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heavyhitterheaux · 1 year

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Lose You to Love Me

First Lady of Private Garden Fic

AN: Get ready for a wild ride between our favorite couple

Synopsis: There is still tension in the air between the two of you regarding the last incident with Anitta and how everything unfolded. The wedge between the two of you becomes even greater when Jack reveals a secret that he had been keeping from you.

Pairing: Husband!Jack Harlow x Wife!Reader

First Lady of Private Garden Masterlist

Before reading this, read Let Them Know What’s Mine, She Gets the Last Word parts 1,2, and 3, Off Limits, Please Kiss and Make Up, and Trouble in Paradise

Please Do Not Repost My Content Anywhere

It had been a few days since your birthday and the two of you were busy once again. Jack was doing Jingle Ball while you were making multiple appearances. Even though the two of you had somewhat made up after the last Anitta incident, there was still some tension and you could feel it. Anitta never fully came out and said that she wanted to press charges and you were wondering what made her change her mind. But, you wanted to put your focus on other things and focus on being a better wife, a better friend, and a better person overall.

Jack was currently in L.A. in the studio to take his mind off things, when Neelam had told everyone to take a fifteen minute break and pulled him to the side.

“What’s going on with you? You’re here but you aren’t here.” She asked concerned as she pulled up a chair next to him.

“I… I don’t want to put this on you.”

“But you need to tell someone because this is affecting you. I’ve known you for how long now? Do I need to call Y/N?”

“NO!”

“What the….?” Neelam was confused as to why Jack reacted like that because any time your name was mentioned, it was the exact opposite.

“It has to do with her and I need to tell somebody this before I fucking explode.”

“I’m listening.”

“I know people look at me sideways with the whole Anitta thing because of how I was so quick to shut down Giveon, but not her.”

“For the life of me, I can’t understand why. It’s a double standard, Jack. Even though it’s speculation, I know you beat Giveon’s ass and PG were the witnesses but of course you won’t admit it so I’ll just let it slide. And you really hurt her feelings when it seemed like you didn’t have her back when all of that happened. I’m not talking about the last time, I’m talking about every time. From the outside looking in, it almost looks like you like Anitta and want to be in a relationship with her. That fucking instagram live took the damn cake.”

“NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD I WANT TO BE WITH HER! She has it in her mind that I want her when I damn sure DO NOT. So, about that. After the first incident on the set of first class and everything, Y/N decided to send Anitta a portion of our sex tape, I guess to show her I’m off limits. Since then, she’s been threatening to release it and has been hanging this over my head and I know if I say anything to her, she’ll have no hesitation to do so. That is the last thing that either of us need right now.”

Neelam opened and closed her mouth several times before saying anything back to Jack who had now become nervous.

“Jack….. You….. you have got to tell Y/N. That is serious and it’s blackmail which is ILLEGAL! Even if she sent it to her or not!”

“I know! I just…. I haven’t found the right time to tell her.”

“Haven’t found the right time?!?! Jack! You could have told her this when it first happened because we probably wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now! She is going to want to MURDER you.”

“I know! And I just feel that even though we kind of made up, there’s still tension. I can’t even imagine what she’s going to say when I tell her.”

“Okay word of advice. I’m not married, however, I’ve been in relationships before and it might sound cliche, but Jack come on. You know honesty is the best policy. And she has told you time and time again that whatever comes your way that you’ll handle it TOGETHER. Y/N loves you and you love her but I’m not going to lie. Sometimes I think the fame is starting to get to your head and you’re forgetting who was by your side in the damn trenches with you that helped you get to where you are now. Like even to this day, she has her own career, but she STILL puts you first. I know that’s how her heart is, but still. I get it you don’t want it released to ruin your reputation and not to mention that would be a PR nightmare but you need to tell your wife the next time you see her. Tell her in person and not over the phone.”

“Now, you made me feel even more shitty.”

“I’m not trying to do that by any means and it’s coming from my heart because I care about the both of you. I admit that sometimes I’m worried about her because I saw her true colors with how she came at me when you were first signed. I admit that was my fault, but it’s over and done with. She doesn’t think first and just uses her fists to solve the problem. It seems like her actions are rooted in something deeper than what we think. She is too old to still be doing that. This isn’t high school and I’ll continue being honest, when Drama first signed her and I heard about it, we weren’t all that close. I actually went to him and said that her anger issues might end up being a problem and causing us bad publicity, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer because you insisted on her being signed. It has now caused us bad publicity and I just want her to get the help she needs. I sent her a few therapist recommendations that I got from other people, but she hasn’t said anything about it.”

“I just want to fast forward to 2023, but at least we have the wedding to look forward to. Right before Christmas.”

“Jack, you need to tell her this before you two walk down the aisle for the second time. Do not bring this into 2023.”

“I promise, I will.”

Just then Jack got a text from you saying how you were in L.A. and that you brought a surprise with you.

Wifey- smushhhhhh, I’m in L.A. and I cannot wait to see you! And I brought a surprise!

Smush- I owe you a dinner date, and what’s the surprise?

You then attached a picture of you and Maggie and it looked as if you had taken it when you had both landed.

“Fuck!”

“What’s wrong?!” Neelam asked while turning to him.

“She’s in L.A. and she brought my mom with her.”

“You need to tell her sooner rather than later.”

“This is about to be a fucking mess.”

—-

Jack had taken you to dinner as promised, while Maggie said she was going to do some Christmas shopping for gifts for the two of you. You couldn’t help but to notice that Jack had been off the entire night once you both got back to your condo.

“Jackman.”

At that moment, his eyes went wide because any time he heard you say his name with such a serious tone he knew that it was important.

“Yes, mamas?”

“Come here.”

Jack made his way over to you as you were sitting on the couch and you opened your arms signaling that you wanted for him to lay on you.

After the two of you got comfortable, you started playing in his curls before saying anything else.

His entire body was tense and you were going to get whatever it is out of him sooner rather than later.

“What’s going on with you, baby? Something is off and I know my husband like the back of my hand.”

All Jack did was sigh and he hugged you closer to his body before answering you.

“I have to tell you something and I should have told you when it first happened and I don’t know how you’re going to take it.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll get through it together like we always do. This is forever, you know that.”

“It has to do with Anitta.” Jack now felt your body tense up before you answered him.

“Go on.”

“There’s a reason as to why I don’t really say anything towards her after all that’s gone down and I want to tell you the reason why.”

“I would definitely like to know because in my eyes you are a huge hypocrite. Does Giveon ring a bell at all?”

“Baby girl, just let me explain and please don’t interrupt me.”

“Go ahead.”

“She’s threatened to release our sex tape on multiple occasions. The one you sent her after you kicked her off the set of first class. I’m trying to do everything I can not to piss her off so that she doesn’t release it.”

Jack could feel that your heart rate had now sped up and you were quiet.

“Baby, with all the shit that’s happened this year with her, that is the last thing we need.”

You still hadn’t said anything and Jack then looked up at you from his place on your chest.

“Y/N, please. I know you’re mad at me and I should have told you. I know I shouldn’t have kept this from you.”

“You kept this from me since May. It is now December.”

“Babe….”

“All that time I spent fucking crying after I actually did fight her because I essentially broke a promise to you and you were mad as hell at me. Acting outta fucking pocket on social media when in fact you were holding onto this?”

“I know, not my best moment.”

“That’s putting it lightly.”

You were now fuming and made a motion to stand up with Jack moving to the side.

“We can fix this, mamas.”

“You should have fixed it in May when it first happened!”

Just then the door opened and in walked Maggie and Urban who were both looking confused as you were shooting daggers at your husband.

“We’re not getting married again.” You muttered while crossing your arms and looking down at the floor.

"What did you just say to me!?"

"That come December 21st, we're not getting married again. You fucking heard me."

Jack was quiet for a few minutes before looking back over at you.

"We need to first fix our marriage before we even think about doing any of that. You kept this from me!"

"Do you even want to be married to me anymore?"

You looked up at your husband in utter disbelief not believing that he would have the audacity to ask you that.

“Jack, if I didn’t want to be married to you, I would have been gone a long time ago.”

“OKAY! What is the problem between you two!?” Maggie asked, looking confused as Urban made a beeline for his bedroom to put the gifts he bought away. Urban never got in the middle of the two of you when you argued and this time was no different. He already knew that you would come find him to talk about it after anyway.

“Ask your son.” You said responding to Maggie.

Maggie then turned to her oldest son with her arms crossed waiting for an explanation.

“Anitta has a sex tape of us and is threatening to release it and that’s why I haven’t really said anything to her publicly. In the hopes of her not doing it.”

“Jackman, you are aware that what you just told me is ILLEGAL!” Maggie said, looking at him in disbelief.

“I know! But..!”

“And this has been going on since May and it is now DECEMBER!” You added while shaking your head in disbelief.

“I know I was wrong and I don’t have a good answer on why I kept this from you but you know that I will do anything and everything that I need to do on this earth to protect you!”

“Protect me or protect yourself?” You asked him while looking up at him and he looked at you in disbelief.

“Don’t start that shit, Y/N. You have been my entire world since I was 14 years old and that is NEVER going to change.”

“You know what, I noticed? That I go so hard for you and the rest of PG and I am constantly putting myself second. I can’t even tell you how many nights I have lost sleep to make sure that people all around the fucking world knew your name! And I still do that! And for what? For you to keep something as big as this from your wife?! I would do anything for you and you KNOW that.”

“Baby! I am thankful for everything that you have done for me and I apologize if I made you feel like I wasn’t appreciative of you. I….just I told Neelam earlier because she saw there was something bothering me and she said I needed to tell you as soon as possible and I was tired of staying quiet on this.”

“YOU TOLD NEELAM BEFORE ME?! YOU TOLD HER BEFORE YOUR WIFE?!”

“Babe, she’s my friend too and not just my manager!”

“Yeah, your friend who at one time had it out for your wife and was coming sideways at me and almost got her fucking ass beat.”

“I needed someone else’s perspective! And you two are close now!”

“I’m not doing this anymore.”

“Wait, doing what?! Babe, don’t walk away from me. We can get through this.” Jack said while trying to take your hand but Maggie shook his head at him telling him to let you go.

“Jack, I love you. You know I do, but I cannot be around you right now. I just can’t. The wedding is off.”

Maggie immediately followed you and was attempting to calm you down. The tears were cascading down your face at 100 miles per hour. While Jack simply sat back down on the couch with his head in his hands.

For the first time in ten years, he actually broke your trust in him.

“You need to breathe, Y/N. Come on and sit.”

You did as you were told and started to take some deep breaths before turning to your mother-in-law.

“How could he keep that from me?”

“I don’t have an answer for that, at all. I’m not defending him in any way, but I know that to him it probably felt like the best decision at the time.”

“He also said that we have cracks in our relationship that need to be fixed before we have children.”

Maggie simply nodded her head prompting for you to continue.

“Like he said I hide things from him and I don’t!”

“Hold on baby, let me stop you right there. You do hide things.”

“What have I hid from him?!”

“The fact that you could rap, your role in P Valley, the feature with Giveon and not telling him when you were first asked, and not to mention the 12 pets...”

“I didn’t think...”

“You might not have noticed at the time but it was a big deal that had a big impact. And not to mention that you have GOT to stop fighting.”

“I’m not even that bad!”

“Y/N Y/M/N Harlow you are a whole adult who is almost 25 and you have been fighting since you were in elementary school. I know this because your mom told me. That gets old really quick and there are plenty of other things you can do except fight.”

“She came for my man, mom! She deserved to get her ass beat and the way she was being disrespectful towards me, it was unnecessary.”

“It might have been unnecessary, but you’re going to basically fight millions of girls? When he only has eyes for you?”

“Well no...”

“Okay, then. See, Y/N you don’t think you ever do anything wrong.”

“Jack said the same thing… and Urban.”

“It’s tough love, but I have got to call you out on this because I love you and only want the best for you and Jack. So, I know I usually side with you but this time you’re both in the wrong..”

Your eyes were beginning to water, not truly realizing how much you had missed right in front of your face.

“Hey, come here. Don’t cry. Just try to be a better woman than you were yesterday. I know that you can do it and be the wife my son deserves and the mother my grandchildren deserve, okay?” Maggie said while pulling you into a hug.

“Jack has got to stop spoiling you so much and learn to tell you no from time to time too. Literally no one tells you no and you’re spoiled.”

“Damn, you’re just laying it all out huh?”

“Because you’re my daughter and I want to be honest. Take a few minutes for yourself and I’m going to go talk to that son of mine.”

You nodded your head as she left the room and you immediately grabbed your phone to text Brandi.

You- I’m leaving out of L.A. tonight to head to Miami for the show

Brandi- So soon? You literally just got there a few hours ago. Is everything okay?

You- Yeah, why wouldn’t they be?

Brandi- Because you went to see your husband and knowing you two I thought you would be breaking headboards

You- We’re both busy and I just wanted to check in on him. We’re good.

Brandi- Flight will be ready tonight

You- Brandi, can I leave sooner?

Brandi- Y/N, you have me worried

You- It’s just a lot that I need to get done before Christmas and I want to get a head start on it

Brandi- Be at the airport in an hour

You- Thank you

Maggie went back out to the living room to see her son with his head in his hands and she simply went and sat next to him.

“I want you to listen and to not interrupt me, okay?”

All Jack did was nod.

“The two of you have created such a big mess that it isn’t even funny. Between the two of you keeping things from each other, the whole Anitta thing, Giveon, and it’s like you two forgot that you’re married but the world is watching the two of you. The way you’ve been acting towards her is unacceptable and I raised you better than that. How do you even expect this marriage to last if you aren’t putting in the work for it? Because at this rate because of what you just told her, I don’t see it lasting another year.”

“She called off the wedding…. This was supposed to be the year we were celebrating five years of being married and hopefully adding a child and I’m convinced she doesn’t want anything to do with me. I cannot lose her, I just can’t.”

“She would have left a long time ago if that was the case. I know that you two love each other, anyone can see that, but protect your marriage at all costs. And she was right to call it off. The two of you are renewing your vows in two weeks and this is the bombshell you dropped on her?”

“I didn’t want to go into 2023 with this hanging over my head.”

“I know she appreciates your honesty even though it was months too late, but give her time and also in that time the two of you need to see a marriage counselor. I know it’s hard to hear, but it’s tough love.”

Just then the bedroom door opened and you emerged with all of the suitcases that you had brought with you less than four hours ago when you landed. This caught Jack’s attention.

“Where… where are you going? You just got here.”

“Jack, I love you and as hard as this is for me to say because I never thought that I would have to say this in a million years, but, I need time away from you. I can’t put into words how much it hurts that you kept that from me. I know that I’ve hurt you too and I’m definitely not innocent at all but… I need to put myself first for once. I’ll see you at Christmas, I guess.”

“Y/N…. wait….”

“No, because you need to let me do this. I have always put you first and it’s my turn. Maybe time away from each other will do us some good so that we can begin to fix whatever this mess this is that we call a marriage. I just need time, okay?” You said as you were trying to keep your tears from falling and that’s when you felt Urban come up behind you. He had been listening the entire time and just knew that once you left, Jack would be a mess and be hard to console.

You saw where Jack’s eyes began to water and because he didn’t trust his voice enough to speak without cracking, he simply nodded his head before you came up and hugged him.

He was holding onto you for dear life and you were doing the same.

“I’ll love you until the end of time and even after that.”

“I know, right back at you.” You said as Jack leaned down to kiss you.

Liked by allthingsy/n, jackharlowsource, jackandy/naremyparents, saweetie, druski2funny, cozane, mortirolo, and 3,436,298 others

theshaderoom: We have breaking news about our favorite couple jackharlow and y/ninsta. Remember how we were all excited for their destination wedding this December? Well apparently sources close to the couple have said that the wedding is now OFF. You heard it here first, the wedding is OFF. We just hope they can work through it and that they repair their relationship

saweetie: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK? jackharlow y/ninsta GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE NOW OR ANSWER THE FUCKING PHONE

theestallion: I SWEAR THAT THIS BETTER BE ANOTHER PRANK

lilnasx: WHAT IS HAPPENING?

normani: I don’t like this game anymore

sza: but....????

allthingsy/n: stop playin. this is a joke. it has to be. Jack and Y/N are forever

jackharlowsource: I’m holding out hope at least it didn’t say that they were getting divorced

jackandy/naremyparents: WHAAAAAAAATTTTTTT

Liked by danivalentine, mortirolo, jackharlow, champagnepapi, cozane, urbanwyatt, 2forwoyne, and 3,208,976 others

y/ninsta: my sister danivalentine always has my back. thank you for loving me the way you do.

