#tenet au

[antimonyandthyme]

hi athy!! it's been a while but i woke up knackered and dehydrated and chose violence i'm so sorry

He doesn’t tell Charles it’s the last time they see each other. He suspects Charles knows anyway: he’s always been able to read Seb easily, a quick once-over and he’s flailed before him, all of his secrets at Charles’s disposal. He sees him off, he picks up some groceries on his way back, he locks the door and he gives himself a week to grieve.

In hindsight, expecting to get over killing the love of his life in a week might have been overly optimistic.

He’s promised himself when the time came he’d never do it. There is no point: it won’t make him feel better, and it won’t change the outcome, and he has a high chance of messing up Charles of all people, which makes it not just worthless but outright dangerous, and yet—

And yet when Seb brings out his coloured pencils and charts a course, he finds it’s the first thing he’s been able to accomplish in a month. 

He wonders if there is a moral difference, if sneaking into his past like a thief is made any better by the fact that he seems unable to do anything else. Then he forbids himself to think at all.

In the first safe-house he uses he walks into the bedroom on autopilot and slumps against the wall; it’s never occurred to him, before, that he hasn’t been alone in here for over a decade. It’s one of the stupidest reasons not to use a bed when you have one, and so he puts down his bag, and he washes up, and he gets under the covers.

In the next ones he doesn’t bother trying, collapsing straight onto the couch instead.

He doesn’t let himself think, and he moves, and inverts, and he swallows food to keep himself going, and so when his feet bring him down a corridor he’s been in once already, he finds himself utterly unprepared.

“Did you forget something?” Charles asks, opening the door. He is chewing something; his hair is wet. He is here.

He is here.

He is here.

He is here—

Charles frowns, squinting at him, and plants himself in the gap of the ajar door, his hand firm on the handle.

“When are you from?” he asks.

“Ahead,” Seb says quietly. It’s the first time he’s heard his own voice in weeks. It barely works; he still has to swallow against it, trying to keep it in. It feels like every last part of him is trying to jump out of his body and reach touch feel feel feel

Charles is looking at him; it feels like stepping into the sun after an eternity of living underground.  

“What are you doing here?” Charles asks, and cranes his neck to look into the corridor, confused. “Where is he? I mean, me?”

He doesn’t even need to give Seb a once-over, not with how hard he has to bite into his lip to keep it from trembling.

“Oh, fuck,” Charles says. All this time dreaming of this, and suddenly Seb can’t bear to look at him. 

Charles cups his face in both hands, swipes his thumbs over his cheeks, and Seb melts into it immediately, presses urgently against the touch, trying to drink it in before it disappears. It’s heaven; it’s torture; he can barely breathe.

Charles’s hand is wet on his neck when he guides him into the room, and he realises he is crying. Crap. He thought, somehow, that he might be able to hide why he’s there, might be able to spare him knowing it happens at all, but it’s obvious now; of course it is. Stupid. Idiot.

“It’s okay,” Charles murmurs gently, and Seb is tucked safely against his shoulder, cradled closer like he is precious, when he—he—when it’s his—“It’s okay, I got you, I’m here.”

For now.

Seb wants to scream.

He doesn’t know how long they stand there by the door, Charles practically crushing him against himself, until finally the tension dissipates and he feels as drained as he’s been for the past few months.

There’s nothing quite as exhausting as grief.

Charles makes him tea, and holds him some more, and talks to him and jokes and makes him laugh—a terrible, wet sound, clumsy and alien; Charles still beams at him like he’s never heard anything better.

“I’m so sorry,” Seb says, even though he told himself multiple times not to burden Charles with it. It rips out of him anyway, too strong to hold it in.

“It’s not your fault,” Charles shrugs, and it takes all Seb still has not to curl in on himself.

You don’t understand. I knew. I knew you would go with me, and I knew you would love me, and I knew it would kill you, and I did it anyway. 

“I dragged you into this,” he offers instead, and Charles shrugs again, with baffling levity. 

“It’s not like I didn’t know.” Seb stares for a few long seconds. Then he realises what part is missing: of course Charles knows what they do is dangerous. If only it were all there was—“You’re not subtle, you know.”

“I—” he is what “I don’t—”

“I don’t know all of it,” Charles says, and he rolls his eyes, and if Seb didn’t love him so much he would’ve yelled at him for being so flippant about this. “But I know there is something. So.” He looks away, fiddling with the label of his tea packet, and Seb deflates, recognising his brave front for what it is. He swallows.

“Then I’m sorry,” he says again. Charles, unbelievably, laughs.

“Oh, yeah, I’m very sorry I met you,” he says, shaking his head. “Tragedy.”

“But it doesn’t end well!” Seb implores, forgetting he is not supposed to say it, as if it could help, as if it could save him, as if he could persuade Charles to walk out and live—

“Of course it doesn’t!” Charles snaps. He sighs, rubbing his face, and takes Seb’s hand. “I think, when it’s like this, it always ends bad.” Seb closes his eyes and feels himself shrink, trying to hide and disappear. He knows he tends to ruin everything he touches; it still hurts to hear it put like this.

Charles strokes his knuckles carefully.

“It’s just—” he sighs. “When it ends, I have to be without you, or you have to be without me. So it’s always bad. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have it at all.”

“So the only way out is if we die simultaneously,” Seb tries to joke; Charles makes a face.

“I’d rather know you are okay.”

“You can’t know that if you’re dead,” Seb points out, and Charles hums, balancing his chair on the back legs.

“I think I will always know,” he says with a smirk, aiming for light-hearted, but his eyes are tender on Seb’s face. Seb swallows.

I’m not. I’ll try.

“Take care of yourself,” Charles says as he sees him out.

“You take care of yourself,” Seb says, smacking him on the shoulder, feigning affront. Charles gives him a cheeky smile.

“I have you for that,” he says.

Seb bites his lip.

“I’m not doing a very good job,” he confesses, and Charles cups his face, runs his hand through his hair with a gentle smile. Seb tries not to think about how this is the last time Charles will ever touch him.

“I think you are.”

Seb lets it wash over him, settle warmly in his chest.

He chose this Charles because he thought he could handle it, now. He also chose this Charles because if he couldn’t, he would have his Seb back in a couple of hours, in one piece and wanting nothing more than to hold him and make him feel loved and cherished and adored. 

At least this time around, maybe, maybe, he managed to love him right.

When he gets to the safe-house, he locks the door, crawls into bed, and doesn’t dream.

its so long and ive just realised i ripped off your martian time travel au as well im sorry :'( woe be me

knackered tenet anon are you trying to make me cry??? are you. are you trying to make me curl up on the floor and never get up again???

listen. listen there's something just so tragic about. time. always working against them. i'm forwards but you're backwards. my beginning is your end. did you love me because i set this torturous circle up? would you love me if you knew? how would i ever know? was it worth it?

but charles says, yeah, it's always going to be bad. you send me on my death and at the other edge of the mobius strip i see you die. but does that mean we shouldn't have it? does that mean i'd give this up? no! if the middle is all we have, then the middle it is. i'd rather have all this pain than to not have you at all.

that's the basis of your entire tenet au there are two people willing to walk the loneliest journey just to have pockets of time where they meet i'm going to cry! knackered tenet anon jail for you!!! jail!!!

[iennoganan-aha]

WOOSH THEY’RE SO ‼️‼️‼️

Love this au so much, love making up a whole universe where Liane is treated nicely and has two sons, one who keeps the other one in check as she DESERVES‼️

Scott has a dark pink rose which means gratitude and appreciation, it’s to show his thanks for liane adopting him after his mother divorced his dad, then his dad left Liane. He’s very grateful to her,

Eric’s bouquet is full of Daffodils, daisys, lilacs and hydrangeas.

