#because multichapters scare the crap out of me

[barrel-crow-n]

Sitting in bed doing nothing as if I don't have a multi chapter fic to cowrite, two flirt!Kaz fics waiting in my notes app, a show canon divergence au where Kaz performs magic to get into Os Alta with the troupe to plan, a dad!Kaz fic where Kaz adopts a little girl off the streets of the Barrel to continue planning, a pre-canon prison fic to start, and a heart-to-heart Kaz&Jesper fic plan to continue working on.

[lovingrosewho]

Fake Dating (pt. 5)

Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4

It’s finally here! The last part of this mini-series! The longest part as well! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, thanks to everyone who reads, who comments, who asks to be tagged, you really can’t even imagine how much it means to me, the whole 6.7k total words of this fic are already worth it just because of you! Any feedback is highly welcomed :-) Did you like it? Would you have preferred for it to be just 2-3 longer chapters? Were the characters ok? Any thoughts you have in mind 🥰 Prompts “Enjoying the view?” and “I can’t believe you are actually wearing my clothes” taken from this post by @sinnabonka 💕

MULTICHAPTER

Pairing: Crowley x Reader

Rating: T. Fluff

Word count: 2k

Summary: Sam and Dean Winchester need your help with a case, which involves pretending to date the King of Hell.

Warnings: none

Sam’s look is pure confusion, whereas Dean’s...

“What the hell?!” he exclaims. You can tell the only thing stopping him from punching Crowley is that the shock of the image before him has glued his feet to the floor.

“Now we’re in trouble” Crowley jokes lowly. You sigh and roll your eyes in boredom, standing up from the couch and walking over to Sam who is holding your coat with one hand and a gun on the other.

“Thank you” you say more politely than usual so they can note the irony “I thought I’d might die of hypothermia”.

Dean is still staring at Crowley, the engines inside his head must be running a thousand miles per hour deciding if to beat the crap out of him or thank him for keeping you alive. Crowley walks to you, noting Dean’s look and frankly, not caring, lifting your face up in his hands.

“I’ll be seeing you around, kitten” he mutters before vanishing in front of you, leaving you to deal with the family drama. You turn around to see the Winchesters looking at you expectantly, waiting for an explanation you’re not willing to give them yet, so you walk past them and towards the car.

The ride is tense, you’re in utter quiet, back on the passengers seat. You can see how Dean holds the wheel angrily, he won’t even let Sam put any music, even though the younger brother is just looking for the right words to say.

“I can’t believe it” Dean finally speaks, after a long-ass half hour of silence, and you snap.

“Oh so now you can’t believe it? This was your idea!” you reclaim yelling.

“Guys...” Sam interrupts taking a deep breath but none of you listen to him.

“Oh well excuse me for making you make out with the freaking King of Hell!” Dean yells as well, ignoring Sam.

The whole ride goes like that, screaming and recriminating at each other, Sam puts his earbuds on, massaging his temples with his fingers as well, praying to God you get to the bunker quickly so everyone can take some time off before discussing the whole Crowley and you matter.

After about fifteen minutes, you do exactly that, arriving to the bunker, throwing your heels on the War Room, not caring about breaking something, storming into your bedroom next, slamming the door with a bang. Dean’s about to go after you but Sam stops him, so he only turns up the warding as far as it can go.

You spend hours tossing and turning in bed, just to get up, walk in circles like a caged lion, and back to bed.

At about 4am or so, you can’t stand the feeling anymore and get out of your room on your tiptoes, listening to Sam and Dean snore through their doors, you take it as a cue to sneak out of the bunker as quietly as possible. When you’re on the outside highway, you call Crowley.

He appears in front of you not two rings into the call, with his hands inside his pockets and an intrigued look.

“So?” he asks heading your way slowly “How did the dynamic duo take it?”

“Not good” you confirm shrugging, extending your arms to hug him. He embraces you firmly, breathing in your scent.

“I’m sorry I left like that, but you understand, the hardy boys over there would have killed me had I stayed any longer. I tried to come into your bedroom but for some reason I couldn’t” he tells you and you nod.

“Yeah no, it would’ve been worse handling all that stuff with you there. And yes they... Dean turned up the warding” you explain.

“Of course” he says in a tired way, not letting you go.

“I’ll turn it down, they’re already asleep” you say, separating from him and taking his hand instead, conducting him to the door of the bunker, but to your very shabby surprise, Sam and Dean are waiting for you inside, Dean’s arms crossed across his chest and Sam’s mouth in a grimace, giving you an apologetic look.

“Dean, I don’t have time for this” you say going towards the warding. Crowley’s semblance appears calm and even a bit amused, but you can feel his hand slightly tensed in yours.

“Me neither, sweetheart. It’s late, we’re tired, and oh, I already lowered the warding” he says mockingly. You turn to him again, exasperated.

“Alright, (Y/N), we just want to understand,” Sam says, stopping another loud argument from happening “what the hell?”

You sigh, about to recite hour to hour what happened, but Crowley lets go of your hand swiftly and moves it to your shoulder, speaking up.

“It wasn’t her fault” he says, looking at both the Winchesters one at a time “If you’re about to scold anyone, Dean, it’s me, not her”.

“Damn right I am” Dean says, taking a few steps forward intimidatingly, but Sam, as the true moderator he is, raises one hand in annoyance as a heads up for Dean to stay where he is.

“Okay, then, Crowley, man, what the hell?” Sam asks, genuinely bewildered “We leave her with you for a few hours and-and, you’re kissing her?”

You can tell by Crowley’s look and stand, he’s doing his absolute best not to retort with some, witty-out of the place, comment. Since you’re still on top of the stairs, he snaps you both down to be leveled with the Winchesters.

“I like him” you say before Crowley’s even able to respond himself “I love him”.

Now the three men are looking at you like you’ve lost your mind.

“And I love her too” Crowley admits as well, still looking at you taken aback by your words.

“But you’re a demon” a stunned Sam interrupts the scene “Can you even love?”

“Yes, Moose” Crowley rolls his eyes “Apparently, since you two morons dosed me with human blood till derogation, my whole demon-system has... gone soft. As you very eloquently put it”.

You chuckle slightly, knowing that’s just partially true, even before they sedated him with that, he was already very fond of you.

Dean hasn’t said a word nor moved while Sam has been doing all the talking, but suddenly, he walks towards you and encircles you in a hug, kissing the top of your head.

“Dean?” you call unsure about this unexpected behavior.

“I know you know what you’re doing kiddo” he says almost inaudibly “I just... worry too damn much about you, but you can take better care of yourself than either Sam or me can”.

You feel a single tear rolling down your cheeks and landing on Dean’s shoulder. He separates to look at you, his grip on your forearms, a persistent form of protection and reassurance.

“Is this really what you want?” he asks carefully “Cause if it is... I mean I hate it. But I understand, I won’t get on your way. As long as he doesn’t hurt you. ‘Cause if he does...”

“You’ll smite me till beyond hell itself? Yes, Squirrel, we’ve heard that one before” Crowley interrupts him. Dean’s grip tenses on you, but he takes a deep breath, likely counts till ten, and looks affirmatively at Crowley “Good. Now that we could work this out like the highly functioning enemies we are, may I have (Y/N) back?”

“This is what I want” you say to Dean “It’s my decision”.

Dean nods, resigned, hugs you one last time and lets you go to Crowley’s side, holding his hand.

“Take care” Sam tells you waving his hand in the air. Dean is obsessively biting the nail of his thumb, probably regretting the choice of letting you go off with him, but it’s too late, Crowley vanishes the two of you and in a fraction of a second, you’re standing in his chambers in hell.

“That went... awfully pleasant” Crowley declares with both his eyebrows arched, just before he pulls you to him, still holding your hand and grabbing the one that was missing, putting carefully aside a lock of hair and placing it behind your ear as he looks at you in the eyes.

“Mmmh” you hum in response, throwing your arms on top of his shoulders and encircling them behind his neck, swiftly rocking you both right and left “Dean’s probably already regretting his decision”.

Crowley chuckles and nods in agreement until you yawn.

“Oh, kitten, I forgot” he says separating slightly from you, holding your face in his hands “You haven’t slept in... almost 24 hours”.

You yawn again just when yoo were about to retort.

“Say no more” Crowley says with a grin, clicking his fingers, dressing you both in satined pajamas. You laugh loudly.

“Of course you would sleep in satin” you mock giving him a playful look, taking his hand again, making him follow you to the bed, decorated with black gold and red velvet details.

“If you think you’re making me sleep with those, frankly horrific, band t-shirts you wear, well darling, you’re out of your mind” he affirms, making you laugh.

“What scares me the most is you noticing exactly what I sleep in” you tease getting under the covers, making room for Crowley to get in next to you. He rolls his eyes at your statement.

“You’re not exactly the dress-up type, darling” he teases equally, following your lead and getting under the covers with you, turning to his side to face you “I’ve seen you several times walking around in the bunker in those same t-shirts, a pair of pajama shorts and flip-flops. Which, by the way, you’re never making me wear either. Ever”.

“Yet” you giggle “They’re comfortable. And admit it, I look good on them”.

Crowley hums, extending an arm across your waist, drawing you closer to him.

“Do demons even sleep?” you ask when you feel drowsiness tugging at your eyelids, adjusting your head in Crowley’s chest, letting him cuddle you.

“We don’t, but we can if we want, for a few hours” he assures you “You sleep well, kitten, I’m not going anywhere”.

You nod sheepishly and begin to drift in the soft surge of your sleep.

When you wake up the next morning, almost afternoon, you find Crowley right beside you, still heavy on sleep, gentle breaths coming out of him as his chest moves lightly up and down.

You get up quietly, tip-toeing to his wardrobe on the other side of the room, losing the top part of the satin pajama and picking one of his suit shirts instead, putting it on, fastening only the three buttons of the center. After a few minutes, Crowley wakes up.

“Enjoying the view?” you ask brightly, turning your head towards him for a moment, watching him shift slightly up to a position where his arm is bent and his head is resting on his hand.

“What are you doing there, kitten?” he questions softly, his voice still husky with sleep “Come back to bed”.

You turn around fully this time and he seems to be more awaken suddenly.

“Everything all right?” you interrogate.

“Yes-very much so. It’s just... I can’t believe you are actually wearing my clothes” he exclaims, the corners of his mouth slightly lift “I don’t expect you to know how much that shirt cost”.

You grin widely, walking to the bed slowly, throwing yourself to it afterwards, not taking your eyes off of him.

“No. Does it matter?” you ask again, tone still teasing. He shakes his head.

“Not at all. It’s yours” he states, rolling on top of you, placing his hands at your sides, lowering to kiss you deep and passionate.

“You know I’m eventually gonna need to get up and get back to hunting, right?” you mumble, running your fingers through his beard and lips.

“As much as it pains me, yes. That’s why I’m intending to keep you here for as long as I can” he says, nuzzling his nose in your hair, inhaling your scent.

“I could do with that” you tell him happily, entangling your legs behind his hips and your arms in his neck, kissing him once again. Swaying, tender lips across his.

The End

MASTERLIST // TAG LIST: @enby-thesbian @agent-smulder

[eryiss]

Fraxus Week 2020: Day 5 - Friends To Lovers

Summary: After a crappy post-college first year, Laxus jumped at the opportunity to leave town for a week for a road trip with his friends. He intended it just to be a week away with his friends, but when he meets an unfamiliar stranger, the vacation turns into something much more. [Fraxus Multichapter]

This is the fifth part of my Fraxus Week admissions, hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus​. This year I’ve made the prompts into a single multi-chapter fic. You can see all the chapters in the Masterpost linked below. Hope you enjoy.

You can read this on Fanfiction, Archive of our Own, and under the cut. Read the other chapters from this masterlist.

Chapter Five – Talks at The Canyon

"Okay, what is up with you two?"

Laxus looked towards Bickslow with a guilty expression. He had hoped that he'd hidden the awkwardness between Freed and himself better, but obviously he'd failed. In retrospect, Laxus probably should have been suspicious when Bickslow insisted that Freed be the one to fill the RV with gas this time, rather than doing it himself. Still, just because Bickslow knew about how awkward he was behaving, it didn't mean Laxus had to explain why.

"What d'you mean?" He asked, voice a little too timid for his liking.

"I mean you two slunk out of the motel room this morning and wouldn't even look at each other, and you've not spoken to each other all day," Bickslow listed off, and Laxus realised they really hadn't hidden their awkwardness well. "So what exactly happened?"

"It's nothing," Laxus insisted.

"Bull crap," Bickslow snapped. "Look, if you two had a fight or something you can't keep it a secret. Ever's gonna get it out of ya if I don't, so you might as well tell me now."

That was probably true, both of his friends were annoyingly talented at getting information out of someone when they needed to. But Laxus felt it was probably for the best that he kept the events of last night to himself, and accomplished that by looking straight ahead out of the front window in a childish attempt to bore Bickslow to a point where he would leave him alone. Bickslow raised both of his eyebrows in disbelief at Laxus' actions, waiting.

They both sat in silence for a few moments, and Laxus almost thought that he had won. Bickslow let out a huff of annoyance, and Laxus practically prayed that the man would leave him alone so that he wouldn't have to relive what he'd done.

"Laxus," Bickslow said in a slightly pleading voice; he too was being childish then. "We're gonna be at the canyon today. It's gonna be really awkward hiking around a big hole if you two are arguing. I can't even make big hole jokes because I'll be scared of making things worse somehow. Just tell me."

"It's…" Laxus thought for a moment. "I did something stupid."

There. That was something. Perhaps it would placate the man.

"Stupid how?"

"Just stupid," Laxus sighed, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

From the corner of his eye, Laxus could see that Bickslow was looking at him with more concern than interest now. Maybe it was best to tell him; the guy was pretty sympathetic when he wanted to be. Hell, the only reason they were on this road trip was because he wanted his friends to feel better. Maybe he could offer Laxus some advice.

"I kissed him last night," Laxus admitted with an exhale.

"Oh," Bickslow said, and he was clearly not expecting that. "And… he didn't kiss back. He pushed you off?"

"No, he kissed back," Laxus closed his eyes as he spoke.

"And that's bad because…"

"We got drunk, raided the mini-bar," Laxus confessed, and he saw Bickslow's brow furrow at the admission, but he didn't say anything. "We watched crap TV and then started talking. And he told me that his ex'd cheated on him, that's why they broke up, and that he's feeling crappy. And I was kinda buzzed, y'know, I kinda…"

"Kissed him?" Bickslow finished.

"Yeah, basically," Laxus sighed. "I mean I said some shit about how I would have treated him if I were him, and how he didn't deserve to get cheated on. Then I kissed him, and he kissed me back."

Bickslow seemed to be thinking, as his gaze went a little distant. This had always been something that Laxus had appreciated about the other man; even despite his hyper personality, he was actually quite a thoughtful person, and Laxus knew that he was thinking of the best thing to say. And any advice that he might have would probably be helpful, even if the feeling of waiting for him to say something was making Laxus feel sick.