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Liked by jackharlow, danivalentine, urbanwyatt, claybornharlow, saweetie, mortirolo, softtcurse, yungskylark, and 2,860,945 others

y/ninsta: one of the greatest feelings in the world is being on stage performing for my beautiful fans. I love yall so much 😘💖

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“Y/N, that is the third time you’ve thrown up today. Do you feel okay?”

“It’s probably just a stomach bug or something. It’s probably nothing.”

All your sister was doing was eyeing you as you continued to pack in order to get ready to go to the next city which would be one of your favorites, New Orleans.

“Y/N…”

“Dani, what? I have to hurry up and pack.”

She didn’t do anything except hand you a walgreens bag which you were confused about.

“Danielle… what is going on?”

“You’re pregnant. Take the test.”

You shook your head in disbelief at your older sister and rolled your eyes.

“No, I’m not.” You said while throwing the bag to the side and she lightly grabbed your wrist.

“Look, I know that things are very touch and go with you and Jack right now, but I honestly think you might be. It wouldn’t hurt to take it.”

“If I take it, will you leave me alone?”

“Maybe, maybe not.”

You once again rolled your eyes at her and proceeded to go into the bathroom and take the bag with you.

Once you had finished taking the test, you set a timer on your phone to go back to look at it and continued to pack all of your things.

“Have the two of you even talked?”

“Sort of.”

“No, Y/N, you two need to sit down and talk about this.”

“Dani, I can’t right now. I need to take some time for myself before I do that.”

“You don’t get days off when you’re married.”

“I know and I know that we have a lot to work on.”

“Then why are you not with your husband doing that?”

You didn’t have an answer for her as your alarm on your phone went off signaling that it was time to look at the tests you took.

You peered down at the bathroom counter to see all three tests staring back up at you and it was the last thing that you were expecting.

“Y/N?” Dani called for you and when she didn’t hear you, she made her way over to the bathroom. She peeked over your shoulder to see why you had gone quiet.

Positive.

All three.

You immediately bursted into tears.

This was supposed to have been a happy moment, but there were a million things running through your head at one time.

“It’s going to be okay, lil bit.” Your sister said while bringing you into a hug.

“How? Me and Jack are barely even speaking. And now I’m pregnant?!”

“One thing at a time, okay. But we need to get you in to see a doctor so we can see how far along you are. We have time to do that before we leave for NOLA, okay?”

You simply nodded your head and your sister continued to wipe away your tears.

You just couldn’t seem to catch a break.

Brandi was a miracle worker and was able to get you in to see an OB/GYN two hours before your flight was supposed to leave. It was cutting it close, but it was better than waiting until you got there to find out what was going on.

“Hi Mrs. Harlow! I’m going to be doing your ultrasound today so we can see what’s going on in there.”

You nodded your head as you pulled up your sweatshirt so that she could place the gel on your stomach.

“Okay…. And…. here we go! Let me just get a good picture and I can print some out for you and…. Oh…”

“Oh? What do you mean oh?” You asked suddenly in a panic.

“It’s um… wow. There’s more than one baby in here.”

“EXCUSE ME? WHAT?”

“Relax, Y/N.” Dani said while eyeing you and trying to stay calm in the hopes that you would too.

“I am terrified to ask this question, but how many are in there?”

“Three. You’re pregnant with triplets! Congratulations!”

All of the color then drained from your face.

You- Jack, I’m scared shitless. I didn’t want to do this over text but I needed to tell you this as soon as possible. I’m pregnant. WITH TRIPLETS.

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#jack harlow #jack harlow fic #jack harlow fanfic #jack harlow x reader #jack harlow x black reader #jack harlow fluff #jack harlow angst #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x you #jack harlow concepts

409 notes · View notes

ugetelynx · 5 months

Text

Serennedy X The Great Gatsby (work in progress)

Leon S. Kennedy = Nick Carraway

Luis N. = Jay Gatsby / Luis Serra Navarro = James Gats

^ For those confused Jay Gatsby isn’t his real name ! So Luis goes by Luis N. to work with that

Daisy Buchanan = Ada Wong (married Wesker for his money and nothing else basically)

Tom Buchanan (Tom’s a piece of shit btw) = Albert Wesker (Married Ada solely because people kept annoying him about being single)

Jordan Baker = Alice Abernathy

Myrtle Wilson = Jill Valentine

George Wilson = Chris Redfield

^ Married for convenience, besties+ cover ups (Jill has a girlfriend and Chris has a boyfriend, you can imagine from there)

Okay I kinda got the characters sorted, made Wesker not as much of a piece of shit (removed the racist aspects of Tom’s character) so he’s slightly more likable

(A lot of story elements will be the same/extremely similar to the actual books with some major changes)

Major changes:

Luis and Ada are not lovers or exs, instead REALLY close friends and Luis simply wants to get Ada out of her shit marriage

Wesker and Jill are NOT having an affair, Wesker’s having affairs with others. People rumor that the two are having an affair though which pisses both of them off

Ada and Leon aren’t cousins—obviously—rather young adulthood exes who worked out their differences (hence why they’re on good terms)

Leon and Luis are very comfortable in their bisexuality (aka they explored each other’s bodies at least once throughout this) (cause apparently Nick and Gatsby were too coward to do that in the actual story/j)

Ada and Wesker divorce by the end instead of staying together

Ada and Wesker don’t have a kid, but Ada is expecting at some point (she doesn’t have the kid with Wesker, she has the kid after running off with a certain somebody)

Chris isn’t the one who shoots Luis

(Story)

Leon moves to Long Island, New York to get away from home and live by himself. He rents a house in West Egg which happens to neighbor a major estate, whose home owner is none other than Luis N.

Leon finds himself dining with Ada Wong and eventually meets Alice, a “friend” of Ada’s. They’re both at first skeptical of each other, Leon not all that interested in her. After a while Ada confesses that Wesker has a mistress and Ada’s knows about it but doesn’t seem to do anything about it or care all that much.

The same evening, Leon takes a step outside, drink in hand. There he spots Luis standing on his lawn staring at something across the way.

One morning Leon receives an invitation from Luis to attend one of his parties. When he gets there he gets anxious at the fact that he doesn’t know anybody and—not wanting to just go up to somebody and weird them out—he begins drinking.

While drinking, Leon steps outside to get some air. He’s later approached by none other than Luis. Leon can feel his breath catch as this stunning brown haired individual comes up to him, asking him if he liked the party. Leon’s not focused on that though, he’s focused on the warm smile on Luis’ face and gentle eyes looking him up and down. Studying him.

The two chat casually for a bit to Leon’s surprise, and when Leon leaves, he looks back to see Luis watching him the entire time—once again causing him to get hot under the collar.

Sometime July, Leon and Luis have lunch together. Tossing longing glances at each other as Luis tries to desperately impress Leon with old tales of his past, making Leon laugh a couple times. They end off lunch with Luis asking Leon if he’d like to come back home with home, to which Leon disagrees because he’s meeting with Alice about something she wanted to talk about with him away from everybody. Luis nods, understanding albeit disheartened, but Leon makes sure to give Luis a passing kiss on the cheek—thanking him for lunch—before leaving. (And desperately praying nobody saw that)

When Leon meets up with Alice, they sit down for tea. Leon explains how he knows Ada and Alice explains how she does. Alice seems skeptical of Ada’s ex hanging around her, which Leon catches onto and quickly mentions Luis. Alice almost instantly sees right through him, messing with him for going after the rich neighbor as Leon groans in embarrassment. Alice then goes on to explain that Luis and Ada are best friends, which catches Leon’s attention. She explains that Luis has always been very terrified of Ada’s marriage with Wesker, and that he’s been trying to convince her leave him and Alice has been doing the same.

When Leon asks why she won’t when two of her friends are asking too, Alice just flat out says “she’s hoping he dies soon because the dude’s a dick and she can get all his money then run off with m-..somebody.”

Leon’s eyebrows furrow in concern and Alice nods, saying she feels the say skepticism about it. Ada’s a strong woman though, Wesker knows that too so nothing physical ever happens—just a lot of arguments but nothing ever escalates past somebody leaving the house for the night.

That relaxes Leon but granted knowing that Ada’s in a shit marriage regardless has him worried about her.

Throughout the next couple months, Ada is spending less and less time with Wesker and more time at Luis’ house with Alice, Luis, and Leon. All four of which are relaxed enough to show intimacy between their actual lovers (Leon and Alice are using each other as cover ups because they could still be hatecrimed)

Luis laying down on Leon’s chest as Leon runs his fingers through his hair, Alice kissing Ada at random points even in front of the guys (not that they give two shits, theyre just happy to see Ada actually have someone who cares for her)

Ada learns late August, early September that she’s pregnant which terrifies her and is the deciding factor she needs to go through with divorcing Wesker and running off with Alice. So she, Leon, Luis, and Alice all go out to a hotel with Wesker to talk about it sometime mid-September.

It’s late in the evening and hot as hell, making everyone extremely on edge. When Ada finally gets the nerve to tell Wesker she wants a divorce everything goes to shit—yelling, swearing, even breaking stuff ensues. Wesker, not realizing Ada’s been cheating on him with a girl, turns his aggression towards Luis—which causes Leon to step in and put himself between Wesker and Luis who are yelling at each other back and forth; with Wesker accusing Luis of sleeping with Ada (false). Alice put herself between Ada and the others, making sure Ada’s okay who’s more worried about Luis and Leon by this point than herself.

When the heat dies down, Wesker finally agrees to the divorce making everyone relax. He doesn’t look anybody in the eyes as he tells Ada it’s late, and it’s probably a good idea to get home. Ada agrees and turns to Luis, nodding for him to leave with her (after everything she’d rather not expose her relationship with Alice until she’s good as gone.)

Leon and Alice help Wesker clean up, Leon feeling horrible for the staff at the hotel but not feeling as bad when Wesker’s the one paying for the damage. They all go home Wesker’s car with tense and uncomfortable silence.

On the way home they spot Chris talking to a bunch of police officers, Wesker pulls over without a second thought and walks over to Chris after the policeman walk away. Alice stays in the car as Leon gets out to see what the deal was.

He gets close enough to hear Wesker ask what’s happening and Chris replies that Jill was struck by a car, thankfully she’s alive but her leg was crushed in the process. Leon winces at the look on Chris’ face and he swore he saw Wesker’s own expression falter.

Wesker sits down next to Chris, patting him on the shoulder as he asks more questions. Leon’s heart rate spikes as Chris talks about the details of the car—it perfectly matched the description of Luis’ car, the one he and Ada drove home in.

Wesker and Leon exchange looks, both swallowing awkwardly as Wesker pushes himself to his feet. He nods to Leon and Leon, not wanting to argue again, obliges and heads back to the car. Chris and Wesker talked for a while longer before Wesker joins Alice and Leon in the car again.

They drive back to the house, with Wesker heading inside first, offering for Leon and Alice to come in and they politely decline. Wesker seems understanding, nodding and disappearing inside the house.

Leon and Alice take a walk around the house, discussing what could have happened or why they didn’t stop, only to run into Luis hiding in the garden.

He explained the truth, Ada had been the one driving and she tried to swerve at the same time Jill tried to run out of the way to avoid hitting her but it had been too late and they hit her. Ada seemed stone cold; unable to slow the vehicle down as Luis begs her to pull over.

Luis’ shoulders visibly relax when Leon explains Jill is okay just a broken leg. Alice pats Luis on the shoulder, telling him to go home with Leon and she’ll wait around to make sure Ada’s okay.

Leon and Luis walk home, talking. Leon trying to lift Luis’ guilt slightly by the time they’re at Luis’ house. It’s quiet and all the maids and butlers must have gone home already. Leon locks the door behind him and Luis, before grabbing Luis by the hips and pushing him against the wall—lips pressed together. A groan is pulled from Luis’ lips as Leon’s hands drift up his shirt, Leon promising to make him forget the pain of tonight.

The next morning, while still naked on the couch, they wake up to a knock at the door. They quickly throw on their clothes before Luis answers the door. His face lights up as he sees Ada and Alice with Ada’s bags, asking if it’s alright if they stay in one of his spare bedrooms for a few nights which Luis is more than welcome too.

Leon gets started on breakfast while the others help Ada settle into one of the spares.

#Serennedy x TGG #EVERYTHING is subject to change btw!! still very much a work in progress

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multifandomfanficss · 7 months

Text

Home Is Wherever You Are P5

Adrian Chase/Vigilante x Reader

With a very heavy emphasis on platonic!Christopher Smith/Peacemaker

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 6, Part 7

Adrian Chase Masterlist

Prompt: Your Adrian has finally come to rescue you.

Series Warnings: mentions of child abuse, panic, meltdown, crying, divorce, mentions of August Smith, cannon typical Peacemaker violence and language, homophobia

A/N: Sorry for being so late. I had an incredibly busy weekend. This is also crossposted on my ao3 adriansglasses. I appreciate all your kind words so much! Hope you guys enjoy!

“Chase, we don’t even know if they’re alive.” Harcourt sighs.

“No, they have to be.” Adrian held his tension in his jaw, trying not to cry as he slammed your letter on the table.

It read:

‘Dear Adrian,

The day is September 9th, 1994. I hope you find this. I hope you find me.

Love,

(Y/N)’

“That is some pretty compelling evidence.” John egged him on.

“Thank you!” Adrian waved his arms in the air dramatically.

“It’s not safe.” Harcourt argued.

“I don’t care.” Adrian said. He didn’t have an ounce of doubt. He just wanted you back.

“Well I can’t let you go by yourself and there’s only three one way shots. What are you gonna do? Leave somebody there? Plus we don’t even know how this works! What if you never come back?” Harcourt asked.

“He’d be less of a pain in the ass if he wasn’t here.” John countered.

“Exactly!” Adrian agreed, missing John’s joke. “So if you let me go, I’ll stop talking!”

“As tempting as that offer is you’re not going.” Harcourt rolled her eyes, leaving the room. Adrian walked over to his desk, knocking over a plastic water bottle out of anger.

“Oh…fuck…sorry…” He sat down, slumping over the desk with his head in his hands. He heard whispering, but he didn’t care. The team often whispered about him. It wasn’t long before Leota approached Adrian, handing him a piece of paper. “What’s this?” He asked.

“It’s the address of the old ARGUS headquarters…ya know…just in case…” She said, mischievously.

“Didn’t they change locations in like 2002?” He asks, confused.

“Yup.” She smiled, waiting for him to understand.

“Why are you giving me a useless address? Do you need me to go pick up something from the old building for you?” He asked.

“I don’t need anything from there. I just figured you might…in case of an emergency…” He still didn’t get it, but in his defense Leota was never good at subtleties.

“What could I possibly-“

“She’s telling you to go dumbass!” Chris cut him off. Adrian’s eyes basically pop out of his head.

“I know if it was my wife I’d be going.” She smiled at him.

“Fuck. Thank you.” He engulfed her in a tight hug. Most of the team really weren’t big on hugs, but he knew Adebayo was.

“Go before Harcourt sees you.” She smiles.

Adrian takes the device from Leota and heads off.

September 12th, 1994

3 year old Adrian screamed in his bed. You sighed, taking Adult Adrian’s hand and slowly bringing him closer.

“Hey Ade, it’s okay, honey. Remember how I told you Vigilante was gonna look after you? This is him.” You smile.

“Wow! Way to go around sharing my secret identity, (Y/N)!” Adrian exclaims, not wearing his mask. You turn to him quickly and speak under your breath.

“First of all, he’s 3. He won’t remember. Even if he did, he’s literally you! It won’t matter! Also, don’t call me that. He doesn’t know my real name!” You whisper under your breath, anxiously.

“Well, how was I supposed-“ Adrian is cut off by his younger self.

“Mr. Vigiante?” He tries to get adult Adrian’s attention, still unable to pronounce the L.

“Uhhhh what’s up little m- man?” He asks, trying to avoid telling his younger self that he’s the older version. “See, I totally saved that one.” He whispers to you with a goofy grin. You missed him so badly.

Just as little Adrian is about to ask his older self tons of burning questions any 3 year old would have for a superhero, you watch Diane’s headlights cast into the room. When they hit your boyfriend’s face and you can see him a bit better you can feel your heart ache, starved of him, just needing to be with him.

“Okay Adrian, it’s time for Vigilante to go, but this is just gonna be our secret okay? If everybody finds out his secret identity, he won’t be able to go be a superhero and save people anymore. He needs our help keeping his secret. Can you do that?” You ask, hoping a toddler could understand the importance in this. You hate asking him to keep secrets, but the entire fabric of time and space depends on it. You shove Adult Adrian out of the bedroom door before his younger self can even finish saying yes. You pull him into your room and run to your closet to get a box hidden in the back corner. You bring him the box.

