#this one fought me to the ground. fic's got hands i'll give her that

[secret-smut-sideblog]

Faith Consuming Hope

Gale x F! Tav (named)

(Child Of Dawn, part 9)

18+ complicated feelings, sub/dom, urgency, roughness, riding (f!), temperature play, fingering (f!), oral (f!), p-in-v, unprotected sex, religous trauma, depictions of implied violence, autonomy/identity issues, discussions of terminal illness (in a way), tenderness

Meeting a certain tressym, Gale finds an opportunity to coaxe more sincerity and trust from his closed off love. Though he is powerless to not imbibe in her own persuasion...

Masterlist, Prev Chapter

-

"The roof, huh?" Karlach remarked, leaning on her battleaxe.

"I mean, if we're looking for lost pigeons there's a good chance the creatures would be roofbound." Astarion huffed. "I remind you, I feel this errand is below our standing."

"I know." Aurum sighed good naturedly, patting his arm. Already staring up at the angle of wall to shingles, eyes calculating.

"Oh no you don't." Gale cut off the determination he could already see forming in her face, pulling his sleeves back.

"You're still not well enough, we're taking the safe route." He admonished, pulling a thread of Weave down to him. Twisting it around his fingers and releasing it around them.

Casting flight on them both, the spectral feathers circled her. Lifting her off of her feet, hair hovering above her shoulders.

She gasped out a laugh, giving a little twirl in the air. With the Weave connecting them, he felt her joy washing over him in jubilant waves.

He couldn't help his own wide smile, taking her hand. "Shall we?" He lifted up, pulling her up through the air.

He flew them a little farther than necessary, savoring this small moment. Her eyes held his in sparkling wonder when they landed, his heart so full of adoration it ached.

"Getting truly swept off your feet. Thoroughly magical, yes?" He smiled.

"Are you fishing for compliments, wizard?" She teased, eyes still dancing with mirth.

"Oh, you know me too well."

She ran a finger along the bridge of his nose.

"You're too cute when you do that."

"Do what?" He wondered, genuinely confused.

Her eyes caught a sight over his shoulder.

"Well I think we found our culprit." She intoned warmly, coming around his side.

Folding elegantly onto knees, she held her hand out to the cat to sniff.

No, not cat. Tressym. Surely it couldn't be...

"Tara!" He called excitedly. "It is you! What are you doing up here?"

She paused from sniffing Aurum's extended fingertips. "What a well-mannered acquaintance you have here, Mr. Dekarios. So few greet me so politely."

Aurum smiled, tilting her head at Tara. Leaving her palm open for her to push her little head into.

"Ah, it would be a great disservice to call her my acquaintance! This is Aurum, my..."

He was at a loss to what to call her. They certainly hadn't made anything official, but he didn't want to overstep by naming it outright...

"Girlfriend." She finished easily. "Aurum Orndeir, pleasure to meet you."

He smiled so wide he thought his face might crack. Glad that she was preoccupied greeting Tara to not see his surely giddy looking display.

"I'm glad you two have finally met, I had been hoping it could've been over a home cooked meal in my tower and not on precarious shingles."

They both gave him a look of teasing reproach, setting his heart fluttering.

Oh, these two might be trouble together.

"Inviting me to your house for the first time? You must really like me." Aurum remarked, Tara purring appreciatively at her sass.

"More than you could possibly believe."

She bit her lip at him in a smile, turning back to Tara. "If it's not too much of a bother Tara, we've been tasked to retrieve these letters." Aurum explained, gesturing to the letters strewn inside of the nest Tara was guarding.

"Ah, these must be important birds indeed, Ms. Orndeir."

"They were." Aurum agreed warmly. "I'm sure their handler would appreciate your discretion. But between you and me, they do seem delicious."

"What better company you've been keeping recently. A welcome change." Tara circled around Aurum's feet as she rose, letters in tow.

