because I actively explore it. While I do think scouting from the air would be ok-” Neteyam tenses up, noticing how she threw a slight jab at him “-it’s nothing compared to someone who knows the land. I can find her, I can track her down. if you'll let me” Y/n says sternly. She surprised herself from how she kept her voice firm, unweaving. Jake nods in understanding.

“So be it, Thank you for your service Y/n”

Y/n smiles wide, looking up at Tarsem who smiles endearingly. She didn’t notice how Neteyam clenched his teeth, or how his eyes burned with fury.

“Let's get going Nìhona” (Sweet Thing)

~~~~~~~~~

To say Neteyam was unhappy with the decision was an understatement. The moment Tarsem was far enough from the duo, Neteyam grabs Y/n forcibly by her waist, pulling her along him to a stop.

“What the hell was that?” he spat harshly, his grip tight. Y/n bites back a wince, her eyes on him.

“What do you mean?”

“That stunt you pulled in there. Does it please you to taunt me in front of my parents?” Neteyam hissed angrily. Y/n furrows her eyebrows. That was not what she had intended. She just didn't want to lose the opportunity to find Tuk, someone dear to her.

“Netey-”

“Dont say my name!” Neteyam growls. It was as if her even mentioning his name seemed to burn him in some type of way.

“Don’t act like you're familiar with me” he hisses. Y/n’s feels her throat close up. She didn’t know why he hated her so much, why he acted as though her presence was a punishment from Eywa.

She would be lying if she said the rivalry between them didn’t push her to where she was today. They always butted heads growing up, always fighting each other to do their best. While Y/n rarely retaliated, Neteyam was all bark. The prince of the clan who was widely admired had a dark side. A dark side he let out only in her presence. As if it was exclusively reserved for her. Despite all that, Y/n couldn’t find it in her heart to hate him like how he openly hated her.

“Do that again and I won’t hesitate. I won’t hesitate to put you back in your place” Neteyam whispered harshly. Neteyam glances at Tarsem. Noticing how Tarsem’s steps slow down, as if noticing the lack of Y/n’s presence behind him.

“I didn’t mean it like that, I swear” Y/n tried one more time. She admired him, watched in awe when he caught his first adult Talioang at the age of 15 with one clear shot. How he held himself, how amazing he was. She wanted his approval, in a way that's what started her quest for perfection in the first place. But Neteyam never seems to acknowledge her accomplishments. He never used her name, always regarding her as she or her. As if saying her name would leave a bitter taste in his mouth. He acted as though he didn't care that she was older than him.

“Oh please, you don’t think I don’t notice how hard you try to best me? How hard you try to be better?” Neteyam says through clenched teeth. His ears perk up to the sound of Tarsem fully stopping. In a blink of an eye Neteyam lets go of her wrist, backing away.

Y/n pulled her hand back to her, holding it against her chest as it stung.

“Y/n! Hurry up!!” Tarsem calls, confusion written over his features.

Neteyam turns to leave before looking at her once more. “Stay out of my way. I mean it”

He quickly walks off, presumably to call his Ikran. Y/n ignores the pang in her heart as she jogs up to her best friend. Tarsem’s eyes are trained to where Neteyam disappeared too.

“Did he say something?” He asks quietly. Not noticing how Y/n hid her wrist behind her. She furiously shakes her head, forcing out a smile. She felt like she wanted to be alone, and focus on the search. She needed space.

“I’m fine! How about we split up? We’ll cover more terrain that way” Y/n suggests, not giving Tarsem time to argue back as she begins to walk away.

~~~~~~~

Groaning under her breath Y/n turns around, having one more place in mind. She checked all the places Tuk accompanied her when they went to explore together. All of which she came up empty handed.

‘Ewya, please make sure she is ok’

A silent prayer leaves her lips as worry weighs her down. She couldn’t find any traces of the young Na’vi which only caused more panic to rise in her. She also didn’t receive any responses from Tarsem or Neteyam. Upon leaving for the search Jake had supplied them with their own coms and earpieces. So they wouldn’t check the same place twice and have contact with one another if they were to split up.

Y/n cursed herself for being so caught up with the interaction with Neteyam. Truth be told she always tried to figure out why he acted the way he did. Y/n was one year older, therefore her age alone demanded respect. Heck, her title as a warrior demanded respect, all of which Neteyam actively avoided.

Y/n begins to worry that she probably missed Tuk, she had been so involved with her own thoughts she wasn’t quite aware of her surroundings. Maybe Neteyam was right? Maybe Jake shouldn't have asked her for help? Just as Y/n walks closer to her favorite tree, filled with her favorite Yovo fruit she hears a whimper.

It was so quiet it almost went unnoticed, but Y/n’s ears automatically reacted to it, standing up in alert. She looked up at the tree, it was tall and big. From the ground it looked as though it could reach for the stars.

“Tuk?!” Y/n calls, her voice echoing throughout the forest. She had her hand ready near her knife should any predator sneak up on her.

Hearing no response back she turns to leave but stops abruptly. Hearing that familiar whimper.

“Y-y/n?” It was quiet. As quiet as a whisper in the wind. But Y/n heard it, loud and clear. She whips around, squinting her eyes. She finally catches sight of the frightened girl, latching onto the tree for her life. She was quite high up, which made sense as to why she didn’t come down. The branches were thick but fragile. One wrong misstep could cause the branch to collapse.

“Tuk!!!” Y/n calls, hauling herself against the tree. She seems to forget about the splinters within the old tree as she works her way towards the shaking girl.Tuk is gasping out in fear, her eyes blown wide. As she stares at Y/n coming her way, she feels hands shake. Unable to hold on.

“Y/n!!!” Tukl calls again, her voice laced with fear.

“I’m almost there!!! J-Just hold on!” Y/n reached the branch closest to her, she carefully took tiny steps towards the girl who was within her arms reach.

“Give me your hand Tuk!!-” Y/n urges. Tuk glances at the outstretched hand. She shakes free one hand to reach out. “-Trust me”

As Tuk gains more confidence she stretches out, their fingertips brushing against one another. When all of a sudden, the branch holding them up lets out a crack under their weight.

~~~~~~~

Neteyam lands his Ikran with ease. He swiftly jumps on the grass below, his eyes scanning the dense forest around him. He picks up the sound of footsteps nearby, choosing to follow it after he instructs his Ikran to leave, for now. Fear was eating him alive at this point. He couldn't find Tuk anywhere from up above and the sun was already beginning to set.

He angrily swipes at the bushes nearby, feeling terrible guilt settle inside him. He couldn't help but realize it had all been his fault. He should have accompanied Tuk for her excursion when she had begged him earlier on in the day. He was just so caught up on his hunt, he desperately wanted to make his father proud. Over the many accomplishments he overcame. He is still yet to actually accompany his father on actual raid missions. It always left him in a sour mood when Jake enlisted Y/n’s help. Even if it was just as a spotter.

“Neteyam” Tarsem calls, turning around to the sound of his steps. Neteyam glances around him, his tail twitch in annoyance noticing Y/n was nowhere to be seen.

“Any luck?” he asks, noting how Neteyam seems on edge. His silence alone spoke volumes. “Don't worry, we'll find her” he tried to reassure.

Neteyam lets out a huge sigh, his shoulder slumping.

“We should call it in, just in case we need a search party” Neteyam mumbles walking closer to Tarsem. His solemn mood doesn't go unnoticed by Tarsem.

“It's not your fault Neteyam”

Neteyam’s ears twitch. He knew Tarsem was right, but that didn't stop the feelings growing inside. He smiles sheepishly at his mentor turned friend.

“Maybe Y/n found her. I haven't heard anything from her end” Tarsem pipes up, his eyes dancing around. At the mention of her name, Neteyam clenches his teeth. His mood shifted significantly.

“I highly doub-”

“H-hello?” a quiet voice calls from both of their coms.Tarsem stands up straighter, his hand reaching up to press his collar. Neteyam stood still, his heart rate quicking. He could faintly hear her rapid gasps, as if she were in pain. Neteyam couldn't help but feel dread.

“Y/n?! Where are you? What's wrong?!” Tarsem speaks firmly, also noticing her tone and the gasps of air. She sounded to be in pain, and struggling.

“I-I found T-uk, she's o-k” She rasps out.

Neteyam’s feet carry him across the clearing with Tarsem hot on his tail. He had no idea where he was going, where his legs were carrying him. But all he knew is he had to reach her. Her tone alone had set him off, he couldn't help wondering what danger befell her.

“Where are you Y/n! We’re coming” Tarsem says, his heart rate increasing in fear.

“I-”

~~~~~~~~~

“Shhh, we're ok. You're ok, shhhh” Y/n clutches Tuk closely against her body. The little girl was wrapped up tightly in her embrace, her face tucked away in the crevice of her neck as she sobs quietly.

The moment Tuk lost grip as the branch beneath them broke, Y/n had lunged for the girl. Cradling her against herself to insure she took the majority of the impact as they tumbled to the ground below. The fall had caused a nasty gash along Y/n’s thigh. It bled heavily as her body was also littered with tiny cuts from the branches she crashed against.

Luckily Tuk had nothing major, just a few scratches here and there. Other than that, unharmed. Y/n called it in the moment she was able to catch her breath and insure no broken bones. She had to thank Eywa for evading that causality. That being said Y/n had trouble standing up, still clutching the sobbing girl within her grasp.

“They're coming, they'll be here soon” Y/n tries to say soothingly. She had trouble taking her steps, every step felt like a stab through her body. Her body aching in protest. Y/n’s ears twitch to a sound of flapping, and a screech of an Ikran nearby. Tuk seems to quiet down, recognizing her brother's Ikran right away.

Y/n halts her steps as two Ikrans land before her, screeching wildly. She immediately recognized them as she looked towards the riders who hopped down with ease.

Neteyam is the first to reach them, his eyes searching for Y/n’s. His eyes widen as they scan her beaten up form, the blood that trickles down her leg as she stood in an uncombable way to relieve her injured leg of her weight. He bites his lips furiously, his worry for his sister clouding his vision. He glances at Tuk who smiles softly at him.

“She's ok.” Y/ns whispers out, handing her over into Neteyam’s outstretched hands. He takes her with ease. His eyes wandered to her, his mouth opening and closing as if he had something he wanted to say but was too afraid to speak.

“Y/N!!” Tarsem calls rushing in, he carefully scoops her up peering down at her shocked face. She smiles slightly as he inspects her wounds, hissing as his eyes wander to her thigh. Her blood smeared against him. It looked deep, which further triggered his brother's instincts.

