#but the MINUTE they decide that dynamic is SUPPOSED to be romantically charged

[elainemorisi]

old news I know, but Trek writers' ineptitude with romance is just so predictable and yet so extraordinarily varied!

[din-miller]

Heyoooo! I’m not sure if you take requests, or if this is where your supposed to ask, it’s my first time doing so :’)

BUT

If you do, I was wondering if you could maybe wright an angsty fic, could be platonic or romantic, idm, but after a mission the reader dies similar to how aunt may dies in Spider-Man. Like, everybody gets out alive after a mission, and they’re about to head back on the ship r somthin and then BOOM, the reader falls. They don’t know the are dying and everyone is panicking(or just one of TBB for bonus individual trauma) then after a few, they die. One minute TBB have it all, the next, their world shattered.

Ofc your free to change as much as you want up, and you really don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, it’s just a prompt I’ve been thinking about. Personally its just been nagging me for a while and I love your writing, and would really love to see it done (we all love some heavy angst, no?)

Again, if you don’t want to that’s perfectly fine, just thought I could ask <333

Hello dear, sorry this took so long.

Full disclosure, I’ve never seen Spider-Man. I watched a few videos on YouTube. Both for the movie and the video game not knowing which death of Aunt May you had in mind. Thankfully you provided enough details in the request which helped me hugely!

Thank you for your love and support. It means the world to me ❤️

(Ps. You didn’t mention if you wanted the reader to have a specific pronoun so I’ve chosen to use she/her as the readers pronouns)

Go Peacefully, It’s Okay

Pairing: The Bad Batch + f!reader

Word count: 2.4k

Warning: Character death, blood mentioned, female reader, fun sibling dynamics THEN hurt with not a drop of comfort to be found, platonic relationships, use of mando’a (translation at the end)

Sometimes everything you hold dear to your heart, can slip out of your fingertips without out a cause, without a warning, without an explanation

“Remind me when we get back to Ord Mantell, to tell Sid that being hunted by an unknown animal was not in the job description.” Tech grumbled, re-gaining his balance after tripping over a root hidden in the soil.

You laughed, dodging another tree branch as you raced past him, “I wasn’t aware Sid was handing out job descriptions.”

“It’s probably for the best that she doesn’t, we’d be broke if she did,” Hunter pointed out, “If you haven’t noticed, her missions are getting more dangerous lately.”

“Oh, come on, they’re not all bad,” You flinched when the creatures let out a loud roar, “See, even they’re agreeing with me.”

Your commlink beeped, Crosshair’s voice coming through the speaker, “Take the next left, you should be able to lose them in the tall grass.”

“Lose them?” Echo smirked, enjoying this more than he probably should as he jumped over a fallen log, dodging the sharp claws trying to shred his prosthetic leg into pieces, “The fun’s just getting started!”

“You can say that again!” Wrecker cheered, running beside you; Omega balanced on his shoulders, shooting her bow in hopes that it’ll slow the animal chasing them down.

“Has anyone found their weak spot yet?”

Of course nothing is ever simple with the Batch. The creature's skin ricochet any blaster fire and for the first time in history, Wrecker didn’t pack any explosives. Something he’s still evidently mad about as he complained very loudly: “No need for explosives, Tech said. It’s a peaceful planet, Tech said.”

“It was peaceful until you decided to awaken the den, Wrecker.” Tech pointed out, dodging another pounce from the creature behind him, “This plan isn’t working.”

“Crosshair, I thought you said we’d lose them in the tall grass, not attract more!” Echo growled, annoyed as his prosthetics creaked loudly, “You’ll be in charge of oiling my prosthetics when we get back.”

You let out a snort, because that'll be a sight to behold. The others laughed when all Crosshair replied with was a sneer. With a fond roll of your eyes, you opened your comm link, “I have an idea.”

“If past experiences have proven anything, those words have never been followed by anything good.” Typically Tech response.

“You got a better idea?” You asked, a tad judgemental, “Just trust me, okay. Hunter, grab Omega and run. All of you, out of the grass.”

“Copy,” Echo turned to brothers, “Race you to the ship, last one takes first watch tonight.”

Hunter’s helmet is focused on you and you know underneath it he’s giving you a pleading look to not do anything stupid. You just waved him away in response.

“I’ll be right behind you.” You promised and drew your blaster. He sighed and took off with Omega at his side.

As promised, you followed. Albeit a little further behind them as you shoot at the ground again and again, the blaster shot hot enough for the dry grass to catch on fire, forming a wall of flames that prevent the creatures from continuing their attack. As the fire builds and they begin to retreat, you let out a breath of relief. Then, with a huge grin, you threw your hands in the air, ”Victory!”

“Parjir!” Wrecker cheered, high-fiving the youngest Batch. The kid giggled and gave a cheer herself.

Hunter shook his head at them, but you can see the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at the corner of his lips. The smile disappeared as quickly as it came, your name falling from his lips: “Behind you!”

Before you could turn around, your body is slammed to the ground. A vicious snarl came from right behind your ear and you winced at the loudness of it. You twisted your body and grabbed the blaster off of your belt. In the distance the boys are calling your name and without sparing a second thought you started firing into the creature's stomach, taking no pleasure in the pained screams it let out.

You laid your head back against the ground and tried your best not to gag at the smell and warmth of the blood seeping into your clothes. A second barely passed before a pair of hands pushed the animal off of you, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” You answered, letting Tech help you up, “Thank you.”

“Next time please eliminate all threats before celebrating.”

“I’ll make sure to triple check my surroundings.” You promised, brushing off the dirt clinging to your pants.

“That would be suffice, thank you.” He said dryly and you chuckled in response, amused with his way of speech.

While Hunter started checking Omega over for any injuries, you pulled Wrecker toward you to do the same. The biggest clone willingly allowed you to poke and prod at various body parts and he doesn’t even complain when you checked a second time despite knowing that other than a bruise or two, he’s fine.

“Your turn,” Wrecker gestured for you to turn around, but before he could begin his check, Hunter called for everyone to grab their packs and start moving out. Wrecker clapped his hands together with a giant grin, “Finally! The heat is killing me! I guess I’ll check you over once we’re back on the Marauder.”

“I’d expect nothing less.” You patted Wrecker’s shoulder and followed him to where the others started preparing for the trip.

You begin the journey back to the ship at Wrecker’s side but the longer you walked, the slower your pace became and eventually you fell behind. The fire is still roaring behind you, the warmth of it faint against your back and despite having felt like you’ve travelled miles, you're not even halfway back to the ship yet.

Echo slowed down to match your pace, arm brushing against yours, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, Echo. I think the adrenaline is starting to wear off, that's all.”

“Should I get Tech? He’ll probably have a stim shot.”

“No, there’s no need to bother him. I just need a sec-,” A sharp spasm rippled down your back, the force of it knocking you over, your legs giving out from underneath you.

Echo caught you, his arm wrapping around your waist and you leaned into his embrace, head crashing onto his shoulder. Echo lowered both of you to the ground, “Help, we need help!”

Hunter dropped down beside you, helmet placed on the ground as his eyes scanned over your body, looking for injuries, but he can’t tell if the blood is yours or the creatures, “Echo, what happened?”

“I don’t know, we were talking and then she collapsed.”

“Collapsed?” Wrecker appeared beside Hunter, helmet also off, his brows knitted together, “Is she okay?”

You know what he’s thinking, it’s written across his face. He should have checked you over earlier and you know very well that thoughts like those never lead anywhere good, so you grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, “I’m okay, Wrecker. I just need a second.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Crosshair huffed impatiently. He’s out of your line of sight but you know he’s scowling, “Get up.”

“We have time to let her catch her breath,” Hunter surveyed the burning grass. The fire is steady and far enough that it wouldn’t hurt to sit for a few seconds, “When we get back to the ship, Tech is going to check you over, okay?”

Tech eyed the flames with caution, “For once I find myself agreeing with Crosshair. We don’t know what other animals the noise and fire might draw. We shouldn't stay here. It’ll be best to let Wrecker carry her to the ship.”

“First cardio, now a full upper body workout! It’s shaping up to be a good day after all.” Wrecker joked, but he couldn’t hide the anxiety that lingered in his words as he waited for Hunter’s permission.

Hunter nodded and moved out of the way, “Thanks Wrecker.”

“I got ya, ner vod.” Wrecker scooped you up, shifting you in his arms to get a better grip, only before he could find one comfortable enough for the both of you, he froze, his hold on you loosening until you were set back down carefully.

“Wrecker?”

“I-, she’s…,” He stuttered, taking several steps away from you until his back collided with a tree behind him. His eyes desperately searched for his brother, “Tech, she’s… oh maker, please no.”

You frowned, confused at his sudden behaviour. Tech seemed equally confused but he must have seen something in Wrecker's expression that you hadn’t, because suddenly he’s digging through his pack, searching for something of importance judging by the urgency of his movements.

You turned back to Hunter, “What’s wrong? What’s Tech doing?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure everything is fine.” Hunter reassured, returning to his previous place beside you. His hand slipped under your shirt, fingers deftly prodding at your side until they stopped at the bottom of your rib cage, then he’s applying pressure against your skin, cursing as he yelled for his brother to hurry.

Echo grabbed his pack, emptying the contents carelessly onto the ground before lifting your head up and placing the pack on the ground as a cushion for you, “Just relax, everything is okay, you’re okay.”

Tiny footsteps made their way to where you’re laying and Hunter held up his hand, stopping Omega from coming any closer. He doesn’t take his eyes off of her but his words are directed at his older brother, “Echo, take Omega to the ship.”

“No,” Omega fought the hand that grabbed her arm, shoving Echo back, “What's going on? Why aren’t we moving?”

She looked at you, anxiously awaiting an answer and you're quick to reassure the small girl, “Need a sec’, I prob’ly inhaled too much smoke.”

Realising that she isn’t going to go willingly to the Marauder, Hunter sighed, “Omega, go check on Wrecker. That’s an order, kid.”

Omega pressed her lips together and for a second you thought she was about to argue but instead she listened and went to check on Wrecker. The bigger clone’s sat on the ground, head between his legs, but he welcomed Omega into his arms when she hugged him in an attempt to calm him down.

Hunter cocked his head towards the two, “Echo, keep an eye on them.”

“Yes, sir,” Echo stood up and laid a hand on Hunter's shoulder, his voice lowering to a whisper, “Take care of her, vod.”

Tech took Echo's place, a scanner held over your body and he adjusted his goggles in the way he does when something isn’t looking good. The muscle in his jaw twitched before he turned the scanners screen to Hunter.

You tore your eyes away from them and tilted your head back to watch as the fire curled up into the dawn sky. Red and oranges mix with the pale pascals, and the stars, so bright from here, so familiar, blur with every breath you take. You can’t help but let your eyes drift shut.

“Don’t do that,” Crosshair hissed, “Keep your eyes open.”

You blinked them back open and you’re a little surprised to see Crosshair kneeling down beside you, his hand reaching out to gently cup your cheek. When your eyes met his, the corner of his mouth turned up, “Good, keep your eyes on me.”

“Crosshair?” You leaned into his hand, seeking the comfort he’s providing despite his usual nature, “Why aren’t we movin’? Is someone hurt?”

“No, everything is okay,” Crosshair replied, but it’s through clenched teeth. Something he only does when he’s having to say something he doesn’t fully believe and/or agree with. He positioned himself criss-crossed above you and lifted your head, replacing Echo’s pack with his lap, “We’re just taking a break.”

Right, a break. A second to relax and catch your breath, that’s what you needed. You closed your eyes, even though you're pretty sure someone just told you not to, but there’s a heavy fog clouding your mind and you can’t remember who it was.

“I said to keep them open.” Crosshair, right, that’s who said it. The man who’s currently demanding you to look at him.

“Crosshair, keep her awake.”

You're able to open your eyes enough to watch as the sniper glared at Tech, “What do you think I’m trying to do?”

Hunter’s fingers threaded through yours, “You can’t fall asleep, cyar’ika, okay? Hey, look at me, let me see those pretty eyes.”

The fading sun is too bright and your vision struggles to focus but you listened to his words and for that he gave you the softest smile, “There you are.”

“Wrec’ ok’?”

“He’s okay. We’re all okay. You just take another second to relax and don’t worry about anything, we have you.” Hunter pressed a kiss to your forehead.

Echo rubbed the back of his neck, looking anywhere but at his Sergeant, “You have to tell her, Hunter. You have to let her say goodbye.”

You want to ask what he means. Who’s saying goodbye by who. You want to ask why he looks so sorrowful, but your body doesn’t seem to want to cooperate and your voice only comes out in weak gasps.

“Move,” Tech ordered Crosshair, taking his position to support your body up against his chest, helping the air fill your lungs, “Deep breaths, nice and slow.”

You tried to match Tech’s breathing, the strength in his inhale and the sturdiness in the exhale, but your lungs start to fail you as your breathing became weaker, your grip loosened but Hunter doesn’t let go. Not even when your eyes drift shut for the final time and your chest stills.

Hunter lowered his head, pressing his forehead to yours as he whispered a promise: “Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum.”

“Hunter?”

“Kid-,” Crosshair reached out for Omega, not sure if he was trying to comfort and protect her or hell, maybe even himself, as she dropped to her knees beside your body. It took everything in him to not walk away, far from here, but she needs him. His brothers need him.

They all watched helplessly as Omega finally noticed the blood pooling around your body, “She's bleeding! Tech, why are you just sitting there?! Help her!”

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do, Omega. The wound was too deep, she was losing too much blood. I’m… I’m sorry.”

“No, I don’t believe that. There has to be something we can do!” She pressed her tiny hands against the wound while she begged through tears: “Wake up! Talk to me, say something, anything! Please, open your eyes!”

“Ad’ika, she’s gone,” Hunter swallowed around the lump in his throat, his lower lip quivered when he pulled the small clone into his arms, “She’s gone.”

Mando’a translation

Parjir. – Victory

Ner vod – My sister

Cyar’ika – darling/sweetheart

Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum – Daily remembrance of those passed on *I'm still alive, but you are dead. I remember you, so you are eternal.*

Ad’ika – Little one

[popentertainment-moviereviews]

PRISCILLA (2023)

Starring Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen, Dagmara Domińczyk, Tim Post, Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll, Luke Humphrey, Lynne Griffin, Dan Beirne, Olivia Barrett, Dan Abramovici, R Austin Ball, Evan Annisette, Stephanie Moore, Deanna Jarvis, Jorja Cadence, Josette Halpert, Stephanie Moran, Daniel Lipka, Raine Monroe Boland and Emily Mitchell.

Screenplay by Sofia Coppola.

Directed by Sofia Coppola.

Distributed by A24. 113 minutes. Rated R.

Elvis Presley was one of the biggest stars in rock and roll history, but he also had a tragic and troubled life. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Hollywood finds his story endlessly fascinating. Priscilla is the second big movie about his life in less than two years, following in the footsteps of Baz Luhrmann’s flawed-but-popular Elvis.

Okay, technically Priscilla is not the story of Elvis, it is the story of his ex-wife Priscilla Beaulieu Presley, but let’s face it, no one would ever go to see a movie about Priscilla if not for her tumultuous relationship with her charismatic, larger-than-life ex-husband. (Personally, I would have liked to see a bit of her Naked Gun years, but I suppose it is unsurprising writer/director Sofia Coppola decided to focus on the Elvis era.)

The film is a look at the power dynamic of the couple, and honestly that is the reason why it doesn’t quite make for a satisfying film. Let’s face it, Elvis had all of the power, a fact which is shown off again and again throughout Priscilla until she finally found the courage to leave the relationship.

After all, when they met, she was a shy, quiet 14-year-old military brat whose family was stationed in a foreign country. He was a 24-year-old superstar in the midst of a short-lived (less than two years) army stint which was undoubtedly set up by his manager as a publicity stunt. As shown in Priscilla, Elvis’ military stint hardly seemed like that of the average grunt. He had his own home, friends and relatives were allowed to stay with him, and he seemed to spend more time playing the piano and partying than actually dealing with combat. (He most certainly was not sent to Vietnam, even though he was in the army during the early phases of that war.)

Like most every girl in the world at the time, Priscilla was blinded by fame and had a bit of a crush on the glamourous star. And she was just a girl. (In fairness, although they met when she was 14, their relationship did not get romantic and sexual until a few years later.) She mostly meekly went along with pretty much anything that he told her to do.

Honestly, Priscilla is sort of overshadowed in her own story by the troubled-but-charismatic man she shared her life with.

It’s kind of surprising that Priscilla does not have any of Elvis’ music. Priscilla used to have some sway over the estate. However, maybe it is not all that surprising, as word has recently come out through Variety that Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie read an early screenplay for Priscilla and wrote Sofia Coppola before her death, calling the script “vengeful and contemptuous” and begging her to change it. Since Lisa Marie at the time was in charge of the trust that handled Elvis’ musical rights (they are now handled by her daughter, actress Riley Keough) it’s not totally shocking that the film was denied the rights to his music.

Of course, Lisa Marie’s mother actually lived through what happened, while Lisa Marie was only a child when her father died. Priscilla Presley has been quite vocal in her approval of Priscilla, which is based on her 1985 autobiography Elvis and Me. It’s Priscilla’s side of the story, and honestly Elvis does come off as a major ass often enough – not that it is a total surprise that Elvis was a deeply flawed and drug-addled man.

The lead couple is well played by Cailee Spaeny as Priscilla and Jacob Elordi as Elvis. Spaeny in particular has a tricky role, playing a mostly reactionary role, and aging from a young teen into a grown woman. She gives Priscilla a depth that is not always in the screenplay. Elordi – who seems to be everywhere, suddenly, I’ve also seen him in Saltburn and The Sweet East in the last couple of weeks – does a fine job of inhabiting the contradictions of Elvis, showing his charming swagger and his selfish disregard for others.

Honestly, I’d have to say that Priscilla was more of an interesting film than it was actually a good one. I’m not sure I’d ever be tempted to watch it again, but I’m glad that I have seen it.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2023 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: November 3, 2023.

[buckybeardreams]

Unwanted

Chapters: 3/11

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Characters: Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Brock Rumlow, James "Bucky" Barnes, Clint Barton, Harley Keener

Additional Tags: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alpha Steve Rogers, Omega Tony Stark, Service Top, Dominant Bottom, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Virgin Steve Rogers, Brock Rumlow is a Good Bro, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, Romantic Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, First Meetings, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sappy, Romantic Fluff, Awkwardness, Drinking to Cope, Self-Worth Issues, Insecure Tony Stark, Insecure Steve Rogers, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Age Difference, Harley Keener is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Bonding, Claiming Bites, Claiming, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Non-Explicit Sex, Light Dom/sub, Mutual Masturbation, Coming Untouched, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000

Series: Part 1 of Second Chances

Ch 1 Ch 2 Ch 3 Ch 4 Ch 5 Ch 6 Ch 7 Ch 8 Ch 9 Ch 10 Ch 11

Can also be read here

Summary:

Steve is a soft Alpha and Tony is an in charge kind of Omega with no desire to find a mate. He doesn't want to find his soulmate and when he does meet Steve he's determined to stay away from him.

That is until he realizes just how right they are for each other.

