#in the head and then losing his best friend because fucky mind control reasons. he’s a little. dizzy.

[quietwingsinthesky]

you know I actually have an Andy fic in my special children au that I’m trying to write and the biggest reason I haven’t finished it is that every time I get really into it, it suddenly switches into second person

[astro-rain]

delicate; b.barnes

chapter one - “to wakanda”

delicate masterlist

word count: 1.5k

synopsis: reader works for what used to be shield as a highly skilled neuropsychologist. after the events in vienna involving the sokovia accords and a bombing, she gets an interesting request from friend and coworker sharon carter...a request involving none other than steve rogers and james barnes.

warnings: brief and indirect mentions of abuse/trauma

pairings: bucky x fem!reader

"I don't know Sharon. Are you sure I'm really the right person for this? I'm not, like, an Avengers level tech. Are you sure they don't want a genius or someone like Stark to do it?"

"Well, Stark is pretty busy right now, and honestly, no one knows psych like you. Not who I've met anyway."

"That is so not true. I'm willing to bet there's tons of other people you guys got somewhere who are ten times what I am."

"Agent (Y/L/N), in case you missed it, SHIELD isn't what it used to be. Sure we have old agents who aren't formally 'SHIELD agents,' anymore, but we don't have the expendability we used to. You're our best bet at the moment."

"Damn. I'm your best bet. I'm sorry," she almost chuckled, but then she thought for a brief moment. "Are you sure this is completely necessary? I mean, I saw the photo on the news. The quality's poor at best, and..."

She leaned in, discretely, and whispered.

"...not to seem like a conspiracy theorist commie or anything, but it kinda seems like people are jumping to conclusions here. Are we even sure it was Barnes who set off the bomb?"

Sharon looked around them, cautiously. No one seemed to be listening, but she scanned the room like her life as she knew it was hanging in the balance. She weighed her words in her head, making sure she picked the right ones, then formulated a response appropriate.

"Regardless of if it was him or not, Barnes still escaped. and before that, Ste-we'd been looking for him for almost two years. This analysis is necessary," Sharon brought her voice down even lower. "At least that's what I keep being told. Of course I'd like there to be more solid proof, but I'm not in charge here. He's gone, and they want to be able to find him and 'sort things out.'"

"'Sort things out,'" (Y/N) repeated, questioning the genuineness of whomever told Sharon that. "Unless they have hard evidence that it was him who set off the bomb in Vienna, shouldn't they leave that to uh...Captain America?"

She wondered how Barnes was able to escape in the first place. She saw the containment module he was in; there's no way he could've gotten out without a fight. ...But maybe it wasn't a fight. Perhaps it was a trigger word induced rage. (Y/N) understood a basic layout of the "Winter Soldier." SHIELD would've kept any information they had classified. However, after the fiasco in Washington, d.c. with Hydra and the whole releasing of all files predicament, she was able, with Sharon's help, to put together a simple outline. With that being said, he couldn't have broken out without going Winter Soldier mode. But doesn't someone need the trigger words for that?

“That's what a reasonable person would think, but once again, I'm not in charge," Sharon shrugged. "Things would probably be going a lot smoother if I was, but you can't have everything."

(Y/N) cracked a smile. Sharon was a friend, and a good one too. They'd known each other since before SHIELD was shattered in 2014. In fact, Sharon helped train her.

The only thing was: Sharon was a higher ranking agent and often withheld certain information from (Y/N). It frustrated her. This was where their personal boundaries got in the way of their professional ones.

She could tell there was something Sharon wasn't telling her, but she wasn't about to compromise either of their positions by pushing for information she wasn't supposed to know. Hell, maybe even Sharon knows something she isn't supposed to. Or maybe she knows something that Everett Ross wouldn't like. What if she was keeping something from him? Defying him? What if she was working with Steve Rogers? Now that would be interesting.

(Y/N) was used to secrets around her all the time. She knew Sharon had her fair share, and trying to figure them out wouldn't really get her anywhere.

