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sofiaispunk · 1 year

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The Bakery Crush - PART (1/2)

Joel Miller x Reader, Ellie Williams x Platonic!Reader

summary: Just two fools clearly in love, pining over each other because ... well, they are fools.

words: 3kish

warnings: angst, JEALOUSY, Joel being a fool, smut, pining, age gap, bad puns, heartbreak, 18+

You enjoyed the little things in Jackson. The little fairy lights that brighten up the street and making Jackson almost feel like a magical wonderland, the vibrant colors of the changing leaves in autumn, the sound of the flowing water from the nearby river, but what you enjoyed the most was the smell of freshly baked bread from your little bakery on the corner in Mainstreet.

Shortly after arriving in Jackson Maria assigned, you to baking duty, since you were a professional baker before the outbreak, and showed you to your new working place.

It was a charming little bakery that had been abandoned for years but as you peered through the dusty windows, you immediately saw the potential.

Tommy, Maria’s husband, helped you turn the rusty shop into your dream bakery. You spent countless hours painting the walls a warm shade of yellow, installing new cabinets and countertops, and laying down fresh tiles.

You were determined to make the bakery stand out, a place with a warm atmosphere where everybody felt welcomed. You even found old wooden crates to use as shelves, hung vintage baking utensils on the walls, and added some decorative flowers for the ambiance.

That was a year ago and since then your bakery has become the favorite place of the residents of Jackson and Jackson became your home.

You were busy kneading a batch of dough when you heard the familiar jingle of the bakery's bell.

"Hey there, Ellie!" you greeted her with a smile. "How was school today?"

"It was fine," she replied, shrugging off her backpack. "But you know what would make it better? A freshly baked blueberry scone."

You chuckled. "You never change, do you? One blueberry scone for my favorite customer coming right up."

As you handed her a warm scone on a napkin, Ellie grinned mischievously. "Thanks, (y/n). This looks berry delicious!”

You couldn't help but chuckle at her pun. "That's a good one, Ellie. You really do have a way with words."

She grinned. "Thanks, I try. I mean, it's not like I'm rolling in dough like you are." She waggled her eyebrows at you and took another bite of the scone.

You laughed lightly, continuing to work on your dough, "You're too much, Ellie. But you always make me smile, that’s why you my favorite, y‘ know."

"Well, that's what I'm here for," she said with a grin. "To brighten up your day and eat all your delicious scones."

You rolled your eyes playfully. "You're lucky I like you, kid."

Ellie finished up the last of her scone and sighed contentedly. "Man, that hit the spot. I don't know how you do it, really. Your scones are always so flavorful and yummy."

"It's all about using the best ingredients and putting my secret ingredient in … love." You answered playfully, slightly cringing at your cheesy answer.

Ellie just groaned silently but nodded. "Well, it shows. You know, you really raisin the bar when it comes to baked goods."

Now it was your turn to groan. "That one was a bit of a stretch, Ellie."

"Hey, I can't help it. I'm on a roll today."

You both laughed as she grabbed her backpack and headed over to you to give you a small hug and a quick kiss on your cheek "Thanks for the scone. I’m off to Dina’s. See you, tomorrow.”

And with that Ellie rushed her way towards the exit.

"Take care, Ellie," you called after her with a smile. "And keep those puns coming, kid."

It was getting late and you were closing the store front for the day. You packed up the leftover treats from the bakery and couldn't help but think that maybe Joel would want to enjoy them. So you gathered up some pretzel pieces, bread, two scones that Ellie loves, and some croissants and made your way to Joel's house.

The evening sky painted in different hues of orange and pink. The streets were quiet as most people had retired for the night. You walked leisurely towards Joel's house, taking in the sights and sounds of the town you had grown to love.

When you reached the house, you knocked on the door and waited. Ellie opened the door with a surprised look on her face.

"Hey, Ellie. Sorry to drop by so late. I thought maybe you and Joel would want to have some of these leftover treats," you said, holding up the bag of the baked goods.

Ellie smiled, "Of course we would. You know he can never resist them, and neither can I. Come on in."

As you followed Ellie to the kitchen, you couldn't help but notice how cozy and warm their home was. The living room was dimly lit, and the only source of light came from the candles on the coffee table.

“Joel's not home yet, though.“ She said while tearing up a piece of croissant, “I don't know where he is, and it's kind of weird because he's never out this late."

Your eyebrows furrowed with concern. "Really? That's strange. Do you want me to stay with you until he gets back?"

Ellie shook her head. "No, that's okay. I'm sure he's just caught up with something. Thanks for the offer, though."

You nodded and headed over to the door, "Sure, no problem. Let me know if you need anything, okay kiddo?"

Ellie nodded and bid you goodnight and you made your way home, in desperate need of a warm shower after a long day at work.

You stood under the warm shower, the water cascading down your body, the stream slowly relaxing your muscles, allowing yourself to let your mind wander. Thoughts of Joel flooded your mind. You couldn't help but think about his chiseled physique and his strong, defined features. His nose, perfectly carved, led down to his plush lips that always seemed to be turned down in a permanent scowl.

But then, there was his smile. The one that could light up an entire room, the one that made your heart skip a beat. The way his face changed, softening, and becoming almost boyish, when he talked to Ellie. His soft brown eyes crinkling with laughter every time Ellie tells one of her many jokes. It was like seeing a completely different side of him, that almost felt like was just reserved for you and Ellie.

You let your soapy hands glide over your body pretending they were his big, calloused ones exploring your body. Steam filled the bathroom as your moans and whimpers echoed though the small room.

You drew tight circles on your most aching part while imagining the way his broad shoulders would feel under your hands, and his strong thick fingers, that always seemed to be working on something, replacing yours. His lips sucking and licking on every part of your body, consuming you.

"Joel,” you let out a final moan, your voice not much above a whisper, as you reached your peak, your walls clenching around nothing.

The water started to cool as you tried to catch your breath, bringing you back to reality. You took a deep breath and stepped out of the shower, wrapping yourself in a fluffy towel. You knew you needed to push these thoughts aside, but a part of you couldn't help but think about Joel and wonder where he could be at this hour. You just prayed that he was okay.

The next morning, while you were getting ready to open the bakery, you noticed Joel and Ellie walking in. To your surprise Joel was carrying a bouquet of flowers and a bag of coffee beans, which caught you off guard.

"Good morning, (y/n)!" Ellie chirped, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Morning, Ellie. Morning, Joel. What brings you guys in today?" you asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Joel smiled warmly. "I just wanted to say thank you for the bread and scones yesterday. They were delicious. And I thought you might like these flowers and coffee beans as a small token of my appreciation."

Your felt your heartbeat race as he handed you the small bouquet of wildflowers. "Thank you, Joel. That's very thoughtful of you."

Ellie nudged you with her elbow, a sly grin on her face. "Looks like somebody's got a secret admirer… well, not so secret," she teased.

"Ellie, please. That’s enough" Joel gave Ellie a stern look. Ellie just shrugged innocently in return and skipped off to the display case, leaving you alone with Joel.

"Listen, I don't want to keep you from your work. I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you do for me and especially for Ellie. And, well, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

“Thank you, that means a lot, Joel” you blushed slightly.

“Anytime, darlin’,” he placed his warm hand on yours and you felt a flutter in your stomach at the contact of his skin.

As if reading your mind, Ellie sauntered back over, a chocolate croissant in hand. "What's going on over here? Are you two making googly eyes at each other?"

Joel laughed. "No, Ellie. She and I were just having a friendly conversation."

But Ellie wasn't convinced. "Uh-huh. Sure, you were. Well, I'm going to go enjoy this delicious croissant. You two keep doing your thing."

As she walked away, Joel turned back to you with a warm smile. "Don't mind her, darlin´. She's just teasing. But, really, thank you again for everything."

As Joel and Ellie were about to leave, Ellie turned to you, "I almost forgot to ask you if you wanna come to the community hall tonight and watch a movie with us?"

"Really? You want lil’ old me to come with you?" you teased.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "Duh. We wouldn't have asked if we didn't want you to come. We're watching this old western movie that Joel loves. You know, to keep up with his cowboy persona."

Joel chuckled. "Ellie, you know I'm not a real cowboy. But, yes, we would love it if you came. “

You grinned. "I would love to come. And I'll bring some blueberry scones."

Ellie's eyes lit up. "Yes! I knew you would say that. Those are my favorites."

You made your way to the community hall, the twinkle lights hanging above the entrance, casting a warm and inviting glow. The hall itself was a modest, single-story building with wooden walls and a sloping roof. Overall it was a cozy space and pretty much the center point of your little community.

As you entered the hall, you were greeted by Tommy and Maria , who were standing by the door, handing out programs for the evening's event. They both smiled and greeted you warmly.

"Hey there, (y/n)!" Tommy said. "Glad you could make it."

Maria chimed in. "Yes, we're all excited for the movie tonight. Have you seen it before?"

You shook your head. "No, I haven't. But I've heard good things. Ellie seemed excided."

You made some small talk about the movie and the bakery before you spotted Ellie and Joel sitting in the front row. You made your way over to them, feeling a sense of excitement and anticipation.

"Hey, guys," you said, sitting down next to them. "Looks like we got good seats."

Ellie grinned. "Of course, we did. Dad always gets here early to get the best spot."

Joel chuckled. "That's right. Gotta be prepared."

Joel was holding a big bag of popcorn and handed it over to you, your fingers barely touching, sending shivers down your entire body. "’M glad you could make it.” he whispered into your ear. You felt his breath lightly tickling your earlobe.

"Oh, I have a small favor," Ellie exclaimed, turning back to you, causing you to abruptly snap out of your trance.

"Dina's birthday is next week. Do you think you could make her a cake?" Ellie asked shyly. “Only if you want of course and only if you have enough spare ingredients. I know it’s a lot to ask from you but Dina is not just any friend … well… she is my friend of course but she is my best friend and special and I want to do something extra special for her. I am sorry, just forget I said anything. “ Ellie was visibly distressed.

You smiled and put a reassuring hand on her arm to stop her rambling. "Of course I can. What kind of cake were you thinking about?"

Ellie's eyes sparkled with excitement. "She loves chocolate. And... wait for it... peanut butter."

You laughed. "Well, it sounds like we'll have to come up with something extra special for her then."

Ellie hugged you tightly and you couldn’t help but feel so much adoration for the girl. In the short timespan you knew each other she crawled her way into your heart and became part of your family.

Ellie nudged you. "Oh and look, there's Karen and her grandkids. She's been raving about your cinnamon rolls all week."

You looked around the hall and were surprised to see how many people had shown up for the movie night. There were families with kids, elderly couples, and even a few teenagers.

You smiled. "I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I'll make some for the next movie night."

The lights dimmed and the movie began, Joel and Ellie sat on either side of you, munching on popcorn and occasionally making side comments about the movie. You were immediately drawn into the Western that was playing, with its sweeping landscapes and rugged cowboys which kind of reminded you of Joel.

About halfway through the movie, a woman sat down next to Joel and began talking to him, completely ignoring the fact that you were in the middle of a film. Ellie let out an annoyed huff and shushed her, but the woman didn't seem to get the message.

You turned to Ellie and gave her a gentle nudge. "Hey, now. Let's not be rude," you whispered.

“She’s the one being rude. “Ellie rolled her eyes but quieted down and turned her attention back to the movie.

You on the other hand found yourself growing more and more distracted by the conversation between the woman and Joel. They laughed and chatted, and Joel seemed to be thoroughly enjoying her company.

Your curiosity was piqued, and you couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. Who is that woman? How do they know each other? Did he invite her to watch the movie with him? You tried to focus on the movie, but every time the woman laughed, your attention was drawn back to their conversation.

Your thoughts didn’t seem to quiet down and raced through your mind, and you found yourself feeling increasingly agitated. At the corner of your eye stole a glance at Ellie, who was engrossed in the movie.

You strained your ears to catch snippets of the conversation between Joel and the woman and immediately noticed the flirtatious undertones in their banter. The woman was playing with her hair, and Joel kept stealing glances at her. You felt a knot forming in your stomach as you watched them.

At one point, you heard the woman mention something about a rodeo, and Joel's face lit up with a smile. "Oh, you were a natural on that bull," he whispered, chuckling.

The woman grinned. "Yeah, until I fell off and almost broke my arm," she replied, playfully punching Joel in the arm.

Then, the woman leaned in close to Joel and whispered something in his ear. You couldn't hear what she said, but Joel's eyes widened, and he let out a low chuckle.

She leaned back in her seat. "What do you say, cowboy?" she asked, winking at him.

The credits rolled and the lights came on, and you quickly stood up and you couldn’t wait to get out of there. You couldn't bear to be in the same room as Joel and the woman any longer. You didn’t care how childish you were behaving or if somebody would notice your weird behavior. The jealousy and hurt were too much to bear in this moment.

You hugged Ellie tightly, not wanting to let go. "Thanks for inviting me, Ellie. I had a great time," you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

Ellie looked up at you with concern in her eyes. "Hey, you ok, right?" she asked, sensing that something was off.

You forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, of course, Ellie Bellie. Just a little tired," you lied.

Joel and the woman looked over at you, and you nodded in their direction goodbye, unable to meet their gaze, and quickly made your way out of the hall.

Once outside, you steadied your breathing and tried to compose yourself. You felt foolish for letting your emotions get the best of you. Afterall, Joel was a free man, and he was entitled to date whoever he wanted. You knew this, but you still couldn't shake the feeling of disappointment and hurt.

Suddenly the sky opened up and it started to rain heavily. It felt like the world was crying with you. The raindrops were mixing with your tears, and you couldn't tell the difference between the two. The wind was picking up, and you felt cold to the bone. It was as if the weather knew the pain you were feeling and was trying to make it worse.

Your body was shaking uncontrollably, and you felt foolish for thinking that there could have been something between you and Joel. How could you be so naive? Joel was just being kind to you, and you misinterpreted his kind gestures and turned it in some twisted delusional romantic idea.

How pathetic of you for even considering the possibility that Joel might have had feelings for you.

You wrap your arms around yourself, trying to hold yourself together as the rain continues to beat down on you.

At the end of the day, Joel Miller, was nothing more than your stupid little crush.

Part 2

#joel miller fic #pedro pascal #aesthetic #joel the last of us #joel x reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x y/n #ellie tlou #ellie williams #the last of us hbo #tlou fanfiction #joel tlou #pedro is daddy #pedro almodóvar #pedrohub #pedro gonzalez #jealousy

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the-s1lly-corner · 10 months

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How would TADC cast react to their s/o baking them some pastries?

TADC cast x reader who bakes!

Funny that this is the next request due to be answered because I'm making orange cranberry scones as we speak (for an order! Not for me sadly, though I have enough to make myself a batch!)

CAINE:

Bro is going to try to shove whatever you've made for him into his jaws before bubble even has a chance to eat it.. has probably eaten right out of your hand before because of this/j

...../hj

He seems the type

Loudly goes on and on about how amazing it tasted, every single time without fail! Gets REALLY creative with his compliments, I thimk

Alas admin is no where near as creative as caine

POMNI:

Looks like she keeps a jar of cookies in her house in the real world. And honestly theres nothing wrong with that... though pomni herself cannot bake for shit

But good news! You're constantly making sure she has a supply to them so things work out in the end!

Though, I think she would eventually feel guilty because you're always making stuff for her, so shes gonna try to return the favor; with varying success

RAGATHA:

I know for a fact I said somewhere that ragatha would, if she ever escaped with her partner to the real world, she would open a bakery with them. As well as this I also hc ragatha to be really into baking

You guys bond together through that, and perhaps even have dates where you two get together and make something! (This can be read as platonic, too!)

This leads to you guys sometimes surprising one another with a baked good... kinda funny tbh

JAX:

Similar to zooble, jax is more of a sour over sweet kind of guy. But if you tie say, limes or lemons into a treat, then you've caught his interest. Probably the type of guy to snag pieces of stuff before everythings done and/or assembled, you're probably going to have to bar him from the kifchen

He does this both to be annoying but because you're so so talented he cant resist

Comically slaps his hand as he tries to reach for something

KINGER:

I propose to you;

Person who can cook but sucks at baking x person who can bake but sucks at cooking

Oooo I mentioned in ragathas part that you two would make a bakery in the real world

But imagine you and kinger having a stay-in date in the real world; he makes dinner and you make dessert and its just you two working around in the kitchen and just

Talking

I think that's nice

As for the actual giving of goods, I think he would be honored. Makes it a point to take his time and savor the goodie. It kind of just.. no clips/phases into his head

Weird

Constantly talks about how talented you are to others, I think

ZOOBLE:

Oh... thanks...

Look zooble loves you, a lot, but sweets arent exactly their go to. Now sour and savory, that's another story and if you make her anything that falls into those groups they're gonna subtly hint that they wish for you to bake something

Actually .. no not subtly, zooble doesnt strike me as the type to drops hints like that majority of the time, they seem more blunt

Very nice, none of it goes to waste! Bad at making compliments but does express that your baking is good regardless

GANGLE:

She looks like a strawberry shortcake enjoyer (I have never tried or made strawberry shortcake( and I explain why

Would be over the moon if you gave her some. Actually, she would still be over the moon if you gave her ANYTHING

Shes very shy when it comes to recieving gifts, so she may kinda. Freeze up when you put the plate in her hands... give her a minute shes just trying to find her voice to thank you!