He always loved watching her charm those around her, but even more so here. Tara's approval was hard to come by, but she was firmly within her good graces already. Gods, it was no wonder why she had him so happily wrapped around her finger.

"What a lovely tressym!" She sighed, watching Tara glide away.

"I'm impressed you correctly identified her! Have you met many before?"

"Only one, it would come to a window at the temple sometimes." She smiled somewhat mournfully, many emotions flitting across her face.

He took her hands, pulling her eyes to his. Pouring his earnestness into her.

"Would you tell me more? About your time there, I mean."

She sighed, thumb rubbing the curve of his fingers. "It's very few happy memories."

"I know, but I'd like to hear them anyway." He encouraged, voice low.

Her lips pursed in thought. He tried not to show the desperation on his face. Woefully aware that though he had bared his soul to her countless times, there were large swaths of her life she had not shared with him. He knew it was due to pain and not indifference towards him, but it still made his heart ache all the same.

He wanted her to share everything with him, to be a safe harbor for her strife.

"I know I promised I would show you, and I will. But not now, we need to get back to our earth bound friends." She smiled, pulling his hands towards the lip of the roof.

The relief washing over him was apparent. Sighing out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Tonight, then?" He urged.

"Tonight." She nodded.

-

The chatter around the fireplace was as warm as the flames. Bowls and wine glasses being passed around, mouths leaning in to tell anecdotes, hands gesturing. Aurum smiled at the banter Karlach and Wyll had started up, hotly debating which is worse; an Orthon or a Cambion.

Gale's body enveloped behind hers, hand rubbing small absent-minded circles into her waist. She leaned back into him contently, looking up at him.

He stared back down at her lovingly, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Getting sleepy?" He whispered.

"A little. You're too snuggly, it's not fair." She chastised.

"Gods, you two are so sweet it's going to give me an abscess. Go to your private chambers before we vomit, please." Astarion chided.

"I love you too, Astarion." She smiled, rising and kissing his cheek.

"Would you like to retire, Gale?" She offered her hand to him.

"Yes, let's." He sighed, more than happy to have her to himself again.

She unlocked their suite with quick fingers and pulled him inside, pinning him against the closed door.

He jolted in surprise, lips crashing into his. Her body pressed hard against his, mouth slick and demanding. Hand tangling in his hair.

He moaned against her, heat immediately igniting in his pelvis. Taking two handfuls of her ass greedily.

He tried not to focus on just her figure too often, but Gods, what a sight she was.

Wide hips that swayed when she walked, thighs thick and lambs ear soft. Hips dipping so enticingly into waist, the small curve of her stomach. Breasts just big enough to fit in his hands, their smaller size complimenting her ample hips.

He would have to commission a statue of her when they got back to Waterdeep.

He kneaded the fat of her ass in his hands, groaning against her mouth. Already unbearably hard.

He knew she was trying to distract him from their incoming conversation. But he was a greedy man, and she was a call he had no desire to resist.

Her hands pulled roughly at his robe, wrestling with the tie at his waist. Impatient, she pulled it down over his shoulders, the fabric falling around his waist.

Her mouth left his and he sought for more, following. Until her mouth found his chest.

She swirled his nipple into her soft mouth. His head fell back against the door with a thunk. Gods it was so good. The twisting pulses of her mouth emptying his head. Nothing but hazy desire glazing over his eyes.

His hips arched towards her of their own accord. A magnetic pull.

She noticed, dropping to knees. Beginning to pull his robe aside.

"Wait," He panted, halting her approach with a gentle hand.

She looked up at him, eyes wide. "Is something wrong?"

Gods give him strength.

"No, quite the opposite." He dropped to knees with her, cupping her cheek.

"I want to treat you tonight. Our last coupling was just my pleasure."

She smiled cheekily at him. "If you think I didn't enjoy myself that night you're a fool."

"Oh most definitely a fool. One that wants to give you the ecstasy of the heavens and the passion of the hells."

He moved forward on knees, kissing along her swan neck. "Please, Aurum. It's all I want..."