"Right," Bickslow eventually said. "Well, kissing a guy while drunk isn't your best move, it's probably not your worst either. I mean if he kissed ya back then he's probably interested, and he's been stealing glances as much as you have. What happened after?"

"I pulled away, went back to my bed, turned my back on him and pretended I was asleep," Laxus muttered.

"Laxus," Bickslow snapped, and slapped his bicep.

"I ain't proud of it," Laxus tried to defend himself. "But it was just like, when I kissed him I got sober. Like someone poured cold water over me. And I realised that I barely know the guy, that he just got cheated on, and that the last thing he's gonna want is some random guy kissing him. and then being trapped with the same guy for days."

"You think maybe he might have had an opinion on that?" Bickslow asked incredulously.

"I panicked," Laxus groaned. "I was embarrassed. I felt like I took advantage of him or something. Shutting myself off seemed like the best thing to do."

"Well you're gonna have ta talk about it, baby," Bickslow said soothingly. "Because if you don't, you're gonna end up regretting it, and the rest of the trip is gonna be really fucking painful for us all. Especially the two of you."

"I know," Laxus sighed.

He glanced out of the window to see that Evergreen and Freed were talking outside, no doubt having a similar conversation, and Laxus deflated slightly. He would talk to the other man, because he really would regret it if he didn't. It had been quite some time since Laxus had felt like this with a man, and he knew better than to just throw the feeling away because of embarrassment, and that he shouldn't give up.

And when Freed happened to glance up, and they caught each other's eyes before both turning away, Laxus knew that he had to talk to him soon.

~~~

"It's erm," Bickslow began. "It's kinda breath-taking."

"It is," Evergreen said, and both Freed and Laxus nodded in agreement.

They had arrived at the Grand Canyon, and had been given the unhindered view of the landscape. They could see it all, and the cloudless blue sky only added to the majesty of the place. There was something oddly humbling about the view, as if it were putting everything into perspective for Laxus, and the blonde couldn't help but release that his embarrassment about the previous night was so utterly stupid that he physically cringed at himself.

He had turned his back on the man. Literally looked away from him because of his stupid decision to kiss him. He had acted like a damn kid in a crappy high school TV show. It all seemed so pathetic now, Laxus could barely handle it.

His gaze fell on Freed again.

God was he handsome.

"Well, we ain't getting any younger, so we better start walkin' if we wanna get around the place by the end of the day," Bickslow proclaimed. "Come on Freedo Justineo."

"Oh please don't start calling me that," Freed requested, and Laxus jolted at the sound of his voice.

"You and I are gonna forge ahead and leave those assholes in the dust," Bickslow grinned as he slung an arm over Freed's shoulder. "Because Ever is stupid and she decided to bring only heeled shoes to a damn canyon, and Laxus is a muscle head who doesn't have any stamina and he'll be exhausted by the time we're out of the parking lot. So off we go, into the pit."

Bickslow was marching off, essentially dragging Freed with him, before the man could make any real complaints. That left Laxus with Evergreen, who was looking at him expectantly. When he glanced down, he noticed she was wearing flat shoes.

"Those ain't heels," He commented.

"So you're not completely stupid," Evergreen said, a little harsher than Laxus liked.

"What's that tone for?" Laxus asked indignantly.

"You kissed him, didn't say anything for the rest of the night and then pretended to be asleep," She huffed, crossing her arms. "You even turned the damn lamp off. What were you thinking?"

"I was drunk," Laxus tried to explain.

"You've been drunk a lot of times around me and you've never been so stupid before," She chastised him, and Laxus had half a mind to walk off. He would have, had Evergreen not been right. "I get that you might have panicked, or that you even regretted it for some reason, but is that really the best thing you could think of doing. Just ignoring him isn't going to get rid of the problem, if anything it's going to put a massive focus on it because of how much effort you're putting into ignoring it."

"I know," Laxus groaned. "And I'm gonna talk to him about it. Gonna apologise to him."

"And say what exactly?" Evergreen asked.

Laxus hadn't actually thought of that. After speaking with Bickslow, the rest of the trip to the canyon had been spent convincing himself that he had the courage to speak to the man despite the bubble of nervous embarrassment that filled him when he so much as looked at him. He had been so focused on getting the courage to say anything to him, he had almost forgotten that what he said to him had to be meaningful and impactful.

Evergreen apparently saw the struggle Laxus was going through, and her posture changed to something less annoyed. She placed a hand on Laxus' arm in a comforting way, patting it softly. Laxus was glad she didn't seem angry at him anymore.

"What am I gonna say to him?" Laxus mused aloud.

"I don't know," Evergreen said carefully. "But I think that, before you start thinking about that, you need to be sure of what you actually want with Freed. If you wanna be friends with him, go out with him, never see him after the week ends. Because if you don't know that then talking about it isn't going to help anything."

Laxus knew that. He knew he had to know what he wanted. And he basically did know what he wanted. But he probably couldn't have that, because of one big problem.

"The guy was just cheated on-"

"I know," Evergreen interrupted. "But I'm not asking you what the gallant thing to do is. I'm asking you what you, Laxus Dreyar, want with Freed. What the ideal end to the week would be for you."

Laxus sighed to himself. "I'd wanna be with him, I guess. But I don't have a clue if he's ready or not-"

"That's his problem, Laxus," Evergreen assured him. "If he wants to start dating someone or he doesn't, that's nothing to do with you. But if he is ready, and I think that he might be, then you need to let him know you're interested. He's not broken, and he's not fragile. If anything he's pissed off, partly about being cheated on and partly because he knew exactly why you closed yourself off last night."

"You think?" Laxus asked, deflating.

"He's a smart guy, Laxus. Smartest one here," Evergreen shrugged. "Look, I'm not saying that you have to have a wedding planned out or anything, but I think it'll be good for you to think about what Freed might be for you. And now's as good a time as any to think, because as nice as this place is, walking around it is going to get very boring very quickly. So just take today, think about what you want, and think about how you're going to tell Freed about it. The rest is up to the two of you, okay?"

"Okay," Laxus nodded.

He already knew, in his gut, what he wanted from Freed. Now he just had to convince himself that it was the right thing for the both of them.

~~~

It was dark now, but they were still at the canyon. Multiple lights illuminated the landscape, and stars shimmered down on them all. Laxus looked at the RV with a small amount of trepidation, nerves bubbling in his stomach as he walked forward.

All day he'd been thinking about what Evergreen and Bickslow had spoken to him about. He'd thought about what he might want with Freed – if it could be something serious or casual, if it was just a crush he could get over or something bigger than that, if he could get past the embarrassment of the previous night and get over his pride to explain that sometimes, when it came to his emotions, he was a fucking idiot. His entire mind had been a mess of possibilities, and most of the day Laxus had felt almost sick.

And then an image stuck him, and image of a possible future. He thought about him and Freed, watching TV together in a similar way they had the night before. They were sharing a pizza, and when Freed leaned up and kissed him, Laxus had kissed back happily.

After that, more possibilities hit him. Each just as tempting as the last.

The two of them at the beach. Freed would have been reading for hours, and Laxus would have slung him over his shoulder and taken him to the water, making some joke about how he wanted the man's attention.

Or the first time it snowed in Magnolia one year. They might have gone to a Christmas market, eating the Russian food that was served and enjoying themselves.

Or a lazy breakfast together, eating in Laxus' kitchen side by side as they struggled to keep their eyes open.

It was then that Laxus had been left with no doubt, and all his questions had been answered. He didn't want something casual with Freed, he wanted a full and loving relationship. It wasn't just a crush, it was more akin to infatuation, and Laxus didn't care that he had only known the man for a short time. And he didn't give a damn about his pride because Freed was worth more than Laxus' dignity. And hopefully, if Freed knew that Laxus wasn't just an emotionally incompetent idiot, he might give him a chance to make his desires come true.

All he had to do was approach the man.

They had all decided that, after spending the day hiking, they would spend the night at the canyon's parking lot. As the night was still warm, Freed had chosen that he would read his novel outside. Well, that's what he claimed, what he actually meant was he was going to read on the rooftop of the RV. Taking a breath to steady himself, Laxus took the ladder in hand and climbed it.

"Hey," He greeted, and Freed looked towards him. "Mind if I join you?"

"By all means," Freed made a motion towards Laxus.

After stepping off the small ladder, Laxus shifted so that he was sitting beside Freed. If the man looked radiant in the sunlight, he looked positively gorgeous in the moonlight. The darker and cooler colours seemed to just accent everything that was perfect about the man. From his striking features to his slightly paler than normal skin, it all seemed to be just a little more beautiful in the moonlight. It made the conversation Laxus wanted to have both harder to start, and more important to have as soon as possible.

"Look, I just wanted to say, I'm sorry for what happened last night," Laxus began. "Not that I kissed ya. Well, kind of actually. Not that I'm sorry about kissing ya, more that I'm sorry I kissed ya in the way that I did. That's not what I'm trying to say. What I'm trying to say… what I need to say is…"

Laxus cussed himself silently. He had known what he had wanted to say, how come it was so hard to get the actual words out.

"I think what you need is a minute to gather your thoughts a little better," Freed said, a pleasant teasing tone in his voice.

"Yeah," Laxus nodded. "Sorry, I thought that I knew what I was gonna say. Turns out I don't."

Freed chuckled, placing the book down and turning so he was looking at Laxus face on, sitting cross legged with a patient expression on his face. Laxus wasn't entirely sure that he had earned such an expression, given how he had treated Freed the night before, but Evergreen had insisted that Freed understood his actions and wasn't angry at him. Well, nothing that he couldn't fix if he acted quickly at least.

"Okay, what I meant to say was, I'm sorry I kissed you in the way I did last night," Laxus began after thinking for a moment. "We were both drunk, and my judgment wasn't great. You had just been pretty emotionally vulnerable with me, and for some fucking reason I thought it was the right time to try and kiss you. And I'm sorry about that."

"You don't need to-"

"I do," Laxus cut him off, making eye contact with him. "Look, I ain't good with feelings and crap. I normally get panicked and awkward, and I apparently sometimes do stupid stuff like this. And the only reason I can get away with it is because people call me out on my bullshit. You seem like the kinda guy who can do that, so don't be kind when you don't need to."

"Asking me not to show restraint can be a dangerous thing, Laxus," Freed said with a chuckle in his tone. "But I understand that. I have a habit of closing myself off and not discussing things. Bickslow's words, not mine."

"They been givin' you the third degree today too?" Laxus asked.

"They're annoyingly good at it, aren't they?" Freed laughed, before smiling at Laxus pleasantly. "I do forgive you, Laxus. Admittedly, ignoring each other isn't what I would have wanted the end of our first kiss to be, but I can't deny I've done idiotic things when overwhelmed. And I understand it, so don't worry yourself about it."

"Thanks," Laxus nodded a little.

He looked towards the other man, and felt something of an ache in his stomach. The fact Freed could forgive him in such an understanding way made Laxus feel warm inside in a way he couldn't describe. In Laxus' past attempts at relationships, often his clumsy attempts at understanding and dealing with his emotions had left to arguments. Rightfully so, Laxus knew that in hindsight. But the fact that Freed was willing to understand that it hadn't been malicious was something of a comfort that Laxus couldn't help but crave more of.

"There's a little more," Laxus confessed. "It's erm, well, the reason I acted like I did after I kissed you is that, well, I didn't just feel like I'm taking advantage of you. It felt like I kinda, I dunno, wasted my first kiss with ya," Laxus blushed, and averted his gaze. "I don't… the kiss wasn't just a drunk impulse. It's erm… it's something I wanted to do while sober but didn't have the balls."

God, he really needed to get better at talking.

"And the fact I kissed ya at such a bad time, kinda scared me. Because if I was thinking I'm a dickhead for kissing you at that time, I thought you'd think the same and-"

Freed interrupted Laxus' ramblings by leaning over, cupping Laxus' chin with his thumb and finger, and bringing his closer. Laxus' eyes widened, and a moment later he was being kissed.

It was magical.

Laxus' memory of their drunken kiss was hazy at best, and was overshadowed by the regret and embarrassment. But in this moment, he felt engrossed by Freed. As if the two of them were the only people of importance, and he was almost overwhelmed by the sensation of Freed. The movement of Freed's lips against his chapped ones, the calloused hand on his thigh Freed was using to keep balance, the sight of the man's eyes closing softly in a fluttering motion.

At the movement, Laxus closed his own eyes and allowed himself to be dragged further into the lure of Freed's kiss. It was perfect.

When they eventually pulled apart, they both were a little breathless. They kept their faces only an inch apart, and Laxus was blushing slightly. He had kissed Freed while sober. Freed, the man who had captured Laxus' attention and seemed reluctant to let it go, had just kissed him. And it had been perfect.

"Does this mean that-" Laxus began, but Freed shushed him with a smile.

"We can discuss things after the trip is done," Freed promised. "Right now, I think we've earned the right to enjoy each other."

Freed was kissing him before he could argue. Not that he would have anyway.

[musicanddancingthroughlife]

Thunderstorm -- Shklance

K this is a little late in coming, sorry. it’s one i started ages ago and only just now finished and it is absolutely not beta read so i apologize again, this time in advance for how poorly it’s probably been written. um in other news my boyfriend and i have been talking about marriage and so in addition to everything else stressing me out we’re planning a wedding and by we i mean me and not him and so im just a mess honestly. anyway have a story. and please feel free to send me other prompts please? I’m almost officially out of finished fics, i just have that one shklance series i was kind of working on, an unfinished shklance sugarbaby au and some klance piece that looks like its going to be a multichapter fic except im scared of commitment so now im ignoring it lol. I also have a klance version of this fic that i might finish and post in the future. im also looking to start on a MCU stevetony or stevebucky or stuckony fic if i ever get my crap together *shrug* i think that’s everything i wanted to say so im shutting up, hope you enjoy :)

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

Thunderstorm              

Thunder cracked ahead, low and booming, threatening. Lance whine and curled up into an even smaller ball, a seemingly impossible task, ye tin his desperation, he managed. He tried to simultaneously clamp a hand dover his mouth and cover his ears with his hands, torn between muffling himself and the terrifying noise from outside. His heart ached. He had once loved thunderstorms – loved the rain, the petrichor, the sight of the angry sea, with its rolling waves, the way the storm seemed to reach deep inside him and tug on his own heart. Snuggling into bed with his parents as a child, and later with all his siblings as he comforted them through the storm as his parents once did for him. But that was before Voltron.

              Before the whole war had started, before all the battles and deaths. Before the fear. Before the explosion.

              After so many months out in space, they’d finally returned to earth, only to encounter a raging thunderstorm. Faced with such dangerous conditions (Allura specifically seemed nervous about flying through the storm) and combined with everyone’s exhaustion (thanks to several skirmishes along the way, and everyone’s lack of sleep from excitement at being so close to home), it was decided that they would each land and wait out the storms in their own lions. Thought, Lance was the only one both awake and alone. Or maybe it just felt like that. But, no, the comms were on. Like any of them would allow anything less, not after finally getting Shiro and Keith back.

