#from then to when the ship gets there and could uninhabitable by then

[happypeachsludgeflower]

I’m not really one to enjoy proving other people wrong. Simply knowing they’re wrong and I could is usually enough for me, (i.e. my dad’s insistence that Spock and Kirk are straight when we ALL know they’re not),

but last night I was given the immense satisfaction of explaining to my step father why his opinion was wrong is such detailed that the Asshole Who Knows Everything actually said, “You’re right.”

I shall be lording it over him for the rest of existence.

essay in the tags

[mavnagerie]

big love

* luffy may be too experimental for his own good…

monkey d. luffy x reader

summary: the strawhats have stopped at an uninhabited island for the night and you and luffy go out for a walk. well when he goes gear 5 to get big so he can show you the island from above… things get freaky 🤓

warning: no proofread we die like men. this isn’t super long. pre established relationship (luffy x reader, slight zoro x reader x luffy). kinky; sorry. gear 5 luffy. GIANT! gear 5 luffy. holding you in his palm and having his way with you. cunnilingus and grinding. no dicks here today (aside from one mention at the end). public ish sex. (i might be forgetting something im just so exhausted)

authors note: requests are open

luffy was always a confident and kind guy, deserving of the honor that had been bestowed upon him when his devil fruit powers had grown with him as a person.. but now you’re sitting here, watching as luffy, exploring his new form, shifts his body like he had never had his powers to begin with. floating in front of the two of you, his hair moved like the clouds in the sky around his face.

lying on the deck of the sunny next to zoro, you both watched as luffy grew and shrank his arms and legs, but deep down luffy knew that he could grow to immense heights, big enough to hold the sunny in the palms of his calloused hands. he could jump kaido like jump rope if he so pleased yet he was sitting here playing with his limbs like a child playing with his toys.

sighing, you laid your head on zoros chest. “wake me up when he’s done dicking around and actually wants to relax” you mumble as you quickly doze off, a bad habit you had picked up from both zoro and luffy. sooner or later, zoro is asleep too, as luffy continues to goof off.

although you and zoro had been asleep, the rest of the crew decided amongst themselves that you would dock for the night on an island that seemed a little uninhabited, at least on the side you all had stopped on. although the sunny had plenty of food and resources for the straw hats, being on land for a night wasn’t always bad.

being hooked awake by luffy was one of zoros biggest pet peeves so he always shook you awake first so that you could wake up zoro.

“y/n… cmon wake up..” he shakes your arm, taking your hand and kissing it. “cmon!” he’s patiently waiting like an obedient dog as he hears you begin to stir awake.

“whats wrong luffy?” you blink your eyes at him before realizing the sun was sitting and you three were the only ones left on the ship.

“nothing princess, we’re stopped for the night. get up so we can go eat dinner” he smiles, nodding to zoro, asking you to wake him up. you can’t help but smile at his cute face before sitting up, leaning over zoro, finding his hand and gently squeezing it before shaking him just a little. you whispered to him before he woke up, groaning in your face.

“cmon get up big guy..” you smiled, kissing him before standing up next to luffy. you walked past him, he watched as the skirt around your waist formed to your body as you stood. before you felt his big hands around you, stretchy arms pulling you back into his chest.

“do i not get a kiss?” he looks down at you, with such a pathetic sad look on his face. turning around in his arms, your arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him down into a kiss. zoro is now standing next to the two of you, looming over the both of you as you pulled away from luffy. you kicked your leg up as you popped off of your foot, going to grab a book before meeting the others to go down to the rest of the crew.

“you ready?” luffy commented as zoro had already made his way down to the camp site. you smiled as he grabbed you, using his stretchy arms to grab ahold of a tree before pulling you and him both down to land. doing stuff like that with him had always made you nervous but it was something about his hold on you, around your waist, that made you trust him.

getting down to the rest of the crew, they smiled at your presence. sanji asking you if you wanted anything, totally ignoring luffy and zoro. as you sat between the two, sanji only glared at them as he handed you a drink.

the night proceeded as usual, stories and laughs shared by the straw hats resounded in the pit of the forest right off the coast. the sunny bobbed in the ocean peacefully while the night grew colder. the fire between the 10 members burned bright but there came a time where they all needed more wood. while almost everyone had done a task beforehand , there sat you, luffy and zoro who had been the lazy ones upon the stop.

namis voice rang in your ears as you woke up from drifting off against zoros shoulder. “hey! can you and luffy go get some more wood??” she said looking down at the two of you. you blinked at her… she looked annoyed. ‘OH. luffy is being frustrating. got it.’ you connected the dots in your head as you sat up, nodding to her.

grabbing luffys hand, you just ran off into the forest. “come on luffy.” you groaned.

———————

the two of you had turned your little trip to the forest for wood into a romantic little walk, walking hand in hand until you were both sitting at a ledge somewhere on the island looking over the starry sky.

“the ocean is really calm tonight.. did we really need to stop?” your voice was soft, wrapping around luffy and holding him like a warm blanket. he liked hearing you talk, he loved listening to the words that left your lips like a king listening to the jester aim to amuse him. he didn’t have much of an answer so he just shrugged as he put his hand over yours.

an idea struck luffy and before he even remembered to say anything to you, he was standing again.

“oh are you ready to go back?” you looked up at him as he stood over you, steam rose from his skin and you already knew what he was about to do, scooting back a bit as his hair grew white and his clothes shifted with him.

“no, i wanna show you something.” he speaks through the clouds of his hair covering his face before they cleared. luffy transformation from regular old luffy to gear 5 has become progressively easier for him, almost on command at this point, so when he does this it’s nothing new but maybe seems like he’s showing off… which you didn’t mind. you liked seeing your beautiful captain all confident and happy, but sometimes he took advantage of how much you loved seeing his confidence.

beginning to stand up to let him show you whatever he had planned in his head, you watched as he got a running start, throwing himself off the side of the ledge.

“LUFFY-“ your voice escaped you in a worried shout before you watched the ledge, a gasp leaving you as his body grew past the size of ledge. his feet planted in the ocean as he grew larger than life, towering over you like a skyscraper. you were speechless, knowing he had this ability but barely able to fathom the idea of him being this big.

he crouched down, waving at you with a big smile. “luffy!!” you shouted, grinning ear to ear despite the shock in your voice.

“what princess??” he speaks, lowering his tone so he wouldn’t be so loud to you or frankly, the rest of the island.

“you’re so…” you laugh before he reaches his hand out.

“big? i know!! now get on, i wanna show you the island” his hands were out in front of you, cupped together like a landing pad just for you. as you stepped onto his fingers, you roll into his palm with a small “uph” as he cups his hands around you, cradling you so you don’t fall.

you pull your long skirt back down your legs, covering them as you find a comfortable place to sit in the dip of his large hands.

“you’re so cute, princess” he smiled down at you before standing up again. he could see the sunny from this side of the island, he was sure they could probably see luffy from over the treetops if they stood on the sunny but regardless they were clueless to his gargantuan form. the sun had long set over the horizon so as the stars dotted the skies, luffys smile seemed to beam brighter. he held his wrists close to his chest , opening up his palm so that you could see the island from above, watching the sea from high up as well.

“isn’t it so cool?” he smiled, watching as you observed in awe.

“is this really what you see?”

“always..” he smiles. bending his finger back to you, you placed your hand on his fingertip, holding it while you stood up. he watched as the skirt around your legs shook with the wind, observing your hair and how your eyes glowed under the stars. standing there in his hands, he brought another finger up to your stomach, tickling you, wanting to hear your laughter. you buckled over giggling as his fingertip pressed against your belly.

“luffy quit!!” you giggled as you feel back into his hands. he then lowered you closer to the ground again, leaning down into the water, sitting down with you in his hands. he grabbed you with one, holding you gracefully between his fingers, the meat of his middle finger pressed right between your thighs. a sigh left you as he held you there, holding his finger out to you with his other hand.

his ears almost perked up at the noise. “what was that??” he teased. your face was flushed. “n-nothing!” your face was flushed, getting embarrassed. but his hair billowed around his head as he got a little excited, wanting to hear that precious noise again. a noise neither him nor zoro ever heard enough. “cmon.. do it again!” he whines cheekily, moving his finger underneath you again, hoping you’d react. you held in your voice to spite him, although your face did nothing to hide the pleasure growing between your thighs.

“it’s like when you ride zoros thighs..” he mumbles, watching as you succumb to his wangs and begin idly to grind yourself on the space between his knuckles. he uses very delicate touches to take the fabric of your skirt between two of his fingertips and pulls it up, wanting to watch as your panties dampened with pleasure. you began to fold to him, scared of his size due to luffys recklessness but he began to prove to be just as gentle when he’s 20x your size than he would be regularly.

“is this okay, princess??” he thought he’d ask just in case, even though you’ve become to seem like you’re enjoying yourself. your hands now planted on his finger, grinding up against him.

“yes luffy…” your voice escaped you in a moan , noticing as he moves his fingers in order to pleasure you.

luffy relaxed, watching as you let yourself go, grinding against his finger as you’d do to his thigh in the past. he used his finger tip from his free hand to lift your chin, wanting to see your face. seeing how your lips parted, your tongue resting on your lower lip as you panted through your moans, feeling almost helpless to his gaze.

“cmon princess.. cum for me” his breath was warm, arousal spreading in a dark flush across his cheeks. he noticed your grinding was becoming more sporadic, as your moans grew louder, crying out for him while rubbing your wet pussy against him. his name poured from your lips as you came, falling forward onto his finger while writhing against him. your hips pushing against him as he placed another finger over your back to keep you stable.

as you recovered from your orgasm, you sat up, with his finger still between your thighs. he took his other hand, grabbing you gently before placing you back on the ground, close to the ledge of the cliff.

“you’re so cute..” he mumbles, petting your hair back gently as he sank down further into the ground, being closer to you. his nose close to your face. your eyes were lidded as you stared up at him, wanting to grab his nose in an endearing sense but still being clouded by arousal.

“can you eat me out?” you asked, bluntly, knowing what you wanted from him but not knowing any better way to ask.

“like this?? giant and all??” he tilted his head to the side, not even really realizing you’d want to keep going.

“mhm” you hummed, your face pink with embarrassment, taking your skirt and pulling it up, exposing your panties to him.

“i can try, but i don’t wanna hurt you, princess” he plants his hands down next to you, his fingers caressing your skin from your stomach to your legs. he watched you intently as you slowly pulled your panties off. the pad of his thumb found your pussy, rubbing over it, watching as it glistened under his finger. you bit back a moan as his aimless touch sent a shock through you.

“fuck” he mumbles to himself. “you’re so small..” he knows how delicate you are, how he can just hold you in the palms of his hands. how any movement could hurt you so he had to be gentle. no foreplay could’ve prepared you for his tongue against your pussy.

leaning in, you watched as his warm mouth opened, his tongue falling against your wet pussy. warm and rough, rubbing perfectly onto your clit. the noises leaving you were perfect as he squeezed his fingers around your thighs, holding them apart so his lips can close around your mound, sucking and licking at anything he could.

his name fell graciously from your lips as he stimulated your clit, pressing his tongue as precisely as he could against it, humming so you’d feel it. this caused you to jolt, resulting in him pressing his finger tips against your hips in order to keep you down.

“fuck nothing will ever top this, luffy..” you whined. luffy knew how good zoro could fuck you, how good he could fuck you. and this was an ego boost. knowing you were coming up on a loss at words as his tongue throbs against your needy clit. you watch as his lips pull away from your mound, his tongue finding its way to your hole, teasing you.

luffy licked at your folds like a dog on a hot day licking at its water bowl. what would’ve been kitten licks in his normal size were almost orgasm inducing swipes across your clit. you were in desperate need of being filled by something by the way your pussy clenched around nothing, throbbing.

“you’ve been such a good princess” he speaks softly, praising you after your moans and cries blessed his ears once more. “you wanna feel me inside, don’t you..” he grins cheekily, watching as you nod, your cheeks red and your eyes lidded. you just needed your pirate king…

his tongue narrows, pressing the tip of his tongue to your hole, pushing past your folds as he tasted your pretty cunt.

“oh luffy..” you sighed as he filled you out. your hands held onto his fingers that wrapped around your thighs. holding onto him tight as you ground yourself onto his tongue. you babbled as his tongue moved inside of you. gentle for him but rough for you.

he could feel your tiny hands gripping around his fingers just a little harder. your eyes almost squinted shut as you watched him close his mouth around your pussy again, sucking in so he could stimulate your swollen clit.

you could feel yourself coming close as you continued to grind helplessly on his tongue. his name was slurred in your words as overstimulation and his warm tongue mixed together to create a perfect storm off the side of this islands cliff.

“f-fuck.. luffy i’m gonna..” your head tilted back, hitting that peak. “fuck i’m gonna cum..” you could hear him but especially feel him as he hummed against your pussy, acknowledging your words. he pulled you closer against him with ease, stuffing you as full as he could get you, without breaking you open.

sucking at your clit, you felt that winding knot that had been building and building break, snapping into a million pieces are your back arched off the ground, crying his name into the forest as you came on his tongue. he groaned happily around your pussy, watching as you writhed against him. slowly he pulled away, watching as you begged for him to stop overstimulating you.

he was slow to pull his tongue away from your drenched cunt, watching as a string of his spit connected to your wet cunt. he left a quick kiss to your wet pussy before finally letting go of you. he rubbed his thumb over your belly.

“you okay, princess?” he asked, watching as you slowly relaxed again. you had covered your face when releasing his fingers, you uncovered your face as you looked up at him, nodding.

“w’so good..” you mumbled, your cheeks flushed. you watched as your precious man had began to shrink back down to his normal size, holding onto the cliff so he could throw himself back up to your level.

once he had done so, his hair began to steam again, turning back into his normal self, while he found you on the ground, pulling you into a kiss. “you did so good for me, princess. we should do that again some time.”

“we should” you smiled against his lips, your fingers in his thick black hair, pulling him in again. “you’re rock hard right now though, i can feel it against my leg..” you giggle.

“i am. i wasn’t going to say anything though, i knew you’d be tired.” he shrugged.

“don’t worry baby, i’ll take care of it. just give me a few minutes and i’ll let you fuck me.” you smiled as you moved to kiss his neck, tasting his salty skin against your lips.

“i love you, luffy.” you leaned back to look up at him with a soft smile on your cheeks.

“i love you too, princess”

[earthstellar]

Warlord Ratchet: A Fascinating Concept 

“And to think, the Doctor of Doom’s mad quest for power continues...! His marauders pursued us to this planet’s orbit.” 

What gets me about Megatron telling Orion Pax that the current dilapidated condition of Cybertron was brought about by the Warlord Ratchet, Doctor of Doom (aside from the concept in and of itself) is that he also states that Ratchet has a legion of marauders who carry out his bidding 

and because marauders are raiders, and Megatron states they were “pursued by marauders” to Earth, the implication is that Ratchet is not on Earth himself--

-- which is smart on Megatron’s behalf, because this would deter Orion from potentially attempting to leave in order to confront Ratchet and instils a concern that perhaps marauders may appear at any time (at this point, Orion Pax does not yet realise that he is armed and is operating under the belief that he is still an Archivist and therefore not Warrior Class) 

but also, this gives us the incredible mental image of Ratchet milling around in some kind of rusted fortress made from the remains of several different Cybertronian buildings, quite possibly the remnants of Iacon -- maybe even the central hospital there, converted into a hive of terror 

still living on an otherwise uninhabited planet, with a loyal band of raiding troops who scavenge the remains of their world and possibly other planets as well (as we know these marauders supposedly have space capable vessels), quite possibly doing so in order to source spare parts and other various salvage -- Ratchet is a medic, who knows how he’s been having to piece together his army, repairing them from the remains of random citizens? 

and he supposedly, presumably either from his makeshift base in the shadows of Cybertron or from a war ship of some kind, commanded an army of raiders to chase Megatron and his followers as far away as Earth 

“I cannot imagine Ratchet capable of such horrors!” 

I can only guess at what Orion Pax was thinking in this moment, aside from his immediately stated disbelief: What drove Ratchet to such lengths? What happened to turn his compassionate, caring friend into a warlord capable of carrying out inconceivable destruction? How could such a thing occur, especially at the hands of a respected medic, someone he thought he knew so well? 

Would Orion Pax start to blame himself, for what was clearly the brutal decline of one of his greatest friends? I can imagine him starting to wonder if there was anything he could do, any signs of discontent, any indication that Ratchet was headed down a violent, dark path. 

And I’m sure he would be concerned about Ratchet himself, as well. How is Ratchet faring, nearly entirely alone on their planet save for his loyal bandits, as aged and worn as he ever has been, possibly accepting a lonely inevitable death on an already dead world? 

Or does Warlord Ratchet have yet more plans in store, his instruments of destruction poised to afflict themselves upon other worlds as well? 

The Doctor of Doom: How Could This Happen? 

It’s somewhat easy to dismiss the idea of Ratchet being this “Doctor of Doom”, because it so wildly opposes what we know of the character and what we know actually occurred with the war. 

But when you think about it for a little bit, an unhinged Ratchet would very much be a formidable opponent, especially with his social position in pre-war Cybertron giving him more immediate access to higher class/caste areas than many others would have been able to reach... 

...Perhaps this Warlord Ratchet was able to work his way into the Council’s good graces, possibly after attending to one of them after an injury and restoring them to health, gradually manipulating the Senate from the inside in order to secure more power, resources, allies, and ultimately the whole of Cybertron for himself-- Leading to a violent conflict which resulted in the destruction of their world? 

With his medical knowledge, even if he started out with a fairly small number of followers and whatever troops he could finesse away from the Council, he may very well have “built” some himself-- We do see in TFP that protoforms may be possible to manipulate into certain frame types, or some types of “cloning” may be possible. 

Any version of Ratchet without morals (or at the very least without any medical ethics) is a very dangerous Ratchet. 

Repairing the injured via patching them together with the remains of fallen comrades, creating a “zombie” army. Ghoulish, lumbering soldiers, marauders held together with armour designed for other frame types. Instructing his former colleagues (who would likely have at least started out with some inclination to follow him) to carry out “repairs” in such a way. 

Warlord Ratchet himself may have chosen to ingest dark energon much like Megatron actually did, perhaps out of a desire to create a new fuel source once Cybertron began to go dark and natural fuel sources began to dwindle. We already know that our actual Ratchet wasn’t afraid to test synthetic energon on himself, with similar motivations. 

His base of operations would quite possibly be Iacon’s medical centre, turned into a horrific hive-like structure, some wards actively still in use for repairs (at least for his own followers) and other areas dedicated to terrifying research, with supply basements full of experimental tech and defensive weaponry. 

Ratchet’s more support class (as opposed to warrior class) approach to things may well carry over to Warlord Ratchet’s approach to war-- An emphasis on intelligence ops, R&D, indirect and direct manipulation, initial political manoeuvring from within the existing system, and defensive systems to counter any munitions etc. that may come his way from opposing forces. 

His initial goals may well have genuinely been intended to improve Cybertron, to help people. Much like Megatron, back when he was Megatronus and wanted a more egalitarian, fair society. 

After working on lower class/caste bots who were nearly offlined from a lack of maintenance, poor to no access to healthcare prior to being dragged to him, etc. it may have been the catalyst for his decision to start using his upper class social contacts in an effort to change things from the inside out. 

Unfortunately, in this universe in which Warlord Ratchet rose to power, things may have derailed just as severely as they did with Megatronus and his initially well-intentioned efforts. 

The longer you think about it, the more plausible it could be. 

It would be easy for Megatron to build further upon this idea to manipulate Orion Pax, that Ratchet truly could have done this. 

I’m sure Orion Pax did not recharge well, his first night on the Nemesis. 

Where did things go wrong? What happened to his friend? How could he do this to their world, a world that Ratchet loved so much? 

--

IDK I just think “Warlord Ratchet” is an incredible idea, and I would have been totally fine if they did a whole season of TFP with the Orion Pax concept lmao 

also holy shit Ratchet in a built up fortress of a former hospital with a band of marauders under his command is such a powerful mental image 

[Screenshot: TFP Episode - Orion Pax, Part One] 

[rea-grimm]

Proposal - Dragon Luffy

You had known Luffy for a long time and dated him for several years. You knew what he was and that even though he loved you like a straw man, you suspected that you would probably never get married.

Luffy didn't think much of such things and was happy with it the way you were. When you were there for him and he was there for you. He was content to have you by his side every day and what more could he ask for?

When you sometimes talked about it in front of him, he didn't see the point. He cocked his head to the side uncomprehendingly and had no idea where you were going with that. After all, he loved you and knew that you were there for him and that you wouldn't just leave him. Why should he deal with it more?

You confided all this to Nami and Robin one afternoon over the refreshing drinks Sanji prepared for you. You didn't want to talk about it much at first, but somehow it came up. Moreover, they both knew very well how much you and the captain liked each other and how much you wanted to get married.

You didn't want to talk about it much at first, because you didn't want to make a drama out of it, and especially after your story, Nami felt like telling Luffy what she thought. Luckily you managed to stop her and talk her out of it.

However, what you had no idea was that Robin and Nami weren't going to let it go. They too knew what their mule captain was like and they knew very well how to use him to get their way.

You thought they would keep it to themselves, but you were wrong. A few days later, you went out on the deck after dinner to watch the stars.

Little did you know, however, that as soon as you left, Nami along with Sanji and the others pounced on Luffy and made him understand. Although it seemed like an impossible task at first, the word impossible did not exist with this crew.

You leaned on the railing and watched the dark sky where the stars twinkled. There was such a calmness that a moment later was cut through by a roar. The door flew open and Luffy ran out with tears in his eyes. The dragon headed straight for you and hugged you.

““Y/N… *sob* that you *sob* will never leave me? he asked you through sobs and you saw noodles running from his nose.

"Of course not. How did you think of that?" you asked soothingly, stroking his back.

"Sanji *sob* and Nami said *sob* that if I don't marry you, you can leave *sob* or someone will steal you from me," he continued to sob.

On one hand, you were happy that others thought of you like that and wanted to help you, but on the other hand, you felt sorry for Luffy, because you thought it was perhaps too cruel. It was also what he needed.