She sighed in pleasure, head falling back.

"Well I have been curious about this talented mouth you've mentioned..."

Oh, she'd get her curiosity sated.

He chuckled and opened the ties of her silk robe, now dyed a deep purple. When she had debuted it casually, walking out into their shared room, his jaw quite literally dropped. Then a deep wonderful heartache set in when he realized it was his purple. The one he often sported.

The color suited her beautifully. The rich indigo contrasted with her gilded hues, like a gold ring circled with sapphires.

"Lay back, my sun and moon." He hushed. "Let me love you."

-

Aurum's heart constricted, but she looked into his deep brown eyes. Trying to separate the devotion apparent there from her tainted experiences. Assuring herself that his love wasn't weighted, she didn't need to perform any role here.

No one had loved her so purely, and it terrified her. The ever circling thoughts: What even was she outside of her holy purpose? Could there truly be more to his love than misplaced worship?

That the true reason why she had pushed his love away for so long is that, on some level, she was afraid of him. The depth and honesty of him was too warm, too open. And what did it mean to be loved like that? How could she live up to what he poured into her?

He looked at her as she hesitated, her swirling thoughts reading on her face.

"I love you, Rosa'sune."

Her mouth fell open. Shock stricken through the heart.

"How...?"

"Ah," He chuckled, embarrassed. "A truly humiliating amount of research. I'm sorry if that's a breach of trust, your family name was too familiar to not investigate."

His eyes lit in that spark of joy he got in sharing information.

"Your birth name, did you know it's of drow origin? Fascinating, for a wood elf to take inspiration from Undercommon."

"It's..." She started. "My wet nurse named me, she was drow."

His eyes sparkled. "Do you know what it means?"

She shook her head, her father had never shared that with her before he sent Ih'ara away.

"She chose well for you. It means warm rain."

Aurum hissed a breath between teeth, eyes welling.

"Oh, my love." He hushed, gathering her in his arms.

So much had been taken from her, her body, her voice. Her name. Little pieces of her whittled away, year after year. She had held on white knuckled to the fragments she still remembered. So much lost, discarded as useless by higher hands. Now, another piece of her was returned.

"Thank you." She hiccuped, hot tears dampening his shoulder.

He rubbed warm circles into her back.

"It's my greatest pleasure, my soft summer rain."

She pulled back and kissed him, her heart overflowing. A well of tenderness for him so full it ached.

Leaning back, she looked deep in his eyes. Body falling open for him.

He smiled, breathing a slow breath in through parted lips. Looking at her with deep longing. Eyes brimming with an intensity of adoration that nearly made her dizzy.

"Please give me your love, Gale."

He leaned down, cupping her face. Kissing her so deeply it took her breath. Slotting between her legs, a wide hand caressing the outside of her thigh. Pulling it up into a curve, angling around his hip.

Her head fell back from the kiss when he started to slowly grind into her. His lust blown pupils watching her face through lidded eyes. Thumb stroking her cheek. His labored breath a warm miasma that encircled her.

Her robe fell open with the arching of her chest. The sunburst burning a brilliant silver between them.

He kissed along her sternum, pulling up on her ribcage with a low moan. Mouth traveling to her breast, tip of his tongue trailing a circle around her peak.

She shivered, cunt clenching. Her nipple already standing eagerly at attention.

His warm mouth enveloped the hard nub, tongue pulling up in a swirl.

She whined, legs rising up into a curl.

He naturally hooked them over his shoulders, continuing to swirl and flick, sending jolts of pleasure through her. Her hips tried to grind into his belly, leaving a wet trail on the toned plane.

He moaned into her flesh, hand pushing down to cup her cunt. Gathering her slick in his fingers, eyes fluttering up into lids at the sensation.

"Gods, Aurum." He groaned, looking down at the copious pull of arousal on his fingers. "Is this all for me?"

She nodded, biting her lip. A blush rising to her cheeks at how much there was coating his long fingers.

