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drabbles-mc · 4 years ago

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Exceptions (2/2)

Juice Ortiz x F!Reader

Part 1

Warnings: language, mentions of alcohol, light angst/jealousy

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: Part 2! I’ve re-read this a million times and I’ve gone back and forth on whether I’m happy with it or not lol. But it’s hard to be too upset with a happy Juice haha. Hope you guys enjoyed this! Been a while since I set out to do a quick multi-part story that doesn’t go on indefinitely haha.

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There was some sort of shift after that night between you and Juice. He always hung around the bar when you worked, but lately he made a point to really check in with you throughout the night. Truthfully, you’d gotten used to it and it had become a part of what felt like your nightly routine, not that you would ever admit that to anyone. But his presence felt much more purposeful than before. You wondered if it was obvious just to you but Opie had pulled you aside at one point to check and make sure that Juice wasn’t bothering you at all, which confirmed your belief that it was more than a little obvious.

“I’ll tell him to leave you alone, you know,” his voice was rough but there was a hint of a smile on his face.

You laughed, shaking your head, “No, no. Don’t. It’s fine, Ope, really. He’s being…sweet.”

The amused grin on his face grew a little wider, “You feelin’ alright?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You actually don’t mind one of the guys hanging around you all the time? That…doesn’t sound right.”

You gave him a light, playful slap to the chest, “Shut up.”

He noticed the way that you weren’t meeting his eyes and he was eating up every second of it, “Want me to tell him to come over more?”

“Opie, I swear to god,” you tried to sound serious but you were too busy laughing, “if you don’t let this drop I’ll—”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled, “I’ll stop. I’m just saying, though.”

“Mhm,” you gave him a shove, “Now get out from behind my bar.”

Opie laughed as he walked away to join the rest of the guys, pulling Lyla onto his lap once he sat down. He motioned for her to lean closer and even though you couldn’t hear what he was saying to her, you could tell by the way she flashed a quick smile over at you that he was talking to her about the exact thing he said that he’d drop. You knew that neither of them would stick their nose into it in a way that mattered, but you knew you were going to catch grief from them about it nonetheless.

You forced yourself to focus on your job. You mixed drinks and popped caps off of beer bottles as everyone came up and placed their orders. You hadn’t seen Juice for most of the night since he initially showed up and greeted you. You mentally kicked yourself for even noticing it, let along feeling some type of way about it. You didn’t know what exactly the feeling was, but it wasn’t good.

You were about to step outside to take a break for a couple minutes, asking the prospect to hold it together so you could try and catch your breath. However as you looked out over the expanse of the clubhouse you saw Juice sitting on one of the couches, with a girl from Cara Cara straddling his lap. Suddenly it made sense why you hadn’t seen him since he first got there.

He didn’t see you looking, and it was definitely better that way. You pushed down the feeling of disappointment as you grabbed a beer for yourself and made your way towards the door. You sat down on the picnic table, grateful that everyone was inside in the midst of the chaos so you had a couple minutes to yourself. The cool night air ripped through you, causing you to shiver, but you weren’t ready to go back in yet.

Once your beer was finished, you knew that you had to head back inside and finish off your shift. Running your hands down your face, you let out a deep sigh as you got up to head back into the mess. You tried to get your mind right, reminding yourself why you put distance between you and all of your patrons to begin with. You should’ve known better than to make exceptions to the rules, even if the exceptions had pleading brown eyes like Juice.

You got back behind the bar, dismissing the prospect with a good-natured smile, “Back into the wild with you,” you laughed as you gently nudged him out from behind the bar.

“You sure? I-I can still work. It’s really not—”

“Go,” you forced a laugh, “These guys put you through the wringer enough, you should get to enjoy some of the good stuff too. If I need you, I’ll yell.”

The end of his mouth kicked up into a smirk as he nodded, “Thanks. I’ll, I’ll be around.”

You silently shook your head as you watched him scamper off into the throws of the party. You took a few long, slow breaths as you collected up the bottles that had been tossed onto the surface of the bar, giving it a quick wipe-down despite the fact that it would be cluttered again within a matter of minutes.

When you turned back around to see if anyone was waiting to get a drink, you came face-to-face with Juice. He had the same cheery smile on his face that you were used to seeing on him, but you were still too busy beating yourself up to enjoy it. He immediately noticed the way that you wouldn’t meet his eyes and his smile dulled instantly.

“You good?”

You nodded, “Yea, all good. You?” you braced your hands against the bar, “Want a drink?”

He hadn’t heard you use a cold tone with him in a while, and it caught him off-guard, “N-no. I just…I came to see how you’re doing,”

“I’m good,” you nodded, busying yourself with the stacked glasses on your side of the counter.

“You sure?” you could feel that he was waiting for you to look at him.

“So sure,” you chuckled but it was hollow. You popped the tops off two beer bottles and slid them across to him, “Here. One for you and one for your friend,” you nodded towards the girl who had been in his lap, who was now sitting on the arm of the couch and leaning down to whisper something into Chibs’ ear.

He looked back and forth between the two of you, “She’s not—”

“I don’t need t—” you stopped yourself, “I don’t wanna know. Not my business.”

Before he had the chance to say anything else, you walked to the other end of the bar and made yourself look busy while doing a whole lot of nothing. You could do that for as long as it took him to walk away. He hung back and stared at you for a minute, but when he realized that you weren’t going to budge, he grabbed the bottles with a sigh and walked away.

As the night wore on, every now and then you’d feel Juice’s eyes on you. You knew that whatever problem was starting to brew there was one of your own creation. You were the one who was constantly telling the guys not to waste their time and when they decided to listen you let yourself get your feelings hurt. He didn’t do anything to deserve the cold shoulder that you were giving him, but you gave it anyway. It would only take a few shifts to get your mind right again and surely he would survive that without a problem.

“Hey,” Opie’s voice ripped you off your train of thought.

You looked over at him, forcing a smile, “Hey, what’s up?”

“You good?”

You nodded, “Yea, of course, why?”

“I’m used to Juice looking like a kicked puppy,” he chuckled quietly and shook his head, “It’s a new look on you though.”

You rolled your eyes, “Shut the fuck up.”

“What happened?”

“Not that it’s any of your business anyway,” you threw your rag down on the surface of the bar, “But nothing happened.”

“Mhm,” he nodded, lightly trailing his fingers through his beard as he waited for you to crack and say something more.

“Is there something in particular you would like, Opie?” you arched one eyebrow.

He shook his head, “Nope,” he rapped his knuckles against the bar top, “Just figured I’d check in on you. But if you’re alright then—”

“I am. Thank you.”

He knew better than to push his luck. If you really needed something he knew you’d ask. With a slight nod he walked away from the bar and you sighed as you watched him rejoin the rest of his crew. Running your hands down your face, you geared up to finish the rest of your shift. It was about the time that people started to disperse, and you wished that it was like the other bars you’d worked in where you could just start essentially kicking people out. But the clubhouse was more than just a bar—it was also home base for the MC and you didn’t get to kick them out of their own home.

You were sitting on a stool on the customer side of the bar, leaning back against it as you watched the crowd thin out. You’d lost track of Juice earlier in the night and it was probably for the best—he probably left with the girl you’d seen him with before

. And it was honestly better that way, or at least that’s what you were going to tell yourself.

“You want me to clean up tonight?” the prospect materialized in front of you, an expectant look on his face.

You smiled and shook your head, “I got it tonight, thank you though. Go home, get some rest.”

He didn’t wait around for you to possibly change your mind, quickly turning on his heel and making his way towards the door. You chuckled quietly to yourself and shook your head as you watched the door shut behind him as he left. After taking a couple minutes for the last of everyone to clear out, you stood up and set about getting things in order for the night. You shut the music off and started picking up the glasses and bottles that littered the tables throughout the clubhouse.

You were stacking dirty glasses into the dishwasher when you heard heavy footsteps making their way closer to you. You glanced back over your shoulder, expecting to see one of the guys coming out for one last beer to bring to their room or something of the sort, but instead you just saw Juice standing there, hands tucked into his pockets. He looked so different without his kutte on, just a plain white t-shirt with his cargo pants.

“Need something?” you asked without turning to face him.

“Was hoping you’d be in more of a mood to talk,” he stepped closer to the bar.

“About?”

“Did I, did I do something? Say something that upset you?”

You sighed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before shaking your head, “No, you didn’t.”

“Then why won’t you make eye contact with me?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” you still didn’t turn around as you poured soap into the dishwasher.

It only took him a couple strides to appear behind you. You weren’t looking at him but you could feel how close he was. It might’ve been in your head, but you could’ve sworn that you felt the heat radiating off of his body. He was more than close enough to reach out and touch you, to try and turn you to face him, but he didn’t.

“C’mon, talk to me,” his voice was quiet, nonconfrontational.

“There’s,” you shook your head, lifting and shutting the door to the dishwasher with more force than necessary, “there’s nothing to talk about. I told you—you didn’t do anything.”

You knew that you could only stand there with your back to him for so long before you had to turn and look him in the eye. Taking one more deep breath you ripped the band-aid off and faced him. His eyes desperately searched yours, looking for answers that you didn’t want to give him.

“What’s going on?”

You forced yourself not to break eye contact, “I told you, it’s nothing. Better not hang out here too long,” you nodded towards the hall that led to the dorms, “your friend will start wondering where you ran off to.”

“My fr—” he stopped, shaking his head, “I’m by myself back there,” he chuckled and gestured with his arm, “You’re more than welcome to go look for yourself.”

You rolled your eyes, grabbing one of the liquor bottles and pouring yourself a drink in one of the few clean glasses that were left, “I’ll just take your word for it.”

“That what’s been bothering you all night? That I was talking with that girl from—”

“Looked like more than just talking,” your tone was more bitter than you wanted it to be.

He chuckled, not amused by the fact that you were hurt, but more out of shock that you even cared at all, “I didn’t think that it would be topping your list of concerns. You made it pretty fuckin’ clear that none of us should waste our time chasing after you.”

“I know,” you leaned forward, bracing yourself on the edge of the bar, “I know. That’s why this is so fucking stupid. I’ve got no right to feel like this.”

He stepped in closer, “Feel like what?”

You downed your drink and all but slammed the glass down on the bar top, “Jealous.”

His eyes grew wide. Deep down he thought that that was what was going on, but it was also difficult for him to picture you being jealous at all, let alone over him. He reached out and gently rested his hand on your shoulder, “There something you wanna talk about?”

“No. I don’t wanna talk about it.”

He couldn’t help but to smile at how stubborn you were being, “C’mon. We’re friends, right? Talk to me.”

“Juice, stop,” your tone was annoyed but you could feel the weight in your chest starting to lighten as he pestered you with a knowing smirk on his face.

“What’s going on? You don’t get to ignore me all night and then tell me you’re jeal—”

“I like you, alright?” you huffed, shaking your head and running your hands over your head, “I like you. And I know it’s dumb and goes against everything I’ve ever said to any of you guys. But you’re sweet and funny and cute and I didn’t think anything of it until I saw you with that girl all over you and I just,” you sighed, “Fuck.”

He gave you a second to get your thoughts in order, leaning his back against the bar next to you. You weren’t looking directly at him but you could see the smile on his face. He gently nudged you, “Hey,” he waited for you to look at him, “I like you too. And, for the record,” he smiled, “you don’t have to be so upset about liking me. I’m not that bad.”

It finally got a laugh out of you, “I never said that.”

“That what this has been all about tonight?” he motioned back and forth between the two of you, “Because of some random girl who wouldn’t leave me alone?”

“You didn’t seem to mind it, Juice,” you shot him a disbelieving look.

He chuckled, “I’m only human, alright?” he turned his body so it was facing yours, “But why didn’t you just say something? Because I mean, I’ve never been subtle. You’ve known how I feel.”

You felt your face heating up, “I know.”

“Then why—”

“Because I didn’t want to admit it,” you turned so that you were finally facing him head-on, “And I’m sorry for that. And…for the rest of it.”

There was a smirk on his face, “It’s alright.”

“Why are you still being so nice to me after I was such a dick to you?”

He laughed, a wave of bravery washed over him and he reached out to rest his hands on your hips, “You weren’t that much of a dick.”

“Well,” you couldn’t help but to laugh, “thank you for that.”

“C’mere,” he chuckled as he pulled you in close and hugged you. You let yourself lean into him and for the first time all night you felt your body relax. His warmth bled over onto you immediately as you loosely draped your arms around him.

You felt him kiss the edge of your forehead and you pulled back to look at him. It was evident in his eyes that he was trying to figure out if he pushed it too far. You smiled as you reached up and rested one hand on his cheek for a moment before pulling him down to you and pressing your lips to his. You felt his lips curl into a smile as he wrapped his arms tighter around you.

When you finally pulled away to catch your breath, you could see the glint in Juice’s eyes, “What?”

He shook his head, smiling, “Nothing. Just, you should’ve done this way sooner.”

You laughed, playfully pushing against his chest, “Easy for you to say.”

He kissed you again, softly, “You wanna stay?”

You shook your head, “No way. I know what goes on back in those dorms,” you laughed for a moment, before continuing, “But, if you’re up for it, I will cash in on that lift home.”

His eyes lit up, “Yea?”

You nodded, “Yea,” you dropped your hands so your fingers interlocked with his as you tugged him towards the door, “C’mon.”

#sons of anarchy #sons of anarchy imagine #soa #soa imagine #juice ortiz #juice ortiz x reader #juice ortiz x you #juice ortiz imagine #juan carlos #juan carlos ortiz #my writing #exceptions #part 2 #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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usershleby · 4 years ago

Note

so being the captain of your own ship sounds stressful, right? someone should treat Hera to a day of pampering... (surprise romantic spa trip? a sweet homemade experience by the whole crew? you decide!)

keeping the Ghost in shape is hard work! good thing Kanan is a pro in stress relief.

fandom: star wars rebels

relationship: kanan jarrus/hera syndulla

rating: mature

word count: 2.8k

Hera woke with a list of things to do already forming in her mind. The pleasant dreams that had taken her through the nighttime hours had been replaced with tasks that needed to be completed. The Phantom was due for a diagnostic, she needed to finish her modifications to the sublights if she ever wanted to take the Ghost out again, and they were starting to run low on supplies. She breathed out harshly from her nose, somehow she’d have to find time to make a trip into town between her repairs.

And if she was in town, she might as well stop in and give Old Jho a visit. Fighting for the rebellion was good work - important work - but it didn’t pay much and their small purse of credits was slowly dwindling.

With a sigh, Hera blinked open her eyes to the darkness of her cabin. Kanan was a warm weight across her chest as he did his best impersonation of a human blanket. For just a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of imagining a sleepy morning in bed. If only she could close her eyes and let Kanan’s gentle breathing lull her back to sleep, held in place by his comforting weight. What she would give to be woken hours later with his kisses trailing down her neck, across the tops of her breasts, his hands running down her sides as she let his wandering mouth travel lower and lower.

Hera shook the sticky sweet heat from her mind; she had too much to do to let that daydream become a reality. She tried to wiggle out from underneath Kanan but as soon as she began to move, his arms tightened around her.

“No.” he said, his voice muffled by her shoulder.

“I have things to do Kanan.” she whispered, scrubbing her fingers through the long strands of his hair. He shivered but didn’t loosen his grip.

“Too early.” was his response.

“I’ve got a lot to do today, love.”

She felt Kanan’s lips brush against the side of her neck as he replied, “Sleep now. Work later.”

Hera sighed again when it became clear Kanan wasn’t going to move. She managed to free an arm and reached blindly for her datapad on the floor. The blue-ish glow from the screen lit up her face as she rested it on the top of Kanan’s head. If he wasn’t going to let her get up then he couldn’t object to her using his body as a prop for her pad. He didn’t seem bothered by it if his snores were any indication.

She read through the local Holonet, clicking her tongue at the new regulations the Empire was putting on trade in Capital City. It didn’t seem like they were even trying to hide their blatant greed anymore. Either that, or they believed that their grip on Lothal was so tight that no-one would dare speak out against them.

Hera smirked at that thought. Maybe it was time they took a trip to Capital City and livened things up a bit. She would have to get out of bed first.

Kanan slept for another hour until he finally pushed himself up, blinking at her owlishly and his hair a mess from where her fingers had run through it. He smiled at her, warm and soft, before jumping from the cot and throwing on some clothes.

“Stay here for a second.” He told her before slipping from the cabin. Hera rolled her eyes and stood, stretching her arms up over head and feeling her spine pop. She rolled her shoulders and fanned her toes out on the cool durasteel floor. Her lower back twinged a little from her time with the engines yesterday and she knew the dull pain would only get worse after another day of work but, the Ghost wasn’t going to fix itself.

Slowly she began pulling on her day clothes, forgoing her typical flight suit for a dingy pair of grease stained slacks and a thin strapped top - it tended to get hot in the engine room and her flight suit would only make it worse. Just as she was pulling on her head wrap, the door to her cabin opened revealing Ezra and a plate piled high with waffles.

“Mornin’ Hera.” Ezra said, letting himself into her room. “I made breakfast.”

Hera blinked at the stacks of waffles dripping with bright purple syrup, the cloyingly sweet scent assaulting her nose. “I see that. Why?”

“Kanan said so.” There was a loud cough from out in the hallway. Ezra grimaced and shifted on his feet. “Uh, I mean, because I wanted to.”

Hera arched a disbelieving brow. “Uh huh, sure you did. What’s the real reason?”

“Well, Kanan did say so but he had a good point.” he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “You always make sure there’s food for us, we thought we’d make food for you. So,” Ezra waved at the plate of waffles. “Breakfast.”

Hera looked at the waffles and then back at the young teen. It was a sweet sentiment, even if it wasn’t needed - keeping the stores full for her crew was one of her duties as captain but Ezra’s show of appreciation made her heart melt just a little.

“Well thank you kind sir.” She said taking the plate from him.

“Anytime Captain.” Ezra smiled before retreating. Kanan filed into the room moments later.

“So, you told him to do it?”

“I didn’t tell him so much as gently suggested he bring you breakfast.” Kanan said as he flopped down on the bed.

“You know you don’t have to do that.” she sat down next to him.

Kanan took a waffle off of her plate and popped it in his mouth, licking the sugary syrup from his fingers. “I know but we wanted to.” he replied through his mouthful of food. “You do a lot for us, it’s past time we did something for you.”

There was a suspicious look on his face that put Hera on guard. “I know that look.” she said, setting the plate down on the bed. “What do you have planned?”

“A day of rest and relaxation.” he winked.

“Kanan…”

“Hera…” he mimicked.

“I have too much to do, I can’t just do...nothing.”

Kanan stole another waffle. “You wouldn’t be doing nothing, you would be relaxing. Besides, we can handle whatever you need to do.”

“Yeah but-” Hera began but Kanan leaned over and kissed her on the mouth, cutting off her protest. He tasted like Jogans and spice. Hera’s eyes slipped closed as he deepened the kiss, one hand cupping her jaw.

“Let us take care of things today, okay?” He asked as he broke away, resting his forehead against hers. Hera searched his face, drinking in his strange teal eyes. It had been a while since she had taken a day off but there was so much to do, she couldn’t possibly leave it all for her crew. “We can handle it.” Kanan said, as if reading her thoughts. “It’s what you hired me for in the first place, remember?”

Hera rolled her head against his and let her shoulder drop in defeat. “Fine.” she conceded. “But call me if you need any help.”

Kanan kissed her cheek before standing. “We’ll be fine. You just relax.”

“Have Chopper help you with the sublights, he has the schematics. And we need more soap, oh and see if Jho has a job for us or Vizago if necessary.”

“Hera.” Kanan smiled from the doorway. “Relax.” he gave her a jaunty two finger salute before the cabin doors slid shut, leaving Hera alone in her room.

She looked around the cabin suddenly feeling at a loss. What was she going to do now?

A gentle knock on her cabin pulled Hera from her third nap of the day. The holobook she had been reading tumbled to the floor as she sat up stretching. She smiled to herself, the pain in her back was nearly nonexistent and she felt more refreshed than she had in a long, long time. Maybe Kanan was right and she was long overdue for a day off.

It had been hard at first, to let the others do the work she had planned while she did essentially nothing. Her fingers itched to do something, anything other than sitting alone in her room but she didn’t want Kanan to think that she didn’t trust him to take care of her ship. Out of all the beings in the galaxy, Kanan was the only person that she actually did trust. And not just with her ship. So Hera had gotten back under the covers and ate her breakfast in the silence of her cabin.

That hadn’t lasted long, the quiet became too loud so she escaped to the lounge. At least there she could keep an eye on the coming and goings of her crew. Only, the common space had been empty. Ezra and Zeb had gone to town to pick up supplies and Kanan had recruited Sabine to help him with the last of the engine modifications. It was clear she wasn’t going to be allowed to do anything productive so she curled up in the big wooden chair and let her mind drift until she fell asleep.

The rest of the day had passed in a sleepy haze as she meandered from the lounge to her cabin; napping when she felt like it, eating the snacks Kanan had prepared for her, and catching up on the holobooks she had been wanting to read. Once she allowed herself to relax, letting the others handle the work became much easier.

There was another knock on the door, a little more forceful this time, followed by a hesitant voice. “Hera? Are you awake?”

Hera tossed the sheets aside and padded over to the door, hitting the control and smiling as Sabine came into view.

“I’m awake.” She smiled at the young Mandalorian who returned it with a slight tilt of her lips. Her orange and blue hair was slightly mussed and Hera could see a streak of engine grease on her exposed arm but there was a sparkle of accomplishment in the depth of amber eyes. It was the same look Hera got when she finished working on her ship.

“Dinner’s ready if you want to eat.” Sabine said. “I made stew.”

Hera’s stomach rumbled loudly as if on cue. “I could eat.” she chuckled, following the teen down the hallway into the lounge. The rest of her crew was already seated around the beat up holotable, steaming bowls of stew and crusty bread before them. Hera took her seat next to Kanan and inhaled the spicy scent of cooked tip yip and Sabine’s potent blend of spices.

“Don’t worry.” Sabine said. “I didn’t make it as spicy this time.”

“Good.” Ezra breathed in a sigh of relief. “Cus’ I couldn’t taste anything for like a week last time.”

Zeb chuckled, scooping a heaping portion of the stew into his mouth. “You humans don’t know anything about real flavor.”

“And Lasats do?” Sabine challenged, sprinkling a dusting of seasoning over her bowl. “You just grill everything until it’s burnt. At least you can taste more than fire with my food.”

“Not that much more.” Kanan coughed, reaching for his water.

Sabine rolled her eyes and launched into a haughty argument on the nuances and meaning behind Mandalorian cooking. Hera was only partly paying attention, taking small bites of the rich and spicy stew. She could feel the burn of Sabine’s seasoning scorch down her throat, leaving her mouth tingling.

“How did the modifications go?” she asked in a hoarse voice, leaning into Kanan’s side. He smelled like sweat and oil but Hera wasn’t too bothered by it. It felt good to be pressed up against his side after spending the better part of the day alone. She felt the heat from his body seep into her bones, making her insides twist with desire.

“Wonderful.” He responded as he threw an arm around her shoulders, drawing her in, impossibly close. “How did your day off go?”

Hera pressed her lips to his cheek. “Wonderful.” she pitched her voice low so that he would be the only one to hear her say, “But there is one thing that’s missing.”

“Oh yeah?” Kanan smirked, his eyes trailing down her face to land on her lips. “And what’s that?”

Hera placed a hand on his knee, slowly dragging it up his thigh. “You.”

The reaction in Kanan was instant. His face flushed with heat and his pupils grew wide until there was only a small circle of teal left. He leaned in close, his lips brushing against her ear cone and said, “Well, good thing I have something special planned for dessert.”

“I get that you two are like, gross in love or whatever.” Sabine’s voice cracked over Hera like ice, causing her to pull away from Kanan as if she had been shocked and the heat of embarrassment to color her cheeks. “But some of us are still eating so could you save all your gushy feelings until after dinner?”

“That’s the plan.” Kanan winked, unbothered about being called out. Ezra and Sabine both gagged.

Zeb smirked before draining his bowl and pushing up from the table. “I’m taking the kids into town tonight.” He said, walking into the galley. “Jho found us a job.”

“Do you need any back up?” Hera asked, secretly hoping that the Lasat would refuse.

“Nah, we’ve got it handled.” He brought his clawed hands down on Sabine and Ezra’s shoulders and pulled them to their feet. “We’ll let you get to your...night.”

Hera hid her face behind her hands.

“Wait, I’m not done eating!” Ezra complained as Zeb hustled him out of the lounge.

“You can get something at Jho’s.” Sabine countered. “Now let's go before they start making out at the table.”

“We wouldn’t do that!” Kanan yelled to their retreating backs. “At least not with an audience.” he said to her once they were alone.

Hera looked at him through her fingers. “You have no shame do you?”

He shrugged. “Not really.” Hera snorted, that was obvious. She picked up her spoon and dragged it through her stew but her mind was no longer on eating. Instead, she was intimately aware of every point of contact between her and Kanan, little points of starlight pulling her in. Her heart fluttered in her chest, her fingers tightening on Kanan’s thigh. He glanced down at her hand and then back to her face, biting his lower lip.

“C’mon.” Hera said, pushing her bowl away and standing. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet, interlacing their fingers as she led him back to the cabin. As soon as the door slid closed, Hera turned and pulled Kanan down into a heated kiss, tasting the spice of the stew on his tongue.

His hands roamed over her body, pulling at the hem of her shirt while she unfastened his pants. Clothing fell to the floor as they made their way to the cot, breathy moans slipping between hurried kisses.

Hera fell back onto the bed as Kanan covered her neck with adoring kisses.

“Was this all part of your plan?” she said, her breath hitching as his thumbs brushed the tops of her hips.

“No actually.” Kanan chuckled, his face flushed. “I was just going to give you the day off. Getting the kids off the Ghost,” he kissed her lips. “Was all Zeb.”

Hera knocked her closed fist gently under his jaw. “Lucky you.” she smirked up at him.