#tadc x reader #the amazing digital circus x reader #digital circus x reader #caine x reader #pomni x reader #ragatha x reader #jax x reader #kinger x reader #zooble x reader #gangle x reader

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badbatchsprincess · 5 months

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Heated ~ pt.8

Pt.1 ~ Pt.2 ~ Pt.3 ~ Pt.4 ~ Pt.5 ~ Pt.6 ~ Pt.7 ~ Pt.8 ~ Pt.9

Masterlist

Summary: This is an ABO Bad batch!Poly x Omega Reader smut with a plot. This takes place as an AU before order 66. Y/N previously served under the 501st before being transferred to Special Forces 99. This is her adventure with these rowdy Alphas in a quickly changing universe.

THIS IS AN ABO AU ABOUT THE BAD BATCH (NO CANON OMEGA!) Due to the unfortunate situation of her name being Omega… Omega the child from the canon series is not going to be apart of this fanfic/porn with a plot. I feel obligated to put this warning in because it makes my skin crawl thinking anyone could make that mistake.

Warnings: Kidnapping, themes of Non!Con! beware, canon type violence, Y/N badassery, murder, Crosshair is turned on by Y/N committing murder, sorry but we know he would be, I don't make the rules I just enforce them.

I don't know why I loved writing this chapter so much it was so fun like imagining and creating a civilization in the star wars vibes. Also having a tiny homage to slave Leia iconic outfit lol don't mind me.

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

Still recovering from your heat, this long ride to wherever the Mimbanese were taking you was wearing you down. You shifted uncomfortably, feeling incredibly sore between your thighs, not to mention the pain in the rest of your body. Having four alphas at your disposal for a week had done sinful things to your poor body.

To say you were sore was an understatement.

Now your back was starting to hurt as his rifle bit into your spine with every gallop.

You had planned to lounge around for a few days before expecting to properly get back on your feet, but your plans had been derailed and now you were in the hands of a stranger and a strange people.

You were aware of the fact you were experiencing anxiety, but the last remaining embers of your heart still licked at your hindbrain dulling your senses a bit. All you could think about were your alphas.

They must be so worried.

~~~

The red clay earth rapidly changed, and soon a lush jungle neared you. The other riders sped up, forcing a tight formation as the animals approached an opening in the jungle wall. As you passed through, you noticed the flora and fauna matched the red and oranges of the mud fields too. Over the thundering sound of hooves, you could hear bird species screeching in the trees above and a rustling as the leaves danced in the wind.

You were trying to take everything in knowing this information may serve in your escape.

It didn’t take long for you to reach a clearing.

Upon approach, you watched the jungle reveal a massive stone wall that seemed to go on forever. You gawked as massive gates opened, allowing the war party to pass through before closing behind you with a massive locking mechanism falling into place.

You looked around, noticing villagers everywhere watching you strangely as the clan leader continued on his path to wherever he was taking you. You looked nothing like them; you were positive that's why they were staring so intensely. Then you realized the clan leader was taking you somewhere specific.

Up ahead, there was another tall wall inside the perimeter wall. More guards opened up the double doors, and you gasped.

Inside, there was a massive temple surrounded by gardens and billowing trees taller than those in the jungle outside the city.

All around these grounds were other females clad in crimson fabrics pausing what they were doing to watch you.

The Clan leader trotted to a stop, allowing you to take in the sight in its totality.

You were suddenly lifted from the saddle and settled into the grass below.

You looked around frantically, trying to find a potential escape, but you were greeted by other women… some human… you looked at them confused before they parted, making room for a smaller Mimban elder who scuttled over to you. You sucked in a breath as she approached.

She exchanged some words with the clan leader, who bowed his head in respect to the woman. She pushed forward, analyzing you with a scrutinizing eye. The clan leader then seemed to be explaining his actions while gesturing to you.

You swallowed thickly, feeling your anxiety eclipse whatever numbness you might of had.

She then took your hand into hers and studied the bruises around your wrist. You were certain those belonged to Tech. Then she clicked her tongue as she moved your collar to see Crosshair’s love bites.

She turned to the other women and said something before turning back to the temple. Very quickly, they flocked to you. You squeaked as they gently pushed you to follow the elderly woman, suddenly running their hands over your own in a friendly manner.

"Where are you taking me?" You asked, hoping they might understand basic.

One of the human girls whispered, "Don’t worry, you’ll be okay. It’s safe here."

You just looked at her, studying her face. It was painted with red designs, and her hair was plated back, showing off her dainty neck and collarbones. She donned a flowing red dress with luxurious-looking fabrics showing off her pale skin.

"Where is here?" You asked as the temple entrance approached. "I want to go home. Tell them to take me back to my pack."

"Are you mated?" She asked, taking your hand.

You shook your head no.

"Then you’re better off here," she nodded.

"But my alphas…" You whined, stepping inside the ancient building. The stone walls instantly made the temperature drop ten degrees and you shivered.

"They’ll understand soon," she gave you a sweet smile, taking the lead bringing you to the heart of the temple grounds.

~~~

"We gotta follow them!" Wrecker roared, feeling like his insides were being torn apart.

Like his brothers, he was horrified to watch you be wrenched from them. Taken from the nest with brute force.

"We are, Wrecker!" Tech snarled, looking at his data pad.

"They just took her! They fucking took her!" Crosshair was losing his mind. For the sniper engineered to be patient and still, it seemed his alpha instincts overrode his basic programming. He couldn’t deny the way his skin crawled with worry.

"What do they want with her?" Wrecker winced. "Why would they take Y/N?"

"I don’t even want to think about that," Crosshair hissed as his thoughts went to the absolute worst.

"Do you have their position?" Echo asked, looking to Tech.

"I do." He showed everyone his datapad. During the struggle, when he realized you were being taken from them, he slipped a tracker onto one of the guards. "It seems they took her to a city called Alise."

"How far?" Hunter growled.

"A few hours on foot," Tech replied, doing the math in his head, “We might be able to get there by sun down.”

"Let’s pack up and get moving," Hunter sprung into action.

They geared up and restocked their supplies before following the endless sets of hoof marks in the clay earth. Crosshair and Hunter hadn’t seen anything when they scouted a few days ago. He was hoping Tech’s info was correct.

~~~

"I- Ah!" You screamed as the Mimbanese women plunged you under the warm bathwater. You came back up coughing and sputtering, trying to wipe your eyes to see.

They had brought you to a natural hot spring inside the temple, and without warning, had stripped you down to your birthday suit. You didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed before you were being guided to the water, where they swarmed you with various scrubbing tools and soaps.

You looked up at the girl who had spoken to you moments before, but she just curled up on a fabric draped lounger with her friend while they talked, as if you weren’t being waterboarded by strangers just a few mere feet away.

You looked around, noticing there were only women here. The temple seemed to be a sacred space of sorts, as more of that same fabric was draped around the columns and ceilings. The floors were covered in red carpets, and lounging furniture was littered everywhere.

A warm cloth was brought to your skin as some sort of exfoliating cream was buffed into your flesh. More skilled hands worked some hair cleanser into your scalp. You fought back a sigh. It felt really nice to have someone else clean you.

It’s not like your alphas didn’t care for you, but they’re still men at the end of the day, and their hair washing skills were limited.

The warmed mineral water was doing wonders for your soreness. If anything, that made this a little enjoyable you felt yourself disarm a bit at their touch.

When they were satisfied with the job, they helped you out before cleaning themselves. You were brought over to the girl from before, and she stood up, extending a hand to you. You wrapped the crimson fabric around yourself a little tighter as she led you out to one of the windows. Here, were multiple vanity tables with mirrors and various creams and potions. She sat you down as her friend perched herself on the stool next to you with a kind smile.

"What is your name?" She asked, picking up a wooden comb from the table.

"I’m Y/N," you said quietly.

"Hi Y/N, I’m Taryn," she then gestured to her friend who had golden hair, "That’s Starla.”

"Where am I?" You asked, rubbing the fabric wrapping over your damp face.

"The city is called Alise," Taryn said, moving your hair to your back as she started gently running the comb through your tangled locks, "But this place is called the fortress." She waved the comb around at the temple.

"Why was I taken?" You shivered, fighting back tears. The only thing you wanted was to be in the arms of your alphas in your comforting nest right now.

"Tarook said he found you in the mud fields?" Taryn said, watching you nod in confirmation. "Anywhere outside the fortress isn’t safe for the women. They built this place to keep us safe."

"What’s in the mud fields?" You asked.

"Monsters," Starla said gravely, and you gasped.

Taryn gave her a disapproving look, "The men keep us safe here. They bring us everything we could need. There’s no need to worry."

"Can I leave?" You asked, and Taryn just eyed you through the mirror.

That was a no, you guessed.

"Who are these women?" You looked around.

"The elders, mothers, and the unmated," Starla said, "This place is a sacred site to their religion, but they use it now to protect us from the outside."

"Do the men ever come here?"

"Partners, sure. But not unless they’re mated. This place is just for us."

Taryn finished off a simple braid going down the back of your head and tied off the ends before standing to get Starla’s help finding you something new to wear. When they came back, they held various pieces of crimson fabric, and they got to work wrapping you in it.

You were thankful they covered your private bits, but the rest they let be exposed. The pieces all flowed into a skirt but left large slits on both sides trailing all the way up to your hips. The Mimban breeze blew the fabric softly and teased your legs.

You looked in the mirror, hardly recognizing yourself. You couldn’t remember the last time you had a dress on nonetheless something like this. You felt like one of the pin ups on in five’s bunk.

"So you blend in," Starla smiled and grabbed one of the pots on the vanity. She dunked her fingers in the red paste and brought it over to your face where she drew two thick lines from under your eyes all the way down your cheeks to your neck.

"You have an alpha?" She asked, noticing the love bites decorating your shoulder.

"Four. Actually," you were hit with sudden sadness, hoping you get to see them again.

"Four?" Starla’s eyes widened in shock but slightly impressed.

"Well, actually, there’s a fifth, but he’s platonic," you sighed, fighting back tears.

"Tarook took you from them?" She asked, a little horrified.

You nodded, "They tried to stop him, but there were too many."

Starla looked to Taryn, who looked a little distraught at the idea.

"That would explain these," Taryn picked up your wrist gently.

"I had just gotten through my heat when I was taken from them," you felt a tear slip, "I just want to go home." You gave them your best begging eyes hoping they’d take pity on you.

They sighed, sympathizing but in the end nothing came of it.

"I’m wondering if Tarook thought you had been hurt," she turned over your bruised wrists, "He might be strict, but he does care for us."

"My alphas are warriors. They can be a little rough, but they’d never hurt me," you sighed, pulling your wrists back and holding them close to your heart, "I don’t understand why your leader would do this."

"The fields are close to the Alooke," Taryn said.

"The Alooke?" You hadn’t heard that word before.

"They’re a clan of monsters," Starla whispered, "They’ve been terrorizing Mimban for generations. Alise was built to keep them out. They came from a nearby star system and have been taking the Mimbanese and killing them for sport."

"If you’re taken. You don’t come back," Taryn sighed.

You swallowed thickly, wondering how lucky you had been for the past two weeks.

"They particularly target women and children," Starla said, gesturing to all of the women moving about the temple, "That’s why they built the fortress."

"But you’re prisoners," you whispered.

"It’s better than the alternative, and we’re treated well."

You sighed in frustration. This was archaic, no matter the reasoning. A cage was still a cage regardless of title.

You had to get out of here. Alooke be damned.

"Will you show me around?" You asked, watching some of the elders locking arms and walking through the various corridors. You needed to learn this place and learn it fast if you were going to make an escape.

"Sure," they smiled and did the same. The three of you left the bathhouse to explore the inner city.

It was a lot larger than you had realized.

The inner city had multiple temples and many smaller private living domiciles. They showed you their rooms that they share with a few other human girls on the upper floor of the smaller western temple.

Between these ancient buildings, the gardens flowed along with a river that cut through the center of the city. The inner city was big enough you couldn’t see the walls from the other side. It gave the illusion that you weren’t trapped in a cage. It seemed like two thousand women resided here from what you estimated. They all wore the same color and had similar face paintings.

They seemed to be content. They laughed and gathered playing games you had never seen before in the little grass areas. There was an abundance of fruiting trees and gardens.

It almost seemed… like a utopia? No wonder they had no desire so leave.

Starla and Taryn found an empty bench under a huge tree and plucked a few fruits from a nearby basket handing one to you. It was a perfectly ripe meiloorun.

"Women from outside Mimban usually have an occupation," Taryn said, biting into the juicy fruit, "What do you do?"

“I’m a medic for the Grand Army of the Republic," you bit into the fruit, moaning at how sweet it was. You hadn’t had a fresh meiloorun in years, and the GAR ration packs tasted nothing like this, "I was stationed with the 501st battalion for a few years since the start of the war, then I transferred to my unit now. They’re a small group of commando soldiers. We’re sent on special missions that the other soldiers can’t do."

"Wow," Starla said in wonder, "So you’ve been all over the galaxy?"

You nodded, "I’ve been to many places. Each a little stranger than the next," you laughed quietly.

"Do you enjoy it?" Taryn asked with a hint of skepticism, "It sounds dangerous."

"Sure it’s dangerous," you smiled, remembering all of the adventures you’ve been on, "We’ve encountered pretty much anything you could think of. It is kind of nice not being shot at, I’ll admit. But I love my boys, and they work really hard for the GAR."

"War is hard," Starla sighed.

"It is," you agreed, "How did you both end up here?"

"My family was trying to flee Separatist occupation when I was brought here as a child," Starla explained, "The Alooke took them, and the elders took me in and raised me here."

"Similar story for me too. My family tried to rebuild a new life here when the Separatists showed up to try and start up a mining operation. Republic forces got us out in time. My mother is mated and lives in the outer ring with my father," she gestured to the gates.

“You know the GAR?” you asked.

Taryn nodded. “The clones, right?”

“Yeah,” you smiled.

“Brave warriors,” she nodded.

“I wonder if it was my boys,” you laughed. “What color were their armor?”

“Green,” she reminisced.

“Ahh no, that wasn’t us.”

“How crazy would that have been,” she smiled, taking your hand and resting it in her lap.

As the crimson moon rose, the inner city of Alise was cast into eerie darkness. Torches and lanterns were lit to keep the gardens out of darkness. You were all summoned to dinner with a sound bell ringing from the main temple.

You and your new friends made your way through the gardens before stepping up the temple steps to wash your feet and hands before entering.

Once inside, you smiled seeing how many women of all ages gathered, including children. They played music, danced, and sung while the others ate. It was shocking to see, but nonetheless, it made you happy. There weren’t many places in the universe like this you realized.

Starla grabbed your hand and led you over to where the prepared food was. It consisted of some things you’d never seen before, but she eagerly filled your plate before her own and marched you three over to a pile of stacked pillows to lounge on and watch the festivities.

“Is it always like this?” you asked, digging into the delicious food.

“Yeah,” Taryn smiled. “We have a very close community.”

“I can tell,” you smiled. Okay, fine, maybe Mimban wasn’t so bad. You were slapping yourself for being too judgmental. It must be the hormones.

~~~

"I don't see her," Crosshair remarked, peering down his scope at the massive city below. The rocky hillside they perched on provided a perfect view over the jungle.

"There are two rings," Tech informed, looking at his data pad. "The inner ring has ancient Jedi temples. I think she'd be in the outer ring; that seems to be where the villagers live."

"Jedi?" Wrecker asked, pulling out his scope.

"Yes, that's what I said," Tech replied, grabbing his own to peer down.

"Notice anything strange about this town?" Crosshair drawled clearly noticing something.

"What..." Hunter zoomed in with his lenses.

"There are only men," Crosshair observed, moving his scope to survey the rest of the city.

"Where are the women?" Hunter asked noticing the crowd in the streets is only men.

"What's that?" Wrecker asked, ignoring Hunter's question.

"What's what?" Hunter looked to Wrecker.

"The temples," Wrecker zoomed in. "There are people walking around."

Crosshair honed in on the flickering lanterns of the temple. "The women…”

They all adjusted their macro binoculars to focus on the inner city. That's when they saw all of the women happily skipping towards the main temple grounds, holding hands and dancing to what they assumed was music. They were covered head to toe in crimson, looking joyous and happy.

"She has to be there," Hunter declared.

"Assuming the clan leader isn't holding her hostage himself," Crosshair added, not entirely convinced.

"I don't think he would," Tech interjected, reading through the information about the Mimabnese. "I think Alise was built to protect their women. It says here that they have a long history of battling off a pirate stronghold called the Alooke. The pirates colonized this land and have been enemies of the indigenous for many generations, stealing their women for breeding."

Hunter didn’t like the sound of that one bit…

"So, you think they're keeping her in that temple?" Crosshair asked, looking through the various corridors from the outside. He couldn't really tell the difference between the various females; they were all wearing the same thing.

"Most likely," Tech affirmed.

"Alright, let's get moving before—"

Crosshair cut off Hunter, "We got movement in the north."

On the other side of the city, a dust cloud formed in the distance. Upon closer inspection, they noticed dozens of speeders making their way from the direction of the Marauder.

"You don't think they found our ship, do you?" Echo was getting a little worried now.

"It would be likely," Tech informed. "I'm guessing it's those pirates."

"They didn't bother us for two weeks. I don't think it's reasonable to think they'd start today of all days," Hunter watched them heading full speed for the city.

"What did that guy say to us earlier?" Echo narrowed his eyes through his binoculars before turning to face his squad. "He said that this place was no place for a female. Then he took Y/N…”

"Don't remind me," Hunter said, growing angry.

"No, I think he knew they'd come."

Crosshair crossed his arms. "We were sitting ducks for two weeks. If they were going to raid us and take Y/N, they would have done it already."

"Not if they didn't know she was there," Echo pointed out.

Suddenly, they realized you barely left the ship because of how upset you had been after the crash. The only time you had left was to help push the ship in the earlier days.

Echo pointed to the city again, "You saw their reaction when she popped her head out. They were shocked, and they had been watching us for who knows how long before I noticed."

