#the c stands for cross guild

[impastopesto]

various stages of clownlust ft evil man polyamory

[moonydustx]

Part 2 from this request (thank u again @cartoonykat )

Mihawk, Lucci and Crocodile x F!Reader.

In short: how they would react to F!Reader saying she was pregnant, how they would deal with the child.

(get ready to read, the stories are a little long)

PART 1 HERE - Luffy, Zoro and Ace x F! Reader

Warnings are placed individually in each history.

requests open | one piece masterlist

Mihawk

warnings: fluff. Mihawk and f!Reader are married and want to have children. Mentions of F! Reader be a cook. Very brief mention of abortion (but it was in the past). Content a little spicy, nothing detailed or explicit. Mihawk speaks Spanish a few times in this one (I just couldn't help it). Princesa: princess. Cariño: kind of "Sweetheart"

You had already arranged your sundress countless times, as well as your hair, as well as the entire dinner table. You couldn't sit still, anxious for your husband's arrival. Today you celebrated three years of marriage and you knew that after a long two months, he would return home. You knew his temperament well enough to know that there were high chances of finding him in a bad mood, he hated spending long periods away from the castle and this had been the longest time of all. Of course, your anxiety had nothing to do with the little box hidden in the kitchen.

"Cariño?" You heard his voice from downstairs and in a matter of minutes you already had him in your field of vision. His expression lit up when he saw you and lifted you into his arms. "How I missed you!"

"Me too darling." his hat fell back as you peppered kisses across his face. "My God, how can you stay away all this time?"

"Problems, cariño, a long list of problems." your feet touched the floor again after the long hug. "And what amazing smell is that?"

"Let's just say I used my free time to prepare something special for both of us."

"You should be resting. Last time we spoke, you weren't well." his smile faded, replaced by an alert tone.

"I promise I'm okay." You tried to make conversation just like the day he called you and said you didn't look well. You were talking through a den den mushi, how could he realize that?

"Just give me a few minutes and I'll meet you in the dining room." he asked and placed a quick kiss on your lips.

The minutes of waiting seemed like endless hours, just like dinner itself. You were willing to listen to him talk about how complicated the days at the Cross Guild were, about the news in the world outside your little dome or even how delicious the dough you had prepared was. Your fingers intertwined with his and despite the physical proximity, your mind wandered on how to get to the subject naturally. You had already tried a few times, you had already lost once without even knowing that you expected it, you wanted - and needed - this time to be special.

"Princesa?" he called you, looking towards the cup in front of you. "You didn't like the wine I chose?"

"It's one of my favorites actually."

"Yet it remains untouched." he observed, noticing your hands restlessly hitting the table. "Is something going on?"

"First, I'll get this." You took the wine cork. "Second, wait here for a while."

Twisting the small piece of cork between your fingers - the one you would make sure to keep, you reached for the small box in the kitchen and before long it was standing in front of Mihawk.

"To what do I owe the honor of being presented like this, out of nowhere?" he began to undo the bow, setting the wine glass aside and using both hands to undo the wrapping.

Inside, there were some pregnancy tests, in your desperation to know if it was correct, you took a much larger quantity than necessary. Next to them, a small hawk plush. You had searched the nearby town while picking up fresh items for dinner. At first your idea was to just talk to him, but the stuffed hawk with yellow eyes stole your attention.

"How could I not notice?" he murmured, as if a thought had been spoken aloud. "That means it worked…"

"If you talk about all sex without a condom, without any protection… Drac!"

He pulled you from the chair onto his lap. The hands on your back served as much support as your arms around his neck. Your laughter echoed throughout the castle while Mihawk almost sloppily distributed kisses to any part of your face that he could find.

"How long have you known?" he asked euphorically, a type of state that was rare to find in hawk-eyes.

"A few weeks ago. No, I would never tell you that on a phone call." you interrupted him before he could complain.

For a few minutes, the two of you remained there. Swears like "I love you" "You just made me the happiest man in the world" they were uttered and kisses spread across your face. His hands, accustomed to the weight and brutality of swords, touched you gently. Not like you were something about to break, but rather like something he valued so much. As if he wanted to record every moment of that moment in his memory through the drawings of his hands on your body. The yellowish eyes practically penetrated your soul as you watched Mihawk.

"May I know what's going on in your beautiful head, my princess?" Mihawk's nose caressed your neck, earning a smile from your lips.

"Now you know. It was a low blow to choose my favorite wine." you mumbled, adjusting yourself in his lap.

"No alcohol for you from now on."

"Not for a while now. God, I'd kill for a full glass right now."

"Maybe I have a little idea of ​​how to satisfy that desire of yours."

"What do you say, hawk eyes." Your attentive eyes followed him as he brought the glass of wine to his mouth and slowly drank the drink, in silent provocation. "Are you capable of being so mean to your pregnant wife? I thought it was to satisfy my desire."

"Don't put it like that." He returned the cup to the immense table, his agile hands slid across the bare skin of your thighs. "I just want you to taste it in a new way."

The taste of wine invaded your lips when Mihawk trapped you in a kiss. His tongue opened space in you, eliciting a moan from you when you felt the much-desired taste invade your palate. In an improvised juggling act, without taking your lips off his, you adjusted yourself in Mihawk's lap. Before now your legs dangled around his body, looking for some kind of friction.

"Babe, I need you." you murmured against his lips and his hands held you even tighter, feeling his intimacy harden against yours. "Please, it's on my craving list too."

"Who knew what a little of the taste would do to you." his hands slid over your skin, he could clearly see your skin crawl. "It also seems like you're more sensitive, this is interesting."

"Why don't you take it off and find out?" you pulled his hands down to the hem of your dress.

"Do you want to take this upstairs?" he asked and instead of using words, you just took off the dress you were wearing, throwing it across the kitchen.

You didn't need to shout the news from the rooftops, that night it was enough for Mihawk that you screamed his name, that he valued the body that would be home to your two long-awaited baby. After eliciting screams, nectar and sweat from you unlike many other times when you spent hours caressing each other and talking, you remained awake for a short time. Then Mihawk could notice the small difference in your belly, how it seemed firmer and pointier, different from the last time he had ventured across your body.

"Sorry about the time out." he first made sure you were asleep and then leaned down to whisper against your skin. "I promise to make it up to you. Both of you."

You could notice the different way Mihawk looked at you and not that he didn't do it often, but it became more and more common to hear him say "You look amazing." "You are so beautiful." Soon after the discovery, you also discovered how your husband could go into hyperfocus and the time was to find a perfect home for you. It still hurt you to leave the castle behind, even if for a brief time, but he knew he had tasks to fulfill with the Cross Guild and because of that, he would need to spend more time away from your island home.

The small arranged mansion was also isolated and was a result of Crocodile's help. Despite having little contact with the main part of the island, it was much less minutes away than the old house. At least you would have space to redecorate the entire room to your liking.

"Woman, you really want to spare me from living a long life." Before your protests, you felt his arms wrap around you and take you off the ladder that you were balancing on to finish painting the room. "If this child turns out to be half as stubborn as you, I will be in big trouble."

"Baby, don't listen to your father's nonsense." you mumbled to your belly bump. "And you, did you manage to assemble the crib?"

"No." he practically whispered and as a way of irritating him, you pretended not to hear. "I'm going back to the city, I'm sure there must be something already done."

"You men, with your little swords, can't handle a new toy." You stood on your tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "Let's switch tasks."

"You women and your kitchen knives." he grumbled, watching you leave and then return only to look at him with judgement. "Okay, I've been an asshole now."

The light shade of yellow had just finished filling the walls when a bang took the eagle eyes' attention. Hearing you swear, it only took seconds for him to be on the doorstep, watching you contemplate the collapsed crib.

"What were you saying about swords?" he teased but your furious look made him change his mind - he swore he saw something red shine in your iris. "Tomorrow we'll go to town together and get one ready, what do you think my love?"

"A great idea."

"And for now, how about a hot bath, some music and grape juice." well, at least that was the way he had found to prevent you from drinking wine.

"Can we include a massage in the package?" you took advantage of the fact that he was behind your body to lean on him.

"Whatever my dear wife wants."

The house was already ready, toys, clothes and gifts from the most different friends were piling up and by a pure coincidence of fate, Luna arrived into the world on a full moon night. You would carry it in your soul when Mihawk's eyes - golden when they touched the moonlight - met the small pair of irises identical to his.

"My little Luna, you chose the right day to come." he whispered, pacing the sleeping girl from side to side. "You are so perfect."

"Just like her daddy." you answered.

In other situations you would end up in two camps: Mihawk would play the opposite and say that the most beautiful thing in the relationship is you or on days when he was really in a good mood, he would say how lucky you were to have him. That night, he just smiled at your comment. Not a provocative smile like most of the ones he had given his entire life. It was one of those that made the hawk's eyes become just a detail on his illuminated face.

"Thank you my love." he replied to you. "Thank you for bringing me a little piece of heaven, of all this infinity above us. Mi preciosa Luna."

When little Luna wasn't within your reach, you didn't need to make an effort to find her, she would be in her father's shadow. Whether in the moments he took to read or even in some Cross Guild meetings. The other two men didn't seem to mind the little girl's presence, who was always busy with something.

"I think we can… Hey, what's this?" Buggy screamed as he saw the girl climb over him. "Mihawk!"

"Let the girl have some fun. That's what clowns are for, aren't they?" Crocodile responded in a gentle tone while Mihawk kept his eyes on Luna, who without hesitation pulled one of Buggy's ears and sat on the couch next to him.

"You little brat!" the clown made to take the ear from her hand in an almost brutal way as he felt her digging the almost non-existent fingers into the cartilage of the ear. "That hurts."

"I wouldn't want to have to remove your other ear, permanently." Mihawk spoke calmly, as if he had just commented on an everyday fact.

"Sorry to interrupt." You walked into the room, attracting looks, especially from a certain little girl who realized that your ear wasn't that interesting anymore.

"Mami!" Luna immediately started throwing her little arms towards you and even though she tried to at least hide it in these situations it was impossible not to see Mihawk's eyes light up.

"She just took down a Yonkou, I'll be saving a spot on the team for her." Crocodile laughed when he saw your dissatisfied face. "Okay, I guess I'll have to settle for just a single hawk's eye."

On the same day, after a few long hours of meeting between them, you thought that at least your husband would want to rest, to remove any idea of ​​work from inside the house - despite his choice to have brought work into the house while the Luna was still small. Of all the places you expected to find yourself, you didn't expect to find Mihawk with little Luna on his lap, in front of them a large Cross Guild poster.

"Who's that?" Mihawk pointed at the figure.

"It's a crocodile." The word was slurred, but Luna said it anyway with a certain confidence. Again, the man asked, pointing to the next image. "The clown."

"And who is this?"

"Dada!" she cheered, making him laugh along and, consequently, you, happy with your little family.

Lucci

warnings: Lucci is a warning in itself. A lot of angst with a somewhat happy ending. F!Reader was also an agent, she had the fruit that transformed her into a kind of cat. Slightly troubled relationship between him and F!Reader. Completely based on the fact that Lucci is not a complete psychopath (I mean, egghead spoilers ahead: him asking for Kaku's life, how can we not love him? Besides the CP9 cover stories).

A few days had passed since the last time you and Lucci had seen each other in person. The voices demanding mission reports seemed distant as you watched him from the other side of the table and you had known him long enough to know that even though he seemed focused he was still able to see him glance casually in your direction and no one noticed.

You wished the brief meeting could have lasted longer, given you time to think more about what words to use, to fantasize that Lucci would be happy with the idea, but chills ran through your body just thinking about it.

"Hey, meow girl." Kaku nudged you with his shoulder, pulling you back to the real world. "I heard you got into trouble."

"You have no idea." You laughed heartily, pushing him back. "Call me meow girl again and I'll wring your huge neck."

"Hey, I'm just being nice."

"I bet you are, big guy." You pinched the tip of his nose, leaving him grumbling.

"Need to talk to you." Lucci's voice interrupted the two of you, stopping Kaku's laughter and complaints. The man just waved and walked away, leaving you and Lucci alone. "Not here."

He took the lead, his firm steps and serious posture didn't let anyone think anything other than that you - who followed him without the same grandeur - had gotten yourself into some kind of problem. The solid wooden door closed behind you as you noticed Rob Lucci walk through the space, filling two glasses of brandy and handing you one of them. The drink danced through your hands, but never reached your lips.

"You were restless today, pupils dilated, sweat on your face." He touched a temple, noticing the moisture. "What kind of problem did you encounter?"

"I'm pregnant." You ripped the band-aid off at once, with no time to let the thoughts flow through your mind.

The man took a few steps back, looking you up and down and then looking around the entire room. The small shot of brandy in his hand was downed in moments and he took the one you were holding from you, the liquid meeting the same fate.

"And what do I have to do with it?" you already knew his cold temper, but you didn't expect to hear such rude words.

"What do you have to do with this?" you snapped, approaching him. "What do you have to do with this? Use your fucking brain Lucci."

"What's wrong? How can you guarantee that this is my doing?" His tone dropped, becoming threatening. "I have nothing to do with this."

"I knew you could be an asshole, but after all this time?" you gave him a push Lucci didn't react, just letting his body move away.

"We had one night and that was it. This could be anyone's business."

The lie that came out of his lips hurt more than any blow you've ever taken in all these years fighting alongside him.

You threatened to push him, but this time he reacted by guiding your body to the wall and enclosing you in his arms. Your body contracted as you saw him punch the wall next to you and some pieces of concrete fall.

"Get out of here." his tone became a whisper and if it weren't for the argument you were already having, it was impossible to tell he was mad. "You get out of here and ask to leave Cipher Pol today. Ask or I'll throw you out."

How could you have been stupid to think that would lead anywhere? You thought Lucci could have changed something, all the times the two of you could have had some connection felt in vain.

Swallowing your tears and not giving any justification to anyone, a few days later you managed to free yourself from the organization. You knew they would keep an eye on you, but at least now you wouldn't be the target of Lucci's hatred.

A few months later you had already found a new home on your home island, a new spark of hope that everything would work out, even without him. That week you would be six months pregnant and you were already used to the affection and closeness of your neighbors and colleagues. What you weren't used to was strange noises in your house in the middle of the night.

Reluctantly - and against any recommendation from your doctor, you assumed the form that your devil fruit allowed. A completely black cat. You still remembered Kalifa's laugh when you two and Kaku acquired your fruits and she claimed it was curious that you also turned into a feline.

The image of the man you no longer imagined seeing in front of you was there, standing in your kitchen. You wanted to return to your human form and ask what it was about, you wanted to at least feel him again, but the hatred inside you spoke louder. Shooing away the pigeon that accompanied him, you jumped at Lucci, climbing up his suit with your fingernails.

"Stop this." Lucci tried to hold you back, but you kept throwing small kicks at him. Damn the time you trimmed your claws, the damage wouldn't be so great "Stop!"

Fatigue soon hit you and you returned to your human form, even so you continued attacking him, this time with weak slaps.

"You practically called me a bitch." you snapped, having your hands trapped by his. "You humiliated me and now you have the nerve to show up here."

"You need to calm down." you lunged at him, even though your hands were practically tied by his hands. "You're going to hurt yourself, sweetheart, please."

The calm tone of his words hit you before your brain even processed his arms trapping you in a tight hug. It took a few seconds before you actually gave up trying to free yourself.

"Calm down, please." he asked once again, pressing you against his body.

"You left me." hurt replaced the hatred in your voice, this time you were able to let go of him, now calmer.

Noticing that your clothes were gone with your transformation, you turned your back and went to your room, reaching for panties and a robe. Sitting on the edge of the bed, you closed your eyes, trying to regain the lost air and dealing with the weakness that took over your body.

"There are big differences between the anatomy of a cat and a human, even more so when they carry their kittens." Lucci leaned on the doorstep and realized that you still hadn't turned your attention to him. He soon bent down in front of you, taking one of your hands. "How can I help you?"

"You sent me away." the hurt was almost palpable in your voice. "My life was good here, I got a job even though I was pregnant, I started making friends. Why are you here after so long?"

"I couldn't stop thinking about you two." Lucci gave up and sat next to you. "That day I had to lie." he confessed and your attention quickly turned to Lucci. "I saw Yuro following us, him slightly pushing the door to hear us. He was interested in my position just like he was always interested in you. What do you think he would do when he connected the information?" The question remained in the air for some time, long enough for you to feel your heart soften a little. "That's why I asked you to leave, I didn't know how well the little act had worked."

"And how did you find me here?"

"I never lost sight of you." the answer was almost obvious to you, yet it was good to hear. "Besides, even if I wanted to, that annoying giraffe wouldn't leave me alone after I told him about the child." a light laugh dared to cross your lips. "I'm sorry for this."

"I know you meant well, Lucci, but it still hurts anyway." you made to touch his arm, but you flinched. "It doesn't mean that I don't miss you, that I don't want to see you."

"I figured that. As long as you accept me here, accept me in this child's life, I want to stay." he, contrary to what you had done, allowed his hand to touch your skin, turning your face towards him. "And what you want?"

"Can we just cuddle for a bit, please?"

Lucci opted to just pull you into his arms and drag you to the bed, laying down comfortably and allowing you to snuggle into him. Feeling a little wary of how you would react, his hand lightly touched the spot on the back of your neck that you loved being stroked. Surely your cat form would be purring. For a long time, it was the kind of physical contact you had.

The residents of the small village were initially surprised by the man's presence. He didn't stay for long and when he stayed on the island, he only left the house a few times and had a serious expression on his face, not allowing anyone to feel free to talk. And when it was extremely necessary, he preferred to use Hattori for that role.

The little child arrived into the world on a rainy night. Leo was an almost identical copy of his father, except for his eyes that were the same as yours. Lucci only returned to the island two days later and few things could surprise him more than finding you sitting on the bed with several blankets around your body, while you breastfed the little baby.

"Hey." you limited yourself to saying, not wanting to speak more or louder so as not to take away the child's peace.

"Are you cold?"

"I just need to keep the nest… the bed warm, make our little Leo comfortable." You looked at the little one, who was still focused on eating. "Want to see him?" You nodded to the space next to you on the bed.

Lucci got closer and could notice every feature of the baby it was like looking at a small version of him. Until the small eyes found the man's direction and he understood that everything bad that could exist in him, in Lucci, would be compensated by everything good he had in you. A strange feeling took over him, something like possession, like pride, something that if he needed to put into words he wouldn't be able to.

His hands first lowered the cover from your back and then lowered the strap of your shirt. Before you could complain, Lucci started distributing kisses and rubbing his face against your skin, in a strange affection that you gladly accepted. In anyone's eyes, it would be like seeing two cats taking care of their pup.

Lucci was right in his little mental gamble. Leo was a physical copy of him, but he had your personality. Cunning, agile, but kind, a soft heart that accepted anything. Well, almost anything.

"Daddy!" the boy shouted as soon as he saw Lucci enter the small yard after almost two months away. The man just bent down and allowed him to jump into his arms. When Leo was just a few centimeters away, Lucci watched the boy scream in horror and walk away. "Hattori!"

The pigeon landed on Lucci's shoulder and that was enough to explain the story. Ever since baby Leo woke up with the pigeon watching him, the now three-year-old boy was terrified of any bird and poor Hattori was included - and was the main reason.

"Son, I already told you. Hattori is good." you caught up to them, sitting on the floor so you were at Leo's level.

"No, it is not." he grumbled, hiding in the back of your neck. "Get him out of here."

"You need to get used to it." Lucci would once again try and knew he might fail. "Look at me."

"I don't want."

"Leo…" the warning tone caught the boy's attention, who just gave him space to see, not letting go of you. "Look, Hattori is a good friend."

Lucci let the pigeon land on his fingertips. Fulfilling the small unspoken agreement between the two, Hattori remained quiet, accepting Lucci to stroke his head.

"See? Your mom likes him too." Lucci passed the pigeon to your finger and more docilely you caught it.

"Come here." Lucci picked up the boy and whispered something in his ear, probably some promise to the boy. Leo, with his small trembling hand, stretched out his finger and let Hattori land. "See? He can be a great friend."

"He can?"

"Coo, yes sir Leo." As soon as the dove spoke, Leo screamed in fear again, letting the bird fly and throwing himself at you.

"Maybe that was too soon." Lucci commented, helping you stand with the boy on your lap.

That time, Lucci spent about a month with you and you were already suffering from the night he was leaving. Partly because of your longing, even if you hadn't gotten back into the relationship, you couldn't deny how you felt about him. In addition to suffering for little Leo. He admired his father, even though he didn't know what he actually did and even though he maintained a more serious behavior, you knew that Lucci adored the boy.

"Dad…" you watched Lucci put Leo to sleep, with the boy practically with his eyes closed. "You will return?"

"I promise you I will."

"What if I cry just this little bit." he pointed at the small space with his fingers. "Will you still love me?"

The question seemed to take him by surprise. You noticed that Lucci didn't respond immediately and you wondered how many memories were going through his head, of all the death, chaos and hatred that he had carried since childhood. You knew that it was difficult for Lucci to express - and even nurture feelings that were reserved for few people, the bond with you and Leo was unique.

"Absolutely," a rare light chuckle escaped him. "You're my best friend, remember?" Lucci finished covering the boy. "Now sleep."

You blew your little boy a kiss from a distance and closed the door to his room. Like something magnetic you followed Lucci to the small room of the house you two sort of shared.

"Need to talk to you."

"I'm listening." you crossed your arms, bracing yourself for something bad, something like "That was the last time I showed up."

"I'm leaving Cipher Pol." he took a small letter from his pocket. That seal was familiar and the last time you saw it was when you gave up.

"Explain this to me properly"

"Even on a mission in Water 7, being a shipwright wasn't that bad." as he spoke, you felt even more lost. "I've always had my goals. Little Leo wasn't one of them, but I can't ignore him."

"You know you don't have to do that. Our little arrangement has been working." you tried to argue, but Lucci was irreducible, as always.

"I don't really need it. I want it." he spoke firmly. "I'm just going to carry out this mission more."

"Something important?"

"I need to go to Egghead, deal with Vegapunk." he limited himself to speaking, not wanting to go into too many details. Despite asking, your mind was still stuck on the idea of ​​having Lucci always there.

"Promise to come back." the words came out like an order. "Promise now Lucci, please."

Lucci just hung his face, trying to understand where that plea had come from. You always warned him to make promises to Leo, after all, life as an agent and director of CP0 wasn't the safest. Those words didn't usually come out of your mouth.

Ignoring the mix of sensations that accumulated in your chest, you practically threw yourself towards Lucci, taking his lips for yourself. His lack of reaction only lasted a few seconds and you only had to press your body against his for his hands to find your legs and lock them around his waist.

"I promise." he said amidst sighs and footsteps towards your room. "As long as you promise to come back to me, to be mine again."

"I promise."

Crocodile

warnings: angst, but with a happy ending. Crocodile and F!Reader are married, there are mentions of blood but nothing much. Mentions of Cross Guild because I absolutely love the existence of this trio.

Long years, long disputes and problems ago, Crocodile found you lost in Alabasta. Fleeing from a crew that chose to only use you, you found yourself without any direction and when demonstrating your skills to escape some thieves, he saw something interesting in you.