“Shit!! Let's get back!”

~~~~~~

“Y/n, please. Let's go to the Tsahiks tent? You need to have that checked out” Tarsem pleads. Still holding her tightly against him.

Even though Y/n had insisted she could walk just fine, he wouldn't let up. Neteyam, uncharacteristically, had been quite the entire ride back. Not even throwing a glare Y/n’s way that she grew accustomed to. He had whispered a quiet thanks to their general direction before heading towards his family's hut in a hurry.

“Fine, though I could fix this on my own. I don't want to bother Mo'at '' Y/n reluctantly agrees. Anything to get out of Tarsem's arms. She felt tiny against him, and the weird stares she received from the younger Na’vi only soured her mood. A smile twitches along Tarsem’s lips as he walks quickly towards the hut. As if she had weighed nothing.

Upon arrival he peeks in, his eyes wandering around the empty hut. He quirked an eyebrow in question, looking back at Y/n as if she had the answer to his question. Y/n sighs out, gesturing towards herself. Getting the memo, Tarsem gently sets her down.

Y/n holds onto his bicep as she takes her wobbly legs towards the mat, seating herself as a loud grunt leaves her lips.

“She is probably already at the Olo’eyktan’s tent, checking up on Tuk. I’ll be fine” Y/n says calmly, reaching for a cloth to wipe away the blood. Tarsem physically cringes. Seeing her hurt and bleeding made him question himself. He couldn't help but feel guilty that she got hurt under his watch.

“Tarsem, I'll be fine. Please go and relax. You look tense” Y/n observes, gesturing her hand in a shoo-ing motion. Tarsem chuckles at her attempts, his ears folded down.

“I’ll be right back…I have to tell mother” he informs, causing Y/n to wince.

She didn't want anyone worrying over her. Tarsem’s mom would always fuss over her, treating her as her own. Y/n nods watching him leave the tent. She winces as the cloth grazes at the cut. She gently reached for the basket of tools she was well equipped with after helping Mo’at on many occasions. She searched for a needle and thread, it was a deep cut and it required stitching. While she fumbled through the basket she heard rushed footsteps walk into the tent.

“Tarsem I'm fine, I'll just stitch it up. You go-” To Y/n’s surprise it wasn't Tarsem, but Neteyam. His chest heaved as he looked to have rushed here. Her eyes are solely focused on her thighs, his eyes glancing at the cloth soaked up in her blood staining it crimson.

“Ne- What are you doing here?” Y/n stutters. She didn't think Neteyam would ever approach her out of his own free will. She watches how his strained eyes dance around the tent.

“Mo’at isn't he-”

“I'm not here for her:” Neteyam cuts her off, taking a few steps to loom over her. He couches down to her level, finally looking her in the eye. Y/n felt a lump in her throat from the sheer intensity of his gaze. She didn't know what it meant.

Sure, before she could easily recognize the hate with his yellow orbs. But now? Now it was an emotion she wasn't familiar with. A deep emotion that swam within his irises.

“Do you…need help?’ he asks, gesturing to her still open wound.

“Wha-? No, I’m fine” she quickly responded, covering up the cut with the bloody cloth. Anything for him not to linger around. Not receiving the message Neteyam’s eyes look back into hers.

“Thank you…for what you did. For finding Tuk '' Neteyam says, his tone forced but holding some sincerity. Y/n smiles, it felt like he acknowledged her. And it felt great.

Neteyam’s eyes glance all over her face, momentarily stopping at her lips that were stretched into a small smile. He quickly shakes his head, standing up at the thoughts he refused to let surface. Y/n jolts at the sudden movement breaking from her trance.

“Y-Your Welco-ome!” she stutters out as he turns to walk out of the tent.. He stops himself, a smile playing along his lips.

“Get yourself fixed Y/n”

And with that, he disappears.

Y/n grins, forgetting the aches and pain. He had said her name. And she couldn't be happier.

He said her name….

____________________________________

A/N: Ok, confession time. I cry every time I have to write about rude Neteyam. Like, he’s not rude at all!! It’s soo OOC for me, he is such a sweet and caring boy 😭😭😭 Anyway, thank you for the great response on the prologue!! I hoped you enjoyed Part One. If you would like to be added to the Tag List for this series please comment below. Love ya’ll!!

Ps. This chapter was long cuz its the first one, I'll try to shorten the next ones!

My Dearly Detested TagList

@afro-hispwriter @bigbootahjudy @sasuvkee @a-blog-name-2003 @arminsgfloll @notmonroe @mahalkomarvel @jackiehollanderr @briacreations96 @naynay2808 @universal-s1ut @lili-of-the-dream @cumikering @baebinana @empiricsad @aspen-sprout @jjkclub @thehoneymushroomhealer @cherrymoon4 @zoetrope1997 @hannabanana-09 @annyis @yhern05 @inolaphoenix

566 notes · View notes

oh-katsuki · 6 months

Text

bird of prey (tendou x reader)

series masterlist | ao3

Pairing: Tendou x Reader, Bokuto x Reader

Series Summary: Satori Tendou is your best friend, but you fuck for fun.

Chapter Title: Act I, Scene 1 — Play Like Lovers

Chapter Summary: Satori likes your current arrangement. You're friends, arguably the best of friends, and sometimes you fuck. Well, it's more than sometimes. Like rabbits, really.

Chapter Content Warnings: afab!reader, college au, friends with benefits, no strings attached, angst, oral sex (m!receiving), teasing, bokuto is in this too, ushijima mentions, mentions of breeding, mentions of pregnancy, slowish burn (?) they're already fucking tho so romantically speaking, teasing, dirty talk

Word Count: 6.7k

A/N: i missed tendou and ended up deciding to write this. i don't have any chapters prewritten so updates will likely be slow, but im trying out a new thing so bear with me. it's probably better read on ao3, but im posting it here too. formatting is the bane of my existence. enjoy <3

next >

Satori likes the cold. He always has. He likes the bite of it. The way it makes his skin feel when he’s been standing outside long enough that the cold begins to feel hot across his cheeks.

There’s a certain solitude to winter that Satori appreciates. It’s as if the world has had a blanket thrown over it and everything becomes muffled and quiet. Sometimes winter makes Satori feel like he’s on another planet, floating through a silent universe in a perpetual winter. He especially feels this way when it snows. He loves the world when it’s like this, calm and quiet and so hazy that he can’t see the street sign a block down.

Satori blinks winter from his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows as they begin to water to fight the cold. He inhales, tucking his hands further into his puffy jacket as the crisp air fills his lungs. It’s a quiet night. The first snowy one of the season, and snowflakes fall like little diamonds onto a thinly coated sidewalk.

He doesn’t have a particular destination in mind. Satori is just wandering, savoring the feel of the evening as he strolls through his neighborhood. There are a scant few people outside. It's a weeknight and the neighborhood surrounding campus is eerily quiet in these small hours of the morning. Only the occasional drunk or a couple loved up and leaning on one another, their hands intertwined in the pockets of one of their coats.

Tendou thinks that he could only become one of those two options. The drunk seems to have far less to worry about, stumbling across the sidewalk before coming to a stop on a slanted curve and letting his head fall onto his crossed arms. Not that Satori would want to be him. Don’t get him wrong. He’s not judging. How one man lives his life is absolutely none of Satori’s business and, in the same way he prefers people don’t mind what he does, he won’t mind what the neighborhood drunk does. Still, on a sliding scale of difficulty, the drunk seems to—for the moment—have it easier in Satori’s eyes. Only one person to worry about.

It’s nearing three in the morning and the world has taken on an eerily slanted feel to it. Satori likes the world like this, calm and quiet. No one to talk to or worry about, only the sound of his boots against the thin layer of snow. There’s no crunch, as it hasn’t stuck yet, but if it keeps snowing like this, Satori thinks that it might. He looks forward to it, tilting his head up toward the sky and feeling the soft sting of bitter cold snow as it falls on his cheeks.

—

Teeth, tongue, the press of your body arching up to meet his. It’s hot today, the way you move. Rushed like you’re trying to get something done. Music plays quietly from your computer on the desk and your hands fumble blindly around his body, eyes screwed shut as you let your tongue explore the inside of his mouth.

“You’re eager,” he coos, detaching himself from your lips.

“Sh, sh, sh,” you mumble, pulling him back down to you by the back of his neck and delivering a sloppy kiss. “Keep your voice down.”

“Why?” He asks back, still connected at the lips.

“My housemates don’t know you’re here,” you answer, pushing on his shoulders.

Tendou gives in, letting you turn him over on the bed so that his back is against your headboard. You settle over his hips evenly, placing yourself like you belong there. He wouldn’t be surprised if you felt that way. This is regular enough that you end up like this a lot. Straddling his thighs with your hands on either side of his face.

You tilt your head, kissing your way down his jaw. Your lips press onto the side of his neck and he can feel the way your tongue darts out to taste the salt on his neck. Your hands roam freely up the other side of his neck and across the back of his head, almost like you can’t feel enough of him fast enough. They raised goosebumps along his skin, teasing the parts your mouth isn’t touching.

“And I don’t really want them to find out,” you say into his neck. Tendou feels the hum in his collarbone and shutters.

“And why’s that?” He breathes out, his lithe fingers coming up to pull your hips down against him. Tendou figures that if you’re going to rock your hips back and forth like that, you might as well do it like you mean it.

“They’ll give me shit for hooking up with you all the time instead of getting a real date,” you answer through your breathing. “Something about self respect.”

Tendou leans his head back against the headboard, looking at you over the tops of his cheeks. You’ve pulled up his shirt and your body is curled over itself, your mouth smearing down his heaving chest as far as your posture will let it go.

He supposes that’s fair.

“Suppose you haven’t told them that the no strings attached thing is mutual?” He teases, tilting his head to the side to let you continue to kiss at his neck.

He slides his fingers under the fabric of your sleep shirt, cool fingertips hitting your warm back. Tendou presses his palm flat on your lower back and you shiver away from him, pushing your chest up against his. He likes the way you move. Something about it scratches an itch he’s got. Like watching marbles in a chain reaction.

“I have,” you say, reaching between the two of you to undo his pants. Tendou slips his fingers into the waistband of your sweatpants, cupping your ass in his hands. “They just don’t believe me.”

“Hah,” he laughs, tilting his chin forward to kiss you again. He likes the way you taste. “That’s funny.”

“Ugh, can we like,” you pull away from him, your eyes glazed over and your eyebrows furrowed. You keep one hand on the back of his neck, the other splayed on his chest and Tendou idly rolls the fat of your ass across his fingertips.

“Can we like, what?” He imitates through a grin, tilting his head. “Not talk about this?” You say, rolling your hips. “Because I really want to fuck you right now and it’s sort of killing my vibe.”

Tendou chuckles at the way you drop your head and roll your hips against him, tipping his head back again as he lets out a low groan.

“If it means we get to fuck then sure thing,” he drawls, guiding your hips over his crotch by the fat of your ass.

You groan, exposing the hollow of your throat to him as you lean backwards. Tendou leans up to meet you, placing his lips near your pulse point. He bites down on your neck lightly and savors the slight gasp you let out, salving the ache with a quick swipe of his tongue. You cling to him like velcro, rocking your hips over his hardened cock through your clothes. It’s so desperate that it’s almost juvenile, though you’re both well past the phase of being too prudish to not take them off.

He sighs, sliding his hands from your ass and up your back. He cups your shoulders around your body, letting you move your hips against him. Tendou finds that he likes to let you do what you want. There’s really nothing you can’t take from him and as far as he’s concerned, nothing’s off limits. He’s playing a game and right now, letting you win is the most interesting option.

You reach between them to pick up where you left off, fumbling in his pants to palm at him over his boxers, still rocking your hips against the inside of your wrist. Satori groans lightly at the weight of your hand. He likes it. His dick just fucking fits.

You slide your hand back and forth, teasing him the way that you know he likes it. God, in moments like these, Satori is convinced that you’re perfect. You and that perfect body, that perfect fucking pussy. All of it just sort of clicks.

The sexual chemistry between the two of you is palpable. It really always has been. Even when the two of you swore up and down that you were just friends, Satori knew that eventually you’d fuck. And of course, he was right. Months later and here he is, leaning up against your headboard after sneaking in through the window while you give him an over-the-boxers handjob that feels better than what he can do to himself for some reason.

You need it almost every night, and if it isn’t every night, it’s at least three times a week. You’re always together anyways, might as well throw some heavy petting into the mix while you’re at it. That’s just as well with Tendou. Personally, he’s always willing to fuck you if you need it. Especially when you need it. You just get this pretty look in your eye. It’s a lot like the one you’re wearing now, mouth slightly open as you free him from his boxers and swipe the precum from the tip of his dick with your thumb. Satori shudders. It’s perfect.

“If you’re going to fuck me, you should just do it,” he says, his face contorting slightly as you grip his cock in your hand and begin to shift backward between his legs.

“Shut up,” you retort, looking at him through your lashes. “I know you love this shit.”

“Yeah, fuck-” he groans as you take the tip of him into your mouth. “You’re right. I love a tease.”

Good conversation. Good sex. A good friend. There’s really nothing more he could ask for.

Satori brushes the hair from your face, holding it back on your forehead so that he can see the way your mouth takes him in. It’s soft and warm and you hollow your cheeks around his cock in a way that drives him insane. You look so pretty down there. So giving and malleable. And get this, you do it because you like it. God, how fucking sexy.

He likes the way you look from this angle, your eyebrows knitted together and your ass up in the air. He can see the way you rub your thighs together, small pulses that tell him that when he finally gets down there, you’re going to be soaked. You feel good too. Soft skin, soft mouth.

Satori lets out a groan, reaching forward to play with the meat of your ass. He kneads the skin there, rubbing his thumb back and forth against it as if he were just trying to feel it. It hides your face from him for a moment and Satori is sad for the loss, but your ass is soft and giving and you push it back against his hand like you like the way he touches you. Of course you do, Satori only touches you in ways he knows you’re going to like. It gets him off.

You swirl your tongue around his cock, your other hand gripping the base of him and moving along with your mouth. When you do try to take him all the way in, you cough lightly around it, raising your head to catch your breath before lowering your mouth back down. His lower stomach ties itself into knots. That familiar swell begins to mount in him and his muscles tense against his will. Your mouth works him until that slow moving wave pushes against whatever barrier it needs to break for him to finish.

You stop before he gets to cum and Satori feels that swell of pleasure recede into the back of his gut. He pouts momentarily, his chest heaving as you discard your sweatpants and crawl back over him.

Satori places his hand over your cunt like it's a habit. He rubs over your slick folds with four fingers, evening applying pressure across your whole pussy because he knows that it frustrates you. In response, you let out an exasperated groan and grind down against his hand. That only makes it better when he finally centers in on your clit, two fingers dipped between your lips to rubbing at the throbbing bud.

He plays with it for a moment, moving his fingers in a continuous circle. You’re so wet that Satori doesn’t even need to lick his fingers, but he does anyway because he wants to taste you. Slowly, he raises them to his lips and sucks your pleasure off of them, eyeing you while he does so. Then, he places his other hand on your chin and gently forces your mouth open, sliding his two fingers across your tongue.

The muscle gives under the weight of his fingers. Pleasantly, delightfully, you let him mold you. You let him open your mouth further and stick them deeper—all the way into the warm, wet back of your mouth—until you gag around them. It’s an awful sound. Wet and desperate and it leaves you panting when he pulls them out, but Satori likes you messy. He likes you when you’re drooling for it, saliva pooling under your tongue for just a taste of what he gives you.

Don’t get him wrong, it’s not a power trip thing. It’s borne out of pure fascination. Like the way scientists like to study molecules, Satori likes to study you. You’re interesting to him. The first to follow through on sex only being sex because Satori—well, Satori fucks you like he loves you. And he loves that you don’t get caught up in it.

You’re desperate for it today. Satori can tell because you don’t even let him finger you before you’re guiding the tip of his cock to your entrance.

“What? No condom?” He drawls through a sly grin.

“Not tonight,” you pant, screwing your eyes shut. Satori’s hands move to your hips, squeezing the fat there and admiring its delightful give. “Don’t have one.”

“What ever happened to safe sex?” He says through gritted teeth, craning his neck forward to get a good view.

“You worried you gonna get me pregnant?” you give a breathy laugh, sinking all the way down on him.

“Depends, you gonna let me finish inside?” he asks through a locked jaw as he feels the warmth of you envelop him.

“Fuck no,” you say, beginning to move your hips.

Satori inhales through his teeth, leaning backwards and holding you by the hips. You take the lead tonight, rolling your hips forward with slow, almost calculated, flicks. He guides you, his fingers gripping at the side of your ass, pulling it apart as best he can. He likes the way it feels when he holds you like this and wonders briefly what it looks like from the back when he lets you fuck him like this.

The music from your laptop is drowned out by the quiet sounds of your breathing. The only thing Satori really hears is the both of you, stifling moans to prevent your housemates from figuring out what you’re up to. He grits his teeth.

Satori has always been on the more vocal side of things. Talking, moaning, laughing, things like that. This though, this is hot too. Like this, he can hear every little change in your breathing. He can hear every time he hits that particularly sensitive spot inside of you. Shit, he can even hear his own breathing, labored and low and mirroring your desperation like you’re both cut from the same cloth.

He loves being inside of you. It’s comfortable. It always feels good in a way Satori has found is hard to come by. You’ve got a good pussy and an even better attitude about it.

When you get close, you always take in a sharp and fast inhale. It’s like a tell. Something that gives away just how good you feel. Satori loves the sound of it. Sometimes, he’ll edge you three or four times just to hear it, just to savor that sweet intake of breath. Tonight though, he’s going to let you have it easy. You deserve to have it easy tonight, as desperate as you are, and this is fun for him too. This position makes it easy to feel just how tight you get when you’re close, pussy clamping down around him at a fast interval even with the upward pumps of his hips.

He’s too impatient to let you fuck him on your own. Satori lets you have it your way, but he wants it his way too, accenting the roll of your hips with subtle pumps. He grips your hips, his fingers sinking delightfully into the fat there and holds you at a good enough angle to fuck. The weight of your breath comes heavy, that little accent and then a slow crawl from your lungs. You shudder, mouth falling open. And Satori, well Satori watches. In fascination, in awe, in sheer pleasure.

“Oh shit,” you breathe, glancing at him. “Yeah, yeah.”

Oh, he loves that. Those little nothings that you babble when you’re breathless and climbing towards that high. Satori can’t get enough of it. Your voice, the cadence of it, how heavy it sounds on your tongue when you force out the sex-laced words.

You crumble quickly. It’s almost desperate the way you push your hands onto his chest and let your head fall forward, cunt clenching down hard around him as you stop the roll of your hips to shudder. Your thighs press harshly against Satori’s sides and he digs his fingers into your hips to keep from cumming inside of you. That’d be pretty bad, though he can’t say that it’s not endlessly tempting.

You don’t waste a moment pulling yourself off of him, wrapping your hand around is cum-slicked cock and beginning to pump. You squeeze the head of it and Satori lets out a low groan. God, you’re being so quick about this that it would almost be jarring if Satori didn’t find it so fucking hot. You’re like… desperate for it. Christ, he thinks he’s gonna cum.

“Can I finish on your face?” He grits out.

“No,” you reply, teasing him by pressing your thumb over the head of his dick. “On your chest. I like it when you make a mess of yourself.”

Then, a familiar, teasing smile lights up across your face. Your breath is still heaving and it makes the expression feel more genuine. Satori leans his head back against the headboard eyebrows pulled upwards in his pleasure.

“You’re fuckin’ sadistic,” he laughs out.

It’s half a groan, his voice strained and thick with his imminent high. He reaches up to toy with your tits, anything really that he can grab. Satori gets handsy when he’s close and he feels the way pleasure mounts in his lower stomach like water fills a bucket.

Then, he peaks, his cum spilling out over his chest. Satori makes an effort to muffle his voice when he does, gritting his jaw and squeezing the flesh of your tit as an outlet for the pleasure of it all. The mess he’s made is warm, spilling into the ridges of his abdomen and the soft lines of muscle there.He’ll have to shower again when he gets home. For the moment though, he just watches his chest heave as you let go of his dick and reach to put two of your messy fingers in his mouth. Satori obliges, swirling his tongue around them.

“Hah, you’re disgusting.”

“You’re the one who likes it, sweetheart,” he drones, reaching to take some tissues from the nightstand and wipe up his mess.

“Throw those in the bin,” you say, laying down on your bed as he stands.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Satori stretches for a moment, inspecting his clothes to ensure that the mess was minimal. He turns to look at you on the bed. Your eyes are closed, arms above your head with your sleep shirt riding up on your body, revealing a small glimpse of your fleshy stomach. God, he almost wants to fuck you again.

“Move over,” he says, bullying his way into the bed next to you.

“Fine, but you can’t stay for long,” you reply, lifting your head and putting it back down on his chest. You face the ceiling, picking at your nails. “I gotta shower and finish up a paper.”

“You have a paper to finish but you called me over to fuck?”

“Duh,” you reply. “Needed some sort of stress relief.”

“Most people just eat a bowl of cereal or something,” he says through a smile, his lips curling up in the corners.

You huff and roll your eyes, letting out a short and genuine laugh. “Whatever, you just can’t stay too long, ‘kay?”

“You got it,” he chuckles, rolling his eyes lightly.

Satori tucks his arm under his head, watching your ceiling fan as it spins in circles. He hates the ceiling in your room. You’ve got popcorn ceilings, something that Satori is particularly disdainful of. It’s why he likes having you over at his place, with its smooth and well painted walls. Plus, you can fuck as loud as you want and there’ll be no one there in the morning to hound you both over it.

You can’t stay for long.

He never really understood why you always tell him that. Even without it, Satori never really does.

—

Satori’s morning routine isn’t really a routine at all. On days where he has nothing to do, he rolls out of bed at whatever time he pleases. Sometimes that’s 12 in the afternoon and other times that’s 5:30 in the morning.

He tries his best to avoid early morning classes. Truthfully, he tries his best to avoid classes at all, but hey, when you’re getting a degree, that’s not really an option. Satori’s been relatively successful in that endeavor, keeping most of his class schedule well within the 11 am to 4 pm range, except for one pesky little discussion. Once a week, on Tuesdays, Satori has to drag himself out of bed and be in the classroom at 8 am sharp.

It’s not that he isn’t driven, or isn’t a morning person. Satori just isn’t a rules person, which doesn’t exactly function well within a societal structure. There are always rules. Ones that tell you when to cross the road, where to park your car, when to be somewhere or when not to be somewhere. The fact that he has to get up early on Tuesdays makes him needlessly resistant to getting up, even if he’s awake already.

Satori blinks away sleep in the quiet of his room. He’s woken up about fifteen minutes before his 6:50 alarm and now stares blankly at the ceiling with his arms tucked behind his head. What a drag, getting up like this and going immediately into the daily slog, not that anything can be done about it.

He inhales, preparing himself to sit up, before actually doing so. His muscles scream at him, sore with sleep and aching for a good stretch which he gladly obliges with a loud yawn. Cartoonish, almost. Satori laughs to himself as he pulls his body from the bed.

His room is messy. Clothes are strewn about haphazardly across the floor and various items that he’d picked up to mess around with are out of place. He exhales, shaking his head a little bit and telling himself that he’ll clean it when he gets back. It’s not that he minds the mess. In fact, Satori likes a little organized mess. Like what you and him are doing. That’s messy in the most delightful way. But right now, his room is a little too messy, verging on the precipice of dirty, which Satori hates.

He tosses on a soft, long-sleeved t-shirt. It’s the kind of shirt that he’s had for a long while, the ones that feel smooth on his skin. The fabric is so worn that it falls over him almost like tissue paper and he loves the feeling. His black jeans are hanging over the back of his desk chair and he grabs them quickly, shrugging them on over his hips with two quick steps and a pull. The ink on them is faded and though they started their life black, they are now almost a dark gray and look even lighter at the knees and backs of the thighs. He thinks he’ll have to get a new pair soon. Gray doesn’t look as nice with other colors as black does.

The sink in his bathroom is nearly empty, save for one single face wash, his toothbrush, and some toothpaste. He uses all of them in that order, hardly glancing up to look at himself in the mirror except to fix his scraggly long hair. He fiddles with it for a moment, running his fingers through minor tangles that worked themselves into his hair while he slept, before deciding that it looks good enough. The rest of it will sort itself out during the day and fall flat.

His dish is in the sink from the night before and he briefly loads it into the dishwasher and runs it, chiding himself mentally with an eye roll for not doing it the night before. There’s always a 50/50 chance in the morning that Satori has forgotten to run the dishwasher and it antagonizes him as much as anything can antagonize Satori, which really isn’t much.

There’s a black puffer jacket hanging by the door of his modest apartment. It’s a size too big for him, but it’s warm and looks nice on his figure, so he sees no use in telling his mother that she’d gotten the wrong size. It was a gift from her at the beginning of the winter season last year, along with a hat that Satori never wears. The jacket, at the very least, gets some use on account of it suiting his own personal style.

He’s grateful for it when he steps outside of his apartment, shrugging it closer to him as the familiar bite of winter rushes up and under his skin. The sun has only just risen and the world is cast in a familiar orange, pink, and purple glow that makes it feel like a painting. Satori doesn’t mind being out in the world when it’s still asleep. Especially not in the early morning hours just before the sun comes up, when the world is cast in blue as if it were covered in film. Today though, it’s late enough that the world is now wide awake and the bustle of it gives Satori a headache.

He passes businessmen on their way to work, girls in school uniforms rushing to make it through the gate of their school on time, their loafers smacking the floor with a delightful and intrusive clicking sound. His campus is only a few blocks away, around two corners and a straight shot until he hits the main building. He got lucky with his apartment’s location and sacrificed nice amenities for its proximity to his classes. The apartment itself may be crap, but Satori finds it worthwhile for how near it is to the things he cares about. That, and it doesn’t have popcorn ceilings, thank god.

The snow hasn’t stuck yet, which means that the sidewalk is damp with melting ice as the sun begins to warm the pavement beneath it. His shoes will get damp like this. The converse do little to repel the water, instead soaking it in like a sponge. He’s careful to avoid puddles, but should he hit one, Satori won’t dwell. They’ll dry at some point.

He can see the school up ahead. Satori isn’t really a fan of the building style. They’re stuffy and a bit reminiscent of the industrial buildings just outside of the Sendai city limits, but Tohoku University is a good school and Satori thinks it would have been a waste to not accept his admission. As the buildings grow closer, Satori can see the bodies of students wandering. Some talk in small groups and others, the more independent of them, walk hurriedly to their classes with heavy backpacks slung over both shoulders. Their backs curl forward a little, feeling the pressure of the weight.

Right through the quad, through the double doors, and up to the second floor. That’s the path Satori needs to take to get to his classroom, though he’s about 10 minutes early. He pauses just outside of the building, tilting his head to the side as he spots a familiar silhouette. A smile creeps onto his face, lips curling in the corners as he recognizes you.

You’re having a conversation with someone, though Satori can’t quite make out who exactly it is. They’re standing partially behind one of the trees, their broad figure concealed by the trunk of it. As he approaches, he recognizes the other person to be Bokuto Koutarou, one of the core members of the university’s volleyball team. What an odd pair to be seen together, and so early in the morning too. Then, Bokuto leans down and pecks you on the cheek and Satori is more confused than he’s been in a while. When did you get close? When did you start seeing him?

A pit forms in his stomach, though not the kind he’s familiar with. Messy, messy.

“Bokuto, huh?” he says as he approaches behind you, watching with you as the other man walks away. “When did you and him get so… close.” He drags out the last word, hissing out the S through a small smile.

“That,” you start, “is none of your business. It just sort of happened.”

Satori gives you a coy smile, tilting his head in your direction.

“Does he know?” He questions genuinely.

“Know what?”

“About us,” he croons, leaving no room for misinterpretation.

You give him a pointed glance, an eyebrow raised. He knows the look. It’s the one you give him when he’s said something stupid or far too obvious.

“We,” you emphasize, “are friends.”

“Oh yeah,” he nods, tucking his hands into his pockets and leaning back as he follows your step. “We’re really good friends. And we fuck for fun.”

You laugh. It’s a shrill laugh, and totally comfortable. He can’t see an ounce of tension in your shoulders and they’re relaxed in the way they usually are when the two of you speak. Satori looks down at you over the tops of his cheeks and a sly grin spreads across his face.

“Well,” you say, though it seems to not have any real purpose in your sentence. It’s almost like an admittance that he’s right, which he knows he is. “What does it matter if he knows, anyway? What’s there to know?”

Satori stops walking, his hands buried deep into his pockets. His head hangs forward and his jaw is open in faux confusion. The strain in his neck posing like this is worth the smile you give him, he thinks.

“That we fuck,” he states, saying it almost as if it’s a shock to him as well.

You stop to roll your eyes and Satori quite likes the way that the expression looks on you. Fed up, but pleasantly so. It gives your features a somewhat light, carefree sense. You look away from him for a moment, almost as if to accentuate just how nonsensical his manner of speaking is, before looking at his face and narrowing your eyes. You size him up and then give a small grin, almost mischievous in nature.

“He suspects,” you say. “But it doesn’t seem like he thinks too hard about it. I think he might if we were like… ex’s or romantically involved, but we’re not, so,” you shrug your shoulders. “Besides, it’s not serious enough for him to mind yet.”

“Yet?” Satori raises his eyebrows and gives you an incredulous smile.

Despite his demeanor, he feels something odd. It’s almost like his stomach is about to drop, and an unsettling feeling of dread begins to loom over him. You turn to look at him over your shoulder, impossibly pretty eyes giving him a very square look in the face.

“Yet,” you confirm, your tone a bit sharp as if to warn him that he’s stepping too close to the line.

He’s not sure what he’s done to warrant that kind of reaction. Satori thought that he’d come off rather disconnected, aloof in the way that your agreement is, but it’s entirely possible that he’d sounded insecure. He furrows his brows at you, almost like he’s confused himself, and then shrugs in a non committal way.

“Right,” he says, beginning to spin on his heel in an exaggerated manner. “Well, you have fun with Mr. Center-Of-Campus,” he smiles, continuing his sentence,” and I… will be going to my photography lab discussion.”

“You do that,” you laugh, putting up a hand to wave. “I’ll catch you later.”

“I’m sure you will,” he says, to which you respond by giving him a tired look and a shrug, like you’re admitting to the implication that you just can’t go without it. It being whatever the hell kind of sexual relationship exists between you two.

Neither he nor you turns behind to glance at the other. Satori starts off back in his original direction and you dip into the building next to his. He’s sure that if he looked, you’d have your fingers looped through the straps of your backpack, probably greeting someone or other that you know on campus.

You’re popular in a way that Satori isn’t. Truthfully, Satori is more notorious than liked and people know him for his strange, roundabout way of speaking and the knowing look in his eye. It doesn’t bother him to think that. He’s heard the way people talk about him, either directly from you or from walking up to a conversation a few moments too early. It doesn’t suit anyone to pretend that he doesn’t know and he doesn’t really mind knowing. It helps to weed out the people he wants to be around versus the people he doesn’t.

You, however, are very well liked. Sociable and blunt in your way of speaking. People like being around you, not just because you’re easy to look at, but because you’ve got a casual demeanor about yourself that makes people feel unjudged and at ease. It’s actually one of the first things that Satori had ever noticed about you, the way that you settle into a conversation as if you’d always been meant to be a part of it. No need to switch subjects or guide it to a more suitable position, you seem to blend effortlessly into social scenes, whether you notice it or not. Maybe it’s because you’re very true to yourself. You don’t recognize yourself as a perfect person and, as a result, you never hold the expectation that someone else should be perfect.

Satori thinks you’re like-minded in that way, though his interpretation of other people’s flaws is more rooted in his treatment by others. People are quick to judge and in all his years of being judged, Satori has just come to accept that that’s the way things are and he can’t blame humans for simply being human. Still though, he has the same idea that people’s flaws aren’t a reason for judgment. They just… exist and that’s fine.

He slides into a desk along the wall, quickly glancing around the room at the people who have already filed in. He’s only a few minutes early and most of his class are already in their seats with their cameras on their desk. Satori doesn’t know many people in this discussion and the majority of his class is either made up of girls that are too afraid to introduce themselves, or pretentious boys who spend too much time thinking about what tortured artists they are and too little time on the actual composition of their photos.

He wishes that Ushiwaka had been able to take this class with him. Satori had suggested that he try to enroll at the beginning of the spring semester, but with the class being an upper division, Ushiwaka didn’t have the previous coursework to be able to do it. Besides, Wakatoshi isn’t really in school for the classes, but rather because he’d been scouted by the campus’ volleyball team to play for them and Wakatoshi had gone because it was a good opportunity to get into the professional division. In that sense, Satori feels that he’s falling behind his friend. After all, Wakatoshi knows what he wants, but Satori only knows what he likes.

This class is pretty irritating. Not just because he has to get up and leave for it at the asscrack of dawn, but also because he feels that the discussions lack any real insight. Every week, they’re expected to upload their photos onto their computers and bring them to class, then, they spend the entire hour going around and discussing goals for the project and what could be improved with their current techniques. It would be useful if Satori didn’t find that so many people half-assed their photos the day before and then brought them in with some made up philosophy on why the snow in the crack of the sidewalk symbolizes their incessant need for human connection.

He doesn’t think this way because he’s innocent of half-assing. In fact, Satori half-asses a lot. Sometimes because he can’t be bothered and other times because he finds the work less valuable than something else he could be doing. Still, he likes taking pictures and this is a class centered entirely on developing a personal work portfolio. It’s easy for him to do the assignments because it’s essentially what he does in his free time anyway, so there are times when he feels that maybe these people just don’t care too much about school at all. That’s a fine thought to have, he thinks. Most artists think like that in some way or another.

Satori wonders if it’s the same in your major. Do literature students phone it in and do you find it irritating? He thinks you probably aren’t bothered by it if they do. It wouldn’t be in your nature to get worked up over the actions of others. You hardly even get worked up over your own actions and he thinks it would be weird to see you get in your head over someone else.