"You think they saw her go into the city?" Hunter asked.

"She was fresh out of heat. No doubt they're hunting her scent trail," Echo's mechanical heart started beating a little faster, realizing you had probably unintentionally led them right to the hidden city.

"Why would they attack the city? It's massively fortified," Crosshair noted, observing all of the sentries patrolling the upper rim of the walls and the guard towers looking outwards. There were only two gates, one on the north end and one on the south. The place was like the citadel. "They'll sustain massive casualties."

Echo shrugged. "Maybe for an omega, they would risk it?"

"Then we need to go," Hunter stood up, grabbing his pack. “Now."

~~~

You smiled, holding hands with the little girl who led you around the dance floor. You didn’t know why the little Twi'lek girl picked you, but you couldn’t deny her. Her mother seemed content letting her play with you, so you just smiled and followed her lead.

Starla and Taryn clapped along with the music, giggling as they watched you enjoy yourself.

When the song was over, it seemed that everyone was eager to retire to bed.

The girls walked with you back to where you’d be staying with them until the this whole thing can be resolved.

Once inside the large converted bedroom, they helped you build a pallet of pillows and blankets like their own by the breezy airway.

You washed up before bed in one of the metal basins, and Starla helped you take the pins out of your hair, freeing your now dry and clean locks.

With a quiet goodnight, you curled up on the pallet and pulled the woven blanket up over you.

You sighed, feeling a bit of anxiety over the whole situation. Dinner was a good distraction, but now that you were left to listen to the river down below and the call of the night birds, you were left with your own thoughts.

Were your alphas coming for you? Were they already here? Or were they injured in the struggle?

What if they needed you to heal them and you weren’t there? You were starting to feel the tears again as the pull of your heart pained in your chest. You knew they were coming.

They always came for you.

You tried your hardest to find a comfortable spot that would allow you to close your eyes and try to forget the situation you were in, but you couldn’t help but hear some kind of commotion outside.

It was like there was a shift in energy, and it forced you up into a seated position. You looked around at the other girls, but they seemed to be comfortably asleep, not hearing what you were.

Something made the hair stand up on the back of your neck as you tried your hardest to listen. You wished you had Hunter’s hearing, but whatever was making your body alert, you knew it wasn’t good.

Standing up, you wrapped the blanket around yourself and stepped out from under the cover of the marble columns onto the exposed patio. Your hair whipped around in the breeze as you looked out over the inner city.

The torches and lanterns danced in the breeze, casting orange light everywhere. That's when you noticed something moving in the distance: the wall just off to the right had guards jogging back and forth, guns in hand.

You narrowed your eyes, making sure you were seeing the right thing, when you felt Starla near, rubbing her eyes and approaching you. “Are you okay?” she whispered.

“Something’s wrong,” you replied, pointing to the wall guards.

She squinted her eyes, trying to see in the dark. When she realized the guards were not in their normal watch positions, she gasped and skittered back into the room, waking Taryn.

Was it your alphas? You wondered, feeling a bit of hope fill your chest. They were coming to rescue you from this gilded cage.

Taryn awoke a little grumbly, but her attitude changed when she finally saw what was happening.

“There’s been a breach,” her eyes widened like saucers. “Go warn the others,” she turned to Starla, who sprinted out of the room.

“What do we do?” you asked, stepping back from the patio and back into the bedroom.

“We hide,” she said, leading the way to a red carpet hanging on the wall.

“Do you have weapons?” you asked.

She just gave you a look.

“This place is so ass-backwards,” you shook your head and followed her as she lifted back the tapestry, revealing a narrow passageway.

From beyond the stone walls, you heard a loud warning siren go off, letting you know Starla was successful. The blonde came running back shortly after, squeezing into the passageway with the two of you.

Just beyond the narrow pass was a small room with a candle and matches, which Taryn lit to light up the room.

From inside, you could see the ancient carvings from a time long ago. It seemed like a meditation room if you were correct. There were star maps of the entire galaxy and ancient primordial beings that seemed to be carefully depicting the beginning of the Jedi.

You’d seen this particular mural before on Coruscant… This place was a Jedi temple?

Your thoughts were cut short by the sound of blaster fire.

The two girls yelped upon hearing it, but you were just trying to figure out how many guns were firing. It was way more than five, you deduced. It wasn’t your boys; that was for certain.

This was something else entirely.

“We need weapons,” you whispered.

“We’ll be fine,” Taryn held Starla close, trying to console the girl. “They’ve never made it to the inner city before.”

“We don’t even know how to use blasters,” Starla trembled.

“Well, I do. We won’t last long without them if whoever that is out there is as bad as you say they are,” you were listening to the gunfire and the screaming.

These were all sounds you were used to, and something was telling you this was no normal siege. It was starting to sound like the front lines of Felucia.

“They won’t find us here,” Taryn’s tone was confident despite her panicked features.

You just sighed and leaned against the wall, waiting for the blasters to silence.

~~~

Hunter was panting heavily by the time they made it to the outer wall. “The pirates have drawn their fire. Let’s get up there before they come back,” he said.

Crosshair loaded a repelling cable into firepuncher and pulled the trigger, watching it latch onto the rim of the upper wall.

Quickly, the five soldiers scaled the wall like they had hundreds of times before. Hunter hauled himself up first, checking if the coast was clear. When it was, he motioned for the others to swing over the edge, grouping up into formation as they jogged in the opposite direction of the action.

Just as Crosshair had said, there were only men in the outer ring, and they all seemed keen on grabbing their weapons to join the fight.

From what they could see from the wall, the pirates managed to make it past the blockades with some kind of repurposed Separatist battering ram. It must have been left over from a previous battle.

“Over here!” Echo called out, finding a stone stairway that led down into the city below. They began quickly running down the large flight of stairs. That was until the battering ram sounded again.

“They’ve breached the inner city,” Tech said, using his infrared to see how many pirates were trying to rush the guards into the temple grounds. Luckily, most of them were being held back by the Mimbanese, and only a small handful slipped through.

“We need to hurry,” Echo urged.

~~~

The noises suddenly changed when you heard a massive pounding. It sounded like metal on metal, and you knew they were going for the massive doors protecting the inner city.

“They’re coming,” you said, slipping out of the shelter to confirm your suspicion. Taryn tried to grab you, but you were too fast. Nudging past the tapestry, you jogged over to the balcony, peeking out slightly just to see the gate had been basically disintegrated, and the guards were openly firing against a horde of what you could tell were pirates—the Alooke.

Running back to the safe place, you very carefully arranged the tapestry back to normal as you slipped back inside.

“They’re inside,” you whispered, blowing out the candle, leaving you in total darkness.

Starla started whimpering like a scared pup. You put your hand on her shoulder, trying to quiet her, but it wasn’t helping much.

You flinched when you heard women’s screams echo throughout the hall and knew they had infiltrated the temple and they were close.

It wasn’t long before they’d kick down your door. You just prayed they would move on and not notice your hiding spot.

You closed your eyes, saying a silent prayer to the Maker, hoping they’d take mercy on you.

You jumped when you heard the wood of your bedroom door smash open into the stone wall with a bone chilling bang.

Taryn covered Starla's mouth with her hand, keeping her silent. You took a deep breath, trying to still the racing adrenaline in your body so you could hear over the pounding in your ears.

You heard the man tear apart the room, throwing everything around, growling as he yanked apart the bed pallets frustrated.

“I can smell you… Omega,” he rumbled, making your stomach drop. “I know you’re in here. I know you’re close…”

He continued destroying the room, knocking over the furniture and smashing the pottery of flowers, and you cursed yourself for not thinking about the fact you were totally unmedicated and nothing was suppressing your scent. You were positive it was pungent.

“I smell alpha on you too,” he chuckled, “too bad he’s not here to save you,” he threatened.

You heard his boots getting closer to the tapestry as he rooted around in the box of body jewelry next to your hiding spot.

You looked to the two cowering girls. You knew what you had to do. You knew it was a matter of time before he discovered you. At least if you acted now, you’d have the element of surprise.

Leaning forward, you grabbed the metal candlestick and flipped it upside down before returning to the narrow passageway.

Taryn tried to plead with you, but you just shook your head, trying to convey that you had a plan… kind of… you knew Hunter was absolutely going to chew you a new one if he ever found out you were this dumb.

Nudging the tapestry aside, you saw the ugly creature prowling around the center of the room, admiring all the gold shiny jewelry he had found.

Adjusting your grip slightly on the candle holder, you crept forwards silently, leaving the safety of your hiding spot and approached him in practiced silence.

Rearing back, you went to make the swing and brought down your makeshift club hard, connecting with his wrinkly head. He let out a bark and doubled over, feeling his blood start to rush from the injury.

You raised your arm again to finish the job. He was quick enough to spin around and grab your wrist, holding the weapon. You yelped as he squeezed, forcing you to drop it.

“There you are!” he spat, “Nice of you to come out. You’ll do well. Onka will be pleased to have a new toy.” His free hand shot out to grab at your throat, and something in that moment changed, and suddenly your weeks of combat training kicked in like instinct.

With a growl, you dodged his hand and used your knee to hit him in the gut. He grunted and tried to wrangle you again, but this time you spun around and used your weight to roll him over your back onto the wooden lounging table. He let go of your wrist as he collided with the hard surface, forcing his back into a painful arch with a pop.

You backed up and arched your leg into a high kick, bringing down your heel to his sternum. You heard a crack and knew you hit your target. The man wailed in agony, gripping at his chest as it was no doubt broken.

It was loud enough. Another man entered the room curiously to find you standing over his comrade. You only had a second to react before he rushed you. Grabbing a large metal dish Starla used to hold her combs, you reared that thing back before whipping it across the pursuer's face.

He snapped to the side, spinning around, trying to recover from the strike.

His cheek was bleeding, and you were panting. Thankful for the freedom of movement this makeshift dress offered, you got back into a fighting stance, waiting for his move.

“An omega that can fight,” he sneered, raising his fists, “That’s new.”

“You have no idea,” you adjusted your grip on the plate.

He narrowed his eyes, studying you before he flinched. You decided he was taking too long to make a move and flung the plate at him like a frisbee, watching it connect with his neck. He stumbled back, shocked and struggling to breathe, when you launched yourself at him like a wild tooka.

Just like Hunter had showed you, you leaped up onto him, wrapping your bare legs around his shoulder and chest before twisting yourself down, taking him with you.

Hunter always told you that because you’re smaller, you have to bring the fight down to the ground if you want a chance at winning. You knew you had to keep this man on the ground or else he could over power you.

You rolled, throwing him into a spin on the ground. He grunted and reached out, grabbing your bare ankle, yanking you down with him. He tried crawling over you, but you kicked him in the side of the face, hearing his jaw snap viciously.

You crawled away, grabbing one of Taryn’s hair forks, holding it like a shiv.

When he tried to grab you again, you spun on him, driving the fork into his arm and twisted, hearing him scream in agony.

Just as you thought you were making some headway, the one from before got up, grabbed you by the hair, dragging you out onto the balcony and away from his friend. You screamed, feeling the burning pain as he yanked on your locks mercilessly.

“You’re one hell of a problem, aren’t you, sweetheart!” he grabbed your neck, squeezing it harshly. You scrambled and clawed at him feeling the oxygen start to leave you.

You spat at him, watching it land on his face and drip down his scaly cheek.

“Feisty,” his friend laughed, pulling the fork from his arm and letting it fall with a clatter.

The other let go of your hair to wipe his face off.

“I’m fucking her first before we give her to Onka.” He snarled, “fucking payback for the struggle.”

You bared your teeth and he just laughed spinning you around forcing you over the balcony railing at the hip. You kicked back connecting with this shin making him howl. He grabbed your hair again, smashing your face into the stone roughly.

“Damn bitch!” He started running his hand over your hip before reaching the high slit in your dress.

Just as you thought it was all over, you heard the sound of a single blaster shot and the tell tale sound of a body hitting the ground.

You couldn’t see what was happening but you nearly cried when you heard a familiar voice.

“Fucking drop her.” Crosshair’s menacing voice cut through the air like a vibroblade.

You were suddenly yanked up and whipped around, being used as a human shield. In front of you, you sighed in relief upon seeing Crosshair’s mask and firepuncher aimed right at your attacker. He slowly approached, stepping over the dead pirate.

You felt dull metal being pressed to your head, and you knew it was a blaster. “Don’t come any closer,” the pirate warned.

Crosshair stopped his advance and stood scarily still.

“Is this the alpha I could smell on you earlier, sweetheart?” He leaned down to whisper in your ear, “What a pretty little thing you are, so many men fighting to have you.”

Normally, you would have been frightened to be in a situation like this, but looking at Crosshair now, you knew no harm would befall you. You knew he would do what needed to be done. You had full trust in the sniper.

Your tense shoulders fell, and you became eerily relaxed feeling the calm wash over you.

“Hand her over, and I’ll let you live,” Crosshair spoke through his vocoder.

“No chance,” the pirate laughed before coughing due to his fractured sternum, “Put down your gun, and I won’t shoot her.”

Crosshair waited a moment, calculating the risk before deciding to slowly set firepuncher down on the ground, deciding your life was the top priority.

“Kick it to me,” the pirate ordered.

Crosshair begrudgingly kicked his beloved rifle into the center of the room. The pirate huffed, satisfied.

You were then violently shoved down onto your knees with a cry as the pirate pushed you over to have a go at Crosshair. You felt his steel-toe boot bite into your side as he kicked you.

The Pirate wasn’t ready; Crosshair was too fast, too trained. Before his boot had ever left your side, Crosshair lunged at him, knocking the blaster from his grip. The two men fell into a nasty brawl.

Gaining your senses back, you watched your beloved alpha fend off the pirate to the best of his ability.

The ugly fucker grabbed a knife from his belt and swung it at Cross. You watched in horror as Crosshair dodged him masterfully, but your adrenaline was on overdrive.

Without much thinking, you crawled over the debris of the room and grabbed firepuncher. You held up the rifle, tucking it into your shoulder and raising yourself to your knees, bringing one foot forward to plant confidently on the floor.

Raising the gun up into the air, you felt your heart calm and your breathing still.

In that brief moment of clarity, you aimed the weapon, putting the god-ugly pirate into the crosshairs of the scope before pulling the trigger.

You watched that blue plasma bolt pierce right through the back of the pirate’s skull as he collapsed on the ground mid-swing.

Crosshair stood there in awe as the smoke from the blast still lingered in the air. He felt like the air had been punched from his gut seeing you kneeling there holding his gun with that determined look in your eyes. He felt the blood rush south realizing you had just saved him... with his gun. He wanted to throw you down on these cushioned floors and ravash you. Shaking himself back to his senses, he took a deep calming breath in.

You took a deep breath too, setting the gun down as Crosshair leaped across the room to kneel down on the floor and embrace you.

You tightly wrung yourself around him, finally feeling the adrenaline wear off and the tears start to flow.

“Cross!” You sobbed, squeezing him.

“Mesh’la,” he took his helmet off, setting it down to the side, and shoved his face into your neck, holding your head like you were the most precious thing to ever live.

“Are you hurt?” He suddenly drew back to get a real look at you. He finally had a second to take in what you were wearing. If the situation wasn’t so dire, he’d probably have a boner right now.

Your bare legs knelt on the ground, and your nearly naked torso shone in the moonlight, and that damn red on you. It was making his blood warm seeing his little omega on display like this.

“I’m okay,” you replied, grabbing his face and bringing his mouth to yours in a heated kiss. He leaned over you, supporting your back with one hand and holding the two of you up with the other, he squeezed you tightly to his chest plate.

“Y/N?”

Crosshair grabbed his gun in a flash between your bodies, placing the end on his shoulder rifle rest for stabilization. You were still dazed from the kiss when you noticed the others had come out from hiding.

Taryn and Starla squeaked with the gun being pointed at them clutching onto one another.

“It’s okay,” you said, placing a hand on the rifle, “They’re friends.”

Crosshair slowly lowered the gun and looked back at you, “We need to go.”

“Where are the others?” You asked, letting Crosshair help you stand up. He put his helmet back on with a hiss.

“They’re fighting off the pirates. Echo spotted you from the balcony. I ran up here as fast as possible, but we have to go while we still can.”

“What about them?” You asked, looking to your frightened friends.

“We don’t have time,” he ushered you out towards the balcony.

You looked over your shoulder, pointing to the discarded pirate blasters, “Use those!” You pointed to the weapons. Taryn scrambled to grab them as Crosshair wrapped a strong arm around your back, bringing you to his front.

“Hold on adi’ka,” he said, aiming another repelling cable towards the floor above. You wrapped your arms around Crosshair as he engaged the lift, bringing the two of you off the ground. Once you were up, you noticed Echo squatting on the roof, firing at the wall filled with invaders.

“Echo!” You smiled, still holding onto Crosshair.

“Hey, Tiny!” He nodded at you, continuing to squeeze off more rounds, “Glad to see you… what the hell are you wearing?”

You looked down, forgetting about the strange revealing attire.

“Later!” Crosshair growled.

He grabbed a zip cable grip, placing it onto the zipline from the top of the temple over to the wall across the way.

“Don’t let go!” He said, grabbing you again.

“What?” You asked before squealing as he whisked you off your feet, letting the grip slide across the cable carrying you over the war zone towards the wall deck. He dropped the grip, landing the two of you safely on the wall. Your bare feet hit the stone with a stumble as you shook with renewed adrenaline.

“I got her,” Crosshair radioed in as Echo zip-lined across the gardens to the wall, “meet us at the rendezvous point.”

You felt Echo put a gloved hand on your shoulder before falling into formation, leading the way. Crosshair held your hand as he dragged you through the chaos. Fire and plasma blasts flew everywhere. The entire city was under siege. You watched in horror as the Mimbanese fought with everything they had.

They were fierce warriors; you could give them that credit despite their strange customs.

Your feet were definitely getting cut up from running over the debris, but you couldn’t feel much over the adrenaline. Before long, you were nearing the outer wall as Crosshair and Echo ducked behind a vendor cart, pressing you between them.

“Now what?” You asked, holding onto Echo’s flesh arm.

“We wait for Hunter,” Crosshair said, throwing one of his reflector pads on the wall to keep an eye on the action behind them.

A particularly loud explosion had you clenching onto Echo.

“I don’t know how you guys do this every day!” You flinched as more debris rained over the vendor cart.

“Part of the job, Cyra’ika,” Crosshair checked the locator on his vembrance, “They’re close.” He got up, holding his rifle ready to fire but lowered it seeing Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker arriving on stolen speeders.

When they pulled up, Crosshair led you to them. You went to throw yourself at Hunter, but Crosshair shoved you onto the back of his speeder instead, “Reunions later! Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

You snuggled up to Hunter’s back, clinging onto his armor as Crosshair slid in behind you. The Sargent gave your leg a little pad letting you know he was happy to see you.

Echo jumped onto Tech’s bike while Wrecker’s had two massive engine parts strapped to the back. Presumably stolen you deduced.

In a flash, Hunter whipped the speeder around, taking off, leaving the war zone behind.

You sped through the smoke as you neared the city gates. Crosshair kept a firm hand on your head, shoving your head down when a stray bullet whizzed by.

You gasped, seeing it explode into a basket of fruits to your left.

“Careful,” he growled.

You reached an arm back, putting it on his thigh plate, giving it a squeeze as a thank you.

Once you passed through the gates, you finally could release a big exhale. You watched the city of Alise disappearing into the background as Tech navigated you all back to the Marauder.

You knew it would be a long journey, but you finally felt free. You leaned back into Crosshair, letting your head lull against his shoulder.

He wrapped a hand around your waist, keeping you close. You were finally back with your pack, back with your alphas. Everything was right again…

You felt the way Crosshairs gloved fingers slipped onto the slit in the pathetic excuse for a dress you were wearing.

You could tell he disapproved as his fingers slid inwards realizing you had no panties on. But the other part of your grumpy alpha was turned on beyond belief.

Having you in his grasp again was making his heart race and his codpiece incredibly tight. He couldn’t help himself but to drag his hands away from you core and explore higher, he ran his hands over your exposed sides and back then up your chest to where Taryn had tied a flimsy piece over your breasts. Then he thumbed the piece that wrapped around your neck holding everything together.

You squirmed feeling yourself get wet the more Crosshair touched you. It didn’t help having the humming speeder between your legs as he returned back to massaging your exposed thighs.

Hunter felt you squirming around and tilted his helmet to the side to make sure you were okay. What he didn’t expect to see was you tucking your head into Crosshair’s neck under his helmet as he groped you shamelessly.

He shook his head going back to focusing on getting everyone back to the ship. He’d deal with Crosshair’s horny ass later.