Words: 1355

Tony was avoiding Brock, even though he knew his best friend was hurt because of it. He knew that Brock wanted him to like his Alpha, but Tony had no interest in getting to know Sam. He also knew he was being rude, but he really didn't care. He was hurt and pissed off and hated Alphas more now than ever.

Of course it would be that night, as Tony's mind was filled with thoughts of how much he absolutely hated Alphas and how undeserving of love and happiness he was, that his soulmate would walk into the bar. Tony didn't notice him at first, too busy stewing in his self-loathing thoughts. Clint snapped his fingers in front of Tony's face to grab his attention.

Steve was seated at a table, but his eyes had been drawn to the Omega sitting up on the bar, a pout on his lips and his eyes narrowed as he stared down at his lap. He looked grumpy and upset about something and Steve wanted to make him smile. He lit up with a grin when the tiny Omega hopped down from the bar and headed in his direction. Tony was not nearly as pleased to be heading towards the Alpha as Steve was to have him coming closer, but he plastered on a smile and looked up, ready to greet him and get his order.

Just like that both of their lives were flipped upside down. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered to Steve was the dark-eyed beauty staring at him, wide eyed and shocked. Steve's eyes shined with hope and his grin turned stupid and dopey, like some lovesick fool. Tony's eyes raked up and down the Alpha. He looked like a Greek god with his impressive physique and his perfect features and his gorgeous blue eyes that Tony wanted to get lost in.

"Don't just stand there, Anthony!" Obie snapped.

Great, just what Tony needed, his asshole boss to show up and give him a god awful headache. He was stressed out enough without having to deal with the owner of this shit bar. Actually, that wasn't fair, the bar wasn't that bad. Obie though, he was a real piece of work. The worst kind of Alpha really. Entitled, arrogant, and as intolerable as he was intolerant. Tony's mood instantly soured. Steve saw his soulmate's distress flash through his eyes and growled at the man causing it. Obie's eyes widened and he rushed to apologize, not to Tony, but to his customer.

"I'm so sorry for the inconvenience, sir. Anthony here was just about to take your order," Obie said in a too polite way that made Steve feel sick. "Go on, Anthony, don't make the customer wait."

Tony put on his best customer service smile, even though it's the last thing he wanted to do. He didn't want to pretend to be happy, not for this Alpha that was supposed to be the love of his life.

"Of course! What can I get you today, sir?" Tony said in a fake cheery voice, cringing internally at having to call this Alpha, his Alpha, sir.

They both relaxed when Obie walked away.

"He seems like an asshole." Steve frowned in Obie's direction. "You shouldn't have to put up with that shit."

Tony was instantly irritated, even if a part of him wanted to swoon at the protective Alpha.

"Yeah, well, I don't need you rushing in to save the day. I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much," Tony snipped.

Steve blinked at him before smiling softly.

"I'm sure you can, sweetheart."

Tony narrowed his eyes at the endearment, ignoring the way his heart started to race in his chest and his palms started to sweat. He wasn't going to fall for this Alpha. He wasn't. He was going to be polite though, so his boss didn't have another reason to yell at him.

"Would you like a minute to decide what you want?" Tony said in that fake cheery tone.

Steve shook his head.

"No, I'll just take a cheeseburger."

"Coming right up." Tony's smile dropped the moment he turned away.

He was grumbling about insufferable Alphas that think way too highly of themselves when he handed off his order to Bucky. Bucky flinched slightly away from the pissed off Omega and his grumbling, not that it was directed at him, but Bucky was an Alpha. Tony mumbled a half assed apology, smiled half heartedly and headed into the back room to take his break.

Steve tried not to be put off by their first encounter, convincing himself that his Omega was just stressed out and was also trying to be professional. Steve didn't try to flirt with him or anything, but he did blush when Tony brought him his food. His Omega was serving him, a thought that displeased Tony. Steve wasn't exactly thrilled by it either. He didn't hate it the way Tony did, but it did make him slightly uncomfortable. Steve would much rather serve his Omega. He should be the one bringing his Omega food, not the other way around. He should be making him breakfast in bed after a night of passionate lovemaking. Instead he just smiled shyly at Tony when he came to bring him his bill and clear his table, unsure of what he was allowed to say to him. The last thing he wanted to do was make Tony think that he didn't want him, but he also didn't want to make him uncomfortable. He was at work and some Omegas were really shy and might not appreciate being flirted with. Steve wasn't entirely sure he could even flirt with Tony in that moment without being really awkward about it. It was best to not say much at all and just follow Tony's lead.

Tony gasped softly when their fingers brushed and Steve's eyes widened in shock. It was like a spark shot through them both and rushed straight down south. Steve instantly felt his cock throb to life and Tony's hole twitched, getting slick in anticipation of his Alpha's knot. They stared at each other for a moment, before Tony tore his gaze away and scurried off. Tony wanted to wait until Steve left to grab the bill. He didn't want to approach him again, not when he felt so confused and conflicted, but fucking Obie told him to get his ass over there. Which is the only reason Tony found himself back at Steve's table. It definitely had nothing to do with the way his heart was pounding in his chest and he felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

Tony grabbed the bill off of the table and his eyes widened at the more than generous tip Steve had left on the table. Steve smirked at him and stood up, leaning closer to whisper out a goodbye, unable to stop himself when Tony looked so damn pretty, a little flustered with his hair sticking up all over the place like he kept running his fingers through it.

"Goodnight, pretty Omega."

Tony stared at him as he left, feeling all fluttery inside, but his jaw clenched.

What a prick? Did he really think he could waltz in here and call him pretty and Tony would be his? Did he really think he could buy Tony's affection with an over the top tip?

Tony growled and stomped over to the register to put away the money, pocketing his tip.

"Fucking Alphas," He grumbled.

Then he noticed that the Alpha had left his number and Tony scoffed.

How presumptuous of him to assume that Tony wanted him!

Tony didn't want him. Really he didn't. He definitely wanted nothing to do with the Alpha. Uh-uh! Nope! Definitely not! He didn't want any Alpha, especially not that one, that stupid pretty Alpha. His Alpha , his traitorous mind corrected.

Steve went home that night and laid down in his bed, his phone next to him on his pillow, his ringer turned up all the way, wondering if his Omega would call him after his shift was over. Tony of course had no intention of calling him. He hadn't taken the phone number home with him. He had tossed it in the trash. He went home seething. Pissed off that Brock had an Alpha, pissed off that his mate had shown up, pissed off that he'd let him walk away, and after a week of sleepless nights and drinking that didn't manage to take his mind off those stupid gorgeous blue eyes, Tony was pissed off that he threw his number away.

How the hell was he supposed to find his Alpha now?

He hated to admit it, refused to admit it aloud, but alone in his own bed while sleep evaded him for the fifth night in a row, Tony could finally admit to himself that he regretted not calling his Alpha, that he wanted him.

[babysizedfics]

Little Accidents, Big Developments

Chapter 1: A Colourful Afternoon

[This is an age regression story]

The sides have successfully integrated Virgil's regression and Roman's age dreaming into their dynamic, and everyone seems happier for it. Though, Virgil's willingness to trust the others is tested when a long-term problem starts to present itself around his family; his regression leaves him susceptible to wetting himself.

Caregivers Patton and Logan try to help him navigate this issue all while navigating their own newly-discovered romantic feelings for each other.

Sibling spats, covert kissing sessions, and baby babbles lie herein.

Other chapters: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / bonus

Read on AO3 or below the cut!

Chapter Summary:

Roman tries to look after his baby brother, Logan learns to let loose a little, Virgil is nervous to be left on his own, and Patton can’t take much more of this adorableness without screeching.

Chapter word count: 9,000

oOo

It was late afternoon in the mindscape and the house had been moderately quiet. There was the faint clattering of pans as Patton cooked in the kitchen, the soft scratching of Virgil’s crayons, and Logan’s quiet snores coming from the couch. They had been the only sounds cutting through the lazy atmosphere, up until Roman started playing with his Disney figurines. The silly voices and impromptu solos he made the characters perform interrupted the calm, though it was such a common sound in the house that no one seemed to notice the change.

  Virgil had regressed a few hours earlier and, as usual, Roman’s littlespace quickly followed. There were a variety of reasons Virgil’s regression often inspired Roman to trigger his age dreaming; seeing Virgil act so young sparked the craving for Roman himself to let go of adult responsibilities, plus seeing Virgil’s various baby items such as his plushes and soft clothes made Roman miss his own little items - especially his toys. Also (and probably most of all), the care and affection that Patton and Logan bestowed upon a regressed Virgil did admittedly make Roman jealous. But he had learned that if he only asked for it, he was given the same level of attention, so it no longer upset him as it had previously. Instead of getting angry like he used to, he knew he could just fall into his own littlespace and he and Virgil could both be taken care of without any arguments. Though that afternoon, not much attention was being given to either of them.

  Patton had tasked Logan with caregiving duties when he left to make dinner. While the logical side had taken to his caregiving headspace much more readily in the recent weeks, the lull of the afternoon had apparently made him lethargic and he had fallen asleep not long after.

  Roman didn’t mind, though. As Virgil’s big brother, that meant that while the caregivers were not in the room (or were unconscious) it was Roman who was in charge! He hadn’t taken to caregiving, and he had no desire to, but he felt a childish giddiness at being given the role of a protector. Even if it was unintentionally handed to him by Logan falling asleep.

  But Roman was quickly realising it was a lot harder to look after Virgil than their caregivers made it look.

  The littles had both been preoccupied when Patton left, Virgil colouring a picture and Roman playing with his toys. Though, being much more observant and aware in his littlespace than Virgil was, Roman did notice when Patton left. He had tiptoed out quietly, leaving the distracted Virgil unaware of his departure.

  Roman knew this was because of how clingy Virgil had become. Ever since they integrated his regression into the family dynamic, Virgil could hardly bear to be away from his Papa’s side for a minute. Logan had said it was something called ‘separation anxiety’ and that it was common for young children. Whatever it was called, Roman still didn’t see why it was worth crying every time their dad left the room. It wasn’t like he went far.

  As expected, when Virgil finished his drawing and held it up to where Patton had been sitting, he stiffened on seeing the empty armchair. Roman looked up at the movement and felt his stomach drop when he saw Virgil’s eyes tear up.

  He didn’t like it when Virgil cried, partly because it meant he stole all of their caregivers' attention, but mostly because it made Roman’s tummy flip and his throat get all cloggy when he saw his little brother upset. He didn’t like it.

  ‘It’s okay, Vee,’ Roman said. He dropped his toys and quickly shuffled closer to Virgil on the carpet. Their caregivers had said Virgil needed to be close to someone if he was sad because it helped him feel safer. ‘What’s the matter?’

  Virgil’s fingers flew up to tug nervously at the handle of the pacifier that sat in his mouth. His eyes frantically searched around the room.

  ‘Dad went to make dinner,’ Roman explained. ‘Look, Mom’s still here,’ he pointed at Logan who let out a timely snore.

  ‘Theep,’ Virgil lisped through his pacifier, sounding upset.

  ‘Yeah, he’s asleep,’ Roman said, 'but I'm here too.'

  The worry stayed on Virgil’s face, and Roman was about to speak again but fell silent when his hand was suddenly covered by something soft and warm. Roman’s gaze fell down to see that Virgil was holding his hand tightly. When he looked back up, Virgil refused to meet his eyes.

  Pride surged through Roman. His little brother wanted comfort and was relying on him! He puffed out his chest to look important and tried to think of a way he could help Virgil feel better. He would prove he was just as smart and kind as their caregivers, and then Virgil would love him just as much.

  ‘Don’t be scared, baby,’ Roman said then twisted his hand around so that he could grip Virgil’s hand back in reassurance. ‘Do you wanna do another colouring?’

  A small whimper escaped Virgil as his hand clasped tighter around Roman’s.

  ‘You wanna stay with me?’ Roman asked and Virgil nodded slightly. ‘Then let’s do a colouring together. We can show Mom when he wakes up and then Dad and they’ll be really happy we played nice together!’

  Virgil perked up at the suggestion and Roman was happy to see he didn’t look close to tears anymore. Roman had helped Virgil to stop being scared and came up with a really good way to play together; he was the best big brother ever!

  He summoned a large piece of paper, an assortment of coloured markers, and a black fineliner. With the fineliner, he started drawing a complex lined image of an overgrown bush full of leaves and flowers of various shapes. Virgil did not let go of his hand throughout the few minutes it took to finish and Roman was glad his dominant left hand was the one left free to draw.

  When it was done, he tipped the coloured pens out of their case and they tumbled unceremoniously onto the floor.

  ‘You can start colouring that side and I’ll do this side,’ Roman directed, then grabbed a red marker and began adding colour to a rose.

  He stopped after a few moments when he realised Virgil hadn’t moved. He looked up with a frown and saw a hesitance in Virgil’s eyes.

  ‘C’mon, you know how to colour,’ Roman whined in complaint.

  Roman thought he had made Virgil feel happy, but now he was just being a scared baby again. And Roman didn’t even know why! He wasn’t good at knowing what was wrong with Virgil, their caregivers were supposed to do that. A faint frustration bubbled in his chest, but he knew to keep it there and not snap at Virgil. That was when things got really frustrating because when Roman yelled, Virgil would cry then Patton got worried and Logan told Roman off for being mean.

  ‘Why’re you scared?’ Roman asked. Then a thought came to him and he pouted. ‘Do you not like my picture?’

  Virgil’s eyes widened and he shook his head. Roman breathed a sigh of relief.

  ‘Then what? You don’t like using pens? You dunno what colour to use?’ At the last question, Virgil’s hand squeezed and he nodded.

  ‘That’s silly,’ Roman giggled. Why was Virgil scared about something like that? ‘You can use whatever colour you want.’

  ‘Bu’ it yours,’ Virgil mumbled, the pacifier garbling his words.

  ‘Nu-uh,’ Roman shook his head, ‘I made it for both of us. And it’s boring if I choose all the colours, anyway,’ he shrugged then went back to colouring.

  After a few seconds, Virgil slowly picked up a purple marker and Roman smiled at him to show that it was good. They coloured together in silence, their hands still joined between them.

  A couple of minutes passed before Roman heard a gasp and looked over to see that Virgil’s pen marks had slipped outside of the lines. It wasn’t surprising; Virgil could never stay inside the lines when he coloured. When he first saw the messy work in Virgil’s colouring book, Roman teased him about it but then Virgil got sad and Patton had explained it was because Virgil regresses so young. Roman pointed out that Virgil was also using his wrong hand to colour because he was usually left-handed but Logan told him not to draw attention to it. So Roman apologised and Virgil was never worried about his messy colouring after that.

  But for some reason this time Virgil looked like he’d committed an unforgivable crime. His eyes were wide and he had quickly dropped the pen to hide his hands in his sleeves.

  ‘That looks cool!’ Roman said quickly. He really didn’t want Virgil to start crying again.

  Virgil looked like he was scared of him and it made Roman sad. How come Virgil didn’t believe him? He remembered Logan saying something about showing instead of just telling when you’re trying to get someone to understand you, so Roman decided he should show Virgil that colouring outside the lines was okay.

  He stabbed his own pen onto the page and purposefully scribbled over the lines. He looked over at Virgil and saw the younger boy look cautiously from the page to Roman.

  ‘It’s more fun like this,’ Roman assured him. Then he grabbed a different coloured pen and started drawing swirling shapes outside of the lines. It wasn’t a lie - this was way more exciting than trying to be careful with the colours!

  Virgil made a noise of understanding then picked up his purple pen and started scribbling randomly too. Soon they were filling the page with a rainbow of colours and shapes and made a silent game of trying to fill up their side of the page faster than the other. The room gradually filled with their growing laughter.

  oOo

  Logan awoke to the joyful sound of childish giggles.

  In any other situation, it would have irritated him to be jolted out of sleep by someone else’s loudness. He heavily relied upon his body to wake him at the perfect stage of his sleep cycle to avoid any grogginess. Logan had made it very clear to the rest of the household a long time ago that they should not wake him unnaturally unless in emergencies. The others certainly didn’t seem to appreciate it on the rare occasion when Logan’s sleep cycle was interrupted and he had been far more impatient than usual.

  Though this time Logan did not mind. Blinking his eyes open to see Roman and Virgil laughing together, joined at the hand and smiling brightly immediately dispelled any of Logan’s unsavoury feelings at being woken up. Though realising that he had fallen asleep while he was meant to be looking after the littles did cause him some guilt.

  ‘I apologise for falling asleep,’ Logan said, readjusting his glasses. ‘Have you two been alright?’

  The two looked up at him excitedly.

  ‘Mom, I looked after Vee while you were asleep!’ Roman cried triumphantly.

  ‘Thank you, Roman,’ Logan said, ‘it appears you did a wonderful job.’ Both caregivers had realised Roman required a lot of positive reinforcement when he was little, so Logan always made a conscious effort to praise him.

  ‘Yeah, I did,’ Roman agreed with a big smile.

  Virgil released Roman’s hand and stretched his arms out to Logan wordlessly as if he could somehow make them span the length of the living room floor. Logan immediately got up and walked over, settling to kneel on the carpet between both boys.

  ‘Have you been having fun with your big brother?’ Logan asked as he wrapped an arm around Virgil’s shoulders. Virgil hummed in confirmation and leaned against Logan’s side.

  ‘Do you like our colouring?’ Roman asked, tugging on Logan’s other arm harshly.

  ‘There is no need to pull, Roman. Just asking will do,’ Logan reprimanded gently, then looked down at the large piece of paper (A2 size, he noted) in front of him.

  The page was decorated in an intricate, hand-drawn floral design, though the colours did not necessarily reflect the image. There were polka dots and spirals and scribbles and doodles of all different hues decorating the edges of the paper, with the middle of it still uncoloured. It was abstract and so something Logan would never normally have seen the point in. Though, he had to admit the disregard for conventionality was rather creative. And the smiles on Roman and Virgil’s faces were enough to convince Logan of the benefits of it.

  ‘It is rather colourful,’ he said. His neutral response appeared to disappoint Roman, so Logan promptly added, ‘and beautiful.’

  ‘Thanks, Mom!’ Roman said with a bright smile. ‘This is my side, and that one’s Vee’s,’ he indicated them with his pointer finger.

  Logan looked at it more carefully, noticing the contrast between each side of the page. Roman’s colours were much more varied, seemingly using every colour available, and created elegant swirling patterns and smooth gradients. Not a single part of his side was left blank. Virgil’s side was much messier, with less variation in colours - he had used purples and blues mainly with some occasional hints of red. His pen marks were erratic and there were large streaks of white showing through the ink. His colouring was visibly less thought-out than Roman’s, appearing to be far more based on whimsy rather than aesthetics.

  A quiet whimper sounded beside him and then Virgil’s face was pressed into his shoulder. Logan realised his quiet deliberation must have made him anxious.

  ‘The sides are both very different,’ he confirmed, ‘just as you two are very different.’ Virgil’s face pushed further against him. ‘Though they are both equally beautiful.’

  He did not have much time to enjoy the look of surprise and delight on Virgil’s face before Roman was jostling his shoulder for attention again.

  ‘It was my idea!’ he proclaimed. Logan turned his head to him with an exaggerated look of surprise.