He sits through his class though, explaining the photo he’d taken of you in the early morning after you’d spent the whole evening talking and touching each other. Your face is obscured and your belly is pressed down against the mattress. It’s really only an off centered photo of your back, displaying the lovely curve of it against the crumpled white bed sheets and a bit of your hair. There may not be anything special about the photo to anyone else, but Satori remembers how badly he’d wanted to photograph you then.

Intimacy is pleasant to him in small doses. He likes to play pretend when it comes to loving and he’ll touch you like he loves you, let you touch him like you do, but Satori doesn’t ever think he’ll do it for real. At least not right now when he is so consumed by catching up to his peers in some arbitrary way. Still, the picture is a pleasant reminder to him that intimacy exists even in the most mundane of moments. Arguably, it is most present in them.

He doesn’t say all of this to his class though and someone describes the photo as almost pornographic, which he supposes that it is. It gives the impression of two people just after they’ve gone to bed together and he laughs to himself because that’s exactly what it is. Satori just shrugs his shoulders at the comment. That’s just about what your physical relationship to each other is, isn’t it? Almost pornographic in nature, indulging in each other the way lovers might without ever stopping to think if romantic love factors into the actions at all.

#tendou x reader #tendou satori x reader #bokuto x reader #bokuto kotaro x reader #tendou smut #yeah!!!#WOO HOO #i always get so nervous posting stuff #especially series #tries to be casual about it #tw: teasing #tw: mentions of pregnancy #tw: mentions of breeding #also i was inspired by bria and lily's rp w me for this so <333

307 notes · View notes

parsnippety · 8 months

Text

Cecilia

I'm finally getting organized! No more procrastinating. I've edited this story and reposted it to @spaced-out-human, where I'll be continuing with *gasp* a larger plot.

- Original story below the cut -

Sounds are powerful. That goes without saying- the most severe (?) sounds you'll find your average sentient species making are soft clicks/rumbles. Most languages developed through touch, or something like sign language. The species that can make noise don't have much control over their pitch. They don't need to. Others "hear" with specialized pads, designed to pick up the slightest vibration... (Don't ever touch them, you hear?) Anyway-

You know how the human voice can literally break glass? Yeah, so do the higher-ups in any organization that knows what they're doing. In the Rhusngi's Immigration fleet, crews are chosen through a complex AI system. Applications take Jovian aeons to process- But this ain't Rhusngi Immigration.

There's no one name for what we are. A bunch of idiots, taking random jobs here and there- wait, what? No, we're not- We just do deliveries! *unintelligible alien muttering* Sure, it can be dangerous, but we're not stupid. Our crews communicate, for Dsheng's sake.

I understand your concern- Ship 7 does have a more, er, potent blend of species... they balance each other out- The two humans? Hhhhhhharmless. *xe hisses, frustrated.*

｡.:*☆*: .｡:*.:*☆☆*

"Aaaaaalright, Bumblebees! Another day, another dollar! Everybody, up, up, up!"

Kit's voice crackled with enthusiasm and static. It reverberated through the black-and-yellow ship, signaling the start of another shift. Most of us had been on board for "decades"- that's what Faizan says, at least. We've gotten used to each other by now, what with all of us being so... different.

It's been a few months since we picked up Kit and, erm... There have been some difficulties, sure, but yeah. It's made us closer, if anything. -Besides, now it's even. Seventh ship, seven crew members! Faizan chimes in, startling the mantis-like being. She promptly donks him upside the head with one blade-like arm.

He chuckles, then looks her in the eye- or tries to. "We just got some new cargo. Needs scanning." He holds a small device up to his mouth and speaks into it, making a series of clicks. He presses a button, adding- "Kit, you too- be at the loading deck in 5."

☆☆

Pretty soon, most of the crew joined Needih (insectoid), Faizan (human), and the new cargo. Kit (also human) was late- as per usual. But eh, she's on time when it really matters...

The cargo wasn't particularly large today, nor moving- thank God. "...And it's our turn to scan it in, got it?" Faizan lectured the younger human as he carried a box across the room. The two got to work, moving packages from the hatch as the rest of the crew chattered away.

Kit laughed when he stopped talking-

"You know you're breaking my heart..."

Faizan stopped in his tracks, a smirk on his face.

"You're shaking my confidence, daily." He replied.

--Here's a link for y'all--

He didn't know what he expected- The song was old. Really old. And Kit had never even set foot on Earth...

Kit started tapping the side of the box and stomped to a rhythm Faizan hadn't heard in forever-

"...'Celia... you're breaking my heart..."

Faizan's eyes lit up. Of course Kit sang the higher part, and of course he knew the lower one.

"You're shaking my confidence daily!"

Needih was in awe. She felt her shell shake with the vibration- it was impossible to describe. Sometimes, on her home planet, wilder sounds would align- but that was incredibly rare. Almost mythical. The crew all "heard" in different ways. We're lucky 'cause they're similar enough to communicate...

"... I'm beggin' you please to come home!"

Jaws dropped. Scrounge and Sdaer put down their drinks, eyes wide. Scrounge let out a deep rumble and tilted his ursine head. Faizan rolled his eyes and kept singing- the crew had never seen him like this...

The two humans sang like nobody else was in the room. They felt a sense of belonging, of harmony, like nothing else in the universe.

For the first time in years, Faizan dropped the package. He and Kit tapped out a beat on every available surface- the walls, the floor, even the boxes. And they laughed. It scared the hell out of the rest of the crew, who were too stunned to do anything but stare.

Goodness knows how Kit was able to sense Faizan's movements before they happened- and vice versa. Sure, they both missed a beat here and there but what did you expect? They're only human.

"Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up!" He exclaimed, conveniently skipping to the good part. Kit grinned.

☆☆

"God, I haven't sang in years..." Faizan paused and looked around the room. The crew was just. In shock.

"To, skh..." Sdaer struggled with the English. "To quote you, what the fUCK was THAT?"

"That was harmony." Kit said with a smile. And the humans just? Got back to work? Kit hummed softly, and Faizan smiled (without baring his teeth, to be polite- as if he and the newbie didn't just break goodness-knows-how-many-galaxies' regulations).

"How do you know Simon & Garfunkel, anyway?" the captain asked.

Kit looked down at the box they were holding. "...Does it matter?"

"No. No, it doesn't."

#humans are space australians #to be continued

183 notes · View notes

kyberblade · 20 days

Text

Back To You - (Din x Reader) Epilogue/Prologue for Close To Home

A/N: IT IS HEREEEEEEE!!! So sorry it took so long. So much happens. I was going to divide this and then I thought, “Hmmmmm…. No.” As one does. Another note at the end to avoid spoilers. Seriously. Don’t read it until you’ve read the whole thing. You’ve been warned. I have spoken. This is the way. Yada yada yada. …..You just jumped forward and came back didn’t you? 🙄 Also, once again, there is some lore in this that @writerlyhabits wrote in a fantastic short, and I loved it so much, I asked if I could use it.

There are parts of this you won’t understand if you didn’t read the Dincember 2022 Drabble Carry You With Me, but they are very small mentions, you will be fine as a whole if you don’t want to read it. But why wouldn’t you? 🥺

(This takes place two years after the other one, and goes to the beginning-ish of episode 1/5 of TBoBF, Return of the Mandalorian.)

I do not own Star Wars or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, Grogu being the cutest thing you ever did see, (Nobody touch me he’s still here okay?) and Din is once again a warning in and of himself in this one. Helmetless Din. What? Who said that? 😬 Typical show violence. Swearing. Space swearing. Grogu is a menace. Arguing? Mando’a. Show dialogue, so spoilers? (But if you’re here, you know how this works.) Return of past characters. Tears. Shenanigans. Lots of banter. Throwback to chapter one with dialogue repeats but in the best™️ way, and copious amounts of me trying to work in back to you as a normal thing in a sentence bc why not.

Word count: 16,655 (I said what I said.)

As always, thanks to @grippingbeskar for encouraging me, looking over this for me, and being the one to introduce me to Din fanfiction in the first place, getting me hooked. You are fantastic and I always love our chats.

And for @fordo-kixed-rex, you deserve so much more than a shoutout for reading all 75 million iterations of this massive chapter from start to finish, and helping me in between. You’re a real one, friend. This series would not have gotten this far without you.

Also a shoutout to @what-the-heckin-heck, @dontletyourchildrenwatchthis, @lloweryourstandardss, and @littlemisspascal for being a sounding board for me over this whole process. (Also to @deceiver-of-gods for all of your help over all the chapters with the Mando’a. I hope I got it right in this one.)

Previous | Series Masterlist | Next

Xxx

Two years later….

Tatooine was bustling. As always. Vendors with their wares, smells and brilliant sights everywhere you turned. Something new and exciting to pull you in and suck all your credits dry just like the planet's heat stole every drop of moisture….

But it was all nothing without the kid. It was dull and drab without Grogu at your side. His soft babbles, the odd ‘Patu’ he’d throw at the next snack he’d like to steal….

Dank farrik! Turning away from the hanging frogs at the nearest vendor, you swiped at the most recent batch of tears rising to the surface. Sniffling loudly, you melted into the warm hand that came to rest on your back, eyes fluttering shut.

“It’s okay, mesh’la. I miss him, too.” The modulated voice at your ear carried unspoken sorrow of its own, sadness it’d never dare to even whisper into the universe, lest that make it real. If he kept it hidden, secret…. Like his face, nothing in the galaxy could use it against him. Somehow it made him stronger. And you both resented that and wanted to squeeze the life out of him for it at the same time.

“It’d be nice if you’d show it once and a while….” You grumbled, turning toward him but keeping your eyes cast down to stare at the sand.

His hand fell to his side slowly. “What?” Head tilting to the side as he peered down at you in question, barely any space left between you, it leaned the other way when you shook your head with a sarcastic grin.

“Nothing. Forget it.” Your eyes lifted up to meet his visor finally, squinting against the glare of the twin suns. “Got everything?”

Din nodded. “Almost. Just need the-”

His words were cut short when the satchel across his chest suddenly dropped to the ground, the strap cut inconspicuously by a passing Rhodian seeming to casually bump into the Mandalorian only moments before.

You turned to try and find the culprit but Din tugged on your upper arm.

“Forget about him. He’s just the-” Both of you looked down at the ground to find the satchel missing, “-distraction.”

You smirked. “I see.”

As Din’s head began to swivel in search of the thief, you attempted to reach out through the crowd with the Force, searching for the familiar signature of the contents in the satchel.

“How did you not get an alert?”

Now your head was on a swivel. Directly to the Mandalorian. “A what?”

“You know.” He wiggled his fingers like Cara always did when referencing the Force. “Why didn’t you know?”

You rolled your eyes with a sigh, looking back to the crowd. “It doesn’t work that way.” The world weary words you’d said a thousand times felt like a mantra at this point. Then after a moment you added, “I’m not a security system.”

“Well that would be handy,” Din said offhandedly, beginning to walk purposefully in the direction the two of you had come not minutes before.

Stumbling after him, your face scrunched like you’d eaten something sour, you pulled on his upper arm to try and turn him around, but it only stopped him, his head still on a swivel. “Wait, what?!”

Din sighed in frustration. “I don’t know. I’m just looking for the thief. That bag has something impor-”

“Your old armor, I know.” Din’s full attention was on you now, his head tilted slightly in question. “Everything has an energy, that’s a really simplified way of how the Force works. Right now I’m trying to track the signature of your armor.”

“What is it?” He asked hesitantly, his weight shifting to one side.

Smiling softly, you took a step forward, grabbing his hand and pulling him down a side alley toward where you felt the signature grow stronger. “Nothing but goodness, Man- Din. Light and strength.” You stumbled over his name, still not used to using his actual moniker in public.

He chuckled at your fumble, shaking his head in disbelief. “From that dingy old stuff?”

“It’s not the quality of the armor that I’m reading.” You looked at his visor over your shoulder, eyebrow raised. “It’s the quality of the warrior who wore it.” Turning back forward to navigate between the street crowded with lifeforms, one side of your mouth lifted in amusement. “That type of thing leaves an impression.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he finally grumbled quietly. When you looked back at him once again, your brow arched higher than before, he huffed. “How did you know it was there?”

Smiling softly as you held the gaze of his visor, you turned back to face forward, moving a bit faster. “You’re about as subtle as your new armor.” Din let out a soft, annoyed groan. “I saw you packing it back in Peli’s hangar.”

“I can be subtle,” he groused, slowing his steps slightly.

With your own groan, you turned to face him with a toss of your head for emphasis. “Yes. So subtle, Mandalorian. My big, shiny tin can. Now come.” Grabbing his hand once again with both of yours, you began to walk backwards, pulling him along with you. “We have a thief to catch.”

The alley had quieted down, the masses of beings thinned out so it was basically only you and Din, and maybe a handful of beings milling about, using the cross way as a shortcut to somewhere else. No one was lingering, their faces streaking by as they hurried to move on with their day.

“Hold that thought.” Din pulled you to a stop, planting his feet as he turned his head toward a crate on his left. On top of the box sat his satchel, untouched, his armor still causing it to look awkward and lumpy. “We may have just lucked ou-”

A surge of panic behind you caused you to turn toward the source, a small figure darting out of your line of sight as a familiar small voice muttered, “Oh shi-” before spinning around in Din’s hold, his grip around their forearm holding them tight.

“Okay, you little nerf herder, nice try- Sola?” Din’s voice dropped on the name.

You turned to fully face the pair, eyes going wide on the small girl now a young adult, maybe twelve, possibly thirteen years old now.

She looked between the two of you, her expression a mirror of your own, as her body deflated in Din’s hold, her weight going slack in his grip while she cried in disbelief, “It’s you?!”

You couldn’t help the highly intelligent thing that tumbled out of you next. “It’s you?!”

Sola sighed a sigh worthy of a Mandalorian before she grumbled, kicking one foot at the sand path of the alleyway. “I knew I recognized that armband.”

Reaching up, you traced over the ribbons on your left bicep with the tips of your fingers on your right hand, eyes darting down to look at it briefly before they pulled back up to level a stern glare on the girl.

Before anything else could be said, heavy footfalls came racing up behind your little gathering. A female stumbled the last few steps, coming to a stop and collapsing, slapping her hands onto her knees before you could see her face, struggling to catch her breath. You opened your mouth to greet the newcomer, but she held up one finger before you could utter a sound.

Din finally muttered in disbelief, “Cara?”

Your head whipped over toward the figure, eyes wider still. “It’s you?!” A hand came up to rest on your forehead, massaging back and forth as if that would help things sink in and make more sense. Your brows practically knit together in confusion with this new information, one arching up as you stared at the woman. “I’m so confused.”

Standing up, with one last heavy breath, Cara offered the two of you a tired smile. “Following up a lead.”

She held up a hand to stop Din before he could even ask, her eyes closing in mock annoyance. “Long story.” She opened them once again to land directly on you with a wink as Din sighed in exasperation before her attention turned onto Sola, her hand falling to gesture to the adolescent before landing at her side with a graceless slap. “And this little womp rat stole my commlink.”

Din looked down at the girl, giving her arm still in his grip a little shake. “This is Sola.”

The girl shrunk under the stare of three adults.

Cara’s gaze flicked up towards his visor, almost accusingly. “Friend of yours?” You nodded, and she sighed, hands going to her hips, weight shifting to one side. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Sola,” you tried calmly, going over to grab Din’s satchel before it was forgotten in the chaos. “Explain, please.”

“Nothing. It was nothing. I just grabbed hers by mistake, that’s all.” She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

Cara leveled a look on the girl, her tone dry. “Off my belt?”

Sola tried a grin. “Whoops?”

The Marshal lifted the look to Din.

“Don’t do that to me,” he complained. “I didn’t teach her that.”

“Don’t even pretend to look at me next, Cara,” you held up your hand to stop her before she even tried. “I only taught her good things.”

Sola rolled her eyes and tried to tug out of Din’s hold, but the Mandalorian easily held her in place.

“Have a seat,” you offered sweetly, pulling the crate the bag had been on toward you with the Force, and giving her a nudge to sit. “Talk.”

She stared over at the wall behind you, grinning in disbelief. “It was a dare, okay?” Her eyes pulled up to meet yours, their hard stare melting slightly once they did, revealing something vulnerable, something broken. Her voice softened just slightly, but still held the mock vibrato she started out with, making you huff as she continued. “Some kids dared me to take someone’s bag, and I was just unlucky enough to choose you.”

“And my comlink?” Cara tried.

Sola turned to her with a cheesy grin. “That was just bad luck on your end.”

“I’ll show you bad luck,” Cara grumbled, stepping closer to the teen.

You stepped between them. “Cara.”

“What?” She barked, trying to peer over your shoulder at the girl before looking you in the eyes.

“No.”

“She stole-”

“She’s a kid,” you corrected. “Tell me you didn’t do dumb stuff when you were her age. Hell, you do dumb stuff now.”

“You’re one to talk,” Cara grumbled.

You smirked, arms crossing over your chest as your weight shifted to one leg. “Ah, but I travel with a Mandalorian. What’s your excuse?”

Cara scoffed. “I knew him first, if we’re going that route.”

“I’m right here,” Din said, somewhat offended, reaching out to gently push Sola down by the shoulder without a second glance when she went to stand up.

You kept your voice even, mildly distracted as you spoke somewhat flippantly. “Mandalorians who shot their partner in the leg don’t get to talk right now.”

“I didn’t shoot you!” He protested, voice going up at the end in agitation.

“You shot her?” Cara asked at the same time Din spoke, turning to look at him with raised brows.

“I didn’t shoot her!” Din corrected before Cara could even finish, his visor swiveling back to you. “It was a ricochet.” His head tilted to the right as he stared at you. “On Gideon’s ship. The bolt bounced off the droid when she launched at it, and-”

You waved your hand dismissively, gaze landing on nothing in particular across the street. “Same thing.”

“It is no-”

“Ugh!” Sola threw her head back and groaned, staring at the sky with wide eyes, her voice went up with each following word. “This is torture!” Her head lowered back to look between the three of you, eyes narrowed to slits before they fluttered shut and she heaved another heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll talk.” She leaned back on her palms on the crate, her face finally relaxing to something more neutral. “Just…. Stop whatever…. This,” she gestured vaguely with one hand while her nose scrunched up slightly in disgust, “is.”

You turned back to face her, nodding for her to go on, but Din interrupted.

“Later.”

You rolled your eyes as he waved his finger at you in admonishment before landing them back on the girl, smiling softly. “Go on, Sola.”

She hesitated before taking a quick breath and letting it all out on an exhale, speaking quickly. “My parents are diplomats from a planet in the Mid Rim.”

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down, kid!”

Sola glared at you, taking an exaggeratedly deep breath before speaking overly clearly the rest of her explanation. “We’re here to broker peace between the different ruling houses and our world.”

“Hey, if you’re going to have an attitude, we can just leave,” you warned.

“Great!” Sola beamed. “Bye!” She went to rise from the crate but both Din and Cara pushed down on a shoulder on each side respectively, earning a soft oomph! from the teen.

She sighed resignedly before going on. “But as you can probably guess, that goes as smooth as sand in a hyperdrive.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not allowed to do anything. I have to keep up appearances, and stay inside most of the time now because we have gotten death threats after a deal gone bad recently.”

Din visibly stiffened beside her, Cara, too. A chill ran up your spine as she continued.

As she relaxed further back into the crate, her words seemed almost lazy, lackadaisical. “So I started sneaking out. Nothing major, just needed some fresh air, well, it’s Tatooine, so, air.” Her tone went rigid with her posture, the spark in her fading to a dull ember as her volume faded to a mere murmur. Her index finger traced lines along her knee as her eyes followed the invisible trails it made. “Then I met them.”

“Who?”

Sola met your eyes, almost startled when you asked, like she’d forgotten people were listening. She shrugged one shoulder, her eyes dropping back down to her lap, her tone still soft. “Doesn’t matter. A group of kids. They do petty crimes and stuff, I wasn’t going to do anything, but they said they were going to tell the people who had been sending death threats how I was sneaking in and out at night.” Her hand stilled, then began poking at the ankle of her foot tucked up under her absently, her eyes cast down at the ground. “They had been watching me, I guess. Let them know all our weak points in security. If I didn’t do a job for them, then they’d tell….”

“And one job turned into more….”

She nodded at your comment. Her eyes flickering up to meet yours for only a second before they pulled down again.

“Why didn’t you just tell your parents and beef up security?” Din’s voice was in planning mode.

Sola peered up at him, squinting against the suns’ light. “And prove I’d let them down?” She looked down at her lap, fiddling her thumbs. “Sneaking around, been committing petty crimes? Would you have done that?”

Din looked at the ground, his voice quiet. “Probably not.”

“Give me my comlink,” Cara said, holding out her hand toward the girl.

You huffed, arms crossing over your chest. “Really, Cara? You hear all that and you’re still banging on about your damned-”

Once the device was in her hand, she took a few steps away and spoke into it in a professional voice. “This is Marshal Dune. Please call off the search. It wasn’t stolen, I just dropped it. Sorry for the confusion.” A male voice you couldn’t quite make out garbled over static on the other end. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Cara replied, turning to face the three of you. “Also, I’m going to take off the rest of the day. Found some booths I want to wander through. We’ll pick up our meeting tomorrow. Yeah. See you then.”

She made her way back over, clipping the comlink to her belt. “I just bought us about twelve hours. What’s the plan?”

“Plan?” Sola looked between the three of you with wide eyes.

You smiled. Her gaze was up and off the ground for the first time this conversation. And it was full of hope.

“Of course,” you said, smiling gently. “Nobody messes with a member of our family and gets away with it.” Sola grinned at your words. You’d do pretty much anything to keep it there. “Now, let’s go scare some thugs, shall we?”

Xxx

“Now, I know that you packed it,” you said, standing in the fresher of the Crest, voice jiggling as you hopped slightly to pull the armor higher up your chest. “But I don’t know why.”

“Oh, the Jedi is stumped, is she?” Din’s sarcastic amusement was muted through the door, making you roll your eyes.

Setting your weight to one hip, you pressed the button, and the durasteel barrier hissed open to reveal your Mandalorian leaning against the frame. His arms across his chest as he waited for you, his posture easy and relaxed, he looked like a growth on the walls of his ship.

Cara and Sola were out in the hangar with Peli, their voices faintly heard along with the annoyed bleeps and bloops of R5 as they echoed off the stone walls and up the open ramp.

“Not stumped,” you countered quickly, walking around him to the middle of the cargo hold as you pulled your gloves on, chin held high as you chose your next words with care. His visor followed you as you went. “Just…. Curious.” You finally landed on with a huff, looking down at your hands as they fiddled mindlessly before adding on a mumbled, “And I’m not a Jedi.”

Din pushed off the wall, his head shaking gently in disbelief as he walked toward you slowly. “I was going to have Boba melt it down and forge it into something better.” He stopped somewhere behind you. You were purposely not paying attention, trying not to get distracted and make sure your armor was set up correctly, only faintly registering the absence of the soft thud of his boots on the metallic floor of the Crest right behind you before he went on. “I don’t know where the armorer is right now, and it’s not full beskar anyway, so any smith could do it, but I trust him.”

“Something better?” You turned to face him, head tilted to the side as you clicked your vambraces into place, their gears whirring to life. Stumbling back an inch as you startled, his chest plate brushing against your nose he was so close, you reached out to swat his arm lightly in annoyance, muttering a Don’t do that and shaking your hand out to the side with a grimace after it pinged off his beskar. Craning your head back to look up at him properly, you couldn’t help the small grin when you found him already peering down at you. “Like what?”

Din’s head tilted just so to the right. “Something for you.” He didn’t miss a beat.

Your eyes widened slightly before they narrowed to slits. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

He was smiling. You could tell by the lilt in his voice as he leaned into the tilt of his head, his body following and started down the ramp. “You know me so well.”

Reaching out, you grabbed his cape. “Nu-uh. Not so fast, Tin Can. Hold up.” Pulling him back to you, though he gave very little resistance, you leaned around to look into his visor when he was a few inches away, his hands on his hips in mock annoyance. “You don’t have to do that.” Your voice had gone soft. He turned to face you fully. “I know that armor is important to you.”

“So are you.”

You grinned. “Smooth, Shiny. Real smooth.”

Din shrugged one shoulder, his hands falling to rest at his sides loosely. “I have my moments.”

You nodded, starting down the ramp, and talking over your shoulder. “And they are few and far between.”

Din scoffed. “Lucky for you. You couldn’t handle me at full throttle.”

Grinning, you looked down at your vambraces and twisted them a bit. “That sounded like a threat.”

“It’s whatever you wanted it to be, mesh’la.”

“You look like a Mando.” Sola’s voice pulled your attention away from the man at your back before you could reply.

“What? In beskar?” You gestured to the armor down your body. “No.”

The young girl rolled her eyes at you.

Grinning, you reached up to adjust your scarf tucked in to make the armor fit a bit better, and noticed her posture go rigid.

“You kept it,” she mumbled, pointing lamely toward the blue material around your neck.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just….” She pulled at her flowing poncho, revealing her bright pink scarf, still vivid as ever, tucked away underneath, close to her heart. “I have mine, too,” she amended softly. “I keep it hidden so it doesn’t get dirty or torn.”

“Kind of like my armband….” You mumbled, closing the last few steps between you before reaching out to softly roll the fabric of her scarf between your thumb and index finger as she traced the ribbon on your bicep with the tips of her own.

“I still have no idea what hyperspace looks like,” she mused, staring at the glittering fabric with a sad smile. “I was so little when we came here, and my parents wouldn’t let me anywhere near a cockpit. I’ve only ever been in a cabin while the ship was moving. No viewports….” She met your eyes again, hand falling to her side. “Supposedly we flew beside some purrgil and even then they wouldn’t let me look.”

Letting your own hand fall to your side, fiddling with the air aimlessly, you held her gaze. “Why not?”

Sola shrugged. “Not sure. They said something about safety at the time, and I just never pressed it, but now it just feels suffocating.”

“I know it’s annoying,” Din chimed in softly from behind you, his shadow looming over the young girl in the dying sun’s light, “but I would give anything to have my parents be overbearing one more time.”

Sola’s eyes flew up to the Mandalorian. “What happened to them?”

“A story for another time,” he said stoically, turning to the right and going deeper into the hangar. “Let’s confirm the plan.”

You turned with Cara and Sola on your left to head that way, Peli falling in step on your right as the droids followed along behind.

“They aren’t around anymore. It happened when he was very young, about the same age as when we met you. That’s why he became a Mandalorian. That’s all I’ll say,” you offered quietly. “The rest is his story to tell.”

The first stars were twinkling overhead as the sky said good night in brilliant shades of red and orange.

Once your party had circled around one of Peli’s many cluttered tables off to the side, the top of it littered with ship parts, Din turned to you.

“Gar beskar'gam jate slanar?” (“Your armor good to go?”)

You nodded. “Elek. An jate.” (“Yes. All good.”)

Sola turned her head slowly up toward Cara, one brow arched in confusion.

The Marshal slowly shook her head, eyes closed. “They do this….”

“Do what?” You asked, brows knit toward your friend.

Cara leveled you with a look. “Start speaking in any one of a thousand languages none of the rest of us know.”

R5 started beeping animatedly, trilling as he wheeled back and forth on his treads excitedly, and ended on a raspberry, making you and Peli laugh.

“Oh, great,” Cara rolled her eyes, “even the droid’s are in on it.”

BD and Treadwell made their way into the circle, the Pit droids not far behind, all of them chattering away as they approached you until Din sent a blaster shot pinging off of a piece of scrap pipe over in a corner.

The droids all screeched before going silent, freezing in their steps as Peli cried in protest, “Hey! Watch it!”

“Yeah, we don’t want another ricochet,” you mumbled, adjusting your armor for no good reason besides looking down and away from his judgemental visor.

Cara and Sola snickered from their spots across the table from you, the weight of Din’s stare beside you nothing short of stifling.

“If you stare any louder, Din, they may ask you to be quiet all the way on Coruscant,” you muttered quietly, adjusting your vambraces needlessly for the umpteenth time to hide the growing smirk across your face.

“I’ll just tell them it’s because of you, they'll understand. Garner sympathy.”

Only your eyes lifted up to glare daggers at his visor, his head tilting to the side teasingly as he held your gaze.

“The plan?” You groused, looking across the table with a sigh as your weight shifted to one side - away from the Mandalorian.

His tone was light, as if it held a smile, while he laid out the steps of the plan one more time. “Sola said they would be meeting her back at the market in an hour. She meets them as planned. The three of us follow her, and stick around in the shadows, as inconspicuously as possible-”

“Says the man who’s a walking mirror.”

Din didn’t even bother to look at you, only sighing at your remark, his shoulders rising and falling with the effort before he went on. “From there, we follow them back to their base of operations. From what we’ve heard, shouldn’t be too hard to get into. We get in, cause a little chaos, get them to release Sola from this…. Contract, then we leave as quietly as we came.”

“No one dies.”

Cara nodded at your words, Din nodding once in agreement, his body going stiff at your next statement.

“Even if we run into a Jawa.”

He took a deep breath to begin to protest, but you held up a finger to stop him, mocking his words from earlier.

“Later.”

Xxx

Spotting the culprits was easy enough. They weren’t sly about anything as they paraded through the streets with their puffed up chests, smirking as people scattered from them should they get too close. They hassled a vendor or two, shaking them down for a payout, and Cara grumbled beside you, gripping the buckle that showed she was a Marshal tightly through her poncho she wore to conceal it.

Before you could do anything, Din was hot on their heels, handing the vendors a stack of credits to make reparations as soon as the thugs’ backs were turned. They would try and insist he keep it, lightly shoving the money back into his hands, but Din somehow managed to sweet talk them into accepting every time, his head ducked down slightly, hand over theirs in a calming gesture. You wished you could hear what he said.

“I’ve never seen this side of him,” Cara muttered offhandedly. “Caring, soft almost. It looks good on him.”

“Yeah, it does,” you agreed softly. “That’s how he is with the kid. Grogu brought out a side of him I don’t think would have seen the light of day otherwise.”

She elbowed you. “Oh, I dunno. You’re pretty persuasive. Think it’d’ve come out eventually.”

You slid only your eyes sideways to look at her. “Why must you shit talk me?”

“Because if I don’t I’ll simply fade away. It gives me sustenance. I could go days without food, but teasing you? That simply wouldn’t do.”

Turning your head to peer at her incredulously, you spoke in a low voice after a long moment of silence. “I’m going to go stand over there,” you pointed behind you, “as far away from you as possible right now.”

Cara scoffed. “Good. Go. Your beskar'gam is drawing too much attention, anyway.”

With a grin, you began walking backwards down the street, keeping to the shadows. “Aw, you paid attention.”

Your friend glared at you. “Don’t make me regret it.”

A shit eating grin was across your face. “You’re speaking Mando’a….”

Cara huffed, her attention turning back to the street as she mumbled, “Last time I make that mistake.”

Stopping short, you stood up straight. “Aw, don’t be afraid to show your feelings, Cara. Feelings are a good thing. They make us human-”

“If you don’t stop talking-”

“Are you two done?” Din’s voice across the alley from the two of you pulled both sets of eyes his way. “They left a few minutes ago, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, what with your bickering.” His head swiveled between you and the Marshal, judgment heavy through his visor. “Sola is with them, I gave her a tracker, slipped it to her when no one was looking while someone,” he looked at you pointedly, “wasn’t paying attention.”

“I was paying attention,” you groused, voice lowering as you kicked at the sand below your feet. “Just not to that.”

“She was talking about you,” Cara tattled, stepping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, stretching like a loth cat.

“So were you!” You protested, also stepping into the nightlight, making Cara squint as she held up a hand as if to block the glare of the reflection off your armor. Swatting her hand down, you knit your brows at her. “It’s not that bright out here, don’t be dramatic.”

“Children. I’m surrounded by literal children,” Din muttered, turning and walking away exasperatedly.

“There’s no need to be rude,” you grumbled, following after him.

“Then prove me wrong,” he called over his shoulder. “Right now you’re worse than Grogu.” You gasped. “When he needs a nap.” Cara gasped. “And he’s hungry.” You both gasped.

“I take it all back,” Cara stormed past Din, her words brusque and aloof. “You’re the meanest person I know.”

“Person?” Your tone was incredulous as you sped up to fall in step with her ahead of the Mandalorian, head swiveling to land on him with a sly smirk over your next word. “Droid.”

Din stopped in his tracks and sighed, head tilting back to the sky just slightly with a gentle shake. “Oh, this mission is off to a great start.”

When both you and Cara kept walking ahead of him, the bounty hunter finally called out on a hiss, “Hey! Are you two done?”

“I don’t know, are we?” You turned on your heel to face him, hands on your hips as you planted your feet and arched your brows in question, almost accusingly.

Din bit his tongue before he turned this into a whole something else before this entire endeavor even got off the ground…. again. For the third? fourth? time. He’d lost track of how many times they’d gotten off track in the last five minutes alone, let alone today as a whole.

With a jut of his thumb to his left down a narrow alley, he tilted his head that way for emphasis. “Thugs’re that way.”

Both you and Cara hesitated for only a moment, weight shifting slightly from side to side before you dropped your hands from your hips with a huff and headed toward the alley, your Marshal friend in tow.

As you passed by Din, he muttered a low and amused, “Oh wise one.”

“I’ll tell Sola you said so,” you shot back in a low murmur. “She already knows I’m the smart one.” The alley was so small you had to form a single file line, and somehow you were in the front with Cara behind you, and Din pulling up the back.

“She just lets you think that’s what she thinks,” Cara hummed. “We all know it’s me.”

Din snorted. “It’s neither of you.” He shook his head at the two sets of eyes shooting daggers at him over their shoulders as they came to an abrupt stop in front of him. “I’m the one with the map and the tracker, remember?” He tapped the right side of his helmet with his index finger.

“Oh, will you just get in front and lead, you overgrown Tin Can?!” You hissed, flattening yourself against the wall to let him pass, the heat of the day still clinging to the wall at your back.

Cara rolled her eyes as she squished herself, allowing him through, but it was still a tight fit all around between the three of you. When Din passed her, his back against the opposing wall, she grimaced though he moved quickly. “Will you just get out of my face, Shiny?”

“What, you mean you don’t want to get to know me this well?” Din relaxed his weight a little, leaning into her slightly. “I thought we were friends.”

Cara shoved him with one arm toward you, making him laugh as he kept going, stumbling slightly from the impact. “We won’t be if you keep on that thread of conversation, Mando.”

Din stopped directly in front of you, tilting his head sideways as he muttered softly, “Hi, mesh’la.” Leaning his forehead into yours, he chuckled softly at Cara’s over exaggerated gag in reaction.

“I’m trying to be mad at you,” you grumbled, fisting one hand into his cowl as you ignored Cara’s groans, elbowing her in the ribs with your free arm when she continued.

“What was that for?!” She cried in protest.

“Just because I’m happy, doesn’t mean you need to moan about it.”

Her face scrunched in disgust as she looked away at the wall across from her. “Go be happy somewhere else. We have a job to do.”

Din sighed. “She’s right,” and pushed off the wall to get in front.

You held on to his cape from behind him. “No. No, she’s never right.” Cara landed a swift kick to the back of your boot. “Ow! What was that for?”

“For being so wrong all the time!”