This interest lasted through the years, even into the fall of his reign in Alabasta, even into the time he was trapped in Impel Down, he knew that once he found you again, he wouldn't let something so good slip through his hands like sand in the wind.

That's how the small ring with green details found your hand, which you passed from Miss Honeymoon to his wife. Very little time had passed before you had to face the countless positive tests that piled up in front of you.

You tried to go back to bed in silence, the goal was not to wake Crocodile and over time, find the courage to bring the news to him. However, you failed miserably. As soon as the bathroom door opened, you found Crocodile waiting for you.

"You've been out of bed for a while. Is everything okay?" he asked, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Y-Yes." Your voice betrayed you, giving away that at least something had happened in there and you knew Crocodile enough to know that he would turn everything over and discover your little secret. "Can we talk?"

"It's a little early for that, isn't it, my little one?" The serious expression on your face told him that the matter couldn't wait. Without asking, he took your hand and guided you back to the bed, placing you in a sitting position. "What happened?"

"I h-guess. I mean." you took a deep breath, the huge room seemed to compress next to you. "I'm pregnant."

Silence prevailed for a few seconds - it seemed like ages between the two of you. You looked for any reaction, for anything, but Crocodile was far away. It was just a physical form in front of you.

"Rest, there's still a long way to go before dawn." he just said, turning his back and heading towards the bathroom.

It didn't take long for you to see him leave, hair wet, steam everywhere, no more words left his lips and the first rays of sun appeared on the horizon when he disappeared from your field of vision. Almost two weeks passed like this, only essential words were exchanged between the two of you, Crocodile spent most of his hours away from home or locked in his office. According to Daz, the boss had problems to solve.

That was it, this would end the relationship that you two had worked so hard to achieve. Without saying anything, you packed your bags, even so you couldn't leave without at least looking at his face. Opening the office door without any kind of ceremony, the first thing that caught your attention was the blood that was staining him, only then did you notice the cut that he was finishing stitching.

"Crocodile!" You got closer, trying to touch the wound, but he pushed your hand away. "Are you okay?"

"It was just a superficial cut." he simply responded, finishing the last stitch and using gauze to cover the wound.

Despite your concern, you would not let your recent decision shake you. Crocodile watched with surprised eyes as you took off the ring you were wearing and with shaking hands left it on the table.

"What is this about?"

"Given the distance, the way you've been treating me, I don't think you were happy with the existence of a baby." You started, trying to make your voice steady. "But I am and it's okay that you don't want to have a child, but I do. I just don't want to have to deal with this indifference, this distance. You don't talk to me, you don't sleep in our bed…"

"Calm down darling, please." he asked, his unshaken tone quite contrary to the worried expression on his features.

He took your hand and gently made you circle the table, standing next to him. Crocodile then took three brown folders from a drawer, each of which had a name and a photo of a guy.

"Do you remember them?" you still remembered the faces, before settling on the new island, the two of you evaluated how the entire system worked.

"The three main leaders here on this island. This one is responsible for the bandits." You pointed to the first photo and then to the second. "This one was a pirate too, as I remember."

"And this one works in the slave trade." Crocodile took a pen and crossed out his photo, just as the first man's photo was also crossed out.

"And what does this have to do with what I told you just now?" you tried to move away from the table, but the hand on your waist stopped you.

"As we once talked about, I planned to calmly find a place for my business, maybe some partnerships…" he put the folders aside, turning his attention completely to you. "Now with this. With our baby on the way. I can't allow there to be threats of this level around."

"What do you mean by that, my dear?" the endearing word involuntarily escaped your lips, a clear sign that you couldn't help but have love for Crocodile, even with the hurt.

"I needed to speed up my business, exclude some of these faces." He held your face and pressed his forehead to yours. "I can only be happy with this news when I know you two are safe."

"Crocodile…"

"I'm going to be the happiest man on this island when I can walk around showing off my beautiful, shiny, pregnant wife, carrying my little one. I don't want our children to have to see the terror we've both experienced throughout this life."

"I thought you didn't want me anymore." you let your hands wrap around him and his found a similar path around your body.

"I'm a man of my word and when I said I want you for the rest of my life, I really meant it." His lips traced their way across your face. "Please give me just a few more days and I will allow myself to be happy with this news."

It took another week before you woke up in the middle of the night, feeling something you hadn't felt in time. The icy contrast of his hook revealed that Crocodile had accidentally slept in that position. Head and one hand resting on your belly, in a protective mode. Apparently, the day had finally come for him to allow himself to be happy.

The months that followed were calmer, with the full-time man being your shadow, even on the tireless afternoons of shopping you did, Crocodile was there. At least he considered himself lucky and rewarded, since your raging hormones acted in a somewhat pleasant way for him - which made Daz find the two of you in a vulnerable way in the kitchen.

The best doctors from across the island gathered in the grand mansion when Ella was born. An identical copy for you, much to Crocodile's happiness. You knew that Crocodile would dedicate himself to being a father, even if it didn't work out, however, you couldn't be more wrong. On many nights, the girl was only able to stop crying when she found her father, or afternoons became calmer when, while the two of you talked and made plans, little Ella was distracted by the piles of sand that her father was. capable of producing. Apart from the fact that he had decided to give a baby Bananawani as soon as she turned her first birthday or when he made a replica of the hook he had for the little girl, everything was going well in the relationship between the three of you.

Despite being your copy in terms of features, her personality was much more similar to her father - and she was extremely close to him. With a cunning capable of convincing everyone, it didn't take long for Ella to be able to soften even Daz's heart. There wasn't a thing the girl asked for that Crocodile's faithful partner wouldn't go after. Cross Guild mates were also victims of Ella. In this case, just one of them. Mihawk thought it was funny for someone so small to have such an irreverent stance as Crocodile, despite almost getting him expelled from the Cross Guild when he was caught letting Ella play - or at least try - to manipulate Yoru. As for Buggy, Ella preferred to keep her distance. One of the few things the girl couldn't deal with easily was the existence of clowns.

The scream of horror that crossed the corridor invaded your ears, as well as those of the other two men who were next to you. Recognizing the voice, you and Crocodile jumped to your feet, quickly heading to where you thought the source was. Arriving in the kitchen, Crocodile barely had time to balance himself when he saw Ella hugging his legs, looking for some kind of help.

"A monster daddy, a big monster." Crocodile picked her up and felt the girl's heart racing even with all the fabrics separating him from her skin. "He's right there."

"It's okay, sweetie." your voice reached her ears, which were practically the only possible point of contact. Her eyes were sunk into her father's shoulder, her small hands almost pierced the fabric of his overcoat.

"I have my suspicions about what this monster is." Mihawk, who you hadn't noticed following the two of you, spoke up. "And I agree with you Ella, it's a pretty ugly monster." the cynicism was clear in his voice.

"Look at your father, my little one." Crocodile asked and found two orbs damp with tears. "Was it a monster with an ugly, red nose?"

"You lizard, you don't talk about my nose." Buggy practically rolled out of the pantry, eliciting another scream from the girl who went back into hiding. "She who appeared out of nowhere here."

"He's harmless, Ella." you tried to catch her, but the girl refused to let go of her own father.

"She's in her house, she has the freedom to do whatever she wants." Crocodile's threatening tone didn't go unnoticed. "You know what awaits you, don't you, clown?"

"Hey, I didn't do anything." he grumbled, approaching you already knowing that Crocodile would scalp him soon. "Look here, pretty girl, Uncle Buggy is your friend."

"Everything is fine." you interrupted the clown, who only scared your daughter more. You knew that the two of them probably just bumped into each other in the kitchen, but little Ella's fear spoke louder in these moments. "You are not going to do anything." you muttered to Crocodile and turned to the clown in question. "And can you stop this, you're only scaring little Ella more."

"Let's get out of here, my little baby." your husband grumbled, turning his back and going in front, you couldn't make out exactly what he was saying, but he seemed to be trying to reassure Ella, who was just sniffling now.

The sniffles were replaced by a small laugh, when you looked to the side the reason made you laugh too. Mihawk had turned the blunt side of the sword and hit Buggy a few times, who grunted back.

"We don't scare little girls here, we only scare bad mariners." Mihawk repeated the gesture and you knew he wasn't using any of the full strength he had. "Don't scare little Ella."

The hawk's eyes blinked at the girl, who continued laughing - much to the reassurance of Crocodile, who was already thinking of methods to torture his fellow Cross Guild member. No one scared his little girl.

[acescorazon]

Title: Buggy's guide to bagging boyfriends

Chapter: 4/?

Rating: PG

Word Count: 2035

Chapter excerpt:

Buggy continues speaking after taking another moment to think of a reply, “It’s like this: I want to get on Crocodile’s good side and I believe that you and Galdino are the best people to help me do that.” He states plain and simple, “I really want to befriend your boss for the sake of Cross Guild, can you help me?” 

Daz gives him a rather puzzled look for a moment before his face quickly returns to its normal neutral state. “He likes Bananawanis.” What in god’s name is a Bananawani? Is that a cake or something…? He asks Daz what exactly a Bananawani is and when he elaborates…Buggy’s even more confused. 

|Ch1|Ch2|Ch3|

As soon as he can, Buggy gathers up a rather reluctant Daz and Galdino, as well as a few other men, and sets sail, heading towards the nearest town in search of gifts for Buggy’s future best friends. It’ll take them two days, maybe two and a half days to get to their destination, but that’s okay because it gives Buggy plenty of time to plan! Now that he’s alone with two people who probably know Crocodile the best, he wants to question them to get a feel of what kind of gift their beloved boss might possibly want, and maybe, just maybe, if he’s lucky, they’ll also know a thing or two about Mihawk. 

He starts with Daz first, and truth be told…Daz is kinda cool and intimidating in his own right, and Buggy wonders if maybe he could be friends with Daz too, but then again, Daz doesn’t seem to like anyone other than Crocodile. Whatever, he can worry about befriending Daz later. He loses track of him after they leave the docks, but quickly finds him in one of the ship’s cabins, keeping to himself like he usually does. Buggy knocks on the door first and once he receives permission to come into the room, he quietly enters, grinning sheepishly, “Hey, there…!” He says, greeting Daz. 

Daz nods his head, “Chairman Buggy.” He greets back, getting up and standing in front of Buggy, showing a certain level of respect that Buggy didn’t think that he would receive from one of Crocodile’s men… Then again, this is one of the few interactions that Buggy has had with someone who is more or less considered Crocodile’s right-hand man, so he didn't know what to expect before coming into his room. 

Keep it cool, Buggy, you wouldn’t want him to think you’re a dork or anything.

 

“Daz, I’m not sure if you know why I asked to have you come along on this journey with me or not…” Buggy states, slowly trying to pick out the right words to say in order to make himself look cool and not a loser desperate for friends because if there’s one thing Buggy’s not, it’s a loser desperate for friends… He’s just saying … Wouldn’t it be cool if he had two super c–

Now’s not the time for that. 

Daz looks rather uninterested in the conversation. He stares at Buggy blankly, but remains respectful, giving him his full attention… Perhaps this fellow’s face just naturally looks bored though. “I don’t. Boss said that he wanted me to accompany you on this trip, and that’s all I needed to know.” Ah, so loyal! Almost as loyal as Buggy’s own children! 

Buggy continues speaking after taking another moment to think of a reply, “It’s like this: I want to get on Crocodile’s good side and I believe that you and Galdino are the best people to help me do that.” He states plain and simple, “I really want to befriend your boss for the sake of Cross Guild, can you help me?” 

Daz gives him a rather puzzled look for a moment before his face quickly returns to its normal neutral state. “He likes Bananawanis.” What in god’s name is a Bananawani? Is that a cake or something…? He asks Daz what exactly a Bananawani is and when he elaborates…Buggy’s even more confused. 

It’s….It’s a giant crocodile…? 

Buggy doesn’t know where one would get a giant crocodile, he doesn’t think he’s ever seen a pet store with one of those for sale… They are pets…right? Or are they for eating…? Buggy is utterly confused at the moment, and he asks Daz for further explanation, to which he replies, “They’re pets.” Ah…

“Does he like anything else?” Buggy asks, “Nothing like money though because that’s too easy. I really want to impress him and make it seem like I got him a gift that came right from here.” He says, pointing to his heart. 

“No, just Bananawanis, they make very good guard dogs, and the boss likes to feed them and cuddle with them.” But… They’re crocodiles?!

Buggy stares at Daz for a long moment, unsure of how to reply, and Daz…Daz stares back at Buggy, showing that he’s dead serious about this whole Bananawani thing, not that Buggy thought he was joking around to begin with because he’s not exactly the type of person who tells jokes. “Ah, yes…Bananawanis…” Buggy nods, but he doesn’t know what else to say, “And…out of curiosity… where does one acquire such an animal?” he asks after giving the question some thought.

“The black market.”

Buggy should have expected an answer like that because it makes sense when you stop to think about it. A Bananawani doesn’t sound like something you would find on a farm or in a pet store… Buggy has bought a lot of things off the black market, but he’s not quite sure how he feels about buying a giant crocodile off it, or the idea of having one possibly roaming around Emptee Bluffs Island in general. “Boss said he wanted to get a few anyways, so maybe you could get him the first one.” A…A few? As in plural? As in, he wants to have more than one giant crocodile roaming around the island… That sounds… Horrific.

Okay, Bananawanis for Crocodile…But what about Mihawk?

Buggy proceeds to change the subject after that, asking if Daz has any clue what sort of gift Buggy should get for Hawkeye. Daz simply shakes his head in response, “I don’t know Hawkeye very well.” He states, quickly bringing that little conversation to an end. 

“Bananawanis…” Buggy mutters in a daze, “Ok, got it…Thanks, Daz.” He says as he heads out of the cabin. He’s a lot more confused now that he’s left than when he originally went in. He doesn’t think that he’s going to get Crocodile…well, a giant crocodile as a pet though because the whole idea sounds strange and terrifying at the same time. 

But, what is he going to get him?

Buggy’s going to consider his little talk with Daz a failure, or maybe it wasn’t, maybe he got good advice, but he just can’t use it. He looks around for Galdino next, who is relaxing in the kitchen of the ship, reading a magazine when Buggy enters. Now, Buggy’s always considered Galdino a friend, they’ve been through so much together, but as soon as Cross Guild was formed, Galdino made it known that those feelings weren’t mutual and that he only cared about his beloved boss, Crocodile, which is a shame because Buggy really thought they had a close bond with each other, especially after the war, but maybe he was wrong.

As soon as Galdino spots Buggy, he rolls his eyes in annoyance, and unlike Daz, Galdino doesn’t treat Buggy with even a little bit of respect. “I still don’t get why you insisted that I come on this dumb trip with you,” He says, sighing in frustration, “In fact, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t have even stepped foot on this ship, but the boss asked me for a favor, so what else could I do?” Poor, loyal Galdino, he must be miserable right now with the cruel and cold-hearted Buggy, it’s not like Buggy’s ever treated him like a friend or a member of the family, oh, no. This must be awful for him, look at him suffer while he sits around, lounging.

Buggy has a seat at the kitchen table with him, and sighs as well, “Look, I wanted you to come on this trip with me because I want to get closer to Crocodile, and I need your help doing that.” 

“And why would I help you?”

“I’ll say you helped me pick his gift out, and you’ll be on good terms with Crocodile too.”

“Deal.”

Damn, it didn’t take much to convince him, did it? Buggy thinks as he watches Galdino drum his fingers against the kitchen table, seemingly lost in thought. A moment later he gasps softly, “You could get him a new suit, and, oh, wouldn’t it be lovely if you could get your hands on the imported cigars he smokes?!” Okay, now this sounds like a better lead than the whole Bananawani thing, but honestly, it feels kind of boring and predictable, doesn’t it? He’s sure that Crocodile has plenty of suits, and as for cigars, he doesn’t seem to have a shortage of them either. In fact, Buggy’s pretty sure that Crocodile just had some shipped to the island not too long ago. “ I even know his measurements!” Galdino proudly proclaims, “So, if you want to buy him a suit, we can do just that!” Why does he have that information at his disposal? Has he bought Crocodile a suit before or…? 

Buggy gives the idea some consideration, but it doesn’t seem good enough. He doesn’t think those things will get him on Crocodile’s good side, but he’s still not sure what will right now. He’ll just have to think of something else later. “Okay, any suggestions for a gift for Mihawk?” Buggy asks a moment later, Daz might not know anything about Mihawk, but maybe Galdino does.

 

Galdino takes another long moment to think about Buggy’s question. He gasps and then looks like he’s about to say something, but then shakes his head before going back to thinking about the question again. Jeez, Hawkeye really is a hard guy to buy for, isn’t he? “Oh!” Galdino exclaims excitedly, “Oh, I know. Hawkeye likes to garden.” He does? “So I suggest getting him a beautiful plant, one that’s just as bold and striking as Sir Hawkeye is!” Sir Hawkeye…???

Buggy narrows his eyes at Galdino, unsure if what Galdino is telling him is the truth or if it’s gossip or a joke. He isn’t buying into the idea that the world’s strongest swordsman is into plants, he’s way too cool for something like flowers and stuff. “How do you know he likes to garden?” Buggy asks, suspicious now. 

“You haven’t seen his garden on the island?” Galdino asks with a scoff, “Everyone knows about it.” Uh, no… Buggy hasn’t seen Mihawk’s garden, he doesn’t even know where you would put one on Emptee Bluffs Island or if it’s even the right place to grow things…Regardless though, Buggy puts on an act, scoffing right back at Galdino, “Of course, I know about his garden, who do you think helped him plant all his flowers?”

“He grows vegetables.” 

“Same shit. Anyways, my point is, how do you know he would even want another plant to take care of?”

Galdino once again scoffs at Buggy, like Buggy is a fool who knows absolutely nothing! Which is true, but how dare he call Buggy out on his ignorance! He’s the chairman of Cross Guild, and if… if Buggy wanted to, he could have Galdino punished for his disrespect…he won’t, for reasons, but just know he could. “Obviously Sir Hawkeye gardens as a means to relax, and I often see him roaming around the island, looking at all the plants with great interest. So, I think he would love a new plant.”

  All Buggy’s getting from this is Galdino is nosey as shit.

Buggy really doesn’t want to get Mihawk a plant. That sounds so lame, who gives people plants as gifts?! Buggy is the future king of the pirates and if word got out that he was so boring and cheap, he’d never live it down. “Are there any other suggestions you might have?” Buggy asks with a small groan, he really doesn’t want to have to get Mihawk a damn plant. 

Galdino frowns, seemingly displeased that Buggy didn’t take his earlier suggestion seriously. “I mean, you could always give him another sword.” Giving the world’s strongest swordsmen a sword? That’s probably the first thing everyone thinks of when it comes to giving Mihawk gifts. Soooo lame. Buggy doesn’t want to be like other people, he wants to be different. “Anything else??” he asks, hoping that a plant and a sword aren’t the best options Buggy’s got.

“Perhaps a book? He does seem like a bit of a bookworm.”

Ugh. Borinngggggg.

[ribcages-and-bookpages]

Fairy Tail; Laxus x F!Tattoo artist reader

(key: e/c = eye color. H/c = hair color. Y/n = your name)

(this is an old one shot)

You were a tattoo artist in the town of Magnolia, and a pretty popular one at that. Alot of people would travel just to get a tattoo from you, or to see the art you have on the walls, also being a painter. You favorite client, was a member of the Fairy Tail guild in town. Laxus. When you did his tattoo, he didn't cringe or move or even really react, besides checking out out as you worked on his tattoo on his upper body.

He couldn't help it! You were leaning over him, and all he could do was stare at your face..and your chest. Regardless of size, your shirt kept showing a bit more than you'd like, and when you'd move he'd turn his gaze away so fast you would think he was embarrassed. Finally, you smiled as he looked to your face and turned your gaze to his

"Staring is rude." You say calmly, sitting up and turning off the tattoo gun. He scoffed, but you could see that hint of a blush on his face, hating that he was caught red handed.

"I wasnt-" he started, but you gave a small laugh, and he stopped and squinted at you

"Don't worry, I'm not going to have you leave without finishing your tattoo." You say, smiling at him. He stared at you for a moment, then gave a grunt and turned his gaze away.

You finished his tattoo, but chatted with him while working. He didn't say much..really it was a one sided conversation, but you didn't mind. It was often like this with tattooing someone, but usually they were in too much pain to be able to contribute to the conversation properly. Little did you know, he was just enjoying your voice as you spoke. It was the perfect pitch to him, and was nice to listen to. Relaxing even.

Right now, you were inside the shop, sitting in the front and manning the front desk since the guy that usually did was out getting lunch for everyone at the shop. As the bell above the door jingled, you said a greeting and lifted your pencil off the sketch book you were drawing in, then raised your gaze to meet the person.

You couldn't help but smile seeing Laxus. You hadn't seen him in about a week, the last time you did being when you tattooed him. You felt a small amount of worry wash over you though. Was the skin infected? Did the color lift? Was something else wrong?

Seeing your concern, he spoke before you could

"The tattoo is fine, I came to see you for another reason." He says, walking over to you. His jacket hung over his shoulders, his arms not in it as he gazed at you. You wouldn't admit it, but you kinda missed seeing him shirtless.. he did have a very nice body after all.

He glanced to your sketch book in the desk, then looked to meet your (e/c) eyes which unknowingly made his heart skip a beat. He loved your eyes. He thought they were a lovely shade, and felt like he could stare into them all day; would he admit that? Hell. No.

"What did you need then?" You ask, giving a small hum as you stood up from behind the desk and moved around the desk to stand in front of him, crossing your arms over as you gave a small head tilt. He rubbed the back of his head and tore his eyes away for a moment, then he gave a sigh

"Nothin. Just wanted to invite you on a date with me, if you're interested." He says, quietly, like he didn't want to say it, or maybe he just didn't want anyone in the shop to hear? Hard to tell.

You couldn't help but smile at him, he almost seemed shy right now, and you loved it. Looking up at the taller male, who had to be atleast 6'3, you stepped towards him, dropping your arms and clasping your hands behind your back

"I would love to, Laxus." You tell him, and he looked back to you and gave a small smirk. You felt your heart skip a beat at that little smirk of his, and he seemed to notice, his smirk growing

"Is that so? Well, then I'll see you tonight at 7." He says, amused by your now slightly flustered state. All you could do was nod, afraid of what words would come out of your mouth if you tried to speak. This only boosted his ego further, and made the guy cockier.

He stepped towards you again, raising your chin with his finger

"What's wrong, (y/n)?" He says in a low, husky voice, leaning close to your face, his breath hitting you face..mint. he had chewed some mints before coming in, it seemed.

You felt your heart do some kind of strange beat, and your breath catch in your throat as he gazed at you, a mischievous look on his face. That is, until the bell jingled again and both your eyes darted over to your co-worker, who was holding a bag filled with sandwiches, and looked very awkward with what he just walked in on. This only increased your embarrassment, but Laxus didn't seem to mind.

Laxus turned his gaze back to you and dropped your chin, standing up straight..he still had that damn smirk on his face

"I'll meet you here tonight at 7, (y/n). See you then." He says calmly before walking out.

"What was that about??" Asked your co-worker, only to see you smile and put your hands on your cheeks, which were warm. Your co-worker chuckled quietly and shook his head, handing you a sandwich before going to hand them out to the others at the shop.