He held her eyes as his slicked fingertips lit up a low red, casting a spell under his breath. Her breath held as she felt a wave of heat radiating from them, slowly plunged into her.

Immediately, her hips started writhing. His hot thrusting fingers bringing choppy whimpers to her lips. The heat impossibly pulling more slick from her. Pushing out into his palm.

"Fuck," He gasped, pulling back to watch her arousal drip down his wrist. Hips rocking unconsciously, heavy lidded eyes roving over her arching body.

Her orgasm already fast approaching, she gripped his wandering hand and pressed it to her chest. Yellow and silver twisting under her sternum, rays of light carding out between his fingers.

He watched rapturously as she crested over, her light reflected in his wide eyes. The sunburst pulsed brightly under her clenched shut eyes. Body twisting up as the pleasure took her apart. Gasping out pleading whines, hips bucking hard into his skilled fingers.

His thrusts slowed but didn't stop, thumb rubbing gentle circles into her clit.

Her hips twitched with each pulse, her cum pooling in his palm.

"Gods below..." He breathed, arcing his head down. Lapping up her cum, tongue plunging into her to catch more.

She whined, pushing into his mouth. Already needing more. Hand linking with his below her sternum. Twisting and pulling his fingers in phrases as he slurped at her clit.

Yes. Yes. More. Slow. Yes.

The working of his mouth was sending her toes into a curl, trying her hardest not to clamp her legs around his head. Muffling her cries into her cupped palm. The pulls of her fingers in his becoming more frantic.

His hand not twined with hers caressed along her thighs, her hips. Reverent skating fingers, feather light. The sensation mingling with the hungry wet pulls of his tongue. Slurping and suckling her clit with low moans. Tongue pulsing down to enthusiastically catch the arousal that poured from her.

Her second undoing pushed up higher and higher in her pelvis. His mouth too insistent, too learned already. Fast learning what took her apart at the seams.

"Gale, I'm-" She whimpered, gripping his hair back in a ponytail.

He looked up at her, nodding fervently. Mouth impossibly hungrier, roaming fingers pulling back to her center to push back inside her. Curling up and pumping hard.

His talking fingers twisting fast phrases against hers, already fluent in her language.

Go. Let go. Good. Beautiful. Safe. Give. Want.

Her mouth fell open in a silent cry, her second death hitting mercilessly, ripping up through her belly. Her own fingers unable to speak to him. Just grasping desperately into his, twining into his wide hand. Hips bucking erratically, his mouth still pulling as she clenched the fingers inside her, body demanding from them. His mouth determined to pull the thread of her orgasm to its frayed end.

He had no sign of stopping, and she had to pull back on his gathered hair. "Gale, baby, slow down..." She breathed, a small laugh on her lips.

"I'm sorry," He gasped, his own chuckle on the edge of his words. "I've been ravenous for this. Absolutely starved."

His middle and ring fingers pulled on hers in a warm circle. The phrase they had made together.

Her head cocked slightly, a baffled smile creasing her face.

"Good morning?" Giving a pointed look at the dark balcony.

"Ah," He smiled, heat rising to his cheeks. "Well, I know we agreed upon a meaning for this. But I've been deceiving you, see I've had my own meaning from the start."

He came up to her, planting a gentle and needful kiss into her lips. Murmuring his true phrase against her, pulling his looped fingers in tandem.

Her heart ached so deeply, thinking of the amount of times they'd exchanged this greeting. Nearly every morning, as he rose to meet her in the early blue light, their fingers found each other and spoke two phrases to each other.

Good morning.

I love you.

Tears streamed down her temples, kissing him in desperate tender pulses. Trying to get as close as nature allowed without being inside. But the world would only give her the inverse.

"Please, Gale." She whimpered against his warm mouth. "I need you inside me."

His breath caught, then slowly pulled through his teeth. Flipping onto his back. Fingers hooking around her hips and pull her to straddle him.