"Luffy, no one is going to steal me from you and I'm not going to leave you, do you hear me?" and you tried to wipe the tears from his face. As he was thrown from it, many more red scales appeared on his face and body.

"Do you promise?" he asked you, sniffling before looking at you with his big eyes.

“I promise,” you said softly, kissing his forehead between the horns. With that, the dragon calmed down a bit but still didn't want to let you go. What if someone stole you from him?

Instead, he completely transformed into a dragon and wrapped himself around you like a snake, protecting you from all sides and resting his head in your lap. You stroked his scales and the short fur on his head that stretched from head to tail.

After that, it stopped being talked about and you thought it was forgotten. But that's just what you thought.

You were sailing along the Grand Line when after a long time you finally came across a new island that seemed to be uninhabited. Nowhere along the coast did you see a city or a human being.

You camped on the beach in a small cove, the others went to explore the island, catch something for dinner, for wood, while you and Chopper guarded the ship.

Sanji then prepared food from the catch for the evening barbecue, which turned out to be a giant feast. However, nothing less would be enough for Luffy.

While you were eating and having a good time, he put Liffy onion rings on his plate. He stuffed a few into his mouth when he noticed one particularly small one. He took it out and began to examine it, clawing at the bumps.

“Y/N,” he turned to you with a serious expression. “I don't want you to be stolen from me, or for you to leave...” he started and took your hands. But in the blink of an eye, he stuffed food into his mouth. “I love you *munch* and when I become the pirate king, I want you to be my queen *munch munch* every king has a queen right? *gulp* will you marry me?" and showed you an onion ring.

It was a strange proposal, nothing about it, but you could tell he meant it and it got you. You didn't even hope for anything like this.

“Of course I will,” you smiled at him.

“Yosh!” he rejoiced, a giant smile spreading across his face. He was about to put the ring on you when, like a bolt from the blue, Sanji rushed at you and kicked him to the ground.

“Who let you play with my food?!” he shouted angrily before turning to you with a warm smile. “Y/N-chwan, can I get you dessert?” he asked. However, you politely refused him and instead helped Luffy to his feet. The poor dragon didn't understand what it was.

In the next town, you bought the rings that you exchanged with Luffy. The dragon took great delight in them and nearly crushed you to death in his giant embrace.

Luffy wore the ring on his hand and admired how it shone beautifully in the sun and how it reminded him of you. After a little incident where he almost lost it in battle you had to sew it to his hat so that he would have his two greatest treasures nicely in one place.

Luffy Masterlist

[a-killer-obsession]

Valentines Day Special '24 [Killer x Reader]

🔞 MINORS DNI 🔞

Hidden feelings lead to late night confessions.

CW: fluff and smut, oral sex, face-fucking, vaginal sex, afab reader

WC: 4401

Masterlist || AO3

To say you were grumpy today was an understatement. It had been just over a month since the Victoria Punk had docked at an island with a population, therefore it'd been just over a month since you'd gotten laid. It's not like you were the only one feeling antsy, after three uninhabited islands in a row the whole crew was anxious to get their dicks wet. A few of the other girls on the ship, like Quincy, had regular fuck buddies, but unfortunately you didn't. There was only one man on the ship you had your eye on, and he seemed as far from interested in you as possible, you'd probably have better luck seducing a seaking. To top it all off - it was Valentine's Day. The icing on the horny cake, if there was any day you should be getting laid, it should be today.  

You sighed and looked over the deck. The aforementioned man you had your eye on was making his usual quick, silent strides across the deck, his long blond mane fluttering behind him as he walked alongside the Captain. His shirts always seemed too small for his heavily muscled frame and you could swear sometimes that it was some sort of divine punishment for you specifically. Gods you would do anything to rip off that stretched shirt and run your tongue over the muscles hidden underneath. 

You must have been staring for a little too long because the masked man turned and looked at you midstride, he probably felt your eyes burning holes in his clothes while you thought about undressing him. You quickly looked away, pretending you were just looking at the open waters behind him. It probably wasn't subtle, and it definitely wasn't the first time he'd caught you ogling him. If he had any inclination to fuck you he would have done it by now, because surely it was clear by the sheer number of times you'd been caught eye-fucking him that you wanted him. Alas, he'd never even mentioned it, never made any comment that gave you any hint as to whether he returned the attraction, or was uncomfortable with your staring. You turned back to the railing behind you, groaning in frustration and leaning against it. 

“Kid wants to know why you were acting like such a pent up bitch at dinner,” a smooth baritone voice suddenly came from behind you. You squeaked in surprise and almost threw your book overboard from where you were sitting cross legged on the figurehead of the ship. 

“Jesus fucking christ Killer, we need to put a fucking bell on you,” you turned your torso and smacked him on top of his mask with your book. Considering how big he was, it was a playful gesture - you could never hurt the giant of a man. 

“Sorry,” he said with little emotion. 

“You can tell Kid I was acting like a pent up bitch because I am a pent up bitch,” you grumbled, spinning on your ass to face him properly, “when are we getting to an island with a decent town? I'm going to fucking implode if I don't get laid soon, even Heat is starting to look tempting at this point”

“ Everyone is pent up,” he added, “but you were acting particularly bitchy today”

“Yeah, well, none of you brutes could appreciate a romantic holiday like Valentine's Day,” you pouted, “usually by now I'd have a line of men kneeling at my feet begging to fuck me, roses and chocolates in hand. This fucking sucks”

“Oh, that's today?” He mused, “I didn't realise you cared, I didn't think anyone on this ship cared. Anyway if Heat is looking so ‘tempting’ why don't you just go jump him?”

“Because, Killer my sweet masked giant,” you patted him on the chest as you slid off the figurehead, “there's only one man on this ship I'm interested in fucking and I don't think he has a single molecule of interest in me. But hey, that's what vibrators are for”

He grabbed your wrist as you walked past and looked at you. You didn't turn to look back at him, the gesture was almost painful. Not physically, but emotionally. He knew full well you were talking about him, and he felt bad about it. “Killer, it's fine, you don't have to feel sorry for me. I'll get over it.” He let go when you tried to shake him off, and let you walk away without another word. 

In truth, you weren't sure if you would get over it. Till now a lot of what you thought you felt for Killer was just physical. It wasn't till he grabbed your wrist that you realised just how badly you craved his touch, how much you just wanted to be held by him. You'd rushed back to your room as fast as you could as tears pricked your eyes, realising that he would likely never return the feelings. Hell, you didn't even know what he looked like under the mask, he didn't trust you enough to show you, how could you ever expect him to open his heart to you? It hurt, this Valentine's Day really fucking sucked. And to make matters worse, your trusty vibrator died before you could cum. Thanks to the stupid, stupid fucking feelings you couldn't get there and in the end even your toy had given up on you. How depressing. 

It must have been past midnight by now, at least V day was over, as miserable as it had been. You decided to go get a snack after your self-fuck-athon, maybe you'd get lucky and find something sweet so you could at least eat your feelings. You didn't bother to put on pants, opting to just throw a satin dressing gown over your negligee before heading barefooted to the kitchen. It was warm enough anyway, the ship must be coming close to a summer island. That made you hopeful, summer islands were often tourist hot spots, ripe with hot, horny men. 

You were surprised to find the kitchen light on, only commanders were allowed in there outside of meal preparation hours and you were sure you were the only one midnight snack inclined, except for Heat of course who would get the munchies often after smoking pot. But he was on nightwatch, there's no way he'd be in the kitchen. You were even more surprised to hear a deep, angry “ fuck ” and the sound of something metal being dropped as you approached the door.

You opened it to find Killer, standing at the sink running his hand under a cool stream of water - the swearing must have been him burning his hand. He looked in your direction only for a moment as you entered, before turning his attention back to his hand. 

“You good, Kil?” You asked as you slid up beside him. You took his hand gently and inspected it, seeing that the burn looked small but deep. You weren't the ship's doctor but you helped out sometimes, being that you at least had some basic first aid knowledge. “Yikes, keep that under the water, I'll grab a dressing”

He did as he was told while you rummaged in the cupboards for the small first aid kit you insisted be kept in here in case of kitchen related incidents. Suck it, Kid, now who's idea is a waste of time? Point for [Y/N]! You retrieved a small gauze and some medical tape from the box - the burn needed to be dressed loosely so it could breathe, but be protected from anything that could cause infection. You ripped a few paper towels from the roll on the bench before turning off the tap and taking his hand gently again. He didn't protest, he knew you were in medical mode. You could get scary when someone refused medical care, scary even to a strong man like him. 

You pat his hand dry and inspected it one last time before applying the gauze and taping it down, flexing his hand to make sure the tape wasn't too tight for his muscles to move. “Make sure you go see doc tomorrow about this,” you instructed as you let go of his hand and set about putting the tape away and throwing out the gauze packaging. 

“Yes ma'am,” he grumbled, returning to whatever he'd been doing before while you opened the fridge to inspect its contents. The kitchen held other, more commercial style fridges, but this one was smaller, just for the commanders. It mostly held beer. 

“Hungry?” He mused. 

“Mmm,” you replied, closing the fridge with a disappointed sigh, “shit all in here though” 

“Here,” he turned and held something out for you. A chocolate cupcake, not yet iced and still warm from the oven. He must have burnt his hand taking them out. 

“You made… cupcakes?” You asked quizzically, looking at the small cake in your hand with confusion as you peeled away the paper lining. It was a weird thing for a big, tough guy like Killer to be making in the first place, let alone in the middle of the night. You took a bite, it was soft and warm and laced with chocolate chips. You almost purred at how delicious it was, even without icing. “KIL! THIS IS DELICIOUS!”

“Thanks,” he'd turned back to the rest of the cupcakes and was gingerly moving them to a cooling rack, “I uh… I made them for you. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

You paused mid bite, absolutely dumbfounded. He'd made cupcakes… for you? “What? Why?” You asked before taking another glorious bite. 

“You're supposed to give chocolate on Valentine's right?” He explained shyly, “I know it's late, and it's not exactly a box of assorted artisan bonbons, but I figured at least chocolate flavoured would be something? I don't have any flowers, sorry”

You were absolutely shell shocked, frozen in silence, cupcake still in hand, just staring at him. He realised after a moment that you hadn't said anything and looked over his shoulder at you. 

“Kil…” you sighed, “I don't… I don't understand” 

He sighed and turned around, leaning against the bench behind him. He ran a hand down his mask in frustration - not at you, but at himself. Of course you didn't understand, you'd given him every opportunity to show he had feelings for you, and he'd thrown them all away. 

“I… I thought, for the longest time, that you just wanted me… for sex,” he started to explain, staring at the floor, “but I… I wanted more, I didn't want to be just something physical with you. And I didn't think you wanted anything more than that, but…” he paused, his mask turning in your direction now, “I realised today that maybe that wasn't true, and I've hurt you by just ignoring it completely.”

You were sure what to say. The man had just confessed his feelings for you when you thought up until five minutes ago that you'd never have a chance with him. Hell, your eyes were probably still puffy from crying about it. And now you were standing here, home baked cupcake in hand, made specifically for you, and a confession swimming in your mind. Your brain felt fried. 

“I…” you couldn't form a complete sentence, you were overwhelmed. You probably would have just said fuck it and kissed him, but the stupid mask was in the way, so you just awkwardly put your cupcake on the bench. You'd intended to turn to him after putting it down, but you found yourself stuck staring at the granite. 

A hesitant hand slid across the counter to where yours still laid after putting the cupcake down, and he took your hand in his. “Please say something,” he almost whispered. 

“Sorry I just…” you took a deep breath and a small laugh escaped you, “to be honest Killer, I just spent the evening crying over you, and now you confess these feelings I never thought were possible and bake me cupcakes and I… I'm just really overwhelmed, sorry” 

“I made you cry?” He whispered, sliding a little closer and squeezing your hand, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to”

“I know, Kil,” you forced a smile for him, looking where you guessed his eyes were, “I know.”

He slid closer, wrapping his other arm around your waist and pressing his mask into the crook of your neck. You rested your head against it and sighed, pressing into the hug and squeezing his hand back reassuringly. Gods he was so close, and he smelt so fucking good, like musk and vanilla and cardamom, a rush of electricity sparked down to between your legs, you wanted to fucking devour him. 

“Fuck this,” you announced, suddenly over the tender moment when you remembered how fucking down bad you were. If the others weren't awake yet then maybe it was still technically Valentine's Day, the day wasn't entirely lost. You grabbed his hand firmly and dragged him behind you as you left the kitchen. He came willingly, albeit a bit confused, as you led him towards your room. He paused in his stride when he realised where you were taking him. 

“What?” You said, frustrated as you looked at him. He was far too big for you to lead if he wasn't willing.

“Uh,” he seemed nervous, “we should go to my room. My bed is bigger”

“ Oh,” you replied. Oh he was willing, apparently he had the same thing on his mind if he was making the suggestion. “Okay then, lead the way” 

He hesitated for a moment before gaining a sudden burst of confidence and grabbing you, picking you up and slinging you over his shoulder. “Oi!” You complained. He grabbed your ass and squeezed it in response, and you squealed excitedly, if you weren't wet before you were definitely wet now as the man you'd been fantasizing about for months carried you to his bed. 

He opened the door and immediately threw you on the bed, before turning and locking the door behind him. His chest was heaving as he looked at you and his pants sported a clear bulge. He looked big, even through his pants, and you swallowed heavily as your eyes ran up and down him. He was doing the same to you, his mask tilting up and down oh so slightly as he undressed you in his mind. 

You moved to the edge of the bed, kneeling, and beckoned to him with one finger and a sly smirk. He wasted no time ripping off his shirt and coming to the side of the bed, and your hands were all over him as fast as you could move them. “Fuck I've thought about this a million times,” you said before licking a long stripe up his abdomen, from the top of his blond snail trail to his collar bone, where you sucked and nipped before moving to his neck. He grunted under the mask, and one of your hands slid down his chest to rest over his groin, palming his bulge. 

His hips moved of their own accord, pressing his eager dick into your hand. You took the hint and brought your other hand down while you continued to kiss and suck his neck and trapezius, unfastening his jeans and pushing them down along with his boxers enough to let his large erection spring free. You paused your devouring to admire it, thick and veiny, the pink tip already leaking precum. A wide grin spread over your face, you knew this man would not disappoint you with girth like that. You bet he knew how to use it too. 

“Like what you see?” He mused, running a hand through your hair, tugging a little in an obvious hint.

“I do,” you purred, sliding your knees further back on the bed so you could lower your torso, bringing your face level with his hard cock. You looked up at him as your tongue met his tip, swirling around it before running a stripe along the underside. He groaned and pulled at your hair. “Use your words, Killer,” you cooed. 

“Fuck [Y/N], suck it or I'm gonna fucking die,” he growled, pulling your hair harder. 

You smirked and he moaned under the mask as you finally took him in your mouth. The girth pushed your lips to their limits, stretching your muscles almost painfully as you wrapped both hands around the base to pump what wasn't currently in your mouth. You started a slow, firm rhythm, moving your hands in the opposite direction to your head, meeting in the middle. His hips jerked and his dick slid deeper in your mouth, hitting the back of your throat before he suddenly pulled back. 

“Fuck, sorry,” he mumbled. 

“It's okay baby,” you purred, before taking him in your mouth again, the whole way this time. His eyes widened under the mask as your nose met his blond pubes, your eyes still looking up at him. You held him there for a moment, running your tongue along his underside, before sliding back and letting him go with a pop. 

“ Fuck,” he gasped, “you don't have a gag reflex?”

“Lost it in the war,” you winked, “you can be rough with me if you want”

You opened your mouth invitingly, sticking out your tongue, your hands running over his thighs. He eagerly took the invitation and shoved his dick in your mouth unceremoniously, grabbing your head with both hands to hold it still as he started to thrust. Slowly at first, but as he realised you really could take it he moved faster, using your throat like a cock sleeve. His moans as he used you made you unbelievably wet, you loved looking up and seeing him looking down at you, watching his cock disappear in your mouth while he fucked it. 

“Fuck… fuck,” he grunted before his thrusts stopped suddenly, his cock deep in your throat as his hot load spilled from it and slid straight down. You moaned around his dick in response, sucking your cheeks tight to milk every last drop from him, incredibly aroused as you watched him come undone, his head thrown back and his hands wound tight in your hair. He finally let you go, pulling your greedy mouth of his cock and throwing you further back on the bed. 

“Hungry little slut,” he growled, reaching for the strap that held his mask firmly on, “you're going to be the fucking death of me.” You heard the click of the latch and shivered with anticipation, eager to see what he looked like underneath. You let out an audible gasp as he removed it, revealing sharp blue eyes with heavy lashes and purple painted lips. 

“What the fuck, Killer?” You almost yelled, “why the fuck do you wear a mask when you look like that? ” 

He gave you a shit eating smile before climbing on top of you, his half hard dick pressing between your legs and giving you much needed friction. You moaned and rolled your hips up towards him, desperately seeking more. 

“No more talking,” he growled before smashing his lips against yours. He could taste himself on your tongue as it fought with his, both of you moaning and grinding against each other like horny teenagers before he finally broke the kiss. He grabbed your waist and pulled you up as he kissed and sucked your neck, leaving hickies and bite marks where his mouth traveled, while he pushed off your robe and pulled your nightie up over your head. When he let you go you landed with a bounce, your tits bouncing with you before he hungrily took one in his mouth and sucked at your hard nipple. His hand found the other, rubbing the pebble between his thumb and index and pulling gently to illicit small moans from you. 

His mouth traveled further down, his tongue leaving a wet trail on your abdomen as he made his way to your mound, his thumb finding your pussy and rubbing over the clothed folds. 

“Fuck, Kil, please,” you begged. 

He twisted the band of your panties with his index fingers and pulled them down, sitting back for a moment to free them from your ankles and throwing them aside. He looked at your naked body for a moment, admiring your soft curves and the marks he'd left on you. He stood up with a smirk, and you whined as he moved away. 

“Where are you going?” You complained.

“Give me a second,” he replied as he opened a side table drawer, pulling a hair tie from it and fastening it around his long blond mane as he returned to you. “Had to get my hair out of the way,” he crawled back between your legs, pushing your thighs apart and running kisses over them. You moaned as his nose ran over your center, and he used his hands to spread you open. 

“So wet…” he mused before running his tongue between your folds. You almost cried at how good it felt to finally have him on you, and his tongue quickly found your clit and swirled circles around it. He looked up at you from between your legs as he sucked on it, pulling a deep groan from you. Under his chin his hand slid up, his middle finger toying with your entrance before sliding in easily, twisting to find your sweet spot and pressing against it. 

“Hnng.. Kil..” you mewled as your hips rolled on their own. 

He slid in another finger, pumping you slowly, letting you stretch around his thick digits before adding a third. He pressed up against your g-spot, making short, hard thrusts against it while he continued to suck on your clit and play with it with his tongue. You were so pent up, your orgasm hit you so suddenly without warning, almost pushing his fingers out from how tight you squeezed around them as you squirted and shook. He worked you through it, paying no mind to the juices dripping from his goatee as you moaned and cried his name. 

He pulled his fingers out and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, sitting back on his heels and admiring his work while you panted. “Fuck, sorry Kil, I'm not usually that… violent,” you stuttered out between heavy breaths. 

He gave you a smug grin as he crowded back over you, kicking off his shoes and pulling his jeans the rest of the way off. “My girl only squirts for me, huh?” He leaned down and kissed you hard, forcing his tongue in and making you taste yourself. You thought it would taste bad, but the sweet musky flavour made you moan, “you taste so good baby, I could never get enough of that,” he cooed when he finally pulled away. 

His dick was hard again and he pressed the tip against your pussy, rubbing against your over sensitive clit. “Think you can take me?” His voice was deep and dark with arousal, it made you shudder. 

“Fuck, please Kil,” you were practically clawing at his forearms as your hips tried to meet him, but he skillfully kept his length away, “please, fuck me”

“Mmm,” he purred, running his nose against your neck till his mouth met your ear, “get on your knees” 

The second he leaned away you were moving, flipping to your front and presenting your ass for him, your wet pussy on full display and begging to be filled. “Good girl,” he cooed, pressing his tip against your entrance, “here you go baby”

He slid inside in one fluid motion, made easy by how soaked you were from your previous orgasm, and you both groaned as he bottomed out. He paused and let you adjust, his girth stretching you deliciously and filling you so well, his chest resting against your back as he waited for you to be ready for him. 

“Kil, move, please,” you begged. He didn't waste anymore time, starting a deep, fast rhythm, almost desperate, right off the bat. His heavy length rubbed against your g-spot with every thrust, making you moan with reckless abandon, uncaring of who heard. He grunted and whispered your name like a prayer as he fucked you hard, his front snapping against your ass and leaving it red with every deep movement. 

“Fuck, you're so tight, fuck,” he mumbled.

Your core was already tight as he lost himself in you, your body being shaken back and forth with the pounding, your orgasm quickly approaching. You barely had time to reach back and grab his thigh before you screamed out, your walls squeezing around him as you came hard.

“Ha.. fuck..” he grunted, slamming in to you and stilling as he came deep inside you, filling you with another hot load. 

The two of you collapsed onto the bed as he pulled out, his head against your shoulder blades and his hot breath making your skin damp. His hands were on your hips, holding you tight in place while you both caught your breath. He rolled off to give you space to breathe, laying on his back beside you, his head turned in your direction. You turned to him and smiled, reaching a hand up and pushing his messy bangs out of his face. His eyes closed and his face pressed into your palm, so you rested it against his cheek, caressing him with your thumb. You wondered if anyone had ever touched him like this, since he no doubt kept his mask on with other women. 

“Kil?” You whispered, sliding closer and resting your head on his shoulder.

“Mm?” He mumbled, his eyes still closed, half asleep at this point. 

“No more hiding feelings, kay?” You said softly, and pressed a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. 

“Kay,” he whispered back, before turning and wrapping himself around you, getting comfortable and falling asleep. 

He was still wrapped around you when you woke up, naked and spooning on top of the covers, the wrong way across the bed where you'd both fallen asleep. He kissed your shoulder as he felt you wake, humming as he ran his nose across your skin and breathed you in. He was already making plans to spoil you next Valentine's Day. 