“Don’t make me speak Mando’a to you,” you grumbled. “Or how about Huttese? I also know Shyriiwook now, too.”

“How about you speak silence.”

Din snorted at the Marshal’s words from his spot in front of you, Cara huffing out a laugh from behind.

“When all of this is over, you both are gonna pay.”

“You don’t scare me,” Cara scoffed.

Looking over your shoulder, you arched a brow, holding up one hand by your face and wiggling your fingers. “Well maybe I should.”

Her face went pale, her steps faltering slightly as understanding dawned on her features. “You don’t scare me,” she repeated, her voice softer after she swallowed roughly.

You chuckled, turning back to face Din’s cape once again. “The Force works in mysterious ways.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Before you could answer, Din cut in, without bothering to turn around, “It's just her way of threatening to trip you. Don’t read into it too much.”

He no sooner said that than he was stumbling forward down the alley, reaching out to brace himself on the walls with his forearms.

“Look at that? My boot also works in mysterious ways.”

“What happened?” Cara asked, oblivious to you tripping Din with the toe of your shoe.

“Gravity. Don’t read too much into it.”

Grinning up at the back of the Mandalorian’s helmet where he had stopped in front of you, you let go of his cape still in your grip. “Careful, Din. There’s gravity there.”

“What did he even trip on?” Cara’s voice was incredulous.

“Air? His ego? Pride…. The options are endless….”

“The foot of an over eager Jedi that’s about to be in her mouth if she keeps talking,” Din hissed, barely looking over his shoulder at the two of you, arms falling from the walls to his sides.

“How do you mean?” You scoffed, following after him as he began to move down the alley again.

“We’re here,” he said with a flourish, the small avenue opening up to a wide street brightly lit with several buildings that dead ended down on the right. With a swooping gesture, he moved to the left, making room for the two of you to step forward beside him, his visor following you closely before tilting to the side. “You’re welcome.”

“She’s right,” Cara mused quietly. “Your ego is big enough for all three of us to trip on.”

“At least it’s well deserved,” Din groused. “I got us here, didn’t I?”

“You followed a map. That was attached to a tracker. A blindfolded bantha wouldn’t have had a much more difficult time….” You said offhandedly, surveying the area.

Din stared at you for a long moment. “That armor makes you mean,” he grumbled.

“It makes me wonderful,” you countered, eyes across the street on a conspicuous crate, narrowing when it jostled slightly. “You’re just jealous that it looks better on me than it ever did on you.”

“Yeah. That’s it,” Din agreed sarcastically, his weight shifting to one side as he followed your line of sight. Pressing the side of his helmet, he immediately went into planning mode. “I’ve got two heat signatures.”

“Matches up with what I’m sensing. Two life forms. A whole mess more inside.” You took your blaster from its holster, its gears whirring to life. “Everyone set to stun?”

Hums of agreement came back at you along with nods in your peripheral.

“I’ll go in on the right while you two take care of whoever is lurking over there,” Cara gestured across the street with her blaster. “Sneak in that side door and start clearing until I find Sola and slip her a blaster, then we’ll find this boss.”

“I’m in,” you agreed, while Din nodded in agreement beside you. “Let’s go, Tin Can. We have some thugs we need to introduce to beskar.”

Xxx

Storming the place was easy. These thieves didn’t know the first thing about defending their home base.

Getting out on the other hand…. That was proving to be more difficult.

You pulled up behind a wall, tucking your arms into your chest as tightly as possible to make yourself a smaller target, your blaster held between both hands at the ready.

“You said this would be easy!” Din yelled from his mirror position across the hall. Well, almost mirror. He leaned on one shoulder, blaster held up in the opposite hand near his head. His whole body looked just on this side of casual.

“I said no such thing. You did,” you countered, trying to mimic his posture subtly. “And on that note, Cara was the one who said you and I should go in together, so this is all-”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Cara’s voice carried from down the hall, the first word elongated as she slid across the floor on her hip to avoid flying blaster bolts to finally land next to you before popping up. “Don’t you dare drag me into this lovers tiff. Nuh-uh.”

Both you and Din spoke in tandem, “This isn’t-”, “We’re not-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sola said dismissively, jogging up easily behind Din, a singe mark on the shoulder of her poncho.

Din stood up straight in an instant, took her arm in his hold gently to examine it, turning her every which way to get a better look. “What happened?”

“Told the boss I quit.” She grinned proudly before it melted into a grimace. “He didn’t take it so well.”

Blaster bolts zinged down the hall between the four of you, streaking the air in vibrant shades of purple and red, even an errant green here and there.

“If I could just use my saber-” you started, cut off by the unanimous voices of your friends.

“No!”

Letting your head lull back against the wall with a gentle thump, you rolled it in aggravation before facing the others again. “And why not?! I’ve saved your asses so many times!”

“Close quarters!” Cara was gesturing with her hands while she spoke, referencing the hall. “Too many people!” She gestured between the four of you. “Laser sword very bright! Very hot!”

You narrowed your eyes at your friend. “I singed one corner of your tunic. One!”

“And that was one too many,” Din countered, popping around the corner to let off a barrage of shots before coming back for safety.

“This was my favorite,” Cara said forlornly, looking down at the smoldering fabric.

“I’ll buy you another one.”

“No you won’t,” Cara scoffed. “You can’t afford my tastes-”

“Can we please focus on getting out of here!” Sola’s annoyed voice rang out louder than the blaster fire, pulling all three gazes her way.

Din was the first to break, turning back to lay down cover fire once again around the corner. “Kid’s right,” he grunted, before letting off a shot that was accompanied by a pained scream at the end of the hall.

“I thought we were set to stun?” You hissed.

Din looked down at his blaster and shrugged meekly, flipping it back to stun. “Sorry. Old habits….”

“I know I am,” Sola said matter of factly, pulling you back to the topic at hand. “Now what’s the plan?”

Stepping a little closer to the corner you were tucked behind, you holstered your blaster. “The plan is for you all to eat your words tonight.”

“What are you doing?” Cara’s worried tone sounded at your back, Din’s incredulous one to your left. “Mesh’la, come on, don’t do something-”

“To save our skins?” You finished for him, looking up into his visor with a determined glint in your eye. “Watch me.”

After taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and stepped out into the hall where the blaster fire had died down just slightly. The few earrent bolts bounced away from you as if they were hitting a force field. Confused whispers from the enemy preceded a pickup in the rapid fire, bolts flying at a new frenzy, none of which came anywhere close to touching you or your friends.

Lifting your hands in front of you, the bolts began to stop, hovering in mid air inches from your face, your hands, some several feet from you. The room glowed with multi-colored plasma bolts hovering above the floor. As the shots died out, silence filling in the blanks left behind, the corner of your mouth twitched up in an amused smirk.

With a small twitch of your index finger, all their blasters were disabled with a tink.

When you opened your eyes, the blaster bolts that hung suspended all immediately flew the other way, back toward the senders, but in such a way that they wouldn’t hit anybody.

Within an instant the group of thieves at the end of the hall were left cowering, curled away from the stranger approaching them from the opposite end of the hall. Some blinked wide eyes while others scrambled back, all of them surrounded by smoke swirling around from the black scorches left behind from the blaster bolts.

“I think we win,” you said calmly, walking toward them slowly.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” One rogue thief said, jumping to his feet, blaster aimed at you.

“I wouldn’t do that,” you warned, not even looking at him.

When he pulled the trigger and nothing happened, he looked at his blaster in confusion, pulling the trigger a few more times before shaking it incessantly. “Oh, well.” He shrugged. “I have this.” He pulled a spare from the back of his pants.

In two seconds flat Din had stepped forward and shot him with a stun bolt, dropping him to the ground.

“Like I said,” you pulled the active blaster to you with the Force, disengaging the firing mechanism like you had the others before tucking it into the back of your own pants. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“You don’t need another one,” Din groaned. “That makes what, seven now?”

You scoffed. “Not nearly.” With a dry chuckle, you shook your head. “Try three.”

“Including the knife?”

“Oh, yeah! The knife. No, that’s four.”

“Guys!” Cara cried, walking up to stand on the other side of you. “Seriously?”

“What?” You looked at her a moment before cutting your eyes toward the thieves still looking on in silence. “I’m just recounting the weapons I’ve won from our various missions! I see something I like, I take it.”

“These guys don’t care.” Cara gestured to them with her blaster.

“No…. But I do.” You turned to look at the punks with a broad grin. “And something tells me they want to keep me really happy. Right?”

They all nodded vigorously. All but one. He got to his feet as he said, “Oh, kark this!” He was no sooner on his feet than Din had hit him with a stun bolt, dropping him into a heap of limbs where he stood.

“At least you remembered to use stun this time,” you threw over your shoulder towards Din, never looking away from the band of thieves still looking on wide eyed at your little party of four.

“Yeah…. But I’ve been known to forget things real fast,” Din mumbled, shifting his weight just slightly to rest easily on one leg. The way he held his blaster would make anyone think he’d gone soft, but you knew if someone made a wrong move, they’d be down in an instant.

“Here’s what's gonna happen,” Cara stepped forward, her Marshal voice in full swing. “Sola over here is out. I don’t wanna hear of any of you within spitting distance of her ever again, do you hear me?”

Most of them nodded, wide eyed at the Marshal. All but one. It’s always one, you thought with a smile and gentle shake of your head.

“And what’re you gonna do about it? Marshal?” The way the punk said her name dripped with so much sarcasm and venom, you were surprised Cara was still standing. If looks could kill, she’d be dead right now. “You don’t even live here, so how are you going to enforce anything?”

To his credit, he looked slightly afraid when you and Din took measured steps forward while Cara spoke.

“I have friends all over. I don’t think you want to find out just how far my reach can go…. Young man.”

Cara winced slightly on the last words and it took everything in you not to burst out laughing. The way her eyes darted over to you, however briefly, with a mighty rise and fall of her shoulders told you she knew she’d never hear the end of this.

He scoffed. “Like I’d believe any of that.”

“But you’d believe blaster bolts levitating in space then flying the wrong way?” You challenged, taking another small step forward.

The kid scoffed again.

“You believe this?” Din was striding forward, his vambraces whirring to life as the flame thrower charged up.

Reaching out with the Force, you disengaged his vambrace as the wall of fire just started to lick at the toes of the boots of the insolent kid.

“Not now, Mando. I think he gets it.” Shooting your eyes over to the kid before looking back into his visor, you saw him glance over to find the teen cowering behind the others, mumbling apologies.

Din strode over to you, keeping his body facing the group of adolescents to make them think he was still a threat, which he was, but you knew him well enough to know he was looking at you now and not them, his head turned just slightly.

“Turning off my vambraces now, huh?”

You shrugged. “What can I say? You shouldn’t be frying teenagers, Din. It’s not nice.”

Leaning closer to your ear, his voice hummed through the modulator, something in his tone different this time. “Later,” he promised again.

You grinned, winking at Cara as she rolled her eyes and walked off with an over dramatically gagging Sola. “Can’t wait.”

Xxx

Back at the hangar, the four of you tried to move as quietly as possible, to not wake a sleeping Peli.

“I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know how I could ever repay you-”

Placing your hand on Sola’s shoulder, you smiled down at her when her big eyes looked up your way. So much like the first time you met her all those years ago. “There’s nothing to thank. That’s just what families do.”

“We help each other,” Cara agreed, stepping up behind Sola and putting her arm around her shoulders. Tilting her head to the side in thought, she added with a grin, “And yeah, sometimes we want to murder each other, too, but….” She looked at Din. “It comes and goes.”

“Mostly comes,” the Mandalorian muttered, adjusting his belt before walking off toward the ramp of the Crest. He stopped at the foot of it, withdrawing a vibroblade from his boot before he turned around and walked back. “Hey, kid.” He offered Sola the blade. “Take care of yourself.”

“You bet I will,” she mumbled around a grin, flipping the blade in her palm with expert precision that had your brow arching. Upon closer inspection, she saw a mudhorn upon the hilt. “That’s the same symbol that’s on your armor….” She looked over at your saber. “And your….”

“Like I said,” you pulled her into a hug. “We take care of family.”

“Where’s my mudhorn?” Cara groused.

Din extended a blaster with a freshly etched mudhorn he had tucked into the back of his belt to Sola as he looked at Cara, head tilted just so. “Hidden with your act of valor. Go find it.”

“You’re mean,” Cara shoved his shoulder.

“You’d get tired of us anyway,” you mused in response to Cara, wrapping your arms around Din’s waist in what seemed an innocent manner, then lightly pinching his side in admonishment, smiling at his slight groan in response. Before he could get his own arm around your waist in retaliation, you pinned it to his side with the Force, smiling up at him smugly when he grunted in unamusement.

“I already have,” she agreed, looking down her nose at the two of you.

“No you haven’t,” Din countered tiredly as he turned back toward the ship, heading up the ramp.

“What do you know?” She called after him.

“Everything!” His voice came from inside the ship overlapping your muttered, “Nothing.”

“Not enough,” you amended with a grin, meeting Cara’s eye as she returned your smile. “He doesn’t know nearly enough.”

“It’s a good thing I love teaching, then.” She laughed, offering you a hug before she turned to leave the hangar. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “You coming kid?”

Sola hesitated in her spot in front of you. “But I don’t…. I don’t wear armor.”

“Verd'ika….” You reached out and rested your hand on her shoulder. “Ad’ika. Cyare'se. Daworir’ika. Ka’ra’ika…. Almost all of my nicknames for you had something to do with little.” (“Little soldier. Little one. Loved ones. Little stink. Little star.”)

“Not so little anymore.”

“I can see that,” you smiled softly. “Tal tomad.”

She pulled a face. “Do I even want to know?”

“Blood ally.” You reached out and pinched her scarf between your finger tips. “Verd ori'shya beskar'gam.”

“What…. What does that mean?”

You smiled. “I need to come with a protocol droid….” She laughed. “Warrior greater than armor. It means armor isn’t everything.” Moving your hand from her scarf to rest on her shoulder once again, you felt Din come to stand behind you, his reflection beginning to morph in Sola’s watering eyes. “It’s who wears it.”

Xxx

As you watched Cara and Sola walk out of the hangar, Din pulled you to the side gently.

“Speaking of armor, you don’t have any now, either.”

Looking down at the armor still very much on your frame, you looked up at his visor and blinked at him once. Twice. “Excuse me?”

He shifted his weight, hands resting on his belt in his default I already explained this pose. “I’m about to meet up with Boba in a few minutes. Need the armor so I can give it to him.”

You matched his posture, ignoring his indignant head roll. “Oh right. For this super secret thing for me I can’t know about.”

Din nodded once. “You got it.”

Shaking your head in disbelief, you turned and made your way up the ramp of the Crest, not bothering to turn around as you grumbled, “You’re awful.”

“I know.” His tone was nothing short of beaming.

Xxx

The next day, the two of you were up with the suns and beginning work on the Crest with a handful of Peli’s droids.

The woman herself had appeared after a while, but she obviously was not intended for morning hours.

Peli had disappeared into the shaded depths of the hangar, citing paperwork of some sort, but her snores could be heard from the main landing area.

One thing led to another, and the work on the ship was forgotten in favor of brushing up on footwork with two chosen weapons.

The hanger sung with the clashing of beskar on kyber, his spear standing resilient against your purple blade.

The pit droids were hard at work on the Crest to try and cover up the cacophony of battle sounds rising up into the air.

As it hit a new fever pitch, you and Din drawing close together after some particularly fancy footwork, the glow of kyber straining against beskar painting your faces in a soft illuminated glow as you pulled closer still, you smirked.

“I think that means I win, Mandalorian.”

Din scoffed, his modulator popping with the sound. “Nayc. A’nuhunla,” he drawled, his voice low. (“No. But funny.”)

Pulling back from one another, you huffed out a chuckle as you began to circle each other in assessment, waiting for the other to make the next move. “Give it to me in Basic, Mando.” Disengaging your saber, you stopped dead in your tracks, arms dangling limply by your sides. “I’m too tired to fight and translate at the same time.”

“Gar Jetii’kad,” Din pointed to the now bladeless hilt in your hand. “Nau’ur kad.” (“Your lightsaber.”) (“Light up a saber.”)

“Din-”

But he didn’t let you finish, his hands tightening around his spear as his weight lowered, ready to charge. “Kad’au, Jetii.” (“Lightsaber, Jedi.”)

“Ne'johaa,” you mumbled, igniting the blade and lowering yourself into a ready stance to match. (“Shut up.”)

Once you were set, you stood straight up again, smiling softly when Din let his lowered weight relax as well in aggravation, his modulator hissing in annoyance. “This was just supposed to be for fun. Some training, maybe. Not-”

“Kad,” he almost barked, before launching at you. (“Saber.”)

“Mir’sheb,” you hissed through gritted teeth as you blocked an overhead blow from his spear, squinting your eyes as sparks flew from the impact. (“Smartass.”)

He took a minuscule step closer, pressing his weight into you and making you bend back slightly. His voice was low and mocking, but strained to show his struggle against your strength as you continued to push back. “Only for you.”

With a shout, you pushed him off of you with a last reserve of strength.

“That’s it. That’s it. I’m done.” You held your hands up by your head. “No more.” Twirling your saber as you stretched your wrist, you tilted your head from side to side. “You’ve got some unresolved issues with only using the stun back there at the hideout or something,” gesturing to him with a swooping hand gesture, you ignored his snort and slight shift of weight, “but I’m done with all your nonsense.” Turning away you took a deep breath and disengaged your saber, mumbling under your breath, “Ni copaani buy'ce gal.” (“I want a bucket of booze.”)

The next thing you knew you were flat on your back, sand flying out around you as the Mandalorian stood over you, flipping his spear back to its resting position with a flourish. All you could process as you blinked up at the cloudless sky was heat, grit, and what?

“I think that means I win…. Manda Jetii.” (The state of being Mandalorian in mind, body and spirit.)

Eyes flying to his visor, you had to squint at the glare of the suns off the brilliant metal. You could only blink up at him, taking his hand when he offered it and helped you up. After a shared moment of simply staring at one another, he turned to survey the hangar, repeating your words from earlier. “Ni copaani buy'ce gal.”

It was at that point you noticed Peli’s face.

Her very, very, very distraught face.

Following her line of sight, your eyes went wide as you took in the Crest over your shoulder. Sparks flew, singe marks lined the hull. Did I do that?

A poor little astromech Peli had just acquired was trying to tune up something near the ramp of the ship, and Din, once he turned to survey the damage for himself, spying an unfamiliar droid linking into his ship, let his spear loose without a second thought.

If you hadn't had the mind to divert it midair with the Force right before impact, the droid would be a pile of steaming wires right now instead of a trembling pile of bolts.

The screech of terror it let out as the spear made impact right above its head made you want to laugh, but you stifled it into your hand, turning a disapproving glare on Din when he asked why you did that.

“We don’t murder innocent droids.”

“No droid is innocent,” he grumbled, looking over at the scrappy little astro unit.

“They are until proven guilty.”

“I don’t need any proof,” Din mumbled. “Have all the proof I need.”

“You have nothing.”

Before he could say anything else, the angry mech was rolling toward the bounty hunter with an electrified arm ready to zap him, but you held it at bay with the Force. You also held Din back, snorting when he turned a look on you.

“No.”

Peli somehow materialized beside you, everything about her bewildered and distraught. You let the two arguing tin cans go as you turned your attention to your friend, the final zap from the droid to Din’s thigh before it rolled off not going unnoticed.

Pointing every which way with each new statement, Peli began to protest. “I was- They were- You just-” Her hands slapped down to her sides, her face pulled determinedly. “That’s not fair!”

She turned to her pit droid crew. “Why do I get all the defective droids in this town?” They began to prattle but she cut them off. “You guys couldn’t fix the wrong side of a bantha.”

Reaching out with your mind, a twitch of your foot sideways ever so slightly, and one of the compartments at the back of the Crest flew off, the wiring inside plopping out like the ship had drunk too much spotchka the night before and now had something to prove.

“It’s alright, Peli. It wasn’t all you.”

“You bet your beskar it wasn’t!” She turned a look on Din. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that massive spear sticking out of the side of my ship.”

Din had the decency to look sheepish, turning his gaze to stare across the hangar, hands on his hips.

“Now I’ll have to track down the Jawas to find enough ancient parts to fix this hunk of junk.” She smacked the hull closest to her with her palm, her eyes fluttering shut as a panel fell off to her right with a clatter.

Leveling her gaze on you, a shudder ran down your spine as Peli stared at you in silence. Finally she spoke again. “You. You’re going to help.”

“And you,” she pointed at Din. He pointed at himself in question and she nodded, maintaining the accusing jab of her index. “Yes, you. Mandalorian.” Din tilted his head curiously. “You are going to go to the cantina to look for a job to pay for all of…. this!”

Peli gestured wildly to the sparking Crest behind her.

You winced at the singe marks left behind by your saber, beside the puncture mark from the spear as it had let loose from his hands and flown across the hangar. Its beskar body still stood proudly from the hull, glinting in the afternoon sun.

Reaching up high above her head, Peli jerked it from the body of the ship with a grating screech of metal on metal. Green goo began to shoot from the new opening, coating the sand of the hangar around her feet in several inches in a matter of seconds.

She looked down at it before bringing menacing eyes up to glare at Din.

“I’ll be at the cantina,” he mumbled, turning to leave without anymore fuss.

“I’ll…. Be here, I guess,” you mumbled, catching Peli’s death stare out of the corner of your eye. “Pick me up some of those blue cookies on your way back?”

“Really?” Din stopped, cocking his head at you.

“Yeah!” You shot back. “The kid isn’t here, so I don’t have to share them.”

“Who says I don’t want some?”

You scoffed. “Experience.” Crossing your arms, you stared at him. “Besides, who says I’m sharing regardless?”

Din took a step back toward you, his voice lowering playfully. “I could make you….”

“Cantina!” Peli hissed.

You’d never seen Din move so quickly.

Xxx

Peli had dragged you out to the large rolling fortress of the Jawas after she had given her pit droid crew a stern talking to.

You couldn’t make eye contact with them as you stood just behind her and listened to her admonishments. Their judgmental stares from their single ocular lenses could be felt even across the hangar.

Looking over the wares, you were just glad Din wasn’t here. Jawas would be dropping like flies if he were. He really had a problem.

Bringing your scarf up to cover your face, wrapping it around your head to keep it secure and protect you just a layer more from the suns beating down and sand blowing in the rough winds, you squinted at an old astromech tucked away in the back near the ramp.

“What about that one?” You asked, pointing to it.

The little hooded figure helping you turned, exclaiming something when he realized what you were asking about, then began talking a mile a minute and gesturing even faster.

Holding up your hands, you cut in, “Yeah, yeah, hold on little guy,” your new Jawa friend grunted at the name as you turned to call for help. “Peli! Get over here!” Waving your hand to gesture her over, you hoped it’d help her find you a bit faster.

You saw her curls before you saw her, turning your way and quickly weaving through the junk as her grumbling got closer and closer, but the exact words were never quite clear enough to understand. “What?” She finally asked in exasperation when she was about ten feet away, a power coupling in one hand and…. Something else in the other, you didn’t know what it was, but it had a lot of exposed wires and reminded you of an eyeball on a stick.

Pointing to your little robed shadow, you smiled at her. “Translate. Please.”

With a roll of her eyes, she focused on your small companion, nodding as he went along. “He says you want that R2 unit.” She turned her focus back to you, hands on her hips, eye on a stick still tightly grasped in one hand, “Any particular reason? I have plenty of good droids back at the hangar….” R5 started tweeting and blipping in concern, making her roll her whole head over to look at the droid on her left. “Oh, keep your dome on. I didn’t mean you.” She gestured to the droid with the eye-stick lazily before her eyes cut over to you. “Unless….” R5 let out a mighty whoop before rolling away.

Chirping and blooping from the R2 unit pulled your attention back to the matter at hand, watching in amusement as it rocked from side to side quickly on two of its three legs. Its shiny dome twisted back and forth as it let out shrill beeps and whistles, a lone raspberry cutting off the tirade before it focused on a Jawa coming up to stand beside it.

As the tiny cloaked figure reached out to adjust the restraining bolt on its front, one of the droid’s front compartments sprung open in the blink of an eye, a surge of electricity arcing through the air and making the Jawa scream. The little scrapper jumped back, stumbling as its cloak began to smoke, strings of Jawaese getting lost in the wind as the tiny thief marched back over to the droid and swiftly kicked it near its treads.

“Stop!” You ran over, holding up your hands to try and intervene, turning to Peli with a pleading look on your face.

She tossed the junk in her hands onto the ground, doing a double take for the eye on a stick before deciding against it and made her way over to you, thrusting the odd part into your chest as she passed by. With a roll of your eyes, you tucked it into the bag of parts to make its way back to the hangar that was slung across your shoulders.

The bag was over half full, and getting heavier by the minute, but you’d yet to see anything resembling a part you recognized go into the satchel. At this point you think ninety five percent of what she had picked up wasn’t even for the Crest, she was just exacting her revenge on Din. And you had no problem with that.

Peli tilted her head as she listened to the Jawa go on a tirade. Eyes flickering between the tiny robe with eyes and the droid, she finally looked back over her shoulder at you. “He said this droid is just a problem. It’s memory hasn’t been wiped in too long, so it’s developed an…. Ah, well,” she quirked her eyebrows, her hands landing on her hips as she studied the droid. “A strong personality.”

The R2 unit blooped before zapping the Jawa again, a warbling whistle following after in what almost sounded like a taunt for more.

“Stop,” you said again, taking another step toward the feisty astromech. It was very hard to not smile as you studied the round dome, its light blinking red and white at you rapidly as it scanned you up and down, finding something it trusted enough to calm down. It didn’t zap a third time, but it kept the utility equipped, sending a surge down the line when the Jawa got too close again as a warning.

It reminded you of Din. It even kind of looked like him. You had to really try to contain the smile as you thought of his reaction if you said that out loud.

The head tilt.

The finger.

“Later.”

The body was the typical white of most R2 units, though obviously worn and aged, some pockets of rust peeking through here and there along the edge, along with carbon scoring like it’d seen some firefights. With a darker silver dome, close to the color of your vambraces, you could tell it had received repairs along the line, the contrasting metals denoting different eras in its lifetime.

The bands along its body that contained the attachments and along the sides of its legs were a warm coppery color, while the panels along its head were a dark gunmetal gray that reminded you of the Crest.

Altogether it was a patchwork of parts, but it made something beautiful to you. Like when the suns hit the sand just right and caused a reflection in the distance. This droid was a mirage, a shadow.

“What’s wrong with it?” You interrupted the Jawa currently on another tirade that made Peli look like she was struggling to keep up. Getting down on one knee, still a good distance from the droid, you stared into its lense as it studied you once again.

Your friend turned to face you more fully. “What do you mean, they just told you. It hasn’t-”

“No, why hasn’t it moved?”

Peli asked the question, turning to look at the droid as she listened to the answer, its lense now turned on her.

“He said the tread on the right foot is broken. They have it out here because someone is coming to pick it up to wipe the memory. Its-”

“Not anymore,” you said quietly. “It’s coming with me.” Getting to your feet, you began to walk away, stopping when several Jawa voices began to follow after you, each more insistent than the other. You looked at Peli, brow raised in question.

“They say you can’t do that. It’s already a done deal. Now they’re asking if you want any of the other droids, they have an-”

You turned, looking at the gathering of red glowing eyes blinking up at you expectantly. Keeping your voice even, you made eye contact with each pair as you spoke. “You will release the droid into my care.”

A string of Jawaese was mumbled back to you, which you assumed was just them repeating your words, so you went on.

“Remove the restraining bolt, load it in the speeder, and let us go on our way.”

As they mumbled again, they broke off into groups to do what you said.

Tapping the leader on the shoulder, you held firmly when he turned to look at you. “And it won’t cost anything.”

He nodded before going to join the others.

“How did you….” Peli’s voice dripped with amazement. “Can you-”

“No.”

“You didn’t let me-”

“No, Peli.”

“Fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms and facing the Jawas as they loaded the droid who whistled happily while they worked. “I’m just saying-”

She stopped when you slowly turned to look at her, brow arched.

“Yeah, no, forget about it. Not important.”

Xxx

As you unloaded the droid at the hangar, once it was down on the ground, you knelt down slowly to inspect its injured foot.

“I’m just going to tilt you a little bit to get a better look, okay?”

The pit droids began lowering some type of harness down to help you, but the droid began to rock back and forth, protesting loudly as its dome swung back and forth.

“Okay, okay,” you held up your hands placatingly, gesturing for the other droids to stop. “No lifts. I’ll do it myself, but you’ve got to trust me. It’ll feel a little strange, but you’re completely safe, I promise. Alright?”

The droid bleeped in agreement after a moment of hesitation, and without further hassle, you nudged it slowly onto its side, floating at the proper angle, held just right by an unseen force. As it moved into the proper placement, the R2 unit blooped an amazed sound.

After poking at the tread for a moment, you wrinkled your brows. “This isn’t broken. What did they mea-”

You were cut short when the tread on the other foot whirred to life where it still rested on the ground, spitting sand in your face in a rapid fire. As you drew back quickly, swatting at the sting settling into your eyes, you just caught a glimpse through your squint of the droid falling the rest of the way to the ground with a screech, your concentration broken.

Before you could really react properly, the R2 unit had popped upright, all manner of Binary curses and colorful language beeping and whistling as it whipped out the zapper it had used earlier on the Jawa, sending a warning jolt down the spine while rotating in a circle to keep all the advancing droids and Peli at bay.

Then it started to lift off with some sort of propulsion, a victorious squeal echoing off the hangar walls that was all too soon followed by the sound of sputtering exhaust. Its lense pointed down, watching it all unfold, a quiver of fear warbled out of its voice box. The flames keeping it afloat flickered then died, sending it hurtling to the ground with a scream.

You were just able to stick out a hand, focusing enough to catch it inches from the ground. “I got you!” As you lowered it the last few millimeters back onto the sand, you let out a heavy sigh, relaxing into the warm earth beneath you with a quietly muttered, “I got you.”

“Well, that was a first,” Peli announced loudly, amused, as the R2 unit looked at you, a spurt of oil suddenly spewing onto the ground as it moaned in distress.

“It’s about right on track for me, honestly,” you huffed, laughing as you got back to your feet.

The droid quaked as you got closer, worried coos softly filling the hangar.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” you spoke softly, coming back onto your knees a few feet from the R2 unit. “That was actually kind of impressive.” You smirked, watching as the trembling stopped. The droid was silent and you smiled a bit broader. “I would expect nothing less, honestly. It’s what I would do in your situation. Hell, I have done it a few times….” The droid whistled softly in amusement.

You laughed, feeling victorious when it wheeled a bit closer to you.

“I have, too. I live a very extraordinary life, my friend.”

A questioning bloop.

“Yes, I said ‘friend’. I consider you that, not anything less.”

A series of beeps and whistles, the red light blinking much more slowly now.

“I do speak Binary. Very observant.”

A raspberry.

You laughed, and it was followed by the closest sound a droid can make to the sound, a series of trills.

“Can we start over?”

The droid wheeled closer, bumping its front foot into your knee gently before wheeling back slightly as if to say, ‘go on’.

You introduced yourself, reaching a hand out toward the droid. A panel sprung open on its front, the zapper coming out without a charge, making you arch a brow at the unit as it tittered playfully. The panel closed before another opened, and a small three pronged metal hand extended, closing around two of your fingers and shaking them in jerky movements as it beeped and blooped away.

“R2-B4?” The droid whistled in confirmation, releasing your fingers and closing the panel. “Can I just call you Bee?” A beep that sounded like ‘yes’ and also meant ‘yes’ in Binary chirped happily, filling the hangar. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bee. How about we get you tuned up, into a nice hot oil bath, run a few diagnostics to make sure you’re running as optimally as you can be, then starting tomorrow we can-”

Some angry bloops and bleeps filled the air, while she rocked back and forth on her feet.

“No, no, no! No memory wipe! That’s not what I meant! I wouldn’t do that to you.” She stopped rocking, but her lense scanned you up and down rapidly, her light flashing between red and white faster than you had seen yet. “You don’t know me yet, so I don’t blame you. But I’m not going to do that to you. That won’t happen so long as you are here. With me. With us. That makes you you. I don’t want just a droid, I want you, Bee.”

Reaching out your hand, you rested it lightly on her dome and an affectionate beep came out quietly.

“I just meant to make sure you’re running as optimally as you can be. You deserve it, friend.”

It was at this point Din came walking back into the hangar. He stopped short when he saw the new astromech snuggled up so closely with you, the disarray of the hangar floor with the spilled oil and obvious scuffle, and Peli with her army of droids behind her and new eyeball on a stick waving around animatedly as she greeted him with a smile.

“Mando! Finally!” She walked toward him. “You will not believe the day we’ve had.”

The look Din leveled on you through his visor was nothing short of stifling. “Try me.”

Xxx

Once Din had calmed down enough to not shoot the new droid on sight, and Bee had calmed down enough to not zap the Mandalorian on sight, you sat down to explain the situation to Din as the astro unit underwent an oil bath.

“I don’t know, Man- Din.” You pulled a face at yourself as he chuckled at the slip up. “It just felt like I was supposed to, and she….” You looked straight into his visor. “The voices stopped when I saw her. Everything did. I don’t know.” Looking down to the table top to your right, you began to fiddle your fingers aimlessly. “I swear you won’t have to-”

“Okay.”

“Now don’t just- what?” You shook your head to dislodge any sand that may be plugging your ears and causing you to mishear because you could have sworn he said…. “Okay? ….Okay? Did you just say okay?”

Din laughed softly. “Yes.” He nodded. “Fine. I trust you.”

Narrowing your eyes, you leaned forward onto your knees, getting closer to him and peering up with scrutiny for an agonizing minute. “What did you do?”

Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, he rested his hand on his thigh. “Got you a present.” His head tilted to the side as you sat up a bit straighter. “Still gonna look at me like that?”

Eyes going wide, you sat back and matched his posture.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a snort. “I met up with Boba last night, as you know, and after going to the cantina, he caught up to me with the finished product.”

Din reached over and pulled a tarp off a crate to his right, how you’d missed it you had no idea, especially since the item before your eyes still sang with the same signature as his armor had.

A jetpack.

Raw beskar and durasteel glinted under the twin suns, polished to perfection and ready to earn their first scuff marks.

“Din…. No.” You looked at him in disbelief. “You didn’t.”

Reaching for the pack, he groaned slightly with the effort, sighing once it sat in his lap. “I couldn’t look at you in that horribly fitting armor one more time, and it was just taking up space on the ship.” He set the heavy gift in your lap. “Now I don’t have to lug you around anymore.”