[esper-union-lounge]

A Trip With You

Xiao Yin (Azure Dragon) x Reader

Summary:

Staying in Gyrate can get a little boring, but you never have the desire to leave the city. However, Xiao Yin thought otherwise.

Tag: fluff, short fic, mild tsundere (Reader), idk what is this

There was sound everywhere. The sound of cars honking, traffic lights turning red to green, and the bustling sound of the people crossing the road. You only stood by the sidewalk, watching as people hurriedly rush to whatever places they needed to be.

Gyrate was all and all the same.

Nothing stood out to you in particular. It was a normal day in the mega-city, all except for the Esper that was following you for a while. He coughed and you turned your head around to look at him with mild concern.

Xiao Yin, a member of the Hunter's Guild, was standing next to you. A hand covering his mouth coughing up a small fit while the other fanned the fumes away.

"... The traffic here can get quite bad... The fumes got you?" you asked.

The Esper let out a soft smile as he continued to cough. A little embarrassed, he replied, "... I am just not used to so many fumes."

"The air in Greywater seems way cleaner in comparison," he continued to joke. You only nodded and turn your gaze away from him.

Once he regained his breath, Xiao Yin looked at you. His soft and sweet smile still plastered on his face and spoke, "Have you given what I said a good thought?"

You took a deep breath, delaying your answer to think of a good excuse to reject him.

"..." no sound came out of your mouth. There was a part of you that wants to accept his offer. You convinced yourself, is there much outside this city?

He saw the expression on your face and he said, "I know it will be fun. If you think about it, there are so many things the world has to offer other than Gyrate. In Grandis, as a whole."

"Like what?" you swallowed the lump in your throat.

"Well, you could visit Tangton. They built a beautiful botanical garden. It's been the talk of the town. But if you opt for something more majestic, we can watch the dunes in Utgard. They shift in shapes during different seasons."

You imagined the sight in your head. Thinking, about how it could be possible for dunes to move. You imagine yourself getting lost in the gardens, surround by bushes and plants that you have never seen before.

The proposal sounds attractive.

As you stroll along Gyrate, Xiao Yin followed. His soft and gentle voice spoke of words to convince you.

It was, at last, you stopped in your tracks and turn towards him once more. "Why are you still following me? Don't you have other business to attend to?" you pushed him away, but your eyes quiver slightly to show otherwise and Xiao Yin saw through you.

"I do, but it's not time yet." he replied, "I like walking along the streets with you. Thanks to you, I got to go to places I've never been to in Gyrate. Perhaps when you come to Greywater, I can show you around too." he smiled.

"... You are determined for me to say yes," you couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Do you like travelling that much?" you added. A smile is drawn on your lips.

"Very much. And, there's no one better to travel with than you." Xiao Yin teased, "So, what do you say?"

It has been roaming in your mind for a while ever since he proposed the idea. You were doubtful if you would budge. With his sincere voice and patience, it was his determination that swayed you.

"Fine... Yes, I'll go," you finally gave him the answer he wanted.

---------------------------------------------------

Author's note:

Idk what this is, maybe just some fluffy moments.

Xiao Yin stole my heart with his bounty stories.

(C) Esper Union Lounge

[alexithykia]

hihi wexi <33 black, yellow, n pink w/ ratio n' vennie for the ask game !!

oakie babieeeee !!! kisses chu mwah thankies 4 askin ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

tell us about your favourite memory with s/i?

uuuu oh my goodness !! with aventurine, it was the first night we did stargazing together !! daddy knows i love space n’ the stars yet i’ve never left penacony :c and while he has a task to do on penacony, he can’t take me away from penacony to see the comos !! so instead vennie took me to dream’s edge to watch the shooting stars… (｡•́︿•̀｡) i will never forget that night !! that was the night that daddy told me his real name too !!

hmm.. favourite memory with veritas… ໒꒰ྀིっ˕ -｡꒱ྀི১ probably our first academic debate against each other !! our degrees don’t exactly line with the way veritas took the stem path and i took a social science path so a debate really wasn’t wise on our behalfs because we were simply going to outdo each other in our specialised areas? but that was the day when veritas saw me get truly passionate for something and stand my ground in a debate against him !! (,,>﹏<,,) i think that may have been when he realised i’m a little smarter than i give myself credit for…

how did you and s/i meet?

aventurine and i met at the casino i (previously) worked for in penacony !! due to the level of memoria and how dangerous being constantly in the dreamscape is, i work shifts between the reverie - in reality - and a casino - in dreamscape. - aventurine might not admit it but my dreamscape co-workers told me he once asked where i was on one of my off-shift nights (,,>﹏<,,) they had to tell him i work in the real reverie running a nursery occasionally for parents who bring toddlers and young children with penacony and want to explore by themselves. it was the bartending shift after that that he approached and finally spoke to little ol’ me c:

people always think that veritas and i’s paths crossed because we’re members of the intelligentsia guild but because of how differing our degrees are, we rarely see each other within the guild unless for some sort of academic rival debate to boost each other’s egos. i actually met veritas on accident when i was visiting herta at the space station for a thesis i was writing regarding the simulated universe and the benefits it could have for planets with criminal justice systems. just as i was planning to leave a certain mundanite opened the door to her office… i was too shy to acknowledge him properly so herta forced me to talk to him… ( ˶°ㅁ°)

pda, yes or no? what about petnames/cutesy nicknames?

so it’s very commonly acknowledged that i definitely get petnames from both of them; bunny being the most common for them both !! but i refer to them both completely differently sometimes. for aventurine, he’s usually just daddy or some variation of a nickname that stems for his cornerstone name and i don’t tend to stray from that! but for veritas, i’m a tad formal c: he does get called daddy but you’re more likely to see me call him by honorifics (sir, doctor, mister) and a nickname (veri, typically) !!

on the other hand they are completely different when it comes to pda… aventurine is soooo touchy and doesn’t care about a soul who sees !! i’m often times seen on aventurine’s lap at the casino (or anywhere, really) even when there are seats available. my only seat is daddy’s lap !! meanwhile veritas is not that handsy in public, we’re usually seen under professional circumstances on behalf of the intelligentsia guild so the most i’ll get out of him is hand holding… unless someone is pushing either veritas or i’s boundaries (or both.. heh..) and then he gets a tad more possessive with the heavy pda (a looooot like diluc…)

[davnittbraes]

Why I Wrote TWILE

I just want to be clear, I’m not posting this looking for sympathy or criticism or any particular kind of attention. To be honest, I’m posting this because my therapist told me I should try being emotionally vulnerable in a safe space, which like, gross but whatever fine I’ll do it, she’s the expert I guess. 

Fine. I’m also doing this for myself. 

I guess I love self-torture. 

OKAY FINE yes I’m doing this because I want to and I’m serious, no sarcasm or deflecting jokes. 

Just me. Being emotionally vulnerable. 🤮. 

Tagging a few lovely people who have supported me and this story since the beginning or very nearly. I don’t expect you to read this, every word or at all, I just wanted to share this part of myself to better communicate why your support means so much to me, if you choose to read it. ❤️ you all

TW for depression and suicidal thoughts. Sorry 😅

@leithatnight @shirks-all-responsibilities @katareyoudrilling @ah-prick24

And if she ever crosses over to the hellsite from AO3, NumaNerraNerra.

*****

I wrote the first words of what would become The World Is Light, Embodied almost two years ago. 

I remember it very clearly. It’s one of those singular points in your life that stick to the walls of your memory, just as bright and fresh as when it happened, playing on repeat so every time you walk by it’s right there for you to watch. I’ve done that countless times now, wondering over the significance of that moment, trying to figure out why it’s so different from all the other moments of my life, especially all those moments when I wrote other stories. 

What made this one moment, this one story, so special that the memory of starting it stands out? Why does it feel like in that moment there was a shift in my very existence when life started moving in a different direction?

I’ve examined it from every possible angle trying to find the answer. 

It was around 1am. I was laying in bed, unable to sleep as I waited for what I knew would be another trip to the hospital that night. My ex-husband (though at the time we were married) has a heart disease that was slowly killing him, with no cure or treatment in sight, and for most of 2020 and 2021 we were at the hospital at least once a night. 

Well, he was at the hospital. 

It was in the middle of the pandemic, hospitals weren’t allowing any visitors, so the most I could do was drop him off at the ER doors, sit in the parking lot and wait for someone to call me. To tell me either he was all right, or he… wasn’t. If they even happened to get my number in the middle of the chaos.

That particular night, as I lay there listening to my ex grab what few minutes of sleep he could get before his heart woke him up again, I was letting my thoughts drift, picking through whatever floated to the surface of my mind, and for some reason (probably because I’m a giant SW nerd) I started piecing apart the first season of The Mandalorian, contemplating the character of Din Djarin and how beautifully complex and layered he is, how conflicted and tragic, yet despite that, a character who eventually finds some sort of happiness. 

S1 is when Din is shoved into situations where he has no choice but to make decisions. Should he betray the Guild to rescue the child? Should he take the child into his care? Should he seek help from others outside of his covert and trust people who may learn things to use against him? Ultimately, those decisions force him to face his past, present and future, and begin to discover who he truly is. 

I didn’t really see the connection then, but I think I was drawn to him because of that - here was a character who had been through so much, had shut down emotionally and forced the entire galaxy out, focused on his obligations to avoid dealing with his own pain, yet somehow, he found a tiny spark of light in the darkness. He found hope. Because he made choices that led him down a path where he could see that light. 

But the thing that drew me to him the most was the conflict of his obligation to his people - to others - and his need for self-fulfillment. Because they weren’t one and the same. 

He was morally committed to his creed but despite what he thought, it did not truly fulfill him, give him the sense of purpose that he was seeking. This is what resonated the most with me. 

Because as my ex-husband was fighting for his life, as I was sitting in parking lots at all hours of the day waiting for that phone call, as I was working every spare minute at my full-time job to pay the bills but also struggling to keep our owner-operated business from going under, as I was stumbling along the dark path with no hope in sight, I was thinking of divorce. 

And I was so deeply, unshakeably ashamed. 

Things hadn’t been good between us for years. We were never great together, playing off each other’s negative traits until it quickly became toxic, then outright abusive. But we cared about each other, and we were following those steps that we were told we should - find a partner, get married, settle down. So we did the whole song and dance, trying all the tricks to make it work - moved cities several times for a “fresh start,” bought a house, tried and failed to have kids, opened a business to, for me at least, fill that void that children might have, thinking working together to grow a business would make our relationship stronger.

But if the foundation is weak, it doesn’t matter what you build. It will always crumble, given time. 

There was no precise moment when I realized I needed to leave him. It’s like it was bubbling beneath the surface of my awareness for a long time, a familiar background hum, so when it finally came to the forefront there was no epiphany. Just a tired, defeated acknowledgment of that truth. 

I started making plans. Thinking about how I could get out, how I could save up money - all of our banking accounts were shared - and where I could go. I started planning out how I was going to tell him. 

And I began trying to bolster my self-confidence, reassure myself that I could do this, I could get out and I could make a life for myself that didn’t feel so dark and heavy. 

It took several months for me to finally start believing that rhetoric. 

Then I began looking at ads for apartments, subtly weeding through my belongings to get ready to pack, gearing myself up for the moment when I would say those words out loud and finally take the next step in my life. 

Shortly after, he almost died, the first time. 

Everything else was pushed aside as we worked through appointments and tests and procedures. Processed possible diagnoses, the implications of such.

But it was still there, in my mind, that understanding of how unhealthy our relationship really was, how desperately I needed to get out of it, through the months and eventually years of waiting for an official diagnosis.  

And what was I going to do, leave this human being who had been my partner for 10 years at a time when he was facing that deeply intrinsic fear we can all relate to?

An early death. A life incomplete. 

Even though I wanted to leave him, I still cared about him. I loved him, just not in a way that was healthy. 

So we stayed together.

As he struggled with facing his own mortality, I fought with overwhelming shame and anxiety and anger. I was furious with myself for wanting a new life while he was trying to hold onto his. What right did I have to wish for more when he was going through so much, when he needed me most? It was nauseating, every time the thought of leaving him crossed my mind. 

Which it did. Often. 

Because our crumbling foundation was not strong enough to hold up under the strain of such a serious health issue, a business that went under due to so many reasons out of our control, a global pandemic that shoved fear directly into our hearts and minds daily. We were both angry at everything, angry at the life we had thought we wanted giving us so much pain. And we took it out on each other. 

The fighting became almost non-stop, increasingly cruel and emotionally damaging. I fell into a deep depression, started searching for other ways out. Started thinking about how easy suicide would be compared to the pain of my day to day. 

I’d had suicidal thoughts before, throughout my life. And I’ve learned how insidious they are, how they can tempt so enticingly. But I’ve also learned that’s not something I truly want for myself. I rejected them as best I could. 

It wasn’t easy, though. Not when the aspects of my life that had sparked those thoughts into existence were still there. 

It only made me desperate to leave, but I was trapped by my obligation to him, my guilt and shame, and I could do nothing but rage and hate myself for even thinking of leaving him. 

And on that night almost two years ago, when I lay in bed thinking about Din Djarin who carried so much pain, about this character who was trapped in a life he never asked for and chained to vows he didn’t understand the implications of when he spoke them, how he managed to find something that gave him hope, suddenly Tionas came into being. 

This character who, like Din, had suffered and struggled and lost, but somehow found the strength to keep going. Like him, her life was day by day, pulled in different directions but never in the direction they truly needed to achieve happiness. Until they met each other. 

And I started writing. Ducked under the covers to avoid the light of my phone waking up my ex-husband - not only to avoid waking him, but also because I felt the need to hide it from him, this little jewel of hope that I’d found in the depths of my mind. He’d made fun of my love of writing too many times for me to trust him with this, and so it became my secret, a hidden niche in my life I could step in and out of whenever I wanted, take cover from everything around me and lose myself in a world that no one else knew of. 

My ex-husband did go to the hospital again that night, and as I sat in the parking lot, I kept writing. And I wrote every time I was there again. I wrote about Din and Tionas and Grogu finding each other, and finding happiness, purpose, meaning. I wrote to distract myself from waiting for that phone call from the hospital, from thinking about what my next step would be, from sinking into the cycle of self-hate and shame and desperation for freedom. 

Every line of the first draft was an attempt to focus my mind on something other than the fear and helplessness that surrounded me with every step. 

I wrote The World Is Light, Embodied to find some hope in a world that seemed so hopeless.

So when I went to post the last few chapters, I was hit, blindsided, by the realization that my source of distraction from pain, that one thing in my life that had held me up at times when all I wanted to do was fall, was ending. I couldn’t handle it, I retreated into myself after working so hard for so long to push back my shell and let others see me. It brought on more shame, disappointment in myself. 

It took time, but when I did finally work through how I was feeling, I realized… it was okay. It made sense that I felt the way I did about TWILE ending. It had been a significant part of my life for so long, I was afraid of what life would look like after it was done. 

Just like I had been afraid to leave my ex. 

I hadn’t been aware, until that moment, of how much fear I’d held onto. Fear of my ex dying, fear of leaving him and failing to find my own path, fear of giving into those suicidal thoughts. 

TWILE was my safety net, my distraction from all of that fear. Without it, what would I do? Who would I be? How could I keep going?

The answer was simple. I just… would. 

Because it wasn’t a story that kept me alive, that kept me moving forward.

I did.

I found a way to survive, by immersing myself in that imaginary world. I was capable of finding other ways to survive, no matter what I faced. 

And that realization led to another - I had done it, something I had worked toward for most of my life.

I had finished a story.

Put a piece of my soul out there for people to see, something that others had found their own personal meaning in, and I understood myself better for it. 

I had accomplished something I’d always wanted for myself, despite everything. 

Now, I sit here, writing this, alone in my tiny apartment. My ex and I split a few months ago, after several surgeries and a steady run of good health for him. After I finally found the strength to leave and move in the direction I had been looking at from afar for so long. 

So. Here I am, at the beginning of my next step, with the last chapter of TWILE complete and posted, ending the journey of those characters who had been stuck on a path that was too dark to see until they finally found a light to guide their way. 

My own journey, too. 

As I sit here, I think of the people I’ve met through this little Star Wars fanfiction, people I truly consider my friends, who have been there for me when I needed some kind words and encouragement. People that I will continue to cherish and love and grow with. 

I think of all those people who - maybe, hopefully - found some light for themselves in this story. 

And as I write this, I already know - this moment will also cling to my memory, bright and shining and clear. 

This moment is a solemn farewell to my past. Looking back at all the steps I’ve taken, whether it was crawling on my knees or running full tilt or walking steadily head held high. It’s an acknowledgment of what is behind each and every word of this story that was my light in the darkness, my way of working through hopelessness toward hope. 

To where I am today. Looking forward, to the next step. 

Where will that take me?

I don’t know. But I do know that wherever it is, I’m going to survive. And I’m going to live.

Undefeated.

[lovesick-rambles]

“I Love You Too”

commission for: @foxgirl-fluff

summary: Aerwyn comes home to find her friend, Ignazio, drunk. He drunkenly confesses their love for her, but completely forgets about it the next day.

word count: 2.4k

content warnings: 18+, minors do not interact, fingering, blow jobs, vaginal penetration, overall very fluffy sex, alcohol use

author’s note: Thank you much for trusting me with your ocs, Clae! I loved writing this for you!

banner credit: cafekitsune

The day had been long and tiring for Aerwyn, so they were insanely relieved when they returned home to the Theive’s Guild where she resided. Of course, nothing could have prepared to find her dear friend, Ignazio, drunk off his ass when she opened the front door.

“Really?” Aerwyn sighed, “I just got home.”

“Hey!” Ignazio sloppily waved, excited to see their friend home, “How-How are you?” He stuttered, struggling to keep her balance.

“Better now that I’m home.” She crossed her arms, “But, not happy that I have to deal with your drunk self.”

“I’m not that drunk!” He slurred. Aerwyn gave him a look that told him that they knew better, and Ignazio rubbed the back of his neck, “Okay, maybe I had…one too many drinks. But not that many! I swear!”

Aerwyn gave them a sweet sweet smile and wrapped one of his arms around her neck, “Alright, let’s get you to bed, okay? You should probably get some rest.”

“Ugh, fine! You don’t need to act like my mother.” Ignazio grumbled, “But I’m really not that drunk like you think! You’re just being mean.” He teased, giggling a little.

“You’re right, I’m just mean.” They let out a halfhearted laugh and gently pulled him along, “Come on, off to bed. I’m praying you won’t feel too sick tomorrow.”

“I won’t!” She said in a sing-song tone, resisting Aerwyn’s gentle nudges towards his bedroom, “I keep te-telling you, I’m not that drunk!”

Aerwyn didn’t satisfy their repetition with a response. She just wanted to get Ignazio to bed. As much as she loved him, they couldn’t stand to be around drunks. Despite this disdain, she still wanted to help her friend. They pushed against Ignazio’s resistance and led him to the bedroom. Gently, she placed him down on the bed and sighed, “Goodnight, Ignazio. Please, just get some rest, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait,” He grabbed her arm just as they turned to leave and pulled them back, “Aery, hey, c-can I tell you something?”

“It can’t wait until tomorrow?” She pursed her lips at him. They were incredibly tired and just wanted to get some rest.

“Please?” They pleaded, “It’ll be quick, okay?”

She sighed and sat on the bed next to him, “Okay. What is it?”

Ignazio sat up and looked Aerwyn in the eyes, hesitating a bit before confessing, “I…I love you. I really, really love you Aery.”

She tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, “You love me? You mean like a friend?”

He shook his head, “No, no. I’m in love with you. I’ve had a fat crush on you for…God, I don’t know. For forever, maybe? I’ve just had a crush for a while on you a-and I’m just so, so very in love with you.”

They both paused, waiting for the other to speak first. After a few silent moments, Aerwyn stood up and made Ignazio lay back down, “Get some rest. We’ll talk more tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, but I love you.” They repeated, “I really, really, love you.”

She smiled and planted a soft, loving kiss on his forehead, “See you tomorrow.”

“G’night.” He mumbled before flipping over, facing away from Aerwyn. She stared at them for a short while before heading to bed herself, his words buzzing around in her head. That was all just drunk talk, right? There’s no way he’d admit to something so vulnerable, especially not so suddenly. But, people do say that drunk words are sober thoughts. She crawled into her bed and stared at the ceiling, these thoughts still tormenting her.

“Well,” Aerwyn thought to herself while pulling the covers up, “I can figure it out tomorrow when he’s sober.” They turned on their side and nuzzled into her pillow before sleep slowly took over.

The next morning was not very kind to Ignazio. He was greeted with a splitting headache and a stiff neck from sleeping in an uncomfortable position. They groaned as he rolled out of bed, leaning against their nightstand for support. He stumbled out of his bedroom, cradling his aching head. He then took a seat at their dinner table, resting their elbows on the table and leaning on it. Their head throbbed and she squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to relieve some tension.

“Good morning!” Aerwyn chirped, taking a seat across from them, “I’m surprised to see you up so early, especially after last night.”

“Yeah,” Ignazio wearily lifted his head up to look at her, “I feel terrible.”

“Do you remember anything from last night?” They asked bluntly, not wanting to beat around the bush.

His heart stopped for a moment and their eyes got wide, “...No? Why? Did I do something?”

“Well, no, You didn’t do anything, really.” Aerwyn confessed. It was a half-truth after all.

“I clearly did for you to be asking me about it.” He frowned, panicking now, “Come on, was it really that bad that you don’t want to tell me?”

“It wasn’t anything bad! I promise you!” She giggled awkwardly, wondering if now was the right time to talk about this.

“Then tell me what I did!” They groaned, “I seriously have no memory of anything that happened last night. Just tell me so I can apologize for it. Whatever ‘it’ is.”

Aerwyn thought for a little bit, resting her chin in their hand. Ignazio stared at them nervously and tapped his foot impatiently. A few minutes of silence passed, both parties staring at each other and not knowing what to say for a bit. Finally, she broke the silence, “Let’s make a deal.”

“A deal? Really?” His shoulders slumped, “You won’t just tell me?”

“If you go mushroom hunting with me today, I will!” They beamed at him.

“Are you serious?” Ignazio stared at her in disbelief, “Please just tell me what I did if it really wasn’t that bad. We can go mushroom hunting together any time!”

“I know!” She got up from her spot and stretched, “But this makes it more fun!”

“If you think that doing this to me is fun, you’re cruel.”

“Oh, come on! Don’t be so dramatic!” They nudged his shoulder, “We’ll pack lunch and eat outside too! We’ll make a whole day of it. I promise you, we’ll have fun.”

“And you’ll tell me what happened?” They furrowed his eyebrows, “You promise?”

“I promised already!” Aerwyn held up her right hand, “I swear it.”

He hung his head and let out an exasperated sigh, “...Fine. It’s a deal.”

She smiled at him, “Alright! Get ready, I want to leave sooner rather than later.”

Ignazio only hummed a response as Aerwyn left the table to go get ready. They stayed seated at their table, mentally preparing himself for whatever today held. After taking a few deep breaths, his headache faded and they stood up to get ready, too. Silently, he got dressed and grabbed a bag to pack with any essentials they needed. Once she was ready, he headed out to find Aerwyn waiting for him by the front door.