“Lucky me.” he smiled back.

She got a little lost, looking at the love and devotion shining in his eyes. Kanan loved her with no conditions, no expectations - it was pure and sweet and simple and it made Hera feel like she would come apart at the seams from the intensity of it.

He loved her and Hera loved him back just as fiercely. She grabbed hold of his face and pulled him into a crushing kiss, pouring every bit of herself into him.

“I love you.” she whispered, breaking them apart.

Kanan nipped at her lips, “I love you too.” he said and Hera could feel it vibrating in her bones, weaving the promise held in his words right into her very soul. She let him kiss her, feeling his skin against hers until her desire grew to great. Hera pushed on his shoulder and he went willingly, sinking between her legs with a smirk on his face.

As she came undone under his skillful ministrations, Hera thought to herself, maybe she should take the day off more often.

#pretchatta #asks #kanera #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #star wars: rebels #star wars #swr fanfic #mine #shleby writes #swr prompt fills #*pterodactyl screech*

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captain-jensen · 4 years ago

Text

Big Fan

Tom Holland x reader

Summary: You’re a popular YouTuber and you get to interview Tom for his new movie. He invites you out for a couple of drinks with his friends because he confesses to being a fan of your videos. Fluff ensues.

Authors note: I just found this in my drafts so sorry if it seems choppy. There’s some very light cursing.

Today is the most exciting day of your life. You’ve been asked to interview the cast of Spider-Man for YouTube. As exciting as it is, you can’t stop thinking about everything that could go wrong. You’ve never interviewed anyone before. Talking to a camera while you do random stuff, that you can do. Talk to a famous person in a professional setting in front of a camera? That’s a no go. Yet, here you are, about to ask famous hot people questions about a movie you’ve haven’t even seen. You were given a list of questions by YouTube that had to be asked, and then you were given a list of topics that were acceptable to talk about. “There’s nothing that can go wrong” you tell yourself. You were basically given a script and all that was asked of you was to entertain the actor and make an interview that was fun to watch. It can’t be that hard right? Unless of course you end up entirely embarrassing yourself on camera in front of one of your biggest celebrity crushes ever. You push these intrusive thoughts out of your head in an effort to calm yourself and simultaneously hype yourself up. After having what felt like a miniature panic attack in the bathroom, you tidy up your makeup and hair and walk into the main area of the hotel room where the first interview of your day will take place. They decided to get you to interview Jacob Batalon first, then Marisa Tomei, then Zendaya, and finally Tom Holland. Spider-Man himself.

The first two interviews go well. You had fun with Jacob and you made Marisa laugh. Now that it’s time to interview Zendaya you start to feel those nerves creeping in once again. You ask Zendaya about all of her upcoming projects and try your hardest not to fangirl when she starts talking about Euphoria. You manage to make it through though and she seems pleased with the questions you asked her. Even though you were excited to meet Tom you were kind of hoping your interview with Zendaya would never end, just so that you could avoid all the nerves of talking to Tom. After leaving the room where Zendaya was you get ushered right into the next room with the man himself. Composing yourself as quickly as you could you walk in and see Tom having his hair touched up. He greets you with the warmest smile ever as your crew works on setting up the camera and lights. He stands to shake your hand as you introduce yourself. “Hi I’m Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you”

“Oh no way! I watch your videos all the time when I’m waiting for flights and stuff” That’s when you freeze in your tracks.

“You’re joking!” you exclaim, trying to make sense of what just came out of Spider-Mans’ mouth.

“No, not at all. I love when you talk about films and break them down piece by piece. I use your videos as education essentially” He admits, laughing a little sheepishly.

“Wow, well I’m very flattered, thank you so much!” You reply, trying your best to remain professional. For almost the entire interview you both go back and forth talking about several films other than his own. You tried hard to get him to talk about the new Spider-Man movie, but he always found a way to cycle back to a video you made about a certain movie he loved. After the camera and lights are turned off Tom quickly stands to get your attention before you bid your farewell.

“Hey, Y/N, some friends and I are heading to bar later tonight if you want to meet us there. We could talk more about a bunch of movies and your videos!” He says excitedly.

“Yeah that sounds like a lot of fun!” you reply nonchalantly.

“Well let’s exchange numbers then and I’ll text you with all the details.” Tom proposes shyly. You notice out of the corner of your eye that Harry and Harrison were slyly giggling amongst themselves and watching yours and Toms’ interaction unfold. You enter your phone number into Toms’ phone and he does the same to yours. “It was really great meeting you Y/N, I can’t wait to talk more later” Tom says, quickly glancing at his shoes.

“Likewise, it was a pleasure” With a shake of your hand a second of eye contact you turn and walk out of the room. Unable to contain your laughter of excitement your crew just watches in amusement and offer you light-hearted congratulations.

Later that evening, at around 5pm you get a text from a contact that says “Tom” with a little spiderweb emoji beside it. Smirking, you open it to see the details for the night, agreeing to meet at the bar at around 9pm. Which gives you plenty of time to get ready, hype yourself up a bit, and do a bit of a vlog on your snap story for your followers. Although you were very meek with the details of your plans for the night, your fans were able to deduce that you were definitely meeting with someone famous since they knew you had been doing a lot of press tours lately.

Taking one last look in the mirror you say to yourself “You’re Y/N fucking Y/L/N. Tom Holland is a fan of YOUR channel. You can do anything” That courage quickly dissipates though as you near the bar. Holy shit, how were you possibly going to converse with Tom Holland and his friends ALL NIGHT? There was no way you were going to be interesting compared to all of these people. All you do is make Youtube videos about movies. When you got inside the bar your body was buzzing. Scanning the room you lock eyes with Tom almost immediately and he jumps out of his seat smiling and waving you over. You make your way over to him and he pulls you into an embrace, which took you by surprise, however you reciprocate almost immediately. Turning to the table you see that there’s no-one else there. Giving you a worried look Tom quickly turns and says “This isn’t weird is it? Everyone else isn’t gonna be here for another hour. I wanted to be able to have an uninterrupted conversation with you for a bit.”

“Tom Holland, did you trick me into a date?” You say suspiciously, trying to cooly play off the fact that you were now going to spend the next hour alone with Tom talking and drinking.

“Well that depends. Would it be awkward if I did?” He asks hesitantly

“No not awkward, you just could have asked me straight up” You say quickly, not knowing where this sudden boost of confidence is coming from.

“Well I’ll remember that for next time” Tom says smugly. You order your drinks and get to talking and laughing. The hour goes by in 5 minutes and you realize that you guys barely talked about movies the whole time. You instead spent the 60 minutes talking about eachothers home towns and families. He asked you about your passion for films, and you asked him about his hundreds of hobbies. You found your nerves dissipating rapidly and they were instead replaced by butterflies and fireworks. Even when everyone else walked in and joined you 2 at the table Tom kept his gaze on you. Watching you interact with his friends and the way your face would light up when you laughed especially hard at his jokes. Tom could feel the seed in his stomach growing. He was quickly torn out of his thoughts when he heard Harrison speak the words “Hey Y/N wanna know something funny?”

“Go on then” You reply

“Tom has had the biggest crush on you for months. He’s always watching your videos, telling us about your videos, watching the films you recommend, making us watch them with him, and then making us watch your video about said film. It’s been almost non-stop for months now” Harrison admits, making Tom put his head in his hands in embarrassment and making you blush furiously. Not knowing what to make of the situation, and being slightly buzzed at this point you respond with a simple thank you and a small, shy giggle. Looking down at your phone and deciding to try and dismiss the situation. Harrison wouldn’t let it go though, not being able to watch his friend be so shy around a girl. “In fact, when you exchanged numbers earlier Tom couldn’t stop smiling and talking about how excited he was, go on, tell her Tom”

Tom gives you a sorry and shy look before finally deciding to speak up and say “I told you I was a big fan. I just didn’t plan on saying all of that at once” he gave Harrison a warning look while a dark blush crept up his neck and cheeks.

“It’s ok. That’s really sweet Tom” You say. Wanting to make him feel better about the situation you give him an honest smile. Deciding to drop the subject, everyone moves onto their own conversations. You and Tom couldn’t stop stealing glances at eachother for the rest of the night though. Before you know it, last call has come and gone and you all stand outside waiting for cabs. Before you can manage to hail one though, Tom pulls you aside asking to speak with you.

“I’m really sorry about Harrison earlier. He can be such a div.” He rubs the back of his neck for comfort.

“It’s really ok Tom. I was happy to hear it honestly. Being such a fan of yourself I never felt more flattered”

“Well I want you to know that I’m not just a fan of your videos anymore Y/N. I honestly really like you. If you’d like to, I’d love to take you to lunch tomorrow.” Tom Holland turns red for what seems like the hundredth time that night. You however weren’t that much better, considering your own blush was keeping you warm in the cool night air.

“I’d love that” You say, and you both let out a synchronised breath you didn’t know you were holding in. With that you lean in and give him a kiss on the cheek. His smooth skin was comforting against your lips. When you pull away you look in his eyes to see a stunned expression seeping out of his dazed eyes. Then without warning his lips are on yours. It only lasts a second though because you then hear Harrison calling to you saying he was able to wave down a cab for you, clearly wanting to mess with Tom. “Text me tomorrow” you say sweetly to Tom as you slowly back away.

“I promise I’ll text you tonight!” He yells after you.

“That works too!” With that the cab door closes and it’s only then that you realise how laboured your breath had been all night. Trying to calm yourself you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. Smiling instantly you pull it out to see a message from the one and only and it reads

Do you want to do breakfast instead ;) xx

You respond asking when and where and you just shake your head smiling. Knowing that tonight is going to be long.

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland x reader #tom holland one shot

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thetiredbiwrites · 5 years ago

Text

And then...

Dad!Tony x Son!Reader

(mentions of Uncle Rhodey)

Anon: // hello can you do angsty tony x Son reader. Tony and reader has strained relationship and they we're not in good terms, Tony prefer Peter than his son but it got change when both of them got kidnapped, they been together for a few days and slowly they reconciled. Soon they got save by the avengers but the Son Reader notice that one kidnapper pulled a weapon to Tony then R save his father, he got shot then Tony is scared to see his son dying. Its up to you the ending. ☺

A/N: Thank you for the Tony request 🤗🤗 Hope this is ok! (I love dad!Tony, I think he’d be so good...even though this fic is on a different note🤔😂)

Warnings: Cliff hanger end. It was getting pretty long and I wanted to upload something before bed (which also means it hasn’t been checked but oh well, I’ll re-read it tomorrow) BUT I do plan on doing a part 2 :)

(Also swearing, just always assume swearing)

Words: 3100+

Tony’s relationship with his son had always been strained. Ever since he was practically dumped on his doorstep at 4 years old.

Tony had no prior knowledge that he has a kid, none of the women he’s been with had ever even told him they were pregnant. But if he was being honest with himself, it didn’t surprise him. With the way he got around it was bound to happen eventually.

He just wished he’d known from the beginning.

Having a 4 year old left in his care with no warning put him in a whole new territory he was completely unprepared for.

A baby gives you time to prepare and are essentially a ‘blank slate’ at birth. A 4 year old has experiences, like and dislikes, routines, a connection to someone who abandons them with a stranger…

At the time, Tony was still a playboy, out at events and travelling a lot. As well as CEO of a company manufacturing weapons for the military. He didn’t have time for a child. To break through recently arisen trust and abandonment issues and build a relationship.

He cared about his son. Always made sure he had everything he needed or wanted, a good education and was in good health. But forming personal, emotional connections can’t be done with money, and Tony could barley cope with his own true emotions.

It quickly became clear that they did not share talents or interest in maths, sciences or mechanics. His son struggled especially with maths and Tony initially really did try to help, finally thinking something was in his element and he could bond.

But elementary (followed by middle and high) maths was so simple and automatic for Tony’s brain that he found it difficult to slow down and explain the process to the young boy.

He hired a tutor in his place.

That’s not to say Tony expected or needed his son to be a genius in the same subjects as him. He didn’t need his son to follow him (or his father) to be worthy of his time. But it would have made it easier.

Instead, his son excelled in English and arts, and was amazing in the kitchen. He loved to write stories, create pictures to accompany them and experimenting with new recipes.

Unfortunately, Tony did not excel in these areas, thus distancing them further.

At least he wasn’t taking after his father though. He didn’t force his son into one path or degrade him. No forcing him to grow up, giving him alcohol at a ridiculously young age or sending him away to be completely alone.

Tony often wondered himself if he’d have taken the path he did if his father hadn’t pushed him. If he’d be the same person without the verbal abuse and constant neglect of his father.

He wasn’t blind to his emotional distance and lack of bond to his son. Or to the connection the boy had to both Rhodey and Pepper. He could see that his son was connect to the two people he trusted the most and he was glad.

When Rhodey was available, being in the air force meant he wasn’t always around, he made sure to take the boy out, go to school events and even read his stories, giving feedback and support.

Pepper made herself available if he ever needed to talk and was always willing to taste test.

Even Happy was around to take him where he needed to go, training in the gym and joke with.

So even if the young boy didn’t have a relationship with his father, he had adults around to support and love him and help him through life.

It didn’t stop him wishing he did have a relationship to his father though.

While MIA in Afghanistan, Tony realised he wanted to try harder to build a relationship to his nearly teenaged son.

It didn’t happen.

He returned home and completely changed his company, which required a lot of time. His guilt also led in him to putting on that damn suit and trying to save the world.

And then he nearly died from palladium poisoning.

And then New York was attacked by aliens and the avengers were formed.

And then Tony had PTSD; anxiety, panic attacks and nightmares.

And then ‘terrorists’ blew up their house and nearly killed Happy and Pepper.

And then murderous robots.

And then the avengers broke up.

And then Tony worked with the UN to amend the accords and set up more help and cleaning crews. Back to lots of travelling.

And then…

And then… Peter.

It never eased up and his son turned 18.

His son made excuses over the years. He genuinely was busy and obviously struggled with relationships. Maybe he’s just not paternal? You can’t blame someone for trying to save lives either.

Of course he was aware it isn’t all on Tony, he could have tried harder to bond with his father as well.

But then Peter came along.

Scientifically and mathematically gifted Peter.

Superhero Peter.

Enthusiastic, smart and funny 15 year old Peter.

And then Tony had the time.

He made the time.

For Peter.

To talk to him. Help with his homework and superheroing.

Teaching him. Training him.

They spent a lot of time in the workshop and lab.

Tony was always so interested in what Peter had to say. Whether is was about science or mechanics, school, spider-man or even teenage romance.

It came so easily and naturally to Tony.

He had the time.

Even the team had noticed this relationship and dubbed them ‘Iron-Dad and Spider-Son’.

That hurt.

The time he overheard Clint comment, ‘why couldn’t we have had dad-Tony this whole time?’ really stung.

Tony’s been a dad, to a son, the entire time he’s known the avengers.

He didn’t hate Peter though. It’s not his fault and he’s actually perfectly nice. But to see his father so easily bond with another kid in a short time made him realise that he’d never get that father-son relationship.

Tony is paternal. Just not for him.

His eyes fluttered open, the ground cold against his face.

Wait, ground? What-

A groan passed his lips as he sat up, pressing a hand to the side of his head where pain radiated.

He blinked the fuzziness from his eyes, trying to remember how he got there, but the last thing he could recall was leaving the Stark Industries event after supporting Pepper.

The room was dull and very basic. With stone walls and floor, no windows, one dim light and two metal framed beds so rusty they would probably break under his weight.

As he glanced back down to the ground, he noticed another body in the room. They were still slumped on the ground and back to him.

Scrambling across the floor, he pushed on the mans shoulder to lay in on his back and see his face.

Dad?

Quickly he checked for a pulse and when he was satisfied with the regular thumping, he moved away, letting out a sigh of relief.

With his back to the wall, arms resting on his bent knees, he waited.

It was only a short while later when Tony began to wake. Groaning and sitting up in the same manner his son had moments earlier.

“Oh God, what the hell-where am I?” He mumbled, clearly unaware he wasn’t alone.

“I was hoping you’d know the answer”

Tony’s head snapped over at the grumbled voice to see his son.

“Y/N. What- what are you doing here?”

“hell if I know. Can’t imagine why anyone would take me. I generally don’t piss people off and I’m neither an Avenger or a tech genius.”

“Maybe they mistook you for me” Tony joke, completely oblivious to his sons disinterested and cold tone.

He shuffled back to lean against the opposite wall as his son scoffed.

“Sorry kid, you got the Stark looks.”

“Yeah, that’s all I got” the young man mumbled, leaning his head back on the wall, closing his eyes.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

Silence fell between them until the door opened.

The two men rose to their feet as two armed guards entered the room, a third following with a tray of unappealing food and bottled water.

Neither Stark was acknowledged as the tray was placed on one of the beds and they turned to leave. They even ignored Tony’s incessant questioning and cocky attitude.

His son stayed silent, taking on of the bottles as he sat back on the floor, still not ready to trust the beds.

“Could they just answer a simple question? They got to have a fucking reason for this.”

“Whatever it is I wish they’d just hurry up with it.”

“What, are you bored? Got places to be?” Tony asked, before taking his seat back on the floor.

“Yes, actually. I have an interview Monday and I’m not ready.”

“An interview? What for?”

“Like you actually care.”

“Hey, that’s not-“ Tony began to object but his son looked over at him and cut him off.

“Unless it’s about Peter or Superhero shit, you don’t want to know. You haven’t magically become interested, you just don’t like the silence and unfortunately I’m the only one here. You never cared about what was actually happening in my life before, why start now?”

Tony stared at his son in shock. It’s hard to make The Tony Stark speechless, but right now he had no words at all.

As his son dropped his head back to the wall, looking away from him, Tony couldn’t take his eyes off his son.

Thoughts ran through his head as he examined his son, becoming aware of how little he really did know.

-When did he get so tall? Not tall-tall though, definitely the Stark gene at work there.

-That suit makes him look so grown up, even if those a-holes took our jackets and shoes. Why did they take our shoes? No. Not important. Focus.

-I care about my son. Come on Tony, think. Something.

-School? Crap, when did I last even read a report card? He’s always aced English. Didn’t he do band? No, shit, that was Peter. Goddamnit, is he right?

“You’re 18.”

“Well done. You want a medal?”

“Is the interview for college?”

His son still didn’t move, wouldn’t even look at him.

“Please, Y/N. I-I know I’ve not really been… present in your life. But I do care about you.”

“Do you?” His eyes burned long repressed anger and Tony prepared himself for everything that was coming. He knew he’d deserve it too.

“You gave up so easily. It was too hard to bond with your idiot son, a shy kid who couldn’t understand simple maths. You’d rather be with women and go to parties, and the company always came first. All you did was throw money at things. For year I was fine with it, you using money to help me. I had more than more. It was clear you struggled with relationships of any kind and I was just dumped on you with no warning. It was fine because I had Rhodey, Pepper and Happy. They were there to talk to, they taught me things and supported me, Rhodey would go to school events whenever he could. I just figured maybe you’re not a paternal person. Then you became Iron Man and started saving the world and I can’t be mad about that.”

Tony stayed silent and watched as his son stood up, running a hand through his hair as he began to pace.

“Then you met Harley and kept in touch with him. You upgraded his garage into a high-tech lab. But he did help you save Pepper and the President so I guess you owed him and I didn’t let it bother me. It wasn’t until Peter came along that I noticed that you are one of the most naturally paternal people I know. You became his father figure, took him in so quickly, bonding immediately. If he needed help, you were there. He wanted to talk, you listened. Whether it’s out being Iron Man and Spider-man, training him, helping him with his school work or just locking yourselves in the workshop for hours building new shit. You’re always there for him. He witters on about some stupid crush for 25 minutes and you hang on every word. But you couldn’t do that for me?! What, did I need to be a genius at maths?! Interested in building extravagant technology?! Would you have noticed me then? You know, you went to Peter’s science show last month but you’ve never been to any of my school events. It was always Rhodey, Pepper and Happy a couple times, or no-one. But never you.”

The young man stared at his father, chest heaving, eyes burning as he held back tears. Yet Tony said nothing. He couldn’t take his eyes off his son. Lips parted and eyes glistening with unshed tears, he just sat, no words coming out.

“Yeah I’m 18 any yeah it’s a college interview. I graduate in a few weeks, Rhodey’s going. I’ve already been accepted to a couple colleges. Only a few months and I can leave.”

He didn’t give Tony a chance to respond as he risked the bed, laying down and facing the wall as he focused on bringing his breathing back to normal.

Behind him, his father watched on as tears fell down his face, guilt taking over his whole being.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the night. While his son eventually fell asleep, Tony stayed on the floor, thinking through everything his son told him and looking back over the years.

The following morning, two guard came in and took Tony away.

They brought him back a few hours later, unharmed. The younger Stark watched as Tony worried his bottom lip and fussed with his clothes. He noted the troubled look on his father’s face and it was clear that whatever the kidnappers told him wasn’t good at all.

But he remained silent.

Eventually Tony settled, sitting on the floor again. But the two still didn’t speak for a few more hours.

“I’m sorry,” Tony finally broke through the silence and tense atmosphere of the confined space.

His son remained silent but his eyes moved up to look at him. This was enough of an acknowledgement that he was listening and so Tony continued.

“You might not believe that, but I am. I don’t know why it was so hard or why it was so easy with Peter. I didn’t- It wasn’t intentional, I didn’t even realise.”

The young Stark kept his eyes on his father but his face stayed blank and lips sealed.

“And you know, just because maths and science subjects didn’t come naturally to you doesn’t mean you’re an idiot. I’ve never once thought you were. I know the Stark name has become so tied to them, mechanics, advanced technology and engineering… but it doesn’t mean you’re not…good enough? Because you don’t follow that. I never thought you should have been, it didn’t-didn’t disappoint me or anything. But you were always so talented in arts, you wrote the most amazing stories and a complete natural in the kitchen. Things I’m not so great at. It just made it harder for me to figure out how to connect. I didn’t know where to start.”

A small smile flashed across his face, eyes glazed as he recalled the past.

“Y’know, I loved those stories about the uh, the dragons that live on your shoulder. I’d find drawings and paintings of them all over the house, and it was a big house!”

Across from him, his son’s head raised a little higher, eyebrows subtly furrowing and looked at the soft expression on his father’s face. He had no idea Tony even know about those.

“I should have been there, tried harder. There’s no excuse for that. But I have always cared. You were just so talented in things I didn’t understand. Then I saw how close you and Rhodey became and-“

Tony let out a sigh, looking away from his son.

“You were left with me, an egotistical ass and a- a playboy. I didn’t think I deserved you. You deserved someone better. Someone emotionally available and mature. Someone to help you grow into an amazing person and progress your talents. Someone like Rhodey. He deserved you and you him. He was -and is- better for you. You were loved and supported by him, and then Pepper and Happy, so I – I thought you’d be ok. That you wouldn’t need me.”

Once again it was all quiet in the small room. This time Tony wouldn’t look at his son, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his father.

“I did need you.”

His voice was raspy as he admitted this to not only Tony but himself.

“Rhodey’s the best. I love him. Couldn’t have asked for a better Uncle. But that’s what he is; my Uncle. You were supposed to be my Dad. I shouldn’t have had a father figure when my father was right there. You were so cool, before and after becoming Iron Man. You made everything around you seem like fun. I didn’t understand the tech crap but- I’m an artist. I can, and did, design things. It’s not all on you, I didn’t make it easy.”

“You were a kid, it is on me. But, maybe- When we get out of here I’ll do better. I want to be an active part in your life. I also understand if it’s too late though.”

“It’s not. It’ll take time but, I’d like that. Rhodey might get jealous though.”

A huffed laugh slipped past Tony’s lips as they spread into a smile on his face when his son cracked a grin.

They continued to talk into the night, about school, which colleges and courses, friends and dating. Once they started they couldn’t stop.

It is hard to shut up a Stark.

They were laughing about one of Tony’s stories of his time in MIT with Rhodey when an explosion shook the room.

The men stood up and faced the door as the sounds of fighting and yelling grew nearer. A smirk spread on Tony’s face as he recognised the noises of his teammates.

It wasn’t long before the door was broken down and Captain America stood in it’s place.

“Bout damn time. Did you stop for coffee?”

“Yeah, yeah, tin man. You’re welcome.” Hawkeye quipped as they walked down the halls.

Rhodey broke through to get to his nephew’s side, checking him over and ensuring he was ok.

Tony led the group to the main room. The kidnappers had access to files and tech that would be too dangerous to leave.

As Tony wiped everything, quips flowing between him and his teammates, none of them noticed the man sneak in through another door.

The younger Stark moved before his brain could even process what was happening, placing himself between his father and the gun that was raised to his back.

*bang*

#tony stark x reader #platonic tony stark x reader #platonic!tony stark x reader #tony stark x son!reader #tony stark x son #tony stark imagine #avengers imagine #avengers reader insert

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kingstylesdaily · 5 years ago

Text

Why Harry Styles Just Scored His First No. 1 Song

Like any boy band alumnus, he first had to overcome radio’s bias against teen heartthrobs.

Late summer is a great time for sleeper hits: songs that have been hanging around the charts for months and finally hit their stride. Four years ago, in August 2016, Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” reached No. 1 after knocking around the charts since the prior winter, getting its final boost from a Sean Paul remix. In September 2018, Maroon 5’s year-old “Girls Like You” slipped into the top slot after wafting around the Top 10 for more than four months, with a Cardi B verse putting it over the edge. Last year around Labor Day, Lizzo finally topped the Hot 100 with “Truth Hurts,” a song that was two years old and had been rising gradually on the chart since the spring.