~~~

What felt like an eternity later, the Marauder was finally in sight. When Hunter slowed down the bike to investigate the damage, it was apparent that a large group of raiders had been there.

There were footprints all around the ship, including inside. From what you could see, nothing seemed to be taken except for a few items of clothes strewn about outside, no doubt used to confirm your identity and scent.

“Stay here,” Hunter instructed as he got off the bike with the others to ensure the ship was indeed empty.

You stayed on the bike with Crosshair as he got up to take his helmet off and kiss you properly. You sighed into the kiss, feeling his firm grasp on your chin. His strong hands ran down your sides squeezing your exposed hips he stood between your spread thighs. You whimpered feeling a jolt electrify your entire being.

“Thank you,” you whispered, pressing a small kiss to his lips. “For finding me…”

“You put up a hell of a fight, Adi’ka,” he smiled, kissing you again, this time with more force, making you whine with need as he ground his hips into your throbbing core.

“Alright, quit making out,” Echo interjected, walking back towards the speeders.

You pulled away, blushing, letting Crosshair scowl at the ARC trooper for inturpting. You had heard about the post battle need to blow off steam. Some troopers went to 79’s to drink, some found hookers, and others well.. you weren’t entire sure. But you knew it was real, the adrenaline was making you want to jump Crosshair’s bones.

“What happened?” Echo asked, putting his hand on his hip. The others quickly returned, wanting to know as well. “Where are your shoes?” The arc trooper raised a brow.

“They took them,” you replied, looking down at your wrecked and bloody feet.

“Okay, start from the beginning,” Hunter said, kneeling down in front of you to look at your injuries, pulling a shard from the ball of your foot gently giving your ankle a little rub.

“That crazy man took me. His name was T-Tarook or Tanrock or something like that.” You waved you hand dismissively, “Then we were riding for hours on that stupid horse before we got to the city. Then they brought me to an old lady who took my clothes and forced me into a bathspring.

They dressed me, painted my face, then let me go into that garden prison. I met two human girls who had been victims of the war who ended up there with their families.

Nothing else really happened. They fed me and brought me into their community. There were so many I couldn’t believe it. Then they converted these old Jedi Temples into living spaces and that’s when Crosshair found me.

Well, actually the pirates found us first and I tried my best to fight them off, but in the end, Crosshair saved me. Echo and him got me out and now we're here… I still don’t know where my shoes are though,” you sighed, feeling exhausted; it had been a wild 48 hours.

“An old lady took your clothes?” Echo repeated amused.

You shook your head. “It was so strange.” You were trying to understand the whole ordeal.

“Does that explain that?” He gestured to your barely there attire. You nodded again crossing your arms over your hardened nipples.

“Looks like something the Hutts would like,” Hunter commented, crossing his arms.

“I’ve seen more clothes on a stripper at 79’s,” Crosshair joked. You slapped him.

“I didn’t exactly have a choice if you didn’t notice,” you scowled at him. “Now, will one of you carry me inside so I can change?”

“Sorry to break it to you, Mesh’la, but… they took most of your clothes,” Hunter nodded in the direction of the ship.

“Fucking perverts.” You growled, “They better not have taken my favorite civvies!” You slid off the speeder and into the mud feeling it squelch under your toes no longer caring about getting dirty. You were already covered in plasma powder and maker knows what.

"Hey, I'm just glad you're okay, Pip!" Wrecked exclaimed, pulling you into a massive bear hug and rubbing his chin on the crown of your head scenting you. You relaxed into his embrace, allowing him to set you down gently.

Tech then gave you a quick embrace, followed by Hunter, who tilted your chin up to get a look

at the blooming bruises around your neck. He gave a disapproving huff, but you just smiled and placed a reassuring hand on his chest. He let you go and watched as you made your way back to the ship, your long legs shuffling through the clay, fussing with the fabrics flowing from your waist.

They all watched you trot to the ship eagerly, a little mesmerized by the outfit. Hunter then snapped out of it and pointed to the stolen engine parts, "Alright, let's get these parts installed and get the hell out of dodge," Hunter said snapping the others out of their stares.

