#i also read some fanfiction but that's between me and god.

[goosemixtapes]

max's november 2023 reads

so many online articles this month. which is maybe why i feel like i'm making 0 progress on my hard copy books. in december i'll need to reprioritize, it seems. i also wrote next to nothing this month, which probably explains why i read so many online articles.

fiction

Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, books 5-6

the latter half of Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (again)

Shakespeare's Richard III (again, + i started Linda Charnes' Notorious Identity)

Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins (review)

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (review)

Vergil's Georgics, book 3

i continue to chug away at asoiaf #3 but god knows it is neverending

nonfiction

Getting Involved and Staying Regulated by Devon Price (↳ on finding your place in the fight for palestinian liberation)

The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction by Ursula K. Le Guin (↳ on the patriarchal domination of the war narrative, and our other options)

The Cool Kid's Philosopher by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ on Ben Shapiro)

Propaganda 101: How To Defend A Massacre by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ on biased reporting, using the I/P conflict as an example, though this is from 2018 rather than recent)

A Guide For High School Students On How To Avoid Propaganda by Nathan J. Robinson (↳ what the title says; i found it useful despite not being in high school anymore)

the latter half of Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price (review)

What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men? by Clare Dederer (↳ found this one rather disappointing. i like the start, but the gender takes feel lukewarm and imo there's not enough emphasis on the structural vs. individual. this is a nice counterpoint)

Physical Destruction in Whole or in Part by Saree Makdisi (↳ "What we’re witnessing in Gaza, in other words, is not self-defense; it is an opportunistic offensive. It is not a “war,” the word used mendaciously and misleadingly by most of the mainstream Western press; it is a campaign of genocidal violence.")

the first chapter of Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano

the first two chapters of The Great White Bard: How To Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race by Farah Karim-Cooper

a close read of my MFA statement of purpose by Brandon Taylor (↳ on goals, responsibilities, and fictions)

On Mental Hospitals by Ozy Brennan (↳ this is pretty short but very worth it)

How An Algorithm Feels From Inside by Eliezer Yudkowsky (↳ on the psychology of the tree-falls-in-a-forest question)

Scrupulosity Sequence #3: Load-Bearing Things by Ozy Brennan (↳ posts i am clinging to with my fingernails)

Why Are AMAB Trans People Denied The Closet? by Julia Serano (↳ on "gendered socialization" and closeted transfemininity)

Trans Masc Misogyny and the Red Six of Spades by Jude Ellison S. Doyle (↳ "No-one is ever actually a man. Everyone is always in the act of proving they’re a man, first by dominating women and children, then by dominating other men, establishing higher and higher rungs of man-ness until at the end, presumably, the one Real Man in existence gets to be in charge of everyone and everything else.")

Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved By America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies by Spenser Ackerman (↳ clicked for the title, stayed for the comprehensive and vicious takedown of kissinger's crimes)

[astranauticus]

i feel like i do not have nearly enough knowledge of dmbj lore to make this post but also the thought of a dmbj/orv crossover has been haunting me for ages bc zhang qiling and yoo joonghyuk have very similar themes of like identity/personhood/memory going on and wu xie and kim dokja are very similar degrees of. protagonist (extremely derogatory)

[marksbear2]

Holy moly, mate! Your Steven Grant fanfiction was so DELICIOUS! Also, can I request another Steven Grant x male reader? Bottom Steven for the soul! When you have time of course!

I saw your reblog of that fic I wrote it made me laugh. Your flattering me and I have no problem with doing you a favor.

warnings ⚠️Stressed out reader, dirty talk, smut, fingering, riding, lingerie Steven, kinky and romantic.⚠️

SUB STEVEN GRANT X TOP MALE READER

Laying on the living room couch reading his book waiting for his husband to come home since he has an surprise waiting for him. Steven's head pops up from his book once he hears the front door click open and the sound of getting shut.

Steven takes the right corner on the top of the page and bends it so he can remember his page and closes the book before rushing out of his desk to greet his husband.

"Y/n! Welcome back home." Steven greets with a smile standing close to Y/n. "Hey baby, I missed you." Y/n says before putting down his suit case and wraps his arms around Steven. Steven could feel how tense and see how tired Y/n was. "How was work?" Steven asks softly cupping Y/n's face with his hands. 

"Just stressful and tiring. But it's nothing you should worry about my love." Y/n says trying to reassure him at the end, 

"Love the robe by the way Steven." Y/n says complimenting him with a sweet kiss on the lips. Steven returns the kiss before taking Y/n's arm and leads him to the bedroom.  

Steven drags Y/n to the bed before sitting him down on the edge bed. Steven spreads Y/n's legs open and stands between them already blushing like a mad man. Steven slowly begins to undo the robe.

Steven lets the robe slowly roll off his shoulders showing off the beautiful see through white top of the lingerie. Steven's body squirms feeling Y/n's eyes stare at his chest and nipples. Finally the robe falls onto the floor behind Steven. The panties of the lingerie have the initials of Y/n name, but Y/n wasn't paying attention to it though only looking at Steven's hard cock inside of it. 

"God Steven...What is this all bout? You're making me feel like our wedding night again." Y/n teases with a wink causing Steven to let out a small giggle. 

"I'm doing this because it's my duty as a husband. I'm supposed to take care of you and help you when you feel tired and overworked. I'll do anything you'd like." Steven says with a warm smile. "Really? Anything?" Y/n says with a mischief smirk. Steven nods his head yes. 

"Alright...I want to see your ass Steven. Show me your ass." Y/n commands Steven turns his body around and bends down showing his ass. "So fucking beautiful Steven." Y/n praises running his fingers against the fabric of the lingerie. Y/n hooks the lingerie with his fingers moving the lingerie to the side getting a good look of Steven's hole. 

"You even prepped yourself. Such a good boy for me." Y/n seeing some of the lube leaks. "Cmon spread yourself open, so I can get a better look." Steven does what he's told using his fingers to spread open his hole. "Now would you lay on the bed for me?" Steven quickly moves to the bed laying down on the bed. 

"God Steven. I can't just get over how beautiful you look. I'm such a lucky man to be married to a man like you baby~" Y/n praises using his hands to rub circles on Steven's hips. 

"I-its for you to enjoy." Steven stutters out feeling his whole body get warm and fuzzy. Y/n taps on Steven's inner thigh signaling him to open them. Steven spreads open his legs before looking down at Y/n.

Y/n begins to kiss and bite Steven's thighs marking them as his. He leaves hickeys and other bite marks on them. After has enough parking him he goes up to Steven's chest. Y/n begins to grope Steven's chest through the lingerie. Y/n uses his free hand to pull down the bra then moves his hand around his nipples pulling them and twisting them. 

Steven squirms and moans softly as Y/n teases him.

Y/n watches with curiosity looking down at Steven's aching cock. It twitches rapidly inside the lingerie desperately trying to be let out. "You've been edging yourself huh baby?" Y/n asks moving his left hand down guiding it down touching Steven's chest and stomach until he reaches his crotch. "Yes sir! F-for hours." Steven weakly moans out. 

"Really? For hours baby you waited for me to tell you to cum?" Y/n asks rubbing his hands against Steven's hard dick. Steven ignores the question as he grinds down into Y/n's hand. 

Y/n pulls his hand away with a slight evil laugh before kissing Steven's exposed stomach. Y/n begins to trail up leaving every single spot that's not covered by the lingerie leaving a sweet kiss. Once Y/n is done with that spot he begins to kiss Steven's shoulders and neck. 

After Y/n kisses Steven all over he pulls a back looking down at Steven taking everything in. Y/n pulls down the bottom part of the lingerie letting Steven's cock fly free.

"Cum. Cum for me Steven." Y/n commands. Steven lets out a few whimpers before throwing his head back. "Can y-you please touch me." Steven whimpers. "No baby. I told you to cum now do it." 

Steven lets out a loud moan before cumming hard. Steven's cock shoots long white streaks of cum. "Gah!~ oh fuck oh fuck! aHhhH" 

To Steven it feels never ending. His legs tremble as he rides out his orgasm. Steven felt his whole body become weak from his intense orgasm. Steven's upper body was covered in his own cum. 

Steven's cock was still hard twitching making it more sensitive. To see is he actually sensitive Y/n tugs on Steven's cock watching Steven arch his back and let out a moan. 

As Steven tries to calm down from his own high Y/n begins to strip out of his clothes while Steven is in pure bliss. Once Y/n was fully naked he spit into his hand jerking off his cock making it wet enough for Steven. 

Once Y/n thought it was enough he lined up his cock to Steven's entrance. Y/n slowly moves the tip in and out trying to be as gentle as he can. 

Soon enough Y/n moves deeper into Steven at a slow pace. Y/n leans his body forward so he's close to Steven close enough to kiss him and hear him. 

"How are we doing Steven." Y/n whispers into his ear slowly thrusting inside him. "G-good. You feel so good sir." Steven moans out in pure bliss. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for Steven. Y/n wasn't the most gentle and sweet man during sex, but when he is it's great and beautiful for the both of them.

"You feel so good for me Steven. You're such a great husband for this Steven." Y/n praises moving his cock even deeper inside Steven. 

Steven wraps his arms around Y/n's shoulders holding him tight. 

Y/n rocks his hips back and forth trying to be as gentle as he can. Y/n moves his face to the crook of Steven's neck kissing it softly. "Fuck. F-fuck." Y/n groans out as Steven feels his cock twitch inside him. 

Y/n begins to pick up his pace, but not too fast or rough. Y/n's thrust was at a perfect speed for him to reach his peak. 

"Steven~ ohh~ fuck Steven. I'm close." Y/n says with a moan moving his hands onto either sides of the bed holding onto the sheets tightly as he fucks deep, but gentle inside Steven. 

"Stevey!~ fuck baby! I'm about to cum!" Y/n warns feeling Steven scratching and holding onto his back. Steven could feel his own cock about to cum as well. With a few more thrust Y/n cums deep inside Steven burying his seed deep inside him. Steven wanted to cum right there and then, but he stopped himself. He wanted to be a good husband for Y/n and cum on his command. 

"Y/n! can I cum? please let me cum!~ I wanna cum so bad." Steven mewls out. "Yes baby. Fuck- you can cum." Y/n tells him. Steven doesn't need to get told twice by cumming hard. 

Y/n helps him out by using his free hand to jerk him off. Steven bolts his hips into Y/n's hand cumming all over his hand and himself. 

"Y-Y/n! I love you! I love you so much." Steven cries out throwing his head back. 

"I love you to Steven."

THE END

[bokutoasavillain]

Hello! Could you recommend your favorite System fanfictions?

I have put this off for so long bc I have so many that I love and making a list that big seemed terrifying but I love sharing fanfics so here’s my best attempt <3

Bingqiu:

Tale Within A Tale

Rated T, It is so good!! The concept is so clever and it is such a satisfying read<33

it's you I find like a ghost in my mind

Rated M, a great identity reveal with a lot of dreamsharing

Treading Well-Worn Paths

Rated T, post-canon sqq turns into a kid and yqy and lbh look after him. I cannot tell you how I love this. The characterization, the dynamics, the identity reveal are all so perfect. Everything progresses so naturally and it is so good. The ending is a bit bittersweet and honestly it’s so fitting and just read this it’s perfect

We Are Not Wise

Rated T, in an au where cultivators draw their swords from their souls, sj takes in sy (a bit of blackmailing included). Sy and lbh are both disciples and soulmates. The focus is more on the relationship between sy and sj and it’s probably one of my favorite ways their relationship is portrayed. It is heavier on the angst and I was crying. It is so beautiful <33

The Mortifying Ordeal Of Being Known

Rated T, such a sweet and lighthearted post-canon truth spell fic <33

side effects may include indefinite photosensitivity

This is a three part series taking place post-canon. It’s about relationship development and also character development bc these two are so so young and have so much time to still grow. It is so sweet and also has some genderqueer bingqiu (as a treat)

Also one of my favorite quotes ever that still makes me cry to this day:

“I think I am mourning something that never existed to begin with,” […]“I think I am the thing that never existed to begin with.” (It’s in the third fic)

lonely little heartbeat

Rated E, lbh reverse transmigrates at 15 (I don’t want to spoil it but it’s great)

colored bright green

Rated T, Binghe also transmigrates to pidw and finds out he’s not the only one! It’s a slow burn and so sweet

Now Entering Incognito Mode!

Rated E, sqq flees cqms while lbh is in the abyss and he meets a mysterious young lady, I don’t want to spoil this it is soooo good!!!

I'll make the world safe and sound for you

Rated M, babytrapping (kinda?) its sweet and beautiful

go with the flow

Rated T, no plot just sweet post-canon husbands

End Racism in the OTW -- Infinite First Dates

Rated M, set during the five years sqq is dead, a lot of dream sharing. It’s really fun and lovely and just perfect <33

Type Casting

Rated E, oh god this one is soooo good!! What if sqqs mushroom body was that of a woman? And what if he didn’t remember his death?? And what if he himself assigned himself the role of the female lead bc well she’s a woman now so she obviously has to marry lbh right? Right???

Also sqqs inner monologue is so perfect and so good!!!!

I love this one so much pleeeeaase read it!!

the adventure of tiny bing

Rated E, tiny bingbing!! They’re friends and husbands and silly your honor

Error 404: Shizun Not Found?

Rated M, such a unique concept done so well

Promise Me Your Heart

Rated T, such a sweet and so underrated fic! I love it so much it fills me with all the mushy sweet feelings and it’s so tender and romantic and just sooo sweet <33

We’ll Meet While Rain is Falling

Rated E, amnesia that gets fixed by you guessed it papapa!! (It’s really sweet and tender)

Size Empress

Rated E, genderqueer sqq has a dream and well it progresses really well

Benign Deviations

Rated M, Bingge and Bingmei switch places and it’s amazing

shallow water weather

Rated T, MERMAID BINGQIU!! It’s so good (also anything my nyoomerr is amazing so read them all)

continued

Rated T, this one is really hard to describe so just go and read it it’s so fun and hilarious

To Boil a Frog

Rated M, the narrator in this one is so good and fun and overall it’s great

a gentler lesson

Rated T, KISSES!! SOO MANY KISSES!!!!

I (immortal, M) think I might be developing feelings for my roommate (27M). Help!!!

Rated M, so stupid so good just what it says in the title

A Transmigrator and a Time Traveler Walk Into the Bamboo House

Rated T, I just really love this one! Definitely so worth reading (I might have read it twice)

open my lungs to let you in

Rated T, also one I’ve reread a few times

Can't we just skip to the end?

Rated E, time travel baby! This and the sequels are so good!!

night of yearning

Rated E, lbh gets selective amnesia, this absolutely destroyed my soul

As to Me, As to You

Rated T, such an amazing concept with so much potential for future shenanigans and overall so satisfying

right from the start, I gave you my heart

Rated T, sqq is under an obedience curse when the jinlan reunion happens what could possibly go wrong?

Cumplane:

slow dance with you

Rated T, Kissies<33

I've got $400 and a really bad idea

Rated T, fake dating hehehe

Cumplane Summary Archive

Rated T, Outsider pov and overall hilarious

huddle for warmth

Rated G, so sweet and funny

Bros before... well everything I guess

Rated T, theyre a family <33

Moshang:

The Pen is Mightier

Rated E, Mbj seducing his husband <33

speak your mind

Rated T, sweet and touch starved

technically our marriage is saved

Rated T, so fun

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

Rated T, this is so good! It destroyed me emotionally and just ugh. My notes after reading it: „My chest hurt and oh my god this is perfect and painful and beautiful“

A Child Once

Rated T, post-canon sqh gets deaged and it’s really good

retrograde

Rated T, amnesia and misunderstandings work out

maine nazaron se tujhe chu liya

Rated M, soulmate marks and a bit of mystery (kinda)

If Not You

Rated E, fuck or die and it’s really good. I stayed up reading this until I could not see properly and I was dizzy

Ok this is it! I went through all my bookmarks for this and it took me the entire day. I hope you enjoy and if you ever need anything specific I can probably find it for you<3

[pynkgothicka]

Inspired by one of your reblogged posts..

I really want to see dark! misogynistic Jason Todd with a somewhat innocent! girlfriend. He was so sweet to her until they started dating; Now he just can't be bothered with her. He consults his friends about it on COD, or some other incel hangout, and they advise him to put reader in her place.

He comes home one day to reader laying in bed on her phone and he just can't seem to control himself. He's spewing out degrading thoughts, about how he's just so sweet to her and all she can do is complain, and not even be grateful that Jason's using his precious time to breed and lay his claim her needy cunt. Using and absolutely destroying her like the plaything she is.

(also, can i be 🐢 anon? i feel like I'll be returning to you for a while.. i love ur work!)

Ｉｍａｇｉｎｉｎｇ ＪＳＴ

Pairing - Dark! Misogynistic! Incel! Jason Todd x Innocent! Girlfriend! AFAB! Reader

Featuring - Rest of the Batboys

Tags and Warnings - Incel behavior, noncon, name calling, misogyny, medication, gaslighting, degrading, abuse, violence against oc/reader

Authors Note - Back tew my roots!!!! And ofc I would love to finally have anons!! Also sorry this took eons-

A friendly reminder that all my works are dark fanfiction! Please if you do not like that do not read them! These depictions don't pertain to reality. This is your final warning before hitting the keep reading button!!

Jason watched you in your shared small apartment. He couldn't figure out what went wrong between the two of you. It started whenever he moved in. Jason was never so used to having somewhere there 24/7.

You were just so needy and particular.

“Jason? Baby… what do you want for dinner tonight?” You ask coming to sit by him. Your hands ran over his arm and kissing at his visable scars. Jason pulled away from you, the feeling making his skin tingle.

He watched as your face fell and you sigh before getting up and grabbing your purse. “I'm going grab something to eat tonight. Please remember to take your medicine.” You say heading to the door and leaving.

“I don't need them.” Jason replied quickly looking at you as you straightened up the living room before leaving. “I told you about reminding me to do shit.”

Jason watched as you just sighed again. “I tell you because I want you to be better baby. I don't want to keep doing things alone, I just want us to be better.” You said doting once again, keeping your sweet nature with Jason. But he only saw that as pity and he hated it. He hissed before rolling his eyes and getting up, the couch going back by his sheer strength. “I don't care what's for dinner. Just get out.”

💭

“I don't know what to do with her. She's just so fucking annoying.” Jason rambles into his microphone. He was playing COD with some online friends. One of his friends, N1ghtVV1ng laughs into his own mic.

“Well what is she doing huh? My girl treats me just right, and even allows me to fuck whenever I want.” He taunts. Jason rolled his eyes at his friends comments. “And she's so tight, god I trained her right.”

“Dude that's so gross.” RedRobinYum, another one of his friends said.

“Well, she just keeps bothering me. Then whenever I try to ask for something she just reminds me to take my meds.” Jason sneered. “Its the same shit, all these dumb questions. I just want her to stay with me and not bug me.”

“Well have you tried putting her in her place? Show her what you want from her.” DamitheBest says. Jason hummed at that suggestion.

“She's just so fragile, I'm afraid she might bre-”

“Get that shit out of your mind now.” Dami says. “Show her who's the boss before she does. Women will kick you to the curb and leave you for someone who'll tolerate that shit they pull.”

“Literally don't listen to these freaks, sit down and talk to her.” RedRobin chimes in. “With any relationship just talk it out, trust me I do that with my partner and we just talk everything out.”

Jason could hear Dami make a buzzer noise that almost broke his mic. “Nope, don't listen to him. Red, he's gotta put his foot down. Cut out any disobedience from his girl.”

Jason looked down at that, the thought of hurting you almost sickeningly turned him on. Dami was right and had always been. Jason just needed to man up and confront you.

💭

“What are you doing?”

You turn around from your spot on the bed too see Jason, standing in the doorway. You smile before getting back on your phone, his voice making you feel better that he's still around.

Yet majority of the time, Jasons voice always brought you a sense of worry and hurt. Worrying so much for and about him made you into someone who barely cared for yourself. It was always Jason, and everything you did was for him.

“Nothing really, I'm just kind of bored.” You reply. Jason stares at you, face blank. His eyes leered at your body as you just so casually laid down. Almost as if just waiting for you to say something. Anything.

“Your not going to bug me to take my meds?” Jason practically spat out. You turned around moving to where you sat on the bed. “Not gonna ask me to take out the trash, help around the apartment?

You furrow your brows. “What? Why are you talking to me like that?” You asked looking at him. “I- What did I do?”

“You dont like it when someone stands against you?” He replied completely ignoring your question. Everything about Jason's words and demeanor frightened you. It was like he genuinely hated you.

You stood up walking towards him slowly. “Jay… it's okay. I think you're having a episode…” You say keeping your voice low. Jason's chest came up and down as he kept getting more and more enraged. You reached out a hand to touch his arm, but Jason pushed you away. Your lower back hit the vanity you both built when you moved in.

“You think I'm having a episode?! Of course you do, you don't just think I'm pissed?” He replied moving to tower over you. You put a hand on the vanity to stand back up. Your chest heaved as your lungs tried to keep up with your heart. You pushed past him leaving through the bedroom door.

Back burning, you looked for your keys. “I'm done with this, all I want is what's best for you. But you've treated me like shit, and I'm done with it.” You said seeing reaching for your keys.

But they were picked up and thrown across the room.

Jason pushed your head against your kitchen island. You groaned out and began to thrash around. Jason snarled at you, keeping you detained.

Hr laughed in your face and seemingly just waited for you to calm down. “I like it when your quiet.” He said leaning down to kiss the back of your head. Your breathing shuddered as you began to cry quietly. Jason reveled in your weakness a hand resting on the back of your neck, the other on your back.

“What did I do Jason … What did I do so wrong…?” You said, your words breaking with your own tears.

“Get on my nerves… I'm such a good boyfriend, yet all you do is complain. I'm sick of that, so I'm going to change it.” Then you feel Jason's arm brush against you as he reached for the kitchen scissors. “Stay still, unless you want to get hurt. I could care either less.” He said as he took the scissors to your shirt. Cutting down the fabric, leaving you exposed as you chose not to wear a bra.

Starting to kick at Jason again, flipping around to try and get away. That attempt was failed, as Jason took your throat in hand, slamming your head back onto the counter. Your vision blurred on impact as he took off your shirt completely. The impact made you dizzy and start to become unaware. Jason saw that, and quickly took advantage of it, kissing at your neck.

He was going to get himself off.

It was what you owed him.

His kisses trailed down to your stomach, tongue dipping into every dip in your skin. You let out dazed cries as tears poured down your cheek. “You've always been so gorgeous. Don't you see how good you could have it?” Jason commented quietly as he pulled down your sweatpants along with your panties. He blew on your cunt, watching just how wet you became at his actions. “Do I have to keep beating you for you to keep still.”

Biting at your bottom lip to hold back tears you shake your head. He smiled as you shivered from his breathing. Jason pushed his head into your cunt, lapping at your exposed pussy. You bit at your bottom lip, trying to stay quiet. You couldn't give him that satisfaction, just once you wanted to be stronger than what you actually were. But Jason knew you, his hand coming down on your ass, making you yelp out. “Stop that, I want to hear you.” He said into your cunt as he continued to eat you out.

But Jason is Jason.

And Jason is selfish.

He only eats you out close enough to make you cum. He pulls away with the bottom half of of his face coated in your juices. You grabbed at the counter top, full on sobbing. “Please… Jay. Stop we can ta-” Jason's hand came crashing down next to your head, the sound of tile making you cry out more.

“You had your chance. You had multiple chances to talk, but you didn't. So now I'm putting you in your place.” He said, ignoring any protests you had. You could hear him undo his pants, the taunting noise of his zipper making your cries only louder. A dribble of spit hits your cunt, Jason's palm coming down to rub at your cunt. “Now shhh, while you take this dick.”

You let out a yell as Jason pushes his length all the way into you. He sits there, breathing heavy and labored.

His eyes stayed fixated on your pussy, swallowing his cock. He pulled out then pushed back in, your walls clamping on his length. His groans were deep as he took no time for you to adjust, fucking into you. Your body shook and shuddered as he held you down, using you for his own pleasure.

“You're so pretty like this,” Jason said his body pounding into your own. You continued to whimper under him, feeling your body become weak. His hand tangled in the mess he had made of your hair, using his strength to pull you up. “You need to be like this all the time, then I wouldn't have to deal with a bitch for a girlfriend.” He snickered into your ear. He said it like it was a threat, or a suggestion you couldn't turn down.

So you nodded in agreeance, his smile turning wicked as he fucked into you. You could feel his hips stutter as he reached his peak. Jason's hand moved to your clit as he rubbed at your bud. “You better cum with me or I'll keep raping this cunt.” That quickly snapped you back to reaily. The realization of needing to end the abuse he put you through, you tried feeling pleasure from the trauma he was putting you through.

Then you feel it. The feeling of you cumming alongside your cunt getting filled. You let out a choked gasp, Jason groaning as he filled you to the brim. His hand grabbed at your ass as he hissed. He pulled out watching as a dribbles of his cum dropped from your abused cunt. He quickly pushed it back into you with two thick fingers. Jason snickered before pulling up his boxers, leaving his jeans on the ground.

“Clean up in here, I'm getting back on the game.”

Let me know through a dm or ask to be included in my official Taglist- @darkuni63 @fangirl-death-rose @captainengineer-trixie @chimmisbae @iloverubberduckiez-blog @mageprincess7 @looneybleus @whipwhoops

[moonydustx]

So I have this thing...

I need more Law x Reader fics pleeeaassee (；ＴДＴ)

Anyway...