              Even over the storm, Lance could make out Hunk’s snoring, so he was out. Pidge’s video feed showed she’d finally knocked out, too. Allura and Coran in Blue were holding a quiet conversation, and though Lance couldn’t hear or see them, he knew Shiro and Keith were sheltered together in Black. Another squeak left him before he groaned again, a few tears slipping from the corners of his eyes. Keith was an entirely different problem. Honestly, would it have killed him to maybe just say hi when he first came back? It wasn’t like Lance was asking for a full-blown makeout session (not that he would’ve said no), he just wanted a hi. Maybe a hug. But noooo. Shiro was always the priority for Keith. Not that Lance could blame him. If it ever came down to him or Shiro, he’d choose Shiro, too. But still… Whatever. It was fine. It was going to be fine. He was going to keep quiet and keep still and when this storm ended he’d clean up and bounce back, ready to get back to Earth with his friends. Moving on. Probably never see Shiro or Keith again, when they went their separate ways, so that’s fine. It was fine. It was –

              There was another crack of thunder and Lance yelped again, sobbing pathetically as he lay helpless on the floor. His comms were muted, thank goodness, but he couldn’t help wishing that the others would care enough to come for him and help him, comfort him in some way. But this was fine. He was going. To. Be. Fine.

              “Lance?” Lance choked down on another sob, hardly daring to believe the whisper he thought he’d heard. No, he’d imagined it. Because he’s just that desperate. And pathetic. Right.

              “Lance.” Lance cracked his eyes open and was able to see the outline of Keith’s face in the dim lights from within Red.

              “Keith?” Damn. His voice was hoarse. So quiet. So pathetic. Ugh. Keith didn’t seem to notice, though, so Lance was grateful to him for that.

              “Red felt uneasy, like something was wrong. She’s not used to dealing with emotions, I think,” Keith tried to joke, but Lance only felt guilt settle heavier on him.

              “Oh. Sorry. I’ll uh. I’ll try to keep it down then, ya?” Lance chuckled, though it came out more like a muffled sob, and more tears fell from his eyes, slipping down his face and across his cheek uncomfortably. He shifted to sit up, wiping the tears off as he did so.

              “Hey, no, that’s not what he meant.” And holy heck was that Shiro? Lance peered up carefully, amazed that not only had Keith come, but Shiro had, too. He saw Keith frown, concern shining in his eyes. Why was he concerned? Lance was fine. Just then, Red growled, sending a shiver through both boys.

              “I didn’t mean that you should hide it, Lance,” Keith continued. “What’s wrong? I thought… I thought you loved the rain. We figured you would’ve been thrilled to spend some time here, so why’re you sad?” Shiro joined in, “Are you happy we’re so close to Earth…? But then… why are you laying on the floor, hiding?”

              Lance watched in fascination, storm around them almost forgotten, as Keith and Shiro rambled on, sometimes even talking over each other in their eagerness to help Lance. It almost didn’t even register in Lance’s mind that they had asked him a question, until he noticed they were both standing above him, looking at him expectantly and with worry.

              “Oh! Um ya I’m great! Perfect! Totally fine!” But another bellow of thunder made Lance flinch back, biting his lip to hold back another whimper. Why did they have to come to talk to him now, of all times? There had been plenty of other opportunities where Lance hadn’t looked like a major crybaby, but hey. Truth hurts and all that. Whatever.

              More thunder rumbled above them, and Lance tried to swallow back the sobs as he turned around a curled up in a ball, at least managing to avoid eye contact with the other two. Or at least, he had avoided eye contact, until Shiro reached down and scooped Lance up into his arms. Lance attempted to squirm at first, but quickly gave in, instead gripping Shiro’s shirt in his fists, clinging tightly and hiding his face in his chest. Shiro soothed his quiet, distressed noises, even as he settled himself on the floor, Lance sideways on his lap, still leaning against Shiro, huddling as close as he could possibly get. Keith sat down next to them, leaning over to stretch Lance’s legs across his own. He massaged the tight, tense muscles, joining Shiro with soft words of comfort and praise.

              Together, the two waited with Lance, waited until the storm had let up and the thunder had faded into the distance. By then, Lance had finally relaxed. Though he still hid, the whimpers had been exchanged for somewhat steady breaths, shaky sighs interspersed amongst them. The room had been so quiet and still for so long that initially it took Keith and Shiro some time to realize that Lance was talking to them.

              “It was the explosion. I know it. Was years ago. I know that. I know I’m stupid. Weak. Pathetic. Shouldn’t still be hung up on such a stu-“

              “Stop.” Keith broke in. “Stop it, Lance, because you’re not stupid. You’re not. You’re incredible. And so, so strong.”

              Shiro nosed at Lance’s hair as Lance paused to take in a deep, shaky breath before continuing as if Keith hadn’t interrupted. “The explosion on the castle. With Coran. The thunder sounds just like it.” And the minute they realized what Lance meant, they were back to touching him, soothing him, quieting him. Reassuring. Because even if they hadn’t quite talked about it yet, Lance was theirs. Keith’s and Shiro’s. The team’s. He had a family that he needed to return to. He belonged to Earth, and to his friends. And they were damn well going to get him there.

[aftgonice]

Writing Tips - General - Pt.2

Welcome to the second part of my general writing tips. Remember that these are just a few things I learned until now in my X months of writing fanfiction, so take everything I say with a grain of salt and do some research of your own as well.

Also, I’m making a lot of examples from my own experience because literally all I know about writing I learned through experience, so I apologize if I seem self-centered but I have no other way to explain why I think these tips are important.

As always, most of these tips are mostly true for writing fanfiction, so keep that in mind as well.

Set the tone of your story

This is something I understood when I wrote the first chapter of my second-ever multichaptered fic, where I wanted to not only focus on the romance between the characters but also show and develop my POV character’s relationship with his parents. It was also my first fully-planned AU where I had entirely made up a character’s background instead of taking things from what I knew from canon.

The thing is, despite me wanting to focus on other things as well, it was a rivalry AU, so I had to set the tone of that because it would be the main feel of the story for the first few chapters.

What did I do wrong at first?

The first draft of the first chapter started with my POV character working at his family’s shop, and while that allowed me to introduce his family and the game he and his rival (whom my MC hadn’t met yet) were playing, it didn’t really set the tone I wanted to give the AU.

How did I fix it?

Simply, I moved that scene so that it became the middle scene of the first chapter, and I set the tone of the rivalry in the first scene instead, showing how competitive my MC is. Then, I had the rivalry (which was already there off-page, before my AU started) develop further in the last scene of the chapter, so that the tone I wanted to give my AU was already all there for my readers to look forward to in the next chapters.

See, by reading my first draft, you might have thought that my AU was going to focus a lot on my MC’s family, and while it kind of also did, it wasn’t what I wanted to catch the readers’ attention with. It also didn’t fit my MC’s personality, because he’s an angry, bratty teen, and showing him while he’s in a more relaxed environment is something I absolutely wanted to do, but it simply couldn’t be the very first impression that the reader got of him.

So, try to adapt this to your own story, ask yourself if there’s a particular atmosphere you want to give your work and how you can achieve that from the very start.

I’ve never done it myself, but another way to set the tone and atmosphere (especially in fantasy settings, I feel) is having a prologue. I think that is great because your prologue can be third person POV omniscient even if the rest of your story is third person POV limited, so you can start explaining your world in a way that it might be slightly info-dumpy but it’s much better than having a character tell the entire lore or whatever in a later chapter (this is something that often feels inorganic and I think is very difficult to achieve gradually rather than in a big info-dump, so if you have to info-dump, do it in a prologue).

Understand your writing style and keep it consistent*

*(at least throughout one single story)

This is not going to be something you figure out right away (at least it’s not like that for me), but at some point, after you’ve been writing for a while, you’ll notice there are things you tend to do with your writing. That’s your writing style, which can and probably will change in your writing life as you gain more writing experience. 

Do you use a lot of metaphors? Is your style flowery or more dry? Do you use a lot of descriptions or do you tend to focus more on introspection or dialogue? Or maybe a mix of all these things? 

Not one of these things is inherently good or bad, but it’s important to know yourself and the more you know what your distinctive traits as a writer are, the more you are able to use them to your advantage and understand where your strengths lie.

For example, if you know you’re not very good at descriptions (maybe it’s because you lack the vocabulary to do so, especially if you’re not writing in your first language, or maybe it’s because you have a hard time visualizing physical attributes and objects in a lot of detail), avoid them and keep them to a bare minimum and focus on what you know you do well.

Don’t be scared to delete

Sometimes you need to completely delete a good chunk of your work. That can and will happen, and it’s hard to let it go, but if you’re at the point where you know in your gut that you have to, DO IT. Just don’t actually delete it but copy-paste it somewhere because you might need some of the plot/characterization/dialogue. 

Actually, move things around but never actually delete anything you write. Even if it’s just half a sentence that you’re trying to fix while you edit, keep it there for a bit, until you’re sure that the new sentence is better. 

This goes for your outline as well: keep it around even if you have to change things as you go, until you’re absolutely certain that you won’t need that bit anymore (I mean, virtual space costs you nothing so you might as well keep that even after that in case because why not).

World building 

I don’t have a lot of experience with this but:

Don't introduce like 10 characters all at once

Don’t info-dump

Show don’t tell

Obviously not all stories need world building, especially if you’re writing canon-compliant or modern AUs.

Another thing I can tell you is: take your time. You won’t have a full world building after half an hour: you’ll still think up details as you go, while you’re writing your outline or while you shower or while you’re trying to fall asleep. When inspiration strikes, write it down. Doesn’t matter where, open your phone’s notes app, write it on your hand, but write it down because you’ll hate yourself if you forget it. Even if you can’t write it down (like if you’re in the shower - it happens to me all the freaking time) say it out loud. Literally talk to yourself and say what you would write in your outline were you sitting comfortably at your computer. This will make it easier to remember it once you can write it all down.

Names are good, use them

This is mostly a subjective point but there’s nothing wrong in using the character’s names instead of their qualities. The blonde, the brunette, the Russian, the Kazakh... I’m not trying to shame anyone here, but as a reader it’s very distracting to read a full fic where the character’s names are barely mentioned and they’re always reduced to their physical attributes or their nationality or their age. It’s not only distracting, sometimes it’s plain confusing. I read fics where one character was always “the teen”. Well, guess what, the other character was also a teen, so I never actually knew who the authors meant.

I know it can be difficult especially when writing same sex couples because their pronouns are the same. Who’s the “he” you’re referring to? But I personally find it much better to just repeat a character’s name when a simple pronoun doesn’t make the situation clear enough.

I feel like there’s also a POV problem if you keep writing things that your POV character wouldn’t think, provided you’re writing in first person (seriously avoid using anything BUT personal names or nicknames when writing in first person) or third person limited. 

There are a few cases when your POV character (POVc) would think of someone by a trait that defines them, for example hair color. Your POVc just met a group of people they’ve never met before. Maybe they even introduced themselves but POVc is like me and forgot their names right away, so they keep referring to them by things they know about them (physical traits, or “the one who almost broke my hand by shaking it” or whatever).

But would your POVc ever think about someone they know, their friend or their crush as “the blonde?” “The Russian”? Would you ever think about your SO by anything but their name? (Okay, I can kinda understand “my husband/wife” or something like that, but even those should be used sparingly and only in certain circumstances).

Basically, in most cases using anything but someone’s name is a breach of your POV limited and throws your story (even just temporarily) in third person omniscient. Of course, if that’s the POV you’re using, you have more freedom to to refer to your characters any way you like.

Don’t break your POV

While I’m at it, I might as well add this point here.

Don’t write anything from a person’s POV that they wouldn’t think/know. Of course this goes for plot points, but you should always ask yourself if it’s in-character that your POVc knows a certain name or fact.

For example, your POVc is a palace maid who was kidnapped and is currently held captive in a military camp. She would describe things she sees but she wouldn’t know military terms, or the names of every single weapon etc, so don’t use them.

Or your POVc is a teenage boy walking in a forest. Would he know the names of all the trees he sees? Unless for some reason he does (maybe he studied them at school or he just really likes nature and botany), then he most likely doesn’t, so don’t include tree names in your description of the forest.

There a few extra points that I want to make that have to do with posting your work more than with writing itself:

Politeness and common sense

Tag appropriately, especially when it comes to trigger and content warnings. If you don’t know why that’s important, there’s about a million posts on the internet that explain it.

Don’t bring your own work down. Seriously, there’s nothing more discouraging as a reader than reading the intro notes and seeing “I know this is crap”. I realize many of us were taught to be modest and belittling our own achievements is something we (might I add, girls especially) always do because we feel like it’s wrong not to, but avoiding doing it in a fic is a great starting exercise if you want to let go of this mentality. You don’t want to turn away potential readers because they think “well if the author themself doesn’t like their own work why should I even bother reading?”.

At the same time, you don’t have to fake complete confidence. By all means, write whether this is your first work in the fandom or ever, mention that the language you’re writing in is not your first, point out that your fic isn’t beta’d. Just keep a matter-of-fact attitude about it, and don’t be whiny about it (especially not where everybody will see it). It will make the reader feel better about your work and it will work wonders for your self confidence.

Visibility and feedback

Know when to post stuff so that more people will see it. It sucks to have to think this way, but the truth is, especially when writing for big fandoms, there are some “dead hours” where less people will see your content. Generally speaking I think the best hours to post on ao3 are between the late afternoon and something like 1 or 2 am European Time (basically when both the European and US/Latin American fandoms are awake and out of work/school).

Make sure you at least link your content on tumblr (you can also cross-post it so more people will see it), and tag so that it shows up in the tags page.

When it comes to feedback, brace yourself for comments or no comments. Everyone is lazy, and readers are too when it comes to leaving kudos and especially comments. This is a hard truth and there are ways to make readers aware of the importance of leaving feedback if they’ve enjoyed our (free) content, but we as writers need to be prepared for that. 

There are also types of fics that will get more comments based on their content. A really sweet fluffy fic that is lovely to read will get a different kind of response than a fic or a chapter with a big plot twist or something that blows the reader’s mind. That doesn’t mean that both aren’t good, it just means that the readers will have more to say with the second type of fic.

On ao3, a generally good kudos/hits ratio is 1/10, at least when it comes to oneshots, and a bit lower than that for chaptered fics. If you have more than that, congrats, you’re basically a god now.

Don’t get the lack of feedback discourage you from writing more. There are tons of reasons why people aren’t seeing your content or not interacting with you after they’ve read it, and it absolutely doesn’t mean that your content is bad.

If you feel like you can handle it, ask for constructive criticism. If you specifically don’t want that, mention it explicitly. Other than that, asking for general comments will usually grant you a few more than if you’re silent about it.

When readers do leave comments, even tiny ones, reply back. If you don’t, you’re rude and you’re not encouraging anyone to leave you feedback even if they enjoyed your content.