[henrioo]

I saw you were asking for a request so here I go.

Can I get a Luffy X Reader, where they both met their future selves and are surprised and flustered that they end up together.

Thank you for your time,I love your writing.

✦ ── Me? I am you!: Monkey D. Luffy

Relationships: Luffy x Gn!Reader, 40!Luffy x Gn!Reader

Synopsis: A day on an island looking for a gift for your captain shouldn't be too much, until you run into... Luffy?

Warnings: Older man flirting with younger person (he's just confused), cuteness, future versions

Word Count: 1,8k

Notes: Reader neutral as always! I think it got a little too quick in the conversation between the versions but I didn't want to drag out any weird or too scientific conversations. I hope you like it, sorry for the mistakes and for the delay

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ• ────── ✦ ────── •

Sunny was nestled close to mountains whose only path was a dense uninhabitable forest. The sun was shining brightly but the various clouds in the sky prevented the heat from being unbearable. You weren't guarding the ship and had collected enough money from the latest robberies from sailors along the way. You had the perfect outfit and all the groceries for the long day you were going to have.

To sum it all up, you had the perfect day planned and you were acting on your plans! Why all this? It was simple, finding a unique and perfect gift so you could confess to your crush and crewmate, none other than Luffy, your captain!

You've been sailing with the crew for a long time, even though you've been apart for two years, so you weren't strangers to any of them. You formed beautiful bonds of friendship with everyone, you trusted them with your life and they did the same... But with your captain things developed a little differently than with your other colleagues.

You had a huge admiration for Luffy, a sense of wanting to repay the favor he did by saving your life and inviting you into the crew. Every moment you had together was you desperately trying to impress him and prove yourself worthy of his mercy, initially it might not even be healthy, but as the weeks went by your feelings also changed drastically.

What was admiration became affection, what was a desire to be the least became a desire to be the only one. You stopped seeing Luffy as a distant captain and started seeing him as your friend, as someone who was there for you in every situation. You didn't notice for a long time that little by little your gestures were changing, that your eyes had more love, that your smiles were warmer, that that friendship you cultivated was slowly becoming love.

Losing Luffy was hard, but it was losing that made you realize that you loved him, that you wanted to be his companion not in a platonic way, but in a romantic way, you wanted to be his only one. Time passed and when you were able to meet again it was like a bomb changed places with your heart, the first few days you stuttered nervously and blushed at any action Luffy had with you, whether it was a touch or a hug, you looked like a version of Sanji when you saw a beautiful lady.

You needed a few months to calm down and get your head on straight, by now all the crew members should have known you were in love, but they were probably pretending that they weren't for your comfort. It took a while mainly because of the events after your reunion, but now you've had some peace and you've decided it's time to come clean to Luffy and confess!

Of course, you were still afraid of rejection, but at that point you just wanted to be able to love the man without hiding anything, whether or not he would reciprocate was the lesser of two concerns. You walked around the market looking at all the possible stores, you wanted to find a gift for Luffy and thus take advantage of the gap to confess your feelings, the problem at hand was what to give Luffy.

Clothes were useless, he walked half naked more than with them… Weapons also didn't seem useful to his style, food he would get every day from the cook… You walked up and down not sure what to do and much less what to give to the captain. What could be to your liking? Maybe you should buy something more symbolic? Or just more generic and casual? Her head was already beginning to ache from searching and finding nothing.

You continued walking lost in your thoughts until you bumped into something firm. You looked up to see a tall man and just excused yourself about to make your way through the shops until he grabbed your wrist.

"License..."you asked confused.

"Y/n!" He chuckled and for a moment you were sure you were hearing Luffy laugh... But that was impossible.

You looked back at the man, he had not too long wild hair and a short beard, a scar under his eye and a dazzling smile… But why did that gentleman look like Luffy?

"Lu- What?!" You screamed in fright as you were lifted off the ground and picked up in a bridal "Let go of me! You pervert!" You screamed and struggled but the rubber arms wrapped around you and kept squeezing you tightly, how could this man have the same powers as Luffy?!

"Y/n! You said we were going to explore together! Why did you disappear?!" He said staring at you with a sad pout exactly the same way your captain did…

"What the fuck… Luffy?" You asked confused and in shock.

"Of course it's me" he laughed like you were crazy, then for a moment he stopped and stared at you "Hey, y/n… Why are you so small?"

"Hey! Put me down!" You yelled again as he started walking towards the forest.

"No!" He whined "You said you'd explore with me!"

"No! You idiot! I'm not your y/n!" You screamed helplessly.

"What do you mean? Of course you're my y/n!" He smiled "Isn't it?" He also seemed to change his mind quickly.

"You really didn't notice?!" you yelled angrily.

"Hm…. You look the same to me" he laughed and got closer to your face "Same smell…" he put his head in the crook of your neck and inhaled deeply making your whole body shiver and get hot, you were sure your face should be as red as a tomato.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Did you hear… Luffy scream?

Quickly you turned to find your captain standing there with a hateful glare at the scene in front of him.

"Hands off y/n!" He yelled angrily and started to prepare for a strike, until the other Luffy, the older one, turned around and faced him.

And they continued to stare at each other for… two minutes?

"Say something!" You yelled angrily.

"Oh how cool I have a beard!" Luffy chuckled staring at the man.

The adult simply widened his eyes in shock and quickly put you on the ground, he looked around desperately as if looking for something.

"Hey boy, that shouldn't have happened… It's not like that guy had an akuma in himself" he scratched the back of his head guiltily "Oh, sorry y/n" he glared at you nervously "I didn't realize you weren't my y/n, y/n, I mean, technically you're my y/n because I'm Luffy… But I'm not the Luffy of now so you're not mine now? Ah, how complicated" he mumbled confused and sad.

"That's right! Y/n is not yours! It's mine!" Your Luffy squealed in annoyance and wrapped his arms around you, hanging on like a koala while wearing an irritated look…was he jealous?

"Luffy, it's not like that!" You tried to say something but realized it didn't make sense and fell silent for a moment to regain your composure "Luffy… He… He's you"

"Ahn? What do you mean? I'm me!" He said looking at you confused.

"Yes I know, but he's you… From the future, I think" you looked at the adult curiously.

"Hm… I've always been so smart, haven't I?" You heard what sounded like his voice, but more mature coming closer.

Then when you looked up a fourth figure joined you, the person was… You?!

It was exactly you, same shade of hair and eyes, but you were grown up and much cooler! You wore chic, stylish clothes and had a determined, confident look. His adult self smiled and approached Luffy who then smiled like a child getting a present. He took you in his arms and spun around several times, then when he stopped he started kissing your face several times until he finished with a big kiss on the mouth.

You stared at it all with wide eyes and cheeks burning, you didn't even have the courage to look at Luffy who had his head on his shoulder and was still squeezing you against him.

"Lu! Don't do this in front of them" you laughed embarrassed "They haven't gotten to that part yet"

"Hmmmm" Luffy grumbled irritably like a puppy "I know, you almost freaked out when I hugged you!"

"Yes" you laughed "I used to be so shy" you said with some nostalgia "Oh, I think we owe an explanation, don't we?" You looked down at yourself and smiled reassuringly.

"Yeah… maybe" you said nervously and without looking away from your Luffy.

"You see, there was this man who swore he was an akuma no mi user, we didn't believe him because he couldn't do anything, it turns out that when we woke up we were here" you said still in Luffy's lap without seeming bothered "It seems he can transport some people to the past or future, this would be a problem if this akuma didn't have a major defect, the user of the akuma is transported along with it"

"Does that mean you can go back to your timeline?" You said understanding the story line.

"That's right! I already found him and left him in the forest, I just needed to come get the big guy" you smiled and pulled one of Luffy's cheeks "So pretend this never happened ok?" You winked.

"Okay…" you said without much reaction.

Soon the adults said goodbye and disappeared in the middle of the forest, Luffy is still squeezing you and you were starting to get very nervous because he hadn't said anything for a long time.

"Hey, y/n" he finally spoke, he was still staring at the spot where the other two left.

"Yes… Luffy?"

"Why can they kiss and we can't?" He turned to face you and you nearly fainted.

"Because they're a Luffy couple…" you explained nervously.

"But they're us, aren't they?"

"They are…"

"So that technically means we're a couple too" he smiled.

"Yeah… well… I don't know if that's how it works… you know? They love each other and everything… I…" you started to stutter nervously.

"But I love you too!" He protested with a pout.

"Not like that Luffy! They love each other differently, it's not the same as loving the crew" you tried to argue.

"But I want to kiss you! And I don't want to kiss anyone else on the crew! Ace said we only kiss our boyfriends!" He said again.

"Do you want kiss me?" You asked breathlessly.

"I want…" he admitted with some embarrassment.

"You know… I want to kiss you too Luffy…"

You turned shyly to see his gaze filling with joy and love, your heart beat faster as you got emotional, the way he looked at you was as if he could do anything for you.

"You know… Captain… If you really want to kiss me, you need to take me on a date first… How about that? I promise I'll explain everything about being lovers" you offered.

"Yes! And then you're going to kiss me!" He chuckled, squeezing you tighter.

"Yeah… I will" you said completely in love.

[lightwise]

Hidden Monsters

For some reason this has been a bear (dragon, Vrathean, pick your Star Wars creature) to write, but I realized after this last episode of TBB that there was more to the “monster of the week” trope that we all love to get tired of in Star Wars, and specifically for our beloved Batch members. I believe that some of the main “monsters” each member of the Batch has faced and could face represent inner turmoil and the storms/dark things within that each of them has had to wrestle with. The choices each of them have made to tame or calm or live with the creatures they have encountered, instead of automatically killing them or choosing violence against them, is a powerful metaphor. Something that looks like a monster on the outside may not necessarily be a monster on the inside, when cared for and acknowledged properly. 

Echo and the Rishi Eel

Echo’s very first mission on Rishi station involved a giant monster, a droid army invasion, watching his superior officer die in front of him, and losing most of his squad along with the entire outpost he had been assigned to help defend. After the Rishi station is overrun by battle droids, Echo, Fives, Hevy, and Cutup escape through an air vent only to land in the middle of what turns out to be the Rishi eel’s nest. Echo is second to last in line and has to watch as Cutup is snatched up by the eel right behind him and swallowed whole. Echo is the only one to look back and commemorate Cutup with his name and a sigh before they have to keep moving. He does the same at the end of the episode when they lose Hevy, thanking him for his self sacrifice. Echo’s mind—strategic, careful, hesitant, wanting to do the right thing—is always on his brothers and their safety, and his own fears and questioning give way to courage and determination as he watches his brothers do what needs to be done.  

This formative experience is literally emblazoned on Echo’s chest and becomes part of his identity when Rex shoots the eel in the eye, wipes some of its blood on his hand, and presses it against Echo’s armor as he encourages him to keep going. This combination of bravery, looking death in the eye, and holding compassion for each of his brothers as they fall continues to be a running theme throughout Echo’s character arc—from holding 99 in his arms as he dies, to hanging in the Techno Union chamber where his mind and body were used to hunt down the brothers he loved, to overcoming the changes and loss he’s experienced and finding a new family with the Batch and Omega, to coming full circle and joining Rex to help free his brothers from the Empire’s grip. He has had to watch as brother after brother is taken away from him, but he has learned how to keep going in the face of loss. These experiences bring out who he is—caring, loyal, brave, resolute, and a symbol of endurance—and trace back to the very first monster he had to face. 

Hunter, Omega, and the Ordo Moon Dragon

In season 1 the Batch is newly on the run from Kamino after Order 66, finding Omega, and losing Crosshair. They crash onto an uninhabited planet and while trying to repair their ship, an Ordo Moon Dragon makes off with their capacitor, leaving them stranded. Like the Zillo beast seen in season 2, it feeds on energy but is actually peaceful when not provoked. Hunter wants to track it down, by himself, but Omega insists on accompanying him. While tracking the creature, Omega brings up Crosshair’s absence, and Hunter is unwilling to even say Crosshair’s name, and he is very uncomfortable with the conversation. He is unwilling and unable to face his demons right now, and instead is wallowing in self-blame. Hunter won’t be able to fully face his inner turmoil until Crosshair returns and they encounter the Wyrm on Barton IV, another dragon-like creature which also burrows underground (although it is much, much larger, and more harmful than the Ordo Moon Dragon, signifying how much Hunter’s avoidance and resentment grows over time as it is not dealt with). It’s also interesting that this episode cuts back and forth to Crosshair fully under the influence of the chip and wiping out Saw Gurerra’s insurgents in a very violent manner. 

Hunter ends up being knocked out by the creature and Omega takes her flashlight and his blaster to complete the mission, going alone into the tunnels where the dragon lives. What Omega learns is that she doesn’t need the blaster to deal with the situation. As scary as it is, she doesn’t have to kill the dragon or use violence against it, as it’s simply hungry and looking for food. The terrifying creature becomes a thing of beauty, green electric shocks running over its rainbow colored body, illuminating the tunnel and Omega’s face as it feeds on the flashlight she throws to it in exchange for their capacitor. The visuals mimic the teal and green rippling over the Vrathean that Omega and Ventress encounter and have to calm down in season 3 (more on that further on). 

However, this wasn’t Omega’s mission. It was Hunter’s, but she ends up completing it for him. Omega learns a valuable lesson here, which fits in with her natural tendencies of drawing both people and animals to her caring, compassionate nature instead of judging them based on appearance, but I’m not sure that this was her ultimate trial in facing her own inner demons. (See my thoughts on why this is important at the end of this essay in the Ventress section.) This also was a failed attempt for Hunter, and he would end up facing his trial again in The Return in season 3. 

Wrecker and the Rancor (Muchi)

Wrecker was introduced as a character whose expertise is in explosives and making things blow up. He lives for making a ruckus and having a good time, but his strengths are engineered to be used for destruction. 

Much of Wrecker’s character arc in season 1 is learning how to become more of an adult/parental figure for Omega, and how to put his own desires and needs aside in order to help take care of hers (letting her eat first, making a room for her in the gunners nest, watching out for her). In Rampage, the Batch is charged with rescuing a “child,” who they eventually find out is a young, ornery, and decidedly huge Rancor. Wrecker is the only one of them strong enough to sedate the creature after a lengthy bout of essentially hand to hand “combat.” They needed to bring Muchi back alive and Wrecker ends up gaining mutual affection and respect with her. Muchi is now calm and tamed enough that Omega can ride on her back with no fear or worry of danger.

Rancors adhere to a strict social and familial hierarchy, and have to challenge the alpha for authority. Wrecker starts out brash and boastful, and even though he is always caring, he becomes much more aware of his surroundings and his standing in their family unit as he grows in his responsibilities toward Omega. Rampage is shortly before his chip goes off, where he almost kills his entire squad. While his brute strength is an asset when used in the right ways, it is lethal if used for the wrong ones, and through his family bonds (especially with Omega) Wrecker is ultimately able to overcome the worst, chipped version of who he had been made to be, and instead be a source of safety and strength for Omega and his family. 

Tech and the Zillo Beast

The Zillo beast is a marvel amongst Star Wars creatures. Its armor is impenetrable and highly valuable, and it feeds almost exclusively on energy, which allows it to become larger and morph into an even more powerful creature. When the Batch encounters it in season 2 in Metamorphasis, it tries to attack all of them, but Tech is the only one who is “fascinated” by the creature rather than scared of it. Similar to the Zillo beast feeding on energy, Tech’s mind was what he was known for, and he “fed” it by constantly consuming and integrating data about the world around him (which is transmitted by energy currents). During this episode Tech is confident in his own capabilities and extremely interested in learning more about the cloning technologies they were uncovering on this crashed ship. Tech’s research on the Zillo beast, while helpful, unfortunately comes too late and the Batch are unable to either put down or recapture the creature before it grows too strong for them to deal with. In the process, the Zillo beast escapes and is eventually recaptured by the Empire.

I’ve always been fascinated by the point in this episode where Tech is downloading the rest of the information from the terminal onto his data pad, and Hunter warns Omega that Imperials are inbound. She immediately tells Tech they need to go, and he refuses for a moment, saying he needs to finish capturing the data. If Omega did not pressure him to leave (and the electricity go out), he very well could have been standing there when ships bomb their location a few moments later, and gotten both himself and Omega killed for no good reason. At this moment his love of knowledge is overpowering his common sense and his love for his family, and it almost costs him everything. 

Contrast this to a few moments later when he pulls Omega out of danger as they leave the ship, and Plan 99 when he chooses to sacrifice himself not for his own gain, but solely so his family has a chance to live. He had to face his greatest asset where it could also be his greatest failure, and learn how to prioritize and wield his strengths. 

Crosshair and the Vulture 

In The Outpost in season 2, Crosshair has spent almost two seasons engulfed in poor choices made both against his will (the chip), and of his own volition (staying with the Empire no matter what in pursuit of a sense of purpose and loyalty). His decisions are starting to grate on him and have led him down a dark path, but he hasn’t been fully ready to find a way to change them. When he lands on the icy planet of Barton IV, he encounters fearsome ice vultures shrieking overhead. He is told by the outpost’s commanding clone officer, Mayday, that the creatures are vicious, but admirable, because they find a way to survive. 

Vultures signify both death and cleansing and are often feared and viewed with disgust, yet are an integral part of nature. Crosshair’s isolation and status as a clone soldier have put him in a precarious and often misjudged position, in ways he doesn’t even fully realize until this episode. His very life is in danger due to the Empire’s stance toward the clones, but so far Crosshair has believed that he is valuable to the Empire in ways that the regular clones are not. This attitude and perspective are severely challenged by Lieutenant Nolan, who speaks contemptuously both about and to every clone he encounters. Nolan’s lack of respect for them as soldiers, as officers, and even as people, is an extreme look at what Crosshair’s callousness and misplaced loyalty could lead him to if he is not careful. His fate is hanging in the balance.

After being sent on an inhumane mission to retrieve two crates of armor in a blinding snowstorm, Crosshair and Mayday are caught in an avalanche. After coming up out of the snow gasping for air, Crosshair could choose to get himself back to base and leave Mayday behind. Find a way to survive in the cold on his own, but kill the last of his compassion and personal values in the process. Instead, he chooses to put his life even more at risk to bring Mayday along with him. 

Unfortunately for both of them, when they get back to base, Nolan has zero sympathy for their self-sacrifice, and allows Mayday to die unceremoniously on the platform from his wounds. Once again, a vulture is circling overhead, waiting to partake of its next meal. It signifies the threat of death but also Crosshair’s struggle and desire to survive. Crosshair is now staring his own lack of value and expendability in the face, and where he finds himself is now fully intolerable. He cannot continue on the way he has been without the very essence of who he is breaking irreparably in the process. Does he reclaim who he is, a compassionate and forceful individual who protects those he cares about? Or does he fall in line with what the Empire wants from him, knowing he will be discarded regardless?

Crosshair integrates his lesson in a visceral manner, his own personal traits mimicking the very essence of the ice vulture as he finally reorients his moral compass, takes a stand for himself and for his clone brothers, and takes vengeance on Lieutenant Nolan. His caution and inner turmoil are channeled into one desperate act as he becomes an agent/angel of death, the framing of the scene creating vulture-like wings spread on either side of him. He doesn’t expect to survive this encounter, choosing a path that looks like death on the outside but is cleansing and redeeming for him on the inside. He can now face the future as his whole, integrated self.

Hunter, Crosshair, the Vulture, and the Wyrm 

The vulture and its meaning for Crosshair, as well as Hunter’s cut-short encounter with the Ordo Moon Dragon, both have their bookends in season 3’s episode The Return. Crosshair has seen immense character growth after his choices in The Outpost, and has not only redeemed himself but has been given the chance to start reconciling with everyone he has hurt. This episode has two creatures that serve two important purposes: the vulture returns as a metaphor for Crosshair’s need to reconcile with and forgive himself, and a new creature, a giant wyrm (nice Dune reference there, Star Wars) highlights the fractured rift between him and Hunter, and the anger, distrust, and resentment that Hunter has been running from since Aftermath. 

The Batch has returned to Barton IV, and Crosshair is greeted by the ice vulture as they land. The weather is calm and clear this time, and the creature is observing him but not in a threatening way. At the same time, tensions rise to a breaking point between Hunter and Crosshair and a long-awaited argument starts between them. Before it can be resolved, the wyrm erupts out of the ground and puts all of their lives in danger. It had been kept at bay previously by high-pitched noises, (oddly similar to Hunter’s enhanced senses, which he has been so distracted from that he wasn’t aware of the danger ahead of time) and lived underneath the same snow that had buried Crosshair and Mayday. 

In their efforts to draw the creature away from the outpost so they can turn the sensors back on, Hunter falls through the snow into the wyrm’s tunnels. Crosshair has already had his inner journey underneath the snow on Barton IV. This time, Hunter has to finally face his own struggles. Every step of the way he has been running and hiding, trying to keep his family and Omega safe by keeping them away from the Empire, away from Crosshair, away from danger, but failing miserably. This time, Hunter could simply let Crosshair haul him back up to the surface when he reaches the spot where Crosshair and Batcher have dug a hole in the ice to pull him out. But he hasn’t confirmed that the wyrm is actually past the boundary and that it is safe to turn the perimeter sensors back on. This time, Hunter stays below the surface, and keeps himself in harms way until he is absolutely sure that his family is safe and that his own emotions have been worked through. He is starting to take responsibility for his journey. His senses start to kick in again and he refuses to leave the tunnel until the wyrm is barreling down his neck, and then he finally accepts Crosshair’s help. Both of them run to safety, the perimeter beacons turn on, and the wyrm is now on the other side of an invisible barrier of sound, harmless and chastened until it finally slinks away. 

The boys exchange glances and nods. Their rift has been bridged and they are both willing to move forward, together. This is proven by the end of the episode, where Crosshair, who has remained closed off and unwilling to discuss what he’s been through, opens up slightly to Hunter before they leave, and Hunter responds with forgiveness, acknowledgement, and hope for the future. And for now, it’s enough. Crosshair looks into the sky and watches the ice vulture flying overhead once again. Except this time, it flies off into the sunset, signifying that his lessons from this planet have been fully learned, that the spirit of survival in the face of death that he has been carrying with him can now be put towards living and thriving again. Both Hunter and Crosshair are leaving slightly more whole than when they first arrived, both as individuals and in their restored relationship with each other. 