"Right. Okay. Well, I'll get on this then. Thanks, Agent Carter," she teased in late response to Sharon's 'Agent (Y/N).’

Sharon offered a quick smile before walking off to attend to other business.

- - -

Pain. That was all it was. In every sense of the word. As she strenously made her way through the densely packed file of one James Buchanan Barnes, pain was all she could see. All she could read. It leaked out of the page and seeped into her skin like poison.

It was horrific what they did to him. She knew he had his memory wiped, had someone pull him out and stick someone else in. But it was more than just that. They took his past, his memories, his thoughts; and they ripped them from his mind, leaving an empty space to mold into their own. It was after this when Hydra, in every way they could, dehumanized him, made him less than. He was striped of his freedom, his control, his choice, his humanity, of everything that made him him. They beat and bruised and broke it out this empty human shell until he was nothing but a shadow of faded morality and consciousness.

But hell, she couldn't look away. She was glued to the aftershock of this horrible wreckage. All the years of studying Psychology and Neuroscience couldn't have possibly prepared her for the absolute horror that was his past, his abuse, his torture. It was heinous. Frankly, she questioned how he was still alive. How he still had the will and the drive to be alive. How do you live after that?

"Fuck," she breathed after eons of silence.

She seemed to lose her sense of time whilst she was immersed in the harrowing nightmare of Hydra's cruelty. 'Cruelty' doesn't even come close to doing it justice. When she came to, her desk looked like a bomb went off. Papers were bursting out of manilla folders, littering the linoleum surface with classified files and secret information. She leaned back in her chair, and gave herself a minute to debrief.

(Y/N) almost felt guilty, like she things she looked at were so vile, so violating that she didn't have the right to see them. Sure, she had read and analyzed all sorts of trauma and psychological profiles. But he was different. Something about James Barnes was different. It tangled her mind the fact that a person could endure all that. She could only imagine the effect that would have on the human brain. The possibilities are endless. Suddenly bombing the UN didn't seem so far fetched.

- - -

"Jesus Christ," (Y/N) murmured, staring at her office floor as Sharon finished explaining to her what happened at the Leipzig Halle Airport.

She sat mostly in silence as she pondered over the information just fed to her. Apparently Tony Stark gathered a 'team' to try and intercept Captain America - sorry - Steve Rogers and his (supposed) fugitive friend. It was chaos.

"What is this? Fuckin' Avengers Fight Night?" she wondered aloud. "How many people did you say were there?"

"Twelve total," Sharon clarified. "Five with Stark and five with Steve."

The psychologist shook her head, dumbfounded. "How did it end?"

"Steve and Barnes got out, but everyone else with them were captured and sent to the Raft."

"The Raft?!" (Y/N) exclaimed. "That's for, like, super humans! Not people like Sam Wilson or Clint Barton!"

"You're telling me."

Sharon seemed in agreement with everything she was saying. However, there was something she couldn't quite place. Like she was holding back. But holding back what?

"So what of Rogers and Barnes?" (Y/N) pushed.

Sharon got up and closed the office door before returning to her seat, leaning in, and lowering her voice. This secretive woman, god damn it.

"Well... That's what I came to talk to you about."

Oh boy. She didn't have a semblance of a single idea of what to expect. Apparently Sharon noticed.

"We're the only ones that know this. They're fine..." the agent trailed off, "They're in Wakanda, but they need a little help."

"Are you leaving?!" (Y/N) all but yelled before quickly slapping a hand over her mouth and uncovering it only to whisper, "Do you and Rogers have a thing or something? Cause' I don't know how else you would know all of this when I'm sure that no one else does considering he's now an enemy of several governments!"

"My relations with Steve Rogers are not the focus here." She could've sworn Sharon flushed. "But we have been in contact; I'm one of the few people he can trust right now, and I don't plan on letting him down anytime soon."

They totally have a thing.

"Noted," said (Y/N) with a nod, "but why are you telling me this? Does he want the profile analysis or something? I don't see how he would need it if he's known Barnes for however long."