Whatever feedback you receive, don’t be discouraged and keep writing.

Other writing tips: (coming soon!)

Yuri On Ice edition | general pt.1 | plot | dialogues | characterization

[puckish-saint]

hiya~ just passing by and thinking about reaper76 (no reader insert) and their pretended marriage au 😏 whatcha' thinking 'bout that love? p.s. just wanted to tell you that your writing always bring smile on my face, the way you have with words captivated me from your first posts and i don't think i will ever forget your style (just really love your humour the jokes in it work every time) (although i find your blog only when you started writing overwatch fics i wish i found you sooner)

(my jokes work, thank god. You have no idea how long I’ve been chewing on that one, waiting for someone to tell me if my attempts at humour land. This really made my day Also Fake Marriage, yes pleas.Because just, hnnngh. Gabe more or less reluctantly teaming up with Overwatch after it turns out he’s been set up/lots of misunderstandings/shenanigans. But he and Jack have been drifting apart for so long and even though both technically know they’ve been played out against each other, knowing it and acting accordingly are two very different things. They fight, they argue, they can’t stand being in the same room and it’s worse because both remember they used to be inseparable.So, shit happens and they have to pretend to love each other. They have to dig deep under all the baggage to find that affection they used to hold for each other, and what’s scary is that it’s easy.The first morning Gabriel shovels six spoon fulls of sugar into his coffee cup, hesitates, then just upends the whole damn sugar bowl into his coffee, Jack doesn’t have a problem hugging him from behind and kissing him good morning.And when Jack loses horribly at some video game because he’s too busy admiring the scenery (”look at those trees, Gabe, they’re all handcrafted. Every one of them. Look at the trees.” “Will you please look at the giant venomous spider instead?”) Gabriel laughs like he hasn’t in ages.

I will go down with that trope tbh, and because I have no restraint, I wrote just under 2k words which may or may not be the beginning of a multichapter fic I’ll be putting on AO3.

Gibraltar base in low energy mode creeps out everyone. The lights are low, turning longhallways into twilight suffused tunnels with no end in sight, entireportions of the base void of life and activity. Only the dormitoriesand kitchens still have full power, a warm haven surrounded bymonsters in the dead of night. Everyone deals with the creepiness intheir own way. Lena drives her accelerator to its limits, skipping inand out the darkness as fast as she can. Mei asks a friend toaccompany her, whereas Hanzo plain refuses to go.

Lúcio talks.

“I’m here one time and theymake me go to the damn locker rooms to get some trivial shit nobodycares about,” he mutters under his breath, chasing away theoppressive silence. “First time in months we see each other and Ibrought them all souvenirs, but they’re all like, oh Lu-lu can youdo us a huge favour and get this random shit from our demon cellar,and if you get eaten do we get your skates?”

He turns a corner and comes face toface with a demon. Black holes where the eyes should be, a being ofpure darkness melds from the shadows to take his soul. Lúcio’scomplaints stick in his throat, hiding just like he wants to be. Theshadow seems to stare right through him. Then it moves.

“Gabe! Puta merda, you scaredthe crap out of me.”

Gabriel chuckles deeply and the grimreaper hunting for his innocent soul becomes the latest addition totheir ragtag bunch of misfits. They fall in step together, Lúciomuch more at ease now that he has someone tall and strong to protecthim from Overwatch’s version of a haunted house.

“Wimp,” he says good-natured.“We’re needed in the conference room. Something came up.”

“What, now?”

“No, the next Saint Patrick’s day.”

In the beginning Gabriel’s sarcasmput him off, but by now Lúcio has learned to appreciate it. Theyspend more time together than most anyone on base, seeing as hismusic is what’s slowly but surely healing Gabriel of his specialproblem.

“Your skin hurt again?” he asks,gesturing to the mask he wears again. Lately he can go mostly gowithout, but every now and then the degeneration flares up again andforces him to protect himself. Gabriel shrugs.

“It’s nothing compared to what itused to be like.” he says.

“Still. I can write you something tohelp, okay?”Gabriel argues only a little and by the time theyenter the conference room he has convinced him. Half the team hasgathered, including Fareeha through video conference from Cairo.

“... spotted them twice coming in,but they have an alternate route for leaving. I’m on it right now.”

“Good work, Amari.” Winston turnsto face the team. “We have eyes on Vishkar’s top suppliers. Idon’t need to tell you this op could make or break our effortsagainst them. Yes, Lúcio, you’ll be on the team to take them in.”

Lúcio has barely opened his mouth andnow grins, leaning back as they watch the low-res pictures Fareehamanaged to take of the couple they’ve been after for months.Vishkar’s increasingly unsavoury activities rely almost completelyon these two people, elusive as they are efficient, supplying Vishkarwith everything from stolen technology to weapons. Whatever thecorporation needs, they can get it. And now Overwatch knows wherethey are.

“We need to send in a strike-team,”Jack says once they’ve gone over the bullet points. “And quick. Idon’t suppose we can get Miss Song on such short notice, but withmyself, Lena and Fareeha we can move quickly enough to evade a drawnout fight. Lúcio should stay back until we’re well into it. Ifthey spot him before-”“Hey,” Gabriel barks. “Who died andmade you boss?”

“I don’t see you contributinganything of value.” Jack shoots back with just as much venom.

“You wouldn’t let anyone get a wordin edgewise, golden boy.”“You act like I’ve beenmonologuing for hours, it figures you have to make up something to beupset about-”“You don’t even hear yourself speak, doyou?”“Guys? Stop fighting.”

Both Jack and Gabriel fall silent underLena’s soft but firm rebuke. They won’t look at each other, sitwith crossed arms through the rest of the briefing. Two teams will goin, one lead by Fareeha closing in on their targets, the other leadby Reinhardt blocking off their escape. Winston reminds them to atleast try and bring them in alive for interrogation.

A few hours later the team sets out.

A few hours after that, a furious duetof Amaris relays the mission to Winston.They’re speaking over eachother, curse the sky green and look one wrong word away from becomingphysically violent.

“-completely disregarded theplan-”“-charged in there like madmen, fighting each other,like they didn’t even see all those damn turrets-”“-Reinhardtkept shouting at them to listen but they were too busy with theirpissing contest-”“-had to double back and bail them out, TeamB got pinned down by drones-”“-targets almost got away, if ithadn’t been for my daughter, we’d be back to zero-”

“-can’t work with those two, theycompromised the mission, the team, themselves-”“-likechildren in a playground, no professionalism-”“Alright,alright!” Winston interrupts holding up his hands to protecthimself from the Amari wrath. He doesn’t want to know what Jack andGabriel had to hear before they called. “I’ll talk to them. Inthe meantime, what about our targets?”

The targets are secure and brought tothe base and surprisingly accommodating. They have no loyalty forVishkar and eagerly share everything they know in return for a deal.Jack and Gabriel are taken off the mission roster for the time being,although both had to be persuaded to stay at all, ready to walk outafter this latest fiasco that proved to them trying to work togetherafter everything that happened is a moot exercise.

“We used to joke they could read eachother’s minds,” Reinhardt says while they wait for Winston andAna to finish up with the intel they gathered from their targets.“You have never seen closer friends.”

Lúcio looks up from his tablet to giveReinhardt a look of pure doubt.

“Hard to imagine, I know” Jessesays, smoking despite everyone’s subtle and not so subtle-nods tothe no-smoking rule. “But it’s true. Took the UN almost twodecades to push them apart, and that’s sayin’ somethin’...”

Lena makes to answer but is interruptedby the arrival of Winston, followed by Ana and, surprisingly, Jackand Gabriel.

“Thought we were benched.” Jackvoices everyone’s thoughts.

“Something came up,” Ana repliescurtly and loads their info up on the main screen. “We got ourtargets just in time. They were ready to retire and Vishkar promisedthem new identities and a safe home.”

“If Vishkar made them disappear, we’dnever have found them,” Lúcio says and then whistles when Anabrings up a picture. “That what I think it is?”

“Jannat, Vishkar’s top-secret gatedcommunity. It’s their magnum opus, located an hour’s drive fromUtopaea. The families of their top executives and scientists all livethere. It’s also where they keep all their records.”

“So what?” Jesse says. “We’regonna wire them and let them go?”

“Better,” Ana shows a grin that’sall teeth and even though she hasn’t so much as glanced at Jack andGabriel, they both swallow, knowing whatever she has planned, they’llbe the butt of the joke. “Our targets were extremely careful. Noteven Vishkar knows who they are. They have a vague description of twomales in their fifties or sixties, one of which is black or latino,which puts us in the prime position of being able to send two of ouragents in their stead.”“Fuck that.” Gabriel says, wellaware of who’s going to end up playing the part. Jack at leasttries to be a bit more subtle about it.

“Reyes and I aren’t exactlynobodies. They’ll recognise us.”

“They’ll recognise your faces, butit won’t matter. We can fool their DNA sensors.”

“Still, they might getsuspicious.”“It’s a risk we’re going to have to take.This is our only chance to get into Jannat and we don’t have thetime to hold castings.”

Jack knows when he lost a fight, butGabriel keeps arguing. He damn near flips the tables when Winstonwon’t be persuaded to use someone else, gets into a shouting matchwith Ana that lasts for hours. Mission prep lasts a little under aday and when it’s done and their identities forged, they have todrag him kicking and screaming onto the plane, less metaphoricallythan anyone would prefer.

“He’ll get us killed,” Gabrielspits while Lúcio walks him through the last few points. “He didit before.”

Jack tenses but says nothing, sittingat the opposite end of the aircraft and pretending to read the news.

“It’s going to go fine,” Lúciosays cheerfully. “Mister Jack’s got you. Now listen, because asfar as we know there’s a sort of quarantine and we won’t be ableto talk for at least a month. I’ve built you a miniature version ofmy sonic tech and packed every song I ever wrote on that. Nothingwill go wrong with our treatment plan, but if it does something onthere will help you, okay?”“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Gabrielswats at him, cheeks hot with embarrassment at being mothered bysomeone half a foot shorter and almost three decades younger thanhim.

And then it’s just them and Lena inthe cockpit, flying them to their destination. In less than an hourthey’ll be Sam and Steve Carter, married for thirty two years,criminals for slightly longer. They’ll have to kiss and hug and saystupid corny shit and for all that Gabriel wants to forcefully ejecthimself from the plane, he knows they can’t blow this one. The endof Vishkar for good lies just within their reach. If he fucks this upbecause he couldn’t play nice he’ll never be able to look Lúcioin the eye again. The kid was the only one who accepted him with openarms after the whole mess with Mercy and the UN was over. When evenReinhardt and Ana kept their distance, it was Lúcio who sat with himfor breakfast, who included him, who went up to him in all his 5’3’’glory and asked to spar because even Jesse wouldn’t. He can’tfuck this up.

They step into the sweltering Indianheat arm in arm and gritting their teeth.

[rose-tylers]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (◠‿◠✿)

@sequencefairy​ also sent me this, so I guess I need to do it, huh XD And I’m gonna have to cheat and do 10... 5 for each of you... because choosing 5 overall is really hard when you’ve been writing fic for over 10 years... XD

like sunshine (Tangled; Rapunzel/Eugene) - First fic I ever wrote for a Disney ship, and it’s smut on top of that, but it’s one of my all-time favorites.

finding home again (Doctor Who; Ten/Rose/Clara) - First multichapter fic I wrote in years, and I loved writing this change in the dynamic between the OT3, Clara being scared of Ten, and Rose having to be the bridge between them, but everything working out in the end.

oh, but those girls are trouble (Doctor Who AU; Ten/Rose/Clara) - I just love this fic. It’s the longest fic I’ve written in a long time, and though it was tricky trying to get the plot down, it was a lot of fun to write.

the stars are burning (Doctor Who; Ten/Rose) - This is a darker ficlet I wrote way back when for one of the challenges on Then There’s Us on LJ, and there’s still something intriguing to me about the idea of Bad Wolf turning Rose “evil”, or slowly driving her insane. A lot of people said it was almost like a horror story, and that it genuinely scared them, and I was really proud of that.

figuring it out (Doctor Who; Rose/Clara/Ten II) - I think I mostly have a soft spot for this fic because it was what spawned the tag fiasco, but I do love Rose and Clara and Ten II trying to navigate their relationship in the parallel world, and it was the first proper threesome I wrote for them, I think.

the right partner (MCU; Steve/Peggy) - My first Steve/Peggy fic. I always have a soft spot for my first fics for a fandom or a pairing or that involve something new, and this one is no exception.

for cinna (The Hunger Games; Katniss/Cinna) - It’s not something I talk about a lot on here, but I ship the crap out of Katniss and Cinna, and this fic... it was different, because I wrote it in first POV, since that’s the format of the books, and it was interesting getting inside Katniss’s head. It’s also a bit bittersweet, since we know what happens to Cinna, but I just really really love this fic.

welcome home (Elementary; Sherlock, Joan, Marcus, Kitty, with a side of Joan/Marcus) - I wrote this out of my sadness over Kitty leaving, and a desperate need for her to come back. I’ve only written two Elementary fics so far, and I’ve been told both times that my characterization is spot on, especially with Sherlock, which makes me proud, because he’s a difficult character to pin down. This also features excellent “found family” goodness, and it’s just a nice, fluffy fic, and I love it.

time is the fire in which we burn (Doctor Who; Rose, implied Rose/Ten) - Another one I wrote for Then There’s Us, this is probably the shortest ficlet I’ve ever written, and also I think holds the record for... fastest inspiration; TTU had been on hiatus for a bit, and they came back, and posted the new challenge, and I think I posted this like, 10 minutes later. I got really good at telling a story in a very small amount of words, and this is a great example of that.

love on the rocks (Doctor Who; Ten/Rose/Clara) - This is a follow-up to finding home again, and I love this because the focus was mostly on Ten and Clara, and their love for each other. My favorite thing about the OT3 is how equal the relationship is, but every once in a while I like to focus on the pairings within, and there’s something really... comforting and sweet about the love between Ten and Clara. I can’t really explain it, but anytime I have a chance to write something that’s just the two of them, I relish it.

[mastersalamon]

The Long Lost Love.

Miraverse One shot I’m too tired to write another chapter to my multichaptered story so I’m writing this as a one shot .As the title says. it’s about something lost, and love. And this is also get along chapter. Also Kori - you know who- is the main protagonist in this one-shot put it’s not the POV kind of story.

_______________________________________________________________

It was dark and warm night on Yavin IV, first night for almost a week becasue of the time of the year so everybody were in their cabins sleeping and having good sweet dreams. But one person was having different kind of dream.

It was not a nightmare, but it was feeling like one, it was cold and dark around, but there was something in the air what was telling Kori that he is not in danger, he also knew that he fell asleep some time later, but it was too reall to be a dream.

There was something what was calling his name, but there was no sounds of this, something was calling him. Calling him without words, some small and warm hand was trying to touch him, but he was alone. And when this hand almost touched him, he woke up.