Ventress, Omega, and the Vrathean

Omega gets a second chance at taming a terrifying creature in The Harbinger in season 3. After Asajj Ventress shows up on Pabu to help the Batch figure out the m-count conundrum that makes Omega’s blood so valuable to the Empire, (and after Omega has begged her to stay and test her capabilities), she and Omega go out onto the ocean to test Omega’s potential Force sensitivity. (Also after Ventress had to whoop the boys’ backsides to get them to slightly trust her, but we won’t go into that here). 

Throughout this season, (and really for most of her life), Omega has…not been doing well. Her time on Tantiss, leaving the rest of the clones imprisoned there behind when she and Crosshair escaped, and the relentless pursuit of her by the Empire has truly traumatized her and made her single-mindedly want to know why she is always in danger and putting everyone else around her in danger as well. Her mental health has been spiraling a bit and her inner turmoil is starting to rival Crosshair’s in season 2. She knows that m-count is important and is also thrilled at Ventress mentioning the Jedi, while the rest of the Batch and Ventress herself are very somber about the prospect that Omega might have Force capabilities. However, in her desire to have answers, she ends up being very impatient and frustrated and doesn’t even show her typical level of optimism and concentration in working through Ventress’ tests for her. It’s almost like her goal (finding answers) is at odds with what her idea of finding those answers looks like.

After having tried and failed to “reach out” to the Force to summon anything, Omega pouts and sits back down in the boat, seemingly defeated. Ventress has asked her to try to connect to nature, probably because she has seen Omega’s connection to Batcher and assumes that might be more in line with whatever her gifting might be. Two of Omega’s main traits and strengths are her optimism in the face of defeat, and her compassion toward literally every living thing she encounters. She is always curious, generous, caring, and wanting to connect with others. Which makes it even more curious that she is so easily stumped and disconnected by this exercise. She challenges Ventress to prove why *she* is the best person to be teaching Omega this lesson, and Ventress sighs but gently and carefully shows her powers by calling up a school of glowing green fish from the water. “I’m not the one holding back,” she tells Omega.

After a peaceful moment, however, another creature, this time a giant and tentacled Vrathean, emerges from the water as well and starts hunting Ventress and Omega down. It’s unclear if Ventress actually called the creature up herself or not, but if she did it was not intentional. She helps rescue Omega from the creature’s clutches and then chooses to put herself in more danger by letting it grab her, and communing with it through the Force as it tries to eat her. The deadly creature becomes a thing of astonishing beauty as the color of the sea ripples over its body and its eyes soften and recognize Ventress as a sentient being. 

This is where it gets interesting, because this peacefulness, calm, and compassion is not something we would have associated with prior versions of Ventress. Her experiences and growth throughout the Clone Wars, her associations with Ahsoka and Quinlan, and her choices have turned her into a much softer and stronger version of herself. This has now become her trial by allowing her to showcase just how much she has changed, and how much her own worldview has flipped. 

This is an incredible example for Omega, but similar to how she took Hunter’s trial for him in Replacement, Ventress has now filled what was supposed to be hers. This begs the question, what is Omega actually holding back on? Is she really Force sensitive? Or is just her compassion and tenderness toward everyone around her overtaking her in unhealthy ways? She has always had a tendency to put herself in harms way in an attempt to make up for the complications her presence brings her brothers. 

Omega will have to face these implied monsters at some point. I’m not actually certain that she will end up facing a creature like everyone else has—there’s the possibility that because she naturally has more affinity with creatures and beings that look monstrous but really aren’t, she may end up facing her inner demons in another manner. Will it be a person instead? Or a choice? Even, might I say, an identity crisis? It remains to be seen, but the fact that she must face it in order to overcome and integrate it is unquestionable. 

[delimeful]

WIBAR Intermission: Visiting Home (1/3)

G/T July Day 17: Home

this intermission has 3 parts, taking place during different points in the WIBAR timeline. this chapter takes place before LMMR/Act 2 of WIBAR! baby time :)

shoutout to nyn for inspiring the last scene with Roman at the end! 

warnings: negative assumptions, mentions of blood/hunting/injury, mild fear/nervousness, other than that it's all fluff (literally)

-

Despite the tension buzzing at the back of his skull, Virgil found that being planetside again was surprisingly… nice.

He would have preferred that it was an uninhabited area— or at least, that it wasn’t one of the only places in the universe that had aliens he really, really couldn’t afford to terrify— but he couldn’t deny that feeling the ground under his feet and the sunlight on his skin was soothing, a balm he hadn’t known he’d needed.

It wasn’t the same as Earth, not really, but Patton’s home planet was close enough to familiar that he found tension seeping from his overwrought muscles despite himself.

He shook some of the dazed contentment off, flicking a glance over his shoulder and reminding himself that if any of the locals saw him, it could spell Capital-D Disaster.

His little excursion into one of the less populated natural areas near the little port town was entirely unplanned, and all the riskier for it, but they simply hadn’t had any better options.

Patton had been putting off visiting his family for longer than anyone would have liked— first with the excuse of healing from his injuries, and then with the financial strain that had come from his crewmates dedicating the bulk of their time to searching for him, rather than doing their usual delivery and transport jobs.

(The strain of providing for an entire new off-the-books crewmate, too, Virgil knew. He tried to avoid taking up too much, resource-wise, but there was only so little he could eat before his symptoms went from barely-tolerable to unmanageable.

The adrenaline crash and resulting sprains after he’d intervened in the raiders’ attack had been a painful reminder that most days, his body felt like it was barely holding together at the seams.)

Finally, they’d managed to weave together a cover story believable enough that the trip was set in motion, with the caveat that Patton would go planetside to visit, and Virgil would stay on the ship, up in orbit, firmly out of range of discovery.

Patton hated the idea of lying to his loved ones, wanted more than anything to introduce Virgil and prove he wasn’t the monster the galaxy thought he was, but even his stubborn optimism hadn’t held up under the combined forces of the other 3/4ths of the crew.

It was too dangerous for word to get out about Virgil, especially after the close call they’d already had, narrowly averted thanks to Remyy. Between Logan’s points on the historical government response to rumors of rogue humans, Roman’s assertions that bounty hunters of all kinds would begin targeting them, and Virgil’s own intense discomfort with the idea of his existence being revealed to others when he’d only just gotten free, Patton had conceded, if a bit morosely.

So, things had proceeded according to plan… right up until Patton’s clutchmates commed in, requesting that they bring the Mindscape down so that they could fill Patton’s quarters and kitchen with a variety of gifts and supplies to remind him of home after he left.

Patton hadn’t been informed. A surprise, they’d said, meant to show their love and care for their sibling in a way that would linger as long as possible.

It was a cultural custom, apparently, and Patton’s hard headed tendencies must have run in the family, because they’d refused to take no for an answer without a good reason.

Unfortunately for the reason in question, informing them that there was another crew member onboard who couldn’t be seen by anyone else would only defeat the purpose of staying off planet in the first place.

And so, after very intense sweep of the ship to hide away any trace of Virgil’s presence, he’d swept his old cloak around his shoulders, followed Logan offboard, and let himself be guided to what seemed to be an unoccupied area of the coastal jungle that surrounded the local populace.

Logan had requested he stay in the general area until he returned from corralling the busybody relatives, and then rushed back to the ship where Roman waited, looking more harried than Virgil had ever seen him.

It was an awkward, stressful situation, sure. But he still couldn’t help but marvel a little at the thick, dark fronds of the trees and the almost powdery texture of the grey-white sand beneath his feet.

He hadn’t gotten very many chances to actually appreciate the wonder of being in space, on alien planets, with how much of his stay so far had either been locked in cages aboard ships or on the run, too busy trying to survive to take in the scenery.

Running his fingers over the corkscrew-patterned bark of one of the nearby tree trunks, Virgil didn’t notice the slight rustling of a nearby brush.

—

Marren had thought the alien an intruder at first, had skidded to a halt and narrowly avoided toppling out of the underbrush right in front of them.

Behind her, Robbyn and Denel tumbled against her back with the beginnings of peeped complaints at the interruption of their game.

“Ssst!” Marren made a whistle that was more air than sound, her baby feathers ruffling up in pre-emptive upset. “Quiet, there’s a stranger!”

Unlike any other game, her playmates immediately went silent, eyes growing round and nervous. They all knew better than to catch the attention of a maybe-dangerous unfamiliar alien.

Especially now. One of the older kids had told horror stories about smugglers when the grown-ups weren’t listening, insisting that straying fledglings would get all their feathers shredded off and fed to the horrible monsters at the bottom of the Spacesea, where starlight and ships alike couldn’t reach.

They’d gotten in big trouble for the tall tales, but the story had already been taken up by the waves and couldn’t be squashed, especially with the fearful but dedicated belief of younger fledglings.

“Is it a monster?” Denel asked, already looking more fluff than form.

Marren… couldn’t really tell.

They were huge, even bigger than the Draellex spacefarer who had come to do a presentation for her class last season, but most of their features were also obscured by the long, deep grey cloak that they were swathed in.

“They’ve got hands,” she reported instead, because the stranger was touching various plants and rocks with nubby, strangely smooth fingers. “No claws, though.”

“Maybe a trader ship came early?” Robbyn offered thoughtfully. Their downy soft pink feathers were the least fluffed up between the three of them, their gaze focused on the alien with an intense curiosity.

“We woulda seen it, right?” Marren replied dubiously, before going quiet for a moment as the hooded head of the stranger turned and paused as though listening.

She didn’t continue until they turned back to their slow inspection of the wildlife, letting out a tiny peep-peep-peep of relief. “The only ship that came down is Uptel Patton’s, and he’s only got two playmates.”

She’d only met one of her Uptel’s friends in person, and only when she was a baby baby, way before her first molt, so she barely remembered it, but there were plenty of pictures in her Elder Uptel Farrun’s home. Patton’s parents were always happy to talk about their spacefarer son, and Marren always got a fun trinket from her Uptel when he visited.

Well. Almost always.

He’d seemed very distracted when she’d seen him this morning, enough that he’d barely noticed her amongst the many relatives that had swarmed to greet him after his longer than usual absence.

Something bad had happened to him, Marren had been told, which had made his parents’ home feel all sad-grief-loss whenever she visited, but he was all better now.

She wasn’t so sure. Everyone around him had felt like relief-joy-kinship at the sight of him, sure, but her Uptel had never flinched away from preening before.

“Maybe he got a new one?” Denel asked, still half-hidden behind Robbyn but not quite as frightened.

Marren made a considering chirp, and then began shuffling under the wiry branches as quietly as possible, seeking out a closer bush.

“Where are you going?” both of her playmates asked in very different tones.

“Gonna look closer,” she replied, and then froze as the answer carried farther than she meant it to.

The stranger turned sharper this time, and searched the clearing with tiny back-and-forth movements of their head.

“Patton?” they called after a moment, and Marren almost startled back in shock: the alien had spoken Uptel Patton’s actual name, not the Common version, and sounded uncannily close to an actual Ampen.

If it weren’t for how impossibly big the stranger was, she might have thought it was a simple prank, a couple of older kids stacked on top of each other under a form-disguising cloak.

Her gaze trailed down and finally focused on the familiar glow coming from the shadowed neckline of the cloak. She would know that glow anywhere!

“They’ve gotta special charm!” she crowed, and pushed past the branches to dart out into the open, intent on inspecting her Uptel’s newest friend.

Patton’s friend stumbled back hard with a sharp inhale, and Marren abruptly remembered that it wasn’t polite to startle people, especially strangers, and slowed to a stop. She angled her head up to try and peer into the shadows of the hood, squinting her eyes almost closed in as innocent and friendly a look as possible.

“I’m Marren,” she introduced herself, using the little bit of Common that her Uptel had taught her. “The stars greet you and so do I!”

That kind of greeting was more for actually being up in space with all the stars, but she figured it was the thought that counted.

Patton’s friend muttered something in an unfamiliar language, their tone soft, and then lowered themself to a seated position, much slower than they’d moved before. “My name is Virgil. It’s… nice to sea you?”

Marren let out a peal of chirping laughter, nearly knocking herself off balance with the force of her amusement.

That was definitely one of Uptel Patton’s friends, alright. He was the only bondrelative she had who put silly word jokes in his greetings like that.

“Can I sea you?” she shot back brightly, and when that didn’t seem to make it through, she pretended to move an invisible hood down from her own head.

Friend Virgil went all stiff for a moment, before speaking again. “I don’t think… uh, that’s not a good idea. I’m… I’m shy.”

Marren was distracted for a moment by puzzling through the words; it was an odd combination of Common and Ampen words, some of them a little smushed together until they almost seemed like a new word entirely.

Once the meaning behind the answer registered, though, she made a long, protesting whistle. “I’m not gonna be mean to you! Denel’s shy, too, you guys can get along!”

“Denel?” Friend Virgil echoed, again pronouncing the name eerily accurately, and Marren heard a little peep of alarm from behind her.

Antennae twitching with frustration, she turned and gave the bushes her best irritated stare, fluffing up indignantly. “They’re Patton’s friend! They’ve gotta be nice to me, I’m his favorite telit! Stop acting so new-hatched!”

“You’re his only little cousin,” Robbyn was speaking to her as they hopped into view, but their wide eyes were locked on Friend Virgil like they’d just found a shiny new stone. “Can they talk?”

“Kinda,” Marren chirped back, since it seemed like Friend Virgil knew more of the spacefarer tongue than their native one. “I know enough space words to translate! Probably.”

“You’re going to hurt your throat,” Robbyn cautioned in their best know-it-all voice. Marren was saved from having to answer by the thud of Denel tripping his own way out of the bush.

With his underlayer all fluffed out like that, it was no wonder that he accidentally rolled a few feather-lengths along the ground, squawking in high-pitched, babyish alarm as he tumbled.

Friend Virgil leaned forward so quickly that even Marren peeped in surprise, but all they did was set a humongous cupped hand next to Denel to keep him from toppling any further. Denel pulled all his limbs in with a panicked squeak as he bumped into the helping hand, and turned his head to peer up at Friend Virgil nervously.

“Safe and sound,” Friend Virgil crooned, in the sort of lullaby sing-song tone that was usually used to soothe hatchlings. “Okay, good, okay?”

It took Denel a stunned moment to respond, but when he chirped affirmative, the waver in his whistle had faded to almost nothing. He slowly uncurled, and even reached out for balance as he got back upright, looking absolutely awestruck.

He was way more aether-sensitive than most fledglings, Marren recalled, which meant that Friend Virgil must have been radiating some deeply trustworthy energy. As always, she had been totally right! Of course Patton’s friend was nice!

Marren wasted no time in spinning back around and darting up to Friend Virgil’s legs, giving them her best pleading expression.

“See? We can all be friends, you’re big-nice and nobody will be mean to you! Please please please?”

—

Virgil was not good with kids.

Specifically, he wasn’t good at saying no to kids.

Back home, they’d always picked up on it the moment they saw him, like sharks catching the scent of blood in the water, except the sharks were twelve year olds and the blood was Virgil’s inability to tell them not to draw on him in sharpie.

He’d finally found something that humans and aliens had in common, it seemed, because Marren– the apparent leader of the little group– had immediately figured out exactly how to use the Ampen version of puppy dog eyes against him. It was like nature had designed them as adorable feathery pom-pom creatures as a tactic designed to target him, specifically.

He hadn’t stood a chance.

As such, he found himself seated in the middle of the small clearing, his hood lowered and face exposed for anyone to see, being used as an actual, literal human jungle gym by a bunch of chirping alien fuzzballs.

The playtime racket must have been attracting more, because it felt like every time he looked up, three or four entirely new bundles of fluff had appeared, racing around his feet or climbing up the side of his cloak, chattering between themselves in strings of tweets and whistles.

The namecall they used for him wasn’t quite accurate, sounding more like ‘frrr-kul’ with a rolling trill followed by a chirp that only occasionally resembled the latter half of his name. They seemed to have a much harder time than Patton making the non-bird sort of syllables, which made sense, seeing as they were itty bitty babies.

“Frrrr-kul!” one of them called gleefully, summoning him over to the other side of the clearing for the newest round of whatever it was they were playing.

Virgil wasn’t ashamed to admit that something in his chest squeezed a bit as another fledgling turned dizzying little loop-de-loops in front of him, presumably leading him over to the new spot. For once, the heart palpitations he was experiencing around strange aliens were almost entirely cuteness-induced.

Almost, because there was still a solid chunk of his brain panicking viciously about how tiny and soft and fragile they all were, hence him moving at the pace of a seasick slug.

Marren had put forward a half-hearted complaint about how slow he was moving, to no avail. As it turned out, the only thing more compelling to him than a kid’s heartfelt request was the fear of accidentally hurting one of them.

It had taken him at least fifteen minutes just to stop flinching every time one of them fell or flung themself off of his knee or shoulder or— for one very stealthy candidate— his head, only to tumble lightly back to the ground unharmed, the impact entirely cushioned by their fluff.

He’d caught the first five or six on sheer instinct, which had only prompted even more to partake in the fun new ‘game’, until he gave up and accepted his fate as a living launch pad. Thankfully for his stress levels and long-term heart health, they had moved onto another game quickly enough.

He was slightly less thankful that every game so far had included him being scampered over, without exception, but he should have figured as much just from being friends with Patton, honestly.

His latest role seemed to be a very ill patient, as one of Marren’s friends walked around—and on— him carefully, calling out chirped instructions and sending the rest of the participants scrambling into the nearby brush. Within a few moments, they’d return with leaves, twigs, and other forest detritus, which would then be painstakingly applied to the top of his hand, or his chin, or wherever else the ‘doctor’ gestured to. Half the time, the makeshift bandages would flutter off the moment Virgil shifted even a little, prompting chitters of delight as the kids hurried to re-apply them.

Still better than any healthcare he’d gotten on Earth, honestly.

Seeing as his current job was to lay in place morosely like that guy from the Operation board game, he eventually closed his eyes and let himself relax a little, trying to hide an irrepressible closed-lip smile.

A few rounds later, he heard a chorus of what sounded like Patton’s favorite greeting chirp, but in a range of much higher pitches. He cracked his eyes open, expecting another gaggle of fledglings had showed up, and instead found that Logan was standing at the edge of the clearing, arms all dropped limply to his sides in shock.

Virgil went tense, only managing to repress his flinch because a good portion of his brain was still dedicated to monitoring where all the babies were around him, and currently at least ten were clinging onto his person. “Okay, listen. This was not my idea.”

Logan carefully tucked his hands behind his back in what Virgil first mistook for a polite gesture, only to emerge with what was unmistakably the portable camera he used whenever he was collecting video data for later.

“...Really?”

Whirr-click. Logan didn’t even bother looking apologetic as he began recording Virgil’s pint-sized tormentors. “If Patton didn’t get a memento of this, he would never forgive me, facetiously speaking.”

Rolling his eyes, Virgil slowly shifted up to his elbows, a startling amount of leaves fluttering down from his hair. A tentative hand feeling around in his hair revealed a fluffy stowaway, who peeped in displeasure as Virgil carefully disentangled them.

Talk about having a bird’s nest for hair. That was probably a sign that he needed a trim, but for now he could only laugh to himself, using two fingers to try and soothe the ruffled feathers of the fledgling that had apparently seen his head as prime real estate.

“You’re… very good with them,” Logan commented, shuffling closer with uncharacteristic tentativeness. “Is it normal to take on a parental role for children that aren’t under your care on Earth?”

Virgil snorted, and then leaned forward a little to help keep one of the more tenacious fledglings clinging to him from losing their grip. “It depends on the person, but honestly? A lot of humans are total suckers for anything cute making baby sounds, human or not. Sometimes to the point that the keener wildlife will take advantage of it and lead us to babies that are injured or out of reach because they know that odds are, a human will help.”

“Truly? Non-domesticated species, as well?” Logan replied, visibly distracted from his slow approach by the implications. “Cooperative dynamics between sapient species and local fauna are present on many planets, but for almost all studied Deathworlds, such a thing is unheard of. The risk is higher in harsher environments, where a much more competitive nature is required for survival.”

“Yeah, for real. I used to work as an assistant… uh. An assistant animal-healer, and people were always bringing in abandoned babies they’d found. Sometimes they were actually in need of help, but sometimes they definitely weren’t,” Virgil huffed a little at the memories, holding still as a fledgling took a running leap to jump from one of his knees to the other. “It was well-intentioned, though. Lots of people hate to see a baby left alone and jump to conclusions, since you’d never do that with a human infant.”

Logan’s hands twitched, and Virgil carefully shrugged one shoulder, giving him permission to record the information.

“Just make sure you don’t write stuff about babies or kids down where anyone could get to it,” he cautioned, chewing on the edge of his lip. “I trust you, but I don’t trust, y’know… the rest of space. Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Correct,” Logan confirmed, having heard that exact catchphrase from Virgil probably about twelve times a week. “Am I alright to approach?”

“What?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, of course, just be careful. I mean, you’re definitely safer for them to be around than me.”

There was a relieved angle to Logan’s ears as he stepped forward, nimbly avoiding a few of the fledglings chasing each other back and forth like feathered tumbleweeds. “I disagree. They seem quite safe in your hands,” he said. “I have no doubt that Patton would be ecstatic to know that you’ve managed to make some friends amongst his kin despite our need for secrecy.”

Right. His cover had been blown five minutes in by the Ampen equivalent of a bunch of grade-schoolers. Crap.

“Let your mind remain at ease,” Logan added, either correctly reading the panic on his face or just guessing from the not-inconsiderable experience he had with Virgil. “With Ampens this young, I’m certain that your positive impression as a playmate will be the bulk of what they mention to their families. I’ve already heard a few of them refer to you as ‘Patton’s shy friend,’ so I imagine most will come up with the rest of the answer on their own assumptions.”

"'Patton's shy friend'?" Virgil felt his ears redden as his face heated up, and there was a chorus of delighted whistle-squeals from the nearest fledglings.

“You change colors just like Uptel Patton!” Marren shouted excitedly, and, well.