"Not exactly..." Sharon fidgeted with her hands. "We need you to go to Wakanda.”

-

[A/N:] this is a repost of chapter 1 because my masterlist is being fucky

[aaronhart93-archive]

baby ll aaroman

Discord thread featuring: Aaron & @romanbeckett

Mentions: @alison-haynes @luca-regio

When: July 26, 2020

Where: Roman’s apartment

Description: Aaron and Roman talk after Aaron finds out about Alison’s pregnancy

Trigger Warnings: alcohol use, mentions of pregnancy

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 

Roman was trying his best not to overreact, but it was hard. Things had been almost too perfect between him and Aaron, so it was bound to blow up, right? Nothing could ever be too pristine. He shook his head as he fought the tears, trying to play house with Des while her father was supposedly on his way home. When that didn’t seem to happen, Ro kept checking his phone, noticing the time getting later, and later, until he began to panic. Aaron was tipsy, and nowhere to be found, AFTER he’d promised he’d be on his way home. Tears were pricking at his eyes, long enough for him to walk away for a breather. Des was happily playing with her dolls when he finally got a promise of an actual departure from what was for some reason not disclosed to Roman until it was too late. He wiped his eyes as he sat down on the couch, knee bouncing with his gaze set on his brand new projector on the adjacent wall. He’d planned this entire apartment design around Aaron and Destiny being in his life, and he wanted so badly to not be upset, and just let this go, but he was hurt — for a lot of reasons, and he just hoped Aaron was as good at explaining himself, as he was at being jealous.

Aaron

Why was this shit fucking happening? Why couldn't things just be simple? Why was Aaron's life such a fucking shit show? When he had left his pent, he went to the bar and drank up the courage to go over to Luca's house - who apparently lived in North Kingsboro now which came as a shock to him. He was angry at Luca; angry that a parolee had to come into Alison's life and fall in love with her. Because apparently Aaron and Des weren't enough -- for so long it had just been Des, Aaron and Ali. And these new changes, albeit a lot being good (mostly Roman), Aaron didn't know quite how to handle things. He was mostly angry at Luca for trying to manipulate Alison into keep her pregnancy from him -- like was hadn't been the one that was looking after her, protecting her and raising her child for the past 6 years. FUCK that. He finally barged into Roman's apartment, toeing off his shoes and heading straight for the liquor. "Is Des in her room?" He asked, barely making eye contact with his boyfriend when he took a sip straight from the bottle. The last thing he needed was his daughter seeing him having a mental breakdown -- again.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 

Roman was a bit startled when Aaron just barged in the way he did, still drinking clearly, and...fuck, he was a father, he couldn’t just...Roman wasn’t perfect, but what if Des had been in the living room. He stood up, looking at the other male like he didn’t know him at all, because the truth was, he hadn’t really seen this side of Aaron. Not in person anyway. “Yes. She’s in her room.” He said in a lower voice, because she may be in a different place, but she wasn’t deaf. “Aaron. Give me the bottle.” He wasn’t anyone to try and tell a single soul to stop drinking, but not while Des was here, and awake. Not because he was going on a rampage, and clearly didn’t need the alcohol to light him up even further.

Aaron

Aaron paused, a little startled when he boyfriend stood up and started speaking to him the way he did. His eyes looked in the direction of his child's bedroom. He slowly brought the bottle away from his lips and handed the bottle to Roman. He knew why Roman was telling him to stop drinking. He was right. Of course he was right. He shouldn't have even gone to the bar in the first place. Especially not in the middle of the day on Sunday. He took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, bringing his hands to his face and letting out an exasperated sign. He looked over at the taller, silently blinking. He licked his lips and swallowed hard before taking a deep breathe to speak. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled, looking down at his feet.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 

Roman knew Aaron felt bad the instant he handed over the bottle, which he swiftly turned to place down behind him on the coffee table. What now though? What was he supposed to say now? Aaron was clearly way too effected by the mother of his child having a baby with someone else, and he couldn’t help but feel...effected. “Why...why are you so upset?” He asked again, wanting to hear the man’s answer in person this time, to try and make sense of it in some way. If he even could.