It was not the first time he have had this dream. Or this feeling. This has been waking him up in every night since the past week. Every year it was the same feeling, and the same dream. And even when he is awake, he still feel it. A strange feeling in his neck, face and stomach who is telling him to move, but where?

That is not the only thing he feels. Fear. But he is not afraid. This fear he feels is not his, he can’t explain it but he feels fear in the air. And pain, a great pain, but not physical, mental pain. Like when you did something wrong and can’t fix it.

It’s not letting him sleep. And Kori knows what it is. He have feel this way before, and every time when he was feeling this he was calling Mira or Dawn or Mister Jarrus or Hera and they all were trying to help him. But without effects. They did their best, but it was not enought.

The only person who could help him was his aunt, but she refused so many times that he don’t even want to call her again to ask the same question. He alredy knows what she will say, and it won’t make him feel any better.

It have been five years. Five long years or looking, searching, asking and begging for any kind of information. Nothing helped, he still is in the same palce where he was sixteen years ago. But a lot have changed since then. 

It’s time to change the way he has been doing this. It’s time. To make a deal with the devil.

‘It’s nothing hard. Just knock on the door’ Kori thought to himself, standing in the Ghost’s hallway, in front of a dark door. 

It was what Kori have been telling himself for the last thirty minutes. He really wanted to knock the doors, but at the same time he really doesn’t want to do it. Kori can see the light in the space between the door’s and floor so he isn’t asleep yet. Just knock to the door. So easy, and so hard to do.

Kori want just leave, go to Mira, tell her that he again feels it, hug her, cry on her shoulder and try to find them tomorrow, but he know that it’s no point in doing it. Mira has been helping him in this for so long and they still haven’t find an clue where they could be. Nani also have been feeling this, and this is getting harder and harder for her to live with these feeling.

Kori can’t help his sister in this, he can’t even help himself. The only reason why he is not crazy is Mira and her help. Nani doesn’t have anyone like Mira and their aunt also is not helping her, just making the feeling worse. He has to do it.

‘Knock Knock’ Kori finally knocked oo the doors. Two time, really slowly and weakly, so weakly that he is worried that he did not heard that. Lucky for him, before Kori could knock again he saw a shadows in the space behind the door’s and floor what means he have heard him. Then Kori heard the doors being open, and now it was no time to back out.

Kori knew what he was going to see when the door open, but he wasn’t expecting to see him like this. Kori knew that Dager don’t have much clothes, but he wasn’t expecting to find him shirtless, in his boxers, and holding a bowl full of popcorn in one hand.

Somehow the light behind Dager was making him looking even bigger than he usually is, his dark brown hair were even darker than Kori was expecting, his face and white pale skin were hard to see, but the tattoo of the Galaxtic Empire logo on his heart was even more visible than Kori would ever want it to be.

‘Kori?’ Dager asked confused and suprised, watching how his Togruta crewmate was staring at him for a longer moment, making him feeling a bit uncomfortable. Good thing that his voice woke him up from his shock, or whatever it was.

‘What are you doing?’ Kori asked, stopping staring at Dager like an idiot, crossing his arms on his chest and trying to look like he always do, not showing how desperated he was.

‘I was watching a holo movie.’ Dager said, narrowing his eyebrows and looking at Kori with a knowing look. He may not know Kori as long as everybody else on the Ghost, but he knew this tone of voice and the look he is giving him. What did he do this time?

‘Alone?’ Kori asked raising right eyebrow, looking over Dager’s arm, checking if anyone is in his room. Even if he know that Dager is used to sit in his cabine alone, Kori has a idea with who he may be willing to break this isolation rule of his.

‘Listen it’s really late so if you want to again get all suspicious on me then come to me tomorrow.’ Dager said, stapping back and moving hand to close the door, getting a bit mad now, not only because it was late and he was tired but also because Kori come to him and the first thing he is doing is interogationg him. Haven’t they saved each other lives like..three times by now? 

‘NO!’ Kori sudennly yelled really loudly, breaking his cold face with eyes wide open and making Dager jump up a bit, spilling a bit of his popcorn on the floor, suprising the crap out of him.

‘Sorry. Can I come in?” Kori said, apologizing for both suprising him, and getting all suspicious. Oh. great, there is just not better way to ask a guy for a help.

Still suprised and even more confused than more Dager slowly nodded and stepped back to his cabin, allowing Kori to step in.

Kori gladly walked into the cabin, and again he saw what he was expecting. He also may not know Dager so well as others, but he know enought to get idea how his cabine may looks like. It was paintfully clean and empty, not in the way like everything was on it’s place but more like everything has been hide. And the cabine also was really cold in it, like noone has been using the heat control it here. Kori has no idea how Dager can sleep in here with his shirt off, but somehow he is.

‘Would you...like to sit?’ Dager asked akwardly, putting the bowl on a tablet and poiting his hand on his bunk, the only place where Kori could sit on, when he himself leaned again a wall behind him and crossed arms on his chest where now luckly a white shirt was. Good, Kori couldn’t stand a moment longer of watching this tattoo of his.

Kori sat down without a word and...both of them were looking at everything but not at each other. Kori was not really knowing how to bring the topic up, and Dager was not knowing what to say and not make Kori scared again. Guess he can’t just ask about weather?

‘Did, something happen?’ Dager slowly asked, and again make himself looking like an idiot. Kori have come to him in the middle of the night, to him, not to Mira or Dawn or to kriffing anyone else but to him. Of course something happened. And something bad.

If only Kori could heard what Dager just thought, he would agree with him and maybe feel a bit better, because Dager was not the only one who was thinking this right not. Not the part about being a fool, but something bad happening, the problme is this that Kori doesn’t know what really is happening. So he need to expalin everything from the beggining.

‘Remember when I told you about my parent?’ Kori asked, looking up to meet Dager’s eyes. It has been sometime since they were on the Rishi moon, fighting these cloned Zilo beasts and almost died in the mouth of this really big one, he could have forgotten about his short sad story.

‘This that they abonded you and your sister when you was a year old?’ Dager asked getting even more confused than before. So he remeber, good, it will make things easier, well, easier for Dager to undertand, not easier to say.

‘Yes. Well. You see. From time to time I have a dreams, or a vision about them. I’m not quiet sure what it is, but I had it a moment before. And I know that something bad is happening.’ Kori said, rubbing the back on his head, looking around the room, and doing everything to not sound like a madman or an idiot, telling someone like Dager about a dream he jsut had.

‘Are you a Jedi?’ Dager asked raising an eyebrow. Visions and feeling are the Jedi stuff, and after these few months spend with Master Ezra and Mira Dager slowly is starting to believe in the Force and everything else connected to it, and if Kori is also doing these things....then it expalins a few things.

‘No! No I’m not a Jedi. But...I don’t know what it is and that’s why I need your help.’ Kori finally said that, it took him so long to say this four small words but he finally asked him for help. It was probably the hardest thing he did in the last year.

‘You need my help?  But..but why me? I don’t know anything about the vision and feelings stuff, you should talk to Mira about this, she will help you figure out what it meas.” Dager said quickly and nervously, the last thing he wasnted to do was to start talking about emotions and reading dreams, not to mention that he is really bad at this.

In this moment Kori just reminded himself why he didn’t want to ask Dager for help, but then he shouldn’t be mad at him for not undertanding anythig, he haven’t really explained Dager why he did come here, and true to be told doesn’t want to, but he have to.

‘I already know what it means. It’s about my parents. I...I think they are in danger. And I need to find them.’ It was another thing Kori was not expecting to say, it really was hard for him to say all of this, especially to someone he doesn’t know so well, and is not on the best relations.

Now it all was making sense. The only reason why Kori could possibly come to Dager for help was either someone dying or someone missing, and Kori can’t do this himself. There is only one problem, Dager also can’t help him.

,,Kori I...I think you should still ask Mira for help, or Dawn. They for sure will help you find them.’ Dager hesitated but finally found a good way to refuse and not sounds like he didn’t want to help, because true to be told, he can’t help him. But Kori don’t know it yet.

‘I already asked them. And we were already looking. Many time. And we never found anything. I think...I believe that if I have to find my parents, I can’t do it my way, or Mira’s way. But your way.’ Kori desperately explained.

He knew what Dager’s way means. It was meaning violence, broken knees, bribes, breaking laws and talking to criminals Dager knew before he joined them. Shortly, everything what Kori would never do, but he alredy tried ever legit way with Mira and nothing helped. Now. He was ready to try everything what it takes to find his parents, before they die.

Kori was expecting to hear something from Dager after this embarasing show of desperation, maybe some cocky joke or sarcastical question. But everything what he got was a puzzled look from Dager. It was like, the first time ever he have seen Kori like this, for a very good reason. But noone is soo cruel to make a joke of this. Well...some people are but not Dager. What doesn’t mean that this what he is going to say will help Kori in any way.

‘Listen Kori. I want to help you. I really do. But what are you expecting me to do? To call some old guy I used to work for, ask about two Togrutans who are missing for sixteen years and in some magical way tell you where they are?’ Dager asked, not trying to sound mad, or angry, but his voice was harsh and strong like it used to, what was making him sound kind of like that. 

After Dager said that all out loud, Kori understood how stupid his idea of coming here was. Kori was hoping that Dager really will do everything what he said, but then again, Kori already did all of this. Always when he was looking for his parents with Mira they were doing exactly this what Dager said. Asking people questions and hope that they know something. But no one never knew anything.

And he again did that. Dager again did the same stupid thing he always do. He tried to explain something and he made one of his friends sad. Sad is understatement, the last time he did that he almost brought Rona to tears and Kori already is sitting on his bunk with his head low and water in the eyes, and now he is telling him that he have made a mistake coming to him.

Watching a crying children is something Dager is used to, but watching almost  crying, soo to be man, is something so sad than even his cold heart can’t stay untouched. Not when there is something what he can do to help him.

‘Kori.’ Dager knew that this what he was going to say is at least very dangerous and he needed Kori to keep his attention on him, to listen to his every word and think really hard about his options, and about how much he want it. Dager waited for Kori to calm down, and look up in his eyes, and then he started, giving him hope.

‘Let say that I may know someone who maybe will help you. Just say! That this person may be able to help you. But it will be really dangerous. Deadly dangerous. Do you want to give it a try if you know that we may not survive it?’ Dager slowly explained, not giving Kori a chance to interrup him and asking deadly serious about this.

Kori thought about what Dager said. It was great to heard that there is someone who can help him, just to heard that was making him feel much better, but, this part about dying and not surviving was equally making him nervous about it. Not like looking his parents before was easy and safe, but he always was doing this with Mira and the rest of the gang what was making him feel better and safe.

Kori knew that if he agree it will means that they can’t take anyone with them, not even Mira. Especailly Mira. Both Kori and Dager know that they can’t take Mira with them on this mission, it’s too dangerous for her, and them. Despite how much they want this.

Everything was telling Kori to refuse, that it’s too dangerous, and that there has to be different way. But at the same time he knew that it was a lie. There was no different way. After five years of searching the Galaxy and not finding anythnig Kori knew he have to do it. After almost seventeen years he have to ask them. Why?

‘Dager. I’m ready to do anything to finally find them.” Kori said after a long and hard moment of thinking and asking himself if it is worth. And even if his head was telling him that he just made a huge mistake, he was feeling better to agree.

Dager was not happy that Kori agreed and he was not hiding it. Kori don’t blame him, whatever they will be doing is going to be really dangerous and on his place Kori would be as against it as Dager is right now, but they still were on their way to somewhere.

Kori had literally no idea where they were going and wasn’t asking any questions, he just let Dager lead the way and take him where Dager thought they should do. Kori knew that they were probably heading to the Outer Rims, but he wasn’t expecting that they are flying to Oba Diah. The Pyke Syndicate’s main base.

Kori maybe haven’t spend so mcuh time as Dager in the places like the Pyke’s palace but he was fully expecting to see what was inside. The whole palace was dark, wet and depressing. All around Kori could see people smoking the Pyke’s spice and how terrible effect it have on them. And the worse this was it that all of this people knew that this spice was killing them, but they still were doing this from their own free well.

Dager was walking first, but from time to time we was looking over his arm to see if Kori still was following him. He was still behind him, but Dager could see how he was looking at all of these fools who were killing themself, and he was seeing that Kori was feeling sorry for them. Dager knew that Kori can’t be all depressed if they have to do what they are are about to do, so he need to distract him.

‘Okay Kori listen up. We are on very thin ice here so we need to show respect to them okay?’ Dager asked not slowing their pace and leading the way thought the dark corridors. As he was hoping Kori stopped watching everyone around them and turned his full attention to Dager who.

‘People say that this lady we are going to was old when the Emperor Palpatine was young. She is pretty much crazy and is deep into voodoo stuff. But after these few months with you guy I slowly start to believe in all the Force stuff and we can give her a shot.’ Dager said walking pass the other doors and leading Kori deeper inside of the gloomy palace.

Kori did not reple to this, he was just simply following Dager. He kind of understand his scepticism, Kori knew that Dager was never believing in the Force or anything higher than humans. When he meet Dager for the first time he was still believing that all the force pushes and levitations Mira was doing were some tricks so it is not suprising that he is not believing that this, whatever they are agout tot do, will work.

They finally were so deep inside of the palace that they couldn’t be possbily any deeper. They were even lower than the palace’s dungeon was. And that place was really, green, not like good green, but like dark gloomy swamp green. Soon there was no place to go, but a old doors at the end of the corridor.

Kori was not sure why, but Dager was hesitating to open this door. What was odd, Kori have seen Dager doing many dangerous things and he never hesitated.

‘One more thing. Whatever will happen. Show her respect. She likes it.’ Dager said, looking over his shoulder and finally opened the door and they both walked in.

The room was nothing like Kori was expecting to be. First of all. It was clean, and white, and shiny, and looking more like a dentist clinic, there was even a dentist chair in the middle of the room. And next to this chair was a metal desk, behind this desk was sitting an old looking female pyke with large head, grey skin, long hands and legs, and with only one purple eye when the other one was mechanical. She didn’t seen to heard, or see Dager and Kori come to the room, but then they come closer to her, she raised from the chair and greeted them.

‘Daggy! Haven’t seen you in a while. Do you have something for me, or maybe you need my medicine again?’ The old pyke lady asked.

She wasn’t sounding like a bad person, she was even reminding Kori of his grandmother, smiled, energic, a bit teasting. But her question have made Kori suspicious again, and he began to wonder what kind of medicine she is talking about?

‘Not this time Lady Hadia. Ihave come to you hoping that you will help my friend here.’ Dager said bowing his head and talking with so much respect as he could.

That was a really suprising for Kori. He haven’t heard Dager talking with such respect like ever. He always was showing off and being cocky to everyone, so this lady truely has to be either someone really important, or really dangerous. So dangerous that Dager is letting her call him by his nickname, not many people can call him like this, and not get on his bad side.

The older lady sounded to be even more happy to heard that. She walked close to Kori and took a better look of him, studing his face and giving him a creeps by staring at him so long.