There were at least four different species of alien he knew of that shifted colors in all sorts of ways, from a gradual chameleon shift to the rapid flush of an octopus. This was one trait that wasn’t likely to make anyone think ‘Human’.

“Do another color!” A small harmony of encouraging peeps and eager gazes.

“Uh…,” Virgil cast a helpless look of his own Logan’s way. “I mean, I can probably do purple if I hold my breath for long enough?”

“Alright,” Logan cut in urgently,“I think it’s time that Virgil get back to the ship, actually, you’ll have to play with him again the next time we come to visit. Yes, yes, everyone off now…”

–

Miraculously, they’d managed to get through the entire impromptu visit without either of Patton’s flockmates seeing any errant belongings, broken cabinets, or any other indications of the highly illegal and infamous Deathworlder they definitely had onboard.

Roman let out an exhausted snort, trying not to shift impatiently as he stood by the boarding platform and waited for Logan to return with Virgil. If Patton was there, he would have given him a disappointed look for being so blatantly untrusting, but he wasn’t, and it had been a long day, so Roman could be on edge if he wanted to, okay?!

Thankfully, Logan chose that moment to step out from the shade of the forested area, exchanging an assessing look with Roman before deeming the path clear and beckoning Virgil to follow him on board.

The Human padded after Logan, footsteps eerily quiet as always, and… huh. He looked a lot less stressed than he’d seemed when they’d all but shoved him off the ship a few hours ago. Roman tried not to feel immensely suspicious about it, but he glanced down to check his hands for blood anyhow.

He was mostly sure that the Human didn’t actually have any murderous designs, especially not on anyone from Patton’s hometown, but they’d set him loose in a random forest with little to no guidance. Roman couldn’t rule out the idea that Virgil had entertained himself by hunting down some of the local fauna or something.

There was nothing, though, and so he forced his eyes away and checked in briefly with Logan instead. See? He could be cordial when he wanted to! He was a beacon of toleration, okay?

The claim fell a little flat even in his own mind, but he was promptly distracted by the tiniest hint of a whistle. He straightened up, alarm shooting through him as he swiveled his head this way and that, searching for any surprise witnesses.

His gaze fell on the Human as Virgil passed him to board the ship, and Roman stiffened at the sight of three fluffy bundles perched in the swoop of the Human’s hood. “Stop right there!”

Virgil went still, shoulders hunching upward like a bristle and eyes bizarrely wide, and Roman let his tail scrape from side to side for a moment as he glowered, only growing more certain of his guilt.

“I knew it, those are fledglings! Let them go this instant,” he started, planning to end with a suitable threat to ensure the safety of the smallest and most vulnerable of Patton’s kin, only for the Human to somehow go even more stiff and frozen.

“Oh my god, where?” He hunched over slightly, eyes flickering down to scan over his front and arms. “Are they okay?”

Roman pulled up short, admittedly disoriented at the show of clear and abrupt concern. One of the fledglings cheeped in dismay, and Virgil’s head tilted, following the sound.

“Guys, that’s not safe,” he groaned, and then repeated it in Ampen tongue. “Not safe. Not good, not safe, okay?”

His hand twitched up like he was going to reach for them, but then he hesitated for a moment, before slowly turning around so that his hood faced Roman. “Can you help them out? I know they’ve got all the feathers and stuff to keep them safe, but I still don’t want… I don’t want to jostle the hood and knock them out or something.”

“I… yes,” Roman said, feeling like he’d just been hit by a paralyzer shot. He reached out and scooped the fledglings out of their makeshift nest, watching as Virgil’s shoulders grew more and more taut. The Human didn’t trust him, but he held still anyways. “You’ve got, ah. Leaves and twigs. In your head pocket.”

“I bet I do,” he muttered, before taking a few slightly too-fast steps away once he’d checked that his fuzzy passengers had been evacuated. With soft, cautious movements, he patted down the rest of himself, including his other pockets and even the folds of his overcloak. “I think I’m good.”

“That was very dangerous,” Roman scolded, looking down at the trio with disapproval.

Virgil shuffled slightly, looking at him more directly than he usually did. After a moment, he spoke. “They’re fine, right? It’s not their fault, they just think it’s a game.They’re… they’re only babies.”

This was what worry looked like on a Human, Roman realized with a jolt, and managed to choke down his initial offense at the very idea that he would hurt them. He’d assumed the same at first glance, hadn’t he? Virgil had never seen him with kits before, and didn't know very much about him. Roman hadn’t exactly been sharing information or encouraging any bonding, and it wasn’t like the Mindscape had provided very many opportunities for interacting with younglings thus far.

Stars, he hoped there hadn’t been any kids on the smuggler ship. The very idea made him sick.

“Of course they’re fine,” he replied a bit shortly, cradling them a little closer. “Kits will be kits. They didn’t mean any harm, like you said.”

“Oh. Okay, that’s good,” Virgil said, some of that odd tension falling away. He looked back down at the kids. “Uh. Bye, little guys. Stay safe.”

He mimicked a farewell trill with uncanny accuracy, and the fledglings all echoed it with varying levels of mournfulness. Virgil waved as he edged his way up the ship’s ramp backwards, like he thought the kids would ambush him the moment he took his eyes off of them.

Seeing as these three had somehow snuck past a Human’s senses, Roman almost couldn’t blame him.

“When I next see Patton, I’m going to tell him to have a serious talk with you all about being too adventurous, you hear me? Crewmates are not for climbing,” Roman lectured as he carried them back to the main path. He paused to think about how hypocritical that lesson would be coming from Patton, who took any excuse to perch on Virgil. “Oh, for stars’ sake.”

Well, whatever. This was just a one-off. What were the odds they would ever be bringing the Human back here, anyhow?

[pinkiemachine]

What happened to the El family?

Well you see, Krypton was in big trouble, and they had been for a long while. Their sun, Rao, was nearing the end of its life. What this meant was that, long before it even went supernova, it had started to expand, throwing off dangerous amounts of radiation and heating up Krypton. The scientists of the time, Jor-El included, promised their leaders that they could fix the problem and “reset” their star (though this was a big undertaking). For years and years they worked, running simulations, doing experiments on other stars, but this had turned out to be a rather difficult nut to crack. All the while, Rao loomed ever closer. And there were some who criticised the scientists. Zod, one of the greatest generals in the Kryptonian army, was one such naysayer. He thought that the very idea of trying to “fix” a STAR was a sign of immense hubris. Only a fool would think they could control a force of nature as powerful as that! Surely they would doom the planet before finding a solution, not to mention they were running out of time! They needed to evacuate the planet! Get everyone to safety! And yet, the government listened to the scientists and carried on, telling people not to panic. See, Krypton had grown over confident in themselves over the years. They were an advanced race and had done incredible things, so they put their faith in their technology, not bothering to evacuate people. Do you have any idea how many starships that would take? Finally, after a large solar flare vaporised a scientific team, Zod took matters into his own hands. He planned a coup—one that didn’t go over so well. Civil war broke out. Zod wanted to bring all Kryptonian people under his command so he could be king on the next planet, but not everyone agreed with his methods or ideals (beyond saving Krypton). During the final days of the war, with supplies and time dwindling even further and everyone in a panic, Jor-El and the other scientists knew that there was nothing more they could do with their star project. They needed a plan B. And so they created a new colony on an uninhabited planet in secret. There, they sent some of their most important council-members, scientists, engineers, and biologists, etc. they would start from scratch. Begin again. They wanted to bring more people with them, but they were running out of Starships, and Zod would be sure to notice and they couldn’t risk him discovering the colony. Jor-El and his family—his wife Lara and newborn son Cal, his brother Zor-El, his wife Alura, their daughter Kara and her dog Krypto—were the last to leave Krypton, bringing with them the last bits of technology they would need to terraform the planet to suit them better. They were traveling in their personal starship, about to take off into hyperspace. Zor-El and his family had already gone into cryosleep for the journey. That’s when Zod found them. Before the crazed general could capture them, Jor-El told his wife to take their son and jettison in a long-distance escape pod. He ejected his brother, sister-in-law, and niece as well, hoping that they could still make it to the colony site if he stayed behind to distract Zod. However, things did not go according to plan. After being jettisoned, Zod’s ship opened fire on the pods, destroying two of them, and knocking the rest off course. Jor-El managed to evade Zod that day… but his family were not as lucky. Zor-El and Alura died in the explosion. Kara+Krypto and Lara+Cal had their guidance systems fried. Lara later landed on Earth, gravely wounded in the blast, while Kara and her dog crash landed even further lost in space. Jor-El didn’t even know if he would see them again. During his lonely travels, he would record messages for his family and created an AI version of himself within the ship, just in case something happened to him.

[bluegalaxygirl]

Obsession's Grip (Zosan X Reader) P6

Plot: After saving some of the straw hat crew from a prison, the crew help takes a young man away so he can have a fresh start in life. He's shy but seems to grow attached to Reader in an unhealthy way.

Warning: Bad language, Violence and Making out.

Reader is Female (Sorry), Zoro X Sanji X Reader, Poly relationship, established relationship. Reader has the ability to control the snake tattoos on her arms that come alive when she commands, they can change size and are connected to her emotions.

P1 - P2 - P3 - P4 - P5 - P7 - P8 - P9 - P10 - P11 - P12 - P13 - P14

Unfortunately the island the sunny docks at is uninhabited according to Nami's map, its called Gurōberī also known as glow berry island, the forest overflowing the island is dark and dense the top of the trees so thick that no light can get inside and yet the dark forest has spots of blue, yellow and pink lights all from Berry's that hang from the tree's ready to be picked. Its scary but beautiful so you have no problem going when Usopp dragged you aside begging for you to go, find seeds and gather food instead of him. You told him yes as long as he finishes your chores from yesterday which he happily agreed too since it was that or the dark forest. Luffy had already run off to explore so that just left you and Robin standing on the small patch of free ground where the Sunny's ramp could lay down letting the crew off, when ever you brushed up again a bush or flower it would suddenly start glowing making the two of you even more fascinated with the forest. "Y/n my love" Sanji yells out from the ship running over to the railing and almost slamming into it with slight panic thinking you had already left, but he relaxes when seeing you still standing there with Robin. Zoro sighs and places a hand on the cooks shoulder "Calm down, you know she wouldn't leave without us" the swordsman shakes his head while making his way down the ramp. You managed to clear things up with Nami and Robin so the two girls aren't mad at the boys but you still needed to talk to your lovers. It was deiced that the three of you would go off together and talk while they helped you pick food and Robin goes with Nami to map out the island.

Sanji quickly follows grabbing a large empty backpack and slinging it over his shoulder while throwing another one at the back of Zoro's head who growls spinning around to yell at the blonde but stops when seeing the stressed out look on his face. The two have been anxious to know what's going on but while Zoro is calm on the outside Sanji isn't, deciding not to pick a fight the swordsman picks up the backpack and slings it over his shoulder making his way over to you with the cook close behind. "You three head off, I'll wait for Nami. Don't stay out too late" Robin giggles patting you on the shoulder before nodding at the two boys who join you, with your empty backpack already on your back you head towards the forest pushing past leaves and bushes that glow different colors at any kind of touch. After a short while of pushing past the dense forest the three of you make it to a natural path, Its quiet but not a bad quiet, more like peaceful as if your in a silent comforting dream. "Its beautiful" You whisper to yourself seeing darkness all around and yet the glowing fruit above too high to reach look almost like stars while the fruit on the ground light up the way down the path. Zoro pulls a bright red cloth out of his backpack and ties it around the branch of tree you just passed through marking their way back for later. "My love… can we talk now?" Sanji asks stepping next to you and taking your hand snapping you out of your amazement, turning you give him a smile hoping to ease that worried look on his face "Sorry to keep you waiting, I'll do my best to explain."

Zoro holds onto your belt as you walk down the path, Sanji still gripping onto your hand as you explain what happened yesterday. "Percy wanted to know about our relationship, he just seemed confused and curious since he hasn't heard of anything like this before but then his questions started getting quicker, i didn't really have much time to answer or set things straight" Gripping onto the cooks hand you let out a breath trying to calm yourself not wanting to become emotional like yesterday, luckily the two give you time to calm yourself but offer caring glances and reassuring touches. "He started asking, what if you or I fall in love with someone else? i told he i would talk to you two before anything, but he just started to rephrase the same question over and over again. I don't know why but it made me panic a little… He started asking about cheating" Sanji flinches at the thought alone, he would never even dream of cheating on you or Zoro, it hurt that someone would accuse him of such. Zoro grits his teeth already knowing where this was going, he didn't blame you for being upset, but he's mad you didn't talk to them about it sooner and at Percy for even bringing it up. "I know you two would never, but he wouldn't stop talking, my mind couldn't catch up, he.. Just talked so fast" Tears well up in your eyes just thinking back to what he said and how it made you feel, stopping in your tracks you grip your teeth trying to stop yourself from crying again. Sanji's quick to pull you into a hug his hand stoking your hair to comfort you, Zoro rubs your back while trying to see your face that is buried in the cook's chest "We would never cheat on you" The two say in unison slightly surprising each other but at the same time it conformed their thinking the same way.

Sniffling, your hands grip onto Sanji's jacket starting to relax a little "I-i know you wouldn't but i felt my heart shatter, he came up with all these ways you'd hide it, how you'd cheat and who you would cheat with. He made it sound like its already happened and I felt like it already happened, like i was just finding out, the pain was excruciating… i couldn't take it, i tried to think i really tired but… i don't know how he did it but everything he said at the time made sense, its like he was specking the truth. I'm so sorry" Tears stream down your face as you cling onto the cook both of their eyes widening at your words, the cook holds you tight while placing a kiss on your head trying to sooth your cry's "Its alright Mi amour, i understand now… We would never hurt you, you did well to take time to think and come to us after" The blonde tries to stop himself from crying not wanting to make things worse but a tear slips out of his eye seeing you like this, Zoro stares down at you with anger but its not directed at you, he hates that Percy made you feel this way and put ideas into your head. Hearing the cook sniffle the swordsman looks over seeing the blonde holding back tears, sighing he wipes away a stray tear falling down Sanji's cheek before wrapping his arms around the two of you and placing a kiss on your head. "We're not mad at you, like Sanji said you did the right thing by tacking time to think on your own… None of this is your fault, ok?" The swordsman asks placing another kiss on your head, managing to calm down you wipe your eyes on your closed fist still gripping the cooks coat and nod while moving to look up at the two. "Y/n.. I need you to understand something" Zoro states looking down at you with a serous look.

Both you and Sanji raise an eyebrow at this but stay quiet knowing Zoro isn't joking around "What he did is manipulation, he attacked you mentally and emotionally to get what he wanted. You need to stay away from him, ok?" It sounded more like an order but you didn't protest instead you nod, Sanji sighs hating that this happened, but he's glad your back with them and ok, placing a kiss on your head the cook loosens his grip on you. "Do you think he meant to do it?" You ask thinking back to this morning, Percy's apology really seemed off but you still wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt in case he didn't mean too. Zoro growls thinking back to this morning and that look in the young man's eye, he was ready to kill Sanji just for kissing your cheek. "Why would you say that love? i don't think you can un-continuously do that" Sanji asks moving some hair out of your face and cupping your cheek, leaning into his touch you place your hand over his "Percy talked to me this morning before breakfast, he apologized for upsetting me and said that because of my Kind and understanding nature people would take advantage of that, he didn't want me to end up like his farther, he wanted to protect me… I half accept his apology since he wasn't sorry for what he said about you two and i told him to just stay away from us three for a while. I-i just" Stopping yourself you look up at Zoro seeing him shake his head while Sanji glances away from you, the two know Percy's right about people wanting to take advantage but your smart when it comes to people, you read people quite well so for you to miss this must mean you relate to him in someway.

Looking between the two you start to worry, they know something you don't and it makes your heart drop "I fucked up, didn't it?" You whisper while looking down at your feet feeling stupid for letting Percy manipulate you a second time, Sanji pulls you into him again rubbing your back but not knowing what to say. Zoro shakes his head running his hand over your cheek and too your chin getting you to look up at him "Half fucked up.. Let me guess, Mother abandoned him, he has no family left, he trusts you and only you, he asks for your help, he feels safe around you. He pulls at your heart strings, making you feel for him, making you feel like you need to be there for him. Weather he's doing it on purpose of not it doesn't matter, he hurt you, half arsed an apology while continuing to manipulate you and then thinks he has the right to own you" The swordsman gets angrier and angrier with each word his mind going back to this morning and how Percy looked at the cook, your eyes widen at his tone but his grip on you doesn't tighten despite his anger. Taking his hand off your chin you bring it to your lips placing a firm kiss on it while Sanji places his hand on Zoro's arm rubbing it up and down to try and calm him "What happened this morning? Did Percy do something?" The blonde asks starting to get a little angry, he knew something was off with the young man, but he just put it down to the fact that it's a new guy on the ship. Zoro lets out a sigh trying to relax from his outburst while pulling the both of you into him holding you close to his chest, wrapping an arm around him you lean up and kiss the swordsman's cheek as the cook keeps his eyes on the green haired man's face.

Its clear there's still anger in Zoro's eyes but there's also worry, Sanji runs his hand up the swordsman's arm and to his cheek keeping eye contact "Yea… When you kissed Y/n this morning Percy tensed up, he had this murders look in his eyes while glaring at you and then he grabbed a knife holding it in a death grip. He watched you and i thought he was going to kill you but he relaxed and put it down" Sanji's eyes widen at this, his heart stopping in his chest as Zoro looks down at the cook, how could he not have noticed someone staring at him like that? he should have sensed it so why didn't he. "I don't understand, Why would he be acting like this? You've done nothing to him" You speak up with concern in your voice, Zoro shrugs unsure of the real answer, but he has a few guesses while Sanji shakes his head "I don't know but what ever the reason we should stay away from him and tell Nami and Robin later, just in case he's doing the same to them" The cook pulls away from the two of you but takes your hand giving a smile "Lets forget about him for now" Pulling the two of you along Sanji walks down the path wanting to enjoy some time with his partners, a smile appears on your face as you pick up your pace happily joining the two, the swordsman squeezes the cooks hand following behind. The time away from the ship is much calmer, the three of you pick fruit, herbs and flowers placing them in your backpacks to be sorted out later, you find a few glowing flowers that have seeds in them so make sure to pick them up as well.

Zoro leans against a tree keeping an ear out for any danger while watching his two partners work, Sanji picks up a small daisy like flower that glows your favorite color when he brushes the petals with his fingers, while your holding down a branch picking the fruit that easily comes away and placing it in your backpack. The cook walks over to you waiting until your done and let go of the branch to get your attention "My love" He whispers behind you his eyes soft as you hum in a questioning tone turning to face the cook. Sanji tucks your hair behind your ear before placing the flower neatly in your hair, a smile forms on his face as his fingers brush over the petals the glow string enough to to reflect on some of your face. "Perfect" He whispers making your heart melt at his actions, who need heart eyes when you have this. Stepping closer you run your hands up his chest and to his shoulders while placing a soft kiss on his lips "Your too sweet" You whisper against his lips as his hand rests on your hip the other still lightly touching the petals to keep them lighting up your hair and face in your favorite color. The swordsman can't help but smirk at the two of you while biting his tongue, he so badly wants to comment on how much of a sap the cook is and how cute you look, but he doesn't want to ruin the moment for the two of you, although once its over its fair game. Sanji leans down lightly kissing your lips while his thumb strokes your hip, happily kissing back you bring your hands around his neck holding him close to you letting a small hum leave your lips.

Pulling away the cook he takes your hand starting to walk back down the path again "Zo, belt" Sanji calls out earning a groan from the swordsman who follows behind the two of you and grabs your belt as to not get lost, trying to hold you laughs back becomes harder and harder every time you look back to see him either groan, pout or mumble under his breath in annoyance. "Stop it" Zoro walks right up behind you to growl in your ear making you jump slightly but keep walking trying to speed up a bit to give you some space but the green haired man grins following close behind "Stop what?" You ask feigning innocence as his hand tightens on your belt stopping you from walking so fast "Laughing at me, this is yours and the cooks stupid idea so don't make fun of me" Zoro growls a light blush spreading across his cheeks out of embarrassment, Sanji snickers under his breath while turning his head away trying not to laugh but the swordsman shoots him a glare "We'll if you didn't get lost all the time we wouldn't have to put measures in place" The cook shrugs letting out a few little laughs "I don't get lost" Zoro yells letting go of your belt and balling his fist up at his sides, you stop in your tracks to face him fully giving the swordsman a deadpan looks "Zoro… Which is left?" You ask seeing him raise an eyebrow at you before pointing the wrong way, a smile forms on your face as you grab his hand and attach it back onto your belt "Point. Made" You state turning on your heals and walking again forcing Zoro to follow.

Sanji bends over holding his stomach as he laughs but tries to follow the best he can "What? that.. that wasn't left?" Zoro gulps looking over at the cook with a fully red face, Sanji pats the swordsman on the back finally managing to control his laughter and shake his head, growing overly embarrassed Zoro yells into his hand in frustration before cursing out making you and Sanji laugh again, you feel sorry for him but you hope he knows your doing this for his own good. A few hours later the three of you make it back onto the Sunny with full bags, the first person you see is Usopp laying on the grassy deck sweat pouring down his face "I'll see you in the kitchen" You sigh placing a kiss on Sanji's cheek before turning to Zoro and doing the same but the swordsman wraps an arm around your waist not wanting to leave you alone but you place another kiss on his cheek "I'm just going to check on him and then i'm heading straight to the kitchen, i promise" You pat his chest trying to reassure the man, it seems to work since he lets out a sigh while squeezing your waist before letting you go and taking your backpack full of food off you "Usopp, then Kitchen nothing else, if Percy comes by you call" Zoro firmly states placing a kiss on your forehead, Sanji rubs your back placing a kiss on your cheek "I'll make you something cold to drink my love" The cook smiles at you walking off with Zoro close behind, giving him a small wave you head over to Usopp and stop next to him seeing his tired eyes.