Scoffing, you leaned in closer to him, batting your lashes. “Don’t lie, you like lugging me around.”

He tossed his head side to side. “It has its perks, yes, but now….” He gently nudged you back with a finger to your shoulder so you were sitting normally in your seat again. “Lift yourself, mesh’la.”

Sitting up straight as you held the jetpack in your lap, you traced its curves with your hand. “I don’t know whether to be offended or say thank you.”

Meeting the gaze of his visor through your lashes, he simply nodded.

“That’s all I needed to hear. Now, let’s get you fitted and flying - but first, I have to sync them with your vambraces, or else you might-”

“Let me guess,” you sighed, relaxing back into your chair with a thump. “Or else I might blow something up?” Din nodded once in confirmation, and you mirrored him. “Some things never change.”

“And some things change all the time….”

“Well that was cryptic.”

“Fennec found a contact for me that might know where the Armorer is. Where the covert moved to.”

Your eyes went wide and you froze, halfway to attaching the jetpack between your shoulder blades. “Excuse me, what?”

“It’s a job, but I head there in two rotations-”

Your face fell flat, along with your tone. “Excuse me, what?”

“Are you broken?” You arched a brow in question at him. “You haven’t moved since I mentioned the Armorer and you’re repeating yourself.”

With a huff of disbelief, you let the jetpack to the ground beside you with a gentle thud, and faced him once again. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you’re insane?!”

“Excuse me, what?”

“See?” You gestured to him. “A perfectly valid reaction.” Din huffed, his head tilting to the side in annoyance as you went on. “First off I was excited for you, but then you go and say something crazy like you’re going alone?”

“Well I just assumed….”

“Go on,” you deadpanned, smiling slightly when he trailed off, swallowing roughly.

When he never did, you sighed heavily and forged on for the both of you. “Since I’m your wife,” you began, eyes cast down to the sand, ignoring the way he tossed his head back with a groan, “I think it’s only right I go with you.” You looked up to meet his visor. “Not to mention I continue to save your skin daily.”

“One time. I….” He held up one finger. “That was. I let that slip one time with Peli and it was an accident.” He huffed, staring at you for a long moment. “You're never going to let me forget that are you?”

You grinned. “No.”

Xxx

The two of you landed at the front of Peli’s hangar when you saw an unknown droid approaching in the street from where you were training in the air.

“Oh! Pardon me!” The courier droid raised its hands up in surrender.

Reaching out, you lowered Din’s blaster. “You have a problem,” you mumbled. “You need to ask questions first, shoot later.”

Din grunted. “That’s not how I work.”

“Well, maybe you need to upgrade your circuitry, Tin Can.”

Both Din and the courier looked at you.

“Beg your pardon, miss, but that is a Mandalorian, not a droi-”

You couldn’t help your snort of laughter. “What’s the message?”

“Oh. Yes.” The droid reached into a bag fastened to its hip. “You have a holo from a Greef Karga? It’s marked sensitive/eyes only. I suggest you watch it someplace private.” Leaning around to look behind you into the vacant hangar, the only other soul being R5 rolling past with an offensive blip, the droid then looked back at the two of you. “Or just stay here.”

Taking the device from the droid with a smile, you were surprised when it didn’t just leave.

It reached back into the satchel and procured another device. A puck. And handed it to Din.

“What’s this?” The Mandalorian asked dryly, looking at the small device in the droid's hand as if it were the most confusing puzzle in the galaxy.

“Courtesy of Greef Karga…. once again.” When Din made no effort to move, the droid looked between the two of you. “They go together. I assume they offer some explanation. Otherwise, I have nothing to tell you about them.”

Din sighed, taking the puck and shutting the hangar door before the droid could say another word.

A muffled, “Oh. Well, good day, then!” Came through before the retreat of mechanical footsteps was heard.

“That was rude!” You mumbled, turning to go deeper into the hangar, but freezing when you saw the info spinning above the puck in Din’s hand.

No.

No it couldn’t be.

Quickly activating the comm, you let Karga explain what you already feared.

“If you’re playing this message, you’ve already opened the puck. Yes. I know. I was just as shocked, too.”

There, in letters as big as day was your name.

“It was issued by the head of some small town crime group on Tatooine. Said you decimated their numbers yesterday?”

Din grunted. “Nobody died. What do they mean decimated?”

“I’m not issuing the puck to anyone, but be on the lookout. It could make things…. Difficult.”

The comm went dead, and all you could do was stare at the puck in Din’s hand, the info being presented to you but truly not being absorbed as all you could do was watch and blink.

The puck displayed your picture, slowly spinning with all your details next to it.

Name: Eesra Kesyk

Last known location: Tatooine

Known associates: Din Djarin, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Peli Motto, Sola Kei, Cara Dune, Greef Karga, Mythrol, Bo Katan Kryze, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker

Karga, Mythrol, Bo Katan, Luke, Ahsoka? For some small time group on Tatooine, they had really gone out of their way to find info on you….

Your gut sank.

Unless….

You shook your head. There’s no way this went beyond a small town crime lord on a backwater planet. No way.

Focusing back in on the list, you squinted to read the fine print it was in to have everything fit on the little readout.

The rest was just details, date of birth, previous work…. reason for bounty.

“Are they serious?”

Unlawful use of star cruiser in restricted airspace, failure to comply with law enforcement, breaking and entering, damage to public property, battery and assault….

Din thought this was all very funny. He was practically giggling by now, snorts of laughter trickling out of his modulator as he stood to your right.

He’d tried to stop under your glare, he really did, but it just wasn’t possible, little snickers escaping here and there.

“Who knew I married such a horrible person?”

He did this from time to time. Brought up his little misstep with Peli where he’d called you his wife, leaning fully into the absurdity and embracing the silliness you often tried to pelt at him mercilessly by saying it himself first.

Rolling your eyes, but unable to contain the small grin climbing up your face, you looked back at the puck and crossed your arms firmly over your chest. “You knew what you were getting yourself into, Tin Can.” Tilting your head at the readout, you pursed your lips. “And we’re not actually married, no matter what you said to Peli. You’re not ready for all of this.” Making a swooping gesture to yourself, you ignored his mocking snort of amusement.

You stared at the list for another loaded minute of silence before going on. “Besides, half of these aren’t even true!” Gesturing to the list with one hand, you turned to look up at his visor, brows raised. “Unlawful use of starcruiser…. When did we even leave the planet?”

He was still chuckling warmly as he turned to you. “Did I? Know what I was getting into, I mean? I don’t know about that, mesh’la.” His chuckle grew louder as your face fell into unamusement. “And are you sure? Only half?”

Turning to face him fully, you raised one hand to wag a finger in his face teasingly. “Hey, you’re the one that keeps coming back.”

Pulling you into his arms, he hummed contentedly. “And I always will come back to you.”

Copying his hum of satisfaction, you reached up and grabbed his cowl like always, tucking your face into the fabric and taking a deep breath before turning to the side to look at the holo once again with a sigh.

“They got my name wrong, though.”

“Did they?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Tucking your face into the crook of his neck, you smiled. “Eesra Djarin of Clan Mudhorn…. That’s so much better, don’t you think?”

He groaned softly. “I-”

Bleep!

Din grunted in mild annoyance as Bee rolled up the ramp, stopping beside the two of you and trilling animatedly. “Not now, Scrap.”

Bee let out as close to a matching grunt of displeasure a droid could make, flipped out the electrified arm on her front, and waved it at Din in warning.

“See? This is why I don’t like droids,” Din grumbled.

Rolling forward bit by bit, backtracking just slightly in between, she pried her way into the small amount of space between the two of you, making you step back just slightly to make room.

“Well, hello there,” you mused quietly to the metallic dome whose lense was looking up at you, smiling back at the tiny bloop in greeting. “May I help you?”

She babbled away in Binary animatedly, charged hand still extended toward Din in warning as she rolled ever so slightly closer towards you, tilting forward just a bit and causing Din to grunt as the forward motion pushed the bottom of her housing into his shin guards with a ping.

“I’m sure R5 didn’t say all that. What are you getting at?”

More beeps and whistles, this time containing squeals as her lense switched between red and white rapidly, almost faster than her sounds, as she animatedly continued her story.

“Wow,” you finally said when the droid stopped, staring at you expectantly.

“What did she say?” Din tilted his head at you.

“No idea.” You looked up into his visor. “All I caught was something something BD said and then Peli, Jawas….”

Both of you started to chuckle softly, Bee looking between you as she rotated her dome back and forth, a bloop of disappointment before a raspberry of annoyance, and you couldn’t shake the growing grin on your face if you wanted to.

After a moment she reached out just a little further and zapped Din with the electrified arm, tittering a laugh as she rolled away at speed as Din chased after her after crying out in pain. “Ow! Get back here, you rolling scrap heap!”

Crossing your arms, you leaned against the opening of the ramp to the Crest, and watched the scene unfold in Peli’s hangar.

Droids, a mechanic, and a Mandalorian all running in circles after a goal you weren’t quite sure of. All that was clear was Din was losing.

You were home, with the people you loved.

Looking to the side, you saw the bunk of the Crest open, the child’s hammock still strung across the top. The corners of your mouth pulled slightly down.

Well, almost everyone.

You were a clan of three.

No, it was more than that.

You were also a family.

And someday, you’d all be back together again.

Someday soon.

You’d find a way to bring it all back to you.

Adjusting your weight slightly, you bumped something on your vambraces in the process causing the jetpack between your shoulder blades beginning to whir with an increasing hum. Flames began to sputter at its base with a growing roar, sending a wall of heat down the backs of your thighs as it prepared to lift you into the skies once again.

“Din?” You called, quietly at first, staring over your shoulder at the new death trap strapped to your spine, then more urgently, “Din!”

He was already jogging up the ramp toward you, his posture easy and relaxed. “Calm down.”

A quick glance behind him showed an amused Peli and her circus of droids, all of them tittering in amusement. Bee rocked back and forth in glee at the foot of the ramp before rolling back to the others.

“Calm down?” You repeated in bewilderment, watching him disengage the jetpack from your vambrace with a single button push, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Calm down?!” He began to chuckle, his hand skimming up the inside of your forearm to lightly grab your elbow and push you further into the ship as you went on. “I was almost a flying projectile and you-”

You hadn’t noticed the way he’d nudged you backwards completely out of sight of the rest of the hangar until your spine sealed along the bulkhead by the weapons locker, the lights of the cargo hold going to half brightness with a deft swipe of his hand over a control pad to your left.

Half, but still plenty bright to see.

“Din?”

Taking in your new surroundings, you looked back up to see him taking his gloves off and tucking them in his belt. His helmet came next, the quiet hiss of the mechanism causing you to screw your eyes shut. The familiar sound of beskar thunking onto the metal floor of the Crest made them close even tighter.

Din chuckled softly, the unmodulated sound tickling your face with his warm breath. “Open your eyes, mesh’la.”

“Oh, yeah.” Slowly you blinked your eyes open, looking up to see warm brown eyes, and the sweetest smile waiting to meet you. “I still forget.”

Winding your hands up into the curls at the base of his head, you smirked when he let out a contented sigh through his nose.

After a moment of simply holding the other’s gaze, you muttered quietly, “Hello, brown eyes.”

Din was on you in an instant, his groan of annoyance muffled against your lips as you laughed softly into the kiss.

“You always have to ruin it,” he mumbled, crowding you further into the wall, his bare hands coming to cradle your face and making your eyes slip shut at the contact. “Nu-uh. Open your eyes, mesh’la.”

Fluttering them open, you tried very hard to keep them that way. “Sorry. It’s not every day a Mandalorian is half naked in front of me. I’ll try harder.”

“Half naked?” He tilted his head, the tip of his nose bumping against yours, one brow arching up in question.

“For you, a helmet and gloves is the equivalent of a-”

Din was back on you again, this time growling in mock frustration against your lips as you laughed a bit louder. The upturn of his lips gave his amusement away, though.

Pulling apart just enough that only your foreheads rested against one another, the two of you held that moment together for quite a while. Simply breathing the other in, and existing in this quiet moment before the storm.

Before you left to find more Mandalorians.

More Mandalorians.

Now that was going to be interesting.

After a moment, you rolled your head to the side slightly and peeked up through your lashes to find his eyes closed.

You opened your mouth to speak, only for you both to speak in tandem, “Open your eyes.”

“I will if you will,” you were quick to retort.

Warm brown eyes met yours once again as the setting suns’ light poured in through the open ramp somewhere behind him, painting the cargo hold of the Crest in vibrant shades of gold, orange and red.

Din smiled softly, pressing his forehead further into yours, using his hands at your cheeks to maneuver your head back a bit and into a better angle for him to lean his forehead into. “Only for you.” His fingers began to move up and thread into your hair. “Always for you.” It was hard to tell where he stopped and you began. “Gar cuyi ner aliit. Ni kar'tayli darasuum gar. Gar cuyi ner mir'sheb bal gar utreekov kar'tayli darasuum gar, cyar’ika.” He pressed his forehead even further into yours, his lips ghosting over your own with each word. (“You are my family. I love you. You are my smartass, and your idiot loves you, darling.”)

“Gar cuyi ner yaim. Ner yaim'ol. Ner yaim'la.” The light of the day was fading, much the same as the two of you were melding into one another, practically becoming one being, all his hard edges blurring where your soft lines began. The Crest began to fill with long shadows as the lights in Peli’s hangar kicked on, filling the cargo hold with just enough extra light to see. (“You are my home. My homecoming. My comfortable.”)

Reaching up, you cupped his face in your hand, and he melted into it, his eyes fluttering shut as he leaned into your palm, his voice a low rumble. “Ni ratiin yaimpar gar.” (“I always return to you.”)

In the quiet moment, you rubbed your thumb over his cheek bone slowly back and forth before finally whispering with a smile, “Open your eyes.”

Once he was looking at you once again, you pulled your head back just a bit and tilted it to the side. “So, where are we going to find the covert?”

He went stiff. “We?”

You sighed, laying your head on his pauldron. “It’s been how long, and you still haven’t learned that I’m always going to come with you?”

Din looked at you with a matching sigh. He tilted his head at you, his weight shifted to one leg, his hands on your waist moving you along with him. “You sometimes stay here when I go out on a job and help Peli work on the ship. It’s almost done after what Gideon tried to do- er, it was until today.”

“Exactly. So after this last massacre, I don’t think Peli wants to see my face around here anymore,” you laughed, making him shake his head and let out a huff of laughter. “I think Boba would give us a lift to wherever.”

“And then how do we get back?”

You smiled as you closed the small space between you, speaking softer as the situation began to feel more delicate. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Why are your ideas usually half baked or somehow involve fire?”

You closed the distance between you yet again, wrapping your arms around his neck tightly, and pressing your forehead into his. “And yet they always work….”

“You get lucky sometimes,” he groused half heartedly before he returned the gesture, a warm ungloved hand spread across your back, the other moving up to the back of your head to tuck your face securely into the crook of his neck.

You weren’t about to pull away as he held you there gently. Turning your face towards him where it rested on his shoulder, your nose brushed against his neck, and his grip grew tighter. Glancing up towards his face, you thought back to a time in the bar when this all started when all you could see before the helmet obstructed your view was a small sliver of skin that bobbed as he swallowed roughly.

Now you had an unobstructed view….

….Of unruly dark curls long overdue for a trim….

….Golden skin dusted with a light facial hair that had the slightest hint of grays peppered in….

….Kind, warm brown eyes that looked at you with so many promises….

….A nose that had definitely been broken once or twice….

….And a smile that took your breath away.

You turned your head up fully towards his face as you pulled away just enough to look at him straight on, and he turned his gaze down to meet you with a slightly playful tilt of his head like before.

“I’m just that good.” Your hands fell to rest on his chest plate. “Now let’s go find your people.”

“Let’s go find our people,” he corrected.

With a gentle nod, you pulled away slowly after a moment, turning towards the ramp with wide eyes as what just happened sunk in.

Our people.

Din walked past you, looking over his shoulder once he was on the ramp. “Are you coming?”

Our people.

Turning your head slightly to the left, you saw he had stopped, helmet back on, gloves securely fastened, and every bit the Mandalorian you had met all those years ago, only now he stood waiting for you, hand outstretched in invitation.

Mine.

You smiled, walking forward and taking his hand. “Moff Gideon couldn’t keep me away.”

Xxx

Yes, I gave her a name. Eesra Kesyk. (Ee-sruh Keh-sick) Let’s face it, Mesh’la is still what’s going to be used 99.999999% of the time, and “you” the majority of the rest. But we’re going into a part of the story with a whole lot of other new players and I wanted to have something to call the reader besides “you” and nicknames. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m sorry. But, it’s my story, and that’s what I chose to do. I have a plan, so if you’ll bear with me, thank you, and I hope we can see it through together. ❤️ Plus, Din still just calls her *sigh* or “stop it!” 99% of the time, so…. 🤭

Xxx

Tags to come!

53 notes · View notes

neon-junkie · 9 months

Text

In the Heat of the Moment - Chpt.7

Summary: “Less than ten percent of domesticated species go into heats,” accord to Tech and his research, and (un)fortunately, you’re one of that ten percent. What else are you meant to do? Trapped during a heat cycle with five men - five willing men who are happy to help relieve you, but not all have the confidence to say so.

Relationship: The Bad Batch x fem!Reader (she/her)

Tags: Heats, Mating, Sex pollen, Friends with benefits, Friends to lovers, Slow burn, Sex, Jealousy, Pining, Cuddling, Huddling for warmth, Tags to be added.

Word count: 2.3k

[Chapter 1] [Chapter 8]

Chapter 7 - Bodypillow

There is weight to your bunk this morning, and somehow, you don't remember purchasing a weighted blanket?

It's warm, engulfing you from all around, a tight and loving sensation that is drawing you back into a deep slumber. That is, until you realise what (or who) your weighted blanket really is.

A soft snore draws your eyes upwards, and there, you find the culprit.

Wrecker is sound asleep. For a man who usually snores, his breathing is rather light, almost as if he's aware that you're sharing a bed with him, and he has the courtesy of not waking you up. Now, you remember dozing off in Wrecker's lap last night, but this? How did you get from the cockpit to your bed? And better yet, what is Wrecker doing in here? Not that you mind…

No bother! This isn't the first time that you've cuddled with Wrecker, or any of your boys. You decide that you'll ask him to piece the dots together when he wakes up, but for now, you fancy lulling back to sleep whilst taking up the position of the little spoon.

Rolling onto your side earns nothing from Wrecker, not even a murmur. However, the second that you're comfortable, his body instantly wraps around yours. It's as if he knows his place - here, snuggled up behind you, gently holding you in his embrace whilst his firmly erect cock finds itself comfortable pressed against your ass.

Yeah.

Big mistake.

The second that you feel it, you realise what's in store. As tame as your heat has been during your time on Tatooine, it's bound to rev up soon, and such a feeling against your bum will certainly be the cause of it.

Maker, you can't help that your thighs are already shifting against each other. At least both of the suns haven't risen yet, as this feeling during the sweltering heat would surely cause you to melt. Literally.

But why not enjoy some fun before the suns rise? That is, if Wrecker is up for it. Plus you'll keep those urges down for the next day or so, and hopefully, you'll be off this desert of a planet by then.

Your body moves before you can think everything through, and now, your ass is firmly pressed against Wrecker's hard length. He stirs in his sleep, letting out a tiresome groan as the arm around your waist tightens. The sensation is nice, feeling small, yet snug against such a large guy.

Another light wiggle of your bum earns another groan, and the more you wiggle, the more Wrecker begins to shift in his sleep. You can hear him licking his lips, followed by a soft, "hm?" as his crotch pushes itself deeper against your ass. The poor guy is oh-so-aroused, and he's yet to wake from his slumber.

The hand around your waist removes itself, only for Wrecker to place his large palm flat against your stomach. He holds you there as his eyes finally flutter open, and after clearing his throat, he lets out a simple, "mornin'."

"Morning," you sweetly reply.

Wrecker relaxes his hand, and uses it to rub sleep from his eyes before returning it to your waist. Despite not being able to see his expression, you can tell that he's still waking up, as he lets out a subconscious series of grunts and moans, soon to be followed by a sheepish, "oh."

"Oh?" you question.

"Oh," Wrecker replies with a nod. "I didn't know that I… uh, that part of me was awake before the rest of me, if you get what I'm saying."

You let out a soft laugh and confess, "I find it rather pleasant."

Instantly, Wrecker's demeanour changes. "Oh yeah?" he questions in a tone that you've never heard before - firm, forward, flirty.

"Yeah," you sweetly coo, followed up by grinding your bum against his hard length. This earns a gasp that slowly turns into a chuckle, followed by Wrecker tightening the grip on your waist.

"You're fun to wake up next to," Wrecker says with a grin. He matches your game, rolling his hips against yours, but not firm enough to cause any real damage. A man like Wrecker is packed to the brim, but he knows when and where to use it. Patience is key…

"That being said…" you peer over your shoulder. "How did we end up here?"

"Oh!" Wrecker exclaims. His hand slips from your waist to rub the back of his neck, a standard move for when he's nervous. "You fell asleep on me last night, so I figured I'd put you to bed. But when I tried to tuck you in and leave, you got all grouchy! Mumbled somethin' like 'stay with me?' and I figured I'd take you up on that offer."

Sure, you and Wrecker have had your fair share of cuddles, but you've never ended up sleeping together. Literally.

"Huh, that sounds like me," you say with a shrug.

A warm hand returns to your waist, "I hope I didn't… uh, cross any boundaries. I mean no disrespect-"

"-you didn't!" you exclaim, wanting to instantly ease his nerves. "I am happy that you spent the night with me," you say with a smile, and curve your back to push your ass against Wrecker's crotch against.

Wrecker lets out a dark chuckle. "Heh, yeah, me too!"

There's a brief moment of silence, nothing but warmth and arousal shared between you two, until Wrecker opens his mouth again. "So, is somebody worked up this mornin'?"

"Actually, I woke up to find that you were the 'worked up one," you say with a soft laugh. "But I'll confess, that's what got me going…"

Wrecker hums. "Well, if you'd like…" fingertips begin to dance along the hemline of your sleep shorts, threatening to disappear beneath the thin fabric. "I could help you out?" Wrecker offers, such a kind gesture from a gentle man.

"I'd love that, Wrecker," you consent with a playful purr.

Wrecker lets out an, "awh, yeah!!" as he slips his fingers beneath the waistband of your shorts, no wasting any time. He goes straight for his main objective, your pussy, and glides his fingertips over your folds. "Somebody's already wet, huh?" Wrecker points out.

"That's rich, coming from you," you sarcastically reply as you reach behind your back to press your palm against Wrecker's hard length, pulling a gasp from him.

"Yeah, you're right," he shrugs.

The hand in your pants assists you with removing your sleep shorts, discarding them in the field of blankets. With Wrecker as your big spoon, you roll onto your back, spreading your legs and hooking one over Wrecker's thigh. Despite not being able to see your lower half, Wrecker finds your crotch again with ease, and continues to run his fingertips over your folds.

A tender kiss plants itself on your temple, and you peer up to see Wrecker looming above you. The angle is a little awkward, but you manage to introduce your lips to Wreckers, receiving kisses that are far softer than you expected.

Only you don't kiss for long, as Wrecker slips one of his thick digits into you, earning a mix between a whine, and a gasp. "Hehe," Wrecker chuckles as he begins working you open with one finger, easy work for a man such as him.

If Wrecker's finger is this thick, then you dream to imagine how his cock is going to be! Despite being able to feel it, you know that it will stretch you more than you can imagine.

One finger soon becomes two, and that's all you need in terms of preparation. Wrecker has turned you into a panting, whining, and trembling mess, far before the crack of dawn! You pray to the Maker that the others aren't awake yet, as you're not exactly quiet, and Wrecker is making zero attempts to keep the noise down.

"Pretty little thing, ain't'cha?" Wrecker comments as he kisses your temple again. "Y'know, Echo refused to give out details when he mentioned that he had you the other night."

"Wait… w-what?" you stutter, attempting to keep your mind from spinning as Wrecker continues stretching you open.

"Mhm! Now I get why! I would'da made my move ages ago if I knew you'd be this sweet."

"No, I mean… Echo spoke about it?" you question, causing Wrecker's fingers to come to a halt.

"Yeah… is that, uh, a problem? Cause I don't mean to be nosey, but he-"

"-It's alright, promise. I just didn't see Echo as the type to… brag? Gossip? I don't know," you explain, easing the tension. You're far from mad - the opposite, really. It's somewhat exciting, the idea of Echo mentioning that he slept with you. But if Echo is one to talk, then what about the others?

"He ain't, but he had a smug grin on his lips," Wrecker comments with a bold laugh. He head dips down to your neck, and your eyes flutter shut as passionate kisses are laid across your neck. Wrecker's fingers start up again, and you swear you're about to climax early as he speaks once more. "If there's one thing you should know about us, General, it's that we like to share everything."

Kriff! Those words… that comment… you've practically soaked your own bed, and Wrecker hasn't even fucked you yet!

You don't need to verbally respond. Wrecker knows what you want. He slips his fingers from you, and pulls your leg higher up his thigh to prop you into position. You can feel Wrecker's firm cock pressing against your folds, and he takes pleasure in grinding his shaft against your lips, before tilting his hips, and lining the tip up with your entrance.

"Waiting on your orders, General," Wrecker comments in a smug tone, causing you to click your tongue in annoyance.

"Kriff me already, Wrecker," you order.

All of your breath is pushed from your lungs as Wrecker slips in, letting out a long and feral groan in the process. He swears under his breath whilst adjusting his arms; one is stretched out under your neck, whilst the other wraps around your waist, pulling you firmly against his body. The ideal big spoon, who just so happens to be balls-deep inside of you.

As much as Wrecker enjoys taking the ropes, he still pays attention to minor details - the way you squirm against him, your short and sweet moans, your eyes fluttering shut. This is your first time with him, so adjusting to his girth is going to take a while. In the meantime, Wrecker begins with slow, deep thrusts, watching how you squirm and writhe. It isn't until you grumble, "more, Wrecker," that he finally picks up the pace.

Before you know it, Wrecker is thrusting into you with full force. Heavy breaths fill up the room, bound to be overheard by anybody passing by. Let's hope the others are still asleep, and not easily woken up…

"Kriff," Wrecker exhales, still spooning you whilst he bucks his hips up. "I ain't gonna last long, not when you're gripping my cock this good."

"Make sure you finish inside of me," you sweetly order, and who is Wrecker to deny such a request?

Wrecker's hips come to a halt as he lets out a sigh. "I need a moment," he pauses, preventing himself from orgasming early. A kiss is planted on your temple before Wrecker starts up again, attempting to hold on a little longer.

Wanting to lend you more assistance, Wrecker moves his hand from your waist, large fingertips meeting your clit. Now extra stimulated, all you need to do is hold on, and let Wrecker do all of the work! There really is no better man to wake up next to, and how he has this much energy in the morning is beyond you!

"C'mon girl," Wrecker mutters. "Think I'm gonna explode when you cum," he says with a chuckle.

The extra stimulation was all that you needed, putting a stop to your heat, for now… You're having to throw your hand over your mouth as you orgasm, still attempting to be somewhat decent to your neighbours. Wrecker, on the other hand, isn't as quiet, although he does bury his head into the pillow, barely muffling his groans.

After taking a series of deep breaths, you come to realise how full you are. Wrecker's cock is still buried inside of you, and he hasn't wasted a single drop, filling you to the point that you're overflowing. "You cum bucket loads," you observe with a laugh.

"Yeah, it's been a while," Wrecker chuckles along. "Are you tired?" he follows up, not surprisingly exhausted after your intimate moment.

"Yeah," you agree with a nod. "Wanna stay like this, and fall back asleep with me?"

"You mean, sleep with my cock stuffed inside of you?" Wrecker repeats, and is practically beaming with excitement when you nod in confirmation. "Awh, that's so hot," Wrecker compliments, you laugh and thank him.

The duvet that had wandered south is pulled back up, and tucked comfortably around both of your bodies. Wrecker then wraps his arm around your waist, keeping you close, both for comfort, and to prevent him from slipping out of you. You can feel Wrecker's deep breaths on the back of your neck, already eager to drift off to sleep, catching a few more hours before it's time to start the day.

For now, the clean-up can wait.

#in the heat of the moment #tbbwriting #tbb #the bad batch #tbb x reader #the bad batch x reader #wrecker x reader #smut #nsft #bad batch #clone force 99 #reader insert #fem!reader #f!reader

154 notes · View notes

webslinger-holland · 3 months

Text

The Sergeant's Senator | Chapter 2

Summary: Upon arrival at Coruscant, the planet's senator gets to finally meet the infamous Clone Force 99 who are assigned to protect her.

Warning: threat to one's life, talks of assassination, beginning of anxiety attack, slight argument

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Reader Senator

Type: Short Series

Word Count: 6.4k

Series Masterlist

The planet of Coruscant was one of the most active planets in the entire galaxy. The surface was riddled with various cities; skyscrapers that tried to reach the sky. The underground system, which often times wasn't the best location to be, was also incredibly active during all hours of the day. And in the skies, modes of transportation were always going from one place to another.

The Marauder entered the planet's atmosphere, having just come out of hyperspace. The descend took a little longer than usual given the air traffic. However, eventually, the Marauder was able to make its way to the capital city. They made sure to land on the correct landing platform.

As the ramp descended, the group of five climbed out of their ship. Not far away, Commander Cody stood at attention and was ready to greet the clone force upon arrival to Coruscant. He gave a single nod to them in acknowledgment.

"Commander," Hunter greeted.

"It's been a while, boys." Commander Cody commented. He looked at each of them carefully as if expecting to see some kind of change, but there really wasn't anything much different about their looks or behavior.

"Not long enough evidently," Crosshair grunted from the back of the group. He went to cross his arms over the stretch of his chest. He was most certainly the least happy one to be assigned this mission.

"You didn't give much details on the line," Hunter explained. "What are we working against here?"

Slowly, Commander Cody began to walk back towards the compound. The rest of them went to follow. Though Cody and Hunter were heading the group.

Now the commander made sure to survey his surroundings before bringing up the sensitive topic. "The senator has faced three assassination attempts within the last month alone. The last one claimed the lives of her guards," Cody told them.

"And that's where we come in?" Echo questioned.

"Our main priority is to keep the senator safe at all costs. Hopefully, if we play our cards right, we can catch whoever was sent by letting them come to us," Commander Cody expressed.

"So lay low, keep our eyes open, and protect the senator?" Hunter replied.

"At all costs," Cody added.

"Shouldn't be too hard," Wrecker said with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Don't be too sure," Cody warned. They approached the entrance of the building. The doors slid open for them to enter the lift.

The small group went to enter the lift, finding a spot before the doors closed in front of them. After clicking the button for their final destination, the lift began to move.

"The assailant...whoever it is...they are nothing like I've seen before. It's not like a bounty hunter; they're much too sloppy for a job like this. No...we are dealing with a professional here," Commander Cody almost sounded conflicted.

In the background, Hunter and Crosshair seemed to glance at each other through the corner of their eyes. They both knew the kinds of missions the commander had been on and the things he had seem. It didn't bring them much relief knowing that even the commander was worried about his mission.

The doors slowly opened to reveal a grand entry room. The marble flooring was shining against the soft glow of the golden lights. There were intricate golden patterns that looked like crown molding near the ceiling. And the handles on the door were made of pure gold.

"She should be just inside," Commander Cody insisted. He went to open the door doors, which allowed the rest of the group to enter the senator's office.

The most appealing part of the grand office was the massive window overlooking the busy city. There was plenty of comfortable seating, ranging from single seats to full couches. And a single desk was situated in the center of the room. Though the senator was nowhere to be found.

The Clone Force were a little cautious to step into such an impressive looking space. They felt a little out of place with their custom black plastoid armor and unique looking helmets. Not to mention the fact that they were all defective clones with varying appearances.

It could have just been the color of the lighting or the modern look of furniture in the room. However, everything looked so pristine and rather expensive. They honestly didn't think this office belonged to a senator, rather it belonged to a princess.

Each of them had gone their own ways throughout the room. While Tech instantly gravitated towards the small collection of books on a nearby shelf, Echo found himself standing in front of the window looking out at the city.

Without much thought, Wrecker went to touch a little glass figurine on the senator's desk. Though before his hand could make contact, Hunter's instincts kicked in and swatted his hand once as a warning.

"Don't touch anything," Hunter mumbled under his breath.

"I'm sure the senator is just running a little late from her last meeting," Commander Cody explained. "She shouldn't be too long."

Upon hearing this, Clone Force 99 made their way to stand in front of the desk. They wanted to make a good first impression on the senator whenever she arrived. As they waited, their eyes viewed the skyline in front of them.

All of the sudden, there was a slight shift in the atmosphere of the room. Naturally, as if it was a response, Hunter turned his head ever so slightly to his left. His ears perked up upon hearing an unfamiliar soft heartbeat coming from the room next door. He glanced at the door on his left through the corner of his eye.

As the heartbeat drew closer and louder, Hunter was able to make out the muffled conversation that followed from the other room. Despite the fact that Commander Cody was speaking with the rest of his brothers, Hunter seemed to ignore them and could only focus on the heartbeat. It was the softest thing he had ever heard.

"Do me a favor? Behave yourselves, boys." Commander Cody commanded them.

"No promises," Crosshair replied snakily.

Finally, Hunter went to turn his head to look directly at the door beside them. It was if he predicted the arrival because the doors began to open only a second later. The sound of the door opening caused the other members of the company to turn towards it.

The Senator of Coruscant came waltzing into the room with her assistant at her side. She wore this white flowy dress that cascaded over her feet and dragged on the floor behind her. The upper half of the dress was more sheer and showed the soft supple skin underneath it. Her hair was tidied back into a braid, which was heavily decorated in small white pearls.

For the first time ever, Hunter heard his own heart skip a beat upon laying eyes on her. His eyes trailed down the length of her form, taking it all in for his own pleasure. He was most certainly thankful to be wearing his helmet.

Though the senator didn't even acknowledge the clones upon her entrance, but this was probably because she was busy hearing what the rest of her schedule looked like for the day from her droid assistant. The clones seemed to watch her movements carefully as she circled around the room to the backside of her desk. Their eyes raked down her body shamelessly, losing themselves in thought for a brief second.

Just as she passed by them, a subtle hint of her scent had followed right behind her. Her scent naturally flowed through the filters of Hunter's helmet and invaded his senses. He closed his eyes to relish the scent of fresh lavender, which was not something you would expect from a senator who lived in a heavy populated city.

"Your final appointment is at three in the afternoon," the droid beeped. He held up the data pad for her, but she waved it off.