This year’s sleeper hit is “Watermelon Sugar,” a wisp of a song by boy bander–turned–self-styled rock star Harry Styles. With a name inspired by Richard Brautigan’s hippie-era, post-apocalyptic novella In Watermelon Sugar, Styles’ lackadaisical tune is not only a sleeper but a grower, the sort of hit that sneaks up on you—I wasn’t sure it even had a fully written chorus the first time I heard it, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone. Indeed, the whole nation took its time deciding that this quirky ditty would give the starriest, most eccentric member of One Direction his first-ever U.S. chart-topper.

youtube

“Watermelon Sugar” is the third single promoted from Styles’ second solo album Fine Line, which was released last December. That alone is remarkable, given the challenge in the digital age of generating chart interest in anything other than an album’s first couple of singles. Generally, in an era when all of an album’s songs are available to be consumed the day the album drops, you need a remix or a special guest of some kind to gin up chart action months after the song first hits streaming. “Sugar” has none of those. To be sure, there was some gimmickry fueling the song’s leap to the top, albeit of an old-fashioned kind: The song had its best week of sales ever thanks to an assortment of limited-edition vinyl and cassette singles that came bundled with a digital download. Those sales got “Sugar” the last mile on the charts, but Columbia Records wouldn’t have put the physical goods on sale if the song wasn’t already a radio smash—“Sugar” currently has the second-biggest U.S. airplay audience—and they knew they had an opening between current hits by Taylor Swift and a pair of lascivious female rappers I’ll almost certainly be writing about in this space next week. So, fair play to Team Harry: They took advantage of an open chart window, a tactic as old as the Hot 100 itself.

As “Sugar” leaps from No. 7 to No. 1 on the Hot 100 this week—essentially switching places with his ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift’s “Cardigan,” which falls to No. 8—Styles scores only the second-ever chart-topper by a member of One Direction. That includes all of the hits by 1D itself. In its five years of recording, from 2011 through 2015, the band never scored a Hot 100 No. 1. This despite topping the Billboard 200 album chart with its first four studio albums, the only group in history to launch a career with that haul. So … what was that other 1D-affiliated Hot 100–topper I mentioned? It was by ex-member Zayn Malik, the only member to break from the crew while it was still active. Zayn’s smoldering, Weeknd-esque boudoir jam “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1—and spent a solitary week there—in the winter of 2016, fueled by blockbuster streams and downloads ginned up by 1D superfans still mourning his departure the prior year and the group’s resulting, presumably permanent hiatus.

Explaining how the top-selling boy band of the 2010s could shift so many CDs and downloads but generate only two No. 1 singles means briefly recapping the fraught history of boy bands and the charts. Selling albums has never been hard for pinup pop groups, since the days of Meet the Beatles! and More of the Monkees. And in the ’70s and ’80s, such precision sing-and-dance troupes as the Jackson 5, the Osmonds, and New Edition managed to generate both gold albums and chart-conquering singles. In 1989, New Kids on the Block had the year’s second-biggest album and four of the year’s top singles, including a pair of No. 1s. But starting in the ’90s, as U.S. radio networks consolidated (fueled by the 1996 Telecommunications Act) and programmers more narrowly targeted specific demographics, radio stations shied away from maximalist teen-pop that appealed primarily to under-18 audiences. By the end of that decade, even as boy bands were enjoying a new wave of TRL-fueled popularity, radio became a chart handicap for them. The Backstreet Boys and ’N Sync had the top-selling albums of 1999 and 2000, respectively—the diamond-selling Millennium and No Strings Attached—but only scored a solitary Hot 100 topper between them, ’N Sync’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” (Backstreet never hit No. 1: The deathless “I Want It That Way” peaked at No. 6.)

This radio bias against boy bands has persisted into the 21st century. And ever since the Hot 100 went digital about a decade and a half ago, teen-pop’s chart placements have been the result of a battle between rabid downloaders and radio gatekeepers—massive digital sales compensating for modest radio play. For example, radio was what kept the Jonas Brothers from scoring any chart-topping hits during their original wave of teen idoldom; their biggest hit of the ’00s, the No. 5 hit “Burnin’ Up,” sold 2 million downloads but only ranked 55th at U.S. radio. By the ’10s, the same fate befell one-man boy band Justin Bieber. In this long-running Slate series, I have chronicled the blow-by-blow between Justin Bieber and radio programmers that swung from Justin as hit-starved teen idol in the early ’10s to dominant young-adult chart-dominator in the late ’10s. In the early ’10s period, Bieber was a YouTube and iTunes demigod with not a single radio smash to his name. He could sell a half-million downloads of “Boyfriend” in a week and still fall short of the No. 1 spot, thanks (no thanks) to radio.

For One Direction, the chart patterns were the same. A Frankenstein’s monster that Simon Cowell famously threw together in 2010 on his televised competition The X Factor from five solo competitors—Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson—1D continually found its singles dragged down on the Hot 100 by radio, even as the band sold truckloads of albums. The pattern was set in fall 2012 when “Live While We’re Young” debuted with a staggering 341,000 downloads but could only get to No. 3 on the Hot 100, thanks to its 50th-ranked radio airplay. In the summer of 2013, the slyly Who-interpolating “Best Song Ever” became 1D’s highest-charting hit ever, debuting at No. 2 with record video views and near-record downloads, but at radio it never got past No. 53. “Story of My Life” (No. 6, 2014), “Drag Me Down” (No. 3, 2015)—no matter how many downloads sold or videos viewed, 1D could never top the Hot 100 so long as its radio spins remained limited.

The reason I’m running down all of this granular chart data is it reveals the hurdles both 1D and its post-breakup soloists had to overcome to top the Hot 100. Like Justin Bieber, they had to become credible radio fodder with adults as well as kids. With his early break from the group, Zayn was the first to pull this off. Though “Pillowtalk” debuted at No. 1 largely due to massive sales and streams, the carnal song did eventually become a No. 4–ranked airplay hit. Cleverly, Zayn had chosen a then-current EDM-inflected R&B mode and dropped his debut while the Weeknd was between albums. Other former 1D-ers have had their share of solid radio hits, including Liam Payne’s hip-hop–inflected “Strip That Down” featuring Quavo of Migos (No. 10 on the Hot 100, No. 4 on Radio Songs) and Niall Horan’s softly bopping pop jam “Slow Hands” (No. 11 Hot 100, No. 2 Radio Songs).

And Harry Styles? He decided to make things harder on himself. His 2017 debut album was chockablock with old-school classic rock. This would be like launching a career in 1964 with big-band jazz. While Styles’ fame ensured a big launch for his Bowie-esque single “Sign of the Times”—it opened, and peaked, at No. 4 on the Hot 100, fueled by strong downloads—radio showed only moderate interest. It eventually reached a modest No. 21 on the airplay chart. Later Harry singles like the twangy “Two Ghosts” and the thrashy “Kiwi” missed the Hot 100 and had little radio profile beyond a handful of pure-pop stations that were loyal to Styles from his 1D days. One admired Harry for following his artistic muse—more Joni Mitchell than Justin Bieber—but as a pop star, he arguably squandered his momentum coming out of One Direction.

What has made Fine Line, Styles’ sophomore album, such a clever left turn is he retained the rock flavor he naturally gravitates toward but converted it into mellow California-style surf-pop, and he let his production team—Tyler Johnson and Thomas “Kid Harpoon” Hull—fashion the songs into percolating radio jams. Each single has opened the door a bit wider: “Lights Up,” a No. 17 last October, is lightly strummed beach music with ethereal backing vocals. And “Adore You,” a No. 6 hit in April (for my money, still Styles’ best single), is thumping electropop. “Adore” in particular served as Styles’ entrée onto radio’s A-list—it reached No. 1 on mainstream Top 40 stations and No. 2 on Radio Songs by early summer.

With this beachhead established, Harry was finally free to let his freak flag fly with “Watermelon Sugar,” which is simultaneously his oddest single and his most infectious. The chorus consists of nothing more than the line “Watermelon sugar high” repeated a half-dozen or more times, with emphasis on the “HIGH.” (TikTok users have keyed into this idiosyncrasy, sharing videos in which the “high” gets its own video edit of the user playacting her best stoner face.) Last November, when Styles did double-duty hosting and singing on Saturday Night Live, “Sugar” was one of the songs he performed, and in that indoor setting, it came off as willfully quirky and seasonally incongruous; the song’s first verse line is “Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin’.” Now, timed for 2020’s beach season—complete with a video filled with beautiful people on the shore, shot just before the pandemic and, according to a title card, “dedicated to touching”—it’s sitting atop the hit parade.

In short, Harry Styles finally has a profile on the radio and on the Hot 100 that matches his profile on magazine covers, and he achieved it on his own schedule and something like his own terms. Like John Lennon in the ’70s—the founder and nominal leader of the Beatles but the last former Fab to reach the toppermost of the poppermost as a solo artist—Styles just had to find his own way. As that onetime teen heartthrob sang, “Whatever gets you to the light, it’s all right.”

source: Slate

#kingstylesdaily #harry styles #hs: watermelon sugar #august 2020

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threeletterslife · 5 years ago

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07 | Illegirl

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→ summary: Excelling in every school subject, acing every math test and conquering the academic world is something you do as easily as breathing. As your residential social outcast nerd, you live rather as a recluse, talking to almost no one except for your dear ol’ cousin and that sweet boy in a few of your classes—Jungkook? was that his name? Befriending your ʰᵒᵗ AP stats teacher was the last thing on your high school senior agenda…

→ genre: 90% fluff, 8% crack, 2% angst | teacher!au & f2l!au

→ warnings: profanity, kissing/making out, (kinda??) sexual fantasies

→ wordcount: 6.2k

You need to get rid of all the memories you've had with Jimin.

It's quite simple, actually. You've broken it down into four rules.

1. Don't call him Jimin. He's merely your teacher, not friend

2. You've never ever kissed him before. In fact, let's just say you don't even meet him outside of school for whatever reason

3. You don't know anything about him except his age, name and profession. You certainly don't know anything he hides behind his pretty face

4. Lastly, you weren't his friend, you never were

Ever since the mistaken incident, all fun was stripped away from your life. Essentially, whenever Jin was away, you had Jimin to rely on, but even he was distancing himself from you. You knew it was for the better.

You see a bland pattern these days. During class, Jimin still calls on you (to ensure normal behavior), but both of you avoid eye contact. After class, you silently walk into his classroom and walk out when Jimin's ready to leave. You don't ever exchange words, even when he drops you off.

If you're absolutely forced to talk to him, you don't call him Jimin, you call him Mr. Park, because that's what he really is to you. Only friends call each other by their first names, and Jimin's just a teacher to you.

And you're just a student to him.

You count off the long days until your cousin will come back home. Every day seems to drag on and you constantly can't wait to go to bed for a short while but only to wake up again and start the shitty cycle once more.

But finally, finally, fucking finally, the day comes when your cousin will be back. You're a bit reluctant to accompany your teacher to the airport, but you don't have a car, much less a driver's license.

The car ride is awkward, just as you expected. You manage to sit still, looking out the window the whole time to avoid any chance of eye contact, running math equations in your head to distract yourself.

Of course, in the end, the uncomfortable ride was worth it.

It's Seokjin, after all.

"My baby cousin, best friend! Still alive, I see!" your cousin practically screams as he bull-runs towards you and Jimin, his suitcase basically flying behind him. That earns a few strange looks from passers.

When Jin reaches you, he embraces you in a warm hug.

"I've been living off instant ramen," you whine. "It's not fair that you don't let me get out of the house alone!"

Your cousin cocks his head as he looks between you and Jimin. "Hey, don't you two usually eat together after school?"

"We were both busy," Jimin quickly says, glancing your way awkwardly.

"For a month?" Jin questions.

"Yeah... a lot of homework," you trail off. "Mr. Park still made sure I got into the house safely every time though," you add for some good measure.

"Mr. Park?" your cousin says suspiciously, raising his eyebrows. "Since when did you call Jimin, that?"

Busted.

"Hm... did you two fight?" Jin asks, putting a warm hand on your shoulder. He looks at you meaningfully, as if trying to compel you to tell the full truth. You're not falling for that.

"Oh, of course not," you say giggle unconvincingly. "Why would we fight?"

Jimin laughs nervously. "Y/N's right. We didn't fight."

Jin looks like he doesn't believe both of you. But thankfully, he knows not to push it. "Yeah, I expect it was something like Y/N accidentally got a B on one of your tests, Jimin," he jokes, rolling his eyes. "Anyways, I missed you two," he announces joyfully, bringing in you and your teacher for a hug. "I'll treat you two to a nice dinner."

You perk up, face suddenly glowing as you smile—it felt nice to smile, actually. You haven't done it in a while. "Oh thank god," you say. "No more ramen!"

You haven't really had your fair share of awkward dinners, but goddamn, if you had a list, this dinner would be on the very top of it.

Jin is the only one who's trying to strike up a lively conversation as you and Jimin act like brain-dead zombies. You're half-expecting your cousin to give up on his attempts to crack corny jokes, but no, Jin continues on. You guess you're thankful to have him to make the dinner not a complete shitty event.

Halfway through the meal, Jimin checks his phone, his face feigning surprise. "Oh!" he says rather loudly. "Um, something came up... Er, teacher stuff. I've got to go," he says quickly, standing up. "I'll pay."

"Excuse me, Jimin, I said this is my treat. Go on ahead to your... supposed teacher meeting," Jin says, ushering his friend out with the flip of his hand.

Anyone could tell Jimin was just faking this to get the hell out of here, but none of you were actually going to mention it.

Your teacher just looks gratefully at your cousin and practically dashes out of the nice restaurant.

An awkward silence fills the air for a while.

"So... even if the two of you didn't fight, something still happened," Jin says, turning to face you fully.

"It's nothing, really."

"Nothing? Then do you care to explain why you've lost so much weight? You haven't been eating," your cousin lectures. He points at the dark bags under your weary eyes. "And you haven't been sleeping. You're slipping back to your old habits, Y/N. What happened?"

"It doesn't hurt to do some extra studying..." you mutter. "I've got all the time in the world now," you say sarcastically.

Jin sighs, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. "Y/N," he says sternly. "How many minutes of sleep are you getting a night?"

"Forty-five," you say nonchalantly. "Don't, Jin. It used to be thirty minutes a night so you better not bring out that huge lecture again."

"I thought it was getting better..." your cousin sighs. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, and you know that."

You nod. "I know. But you're here now, right?"

Your cousin looks at you so sadly, you feel like you just might burst into tears. "Y/N, I won't always be here with you. I know I call you my baby cousin, but honestly, you've got to grow up."

His words hit you hard, only because you know he's right.

"I can't always be there to baby you, okay?" Jin says, massaging his forehead with the palm of his hand. "As of now, you're only in high school—in less than a year you'll be going to college. Life is so much more than studying. Stop using that, that shit to distract yourself from things that should mean a lot to you!" your cousin practically yells. He buries his face into his hands.

Your mouth is agape. Jin never cussed. He must be so mad. You fucked up—you've been fucking up for a while, actually.

"Jin," you say, softly shaking your cousin's shoulder. "Jin. I'm sorry."

When he looks up, you're shocked to see smudged tears dwelling on the smooth surfaces of his skin. You've never seen Jin cry—only on stage when it was scripted.

At that moment, you want to tell him everything—you've never actually hidden things from your cousin until Jimin rolled around. You want to tell him about that night Jimin was drunk and kissed you, about your crush on your teacher, how he helped you become the happiest you could be, how a month ago both of you made a huge mistake and kissed... You want to tell your cousin that you've been slipping back to your own habits because you wanted to distract yourself from thinking about him.

But you don't tell him.

"Y/N, I try, okay? I really try to make you happy. Yeah, sometimes it makes me want to rip my hair out, because god, you are such a brat at times!" he chuckles through his tears. "But Y/N, I love you. And I know, whatever has been going on between you and Jimin has been making you happier than ever. It's something I couldn't do for you, and I still beat myself up over that. But something happened between the two of you, and the happiness is gone now. You don't have to tell me anything, but just... don't go studying for hours when you face some sort of problem in your life, okay?"

Fuck, now I'm crying.

You nod, making your tears flow down your face. "Okay. I'm sorry," you manage to say. "I'm so sorry. I've been so selfish—"

Jin wipes your tears away with his soft sweater, pulling you into a tight hug right after. "It's okay. You're still learning, you're only 17. Besides, my outlet is theater. While you were practically starving yourself for a month, I was literally having the time of my life with the drama crew. Don't worry about me too much. I'm not the one who still needs to figure out what to do in life."

All you can do is nod into Jin's chest, sniffling slightly. You love him so much you can't even explain in words.

"Fix things up with Jimin, try, okay? I don't care if you end your senior year having a B, or seven F's��what matters is your happiness. Try to consider that the next time you try to starve and sleep deprive yourself," Jin says softly, his fingers sifting daintily through your hair, caressing it in a way you think a mother would do.

You hum in agreement, your head still resting against your cousin's warm chest. You want to stay like this forever.

But after a few minutes, your cousin tugs you back, smiling brightly at you. "Now, we've put on quite a show in this restaurant, haven't we?" he whispers in a giggly voice.

Whut.

It's only then when you realize this whole episode had happened at the restaurant. In public. You can feel the judging gazes of people.

Oh fuck no.

"Oh my god, this is so embarrassing!" you hiss, gripping your cousin's sweater, face colored bright red as you can't bear to look up again.

Jin laughs heartily. "But what's life without a little public embarrassment?"

He looks up to you as much as you look up to him. As your older cousin, Seokjin always feels the need to take care of you, to make sure you're doing okay. At times, he forgets that he should put himself before others. At times, he forgets that he has a life outside of taking care of you and several grubby high schoolers. At times he forgets who he even is.

But on the days that he forgets, he thinks back to what you always tell him. You, the bratty, but amazing sunshine of his life.

"Jin, you're the goofiest guy I've ever fuc—I mean, freaking met. You'd think such a goofy guy would be empty-headed. But to think that I'm wrong... You're an amazing actor. It's scary to see you on stage sometimes because you're not Jin anymore. Like I swear to fu—flopping god that you change into a completely different person!"

"Y/N, are you complimenting me, or roasting me?"

"Isn't it obvious? I'm doing both. One shouldn't take too many compliments at once. It makes them big-headed."

"Well, I can't argue with you, I know that. But you really think I can act?"

"Okay, Jin, I know you can act, alright? I've seen you. Honestly, you should try pursuing it. Oh my god, if you ever get famous, write a play about me!"

Jin chuckles at the memory. He never ever liked letting you see his weak side. To you, he was always some superhero who would always crack up jokes to lighten up any dark mood, his specialty was saving awkward dinners from spiraling out of control.

But since you were deprived of the details of Jin's darker part of his life, he needed someone else to vent to: Jimin.

"Jin, you should start to worry more about yourself than Y/N. Seriously, all you do is talk about her—is she that worrisome?"

"Jimin, bro, you don't even know. She's just... different and I'm so worried about her and how's she's gonna handle you know, life."

"You know what you need to do?"

"What?"

"Take a fucking chill pill. Let the girl be. She's 17, isn't she? You've been babying her too much, you know that? The more you worry about her, the more restricted she'll feel. She'll learn by herself. Life is trial and error—you should know that."

"I—"

"Okay, and in the meantime, holy shit, man, take care of yourself. All you do is teach, take care of Y/N, teach, take care of Y/N, teach, take care of—"

"I think I get the point."

"Yeah? Well, doesn't look like you get it. Jin, do something for yourself for once. What do you like to do?"

"You know, the usual. Sleep... Look in the mirror..."

"If you're not gonna be serious, I'm going to leave—"

"Fine! I like acting okay? I love it. Every year the drama team is invited for competitions and I'm never able to go, so we've been losing every time."

"I presume you can't go to take care of Y/N?"

"Yeah.. uh—"

"I'll take care of her then, buddy. You go fulfill your dream, bro; you deserve it."

"Wait, actually? For real? You'd do that? This better not be one of your jokes."

"Do I look like I'm joking? You deserve to be doing what you want, Jin. Everyone does."

Jin feels so warm inside as he recalls that memory. It was thanks to Jimin that he was able to experience the time of his life at the competition, doing the thing he loved. It had also been thanks to Jimin that you had been happy for quite the longest time.

If Seokjin didn't know any better, he'd say there was just a bit of chemistry between the two of you—it was either that or a solid friendship. But for some reason whatever was there is now gone.

You were colder, more distant than before and even Jimin had stopped laughing so often.

"I know I'm asking you this a lot these days, but are you happy, Y/N? You don't look like it..."

"That's because I'm not. But don't you dare worry about me, it makes me feel selfish. I'm going to find things out when the time comes. You know, I care about you too. And honestly, I want you to stop worrying about me because it's stunting your happiness. I'm 17, I can figure things out myself."

"Can you figure things out by yourself? For real?"

"What did I just say? Yes, I can! I'm telling you, I'm starting to get life, alright?"

Jin shakes his head, sighing. He could always see through your lies. It was painfully obvious you were just saying the things he wanted to hear. He could see the confusion in your eyes whenever you stared at Jimin, he could see how blank your stare was when you were looking at anything else.

So. Obvious.

"Y/N, are you sure there's nothing going on between you and Jimin?"

"I'm absolutely sure."

Jin wasn't so sure you were sure.

The young teacher really hadn't meant to kiss you. Things had just taken an unexpected turn, and judging from your reaction, it had been an enormous mistake. It physically hurt to have lost his other best friend, but he tried hard to not let it affect his life.

He could see it affected you though.

Of course, he had noticed you had lost weight—he also noticed the growing dark circles under your usually sparkling eyes. He could see how much duller you were. He also noticed he was smiling less without you.

Jimin sighs out loud as he makes his way into his car. He really missed having you around, with your unique, spunky personality, beautiful smile and hilarious side comments.

As he's driving, he can't stop thinking about you. Your face, your laugh, god, even your handwriting—sometimes he just spends long minutes admiring your neat penmanship on your tests. He knows every single one of your writing quirks—how you take your time to put a cute little dash over your 7's, or how beautiful your 4's look compared to everyone else's.

Stop it, Park Jimin. You'll crash your car if you don't stop thinking about her.

It takes five minutes longer than it should've, but Jimin finally arrives at the local market, clutching his clear shopping bag. He painfully looks down at it. It reminds him of you.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Um... clear."

"That's not a color, Y/N!"

"Do I fucking look like I care?"

"But that's like saying your favorite fruit is a carrot."

"Wait, my favorite fruit is a carrot! Damn, how'd you guess??"

He can't help but chuckle at the memory, but he abruptly stops, remembering you two won't be able to share memories like this anymore. Sighing, Jimin trudges into the supermarket.

He's been going here a lot these days. Ever since he found out you had not just one sweet tooth, but 28 sweet teeth, he'd been trying to learn how to bake pastries, buying all sorts of ingredients to create saccharine dishes. Just for you.

It wasn't much of a miracle that the last time you had baked together didn't turn out to be a disaster. Jimin had practiced.

He loves cooking with you. You always look ethereal, hair a bit frizzy from the heat and tied back from your face with stray strands brushing against your face. Your cheeks are always flushed and somehow frosting always gets on your forehead. Even thinking about you makes all his sadness and hurt disappear into thin air.

Except, Jimin wasn't going to the store to buy ingredients to bake. He was going to buy some beer. He hadn't gotten drunk ever since he'd accidentally kissed you—the first time, that is. But he figured today, he needed it. He needs to get his mind off of things. He needs to get his mind off of you.

Jimin walks through the aisles, blank-minded, stopping only at the alcohol section. He randomly picks at a pack of beers, knowing he'll probably end up drinking it all today. He grabs it, hand hovering to place the pack in his clear bag.

But again, it reminds him of you.

"I don't know why the fuck you would ever drink. Like, does it taste good? What's the fucking point?"

"I dunno. I just kinda drink it when I want to alleviate stress, I guess."

"Well, that's stupid. You should try ice cream. That stuff makes you feel better right away and it doesn't make you go wack and do hilarious shit you'll end up regretting."

"Are you actually shading me, right now?"

"So what if I am??"

Jimin smiles at the memory. The first mistaken kiss between the two of you was such a joke—you two would always make fun of it. Why couldn't the second one be treated the same?

He sighs, clutching the pack of beer as he puts it back on the shelf. Chuckling to himself, he starts to make his way to the ice cream aisle.

Jimin scans the series of ice cream flavors to choose from. Immediately, the mint chocolate chip ice cream catches his eye, and without hesitation, he takes the tub and places it whole in his shopper.

Y/N's favorite. Jimin smiles, then starts to walk to the checkout, only pausing when he remembers he needs a new set of his favorite red pens. Nodding his head to himself, Jimin makes his way to the office supplies section of the store, scanning the shelves to pick out his favorite.

Big mistake.

As soon as he picks up the 3-pack of his much-needed red gel pens, it reminds him of grading, which reminds him of grading tests, which was exactly what he had been doing just three minutes before he and you had ruined your friendship. Your face looms in his memory.

Something stings inside. It rips his heart and then shrivels it up as if he had dumped it into highly-concentrated saltwater. Like lemon juice on a paper cut—but the paper cut was a gushing wound.

It was as if he only just realized he lost someone crucial to his happiness.

Jimin can't help but make a sour, hurt face, instantly tossing the pack of pens away from him. He doesn't want to deal with bad memories. The pens can wait.

Instead, Park Jimin finds himself wandering back to the alcohol aisle, absentmindedly buying an even larger pack of beers, setting it next to the tub of ice cream. There's enough room in the kitchen for both anyways.

His thoughts are completely blank as he drives home. It's as if the rush of pain he'd felt earlier had hurt so, so much he was now immune to it. It was numb.

He reaches his house, setting down the beer and ignoring the ice cream that would surely melt if kept out in the open; he pauses in his steps, hand midway through raking his hair back. All because he sees his couch.

You loved that couch. Actually, you practically lived on it whenever you came over, insisting to even eat dinner seated on it because "it's fucking comfortable."

When you sleep over, taking his bed, he sleeps on that same couch where he can smell your soothing scent. It lulls him to sleep.

But then comes the fantasies.

"Someone will hear!"

"Let them hear."

"God, Jimin, you have no fucking morals," you breathe shakily. "What if Jin walks in?"

"Jin? Walk in? In my house?" Jimin laughs hotly against your neck. "You're just making excuses, baby girl."