‘And why so young and handsome Togruta needs old Hadia’s help? Financial problems? Or your love one just left you and you need to forget it?’ The old lady asked staring at Kori’s face and touching his arm, making him feel even more uncomfortable than before, if it was even possible. Kori need to be quick before she offers him some kind of help in a way he doesn’t want to know.

‘No madame. I don’t want to forget anything. I come to you becasue I’m looking for my parents, and I desperately need your help.’ Kori said respectfulu, but he stepped back anyway before the old lady could touch his face. Kori was almost sure that she would try to touch him again, but then Dager saved him.

‘They abandoned him when he was a year old and disappeared. If anyone can help him it’s you lady Hadia.’ Dager said quickly, turning the older lady’s attention back to him, making her not being anylonger interested in Kori. 

For some reason, Kori thing that Dager have hit her soft or at least sensitive spot. Sudennly she wasn’y playful anymore, and turned deadly serious. She was watching Dager’s face for a longer moment in silence, thinking about something really hard, then she turned back to Kori, looked him deep in the eyes, like she was trying to look into his soul.

‘Sit there boy.’ The lady Hadia said when she stopped looking at Kori’s eyes and pointed her old and long hand at the large dentist chair in the middle of the room and went behind her desk for something.

This time, Kori was the one who hesitated. It was rather nothing suprising that he was not really into sitting on the dentist chair, when an old and creepy lady is going to do something with him. Kori looked at Dager, hoping that he will give him some clue if he should or shouldn’t do that. And unlucky for him Dager nodded.

That was not what Kori wanted to see, but then again, he knew from the very beginning that asking Dager for help will means doing a lot of things he would never normally do. And he doesn’t really have any reason to not trust him, at least no logical reason.

Kori finally obeyed and sat on the chair. The chair was large even for him, but was really comfortable, soft, and warm. It was like nothing else in this gloomy palace, and was really relaxing, like there was a heat generator in it.

‘Tell me boy. Do you know what your talles function is?’ The lady Hadia asked from the other side of the room where she was preparing some chemicals in a few flask. Kori did not know why she have asked this question about his lekku, but whatever reason it was, he guess that he should answer a siple question.

‘They are making my senses sharper, I also can feel things better with them than with my hands.’ Kori answered, watching the older Pyke lady the whole time when she walked closer to him and the chair holding a flask in her hand.

‘Yes. But not only. You see. The lekku are like an antenna. They are sending off singals and receiving them. But instead of signals, they are sharing emotions. Your lekku are connecting your life signature with other Togruta who you have a strong feelings with.’ The lady Hadia said when she pushed Kori down on the chair and make him rest his head against the chair’s headrest. Then she adjusted the chair to make it like a bed and turned back to her flasks.

‘How he can have a feeling to someone he doesn’t even remeber?’ Dager asked with his alredy famous scepticism, but Kori have to say that he seen his point. He really doesn’t remeber anything about his parents, he don’t remember their faces, their voices, he doesn’t even knows their names. The only thing he have is a deep need to find them and ask them a one question.

‘His memory don’t remember them. But his lekku does.Since he was born they have been connected for a lifetime. It’s one of the strongest connections in the Galaxy. Humans simply can’t have this kind of connection, and can’t undertand this.’ The lady Hadia explained when she was finishing her preparations. For some reason she brought with herself an air mask, a rubber tube and few other strange items.

‘What are you going to do?’ Kori asked getting nervous about all of these stuff around him. Maybe he doesn’t have a reason to not trust her and Dager, but at the same time he doesn’t have a reason to do trust them.

‘I will, as you youngs says, ‘boost the signal’ so you will find your parents yourself.’ The lady Hadia said like it was nothing mind blowing.

Kori is almost sure that he misheard her. She just said that she will make him talking to his parents. Something what he wanted to do since he was able to talk, since he ever wanted anything. He was so willing to do it, that he forget to ask a very important question.

‘And how exactly are you going to do it?’ Dager behind asked ,crossing arms on his chest and raising an eyebrow. That was really good quetion to be honest, Kori really should ave ask this himself, who knows what this lady is going to do.

‘I will give him a Mnemiotic solution.’ The lady Hadia shrugged.

‘WHAT!?’ Dager yelled in suprsie so loud that the entire palace could probably hear him. Whatever this Mnemiotic solution is Dager clearly don’t think it is so good idea to use, and it made Kori worry, just a bit. 

‘You can’t do it. It’s too strong for him. He is nor even used to the deathstick. It will kill him!”  Dager yelled again, and make Kori worry even more than before. At the same time when Kori was worried about an option of dying, he was also curious how Dager know so much about these drug stuffs? Karabst, he is doing this again, he is doing nothing but thinking the worse about the guy who is trying to help him,so friend he is.

‘Don’t overreact it Daggy. It’s not deadly.He will just sleep for few hours, maybe days. In the worse case he will never wake up.’ The lady Hadia simply said, putting Dager back in the line before he would do anything worse than just yelling, but it was not working.

‘Exactly! This is even worse than death itself! Get up Kori. We are leaving.’ Dager yelled once more and was about to leave the room, when he noticed that Kori haven’t been listening to him at all.

As much as Kori was appreciating Dager’s concer about him, what he wouldn’t ever expect, the whole idea of never waking up from a dream was not sounding so bad. That’s. It’s not like Kori want to stay asleep for ever and never see his friends and family, but...he will meet his parents. He really will do it, not in the physical world, but he really will see them.

‘Don’t tell me you are seriously thinking about doing that!?’ Dager half asked half yelled throwing his arms out in expression. He just said a minute ago what will happen to Kori if he will do this what he is thinking about and he still sits on that chair and doesn’t sounds to move anytime soon. 

‘Dager. If you would have a chance to talk to your mother. Would pass up this chance?’ Kori asked slowly and meeting Dager’s look.

 He felt kind of bad doing this, he knew that it was Dager’s sensitive spot, he have told him about his family situation when he was sure that they would die, not thinking that Kori could tell someone this story, not to mention that talking about his mother is the lowest thing Kori could do, but he did that.

And it really worked. That was probably the only thing what could make Dager undertand why Kori is willing to do it. Not like Kori, Dager know that his mother is dead, and nothing can change that, he will never see her again, never talk to her again never will tell her anything. Kori can’t do it also now, but if it will work out,he will do it. And Dager know that it is worth any risk.

‘Let’s just do it and have this mumbo-jumbo over with.’ Dager finally said walking back to the room and stood next to the dentist chair where Kori was lying on. 

And that was the Dager Kori knows and...well knows a bit. But he still prefer the cocky version than the respectful and protective one, at least then he knows with what he is dealing with.

Kori also can’t denie that it’s nice to have somebody’s support when he is about to do something really stupid and posibly life threating thing with a dangerous kind of spice. Kori smiled lightly, lied down on the chair and let the old creepy lady do her job.

‘Any advice what to do?’ Kori asked when lady Hadia was putting an air mask over his mouth and was preparing the rest of equipment she was going to use. It’s like literally the first time Kori is doing such a thing and he really don’t want to mess up a chance to talk with his parents, even if it will only in his dream.

‘Take a deep breath. Don’t think, try to relax, think about what you want to see, and if you see a light in a tunnel, follow it.’ Lady Hadia said when she was preparing the chair and mixtures to use.

Okay. That sound easy enought to do. Especially the part about following a light in a tunnel. Isn’t this something what people usually are told to not follow? It’s too late to back out anyway let have this thing started.

Kori lied down on the chair and let lady Hadia to her job. What pretty much was only put the flask into a small special place in the hair, where the liquid was heating up and slowly evaporating, and after a few seconds of waiting, Kori took a really deep breath.

Kori was expecting to feel a strong wave of relaxation and colors, but nothing like that have happened, the smell was strong and not very nice, it also was making him tired, like really tired, like he just have run a mile without a break. His eyes were not listening to him and were shutting up, and eh was asleep in a matter of seconds.

That was the first time when Kori have closed his eyes and istead of darkness he saw what Hadia told him he will see. Kori was standing in a middle of a long and wide corrior with a light on both ends. The whole corridor was white and sterile, like in a hospital.

‘Kori’

Someone called Kori from behind. The voice was warm, quiet and hard to heard but Kori heard it anyway. It was a familiar voice, Kori have never heard it before. But somehow he know this vocie. Kori tried to go to the voice but then...

‘Koir. I love you.’

Again this same voice. And again from behind, this time from the opposite end. The voice have got stronger, now  Kori could heard that it was a female voice, a really soft and warm voice, but also really one tired, and he could heard tears in this voice. Kori turned back and tried to go foward but then again...

‘Kori mommy loves you. Daddy loves you.

Again the same voice, this time was almost crying, and still was coming from behid. Kori couldn’t follow the voice, or the light, it was all coming from everywhere. He needed to know where to go.

‘Mom!? Mom where are you!’ It was all what Kori could do. The voices and the light were all around him and he couldn’t see anything. The only thing what he could do was yell and ask his mother to tell she is.

‘Remeber we love you. We always do. I’m so sorry Kori.

The voice said and cracked, there was a snob at the end, and something have fallen on Kori’s cheek form above. Kori touched his cheek, and saw that it was a drop of water. A tear.

Kori didn’t know what was happening. A thousand questions were coming to his head. Questions like ‘from where this tear come from, why his mom is sorry, why she is crying? 

These thoughts were stopped when Kori heard his mother’s voice slowly getting smaller and smaller. Like she was walking away from him.

‘NO! Stay! Please! Why did you left me! Where are you! I need to know! I beg you!’ What he had to do? He was having no control over the situation, he doesn’t even know where he is and if everything around is real. 

The only thing what Kori could do was scream, ask questions, and hope that his mother’s voice would stay with him. But it was no use in it. The voice was getting smaller and smaller, when it was almost gone, the last thing Kori heard between a crying snorts was a word what caused even more questions.

‘Kadavo’

And then the voice was gone. There was no longer any sounds around Kori and the corridor was slowly getting dark. The darkness was slowly getting bigger and the light was getting smaller but Kori haven’t noticed that, all he was thinking about was this last word his mothers voice told him.

‘Kadavo? What’s it? Is that a place or a person? Where is it? Mom!? MOM!’ These were only some of the question in Kori’s mind and there was no one to answer them. The only thing Kori got was a loud and harsh.

‘GET UP!!’

Kori fell off the dentist chair, face to the floor and pulled the equipment alongside with him. His heart was racing and he was all sweaty, like he just woke up from a really terrible nightmare, what almost was true.

The last voice was nothing like Kori’s mother voice coulb be. When her voice was soft and quiet, the last voice was loud, harsh, and dripping with anger and hate. Kori have heard this kind of voice only one time in his life.

Kori’s thoughts were stopped when he felt  hands on his shoulders and someone was trying to pull him up back on his feets. Everything was dizzy and fuzzy. Kori couldn’t see even a tip of his nose, not so say he couldn’t hear anything. But his eye vision was slowly coming back, and Kori slowly was starting to see something right in front of his face.

People say that after a long night it is nothing better than wake up and see a familiar face, Kori himself said that a few times. But today was different. Especially if that familiar face is a dude who is talking, or rather yelling at you, and you can’t heard a thing.

‘...Ko...what y.....see....do......hear me? You have to get up and tell me what...

That was it! That was the same what woke Kori up from his dream. But not his loud and harsh like before. Kori haven’t heard the difference in voice. For some reason he was really...angry and was jumping to conclusions and before Kori could think about anything logical he found himself pushing Dager against a wall and yelling at him.

‘Why did you do that!? Why did you wake me up!? I was that close to talk to my mom and you had to wake me up!? Why!?’ Kori was too mad to think resonable. All he knows is this that he was finally having some kind of contanct with his mother and somebody woke him up

‘Kori? I didn’t say a thing to you for..

‘Don’t Lie! I heard it! And you are the only...person...in the room?...’Kori cut in, to angry to let Dager said anything. His vision was finally back and he could see more than Dager’s face so he looked around himself and what he saw was a mess.

When Kori was falling aleep on the chair, this room was white, clean, sterileand everything was on it’s place. But the room Kori woke up was a total opposition of that room. It was a total mess, like Mira’s room. 

But instead of clothes, weapons, tools around the room like Mira have, the clinic’s floor was buried under a thousands paper coffee cubs and flask similar to this one Kori saw before he started dreaming and they all were empty. And Dager himself was looking terrible, like he drank all this coffee himself.

‘You are awake? Finally! Have you any idea how much it costed me to keep your vision doing? Daggy made me give you all the Mnemiotic! You think it’s easy to get some of them? Not to mention other clients who were coming here and...’ Lady Hadia who was on the opposite said of the romm said quickly and very angry, complaining about a dozen things Kori knows nothing about, but it all was even more confusing than before.

‘How long was I asleep? I sounded like just a moment.’ Kori finally asked, letting go of Dager’s jacket and taking few steps back. After seeing the room’s state, Dager’s condision, Lady Hadia’s complaining Kori figured out that he was dreaming far longer than he thought, the question is how long?

‘A moment!? You have been asleep for Five Days! Lady Hadia said really pissed in a shart break between complaining about how long Kori was asleep and how much it costed her to keep him dreaming.

Five days? Like 120 hours? It was like a five seconds! Kori doesn’t even want to think what happened during these days, or what Mira will do to him when he will return to the Base. She have to be worried sick. Everyone else too.

‘You two are luckly that I have rules. First time is free and since you are awake. Get. Out!’ Lady Hadia finally stopped complaining and calmed down a bit. Only to grab Kori and Dager by their arms and drag them out of the room by the front doors, telling all the time that it’s the last time she is helping someone for free.

For a small and old Pyke woman lady Hadia was suprising strong. She easly throwed both Kori and adger out of the room on the corridor. Kori almost fell on the floor, his legs were still a bit jelly, but lucky for him Dager caught him and helped him to find a balance.

‘Did you get what you wanted?’ Dager asked holding Kori by the arm and helping him to stay on his legs. As much as Kori was grateful for his assistance, he had to push him away. Not becasue he was still mad or something, but becasue Dager’s smell was even worse than the smell back in the room.

Exactly Kori was no better. They both were looking and smelling terrible. Nothing strange after five days of dreaming a nightmare, but when Kori was looking like after some wild escapade, Dager was looking like a dead man walking. Kori is so glad that there is no Mira around to see them in their shape.

‘Not really. I did talked to my mother. Or she was talking to me. But I still don’t know where she is. All I have is a name. ‘Kadavo’. Kori said, leaning again a wall when most of his strengh come back. 

He still need something more than just stretch his legs to get his full strenght back, but that can wait. The most important thing to do is to find out who or what Kadavo is. Kori was expecting this to be hard, but Dager was having a pleasant suprise for him.

‘At least you have a name. I can help you with that.’ Dager said smiling a bit and giving Kori a hand to help him walk though the corridors back to the ship.