"That's fine," Senator Rayna agreed. She stood behind her desk and went to organize a few papers.

Upon hearing her voice, Hunter's ears perked up once more. He wasn't sure why he was so enamored with her. Whether is was the softness of her voice, her mesmerizing appearance, the intoxicating scent of her perfume, or the gentle heartbeat that followed her.

"Right," Senator Rayna sighed loudly. She placed the last stack of papers to the side before finally directing her attention to the clone force. "You must be my new escort," Senator Rayna figured.

"Senator," Commander Cody interjected from the sidelines. Her eyes scanned over each clone carefully. "I'd like to introduce you to the group of clones that's been assigned to you. This is Clone Force 99."

Each of the clones proceeded to remove their helmets. They stuffed their helmets into the underside of their arm. Now, the senator was able to get a good look at them. She realized how differently they looked from your regular ordinary clones. And she was intrigued by this.

"Well, you know who I am so there is no need for introductions there." The Senator rounded the side of her desk to stand in front of the clones. "State your name for me so I know what to call you," Senator Rayna ordered.

"Uh, my name?" Wrecker asked slowly, given that she was looking directly at him.

"You all have one, don't you? All clones are given numbers; although I gathered that most clones prefer to go by names. So what is yours?"

"I'm CT-9902. They call me Wrecker," the clone's deep voice boomed. He smirked down at her. She offered her hand for him to shake, which he did so very carefully because he was afraid to hurt her.

After this, the senator took a single step to the right. She was going to make her way down the line of clones. And she wanted to hear each of their names.

"My designated clone number is CT-9903," Tech replied as a matter-of-factly. He adjusted his glasses. "Otherwise, as known to my brothers, as Tech," he added at the end.

The Senator offered her hand to him as well, which meant he needed to move his data pad to the other hand in order to shake it. He gave her a single nod of approval before she moved down the line again.

The clone trooper didn't say anything. He maintained a defensive stance with his arms crossed across his chest. He also wore a nasty scowl on his face. He truly did not want to be there because he had no interest in politics.

"What is your name soldier?" She questioned him. She tried to figure out what was going behind those eyes if it was anger or distain.

Though Crosshair was far from intimidated by her antics. He felt a slight nudge in his side. He finally spoke. "CT-9904."

"And do you have a name?" She wondered.

"Crosshair," he said reluctantly.

Likewise, the senator chose to say nothing. She gave a single nod understandingly before extending her hand out to him. The only problem was that he didn't take it. So she awkwardly slipped her hand back down to her side and moved on.

"I am CT-1409. I'm Echo," he replied quickly.

"Oh," Senator Rayna perked up. "Not a 99, huh?"

"No ma'am," Echo responded.

"He was originally part of the 501st and served with them for many years. He's the newest addition to this squad," Commander Cody said from the sidelines.

"Pleasure to meet you," Senator Rayna smiled up at him.

The senator went to shake his hand, only to find a scomp link located where his right hand should have been. He had even raised his arm as if wanting to shake her hand as well; he was still getting used to not having a hand.

"Oh," Senator Rayna said defeated. She felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She cringed at her own actions, wishing she had caught that before she made a fool of herself. "My deepest apologies," she went on.

"Not to worry," Echo reassured her. He saluted her instead with his scomp link.

Now, reaching the end of the lineup, the senator was standing face to face with the leader of the group. She looked up at him with curious eyes. But before he could introduce himself to her, she spoke up first.

"And you must be the sergeant," Senator Rayna concluded. She also took the time to study him carefully.

"CT-9901," Hunter's deep voice sounded from the back of his throat.

The senator raised her eyebrows at him as if mentally requesting for his given name. He realized that he should have also mentioned his name, but he honestly was still lost in his thoughts.

"Hunter," he corrected himself.

"Hunter," Senator Rayna repeated with a small smile on her lips. Her heart started beating just a little faster than normal, which did not go unnoticed. He quirked his eyebrow at her. "I've heard a lot about you."

Upon hearing this, Hunter felt his breath catch in the back of his throat which caused his chest to heave out a little. He straightened his back in posture. He could only wonder what kinds of things she knew about him and his squad.

"Uh senator," the droid spoke up. He glanced between the two of them, expecting them to turn to address him. But they kept their gazes on one another. "I hate to interrupt, but you're going to be late," the droid reminded her.

In response, the senator squeezed her eyes shut. She cursed under her breath. "Blast! How could I forget?"

Without hesitation, Senator Rayna went to collect the stack of papers on her desk. She quickly rifled through them to make sure none of them were missing. She proceeded to spin around on the heels of her feet, walking away from the clones to scurry around the room.

The clones didn't tear their eyes away from her retreating figure, subconsciously peering around one another to keep their gaze on her backside. The commander needed to clear his throat to gather their attention once more. They quickly redirected their focus in front of them.

The droid went to hand her a cloak to put on. She slipped it over her shoulders. She began tying it around her neck. "Where are you heading next, commander?"

"Kiros," Commander Cody stepped forward. "There are talks of surrender. We'll see how it goes. I won't bore you with the details."

"Perhaps we can discuss them at a later time," Senator Rayna agreed. "When I am not running late."

"Senator," Cody saluted her. He excused himself from her presence.

The senator grabbed the last of her things, hastily hanging the pile of papers to her droid. She took the data pad out of the droids hand to check her schedule. She was running very late. Nevertheless, the senator tossed the data pad over to Tech.

"Might be a good idea to make yourself a copy of my schedule to have on hand," Senator Rayna explained to him. He quickly typed in a code which would transfer the information to his own data pad.

"Already on it," Tech confirmed.

"Might I remind you that this is the fifth time you have been late to a meeting this month?" The droid interrupted once more. It slowly moved around the room given it's lack of flexibility.

"I have been a bit preoccupied with other things," the senator waved off. Finally, Senator Rayna stopped what she was doing to address the small squad of clones. "Now, about this meeting..." her voice trailed off.

For a brief second, the Senator of Coruscant wondered how she could explain what she does as a career or what they could expect from this type of job. She felt a wave of anxiety begin to wash over her, being rudely reminded of the threats she faced every day now.

At that moment, Hunter noticed a change in her demeanor. He could hear her heart beating faster and her breathing quickened in pace. She began finding with her fingers nervously to contain her nerves, which did not go unnoticed by the others.

"I am a member of the Loyalist Committee which is headed by The Sepreme Chancellor. The other members are senators or representatives like me. This is an informal meeting; it takes place just upstairs in one of the conference rooms," she informed them.

The senator was talking so rapidly that the others could barely keep up with her. It almost sounded and looked like she was on the verge of having an anxiety attack. And Hunter noticed this immediately.

"Senator," Hunter interjected. She kept talking though.

"In the past, I haven't needed my guards to be present in the room. Things have changed since then. Now...I would feel better -- safer, if at least two of you accompanied me in the meeting. Like I said, it's more of an info--," but she was stopped.

"Senator Rayna," Hunter spoke over her to stop her ranting. His voice wasn't loud, more firm than anything.

Slowly, Hunter took a single step forward to stand an arm's length away from her. He looked down at her with soft eyes, which she found oddly comforting. He heard her heartbeat going back to a normal pace. He sent her a small reassuring smile.

"We are going to protect you," Hunter told her. "Don't worry. You're in good hands."

The ride in the lift felt like it was lasting ages. There was a slight sense of tension in the air given that there were six people basically crammed into the space. In their defense, no lift ride is ever comfortable for an average person.

Facing the door, Senator Rayna stood in the middle with Hunter and Echo standing on either side of her. The other three clones were standing behind them with their backs nearly touching the wall of the lift. The illuminated number continued to change as the lift passed another floor, drawing closer to the final destination. Just a few floors left.

Initially, the senator kept her hands clasped together in front of herself. Her hands mindlessly fell apart, which resulted in her hands shifting back to the respective sides of her body. In the process of this happening, the senator's hand brushed against the back of the sergeant's gloved hand on accident.

Upon contact, the both of them retracted their hands in a slightly awkward fashion. The sergeant shifted on his feet slightly, taking a small step away and mumbling a soft "sorry" through his modulated helmet. Though it was hardly his fault.

In response, the senator sent him a warm smile before directing her line of attention back towards the closed door in front of her. Her hands moved back into the original position in front of herself. She could feel some heat rising to her cheeks, but she figured it would go unnoticed.

Behind them, Tech had watched this slightly awkward encounter with a cocked eyebrow. He was quick to nudge Wrecker who stood beside him.

"Huh?" Wrecker looked down at Tech.

Tech gestured to the sergeant and the senator was a subtle nod of the head in their general direction. So Wrecker took a second to analyze them with his eyes switching back and forth between the two bodies. He didn't catch their encounter so he was rather confused.

"What? What happened?" Wrecker whispered to his brother. Though it wasn't really a whisper, because everyone in the lift heard him.

"Nevermind," Tech sighed with a roll of his eyes.

Finally, the lift had come to stop on the designated floor. The two doors slid open to reveal a vast long corridor. A few people were walking through the corridor which consisted of other members of the senate or personal guards.

It didn't take long for Hunter to sense the uncertainty radiating from the senator standing beside him. He glanced down at her briefly to see the worried expression on her face. For a little encouragement, Hunter placed one hand on her lower back to urge her forward and his other hand gestured to the corridor before her. She gathered her courage with a deep breath, taking the necessary step forward.

Exiting the lift, Hunter and Echo walked on either side of Coruscant's Senator. Right behind them, Wrecker went to follow them but was abruptly stopped when Crosshair placed a single hand on his chest. The much larger clone nearly toppled over his own feet and looked towards his brother for some form of explanation.

"Wouldn't want to step on the senator's dress, would we, Wrecker?" Crosshair teased him. He gestured to the white train that flowed behind her dress and trailed along the floor.

"Oh right," Wrecker agreed while scatching the back of his neck.

The three clones waited until the others had properly exited the lift before finally following them through the corridor. They made sure to be two steps behind so they wouldn't step on the senator's dress.

And Wrecker was relieved that his brother saved him the embarrassment because he couldn't imagine the look on the senator's face if she ever found a large footprint on her white dress.

Walking through the corridor, the escort found themselves quickly becoming the center of attention. It seemed like they continued to receive stares from passing senators or workers from the capital. This was something they were commonly used to, especially back on Kamino. But for some reason, it felt different this time around.

"Sorry about the unwanted attention," Echo said from beside her.

"Hmm? I hadn't noticed," Senator Rayna replied with a small smile on her face. The clones were a little relieved to hear that the senator did not mind in the slightest.

In the short distance, a few clones were striding down the long length of the corridor with blasters in hand. The clone armor that they wore was adorned with red accents, hinting to the fact that they were members of the Coruscant Guard. They were elite clone shock troopers whose main purpose was to protect the Galactic Republic Capital. They were some of the best clones the Republic had to offer.

In passing, the Coruscant Guard took a second to stare at the passing members of Clone Force 99. They nudged each other and gestured to the group of defective clones. Their unnatural appearances always caused them to garner more attention than they would have liked.

"Hey," one of the guards called attention to his buddy standing beside him. He tipped his head to gesture to them. "Get a load of these guys."

"Those guys are clones?" Another clone remarked from the sidelines. "They sure don't look like clones."

Once the Coruscant Guard was out of their line of sight, Crosshair seemed to glance over his shoulder. He seemed to grumble something under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the batch of regs behind them.

"Remind me again why you weren't assigned members from the Coruscant Guard?" Crosshair questioned. It seemed like an obvious choice for an escort given that they were already stationed on Coruscant.

"Because my last guards were part of the Coruscant Guard," Senator Rayna replied flatly. "And they didn't do a great job."

"Fair enough," Crosshair accepted. He almost wanted to chuckle at this because he knew the guard was not nearly as skilled as everyone gave them credit for.

Upon rounding a corner, Senator Rayna halted in her tracks to stand in front of a closed door. The other members of her escort seemed to stop beside her, waiting for her next step. She activated the panel on the right side which opened the door for them. She quickly stepped inside with Hunter and Echo following behind her.

As the door closed, Wrecker and Tech went to stand on either side of the door for the extra added protection. And Crosshair began walking down to corridor to secure the perimeter. Back inside the room, Hunter and Echo took their stops by standing beside one another in the back of the room. Their eyes never leaving the senator's moving figure.

"My apologies for being late," Senator Rayna announced. She went to sit at the head of the table, finding a small stack of papers in her place meant for her. She quickly looked them over.

"No worries, my dear. I'm sure you have plenty of other things on your mind," an older voice spoke from the far side of the table. Raising her head, Senator Rayna's eyes landed on the familiar form of Chancellor Palpatine who was sitting at the head on the other side.

"Right. Now what have I missed?" Senator Rayna questioned. Her eyes shifted between the various senators within the committee, half expecting one of them to catch her up to date since she arrived so late.

On the right side of the table, Bail Organa of Alderaan and Padmé Amidala of Naboo were sitting beside one another. On the left side of the table, Mon Mothma of Chandrilla and Orn Free Taa of Ryloth had also been apart of this committee. The senators looked to each other in order to see who would speak first.

"We were just discussing the details surrounding the upcoming Gala," Senator Amidala explained.

The Senator of Coruscant proceeded to rifle through the stack of papers in front of her, attempting to find the list of things that still needed to be completed in preparation for the gala.

For a moment, Hunter's gaze seemed to drift towards the window in the large conference room. He studied the buildings across the way carefully, spotting a few unoccupied rooftops. It was the senator's voice which brought him out of his train of thoughts.

"How far out are we again?" Senator Rayna asked.

"Three months," Chancellor Palpatine said rather calmly.

"Are things going accordingly with the planning?" Senator Rayna wondered. An uncomfortable silence fell over the room, which caused the senator to look up at them with a confused expression. "What's going on? You've all been acting weird."

The other senators continued to remain silent. However, they looked at each other as if they were all thinking the same thing and were choosing to stay quiet about it. Finally, Bail Organa gathered the courage to speak for the rest of them. He spoke softly and calmly with hopes that it would help soften the blow he was about to deliver.

"We think you should take a hiatus," Bail Organa replied.

"A hiatus? From what?" Senator Rayna asked in utter confusion.

"From your job -- your position as senator of this planet," Chancellor Palpatine added. "Law low for a little bit until things die down."

"I don't need to law low. What I need to do is my job and taking a hiatus will not help me do that," Senator Rayna argued. She rose out of her seat in a furry.

"Y/n," Mon Mmtha interjected. She spoke with a calm voice. "We are worried about you and your wellbeing."

"I have a new escort. They will protect me," Rayna would not drop her argument.

"And the hiatus will only add to that protection," The Supreme Chancellor claimed. He was trying to sound optimistic about the proposition, which only seemed to anger the senator more.

"I have to present a treaty at the end of the quarter. And we vote a week later. I can't miss that," Senator Rayna tried to reason with them.

"It can be pushed back," Chancellor Palpatine suggested. He shrugged his shoulders at the notion, seemingly unfazed by the option of pushing back her speech.

"Til when?" Rayna inquired angrily.

"Indefinitely."

Upon hearing this, Senator Rayna leaned forward to press her hands against the table. She looked the chancellor dead in the eyes from across the room. She wore a stern look on her face.

"I have been working on this treaty for months, changing the littlest of details to make sure it is nothing short of perfect. I applied for the notion to be brought to the senate at the end of the quarter and it was accepted. I am going to present this," Senator Rayna said sternly.

Look back out the window, Hunter saw a small perch on one of the rooftops. He almost wondered if that was a sniper's nest; it would have been a prime location if it had been. With that in mind, Hunter's eyes trailed along the length of the sniper's path. His gaze settled on the wood table in the room. And his stomach dropped.

"E-Echo?" Hunter whispered to his comrade standing beside him.

"What?" Echo said in the quietest voice.

The sergeant was staring directly at what looked like a small nick in the middle of the wooden table. It couldn't have been more than an inch in diameter. There was a small dark circle around it. It had to have been from a blaster shot.

The senator's hands were on either side of said hole. He quickly came to realize that if the sniper had raised his weapon just a little higher, it would have gone right into the senator's head.

"I think this is where it happened," Hunter concluded. Whoever had taken the shot knew what they were doing. They fired a warning shot. At least, that seemed to be the case before they proceeded to take out the guards.

The sergeant's mind was occupied elsewhere. He hadn't been fully listening to the conversation up until now. He tuned his ears into what the chancellor had to say about this. And sure enough, Hunter's suspicious was right.

"Who says you will even be around to present your treaty?" Chancellor Palpatine wondered. "The last time you were in this room -- it did not end well. You could have been killed if your guards had not been there."

It suddenly made sense. The senator was feeling nervous about leaving her office to come here because of what happened the last time she was there. She was still feeling the affects of the incident. And whether she chose to deny it, it was affecting her mental health now.

"We cannot force you to take a hiatus, but we strongly advice it."

"Please Y/n," Senator Amidala said softly from the sidelines. "We don't want you to get hurt."

"I appreciate your concern -- truly I do," Senator Rayna began. She looked over the faces sitting around the table. "But I have to be there for my planet and for my people. You should all understand that."

"We do," Senator Organa nodded his head in agreement.

"Then let me do my job," Senator Rayna pleaded her case one final time. Her eyes shown with sympathy.

With great hesitation, the other senators looked towards one another in a form of silent communication. A few of them seemed to nod their heads gently as if to say they will allow the senator to operate as she always had been. Finally, The Supreme Chancellor reluctantly gave her his approval in the form of a short and curt nod of the head.

"Very well," Chancellor Palpatine agreed. He sent her a smile. "Continue as you were, senator."

By the end of the meeting, a majority of the members had gone their separate ways since their schedules differed. Now, it seemed like only Senator Organa, Senator Amidala, and Senator Rayna remained in the room. While the Senator of Alderaan went to speak with the newest escort, Senator Amidala went to stand beside her best friend and greeted her with a warm smile. The two young women began talking amongst themselves.

On the other side of the room, Senator Organa went to talk to Hunter and Echo. He took the time to shake both of their hands in greeting and introduced himself to them.

"You must be Clone Force 99," Bail Organa noted.

"We are two fifths of them," Echo claimed. "The others are right outside."

"I was the one to reach out to General Kenobi and Commander Cody about finding Senator Rayna a new escort. I've heard a lot of things about your squad," Senator Organa replied with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"All good things, I hope." Hunter wondered.

"You know your own reputation better than anyone. You tell me," Senator Organa stated. He quirked his eyebrow at the two clone troopers in front of him. They remained silent because he did bring up a good point.

Looking over his shoulder, Bail Organa looked towards the two senators talking to each other. His eyes softened upon seeing how the two of them interacted with each other. While they were best friends, he always thought they acted more like sisters (though they actually got along with each other). He felt a weak smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"She's a handful, that one. Once she sets her mind on something, she won't back down easily. One of the most stubborn people I know," Bail chuckled to himself.

Neither Hunter or Echo doubted that. They had just witnessed how stubborn she could be in their meeting and how she refused to take a hiatus despite the fact that her life was on the line. However, was it stubbornness or selflessness?

For a brief moment, Hunter found himself following his line of sight until it landed on the senator. She seemed so carefree; her face was radiating with beams of happiness. Her lips turned upwards into a smile and her laugh echoed over to them.

"I won't tell you how to do your job," Bail Organa returned to their conversation. He looked between the two clones. "But can I give you a piece of advice?"

"Of course, senator." Hunter nodded his head.

"Be mindful of her. She's gone through a lot recently and she's grown more sensitive to her surroundings. She doesn't sleep most nights in fear of what may happen when she closes her eyes," Senator Organa claimed.

Slowly, Hunter's eyes drifted back to the senator standing in front of him. He saw the gentlest and kindness in his eyes. He could tell by the tone of his voice that he cared deeply for his fellow senator. But then things turned more solemn.

"She's like the daughter I never had," Bail's voice was laced with a heavy sense of sadness. "If anything should happen to her--"

"We know, senator." Hunter interjected. He placed a hand on the senator's shoulder. "We'll try our hardest to take care of her for you."

"Thank you," Bail gave a nod of appreciation.

Across the length of the room, Senator Amidala and Senator Rayna caught up with each other. They had spent some time apart. While one was traveling the galaxy, the other was strictly confined to the planet for her safety. It truly felt like eternity since they had last seen one another.

"I heard Senator Organa reached out to General Kenobi for assistance," Senator Amidala began. "Did he travel alone or--"

"He was accompanied by Commander Cody," Senator Rayna explained. The corners of her lips tugged into a mischievous all-knowing smirk. "His Padawan was not with him if that's what you're wondering," Senator Rayna added.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Senator Amidala scoffed awkwardly. She shook her head at her friend's ridiculous comment.

"Oh please," Senator Rayna sighed. She rolled her eyes. "You think I don't notice how you are constantly asking about him and pining over him."

"I do not!" Padmé scolded her.

"You do know that it is forbidden for the jedi to form attachments," Senator Rayna tried to talk some reason into her friend. She knew that there was some unspoken thing going on between them, but she didn't know the details of it.

"Enough about me," Padmé quickly dismissed the conversation with a wave of her hand. "What about you?"

"Me? What about me?" Y/n scoffed slightly.

"Isn't there someone you are pining over yourself?" Senator Amidala wondered. She cocked an eyebrow at her in a suggestive manner.

"No, I am not pining over someone." Senator Rayna shook her head in denial. "I'm a little bit occupied with other matters at the moment."

From across the room, Hunter's highly sensitive ears had picked up their conversation unbeknownst to them. He turned his head ever so slightly to be more in tune. He felt his heart flutter once again in his chest.

Finally, Senator Amidala and Senator Rayna went to leave the room by walking beside one another. The others made sure to follow behind them. They entered into the corridor to be met by the rest of the squad.

"Perimeter is secure," Tech relayed to his sergeant. Hunter gave a curt nod of acceptance. "The shuttle is ready for departure whenever the senator sees fit."

Now Hunter and Echo had shifted to stand beside their brothers in the corridor. The senators had directed their line of attention to view the small squad of soldiers. They certainly did not look like your regular batch of clones. Their armor didn't even match the traditional white with hinted colored accents. It was more of a dark grey color and was accompanied with hinted red accents.

Not only did each of their helmets mismatch, but so did their physical appearance. The one near the back was a literally giant, two of the others were tall and lanky, the other one looked more like a droid, and the last one had broad shoulders and a strong built. Just by looking at them, one could tell that there was something off and that they were genetically enhanced.

"Ma'am," Hunter drew the senator's attention. "Whenever you are ready."

The Senator of Coruscant nodded her head understandingly. She quickly gave a brief farewell to her fellow senators. The clones saluted the other senators as a form of respect. The senator proceeded to walk back down the long length of the corridor with her new clone escort following right behind her.

Meanwhile, Senator Organa and Senator Amidala watched their retreating figures with keen eyes. They saw how their associate interacted with this new batch of rogue clones. She didn't seem to mind or question their abnormalities. At first, Senator Rayna had been hesitant to ask for help from the jedi and was uncertain about having a clone escort. But now, things seemed to have changed her mind. And the senators wanted to know why.

CHAPTER THREE HERE

Taglist:

@totally-not-your-babe @jedipoodoo @gyllord @roam-rs @totallyunidentified @redheadgirl @mrcaptainrex @whore-of-many-hot-men @graciexmarvel @qweenrogerina @arcsimper5 @queenofspades6 @cadihyo @jediknightjana

97 notes · View notes

raccoonfallsharder · 2 months

Text

rocket raccoon prompt week ✷ day seven home ✷.⁺⋆˚₊

fluff | no use of yn | gn reader | drabble | word count: 661.

Home had been a shining city on the far horizon for most of Rocket’s formative years: distant and gleaming under an impossible blossom-blue dome. Unreachable. Untouchable. He’d left any hope of it behind, a dozen cannon-shots or more before he’d ever even stepped foot off the Arête. No. Rocket had gone straight from the cages and right into his escape pod, out into a sky that had suddenly seemed much less beautiful and much more forever.

And so home had always been a far-away thing, a thing he could never go back to, a thing that — like love, like peace, like a restful night’s sleep or body that didn’t hurt — Rocket could simply never have. A thing that hadn’t been meant for him. Like the screws slowly grinding away at his bones or the muscle contractures he’s always fighting in his hips and chest, home had just become another old ache that he’d grown to barely notice, except when he’s on a planet where the weather is bad.

And then, one shift — when it was just you and him — he’d been trying to work the knots out of his shoulders. You’d reached out with dancing fingers and a query on your lips — a gentle little sound of offering — and he’d gone as still as a moon pinned between two gravity wells. Your fingers had felt light as little birds, perched on his shoulders weightlessly, and you’d guided them into a rolling series of rotations. Then you’d tugged him between your knees, and kneaded every small stone you’d found lodged under his skin and fur.

When he’d finally gone as molten and buttery as a beeswax candle on a warm day, you’d murmured another little question. He’d blinked at you blankly — completely disconnected from anything but the feel of his body, pliant for the first time in possibly his entire life — so you’d pulled him onto your lap and continued your little ministry of touch until he’d fully curled up, his tail a wreath of feathery brushes around you both. His back had pressed itself into your hands as you’d worked your thumbs into the base of his spine: freeing the tension from his hips, beckoning it out of muscle and bone, letting it dissipate into the air between your fingertips. Your hands had been so warm that even all the metal plates and bolts deep inside had suddenly felt like a part of him — had suddenly matched his own body temperature — every piece slotting together inside him with a rightness he’d never known before. The air in his lungs had turned into little pearls and gemstones, spilling up into his throat like jeweled gravel. He’d made a noise — some kind of rumble — and it had startled him until your hands had soothed over him again and you’d whispered something that had sounded like you’re just purring.

He’d never say any of this in front of the others, never let them know about this: about how soft he is for this, for the warm quiet circle of space in your arms and on your thighs. He’d never climb into your lap like this if they could see it; never make a nest out of your body-heat and burrow into the loose thick folds of your sweatshirt. He only does it on the shifts when everyone else is asleep, or planetside, or away.

It’s not that he’s ashamed. It’s just — this is something special and precious and small, and if he looks at it too closely or acknowledges it exists, he may never have it back. But for now — for these moments that he can only measure in the soft wash of his breath or the thrum of his pulse in his wrists, the steady sound of your heartbeat holding him together like gravity — for now, it’s touchable, and attainable, and real —

Moreso than any shining city on the far horizon, glimmering against the sweep of a blossom-blue ocean and a forever sky.

i did it! i brought my wordcount down! this was just a fun little exercise in writing whatever weird shit came to my mind so sorry if it makes no sense but i figured i'd indulge my inclination toward purple prose (get rekt literary critics). anyway this was fun and i am very much in favor of many future rocket raccoon prompts & prompt weeks, and thank you for creating this and bringing it to my attention, @frostedwitch ♡♡♡

i will be putting out a masterlist for this set of prompts sometime next week probably. i really hope you enjoyed reading as much as i enjoyed writing! ♡

day six. bite rocket prompt week masterlist ✷ main masterlist rocket raccoon prompt week list

taglist ♡ @evolvingchaoswitch ♡ @glow-autumz ♡ @wren-phoenix ♡ @suicidalshitstick ♡ @pretty-chips

46 notes · View notes

spidersbane · 2 years

Text

your thoughts are loud

pairing: obi-wan kenobi x reader

summary: you, padme’s top advisor, can’t sleep, and neither can obi-wan.

warnings: none

author’s note: i disappeared off the face of the planet for over a year bc i was in my first year of law school. somehow i survived and realized i needed a hobby. so i’m revisiting my writing and dumping this here. please be gentle, i haven’t seen the prequels in a while bc my friends won’t watch them with me, and i haven’t seen the show yet either. also would anyone like this to become a series? where it’s this kind of pining but with other characters in different fandoms? pls let me know bc I’d love the feedback. much love.

suggested listening: ‘moonlight serenade’ by glenn miller

“Your thoughts are loud.”

You jumped at the sound of his voice, posh as ever but a little rough some sleep. “I didn’t mean to wake you. And what are you doing in my thoughts?” The question came out with a laugh, knowing Obi-Wan well enough that he wouldn’t get in your head without permission.

He looks down and chuckles softly. “You didn’t wake me. I couldn’t sleep, and I just heard them.”

“Dare I ask why you couldn’t sleep?” You slid over on the small stone bench, trying to make some room for him.

He cocked his head slightly, pondering, almost hesitating. But he walked over to you and sat down, tugging his robes closer around him. “Anakin, mostly. Concerns for Padme, sometimes.” A whisper, “concerns for you.”

You tried to shut your thoughts out. You couldn’t, however, helped the heat that rose to your cheeks. “Concerns about me?”

“Yes, concerns for you,” he said. “I know how the Senators are with you.” He folded his hands in on one another in his lap. ‘And I don’t like how they are with you.”

You sighed, finally looking at him, seeing his eyes trained downward, not chancing a look at you. “Obi-Wan, they’re Senators, it’s to be expected. Things are going sideways fast, and they’re all just doing what they can to try and manage it. And sometimes, it just happens to get let out onto others.”

“I don’t like it when it gets let out on you. Especially because I can’t say anything to them.”

He glanced towards you, then upward, focusing on the limited night sky above him. Somehow, you managed to look at him, though, tracing the sharp curve of his jaw, the soft structure of his cheekbone. Although your shoulders touched, you wanted to reach out and place a hand on his shoulder, on his cheek, on something. But you didn’t, and frankly you couldn’t. Even the night’s spell couldn’t make you forget his status as a Jedi Master or yours as Padme’s advisor. Your respective positions had rules, a Code that kept you from one another. But It didn’t keep the others in your charge from one another, you thought.

Padme and Anakin were careful, but you and Obi-Wan knew them better, and knew it hadn’t taken long for them to start seeing each other. In fact, on the few missions to Naboo when the Jedi visited, you often stood as cover for Anakin, ready with a plausible story for when Obi-Wan came asking. You talked Padme through the ups and downs of being with a Jedi, through the long periods of not seeing each other. And she spoke with you about Obi-Wan, not one to be lost on forlorn looks and wishful thinking. Being friends for so long gave her an insight into your thoughts, and knew how your tied your fingers together when Obi-Wan was near, how you could never look him in the eye when he looked at you with his piercing blue eyes.

It took one look for her to read your thoughts, and it was on a night like this, when you sat out in the open with Obi-Wan, where you were grateful he didn’t read yours. Because you reached for him, a gentle hand on his arm, drawing his skyward gaze back to you, looking at you like he pulled some of the stars from of the sky with him. “But I know you would say something if you could, and that’s enough.”

He reached for you too, a shaky hand holding your own, cerulean eyes locked with yours. “But it isn’t enough.”

“Obi-Wan, I …”

“It isn’t enough,” he said, grip tightening around your hand. “It isn’t enough, because I can’t tell them to leave you alone without them wondering what a Jedi wants with you. I can’t say anything because then I’ll come out sounding like Anakin and they’ll all wonder where the professional version of me went.”

He turned to you fully, reaching for your empty hand with his remaining one. He leans in closer, and you mirror him, afraid that if you don’t, then his words will escape into thin air and it’ll be as if you never heard him. And he needs you to hear him, to understand.

He continued, “And then they’d know that the professional version of me never exists around you. That something changes, and I don’t know how to describe it.”

You shook out a breath, terrified of moving too suddenly. He can sense your nervousness, you know he does, when he starts circling his thumb gently across your knuckles. Your eyes dart between his eyes, looking for any sign of his confession being a joke, some cruel joke. But there’s nothing there, except the calmest gaze, the warmest shade of blue searching your eyes for a reaction.

“Thank you,” you whispered.

I love you, your heart screamed.

“Obi-Wan, that means, well, more than I can put into words. But the thoughts are there,” you paused. “If you want to feel for them.”

It’s the first time you’ve offered something like that to him, something that personal to anyone. You can see the hesitation, but it doesn’t take you long to feel him, tendrils of his Force signature wrapping around your mind. You close your eyes, not wanting to see his reaction when he reaches the part of your mind that yearns for him, that aches. He’s there for a while, strolling through, taking his time with you, and it’s in this hike through your mind, that he wishes you could see into his more.

After a pregnant pause, he squeezes your hand, leading you out of your haze, eyes crawling back open. When he sharpens into focus, there’s a content, mischievous smile creeping up his face; his shoulders relax, and you don’t need to be Force sensitive to feel the utter relief radiating from him. You both have finally gotten a lifetime’s worth of confessions off your chest. And where it goes from here, neither of you know. But this is different, and you aren’t afraid of finding out.

The beginnings of dawn creep over the horizon, spilling streams of gold light onto both of you, where you both remember that other Jedi might be beginning to stir. So you stand, hands still intertwined, and you pull him up with you.

“We have to go,” you begin. “Before someone sees.”

He smiles, a full smile now. “Let’s get you back to bed then.”

It’s a silent walk back to your quarters in the Senate building, and Obi-Wan holds your hand the whole time, not even starting to drop it when you think someone is going to round a corner and spot you. He’s unafraid, and so are you, and it’s so unlike either of you, but in the early light, neither of you have it in your to care. When he stops at your door, you both fight smiles and whisper proper goodnights, and you force the want of him staying the rest of the night back down your throat.

When you are finally back in your quarters, as disheveled as they are, curtains still drawn tight, you will to him a promise of ‘later, you’ll find me later’. And it is a whisper, a fleeting feeling through your mind, but you know it’s him willing back, ‘I’ll always find you.’