"Why would I make excuses?" you say weakly, gripping the hem of his shirt. "I want this just as much as you do."

"Oh?"

Jimin hums as nuzzles the sensitive part of your neck with his nose.

"R-really, Jimin? But here?" you stutter as your eyes automatically close and your mouth parts.

"We'll take it to the couch, love," he answers, sweeping you up in a smooth fashion and softly laying you on the couch before making his way on top of you.

Your body is enveloped by the plush couch and Jimin whose legs are on either side of your hips. He dips in unhurriedly, his tongue touching your lips before his. You wrap your arms around his neck as Jimin cups your face with both hands, kissing you slowly.

Lips still attached, you tug at the hem of his button-up shirt, and Jimin takes the hint to slowly start unbuttoning it. You shift below him to help him with his buttons and before long, his shirt is off and discarded somewhere on the floor. Only then do you move apart from each other's lips.

You marvel at his fit body, reaching to run your cold fingers across his toned muscles. Jimin doesn't give you enough time to continue your sightseeing as he pushes you back down, playing with the bottom of your t-shirt. He gives you a seductive look as you practically melt under him.

"Why don't we take this off too?"

"J-Jimin..."

Wait a fucking minute. This isn't right.

Jimin sighs loudly as he gives his head a little shake as if it would erase him of that rather inappropriate fantasy. At least he's glad it was one of the more innocent imaginations he's had of you.

But now he feels more broken than ever. You're something he can't have, your relationship only exists in the depth of his mind, hidden away from judgment. Jimin sighs again, ripping open the pack of beers and taking one. It's not even cold, but at this point, he doesn't care.

He just wants to forget.

On second thought, he grabs the whole pack and takes it with him to the kitchen, setting it down, choosing one and cracking it open in one swift move. It's a familiar, refreshing feeling.

Jimin raises the can to his lips, waiting to feel the rush of the bitter contents on his tongue. But he freezes.

He's thinking of you again. It's as if his brain can't function without thinking of you so often. Yet this time, it's not the thought of you, it's the sight. Jimin sees your smiling face, the way your sweet lips part to reveal your smooth teeth in a brilliant grin. He can't but to smile to himself as well.

Almost immediately, he sets the beer down.

Maybe... Maybe you might not want to be friends anymore, but Jimin knows that he does. He figured that's all it takes to make him happy. If the thought of you can make him content, make him choose the right decisions, then he'll just have to continue thinking of you.

He's sorry he moved in to change a friendship into a relationship so fast, and he might just regret it, but in the end, he's glad he's met you.

Jimin slowly picks himself up to grab the tub of your favorite ice cream, scrounging for a spoon. The first bite is heavenly, wonderful and phenomenal.

Just like Y/N.

He shakes his head as he takes another scoop, placing it in his mouth to melt slowly.

Damn. I'm so whipped for her.

You sift heavy textbooks around in your arms, fumbling with your lock before getting it open. Throwing the books in, you sigh as you slam your locker shut. These days, you had lost interest in a lot of things you used to like—school included. Things just seemed so bland. You didn't ever feel like socializing with anyone, forcibly dragging yourself to class every single day.

"Hey, Y/N!" a familiar voice calls as you whip your head around to respond.

"Oh, Jungkook!" you reply, "ah, and Yoongi, Taehyung..." Immediately, guilt courses through your veins. You'd been ditching them during lunch for quite some time now, ignoring their frequent 'where are you?' texts. They'd come to confront you for sure.

"Were you sick?" Jungkook asks as he reaches you. "I didn't see you in school for a while."

"I bet you happened to drop your phone in the toilet as well," Yoongi snarks.

Taehyung coughs awkwardly. "Since you haven't been answering our texts."

"Well, I—" you sigh. How are you supposed to tell them you've been wanting a lot of alone time these days without brutally mutilating their feelings? The answer was too obvious.

"Uh, yeah I was sick. And yeah, I kinda drowned my phone in the toilet," you say. Lies. "I'm sorry if you worried."

"Damn, did you drop your phone in the toilet after you used it, or before?" Yoongi laughs, earning an elbow to the ribs from his truly, Jungkook.

"You don't have to be sorry, Y/N," the sweet math nerd muses, giving Yoongi a dirty look. "We're sorry you haven't felt well. You're better now, right?"

You stand there awkwardly, not wanting to engage in a full-blown conversation. Your daily dose of alone-time was calling, and you desperately wanted to succumb to it.

"Yeah... um, I'm okay, been better. Sorry, I kinda have to go..." you fib. "Um, doctor's appointment?" It sounds more like a question than a solid lie but it'll do for now. "See you sometime later, I guess."

Turning around, you quickly walk away, faintly hearing confusedly murmured goodbyes from your friends. You speed around a corner, finding refuge in the girl's bathroom. Setting your things down in the big stall, you sigh, sitting down on top of your backpack.

It almost feels like the old days.

Except back then, you didn't have to ditch your friends for solitude because you had none. In a way, you feel slightly guilty. Your friends just wanted to hang out with you, it was that simple. But surely, if you hung out with them, you'd ruin the fun and the happy mood.

It's better to not meet them at all than meet them and remember bad things.

It's an upgrade, you think. You used to be afraid that others would hurt you. Now you're afraid you'll hurt others.

Some kind of upgrade.

It's even worse with the situation you have at hand (ahem, the Jimin one). You rarely lift your head up in class, flinching just slightly when he calls your name to solve a problem. It's harder than you think. To get rid of a crush, that is.

Not only that, but it's also wrong to be infatuated with your teacher. You just don't know what to do anymore. Jin didn't buy your feigned happiness—well, any idiot could tell you weren't as content as before. And now you've got a handful of people worrying, fussing over you of all others.

Why couldn't they just leave you alone?

No, that's stupid.

Deep inside, you want them to care, to worry for you. It gives you a feeling that you're not so alone.

"Y/N? You little liar!" a masculine voice screams from the entrance of the girl's restroom.

"Oh shit," you breathe. That was definitely Taehyung. Fuck. Just stay quiet, it's not like they can—

"We're coming in!" Yoongi yells, making the blood drain out of your face.

"Wait, guys!" Jungkook pleads. But it's too late. Yoongi and Taehyung barge into the girl's bathroom, rattling stall doors. Thank goodness you know for a fact no other girls were in here.

Before Yoongi or Taehyung can break down the stalls, you quickly unlatch your door, coming face to face with the two students.

"Ha! I knew you were in here!" Taehyung declares. "Jungkook swore he saw you go to the restroom and not to the office!"

"Doctor's appointment, huh?" Yoongi smirks.

"Well, I—"

"Save it. Jungkook, you little brat, get in here! Stop being a wimp!" Yoongi yells at the top of his lungs.

"Yoongi, will you quiet down? This is the girl's restroom," you hiss.

"But if this is the place you choose to eat your lunch at, we'll be here by your side," Jungkook says, smiling as he timidly walks in the stall. He looks alert as if anyone could open the door to the restroom and catch three teenage boys in a bad act, (which was perfectly plausible).

You don't know how in the hell you're supposed to respond to this. This. This is what friendship should be, isn't it? You'd never really known until now. It's such a beautiful, heartwarming feeling.

"Actually, JK, my man, you can be by her side, Yoongi and I have some business to take care of," Taehyung giggles has Yoongi links his arm around his.

"Wait, huh? That wasn't the pl—"

"Buh-bye!" Yoongi sings, waving his fingers at you and Jungkook as he and Taehyung strut out of the bathroom, not once looking back.

You and Jungkook are completely stunned into silence.

"Wow, they're really out to get us, huh?" you finally say, laughing under your breath.

"Y-yeah," Jungkook agrees quickly. "Listen, Y/N," he turns to you, the surprising sternness in his voice hinting that he was being extremely serious. "I understand you like your alone time, maybe a bit more than others. But sometimes the most dangerous, harmful and hurtful thoughts come when you're in solitude."

He's right and you know it.

"Aw, Jungkook, don't worry, I'm fine!" you say in the most lighthearted way you can. You chuckle sourly inside. No, I'm not.

"Y/N, you're not fine," Jungkook sighs. "For the longest time, I thought you weren't hanging out with us during lunch because... because you hated me or something. But now, I think there's something going on in your life that's hurting you, keeping you from being the better you."

You're speechless.

"Do you have anything to tell me?"

You do.

"I don't."

"Y/N, it's a burden to tell others every single detail of your life and problems, but it's also a burden to not say one single word about it," Jungkook says. "I don't know anything about you except that you like math... I want to know more about you, what goes on in your life, what problems you have. I want to help you."

It's then when you know you've been a mystery to Jungkook. You know a shit ton about him from your friendly talks, but you never talk about yourself. You realize you had only ever told Jimin everything that went on in your life. He was the one who could possibly know you better than Jin, himself. Jimin.

His name echoes in your head, but it feels so empty and dark.

You hadn't even known you were crying until Jungkook wordlessly wipes your tears away with the hem of his sleeve. He softly pats your back, then hesitates before he leans in to embrace you. Something about that makes you start crying. Too bad it's the ugly kind.

Jungkook seems a bit taken back at your sudden burst of tears, but he only holds you tighter, rubbing warm circles in your back. The best part about it is that he doesn't say a single word. He gives you time to cry your heart out, giving you company when you should feel so lonely.

You hiccup, leaning back from Jungkook's chest but still in the warmth of his embrace. "I'm sorry. I just... I don't... I'm so sorry," you blubber. Damn. Why the fuck—

"Unrequited love?" Jungkook asks softly.

You give him a strange look. "I guess you could say that..."

"Thought so," he mutters. "But he loves you back," he declares confidently.

Your head jerks up and you take a second before you start to laugh, the last of your tears dripping down from your chin to the ground. "How would you know?"

"You're Y/N. Everyone loves you back," Jungkook says, grinning. He dabs at your wet cheeks with his sleeve.

"And you're supposed to say that because you're my friend," you chuckle. "Trust me. It's not even 'love.' It's a little crush that I shouldn't even have had in the first place," you explain. "I'll be fine."

Jungkook smiles. "I trust that you will be." He's about to say more, but you hear the restroom door swing open as a few loud, gossipy girls come in.

You quickly tug Jungkook into the stall with you, locking the door. "Oh shit!" you whisper, grabbing at your friend's shirt.

"That was close!" Jungkook chuckles quietly. He smiles at you, and it's so contagious that you can't help but smile back.

You finally realize that you're not alone, that you shouldn't be alone. There are people willing to listen, to help you. There are people willing to break school rules and hang out in the girl's restroom with you, for goodness sake. You need to get over this 'unrequited love' and focus on the better things.

It took you a good ten minutes to escape the girl's restroom with Jungkook safely—curse high school girls who like to gossip their mouths off when they should really be flushing down their business. The two of you spent the rest of lunch casually talking as if you hadn't broken down crying not too long ago. It felt good to talk to someone. Especially since you've been so focused on shutting people out these days.

Now you're in the best mood you've been in months as you practically skip to Jin's drama classroom.

"Today's been a wonderful day!" you belt out singing as you swing open the door, twirling dramatically into the classroom. Looking up from your little happy dance, the color from your face drains as you see Jin and Jimin staring at you in shock.

Okay. I was expecting Jin. But Jimin? Really?

You're so embarrassed. All the mirth from before had officially been drained away.

Jin's the first one to break the silence as he laughs heartily. "A wonderful day? That's great, Y/N! Did Jungkook confess?" he teases.

You roll your eyes. "No!"

Your cousin wiggles your eyebrows at you as from the corner of your eye, you can see Jimin looking down at his shoes. Your heart stings at the sight.

"Yeah, um, so... Let's go home?" you awkwardly suggest, tightening your grip on your backpack.

"Oh right... About that," Jin chuckles nervously. "Jimin's taking you home today."

The light in your eyes extinguishes immediately. "He can't!" you blurt out before you can stop yourself.

Jimin looks up at your sudden outburst, your eyes meeting.

Crap. Shit. Fuck.

Jin cocks his head. "Don't worry, Y/N, he's not going to crash the car or anything," he laughs. Your eyes plead at your cousin. "Sorry, for the late notice, Y/N. I have some team meeting I have to go to. Now, behave yourself! I'll be home in a few hours. Bye!" Jin gives you and Jimin an equally goofy grin as he sashays out of his classroom, happily waving his hand as a final goodbye.

You internally groan. This was going to be so bad.

—previous | next

—masterlist

#jimin #park jimin #jimin fanfiction #jimin imagine #bts #bts fanfiction #jimin fluff #jimin angst #teacher au #jimin fanfic #illegirl

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why-this-kolaveri-machi · 5 years ago

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whumptober day 3: manhandled/forced to knees/held at gunpoint

back to the batfam! this is more lighthearted to make up for how dark the last two stories were.

summary: dick runs into jason while on a mission in less-than-ideal circumstances. fortunately, dick has a plan.

warnings: plenty of swearing, non-explicit references to torture, and uh... that’s it? this is set in comics verse, but again a nebulous timeline because comics make my head hurt. also, i’ve never written comics!jason before, so do let me know if you think his voice sounds off.

manhandled/forced to knees/held at gunpoint

Everybody that knows Dick has always admired him for being the ‘man with the plan’ though if anybody really thought to ask--and he wishes they would ask, he wouldn’t mind imparting some hard-earned wisdom--he would say that’s very nice, but also bullshit. You can’t plan for everything; there are too many variables to anticipate, and you don’t want to lock yourself into something that makes you predictable. If Dick appears that way at all, it’s one part thinking-on-the-fly, one part training, one part experience, and three parts blind confidence. The key is being flexible, literally and figuratively.

Of course, it’s a bit harder when you’ve got your hands tied behind your back and someone’s trying to drown you in a tub of ice-cold water, but that’s just how the job goes. Dick’s had worse.

Just as he’s on the verge of passing out, he’s grabbed by his hair and pulled out. He struggles to keep his wobbly legs under him as the asshole who had just held his head underwater leers at him. “You know what that was for, Nightwing?” he asks. “Nothing. You have nothing to offer us other than dying in the slowest, most pathetic way possible.”

Dick huffs a laugh. “Well, if that’s all…”

He gets a punch to the ribs for that and loses all his breath for the second time in the last ten minutes. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t already have what he suspected were cracked ribs from the beating earlier that evening, and, coupled with the water torture, if his lungs weren’t already burning with every breath. He heaves and coughs, grateful for the first time for the icy water dripping from his hair, as it meant his captors couldn’t see the tears leaking down his face from the strain of merely trying to breathe normally.

“Well, if this isn’t a familiar sight.”

Dick’s grabbed by his hair again--and fuck if Dick doesn’t find that the most annoying thing about this whole fiasco--and dragged into a corridor. He makes a half-hearted attempt at escaping but receives a hard shove for his trouble, and his kneecaps crack loudly against the cement floor as he falls. He lifts his head, blinking away the spots in his vision, to see Red Hood walk languidly towards him.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Jason says. “The water torture looked like it was a lot of fun.”

“He’s all yours now,” the man behind him says, kicking Dick in the small of his back. Dick grunts, but doesn’t fall over. “Figured you’d know the best way to make him hurt,” his voice drops slyly, “given how you used to fight with him, before. Practically bosom buddies, I heard.”

Dick’s mouth twists in distaste and he scoffs before he can really help himself. He receives a smack to the head for that.

Jason shrugs. “I can make him scream, yeah,” he says. “But you know how it is: you torture a Bat long enough, you attract the rest of them. And then it just isn’t any fun anymore.”

“Yeah!” one of the other men pipes up. “There’s always another one of them. And they always find you.”

“They’ve got cameras and bugs comin’ out their asses!”

“Downright fuckin’ illegal--”

“So you’ve just gotta remember,” Jason interrupts loudly, “that they’re just human scum, like the rest of us. The sooner you put a bullet between their eyes and get on with your jobs, the better.” With that, he removes a gun from his holster and points it straight at Dick’s head.

Dick tenses, breaths wheezing between his gritted teeth. The cool, calm purpose in Jason’s movements is unnerving, even more so than any of his Pit-mad rages and previous attempts at fratricide.

“He has a point,” one of the other men says slowly.

Jason smirks and clicks back the safety on his gun.

Dick’s about 60% sure he can avoid a fatal shot if he times his move exactly right, but surely Jason would be keeping that in mind? So maybe it’s a 30% chance--

“Wait,” says the man behind Dick, who seems to be the leader of the operation, “that’s too easy. I see your point, but Nightwing has ruined way too many operations of ours to go out just like that.” For fuck’s sake, there’s the hand in his hair again. He’s going to get a crew cut after this. “He still needs to suffer. I say we leave him here to slowly rot--he’s half dead right now, anyway.”

Jason narrows his eyes, his gun never wavering. “No, you don’t know these assholes like I do, you leave any of them alive you’ll--”

“I said we leave him here,” the leader growls, clearly smarting over Jason essentially taking over the operation and, you know, making points with his men. “We’ve taken everything off him, anyway. Let the other Bats find his frozen body--it’ll be a message.”

Jason rolls his eyes, but it’s an uncomfortably long moment before he finally clicks the safety back on and puts it back in his holster. “Whatever, man. Your funeral.”

They end up tying Dick’s handcuffed wrists to a hook on the wall, pulling his arms painfully behind him. His ankles are tied together as well, a heavy chain wrapped around them for good measure. Jason in particularly appears to take great pleasure in lashing the ties around Dick’s wrists as tightly as possible, the material biting bloody groves into Dick’s skin. For a brief moment, their palms touch. Dick looks away, unwilling to meet Jason’s eyes.

They leave him alone in the cold and damp, wheezing from the chill, the damage to his chest, the strain of his position, and what Dick’s pretty sure is a budding infection. When he hears the sounds of their boats leaving the harbour, he slumps his head back against the wall, presses the emergency beacon that Jason had pressed into his hand, and waits.

A week later, Dick’s resting in his room at the Wayne Tower penthouse, trying his best to sleep despite the tightness in his chest. He eyes the portable oxygen tank next to his bed; he isn’t the biggest fan of using it, but hey, apparently recovering from double pneumonia means doing a lot of things he isn’t terribly fond of, who would’ve thought?

Just then, his window creaks open and a hooded figure crawls in.

“You,” Jason says, straightening to his full, considerable height, “are an idiot.”

“Hi to you too, Jay.” Dick says cheerily.

“When you said you were going to sabotage their operation from the outside while I did it from the inside, I didn’t think it would mean get yourself captured and killed!” Jason throws his arms up, starting to pace. “And I’m standing there thinking, oh shit I might have to actually try and blow this motherfucker’s brains out because you have no sense of self-preservation!”

Dick coughs, then points out, “You didn’t have to. By the way, the fact that you had to be talked out of shooting me by Villain-of-the-week number 10? Kind of hurts.”

Jason deflates. “I knew they’d never let me kill you outright. They’re from Gotham, which means they’re more sadists than professional criminals.”

“Hurray for Gotham, I guess.”

Jason shakes his head. “Did you have any plan back there?”

“Of course,” Dick says, now serious. “You,”

Jason stares at him for a long, long moment before slumping into a chair by Dick’s bedside with a huge sigh. He loops the nasal cannula around Dick’s head and turns the oxygen tank on; the tightness in Dick’s chest slowly fades. “You know,” Jason says, “I think I might be ready for us to go back to being sworn enemies again. This shit is too stressful.”

Dick closes his eyes and smiles.

#nightwing #dick grayson #jason todd #red hood #my fic #whumptober2020 #no.3

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greatsagestonemonkey · 5 years ago

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A Game of Cat and Monkey (Part 2)

The last part is here! FINALLY...

It’s a bit longer than the first, but please enjoy!

“Any sign of him?” Wukong asked, hardly giving Sandy and Pigsy the time to catch their breath before demanding an answer.

“No, and I’m afraid there’s worse news!” Sandy said, frowning down at his captain.

“Ugh that’s just great…” Wukong rubbed his temples with his fingertips and shook his head. “I mean I knew the kid could be impulsive and all, but to go running off on his own like that without… wait, what worse news?”

“We spotted some of Macaque’s crew ashore, and it looks like they already know we’re here.” Sandy replied, still frowning.

“And MK?” Wukong asked, heckles raising visibly.

“We’re not sure… but yeah, it looks like they know he’s off on his own somewhere and are looking for him, too.”

Wukong swore something under his breath, punching a fist into his open palm. “Then we need to move fast. If we find and follow them, chances are they could lead us to MK!”

“That might be what Macaque is counting on,” Tang said calmly. “This whole thing could be a scheme he’s cooked up to use MK to get to you.”

“I know… but we can’t just do nothing.”

“That almost goes without saying…”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Mei said, drumming her fingers against the hilt of her sword like she was itching for a fight. “Let’s gear up and go!”