Wrecker got to work quickly, knowing there was limited time before the locals or the pirates showed up to poke around and Tech grabbed his welding kit.

~~~

"Are we good to go?" Echo asked Tech, who began the launch sequence. The ship groaned slightly as it pulled away from the surface of Mimban. You sat in your jump seat, feet cleaned and bandaged, wrapped in a blanket, and preparing for the cold of space.

"We’re clear," Tech said, angling the nose of the ship towards the blackness of space.

"Thank the maker!" you cheered, thrilled to get the hell off this rock. “Fuck Mimban!”

You heard Wrecker laugh.

"Launching to hyperspace," Tech announced, pushing the throttle forward to prime the hyperdrive. Within seconds, you were all zooming through space with bright blue and white lights.

You could cry, honest to the maker. The relief of never having to go back to Mimban ever again was like a weight off your chest.

Hunter chuckled at your enthusiasm, watching you happy dance from your seat.

"We’re at cruising speed," Echo said, unbuckling and turning to face you directly.

You perked up. "What is it, Echo?"

He crossed his arms and smirked.

"What?" You started to feel anxious under his playful stare.

"Oh, nothing…" His smirk only grew. "I just didn’t know you had such…voracious tastes."

Your eyes widened like saucers, reminiscent of the one you chucked at that pirate earlier.

"Oh, don’t play shy now," he pointed an accusatory finger at you. "I had to listen to how not shy you were for the past week!"

You wanted to vanish into the floor. You felt your entire body flush, and you knew they could see it because half of it was on damn display.

"You can’t blame me!" You crossed your arms, trying to defend yourself.

"Actually, I think I can," he laughed. "I thought omegas only picked one…"

"You said you’ve shared before!" You narrowed your eyes at him.

"She wasn’t in heat," Echo smiled.

"Is this what you two talk about when we’re on missions?" Hunter leaned against the galley doorway crossing his arms.

"Well, excuse me, you all smell remarkably similar. It’s a little difficult when you’re all different versions of the same person!"

Echo chuckled. "We all know that’s not how that works, sweetheart."

You couldn’t help but leave your mouth agape. "Can’t you just be happy I’m not dead? Must you tease me before we even get back to Coruscant?”

"I just didn’t know this about you," he stood up, shrugging and keeping his playful tone. "I never would have guessed our Tiny…Little sweet Tiny, would roll like this." He laughed.

You threw the blanket you had at him, making him laugh and bat it away.

"Alright, enough, quit playing with her," Hunter gathered you up, keeping you from playfully smacking Echo.

"She likes it," Echo flicked you on the forehead, making you yip as he sat back down in his copilot seat. "I want all of them," he mimicked your whiny voice with a snicker.

"Ahh!" You screamed, covering your face. "Shut up, Echo!"

"Help me, Alpha!" He smiled and laughed, watching you flail around in Hunter's arms, trying to kick him.

"Are you not wearing panties?" Echo gasped pointing a finger at you. The others whipped their heads around.

"Echo!" You screamed.

"Alright, someone has to be the responsible one and get you cleaned up," Hunter spun you around and walked you to the fresher, “Shower. Then we should probably talk before we get to Coruscant," Hunter said, running a gentle hand over your head affectionately.

"Can I borrow some civvies?" You asked, gesturing down to your dress.

Hunter scratched the back of his head. "They took ours too… sorry, pip." He felt bad. You sighed and nodded, letting him close the door, giving you some privacy.

You sighed. You’d be lying if you weren’t a little anxious about having the talk. The second you hit lucidity again after being in heat, you knew it was coming, but the way Crosshair kissed you at least gave you a little hope they weren’t going to just kick you to the side and pretend like it didn’t happen.

At least not the sniper; the others? You weren’t as confident.

Stepping into the fresher, you took a deep breath, letting the hot water wash away the past 48 hours.

It was going to be an uncomfortable journey back home.

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

So I usually HATE when someone puts images of clothes they had visualized for a fic, but because I struggled so much describing the image, I'm attaching my inpso images here (ahh I'm sorry I'm a hypocrite) and also Pip's iconic tray toss (just like daddy Crosshair)

Taglist: @substantial-exposure

@rains-on-kamino

@minimissmoo

@z-and-the-batboys

@aynavaano

@9902sgirl

@sideofhorny

#The bad batch #tbb #star wars #ABO #alpha #beta #omega #heat #hunter #crosshair #tech #wrecker #echo #clone #clonewars #fanfic

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thelovelylolly · 7 months

Text

Moments On Pabu

Summary: You watch the sunset with Tech Warnings: reader is described as short and smaller than Tech Word Count: 780 Notes: season 3 has broken me and we're only 3 episodes in IM SCARED i have theories and im convincing myself tech is alive (because he is wdym hes dead?) i have so many thoughts its insane (also this may become a lil series idk)

Sunset was the best time on Pabu. Ever since you befriended Phee and she showed you Pabu, you made sure to watch the sunset every night. You made routines and plans around it. With the galaxy at war with itself almost constantly and your life being turbulent before coming to Pabu, the sunset gave you peace and a sense of stability. Things may change around you, but you will always have the sunset.

Phee introduced you to the Bad Batch when they first arrived on the island, and you instantly clicked with Tech. It was a silent connection, but when he smiled back at you, you knew you were going to like him.

He was more reserved compared to his brothers and sister, but he quickly opened up as time went on. You loved listening to him ramble about anything that piqued his interest. You two tended to gravitate to each other, naturally sitting next to each other at gatherings or finding each other around the island and walking together.

That led to you asking Tech if he'd like to join you to watch the sunset.

"Where would we watch it?" He asked in reply to your question. "The beaches and docks tend to be a bit crowded during that time, and I don't particularly enjoy those kinds of situations."

"Don't worry about it, I know a spot where it'll be just us," you quickly replied. "I don't mind if you don't want to go, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

He thought for a moment, then gave you a small smile. "I suggest we leave now so we don't miss it."

You smiled and took his hand in yours, leading him down the winding paths of the island. You had found the alcove one day when wondering the island, and no one else knew of it. Or at least, they didn't go there.

Tech's eyes widened a bit when you two arrived at the empty beach. The blue waves gently lapped at the shore, filling the alcove with the soft sound of waves crashing. The setting sun made the horizon a beautiful, bright orange while the rest of the sky was still a light blue. You led him closer to the water, showing the setting sun to your left.

"This is a beautiful beach," Tech commented before looking at you, "no one else has found it yet?"

You shook your head with a smile. "Not yet. I usually come here by myself when things get too much or to just watch the sunset. I don't bring anyone here. Well, except for you now."

You noticed how his cheeks turned pink before he looked away.

"I feel honored that I am the first person you brought down here," eh said softly.

Now you felt your cheeks heat up, a contrast to the cool sea breeze. You ignored it, instead taking your shoes off and placing them in the sand. You walked closer to the water, stopping when it just covered your feet. You turned and looked back at Tech, who was watching you.

"C'mon, it's just a little bit cold," you called with a smile.

He returned it and quickly followed your lead. He took his shoes off and joined you in the shallow water. The sun dipped lower and lower as the minutes ticked past. You two watched it from your spots in the water, letting the waves splash against your feet and onto your lower legs.

You took a deep breath, closing your eyes and tilting your head back. The peace of sunset by the ocean always made you happy, and Tech made it so much better.

When you opened your eyes and looked back down, you caught Tech looking at you. You smiled, squinting a bit when the sun got in your eye.

"What is it?" You asked.

"I-it's nothing," he answered, "you just look very...peaceful. And happy."

"I am, but I think I'm really happy because you're here with me," you replied. You reached for his hand and gently took it in yours. "You wanna take a walk down the shore?"

He smiled, ignoring the way his cheeks continued to heat up. He intertwined his fingers with yours. "I would like that very much."

You led him down the shoreline, keeping your feet in the water. You two walked hand-in-hand as the sun continued to set. You glanced over at him and saw him bathed in the golden light from the setting sun. You felt butterflies in your stomach as you looked away, continuing down the shore.

You liked the quiet moments on Pabu, but you liked them more with Tech by your side.

#im very normal about season 3 wdym #tech x reader #tech the bad batch #tech x you #the bad batch tech #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch fanfic #tbb tech #tech tbb #star wars x reader #star wars fanfiction

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sturniozo · 8 months

Text

In The Shadows IV

Masterlist

“Just one?” Matt asks as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

I look down with a deep blush. “I really have to go-“ I mumble.

“My love, you’ll be happy to give in.” He murmurs as he leans in closer to me.

“Matt-“

“Shhh” he shushes me and presses his finger to my lips. “Just let me…” he trails off. He removes his hand from my lips and leans in close, his lips inches from mine. My heart pounds as I feel him breath on my face.

My eyes snap open as the sound of my alarm rings through the room. I sit up in my bed and shut off the constant beeping. I look around the room. No Matt. It was all just a dream. A horrible dream. Like I’d let anything like that happen between Matt and I.

I rub my face in my hands before I throw the covers of the bed off my body. I swing my legs over the side of the bed, my feet hitting the cold hardwood floor.

Before I can even stand up from my bed there’s a knock on my door. “Hey, did you get up yet?” Matt asks.

I groan. “Yeah, now leave so I can get dressed.” I snap at him.

As much as I despise Matt, I hate mornings much more. The mix of the two is probably the closest thing to my own living hell there is.

“I made breakfast.” He replies through the door.

I shake my head. “I don’t eat breakfast.”

I can hear Matt’s groan through the door. “Come on, I spent so long trying to get the waffles perfect. I burnt like four batches just to get them right for you.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t have to try to get on my good side when we’re alone.”

“I’m not trying anything. I thought you’d want breakfast.” He says softly.

I take a deep breath. “I’ll be down in a bit.”

“Alright.” Matt says. I hear his footsteps walking away down the hall.

I stand up from my bed, walking to my suitcase in the corner. I pull it over and set it down on the bed, digging through for some clothes for the day.

A party. I can’t believe he’s already gotten us into a party. We only found out about the whole assignment the other day. How could he have pulled this off so quickly? It’s going to be suspicious that we’re the only people no one has heard of in that party of wealthy beneficiaries.

I shake my head. I’ve never been one for dresses or dressing up of any sort. “Foods getting cold!” Matt tells from downstairs.

I roll my eyes and head for the door. I walk downstairs and turn to the right, entering the kitchen.

The counter is a mess, covered in batter and broken eggshells. There’s a pan full of sausage grease burning on the stove, and a plate of overcooked omelettes sitting on the one burner of the stove that’s not in use.

“Matt, what the fuck?” I ask.

“It’s not as bad as it looks, the burns are mostly cheese!” He says as he picks up the plate of omelettes.

“Where are the waffles?” I ask as I sit down at the table.

“Uh, here!” Matt picks up a plate that was covered by paper towels.

“Why are there paper towels on the waffles?” I laugh as I ask.

“They had sausage grease on them.”

“Why?”

“I spilled it.”

“How?”

Matt shrugs. “What do you think?” He asks as he places all the plates on the table. A plate of sausages, waffles, and omelettes.

“Is there enough in our budget to hire a chef?” I ask as I poke the inedible sausage with a fork.

“Hey, I tried!” Matt laughs.

“Not very hard.” I mumble.

“What was that?” Matt asks.

“I said we should throw this out before it mutates and eats us.” I stand up from the table.

Matt frowns and pokes at the omelette that looks like an orange blobfish. “I suppose we can go out for breakfast. Make a face for ourselves.”

“Yeah. You should clean this up first.” I turn around to walk back upstairs.

“You aren’t going to help me?”

“I didn’t make the mess.” I shrug.

“God, you’re like my brother.” He groans.

“That’s a rude thing to say to your wife.” I laugh. “Especially since I know your brother, that’s not a kind comparison.”

Matt laughs. “But really though, aren’t you going to at least help me clean up?” He asks again.

“Can’t hear you, I’m already upstairs!” I yell back as I run up the stairs and to my room. I close the door behind me and giggle as I hear Matt groan loudly and stomp up the stairs.

He opens my door. “You’re sure a child.” I say as I search through my clothes for something to wear to go to breakfast in.

“You’re missing something.” Matt mumbles.

I turn around to face him, confused. “What?”

“Something you’re supposed to be wearing.”

I look down. Shirt, shorts, socks… “What are you talking about?” I ask.

Matt walks up to me. He takes my hand and slips a ring on my finger. “The thing that married people wear.” He says.

“Oh, yeah, that.” I look at the ring. It’s beautiful. Large diamond in the middle with smaller diamonds around it, and it fits perfectly on my finger. “Where did this come from?” I ask. “Did my dad or the case manager pick it out?”

“It’s mine.” Matt says. I look up.

“What?”

“Well, my grandmothers.”

“You’re having me wear your grandmothers ring? For a fake marriage?”

“Why not?” Matt shrugs. He turns around.

“Wait!” I stop him.

“Well if you want to really get married-“ he starts to say.

“What? No, god no!” I laugh and cross my arms. “I just thought you should save your grandmothers ring for someone you really love and are going to marry for real.” I take the ring off and hand it back to him. “We should get different matching ones for the cover.”

“So we’re just going to walk around ringless and hope people know we’re married?” Matt laughs.

“We’ll get-“

Matt shuts me up. “Put the ring back on.”

“You should save it-“

“For someone I really love?” Matt stares at me. “I think that’s passed, don’t you?”

I look down. “Matt, I-“

“No, that was my choice.” He sighs. “Just put the ring on. We should get going before the breakfast hours are over.” He turns around to leave, shutting the door behind him.

“Matt!” I yell through the door.

“Yes, love?” He replies.

“We should match.”

“Match?”

“Yeah, match outfits.”

“Okay.” Matt says. “What did you have in mind?”

TAGS: @bernardenjoyer @sturniolosreads @mbbsgf @xxsadlovexx @whicked-hazlatwhore @sturnsgirl @keira324 @stuniolobbg @timmyscomputer @meg-sturniolo @sturnioloenthusiast @nickdevora @hearts4chris @carolinalikesthings @mattscokewhore @sturniolopookie @savageking3 @tastesousweet @jko3005 @sturniolo0ntop @cheesesoda @stvrnise @blueeyedbesson @crazycoka @ambersworld69

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roseharpermaxwell · 1 year

Text

Bite-Size Drarry - Under 10k (Part Four)

Pausing my RWRB reading (I have an ask about firstprince fics too and I’m working on it!) to answer this, which is the nudge I’ve needed. I’ve done this for Dramione before (under 5k), but I especially love tempting readers to Drarry.

Short works are the unsung heroes of fandom. They don’t get enough love, which makes me so sad, because you definitely don’t always need 100k to deliver a stunning story. These are your bedtime stories, your palate cleansers, your individual serving sizes of serotonin. It’s okay to enjoy these even if you only read slow burn 100k+ fics, I promise. Live a little!

This is a sampling of some amazing favorites, but I’m always reading new things and will add to it regularly. If you find something you love, I know the author would love to hear it, and so would I! Take a deep dive into their work to find other gems.

Here's Parts One, Two, and Three if you missed them.

Bite-Size Drarry - Under 10k (Part Four) below:

Stay by @orange-peony. E, 7k. The day Draco Malfoy finds out that the Manor has finally found a new owner is a Tuesday. It takes him less than two minutes to realise that he’s screwed. He has nowhere to go. Things go from bad to worse when he finds out that he's been assigned a new probation officer. Harry bloody Potter.

Sorry i was never good (like you) by @tigerlilycorinne. T, 7k. “What is your name?”

Michael Corner puts his cup of tea down. “You already know my name,” he says. He points to them each in turn: “Draco Malfoy. Michael Corner. We went to Hogwarts together.”

“You are the one Harry Potter took to bed last night, correct?”

Draco has a questionnaire he calls the Boyfriend Check for Harry’s boyfriends. Because he’s roommates and friends with Harry, and he needs to make sure they’re up to snuff.

And also for other reasons.

A Love That Knows of Itself by @sleepstxtic. M, 7k. After an accidental bonding, Harry is forced to confront some longstanding feelings concerning a certain Unspeakable.

Epitaphs in Autographs series by @vukovich. E, 7.1k. (MCD) A series of works surrounding death, imperfect relationships, flawed coping, and humanity.

Knead, then let rise by @softlystarstruck. T, 7.2k. Malfoy stumbles back into Harry’s life via the laundry room. A story about baking bread and tripping over words and falling in love.

Interpersonal Relationships Year 7, Unit 3: How to Have Sex Like a Responsible Adult by InnerLilith. E, 7.3k. Harry came to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. He did not come to Hogwarts to obsess over Draco Malfoy. He definitely did not come to Hogwarts to channel that obsession into…supervising Draco’s sex education class?

Whatever, Harry saved the world. He could handle sex ed. Right?

Draco Malfoy and the Broken Room by @aprofessionalprotagonist. T, 7.3k. A drunk and morose Draco gets trapped in the Room of Hidden Things with Potter of all people. Now, he’s got to figure out how to make peace with the Golden Boy long enough to get out.

everything you should say by icarusinflight. E, 7.4k. They're not friends. But when Draco offers help, Harry takes it.

The Re-Fenestration of Potter by @cavendishbutterfly, @iota. E, 7.5k. Harry wants the Prophet reporters to stop following him and Draco wants Harry to stop climbing through his window at all hours of the night…even if he’s taken to leaving it open, just in case. Everything is bearable until they both get doused with Draco’s latest batch of Wolfsbane, and then suddenly nothing between the two of them is bearable at all.

of course i cum fast, i’ve got a snitch to catch by swoons. E, 7.5k. Strangest of all, Potter never lasts more than two minutes — and that’s if Draco’s being really, really generous with his time-keeping.

It should be off-putting, but Draco’s just intrigued. Perhaps that’s why he’s watched Potter wank in the showers so often.

The Exhale by spqr. T, 7.5k. Hermione makes a soft, concerned sound. "Harry, look at this." She shows him an article with a photo, but the photo's not moving; it must be a Muggle newspaper. "NASA have just landed a rover on Mars. It's called Curiosity, and look, this is so--I don't know if it's sweet or sad, but--it's all alone out there, and they programmed it to sing itself Happy Birthday." Nothing is wrong, but Harry starts crying.

Lovesick by @corvuscrowned. T, 7.6k. People keep spiking Auror Harry Potter with love potions. Healer Draco Malfoy keeps having to pick up the pieces.

But it's getting harder and harder for Draco to watch Harry fall in love with everyone except for him.

Dating Potters by @goldentruth813, @mzuul. M, 7.7k. Scorpius and Albus have been together for awhile now and decide it’s time to have a family dinner and come out to their fathers. What they’re not counting on is the fact that they’re not the only ones with secrets to share.

Play Dates by bixgirl1. E, 7.7k. Harry never thought seeing Malfoy as a dad would affect him this way.

What I Thought by @bafflinghaze. E, 7.8k. Draco thought they were in a relationship. Harry thought it was just sex.

First Week of Eternity by InnerLilith. E, 7.8k. Moving in with the colleague you’d like to fuck is a bad idea for anyone. It’s worse when you’re a card-carrying member of the eternal dead. It’s exponentially worse when your already garlic-obsessed colleague-slash-crush-slash-roommate has recently discovered his distant Italian heritage.

In which Draco tries desperately to hide that he’s recently become a vampire, and Harry tries desperately to feed him.

The Trouble with Good Sense by RorouniHime. M, 7.8k. When you fill a hotel with flying quills, hands-on demonstrations, and too many Aurors, someone is bound to get cranky.

The Dinner by @brightowl-fics. E, 7.9k. Draco had been trying to beat the sunset, walking along the cobblestone road to the Chateau where he would be staying that night, when he saw the door. Le Billet Doux, said a painted red sign. Below it, réservations non requises: ‘no reservations required.’

in a rambling way by @fw00shy. T, 7.9k. Ron knocked Hermione up, and now Harry's got to figure out how to clone himself so that his friends don't split up fighting over him. Falling for Draco again was never part of the plan.

Check this hand 'cause I'm marvelous by @lqtraintracks. E, 7.9k. Auror Harry has a crush on Unspeakable Draco, and Draco's dared to give him a lapdance when they're out for Friday night drinks.

Keep Me Here by @academicdisasterfic. E, 7.9k. Teddy/Harry/Draco. The one where Teddy is pining, Harry is in denial, and Draco is impatient.

Driving me crazy (but I'm into it) by @thecouchsofa. E, 8k. Draco’s fucked a lot of people. He’s fucked models, Quidditch players, members of the Wizengamot, even a Muggle actor, but none of them come quite as prettily as Harry Potter.

Leeward by @teacup-tai. M, 8.1k. There’s a polaroid kept in the back of Harry’s nightstand drawer. Just the one. It’s Muggle and slightly yellowish. There are many other photos in a box in the back of Harry’s cupboard under the stairs—the one he almost never opens. A hidden box of hidden memories. After four years since their break up, Harry and Draco meet again at Dean and Blaise’s wedding. Now, between the turquoise sea and the white sand dunes of Fuerteventura, they will need to face their feelings.