“This box is stuff your dad left when he moved out. There’s clothes in here. You need to ditch the suit before your mom sees.” You leave him there speechless trying to catch up with the speed and urgency. You’ve been running around with a toddler for the last couple weeks. You’ve gotten used to figuring out solutions fast. This is also probably an incredibly odd position for Adrian to be in; he’s in his old house, he’s holding his dad’s clothes, his younger self is in the next room, and his dead mom is about to walk through the door…alive. He hasn’t even had time to process Gut and Chris as middle schoolers down the hall. As you grab for the handle to your bedroom door, you spin around, running back to your boyfriend, giving him one last kiss before racing back out to his old bedroom to deal with his younger self.

“Adrian, I’ll make you a bet.” You tell him. He looks at you intrigued. Even at this young of an age he was competitive. You crawl into bed with him. “Whoever falls asleep first gets a dollar.”

“I’m so gonna win!” He giggles.

“You’re on, Mister!” You lay your head down, pretending to try to sleep. After five minutes he’s out like a light and you hear the bedroom door creaking open. You turn to see Diane’s frame illuminated by the light of the hallway. You tiptoe out of the room and close Adrian’s door.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to bother either of you. I just came to check him. You’re so good with him.” She smiles.

“Oh yeah…” You laugh quietly. “Bribing the kid just to get him to sleep was awesome.” You say, sarcastically.

“Kids are hard. We all have to do our best. Honestly that dollar trick was a pretty good idea. I’ll have to try it sometime.” She laughs. “You look worn out and I brought home a bottle of cheap wine from the restaurant. What do you say we go downstairs and crack it open?” She asks. Your mind drifts back to Adrian sitting on your bed decked out in his dad’s worn out old 80’s styles.

“Honestly…you’re right. I’m feeling really worn out, but if you save some for me I promise to drink with you tomorrow night.” You smile.

“Are you sure?” She asks.

“Yeah.” You smile. “Go watch tv and just unwind. You deserve it.” You bid her goodnight before trying to keep your excited legs from sprinting to your room.

Upon reaching your door you close it carefully, not wanting to slam it with all of this extra energy and wake up the boys.

“All set?” Adrian asks. You can’t hide your wide smile. You start to tear up at even just the sound of his voice.

“Nothing else is gonna keep me away from you right now.” You laugh, excited as a tear rolls down your cheek. “Not even time and space.”

You crawl into bed with him and he wipes the tear.

“You’re happy crying, right? Like that’s- that’s good crying I don’t have to stop, right?” He clarifies. You nod, cuddling into him, not trusting that if you open your mouth a sob won’t come out.

“Come here.” He sighs in relief pulling your body closer. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”

“It’s just so hard to believe this isn’t just another dream.” You whisper through a series of voice cracks.

“No, it’s real. I’m here and I’m not letting you go this time. I’m gonna bring you home.” He kisses your forehead.

“I don’t care. I’m already home. Home is wherever you are.” You kiss again.

You try to go to sleep, but you can’t stop telling each other about everything the other person missed. You never let your voices get above a whisper for fear that somebody will hear a strange man’s voice coming from your room.

“Ade, how did you know coming here was gonna work?” You ask.

“What do you mean?” He asks, moving hair out of your eyes, so he can better see your face.

“How did you know that using the device would get you here? How did you know you would find me and it wouldn’t just like malfunction and kill you or take you somewhere different?” You ask.

“I didn’t.” He says very matter of factly. You look at him in a mix of emotions. Briefly angry he would put himself at risk like that, then distraught thinking about losing him, then relieved he’s alive, and finally overwhelmed by how much you love him and the thought that he’d do all of this with no guarantee just to see you again. “I love you more than quite literally anything like in the entire existence and non existence and past existence and future existence all of creation ever.” You love when he rambles. You missed his rambles desperately.

“You’re my everything…not just the world, but the stars, the planets, the rocks, the beings, the water, the light, the sound… You’re everything to me Adrian.” You smile. This is the first time you’ve felt complete in the entire time that you’ve been here and tomorrow he’s going to take you home and you’re never going to have to be apart like this again. You won’t let it happen and neither will he. He starts giving you little kisses all over your face and neck and arms and hands, anywhere he can reach easily. You start giggling. “What are you doing?” You ask him.

“I have to give you a kiss for every hour we were apart.”

“But that’s like 300 hours.” You laugh.

“It’s been way longer than that.” He says before going back to kissing you. You go stiff underneath him.

“Adrian, how long has it been?” You ask, not sure you want to know the answer.

“Why? How long has it been for you?” He asks.

“It’s only been 12 days. I think you got your math wrong.” You say, hoping you’re right and that he’s still just as bad at math.

“No, I used a calculator. It was around 726 last time I checked.” His words knock the air out of your lungs. “(Y/N), you’ve been gone for like a month in our time.”

“You came after I’d been missing for a month? That- that means we- we can’t go back to a week or so after I left. We’d fuck up the whole timeline. I went missing for a month. I left you for a month- Oh my god do people think I’m dead?!” You try to control your panic, so you don’t wake up the whole house.

“Chris and John thought you might be alive, but wouldn’t explain it to me. I guess they just had a feeling and Leota didn’t know what to think. Nobody was ready to give up, but Harcourt tried to have a funeral for you to put your family at ease, but I wouldn’t let her. We got into a big fight about that.” You turn to face him, your eyes building with tears.

“Did you think I was dead?” You start to cry.

“Only for a little bit!” Adrian clarifies, but it doesn’t make you feel better. You try to hold in your sobs as your body shakes with emotion. Your friends, your family, and the love of your life, at one point all thought you were dead.

“Okay you’re doing your sad crying face and your panicked breathing now, but it’s okay. You’re safe and I’m safe and I’m here and tomorrow I’m gonna take you home and we are never getting separated like this again, okay?” He tries to reassure you, slowly rubbing your back. “I’ve got you. I’m here.” He reassures you, but he’s also reassuring himself.

“If I was gone for a month and you thought I was dead, how did you find me?” You cuddle impossibly closer to him.

“Well that’s just because I have the smartest partner in the entire world and they actually left me letters.” He smiles. “I’m talking about you.” He clarifies. “Just in case you thought I had a different partner which I definitely do not because even if you were dead I’m not sure if I’d ever get over you and-“ You cut him off with a kiss.

“It wasn’t that smart. I got the idea from an episode of Torchwood.” You smile.

“That’s okay. That wasn’t the reason. I just always think you’re the smartest partner in the world.” You look at him as a light blush starts to dust both of your cheeks.

“Well then we both have smart partners I guess.” You kiss him again.

“I love you.”

You both say it like you’re starved because neither of you deep down was entirely certain you’d get to say it again.

“I know we should get some sleep, but…”

“But what?” He asks. You sigh.

“Is it stupid I keep worrying myself that this is all just a dream and I’ll wake up?” You ask.

“That’s okay I’m worried I fucked up trying to get here and this is all some weird concussion hallucination or I’m in a coma or I’m like dead or something. That would like really suck actually.” You take his hand and put it on your pulse.

“Feel that? I’m real.” You place your own fingers on his pulse too. “And you’re alive.” You add smiling. “And as long as we’re together I think everything’s gonna be alright, right? Let’s get some sleep.”

You move, so you’re using his chest as a pillow. Being close is the only way either of you will sleep tonight.

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marshmallowprotection · 6 months

Note

Hm, alright. I have something that's been lingering in the back of my head for quite a while.

You know how people always write about Saeyoung's MC and SE Saeran friendship post-SE?

I, on the other hand, always wondered the opposite of that. How about Saeran's MC and Saeyoung after post-Ray AE? We only know him based on his 707 persona in the chatroom, what the RFA describe him as and flashback of his childhood there and there whenever Saeran talk about his twin brother. But who is the real Saeyoung after all that trouble got settled?

Especially during the early days of the twins getting to experience real freedom without having to fear for their lives for once. How do Saeyoung perceived MC after all that? How would their friendship develop? Do they have to start all over again in the name of being true to themselves?

Do the MC take an active role in trying to get the twins closer again? I don't mean it as MC trying to insert themselves everytime. More like... silently guiding, encouraging and nudging them to the right direction whenever the other twin want to do something with one another? There's just so much to say when it comes to Saeran's MC with Saeyoung!

Hhh this is so all over the place but I hope you understand what I'm trying to say— I'm just taking a quick break from work when my head are suddenly overflowing with these lmao

Saeyoung as your brother-in-law in the RAE?

You know, Saeran says something to you about his brother in the RAE that is both painful and true. It's the simple fact that he doesn't know his brother anymore, and you really know a lot more about his brother than he does. I believe what he says, verbatim, is that you would know his brother better than him.

Most of what he learned about his brother was just twisted up in animosity and anger, so he didn't bother to remember anything but how frustrated he felt. He didn't bother to think about what his brother was doing because everything he saw just looked like so much fun, and there he was trapped in a horrible place where he could never have fun like that.

However, even though you know his brother better than he does, that doesn't mean that you know everything about him. You know a little bit more than the RFA does, though. During Ray Route, he spent a lot of time confiding in you.

He said things to you that he would never say to anyone else. He understood that you had secrets just like he did, and it was nice to relate to somebody in that way. He is carrying the heavy burden of his brother's life and safety on his back as far as he knows, and he holds that secret so close to his chest that he never forgets.

When he realizes that you're holding on to secrets just like that, it’s easy for him to be a friend to you.

Ray Route Outgoing Call, Day 8

RAE Outgoing Call, Day 4.

You were there for his brother when he couldn't be. You need to understand that somebody being there for his brother no matter how difficult the situation is will always win him over.

You did everything you could for his brother and he doesn't have to understand everything about that, all he needs to know is that you made his brother happy, and as long as you did that, he will lay his life on the line for you for the rest of his life. He will be devoted to you no matter what.

You will always end forever be his family, no matter what happens to him or his brother, because of everything... you did to make sure his brother was happy. You are now his in-law even if you and Saeran did not have the chance to really get married. You're family forever, and it will never change now. You are his family. Get used to that.

Ray Route Outgoing Call, Day 9

I do think it's worth pointing out that you are the last person to talk to him before he is kidnapped by his father. You call him at just the right time when he's being taken away, and he truly trusts you enough to understand what he's saying.

You might be confused, but he is saying what he's saying because he knows he can trust you.

He knows that it might take you a moment to read between the lines but what he's saying is clear. Do whatever you have to do to erase the information that might lead back to his brother, and forget about him because there's no hope for him. He's never going to come back as far as he knows, and he wants you and everybody else that he cares about to stay safe because he knows he's the only person that should go down in this situation.

That's what he always intended if something went south.

The amount of trust that he has in the rest of the world is slim to none, so for him to say anything of this nature to someone like you, means a lot in a situation like this. He is trusting you to say what needs to be said to Jihyun.

If you can get that message across, because he knows you will, then he knows his brother has a stronger chance of being protected in the long run.

Even if his life is over for good, he wants to do everything to protect his brother, and you know about his brother. He doesn't know that you know that, but you know, and there's something in that that he understands without having to say it.

RAE Day 2

His guilt complex aside, he says it again, you were there when he couldn't be and he will forever be indebted to you. That's the way he sees it. You are an incredible person and he will always see you that way. You didn't have to get involved with all of this and you didn't have to go that far for him, and he appreciates that you love his brother and him enough to want to save him.

But, what he wants for you is happily ever after with his brother for the rest of your lives. That's why he was willing to throw himself away again, not just for the sake of his brother’s happiness, but for yours.

RAE Chatroom Day 4

He wants to comfort you like a big brother. It's a natural reflex for him in this situation.

He wants to look out for you because you're important to his brother, and that means you're important to him as well. He got to know you before he knew you were with his brother. He found you to be really somebody he could trust no matter what. Your laughter and kindness shined through like nothing else.

Even if he views the world as a much more harsh place than you and his brother, he's happy to know that he can be there to look out for the two of you and make sure that you don't have to know the depth of that agony. It's normal for him to try to be somebody who protects everybody else, so you can always call him out on that if it gets to be a little too much, but as a friend, he means well.

RAE, Good Ending

You might just be the only person who can help him settle down when he's worked up. You know where he's coming from when he's upset, just as much as you know where his brother is coming from when he's upset. You're the first one to tell him he needs to sit down and breathe.

He doesn't listen to people who tell him what to do because he hates to be controlled. But, he listens to what you have to say because he knows you are a good person who only wants the best for him. You may be the only person in the world who has ever been able to tell him what to do and make it happen. You could boss him around and he would let it happen. He knows that you're not the kind of person who would abuse his trust.

Of course, you do lie to him in the hospital, but that's for Saeran’s sake, and he would not be mad about that. Saeran needs time to think before he speaks to his twin again. You know that. He knows that. It's a little white lie in the name of what's healthy for them. It's okay. So, when it comes to Saeyoung Choi being a friend to you as Saeran's partner?

You have somebody who deeply understands you as a person and would lay his life on the line just to make sure you get the chance to be happy. He can laugh with you and share things with you that he can't do with anybody else! You settle so sweetly into your new family with him and his brother, and that's beautiful.

His world is finally complete thanks to what you've done and his gratitude and happiness at having someone like you in his life as a friend is something he could never put into words.

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edenshiba · 11 months

Note

Thank you for writing my request! It turned out amazing! I hope you don’t me doing another? Could you do a Tsuji x Reader? Reader is the younger sister of 9. Reader and Tsuji have been talking for a long time when Tsuji confesses to her. Reader has no idea who to respond and gets interrupted by her brother picking her up from them hanging out. Tsuji kisses her cheek before they leave and tells her to think about it. 9 just looks confused and before telling them you can’t date you know that right

(I don’t think being 9’s younger sister would give much of a social life or romantic life)

(Tsuji helped Reader when some students from another school tried to jump her)

Character: Tsuji x Fem! Reader

Note: I forgot to update..... Sorry. SOMEBODY PLEASE DO MORE OF TSUJI AND SHIBA 😭. also @mrskenpachizaraki this is for you 😊

The bell ring loudly as the whole students packing their bag without caring of the teacher’s words. You sat there, zoning out since while looking at the athletes training at the field.

“Remember class, I need your parents to sign the form or else you can’t participate in the field trip.” The teacher said.

You put on your headphones before playing the One Ok Rock song. You are a big fan of that band since you entered high school. Thanks to your former best friend.

Since she passed away, you didn’t socialize anymore. Only wake up, go to school, come back, play the guitar and finish your homework and sleep.

The routine oy change if you brother remember to come home, otherwise you will do it every day. Anyway, you can just forge your brother’s signature. 9 never home so it's not a big of a deal.

While walking to the bus stop, you saw several girls with a different uniform than you. You went to Seiho All Girls School and the uniform there are brown. Those girls wear blue.

Ah, must be from the rich school

You tried to ignored them but the one with the pony tails stops and push you.

' Fucking bitch. You thought.

The melon bread that you were eating laying flat on the ground before one of them stepped on it.

That was supposed to be your dinner.

“So this is the girl that Keiji like?” You stared at her before trying to remember the name.

Who the hell is Keiji?

“I don’t know that people from Seiho is are this shameless.” Their accusations making you felt dizzy.

First of all, who are they? And second of all, since when you talk to people?

The last person you ever communicates with was your homeroom teacher. She said your grades are good enough to be accepted to the top Universities in Japan.

“ Who do you think you are, huh? Taking another girl’s boyfriend. Are you that shameless?”

Ah, now you understand.

Despite being a loner, you are quite popular among other people. Since you are the president for the chess club and the top student of the school, people talks about you a lot.

But of course, nasty rumours do spread around.

You give them an annoyed look. Do these girls thinks that you are THAT cheap?

“Ah, him? Sorry but he’s the one who like me. I can’t do anything about it girl.” You replied.

If they wanted to act like a mean girl, then you can also do the same.

You saw how her hand almost touching your face until a big veiny hand appear. You opened up you eyes after not feeling anything, only to see two stranger. One with the red hair was holding her hand and one with the blonde hair covered your body from them.

“ Five versus one? My, you guys really that pathetic huh?” The girl tried to snatch her hand back but the man’s grip tighten.

“ Mind your own business!” The girl says.

She tried to act tough even though you see how her leg shakes. You did felt a tinge of pity but then you chose to forget it.

“How can this not be our business? How can an elite group came here? Didn’t you guys too far from home?”

The girls were to stunned by their words. The red head finally let go of the girl’s hand. She wince at the pain before covering the wrist. Her white skin turns red.

“This is not over yet!” She yelled before walking away with her group of friends.

You waved at her before looking tried to walk away.

“Thanks for your help but I can protect myself.” You said before disappearing from their sight.

You put on your headphones back before turning on the music. Well, that will be the first and last time you see them.

Meanwhile, Tsuji and Shibaman were stunned by your reply.