Daffodils- forgiveness

Daisy- new beginnings

Lilacs (pinkish purple)- love

Hydrangeas-gratitude, grace and beauty

What he is trying to say is that he’s sorry for how he acts, he wants to to better, he loves her and is thankful for her being his mother.

Cringe shit and hella out of character but LET ME BE DELUSIONAL

I’ll draw some canon cartman later to make up for my sins 💀

Don’t repost

[xsfcgdfd]

The Protagonist : Hey you never did tell me who recruited you, Neil.

Neil : Haven't you guessed by now? You did! Only not when you thought. You have a future in the past. Years ago for me, years from now for you.

The Protagonist : You've known me for years?

Neil : For me, I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship.

The Protagonist : But for me it's just the beginning.

Neil : We get up to some stuff. You gonna love it. You'll see. This whole operation is a temporal pincer.

The Protagonist : Whose?

Neil : Yours! You're only half way there. I'll see you in the beginning, friend

[landoscalrisian-blog]

See You Again

(2,094 words)

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Tenet (2020)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard “Bones” McCoy, James T. Kirk/Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Spock, Leonard “Bones” McCoy/Spock, James T. Kirk/Spock, James T. Kirk & Leonard “Bones” McCoy & Spock

Characters: Leonard “Bones” McCoy, James T. Kirk, Spock (Star Trek)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe – Tenet, Angst, Time Travel, Sad Ending, Hurt No Comfort, Bit of Comfort, but like the littlest comfort, Polyamorous Negotiations

Summary: Leonard wished he could stay here with them under the warm sun for a bit longer, he knew resenting the way things were supposed to play out wouldn’t do any good. He had to ensure the past stayed the same and not leave anything to chance. Something Jim had taught him when they first met.

wanted to share a very close fic of mine that unites two of my most insane special interests mcspirk and tenet <33

[akanothere]

Actually it will be interesting to see a Tenet AU-like time travel Tomione… winding backwards instead of time jumping😩…

[mafuyuakgae]

you've known me for years

[fauvester]

i don't think the garak-bashirs are any good at having real honest conversations. even Lim, who prides himself on being truthful at any expense, conveniently leaves certain truths unsaid. until it reaches a point where someone has to hurt someone else to relieve the pressure

anyways teenage iskra very kindly allows him the dignity of taking him to a private place before verbally eviscerating him for being rude to garak. POORLY DONE. ELIM. POORLY DONE

[looseleafteeaves]

Letting Go/Non-Attachment

This will be taking place in the Desert Speaker Universe. I have shown and explored alot of how Obi-wan is trapped by his past, and what has happened. I think I would like to now explore the parts of Omi that they cannot let go of. The people Omi has lost.

WARNING: GRAPHIC DESCRIPTIONS OF INJURIES. PLEASE SKIP IF THIS WILL NEGATIVELY IMPACT YOU.

Omi wakes up screaming.

Tears-a waste of water- pouring down their face. The face of Kereth as sand tore flesh from bone, trapped in their mind's eye, haunting them even awake.

Around the room, the delicate sand sculptures Omi had begun to craft with the force were floating, vibrating and cracking.

Every single beautiful thing that they had created, fracturing and promising pain.

The first sob breaks past Omi's teeth, and the sound cracks through the air. Every glass sculpture in the room shatters.

Omi, leg throbbing with pain- they can't quite tell if it is phantom or real this morning- struggles to their feet and drags themself out towards the canyon wall, weeping as quietly as they can.

'Kereth... What am I doing here? You were so much brighter than I, born to the suns and promised to them to. I was born to darkness... How could I ever think that I would escape it?'

"Omai? Padawan what is-"

Omi whirls, and snaps "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I LOST HIM. I LOVED HIM. I LOst him."

Marrat Ben Kenobi's eyes widen, the gray blue sharpening.

"Padawan. I need you come here. Sit with me, we should meditate on this."

"Marrat... Marrat I can't. He was my only light for so long- I ran from my master expecting, no, hoping to die. I knew that my chip was in a spot that promised death if I didn't get help. That's why I went into the wastes. I couldn't- I still feel as though I can't make it without him. How do I continue to walk in the suns, in the light, when my light has died. When he, the one who could think positive, who looked as who he could help, who gave and gave, and never once asked for his own freedom, sacrificed his life for me?"

Ben's wrinkled faces is sad, aging before Omi's eyes. "Omai, have I taught you of the jedi code?"

Omi's anger bursts higher, the apparently unrelated topic change making them mad enough that they pushed themselves up in a single smooth motion.

"Omai, listen. This is important. Have I taught you it?"

"Unless you are referencing 'do or do not, there is no try,' no you haven't taught me that."

"Come. Sit. Let me teach the foundation of the jedi. We learn this throughout our walk with the force, growing from the simple meditation chant we are taught a crechelings."

Omai begrudgingly takes a seat out is the cold sands, two crescent moons framing a full one in the sky.

"The jedi code is a study in duality, in the abscene of absolutes. In the existence of contradictory ones. The force is not something to be quantified. But it is not un-quantifiable. Does this sound confusing yet?" Ben smiles, a mischievous twinkle in his eye

Omi, disgruntled and frustrated, just huffs.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.//There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.//There is no passion, there is serenity.//there is no chaos, there is harmony.//There is no death, there is the Force."

Omi looks up sharply, mouth opening.

"This is not the jedi claiming the ability to raise the dead. This is jedi, and how we expeariance the wonderful universe that connects everyone and everything, and where our loved ones are once they are gone. They are part of the great cosmic soup. We can't pick out every single person who has joined it, but we can reach out and feel thier impact on our lives. We can know that when we join the force, we can mingle and exist alongside them again."

"So, before you say anything to me about how the person you lost wasn't a jedi- I never said only jedi join the force. We believe that everyone, force sensitive, or force null, are connected. The Force is in everyone. So letting go isn't forgetting. It isn't betraying them. It isn't spitting on thier memory. It is entrusting your loved one to the force who has cradled and cared for you with the care of a dear one. But you must let go of the grief of your lost, or you are trapped searching for a way to bring them back, to tear them from the safety you have always relyed on. There is no death..."

Omi takes those words and breathes, fully examining them.

'There is no emotion, there is peace' But emotions are a part of existing...and peace is something we strive and wish for- peace from our gut reactions, peace in a crazy world, peace in the face of soul wrenching pain.

It's not a striving for no emotions, but a state of peace alongside them so that my heart does not rule when a cool head is more beneficial.

'There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.' Ignorance is actively choosing to not learn, to not change from the expeariances that you have. There is only the learning and knowing based off the things that occur.

I should not strive to remain the same, I should strive to continue to learn from everything I experience, and not ignore what is coming due to pain.

'There is no passion, there is serenity.' There is no passion, there is serenity. Passion is a dangerous state to be in. Crimes of passion are some of the worst that can occur.

When emotions hit a high point, I should actively step back and seek out serenity, or calmness so I can observe and respond responsibly.

'There is no chaos, there is harmony.' Chaos is a state where so much is happening, that there is too much. Everything is fractured and insane, like the state of being inside a sandstorm, There is nothing but trying to survive in chaos. Harmony is providing a balance or dichotomy to the chaos. I should strive to actively observe my environment , and move through it with the intention of providing balance.

'There is no death, there is the Force.' Death is part of life. There is nothing that encourages people to want to forever exist on the earth, for the balance of life is death so that the resources are returned to the cycle. There is only to eternally connecting concept of the Force, which is life, death, and everything in between. Dying does not separate you from the world, for death is part of life, is part of the force.

"There is the force." Omi breathes more, tears slowing. "I have not lost Kereth, I have only lost his physical presence beside me. I have the Force, and Kereth is part of the force."

"Yes, precisly, my dear padawan. So, we let them go. We entrust thier luminous forms to the force who cares for us. Can you entrust Kereth to the Force, Omi?"