“Mei’s right, everyone grab your gear and be ready for anything!” Wukong said, grabbing his hat and putting it on firmly, his golden eyes glimmering under the shadow of it’s brim as if telling anyone who had seen it, that wherever MK had ended up, they were determined to find him and get him back safe.

~~~

MK, meanwhile, was still in the alcove on the beach, fingers rapping against his arm in anxiousness. He’d been waiting for what was possibly hours in that little crook in the rock for Sea Cat to return, if she actually planned to return it all. The sun was starting to sink in the sky, turning it a deep, blood orange color, and the first of the stars were already starting to appear. That alone was an indicator she had been gone a long time, and he couldn’t be sure but he must have dozed off at least once or twice while waiting for her to return, despite the gravity of the whole situation. And he couldn’t help but wonder if she was alright, or if something had happened to her…

He kept trying to tell himself that someone who could essentially disappear as if out of thin air like she could would be fine, but there was that nagging thought in the back of his head; what if?

What if Macaque’s men got the drop on her? What if they had her cornered before she could get back to where he was? Or what if she had just abandoned him all together? Again, she didn’t seem the type, especially after she actually came back to help him earlier, but he didn’t like the feeling of just having to sit here and wait. Still, what could he do?

He glanced down at the splint on his leg and he sighed, leaning his head back against the rock behind him and looking out over what he could see of the beach. The others were probably worried sick about him right now. Especially Mei… actually no, Mei wouldn’t be worrying… well, she would, in her own way. A way that kind of made her… aggressive wasn’t really the right word for it. It was more… vengeful, in a way? She would--if they let her--literally be willing to tear apart anyone who hurt or made her worry about someone she cared for. Wukong, maybe? The monkey definitely did have a calm and cool side to him, but there was always an air of concern about him when it came to MK’s well being, one that was a lot like Mei’s only… somehow scarier.

Well, it didn’t really matter who was worrying about him the most, since right now it didn’t matter.

He’d had it with waiting.

It was probably a stupid decision on his part, but he couldn’t do it anymore.

With a strained grunt, MK pulled himself to his feet, careful not to put too much weight on his wounded leg. Using the cliff wall for support, he limped out of the small alcove, glancing up carefully to make sure no one was going to spot him as he did, then limping onward. He happened past the same pile of driftwood that Sea Cat had gotten the materials for his splint from, and reached down for a particularly long piece that would serve as a makeshift walking stick for the time being. It was just long and stout enough to support him, and if he absolutely had to he could use it as a weapon, he could. He couldn’t help but just feel a little pathetic though; how helpless he must have looked like this, and he hated it! Sure, it couldn’t be helped, but he’d rather have Wukong’s gear with him, broken leg or no broken leg… at least then he might have the extra courage he needed to move faster.

He kept having to stop to look up at the top of the cliff, making sure no one from Macaque’s crew would see him. To his relief, everytime he looked, he saw exactly that. Maybe Sea Cat’s plan to lay a false trail really worked! And if it did then there was a good chance that he was home free, as soon as he made his way across the shore, that is.

He remembered Sea Cat had described the beach as one full of tidal pools and rocky outcrops, and given what he’d seen so far, he had to watch his step. It did cross his mind to stop and look for the astrolabe in any likely place he came across, but for the sake of not being spotted by unfriendly eyes, he decided against it. Especially since, having to walk as carefully as he did with his leg, his pace was already much slower and he was growing tired very quickly.

“Maybe I should have waited…” he mumbled to himself, stopping to seat himself against a large stone that stuck out of the sand. “Like she said to…”

That thought mulled through his mind slowly as he paused to nurse his splinted leg. She probably would have ended up back at the cave, seeing it empty and wondering if something had happened to him while she was gone, then probably go looking for him...

Damn.

No, he couldn’t think like that! She seemed like a smart girl, there was every chance she could track him down somehow just like she did before he fell from the cliff. And even if she chose not to, Macaque wasn’t after her or the astrolabe. There was every chance he would just let her go when he realized he was chasing the wrong pirate. Just as much as there was a chance she would sell out where he was to Macaque in exchange for her own life. Yeah, no. She didn’t seem like the type to do that…

MK looked up as the spray from the sea dusted his face. The tide was starting to get higher as the sun got lower. He was going to have to get moving and just hope that Sea Cat was able to get on alright. He sighed and hoisted himself back up, using the piece of driftwood to lessen the pressure on his broken leg. He took a few steps back in the direction of town, then stopped again. His conscience was doing that thing where it was eating at him again, telling him he should have stayed in the alcove and waited, but he shook it off, giving his own head a few, sharp whacks with his palm. There was no point in going back now, even if he really could trust this Sea Cat, and even if he could, what good would it do him to go back on his own?

So he made up his mind that the plan at the moment was to try to get to town, and get the others to help. If she was in trouble, he could repay her by getting the others to help in a possible rescue mission than do something stupid like go all by himself with a broken bloody leg!

“Come on, MK!” he grunted to himself as he attempted to pick up the pace of his very obvious limp. “You can make it! You’re Monkey King’s successor, this is nothing! You’ve faced a lot worse than this before!”

“Kind of makes you wonder just what Wukong is willing to let you go through, doesn’t it?”

MK froze in place, almost falling forward if not for clinging to his makeshift walking stick. He almost even braced himself on his bad leg in the wrong way, swallowing a yelp-like sound that threatened to crawl up and out of his throat. He didn’t have to turn around to know it was Macaque, he recognized the voice all too well.

Okay. Don’t panic. Remember to breathe.

MK swallowed again and sank to his knees slowly, minding his broken leg as carefully as he could while doing so and feigned dropping the walking stick to his side. His back was still to Macaque, but glancing to his side just slightly, he could see his reflection clear as day in a small tidal pool that sat beside him.

He had a sword drawn, not surprising, really, but MK could see it clearly in the reflection, which was all he needed. That, and for Macaque to take a step forward… like that!

Using the reflection as a reference point, MK snatched up the walking stick again and swung it behind him as hard as he could, hearing and feeling a thud as it impacted with Macaque’s shin. He heard the darkly dressed pirate yelp, saw him stagger in the reflection in the pool, giving him just enough time to spin around, stick still in hand and swung up to knock the sword from Macaque’s hand, catching it in his free one. His leg may have been broken, he may have been in a lot of pain, and tired, but he was by no means helpless! If he was going to be taken at all, he was going to be taken only after he put up a fight, at least.

“You’ve picked up a new trick or two since we last saw each other, huh?” Macaque growled at him, briefly nursing his sore shin as MK pulled himself up enough to stand on his own two feet.

“Worried that this would be too easy?” MK asked, unable to really help the bravado.

“Actually, yes.” Macaque replied as he stood to full height again. “Wouldn’t be any fun if it was too easy, after all.”

“Well I’m in no mood for games today! Especially one of your making!” MK growled, taking a careful step back; careful not to show how badly his leg was bothering him, and careful not to let it be bothered by stepping the wrong way on it.

Macaque clicked his tongue, tutting at MK, shaking his head as though in disappointment, and stepping forward as he spoke. “Well, that’s kind of rude… after I went to all this trouble, too! All that planning and preparation--”

He stopped when MK forced the gap between them to remain at arm’s length by holding the tip of his own sword up to his throat. After a pause, in which he looked like he was scrutinizing the scene before him, he opened his mouth to say more, but MK knew better than to let him speak again. He turned the blade so the edge was now pointed up and slightly--just very slightly--cut into Macaque’s chin, drawing only a trickle of blood.

“I think I quite literally see your point.” Macaque said, actually stepping back, to MK’s relief. The older pirate nursed his chin a little, raising an eyebrow at seeing the speckling of blood on his finger. MK took that opportunity to relax himself enough that he could take another few, tentative steps back, increasing the distance between the two of them.

“Still, I have to admit… I’m impressed.” Macaque said, staying rooted to his spot, watching MK inch further back away from him. “You’ve certainly evolved since we last met. A broken leg you’ve done a pretty decent job setting by yourself, and yet even with that injury you still managed to elude and disarm me! Really, lad, I am very impressed. Well done!”

MK ignored the praise for the most part, though he couldn’t deny the slightest twinge of pride hearing it, however what caught his attention most was Macaque’s remark about setting the leg himself. That brought him a slight sense of relief, because it meant that Sea Cat had managed to go undetected… where she was now was still a question, of course, but it made him feel a little better, at least.

“Thanks, but I don’t need praise from you. Nor want it!” MK said, taking another step back and keeping an eye on Macaque to make sure he didn’t step forward again. Macaque shook his head with a chuckle.

“Ah, well, that’s too bad. Wukong really made sure to teach you some choice stuff…”

MK adjusted his injured leg to take another step back, only to find himself bracing for a surprise attack from Macaque as the other suddenly lunged at him with speed he didn’t think was even possible. He tried to turn the blade in his hand so that it would catch Macaque right across the throat, but to his astonishment--no, to his horror--Macaque instead caught the blade between his teeth, jaws clamping down so hard on the metal that MK felt the vibration even through the hilt. He yelped in surprise, stumbling back against the side of the cliff as the blade then snapped in Macaque’s teeth, leaving him with nothing but a sharpened stump of metal and a hilt.

“But he didn’t teach you enough!” Macaque said after spitting out the broken blade and lunging for MK again.

MK lifted his driftwood walking stick, trying to swing it at Macaque, only for Macaque to swat it out of his path and sock MK in the jaw hard with his fist, causing the boy’s head to thump back against the side of the cliff as a result. Now stunned, MK could only slump down a little, falling unwillingly into Macaque’s grip; albeit for just a moment before the pirate let him fall forward, landing face first into one of the tidal pools that dotted the shoreline. MK briefly floundered, trying to pull himself up, but Macaque stamped his boot onto the back of his head, holding him under the shallow water for a few moments before dragging him back up. MK’s senses were left swimming, his vision darkening from the initial impact of bumping his head and the denial of air almost immediately after. He could only just register being forced to try and stand, held up limply by the collar of his shirt, with Macaque’s shadowy silhouette hovering over him before nearly blacking out all together.

He was still fading in and out of it as he was dragged off. He did his best to stay awake, but his head was spinning so much it was hard to tell if he was about to actually pass out or if he was about to snap out of it. He could only see flashes and blurs of shapes as he was dragged, still by his shirt collar most probably, somewhere along the same beach, and he was honestly thankful that he was so out of it, because he was sure from the way he was being dragged that Macaque was not taking care to mind his broken leg.

It was only when he was finally dropped to the ground, on his back, with the wind flying out of him as a result, did his senses completely start to return to him. He coughed and sputtered, groaning slightly as he felt himself turned onto his stomach, before being hoisted to his knees and his hands forced behind his back, where they were then secured firmly with rope. He winced in annoyance as Macaque smacked his cheeks in a way usually used to wake someone up from such a daze.

“You still with us, MK?” he asked, smirking at him.

“Really wish I wasn’t, but you can stop now.” MK growled in response. A quick glance around himself with his eyes told him that this was where Macaque and his crew had set up camp, largely thanks to the fire that burned only a few steps away from where he was. But it was one that was well placed; a section of the beach that was sheltered on both sides by tall crags of rock in addition to the cliffs surrounding it. Great. Just like Macaque to choose the perfect place to hide that would be almost impossible to find unless you were actively looking for it, or already knew where to find it.

He was beginning to wish he’d stayed in that alcove she left him in.

“What are you going to do with me?” he asked, looking up at Macaque with as brave a look as he could muster, and trying not to let his question sound hesitant. Then, with a burst of courage, he scoffed. “Wait, don’t tell me; you’re going to use me as bait? Why am I not surprised?”

Macaque grabbed his chin, squeezing hard and pulling him up almost to his feet again. “If you can stay on my good side long enough to keep yourself alive, that is,” he growled before releasing MK and letting him fall back to his knees, the boy biting back a wince as his leg suffered from the impact. He watched as Macaque turned back and walked towards the fire, and jerked himself away as one of the captain’s crew tried to take him by the arm and pull him up again.

“Why not just kill me and get it over with?” he hollered after Macaque. He didn’t really have a plan at this point, just to try and stall, and he remembered from what Wukong told him, the best way to keep Macaque distracted was to keep him talking. And while it may not have been the best line of conversation, it would have to do.

“You know that Monkey King knows you better than anyone,” he continued. “So chances of whatever trap you have planned won’t actually pan out well for you.”

“Who said anything about this being a trap?” Macaque asked him with a mere glance over the shoulder, stoking the fire with a stick he picked up.

MK raised an eyebrow. “I mean it’s kind of obvious. You said it yourself. I’m bait.”

“Bait, yes, but I’m not planning on setting any ambush or anything.” Macaque said, stirring the stick into the fire. “Too messy.”

MK’s eyebrow remained raised as he pondered Macaque’s words, watching as the monkey briefly paced around the fire, barking a few orders to some of his crew that appeared to be slacking in their guard duties. If Macaque wasn’t setting an ambush, then what was he planning? The spot chosen for their camp was essentially perfect for setting one up, especially if he wanted Wukong and the others to come storming in after sweating about not being able to find them after so long… and it wasn’t like Macaque to not want to get “down and dirty” in a fight, as it were. He wasn’t known for being neat about things… He’d want to make a big show of...

Wait.

Of course.

Oh… no. Oh no.

He wasn’t sure if he was right in this way of thinking, but if he was, it made his blood run cold. Macaque wasn’t planning an ambush for the others whenever they got here, he was planning a front row seat show for them.

The moment they got here, he was most likely going to be either tortured or killed right where they could see, and not get to him in time. It was twisted, but perfect for someone like Macaque, and he certainly wouldn’t put it past him. After all, since they’d met, and he realized that MK was Wukong’s successor, he had been obsessed with the idea of getting rid of his greatest rival’s inheritor, someone who was like a son to him. What better way to do it, what sweet revenge, than to do it where it could be seen by everyone he cared about?

MK’s face must have paled or contorted into a horrified look of realization, because Macaque was looking back at him now, smirking like the cat that just swallowed the canary; no, like the cat that could still feel the canary alive and trapped in it’s stomach.

“Something wrong, lad?” Macaque asked, voice laced in obviously fake concern. “You got quiet all of a sudden.” MK suppressed a shudder and scowled at him, teeth baring together in an effort to appear defiant.

“No,” he growled, unable to think of anything more witty at the moment. Macaque gave a dark chuckle, lifting and examining the burnt stick as though it held great interest for him.

“Looks to me like you figured things out pretty quick there,” he said. “That kind of spoils the whole point of the surprise you know.”

“Maybe you should be less obvious about your intentions next time then.” MK said flatly, body beginning to feel numb due to the sense of dread that he felt, though his heart started to pound when Macaque turned back to him, still holding the burning stick.

“Hm, maybe you’re right… still, it’s never too late to spice things up, right?”

He walked back over to MK, the burning stick still in hand, and the boy lurched back, ignoring his broken leg. Macaque’s crew didn’t let him though, holding him in place, even pushing him forward towards Macaque; one of them even grabbed him by the hair, nearly ripping it clean from his scalp and yanked his head back so he was looking up at the captain.

“And I think your friends arriving to see a few, fresh burns branded onto you would be just the thing!” Macaque sniggered with glee, raising the burning piece of wood up so close to MK’s face that even with his eyes squeezed shut, he felt as though the heat alone could burn him.

FFFFZZZZ--CRACK!

Relief couldn’t even express what he felt when he heard that sound! His eyes shot open and he watched as the stick Macaque was holding was sliced in half, the flaming end sent falling safely into the sand at his feet, snuffing out upon the impact. And startled, Macaque dropped the other half, staring down at both halves in shock for a moment before spinning around.

“What the blazes?!”

The sun had set by now, so the shadows in the small, sheltered section of beach had grown and were now dancing thanks to the light from the fire Macaque’s crew had built, so seeing where the whip had come from was next to impossible. That is, until a brief blur of a shadow was seen shrinking back behind one of the larger rocks nearby. Macaque scowled with his golden eyes at the shadow, growling with bared teeth and taking a spare sword from one of his crewmen.

“Come out of there!” he demanded. He growled again when he received no response. “I said come out of there!”

“You talkin’ t’ me?”

All heads darted to another shadow almost completely opposite the one Macaque had just been shouting out, and she stepped out of the shadows, hands raised slightly in front of her, as if to appear non-threatening. MK had to stifle a snicker, seeing the bewildered expression on Macaque’s face, and as his crew had to look twice between the two spots with a similar expression. Sea Cat herself was wearing something of an amused look, slowly lowering her hands as she stepped fully out into the open, but still keeping a good distance between herself and the members of Macaque’s crew that were present.

Macaque studied her briefly, though his good eye probably lingered in places longer than it should have, before clearing his throat and putting on as calm and charming a look as he could.

“You lost, young lady?”

“No, but I think considering the majority of this company, I would prefer to be lost, thank you very much.”

Macaque inhaled sharply, as though wincing at her remark, though the expression on his face was clearly an amused one. “Oho-ho! Not bad, not bad! You’ve got a tongue like a whip, girlie!”

“Wait until you see her real one up close…” MK murmured under his breath, shooting an unseen scowl up at Macaque.

“Still, for someone who claims to not be lost, girlie, you sure picked a bad place and a time to take an evening stroll.” Macaque said, crossing his arms, his expression changing to one of scrutiny as he watched her.

Sea Cat rolled her eyes. “Oi,” she sighed with annoyance. “What is it with you men and your need to banter? You have to turn everything into a dance with some imaginary Argentine music playing in the background! If you want to ask me what I’m doing here, just bloody do it, don’t make a production of it. But here, let me save you the trouble of even that; I’m here for the young lad.”

She pointed a somewhat slack finger at MK, causing Macaque to turn and look at him curiously, with his brows raising to emphasis that curiosity. MK said nothing, just shifted his gaze to one side with his eyes and tried to feel as small as possible as all eyes had now fallen on him, until he heard Macaque titter.

“Well, well, seems like Wukong’s been teaching you how to really lay on the charm too, huh?” he asked, looking back towards Sea Cat. “As partial as I am to romantic entanglements--if that’s what this is--I certainly hope you brought something other than your figure to bargain with.”

Sea Cat shot him a scowl, hand twitching towards her whip, which was tucked against her hip in a way that was mostly out of sight, but she resisted the urge to give him a matching scar over his other eye, and reached into a small pouch she wore on the opposite hip. After digging around for it, she slowly produced an object, which, after it had a chance to catch the light from the nearby fire, was revealed to be the astrolabe. She held it out in front of her for Macaque to see well, and MK shot her a confused look, which then shot up to Macaque as he hummed in a bored way, shaking his head at Sea Cat.

“I prefer, and already have a sextant myself, lass…”

Sea Cat said nothing in reply, but instead reached forward to one of the rings on the astrolabes surface, and gave it a slight turn.

The night around them seemed to become all the darker, then brighter all in one moment as the symbols and etchings on the astrolabe’s surface began to glow. Macaque let out a yelp of surprise, arm shooting up to cover his eyes as the glow became almost too bright to look at directly, and MK too had to turn his face away and shut his eyes; though when the light dimmed again, they both looked up, and except for the collective gasps of all present, you could have heard a pin hit the sand on that beach.

It was as though the stars themselves had descended from the skies above, the shapes of the constellations they formed with them, and had begun to dance around on the beach around them. Even the surrounding cliffs had become dusted with living, dancing figures of starlight; the beasts of the Zodiac moving like real, towering lifeforms walking the earth once more, Orion with his bow about to fire, and the Great Bear and the Little Bear tussling like playful cubs in the surf. MK couldn’t help but be enamored, mouth hanging open and his eyes wide with a child-like glee that usually was only present when he was listening to the Monkey King tell one of his adventure stories. Oh, if only the others could be here to see this! The astrolabe really was magic!

He let out an “eep” of shock as Pegasus charged over his head, in a way that he could feel it brush through his hair. Macaque too had to duck, almost too late as one of the stallion’s hooves nearly clocked right into his head, only to phase right through it, scattering briefly like the stardust it was before forming into the equine’s full leg again; and yet still he couldn’t help but feel relief at not having that hoof meet his skull, it was that real!

The light from the fire returned, and the stars seemed to return to the heavens, leaving in their wake naught but shock and amazement, save for Sea Cat, who had turned the astrolabe’s rings back to their original position.

The amazement didn’t fade from his expression, even as the astral illusion did, and it clearly bled into Macaque’s voice as he looked at her, as well as the astrolabe in her hand and asked, “What is it?”

“The first piece of a puzzle,” she replied, resetting the rings on the astrolabe. “Do you like puzzles?”

“What sort of a puzzle?”

“The kind that rewards those who solve it with true immortality.” Sea Cat replied again, shrugging her shoulders, and beginning to saunter forward in a way that made her seem like the most relaxed person on that shoreline. “I mean, think about it, what’s the better way to live forever? To risk passing on a name or title to someone else? Someone who could very well be forgotten themselves if fate permits it? Or to take the extra step beyond the horizon and actually become immortal yourself? To be recognized wherever you go as an immortal, or even with time, a god?”

“Hmm…” Macaque rubbed his chin in thought, his eyes more focused on the astrolabe rather than Sea Cat herself. “Impossible as it sounds… you do paint a pretty picture,” he said. “And if I’m to understand where you’re going with this--”

“--The boy for the toy.” Sea Cat confirmed with a nod. “You catch on fast.”

Macaque finally looked away from the astrolabe and back to MK, chuckling and all too roughly ruffling the boy’s hair with a false show of affection, to which MK growled at him in response. And after a pause, he replied.

“Alright, girlie, you’ve got yourself a trade,” he said, and extended his hand outward. Sea Cat shook her head.

“Nah, ah,” she said. “Send the boy my way first. Once he’s halfway here, I’ll bring you the astrolabe.”

“Good figure and brains…” Macaque muttered, sounding almost annoyed. “Alright fine,” he said, then turned to MK, pulling him up. “On your feet then!”

MK bit back a wince as he was forced up, trying not to put any unneeded pressure on his broken leg, especially as he hobbled forward at Macaque’s prodding. He shot Sea Cat a look, subtly shaking his head at her in warning, hoping she would pick up that in his mind he was screaming not to trust Macaque. She just raised her free hand towards him, ushering him to walk forward with a gesture made by her fingers. He groaned and winced as he limped forward, careful not to lose his footing in the sand, as he moved. His hands were still tied behind his back, Macaque of course didn’t have the courtesy to cut him loose, so he had to be careful of his balance too. He kept moving forward until Sea Cat held up her hand to signal him to stop, which he did, then she herself walked forward slowly. MK saw the knife she had with her in her hands, and she used it to cut his hands free.

“Stay put,” she said, loud enough for Macaque to hear, then whispered into MK’s ear. “But be ready to run on my signal…”

MK didn’t nod, but he was definitely ready. He turned, watching her slowly approach Macaque with the astrolabe while he nursed his wrists. She stopped an arm’s length away from Macaque and held the astrolabe out to him, almost by it’s edge so that it was stretched out as far out as she could allow. He seemed amused by her caution, taking only a single step forward, then reaching out and taking it, almost in the same manner as it was held out to him. Upon feeling his grip on it, Sea Cat released it and stepped back, making her way backward towards MK slowly, eyes not leaving Macaque or his crew, and her hand inching towards her whip with each step. Macaque was too busy studying the astrolabe itself to notice, which was obviously what she was waiting for.

With a fluid motion, her wrist flicked forward, taking the handle of the whip and letting the rest fly out forward; the way it moved was almost like watching a distant bolt of lightning, or an eel gliding through the water, and the sound it made this time was much softer, but it obviously hit it’s mark with ease. It wrapped around the astrolabe and yanked it from Macaque’s grip, sending it flying back through the air and into her own.

Sea Cat turned to MK, hands turning the rings on the astrolabe and crying out, “Now, run!”

MK did as bid, almost instinctively lifting his arm so that she could under it, letting it across her shoulders so she could help support him as they made a break for it. Behind him, he could hear Macaque’s confused crew hollering and shouting loudly in confusion, the moving constellations that roamed around them--though immaterial--seemed too real for them not to react as though they were.

“They’re not real, you blasted fools!” Macaque roared over the chaotic din. “Get after them!”

MK couldn’t help but laugh at hearing their panic as he and Sea Cat ran. “Thanks, looks like I owe you one!” he said.

“You owe me twice, but who’s counting?” she replied, also letting out a laugh. “But don’t thank me just yet, we still have to outrun them!”

MK nodded, doing his best to keep up with her pace, even trying to speed it up by limping faster despite his leg. It hurt, yeah, but he was willing to put up with it for the sake of escaping. He looked around them as they ran, particularly up at the cliffside as he saw a few of the constellation shapes move along it, becoming warped and wavy like mirages due to the way the cliffs themselves were cut out by nature. Some of the ways they moved seemed to make them glow even brighter, and almost flash like the sun glinting off of a shard of mirror.

And it gave him an idea!

“No, don’t!” MK says, reaching and grabbing Sea Cat’s other wrist with his hand as she started to tuck the astrolabe into her pouch again. “Leave it out!”

“What? If I do that they’ll be able to find us easily even if we don’t find a decent hiding spot before then!”

“They will, yeah, but so will my crew!” MK said. “We just have to keep moving!”

Sea Cat grunted in thought, hesitating and chewing her lip, but she finally held the astrolabe above her head. “You’d better be right about this or I’ll make sure to come back as a banshee and haunt your arse!”

MK laughed, looking up as the astrolabe’s effect seemed to dome over them, Pegasus in particular circling as though working in correlation with the impromptu plan. Now they just had to manage to keep ahead of Macaque and his crew long enough for Wukong and the others to--hopefully--figure out where they were!

A pistol or musket shot hit stone as they rounded a bend on the beach, stopping only long enough to climb up a small ridge that stood in their way, MK only making it thanks to Sea Cat’s help. While hoisting him up, she cracked her whip down at an unfortunate pirate that had managed to catch up with them, the tip catching him right square in the forehead, and from his cry of pain, MK was extremely grateful he had the reflexes to dodge it the first time he encountered it. Once that pirate fell back down, she helped him back to his feet and they continued running, stopped by another ridge; this whole section of the cliffside seemed to be like one giant set of stairs!

MK growled in frustration under his breath, looking up as Sea Cat hoisted him up and then climbed up herself, and his eyes fixed on a large boulder above them. He wasn’t sure if it could really be called a spark of inspiration, he was more thinking about how much it would really just… suck, if that thing decided to fall now. And that’s when he found himself laughing out loud as an idea struck him.

“Hey, just how much can that whip of yours cut through?” he asked. Sea Cat followed his gaze up to the boulder, and she smirked, helping him up again.

“Oh, that’ll be like cutting through a boiled potato!” she said. “We just gotta get up to it!”

“Not we, just you!” MK said. “If Macaque wants me as bait so bad, then I’ll be bait!”

“But… are you sure?”

“Just go, I’ll be fine!”

Sea Cat gave him a crooked smirk. “Damn, you really are…” she started to say, then shook her head. She shoved the astrolabe at him, then bolted to the cliff and jumped to grab onto a ledge within her reach. From there, she started to climb, soon almost vanishing out of his sight over the edge near the boulder. Good! This might just work after all! MK turned so that his back was against the wall of rock, and he made sure to hold the astrolabe in a way that the constellations would be too distracting for Sea Cat to be noticed on the top of the cliff.

He took a deep, controlled breath as the first members of Macaque’s crew started to appear over the edge of the ridge he was on, Macaque himself among them. MK smirked, moving himself a bit closer to the wall and inching along it carefully, trying to appear as cornered and helpless as he could.

“Stay back!” he warned in a mock threatening, mock frightened tone. “I’ve got a magical… start navigation thingy!”

Macaque held out an arm and stopped one of his crew from charging forward while looking at MK. “What happened to your little wench?”

“Whoa, hey, that’s kind of rude!” MK said. “Not all pirate girls have to be wenches! That’s just bad stereotyping!”

At the clifftop, Sea Cat took care to wrap her whip around the boulder, not wanting to crack it so as to avoid being heard by the pirates below. It would take a hearty tug to get all the way through, but it would get through nonetheless, and she just hoped MK knew to get out of the way when it started to come down, even with that broken leg of his. She leaned back, the handle of the whip held carefully in one hand and her legs braced for MK’s signal to come from below.

“Where is she, MK?” Macaque asked again with a growl, before smirking. “Or did she think better of the situation and decide to dump you?”

“She didn’t dump me!” MK scowled at Macaque as he continued to creep along the rock wall, then paused for a moment and blinked. “Not that she really could, we were never like… I mean, she’s pretty, don’t get me wrong, but not my type! I’m more of… um… wait, I shouldn’t even be telling you this…”

“Probably not, no.” Macaque said, snorting at MK in amusement. “Not that it matters, of course…”

MK smirked. “You’re right, it really doesn’t… Now, Sea Cat!”

MK turned the rings on the astrolabe, causing the illusions to fade and plunging the area into the blackness of night. His eyes had to adjust to see, just as much as he was sure their eyes did too, though he still looked up, and against the backdrop of the sky he could see the welcome sight of the boulder starting to come down. Sea Cat fell back somewhat as the full slack returned to her whip, though it sliced through the boulder just as planned and sent it plummeting down to the beach below.

With the dark and his eyes only adjusting a little too late, Macaque could only dive to one side, off the ridge he stood on as the boulder crashed down, crushing any of his idiot crew that were too slow to get out of the way. The boulder smashed to the ground hard, threatening to roll further down the natural steps as it almost bounced upon the impact.

Sea Cat watched from above as the pirates scattered to escape the boulder before it finally came to a stop, laughing quietly to herself, before looking down the cliff to where she last saw MK.

“You still with me, lad?” she hollered down, cupping a hand to her mouth.

A tense pause that she didn’t like, followed by a cough, which drew her attention to the side of the cliff. It seemed that MK, despite his broken leg, had somehow managed to make a leap up to the same ledge she had earlier to begin her climb up the cliff in an effort to get completely clear of the boulder as it fell. She shook her head in amusement as MK looked up at her.

“Yeah! I’m still here! Just barely…”

“Here,” Sea Cat lowered her whip down to him. “Grab on, I’ll pull you up!”

MK gratefully did as she asked and took hold of the whip, letting her pull him up to join her, using his good leg to help the ascent. He glanced down a few times at the beach below, bracing himself for the possible sight of Macaque climbing up after him, but thankfully, it appeared either the boulder got him, or he had been too busy getting clear and recovering to notice MK heading up the cliff.

He glanced back up and gasped at seeing the black monkey’s shadow looming over a completely unaware Sea Cat, just as he reached the top of the cliff.

“Behind you!” he managed to holler as he grabbed the edge of the cliff.

Sea Cat didn’t have time to turn around before Macaque grappled an arm around her throat, yanking her back and making her choke from the force. She dropped her whip in surprise, but thankfully MK had enough of a hold on the cliff’s edge to keep himself from falling, and to pull himself up to the relative safety of the clifftop. He grit his teeth, other hand clenching around the whip tightly, which made him blink in the realization that he was in fact holding--and had full control--of the unique weapon. Glaring at Macaque, he jerked his hand, in as similar a way as he could to the way he saw Sea Cat do it earlier, spinning the whip in the air above his head a few times.

“Hey, Macaque!” he shouted, getting the monkey’s attention just as he let the whip fly… but backwards.

The hefty handle of the whip, not it’s tip, flew at Macaque and hit him right in his good eye, causing the pirate to cry out in abrupt surprise and pain, his grip on Sea Cat loosening. She took the immediate opportunity to duck out of his grip all together, dropping to the ground and sweeping her leg out behind her to knock Macaque’s own out from under him. He stumbled back, and with a second, well placed kick, she sent him stumbling back further, right off the edge of the cliff itself.

MK winced as he heard the impact, leaning as much as he could safely to try and see where Macaque fell before Sea Cat helped him up. “Yeah, I hope that hurt!” he shouted down with a laugh. “I know it did when I fell…”

“Let’s go before he has a chance to recover!” Sea Cat said, picking up her whip before looping MK’s arm over her shoulders again. “And… thanks for that. You weren’t half bad for a beginner, even if you did end up using the wrong end.”

“Oh, that? I uh… I mean to do that!” MK said, blushing a little from her praise. Sea Cat laughed, shaking her head as they finally made it back into the shadows of the jungle. MK laughed too, reaching up and rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. He paused a moment, then looked back at Sea Cat.

“By the way, you were about to say something earlier, what was it?”

“Was I?”

“Yeah, right before you climbed up to take care of the boulder…”

“...Ah, right.” Sea Cat shook her head. “That was nothing, just saying that you reminded me of someone… my captain, actually.”

“Really?” MK asked, head tilting curiously.

“Aye… granted, you still have a long way to go before you really are on par with someone like him, but you’re well on your way, make no mistake about that.” Sea Cat replied.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’d sure like to meet him some time!”

“Heh, perhaps someday you will, lad. Perhaps someday, you will.”

“MK!”

Sea Cat and MK both stopped in their tracks, MK’s head spinning around as he heard Mei’s unmistakable voice calling out to him from somewhere close by in the jungle. Sea Cat helped him to brace himself on a nearby tree, reaching for her whip and looking like she was bracing for a fight again, but MK placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” he said. “They’re with me, this time!” He gave her a smile as she relaxed, then turned into the direction where he’d heard Mei’s voice come from. “I’m over here!” he called out loudly.

He paused, listening for a response, his smile growing when he heard the foliage rustling, the voices of his friends drawing closer, and could even see their familiar shapes starting to appear in the dark. He sighed in relief, leaning more of his weight against the tree as his body relaxed--well and truly relaxed--for what felt like the first time that day.

“You know, if you talk to my captain, I bet he can work something out where our crews split whatever treasure the astrolabe leads--” MK stopped mid sentence as he turned around and found himself quite alone in the jungle. He sighed. “And she’s gone again. How does she bloody do that anyway…?”

“MK!”

MK barely had a chance to turn back around when Mei flew at him in one of her tackle hugs, almost knocking them both back if not for the tree he was leaning against.

“MK, are you alright?! We’ve been looking for you everywhere! We were worried Macaque had gotten you! Then we couldn’t find you or him and there were all these weird lights in the distance and--”

“Ow, ow, ow! Mei!” he yelped. “Th-The leg, watch the leg!”

“What’s wrong with your leg?!” she demanded.

“It’s broken…” MK replied with a quiet whine as Pigsy came forward and helped to support him.

“Broken? What happened?” Wukong asked, walking forward and looking the boy over with concern written all over his face, even in the dark.

“Well… You know what, it’s a long story.” MK said with a heavy sigh, sagging onto Mei’s shoulder. “One I’d really rather tell when we’re all back safe on the ship!”

Wukong nodded, turning to lead the way back, but making sure to walk at the same pace that MK was with help from the others. He was a bit surprised to see how… content the boy looked, despite also looking like he’d been through borderline hell. MK caught his stare, glancing over at the Monkey King as they walked, frowning when he saw what appeared to be a stern look on his face. He sighed.

“I know, I know exactly what you’re going to say…” he said. “I know I shouldn’t have run off all on my own like that, but all I could think of was getting the astrolabe back and… making up for last night.”

“Kid, there’ll be other scores, other treasures we can get. But there’s only one you.” Wukong said. “And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we’d rather have you than some supposedly magic astrolabe!”

“Definitely!” Mei said, reaching up and pinching MK’s cheek, earning a chuckle from him.

His chuckle turned into a full, giddy grin as he thought more on Wukong’s remark, which made his mind flash back to the magic he’d seen the astrolabe perform earlier that night. He tugged his arm off of Pigsy’s shoulder, and stopped long enough to reach into his shirt, where he’d tugged the astrolabe earlier after jumping out of the boulder’s path.

“Supposedly magic, huh?” he asked, smirking. “Well wait till you see…”

He paused, freezing as he rooted around inside his shirt for the astrolabe, bafflement settling in as he tugged his hand back out and began to pat himself down furiously. Wukong raised an eyebrow at him.

“Uh, you okay kid?”

MK let out a frustrated cry and grabbed handfuls of his hair. “No! The astrolabe! Ugh, she got it away from me again!”

“She? She who?”

“...Like I said, it’s a long story…” MK groaned, running his fingers through his hair and ruffling it in frustration. He suddenly paused as he felt something sticking out of the back of his headband, something that didn’t belong.

He tugged it free and looked at it, eyes glinting with curiosity when he saw that it was a small, rolled up piece of paper, and unrolling it. His eyes scanned the contents, and then he couldn’t help but laugh, which made the others stare at him in confusion.

“Uh, kid?” Wukong asked, and MK handed him the piece of paper, which he looked over briefly before looking back at MK. “What exactly is this?”

“I promise, I’ll explain everything when we get back, but for now let’s just say that this is just the first piece of a pretty interesting puzzle!”