in between two tall mountains (there’s a place they call lonesome) by @oknowkiss. E, 8.2k. In the shadow of a mountain on the Oregon coast, there may or may not lie a shipwreck, on which there may or may not be a magical relic, lost hundreds of years ago. Harry's been tasked with finding it, and Draco is there to take notes, and they're stuck in a campervan pretending to be married, and it's all going to be just fine. That's what Draco's gotten rather good at telling himself, anyway.

Born Slippy by @dracoladon. E, 8.3k. Harry finds that it's less 'one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor' and more 'one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, decide Malfoy's quite fit, actually, and decent company after your friends traitorous abandonment, floor.' With Malfoy lying next to you.

(Un)Anticipated by @p1013. E, 8.3k. Though he won't ever admit it—not even years later, when Draco's giving Harry shit about it right before they go to sleep, the bedside light just dim enough to hide the worst of his blush—it takes Harry an embarrassingly long time to realise that something is wrong. It's not like he's trying to pull regularly. If he wants to get laid, he gets laid. He is, after all, Harry Potter.

But it's not until it's a Saturday morning, and he's languidly stroking himself off in the shower with long, slow pulls that he feels deep in the pit of his stomach, that Harry realises that he's been at this for quite some time, and while it feels amazing and his toes are curling and his balls are pulled up tight…

Nothing's happening.

Contretemps by @moonflower-rose. T, 8.4k. Draco Malfoy has been living like a model citizen. If only he could convince Potter.

Say Anything by megyal. M, 8.5k. Draco has a crush on Harry and tells him in French.

Flight Patterns by @mosrael. E, 8.6k. Up in the air, Draco can become anyone he wants to be, or cease to be anyone at all. When he puts on his flight attendant's uniform he's just one more smiling face in the crowd, a forgettable interlude in his passengers' day. Not a petrified boy, not a criminal, not a Wizard just trying to keep it together as best he can.

That is until a certain someone interrupts his flight patterns.

Stories in E Minor by @huldrejenta. E, 8.7k. Draco has found his place in the Muggle world. He's got his music, he's got his neighbours and he is content. Until a certain someone from the past enters his life again.

Look For Me In The Sun by @wolfpants. M, 8.7k. Harry and Draco are on the run in America after a mysterious string of werewolf-like attacks in the Muggle community causes the Ministry to impose new and harsh anti-werewolf legislation. Giant trees, crashing waves, seedy motel rooms, and the long and winding coastal road awaits them, but will they ever be able to go back home?

Bored by vorabiza. E, 8.8k. Harry and company are bored, so Harry is encouraged to tell the others a sexual fantasy that becomes a little more romantic than they are expecting.

Howl by @tackytigerfic. M, 8.9k. After an encounter with a vicious werewolf, Draco Malfoy wakes in a field hospital with a mangled shoulder, a furry little problem, and an inconvenient crush on Harry Potter. Potter, meanwhile, is still trying to save the world, only this time he wants Draco right there with him while he does it. Taking part in a rebellion against a corrupt regime isn't always glamorous, but at least sometimes there are organic farmshop pastries and fancy hotel bedsheets. Just don't ask about that smell of burning.

Along Came Potter by huldrejenta. T, 9k. Potter shows up at Draco’s flat. Then he shows up again, and again, and again.

Fuel to the Fire by @eevans22, @holygnocchi. E, 9.1k. Sure, Luna always means well. But suddenly Harry is temporarily living with the man he’s been pining over since they started Auror training, who compliments Harry’s cooking, gives him thoughtful thank you gifts, and looks indecently attractive stepping out of the shower. Something’s got to give. And Harry suspects it will be him.

Just a trial run by @tenthousandyearsx. E, 9.1k. In which Harry wants to get into sex work and Draco would prefer to keep him for himself.

Before the Cold Sets In by @crazybutgood, @vukovich. T, 9.1k. Sometimes, the person you should be planning your life with is already in it. Or, how Harry realised that true love is at the bottom of a tea cup.

sex in trees for beginners by @phdmama. E, 9.1k. The bottle lands on Malfoy and sends out its customary poof of smoke and sparks. Harry hasn’t quite figured out the pattern, it’s not like blue means truth and red means kissing. Malfoy’s poof is a deep pink-purple and there are definitely sparks happening as well. It’s really pretty, actually, and Harry sort of loses himself in watching the colors until suddenly he realizes everyone is quiet and staring at him. “What?” he asks, glancing around. “What did I miss?” Malfoy sighs. “The bottle gave us a dare.”

Phoenix by @kedavranox. E, 9.2k. Harry's got a fantasy.

Starting Again by @tamerofdarkstars. T, 9.2k. Harry felt the situation rapidly slipping from his grasp and suspected he’d never really had hold of it to begin with. “You want me to be friends with Draco Malfoy because you think that will stop him from being... sad.”

“Bingo, give the boy a prize.”

The Things They Never Say by bixgirl1. E, 9.3k. Harry and Draco don't know how to talk. So they do other things instead.

to be a bit of warmth for you by softlystarstruck. M, 9.3k. As some of the only eighth years to return to Hogwarts, Harry doesn't know how he and Draco will manage to be roommates for a whole year without resorting to violence. But Draco is too quiet, and too thin, and wears layers of sweaters that he tucks over his fingers. So they fall into an unspoken routine, one that soothes Harry as much as it helps Draco, one that's so much easier than Harry thought it would be.

Until it all falls apart, and Harry realizes he holds the world in his hands.

Wooing with Woodwork by @henrymercury. T, 9.3k. According to Ron, Harry needs to make a move on Draco in the next month or he's going to receive a howler he won't want Draco to overhear.

That Draco will overhear is fairly inevitable given they're cooped up in the same DMLE office all day, or off investigating together, and they go home to the same flat at night.

All I Have to Do by @fluxweeed. E, 9.5k. The Patented Daydream Charm (Adult Edition) allows you to enter a top-quality, highly realistic thirty-minute sexual fantasy. Solitude and privacy spells advised. or: Draco finally has some alone time; Harry just needs to nip in for a book.

Sinking to Swim by @pheaphilus. T, 9.5k. When Unspeakable Malfoy gets his latest assignment at the Department of Mysteries, he can't help but curse his own luck. What are the chances that he would have to seek out the elusive Harry Potter for help?

When Draco Malfoy comes to his door, asking for his input into an ongoing project at the Ministry, Harry is skeptical. When's the last time a Malfoy did anything to help anyone but themselves, anyway?

Let Me Roll It by @lagerloutfic. E, 9.5k. “I’m not going to kiss you here,” Harry said, applying a fraction of pressure so Draco’s lips parted. “No?” Draco said, his breath hot on Harry’s knuckle. “No.” --- The thing about Harry was, he hated most people. And there was no one he hated more than Draco’s boyfriend Justin - certified knob and all round wanker. So when he finds out Justin is just as selfish inside the bedroom as he is outside it, Harry can’t help himself.

Sex on Legs in Six-Inch Heels by @tessacrowley. E, 9.6k. Draco Malfoy is a brilliant freelance cursebreaker and the only one who can help the Department of Magical Law Enforcement with a very dangerous case, but more importantly, he's wearing six-inch heels, and Harry cannot handle it, he really just can't.

what if, but if, we could kiss (and just cut the rubbish) by @swisstae. E, 9.6k. “Christ, Draco, get your mouth back on me, I need you, oh God, Jesus fucking Christ,” and Draco can’t help how he shivers, the words dripping down his spine like molasses, sticky sweet blasphemous prayers in the heat of the moment. It’s enough to bring him closer to the edge, and when Harry spills down his throat, hot and bitter and musky, Draco comes with a muffled cry, his cock spurting weakly as he spills all over the floor. (Later, Harry will tease him, will whisper Christ, Malfoy, look at you, so hot for me, Jesus and Draco will come undone a second time, shaking in the safe bracket of Harry’s arms around him.) OR: Draco and Harry are not-quite-friends, but then they are. it is A Time. Ron just wishes he had bleach.

The Little Marauders Nursery and Day Care by @digthewriter. E, 9.8k. Harry Potter is the proud owner of a daycare, and his favorite student is Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius’s dad might be okay, too.

Gryffindors Never Kiss and Tell by @drarrytrash. E, 9.9k. The gang realizes that everyone has kissed Harry except Draco. Draco proceeds to do a terrible job of pretending he doesn’t want to kiss him too.

That's all for now 💚 Give the authors some love! I also adore hearing if you found a new favorite fic or author.

I’ll be regularly adding to this, so if you’re seeing this as a reblog, feel free to check my Master List of Recommendations for the most current list. If you see yourself and you’re not tagged, or I've got a broken or misdirected link, please let me know!

#drarry fic rec #drarry fanfiction #drarry fanfic #hp fanfic #drarry

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theleastprofessionalchef · 3 months

Text

Ah jeez, I started making this post end of May and saved it as a draft so I could come back with the recipe, and fully forgot to do that for uh. Yeah. A long time. I've since made a few more batches of successful mead, and have a couple more fermenting right now! I'll reblog with pics of them later.

Well! better late than never. Leaving what I'd written initially unchanged, so-

Two months apart - start and end - my first successful batch of mead! I've tried a handful of times over the years, but had an unfortunate habit of doing... SOMETHING wrong each time that resulted in lightly sweetened cleaning alcohol 😅

But finally, a success! Real mead! Sweet, but not too sweet, and boozy enough without being straight up moonshine

Recipe:

Roughly three pounds of honey

3? 4? Of those little mandarin oranges, quartered

1 packet ale yeast, I used this

Various whole mulling spices, I used a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves this time, but I've also tossed in cardamom pods and anise occasionally, maybe a couple peppercorns. Go wild

So much filtered/distilled water. So much. Like two gallons?

I'll be real folks, I used a cheap shitty online guide that I don't remember the link for, that said it was a good basic way to learn how to make garbage mead and that any brewer worth their salt would cringe at. It is also coincidentally the same guide I used years ago in the aforementioned cleaning alcohol incident; I haven't changed what I used or did, so I honestly don't know why that came out bad and this good. Shrugs! Yeast can't read.

Dissolve the honey in warm/hot water. Not boiling- you don't want to kill the yeast when you add it in. Think a nice, warm shower. Stir it well, add the oranges and spices, and mix in the yeast until also dissolved.

Load it all up into a large glass container like the one pictured. I ordered a carboy online for this, which is the 'proper' thing to use, but you can honestly get away with an old milk jug you've thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, if you again, don't care about it being the highest quality. Carboys come with the fermentation/filtration Thing on it to let gases out and nothing in (the little doohicky plugged into the top of the lid) but you can also get away with stretching the mouth of a balloon over where the lid would go and poke a teensy hole in it with a needle. The goal is to let the gases that build up during fermentation escape the container, but not to let outside air in.

Fill the container the rest of the way up with water, but leave a couple inches of space on top. This thang's gonna bubble like crazy once the yeast start feeding, and you don't want it to overflow and make a mess of your cupboard.

Put it in a dark, cool space, and wait a few days!

It'll bubble a lot those first days; DON'T mess with it. Leave her be. Let her have her hot girl summer. After a few days, maybe a week, it'll calm down a bit; now you can top off the water supply.

Fast forward uhhhh two months or so, and it's done! There's a more legit way to know for sure when it's done that involves watching the tiny bubbles that form near the top as part of the fermentation process, and figuring out when they'll stop, but I'm impatient and don't know jack and am here for a good time not a long time.

Enjoy mead! And maybe do some better research than I did if you want something fancy.

OH AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT STIR IT WHEN YOU GO TO DRINK THE FINISHED STUFF

You'll want to scoop the fruits and spices off the top and then siphon it off into another container, or do what we did and simply ladle it off the top (because on a ship of 10-13 sailors, 1 1/2-2 gallons of mead won't last longer than an off day), and NOT drink the detritus off the bottom. You can kinda see it in the picture above. It is not like unfiltered apple cider. That stuff tastes gnarly.

Do not shake the mead before drinking.

#(definitely not bullying a crewmate that didn't know not to do that and did it and was immediately (playfully) yelled at by Everyone)#(absolutely not. i would never)#(ellis if you see this (i don't think you will you're chronically offline) I Love You)#tall ship cooking #food #recipes #mine #mead

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talesfrommedinastation · 6 months

Text

My redneck neighbor Doug watches 'Bad Territory'

As a few people have quickly surmised, the Bad Batch episode in which they go to Space Swampy Badtimes and punch gators was going to send Doug over the edge with joy. Y'all right!

So, turn up the CCR to 'Born on the Bayou', and prepare for some of the more unhinged things Doug's texted me.

CW: Little more mild, just excitement. When Doug starts rambling about Cajun food, just click here. He says it's one of the best places for boudin and bbq and they'll even process a deer you found on the highway.

------------------------------------------------------------

Episode 8: “::happy Cajun noises::”

Well we back in Space Daytona, outside the HMS Search Warrant because Daddy Rambo can’t afford a trailer now. Does that thing have air conditioning?

Man, Toaster Strudel’s always gone, is he a space trucker now or what.

Oh, man, it’s Church Lady! She don’t seem too upset by Ryan-from-Accounting being somewhere else, fighting the Space Balrog. But we know why she’s not sad.

(Does this involve Mayday?

"Who?"

Sassy Park Ranger?

"Hell yeah it does! He’s her beau."

What about Ryan-from-Accounting?

"I done told you once I tell you again RYAN-FROM-ACCOUNTING DIDN’T DESERVE THAT SMART INDEPENDENT WOMAN NONE!")

Maybe Daddy Warcrimes will hang out with Church Lady and she can double dip with him and Sassy Park Ranger. It’s Thanksgiving, dark meat and white meat are on the plate.

(WTF?!)

Well you know why Church Lady’s the Church Lady? She’s been talking to other church folks and if there’s one person who knows how to get info on people it’s the church ladies. Seriously, how do you think they organize EVERYTHING and know EVERYONE. You think they go to church for Jesus that’s a bald lie up in here.

So Julio fires up the stolen work truck and he and Daddy Rambo are off.

Wait, if that’s their home, where Little Orphan Blondie and Daddy Warcrimes sleeping? The beach? Come on now.

Aw, shit, man, is that THOTH STATION?! Meat Muffin, these show people reading your white trash love story book and made it into reality! They owe you MONEY GIRL! Think they’ll meet Fred Johnson or Anderson Dawes?!

And look it’s CAMINA DRUMMER!

Oh wait no that’s that Chick-that’s-in-Everything! Looks like she’s doing business with the guy Han Solo shot in the club. Think she’s selling him Columbian nose candy?

Well she’s drinking a whole thing of pinot, don’t blame her, I’d be drinking if Daddy Rambo was up in my club whining for names. Go on the Facebook, Daddy Rambo, it’d be easier.

They’re off somewhere else to help the Chick-that’s-in-Everything. OH MY SWEET TITS OF CHRIST THEY IN LOUISIANA AGAIN! IT’S AN OIL REFINERY! No one can breath! They got a PONTOON! Everything’s orange and sticky!

Oh look at them out in them stinky bayous of Terrebonne Parish! Man did they film this entire season in my home state like it’s the first season of True Detective now I wonder. Man that was a good show.

Aw man, mines in the water! It IS TERREBONNE PARISH! “He won’t expect us,” damn right he won’t. The Chick-Thats-In-Everything sure knows her shit. She’s a redneck hunter and the lady’s got grit. I wonder if she’s caught Steven Segal.

There better be OH MAN IT IS!

SPACE GATORS!!!!!

YEAH! PUNCH EM JULIO! SHOOT EM CHICK-THAT’S-IN-EVERYTHING! OH DADDY RAMBO GOT CAUGHT BUT JULIO PUNCHED IT TOO! PUNCHING GATORS AND THROWING KNIVES AND SHOOTING GUNS IN THE BAYOU, MEAT MUFFIN I LOVE THIS DAMN SHOW!!!!!

The only bad thing about this is now I need to go back to Thibodaux to Bourgeois and get some crawfish boudin, maybe some cracklings, some hogshead cheese too.

Daddy Warcrimes is doing that thing where you sit around and breathe. Jenny tells me to do that. I’m like woman I do that every damn day at work what’s the difference now.

They’re at the place–it’s a shack in the woods surrounded by home made bombs and the owner’s armed to the teeth?! MEAT MUFFIN THEY GONE DONE AND FILMED IT AT MY COUSIN CLAYTON'S HOUSE IN TERREBONNE PARISH NOW!!!!

Oh man it ain’t my cousin Clayton whose been weird since he got out of Angola, now they’re hunting Jeff Goldblum from The Fly! Except now he’s a mantis! Hate those things. Jenny set one on fire after she caught it snapping at one of her hummingbirds. That woman, man, you don’t mess with her garden, she’ll take out the hairspray and a lighter and make a torch out of it. Love her. Married two dozen years now.*

Oh! Jeff Goldblum is trying to escape–but the Chick-That’s-In-Everything knows her shit and cuts her own wire to the pontoon! Maybe she IS Camina Drummer after all.

Oh, man, they done got that mantis son of a bitch. Now, back to Thoth Station, and of course, the Chick-That’s-in-Everything ain’t coughing up a dime. Just flings Daddy Rambo right off her ship.

Oh, man, who is she calling?

I hope it’s not Gun-Safety-Muppet, I hate that blue bastard.

*= Jenny is a delight and really does flip from ‘Sweetie, you need to meditate’ to ‘I will set bugs on fire for threatening my birds’. She’s the one who taught Jimmers to corner and kill everything in their yard.

@skellymom @cdblake1565 @sued134 @amalthiaph @yeehawgeek @merkitty49 @eyecandyeoz @isthereanechoinhere96 who else loves Redneck Doug?

If you want to be added, please let me know!

PS- I have his ramblings from the last two episodes, but they were not nearly as deranged as this.

#tbb #cloneforce99 #thebadbatch #the bad batch #redneck doug #cajun doug #doug the neighbor #oh doug #he was so happy guys #so happy #tbb omega #the bad batch season 3 #clone force 99 #fennec shand #tbb wrecker #tbb hunter

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imabeautifulbutterfly · 7 months

Note

Congrats on the followers!

If it pleases you, Wrecker with 12 and 27.

Hasta próximo!

Hola @merkitty49, thank you for the love and for the request, mi compadre. I hope you enjoy this little fic with Wrecker.

Love oo,

I'm Here

Warnings: Unrequited love, mentions of death, loss of a loved one, crying, fluff, cuteness. I think that's it, if I miss anything please let me know.

Main Master List | Star Wars Fic Roulette

Wrecker was trying to find his spritely little explosive technician. Not that you were really needed, since he handled all the explosives for The Bad Batch anyway, but he didn’t mind when you joined. He even made sure Hunter agreed to let you stay.

He liked you, maybe a lot more than he should’ve. After all, you wouldn’t be interested in him, right? Whenever they went to a village or town, all the women always flocked around his other brothers. It was rare for any of them to bother with him. Maybe it was the scar on the side of his face, or the prosthetic eye… maybe it was his size.

There were times when you looked at him that he thought, maybe … maybe there was something more between the two of you, maybe there was a chance you felt the same as he did. Yet, he reminded himself that he was being delusional.

“There you are!” He practically screamed for joy when he found you sitting on the highest point of a boulder, he did his best to climb up to you, although his armour was a little in the way. “What are you doing up here?” He chuckled as he sat down.

“Everything looks beautiful from up here.” You answered sincerely as you kept your eyes on the horizon, the valley below was lush and the leaves were changing colours, the usual green was sprinkled throughout with orange, yellows and red. It made the war seem a distant memory.

Wrecker followed your gaze and hummed in agreement, “Yeah, you’re right. It is beautiful.” His eyes glanced over to your face, there was a perfect sense of serenity encompassing your beautiful face, your eyes were filled with joy and peace. It was a rare sight to see you like this and he’d treasure this image all the more.

“Were you looking for me?” You forced your eyes to look at Wrecker, not that you really needed to force yourself to look at him. After all he was Wrecker, the man with big muscles, a big smile, and an even bigger heart. The moment he introduced himself, you were besotted; and you only wished you could’ve opened your heart to him. Only wished you could take his hand and declare how much he really meant to you, but you weren’t ready. It hadn’t even been two years since you lost your fiance when the Separatist invaded your planet, and as much as you wanted to move on, somehow it just didn’t feel right to. At least not just yet. And truthfully, Wrecker didn’t look at you like that, why would he?

“Hunter says that we’ll be heading into town soon to get supplies and dinner, I wanted to check if you wanted to come.”

“Yeah…” You stretched, easing out your muscles from sitting too long on not the most comfortable boulder, “I need to get some supplies. I found a formula that could make our explosives ten times stronger, and more efficient.” You slowly stood, Wrecker’s hand following you to make sure you didn’t fall.

He let out a laugh, “Ha! Now there’s someone after my own heart.”

You chuckled, shaking your head, “Come on, I’ll tell you what I have planned.” And you did, the entire walk to and from the town, that’s all you and Wrecker talked about, explosives, the formula, possible uses, it was perfect really. You never had to put on airs around Wrecker, never had to act like you should be interested in other things, you both loved explosives, and that’s all that mattered.

