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cafecourage · 3 years

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The moment they realized they loved you. (Isekai Au Edition) Part 3

If you want more information on this AU here is the Link!

Hyrule:

- It confusing and full of yearning.

- The Fae Folk are very affectionate in nature. Physical touches and platonic kisses are just normal. Hyrule growing up briefly with them had adopted this habit.

- You are like that as well so you’re the one to take care of Hyrule when he wanted affection. Since other then Legend, it’s awkward to ask the others.

- He finds however while he still asks/gives you affection. He gets more flustered and embarrassed when you initiated contact.

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Admittedly Hyrule never had a clear understanding of Hylian social norms. Some things were easy to pick up when he was just traveling by himself. However, there was a lot that conflicted with Fae social norms. While yes, the Fae were more mischievous and could be borderline malicious, they are very affectionate creatures. Which was the one of many things Hyrule picked up when he was being raised by the Great Fairy.

Before you join the chain, he had to hold himself back from being overly affectionate with the group. Yes, when he had chances, he would give a quick side hug or ruffling of the hair for the younger Link’s. But nothing on the level of cuddles or small peaks on the cheek and forehead. You though! You were the one to lay the affection on everyone thick. Most if not every Hero has melted from all the complements and physical affection.

Hyrule was living his best life now with you! Cuddles are a must for the two of you. Especially when one another has been having a rough day. You’ve also gotten the others involved with this newly formed ritual. He just over all feeling comfortable and loved.

Which then leads to Hyrule’s issue. Slowly he began to feel embarrassed with every peak after he heals you. Then his heart begins to race when he is cuddled up resting his head against your chest. Even holding your hands became hard for him to stand! It felt so warm but also made him fearful. He was scared of losing you. Losing this warmth. This comfort. He wanted to keep it but scared that this feeling was to good for him.

“-and that’s what happen so far.” He was visiting the Great Fairy Cotera of Wild’s Era. He had visited her each time they visited Kakariko. Cotera gently hummed messing with his hair. “What should I do?” He looks up to the giantess worriedly. His small sisters surround him ether sitting on top of him or by his side.

Their mother hummed as she thought about his problem. “My dear sweet child.” She started after a long pause “this human… do you feel different compared to your other friends? Or with your siblings in the forest?”

Hyrule thought about it after a while shook his head. “No… I did used to feel embarrassed with the others but it was different. This is more… warm?”

“Warm?” She urges him gently to continue. “Do you hate it?”

“No…” he sounded like a child, fidgeting in his seat “I hate how anxious it makes me now.” You meant a lot to him. Hyrule knew you meant a lot to everyone too, but that normal! You’ve helped them all in some sort of way! Yet he was deep in that unidentifiable emotion towards you. He adores you. All of you. Even during your more impulsive actions he didn’t mind having to heal you. Of course, he would truly rather not heal anyone with his magic. Yet… with you giving his payment in kisses on the cheek or forehead… he can’t stay mad at you.

“Chin up little one.” Cotera lifted up his head “your feelings are valid and has a simple explanation.” Hyrule pouted slightly making her giggle a bit tapping lightly on his nose. “You my dear seem to love your sweet human.”

It was like a lanterned was just lit in a dark cave he was wandering in. Finally revealing a path out. Everything thing slowly explaining itself. “Oh…” was all he could say as he was comprehending it. His sisters were giggling at their brother’s expense causing him to blush. It all made to much sense.

“Roolie! Are you nearby?” He and the Great Fairy both perk up when they heard your voice. He stared up at the Great Fairy expectingly.

“Well?” Cotera nudged him off of the petals of her fountain. “What are you waiting for little one?”

___________________________________

- Well, that was embarrassing and he knows once he starts perusing you. The more his siblings of the forest will start to tease him. Not only that but the chain also catches on pretty quickly.

- He becomes a blushing and stuttering mess around you, not pulling away from your touch but leaning more into him.

- It will be a miracle if he confesses but he will! And he will do it in a more intimate manner though, with or without help.

___________________________________

Four:

- It took long to accept but filled with soft cotton fluff.

- Isn’t canon in the manga that the colors (minus Vio) straight up try to impress a girl they just met?

- Now I’m not saying he is like that now a days, but old habits die hard right. He probably doesn’t even recognize that he still does it.

- Honest to God the resident brain cell is the only one that new point blank what was happening. Having a “not again” moment.

___________________________________

It’s been a while since Four was back in his forage. He missed every second of it. The smithing process was the one hobby each color had in common. As Link they found it relaxing, something to get their mind off of things.

That morning was no different. Traveling on the road was stressful even for a seasoned adventurer. Traveling alone was boring which was the upside according to Red. It relieved them of responsibility Green was used to taking upon himself to carry. Blue was at least a lot calmer with having to be on alert all the time. Vio had pointed out this was mainly because of You.

The chaos came back full force. The same argument has been happening recently, it was about his feelings towards you. Now they all liked you as a friend. Four knew that for a fact. He was only six when he felt your presence and this situation, he was in was as if an imaginary friend became real! At least that’s what Red felt.

No matter if they were unified or separated, Four could trust you to help him out of even the messiest situations. So, what if some of those situations were caused by him trying to impress you? That doesn’t mean anything!

Just because Blue became a stuttering mess when you surprised Four with a flower crown just meant he was taken aback at your kindness! He isn’t good at showing his emotions. Yeah, so what about Green becoming a soft mess when you first showered him in praise and affection. Wouldn’t any person do that from someone that been through hell and back with them? It doesn’t count that Red craves your affection! He is like that with everybody and just because it makes him feel different it doesn’t count. Someone saves Vio from this.

Four was conflicted which is why he was working so early in the morning. They wouldn’t shut up about their own feelings. It was a chaotic mess inside his head as soon as he woke up. A weight on his back clued him back into reality “Good morning!” You while looking down at him smiling still holding on lazily. “How is the most beautiful person here doing?”

Ah. There goes most of composure out the window. Vio was the last one standing with Green and Blue almost hanging on. You loved to tease him and he was never able to get you back. “Don’t know how are you?” Four was really struggling to keep unified and calm. He was shaking because of the other three’s nerves. You stared at him wide eyed.

“Jeez look at you!” You give him a squeeze before finally let go of him “you’ve grown! If only you were that smooth towards Erune.” You teased.

The blush he was so desperately trying to beat down started to flare up this time out embarrassment. “Can we not talk about that?” Four could only cringe when he thought back at that bit in his adventure. Him and Erune have been close friends since then, but the colors were really trying to play the hero in front of the poor girl back then. Their antics truly were really not impressing anyone.

Green was really happy he grew out of it. Seriously it‘s not like Blue really cared about it anyway he was just a kid! Red was just happy that he got a long-term friend out of it! The audacity the others had was killing Vio. They are still just as bad and it seems like no one was listening to reason.

An explosion of emotions and thoughts collided in Four’s skull. Three denying their logical side’s claim all while getting thrown every instant in their faces by the odd one out. “Whatcha making anyway?” You were observing the short knife blade curiosity not seeing the other’s internal debate. Vio felt like he had to spell it out to each of them. Pulling up memories of their actions towards the outlander. Four struggled to focus on what you were saying but it was too loud!

“Woah there.” You turn him away from his project letting it sit safely on a cooler section of the work top. “Breath Link.” You where kneeling down in-front of him holding his hand. He focused on your warmth. The way you rubbed small circles on the back of his hand. On your voice that instructed him to breathe. In for four, hold for seven, let out for eight. Repeat. Slowly the divide melded back together. Soon the voices faded out. “There we go.” You whispered “good job Link.” Four stared back at you still tired from everything but nonetheless happy that your here with him.

Man, he loved you so much.

Wait-

___________________________________

- It was definitely an I told you so moment.

- Four as a whole though is still struggling to come to terms with it, even though he had already admitted his feelings.

- Another case of: drown him in affection until he realized. Not because of him not believing you! It’s just you have four people in a trench coat here! If one is conflicted then four as a whole will feel that subtly.

___________________________________

Bonus (just Headcanons):

Wind (finding out that a Link has a crush on you)

- The little gremlin is going to have a field day! He was thinking about messing around but the other hero is doing his work for him!

- The only one saved from this Black Mail harvest is you. He does have a few things but you mostly let him off the hook when he gets in trouble anyway sooooo…

- Not the best wing man but he honestly isn’t trying. He is just enjoying the journey.

- He might be tempted to help if he was asked but there isn’t much he could do. You are his right hand after all! Why would he let your secrets go so easily?

- Imagine Wind just vibes with you when the other Link is trying their best and you literally ask if the other hero was ok since they are acting weird around you. It would take Wind a minute to get an answer because all he is thinking is: ‘are you dense?’

- Or on the flip side. If you know about their feelings. He would definitely be on board of helping you out. Again, you’re his right hand! Of course, he’ll help you! (Favoritism)

- Wind: “Don't worry. He likes your butt and fancy hair. I know. I read their diary.” (Y/n): “He thinks it's fancy?”

(Part 1) and (Part 2)

My First Request is now done :D! That was fun. Thank you Pinky and Star for the request <3

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #london fog tea #Lu Hyrule #Lu Four #Lu Wind #WIND THE PIRATE BROTHER!#thats the tag for just wind stuff lol #isekai au

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cafeinthemoon · 3 years

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The Home I Crave - Chapter XV

Chapter: 15/?

Wordcount: 2900

Title: Hand Signs

Fandom: Naruto

Pairing: Tobirama Senju X reader

Previous chapters

1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14

Symbols: ⭕ . ➕ . 💛

Warning (s): none

N. A.: Yeah I think I owe you apologies for taking this long to post this chapter, but here it is, finally! I was feeling so upset and guilty for not writing as much as before, but it's simply because I haven't had time to sit down and work on my stories. These days have been rough 😣

You didn’t remember well how things happened after the man left your door. You only remembered seeing Tobirama turning to you and saying something, trying to raise his voice above the storm’s sounds, but it wouldn’t let you understand the exact words. You probably stood up and took the first clothes you could find, but you weren’t sure how; even less passable of an explanation was how your husband could find time to put his full armor before you two left the room, all your package except for the weapons being abandoned there as well as your hopes of having at least one pacific night before going back on your journey.

Somehow you reached the first floor, from where the people of the tea house were trying to leave as fast a possible. The ninjas you saw when you arrived at the place came to speak to you. They were in three.

You two turned to them and the one who seemed to be the leader of the group introduced himself:

- I am Yuuta from the Land of Wind– and turning aside to indicate his partners – These are my brothers, Yuji and Yoko. We understand that you two are shinobi like us. We’ve heard about the ditch and thought we could work together to help the people who live here.

There was no time to think about the strangeness of the situation or to have suspicions about the group. You felt a sort of regret for the bad impression you had of them at first, because they seemed to be honest people now that you paid close attention to them.

Apparently Tobirama had the same opinion, judging by his response when he spoke for you two.

- We are shinobi from the Leaf Village. I am Tobirama Senju and this is my wife, Y/n from the … clan. We are going to the village near this tea house to help the people there.

- I am used to work in rescuing missions and it would be of great help if some of you came with me – you completed.

Yoko, who was the only woman among them and seemed to be the youngest sibling, replied that she had experience in rescues too. You and the three ninjas had a quick conversation and it was decided that Yuuta and Yuji were going to help the people of the inn while you and Yoko were going to the village. However, when Yuuta asked Tobirama to stay at the inn with him and his brother, the Senju refused.

But it was the explanation given by him for such refusal that left everyone stunned.

- I will be more useful if I’d go with the women because I have a plan to stop the flood. However,I need to see the territory to make sure it will work.

The entire group stared at him in silence, but none of them dared laugh at him or question his attitude: it was clear that Tobirama was not joking, neither he was the type who needs to justify himself to others, even more if he just met them. That was not a man one wouldn’t take seriously. You yourself were caught in surprise, but you had the same reasons as the others to keep quiet as well.

In the end, Yuuta and the others nodded and the group was divided and you three were running toward the small village that was said to be near the tea house.

***

Now that you had some time to pay attention to your thoughts, you were running without talking, trying to process everything that was said during the conversation with the three shinobi of the Wind. So, Tobirama had a plan to help the villagers – perhaps a plan that started to take form when you were still in the inn’s room and your husband was talking to the man at your door – but whatever he wanted to do, it sounded absurd even to his standards. You started to think if all the Senju people were like him or if he was the one who differed from the rest of the clan.

Above these valid questions, an intrusive thought that you’ve been trying to suppress just took over your mind: you couldn’t forget the involuntary way in which you turned your head away from the group when you heard him introduce you as his wife. If that situation happened just a few days before you’d surely be irritated: he haven’t done anything that served as a proof that he acknowledged you as his spouse, so why would he call you his wife in front of those strangers? Well, after the things you’ve been through in that journey, it didn’t seem appropriate for you to just get angry. The truth was that you didn’t know how to feel about it.

If things stopped at this, you would be okay. Problem was that it didn’t: soon, you were remembering the dream you had just before the knocks on your door woke you up. The strangest part of it was that you weren’t sure of when exactly you fell asleep – was it before or after the… kiss? You firmly believed it was before. Just the diligent manner in which he left your side on the bed to answer the door showed that the kiss was not real. It couldn’t be.

But it felt so real. Almost as if you’ve been wanting it for days. Thinking of this made your face warm up despite the cold drops of rain falling on it.

Yoko’s voice brought you back to the present moment, among the sound of the raindrops on the trees above and the soaked soil swallowing your feet.

- Y/n-san, do you know this village? – she was asking – Any information about its geography can be useful for us to form a rescue plan!

You took a second to understand what she was saying under that storm, but once you did you tried as best as you could to explain that you’ve never been at the village.

- I’ve been in that tea house before, but I’ve never visited the village itself! I don’t know what we’re going to find there!

- So what now? – there was preoccupation implied in her tone.

- Supposing that the village’s territory is similar to the inn’s, with a flat ground and enough open space, things can be a bit easier – you knew it was a shot in the dark, but you wanted to avoid causing desperation in your new partner – It means that its people have a good chance to escape just by running. I’m a Doton user. I can stay behind and build barriers to delay the flood while you lead the way for them!

Fortunately for you, Yoko agreed with your suggestion.

- Right!

However, that was not the end of the conversation or your worries. The girl didn’t forget that Tobirama took a difficult – almost impossible –task for himself that would separate him from the rest of you, and decided to question him about it.

- And what about you, Tobirama-san? – she spoke to the man who was slightly ahead of you – What exactly are you going to do?

Tobirama replied your question as if the answer was something obvious.

- I am going to check the flood’s path and think of a way to stop it.

You opened your mouth and the storm drops that entered it almost made you gag.

- Listen, I know you are a master of Suiton, but I think that’s a bit extreme!

That time he looked at you while speaking.

- I do not plan to use mere Water Style to solve this, y/n-san. I will explain when we get there!

***

The village, just as the inn’s owner informed you, was so close to the tea house that you reached it in less than two minutes.

It was smaller than you imagined, though. It was formed by one large, main street that had its lines defined by groups of small, modest houses on both sides. These houses had their doors and windows all open, and the villagers were reunited outside them.You didn’t need to look for too long to see terror in their eyes. An old man was holding his cane so tight that his fingers were becoming pale; no so far from him, a woman was trying to calm down a child crying and asking what why was everybody so scared. Others were trying to run with packs on their backs, trying to reach the grove’s path. Among all those people there were some animals, faster than their owners in leaving the place to hide among the trees.

Tobirama, you and Yoko looked at each other but didn’t say anything. You just walked ahead and when the people noticed your presence, they opened the way for you without questioning your reasons to come. You knew what this reaction meant: it only showed how rare was for them to see shinobi in their territory.

Before any of you could ask who was in charge there, a man ran toward you, screaming:

- Who sent you three? The village is doomed! Soon this place is going to be under water!

You asked if anyone was missing.

- No, we are all here – the man replied – Except for Toji, who ran to the inn to alert the people there.

You were thinking of what to say in response when Tobirama took a step toward him and spoke in his commanding voice:

- We are shinobi from Konoha and we’re here to stop the flood! – and elevating his voice for the others to hear – All of you! My partners, y/n-san and Yoko-san, will guide you through the grove! Our other friends will meet your group in the middle of the way and help you! Do as they say and everyone will be safe!

You didn’t know it was possible for someone to obtain such power of influence on people they didn’t even know in so little time until you saw the people’s reaction to your husband’s words. Once they heard his voice, they gathered around him, their desperation soon replaced by a serious attention; they stopped pushing and stumbling on each other he gave his instructions. Their eyes turned to you then, and you did your best to calm them down: as your experiences in rescuing missions told you, that was the crucial moment when you had to make sure the victims would trust your leadership.

- Prioritize the women, the children and the elderly! Those ones who can carry children, do it! Do not take unnecessary weight with you! Follow the same direction and do not push each other! Yoko-san will go ahead of you, and I will be right behind you!

You pointed the grove’s path and felt relieved when you saw the people obeying your command. With words like “Do not look back” to the people, you went to the end of the line and saw Tobirama going to the end of the street, now empty. Instead of staying with the last people of the group, you followed him. You needed to ask what exactly he was going to do, because yes, you already knew he had an established plan, but you would feel safer if he shared its entirety with you.

Before you could say something, he turned and asked you:

- Y/n-san, do you have any Doton technique that is able to open a large crack or a ditch in the soil, one that could divide this ground from side to side?

You swallowed your surprise for receiving this very specific question and said that yes, you knew such technique. As well as its level of danger.

- Of course. But this is not a simple technique. It requires great quantity of chakra and might not work well if you’re not familiar with it. The ditch could end up not being deep or large enough.

Your reasons apparently were not enough to scare the Senju, however.

- Do not worry about it. This is exactly what I need right now. Tell me the signs.

You swallowed and told him the signs. His eyes followed your movements without blinking, and when you finished he thanked you with a nod. He made the signs of his Shadow Clone technique and created two other versions of him, each one with a pair of kunai that carried the mark of his Hiraishin. He also marked the Clones themselves with the seal.

As if he understood that you wouldn’t leave until he said something, he didn’t deny an explanation of his plan.

- Me and these two Clones are going to take positions at the points where the flood is going to pass. Each of us are going to use your jutsu to open ditches on the ground. They will contain part of the water and diminish its force. If it shows to not be enough to completely stop the flood, it will at least minimize the destruction in the village’s ground.