Aaron

Aaron bit his lip and looked down at his feet. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Luca tried to tell Alison not to tell me that she pregnant. Me! I’m his child’s sibling’s father. Alison is my best friend, the mother of my child and we’ve protected each other and leaned on each other for 6 years. This is my family.” He was getting a little loud, but lowered his voice as he remembered his kid was in the other room. He paused. He was confused, and wasn’t exactly sure how he felt. Why couldn’t he just be happy for her? A real best friend would.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman just blinked at his boyfriend, letting him go on his little rant while his own mind tried to figure out what the hell he needed to say here. “Is that really what you’re mad about, or are you jus’ upset at the thought of Alison having a child, and a life with someone else?” He challenged, his voice steady, and not above his normal speaking voice. Aaron wanted to believe everything he was saying right now, because it would justify how upset he was. That didn’t mean it was the truth, and the fact that his first answer to Roman’s jealousy inquiry was ’I don’t know.’ - that was a pretty huge indicator here.

Aaron

Aaron thought on his boyfriend’s words. His head hit the wall and he slid down to sit, arms draping over his knees. “I am mad about that.” He promised. He was. He really was. “I’m fucking pissed about that. And now i have no choice but to accept him into this family.” He kind of regretted what he said, remembering that Alison had a hard time accepting Roman at first. He never once regretted bringing Roman into his family. But Roman was right, too. “I do feel some type of way about this though.” He admitted. “Roman, I don’t know. I think if I liked Luca it would different. Maybe. The thing is that I actually considered helping her with IVF...just so that she wouldn’t have a baby with anyone else. What the fuck is that about? Why...” Aaron would always love Alison, but never in the way people assumed he did. “I guess of just a jealous, possessive piece of shit.” He brought his legs to his chest and hugged his knees.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman watched his boyfriend in borderline horror as he told him exactly what he didn’t want to hear. He knew the truth already, but that didn’t make hearing it like this feel any better. Roman had really put himself out there for Aaron, changed his lifestyle in a way, and now he was...he felt like he was competing with the man’s baby momma. He didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to have to soothe his boyfriend every time Alison tried to be happy, and have a life. “I don’t know what to say.” He muttered honestly, his brain buzzing for the answers that he didn’t know how to find. He hadn’t know that Aaron had been considering IVF for that reason, and currently was unsure of how to process it. “I think what bothers me the most Aaron, besides the obvious, is that you lied to me. You said you were coming home, and instead you go do whatever the fuck you did at Luca’s...for over an hour, and worry me to death. Anythin’ could have happened to you, and even now...it’s all about you, and how unhappy, and angry you are, when everyone else is jus’ trying to be happy, and live their lives. You don’t have to control everyone.” It all came out of him like word vomit, he couldn’t stop it, the frustration clear in his knitted brows.

Aaron

No, no, no. The last he wanted was take make Roman worried. He already knew how much Roman worries in general and the last thing he wanted to do was being one of the causes of that anxiety. “I’m sorry, I know. I just...I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want you to talk me out of it. I knew you would.” He confessed. His heart was pounding. He knew he had made his boyfriend upset. The last thing he needed was an argument with another loved one. “Fuck.” Aaron was a such a control freak, even if he didn’t always admit it. He thrived off control. He needed to know everything that happened before it happened. Now he was losing control. Over Alison. His family. Over himself when it came to Roman. Jesus. He fucked up so bad. With Alison and Roman. And Luca too now that he needed to let him in. Be civil at least. He knew he was being ridiculously selfish. Immature even. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said standing up and walking over to him, grabbing his hands at his sides. “I freaked out.”

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman sighed when Aaron started to apologize, and the. Walked over to grab his hands. It meant a lot that he was at least sorry, because ro knew this man too well by now not to be able to tell if he was lying or not. Aaron was definitely being genuine. “I know.” Roman looked down at the hands, and pressed his lips together with a raised brow. “I don’t like how much this upset you...but I can’t change how you feel. Jus’...next time, please don’t do that to me again.”