  ‘It was?’ he gasped.

  ‘Mhm,’ Roman nodded fervently. ‘Vee was nearly crying, so I said we should colour together to make him feel better.’

  Logan smiled encouragingly, though tightened his hold around Virgil as he felt the younger side tense. Roman was not exactly delicate when mentioning Virgil’s tears. Still, he did not mean any harm and so there wasn’t much to be done about it.

  ‘That was very considerate of you,’ Logan said. ‘Your dad will be glad to hear it as well.’

  Roman nodded to himself then jumped back into colouring with rekindled fervour.

  Logan took the opportunity to give Virgil his undivided attention. It was a rare moment when Roman was occupied enough to not demand it for himself.

  ‘How are you feeling, Virgil?’ Logan asked, squeezing his shoulder lightly.

  Virgil did not offer a response but looked up at Logan expectedly. He was evidently not very verbal at that moment.

  ‘Do you need anything?’ Logan asked instead, hoping the more direct question would encourage him to communicate.

  ‘Papa,’ Virgil whispered as soon as Logan finished speaking, the word muffled by his pacifier.

  A sharp, unpleasant feeling spiked Logan’s stomach but he chose to ignore it.

  ‘Shall we go and show Papa the colouring?’ Logan asked.

  ‘No, it’s not finished yet!’ Roman interrupted.

  Logan sighed quietly then turned to see Roman’s pouting face.

  ‘I believe dinner is almost ready,’ Logan said, going off of the appetising smells that filled the house. ‘And this is a rather large drawing. You may not have time to complete it before your dad sees it.’

  ‘He can’t see it yet,’ Roman mumbled grumpily. He started colouring again, though this time he was pressing the marker so hard against the paper it made a squeaking sound.

  Logan wanted to respond to Roman’s tantrum but felt a gentle tug on his opposite sleeve. He twisted his body to see Virgil shyly holding a marker up to him.

  ‘For me?’ Logan asked redundantly, taking the pen.

  Virgil pointed at the colouring page, his eyes pleading with Logan.

  ‘Oh, I see,’ Logan said. He considered for a moment then conceded, ‘I suppose I can help.’

  Virgil smiled then picked up a pink marker and started scribbling.

  Logan popped the cap off of his own pen and started to draw a simple square on the page. As the minutes ticked by, he experimented with various shapes and marks, though eventually settled on writing numbers chronologically. It was calming, and the boys didn’t seem to mind the difference, instead seeming pleased by the wild variation of work on the page.

  It did not take long for the page to fill up, and by the time Logan was reaching the 130s their pens were crowding in on each other, fighting over the last few square inches of white paper. 

  Suddenly, there was a cold, wet swipe on Logan’s hand. With a slight delay, they all realised Virgil had mistakenly drawn over Logan’s hand rather than the paper. The pink pen clattered to the floor as Virgil recoiled from Logan, looking at him anxiously.

  ‘It’s alright, Virgil,’ Logan hastened to reassure him. ‘It’s only a bit of ink. No cause for worry.’

  A mischievous giggle sounded from his other side and another cold tip tickled across his skin, this time on his forearm.

  Logan looked over in surprise to see a red crown drawn on his arm. His gaze flitted up to Roman’s challenging smirk. If Roman were an adult at that moment, Logan might have accepted the challenge, but this was a child he was dealing with. He could contain his competitive nature if only to prove he would not sink to such silliness.

  ‘Highly amusing,’ Logan said, trying to get the right balance of playfulness and sternness in his tone, ‘but we should probably stick to drawing on the -’

  He was silenced by a quiet giggle and yet another tickle on his opposite forearm. Virgil was scribbling on his arm happily now. Before Logan could close his gaping mouth, Roman was laughing boisterously and drawing on his arm again.

  Logan’s gaze darted between the two impish boys helplessly for a few seconds. Then he raised his pen and said very seriously:

  ‘You both have made a grave mistake.’

  oOo

  Patton lifted the wooden spoon to his lips to taste his sauce and smiled at the burst of flavour. Perfect.

  He dropped the spoon to the counter and turned off the stovetop. After closing the lid on the saucepan to keep it warm, he checked on the vegetables in the oven. Just a few more minutes and they would be done. Perhaps he could risk just a little bit of playtime with his boys while he waited. He rinsed his hands in the sink then started making his way to the living room, excited to see his family again even if he had only been gone for half an hour.

  As he traipsed through the hallway, echoes of laughter became audible and grew louder with every step. Once Patton reached the closed living room door, he almost had to cover his ears from the squeals and joyous shouts that came from inside. He eased the door open silently, not wanting to disturb the fun before he got a chance to observe what exactly had them all so hysterical.

  As soon as he poked his head around the door, a wide smile stretched his lips.

  Heaped onto the carpet were three writhing bodies; Logan was at the bottom of the pile, his back propped against the front of the couch and his legs splayed out on the floor. They were trying to buck off Roman, who sat on Logan's knees and scribbled a pen over his shins, exposed by his rolled-up pant legs. Then there was Virgil, laid across Logan’s lap and wriggling around as Logan bunched up his sweater and scribbled a pen over his tummy. Virgil was doing his best to retaliate by drawing on Logan’s rosy cheeks, but he was flailing so much from the ticklish scribbling that he could not do much besides giggle and squirm. They were all laughing uncontrollably, gasping for breath as they wrestled playfully with one another.

  Patton could hardly believe his eyes and hurriedly took out his phone to snap some pictures so that he would have proof later. The others were so absorbed in their play-fight that they did not notice his presence until Patton put his phone away and finally allowed himself to burst into goofy chuckles along with them.

  They slowly seemed to notice the extra set of laughter and ceased their attacks to look over at him. Roman was beaming, appearing delighted that Patton had joined them. Virgil looked shy and curled close to Logan in search of comfort, though Patton could see his dimples and knew he was still smiling behind his pacifier. Logan had completely frozen, his smile dropping from his face within seconds and looking like a deer caught in headlights.

  The logical side was so stunned that he startled when Virgil drew a heart on his cheek, evidently taking advantage of Logan’s obliviousness. The sensation shook Logan from his stupor and he looked down at the little in his arms and offered a playful mock glare. When Virgil giggled in response, Logan finally looked back to Patton.

  ‘They started it,’ he stated very seriously, contrasting the flush on his face.

  Roman made a noise of offence and immediately started scribbling on Logan’s leg again. The logical side seemed uncomfortable to continue with Patton in the room, though.

  ‘That is enough now,’ Logan said. ‘I believe it must be dinnertime given your Dad’s appearance.’ Logan looked up at Patton almost pleadingly and Patton gave him the benefit of the doubt.

  ‘He’s right, kiddos, time to wash up before dinner!' Patton instructed the children.

  Roman groaned loudly and collapsed on the floor by Logan's legs, his prolonged whine becoming muffled by the carpet. Virgil was far more cooperative and held his hands up for Patton to lift him. 

  Patton complied happily, grasping his arms and hoisting Virgil up to stand. As soon as he was upright, Patton pressed a kiss to his nose. The shorter side made a small sound of surprise.

  Logan stood soon after, brushing off wrinkles from his pants. Roman still lay face-down on the floor.

  'Come on, little prince,' Patton said. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’

  'No,' Roman said stubbornly.

  'Playtime is over, Roman, it's dinnertime now,' Logan stated.

  'I don't need dinner!'

  ‘Falsehood.’

  'Oh well, I guess Roman won't be coming,' Patton said loudly. Virgil made a noise of worry but Patton stroked his hair gently and winked over at Logan’s concerned look. 'It's a shame... I need a big boy who will help my baby wash his hands. Guess I'll just have to find another brave, handsome prince to help.'

  Roman leapt up so fast Patton worried he would collapse from head-rush.

  'I can do it, Dad!' he volunteered enthusiastically.

  'Oh, thank you, sweetheart!' Patton grinned. He looked to Logan then nodded at Roman pointedly. The logical side nodded, getting the hint.

  'Very chivalrous of you, Roman,' Logan praised.

  Roman preened at the attention then reached out his hand to Virgil with a bow.

  'I shall protect you with my life, young one.' 

  Virgil slowly reached out and held onto Roman's offered hand but looked up at Patton nervously.

  ‘I’m going to be right behind you, sweetie,’ Patton said. ‘I’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.’

  Virgil nodded and, led by Roman, the two toddled into the hallway.

  As Logan tried to make his way past him to leave the room, Patton couldn’t help himself from giggling.

  'So... They started it, huh?' Patton asked.

  Logan paused in his path and fidgeted with his tie, straightening it where it had been misplaced by their play-fight.

  ‘Yes, well,’ he cleared his throat, ‘childish behaviour is to be expected of them.’

  ‘And it’s fun to join in,’ Patton added with a knowing smile. ‘Just because we’re the grown-ups doesn’t mean we can’t be playful too, Logan. I’m glad you’re having fun with them.’

  Logan blushed though Patton saw a smile work its way onto his lips.

  ‘It is… invigorating,’ Logan said monotonously, then added with a concealed chuckle, ‘and they are quite endearing.’

  ‘Aren’t they?’ Patton agreed enthusiastically. He desperately wanted to add that Logan too was endearing in his own right, but something stopped him. Not because he didn’t truly believe it, but because he was frightened of Logan realising just how sincere the thought was.

  Logan’s mouth opened and closed in quick succession. Then he seemed to abandon his train of thought with a shy smile. It made Patton feel dizzy.

  ‘Dinner?’

  ‘Oh, right,’ Patton shook his head lightly. ‘Forgot,’ he breathed through an awkward laugh.

  Patton turned and made his way through the hallway in the direction of the kitchen with Logan close behind. He had a sudden thought, pausing by the bathroom door and gesturing for Logan to go through to the kitchen without him. 

  As he stood outside the bathroom he heard Roman explaining to Virgil that he had to wait for the water to get warm but not too hot and that he would check it for him so the baby doesn't hurt himself. Patton's heart swelled. He wondered when Roman had gotten so protective of Virgil, but didn’t care to question it at all. It was positively adorable.

  He knocked on the bathroom door then eased it open when Roman called him in.

  Roman's hand was stuck under the running tap, his t-shirt getting splashed slightly in the process. Virgil waited patiently behind him, still clutching onto his other hand.

  ‘Sweethearts, can you please use the potty before dinner too?’ Patton asked. ‘You both haven't been since you were big.'

  'Okay, Dad,' Roman shrugged. 

  'Good boys,' Patton smiled then left for the kitchen.

  Just as he and Logan served up the dishes, Roman and Virgil rushed into the kitchen. Well, Roman rushed in, Virgil was dragged behind him quite clumsily. Patton instantly noted the tension in the younger side’s shoulders.

  'Are you alright, Vee?' Patton frowned.

  ‘He was too embarrassed to go potty,' Roman said, pointing at him.

  Virgil's cheeks flushed and he ducked his head.

  ‘We don't point, Roman,’ Logan reprimanded.

  ‘Oh, sorry,’ Roman muttered, lowering his hand.

  'It’s alright, sweetie,' Patton said, then turned his attention to the anxious side. He moved over to rub gently at Virgil’s shoulders, willing him to relax them. 'You didn't wanna go with Roman in the room?'

  Virgil shook his head quickly.

  'Okay, can you go alone for me?'

  Virgil's head shook even faster.

  Patton frowned and looked up to Logan for help.

  'Virgil, can you tell us why you won’t go to the bathroom alone if not with Roman?' Logan asked calmly.

  Virgil just whimpered and buried his head against Patton's shoulder. Patton instinctively petted his hair in comfort.

  'Don't worry, baby. Come here,' Patton whispered.

  He led Virgil by the hand back to the bathroom, noting how Virgil’s grip tightened as they drew closer. They stopped in front of the door and Virgil ducked behind Patton as if hiding from it. Patton would have thought it cute if it weren’t concerning him.

  'Are you too scared to go in on your own?' he asked quietly, knowing Virgil would be more embarrassed if everyone could hear them.

  Virgil nodded against his back. Patton slowly turned so that he could see Virgil’s reaction, though made sure his body still blocked his view of the bathroom as Virgil wanted.

  'Okay, do you want Papa to come with you?'

  Virgil's cheeks turned pink and he shook his head.

  Patton felt lost on what to do but could see the whole ordeal was causing Virgil some distress, so he decided to drop it for now. If he needed the bathroom after dinner they could address the issue again. He probably just didn’t need it.

  ‘Alright, sweetheart, you don’t need to,’ Patton brushed his cheek lightly. ‘Shall we go have our dinner?’

  Virgil visibly perked up and nodded his agreement, so Patton led them back to the kitchen where Logan had laid everyone’s plates out.

  oOo

  Dinner passed by easily, with excited chatter about what they had been up to that afternoon - mostly with Roman speaking on both his and Virgil’s behalf.

  After they had eaten, Logan went to have a quick shower to wash off the pen ink and, after a lot of bargaining, Patton finally got the boys to agree they too would bathe, but later. Virgil was too young to bathe alone but also too self-conscious to let Patton bathe him. It was clear he wanted to wait until he was grown-up again, so Patton didn’t push the matter with him. The majority of his careful persuasion was directed at Roman, who did not have any issue with bathing alone (since he could come out of his littlespace voluntarily, unlike Virgil) but was simply stubborn. Eventually, he agreed to wash, though only if he could watch an episode of Steven Universe first. Patton didn’t necessarily mind the compromise.

  After Logan got back from his shower, Patton and the littles had already watched one episode of the cartoon. As soon as Logan had entered the living room, Roman darted off to take his shower at light speed. He hurried back within minutes, his hair dripping wet, not wanting to miss any more of the show. Patton chuckled to himself at Roman’s dishevelled appearance, his pyjamas ruffled having been shoved on in a hurry. He would never have let anyone see him like that if he were his usual adult self.

  Soon, all four of them were settled into the comfy atmosphere as the third episode started up. Patton and Logan both sat in the middle of the couch. There was barely any space between them, though they didn’t acknowledge it aloud. Meanwhile, Roman and Virgil sat cross-legged on the carpet gazing up at the screen.

  They seemed to be enjoying the show far more in their younger mindsets: Roman was bouncing lightly and reciting lines along with the characters animatedly. Virgil was much more subdued, though Patton noticed he had been swaying gently from side to side for the past couple of episodes. He was sure it was a sign Virgil was relaxed and enjoying the cartoon.

  Patton slowly began to feel the exhaustion seep into his body, suddenly aware of the fact that he hadn’t had much opportunity to relax that day. He truly didn’t mind that Roman and Virgil were somewhat demanding when little, he enjoyed being there for them. But his head felt heavy and, without a moment to reconsider, he let it drop gently to Logan’s shoulder.

  He waited with bated breath to see if Logan would protest but was pleasantly surprised when Logan’s arm very gently curled around his back. He smiled and tried not to squeak with the bubble of excitement in his chest.

  A few more minutes passed in peace, and Patton wasn’t sure when but his eyes had fallen shut. It was not often the house felt so tranquil.

  Then, out of nowhere, Virgil gasped. Patton’s eyes shot open to watch Virgil clumsily jump onto his feet and bolt out of the room without a word. His pacifier tumbled to the ground where he had been sitting just a second ago.

  The other three were shocked into silence for a moment.

  ‘Huh?’ Roman frowned back at his caregivers, his eyes noticeably settling on Patton and Logan’s cuddling. Patton unwrapped himself from Logan with a faint blush, though any embarrassment was far overwhelmed by concern for Virgil.

  ‘Was there a monster on the show?’ Patton asked.

  ‘Not at all,’ Logan said, sounding just as bewildered as the other two.

  ‘I’m going to check on him,’ Patton said as he jumped up and followed after the younger side without hesitation.

  He jogged along the hallway with a heavy feeling in his chest, mind racing with worry. The house suddenly felt bigger than usual. When he rounded a corner, his heart stuttered at what he saw.

  Virgil was facing away from him, doubled over in the middle of the hallway. From the back of him, it looked as if he was in pain and clutching his stomach.

  Patton rushed over to his side in panic.

  'Baby, are you okay? What’s -'

  He cut himself off when he realised what was happening. Virgil's eyes were wide with fear, his knees trembling, his hands covering his crotch. They failed to conceal the large wet patch that was quickly spreading on his jeans.

  'Oh, sweetheart,' Patton cooed sympathetically, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  Virgil only just seemed to notice Patton's presence and he startled then quickly ducked his head in shame. His shoulders shook as a puddle gradually formed at his feet.

  'It's okay, baby,' Patton whispered, rubbing his hand over Virgil's back. He gently shushed Virgil’s sniffles for a few moments as the boy’s pants and socks quickly became sodden. When the puddle on the floor finally stopped spreading, only a couple of seconds passed before a hoarse sob bounced off the walls.

  ‘Honey, it’s alright, I promise,’ Patton desperately reassured him.

  He wrapped him in a tight hug and Virgil’s hands immediately clutched at the back of Patton’s shirt. The anxious sighed cried into his chest and the sound broke Patton’s heart.

  ‘It’s just an accident.’ He kissed Virgil’s head. ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart.’

  Logan’s head suddenly popped around the corner a few feet away, clearly having heard some of the commotion. Patton watched silently as Logan’s eyes fell to the floor and the realisation quickly dawned on him. When he looked up from Virgil’s predicament with a concerned glance, Patton shook his head at him very lightly, not wanting Virgil to feel the movement. He didn’t want to see Virgil even more upset knowing that Logan had been witness to his accident too.

  ‘Mama is keeping Roman busy in the living room,’ Patton said over Virgil’s head with a pointed look at Logan, ‘and I’m gonna give you a warm bubble bath. Doesn’t that sound nice, baby?’

  Logan tiptoed back to the living room without a word.

  Unaware of Logan’s brief appearance, Virgil spluttered a little on his tears, the sound muffled against Patton’s shirt. It wasn’t an agreement, but it also wasn’t a denial so Patton took the small victory.

  He eased Virgil out of his hold, holding him at an arm’s length as he wiped away his tears. It was pointless, though, as they just continued to fall with Virgil’s shaky breaths. Patton wished he could hold his baby until he stopped crying but he didn’t want Virgil’s skin getting irritated by his wet clothes. Plus, he was sure the poor boy wouldn’t want to be stood in his accident for longer than necessary.

  ‘Let’s go get you cleaned up,’ Patton smiled softly at him.

  He wrapped his arm around Virgil’s shoulders to guide him towards the stairs, silently twirling his pointer finger behind his back. The carpet cleaned itself magically behind them.

  Once they had reached Virgil’s bedroom, Patton left Virgil standing by the door while he speedily picked out a pair of underwear and pyjamas for him. He heard Virgil’s soft whimpers and sniffles grow louder and more frequent when he stepped away from him, so he was sure to make quick work of it before his absence upset Virgil any more.

  He hurried back to Virgil’s side with the clothes and kissed his forehead tenderly.

  ‘Good boy, you’re so brave,’ Patton praised. He was forced off of Virgil by a firm head shake.

  ‘Bad,’ Virgil choked and hid his face in his hands.

  Patton’s heart ached.

  ‘You’re not bad, little one,’ he said, crouching slightly so they were level. ‘It’s not your fault. I should have gotten you to go to the toilet earlier. I’m sorry, baby.’