So he was really going to try what you suspected: to stop the water all by himself. Within the little time you had at the moment, you thought of it. If this have happened just a few days before, the first and only thing you’d think would be how ambitious, even pretentious of him to try such plan without help. But now that you’ve seen a bit more of Tobirama, something like that coming from him didn’t sound so absurd. No, it was exactly the kind of thing you should expect. You also remembered when he manifested an interest in seeing that village’s structure when you were talking to the inn’s owner. Of course: he lived in a village, one that he helped to build and worked to protect. It was only natural for him to be willing to do something for the people of this one when it was in his power to do it.

You stood for a moment.

- Tobirama.

That was the first time you called him by his name. It was enough to make him turn to you again; his Clones followed his move.

- If your plan doesn’t work as you expect, do not stay here.

There was no disdain for your preoccupation in his reply. Still, the respect for your worries didn’t stop him from exposing his belief in the plan’s success and reminding you that you didn’t know everything he could do. Not yet.

- It will work. Thanks to your technique.

And without waiting for a response from you, he turned to his Clones and sent them ahead. They used their kunai and teleported themselves to somewhere out of your sight.

***

When you went back to the group of villagers and explained your husband’s idea to Yoko, you sensed that she was as shocked with his plan as you were, but she was better than you in handling her surprise.

With the shock came the question you never felt you were ready to answer.

- Well, that’s an audacious thing to try. But do you trust him with this?

You nodded without thinking too much of your own fear. Yoko was not your only company; the villagers were there, looking at you – and you knew that in times like that, the wrong word could mess up with the best plans.

- I will go to the end of the line now. Just follow the plan!

The girl didn’t waste time with discussions or doubts.

- Right!

With these matters solved between you and her, you ran back to the end of the line.

But you wouldn’t stay with the people for too long. Patiently, you waited until the last villager entered the woods, far enough from the flood’s way, to go back to Yoko and talk to her apart from the folks.

- Listen. When you asked me if I trusted my husband’s plan, I said yes. And I really do. But I can’t go with you and leave him behind.

The woman’s reaction was nothing like you expected when you said that. Instead of minimizing your worries or suspecting from you, she put her hand on your shoulder, speaking in an assuring, whispered tone;

- Of course you can’t. Don’t worry. I’ve been living among men for a while. I know how stubborn they can be sometimes – she then looked over her shoulder, to a spot above, in a tree; there was a bird looking down at you, one of the species used to send messages – Besides, my brothers are close now. They can help me with the people.

You put your own hand on her shoulder to express your support and gratitude.

- Right. I’m leaving, then. Thank you.

She laughed.

- Just go!

You looked behind you, to the deep grove, eager to cross those trees again and terrified by what you could find after them. However, you were on a rescue mission, not only for the people of that village, but for him and yourself. You still had to leave that place and follow your journey; you still had to reach your family’s compound. And you wouldn’t do that if you stood there. The flood was coming. There was no time to waste.

You took a deep breath and forced your feet to move.

#tobirama #tobirama x reader #tobirama senju #tobirama fanfiction #tobirama fanfic

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jokerscrazybrilliant · 3 years

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Survive - Chapter 4 - (Captain Rex)

Chapter 1 · Chapter 2 · Chapter 3 · Chapter 4

Story on other platforms:

A03 · Quotev

________

“Master Anakin,” I was surprised to see him on the bridge as I entered. “I thought you would’ve been preparing your ship for battle.”

He turned to me with a small, excited smile. “Actually, Ahsoka is leading this assault.”

My eyes widened lightly in surprise. “Oh! That’s exciting.” I moved to join him and Rex at the holo-table that displayed the planetary blockade. "So, how come she gets her first command here before I do?!" I piped up lightheartedly.

"She's been training with me for longer." Anakin responded without looking at me.

"But I've been training for years!" I protested in dismay.

"But not with me." He turned to me with a small smirk.

"So what?! You don't believe in my abilities?"

"I only leave my squad with people I trust."

"So you don't trust me?!" My voice was between hilarity and hysteria as I stared at him in disbelief.

"I didn't say that exactly..." Anakin trailed off, grinning teasingly.

The captain tried but failed to hide his snickers at this, and I narrowed my eyes as I turned to glare at him. "What are youlaughing at?" I made my voice as threatening as I could as I stared daggers at him.

"Oh nothing, commander." He straightened up immediately, not quite able to maintain a straight face as I chased Anakin off the bridge towards the hangar bay, threatening him that he would soon learn what true regret is.

***

Anakin beat me to the hangar, wanting to check on Ahsoka before her first solo lead, and I followed soon after, walking over to where they were speaking, Ahsoka sitting in her red Jedi Fighter. “You nervous, Ahsoka?” I asked, smile on my face as I recalled my first time commanding a fighter squadron. It was both exhilarating and terrifying, and I remember the adrenaline that took over my veins in that first dogfight, leading my men over a separatist-occupied world.

“What is with you people?!” She threw her hands in the air frustratedly. Clearly, I had struck some sort of nerve.

“Sorry, sorry.” I laughed, holding my hands up in surrender. “Well then, are you feeling ready for your first command?”

“I hope so.” She muttered lightly.

“I believe she is.” Anakin gave her a warm, encouraging smile.

“I do too.” I grinned at her, trying to convey confidence to her somehow. “Trust in the force.” I told her, and she nodded pensively, taking a deep breath to calm herself before she began her assault. I left her there with her master, heading back to the bridge where I could oversee the battle with Master Skywalker and Admiral Yularen.

***

It was a trap. Four enemy cruisers had been waiting to reinforce the blockade, and the moment we launched our attack they made their entry. Ahsoka, too headstrong and determined to make her first mission a success, had not relented to Admiral Yularen and Master Skywalker’s orders to return to the ship until it was far too late, losing her entire squadron in the process.

I felt bad for her but didn’t blame her. When I was younger, I would’ve made the same mistake. Excited at the prospect of being seen as a proper leader, wanting to make my master proud… I could understand why she was so crushed. Losing your men for the first time was not an easy thing. The loss weighed heavy on your soul, even years after the fact. Their faces haunted your dreams…

Shaking myself out of my trance, I headed to the hangar bay once more to see what Master Skywalker was up to, after hearing he had called for the immediate evacuation of the starship Defender, one of our only two remaining cruisers.

“Master, what’s the deal? Why is the Defender evacuating?” I found him standing with Ahsoka in front of his shuttle, R2 waiting behind him on the ramp.

“Oh, Ahsoka will bring you up to speed on the plan.” He winked at me, turning to walk up the ramp, Rex following after him.

“Rex, you don’t have to come. I don’t intend to put anyone other than myself at risk here.” I raised my eyebrows at Anakin’s words. Just how risky was his new plan?

“Of course, Sir.” Rex ignored him, climbing up the ramp ahead of him, Anakin grinning in amusement at this.

“Alright. Then good luck with this plan Master. Oh, and Rex, keep an eye on him please.” I called to the captain.

“Of course, sir. Someone has to.” Anakin laughed at this and followed Rex onto the ship, ignoring Ahsoka’s frustrated calls as he left her and I in a hangar full of confused soldiers.

“Awaiting orders, commander.” The men peered at her curiously, unsure of what to do with the new commander in charge.

“I’ll be on the bridge…” Ahsoka backed away hesitantly, looking thankful when another soldier stepped in.

“You heard her men, back to work!” Quickly everyone went back to business as usual, and I followed Ahsoka to the lift.

“Everything alright?” I inquired concernedly as the doors hissed shut behind us.

She nodded, not meeting my eyes. “Yeah, it’s fine.” She muttered.

Before I could say anything else the doors opened back up to the bridge and Ahsoka walked out, me following after her slowly. I stood to the back slightly as I observed her debriefing, not liking how the men were doubting her explanations.

Master Skywalker’s brilliant plan was to try to ram his way though the blockade with the now evacuated Defender, taking down their major defenses and allowing for us to mount an attack with our remaining forces. It was by no means an ideal plan, but if Anakin were here to tell them, no one would question him. He would’ve gone through the debrief with such confidence the men would actually start to believe it might work.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, was having some trouble, understandably. She was young, and new to command, and she had just suffered a blow to her confidence when she lost her squadron. But this was an important lesson for her to learn, and I understood why Master Skywalker was pushing her like this. It was the only way to teach her to someday be a great Jedi Master. Either you could deal with the pressure, or you couldn’t.

“I wish General Skywalker had discussed this plan with us. The odds are very much against us.” The Lieutenant sighed, shaking his head as he stared at the holograms displayed in front of us.

“They always are.” Ahsoka murmured dismally, eyes lowered in defeat.

“Yes, but normally we have General Skywalker to lead us and–” My eyes widened at this, heart sinking as Ahsoka’s confidence sunk even further. “I meant no offense – commander.” The Lieutenant apologized quickly, realizing what his words insinuated. I bit my lip, watching the interaction before me. As much as I wanted to step in and defend Ahsoka, to lend her some of my strength, Anakin put her in charge for a reason. This was a learning chance for her, and she needed to find the strength and confidence to be a leader on her own. She needed to learn to trust herself.

“None taken.” Her eyes lowered to the floor, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was too soon for Anakin to be testing her in this manner. Her confidence had already taken a major hit when she lost her squad. I decided it wasn’t my choice. I simply had to trust Anakin’s instincts as a teacher. I also had to focus on his suicidal plan at the moment, and try to figure out how we would make that work.

“Just one problem.” I folded my arms as I stepped forward, closer to the circle, drawing everyone’s attention for a moment. “When Anakin takes out that command ship, how are we going to manage to destroy the remaining ships with our limited firepower?” I raised my brows lightly, inviting ideas, eyes focused on Ahsoka.

“I thought about that, and, well, I have an idea.” The corner of my lips curled up into a smile as Ahsoka brightened, realizing she had something to contribute.

“Go ahead, commander.”

“If we took the Resolute and angled her hull against the incoming frigates, the bridge and hangar deck would be relatively safe from their attack. We could draw them in and then use the bombers to outflank them. The bombers would be too fast, and they would be trapped.” Her eyes lit up as she pitched her idea, hope trickling into her force signature.

“I’m not sure about this, commander.” The Lieutenant quickly dismissed her idea, doubt littering his voice. “Perhaps a different strategy – we need more time to plan.”

“No!” Ahsoka cut in angrily, “We don’t have any more time! Master Skywalker needs me now! He needs us now.” I smiled proudly as she regained her resolve.

I opened my mouth to support her, but Admiral Yularen spoke up before I could, walking up to join us at the holo-table. “The commander is right. I know this strategy is very bold, but these circumstances call for drastic measures.”

“Then, the strategy will work, sir?”

Yularen turned to Ahsoka, brow raising to her. “Well, will it?”

“Yes, it will.” Ahsoka flashed him a grateful smile, and, the men reassured, we began preparations to set our plan in motion.

***

“I can’t believe that worked.” Ahsoka murmured to me, watching the new wave of our bombers taking out the remainders of the enemy fleet.

I chuckled at her admission. “Me neither.” I reached out, giving her shoulder a little squeeze. “You did well Ahsoka. This success is yours. Now let’s go grab your master before he manages to get himself in trouble.” I gave her a warm smile as I headed over to the comm table, turning it on and switching it to Anakin’s frequency.

He appeared onscreen with a grin, a slightly disgruntled Rex behind him. “Nim, Snips! How did my plan go?”

“You mean you didn’t see Ahsoka utterly decimate the enemy?” I raised my eyebrows at him curiously.

“Yeah, about that. We were hit by an enemy ship, grazed, actually, and we’re fine, but we may have drifted off course…” He gave a slightly guilty smile as Rex gave a sigh behind him. “It was an accident!”

“You thought you could hit it and take it out without hurting our escape pod, sir.” I let out a small laugh at this, Ahsoka raising the heel of her palm to her forehead with a small, exasperated sound.

“Well, I’m sorry for trying to help my padawan in any way I can!” Anakin exclaimed, gesturing towards her in emphasis. “I didn’t realize these escape pods were so flimsy.” He muttered under his breath.

“It’s an escape pod, not a fighter.” I grinned at Anakin’s inability to stay out of a fight.

“Well, our beacon has been transmitting and we’re just waiting here for you to come get us.” I turned to Ahsoka, about to tell her we could take my ship to pick him up, before Anakin turned to look at something offscreen, catching my attention. “Oh, is that you already?”

I frowned at this, sharing a look of confusion with Ahsoka before looking back at Anakin. “That’s not us, what–” The comm froze and fizzed out, his image disappearing in front of us. “Ahsoka, update Admiral Yularen on the situation, have him scan our surroundings using long and short-range scanners and send out two shuttles to take opposite sectors and find that escape pod.”

Ahsoka nodded at me and turned, hurrying off to find the Admiral, and I took a breath, keeping any panic at bay as I formulated my thoughts on what could’ve happened to Anakin.

***

“We’ve been monitoring any transmissions, it doesn’t seem the separatists have–”

“None of our shuttles have found anything–”

“We’ve boosted signal to the scanners and still haven’t found any sign–”

“Commander! Incoming transmission.” I turned to the trooper and gave him a nod, dismissing the crew around me as I followed him into the transmission room, Ahsoka following behind me silently.

Masters Mace Windu and Obi-Wan were waiting for us onscreen, Obi-Wan turning and addressing us immediately as we walked in. “Nimra, Ahsoka, I’m glad to see you. I hear something about Anakin’s escape pod getting lost?”

I nodded at this. “His shuttle was damaged in his escape, and they were thrown off course. We were speaking to him when he seemed to think we found him, and his transmission was cut off. We’ve been searching for him with as many resources as we can afford right now, and we’ve been keeping an eye on any outgoing separatist transmissions. It doesn’t seem that they have him.”

Master Windu finally spoke up, looking at me as he conducted himself in his usual, serious manner. “I know that these are stressful times, but it is critical that you maintain the airspace in front of this planet in order for us to be able to successfully take the capital.”

“Understood, Master Windu.” I nodded to him respectfully.

“Let us know when you have any updates on the situation. That’ll be all.” With that the holograms disappeared, leaving me and Ahsoka in the empty room.

“We need to send more people to look for him – widen the scanner range!” Ahsoka’s anxious voice cut through the silence.

I shook my head at her gently. “You heard what Master Windu said, we need to maintain this airspace. We will keep monitoring all comms and scanners, but we can’t afford sending out more ships, we need them here. Anakin will manage just fine. Besides, Rex is with him. He’ll keep him out of trouble.” I gave her a small smile, and she tried to contain her disappointment as she let out a small, frustrated huff, nodding to me obediently before going back out to the bridge.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, letting out a small plea for patience into the force before following out after her.

***

After another eighteen hours straight on the bridge, monitoring all movements and squads, Admiral Yularen finally forced me off the bridge, pulling rank and demanding I take some time to rest, which, as I so helpfully pointed out, I did not need. But alas, I made my way to my quarters and laid in bed for a fitful two hours before giving up and exiting my room once more, wandering the halls until I found myself in the hangar bay.

With most fighters either deployed or in the repair space, the rest of the bay was fairly empty. Slowly, I trudged over to where my own personal ship sat. The Aa’kua, which translated to ‘respect’ in basic. It was an old Corellian word, and one of the few ways I ever tied myself to my planet of origin. I didn’t remember anything of Corellia, I was only a youngling when I was found and brought into the order and I hadn’t returned there since. However occasionally I would find myself wondering about it. Maybe I had some family there that was missing me. I would never know. So instead I learned some old Corellian words, ales and recipes.

I looked up at the ship, tracing my fingers along the custom painted teal hull. It was a Theta-class T2c shuttle that had been retrofitted with particle shields as well as more powerful ray shields. The hull of the ship was larger than usual to account for and house where I had equipped proton torpedoes. It was originally a personal transport shuttle, one typically used by senators to transport them to and from Coruscant’s surface, but I made sure it was ready for battle.

With nothing to do and no intention to go back to my desolate quarters, cracked open one of the ship’s panels and searched for any repairs that could consume my attention for even a moment.

***

It had been a few days since Anakin’s escape pod went missing. Master Obi-Wan’s mission was a success, and Master Windu was about to mount his attack on the capital when we got a message from him telling us the separatists had begun attacking innocent civilian communities, bombers attacking entire cities at a time. “We need you to take them out.”

I bowed my head to him. “Yes master.” Exiting the communications room, I knew I would need Ahsoka to help me if we were to eliminate the enemy forces quickly enough to help Master Windu. We had limited resources and needed every last hand on deck.

I commed her to let her know to meet me in the shuttle bay and I got the men ready to deploy in two flights. One under my command, and one under Ahsoka’s.

“You called for me?” I turned to find Ahsoka looking up at me, eyes flickering from me to the ships behind me, men prepping fighters for flight.

“Yes. Master Windu needs us to provide air support on the planet’s surface. The separatists have begun attacking innocent civilians.”

“But Master Skywalker–”

“We will find him, Ahsoka, I promise you. You have a strong bond with him. Search through the force, can you feel him?” I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing myself to go through the exercise with her.

“Yes.”

“Good. Then you know he’s okay. We both know Anakin can take care of himself, but right now those separatists are attacking innocent people, and they need us. They can’t protect themselves, so we must protect them. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Nimra.”

“Good. My squadron will cover the north, and the planet’s capital, but I need you to lead your men and destroy whatever ships are in the south.”

“We’ll destroy every last one of those bombers.” I smiled at her determination.

“Alright then. Let’s go.”

***

We managed to destroy all the bombers successfully, and in time to make Master Windu’s plan a success, and once we saw them safely take the capital, we made our way back to our cruiser. Charger found me before I even made my way down the ladder as I descended from my Jedi Fighter. “Commander Sayla, Admiral Yularen wants you in the communications room urgently. Something about General Skywalker.”

I gave him a quick nod, thanking him before I gestured for Ahsoka to follow as I made my way to the lift. “What’s this about?” She asked after hurrying to join me.

I shrugged and the lift took us up to the bridge. We quickly hurried across the bridge, catching glances from the officers around us as we made our way into the small comm room where Admiral Yularen already stood, arms folded neatly behind his back as he observed the hologram before him.

The weequay turned to us as we entered, grinning as he spoke. “Welcome, welcome, my friends.”

Admiral Yularen turned as well, and I looked to him with a raised brow. “Who is this?”

The weequay lifted his hat and bowed, brandishing it dramatically as he introduced himself. “I am Hondo Ohnaka, at your service!”

My second brow rose at this, confused by who this person was or why we were speaking to him.

“This bounty hunter claims to have gained custody of General Skywalker.” The Admiral informed us, and I quickly raised a hand to restrain Ahsoka. I gave her a look that told her to stay silent, and stood forward as this ‘Hondo Ohnaka’ gave an offended gasp at the Admiral’s statement.