May I ask a reader (up to you what gender) reacting to law proposing to her? Which I doubt canon law would even do but I guess since it's fanfiction, who cares if it's Canon, right???

OMG, this is incredible, hold my hand and I'm with you on this, thank you so much for the request. In my HCs on the Law (I will still post them) I think if it was important for him to do it without even blinking. Surely it would be something more discreet, a small ceremony between just two? I don't know, I might be rambling too much.

Apologies because I didn't have much time to review and maybe I got carried away writing it. I hope you enjoy!

Important: italics are for flashbacks and character readings aloud.

The proposal - favorite moment (part 01)

Part 02 - Part 03

Law counted the minutes until night arrived, it was one of his favorite moments. That was when you would sneak around the submarine and end up knocking on the door on it. In most of these situations, you didn't get out anytime soon. He's not much of a follower on the calendar, celebrating each month together - and come to think of it, everything happened so naturally that it was decided on which day it started to be difficult for you to be a boyfriend.

Like so many other nights, you found yourself doing what was one of the only things Law could name as a hobby. You were nestled between his legs, your body resting on his chest as you attentively read another book. He found himself leaning against the wall, one of his hands resting on his body while with the other he tried to leaf through one of the new editions of Sora comics that he had picked up on the last island he visited.

He had already lost count of how many times the two of you had wasted hours tangled up in his bed reading and something else he was used to hearing you sniffle at something, like you were doing this time. His eyes looked away from the painting and went straight to where you were reading, just out of curiosity. The other times you were sniffling, he had found you reading about some character who died, some reunion, some couple who got together. This time, from what he could see, it was a marriage proposal.

He already knew it was an important topic for you. He also knew that if he had to choose to spend his entire life with someone, it would be you. Law had thought about the hypothesis a few times and when reading the small excerpt from the book, he let himself think about the idea.

"Wow." your feet were planted in front of an immense showcase. Dresses were stacked side by side in various sizes and textures, some with huge trains and others full of silk.

"Don't tell me you're one of those marriage freaks." Ikkaku planted himself next to you, next to Bepo.

"They are beautiful." the bear confirmed, touching the glass.

"Not freak…" you tried to find the words, you really didn't want to sound like a crazy person. "I mean, marriages are two people coming out in love to the world, to the government, to whatever god they may believe in or to no god at all, as if nothing could intervene or separate them."

"Okay, insane then." Shachi appeared behind you, mumbling.

"Actually, that's a nice way of thinking." Ikkaku replied to him, watching you just shrug. "And I won't deny it, they are beautiful dresses."

"Time to go." The captain's voice echoed closer than you imagined, as if he had been there the whole time listening.

Seeing the crew members move forward, agreeing to the captain's request, Law took a few seconds to evaluate the display that had distracted everyone. He could just be daydreaming, but one day you would look incredible wearing a dress like that along with the new name you would carry. Ms. Trafalgar.

From that day on, the idea of ​​proposing to you never left his mind, Law just needed to find the perfect opportunity and it appeared before his eyes.

"Okay…" your choked voice took him out of his reverie. "That's enough tears for today and I'm getting sleepy." you closed the book, turning towards him and snuggling even closer against Law's body.

"Do you mind if I keep reading some more?" he asked and you just mumbled no. His hand got tangled in your strands of hair and it didn't take long for unconsciousness to take you away.

Law gave himself a week to put the plan into practice. The small room at Polar Tang was tidier than usual however you could notice Law more tense than usual behind his back.

"Everything is fine?" you asked, quickly turning to face him. Law seemed distracted from the book in his hands.

"Everything amazing." his lips quickly touched the top of your head. It was now. All the other battles he had faced had not even come close to the anxiety he felt at that moment. "That book you were reading last week?"

"Ah, it's this one. I'm almost done. It's a period romance, princess, knight and all the little things that involves." you laughed, knowing that from your description he would hate the book. "There's no point trying to convince me to read Sora, this one is much cooler."

"So cool you were crying the last time you read it." he said in a teasing tone.

In a casually planned way, even if it went unnoticed in your eyes, he placed the comic he was reading on the bed.

"It's because he was so sweet to her, made an amazing statement."

"Really? Let me see." He moved even closer to your back, looking for space on your shoulder to follow the written words and find the perfect cue.

"Here. Can I read it?"

"Please." he asked, feeling his hands sweat cold.

"Of all the countries I've visited, I don't think I've ever found a home except in you. You've been my home, my safe haven." You started reading, already feeling yourself melting with those words. At the same time, Law took out a small box hidden behind one of the pillows. "So let me be the sword that protects you, the heart that loves you infinitely. I thought happiness would only find me in the next life until I found myself lost in you. What do you mean by that, my love? So, the The knight fell to his knees, the wounds of the battle he faced seemed not to bother him, not when Annya's eyes rested on him. Annya then heard the four words that carried a lifetime of promises…"

"Would you marry me?" Law's voice echoed alongside yours.

Before you could ask what he thought, a small black box appeared in your field of vision. Inside it, a golden ring with a small heart symbol glittered. The book fell from your hands, finding your lap, as you turned to your boyfriend.

"Law?" at that moment, your voice was not the most reliable. As shaky as she was, your vision was blurred by what you suspected were tears. Your hands covered your lips, still not believing what you were seeing.

"Maybe my sword heals you more than defends you, but that doesn't mean I'll let anyone hurt you in this world. You're my home, my safe haven and I can't wait for you to be my wife. I'd even kneel, but It's a little complicated." he smiled, seeing you still paralyzed on top of him. "So, would you marry me?"

"Yes." the first time came out as a whisper. "Yes Yes Yes!" with each new time the word left your lips, you allowed euphoria to take over your body.

Law took your hand, placing a small kiss before putting on the ring and repeating the gesture, as soon as the jewel was in the place where it belonged. His hands pulled you so your legs were around his waist.

"That's…" you even tried to speak, but it was impossible to put everything you felt at the moment into so few words. You saw him pull out a ring that was the same color as yours, without all the details. "Let me do it."

Before he could put it on his own finger, you took it from his hand and repeated the same thing he had done to you. He placed a small kiss between the tattooed fingers and let the jewelry take its rightful place.

"I don't believe." You looked at your hand and then at him. "Law, that was so amazing."

"You're incredible. I can't wait to see you become Mrs. Trafalgar. My beautiful, smart, a little crybaby…" he wiped away your tears, bringing a laugh from your lips. "My dear wife."

"I love you so much." you cupped his face, taking his lips to yours.

Even though it was full of emotions and promises, it was a calm kiss. Law, like you, wanted to record every second of that moment, every inch of skin kissed, every touch.

In the end, Law was also a marriage nut - just with his dear Lady Trafalgar.

----

Little extra:

Law was never a big fan of public displays of affection, but that morning he had made an exception. Seeing you happy, showing off your new ring and the promise of marriage, ideas of what to do on the date, honeymoon suggestions. He couldn’t deny it, it was amazing to see how happy you were with the whole situation.

His happiness was short-lived when he saw three sullen faces - one of them looking like a bear - sitting in front of him.

"So Law, my friend." Penguin began.

"Shut up, it's me."

"But I'm his best friend." Bepo grumbled.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to understand what the three were discussing so much

"Which of the three of us will be the best man?" Shachi warned and Law watched the three in front of him cross their arms and wait for a response.

Before he could respond, Law felt two arms slide and lock around him.

"We haven't decided that yet guys. We can talk about it later." you asked and watched them begin to argue among themselves who would be what.

"Thanks." Law muttered, making you laugh. You bent down to his ear level.

"And you, I'll be waiting for you in the room. I got someone to cover my duties today, now I want to continue feeling what my dear fiancé can do for me." In contrast to the whispered and sexy voice that left your lips, you left a chaste kiss on Law's cheek and left towards the dorms.

[unabashednightmarepizza]

While you write poly aziracrow (no pressure) do you have any recs?👀

I think I've read everything there is to find :(

Hi, hello! You are very sweet! It's definetly not pressuring since I'm already writing for them but you're right, omg there is so little of poly!ineffable husbands x reader 😔☹️

One of the reasons why I started doing the God's work, obviously, basically writing the fanfiction of the fanfiction of God..? Is that what Good Omens authors do?

Anyways, I don't know if you had read them before, but here is some of my personal ones:

- The Light, The Dark and The Spaces In Between

- This hurt/comfort fic

-This Blurb where they teach reader to drive the Bentley

- This lovely fic( which is the third part of the first fic)

-Shelter of Wings

- Two Turtle Doves

- Hugs and other intimacies

- Ugly Christmas Jumpers

- Feathers( and also my all times favourites)

- Are you trying to romance me?

- To Your Days Off

-This Good Omens Oneshot book on Wattpad( includes all the characters)

Taggings: @avocado-writing, @bakerstreethound, @starks-hero, @witches-and-cows @asphodelsandpomegranates THANK YOU ALL FOR WRITING SUCH AMAZING STORIES💞🥰❤️

They are all with reader insert, if you are looking for something else( Like with Gabriel? You can search in the AO3. There are some of them too!)

I hope I was able to help!

[awesomefringey]

I haven't been able to find a good fic to read in about 7 months, I've only read A Distant Hazy Light over and over, but I need a good fic to get this out of my system

Ok, I understand we need to do something about it but first of all @greenfeelings wrote a brilliant series! So, I get it!!!

I read so many wonderful fics this year, here are some of them, maybe they’re for you too:

Is This Flying Or Falling by Holdingontochaos (A/B/O) It’s very sexy and very emotional. It’s also a lot of hurt and comfort. (Harry is traumatized from a past relationship, see the tags for triggers)

Quiet People Have The Loudest Minds by @2tiedships2 (A/B/O) I rediscovered it this year and couldn’t put it down again. It’s so very very sweet and made me feel warm and fuzzy.

Danger I Can’t Hide by CelticSky This is the most epic fic. I was worried it would be too dark and too real for my liking with the WWII setting, but the author finds a great balance to create a very real and life threatening atmosphere without it being too unbearable. Although I cried a lot! It is one of the best fics I’ve ever read. Great writing, amazing pacing, a truly unique love story.

Just Breathe With Me by @she-bear369 The Yoga fic. I couldn’t put this fic down. I loved their chemistry and how it was immediately palpable that there was something between them. Also Yoga instructor Louis is truly inspiring! Both Louis and Harry come with a bit of trauma they need to work through, but I loved to watch them process them and grow to be even better people, for themselves and for each other.

Love Is A Word You Gave It A Name by @larrydoinglaundry (3 part series) This one is pretty popular, so maybe you’ve read them already? If not, you must! I can’t really prepare you for it, other than that Louis and Harry will build a room in your heart and never leave it. I’ve read this one (and the 2nd part) multiple times, just to spend time with them.

Secrets, Santa? by @indiaalphawhiskey This fic is a gift to our fandom. I still don’t understand how we deserve authors like India. I’ve been wheezing and screaming over Harry, he’s absolutely hilarious and I love him to bits. The way Harry stubbornly thirsts after Louis is as silly as it is understandable because DAMN Louis is a CEO and Harry is his assistant and why isn’t this a Hallmark Christmas movie and thank god it isn’t because this one is so much better! I read this multiple times and it’ll be forever my go-to fic to get into the Christmas spirit.

And a little extra rec because you’re into A/B/O:

Behind Smoke Stained Curtains by @jaerie This fic was recommended to me recently and I haven’t read it yet but will before the year ends. So if you’re curious, give this one a go.

You can check my tags as well: larry fanfic rec, abo larry fanfiction or larry fanfiction (which is all of my reblogs for fics)

[ariaste]

Okay, I have to share this story because it was a hilarious experience, I'm not sure if the ask box will let me get through it in one message, bear with me.

So I'm scrolling through IWTV fanfiction on AO3, reading some of the more recent fics, and I find one fic that I really love. They've really got the Daniel tone and essence down, I'm laughing to myself on the couch. I decide to wait and read the fic out loud with my partner because when a fanfic is really good we like to share it. While I'm waiting for my partner to get back from canning peaches, I check the author's profile briefly and I'm like 'oh shit they write for The Untamed,' which is cool, that was our last fandom that we were super into.

My partner gets home-- I excitedly tell them that I've found a new fic for us to read and they'd better buckle in because it's got a hell of a vibe and they're not even ready. My partner is like 'oh hell yeah' and gets out their crochet project. (we're in our mid twenties I don't know why this particular day makes us sound like we're in our eighties)

Anyways, I tell them that the author also does MDZS content so we can check that out after our IWTV fic and then we start reading the story and it's very good-- they have to hold up a hand to make me stop reading because they're cry-laughing, and all is well. And then suddenly I go.... wait. Wait, hang on. Hang on, I have to check this person's profile. This is a little too familiar.

And my partner says "Wait. Is this the MDZS writer-" and I say "I don't know I'm checking, hang on" and then I look up and we make eye contact and I'm like "oh my god babe it's the Meng Yao writer."

Essential Background: Meng Yao is my favourite MDZS character and it's hard to find good fics for him. A couple of years ago, my partner was reading the HOA fic and gushing about it, I was insisting that 'an act too often neglected' was simply the best MDZS fic that could ever be written, and we were absolutely shocked to discover they had an author in common, and then a while later there was ANOTHER fic I started reading out loud to my partner because it was That Good and it turned out to ALSO be the same author, so we just started calling them 'The Meng Yao writer' aka the only person we trust to write him.

Basically what I'm saying is that whenever either of us reads anything you've written, it's so goddamn good that we end up sharing it with each other and not realizing that it's the Same Author every time. So. I'm buying one of your books for my partner's next birthday I guess because you're clearly just That Good. Thank you for the multiple years of enjoyable fics and the consistent joy you're bringing to our household. Also I want to eat up your Daniel Molloy characterization with a knife and fork. Thank you.

This is the most delightful ask that it is possible to get. I am giggling and kicking my feet and grinning ear to ear. This is so sweet.

This is also so fucking funny to me. "The Meng Yao writer" ahhh my legacy. The arguing over which fic is better until the moment you realize they're both mine. The way you keep finding my fics and independently discovering every time that they're Finally Some Good Fucking Food without having learned my AO3 name at some point during that process until the third or fourth time i have jumpscared you with it dfghjkkdfghjkfghj Ariaste/Alexandra Rowland is everywhere, they're in your walls, they're currently standing right behind you actually ghjklwwghjwkl;

BLESS YOU AND YOUR PARTNER, your relationship sounds honestly ideal. I hope you keep reading fics and crocheting together forever.

Also very flattered that you're taking a swing with my original works! Thank you!! They are all set in the same world but they're usually (so far) about different characters, so as you read more of them you're going to start catching some fun cross-references between them. My thirteenth book comes out next month, so here's some good places to start based on the fics you've pointed out that you've particularly liked:

if you want more laughing-until-you-are-crying-and-have-to-stop-because-you-genuinely-cannot-breathe content (a la "different for vampires", HOAverse (Meng Yao and the Board of the Homeowners Association), or any of my other high comedic fics), start with RUNNING CLOSE TO THE WIND. It's about queer pirates accidentally stealing and trying to find a buyer for the most valuable secret in the world, and standing up against institutional hegemony. Also horny sea serpents. Also a plot-relevant cake competition. If you cried laughing at any of my fics in the past, you are not prepared for what I'm about to do to you here.

if you are enjoying the Snarky Old Man content that is Daniel Molloy and his disquisitions on the nature of storytelling and truth-seeking in "different for vampires", go for A CONSPIRACY OF TRUTHS, which has more of both of those things. It's about an elderly wandering storyteller who has been imprisoned on charges of witchcraft, treason, and brazen impertinence, and the stories he tells to rescue himself from the situation. And the corrupt government he accidentally knocks over along the way, whoops

If you liked the yearning, sweeping romance of the main pairing in "an act too often neglected", try A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON, which is about an Exquisitely Beautiful Prince with a chronic anxiety disorder and his Stoic Beefy Bodyguard as they attempt to track down a coin counterfeiting ring that could bring down their whole economy, and also they fall in love along the way.

My next book, YIELD UNDER GREAT PERSUASION (out in September), is also great for that sweeping romance vibe, but preorders are not quite up yet! If you are looking for a cozy M/M romantasy about a prickly, grouchy tea shop owner, his childhood nemesis who he's been fucking since they were teenagers, and the hard, unglamorous journey of personal growth toward self-love and self-forgiveness to be able to accept love from other people... Watch this space, get on my Discord server (where i am these days constantly ranting about IWTV in a dedicated thread), or sign up for my newsletter linked on my website

Thank you again for the entirely LOVELY ask, I will be beaming all day. Please give your partner a high five from me, I hope the two of you enjoy the books (and if you want to get autographed copies for their birthday, hit me up in DMs and we can get that sorted out)!

Also, there will be a new chapter of "different for vampires" going up in the next hour or so :D

[kindagayfish]

I am also very obsessed with Babygirl Vash lol how about the classic sharing a bed trope with Vash? It can be swf or not! We just need more imagines of him!

Vash and sharing the bed trope

A/N: YES SHARING THE BED TROPE I LOVE IT SO MUCH HDJBSFHKSBFHKDBGHJB especially when its with bb girl vash *swoon* I’ve seen quite a few of these scenarios already but there will never be enough to satisfy me. I made this one sfw cause I really just wanted to write some fluff. Also, I finished the OG Trigun and I see some differences between OG Vash and Stampede Vash. I’ll be writing for the Stampede characters unless specified otherwise. We just haven’t seen him flirt with anyone yet, while in the OG he was very much a Chad lol. So sorry for the quality, and for taking so long. I haven’t written fanfiction in a LONG TIME. Seriously it’s been years but it feels nice to do it again. But how do people write these so quickly like damn.

Contains: fluff, Gender-neutral reader, And not really proof-read cause we die like men out here.

When you open your eyes again, it’s still dark. Your mouth cracks open in a yawn and you slowly become aware of someone pressed up against your back. 

Oh. Oh that’s right.

It had been an exhaustingly long day trekking through the desert, and an even longer evening trying to find a place to stay the night. You have no idea what possessed every abled body in Noman's Land to travel to the same town as you, but every room in the dusty motel next to the bar was taken. Even the porch swing had some poor soul wrapped up in his coat for the night.

You and Vash were about to call it and take turns sleeping in a nearby alley, when an old woman took pity on you and offered up her spare room. You were so excited to sleep in a real bed that you didn’t even think to ask about the size of the space.

It wasn’t until the both of you had finally gotten into the tiny, very much intended for one person or two people squished very close together bed, that you realized how incredibly awkward the whole situation is.

“Hey-”

“WELL GOODNIGHT” You had blurted out, turning so that your back was to Vash, hiding your flustered expression. He is a little too good at reading your face sometimes, and you didn’t need him asking questions.

He replied with a quiet goodnight, feeling him shift away as well.

Now, Vash’s breath is hot on the back of your neck as he snores lightly, his spiky hair tickling your skin. Sometime in the night, his arms found their way around your middle and pulled you flush against his chest, securing you in place.

This particular scenario had been one you’ve played in your head on loop anytime the two of you had slept close to one another. It’s like a dream come true. And any other time, you would have nestled back into his hold and fell back asleep, hoping that this action was intentional; but instead, you silently curse yourself for chugging a whole gallon of water after arriving in town. Because my god you have to pee.

He stirs slightly when you shift, hugging you closer and burying his face into your shoulder. You feel yourself growing hot as he lets out a content sigh, lips ghosting over your skin. It quickly becomes clear that you’re not escaping without waking him.

“Vash…” You whisper his name softly, not wanting to alarm him. “Vash?”

“Hmm?” he hums, breathing in deeply. Vash lifts his head and loosens his grip slightly. You take this opportunity to turn and meet his eyes. They’re droopy with sleep, blinking a bit. He gives you a lazy smile before whispering, “hi.”

“Uh hi.” Your heart rate picks up at the sight before you, and you swallow hard. “Could you um…”

“Hm?” It takes a moment for him to register the kind of position you are in. “Oh. OH SORRY.” Vash squeaks with wide eyes, releasing you quickly with a growing blush on his face. Getting out of the bed in a hurry as an attempt to hide your own flustered state, you almost miss the deflated look he gives when you’re no longer next to him. 

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah yeah. Just ya know…bathroom.”

“Right right.”

You quietly make your way to the bathroom, making sure not to wake your host who slept soundly in the room next to yours. Part of you wanted to rush to get back, feeling chilly after leaving the warm bed and Vash’s arms. You hide your burning face in your hands as his smile flashes in your mind.

He’s just so…ATTRACTIVE. Ever since you realized you had fallen for him, it has been increasingly harder to hide your feelings. Any time he touches you (which is a considerable amount when running from danger) has your brain short-circuiting and your stomach doing flips. Sometimes you can’t help but wonder if Vash is really this oblivious, or if he is ignoring it to save you both the embarrassment of a rejection. Either way, you aren’t sure if you’re ready to face the truth just yet.

Maybe if I take long enough he’ll fall back asleep and it won’t have to be weird.

After a considerable amount of time pacing the bathroom, you finally make the short walk back to the spare bedroom.

To your slight disappointment, Vash is asleep by the time you slip back into the bed next to him. His face is calm, a stark contrast to the way his brows furrow together during an intense confrontation, and you take a moment to admire his face in the moonlight. You brush a few hairs back from his forehead and immediately freeze when his eyes flutter open.

“Hi” he whispers a second time.

Pulling your hand back, you feel your face grow hot again. “Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you twice.”

“It’s okay: Vash replies, smiling softly.

You continue to stare at each other, both unsure of what to say next. It’s subtle, but you start to see a blush creep up Vash’s neck and reach the tips of his ears.

“Um” Vash is the one to break the silence, reaching for you. “Can I…?”

“Yes” you answer immediately, scooting your body closer to his.

“Does that make this weird?”

You let out a laugh. "You just caught me watching you sleep and you think this is weird?"

“Fair enough" Vash laughs with you. "But are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh okay good” He breathes out a sigh in relief, pulling you completely into him. Feeling his body relax against yours, you tuck your head up under his chin, ear pressed against his chest. You swear his heart is pounding as intensely as your own.

“So warm” Vash mumbles into your hair. You let out a content hum, allowing sleep to overtake you once more.

BONUS

Some general headcanons:

Man sleeps like a ROCK with you

Very used to having to wake up and jet at any moment so I assume he’s a light sleeper. But with you next to him? His body finally allows him to get those good Zs.

Clingy af

Good luck escaping Vash’s arms in the middle of the night. Once he has latched on, you won’t be free until morning.

Will 110% snore lightly in your ear

mumbles in his sleep too. Usually you can’t make out what he is saying though.

Loves any cuddling positions, but his FAVORITES are any where you are the one holding him.

Vash always wants you to play with his hair. Legit will turn to putty in your hands if you scratch his scalp.

Sometimes will even nuzzle into your shoulder to get you to do it because he’s too embarrassed to ask

If you need some extra comforting at night, maybe you had a nightmare or something particularly scary happened that day, he will lay you on his chest and softly hum/sing until you fall asleep. (I honestly think Vash would have a really nice singing voice)

Usually the last one to fall asleep, and the first one to wake up. He really enjoys the quiet moments with you. It’s the way you softly smile at him in the dawning sunlight that makes him forget that he’s a wanted man.

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

Do not confuse Enthusiasm with Entitlement.

Hello!

I’m relatively unknown in the fanfiction world which is great, but I’ve got some friends who are known, and I’ve got things to say, from an outsider perspective.

I’m a writer, but I’m also a reader. I participate in the fandom in the way I know how, which is through writing stories.

Here’s what fandom should be. It’s a village, called Fandom, and people all interact in the village in some way. Write, Art, Ideas, Comments, Reblogs, Kudos, Podfics, Bookbinding, Etc etc etc. It’s a Smurf village, because currency doesn’t exist, and everyone does what they can for the community to thrive, for fucking free. They offer gifts, and encouragement, and once a week we all gather round in the center of the village and scream about it in a very unhealthy way. Some people are more active than others, some like to be known, some prefer to remain anonymous, some watch from the sidelines and everything is done with care and a warm heart between our teeth.

There are pockets of that, which, great.

Here’s what fandom is, sometimes.

1/People elevating others to the point of God, sometimes dragging other writers down (for no reason, no one asked to be rated as the best fic writer of all time) to make a point. What is the point? Is there one?

2/People harassing writers for more things. Write an epilogue, write another chapter, write this and that. Writers aren’t your own personal AI machine to make what you want to write. A lot is blamed on age, and perhaps there is an element to it, but I believe it’s just decency. An 18 years old kid is capable of making sensible decisions, just like a 24 years old, just like a 14 years old. Your age doesn’t give you a passe-droit to be a dick to people you admire (!!!???!)

3/I won’t even touch on the subject of hate reading because that’s just straight up insanity.

But it’s just… hate and tantrums and anger breeds more hate and tantrums and anger. There isn’t a virtuous way out of that, and I’d love for people to…just, cater to a more positive experience for everyone.

When your fingers are typing rot on your computer, you are venomizing everything that it touches: the people who will read it AND the people who will respond to it.

So far, from what I have seen, this behaviour leads to only one thing: depressed writers/artists/etc who stop writing/drawing/etc, or pull their work, or take breaks, or retreat from the limelight because it is too much.

You are pushing too much.

Enthusiasm is wonderful. It’s a powerful tool and should be used, everyone on this fandom is posting because we looked at The Thing and thought, “yeah.” No one in the history of the world (I hope) has posted after thinking “that is straight up shit and I hate it with a passion.”

Enthusiasm does need to be curated in a healthy way. I understand that Fandom is for fans, but it is also by fans. No one here is better, everyone here is different.