"I must, Marrat. Chaining Kereth here is a far worse fate for him to entrusting him to bright light that encompasses the universe I will not be seperated from him forever- I will not be lost to death, but returned to the force."

"Very good, Omi. That is the root of non-attachment. We release the people we love to the force- alive or dead."

"And we follow the force to new people who need us."

"Precisely."

[swordmaid]

i have this one post bg3 epilogue/canon au for hag romance where they ! get the Gang (except lae’zel) together again bc shri’iia is in a quest for a cure for astarion’s vampirism and i like the idea that gale introduces thalia to them bc she’s also a travelling scholar hoping to find a cure of her own affliction and she’s been every where so surely she has a lead somewhere (maybe she does). actually 5050 on everyone being together but what’s important is that Hag Romance is a thing AND The Soulmates are meeting and in the same vicinity…..!! not to mention thalia was shri’iia’s dream guardian so to meet a woman who looked so similar to the person that you’ve seen before is so ‼️❓ not to mention how drows are not able to dream nor see anything in their trance, so the dream guardian visiting is something so memorable to shri’iia bc that’s the first time she has seen anything in her trance other than the Black Void, and the fact that that woman is very real and alive and in front of her …. Interesting scenario to me hehe

[spoilers-ahead]

oooooh imagine a time travel utrh au except the time travel is a mix between our regular time travel and the inversed shit from tenet so what we have is bruce trying to solve a series of murders while dealing with a) a dick who desperately wants distance as equally as he wants to prove himself outside of batman, who hates when bruce tries to bench him and makes it his mission to do the opposite, b) a jason that is robin and is pissed at being benched because of some two-bit serial killer, and determined to make bruce's life miserable by being as sulky as possible, and c) the red hood who is the one doing the serial killing, except by the time bruce reaches the victims the bullet holes that killed them have disappeared because they were shot with an inverse bullet so it still causes the damage but it 'heals' them along the way, so he's just absolutely pulling his hair out.

[arcxnumvitae]

"What are you doing?" Huaxiu crossed the threshold of Minglian's room and approached. His sister sat before a table, an array of items spread before her. A few snacks, some different local dried herbs and flowers commonly used for teas... He would have thought she was hosting some sort of gathering were it not for the way the princess also had a box set before her that she was placing each item neatly into.

"I'm sending them to Zeqyabin with my next letter! I figured he might enjoy some Tengmen treats while he works."

"Ah." The technically wanted man. He knew about the correspondence that had kicked up between them after the departure from Vanystea, of course he did. While he would never spy on his sister, it was important to know what went on under his roof. Not like Minglian hadn't mentioned the letters herself anyways... He also suspected they were the root cause of his sister's sudden insistence on him accepting the invitation to visit Vasyri.

He had to admit, he wasn't thrilled about it. He wished to keep Minglian out of the messy political landscape the best he could. It was bad enough that she stumbled across Tahariel Elohim's purloining of Emperor Charidynn's progeny, but to continue communication with one directly involved? It ran the risk of blowing up in her face if Charidynn were to ever discover the identities of all who had been there that night.

He wanted to keep her safe, but she made it quite difficult. He supposed he could understand some of the difficulty her guard faced.

"Ah," Minglian's voice drew him from his thoughts, and he found her squinting up at him. "You're making that face again. You're overthinking about something, aren't you?"

Mm, and he remembered he must be careful with his thoughts around her. She was always good at reading him.

"When aren't I overthinking about something? It's part and parcel of the job. I do it so that you don't have to, little lotus." Huaxiu sat down beside her with a grin. "Now do me the honor of explaining to me what you picked out and why."

[antimonyandthyme]

So I was thinking how after the shootout in tallinn charles slips into the time machine barrack to find seb already there, his shoulders tense, his hand balled in his pocket around something he could use as a weapon, and how he hurries to explain that Ives is not a threat, Ives is with them. 

How it doesn't even cross his mind seb might suspect an enemy in him.

How he freezes, seb’s wiry forearm pressed into his throat, seb’s eyes black and piercing in the furious red lights, and when he demands answers his tone turns Charles’ insides into led, making him gasp uselessly as if he was breathing forward air with inverted lungs. How it deafens and blinds him, his whole being reaching out, pleading, you can’t seriously believe i could betray you you can’t you can’t you can’t you know me, while some rational voice inside him says: of course he doesn't. It’s barely been three months, for him.

Still shit with timelines, aren't you.

How he can only barely breathe again when Seb automatically looks at him for confirmation, for reassurance, that yes, there is another machine in Belgium two weeks ago, he calculated it right, how he prepares the shipping container for them on autopilot, unable to swallow past the giant block of ice in his throat, after Seb shouldered past him outside, deaf to his warnings for the first time in years.

How an eternity later Ives’s team howl Seb into the container, face pale, body fragile in the cocoon of the thermal blanket, and Charles can only sit by the cot and watch him breathe, petting just the very tips of his frosted hair because what if he harms him, waiting for him to wake up.

How when he does, Charles doesn’t even realise how angry he is, at first, how he rears up at Seb because i told you i told you why don't you ever listen i could have lost you i am not ready and how the ground disappears from under him when seb just swings his leg and shrugs and says, you know. fool me once.

It’s disorienting—and, in hindsight, unbelievably stupid—that seb’s trust has felt so rock-solid to him for so many years that without it charles finds himself in free fall.

He reaches for him without thinking, looking for a straw to grasp. It’s only when he sees seb’s sceptical frown that he realises how cheap it must look. he wants to scream, I just want to know you’re alive.

I should check your vitals, he says instead.

Seb catches his hands with cold fingers, grip tight and punishing, when charles reaches to find the pulse point on his neck; offers his wrist instead, vigilant and efficient where charles knows him soft and sweet and warm, so warm, so his—except this one was never his, was he. Charles just managed to forget already.

There's a pulse in seb’s delicate wrists, strong and steady and alive, and this will have to do, for now.

He tries to sleep more; seb doesn’t talk to him much, and he could use the time to recover anyway. 

He dreams of Greece: his back hitting the wall, seb’s eyes, wide and hungry and younger, his hot mouth, how getting to have him again felt like the world regaining third dimension so forcefully it was as much of an ache as it was pleasure. 

He dreams of Greece: winding his fingers in waves of burnished gold, in that couple of years when seb let his hair grow until it reached his shoulders, and when he finally cut it he looked so terrifyingly small and fragile that charles kept trying to cup the back of his head to keep it safe. 

When he wakes up, he misses him in that bottomless, hollow way you could only miss a piece of yourself.

Seb is staring at him from the distance of barely half a metre, sitting on a case with food rations right in front of charles’ face.

Charles is so, so tired.

“What,” he asks, trying to hide his face in the crook of his elbow. 

Seb has questions about time, because of course he does; charles suspects he’s had them for some time now, just wasn’t sure who to ask. He does his best to answer, tries to push down the memories bubbling up, pressing sharp and searing against his skin: a hot afternoon in july, cool library halls, seb’s smile, kind and patient and just that little bit amused, while he was waiting for charles to wrap his head around it.

Half of the grandfather paradox gets stuck in his throat when seb carefully cards his fingers through his hair. 

When charles looks up and finds seb looking at him with gentle eyes he can’t help it: shuffles back against the wall to give what little space there is, even though he shouldn’t, he knows he shouldn’t, it’s too soon, he can’t assume—but he wants, so much, he’s been bleeding out on this damn cot for three days, now, and when seb scrambles to get in, stretch beside him under the thin sheet, it takes all that’s left of charles to not do something stupid, like squeeze him until they both can barely breathe. 

Seb finds his hand and guides it to his throat. “It wasn’t fair,” he agrees, three days of silent treatment later. Charles swallows and cups the side of his neck to run his thumb along the edge of his jaw, over and over and over.