~~~

Elsewhere on the island, a lone ship sat anchored, safely out of sight, though not anchored for long as it’s last wayward crewmember came back aboard.

She walked to the captain’s cabin and knocked a few times on the door, waiting for a response before entering, smiling and giving her captain a small, and somewhat lazy salute as she approached his desk.

“Welcome back!” her captain greeted cheerfully. “I trust your little trip ashore was successful?”

“Most successful.” Sea Cat said, producing the astrolabe with a proud grin and sliding it across the desk towards him.

“Excellent! I never doubted you for a minute, Cat!” he said as he picked it up.

“There’s more.” Sea Cat said, sitting on the edge of the desk, smiling as he looked up at her, curiosity written on his face. “I found something that I think you’ll like far better than whatever that little trinket leads us to…”

“Oh? And what’s that?”

Sea Cat grinned, fiddling with the whip on her belt as she looked her captain in the eye. “New competition.”

Her grin widened as he set aside the astrolabe as though it were worth very little, and he leaned forward in his chair across the desk, glacier blue eyes sparking with a childish, almost impish look of glee in them as he looked at her.

“Tell me everything.”

THE END

#@ninja-knox-ur-sox-off #@neonross #@purble-turble #monkie kid pirate au #my writing #my pirate oc

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free-pool-trash · 5 years ago

Text

Ghost (Part 2) - Billy/Four x Reader (6 underground)

READ GHOST FIRST

Listen- the first part is better and I'm not good at fluff 😪 please be gentle

Word count: 3.6K

Warnings: mentions of sex but like not really, swearing but that's nothing new 😪

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're going to get yourself killed." You stated as he stared at you dumbly.

"I'm not, you're just being dramatic." Billy told you, shaking his head and heaving a sigh. He'd just told you about his plans to go to Europe with some crew he'd met up with recently.

"You realize that if you get caught and try to run the police will literally shoot you on sight, right?" Again, Billy let out an exasperated sigh at your words, "I won't get caught." He told you and to be fair you knew him well enough to know that he was great at what he did, he was always careful and almost never got caught and when he did it was usually another member of his crew that dropped the ball, which was now at the top of your list of worries now that he's found this new "heavy-duty" crew. "Ok maybe you won't, but what about these new people, huh? How do you know they're not gonna screw you over?" You asked him, raising your eyebrow expectantly, arms folded tightly across your chest as you stood in front of him.

"Because they won't (Y/n)! The girl I was talking to seemed pretty legitimate." He told you, his mouth forming into a smug smile when he mentioned this girl. You'd never even met the woman but you knew she had to be trouble. Billy was too easily swayed sometimes.

"Just because she was a good shag doesn't mean you can trust her." You told him almost angrily, you definitely did not want him risking his entire life for some sexy European bird with a cute accent that he didn't even really know.

Upon seeing the look on your face, Billy's eyes softened as he stepped closer to you, smug look still playing on his lips. "Awh, love. Don't be jealous, you know I love you the most." He teased you, hands moving to hold your hips and rocking you gently.

He always did this when he wanted you to calm down or reassure you, and it usually worked but this time had been different, you didn't smile the way you usually did when he held you like that, no this time you looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows and glassy eyes, your voice was weak when you spoke up. "Billy I'm serious."

His smug smile faded away and his hands found your cheeks, his thumb moved gently across your cheek bone. "So am I." He said, "c'mere" He told you, pulling you into his chest and wrapping his arms around you, waiting to feel your arms find their usual hugging position around his shoulders before he spoke up.

"I'm not going just because of that girl, right? I'm going for me. If this job is a success I'll be able to stop all this, I know you think I'm a right idiot for this but it'll pay off. I promise." You nodded into his chest, arms tightening around his neck, "Just please don't die." You whispered, moving your chin up to look at him.

His hands moved slowly up and down your sides as he spoke again, "How could I die knowing that I've got to prove you wrong?" His voice was cheeky and you couldn't help the dry laugh that left your throat as you pushed him away slightly, arms leaving his neck to push lightly at his chest, "Wanker."

Not liking the small distance you'd just created Billy pulled you back into him, "I'm gonna come back to you, love. Cross my heart."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's really hard for me to be cross with you when you keep kissing me like that." You moaned out between the small yet intense kisses your supposedly dead best friend kept placing on your lips.

He pulled away only for a second, "Then don't be cross with me." He told you before attempting to place another wet kiss to your lips, you stopped him though, placing your fingers to his lips and stopping them from meeting your own. "You faked your own death, Billy." You told him angrily, "I'm so fucking cross with you."

A low whistle sounded from behind you and upon turning around you realized David and the customer who had come in earlier were watching this whole ordeal take place. "Guess that explains why you left the UK…" David breathed out, pretending to wipe down the counter.

Turning your attention back to Billy, you gave him a look and he knew straight away that he was in so much trouble, he thanked God that his mum wasn't with you right now because when the two of you got together to scold him it always made him wish that he'd never been born. And truthfully, despite the fact that he hated being chastised by his best friend who he openly harboured feelings for, and his mother, he missed it.

"We need to talk." At your statement Billy turned to look at Seven in question, the older man only shrugged and took a sip of his coffee, "This is none of my business, bro."

Billy turned his head back to you and nodded, "Then let's talk."

Gently, you took hold of his hand and led him to the back of the cafe, you brought him into the staff room, shutting and locking the door once you were both inside.

"Alright Billy, what the fuck is going on. And don't even think about lying to me." You demanded taking a seat at one of the tables in the room, motioning him to sit down across from you, but of course, Billy proving to be the same as he always had been, didn't listen to you, opting to take the seat beside you and ignoring the chair across from you. Sighing you twisted your body on the chair so you were facing him and he wasted no time in placing both of his hands on either of your knees.

"It's actually a really great story, right so, that crew I went off with, total pricks and that bird? You were totally right- absolute cow. Anyway they stabbed me in the back after I found this really valuable necklace, dropped me off a roof basically." He told you quickly, barely giving himself a chance to breathe before he went on.

"Anyway, that was the accident you were told about. This rich bloke, we call him One, come to think of it he never actually told us his name… anyway sorry, so he runs this secret Underground organization, he scouts people with skills that he needs and then we fight evil essentially. There's 6 of us, we go by numbers as a whole protecting identity thing but it didn't really work out cause we all know each other's names now, still he calls me Four, that other guy out there is Seven."

You blinked at him slowly, trying to piece together what you'd just been told, separating the important information from the blonde boys ramblings.

"So you're telling me… that you faked your own death to join some Underground sketch team?" Your eyebrows were furrowed in a mixture of confusion and anger. Had he seriously made you mourn all for the sake of joining some weirdo crime fighting group?

Noticing your expression Billy squeezed your knees and spoke, "No, it's more than that, (Y/n). We stopped a tyrant, you ever heard of Turgistan?"

Slowly you nodded your head, Turgistan had been all over the news only a few months ago. "The coup?" He pushed and smirked as your eyes widened, "That whole vigilante group that kidnapped that guy's brother? That was you?" He nodded again, smug grin growing wider by the second.

"Alright first of all, you're a fucking idiot, wipe that stupid grin off your face right now." You told him, pushing his hands off you and getting up, beginning to pace the room as you began to ramble, "Second of all, you just saved a country? Great! Proud of you, really, I am. But that doesn't change the fact that you just upped and fucking left. Abandoning your family is one thing Billy, but going as far as to fake your death? That's a whole new level of twisted. Did you know we buried an empty coffin? That we had a funeral for you?"

Billy looked down at the floor in guilt before looking up and scratching the back of his neck, "Yeah kinda sad only five people showed up."

You stopped dead in your tracks, slowly turning to look at Billy, your heart dropping through the floor, "How do you know how many people were there?"

Your voice was low, almost a whisper, Billy bit his lip, gaze returning to the floor, he'd really fucked this.

"You were there. You watched." You stated, voice shaking and eyes glassing over with unshed tears, Billy's heart broke looking at you, he'd never seen you look so betrayed.

"Didn't you?" You asked him, voice cracking.

When Billy didn't answer you raised your voice, "Didn't you?"

Billy stood up and made his way in front of you, blocking you from leaving as he knew you well enough to know that you had a tendency to dip once things got hard, he could only guess that's how you ended up in New York after his staged death.

Before he spoke, he placed his hands slowly on your hips, allowing you the chance to pull away if you really wanted to, when you stayed put he went on, trying to ignore how broken you looked when your eyes met his, your glare almost burning him.

"Yes! Okay, yes I was there, but please please listen to me, love."

"Whatever you're going to say, it better be good because I can't do this any longer Billy." You told him and he knew you were serious as tears rolled down your face, it was the fact that you didn't even try to hide the salty trail from him that he knows you've reached your breaking point.

"I was there yeah, One told us we had to cut off all ties, we had to become ghosts. I had to make everyone think I was dead to do this job. I know it's not an excuse but I really tried to say goodbye, One wouldn't let me." He stopped to gage your reaction, but you stayed still.

"When I saw you and my mum at my grave, I really considered abandoning the whole thing and when you were alone at the grave it took everything in me not to run to you." His voice was soft and on the verge of cracking, a hiccup ripped from your mouth and his heart shattered as you asked, "Then why didn't you?"

"Just please give me a chance to make it up to you while I can, (Y/n), please. If One knew I was talking to you right now he'd literally kill me, but I don't care, let me make it up to you before he gets here. Please."

You only nodded, you really didn't have it in you to argue with him anymore, not right now at least.

"I've got an apartment, it's not far." Billy smiled and took your hand in his, intertwining your fingers, he brought your hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly, "Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You brought Billy to your apartment, it was almost 4AM when you got there and luckily your roommate had long since gone to sleep so you'd quietly brought the boy into your room and locked the door.

"This is my favorite picture of us." He told you, breaking the thick silence that had settled over the room from the second you'd gotten there.

In his hand he held the newly framed photo from the summer when you'd both crashed a pool party.

"I remember after this picture was taken. We were both hammered, you told me you were "fucking in love" with me." He laughed, making air quotes with his fingers as he retold the story of the party you'd crashed together.

You laughed too, for the first time since he'd shown up again, seemingly back from the dead. "Yeah and I remember you telling me that you were sooooo fucking in love with me." You told him, smiling softly as he bobbed his head, "Still am." He told you, his green eyes boring into yours as your lip quirked up, ever so slightly.

"Yeah so am I."

At your response he placed the frame back on your bedside table and scooted as close to you as he could on the edge of the bed where you were sitting.

You knew he definitely deserved all the anger you'd directed at him, but being with him in such a soft moment made you realize that there are worse things than your best friend coming back to life, even if he hadn't really been dead in the first place.

He watched as you fidgeted with your fingers before looking him in the eyes shyly, "I know I haven't said this yet, but I'm really, really, glad that you're alive." Billy placed his hand on your cheek, "I'm really glad you know I'm alive."

His cheeky smile was contagious and you found yourself smiling back at him, moving your own hand up to his head and rubbing it softly, your fingers tangling in his blonde curls, "Sorry I smacked you."

He leaned his face closer to yours, slowly. "I deserved it, I'm a huge dick."

You smiled sarcastically at him, moving your face in as he did, your noses almost touching, "Yeah. You are. Absolute wanker."

He chuckled whole heartedly before pressing his lips to yours.

The kiss was different than the ones you'd shared earlier that night in the cafe, it wasn't eager and rushed, wasn't greedy. It was soft, slow, it was every feeling he'd been trying to express but couldn't.

Your free hand moved to the back on Billy's neck as you pulled away, albeit reluctantly. When you regained your breath and attempted to speak Billy beat you to it.

"I love you. I'm gonna come back. Once this mission is through I'm gonna come back to you." He told you, stroking your cheek and pecking your lips once he'd finished.

"Your mum is going to make you wish you really were dead, hope you know that." Upon mentioning his mum Billy sighed sadly, he'd been so caught up on you that he'd not even thought about his mother having the same reaction as you had.

"If you want… we could call her, you don't have to talk or anything if you don't want to, you can just listen to her voice. Been a while since you've heard it." You offered, fingers running soothingly through his hair as his eyes filled with tears.

His voice cracked as he responded to your offer, "I can't, One would kill-" you cut him off with a small chuckle, "Do you see this One guy anywhere around here? Because I don't. He won't know Billy. And if you were being honest about coming back to me, what does it matter?" Thinking about it for a few seconds, Billy gnawed at his lower lip before nodding at you frantically, "Let's do it, let's call her."

You pulled out your phone from your pocket and pressed on Billy's mum's contact which you had named "Mum 💕" since she'd been a better mother to you than your own anyway.

The phone rang, once, then twice, then three times and then finally on the fourth ring, she picked up.

"(Y/n)? It's late, love. Everything okay?" The woman asked and you looked to Billy whose lip was quivering.

"Well no, not really." You told her, the call on speaker and Billy waiting patiently for you to explain before he spoke up.

"Why what's happened?" She asked with a voice full of worry.

"Well I was working at the cafe and, um, someone came in… thought I was seeing things but…"

You paused and nodded to Billy who glanced between yourself and the phone in your shaking hand before he spoke, "Hi mum."

There was a long pause on the line, before the laughter of Billy's mum rang through.

"I knew you weren't dead you little shit." She said through joyful laughter.

"What do you mean you knew?" Billy shouted in shock, eyebrows furrowing together.

"You think I wouldn't recognize my own son all over the news? Just because you were wearing a stupid black outfit doesn't mean your invisible, Billy."

Your jaw dropped at the angry woman's words, "What? You knew he was alive? Why didn't you tell me?" You questioned as Billy began to laugh himself.

"Because you were so shook up! I didn't want you worrying about my scumbag of a son!"

"Hey!" Billy exclaimed through his laughter as you sat dumbstruck.

"I love you, mum." Billy said over the phone, his laughter dying down but not completely subsiding.

"Love you too, you little twat. Come home soon."

"Will do."

"(Y/n), love?" The woman asked, "yeah?"

"Don't let him upset you anymore and if he does you call me, okay?" You couldn't help but laugh, "will do."

After that you hung up the phone, looking at Billy with a small smile, safe to say that that phone call could've been a lot harder.

"Thanks for that, love." Billy said, kissing your cheek before pulling away, his cheeky smile back on his face.

"You're welcome." You smiled back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rest of the night moved by slowly and at the same time far too quickly, Billy wasn't fucking around when he said he wanted to make things up to you that's for sure.

You woke up at 7AM, stretching your arms out and looking to your side you saw Billy was gone and there was a note left in his place.

"Seven called, gone to meet One, be back soon, Billy x"

You laughed at him, that stupid number thing was almost too funny.

Slowly you got up out of bed and wobbled toward the kitchen where your roommate, Jessica was watching you with a smug look on her face.

"So, sounds like you had a fun night, love." She mocked, wiggling her eyebrows at you on the word love.

"Maybe I did, baby." You retorted pouring yourself a cup of coffee and sitting down across from her.

"Tell me, whose this Billy?" Jessica asked, grin only growing as you blushed.

"Nobody." You told her, ghost of a smile coming onto your face.

"Billy! Fuck! Billy! Harder!" She mocked you, moaning over exaggerating the noises as she used her hand to make banging noises on the wooden kitchen table you were sitting at.

Your face blew up into a shade of bright red as you hid your face in your hands while she continued to tease you.

"Fuck, love. Just like that." She put on a fake English accent as she began laughing at her own teasing.

You groaned in embarrassment, "God, that did not happen. Nope. You're hearing things babe." You denied, shaking your head at her, still hiding behind your hands.

Jessica laughed loudly, "Tell that to your neck, love."

God, you didn't even want to look in the mirror because judging by the amount of time Billy had spent on your neck last night you could only imagine what it looked like now.

"Anyway, is he gonna be visiting some more?" Jessica asked, raising her eyebrow as a knock sounded from the door, "Hopefully." You responded on your way to answering the door.

On opening the door you saw Billy, Seven and another man who looked at you with a false smile on his face, "Hi there, I'm One, you've heard of me?" He said causing your eyes to widen, you looked at Billy confused and he met you with a nervous glance.

"One wanted to meet you." He told you as One pushed him into your apartment by the neck and let himself in too.

"Fucking right I wanna meet the girl whose stealing my Skywalker."

Before you could focus on the man you turned to Jessica, "You got school?" You asked her urgently, the slightly younger girl nodded at you, a concerned look on her face. "Leave early?" You suggested and after looking around she nodded, grabbing her bag from beside her and quickly leaving the apartment.

"Alright, what the fuck is this?" You asked the three men in front of you with your arms crossed defensively across your chest.

The so called "One" was the first to speak up, "What the fuck this is is that you're trying to take away one of the most valuable members of my team!" He told you angrily as you looked at him indifferently.

"You took him from me first, arsehole."

The man huffed at your response before continuing, "Listen I understand that you love each other, it's cute, really. But this is serious shit. I need him on my team, so tell me why he wants to leave he was fine before he ran into you." One shouted causing you to laugh, "That's quite funny actually. Before he ran into you he wasn't legally dead." You retorted, poking a finger at his chest.

The man glared at you before his face broke into a smile, a genuine one this time, "Alright, I approve, go nuts kid."

He told Billy, saying nothing more as he made his way to your door.

"Wait that's it? I can go home?" Billy asked excitedly.

"Yup. Have fun." One said, opening the door and walking out, Seven clapped a hand on Billy's shoulder, "See you around man." He made his way out of your apartment and shut the door behind him.

Billy's smile was bright as he looked at you, arms outstretched triumphantly.

"Looks like I'm all yours, love."

#6 underground x reader #four 6 underground #6 underground #four x reader #ben hardy #this is a hot mess oml

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kaidans-alenko · 4 years ago

Text

Wrote a thing for my very dear and extremely talented friend @confundere(who yall need to follow because she’s amazing and just all around a very sweet person <3) with her oc Persephone and Aiden <3

Supposed to be for ockiss week but that didn’t happen pfftt

“At least Lily is honest with me.” He fired back at Persephone, they had been going back and forth with each other all morning while Lily and Aiden ran around the strip, it was all harmless fun of course.

“Oh just barely, you said the whole first year of your relationship you still couldn’t fully tell how she felt.” Persephone teased.

“Yeah well she’s more honest with me than you and Aiden are with each other.”

“It’s complicated, we were both on Mindoir during the raid.” was the only explanation she gave.

“Yeah?” he didn’t fully understand the relevance but he was willing to hear her out.

Persephone looked at the fireplace in the apartment’s living room.

“And if I'm to be honest, the biggest part of why I got engaged to Thomas was because he was one of my last connections to home. I don’t want to just be with Aiden for that same reason. It didn't exactly end well the first time.” She told him.

It wasn’t something she had really said out loud before but if there was anyone she felt like she could be honest with it was Kaidan.

“I get it but at the same time, is that really a bad thing?”

Persephone looked over at him “Huh?”

“Look and don’t tell her I brought it up but Lily told me that I have some similarities with her late fiance and at first it kind of bothered me but I thought about it and realized it’s not really a bad thing.”

“You don’t feel like a replacement at all?”

Kaidan shook his head “Lily loved him and I believe she still does a little bit and I could let it bother me sure but she loves me for the same reason she loved him and i’m not going to sit here and say I won out because i’m with her now, that’s not fair and I certainly don’t feel that way but what i’m trying to say is you two really care about each other. Lily and I both agree on that and if one of the things that brings you two together is a number of shared experiences or in my case shared traits, then what’s the problem? If it was the only reason you’re attracted to him, yeah it might be an issue but I don’t personally believe that is the only reason.”

Persephone sighed, she focused so much on burying these feelings she never really took a step back to think about what she actually liked about him "I like that I can trust him. The one person who I was supposed to be able to trust outed me but Aiden just... understands. And there's that rush when you can charge into battle with someone you trust. Mindoir was a conservative colony. Biotics had to hide themselves. And there's a part of me that wishes we'd been closer back then because maybe then I wouldn't have felt so alone with it. It's more than that though. Past us being biotics, past us both being soldiers. I can be myself around him... it's been awhile since I felt like that about someone. I'm not scared, or guarded."

“Are you ever going to tell him that?” Kaidan asked.

“How long did it take you to tell Lily?”

“Hey, in my defense we didn’t have any obvious chemistry like you two do.”

Persephone shook her head, she didn’t believe him or rather she didn’t want to believe him “He’s got a war to win, it’s not the time maybe if we survive, we’ll see.”