Some writers have a voice that resonate with more people, or stories that resonate with more people, and that is perfectly fine, but, once again for the people in the back, do not confuse Enthusiasm with Entitlement.

In what universe, in what galaxy do you believe complaining about someone’s work will make them go “oh right, nevermind all the work I put into this thing I love, let me just do the thing a random stranger is asking me to do.”

Do not confuse Enthusiasm with Entitlement.

Maybe I sound like bitch, but by god, the shit I’ve heard from my “popular” friends the past few months is absolutely mad. Mad, people.

You are normal people, and SO ARE THEY.

They have lives and interests and they are people. Treat them as such.

Do not confuse Enthusiasm with Entitlement.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, I hope everyone enjoys Le Mange Dieu et le Dévoreur de Mondes, which we wrote and enjoyed writing, and which does not mean other writers weren't doing their own thing and writing other stuff in the meantime, and I HOPE we can all start to have some fucking respect for the people who spend hoursdaysweeksmonths pouring over a project and posting it for fucking free, all at once, so it’s not stressful for the reader. YOU.

Because against all fucking odds, we actually care about our readers. When you’re being nice.

Thank you and good day from a Fandom Elder.

[smilingformoney]

Icebreaker | Alexander Dane/Reader

II. A Dream Come True

Summary: You're supposed to be at GalaxyCon, so why does it look like you're on set? And why is Alexander Dane acting so nice?

Read now on Ao3 or below the cut:

You came to in an unfamiliar bed. You thought first that you might be in a hospital, but when you blearily sat up and looked around, it wasn’t like any hospital room you’d ever seen.

You swung your feet off the bed, only for the soles of your feet to be met with something moist and squelchy - and when you looked down to see what it was, you saw that the floor of the room appeared to be a mixture of water and sand, like the wet sand at the edge of a beach.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

Your head shot up and, sure enough, Alexander Dane was standing in the doorway, still in his costume.

“Where am I?” you asked immediately.

Alexander glanced around the room.

“I’m surprised you don’t recognise it. I thought you were a fan of the show?”

“The show? What do you —”

You glanced around the room. You spotted the window, and then you remembered a scene from Galaxy Quest involving Lazarus looking out the window from his quarters.

“Wait, why are we on set?”

“We’re… not exactly on set,” Alexander said vaguely.

Not on set, but in Lazarus’ room? What was he talking about?

Alexander sighed and sat next to you on the edge of the bed. How many fanfiction scenes had you written involving ‘you’ and Lazarus sitting here, exactly like this? The only difference being that your stories always involved some kind of sexual tension, but the only attraction here was completely one-sided from you - right?

“We are in an exact replica of the Protector,” Alexander said carefully, as if he had to be cautious about what he said to you. “The rooms, hallways, all of it - a perfect replica.”

You snorted. “What, some fan got more time and money than sense? The ship is meant to be huge, where on earth would someone keep it? And I’m still not sure how I got here.”

Alexander hesitated, trying to decide how to explain the situation to you without sounding completely insane.

“Well… it’s also a functioning replica.”

“So… it flies? Are we in the air right now?”

“Yes, it flies. But no, we’re not in the air. We’re… in the vacuum of space.”

You stared at him blankly.

Was he joking? He was completely straight faced, his brow furrowed with that adorable little crease between his eyebrows. And when had Alexander Dane ever told a joke?

“I’m surprised you’d be in on a practical joke, Alex. Did someone pay you? Is Ashton Kutcher about to show up?”

“It’s not a joke, [Y/n], I’m serious. We’re in space.”

You studied his face carefully, looking for any sign that he was joking, but there was none. You knew he was a good actor, but this was something else. This felt real, as if he really believed you were in space.

“Alex, we can’t be in space. People don’t just go to space - especially not without knowing. Do you really expect me to believe that I got here from the hotel corridor without realising?”

“You remember Jane approaching us, right? She teleported us to the ship.”

You scoffed.

“It’s true! We teleported, but you fainted. They said it happens sometimes when people teleport long range and they insisted you recover here, in the Mak’Tar terrain.” Alexander sighed. “God, I know it sounds insane. But you have to believe me, [Y/n].”

“Prove it, then.”

“Alright.”

Alexander stood and offered his hand to you. You let him help you up, and together you squelched across the wet sand to the window, which appeared to look out across the vast cosmos of space.

“You see?”

“Well, it’s beautiful, Alex, but that could easily be fake.”

You looked up and down, left and right, as far as you could. It certainly seemed to stretch in all directions, and your stomach did a nervous flip, as if it believed you were in space. And if you were to be in space, this was exactly what you’d expect to see. You saw the sides of the ship, and you could certainly believe you were in a replica of the Protector, because building such a thing is exactly the kind of insane thing fans would do, but asking you to believe that it was also a fully functioning spaceship was a step too far.

You looked up at Alexander, who glanced away suddenly, as if you’d caught him staring. But that was ridiculous, why would he be staring at you?

“Alex, come on. We’re obviously in some kind of simulator. It’s a really good one, granted, but —”

You were interrupted by the sound of an alarm blaring. You winced at the sudden sound, and a voice over a tannoy announced:

WARNING. UNAUTHORISED PRESENCE APPROACHING. PROTECTOR CREW TO BRIDGE.

“See?” you said. “Simulator.”

Alexander sighed. Clearly, he had to do something to convince you that what was happening was real, but that would have to wait for now.

“Come on, let’s go.”

He hurried you out of the room, and you had to hurry to keep up with his long strides as you made your way down the corridor.

“What would convince you you were really in space?” Alexander asked you.

You thought for a moment. What really couldn’t be faked?

“Something impossible.”

“Would a shape-shifting alien do?”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Excellent. We’ve got a lot of those.”

You entered the bridge to find the rest of the crew, also in their costumes, hurrying to their stations. Alexander pulled Jane Doe aside.

“Laliari, I need you to change form.”

“What? Why?” asked Fred, who was glued to her side as he always was. “Is this really the time? We got a bit of a crisis going on here.”

“I know, and [Y/n] needs to take it seriously, but she doesn’t believe me.”

“Okay!” Jane agreed with her ever present strange smile, and you let out a small scream of surprise when, before your very eyes, she transformed from an odd-looking human to… some kind of tentacle alien thing.

You reached out and prodded the tentacle alien thing. It felt real enough, and when you prodded it it made a sound that was almost like a giggle.

“You are tickling me!” Jane said from wherever her mouth was. “May I take human form again?”

“Yes, yes,” said Alexander hurriedly.

You watched, mouth agape, as Jane transformed back into a human. Even her clothes re-appeared.

“Do you believe me now?” Alexander asked.

You were still staring at Jane.

“…Uh-huh,” you mumbled.

“Alright, good. Come on, let’s go.”

Jane turned around to attend to her station, and Alexander grabbed you by the arm to drag you to his.

“Go where? I don’t have anywhere - I’m not part of the crew. I mean, Bethany’s not part of the crew. Or are you going to tell me I’m really Bethany and [Y/n] was the character all along?”

“What? No, that’s absurd. I’ll explain everything later. Just - stay with me.”

Alexander - Lazarus? - sat down at his station, but it only had one seat, so you stood behind him, one had on the back of his seat to steady yourself.

It certainly felt like you were in the middle of a real scene from the show… except the characters were a little off. It was as if they’d forgotten how to act. Taggart wasn’t as smart as Taggart; he seemed to be winging it as much as Jason Nesmith. And Laredo wasn’t piloting with his usual confidence; Tommy Webber’s insecurity seemed obvious. And the man you stood next to was definitely Alexander Dane, not Dr Lazarus.

What was happening?

Jason opened a link to talk to the other ship, but he was met with no response. Instead, the ship simply opened fire, and suddenly you were thrown across the room as Tommy tried to navigate and Guy returned fire.

Suddenly, it all felt very real. If Jane transforming hadn’t convinced you, this certainly did. You’d experienced a fake attack on the ship during filming, and not only did it feel very, very different, but it also felt much, much safer. You were being tossed about quite dangerously, and when Tommy suddenly turned the ship on its side to avoid a blast, while everyone else stayed strapped into their seats, you with your lack of seat found yourself sliding across the floor, stopped from smashing your head against something only by grabbing onto a railing and dangling in the air as the ship turned completely 90 degrees.

“Tommy, straighten up, I can’t aim like this!” Guy yelled.

“Dude, I’m trying! This thing’s clunky as hell!”

“I agree with Guy!” you wailed from your precarious position dangling from the rail. “I’d really like to not fall right now!”

Alexander turned in his seat when he heard your voice, and he swore loudly when he saw you.

He turned his chair to face you, and though he remained strapped firmly in place, he did his best to reach his arm out towards you.

“[Y/n], here!”

You stretched your arm out towards him as far as you could, but the best you could manage was a vague brushing of your fingertips.

“I can’t reach!”

”I got it!” Tommy called from the other side of the room.

You waited for the ship to right itself, but instead it turned further, threatening to turn upside down.

“I don’t got it!” Tommy corrected himself.

An idea came to you very suddenly.

“Turn the gravity off!” you shouted. “You’re all strapped down but I’ll float!”

“[Y/n] —” Alexander began to protest, but you cut across him.

“You wanna prove we’re in space? Turn off the gravity!”

Alexander looked reluctant, but he seemed to realise you were right. Right now, you were ready to fall because the gravity was moving in the wrong direction. It wasn’t right itself, so — it had to be eliminated.

“Gwen, turn the gravity off!”

“Computer, turn the gravity off!” Gwen told the computer.

“ urning gravity off,” the computer replied.

You had never felt anything like it. You hadn’t spent that much of your life contemplating what no gravity felt like, but it certainly wasn’t this. You had spent every second of your existence subject to gravity, and so the moment it was taken away, your brain had no idea what to do. It had suddenly lost all sense of up and down, left and right - reality itself seemed warped. The closest sensation you could possibly liken it to was the in-between state of your brain being pulled from a deep sleep, confused between the lines of dream and reality.

“[Y/n]!” Alexander called, pulling you out of your stupor.

You pushed against the railing as you let go of it, and although you gave yourself the smallest push, you barrelled into Alexander with some considerable force.

He caught you in his arms, and the feeling of his grip fighting against no other force was strange but comforting. In the absence of gravity, the one constant force that had always pinned you to reality, all you had to stop yourself from floating away was Alexander Dane’s arms.

“Gwen, turn the gravity back on!” Alexander shouted.

“Computer, turn the gravity back on!”

“Turning gravity on.”

You felt the entire weight of your body returning, and you landed inelegantly on Alexander’s lap, splayed across his knees as if he was about to give you ten smacks for talking back.

You were too preoccupied with the churning in your stomach, though, to worry about the precocious position you’d landed in. Alexander picked you up with surprising strength and sat you on his lap as he turned back towards the window.

“Just hold tight to me,” he said firmly, and you obeyed immediately, wrapping your arms around his neck to anchor yourself.

“I think I’m gonna throw up,” you complained.

“Just aim it at Jason, not me.”

Guy let out a whoop as he hit a sweet spot on the other ship, causing its engine to blow up.

“Yeah, take that, you bastards!” he hollered. “Did you guys see that hit? Talk about bullseye!”

“Yes, got it on your fiftieth try!” Alexander replied dryly.

“Tommy, get us out of here,” Jason said as he sat back in his seat with relief. “I need a drink.”

The turbulence finally over, you breathed a sigh of relief. You didn’t even realise you were still clutching onto Alexander until he went to remove the belt that strapped him into his seat, and you let him go, glad to finally stand up on your own two feet.

You immediately left the bridge, desperate to find somewhere to sit down and process everything. You were in space, actual space, on a fully functioning replica of the Protector, with the cast of Galaxy Quest who were definitely still actors but in their costumes and filling the same roles as their characters. The ship was inhabited by aliens who looked like tentacle monsters but could change shape to appear human, and Jane Doe was one of them. If you hadn’t seen him without his cap, you might have wondered if Alexander was really an alien too.

You instinctively returned to Lazarus’ room, as if returning to your start point could send you back home, but when you sat down on the bed, nothing happened. You buried your head in your hands, trying your best to block everything out to give your mind and body a chance to catch up.

A few moments later, Alexander entered the room. You looked up at him.

“Alex… what the fuck is going on?”

He explained everything to you: the alien race that had seen Galaxy Quest and thought it real, who had based so much of their society from what they thought was a documentary, even going so far as to create a replica of the Protector. Finding themselves in a predicament that would be perfectly placed in the show, they went looking for the crew on Earth, and the actors had found themselves very suddenly playing their TV roles.

“I’m sorry, I should have explained it to you as soon as you woke up,” Alexander said.

You shook your head. You ran your palm over your face, then leant backwards to lie flat against the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

“I’d never have believed you. I needed to experience it for myself. God - this is insane. How many other TV shows are real? Is there a coven of witches in San Francisco? Is there really a portal to Hell in Southern California? Is Alan Partridge real and Steve Coogan the character?”

You heard Alexander chuckle. He leant back to lie side-by-side with you, also craving the simple sight of the ceiling.

“I know Steve Coogan’s real, I’ve met him enough times. And I’m pretty sure witches aren’t real. As for a portal to Hell in California - that I can’t be too sure of, because it certainly feels that way during the height of summer.”

You both laughed, and for a few moments you almost forgot about the bizarre situation you were in. You settled into a comfortable silence together, both laying side-by-side, trying to absorb the strange day you were having.

“Alex?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I, um - can I hold your hand? I just really need some real, physical, human contact right now. Remind myself I’m not losing my marbles, y’know?”

“Of course.”

You felt his fingers reaching out for yours, and you slipped your hand into his. You closed your eyes, focusing on feeling gravity again, and feeling grounded by Alexander’s touch.

“Alex, do you moisturise?”

“…What?”

“Your hands are always really soft. I noticed it before during filming.”

You heard him chuckle. “Yes, I do. Is there something wrong with that?”

“Course not. It’s nice. Feels… nice.”

“I’m glad my hands are to your satisfaction.”

You giggled, then turned your head to look at him, only to find he was already looking at you. There was something intense yet almost uncertain about the way his eyes were boring into you, making you feel completely exposed.

“I’m afraid I don’t moisturise my lips so much,” he added.

“Oh, er… that’s alright, I guess. They don’t look dry.”

“I just thought I’d warn you, in case you expect my lips to be as soft as my hands. So you won’t be surprised at how dry they are when I kiss you.”

You blushed.

“You’re - you’re going to kiss me?”

“Yes.”

“When?” you asked, wondering if you were to be invited back to the show and your characters were to kiss.

“In a few seconds’ time, if that’s alright with you.”

Your stomach suddenly felt as if it were weightless again.

“Y - yes, that would be fine with me,” you managed to stammer out.

Alexander smiled, and the cupid’s bow you’d always thought looked so kissable looked even more kissable in person.

Well, it turned out, his lips were soft enough as they were. He kissed you with surprising uncertainty, then when you parted your lips slightly, it seemed to encourage him because he began kissing you with more fervour, the hand that wasn’t in yours reaching over to cup your cheek.

You reached up to run your fingers through his hair, then stopped when you were met with the fake gills of his cap, and your lips separated as you both laughed.

“I forgot we had these stupid things on,” you giggled. “I don’t suppose we can take them off?”

“Not if Lena’s glue has anything to say about it. Why, don’t you like it? I thought you’d enjoy kissing Dr Lazarus.”

Alexander smirked, and you batted his chest playfully.

“Shush. I’d prefer to kiss Alex Dane, if that’s alright.”

“Until we get back to Earth and find Lena, there’s nothing we can do, so you’ll have to settle for Alex Dane in costume.”

“I think I can accept that.”

“Good, because there’s an adorable little freckle on your earlobe I’ve been dying to kiss.”

He lowered his head to peck a kiss against your ear, and you giggled as his breath tickled your inner ear.

“If we’re kissing cute freckles, can I kiss the one on your neck?”

Alexander raised his head to look at you with a frown. “How do you know about that one? It’s always hidden under collars.”

“You got your kit off in Storm’s Retreat, remember?”

“…I did, yes. Bloody hell, I forgot about that one. Go on, then, I won’t say no to a neck kiss.”

Eagerly, you pulled down the zip of his costume, letting the collar fall away to reveal the neckline of the vest he wore underneath and… the little freckle at the base of his neck. You lifted your head to kiss it, and when you heard Alexander hum with approval, you nibbled at it slightly too.

“Oh, you’re a biter, are you?” he said with amusement. “I should have known. Well, two can play at that game.”

Alexander grazed his teeth against your ear, and you found yourselves playfighting, both trying to nibble the other’s skin first. He grabbed your wrists and pinned them above your head as he pushed you onto your back and climbed on top of you, grinning with victory.

“God, you look good like this. I wonder if there are any handcuffs on this ship…?”

“Don’t you dare!” you protested.

“Oh, I’ll dare. I want to see what you look like at my mercy.”

His eyes flashed dangerously, and you felt it between your legs.

“Alex…”

“Hm?” Alexander responded, his hands gently tracing your skin as he admired the view of you at his mercy underneath him.

“Not that this isn’t my every dream come true, but… you’ve been nothing but a jackass to me since we met. Why are you suddenly pinning me to the bed and kissing me? Again, really not complaining. Just… confused.”

The danger in Alexander’s eyes dimmed slightly, and he almost looked abashed.

“[Y/n]… I’ve fancied you since we met. But I have a strict rule about fans, so I tried to push you away. I suppose I was overcompensating.”

“What changed?”

“Being in real danger makes you realise things. Things like, I actually quite like that woman and I’d prefer it if she didn’t fall and die before I get a chance to kiss her.”

The hand that was exploring your body paused, and Alexander looked as if he were a young boy who’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

“[Y/n], before we… do whatever we might do next… I have to tell you something. That first night, when we went to karaoke. Do you really not remember anything about coming to my house?”

“No, just the bar, then waking up. Why, do you remember something?”

“No, but… I checked my security cameras after you left. We came back wasted and I stuck my hand down your trousers.”

“No!” you gasped, a hand flying to your mouth. “Surely I’d remember that!”

“Well, you were very drunk, because you passed out about thirty seconds later. I carried you to my bed then passed out on the sofa myself. Then… about an hour later, we both woke up, and started snogging. That was how your bra ended up on the sofa. We apparently decided not to do anything else, because you went back to bed and I went back to the sofa.”

“Oh, that’s how my bra got there! That’s been haunting me for months. So that’s why you started being a jackass, because you thought if you were nice I’d try to snog you again?”

“More like I was worried I’d try to snog you. That is why I didn’t tell you, though, because I didn’t want either of us to try it again. But now I would very much like to try it again, so… may I kiss you again?”

“Alex, you have a free pass to kiss me absolutely any time you like.”

“Don’t make promises you don’t mean,” Alexander said in a low voice, his eyes electric again, looking you up and down hungrily. “I’d like to kiss every inch of your body. But your lips - your lips are especially enticing.”

You knew you should be revelling in the fact that literally all your fangirl dreams were coming true, but you were far more interested in being with Alex at all - you realised you didn’t care that you were both in costume, in a perfect replica of Lazarus’ quarters. You didn’t even care that you were literally in space.

You just wanted the man behind the costume.

He, apparently, was thinking something similar.

“Get this bloody thing off,” Alexander growled, tugging at the zip to your costume. “If we have to keep the caps on, we can at least get rid of the uniform.”

“I think you just want an excuse to get me naked,” you teased as you pulled the zip down, and to Alexander’s disappointment, you had a vest on underneath.

“Do I need an excuse? Or would you do it if I asked nicely?”

“I’d do it if you asked unnicely.”

Alexander stood up to give you room to get out of your costume, and you watched with hungry eyes as he unzipped his costume too, laughing at your choice of words.

“Unnicely? I’m quite sure that’s not a word.”

“I’m an actor, not a writer! Anyway, Shakespeare made up words all the time, so maybe I’m onto something.”

“Yes, and one of those words was undress, so maybe you’d better hurry up and do as the Bard says.”

“I’m trying!” you protested, struggling to pull off your boots. Matters weren’t made any easier when Alexander kicked his own off with ease to allow himself to pull his jumpsuit off completely, leaving you with a direct close-up view of his boxers, and the prominent bulge beneath them.

Alexander scoffed at you, then yanked your boots off your feet, followed by your jumpsuit, leaving each of you in nothing but underwear and a vest.

God, he was magnificent. He had a slight belly, the remnants of one too many beers of an evening, and beneath his boxers you could see his already large bulge was getting larger.

“Your boxers are getting a bit tight,” you said teasingly. “Maybe you should take them off.”

Alexander’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Oh, hoping for the full experience, are we?”

You blushed. “Oh, well… I mean, if you want. If you just want to make out, that’s fine…”

Alexander grinned.

“Oh, trust me. I most certainly do want .”

He reached back and pulled his vest off, standing before you in almost his full glory. You quickly followed suit, discarding your vest somewhere on the floor, and with a hungry groan, Alexander crawled back on top of you, kissing whichever part of your skin he could get at as he moved. He paused when he reached your breasts, which were embarrassingly in your least sexy bra, because you’d dressed for attending a convention, not for getting laid, but Alexander didn’t seem to mind. He pressed his face against the skin that poked out from the edge of the bra, sighing with pleasure as if the touch of your breast was the most exquisite feeling in the world.

You felt his hand reaching for your back, so you curved your spine to allow him access to your bra strap, and with a few expert movements Alexander tugged your bra off and discarded it with the rest of your clothes.

“Did you know Shakespeare also invented the word majestic?” Alexander said breathily as he took your breasts in his hands, massaging them, pinching your nipples between his fingers. “A word made for these, I’m sure.”

You giggled. “Are you going to start reciting Shakespeare at my boobs, Alex?”

He looked up at you and grinned mischievously, then drew his attention back to your chest.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate,” he whispered against your skin, his attention fully on your breasts and not on you.

You laughed, although a tingle of desire flushed through you at hearing his voice so perfectly made for Shakespeare.

Alexander kissed his way up to your collarbone, then murmured against your neck, “Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, and summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”

He sucked on the flesh of your neck, seemingly determined to leave a mark. You whined, and you heard him chuckle against your skin on hearing your reaction. He sucked the same spot again, then traced kisses down your jaw until his lips were pressed against your ear.

“Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines and often is his gold complexion dimm’d… and every fair from fair sometime declines, by chance or nature’s changing course untrimm’d.”

You whined again, the sound of his soft whispers against your ear driving you wild, and you felt an ache between your legs begging to be filled by him.

Alexander fumbled with his boxers, pushing them down his legs to shake them off his ankle, not wanting to move away from you for a second.

“But thy eternal summer shall not fade, nor lose possession of that fair thou owest…”

His fingers slid between your legs, and he smirked when he found you soaking wet, the fabric of your panties moving aside for him almost too easily. He slipped his length up and down your folds, soaking himself in your arousal, and you had to resist taking hold of him and impaling yourself on him.

“Nor shall Death brag thou wander’st in his shade, when in eternal lines to time thou growest…”

Alexander kissed you, and as your lips parted for him, so did your entrance, and you felt him slip inside, pushing your walls apart easily as he settled inside you.

“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see… so long lives this, and this gives life to thee.”

He finished with a firm thrust, hitting himself inside you completely. He closed his eyes as he did so and let out a groan, savouring the feeling of being buried inside you.

“Sonnet… eighteen…” he panted, as if you didn’t know it.

You almost wanted to cry. It was so perfect, so sweet and loving… so unlike what you might expect from Alexander Dane, but you suspected you were seeing a side to him he shared with no one.

“Alex…”

His eyes fluttered open, and he looked down at you, his eyes heavy with desire.

“I need you.”

He smiled, withdrew almost completely, then thrust inside you with a surprising fierceness, contrasting with the gentle way in which he’d penetrated you.

“Do you want to know another word Shakespeare invented?” Alexander purred. “Hot-blooded.”

You cried out in surprise as he began thrusting into you, his movements hard and desperate, any pretence at being gentle thrown aside with your clothes. He dove back into the crook of your neck, determined to create more marks with each thrust. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders and held him close, your fingernails digging into his back. He seemed to like that, because he bit down harder on your neck, and when you moved your hand to grab onto the back of his neck, he took your earlobe between his teeth and tugged.

“Mhm , you feel so fucking good,” he grunted, his deep growls by your ear making you want him more and more. You wrapped your legs around his waist, holding him in tighter, and he responded by speeding up his thrusts.

Over his shoulder, you could see his arse moving with each thrust, and you thought of a Shakespeare quote of your own.

“Your bum is the greatest thing about you.”

Alexander faltered in his movements as he laughed.

“Measure for Measure. Very clever. Thou art wise as thou art beautiful.”

“Give me my sin again, Alex.”

“Oh, most certainly.”

He began thrusting again, more passionately this time, less desperate; as if he wanted to revel in the feeling of you, more than just put his dick somewhere.

But you were thirsty, and you wanted more.

“Harder, Alex…”

“I don’t want to cum too soon,” he panted in reply. “It’s… been a while. I don’t - don’t think I can trust myself to hold on. Not when - not when you’re so - fucking - gorgeous.”

You groaned in frustration, then with surprising strength, rolled him onto his back. Alexander grunted in surprise, hardly having time to register what had just happened before you were sliding back onto him to ride him at your own pace.

“Fucking hell, [Y/n],” Alexander hissed.

You smirked.

“What? No clever Shakespeare quote?”

“Keep bouncing like that and - mhm - you’ll fuck it all out of me. God, you look amazing like this. Use me, [Y/n], take all the pleasure you can… touch yourself, I want to see you cum like this…”

You gladly obeyed, pressing your fingers against your clit in the way you knew you liked, and Alexander groaned hungrily as he watched you, the pleasure building inside both of you with each movement, any clever words you might have had gone and replaced only with your desperate cries.