“If you go back in time and kill your grandfather,” he says, and seb looks at him, intent and just that little bit amused, while he reaches into himself to get out the same answers he first heard on that hot july afternoon.

You sound just like my philosophy professor, charles told him then, and he laughed like it was the funniest joke he’s ever heard. 

Of course you did, cheater, charles thinks now, as he presses clues into seb’s hands, hoping he would know which ones to keep. I will know the last of your tricks, soon.

When he falls asleep, seb still nestled tightly against him, he dreams of his arms heavy with bronze feathers, his colossal wings large enough to shelter seb whole. 

He wakes up to the stubborn curl on the crown of Seb’s head that refuses to lie flat tickling his nose. It's a dim nowhen in the container; the clock they perched on one of the boxes tells him it's another 62 hours until they dock.

"It’s okay, you can sleep more," Seb mumbles, nuzzling his forehead into Charles’s shoulder. 

Charles wraps the top of the sheet over the length of his arm and tugs until it covers them head to toe.

Hi hello still completely knackered still on my bullshit also not me saying ill come with a better piece later and showing up with this rip

Knackered tenet anon are you trying to break my heart are you oh my god. Oh. My god. Years and years and years of trust and having each other's back and unadulterated affection and undisguised longing and suddenly, you lose Him, and you meet the He who doesn't recognize you, doesn't know the lengths you would go to protect him, doesn't see the heartbreak in your eyes every times you turn away (Seb does see, he does, he just can't comprehend why)--oh. It's enough to break a man. It's enough.

And shatter me won't you? Charles reaching for Seb's neck to take his vitals, Seb catching his hand and pulling it away from his neck (his most vulnerable point, something he used to offer to Charles on a daily basis) and placing Charles' fingers on his wrist instead. The message is clear. I don't trust you. Keep away.

Charles swallowing the glass in his throat down and forcing himself to be content with knowing Seb is alive. For now.

For the next three days Charles just goes through the motions woodenly, holding himself together by thread and sheer will alone, until Seb finds his hand and guides it to his throat. Charles freezes. It's a different message altogether now. Seb's saying quietly, "That wasn't fair."

(Wasn't fair, a different Seb thinks. Wasn't fair? He was cruel. He twisted the knife. No wonder Charles had looked at him all the time as if he were seeing a ghost. No wonder he looked like he tasted sadness every time they made eye contact. No wonder he shrunk in on himself, tired and so anguished whenever Seb inserted distance between them. How could you, Seb says to a distraught version of himself, looking back at him in the mirror. How could you do that to one who loved you so?)

[lolbloth]

What is UDT AU?

I accidentally deleted pinned post so this is a new explanation.

Notice #1

UDT stands for "Unexplanable Dream Tenet" which is a crossover AU (alternative universe) of Lego Ninjago (which is drawn in humanoid ver.) and Touhou Project.

Zane, a half-human and youkai, came to Ninjago city to stay with his father, Julien and to study at the local school. He meets some new friends and youkai outside Gensokyo. Some are nice, some are mischief, and some want to take over the world.

Flying people, urban and rural legends, beasts in disguise, roaming phantoms, mystic bullet patterns, dreams and memories are to be seen and discovered.

"Youkai" refers to all kinds of monsters/beasts/ghosts/apparitions.

"Danmaku" aka "Bullet hell" is the battle system for solving most problems and conflicts here.

A bit of warning: This AU has a lot of Glaciershipping (Ninjago Cole x Zane) XD & more shippings. Do expect them!

Crossover inspired by a friend.

The series belong to rightful owners & creators!

[calkale]

If anyone else wants in on the icemav tenet au feel free to dm me 👀

[gffa]

I've been a little slow on getting out new STAR WARS fic recs out, but in my defense it's because I've been reading a bunch of longer fics lately. In the spirit of "there's a special feeling to those fics that consume you and make you stay up until 3am because you can't put them down", here's a list of some of the ones I've loved or am in the middle of reading and they are haunting my thoughts and I need to inflict that on everyone else. Whether you're looking at a long upcoming trip and need some good reading material or avoiding your feelings by sinking into fic or just because you like reading, I hope you'll find something here! Including a bonus underrunning theme of throwing in a bunch of Jedi-loving fic to continue my agenda of making Jedi-centric fandom a more fun place to be. 30k+ is the minimum and this isn't all of my favorites, but it's a great list of "I have a week off to kill and I want to be in a fic coma by the end of it".

STAR WARS FIC FOR WHEN YOU NEED TO KILL ABOUT TEN HOURS WORTH OF TIME AND WANT TO HAVE FEELINGS ABOUT FICTIONAL PSYCHIC SPACE WIZARDS WHILE YOU'RE AT IT:

✦ Out with Lanterns by SkyeBean, mace & ahsoka & plo & shaak & cast, 312.5k     In another universe, Jedi Masters Plo Koon and Depa Billaba decide a Padawan could do Mace some good. It takes a while, but he eventually agrees. When he takes Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan, Mace knows that he's broken through a Shatterpoint and changed the course of a life. How, he doesn't know. ✦ Reprise by Elfpen, obi-wan & qui-gon & mace & yoda & anakin & cast, time travel, 558.9k wip     Ben Kenobi dies aboard the Death Star in the year 0 BBY. He wakes up shortly thereafter in the Jedi temple in the year 41 BBY. Haunted by memories and regret, Ben must forge a new path for himself in the Jedi Order of his youth while navigating the murky waters of time travel. Crafting a better future from bitter experience is hard, but learning to heal is even harder. ✦ Take it from the top and try again by mauvera, obi-wan & qui-gon & anakin & padme & mace & shmi & dooku & cast, time travel, 112k wip     Five years into his self imposed exile on Tattooine, Obi-Wan Kenobi is gifted the chance to go back and bring hope back to the galaxy. With hindsight on his side, he fully intends to save his master, save his padawan, make some new and old friends again, prepare the Jedi for a war they’ll hopefully never see and begin to pull apart all the many tangled threads of the Sith Lord’s plans. Should be relatively easy. Right? ✦ Post Order 66 Exile AU by Livsy, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 46k     Alternatively: after a failed order 66, in which many Jedi still died but the Sith were defeated, an exiled warrior and a boy wander a distant planet and attempt to get along. ✦ Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove, obi-wan & anakin & jedi & cast, 51.3k     Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreeak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & yoda & palpatine & bail & dooku & mace & quinlan & vokara & ahsoka & cast, 124.5k wip     By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. A Senator from a less prominent planet has had enough of Chancellor Palpatine's incompetence and calls for a Vote of No-Confidence and the installation of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. This one action becomes the catalyst that changes the direction of the galaxy. ✦ What We've Become by Vinyarie, vader & ahsoka & cast, 82k     Darth Vader and Ahsoka’s fight on Malachor takes a different path, and Ahsoka actually is able to save her master. Or rather, she’s able to convince him to save himself. Diverges from canon in the last few minutes of Twilight of the Apprentice and goes increasingly AU from there.