Aaron

Aaron brought the back of Roman’s hands up to his lips and kissed them each. He gave him a pleading look. Aaron didn’t want to upset Roman. He needed him right now. “I won’t. I won’t. I promise. I’m sorry.” He shook his head. “I wasn’t expecting this to happened. Roman. I love you and I want to be with you. I’ve never...Alison could never make me feel the way you make me feel.” He reassured him. “I’m sorry I’m upset. I don’t know why I’m feeling the way I’m feeling.” He plead. “I’m scared.” He was so vulnerable in front of Roman. “She’s been at my side for so long. And everything with you...it’s fucking terrifying because I’m so fucking in love with you and everything is changing. For good...don’t get me wrong. But I’m always one step ahead of everyone else and now...I — I don’t know. I’m just not.” He cracked.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman couldn’t stay mad anymore when Aaron was being so transparent, and sort of crying out for help in a way. He just gave his boyfriend a sympathetic look with his shoulders dropping in defeat. “It’s okay. I promise, everythin’ is going to be fine. We’ll work through it all together, yeah? One day at a time.” He assured the smaller, and squeezed his hands for good measure. He didn’t want Aaron to feel scared. Ever. The thought alone made him sick to his stomach. “Change is good sometimes. Jus’ have to push through the uncomfortable bit.”

Aaron

Aaron nuzzled his head in Ro’s neck and took a deep breathe into his skin. “Okay.” He mumbled. “I guess I should apologize to Ali too. I just walked out on her. The first time she told me she was pregnant, I acted like a dick, and now I did it again. Fuck.” Some best friend he was. He was also being a shitty boyfriend when Roman was being nothing but understanding and forgiving. “I’m sorry I didn’t come home right away.” He already apologized for that, but he felt like he needed to again. He didn’t want to fight. Not when he needed his boyfriend so badly.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman simply nodded once when Aaron said he should apologize to Ali as well, because that was definitely true. All of this was just a bit heavy, and draining, and now he felt...a little numb. “I’ll get over it.” He answered, because he would. He had to. There was no choice. He didn’t want to lose Aaron, he needed him as well. He loved him, Ro just hoped to god they could move past this as quickly as possible. “You’re going to have to let her jus’ live her life. Okay?”

Aaron

Aaron didn't want to Roman to simply 'get over it'. He knew they needed to have a conversation about Alison; it had been lurking in the back of his mind for quite some time now. He tried to talk to Alison about it and they couldn't quite understand why they were so co-dependent on each other. "I will, I'll try...but --" He looked down, grabbing one of his his hands and playing with the rings on his fingers. "I'm not jealous of Alison because I want to be with her, Roman. I've never felt that way about her even though she's the mother of my child. But I also don't know if I could live without her..." He confessed, finally looking up to meet Ro's eyes.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Ro watched the other male as he played with his rings, and then tried to explain the way he felt about Alison. Ro knew what it felt like to have certain people in his life that he couldn’t live without. He had several friends like that, Khai being one of them, which he knew wouldn’t be something Aaron would like. He took in a deep breath, and then brought his free hand to press it against the smaller’s cheek, thumb brushing the top of his cheekbone in a loving gesture. Roman’s soft green eyes showed understanding, and he simply nodded. “She’s family. I’ve had to make my own as well. I understand how you feel. I jus’...you have to let her make her own decisions when it comes to her life, and her body. You know?”