“Don’t insult me! We are pirates! And I do not claim to have, I have him!” He gestured behind him, flopping into a chair and propping his feet as the hologram expanded to show some of his background, including a handcuffed Anakin. He looked to be unharmed, apart from his damaged ego, giving a sheepish smile as he waved a hand. Anakin disappeared from the transmission again as the focus went back to Hondo. “We found a damaged escape pod and so kindly rescued it, and now we are returning your master jedi to you safely. I have already been talking to this Admiral of yours about the small matter of… payment, for our services, you know, fuel can be so expensivethese days.”

"What about the captain that was with Master Skywalker in the escape pod? Where is he?"

The pirate fiddled with his hands for a moment. "Ah yes, well you see, that is kind of a funny story, actually." He stood from his chair dramatically as his speech became more animated. "Someone managed to get away with him. Presumably, he had an arrangement with some third party. He tried to take both my guests and flee, but we managed to stop him! Partially, anyway."

"Who managed to get away with him?" My eyes narrowed as my patience waned thin, growing more and more frustrated with how at ease this pirate seemed to be, like we were old friends or colleagues.

"One of my men, one of my own crew – betrayedme! Oh – I taught them so well. But that does mean I have no idea where your friend is. But at least we have the Jedi!" He grinned widely, gesturing at where we had previously seen Anakin off to the side.

"If you harm him, you will regret it. I swear to you." The animosity in my voice surprised even myself. I wasn't sure which part of me this was coming from, but it certainly wasn't the rational part. The rational part of my brain was citing everything Master Obi Wan and Master Diya had ever taught me about patience and being the bigger person, to no avail.

"Oh–" the pirate gasped and brought a hand up to his chest. "You offend me! There is no need for threats here, believe me. We are a civilised people, we do not require that sort of thing. This Master Jedi will have our best treatment! So long as you bring the payment of course." The pirate gave a final smile and little wave before shouting at someone in the background to end the transmission.

I brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of my nose for a moment. "How much do they want?"

"They are asking for one million credits."

"I will ask the Council on how to proceed." I received a nod from him before exiting the bridge.

***

I sent word to my informant to look for any information on Rex’s whereabouts, and the council sanctioned the credits to trade for Master Skywalker. And since we were no longer needed on Ryloth, we made our way to the coordinates to collect our wayward General. It took some convincing Ahsoka that we would simply make the trade rather than fighting these pirates for Anakin, but she was learning patience the hard way.

As was I. "Any word back from Cid yet?" Echo pulled my out of my thoughts, drawing my eyes away from my cup of caf. I shook my head bleakly. "And you trust this bounty hunter?"

"Cid isn't a bounty hunter, Cid is more of a... Third party coordinator. And yes, all the info I've gotten in the past has been good. I haven't been betrayed yet." I gave him a sarcastic smile.

My private comm flashed and I jumped to me feet. "Might be Cid, I've got to take this." I didn't wait for his nod of acknowledgement as I made my way out of the mess hall, stepping into a quiet corner to answer my comm.

Cid appeared before me, sitting behind her desk, as usual. "You have the intel I asked for?" I asked, trying not to let myself sound too hopeful.

"Well, some of it. I've got a location. Not sure who the bounty hunter is but according to some chatter I picked up, the exchange will take place on the planet Karkaris. And soon."

My eyebrows raised at this information. Karkaris was in the Nilgaard sector, only a few parsecs away but we were due to meet with Master Skywalker's captor for an exchange and if we veered off course there was no way we'd make it on time. And, of course, there was the small matter of Karkaris being a separatist planet, but that was a whole other set of roadblocks.

"Alright. Thank you, Cid, I'll transfer your credits now."

She peered at me over her desk, uncharacteristically concerned. "Everything alright, meddler?" I smiled at the nickname she had given me when I fixed her broken dejarik table without her asking when we first met. She couldn't seem to wrap her head around why I would fix someone else's things for free.

I gave her a small nod now, feeling slightly reassured now that I knew Rex wasn't hopelessly lost to the galaxy. "Everything is fine Cid, thank you. Take care of yourself." I gave her a final smile and shut off the communicator, heading up to the bridge to discuss my new information with Ahsoka and Admiral Yularen.

***

"We don't know what we're getting into with this pirate business, and our fleet is severely depleted. We cannot split the fleet and go into separatist controlled space with no plan or backup. We'll simply have to conduct our arrangement, get General Skywalker back, and then we can intercept Captain Rex's location." I frowned at Admiral Yularen's words, hating the finality in his tone. He had already made up his mind.

"But my informant stated that the exchange would happen soon, and we need to be there when it happens."

His expression remained neutral as he stared at me and I sighed heavily, running a hand through my hair. "Alright. If you won't deploy any of your fleet, I'll take my own ship. I can't risk missing the exchange. You get Anakin and I'll head to Captain Rex's position. I'll rendezvous with you once I have him."

Not waiting for anyone's approval, I turned and stalked off the bridge, sighing deeply once I passed through the doors.

It's okay. It's just me versus one bounty hunter, how hard can this be?

***

Very hard, the answer was very hard!

"Flopsy, divert power to the thrusters and jam that ship's communications!" I shouted at my astromech, struggling to keep up my maneuvers as the bounty hunter shot rapid fire in our direction.

"Rex's thank you better be worth it," I grumbled as we took another hit, Flopsy immediately beeping its response at me. "No, I know he's my friend, but I am going into overtime here!" I joked, then sighed as I tried not to worry about his condition, whether he was safe and in one piece or not. "If this bounty hunter has laid a single kriffing finger on him they are gonna wish they had born a protocol droid." I narrowed my eyes at the ship in front of me, which was making its way to the planets surface below us.

Flopsy told me that the ship was landing at a port near what appeared to be a small separatist ship, meaning clankers. "I am really starting to wish I had some backup here." I complained as we landed the ship not too far from where the action would take place.

I told Flopsy to watch the ship and quickly headed down, stealthily moving over to where the transaction was taking place. I bit my lip as I watched the bounty hunter head down from his ship dragging a hovering carbonite slab behind him with a familiar form encased inside it. He headed to the centre where a seppy was standing, surrounded by a small platoon of droids, standard B1s with two rows of super droids behind them.

It did not look pleasant, but I knew I could handle it. My mind was more on which angle would be best to have all their fire directed away from Rex’s position, and quickly I made my way to the optimal point, slowly moving closer. The sleazeball separatist handed over a case of what I assumed to be spice over to the bounty hunter, and as he set the carbonite down, I made my move. Jumping down to my feet just behind the squad of droids, I took out three super droids with one slash, moving to another two before my moves were even registered.

The slower droids finally turned to me, firing immediately, drawing the attention of the separatist and the bounty hunter, who grabbed his spice and made for his ship, loyally calling out to his employer, “I believe our transaction is concluded!”

I moved through the droids and directly intercepted the seppy, who, predictably, dove for cover as he saw me approaching, dropping Rex where I could quickly drag him back to where the Aa’kua was waiting, Flopsy keeping her ready for takeoff. "It's just me saving everyone's kriffing skins." I mumbled under my breath, deflecting a blaster shot back and the droid who sent it.

I shoved the hovering carbonite slab up the ramp ahead of me, deflecting lasers at the base as I shouted up to Flopsy, “Get us out of here now!” I staggered up the surface as it moved to close, the ship humming excitedly as it moved from the ground.

The door latched shut and I shut my lightsaber off, attaching it to my hilt then moving to check on Rex. The small interactive pad on the side told me his vitals were being held stable, so I hurried to the cockpit to set us into hyperspace before I worried about him.

“Have you calculated the jump?” I fell into my seat and turned to the controls, diverting power to the rear shields and stabilizers as I felt the ship thunder around us. Those droids were relentless, two small fighters following us into the atmosphere. Flopsy beeped affirmatively at me, and I nodded, taking us higher so we could make the jump.

We made it out of the planet’s atmosphere, and I flipped the ship around in a violent one-eighty turn, firing on the droid fighters the moment they met my sights, obliterating them on impact. Huffing in satisfaction, I turned us back around, checking that all systems were a go before pushing the lever to launch us into hyperspace.

Once we were safely underway, I left the controls with Flopsy, heading back down to unlock the captain from his carbonite confines. I set the slab up vertically, moving to the sides and fiddling with the controls. I couldn’t read whatever language it was written in, but I had a guess as to what buttons corresponded to which controls, so soon enough I heard the hissing noise that meant I was successful.

“Ach–” I stepped back, the vapour clogging my throat as the carbonite dissipated. I heard a groan and a concerning thump, and the air cleared to reveal a crumpled Rex on the floor of the storage bay. I hurried to him, laying his head down on my leg and looking him over for any injuries. I took in a blaster wound in his side, the carbonite couldn’t have helped that.

"Rex? Rex? Easy there captain, you don't look too good." I stopped him from trying to sit up, he looked pale and feverish.

"C-commander Sayla?" His voice was hoarse, and he was shivering. This was not good.

"I'm here, I'm right here Rex." I tried to sound reassuring as I looked around, trying to recall where I had stuffed the deactivated medical droid I had aboard the ship.

"I can't see." He tried not to sound too panicked, but I could still feel it. Reassuringly I put my hand on his armoured shoulder.

"That’s alright, it’s only temporary. I think you have hibernation sickness, let's get you up on the bed and I'll activate the med-droid to have a look at you." I moved to carry him using the force but the moment he felt the pressure around him he protested.

“I can stand!” He protested, making me chuckle.

“You’re injured, and sick, don’t make me pull rank captain, just sit still for a minute.” I smiled as he grit his teeth, and quickly carried him using the force, keeping him still as I moved him to the small med-pod onboard. I set him in the bed and quickly searched for the med-droid, finding it folded and tucked away neatly in a corner.

I quickly pulled it open and clicked it on, but it turned on and frizzled out of life within moments, some of the wires in the back sparking as it died. I turned it over on the floor and observed the frayed wires, rolling my eyes in annoyance. “What happened?” The captain tried to keep his voice light.

“Droid’s wires are damaged, I have spares, give me a minute to go grab them.” I left him and the damaged droid and went to the small room I had filled to the brim with spare parts. I ignored the pile of metal scraps that tumbled to the floor as the door opened for me, stepping over the mess as I made my way to a back corner where all types and tangles of wires lay. I quickly found a colourful bundle that would do the trick and grabbed a spanner on my way to the med-pod. I rolled my eyes as I walked in, realizing he must have sat himself up when I was gone.

Flinging myself onto the floor I crossed my legs, beginning work on the droid. "I don't know why they had to take the whole fleet for Skywalker, but whatever." I grumbled to myself as I ripped out the damaged wiring impatiently.

"You forget, we clones were bred to be expendable."

"Don't say that. It's not true." I disagreed furiously, glaring into his unfocused eyes. "It's not. Not to anyone who knows you. I would gladly give my life for yours – or Fives, or Kix, or any other soldier, so don't you say that."

He said nothing, face incomprehensible as he stared ahead intently. Satisfied, I went back to work trying to replace the wiring as quickly as I could, trying not to think about the fact that I just told him I was willing to die for him.

I moved back with a triumphant huff as the droid finally buzzed to life. It stood slowly, then began scanning me before I redirected it. "That's the patient," I said, pointing at Rex. "Blaster wound and suspected hibernation sickness."

"Understood. I will begin scanning the patient and then select the best possible treatment." With that it forced him to lay down on the cot, then beginning its scans.

I got up and put away the tools and scrap parts before making my way to the door, figuring I'd check on Flopsy and the ship while the droid worked on Rex.

"Commander?" His voice stopped me just before I made it out of the room, and I leaned back in to respond to him.

"Yes, captain?"

"For what it's worth, I'd give my life for yours as well, sir." A small smile graced my lips at this, and I bowed my head to him respectfully, even though he couldn't see it.

"It's worth a lot more than you know, captain. Now rest up, I'll check in on you later." Finally, I managed to make my exit, thinking about his words on my way to the cockpit.

It's Rex, he'd sacrifice himself for any innocent. It doesn't mean anything special. It's just Rex being Rex. I knew this to be true, and yet I could not stop the flaming blush from reaching my cheeks or the nervous flipping of my stomach. He hadn't even done anything out of the ordinary for him and yet he had reduced me to a jittery mess.

Stars help me. I was screwed.

***

After checking that everything with the ship was doing fine, I switched on the ship's comm, switching to my desired channel.

"Nim, I'm glad to see you." Kix's image appeared in front of me, and his smile set me at ease. "Any luck with the info on Captain Rex?"

I nodded at him, anxieties rising to the surface as I thought about the state of the injured captain. "Yes, I have him, but he has hibernation sickness, and the kriffing nerf herder that stuck him in carbonite shot him first and I don't have any bacta to patch him with. I've activated the med-droid, but I don't know how much it can do with the little I have onboard, kriff, Kix why haven't you taught me more first aid skills?"

"Woah, Nim, calm down!" He laughed at my panic which only aggravated me farther.

"This isn't funny! It's your captain's life on the line." I crossed my arms at Kix with a small frown.

"Sorry Nim, I'm not laughing at you it's just... Take a breath." He smiled at me, and I lost my frown immediately, unable to stay angry with him. "Rex will be fine. Everything went smoothly on our end, and we have General Skywalker. We're making our way to the rendezvous coordinates and once we meet you there, I will personally make sure Rex has enough bacta to last him a lifetime."

I gave him a small appreciative smile, feeling much calmer than before. "Well, I'm enroute to you now so, I'll see you soon, I guess. You're certain he'll be alright until then?"

"Trust me, the captain's been through worse."

"Thanks, Kix."

"Not a problem Nimra."

***

I traded off Rex to Kix when I arrived at the hangar bay, then quickly made my way to where I knew I would find Anakin, on the bridge. “Nim!” Anakin squeezed my shoulder, giving me a warm smile as he greeted me, Ahsoka by his side. “Thank you for holding the fort while I was gone.”

“Of course, Master.” I returned his smile, relieved to see him back and completely unharmed.

“You know better than to call me that, Nim. How is Rex?”

“Well, he had a minor blaster wound, and he has hibernation sickness from the carbonite the bounty hunter stuck him in. Kix said he should be fine, but I’m going to go check on him in med-bay now. See how he’s enjoying his stay there.” I grinned devilishly. “You know how much he enjoys being stuck in bed rest.” Anakin gave a laugh at this, nodding.

“Alright, sounds good. Leave some teasing for me, I’ll come down once I’m done here.” I nodded at him and shared a quick smile with Ahsoka before heading back down to the med-bay. A small gaggle of clones, including Echo and Fives, were leaving the area as I was entering, no doubt having just been there to welcome back their devoted captain.

I smiled as I entered, taking in Rex’s familiar form on one of the cots near the wall. He was fast asleep. I drew closer, Kix immediately coming to join me, holo-pad in his hand. “How is he?”

“Resting. I’ve treated his blaster wound and giving him medicine for the carbon fever. He’ll be up and running by tomorrow.” Kix drew a chair and gestured to it. “Sit.”

“I’m fine Kix, injury free.” At his disapproving face I took a seat, frowning right back up at him.

“Yeah, I know.” He thrusted a ration bar in my face. “Eat.”

I rolled my eyes, taking a bite ruefully, trying not to show how hungry I really was. “Fine. But give me your holo-pad, I’m not going to sit here with nothing to do.” Kix grinned at this, handing it over before returning to one of his other patients. I finished the bar before taking turns working on my mission report and stealing glances and Rex’s unconscious form.

***

Voices reached me through a haze. I knew my eyes were closed but I was too tired to open them yet, reveling in the warmth of sleep that hadn’t come to me in so long.

"I don't think she's slept since you two went missing sir. I've never seen her like that before. She oversaw everything, made sure everyone was okay, but I don't think she was resting or eating right. I tried my best to keep an eye on her."

"Thank you, Kix."

"Of course, General." I heard Kix’s footfalls as he walked away, and slowly cracked my eyes open to see Anakin standing there, giving me an all to knowing look.

“I’m just – I just wanted to make sure he didn’t die on my watch.” I tried to ignore his smug look.

“Sure. Whatever you say.” He chuckled, patted me on the back, then left before I could protest whatever assumptions he was making in his head.

I adjusted myself in the uncomfortable chair, pulling out my holo-pad to continue filling out the report but ended up staring ahead, falling into my thoughts. I had befriended the members of this battalion so easily, we got along so well, but was I growing too attached? Was my connection to these clones affecting my judgement? Was it leading to something that might be wrong?

"Commander?" A voice jolted me out of my stupor, and I looked down to see Rex looking at me tiredly with a slightly surprised expression at seeing me there.

"Rex! I'm glad you're finally up – and you can see me!” I hated the way relief so heavily coloured my voice. Did I truly sound so desperate or was it just in my head? Feeling the need to say something lest I get consumed by my thoughts, I gave Rex my best winning smile, holding up my holo-pad. "I don't suppose you want to help me fill in my mission report?"

"I can assume you've only filled in your name and about half a sentence?" He raised a brow at me quizzically.

"That would be a safe assumption, yes. Although come to think of it, I may have forgotten to sign my name." I grinned widely at him.

He groaned as he sat himself up in bed, favouring his injured side as he moved. "I'm gonna need more pain meds." He half-joked.

"Can I pawn some off you?" At his dubious expression I raised my hands in mock surrender. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding... I can just get them off Kix, eliminate the middleman and all that." I laughed at his expression, my amusement subsiding as he became serious, holding my gaze.

“Thank you.” He said earnestly. “For coming for me.”

“You would do the same for me.” I gave him a serious nod before reverting back to sarcasm. “And if you really want to thank me you can help me fill out my report.”

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wizkiddx · 4 years

Text

worst case scenario part 3

umm so, never ever intended it to be this long but here we are. again this is v dark so please please read the warning!! also [and obvs] this is very medically inaccurate and just a work of my head aha

[part 1] [part 2]

warning: mentions of death / hospital / mentions of childhood abandonment too- please don't read if this could affect you <3

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His heart was thundering in his chest, so much so it drowned out all other sounds making all the doctors words fade into the background. Conciously, he really was trying to listen to what the doctor was saying; consciously he knew she was trying to prepare him to see Y/n; consciously he knew she knew he wasn’t okay. But really? It didn’t matter, and as they drew closer to his fiancé Tom felt an urgent sense of relief purely know she was there. She was there and she wasn’t dead…yet.