“Ready?” They asked, looking excited.

He shrugged, “As I’ll ever be.” He opened the door open for her and gestured for her to leave first. She nodded in response and left first with Ignazio trailing closely behind. For a bit, they exchanged very timid small talk before slowly running out of mundane things to say to each other. They were both trapped in an embarrassed silence for the rest of their hike, both of them holding their breaths. Ignazio would look over to Aerwyn every now and then, trying to read her face and see if it would give away how bad his actions were the night before. She seemed to notice his gaze but avoided it at the same time, shifting her eyes over to the opposite direction as soon as they felt his glance on her.

“Fuck, was I that bad last night?” They thought to himself, “She won’t even look at me. Oh God, why can’t I remember anything?”

These thoughts plagued him for the rest of their walk until Aerwyn held their hand up as a way to tell them to stop. They arrived at the forest where they planned to hunt for mushrooms. Ignazio was surprised by how short the trip felt while he was running laps in their head. Aerwyn cleared her throat and turned to them, “Why don’t we stop here for a little bit for lunch? I’m a bit hungry.”

“Oh,” They paused, feeling hungry himself, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

Much like their hike, lunch was also dead silent. They sat side by side, only looking ahead while they ate. The only sound to be heard was the soft rustling of leaves that shook in the warm breeze.

“Ignazio?” Aerwyn finally broke the silence, looking over at them.

“Yes?” He swallowed and froze, their heart pounding.

She hesitated a little bit before taking a deep breath, “I love you too.”

He stared blankly at her. Did he hear them right? They tilted his head to the side, confused, “You…what?”

“Last night, that’s what you did.” They giggled nervously, “You confessed to me while you were drunk. You said that you were madly in love with me. So, there’s my end of the deal and um, I feel the same about you, too.”

His breath hitched and paused, thinking about everything that was said just now. Ignazio almost convinced himself that this was all some strange, perfect dream. Without thinking, they cupped Aerwyn’s face in his hands and kissed her. She went stiff, not knowing what to do or how to react. They wanted to hug him, but she was afraid of moving too quickly after confessing her very strong feelings for him. But, as if it knew her exact thoughts, her tail acted for her and snaked around Ignazio’s waist, pulling him closer to her. He chuckled a little against her lips, refusing to break the kiss. Aerwyn slowly wrapped their arms around their neck and gave in to touching him back, her tail still wrapped tightly around him. Things quickly went from innocent to passionate as Ignazio moved their kisses down from her lips to Aerwyn’s neck, gently kissing and nipping at her skin. They let out a soft moan and tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her neck. He started to alternate between leaving loving kisses and sucking and biting her, leaving a trail of small, red hickies. The sensation sent shocks of pleasure throughout Aerwyn’s body, making her crave more and more. As Ignazio continued to pay attention to her neck, his hands explored her body. They gently massaged her chest, taking her moans and whimpers as encouragement to continue. One hand worked on rubbing her nipple while the other trailed down her stomach and snuck underneath her clothing. She let out a shaky breath as they rubbed her already wet pussy, leaning into their touch more as he did this. Slowly, his fingers curled inside of her eliciting more lewd noises from Aerwyn. They never removed themselves from her neck and continued to cover it in sweet kisses and noticeable hickies. Her pleasure was so important to Ignazio, it was all he really cared about. Their moans and gasps told him that they were doing a perfect job of pleasuring her. After fingering her for some time, Ignazio pulled out of her and admired them, falling more in love with Aerwyn as they gazed at her flushed face. Without breaking eye contact, they licked her wetness off of his fingers.

“...Stand up, please.” Aerwyn whispered, letting go of him. Without questioning it, they stood up and waited for her next move. They practically tore off Ingazio’s pants, revealing his throbbing erection. She stared at it, salivating a bit at the sight. Then, she looked up and made eye contact with her new lover as she slowly took him in her mouth. He let out a quiet hiss and placed their hand on her head to steady himself on. Aerwyn hummed against their cock and started to bob up and down, gradually picking up pace. They let out little “I love you’s” as she sucked his cock along with babbles of praise. She licked long, sloppy stripes up Iganzio’s member, their tail once again wrapping around his legs and pulling him towards her. Her tail pulled his cock into her mouth more and he instinctively bucked his hips into her, causing both of them to moan at the sensation. After what felt like an eternity of bliss, Ignazio gently pulled Aerwyn’s head away and gave her a loving gaze. He knelt down and started to take her clothes off with her doing the same not long after. Once they were both naked, they paused, taking each other in. They found the other to be insanely beautiful, amazed that they got this far so quickly. He gently laid her down and peppered kisses over every inch of skin they could plant kisses on. He then held his cock, positioning it before Aerwyn’s sex.

“Ready?” They whispered, kissing her again. She nodded and kissed him back. He slowly inserted himself inside of her, both of them gasping in surprise at the new feeling. Their hand found hers and interlocked as he slowly started to thrust in them. Aerwyn squeezed his hand and melted into his touch, falling more and more in love with them at every thrust. He went back and forth between kissing their lips and kissing her neck.

“I love you,” He murmured against her skin, “I love you so much. You’re so beautiful, I love you.” They continued to repeat how much he loved her as he picked up speed and found a comfortable pace. Aerwyn wrapped her arms around their neck and fervently kissed him back, telling them that she adored him too. Ignazio edged closer to his orgasm, silently wishing for this moment to never end. Once again, he praised her with a plethora of kisses and confessions of his love before pulling out quickly, cumming all over her stomach. His seed was warm against her skin and she whined at the feeling, loving how it felt. For a while, the only noise the either of them made were soft pants, trying desperately to catch their breaths after such an intense moment. Finally, Ignazio helped clean Aerwyn off and kissed her one more time.

“I love you.” He smiled, leaning their forehead against hers, “So, so much.”

“I love you too.” They smiled back, sighing happily, “So, so much.”

[genshinarchives]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇. 𝟏𝟐

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐 : 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐔𝐍𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 : Something terrible is happening to the adventurers of Mondstadt, and you recall that you had solved a similar crisis many years ago in a remote Inazuman village.

𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐒 : Aether, Albedo, Baizhu, Bennett, Chongyun, Dainsleif, Diluc, Kaeya, Kazuha, Osial, Razor, Venti, Xiao, Xingqiu, Zhongli

𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 : Romance, hurt/comfort, reverse harem

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 : N/A

𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 : N/A

𝐍𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟏

"Does it sting?" Noelle asked as she delicately cleaned the wound on her neck.

"I'm used to the pain," (y/n) replied. The maid-knight pursed her lips and continued her work. After disinfecting the cut, she picked up a roll of fresh gauze and was about to dress her wound when she noticed a peculiar mark. She blinked and then squinted as a purple symbol glowed ominously over the laceration. Just as she was about to address the strange mark to (y/n), it disappeared as quickly as it came, surprising Noelle.

Was she just imagining things?

'Perhaps the Honorary Knight is right about me needing more rest,' she thought whilst dressing (y/n)'s wound.

Later on in the afternoon, (y/n) decided to visit Albedo in Mondstadt. It has been a long time since their last encounter, and she wanted to apologise to him for never showing up again despite having agreed to become his assistant. She hoped that he'll understand her reason for her absence. When she entered the city, she noticed that the people looked anxious, as if some sort of misfortune had struck the populace. She arched an eyebrow, wondering what had influenced their gloomy demeanour.

She then spotted a familiar woman with light blue hair speaking to a shorter girl with long, dark brown hair wearing a headband topped with a large red bow by the fountain up ahead. Judging by her solemn expression, Eula seemed to be having a serious conversation with the brunette. (Y/n) decided to approach Eula to ask her what's going on, and the Captain of the Reconnaissance Company noticed her immediately when she was only a few steps away from them.

"Oh, it's you. It's been a while since we last saw each other, (y/n)," Eula said, nodding at her in acknowledgement, "I hope you've been doing well."

"Likewise. Though I wanted to ask, did something happen?" (y/n) asked, sounding a bit concerned, "There seemed to be unrest among the people." Before Eula could give her a response, the brunette beat her to it.

"A lot of the adventurers from the Adventurer's Guild have been going missing lately! And whenever they're found, they've all fallen into a coma-like state. The hospital has its hands full trying to take care of their comatose patients," she answered, sighing dejectedly.

(Y/n) cupped her chin, finding the situation the girl described familiar. She was sure that she had come across a similar problem in Inazuma before meeting Kazuya...

The brunette suddenly straightened her back and did a salute, drawing (y/n)'s attention. "By the way, I'm Outrider Amber of the Knights of Favonius! Forgive me for not introducing myself earlier... (Y/n), was it?" When (y/n) nodded, a beam split Amber's face in half. "It's nice to finally meet you! Kaeya, Eula and Albedo have mentioned your name a few times to me."

(Y/n) perked up at Albedo's name. "Speaking of Albedo, do you know where I can find him? I'd like to give him a formal apology for something that I failed to do."

Eula folded her arms over her chest and said, "He recently returned from his camp in Dragonspine an hour ago, so he should be in his office right now, most likely sketching."

(Y/n)'s head dipped forward in a small bow. "Thank you, Eula. And perhaps we'll cross paths again in the future, Amber."

Amber waved at (y/n) cheerfully. "Yeah! See you around!"

When the (h/c)-haired woman arrived at the Knights of Favonius Headquarters, she was stopped by one of the guards standing outside.

"Please state your business," he said.

"I'm here to see the Captain of the Investigation Team, Albedo," she replied. Before the man could open his mouth again to say something, a familiar voice interjected. Blinking, (y/n)'s eyes then flickered up to see a certain Cavalry Captain walking outside, and her entire body tensed at the sight of him.

"Let her through. I know her," Kaeya uttered as he stood on top of the stairs, smiling down at her charmingly, "Come on in, (y/n). Albedo is inside his office."

As the guard saluted Kaeya out of respect for his superior, (y/n) reluctantly ascended the stairs to follow Kaeya inside the headquarters. The moment they entered the fancy building, he turned around to face her with a more genuine smile.

"You don't have to be so stiff around me. No funny tricks from now on, I promise," he told her, letting out an awkward chuckle when she shot him a look of doubt, "I guess it's understandable that you don't find me trustworthy after what I pulled on you twice."

"You attempted to kidnap me," she said matter-of-factly.

His smile became tinged with nervousness. "I have no intentions of doing that anymore. Please believe me when I say that I don't want to hurt you in any way." After a short pause, he quietly added, "I just want to know what kind of person you are before I decide for myself what I'm going to do."

She knitted her eyebrows together, puzzled. "Pardon?"

"I'd like to find out whether the woman in front of me is (y/n) or... another person," Kaeya clarified, tilting his head down to meet her eyes. The more he thought about his mission, the more conflicted he felt - especially since he knew that it was thanks to her his bloodline survived the cataclysmic event that destroyed Khaenri'ah. It would be wrong of him to forcefully put her on the battlefield again when she had saved a single life that brought forth many more into this world.

But right now, is she the human (y/n) or the weapon Gungnir?

"I don't understand," she murmured, perplexed by his words.

"Nevermind what I said. It's not important." With a closed-eye smile, he then held up the flat beige gift box that she didn't notice he had been holding onto all this time before presenting it to her. "Master Diluc had asked me to give this to you when I went to Angel's Share earlier in the morning. He didn't tell me what was inside, so I can't answer any questions about its contents." When Kaeya saw (y/n) staring at Diluc's gift skeptically, he let out a soft sigh. "Won't you make a man happy and accept his gift? You're constantly on his mind, you know."

The sudden revelation took her by surprise. "Diluc thinks about me?"

"Oh, no honourifics? Seems like you two are a lot closer than I thought." Laughing airily, he pushed the gift box into her arms before turning on his heels and sauntering away. "Albedo's office is on the second floor. Take the stairs and then turn left."

She stared at Kaeya as he left the headquarters, baffled by the unexpected shift in his demeanour. He had treated her with suspicion when they first met, and now he's... trying to act friendly with her? Expelling a deep sigh, she then cast her gaze to the gift box he had handed to her. The box looked so pretty that she almost didn't want to open it.

"I wonder what Diluc got for me?" she quietly mused, carefully undoing the satin ribbon. When she lifted the lid, she saw rows of colourful circles and two tiny brushes inside. She didn't really know what it's supposed to be and assumed that it was a paint set.

'But I don't know how to paint... Is he indirectly telling me to practice?' she thought, her eyebrows furrowing. Closing the lid, (y/n) decided to finish her business with Albedo first before figuring out what to do with Diluc's gift. Upon finding Albedo's office, she lifted a hand from her side to knock on the door when it suddenly swung open, revealing a surprised alchemist.

"(Y/n)? Why are you here?" he asked, having not expected to see her again after their first meeting. He was sure that she would retract her words and refuse to visit him again, yet her presence before him at the moment proved all of his thoughts wrong.

"I came here to apologise to you for never showing up again despite having agreed to become your assistant. I wasn't allowed to leave Dawn Winery due to personal reasons. Since I'm living with Aether now, I can assist you at any time," she replied, smiling apologetically.

The blond folded his arms over his chest. "That's alright. You may forget what we agreed on previously - there's no need for you to dedicate yourself to being my aide."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened by a fraction. "May I ask why?"

There was a brief moment of silence. "After Kaeya took you away on that day, I had another chat with him when he returned to the headquarters. I've... realised the error in my treatment of you."

She was puzzled by his words and struggled to understand why he thought that he had treated her badly; it's not as if he was performing an experiment on her... right? Albedo saw the confusion in her expression and cleared his throat.

"At any rate, you are no longer obliged to help me with my experiments. Technically, I'm not allowed to involve civilians in such affairs," he said before flashing her a minuscule smile, "However, nobody said that having you visit me as a guest is not permissible." Stepping aside, he then beckoned her to enter his office. "Please come inside."

A wave of relief washed over her when Albedo indirectly admitted that he would still welcome her, regardless of the limitations. Although he knew the truth about her, he wasn't hostile towards or suspicious of her, and was more on the curious side. She felt oddly comfortable in his presence as his calm demeanour was akin to Dainsleif's.

As she walked inside, he asked her, "What happened to your neck?"

(Y/n)'s hand immediately flew up to loosely wrap itself around her throat. "It's just small wound."

"May I have a look?" he inquired as he approached to stand in front of her. She hesitated for a moment, but eventually unwound the bandages around her neck for him. He arched an eyebrow, seeing no injury of the sort blemishing her skin. "If there was a cut here, all traces it seem to have disappeared." He subconsciously brushed his fingers down the side of her neck, sending shivers down her spine.

"My creators bound a spell to my physical body some time after I was born. From what I was told by a dear friend of mine, the spell, among other things, greatly enhances my regenerative abilities. Although I cannot regrow my limbs, I heal faster than normal humans. I can even survive injuries that are considered fatal thanks to this spell," she explained, lowering her gaze solemnly, "It made my body incredibly durable for intense battles, allowing me to fight until I completely break down."

Albedo hummed pensively. "The ancient alchemists of Khaenri'ah certainly did commit themselves to fully weaponising you. A pseudo-Archon created from an artificial Transcendant gene... How fascinating." Capturing her chin in a gentle grip, he then tilted her head up, the corners of his lips rising into a smile. "You don't have to worry about fighting on the battlefield here. I did tell you that you're no longer in Khaenri'ah, did I not?"

"Ah... Yes," (y/n) said, blinking.

"What do you have there?" he asked, releasing her. He took a step back, eyeing the beige gift box in her grasp.

"Oh, this is a gift I received from Diluc. I think it's a paint set," she answered, switching her attention the box she was holding.

"You think it's a paint set? Mind if I see what's inside?"

Nodding, she handed the gift box over to the blond, whose eyes widened slightly when he lifted the lid. "This is not a paint set, (y/n). It's makeup."

(Y/n) cocked her head to one side quizzically with an eyebrow raised. "Makeup? What's that?"

Spinning on his heels, he walked over to his desk and pulled his chair out before inviting her to sit down. "Come over here and I'll show you."

She promptly did as she was told and took a seat on his chair. He then picked up one of the tiny brushes and chose a colour as he pressed the tips of his fingers under her chin to angle her face up for a better view of it.

"Putting makeup on a person is like painting on a canvas. Makeup is basically art," he began, chuckling softly at the puzzled look she gave him, "Please close your eyes and trust me."

The (h/c)-haired woman stared at Albedo as he patiently waited for her to close her eyes. After a few seconds have passed, she lowered her eyelids, and he started to apply eye shadow on them. The gentle strokes of the brush felt soothing against her skin; it was like a lullaby that she could feel.

"You're naturally beautiful, so there's actually no need for you to wear makeup," he uttered, "However, makeup can turn you into a different person, even if you're only wearing a little bit of it." Once he was done, he put the brush back inside the box, closed the lid and then told her to open her eyes. "You probably won't feel any different right now, but I'm sure Aether will be pleasantly surprised to see you if you went home like this."

"I don't exactly know what you just did to my face, but thank you," (y/n) said.

His gaze softened. "You're welcome. This was an enjoyable way to practice my art skills-"

"Mr Albedo!" Their moment was suddenly interrupted when Sucrose burst into his office, appearing extremely panicked. The ends of her green tresses were singed, as if something had exploded in her face, and there were also small blood stains on her uniform.

Albedo was immediately alarmed and asked, "What's the matter, Sucrose?"

"The blood samples exploded!" Sucrose exclaimed, flailing her arms frantically, "I slowly added the pyro slime condensate to the samples like you said, a-and an overload reaction happened!"

"I see," he murmured, cupping his chin before speaking up, "I'll be there in a few. For now, please return to the lab and clean up any broken equipment."

"Y-yes sir!" Bowing quickly, she then scampered out of his office to clean up the mess in the laboratory. As Albedo got ready to leave, (y/n) rose to her feet and went to stand beside him.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked. He turned around to face her and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it. The experiment is not as dangerous as it sounds," he replied as he picked a single cecilia from the vase on his desk. He then slipped the flower behind her ear, his hand sliding down to gingerly cup her cheek. "I'll see you next time, (y/n)." Flashing her another smile, he retracted his hand and soon walked out of his office, leaving a flustered (y/n) behind.

Inside the Favonius laboratory, Albedo scanned the observation notes Sucrose had jotted down during the experiment that he put her in charge of this morning. His eyes flickered up to meet her nervous amber pair.

"So you're saying that the blood samples were already contaminated with elemental energy?" Albedo inquired, handing the papers back to her.

"Y-yes! Electro and Pyro, specifically. But the concentration of Electro energy is higher than the concentration of Pyro energy by a slim margin," she answered.

He lowered his eyelids halfway as he folded his arms over his chest, trying to come up with a plausible theory that could explain the strange trait of (y/n)'s blood. If the blood inside her body contains a mixture of Electro and Pyro energy, could it be possible that she has a Vision implanted near her heart? Assuming that's true, why did the alchemists involved in Project: Gungnir choose that specific area?

'If the Electro energy exists in slightly higher concentrations, then it's possible that she possesses an Electro Vision. But what is the source of the Pyro energy?' he thought. He doubted that she's able to manipulate the elements without a medium, and it's unlikely that she was taught how to fuse two elements together.

His eyes widened when realisation dawned on him.

"Memories," he whispered, recalling her previous words.

"I don't know who I am. The memories that I always dream about... I-I don't even know if they're mine!"

He covered his mouth with a hand, suddenly feeling sick in the stomach at the other theory his mind just conjured up.

"They couldn't have... Did they harvest the brain of a dead Vision user and revive it inside a stable vessel?" he mumbled. The possibility was not far-fetched; if the Vision implanted in her body belonged to that Vision user, an anomaly might have occurred when the empty Vision lit up with Electro because the brain remembered its original host as a Pyro Vision user, causing the Vision to resonate with Pyro too.

(Y/n) might as well be the reincarnation of a Vision user who died centuries ago, and that Vision user must not have been an ordinary person if their brain was going to be used to create a puppet god.

❀

(Y/n) decided to explore the city of Mondstadt since she never got the chance to do it properly before. She might as well try to find out more about the comatose adventurers while she's here too - and if her guess is correct, she might be able to help them wake up. After all, she did solve a similar crisis in Inazuma and her knowledge may prove to be useful. As she was searching for the hospital that Amber spoke of, she crossed paths with Kaeya once again. Before she could run off in the other direction however, he had already noticed her and called her name.

"(Y/n), wait!" he exclaimed, clasping her elbow and pulling her back. He kept a firm grip on her arm to prevent her from escaping. "I know I'm unpleasant to be around, but please allow me to apologise to you for what I've done." Her posture didn't relax at all, and he continued to persist. "I'm sorry. I was rude to you and didn't act like a proper member of the Knights of Favonius. One chance to fix my mistakes is all I ask for."

She stared at him, scanning his face for any signs of deception; Kaeya appeared to be genuine about wanting to apologise to her. Diluc had given her a chance to prove that she wasn't a threat, so it would only be fair if she did the same to others, right? With a long, drawn-out sigh, her shoulders slowly relaxed and she nodded.

"Alright," she quietly said, prompting him to let go of her.

"Thank you." Flashing her his signature smile, he nodded in the direction of Good Hunter. "You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Let's eat at Good Hunter - it'll be my treat."

(Y/n) warily followed the Cavalry Captain to the small restaurant and took a seat whilst he went to Sara to place their orders. Since (y/n) wasn't native to Mondstadt, she wasn't familiar with the local food and trusted him to decide what they should have for lunch. Once he was done, he sauntered over to the table and sat down across from her.

"Before I tell you anything, I'd like to formally apologise for my behaviour towards you in the past. As the Cavalry Captain of the Favonius Knights, I should have been more respectful towards you," he began, folding his arms atop the table, "The truth is... I know all about you. Where you came from, and what you were made to become."

(Y/n) gazed at him, and for a moment an image of the little girl she saved from perishing with Khaenri'ah overlapped with his figure. His words confirmed her belief that he was her descendant.

'So her bloodline survived... I'm glad that I was able to preserve another life,' she thought, sighing internally.

"It's thanks to you that my ancestor survived. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now," he said, slightly tilting his head to one side.

'Unfortunately, her descendants wish to use you as a catalyst for their plans,' he thought, averting his gaze. He wasn't sure if he should tell her this as he was afraid of being pushed away by her; he didn't want what happened between him and Diluc to repeat itself. However, he knew that he would eventually have to spill the truth to her one day.

As silence settled around the pair, Sara approached their table with the food Kaeya had ordered earlier and set the plates in front of them.

"Enjoy your meal! Let me know if there is anything else I can get you," she said before walking away. The two began to eat their food quietly, and after a moment (y/n) spoke up, drawing his attention.

"I heard that the adventurers who go missing are always found in a comatose state."

Kaeya let out a soft hum. "That's correct, and there's one interesting detail. According to the reports I've received, the comatose adventurers were found in domains. If they're in pairs or small groups, they're always found together - it's as if they were arranged in a way that would make it easy for something to surround them. One of the knights also found a strange katana with a black blade."

A feeling of uneasiness gnawed at her stomach. "I don't think those adventurers are in a coma. They're trapped in an endless dream that fulfills their desires and are unable to wake up as a result."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" he asked, genuinely surprised at how specific she was.