Aaron

"But... I'm starting to realize that I can't live without you either, Roman." He put simply. He needed Roman. Always, but now more than ever. Aaron pressed his cheek to Roman's hands, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah -- okay, you're right. I fucked up." He admitted. Alison and Aaron had spent far too long depending on each other; maybe Aaron a little more so than Alison. He didn't realize how thankful he was for Alison until she was starting to drift from him. But Roman was right, he couldn't have control over everything. It was something he craved but he needed to start getting used to the fact that that wasn't the reality. For work maybe...but not for his personal life. "I need water..." He said, walking away from his boyfriend for the kitchen.July 28, 2020

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

Roman was touched of course, that Aaron was realizing he couldn’t live without him, but he still felt a level of uneasiness about the whole situation. He didn’t know what was going to happen next, or where he fit into it, but he did know that he trusted Aaron enough to pull out of this, and do the right thing. He watched him walk away to get some water, letting the man do so for a moment, and then walked over to wrap his arms around the smaller’s waist in the kitchen. “Everythin’ is gonna be okay. Alright?”

Aaron

Aaron stoped to take a big sip of water. He took a deep breathe when he felt the man’s strong arms around his waist. He set his water down, closed his eyes and leaned his head back on his shoulder. Aaron felt comfort with Roman’s arm around him. He immediately felt safe when he was in his boyfriend’s arms. “Okay.” He swallowed hard. “I love you.” He didn’t know where we would have found himself today if it wasn’t for Roman being there and begging him to come home.

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

“I love you, too. Hey.” His thumb rubbed along the man’s abs from the outside of his shirt, his nose nuzzling against the side of Aaron’s scruffy cheek. “We’re still a family. Maybe it’s growing, but...change isn’t always bad.” Clearly. Roman had been so scared of change for years, and now here they were, Ro in his first monogamous relationship since he was a teen, and Aaron with a vastly different lifestyle. They were changing, and growing together, and he couldn’t help but feel like it was in a good way. “I mean. We’ve got eachother. Right? And Des. Always.”

Aaron

Roman’s nose on Aaron’s face made his shoulders relax ever more, an cause Aaron to let out a content sigh. He couldn’t be upset for much longer if Roman was holding him like this. Aaron had no idea how it felt to be held like this. “You’re the best thing that has come out of this change.” He told him. “Yeah, we’ve always got me, you and Des.” He repeated for good measure. “I love you both more than fucking anything. I know I’ll always have you two.” Clearly things could change for the businessman in an instant, but he couldn’t see the actor going anywhere when he thought about the future. Things felt so right with him. he’d never be more certain of anything else before.(edited)

𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 ✩

“Good.” Roman replied, and then forced Aaron to turn around in his arms so he could see the man better. It had been a rough night for them both, and even with as unsure as things seemed moving forward with Ali and Luca, it was nice to know that at least he and Aaron were on the same page. “I’ll make you some coffee, and we’ll move on for now. I’ll put on a movie, and make some popcorn...we can all at least finish out the day on a more positive note. Yeah?”

Aaron

Aaron turned to face the man as he guided him. Aaron’s hand immediately moved up to cup Roman’s cheek. He gave the actor a soft, comforting smile. He was already to not talk about this anymore. And just relax. “I’d like that.” He mused before placing a soft peck on his boyfriends’s pink lips. “Thank you.” He finally said. He was so lucky.  Roman was there for him. Just like he had promised him.

[londone-fog]

The Light Will Guide You Home- It Star Wars AU

AO3 Link

I. II.

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Darkness is on the rise. Darth Assem the Wise has begun gradually over taking the galaxy with his Neibolt Regime. As his power grows, so does the power of his apprentice, the fearsome Darth Fide. With the demolition of the Jedi, the public is quickly losing hope.

Meanwhile, General Marsh and the Rebel Alliance struggle to keep the Regime on a short leash. With the rumor of a hidden Neibolt base on the abandoned Sith planet Korriban, they have made quick plans to follow up on the intel.

All they can do now is hope the force is with them...

III.

Stan woke up on their fifth day of capture to Ben pacing a rivet in the floor of their cell. Just like the day before. And even the day before that.

His head was still pounding slightly with the trauma of having his head slammed against the side of an x-wing. The bleeding had stopped long ago, but flecks of red still clung to his dusty curls. That, and Ben nattering on to himself did nothing to help the cantina band screaming in Stan’s skull.