--------------

"So," Lily started as she stole a piece of nigiri off of Aiden's plate "how are you and Persephone?" She pried, causing his face to turn the same shade as the tuna on his plate.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said defensively, tugging at his scarf, suddenly feeling hot at the mention of her name.

"Oh please," she rolled her eyes, mouth still full of sushi "You're the talk of the ship, I even started a betting poll." She told him as she swallowed.

"You what?!" Lily watched unfazed, sipping her all too sweet cocktail as he hopped out of his chair, a couple of guests glaring in their direction over the commotion Aiden was causing.

"I was bored and I figured

should be getting something out of this back and forth you two have going on." She shrugged, clearly not seeing a problem in what she just told him.

Aiden ran a hand down his face as he fell back into his chair "What...exactly is written on the poll?"

"Oh nothing." She said, looking away from him.

"Lily, what does the poll say?"

Lily sighed, setting her glass down "what will happen first: the reapers wiping out the galaxy or Aiden and Persephone getting together?"

Aiden looked at her, eyes wide, he never got mad at his sister and he couldn't say he was now, it wasn't surprising behavior from her, he was simply mortified. Did Persephone know? God he hoped not.

"It's all harmless fun Ai." She said with a wave of her hand.

"Fine, but are you betting against me or for me?"

"Aiden! I'm appalled! Of course I'm betting for you, you're my brother."

"What kind of money is on it anyway?"

"Just a few thousand credits." She said nonchalantly.

"Thousand?!" Is the whole crew in on it?!"

Lily thought about it as she shoved a sushi roll in her mouth "No...like about….eighty percent?"

"Eighty?!"

She shrugged "More or less, Aiden if I were any good at math I wouldn't be a marine okay?"

Aiden sighed, resting his head on the table, he wondered what Persephone thought of all this, if she even knew about it, he imagined Kaidan did but he wasn’t a gossip so he wasn’t concerned about her finding out from him “You’re the absolute worst.” he sighed.

----------------------

Lily sat on the counter in the mess hall kitchen, watching them like a hawk as Aiden and Persephone conversed over breakfast, she hadn’t the faintest clue to what they could be talking about but Persephone had been laughing quite a bit, it had to be her way of flirting, there was no way her brother was that funny and Lily of all people would know. “Hey babe.” She said, sipping her hot cocoa as she waited for Kaidan to finish making breakfast.

Kaidan looked over his shoulder “Yeah?”

“I think i’m gonna add more money to the poll.” she told him, eyes still fixated on the pair.

Kaidan rolled his eyes “I still think it’s an invasion of privacy.”

“Hush, and besides there was one for us on the SR-1.”

“You’re joking.” at least he hoped so.

Lily shook her head “Swear on my life, where do you think I got the idea?”

He sighed as he went back to cooking “Do they even know about it?”

Lily plucked one of the marshmallows out of her mug and very elegantly placed it in her mouth “It’s a small ship.”

“So that’s a yes?”

“It’s a maybe.”

“Well whatever,” Kaidan placed the contents of the pan onto a plate and handed it to her “here.”

Lily smiled, “Perks of dating a canadian, they make the best bacon.”

“That’s a stereotype.” he said as he turned off the stove.

“Sure, like you putting canadian bacon on your pizza is a stereotype.” she said as she put whatever passed for syrup up in space on her bacon, Kaidan shuddering as he watched in disgust.

“First of all it’s just ham, second of all that’s disgusting.”

“Why because it’s not maple syrup?” she gave him a playful wink as she sucked a stray drop off her finger.

Kaidan scoffed “No.”

“Snob.” Lily teased as she exited the small kitchen, Kaidan following behind her.

They sat at the other end of the table “Not sitting with your brother today?” Kaidan asked, a little surprised they only did that when they fought and they hardly ever fought.

Lily shook her head “Nope! I’m gonna let whatever that is play out.” she said smugly, as if them talking was her doing. Kaidan still didn’t think it was any of their business but when did Lily ever listen to him? “I know it might seem like meddling but I really just want them to be happy and it seems to me that they make each other happy, he’s had a crush on her since we were kids after all.” she watched them talk with a gentle smile on her face, there was one thing people forgot about her, something hidden behind her imp like behavior and it was that she actually had a good heart. She wasn’t callous just for the sake of it, if she cared about someone she wanted what was best for them and it may seem like meddling to people on the outside but she did care about Aiden and Persephone and wanted them both to be happy and if that happiness lay with each other then she wanted to help even if it was from the sidelines.

Lily smiled and she had just the idea “Kaidan, how hard would it be to overload one of the elevators in here?”

“Edi might have some firewalls that prevent hacking but overloading it shouldn’t be-” he paused, she was up to something “why?”

“Oh...no reason.” If they wouldn’t deal with this on their own then she’d force their hand “just call it tough sibling love.”

---------------

Persephone arched her back, bringing her arm up as far as she could, her finger tips only barely brushing against the zipper to her under armor as she tried to pull it down but to no avail “Ugh!” she groaned looking around for someone to help when her eyes landed on Aiden who had the top part of his hanging around his waist as he worked on taking off his greaves. Don’t stare Persephone. Don’t. She repeated in her head but it was impossible, it was a wonder he didn’t already have someone waiting for him, she had heard from Lily he was with Liara briefly but not anymore. For someone as handsome and just down right charming as he was, she couldn’t believe it.

Persephone cleared her throat “Aiden, could I get your help?” she asked as composed as she possibly could.

Aiden looked up, his eyes peeking through the long black hair that had fallen out of his bun and into his face “Yeah?” did he even know how cute he was? Was it on purpose? He was driving her insane.

“I can’t unzip my under armor, could you help me?” She tried not to make her voice sound like those girls in the extranet fetish vids joker kept on his hard drive but she was essentially asking him to undress her, it was gonna sound like that no matter what tone she used. Good thing she never was one for batting her eyelashes or this interaction would have a totally different connotation.

Aiden felt his face flush, Persephone wanted him to….what? In reality it was just pulling her zipper down enough to where she could reach it herself but even still “Uh yeah, yeah of course.”

Luckily she had to face away from him anyway because it was getting hard to keep her composure the closer he got to her “Just midway should be fine.” she told him, voice as cool as a cucumber.

“Gotcha” There was nothing sensual about this, just one soldier helping another with their zipper, nothing more nothing less. Aiden swallowed hard as he slowly pulled the zipper down her back, trying not to stare as he revealed more of that perfectly tan skin of hers.

Persephone couldn’t breath, her mind was going a mile a minute thinking of all the possible scenarios where the context of him undressing her would be much different and she needed to stop. To think of anything other than what his hands would feel like on her skin, the scent of the cologne he wore that had long worn off by now and what his stubble would feel like on her- “Okay, there you go.” he said snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Oh...uh right, thank you.” Persephone reached her hand back, finally able to reach the zipper and part of her wanted to undress in front of him but it was still fraternization and in the middle of a war who was really paying attention, Lily and Kaidan being a prime example of that and at this point it was just a convenient excuse for her to use to deny what she actually wanted.

Aiden turned and walked away to finish taking off his own armor, doing his best not to look at Persephone as he did.

“Ya know Persephone you should really invest in a catsuit like me.” Lily suggested, half teasing.

“A catsuit?”

Lily nodded “Yup, zipper in the front so when you’re done you can just slide it right off no problem and it's also pretty comfy.”

“Those offer no damage protection and not only that, the alliance doesn’t allow them for obvious reasons.” Aiden interjected as he tried not to imagine her in a catsuit.

“Yeah well the handbook says we can wear what we want if N7 is written somewhere on it and,” Lily pointed at her “she’s part of the club like us so technically if she wanted to she could.”

Persephone giggled “I’ll take it into consideration Lily, thank you.”

“See Aiden, I was only trying to help my friend.” She said with a smirk.

Aiden rolled his eyes ‘Sure.” she couldn’t fool him but he really hoped Persephone didn’t take her advice, he wasn’t sure he’d survive seeing her in a catsuit even if for one mission.

The four of them walked to the elevator, Lily grabbing Kaidan’s wrist and pulling him back as she overloaded the elevator, the doors closing and locking Aiden and Persephone in together. “Did you just do what I think you did?” Kaidan asked.

“Yup and they aren’t leaving until they’ve kissed at least.” She stated matter of fact as she sat on the unoccupied weapons bench.

Kaidan sighed, in reality he could’ve just as easily gotten them out of there but he knew if he did Lily wouldn’t be too happy with him and the cons of that out weighed the pros unfortunately.

“Did she just?” Persephone asked, baffled.

“Yup.” Aiden nodded.

“Why?” she asked again.

“Who knows.” He sure as hell couldn’t read his sister’s mind no matter how hard he tried and he has tried.

Brown eyes met ocean blue and god it was such a cliche but he could’ve drowned in them, not just her eyes either, everything about her was beautiful, he thought he had gotten over his crush but the more he was around her the more these feelings he harbored for her so long ago came back but even stronger now. It was stupid to hope for anything, there was a war and she had ended her egagement not too long ago and he didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for her if he said anything and he cetianlly wasn’t about to set himself up just to be rejected.

“Commander, I have something I want to say to you.” it was stupid to call him by his rank just to tell him about her feelings for him but she was nervous and her brain automatically defaulted back to work.

Aiden went fully into commander mode “Of course, now’s as good a time as any.”

“Listen Aiden, I like you.”

Aiden blinked at her, his brain short circuiting as he processed what she just said “I like you too Persephone, you’re a valuable crew member and friend.” that had to be what she meant right?

She sighed “Aiden what I mean is, I like you, like really like you.”

Aiden was in full panic mode, did she mean…? No, No of course not! Couldn’t be “As a friend?”

“No Aiden,” god he was dense, beautiful, but so very dense “I mean I have feelings for you.” she bluntly told him “romantic feelings.”

“O-oh…” He said, his voice cracking “that’s uh...that’s great…”

“Great?” She raised an eyebrow at him, she thought he felt the same, had she been wrong?

“Yeah, I mean...yeah!” Aiden had never been a smooth talker, he got flustered way too easily and some people found it endearing other’s not so much. Hopefully Persephone wasn’t the latter.

“Do you not like me?”

“No I do!” He exclaimed, shocking them both “I uh...I always have.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“You and Thomas were so close and you’re gorgeous and as you can see i’m incredibly awkward with these things and I didn’t think I even had a chance so….”

This time it was her turn to be surprised “You’ve had feelings for me since we were kids?”

Aiden nodded “Yeah, I thought they went away and when I saw you again and got to spend more time with you they all came back, I don’t know if it’s because we’re both survivors of the raid or because you’re a vanguard like me but they’re different from the boyish crush I had on you years ago.” he confessed.

Persephone couldn’t help herself, after hearing how he truly felt, that after all these years he still had feelings for her, it was almost a miracle, she didn’t believe in soul mates but what were the odds that after all these years they’d find each other again and that he’d still have feelings for her. Persephone pushed Aiden back against the wall of the elevator, kissing him, he was taller than her but her heels made kissing him a much easier feat as opposed to if she was Lily’s height.

Aiden’s eyes widened in surprise, every muscle tensed at the feelings of her lips on his, he could hardly believe this was happening, guess he had to thank his sister later. He wrapped one arm around her waist and tangled a hand in her blonde hair as they kissed, both intoxicated by each other as soon as the elevator was working they were going straight to the captain's cabin there was no denying that, it was just a question of who hit the button first.

Suddenly the elevator started moving again, pulling them apart, a message from Lily pinging his omni-tool.

“You’re welcome ;)”

Was all it said and he rolled his eyes “That brat…” he said under his breath, he couldn’t be too mad considering how it turned out but that wasn’t the point.

Suddenly the elevator stopped and Persephone was dragging him into the cabin “Think you still have some energy after that mission soldier?” she winked.

Aiden smirked, picking her up, making her giggle as he carried her the rest of the way “Aye aye ma’am.”

#lilyshep #aidenshep #persephone shepard

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elopez7228 · 5 years ago

Text

Scenic Route 26/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

Rey was ready.

She was dressed in jeans, high-heeled boots, and a flowing top that exposed most of her back. It was sexy enough for a concert, comfortable enough to wear all night, and most importantly, perfect for her inevitable confrontation with Ben Solo. Her hair was swept up in a half-ponytail and she had picked out a pair of silver pendant earrings for the occasion.

Her makeup was minimal in that it consisted mostly of nude tones, but she had taken more care than usual in applying it—she looked much better than she did during her daily bouts of tourism. A small bag completed her ensemble, containing the essentials: her wallet, phone, and car keys.

The concert venue was on the outskirts of the city, nestled between a massive parking garage, a few fast food restaurants, the rear end of a warehouse, and a few motels. A mediocre scene at best. Bozeman was not a city known for its animated nightlife: it was frequented by the tourists going or coming from Yellowstone and its inhabitants lived almost exclusively off of this influx of temporary visitors. This wasn’t the kind of place where tourists stayed for more than a night, not that many tourists would attend a rock concert in the first place.

Yet the parking was already full of vehicles, their plates registered in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Tonight was going to be packed—a congregation of neighbors, friends, and visitors from the surrounding towns and ranches.

The entrance was a free-for-all, alcohol flowed freely as empty bottles of beer and stray cigarettes littered already the cluttered ground.

Rey took BB8 out for one more walk before locking her in the car with the window rolled down, making sure she had plenty of water and dog treats. She didn’t want to attract any more attention to her already infamous eyesore from 1977, so she had parked a little further away, near a McDonald's, where she had also spotted a familiar pickup truck. It featured a “Kylo REN” bumper sticker, the logo not unlike one of the posters near the entrance of the concert hall.

She hesitated. Should it go through the main entrance? He had mentioned an all-access backstage once; could she possibly come in through the back?

When in doubt, text him.

I’m here. Should I buy a ticket or do you have the backstage pass you offered?

No response.

Shit.

He was probably busy.

She made her way behind the building and finally recognized one of the musicians (Skylar?) who was leaning against a wall, cigarette in hand. She approached him with her best smile.

“Hi, I 'm Rey, you know, a friend of Ben...uh...Kylo Ren’s. he told me something about a backstage pass, can I come in?”

Upon closer inspection, she noticed his broad shoulders, immaculately shaved head, and intricately tattooed neck and forearms. He deigned not to respond immediately. He lowered the eyes and practically leered at Rey from top to bottom, pausing to take a long drag of his cigarette before blowing the smoke in her face.

“He didn't say anything to me. Nice try. Go through the front and pay the price.”

Rey winced. Something about this guy made her skin crawl, she could see in his eyes that this was all an act.

“Is Syed Ren is there? Can I talk to her?”

“What Syed is up to is none of your business.”

Okay...why was he acting like such a guard dog?

“Well,” she insisted, “in that case, maybe you can inform Kylo or Syed, wherever they are, that Rey is out here waiting for them?”

The musician took a step forward and bent slightly to reach Rey’s height, forcing her to reflexively take a step back. He was much taller than her. Classic intimidation technique; it discouraged escalation without attracting attention.

“Listen up, kid, I dunno who you think you are, but nobody’s gonna bother Kylo Ren. Wait your turn and pay your dues or get the hell out.”

Rey gritted her teeth. Her smile was acerbic. “Perfect. Let's do that, then.”

Idiot! She would’ve appreciated if Kylo and Syed had told her about Skylar’s garbage personality when she was still going back and forth about the whole maybe-I-should-follow-you-on-tour-and -drop-by-now-and-then idea. She was hoping she could be more forgiving to Kylo, but of course that proved to be useless. Now she only hoped he would break a leg tonight—literally. Fuck him and his rockstar life. Maybe he would draw the short straw one day and end up cleaning other people’s messes for a change. Maybe that would take him off of his grand fucking pedestal.

Eventually, with no other option (as evidenced by her very silent phone) Rey skirted back around the edge of the building to the entrance. She paid for a ticket—a paltry 19 dollars—and stepped inside.

The room was overheated, and already well full. Rey elbowed her way to the front as much as possible, getting as close as she could to the stage. Suddenly, she felt a hand press against her buttocks as she navigated through the crowd.

Hell, someone was going to pay very dearly for this.

She was spun around, swiftly grabbing a wrist while her fingers formed a vice-like grip around it. At the end of said wrist was a bearded man in a ridiculous hat, with an equally ridiculous expression on his face. He had expected, no doubt, to find her embarrassed and intimidated.

“Whose hand is this?” She yelled as loudly as she could, “because it just happened to grab my buttocks out of nowhere,” she spat acidly.

The bearded man pulled his hand and tried to flee, but Rey held firmly. She looked him right in the eyes.

“Say, haven't you misplaced something?”

“Uh...hey...” mumbled the guy, visibly panicking now. Another girl jumped in to help her, grabbing the man’s shoulders to shove him off to the side.

“Get lost, there’s no room for pervs here!”

Soon, a group formed around them to collectively push the man out of the door. Rey’s heartbeat soared and suddenly she felt like her confidence was limitless. Yes, by the end of the concert, she would get ahold of Kylo and Syed—Skylar or no Skylar—to hell with waiting outside all night!

In a matter of minutes the lights went out. Amid the whistles and the cheers of the audience, Rey felt her heart skip a beat in recognizing the unmistakable silhouette of Ben Solo on the stage. He was all black again: black Doc Martens, black jeans, and a plain black crew neck t-shirt. Although his shirt was simple, it was very fitted, revealing the shape of his muscular chest and broad shoulders. She remembered touching that chest, tracing the outline of those hard planes with one hand while using the other to dip below the waistband of those jeans.

Suddenly she felt unbearably hot.

But that was just because of how crowded it was. Right?

Somehow, there were only five people on stage. She looked for Syed in vain, her eyes widening with realization that the guitarist wasn’t there at all. What did that imply? Truth be told, she was a little disappointed; she’d had the every intention to deal with Syed too. It was strange how Rey felt like a target in what seemed to be a folie à deux between Syed and Kylo. There was no use in confronting one of them if the other got away.

She was surprised to find herself swaying to the rhythm of the music, whistling and clapping along with the audience. It must have been the music itself, a paradoxically beautiful cacophony that resonated with the rage she had buried inside and fit perfectly with the mood of the evening.

Kylo Ren felt it too. His voice was hoarser from the screaming, his breath more uneven, his stage presence even wilder than the last concert in Denver. Rey could see in the urgency of his body language a fury that seemed to spill out of him and into the microphone. It was almost a display of violence. Her own anger paled in comparison to his, the vast tidal wave of emotion that emanated from his being.

The atmosphere was electric, the crowd unhinged. Rey knew the lyrics by heart, after a thousand kilometers worth of repetition, but she was still shocked to find herself belting the chorus at the top of her lungs with the rest. She admittedly knew nothing of the history of Kylo Ren, she didn’t know where she would find the story of his life (on the walls of some gallery?) or where they would end this unexpected journey. But at least she had found a new favorite band, and their familiar melodies had become her anthem—the anthem of her own journey. She would never forget this vintage car, or these desert roads which wound past rugged mountains, or the mesmerizing way Kylo’s hair fell to his shoulders. The dense, silken ebony that framed his face in wild strands that stuck against his forehead when he was on stage.

The music stopped, the room became dark. Kylo Ren's voice rose in silence:

“This next song is about how we deal with the unexpected, inspired by someone who turned my life upside down. This is my song for her, "First Rain".

Rey felt herself blush to the roots of the hair. Was it a song for her?

Maybe it was for Syed? He hadn't specified anything, was it just her imagination? Did he know? Was she being watched?

Suddenly she found herself unable to move a muscle, frozen alone amidst a sea of nameless faces. Their eyes watched Kylo Ren intently, but him—he was looking directly at her. His gaze pierced through the crowd, unmistakable. He had written it for her. She immediately felt the urge to run, far, far away. But looking into his eyes, she found herself incapable of it.

His gaze held her captive. Dark and hypnotically odd, like his hair, like his clothes—like everything that was ever made in his image. His face was too long and his earlobes too detached, a round sliver of flesh peeking out from underneath of a curtain of black on each side of his face. She bet they were sensitive enough that if she pulled on them he would—

What on earth was happening to her? Was she really going to melt like a lovesick teenager for the first guy with a guitar who bothered to write a song for her? He didn’t even have a guitar.

But he sang words of love.

Better yet, he sang of other things: of a meeting that was more of a collision, of confrontation, of misunderstandings, of sharing secrets, of lies, so many lies...it was all there.

It was all written for her.

She wanted to put her own feelings into words, but her mouth was dry. Her lower half betrayed her desires as her heart hammered even harder. What was he trying to tell her, and, more importantly, what was she going to say in response?

When the music stopped the audience broke out in cheers, but Rey was struggling to breathe. He had sung the entire song while looking right into the eyes, so much so that the crowd around her had receded somewhat, providing them the semblance of privacy.

It was there that she found herself at the center of a circle of people, in the middle of Bozeman, Montana, and in some sense, at the center of the universe.

Then Kylo Ren broke the silence once more as the deafening roar of rock resumed, jolting the audience awake, and Rey was suddenly anonymous again, drowned by a sea of people once more.

She could barely hear the rest of the concert. She was furious with herself for falling into a trap as sickeningly cliche as a song in her name. It was unbearably romantic and...and irresistible.

She couldn't go on.

She left the room, feeling feverish, taking longer and longer strides until she made it to her car, where she collapsed onto the front seat with heaving breaths.

BB8 pawed at her and Rey let the dog bounce excitedly around the car.

She would wait here until the end of the concert, until Kylo and Syed were available. From where she was sitting she could see Kylo Ren’s truck, and she could just make out the entrance to the concert hall. They would be impossible to miss.

Rey was shaken, emotionally drained, even. That song had almost certainly lasted a few minutes, but it had seemed as though he had sung for hours.

Something had happened then, while his eyes held hers as his voice wrapped around her whole being. The room had suddenly felt deserted, like they were alone in the world. It had been so unexpectedly and deeply erotic that she had lost the notion of time.

She didn't know if she wanted to laugh or sob. Her skin felt tingly, crying out to be touched. She had never smoked in her life but she wanted a cigarette.

She grabbed the sweater she had left on the passenger seat, and buried her face in it before unleashing a scream that emptied out her entire lungs—a visceral cry of anger, of frustration and of relief, simultaneously primal and liberating.

Finally she felt better, leaning her head back again before dozing off.

It was the movement around her that drew her out of drowsiness. The chaotic din of the audience leaving the venue, the roar of engines and bursts of random conversation.

How long had she slept? The concert was over, the people were leaving the premises. Soon she was surrounded only by the vehicles of the tech crew, and those of the Knights of Ren. She recognized the group, two women and two men, walking across the lot.

Rey got out of her car and leaned against the door, ankles crossed, as she scrutinized the darkness. Where was Kylo Ren? He better be out here.

A car approached. A dark grey SUV, which parked near the pickup.

Rey’s heart began to pound in her chest when she recognized the silhouette in the driver’s seat—a leather-clad woman with a mohawk.

She shuddered. If Syed was there, Kylo would show up soon. Rey was going to call out to her when something stopped her in her tracks.

Syed was holding a knife.

Rey held both hands over her mouth to stifle the cry that threaten to escape her throat and give away her location as she slid down into a crouched position, praying she could just disappear. Syed slipped past the SUV and stopped in front of the black pickup. With one fluid motion, she slashed the rear-left tire, her fist clenching tightly around the hilt of the blade.

Then she directed her attention to the rear-right tire, until she had methodically slashed all of them. BB8 began baring her teeth and growling, but Rey coaxed her to be quiet.

This was highly unusual. Weren't Syed and Kylo supposed to be accomplices in some crazy scheme? Guided by intuition, Rey bent as far as she could in the direction of the Falcon’s boot, taking only a few moments to find what she needed.

Then she hushed BB8 again, who lay unhappily on the back seat, and silent as a shadow, she crossed the road in the direction of the concert hall.

#reylo #fanfiction #Scenic Route #modern au

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grahamcarmen · 5 years ago

Note

God all I want is to see how it's all gonna go down when Gray gets his memory back (yes he's gonna get it back this is the hill I'll die on)

gawsh i KNOW!

they have been investing so much into graham like from all 3 sides

VILE may have erased his memories but Bellum like says he’s her favorite student, and even asks la chevre about him at the beginning of the opera caper, and we get that scare that she might be the one to trigger his memories in the kiwi caper by the way carmen keeps him out of physical sight and is nervous even that Bellum’s voice might have triggered graham’s memories

ACME had this speech about having to re-evaluate motives and character by looking at the world in shades of gray and panning over to him on that word AND THEY KNOW THAT HE’S AN ACQUAINTANCE OF CARMEN WHO IS ON THEIR BAD SIDE NOW

And of course we got our red crackle side <3 Carmen wanting to be with Graham and I know a lot of people said that it was contrived for them to reach out to Graham for the kiwi caper but considering in all seriousness that they need someone experienced in electrician duties who the crew more or less trusts enough to let be part of the caper

a) yes player is a hacker but like that’s not an all -encompassing skill. like Graham showed with that fun swan sequence, someone DID need to be physically on site for the levers. zack and ivy don’t have these qualifications either.

b)um... idk if you guys noticed but Carmen is actually really not someone to reach out to people, or more specifically civilians, when pulling her capers. //but what about her current crew you might say//

Player was and is her best confidant but she took a whole year to confide the spy school thing to him. of course he reached out to her first and quickly getting along with her helps especially in the end where she no longer trusts in VILE and is essentially alone.

zack and Ivy made their way into her circle by them sticking their feet constantly on the door of the situation and their status as not ordinary civilians helped ease carmen about including them + the fact that they were soon to be on the run. the closest she got to reaching out during the caper is hi-jacking their car and asking for some muscle (IVY!!!). throughout the beginning of the caper she encouraged them to stay on the sidelines

the lady in the fishy caper was someone who tried to get into the know with Carmen as someone with investment in the history of the coin in question and ends up providing helpful medicinal assistance when carmen gets air sickness (carmen please take care of yourself) but what was Carmen’s reaction to even giving her a little bit of info on the caper?: NO

she also has less trouble in reaching out to ACME agents because they’re literally trained to be more or less competent with danger and have some idea of what they’re getting into

and of course the moment shadow san is revealed to be an ally she makes a lot of effort for that connection /note: he’s not a civilian with no knowledge of the caper/

...yeah sorry about going on that tangent but the point is that graham is a physically capable (former VILE agent) - specifically capable (electrician who also had some deja vu about the big bad electric machine) not really a civilian that team carmen trusts BEFORE she gave ACME a chance in episode 9 so like...yeah...adskfhjbaskjn sorry.