You took one of Alexander’s hands and guided it to your breast. He squeezed, and with a cry of your name, you felt his body shuddering beneath you as he came, the feel and sight and sound of you on top of him too much for him to hold back anymore.

You slowed down your movements, and after a few breaths of recovery, Alexander rolled you onto your back, pulled out of you and retreated down your body to bury his face between your legs.

His fingers slid inside you, pumping furiously while his tongue lapped at your sweet spot, and now you understood what he meant about wanting to savour the sensation before losing control, because you hardly had a chance to appreciate his skill before you were cumming on his face, and he lapped up your juices gladly, continuing to work his fingers and tongue on you until the aftershocks of your orgasm had subsided, and only when he was satisfied you were finished did his unstick himself from you, his lips glistening with your juices as he did so.

“Where the pleasant fountains lie, indeed,” he said, wiping his face on the back of his hand. “You could have told me you were a squirter before I put my face down there.”

“And ruin the fun?” you teased.

Alexander chuckled, kissed your inner thigh, then sat up and looked around with a frown.

“Is there no bathroom here? Surely Lazarus would have an en-suite.”

You pushed yourself onto your elbows, looked around and laughed.

“Maybe he ought to take it up with the captain.”

“I’ll certainly be taking it up with the set designers.” Alexander climbed off the bed and offered his hand to you to help you up. “Come on - let’s find a bathroom in this place. If we go to Leilani’s party smelling like sex, I guarantee I won’t hear the end of it.”

You tried your best to act natural around Alexander during the strangest birthday party you’d ever been to, but it was difficult when every time you glanced at him, he was staring right at you. Your eyes would catch, he would smirk, and you’d look away with a blush.

You managed to survive the trip back to Earth without fainting this time, and the cast dispersed to their respective rooms. You tried to get your key in the door, but you’d discovered something very strong and very delicious on the ship, and your vision wasn’t exactly at its peak.

Alexander suddenly appeared at your side, opened your door for you, then followed you inside with a hungry grin, scooping you up in his arms the moment the door was closed.

“Oof! Alex, don’t, I’ll be sick!” you protested.

“Don’t worry, I’m just taking you to bed.”

He carried you across the room and plopped you on the bed, his hands immediately exploring your body the moment they were free.

“I’ve been wanting to get my hands on you again all night. We should never have gone to the party.”

He kissed you sloppily, and his breath smelled like the sweet drinks you’d been drinking all night.

“Alex… m’drunk,” you mumbled as his wet kisses moved to your neck. “An’ you’re drunk too.”

“I am… absolutely wasted,” Alexander admitted. He paused his movements, then rolled himself onto his back with a grunt. He closed his eyes to stop the world from spinning around him.

“Oh my god, we’re gonna have to sleep with these stupid things on,” you realised when you noticed he was still wearing his cap. “Lena’s gonna kill us if we mess them up.”

Alexander snorted derisively. “If hyperspeed travel through space doesn’t mess it up, I doubt sleep will.” His eyes still closed, he put his arm out to her. “C’mon, let’s sleep.”

“M’not sleeping in this,” you said, gesturing to your uniform. You unzipped it and stood to take it off, and let out a yelp of surprise when Alexander’s hand slapped your now exposed arse.

“Gimme that booty,” he said, and you laughed. He was significantly less loquacious, apparently, when he was drunk.

“Only if you gimme yours,” you replied, looking over your shoulder to see he was still fully dressed. He grinned.

“Deal.”

Even though you were drunker than you’d been in a long time, you just about managed to stumble to the minifridge to down a bottle of water. You brought one back for Alexander, but he was already fast asleep, snoring loudly. You left the bottle of water on the bedside table for him, then climbed in next to him and promptly fell asleep.

When you woke up the next morning, thanks to your water trick, your hangover wasn’t as bad as it could have been. You rolled over, hoping to find Alexander next to you, only to find the rest of the bed empty.

You opened your eyes groggily, wincing against the sunlight seeping past the curtains, praying last night hadn’t been a dream.

You slowly sat up, trying not to disturb your churning stomach — and then you heard the distinct sound of vomiting from within the en-suite bathroom.

“Alex?” you called out, your voice hoarse.

He responded with a groan.

You plodded over to the minifridge for another water.

So it had been real. You really had been whisked off to space, you’d really slept with Alexander Dane before getting drunk at an alien’s birthday party - and you’d really slept with Alexander on your return to Earth.

Now he was throwing up in your hotel room’s en-suite.

You glanced at the clock and your heart skipped a beat.

“Alex, the first panel’s in ten minutes!”

“Fuhhem,” Alexander replied.

You poked your head around the bathroom door to find him stood at the sink, one hand holding himself steady while the other washed vomit from his face. He was still in his vest and boxers — and he was still wearing his head cap.

He looked at you through the mirror, and one glance was all you needed to know he wasn’t going to be in any shape to sit at a panel.

“Ruin that cap and Lena’ll kill you.”

Alexander scoffed. “It’s been through worse.”

He didn’t just look rough, but he sounded it too. His voice was hoarse and sounded as if he were trying to sound like sandpaper if it could speak.

“You want me to tell them you’re not coming?”

Alexander nodded groggily.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, his eyes already drooping sleepily. “Not the sexiest look right now.”

You rolled your eyes, then went to find your discarded costume. You definitely felt rough yourself, but you were in much better shape than him, and you knew a black coffee and a bacon sandwich was exactly what you needed to feel right as rain again.

“You can stay here if you want,” you said to him as you got dressed. “So long as you don’t raid the minibar, the agency’ll kill me.”

“Don’t say the word bar to me ever again,” Alexander grumbled as he plodded out of the bathroom and fished his costume from the floor to clumsily put it back on. “I’m going back to my room for a nice long nap, then I’m going home. I’m never doing this again.”

“I’ve sworn I’ll never drink again a million times, I always end up doing it.”

“No, not drinking, of course I’ll drink again. I mean this .” He gestured around the room. “That’s two conventions in a row now that have led to being abducted by aliens. I’m too old for this shit.”

His uniform was only half-zipped up when the zip caught. He tried to tug it, but it resisted, so he sighed and gave up. He was only going to take it off again in a minute anyway.

He looked up at you, looking put-together and just about ready to walk on set, and not at all as if you’d drunk just as much as he had.

“You don’t have to go down there either, you know,” he said suggestively, looking you up and down as he snuck an arm around your waist. “We could stay here and fuck all day.”

You blushed.

“I would like that… but this is my first con. You’re a grumpy old actor, you can get away with it. I can’t. Besides, I don’t think you’re in any condition to fuck right now, do you?”

“Hmm, I suppose not,” Alexander conceded. “But I still want to see you again. Would you give me your number?”

Even after everything, you were still a little starstruck, and the fangirl inside you was ready to explode with excitement that Alexander Dane was asking for your number.

You put your acting skills to good use, and played it cool as you used the hotel stationary to write your mobile number down for him.

He gave your arse a quick squeeze then left with a flirtatious grin.

You took a moment to let yourself silently scream with excitement, then put on your game face and made your way downstairs for your fashionably late entrance to the morning panel. Throughout the day, although you engaged with the fans, one corner of your mind was always thinking about the night you’d spent in space with Alexander Dane.

By the time you finished for the day, Alexander was nowhere to be found, and Gwen discovered from the hotel receptionist that he’d checked out in the morning. You checked your phone, but he hadn’t text you to say goodbye.

You spent the next week checking your phone constantly, but still nothing. You knew he was alive, because you saw him on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, promoting the season finale of the show along with Gwen and Jason. He had to sit there, smiling politely, while Jason made the whole conversation about him and, occasionally, his relationship with Gwen.

“Well, how about that, folks? Love onscreen and off!” Jimmy said, and the audience cheered. Gwen and Jason looked at each other adoringly, in a way you’d never seen them look at each other in person, and Alexander rolled his eyes in a way you definitely had seen in person.

“And talking of onscreen romances,” Jimmy continued, “when are Lazarus and Bethany getting their happily ever after?! We need them together!”

The audience cheered - louder, this time.

“Well, I can’t comment on what the writers have planned,” Alexander replied. “But if they want her back, it’s [Y/n] [L/n] they’ll have to convince, not me. I don’t think she’d want to come back.”

“Yes, you do!” you protested, as if he could hear you. “You know I want to come back, you prat!”

“Well, we sure want her back, don’t we, everyone?” Jimmy said, and the audience cheered in encouragement.

The topic moved on to Peter Taggart’s character arc, and you turned the TV off in frustration. What on earth was Alexander doing, making it out as if you were hesitant to come back? He’d heard you say enough times over the weekend, onstage and off, that you’d love to come back. You wouldn’t have spent two days with that stupid cap on if you didn’t!

You glanced at your phone. He still hadn’t text you.

Well, whatever. Fuck him. You had better things to do than to mope over some guy. He might be your biggest celebrity crush and your theatrical icon, but he was still just some guy, and clearly not above making fake promises about seeing you again once he’d got his dick in you.

You didn’t need him.

But damn, you wanted him.

---

You saw Alexander Dane again a year later.

In that time, you’d been promoted from understudy to taking on the role of Johanna every night, and you were far too focused on nailing the high notes eight times a week to think about stupid actors who ask for your number with no intention of using it.

You had to stop visiting Galaxy Quest forums. It was too weird when you came up in discussions, especially when the fans you were talking to didn’t know you were you. It was especially weird when they talked about how hot you were. The final straw was when you came across fanfiction involving, not Lazarus and Bethany, but you and Alexander.

You deleted your account then.

Then one day, you got a call from your agent: would you like to come back for a short one-scene appearance on Galaxy Quest?

You considered saying no, but you didn’t want Alexander’s jackassery to affect your career, or the show, and if the writers thought Bethany needed to show up for a scene then you’d let it happen - despite what Alexander claimed. 

So you showed up at the studios and chatted amicably with Lena while she fitted the cap on your head. Fortunately, Alexander had been filming for hours, so you didn’t have to sit next to him awkwardly.

You went over your lines again. While the glue set, Lena took your script in her hands and read Alexander’s lines to test your memory of your own, but you spent more time giggling at her impression of his deep, baritone voice than actually reciting your lines.

You were called to set, and just like before, you had little time to prepare before you were thrown into the scene. The director ran you through your blocking a couple of times while you waited for Alexander to appear, and then… there he was.

You avoided looking at him until action was called.

Inside and around a wet cave on the shore of the land of a planet Lazarus had never heard of, several dozen Mak’Tar were bustling about, getting ready for the day. He stared about, aghast, marvelling at the sight of so many of his own kind, the kind he’d thought dead long ago.

“Excuse me,” he said to a passing man, “I’ve just arrived here. I was told to see your leader.”

The man smiled gladly. “Another survivor? Welcome, friend! Here, I’ll take you to her.”

The man led him to a woman who was by the shoreline, teaching a young child how to fish with his hands.

“Bethany! We have another survivor.”

Lazarus’ eyes widened in surprise at the sound of the familiar name, and sure enough, the woman he’d rescued from the alien zoo turned around.

She smiled.

“Hello, Lazarus. I hoped you’d find your way here some day.”

“I… got a little lost,” he admitted.

“We all did.”

Bethany stepped down from the rock she was standing on and took Lazarus’ hands in hers.

“I’ve been waiting for you.”

There was a moment’s hesitation.

“Cut!”

You dropped Alexander’s hands, looking back at the director in surprise.

“Where the hell is the chemistry?” he demanded. “Last time you were here, the chemistry between you was off the charts. So much so the fans sent us a petition to bring you back, [Y/n]! But this, whatever it is, it’s not chemistry.”

“Right, sorry,” you said, a little embarrassed. “Where shall we start from?”

“Go back to the beginning. The whole thing needs to flow. [Y/n], at least try to pretend like you’re happy to see him, okay?”

You tried the scene six more times, but still the director wasn’t happy.

“I’m sorry, can we take a break, please?” you asked, the frustration in your chest only getting worse with each take. “Maybe I just need some air.”

The director sighed.

“Alright, fine. Ten minutes.”

You took a proffered coat from a PA and, after a quick trip to the loo, stepped outside - and sighed when you saw that Alexander was already there with a cigarette in his hand.

You hesitated, about to turn back inside, when he silently held the box out to you.

“…Thanks.”

You took a cigarette from the box, borrowed his lighter to light it, and leaned against the wall with a sigh.

“Is acting with me really that difficult?” Alexander said after a long puff.

“Apparently.”

“About as difficult as talking to me, I suppose.”

“Mmm.”

Alexander sighed in frustration.

“Can you at least try to be professional?”

“Dunno. Can you at least try to be a decent person?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

You threw your cigarette on the ground and stomped it out in frustration.

“It means , Alexander, if you were just going to use and discard me, you could have been fucking honest. Asking for my number and not bothering to text me, not even to say you’re not interested? That is a major dick move, even for you.”

Alexander frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, what am I talking about? I’m talking about you fucking me in fucking space, taking my number and talking about wanting to see me again, then completely blanking me!”

Alexander stubbed out his cigarette, reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out his phone. A few beeps later, he showed you the screen.

Text message To: [Y/n] [L/n] Hello its Alex

He showed you another.

Are you ok? Not heard from you.

And another.

Will wait for you to reply.

You stared, gaping.

“I thought you’d changed your mind, so I stopped,” Alexander said. “Are you saying you didn’t get any of my messages?”

“No! I thought you just never texted me!”

Alex sighed. “I knew I should have called. I was going to, but Guy kept telling me young people didn’t actually call each other anymore, it’s all text messages these days.”

“You probably put my number in wrong! It’s 555-1946.”

Alex tapped through his contacts to find you.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’ve got 555-7946. It’s your bloody handwriting!”

“Hey, don’t blame me! Who have you been texting then?”

“I don’t bloody know, do I? Whichever poor sod got these never replied. Again — I should have called. Then I’d have known - oh, for God’s sake. I’ve spent the last year pissed at you for ignoring me.”

“And I’ve spent the last year pissed at you!” you groaned in exasperation. “So are you - I mean, are you, you know - still interested? I mean, I’ve been dating, it’s not like I’ve been pining over you” - a lie - “but I’m single now. If… you are.”

Alexander snorted. “[Y/n], you are awful at flirting.”

“…Yeah.”

“Well, so am I. Can we agree to skip that part and go straight to snogging?”

“God, yes.”

Your lips collided as the two of you fell into an embrace - as best you could with the bulky coats you were wearing. Alexander grabbed you by the waist and spun you around to pin you against the wall, hands sliding underneath your coat to grab at your curves. While one hand caressed your body, the other snuck up to your neck to hold your head firmly against his, only for the two of you to break the kiss and burst into laughter when you realised that, once again, you had the stupid caps on.

“Christ, I can’t wait to be rid of this thing,” Alexander muttered. “Two more days, then I’m free of it.”

“What do you mean?”

He hesitated, then said, “It’s my last day on Friday. I’m quitting the show.”

“What?!”

“Shh, keep your voice down!” Alexander said, glancing around as if there might be someone spying on you in the empty backlot. “They’re announcing it on Saturday, once I’m done with filming. Are you that surprised? Have you read the scene or are you just reciting lines mindlessly?”

You batted him on the chest. “You bastard! I thought it was a plot about the Mak’Tar surviving! So, what, Lazarus leaves the ship and lives happily ever after with Bethany on Tev’Meck II?”

“Something like that. They were going to kill me off, but I thought it’d be much better for him to find some purpose… and love.”

You grinned cheekily. “You just wanted an excuse to have me back, didn’t you?”

“What, when I thought you’d ignored me? No, as much as this show pisses me off sometimes —”

“Only some?”

“— I wanted Lazarus to have a fitting ending.”

“And this way we can get a spinoff.”

Alexander threw his hands up. “No! Absolutely not. They couldn’t offer me enough money.”

“What, to lead your own show? With me as your co-star?”

“Both of those things sound wonderful, but not as Lazarus. I’m done with him. I want to go back to the theatre.”

“Ooh, the guy who plays Turpin is leaving, we’re holding auditions soon! Maybe you could be the Turpin to my Johanna.”

“It’d certainly be a test of your acting skills pretending you’re not incredibly attracted to me,” Alexander said with a grin. “Pretend to hate me on stage then run off for a quickie in intermission.”

“You wish. I’m far too professional for that.”

“After bows, then?”

“Definitely. Come on, let’s go back. Now I’m not pissed at you, I might actually be able to get this stupid scene done.”

It only took two more takes to get the scene right. Your chemistry was back, and when your cue came to kiss, you and Alexander went on for perhaps a bit longer than necessary - but nobody asked you to stop.

The scene finally finished, the two of you went to Lena to get your caps removed, and after a trip to wardrobe to get back into your own clothes, you met Alexander out back, both of you wearing normal, human clothes with your heads freed from the confines of those stupid caps.

He smiled when he saw you and held his hand out to you. You took it, then he pulled you close to him, and kissed you deeply. He grabbed the back of your head, his fingers finally threading through your hair, and when your lips parted, he was looking a little flustered.

“Got any plans tonight?”

“Well, there’s this guy I was gonna ask out, but…”

Alexander raised an eyebrow. “But?”

“But I think he’s about to ask me out.”

He grinned.

“What d’you say to dinner at mine? I don’t want to be batting off fans and paparazzi when I should be paying attention to you.”

“Home cooked dinner? I’d be an idiot to say no.”

“Good thing you’re a clever girl, then.”

He kissed you again, gave your arse a squeeze, then wrapped an arm around your shoulder to escort you to his car.

Your every dream was coming true - and it was only the beginning.

[servantserah]

✨ A guide to my Good Omens comics, fics and AUs ✨

Finally a new, reworked version! I've tried to compile this list with all my comics, AUs, fanfictions etc with links and tags to help everyone navigate them better! Please let me know if there are any questions or you'd like me to add/change something!

👇👇 Click "read more" to get to the full list! 👇👇

Please note that this list only includes AUs and works that consist of several parts/are a series; one shot comics are not listed here.

All of these works can also be found on my instagram, some of them on Twitter/X under the same tags.

🌱 Myosotis 🌱

Main comic (completed):

Myosotis is a flower, also known as ‘Forget-me-not’. It symbolizes faithful love and memories. According to a German legend, God forgot naming this flower and said “I forgot you once, I shall never forget you again.” This comic takes place one year after the events of Good Omens season 1. Crowley and Aziraphale have lost all their memories about each other. They meet again, thinking the other is human and feeling drawn towards each other, they soon develop a strong connection.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #myosotisAU

-

Myosotis: Falter (completed):

This mini comic takes place 3 years after the conclusion of the Myosotis comic. Crowley and Aziraphale spend a rainy night at home when they get an unexpected visitor.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #myosotis falter

-

So, you stopped Armageddon! ...Now what? (completed)

This fanfiction takes place after the final scene of season 1. Crowley and Aziraphale celebrate their newfound freedom and Crowley wonders if and how things between him and the angel were going to change. And what should they do now that they’ve retired? So many doors have opened before them all at once, it’s a little overwhelming.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #SYSA! ...NW?

-

Crêpes (onging)

This comic takes place after the events of Good Omens season 2 and shows how Crowley deals with Aziraphale leaving.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #Good Omens crepes

⚜️ GoodGardenerAU (ggAU for short) ⚜️

In this AU Warlock actually is the Antichrist and his demonic Nanny Lilith 'Ash' Ashtoreth has been tasked to take care of him and ensure he brings upon Armageddon. What happens when the Antichrist's nanny is actually a terrible demon who doesn't want Armageddon to happen, who forms deep friendships with the other humans at the ambassador's estate and, worst of all, falls in love with the human gardener? This AU isn't one consistent long comic, but a collection of several shorter comics, fanfictions and artworks. They are listed chronologically below.

Tag: #GoodGardenerAU

-

Lilium (completed):

This comic tells the story of how Ash became Warlock's nanny.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #ggAULilium

-

Three Months (ongoing):

This fanfiction takes places immediately after the events of Lilium and is a glimpse into Ash's first three months living at the Dowling estate. It showcases their mental struggles and how they eventually let down their walls to befriend some of their new colleagues (among them the estate's gardener) and start their process of healing from millennia of trauma.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #ggAU three months

-

Why It Doesn't Snow (completed)

A mini comic where Ash and Francis uncover the mystery of why it has stopped snowing in the area ever since Warlock’s birth.

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #ggAUsnow

-

Ineffable Uncles (completed)

This comic is part of the Good Omens/ggAU Multiverse. Aziraphale and Crowley offer to watch over their AU niece Eden (Francis and Ash's daughter) for a weekened. What could go wrong?

➡️ Start reading ⬅️ | Tag: #ggAUineffableUncles

-

ggAU Skyrim AU

An AU of my AU? Yes, sue me. This is a The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim AU for my GoodGardenerAU. It takes place in the world and rough timeline of the game. Ash is a Dunmer working at Braidwood Inn in Kynesgrove who seems to live a second, secret life in the shadows. Francis is a Nord working at Hollyfrost farm outside of Windhelm. Warlock is the Nord son of two busy trades people at Windhelm. Ash has been babysitting him since he was young. He is a normal boy who just so happens to have a special soul residing within him.

Tags: #ggAUSkyrim

These are AUs that exist but I sadly don't draw very often.

📚 Untitled Ineffable Wives AU 📚

This AU is still in progress! Aziraphale is a human working at her family's bookstore, while Crowley is a naga stranded in the human world. I won't give more details until I have it all more refined. They're very much lesbians in this.

Tag: #untitled wives au

-

🧙🏼‍♂️ Ineffable Hobbit AU 🧙🏼‍♂️

An AU that takes place in Tolkien's Middle Earth, set primarily during the events of The Hobbit movies. Aziraphale Bilbo Baggins lives a quiet but peaceful life in The Shire until a wizard and thirteen dwarves drag him into an adventure to reclaim the dwarven mountain kingdom of Erebor from the terrible dragon Smaugley…. Only that Smaugley doesn’t seem all that terrible.

Tag: #IneffableHobbitAU

[kyberblade]

Back To You - (Din x Reader) Epilogue/Prologue for Close To Home

A/N: IT IS HEREEEEEEE!!! So sorry it took so long. So much happens. I was going to divide this and then I thought, “Hmmmmm…. No.” As one does. Another note at the end to avoid spoilers. Seriously. Don’t read it until you’ve read the whole thing. You’ve been warned. I have spoken. This is the way. Yada yada yada. …..You just jumped forward and came back didn’t you? 🙄 Also, once again, there is some lore in this that @writerlyhabits​ wrote in a fantastic short, and I loved it so much, I asked if I could use it.

There are parts of this you won’t understand if you didn’t read the Dincember 2022 Drabble Carry You With Me, but they are very small mentions, you will be fine as a whole if you don’t want to read it. But why wouldn’t you? 🥺

(This takes place two years after the other one, and goes to the beginning-ish of episode 1/5 of TBoBF, Return of the Mandalorian.)

I do not own Star Wars or it’s characters. Sadly. But I carry them in my heart. Does that count for something? My soul says yes.

Warnings: Tooth rotting fluff, Grogu being the cutest thing you ever did see, (Nobody touch me he’s still here okay?) and Din is once again a warning in and of himself in this one. Helmetless Din. What? Who said that? 😬 Typical show violence. Swearing. Space swearing. Grogu is a menace. Arguing? Mando’a. Show dialogue, so spoilers? (But if you’re here, you know how this works.) Return of past characters. Tears. Shenanigans. Lots of banter. Throwback to chapter one with dialogue repeats but in the best™️ way, and copious amounts of me trying to work in back to you as a normal thing in a sentence bc why not.

Word count: 16,655 (I said what I said.)

As always, thanks to @grippingbeskar for encouraging me, looking over this for me, and being the one to introduce me to Din fanfiction in the first place, getting me hooked. You are fantastic and I always love our chats.

And for @fordo-kixed-rex, you deserve so much more than a shoutout for reading all 75 million iterations of this massive chapter from start to finish, and helping me in between. You’re a real one, friend. This series would not have gotten this far without you.

Also a shoutout to @what-the-heckin-heck, @dontletyourchildrenwatchthis, @lloweryourstandardss, and @littlemisspascal for being a sounding board for me over this whole process. (Also to @deceiver-of-gods for all of your help over all the chapters with the Mando’a. I hope I got it right in this one.)

Previous | Series Masterlist | Next

Xxx

Two years later….

Tatooine was bustling. As always. Vendors with their wares, smells and brilliant sights everywhere you turned. Something new and exciting to pull you in and suck all your credits dry just like the planet's heat stole every drop of moisture…. 

But it was all nothing without the kid. It was dull and drab without Grogu at your side. His soft babbles, the odd ‘Patu’ he’d throw at the next snack he’d like to steal…. 

Dank farrik! Turning away from the hanging frogs at the nearest vendor, you swiped at the most recent batch of tears rising to the surface. Sniffling loudly, you melted into the warm hand that came to rest on your back, eyes fluttering shut.

“It’s okay, mesh’la. I miss him, too.” The modulated voice at your ear carried unspoken sorrow of its own, sadness it’d never dare to even whisper into the universe, lest that make it real. If he kept it hidden, secret…. Like his face, nothing in the galaxy could use it against him. Somehow it made him stronger. And you both resented that and wanted to squeeze the life out of him for it at the same time. 

“It’d be nice if you’d show it once and a while….” You grumbled, turning toward him but keeping your eyes cast down to stare at the sand.