“You should’ve joined our crew sooner.” He shouted triumphantly when his own heart shouted for joy that there was someone else who understood him better than his brothers. Who didn’t question his love of things exploding.

His eyes focused on your beautiful face, as the setting suns gave you the most radiant glow. No matter how hard he tried he couldn’t pull his eyes away.

“Well that may have been difficult, my life … was very different a few years ago.”

He’d known about your fiance, it was one of the first things he learned about you when he found you crying and clutching the pendant on your neck. And even though you’d been with them for almost a year now, he could see how you still clutched it, under your tunic.

“Right.” It was the only acknowledgment he wanted to offer, he hated seeing you sad, gloomy wasn’t you, you were happy, usually smiling, so he made an effort to not let you get downcast while he was around. “Well, I’m glad you’re with us now. Now, I have a buddy who can blow things up with me!”

You smirked, his joy was always beyond infectious, and inevitably you were laughing.

“Thanks, Wrecker. It means a lot. You guys always made me feel like I belonged, and … I appreciate it. It’s nice to have family again.”

Wrecker took a chance and brushed some of your hair gently off your face, after the wind had pushed it there, “We won’t leave you behind, cyar’ika. You’re stuck with us for a long time.”

You’re not sure why, but at that moment it struck a chord with you and you couldn’t stop crying, he didn’t hesitate and pulled you in for a hug. He was grateful his brothers hadn’t lingered around outside when they got back to the Marauder, so no one would see you fall apart, “It’s okay, I'm here.”

You nodded, wiping your tears as you laughed, “I’m sorry, I’m just … really happy.”

“I’m glad cyar’ika.”

“If you two are quite done” Crosshair seethed out, he wanted to rest, but with Wrecker’s loud voice it was always difficult to actually fall asleep.

“Sorry, Cross. We’re coming.” You offered, you both gave him your best puppy dog eyes to appease him.

“Oh, don’t be cute.” He mumbled in annoyance, at the two of you.

You laughed, wanting to goad him a little more, “Wait, you think I’m cute?” Both you and Wrecker falling into a fit of laughter.

“Ugh! Shut up” was all Crosshair offered as he headed to his cot, to get some rest before you all had to leave for your next mission.

Main Master List | Star Wars Fic Roulette

Tag list:

@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24@spicymcnuggies@lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ciramaris @sprout-fics @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian @ulchabhangorm @littlemisspascal @tortor-mcgee @vodika-vibes @clonethirstingisreal

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nahoney22 · 2 years

Note

Would it be possible to commission you for a few more one shot of the spontaneous helmet kiss prompt for the other batchers and possibly other clone soldiers like Rex or Howzer?? I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOUR TAKE WITH TECH’S!

Thank you & Absolutely you can! Let’s gooo (decided to just do little one shots in this post, hope u don’t mind nonny 😚)

Helmet Kisses

All Bad Batch boys + Rex, Fives & Howzer X GN!Reader

Little HC about reader giving our boys a spontaneous helmet kiss.

warnings: none, pure fluff. Little mentions of injury. Not proofread

A/N- Originally inspired by this post by @whoneedsname501. I’ve already done Tech which you can read here so this will be all the others 😊

Masterlist

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙

☾ Echo

This man was smitten the day he had met you so when you kissed him on the helmet one day, his body just did not compute what happened.

The Batchers including him had been away on a mission for two days now and thought it was best that you stay with the ship as a ‘just incase’. Which, you didn’t mind.

You were in a forest in Raxxus and wildlife was absolutely your thing. The sight of new plants, herbs and animals always amazed you and it was something Echo thought was quite endearing about you. Although he is usually grumpy, he did perk up around you when you would go on a tangible rant and rave about something new.

On his return back to the ship, he notices a strange looking orange plant with sweet smelling leaves. So, he grabs a handful (he did hide away from his brothers when he did this because he didn’t want to hike back to the ship with them teasing him all the way) and stuffs them in his pocket carefully and would give them to you on arrival.

You’re sitting on the steps of the ship with your head in your holopad when you heard the crunch of branches and leaves and sure enough your clones were in view.

“Hey guys! How’d it go?” You wave over at them, standing to your feet and bound down the steps to greet them.

They tell you all went well so in return you tell them you brewed something up for them food wise in the ship if they’re hungry. Of course, Wrecker went racing inside with the others following aside from Echo who hung back a little.

“Hello my Arc Trooper, you alright?” You beam at him teasingly as you nudge his shoulder playfully. Luckily for him, he was wearing his helmet still so he could hide the stupid smile on his face when you called him ‘my Arc Trooper’.

“Very well. Though, I found something you may be interested in?”

Your ears perk at this and watch as he reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. He hands it to you and your eyes widen in surprise. It was a herb from what you can tell but it was new and that excited you. “Oh wow!” You took them into your hands and inspected them closely. “They smell nice. Could be good in some stew of some kind?” You spoke more to yourself than at him but he watches you and again, smiles.

When you do look back at him to see him still standing there, you’re thankful for the kind gesture. So thankful that you don’t realise that you leaned towards him and placed a small kiss to the side of his helmet.

Echo stilled and cursed to all what was greater in the Galaxy for having his damn helmet on. But then again, would you have thanked him with a kiss if he didn’t?

Your mouth is moving as he stares at you but he hears nothing. It’s not until a confused expression crosses your face and you place a hand on his arm gently when his senses come back to him. “Are you okay?”

Nodding quickly, way too quickly for it to be believable he walks past you and goes to his bunk to research more rare herbs for another kiss to happen again.

☾ Hunter

“Hey Sarge, what are you doing up?”

Hunter turns around to face you and that’s when you spot your blaster in his grasp. “Did I wake you?” He questions you before you could ask what he was doing with one of your weapons.

“No,” you shake your head, stepping towards him to see what he was doing, “I usually wake at this time anyway. What are you doing with my stuff?” You question, curious and a little apprehensive. Truthfully, you were quite forgettable when it came to maintaining your kit and you really didn’t want to get in Hunter’s bad books. After all, you did have a tinchy-tiny crush on the long-haired Clone.

His voice is a little modulated by his helmet but you’re sure he chuckles a little before holding up a rag. “Cleaning your gear for you.”

Your face drops and a wave of embarrassment and shame washes over you. “Hunter, you don’t have to do that. I’m sorry, I thought I was up to date with all this stuff.” You grimace at yourself for being foolish.

Hunter didn’t need his senses to know how tense you suddenly got and he hated that he could have made you anxious for no fault at all. “Easy there cyare,” he says very softly and almost hesitantly places a hand on your shoulder, “I’m only cleaning it because I saw it on the side when I was doing mine. Thought I’d, uh, spruce it up a little.” He tries not to show that he’s shy at the confession but he’s also trying to hold his own as he feels the warmth of your body seeping in through his gloved hand.

Relief washes over you and your shoulders drop in relaxation. “You didn’t have to do that for me.” You’re blushing a little and his heart picks up as he notices that his action had good consequences.

“Wanted to. You’ve been busy taking care of us lot so it’s only fair.” He says casually, looking back to your blaster and giving the barrel a bit of a wipe. “Don’t want it jamming up in battle now do we?”

You watch him and the action you want to do next is a bit of a risk but since it would only be on his helmet, you weren’t breaking a huge boundary in your mind. So, you ever so gently place a hand on his shoulder this time, lean up and place a kiss to the right side of his helmet.

His reaction is quick as he turns to look at you, baffled but also feeling very warm and grateful. “W-what was that for?” He stammers, not realising the rag in his harsh grasp had slipped onto the floor.

Gushing at what you did, you tuck your hands behind your back and rock back and forth on your heels shyly. “Just a thank you.”

“Can you do it again?” He blurts out.

☾ Wrecker

Usually, your sparring buddy would be Hunter so when you heard that Wrecker wanted to you were both very excited yet a little nervous. After all, he was a very large and muscular guy.

“Ya ready for this cyar’ika?” You tried to ignore the feeling you got at the name, something he would always call you out of endearment.

You alter your stance, hands coming up in defence whilst Wrecker forms his offence position. You pause for a second and frown. “You’re wearing your armour? How am I meant to spar with you?”

He laughs behind his helmet. “Gotta be prepared for all types of scenarios. Now c’mon over ‘ere and hit me with ya best shot!” He teases whilst also being deadly serious.

So you do. You managed to land a few blows and managed to dodge those he threw back at you. It’s going well, well you thought it was until a piece of uneven ground decided to surprise you that sent you toppling down whilst in an awkward grappling embrace with Wrecker who falls down too.

He’s quick however and softens your fall all the while he places his hands on either side of your head to stop himself from completely crushing you. Sweat glistens at your brow and a sigh of relief washes over you.

“Kriff, you alright?” He too sighs in relief but you’re too tense to speak as his right hand cups your bare cheek, as if to inspect you.

You gulp, a little flustered when you realise that Wrecker, someone who you had liked for a while, was hovering over your body and giving you the softest of touches to your face. “F-fine.”

“Ya sure? Didn’t hurt ya did I?” He’s nervous in his question, knowing that he was a little more rough-handed than the others and the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt you.

A smile grows on your face and you softly nod. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“But I do worry. A lot.” He sighs, almost as if he was ashamed and at blame that you could have gotten hurt which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

No matter how many times you would reassure him, he would think the latter and so as you gaze up at him through his visor, a bold idea pops into your mind.

Ever so gently, you prop yourself up on your elbows and purse your lips before kissing his helmet, a little bit over where his lips would have been if it weren't for the gear.

The second you pull away, blood rushes to your cheeks as you whisper to him that you really were alright but Wrecker was in to much shock to even do anything. It wasn’t until you spoke his name softly that he snapped out of this haze.

“You kissed me.” He states, a wide smile behind his bucket.

“Technically I kissed your helmet.” You smirk a little, head tilting to the side and into his hand that he still hadn’t moved.

A second later, he pulls the helmet away from his head and sure enough, the man is flustered to the max and shyly asks if he could kiss you.

☾ Crosshair

Kissing Crosshair on his helmet would either be the best decision you had made or the worst. There were no thoughts in your mind when you did it but there were certainly a lot of thoughts in his mind.

It’s a late evening, so maybe you were a little drowsy when you spontaneously kissed him but you were all playing a game of Sabacc. One by one, each batcher got eliminated until it was just the two of you left. The others had gone off to bed which just left you and Cross. Truthfully, you had no idea how you managed to beat the likes of Echo and Tech but somehow you did.

“You know it’s kinda cheating wearing your helmet, Cross.” You taunt with a playful wiggle at your brows.

“No it isn’t. It’s strategic.” He mumbled, eyes focused on his set of cards. You had no idea if he was looking at you or the cards.

“That strategy being able to see what cards I have with the vision in your helmet?”

“Disabled. Now make your move.” He prods at you with a kick of his foot under the table to which you kick back just as hard.

There’s tension in the air but after all, there’s a measly ten credits at stake.

When your cards are shown, you hear a small snarl as Crosshair slams his luminescent cards on the table which only meant:

“Have I won?!” You try to bite down your excitement but it’s hard to do when it comes to beating Crosshair at something. For the first time, too.

He’s grumbling but as you finally let out a small cheer and scoop up your credits, he can’t help but smile a little underneath his helmet upon seeing you so happy. “Well played.”

He stands and you do too but as he does, a bunch of credits fall off his lap. You’re confused but then the slow realisation of what was really happening dawned on you. “YOU CHEATER!”

Cross freezes and raises his hands in mock defence. “I see it as helping you win against Tech.” The Marksman declares casually. You can’t help but feel a little deflated that he had been helping you win all along somehow but you were curious as to why he would let you win in the first place.

“Didn’t know you were a softie for me.” You’re teasing him but you noticed how stiff as a board he got. Him being called soft felt odd but it wasn’t something he found not necessarily hating.

“Am not.” He mutters, voice raspy as he stares you down as you approach him.

“Yeah yeah,” you roll your eyes, smiling up at him through his visor, “goodnight Crosshair.”

Then you kissed him. Well, you leaned up and placed a kiss in the middle of his breath filters, the centre of his helmet where his lips would have been.

You realised what you did straight away and backed away, mumbled a quick apology before scooting off but Crosshair was adamant to get the real deal.

You heard footsteps behind you and you were certain it was Crosshair who was about to give you a telling off. But when you turned around to face him, you didn’t expect him to be ripping his helmet off and tossing it to the side as he bound towards you.

“If you’re gonna kiss me, do it properly.”

In a second, he has you pinned to the wall with his body, one hand in your hair and the other to your waist as he flushed his lips to yours in a heated embrace.

Your eyes are wide and hands are flailing pathetically as you were both unsure where to put them or if you could even touch him. A second before you felt yourself melt into the kiss he pulled away, panting a little but there was that infamous smirk.

“Better?” You gasp out, not quite believing what just happened.

“Better.”

Bonus

☾ Rex

Seeing Rex get injured on the battlefield crushed your heart. Thankfully, he only came into the medic tent with a sore ankle and a nasty blaster shot to his left arm.

He didn’t like his teammates seeing him like this and so those who could leave, you politely discharged to give your Captain some more space.

Rex is laying on a cot as you sit on a stool beside him when you’re patching up his arm. “Can’t believe I got shot.” He grouches, wincing a little as you fix up a tender spot.

“You’re a soldier, Captain. It’s bound to happen some time.” You say as a matter of fact. It wasn’t exactly a nice truth, but a truth nonetheless. To which, he agreed with a small grunt.

“Suppose. And I told you to call me Rex.” He lifts his head up a little to gaze across at you, heart fluttering as he becomes easily smitten at your deep concentrating face.

You rolled your eyes and grabbed a medpatch, applying it to the wound in the hopes it’ll heal up nicely. “Well Rex,” you say playfully, helping him sit up, “you’re all done.”

He cranes his neck to the side and swings his legs around on the cot. He knows he has to go back out there and finish the mission, but he found himself much rather being here and beside you. His crush on you was deepening but he just didn’t know how to tell you. “Thank you. You’re, uh, a great medic.”

It’s awkward the way he compliments you but from him? It meant everything. You always valued what he had to say and to hear him praise you sent a warmth through you. “I appreciate your words Cap- I mean Rex.” You enthuse shyly. “But it’s best if you get back to it.” With a nod towards the front of the tent where the mission was happening just on the outskirts, Rex sighs but nods in agreement.

He stands and places his bucket back on his head. He’s turning to face you to bid his goodbyes when you lean up and place a kiss to the centre of his helmet. His eyes comedically widen and his lips part in pure awe as he watches you giggle, wave him off and quickly rush to the aid of a new incoming clone. Rex definitely had to speak to you about that kiss later.

☾ Fives

You both like each other, that much is clear but you’re too shy to make commitments just yet but Fives still wanted you to know that you were all he wanted when he had the chance.

It was a quick start to some romance; love at first sight if you will. He saw you leaning on a bar one night, uninterested in your date at the time when the two of you locked eyes across the room. Then that was it, you were both rather smitten. And you loved, adored his teasing.

However, liking someone in the GAR is never easy. Especially a clone. Not only is it frowned upon by superiority forces, but there was always the risk of never seeing them again. And sadly, today could be one of those days.

Fives comes up to you in the Hangar before he’s set to leave for a mission. He’s already suited up in his Arc Trooper armour and if it wasn’t so bittersweet, you would say that you definitely had the hots for him right now.

“Mesh’la, we’re leaving soon.”

You smile sadly, wrapping your arms around your body as the two of you walk somewhere a little more private and out of ear and eye shot. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Your tone is meak and it crushes Fives to hear.

“I don’t know this time.” He says truthfully, stopping to stand in front of you. “But I’ll come back for you? Okay? I promise.”

It’s hard not to get emotional with goodbyes and it’s especially harder when you find yourself having some unexplainable feelings for someone. “You better.”

You take a step to him, shaking hands coming up to grip the side of his helmet before you bring his head down a little so you could plant a kiss to his helmet, just where you wished his lips would be.

“Oh mesh’la please let me take it off so I can kiss you properly.” He begs quietly, taking a hold of your waist but you shake your head with an emotional smile.

“Come back to me first… then we can kiss forever.”

☾ Howzer

Howzer came to your market stall more and more as the weeks passed by. You’re new to the city and had already taken the eye of a certain Clone Captain.

You sold an arrangement of bric-a-brac things including the odd jewel and you always managed to have something new that Howzer was interested in.

He’s walking into the market, meant to be patrolling but when in reality he just wanted to see you. But on his arrival he hears shouting followed by

some smashing. He rushes to see the commotion and is flawed when he sees you get robbed! In broad daylight!

“GET BACK HERE!” He calls after the thief and begins his mad dash to retrieve whatever was stolen and to also implement a form of punishment.

You're saddened by the events and do your best to tidy up the mess that was caused, sweeping the smashed vase on floor up. Even some of the locals helped too.

“Sorry about that, but the perpetrator has been caught and taken into custody by some of my men.” You turn to see Howzer walking towards you and you smile thankfully at him.

“Thanks for that. Not what I needed today at all.” You sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you look at the mess that you still had to clear up.

Howzer gives you a sympathetic smile yet it’s covered by his helmet so you couldn’t see it. But for some reason, you had felt it.

“I believe this belongs to you?” He holds out the stolen item, a ring.

“Yeah. They didn’t even steal it from the stall either. Yanked it straight off my finger!” You frowned at first but that soon dwindled as you let Howzer - quite sweetly you may add - slip it back on your finger.

He realises his actions may have come across a little… intimate but he saw how happy you were to have the ring back and that’s all that mattered. You both look at each other with a hint of awkwardness until you break it by saying you should close shop for the day.

He understands but is a little dejected that he didn’t get to speak to you as much as he would like. But then, you leaned across and placed a kiss to the side of his helmet. “Thanks again for the help. Means a lot.” You say softly before walking away.

Howzer is left pretty dumbfounded. He also felt slight guilt that he wouldn’t mind if he was your saviour again from getting robbed if that was the reward. Maybe he could ask you out on a date if he read your relationship with each other correctly

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Masterlist

tags: @teletraan-meets-jarvis @jennamelinda12 @nunanuggets @andyoufollowyourheart @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz z @captxin-rex x @cwarssimp @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka a @oohyesplease @megafrost4 @adriiibell @theroguesully @equalityforcats @rexandechosandwich @mustluvecho @inagalaxywickedfahaway @misogirl828 8 @ladykatakuri i @sadspring @chxpsi @alexandrisonfire @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @salaminus @by-the-primes @torchbearerkyle @tech-aficionado @in-the-crosshairs @therealnekomari @a-c-lee @autumnleaves1991-blog @tech-depression-inventory @mylifeinthetardisforever @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @lucyysthings @the-good-shittt @buddee @s1st3r @cosmic-persephone @imalovernotahater @ilovebadboys

#nahoney22 writes #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch x you #the bad batch #captain howzer #captain rex #bad batch #tbb hunter x you

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social-mockingbird · 1 year

Text

keldabe kisses are the windows to the soul (pt. 1)

(tech x reader)

pt. 2 here! pt. 3 here!