“Nee Tsuji, we shouldn’t help her you know.”

Tsuji scratch the back of his head before looking at his partner.

“Well, it’s not wrong to help her. Besides, she’s cute ya know?” Tsuji smirked before walking away.

Shiba followed him but still puzzled at his words. There is no way in seven hell Tsuji like that girl.

The next day, you put on the headphone as soon as the class is over. The field trip talk is unnecessary. You brother did came back last night to give you the monthly allowance before going back to his usual work.

You didn’t care, as long as he gave you enough money to survive then you are okay.

Your instinct told you to take off the headphone and you did. A big figure towering over you, making you tilted your head a bit.

It is him, the guy from yesterday.

“ You shouldn't walk while listening to the music. Somebody might jumped on you .” He said before taking the headphone off your head.

“ What are you? Stalker?” You said before snatching the headphone back.

You walk past him but before you could put on the headphone again, he grab it and put it around his neck. You glared at him before trying to get it back.

“U, uh. I’m taking this.” He said.

You groaned at his actions. How old is this guy anyway?

“ I’m Tsuji by the way. Nice to meet you.” He said.

“Fuck off.”

Several months went by and you and Tsuji has a pretty good friendship. If he didn’t hang out with his Oya High friends he would hang out with you. Depending on his mood, usually he would walk you home and have a dinner with you.

Surprisingly he can cook.

“Hey.” You raises your head, just Tsuji and Shibaman is nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Shiba?”

“Well, his sister wants to meet him. What are you listening to?”

Tsuji took your left earbud before putting it on his ear. You play the song to let him hear it.

“It’s cool. Who’s the artist?”

“Halsey.” He nodded.

Without him knowing, you blush slightly. You find it hard to push him away lately. Both of you have been seeing each other everyday and sometimes he even walk with you to school despite Oya High is on the other side of the town.

“So, are you free tonight? We can watch the star.” He asked while opening the café door for you.

“My brother is coming tonight. Sorry.” You apologize but the man just smile.

“It’s fine. Let me order the drinks” You watch him walking to the counter.

Your heart beats faster than usual. Oh my god you are in love with this guy.

You can’t deny it, Tsuji is a good guy. He walks you home, he bought flower whenever he visited you at your apartment, he accompany you whenever you study at the library despite him just watching without doing anything.

You can’t help but like him. Well, this tiny little crush will never be known by him of course.

He can’t know. You have a reputation to uphold.

“Hey they run out of (f/f) smoothie. Is coffee fine?” He said worriedly.

“ It’s fine.” You said before taking the cup.

Good bye to your sleep.

You took out your exercise book and your notes. Tsuji just watching you solve the math questions. After several minutes, you change to the other book.

“Do Seiho always gives their students lots of homework?” He asked while sipping his coffee.

You look up before putting the pen down. You just realized that you got another three subject to finish by tomorrow.

“Oh this? Well, English and Math from three weeks ago and Physics and Chemistry is from last week. Yeah the Japanese need to be submit by next week.” Tsuji scratches the back of his head.

You chuckled at his actions. Well, Oya wasn’t known for their intelligence. You don’t really blame him.

“Don’t study too much. You might go crazy.” He said before switching his focus to his phone.

“ Ok dad.” You rolled your eyes before continues to finish the whole essay. Tsuji smiled at your words.

He don't really paying too much attention on his phone. He has been staring at you secretly. He loves it whenever you bit your lower lips whenever you didn't know the answer.

The sun already set by the time you finish the Chemistry homework. You put all the pens and pencils inside your pencil case before putting it in your bag. You saw Tsuji just got back from the toilet.

“You done?”

“Yeah my brother will fetch me so you can just go home.” You said before sipping the remaining coffee.

“ Don’t be stupid. Let me walk with you.” He said before taking your bag and sling it on his shoulder. He grabbed you by the hand before both of you leaving the café.

You blush at the gesture. Thank god he didn’t see it.

The walk to the bus stop is quite. You didn’t know what to say or what to do. The way he holds your hand say it all but you don’t want to put your hopes too high.

Does he like you?

“The moon is beautiful right?” You heart skipped a beat.

Wait, what?

He suddenly stop before looking at you. Your eyes met his and he smile.

“ (y/n), I like you.”

You aren’t dreaming right?

Did he just, confessed his love to you?

“I, I....”

A loud honk shocked you. You look at the car, shit!

“Your brother?”

“Yeah.” Tsuji chuckled. He patted your head before kisses your right cheek.

“ I don’t need the answer tonight. Feel free to tell me when you are ready.” He said before wave good bye.

You still at the froze at your spot. He kissed you.

YOUR CRUSH KISS YOU!

You will never wash your face after this. Oh my god!

Before your brother loses his patience, you quickly went to his car and sat at the passenger sit. 9 gave you a weird look.

“Is that your boyfriend?" He gave you a confused look.

How come he never see that guy. Are you dating without him knowing?

"You know you can't date right? What will happen to your study if you got pregnant? Oh my god you got the entrance exam this year!"

You gave him an annoyed look. This is why you and him never in a good relationship.

Too overprotective. It’s suffocating.

“Shut up and drive old man. I want to eat sukiyaki.” You said.

Sleep well pretty. I’ll walk you to school tomorrow.

You smiled at the message. Ah, love is great.

“ I’ll send you to cram school if your grades drop. Also quit smiling like an idiot.” 9 can’t accept this.

You’re growing too fast.

“ I know okay.” You grumble.

Café date tomorrow?

Alright.

You grinned.

“I told you to stop smiling already!”

“Shut up old man!”

#high&low #high&low the worst #high&low the worst x #oya high #tsujifromhighandlow #tsujixreader

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women-are-hot · 2 years

Note

Her pt 6

Alexia began scrolling through her camera roll showing you random photos as she went. There were photos of your dates , of you post games and pre games. There were some of you just chilling at home and there were even some of you with alexia’s little cousins. When she came across the wedding photos she quickly skimmed past them hoping you wouldn’t notice. “Are those from our wedding” you asked cautiously,not wanting to pry if it would upset the girl too much. “Ehm yes they are but we don’t have to look at them if you don’t want to” alexia told you while gazing at the floor. “I would like to see if it’s okay ?” “Yes of course it’s okay cariño” your eyes snapped to her at the use of the nick name. It awoke something within you but you couldn’t quite place your finger on it. “I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to say it , it just slipped out by habit y/n” alexia rushed almost as if she was try to plead a case with you. Scared you would panic and she’d have to leave. “It’s okay I understand” you spoke softly.

Alexia began showing you the wedding pictures. You couldn’t deny it they were stunning. From what you could tell you two had gotten married on a beach on the brightest of summer days. You both wore the most beautiful of white dresses and some simplistic make up. Just they way you had planned it when you were little. You could remember those plans. How you’d sit on your bed at night writing in your diary all about your dream wedding. And in this moment you were looking right at it. You remember planning it all from such a small age and now here you were having experienced the whole thing but not being able to remember a single detail. Not even the woman you married.

The frustration and feeling of missing out you felt in that moment resulted you to tears for the second time that day. Doing your best to hide them from the woman. Although you weren’t successful. Alexia turned to you to see why you had gone so quiet and when she saw the tears her heart dropped. She placed the phone on the bed and gave you her full attention. “Y/n hey what’s wrong are you in pain , do you want me to get the doctor ?” Alexia asked panic laced in her voice. You shook your head. “No”. “Then what is it my love” “I mean y/n sorry I’ve done it again , I’ve made you feel uncomfortable haven’t I this is all my fault , I should go” alexia spoke beginning to gather her phone.

“Stay” you whispered hoping it was loud enough for her to hear. “You want me to stay ?” You nodded the thought of alexia leaving brought fear to you. You felt safe with her here. You had never felt this way before let alone with somebody you didn’t know but with alexia it was different. “Do you want to tell me what made you so upset ?” Alexia asked. You debated whether or not you were going to tell her but decided if you were ever going to get this marriage back you had to do things like this.

“I’m just so frustrated , I remember planning a wedding like that when I was little. I remember that I wanted a beach wedding and simple make up because I couldn’t understand why people would put so much make up on just to sweat it off while dancing. I remember I always wanted to get married in Italy but I can’t remember the day I can’t even remember the person I shared it with” you spoke with anger laced in your voice. Alexia began laughing and smiling for the first time in days.

“What are you laughing at” you questioned confused as to why she would be laughing at a time like this. “You just haven’t changed through the years my love, that same little speech about the make up was the exact speech I had got whilst we sat and planned our wedding 5 years ago and the beach in the photos well that was in Italy where we got married” alexia told you whilst smiling. “Really”you questioned in disbelief. “Really we planned our wedding from this little red diary you had from when you were a kid” “that’s the one I’m remembering” you told her. “I figured” alexia spoke confidently.

“Thank you for showing me the photos ale” you spoke. And then it hit you , it hit both of you. “Ale ?” Alexia questioned. You had used your nickname for her ……

AWWW. I LOVE ITTT 😍

#ask #asks #woso x reader #woso imagine #woso imagines #woso #gxg #espwnt imagine #espwnt imagines #espwnt x reader #alexia putellas imagines #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas imagine

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dumfanting · 1 year

Text

Same Heart ch 26: Ad Infinitum

AO3 Link

Rating: E, explicit, younglings begone

Warnings: trauma dumping, grief, ptsd, make outs, dry humping, alcohol, so much dialogue

Word Count: 10,554

Aside from what I’m saying now, I’m not going to comment on the word count from here out. Good god though, 10.5k words. I remember when I thought 4k was too long! Sorry the formatting is borked, text posts with the mobile app are terrible.

F! Reader/ Echo

F! Reader/ Crosshair

You finally catch Echo up on everything, then go for a drink with Crosshair.

—//—

The ride back to the hotel is tense, and the sun is beginning to set when the taxi comes to a stop outside. You pay the driver, they take the credits, and they drive away; thankfully this one didn’t give you any trouble. You hesitate before walking to the main entrance, and nervously fidget with the strap of your bag again, which Echo notices.

He softly says your name. “We don’t have to do this right now,” he says, referring to the daunting conversation ahead of you both. You look over at him, and the setting sun is shining at just the right angle to make his eyes look like rich golden honey. Even after everything he’s been through, his eyes haven’t changed. You see the concern in them, and your doubts subside.

“Yes,” you say with a tired sigh. “We do. You deserve to know, and we can’t avoid it forever,” you continue, taking his hand into yours again.

He gives you a reassuring squeeze. “Alright. Let's get this over with then, yeah?” he says, and you nod at him.

The walk back to your shared room is just as tense as the cab ride was. You come to the door a little too quickly for your liking, and reluctantly slide the key card through before you lead Echo inside.

—

You both take a few minutes to change out of the days clothes, then sit together on the freshly-made bed. It’s silent for a while. Echo is waiting for you to speak, and you’re trying to think of what to talk about first. Your newfound Sensitivity, the way your relationship with Crosshair changed so drastically and so quickly, the argument with Rex which would need an explanation of what happened to Fives; Beyond Fives’ fate, which obviously takes precedence, it all seems equally important, and you struggle to find a starting point. It all ties together in some way, so you decide to just bite the bolt and get the hardest part out of the way first.

You shift your weight, sitting back against the headboard, and pull your knees close to your chest, keeping your arms around them. Echo sees how guarded you are and again says that this can wait, but you shake your head at him.

“You need to know,” you say softly. Echo doesn’t respond and still waits patiently for you to speak. You take a deep breath, pray to the Maker that this doesn’t blow up in your face, and start talking.

“So, you don’t know what happened to Fives,” you say, and it isn’t phrased like a question.

“I don’t. Nobody’s told me, and I know you’ve been avoiding it,” Echo says, his tone unreadable.

“I’m sorry,” you say, unable to look at him, though you feel his eyes on you. “I… I didn’t know how to tell you. I still don’t really understand what happened,” you say. He says nothing, but you feel a breeze of confusion drift off of him. You take another deep breath, and launch into the fragmented, messy story, starting with Ringo Vida, and what Tup had done there. You don’t get any further before Echo interrupts you.

“But that makes no sense, he would never do such a thing. And nobody knows why?” he asks.

“Oh trust me, somebody knows why, but they’re keeping it quiet, I can guarantee you that,” you say bitterly. “Kix was there when Tup took the shot, he told me everything. None of us can come up with an explanation for why he would do that. The way Kix described it, it sounded like he was being forced,” you continue.

Echo’s confusion deepens, but he stays quiet, listening intently without interrupting again.

You go over how Tup had apparently been missing for a few days and how the Separatists tried to abduct him after the attack. “The best the Generals and Kix could figure was that the Seps had to have done something to him, and came to the conclusion that it was a virus of some kind, though I have no idea how that would even work,” you say.

“I don’t understand any of this, what does it have to do with Fives?” Echo says, frowning.

“He plays directly into it. Fives was in such close proximity to Tup that they were concerned he may have caught whatever this mystery virus was. They were both sent to Kamino for testing. I only know what happened up to this point because Kix told me so much. Officially, I have no knowledge of any of it,” you say. Echo shifts closer to you.

“Tup… he didn’t make it off Kamino. Whatever had gotten ahold of him, well, I guess it never let go. Everything after that happened so quickly, and I’ve only seen a small part of it, the rest I’ve been told firsthand from Rex and Kix. I’ve tried to piece the whole thing together on my own but there’s so much missing,” you say, frustrated.

“There aren’t any reports?” Echo asks, his confusion deepening once more.

“There’s an official report, but I don’t believe a single fucking word of it. It says that Fives escaped Kamino, which yeah, he did, but then it says he somehow wound up alone with Chancellor Palpatine, and tried to kill him,” you say.

“What?” Echo half-shouts.

“They said it was because of whatever had gotten to Tup. I still struggle to understand, it makes perfect sense but no sense at all at the same time. Something happened to Tup that compelled him to kill General Tiplar. Fives was likely exposed to it, and whatever it was made him attempt the same thing with the Chancellor. That makes sense, like, logically,” you say. As you talk, you slowly move your knees back down and lose some of the tension in your body.

“But Tup would never do that, and neither would Fives,” Echo says.

“Exactly, which is why it also makes no sense, not even a little bit. The day everything happened, I was coming back from work and overheard some whispers about an attempt on Palpatine’s life, and that a clone was responsible. I put two and two together and literally ran the rest of the way home. When I got there, Fives had left me a message on my commlink, which I’m still pissed at myself for forgetting to take with me that day. Maybe things would have turned out differently if I had been able to speak to him as he needed me,” you say, bitter and angry.

Echo cautiously rests his remaining hand on your upper back. “I have to keep repeating myself, don’t I?” he says, and you finally look at him.

“Echo repeating something, what a concept,” you say, and he rolls his eyes.

“I’ll keep it up until it gets through to you if I have to; nothing that happened to Fives was your fault. Nothing that happened to either of us was your fault,” he says, sternly looking you in the eye.

“I know,” you say with a sad sigh. “I wish it would get through my thick skull too, maybe then the fucking nightmares would stop. Or at least those specific ones,” you say, curling back in on yourself.

Echo watches you, unsure of what to do. You were usually so resilient, seeing you broken and lost like this was so heartbreaking to him. He reminds himself that you’ve been through a lifetime's worth of horrors in just a few years, so you’re bound to have worn down eventually.

“I keep hearing about the nightmares,” he says quietly. “Is it really as bad as they say?” he asks.

“It’s worse , Echo. I’ve never told anyone about what I dream, aside from Tech once or twice. They’re only aware of my reactions to it. Hell, I didn’t even know I was talking in my sleep until Crosshair said something about it back there in Kix’s office. And besides that, there are so many more important things going on around us, missions, battles, the entire fucking war. I didn’t want to add my bullshit on top of that. I still don’t,” you say, your voice low and soft, your eyes shining in the dimming light of the sun.

Echo says your name, but you don’t immediately look at him, which is worrying. “You can’t keep this up. And you shouldn’t. Talk to me, please,” he says, and you hear the strain in his voice.

“You’re the last person who needs more shit to deal with,” you mumble, curling yourself tighter again, trying to take up as little room as possible.

Echo startles you by cursing with a growl of frustration. “God damn it, you’re still so fucking stubborn!” he says.

Cautiously, you turn your head toward him the slightest bit, and when you meet his eyes again, your mind buzzes. Of all the things you expected to feel, desperation was not one of them. You sit up a little straighter, and look at him more directly. You’ve never seen him look hopeless like that before, and it physically pains you to know that you’ve caused it. You don’t realize that you’re crying until he gently cups your cheek and brushes a tear away with his thumb while whispering your name.

“You’ve been alone for so long, I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you to carry all of this. I’ll say it over and over, you aren’t on your own anymore. You’ve got me. You’ve done so much to take care of me, please , let me return the favor. I want to help you with this, but I can’t if you don’t let me in,” he says, not taking his eyes off of yours for even a second.