They were both absolutely nasty, in Stan’s opinion. He had blood and grit caked in his hair, and the hot desert had his shirt soaked in sweat. Ben was in a similar way, the top of his orange flight suit tied around his waist. His white undershirt was stained with dirt and blood from his most recent interrogation. Ben hadn’t spoken much about what he’d endured, but he had a sizable gash in his belly when they threw him back in the cell. Stan had tried his best to patch him up using scraps of both of their uniforms, but it was not necessarily a fruitful endeavor.

“Hey Stan, I’m curious about something.” Ben had finally stopped pacing and instead stood over Stan, an unreadable look about his brow.

“Sure, Haystack. Shoot.”

“That sith- Darth Fucky, or whatever his name is- he mentioned you a lot. How does he know you so well?”

Stan’s insides froze, ice creeping up the inside of his throat.

“Not to be that guy, but literally everyone on this base probably knows who I am. Got that whole ‘best pilot in the Rebel Alliance’ thing going on.”

“I dunno about that, Stan. He got kinda… weirdly personal. Like, you’d only know that stuff if you really know someone.”

“You know me.”

“Yeah, sort of. I don’t where you came from. I don’t know anything about your childhood or your parents. You just sort of showed up one day. That guy knew those things.”

Stan couldn’t give him an answer. Everything Ben said was true, and Stan knew why. He hated it, had worked his entire life to conceal it.

Him and Darth Fide knew each other, and had for a long time. They had been childhood friends. The only friend that Fide had spared when he left the Jedi Temple and it’s students in ruin. Stan had watched on helplessly as his best friend had destroyed everything they had worked to be part of together. As the boy he’d known as Richie Tozier was left to perish alongside their future as Jedi.

Stan spent his whole life running from his past, and it still caught up with him.

“Stan?” Ben was still standing there.

“I don’t know how he knows, Ben. Maybe he used the force or something. You figure it out.”    

Ben’s lips flattened in an uncharacteristic line, but he shambled away to continue his pacing.

Stan hadn’t thought about Richie hardly at all since he joined the Resistance.  He’d buried all of the painful memories so far that he sometimes forgot who he was before he became a pilot. He even sometimes forgot that he was one of the few left in the galaxy that could make the force bend to his will. He couldn’t very well just tell Ben this; that would defeat the entire purpose of keeping it secret. He would be lying if he said the force didn’t make him as great a flier as he was.

A thought suddenly struck Stan’s mind, pinging around like a blaster shot. He was sure that the metal bars of their cell were some type of metal, nothing profoundly intense. If he really concentrated, harder than he had in years, he could most likely bend the bars enough for them to slip through. But something big held him back.

Stan would have to reveal to Ben that he was a force user, and Stan wasn’t exactly sure if he was ready for that sort of disclosure. He then felt immediately stupid. Would he be willing risk their lives just to protect a secret from one man?

But before Stan could even decide whether to get up or not, they heard a clang against the door to the cell. There stood a stormtrooper, helmet under his arm and face flushed and sweaty. He motioned the pair over, whispering to them once they got close enough to hear.

“Listen, we have to be quick, or this isn’t going to work.”

“What the hell is going on?” Stan whisper yelled, gripping the bars in front of him.

“I’m busting you guys out. I want to help.”

Ben turned to Stan with a sceptical look on his face. Stan returned it, but made a sort of motion as though he was saying this might be our only chance. Ben nodded.

“Alright, fine. Are there any sort of ships that would be easily missed on this base?” Ben asked, running a tired hand over his face. The stormtrooper thought for a moment, eyebrows knitted as his mind rattled.

“There should be a smallish cruiser that nobody would miss. I don’t think it has any weapons systems, but if we sneak away quietly enough, it shouldn’t matter.”

“That’ll do,” Ben said quickly, motioning for the man across them to unlock the door. He did so, placing his helmet back on his head.

“Put your hands behind you, I’ll pretend I’m escorting you somewhere,” he whispered. They nodded, and proceeded down the long hall, free at last.