well. i wrote this before i caught up on season two of the bad batch and i’ve been procrastinating on posting it so here we are. this is what happens when you let a girl go on a rant about how pretty she thinks clones’ eyes are and additionally give her an adorable nerdy neurodivergent clone boy to crush on. there is an implied past kix x reader because i love him, but this is primarily about tech. i plan on posting a part two once i figure out how flirting works again! this is pretty much the Hurt/Comfort before the Fluffy Romance. :)

author’s rec: if i say samuel kim’s version of burying the dead how quickly will y’all eat me

________

Clones, as a general rule, are supposed to look the same.

Regulation hair, dark eyes, 1.83 meters tall. Callused hands, chiseled faces. Uniform speaking patterns.

Clones, as an unspoken rule, look nothing alike.

Part of this is their own doing—dyed hair, tattoos, dialects picked up after deployment, senses of humor. But there is also something innate to their differences. Clones are human beings, despite what Kaminoan scientists would have you believe, and humans can’t help but be unique.

Plus, it’s in the eyes.

No one could convince you differently. Back before the Order—before everything—you’d swear up and down to anyone who listened about how stupid it was that people got your boys mixed up. You understood, to a certain degree. You were a medic and you were trained to tell the difference. And the clones who refrained from tattoos or piercings or didn’t have gnarly scars did closely resemble one another.

But it took the smallest amount of effort to see how Jesse’s eyes had an almost greenish tint to them in the sun, completely different to the warm orange humor of Fives’ eyes. Echo—before everything—had the darkest eyes, nearly black even in the light, and you’d once gotten close enough to Fox to see two flecks of blue in his right eye.

Before everything, the boys had taught you the few bits of Mandalorian culture they knew. Besides some terms (and swears) in Mando’a, they’d taught you the Keldabe kiss. Bumping foreheads became a normal part of your routine when you sent them out of the medbay, even after Fives teasingly admitted to you that it usually had a more romantic connotation to it. You’d smiled, gently, and Keldabe kissed him so hard he’d fallen backwards on his butt.

After that it had become something you all looked forward to, a gentle thing so different from the harshness of war, sharing a moment of peace and eye contact before you parted. For you and Kix, working late nights in the medbay, it danced along the edge of something deeper when you kissed each other goodnight, hands and lips touching as well as foreheads.

And everything changed.

The Order. The Empire. The running and hiding and screaming and dying.

And oh, the worst part was your boys—the ones that made it—marching in uniform armor, white like bones, eyes dark and dead and colorless behind black visors.

There was no telling them apart now. The Empire had made sure of that.

So you’d jumped planets until you’d gotten a job in Cid’s Parlor on Ord Mantell, working behind the bar, mixing drinks and patching wounds, keeping your heart kind and closed, as far from Coruscant and the clones and the Empire as you dared to be. Cid was a fair boss, a strange spot of light in the neon night your world had become. She paid you well enough to cover rent and food and flowers and ignored the times you came out of the bathroom with wet cheeks and red eyes. Cid always insisted she kept you around because you could mix a flameout as well as you could set a broken wrist, and you’d saved her from several lawsuits in the past couple of months. But you knew she enjoyed having another person around.

And everything changed.

They shuffled in one by one, taking off buckets so gloriously marked and painted you were positive it was a trick of the light. But when the last one in line pulled his bucket off with the only hand he had, revealing pale skin and paler eyes, you cried out. Next moment you were holding Echo’s face in your hands, running your thumbs gently over his cheeks, tears blurring everything but the shine in his eyes, so much lighter, but still the same.

“I thought you’d died, vod,” you sobbed, bringing your foreheads together. There were scars and plugs circling his head, and a screwdriver where his right hand used to be. But this was one of your boys, untainted, back from the dead, and he was whispering Mando’a in your ear as he hugged you.

Cid was quick to pull you and the rest into the back rooms, afraid to draw too much attention. You sat with your thighs touching Echo’s, head on his shoulder, watching Cid bargain with Hunter, who looked more haggard than when you’d last met.

You knew this squad, a group of reject clones who’d formed a force near the end of the war. Wrecker had frequented your section of the medbay after his risky escapades; Hunter was always the one picking him up. They’d added a little girl, Omega, sunshiny and blonde, and from the way they all watched her you were pretty sure she was the reason they were in hiding. Omega stared unabashedly at you, big eyes inquisitive and nervous. She’d nestled up next to Wrecker on the opposite corner of the room.

The last clone in the squad caught your eye. He’d barely said a word since being unceremoniously shoved into the back rooms, instead choosing to tap furiously on a datapad. It was impossible to see his eyes through the blue glare from the datapad and his thick goggles. You remembered Wrecker rambling about Tech one day when he’d come into the medbay with a broken finger. From the way he’d been described, he was serious and shy, two traits Wrecker couldn’t understand but loved anyway. He certainly looked very serious, jaw set as he worked, shoulders hunched. He had longer fingers than most clones and seemed a bit taller, too. You guessed those were just a couple of the abnormalities that had singled him out, before everything.

Then you felt Tech’s eyes on you. He’d caught you staring and was now fully focused on your face, raising one eyebrow in confusion. Without the glare from the datapad you could see the eyes behind his goggles.

Pretty eyes. Big, golden, almost starry eyes. The rest of his face was stoic, but oh, you could read his soul through those eyes.

He was beautiful. And you hadn’t expected that one bit.

Tech blinked, confused that you kept staring without saying anything. A bit of the seriousness melted from his expression and was replaced by the cutest furrow between his eyebrows.

“Can I…help you with something?”

Echo stopped rubbing your back and glanced at you, suddenly aware of the staring contest you’d been having with his brother.

“Oh, no, sorry, just staring off into space—didn’t mean to worry you,” you managed, and Tech nodded once, returning to his work.

Echo, for his part, said very little. He only smiled, glancing at Tech, then you, a hint of his former humor glinting in his eyes.

You blushed and hid your face in his chest to avoid the question you knew he was thinking.

gosh look at him he’s so CUTE

#the bad batch #the bad batch tech #tbb #tech tbb #tech is adorable #tech x reader #tech x you #star wars #vera writes things #tech deserves a lot of love and I’m trying to figure out how to write him having game but also being shy #because like I actually have a template for that somewhat from the show but HOW #I will figure it out and it will be cute

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agoldengalaxy · 3 months

Text

I'll Take You With Me

read on Ao3

words: 2843

Leaving Pabu wasn’t really the hard part, though it had been her home for the last decade. Really, it was leaving her brothers behind. She was a part of the Bad Batch, but that wasn’t where her story ended. As she eased out of hyperspace, Omega leaned back against her seat, thinking about her goodbyes.

Surrounded by nothing but silence and the sound of familiar beeping, Omega stared out at the stars, the ones that she used to dream about when she was on Kamino and the ones she now got to see nearly every day. On her own ship with just Gonky for company, she had a fleeting moment where she wondered if she’d made the right decision.

As she eased out of hyperspace, Omega leaned back against her seat, thinking about her goodbyes.

***

“Just the kid I wanted to see!” Wrecker’s voice was still as boisterous as ever, the gray streaks in his ever-growing beard not seeming to hinder him in the slightest. He approached her where she stood by the landing pads and held out his arms. She ran into them just as she always did. Despite his age, he still lifted her with ease, spinning in a circle and holding her in a bone-crushing hug.

“Okay, okay! I can’t…breathe…!” she laughed until he relented, placing her back on her feet.

Wrecker grinned widely. “Hey, what’s that look on your face for? Did Batcher get into the food again?”

Omega hadn’t realized she’d been making any type of face, but she knew she couldn’t lie to him. She worried at her bottom lip, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Wrecker, I…need to tell you something. But you have to promise not to tell Hunter.”

His brows shot up. Clone Force 99 didn’t keep secrets from each other. They never had, as long as Omega had known them, but she had to ask anyway. He groaned, the way he did whenever he didn’t like something. “What is it?”

“I’m leaving Pabu,” she answered, somewhat feebly. “I’m going to join the rebellion. And I’m going tonight.”

“What?!” He yelled, almost loud enough to alert the entire town, and she rushed forward, placing a hand over his mouth. He still spoke, muffled by her hand. “But - But Hunter said no!”

She sighed softly. “I know what Hunter said, but he can’t stop me.” Satisfied that he wouldn’t have any more outbursts, she lowered her hand. “The rebellion needs help. They need more pilots, Wrecker. I can’t just sit around here knowing that I can help them!”

Lifting his gaze, he looked not unlike a kicked puppy. She was suddenly and violently reminded of that day, long ago, standing in an old abandoned medical wing while Wrecker apologized for almost hurting her, unable to control his body and mind. Just like that day, she reached her hand forward, though much bigger than it was years ago, and rested it along his cheekbone.

“I’ll come back,” she murmured.

Much to her surprise, Wrecker’s eyes welled with tears. “Do you promise?” he asked, leaning into the hand on his cheek.

While Hunter may have been the first to accept her, Wrecker had been the first to spend time with her, to make her laugh, to love her unconditionally. And she loved him with all her heart, though now it felt like it was breaking a little.

Managing a smile, she swiped a tear from his cheek with her thumb, and nodded. “I promise. I’ll come back as soon as I can. After all,” she said, trying to smile a little more genuinely, “we still have a tradition to keep up.”

Pulling back, she reached down into her satchel, pulling out a small bag of mantell mix. Wrecker smiled, though tearful, and they each took a handful, reminiscing about their early days together.

***

Omega sat on the beach, cross legged upon a rock as she watched the sky go from dark blue to a blaze of orange and pink. Pabu sunrises were the most beautiful she’d ever seen, and she was happy that she could see it one last time.

Batcher, laying by her side with her head in her lap, whined softly. Omega smiled, looking down to rub her head the way she liked it. “I know, girl,” she murmured. “I’m gonna miss you too.”

Quiet footsteps in the sand were soon heard behind her, and she stiffened as she heard a familiar voice. “I thought I might find you here.”

Turning over her shoulder, she gave Crosshair a sheepish grin. “Good morning.”

A small smile pulled at his lips as he began walking closer. He moved a lot slower these days, his silver beard neatly trimmed to frame his aging face. When he sat on the rock beside her, Batcher happily settled between them, licking Crosshair’s prosthetic hand.

Quiet, comfortable silence enveloped them like a hug. They had spent many mornings together on this exact rock, often doing just this; not talking, just enjoying each other’s company. Today was different, though, and they both knew it.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

Omega flinched, unable to bring herself to look at him right away. She wasn’t sure if Wrecker had told him or if he’d just pieced it together himself, but either way, she couldn’t really be all that surprised. Hesitantly, she dragged her gaze up to Crosshair’s. “Are you…mad?”

The question seemed to surprise him for just a moment. He shook his head. “No, Omega. I’m not mad.” Absent-mindedly, he began running his hand up and down Batcher’s back. “You’re no longer a child. You can make your own decisions.”

Although simple, the answer made a lump form in her throat. “What if Hunter’s right? Maybe I shouldn’t go.”

Crosshair turned to face her a little more fully, the slowly rising sun illuminating his features. He looked tan and healthy, few wrinkles lining his face. Time had been kind to him, she noted, remembering how pale he used to be, how dark the circles under his eyes had been, how gaunt his face had looked for months until he’d gotten acclimated to Pabu.

“Hunter is…” he sighed heavily. “He’s worried about you. Just like Wrecker is. Just like I am.” There was a certain weight to his words, and she held onto each one. “He… We have lost you way too many times to not be worried. However, you are an adult now. As clones, we never had the option to make our own choices. You should be able to have that option, and if you want to fight for the rebellion, who are we to stop you?”

Her eyes burned, and she turned her face away for a moment. “Thank you, Crosshair.” Dragging the heel of her hand over one of her eyes, she sighed. “You’re my family. But I know I can do more. I want to do more. The Empire needs to be destroyed.”

The corner of Crosshair’s mouth twitched upward. “If anyone can do that, it would be you.”

Omega smiled tearfully, placing her head on his shoulder. His arm came around her to support her, and they watched the sun rise higher into the Pabu sky.

***

A familiar ship landed on the dock, and Omega almost wanted to avoid it. She knew better, though, deciding to go greet them first before anyone even knew she was there. When the ramp lowered, she was already standing there, smiling widely at the silhouette that stood at the top.

“What a warm welcome!” Echo exclaimed, grinning as he descended the ramp and into Omega’s waiting arms. She smiled into the crook of his neck, wondering how long it had been since the last time she’d seen him. “How’ve you been, kid?”

“Good,” she answered, finally pulling away to get a better look at him. He looked tired, but so full of life again. Somewhere in the last few years he’d managed to grow some gray curls atop his head, a mix of gray and brown stubble poking around his chin. “I’m glad to see you.”

Echo smiled. “So am I. I hope you don’t mind I brought some friends along.”

As if on cue, four more silhouettes appeared atop the ramp, happily walking down it. Omega brightened. “Rex! Emerie!” Her gaze flicked to the other two; clones she didn’t know, each sporting wild white beards like Rex. “You must be Wolffe and Gregor.”

“Good to finally meet you, kid!” The one with a strange twinkle in his eye spoke first. That must be Gregor. “Echo here’s told us all about you!”

“So this is Pabu,” the other murmured, crossing his arms. Clearly, Wolffe was not really the friendly type.

“Lighten up, Commander,” Rex chuckled, walking over to give Omega a hug. “Sorry about them. We don’t get offworld very much these days.”

Omega smiled and returned the hug, then looked over at Emerie, who seemed to have a near permanent smile, a welcome change. Her hair was shorter now, its auburn color now streaked with gray. Once Omega pulled away from Rex, she hugged Emerie next. “Been keeping the boys out of trouble?” she teased, and Emerie chuckled.

“As much as I can.”

They all made small talk for a little while until Omega turned to Echo, knowing that he ought to know; out of all her brothers, he’d be the one to understand. “Can I talk to you?”

Without hesitating, Echo nodded, and the two waved goodbye to the other clones and began walking to the end of the dock. “What’s on your mind?”

She looked down at herself in the water, watching her reflection ripple, and sighed. “You’ve missed a lot since you were here last,” she admitted, glancing back up at him. “I’m…planning on leaving Pabu. The rebellion needs pilots.”

Echo blinked once, twice, then smiled a little, the edges of his eyes crinkling. “They’ll be lucky to have you, Omega.” Seeing her face, the smile faded. “What is it?”

“It’s just…” She sighed, hugging her arms to her chest. “When I asked Hunter last month, he freaked out. He wanted to forbid me from going. He said he didn’t want me to end up a soldier like you guys were, but…I am a soldier. I always have been.”

Biting the inside of his cheek, he seemed to mull it over. “You know how he gets,” he replied softly. “He says these things because he cares about you. He loves you more than anyone else in the galaxy.”

Her heart lurched. “I know,” she said, frustratedly adjusting her satchel strap. “But I’ve already made my choice. I’m going to leave tonight.”

“And you won’t tell him?”

A pang of guilt struck her heart. Echo’s gaze on her suddenly feels overwhelmingly heavy. “I can’t tell him. I can’t hurt him.”

His hand found its way onto her shoulder. She leaned into the touch. “Do what you have to do,” he said, incredibly gentle, “but Hunter will understand, someday. Until then, you have my full support.”

Feeling her eyes burn again, she lurched forward to hug him one more time, and he held her close until she didn’t feel so weak anymore.

***

The night was silent when she headed down toward the cave, stepping on her toes so as to not make any extra noise. She looked on at the mountain, taking in the planet that had been her home for so long, and continued to move forward. Some rocks tumbled as she descended, and as she approached the light, she felt calm.

When the cave illuminated, Batcher barked, and there sat Hunter, tense as always.

“Time hasn’t dulled all of my senses,” he joked, and she couldn’t tell if he really did find out on his own or if Wrecker had caved and told him, but she supposed she couldn’t really be upset right now. Echo was right. Hunter deserved one final goodbye.

“I made my choice, Hunter. I want to do more.”

“And we want to keep you safe.” His voice shook a little as he spoke, and she was reminded of their argument a month ago. She didn’t see Hunter get emotional very much in their long time of knowing each other. That argument was one of those times.

She smiled slightly. “You have. But I’m not a kid anymore. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You’re our kid, Omega. You always will be.”

Hunter sounded defeated, like he knew he couldn’t win this discussion. All she could do was try and ease the pain. “I’m ready.”

Huffing a sigh, he stood up to face her. “I know you are.” His shoulders were hunched now, and she stood taller than him, when once, she only was the height of his stomach. The moonlight accentuated his aging face, lined with wrinkles and a salt and pepper beard, his dark familiar eyes full of exhaustion and sadness. “But I’m not.”

Trying to ignore the fire in her chest, she rushed forward to hug him. They held each other for way too long, and when she pulled back, she told him to look after their brothers, even though she knew it should be the other way around.

If she stayed here with him any longer, she wouldn’t ever leave. So she took a deep breath, scratched Batcher’s head one last time, and rushed toward the ramp. “Omega.” She stepped back, looking down at the man who raised her, his eyes shining in the lamp light. “If you ever need us, we’ll be there.”

She smiled a little. Hesitating a moment, she gripped the doorway a little tighter. “I love you, Hunter.”

Clearly blindsided, his lips parted, a shimmering tear rolling down his cheek. Despite it, he smiled. “I love you too, kid.”

With that, she rushed inside, gave him one last salute through the window, and took off into the night.

***

Omega opened her eyes, finding herself sitting in a seat on the Marauder.

Blue hyperspace light filled the cockpit, and she sprung to her feet, eyes darting around in shock. Her brothers weren’t here, but that wasn’t the only weird thing. This ship had been destroyed years ago. How was she here?

She looked down at the controls, then turned around slowly, walking toward her old room. She managed to think, through her haze, that she was much too tall for it now. Everything was how they had left it, except…

Her hand drifted toward the blaster on her hip, turning around to point it at whoever had appeared behind her, and her heart stopped. The blaster clattered to the floor as her hand flew to cover her mouth.

“Tech?”

And there he was, just as she remembered him, standing by the wall. He still wore his armor, his helmet under his arm, his goggles somehow on his face despite the fact that they should be in the cockpit of her ship. He reached up to adjust them, smiling slightly.

“Hello, Omega,” he responded, in a voice she hadn’t heard in so long. Her heart ached like it had never ached before. “My, you’ve gotten tall.”

Her eyes welled with tears as she choked out a sob, smiling. “You haven’t seen me in a long time.”

“No,” he agreed. “I do apologize for that.”

“It’s not your fault,” she choked again, like every word was a chore. She knew this wasn’t real. She knew it was a dream. But she wanted to stay here as long as she could. Daring to take a step forward, she cleared her throat. “I’m gonna be a pilot, Tech.”

His eyes softened behind the yellow tinted glass. “You must have been practicing a lot while I’ve been away.”

Omega let out a sound between a laugh and a sob. “Yes. I’ve perfected the Tech Turn.”

“I look forward to seeing it.” He hesitated, then placed a hand on her shoulder. Upon discovering that she could feel it, she launched forward to hug him, holding on as tightly as she could.

“How will you see it?” she whispered, almost inaudibly.

He seemed to think it over for a moment, then pulled her away so he could look in her eyes. “Because,” he said, matter-of-factly, “I’m always with you.”

With a start, Omega woke up.

She was sitting in her own cockpit, with Gonky honking beside her and holding up a tissue box. She slowly touched her wet cheek, then reached forward to grab a tissue. “Thank you,” she chuckled as she wiped her face. “I’m okay. Sorry for falling asleep on you.”

Glancing toward the window, she could see Yavin IV, the planet that would change her life. As feelings of unease began to rise in her chest, her gaze drifted toward the goggles on her dashboard. She smiled wistfully, sitting up straight.

Omega took a deep breath, taking the controls in her hands. “Okay, Gonky. It’s time. Are you ready?” Upon receiving a honk of approval, she grinned and pressed forward, knowing that she was taking each of her brothers along with her on this new adventure.

She couldn’t ask for anything more.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb #omega tbb #wrecker tbb #crosshair tbb #hunter tbb #echo tbb #tech tbb #waaaaaaaaa I still miss them so much #my post #my writing #agoldengalaxy

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