You finally crack. Your shoulders heave with heavy sobs, and Echo quickly pulls you into his lap, holding your head against his chest and firmly rubbing his hand up and down your back. “I know mesh’la, I know. It’s okay. You’re safe here, I’ve got you,” he whispers, barely audible over your cries.

As he holds you, the sound of his steady heartbeat keeps you grounded, an anchor stopping you from being swept away by everything you’re feeling at once. Your grief for Fives, the confusion of not knowing exactly what happened to him, even the bizarre moment where you swear you felt his touch. The pain, loss, frustration, and anger of losing so many men, over and over, and feeling powerless to stop it. So many nights spent awake in your bunk, desperately tired but afraid to fall asleep for fear of what you’d be forced to see. Waking up screaming, or in a cold sweat, or both, night after night. It all finally breaks free and pours out of you.

Beyond all of that, though, the feeling of being protected, being cared for, being loved , and the emptiness finally being filled back in, all of it overtakes everything else, and your mind goes blessedly quiet for the first time in far too long. You feel the weight of the galaxy evaporate from your shoulders.

You aren’t sure how long it’s taken for your tears to finally run dry, but, thanks to the change in light coming in from outside, you know it’s been a good chunk of time. Your breathing steadily evens back out, aside from the occasional hiccup. Your eyes feel like they’re burning, and you absently wipe at them with the backs of your hand as you slowly sit back upright.

Echo watches you carefully, allowing you to move away, but keeping a firm grip on your hand. He has to say your name twice before you react, turning your head back towards him, your body following. He kisses your forehead, then gently presses his own into it. A feeling of peace you forgot could exist washes over you, and you barely repress a shiver. He says your name a third time.

“That was,” he says, pausing for a second. “Damn. That was a lot . Do you feel any better?” he asks.

You try to speak, but your voice is hoarse, so instead you just nod. You clear your throat, then are able to whisper a soft “thank you, Echo,” to him.

He smiles softly at you, says “that’s what I’m here for,” then tells you to wait there for a minute before he gets to his feet.

You watch as he goes into the kitchenette of the room and fetches you a glass of cold water. He comes back and hands it to you, and as you sip at it, you can hear him running water in the refresher. A few seconds later, he returns to his spot next to you on the bed with a warm, damp washrag. You set the now empty glass aside on the nightstand, then take the small towel and dab at your swollen eyes with it. Once the warmth dissipates, you toss it over your shoulder, not caring where it landed, and let out a massive sigh of relief, flopping backwards onto your back and staring at the ceiling.

Echo follows suit, and it’s quiet for a short time. Eventually, he turns on his side towards you and speaks. “You don’t have to tell me anything else tonight,” he says.

You pause for a moment, thinking. This really isn’t how you wanted to spend your night with him, but you don’t know when you’ll get another chance like this to finally fill him in on everything, just the two of you with no distractions.

“Maybe not,” you say. “But I’ve been holding onto this for so fucking long, I need to get the rest out before it eats at me any longer,” you say, sitting back up.

“You’re absolutely sure?” Echo says, propping himself up on an elbow to get a better look at you.

“Yes, I’m sure. What was it you said earlier? ‘Let’s get this over with’ ?” you say, taking his hand and pulling him upright as you speak.

He nods at you, then the two of you return to your positions at the head of the bed, backs against the headboard. You need a moment to remember where you were before going off on that tangent, and eventually think of it.

“Fuck me,” you say, tired. “Anyway, Fives left me a message on my comm, and I could tell right away that something was very wrong. His head had been shaved and he wasn’t wearing his own armor. The transmission was garbled, but I was able to understand him trying to tell me not to believe anything, and that ‘they’ were after him,” you say.

“I met with Kix and Jesse at 79’s not long after that; figured a few shots would calm my nerves, but I noticed that Rex wasn’t there. They told me he was with the General and looking for Fives. Kix went into the refresher and about a minute later he insisted I go back there myself,” you say, pausing to try and fight off the intense grief that would always rear its ugly head whenever you remember this.

“It was him, wasn’t it?” Echo says, so quietly you almost couldn’t hear him.

“Yes, it was,” you say, then clear your throat. “He told me Kix was going to deliver a message to Rex for him, so they could meet and he could explain himself. He refused to tell me where, of course,” you say.

“He knew you’d follow him,” Echo says.

“You’re goddamned right I would,” you say firmly. “Even at the end, his priority was to keep me safe,” you say with a sad smile. You then recount, in a shaky voice, everything Fives had tried to tell you. Chips in the clones heads, forcing them to obey any order, a conspiracy that traced back to Palpatine himself, all of it.

“And you believed him?” Echo says, sounding unsure.

“Of course I did. I still do. The official report is bullshit, I don’t give a fuck who tells me that is isn’t,” you say. You slip into silence for a minute.

“I tried to follow him. Out of the bar. But he was ahead of me just enough to get away on a speeder before I could catch him,” you eventually say, your voice thick with emotion. Echo moves closer to you and takes your hand. You take a second and attempt to keep yourself together, then describe how you had fainted, woken up in your apartment, and had nearly run out of the building before Kix stopped you.

“ ‘Don’t’ , he said. I remember it so clearly. ‘There’s nothing you can do now,’ . Like I told you in the taxi earlier, I fainted again. Just before I hit the floor, I was looking at him and he looked so much like you,” you say in a whisper.

“Why do you all have to look the fucking same?” Echo says, guessing your exact words without realizing it.

You hiccup and nod at him, your eyes brimming over with tears again. “When I woke up the second time I was in the medical ward. Rex told me the rest. How… how it happened,” you say, your voice cracking again. You grit your teeth and tell Echo everything. As much as it pains you, you left no detail out.

“Rex told me Fives had said ‘The mission, the nightmares’ would finally be over,” you whisper.

“Nightmares?” Echo says, sounding startled.

You nod at him again. “Yeah, those fuckin’ things again. I’m not sure what he meant though. There were plenty of things Fives never told me about, but only because I never asked. Have you all had a similar nightmare? The way he said it, it sounds like he was referring to a universal experience,” you say.

Echo hesitates, which catches your attention. You softly say his name. “Echo? Do you know what he meant?” you ask. He doesn’t speak and instead slowly shakes his head.

Without even being conscious of it, you close your eyes, your mind buzzes, and you feel two things coming from him. Grief, of course, but more importantly, a sense of finally understanding something after so long without answers. Then, quickly sweeping everything else away, fear , which itself scares you, and you open your eyes. He looks stunned.

“Echo?” you say again, cupping his face with a hand. He blinks several times and shakes himself.

“We,” he says, then takes a deep breath. “We all have nightmares. It’s so normalized, we just accept it as part of life and never talk about any of it. If someone was having the same dreams as me or anybody else, I never knew,” he says, but sounds like he’s trying to convince himself more than you.

You frown at him. Even without being able to ‘read’ him, you can tell he’s holding something back. You decide not to press him about it though. This isn’t the time.

“I… I don’t understand any of it,” he says, his own voice trembling now. You take your turn to hold him close to your chest, all the while barely managing to keep your own tears at bay.

—

It takes several minutes for the two of you to calm yourselves back down. You both slide into lying positions on the bed, holding each other as tightly as possible.

“Echo?” you say softly. He looks over at you with a ‘what’ sound. “We don’t have to finish this tonight. It’s so much to take in, if you need-,” you say, but he interrupts.

“No. No, I… You’re right, I need to know, and you did say you need to get it out. I can see why you were so hesitant about this, it’s all so confusing,” he says, voice barely above a whisper.

“Okay. You can still change your mind if you need to. Although, that’s the hardest part done with,” you say, just as quietly.

Echo laughs humorlessly. “Fuck me, I can’t imagine anything else worse than that,” he says.

“What else was on that list?” you ask, making a feeble attempt at a joke to lighten the mood.

Echo sits up again and leans back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling in thought. He starts mumbling to himself, counting off on his fingers. “There’s still a few things left,” he says. You can see him bracing himself. “Crosshair,” he says quietly. “What the hell is happening there?”

You should’ve guessed that’s what he’d bring up. Looks like he wanted to get past this, though just as reluctantly as you do. You also sit back up, then think for a moment before speaking.

“Remember when I said earlier that the jackass cab driver made the same mistake Crosshair did?” you say. Echo nods at you. “I don’t know how much detail you got from Tech,” you say, leaving the sentence open ended for him.

“I saw you smacking him around a few times, but I didn’t see what the catalysts were. I’m guessing he said something about either me or Fives though,” he says, watching you carefully again.

“Both, actually,” you say, shaking your head. “In the briefing before the mission that led to us finding you, Rex told us that he thought you were alive and the Seps were somehow using you to work against us. I kind of slipped up and said what I was thinking out loud,” you say.

“Which was?” he says, prompting you to elaborate.

“I asked Rex if he’d forgotten about when Fives told me what happened to you. I think it was Wrecker, he recognized his name and asked if he was the one who attacked the Chancellor. Tech, of course, had a file pulled up on his damn datapad before anyone else could respond, and basically summarized the ‘official’ report on the matter. I told everyone that it was bullshit. Crosshair, he kind of scoffed and said something like ‘if you ask me he deserved it,’ and I just… snapped. I only realized that I’d struck him a second after it happened,” you say, fidgeting with your fingers. “I won’t lie though, that was really fucking satisfying,” you say with a smirk.

“So, wait, after however long he’d been trying to piss you off, that’s what finally broke you?” Echo says.

“It was the first time he’d said something like that that wasn’t about me,” you say, nodding.

“But it wasn’t the last,” he says.

You sigh again, then continue speaking. “Yeah. I guess once just wasn’t enough for him. About an hour before we got to you, he and Rex were arguing that the mission was a waste of time. He said that Rex was trying to make up for leaving you at the Citadel, then said, and I remember this so fucking clearly, he said ‘I don’t blame you. He’s just another Reg, it’s not like he was worth anything’,” you say, and Echo curses under his breath.

“I was definitely aware of my actions that time, because I went after him as he walked away. Rex tried to beat the shit out of him immediately after I stepped back,” you say.

Echo softly shakes his head. “Yeah, that sounds like Rex. He’s always stuck up for us,” he says.

“How much else did you see?” you ask.

“You chased after him. Told him about ghosts and death and failure. I’ve never seen you that angry. Even with the cab driver today, your eyes didn’t look the same as they had then,” Echo says.

“Yeah, that was all of it,” you say.

“And things changed after that?” he says.

You nod. “Honestly, I think I knocked some respect into him. Of everyone in the squad, he was the last to really accept me. After I’d hit him the first time, General Skywalker told me to go get some air, so I went back to the ship and tried to get a hold of myself. Crosshair followed me,” you say, and Echo looks surprised.

“Why? Did he not get enough of a rise out of you?” he says.

“Y’know, I thought the same thing, but no, that wasn’t it. I told him I wasn’t going to apologize, and told me that I shouldn’t. ‘It’s about time you stood up to me,’ he said. I don’t know if all his bullshit before was some kind of hazing thing or what, but it stopped after that,” you say. “Well, there was the second time, but that's it. Everyone else was getting into the ship and I was the last one in, so he’d gotten my attention and said, I remember this very clearly too, he said ‘Meds! You coming or what?’,” you say. “It was the first time anyone had ever called me that, he came up with it just then. Maybe it’s silly, but I finally felt like part of the group after that,” you say, smiling without realizing it.

“I don’t think it’s silly. Makes perfect sense to me,” Echo says. “But he’d gotten to you again, before you all found me,” he says.

“That’s right. You all keep saying that you’ve never seen me that angry? Well, I’ve never felt that angry before in my entire life. I’d finally hit my breaking point, and I just unloaded everything on him. Everyone heard me, even Rex and the General from a few dozen meters away. Rex didn’t know why I’d taken the new assignment until then. But, to stay on track, after a few minutes, once I was through, Crosshair admitted he deserved it,” you say.

“Goddamn right he did,” Echo mutters.

You ignore this and continue talking. “Later on Anaxes, when we first brought you back, after the um, misunderstanding you and I had,” you say, Echo grimacing, “I just shut myself away in my bunk. He managed to calm me down. Not long after that, I filled the guys in on what happened to me between when I lost you and when I found them. While I was talking, he actually went out of his way to apologize to me, in front of everyone else,” you say.

“I call bullshit,” Echo says in disbelief.

“Yep,” you say, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “He really did. We were all just as shocked as you are now,” you say, laughing a little. “His attitude changed completely after that. I swear, it’s like he’s a different person now,” you say, before lapsing into silence again.

Echo is about to ask you what else happened, but you beat him to it.

“You remember that weird rock you picked up for me?” you say, sounding far away. Echo nods. “Short version, I lost it while we were getting you out of Purkoll. He found it and held onto it for me,” you say, smiling softly. “He gave it back just before you and I were able to talk. That’s… when my own feelings started changing,” you say, choosing your words carefully.

You pause again, though not quite as long as before. “While you were in the bacta tank, I realized that I would have to decide whether or not I’d leave the squad and go back with you. I remember talking about it on the ship with Wrecker, then Crosshair walked in with a smart comment I can’t recall, and Wrecker fired back at him by saying he was in love with me,” you say.

Echo leans forward to get a better look at you, an eyebrow raised. “And…?” he says, encouraging you to continue and sounding oddly amused.

“Tech basically confirmed it. Cross wouldn’t look at me at all. I could kind of feel something coming off of him, and that’s when I knew Wrecker wasn’t really joking,” you say.

“You felt something?” Echo says.

“Kind of, it was like sensing someone’s mood before speaking to them,” you explain. It’s not a lie, but it isn’t the entire truth either, and conflict bubbles up inside your gut. It’s quiet for a minute or so.

“You and I both know there’s more to this thing with him than that,” Echo says softly.

You sigh heavily. “I think it was either later that day or very early on the next day, when you told me to stay away from you,” you say, and Echo shifts uncomfortably, moving away from you just enough to be noticeable. You move to the side and close the gap again. “He found me right afterward. I got to talking about it, and I said that the question of where I would go was basically decided then and there,” you say.

You can tell Echo wants to say something again, but after you give him a chance to speak and he doesn’t, you continue. “I told myself as soon as I’d calmed down after you stormed off on that first day, that if you didn’t want me around, as much as it would fucking hurt, I’d respect that. What mattered most to me was, and still is, that you’re safe, whether I’m with you or not. So, yeah, the decision was made for me at that point,” you say. “I’d said as much to him, and he admitted that Wrecker wasn’t entirely wrong about him. He said that he wanted me to stay, but not like that. We just kinda sat there for a while afterwards,” you say.

“And when you tried to talk to me later on, and he came with you,” Echo says, trailing off before lapsing into silence. Neither of you needed to recount that fiasco again.

You awkwardly cleared your throat. “Yes. Right after, he caught me in the hall, and I snapped at him. We split off and I eventually calmed down. I found him back at the ship and we both kinda apologized to each other,” you say, and unconsciously rub at the faded mark on your neck.

“So that’s when-?” Echo says, looking at it. You nod apologetically, and have to force yourself to meet his eyes.

“Why?” he asks. He doesn’t sound angry, but you still hesitate.

You take a deep breath. “You and I were through at that point, in my mind. I didn’t mean to just,” you pause, waving your arms up and dropping them back down onto your lap. “Especially that soon. But I, um, got swept up in him. It didn’t get any further than this,” you say, rubbing at the mark again.

Echo doesn’t say anything, but he hasn’t looked away from you or changed his blank expression. “So, when did you really know?” he asks quietly. “When we heard you in the bunks, I saw how he ran to you. The same way I did,” he says.

You think for a second. “After I got shot,” you say. “On the way back, he helped me patch myself up. I couldn’t move right to get the bandages on, so he did that for me,” you say. You shift, lifting the side of your tunic up, and you both get a look at the partially-healed injury. All it needs at this point is a thin layer of bacta and a light wrap, and it already looks significantly better than it did a few days ago.

“I can’t really pin down exactly what it was or why, but I knew then,” you say, tugging your shirt back down. “You started waking up and he told me to focus on you before he left the bunks,” you say.

Echo still doesn’t speak, but it looks like he’s starting to understand.

“I mentioned that last part for a reason, Echo,” you say, quietly but firmly. “He knows you were here first. He’s been nothing but respectful of that,” you say.

Echo appears to be thinking hard, likely reflecting on the days since he’d joined the squad, then eventually speaks. “Now that you’ve pointed it out, I guess I did notice that,” he says, then thinks for another few seconds before saying your name. “I need to ask you something,” he says. You feel a nervous knot form in your stomach, but nod. “Do you care about him?” he says.

You nod again. “I do,” you say.