They all walked down several long, dark metal corridors before they reached the hangar bay. Stan ducked his head, praying to something that they wouldn’t be recognized. They made it onto the cruiser with little fanfare, and Ben bolted to the controls, preparing the ship for lift off. The stormtrooper sat down and took his helmet off again. Stan was still very much confused about the whole situation; why was this stormtrooper busting them out? Supposedly just because he felt like it.

Stan turned to him, arms crossed.

“Okay, so what’s your deal? A trooper wouldn’t just rescue us for no reason. You better not have any ulterior motives,” he said with a gaze that could cut gashes. He saw the trooper swallow, fiddling with his large hands.

“I swear I don’t. I… I…” He pauses to clear his throat. “The day we captured you was my very first combat mission. I’d mostly worked in maintenance before then. But as soon as I had my gun pointed at an actual person, I couldn’t do it. I didn’t shoot a single rebel during that battle.” He pauses again, finally turning to look Stan in the eyes. “I’ve been a part of the Regime since I was a baby. I never had the chance to think about whether or not what I was doing was right. But now I know. I want to help. I want to join the Resistance.”

His eyes pleaded genuinity the entire time, begging to be believed. Begging to do just that; help. Stan sighed and lowered his arms.

“What’s your name?” he asked gently.

“Um… I was assigned with the label MK-0029, but that’s not really a name, I guess.”

“Of course it isn’t! Stan, get up here and help me pilot this thing,” Ben bellowed from the front of the cruiser. They both shambled forward as he mumbled to himself.

“MK… MK… how’s Mike? Can we call you Mike?” he said. The trooper’s face split into a wide, sunny grin, as though someone had just given him the world’s most meaningful compliment.

“Of course, Mike’s perfect.”

“Good, cause we don’t have time to come up with anything else. We need to get this bird in the air like, yesterday.” Stan rushed to help, not wanting to accidentally aggravate Ben.

Ben Hascom was a normally very mellow and cheery man, but like most things, he struggled under pressure. If something were to go wrong with one of Ben’s plans, he would bust.

The ship rumbled slightly as they lifted in the air, bracing themselves for flight. Ben very carefully piloted the ship out of the hangar, and they began shooting off into the fading light.

They all breathed a premature sigh of relief.

Almost immediately, a scanner on the dash began flashing and beeping. Both Stan and Ben cursed under their breath, and Stan moved to take control of the cruiser. The scanner had sensed ships following them, and they could not be friendly.

“What’s happening?” Mike asked, voice becoming slightly panicked.

“Tie Fighters. So much for going out quietly. You two, brace yourselves,” Stan called out, voice strained and teeth clenched. He stopped himself from white knuckling the controls, and let out a slow exhale. He felt himself reaching out, feeling the force and letting it guide him.  

He’d have to do some intensely skilled flying in order to get them out of this alive. With no defense, they’d just have to be faster and better at dodging.

Just then, a barrage of cannon fire was launched at them, and Stan skillfully rolled around them. It went on and on like this, tucking and rolling, dodging around every shot. Ben and Mike were turning slightly green from all of the maneuvers, but Stan didn’t really have much of a choice.

He turned to glance at them, just to check in, but that was all the distraction he needed to lose focus. A Tie fighter zoomed into view, placing a well aimed blaster shot straight into the underbelly of the cruiser. This was the moment Stan began to panic.

Another ship flew too close, placing the final death shot to one of the engines.

Everything slowed to a crawl, Stan watching in horror as the sides of the cruiser peeled away like a reptile skin. Fire slowly bled around them, smoke seeping into their lungs. He was acutely aware of his stomach rising in his throat as the smoking ship began its harsh descent to the desert below. Ben and Mike’s faces had both dissolved into that of mortal terror, the realization of what was to come at the forefront of all of their minds.  

They were going to die.

They were going to die if Stan didn’t do something.

He focused his hardest to find peace as the world fell away around them. He tried his hardest to hold on to Mike and Ben. As they all fell, Stan only thought one thing as he extended his hand.

This has to work…