Only two people were allowed to go up, just because the nature of the ward - everything was meticulously controlled, including the comings and goings of visitors. If you’ve never been in an ICU it’s a pretty hard environment to describe. Really, it’s just another hospital ward, with capacity of about 20 beds. Each bed has much more equipment surrounding that the average and a nurse is stationed per patient, monitoring every possible variable that the machienes are measuring, so any trend (either positive or negative) can be identified at the earliest point. Though in everyones head, it seems as though ICU is a common place ending up for some unfortunate sod when something bad happens, it’s actually really rare for someone to be so ill and dependant on medicine to maintain normal body functioning. Only the most severe trauma, infection of the most dangerous microorganism, surgery of such high stakes normally make an appearance on the ward. And ,on average, between 8-20% patients that are admitted to an ICU never make it out.

And those grim figures were unignorable to anyone. As soon as you walk through the doors, the atmosphere is intense and ineffable. It’s not spoken, but is so incredibly morbid it makes anyone shiver.

Dom felt this, squeezing his sons shoulder as he followed Tom and the doctor, just a pace or so behind them. Having offered to go with Tom, whilst Harrison took Nikki to see the baby, Dom was now feeling just as clueless as his son did. Except he was actually listening to what the doctor was trying to warn them about and it scared him. The three, made it to the door and with a swipe of her ID card the doctor admitted the Holland men in. Gratefully, none of the staff took any notice of who was walking in, they were much too busy for that - Dom was incredibly relieved, had someone recognised Tom when he was in this state, god knows what would’ve happened.

The doctors pace was with purpose, perhaps so that the two couldn’t spend too long ogling the other patients in the beds - who all looked almost unhuman with the amount of tubes and wires coming out and into them. But then, she slowed up, halting infront of a bay about 5 or 6 down the ward. Spinning on her heel and with a subtle nod to momentarily release the nurse from her post at Y/n’s bedside, to give them a bit of privacy, she looked at the two men.

“You can touch her, just be gentle with the wires.”

Shellshocked and terrified, Tom was frozen those 2 metres away from the bed barely able to see her face over all the equipment. Yet undoubtedly, it was his finance’s delicate visage lying on the white pillow, with a thick white mouthpiece and tube covering her mouth and stuffed into her nose. Not able to move, both Dom and Dr Goodwell sensitively waited - it was an adjustment to say the least, seeing someone you knew so well look so different. With quiet tears starting to roll down his eyes, Tom eventually started to inch toward the bedside, taking his time to try and absorb everything of this frankly ridiculous situation. He couldn’t get over how, even considering it all, above her nose it just looked like Y/n. Like she was asleep in their bed, eyes closed as if she had once again fallen asleep infront of a random Netflix movie Tom had bugged her enough to watch in bed. And it was, ever so slightly comforting. That was still her, that was still the love of his life lying there. And she was still alive - which given the last few hours, was enough.

Reaching the bedside, Tom naturally reached out and stroked the top of her head delicately, pulling into place a few rogue strands that seemed to have a mind of their own - she had always hated when her hair got frizzy. The picture had Tom’s mind casting back to their first holiday, a serene if quick few days in Fiji- though Y/n didnt know this , that holiday had been one of the most important times in their relationship for Tom. Until then, given the nature of his job, the couple had only ever managed brief periods together. They spent time together as and when they could in between Tom’s busy schedule but it was never as long as they’d like. Somehow though, he’d managed to squeeze a few days away to surprise Y/n with the trip.

It was everything he’d ever hoped it would be and more. In fact it was then Tom was oh so sure he would be spending the rest of his life with her. This thought crossed his mind on the last morning, when he had for once woken up before Y/n - her head mere cms away from his on the pillow. Just like now, her hair had been all over the place and her sparkling green eyes locked shut. Contrastingly though, in Fiji the sight had made him smile softly; now it just made him cry again.

“Would you like a minute alone Mr Holland? We will just wait outside?” Not even turning round to properly respond to the doctor, Tom just nodded violently, not taking his eyes off his fiancé - waiting till he heard his Dad and the doctor leave the bay; then the curtains be completely drawn to a close, before he shakily cleared his throat to whisper.

“Hey darling… you um-you’ve scared me shitless today… and… and I’m supposed to be the dramatic one in the relationship.” Chuckling wetly, Tom clasped his other hand in Y/n’s - still mindful of the IV port coming out of the top of her wrist. Not that he was expecting any sort of response, yet the lack of her squeezing his hand back still had his heart sink. “Look I…I love you so bloody much and I really need you to get better okay? You’ve never listened to me before but I really am begging you to now, I just.” Swallowing thickly, he shut his eyes momentarily and delicately rested his forehead on hers - his touch feather light. Just needing to feel her. “I just really need you and I really love you., okay?”

Unsurprisingly he didn’t get a response. The rhetorical question hung in the air alone, safe the mechanical whir of the ventilator and various chimes of the machines and monitor, till his Dad came in. Grasping and squeezing his shoulder lightly, Dom provided the stimulus for his son to unfold from over the bed, standing upright, as both men just took in the sight of Y/n lying there for a minute or two.

“I need her Dad. I-I-“

“I know Tom.” Speaking so quietly it was barely audible, Dom’s eventual agreement at what Tom was saying was in a way a relief. Haz and his mum had both either been saying or implying that they would be okay no matter what - which came from a good place but was so infuriating. Because god forbid, if this situation got worse Tom knew it wouldn’t be okay. Nothing would ever be okay again. So his Dad’s simple acknowledgment meant a lot, causing Tom to turn round and embrace his slightly shorter father.

Dr Goodwell silently watched the exchange for a short while and once the men eventually pulled away she stepped forward to give some more information. She went through what all the biggest and scary looking tubes and wires were doing for Y/n, before explaining the next steps.

“Now as I said before we are sedating her at the moment, while we wait and see if she gets any complications from the surgery that are better treated while she is asleep. By this afternoon we will have a clearer idea and by that point we may choose to withdraw that sedation. It’s important that you are aware though that she might not wakeup immediately. Sometimes some people that have suffered similarly to your fiancé will be unconscious for a while in what I’d presume you’ve heard of as a ‘coma’. Now it’s not as dramatic as you see on TV shows, it’s just Ms Y/l/n’s brain giving her body a chance to recover. It’s often a longer process, which I know is something you don’t want to hear, but I have to be honest.” The doctor was stern but in a softer and from-a-caring-place. “These patients are suggested to possibly recover quicker if they have a steady support network behind them, which it seems like she does. That means that you need to look after yourself so you can help her sir, especially in what could be a long process. It’s not going to be helpful for Yn if you’re killing yourself trying to be here all the time… It seems like Y/n already has quite a big group of you here for her, so please remember you’ve got all of her care team here and everyone else to help you too….Does that make sense sir?”

“Tom” His Dad, in a gentle but firm warning tone, urged Tom to speak and to listen. Properly listen.

“Yeh… I-yeh It’s just all a lot right now.”

“Of course… and we promise that if anything changes with her condition, you will be phoned straight away. You are welcome to stay as long as you want - the only rules are two at a time, no flowers, sign in and out and then sanitise your hands pretty excessively. If you need anything, Ms Y/l/n’s nurse will be your first port of call.”

“Thanks for everything” Dom nodded in a gracious manner, which the doctor seemed to massively appreciate - apparently, for the job they do not receiving a hell of a lot of thanks.

“I’ll pop back in a little bit.”

And for a couple of hours everything everything felt like a bit of an anticlimax, nothing happened, not a lot changed. Just Tom and Dom sat next to Y/n’s bed in silence; Harrison and Nikki downstairs with the baby, till Dom got a phone call from Nikki asking them to meet at the neonatal unit - which was limited by visitor numbers unlike the ICU. Thinking it’d be simple, the elder man gained Tom’s attention with a call of his name, explaining they should go down to meet up.

“I’m not going down there.”

“Son, I know you’re worried by Y/n isnt going anywhere right now. The doctors said they’d call you if anything happens.”

“It’s not-“ Tom stopped himself, biting his tongue and looking away from his Dad. “I just don’t want to go down there.” Slowly, Dom was more and more realising Tom’s thought process and honestly… it scared him. In the hopes this was just a big misunderstanding he offered a different option - hoping Tom would equally refuse that. Dom suggested going down to the cafe instead, which most unfortunately Tom agreed to. It wasn’t leaving Y/n that was the issue, it was being near the baby.

Tom’s daughter. Unnamed and apparently abondoned by both parents.

Anyhow, Dom resigned to playing into Tom’s choice, perhaps Nikki and Harrison would be able to swing him round, to see sense. It still took Tom getting the nurse to triple check they had his correct number on record , just in case, before Dom could tear him away from the bed. Fortunately the pair found a quiet and secluded corner table, where Tom was still yet to be recognised, while Nikki and Haz found them too.

What followed was Tom answering all his mum and Harrison’s questions about Y/n’s condition, in a blunt and emotionless manner - without Tom returning fire by asking any questions at all about his beautiful little baby girl. Eventually Nikki braved it, someone had to bring it up.

“Well it sounds like littles going to change for a while… maybe you should head home for a bit? You’ve been up half the night and you look shattered love. You don’t have to go back to yours… you could stay in your old room for a bit?” Tom being by himself at the moment sounded like the most incredibly stupid idea ever, Nikki was offering it as a choice - when in reality there was only one option.

“Maybe later this evening I will? Just don’t want to leave her alone yet.”

“It’s already 7 love, you’ve not eaten all day, you got to look after yourself too.” Harrison and Dom sat awkwardly while Nikki tried to delicately encourage Tom into what was the only sensible plan, watching him nurse the small hot choclate in both his palms. Time really had lost all meaning at this point, for him it felt both years since he’d first arrived with Y/n and at the same time barely 10 minutes ago. It felt weird.

“We can take shifts? If-if you want someone with her I mean… I don’t mind staying for a bit longer if it means you head back to your parents.” Harrison really truly didnt mind, in fact he sort of wanted to. He wanted to see Y/n’s face definitely alive, wanted to feel reassured by the monitors. Shockingly, Tom slowly nodded his head, surprising everyone with his lack of argument. None of them could work out whether it was a good thing him not putting up much arguement ; either he was heeding everyones advice of taking care of himself - or he had just given up. Harrison, as much as he didn’t want to, was favouring the latter.

“Okay” Nikki declared optimistically “So maybe you and Harrison go up so you can say good night to Y/n, then we can all go and pick up the baby?” She opened the plan to the floor, allowing for input but got nothing - except maybe Tom’s jaw unconsciously tensing uncomfortable at the latter part of her statement. Dom noticed.

Not one noticed but knew what it meant. His son blamed his granddaughter. His son, right now in that moment, hated the unnamed and totally helpless baby girl.

part 4?

#tom holland #tom holland x reader #dad!tom #tomholland #tom holland angst

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pillage-and-lute · 4 years

Text

The Courting Ways of Wolves (Part 3)

I’m back at it again. Hopeless boys.

Part 1, Part 2, (here) Part 4, Part 5, Epilogue

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Geralt’s first attempt at courting (to kiss Jaskier’s hand) had seemed to only confuse his bard, so he decided to leave that one and try again later.

A few days from Kaer Morhen, as Jaskier was trying to find dry firewood among the snowmelt, Geralt took out the very folded and much handled List. It looked very complicated. This courting stuff was hard. He selected the least intimidating item on the list.

Number Four it said. Kill things and bring them to him. This seemed logical to Geralt. He’d seen cats, which he loved although they seemed to avoid him, drop dead mice at their owners’ feet. It seemed like a sign of affection. Now, the owners generally were disgusted rather than endeared, but Geralt wasn’t too worried. He wasn’t going to bring Jaskier mice, after all. Nor would he, remembering Number Two: Mind your manners, drop them on his boots.

He went off into the woods.

Rather a while later he came back to camp, a bit miffed. The spring was still early and not many animals were about. Too thin for food and of course it didn’t do to kill many in the mating season anyway. Jaskier had a fire going and Geralt brooded by it.

How was he supposed to court Jaskier without killing things for him?

But Lambert had said that killing things showed that Geralt would protect Jaskier, and so Geralt was going to protect Jaskier so completely, and eventually he would kill something for him.

It occurred to Geralt that courting wasn’t really a one-step-at-a-time process, he had to do everything at once. Number Three was compliments.

“You built a nice fire,” he said, a little more gruffly than he’d intended.

Jaskier had been tending to his lute, oiling the wood, but he looked up at that.

“Thanks?” he said. “I always make them the same way, you know.”

“I know,” Geralt said, “But it is done well.” They lapsed into a silence that, although not awkward, was not as comfortable as might have been. Jaskier was giving him a look, but Geralt didn’t know what it meant.

It got colder as they prepared for the night. They were sharing a tent, and the body heat should keep them warm enough, especially in the small tent, but Jaskier crawled onto his bedroll and shivered.

A human wouldn’t have picked it up. The only light was the faint glow of the coals of their fire, filtered through the canvas, but Geralt’s eyes caught the movement.

Protecting Jaskier didn’t just mean from monsters.

He rose from the tent and walked over to Roach, whispering softly to her, wrapped under her own blanket. He took his cloak from where he’d tucked it into his saddle bag.

Back in the tent Jaskier was curled up facing towards the center of the tent. Geralt lay down, facing him, and draped his cloak around Jaskier, tucking it under at the edges so that the cold air couldn’t get in. Jaskier looked up at him with wide eyes, although he probably couldn’t see Geralt’s expression. Geralt gave him a pat on the shoulder.

He wanted more than anything to let his hand linger, to slide it down Jaskier’s back and pull him closer. He wanted to tuck Jaskier into his chest and wrap his arms around him and hear his heartbeat.

But that would mean breaking the rules of Number Two: mind your manners. And if he listened in the dark, between Jaskier’s deep, even breaths, he could hear his heartbeat, steady and faster than Geralt’s own.

He listened to it slow further as Jaskier slipped into sleep.

You look beautiful when you sleep, Geralt thought as he drifted off. He didn’t say it though, waking your sleeping love seemed like a bad way to court. He dropped off too.

He woke to Jaskier turning over, arm falling and slapping Geralt across the face.

“Mmmhp?” Jaskier said, one eye half open. “What’d I h’t?”

Geralt picked Jaskier’s limp hand from his face. “Me.”

“Mmmh tha’s nice, G’mornin’ Geralt,” Jaskier said, and he started to drop back off to sleep.

Number One: kiss his hand.

“May I?” Geralt said.

“Yeah, sure g’a’head,” was the muzzy reply.

Geralt pressed a gentle kiss to the captured hand. Jaskier hummed happly and snuggled closer. That was a good sign.

Geralt kissed the back of the hand, then clumsily kissed the callouses on Jaskier’s ring and middle fingers.

Another happy hum.

A single kiss to the center of the palm. Geralt pictured that hand, the freshly kissed palm caressing the side of his face.

Back in reality the hand drooped limply in Geralt’s hold. Geralt set it down.

Jaskier snored.

Smiling fondly, Geralt crawled out into the grey light of morning. Chilly dew had frozen on the grass, and under the new light the world had been set in silver. He had a momentary spike of indecision. Jaskier was sleeping soundly, but even Geralt could appreciate the beauty of the scene, it was probably poetic. Jaskier would probably be sad if he missed it.

Protect Jaskier from sadness.

“Jaskier,” he whispered, crawling back into the tent, frost melting under his knees leaving uncomfortable, damp patches. “Jaskier wake up.”

Jaskier sat up, muzzy but wary.

“No danger,” Geralt said, taking his hand. “Just something you should see.” Jaskier crawled out towards the opening of the tent, Geralt backing out to give him room, but he paused. He crouched at the entrance of the tent, socked feet hesitant to step on cold grass, but not sure if he wanted to put his boots on.

Inwardly, Geralt smiled. Jaskier was one of those people who needed a lot of sleep, and he was probably hoping he could go back to bed. He very carefully picked Jaskier up, cradling him as the bard sputtered in surprise. Geralt set him down on Roach’s horse blanket, which she’d shaken off in the night.

Jaskier spread it out under him like a picnic blanket, never looking away from the glittering silver world around them. The silver reflected in his eyes, giving them a sparkle like pale gems. Geralt would have trapped the world and put it in a bottle if he could see the wonder on Jaskier’s face every day.

He took Jaskier’s little leather bound journal from the saddlebags, along with the smudgy pencil he used when he couldn’t be bothered with ink. Back in the tent, Geralt grabbed the cloak he’d wrapped Jaskier in last night.

He wrapped it around Jaskier again, draping it over him and slipping pencil and journal into chilly fingers. He watched Jaskier flip almost to the back of his journal. He would need a new one soon. That would be a good gift.

Geralt lit a small fire, behind Jaskier so as not to ruin his view, and wondered if this counted as a gift. He couldn’t package the dawn, but maybe it counted anyway.

When water had boiled he joined Jaskier. They sat on the blanket, eating cold rations downed with hot tea, and watched the sun creep up the horizon, turning silver to gold and melting the frost.

They packed up and left shortly after full dawn. Jaskier was blinking sleepily, so Geralt, who had been leading Roach, paused. He lifted Jaskier, still swaddled in Geralt’s cloak, and sat him gently onto Roach. She nickered reproachfully. She didn’t like riders that weren’t Geralt, and if he hadn’t clearly been giving his permission she would have biten any rider who dared.

Not Jaskier, though, Geralt suspected. She loved him too, and the thought made his chest tight, like he’d swallowed a big bite of food without properly chewing. Jaskier leaned forward on Roach.

“Thank you, lovely lady, for letting me ride,” he said, brushing his fingers sleepily through her mane. She tossed her head, like a human shrugging. Think nothing of it, Geralt imagined her saying.

Jaskier dozed, and Geralt walked them along, one ear listening for danger. Mostly he just thought. He thought about courting Jaskier, and all the time he’d wasted.

He burned with shame as he thought of all the time he’d treated Jaskier like a nuisance. He hadn’t meant it that way, he’d treated Jaskier like one of his brothers, ribbing him, pushing at him, leaving him behind if he took too long getting ready.

It was the only form of solid companionship Geralt knew, but Jaskier didn’t understand that. He didn’t respond the way Geralt was used to because he didn’t know the game. And Geralt didn’t want to love Jaskier the way he loved his brothers, he wanted to love Jaskier the way Eist had loved Calanthe, without the hatred of elves.

The thought of course brought him back to Ciri. It had only been a few days and he missed her terribly. She would have loved the silver dawn, he could picture her sitting on that horse blanket next to Jaskier. Maybe he should get her her own journal to draw and write in, a gift for when he saw her again.

If gifts meant he loved Jaskier, surely they would mean he loved his daughter too, and she had lit up when he’d given her the hair pin. Jaskier could teach her that lovely curly script he wrote in when he needed to be fancy. Geralt couldn’t read it, it made his eyes confuse the letters even worse than normal, but Ciri was still a princess, it seemed like the sort of thing she’d need someday.