Letting out a small laugh at his state you lean over him blocking the sun from hitting his burning face "You ok there bud?" You ask starting to get a little worried for him, the sniper groans looking up at you his chest heaving slightly "How?… How do you do it all?" He asks making you tilt your head in confusion, it takes a short while for it to hit you that he's talking about your chores from yesterday but you shake your head and help him sit up putting his arm around your shoulder "You didn't have to do them all in one go, don't tell me you did your own at the same time" Hoisting the long nosed man to his feet you walk him to the stairs knowing he needs something to drink "I wasn't supposed too?" Sighing at Usopp's words you shake your head helping him up the stairs and into the kitchen, Sanji smiles wide rushing to greet you only to stop at seeing Usopp's burning face, the cook gives you a hand taking the long nosed man to the sofa and laying him down. "I'll make you a drink… my love, your drink is ready" Sanji sighs shaking his head at the sniper before turning to you with a smile walking you over to the counter where you take a seat next to Zoro who's sipping on his own drink. The cook slides your cold drink over to you before starting to make another but keeps his eyes on you as you take a drink feeling the cold liquid run down your throat. Humming in delight your eyes meet Sanji's who's waiting for your verdict on the drink "Perfect as always darling" You comment making his heart thumb faster in his chest.

Taking the new drink he walks around the counter and places a light kiss on your lips "My love, it warms my heart to hear your praise" Sanji whispers against your lips his eyes full of love for you, reluctantly he pulls away from you to bring Usopp his drink and help the poor tired sniper drink it. Watching him leave you happily sigh feeling your chest warm up despite the cold drink, you let out a small squeak as your stool is pulled across the floor by Zoro who makes sure your pressed up next to him before wrapping an arm around your waist and letting his thumb rub your hip "Any trouble?" The swordsman asks looking you over while his hand taps his now empty glass, you can tell he's still a little anxious so to reassure him you place your hand on his cheek placing your lips on his. "None at all, other than Usopp overworking himself" you giggle placing another kiss on his lips, the swordsman hums into you placing more kisses on your lips before nipping at your lower lip wanting more, opening your mouth for him Zoro pushes his tongue into your mouth being surprisingly gentle. Enjoying his touch you don't notice Sanji coming back over his smile still bright while watching his partners, pulling away from his kiss you try and catch your breath as Zoro gives you a smirk. The cook places his head in between the two of you laying his chin on your touching shoulders, a chuckle leaves the swordsman before placing a kiss on the blondes cheek "Will you come back to us tonight?" Sanji reluctantly asks, but he needed to know, with a smile you lean into the cook while taking Zoro's hand "Of course, i love you both"

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

Stranded Chapter 4

Summary:  Tossed overboard and lost at sea, Bucky washes up on an uninhabited island.  Injured, lost and scared, with little to no wilderness training, he fights to survive.  But is he really alone?

Warnings: bodily injury, mentions of sexual harassment/assault, eventual smut

The next few days were strange.  Bucky had woken up alone that morning, which he both loved and hated because he didn’t want her to feel or see his naked raging boner, but also hated that she wasn’t there for him to be the first thing he saw when he woke up.  She was skittish with him and didn’t have much to say like she normally would.  She even stopped singing, which was the worst punishment.

After four days Bucky cracked.  “Y/N, we need to talk about the other night.”

“What about it?” Y/N asked, facing away from him as she skinned some fruit.

“About the fact that we…almost did something,” Bucky said, his cheeks blushing.

“Yes, it was a momentary lapse of judgment.  It won’t happen again,” she said briskly, dropping the skinned fruit into the awaiting basket and picking up another one.

“Wait,” Bucky backpedaled.  “What do you mean?  Did I do something wrong?  I thought–”

“We both did something wrong,” Y/N said, standing up and heading towards the fire to stoke it.  “We’re stranded on an uninhabited island.  Doing anything like that with no protection would lead to babies,” Bucky gulped at that.  “And as much as I want to,” she glanced at him, giving him a quick, hungry look up and down his body, “I will not subject any children to this life.  We don’t know how long we’ll be here.  There have been no boats, no ships, no planes, no satellites, no sign of life to rescue us.  I’ve been here for FOUR FUCKING YEARS!” she screamed, making him flinch.  “So thank you, I would love to, but I won’t.”  She threw some more kindling onto the fire then started walking towards the treeline.  “I’m taking a walk.  Don’t–” she held a hand up when he tried to follow her, almost jogging towards the beach.

Bucky ran his fingers through his hair.  He grunted as he walked off the opposite way.  He knew she was right.  How could he have been so stupid?  They did what they had to do to keep warm.  Being in this environment meant doing some otherwise strange or unusual things to survive.  He didn’t want to be stuck here forever.  And to risk bringing a kid into this world on an island for a few moments of happiness just wasn’t worth it.  

He wanted her.  He wanted her so badly it sometimes physically hurt, and the thought of her carrying his baby wasn’t something that scared him but rather delighted him.  But he wouldn’t do that to her.  What if she did get pregnant and something went wrong?  What if the baby couldn’t thrive?  What if she died??  No, he couldn’t stand that.  

Bucky ended up at the little waterfall, sitting on one of the rocks with his legs not quite touching the ground, watching the water and listening to the splashing and enjoying the sun streaming through the trees above.  He was there for a while then heard a rustling behind him and turned to see Y/N walking up to him.  She strode forward until she was standing between his legs.

“We can’t,” she started, putting her hands on her hips.  Bucky was eye level with her as he sat, watching her emotions fly across her face.  “But…can I ask for one thing, and then we’ll drop it?”  Bucky nodded, his eyes narrowing at her.  She sighed and crossed her arms.  “It’s just been so long, um…can I have one…one kiss?”

Bucky’s heart ached for her.  She was so lonely, he could see it plain as day.  He reached out for her arm and pulled her closer to him, then with that same hand cupped her cheek as he looked at her.  He nodded again, making her inhale shakily.  He leaned forward until their noses touched, then angled his head and slowly kissed her.  

Y/N froze for a moment, then exhaled and pushed forward, kissing him back firmly as a small whimper slipped past her lips.  Bucky tried to keep his hands to himself, but once her hands reached up and held his face he felt himself winding his arms around her waist, pulling her against him.  They kissed for a long moment before pulling away slightly, her hands still on his face and his arms still holding her, both of them closing their eyes as their foreheads rested against each other.

“Thank you,” Y/N breathed.

“You’re welcome,” Bucky sighed.

Y/N hesitated, then fully pulled away.  She looked at him for another moment, her eyes starting to well up with tears.  She gave him a sad smile then stepped away, walking back to camp.

Once she was out of earshot Bucky broke down.  He held his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed.  What had she done to him?  How was he supposed to drop it when he knew what she felt like now?  What she tasted like?  How she could tenderly hold him like that?  He cried fat ugly tears of grief for what could have been.

[carionto]

Humans and Boredom VI

Music is everywhere in the Galaxy.

All it takes is the simplest sense of rhythm, and a feeling. What that feeling is can be anything, from a total lack of feeling - true idleness, to the most profound and personal emotional states that no other will ever truly understand;

the rush from being on the prowl, amping yourself and your compatriots up by the sheer act of marching forward, to a mother's quiet tapping of a finger on the table, waiting for an answer, hoping it doesn't come, knowing what it will be when it inevitably does.

Repetition brings comfort, at least in the sense you what will come next. Whether it is something of a reassurance during troubling times, or excitement for joining along with everyone else during celebration, having some certainty of what comes next is incredibly powerful and essential for life.

What we could not predict is what we saw when we arrived at one of our moons Humanity offered to clean up after a small skirmish between some locals and pirates. An OCC ship had been tagging along this military escort. We know of the Orbital Cleaner Crews, their reputation, while only recent in Galactic circles, is unparalleled, so we gladly accepted their offer.

Now, this moon has an atmosphere. It's highly toxic and the surface is almost nothing but dust, so it has been deemed uninhabitable. It's only function, really, is the light tidal effect it produces for it's host planet, which is more or less just a farm and resort and retirement hotspot (with some secret military bases, but don't tell anyone).

Not long after leaving the OCC to do it's thing, we got a call from planetside about strange lights appearing on the moon at night. What the OCC were doing, or more specifically, the active cleaner currently on their 8 hour shift, flinging bits of space pirate ship debris at the moon. What the hell?

"It's fine, you said nothing lives down there, right? And we don't get a lot of atmosphere jobs, so I'm making the most of it. The air isn't bad enough to melt the drones I sent down there, and I've been, let's say, working on my magnum opus. Here, have a listen to yesterdays sample."

What she played was music. I think Humans call it jazz, with a mixture of symphony, and... heavy metal? A fascinating combination, and some of the notes were intense and booming. It did not sound like any instrument we had heard Humans use before, though it did remind us of a few Groh'rani bands, but that's just how their mouths learn to work in the upper lowland dialect.

"You're looking at it."

What?

"The moon and debris! Most people wouldn't think it, but based on the material composition, speed, angle and point of contact, orbital debris makes a lot of different sounds.

That sample specifically used: a triple impact of cockpit chairs; two laser batteries colliding a few meters above the surface; a hallway hitting the ground with its flat bottom first; another hallway whistling by as it shoots down open hatch first, the drone inside picked up some wicked air noises, didn't survive the direct crash though, would've loved to get the inside boom; and a barrage of twenty four diced up hull plates striking at quarter second intervals."

Hmm, well, that's certainly... creative use of available resources. And not breaking any laws or regulations either, huh.

"If you don't mind, I've still got some work to do. I'm in no rush with the piece though, the release is years away. I still need more low notes from carrier and larger ship impacts, plus it takes a lot of time to get authorization to get a planetcracker for a private job. I have to know what sound matter of all kind makes when those massive gravity hooks slowly squeeze and expand them. Man, I can't even imagine. So excited for when that paperwork goes through!"

Right, we'll leave you to it then.

Bye.

[badbatchposts]

Quiet Corners of the Galaxy, Chapter 5

While on a routine mission for Cid, the Bad Batch encounter a woman fleeing from the Empire. Crosshair suspects her seemingly free-spirited, nomadic existence is actually a cover for something else, but struggles to keep his attraction toward her in check as their personalities and ideals clash.

Relevant tags: Slow Burn, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Smut (not for a few chapters still), Canon-Typical Violence

Chapters posted 1-2x weekly!

Read the full fic so far on AO3

Read previous chapters on Tumblr: Ch. 1 l Ch. 2 l Ch. 3 l Ch. 4

Chapter 5 summary: The Batch arrives back on Ord Mantell, where Crosshair keeps an eye on Dara. We find out where Omega has been these last few chapters.

By the time they arrived on Ord Mantell, Dara had succeeded in sharing sips of the grassy beverage with every member of the squad but Crosshair, chatting openly, even charmingly, with each one of them. They were regaled with languid observations of her time on Endor and other planets she’d encountered in her years traveling, many of which they had never visited themselves—she had, understandably, avoided the war-torn planets they were most familiar with. Dara seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be a solitary nomad with no occupation, just brief stints of day labor wherever she could get it passing through. She met people; she worked in markets and ran errands for shopkeepers; she helped with harvests; she spent months alone on uninhabited moons, living out of her ship and watching the stars. Her blasters, she claimed, were for protection, not only from seedier elements in the cities she traversed, but bandits and creatures. She liked traveling alone, she said, but there were dangers, too.

When the hatch opened in their usual landing bay, Tech assessed Dara’s injuries with one final scan. “The symptoms associated with your concussion appear to have subsided. However, you will likely continue experiencing some pain elsewhere for several more hours.”

She rose slowly, still limping a little as she tested the feeling in her leg and hip. “I really can’t thank you all enough.”

Wrecker, the friendliest among them, seemed a little disappointed to see her go. “Hey, come find us if you need anything!”

She brightened a little. “Of course, big guy! Maybe I can buy you all a drink to show my appreciation. Hope I see you around.” With that, she turned and made her way out of the bay, disappearing into the crowded streets of Ord Mantell as they watched from the top of the ramp.

“She’s lying,” Crosshair insisted immediately.

He expected pushback from his brothers, so he was surprised when Hunter agreed. “Oh, yeah. She’s pretty good. Most of the time her heart didn’t even stutter a little. Maybe she was even telling the truth sometimes. But the shuttle…that’s not what happened. I don’t even think she was on Takodana.” Crosshair admitted to himself, begrudgingly, that he should have known his brother wouldn’t be so easily duped. Hunter’s enhanced senses gave him a unique insight into the subtle bodily tells that would have betrayed her efforts to bury the truth.

“Indeed. While the majority of the information that she provided regarding her travels was accurate, her timeline for her visits for at least the past year most certainly was not. For example, Boonta Eve is not celebrated on Tatooine during the period that she claimed to be living there,” Tech contributed.

Hunter nodded decisively. “Crosshair, keep an eye on her. There could be a lot of reasons she’s lying, but she knows we work out of Ord Mantell now, so we should at least try to find out if she’ll be a problem for us.”

Crosshair wasted no time before deftly scaling the sides of the landing bay to track her from the rooftops. He spotted her quickly, her silver hair bobbing among the crowd as she made her way down the street. There was a determination in her step despite the ongoing limp, her earlier attitude of carefree traveler gone as she navigated the city like an expert. She did not stop to inquire at the spaceport about shuttles that could take her to her next destination, instead marching block after block, occasionally doubling back deliberately while scanning the crowd, peering at the shop signs as if looking for something. Finally, she entered what appeared to be a curio shop, exiting twenty minutes later.

Leaping easily from rooftop to rooftop, the sniper tailed the mysterious woman all through the afternoon, watching as she paused at market stalls, chatted with vendors, and ducked into innocent-looking stores. Any purchases she made within view appeared to be innocent: resupplies for her camp kit and other necessities for a nomadic existence, all of which the Bad Batch was deeply familiar with from their years at war and their fugitive lives since. Once, Crosshair witnessed her deftly catch the wrist of a pickpocket as the youth brushed against her, giving him a stern look before he could get his sticky fingers on any of her credits, but otherwise letting him go unharmed and without protest. She occasionally turned down dead-end alleys, only to duck into a doorway and wait a few beats before returning the way she had come.

Whatever she was doing, she was cautious about not being followed. Of course, he was no ordinary observer.

The sun was beginning to set by the time Crosshair gave up his pursuit. He made his way to Cid’s parlor, scowling at the familiar neon sign on his way in, removing his helmet and sticking a toothpick in his mouth as he entered. The rest of the squad had delivered the goods to Cid and were huddled around a table, drinks in hand. They looked at him expectantly as he threw himself down in a seat.

“She’s experienced at evading a tail and didn’t even bother to ask at the spaceport about shuttles, but other than that nothing out of the ordinary,” Crosshair reported. “Mostly restocked on supplies all afternoon. Standard stuff, except for a trip to an antique store. I couldn’t see if she bought anything there.”

Cid, who was lurking about nearby with a sponge—cleaning what, Crosshair didn’t know, since the place was as filthy as always—narrowed her beady, reptilian eyes. “What kind of antique store?” she asked suspiciously.

Attentive and thorough as always, Crosshair had memorized the name of every shop she had entered. “Old Ord Salvage.”

“Huh.” The Trandoshan looked intrigued. “Where’d you say you picked up that girly?”

Echo’s eyes darkened a little, betraying his distaste for their employer. “Why? You know something?” he asked.

Cid’s face returned to its usual expression of contempt. “Jeez, you boys are lucky you have me to keep up with things for you. Old Ord Salvage is a front. There’s a back room where smugglers and other shady characters—such as yourselves—can use their sub-space communications set-up to send long-range transmissions without the Imperial authorities picking up on them.”

“Well. Dara did, in fact, hijack a shuttle, then flee from and kill several Imperial stormtroopers. It stands to reason that she would seek to remain off the Empire’s radar,” Tech considered pragmatically.

Crosshair shook his head, frowning. “She went straight there immediately after she left us. She already knew about where it was and how to access it. This isn’t the first time she’s had to avoid the Empire—she has experience. We should leave Ord Mantell—she can connect us to it, it’s compromised.”

“I don’t think so, skinny,” Cid interrupted. “You lot have work to do. The next few jobs I have lined up are time sensitive.”

Seeing Crosshair open his mouth to reply, Hunter stepped between the two of them decisively, avoiding whatever violent threat the sniper was about to make toward their employer. “She’s right. We’ll ask Rex to see if he can find out any info on Dara from his contacts. Just so we know if she’s someone we have to worry about or not. In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye out. I have to go contact Omega and let her know we’ll be a little while longer while we finish these next jobs for Cid.”

Wrecker seemed disappointed to hear they wouldn’t be heading back to Pabu soon. “Aww. The kid’s not gonna be happy,” he lamented. When they had left Omega, they had expected to complete one quick job before they returned. Now they would be apart from their sister for weeks—although she understood that the extra credits they were scrounging up would help fund Rex’s rebel clone network.

Hunter sighed. “I know. I miss her too. But it’s good for her to be around friends her own age, for a while, anyway. We’ll go back to pick her up soon.” The sergeant got up, making his way toward the parlor’s back rooms to make his calls. Crosshair stalked after him.

“I don’t like this,” he murmured unhappily.

Hunter was thoughtful. “I don’t much like it either. But whoever Dara is, it’s clear she’s no friend to the Empire. There can’t be too much to worry about.” He gave his brother a comforting pat on the shoulder before exiting, leaving the sniper chewing unhappily on his toothpick in the dingy bar.

[jedimaesteryoda]

"He told about Prince Garin, I remember, the one that I was named for." "Garin the Great," offered Drey, "the wonder of the Rhoyne." "That's the one. He made Valyria tremble." "They trembled," said Ser Gerold, "then they killed him. If I led a quarter of a million men to death, would they call me Gerold the Great?" -AFFC, The Queenmaker

Arianne thinks herself Nymeria when Daenerys is actually the image of Nymeria: a ruling warrior queen from the east who after years of wandering leads her people on ships to Westeros to escape slavery, married three times and remains undefeated on the battlefield.

Arianne is more Garin the Great: the Rhoynish prince/ess who leads their people to war and after some initial success, loses to invading Valyrian dragonlords.

Garin dismissed Nymeria who warned him and the other Rhoynish princes that they could not win a war against the Valyrians. Garin led his people, and after a few tactical victories, Nymeria's warnings proved correct when an army of 300+ dragons descended from the sky and burned his army. He died in a golden cage as his city of Chroyane was destroyed with his only release being the Rhoyne flooding the city and turning the festival city into the Sorrows, an uninhabited, plague-infested ruin.

His story is effectively a lesson on arrogance and the foolhardiness and dangers of blindly going down a path to avoid confronting the inevitable, harsh truth. As is often the case in these stories, he took the path that ultimately did lead to the destruction of his city and the absorption of the Rhoynish lands by the Valyrian Freehold, the exact fate he tried to avoid.

It was ultimately Nymeria who accomplished what Garin could not: preserve Rhoynish independence against Valyrian domination. She also proved to be a successful military leader winning all her wars and crushing her enemies in Dorne.

Arianne's desire is less noble than Garin's given he was defending his homeland while Arianne is getting involved in the game of thrones. When Daenerys inevitably reaches Westeros, Arianne will learn Garin's lesson the hard way when she chooses to fight the last living dragonlords to keep her crown and avoid confronting the truth that Aegon is a false pretender. While Dorne will once again be conquered by an invading warrior queen.

[n3on-graveston3s-calling]

When You Move, I'm Moved

COMMISSION: @cebwrites Characters: Kirin ( OC ), Law, Penguin, Shachi, Reiji ( OC ), Izzy ( OC ) Ship: LawRin Word Count: 5,228 Rating: E Warnings: None; just a fun bit of action & smut. Author's Notes: For my first time writing Law in a long form piece, I'm p happy. Thank you for letting me play around with Kirin <3

The sun was high in the sky by the time they dropped their anchors. The island appeared to be relatively uninhabited- at least, on this side of it. As long as the shoreline appeared empty, undisturbed- that was good enough of a sign for the pair of crews. Kirin stretched languidly, almost cat-like, as his crew mulled about, trying to decide whether they wanted to feel the sand beneath their feet or take this time to rest. He could already see Penguin and Shachi on shore, the latter chasing the former across the white sand. Perfect. Swinging his legs over the bannister, he settled onto the gangplank with a soft ‘thunk’. The board bounced with each step, causing him to hurry along just a touch, even if the dock didn’t look any more promising.

The dock they’d settled at was old, he noticed; brows furrowing as he crouched down to study the wood. No one had used this in years- at least a decade, if he were being generous. The wood hadn’t been treated in far too long, threatening to give beneath his weight if he didn’t balance properly. The sound of footsteps drew him from his curios thoughts; Law approached, a brow raised, the silent question of what the fuck he was doing evident. “Old dock. Needs work,” he explained, rising to his full height. “I’m surprised it’s holding either of us, really.”

“I’ll make sure Bepo doesn’t get on it,” Law murmured, their gaze flickering to the Polar Tang. “Though, he’s more likely to just jump into the water.” The thought of Bepo taking a step onto the dock, the wood splintering beneath, and Bepo falling into the water in a near-comical fashion almost brought a smile to their lips.

“Can’t let you fall in, can I?” Kirin murmured, a hint of a smile curving his lips as he walked alongside Law, bumping his arm against their own gently. His hand twitched; the urge to take hold of Law’s own flashing through his mind before he quickly set that aside. Not here, not now.

Penguin screamed as Shachi tackled him. To the winner, the spoils.

“Funny, ha, ha.” Law huffed, rolling their eyes as they stepped off the dock, settling into the sand. They study their surroundings for a long moment, hands stuffed into the pockets of their jeans. “… Do you think if you released enough electricity at once, you’d turn the sand to glass?”

“What, like how lightning does?”

“Yes.”

Kirin fell quiet at the question, his head tilting. Now THAT was a question, one he hadn’t anticipated- nor really thought much of, really. “You know… I’m not sure. Never paid much attention to that.” His gaze flickered from Law, to the sand, to Law once more, a slow smirk curving his lips as they groaned at the familiar mischief that had taken over his gaze. “Wanna see if we can? I mean, you’re the one who’s supposed to know everything, aren’t you?” He teased lightly, stepping closer to the other Captain. A glance around their surroundings to ensure that no, no one was looking at them in the moment. Perfect.