His hand fell to his side slowly. “What?” Head tilting to the side as he peered down at you in question, barely any space left between you, it leaned the other way when you shook your head with a sarcastic grin.

“Nothing. Forget it.” Your eyes lifted up to meet his visor finally, squinting against the glare of the twin suns. “Got everything?”

Din nodded. “Almost. Just need the-”

His words were cut short when the satchel across his chest suddenly dropped to the ground, the strap cut inconspicuously by a passing Rhodian seeming to casually bump into the Mandalorian only moments before.

You turned to try and find the culprit but Din tugged on your upper arm. 

“Forget about him. He’s just the-” Both of you looked down at the ground to find the satchel missing, “-distraction.”

You smirked. “I see.”

As Din’s head began to swivel in search of the thief, you attempted to reach out through the crowd with the Force, searching for the familiar signature of the contents in the satchel.

“How did you not get an alert?”

Now your head was on a swivel. Directly to the Mandalorian. “A what?”

“You know.” He wiggled his fingers like Cara always did when referencing the Force. “Why didn’t you know?”

You rolled your eyes with a sigh, looking back to the crowd. “It doesn’t work that way.” The world weary words you’d said a thousand times felt like a mantra at this point. Then after a moment you added, “I’m not a security system.”

“Well that would be handy,” Din said offhandedly, beginning to walk purposefully in the direction the two of you had come not minutes before.

Stumbling after him, your face scrunched like you’d eaten something sour, you pulled on his upper arm to try and turn him around, but it only stopped him, his head still on a swivel. “Wait, what?!”

Din sighed in frustration. “I don’t know. I’m just looking for the thief. That bag has something impor-”

“Your old armor, I know.” Din’s full attention was on you now, his head tilted slightly in question. “Everything has an energy, that’s a really simplified way of how the Force works. Right now I’m trying to track the signature of your armor.”

“What is it?” He asked hesitantly, his weight shifting to one side.

Smiling softly, you took a step forward, grabbing his hand and pulling him down a side alley toward where you felt the signature grow stronger. “Nothing but goodness, Man- Din. Light and strength.” You stumbled over his name, still not used to using his actual moniker in public.

He chuckled at your fumble, shaking his head in disbelief. “From that dingy old stuff?”

“It’s not the quality of the armor that I’m reading.” You looked at his visor over your shoulder, eyebrow raised. “It’s the quality of the warrior who wore it.” Turning back forward to navigate between the street crowded with lifeforms, one side of your mouth lifted in amusement. “That type of thing leaves an impression.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he finally grumbled quietly. When you looked back at him once again, your brow arched higher than before, he huffed. “How did you know it was there?”

Smiling softly as you held the gaze of his visor, you turned back to face forward, moving a bit faster. “You’re about as subtle as your new armor.” Din let out a soft, annoyed groan. “I saw you packing it back in Peli’s hangar.”

“I can be subtle,” he groused, slowing his steps slightly.

With your own groan, you turned to face him with a toss of your head for emphasis. “Yes. So subtle, Mandalorian. My big, shiny tin can. Now come.” Grabbing his hand once again with both of yours, you began to walk backwards, pulling him along with you. “We have a thief to catch.”

The alley had quieted down, the masses of beings thinned out so it was basically only you and Din, and maybe a handful of beings milling about, using the cross way as a shortcut to somewhere else. No one was lingering, their faces streaking by as they hurried to move on with their day.

“Hold that thought.” Din pulled you to a stop, planting his feet as he turned his head toward a crate on his left. On top of the box sat his satchel, untouched, his armor still causing it to look awkward and lumpy. “We may have just lucked ou-”

A surge of panic behind you caused you to turn toward the source, a small figure darting out of your line of sight as a familiar small voice muttered, “Oh shi-” before spinning around in Din’s hold, his grip around their forearm holding them tight.

“Okay, you little nerf herder, nice try- Sola?” Din’s voice dropped on the name.

You turned to fully face the pair, eyes going wide on the small girl now a young adult, maybe twelve, possibly thirteen years old now. 

She looked between the two of you, her expression a mirror of your own, as her body deflated in Din’s hold, her weight going slack in his grip while she cried in disbelief, “It’s you?!”

You couldn’t help the highly intelligent thing that tumbled out of you next. “It’s you?!”

Sola sighed a sigh worthy of a Mandalorian before she grumbled, kicking one foot at the sand path of the alleyway. “I knew I recognized that armband.”

Reaching up, you traced over the ribbons on your left bicep with the tips of your fingers on your right hand, eyes darting down to look at it briefly before they pulled back up to level a stern glare on the girl.

Before anything else could be said, heavy footfalls came racing up behind your little gathering. A female stumbled the last few steps, coming to a stop and collapsing, slapping her hands onto her knees before you could see her face, struggling to catch her breath. You opened your mouth to greet the newcomer, but she held up one finger before you could utter a sound. 

Din finally muttered in disbelief, “Cara?”

Your head whipped over toward the figure, eyes wider still. “It’s you?!” A hand came up to rest on your forehead, massaging back and forth as if that would help things sink in and make more sense. Your brows practically knit together in confusion with this new information, one arching up as you stared at the woman. “I’m so confused.”

Standing up, with one last heavy breath, Cara offered the two of you a tired smile. “Following up a lead.”

She held up a hand to stop Din before he could even ask, her eyes closing in mock annoyance. “Long story.” She opened them once again to land directly on you with a wink as Din sighed in exasperation before her attention turned onto Sola, her hand falling to gesture to the adolescent before landing at her side with a graceless slap. “And this little womp rat stole my commlink.”

Din looked down at the girl, giving her arm still in his grip a little shake. “This is Sola.” 

The girl shrunk under the stare of three adults. 

Cara’s gaze flicked up towards his visor, almost accusingly. “Friend of yours?” You nodded, and she sighed, hands going to her hips, weight shifting to one side. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Sola,” you tried calmly, going over to grab Din’s satchel before it was forgotten in the chaos. “Explain, please.”

“Nothing. It was nothing. I just grabbed hers by mistake, that’s all.” She shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.

Cara leveled a look on the girl, her tone dry. “Off my belt?”

Sola tried a grin. “Whoops?”

The Marshal lifted the look to Din. 

“Don’t do that to me,” he complained. “I didn’t teach her that.”

“Don’t even pretend to look at me next, Cara,” you held up your hand to stop her before she even tried. “I only taught her good things.”

Sola rolled her eyes and tried to tug out of Din’s hold, but the Mandalorian easily held her in place.

“Have a seat,” you offered sweetly, pulling the crate the bag had been on toward you with the Force, and giving her a nudge to sit. “Talk.”

She stared over at the wall behind you, grinning in disbelief. “It was a dare, okay?” Her eyes pulled up to meet yours, their hard stare melting slightly once they did, revealing something vulnerable, something broken. Her voice softened just slightly, but still held the mock vibrato she started out with, making you huff as she continued. “Some kids dared me to take someone’s bag, and I was just unlucky enough to choose you.”

“And my comlink?” Cara tried.

Sola turned to her with a cheesy grin. “That was just bad luck on your end.”

“I’ll show you bad luck,” Cara grumbled, stepping closer to the teen.

You stepped between them. “Cara.”

“What?” She barked, trying to peer over your shoulder at the girl before looking you in the eyes.

“No.”

“She stole-”

“She’s a kid,” you corrected. “Tell me you didn’t do dumb stuff when you were her age. Hell, you do dumb stuff now.”

“You’re one to talk,” Cara grumbled.

You smirked, arms crossing over your chest as your weight shifted to one leg. “Ah, but I travel with a Mandalorian. What’s your excuse?”

Cara scoffed. “I knew him first, if we’re going that route.”

“I’m right here,” Din said, somewhat offended, reaching out to gently push Sola down by the shoulder without a second glance when she went to stand up.

You kept your voice even, mildly distracted as you spoke somewhat flippantly. “Mandalorians who shot their partner in the leg don’t get to talk right now.”

“I didn’t shoot you!” He protested, voice going up at the end in agitation.

“You shot her?” Cara asked at the same time Din spoke, turning to look at him with raised brows.

“I didn’t shoot her!” Din corrected before Cara could even finish, his visor swiveling back to you. “It was a ricochet.” His head tilted to the right as he stared at you. “On Gideon’s ship. The bolt bounced off the droid when she launched at it, and-”

You waved your hand dismissively, gaze landing on nothing in particular across the street. “Same thing.”

“It is no-”

“Ugh!” Sola threw her head back and groaned, staring at the sky with wide eyes, her voice went up with each following word. “This is torture!” Her head lowered back to look between the three of you, eyes narrowed to slits before they fluttered shut and she heaved another heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll talk.” She leaned back on her palms on the crate, her face finally relaxing to something more neutral. “Just…. Stop whatever…. This,” she gestured vaguely with one hand while her nose scrunched up slightly in disgust, “is.”

You turned back to face her, nodding for her to go on, but Din interrupted.

“Later.”

You rolled your eyes as he waved his finger at you in admonishment before landing them back on the girl, smiling softly. “Go on, Sola.”

She hesitated before taking a quick breath and letting it all out on an exhale, speaking quickly. “My parents are diplomats from a planet in the Mid Rim.” 

“Woah, woah, woah, slow down, kid!”

Sola glared at you, taking an exaggeratedly deep breath before speaking overly clearly the rest of her explanation. “We’re here to broker peace between the different ruling houses and our world.”

“Hey, if you’re going to have an attitude, we can just leave,” you warned.

“Great!” Sola beamed. “Bye!” She went to rise from the crate but both Din and Cara pushed down on a shoulder on each side respectively, earning a soft oomph! from the teen. 

She sighed resignedly before going on. “But as you can probably guess, that goes as smooth as sand in a hyperdrive.” She took a deep breath. “I’m not allowed to do anything. I have to keep up appearances, and stay inside most of the time now because we have gotten death threats after a deal gone bad recently.”

Din visibly stiffened beside her, Cara, too. A chill ran up your spine as she continued.

As she relaxed further back into the crate, her words seemed almost lazy, lackadaisical. “So I started sneaking out. Nothing major, just needed some fresh air, well, it’s Tatooine, so, air.” Her tone went rigid with her posture, the spark in her fading to a dull ember as her volume faded to a mere murmur. Her index finger traced lines along her knee as her eyes followed the invisible trails it made. “Then I met them.”

“Who?”

Sola met your eyes, almost startled when you asked, like she’d forgotten people were listening. She shrugged one shoulder, her eyes dropping back down to her lap, her tone still soft. “Doesn’t matter. A group of kids. They do petty crimes and stuff, I wasn’t going to do anything, but they said they were going to tell the people who had been sending death threats how I was sneaking in and out at night.” Her hand stilled, then began poking at the ankle of her foot tucked up under her absently, her eyes cast down at the ground. “They had been watching me, I guess. Let them know all our weak points in security. If I didn’t do a job for them, then they’d tell….”

“And one job turned into more….”

She nodded at your comment. Her eyes flickering up to meet yours for only a second before they pulled down again.

“Why didn’t you just tell your parents and beef up security?” Din’s voice was in planning mode.

Sola peered up at him, squinting against the suns’ light. “And prove I’d let them down?” She looked down at her lap, fiddling her thumbs. “Sneaking around, been committing petty crimes? Would you have done that?”

Din looked at the ground, his voice quiet. “Probably not.”

“Give me my comlink,” Cara said, holding out her hand toward the girl.

You huffed, arms crossing over your chest. “Really, Cara? You hear all that and you’re still banging on about your damned-”

Once the device was in her hand, she took a few steps away and spoke into it in a professional voice. “This is Marshal Dune. Please call off the search. It wasn’t stolen, I just dropped it. Sorry for the confusion.” A male voice you couldn’t quite make out garbled over static on the other end. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Cara replied, turning to face the three of you. “Also, I’m going to take off the rest of the day. Found some booths I want to wander through. We’ll pick up our meeting tomorrow. Yeah. See you then.”

She made her way back over, clipping the comlink to her belt. “I just bought us about twelve hours. What’s the plan?”

“Plan?” Sola looked between the three of you with wide eyes.

You smiled. Her gaze was up and off the ground for the first time this conversation. And it was full of hope. 

“Of course,” you said, smiling gently. “Nobody messes with a member of our family and gets away with it.” Sola grinned at your words. You’d do pretty much anything to keep it there. “Now, let’s go scare some thugs, shall we?”

Xxx

“Now, I know that you packed it,” you said, standing in the fresher of the Crest, voice jiggling as you hopped slightly to pull the armor higher up your chest. “But I don’t know why.”

“Oh, the Jedi is stumped, is she?” Din’s sarcastic amusement was muted through the door, making you roll your eyes. 

Setting your weight to one hip, you pressed the button, and the durasteel barrier hissed open to reveal your Mandalorian leaning against the frame. His arms across his chest as he waited for you, his posture easy and relaxed, he looked like a growth on the walls of his ship.

Cara and Sola were out in the hangar with Peli, their voices faintly heard along with the annoyed bleeps and bloops of R5 as they echoed off the stone walls and up the open ramp. 

“Not stumped,” you countered quickly, walking around him to the middle of the cargo hold as you pulled your gloves on, chin held high as you chose your next words with care. His visor followed you as you went. “Just…. Curious.” You finally landed on with a huff, looking down at your hands as they fiddled mindlessly before adding on a mumbled, “And I’m not a Jedi.”

Din pushed off the wall, his head shaking gently in disbelief as he walked toward you slowly. “I was going to have Boba melt it down and forge it into something better.” He stopped somewhere behind you. You were purposely not paying attention, trying not to get distracted and make sure your armor was set up correctly, only faintly registering the absence of the soft thud of his boots on the metallic floor of the Crest right behind you before he went on. “I don’t know where the armorer is right now, and it’s not full beskar anyway, so any smith could do it, but I trust him.”

“Something better?” You turned to face him, head tilted to the side as you clicked your vambraces into place, their gears whirring to life. Stumbling back an inch as you startled, his chest plate brushing against your nose he was so close, you reached out to swat his arm lightly in annoyance, muttering a Don’t do that and shaking your hand out to the side with a grimace after it pinged off his beskar. Craning your head back to look up at him properly, you couldn’t help the small grin when you found him already peering down at you. “Like what?”

Din’s head tilted just so to the right. “Something for you.” He didn’t miss a beat. 

Your eyes widened slightly before they narrowed to slits. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

He was smiling. You could tell by the lilt in his voice as he leaned into the tilt of his head, his body following and started down the ramp. “You know me so well.”

Reaching out, you grabbed his cape. “Nu-uh. Not so fast, Tin Can. Hold up.” Pulling him back to you, though he gave very little resistance, you leaned around to look into his visor when he was a few inches away, his hands on his hips in mock annoyance. “You don’t have to do that.” Your voice had gone soft. He turned to face you fully. “I know that armor is important to you.”

“So are you.”

You grinned. “Smooth, Shiny. Real smooth.”

Din shrugged one shoulder, his hands falling to rest at his sides loosely. “I have my moments.”

You nodded, starting down the ramp, and talking over your shoulder. “And they are few and far between.”

Din scoffed. “Lucky for you. You couldn’t handle me at full throttle.”

Grinning, you looked down at your vambraces and twisted them a bit. “That sounded like a threat.”

“It’s whatever you wanted it to be, mesh’la.”

“You look like a Mando.” Sola’s voice pulled your attention away from the man at your back before you could reply. 

“What? In beskar?” You gestured to the armor down your body. “No.”

The young girl rolled her eyes at you.

Grinning, you reached up to adjust your scarf tucked in to make the armor fit a bit better, and noticed her posture go rigid.

“You kept it,” she mumbled, pointing lamely toward the blue material around your neck.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. It’s just….” She pulled at her flowing poncho, revealing her bright pink scarf, still vivid as ever, tucked away underneath, close to her heart. “I have mine, too,” she amended softly. “I keep it hidden so it doesn’t get dirty or torn.”

“Kind of like my armband….” You mumbled, closing the last few steps between you before reaching out to softly roll the fabric of her scarf between your thumb and index finger as she traced the ribbon on your bicep with the tips of her own.

“I still have no idea what hyperspace looks like,” she mused, staring at the glittering fabric with a sad smile. “I was so little when we came here, and my parents wouldn’t let me anywhere near a cockpit. I’ve only ever been in a cabin while the ship was moving. No viewports….” She met your eyes again, hand falling to her side. “Supposedly we flew beside some purrgil and even then they wouldn’t let me look.”

Letting your own hand fall to your side, fiddling with the air aimlessly, you held her gaze. “Why not?”

Sola shrugged. “Not sure. They said something about safety at the time, and I just never pressed it, but now it just feels suffocating.”

“I know it’s annoying,” Din chimed in softly from behind you, his shadow looming over the young girl in the dying sun’s light, “but I would give anything to have my parents be overbearing one more time.”

Sola’s eyes flew up to the Mandalorian. “What happened to them?”

“A story for another time,” he said stoically, turning to the right and going deeper into the hangar. “Let’s confirm the plan.”

You turned with Cara and Sola on your left to head that way, Peli falling in step on your right as the droids followed along behind.

“They aren’t around anymore. It happened when he was very young, about the same age as when we met you. That’s why he became a Mandalorian. That’s all I’ll say,” you offered quietly. “The rest is his story to tell.”

The first stars were twinkling overhead as the sky said good night in brilliant shades of red and orange. 

Once your party had circled around one of Peli’s many cluttered tables off to the side, the top of it littered with ship parts, Din turned to you. 

“Gar beskar'gam jate slanar?” (“Your armor good to go?”)

You nodded. “Elek. An jate.” (“Yes. All good.”)

Sola turned her head slowly up toward Cara, one brow arched in confusion.

The Marshal slowly shook her head, eyes closed. “They do this….”

“Do what?” You asked, brows knit toward your friend.

Cara leveled you with a look. “Start speaking in any one of a thousand languages none of the rest of us know.”

R5 started beeping animatedly, trilling as he wheeled back and forth on his treads excitedly, and ended on a raspberry, making you and Peli laugh.

“Oh, great,” Cara rolled her eyes, “even the droid’s are in on it.”

BD and Treadwell made their way into the circle, the Pit droids not far behind, all of them chattering away as they approached you until Din sent a blaster shot pinging off of a piece of scrap pipe over in a corner.

The droids all screeched before going silent, freezing in their steps as Peli cried in protest, “Hey! Watch it!”

“Yeah, we don’t want another ricochet,” you mumbled, adjusting your armor for no good reason besides looking down and away from his judgemental visor.

Cara and Sola snickered from their spots across the table from you, the weight of Din’s stare beside you nothing short of stifling.

“If you stare any louder, Din, they may ask you to be quiet all the way on Coruscant,” you muttered quietly, adjusting your vambraces needlessly for the umpteenth time to hide the growing smirk across your face.

“I’ll just tell them it’s because of you, they'll understand. Garner sympathy.”

Only your eyes lifted up to glare daggers at his visor, his head tilting to the side teasingly as he held your gaze.

“The plan?” You groused, looking across the table with a sigh as your weight shifted to one side - away from the Mandalorian. 

His tone was light, as if it held a smile, while he laid out the steps of the plan one more time. “Sola said they would be meeting her back at the market in an hour. She meets them as planned. The three of us follow her, and stick around in the shadows, as inconspicuously as possible-”

“Says the man who’s a walking mirror.”

Din didn’t even bother to look at you, only sighing at your remark, his shoulders rising and falling with the effort before he went on. “From there, we follow them back to their base of operations. From what we’ve heard, shouldn’t be too hard to get into. We get in, cause a little chaos, get them to release Sola from this…. Contract, then we leave as quietly as we came.”

“No one dies.”

Cara nodded at your words, Din nodding once in agreement, his body going stiff at your next statement. 

“Even if we run into a Jawa.”

He took a deep breath to begin to protest, but you held up a finger to stop him, mocking his words from earlier.

“Later.”

Xxx

Spotting the culprits was easy enough. They weren’t sly about anything as they paraded through the streets with their puffed up chests, smirking as people scattered from them should they get too close. They hassled a vendor or two, shaking them down for a payout, and Cara grumbled beside you, gripping the buckle that showed she was a Marshal tightly through her poncho she wore to conceal it.

Before you could do anything, Din was hot on their heels, handing the vendors a stack of credits to make reparations as soon as the thugs’ backs were turned. They would try and insist he keep it, lightly shoving the money back into his hands, but Din somehow managed to sweet talk them into accepting every time, his head ducked down slightly, hand over theirs in a calming gesture. You wished you could hear what he said.

“I’ve never seen this side of him,” Cara muttered offhandedly. “Caring, soft almost. It looks good on him.”

“Yeah, it does,” you agreed softly. “That’s how he is with the kid. Grogu brought out a side of him I don’t think would have seen the light of day otherwise.”

She elbowed you. “Oh, I dunno. You’re pretty persuasive. Think it’d’ve come out eventually.”

You slid only your eyes sideways to look at her. “Why must you shit talk me?”

“Because if I don’t I’ll simply fade away. It gives me sustenance. I could go days without food, but teasing you? That simply wouldn’t do.”

Turning your head to peer at her incredulously, you spoke in a low voice after a long moment of silence. “I’m going to go stand over there,” you pointed behind you, “as far away from you as possible right now.”

Cara scoffed. “Good. Go. Your beskar'gam is drawing too much attention, anyway.”

With a grin, you began walking backwards down the street, keeping to the shadows. “Aw, you paid attention.”

Your friend glared at you. “Don’t make me regret it.”

A shit eating grin was across your face. “You’re speaking Mando’a….”

Cara huffed, her attention turning back to the street as she mumbled, “Last time I make that mistake.”

Stopping short, you stood up straight. “Aw, don’t be afraid to show your feelings, Cara. Feelings are a good thing. They make us human-”

“If you don’t stop talking-”

“Are you two done?” Din’s voice across the alley from the two of you pulled both sets of eyes his way. “They left a few minutes ago, but I couldn’t get a word in edgewise, what with your bickering.” His head swiveled between you and the Marshal, judgment heavy through his visor. “Sola is with them, I gave her a tracker, slipped it to her when no one was looking while someone,” he looked at you pointedly, “wasn’t paying attention.”

“I was paying attention,” you groused, voice lowering as you kicked at the sand below your feet. “Just not to that.”

“She was talking about you,” Cara tattled, stepping out of the shadows and into the moonlight, stretching like a loth cat.

“So were you!” You protested, also stepping into the nightlight, making Cara squint as she held up a hand as if to block the glare of the reflection off your armor. Swatting her hand down, you knit your brows at her. “It’s not that bright out here, don’t be dramatic.”

“Children. I’m surrounded by literal children,” Din muttered, turning and walking away exasperatedly.

“There’s no need to be rude,” you grumbled, following after him.

“Then prove me wrong,” he called over his shoulder. “Right now you’re worse than Grogu.” You gasped. “When he needs a nap.” Cara gasped. “And he’s hungry.” You both gasped.

“I take it all back,” Cara stormed past Din, her words brusque and aloof. “You’re the meanest person I know.”

“Person?” Your tone was incredulous as you sped up to fall in step with her ahead of the Mandalorian, head swiveling to land on him with a sly smirk over your next word. “Droid.”

Din stopped in his tracks and sighed, head tilting back to the sky just slightly with a gentle shake. “Oh, this mission is off to a great start.”

When both you and Cara kept walking ahead of him, the bounty hunter finally called out on a hiss, “Hey! Are you two done?”

“I don’t know, are we?” You turned on your heel to face him, hands on your hips as you planted your feet and arched your brows in question, almost accusingly. 

Din bit his tongue before he turned this into a whole something else before this entire endeavor even got off the ground…. again. For the third? fourth? time. He’d lost track of how many times they’d gotten off track in the last five minutes alone, let alone today as a whole.

With a jut of his thumb to his left down a narrow alley, he tilted his head that way for emphasis. “Thugs’re that way.” 

Both you and Cara hesitated for only a moment, weight shifting slightly from side to side before you dropped your hands from your hips with a huff and headed toward the alley, your Marshal friend in tow.

As you passed by Din, he muttered a low and amused, “Oh wise one.”

“I’ll tell Sola you said so,” you shot back in a low murmur. “She already knows I’m the smart one.” The alley was so small you had to form a single file line, and somehow you were in the front with Cara behind you, and Din pulling up the back. 

“She just lets you think that’s what she thinks,” Cara hummed. “We all know it’s me.”

Din snorted. “It’s neither of you.” He shook his head at the two sets of eyes shooting daggers at him over their shoulders as they came to an abrupt stop in front of him. “I’m the one with the map and the tracker, remember?” He tapped the right side of his helmet with his index finger.

“Oh, will you just get in front and lead, you overgrown Tin Can?!” You hissed, flattening yourself against the wall to let him pass, the heat of the day still clinging to the wall at your back.

Cara rolled her eyes as she squished herself, allowing him through, but it was still a tight fit all around between the three of you. When Din passed her, his back against the opposing wall, she grimaced though he moved quickly. “Will you just get out of my face, Shiny?”

“What, you mean you don’t want to get to know me this well?” Din relaxed his weight a little, leaning into her slightly. “I thought we were friends.”

Cara shoved him with one arm toward you, making him laugh as he kept going, stumbling slightly from the impact. “We won’t be if you keep on that thread of conversation, Mando.”

Din stopped directly in front of you, tilting his head sideways as he muttered softly, “Hi, mesh’la.” Leaning his forehead into yours, he chuckled softly at Cara’s over exaggerated gag in reaction.

“I’m trying to be mad at you,” you grumbled, fisting one hand into his cowl as you ignored Cara’s groans, elbowing her in the ribs with your free arm when she continued.