Jaskier mumbled something in his sleep, slumped over Roach’s back. His hair was messy and one hand was visible, mittened fingers holding one edge.

There was a feeling, seeing Jaskier bundled in his clothes. Geralt wished Eskel was there to help him, but he had plenty of time to parse it out on his own.

Protective, maybe, Jaskier looked peaceful and he wanted to keep him that way. Proud that Jaskier felt safe enough to sleep like this. It also made Geralt want to hold Jaskier, wrapping himself around the bard instead of the cloak. There were other pieces to the emotion, but Geralt gave up and put it down to loved.

Jaskier was slumped over, drooling a bit, wearing huge, knobbly woolen mittens. Geralt loved him entirely and wholeheartedly.

An hour later Jaskier began to snore like a walrus with a sinus issue, and Geralt loved him even more.

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@llamasdumpsterfire the next part is here! it kinda got away from me, but its cute

#the witcher #geraskier #geralt is a good dad #and also dyslexic #jaskier is a sleepy boy #roach is a good girl #geraskier fanfic #courting fic

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novantinuum · 5 years

Text

On the corrupted!Steven theory...

So, originally when I mused on this yesterday I was just playing around with random possibilities.

After combing the series for info about corruption, though, I’m mildly spooked at the increased potential for this to... perhaps be a thing? I’m not saying that this is what I for sure believe will happen- to be honest, I’m not even sure Crewniverse would go this direction at all- but just for funsies, let’s see what kind of “evidence” or “foreshadowing” exists that might support this potential story path in the context of canon.

(EDIT: 10/7/19

I honestly no longer think this creature is a worm at all whatsoever, it’s either more akin to a horned caterpillar or potentially has limbs. Either way we can see so little right now that it’s hard to tell. I’m not editing the rest of this post because I want it to exist in its original form- but do keep this in mind reading the rest! XP)

1) The design of this worm creature.

Let’s start simple. Let’s start tangible.

For future reference and simplicity, I will be henceforth be referring to this creature as... “Wormy Boi.”

So, let’s see what we’ve got here. I’m definitely not the first person to point out this fella’s pink nature, and the jarringly human-like nose they’ve got. (Compared to other corruptions, which have had distinctly non-humanoid features.) In the photo above, we also have Wormy Boi sporting glowing pink eyes, which then send out a flare of pink light/energy. So, seemingly a powerful entity.

If you watch the short segment before they sit upright, you’ll see that Wormy Boi is super, super big. They’re in the background, but BOY do they loom. The shadows cast upon them especially push that sense of size. They’ve also got a whole bunch of spikes on their back and framing their face.

So, then. What evidence could be made for this being a corrupted!Steven, as opposed to some other run-of-the-mill monster?

Steven Universe Future is a limited series, described as ‘tying up loose ends.” To me, as a viewer, it would make far more sense for the antagonists/conflicts to deal with big concepts that have already been established since there’s such a limited amount of time we have left with this world. Introducing a completely alien species in the last act of the show would feel offbeat from both a writing and a viewing perspective. Corruption- on the other hand- is something we don’t have full answers to yet.

We don’t see any gem, yes- but Steven’s gem is- of course- on his belly. If this theory were to be true, that would translate to the gem being on Wormy Boi’s underside, far out of our sight in this shot, due to how massive they are. As an addition to this, not showing the gem gives an air of mystery to this creature’s true nature- which makes it seem like there’s something surprising to discover here.

A corrupted diamond would surely be MASSIVE. Also, very powerful. The beam of pink light hints at Wormy Boi being quite a powerhouse.

The spikes on Wormy Boi’s back and around their face highly resemble rose thorns. We all know how much the Crewniverse loves their rose symbolism, and design wise, this aspect would make a lot of visual sense for a corrupted Steven. Running off of that:

The face/nose shape and the five horns on this creature’s head give off a very Steven-like silhouette.

The nose, of course. The face has a very Steven-like shape to it, overall- although noticeably more angular and sharp. The mouth is reminiscent of the Watermelon Stevens’ mouths. And as for the horns, there’s five of them positioned equidistant around their face, just as Steven’s hair is always formed from five lil’ bumps at the same positions.

Okay, moving on.

(Read more under the cut!)

2) We do not yet understand the true nature of corruption.

“I guess it’ll take more than a kiss to heal damage from the Diamonds…” -Pearl, Monster Reunion

Corruption is still- bafflingly- a huge mystery. The Gems we’ve watched the CGs bubble since season one have been healed, yes, but there are still many gaps in our understanding of it. With Steven Universe Future’s promise to address some lingering story threads, it would make sense if corruption was on the plate for further discussion. So, what DO we know?

We know it’s something the Diamonds can do. Interestingly, it doesn’t seem to require all four diamonds. Three of them together were able to cause all the damage to Earth. There’s also no statement made that more than one Diamond is required to cause effects like that.

In Legs From Here to Homeworld, Blue and Yellow Diamond weren’t actually aware the corruption was something they were capable of producing. They seemed to assume they obliterated the Gems on Earth. Corruption is then, even a mystery to them. That’s... odd, isn’t it?

Pearl states that it’s “something nearly impossible to describe.” Garnet goes further to say... “It’s sorta like... if MC Bear-Bear didn’t tear the fabric of his arm, but the fabric of his mind.”

"A sound… A song?” There’s a lot of association between corruption and music.

It causes Gems to lose touch with their usual forms, instead warping into a more outwardly "monstrous” version of themselves that appear to be “just a bundle of fight-or-flight reflexes and survival instincts.” As seen by Centipeetle in Monster Buddy and Monster Reunion, it appears as if corrupted Gems try to regenerate with their original forms if unbubbled, but are simply not in a state where they can maintain that.

As seen with Jasper in Earthlings, extreme emotional distress very much seems to speed up corruption’s effects. This is less of a stated fact and more of my read on that episode, but I believe it to be an important tidbit, especially since Garnet states that corruption’s damage is mental rather than physical, at least at its core. This can also be seen in Monster Reunion with how Centipeetle’s partial healing backfires when she remembers the trauma of being corrupted and reacts strongly.

Now, when it comes to healing corruption, Steven tries to heal Centipeetle himself, and does make some nice progress... helping her regain a hold on herself as he treats her with love and compassion and understanding... but it’s ultimately not a healing that can occur in isolation, helping her on his own. She needs more support before she can heal from this corruption to a state where she can truly be herself again.

And that eventually comes in the form of the other Diamonds. So, all four diamonds can help relieve the corruption if they help these Gems all together.

3) How could this theory potentially fit into the story anyways, you nutter?

Well, here’s the part of this post where I make some broad conjectures. I honestly am shooting fish into a barrel here because again- we know barely anything about how corruption actually happened initially, and my thoughts are very jumbled. Please forgive me.

"I don’t really know how the corruption works. It’s like they’re sick. They don’t remember who they used to be.” -Steven, Gem Hunt

So, corruption seems to be a mental ailment of Gemkind, turned manifest. It also seems to have a deep connection to a Gem’s emotions, with Centipeetle growing smaller and slightly calmer upon feeling more secure in Steven’s presence, and corruption speeding up as Jasper grew more and more emotionally overwrought and self-deriding about herself.

When it comes to the Diamonds and how they perhaps caused it originally- without fully realizing- we know that at least Blue and White have abilities focused on causing others to act in certain ways. Blue has sway over one’s emotions, and White has a knack for forcing her thoughts and self upon others. (I’m not sure how Yellow’s ability would play in here.) Mayhaps, mixed with their grief and guilt and anger, their power simply pressed all of that hurt emotion onto all the Gems on Earth in one whole fail swoop...? Tearing their minds in the process of it all?

The question I still have, though- is whether a single diamond could produce effects like this. And whether a diamond could turn that ability on themself.

Could Steven accidentally corrupt himself? Why might that happen?

Well, let’s look at our boy here.

He’s got a wide circle of support at this time in canon, but notably, he’s notorious for bottling up his emotion and not letting others in to help him- instead dropping everything to help them with their problems. Just to name a few examples (a few):

The Test. He feels betrayed and hurt at the Gems for a moment about the way they’re babying him with the rigged test, but instead of admitting the hurt he feels about the scenario, bottles that up to help them feel more like good guardians.

Joy Ride. He opens up to the Cool Kids about deep, incredibly troubling stuff that’s long been on his mind, but he’s never once talked about it with his family.

Mindful Education. The perils of bottling one’s emotions is literally the whole plot of the episode. The kid has a full out sobbing breakdown while he’s plunging to his death. Connie gets through to him a little here, but later episodes show that the resolution we see here is merely the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Steven’s internal issues.

Storm in the Room. Externally, Steven tries so hard to put on a guise of content and positivity, but once alone in Rose’s room feels safe enough to let the full brunt of his emotional trauma come out in an almost explosive manner. Geeze, get this kid some hugs.

Gemcation. Steven actually fails bitterly on putting on his customary smile in this episode, simply because the weight of his problems have become such an impossible burden to him. When the other Gems are trying to help him open up, he isn’t immediately responsive to their efforts.

What’s Your Problem? Amethyst spends the whole episode trying to cheer Steven up and find out how he’s doing, and instead Steven downplays his own feelings on the matter and ends up helping her sort out her own emotional issues.

So to sum: Many an Emotional Issue, a chronic tendency to avoid outwardly addressing said issues in favor of helping everyone else instead... and to avoid accepting other people’s help.

Even if he’s surrounded by all these people who love him, the fact of the matter is that Steven still feels as if he has to face his own inner demons alone.

Now, let’s look at the lil’ teasing synopsis that was given for Steven Universe Future:

“After saving the universe, Steven is still at it, tying up every loose end. But as he runs out of other people’s problems to solve, he’ll finally have to face his own.”

Blatantly sounds like we’re gonna finally get some addressing of Steven’s emotional state, now doesn’t it?

4) A concept on what could, theoretically happen

“Maybe… it IS a guy in a monster costume. I don’t mean literally, silly! What I mean is... there might be a conscious Gem still inside there, somewhere. What if the monster is turning back and forth into its original form? If it is, it might not be as corrupted as we think! There might still be a chance to save it!” -Steven, Gem Hunt

Suppose Steven- by some as-of-yet unknown means- ends up accidentally corrupting himself. His sorry emotional state only further amplifies the effects of this corruption, and makes it really hard to retain control. Wormy Boi as a form could be like... all his inner demons made manifest, a metaphoric mirror into his current mental state. But- as he is half-human- he’s not entirely unaware of what’s happening. Perhaps... as the quote above could be sneaky foreshadowing for... how he’s turning back and forth between this corrupted form and his normal form.

He likely wouldn’t want everyone to see him like this, doesn’t want everyone to visibly know the sheer depth of how much he’s hurting. But just like the corrupted Gems were only able to be helped in community, with the support of the CGs and the Diamonds in preparing the fountain, Steven can’t fix this on his own.

He can no longer face the dark alone.

At some point, everyone has to take a brave step. Reach out. Accept help.

Steven’s helped so many people, and surely he deserves that same love and care in return, too.

And perhaps, when he’s eventually healed from this- and has gotten the opportunity to be open with his family and friends about the hurt he’s facing- he’ll be left with “corruption scars” as well. I think it’s an important thing to address, that no one goes through experiences like these without lingering effects. Stuff stays with you. Healing is not always linear. But life is a continuous journey, and with the support of people who love you surrounding, you too can make a change... can continue to live to the fullest at every moment possible.

I think the above would be a lovely moral for Steven Universe to tackle in its last run of episodes, no matter how they approach it- daft corruption theory or not.

Now, in the end- a reiteration. This is just a wild theory. I’m not trying to be any authoritative voice saying that this is for sure what will happen, because in reality I have no idea what Crewniverse is cooking. However, I do think it’s fun speculation, and I am kinda spooked at how well things fit.

Whatever happens, I’m sure it will make me weep like a baby, though. Hoh boy. Grant me sanity in these coming months as we wait for answers.

#su #steven universe #su future #steven universe future #su theory #corrupted steven theory #my post stuff #long post #the mighty 500 #1K #2K #3K #4K #5K

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cryptidsandcatacombs · 3 years

Note

Hey! For the prompt meme, How about some “I know that you love me, but your jealousy is getting out of hand.” for L please! Only if you want to!

Uhuh this my shit This is an L x Reader so this should be fun~<3 I might be channeling my s/i's story into this but

Summary: Reader has been L's assistant for quite some time. They care about each other mutually during the ample time they've been around each other. L is usually good about keeping it subtle and under wraps but something happens that makes him mcfucking lose it. Rating: Pretty adult stuff here. NSFW. No one under the age of 18 may read. Sexual content is contained in this fic.

The evening had droned on with the hours wasting away unknown to L. He's never been one to keep track of the time that well. Once he's into his work, he ignores he forgoes a decent sleep schedule and what could be considered an actual substantial meal for coffee with an embarrassing amount of caffeine and sugar and what could be considered enough candy and pastries to give a horse diabetes. However, this has changed since y/n came along. It isn't that Watari didn't keep L in line when it comes to his diet. Watari has learned how stubborn L can be in the middle of an important case and getting L to do anything is like pulling teeth. But, there was something about y/n that made L listen and made L want to take care of himself a bit better. Watari definitely regards y/n as a miracle worker of sorts. Even L has to admit he has gotten a soft spot for y/n. Something he hasn't felt for anyone in a very, very long time. However, L has to admit his little soft spot has manifested into something of the more romantic variety. He can't help but see them and try his hardest to sound impressive. The blind man has no idea y/n already finds everything about him impressive. The hour was late however and y/n was nowhere to be seen. They had informed him that they had an engagement that evening. Didn't say what though. "Hey y/n, would you come here pl--," he said looking over to find y/n wasn't there. L was so used to having y/n around that he had forgot about this little detail. "Oh yeah, that's right," L mumbled to himself. One of the members of the latest task force he had been working with came over to L's side. "Sir, maybe you didn't know, but y/n has evening plans with a Mr. Enji Tanakada. I figure they have might informed you." "Enji Tanakada..why does that name sound familiar," L mumbled to himself quickly typing away at his computer. L froze when he saw the name come up. The case L had been working on was of the international sex trafficking variety. Dozens upon dozens of people of every gender had gone missing and it linked back to a company L had been tracking. They seemed legit on the surface, but the CEO, Renji Hiroto, had a dark side to him. Enji Tanakada was a certain Hiroto-san's close personal assistant in what L suspected was all matters including the illicit and illegal ones. "Son of a bitch y/n," L growled. He tightened his jaw in frustration. "Of all the stupid, reckless things you could have done." "Sir, I apologize I didn't tell you earlier. They had informed me that you were told and you had given them the approval," the task member had stated flustered and nervous fearing L's current state. "Well, next time inform me will you. Don't make a dumb mistake like that again," said L being snappy. He wasn't ok in this state of mind and any form or reasoning escaped him. "Now, did they tell you where they were going off to," L inquired. "I had overheard a phone coversation y/n was having that lead me to ask about the engagement. Some sort of hotel. Very high end. They both wanted to keep this under wraps," the task member said now regretting not asking for more details in case they needed back up. "And you didn't ask for the location? Your stupidity astounds me," L said not having any patience. L furrowed his brow, pinching the bridge of his nose in contemplation. He was kicking himself for not asking for more details now either, but he figured it was y/n's life and their business is their own. A mistake, he noted, that he will not make twice. "Well, I guess if you want something done right," L said bringing out the tracking device he had kept on him for cases like this. "Hopefully, y/n was wise enough to bring the tracking device I asked them to have on them at all times." L would reason with himself that this wasn't a stalking thing. That was partially a lie. The major part of it is when y/n signed up for this, he had known that the job came with a particular risk factor that could include kidnapping and so on. L has seen enough for the dingy, corrupt criminal underworld to warrant such

paranoia. L's eyes lit up to see that yes it had been on them. "Oh thank heaven y/n you beautiful angel," L muttered as he put the device in his pocket. "Watari, I need you to drive me," L ordered Watari already heading towards the car 3 steps ahead of L. The room Mr. Tanakada had booked super pricey with much leg room to go around in. Y/n wasn't sure whether he was seeking to impress or knew y/n was an agent and looking to throw them off. Either way, it was a lot. Tanakada had set down two champagne glasses. One y/n was wise enough not to drink. Tanakada had raised an eyebrow in concern. "What's a matter," he had asked. "Oh I'm doing a 10 step program. Major drinking problems a few months back," they said coming up with a lie. "Tch I'm sure you can let loose for one night," said Tanakada lifting his own glass in temptation. "So uh Tanakada-san, you said you had an ongoing business proposition to ask of me," y/n said. "Oh yes. There's a bit of travel involved if you're in," he said leaning forward to look y/n in the eye. "Oh, and what makes you think I'm a perfect fit for this business proposition," y/n inquired. "I can tell just by looking at you. I have a certain eye for these things," he said looking y/n up and down. "Well, if you're that sure, I guess I can be onboard," y/n said leaning forward, placing their hand under their chin. "Good. You're a smart one," Tanakada said lifting his glass, "You sure you don't to drink to celebrate. Excellent. Just had to close the deal before getting to this point. "Cheers to new beginnings," y/n said lifting their glass. Just as they were about to drink, the door to the room busted wide open with a violent bang. Y/n stared behind them to find a very angry L breathing heavily. Y/n froze figuring this might happen, but hoping they wouldn't. L snatched the glass and handed it to Watari. "Watari, can you bring this in for testing. If it tests positive for drugs, then we may have a few more questions for you," L said staring down Tanakada the angriest he's ever been. Tanakada snarled. "And just who do you think you are barging into my private room and--" Tanakada froze with the sight of the warrant L had lifted up. "I would watch what you say. You're under suspicious Tanakada-san. Let's just say your place isn't so safe either right now," L said with a voice that wasn't so whimsical as it is during these moments, but very cold and caculated. Y/n could tell he had lost patience. L took his seat in one of the chairs around the room taking a candy bar out of his pocket. "You don't mind if we just hang out til the boys in blue inform me of your dirty laundry now do you," L stated taking a bite of his bar. L had a look in his eye that wasn't of a detective giving you his knowing gaze, but of a predator looking to tear apart its prey. It sent shivers down everyone's spine whether he realized it or not. Hours later, L's task force had come back with evidence. Video tapes upon files upon illegal drugs had been found in Tanakada's home. All of them leading to the missing people. L's eye twitched suspecting the man got off on this job and liked to keep recordings of his capture for a certain Mr. Hiroto. And to think y/n might have been next. The thought of someone jerking off to this happening to y/n made his hand turn white and shake with rage. He snarled at Tanakada as he was being taken away in cuffs. L was kind of hoping merely staring at Tanakada would knock him out cold from the impact. After rigorous hours of y/n giving their testimony to L and the task force, L flopped down on the couch in his room tired. Y/n came in with their pjs as L had asked them to stay the night. "Sorry about that. I just didn't want you to worry cause I thought you wouldn't ap--" Y/n was interrupted by L standing straight up to face them. His posture was usually abysmal so y/n had never seen him with his back straight. Seeing it for the first time was absolutely terrifying. "You're damn right I wouldn't approve. What were you thinking? You could have gotten killed or