  Virgil shook his head again but didn’t offer any words. Patton assumed he had been pushed into a younger headspace and had gone non-verbal.

  He led Virgil to the upstairs bathroom slowly, being careful with each step and rubbing his back soothingly the whole time. When they had reached the door, Virgil’s posture suddenly righted itself and he looked at Patton through his bangs. The older side was shocked to see a strange, distant look in his mismatched eyes.

  ‘I’m, um,’ Virgil’s voice was still slightly babyish, though there was a forced deepness to it. He quickly cleared his throat and took a deep breath, completely avoiding Patton’s eyes. ‘I-I’m older now. I can do this on my own.’

  To say Patton was surprised would have been a severe understatement. Virgil never came out of his headspace so suddenly; even when he had made an effort to end his regression prematurely in the past, Virgil could pretend to be an adult all he wanted but it had been too clear that he was still mentally a child. Right now, he didn’t necessarily sound regressed but there was something wrong about it that Patton couldn’t quite pinpoint.

  ‘But - Kiddo, are you sure?’ Patton tried not to sound upset, though it was harder to keep the confusion from his voice. ‘You seem a bit off, Stormcloud.’

  ‘It’s Virgil,’ the anxious side grumbled, then grimaced at his tone. ‘I-I’m sorry, Papa… Patton . Thank you for helping, but…’ He held his arms out for his clothes, still looking at the floor. His hands were shaking.

  Patton wordlessly handed the pile of clothes over, not knowing what else to do. He watched dejectedly as Virgil rushed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut without another word. The lock clicked instantly and Patton took a deep breath before turning away.

  As the sound of water running started in the bathroom, Patton wandered through the hallway and into the living room, feeling disturbed by the interaction.

  ‘Patton, you can’t leave a toddler to bathe alone,’ Logan sounded mildly panicked.

  He was sitting on the couch with Roman on the headrest behind him, braiding his hair.

  ‘He’s not regressed anymore,’ Patton said. Logan looked just as shocked as Patton felt.

  ‘He’s… But that never happens,’ Logan said, frowning.

  Patton didn’t know what else to do except collapse wordlessly onto the couch beside him. He rested his head on Logan’s shoulder with a small sigh.

  It wasn’t that he loved Virgil any less when he was an adult - he loved all versions of Virgil equally - but it felt unnatural for the boy to switch between headspaces so suddenly. It must have had something to do with the accident, but if anything Patton would have expected it to push Virgil further into his regressed mindset, not tear him out of it.

  ‘Is Virgil okay?’ Roman questioned.

  ‘Of course!’ Patton said in his usual bubbly voice, not believing his own words. ‘He’s just showering. Don’t you worry, little prince.’

  ‘But I heard crying before. What happened?’ Roman shuffled down from the back of the couch, sitting on the armrest and frowning over at both of them. When neither caregiver responded, Roman sighed. ‘I’m a grown-up now, you can tell me.’

  ‘Uh,’ Patton stumbled, pushing his face further against Logan’s shoulder as if he could hide from the question.

  ‘Nothing for you to concern yourself with,’ Logan said easily.

  Roman huffed indignantly as he pushed himself off of the armrest and stomped across the room. He flopped into the armchair on the opposite side of the couch, pointedly facing away from Logan with his arms crossed. Patton couldn’t conceal his amused smile. Roman obviously wasn’t as grown-up as he claimed to be.

  ‘I care about him too,’ Roman mumbled. The pout in his voice was audible.

  ‘We know you do, kiddo,’ Patton reassured him. He felt guilty for making Roman upset, though he knew it was not a good idea to tell the creative side about what had happened. ‘You’re such a good big brother. It’s just… not polite for us to talk about Virgil without him knowing.’

  Roman turned his body to squint suspiciously at them. After a moment, he seemed satisfied and smiled.

  ‘Okay. Do you like Mom’s hair?’ he asked excitedly.

  Shaking off the brief shock from the sudden change in subject, Patton lifted his head from Logan’s shoulder to look at Roman’s handiwork. A braid circled the crown of Logan’s head, intertwined with a few daisies from the backyard.

  ‘Aww, how beautiful,’ Patton gushed.

  He raised his hand to stroke along the strands of hair, twirling some loose tendrils around his fingertips. He wanted to comment on how soft Logan’s hair was but paused when he saw Logan’s shoulders were tense.

  ‘S-sorry,’ he quickly dropped his hand. ‘Should’ve asked to -’

  ‘No! No, it’s,’ Logan cleared his throat. Patton swore he could see a faint pink dusting his cheekbones. Logan’s lips twitched into a small smile as he briefly met Patton’s eyes before looking away again. ‘It is… acceptable.’

  Patton dropped his head back to Logan’s shoulder, hiding his own blush. He didn’t miss the smug smirk on Roman’s face before he closed his eyes, pretending to take a nap.

  A few minutes passed by with only the sound of Steven Universe playing on the TV, supplemented by Roman singing along with a musical number. After the ending credits song, Patton heard the TV click off followed by Roman’s whining protest.

  ‘We can watch more tomorrow,’ Logan’s voice rumbled through his chest and Patton breathed deeply with the comfort of it. ‘It’s nine o’clock so that means no more screens.’

  ‘Fine,’ Roman sighed, but Patton knew he wasn’t nearly as put out as he was trying to sound. ‘Can we listen to a book?’

  Patton opened his eyes with a smile. It had become an almost nightly ritual for all members of the family to sit together and listen to an audiobook to wind down before bed.

  ‘Of course,’ Logan said. Patton loved the way Roman’s face brightened.

  ‘Yay! Ooh, can we have Paddington Bear? No, Winnie-the-Pooh! Oh, wait, wait, wait,’ Roman yelled, clearly getting bombarded by more ideas.

  ‘Hold on, kiddo,’ Patton laughed, ‘how about we ask Virgil to choose between those two? Then you both made the decision together.’

  ‘Yeah!’ Roman clapped his hands in excitement then something caught his eye outside the open door. ‘Virge, you’re back! You gotta help me pick a book!’

  Patton heard a shuffling outside the room and lifted his head from Logan’s shoulder so he could hear better.

  ‘Oh, really?’ Virgil’s voice sounded soft and wobbly. ‘Uh, a-actually I’m suddenly tired. So, I-I’m probably gonna…’

  ‘Oh,’ Roman’s face dropped and his eyes followed what Patton assumed was a retreating Virgil. Roman turned a sorrowful look back on his caregivers. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

  ‘I’m not sure,’ Patton said honestly, just as confused.

  He felt Logan nudge his shoulder and he looked to him in question.

  ‘I’ll talk to him,’ Logan said.

  ‘Thank you,’ Patton whispered and shifted to allow Logan to get up.

  Logan offered a firm nod then quickly rose to go and follow Virgil.

  Watching him leave the room, Patton sighed and hoped Logan would be able to figure out what was going on with Virgil better than he could. For now, Patton just focussed on getting that kicked puppy look off of Roman’s face.

  ‘How about we get some hot cocoa before your Mom can tell us off about it?’

  oOo

  Logan walked up to Virgil’s door and knocked gently.

  ‘Virgil? May I speak to you?’

  He spoke quieter than usual, certain that Virgil would likely be in a state of distress from the incident in the hallway. There was a moment of silence before he heard a reply.

  ‘Yeah, sure,’ Virgil called through the door. His voice was distinctly uneven.

  Logan heard a faint sniffling as he pushed the door open and was unsurprised to see Virgil sitting cross-legged on the floor in his softest pyjamas. Minty, his Triceratops plush, was clutched tightly to his chest. As Logan had theorised, Virgil did not look as grown-up as he had had Patton believe.

  Logan closed the door behind him gently and lowered himself to kneel on the carpet a few feet in front of Virgil. He thought it was best to leave some space between them so that Virgil did not feel threatened in any way.

  ‘Patton tells me you’re not regressed anymore,’ Logan said. His doubt must have been obvious in his tone because Virgil immediately bit his lip and looked down to his lap. ‘Is this true?’

  ‘Dunno,’ Virgil whispered into Minty’s green fur. His voice was minuscule and Logan sighed.

  ‘Is this because of your accident?’

  Virgil’s eyes went wide and welled up, his lip wobbling dangerously. It was all too obvious that he was in no position to have an adult conversation.

  ‘I don’t think you are grown-up, are you?’ Logan tutted gently. ‘How old are you right now, Virgil?’

  The anxious side’s face crumpled and he hid behind his toy with a whimper. Logan quickly moved to kneel beside him, knowing he needed physical comfort.

  ‘No one is upset with you, I promise,’ Logan said, keeping his tone soft and quiet so as not to overwhelm him. He placed a comforting hand on the side of Virgil’s head and the younger side immediately leaned into the touch. ‘I know you wouldn’t lie to your Papa on purpose. You were just a little confused earlier, weren’t you?’

  Virgil nodded into his toy.

  ‘Can you please tell Mama how old you are?’ Logan asked in his most baby-friendly voice.

  Virgil slowly dropped the soft toy, looking up at Logan hesitantly. Eventually, he held up two fingers.

  ‘Only two? That is quite young,’ Logan said. He smiled encouragingly at Virgil and was happy to see the worry fade away from his gaze. ‘Much too young to be on your own. Do you want to come to listen to a book with me, your Papa, and your big brother?’

  Virgil nodded and was millimetres away from sucking on his thumb before Logan quickly intercepted it.

  ‘Let’s get a pacifier for the baby,’ Logan said.

  He patted Virgil’s hand then reached for the soft toy by their legs. He located the zipper sewn into the dinosaur’s back and opened the hidden pocket that was filled with various pacifiers. He held it open in front of Virgil for him to pick, and after a few seconds of deliberation, Virgil pointed to one. Logan took it out and held it in front of him.

  ‘Can you tell Mama what colour this is, Vee?’ he asked.

  When Virgil was regressed, Logan liked to test him on simple questions such as this for several reasons: Firstly, it helped to establish a fun, educational atmosphere that Logan thought would be beneficial to his mental wellbeing. Secondly, it helped Logan to gather a clear idea of Virgil’s mental age at the time going by his speech and knowledge of certain things, proving beneficial to Logan’s understanding of Virgil’s regression. Lastly, it encouraged Virgil to communicate with him, which Logan hoped would be beneficial to their relationship.

  ‘Boo,’ Virgil muttered with a tiny smile.

  ‘That’s right, blue.’ Logan smiled back at him, knowing from experience it was an exercise in futility to try to correct his pronunciation.

  He popped the pacifier in Virgil’s mouth without any fuss, then placed Minty back on the floor gently.

  ‘Light blue is your Papa’s favourite colour,’ Logan said. ‘Shall we go and show it to him?’

  Virgil nodded and held onto Logan’s hand preemptively. Logan slowly rose from the floor and helped Virgil to do the same. He started to lead the way to the door but was stopped by Virgil tugging back on his hand and whining a little. Logan turned back in concern.

  ‘Is there a problem?’ he asked, then saw how Virgil’s gaze was fixed on the pile of stuffed animals on his bed. ‘Oh, I see,’ Logan said and walked them over to the heap of soft toys. ‘Can you choose a friend to come and listen to a book with us, Virgil?’

  Virgil reached for his black cat plush and held it to his face with a smile, stroking the fur against his cheek.

  ‘Glad you could join us, Jiji,’ Logan greeted the toy and smiled when Virgil gasped.

  Logan never made it obvious that he knew every single one of Virgil and Roman’s toys’ names. It amused him when they were shocked to hear him remember them so he kept up the pretence just to enjoy their endearing sounds of surprise.

  Logan led both Virgil and Jiji back to the living room with a light heart.

  ‘Look who’s back,’ Logan announced as they stepped into the room and saw Virgil blush at the attention, hiding his face against Logan’s arm.

  ‘Aw, yay!’ Patton smiled brightly. ‘I missed my baby.’

  Virgil looked up at Patton then pointed wordlessly to his pacifier. Logan saw a flash of confusion briefly cross Patton’s features.

  ‘Yes, that’s you,’ Patton said, obviously trying to guess at what Virgil was indicating.

  ‘Virgil picked his pacifier all by himself,’ Logan supplied with a surreptitious eyebrow raise. ‘Do you like the colour?’

  ‘Oh, yes!’ Patton said, suddenly understanding what Virgil had wanted to show him. ‘That’s my favourite colour, baby. It’s so pretty!’

  Logan felt Virgil fidget under the praise. He shared a fond, amused smile with Patton.

  ‘Vee, you gotta choose between the two bestest bears ever!’ Roman yelled, all but bouncing in his seat.

  ‘Yes…’ Logan said but frowned at the high energy in the boy. He had not been so excitable when Logan left, so the logical side grew suspicious of what had caused the change.

  Sure enough, his eyes landed on the chocolate coated rim of the Mickey Mouse mug in Roman’s hands. He gasped and shot a reprimanding look over to Patton. The moral side sunk into the couch looking as guilty as ever.

  ‘Patton, this is the time to wind down, not the time to consume sugar!’

  ‘But I made some for all of us, Lo,’ Patton countered. He indicated the coffee table where Logan’s NASA mug, Patton’s frog mug, and Virgil’s Jack Skellington mug all sat steaming, filling the air with the rich scent of chocolate. ‘Plus hot cocoa is technically warm milk, so it’s perfect for nighttime.’

  Logan felt his reserve breaking when he realised how considerate it was that Patton had made some for everyone, but he remained steely. That is until Patton added with a sly smile:

  ‘I added a shot of hazelnut syrup to your one.’

  Logan pretended to think it over for a few seconds.

  ‘Alright, I yield.’ He led Virgil over to the couch, encouraging him to sit beside Patton. ‘But Roman really should not be given dairy.’

  ‘Almond milk,’ Patton corrected with a victorious smile, accepting Virgil into his arms.

  ‘And Virgil is too young to drink from a mug,’ Logan added.

  ‘No prob, Bob,’ Roman cut in. He snapped his fingers and the Jack Skellington mug promptly transformed into a baby bottle.

  ‘Thank you, little prince,’ Logan said. He made sure to pay Roman due attention, knowing how important it was for Roman’s headspace to show that Virgil was not the only one who needed taking care of. ‘Where would you like me to sit?’

  Roman’s eyes widened, apparently delighted that he was given such an important decision.

  ‘Over there,’ Roman pointed to the corner of the couch furthest from Patton. ‘Then I’m gonna sit next to you and Vee!’

  Virgil hummed in content from his place beside Patton and nuzzled his face against his papa’s chest.

  ‘A very good choice,’ Logan said.

  Before sitting down he moved over to the coffee table. He handed Patton the baby bottle and moved the frog mug to the corner of the table so it was within Patton’s reach. He nodded when Patton thanked him and grabbed his own mug, moving back to the couch to settle in the corner seat. Roman had already made himself comfortable, his mug empty and abandoned on the floor.

  ‘What will it be, Virgil?’ Logan asked. ‘A marmalade-obsessed bear from Peru, or a honey-obsessed bear from England?’ He took a sip from his mug and struggled to contain a smile at the warmth that radiated through his chest.

  ‘Nunny,’ Virgil mumbled through his pacifier.

  Patton made an inhuman squeal of affection.

  ‘Honey,’ Logan echoed, unable to hide his smile now. It was undeniably adorable how Virgil’s speech was impeded by his regression. ‘Are we all ready for Winnie-the-Pooh?’

  At the two shouted confirmations from Patton and Roman, Logan pulled out his phone to set up the bluetooth speaker. Within moments Stephen Fry’s voice filled the room with tales from the Hundred Acre Wood.

  Roman clumsily wriggled his head under Logan’s arm to force it around his shoulders. Logan sniffed in amusement but acquiesced.

  ‘Do you want to hold the bottle yourself or do you want me to help you, sweetie?’ Logan heard Patton whispering during the introduction.

  He looked over just in time to see Virgil pull Jiji up to hide his face. Patton’s eyes lit up and he giggled quietly.

  ‘Don’t be shy, baby. Papa’s here to take care of you.’

  Patton gently took the pacifier from Virgil’s mouth and placed it on the armrest. Then he pulled Virgil onto his lap and held the bottle up to his lips. It was almost hypnotic seeing how quickly Virgil relaxed into Patton’s embrace, suckling rhythmically at the bottle. His eyes had fallen shut within seconds and a look of pure contentment settled over him.

  Roman laughed at a part in the story and Patton looked up at the cheerful sound. He caught Logan watching Virgil and they exchanged soft smiles before Logan looked away again. Roman’s head fell onto his shoulder and Logan closed his eyes in contentment. He leaned back against the headrest, letting the sounds of the room blend into one calming symphony; Virgil’s suckling, Patton’s cooing, Roman’s giggling, and the narration sending him into a blissful sleep.

oOo

Reblogs and likes are greatly appreciated! ♡

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[albatris]

is there romance in atdao or is it all just found famiy vibes? if there is romance im real curious about how peeps would express those kinda feelings

hello hi hello this took me AGES I’m very sorry I kept getting distracted by things such as being asleep

anyway yes thank you for the question! romance? yes, we’ve got some of this going on, sure, though I would count the romance as within the found family c:

I don’t know if you wanted a Ramble™ but this is a topic I can ramble about and I’m in a bit of a rambling mood so you can have a ramble, free of charge, just take it up to the register and have them enter the code “logan this is not what I ordered”

but yeah, your question? about eight vaguely relevant tangents immediately spring to mind! also spoilers?? spoilers after the cut

I really should have formatted this response in a way that puts the super spoiler heavy part at the end but since when have I ever ever in my life made things easy for my dear sweet followers

y’all know what I’m like with spoilers by now 

but yeah, to set the scene, there’s two main romantic......................... situations going on in the story, the first being between Noa and Alice, and the second being between Kai, Tris and Shara. so, the former I would describe as “a legitimate romantic subplot” and the latter I would describe as a character tripping and falling into it by sheer chance and just being like “oh whoops well I guess this is what I’m doing now” which is also extremely valid

Noa and Alice end up not being, like, Confirmed Endgame by the end of the story even though much of the plot looks like it’s heading in that direction, and like...... yeah, in my head, they do end up in a romantic relationship at some point post-story, but I’m not sure on what sort of timeline

during the story itself, it’s established that they do share mutual feelings for each other and this is likely heading towards a romantic relationship, but I think since much of the story sees Noa still trying to find her feet in just, like....... having friends at all, and trusting those friends, and knowing who she is in relation to others on any sort of level, I think near the end of the story she decides that she’s not at a place where she wants to try and figure out a romantic relationship just yet

it’s not a hard no, it’s just a “hey not right now” and a “let’s see what happens later down the track, for now it’s just nice to be around friends” ‘cause even that is just super new territory for her

which I worry will make people feel cheated, but also, I think it’s the ending for this subplot that would make the most sense for where the characters are at and would be the most fitting c:

and secondly there’s like

hm. ok

well, there WAS a vaguely jokey post I made yonks back where I pitched the idea of an ATDAO polyamory ending being just like. Alice who’s dating Noa who’s dating Shara who’s dating Kai who’s dating Tris. and I stand by this being solid as hell. but also, given the ending to Noa’s subplot with Alice, it doesn’t really work in the story canon, n though I think Noa and Shara is a dynamic I really enjoy, it would likely not actually play out in reality :P

which leaves the trio of Shara, Kai and Tris, a trio I’ve always vibed with and had vaguely on my radar as a valid poly ending but for some reason didn’t twig that I could just, like, make it canon and no one can stop me LMAO

but yeah, this one, like I said, it’s not so much aHD whole big subplot, it’s just something that falls into place super casually and is never really brought up beyond “oh is this a thing that’s happening?” “yeah” “cool ok”