“What was that for?!” She cried in protest.

“Just because I’m happy, doesn’t mean you need to moan about it.”

Her face scrunched in disgust as she looked away at the wall across from her. “Go be happy somewhere else. We have a job to do.”

Din sighed. “She’s right,” and pushed off the wall to get in front.

You held on to his cape from behind him. “No. No, she’s never right.” Cara landed a swift kick to the back of your boot. “Ow! What was that for?”

“For being so wrong all the time!”

“Don’t make me speak Mando’a to you,” you grumbled. “Or how about Huttese? I also know Shyriiwook now, too.”

“How about you speak silence.”

Din snorted at the Marshal’s words from his spot in front of you, Cara huffing out a laugh from behind.

“When all of this is over, you both are gonna pay.”

“You don’t scare me,” Cara scoffed.

Looking over your shoulder, you arched a brow, holding up one hand by your face and wiggling your fingers. “Well maybe I should.”

Her face went pale, her steps faltering slightly as understanding dawned on her features. “You don’t scare me,” she repeated, her voice softer after she swallowed roughly.

You chuckled, turning back to face Din’s cape once again. “The Force works in mysterious ways.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Before you could answer, Din cut in, without bothering to turn around, “It's just her way of threatening to trip you. Don’t read into it too much.”

He no sooner said that than he was stumbling forward down the alley, reaching out to brace himself on the walls with his forearms.

“Look at that? My boot also works in mysterious ways.”

“What happened?” Cara asked, oblivious to you tripping Din with the toe of your shoe.

“Gravity. Don’t read too much into it.”

Grinning up at the back of the Mandalorian’s helmet where he had stopped in front of you, you let go of his cape still in your grip. “Careful, Din. There’s gravity there.”

“What did he even trip on?” Cara’s voice was incredulous.

“Air? His ego? Pride…. The options are endless….”

“The foot of an over eager Jedi that’s about to be in her mouth if she keeps talking,” Din hissed, barely looking over his shoulder at the two of you, arms falling from the walls to his sides.

“How do you mean?” You scoffed, following after him as he began to move down the alley again.

“We’re here,” he said with a flourish, the small avenue opening up to a wide street brightly lit with several buildings that dead ended down on the right. With a swooping gesture, he moved to the left, making room for the two of you to step forward beside him, his visor following you closely before tilting to the side. “You’re welcome.”

“She’s right,” Cara mused quietly. “Your ego is big enough for all three of us to trip on.”

“At least it’s well deserved,” Din groused. “I got us here, didn’t I?”

“You followed a map. That was attached to a tracker. A blindfolded bantha wouldn’t have had a much more difficult time….” You said offhandedly, surveying the area.

Din stared at you for a long moment. “That armor makes you mean,” he grumbled.

“It makes me wonderful,” you countered, eyes across the street on a conspicuous crate, narrowing when it jostled slightly. “You’re just jealous that it looks better on me than it ever did on you.”

“Yeah. That’s it,” Din agreed sarcastically, his weight shifting to one side as he followed your line of sight. Pressing the side of his helmet, he immediately went into planning mode. “I’ve got two heat signatures.”

“Matches up with what I’m sensing. Two life forms. A whole mess more inside.” You took your blaster from its holster, its gears whirring to life. “Everyone set to stun?”

Hums of agreement came back at you along with nods in your peripheral.

“I’ll go in on the right while you two take care of whoever is lurking over there,” Cara gestured across the street with her blaster. “Sneak in that side door and start clearing until I find Sola and slip her a blaster, then we’ll find this boss.”

“I’m in,” you agreed, while Din nodded in agreement beside you. “Let’s go, Tin Can. We have some thugs we need to introduce to beskar.”

Xxx

Storming the place was easy. These thieves didn’t know the first thing about defending their home base.

Getting out on the other hand…. That was proving to be more difficult.

You pulled up behind a wall, tucking your arms into your chest as tightly as possible to make yourself a smaller target, your blaster held between both hands at the ready.

“You said this would be easy!” Din yelled from his mirror position across the hall. Well, almost mirror. He leaned on one shoulder, blaster held up in the opposite hand near his head. His whole body looked just on this side of casual. 

“I said no such thing. You did,” you countered, trying to mimic his posture subtly. “And on that note, Cara was the one who said you and I should go in together, so this is all-”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Cara’s voice carried from down the hall, the first word elongated as she slid across the floor on her hip to avoid flying blaster bolts to finally land next to you before popping up. “Don’t you dare drag me into this lovers tiff. Nuh-uh.”

Both you and Din spoke in tandem, “This isn’t-”, “We’re not-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sola said dismissively, jogging up easily behind Din, a singe mark on the shoulder of her poncho. 

Din stood up straight in an instant, took her arm in his hold gently to examine it, turning her every which way to get a better look. “What happened?”

“Told the boss I quit.” She grinned proudly before it melted into a grimace. “He didn’t take it so well.”

Blaster bolts zinged down the hall between the four of you, streaking the air in vibrant shades of purple and red, even an errant green here and there.

“If I could just use my saber-” you started, cut off by the unanimous voices of your friends.

“No!”

Letting your head lull back against the wall with a gentle thump, you rolled it in aggravation before facing the others again. “And why not?! I’ve saved your asses so many times!”

“Close quarters!” Cara was gesturing with her hands while she spoke, referencing the hall. “Too many people!” She gestured between the four of you. “Laser sword very bright! Very hot!”

You narrowed your eyes at your friend. “I singed one corner of your tunic. One!”

“And that was one too many,” Din countered, popping around the corner to let off a barrage of shots before coming back for safety.

“This was my favorite,” Cara said forlornly, looking down at the smoldering fabric. 

“I’ll buy you another one.”

“No you won’t,” Cara scoffed. “You can’t afford my tastes-”

“Can we please focus on getting out of here!” Sola’s annoyed voice rang out louder than the blaster fire, pulling all three gazes her way. 

Din was the first to break, turning back to lay down cover fire once again around the corner. “Kid’s right,” he grunted, before letting off a shot that was accompanied by a pained scream at the end of the hall.

“I thought we were set to stun?” You hissed.

Din looked down at his blaster and shrugged meekly, flipping it back to stun. “Sorry. Old habits….”

“I know I am,” Sola said matter of factly, pulling you back to the topic at hand. “Now what’s the plan?”

Stepping a little closer to the corner you were tucked behind, you holstered your blaster. “The plan is for you all to eat your words tonight.”

“What are you doing?” Cara’s worried tone sounded at your back, Din’s incredulous one to your left. “Mesh’la, come on, don’t do something-”

“To save our skins?” You finished for him, looking up into his visor with a determined glint in your eye. “Watch me.”

After taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and stepped out into the hall where the blaster fire had died down just slightly. The few earrent bolts bounced away from you as if they were hitting a force field. Confused whispers from the enemy preceded a pickup in the rapid fire, bolts flying at a new frenzy, none of which came anywhere close to touching you or your friends.

Lifting your hands in front of you, the bolts began to stop, hovering in mid air inches from your face, your hands, some several feet from you. The room glowed with multi-colored plasma bolts hovering above the floor. As the shots died out, silence filling in the blanks left behind, the corner of your mouth twitched up in an amused smirk.

With a small twitch of your index finger, all their blasters were disabled with a tink. 

When you opened your eyes, the blaster bolts that hung suspended all immediately flew the other way, back toward the senders, but in such a way that they wouldn’t hit anybody. 

Within an instant the group of thieves at the end of the hall were left cowering, curled away from the stranger approaching them from the opposite end of the hall. Some blinked wide eyes while others scrambled back, all of them surrounded by smoke swirling around from the black scorches left behind from the blaster bolts.

“I think we win,” you said calmly, walking toward them slowly.

“Not if I have anything to say about it!” One rogue thief said, jumping to his feet, blaster aimed at you.

“I wouldn’t do that,” you warned, not even looking at him.

When he pulled the trigger and nothing happened, he looked at his blaster in confusion, pulling the trigger a few more times before shaking it incessantly. “Oh, well.” He shrugged. “I have this.” He pulled a spare from the back of his pants.

In two seconds flat Din had stepped forward and shot him with a stun bolt, dropping him to the ground.

“Like I said,” you pulled the active blaster to you with the Force, disengaging the firing mechanism like you had the others before tucking it into the back of your own pants. “I wouldn’t do that.”

“You don’t need another one,” Din groaned. “That makes what, seven now?”

You scoffed. “Not nearly.” With a dry chuckle, you shook your head. “Try three.”

“Including the knife?”

“Oh, yeah! The knife. No, that’s four.”

“Guys!” Cara cried, walking up to stand on the other side of you. “Seriously?”

“What?” You looked at her a moment before cutting your eyes toward the thieves still looking on in silence. “I’m just recounting the weapons I’ve won from our various missions! I see something I like, I take it.”

“These guys don’t care.” Cara gestured to them with her blaster.

“No…. But I do.” You turned to look at the punks with a broad grin. “And something tells me they want to keep me really happy. Right?”

They all nodded vigorously. All but one. He got to his feet as he said, “Oh, kark this!” He was no sooner on his feet than Din had hit him with a stun bolt, dropping him into a heap of limbs where he stood.

“At least you remembered to use stun this time,” you threw over your shoulder towards Din, never looking away from the band of thieves still looking on wide eyed at your little party of four.

“Yeah…. But I’ve been known to forget things real fast,” Din mumbled, shifting his weight just slightly to rest easily on one leg. The way he held his blaster would make anyone think he’d gone soft, but you knew if someone made a wrong move, they’d be down in an instant.

“Here’s what's gonna happen,” Cara stepped forward, her Marshal voice in full swing. “Sola over here is out. I don’t wanna hear of any of you within spitting distance of her ever again, do you hear me?”

Most of them nodded, wide eyed at the Marshal. All but one. It’s always one, you thought with a smile and gentle shake of your head. 

“And what’re you gonna do about it? Marshal?” The way the punk said her name dripped with so much sarcasm and venom, you were surprised Cara was still standing. If looks could kill, she’d be dead right now. “You don’t even live here, so how are you going to enforce anything?”

To his credit, he looked slightly afraid when you and Din took measured steps forward while Cara spoke.

“I have friends all over. I don’t think you want to find out just how far my reach can go…. Young man.”

Cara winced slightly on the last words and it took everything in you not to burst out laughing. The way her eyes darted over to you, however briefly, with a mighty rise and fall of her shoulders told you she knew she’d never hear the end of this.

He scoffed. “Like I’d believe any of that.”

“But you’d believe blaster bolts levitating in space then flying the wrong way?” You challenged, taking another small step forward. 

The kid scoffed again.

“You believe this?” Din was striding forward, his vambraces whirring to life as the flame thrower charged up.

Reaching out with the Force, you disengaged his vambrace as the wall of fire just started to lick at the toes of the boots of the insolent kid.

“Not now, Mando. I think he gets it.” Shooting your eyes over to the kid before looking back into his visor, you saw him glance over to find the teen cowering behind the others, mumbling apologies.

Din strode over to you, keeping his body facing the group of adolescents to make them think he was still a threat, which he was, but you knew him well enough to know he was looking at you now and not them, his head turned just slightly.

“Turning off my vambraces now, huh?”

You shrugged. “What can I say? You shouldn’t be frying teenagers, Din. It’s not nice.”

Leaning closer to your ear, his voice hummed through the modulator, something in his tone different this time. “Later,” he promised again.

You grinned, winking at Cara as she rolled her eyes and walked off with an over dramatically gagging Sola. “Can’t wait.”

Xxx

Back at the hangar, the four of you tried to move as quietly as possible, to not wake a sleeping Peli. 

“I can’t thank you enough. I don’t know how I could ever repay you-”

Placing your hand on Sola’s shoulder, you smiled down at her when her big eyes looked up your way. So much like the first time you met her all those years ago. “There’s nothing to thank. That’s just what families do.”

“We help each other,” Cara agreed, stepping up behind Sola and putting her arm around her shoulders. Tilting her head to the side in thought, she added with a grin, “And yeah, sometimes we want to murder each other, too, but….” She looked at Din. “It comes and goes.”

“Mostly comes,” the Mandalorian muttered, adjusting his belt before walking off toward the ramp of the Crest. He stopped at the foot of it, withdrawing a vibroblade from his boot before he turned around and walked back. “Hey, kid.” He offered Sola the blade. “Take care of yourself.”

“You bet I will,” she mumbled around a grin, flipping the blade in her palm with expert precision that had your brow arching. Upon closer inspection, she saw a mudhorn upon the hilt. “That’s the same symbol that’s on your armor….” She looked over at your saber. “And your….” 

“Like I said,” you pulled her into a hug. “We take care of family.”

“Where’s my mudhorn?” Cara groused.

Din extended a blaster with a freshly etched mudhorn he had tucked into the back of his belt to Sola as he looked at Cara, head tilted just so. “Hidden with your act of valor. Go find it.”

“You’re mean,” Cara shoved his shoulder.

“You’d get tired of us anyway,” you mused in response to Cara, wrapping your arms around Din’s waist in what seemed an innocent manner, then lightly pinching his side in admonishment, smiling at his slight groan in response. Before he could get his own arm around your waist in retaliation, you pinned it to his side with the Force, smiling up at him smugly when he grunted in unamusement. 

“I already have,” she agreed, looking down her nose at the two of you.

“No you haven’t,” Din countered tiredly as he turned back toward the ship, heading up the ramp.

“What do you know?” She called after him.

“Everything!” His voice came from inside the ship overlapping your muttered, “Nothing.”

“Not enough,” you amended with a grin, meeting Cara’s eye as she returned your smile. “He doesn’t know nearly enough.”

“It’s a good thing I love teaching, then.” She laughed, offering you a hug before she turned to leave the hangar. After a few steps, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder. “You coming kid?”

Sola hesitated in her spot in front of you. “But I don’t…. I don’t wear armor.”

“Verd'ika….” You reached out and rested your hand on her shoulder. “Ad’ika. Cyare'se. Daworir’ika. Ka’ra’ika…. Almost all of my nicknames for you had something to do with little.” (“Little soldier. Little one. Loved ones. Little stink. Little star.”)

“Not so little anymore.”

“I can see that,” you smiled softly. “Tal tomad.”

She pulled a face. “Do I even want to know?”

“Blood ally.” You reached out and pinched her scarf between your finger tips. “Verd ori'shya beskar'gam.”

“What…. What does that mean?”

You smiled. “I need to come with a protocol droid….”  She laughed. “Warrior greater than armor. It means armor isn’t everything.” Moving your hand from her scarf to rest on her shoulder once again, you felt Din come to stand behind you, his reflection beginning to morph in Sola’s watering eyes. “It’s who wears it.” 

Xxx

As you watched Cara and Sola walk out of the hangar, Din pulled you to the side gently.

“Speaking of armor, you don’t have any now, either.”

Looking down at the armor still very much on your frame, you looked up at his visor and blinked at him once. Twice. “Excuse me?”

He shifted his weight, hands resting on his belt in his default I already explained this pose. “I’m about to meet up with Boba in a few minutes. Need the armor so I can give it to him.”

You matched his posture, ignoring his indignant head roll. “Oh right. For this super secret thing for me I can’t know about.”

Din nodded once. “You got it.”

Shaking your head in disbelief, you turned and made your way up the ramp of the Crest, not bothering to turn around as you grumbled, “You’re awful.”

“I know.” His tone was nothing short of beaming.

Xxx

The next day, the two of you were up with the suns and beginning work on the Crest with a handful of Peli’s droids. 

The woman herself had appeared after a while, but she obviously was not intended for morning hours.

Peli had disappeared into the shaded depths of the hangar, citing paperwork of some sort, but her snores could be heard from the main landing area. 

One thing led to another, and the work on the ship was forgotten in favor of brushing up on footwork with two chosen weapons.

The hanger sung with the clashing of beskar on kyber, his spear standing resilient against your purple blade.

The pit droids were hard at work on the Crest to try and cover up the cacophony of battle sounds rising up into the air.

As it hit a new fever pitch, you and Din drawing close together after some particularly fancy footwork, the glow of kyber straining against beskar painting your faces in a soft illuminated glow as you pulled closer still, you smirked. 

“I think that means I win, Mandalorian.”

Din scoffed, his modulator popping with the sound. “Nayc. A’nuhunla,” he drawled, his voice low. (“No. But funny.”)

Pulling back from one another, you huffed out a chuckle as you began to circle each other in assessment, waiting for the other to make the next move. “Give it to me in Basic, Mando.” Disengaging your saber, you stopped dead in your tracks, arms dangling limply by your sides. “I’m too tired to fight and translate at the same time.”

“Gar Jetii’kad,” Din pointed to the now bladeless hilt in your hand. “Nau’ur kad.” (“Your lightsaber.”) (“Light up a saber.”) 

“Din-”

But he didn’t let you finish, his hands tightening around his spear as his weight lowered, ready to charge. “Kad’au, Jetii.” (“Lightsaber, Jedi.”)

“Ne'johaa,” you mumbled, igniting the blade and lowering yourself into a ready stance to match. (“Shut up.”)

Once you were set, you stood straight up again, smiling softly when Din let his lowered weight relax as well in aggravation, his modulator hissing in annoyance. “This was just supposed to be for fun. Some training, maybe. Not-”

“Kad,” he almost barked, before launching at you. (“Saber.”)

“Mir’sheb,” you hissed through gritted teeth as you blocked an overhead blow from his spear, squinting your eyes as sparks flew from the impact. (“Smartass.”)

He took a minuscule step closer, pressing his weight into you and making you bend back slightly. His voice was low and mocking, but strained to show his struggle against your strength as you continued to push back. “Only for you.”

With a shout, you pushed him off of you with a last reserve of strength.

“That’s it. That’s it. I’m done.” You held your hands up by your head. “No more.” Twirling your saber as you stretched your wrist, you tilted your head from side to side. “You’ve got some unresolved issues with only using the stun back there at the hideout or something,” gesturing to him with a swooping hand gesture, you ignored his snort and slight shift of weight, “but I’m done with all your nonsense.” Turning away you took a deep breath and disengaged your saber, mumbling under your breath, “Ni copaani buy'ce gal.” (“I want a bucket of booze.”)

The next thing you knew you were flat on your back, sand flying out around you as the Mandalorian stood over you, flipping his spear back to its resting position with a flourish. All you could process as you blinked up at the cloudless sky was heat, grit, and what?

“I think that means I win…. Manda Jetii.” (The state of being Mandalorian in mind, body and spirit.)

Eyes flying to his visor, you had to squint at the glare of the suns off the brilliant metal. You could only blink up at him, taking his hand when he offered it and helped you up. After a shared moment of simply staring at one another, he turned to survey the hangar, repeating your words from earlier. “Ni copaani buy'ce gal.”

It was at that point you noticed Peli’s face. 

Her very, very, very distraught face. 

Following her line of sight, your eyes went wide as you took in the Crest over your shoulder. Sparks flew, singe marks lined the hull. Did I do that?

A poor little astromech Peli had just acquired was trying to tune up something near the ramp of the ship, and Din, once he turned to survey the damage for himself, spying an unfamiliar droid linking into his ship, let his spear loose without a second thought. 

If you hadn't had the mind to divert it midair with the Force right before impact, the droid would be a pile of steaming wires right now instead of a trembling pile of bolts.

The screech of terror it let out as the spear made impact right above its head made you want to laugh, but you stifled it into your hand, turning a disapproving glare on Din when he asked why you did that.

“We don’t murder innocent droids.”

“No droid is innocent,” he grumbled, looking over at the scrappy little astro unit. 

“They are until proven guilty.”

“I don’t need any proof,” Din mumbled. “Have all the proof I need.”

“You have nothing.”

Before he could say anything else, the angry mech was rolling toward the bounty hunter with an electrified arm ready to zap him, but you held it at bay with the Force. You also held Din back, snorting when he turned a look on you. 

“No.”

Peli somehow materialized beside you, everything about her bewildered and distraught. You let the two arguing tin cans go as you turned your attention to your friend, the final zap from the droid to Din’s thigh before it rolled off not going unnoticed. 

Pointing every which way with each new statement, Peli began to protest. “I was- They were- You just-” Her hands slapped down to her sides, her face pulled determinedly. “That’s not fair!”

She turned to her pit droid crew. “Why do I get all the defective droids in this town?” They began to prattle but she cut them off. “You guys couldn’t fix the wrong side of a bantha.”

Reaching out with your mind, a twitch of your foot sideways ever so slightly, and one of the compartments at the back of the Crest flew off, the wiring inside plopping out like the ship had drunk too much spotchka the night before and now had something to prove.

“It’s alright, Peli. It wasn’t all you.”

“You bet your beskar it wasn’t!” She turned a look on Din. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that massive spear sticking out of the side of my ship.”

Din had the decency to look sheepish, turning his gaze to stare across the hangar, hands on his hips.

“Now I’ll have to track down the Jawas to find enough ancient parts to fix this hunk of junk.” She smacked the hull closest to her with her palm, her eyes fluttering shut as a panel fell off to her right with a clatter.

Leveling her gaze on you, a shudder ran down your spine as Peli stared at you in silence. Finally she spoke again. “You. You’re going to help.”

“And you,” she pointed at Din. He pointed at himself in question and she nodded, maintaining the accusing jab of her index. “Yes, you. Mandalorian.” Din tilted his head curiously. “You are going to go to the cantina to look for a job to pay for all of…. this!”

Peli gestured wildly to the sparking Crest behind her. 

You winced at the singe marks left behind by your saber, beside the puncture mark from the spear as it had let loose from his hands and flown across the hangar. Its beskar body still stood proudly from the hull, glinting in the afternoon sun.

Reaching up high above her head, Peli jerked it from the body of the ship with a grating screech of metal on metal. Green goo began to shoot from the new opening, coating the sand of the hangar around her feet in several inches in a matter of seconds.

She looked down at it before bringing menacing eyes up to glare at Din.

“I’ll be at the cantina,” he mumbled, turning to leave without anymore fuss.

“I’ll…. Be here, I guess,” you mumbled, catching Peli’s death stare out of the corner of your eye. “Pick me up some of those blue cookies on your way back?”

“Really?” Din stopped, cocking his head at you.

“Yeah!” You shot back. “The kid isn’t here, so I don’t have to share them.”

“Who says I don’t want some?”

You scoffed. “Experience.” Crossing your arms, you stared at him. “Besides, who says I’m sharing regardless?”

Din took a step back toward you, his voice lowering playfully. “I could make you….”

“Cantina!” Peli hissed.

You’d never seen Din move so quickly.

Xxx

Peli had dragged you out to the large rolling fortress of the Jawas after she had given her pit droid crew a stern talking to. 

You couldn’t make eye contact with them as you stood just behind her and listened to her admonishments. Their judgmental stares from their single ocular lenses could be felt even across the hangar. 

Looking over the wares, you were just glad Din wasn’t here. Jawas would be dropping like flies if he were. He really had a problem.

Bringing your scarf up to cover your face, wrapping it around your head to keep it secure and protect you just a layer more from the suns beating down and sand blowing in the rough winds, you squinted at an old astromech tucked away in the back near the ramp.

“What about that one?” You asked, pointing to it.

The little hooded figure helping you turned, exclaiming something when he realized what you were asking about, then began talking a mile a minute and gesturing even faster.

Holding up your hands, you cut in, “Yeah, yeah, hold on little guy,” your new Jawa friend grunted at the name as you turned to call for help. “Peli! Get over here!” Waving your hand to gesture her over, you hoped it’d help her find you a bit faster.

You saw her curls before you saw her, turning your way and quickly weaving through the junk as her grumbling got closer and closer, but the exact words were never quite clear enough to understand. “What?” She finally asked in exasperation when she was about ten feet away, a power coupling in one hand and…. Something else in the other, you didn’t know what it was, but it had a lot of exposed wires and reminded you of an eyeball on a stick.

Pointing to your little robed shadow, you smiled at her. “Translate. Please.”

With a roll of her eyes, she focused on your small companion, nodding as he went along. “He says you want that R2 unit.” She turned her focus back to you, hands on her hips, eye on a stick still tightly grasped in one hand, “Any particular reason? I have plenty of good droids back at the hangar….” R5 started tweeting and blipping in concern, making her roll her whole head over to look at the droid on her left. “Oh, keep your dome on. I didn’t mean you.” She gestured to the droid with the eye-stick lazily before her eyes cut over to you. “Unless….” R5 let out a mighty whoop before rolling away.

Chirping and blooping from the R2 unit pulled your attention back to the matter at hand, watching in amusement as it rocked from side to side quickly on two of its three legs. Its shiny dome twisted back and forth as it let out shrill beeps and whistles, a lone raspberry cutting off the tirade before it focused on a Jawa coming up to stand beside it. 

As the tiny cloaked figure reached out to adjust the restraining bolt on its front, one of the droid’s front compartments sprung open in the blink of an eye, a surge of electricity arcing through the air and making the Jawa scream. The little scrapper jumped back, stumbling as its cloak began to smoke, strings of Jawaese getting lost in the wind as the tiny thief marched back over to the droid and swiftly kicked it near its treads.

“Stop!” You ran over, holding up your hands to try and intervene, turning to Peli with a pleading look on your face.

She tossed the junk in her hands onto the ground, doing a double take for the eye on a stick before deciding against it and made her way over to you, thrusting the odd part into your chest as she passed by. With a roll of your eyes, you tucked it into the bag of parts to make its way back to the hangar that was slung across your shoulders. 

The bag was over half full, and getting heavier by the minute, but you’d yet to see anything resembling a part you recognized go into the satchel. At this point you think ninety five percent of what she had picked up wasn’t even for the Crest, she was just exacting her revenge on Din. And you had no problem with that.