✦ time to change the road you're on by wreckageofstars, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & luke & leia & han & ghost crew & cast, time travel, 93.6k wip     The end of the Clone War is near - the fall of the Republic even nearer. Anakin Skywalker, caught up in the events that lead to the rise of the Empire and the loss of everything he holds dear, finds himself sent nearly two decades into the future. Ahsoka Tano, still coming to painful terms with the true fate of her former master, is - not exactly happy to see him. But the Force works in mysterious ways - and the future is not nearly as set in stone as they've been lead to believe. Multi-chapter AU, Rise of the Empire/Rebels-era. ✦ narrower than a razor's edge by bereft_of_frogs, obi-wan & dooku & qui-gon & anakin & sidious & cast, 30.2k     Dooku tips his hand ten years earlier because he can't stand the thought of his former apprentice's murder, and that might just be enough to save everyone...if it doesn't get them all killed first. ✦ soften every edge by gigglesandfreckles, obi-wan & ahsoka (& anakin), major character death, 48.1k     "Rejoice!" the galaxy says, in the wake of war and the dawning of peace. "How?" Obi-Wan asks. "No," Ahsoka says. (or: Obi-Wan & Ahsoka learn to live on.) ✦ hunting toward heartstill by blackkat, mace/cody & plo & fives & shaak & obi-wan & anakin & rex & cast, 207.2k     Plo has an idea. Mace agrees, and everything snowballs right into hell from there. (Or: Mace and Cody get married in order to give the clones citizen status. Before they can focus on that, though, they're going to have to deal with ancient Sith artifacts, evil prophets, plots to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor, lost planets, monsters warped by Sith alchemy, inconvenient , and Darth Sidious turning his eye on a potential new apprentice. Just...not in that order.) ✦ Cataclasm by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & waxer & cast, 63.1k wip     For reasons unknown to all but himself, Obi-Wan Kenobi has left the Jedi Order in the midst of the Clone Wars, taking with him a single clone. Anakin Skywalker has been unofficially tasked by the Order to find Obi-Wan and bring him home. Unfortunately for Anakin, it seems his former master is always ten steps ahead of him. ✦ Unexpected Awakening (The Rewrite) by Rhiw, obi-wan & qui-gon & anakin & feemor & bruck & jango & cast, time travel, 135.1k wip     The life of General Kenobi is cut short at the hands of his Padawan, but the sight that greets his eyes upon awakening is not that of blinding light of the Force, but the Jedi Temple he knew when he was still a youth. As he struggles to understand the path laid out before him, Obi-Wan unwittingly captures the attention of a singularly unusual Temple Guard, and that of a reluctant Qui-Gon Jinn.

✦ Knightrise by deviantaccumulation, obi-wan & ahsoka & satine & yoda & cast, 89.4k wip     There is no battle on Mustafar or in Coruscant's senate building. Instead, a small but still alive Jedi Order rises from its ashes on Mandalore. ✦ Fire and Ice by Yesac, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 111.9k     Anakin wins the duel on Mustafar, but doesn't kill Obi-Wan. Along with Padme, Obi-Wan finds himself living in a chaotic world where the man he thought he knew has become the thing he swore to destroy. Can Anakin be turned back? If so, what then? ✦ Better That a Millstone by Icarus_is_flying, obi-wan & luke & anakin & leia & cast, 86.7k     Vader discovers Luke and Obi-Wan on Tatooine when Luke is one year old and attempts to reclaim the family he threw away. Obi-Wan is less than pleased, and Luke and Leia? They have their own ideas about how their future should play out. ✦ Bloodlines by KCKenobi, obi-wan & anakin & dooku, 35.8k     When an explosion traps them in the same doomed escape pod, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dooku are stranded together on Tatooine. The goal is simple: cooperate long enough to survive, and not a second longer. But a shared past has a way of connecting the people we think we know—and bloodlines run deep. [or: your classic family road trip across a desert planet, except your grandpa is, you know, a Sith Lord. And now he's sort of starting to bond with your Jedi dad. And that might be an issue.] ✦ When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place by IllyanaA, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & rex & cast, 136k wip     After killing three of the Jedi Order's best and brightest, Palpatine's fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he's lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he's ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance. ✦ Precipice by shadowsong26, obi-wan & anakin & padme & luke & leia & bail & ahsoka & rex & cast, 253.6k     An AU in which Anakin Skywalker does not follow Mace Windu and the others to Palpatine’s office after they leave to arrest the Chancellor. As a result, he doesn’t get that final push over the edge, and doesn’t Fall. ✦ Averting Galactic Destruction by kj_feybarn, obi-wan & anakin & quinlan & rex & cody & fives & dogma & wolffe & plo & shaak & dooku & sidious, time travel, 44.3k     AKA The Time the Force Sent Obi-Wan Back in Time and Quinlan Vos kept him from Going Kamikaze because let’s be Honest, Being Forced to Come Back in Time Would Suck.

✦ Into the Archives by skygawker, obi-wan & anakin/padme & palpatine & cast, 104.9k wip     After hearing the legend of Darth Plagueis the Wise from Palpatine, Anakin decides that his best chance to save Padme is to break into the restricted Holocron Vault of the Temple Archives to search for information about Plagueis. Predictably, all does not go according to plan. Revenge of the Sith AU. ✦ Live To Fight Another Day by raemanzu, spica_tea, cody & rex & jesse & kix & obi-wan & anakin & fox & cast, 396.9k wip     Clones have their place in the universe, beyond the schemes of Palpatine. Events conspire to place Rex on the path of a new fate, one which will affect the future in ways not even the Jedi could foresee. Loyal to source material and characterizations. Canon-divergent. Starts between seasons 5 and 6 of TCW and explores Rex’s reaction to Fives’ dying words and subsequent events building toward Order 66. Variety of canon characters. No ships. Very Ace and Aro. Strong focus on certain friendships (Rex and Cody, Jesse and Kix, etc) with those friendships playing major roles. Thematically about how the clones navigate loss, trauma, the concept of their enslavement, their identities, etc amongst the larger active plot threads. Content warnings for war-related PTSD, trauma, combat injuries, and all around war-related angst etc in later chapters. ✦ Life and What Comes After by Ibelin, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & padme & cast, 177.2k wip     Obi-Wan dies on Jabiim. Anakin blames himself, doesn't know how to go on and yet - he does. Maybe the Force rewards that kind of thing, or maybe he just gets lucky, but when a mission lands Anakin on a vaguely familiar planet, he gets a second chance to do what he knows he should have done in the first place: save his master. (And maybe a chance to save the galaxy, too.) ✦ Knight-Errant by zinjadu, anakin & ahsoka & obi-wan & padme & rex & jedi & clones, 315.8k     AU - The Jedi Who Knew Too Much. Rex decides to stay "in pursuit" of his Commander; he jumps. Now, with backup, Ahsoka navigates the lower levels and deals with Ventress. Meanwhile, Anakin takes the Order to task, finds a little more support, and things turn out a little differently for everyone. And this is just the beginning. ✦ the massive machinery of hope by Killbothtwins, obi-wan & qui-gon & anakin & shmi & jedi, time travel, 150.1k     After the end of the war with the Empire, Obi-Wan wakes up in his twelve-year old body. Now all he needs to do is convince everyone he's psychic, trick his Master into taking him on before he's sent to Bandomeer, redeem a few bad guys, and try not to have a nervous breakdown. Pretty easy. It's not like the Sith are lurking on the horizon, waiting to devour the Jedi Order.

✦ The Exchange by MissLearn, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & ahsoka & padme & cast, time travel/body swap, 120k     The Daughter has a bad day and it irrevocably changes the fate of the galaxy, twice over. Or; ROTS Obi-Wan and Anakin are swapped with their younger, TPM, selves. It changes things, in both parallels. ✦ In All The World by Kjellarnen, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 144.8k wip     The story of how Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi tamed each other, from Naboo to Anakin's early days at the Temple. ✦ In Another Life by KCKenobi, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & padme, time travel, 52.3k     Eleven years after the rise of the Empire, a favor to a friend sends Obi-Wan traveling through the multiverse. He encounters different versions of the galaxy and of himself—including one in which Anakin never turned to the dark side. Obi-Wan and this Light Anakin are forced to work together to stop the creation of a disastrous Empire weapon. But as they move through different versions of reality, the timelines become more and more twisted—and the harder it is to distinguish who they are from who they might have been. And—to find their way home. ✦ The Intruder by Hollyoakhill, obi-wan & original clone characters, 82.5k     When a vicious attack from a strange, indestructible monster traps them on a derelict star destroyer, a young clone trooper fresh from Kamino join forces with Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi to find a way to escape. ✦ Conceal Me What I Am by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin & padme & yoda & mace & palpatine & quinlan & cast, omegaverse, NSFW, 108.3k     Separatist Propaganda is turning the Republic against the Jedi Order and the Senate sees no choice but to join in a political alliance to fight dissent on a unified front.An alliance is proposed through an arranged marriage,between a Jedi Knight and Republic Senator. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi are chosen as representatives of the political union by Darth Sidious, meant to bring ruin to the marriage and the public's support of the Jedi,for Obi-Wan Kenobi is not the Beta he claims. But even Sidious does not know of the secret Anakin Skywalker keeps, that he is not the Alpha the galaxy believes him to be. ✦ Equinox by lilyconrad, obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 95.9k     During the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan and Anakin crash on a remote planet and take shelter in the ruins of a grand estate only to find they are not alone.