#obi wan #obi wan kenobi #obi wan fluff #obi wan x reader #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan kenobi x y/n #obi wan kenobi imagine #obi wan fic #star wars fic #star wars fanfiction #star wars x reader #star wars #star wars prequels

2K notes · View notes

lex-the-flex · 1 year

Text

A Withered Will

Luke Skywalker x reader

Summary: Following a set of dutiful instincts, a newly transformed Master must fight his inner demons to strengthen his heart for another.

Word Count: 1.3k

Warning(s): PURE FLUFF, the beginnings of an established relationship (cause Luke deserves it), Luke and the reader being their best selves, moments of heavy angst, moments of anxiety, nightmares/sleep paralysis, mentions of the hardships of a Jedi, and brief descriptions of smut and nudity. Dreams in italics.

A/N: Just pure love for Graham Hamilton and his portrayal of Luke. I can’t get enough of him and he makes me feel so soft. Feedback is always appreciated and enjoy!

Basking in the vast layers of shade, the protective layer of bamboo stalks shedding their leaves swayed in the cool breeze from the small lake, where a new pupil sat on the mossy rocks. Silently tilting his head towards the rays of warmth, Luke Skywalker enjoyed this new feeling of serenity, along with the guidance of a new ally.

Descending to the lake’s edge, the young Jedi Master walked along the shore with his hands folded behind his back.

“It’s more like he’s remembering than I’m actually teaching him anything.” He said to the acclaimed Grey Jedi, Ashoka Tano.

“Sometimes the student guides the master.” She replied with a smile.

Humming to himself, Luke reminisced in this newfound bond, the relationship you and he shared. While you two were skilled Jedi in your own right, there was something more, and Ashoka could sense these emotions like following a trail of breadcrumbs.

“Are you worried about her? About Y/N?” Ashoka asked, moving closer to Luke.

Turning his attention to her, Luke nodded. Glancing at Grogu, who now made his way to the water’s edge, Luke couldn’t help but feel a lump rise in the back of his throat.

“Yes, I am. Y/N left to track a small supply raid outside of the Coreilla System and hasn’t reached out in two weeks. I fear that– the …compass failed her.” Luke explains, trying to hide his lower lip from quivering.

Stepping closer to him, Ashoka gave Luke a reassuring touch to Luke’s shoulder, which was the kind gesture he needed.

“I know your feelings for her are strong, Skywalker. They are powerful and your love for Y/N may be what you need to conquer anything. Even the demon you’re secretly fighting. So listen to this. Listen to the very rhythm of your heart, as yours and hers are the same. Only then will you both learn to love one another.” She calmly explains, moving her hand over to cover Luke’s chest, allowing his heart the freedom it deserved.

*****

Distant echoes of waves crashing against the shore allowed a long overdue motion of serenity to be ignited on the oceanic planet's secluded beaches containing tide pools. Amongst a series of long forgotten marble ruins, specks of sunlight peeked in from the cracked dome ceiling, and the cool salty breeze filled your lungs.

Wrapping his arms around you, Luke's ebony cloak was a comfortable invisible shield covering your nude bodies whilst his lips fell to your collarbones. The soft fabric was strewn underneath your hot skin, blocking the cold marble. Nestling deeper between your hips, your grip tightened around Luke's muscular shoulders, and your fingertips traced over the fading series of lightning scars on his freckled skin.

Remaining here in this dream-like state, your shared moans and whimpers were more valuable than the sound of a harp in the Naboo War Room. It brought a different kind of music to Luke’s ears and his lungs were clogged with ecstasy. However, the vision faded, and the image of you vanished.

*****

Jolting awake from this hellish dream, the once peaceful oceanic atmosphere collapsed into the quaint bamboo forest. Lying awake in his single cot, Luke darted his eyes around the small tent, only to discover that he couldn’t move. As his light orbs desperately looked around the tent, Luke could see a glimpse of R2 in the corner, but his loyal droid was powered off for the night.

Struggling for a minute, Luke tried his best to free himself from the blanket that now became heavy at this moment, preventing him from breathing. A brief gasp escapes from his chapped lips, hoping to call out to someone – to anyone who would hear him.

But there was no one.

Until he saw the sight of you ducking your head under the tent’s entrance, and you removed the hood of your cloak, revealing your beautiful features in the dim lamp light. Rushing to his side, you take Luke’s face in your hands, gently stroking his cheeks.

“Hey, hey. Just breathe, Luke.” You advise, removing the thin camping blanket from his shoulders drenched in sweat.

Sitting on your knees, you carefully place a damp cloth on Luke’s forehead, hoping to cool him down. Even in the dark, Luke smiles at your calm demeanor, trusting you in this vulnerable state.

Taking the back of his bare neck in your right hand, you carefully made Luke sit up, and a large gasp exited his lungs, as if it was crushing his soul.

“You came back?” He asks, reeling from this sudden state of shock.

Your brows scrunched at this question, wondering why he’d ever question you.

“Of course, Luke. You're lucky I sensed something was wrong once I entered the atmosphere.” You reply, offering him your canteen.

Taking the cylinder bottle, Luke quickly downs the cool liquid, and you silently gaze at his half-naked seated stature before you. Even in the dark, your e/c eyes could make out the fading lightning scars on the brim of his shoulders. Turning away, you quietly proposed that he should get some more rest, and that you wouldn’t leave him.

*****

“So how reliable is this thing?” You ask, taking the silver compass from Luke’s hand.

“I’m not entirely sure. But there’s just something …strange about it, Y/N. I don’t know. I just know that it’ll lead us in the right direction.” Luke explains, taking the compass back.

“Well, if anything, it’ll lead us all the way to Lake Country. My father always talked about how beautiful Naboo was. Especially the mission he was assigned to with my mother. I’m so jealous of Leia right now.” You joked, nudging Luke’s bare bicep with your elbow.

Glancing at you, a furrow formed in between his brows, and the images of his previous dream. You and him, finally alone on the beaches of Naboo. Pulling himself from these thoughts, he quietly shook his head.

“Are you okay?” You ask.

“I’m fine. Let’s just set up this course.” Luke replies, with a bit of strength in the back of his voice.

Nodding at his explanation, the forest’s landscape transformed into a rocky and a mountainous place past the bamboo. Heading out of the shady forest, Luke advised to scour the area for a quiet spot for a much harder training course. After mapping out a medium sized piece of land by a rocky hill leading to a cave, Luke started to sketch out a small blueprint in the soil when a slight shiver crept up your spine.

Turning your attention to the cave’s entrance, you began to subconsciously walk up the hill, dropping your bag in the process. Alerting him, Luke quickly rushed to his feet once he saw you were gone. Hearing the same series of sounds that initially pulled you in, Luke walked up the hill, and into the cave.

Reaching the end of the minuscule cave, the vision of an old and decaying tree sprouting its roots on the stone walls. Among the roots was a single intact shelf with a few old and nearly ruined books. Stepping forward, you extended your arm to grab one, however your foot got lodged in something unusual, and the vision evaporated.

Breaking the plastic cap of a chemical light, Luke wanders father towards your presence, only to discover that you’re stuck in a pool of tar. Tossing the light to the floor, the bright blue light illuminates the dark cave walls.

“Y/N!!” He shouts, pulling you away from this hypnotic state.

Facing him, you realize where you are, and the tar has taken hold of your hips.

“Luke?! What– What happened?” You frantically ask, trying to free yourself.

“It’s alright, don’t move! Here, take my hand!” Luke calls out, offering his hand to you.

Quickly taking his hand in your own, Luke desperately pulls you from the sticky tar. Shaking some remnants of the black liquid off your leg, Luke tightens his grip around you.

“You alright?” He asks, bringing his face to meet your own.

“Yeah, I- I’m okay. I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. It’s like I was…” You try to explain, but tears begin to form in your eyes.

Surrounding his arms around you, Luke pulls you in for an embrace, reassuring you that everything would be alright.

a/n pt ii. ~ ngl, i kinda want to write that smut section as an entire fic now 👀

star wars taglist ~

@dreamliners

@midnightepiphany

@ladyrebel25

@maybeimart

@nonbinary-tatooine

@kaleidoscope1967eyes

@tearsleftt

@thereallchristine

@partofmejustwantstosleep

@xxx-aurora-swirls

@remusstefon

@annoyinglythoughtfuldestiny

@giona45-5

@0paperairplane0

@jobean12-blog

@iamhavingamomenthere-crowley

@winter-soldier-101

@kethamine

@pantaeudaimonia

@bonky-n-steeb-lib

@acupnoodle

@flawroses

@skx-wlkr-blog

@ancient-stardust

@xplore-the-unknwn

@tatooineknights

@myevilmouse

@tabrisshiki

@the-flying-lemur

@samediankh

#star wars #star wars fandom #star wars fanfiction #star wars luke #luke skywalker #luke skywalker fluff #luke skywalker angst #luke skywalker x reader #luke skywalker fanfiction #luke skywalker fic #luke skywalker smut #luke skywalker request #luke skywalker imagine #graham hamilton #mark hamill

293 notes · View notes

sovksluv · 3 months

Text

luke and saturn are litr summertime sadness x i wanna be yours LIKE OMGMYMTMGMRJEN

saturn is summertime sadness because duh?? things are bad all year but even worse during the summer because she has to be home all day so summertime sadness obviously.

and luke is i wanna be yours because even tho saturn didn’t realize it/reciprocate it immediately, he was in love with her the minute they met, without even having to talk to her 🥹

ugh my babies i love them so much (thank you to a random tiktok mash up that gave me this idea😫)

my pretty baby 😍

75 notes · View notes

lamamasjamas · 7 months

Text

NEXUS

Nexus /ˈneksəs/ n 1 a connection or series of connections linking two or more things. 2 a connected group or series. 3 the central and most important point or place.

Chapter Summary: Din just wanted to show you the stars.

Part 2! Part 3!

A/n: I’ve been working on the whole series for two years??? Give or take. This is like the only thing I genuinely wanted to get right in terms of writing so plsss 🙏😭 This first chapter is super tame, very fluffy and very short in comparison to what's coming.

Warnings for the series: Dead Dove Do Not Eat!!!, getting lost in the unknown regions, Death, Gore, cosmic horror, very heavy topics, smut, angst, fluff, dark themes. This is a dark fic; you have been warned!

There’s a constant beeping around you, for a moment you get lost in it, you even start to time it. It takes about four seconds in between; silence and a breath in from Din’s chest before another soft bleep from the console.

His fingers twitch, helmet roaming over the panels in front of him, his other hand moving quickly to flick a small lever at his side as if wacking a fly from the air. The beeping had begun a couple days ago, and much to his irritation it hasn’t stopped no matter what buttons he pushes, what levers he pulls and how many times he’s checked for repairs.

A glitch he had said, looking down on you after you had mentioned how frustrated you were with the repetitive sound not letting you sleep well the first day it appeared. A bug, you replied with a small curl of your lips, thinking you were so clever.

It was insignificant, it was buzzing but it technically didn’t hurt you. You had gotten used to it, it was part of the crew. It had gotten so repetitive that it was practically muted in your ears, the beep melting into the harmony of the creaking of metal, the hum of the engines and your own quiet conversations.

It was still there but you didn’t even hear it anymore.

Sitting in the cockpit, you watched as the stars passed by. Mando was setting up the nav comp to a planet for fuel. You figured, before the trip, that if you had a few days until the tank was empty you would be fine with landing on any planet on the outer rims to refuel.

“What are you looking at?” He rasps as he flicks something else in front of him, his back still turned to you.

You didn’t notice your attention drifting towards the pilot’s seat, if anything you were mesmerized by the stars reflecting off of him, swirling over his armor quickly with rays of blues and grays. You turned down to your lap and pressed your hand over your face, pulling the skin of your cheeks down momentarily, willing the smile on your lips to distort with it.

“Nothing,” you respond curtly, smiling almost shyly.

He could see you through the reflection of the viewport, your head was down and he could see your eyes flicker up to meet his gaze from the glass before quickly shifting to your lap. His seat swivels to the side, allowing him to rest his elbows on his knees slowly. He stays in that position for a few moments, hands dangling from between his legs, head tilting in inquisition and watching as you fidgeted with the loose leather of the seat, picking at it with your nail.

He hummed, not quite believing you, but he knew what you were waiting for.

He slowly unlatched his helmet, the hiss making your breath catch in your throat. You're still avoiding his gaze and looking towards the ground when the beskar meets his thigh in a soft thud.

Just a few months ago he wouldn’t even think about revealing his face to you. The decisions he had made throughout his journey inevitably gave him clarity to what he truly viewed as important. He was still a Mandalorian, despite his recent indulgence of taking his helmet off every once in a while around people he trusted, you amongst them.

It was odd for you. Getting used to his face was odd, but not unwelcome. You have only known him as a featureless man, his helmet was his only descriptor until then.

At first it was as if you didn’t know him, feeling unpleasant awkwardness whenever he would take it off to eat. He felt like a stranger to you. You would treat him differently when the helmet was covering his face. You would act much more freely .

It wasn’t his fault or yours, the human psyche was stingy, it took a while until your brain caught up. As he places the helmet on his lap, you think it really shouldn’t have been that hard to get used to him like this.

He was timid, so were you, but he didn’t know how to control his expressions. Anyone could guess what he was feeling or even thinking by a glance at his face. You could almost laugh now, thinking of all the different ways he must have contorted under his barrier of beskar without anyone knowing.

You guess you grew an appreciation for Din’s helmetless state after a while. Especially when he pouted, or when you could hear his laugh clearly, or even when he gave you a gravid look. He was more human this way. You learned to like it.

He watches you now, trying to contain your giddiness in your seat.

Despite being initially nervous to show you his face, he now knows that in your standards he was considered attractive. He could hide his face forever knowing that you, the only person whose thoughts he takes in exceptionally high regards, thinks of him as extraordinary.

No one’s opinion mattered except for yours. You made him cocky, and he’s using his newly discovered looks to his advantage. He likes making you stumble over your words. He likes getting you in a daze. It makes his heart race.

He gets down on his knees in front of you, edging his face closer to your gaze. Your eyes connect with his and the contact makes him smile warmly.

“Hey…” he tries.

With two fingers he tilts your chin from your chest, making sure you would look at him without your eyes wandering.

“Let’s go on vacation.” Your eyes widen, your mouth starting to curve upwards at the strange sentence coming from the mouth of a bounty hunter.. He continues.

“After this bounty I’m pretty sure we can have some free time. We’ll be able to afford it.”

You're skeptical, he’s not the type to settle down and just relax. You hum, not quite bought on his idea. He pokes your thigh and covers his hands on your own. “Come on, we deserve it, don’t you think?”

“And what exactly are we going to do in said vacation?” you ask.

“We’ll sleep.”

You roll your eyes and raise your brow. He chuckles.

“I want to take you to different planets-” He could already see you start to rebuttal, “The good parts of planets, not the ones filled with organized crime.” He gives you a lopsided grin as a final selling point.

You pretend to think, narrowing your eyes at him.

“...I’ll give you a maybe.”

He leans in close at your words, your eyes flutter and your teasing tone fades. His hand cups your face, the tip of his thumb running under your bottom lashes.

“That’s all I need.” He finally seals the deal.

His kisses are inexperienced. At first they were pecks, never on your lips, but the few he would give you felt as if they were everything a real kiss should be. It wasn’t until your lips met the skin of his cheek that he finally realized how nice it felt.

It was like a mini blessing for someone. A way to show your appreciation for them. He loved giving and receiving kisses to and from you, especially when he noted that you had to stretch in order to reach his face and he had to crane his neck down.

You would go so far as to go through an inconvenience, even if it was small, to give him a peck on the cheek. You were truly remarkable to him.

A miscalculated kiss to the corner of his lips had made him turn fully and give you a proper one. At first it felt as if he was just pressing his mouth against you, but gradually as it progressed he was finally able to move his lips with yours in synchrony.

He was obsessed. Never having a day without a few or more, even going as far as pulling his helmet halfway up just enough to allow you to lean in when in public .

You developed this relationship without putting any labels on it. To everyone else you were partners, which wasn’t not true. Between each other, saying partners came with much more weight .

It was nice, you were both safe and content. You thought everything was going well. It was too good to be true.

You sit up straight and break mid-kiss as alarms blare from the control panel. They screech in your ears, for a moment your heart drops and he sees a twinge of fear in your eyes. He squeezes your hand and your eyes focus back on him, your small bubble of peace reforming wobbly even if just for a second more.

The pit envelopes in red, a ship is nearby and they don’t seem friendly. He seats himself back on the pilot’s seat, helmet lopsided from how sporadically he pulled it on himself. Spirits were high as if your lips had given him vitality.

Ships hover on both sides, their windows tinted. For a moment you hold your breath, Din’s hands tighten over the steer and his chest rises more pronounced with each inhale into his lungs.

You tense as he tenses, already sensing that the interaction would only lead to unnecessary altercations. They refuse to comm through, even as Din’s voice rises in irritation. The metal of their panels was scratched, faulty jobs of less protective material over it as cover.

They inch closer and Din shakes his head, forgetting the comm button and instead shifting in his seat.

They don’t even try to bargain, already busy forcefully trying to board the ship. As the pirates get closer to boarding the hull, he finally turns to you, his hand hovering the panel, ready to make a move.

You hear the guns shift between the enemy ships, engaging. You sigh exasperatedly.

“Get ready.” He almost sounded excited, cocky.

Giving a nod, you buckle in, prepared for the ship to push you back against the seat with force. He waits until you're ready, pausing for a moment and taking a deep breath in.

You're being chased through the system. You can barely pay attention to the nav comp as Din makes sharp turns and tilts to avoid being hit by incoming asteroids. You press your head against the headrest, gritting your teeth and closing your eyes tightly as he makes a loop.

Your eyes meet the blinking dot on the navigator. Your ship was parallel to the thick red line.

You're nearing the edge.

“Din, we’re getting a little too close…” you warn, your voice muffled by the plasma cannons from outside.

He was usually great at this, navigating through the galaxy without having to look through any directionals. He was a Mandalorian, he knew his way through every situation.

But he didn’t know this region and with an almost exaggerated sigh he had decided that he would use the nav for once, per your request, of course.

“A little busy right now!” As one of the ships crashes next to you against a piece of rock Din had just evaded, you feel everything shake around you.

Only one ship was left and Din was gripping the steer tightly in wait.

The Crest was awfully close to the border of the parameter in which the nav comp couldn’t guide you in anymore. It was well known not to go around this region, it was dangerous and only extremely skilled navigators could go out and not get lost. Nav comps coincidentally stop functioning once you leave, there wasn't enough data gathered to be able to create a map, and it would show blank and crash.

Dead space, the unknown.

As Din suddenly shifts downward the ship in front of you passes by quickly. He takes the chance to finally take his shot. You watch as the ship in front of you explodes, coloring the inside of the cockpit a warm and sharp orange-yellow.

You breathe in deeply as you're enveloped in the color, almost as if you were choking on the fire grazing over the front of the ship. Din slows down and cruises.

He turns towards you, and somehow you know he’s grinning under the helmet just by the way he holds his shoulders. You shake your head at him and cross your arms, obviously not as amused as he was by the chase. You briefly look over the panel, and backtrack again.

Your heart falls to your stomach as you finally see the computer blanked out, no coordinates, no directions, nothing.

You were officially in the depths of the Unknown Regions and you didn’t know how to get back.

#din djarin x reader #Mando x reader #Mandalorian x reader #Din Djarin x you #dead dove do not eat #dark fic

68 notes · View notes

rapha-reads · 5 months

Text

The Church on Ruby Road [spoilers]

First of all: Fifteen is AMAZIIIIIING. I swear I'm going to try and be normal about him, but his energy! His joy! His connection to his feelings, the emotional depth! That moment when he says "I've adopted, I've just discovered that recently", and then his tears when he realises what happened to Ruby, and then how soft and gentle he was with baby Ruby.

I keep remembering Bill's words about Twelve: "With some people you can smell the wind in their clothes." - and that's exactly it with Fifteen. You can feel not only the age, the experience, the heartbreak and trials the Doctor has gone through, but also, and maybe more importantly, the healing, the love, the joy, the endless curiosity about the universe, the limitless desire to always learn and discover new things. Fifteen is the sum of all the previous Doctors, and he's carrying that weight, but he's also something new, something exciting. The trauma is still there, but he's not letting it weigh him down anymore. Even when he has a moment of doubt, when he says "Maybe I'M the bad luck", a previous regeneration would have left - he stayed and let Ruby make her choice. There's growth there.

We definitely are in a new era of Doctor Who. New New Who? New Who 2.0? Modern Who? Do we have a name yet or is still being debated?

Anyway, secondly. Ruby! Aw, she sounds so cool and kind! The mystery around her birth mother is thrilling without taking the precedent over anything else. Either her birth parents aren't that important, though it's Doctor Who - there's always something else, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's a Time Lord kid, or even the Doctor's child themself - or maybe Jenny's child, the Doctor's granddaughter? I'm just wildly theorizing at this point, never mind all of that.

What's interesting is her relationship with her adoptive mother. That scene where Ruby disappears and her mother forgets about her, and the colours themselves literally bleed out, and the joyful, kind, generous woman we've come to know suddenly turns bitter and sad and cold... Man, that scene messed me up. Makes you think about coincidences, about how and when you meet people and you can never know how important they are in your life, because sometimes the influence they have on you are so subtle, so diffuse, it's impossible to see it. Not the first time this happens in Doctor Who, though, time travel does have that impact. Butterflies and all that. But the impact is always the same heart-wrenching feeling.

Third, the language of rope! By which I mean, I was talking with my brother (huge Whovian like me), and he was telling me that he's a bit worried about RTD's decision to go towards fantasy stories. Well, magic is just another language, after all, isn't it? It's just science that we haven't been able to decipher yet. So, fantasy and science-fiction? They go hand in hand, actually. If the TARDIS is a wooden box that's bigger on the inside and can travel through time and space, then sure, why not, goblins exist, they eat baby, they can also move around time, and their science is the science of ropes and wood. Totally plausible in this world. Wouldn't be weirder than that time Ten met Satan in a pit, or Eleven had an ongoing feud with evil snowmen, or Twelve rode on Santa's sleigh, or Thirteen talked to a frog from another universe. That's cool. Love it.

Right. Well. I'm excited for this new series. It's shiny and fresh, it's something else! Moving forward without forgetting the past. And apparently we're going to meet the Beatles? I love historic episodes! And go to some new planets, meet some new aliens, deal once again with holes in the fabric of the universe (not new, but maybe done in a new way?)... This is going to be great. Next episode in Spring, though? At least it's not another full year of wait.

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw spoilers #doctor who christmas special #the church on ruby road #fifteenth doctor #ruby sunday #russell t davies #rapha talks #rapha is being a whovian #dw episode review #dw review #dw theories #whovian rambles

41 notes · View notes

darthpotater · 1 year

Text

Welcome Home

It’s been years since Luke last felt that presence through the force— something he didn’t think he would ever feel again, a feeling that always gets him weak in the knees; a feeling he has missed oh so much.

fem reader insert

Warnings: t*rture was implied once

A/N: hello, i hope you enjoyyy, i needed some luke lovin so. also this got quite long so i apologize for that and im planning on wiritng a sequel for this, to maybe fill in the blanks and stuff but other than that, i hope you enjoy!!!

“I don’t think I could ever get tired of this view. Sure, this planet’s boring and I’d do anything to get off this planet but it sure has it’s perks.” You sigh contentedly as you looked into the distance, watching the twin suns set. Luke chuckled as he looks over at you, smiling at you in awe. “I don’t think the sunsets are the only perks this planet has.” He chuckled before leaning in to leave a soft, lingering kiss on your cheek. You glance at him, a smirk resting on your lips. “Sure, the blue milk’s good too.” You chuckle, making Luke let out a hearty laugh. You felt your heart do somersaults in your chest at the sound, it definitely felt like music to your ears. You’ve been with this farmboy for quite some time now but he still made you feel all sorts of things.

“C’mere you.” Luke smiled as he pulled you closer to him. You immediately snuggled up to him, back against his chest as you both sat on the rocky hill. He wraps his arms protectively around you and places his chin on your shoulder as the two of you sat in silence for a few moments, going back to watching the setting suns. You reach up to lazily play with his hair, smiling when you feel him lean against your touch, snuggling into it. Your smile widened when you felt him leave another tender kiss on your neck, shuddering slightly at the feeling. “I hope you know how much you mean to me, my love.” He mumbled as he stayed there. “You’re the only one I’m holding onto to keep me from going insane, especially on this rock.” He added with a small laugh. “And I promise, one day, I’ll take you and we’ll explore the galaxy, watching every sunset together.” He added as he pulled away, prompting you to look up at him.

His bright blue eyes twinkled under the faint light of day, and when you thought they couldn’t get more beautiful, you were always proven wrong. You turned around in his hold slightly, giving you better access to his face as you reached up to remove a speck of sand from his cheek. He closes his eyes once again at your touch, something he does often and you found it oh so endearing. Your hand remained on his cheek as your thumb lazily caressed his skin. “I love you.” He whispers with a smile as you bring him down to plant a soft kiss on his lips. You smiled when you felt him tighten his hold around you. You pulled away and laughed when you saw his cheeks were now beet red.

“You’re doing it again, y’know.” You giggled. He tries hiding his shy smile as he pretends to not know what you were talking about. “Doing what?” He shrugs as he looks around. “You blush every time we kiss.”

“I don’t.”

“You are, right now.”

“No I’m not. That’s just… sunburn.”

You let out another laugh. “Oh Skywalker, what am I going to do with you?”

His eyes connect with yours once more. “Love me forever.”

You smiled softly, “I can do that.”

Luke opened his eyes and immediately sat up at the sound of Artoo’s whistles. “Oh hey, Artoo.” Luke smiles faintly as he runs a hand down his face. “Yeah, I’m okay. Was just resting. Where’s Grogu? Is he asleep?” He asked as the droid began rolling away. “I’ll head back soon, I’ll just finish up here.” Luke said, smiling as Artoo replied with a series of beeps and whistles. When the droid was out of earshot, Luke lets out a sigh as his eyes focused on the sunset in front of him. He smiles faintly at the dream he had before looking at the empty spot beside him— your spot. “Oh, my love.” He calls out quietly as he lays back down onto the grass. “You would’ve loved this view.” He added as he looked beside him, as if you were there with him. “I’m so sorry.” He added quietly as a single tear trickled down his cheek.

It’s been years since he lost you. After the battle of Endor and when the Empire found out that you were force-sensitive, they made it a point to separate the two of you as their last try at taking down the Rebellion. He tried saving you— he did all he can but it was not enough. Presumed dead, Luke felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest, when he saw you laying there, lifeless. He wanted to run to you, hold you one last time but they had to go; he had to go. Han was pulling him into the Falcon before the Empire could get to them.

“Luke, go.”

“No, I’m not leaving you.” Luke hissed, the Skywalker stubbornness coming out. You shook your head, “I wasn’t asking. Luke— they want you not me. They get they’re hands on you, they win. We didn’t work and fight our asses off for them to win. You know that, more than anyone. We worked so hard to fight and we can’t let all that go.”

Luke shook his head, “No, there has to be another way.” You sighed as you took his face in between your hands. “You know there’s no other way, my love.” You smiled faintly as you examined his face, possibly for the last time ever. “We cannot let them win.” You said before leaning in to give him a passionate kiss. His hands snaked their way around your hips and pulled you close, as close as he possibly could. You felt his tongue swipe over your lower lip as your hand found its way to massage the back of his head. You didn’t want this to end, you wanted to stay in his arms forever. When you two pulled away, foreheads touching, you leaned in and gently rubbed your nose against his, him doing the same. “”I love you, Luke Skywalker. Now go be that Master Jedi we all need. I’m rooting for you. Always.” You smiled as you pulled away, tears threatening to spill form your eyes. He looked at you one last time as Han marched over. “Alright kids, as much as I don’t want to ruin this moment, we have to go. Now.”

You nodded. “Han, please take Luke. I’ll buy you some time.” You said as Han furrowed his brows. “Nuh-uh, you’re coming with us.” Han argued. “Han, I’m not playing games. Take Luke and go.” You ordered, voice firm. Han had become a big brother to you over the years. The brother you never had but always wanted. Sure, he was annoying but you were thankful for him anyways. You could see it in his face that he didn’t want to leave but he knew that this was what needed to be done. “Now go.” You ordered as you unhooked your lightsaber and igniting it. Han grabbed Luke’s arm and escorted him down the hallway.

Luke could remember it vividly. Like it was ingrained in his head forever. He remembers watching helplessly as you graciously sliced through Troopers and deflected their blasters, all on your own. The way you used the force so effortlessly is a sight he will never forget. Between the two of you, you were always the fast learner.

But then everything happened so fast. Luke was still trying to process everything happening around him when the explosion happened. He remembered stumbling forward as the floor shook. How Han was yelling for the rest of the rebels to fall back. Luke didn’t care if his ears rang or if he was bleeding, he was busy looking back to see if you were okay. When he did, his knees almost gave in when he saw you laying there, bruised and bloody. He screamed for you as Han dragged him into the Falcon. His heart broke into a million pieces as Han jumped into hyperdrive. He sat there, staring blankly as he felt like half of himself was taken away; and that's exactly what they did to him.

Luke now stared at the sky, littered with millions of stars, wishing you were right there with him, in his arms once again. Thinking of how much easier rebuilding a Jedi Order would be if you were by his side. He was deep in thought when the loud sound of a starship entered the atmosphere. He sat up and watched as an unfamiliar ship plummeted into the nearby forest. Luke jumped up onto his feet and ran toward the ship to investigate.

As he ducked under fallen trees, he could see the ship in the distance, enveloped in smoke. He carefully approached, lightsaber in hand as he used the force to search for any kind of life forms but felt...nothing. With brows furrowed, he holstered his saber before walking closer to the ship to examine. And that's when he felt it.

His eyes went wide when he felt the familiar presence, the same presence that gets his knees buckling and heart racing and swelling with so much love. Never in a million years did Luke ever think he would feel that again. "No, it can't be." He whispered to himself as he desperately looked around, looking for a familiar face; looking for you, the love of his life.

He turned around and was immediately tackled down, lightsaber inches away from his neck. Unfazed, he looks up at you and could not believe his eyes. There you were, on top of him, alive and breathing, holding a lightsaber dangerously close to his face. He watched as realization hit your face, and your eyes softened as you studied his face. "L-Luke?" You squeaked, immediately deactivating your saber. You got off of him, making him immediately sit up. The two of you sat there, staring at each other, trying to process what was happening.

And without another word, the two of you tackled each other, this time with a tight embrace. Luke immediately buried his face into your shoulder as he pulls you to sit on his lap, trembling slightly as he felt the emotions wash over him. He wrapped his arms tightly around your waist as you rested your chin on top of his head, holding as tight. Luke shook his head, trying to convince himself that this was not a dream but reality. "Maker, I missed you so much." You whispered into his hair as you left a kiss on top of his golden brown hair. He nodded, agreeing as he peppered your shoulder and neck with kisses. You smiled, tears now brimming your eyes as you pulled away to look at him one more time.

"You're alive. How? I don't understand. I saw you that day— If only I've known, I would have—" He started to ramble but was cut off as you crashed your lips onto his. You smiled when you felt him melt into you, hands gripping your waist tightly. You cupped his face, soaking up the feel of him. Your hand massaged the back of his head, gripping his hair ever so lightly, making him whimper in return. Your tongues danced effortlessly with each other as you held onto each other for dear life. In need of air, the two of you finally pulled away, foreheads resting against each other. Luke leans in and rubs his nose against yours lightly, making you giggle as tears now freely fall from the both of you. You pulled away and took the time to examine his face intently. You reach up to wipe a tear as it trickled down his cheek, smiling when you see him lean against you. 5 years have gone by since you've last seen him and although he grew a bit older and some things may have changed, he was still your beautiful, blue-eyed, whiny, blue milk loving farmboy.

He was the reason why you survived all those years with the Empire, the thought of him was what you held onto as they did unimaginable things to you, trying to convince you to join their side. You told yourself that on the day you two finally reunite, you would thank him for being the hope in a time of despair; the light in a time of darkness for you.

"Thank you." You whispered, leaving a soft kiss just above his ear. He shuddered before pulling away to look at you, brows furrowed, making you laugh. "For what, my love?" He asked, "There's nothing to thank me for. I... I failed to save you, to rescue you. I should've returned for you, if only I had known—" You playfully roll your eyes before kissing him to shut him up. "You've done enough, love. You've done so much, please believe me." You added, as you cupped his face once again, giving him a quick peck. The moon now stood high, perfectly hitting Luke's face, giving you a perfect view. "Luke, are you... blushing?" You asked with a smile and he immediately looks away. "No."

"Maker, you still blush when we kiss!" You tease, laughing as you two began to get up from the ground. "I am not! It's just—"

"Don't you dare say it's sunburn, Skywalker." You smiled, wincing as you stood up, the adrenaline beginning to die down and the pain coming back. "Also, you think you have bacta patches to spare? I think I'll need a kriff ton of em." You sighed as you felt that you still could not put any weight on your leg. Luke throws your arm over his shoulder as an arm slid around your waist, pulling you close to him. "Whatever you need, my starlight, I will give. Let me take care of you."

You looked at him, only to see him admiring you with so much love, no point in arguing. You nodded, leaning into him, letting him guide you back.

"Also, where are we?"

Luke smiled as he stopped in his tracks, making you look up at him. You could tell he was still in disbelief that you were right there with him again. Kriff, you were too. "Home. You're home." He continues as he brings a hand up to caress your cheek before leaning down to give you another passionate kiss. "Welcome home, my love." He whispered.

And he was right. You were home, because wherever Luke is, that's where home was.

#luke skywalker #luke skywalker x reader #luke skywalker imagines #star wars #luke skywalker fanfiction #luke skywalker fanfic #luke skywalker fluff #star wars fanfiction #mark hamill

146 notes · View notes

2hiigh2cry · 3 months

Text

hiiiii! you guys should totally go read chapter one of my Luke Castellan au!!

it’s called soft sounds from another planet , based off the Japanese Breakfast album (aka my favorite)

anyways yea please go check it out id love to hear what you guys think about it and… you can also send requests for little blurbs or one shots for little Luke and reader (nsfw will be deleted‼️)

thank you guys !!!! 💋💋

and thank you to tloml @sarhrts for helping me decide on the series name 😩

32 notes · View notes

gracie7209 · 9 months

Text

Amaryllis Chapter 12: Home

Pairing: Frankie x f!Reader

Word Count: 7.3k