The (h/c)-haired woman was silent as memories of the half-mazoku she encountered in Inazuma flashed before her eyes. Although centuries have passed and she no longer remembered his name, she could never forget his snow-white hair and single silver horn protruding from the left side of his head; even the mere thought of his piercing red eyes sent chills down her spine.

"Many years ago, I encountered an evil demon born from a human mother in Inazuma. He created a red mist that surrounded an entire village, effectively putting its inhabitants in a deep slumber to make it easier for him to devour their flesh. They were trapped in a dream that they desired the most in life, so it was impossible for me to wake them up," she answered in a low voice, "They were only able to wake up after I destroyed one of his swords that controlled the mist. All of his swords looked identical though, and I had a hard time figuring out which one it was." She then paused and looked at him right in the eye. "You said the katana has a black blade, right? The demon's swords also had black blades. I'm sure that I beheaded him during our fight, so perhaps someone had inherited his technique and is threatening Mondstadt for reasons we have yet to know."

Kaeya mulled over her words carefully. "I see... What do you suggest we should do then?"

"Mobilise your men outside of the city to search the surrounding area for any black katana."

"And have them destroyed on sight?"

"Yes."

A corner of his lips quirked up. "Thank you for your insight, (y/n). You know, should consider joining the Knights of Favonius - I can see you being assigned to the Reconnaissance Company under Eula."

"I'll pass," (y/n) quickly said, setting her fork and knife aside, "Anyway, thank you for treating me to lunch."

"Leaving so soon?" he asked, and she didn't miss the subtle disappointment in his tone, "I don't think this is enough for a proper apology... Ah, how about this? Let's go on a day trip to Liyue tomorrow. It's going to be the weekend, and I'm sure the Acting Grand Master will approve of my request for a day off."

He had her attention the moment he mentioned Liyue. Liyue should be where Xiao is, right? Although there's a small chance that she'll bump into Morax, that won't matter once she meets the adeptus in her dreams. She has questions that can only be answered by him.

'We fought briefly in Guyun Stone Forest, but I'm sure he was just following orders. He could have killed me and he didn't,' she thought, lowering her gaze to her empty plate.

"Very well. We'll visit Liyue tomorrow," she replied, nodding.

"That's great. I can't wait to spend more time with you," he said with a grin.

❀

(Y/n) did not expect to reunite with Venti so soon when she returned to Aether's Serenitea Pot. Apparently, Venti had not anticipated them meeting as well and gaped at her in shock as he stood in the middle of the main hall. He looked the same as he did in the past - a bard clad in green with the flowers representing his country adorning his outfit. A shadow was cast over her eyes, and before the Anemo Archon could properly comprehend what was happening, he was pinned against the wall with multiple lightning projectiles holding him up by his clothes.

"(Y/n)-"

"Silence."

Venti immediately shut his mouth at her order. Ripping the cecilia out of her hair, she threw it on the floor and proceeded to crush the flower under her foot.

"You betrayed me," she hissed, summoning one of her black polearms.

"W-wait! I'll tell you everything I know if you let me explain myself!" he exclaimed, panicking. She approached him slowly, but as she got closer, he could see the fury in her expression gradually morphing into hurt. This caused his insides to twist with guilt as he knew very well how his decision in the past had impacted her emotionally - but he didn't regret it, as it did give her another chance to live.

"Why did you do it?" (y/n) asked quietly, "Why did you help Morax seal me underground? Did you know how hard it was for me to keep myself sane for five agonising centuries?"

He bit his bottom lip.

"I'm so sorry, (y/n). There was no other way for me to protect you. I swear I had no intentions of seriously harming you, so please believe me," he implored desperately. He hesitated to utter his next words but since there was never a right time to wait, he decided to take the risk. "Celestia ordered the Archons to kill you, but I couldn't bring myself to do it because... I-I love you. So if I had the choice and power, I would have done everything I could to keep you safe."

She faltered, caught completely off-guard by his abrupt confession. "What?" She didn't believe him. There's no way an Archon would fall for a Transcendant. That's what she thought, yet... Venti's eyes shone with utmost sincerity that she almost felt inclined to believe his words.

"My feelings for you never got lost with the flow of time. I care about you so much that I was willing to enter a contract with Morax to ensure that your life would be spared," he continued, "He could have ended your life on the spot with his stone spears, but he agreed to petrify you instead on the condition that your stone statue would be preserved in Liyue."

She was struggling to wrap her head around the truth. All this time, she thought that Venti was never on her side to begin with, but he was only trying to protect her from Celestia in his own way.

"A contract is supposed to benefit both parties," (y/n) stated, realising that something was not adding up, "Morax had no benefit from this contract. Are you lying to me?"

He quickly shook his head. "That's not true! Your original body belonged to an adeptus who was cherished by him. Although she was Xiao's lover, Morax developed feelings for her as well." He paused for a moment to analyse her dumbfounded expression. To be honest, even Venti was confused when Morax revealed the truth about (y/n) to him, and wondered how the Geo Archon knew that the adeptus who died unexpectedly had been reborn in an artificial body. "I don't know all the details but... he told me that you're the reincarnation of adeptus (y/n)."

(Y/n)'s eyes were blown wide as she was in complete and utter shock, and her weapon disappeared from her hand. So in her past life, she was one of Liyue's adepti and Xiao's lover? And her dreams about Xiao... were actually the memories of her past life?

"Wh-what... What happened to my original body? What happened to the original (y/n)?" she asked, clenching her fists, "Why did she... Why did she die, only to be reborn as me...?"

Did adeptus (y/n) die in Khaenri'ah?

"I don't understand. Nothing makes sense to me anymore," she whispered, gripping her head with both hands. The lightning projectiles pinning Venti to the wall flashed out of existence as she crumpled to the floor. Kneeling down to her level, the Anemo Archon gently grasped her hands before pulling her towards him.

"Nothing may make sense right now, but I can tell you that you're the (y/n) I fell in love with," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I haven't forgiven you," she told him, placing her hands on his chest to push him away - but he simply tightened his arms around her.

"I know. I'm not going to give up though, because that's what I promised myself."

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟑

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 : @smoochi-modest @ningguanglover @bobaducky @laugh-like-the-moon @selinatherealname​ @otomefan @xiaoslilpogchamp @phoenixdaneko @lesmouche @electr0m1ko @lucy-roo @melkxsh @love-letters-4-u​ @hilynnss​ @noodleshark420​ @xioseu​ @muzanscumslut

[moonlit-reveriee]

Hey there Moon, if your requests are still open, could you do a C!Techno x Female! Reader who’s a total badass with weapons? Like she’s quick and agile with a bow and sword?

Hope you have a wonderful day/night! ^^

A Lover, and a Fighter

technoblade x fem!reader

this story was really fun to write, and i think it came out pretty cute. thank you for your request, and your patience. i hope you enjoy!

content warning // SFW, mention of drinking alcohol, description of fighting (no mention of blood or injury)

listen to this while you read: Notos by The Oh Hellos

───※ ·❆· ※───

***this story takes place during & after the revolution against Dante, with the headcanon that Hypixel takes the form of a medieval kingdom within the same universe as the dsmp***

It had been a long time since Techno had visited Hypixel, and even longer since he had taken the time to observe any of the fighters being trained there. He wasn’t surprised to see many unfamiliar faces amongst the crowds battling against Dante. But one figure in particular grabbed his attention.

As he soared through the air, launched upwards by the shockwaves of Dante’s movements, he noticed someone standing on top of a nearby building. A warrior with bow and arrow held upwards to the sky, their aim remaining steady despite the tremors that shook the earth. They leapt to the ground, swiftly pulling out a sword and began chopping down several of Dante’s goons with a single swipe.

Even in the heat of battle, he couldn’t help but be impressed. There was a deadly accuracy to all of their movements. It showed tremendous skill, and dedication to honing their abilities.

Once Dante had been defeated, Techno stayed behind to aid in Hypixel’s recovery. He walked around the battlefield strewn with debris. He shook the hand of every revolutionary he could find, secretly searching for the warrior he had seen upon the rooftops.

After a while, he was able to spot them in the crowds. A woman helping clear rubble from the destroyed community center, familiar bow and sword strapped across her back.

“Thank you for your aid in the revolution”, he said as he approached, offering a hand for her to take. She accepted it with a grip strong enough to rival his own.

“I would do anything to rid Hypixel of Dante’s corruption”, she spoke with confidence. She released his hand and turned her attention back to the rubble, lifting a wooden beam over her shoulder with ease.

“I noticed the way you fought”, he continued, bending over to pick up a piece of broken cobblestone, “you seem very skilled.”

She glanced at him from the side, mouth curving upwards into a very slight smirk.

“That’s quite the compliment coming from the blood god himself.”

“I understand good fighting when I see it”, he said with a shrug. She squinted her eyes at him, almost suspicious.

“It would be foolish of me to turn down such a compliment”, she said as she walked off towards the pile of discarded wood. He chased after her, watching her drop the beam off her shoulders with a heavy thud.

“What is your name?”, he asked when she turned to face him. She paused, quickly looking I’m up and down. She seemed skeptical of his interest in her, and maybe that was fair.

“y/n”, she said, crossing her arms.

“Would you like to duel, y/n?”, he blurted out impulsively. Her eyes widened, noticing the way he was blushing out of embarrassment.

“Are you flirting with me, Sir Blade?”, mischievous grin spreading across her face.

He sputtered, blush deepening on his cheeks while she laughed boisterously.

“Let’s clean up first”, she clapped an armored hand over his shoulder with a loud metal clank, “meet me at the duels arena in a few days.” She walked past him, leaving him to twist around and watch her back as she left.

Techno ended up seeing her again before their duel. Members of the revolution were meeting in a local tavern to celebrate, and he found her lounging in a quiet corner of the bar. Tankard in her hand, she happily watched the other members of the guild drunkenly trip over themselves. He didn’t approach her, at least not at first.

Later in the evening, a man sidled up to her table. Techno couldn’t hear what he was saying, but it seemed like she was trying to politely shoo him away. Clearly drunk out of his mind, he reached out a hand and forcibly cupped her cheek. Techno stood up from his seat, ready to yank the man back by his collar. Before he could, she grabbed his hand and bent his arm backwards behind his head. The man was sent to his knees, wincing in pain.

“I said don’t touch me”, she sneered, “learn to follow my words when I say them nicely.”

She released the man’s hand, allowing him to stumble away with a steely glare. Once he was throughly out of her sight, she turned her attention to where Techno had begun to approach her.

“I appreciate your help, even though it was unneeded”, she sighed heavily.

“Does this happen often?”, he asked.

“Not really”, she said, “I guess the guys here think plate armor is attractive.”

“It’s probably the only clothes they’ve seen a woman in”, he joked. She chuckled lightly, the sound surprisingly sweet compared to her demeanor.

“Would you like a drink?”, she offered once her laughter had subsided.

“Ah, I would”, he sighed, “but let me cover it, I insist.”

“No”, she said firmly, “I’m sure everyone here wants to buy you a drink. Allow it to be me for tonight.”

He raised an eyebrow, noticing the flash of determination in her eye. He gave her a nod, surrendering to her wishes. She bought two pints of honeyed ale, sweet and subtly floral. They drank in comfortable silence, watching the absolutely wasted tavern goers make fools of themselves.

Time passed, and day of their duel arrived. The damage from Dante’s attack had finally been cleared and construction of the destroyed buildings began. Techno felt calm as he strode through the familiar courtyards of Hypixel’s training grounds, which surprised him. For some reason, he expected to be nervous. But at the same time, there was nothing to be nervous about, right? This was just a friendly duel between friends. Just friends who have only known each other for a few days.

His felt his stomach twist. Maybe he was nervous.

When he entering the arena, he found her already waiting for him, clad in a simpler set of armor than the one she wore to fight Dante. She waved her arm upon noticing his entrance, bright and crooked smile on her face.

“Are you ready to duel, Sir Blade?”, she called across the field. Something about that nickname made his heart glow.

“Only if you are, y/n.”

“Oh, I’m ready to get my ass kicked.”

“Hey now”, he retorted playfully, “I think you will put up a good fight.”

“We’ll see”, she shrugged, stretching her arms to warm up the muscles.

“Standard kit?”, he questioned, “diamond armor, sword and bow?”

“As long as it’s not a crossbow. I haven’t figured those fuckers out yet”, she muttered.

He nodded, donning a set of armor to match hers. They took stances at opposite sides of the arena. She already had a bow in hand, arrow cocked and ready. Techno had dueled one on one many times. Some more stress-inducing than other. The anticipation of this fight made his fingers tingle with excitement. A bell began to toll. Standard practice for training duels: on the fourth chime, the fight began.

An arrow whizzed from its string, narrowly missing him as he strafed right and began moving in a wide curve towards her. She switched to her sword, ready to meet his in a clang of metal against metal.

They traded blows almost evenly. While Techno’s sword swung with immense strength behind it, hers was agile and precise. When she landed a hit, it was because she could aim her sword exactly where the armor was weakest. When their swords became interlocked, she made eye contact and grinned wildly. His concentration fell, and she seized the opportunity to disengage and put some distance between them.

From her newfound position, she returned to her bow and began firing shots with a deadly accuracy. When fighting with others around his skill level, Techno liked to wear them down. Hiding and running away, giving him a chance to recover while they chased. Now, however, his strategy was being challenged. Her skill with a bow was outstanding, even at very long distances. There were very few places he could hide that she couldn’t hit.

Their reached a point where the battle was at a stalemate. They had returned to sword combat, a heavy sheen on sweat on their brows. She parried a blow from him, but he pushed back with any remaining strength he had left, sending her staggering back wards. She gritted her teeth, running forwards suddenly with a ferocious scream. It surprised him so much he barely reacted as she slammed into him right at the waist and tackled him to the ground.

He twisted to land on his side, causing her to fall on the ground next to him. They both panted, making no move to stand up.

“I-“, she gasped, “I’ve never done that before.” He huffed out a laugh, propping himself up on his elbows and offering a hand to help her sit up as well.

“That was a good fight”, he said after they’d both caught their breath.

“Thank you”, she said, removing her helmet and wiping away the strands of hair that stuck to her face, “I didn’t expect to win, but a draw is good enough for me… Thank you for giving me the chance.”

“You fight very different from me”, he said while shaking the hair out of his face, “I was curious to see how it would go. You’ll have to show me some of those sword techniques, they’re great.”

She smiled, puffing up a little bit at the praise. Her hand came up to brush away some of the dust that stuck to the side of his face. She seemed to do it subconsciously, because her eyes widened at the realization and she moved her hand away quickly. In a heat of the moment decision he grabbed her hand in midair, holding it in his own. Her eyes met his and the seconds seemed to stretch.

Something drew him, like a magnetic force, to lean in and press a kiss to her lips. It was relatively quick, but it felt so much longer to him. When he pulled away, she blinked at him. Her cheeks were pink, but he was unsure whether it was from the kiss or the fighting.

“I should have asked first, shouldn’t I?”, he said after clearing his throat.

“No, no”, she replied, still slightly dazed, “you’re fine.”

“I don’t know why-“, he stuttered, “I doesn’t have to mean anything if you don’t want it to, we can just forget it happened.”

“I-“, she paused, “… I think I’d like to remember it actually.”

The grip on his hand tightened, and Techno felt butterflies in his chest.

“I think my mind’s going a little foggy”, she continued, “could you remind me?”

It took far longer than it should have for his brain to process her words. When the gears finally clicked, a dry laugh escaped his lips.

“Are you flirting with me, dear?”, he retorted.

She laughed, a joyous and melodic sound. He cut her off before she could finish, causing her to giggle against his lips. Sitting in the middle of an empty battle arena, various weapons strewn around them, they allowed themselves to share in each other’s presence and be happy.

───※ ·❆· ※───

AHAHHAHAHA i just wanna say thank you again for this request because it ended up being such a joy to write. it was so fun to write the reader with this kind of personality

plus, it gave me an excuse to give this story a medieval fantasy aesthetic, which, in my humble opinion, is the superior aesthetic for techno

i can’t stress this enough, thank you to every anon who’s submitted a request for being patient with me! i’m trying to get through them chronologically while still giving myself enough of a break that i won’t get overwhelmed or burnt out. regardless of any wait, i hope you enjoyed!

thank you for reading <3

-moonlight

[travellingarmy]

║Diluc║Adopted

Requested from Wattpad.

Child, male reader. Completely platonic.

Fluff.

Word count: 2.2k

---

You don't know where you came from and neither did he, but that question doesn't linger on for too long, allowing yourselves to enjoy in each other's presence.

He wasn't one to have an interest in taking care of children, but ever since he found you in a woven basket in Wolvendom, he made you the centre of his life.

"Diluc, I want to train today!" Barging into his office, you greet him an enthusiastic- yet loud- morning, slamming the door wide open to create a booming sound that Diluc no longer gets a fright out of. "Can we go outside today? Please, please, please?"

He looks up from his paper to eye your person before returning his attention to the paper. "We can go out today, but it will be to the tavern. I have something to do."

You pout and slumped onto a nearby chair, your ears slightly drooping down like the hybrid dog you are. There were few people who had an animal appearance like you and perhaps that might have had been the reason he was drawn to you.

"I said I want to train, not follow you on your errands!" head snapping up as you whined. Diluc slowly closes his eyes and sighs, quite tired from the work yesterday and the added work today. However, he knows how persistent you were and how you would get annoying by the day that even Adelinde starts to get a headache. With that knowledge, he stood up shortly and looks towards your petite frame.

Your eyes sparkled and a child-like smile forms on your face, knowing what he'll say next. "Did you have breakfast already?" Diluc asks, although it was nearly afternoon, and you nod almost immediately. "Then we'll go out and quickly visit the tavern. Afterwards, we can practise your archery." If he was going to shut you up while doing his work, this method was always effective.

You hop off the couch and rushed towards the red-head, grabbing his hand and allow him to lead the way.

Although he adopted you, he did not put himself as your father on the paper and asked of you to call him by his name only, but that didn't matter to you.

You bid Adelinde goodbye and outside, you took big leaps, excited to get on with archery. "(Y/N), slow down. You'll trip and then we'll fall," Diluc points out, slightly bending as he chases after you, trying to keep up in the light of your steps.

You slowed down, walking at a more comfortable pace. For you, stamina was everything but since Diluc wasn't a child, he couldn't go as fast as you wanted. "Sorry, Diluc."

However, throughout that walk, you did stray from time to time, sometimes letting go of his hand to peek what could have been hiding in rustling bushes. "(Y/N), come back here," he would say, gaining your attention back to his side.

Upon entering the gates, a particular someone just had to show up. "Oho~ Fancy meeting you here, Master Diluc," the all too familiar Cavalry Captain greets, souring Diluc's day. Kaeya's smirk stretched a bit, looking quite smug as his eyes move from him and to your petite stature.

"And good morning, (Y/N). Are you here to run errands with Master Diluc?" He asks with a close-eyed smile, ignoring the murderous aura coming from his brother as he leans down to your level, hands on his thighs.

You nod. "I want to learn how to charge my arrow like Fish lady!" you say with a gleam. Kaeya stares dumbfoundedly at you before finally realizing that you were referring to Fischl from the Adventurer's Guild. "Oh, I see That's some intense training, but I'm sure that you can pull it off." He ruffles your hair and chuckles.

"Sir Kaeya, as a captain, you have an awful lot of time to waltz around lazily," Diluc comments, his grip on your hand tightening, but not too hard that it would hurt. This comment's venom flies by over the aforementioned male as he chuckles, shrugging. "What can I say? I'm sure you're well aware that Grand Master Varka has taken all of my knights. Who am I supposed to captain?"

You mused at the two brothers' bickering silently and see that Diluc's eyebrows were twitching-- most likely from the annoyance his brother is giving him. "But as a knight, you should have at least something to do."

"I do, and that's speaking to (Y/N)," he says. "It is a knight's duty to make sure the people are safe and so, I am speaking with him to make sure he isn't being forced into training by you. You know how wrong that is, don't you, Master Diluc?"

"Tch. I'm well aware. And on that note, I believe you're more capable of doing that than I," Diluc crosses his arms as he spoke. It was getting to the point that your feet were starting to annoy you. Standing still was not something you like doing. "Diluc, can we go now?" You tug on the hem of his coat with your free hand and pouted slightly.

This got both of the brothers' attention and they looked at each other. "Apologies, but we have to go now. You know how children are," Diluc says, feeling quite happy.

"Aw, (Y/N), doesn't want to stay with me?" Kaeya pouts. You shook your head and smiled. "I want to train!" you voiced. Kaeya hums in acknowledgement. "Hm, I see. Then, I won't keep little (Y/N) too long. But promise me you'll play with me next time." He offers his pinky finger and you took it, lacing your smaller pinky. "I promise!"

After that, Diluc tugs you along lightly, not wanting to stay anywhere near the captain, heading towards the tavern to speak with a waited person. "(Y/N), you sit here, okay? Don't stray away." Diluc says and helps you up on one of the chairs outside. You nod, swinging your legs that dangle off of the chair. Diluc stares at you and shows a small smile, ruffling your hair, and then walking off.

You were left alone, but not truly alone as you see Diluc not too far from you, talking to a man who looked wealthy themselves. It was probably a business negotiation of some sort, but you were too young to be bothered by trivial matters that did not involve you.

"Hey, hey, look at him." Whispers. To an average person, they wouldn't be able to hear it, but you weren't, and so, you heard children whispering behind you. It was also evident that they were talking about you as you heard another whisper, "He has doggy ears. I want one."

You thought they would just talk like every other person, but that thought was dismissed when you hear light footsteps coming your way. You turned your head to look down at the other children. There were two boys and a girl. The girl was most likely younger than you and the boys were older-- older than yourself. They look like trouble, you thought to yourself.

"Hey, you!" The first one to speak was one of the two boys. He has jet-black hair and wore thick glasses. You hopped off of your seat and stare at them silently, waiting for them to continue. "Is that thing on your head real?"

"Uh, yeah, it is," you answered, getting off from the chair to have a proper conversation with them. It was a common question asked to you that you lost count of how many times someone came up to you and ask.

"I don't believe it," he voiced, crossing his arms and lookin smug. "Yeah, let us touch it," the second one spoke. Your brows slightly furrows. Who were these kids and why were they suddenly asking to touch your ears? Yeah, sure it was strange and not human-like, but who gave these kids courage to spew words like that?

"Sorry, but they're really sensitive.." you state, your brows slightly furrowing. "Oh, please. I bet you're just saying that because it's actually fake!" Without warning, he reached for your ears and tug it harshly and you yelped at the pain. "Woaaah! Did you glue it onto your head? You're so weird."

"Please, let go." You knew how much stronger you were compared to average children, seeing as you had a vision and was trained to combat and so, you didn't dare use force to get him to pull away, wrapping both of your tiny hands on the wrist outstretched to you. Diluc always reminded you to never harm others. "Please, let go!" you repeated, slightly louder than before. Water started to form on the corner of your eyes the more he pulled on your ears.

In response to your distress, your vision glowed and sent a tiny shock of electro from your hands that held onto his. It wasn't harmful, but just enough to make the kid hiss and stumble back. "H, hey, what did you do to him?" The girl reached for her friend, looking at the hand that had a slight purple to it from you.