I think there’s a brief window as a reader where you might be like “ugh this is gonna be a stupid love triangle or some weird jealousy thing” but then it just ends up being a complete non-issue. there’s basically zero romantic drama for this plotline, Tris and Shara are bros and Kai is dating both of them

n as for your question itself, it depends on whether you mean, like.......... how they would go about expressing to someone else that they have romantic feelings or, like, how they express their affections in a romantic scenario

‘cause for the former, the answer for both Tris and Noa is just.... they don’t

Noa because at the start of the story she views her crush on Alice as a huge fucking inconvenience that’s going to make things messy and complicated, so she just tries to ignore her romantic feelings as hard as she can (obviously this doesn’t last hahaha). but yeah, she’s just very pissed off that she has a crush and doesn’t want to acknowledge it :P she also has no idea how to respond when Alice expresses romantic interest in her, this is all extremely new territory

and Tris because he doesn’t realise he’s even experiencing romantic feelings in the first place?? like. the boy has so much baseline anxiety jitteriness that stuff like, idk, feeling your heart pick up pace, butterflies in the stomach, any kinda social nerves you get around the people you like, etc, he experiences this with Kai and is automatically just like “great now you’re here and I’m having a panic attack can you please leave”

just slaps a label of Bad Vibes onto it then later is like Wait A Minute

but yeah, I think neither of them would be super comfy actually expressing their feelings out loud or making that first move, Noa because she’s super fuckin petty and stubborn and Tris because he’s waaaaaaaay too fuckin socially anxious for that shit are you kidding

in terms of how they express their affections though??

so like. I have to reiterate that I’m aro and ace and I have a lot of difficulty in articulating what makes a romance A Romance, like??? I have relationships that are friendships and relationships that are romantic, but I myself don’t really experience romantic attraction in the way other people do

as such, the way I write characters in their romantic expressions tends to be just an extension of how they act in their friendships? which I think is a pretty ok thing to base a romance off anyway, but like, yeah, romance, this is a mystery to me for the most part, do I look like I know what a romance is

anyway I think once Alice and Noa get a little closer there’s a lot of good-natured ribbing and friendly insults, n since they already had a bit of a rivalry going on beforehand I would imagine this competitive streak doesn’t disappear :P Noa is generally uncomfy with being Openly affectionate and soft with others, so I think there would be a lot of more “indirect” ways she shows this care. I think they have the kind of relationship where from an outside perspective you don’t really get how it’s warm and affectionate, but it’s just ‘cause you don’t know the lingo, right

Tris is just the cheerleader type in all friendly relationships I think, lots of encouragement and hype and compliments and enthusiasm, he’s very excitable and very easily impressed hahahaha. though I think it takes people a while to click that he’s legitimately being 100% earnest and genuine, the constant deadpan does not work super well in his favour

anyway I’m gonna hop back up for a sec so I can cover Shara and Kai real quick

these two are............ a bit more direct with actually verbalising their feelings to people? Shara is a socially anxious type, but also not someone who enjoys beating around the bush, n she generally likes to just speak what’s on her mind and be direct with others whenever she can. Kai just kinda........ I mean, I don’t think they consider romantic affections to be a super big deal? at least in theory? I say in theory ‘cause, like, I think they give the impression that this kind of conversation is just super smooth and easy for them, and on the inside they’re like “it’s really not a big deal it’s just feelings it’s whatever” but they’re still anxious about it and had to hype themself up for like a week before going through with it lmao

but ye, in terms of how they express their affections, they’re both fairly similar. you suddenly will just Not Be Able To Get Rid Of Them, they’ll constantly be hanging around in the same space or dragging you into whatever shenanigans they’ve got going on, I think for both of them their favourite expression of love is just sharing in experiences or sharing the same space, just Being Involved And Around 

a “hey come help me run errands” type or a “I’m gonna hang off the back of your sofa while you’re studying and sometimes slingshot balls of paper at you with a rubber band” type :P

and now I have to go on Another Tangent just ‘cause the subject matter is vaguely relevant and idk where else I’m gonna go on this tangent

there is definitely some part of me that’s still super super fond of the idea of Kai being aro??? and I initially did write them as such, but for the moment this is not something that’s remained canon in text ‘cause I’m a little bitch ‘cause like

Kai would be aro in very much the same way I am, which is to say, they’re a person who is extremely full of love and who has difficulty in differentiating what the step is supposed to be between friendship feelings and romantic feelings, so, someone who may not necessarily “get” what makes a romance a romance or experience any feelings different from a strong friendship, but who is still open to being in a romantic relationship

(the difference between us being that Kai Really Really Likes People and enjoys being close with others as much as possible, where I’m more the awkward standoffish hermit type lmao)

but yeah, I was kinda like. well. despite being a perfectly valid aro person in a romantic relationship myself, if I were a fictional character people would probably call me bad rep HAHAHA. like “yeah they’re apparently aro but they don’t really ACT aro and the author put them in a romantic relationship ://”

and while I think there’s value to be had in fiction in exploring the different ways a person can be aro, I just, like................... thought about the hypothetical future discourse and was just like UGH. I cannot be fucking BOTHERED

I get enough people in real life being like “ok but you’re not REALLY aro like why do you even bother having that label it’s not like it matters in your context” even though I’m the goddamn expert on my own experiences you bastards

lmao

but yeah I think aro Kai is canon in my heart hahahaha. and they may end up articulating some of the same feelings, maybe just not with the label applied, who knows

anyway that’s my rambles done I think! thanks for reading n have a nice night c:

[eleanor-writes-stuff]

let the past die (show the way the world could be) - ONE-SHOT

Five years after the rise of the New Empire and the replacement of the Stormtrooper program with a new Peacetrooper program, Beta Rose Tico finds herself being separated from her Omega partner Finn when he’s drafted to serve a year of active duty.

Worried for her partner and fuming at archaic anti-Beta discrimination laws, what’s a woman to do other than go on a galactic road trip to meet the rulers of the empire themselves and push for change? (And maybe, just maybe, learn the truth behind the unexpected fall of the First Order and the rise of the two most powerful Force-users in recent galactic history while she’s at it.)

Gift Fic #2 of my holiday giveaway collection goes out to AO3′s @dagagada, who saw me flailing about this mess of a fic that *Stefon voice* has everything, and decided to claim it anyway. (No but seriously, this fic really does have everything. Check the AO3 version for tags if you need to!)

Also available on AO3. And hey, maybe check out my Twitter or Ko-fi?

“Please rise for Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress of the New Empire.”

Rose has always found this part of the holo a bit funny, if only because the actual audience in attendance that day had been entirely comprised of the empire’s staff and soldiers, all of whom had been standing long before the imperial couple had made their appearance.

Today, though, she’s too intent on capturing every single moment of the recording to react with her usual huff of amusement. The speech had lasted for twenty minutes, starting with the usual themes the couple had been fond of at the beginning of their reign five years ago, messages of letting the past die and building something new from the ashes, something better. From there, the emperor had segued into the announcement that the Stormtrooper program was to be discontinued effective immediately, and in its place the empire would implement a Peacetrooper program which would draft every able-bodied young adult citizen of the empire into a year of service, during which they would be stationed at various points throughout the galaxy in order to maintain peace as well as gain new insight into the lives and cultures of their fellow citizens.

The whole thing had sounded good in theory at the time, but then again anything would have seemed better than having children ripped away from their families to be turned into mindless soldiers. It’d worked out decently in practice too, at least for Rose – she’d ended up being called to serve that very first year, and her time with the program had taken her far from her home planet of Hays Minor to see how other systems had suffered from or escaped First Order control, how the New Empire was slowly but surely dismantling the legacy of its predecessor in an attempt to secure a better future for everyone.

The experience hadn’t been the worst of her life, not even close – and then, on her very last assignment in Coruscant before she was due to go home, she’d met Finn.

Finn, a Stormtrooper trainee who’d been released from servitude along with all of his fellow soldiers right before he was supposed to go on his first mission. Finn, a lost boy who hadn’t touched the ground or seen the sky since he was a child and couldn’t for the life of him figure out a new normal once he was released from the life he’d been forced into, the life that had been all he’d ever known. Finn, who’d ended up leaving Coruscant and the empire’s promise of helping former Stormtroopers reintegrate into society in order to go back to Hays Minor with her and rehabilitate her home.

Finn, who’d received notice of being drafted two months ago, just a month after they’d agreed to get married.

Rose shakes off her memories of that dark day and returns her focus to the holo, to her last hope of keeping Finn safe and sound and home with her.

“We understand that this is new, and that change can be confusing and worrying,” the empress had said once her husband was finished explaining the new program, “but above all else we want to reassure everyone that this is meant to bring us together, not tear us apart. A standard year might be short to some of you and long to others, but in any case we do not intend to separate families.”

And here, she’d turned to give her husband a look Rose has never quite been able to decipher, a look that the emperor had, much to the entire galaxy’s shock, returned with a smile softer than anyone had believed the stoic former Darksider Alpha to be capable of.

The imperial couple had shared a moment then, before the empress wrapped up their announcement. “On that note, exemptions and accommodations will be made for mated couples, those with children, and more. A department has been set up within the new Peacetrooper program for the sole purpose of determining and facilitating these exemptions and accommodations, and we urge you to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.”

The thing is, Rose has reached out – multiple times in the past two months, even. And every single time, she’s been met with the same response: the romantic partnership exemption clause is only applicable to mated couples or couples raising toddler-aged children or younger. Beta-mix couples, even if married, have been deemed capable of surviving the separation without significant or long-lasting ill effects due to their unmated status.

The cold and callous response sounds so out of line with what the empress had promised that day on the steps of the newly-erected Coruscant Palace, a bright and welcoming structure that couldn’t be more different from the former Imperial Palace. Rose had had her doubts about the imperial couple when news had first spread about them, just like most of the galaxy, but in the years since she has come to grow relatively fond of them, especially the empress. The orphaned scavenger from nowhere has proven herself to be a fair, emphatic, and trustworthy ruler in the six years since she and the emperor first overthrew the First Order, long before she’d even taken up the mantle of ruler.

So if the empress says that the Peacetrooper program isn’t meant to separate loved ones, then Rose can only trust that she means it. Because someone with eyes that kind, someone with a smile that bright as she and the emperor bid their subjects farewell and disappear into their flagship, marking the end of the announcement and the holo-recording… someone like that gives Rose hope, always has since the day she first stood by her partner’s side and promised to make the galaxy a better place.

That hope had been enough for the galaxy to warily lower their weapons in anticipation of a better future then, and it’s enough for Rose to go on now.

Three days later, she calmly bids Finn goodbye, promises him they’ll be together again soon, and watches him board the transport that’ll take him lightyears away from her.

And then she goes off on a trip of her own, to meet the empress.

👑  👑  👑

Unsurprisingly, securing a meeting with one of the rulers of the New Empire is easier said than done, even for a minor politician and union leader such as herself.

Luckily, Rose isn’t doing this alone.

She starts by turning to her sister Paige, who’d spent two years serving in the Resistance prior to the First Order’s downfall and still keeps in touch with a lot of her friends from that period of time. One friend in particular happens to be her former commanding officer Poe Dameron, who now leads the coalition-controlled Galactic Peace Forces. More importantly, Poe Dameron is still close friends with one Leia Organa, former leader of the Resistance, current senator of Chandrila, mother of the emperor, and mother-in-law of the empress.

Rose’s journey is long and arduous, leading her from Hays Minor to Coruscant to Chandrila with a dozen minor stops in between to make sure she’s on the right path and heading to the right people. Nearly everyone who learns of her quest either laughs her off or suggests she’d have more luck going directly to the emperor, since he’s the one in charge of the Peacetrooper program.

That might well be true, but two things from the holo-recording convince Rose she’s on the right track: one, the emperor might be in charge of everything else, but the empress is most definitely in charge of him, traditional Alpha-Omega dynamics be damned; and two, the look in the empress’ eyes when she announced the exemptions, the emotions in her voice when she spoke of keeping families apart… She’ll understand, Rose knows she will.

Maz Kanata, proprietor of the cantina Rose drops by on her last refueling stop before she heads to Chandrila, is one of the rare few to agree with her.

“Child, have you seen that boy? You know what they used to say, back in my day?” She beckons Rose closer, lowers her voice conspiratorially. “Alphas may rule the galaxy but Omegas, Omegas rule the Alphas,” she says with a knowing wink and a hearty laugh, and Rose would bet a good amount of her credits on Maz speaking from experience.

But it’s rude to ask, and Betas lack the ability to distinguish between Alphas and Omegas by scent alone, so Rose supposes that will have to remain a mystery for now. In any case, it’s nowhere near her list of top priorities; that list reads more like this:

Secure a meeting with Senator Organa and hope she takes Rose’s side.

Hope the senator can arrange for a meeting with the empress.

Try to convince the empress in the hopes that she’ll convince the emperor.

There’s a whole lot of hope involved, but Rose thinks – rather optimistically – that that might endear her to the senator. After all, even though it’s been years since the Resistance demilitarized and transitioned into part of the empire’s new coalition government, Paige still talks about how fond the then-General Organa had been of giving speeches about the importance of hope.

As she finally arrives at Chandrila, Rose can only hope the senator still feels the same way.

It’s midday when Rose surfaces from the Hanna City spaceport, which isn’t too far away from Senator Organa’s office near the Chandrila Senate House. The coalition government is currently based on Naboo, but Senator Organa is known to spend most of her time here in Hanna City. She also makes the occasional trip to her son’s flagship, the next of which Maz had informed Rose is planned for just four days from now.

In other words, Rose has four days – well, less than that – to convince a senator that she’s not a security risk and that she has a valid reason to speak with the empress. It’s a challenge, but not an impossible one, and Rose spends the half-hour ride from the spaceport to the senator’s office rehearsing the speech she’s spent the past week preparing.

Only to find out when she arrives that Senator Organa’s already heard the whole story from at least three other people.

“You poor thing,” Senator Organa says as soon as she opens her door to find Rose on the other side, and quickly ushers her in. “It’s ridiculous that this is still happening, but I guess they’ve been too busy undoing all of the other insane laws and policies out there to notice this one. Anyway, I’m sure Rey will side with you as soon as she finds out what’s happening–”

Rose, who’s barely just settled down into a chair opposite the senator’s, nearly falls out of her seat. “Wait, so you– you’ll bring me to see her?”

Senator Organa blinks as she retakes her seat, and then laughs. “Honey, I didn’t have you come all this way just to tell you no.”

“Stars,” Rose breathes to herself, on the verge of relieved tears. All these exhausting months of worrying, all these long days of travelling and planning and hoping– “Thank you, Senator, thank you so much–”

“Just Leia is fine, dear,” the senator – Leia – says with a smile and a wave of her hand. “And you’re welcome, but I must remind you that nothing is guaranteed yet. I’m sure Rey will side with you, but she’ll still have to discuss this with my son first, and then they’ll have to go through the council and the senate and all that mess…” Leia rolls her eyes at the thought of it, no doubt familiar with (and fed up by) the complications of bureaucracy by now. Rose is, and she’s only served on city council for a term; she can’t even begin to imagine politics on a galactic scale like this.

Still: hope has brought her this far, and she’s determined for it to carry her the rest of the way.

👑  👑  👑

“How much do you know, about my son and Rey and the whole mess?” Leia asks four days later, just as they board the ship set to take them to the Spinebarrel, the imperial couple’s flagship.

Rose peels her eyes away from the viewport and the sight of Chandrila in all of its lush, natural blue-green glory, a far cry from her home planet even after five years of rehabilitation. “Um,” she says as she moves to sit next to the senator. “Just whatever all the holo-documentaries say, I guess. That he found her while he was still serving under Supreme Leader Snoke, and together they grew strong enough in the Force to take him out.” All accounts, whether factual or speculative, tend to be fuzzy about this particular phase of the imperial couple’s rise to power. “After that the emperor became the new Supreme Leader, but behind the scenes he and the empress worked to dismantle the First Order and transform it into something else. And then a year later, the New Empire was announced and the coalition government was formed.”

“I suppose that’s historically accurate enough,” Leia shrugs. “But it leaves out so much about the two of them as people. History tends to do that, doesn’t it?” she murmurs with a faraway look in her eyes, shoulders curling in on themselves for a moment. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, how very small Leia Organa actually is. She’s slightly shorter than Rose, a physical anomaly for an Alpha, but everything else about the senator makes her appear larger than life.

It’s only now, as Leia turns to her with a slightly sad smile, that Rose sees a person underneath everything else, all the layers of princess and senator and general. She supposes Leia Organa, of all people, would know how history and myths and bedtime stories treat their heroes.

“Is there…” Rose hesitates, wonders if maybe she’s prying. But Leia wouldn’t have brought this up unless she wants to talk about it, right? “Is there more to the story?”

Leia reaches out and pats her hand. “There always is. I’ve been watching some of them, you know, those documentaries, especially the newer ones that focus on how he had nowhere to turn, how Snoke manipulated that to prey on a scared, lonely child.” She pauses for a minute, takes a deep breath, and then smiles. “I don’t know if he’s working with them or if these documentarians are finally doing their homework, but I like that bits and pieces of the truth are out there, at least. Even if they don’t paint the best picture of my husband and me as parents.”

The question tumbles past Rose’s lips despite herself, curiosity getting the best of her. “How long had Snoke been targeting him, if… if…” If he was only a child when he became the monster we all had nightmares about?

“Ever since he was born,” Leia says quietly, solemnly. “Possibly even before that. I should’ve known better, should’ve taken my instincts seriously, but I was never one to trust the Force and all that. And in the end, that nearly ended up costing me my son. I was shaken, when I heard that he’d fallen, but when I started hearing about the sightings of him, about reports of his deeds as Kylo Ren… that’s when I nearly gave up hope. Should’ve known that’s exactly what Snoke wanted,” she mutters, “exactly why he made sure to have everything exaggerated and amplified so that I’d believe my son was lost to me even while he was still struggling with the conflict within him.”

This part isn’t exactly news to Rose; there’s been a revisionist movement of sorts surrounding the emperor’s past in recent years, reports of crimes that were never really his and horrors he couldn’t possibly have caused, all falsely attributed to him by order of Supreme Leader Snoke. But even with all of that, there’s no denying that the emperor did stray toward the Dark side, that he did commit some atrocities.

“So then how… how did he… break free?” Rose finally settles on, not quite sure how to put the emperor’s sudden change of heart and direction into words.

Leia merely smiles, the brightest one Rose has seen on her yet. “One day,” she says, her voice warm, “there was an awakening in the Force.”