And Dager really helped, well, this new kid he knows helped. Kori remember Mira mentioning his name is Race, or at least that’s what he like people to call him. They both have luck that the kid was hanging out with Rona and Mikah and was showing them places where they can find informators. 

In any different kind of circumstance Kori would be concerned about three not even teeneger kids being alone in the Force knows where, talking to stangers who most likely are criminals, but Dager have told him that they are doing it for a longer time by now and not worry about this. 

Kori trusted him in that matter. Dager may be a lot of things and don’t care much about important things, but when it comes to the kids and their safety Dager is more than overprotective. This is something what they have in common. Exactly it is the only thing they have in common. At least it is what Kori always thought. 

They never reaallywere on a good relations, even after the Rishi moon’s mission. When he and Mira were like fire and water, they at least were making a good team and were invincible in battle But always when Kori was working with him, Kori would tell that they were like stone and wind or a Reek and a oxpecker. And a Reek always was what Kori’s would use to shortly description of who he always thought Dager was. Big, loud, strong,impulsive,unpredictable, agressive and hot headed. 

But there he is, helping him finding his parents, watching his back,doing his best, but not asking for any favor or trying to talk. Like he was doing all of this, not because he wanted to, but he was told to.That was something what was either worring Kori, and again making him suspucious.

Kori shook his head and tried to forget about all of this what is happening and turned back to thinking about this what’s important. Thanks to Rona and her friends Kori and Dager knows now that Kadavo is not a person but a place. A planet exactly, really nasty one with a very gloomy history.

Before the Clone Wars there was a Zygerrian labor processing hub on the planet, but was destroyed during the war. Then the Empire tried to rebuild this place but stopped when the Civil War broken, very soon after the First Death Star destruction the Empire sold this palce to the Techno Union and what happened next is unknown.

Kori was more than suprised to heard how much Rona knows about all of these stuff, but then again, this new kid was literally showing her and Mikah to which guys talk to if they want to know everything what’s happenig in the Galaxy. Good thing tha Mr and Mrs Bridgers don’t know about it, they would freak out if they knew that their baby daughter is flying around the Galaxy with no adults to watch her and talking to criminal’s informators. At least now Kori know how Rona knows all of these things she is suprising everyone with. Even Mira don’t know this, and that felt nice to finally know something what Mira doesn’t know.

The fly to Kadavo was long and quiet, like every other fly with Kori nad Dager on the board, but for the first time, Kori was not nervous becasue of his companion, but becasue of this how close he was. 

He never was that close to find his parents before. If his dream or vision or whatever the Force it was is true at least his mother will be there. The thing what worry Kori is this that she may be no longer there, that his vision was telling him some unheard message or missed call, or that it was just memory. 

With every step, with every move and breath, Kori’s hears was working faster and faster, and he was getting more and more nervous. And so when they finally arrived to Kadavo and found a place Rona was talking about he was almost running to see if there is someone in there. And the answer was worse than he thought it could possibly be.

The place wasn’t abonded. There really were people here. And they were building something what was looking like a Techno Union weapon factory. The factory was not even hald finished, but it weren’t workers who were building this factory. 

Even from the distance Kori could see that the Techno Union was using slaves to build this factory. Techno Union doesn’t have any non Skakoans members in their organization so it means that if Kori’s parent are here they have to be....

‘GET UP!! There is no time to waist.’ That was it. It was the same voice Kori heard in his dream.  The voice was not only harsh, it was a metalic.

Kori easly found who was yelling so lound that even he could heard him. It was a old skakoan male wearing a silver pressure suit, he was standing on to of a guard tower not so far from the place where the workes were. He has to be the warden or some kind of man in charge here and he was having at least dozen B2 super battle droid with him.

The whole construction site was really big and not so well guarded. There were hundrets of workers and only few guard droids, and there was a lot of empty space between the palce where the slaves were working. It would be easy to sneak in the site, go around the droid, climb up to the tower and turn the battle droids off from there. There is only one problem. Kori doesn’t have a blaster!!

‘‘Have you lost something?’ A voice from behind asked.

Kori turned around worrying that he screwed up and got caught before he even started doing anything to save his parents. Thanks the Force that it was only Dager.  It took him a while to catch up with Kori, he, unlike someone, knew that his parents are probably here againts their will and they will need blasters to change that.

Dager like always had his favorite 8-gauge scatter blaster shotgun, but he also brought with him Kori’s favorite DL-18 blaster pistol he got from Mira after he agreed to join her crew.

Kori took theh blaster from Dager without a word, a bit embarssed that he forget something that important like blaster. Kori again was expecting to heard some cocky joke, but it never come. Dager just stood at the place where Kori was not so long ago and was staring at the construction not so far away from them.

‘Do you think they are here?’ Dager asked watching the camp and probably thinking about a plan to go in there and not die.

To be honest, Kori wasn’t sure. After all this time of feeling that he need to go somewhere, this feeling was finally gone. There was no itching in his lekku anymore and he was not feeling a need to move foward. He was finallt feeling, that he is where he should be.

‘No. I know it.’ Kori said joing dager in watching the camp and thinking about the strategy. They could attact the camp in multiple ways, they can sneak into the camp and take the guards down without anyone noticing. They could storm the tower and turn the droids down before they could understand what was going on, but there was a problem.

Kori was so close to his parents, that he is not sure if he won’t be able to stay on the mission. He can’t be sure that he will be able to fight if he will see, hear, or meet his parents, Kori was afraid that he could freeze in the middle of battle and screw everything up, and he was not the only one who was afraid about it.

‘Listen Kori. I know that it is importont to you. And you know that I undertand why. But please. Promise me that you won’t get distracted. Nevermaind what will  happen or who you will see. Promise me you wiill stay focused.’  Dager said turning his head too look at Kori who was still watching the camp, hoping that he will promise him that, but all what he heard was silence.

How could he expect him to promise that? How can he promise him that he will control himself nevermaind what or who Kori will see or meet? That’s not something what anybody can promise, it is imposible to promise this. Not when all what Kori want to do is just run down there and look for his parents. 

He can’t do it. Kori can’t promise this. He want to but he can’t. This is just who Kori is, he can’t make a promise he can’t keep. He ever could. And he won’t start now.

Dager did not even had to heard that from him. All he needed was to look at Kori and see the answer on his face. He wasn’t happy to see it, but he understood it, every man is different, and in Kori’s shoes, he would probably make this promise and broke it anyway. 

‘That’s fine. We can do still do it. I will go there and do some noises to distract the guards, you go to the tower and turn the droids down. Then I will join you in the tower. Okay?’ Dager asked poiting his hand at the opposite end of the construction where he said he will make a distraction and then pointed at the tower. 

It sounded like a good plan and Kori nodded his head. After that Dager started to walk away from Kori to the construction’s end, but before after a few seconds of walking he stopped and turned back to Kori.

‘Aha. One more thing. Don’t die in there.’ Dager said with small friendly smile before turned around and was back on his way.

That was...unexpected. Not to say that...friendly. Like nothing before Kori have heard from him. Kori was thinking that you should say something nice back to him, but when he finally made his mind to do it. dager was already too far away to heard this.

What’s wrong with him today!? Kori always was know from being the nice guy and now he is acting like a gorrila in the mist? Maybe it’s this that he is so close to find his paretns, or maybe not?

Nevermaind. This is no time to think about it. There are more important things to do. Dager is on his way to distract the guards, when he do it Kori will have a chance to run to the tower and force the warden to turn the droids down. The question is how Dager is going to distract all the guards....

‘WHADABOOOMM!!!’ 

Kori’s thought were stopped by a loud and a really powerful explosion who. It was like a starship just blow up or a fuel deport was set on fire and exploded.

Kori have to say. When Dager is on, he is on. Kori couldn’t dream of better or louder distraction to have. He only hopes that Dager make sure that nobody was around and died in this explosion.

Anyway. The explosion did it’s job. Every single battle droid around was runnig to the center of explosion. It was not long untill Kori saw a blaster shots, what means that they found Dager.

Kori need to act quickly before the droids will kill Dager. That was not hard to run to the tower. Literally noone was trying to stop him, the workers who saw him running probably were not even undertanding what was happening. 

Kori was not risking using the elevator, and used the stairs. It took a while but at least he was sure that nothing will blow up and kill him. It was also exhausting, but finally Kori was on top of the tower.

‘What’s the meaning of this!? Who are you?’ The skakoan warden askedin fear when Kori walked to the room. Kori quickly looked around the room to see if there is no battle droid left. Skakoans are dangerous and their suits make fighting for them pretty much imposible so they usually have a boduguards or so.

Looks like this one either have send all his droid to see what casued the explosion, or is not welth enought to have a bodyguards. Either way there was no droids in the room and Kori could turn the battle droids down. 

It wasn’t hard thing to do. True, Kori have no idea with buttons he should push to shut the battledroids down but he was a mechanic for so long that he easly turned the entire panel off and all the droid should now he nothing more but a harmless toys.

At least it was what Kori thought, but then he heard the elevator’s opening. It Kori’s training what make him turn around and aim his blasters at the elevator’s door and almost shoot at them.

‘HEY! It’s me!’ Dager yelled loudly and scared raising his hands up. He was out of his breath and all covered in dusk. After all the droid shut down he ran as fast as he could to see if Kori is okay. and he also wanted to see if his parents really are here.

Kori didn’t belive what he say... well, thought, but he was actually happy to see Dager in a one piece. Like for the first time ever.  And that was good to have him here. People are usually more willing to talk when they see two guys with blasters than one.

‘Where is the inmate roster?’ Kori asked the Skakoan warden who was hiding behind a chair. The warden was not even trying to resiste, he just pointed his hand at a data panel next to the elevator where Dager stood and went back to talking that there is no need for violence and other crap.

Both Kori and Dager quickly jumped to the data panel and began reading it. There were hundreds of prisoners here, and no photos or pictures, only names, gender and informations about their functions and how long they have been there.Both Kori and Dager were reading every name, hoping that they will find his surname on the list and finally they found. And not just one, but two. AC 7768, and BC 7769. Gared and Erena Kitt.

‘There are two persons with the same names, and they have brought here by a guy called Sader almost sixteen years ago.’ Dager read out loud some of the information about the two names on the list. There was also more to read, but Kori did not need anything more.

It’s they. It has to be them. They are here. Kori know it. His parents really are here! After so many years of waiting, searching, asking, begging he finally found them. 

Kori couldn’t stay there anymore. He knew that they are here somewhere, he ran to the elevator to get down as fast as he pissibly could, when something pushed him back.

‘Kori stop!’ Dager yelled when he grabbed Kori’s arm and pushed him away from the elevator.

‘What!? Let me go. I need to see them. NOW’ Kori said loudly when he was trying to go pass Dager or push his aside but he was holding him too strong and always was keeping him away from the elevator, or the stair, stopping him from tunning to his parents.

‘NO. You can't, not right now. If you really love then you can't do it.’ Dager yelled, still fighting and pushing Kori back from some reason.

‘What are you talking about. Let go of me!’ Kori still was trying to push his away. It was like he haven’t heard this what Dager said, and he wasn’t really caring, all what matter now was it that his parents were here, waiting for him, and he couldn’t let them disappear again.

‘They have been here for sixteen years! If you will go see them now you will regret it. They will regret it. They don't want you to see them like this, not for the first time!’ Dager tried to yell some reason into Kori’s thick skull, what was not looking it was any effect of that becasue Kori still was trying to pass him.

‘How can you know this!?’ Kori asked loudly, he still was trying to push dager aside, what doesn’t mean that he did not heard him, Dager literally yelled it into his ear, but it’s not like he could just stop. He was too close, too close to stop.

‘Because I know what places like this are doing to people. Becaue I have seen all of this before! Wait for Mira and others to help them! Give them a time to rest and heal up. Just a bit. If you really love them then give them a time.’ Dager again yelled still stopping Kori, but then he was lowering his voice, mainly becasue Kori stopped fighting him.

That what Dager said what relly suprising and eathshaking for Kori. He was about to fight more, but then Dager mentioned Mira, and others, and Kori knew that he is right. He saw what was happening outside, how weak and sad there people here are.

But does he relly expect him to give them a time! After almost seventeen years of waiting and asking himself why. So many years of asking, and so many months of looking all around the Galaxy. And he still have to wait! They are here. On the same planet, in the building, and HE is asking him to wait!?

‘I know it’s a lot to ask. But this time they won’t move away. I promise you that you will see them. You was waiting sixteen years. Will a few hours more change anything?’ Dager asked trying to sound resonable.

They will. These few hours really would change something. They would change everything. They would be answers for every question, every birthday wish and every falling stars wish Kori ever made.

It was hard. The hardest thing Kori ever had to do. But finally, he lsoe his grib on Dager’s arms and Dager did the same with Kori’s. There are going to beprobably the longest hours in his life.

A few hours later.

Back in that Tower Kori thought that these hours will be long. He couldn’t be more wrong. If he have to guess how people feel before the weeding, he guess that they feel like right now.

After they called Dawn and Hera and told them where their were and who they found Hera personally come to take them and all the former prisoners to the Base. Hera wanted them to explain themself what the kriff they were doing for the last six days and why they haven’t told anytihng but Kori was having no time for it.

Kori felt kind of bad for leaving Dager alone with Hera, Dawn and everything what comes along with this, but he really neeeded to prepare himself. He was about to meet his parents for the first time in his life, and he was looking and smelling like something eaten by a Rancor.

Kori took three long and hot showers to make sure that he doesn’t reek anymore, then he took one more and moved to the harder part. He really wish it was a weddinh, if it was a weeding he would just put on his textudo and go to the ceremony, but it’s not a weeding and he can’t wear textudo. Kori have no idea what he should be wearing.

How is he suppose to know what he should have on him when he meet his parents? Textudo is far too fancy, the same with suit, but he can’t jsut put a T-shirt he is used to train and work in for the first meeting with his parents.

After many hours of thinking and making a mess in his closet Kori finally decided to wear his normal clothes. He was feeling the most comfortable in them, they were not too fancy, but weren’t bad too. And in them was who he was. Wearing this he was telling everyone ‘I’m Kori.’ And that was what he needed.

It was strange, but none come to help him or ask him about anything. What was good, he was not feeling to talk with anybody. But he was worried that they didn’t come becasue they were mad at him. even Mira haven’t come or shoved her face. 

Kori was really worried that they all are mad, he thought about going and tell them that he is sorry for not telling anyone what he and Dager were going to do. But at the same time he was worried that if he will go then something will happend and his parents will disappear again.

They all know how important it is for him. Mira know how important it is. it’s hard to say, but they have to wait for him, there are some priorities to do. Hopes they will undertand.

It was finally time. It was time for Kori to go to the medical wing and see his parents. He knew that noone was now with them and that nobody have told them that Kori is here, or that he was the one who found them. Kind of.

But anyway he was there. Standing in the corridor who is leading to the medical wing, and he know that the people in the first room are his long lost partents. The persons he wanted to meet and ask a milion questions since he wanted anything in this world. No pressure.