“Hold on-” Law sighed, hands held out, palms facing out- the universal sign for fucking wait you overgrown puppy dog. “When we cross over into the New World- it’s going to be different. There will be stronger fights, more danger than anything we’ve experienced- both together, and apart. It isn’t going to be easy.”

“You say that like I don’t know that already.”

“I’m saying this because I need to get stronger.”

“… Oh?” Attention sufficiently caught, Kirin dropped the taunting tone for the time being. “You’re afraid something will happen out there that you can’t handle, right?” Law’s brow twitched. Bingo. “So you wanna take this time that we have now before we head in to… Get stronger?” No answer, not verbally. Sometimes, getting Law to talk was almost like pulling teeth. “I can’t help you if you don’t talk to me, love.”

Ah, that did it. Law groaned, dragging a hand over their face, fingers dragging against the stubble that had settled along their jawline. They hadn’t shaved that morning. “I don’t want what happened to the Straw Hats-ya to happen to us,” came the admittance. What happened on Sabaody had been a shitstorm and a half. “And I need to be able to take care of it. Of everyone.”

“So, let’s think. You have your sword, yeah? And obviously, your Devil Fruit.” Kirin murmured, slowly pacing through the sand as Law watched him. “And I have my electricity-”

“Kirin.”

“Wha?”

“How does that… Work, exactly? The electricity.”

“Well…” He shuffles his feet in the sand, watching as a crab skittered away towards the water. “I dunno, really. I can just… feel it, you know? Like, you know when a storm is brewing? And you’re standing on the top of the Tang, watching the clouds gather? You can feel the air cooling, and there’s this… This charge in the air? Ozone, I guess you could call it. That moment before lightning strikes- when your hair stands on end and you realize that there’s a current flowing through? I can feel that- all around me. In me, too. In you- everything.”

“In… Me?”

“Yeah, so- if I were to stand close to you like this,” his lips curved into a slow, small smile as he stepped closer. “I can feel it even stronger. And really, if you think about it- really think about it,” his voice softened; a conversation just between the two of them. “It’s just a matter of learning how to harness that energy, to make it… Bend to my will.” A subtle brush of his fingers against Law’s arm had the Doctor stilling, their breath catching in their throat. “But if anyone can figure out how that works, it’s obviously going to be My Doctor, right?”

Zap.

The small jolt of electricity drew a sharp hiss out of Law as they took a sharp step to the side, their gaze narrowing as they studied Kirin for a moment. “I have an idea, then.”

“I’m all ears, sweetheart.”

“Stop that!”

“Stop what?” Kirin feigned innocence as he raised his hands, lips curving into a wicked grin more befitting a predator about to pounce upon their prey. “Dunno what you’re talking about, Captain.”

Without warning, Law struck out, for once choosing physical hits over using their Devil Fruit. Their hand connected to Kirin’s palm, whose fingers closed over their fist, but they used that to their advantage. With a shove forward, Kirin stumbled back one step, then two, then three.

The fight began.

“There they go,” Reiji sighed, settling down in the sand beside Izzy.

“Pen and Shach are “sparring”, too.” Izzy muttered, an arm tossed over his face as he essentially sunned, lazing on the warm sand. If this got Kirin’s pent up energy out? Good.

“I won’t go easy.” Kirin warned with a smug smirk, watching the way Law straightened up, their brows furrowing over their gaze.

Their hand raised, head tilting to the side slightly as they watched Kirin shuffle around in the sand. “I’d be insulted if you did,” they countered, followed by the command of “Room!”

Kirin leapt to the left, watching as the blue aura settled over the area he’d been mere moments before. Law cursed beneath their breath as they followed through, dumping a few stray rocks off to the side in an annoyed movement. If they wanted to get out of their comfort zone and get stronger? Then he’ll drag them out, kicking and screaming. He lunged forward, taking Law by surprise, tackling them to the sand.

“Bastard!” Law wheezed, grabbing onto Kirin’s shoulders, hips rocking up to roll him over- a movement that normally worked, but now? Teeth gritted, they tried to force him to move, to roll, but Kirin was locked in place, knees in the sand, one arm braced against their chest, the other hand holding his weight. An annoying, and rare, grin spread across Kirin’s lips, baring sharp teeth.

But he wasn’t the only one with tricks.

Law fell still, studying Kirin for a moment before his fingers twitched. “Room!”

“Shit!” Kirin scrambled back, but it was too late, the aura settling around both of them.

Law lurched forward, grabbing his arm, only to get a sharp pulse of electricity coursing through them. A muffled yell escaped as they released Kirin, stumbling back as the aura broke. This was why they liked fighting from a distance, rather than up close and personal like they currently were. “Stop that!”

“Make me.”

“Damn brat.” Law ducked as Kirin spun, a kick that certainly would have done damage just barely skimming over their head. Kirin’s heel was directed into a small boulder- or, what was once a small boulder, as the rock cracked. Law backtracked quickly, putting as much distance between them as possible as the rock fell to pieces. So much power in one movement; it made them wonder what would have happened had that connected with their skull.

No, nevermind. Not something to focus on now.

“Room!” No hesitation could be found within their movements as they turned their hand over, catching Kirin off guard. “Shambles!” The aura dissipates as Kirin is sent spinning through the air, much to his annoyance. Law watched in barely hidden amusement as he flailed about in the air before landing none too gently on the sand. Almost like a cat. If a cat were less graceful. Maybe a rabbit would be a better animal… Law took the moment to grab hold of the hilt of Kikoku. The weight felt comforting in their grasp, a reminder of what they could do.

“C’mon, Captain!” Kirin hollered as he rose up to his full height, rolling his shoulders and neck. Electricity crackled along his skin, sparking across his knuckles, over the tip of his tongue as he swiped away a bead of blood from his lip. “Get over here.” Sand clung to their legs, to their arms, hands. Wasn’t fair that they were the only one covered in dirt.

“How’d you say it again? Oh, right,” Law hummed, shifting their stance. “Make me.”

Bloodlust began to sing within twin veins; hearts racing within chests as they met in the middle, the blow strong enough between the scabbard of Kikoku and the fist of Kirin. The shockwave generated was certainly enough to draw attention, followed by the one after, and again-

“How many is that?” Penguin asks as he wanders his way back over, Shachi trailing behind, brushing sand off of his cap.

“Six.” Tetsu hummed as he leaned back against the trunk of a tree, enjoying the shade it offered with its fanned leaves. Another shockwave; a near pulse of electricity danced through the air. “Seven, actually.”

“Get used to it.” Izzy spoke up, though he didn’t bother to open his eyes as Shachi plopped down to his left. “If you think this is bad, imagine how it’s gonna be when we cross over into the New World.”

“You think it’ll be worse?” Penguin asks, attention flickering between Izzy and Ikkaku, who had waved Bepo over to comb sand out of his fur. Izzy let out a snort, rolling over onto his front. Might as well get an even tan. “Oh, I know it’ll be worse than this.”

“Great. Awesome.” Penguin muttered, scrubbing his hands over his face, wincing at the sound of Law yelling. “At least the captain's enjoying themself…”

“Give up yet?” Law asked, panting heavily as they stood across from Kirin. Their hat had been set aside mid-fight after falling off.

Kirin wiped at his nose, smearing crimson. “Like hell.” He lurched forward as electricity crackled like lightning across his skin, reaching for Kikoku but falling short. Using the momentum of his fall, he struck out with his leg, tripping Law as they backed up. They didn’t fall, but that’s fine.

He slammed his palms upon the ground, watching as electricity crackled across the surface, racing towards Law who couldn’t dodge it, not this time. A muffled yell escaped as they went to their knees. To their right, a tree cracked as the remainder of the electricity discharged into it, the trunk splintering up the center.

Kirin surged; four large steps had them tackling Law forward into the sand, effectively knocking both Kikoku from their grasp, and the air from their lungs. As they wheezed beneath him, he looped his arm around their neck into a sleeper hold; cautious too keep it loose, just in case. Law fell still within his grasp, their breaths rattling.

“Yield?”

A beat of silence. Kirin tightened his hold subtly, feeling the way Law’s jaw clenched. “I yield.”

“What was that?” He taunted smugly.

“I yield, get off.” They grumble as Kirin releases them. With the grace of a newborn leopard cub, Law clambered to their feet, grimacing at the way their body ached in this aftermath. Sand clung to their cheek; they brushed it away with the back of their hand before reaching down for Kikoku, slinging the blade over their shoulder, which sang with the threat of a pulled muscle.

Kirin did a damn number on them, but it felt good. So good, in fact, their jeans felt a touch snug. The joys of bloodlust; the warrior’s true drug of choice. Speaking of Kirin…

Blood swiped away with the flick of a tongue draws their attention first. Kirin grimaced at the way his lip stung; Law fought the urge to reach out to grasp his face, to turn it this way and that way to study the damage that had been dealt. The feeling of sun warmed skin beneath their palms still lingered, fingers twitching as they turned away from their lover to study the beach.

“You made glass.” They break the silence, kicking a piece of what had once been sand, turned glass, towards him. They walked over to where their hat had been placed and took hold of it, shaking off the sand that clung to the fabric. They settled it back onto their head, shielding their gaze from the sun overhead.

It's too warm here.

Kirin leans down, grabbing hold of the glass with curious fingers. “Well, ain’t that neat?” He mutters, pocketing the glass as if it were some souvenir he’d found at a shop rather than a random beach in the Grand Line. He watches as Law rolls their shoulders; their lips curve into a grimace. “I know that last one hurt, Law.” He sighs as he steps closer, smoothing a hand over their back, feeling the way they tense before relaxing- sort of. “C’mon back to mine, lemme rub it out?”

“… Sure.” For once, they agree; they can feel the way the muscle is wanting to tense, and there’s only so much they can do themself. Walking ahead of Kirin, they catch a glance of Penguin and Shachi ducking behind a small rock formation. Ikkaku had settled down on the sand, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin. Further back, Tetsu in the midst of a conversation with Hake that looked far more animated than Law wanted to even try to decode. Izzy almost looked like he was sleeping.

Huh.

“Oops,” Kirin murmured, gaze settled on a new cut on the back of Law’s arm. “Think when you took that fall, you hit a rock.”

“Did I?” Law huffed, raising their arm to look at the underside, brows furrowing at the sight of dried blood. It wasn’t anywhere near deep enough to leave a lasting scar. “Blame you.”

“Me?” Kirin gasped, though no heat was found within his tone as he stepped ahead of Law. “And to think I'm inviting you onto my vessel…”

Law hummed, gaze openly roving over Kirin's back; the way his muscles flexed beneath tanned skin, how sweat and sand clung to him. A quick shower would do them both some good, really, but something was lingering beneath the surface. their gaze trailed lower; Kirin had such a nice waist, that much was obvious. To feel the way their fingers settled on his skin, how his skin always felt so warm. Alive.

They swallowed roughly around nothing.

“Anyway,” Kirin continued; they realized that he’d been speaking this whole time. Oops. “Let me look at your arm while we’re here, yeah? I wanna make sure it isn’t too bad.”

“Mm.” Law hummed in agreement, climbing over the railing to settle on the deck.

Kirin smirked, reaching over to tug Law closer by one of their belt loops. The sudden pull surprised them, a soft grunt escaping as they collided with their lover’s chest. “Everyone’s on shore,” he murmured, ducking his head down to steal a quick kiss. He could feel the way Law had frowned at the display of affection- still so openly. “We’re alone on my ship. Alone. Completely.”

“You’re insatiable.” Law muttered, despite the way they, too, were craving their lover. It’d been over a week since they’d last been able to even sleep in the same bed, let alone anything more physical. Their fingers twitched as they moved further in, casually heading towards Kirin’s quarters. “C’mon.”

“Really?”

“I’ll change my mind.”

“Fuck, no, get in there.” Kirin’s voice dripped with excitement, a velvet purr that sent chills across Law’s skin and excitement pooling at the base of their spine. They reached out as Kirin passed by, grabbing hold of his waist and pushing him against the wall with ease. They pressed close, leaning on their toes to offer a kiss against his throat. “Law,” Kirin whined softly, brows furrowing at how easy it had been for them to move him.

“Could take you right here-”

“Don’t tempt me,” Kirin breathed, excitement beginning to take hold once more, mingling with the bloodlust that still sang for more. More violence, more grappling, more of feeling Law so close, their skin beneath his hands-

“-but I’d rather see your face.”

“Fucker.” Kirin muttered, though he didn’t try to shake Law loose. Rather, he shifted his hips, pressing back against Law, head tilting to the side to offer more space. His hand reached back, cupping the back of Law’s head, playing with the soft strands of onyx at the base of their skull. The press of lips against his skin had a soft sound of pleasure escaping as Law’s hands roved. Their fingers settled over his chest, thumbs brushing against sensitive nipples in a teasing manner. “Fuck, Law,” he whispered, eyes falling shut as the sharp sting of fingers pinching, twisting, shot through him, only adding to the pressure that had begun to build at the base of his spine, to the heat that was taking him over with each little ministration from their talented hands.“C’mon, don’t make me beg for it.”

“You look good when you beg,” they murmured against the side of his throat, teeth catching against skin, offering a soft bite that had a keen escaping Kirin’s throat.

“You gotta try harder if you want that, then.”

Law took that personally. Their hands gripped his hips, pulling him back against their chest. “Room,” they murmured, “and Shambles.” Kirin didn’t even have a chance to tense before the pull of being essentially pushed through space, only to land in Kirin’s room, took hold. It was always a touch disorienting, his head swimming as their hands left his hips. “Bed.”

“Bossy.” Kirin snickered as he turned, tugging his shirt up and over his head, tossing it aside. He paused for a moment, smoothing his hands over his chest. The ache that settled in the muscles came from that one hit Law managed to get in. A soak in a bath could help that, later.

Law descended upon him quickly, one hand reaching up to cup the back of his skull while the other settled on his hip as their lips met in a none too gentle kiss. A hiss escaped Kirin at the feeling of Law’s teeth nipping at his lip; he could feel the way Law was smirking at the reaction.

Two could play at that game.

Kirin’s fingers ghosted along their sides, sparks of electricity dancing over the thin shirt that Law wore. A stuttered gasp spilled free into their kiss as they tensed, much to his glee. “You want this just as much as I do,” he murmured against his lover’s lips, reaching a hand up to pluck the hat away from their head, taking care to set it aside out of the danger zone. “Just give in, Captain.”

“Kirin,” the muffled groan of his name was all the warning he received before Law was pushing him back, back, back, until the back of his legs hit the edge of the bed. Down he fell with a soft laugh, gaze roving over Law, drinking in the flush in their cheeks, the way their chest rose and fell with quick breaths. The heat in their gaze was more than enough to confirm Kirin’s suspicions regarding their earlier activities.

“Why’re you pausing?” He asked, brows furrowing over a golden gaze that was darkened with lust. His hands roved, fingers drifting across his nipples, tracking the way Law’s gaze followed every movement.

“Enjoying the view.” Law replied, their lips tilting into a small smirk.

“The view’s better up close.”

“Brat,” Law muttered with a roll of their eyes. Their shirt was tugged off, tossed aside with little care to note where it landed. They settled between Kirin’s thighs, hands smoothing along the still-clothed appendages. “I could leave. Just go back to the Tang.”

“No, you won’t.” Kirin reached out, fingers dragging down their chest, leaving trails of sparks in their wake. Law groaned, the sound music to his ears, as they shuddered. “C’mon, Law. I want you, I need you.”

Law huffed, fingers making quick work on the first of Kirin’s belts, internally cursing their boyfriend for having a complicated wardrobe. They had half a mind to simply tear the clothes, but decided against that just as quickly. Kirin lifted his hips, helping them as they tugged their pants down once, twice, three times before they were falling to the floor. “Someone’s worked up,” they taunted, a smug smirk curving their lips as Kirin groaned, eyes rolling in annoyance. They always did this, teased him until he was near delirious with want and begging to just be fucked.

“I can and will kick you across this room if you do not-” Kirin’s complaints fell quiet at the grip Law had on his thighs, nails digging in as they leaned close, pressing a kiss to the large scar on his left thigh. “Oh,” he sighed, head falling back against the bed. Law descended upon him, then; tongue drifting against damp skin, toying and teasing in ways that had Kirin’s fingers smoothing through their hair, tugging on the short strands. His hips canted up, but each time, Law would draw back with a shake of their head.

Damn them.

A chorus of whines and half-formed begs later, Law had settled high between his thighs, their own pants half-tugged down in their haste to be close, to touch, to feel their partner. The need to feel his skin against their own, to feel the way he reacted to each small movement, each grind. How each press of lips to heated skin was driving them closer and closer to an edge they weren’t ready to dive over just yet. “There’s somethin’ I wanna try,” they murmured as their hips slowly rutted forward, the head of their cock bumping against his piercing over and over. “Trust me?”

“‘Course I do,” Kirin huffed, reaching out to cup their cheek, thumb brushing against the flushed skin. He’ll comment about how fucked Law’s hair had become later, even if it looks damn good like this, currently. “Whatever you wanna try, Law.”

“Good boy.” Law sighed as they adjusted, brows pinching inwards as the head of their cock caught on his entrance. They groaned as they sank into the tight heat, eyes falling shut as Kirin whined beneath them, his thighs tightening on either side of their hips. It was a stretch each and every damn time, regardless of how often they found themselves tangled together.

“Been too long.” Kirin whispered, worrying his bottom lip as he shifted his hips subtly, glad they remembered to put a pillow beneath his hips. It certainly made all the difference, now. “God, you’re so deep already,” whining, he opened one eye, only to feel his breath catch in his throat at the sight he was greeted with. Law, with their eyes shut, their jaw slack, chest rising and falling with heavy pants. What an ego boost, he thought to himself, a breathless little laugh escaping as he rolled his hips experimentally, listening to the way Law grunted at the movement, dragging them back to the present.

Hint taken, they reached down, grabbing hold of his thigh to press up, up, up- knee to Kirin’s chest, intentionally spreading him wider. “There we go,” Law muttered as they rocked forward, pelvis rutting against Kirin’s piercing, drawing free a warbling moan.

“Shit, Law, that’s- oh, God, you’re deep,” Kirin reached out, gripping onto the back of his own knee, holding it against his chest as Law began to move. It felt as if the air were getting punched out of them with each one, moans catching in his throat as he reached out to grip onto Law’s shoulder with his free hand. Nails dug into the flesh, creating crescent moons from how hard he gripped onto them. “Don’t fuckin’ stop, please.”

“Since,” Law grunted, slowing their pace to a slow grind, hips canting upwards to press just right, “you asked so nicely, I won’t.”

“Wha, like you had plans on stopping halfway through?”

“I could edge you.” It was a warning; a threat. They would. They had before.

“That is… Cruel and unusual punishment.”

“I dunno, sweetheart. Do you deserve to be punished?” Law all but growled out as they slid down to the hilt, leaning over their boyfriend who nearly yelled with the sudden movement. A smug chuckle escaped as they stole a kiss. Kirin’s hand found its way to their hair, tugging on the short, dark strands. “I think you do.”

“No, no, no,” Kirin begged, head whipping back and forth in desperation. “Please, I’ve been good! I’ve been so good, Law, please-”

“Dunno. You threw me around a whole lot out there. That wasn’t nice, was it?” They taunted, enjoying the way Kirin grew rapidly more desperate with each taunt, each faux threat. “God, you got even tighter around me just then. Do you want me to stop? To leave you here, unsatisfied? Not let you come like you’re begging me to?”

“Law!” Kirin gasped, hand slipping between their bodies- only to be batted aside by Law’s own.

“Tsk, greedy little thing.” They mumbled, though their concentration was beginning to slip. Kirin was so warm, so wet, drawing them in with each stroke.

His hands reached out, smoothing across Law’s chest, up towards their throat, fingers trailing against the sides in the ghost of a proper hold- but it was enough.

They groaned, forehead dropping to his shoulder as their hips rutted against his; they wouldn’t last much longer, not like this, not with how good he felt wrapped around their cock. They could feel the pressure building at the base of their spine, could feel the way Kirin pulsed around them, hear the desperate pitch in his tone. “Fuck, I love it when you beg,” muttering against their collarbone, they press open mouthed kisses along the warm skin before them. “Remember what I asked? If you trusted me?”

“Yes?” Kirin answered, a touch breathlessly, as they continued to punch the air out of his lungs with each thrust. The strain on his thigh was starting to wear on him; he shifted his hand, letting go to allow his leg to splay to the side. “Right there, right there- ‘m so close, please!”

“There we go,” that’s what they needed to hear, pushing back up to settle back on their knees, dragging Kirin’s hips up onto their lap as if he weighed nothing to them. Ragdoll; their little toy to use in that moment.“C’mon, come for me.” This was the fun part; their thumb brushed against where they joined. If they were right with this idea, then it would be the best god damn orgasm either of them had had in their lives.

“Countershock.”

Kirin stiffened up, a scream of pleasure tearing free from his throat as his climax fell over him in a startling crash, like a wave crashing over rocks during a swell. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what had happened; it felt as if electricity had come from Law, as if they had localized it to where they had been joined. His heart felt as if it had stopped; head swimming as Law stilled within him, spilling with a startled cry of his name.

Law sighed as they leaned forward, resting their head against Kirin’s chest. They couldn’t move even if they had wanted to at that moment. Everything was shaking, vibrating. It was like Kirin had shocked them- and truthfully, they think that he did, just a little, adding onto the charge from Countershock. They hadn’t anticipated coming from it, but they certainly came. Subtle rocks from their hips extended the pleasure for both as Kirin whined from the borderline overstimulation.

“How did you…?” Kirin asked after catching his breath, fingers brushing against Law’s spine slowly as they shifted.

They were careful as they pulled out, mirroring Kirin’s grimace at the drag. “Figured it out a few weeks back. Wanted to see if it’d have the same reaction that your little tricks do.” A smug smile curved their lips as they pushed themself up, gaze meeting Kirin’s own. “I guess it does.”