And to make matters worst, an older woman came running towards you four, seemingly to be one of their mother. "What's going on here?" the lady asks. "Mommy, look what he did to me!" the boy showed his wrist with tears on his face.

With one look at it, the lady turns towards you. "Excuse me, do you have any idea what you just did?" "I asked him if his ears were real and he suddenly attacked me!" Liar. He was lying, but you had no one to back your claims.

She huffs. "How dare you! How would you like it if someone were to do that to you." She reached her long, slender arms for your wrist. "Where are your parents? I'll have them know how naughty you are." Grabbing your wrist, she tries and drags you from your spot.

"That won't be necessary." Just in time, Diluc came back with the same, glaring-like expression on his face. The woman's eyes widened and with a gasp, let's go of your wrist. "Master Diluc?" she calls.

Diluc looks at the woman and to the children, inspecting the wrist that had been bruised. He had heard the conversation from where he stood and sped up his meeting with the person.

"Tell me what happened?" he asks, eyes returning their attention to the woman. "Well, this brat here injured my child and I was about to look for his parents."

"Oh, really? (Y/N), don't tell me you've forgotten what I told you about using your vision?" Although when he asks this, he already knows the answer. You shook your head. "I didn't mean to hurt them, I promise! They were pulling in my ears and.." Your voice grew weaker into silence, drooping your head down, thinking that he wouldn't buy your excuses.

Diluc sees this and immediately kneels down to your level, putting a hand on your shoulders and gain your attention. "Hey, look up. If you know that you are in the right, there is  nothing you should shy away from," his voice was low and spoke softly to you.

Your eyes brightened up a bit and Diluc smiled-- not showing it though. He lifts you off of the ground, putting and arm under you for support as the other went on your back.

The lady was confused but most importantly, scared. "If you're looking for his guardian, you're speaking to them," Diluc spoke, eyes glued on you whilst the words directed to her. "But before you do that, demand the truth from your son." With that, he walked away, leaving the mother to ask what really happened while he comforted you.

You wrapped your arms around his neck and bury your face on his shoulders, trying hard not to let a single tear slip. You idolized Diluc for his skills in combat and his ability to never cry and so, you didn't like crying. It made you feel weak and nowhere near to become like Diluc.

"Hey, it's alright." He rubs your back, noticing your shaking body trying hard not to cry. "It's okay to cry, but don't cry for foolish people. You'll just give them what they want." In moments like these, you see Diluc as a father with his comforting words and life lectures.

You hummed and became silent. Yes, you can't cry for those types of people, you comfort yourself. Taking a deep breath, you peel yourself from his shoulders and showed him the smile that he would never admit he loves to see. A smile that gives others strength with the look of fire in your eyes.

"Alright, do you want to train now?" he asks, slightly smiling. You nod, but stopped yourself. "Wait, don't you still have other things to do?" you ask, to which Diluc ruffles your hair with his free hand. "Those can wait tomorrow. I could use some rest right now."

---

[foxilayde]

Hey there Danny! Congrats on the followersss! 🎉 I see you’re doing a ship game and I´d love if you could give me something!

I´m a Taurus, I love drawing, reading listening to music. I love going outside into calm sites, like forests and nature in general, or sometimes going to the mall just to wander around, eating ice cream, I like simple things but I do appreciate fancy stuff too.

I´m 5’5, brunette hair at shoulders length, light brown eyes, I´m super introverted irl but once I connect with someone I never shut up again and I don’t give a f about anything. I´m currently studying graphic design and photography.

My biggest turn on are people who makes me feel that I can be myself. Also, c u r l s. I adore them to the point I can barely keep my hands off their hair. I do like a nice beard but I mostly prefer clean shaven faces. I love the smell of roses, coconut and lavender, and my favorite color is purple.

I think that´s all can think about for now 😂 And once again Congratss!! 💕

Lorena you are just too pure and ommkdsgjaijgqe you and Will Dempsey are just too fucking cute together!!!!

God, he fucking LOVES IT ADORES IT CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT WHEN YOU GO OFF ABOUT SOMETHING YOU'RE PASSIONATE ABOUT!! You two love lazy weekend mornings in bed together while you read or draw and he works on his latest film script. All he's able to write since he's met you has been love stories. And every heroine he imagines has your passion and humor.

How you met:

You were hired as a photographer to shoot a friend of a friends wedding at a beautiful winery along a river. Summer, outdoors, twinkle lights everywhere.

You'd done a few weddings before, so you felt comfortable and confident posing the wedding party and you were so ON IT that you didn't miss a single moment.

You peripherally know the bride and groom, have seen them once or twice at mutual friend's houses for get-togethers, but not close enough to be invited... you definitely didn't know the Bride's brother, Will.

Dressed in a cool grey summer suit, jacket slung on the back of his chair, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. You snapped some shots of him doing the electric slide with his nieces and nephews and younger cousins. You got so many of his laugh, and a brilliant one of him spinning the flower girl in the air.

You notice yourself getting a little carried away shooting him, but you almost can't help yourself. He's so photogenic and obviously the life of the party. The fun uncle. Great with kids- and he's at the party totally single. After most of the guests leave and the bride and groom go off in their limo (of which you got some great shots), you're packing up your equipment when you notice him siding up to you, leaning against the brick wall of the winery, large forearms crossed and sweat dampened perfect ringlets falling over his brow. You nearly drop your lens at the sight of him.

"Hey," he smiles. "I'm Will."

You brush a lock of hair behind your ear and reach out your hand to shake his, "Lorena."

"Lorena, I couldn't help but notice you got some great photos of me and Fee."

"Fee?"

"Fiona. My niece. The flower girl."

"Oh, yes! Yes I did. Got some good ones."

God, he's making you nervous. Just standing there.

Will hands you his card, "I hope it's not too much to ask if you'd send some to me? I'll pay you, of course!"

"Yeah, I- only after Brandi and Jeff get them... of course. You know, policy and all."

"Id hate to get you blacklisted from the photographer's guild." He laughs and you can't help the shy giggle that comes out.

"How soon would that be?" he asks, "To get the photos?"

"Oh, maybe 3 weeks, to a month. Depending on edits and retouches."

"Hmmmm," he grumbles. "That's not going to work for me."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to need to see you much sooner than that."

"Oh."

"Like, next week? Coffee?"

God, his grin is so stupid cute you forget how to speak.

"I... okay."

"Okay then, Lorena." he slings his jacket over his shoulder and points at you. "You have my number! Don't make me crash the next wedding to find you."

You laugh in disbelief.

"I won't! I mean, I will. Will. I will call you... Will... don't crash any weddings."

He holds his arms out, "I make no promises!"

[wyverian-lady525]

kyle getting jealous watching reader greet people the mahana way ✌

The Green Monster

There is one monster that cannot be killed no matter how hard you try. Kyle figures this out one night.

Kyle really doesn’t understand you.

You see, he was invited back to Mahana as a sort of “apologies festival”. All the hunters plus his dad were encouraged to attend. It was the hunters’ way of saying sorry about Ratha, and riders’ way of saying sorry about the whole ‘Guardian Ratha’ incident. The Guild encouraged it, and everyone actually seemed to be getting along well. You were actually introducing the hunters to Ratha who, while hesitantly, seemed to be enjoying all the attention. Kyle decided to watch on the sidelines, not really being one for huge gatherings. His eyes would go to hunters and riders drinking together, only to go back to you. You would greet every new visitor in that bizarre ‘Mahana way’ of grabbing the face. It would cause him to involuntarily scowl.

“You’re doing it again.”

“Ah!” Kyle let out a girlish shriek at Tsukino’s voice. She was casually standing next to him, munching on a donut she undoubtedly got from Navirou. The young hunter got a grasp on his composure before narrowing his eyes and mumbling, “What are you talking about?”

The felyne grinned and gestured to the large scowl on his face. Then she followed his gaze to see you giving another hunter (one not far from Kyle’s age) the same traditional greeting. A large smile on your face, light in your e/c eyes, the flowers in your hair contrasting its h/c color. The other young hunter blushed when you were done. Then another rider showed up. He looked familiar; in azure rathalos gear with long red hair tied in a braid. You greeted him the same way. He laughed and returned the greeting the same way. Kyle frowned and felt a twinge in his stomach.

“Your jealous.” Tsukino stated with a shake of her head. Kyle gapped at her.

“Of course not!” He said quickly with red rushing to his face at the accusation.

“All the intel I needed has been gathered.” She said with a smile, finishing off her donut.

“And you know I’m hardly wrong.” She stated with a wink. This time Kyle’s scowl was directed at his palico, and he marched off without a word. Her mocking laugh followed him through the crowd. 

He wasn’t jealous. If anything, he was irritated. Yes, that was it. He was irritated that they could be so forgiving and kind and welcoming. 

Kyle stopped in his tracks.

And how he wished it were him they were greeting in that stupid way.

He growled under his breath when he realized Tsukino might be right. Man, he wished emotions were something you could deal with by tracking and killing them. Kyle realized he stopped near the entrance of Mahana village and his eyes caught sight of some familiar faces. Two wyverians to be exact.

You ran over to greet Ena in the same fashion you greeted everyone else. Then you both exchanged words that he couldn’t quite make out. Your attention then turned towards the other wyverian, Alwin, if he remembered right. You grabbed his face and gave him the same greeting.

No.

Kyle was not okay with this anymore.

He could handle fellow hunters and riders, but he draws the line at the handsome ageless wyverian.

“Y/N. Can I talk to you?” Kyle said after he marched over there. You let go of Alwin’s face (which was red from embarrassment) and nodded. Ena worked on calming her friend down, who quietly stated how he would like to leave. You followed the hunter to an isolated pier.

“Something wrong Kyle?” You asked while crossing your arms with a light smile.

“Why do you do it?” He asked while turning to face you. You tilted your head and he let out a frustrated sigh.

“Greet everyone like that. Don’t you think it’s kind of in their personal space? Some people might not like it” Kyle said. You shook your head and explained how it was just how your people said ‘hello’. 

“Does it bother you when I do it?” You asked with a slight smirk.

“Yes-No! I mean-” Kyle stuttered, but immediately shut up when you sandwiched his face with your hands. He was certain you could feel the heat in his cheeks. You smiled with half-lidded eyes and coyly asked, “Are you jealous, Kyle?”

He was at a loss for words, but that gave you the answer you needed. You added another step to your greeting and brought his face towards yours.

That’s how you two ended up kissing in the moonlight on an isolated pier.

“Quest complete.” Tsukino said with a proud look as she watched from a distance.

[msfett]

✨ Chapter 3: Angle of Reflection

*-/ When light meets and interacts with matter, it can do one of several things depending on what kind of matter it encounters \-*

Boba Fett x F!Reader

Timeline: Starts off with younger Boba (like pre-A New Hope)

Rating: 18+ only

C/W: Explicit Language, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Lovers, Slow Burn, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Generalized Tension 😁 Eventually Smut

Some Stuff 😊 It wouldn’t be Star Wars if things didn’t get complicated 😁 Props to Legends for some of these shenanigans. One translation (at the bottom). Holler at me you beautiful people! If you prefer AO3 (msfett_ifyourenasty), this series is cross-posted there. If you're enjoying this fic, please feel free to reblog and share 💕

🎶 Musical Motivation/Lyrical Inspiration: Human by Sevdaliza

**********************

An abrupt lurch delivers you to a conscious state as pain materializes in every form. A dull throbbing at your temple. A sharp stabbing in your hands and knees. A numb tingling in your legs and feet. Magnetic binders dig into your wrists attached above your head, the weight of leaning forward burning through your joints, neck aching from the bent, seated position.

And you are cold, shivering as the air bites areas of uncovered skin. What feels like pressure wraps are secured around your hands and knees. Devoid of moisture, your lips are dry, cracked as the lingering taste of iron coats the inside of your mouth. The smell of blood and sweat combined with grease and fumes makes the rising panic in your stomach churn as the hum of powerful engines intensifies the pounding of your pulse.

Behind closed eyes you remember the armor, the helmet, him. After leaving Thyferra, you’d easily identified him as the bounty hunter, Boba Fett. The name conjured indistinct memories and the voice was one you’d come to know at an arm’s length. But even from the single, monosyllabic phrase he’d uttered then, you could discern the difference of his timbre, entirely estranged from the docile, obedient tone they had all shared. His inflection was raw, unaltered, like an uncut diamond before polishing. And though his name may have vacillated in prominence over time, he was making up for it now. All you had to do was page through his experience with the Guild to authenticate his current feared relevance and dubious reputation.

The totality of this knowledge finally registers as you sit with your pain and panic, each weighing heavily, and you come to grips with the likely scenario, waiting.

But you feel…nothing. Sense nothing, like fumbling around in a dark cave knowing eventually your hands will come in contact with a wall…except they don’t.

Prying your eyes open, a blinding bright blue light from a cylindrical shaped energy field makes you want to retreat behind the shield of your eyelids.

The last memorable sound of the pitched clinking of spurs rings through your ears as the surrounding force field shuts off.

And still you feel nothing.

Your anger begins to ratchet up to the level of your anxiety. Your breathing is ragged, nostrils flaring, chest heaving in some tattered shirt he’s put you in, feeling like you’re morphing into a caged animal with no options for escape. He stands directly in front of you, so you have to crane your neck to look up at him, that unreadable helmet. You stare at him with absolute revulsion, uselessly straining against the cuffs.

“Karrak spice. Highly effective.” The modulator cuts through like the binders on your abraded wrists.

Even through the weakness and disorientation, you can’t stop glaring at him, never so out of touch with your most innate instincts. He’s stripped you bare of everything; your personal effects, your mask, your clothes, and most precious of all, the Force.

He’s been able to study your face, privy to every concealed feature. Each guarded secret of your existence that’s kept you safe has been on display for him.

Coming to your level, he takes a knee. “You’re going to answer my questions. Honestly.”

Shaking with rage, hatred flares at the actualization of what he’s done to you. “You dragged me through all this shit because you have some fucking questions?”

The wounded, cornered creature you’ve become has no way to fight, no defense against the ruthless hunter, claws bound, fangs dulled, and so you spit at the dark visor, ejecting all the distaste, the utter contempt you feel for him.

Before you can comprehend your defiant action, a gloved hand engulfs your face, thumb hooking under your jaw, jabbing at the soft flesh underneath as the palm of his large hand covers your mouth, clamping down your nose to effectively stifle your breathing. His threat is deliberate, incrementally tightening as a strong finger presses your bruised cheek into your teeth. You refuse to blink, to cease the fury of fire scorching through your stare. But he withdraws first, wrenching his hand away, claiming his own victory as divots in your skin as he straightens to his full height, towering over you.

He wipes the expelled malice off his helmet with a gloved hand. “You have no manners.” And he’s smearing it back on your heated face, down one side then up the other, like he’s removing a dead bug from his hand.

“You will not annoy me into killing you.” His voice is controlled, simply stating a fact.

He kneels again, removing a lid from an unmarked bottle. “Water.” He says it like he’s talking to a child learning to speak Basic, only adding to your ire. He’s about to place it on your lips when he pauses. “Don’t make me regret this.”

You fiercely want to decline. This is not a kindness, it’s an implied reminder of who’s in control. But your thirst is greater than your pride as he pours the cool liquid into your parched mouth, wiping stray droplets off your chin as he pulls away. Progressively aware of your surroundings, you begin to comprehend the enormity of your compromised circumstance.

You’ve been sparring with untempered anger, but it becomes the champion in this round, a clean knockout for other contending emotions and it rallies into position, improvising to achieve the upper hand, and utilizes the only weapon available, a dirty strike of desperation. Though not designed as words of combat, the small, sneaky voice is equipped with a blade of wisdom…

‘It is wise to learn a few words in many languages, as this can often determine whether you walk towards someone or run away from them .’

Or willfully insult them. Not what he had in mind when he told me this.

The words feel thick and heavy, brandished with the strength of vitriol. “Me’copaani, dar’manda?”

His helmet inches closer to your face, the vocoder excessively harsh, annunciating each gravelly syllable, his turn to spit back. “Get that language out of your fucking mouth, Jedi.” The last word said as his true curse.

And for some reason this strikes you as laughable, a smirk giving birth to a slow, dark chuckle. “You have no idea who I am, let alone what I am.” Anger ushers away any remnants of crazed hilarity, jaw clenching, eyes attempting to pierce through the darkened visor.

“Do you deny your people?” he pummels you with the accusation.

“Do you, yours, Mandalorian? Or have they forsaken you?” Instead of piercing, you have stabbed him, opening a wound that goes deep enough to core out a piece of flesh.

“You know nothing about me.” He throws the bottle against the wall as he marches away, reactivating the force field, water sizzling upon interaction with the beam of energy.

**********************

The hunter is composed when he strides back.

Though the force cage prevents you from sensing anything outside of it, you begin to feel a reawakening of your own internal connection, the steady return of balance from chaos, valid introspection leading to understanding.

“What did you do with my effects? My clothes?”

“I’ve set them aside. You have an impressive assortment of tradecraft and weapons. They’ve not been touched. And neither have you.”

You know what he’s alluding to, and he easily could have taken advantage. You break your stare, feeling incredibly vulnerable as tears begin pricking at the corners of your eyes. You can’t remember the last time you cried, suppressed for so long as many things have been. You feel guilt for being reckless, for ignoring 315, for failing him and others that depend on you, and for ultimately disregarding your own code.

It’s not a moment for self-pity and you won’t receive any compassion from the hunter. He is merciless, exactly how you must be for survival. But for some reason, he’s kept you alive, proving he needs something, and that ignites bravery from the ashes of bravado.

You blink back any remnants of doubt, establishing the first beat of this sordid composition. “I’d like to stand up for a while.” Your melody is a soft, beguiling feign of innocence as you glance up through moistened lashes.

He pauses, taking a cautious lead as he briefly demagnetizes the binders before adjusting them up. The tempo is perfectly timed as you stand, pushing off the frame supporting you, bringing your cuffed hands down and around his helmet. The rhythm is fluid as you swing around behind him, drawing the binders purposefully to his neck.

He tries to raise your hands, but the binders are stuck on the lip of his helmet. The cadence becomes deceptive as he momentarily lets go your wrist, and with a depressurized hiss, removes the helmet, enabling him to force your hands over his head, sending you back several steps into a precipitously dissonant finale.

Shit. Never thought I’d actually use this. Enough to stun, but not incapacitate.

Detaching the tiny device from your remaining microgarment, you throw the sonic detonator at him, emitting a piercing squeal of high frequency sound. You dash to the ladder, beginning to climb, blood seeping through your bandages, but he’s already destroying the detonator.

He grabs you around your waist, dragging you back down. Scrambling, you throw your head back hard to collide with his face, eliciting a stream of curses from the hunter, but instead of letting go, he pins you against the wall, in turn slamming your wounded temple into the durasteel.

He kicks your foot aside, wedging his knee between your legs as he thrusts a hand up between your breasts to wrap around your throat. He’s quick to find his blade and pushes the hem of your shirt up to cut the straps of your underwear. The thin fabric falls to the floor as he replaces the blade, wrapping his hand in your hair and tugging it back to expose your neck.

“Anything else you’re hiding?” he pants into your ear, his cold armor digging uncomfortably into your back.

It’s that same dogged persistence from your first encounter. “Is this how you treat all the girls? Or am I just special?” you huff back.

“Oh, you’re fucking special alright,” he growls, tightening his grip in your hair.

“So it is just me.” You wonder if you’ve successfully managed to break his nose, feeling what you presume is blood steadily dripping onto your chest. “I’m flattered, bounty hunter.”

“Shut that smart mouth of yours or I’ll shut it for you,” he threatens, just as an alarm sounds loudly from elsewhere in the ship.

“You’re going back to sleep for awhile,” he grits out.

Your anger had seemingly fueled your burst of energy, but now both are quickly dissipating. You reluctantly accept the current defeat and let out a sigh as your muscles slacken, unintentionally leaning into his armor, molding to him. Your head clunks back on his shoulder, even relaxing onto his thigh between your legs. You feel him stiffen at your unanticipated settling, his warm breath fanning over your exposed neck as you speak. “What do you want from me?”

“Answers.”

“And then?”

“You’re in no position to ask questions.”

His grip slowly loosens from your neck and hair, hands in continuous contact, precipitating an involuntary shiver. One flattened palm drifts down the center of your chest and under your breast to slide around, taking hold of your upper arm while the other eases the grip in your hair, gliding down your neck to grasp the other arm. “Move,” he orders, navigating you back to force cage, and with a little shove the shield surrounds you.

He’s tapping at something on a wrist gauntlet. Locks of thick, dark hair fall around his face as you slump down the metal base to the cold durasteel floor. It’s the first time you’ve looked at him without his helmet, and though the face is a copy like so many others, he’s uniquely different. His mouth is set in a permanent, disapproving frown, and his eyes flicker with anger, far more emotion than you remember seeing as a child.

“This is just the beginning,” he asserts, indifferent about the red droplets streaming from his nose, leaving you to seethe in the artificial lighting.

********************

“I don’t want your clothes. I want my clothes.”

“Not after that stunt you pulled with the sonic screamer. If you can hide that there, who knows what other shit is concealed in your real clothes. You’ll take what you’re given.”

His clothing is ridiculously ill-fitting on you. “I’m not doing this,” you insist, pointedly making your way to the floor.

But he’s twisting your forearm back up before you’ve made it halfway and growling, “Yes you are. I hold the leverage.”

Indignant, you yank your arm away. “Do you realize all the crimes you’ve committed? I’m not a target, so there’s no protection from the Guild.”

“I follow my own code. I can’t commit crimes against a ghost anyway.”

The nerve of this asshole. “You drugged me, assaulted me, abducted me, held me hostage, and took…everything away from me and now you want to use me to bait a bounty?”

“Might as well put you to good use. And right now, I’m on a deadline.” He tosses the metalweave mask at you. “Here. If you still want to play pretend.”

Whether it’s from years of observing targets or careful attention to your reactions, he’s discovered how to push you. “Fuck you. Your logic is seriously flawed.” Your patience is growing increasingly thin. “Why am I even here? It can’t just be because of some questions. If you’re still pissed about that Toydarian, you can strap on your big boy jet pack and get over it.”

He completely ignores your argument, roughly grabbing your elbow to maneuver you toward the landing ramp. You stubbornly dig your heels in every step, and you can feel his irritation spiking next to yours. You haven’t gotten this far in life to meet your end because of some stupid bounty hunter.

But to your surprise, he releases the binders. Relieved, you rub the encircling cuts, turning your head to address him. “You know I could kill you if I wanted.” He’s far from naïve about what you’re capable of.

“Yeah, but you won’t,” he remarks flatly, visor tilting in your direction. “That’s the difference between you and me.”

“Try me.” Cocky bastard.

“Tempting offer. But first we’ve got some work to do.” His gloved hand reaches for yours, clasping it as if gently holding your hand. You start to give him a strange look, when you hear the click of a metal cuff slapping around your wrist. “That’s enough shock to send you into orbit. Don’t test me. You’ll find very little latitude.”

**********************

The planet’s climate is temperate enough to be comfortable, but as you both trudge through the remains of what recently was a city, you feel a disturbing uneasiness stoked by anger and desperation.