✦ Invictus by Himboskywalker, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 40.3k     "He is the balance, the other half, the completion to Skywalker’s soul, a perfect dyad in the force. But while Kenobi is a simple answer, the force also sees the difficulty of the pair coming together in balance. The foundations of the galaxy they exist in pull at them, threatening to intervene in their unity. But this is also a simple problem, for the force is far greater than the foundations of a single galaxy, for it is the foundation of all. So the force enacts its will, to bridge the pair over a span of moments, of years, of eternities, and Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi will fall in love, have fallen in love, and are falling in love." ✦ Neutron star collision by thedunesea, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, 121.2k wip     In the aftermath of Order 66, Anakin Skywalker's miraculous survival after his confrontation with the new Sith Apprentice Darth Vader ignites a sparkle of hope in the remaining Jedi, in the fledgling rebellion and, above all, in his former Master, who thought he had lost everything to darkness. But darkness is generous, and it is patient. ✦ Lex Talionis by intermundia, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & dooku & rex & cast, NSFW, 187.1k     The ancient Galactic Republic is dying slowly—an ugly death of corruption, sprawl, and decay—with the sin of slavery hanging over its every triumph. The beleaguered Jedi Knights are too few to adequately patrol and police the entire Republic, and are faced with complacency and greed at every turn. Born into a crumbling and stagnant galaxy, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are faced with the greatest challenge of all: themselves. Obi-Wan likes rules and control. When the galaxy around him stops playing by the rules, what is a Jedi to do? Anakin needs rules and restraint. When the galaxy around him conspires to set him loose, what is his Master to do? Falling slowly or falling fast, falling through lust or falling through wrath—it all leads to delusion and moral decay. What can be born from the ashes? ✦ Atlas of Our Ruin by Ripki, obi-wan/anakin & cast, NSFW, time travel, 230.8k     Both the past and the future casts long shadows. Obi-Wan and Anakin learn that the hard way, when a mysterious holocron flings them backwards and forwards in time, forcing them to confront painful truths. But the time-travel is only the beginning… ✦ Seed by bell (belldreams), obi-wan/anakin, NSFW, 44k     When Anakin falls prey to a lethal poison, Obi-Wan has no choice but use all his resources to heal him-- no matter how reluctant he is in administering the antidote.

✦ wicked thing by imaginarykat, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & cast, nsfw, sith!obi-wan, 124.2k wip     There are rumours of yet another Sith Lord hiding among the Separatists. The Council sends Anakin to investigate. Anakin has a bad feeling about this. or, the story of how Anakin exists in a perpetual state of intense embarrassment, Obi-Wan is enjoying it a little too much, and everything is, generally speaking, a gigantic mess. ✦ Rulebreaker/Wildheart by chapstickaddict, obi-wan/anakin & ahsoka & luke & leia & barriss & cast, NSFW, 230k     Darth Vader, the strong arm of the Sith, held loyal to his Order since they took he and his mother from slavery in the deserts of Tatooine. Until he became convinced they killed his wife. He abandoned his Order and disappeared in the chaos of the Clone Wars, presumed dead by all sides. That young Skywalker is known around town as a widower and homesteader; a Nabooian who emigrated to avoid the trade blockade; a father of overly-energetic twins and warding a Togruta war orphan; a decent mechanic if your farm equipment or maintenance droid is acting up. Anakin is a paranoid, over-protective hot mess doing his best to raise his weird pack the way Padmé would have wanted. How the hell is he supposed to do that when his kids and not-apprentice make him haul a half-dead Jedi Master home like a lost pet? ✦ more than a candle by jenmishe, obi-wan/anakin/padme, NSFW, 50.3k     "The dark is generous and it is patient and it always wins – but in the heart of its strength lies its weakness: one lone candle is enough to hold it back. Love is more than a candle. Love can ignite the stars." Or, a few thousands of words of how Anakin, Obi Wan, and Padmé realize many things, which include, most notably, how they feel about each other and how to handle said feelings. Oh, and in the meantime, they deal with a megalomaniac Sith Lord. ✦ Anamorphosis by avocadomoon, obi-wan/padme & anakin & mace & corde & qui-gon & cast, 33.5k     noun, plural an·a·mor·pho·ses [an-uh-mawr-fuh-seez, -mawr-foh-seez]. A distorted or monstrous projection or representation of an image on a plane or curved surface, which, when viewed from a certain point, or as reflected from a curved mirror or through a polyhedron, appears regular and in proportion; a deformation of an image.

[steddiealltheway]

Thinking of a steddie neighbor “enemies” to lovers AU. Oh my gosh it’s so long again and now there’s ronance. 

Steve is a middle school teacher, and he’s lucky to find a small house that’s close to the school he’s teaching at after the summer ends. In fact, he seems a little too lucky. It’s only after he’s signed all the papers that the old tenets show up to warn him not to buy the house because the crazy neighbor next door. 

Steve kind of shrugs it off and thinks nothing of it because he’s dealt with crazy before, and his students give him something new to deal with every day.  

During the move in process, he keeps glancing at the dark house next door. Sometimes he thinks he sees something, but whenever he looks there’s nothing there. Until one time when the neighbor seems to get something caught in the curtains and is unable to close them fast enough. But still, it’s only a small slit open and with the sun beating down, the glare is too harsh to really see anything. 

For the rest of the day, he doesn’t see a single curtain move. And by the end of the day, when all his boxes are moved inside his house, Steve wants more than anything to just go to sleep on the bed he tiredly put together. Some of the corners aren’t tucked in properly, and Steve definitely doesn’t remember what box he put his pillows in, but he collapses on his bed quickly on the verge of sleeping. 

Then, he can see, or rather hear, what the neighbors meant. There’s a screeching noise and then some loud crazy riffs being played from some guitar next door. Steve covers his ears and groans when he realizes that it’s not going to help anything. It’s as if the neighbor is playing their guitar outside the house.  

It’s a new era of Steve’s life, so instead of letting it go, he decides he’s going at the issue head on. He groans as he pries himself out of his bed. Okay, maybe letting it go would be a better idea, but what happens when school is back in and he needs to sleep? 

This is absolutely the right decision. 

As he steps out the front door, he instantly realizes the problem. The neighbor has cracked the window next to Steve’s house as if he’s trying to be a nuisance. Maybe the old tenets were right. 

As Steve approaches the front door, he glances around the porch and catches sight of a skeleton sitting on a small chair with a mug attached to its bony hand. Upon closer inspection, Steve notices it’s a Garfield mug which makes him smile a little. Maybe a little crazy isn’t too bad. 

But the blasting from the house is bad. Steve takes a deep breath and loudly knocks on the door. The music halts almost immediately and it takes a few moments and a bit of cursing from the other side of the door for it to finally creak open. 

Oh Christ. 