Warnings: Light on the angst this time, kissing, fluffy-fluff, language, the baby is present in this one, descriptions of breastfeeding said baby, dad!Frankie, TOM - he IS his own warning, there’s some violence, reminder that Frankie is still healing from his injuries, reader being a badass, slight time jump, Frankie being the most endearing human being on the planet (I’m biased, sue me)

Summary: Picks up immediately AFTER Chapter 11. Tom comes home to confront you about what he saw on camera.

A/N: We’re to the last full chapter for this story before the Epilogue. It’s very bittersweet for me because I have had so much fun writing this story and interacting with everyone, answering questions etc I’m sad that it’s almost over, but I’m excited to get going on some of my other WIPs. I’ve dabbled, but wanted to dedicate the majority of my time to getting this one completed. Thank you all for the love you’ve shown my little story. I appreciate every like, comment, reblog and ask more than you know 💖 🫶

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist

You wake up to the sound of crying. The monitor on your nightstand signaling a very unhappy baby, and by the full feeling in your chest, you decided it was definitely time for a feeding. You stretch your tired limbs and notice that the spot next to you is surprisingly void of Frankie.

You’d asked him to stay with you, hesitant as he was with Tom’s absence, but Santi would let him know if they had anything to worry about. So, he stayed. The problem was that you guys fell into bed rather suddenly. The weight of your confessions to one another came to a fiery crescendo as you both left behind a brazen trail of clothing and other items strewn throughout the edge of the living room and hallway.

You smile at the memory of Frankie’s mouth on your neck, his hands on your body… Shaking your head, you make your way to the nursery, only to find Frankie standing over the crib. You decide to just lean against the doorway. Frankie hasn’t noticed you yet, so you decide to watch him for a few minutes, interested in seeing how he would interact with a baby. Your baby. The image immediately makes your heart squeeze in your chest. Tom never really helped with him, only when directly asked. He never seemed exactly interested in his own son. Yet Frankie’s face showed pure fascination —He was trying to soothe him. Your son was fussy, yes, but not completely ravenous yet.

Frankie seems unsure of what to do as his hands fidget with the side of the crib. It’s like he wants to reach in and pick him up but he's hesitant. Instead, he reaches his hand in and lightly traces over the soft hair of his eyebrows— Something you knew your son took comfort in. Your mother had done it for you as a small child and so it came naturally to you with your own. You’re not sure where Frankie learned it, but it seemed to be doing the trick as the little whines began turning into coos. You knew it was short-lived though as your breasts were already heavy, but for now, you were just enjoying the view.

Watching Frankie take care of your son - You had almost forgotten that this wasn’t your actual life, or at least it wasn’t up until now. For the first time, you had hope that things were about to change drastically.

Surely enough, like you had anticipated, within minutes the soft coos turn grumpy, and the hungry cries start up in full force. Frankie looks slightly panicked, but with a quiet resolve, he takes a breath and tries to reassure the crying babe with his words. “Alright buddy, I’m not super great at this stuff, but here we go…” And with that Frankie reaches in and cradles his delicate head and neck in his large palm, gently wrapping the other hand behind him to support his bottom. Slowly, Frankie pulls him out of his crib and brings him gently onto his chest. He’s still a little fussy, but the change seems to calm him slightly.

Frankie pats his bottom and is slowly swaying from side to side— “See, that’s better huh?” Frankie says in a whisper. He takes a second to just look at him. “You’re such a little guy… you look just like your momma.” As Frankie continues his light babbling, you notice the baby’s head moving, rooting around against Frankie’s chest. Getting fussy again, it’s obvious to you that he’s looking for something that Frankie doesn’t have. Unaware, but getting there, Frankie keeps talking to try and soothe him, but finds that he’s getting a little overzealous, “Sorry pal. I know my chest isn't nearly as comfortable. I just don’t have the same equipment as your— Oh!” Frankie does a quick face palm, annoyed at himself. “God I’m dumb….” You giggle softly to yourself as you knew Frankie would figure it out. He hadn’t put a shirt back on before coming to check on the baby, so being skin to skin has your son thinking he’s about to get fed.

“Here, let’s go get your momma buddy.” He turns slowly to make his way to the bedroom where you are, presumably, still fast asleep, but he stops when he sees that you’ve been there almost the whole time. You just smile and meet him halfway.

“I was trying to let you get more sleep, but uh, turns out I’m lacking in the proper equipment.”

“That’s ok,” you reach up and put your hand on his cheek after Frankie passes him safely to you. “Thank you, babe.” The little endearment has Frankie’s cheeks feeling warm and he smiles. “You’re welcome. I’m sorry if this was uh, weird, at all. I was just… You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Not at all. And I trust you, Frankie. I know you would never hurt him. You looked like a natural.”

“Yeah, well I’ve never been around babies before…” Frankie’s focus turns to him yet again. “They’re just so little…” He brings a hand up to the baby’s head and rubs between his eyebrows again.

“Would you want to help me feed him?”

“Uh, yeah of course… I’m just not sure how though, he just… Um… just drinks from you right?”

“Yes,” you snicker a little, “but it’s easier to get situated with an extra pair of hands.”

“Ok then, lead the way Momma…” Your eyes shoot up, and your stomach does a little flip at simply being called what you are — Momma — It shouldn’t make heat coil in your gut while simultaneously making your eyes tear up. The endearment means so much to you. Frankie acknowledging you as a mother just makes you want to climb inside of him forever…. He’s so giving with his affection that it overwhelms you sometimes.

You sniffle lightly as you turn and make your way to the bedroom. Normally, you stay in the rocking chair in the nursery, but you want to stay as close to Frankie as possible. Once inside, you turn and hand him the baby as you grab your nursing pillow and go to sit up in the bed. You fuss with the other pillows behind you until you find a comfortable and relaxing position and motion for Frankie to bring him back. As Frankie hands your son back to you, he watches in awe as you do the most natural thing in the world and feed your child. You bring your breast to his mouth, it taking a few tries before he finally latches and then you take a slow deep breath, willing your body to relax. Frankie is still standing next to you, just watching. Completely enthralled at seeing you this way. He had watched you nurse him before, but it had only been during the day, and mostly by yourself in the nursery. He’s never been present from start to finish. Without another word, Frankie comes around to rejoin you on the bed, nuzzling as close to you as he can without disturbing you or the baby.

“You’re incredible—” He whispers into your shoulder. “I know it’s just nature, but you make it look beautiful.”

The love you see in his eyes makes your stomach swoop. He constantly surprises you with how very different he is from Tom. The two men are polar opposites in such a way that you don’t think you’ll ever be used to. You’ve never had Tom look at you like that. Have never been given such open affection that it starts making you emotional. The tears escape without warning, but you’re so happy you feel like you could burst.

“Hey, hey…” Frankie whispers, “Are you ok?”

“Yes, yes sorry. I just… Thank you Frankie. You are such a good man. Thank you for being here with me. It really means a lot.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He brings his thumb up to lightly stroke over your shoulder. “It’s almost over, Bonita. And I’ll to be here in whatever way you’ll have me.”

“I’m gonna to hold you to that.” You smile, a small chuckle escaping your lips as you swipe away a stray tear.

“I’m counting on it….” Frankie lays a gentle hand on the back of your head and kisses your temple. His lips linger against you as he whispers, “I love you. I love you so much.”

“Mmmm,” you sigh. “I love you too.”

Leaning back slightly, Frankie makes room for you to lean more into his chest without moving around a whole lot. You both just sit there, soaking up this time together. Getting a glimpse of what the future, your future, may look like. A future with you and Frankie and your son. No Tom and no worries about anything other than the three of you.

—

When the baby is full, sleepy and sated, you go to put him in his crib. Frankie had fallen asleep again and it was your turn to try and let him sleep. You slip out of the bed with practiced ease, slowly laying down your sleeping babe and checking that the monitor was on before closing the door. You make your way to the kitchen for a glass of water and see Frankie’s phone sitting on the counter. When you go to check the time it's dead. Grabbing your glass, you take the phone back to the bedroom with you and put it on the charger next to your side of the bed. After a minute or two, the phone starts buzzing, almost constantly with notifications. You look and see message after message coming from Santi.

The first thing you see makes you suck in a breath, feeling as though the ground has opened beneath you.

CAMERAS!

Your mind is racing with every possible worst-case scenario. You turn to Frankie, trying to gently shake him awake.

“Frankie! Frankie, wake up!” You speak as quietly as you can, but with urgency, because cameras can only mean one thing.

“What? What is it?” He sits upright and looks to you, reaching his hand over to yours. “Are you ok? The baby, ok?”

“Yes, yes, it’s your phone…. It died, so I put it on the charger. A bunch of messages just came through, but I only saw one about fucking cameras. I think Tom saw us!”

“Fuck… No, no, no, shit…” He opens his phone and quickly scrolls through Sant’s messages,

CAMERAS!

Pick up Fish! Tom is ON HIS WAY!

Me and the boys are following but he’s got a head start.

CHARGE YOUR FUCKING PHONE PENJEJO! JESUS...

If you’re getting these, he doesn’t know about you yet, but if you’re there when he gets home…. You need to leave, NOW!!!

Frankie scrambles up to find his clothes, still mostly in the hallway. Nearly pulling his hair out by the roots as he frantically runs his fingers through his messy curls.

“Tom’s on his way here. I don’t know when these came in, but the safe house is only an hour away.” He grabs his phone again, typing a quick reply to Santi.

Fuck, how long??

He is hoping like hell that these had just been sent. Frankie tosses the phone back on the bed and comes over to you.

“Come with me. Both of you, we could all just go. Right now. We already have his confession…” He doesn’t want to leave you any more than you want him to leave, but you know you can’t yet…

“Frankie, it’ll be ok. You go.” His face falls, but he’s not understanding. “I want to go with you. But we need more time. If I’m gone when he gets back, it will make it even harder to pin him down. I’ll be fine here until we turn him in. By then, Tom will be in jail and then we will be free to go.” You’re not completely sold on your own words, but Frankie’s current dilemma left little room for argument. If you were gone when Tom got here, he would know without a doubt that something was up.

“You’re right…. I just don’t want to leave you again….” He’s looking down at you with those big brown eyes that make you instantly want to say to hell with it and just leave. Tom be damned.

“It’s ok...” You reach up to kiss him, rubbing his cheek with your thumb. He brings his forehead to yours— Breathing you in and kissing your lips again before turning to go. You get up to follow him and see him off, but before he even reaches the door, headlights shine through the window.

“Oh, fuck….”

“It’s ok, it’s ok…. Just… go hide…”

“What? No…. I’m not gonna go hide… Where would I even go, under your bed?”

“No, smart ass,” neither of you are angry, but you don’t have time…. “Go to the nursery. He hardly ever goes in there. He shouldn’t need anything either, so once he’s in the bedroom, you can sneak out. Now GO!”

“Fuck, ok…” He’s spouting small curses as he practically runs to the nursery, softly opening and closing the door. You go back into the kitchen to the fridge to look like you’re making a snack when the front door opens and Tom walks inside.

The click of the door being closed makes your stomach swoop and now in a good way, but it's Tom's voice that truly makes your skin crawl.

"Babe?" He hollers as soon as he steps in.

“Tom? What are you doing home?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?”

“Tom, it’s late… I just got done feeding the baby and wanted something to eat. Whatever it is, can it wait until morning? I’m tired.”

Like he doesn’t even hear you at all he asks, “Anything you want to tell me? Or better yet, you got anyone back there you want to introduce me to?”

“Are you serious? What are you even on about Tom?” You swallow…. A hard lump in your throat.

“Just saw something on the cameras that your little boyfriend left behind. Care to explain?”

“What? Tom, I swear, sometimes I think you get off on the thought of me with someone else. Do you hear yourself right now? How crazy you sound?”

Tom is moving around looking for something. When he spots the hat, still sitting undisturbed on the coffee table, he points a taunting finger toward you, then aims it toward the living room… “What about that sweetheart? Care to explain who's hat that is?”

You pale and swallow thickly. Fuck fuck fuck. You thought you had grabbed everything, but Frankie’s hat had fallen off at the very beginning and then left both of your minds altogether. “I’m not sure.” You can feel the shake in your voice, but you press on. “Maybe Santi left it the other day?”

“Nope. Try again babe.”

“Seriously Tom, this is nonsense. It’s a hat. I’ve been cleaning, or at least trying to with a newborn and I probably just set it there to get it out of the way without realizing it.

Tom makes his way over to the coffee table and picks it up abruptly — flipping it over, it takes just a second before it drops unceremoniously from his hands as if it had burned him.

“What? Where the fuck did this come from?!” He’s practically yelling now….

“Tom, quiet down! You’re going to wake up the baby… It’s just a hat. Stop this.”

“No! This,” he picks the hat back up, twisting and flinging it around. “Isn’t just a fucking hat. This... This is…. What the fuck??” He takes just a moment to breathe. “How did Frankie’s hat get in my house?”

“What? Why would you think that it’s Frankie’s?

“Standard. Heating. Oil. Sweetheart.” He points to each word as he says them, each one punctuated and sharp. “This is Frankie’s motherfucking hat. How? He was… He was wearing it when… He was fucking wearing it when he fell….”

You’re speechless. You honestly don’t know what to say to that. There was no lying your way out of this. So, you don’t say anything at all.

“Answer me… How did you get this?” You look up at the ceiling, begging for words to find you. The only connection you had to Frankie was through Santi. Maybe he’d buy that Santi had gone back for it? Maybe it would give you just a little time to work up something better?

“Santi gave it to me.”

“He what now?”

“Santi, he gave it to me. Said it was the only thing he found and knew Frankie would want me to have it. Said he hid it from the rest of you. He didn’t say why.”

“Is that so? Then why’s it just sitting out?”

“Because it’s the only thing left of someone I cared about! I… I miss him, Tom. So, I took it out to try to feel closer to him. Guess I just forgot to put it back.” You’re shocked at how easily the words keep pouring out of your mouth now that you’ve started.

“I don’t fucking believe you. Santi would’ve told me if he found anything of his. You’re lying.”

“Then you tell me Tom. How else do you explain how a dead man’s hat just magically appeared in our house huh? A man that you killed, unless you’ve forgotten that fact?? Frankie was your friend and you pushed him off a cliff and made it look like an accident. All because you were jealous! You killed him because you were jealous that he touched one of your precious toys!!”

“He fucking got what he deserved. And You — You liked him more than me. My own wife… Wanted another man.” God, he was pathetic…. Pretending as though you had betrayed your loving marriage to have a fling with someone else. You don’t say a word as Tom continues blithering. He wouldn’t let you get a word in even if you tried.

“And yes, he was supposed to be my friend. My friend….” He emphasizes ‘my’ by aggressively tapping his chest with his fingers. “I didn’t go to Colombia planning to kill the bastard originally. It just happened. He opened his fucking mouth and I shut him up.” You wince. The visual makes you shudder.

“But sweetheart, that still doesn’t explain how this motherfucking hat ended up on my coffee table when he was wearing it when I shoved his sorry ass off the cliff!

At that moment, Frankie couldn’t handle anymore. He was going to deal with Tom, and he was going to do it now. He opens the door and closes it softly, slowly walking down the hallway to the living room. He takes a breath and steps out.

"Sorry ass off the cliff!!!"

Tom is facing you in the kitchen, so he doesn’t see Frankie right away. Instead, Tom stalks over to you and gets in your face, but before he has a chance to start yelling again, Frankie taps him on the shoulder, hitting him square in the jaw as soon as Tom turns around.

Tom falls like a fat sack of rotten potatoes, hitting the ground with loud ‘thunk.’

“Fuck you, Tom!” Frankie straddles his legs and starts laying into him. Landing a few well-deserved hits right across Tom’s face. His adrenaline was so high that he didn’t stop to think about the fact that his broken ribs were still healing… but is quickly reminded when Tom gives him two quick hits to the side which has Frankie doubled over almost instantly.

“How the fuck are you alive? I watched you die…”

Tom stands up and hovers over Frankie’s prone form, taking in the sight of his former friend. His anger has him laying a kick directly to his ribs and Frankie groans out in pain.

“You just couldn’t stay away, could you? You should’ve fucking stayed dead.” Another kick and Frankie is on his stomach, unable to defend himself any longer.

“Tom fucking stop it! STOP!”

He just looks at you with disgust and leans over Frankie. “Maybe I didn’t give you enough credit Frank. But I won’t fuck it up again. This time you’re going to stay fucking dead—” At that Tom grabs a handful of Frankie’s hair, slamming his head down and he goes limp. You are screaming at Tom to stop, but he doesn’t hear you, nor does he care.

Tom is running his disgusting hand through Frankie’s hair as he says, “it’s almost over sweetheart!”

You run to try to pull Tom off of him. You know you’re no match whatsoever for Tom’s strength, but you think if you can give Frankie even a little window of time, that he’ll be able to get back up. Tom easily dispels you across the room, hitting the couch with a small thud, but you’re quick to get back up. In their scuffle earlier, what must have been Tom’s gun was dislodged and is lying behind them. You make a quick move for it and instantly aim it at Tom’s back.

“Tom, get the fuck off of him now!”

“And why would I do that, huh?” Tom is still looking down but turns on his knees to face you. “Should I just”— Looking up, he stops short at the sight of you aiming a gun at him. At first, he seems shocked, but then his expression turns amused.

“Huh, whatcha got there darlin? You even know how to work that thing?”

You hold the weapon steady, feeling every ounce of the weight you hold in your hands. That weight includes the life of your husband, whose chest is directly in your aim. “Tom, get the hell off of him, and go— “You wait a moment to gauge his reaction. His features still harbor amusement at the mere idea of you holding a gun, let alone threatening him. He doesn’t say a word, so you continue…

“Get away from him Tom.” Your voice is smooth in warning. “I’m done with this. With you. I won’t fucking hesitate. And I will take absolute fucking joy in watching you take your last breath.”

Tom still makes no move to get away from Frankie. His honest refusal to believe that you could do such a thing has you feeling bolder by the minute.

“Come on babe. You and I both know you’re not gonna shoot me.”

“Tom, I promise you. I’m not joking…… Get away from Frankie and get out. I’m going to give you to the count of three before I pull the trigger….”

“Uh huh…”

“One…….”

“Here we go…” The condescension in his tone has you grinding your teeth.

“Two…….”

“Two and a half,” comes Tom’s cynical reply. “TOM!”

“What?? Two and three quarters…. Come on now, do I have to do all the counting for you? What are you waiting for?!”

You say his name one last time in warning. Measured and slow.

“Tom….”

“One, two, three! See? I fucking knew you— “

You pull the trigger before he can finish.

“Fuck!” —Tom looks down at his shoulder that is now steadily bleeding through his shirt and jacket, then brings his gaze back to you. Your eyes don’t waver even slightly.

You still have the gun aimed directly at his chest. “That was a fucking warning, Tom. Get the fuck out of here — Leave us, ALL of us, alone, or so help me GOD, I will not miss!”

Tom slowly gets to his feet, never breaking eye contact with you as he slowly goes to the door. He takes one last look down at Frankie. He huffs slightly, before opening the door and slamming it behind him. You run to quickly latch the deadbolt before backing away, keeping the gun trained on the door until well after his taillights have faded, not trusting a single thing at this point. Before long, another set of headlights pull in. You’re not even aware of how long it’s been, but it couldn’t have been too long as Frankie has yet to move. Your worry for him was barely overshadowed by your fear of taking your aim away from the door. You hear a car door slam, and you tense, slowly moving closer to Frankie, who is still seemingly unconscious on your floor. You hear knocking - faint at first, but it quickly becomes more urgent when you don’t answer.

“Hey! It’s me, it’s Santi! You guys, ok!?” You run to the door and quickly undo the locks, swinging it open to let Santi inside…. “Is he out there? Is Tom out there?”

“No, no one’s out there except Will and Benny. What happened??” He takes a moment to take in the scene in front of him—The terrified look on your face, the fucking gun in your hand and then he sees Frankie’s crumpled form on the ground… You follow his line of sight and quickly run back over to Frankie, gently cupping his cheek. At this time, Will and Benny start making their way up the porch steps. You’re slowly going over Frankie’s features, checking to see if he needs to be taken to the hospital now that it was, presumably, safe with Tom gone and the guys here to help if he decided to show up again.

His breathing is steady, his chest moves easily with every breath, so you move on to his face. Tom had smacked his head pretty hard on the ground, so he was sporting a bloody nose and bruised cheek. Having only been maybe 10 minutes or so, it felt like Frankie had been out for hours. You’re hoping that he’ll walk away with a slight concussion if anything, but the worry is written all over your face.

“Don’t worry…He looks pretty pitiful now—” Santi is backtracking quickly, raising his hands in surrender at your scowl that could cut glass… “Shit! —No, no…. I mean he may look pitiful now, but Fish is a tough motherfucker.” Santi reassures you. “I’ve watched the man take bullets, shrapnel, survive a helicopter crash and walk away from falling off of a goddamn cliff! He’s gonna be fine. Just give him some time.”

Will and Benny choose then to come inside and at that same time Frankie finally starts to move. “M’ sorry, sorry.” He mumbles, looking up to you. “— still healing.”

“No, no Frankie… It’s ok…. It’s ok... I’m just glad you’re alright… Do you think you can get up at all?”

He grunts and holds his arm against his now at best, badly bruised ribs and manages to get to a sitting position, leaning heavily into your side for support.

“Frankie?” Comes Benny’s hesitant reaction to seeing his friend again.

“Hey Ben.”

“Fuck, man,” Benny runs over to him and pulls him into a hug, but Frankie’s grunt of pain makes Benny release him immediately. “Sorry, sorry! I just can’t fucking believe you’re here…”

Benny pats him on the back and Frankie is trying to be reassuring, uttering “It’s alright… I’m alright man,” more than a few times before Benny seems to believe him. They continue to make small talk while you take in your surroundings, the adrenaline wearing off to the point of exhaustion on your part. You honestly can’t believe that the baby hadn't woken up during any of the commotion. You had checked the monitor and sure enough, he was still sleeping, safe and sound.

Will and Santi are now talking over by the door. Will had come over shortly after Benny and said a few kind words of hello to Frankie, but he’s always been the quieter Miller brother and decided to let Benny get some time. You and Frankie are now sitting on the couch. He grabbed your hand for support when he made to get off the floor, but he never released you. Keeping some part of himself always connected to you.

The police were called soon thereafter, as Tom was still technically a problem. You didn’t feel safe staying in your house even one more night, so Santi said you all could stay with him for the time being until things sorted themselves out. The police took your report, and a copy of the recording was given to them as well.

Tom was eventually wanted for attempted murder and assault - Not only for Colombia, as jurisdiction would only go so far, but everything that happened that night was caught on camera, as Tom himself had made sure they were turned on. Tom had not only admitted to what he had done to Frankie on recording, but you both would testify that he intended to finish the job.

An emergency order of protection was immediately filed on behalf of you and Frankie as well as your son.

After a few weeks, Tom’s previous actions had made the judge’s decision an easy one when it came down to signing off on the extended ex parte orders.

No one, including Santi or the guys, had heard a word from Tom since.

After so long, you were finally able to start living your own life. A life free from Tom, for now, but you were technically still married to him. You decided you would have to worry about that another day. For the time being, you just needed to breathe and start figuring out this new life for yourself.

And just like that, something you had only ventured to imagine, yet never thought would be possible; you were able to be with Frankie openly and, to some extent, without fear. There was no longer the weight of being caught together and you would never be under Tom’s constant watch or possession ever again. Whatever problems arose in the future, you and Frankie would face them together.

—

And so, time moved slowly after that as none of you could anticipate how things would go with Tom. Would he just show up one day? Would he let you go—?

There was no way to know, but with time, you ultimately became less afraid. You became less anxious about running into him at random times. That constant need to watch your back at every turn had also significantly diminished. So much so, that eventually, you and Frankie decided to move into his father’s cabin.

Frankie had been slowly trying to fix it up here and there, getting it ready just in case it could be of use to you and the baby so you could feel more comfortable.

Not that staying with Santi wasn’t comfortable, and you were so very grateful for him allowing you to stay there. However, you hated feeling like a burden on Frankie’s friend, your friend. Housing three additional people was a lot to take on and you didn’t want to overstay your welcome even though Santi preached that you all could stay with him as long as you needed to.

There was also the added benefit of Tom never having known about the cabin in the first place. It had belonged to Frankie’s late father, who he hadn’t had the best relationship with in the end, but he left the cabin to Frankie nonetheless when he passed. Frankie never really cared to do much with it in the time following his inheritance. His relationship with his dad, along with some memories he would rather forget, kept him from trying to utilize the space, but he also didn’t feel right just selling it either.

Back when Frankie had come to your rescue after Tom had gotten violent for the first time, the cabin was where he brought you. He had offered you shelter and essentially a home with not one ounce of hesitation. The timing of course wasn’t right, but you never forgot about it. Frankie had eventually brought it up to you, offering you the cabin yet again. He claimed that he could either stay with Santi or go back to his old place, having stayed with you this long. He was giving you the choice to do this without him if you wanted to. Now that all the dust had settled for the most part regarding Tom, at least the imminent threat that he posed that is, Frankie didn’t want to just assume that you were his. He knew that you loved him as you told him every chance you could, but he was desperate to give you the space and opportunity to choose him as opposed to feeling obligated by everything that had happened.

You listened to Frankie’s reasoning, let him get it out of his system so that he knew you were taking all things into consideration. You have known for months now what you wanted, and you weren’t about to let his anxiety and self-doubt get in the way.

The cabin would be a home to all of you, or to no one. Even if you decided to live somewhere else, home would always include the three of you so long as Frankie was willing.

And so, Frankie got to work making the cabin into a home. He was ready to make new memories here, memories that weren’t darkened by his past or that of his family. He couldn’t work fast enough and before long, the three of you moved in. It was also closer to the city, which meant that you were much closer to your mother and Frankie would be closer to work once he was finally cleared to go back.

Only a few weeks after moving into the cabin, you desperately needed to be rid of your connection to Tom. You were still legally married to him, and you weren’t even sure where to start. How would it work if Tom couldn’t be found to sign divorce papers? If he even would. It was terrifying to say the least, but you had to try.

You and Frankie went to a lawyer to begin the process and see what options were even available to you. The thought of staying married to Tom while being with Frankie made you feel like a horrible person. Even though you knew what your marriage was, it still felt wrong. You wanted to be done with it, with Tom in general. The looming threat where your mother was concerned had diminished significantly as well, now that Tom was pretty well out of your lives. There was too much at stake for him to risk trying to expose her, without also risking himself now that he was a fugitive in his own right.

The lawyers assured you that everything would be ok. In your situation, you were looking at something called Marital Abandonment. The court would have to attempt to serve Tom with divorce papers, but when unable to do so, they would then have to Service by Publication. Basically, letting an ad run in the newspaper referring to the case regarding your pending divorce, for a minimum of four weeks. It would need to be left unanswered before divorce proceedings could officially begin, but for Tom to answer, he would then have to come back out of whatever hidey hole he was staying in, and you honestly weren’t too worried.

That also left the question of your son who, while never exactly there to begin with, was currently without a father. Frankie had taken on the role beautifully and without complaint. He loved your son and treated him as his own since day one. You and Frankie had discussed that once the divorce was finalized, you would be taking whatever steps necessary to make it official.

Not six months after Frankie seemingly came back from the dead, he asked you to marry him. It was perfect. Sweet and simple. Very much like your Frankie. Your mother had taken the baby for the night, giving you and Frankie a much needed and (unbeknownst to you) very well-planned night out. It was just supposed to be dinner, but then Frankie surprised you with a detour down to the landing to watch the fountain show beside the lake. The landing was essentially an outdoor strip mall, with a large pathway in the center that led to the giant water fountains overlooking the lake behind it. Hotels, restaurants, as well as clothing stores and gift shops lined the strip, and it was like nothing you had ever seen before. You had lived in the city for a long time, but this was well off the beaten path, at least for you. You could feel the tone shift when you arrived, but you figured it was due to this being a place completely new to you.

The weather was nice that evening for once, not too cold, but cool enough that you would use the excuse to snuggle up as close to Frankie as possible to stay warm. When the water started shooting up towards the sky, there were bright flashing lights that would change patterns to all kinds of different music that was played to accompany the area surrounding you. It was absolutely beautiful.

About mid-way through the show, you were both still standing together in a secluded area that was away from the bigger crowd, but still had a perfect view of the fountain. The sun had been beginning to set so the sky was streaked with pretty pinks, blues, and oranges; Golden Hour as Benny so liked to call it.

Suddenly, Frankie grabs your hand and turns you to face him without warning. You had known you felt a sort of tension throughout the whole evening, but in a good way, so you didn’t feel the need to question it before. You were taken off guard by the quick change, but it subsided almost instantly when you saw the smile on his face as he took both of your hands in his own.

He started by telling you how much he loved you, how much he adored your son, and how he couldn’t see himself living without either one of you again. You were unconsciously nodding your head yes before he even asked the question, but he continued.

…

“I never thought that I could want something as much as did when I thought I had lost you. Every day in Colombia was torture, but you got me through it. I talked to you…. Every day, I would ask your opinion on the things I was planning. Would ask your advice on what I should do. I would tell you everything about myself, but afterward, I was sad. I hated to think that there was a real possibility that you would ever actually learn those things. I realized then that I desperately wanted you to know me.”

His gaze is heavy, his eyes somewhere else entirely as he recounts his time in Colombia. You can’t do anything but listen to him. He’d mentioned before that he would talk to you when he was there, but he never went into detail before tonight.

“I wanted to know you too. What little I did know about you, before everything, seemed too intimate for someone that you shouldn’t exactly know that way. But I couldn’t help it. You were my best friend and I always wanted to know more. I told myself in Colombia, that if I somehow made it back to you, that I would do anything to have you in my life in some way. Even if it meant that we weren’t together, I just needed you in any capacity that you would have me.

Now that I’m back, you have stayed my best friend, my biggest support and my biggest ally. Don’t uh, don’t tell Santi that though….” That makes you laugh as you knew Santi was the proverbial “best friend.” You knew what he meant by it all the same.

“Since day one, I was yours. I’ve never been able to deny you anything. And I would never dream to. I want you - and that means everything and everyone that comes with you.”

You’ve been crying, heavy tears streaming down your face. Your smile reaching ear to ear is probably a sight, but you could care less. You were ready…. You just needed him to ask.

“If I ever do anything blatantly selfish in this life, I will gladly make it this—"

“Yes!” --You squeak out, unable to stop yourself…. Frankie smiles despite your interruption.

“But I haven’t even asked you yet.” He says coyly, his eyes taking a sly turn.

“I don’t care, Frankie…. My answer is yes.”

His smile is breathtaking. His eyes crinkle at the corners and there are tears just on the verge of falling, but he takes a breath. Determined to see this through.

“Ok, ok… Just, let me finish…” You nod as he takes a deep breath in and slowly lets it out….

“Ok… I knew — from the moment I met you, that you were special. And every meeting after that left me wanting more. Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn’t go very long without thinking about you. I didn’t know very much about you at the time, but then we would meet randomly…. At the Doctor’s office, the diner…. And then it became a regular thing to just sit and talk for a while. No expectations, no judgment. You listened to my story and never once made me feel less about my past. I fell in love with you over coffee, of all things….” He lets out a chuckle. “I noticed things more and more every time we would meet, things I most certainly shouldn’t have, but I did anyway. You made it easy. And after everything that’s happened? I wouldn’t trade those days for the world.”

You look up into his eyes as he slowly lowers himself down onto one knee, pulling a small box out of his jacket pocket.

“I love you.” His voice is firm and even. You would think that this would be a time where his constant visage of strength might waver ever so slightly. Nerves taking over at the prospect of asking someone to share their life with you. However, Frankie is solid. He seems completely sure in what he’s about to do. And so are you.

“I love you too Frankie.”

“I’m gonna ask you now, ok?” He whispers into your hand, still looking into your eyes.

“Ok,” you sniffle, trying to hold in a laugh. Your smile is so big it hurts.

“Bonita?” The anticipation is killing you.

“Yes?” You’re practically vibrating now…. His thumbs are rubbing slow, steady circles into your hands.

“Will you marry me?”

He’s looking at you with the biggest puppy dog eyes… You know that you could never say no to him and just like Frankie, you would never dream to.

“Yes.” Your voice breaks as tears stream down your face, but you get yourself together and continue. “Yes, Frankie, I would love to marry you.”

“That’s my girl,” and he surges up and meets your lips with his. You can taste the salt of both his and your own tears — Your arms wrap around his neck, and you kiss him with everything that you have. Finally, when you both pull away, you realize that he’s still holding the ring box and you motion towards it with a smirk…

“Shit… Here…” Frankie grapples with the box, opening it and quickly plucking the ring out, before putting the box back in his pocket. He grabs your hand and slowly slides the ring onto your finger, holding it up so he can see the reflection of the lights as they change colors, on tempo with the beat of whatever music was currently blasting through the speakers.

His gaze is still focused on your hand as his mind circles with how much it means to him that you said yes. However, you can’t stop looking at him.

When he eventually looks up to you, he brings your hand to his lips placing a kiss just above the ring on your finger. His eyes never break away from yours.

The fountains continue to go off behind you, the sun now almost fully set— The lights and music are a perfect background as Frankie leans forward to capture your lips again, sealing your future together with a kiss.

—

Taglist:

@bitchwitch1981 @hnt-escape @littlemisspascal @queridopascal-main @queridopascal @dashavo @imaswellkid @quica-quica-quica @just-here-for-the-moment @boliv-jenta @jb2856 @harriedandharassed @sunnysidekit @autumnleaves1991-blog @mymo-n @wildemaven @readingiskeepingmegoing @pastelnap @tanzthompson @pimosworld @spookyxsam @luciferiorbxtch @alwaysdjarin @rhoorl @mysterious-moonstruck-musings @ramblers-lets-get-ramblin @heythere-mel

A/N: I should have the Epilogue out within the week! Thank you all so much for reading!

58 notes · View notes