“Are we supposed to be walking through ruins?” you ask, cautiously stepping around debris.

“No.” He’s ever so slightly hesitant, too.

You’re able to decipher a partially functional sign. Tarko-se Arena.

“This is one of Cato Neimoidia’s bridge cities, isn’t it?” The recollections you have from learning about the planet when you were young are brief, glossed over because of some apparently messy business during the Clone Wars.

You close your eyes, opening your mind and you are engulfed by an inferno of residual fury, pain, despair.

Desolation. Destruction. Darkness. Death.

“Keep moving.”

“No. This city has been destroyed…by someone with great power. Whoever you’re looking for has left.” You whip around. “Who is it? Who’s the target?”

You can tell he’s equally perplexed about the surroundings and speaks the first shred of meaningful information. “Goes by the name Starkiller.”

“No.” His words swirl around you, invading slowly, and you feel your lip begin to tremble, shaking your head in disbelief. “He’s dead. He’s been dead.”

“You’re mistaken.”

“This wasn’t him,” your thoughts tumble out aloud. “He was killed.” That day is permanently ingrained in your memory; a ray of hope after intercepting integral intel about the giant battle station, only to be completely negated by the sorrow of great loss. A family bloodline, a legacy, died that day on the orbital battle station alongside with him, the last known descendant.

Your retrospection is suddenly cut off as a massive, battered creature roars to life from the rubble. Despite the gargantuan beast’s grievous injuries, it has somehow survived the obliterated arena wreckage.

“By the heat of all hells, that thing could crush a rancor in one hand.” Your mind is already darting ahead in pursuit of an escape plan with, or preferably without, the hunter. Surely you could remove the shock bracelet somehow.

“What is it?” He’s readying his blaster rifle, the same one you’d previously dispatched so easily…

“I have no idea.” The arena’s exits are demolished except for the pathway you took inside.

Without warning, the bipedal monster staggers forward in a frenzied state, bent on seeking retribution for its injuries.

“How do I kill it?” He’s already bringing down the helmet’s rangefinder.

“I’m not sure you can.” You instinctively start reaching for weapons, any weapon, but he’s left you unarmed, in the conventional sense.

“You really have no idea who you’re talking to,” he grumbles, igniting his jetpack.

You really have no idea who you’re talking to either.

********************

Though Fett would eventually be the one to deliver the lethal blow, killing the giant beast with a concussion missile, he did not fare much better.

You’d helped him painstakingly limp back to the ship, blood spilling from the side of his abdomen where the beast had successfully slashed a sharp claw. Once inside, he’d removed his helmet, a paleness to his normally bronzed skin. “It’s bad isn’t it?”

Fuck. Muscle layers obliterated, clots pooling on the adjacent floor.

“Not how I imagined my death,” he scoffs.

“Would you have preferred something more dramatic?” You can’t even begin to visualize the extent of trauma he’s sustained, attempting to blot away the excess with your borrowed shirt.

“Just not from some stupid creature. No greatness in that.” His eyelids keep drifting shut, breath ragged as his life force grows dimmer.

You’re conflicted about what to do with him. The hunter has done abhorrent things not only to you, but countless others, a string of decisions through his life that have unraveled the survival of others, life feeding on death. And yet from your current point of view, there is something inexplicably tragic about him, a humbled warrior lain defeated.

“Fett.” The vow you’ve made to respect all life, in any form, is justly poignant in this moment. “Fett. Open your eyes.” You rip the mask off your face. “Look at me.”

You place both hands over his wound, blood streaming over, eyes locking with his. And you can see what he is, who he is at his core.

A person, made of flesh and flaws, skin and scars, a connection on the most basic level. He is a collection of memories that have shaped him into the hardened man he is; a life of unresolved loss, grief, anger, pride, vengeance. And yet slivers of hope knit through, like a loose and tenuous thread, the need to mend a lonely existence into a meaningful fabric.

His helmet has become his fortress, a literal wall between him and the galaxy, hiding vulnerabilities, secrets guarded by impenetrable barricades.

But now the barriers have been removed, allowing you a glimpse of him beyond any superficial exterior. Understanding becomes an understatement, like visible light bouncing off a mirror, creating the image of one’s own reflection with devastating familiarity.

As if it were one continuous seam, you find the invisible, but undeniable patchwork of connection to him. And you begin to relax, reaching out with your mind, and reaching inside to touch the Force. It flows from your hands and through his wound, repairing the damaged cells themselves, mending tissue, restoring function and order.

But for order, there must be balance, as balance is what holds all life. Pouring your own life energy into him comes at the expenditure of your own vitality, a selfless extension from one human to another, an unexpected mercy from his sworn enemy.

“I don’t believe it. How did you…” His voice clings to doubt, confusion. “Thought you said you wanted to kill me.”

“No,” your voice is strong despite how drained your body feels. “I said I could kill you if I wanted. But I didn’t. So you were right, that is the difference between you and me.”

**********************

Fett finds you in the cargo hold in a kneeling position, sitting back on your heels, eyes closed, head inclined down, hands resting in your lap. You needed time to meditate, regroup, center yourself while you had the chance.

You look a mess, clothes covered in splotches of his blood, strands of hair plastered to your face with sweat.

His Force signature has imperceptibly altered, but you can vaguely recognize the new energy radiating from him.

You startle when he first touches your face with a bare hand, unexpectedly soft as calloused fingers gently smooth over your cheek, pushing away errant pieces of hair, delicately tracing over the wound that he’d inflicted on your temple.

“Why did you help me? Why did you do it?” He can’t seem to move past his disbelief, infinitely torn by the intimate exchange. You’re supposed to be the enemy, the proverbial bad guy deserving of vengeance, a means to extinguish his hatred.

But something has shifted.

Even so, you keep your eyes closed, mildly irritated by his lack of gratitude, but admittedly a little hurt by his insensitivity.

“I suppose it’s not your fate to die by some stupid creature. Fate must have other plans for you.” He softly grasps your chin, tilting it up and you gaze at his face, his brow so deeply furrowed, lips set in a straight line, scrutinizing, searching like you’re still wearing the mask.

You’re trying to recall the last time someone actually looked at you like this, face completely bare, and simultaneously wonder when someone last saw him so exposed, the first layer of sand blasted off a weathered building.

“What should I have done? Left you for dead? Watched as you bled out?” How can he not understand?

"The consequence of inaction is greater than the consequence from action. I made a choice, a choice that may affect the rest of my life, for however long that is.” He’s listening, still trying to assemble, to solve your puzzle of words, thumb tracing along the edge of your lower lip with a tenderness you couldn’t have imagined from those hands.

“We’re all given the choice as to whether we fulfill our purposes in life, our destiny, and for some reason you’ve become intertwined with mine.” His eyes, his touch, his thoughts all read conflicted. “And today, it appears as though Fate decided to step in and rescue one of her wretched souls.”

He lifts you up from under your arms to stand, hands sliding down to your waist for a tighter hold on your hips, drawing you closer. The touch of his eyes is akin to physical contact, everywhere that gaze falls, you can feel your skin begin to burn.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he questions, features somewhat less severe.

A small grin appears on your lips. “It means I just saved your ass, and you should be thanking me instead of tempting Fate.” You feel him pull your pelvis a little closer, closing the gap between your bodies, dark eyes intense as they slowly lower and fix on your lips. “She’s not always so generous,” you murmur.

He quickly glances back up, like he’s hoping to recover from giving anything away, a flash of absolute vulnerability, no helmet to shield him. And as hard as he’s trying to keep his eyes off your lips, he can’t, glancing up and down, eyes to lips, and in doing so falls closer to yours. You feel his breath warm against your skin as he speaks. “Is that in regards to Fate, or you?”

“You’ll have to find that out for yourself, Fett.” And you can practically feel his lips brush against yours, hovering, exchanging the same heated air, as if there’s any chance of turning back now, the gravity of his lips inescapable.

His grip on your hips is commanding as he pulls you fully against him and you gasp as your breath rushes out. Your hands come up reflexively, clutching at his chest for balance as his body melds into the curves of your softer, more pliant one.

He is impossibly fit. Without the armor you can feel how every muscle blends perfectly with the next, pulsating with life, with new energy. His large hands are capable as they hold you securely against him and you realize the increasing pressure against your hip is not from his codpiece.

The thought is dizzying, a pounding pulse unfurling heat between your thighs as a blush creeps down your neck, across your chest, tingling as it spreads. It’s like the moment before an impending disaster, strangely thrilling in spite of rising peril, and an unbidden surge of adrenaline washes through you.

You’re trying not to be invasive, but his mind reads loudly, a heady mix of anger caressing desire. You can do little more than cling to him, trapped against his firm body. His lips skim over yours, but ultimately pass and you feel the misting heat of his breath as it rushes over the side of your neck and ear.

His breathing has quickened, and you feel the warm air he pushes out dissolve into cold pinpricks along your earlobe. His cheek is so close to yours that when he clenches his jaw it angles to rub against yours, the rough kiss of stubble.

His accented voice is coarse, almost pained, like gravel grinding in a wound.

“This changes nothing.”

You push against his chest to meet his eyes directly, heart pounding, and you feel like you’re drowning in his fierce, dark gaze. But it’s his breath that stutters to a stop.

And it’s barely a whisper as you willingly submerge into dark waters.

“That’s not why I did it.”

For a moment it seems like he wants to reach out his hand, keep you from sinking, but instead his fingertips sharply dig into your hipbones only to release you, and you catch the distressed expression on his face before he can walk away.

He stops abruptly, back still to you, posture rigid as his hands curl into fists. “You’re not what I expected.” His tone is soft, juxtaposed to his bitter implication. “I hate you for that.”

**********************

Translations:

Me'copaani? - What do you want?

dar'manda - a state of being "not Mandalorian"; not an outsider, but one who has lost his heritage, and so his identity and soul

[generallynerdy]

Uncalled they come to me, and told, they still won’t leave me (Din Djarin/Soulmate!Reader)

Spoilers for Chapter 9 (S2E1) of the Mandalorian

Summary: After the ambitious Toro Calican turns on you, his hired mechanic, in hopes of winning favour with the Guild, the mysterious Mandalorian saves your life. Now that you owe him a life debt, he’s stuck with you until you can save him back. It’s not so bad, having a free mechanic and babysitter for the kid, but things take a turn for the worse when both of you realise you might be catching feelings. For someone that might not even be your Soulmate.

Requested by Anon: Hello! How’re you doing? May I please request a Din x reader soulmate au? The one where you don’t see color until you touch your soulmate? It would be very difficult for Din to find his soulmate and I’ve always wanted to see how it played out. If not that’s ok! Thank you and have a wonderful day ❤️

Key: (Y/N) - your name, (h/c) - hair colour, (e/c) - eye colour Translations: vode - siblings, Ret’urcye mhi - goodbye (literally: may we meet again), mirshmure’cya - brain-kiss (Basic term, is Keldabe kiss. This is the soft one as opposed to the literal headbutt term) Asked to be tagged in this disaster: @pearlll09 Word Count: remember when i said this would be 4k? Yeah. It’s 6,478 words. What. The. Fuck.

Author’s Note: this is way longer than I intended it to be but I think u deserve it since u were the only one who saw my post begging for mando requests and actually sent one hksjlfdkj tysm!! I’m so happy I got to write a Soulmate AU for him tbh. Btw, I have it in my head that Yodito would’ve given him the ability to see green, as a familial Soulmate bond, but it wouldn’t work for this if your eyes are green so I just left it out. (Also wtf is up with the Cobb/Din shit, Cobb is clearly in a dedicated relationship with the bartender Weequay. I named them Sala :D) The title is from The Teller of Tales by Gabriela Mistral.

Read On AO3

*

“Do you wear those gloves all the time?”

The Mando gives you a look—one that you can’t read, obviously, but you get the idea that it’s drier than the desert you’re in.

Calican snorts, but you shoot him a glare and he shuts up. You’re only here because he’s paying well for your mechanical skills, enough that his request of an extra hand on his first bounty seemed reasonable. Finding out that he’s hunting Fennec Shand was...less than pleasing, but now that the Mando is onboard, you’re not quite so worried about the outcome. They’re supposed to be fearsome warriors, after all. And he was smart enough to figure out how to wait out Shand, which is what the three of you have been doing for hours.

“I’m just saying,” you continue, “between the armour and the gloves, it must be damn near impossible to find your Soulmate.”

He shrugs. Sort of. It’s kind of hard to tell, to be honest.

“Haven’t you heard the stories?” Calican asks, flopping back onto the sand. “Mandalorians don’t have Soulmates. They start seeing colour after their first battle; war is their only destiny.”

You roll your eyes. They’re folk tales, really, and ridiculous ones at that. Every sentient has at least one Soulmate, romantic, platonic, familial, or otherwise, and there’s no reason for Mandalorians to be any different. Still, the stories make their rounds. There are specific ones, too, like the one about the Mandalorian Jedi who made the Darksaber; he was said to see colour when he lit his weapon for the first time. Fett, too, was said to have seen a new colour with every clone that was decanted—which is mildly ridiculous.

“Maybe the Mandalorians of old,” Mando comments with a scoff. “Not many of us see battle these days.”

“Well, if you’re looking for it, I know a krayt dragon a few hundred klicks away,” you suggest lightly.

He snorts. “No thanks. I’ll take the assassin.”

“Speaking of,” you said, “you guys know I’m just a mechanic, right?”

There’s a pause. Calican nods, but the Mando is still.

“What?” he asks, displeasure in his voice.

“I mean, I’m pretty good with a blaster, but I’m gonna be useless against Fennec Shand.”

Mando whirls on Calican. “You paid a mechanic to be your back-up? Are you insane?”

He shrugs. “(Y/N) has a mean right hook.”

“That’s not reassuring,” Mando huffs. He looks over at you and you can almost feel him glaring through the visor. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m broke,” you scoff. “Same thing. Oh, hey, do you need repairs on that hunk of junk you pilot? I’ll be more thorough than that lady at the hangar.”

He hesitates. “We’ll see.”

You grin. That’s not a no.

*

“You’re a prick, did I mention that?” you hiss over your shoulder.

Calican shoves the blaster into your side. “Shut up and keep walking.”

The Mandalorian stands on the other side of the hangar, waiting for Calican to make his move. Seriously, this day could not be going any worse. After killing Shand, Toro Calican, certified dumbass, decided that kidnapping you and the Mandalorian’s—pet? Child?—passenger was the best way to go. Whatever the little weird thing that’s in your arms is, it’s pretty cute, and you’d rather he shoot you than the baby holding tightly onto your shirt. In fact, he probably will, because the kid is his ticket into the Guild—you’re just dead weight.

“Looks like I’m calling the shots now. Huh, partner?” Calican asks the Mando. “Drop your blaster and raise ‘em.”

The Mandalorian puts his hands behind his head. Next to you, Calican pushes Peli forward and instructs her to cuff him. With a huff, she moves behind the Mandalorian with the intent to follow orders.

“You’re a Guild traitor, Mando,” Calican begins. You consider sighing. This sounds like the start of a villain monologue. “And I’m willing to bet that this here is the target you helped escape. Fennec was right. Bringing you in won’t just make me a member of the Guild, it’ll make me legendary.”

In a burst of light, the Mandalorian sets off a flash grenade.

You yelp and tuck the little thing into your arms before tucking yourself over into a roll down the ramp of the ship. You fall into the sand just in front of the Mandalorian, who’s moved to fire a shot at Calican, sending him flying off the other side, smouldering.

Breathing heavily, you sit up, the child still in your arms.

“Are you okay? Is the child?”

You look up. The Mandalorian has his gloved hand held out, offering to help you up. Hesitantly, you take it and pull yourself off the ground.

“We’re both okay—I think,” you say hesitantly, holding the baby out to him. “Is he—?”

“Dead,” the Mando confirms, taking the child from you.

You frown. “Good riddance. Thank you,” you tell him hesitantly, though your tone is genuine.

“It’s nothing,” he murmurs.

He distracts himself by checking on the child, who coos up at him contentedly. You smile a little at the interaction, but put yourself back into focus.

“It’s not nothing,” you say firmly. “I owe you a life debt.”

He freezes. “What?”

“Where I come from, if someone saves your life, you owe it to them. Until I can save your life, I owe you,” you explain.

“That’s—you don’t need to do that,” he says quickly.

You cross your arms. “It’s like your Way. It’s my culture, my honour on the line. You’re stuck with me, Mando.”

“What? No. Can’t you...pay me, or something?”

“I’m broke, remember?”

“You saved the child’s life, doesn’t that count?”

Your eyebrows shoot up. “I rolled with him. You did the work, so, no, it doesn’t count, even though he’s your…” You hesitate, remembering the word. “...foundling.”

“You know, you’re kind of getting the better end of the deal here,” Peli pipes up, directing the thought at the Mandalorian. “A free mechanic, babysitter, and an extra blaster? That’s a bargain.”

“Uh...pre-warning, I don’t know much about child care,” you warn immediately.

He snorts. “Neither do I.” After a moment, he sighs deeply. “Fine. But we’re going to work on those blaster skills before you become a liability.”

“Fair enough.”

*

Sticking with the Mandalorian is probably the worst decision of your life.

Almost immediately after Tatooine, in need of more funds, he drags you into trouble with another group of bounty hunters and the New Republic, of all groups.

“Who is this?” someone asks, her voice sing-song as she enters the Mandalorian’s ship.

You don’t bother turning around, continuing your repairs on a hull panel. “The mechanic. Don’t touch anything.”

“You have a personal mechanic?”

A few people enter the ship, making you finally turn around. The first speaker is a Twi’lek woman and the second a Human, who squints disdainfully. From behind him, Mando pushes past their little crew—including a protocol droid and a massive Devaronian—to approach you, deciding to stand next to you rather than them, which brings you immense pleasure for some reason.

“No. (Y/N) owes me a life debt and, apparently, credits don’t cut it,” he explains shortly, sounding frustrated and exhausted.

You nudge him companionably—it’s an argument you’ve had a few times, the paying of your debt. He doesn’t want to be free of you, per se, but he doesn’t want you to be in his debt. Having that kind of power or hold over you makes him uncomfortable, you can tell, as every time it comes up he gets twitchy.

“Kinky,” the Twi’lek snickers.

You grimace. That would explain why Mando sounds like he wants to die. “Fun group. What’s the job?”

“One of theirs got caught. We’re getting him out,” he says. “And we’re using our ship.”

Our ship. Maybe it’s a slip of the tongue or maybe he’s making it clear that you’re with him, but either way, it brings a smirk to your face. The Twi’lek looks disgusted.

“Well, at least my hard work won’t be going to waste,” you huff.

“Mando,” the Twi’lek interrupts, “you haven’t introduced us.”

You can feel him rolling his eyes. “(Y/N), meet Mayfeld, Burg, Xi’an. Mayfeld is running point, the droid is flying, and the target is a New Republic transport ship.”

“Ugh. You guys better be good; I’m not getting arrested.”

“Mayfeld’s former Imperial,” Mando says before any of them can answer.

You scoff. “A stormtrooper? My shitty blaster skills would be better than his.”

“I wasn’t a stormtrooper,” Mayfeld spits, annoyed enough that he must’ve said it once already. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

All but the droid stay, scattered around the hull. Mando follows soon after the jump to hyperspace, having hovered over the droid while it set their course. He stops Burg from getting into the weapons cache right after he hops down the ladder and the two look like they want to kill each other.

“Someone tell me why we even need a Mandalorian,” the Devaronian grunts.

Mayfeld huffs. “Well, apparently, they’re the greatest warriors in the galaxy. So they say.”

“Then why are they all dead?”

They all laugh at that—Xi’an with a particularly nasal one, which is irritating beyond belief. You frown deeply, but try not to show how pissed their laughter makes you. That sort of shit isn’t to be made fun of; a dying race. It’s all too familiar these days, what with the death of Alderaan and the crater on Scarif.

When you come back into focus, Xi’an is talking in low tones.

“See, I know who you really are,” she says to the Mando.

You roll your eyes. Unlikely.

(Something in your brain goes: I do, which is stupid. You don’t know who he is, under that helmet, sure, but you’ve seen a lot of him through his actions. He’s reckless, terrifying, and a badass, but he’s also patient and...kind, in his own way. The way he treats the child is like nothing you’ve seen in another bounty hunter. It’s gentle, caring. The kid has really grown on him, you think. And the way he treats you is just straight up polite, even though you’re practically his servant in terms of a life debt. Still, he treats you like a person and doesn’t ask you to do unreasonable favours just because he saved your life. He doesn’t hold it over your head.)

And then they start goading him about the helmet.

Burg actually goes for it, which Mando beats him back for. You jump forward, but just as you do, the door to the sleeping cot flies open, revealing the child.

Instead, you rush to the child, pulling him into your arms.

“What is that?” Mayfeld asks, approaching.

“Back off,” you hiss.

He looks between you and Mando. “Wait, did you two make that?” When you scoff, he frowns. “What is it, like a pet or somethin’?”

“Yeah. Something like that,” Mando says quickly.

Xi’an frowns. “Didn’t take you for the type. Maybe that code of yours has made you soft.”

You snort. Soft. That isn’t a word you’d use to describe him, ever. You haven’t seen very much action since Tatooine, but you saw enough there.

Mayfeld reaches for the child and, without hesitation, you lift your blaster. The way he’s looking at the little guy makes you uneasy.

“Fuck off,” you warn instantly.

“Aw, c’mon, I just wanna hold him,” he teases.

Over the comms, the droid’s voice echoes. “Dropping out of hyperspace. Now.”

The entire ship shudders and shakes, sending everyone flying off their feet. You happen to ram into beskar, your face slamming into the metal, which makes you yelp. The baby wails in your arms as gravity makes to tug you away again. Before it can, Mando grabs your arms and holds you in place against him until the ship is steady once more.

“You okay?” he asks, helping you to your feet—again, you think miserably.

“Ugh, no,” you groan, putting a hand on the left side of your face. “That’s gonna bruise.”

Mando takes the child from you. “Sorry. We’ll deal with it after.”

You wave him off. “I’ve had worse. You worry about the job, I’ll watch the kid,” you say, taking the child back. You can’t help but smile when he coos happily.

“Right,” Mando mutters. For a moment, he watches you both, considering.

“Mando!” calls Mayfeld. “Let’s go!”

Before he goes, he puts a hand on your shoulder. “Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this.” You nod, which seems to appease him, and watch him leave.

Petting the child’s floppy ears, you wonder if he meant that to be as comforting as it was.

*

I should’ve known, Din thinks when Qin walks out of that cell.

I definitely should’ve known, he decides, returning to the Razor Crest to find a sparking droid corpse and a shaking child in your arms.

He tosses the cuffed Twi’lek to the side and rushes to yours, stepping over Zero’s limp form. You look relatively unfazed, for someone who’s just ripped a droid’s head off with their bare hands, but the child is rather distressed. The kid squeaks at the sight of Din and, much to his surprise, lifts your hand to show him.

It’s bleeding.

“What did you do?” Din questions, crossing the hull for his medical kit.

“I...may have tried to punch the droid,” you admit hesitantly. “It didn’t work.”

He scoffs, returning to kneel in front of you with bacta patches in his hands. “No karking shit.”