Peli tilted her head as she listened to the Jawa go on a tirade. Eyes flickering between the tiny robe with eyes and the droid, she finally looked back over her shoulder at you. “He said this droid is just a problem. It’s memory hasn’t been wiped in too long, so it’s developed an…. Ah, well,” she quirked her eyebrows, her hands landing on her hips as she studied the droid. “A strong personality.”

The R2 unit blooped before zapping the Jawa again, a warbling whistle following after in what almost sounded like a taunt for more.

“Stop,” you said again, taking another step toward the feisty astromech. It was very hard to not smile as you studied the round dome, its light blinking red and white at you rapidly as it scanned you up and down, finding something it trusted enough to calm down. It didn’t zap a third time, but it kept the utility equipped, sending a surge down the line when the Jawa got too close again as a warning.

It reminded you of Din. It even kind of looked like him. You had to really try to contain the smile as you thought of his reaction if you said that out loud.

The head tilt.

The finger.

“Later.”

The body was the typical white of most R2 units, though obviously worn and aged, some pockets of rust peeking through here and there along the edge, along with carbon scoring like it’d seen some firefights. With a darker silver dome, close to the color of your vambraces, you could tell it had received repairs along the line, the contrasting metals denoting different eras in its lifetime. 

The bands along its body that contained the attachments and along the sides of its legs were a warm coppery color, while the panels along its head were a dark gunmetal gray that reminded you of the Crest. 

Altogether it was a patchwork of parts, but it made something beautiful to you. Like when the suns hit the sand just right and caused a reflection in the distance. This droid was a mirage, a shadow.

“What’s wrong with it?” You interrupted the Jawa currently on another tirade that made Peli look like she was struggling to keep up. Getting down on one knee, still a good distance from the droid, you stared into its lense as it studied you once again.

Your friend turned to face you more fully. “What do you mean, they just told you. It hasn’t-”

“No, why hasn’t it moved?”

Peli asked the question, turning to look at the droid as she listened to the answer, its lense now turned on her.

“He said the tread on the right foot is broken. They have it out here because someone is coming to pick it up to wipe the memory. Its-”

“Not anymore,” you said quietly. “It’s coming with me.” Getting to your feet, you began to walk away, stopping when several Jawa voices began to follow after you, each more insistent than the other. You looked at Peli, brow raised in question.

“They say you can’t do that. It’s already a done deal. Now they’re asking if you want any of the other droids, they have an-”

You turned, looking at the gathering of red glowing eyes blinking up at you expectantly. Keeping your voice even, you made eye contact with each pair as you spoke. “You will release the droid into my care.”

A string of Jawaese was mumbled back to you, which you assumed was just them repeating your words, so you went on.

“Remove the restraining bolt, load it in the speeder, and let us go on our way.”

As they mumbled again, they broke off into groups to do what you said. 

Tapping the leader on the shoulder, you held firmly when he turned to look at you. “And it won’t cost anything.”

He nodded before going to join the others.

“How did you….” Peli’s voice dripped with amazement. “Can you-”

“No.”

“You didn’t let me-”

“No, Peli.”

“Fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms and facing the Jawas as they loaded the droid who whistled happily while they worked. “I’m just saying-”

She stopped when you slowly turned to look at her, brow arched.

“Yeah, no, forget about it. Not important.”

Xxx

As you unloaded the droid at the hangar, once it was down on the ground, you knelt down slowly to inspect its injured foot. 

“I’m just going to tilt you a little bit to get a better look, okay?”

The pit droids began lowering some type of harness down to help you, but the droid began to rock back and forth, protesting loudly as its dome swung back and forth.

“Okay, okay,” you held up your hands placatingly, gesturing for the other droids to stop. “No lifts. I’ll do it myself, but you’ve got to trust me. It’ll feel a little strange, but you’re completely safe, I promise. Alright?”

The droid bleeped in agreement after a moment of hesitation, and without further hassle, you nudged it slowly onto its side, floating at the proper angle, held just right by an unseen force. As it moved into the proper placement, the R2 unit blooped an amazed sound.

After poking at the tread for a moment, you wrinkled your brows. “This isn’t broken. What did they mea-”

You were cut short when the tread on the other foot whirred to life where it still rested on the ground, spitting sand in your face in a rapid fire. As you drew back quickly, swatting at the sting settling into your eyes, you just caught a glimpse through your squint of the droid falling the rest of the way to the ground with a screech, your concentration broken.

Before you could really react properly, the R2 unit had popped upright, all manner of Binary curses and colorful language beeping and whistling as it whipped out the zapper it had used earlier on the Jawa, sending a warning jolt down the spine while rotating in a circle to keep all the advancing droids and Peli at bay. 

Then it started to lift off with some sort of propulsion, a victorious squeal echoing off the hangar walls that was all too soon followed by the sound of sputtering exhaust. Its lense pointed down, watching it all unfold, a quiver of fear warbled out of its voice box. The flames keeping it afloat flickered then died, sending it hurtling to the ground with a scream.

You were just able to stick out a hand, focusing enough to catch it inches from the ground. “I got you!” As you lowered it the last few millimeters back onto the sand, you let out a heavy sigh, relaxing into the warm earth beneath you with a quietly muttered, “I got you.”

“Well, that was a first,” Peli announced loudly, amused, as the R2 unit looked at you, a spurt of oil suddenly spewing onto the ground as it moaned in distress.

“It’s about right on track for me, honestly,” you huffed, laughing as you got back to your feet. 

The droid quaked as you got closer, worried coos softly filling the hangar.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you,” you spoke softly, coming back onto your knees a few feet from the R2 unit. “That was actually kind of impressive.” You smirked, watching as the trembling stopped. The droid was silent and you smiled a bit broader. “I would expect nothing less, honestly. It’s what I would do in your situation. Hell, I have done it a few times….” The droid whistled softly in amusement.

You laughed, feeling victorious when it wheeled a bit closer to you.

“I have, too. I live a very extraordinary life, my friend.”

A questioning bloop.

“Yes, I said ‘friend’. I consider you that, not anything less.”

A series of beeps and whistles, the red light blinking much more slowly now.

“I do speak Binary. Very observant.”

A raspberry.

You laughed, and it was followed by the closest sound a droid can make to the sound, a series of trills.

“Can we start over?” 

The droid wheeled closer, bumping its front foot into your knee gently before wheeling back slightly as if to say, ‘go on’.

You introduced yourself, reaching a hand out toward the droid. A panel sprung open on its front, the zapper coming out without a charge, making you arch a brow at the unit as it tittered playfully. The panel closed before another opened, and a small three pronged metal hand extended, closing around two of your fingers and shaking them in jerky movements as it beeped and blooped away.

“R2-B4?” The droid whistled in confirmation, releasing your fingers and closing the panel. “Can I just call you Bee?” A beep that sounded like ‘yes’ and also meant ‘yes’ in Binary chirped happily, filling the hangar. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Bee. How about we get you tuned up, into a nice hot oil bath, run a few diagnostics to make sure you’re running as optimally as you can be, then starting tomorrow we can-”

Some angry bloops and bleeps filled the air, while she rocked back and forth on her feet.

“No, no, no! No memory wipe! That’s not what I meant! I wouldn’t do that to you.” She stopped rocking, but her lense scanned you up and down rapidly, her light flashing between red and white faster than you had seen yet. “You don’t know me yet, so I don’t blame you. But I’m not going to do that to you. That won’t happen so long as you are here. With me. With us. That makes you you. I don’t want just a droid, I want you, Bee.”

Reaching out your hand, you rested it lightly on her dome and an affectionate beep came out quietly.

“I just meant to make sure you’re running as optimally as you can be. You deserve it, friend.”

It was at this point Din came walking back into the hangar. He stopped short when he saw the new astromech snuggled up so closely with you, the disarray of the hangar floor with the spilled oil and obvious scuffle, and Peli with her army of droids behind her and new eyeball on a stick waving around animatedly as she greeted him with a smile.

“Mando! Finally!” She walked toward him. “You will not believe the day we’ve had.”

The look Din leveled on you through his visor was nothing short of stifling. “Try me.”

Xxx

Once Din had calmed down enough to not shoot the new droid on sight, and Bee had calmed down enough to not zap the Mandalorian on sight, you sat down to explain the situation to Din as the astro unit underwent an oil bath.

“I don’t know, Man- Din.” You pulled a face at yourself as he chuckled at the slip up. “It just felt like I was supposed to, and she….” You looked straight into his visor. “The voices stopped when I saw her. Everything did. I don’t know.” Looking down to the table top to your right, you began to fiddle your fingers aimlessly. “I swear you won’t have to-”

“Okay.”

“Now don’t just- what?” You shook your head to dislodge any sand that may be plugging your ears and causing you to mishear because you could have sworn he said…. “Okay? ….Okay? Did you just say okay?”

Din laughed softly. “Yes.” He nodded. “Fine. I trust you.”

Narrowing your eyes, you leaned forward onto your knees, getting closer to him and peering up with scrutiny for an agonizing minute. “What did you do?”

Leaning back in his chair with a sigh, he rested his hand on his thigh. “Got you a present.” His head tilted to the side as you sat up a bit straighter. “Still gonna look at me like that?”

Eyes going wide, you sat back and matched his posture.

“That’s what I thought,” he said with a snort. “I met up with Boba last night, as you know, and after going to the cantina, he caught up to me with the finished product.”

Din reached over and pulled a tarp off a crate to his right, how you’d missed it you had no idea, especially since the item before your eyes still sang with the same signature as his armor had. 

A jetpack.

Raw beskar and durasteel glinted under the twin suns, polished to perfection and ready to earn their first scuff marks.

“Din…. No.” You looked at him in disbelief. “You didn’t.”

Reaching for the pack, he groaned slightly with the effort, sighing once it sat in his lap. “I couldn’t look at you in that horribly fitting armor one more time, and it was just taking up space on the ship.” He set the heavy gift in your lap. “Now I don’t have to lug you around anymore.”

Scoffing, you leaned in closer to him, batting your lashes. “Don’t lie, you like lugging me around.”

He tossed his head side to side. “It has its perks, yes, but now….” He gently nudged you back with a finger to your shoulder so you were sitting normally in your seat again. “Lift yourself, mesh’la.”

Sitting up straight as you held the jetpack in your lap, you traced its curves with your hand. “I don’t know whether to be offended or say thank you.”

Meeting the gaze of his visor through your lashes, he simply nodded.

“That’s all I needed to hear. Now, let’s get you fitted and flying - but first, I have to sync them with your vambraces, or else you might-”

“Let me guess,” you sighed, relaxing back into your chair with a thump. “Or else I might blow something up?” Din nodded once in confirmation, and you mirrored him. “Some things never change.”

“And some things change all the time….”

“Well that was cryptic.”

“Fennec found a contact for me that might know where the Armorer is. Where the covert moved to.”

Your eyes went wide and you froze, halfway to attaching the jetpack between your shoulder blades. “Excuse me, what?”

“It’s a job, but I head there in two rotations-”

Your face fell flat, along with your tone. “Excuse me, what?”

“Are you broken?” You arched a brow in question at him. “You haven’t moved since I mentioned the Armorer and you’re repeating yourself.”

With a huff of disbelief, you let the jetpack to the ground beside you with a gentle thud, and faced him once again. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe it’s because you’re insane?!”

“Excuse me, what?”

“See?” You gestured to him. “A perfectly valid reaction.” Din huffed, his head tilting to the side in annoyance as you went on. “First off I was excited for you, but then you go and say something crazy like you’re going alone?”

“Well I just assumed….”

“Go on,” you deadpanned, smiling slightly when he trailed off, swallowing roughly.

When he never did, you sighed heavily and forged on for the both of you. “Since I’m your wife,” you began, eyes cast down to the sand, ignoring the way he tossed his head back with a groan, “I think it’s only right I go with you.” You looked up to meet his visor. “Not to mention I continue to save your skin daily.”

“One time. I….” He held up one finger. “That was. I let that slip one time with Peli and it was an accident.” He huffed, staring at you for a long moment. “You're never going to let me forget that are you?”

You grinned. “No.”

Xxx

The two of you landed at the front of Peli’s hangar when you saw an unknown droid approaching in the street from where you were training in the air.

“Oh! Pardon me!” The courier droid raised its hands up in surrender. 

Reaching out, you lowered Din’s blaster. “You have a problem,” you mumbled. “You need to ask questions first, shoot later.”

Din grunted. “That’s not how I work.”

“Well, maybe you need to upgrade your circuitry, Tin Can.”

Both Din and the courier looked at you.

“Beg your pardon, miss, but that is a Mandalorian, not a droi-”

You couldn’t help your snort of laughter. “What’s the message?”

“Oh. Yes.” The droid reached into a bag fastened to its hip. “You have a holo from a Greef Karga? It’s marked sensitive/eyes only. I suggest you watch it someplace private.” Leaning around to look behind you into the vacant hangar, the only other soul being R5 rolling past with an offensive blip, the droid then looked back at the two of you. “Or just stay here.”

Taking the device from the droid with a smile, you were surprised when it didn’t just leave.

It reached back into the satchel and procured another device. A puck. And handed it to Din.

“What’s this?” The Mandalorian asked dryly, looking at the small device in the droid's hand as if it were the most confusing puzzle in the galaxy.

“Courtesy of Greef Karga…. once again.” When Din made no effort to move, the droid looked between the two of you. “They go together. I assume they offer some explanation. Otherwise, I have nothing to tell you about them.”

Din sighed, taking the puck and shutting the hangar door before the droid could say another word.

A muffled, “Oh. Well, good day, then!” Came through before the retreat of mechanical footsteps was heard.

“That was rude!” You mumbled, turning to go deeper into the hangar, but freezing when you saw the info spinning above the puck in Din’s hand. 

No.

No it couldn’t be.

Quickly activating the comm, you let Karga explain what you already feared.

“If you’re playing this message, you’ve already opened the puck. Yes. I know. I was just as shocked, too.”

There, in letters as big as day was your name.

“It was issued by the head of some small town crime group on Tatooine. Said you decimated their numbers yesterday?”

Din grunted. “Nobody died. What do they mean decimated?”

“I’m not issuing the puck to anyone, but be on the lookout. It could make things…. Difficult.”

The comm went dead, and all you could do was stare at the puck in Din’s hand, the info being presented to you but truly not being absorbed as all you could do was watch and blink.

The puck displayed your picture, slowly spinning with all your details next to it. 

Name: Eesra Kesyk

Last known location: Tatooine

Known associates: Din Djarin, Boba Fett, Fennec Shand, Peli Motto, Sola Kei, Cara Dune, Greef Karga, Mythrol, Bo Katan Kryze, Ahsoka Tano, Luke Skywalker

Karga, Mythrol, Bo Katan, Luke, Ahsoka? For some small time group on Tatooine, they had really gone out of their way to find info on you….

Your gut sank. 

Unless….

You shook your head. There’s no way this went beyond a small town crime lord on a backwater planet. No way.

Focusing back in on the list, you squinted to read the fine print it was in to have everything fit on the little readout.

The rest was just details, date of birth, previous work…. reason for bounty.

“Are they serious?”

Unlawful use of star cruiser in restricted airspace, failure to comply with law enforcement, breaking and entering, damage to public property, battery and assault….

Din thought this was all very funny. He was practically giggling by now, snorts of laughter trickling out of his modulator as he stood to your right.

He’d tried to stop under your glare, he really did, but it just wasn’t possible, little snickers escaping here and there. 

“Who knew I married such a horrible person?”

He did this from time to time. Brought up his little misstep with Peli where he’d called you his wife, leaning fully into the absurdity and embracing the silliness you often tried to pelt at him mercilessly by saying it himself first.

Rolling your eyes, but unable to contain the small grin climbing up your face,  you looked back at the puck and crossed your arms firmly over your chest. “You knew what you were getting yourself into, Tin Can.” Tilting your head at the readout, you pursed your lips. “And we’re not actually married, no matter what you said to Peli. You’re not ready for all of this.” Making a swooping gesture to yourself, you ignored his mocking snort of amusement. 

You stared at the list for another loaded minute of silence before going on. “Besides, half of these aren’t even true!” Gesturing to the list with one hand, you turned to look up at his visor, brows raised. “Unlawful use of starcruiser…. When did we even leave the planet?”

He was still chuckling warmly as he turned to you. “Did I? Know what I was getting into, I mean? I don’t know about that, mesh’la.” His chuckle grew louder as your face fell into unamusement. “And are you sure? Only half?”

Turning to face him fully, you raised one hand to wag a finger in his face teasingly. “Hey, you’re the one that keeps coming back.”

Pulling you into his arms, he hummed contentedly. “And I always will come back to you.”

Copying his hum of satisfaction, you reached up and grabbed his cowl like always, tucking your face into the fabric and taking a deep breath before turning to the side to look at the holo once again with a sigh.

“They got my name wrong, though.”

“Did they?”

“Mmm-hmm.” Tucking your face into the crook of his neck, you smiled. “Eesra Djarin of Clan Mudhorn…. That’s so much better, don’t you think?”

He groaned softly. “I-”

Bleep!

Din grunted in mild annoyance as Bee rolled up the ramp, stopping beside the two of you and trilling animatedly. “Not now, Scrap.”

Bee let out as close to a matching grunt of displeasure a droid could make, flipped out the electrified arm on her front, and waved it at Din in warning. 

“See? This is why I don’t like droids,” Din grumbled.

Rolling forward bit by bit, backtracking just slightly in between, she pried her way into the small amount of space between the two of you, making you step back just slightly to make room.

“Well, hello there,” you mused quietly to the metallic dome whose lense was looking up at you, smiling back at the tiny bloop in greeting. “May I help you?”

She babbled away in Binary animatedly, charged hand still extended toward Din in warning as she rolled ever so slightly closer towards you, tilting forward just a bit and causing Din to grunt as the forward motion pushed the bottom of her housing into his shin guards with a ping.

“I’m sure R5 didn’t say all that. What are you getting at?”

More beeps and whistles, this time containing squeals as her lense switched between red and white rapidly, almost faster than her sounds, as she animatedly continued her story.

“Wow,” you finally said when the droid stopped, staring at you expectantly.

“What did she say?” Din tilted his head at you.

“No idea.” You looked up into his visor. “All I caught was something something BD said and then Peli, Jawas….”

Both of you started to chuckle softly, Bee looking between you as she rotated her dome back and forth, a bloop of disappointment before a raspberry of annoyance, and you couldn’t shake the growing grin on your face if you wanted to.

After a moment she reached out just a little further and zapped Din with the electrified arm, tittering a laugh as she rolled away at speed as Din chased after her after crying out in pain. “Ow! Get back here, you rolling scrap heap!”

Crossing your arms, you leaned against the opening of the ramp to the Crest, and watched the scene unfold in Peli’s hangar.

Droids, a mechanic, and a Mandalorian all running in circles after a goal you weren’t quite sure of. All that was clear was Din was losing.

You were home, with the people you loved.

Looking to the side, you saw the bunk of the Crest open, the child’s hammock still strung across the top. The corners of your mouth pulled slightly down.

Well, almost everyone.

You were a clan of three.

No, it was more than that.

You were also a family.

And someday, you’d all be back together again.

Someday soon.

You’d find a way to bring it all back to you.

Adjusting your weight slightly, you bumped something on your vambraces in the process causing the jetpack between your shoulder blades beginning to whir with an increasing hum. Flames began to sputter at its base with a growing roar, sending a wall of heat down the backs of your thighs as it prepared to lift you into the skies once again.

“Din?” You called, quietly at first, staring over your shoulder at the new death trap strapped to your spine, then more urgently, “Din!”

He was already jogging up the ramp toward you, his posture easy and relaxed. “Calm down.”

A quick glance behind him showed an amused Peli and her circus of droids, all of them tittering in amusement. Bee rocked back and forth in glee at the foot of the ramp before rolling back to the others. 

“Calm down?” You repeated in bewilderment, watching him disengage the jetpack from your vambrace with a single button push, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

“Calm down?!” He began to chuckle, his hand skimming up the inside of your forearm to lightly grab your elbow and push you further into the ship as you went on. “I was almost a flying projectile and you-”

You hadn’t noticed the way he’d nudged you backwards completely out of sight of the rest of the hangar until your spine sealed along the bulkhead by the weapons locker, the lights of the cargo hold going to half brightness with a deft swipe of his hand over a control pad to your left. 

Half, but still plenty bright to see.

“Din?”

Taking in your new surroundings, you looked back up to see him taking his gloves off and tucking them in his belt. His helmet came next, the quiet hiss of the mechanism causing you to screw your eyes shut. The familiar sound of beskar thunking onto the metal floor of the Crest made them close even tighter.

Din chuckled softly, the unmodulated sound tickling your face with his warm breath. “Open your eyes, mesh’la.”

“Oh, yeah.” Slowly you blinked your eyes open, looking up to see warm brown eyes, and the sweetest smile waiting to meet you. “I still forget.”

Winding your hands up into the curls at the base of his head, you smirked when he let out a contented sigh through his nose. 

After a moment of simply holding the other’s gaze, you muttered quietly, “Hello, brown eyes.”

Din was on you in an instant, his groan of annoyance muffled against your lips as you laughed softly into the kiss. 

“You always have to ruin it,” he mumbled, crowding you further into the wall, his bare hands coming to cradle your face and making your eyes slip shut at the contact. “Nu-uh. Open your eyes, mesh’la.”

Fluttering them open, you tried very hard to keep them that way. “Sorry. It’s not every day a Mandalorian is half naked in front of me. I’ll try harder.”

“Half naked?” He tilted his head, the tip of his nose bumping against yours, one brow arching up in question. 

“For you, a helmet and gloves is the equivalent of a-”

Din was back on you again, this time growling in mock frustration against your lips as you laughed a bit louder. The upturn of his lips gave his amusement away, though.

Pulling apart just enough that only your foreheads rested against one another, the two of you held that moment together for quite a while. Simply breathing the other in, and existing in this quiet moment before the storm. 

Before you left to find more Mandalorians. 

More Mandalorians. 

Now that was going to be interesting. 

After a moment, you rolled your head to the side slightly and peeked up through your lashes to find his eyes closed.

You opened your mouth to speak, only for you both to speak in tandem, “Open your eyes.”

“I will if you will,” you were quick to retort.

Warm brown eyes met yours once again as the setting suns’ light poured in through the open ramp somewhere behind him, painting the cargo hold of the Crest in vibrant shades of gold, orange and red.

Din smiled softly, pressing his forehead further into yours, using his hands at your cheeks to maneuver your head back a bit and into a better angle for him to lean his forehead into. “Only for you.” His fingers began to move up and thread into your hair. “Always for you.” It was hard to tell where he stopped and you began. “Gar cuyi ner aliit. Ni kar'tayli darasuum gar. Gar cuyi ner mir'sheb bal gar utreekov kar'tayli darasuum gar, cyar’ika.” He pressed his forehead even further into yours, his lips ghosting over your own with each word. (“You are my family. I love you. You are my smartass, and your idiot loves you, darling.”)

“Gar cuyi ner yaim. Ner yaim'ol. Ner yaim'la.” The light of the day was fading, much the same as the two of you were melding into one another, practically becoming one being, all his hard edges blurring where your soft lines began. The Crest began to fill with long shadows as the lights in Peli’s hangar kicked on, filling the cargo hold with just enough extra light to see. (“You are my home. My homecoming. My comfortable.”)

Reaching up, you cupped his face in your hand, and he melted into it, his eyes fluttering shut as he leaned into your palm, his voice a low rumble. “Ni ratiin yaimpar gar.” (“I always return to you.”)

In the quiet moment, you rubbed your thumb over his cheek bone slowly back and forth before finally whispering with a smile, “Open your eyes.”

Once he was looking at you once again, you pulled your head back just a bit and tilted it to the side. “So, where are we going to find the covert?”

He went stiff. “We?”

You sighed, laying your head on his pauldron. “It’s been how long, and you still haven’t learned that I’m always going to come with you?”

Din looked at you with a matching sigh. He tilted his head at you, his weight shifted to one leg, his hands on your waist moving you along with him. “You sometimes stay here when I go out on a job and help Peli work on the ship. It’s almost done after what Gideon tried to do- er, it was until today.”

“Exactly. So after this last massacre, I don’t think Peli wants to see my face around here anymore,” you laughed, making him shake his head and let out a huff of laughter. “I think Boba would give us a lift to wherever.”

“And then how do we get back?”

You smiled as you closed the small space between you, speaking softer as the situation began to feel more delicate. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Why are your ideas usually half baked or somehow involve fire?”

You closed the distance between you yet again, wrapping your arms around his neck tightly, and pressing your forehead into his. “And yet they always work….”

“You get lucky sometimes,” he groused half heartedly before he returned the gesture, a warm ungloved hand spread across your back, the other moving up to the back of your head to tuck your face securely into the crook of his neck.

You weren’t about to pull away as he held you there gently. Turning your face towards him where it rested on his shoulder, your nose brushed against his neck, and his grip grew tighter. Glancing up towards his face, you thought back to a time in the bar when this all started when all you could see before the helmet obstructed your view was a small sliver of skin that bobbed as he swallowed roughly. 

Now you had an unobstructed view….

….Of unruly dark curls long overdue for a trim….

….Golden skin dusted with a light facial hair that had the slightest hint of grays peppered in….

….Kind, warm brown eyes that looked at you with so many promises….

….A nose that had definitely been broken once or twice….

….And a smile that took your breath away.