Echo goes quiet once more. When he next speaks, you can tell he’s having a hard time getting the words out, and you can feel the conflict within him. He says your name again. “You’ve been through so much. I just want you to be happy, you deserve it after everything you’ve done, and not just for me. If… if being with him is what you want, then,” he stops, struggling with the words. “Then I’ll step back,” he says.

Your jaw drops. “Echo, you can’t be serious?” you say, incredulous.

“I am. If that’s what you really want,” he says. You meet his eyes and an odd mixture of love and hurt wash over you, and you both fall into another silence.

He’s startled when you suddenly start laughing. Not loudly, but enough to break the tension. He looks at you, confused, and you take a second to calm down.

“You know what I really want?” you ask, and he shakes his head. “I want to be selfish,” you say, turning around and falling onto your back again, giggling.

“Goddamn it, I’ve spent all of my time in the past few years putting everyone else first, I’d like to do what I want for a change. I want to be selfish and maybe even a little greedy,” you say.

Echo looks at you with an expression that comes across as ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ and you laugh a little harder.

“I want both of you,” you say simply, smirking.

“You, you really,” he says, stumbling over his words in surprise. He clears his throat. “I didn’t think that was an option,” he says.

“Well, why not? You two haven’t beaten each other up yet,” you say, sitting back up with a shrug.

Echo laughs a little and incredulously shakes his head at you. “I mean, you aren’t wrong,” he says.

“Just an idea,” you say. “You two should have a chat and let me know what you decide,” you continue with a smile.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” he says, still sounding surprised. You simply nod at him with a girlish giggle.

You take a moment to calm down, then soberly take Echo’s hand. “But, to be clear, I won’t do anything you aren’t okay with,” you say.

“But you just said-,” he says, confused again.

“There is no way I’d be okay with knowing that you’re miserable, whether I get what I want or not. I didn’t mean that kind of selfish,” you say, trying to sound as earnest as you can. You meant every word and you need Echo to believe you. He meets your eyes for the first time in several minutes, and he seems to understand.

You watch him for a moment as he mulls over everything he’s seen between you and him, and you and Crosshair, over the past few weeks. You nervously chew your lip.

“You don’t need to decide right this second,” you say softly, yet he still looks pensive.

He meets your eyes again and his expression softens considerably. He takes you by surprise when he leans forward and kisses you, then pulls back a second later. “I’ll talk if he’ll talk,” he says.

Your eyes light up, and you sit a little straighter. “You mean it? Like, you're genuinely okay with it?” you ask.

“Yes,” he says without hesitation.

You lurch forward and hug him tightly, whispering a soft “thank you” as you do.

Despite all the talking you’ve done, there’s still so much left to discuss and explain, so you both agree to take a short break before you continue to monologue at him. You quickly use the refresher, and when you step back out into the room, you find Echo on the balcony with the door open, staring out over the city. You join him, also leaning onto the half-wall. He hesitates, then puts his scomp arm around you, relaxing significantly when you don’t flinch. He looks over at you and pecks your cheek before saying a soft thank you.

Your skin tingles when his lips leave your cheek, and you feel a light heat spreading across your face. “For what?” you ask.

“Being so honest with me about everything,” he says, pulling you closer.

You’re quiet for a moment, lost in thought. You let out a long breath, and turn to face him. “I haven’t told you everything yet,” you say.

“You don’t have to,” he says.

You shake your head for what felt like the hundredth time that day. “Yes, I do,” you say.

“You really don’t,” Echo insists.

“We got the tough stuff out of the way already, there’s no point in putting off the rest,” you say, turning around and moving to head back inside. You don’t get very far before you feel Echos hand on your shoulder, holding you back.

“Let’s talk out here, it’s too stuffy inside,” he says, and you half-shrug before returning to his side, but sitting on the floor and leaning back against the half-wall. You stare up at the sky without really seeing it as Echo follows suit.

He takes your hand into his. “Whenever you’re ready, Meds,” he says.

This is the first time he’s used your Batch name, and you look over at him, surprised by it. He kind of shrugs and says “That’s what everyone else in the squad calls you, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. I’m the medic,” you chuckle.

Echo softly smiles at you. “Well, if I’m going to be part of the team I should call you that too. Unless you don’t want me to?” he says, searching your face.

“I don’t mind,” you say, scooting a little closer to him and resting your head in the hollow of his shoulder. Aside from the persistent noise of Coruscant traffic, it’s quiet.

“So… you and Rex got into an argument?” he asks, bringing you back into the conversation from earlier.

You sigh, tired, and nod. You recount the angry words that were spat between you and the Captain back in the Marauders cockpit.

“Ohh, that’s why,” Echo says under his breath.

You sit up a little and look at him, confused. “Why what?” you ask, frowning.

Echo quickly tells you about the short talk he and Crosshair had before Rex stormed by and interrupted. “He mumbled something about hypocrisy while he passed. I went after him and asked what you’d said but he wouldn’t tell me. Though, judging by the ‘fuck you’ we all heard, it wasn’t good,” he says.

“Shit, that’s right, you were just outside of the door,” you say, embarrassed.

Echo nods at you. He appears to be deep in thought about something, and you could tell he wanted to comment on everything you’d told him, so you waited for him to speak.

“You know something? I’d say he’s a hypocrite too,” he eventually says. You make a surprised sound, and he continues; “you were right, my situation was no different from Fives’, even if Rex was right about me,” he says.

You study his expression and see his frown deepen. “But that’s not what bothers you, is it?” you ask.

“He was out of line, going after you personally like that,” Echo says.

You quickly tell him how Rex had found you alone and on your knees before Crosshair. “I promise you it wasn’t what it looked like, but that’s what he walked in on,” you say, and to your relief, Echo seems to believe you.

“Context is important,” he says, and you both chuckle. “Okay, so that explains why Rex was so pissed, but that's still no excuse for it,” he says.

“Did you tell him about the uh, split? At any point? The way he said I replaced you so quickly again was almost exactly what you had said,” you say.

Echo shakes his head. “No, not a word. I didn’t talk to anyone after you left until the briefing,” he says.

“That’s a hell of a coincidence then,” you say. You two sit quietly for another minute or so. Eventually, Echo speaks.

“I’m sorry for what he said to you. He’s always been protective of us, maybe a little too much,” Echo says.

“Don’t apologize for him. Even if I disagree with his reasoning for saying what he did, I understand why he said it,” you say. “And do me a favor? Don’t bring it up with him, please,” you say. Echo blinks at you, confused. “We both said sorry and it’s done with. No point in dredging it back up,” you explain. Echo frowns, but nods.

“Thank you,” you say.

“So that’s what started everything in the bunks?” he asks.

You sigh, tired, then repeat what you had told the General earlier. This time, Echo doesn’t interrupt, listening carefully to your words. You tell him how intrigued General Skywalker is about it all, and he nods, understanding.

“Yeah, I’d like some answers myself,” he says, then pauses, counting off on his fingers silently again. “I think that was everything on the list,” he says, pulling you closer to him.

You hesitate, again. Every fiber of your being is screaming at you to leave it there, but you take another deep breath. “There’s… one last thing,” you say.

Echo can hear the reluctance and anxiety in your voice, and shifts himself so that he’s sitting directly across from you. “What?” he asks, concern etched into his features.

“I-,” you say, then stop yourself again. You look at the worry on Echo's face, and despite the pit in your stomach, you open your mouth to speak.

“I’m force-sensitive,” you say, so quietly that he almost doesn’t hear you. “That’s what those dreams were; you at the citadel and again before our last mission. The two things with Fives, that’s what the General and I are so focused on, since it’s apparently so uncommon,” you say.

“Okay… and?” he asks. “I get that this is important, but I don’t get why you’re acting like it’s some big secret,” he says.

“I’ll get to that in just a minute,” you say.

“Uh, ok. Continue on then,” he says.

“It’s more than just dreams now,” you say.

“Like what?” he asks.

“I can sense things. It’s almost like a gut feeling, but much more intense. When I left the Generals office after I asked about our shared dream, a strange, well, force, seemed to be saying to me with an almost scary urgency that I shouldn’t tell anyone else,” you say.

“Does anyone else know? Besides the General and I,” he asks, concern deepening on his face.

“I’ve told Rex about the dreams where I can see what’s currently happening somewhere else, but that’s it. He’s not an idiot by any means though, I’m sure he’ll figure it out if he hasn’t already,” you say.

“How long have you known?” Echo asks, but he doesn’t sound angry or accusing.

“Since they put you in the bacta tank,” you say. “Between everything else happening and the strong feeling of ‘hey keep it quiet’ I just never said anything. I was actually talking about that with General Skywalker earlier today, while Shalka was working on you,” you explain.

“If it’s so important, apparently, why did you just tell me?” he asks, looking confused again.

“I hated the idea of keeping something from you. I knew it would come back to bite me if I kept quiet,” you say.

“What about Crosshair and the others?” Echo asks, noticing when you hesitate this time.

“I… I don’t think I’ll tell them, at least not yet. I really wish there was a way to put this powerful feeling of dread into words, but I simply can’t describe it. I just know, instinctively I guess, that something is off, somehow, and I think it’ll be bigger than just us and the squad,” you say, after some thought.

“Well that’s cryptic,” Echo says with a smirk. “You already sound like a Jedi,” he says, making you laugh.

“General Skywalker told me that I’m unusual in a few ways,” you say.

“I’m sure I could name a few,” Echo says, laughing when you huff at him.

“It’s weird that the abilities have manifested so late, and that they’re getting stronger, at least according to him,” you say. “I told you I’m meeting with him again tomorrow; that wasn’t entirely true. He’s going to have me meet someone who can take me into the Jedi Archives to try and find anything I can on all of this,” you say.

“Guess I’ll be going back to Shalka’s alone tomorrow then,” Echo says.

“Actually, if it’s okay with you, I was thinking of asking Tech or one of the guys to go with you,” you say.

Echo appears to think for a moment, then shrugs. “Yeah, that’s fine. If I’m going to be a part of the team then I need to know everyone a little better anyway,” he says.

You grip his shoulder, then he shifts and lies on his back with his head resting on your thighs, looking up at you while you try to remember what you were saying before getting distracted.

“You can sense things,” he says, steering you back on track.

“That’s where we were, thanks. Yeah, I can sense what someone’s feeling, and I can sort of tell what they're thinking,” you say. “When I said I could ‘feel’ something from Crosshair, that’s what I meant.

Echo frowns at you. You demonstrate for him, closing your eyes and steadying your breathing. “You’re confused. You’ve heard so much at once that it’s hard to understand it all,” you say.

“True, but that’s not very hard to figure out,” he says, sounding skeptical.

With your eyes still closed, you keep talking. “When I showed up with Crosshair, back in Kix’s office, it was obvious that you were angry. But there was something else. I could feel it again when I told you what Fives said about nightmares. It’s fear Echo,” you say, finally opening your eyes and looking into his, and a strong wave of it washes over you from his direction, as he sits back up. “Even now, I can feel it,” you say.

The shock on his face tells you that he believes you, and you hold his hand and scomp in your own hands, shuffling forward and pressing your lips to his forehead. “I don’t know what it is, or why, but something has been scaring you, and for a very long time,” you say quietly. “Now, I can’t ‘read your mind’, it doesn’t work like that. But I can feel the anxiety in you, Echo. I’m not going to ask about it. You can talk to me about that whenever you’re ready, alright?” you say with finality.

Echo, looking dazed, nods at you.

“There” you sigh, sounding massively relieved. “Now that’s everything.”

You back away. “What do you need from me right now?” you softly ask. He looks over at you, still confused. “Should I leave you alone for a little while?” you clarify.

Looking like his thoughts were miles away, he nods at you. “Y-yeah. I… I think I need a minute,” he says.

“Okay,” you say, kissing his forehead again. “I’m going to talk to Tech for a little while. I’ll have my comm,” you continue, getting to your feet.

He nods again, and watches you walk into the room, slip a pair of shoes on, then leave through the door.

—

The door to your room slides closed behind you, and you lean heavily against it. You tilt your head back and stare at the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, your mind and heart racing. It was done. Echo knows everything now, for better or worse. Much like when you told the squad about what happened to you, you feel physically lighter, but the relief you should also be feeling is overtaken by a sense of dread. You still aren’t sure if telling Echo about your Force abilities was a good idea or not, and the feeling that you shouldn’t tell anyone else deepens even further, making you shiver. You don’t notice the door on your left sliding open and someone walking into the hall.

“So, how long are you going to stand here?”

You’re startled by the sudden drawl of Crosshair's voice and jump a little, cursing. “Dank Ferrik, how long have you been there!” you half-shout.

He laughs in response, shaking his head at you. “Long enough to see that you need a drink,” he says.

“Yeah, I really do,” you say, standing normally again. “There’s a bar on the roof,” you say, stretching your shoulders.

Crosshair turns toward the lifts at the other end of the hallway, then looks back at you from over his shoulder. “You coming?” he says, and it sounds like he’s hoping you’ll say yes.

“In a minute,” you say, glancing at the door to his room. “Tech back from working on the ship yet?” you ask.

Crosshair laughs again, turning around to face you fully. “You and I both know that he won’t take a break unless you tell him to,” he says.

“Uh, I didn’t know that,” you say, taken aback. “Since when?” you ask.

Crosshair raises an eyebrow at you. “You’ve been with us for this long and never noticed?” he asks in response.

“Apparently not,” you say. “Why me?” you ask, puzzled.

“Hell if I know,” he says with a shrug. “He probably hasn’t learned to ignore you like the rest of us yet,” he says, making you laugh a little. “He’s got his comm on him though, if you really need to talk to him,” he says.

“I’ll do that after I have a drink,” you say, taking a few steps forward.

“Does talking to him stress you out that much?” Crosshair says with a smirk.

“Oh ha ha,” you say, rolling your eyes as you walk past him and towards the lifts. You tap the button and step inside, turning back to see Crosshair jogging after you, slipping into the lift just before the door fully closes.

“Thanks for holding the door,” he says, snarky as always. You roll your eyes at him and press the topmost button.

There are twenty-eight floors between your rooms and the bar, and at the speed the lift is going, you know it’ll be a few minutes before you reach the top.

Crosshair seems to realize this at the same time as you, and you catch him watching you with a familiar look in his eye. You lean with your back against the wall and smirk at him, silently daring him to try something. Your eyes meet, you feel your brain buzz, and you’re hit with an also-familiar sensation of want radiating off of him. He takes a step toward you, then pauses, inclining his head in your direction. You bite your lip and nod at him.

The next thing you know, he’s standing close enough for your chests to bump together as the lift moves, bracing a hand against the wall just above your shoulder, and tangling his other hand into your hair, pulling you forward into him as your mouths clash together. His smoky taste floods your senses and you grab onto his shoulders, pulling him even closer to you. The lift jolts, and Crosshairs knee ends up between your legs, making you gasp.

He breaks away from you and growls lowly into your ear. The sound, in combination with his hot breath on your neck, makes you shiver with arousal. He grinds his knee up into you, and you let out a soft moan. The hand that was braced against the wall slides down to your waist, then cautiously moves upwards under your tunic, being careful to avoid your bandages. The light brush of his fingers against your skin gives you goosebumps.

Your lips meet again, and the hand he had on the back of your head drops to your ass, pulling your lower half towards him. As he does, he shifts his knee upwards again, making the seam of your leggings rub deliciously against your swollen clit, and you moan again, but much louder. He repeats the motion, the resulting friction turning you into a whining mess in his hands. The hand that had moved under your tunic has now reached your breasts, and Crosshair groans as he feels you up over your bra.

After a few seconds, he boldly slides under it, his calloused hand eagerly kneading and groping at your soft, supple skin, all the while never letting up as you grind yourself down onto his thigh. He drags his thumb experimentally over your hardened nipple, and you break the kiss to whine his name.

“Fuck,” he groans, “I will never get tired of hearing you say my name like this.”

Wanting to please him, you rub yourself harder against his leg, moaning his name intermittently. He growls into your ear again, then nips at the skin along your neck, taking care not to leave any marks on you this time. He takes his other hand off of your ass and cups you over the crotch of your leggings. He presses the heel of his hand firmly against your clit, and you whimper, your legs trembling as you clamp them together around his strong thigh.

“That’s it Kitten,” he says, kissing his way back up along your neck. “Come for me,” he whispers into your ear. At the same moment, the lift rumbles, and his hand pushes against you perfectly, sending you over the edge. Before you can make another sound, he crashes his lips to yours, greedily swallowing your every gasp and moan as your entire body spasms under his touch.

Just as the lift reaches the top floor, you come back down from orbit, gasping for air and hastily pulling your clothes back into place before the lift doors open.