Your face falls as he reaches for your hand, pulling it toward him so he can patch it up. “It was gonna hurt the kid.”

“You did good,” he murmurs. “Stupid, but good.”

It never occurred to him that you might save the child again. You’re here out of necessity, after all, because you owe him, because your honour depends on paying that debt. The child is just another being in the vicinity, but you still saved him. Again. You’re either very stupid or very kind and he can’t decide which one is more concerning.

“Maybe you should teach me a bit of hand to hand, too,” you suggest warmly, wincing at the bacta’s sting.

Din makes a noise that’s sort of a laugh. “I’ll add it to the list.”

He moves to put bacta on the bruise his beskar gave you—He feels ridiculously guilty for that; here you are, paying off a life debt to him, and he still manages to hurt you—but with a hand, you stop him.

“Don’t waste it,” you say immediately. “I’ve had worse bruises, seriously.”

He frowns. “It’s not a waste.” Before you can protest, he puts the patch on top of the bruise.

You huff. “You’re a worrier, aren’t you, Mando?”

“Apparently,” he replies dryly. He hadn’t realised it, either.

“Will you stop flirting and get us out of here!?” Qin shouts from the other side of the hull. “The New Republic will be on our asses!”

You roll your eyes. “I hate to say it, but he has a point. Where are the others?”

“Dealt with,” he says simply. “It was a double-cross.”

“Well, I figured,” you shoot back with a knowing look. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

The drop is easy enough, especially since Din knows that New Republic signal is beeping steadily from Qin’s pocket. He escapes quickly, dipping back into the Razor Crest, where you wait at the top of the ramp, the child hanging onto your boot.

“Let’s go,” he declares, the ramp shutting behind him as he enters.

“Already?” you question with a raised eyebrow. “There are a few repairs I could make out of hyperspace that might be useful.”

He waves you toward the cockpit. “Later. We need to leave.”

“Oookay.” You frown but do as he says, plucking the child from off your foot. “C’mon, little guy,” you mutter to him.

Din waves away all your questions as he starts the take-off. Finally, when the Razor Crest is a safe distance away from the space station and X-Wings appear out of hyperspace, he glances back at you.

“Holy shit!” you cry as they open fire. You look back at him with a slack jaw, which makes him smile underneath the helmet. “That was you, wasn’t it?”

He shrugs half-heartedly, but it’s enough of an answer.

“You’re a maniac, Mando,” you laugh, watching the scene through the transparisteel.

Din thinks over it, staring at you for a long moment. There’s light in your eyes—maybe it’s the reflection of the explosion, but it’s captivating.

“Din,” he says.

You look over. “Hm?”

He clears his throat, trying to shove aside nerves. “My name. It’s Din.”

“Oh. Oh,” you repeat, eyes wide. Then, you smile, more genuine than he’s ever seen from you, he thinks. “You’re crazy, Din. You know that, right?”

He laughs—and that’s the first time you’ve heard a proper one from him. “Yeah. Yeah, I know.”

*

When Din drops a pair of gloves in front of you, you laugh.

“You’re telling me the gloves are out of convenience?” you ask him disbelievingly.

“The more skin you cover, the less likely you are to get cut up by a vibroblade,” he replies dryly. “Put them on.”

You raise your hands in surrender and take them, slipping them over your fingers. “Surprisingly comfy.”

It occurs to you that this is...sort of a big deal. You’ve kept your hands bare for as long as you can remember, mostly because you’re a romantic and finding your Soulmate has been at the forefront of your mind for a long time. But now, you think, it’s not such a big deal. You have a debt to pay and, besides that, you’re pretty happy with how things are now.

Life isn’t exactly nice with Din and the kid, so to say, but you’re content. You love the child and he adores you. The Razor Crest feels more like home than any planet ever has. And Din is...well, he’s something. Being around him is mildly addicting and whenever he’s gone, something feels incomplete.

“Better?” you ask, lifting your gloved hands.

“Much,” he says. Then, he holds out his own hand. “C’mon, up.”

You take the hand without thought, but before you know it, he’s swinging you around and shoving you to the ground.

“Ow!” you cry. “What the hell, Din?”

He huffs. “Lesson 1: Never take anything for granted.”

“Rude.” You hit his arm meaningfully, but he just rolls his eyes; just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean you can’t tell it’s happening.

“You’ll thank me someday.”

“But not today.”

“Nope. Today, you’re gonna hate my guts.”

*

He’s dying.

It feels unreal, what with everything you’ve watched him survive so far. A newbie bounty hunter, a group of pissed off bounty hunters, lots of bounty hunters, and the New Republic but a group of stormtroopers is what gets him?

Moff Gideon is what really gets him, though. The bastard that helped destroy his people is going to destroy Din Djarin. Hearing him speak Din’s name makes you nauseous, furious, even. He gave you that name in confidence, trusted it to you, the only one of his handful of friends to even use it, and Gideon decides to declare it to Nevaroo in its entirety. It makes your blood boil, enough that you get out of the initial firefight mostly unscathed.

But Din doesn’t. And now he’s dying in your arms and you feel like you failed.

“Go with them,” he tells you, all croaky and half-assed.

“No. No, I’m not leaving you here,” you declare, carefully leaning him against the rubble.

Flames flicker all around the room and the child is crying. It’s not loud or consistent, but it’s enough to break your heart.

“You have to go,” Din says again. “You’ll die.”

You laugh ruefully. “That’s kind of the point. A life debt means I save your life or I die trying.”

A pause.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” he hisses through the pain.

“Afraid not, dumbass. You’re stuck with me, remember?”

He grasps your arm, his hands still gloved. If you’re going to die here, maybe you should ask him to take off the gloves. A part of you has wondered…

“C’mon, tell me it’s transferable—some ‘dying wish’ shit like that.”

You nod, though the action sinks uncomfortably into your chest. Leaving him here...that doesn’t sit well with you. But if he asks, then you’ll do it. “Yeah, you name it, but it’d better be a big one, something equivalent.”

The breath he lets out is one of relief. “Take care of the kid. Go find his people and return him to them. Protect him.”

“With my dying breath,” you swear, the words holding an air of ceremony.

Din grasps your arm tighter and pulls you down, your forehead meeting his helmet. You’re not sure what it means, but it must mean something because he mutters words in his own language, which you’ve never heard him do before.

“Ret’urcye mhi.”

May we meet again.

Din does what little he can in saying goodbye to you, as deeply as that cuts. You’ve grown on him, a little too much maybe, and it kills him to think that you’ll be without him now. You still can’t hit a headshot, he realises, suddenly worried for how you’ll fare.

And so he gives you what he can: a Keldabe kiss and a goodbye, instead of the action he wants to take. He wants to take off his gloves and see if he can figure out the colour of your eyes. On the other hand, though, he doesn’t want to leave you with that, of all things, to leave you seeing the red of his blood and the blue-tinged orange of the flames before any other colours.

You take the child in your arms and, with one last glance at Din, leave the room for the covert’s tunnels underground.

The child whimpers up at you.

You look down, sniffling, and pet his ears gently. “I know, little one. I’m so sorry.” You place a gentle kiss to his forehead.

Cara appears, tugging on your wrist. “C’mon,” she says gently. “We need to get out of here.”

It occurs to you, as the three of you and Greef move on, that Cara might help you with the child. For Din, obviously. She’s a good person and, frankly, she and Din seem pretty friendly. The second she saw you, she’d offered her bare hand and bemoaned the fact that her vision was still black and white, much to your amusement. It was all in good fun, but Din had looked a little uncomfortable, for reasons you didn’t know.

“(Y/N),” Cara says quietly, calling your attention back.

You shake yourself from your thoughts. “Sorry.”

She smiles sadly. “It’s okay. Just keep up.”

The small group turns a few corners before footsteps sound from behind. You immediately place the child in the bag hanging from Cara’s shoulder and draw your blaster, watching her and Greef do the same.

From the distant hall, two figures approach: IG-11 and—

“Din!” you half-cry, half-breathe out. Holstering your blaster, you meet them halfway to take more of Din’s weight from IG. “How—?”

“No living thing can see me without my helmet. IG isn’t alive,” Din says dryly.

You laugh, a partly manic sound. “Thank kark. You’re not getting out of this that easy.”

The noise he makes is both amused and resigned. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Where’s the—?”

“He’s with Cara,” you say, finishing the thought before even he can, in his groggy state.

It’s safe to say that when the Armourer gives him his sigil, Din almost considers correcting the Clan of two to a Clan of three. He doesn’t, reminding himself that you’re here because of a debt and nothing else, but the thought is there.

*

The months after Nevarro are more peaceful than the first week of your time with Din. 

You finally get to pull a proper sleeping space together for yourself. Well, it’s a hammock in the hull, but it’s better than the seats in the cockpit. The child gets his own hammock, too, though it’s in the cot space with Din. He loves it, so much so that he squeals when he sees it. That’s your proudest moment, for sure.

Most days, you tend to forget that you still owe a life debt. To be honest, it just feels like the three of you are normal. Din takes bounties, you take short mechanic jobs on different planets, and the two of you trade off on child-duty. It’s pretty regular, more than what your life used to be, anyway.

Din is still training you in hand-to-hand and blasters, of course. You’re getting better with the latter, but the first is difficult. On the way to Tatooine, where there’s supposedly another Mandalorian, he decides to have another training session.

“Fists higher, do it again.”

Huffing, you wipe your wrist across your sweaty forehead. It’s easy enough to obey the order—the first part, anyway. Getting into his guard is difficult, though.

One hit, two blocks—there. You slip under his guard and make an abrupt drop to the ground, sweeping his legs out under him with a fierce movement. He goes down in a tumble of beskar, joining you on the floor. As soon as he’s down, you flip over and straddle his hips, an arm over his neck in false threat.

He barks out a laugh. “Much better.”

“I’m not entirely hopeless!” you declare joyfully before bursting into snickers.

Leaning down, you thunk your forehead against his helmet. The gesture is fond, you’ve learned, something shared between close companions—or at least you think. Din told you that it’s called a mirshmure’cya in Mando’a, that it doesn’t have an equivalent word in Basic.

(Which is technically true. Literally, it means brain-kiss, but the outsider term for it is Keldabe kiss. It can be used for close companions—vode in arms, family—but it’s also used for romantic partners, so he’s mildly horrified at the idea of explaining its cultural significance to you and having to face his feelings for someone that may or may not be his Soulmate. He hasn’t gotten up the courage to ask if he can check. Or try to do it discreetly.)

A distant beeping starts up, coming from the cockpit. It’s the approach warning, which means the training session is over.

“I’ll get the kid,” you say, climbing off Din and offering a hand.

He takes it without hesitation, dragging himself up and making a beeline for the cockpit.

Tatooine is about what you remember. That is, it’s dry, sandy, and the worst planet you’ve ever been on. Stepping out of the ship and into the hangar makes you smile, though, at the not-so-distant memory of Din saving your life. It hasn’t been that long, but it feels like it’s been years.

“Oh, hey!” says Peli, after greeting the child—which is fair, he’s adorable. “You’re still with him! Haven’t repaid that debt yet, huh?”

Your face falls. “Uh, no, not really.”

On the way to Mos Pelgo, your thoughts linger on the life debt. One of these days, you’re going to save Din’s life—then where will you be? Will he want you to leave? What will you do if you have to leave? Your old life was nowhere near as interesting as this, nor did you have anyone close to what Din and the child are to you.

The dreary grey slopes of sand only make it easier to think of the worst possible outcomes. Now you remember why you hated Tatooine so much.

You don’t even realise the speeder is approaching the small town until Din taps your arm, which is wrapped around his waist. Jumping at the touch, you loosen your grip sheepishly and glance at the child, who looks like he’s enjoying himself immensely.

After the speeder comes to a stop, you take the kid while Din enters the cantina.

When you enter yourself, you find that he’s about to shoot someone, while the Weequay behind the bar looks rather distressed.

“Perfect timing, as always,” Din remarks without a glance.

You raise your free hand. “You’re the bad luck charm, I’m just here for the ride,” you retort teasingly.

“You brought a kid to a gunfight?” his opponent asks, raising an eyebrow.

Finally, you glance over at him and see why Din looks ready to kill him. He’s in Mandalorian armour but his helmet is off—clearly, he’s not Mandalorian. “You’re wearing beskar and you’re not a Mandalorian, buddy. I think you’re in more trouble than the kid is.”

“He is,” Din gets out, a twinge of viciousness in his voice.

Before they can even reach for their blasters, though, the ground starts to shake.

You grab onto the doorway for support, eyes wide as you grip the child. Din and the Mandalorian poser move toward the door, joining you and staring out at the street outside.

The entire planet feels like it rumbles and chaos reigns outside.

Something is moving the sand—coming toward the town.

“Holy fuck,” you whisper as it goes by, shifting the sand like it’s an ocean rather than earth. It flies out of the ground, sharp teeth the only thing you see as it consumes a bantha whole.

When it’s gone, the poser huffs. “Maybe we can work something out.” He turns to you, offering a hand, which is covered by fingerless gloves. “Cobb Vanth. I’m the Marshal here.”

You take it hesitantly, glad that things are still black and white when you make contact. “(Y/N).”

He notices your hesitation and chuckles. “The Weequay in there is Sala, my Soulmate. I’ll see if they can’t whip up something for the kid; I’m sure he’s starving.”

“Very,” you say, just before he goes to leave.

When it’s just you and Din, you look over at your companion. “Krayt dragon, huh?”

“Yep,” he sighs, already sounding tired.

You laugh. “I know I said I could bring you to one when we met, but I was totally kidding.”

He looks over at you and you can feel the low-level glare behind the visor, but it only makes you snicker. “I hate you.”

“You’re so full of shit,” you retort immediately.

*

You finally get to repay your debt.

It’s not what you’re thinking about when you shove Din out of the way of the krayt’s projectile venom, but it’s repaid nonetheless.

Din doesn’t think of it immediately, either, as he’s rather more concerned with the fact that you’re sent flying across the desert into a pile of debris and sharp rocks.

“(Y/N)!”

Before he can run to you, Cobb grabs his arm. “The dragon!”

To be honest, killing the dragon feels like a bonus when he pulls himself together and figures out a plan. When the great beast explodes, the Tuskens and the villagers cheer, but Din races back to the place he saw you last. He pushes aside the remains of one of those massive weapons they built to find you, laying on the ground. For a moment, panic clutches his heart, but then you groan.

“Am I dead?” you ask.

Din lets out a breath, hardly managing it, as he kneels next to you. “Dumbass.”

“Because it feels like I’m dead.”

“Dumbass,” he repeats, ripping your shirt away to find a deep cut in your side, just above your hip. “Of all the ways to pay your debt—”

You sit up, wincing. “Oh,” you say, as if you hadn’t realised it, “I guess I did that, too.”

Din’s heart is still beating a million klicks a second at how close you were to being dead, but for a second, it flips, realising that you hadn’t saved him just to pay the debt. And then, as he’s helping you off the ground and bringing you toward the others, who have bacta patches ready, his heart sinks.

Your debt is paid. You don’t have any reason to stay with him and the kid. As soon as you get back to the city, he’s going to have to watch you leave.

Shit. He didn’t think this through.

Meanwhile, you’re on the same train of thought. Does he really think you saved him for the debt? Does he want you gone that bad? It makes sense. You’re a pain in the ass, with all the training you need. But...well, you thought he might’ve—

“I’ve changed my mind,” you declare.

Din, terrified, attempts to sound neutral. “About?”

“The worst job we’ve ever taken. This is definitely it,” you huff as he helps you down onto a smoother boulder, taking patches from a Tusken.

He goes to use them, but you raise a hand.

“If you even think about getting near my wound with those nasty gloves, I’m going to skin you,” you threaten.

Frankly, Din is too shaken to even laugh. The silence lays there, stilted, as he removes his gloves and sits somewhat behind you, on another close stone. You’ve taken yours off, too, seeing as one is ripped all the way through.

He’s careful with the bacta patch and his bare hands, making sure not to touch your skin.

Now, of all moments, would be the worst time to find out that you really don’t have a reason to stay.

While he works, he thinks, briefly, that he should say something. “(Y/N),” he starts to say. “I—”

But that happens to be the moment he’s putting the bacta patch on. You suck in a sharp breath through your teeth, wincing. Your hand flies out, reaching for something to ground you. Of course, because something out there has it out for you, you grab his hand, forgetting that his gloves are, for once in his life, not there.

You realise, ridiculously, that his hand is warm.

And then the world around you explodes into colour.

The faded yellow of the surrounding desert is overwhelming with how it burns into your eyes alongside the brilliant blue of the sky. The surrounding Tuskens are in browns and greys, simple things, but so, so beautiful to your new sight. You breathe out, a shaky action.

Behind you, Din comes to see the same, but his gaze is stuck on the back of your head—the (h/c) of your hair and how the light catches in it, despite it being a complete mess.

You barely have the breath to gasp, but you do, whirling around to face him.

His beskar is beyond what you’d pictured: a shining, sparkling silver that could stand out on a star. No wonder rooms fall silent at the sight of him.

Din has the same thought about your eyes. On death’s door, all he’d wanted was to know what colour they are and now he knows, but it feels so useless now. He doesn’t even know what to call them. Sure, (e/c) would work, however weakly. You are...something else. You always have been, but now it’s like he can see it, the beauty of who you are so plainly painted into your features.

Din doesn’t even have the time to be afraid of your reaction before the words are slipping out. “I don’t want you to go.”

You just stare at him for a long moment, words processing.

It...kind of freaks him out.

He jumps when you fling yourself at him, arms wrapped around his shoulders in the tightest hug he’s ever gotten. Immediately, he responds, clutching the back of your shirt like it’ll save his life.

“Thank the Force,” you breathe out, just beside where his ear is under the helmet. “I don’t wanna leave.”

Din lets out a breath of relief and tugs you closer so you’re practically sitting on his lap. It can’t be comfortable, but you don’t seem to mind. When you do finally pull away, it’s to press your forehead against his helmet. It sends a swell of affection through him again, your constant Keldabe kisses. He taught you something important to his culture, to him, and here you are, using it without thought.

“Is it too late to tell you that this is the Mandalorian equivalent of a kiss?” he murmurs, more than a little embarrassed.

You laugh softly, arms reaching to rest around his neck. “And I thought you were so cool.”

“I just blew up a krayt dragon,” he argues.

“Oh, you’re plenty badass, Din,” you tease back, “just...not smooth.”

He huffs. “I’m gonna kick your ass next training session.”

A grin comes over your face and, for a second, he can’t comprehend why that would make you smile—until he realises that he just promised a next time. You’d genuinely believed he wanted you gone and Din thought you wanted to leave, but neither of you were right. 

A whine from below catches both your attention.

The child reaches up from the ground, making grabby hands.

You laugh, a noise Din echoes quietly, and pluck him from the ground, holding him in your careful hands. “Hey, buddy. Feeling left out?”

He squeaks a confirmation, his little hands—green hands, you realise, deeply amused—reaching for Din’s helmet. Once he has a comfortable hand, he bashes his head against the helmet.

Din yelps, not out of pain, but concern, grabbing for the kid, who wobbles dizzily.

“Oh, shit—” Din says.

“Woah, woah,” you get out between wheezing laughs. “Don’t do that! His head is much harder than yours.”

The kid makes a weak huff and curls against Din’s chest stubbornly.

“I think that was an attempted kiss,” you suggest to Din.

Underneath his helmet, he grins. Petting the child’s head with a gentle finger, he looks back up at you. “It was cute.”

“Very,” you agree.

Without prompting, Din reaches for your hand again, a little hesitant. You take his gladly, running your thumb across his knuckles, which makes him shiver.

“Clan of three,” he whispers.

You lift your gaze. “Hm?”

“The Armourer, she said, ‘Clan of two’ when she gave me my sigil,” he explains. “I wanted to correct her then.”

The smile on your face is beyond words. “Clan of three has a ring to it. You’re stuck with me for good now, Din Djarin.”

He snorts and raises your hand to his helmet, touching it briefly to the metal in lieu of kissing it.

Tatooine might be the worst place in the universe, Din thinks that it doesn’t matter so much where he is. Sitting here, with you and the kid, he thinks that this might be home.

*

River’s Tags: @hahaboop & @mystoragehatesme

Masterlist

[door]

dinluke fic recs

hey. i’ve been going through it here, as you may have noticed. here is a list of my fave dinluke fics. this is not to say they are the only good dinluke fics, but i am very picky about the things i like here, as in all other things. you might also like some of those things!

but home was a dream by redyucca T+ 39k wds

Din takes off his helmet and learns how to put it back on. Which is, like, a metaphor.

i enjoy fics that dig into the fact that both din and luke represent very old religious orders and how they reconcile that. how they figure out what they owe them. this does a lot of that, and well.

staring down the barrel of the hot sun by magneticwave G 25.7k wds

“Gone to a Child of the Watch, the Darksaber has,” Grand Master Yoda announces in his creaky little voice. “Peace, there is not, and yet peace, there must be.”

this is an AU in which mace windu chops palpatine’s head right off and 30 years later luke, having been raised by his parents and the jedi order, accompanies obi-wan to mandalore on a diplomatic mission. it’s GREAT. and there’s no anakin present, which is great for me personally, bc i find him boring

The Storm by shirazora T+ 45k wds

Din Djarin needs a new ship.

Greef Karga makes him a deal - do some work for the guild and he'll get a brand new gunship. One such job takes him to a planet with a volatile storm system to track down a double-crossing bounty hunter. What he doesn't know is that the bounty hunter is there to loot an ancient Jedi temple. What neither of them know is that someone else is also on the planet searching for the temple.

And then the storm rolls in.

din and luke stuck in a crumbling temple with a captured bounty hunter for several days yes, please

The word is help. by spqr M 9k wds

In a flash, Fett has his blaster out and pointed at Luke’s head.

“You’re right,” he says. “Turnabout’s fair play. So maybe I oughta shoot you.”

Din’s voice comes from somewhere behind them. “Try it, Fett.”

this is a din-goes-to-stay-at-the-school fic, but it starts with a very satisfying h/c sequence and the voices are very good.

Light by xpityx T+ 4k wds

The landing area was so small and well-hidden that Din almost missed it, despite having been there before. It was always in imminent danger of being taken over by the surrounding jungle, but there was also just something about the place that made him overlook it. Din was sure it was more of Luke’s Force magic but had never asked.

this is a slow, lovely little fic

who carried the hill by spqr M 22k wds

Din’s about to head up the ramp onto the newly-repaired Razor Crest when a string pulls taut around his heart and yanks him into the sky.

this is both a soulmate fic and a original trilogy-era fic, neither of which i have much interest in, but it pulls both off in really good, interesting ways and then shovels a huge pile of pining in near the end. i had a great time

Let me stand by you, loneliest light by passingsunlight G 1k wds

"Whenever we do this, we can’t ever rush, with the armor. It’s not just the helmet. And it’s not just because it’s beskar. The gloves, the boots, even my vibroblade; all of it –"

"It’s a part of you"

"Yes."

inspired by this ngozi art

Hand in Glove by rinwins G 737 wds

“Here,” Luke says, “help me with this?”

“I’m not really a mechanic--”

“That’s fine, I just need your hand.”

inspired by this ngozi art