Of course. “The empress,” Rose breaths, her voice near-reverent without her intending for it to be so. It makes sense now, that of course the emperor must’ve had a reason for his sudden rebellion, that he didn’t dethrone his master for no good reason and then do a complete one-eighty. But none of the stories, be they documentaries or terribly tawdry holo-dramas ‘loosely inspired by true events’, ever speculate about the empress’ role in shaping galactic fate.

Typical, really, that it’s never occurred to anyone that maybe the Omega Empress played just as big a role in these events as the Alpha Emperor.

“The empress,” Leia confirms with a nod and a fondness in her voice. “Though please, just call her Rey when we meet her. She hates all this fuss.”

Somehow, that fits perfectly with the mental image Rose has spent the last five years forming of the empress. She’s never actually seen Rey in person, save for one time from a great distance when the imperial couple made an appearance at the Peacetrooper base to thank them for their service, but a part of her feels like she knows what to expect, feels like they share more in common beyond both being orphans.

“Anyway, we should be arriving soon,” Leia informs her. “She arranged to meet us halfway, so that I can keep her company while my son is away welcoming the newest batch of Peacetroopers.”

Rose frowns in confusion, even as her heart jumps at the reminder of Finn and the induction process he’s probably going through now. “Doesn’t the empress usually go along as well?”

Leia hums. “Traditionally, but… let’s just say things are a little different this year. It’s not my news to share,” she adds vaguely with a secretive little smile.

It doesn’t take long, however, for that news to become apparent.

They arrive at the Spinebarrel not long after, and the door of the senator’s ship opens to reveal the empress waiting for them in the middle of a bustling hangar. A blinding smile lights up her face as soon as her mother-in-law comes into view, and Rose watches in stunned silence as the empress of the galaxy races up the ramp with a squeal and runs straight into Leia’s arms to be enfolded into the kind of warm, motherly hug Rose hasn’t felt in years.

There’s a moment of silence, until Leia backs away with a muffled oh as the empress straightens up into her full height. She’s taller than Rose had assumed, but then again everyone looks tiny next to the emperor, Rose supposes.

Leia looks up at her daughter-in-law with a look that can only be described as awe, and her voice is small and shaky when she asks, “Already?”

The empress smiles and places a hand on her flat stomach, and suddenly everything falls into place. She beams, her smile bright as… well, a proud mother, and curves her hand around her unborn child. “We were definitely a little surprised, but Ben mentioned you could feel him too?”

“Sure,” Leia says, “but not this early, and never this clearly or strongly.”

“Well,” the em– Rey murmurs, her smile turning fond as she looks down at her stomach and gives it a gentle pat. “Clearly we have an overachiever on our hands… just like their father.”

The two women share a conspiratorial little laugh at that, and some part of Rose’s mind registers with no small amount of amusement that they’re laughing at the emperor’s expense. A bigger part of her, however, is too busy dealing with nerves as Rey suddenly turns to her.

“Hello,” she says, eyes open and friendly.

“Oh, right.” Leia shoots Rose an apologetic smile before she gets around to introductions. “Rey, this is Rose Tico, from Hays Minor. Rose, this is my daughter-in-law and, of course, the empress of the New Empire, Rey Solo.”

The formality of the introduction, as well as the mere fact that she’s being introduced to the empress, is enough to make Rose forget Leia’s earlier words and give in to her automatic instinct to dip into her best attempt at a bow as she murmurs, “Your Majesty.”

Two warm hands instantly reach for her elbows, as a laughing empress helps her straighten up. “Please, none of that kriffing stuffy nonsense,” Rey says, her nose the tiniest bit scrunched up in distaste even as her eyes continue to sparkle with laughter.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rose spies Leia giving her what can only be called an I told you so look. “Right. Um. Well, I’m Rose. It’s nice to meet you… Rey.”

Rey’s smile widens. “It’s nice to meet you too, Rose. Now why don’t we get you both settled in, and then you can tell me all about this mess we need to fix, yeah?”

👑  👑  👑

A short hour later finds her and Rey in the latter’s office for a talk before dinner.

“We’ve been living together on Hays Minor ever since,” Rose tells the empress, having covered her initial meeting with Finn and the two weeks they’d spent on Coruscant before he decided to follow her home, “and three months ago we finally decided to get married. But then…”

Rey sighs. She’s been an attentive and emphatic listener this whole time, just as Rose had known she’d be, and now she waits with bated breath for the empress’ insight.

“Every time I think we’re doing okay, every time I think we’ve finally made a dent in the past… we just end up finding more mistakes like this. Rose,” she says, reaching out across the desk to place her hand on Rose’s, “I’m so sorry you – both of you – had to go through this.”

“I just…” Relief and sorrow war within her, at the idea that this nightmare might soon be over but also at the fact that she’d had to go through it at all. “I don’t want him to be alone again. He’s been through so much already, taken from his family and thrown into the Stormtrooper program at such a young age, and now… I know things are different now, I know you’re trying your best, but now he’s been taken away from the only family and home he has again.”

Rey is quiet for a moment, and then she gives Rose a squeeze before pulling her hand back. “I know how you two must feel, trust me. Has Leia told you the story of how Ben and I met?”

Rose shakes her head. “Only that there was an awakening, and that’s how you found each other.”

“Awakening,” Rey scoffs with a hint of amusement. “That’s a nice way to put it, I guess. What really happened was that my… employer, I suppose, had been making these vague comments about how I was so useless it was no wonder even my parents hadn’t wanted me.” She doesn’t pause, doesn’t give Rose the time to consider a reaction. “Big mistake, about as stupid as showing a Teedo something shiny. Once he’d mentioned them, I wouldn’t stop asking – and he wouldn’t stop goading me, the idiot. So I kept pushing, and pushing, and pushing, until one day something inside me said if he won’t give you what you want, then take it. And I did – I used the Force on him without realizing it, reached into his brain without even knowing what I was doing. Turned it into a right scrambled mess, but not before I found what I was looking for, not before I found the truth.”

She stops then, but Rose senses this is not the end of the story. The room is heavy with charged silence as Rey takes a shaky breath and curls one hand around the edge of her desk, digging into it so hard Rose fears she might leave indents.

Finally, Rey speaks again. “I’d known the truth, all along. I’d just buried it because I wasn’t ready for it. And that day, Unkar Plutt paid the price for that – I choked him without even meaning to, pushed my anger and hurt out of me and into the world around me instead. That wave of destruction, of energy… it rippled across the Force, and somehow…” She smiles then, a small, serene curve of her lips as the tension drains from her eyes and her fingers let go of the desk. “Somehow Ben found me.”

“That’s… amazing,” Rose says, “that you two managed to find each other despite everything.”

Rey shrugs. “The Force works in mysterious ways. It wanted us together, two lonely souls trying to find our place in the galaxy. We found it the day he landed on Jakku, the second our eyes met across Niima Outpost.”

Rose has heard stories like this before, of course. Nearly every mated Alpha-Omega couple has that story, the one in which they caught sight or scent of each other from across a crowded room and instantly knew they had been biologically created for each other. But with the imperial couple, there’s another layer to their perfect match, another element to the myth: the Force bond that allows them to live and think and fight as one, that makes them nigh undefeatable if the battle stories she’s heard are true.

“I guess what I mean is… I know how important it is: staying together, once you find each other,” Rey tells her gently. “Ben and I, we had to rewrite the stars and reshape the galaxy to make that possible. But you and Finn–”

“How?” Rose blurts out, and immediately claps a hand over her mouth in horror. That was not supposed to happen, she had not meant to ask–

Rey tilts her head in question. “How did we do it?”

“Maker, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to– And of course you don’t have to answer, that’s so invasive and rude and–”

“Rose,” Rey says with a laugh. “It’s okay, calm down, calm down. Really,” she says reassuringly, watching Rose take several deep breaths, “it’s okay. I know everyone wonders, I know they think it’s some kind of epic adventure, but really… really, it was just two desperate people using everything we had at our disposal to stay together. Ben could never hide anything from Snoke, not in the beginning, so naturally that creepy old bastard found out about me as soon as Ben did. But then he authorized Ben to come find me and stay on Jakku for a whole week in the hopes that he’d get a new protégé out of it and that… that was his first mistake. Maybe we could have walked away from each other after the first day, but after a whole week? Nothing but the Force could tear us apart by then – and Snoke’s second mistake was threatening to do exactly that.” This time, Rose spots a hint of teeth in Rey’s sharp smile and for the very first time, she sees in the kind empress a hint of the savage warrior who’d taken down all of those who tried to cut down the empire and keep the galaxy suspended in never-ending bloodshed instead.

“By then, Ben and I had months of training together under our belt. After that first week he’d somehow found the strength to start shielding his thoughts from Snoke, and he’d fed him some lie about me being a member of the Church of the Force, about how it would take time to convince me to join him but that it would be worth it, that I would be worth it. So Snoke didn’t question his regular trips to Jakku, not until a whole year had passed and suddenly he gave Ben an ultimatum: on his next trip, he was to bring me back to the Supremacy with him no matter what – either as a willing new recruit, or as a prisoner awaiting execution. You see, Snoke believed that any Force user this powerful could only stand with him or against him, and that there was nothing in-between.”

Rose furrows her brow, chasing after a memory. “But… there is an in-between, isn’t there? You and… and the emperor speak about it a lot, especially in all those holovids about training a new generation of Force users.”

“You watch those?” Rey looks surprised, as if the entire galaxy doesn’t devour every single shred of information related to their rulers’ relationship with and use of the mythical Force.

“Everyone I know does,” Rose tells her casually, and finds herself mirroring the empress’ smile without even meaning to.

“That’s great! Because yes, there is an in-between – Ben and I discovered and explored it during all those months we spent training out in the desert, and we knew this was the key to the future.”

“So that’s how you defeated Snoke?” Because it’s still shrouded in mystery, the exact events of the day two relatively young and inexperienced Force users had taken down the most powerful living Darksider in the galaxy.

Rey nods. “That was a big part of it, but really… we defeated him together. We did all of that, all of this, together.” She waves her hand across her desk and the precarious-looking stacks of datapads and flimsiplasts, documents that hold the New Empire together and determine its future. “We could never have done it apart – that’s why it matters so much to us, keeping people together.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Rose is reminded of the look Rey had shared with the emperor in that holo of the Peacetrooper announcement. “That’s why you came up with the exemptions,” she realizes.

“I never wanted to tear people apart, not after what I’d experienced my whole life,” Rey says quietly. “But I guess that’s been happening anyway. Ben and I tried, we tried so hard with the Peacetrooper program, but those were early days for us. There were still so many members of the old guard in place, so many compromises we had to make. I’m sorry we didn’t fight harder then, but I want you to know I’ll fight for you and Finn and all the other people who deserve to stay together now.”

All this talk about fighting only reminds Rose of what Leia had mentioned before, about the council and the senate and all of that. “It will be a fight, won’t it?” she asks reluctantly. “Even with you and the emperor on board, it’s still going to be difficult to convince the galaxy to give us Betas the same rights as everyone else.”

Rey huffs. “A steaming hot load of bantha dung, is what this is,” she rants with a scowl, “how we must always have a target to pick on, how there must always be someone lesser than. First the Omegas, thousands of years ago when they treated us as nothing more than broodmares. Then the Alphas, when our societies started moving past base instincts to learn love and devotion, when Alphas started waiting on their mates hand and foot.”

That had been a relatively recent phase of galactic history, Rose supposes, the so-called Age of the Omegas, when powerful kings and ruthless warlords had been brought to their knees simply by the whims and fancies of their Omega consorts. She thinks of old Maz, of the wink and laugh that had accompanied those knowing words. But it’s been a long few centuries since then, since the Alphas were the laughing stock of the galaxy. Because today–

“And now the Betas,” Rey continues, crossing her arms in obvious displeasure. “Just because you’re slightly different than the rest of us? It’s all so karking ridiculous!”

Rose shrugs; that’s about the nicest, most polite way she’s heard it phrased. Defective is the usual go-to when it comes to describing Betas; lacking something, broken somehow, lesser than, as Rey just said.

Rey stands up from her chair, a sudden move that has Rose wondering if she’s supposed to follow suit. The empress peers down at her, and with a viewport behind her it looks like she’s silhouetted by the light of a hundred stars. “When Ben and I agreed to do this, to try and fix the galaxy, we promised we’d get rid of all past mistakes and start over, finally make things right.”

She dips her head in a determined nod, and holds out a hand to Rose. “I promise you, Rose Tico: we’ll get it right this time.”

And finally, the blind hope in Rose’s heart gives way to anticipation and faith, faith in both Rey and herself to see this through.

👑  👑  👑

At dinner, Rey gives her both good news and bad news.

The bad news is that they’ll have to wait for the emperor to return before any progress can be made.

The good news is that the emperor is expected to arrive in less than twelve standard hours, at the beginning of the ship’s day cycle.

What she forgets to mention, however, is the fact that both the emperor and the empress are suddenly and mysteriously unavailable for the rest of the day as soon as the emperor returns to the Spinebarrel.

“Never quite made it out of their honeymoon phase,” Leia says in the morning as Rose trudges over to join her at the breakfast table, having been informed of the imperial couple’s… scheduling unavailability by a passing droid. “And now with the baby on the way– Maker,” she adds with a groan, before giving Rose a long-suffering look. “Just be glad you can’t feel them through the Force.”

She’s not sure what exactly Leia means, but she finds out later that day when the happy couple finally joins them at dinner, neither of them quite capable of looking Leia in the eye as they mutter apologies.

The emperor seems nice enough when Rey introduces him to Rose, but he’s silent throughout dinner, his attention completely devoted to making sure his wife has everything she desires and more. It’s sweet but odd, seeing the rulers of the galaxy act like any other mated and expecting couple: sitting together so closely they’re practically sharing a chair, constantly making skin-to-skin contact with each other, stopping every so often to cast adoring looks at and place light touches on the barely-there swell of Rey’s stomach.

It’s a far cry from the composed façade they usually present to the galaxy, that’s for sure, especially in the case of the emperor. To her and even his mother he is relatively reserved, but one look at Rey and he lights up like a starved flower drinking in the sun.

He remains that way even after dinner, the three of them making their way to his office after bidding Leia goodnight. Behind closed doors, away from prying eyes (except hers), the emperor drops all pretenses and instantly, unashamedly pulls his wife into his lap rather than letting her sit next to him on the loveseat they occupy, leaving Rose to settle into the armchair opposite them.

Rey falls into his lap with a little shriek of glee, a sound of pure happiness that sends a little pang through Rose’s heart as she’s reminded of all the times Finn has pulled similar stunts with her, all the longing she’s buried deep within herself to focus on the task at hand.

Force-sensitive as she is, it really should come as no surprise that Rey picks up on the sudden spike of pain in the room.

“You really do love each other fiercely, don’t you?” she asks softly, leaning forward to look at Rose.

“As much as any two people can,” Rose tells her without hesitation. “I know what they say about us Betas, I know what people think about mixed couples. But… but I don’t care what they say, I don’t care that everyone thinks Finn is wasting his time with me instead of a powerful Alpha, I don’t care that everyone’s just waiting for the day he finds his ‘true’ mate and abandons me. I know that’s not us, I believe in us, I believe that our love is as strong as any other conventional couple out there.”

“So let’s prove it.”

It takes Rose a moment to realize the quiet, rumbling words came from the emperor himself, silent up until now. Rey turns in his arms to look at him, seemingly as confused as Rose is – until a smile starts to light up her face.

“Love, that’s genius!” she proclaims, reaching up to take the emperor’s face into her hands and kiss him soundly. “When it works they’ll have no choice but to acknowledge–”

The emperor laughs, and pulls away from his wife’s lips by just the slightest bit. “Sweetheart, maybe we should get Rose’s opinion first?”

“Right, right,” Rey says, and then turns back to her. “Okay, so: the big deal with Alpha-Omega couples – or Alpha-Alpha couples, or Omega-Omega couples, you get it – is that we’re capable of mating, right? And that forms this connection that makes us hyperaware of each other, attuned to each other on a whole new level. So what if we can prove that Beta-mix couples are just as connected?”

They are, as far as Rose is concerned, but– “But how would we prove that?”

Surprisingly, the emperor – Ben, Rose reminds herself, Ben – takes over. “Of all the things that get heightened after the mating process, scent sensitivity is probably the main one. If we can prove that Finn is just as attuned and attached to your scent as he would be to an Alpha or Omega partner, we can prove that you need to be around each other just as much.”

The plan, once they lay it out, is so beautifully simple.

Next week, the Spinebarrel is due to host an annual conference of the galactic senate, a three-day event during which participating senators come aboard to update the imperial couple on their planet’s latest developments and raise issues of growing interest. Naturally, with all of these additional guests onboard, a significant number of Peacetroopers will be called in to ensure everything runs smoothly. Finn, by order of the emperor, will be one of them.

At the end of the first day, all guests will be invited to a welcoming gala in the ship’s large ballroom. There, Rose and Finn will be placed on opposite ends of the cavernous room, separated by thousands of other people. Finn will be given five minutes to pick out his partner’s scent from the crowd, after which Rose will be ushered toward one of the many, many exits from the ballroom – with the hope that Finn will have caught her scent by then, allowing him to follow closely behind. From there, Rose will make her winding way toward the hangar, all the way on the other end of the ship.

She will not be allowed to look back to see if Finn is on the right trail, and he will not be allowed to call out for her to check that she is ahead. And to prevent him from catching sight of her, Finn will be blindfolded as soon as he leaves the ballroom.

The process will be challenging but if they prove successful, if an Omega manages to pick out the scent of his Beta partner in a room of thousands and follow it across the titanic imperial flagship, then everything will change. Their success will allow for the repetition of the experiment with other Beta-mix couples, and that in turn will be used as the basis for the imperial couple’s push to make amendments to all existing legislation and policies which regard Beta-mix couples as inferior to Alpha-Omega couples.

At the end of the evening, a nervous but hopeful Rey turns to Rose. “Do you think it’ll work?”

Rose is silent for a moment as she considers the question, and then she asks, “Could you two do it – what you’re asking us to do?” She’s belatedly reminded of the fact that the Alpha-Omega couple in front of her is a special case, and rushes to amend her question. “Could any other Alpha-Omega couple do it?”

Ben nods, even going so far as to offer her a small, reassuring smile. “I see it happen all the time.”

And just like that, Rose knows her answer, knows what the outcome will be. “Then yes,” she tells a beaming Rey. “Yes, it’ll work.”

👑  👑  👑

Finn arrives on the Spinebarrel the day of the gala itself, just two standard hours before things are set to begin. They’re allowed a brief, private reunion as soon as he boards, giving Rose a chance to update him on everything she’s been up to since he left and everything they’ll have to keep in mind tonight.

She worries that maybe Finn isn’t quite paying attention to her careful instructions, though, because his expression had morphed into one of awe at some point during the retelling of her galactic adventure and it’s still stuck that way. “Rose, Rosie, you absolute miracle – you actually did all of this, you came all this way and talked the imperial couple into changing the world. Maker,” he sighs, gently cupping her face before he dips down to kiss her, “you are amazing.”

Rose laughs and pulls him closer, her heart singing with the comforting familiarity of their embrace for the first time in too long. “I told you we’d be together again soon, didn’t I?”

“And I’ll never doubt a single word you say ever again,” Finn vows, just as they’re interrupted by a knock.