Kori was walking slowly thought the corridor, so slowl that he was making no sound, and not moving at all. Every step was so hard for him that now he really wish for someone to be with him. maybe it’s too early, maybe he should wait for someone, or wait for Nani! She want’s to meet them as much as he do.

It were all excuses. Kori was just afraid the his parents maybe don’t want to see him, to meet him, that maybe his aunt is right and they really did abandoned him and his sister all these years ago. That when Nani was born they really decided to leave them go to find happiness in the Galaxy without them.

There is only one way to find out. There is only one thing Kori can and will do. He have been waiting sixteen years for this. They are here, on the opposite side of this wall, and the doors are getting closer and closer. 

Kori was not even knowing that he was still walking when he was thinking about all of there things in his head. Soon, and before he know it, he was standing in the medical wing’s doors. And could see what was inside.

It wasn’t important what was in the room, but who was in it. And there were only two persons in there. One person was a Togruta woman, who was asleep on the medical bed. She was in really bad condysion and was looking dehydrated, she was very skinny and light, she was looking like she weight as much as the sheet on her, but she still was beautiful.

The second perosn in the room was Togruta man, sitting with his back to Kori. Even from behind Kori could see that the man was only in a slightly better condision than the woman on the bed, his right arm have benn put in a comfort cast to heal. He was skinny too, but he wasn’t looking weak, he was a very well built man.

Kori haven’t made a sound since he saw them, even his breathing stopped for a moment, but somehow, the man on the chair knew that someone was behind him watching, and slowly raised up from the chair.

When Kori’s heart stopped working before, now it was beating like a warhammer. Kori couldn’t take his eyes away from the older Togruta man who just got up on his legs and turned around to face Kori.

They eyes finally meet, and Kori was observing every part of the man’s face. Much to his disappointment, it was nothing what Kori usually see in the mirron. The jaw, nose, ears, eyes, cheeks, chin, everything was different, even their height. But not lekku. No, Kori’s lekku were like a mirron picture of the Togruta man’s own lekku.

‘...Kori?...” The man asked, watching young Togruta man standing in the door in front of him. We was watching every part of the young man’s face, and he was seeing the very picture of the woman lying on the bed behid him. And was having a hard time to stop water who was forming in his eyes to not spill.

Kori knows this voice. He haven’t heard it never before but he knows it voice. It was alsmot sounding like his own voice., but stronger and a bit older. Just like he always thought it would be.

Kori wanted to say something.  To say ‘Hey’ or ‘Hello’ or anything. But he couldn’t, his throat was closed and blockaded. He couldn’t say anything. All he could do was run foward and meet his father in the halfway when he wrapped bot of his arms around him and tried to not hurt his wounded one.

‘Kor! My boy..But...How did you...’ Mr. Kitt tried to ask, hugging his only and long lost son as strong as he could with only his one arm. It was good that Kori was holding his so stong otherwise he would fall, for some reason his legs were weak, and he couldsn’t stop tears running on his face.

‘Does that matter?’ Kori asked, having exactly the same problem as his Dad have. He was trying to hug him as strong as it was humanly possible, and somehow make this one hug worth these all hugs they never did. There will be time to tell him how he found them. But later. Much, much later.

‘No. No it doesn’t.’ Mr Kitt said, forgetting about everything but his son, and going back to hugging him like his life was depending of it. And wasn’t holding his tears back anymore.

Kori don’t know how long they have been like this. Huhhgin each other, crying and standing in a middle of the room and he wasn’t caring even a bit. He felt like he could be stay like this for hours, but then...

‘...Gared...?’

Kori have been so affected by his father’s presence, his words and emotions that he almost forget they were not alone in the room. Their talking, and probably crying too had to wake his mom up. She was still too tired, and wounded to notice him, or his dad, but she knew that there was someone else in the room, beside her husband, someone with a voice she have never hear, but she know whose voice it is.

Kori and his dad stopped hugging, and Kori again was really, really worried. His father saw this and give him small, warm, encouraging smile. He then placed his heal hand on Kori’s back and lightly pushed him to the bed.

When Kori stood next to the bed with his dad behind his back he  was having tears in his eyes and on his cheeks, just like his mother. She haven’t seen his face yet, but in her slee she heard her’s husband voice, and a voice she was hearing in her dreams.

 But when she have heard this voice for real he was no more than fourteen months baby who haven’t started walking yet, and the only thing he could say was one word. Now he is full grown, almost adult man, and she can’t believe her eyes.

Kori’s mom was lying on the bed, supporting on one of her arms, and trying to reach Kori with her second hand. Kori walked even closer to the bed and kneel before the bed, grabbing his mother’s hand.

‘Hey Mom. How do you feel?’ Kori asked with small smile and watering eyes, sounding a bit worried.

But he wasn’t worried about his mom. Well..he was but not like that. He was worried that soon he won’t be able anymore to stop his voice from crashing and crying his heart out. 

It really get hard to not cry when his mom grabbed him by the arm and pushed him donw to her, wrapping both of her arms around his torso and hugging him with all her strengh, what was quiet strong for such small lady.

Kori’s mom wanted to say something, she was trying really hard to say something, but she was crying too much to tell anything. She was crying, and wasn’t trying to hold back. In a small break between hugging and crying, she raised her head, and unexpectedly kissed Kori’s left temple. 

And it was too much for Kori to take. He was not holding back anymore, and he had to look like a child because he buried his head into his mom arm and was crying his heart out But maybe he wasn’t looking so bad, after all, he was hearing his dad crying too, and soon he felt that he hugged him and his mom in one big crying hugg.

And finally. After sixteen years of waiting, crying and asking about one thing, Kori finally get this. He finally have his parents back. And he couldn’t ask for a better birthday gift.

Nobody was interrupting Kori his reusion with his parents. Everybody knows that they need privacy and alone time so nobody tried to be even close to the medical wing, but there was a one person who couldn’t resiste himself to not see what’s happening.

The Kitt family was not even thinking about an option that the wall right next to them was a one-way mirror with a room on the other side for visitors. Kitts were too busy crying anyway to notice that.

Someone would say that it’s embarassing watching three adults crying, but whoever said that was an idiot. The scene in the room was more heart touching than anything in the universe. It was so emotional that even the toughest guy in the universve would spill a tear. And Dager was not exception.

‘So you do have a haert after all.’ A familiar sassy comment come out of nowhere. And it looks like Dager was not the only one who couldn’t resiste watching.

Yes. Mira was more than curious to see how the reunion would looks like. She was there for almost an hour, hidden in the back, standing in the shadows of the left corner. She was also more than suprised to see who come here a few moment ago.

‘A moment of weakness. Won’t happen again.’ Dager said with a small smile wiped out the single tear on his cheek, but never stopped watching Kori and his parents on the other side of the mirron.

‘Since when showing emotions off is a weakness?‘ Mira asked crossing her arms and standing next to Dager to take a better look at Kori and his parents. Not like it was much to see, they were hugging, sitting, watching themself, crying and again hugging, but it was nice to watch them doing it. 

‘Since you are known as the big bad cold bloody chakar.’ Dager answered with a small cocky smile, quoting Mira’s words. Yes. She have called him like that more than once and for a very good reasons over these few months. 

But hey. There he is.Watching a family reunion, with a smile on his face, and tears in his eyes, and is not even making fun out of that. Looks like someone grows up slowly and is becoming a decent human being.

Mira could say something back to this. Maybe some nasty comment or insult him again in a joking way. But she wasn’t in the mood. No, now she was in the mood to stand there for hours and watch the happy family back together.

They were both stanidng for a longer while in silence watching Kori and his parents, much to their dissapointment they weren’t talking much, instead of that they all get really tired of crying, and when they stopped they all fell asleep. AND IT WAS SO CUTE!!

Kori was sleeping sitting on a chair next to his mother’s bed, with his head resting on her stomach, and her hand on his head, nuzzling him from time to time, and his dad was sleeping on a chair next to Kori’s and was resting his head against wall behind. And they all have their faces wet and dirty, but were smiling in their sleep.

‘You know? When I asked you to try to be friends with Kori was not expecting you to do something like this.’ Mira said after a longer while of silence.

Mira would be lying if she say that she didn’t ask Dager to be friendly with Kori. At the time, Mira was worried that they all would die on that cursed moon,-they almost did-,  so she asked him to be friendly and to watch over Kori. She was soo afraid that something may happen to them, and now she will not be suprised if they become the BFF.

‘I haven’t done much. I only shoved him way. This that they are with us is all Kori's doing.’ Dager said smiling, still not taking his eyes off the Kori and his family.

‘Still. You helped him found his parents. Something I was trying to do for almost a year. That’s something ’ Mira said, reminding him to not be so modest with her.

As much as Mira hate to admite it, he really did something what Mira couldn’t. And she was trying really hard to do it.But she guess that sometimes things need to get dark, to become the brighters light.

‘Don't thing too much about it. I think that he still doesn't trust me even a bit.’ Dager said, killing the mood in the room like a profesional joykiller he is.

He is not blind, he see things around and he knows that Kori is not really found of him. Nothing suprising to be honest, Kori would be stupid if he was not concerned about having someone with Dager’s file record. What still was not making him better around Kori.

‘But you can't say that you are not happy to be a part of this?’ Mira asked rolling her eyes and poiting at sleeping Kitt family. And she know that he is not even half as heartless as he want people to think he is. And she was more than right. 

‘Yes. I'm glad I could be a part of this.��  Dager finally said, making Mira smile widely, like she just won a damned title of being the smartest person in this galaxy. And to be honest, Mira was feeling like one too. She was feeling so glad that she was even in the mood to do their usually teasing.

‘When I heard that you two were looking for Kori's parents I was going to beat the literal crap out of you two. But then, Kori finally found his parents, and I couldn't send him to a hospital in the most important day of his life.’ Mira said turing back to look at Kori and his parents, just because it was cute to watch.

And yes, She was really mad when she heard that these two jerks sneaked out of the Ghost, took the Phantom and disappeared for almost a week. She was so worried for both of them that she was going to kill them!!

‘So why am I not in the Emergency room yet?’ Dager asked crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. he, unlike Kori, was not having any exuse, and Mira have proved more than once that she is capable of kicking him for the smallest pranks or when he cross some of her mental lines.

‘Becasue without you I had to eat everything what either Dawn or Krag would cook. And if I will see any more space waffel I'm gonna scream.’ Mira said, and she was serious about that.

Five day with nothing but space waffels can drive a person insane. Se really need to eat something different, and he is their best cook so she can’t bite the feeding hand.

‘So that's the only reason why I am still in the crew? Because I cook better than anyone else on this ship?’ Dager asked Mira, crossing his arms and turing to look at her smiling face. Not like care why or how long he still need to be here, but he prefere to be the guy for dirty work than boiling one.

‘Well...Pretty much yes. But you do sometimes being useful.’Mira said smiling, acting like she was thinking for a while only tease him a bit, but then again, she was still watching Kori and his parents, so she also told him without words that it good to have him here.

Dager got what Mira said without words and he was a bit flattered. It’s not every day Mira is giving off complements, especially to him. As far as he undertand before he showed up Mira was the reckless and brutal force one in the crew, and now he is here. There are still some issues they need to work out.

 But they are the party guys in this team, and the party guys should support each other, after all, when the hells breaks down on theirs heads, Mira is sometimes the only one who jumps into the mess  with him. Talking about mess. Kori soon will be dealy with one really complicade one.

‘I know this face. What's wrong again?’ Mira asked rolling her eyes and knowing that something is wrong. After something like this Dager should act offended and threat her or give some comment at least. But he was quiet, he usually is quiet but his face was showing a concer, and that never means anything good. Not to mention that this guy never is happy and always finds a way to kill the mood.

And yes, he was about to kill the mood. There was something really important and problemating bahind all of this. It was going to make this whole warm, happy and family loving atmosphere really hard to keep. But i he has to say it to someone then Mira is the best person.

‘I read that the guy who brought Kori's parents to that hell was named Sader.’ Dager said, lowering his head and watching the floor for a moment. This was not going to be easy to say, but someone has to do it.

‘And we should care about this becasue....?’ Mira asked not really knowing why he is telling this. She really was hoping that it was one of his usuall ‘caring too much’ moments. That nothing serious will happen. But she couldn’t be more wrong.

‘Mira. Kori's mother's maiden name is Sader.’ Dager said slowly, looking back at Mira’s face and effectively wiping out her smile, her good mood, making her jaw drop, eyes wide open and face telling two words.

Oh Karabast.

Sometime later. Back in the Ghost.

‘Today was the greaters day ever.’ Kori thought to himself when he was walking thought the ships’s corridors to his room.

Kori is not sure how long he was asleep but it has to be quiet long since almost everyon are already asleep or are getting ready to. After the nape with his parents Kori couln’t not force himself to fell asleep again, he was just too exited.

Kori was almost dancing in his walk and was smiling like a goofball. Not only becasue his reunion with his parents went so good, but also becasue tomorrow they all are going to Rio wher Nani and his aunt are.

Kori was thinking about calling his sister and tell her that he found their parents, but then he got an idea to make it a suprsie and tell her nothing. He wanted to call her really hard and scream that he have found them, but she deserved to see them more than just to hear it.  

Kori was on his way to his cabin when something hit him like a train. Kori was already talking to everyone about his parents, Mira was first, Dawn, Hera and her zabrak boyfriend Krag next, Rona and her friends with Mr and Mrs Bridger late, he even told that to a few soldiers he doesn’t know, but he haven’t talk to Dager.

Kori was so exited about his parents that he didn’t notice that Dager was nowhere to be found. After Kori’s showers he haven’t heard a word from him or anything about him.Not thinking twice Kori turned around and go to Dag’s cabine. He really is exited becasue he forge to knock and simply walked to the room.

‘Dag! Sorry I haven’t talk with you before.  I was so busy talking with my parents, and about them that I forget to talk with you. I just want to say thank you. I really, really thank you for everything. And I’m sorry for my behaviors before but I was so nerverous and afraid and I wasn’t thinking staight and...” Kori was talking really quickly and not even thinking about what he is saying that he haven’t notice at first that Dager was no reacting to this what Kori is saying.

Kori calmed down and took a better look at his new pal and notice that his eyes were close and was snorting slightly. You could expect this from someone who was on a mission for five day.

Well. It’s embarassing, but at least nobody saw that. Kori always can think later, but now he really need to go and talk with somoene about his parents. Kori leaving the room so quickly that he haven’t notice that Dager’s comlik was turned on, and someone was listening his every word.

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And the end. Wow. That. Was. LONG. It was suppose to be short and funny, but I couldn’t make myself joking about lost parents. I was writing for days and still was changing half of this to make it not so horrible as it is. Anyway I couldn’t find any fanfic or anything about Kori’s missing parents and it was driving me crazy. How they couldn’t find them? With three jedi and four mandalorians? I don’t know. But I had to wirte something so I put two OC characters who knows a bit about underwold to help them. I’m even planing to draw them, but I still need to lear how to draw freaking faces!!