—

A few hours pass, and you’ve only taken two or three shots of Corellian Whisky since sliding into a booth near the half-wall with Crosshair. He’s had a lot more than you, and it seems to be taking effect.

You absently stare down at the city below and shake your head, chuckling.

“Something interesting down there?” he says, smirking at you.

“Wrecker would fucking hate this,” you say, laughing a little.

Crosshair agrees with you, then knocks back another shot. “So,” he says, leaning towards you. “The hell you been all day?” he asks, watching you closely.

“Well, after the cab driver debacle, we did manage to make it to Shalkas place,” you say, then pour yourself another shot. Rather than downing it all at once, you take small sips of it, and Crosshair laughs at you. You roll your eyes, then continue: “Thankfully she was running behind, so us being so damn late wasn’t a big deal. She was only able to get some preliminary stuff done though, and she needs him back first thing tomorrow and for the next few days to get it done before we ship out again.”

“Shalka, I know that name,” Crosshair says, eyeing the whisky bottle. He goes to grab for it but you snatch it up before he can.

“You’ve had enough, hotshot,” you say. You hand the bottle back to the service droid that brought it to you. “And you should know the name, you were in the cockpit with Hunter when I told him why I wanted to come here and meet her,” you say, finishing off what was left of your shot in a single gulp.

“Yeah, the arm lady,” he says. “So you’re taking the reg worth something back again tomorrow?” he asks.

“His name is Echo, Cross,” you say, shifting backwards away from him. “And I can’t, I have a meeting at the same time tomorrow morning,” you say. He tilts his head to one side and blinks at you, and you can’t help but laugh at him, he looks so much like a confused loth wolf pup. “I’m going back to see Kix about my side,” you say, startled by how easy it was to lie to him. He’s drunk anyway, so it’s not like he’s paying that much attention, you think, trying to shrug it off.

“So you want Tech to go with him,” Crosshair says. He snickers. “You won’t get him away from that ship unless you go down there and drag him out,” he says. He startles you by suddenly standing and moving to sit next to you on the other side of the table. “I’ll go,” he says, throwing an arm around your shoulders.

“No you won’t, you’re only saying that because you’re drunk,” you say, rolling your eyes again.

“Hey now, hey hey,” he says, scooting closer and resting his head on your shoulder. “That’s not true. Since he’s so important to you I wanna know why,” he says.

“Ok, now I know you’ve had too much,” you say, nudging him off of you. He straightens up and looks offended, in a drunken way.

“Wake me up in the morning then,” he says, trying to look you in the eye, but missing by about six inches. “I’ll do it,” he says.

“If you say so,” you say, nudging him again so he would get out of your way. He stands, but stumbles, and you catch him with the help of a passing waitress. “Sorry about him,” you say to her, pulling him back upright.

“I’m used to it hon. At least he didn’t throw up on me,” she says, waving it off. “He’s definitely done, you good too?” she asks.

You say yes, then reach for your wallet, which you now realize you left back in your room. You tell her and apologize again.

“I’ll just bill it to your room. You’re not the first one who’s forgotten something,” she says. You tell her your room number, then thank her as you grab Crosshair by the elbow and move him towards the lifts with you.

You hit the button, and the same lift you came up in opens. You firmly push him inside, following just in time to catch him before he stumbles over his long legs again. You tap the button for your floor, and once the door closes and the lift moves, you turn your attention back to the inebriated man leaning heavily into you.

“You know, speaking of our rooms,” he says, and tries to position himself in front of you like he’d been on the ride up, but instead just awkwardly bumps into you. “There’s a door that connects ours. My side has been unlocked since we got here,” he continues.

“That sounds secure,” you say sarcastically.

“Listen Kitten, if someone were to break through that door that means they’d have to go through your room first. He may be missing an arm but Echo is a decent shot, and you’re better, so I doubt they’d get very far,” he says.

“Crosshair,” you say, cooing at him, “did you just say I’m a good shot?”

“Did I?” he asks. After pausing for a second, he keeps talking. “Well, you are now,” he says.

“That’s high praise, coming from you,” you say with a smirk.

“That’s because I’m the best, babe,” he says, making you laugh. “You’re really pretty when you do that laughing thing,” he says, looking at you with a soft expression.

“Cross. You’re drunk,” you say, again.

“Doesn’t change the fuckin’ truth! I’ve thought you were gorgeous from the moment I met’cha,” he says earnestly.

Out of curiosity, you try to get a ‘read’ on him. The buzz in your mind is faint this time, but you are able to pick up sincerity, much to your surprise.

The lift shudders, and Crosshair stumbles again, leaning more of his weight onto you, and your chests press against each other. You search his face and the unguarded adoration you find in his eyes startles you. Before you can really process this, the lift comes to a shaky stop, and when the door slides open, you find Hunter standing on the other side, looking thoroughly unamused.

“I should’ve figured that’s where you were,” he says with a shake of his head. “How much did he have?” he asks, pulling Crosshair off of you.

“I have no idea, but a hell of a lot more than me,” you say, following them back into the hallway.

“I can see that,” Hunter says, rolling his eyes. “Come on brother, let’s get you to bed,” he says, firmly gripping Crosshair's shoulder and steering him back towards his room. You stay close behind, shaking your head as you walk.

You all reach your cluster of rooms, and the door to Crosshairs slides open. Before Hunter drags him inside, he makes a ‘come here’ gesture at you. This should be interesting, you think, and humor him.

When you come to a stop, Crosshair shuffles away from Hunter and manages to stand on his own. He cups your cheek and softly smiles at you. “I meant it, wake me up in the morning,” he says.

“If she doesn’t, I will,” Hunter interjects.

“You,” Crosshair says, waving his other hand at him. “Go away.”

Hunter obviously ignores this, but does step back a little, giving you two some breathing room.

“I meant that other thing too,” Crosshair says. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful. Goodnight, Kitten,” he says, kissing your lips. The unexpected softness from him makes your heart race.

“Goodnight hot shot,” you say in return.

Crosshair turns and weaves his way towards one of the beds and falls over onto it. Hunter, whom you realize could probably hear your heart thundering in your chest, looks over at you and crosses his arms with a bemused expression.

“Kitten?” he says with a smirk. Your cheeks grow warm, but you don’t acknowledge it. “So, what’s he getting up for?” Hunter asks, glancing over his shoulder at Crosshair, who seems to be asleep, or unconscious, already.

“Echo needs to be at the mechanic's place at the same time I’m seeing Kix for my side tomorrow morning. I was going to ask Tech if he’d mind going with him, but Crosshair insisted,” you say. You don’t like how easily you can lie to Hunter too, but shake it off.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Hunter says, raising an eyebrow at you.

“He and Echo need to have a conversation anyway,” you say with a shrug.

“What about?” he asks, sounding suspicious.

You pause for a second and decide to be transparent with him. “Whether or not they can be civil enough to both be with me,” you say casually.

Hunters expression changes to surprise. “Really?” he says. You simply nod at him. “Well, I’m not going to stop you, but for the love of the Maker, the team has to come first,” he says, stern.

“Of course Sarge,” you say. “Goodnight Hunter.”

He smirks at you again, and says “Goodnight kitten,” as you step through the door to your own room, cheeks blazing.

————

Taglist: @kaminocasey @madameminor @grievouus @wolveria @zoeykallus @jennamelinda12 @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @whore4rex @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @thelux1007

To be added to or removed from this list, reply to this post.

#my fics #series #tcw echo/you #tcw echo/reader #tcw echo #tbb echo/reader #tbb echo/you #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #tbb crosshair/you

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kloofspeaks · 1 year

Text

Mistletoe | A Robert 'Bob' Floyd One-shot

Words: 1218

Sneakpeek:

“Just like how you deal with me?” She asked, having a snarky grin spread on her smooth face, “I’m always willing to deal with you, doll.”

“That’s a new one, what’s got you in such a pet-name mood?” She raised a brow once more, Bob rarely used pet names unless he needed something from Y/N, or was severely drunk from Rooster berating him with a bunch of unneeded drinks and pep-talks.

“I think it’s the mistletoe,” She rolled her eyes at his silly words, “A pair of leaves made you spill a pet name? Where’s Floyd and what have you done with him?” She went to give him a teasing shove but he grabbed her hand in a swift motion, it made her look at him funny.

(Tags: @notyoursbutlewis, @callmemana, @viothewolx, @bayisdying)

“Have you ever wondered what a mistletoe really is?” Bob spoke as he was hanging up the final touches around the apartment, Y/N looked over at him with a questioning glance, “I don’t wonder what plants are, Floyd.”

“Most people don’t,” He breathed out, jumping down from the ladder with a small thump as he pushed his silver-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, his eyes looking her over, “Which is why I’m asking,”

“Aren’t they just plants people hang to drag a simple kiss out of somebody, Floyd?” She personally didn’t fall for the simple kiss underneath a mistletoe, she normally avoided them at all costs.

“They also have a lot of romantic meanings behind them,” He was getting all snarky as he finished placing the mistletoe in place, they had a party coming up with the rest of the pilots, Bob figured it would be bitterly sweet to have a mistletoe to change someone’s day.

“I thought we stopped speaking all about the floral languages when winter hit,” Y/N perked a brow at him, she loved when he spoke in beautiful detail about his love for flowers, their languages always charmed her, but during winter it was hard to share his love when they all welted from the intense snow and growing ice.

“We do, I’m just saying,” Bob had a small smile on his lips as he stood in the doorway with his hands on his fine hips, he was making sure it was just right, he arched his back so he could look at Y/N from a weird angle to make her smile, “Can you come and help me with centering this?”

Y/N gave him a flat glance, “Are you trying to get a kiss out of me, Floyd?” Bob shrugged, “Depends if it’s magic powers even work,” He had a soft chuckle escape his lips, “I’ll help, but I don’t want any forced kisses from that mouth of yours.”

She made her way over to where Bob was standing, her hands resting on her hips when she was mere-feet away from him, “Why’s it have to be perfectly centered? It seems to look fine to me,” it was hanging slightly crooked, she could see it, but she also wasn’t irritated like Bob who was frustrated with how it hung.

“I just want it to be perfect,” He tried to move it again which made it worse, “Here, Floyd, let me try.”

She moved up towards him, they both were standing underneath the sweet mistletoe, she used Bob’s chest to balance herself as she stood up on her tippy-toes, she struggled but finally got the plant to hang straight, she looked down at Bob who gave her a nod of approval before falling flat on her soles.

“See, that wasn't hard was it?” She looked up at the now swaying plant as it was rebalancing itself, “You didn’t make it look hard,” She was slightly shorter than Bob so it made her confused on why he would struggle so much with trying to center a mistletoe.

“I always don’t make anything look hard,” She muttered, her eyes falling on Bob, he was looking up at the mistletoe, they both were proud of the hidden plant, the plant that sometimes had people fall into a kiss underneath it, or get in an argument about having to kiss someone they hated.

“I wouldn’t say always,” Bob muttered.

“I’m hurt by those words, Floyd,” She teased, pushing up his falling glasses once more, “I don’t understand how you fly in these, they almost fall all the time,” She felt like she was always pushing up his classy glasses, the ones that made their eyes connect at The Hard Deck that one summer evening, the one night where he mentioned they were practically going on a suicide mission, he kept talking like he would never see her again.

“I deal with it,” He had a charming smile, his eyes soft as he gazed over every detail on her toned and fragile face, the way her skin seemed to melt underneath the lit candles from the kitchen that was right behind Bob, the song Last Christmas by Wham! Hummed in the background, it was one of Bob’s favorites.

“Just like how you deal with me?” She asked, having a snarky grin spread on her smooth face, “I’m always willing to deal with you, doll.”

“He’s right here,” Bob laughed at her comment, his hand letting go of her small one, his hand finding a way to rest on her hip, “Did you want to test the mistletoe?” Now, it all made sense on why Bob dragged her over here to help, the changing of the mistletoe, the staring, the pet names, he wanted a sweet kiss from his loving lady.

She tilted her head at him, her eyes making a narrowed look up at what she called a pair of leaves just moments ago, “Your glasses are going to get in the way, Bobby,” She spoke softly, she felt as if her voice could swallow her whole.

“They never gotten in the way before,” She snorted at what he probably called an excuse of an kiss, “You mean the drunk, half hearted kiss we had at The Hard Deck the day before your suicide flight?”

“No the other one,” She looked up at him confused, “What other one?” She was suddenly pulled up to her tippy-toes from Bob’s arm wrapped around her waist, she was brought into a silver lining kiss, one that sparkled and shined more than the star that sat on the top of their tree.

The kiss was one she could relive in every movement, her heart and soul both melted with love when she felt his soft lips against her own for longer than a second, longer than the sloppy kiss they shared that one scary night.

She could remember the song playing when they first kissed, it was a smooth Otis Redding song that Rooster has chosen to play over the machine, Hangman had a small attitude from the Chicken’s sudden change of his rock, the unplugging of the machine to play an old folks song on the piano, she remembered laughing and slurring her words to her delight.

But Bob had kissed her better this time, it wasn’t sloppy, it wasn’t done with grown men arguing over a music machine, it didn’t have two other pilots fighting with pool cues like they were swords. It was just her and floyd in that moment,

It was the mistletoe that brought them together,

The mistletoe she simply called a pair of leaves.

#Kloofwriting #tgm #robert x female reader #robert bob floyd x you #robert 'bob' floyd #robert bob floyd #bradley rooster bradshaw #jake hangman seresin #christmas #top gun #top gun maverick #oNE OUT OF THE TWO CHRISTMAS SPECIALS FR

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c-m-stuff · 1 year

Text

Hard Time

-Description: You and Spencer are together. When a certain person left, you both had a hard time.

-Warnings: Angst, fluffiness, 2x23 spoilers, 3x1 spoilers, 3x2 spoilers

-Word count: 1892

-Note: This is officially my 50th story. I can't believe it, I made it this far. I want to thank all of you, for reading, voting, commenting, and much more. You guys are the ones that keep me going, motivating me. Thank you.

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_________________________

Y/N POV:

I was sitting on the couch, waiting for Spencer to come back. He went to Jason's cabin, checking up on him. He didn't appeared for work, and doesn't answer his phone. We all were worried. We all could see, he changed after Sarah, an old college friend, got murdered. We could see, he wasn't himself anymore, taking the blame, he doesn't deserve. I understand, losing a loved one is horrible. But, this behavior wasn't Jason. He would never ignore us like that, especially not Spencer.

Suddenly, the door unlocked, my boyfriend arriving back home.

'Was he there?' I asked, but immediately sensed that something was wrong.

'No, but his badge and gun were there.' he avoided eye contact, but I could hear, he has been crying.

'I'm going to take a shower.' he quickly spoke, and placed the stuff on the table.

Now, definitely something was up. As soon as he left out of sight, I went to the table. Spencer mentioned his badge and gun, but not the envelope, his name was written on. I know, it was wrong, but I needed to know what was going on. So, I took the envelope, and sat back on the couch. When I opened it, a long letter revealed. I began reading:

_________________________

Letter Jason:

Spencer,

I knew it would be you who came to the cabin to check on me.

You must be frightened, I apologize for that. I never meant to cause you any pain. But then I also never envisioned writing this letter. I've searched for a satisfactory explanation for what I'm doing, all I've come up with is: a profiler needs to have solid footing. I- I don't think I do anymore. The world confuses me. The cruelty, indifference, tragedy.

When my dear friend Sarah was murdered, it tore a hole in me, and I truly believed the way to handle the pain was to get back to our work as quickly as possible. Get on to helping somebody else. I thought I could handle Sarah's murder, work through it.

On the very first case we had after, it was on a college campus.

You see, I met Sarah at college, on a campus just like that one 31 years ago. Campuses are supposed to be places of life and excitement. They're supposed to be about the future. Figuring out who you are, who you're gonna be. It's supposed to be about dreams, not nightmares. About hope. I really don't understand the world anymore.

All homicide scenes are tragic, but when the victim's someone young, their life ripped away before they've even had a chance to live, it's devastating.

In this line of work, I was afraid I would lose the ability to trust, but I've realized I can't really look at anyone without seeing their death. And as bad as losing faith in humanity seems, losing your faith in happy endings is much worse.

How many victims have we seen? How many crime scenes? Hundreds? Thousand? Pictures of families, victims- both alive and dead. I was always able to stay objective, to stay at arm's length, but now.. all I see is Sarah in them. Nathan Tubbs was easy, but there was a time in my career when I would have asked the question I should have asked- was he too easy?

Biggest trap for a profiler to fall into is pride. Forgetting that for all your skills, profiling is just a tool.

It was like you could physically feel the mood change on the campus. Kids.. they're so resilient. They trust and believe in a way I remember, but can't reach anymore. Like a very old picture. You remember the circumstances, but the feelings, the emotions, they're just out of your grasp. They believed in us. Believed in me. The way Sarah believed in me. And, as with Sarah, I feel that I led them right to the slaughter.