“It’s time,” Ben’s unmistakable voice calls from the other end of the door, and for a moment Rose thinks she might panic, thinks they’re not ready–

But then Finn takes her hand, and one look in his eyes is all it takes for her to know that everything is going to be okay.

Brief introductions are made as soon as she opens the door, with Rey surprisingly recognizing Finn as the first friendly face she’d seen upon boarding the Supremacy all those years ago, and then they’re off to the gala, Rose and Finn trailing behind the imperial couple dressed to the nines.

The grand ballroom is absolutely packed, filled with senators and their retinues eating and dancing and socializing after a day of discussions and negotiations. In the midst of all this, the four of them somehow manage to slip in unnoticed even with the striking silhouette Rey and Ben cut in their fancy clothes and regal bearing, and Rey shuffles them off to a quiet corner to run through the plan one last time.

Two people, a human man and woman, appear just as Rey finishes her explanation, more for Finn’s benefit than anything else. “These are Mitaka and Kaydel, two of our most trusted staffers,” Rey tells Rose and Finn. “They’ll be helping you find your places and make sure everything goes according to plan. Now, are you ready?”

Rose smiles at the newcomers, shares a look with Rey and Ben, and then turns to take Finn’s hand in hers once more. “Yeah, yeah we’re ready.”

Rey’s face splits into a warm smile, and she steps forward to take both Rose and Finn’s free hand. “I’d hug you, but I don’t want to throw Finn off with all of these baby hormones.”

That brings their tense little circle a small laugh, at least.

“Good luck, you two. I know you can do this.”

Ben steps forward with a nod. “We’ll be waiting on the other side.”

And with that, the imperial couple disappears into the crowd.

With Kaydel and Mitaka politely standing to the side, Rose takes the opportunity to give Finn one final kiss – for now.

“We can do this,” he says fiercely against her lips.

“Find me,” Rose whispers, and then they go their separate ways for what is hopefully the last time.

👑  👑  👑

High above the ballroom, Rey and Ben settle into a hidden viewing box that’ll allow them to keep tabs on the action within the ballroom. A projector connected to a multitude of cam droids lights up the walls, feeding them live recordings of both Rose and Finn.

The small room is silent as they watch Finn prowl one length of the ballroom, kept in place by a dutiful Mitaka as he strains to distinguish Rose’s scent from the thousands of others in the ballroom.

It’s obvious as soon as he picks it up, the lines of tension on his face and in his shoulders smoothing away immediately. “Remind you of anyone?” Rey turns to ask her husband teasingly, giggling with delight when he simply picks her up from her seat next to his and plops her into his lap in response.

Ben holds her close as they watch the first five minutes tick by, his chin warm on her shoulder as they both cradle their child.

Before long, Kaydel is leading Rose toward an exit and patiently counting down the seconds of Rose’s two-minute head-start before she notifies Mitaka that it’s time to let Finn go. He darts across the ballroom, a strong start, but Rey tenses every time it looks like he might pick the wrong exit.

“Shh,” Ben soothes her after one particularly close call, dropping a hand to her hip to draw calming circles. “Love finds a way, remember?” he whispers in her ear, an echo of the promise they’d made each other in the early days, back when it seemed like the entire galaxy was against them and their relationship.

She and Ben had burned the galaxy down and rebuilt it from ashes in order to be together. Surely Finn and Rose will manage finding each other in a ship, even if said ship is the ridiculously oversized Spinebarrel.

“Love finds a way,” she murmurs, and allows herself to lean back into Ben’s arms and simply watch: watch as Finn finally picks the right exit and Mitaka swoops in to blindfold him, watch as Rose falters once, twice in her steps but determinedly keeps her eyes straight ahead and keeps moving, watch as Finn stops to doubt himself every now and then only to close his eyes, search for Rose, and let his heart guide him.

And then finally, at long last, they watch as Finn bursts into the hangar and blindly runs across the wide, empty space toward Rose, picks her up and swings her around in his embrace before they reunite with a joyful kiss.

Rey turns her eyes away to give them a moment of privacy, and smiles at Ben. “You know what this means.”

“Indeed,” Ben muses with a smile of his own, catching a glimpse of the Beta and Omega clinging to each other for dear life in a desperate embrace that is all too familiar to him. “I suppose it’s the dawn of a new era,” he tells his wife, catching her hand in his.

Rey laces their fingers together. “We’re good at those,” she quips with a confident grin, and settles into Ben’s embrace with a happy sigh just as Rose does the same to Finn on the screens in front of them.

[saltpepperbeard]

Let’s Talk About The Last Jedi

So I’m feeling So Pumped about this movie that I feel the need to do one of my giant reviews. The Internet had me feeling such mixed emotions going into this movie that I genuinely didn’t know what to expect. I half expected to come out of the movie seething and pissed at every choice made, and then I half expected to be utterly and completely #Shook. And I can genuinely and thankfully say that it was the latter. With that being said, I’d love to get into screaming talking about it for anyone who may have doubts about seeing it, or anyone looking for someone with similar thoughts.

So then! I’ll give a quick spoiler free review before I dive into the deeper stuff. The internet, tumblr especially, made me think that this movie was going to be completely different from how it actually was. I went into the theater expecting certain things to happen that never did. I went into the theater expecting to hate the character choices and never did. I was almost nervous really, preparing myself for this movie to be a Phantom Menace as opposed to a Return of the Jedi. But no, it was its own thing.

In retrospect, the plot had surprisingly very little going on. I feel like the other Star Wars movies take place across weeks, even months. But in this one, all the action felt like it took place anywhere from 24 to 72 hours. Despite this, it managed to keep me incredibly invested, never really slow down, and pack a lot into a short time frame. SO MANY THINGS WENT WRONG SO QUICKLY.

I kind of like that though. It shows how unpredictable and unforgiving war can be. It made it seem more real, more organic if that makes any sense.

Even the characters that were introduced had me quickly invested in them. There was a character who only had maybe 20-30 minutes of screen time, and she ended up being one of the characters who made me cry the most. 

Everything was just nicely paced, characters were handled well, and it was overall just a really good movie. It made me laugh a lot, cry a lot, and come out instantly wanting to see it again. It might not be everyone’s favorite, but it definitely left a lasting impact on me. The amazing new characters, the action sequences, the answered questions, the lore, and the setup for a new movie completely locked me in. It’s re-watchable for sure, and will definitely be higher up on my favorite Star Wars movies.

...Now with that being said, feel free to follow be beneath the cut for more! Just a warning, there will now be Heavily Spoilers and Heavy Opinions™.

The Discourse™: OKAY. So I feel like this is the thing I need to address first since I’m an open air now, because this is what had me lowkey turned off from the movie in the first place. I went into this movie thinking there was going to be a romantic connotation between Kylo and Rey, and was admittedly bothered by it. Force Awakens clearly set up their relationship, with Kylo being drawn to Rey’s power, and Rey being utterly disgusted by Kylo’s actions. So to get it in my head that these two were going to be led in the direction of a romantic relationship had me cringing a bit.

I don’t have a problem with people who write fanfiction and kind of shift/manipulate their intentions for shipping purposes. But to have said motivations be canon would be...a bit concerning considering how JJ set them up to be.

And I can say that when I saw the movie, I was so relieved to see that it followed the arc that JJ introduced. I know a lot of people are holding on to the idea that Rey and Kylo were reaching out to each other, and were romantically/sexually invested in each other. But really, genuinely, I did not see this.

I saw Kylo wanting Rey solely for his power. I saw him craving power and craving leadership. His actions reminded me very much of, ironically, Darth Vader. I saw the same kind of motivations that I did with Vader and the Emperor in Return of the Jedi. Vader wanted Luke to join him in his quest to rule the galaxy, because he knew that having a very strong force-sensitive individual by his side would amplify his power. And I feel that was the same with Kylo. He knew Rey was force-sensitive. Hell, he got hIS ASS KICKED AND HAD A SCAR TO SHOW FOR IT. So he and ultimately Snoke both wanted her on the First Order’s side for that reason.

And then of course, Rey wanted Kylo on her side with the motivation of changing the war. I recall her talking about how beneficial it would be to have him in the light again. And that makes sense; having Kylo on the Resistance’s side would take a huge chunk of darkness/power away from the First Order. It would really change things the frick around if Kylo joined those he swore to defeat. So in knowing that there could potentially still be good in him, Rey pulled a Luke and attempted to bring him away.

Their little force connections were very interesting, but again, I didn’t sense any romantic longing. Any time Kylo reached out to her, he appeared to be attempting to corrupt her. I noticed that he would jab at her weak spots a lot, such as mentioning her loneliness and past burdens. And in knowing that channeling negative emotions such as those leads to the dark side, it can be pretty safe to assume that he was trying to get under her skin and get her to join his purpose.

Rey of course, resisted his dark intentions. She did however, reach out to him once. And I believe this happened because she saw potential good in him. She saw a supposed gate to reach his light side, and attempted to pass through it. She wanted so bad for him to be good again.

And of course when he appeared so close to be redeeming himself, only to shut it all down, she had no problem with shutting him out. She realized at that point that he was irredeemable.

Not to mention that Snoke had been instigating their little “Force Skype Calls” from the beginning anyway. He openly admitted to filling their heads with thoughts and tampering with their weak spots to break the both of them. So it never really was Kylo reaching out to Rey or vice versa anyway. It was all formulated.

SO ANYWAY, I was very much satisfied with the way their interactions played out. And just a PSA, I don’t really have a problem with anyone who ships them. If you like writing fanfictions and what not, imagining what could be, then you are definitely free to do so. I however, do not see any kind of romantic or sexual connotations in their relationship, so I was happy with how things were presented in this movie.

The New Characters: This is the part where I start screaming, bECAUSE H’OH MY GOD. I LOVE THEM????? WHAT GOOD KIDS???????? Rose quickly had me invested in her character with how smol yet heroic she was, and her chemistry with Finn was amazing. And then of course Holdo sjflksjdksds. Jesus CHRIST that woman. I cannot get over her character honestly. I was so frustrated with her in the beginning and felt like she was holding back the Resistance from achieving their goals. But then everything fell into place and her motivations were explained perfectly and??? The part where she sacrificed herself by slamming???? into the First Order ships at light speed in absolute????? silence?????? had me probably tHE MOST SHOOK I WAS IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE??????? AND SHE HAD SUCH A MINOR ROLE IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS BUT MADE ONE OF THE BIGGEST IMPACTS AND IT WAS SO UTTERLY INSANE

Rey: I have to admit, I was hoping that Rey would explore more of that “balance” between the force in this movie. She seemed to give into one side or the other pretty quickly as she attempted to figure out her purpose and who she was as a jedi. But I suppose ultimately at the end, she found her place and decided what path she was taking by shutting the First Order out and aiding the Resistance. I suppose I had it in my head that she was going to master both the light and dark side, becoming a Grey Jedi. I had images of her in my head wielding a double-sided red and blue lightsaber. And who knows; maybe she’ll explore more of this in episode nine. We still really didn’t get to see the type of Jedi she’ll become, and I guess that’s what I was hoping to see in this movie.

I did of course, really like to see her journey as she attempted to figure things out, and the small hints at how powerful she really is. I’M JUST SO READY FOR THIS LITTLE POWERHOUSE TO BECOME SUCH A POWERFUL FREAKING JEDI/FORCE USER.

Poe: I know a lot of people were complaining that Poe’s character was cut down, and he was made to be this “scoundrel” type of character. I even saw people going so far as to calling his character choices sexist because of how he disobeyed both Leia and Holdo. But honestly, I saw nothing wrong with his character choices. It was established pretty well in the first movie that Poe is very gung-ho, that he’s a bit cocky, and that he likes leaping before looking necessarily. And I think this movie only amplified those character traits.

I think Poe is our Han of the new trio. He tends to act before he thinks things through properly, and acts in the hero mindset. I think he would have disobeyed anyone who tried to give him orders, as he was so set on his plans and so invested in saving the Resistance in the way that made the most sense to him.

So he wasn’t problematic. Just a Good Boy who was trying his best and just wanted to save the day for his boyfriend fellow fighters.

Finn: FINNY-FINN-FINN IS BEST BOY. God, I love him. He’s just so good. His character is just so delightful, and I adore how he has the same fighting spirit as Poe. He’s willing to do anything for those he’s fighting for, and I swear to God, if he had flung himself into that charging gun, I would have flung myself down the theater’s stairs. Like I appreciate your sacrifice and character, bUT YOU ARE TO GOOD TO LOSE LIKE THAT SO YOU SIT YOURSELF DOWN. Also, while I love his dynamic with Rey, his dynamic with Rose was super cute as well. I’m glad he was able to establish a good relationship with her, and then also go to Rey in the end. My boy is surrounded by a lot of good friends, and I am So Glad.

Luke: So being overly dramatic must come from the male side of the Skywalker family. All the ladies have it together, but the mEN JUST LOVE THEIR STOMPING AWAY AND THEIR DRAMATIC CAPE FLINGS AND THEIR L’OREAL HAIR MOMENTS. But also let Luke rest, he is tired.

In all seriousness, this was actually another element the Internet had me real worried about. I was honestly expecting Luke’s character to be utterly butchered. Like, I was expecting him to not feel like Luke whatsoever. And admittedly, initially, I was a bit worried there in the beginning. He just seemed so cold and so unapproachable and so just...not himself that I was sitting there like ohgodohgodohgod.

But then I came to realize that Luke had been through A Lot; the poor guy was literally blaming himself for the entire uprising of The First Order. Like, despite Snoke being the one to seduce Ben to the dark side, and Ben ultimately failing Luke as opposed to the other way around, he could not see it as such. He carried the burden of starting everything.

And then I also realized that Luke has been a sassy lil dork since A New Hope. After all, he only wanted to go to Toshi Station to pick up some power converterrrssss! And then when he was learning the ways of the force with Yoda, he was impulsive and even quick tempered at times.

So really, he wasn’t out of character at all. Just really really really tired. 

He also probably saw a lot of his younger self in Rey. And in seeing what he became, and what he thought his actions created, it made him shut himself out, and therefore her as well.

It was so amazing however, to see Luke come back in full swing. Good God. To see him finally warm up to training Rey, all the way to seeing him LITERALLY PROJECT HIMSELF ON THE ASTRAL PLANE TO WHIP HIS NEPHEW INTO SHAPE LOL. LIKE YES. THAT’S HIM. THAT’S LUKE SKYWALKER.

And his death didn’t feel too out of place either. The whole thing with him finally being at peace, and that friggin binary sunset symbolism bullshit that decided to show up and murder me was a great touch as well. It’s like his arc made a complete circle, so his death felt heroic, it felt like he was laying to rest and allowing the new jedi to take his place.

Leia: I couldn’t handle Leia for a few reasons. First and foremost being, I would tear up whenever I saw Carrie Fisher on screen for obvious reasons. Secondly, she’s always been one of my favorite characters in the entirety of the Star Wars franchise, if not my ABSOLUTE favorite. So I of course adored watching every aspect of her personality on screen. I love Leia in the sense that she never has time for anyone’s shit, but is also one of the warmest and wisest characters in the entire franchise. And probably one of the strongest too; your girl has been to every circle of hell and back and hasn’t ONCE been tempted by the dark side. I absolutely adore her.

But what had me really really REALLY shook with this movie was finally FINALLY getting to see her use her force sensitivity. Like of course we got to see her reaching out to Ben and Luke, something she’s demonstrated in Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Force Awakens. But tO ACTUALLY SEE HER SAVE HERSELF FROM THE DEEP DARK DEPTHS OF SPACE BY UTILIZING A FORCE PULL???? I COULDN’T BELIEVE IT.

I had actually spoiled that one bit unfortunately, because I couldn’t live with not knowing if Kyle Ron killed his sweet mother or not lol. But even in knowing it, I was still crying and in complete shock in seeing it. I’ve always wanted Leia to show her jedi tendencies ever since I was a smol Star Wars fan. And even though it wasn’t much, seeing her legitimately using the force on the big screen...I’M STILL MESSED UP JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

And also on a little side note, I want to cry every time I think about Leia being able to see and feel Luke when she was on Crait. Her being able to converse with him, and practically reuniting with him just...MURDERED ME. IT WAS LITERALLY THE ONE THING I WAS HOPING FOR, AND WELP THERE GOES LUKE KISSING LEIA ON THE FOREHEAD AND CAUSING MY SOUL TO AGGRESSIVELY ASCEND.

The Creatures: It honestly cracked me up to see how much the Porgs and Vulptexes were hyped up, and then to rECEIVE SO LITTLE OF THEM. Any time they were on screen though, they were very delightful. The one scene where Chewie had a cooked Porg, and he got guilt tripped into not eating it by these little puppy dog-eyed Porgs had me DYING. And also the Vulptexes were heckin’ good doggos. Brought the Resistance out of the salt mines 10/10.

Overall: I would get into even more detail, but considering this whole thing is getting to be a legitimate novel and I touched upon what was most important to me, I’ll just wrap things up by saying I thoroughly enjoyed nearly everything about this movie. I went in with lowered expectations, and ended up being blown out of the water. It definitely has re-watch value. It definitely stuck with me. It definitely kept my fandom spirit alive, and made me all the more desperate to see what happens next.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens now that Snoke is out of the picture, and now that there are other force sensitive users in the galaxy. Please see: that smol baby bean at the end of the movie. I’m very excited with everything this movie set up, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what Nine will bring.

[ivoryandbonerpg-blog]

                               ♔ GEORGE WEASLEY ♔

( the basics. )

AGE: 20 LINEAGE: Pureblood SCHOOL / ALUMNI: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry HOUSE: Gryffindor ALLIANCE: The Order

( personality. )

✓ / ✗ : cheeky, kind-hearted, courageous, practical, innovative, good-humored

( biography. )

• Fred likes to remind George that he’s the younger of the Weasley twins by something ridiculous like four minutes. George likes to remind Fred that they were both conceived at the same time and the only reason Fred is older is because George was a gentleman who exhibited the highest level of manners possible by holding the “door of life” open for Fred first. So really, the way George sees it, Fred’s age does nothing but prove that he has less class and etiquette between the two of them. Their mother thinks this argument is nonsense whenever they have it, and George smiles wide and toothy when she huffs irritably and brandishes a dish towel exasperatedly in his direction. In all actuality, age and “who’s in charge of who” has never been a concern for George Weasley; in just about every capacity, he has always privately considered his brother Fred to be his equal in every conceivable manner. Though the two have been nearly inseparable since their birth twenty years ago, George likes to think that he and Fred are quite different, and that if people would only stop getting so frazzled over the fact that they were two cheeky identical twin brothers, they would realize that the differences between them make it easy enough to make solid distinctions between “Gred and Forge”.