The door slowly opens revealing longer dark curly hair, pale skin, big doe eyes, full lips, and altogether Steve’s absolute daydream which he guesses might quickly turn into a nightmare as the man smirks. “Hello, my handsome new neighbor,” the man flirts easily. 

Steve won’t play this game though. He’s too smart now to open up this easily. His mouth forms into a tight straight line before he corrects the man, “Steve. And you are?” 

“Eddie. A pleasure to meet you,” the neighbor replies with a bright smile as he bows dramatically. 

Steve nearly groans at the sight of his head going dow- 

No. He’s not doing that. That’s a recipe for disease. Instead, he’ll get to the point. “Nice to meet you, too, Eddie,” Steve ignores how nice the name falls out of his mouth as he continues, “It would be even nicer if you closed your windows or turned down your amps this late at night.” 

Eddie’s eyebrows furrow, and he glances down at his watch. “It’s ten o’clock.” 

Steve sighs, “Yes, and I need to sleep.” 

The neighbor eyes Steve up and down for a moment. “What if I kept playing?” 

Steve has no idea why he says it, maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, tiredness from the move, or the fact that his neighbor is a bit overwhelmingly hot. But he answers, “Then you’re starting a war.” 

It’s clearly the wrong thing to say because the tampered down mischief in Eddie’s eyes light up. He holds out his hand, and Steve reluctantly takes it. “War it is,” Eddie says with a shake of his hand. “Goodnight, Steve.” Eddie squeezes his hand one time then releases it. The door is closed before Steve can process what’s happening. 

With a sigh, Steve makes his way back to his house. Before he can make it there, the loud music already starts blasting again.  

A little crazy is definitely bad. 

Nearly an hour later, the music continues as Steve desperately tries to put a pillow over his head to block it out. He’s never been one that’s able to sleep with loud noises, but, no matter what, he will still wake up early in the morning and be unable to fall back asleep. 

He groans and turns to the clock he ended up unpacking instead of sleeping. A few seconds until eleven o’clock. He watches as the seconds tick by, and as soon as it hits eleven the music stops. Strange.  

But then the music continues again, and Steve nearly screams. But then he realizes… it’s different. It’s softer as if he’s playing a lullaby. And as much as Steve hates to admit it, it’s kind of lulling him to sleep. 

It’s definitely not on purpose though. Even from their brief interaction, Eddie doesn’t seem to be the type to go easy when calling war. Maybe he’s just trying to get into Steve’s head. 

As the soft music drones on, Steve finds himself drifting off to thoughts about his new neighbor.  

-:-:-:-:-:- 

The next morning, Steve wakes up to the sight of the sun rising and blinding him through his windows. He needs to hang up his curtains. He stretches and slowly gets out of bed knowing he won’t be able to go back to sleep. 

Time to start unpacking. He makes his way to the garage and peaks out the window on his way. All of Eddie’s curtains are drawn, and Steve doubts that he’ll be awake for hours. 

When he opens the garage door, he spots something… interesting. Something that will make Eddie’s life a little miserable… 

A lawnmower. 

Now, Steve knows the lawn doesn’t really need to be mowed at the moment. But to get revenge… it’s worth it. 

He still waits a few hours until it’s a somewhat reasonable hour for mowing. He doesn’t want the other neighbors hating him. He decides to start up the lawnmower right next to the window Eddie left open the night before. 

A few seconds later, Steve sees the curtains yanked open and the window slammed down. He lets himself smirk a little at the mini tantrum. As he’s finishing up the first strip, he hears the front door to Eddie’s house slam shut even over the lawnmower. 

Steve turns the other way to face his and Eddie’s houses as he mows the next strip. He glances up and waves with a big smile. Eddie is swamped in a large black blanket and squinting, or rather glaring as if the sun had personally offended him. 

Steve stops the lawnmower and takes a minute to gloat. As the noise dies down, Steve asks, “Not a morning person?” 

Eddie just frowns at him. It looks as if he’s taking all his brain power to come up with a response. His voice, low and raspy with sleep replies, “I would be if I had a better view.” 

Steve huffs but looks down at his shirt that’s already starting to get a little damp with sweat. The morning sun in the summer is overwhelmingly hot, and Steve doesn’t want the farmer’s tan. He winks at Eddie before stripping his shirt off and tossing it at him. 

“Better?” Steve asks as the shirt hits Eddie and falls on the deck. 

“Much better, thank you,” Eddie says and has the nerve to join the little skeleton on his porch to sit and watch as Steve mows. 

Steve tries not to think too much about it, but he’s overly aware of the attention. Not that he doesn’t like it, but he feels like he’s not winning the war. Time to call in Robin for reinforcement.  

-:-:-:-:-:- 

The next few days pass by with Eddie playing loudly every night until eleven o’clock when he finally starts playing soft tunes that lull Steve to sleep. Steve pays him back by one morning mowing Eddie’s lawn while he watches. The next morning, he spends weed whacking his own yard, and the next day is spent weed whacking Eddie’s. Every time, Eddie is woken up but sits outside. 

If Steve is being completely honest, the music helps him sleep, so he doesn’t feel like he’s losing the war too bad. But today is the day he figures out how to win because it finally worked in Robin’s schedule for her to come over later. 

And after Steve shares the whole story after dramatically telling her it’s too much to share over the phone, he regrets it as Robin bursts out laughing. “You’re telling me,” Robin stops to laugh again, “You’re telling me that you’re complaining about going to bed an ‘hour later,’ but the reason you go to bed early is because you struggle to fall asleep. And his music is actually helping you, so you’re basically going to sleep at the same time. Plus, you’re doing his yard work while he ogles you, and you think this is a war?” 

“Yes, that’s exactly what this is,” Steve says seriously. No other explanation.  

“No, this is a weird mating ritual. God, your neighbors must hate you,” Robin comments before laughing again. 

Steve sighs, “Robin, I seriously want to win against this guy. I mean, I even nicely asked him to stop playing so late.” 

Robin eyes him. “Did you really?” 

“Probably not,” Steve answers honestly, knowing it’s no use to lie to Robin. She figures out everything anyway. 

“Here’s a plan,” Robin says opening a box and looking through it. “Why don’t you just ask Eddie’s neighbor what they do when he plays late at night? They clearly have some solution. And the true way to win the ‘war’ is by letting it not affect you anymore. Then, you don’t have to do yard work, and you’ll be taking away his view in the morning.” 

…honestly, it’s a great plan. It really is. So much so that it’ll probably stop this whole war thing in its tracks. “No, I have to win this thing,” Steve replies instead of agreeing.  

Robin sighs and grabs him by the wrist. “Come with me.” Instead of giving him the option, she practically drags him out the door. “Now, we’re going to meet this next-door neighbor of the infamous Eddie and give you a reasonable solution before you do anything irrational.” 

Before Steve can disagree, Robin has him dragged out the door and two houses down. She knocks on the door. “And maybe you’ll see that the solution was so simpl-” 

The door opens and out comes the other neighbor. Steve watches as Robin’s jaw drops as she takes in the sight of the shorter girl with curly hair and big blue eyes. “Hi?” The girl says.  

Robin’s mouth opens and closes. 

“Hey,” Steve says and reaches out his hand to greet her. “I’m your neighbor two houses down, and this is my best friend Robin. Sorry for stopping by in the evening. She was just telling me that I needed to introduce myself to some of the people in the neighborhood. Right, Robin?” Steve prompts when he notices that the girl is eyeing Robin too. 

“I’m Nancy,” the neighbor says with a smile. She reaches her hand out to Robin. 

“Robin,” Robin blurts out and takes a moment to shake Nancy’s hand. 

The two girls shake hands for an embarrassingly long time. And Steve hates to interrupt for Robin’s sake, but he has to ask, “So, we were wondering how you dealt with Eddie’s music at night.” He cringes as he takes in how blunt he is, but he’s honestly curious. 