You turned your head up fully towards his face as you pulled away just enough to look at him straight on, and he turned his gaze down to meet you with a slightly playful tilt of his head like before.

“I’m just that good.” Your hands fell to rest on his chest plate. “Now let’s go find your people.”

“Let’s go find our people,” he corrected.

With a gentle nod, you pulled away slowly after a moment, turning towards the ramp with wide eyes as what just happened sunk in.

Our people.

Din walked past you, looking over his shoulder once he was on the ramp. “Are you coming?”

Our people. 

Turning your head slightly to the left, you saw he had stopped, helmet back on, gloves securely fastened, and every bit the Mandalorian you had met all those years ago, only now he stood waiting for you, hand outstretched in invitation.

Mine.

You smiled, walking forward and taking his hand. “Moff Gideon couldn’t keep me away.”

Xxx

Yes, I gave her a name. Eesra Kesyk. (Ee-sruh Keh-sick) Let’s face it, Mesh’la is still what’s going to be used 99.999999% of the time, and “you” the majority of the rest. But we’re going into a part of the story with a whole lot of other new players and I wanted to have something to call the reader besides “you” and nicknames. I know this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, and I’m sorry. But, it’s my story, and that’s what I chose to do. I have a plan, so if you’ll bear with me, thank you, and I hope we can see it through together. ❤️ Plus, Din still just calls her *sigh* or “stop it!” 99% of the time, so…. 🤭

Xxx

Tags to come!

[jillsandwhichs]

Our Future Day's

Joel Miller x Reader series , Chap 1 , Move in day

Masterlist

Pairing: Fem!reader x Joel Miller

Summary: You officially move from oregan to texas and get to meet your very new & handsome neighbor, Joel

WC: 3.1k

Type: SFW

Some thing's you need to know before reading: this is a series, not a one shot collection! you (the reader) already have a semi premade backstory. first off, you're originally from oregon. you studied at med school and got a job offer in texas to become a doctor, which you took. you are 23 in this but if you don't like that, imagine any age (18+) and i did make joel younger 26 (until the 20 year time jump, he'll be 46) but he does still have sarah, just pretend it's not wonky LMAO! one more thing, ya have a dog in this fic, he's a boy but imagine any breed you'd like! aside from that, this is tlou game version but i included some sides from the show! a couple more things: 1. all characters from tlou1/2 will be mentioned/featured. 2. this takes place before outbreak, then eventually outbreak day, then eventually in the apocalypse. 3. this is a slow burn romance (drabbles of it in each chapter though, esp when it progresses) and does feature a decent amount of smut. 4. JOEL NEVER DIES!!!

A/n: Hi! Hope you all enjoy. Please check out my masterlist, there's a lot of stuff there. You can get to know me, you can see the rules of my blog and then you can see all of my fanfictions. You'll be able to find the previous chapters to this fic and upcoming ones. You'll also be able to find my Wattpad & AO3. Thank you

Tapping your fingers on the steering wheel, you matched the beat of the song playing on your cars radio. It was a song by Blake Shelton. You weren't a huge fan of him but he had some classics. It has been such a long day for you. You've been driving for the past two hours, not a single break in between. You just wanted to get to your new home as soon as you could. You could tell your dog, Becker, needed to go potty as well. He'd just have to hold out.

The GPS on your phone stated you were only about ten minutes away. The center of Austin TX was busy as all hell, so that time span could get longer by the second. So many cars & people flooded the streets. "God dammit." You mumbled to yourself, rolling your eyes as you seen all the upcoming traffic ahead. This was going to be a long night. You had no clue when you'd even be able to get into bed. Then again, it was only 4:30 in the afternoon, almost evening.

Behind you, in the backseat, you could hear Becker whimpering & whining. "Don't worry boy, we're almost home, just a little bit longer." You cooed to him, reaching your right hand back and allowing him to lick you. You got Becker as a graduation gift a few weeks ago. You two have bonded ever since. You were never a cat person, dog's were more of your style. "You'll be able to go potty soon." You said to him, pulling your hand back up and holding onto the wheel.

Traffic wasn't going as slow as you intended, was traffic always going to be like this though? This ain't going to be pleasant if so. Especially working for the hospital. Imagine an emergency happens and you're needed but the roads are packed, that's going to be one helluva time. But, you wanna think positively. You missed your family too. It's going to be hard without them, especially your mom. She is your number one supporter and without her in the same home as you, it'll be a large change.

You turned the radio up, hearing the country music blast throughout your car but not loud enough to scare your dog. Dogs ears are sensitive and you didn't wanna bother him further than he already was. No doggo wants to be stuck in a car all day, especially in this heat. Despite it being early September, it was still quite warm out. That's another big change from Oregon, you imagine that back home, it's either really windy or heavily raining. The change could be nice though.

The sound of Becker panting was clear as day, it only made you feel more guilty. "Hold on baby." You muttered to him before you then rolled your window down and the window directly behind you, not a lot though, you didn't want him to jump out or something. Through your rearview mirror, you could see his slobbery tounge blowing in the wind as he stuck his head out the window. "Hah, good boy!" You giggled, turning left onto the exit, finally getting off of this miserable highway.

Finally, the road wasn't full anymore. It was a downtown rural area now, cars slowly made their way through the town. Austin is busy, yes, but this side of it, not so much. The only logical reason it was super busy on the highway and earlier roads was because people are getting/going to work. Your first day at the hospital is on Monday. You were nervous but in a great way. You have been non stop thinking about it. All of the work you've put in and you're officially where you wanted to be. Life was going good... For once...

You passed by all sorts of different places. Gas stations, fast food chains, locally owned stores & stands, it felt so honey. Back in Oregon, you lived in the center of the city, it was always so lively and never calm. Austin is like that too but not as bad, and definitely not as bad as Dallas is. You were grateful you didn't end up moving there or even somewhere that was worse. Austin was a good enough fit for you.

The GPS showed you were only a minute or two away from home, your heart was racing a bit. You've never been on your own before and you least expected it to be in a completely different state. Luckily, a week from now, you'll be going back home for the weekend. It'll be comforting. You'll definitely make sure to call your family everyday, you made sure they knew that too. They'd have to simply put up with it.

You could tell you were getting closer due to the change in scenery. There weren't any establishments around these parts, just either compact or extensive suburban homes. You actually used to make fun of those perfect American families who lived in these types of areas but look at you now. Back home, you lived in a small house, only two bedrooms but you were an only child so it was never a problem. You did wish for siblings growing up but you understand now that if you had some, things would be a whole lot different.

As you turned left, the tracker built into your phone made a dinging noise, indicating you had arrived at your destination. It wasn't wrong. Just to the left, you could see your newly purchased home. It made your heart skip a beat. Not only were you nervous but you were also so happy. You glimmered as you pulled right into the driveway and set your car in park. You could tell Becker knew this was your guy's new home, his whimpers weren't ones of boredness but rather excitement. "One second." You sighed out before getting out of the car.

Stepping out of your car, you sighed softly as you breathed in the fresh air. The smell of outside was always so welcoming. You grabbed your purse out of your car too and swung it across your shoulder. It was a brown leather purse with an embroidered strap. You then opened up the backseat so Becker could jump on out. "Stay over here buddy." You chuckled out, scratching the top of his head a few times before closing both doors. You had quite a bit of stuff in your trunk & backseat but you hired a truck to drive all of your other belongings here. It wouldn't be there for another day or so.

Becker ran off to the side of the house to go potty ; You trusted him enough to not run off. He was a good dog. You went to the back of your car and popped open your trunk. It was a mess but everything you needed for the night was in there. You even bought an air mattress, your back would die trying to sleep on a wooden floor. You grabbed the first two boxes, they weren't very big, and set them on the concrete of your driveway. They just had toiletries in them.

You grabbed out another box, this one was a bit bigger than the other two. It had all of your kitchen appliances in it. You were excited to cook your very first dinner in your very own home. You already decided on making Pesto Pasta, one of your favorites. In your trunk, there was the air mattress box. It wasn't going to be the best way to sleep but it'd have to suffice for the night, your proper bed should be in either tomorrow or on Sunday.

Whilst grabbing out the air mattress, you heard the sound of a truck driving past and pulling into the driveway across from you. They must've been your neighbors. Your neighbors back home weren't the nicest. There were the Johnson's so were beyond uppity and thought they were better than everyone else, they lived beside you. Then there was Cassandra and Cody, they were your age and pretty kind except they were literal kleptos.

You ignored the truck behind you, just trying to get everything you needed for the night. You could hear Becker barking but you didn't know what it was he was doing it at. You figured a wild animal, maybe a bunny or a stray. Becker was actually from a shelter, you'd never buy an animal from PetSmart or whatever. "Becker, quit your barking!" You shouted at him, nudging him to come over to you. Maybe he wasn't good with new environments.

You placed the last cardboard box from your trunk on top of another one, shooting your eyes to look at Becker. He was looking at the truck across the street, barking at it. "Oh boy, quit it." You spoke out to him but he didn't listen. You went to grab onto his collar but right as you did, he bolted off into their driveway. He was a friendly dog, you didn't think he'd do anything bad, he was just inquisitive, but it was still bad of him to run off like that.

"Becker!" You yelled, jogging across the street to grab him. You watched as two men got out of the black truck. The one in the driver's seat had a mullet and lighter hair than the other man, he also seemed shorter. The other one though had short dark hair, although you couldn't tell if it was purely brown or black. He was well built, along with the other man. Were they brothers? That's the only assumption that came to mind.

Once you reached their driveway, you grabbed Becker and pulled him back to you. The man getting out of the passenger seat looked back at you and had a puzzled look before letting out a chuckle beneath his breath. "Listen, I'm so sorry, he's just curious." You sighed out. Becker was now listening as he sat down right by your feet. "Sorry, we'll be out of your hair." You giggled, beginning to turn around before you heard the man's voice speak up.

"You just move in across the street?" He asked you, his voice sounded southern and it was very deep. "Oh uhm, yeah, just got here tonight actually." You said kindly, looking back at him again. "Well, welcome then, and to your dog." He snickered out. "I'm Joel, this is Tommy." Joel spoke deeply, pointing over at the other man. You let the two men know your name before asking them whether or not they were brothers, and they were. You weren't surprised, they did share similar facial features.

"Where are you from?" Joel raised, his arms crossed. His arms were huge, he definitely has a nice body. "I'm from Oregon." You said softly, placing your slender hands onto your waist. "Damn, that's a long ways out. What made you move all the way here?" "Got a job offer at the hospital." You said with a titter, his accent was thick. "Oh, you a nurse or something?" He questioned, leaning up against his truck. "No, a doctor. Recently gradated from medschool." You explained, glancing over at his brother as he walked into the house. Maybe they lived together.

"Well how bout that? I'm just a contractor." "That's nice." You added, tucking strands of your thin hair behind your ear. "Yeah, yeah, well I'll let you continue settling in. If you need any help with uh larger furniture, me and my brother can stop by, we helped the Adler's when they first moved in." Joel said with a deep voice, pointing his index to the home beside his. "That would be great, thanks, luckily I don't have to deal with the bullshit of larger furniture today, it'll be in either tomorrow or Sunday."

"Alrighty, well, you have yourself a good evening. See you." Joel said with a sly smirk, slowly inching backwards. "You too, Joel." You gave him a slight smile before patting Becker to follow behind you. You made your way across the street, allowing Becker to run around in his new yard. You took a gander back and seen Joel looked back at you before entering his home. When you saw his eyes on you, you felt a deep pit in your stomach. Nothing bad, rather just glee or something. You couldn't pin it.

Around your neck was a lanyard, it had the key to your home, you assumed it was locked. At least you hoped, you don't want any squatters inside. You unlocked the white door and opened it, stepping inside of it. The sunset beamed in through the windows throughout the house. It was still dark though, every single light was switched on. The seller said you'd have to go to the basement to switch them all on. That sounded like a fun time!

One by one, you dragged each box into the home, keeping some on the floor and placing some on the island counter. You didn't plan on unpacking any of it tonight, you were restless and just wanted to lay down for the night, despite it only being 5 PM. The more sleep you get, the easier it'll be tomorrow. You definitely had to get a lot of sleep Sunday considering on Monday, you start your first day. Even though it's just training, you wanna be as awake as possible.

You ambled towards the front door again and away from the kitchen to call Becker in. He'd have to deal with the floor for the night. He is a cuddly dog, he loves big comfy areas but without a bed or a couch, there's no way. "Becker!" You said with a rowdy voice, "C'mon baby." He came running over to you and past your legs, going into the house and treading around like a mad man. "Oh good boy." You chuckled, petting him gently.

You walked back over to the kitchen and grabbed the air mattress, you needed to get it open and blown up. It was sealed to a T, your nails were definitely not enough to get it open. Striding towards the appliances box, you opened it up and searched through it, taking out a knife to slice it open. You are quite clumsy so you were praying you wouldn't stab the mattress on accident. It didn't help that Becker felt the need to push himself up against you, seeking attention & love as if he's starved from it.

"Back off boy." You snorted, pulling the mattress out of it's box. It was all wrinkled up and looked compact. Although it was the size of a Full. You straightened it out on the living room floor, you didn't feel like carrying it all the way up the stairs. It came with a machine to blow it up and you connected it to the black cylinder hole, turning it on and hearing the loud blowing noise it was making. You didn't have any pillows, they were all packed up in that truck but luckily, you had a blanket, it was the one you let Becker use in the backseat when you were driving.

"You stay here mister." You stated out to Becker before beginning to make your way out of the front door to take the blanket out from the car. As you went outside, you noticed a bright light was on in Joel's house, just in one room though. You could also see the shadow of a smaller person's body walking through said room. Did he have a girlfriend? Or did Tommy have one? Maybe it was Tommy's. You convinced yourself of that at least.

After grabbing the blanket, you walked back inside and seen Becker already making himself a spot on the bed, despite it barley being inflated. "You little shit." You grinned, tossing the fuzzy blanket on top of him. Guess you were going to have to share.

The bed was officially ready to be slept on, you haven't been this excited to sleep in a very long time. Back home, you dreaded it. You would stay up all night, doing different stuff. Whether it was studying, painting, reading, working out, etc.. You were always doing something new. With Becker, it's been better. You're an affectionate person and he is as a dog. It may be a rough night, it always is sleeping somewhere new, but with him it may be easier.

Pulling the machine away from the bed, you turned it off and climbed underneath the blanket, feeling immediate warmth. The Texas heat also played a part in that. Back in Oregon, you had a heater beside your bed to help, you definitely didn't need one here. "Alright." You whispered to yourself, Becker lying right beside your feet, his fur was cozy. You were originally going to turn the lights on to your home but honestly, you were scared to go down there all alone, a pitch black basement? No thanks.

Trying to sleep in a new area was hard. You felt homesick. You miss your old room, the house noises, the feeling of it. You lived there your entire life, now you're thousands of miles away. Becker probably felt that way too, especially with how he connected with your father, they bonded. A week from now though, you'd be able to see them. It'd be easier. Another thing you couldn't stop thinking about was that man - Joel.

He seemed so different. He was kind & understanding, and that's just simply based on the short conversation the two of you had together. He was so willing to help you out, no one else was like that. It was a sweet welcoming. He was also very handsome. All the men back home weren't like that. That glimmer in his eyes wasn't something to ignore. It was the way he gazed at you that had you wrapped around the thought of him.

That brother of his was good looking too, definitely not as much, but either way. Were they both contractors? It appeared as though they had just left work so maybe they work together. And who was that smaller person walking throughout his house earlier? Had to be a girlfriend. A daughter? No way, the two of them looked to young to even have children. There was still a chance though, teen pregnancies aren't uncommon. You presume you'll deal with a lot of them as a Doctor.

Your eyes felt more & more heavy. Becker's deep breathing made you weary too. The pitch blackness of the room was helpful ; White sound would've been helpful too. Sleeping in complete silence was torture. All you could really hear was your dog and your own breathing. You were completely spent for the day. And you were ready to hit the hay.

Divider Creds: animatedglittergraphics-n-more

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

Dark Moon | Chapter Nine

Pairing | yandere!Jimin x Reader

Word Count | 1,7k

Warnings | +18, Jimin is hatching anger, asshole talk typical of their environment among boys, dirty language, sexual insinuations, Hoseok throws barbs at Jimin, drunk Jimin, noncon kissing, insults and angry talk, triggering content, yandere themes, angst, this is not for minors.

This fanfiction is yandere, if you don't like the genre, don't read and if you are not of age, don't read.

I don't want to hear any complaints in the comments, thank you.

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | She just wanted to escape her past, take charge of her life and break out of her steel cage, praying in God for a miracle that could change her life for good.

And her prayers were heard, but it was not the Divine that answered her.

That was certainly the devil in the guise of an angel, she thought as those corrupted and empty eyes searched her soul with extreme voracity.

He turned a sweet, false smile on her, before pushing her into the abyss.

➢ Author's Note | The ninth chapter of Dark Moon has arrived and with it even more darkness, I warn you that from the next chapter on, things will get stronger and more triggering.

Let me know what you think of the chapter ❤️

Taglist: @katherine-kookie, @dragons-flare, @m00njinnie, @seokjins-luigi, @pjmsneverland, @jimincrystal, @ajkwww, @ungodlyjoon, @hecateslittlewitchling, @namjoonsbuspass, @darkuni63, @xicanacorpse

Taglist is open!

Chapter List - Previous - Next

"We caught another one of those sewer rats," said Hoseok with a satisfied light in his eyes, "At this rate they will never try to mess with the Bangtan Boys again."

"The matter is not over yet, Choi Minho played his cards wrong and now he will feel trapped.... and rats become aggressive when they realize they are about to lose their skin," sighed Seokjin, everyone nodded, then Jungkook asked Jimin a question.

"What?" he asked absentmindedly, Jin squared him up making the person concerned roll his eyes.

"What would you like to get out of the whole situation?"

Jimin licked his dry lips, casting a glance at the woman in charge of serving them drinks; she was beautiful, he couldn't deny it, but she lacked something.

No, she lacked nothing, she simply wasn't Y/N.

With a snort he pointed to the glass, ignoring her mischievous glances, "I'd like to get some whiskey in my glass," he clutched the bridge of his nose between two fingers, trying to relax, but how could he when his personal whore was not only giving him trouble but also putting her hands on him?

How had she allowed herself? And why hadn't he reacted? What was that "I'm sorry," anyway?

He should have beaten her until he saw her blood dripping onto the kitchen floor, but he had frozen. The blind rage he had felt was so devastating that his body had automatically refused to release it.

A laugh from Taehyung made the whole group notice the incoherent answer to Jungkook's question.

"Dude, is everything okay at home?" asked Taehyung, encircling the hips of their waitress, who had meanwhile poured whiskey for Jimin, "Do you want me to send you one who knows how to do her duty?"

"Are you implying that I suck at picking my girls, Taehyung?" quipped Seokjin quietly, immediately making the younger man shake his head.

"No way, Jin!" Taehyung clasped his hands together in apology, but he could tell he was joking, even Seokjin smiled deliberately.

"Please, by now Jimin has a whore who faithfully waits for him at home and with whom he has sex every day," mocked Hoseok, "He would even turn against his friends for her," he taunted, remembering perfectly that day in the infirmary, he had not liked Jimin's attitude toward him, the whole room fell silent, confused expressions arose on the faces of the other five, unaware.

"What did you say, Hoseok?"

"You heard me, Jimin... Maybe you don't care about anyone anymore because you have better."

Jimin found himself gritting his teeth at the redhead's insinuations.

His work was his life, his friends were his family, Hoseok himself was like a brother, he would never hurt him for...

Jimin wrinkled his forehead, remembering the discussion in the infirmary more sharply. Had he really threatened Hoseok?

What was that damn bitch doing to him? Because that was all it was about, wasn't it? She was a slut, nothing important, nothing to protect. Just a nice little object fit to fulfill his cravings.

"Stop talking bullshit, I would never reject my family, for anything or anyone in the world, when I like something I get a little jealous and you know it's better not to provoke me when I'm in that state," he tried to get over it, passing off his attitude as something completely harmless and natural, Hoseok shook his head as if to say 'Always the same', but for Jimin it wasn't over there. Now he was really pissed off as hell.

"Come on, come on! Let's not spoil the mood for stupid fights, let's toast to the Bangtan's imminent victory!" exclaimed Namjoon, trying to act as a peacekeeper between the two quarrels, everyone raised their filled glasses, but Jimin remained with his thoughts fixed on Y/N.

He came home drunk, the lights were already all out, but Jimin didn't give a shit.

He was lackluster and very angry, a deadly cocktail for a man of his mold.

He searched for her like a mad bull, "Y/N!" he growled harshly, throwing open her bedroom door, but no sign of her.

He looked around in hopes of finding her, but had to backtrack, retraced his steps into the living room and then into the kitchen, but the only rooms left to check corresponded to Jimin's room and their respective bathrooms. Jimin strongly doubted that she could be in his room.

Despite the legitimate consideration, he staggered to the master room of the house, when he opened the door he found himself squinting. The girl was slumped on the floor, various books were strewn and left open around her, she must have been rummaging through his things out of boredom, beginning to read here and there to get an idea about the man's literal tastes, the latter was not softened by the sight, anyone else would have found the scene of their girlfriend intent on sleeping peacefully all curled up like a wren tender, but he was not anyone and she was not his girlfriend.

He shook her by the shoulder several times, heedless of Y/N's physical frailty, and when the latter opened her eyes, she found herself facing Jimin's grim face.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" hissed the man between his teeth, Y/N blinked quickly in despondency, what had she done this time?

She glanced around the room with its strongly masculine and restrained decor, instantly remembered the moment she had entered Jimin's bedroom out of sheer curiosity, bitterly regretted entering it.

"I-I...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-ah!" she didn't even have time to finish her sentence, Jimin grabbed her by the arm forcing her to fall back uncomfortably on his king-size bed.

"Shut up and save me the trouble of still listening to you," he blurted out, quickly undoing the buttons of his dark shirt, the woman blanched.

Jimin wanted to again... ?

Now that the fog of sleep had cleared from her mind, she could notice the lackluster movements of the man, who had come to open his belt listlessly, the now half-open shirt gave a perfect view of his pecs and a hint of a sculpted abdomen, the mussed hair on his forehead contributed to his distraught look.

"You're drunk," she noted in a huff between trembling lips, Jimin smiled lazily.

"What do you deduce that from?" he kicked off his shoes, which were immediately followed by the tight jeans that contained nimble, muscular legs, everything about Jimin pointed out what a dangerous predator he was.

"Please, Jimin," it was the first time she had ever begged him using his name, "Let's not do this now, not like this-you're not yourself," she whispered softly, the fear already almost impossible to contain.

"And how should we do it?" he asked using the same gentle tone, crawling onto the bed until he completely overpowered her, their noses were only millimeters apart, "More importantly, when should we do it? This sounds like a good tease to me, Y/N," his magnetic eyes descended on the younger woman's lips, glittering with mischief.

The girl tried to calm him by gently taking his shoulders in her hands, imperceptibly pushing him away.

But Jimin grabbed her wrists in a firm grip, lifting them above her head and attached his meaty, experienced mouth to the trembling petals he had been studying with growing desire.

His tongue thrust directly into the girl's throat, she widened her eyes and tried to break free from the lack of air, Jimin was as if possessed, biting and sucking those lips as if his life depended on it, not giving her the slightest time to recover and pursuing her shyer tongue without hinting to surrender.

"I kept you away from all those perverts at the Dark Moon," he descended on her neck to bite the most sensitive flap of skin, "I almost beat up a friend who is like a brother, for you," he squeezed those slender wrists more tightly, releasing a breathless moan in Y/N, "And I scarred that bitch's face in revenge because she dared to hurt you," he said finally, the woman did not understand the last sentence, did he mean that Jimin had punished Ester permanently for her?

She did not have time to reason out that last thought, Jimin was beside himself.

"But you keep pushing me away, being a runaway bitch, you even look at me in disgust, and fuck, you really piss me off!" he exclaimed angrily and in a petulant tone, "I gave you a home, bitch! Something you could have only dreamed of if you had gone about your business and you show not the slightest respect for my efforts!" he continued to verbally rail at her, who was shaking and whimpering in shock.

Jimin had always been scary, and he had always been dangerous, and he had even hurt her on more than one occasion, but she had never seen him like that. He was drunk, he could have done anything to her without the restraint of a conscience anymore, always if he ever had a conscience, she was terrified.

And the more the boy thought of her not as a whore, the more furious he became. Because it had never happened that he liked a woman romantically, it didn't fit into his plans, and it was twisted in his reasoning, but he had sworn to his past that it would never happen, that he would never give in that way.

"Jimin, wait a moment, calm down and let's talk about this tomorrow.... you're right, you're right," she whimpered, "I didn't behave well, but now we can't discuss it, it's really not the time," she tried to appease him, Jimin tilted his head, scrutinizing her face, which was purple and streaked with badly held salty tears, snapped his tongue against his palate, before grabbing the fabric of her shirt with a funny koala printed on it and pulling toward him, causing a gash at the young woman's chest level, forcing her into another sick and shameless kiss.

"Fuck the talk, tonight I'm going to fuck you good and you'll just have to take my cock," he said, leaving her speechless, "Turn around."

No. Not again, not again in that humiliating position.

She quickly shook her head, "No!" she pushed him away with a kick, but the man flinched in time, remembering that first night that changed both their lives.

"I'm not that drunk," he laughed viciously, forcing her to carry out his command.

And there, watching her trembling and with her shapely buttocks hidden by the pajama suit, Jimin had a cruel and angry idea.