• Fred was always the more outgoing and daring of the two, often coming up with some of their more ridiculous schemes entirely on his own, but growing up in the Burrow, George had his fair share of mischief and laughs with the rest of the Weasley clan. Between racing around on the hand-me-down broomsticks that had been gifted to them by their older brothers, pulling pranks on their younger brother Ron, and getting into general mischief and mayhem on the grounds surrounding the Weasley family property, George’s childhood was filled to the brim with exciting activities--all of which was spent alongside Fred. When the two were accepted into Hogwarts, George was as excited as Fred at the thought of attending the same magical school their family had been alumni of for generations. Unsurprisingly, George was sorted into Gryffindor House (another tradition in the Weasley family, as his father had told him excitedly countless times) alongside his brother, and George didn’t spare a single thought of concern or worry over whether or not it was the right place for him at Hogwarts. Gryffindor just seemed fitting for him; like he had been waiting his entire life for it. Truly, George found that he couldn’t explain the phenomenal feeling that came with traipsing off to the Gryffindor table, a lopsided smile on his face and his chest swelling with pride. It was like coming home after a long day and being relieved to find that everything is exactly as you remembered it.

• Hogwarts was a whirlwind of entertainment, mischief, and scarcely escaping trouble for George and his brother, Fred. George made a slew of friends throughout the school, but no one seemed quite as remarkable as Angelina Johnson, no matter whose path he crossed. While Fred was even more easygoing than he was and not the least bit shy or reserved, boldly going where no student had dared to venture before, George tended to be the more practical and slightly reserved between the two of them. And while Fred grew impossibly close with Lee Jordan during their stay at Hogwarts together, George found himself drawn more and more to the enigma that was Angelina Johnson. They were members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team together (a sport that Angelina took more seriously than any witch or wizard George had ever met before) as well as members of the same House. They became fast friends, with the twins being as well-liked and widely known as they were for their pranks and good-natured fun, but George was more impressed with Angelina’s impressive behavior than any of the tricks, treats, or oddments that he and Fred invented during their time together. George’s lifelong dream had always been to open up a joke shop of his own with Fred’s once they’d finished their time in school together; he’d even taken the initiative of researching the business aspect of the entire affair in his free time. And while his dreams, ambitions, and inventions took up the vast majority of his time (when he wasn’t playing pranks on Filch, of course), George couldn’t help the way his gaze and thoughts would stray to Angelina whenever they were in the same room together. She was more than just the beautiful, popular, easily likable witch that Gryffindor Tower knew her for. She was a loyal friend, an independent and thoughtful witch, and could hold her own better than anyone George had ever known. She wasn’t perfect--she got angry and proud and was prone to being a perfectionist--but it only made George even crazier for her. Her humanity was his favorite thing about Angelina; the fact that she felt so real in an entire world that was so beyond the ordinary.

• But however obvious George might have felt his feelings seemed, he never approached Angelina or attempted to make a move on her. It wasn’t until Fred asked Angelina to attend the Yule Ball with him during their sixth year at Hogwarts that George began to feel something akin to remorse for not making his feelings known to Angelina much sooner. George was crestfallen over Fred and Angelina attending together, but felt that he couldn’t say anything to either of them. In all fairness, George had never been honest with anyone--not even Fred--about his feelings for Angelina; he couldn’t very likely blame either of them for wanting to enjoy themselves and have a good time together, could he? George later found out they shared a clandestine kiss together and some intimate moments, but after the ball ended, Angelina seemingly wanted nothing to do with Fred. George watched with bated breath, not wanting his greatest friend or the girl he’d been in love with since he was practically eleven to get hurt in the crossfire, but things eventually moved on as they had been. They were decidedly different between the friend group, and even Lee seemed to notice the dynamic was off, but...normal. Or as normal as things could be, Fred supposed. With the “Angelina hurdle”, as George privately dubbed it, over and behind them, George’s main concern was deciding what to do with the money that Harry had so graciously given to Fred and himself after winning the Triwizard Tournament. All of George’s romantic, tangled feelings were pushed aside so that he could focus all of his time and energy on the two things that grew to mean the world to him: supporting Dumbledore’s Army, as it was the next closest thing to being a member of the Order of the Phoenix while at Hogwarts, and trying to figure out how his and Fred’s lifetime of inventions and passionate jests and jokes could be made into a profitable future. Fred was talented at marketing the designs and magical inventions they’d created, so George was left to the more practical side of his personality: figuring out the grit of the business industry and the budget they would need to turn over new profit instead of running themselves and their starter investment into the ground.

• Despite the odds stacked against them, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes opened up in Diagon Alley and continued to flourish long after other shops that dotted the popular shopping district had closed. Fred and George kept their joke shop open for as long as they possibly could; as long as they felt it was safe to. But when the Death Eater presence in Diagon Alley became too strong, and the store’s double as a safehouse meeting point risked jeopardizing innocent lives, the twins made the joint decision to shut down the joke shop until the end of the war. Though death and darkness looms above them, and his dreams have temporarily been placed on hold, George feels confident more than ever that what the wizarding world needs is to band together on a universal front to stop this evil from spreading across Europe and over to other continents. George’s strong beliefs are one of the main reasons he’s joined his brother, Fred, and childhood friend Lee Jordan in some of their radio shows and podcasts they host on the secret, underground, Order-friendly radio show, Potterwatch. George’s responsibility maintains on the keeping the radio show organized and underground, which is a lot more difficult than it seems. But with the help of his friends and the dedication of his brother and Lee, George thinks they might--might--be making a difference.   

( sexuality. )

up to player

( connections. )

⚔ Fred Weasley: Fred is George’s twin brother, partner in crime, business associate, and the best friend George could have possibly asked for--being related and sharing a birthday together is just a bonus! George worries about Fred’s safety and struggles to protect his brother more than himself, simply out of sake of duty and love for his brother who has done so much for him. But if there’s one thing George wishes, desperately, is that he could find the courage to tell Fred how he feels about Angelina--it could fix so many things...

⚔ Angelina Johnson: Angelina’s feelings for George have always been unknown to the younger Weasley twin, but his feelings for her have been a chaotic jumble of emotions since nearly the day they met. George has been infatuated with Angelina since they first became childhood friends, and though he’s desperate to tell her how he feels every day, he fears that she still harbors feelings for Fred and that his admittance would just get in the way of them being happy together. Or, worse, if she chose him because she couldn’t have Fred and was settling for “the other Weasley”.

⚔ Benjamin Beckett: George knows that there’s something going on between Benjamin and Angelina...he’s just not sure what it is. Angelina is very secretive about her communications with the American student, and George doesn’t feel as though he knows Benjamin well enough to go snooping around in the man’s personal business. Regardless, though, George can’t help but be worried that Benjamin is using Angelina. And if she gets hurt, then George’s friendly disposition may turn into something decidedly more sour for the first time.  

the role of GEORGE WEASLEY is currently OPEN.

[your-girl-thursday]

Last Night - Bughead Fic

So this is my first Bughead fic. I’m still trying to get the hang of writing these two. This takes place before the pilot so the character dynamics are a little different. Special thanks to @xoheatherkw for betaing and cheerleading this week (and pretty much every other week too).

There was a certain magic Betty felt every time she went to the Twilight Drive-In. Tonight was no different. In fact, the place seemed a little more electric than usual. It was like the drive-in itself knew Betty Cooper would be leaving soon and wanted to say goodbye.

It never occurred to Betty how much she would miss this place. Somehow the drive-in hadn’t made it on her list of town landmarks to visit before the summer. Now that she was there, it felt like kismet. A wave of homesickness punched her squarely in the chest. In twenty hours time she would be in California, another coast and time zone entirely.

That night was supposed to be her last grand hurrah with Archie Andrews, her best friend and secret crush. The key phrase was ‘supposed to be.’ Forty minutes before they were set to meet, Archie had finally called. He had been been on a supply run in Oceanvale with his dad. Delayed shipments, traffic accidents, and a bad set of spark plugs had all pushed their departure time further and further back. It was an hour at best to get back from there. Betty had half-heartedly lied that she wasn’t upset. 

The truth was that she was hurt and more than a little embarrassed. She had built up the night as The Moment when Archie would realize that his feelings for her skewed toward romantic. She thought that with her departure looming he would have that romcom impulse to tell her how he felt at the last minute. Part of her wondered if this summer would give her such much needed perspective on her future with (or without) Archie. 

Since Betty’s parents thought she was occupied for the rest of the night, she decided to find something else to do. Jughead had invited them to visit him at work. The Twilight was showing East of Eden, which Betty had been bummed about missing. Plus, it sure beat nursing a broken heart alone.

And so here she was. 

Betty walked straight past the unmanned ticket booth, wondering where Jughead was. It didn’t take long for her to find him. She could hear him all the way across the lot. He was running the concession stand, handing out popcorn and sodas. The salt and butter in the air made Betty’s stomach rumble. She joined the line, watching Jughead navigate behind the counter. He juggled bags and cups without any sort of grace. It was a wonder he didn’t drop anything, but he somehow managed to burn through the line without spilling anything.

The moment Jughead noticed Betty was painfully obvious. His entire face lit up. Betty couldn’t help but smile back. There was something nice about being around someone that was genuinely happy to see her. 

“You guys came after all,” Jughead said, a little breathless from all of the running around. “I thought Archie wasn’t too keen on seeing East of Eden.”

Betty shrugged. “Archie cancelled, which worked out in my favor. I’m really keen on seeing the movie.”

The smile on Jughead’s face dimmed noticeably. “He stood you up?” He leaned forward, resting his forearms on the counter.

“He’s still out with his dad.” Betty forced a smile, even though she knew her friend would see right through it. “Are you still taking orders?”

Jughead stood up and gestured behind him. “What’s your poison, Betts?”

“Popcorn and a pack of Red Vines,” she answered with zero hesitation. It was her go-to.

Jughead arched an eyebrow. “Shocking.”

Betty pulled out her wallet while Jughead readied the snacks. He carefully layered the popcorn with butter and salt, just the way Betty liked it. Once done, he placed her things on the counter.

The total Jughead quoted was way less than Betty usually paid. She frowned at her friend as he pulled several bills out of his pocket. 

“I figure you’ll be more likely to share if I help pay.” Jughead grinned sheepishly as he added Betty’s money to his. “Snacks taste so much better when you share. It’s theater law.”

Betty shook her head. “Alright, but next time I’m paying for it all.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “There’s no one at the ticket booth so I just walked in.” Both of them laughed at her confession.

“What a rebel! Elodie called out so this is a solo operation tonight. No one will even notice.” Jughead looked at the clock on the wall. “Speaking of, I’ve got a minute before the snacks stop dancing and people get antsy.”

Jughead jumped the counter and picked up their pack of Red Vines. Betty followed him toward the projection booth with the bag of popcorn. She snuck a handful of popcorn, savoring the taste. “You really do make the best popcorn, Juggie.” He smiled at her, ducking his head as he held the door open for her.

It wasn’t Betty’s first time in the projection booth, but usually there was someone else there too. Everything seemed quieter as they settled into the room. Jughead picked up a book off of the chair next to the projector, tossing it onto the table with the licorice. He gestured for Betty to sit, then started fiddling with the film canister he needed to prep.

“I could’ve moved that myself,” Betty reminded him.

Jughead scoffed as he deftly switched out the reels. “That’s a library book, and you’re hand is dripping with butter.” He smiled when the opening credits appeared on the screen. “I have a pristine borrowing record to protect.”

Betty snuck a glance at the title of the book. A tiny snicker escaped her. “You were going to read The Grapes of Wrath while you watched East of Eden?”

Jughead pulled up another chair and set it next to Betty’s. She had a much better line of sight. Her seat was originally meant for the projectionist. She shifted and ripped open the package of licorice, offering Jughead a piece.

“When it comes to James Dean, I’m more of a Rebel Without a Cause guy, what can I say?” He smirked and bit off a large piece of licorice. “I was up here reading before my shift started.”

“Of course you were,” Betty murmured, munching on her own piece of licorice.

They slowly worked their way through the snacks and a large stack of napkins as the movie rolled. The silence between them was relaxing. They both were enjoying the movie, although Jughead had to occasionally run back to the concession stand. He brought back napkins and soda with him on his second trip.

Betty’s constant inner monologue shut off when she was around Jughead. She didn’t hear the endless refrain telling her that she wasn’t good enough and that she had to be perfect. It occurred to her that this should’ve been her ideal last night all along. The movie crept closer and closer to ending, making Betty wonder how she could spin the night out.

Guilt stabbed at her. Betty had planned out goodbyes with all of the important people in her life. Milkshakes with Archie. Pancakes with Kevin in the morning. Lunch with her parents and Polly. And yet she hadn’t chosen a moment for Jughead. Each time she thought about saying goodbye to him a little voice whispered ‘not yet.’ She half expected to run into him like she did every day of her life, appearing just when they needed each other. 

“It’ll be weird not seeing you this summer,” Jughead whispered, not taking his eyes off the screen. He was so intent that had it not been for the blush staining his neck, Betty would’ve thought she had imagined his words.

That wave of homesickness crashed down again. Betty smiled sadly and touched her forehead against Jughead’s shoulder. “I know what you mean.” She looked up at him wistfully.

Jughead swallowed, opening his mouth to say something. Nothing came out, but an awkward laugh. Betty felt something shift between them. It was exceedingly rare for Jughead to be so open and vulnerable. He had to know that she truly valued him, right?

Betty opened her mouth to tell him how much their friendship meant to her when Archie Andrews decided to barrel through the door. 

The redhead ran a hand over his face. “Jug, I need your advice. I think I pissed off…” His voice trailed off as he realized Jughead wasn’t alone. “Betty?”

Betty straightened up in her chair, while Jughead sank deeper into his and tugged down his beanie. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there. 

“I tried calling you to apologize again and see if you still wanted to hang out.” Archie’s shoulders slumped. “Are you mad at me?”

Betty flipped over her phone, seeing the notifications she had missed. “I silenced my phone.” She shot Jughead a smile, trying to make him feel less uncomfortable. “It’s theater law.”

That earned her a snort from Jughead. He unfolded himself from the chair and made his way to the door. “Sounds like you two need a moment. I’m gonna go turn the popcorn machine off.” His exit was punctuated by the squeak of the door hinges behind him.

The silence that followed was nothing like the one Betty had been sharing with Jughead. This one was charged, heavy with unsaid words. Betty became hyper aware of a smear of butter just behind her ear. Her fingers itched to swipe at it.

“I’m so sorry, Betty. I really thought I would be back in time. And it’s not like we can just do it another night since you’re leaving tomorrow.” Archie ran a hand through his red hair. “I feel awful.”

The words were like aloe to Betty’s burned heart. They didn’t fix the problem, but provided some mild relief temporarily. She could hear her mother’s words echo in her ears. Betty was a good girl. Good girls swallowed their sadness, let any volatile emotion roll right off their back. Good girls didn’t tell people how devastated they were by their actions. 

Betty settled for a half truth. “I’m not mad at you.” 

Relief swept across Archie’s face. “I’ll make it up to you, I swear. We can go to Pop’s right now and get that milkshake.”

A knot formed in the bottom of Betty’s stomach. She wanted this. She would’ve killed for this an hour and a half before. Now she was worried about leaving her friend behind. There was something cold about seeking out Jughead and walking away as soon as Archie showed up.

Betty stood up and walked past Archie to the door. “Let’s finish the movie first,” she countered. It sounded like an option, but Archie had no choice. She had started the movie beside Jughead and would end it there as well. She left the projection room and headed for the concession stand. 

Archie veered off toward the bathrooms. “Meet up with you in a sec,” he called after her. 

When Betty spotted him, Jughead was leaning against the front of the counter of the concession stand. His arms were crossed firmly across his chest. Betty made eye contact with him and smiled. His answering smile was edged with something she couldn’t identify.

“Heading out.” It wasn’t a question. 

Betty leaned against the counter next to Jughead. She knocked her shoulder into his arm. “Not without finishing the movie.”

Jughead looked down at her. “You know how it ends.”

“Since when has that ever mattered.” Betty grabbed some napkins from a nearby dispenser to clean the spot on her neck. “I’m sticking with you until the bitter end.”

“There’s like five minutes left. Are you sure you want to make that kind of commitment?” The weirdness melted from Jughead’s smile. He was back to the smile he had given her earlier in the night. It was brilliant and made Betty feel triumphant for bringing it out. 

“What?” Jughead asked, making Betty realize she had been staring a beat too long.

Betty lightly touched his forearm. “You’re a really good friend. You know that, right?”

Jughead’s eyes moved from Betty’s toward where they were touching. He swallowed quickly. “So are you.” His attention shifted to the credits rolling. “Movie’s over. I’ll be right back.”

Not yet. 

It was a warm summer night, but Betty still felt cold when Jughead walked away. He got about ten steps away before he stopped in place and pivoted back toward her.

“They’re really lucky to have you this summer,” Jughead told her. “You’re going to practically be running the place by your third day.”

Betty laughed. “Yeah right.”

“I’m serious. I’ve seen Betty Cooper when she has a goal. I’d bet on her every time.” There was something about the look in Jughead’s eyes that knocked the air right out of Betty. He sounded so sincere. She knew that this moment would be one she replayed. It wasn’t enough to drown out her mother, but it would help. “Have a safe flight tomorrow and good luck.”

Not yet.

Betty took a step toward him, a lump forming in her throat. “Aren’t you joining us at Pop’s? Archie and I can help you clean up here.”

Jughead looked at a spot just over Betty’s shoulder. “I think it would be better if I skipped out on that. Archie’s got a lot of groveling to do.” They shared a smile. “Seriously, go have fun with him.”

Without thinking Betty closed the gap between them. She flung her arms around her friend, curling her arms around his back. “Goodbye, Juggie.” 

“Bye Betts.” The words were barely audible, mere whispers ruffling her hair. He relaxed into the hug, going from making simple contact to actually holding her.

They pulled away slowly, backing away from each other. If saying goodbye to Jughead was this hard, how much worse would it be to say it to Polly? Tears pricked at the corners of Betty’s eyes. She’d said the words, but couldn’t bring herself to move any further away.

Not yet.

Jughead playfully pointed a finger at her. “Hey now, there’s no crying in baseball.”

“More theater law,” Betty said, smiling at the reference to one of her favorite movies. She had long since realized that humor was Jughead’s way of handling hard stuff.

It was so hard for Betty to fight the urge to keep their conversation going. She needed to end it, rip it off like a bandaid. That was the only way she would get through it. Change was a part of growing up, getting away. This was the trade off for getting away from her parents for the entire summer. That didn’t make it hurt any less though.

Betty took a deep breath. “I’ll see you in three months.” There was a firmness in her voice that surprised her. 

“Count on it,” Jughead told her, understanding the finality of her tone. He turned quickly and practically ran away. Before he entered the projection booth he faced Betty again. His expression didn’t change as he took her in. It was almost like he was memorizing how she looked. Jughead took a deep breath and waved goodbye.

Then he was gone. 

Betty crumpled against the concession stand. She willed herself not to cry. There were so many times she had stopped her tears over the years. Breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth. Think about how great California would be. Think about how freeing it would be to be forty some odd states away from her mother. 

Her breathing had gone from shaky to stable by the time Archie finally returned. Betty wrapped her arms around her best friend when he stopped in front of her. 

“I figured you guys would say your goodbyes now,” Archie told her. “Best friend instinct.”

Betty smiled at that, knowing it could apply to either her or Jughead. “Is it also telling you that I need a shake?” She slipped out of Archie’s arms. “Because I really need a shake.”

Archie nodded. “Definitely. Let’s go.”