What was I even doing there? How many times have I told you that a profiler cannot do the job if the mind is unfocused? If anything is going on in your personal life, it would cloud your judgement. My mind has never been more unfocused than it was on that campus.

Did I let a lion loose amongst babies? Was my judgement clouded by a need to make someone pay for Sarah's death?

Two more dead. Was it a price that needed to be paid? Is death ever worth it? Was the world always this gray? Is it only in the movies that it's black and white? Was that just an illusion? I used to know. I used to understand my place, my direction, where I was headed.

Profiling requires belief. Belief in the profile, belief in yourself. After Sarah, I no longer trust myself at home. After Tubbs, I no longer trust myself in the field. And without that, I have nothing.

And that was the last domino. The death of that girl. Hotch being suspended over something that was my fault. I said at the beginning of this letter, that I knew it would be you to come up here. I'm so sorry the explanation couldn't be better, Spencer. And I am so sorry that it doesn't make more sense, but I've already told you, I just don't understand any of it anymore.

I'm sorry.

I guess I'm just looking for it again. For the belief I had back in college. The belief I had when I first met Sarah and it all seemed so right. The belief in happy endings.

End letter

_________________________

I am in complete shock. I expected, he needed a break, but quitting the BAU? A tear escaped my eye. It hurts, he isn't even planning on saying goodbye. But, the missing is definitely the worst. I heard the shower stop, and quickly brushed my tear away. Of course, I was sad, but I needed to be strong for Spencer. For him, this was far more worse, than it was for me. Jason was a good friend, and I could always go to him for advice. For some reason, he had always an answer on everything. I'm going to miss him, but the genius is going to miss him much more than me. Jason was like a second father to him. Now there are already two father's who left him.

Spencer walked inside the living room, already wearing his pajamas. I placed the letter back on the table, and took again place in the couch.

'I'm going to bed.' he spoke, again with no eye contact. He wanted to make his way quick to the bedroom, but was hold by me.

'Spencer, wait!' he turned around, for the first time this evening, he made eye contact. He looked sad, tears forming into his eyes.

'Come here.' I motioned for him to come in my arms.

The second I said that, he couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He trew his whole body on the couch, crashing into my arms. He hugged me tight, while crying. I couldn't help, but let my own tears fall down. I tried my hardest to stay quiet, biting on my lip in attempt. I didn't wanted him to know, I was crying myself. I needed to be strong for him.

I played with his brown hair, while he sobbed into my arms. I placed kisses on his head, while still holding him tight. I knew, when I would say something, he could here my voice cracking. He would know, I'm crying myself. But, I didn't had a choice. His whole body was shaking, tears pouring out his eyes. If he didn't calmed down, he would start hyperventilate.

'Love, I need you to calm down. I don't want you to hyperventilate.' I said, softly, my voice cracking in the process.

'Breathe with me, sweetheart. In and out. In and out.' we breathed together, till his breathing was normal again.

He tilted his head up to my gaze, as I gave him a weak smile. Spencer was quick in brushing his tears off, taking now me in his arms. He began slowly rocking me, pressing kisses on my cheek, giving me warmth by just holding me. It was nice, very comforting, and I finally allowed to let the tears fully roll.

'I'm here, beautiful. I'm not leaving, let it all out. I got you.' his voice was sweet, but shaky. I practically could feel, his cries, even though he tried to hide them.

It was the sweetest, but felt strange at the same time. I mean, he comforted me before, as I cried in his arms. But, I still felt the need to comfort him, especially now. This is much worse for Spencer. Jason was one of his best friends. A father figure. With Jason's wisdom and advice, Spencer would always feel better after talking to him. That's why, I felt the need to comfort him.

My cries lessened, and I decided to change roles. I placed myself in a way, I was now able to hold him in my arms. The few tears that were still rolling down my cheeks, I ignored. Spencer looked at me with confusion, his tears also slowing down. My hands played with his hair, placing soft kisses on it.

'What are you doing?'

'Trying to comfort you.' I answered simply.

'But, I was comforting you. You're still crying, why did I needed to stop?' his confuse only grew, and I could see, he was playing the moment back in his mind, trying to figure out why I changed roles so suddenly.

'Spencer, believe me when I say, that I love your cuddles and your comfort. But, I feel like it's my job now, to comfort you. I mean, you have it harder than me. I want to help you.' I admitted, the genius now looking into my eyes.

'You are so wonderful. Finding my well being more important than your own. But, I find yours much more important. Thank you, for always being there for me, for helping and comforting me, for listening to my rambling. Just, thank you. I love you. I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I'm thanking every star who made me meet you.' again, I was tearing up, but this time, it was out of pure love.

'I love you, genius. Why don't we watch a movie? Or if you want to talk about it, or do something else, it's totally fine for me too.' we gave each other a smile, a genuine one this time.

'A movie would be great.'

Eventually, we ended up, falling asleep in each others arms. I never left his side, and he never left mine. Being there for each other, helping each other through it. We were made for one another, everyday was a true bless. For the both of us.

#criminal minds #cm #fanfic #spencer reid #mentioningmargins #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x yn #fluff imagine #angst imagine

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ashpentagram · 1 year

Text

how many of these am I gonna do fr

I’ve been mulling over wasting my time trying to give a whole speech as a decade-long writer about experiencing growth and gaining inspiration from various medias and go into a small dive into how refusing to grow by creating a fervent echo chamber will only harm your process and ruin a pretty feasible creation and turn it into a battlefield that just leaves everybody miserable, as well as leave you as a stunted writer from the early 2010s.

I basically wanna say that Viv has the potential and the resources to grow as a writer. Animator, designer, world-builder — set all of those aside and focus solely on the writing aspect.

Personally, Viv has astounding concepts. Her world creation, introducing these ideas and offering a different perspective are fantastic.

Her execution is piss-poor, to be blunt.

As a small contextual tangent — there’s a sad situation that any sort of critique on her writing is seen as an attack (both by her, and her fans) and anybody who wants to offer any sort of advice or feedback are shunned and written off as haters or nihilistic assholes. Don’t get me wrong, I feel as if there’s an annoying amount of people out there who just really hate Viv and all she is, and that’s stupid. The parasocial breech on both sides of the anti and stan spectrum is so absurd, because you have her crew (I understand they do not fall under parasocial due to actually working / communicating / “knowing” her) claiming her as innocent as a lamb, and her fans praising her like she’s the second-coming of Christ, and then you have antis who attempt to doxx her and send her incessant death threats and slander her name. Neither of these things are appropriate, even if one side is technically positive.

I don’t think Viv is a saint. I don’t think she’s the most atrocious person on the planet. I am simply a fellow writer and creator who is looking at her work and pointing out places where improvement can be made. I would be much more lenient and understanding if she was a beginner or an amateur, but she’s working professionally and has been working professionally for quite some time now. People who act like she’s some helpless writer because she doesn’t have the experience don’t understand she has been making overarching worlds and stories for a decade. As have I.

So, with that preamble aside, I wanna discuss the aforementioned echo chamber Viv has locked herself into. It’s relatively well-known by now that Viv cannot handle criticism. Most amateurs can’t — it’s hard to hear that somebody doesn’t like your work, or experience the initial feeling of not being good enough. I myself for the longest time hid away from criticism and wrote rather harsh responses to people when I got it. That was wrong of me, however I was also only somewhere between 11-15. Viv was 19 or 20 when zoophobia began to release, which to some people would still consider exceptionally young. However it’s been ten years since Zoophobia, and the same writing flaws are apparent.

We’re given a premise — be it simple or not — of a show or a comic that really digs in the interest of the audience. That’s how hooks work, and hooks are not always solid in the sense of being anything more to grab your audience and sit them down to invest in your story — however, when you look at your premise for the story as the hook, and treat it as all that it is, it’s much harder to stray from it and explore different ideas and perspectives without the audience feeling confused as to why so much has changed. In Zoophobia’s case, while yes, it was a hastily dropped project for the sake of Hazbin, it fell rather fast from its initial premise of following Cameron as she navigated her job as a councilor for creatures she was petrified of (hence the name). It was handed to us under the guise of us following her journey as she learned to sympathize with something she feared, as well as aid them despite her wariness and confusion. Granted, it was present throughout most of the comic, which is probably why I enjoyed it more than I currently enjoy Helluva Boss, but it had its moments of teetering away from Cameron — her story was essentially done within the first 7 chapters of the first book. She was warming up to the animals around her, and while she was still tentative, she handled her first counseling case with almost no discomfort. I feel like in the sense her growth was rushed, because Viv really wanted to move on and look to the other cast of the comic, and that’s completely valid. It’s hard not to rush to important parts, but that’s an amateur mistake.

The problem is this mistake never corrected itself due to the filtering of criticism under the pretense of it being nothing more than mindless hate. There is a subtlety to refinement, sure, don’t fix what isn’t broken, but don’t just let it sit and get old and worn either. In Zoophobia the hook was the story. By the end of the released content, the hook was abandoned for the additives, and I do personally enjoy Damian’s moments and learning more about the world, I won’t deny that it strayed very quickly from what grabbed us in the first place. In Helluva Boss, the book was little lowborn demons going to earth and killing people already-dead people wanted offed, as well as the boss of the ragtag team being tied down by the royal he outsmarted. It was an excellent idea, and I was beyond excited to be invested in it. I was invested until about episode 4, with the cracks growing cavernous the longer I mulled over the story and the actual implications and portrayals they were giving us.

I won’t deny that I was perhaps the harshest on episode 4 due to the angels being downright disappointing, but I also recognize that introducing heaven to us in any capacity in Helluva Boss instead of keeping those cards close to the chest for Hazbin was a drastically horrible choice in a writing aspect. Yes, I know there’s an appeal of showing the opposite side of the universe and how there’s an opposite to our main cast, but it shouldn’t have been on the table in the first place. Heaven was securely wrapped in intrigue and mystery for an explicit reason of “demons don’t know angels” hence Charlie’s naïveté. Showing us, and IMP experience angels and heaven was… terrible. It has completely isolated Heaven as a joke of pastel softness instead of a force to be reckoned with. Those exterminators gave us everything we needed to know about heaven and all that should have been given — giving us the CHERUBs in episode 4 has demolished Heaven into a ridiculous joke of “oh well they have these super cool murder angels, but there’s also stupid babies who get bested by Hell’s canonical lowest-born demons :)”

This is poor writing. This is jumping forward and abandoning your hook as easily as it was brought to the audience. Technically episode 2 was the first drop of IMP, but episode 4 really kicked us down.

Another episode that comes to mind with writing issues is episode 7. Episode 7 showed us that Stolas was so depressed and in love with Blitzø after the entire season showed us he exclusively fetishized him. So much as calling him the plaything Striker assumed Blitzø to be in episode 5. Stolas was never portrayed as being in love except for outside the “grey-area instagrams”. Relying on non-canonical posts to build a relationship where canon actively fights it has the same tonal dissonance of the merchandise showing Blitzø and Stolas perfectly happy and enjoying each others company when Blitzø has smiled a total of three times around Stolas in the entire season (two of which were Blitzø being cheeky, not genuine). Episode 7 felt as if it took place 20 episodes in and not 7, and relied so heavy on Stolas being a lovesick puppy that they made all the progress and context of the literal episode prior just jump down the drain head-first. Blitzø realizing his emotions towards Stolas are negative and he feels like he’s being used? Moxxie and Blitzø seemingly becoming more attuned to one another with newfound respect? Gone. It’s all gone. Blitzø is back to stalking Moxxie and Millie and ignoring their gripes, and the crew decide “oh well we’re gonna make it Blitzø’s fault that Stolas thinks it’s a date, because Blitzø’s growth is gone and we need him and the plot to roll along.”

Then we meet a spineless king of Hell Asmodeus, with his imp, Fizzarolli who is also Blitzø’s childhood friend. You can say whatever you want about these two, I don’t care, but their relationship in any capacity is really out of nowhere. They are a foil for Stolitz, and while they work, they also make no sense. I have a long-winded tangent for Fizz and Oz, I’ll really need to organize my thoughts on them because a lot of my gripes are built out of frustration of taking an easy-way out instead of really giving us the “dark” in dark comedy.

To be short, episode 7 did not feel connected to the series. It felt like it should have come much later, and acted as if it was hot shit when in reality it was flat and hamfisted. It was so desperate to give Stolitz an episode where their relationship was put on a pedestal, and then break it back down, but the fact they were building with rubble just made the thing a disaster.

Going into season two, the writing fell harder than it ever had. Somehow, somewhere, Viv decided making these two disasters into childhood friends, or at least, force them to meet as children. As to add insult to injury, they crumpled Stella’s character, they made Paimon a joke, and they made Blitzø subjected to literally being sold by his father and bought by Stolas’s. Idk about you but even if I was capable of loving somebody romantically, if I knew my parents bought them to spend time with me, I’d instantly lose all attraction because of how disgusting that situation would be perceived as. Also as I’m writing this, I’m wondering where the hell Stolas was when Paimon was talking to Cash, since Paimon left Cash’s tent with his butler but like. Where’s the kid. Did they just forget Paimon had gone with Stolas? It could’ve been as simple as showing Stolas sneaking off to see Blitzø after the show and him, Blitzø and Fizz interacting with each other.

Anyway. Episode 1 of s2 was a mess. It single-handedly tore down everything coherent in the prior season. I don’t know how you manage to do that, but I guess when you’re stuck in an echo-chamber and hellbent on forcing every imaginable trope into your favorite ship, Viv is sacrificing quality for self indulgence. And yes, doing what you want to do is completely valid, and you don’t have to care what people think, but the fact you play it for excellency and perfection and astounding ground-breaking storytelling when in reality it’s just glorified yaoi fanfiction is disastrous. Add all of these with a rabid fan base that white-knights Viv at every chance because during a time period where she was genuinely being harassed over long-old issues she’s consistently apologized and grown from, the fan base has this weird conditioning that everything that goes against her is an intent to destroy their “perfect queer demon show.”

I don’t even have the energy for discussing season 2 episode 2, since it’s basically just digging its grave as hard as it can. It had a great moment with showing us Loona’s backstory and finally giving me a crumb of dark content, but other than that, it was a flat and boring episode. The writing was subpar since it couldn’t decide what it wanted to do, and bloated itself when it literally didn’t need to.

I’ve been writing this post over the course of three or two days now, I can’t remember but just recently Erin Frost made another post about Viv and while this isn’t the place I want to discuss it, the fandom has been saying some truly disgusting things towards a victim and I think y’all need to think about what you’re saying to people. What if all of these allegations are true? What if Viv really did say these things and really was harming her workers? Would you like these things said to you if you were in Erin’s place? What happened to you all preaching kindness and being a welcoming community? Seriously. Just sit and think for once before you say something so abysmally cruel. Viv is not gonna give you a one-way ticket to exclusive content just because you called somebody a slur.

I’ve strayed really far from the initial topic of this post which was the lack of letting yourself hearing criticism will only harm you and leave you ignorant. Viv should know by now how to write something coherent, yet she fails to do so. She should know that criticism is an excellent gateway to growth and understanding your work and how to create. Criticism is not going to go away just because you block it out. You will grow in certain areas but you will always remain stunted if you don’t let yourself be vulnerable to the views others may have. Forcing yourself into a room where all you hear and process is praise and worship, you will become so so deaf to those with genuine desire to share their views on how you could not only create something better, but create something that would flow beautifully with the rest of the creation. Right now, the writing is swimming against the current. The composition and the animation (while not perfect) are astounding in their own rights. The backgrounds are beautiful, even when in an episode where the cast is stuck for the majority in one room. The music, while not adhering to my personal tastes, is passable to the majority. I suppose the writing can be viewed that way, but most of the time I can’t tell if people are actually enjoying the show, if they’re fetishizing gay people, or if they’re just so desperate for anything queer-run and queer-oriented they lose all sense of self and devour and obsess over it because it’s content that we have been starved of for generations.

I don’t want to come off negative. These are my thoughts as a writer. These are my thoughts of a once die-hard fan who would and has white-knighted Viv before. This is coming from a place of concern and a desire to share my thoughts on how writing can grow. Just because Viv has matured from writing “wuz” to “was” doesn’t mean the piece has grown from a half-assed stick figure attempt you don’t put any soul into to Leonardo Da Vinci or Picasso. Art is supposed to be about continual growth, and when you force yourself into a box you will not be able to branch out in the ways you want. You will be forced to live in that box unless you yourself allow others to nurture in your growth. You do not have to create and grow on your own, you can allow others with conflicting inputs to interact with you.

#helluva boss #long post #helluva boss critical

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