“Oh, you asshole,” Kirin huffed despite the smile that spread across his face. He reached up, smoothing a hand over their cheek, up into their hair, ruffling the dark strands even more. “You know…”

“Hm?” Law hummed, eyes closing as Kirin’s fingers offered a gentle scratch against their scalp, prompting chills to erupt across their skin. Just like a big kitty, Kirin thought to himself, amused at how easy it was to get Law to just relax when they were alone. “Ship’s still quiet…” He trailed off, leaning up to press one, then two, then three slow kisses along the expanse of Law’s bared throat. His teeth grazed against the sensitive skin, dragging out a shudder from his lover. “And you’re still hard.”

“Kirin.” That was a warning.

But warnings were suggestions, in Kirin’s mind. Grinning against their throat, he used his larger mass against Law’s slighter form and rolled them over, settling victoriously above them with a grin more akin to a wolf staring down at its prey. “Tell me you don’t want it.” He taunted, hips settling over Law’s own, grinding slowly. Law’s hands settled on his hips, squeezing the flesh there. Not pushing- no, pulling him closer, pressing harder, dragging a moan free from him.

“Show me what you got.” Law’s voice was hoarse, strained with lust, but the look in their eyes was nothing short of challenging.

“Yes, Captain.”

[justagalwhowrites]

Beskar Doll - Ch. 43: Share All

Din has found you. Now he just has to get you out. A continuation of Beskar Doll ch. 1-42 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: The Mandalorian/Din Djarin x Female Reader

Warnings: Mention of slavery. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ only.

Length: 4.9k

This wasn’t how Din had intended to show you his face. It felt wrong, under the thumb of the Empire with Imperials around as witnesses, but he didn’t have a choice. 

He’d landed on the moon Cara directed him to, leaving the Crest concealed in a rocky area that looked to be uninhabited. It took him more than a day to get there, every second of it making him feel like he was going to climb out of his skin. It felt like time wasted, like the long hours on the ship were nothing but hours given to the people who were hurting you.

It didn’t take him long to find a ship to steal. There was a shuttle refueling, a bit away from the others. When the Imps weren’t paying attention, he stowed away. He waited until they were in the air, the route set, to attack. 

There were only four of them, three troopers and one officer. They never got close enough to try anything more than shooting at him, their blaster bolts pinging off his beskar. He barely felt them. He wasn’t sure he’d feel them actually hitting his body, either. It was like he was blind to everything that wasn’t in the way of his mission. 

He’d intended to steal a trooper uniform so he could move through Gideon’s ship without raising an alarm every few meters but his plan hit a snag: the troopers were all smaller than him. He was too tall and too broad to fit into any of their armor. The officer was the only man there even remotely close to Din’s size. 

He didn’t even pause to consider it. His creed was nothing without you. 

The uniform gave him free rein to move through Gideon’s ship but it felt so foreign, going anywhere with his face exposed. No living thing had seen his face in decades. He was an apostate now. The thought made his stomach churn. 

People who weren’t you met his eyes easily and gave him a nod when he passed them in the corridors. It took him a moment to understand what was going on, the acute feeling of people looking - actually, really looking - at him sharp on his exposed skin. 

It was a fight to not start shooting. All of these people were Imperials. All of them had some hand in taking you from him. All of them deserved to die. They deserved worse than dying. 

But he couldn’t risk you. 

He stopped at a panel and pulled up a map of the ship, finding where to start looking for you. There was interrogation and the prison level. You’d be in one of those places, he was sure of it. 

He started with interrogation. It seemed the most likely place. But it was empty, the rooms dark. He frowned, going to the prison level next. If you were there, he could say he needed to transfer you, take you for interrogation. Just bring you aboard the ship, take off, let Cara’s fleet blow it up. 

Easy. 

Not satisfying, not letting him hurt the people who hurt you, but easy. It got you out in one piece, that was the important thing. That was the part of the plan that mattered. 

The prison level was busier. Din tried to avoid talking to anyone about it. Just get in and get out. That was the goal. He reviewed the prisoner log at a panel, found your cell…

“Lieutenant Commander,” someone said. He wasn’t paying attention, about to stalk off to find your cell. “Lieutenant Commander!” 

He stopped and slowly turned to see the officer in front of him. He glanced at his rank. He clenched his jaw for a moment before saluting. 

“What are you doing at the prison level?” He asked. 

It took Din a moment to find his voice. 

“Looking for a prisoner,” he said. “Was told to take them to interrogation.” 

“What prisoner?” The man asked, eyes narrowed. “Seems like an odd errand for an officer…” 

Din paused again, probably for too long. You’d have talked your way into the core of the ship by now. The man on Canto Bight said Gideon kept calling you Handmaid. Worth a shot. 

“The Handmaid,” he said. “On orders from Moff Gideon.” 

The man eased. 

“She is a special case,” he said. “She’s in intelligence. I suppose it’s no wonder he’s getting fed up and wanting to change tactics, she’s given them nothing…” 

Din just nodded once.  

“Need an escort?” He asked. “She’s tough, had four troopers with her at all times…” 

“I’ll see who’s in Intelligence,” Din said. 

The man nodded and Din remembered to salute again at the last second before leaving, walking quickly down the corridor to find another panel. He glanced around quickly before looking at a map of the ship again and finding intelligence. He moved quickly, trying not to run, not to arouse suspicion. He just had to get to you. He was so close, he just had to reach you… He immediately recognized the room when he walked in. It was where you’d been days before, when he’d spoken to Gideon. 

You were in the chair, head back, eyes closed, arms and legs bound. The screens behind you were mostly dark, something dim and streaked in starlight playing out. It took him a moment to realize but he was seeing the cockpit of the Crest through your eyes. The time after the hunt on Hosnian Prime, when he’d spread you out in front of him and made you fall apart before carrying you to his bed. You’d clung to him, your body soft and pliant, as you slept against him to recover from your first hunt. 

“Cyare,” he heard his own voice - modulated of course - and the view on the screen shifted from the galaxy beyond to him, his armor reflecting the stars. There was a softness to the image, something loving in it. And they were using it. His fists clenched. They were using him, your memories of him, of your time together, to manipulate you. Hurt you. He was going to kill them. Every last one. “Where are…” 

“Let’s back out of this one,” a woman in an officer’s uniform said, frowning at the panel. “It’s already fracturing, it’s too close to the surface, we have to look deeper…” 

She looked back at him then. 

“Can I help you, Lieutenant Commander?” She raised her brows. 

Din cleared his throat for a moment. He thought about killing her and her lackies then. But he didn’t know how to safely pull you out of whatever they were doing to you. He would have to wait.

“I’ve been sent to monitor her progress,” he said, hoping the fact that his voice wasn’t modulated and in the throws of pleasure would make it sound different enough that they wouldn’t connect the dots. 

The woman frowned. 

“Does Gideon not trust me to handle my own line of questioning?” She snapped and then sighed. “Never mind. This session is winding down, anyway, I think. She’s been in for 26 hours, if we push her too far we’ll break her and then she’s useless to us. We’re going to try one more…” 

She manipulated the controls in front of her and the scene shifted. It was almost like falling, he saw your body seize for a moment until Mos Espa solidified in your vision around you. He watched as you wandered the market, things moving far slower than they would in real life. He could only watch as you saw a child attacked on the street, watch as you avenged him and killed the man who owned him. He was watching the reason he’d met you to begin with, the reason you’d needed to flee Tatooine. But it hadn’t become that yet, not at this point in your mind. All it had been then was you, saving a child from a life of slavery. 

You were talking to the child when the woman smacked her hands on the console. 

“Dank farrik!” She snapped. “How does she keep…” 

You gasped and Din had to fight to keep from running for you. You were panting, gasping for breath, eyes open. 

He wasn’t sure if he wanted you to know him or not. You’d said once that you would. That you weren’t sure how but you would recognize him, know him. That you’d feel it. He didn’t want to scare you but he didn’t want you to give him away, either. 

Your eyes met his for a fraction of a second as you surveyed the room. He should stop staring at you but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away. You were so close, he could almost touch you, just few steps and he could touch you, you were so close…

“I thought that was a better pass…” the woman muttered, leaning over the console. 

Your eyes settled on him and he couldn’t look away. It was the first time he ever looked in your eyes with nothing between you. It was so different than every other set of eyes that had fallen on him since he’d been aboard the ship. Your gaze was almost painfully raw, cutting straight to the core of him and he wanted nothing more than to let you cut him open and take whatever you wanted. 

He saw the moment you knew him. The recognition spreading quickly - first something almost like wonder, then relief, then panic. 

“No,” you said, so quietly he doubted any of the Imps had even noticed. He hoped you’d leave it at that. 

You didn’t. 

“NO!” 

The woman at the panel’s head shot up and she saw where you were looking. She frowned and Din pulled out his blaster, before she could properly put it together. 

He started with the technicians, dropping them quickly, their bodies slumping into their positions on the console before they even had a chance to be aware of what was really happening. He turned the blaster to the woman. 

“Let her out,” he ordered her, his voice calm. “Now.” 

“The Mandalorian, I presume?” She said, looking him up and down. “Funny, you look far less intimidating without all that metal…” 

“Release her,” he said. “Or I will kill you.”

“You really think you can get her out of here?” The woman asked, shaking her head. “That they won’t just kill you?” 

“They can try,” he said. “Release her.” 

She pushed a button on the console. Din glanced your way but the bonds around your hands and wrists hadn’t moved. Your eyes were shut tight. 

“This is Intelligence,” she said, looking him in the eye, smiling almost smugly. She hadn’t freed you. She’d opened a com link. He shot her. For the fraction of a second before the bolt hit her, she realized what was happening. That he wasn’t going to spare her in hopes she cooperated. Her body fell to the floor and he holstered his blaster before he ran for you, his hands finding your face. 

“Are you alright?” He asked. “Did they hurt you?” 

“You can’t be here,” your voice was thick. “Din, you have to go, they’re going to kill you and Grogu and you have to go…” 

“Cyare,” he breathed. “Look at me.” 

“No!” You were crying. “Don’t make me beg, don’t do this, don’t be so fucking stupid!” 

“I’m not leaving without you,” he pressed his forehead to your own, your eyes still closed. Your skin was slick with sweat and hot to the touch but it was yours. “You can come with me or I’ll take you with me, now look at me.” 

You opened your eyes, lashes heavy and wet, your eyes turned down. 

“Cyare,” he said again. He knew what had you afraid. “He’s safe, he’s with Peli. We have to go.” 

You turned your eyes up slowly, finding and searching his own. 

“He’s going to hunt down Grogu,” you said softly. “I made a deal so he wouldn’t, please… They’re not hurting me, they haven’t been able to get anything from me, this is the safest way.” 

He ignored you, stepping back from you enough to find the controls on the chair and release your wrists and ankles.

“Intelligence,” the panel’s com crackled. You both looked for it. “Come in, Intelligence…” 

“Shit,” you cursed, pushing past Din and going for the com. He followed, ready to catch you if you fell. Your legs were shaky but you made it to the panel, pressing the com link.

“This is Intelligence,” you said. “We’ve had a systems malfunction, we’re going to be restarting our internal systems to correct for that. Wanted to make sure command was aware before we began the process.” 

There was a pause and you winced a little. 

“Under who’s orders?”

“Commander Synd,” you said quickly. “Beginning restart process now…” 

You grabbed a blaster from a body and shot the com. 

“That might buy us some time,” you said, looking at it for a moment before looking back at him. 

Your eyes softened when you looked at him, ranging over his face again and again. “We need to go, Cyare,” he said softly. 

You didn’t say anything. You just threw your arms around his neck, pressing your body tightly to him, your fingers tangling in his hair. His arms went around you, clutching you close. 

“You should go,” you said quietly, clinging to him. “Get out of here, protect Grogu…” 

“We have to go,” he said, pressing his face into your hair. 

“I can’t,” you said, voice thick. 

He separated from you enough to look in your eyes again. He held your face in his hands. 

“I’m not leaving here without you,” he said, voice gentle. “I’m not. We can protect him, together.” 

“Din,” you whispered. “It’s too dangerous, we can’t…” 

“You are a handmaid of Naboo,” he said, his forehead against yours again. “One of the best trained body guards in the galaxy. I am Mandalorian. We can protect him. We will protect him… and our child. We will protect them both.” 

You closed your eyes, pressing your lips into a thin line. 

“Gideon told you,” you said softly. “Din, I’m so sorry, I thought…” 

“Cyare,” he said gently. “I want this with you. All of it. Our clan together. But I need you. We need you. I’m not leaving here, not without you.” 

You opened your eyes again, looking back at him. 

“OK.” 

***

Your mind couldn’t have invented his face. 

That was the only thing that had you convinced that this was real, not something planted in your head by the Imperials. He was there in front of you, so fucking beautiful that it made your heart hurt. You knew him but there was no way you could have made up a face like his. 

Din found binders and shot them, separating them so they were more like individual bracelets instead of binders and snapped them over your wrists. 

“At a glance, you should look imprisoned,” he said. “As long as you hold your hands properly. But you can still get to your blaster.” 

You took Synd’s side arm and tucked it into the waistband of your pants. You kept looking at him. You wanted to do nothing but look at him. 

You tried not to wonder if he regretted it. If he wished he’d shown you anything else, done anything else, besides showing his face here, like this.

“I have a shuttle,” he said. “We get to that, get off the ship and blow it up.” 

“How are you going to blow up a light cruiser with a shuttle?” You asked as you both went to stand by the doors. His hand closed over your arm. 

“With help,” he said, opening the doors and leading you into the corridor. 

It was quiet. Almost too quiet. Your heart was in your throat and you kept trying to keep an eye out for any oncoming threat. Din’s face was firm, jaw set. It was strange, looking up at him and seeing something besides metal. He was so… him. You’d never pictured his face - purposely tried not to, not wanting to accidentally violate some tenant of his creed on the off chance you got it right. But he somehow looked exactly like you’d expect after knowing him. 

His features were strong but there was a softness to him, to his eyes, to the set of his jaw. You wanted to spend a few hours just looking at him, if he’d let you. Like you couldn’t take that much into yourself with a few glances, you needed time. 

Working your way through the ship was almost deceptively simple. No one gave you and Din a second look. For a moment, you were wondering if his plan had worked. 

Then you rounded a corner and saw a wall of troopers heading for you. 

“Shit,” he said under his breath, turning you to go the other way. You resisted the urge to look over your shoulder. He turned at the next corridor, another column of troopers heading for you. 

“Located the prisoner,” one trooper said. A blaster bolt streaked from the troopers toward you and Din’s grip on you tightened, running now, pulling you back down the corridor you’d just come from. You looked around quickly, spotting another offshoot with a panel beside it. 

“Blast doors!” You nodded to them. He shifted direction and the two of you rushed inside the room. You manipulated the panel, closing the doors, before you shot it out. “Well that will give us a few minutes, at least…” 

You started looking around for something - anything - that could give you an advantage. 

“I think they still want me alive,” you said. “So they’ll be holding back, at first at least…” 

There was a shot at the blast door. 

“Stormtroopers are still fucking idiots aren’t they?” You muttered. 

“Good to have some constants…” Din said, opening a security panel. There were blasters inside but nothing that would help much. He tossed you one just the same. You went to the middle of the room and shot out points that bolted a console to the floor. 

“Peli…” you said, looking at him as you overturned the console. You went behind it, pressing your back against the underside of the console.  

“Told her about Ahsoka,” he said, coming to sit beside you. “Told her to get in touch with Karga, he’d find her. She’d help Grogu.” 

There was another shot at the blast door. 

“Good,” you nodded. “That’s good.” You looked at him. “You shouldn’t have come here, Din. You should have stayed with him…” 

“Don’t want a life without you,” he replied. “You, me, him. That’s how this works. Where you go, I follow.” 

His eyes were soft and warm and deep and you were glad you got to see them at least once. There was another blaster strike at the door. 

“You said once that Mandalorian marriage vows were simple,” you said. “That you don’t need a witness.” 

He nodded once. 

“If we’re going to die,” you took a deep breath. “I’d like to die as your wife. If that’s OK with you.” 

“Only if you’d like to live as my wife, too,” he replied. “Because I don’t plan on letting you die today.” 

You nodded once. He looked at you for a moment. There were more blaster shots.

“It’s just four lines,” he said. “It’s usually said in Mando’a but basic works just as well. Repeat what I say.” 

You nodded again. His eyes met yours, his hand covering your own on the cold floor. 

“We are one when together,” he said. 

“We are one when together,” you repeated. 

“We are one when parted.”

“We are one when parted.” 

“We will share all.” 

“We will share all.”

“We will raise warriors.” 

“We will raise warriors.” 

The words settled in you, a warm comfort that started in your chest and spread through your whole body. Like there wasn’t an entire legion of stormtroopers waiting to gun you down just feet away. 

It was so different than when you’d been married before. That felt like a resignation, a sort of understanding of what your life would become. This was the embodiment of hope and longing, the aching want for that future with him.

Din’s hand cupped your cheek and he pulled your face towards him, his lips meeting your own. The kiss was gentle at first before it grew deeper, like he wanted to devour you and you wanted to let him. You would have been happy to kiss him for hours if it hadn’t been interrupted by the scream of a TIE fighter from the viewer. 

You broke away from him and got up, going to the viewer, peering out into the stars. The TIE fighter flew into the distance, out of sight. 

“Din,” you said. “Are we over the docking bay?” 

*** 

Din didn’t like you providing cover for him. But he was stronger than you and cutting through the floor with the electrostaff from the security panel took strength. 

A blaster bolt came through a crack in the blast doors. You peered over the console the two of you were hiding behind and fired once. 

“We’ve got about a minute before they’re through,” you said. “They’ll be funneled, I can hold them off for a bit but…” 

“Almost there,” he said, twisting the staff and digging it into the metal. It creaked and groaned and another blaster bolt pinged off the console, the blast doors opening wider. You got set, blaster at the ready. He ground his teeth. 

You were his wife, his riduur. You shouldn’t be in danger, not when he was there to protect you. Especially not when you were carrying his child - something he still hadn’t had a chance to come to terms with yet. The metal groaned again and started to move. He leveraged a blade below the floor and pried it up before he pulled it back. 

The blast doors gave and you started shooting, the sound of shots hitting armor and metal sharp on the air. 

“Doll!” He said. You glanced down quickly, the floor now open to the bay below. “You first.” 

You nodded, shooting one more time before dropping the blaster. Din took your hands and you climbed into the hole. He lowered you down and as far as he could manage and let go of you, watching as you dropped to the ground below, tucking and rolling when you landed. 

He shot another trooper coming through the door, the bodies of three already blocking the narrow entry, and dropped down beside you. 

You were crouched next to a crate and he found his shuttle quickly. 

“There,” he said, nodding to it. “We can make that…” 

Troopers came running into the bay, but only a handful, readying their weapons. 

“Well that was quick,” you muttered, looking at him. “I say we just run for it. We’ve got blasters. We don’t have to make it far.” 

He looked at you, wanting to argue. 

“We have to be quick or we’ll have a full column of them,” you said. 

He sighed.

“On three.” 

You nodded, pulling out your remaining blaster.  

“One,” he said, doing the same. “Two. Three.” 

The pair of you stood and ran, firing as you went. Din tried to put himself between you and the troopers as much as he could, catching a bolt to the shoulder in the process. Without beskar, it made him stumble and almost fall. You caught him and kept him on his feet as the two of you raced for the shuttle. 

The second you were aboard, you hit the ramp and it started to close. Din took the controls, starting the launch sequence, and changing the com to the frequency he’d set with Cara before. 

“Cara, come in,” he said as the blast doors on the bay started to close. The ship lifted off the ground. “Do you read?” 

“Loud and clear, Mando,” she said. “We’re in position.” 

“We’re the next craft out,” he said. “Hold your fire.” 

“Those doors are closing awful quick,” you sounded nervous, strapping yourself in beside him. 

“We’ll make it,” he said, pushing the ship as fast as he could. It was going to be close. The shuttle closed in on the entrance to the bay. 

“Din,” you grabbed the console in front of you, your knuckles white. The shuttle slipped between the closing doors just a second before they sealed behind you. You let out a breath. “Dank farrik that was close.” 

A blaster bolt caught the side of the shuttle, sending it rocking. Din brought it around to face the light cruiser. 

“Don’t think we’ve got the firepower to bring down a fucking cruiser here, Din!” You said, already sliding to the controls to man the guns. 

“We don’t,” he said as half a dozen X-Wings flew over head. “But they do.” 

“Get everyone out, Mando?” Cara asked. 

“We’re clear,” he said. 

“Then let’s blow this thing.” 

The fighters swooped in toward the cruiser, Y-Wings close behind, making bombing runs. Din kept the shuttle close to the launch tubes, picking off TIE fighters as they shot out of the tubes before they had a chance to get set for combat. 

“We’re low on ammo,” you said after a minute. He nodded once, pressing the com. 

“Cara, we’re about exhausted,” he said. 

“Get out of here,” she said. “We’ve got them running for the escape pods, anyway. See you on world.” 

You looked at him. 

“Didn’t realize you had so many friends in the New Republic,” you said, smiling a little. 

“Well, she owed you a favor,” Din said, bringing the ship around and heading for a nearby moon. “She’s the one who wanted Shadrin.” 

He set the flight plan and got up from the panel just as the cruiser behind you exploded.

“I don’t think Gideon was aboard,” you said, watching as Din started to pull off the Imperial uniform he’d been in to put his armor back on. “When they started on the last stint in the Mindflayer, Synd - the woman who’d been running it - said he was off the ship, doing other things.” 

He nodded slowly, zipping up his flight suit before starting in on the beskar. It felt good, strapping the armor on again. Being without it was exposed, dangerous. Vulnerable. With it, he was solid, sure. He could protect you with it. He tucked the helmet below his arm and sat beside you at the console. 

“Then we’ll hunt him,” he said. “I can’t let him threaten what’s mine.” 

You were looking at him, eyes ranging over his face again and again. 

“Cyare.” 

“Are you…” you paused. “I’m trying to make sure I remember. If I can’t see your face again, I want to remember you. If that’s OK.” 

He smiled a little. 

“We will share all, Cyare,” he said. “That includes what’s below the helmet.” 

You smiled too, unbuckling yourself from your seat to touch your forehead to his, closing your eyes. He pressed his lips to yours for a moment, soft and gentle. 

“You are mine and I am yours,” he said, cupping your cheek. “I’m yours.”