taken away somewhere no one would find you. Is that what you want," L said actually raising his voice. Y/n tried to find the answer, but couldn't finding L pretty intimidating right now. L flopped back onto his couch sitting in his usual manner. "Seriously, I'd love to know what your thought process was," L said voice low and raspy. "Well, I figured, if I could get taken by the people you suspect, you could track me having seen that I had gone missing and that would be your evidence right there," y/n stated. L looked over at y/n like they grew a third head. Y/n could be reckless some times, but holy shit this took the cake. "I'm going to have to ask you to repeat that as I don't think I heard you right. You were hoping to get kidnapped," L inquired, voice containing a thinly veiled tone of frustration. "Well, yeah. What faster way to catch the crooks then to catch them in the act yeah," y/n responded. "Of all the stupid..." L growled running his hand down his face. He tapped his fingers on his knees trying to figure out what to say. Y/n stared at L for a long time. Y/n noticed the fall and rise of his shoulders had become sporadic. L was far from composed right now and y/n was close enough to him to know it. Y/n shuffled over to L and sat by him. L turned to y/n noticing the new presence beside him. L shakily reached out for y/n's hand, rubbing it tenderly. "Don't you dare ever do that again. You might work for me, but believe it or not, I care very much for your well being. Too much for you to be doing impulsive actions like this. Do you comprehend what I'm saying? I understand you want to help, but not at the risk of your life. Never at the risk of your life," L said as if he was nearly going to break down. Y/n looked down to see L's hand trembling and gripping y/n's hand. His breath became shaky and anxious. Y/n had never seen L this upset. They were mostly taken aback by how much this had shaken him up. "Ok. I'm sorry," y/n conceded. L nodded slowly, pulling y/n close. Y/n stood frozen at the sudden contact. Y/n slowly held L back. L could feel how exhausted he was as he melted into y/n's arm. The warmth and comfort was far more healing than anything L had ever felt. “I know that you love me, but your jealousy is getting out of hand," y/n said cracking a joke. L gave a stifled laugh at this. Not only cause it was kind of funny to him, but also he didn't want to admit the truth. While what he did to save y/n was out of pure concern, he had to admit. He had grown jealous towards the idea of them being alone together. This dangerous man holding y/n's hand, kissing them, earning y/n's sweet words in his ear. Possibly more. L didn't like to think about it nor did he want to. It was far too unbearable. L decided to retort before this feeling of envy took him to increasingly dark places. "Oh and what about you? I joked about taking a certain lady out on a date for an investigation and you looked like you were going to kill someone." Y/n shoulders stiffened at hearing this. God, they were hoping he didn't notice that. "Now whose jealous," L said stick his tongue out playfully. Y/n blushed and began looking for a way to change the subject. "Hey uuu isn't that movie you wanted to watch on netflix," y/n said picking up L's laptop punching in L's password. "Oh right. I guess a movie night wouldn't be so bad," L said taking the blanket off the edge of his couch, covering both of them. L clapped a couple of times, dimming the lights as the movie started. L may have been joking about y/n being just as much of a jealous creature as he was, but he had a hard time admitting aloud that he was dearly hoping it was true. L truly didn't want to think about anyone having y/n's affection. Having this time they gave him to someone else. He had never been this close, this trusting, with anyone. This in love with anymore. Romance was never a possibility in his mind seeing as he had never been interested in romance. Then here came along y/n. Someone who had effortlessly won his heart and made him fall in love

with them in the most romantic way possible. If anyone were to take any of that that away, take away the person he loved more than life itself, the person he fell in love with, he wasn't sure what he'd do. All he could do was hope y/n had fallen in love with him too.

#fics for others

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coza-main · 3 years

Text

The Turning Point

Words: 2,578

Warnings: Slight angst, other than that none

Summary: The princess and Link get lost in a white-out blizzard, only to find shelter in a cave. Can Link use this time to prove that he is not her enemy, or will he only push her further away?

---

Link should’ve spoken up when he had the chance. He had known their party wouldn’t make it back to Rito Village before the storm hit, even with the shortcut. They had been out in the wilderness conducting research for days and everyone was eager to get back to the village, so they chose to ignore the warning signs. He wanted to speak up, tell the others that they should make camp and wait until the snow stopped falling, but he hadn’t been able to find his voice at the time. And now they were all paying for his weakness.

He was alone with the princess, silently working on starting a fire while she sat close by. Link didn’t need to look at her to know how bleak their situation was. She was practically folded in on herself, shivering from the cold. They had been lost in the white-out blizzard for at least an hour before finding the cave they were in now. His hands couldn’t seem to strike the flint correctly to start the spark. If he couldn't start a fire soon, they would definitely be dead by morning. Hypothermia would set in and they would both freeze to death before anyone could come find th-

“Could I try?”. The princess’s hoarse voice startled Link out of his thoughts. She hadn’t spoken to him since they had gotten inside the cave, though that wasn’t unusual. She only spoke directly to him when she absolutely had to, and never in a very friendly manner. He silently handed over the flint, which she took with a bleak smile. After 3 strikes, there were soft embers glowing in at the bottom of their small wood pile.

Link quickly got close to fan the embers, and soon the flames sprung up, casting shadows along the icy cave walls. Both of them moved closer to the fire, relishing in the heat they hadn’t had for so long. The silence between them was deafening, only broken up by the soft crackles of the wood being burned away.

---

By the time he was warm enough to move, the princess had fallen asleep. Link pulled out a small pot and began to walk towards the entrance of the cave. The princess may have dozed off, but they were going to need food soon. He collected snow and set the pot over the fire, continuing to add more snow as it continued to melt over the flames until the pot was full.

Once he finished, Link grabbed his sword and ventured outside once again. The visibility was still nonexistent, but he needed to find more wood or they wouldn't outlive the blizzard. He ran his gloved hand along the outside wall of the cave and stuck his sword arm out in the other direction. Walking blindly, he relied solely on his other senses, counting each step he took away from the cave entrance. If he was lucky, there would be a tree close to the cave and he wouldn’t have to venture far.

Link only had to walk a few meters before he felt something hit his sword. Hylia seemed to be smiling upon him, even after all she had put him through today. It was almost as if the goddess herself was calling his name in the wind gusts, giving him the strength he thought had been depleted. He wasn’t entirely sure how well a sword would hold up in place of an ax, but he managed to get a decent amount of firewood before heading back into the safety of the cave.

---

As Link regained his sight back in the cave, he noticed two things: the princess was awake, and she seemed to be crying. He instinctively dropped the wood he collected to rush to her side, startling her in the process. As she caught sight of him, grief quickly changed into relief, and then to anger, which managed to stop him dead in his tracks. Her emotions were always so easy to read, it was one of his favorite things about her. Hylia, he wished that he could wear his emotions as clearly as she wore hers.

“Where have you been?!?” She shouted, wiping angrily at her tear-filled eyes. Her voice rang through the icy cave. “I woke up and you were gone! What kind of knight leaves the person they’re supposed to be guarding without any sort of notice? What was so important that you couldn’t wait until I woke up?”

Dumbfounded by her outburst, Link simply looked down at the firewood he had collected. He wanted to apologize for scaring her, for leaving her alone, but apparently she wasn’t done.

“Firewood? You left me alone for firewood?” She had risen from her spot and was now marching towards him. “What if there had been a bear or something in here? I was vulnerable sleeping! You could have at least woken me up and told me where you were going!” Now that she was closer, Link saw that the princesses’ face wasn’t contorted in anger. She was scared. Her voice was quieter the next time she spoke. “I was calling for you. I thought you left me.”

Link’s heart ached. He knew the trials and adversity the princess had overcome. He wanted to reach out, to comfort her. But he didn’t know how to. The words wouldn’t come to him. The princess stared at him for a few seconds, and then bent down to gather up the rest of the firewood.

---

They didn’t have much. The carrots, Hyrule herbs, a few chillshrooms, and some bits of dried meat from Link’s pack were all thrown into the pot to boil into a soup. Link silently poured out the soup into two bowls, and handed one to Zelda. It wasn’t much, but it was edible, and left them both feeling rather warm inside. The cold air seemed to be a little less frigid once they were finished.

“I would never leave you.” Link said softly as he packed up the equipment. He knew he wasn’t the best with words, but he was feeling extra courageous. They had survived the day. She needed to know he was someone she could count on. But still, his cheeks were burning, and the princesses’ silence wasn’t helping. Once everything was packed up, he finally had summoned the courage to look at her again.

Wide, green eyes were focused on him, her mouth slightly agape. Was she in shock? Had he really said something so out of place that it warranted that reaction? What more did she want, an apology? It was better to be safe than sorry. “Your Highness, I’m-”

“That’s the first time you’ve spoken to me.” She blurted out over him. Link could feel his cheeks warming again, and was thankful for the cold to blame. “That’s the first time ever.”

Link shook his head. There was no way that she was right in that statement. He didn’t speak often, but he still had a voice that he used when it was warranted. “I’ve definitely spoken around you before, princess.”

Zelda laughed dryly. “You’ve spoken around me before-rarely, I might add-but you’ve never spoken to me. Not directly, at least.”

Link found himself dumbfounded once again. He had always assumed the princess didn’t want to talk to him, so he never made an effort. She was intimidating, and was one of the few people he didn’t want to be on the bad side of. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Was he supposed to apologize? Ask for forgiveness? Was it even a big deal that he had never spoken to her before? Knights don't speak to princesses unless they were explicitly told to. The fact that he was the chosen hero and her personal guard didn’t change his status as a knight, did it?

“Do you have a torch? I want to look around.” She was scanning the walls covered in ice. The cavern looked like it had been untouched for centuries, there was no trace of animals or Hylians inside. He could tell she was anticipating him to shoot her down. “We won’t go far, I just want to see a little further back.”

Link located the torch he had in his pack and lit it from the flames, before doing it again with another torch and handing it off. They walked in silence, with Link listening for any sign of life, the princess looking for anything interesting.

---

Link was the first to break the silence, more out of curiosity than awkwardness. “Your Highness, what exactly are you looking for?”

“It’s a long shot, but I read some research a few months ago about these rumored skeletons. They’re supposed to be as big as houses, Link! The research itself was from years ago, but I was hoping to find the skeletons. One is supposed to be in the Hebra mountains, far from civilization. They called it a leviathan in their research, but I wonder what the actual name was?” The princess continued to ramble on about the possibilities and ramifications of a creature of that caliber existing. Link listened to her endearingly, smiling to himself. She always got off on some kind of tangent whenever scientific theories were involved. Her voice bounced off the walls, creating its own symphony with her as the star. Link was so distracted by the music it took him a few seconds to realize the princess had stopped talking.

His eyes found her quickly. “You probably think I’m a disgrace. I have yet to awaken my sealing power and I’m in the Hebra Mountains looking for a skeleton for fun. I-”

“I don’t think you’re a disgrace,” Link interrupted. The princess whipped around and stared at him as he quickly continued. “You’ve tried your hardest up until this point, and there’s not much more we can do until you turn 17 and we can go to the Spring of Wisdom. It’s not that the sealing power isn’t manifesting because you aren’t trying hard enough. Also, you’re allowed to enjoy things in life, princess, even if it is searching for a skeleton that might not exist.”

The princess looked like she wanted to say something, but Link rushed on. “Besides, I know you’ve been praying to Hylia every morning and night that we’ve been on this expedition. Even when you’re supposed to be taking a break, you don’t. I admire your determination and willpower more than you know.”

Now that he was done talking, Link felt as if he had overstepped his boundaries. He couldn’t stop himself from blurting all of that out. All of his feelings and emotions were bubbling to the surface now that they were alone and being vulnerable with each other. He needed her to know that her effort wasn’t going unnoticed or unappreciated. He needed her to know that she was important to somebody.

The princess was unusually quiet for a while after that. Link wanted to say more, but he also wanted to give her space. He had overstepped once, it wasn’t wise to do it a second time in such a short time span. He followed behind her silently, searching the cavern for anything interesting that might catch the attention of the princess while listening for any movement beyond the two of them.

“Link-” the princess gasped, and Link drew his sword as he turned back towards her. She was frozen, holding her torch up as far as she could. He could see a faint outline of bone illuminated by the torch light. “It’s here. It’s actually here!”

Seeing that she was in no danger, Link sheathed his sword and walked towards the skeleton himself. Without a word, he stood near her to allow her visibility range to widen as much as possible. With both of their torches, they could just see the top of the skeleton. She hadn’t been lying, the leviathan was easily twice as big as his family home in Hateno.

“I can’t believe we found it. We found it, Link!” The princesses’ eyes shone and her smile widened. It has been a long time since that smile, her genuine smile, came to light. Link had forgotten how contagious it was, and found a smile dancing across his lips as he watched her.

It was like watching a child on the playground. She ran from bone to bone, using her arms to measure the width of each one. For the ones she couldn’t wrap her arms around completely, she had Link assist her. She measured each one, accompanied with pictures of every angle with the Sheikah Slate. She finally got to the back of the beast, and stared up at it. It was clear she wanted to try to climb to the top, but had no way of knowing where to start.

“Do you want to try to climb it, princess?” Link asked, Believing he already knew the answer. He started scaling the bones before the princess even answered his question.

“Link!” She cried desperately. “Be careful! They might break.”

He hadn’t thought of that. He quickly climbed back down. “Sorry, Your Highness,” he mumbled, fully embarrassed. “I didn’t think about that.”

The laugh that escaped her lips was light and teasing. “You never think,” she said in between breaths. She was wiping at her eyes again, tears of joy instead of sorrow. “That’s why we’re down here exploring this creepy cave and not sitting by the fire. That’s why we found the leviathan.”

The princess waited a while before speaking again.

“We probably should go back now,” she admitted.

“Probably.”

---

Back at the fire, their adrenaline wearing off, the princess and her knight seemed to realize how tired they both had become.

“You need sleep, princess.” It wasn’t a request. Link wanted her to rest after the long day they had.

“You need sleep too, sir knight.” Her tone mocked him, and he wondered if he had done something to offend her. “You can call me Zelda, you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, Zelda.” Her name felt good on his lips. It sounded sweet to her ears.

“We should both sleep,” Zelda said. “Nothing is going to bother us in this cave. I’m sure Hylia will protect her chosen ones if there is.” She sounded sarcastic and bitter, but Link wasn’t sure if he was misinterpreting her tone.

They both laid down next to the fire, their heads near one another. Link stared at the flames, entrancing him dangerously close to sleep.

“You know, if you can find a mythical leviathan that isn’t supposed to exist, I think you’ll be able to conquer your sealing power as well.”

“That’s easy for you to say.” She didn’t need to say anything further, they both knew what she was thinking.

“You deserve to have someone on your side, Zelda.” And he was on her side, wholeheartedly. With that, they both fell asleep quickly, unsure of what the next day would bring.

By the next day, the winds had shifted. The sun was out, and they could continue their journey to Rito Village. As they walked out of the mouth of the cave, Zelda turned back to it. “Goodbye, cave.” Link noticed that she almost sounded disappointed to leave it behind. With a sigh, she turned back to him and they set out to Rito Village once again.

One hundred years later, the cave felt so much colder without her next to him.

#legend of zelda #breath of the wild #zelda #link #zelink #i guess?? not really theyre just bonding #matchamago original

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haifengg · 3 years

Text

Genre/TW: mentioning of alcohol consumption, indication of molesting

Pairing: Idol!TaeyongxFem!Reader

Word Count: 1.6k

Neither one of you was usually into turbulent or spontaneous dates. The common ground of wanting to spend your days off or maybe just nights off with some quality chill activities was what originally drew you towards each other. You appreciated Taeyong a lot for his ability to manage a loud Kindergarten-like group of people and guiding them through everything safe and sound, so you knew very well how mad his job could be. How much energy it drained from him and you were more than happy to spend your time with him recharging.

That being said, neither one of you was a huge troublemaker either. You liked having a great time wherever you went but you always made sure to stay out of trouble. The fact that Taeyong was who he was made it difficult enough to schedule date nights and actually go somewhere outside your apartment. Getting into trouble or even worse - attracting bad press was unspeakable. So you did your best to stay out of anything shady.

With all of that in mind, there still were nights like this one from time to time. Nights when friends of either one of you ask you to go out with them. Checking out some clubs or bars, enjoying alcohol and music and dance. Which is what Taeyong was truly amazing at. Even if it was just jumping in a crowded club - this aura around him would never fade.

So tonight was one of these nights. You were all dressed up, sitting in the corner of this exclusive club one of Taeyong’s producer friends invited you into because he knew what a pain dating a celebrity/non-celebrity was. At this location everyone was either well-known or with someone well-known. Everyone appreciated the selection of clientele.

A few hours had already passed and a few drinks already found there way into your system. You were dancing with Taeyong a lot, having his hands subtly roaming over your body when things got so intense on the dance floor that no one was paying attention anyways. At first you laughed it off and told to take it down a notch because even tho the club was upper class and selected customer only, there was no guarantee no one would record you, or leak anything to some sort of social media news account. But you quickly noticed that all your warnings didn’t really reach your boyfriend. He was way too caught up into the surroundings. Loud music, bass banging, crowds of raving people. The lights, the time of the night and the alcohol. It all added up to his urge of letting off steam, wiping work out of his head just for a few hours.

By the sixth song and after countless attempts from his side you finally gave in and turned around. Since you stood still in a pit of jumping people a few of them bumped into you but you paid them no mind. Instead you pulled your boyfriend in closely, bringing you lips close to his ear and whispering shouting into his ear:

“How about we just go somewhere more private?”

You pull away and observed amusedly how the expression on his face changed within seconds, as soon as he noticed that he didn’t mishear.

Taeyong nodded, strongly agreeing and shaking his head towards the door shielding the hallway and the restrooms from the main dance floor.