BUT BACK TO THE RED CRACKLE WHOOOO BOY!

-Carmen continuously makes efforts in the opera caper to include graham in that day from literally starting a legit conversation about VILE’s intentions even though they’re supposed to be enemies, asking him to be a guide for a caper even though player and her have no real reason to include him, and almost going to a coffee date to chill (I CAN’T FREAKING BELIEVE THEM) to eventually prioritizing his safety over her own desire to reconnect with him T.T

- carmen is against the idea of recruiting for graham for safety reasons but the moment that its decided HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA CARMEN CAN’T HIDE HOW HAPPY SHE IS THAT HE IS THERE

“FORTUNATELY FOR ME OUR LIGHTING TECHNICIAN DROPPED OUT”

-EVERY TIME SHE SMILES BECAUSE GRAHAM SUPPORTS HER ON THE ACTUAL CAPER

-DA LIP BITE WHEN HE TRIES TO GET ASSURANCE THAT THEY’RE “THE GOOD GUYS

the narrative constantly emphasizes that carmen has hope for a connection with graham. what it’ll turn out to be is left in the writer’s hands but considering that they care about the dynamic at all means something in terms of the emotional fallout when he finally does get his memories.

I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#red crackle thoughts #red crackle #ask #sorry i got distracted but #like the contrived comments made me think #a little? yeah #but totally? no #says something about carmen as a person #and allowed a character that the writers are investing stuff into back into the picture

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youhearstatic · 5 years ago

Note

For the micro-prompts: 20, 16, or 47? (I like to give options in case one jumps out more than the others, so don't feel like you should combine them or something!)

20 - You probably thought I forgot, right? I didn’t! (And I haven’t forgotten the other two I have left, either!)

Surprise, surprise, this one went long. Hope you like it!

--------------------------

Alone, Finally

Barry followed the rest of the crew down the backstage hallway, tugging at the unfamiliar robe they’d been given right before they went on stage. Well, that some of them had been given. Magnus was wearing a jacket he’d instantly pulled the sleeves off of. The captain had a longer version of the same jacket that was tailored immaculately to him with military severity. Merle hadn’t even worn his for the press conference. The twins had worn both jackets and robes, somehow making the IPRE uniform look like couture instead of standard issue. Lucretia was in the robe but she looked like a lost boarding school student, the crimson robe looked stylishly scholastic on her. He tugged at the neck of the robe again, even more self conscious than he’d been on stage.

Ahead of him, the twins had their heads bowed together, whispering and laughing. For the first of many, many times, the echo of Lup’s comment on stage scraped across his thoughts like nails on a chalkboard.

Nerd alert!

Just a few more minutes and the others would be heading to that bar they’d mentioned. And then - for one last time for a while - he’d be alone, finally.

---

Trailing his hand down the wall, Barry made his way by memory. After eleven years he could have done it with his eyes closed.

Which was essentially what he was doing.

It was stupid, so fucking stupid. Okay, sure, that first year he hadn’t known to take his glasses off. Why would he? But by the third time they regenned he should have figured out that his glasses were going to be important and he should set them aside before … whatever it was that happened at the end of the cycle. That fourth year he’d died, that could be excused. The eighth year he’d had it ingrained in him not to even think of removing his mask. So that year could be excused, too.

But that still left six regens. Six opportunities to set aside a pair of glasses in case of emergency.

Well maybe next year he’d remember. But for the rest of this year he was practically blind. Anything beyond arm’s reach might as well not exist. He could make out colors and if he squinted really hard sometimes he could get a slight hint of shape to the faceless blurs around him.

It’s fine, he told himself for probably the thousandth time that day.

It wasn’t fine. Sure, he could make his way around the ship, fumbling his way from room to room by memory and feel. But once he was there he didn’t have much to offer. He couldn’t work in the lab. Experiments were off the table - literally if he was trying to do them. Just trying to clean basic equipment in the lab had resulted in two broken beakers before Lup kindly, patiently, but insistently suggested he leave the job to her. He couldn’t help look for the light. He couldn’t take notes on their observations. He couldn’t even help with chores around the ship!

Pushing open the fifth door on the left, he was alone, finally. Dark blur straight ahead was his bed and beige-ish blur to the left was his desk. And then the blurs were watery and the tears of frustration and self pity that he’d held off all week caught up to him. He leaned against the door and let his facade drop.

He was so tired of being a drain on the crew. Not being able to help, having to be looked after, and maybe worst of all, pretending it didn’t kill him by inches, pretending it was all just a silly thing to be joked away. ‘Barold bumping into things for three more months,’ wasn’t it hilarious? ‘Barry fell of the rock jetty, lost his glasses, almost died, and now he’s talking to the coat rack because he thinks it’s Lucretia.’

“Barry?”

Fear shot hot and electric through his body, startling him into embarrassed silence. He swabbed his hand over his face, trying to disguise the fact he’d been leaning against his door crying because he…

“Oh, fuck,” he said. “I went in the fourth door, didn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Lup answered. That one syllable was so patient and kind and understanding and honestly, it was just salt in his wounds. He didn’t want to be understanding about this whole thing and he really didn’t want Lup to be understanding about him bumbling into her room and having a breakdown.

“Sorry, I, just, um,”

A blur separated itself from the bed-blur, straightened into a taller blur, and approached him. He could almost see the shape of her hair in her silhouette - it was loose, not braided was all he could make out - when she was close enough to take his hand. “C’mere,” she said, tugging him gently towards the bed-blur. “Hold on,” she said. The Lup-blur bent then straightened again. “Don’t want you tripping over my boots,” she explained. There was a clunk to his right and he assumed she’d tossed the shoes towards the wall to get them out of the way.

It was disconcerting, being pulled into a sitting position on Lup’s bed. Their rooms were arranged identically, looked identical to his unassisted vision, and sitting on her bed was, in theory, no different than sitting on his own.

Except it was. It wasn’t his bed, it wasn’t his room, and worse - oh so much worse - it was Lup’s bed in Lup’s room. His face was burning and his stomach was winding itself into furious little knots and dammit, he hadn’t thought he could feel worse than he did three minutes ago but, look at that!, here he was sunk lower than the freezing point of mercury.

“I didn’t mean to bug you,” he mumbled, eyes aimed at the floor or where the floor was if he could at least be trusted to get that right.

“Hold still,” she tells him. Then she’s pushing the hair back from his forehead and there’s a weird sensation, like a pinching pull that doesn’t quite hurt but it’s just so odd he can’t figure out what’s going on.

“Stop frowning!” she tells him, her voice colored with laughter. “I’m just clipping your hair back.”

“Why?” he asks before he can stop himself. He feels like he’s three steps behind what is happening.

“Because we’re doing face masks.”

“What?”

“Relax,” she tells him.

And for some strange reason, he does.

---

They’ve been alone. Over the years, in a dozen planar systems, across doomed worlds, in forgotten ruins, or just in the lab working silently, they’ve been alone.

They’ve been alone. Over the months of study and composition and practice. They’ve been alone, just the two of them and their music filling the empty room, no witness to the way the notes have been building and the music has been building and the way the tempo has somehow gotten slower. Here at the end, right next to each other, a pair of pathways that have wound ever closer over the years, the paths have almost joined and yet.

And yet.

They meander these last months. Dancing closer and closer but not touching, not mingling, not yet.

Each step forward slower and slower until the momentum is crawling forward, making the distance of a few inches last and last.

They are alone together on stage.

There are so many around. Instructors and audience and all the people that it takes to keep an infrastructure like this running: janitors and receptionists and the guy that refills the coffee machine in the fourth floor break room. Anyone in hearing distance that day notices. It’s like that sometimes. You can go weeks and months and nothing sticks, even the pieces that get rebroadcast, they run together at some point. It’s beautiful, amazing, but there’s filters to restock and inquiries to respond to. There’s a leaky water heater that needs tending to. But for a minute, you stop, lean on the broom and take notice.

But not Barry and Lup, alone, finally, despite the people surrounding them. Their music is still echoing around them when their hands find one another.

Lup and Barry, alone on stage. Two paths that have run side by side, so close for so long, join at last.

There’s applause and then the song is sent out anew, reflected from deep within the mountain instead of from her violin and his piano. There’s applause and an empty stage.

Alone, finally.

---

There’s a pillar of bone carved with arcane symbols. There on the hill, two people lean together, forehead to forehead. Further away another watches. But in this instant there’s no one else. Seven on this planet yes. Eight if you count their strange, duck loving new shipmate.

But for now. On this hill. In this moment.

There are only two.

Two liches.

Alone, finally, after years of study.

And then like so many times before, they pick up their responsibilities and work and pull it all back on like a costume they only ever drop for a little while.

In those moments they are alone.

---

He’s alone.

This was the final place. It was supposed to be…

His shoulders sag. It was supposed to be their happy ending, their settled-at-last, their no-more-running.

But he woke up and she wasn’t there.

It felt different. He didn’t say it, but it did.

And then morning turned to day turned to week turned to months.

He’s alone.

---

Exhaustion wears them down, hang like too-heavy cloaks on backs that can’t stand tall without her.

He’d been alone.

But feeling the last of her disappear - the her that was only in his memories - he knows what alone really means. He can’t lose her that way, not again, not like this.

“Taako, k- kill me! Right now!”

He’s falling.

Forgetting.

Forgotten.

Alone.

Final.

---

He’s alone. There is so much that makes no sense. Three guys - one of them made of fucking wood if you could believe it - and him naked in a tank full of goo.

Then he got in the one guy’s pocket? Somehow?

The details are fuzzy.

But dammit, he’s happy. Something feels right. After so long. (How long?)

He’s alone.

Alone, but -

Finally.

---

Who’d have guessed this was a skill? The ultimate hangover and when you got that giant memory dump poured on you every time you did something stupid like fell off a cliff or didn’t bring enough water into the desert… well, you got better at it.

So while the others recovered, he was alone, the only one not under fire from a million contradicting thoughts.

Alone, Finally.

At the end.

And then… and then… his brain comes up empty at the thought. And then?

Alone?

---

The pale green glow throws strange shadows across the cave. There was a ball of brilliant fire but, well, anchoring yourself in a body after a decade out of practice took some concentration. And he didn’t exactly have the concentration himself.

After so long. After everything. After endless nights in this very cave, planning and plotting and hoping.

Alone.

And then.

Finally.

Alone together.

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annoyinglyjovialbird · 5 years ago

Text

Voltron: Next Generation

Impending Difficulties: III

Word Count: 3032

AN: Sorry about the delay! I rewrote the whole chapter today and almost ran out of time!

The neutral glow that illuminated the Coeus was steady. Non-changing. The crew was in various locations throughout the ship. Then, like a switch, the glow turned from neutral white to red. As quickly as they could, every teen packed the essentials. Keith, Kova, Caleb, and Shiro were in the transport bay with the Lions, suited up and ready to go. One by one, the teens marched in. In Kova's hand, a timer slowly counted down. First came Griffin, then Cake. They stood in silence for almost a minute when Allie ran in, panting for breath.

"Sorry, I tried," she said through pants. Griffin thought that was it. She thought this was their punishment. At the three-minute mark, Caleb and Kova still hadn't said a word. They only stared at the timer, which was now counting negative time.

"Are we done?" Griffin asked, earning her a look from Kova and an eyebrow raise from Caleb. Then, they heard it. Jingles. Metal scraping against each other. From the entrance of the transport bay, Kenny emerged. He had found or hung onto Allie's large backpack from the beginning. The comically large bag was filled to the brim. Kenny was leaning on the door frame, his small body straining every non-existent muscle to hold up the large bag. He still managed to form the line beside the three other teens, and Kova finally stopped the timer.

"The team fails the evacuation procedure." At least Kova was as blunt as always.

"It's Allie's fault, right?" Griffin asked. Allie's eyes went wide.

"No." It was Caleb's turn. "Allie made it within the appropriate time. She would've likely been first to board her Lion, so she checked on Kenny." At his name, the man stood upright. Kova approached him and showed the man her screen. It was -2:19.

"Kenneth, evacuation is carry-on only. Not the entire workshop."

"It is essential!" At his words, Kova poked a side of the bag. As it tipped off to the side, Kenny went along with it.

"If it's the money, I can understand." Kova began.

"But if it's random and easily replaceable parts from Allura knows where then I don't." Caleb finished.

"What would you know, Ladybug?" Kenny snarkily asked. Caleb didn't take this lightly. His bayard was in his hand in a heartbeat and taking a step towards Kenny and his humongous bag. Thankfully Kova was there to hold him back.

"While we're gathered here, I have the honor to formally introduce Keith Kogane to the crew of the IGF Coeus," Kova said in a monotone voice. With one hand, she was holding Caleb's collar and in the other, she was staring at her phone. The screen was running the ship's diagnostics, but she could've been looking at pictures of Cyrus if anyone cared.

Kenny turned around to stare at the man. At some point, the teens found leftover fabric from Caleb's chair cover that hadn't been defaced by black spots. Cutting a hole in the middle of the roughly circular fabric, Keith wore it like a poncho. It covered most of his body, still clad in his bodysuit, and unbearably thin. Liz and Allie found a spare brush for him to borrow, prepared his meals, and tended to the bruising and sores all over his body.

Even with all of that, it was still him. It was clearly him. It was his dad.

"Mr. Kogane—"

"Kova."

"Keith, I would like to formally introduce you to the crew of the IGF Coeus." Two stomps on the ground and the teens stood at attention. Kenny stared at them and followed, legs spread to better support the bag. "From left to right in order of entry, Cake Garrett, Eliza Griffin, Allura Smythe, and Kenneth Holt."

"Kogane." Kenny corrected.

"Kenneth Kogane." Kova turned to Keith, who was staring at the young man. Turning to stare at the two, Kova noticed they shared the same nose. Weird how genetics play out.

"What, this, no, it can't be." Keith was stammering. He couldn't find the words. "The last time I saw Ken was—"

"Almost ten years ago." Kenny dropped the bag. Allie and Liz dove behind Cake.

"No, you were sixteen. There's no way." Keith seemed adamant. This wasn't his youngest son. "Junior was twenty, and Ezrid was eighteen."

"Dad."

"No, there's no way."

"Everyone's dismissed. Continue regular duties." Kova ordered. The other teens nodded and walked back to their rooms to drop off their backpacks. Kova dragged Caleb to the training deck below. Shiro grabbed a hold of Keith and Kenny's shoulders and led them to the bridge, where he could explain what had happened. They were in there for about half an hour before they emerged.

The teens were in the cafeteria, eating away at the Arusian and Balmeran food. At least, the still edible parts of it. Cake wondered aloud about the restaurant in the mall. It used to be called 'Vrepit Sal's', but when it was taken over by Cake's dad, it became 'Garrett & Sons'.

"I thought you were the only son?" Allie asked. Cake's eyes went wide.

"If Dad's still alive, I'll be sure to introduce him to Talia."

"Can you guys stop talking about good food?" Liz complained, rubbing her temples. "I'm getting sick of the fruits."

"Your dad created his culinary empire with a play-on-words of the Galaxy Garrison?" Caleb asked. A nod from Cake. Caleb was going to make a quip, but Keith’s fist beat him to it.

"You aren't Hunk's son," Keith growled.

"Sure, and I'm Altean." Liz smiled, propping her chin into her hand.

‘Oh, uh, Varkon' requests telecommunication.

"Let's go change, guys!" Liz said, standing from the table. The other four followed her out, leaving Keith alone to stare after them.

———————

"Thanks again for the parking space!" Shiro said.

"Oh, it's no problem at all!" Varkon was amicable. "Especially for a former member of Voltron!" The kids waved their thanks from a distance and walked into the mall. It hadn't changed much, besides the blatant Voltron merch everywhere. Kova and Caleb walked away from the group for a minute to stare into a shop window. On display were plush versions of the Voltron Lions, as well as an action figure Voltron.

"Heh, don't these sell for cheaper on Earth?"

"Dude, I have four of them hiding in the closet."

"What?" Caleb stared at Kova. "No way! I've been in there so many times and I've never seen anything!"

"What were you doing in my closet?"

"What?"

"Can you two come back here?" Shiro's voice came over the earpieces. The teens took their time, interrogating and deflecting each other. Shiro was handing a colored bracelet to Kenny when they started running.

"NO!"

"DON'T PUT—" Kova began. Shiro saw their approach and slipped two last bracelets onto their wrists. From his arm, the bracelets became activated. Kova's right arm was pulled to Kenny's left, cutting across his body. Caleb's left arm also flew to Liz's right, but there was no cutting across bodies. Instead, Liz became flustered at being close to a boy, much less her captain. Cake and Allie were pulling at each other's arms, seeing how it wouldn't budge, and turned to Shiro for an explanation. The Shirogane teens had a bone to pick, though.

"You can't do this!"

"We're not little kids!"

“How old do you think we are?"

"You could've said something instead of resorting to the cuffs!"

Shiro clapped to gain their attention. Or to silence them. Whichever you prefer.

"The last time Paladins of Voltron were in the space mall, one was nearly arrested and detained by mall security, another was used as slave labor because he couldn't pay, and the other two stole coins out of a fountain to buy a game system and a cow." As Shiro was recounting his tale, the teens and Kenny quieted down. "The bracelets worked well for you two." He was staring at his kids. "They should work well with the other members of your crew." A growl escaped Kova's throat as she picked up the bag with the money from the Arusians inside. Shiro took it from her hands, handing her a handful of coins. At least she was wearing a sweater with pockets. Allie and Caleb received handfuls of coins too, stashing them away. Allie had a small purse that matched her white and blue outfit and Caleb was wearing his ladybug sweater.

"As long as we all have our earpieces in, we should be fine in case of an attack," Kova said, looking around. "Head to your respective areas, and try not to let the stares bother you too much."

"Food court for lunch?" Cake asked, to everyone's head nods. With that, they all left for their respective corners.

"What were those things?" Keith asked. Liz and Allie pleaded with Keith, then Shiro for Keith to stay onboard. They weren't sure if Keith could handle being exposed to a large crowd so soon after his discovery. Shiro agreed with their reasoning while Keith fought them on it. When it came out of Shiro's mouth, for some magical reason, Keith accepted it. His request was to get him some 'real clothes'.

"When Kova and Caleb were younger, they were impossible to keep track of," Shiro began his story. "So Curtis and Matt butted their heads to find a solution."

"And the bracelet cuffs were the answer?"

"Matt and Curtis didn't figure it out until Kova and Caleb were playing with fake handcuffs. Somehow, they got ahold of real cuffs and were stuck until the cop they took them from came back from a two-day vacation. We were almost sad to see them go."

"How old were they?"

"Eh, nine. Maybe ten. They were young but I remember Caleb talking, and that didn't happen until he was eight."

"As touching as the story is, can you not talk about it when we can't control channels?" Kova said. Shiro could hear the others either laughing or snickering.

"Yeah, okay." Shiro laughed.

Kenny and Kova were the first to arrive at their location. The shop was filled wall to ceiling with scaultrite lenses. They were somewhat organized. Oh sure, they were in barely distinguishable piles but at least they were organized by size. Did size even matter with lenses?

Even at the jingle at the front of the store, no one came from the backroom to the front counter. Kenny and Kova looked at each other and shrugged, looking at the various sizes. They settled on thirty-six 8" lenses. They had the money for double, maybe triple the price, but they stopped counting when they got to the price of thirty-six. An alien finally appeared from the back room at the sound of voices.

"Oh, hello!" The alien greeted. They looked generally sweet, with light blue skin and dark almond-shaped eyes. "Sorry about that! The bell sounds for everyone within a two-foot radius of the door. How can I help you today?"

"Yeah, can we get thirty-six of the 8" lenses, please?" Kenny asked. The worker nodded her head and stepped around the counter to grab them. Kova was lost in her mind, trying to figure out the problem with the bell.

"Anything else for you today?" The alien asked. Kenny shook his head and looked to Kova. The two stared at the girl until she finally noticed. She apologized and asked if the worker had a pair of pliers she could borrow. While confused, the worker complied. Dragging Kenny along wasn't fun for Kova, but she did it. The bell rang through the store again and the pair stepped back. Kenny, with careful steps, approached the door. He was three feet away. Then two. Finally one foot in front of the door. The bell didn't go off until Kenny was directly in front of it. The worker gasped.

"How did you do that?"

"The sensor range was too wide. I made it shorter." Kova explained and shrugged.

"How can I ever repay you?" The worker said. Kova started to say there was no need, but it was too late. The worker remembered they were there for the lenses. They wrapped the lenses up neatly and pushed them over the counter to them.

"No, it's really alright!" Kova tried saying, but the alien was hearing none of it. "Seriously, it was nothing!"

"Please, take it! Thanks to you, I don't have to listen to that stupid bell anymore!"

"You really don't have to!"

"Hold on! Just one minute!" Kenny shouted, getting the arguing pair's attention. "We're going to pay you." The worker opened their mouth to protest. "Ah, ah, ah, no. No. We're going to pay you. You can repay us by taking down a certain poster from around the mall."

"You saw them, too?" Kova asked. Kenny nodded. The worker nodded at the request. They were seriously excited about the bell not going off anymore.

"Anything! What poster?" The worker asked. Kenny pulled out his phone and showed the worker the ransom poster of Kova. The worker looked from the screen to Kova and back again. "You got yourself a deal." Kenny and the worker shook on it. As Kenny and Kova turned to leave with their lenses, Kova turned to look at the worker.

"If you ever want something from the food court, say Jax sent you. Many of them won't ask questions about it, even double the size of your meal." The worker yelled one last thank you as Kenny and Kova left the store.

On the other side of the space mall, Allie and Cake were enjoying the simple delights of finding snacks. Allie was looking at low-calorie and low-fat snacks to give to Keith and Cake was staring at the crackers with drool coming from his mouth. In the end, they got about three-quarters of the list of snacks down. The other fourth was food for Keith. Or Kova. They couldn't tell anymore.

About thirty feet away, Liz and Caleb were simply window-shopping, not really liking everything they came across. When Liz spotted Allie, she dragged Caleb along to Allie's side. It was almost lunchtime, so they were heading through the heart of the mall to get to the food court.

"Oh, Allura! That would look wonderful on you!" A girl exclaimed, making the four slow down.

"Oh great," Allie said quietly. She kept her head low.

"So, I uh, guess that Allura is a pretty popular name on Altea," Liz said.

"Yes, it is. The most popular for girls."

"What's the second most popular name?" Liz asked. Allie turned her head to face the girl and gave a dry smile before dropping it.

"June," Allie said, staring down at the list in her hands again.

"Those girls are Altean." Liz pointed out.

"Yep."

"Do you know them?"

"Unfortunately."

A loud dramatic gasp came from the trio of girls in front of a high-end store. At least, it looked high-end. And Altean.

"Allie? Is that you?" One of the girls almost yelled in the mall. Allie froze in her tracks and looked up as the trio approached. The girl in the middle had curly purple hair and fair skin with matching purple Altean markings. Her cronies on either side had a short blonde bob and black pixie cut hair with rose pink and lime green markings. Allie looked petrified but stood her ground. That was when the girl in the middle saw Allie's hand. It was entwined with Cake's to hide the fact they were essentially handcuffed.

"Allie, darling, I'm not sure if you know, but you're Altean." The middle Altean began to say condescendingly. As if Allie were a little girl. "He's a half-breed. You don't know what he would do to you if you made him angry." Cake's expression was the definition of 'Wanna find out?', but he said nothing.

"Hey, why don't you leave her alone?" Liz spoke. The middle girl looked surprised to see Caleb and Liz standing there. No matter, though.

"Allie is one of my good friends. Isn't that right, darling?" Allie didn't say anything.

"Seriously, can you stop? Your comments are so wrong."

"In what way?" The girl feigned ignorance.

"Seriously? You talk about our friend like he isn't even here and you're belittling another person in front of her friends." Liz thought this was simple. The girl had other ideas.

"Sorry, I don't speak human. Can you speak slower?"

"Sorry, I don't speak—"

"Hey!" Kova yelled. Her voice was only about ten feet behind them, but the yell came through just fine through the earpieces.

"Jax?" The girl now looked petrified, and Allie stood a little straighter.

"Star!" Kova said like she was greeting an old friend. "Are you bothering one of the members of my crew?"

"No, not at all. I was just remarking to Allie how her relationship could potentially be viewed on Altea. You know how strict families can be." Kova took a few steps closer to the girl. Kenny stayed behind her, letting her take center stage.

"Do you remember what I said to you last time?" Kova smiled sweetly. "Mess with other people's lives again, and you're done." The girl gulped, grabbed her cronies by their arms, and stalked off without another word. "Food court, anyone?"

At last, they arrived. They sat at a round table and enjoyed the food. Cake was glad to see Garrett & Sons still stood as the prime location to grab a quality meal. Allie was thankful for Liz and Kova's interruption with Allura. Shiro was disappointed with Caleb since he revealed that he found the store that was giving free cows with every purchase.

Kova needed to use the restroom, and Shiro removed the link between her and Kenny's bracelets. She never made it. A tall figure pressed the barrel of a weapon into her lower back while another grabbed her shoulders. She went along with it, not wanting to incite a panic. The figures led her to the loading bay and into a small ship. Still, Kova didn't fight. She followed them. It wasn't until she saw the massive ship did she realize what was happening.

Yorak had found her.

#voltron: next generation #voltron #voltron lions #keith kogane #hunk garrett #cake garrett #allie smythe #allura #kenny kogane #kovalia shirogane #caleb shirogane #yorak #sorry #im here #im alive #liz griffin

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