Nancy laughs and replies, “Honestly, it was much worse before you moved. He would play until the early AMs.” 

Steve thinks she must be wrong. Maybe he continues playing that lullaby stuff through the night. “You mean the softer lullaby stuff, right?” 

Nancy shakes her head with a small smile. “Not at all. I’ve never heard him play like that before. Then again, my solution is noise cancelling headphones.” 

Robin smacks Steve on the arm, “I told you the solution was simple. Plus, this really doesn’t sound like war, does it?” 

Nancy leans against her doorway and asks, “Is doing his yard work supposed to be war?” 

“That’s exactly what I said! See, Steve,” Robin says with a bright smile that Steve notices catches Nancy’s eye. 

“Fine, then you two can see what happens when I don’t do anything tomorrow morning,” Steve says resting his hand on his jutted-out hip. Robin’s lip twitches as she holds back on making fun of him for the “mom stance.” 

Robin smiles and says, “Well, I don’t have anywhere to be tonight or tomorrow morning, so I will stay the night.” 

“I don’t have anywhere for you to sleep so you can’t,” Steve lies, knowing exactly where the air mattress is packed away. 

“You can stay here,” Nancy suggests. “I’ll also be up early to spy on the drama.” 

Steve recognizes the exact moment Robin processes what she’s said as her eyes widen a bit. “Promise I’m not a murderer,” Nancy says with a wink that seems to further melt Robin’s brain. 

As much as Steve doesn’t want to give Robin more reason to make fun of him in the future, he has to give it to Nancy for how direct she is. He thinks he’s gonna like this girl.  

“Well, we’ll go grab Robin’s stuff, and she’ll be back shortly. I’m going to crash pretty soon before the show starts,” Steve says with a smile. “It was very nice to meet you.” 

“It was nice to meet you, Steve. I’ll see you soon, Robin,” Nancy says with a wave as she closes the door. 

“Holy shit.” 

“Robin, please save your freak out for a few moments when we get back inside my house. She can see you through the windows.” 

Robin whispers under her breath a few more expletives on their quick walk back. “Holy shit!” Robin yells as they get inside. 

Oh boy. 

A few pacing freak outs, a quick pep talk, and a lot of fixing hair and makeup in the bathroom mirror later and Robin is finally on her way to Nancy’s. Steve watches through his window as she makes her way down the street. He has no idea how the hell it happened, but he’s happy for her. 

…hopefully Nancy isn’t a serial killer… 

Okay, maybe it’s a bad idea, but Steve needs to ask Eddie. He makes his way out his back door and sneaks over to Eddie’s house to the side window that’s already slightly open. He knocks on it a few times.  

Eddie opens the curtains and lifts up the window some more. “Why hello Romeo. Why are you at my window instead of the door? Not that I’m complaining of course.” 

“Nancy and my friend are spying on me. But I needed to ask if Nancy is a serial killer.” 

Eddie stares at him for a moment. “Have you met Nancy?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then you know she isn’t a serial killer,” Eddie replies. “Is Robin the girl you were walking and holding hands with earlier?” 

“Is that jealousy I’m hearing?” 

Eddie shrugs. “Just trying to get in the head of the enemy.” It’s clear that Eddie is trying to be nonchalant about the whole thing but is failing to do so. 

Rather than torture him by not answering, Steve quickly insists, “She’s my best friend. And she’s also staying the night at Nancy’s.” 

Eddie sits on the window ledge. “Do they know each other?” 

“Just met,” Steve says with a wide smile. 

Eddie laughs and Steve can’t help but join him. Gosh he looks gorgeous. 

Nope. Enemies. Right. 

“I always knew Nancy had it in her. So, Robin’s… cool, right? I’ve got to watch out for Nance’s sake,” Eddie says and tucks a strand of hair behind his ear. Steve has the urge to tuck in the other side as well. 

“Yeah. She’s great. Incredible really. Always has had my back,” Steve says trying not to gush too much. He needs to get out of this conversation fast before he does something dumb like continue it as if they are friends. “Well, I’m heading off to bed.” 

“And I’m heading off to practice,” Eddie says with a wink. “Goodnight, Steve.” 

“Goodnight, Eddie,” Steve replies and holds eye contact with him for a moment as he walks away. 

Ending this war will probably be a good thing. 

-:-:-:-:-:- 

The next morning, Steve wakes up at his usual time, but instead of going to his garage, he starts to go through the boxes he hasn’t unpacked. He stares at the pile and sighs, “Yeah, this is gonna suck.” 

A few hours later, and there’s a knock at Steve’s door. Probably Robin bored because nothing is happening. 

He makes his way to the door and opens it. Not Robin. “Hey, Eddie. What’s up?” Steve asks, leaning against the doorway. 

Eddie is weirdly not wrapped up in a blanket. He has his hands in the pockets of black, ripped jeans and rocks back on his heels. “I was just… checking if you’re okay.” 

Steve stares at him for a moment and takes in the slight look of worry all over his face. He nods, “Yeah, I’m fine.” 

Eddie nods back and glances down. “I was just worried because… you weren’t waking me up with the usual ruckus. Thought something must've happened." 

"Just unpacking this morning instead," Steve says with a shrug. Better to play it off as if it's nothing rather than giving Eddie the impression of the feelings that have already started to form. 

"Right, well. I'll... head back then," Eddie says with a little wave. He makes it about two steps back before he turns around. "Is this about the music? I'll stop playing so late if it's really bothering you." 

This is the part where Steve is supposed to say yes to this, send Eddie on his way, then celebrate. But after four days of this routine and so many nights of restful sleep... "No, it's not... it's not that. It’s um...” Steve trails off at a loss for words. “The war’s still on.” 

Eddie smiles but it doesn’t seem entirely genuine. “Ah, getting in my head I see. I’ve gotta hand it to you, Steve, you aren’t just looks.” 

Steve watches as Eddie leaves, shoulders tense as he walks back to his house. He catches sight of two figures two doors down waving at him. Robin and Nancy look like they’re huddled together, and shit, if Robin can do it so can Steve. 

“Eddie!” Steve yells out. Eddie stops in his tracks and slowly turns around. “How about we make a peace treaty over dinner tonight?” 

Eddie’s face slowly lights up with a genuine smile. “I’d really like that.” 

“Finally!” A voice that sounds a lot like Nancy yells breaking the moment a bit. There’s loud laughter and a celebratory screech that is definitely Robin. 

“Tell me,” Eddie says walking toward Steve’s porch, “How does one deal with loud and annoying neighbors?” 

Steve laughs. “I have no idea, but I think my answer and Nancy’s will be very different.” 

“Oh yeah? What are your answers?” Eddie asks, now walking up the steps.  

“Well, you have to ask other questions first like: Are they one hundred percent your type to the point that you start a war with them that turns into you doing their lawn shirtless just to get their attention while they lull you to sleep at night?” 

Eddie dramatically taps a finger on his chin and squints off as if he’s searching for the answer. “I have to say that Nancy... her answer will most likely be ‘no’ to that. I’m not sure though. Maybe we should ask her.” 

Steve snorts and shoves at Eddie’s arm. Eddie locks eyes with him for a moment, and Steve can’t help but wonder if he could get lost in them forever. “Eddie?” 

“Yeah,” Eddie breathes out as his eyes trace over Steve’s face and track down to his lips. 

“Want to make that peace treaty over breakfast instead of dinner?” 

Eddie smiles. “Absolutely,” he says and walks past Steve into his house before he’s invited inside. Steve can’t even be upset about it. 

A glance down the street and Steve sees that Nancy is also heading inside but Robin trails behind looking towards Steve. He lifts his hand up and Robin does the same resulting in a quick air high five. They’re going to have a lot to talk about later. 

My bday ficlet to you <3