You softly patted twice with your flat hand on his chest before turning around and leaving towards the restrooms. He would follow in a few moments, maybe after the song finished. Just waited long enough for no one to really catch any suspicions.

The door closed behind you and suddenly you noticed how obnoxiously loud the dance floor was. There weren’t a lot of people in the hallway since most of the guests rather enjoyed what they came here for instead of hanging around in some meadow. So you shook your head adjusting to the absence of noise and made your way across the hallway, past some people heading to the restrooms. One mustn’t forget what you came here for and what you were expecting.

But when you were walking past a group of maybe 3 or 4 guys one of them dropped his drink, the glass bursting on the floor and the raining alcohol splattering across the wall and floor. You quickly turn around thinking that you might have bumped into him causing the small accident and apologised even before you could overlook the entire situation.

“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to-“ You say crouching down and starting to pick up the shards of glass but stop immediately as you noticed that no one else was making a move to help you. Instead the men looked at you interestedly just as one of them seemed to recognise you.

“Hey, aren’t you Taeyong’s girlfriend?” He smirked."

“Taeyong?” One of this guy’s friends asked and another chimed in.

“NCT Taeyong. This SM boygroup. Yeah, I think it’s her."

“Oh look at her, she’s really pretty up close. I can see why he’s into her."

By the time he said that you had already gotten up and regained full posture just to notice that even fully standing up these guys were much more intimidating than you originally realised. “Listen, I am really sorry I spilled your drink and I will get you another one later but for now I really have to go."

Offering him to buy another drink was insanely stupid in this situation but like most of the time your manners got the better of you. Of Course you noticed how they looked at you. And of course you were aware of what dress you wore and how it make you look. “Where you gotta go?” One of them asked looking past you and smiling. “To the restroom? We’d be more than happy to accompany you. Just to make sure, you know, you don’t forget about that drink you owe my friend here."

“If she owns him a drink, I would be more than happy to pay for it but I honestly doubt that she made him drop it in the first place.” Someone said and your head spun around just to see your boyfriend being the owner of those words.

“See, that’s him.” Someone of them said, bopping his ellbow into his friend’s rips. “I honestly don’t see why so many women are into him. You’re actually real skinny up close. Your girlfriend here really deserves better and she will know once we show her what she’s missing out on."

As soon as the sound of these words hit his ears Taeyong shoved himself between you and these awful men to keep them from looking at you any longer. He reached into his pocket pulling out some random small bill that would surely be enough to cover another drink and shoved it into the drink-less guys chest pocket.

“I would really like you to leave now. I hope this will do. Now if you excuse us."

He grabbed your wrist more firmly than you would have expect him to and was about to march out of the club but one last comment from the group of strangers made him freeze on the spot.

“That’s so like you!” They laughed. “Throwing money at problems so that they go away. What an unfair world we live in. Being born handsome really is a guarantee for being successful regardless to how talentless one is."

You had never in your life seen Taeyong opting for violence and you honestly thought you never would. But within the blink on an eye he appeared in front of whoever said that and was about to place his fist frontally on to his opponents nose bridge but luckily for Taeyong the other one was quick enough to dodge his swing.

Now it was your turn to grab your boyfriend’s arm and whisper:

“Don’t lose your temper over someone like him. Your career isn’t worth it."

You pulled him away before anyone could say anything else and when you reached the door to the foyer you could hear them shouting something about how he weak he was having to be saved by his girlfriend and that all he could do was look good for money. Taeyong bit his tongue to not shout anything offensive back at them.

You on the other hand made your way cool heatedly towards the coatroom getting your jackets. In the nicest and most professional way possible you asked the lady at the counter if you may report this group of gentleman in the hallway since the not only cat-called you and threatened you but also insulted your boyfriend and provoked a fight.

Via the entire time of the two of you getting through the process of explaining everything to the security Taeyong stood by your side, still holding the jackets in one hand and your hand in the other.

Eventually you were waiting outside the club trying to flag a cab which would take you home.

“Thank you.” He suddenly said, not looking at you.

“What for?”

“For keeping me from folding this dude right there."

“Don’t thank me. I would have loved to see that. But as I said: Your career isn’t worth some fist fight in a club."

“You are tho.” Taeyong now looked at you and you could see how what those men said earlier really got to him.

Taglist

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@soleilsuhh

@jeonghanmoon

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sarcastically-defensive17 · 4 years

Note

ahhh 25 and 12 or 6 with calum hood please!!

I AM SO SO SO SORRH RHAT THIS TOOK SO LONG I HAD A SUPER LONG HIATUS FOR PERSONAL REASONS AND I HOPE YOURE STILL INTERESTED AND NOT MAD AT MEEE 🥺LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING YOU ABSOLUTE ANGEL LOVIEEE

Help me - C. Hood

6: “Shh, you’re safe. I won’t let you go.”

12: “N-no, it’s alright, come here.”

25: “Please talk to me about it.”

GIF is not mine

TW: DEPICTIONS OF DOMESTIC ABUSE/ ABUSE BY A PARENT. MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND WOUNDS, GRAPHIC DEPICTION OF FAMILIAL VIOLENCE, SELF-LOATHING THEMES AND PHYSICAL INJURY.

If this content can potentially trigger you, please do not read. Your mental and physical health is important, so please, take care of yourself. My inbox is always open.

Original story by sarcastically-defensive17

Please do not copy, reproduce or repost without credit or in a manner than removes my username, and/or ownership from the work. Stealing isn’t cool, peeps.

<><><><><>

Not much was known about Y/N. In the entire school, she was the enigma. She had her friends, she was average in her classes, but still, her personal life was kept out of the general knowledge of the student body. Even the teachers knew little about the girl.

Her parents would come to every interview, every ceremony. She would go on trips, she would join in on the fun. She even attended the two week camp they held last semester, and it was the happiest that anybody had seen her.

Calum often watched the girl. He could see how her smile would drop when nobody was looking, how she would constantly flinch whenever anybody would raise a hand or wave an arm around her. He observed her more often than not, as stalkerish as that made him sound.

He was friends with the girl. They shared English and Math and some of the same friends. He enjoyed speaking to her, he loved to see her smile - genuinely smile.

He couldn’t deny the growing feelings he had for her. She was intelligent and kind, her smile could knock the breath out of him, and had done so many times. He seemed to lose all train of thought around her and the feeling was addictive. He had no idea if she felt the same, but he felt his own emotions grow tenfold every time she placed her hand on his arm, or offered her assistance when he was unsure about something, or simply when she laughed at a horrible joke that slipped from his lips.

She was angelic and he couldn’t put his finger on why such a beautiful person could look so skittish at a sudden movement.

He had his suspicions but he knew better than to pry.

However, his mind couldn’t be set at ease when they were placed into a group together. Their due date for their English project was impending, and as his mother was working from home, he chose not to offer his residence for the pair to gather.

“So, your house?” He was waiting by her car at the end of the day, unnoticed by Y/N as she rushed to her vehicle in the same manner she always did. She hadn’t expected him to be there, so when his voice travelled to her ears she couldn’t help but flinch and shy away. He frowned softly at her, “you okay?”

She blinked, tilting her head to look at him. “Excuse me?” Her keys were clasped tightly in her hands and her gaze kept flicking between her door and Calum.

He chose not to focus on the tension she held in her body. “The project?” He reminded her. “It’s due in two weeks and if we keep showing up with nothing done, Stone will be on our asses until we graduate.” He snorted, the sound bringing a small smile to Y/N’s face.

“I, um, I don’t think my house is a good idea,” her voice was soft - fragile. “Wouldn’t it be easier to do it during study? I can’t be out too late.”

“All of my study’s are designated to soccer practice, sorry,” he pursed his lips, pushing off of her car. “I would offer my place but I think my mum would genuinely murder me. She’s working from home and my sister is in the process of taking over all available space in the house with her loser friends.”

Y/N seemed to think over it for a minute. She knew that it would be a bad idea to have Cal come over, but she had no choice. She sighed, nails working carefully to pick at the skin around her cuticles - a bad habit she had adopted.

“Alright,” she nodded. “Hop in, just, there are rules you need to follow, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” he smirked, pulling the drivers side door open for her when the lock mechanism clicked open.

Her heart pounded in her chest the whole way home. The mere sight of the two story residence made her feel queasy on a regular day, but the upbeat boy sitting beside her made the thought of being at home much worse. She put the car in park, turning to Calum.

Her eyes rarely met his, he noticed.

“Um, you can’t be here after 5. My parents get home around then and they don’t really like visitors.” She pulled her keys from the ignition, clamping her eyes shut for a brief moment. Sure, Calum was her friend - he was a great guy, and Y/N genuinely enjoyed his presence - but she couldn’t shake the feeling that having him at her house would end horribly. “No shoes inside, we need to stay in the dining room and please, if you use the bathroom, put the toilet seat down.”

She didn’t invite people over for a reason, but she dropped the desire to have friends over when her home began to break more. Y/N could barely remember a time when she fell asleep to anything but the sound of expletives, breaking glass or pure aggression.

Instead of questioning the barrage of instruction as she would expect, Calum simply fixed her with a warm smile, “Your wish is my command.”

She had long wished for her parents to go their separate ways strictly to save her from the fear that enveloped her the minute she stepped foot inside, however, she knew it fruitful because she couldn’t go anywhere but with one of them, and even when apart, they were harmful.

Calum followed her rigid form into the house, kicking his shoes off and placing them on the designated racking as instructed. The house was in pristine condition. It was as if there were no life in the environment unless a human was present - it felt cold.

The house was so different from his own. His mother had made sure to hang photos of both him and his sister, pictures from family outings, vacations. His father bought his mother flowers regularly and they always sat on the kitchen counter. His sister even had her own little belongings in the family areas as did he. Y/N’s house had nothing. There was not even a picture of her with her parents. The house was near void of any sort of familial comfort that it made him feel uncomfortable.

He followed her into the dining room, waiting for instruction. The atmosphere put him incredibly on edge and he could feel that there were many rules to be followed to perfection in the house.

Y/N pulled her bag open, placing her books on the table before stashing the bag into a designated nook in the entry way. The table caught his eye. Only two chairs. Both her parents lived with her, but there were only two chairs.

She returned, taking a seat at the small round table. Her eyes darted nervously to a clock mounted on the wall before softening and focusing on Calum’s standing form.

“Take a seat?” She offered. “We have just over an hour and a half until my parents get home.”

He nodded, slumping down in the seat and retrieving his own items for their project.

The time flew by quickly, it seemed. Calum’s presence was warm and he shone like a beacon in the barren home. She could barely take her eyes off of him for fear that he too would burn out like all who have entered before him.

If she could, she would have captured the moment in its entirety, preserving it for the lypophrenic moments that visit her almost nightly.

She was in the process of laughing at a joke that slipped from Calum’s lips when her eyes absentmindedly crossed over to the wall clock.

It was 3 minutes past 5.

Calum needed to leave. Fast.

She was on her feet, face paleing and her hands working to slam the books in front of her closed. She needed Calum gone and she needed to be in her room before either of them got home.

Calum raised an eyebrow at her, following her movements with caution. “What’s wrong, Y/N?”

“You need to go,” she was breathless despite the meager activity. It wasn’t the actions that made her breath escape, it was fear. She knew what would happen if either of her parents arrived home. She knew what would happen if they saw she was in the dining room, or if she had company. Nevermind if that company was a male.

“Oh, sorry,” he smiled softly, helping her clean. “The time sorta slipped away from us. It’s only a few past 5, I’m sure your parents will understand-“

He was cut off as she shoved his books against his chest, “they can’t know that you were ever here.” She felt horrible for rushing him out; almost as horrible as she felt for her lack of hospitality, but she needed him to go. She couldn’t bear the consequences.

She handed him his shoes, opening the front door and pushing him out. His expression was full of confusion and for an instance she thought she saw hurt flash in his whiskey coloured eyes but her state of anxiety was growing and she couldn’t bring herself to react.

“Sorry about going overtime. I’ll see you-“ the door slammed in his face, footsteps hurrying away from the wooden barrier almost exactly after, “- tomorrow?” He finished dejectedly, slipping his shoes on and starting down the path to his house.

He lived in close proximity to Y/N, but the walk did little to quell the hurt in his chest.

Y/N rushed around as soon as the door was closed. She needed to clean everything up in the dining room before one of them got home, but her efforts were fruitless.

A few minutes after she rudely shoved Calum away, she heard an engine die in the front yard. The door opened carefully and closed very soon after. The sound of heels on the floorboards alerted her to the fact that her mother was home. She was in perfect view, still trying to clean away any evidence that she inhabited the dining room.

“What the hell have you done to my house?” Her mother hissed, the sound of keys being thrown onto the hall table bouncing off of the walls, setting the hairs on the back of Y/N’s neck on edge.

Y/N felt her shoulders flinch, acting on their own accord. “I’m sorry, mum. I just felt like studying down here today-“

Her mother was next to her within seconds, cold eyes scanning over every item in the room. “This is a pig sty!” She growled, despite the only objects out of the ordinary being y/N’s textbook, a single pen and a bottle of water. “I go to work, busting my ass to pay for things you need and this is the thanks I get?”

The laughter that fell from the older woman gave Y/N goosebumps. Both of her parents were vindictive and nasty, but her mother was the worse of the two. Quick with her hands, nastier with her words. She has once thrown a plate at Y/N because she dared to ask to add salt to her dinner.

Her father, on the other hand, was a drunk who would prefer to scream insults at his daughter and wife for anything. Despite this, y/n had less fear of the patriarch.

Y/N stayed quiet, too frightened to say anything or to even move to finish cleaning. Her mother didn’t like that and wound her hand in Y/N’s hair, gazing down at her with malice as she yanked her head back violently.

“You ungrateful little brat!” She growled. “You were the worst thing to happen to me, yet I still feed you, and clothe you and keep you here while you sick the life from me like the parasite you are, and this is how you repay me?”

Tears welled in Y/N’s eyes as she struggled against her mother’s hand, “Mum, mum please,” she pleaded. “You’re hurting me.”

“You hurt me every day that you’re still here, it’s the least I can do to repay the favour.”

Y/N grabbed her mother’s hand, attempting to pry it away from her hair, but in the process, her nail scratched her mother’s hand.

Y/N didn’t realise until she was knocked to the ground after a force connected with her cheek. Her head connected with the floor boards, blood quickly spilling from her brow and her lip and cheek throbbing.

“Don’t you ever touch me again, you little bitch!” Her mother screamed in her face, cradling her barely wounded hand like she would a baby.

Y/N struggled on the floor, slowly trying to climb to her feet despite the ache spreading through the left side of her face. She shuffled back, hoping to get closer to the hall so she could get up to her room. Her mother had other plans.

The sound of the cupboard door opening was evident and Y/N barely pushed her disheveled hair from her eyes to see a glass hurtling towards her, connecting with the wall next to her.

The sound was near ear-piercing, a few glasses catching her arms and shredding the skin in various places. Crash after crash - she finally ran out of glasses, starting to move to the next cupboard.

Y/N took the opportunity to get to her feet and run. Her feet carried her to the door, and she was thankful that she always kept we car keys on her person for fear of moments like this.

Her mother called out expletives behind her, but she didn’t bother to turn, instead allowing her body to act on its own volition, climbing into her car and pulling out of the drive as fast as she could.

Her vision was blurring, tears staining the clarity of her sight. Her hands were shaking so ferociously that she could feel the muscles in her shoulders twitching. Her mind was anywhere but the road, but it felt like she moved between destinations so fast, barely paying mind to the road in front of her until she pulled up at a park in the next suburb.

Her fingers worked on the screen of her phone, acting of their own volition until a voice was sounding through the speaker into Y/N’s ear.

“Y/N?” The voice asked, confused, anxious even.

“I’m at the park, on Macquarie Street. I need help.”

To anybody outside, Y/N would have been a terrifying sight. Blood pouring down her face, starting at her brow, a bruise forming quickly on her left cheek, a slight swell misshaping her lip and cuts all over her arm with their own trails of blood.

For Calum, his heart near stopped when he saw her sat on a park bench with her knees pulled to her chest. The sight was a beat more than terrifying. There were no more tears in her eyes, but her cheeks were wet with recent drops. She was staring out into the green landscape as if she no longer inhabited her body. The sun was starting to set behind her.

It took all of his willpower not to rush towards her, simply so he didn’t spook her. She was as rigid as a scared animal, any sudden sounds causing her to flinch.

“Y/N?” He tried softly, stepping cautiously. Her bleary eyes shifted towards him slowly, looking down at his feet before settling into his eyes. Her face shifted into a small smile as she locked onto the warm brown. “What happened?”

With his words, the semblance of a smile dropped. She frowned deeply, a dimple forming softly on her chin before a sob ripped through her chest. Her breathing heaved her body, rocking aggressively as she poured the emotion onto her knees once again. He walked to her faster, resting a hand on her knee and the other on her head.

“Y/N?” She shook his hands off, flinching away from his touch. “Y/N, baby? What happened? Please talk to me about it.”

She gasped, knees unfurling from her near iron grip. She knew the feeling well, it being her third panic attack since she left her home - not her home - the place she used to live. She couldn’t go back there.

Calum knew the signs. He had helped Michael through many attacks before and he acted beyond thought as he sunk to his knees before her, kneeling between her opened legs. His fingers moved to the side of her face gently, as to not cause her any more fear.

The tears had halted again, but she could barely catch her breath. He pulled her head down into his chest, thankful that with his added height against the small park bench, it was not so much of an awkward angle for the frightened girl.

It took all of 2 minutes for her breathing to balance. It was a trick he learned long ago - sometimes physical contact could help Michael with his attacks, and it had proven to be helpful to Y/N.

The silence that followed was pregnant as she rested her head against him. Her fingers had clasped so tightly in his hoodie that he could barely move until she loosened her grip. Slowly, she began to peel her body away from him.

“I- I’m sorry. There’s blood everywhere. I’ll let you go,” she sniffed, her voice airy as she tried to relax her muscles.

“N-no, Y/N,” he stood slowly, choosing to sit next to her instead of on the ground in front of her. “It’s alright, come here. Only if you want to.” He held his arm out, allowing her to make her decision. Slowly, and cautiously, she moved towards him, seeking the comfort of his soft hoodie and his warmth. She let out a shaky breath as she settled in to him. He shushed her softly, moving his arm to loop around her back slowly. “It’s alright, you’re safe, darling. I won’t let you go.”

She mumbled a soft “thank you,” wrapping her arms around his waist delicately. Her forehead nestled into his collarbone, allowing the lower portion of her face to be angled so she could resume her breath maintenance.

“Who did this to you, daring?” His voice was soft, his eyes anywhere but the girl below him. The mere sight of her eliciting a burning rage within his chest. Y/N was so pure, so happy. So kind. The thought that anybody would dare to hurt her - to him, it was blasphemy. “What happened after I left?”

“It was my mum,” her words were incredibly faint, yet Calum’s attentive ears heard every syllable. He tightened his arm around her slightly. “It’s not the first time, and it won’t be the last.”

He moved his hands to her shoulders, pulling her off of his chest so that he could survey her face. His fingers were calloused from the strings of his bass, but he made sure to keep his touch featherlight as he ran his finger along her wounded cheek.

It was no, that he finally realized the small scars decorating her eyebrow, her jawline, and even her neck.

“She hurts you?” The thought was unbearable, how could a mother hurt their child in such a way. Y/N was in bad shape, and to know that it was somebody who should love and protect her that did so - he was shaking from fury. “What about your father? Does he-“

“Dads always too drunk to care. He spends his time sucking down beers and verbally abusing us rather than paying attention to the constant crap I get from my mum,” her scoff was full of malice. On the outside, Y/F/N had it all but in reality, her world was a steaming dumpster fire and she spent her time yearning for love. “My parents never wanted me and they have made it obvious. This,” she gestured to her face with a sliced up arm, wincing slightly at the shift of her flesh. “Is because I had stuff in the dining room. Mother prefers I keep my life confined to my bedroom where she can pretend I don’t exist.”

Guilt washed over Calum’s face, “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I shouldn’t have pushed to go to your house.”

“It’s fine, Cal. There was bound to be an issue tonight anyways, it’s just our routine,” she sent him a small smile, eyes full of apology and sadness. “Thank you, for coming to my rescue.”

He let his thumb run across her cheekbone, relishing in the feeling of her skin underneath his palm. “Whenever you call, I’ll be there for you Y/N.” There was nothing in his actions to suggest anything but sincerity, specifically in the way his eyes lingered on hers for a second longer than normal. “You can’t go back there, darling.”

Her head hung slightly. She had nowhere to go but there. Of all of her friends, not one of them would take her in and her closest family was out of state. She had no options.

“That’s the only place I have,” she smiled at him, a miserable smile, but a reassuring one. “I’ll be okay.”

“Come to my house,” he offered, eyebrows raising slightly, a pleading pout on his lips.

“Cal, I can’t impose-“

“You’re never imposing, Y/N.” His brows furrowed. “I’ll always keep you safe, I promise.”

A sigh left her chest, her breathing smoothing and functioning correctly on its own accord, before she nodded. Fighting against Calum was a losing battle, but she wasn’t entirely against the idea. There was something drawing her in to him. Something that she couldn’t identify. Whether it be the damsel-in-distress complex that she had adopted that night, or the butterflies that erupted in her belly when he held her close, she wanted to go with him. She wanted to be safe in his arms.

So she nodded, smiling small up at him, her fingers reaching up to hold his own that were still resting on her scarred face.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, a delicate gesture full of comfort and with an inkling of the love that she so desired. “I’ll always protect you, darling.”

Tag list: @starshonerose @mantlereid @killerqueenishere @snookiebrookie @theanswertoeverythingisl0v3 @another-lonely-heart

#calum hood #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #5sos #michael clifford #5 seconds of summer #calum hood x reader #requested #caz writes stuff #I’m #so #sorry #this #took #long #thank you so much for the patience #I’m sorry I’m so shit

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scripttorture · 4 years

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(1/3) Solitary confeinment ask: the background is that the character (a strategic genius and a trained fighter) was a colonel running a death squad. After witnessing the death of his only family (wife and child, a collateral damage to heroes saving the world), unable to deal with grief, trauma and survivors guilt executes a series of terrorist attacks against the heroes to avenge his family.

(2/3) He succeeds, but before he manages to comment suicide to join his family (final part of his plan) the heroes stop him, so he can answer for his crimes. He is put pernamently on suicide watch in a solitary confinement in a state of the art prison. The character is content with the sucess of his plan and listens to the guards, but receives no psychological help (the character is deeply traumatised byt the death of his family and suicidal). (3/3) Other contact, aside from the guards, is the warden, who occasionally comes to mock the character. The character appears stoic, but deep down the emotional pain is overwhelming. After 3 years the heroes (not the ones directly responsible to the characters tragedy) bust him out from prison because they need his help to stop a bigger bad guy.  (4/3) My question is how in the span of 3 years can the characters mental state deteriorate and is it possible that in those conditions (solitary, no psychological help) he can just mentally heal on his own? Also, after 3 years of solitary, how would the character react to being instantly thrown into the middle of dangerous mission with people he doesn’t play well with? Thank you!

Honestly I think if someone was already suicidal and spent three years in solitary confinement with no psychological help there’s a good chance they’d be dead.

The ‘safe’ period for solitary confinement is a week. It makes all pre-existing mental health problems worse. There’s not any getting around that.

A person in this situation would not ‘heal on their own’. That’s sort of the mental health equivalent of wondering if a character who’s had their gut cut open will be able to stitch themselves up and survive when the character has no equipment, no medical training and is in the process of bleeding to death.

This isn’t a survivable scenario, ‘suicide watch’ or not. Believe me someone who is determined to die will be able to find a way.

Even if it was a survivable scenario, someone who has just come out of three years solitary confinement would not be able to…. how do I put this… function. He would not be able to relate is a healthy manner to the people around him, whether he got on with them or not. He would not be able to assist them. He would be having a mental health crisis.

I can assure you from personal experience that having panic attacks, severe depression or any of the other common symptoms of solitary (which begin to manifest within a week remember) is not ‘helpful’ to anything.

You’ve got the wrong idea about just how harmful solitary is. And it’s OK to be wrong. This sort of information is hard to find, that’s why I’m here.

The important thing is what you choose to do now.

The damage solitary confinement does is routinely ignored, denied or underplayed in reality. Fiction that presents isolation as harmless feeds in to the public perception that this is not ‘really harmful’.

I can’t make you or anyone else take solitary confinement seriously.

I can tell you that I’ve read survivor accounts of self mutilation (cutting up their own face) and psychotic breaks (hallucinations, paranoid etc) that happened in the time period you’ve proposed. Solitary caused that. That is what it does to people.

Because humans are social animals and need contact with members of their own species in the same way they need air, food and water.

So what can we do to bring this more in line with reality and remove the torture apologia tropes?

For starters read the masterpost on solitary confinement here. Then read Shalev’s Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement here.

Pay particular attention to the symptoms and consider your choice of which symptoms 3-5 you would add to the character’s pre-existing mental health problems (which will get worse.)

Write down the list of long term symptoms the character will get out of solitary with. I’m going to pick a couple just as an illustration:

Suicidal urges (pre-existing)

Anxiety

Severe mood swings

Memory problems

Irrational impulses

I didn’t pick depression because that’s commonly co-morbid with suicidal urges and the character might well have it already.

Immediately after release, with no mental health support and being thrown straight into danger- This character would have panic attacks. Would forget important information. Would swing from apathetic, to furious, to suicidal so fast no one would be able to keep up. And might deny it later. Because they might not remember the fight accurately.

I’m mapping this out because what I really want to ask is: are you sure you want to use solitary confinement in this story?

Do you really want to engage with the consequences for the character and the plot? Have you allowed space for showing these mental health problems in the story? Are you ready for the way this kind of obvious, undeniable disability would make this character the focus? Can you balance the overall plot and the development of the other characters with all this?

From everything you’ve said solitary confinement is not actually adding anything to your story. Because currently there are no lasting effects from it whatsoever, it’s just functioning as a way to take a character out of the plot for three years.

The character is already in jail. You don’t need to add in torture to take him out of the narrative for a while.

Really.

As I see it the only thing solitary is giving your narrative is elements of torture apologia.

If you want prison to be stressful for the character it can be. If you want prison to mean the character doesn’t have access to current information it can mean that too. You don’t need to add torture into the mix to achieve these things.

And if you want the character to heal over this three year period then… that can’t happen without help and without positive human contact.

I have mental health problems. They don’t get better on their own.

The idea of locking up a mentally ill person in solitary and expecting them to get better is a form of abuse (or when done by institutions torture) that has killed a lot of mentally ill people. In some countries this practice is continuing to kill mentally ill people.

If you don’t want to deal with mental illness in your story this best thing to do is not to write it. You decided this character was suicidal. You decided that he’s going to be tortured. Neither of these things need to happen.

Look it’s OK if you don’t know enough to write this stuff yet. It’s OK to get something wrong and work to find out more or correct it.

But as things stand I think your story would work better if you took out any abusive or torturous elements. Because torture should have consequences.

If you’re not prepared to write those consequences then you’re not really dealing with the magnitude of the crime.

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#writing advice #tw torture #tw suicide #clean torture #solitary confinement #torture apologia #attitudes to clean torture #mental illness #mental illness in fiction #effects of solitary confinement #suicide #suicide in institutions #torture does not cure mental illness

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olivinesea · 4 years

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Space Is Only Noise If You Can See, pt.3

Part 1 Part 2

a/n: Surprise! Next part’s here. A bit shorter but no less traumatic so don’t get comfortable. TW major character death, guns, suicide, violence, you’ve got the picture. I’ll do my best to get the final part to you in a timely manner. ~2k

The hits keep coming.

The street was quiet when he got there thirty minutes later. No ambulance or police with their colors flashing across the front of the house. He thought it was odd but it barely registered when everything in his life was a little off. He ran up to the front door and found it slightly ajar. He pushed it open cautiously, uncertain what he would be met with on the other side. It had grown dark, the sun replaced by much weaker street lamps. He felt around for the light switch, knowing he would regret this action.

He sucked in a breath when the shadows were lifted, every gruesome detail just as he remembered. The blood. There was so much blood. He reached up a hand to wipe it away from his eyes. He was numb, unable to look at anything but Morgan’s body, cold and lifeless on the floor. The scene replayed again, this time in Morgan’s entryway, the setting a little different, the results all the same. He had never been able to save them.

The thought of the others, the rest of his team who he’d watched get murdered hundreds of times, reminded him that JJ was there. She had called him, that was why he was here, not a case, not a killer. He wanted to call out for her but it felt wrong to raise his voice in such close proximity to this horror. Instead he carefully stepped around his friend, not looking for fear he would fall to his knees and try to force the life back where it belonged. If he could bring Derek back by returning every drop of blood to the emptied veins, he would spend eternity gathering what had been spilled. If only the world allowed for that kind of trade.

He made it around to the kitchen but found it empty, as were the other rooms on this floor. While he searched he called 911. He didn’t understand why they weren’t there yet, they should be there by now. When he questioned them, the dispatcher told him there’d been no reports made about that address. He quickly relayed the basic details, even more eager to find JJ and discover what had happened between her call and his arrival. He frowned as he hung up, confused. As a precaution, he pulled his gun from its holster, nerves lighting up. JJ wouldn’t have left surely. He crossed the hallway again, this time heading for the stairs. He didn’t know why, there was no reason for her to have gone up there. But there was no reason for any of this. So he climbed to the second floor, placing each footstep carefully on the polished hardwood.

He found her in the master bedroom, curled up on Derek’s king-sized bed, her back to him. The relief he felt upon seeing her dissipated quickly. Something about her form was too still. He approached, apprehensive but also hopeful that the room might dissolve around him at any moment. This had the same feeling as his nightmares, perhaps it was only that. He'd never hoped more that his mind was tricking him.

As soon as he touched her shoulder, he knew. Everything was wrong. The weight of his hand made her body fall back until she was face up, head resting on the pillows. Her blue eyes were open, blonde hair loose around her, some of it caught across her face. He brushed it back, feeling the chill of her skin, the precious warmth already fled. There was no blood but he spotted an empty pill bottle in her hand. His mind fought against what he was seeing, so far from the correct order of things. She had only called him half an hour ago. How was there even time for this to occur? He pulled the bottle from her hand and felt the world spin faster. He blinked, chasing away the errant lines crossing his vision but the words on the label remained the same. The block type informed him that it once held opioids prescribed to one Aaron Hotchner.

He couldn’t imagine how it had ended up here, couldn’t even remember when he had gotten the prescription. It could have been after any number of injuries. He never took more than one or two before his body reminded him how sick they made him feel. The pain relief was never worth the sweating weakness and nausea that accompanied it. He usually tried to decline when they were offered but somehow he regularly ended up with one or two bottles mixed in with his too large assortment of other medications. He worried about it, knowing Jack was getting older, getting taller, might become curious about such things. He knew it was irresponsible to have narcotics he was not keeping track of somewhere as accessible as his medicine cabinet. But he never imagined this would be the consequence of that uncharacteristic lapse in judgement.

He stared at the small orange bottle, dwarfed by his hand. He didn’t know what to do with this information, had no idea how to process its meaning. Stunned he backed out of the room, out of the house completely. Everything he found inside there was upside-down and he needed air. He stood on the porch, looking vacantly out at the street, gun in one hand, death in the other. He rubbed the bottle continuously with his thumb as the ambulance and cop cars began arriving. His thumb caught a little every time it met the edge of the lid, scraping his skin against it, trying to remember when he even got it. When it disappeared.

An officer approached, weapon drawn, demanding he identify himself, wary of the gun dangling from the large man’s fingers. With effort, Hotch focused his eyes on the stranger, distantly registered the man’s anxiety. He gave his name and slowly moved to pull out his credentials. Hotch tried to answer his questions but all he could remember was Morgan getting shot by Mr. Scratch. Or did he shoot him? His words veered into incoherence and the officer became alarmed. If he hadn’t seen the man’s badge, he’d have a hard time believing this was BAU Unit Chief SSA Aaron Hotchner.

“Sir? Were you injured? I think you need to get checked by the medics,” he said. He took Hotch’s gun from him and steered him in the direction of the ambulance. Hotch didn’t mind him taking the gun, what good was it? His gun couldn’t protect him from the phantom tearing through his life, destroying everything that was good. He doubted a medic could help either.

Hotch was sitting on the bumper of an ambulance, continuing to ruminate when Dave arrived. The medic, after determining there was no physical injury to the man, left him there with instructions to stay put until someone came for him. Hotch hadn’t thought about who was listed as his emergency contact.

“Aaron! What happened?”

Hotch looked at him with wild eyes. He was terrified for Dave, certain now that this was the dream come true. Peter Lewis had gotten inside not only his mind but his life and was ripping the pieces apart slowly.

“Dave you can’t be here! You have to go,” he stood up and put his hands on Rossi’s chest, as if to push him away. Dave grabbed his wrists, eyebrows drawn together, confused by this reaction. Hotch curled his hands into fists and ducked his head. “Please,” he begged, “please Dave, it’s not safe.”

“Aaron, look at me.” Anticipating a bad reaction but doing it anyway, Rossi took hold of his face with both hands and forced the other man to meet his eyes. “What is going on?”

But Hotch was past reason by this point. The words he got out didn’t make sense to Rossi who only heard snippets about coffins and blood and Scratch—but that case was months ago, surely this was unrelated. He didn’t like to think that Hotch had been hiding something about that night for this long but he wouldn’t be surprised by it either. He thought about how Hotch’s confusion had lingered long after the doctors said the drugs’ effects should have worn off. How he had stopped asking for confirmation of details from that night yet he would occasionally lose focus, be half a step behind in conversation.

Rossi looked quickly over at the house, now swarming with officials, drawn to the crime scene like summer moths to lamps. He wasn’t needed here and Hotch very much needed to be somewhere else right now. Dave didn’t know what was happening in his friend’s mind but he knew the chaos of the scene around them wasn’t helping. He waved over an EMT to inform them he would be taking Agent Hotchner home, would ensure his safety. The medic gave no argument, there was nothing wrong with the man that they could see, only that he might be in some sort of shock over finding his colleague’s body. There was no reason for him to be their responsibility, they were happy enough to let someone else take over.

Rossi managed to lead Hotch back to the SUV, even more concerned by the fact that he didn’t resist being guided by a hand on his back. Didn’t try to shrug off the outward expression of concern. If Aaron was too distracted to notice physical contact, something was urgently wrong. Dave thought about this as he opened the door and gently pushed the other man into the passenger seat, giving non-committal responses to Hotch’s continued warnings that he needed to get away, that he needed to get everyone away.

“Put on your seatbelt,” he instructed after getting in himself and seeing it was still undone. Hotch stared at him blankly and he had to actually reach across and grab the restraint for him. Thought it bruised his heart, Dave ignored the way Aaron recoiled from his sudden nearness. He hated to see this side of Hotch, it reminded him how hard the man must work all the time to suppress his reactions, how much effort he went through to hide parts of himself he deemed unacceptable.

He straightened up and secured his own seatbelt before turning the key. He paused, not sure where to take them. Hotch was quiet now, seeming to be lost in the lights that danced across the front of Derek’s house. Dave decided to call Garcia, to update her and see if she had any updates for him. He had rushed from the office after receiving a call from a worried officer about one Agent Hotchner found disoriented at a crime scene. There had been little time to share details. Dave tried not to think about how he was using the term “crime scene” to describe Morgan’s home.

Rossi put his phone on speaker as he shifted into drive. He decided the first stop should be to Aaron’s apartment to check on Jack and see if he could get the man to calm down enough to make some sense. As soon as Garcia answered, he regretted calling her. She was in a panic, news of what had been found had reached her. Normally able to work, even through big emotions, this was all too much for Penelope. She was nearly as incoherent as Hotch was when he’d found him.

“Okay, okay, listen Penelope. I’ve got Hotch, I’m taking him home. Why don’t you call Emily? She’s supposed to have landed by now I think,” Dave was trying his best to stay patient. Honestly, he didn’t know what any of them should do but this manageable instruction seemed to calm Garcia a little.

She sniffled. “Emily, right, of course. I’ll call her right now, sir.”

“Great, thank you Penelope. Let’s just try to stay focused on getting everyone safe. I’ll call you when we get to Hotch’s place.”

“H-how is he? How are you?”

Dave looked over at Hotch who was still quietly brooding. Rossi could almost hear Hotch’s thoughts racing, trying to find a way to get ahead of whatever was happening. It was actually encouraging, he seemed more lucid than before. Dave opened his mouth to tell Garcia everything with them was alright for the moment. But that was the moment a truck slammed into the driver’s side door, sending the SUV spinning wildly through the intersection.

~Part 4~

#Criminal Minds #tw major character death #tw guns #tw suicide #tw drugs #aaron hotchner is having a really bad time #jennifer jareau #derek morgan #david rossi #penelope garcia

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