"Lead, my love. Let me be the seat of your pleasure." He rumbled, voice all gravel. Eyes dark and deceptively calm.

Her cunt clenched at his voice, the desire bleeding from him. His fingers massaging into the flesh of her hips in restrained encouragement.

She lost all decorum then, giving into the animalistic carnal drive she loved to indulge. Though she adored his love making, this was her true nature. Fucking mean and nasty.

She angled him to her entrance and slid him slowly inside, gripping his lower belly in fingernails. Mewling at the stretch, her cunt already bearing down in greedy clenches. His head falling back, gripping her thighs for dear life.

"Ah-h- tight..." He moaned out, voice choppy. Eyes fluttering back into lids.

She gave no pause, body unbearably hungry for him. To chase that feral desire into oblivion. To fuck him into the mattress until he was pleading.

She rolled her hips up and down in a vicious wave, his cock stroking euphoria into her body. Knowing that she should ease him in, but far too ravenous to slow herself.

Opening her strained shut eyes, she watched him. His eyebrows furrowed together in pleasure, lips fallen open with huffed breath. Flushed with exertion, the slightest sheen of sweat on his brow. Watching her with equally hungry eyes.

Losing herself entirely to her base desire, she drug her nails down his chest. Moaning at the pink lines that raised in her trail and his thrown back head.

She pulled his hands from her hips and pinned his wrists next to his head, leaning over his face. Hips still driving in hard thrusts. Hair falling curtain around him.

His wide eyes stared up at her, pupils so blown they were black saucers.

With a low groan she licked up his neck, tongue curling around his adam's apple. Flicking up the edge of his jaw.

She felt his cock throb hard inside her, his lower lip pulled into his teeth. A slight tremor in his thighs.

"So handsome," She breathed against his throat. "Trying not to come undone for me."

He moaned out a pleading whine as her hips picked up speed. Chasing her pleasure untethered. Pressing her hands down on his wrists as an anchor.

"Aurum," He whimpered, head turning to the side in effort. Teeth gritted and drawing fast shallow breath.

She rose his hands above his head, overlapping his wrists to push down in one hand. Her freed hand taking his chin, pulling his face back to hers.

His eyes met hers, wide and begging. "Kiss me..." He gasped, thighs starting to tremble.

She pulled him hard into her, stifling his cry in her mouth as he came apart under her. Wrists pushing against her hand, body twisting and arching desperately. Hands clenching into white knuckled fists. Hips bucking up into her in fast, erratic thrusts. Flooding her cunt to its brim.

Her hold broke as she buckled forward, crying out against his shoulder. Her body responding in kind as her own end crested, vice gripping him in vicious contractions. Wrenching him of all the spend he could give. His newly freed hands flying to her hips, slamming them up and down in an even faster pace than she had set.

She gripped into his shoulders, eyes rolling marbles in her skull. Mewling out desperate cries as his unrelenting thrusts pushed her orgasm to an impossibly high edge. Fingernails clawing into his skin. Shuddering hard, their shared cum pushing out onto his pelvis.

Tracing the sign for stop into his palm, she fell boneless into him as he stilled her thrusts. Both gasping out fast breaths into each other's necks.

He cupped the back of her head, pushing exhausted kisses into her hairline, her temple, the point of her ear. Murmuring out I 'love you' in repeating croaky hums.

She bit his shoulder in response, giggling at his dissaproving sigh.

Pulling his fingers in their new meaning three times for good measure. His happy sigh at her response setting her heart alight.

-

Gale ruffled his hair into a fresh towel, stepping out of the bath. Disappointed that he woke too late to share in her own bathing. Gods forgive him, but he was unexpectedly exhausted for some reason he couldn't quite place. Sleeping like a stone, body a puddle. Waking feeling far more rested than he had in months. But to a devastatingly empty bed, after all.

He would have to work on coaxing her to stay in bed in the morning. Wanting nothing more than to lay in warm tangled limbs as the sun rose. Snuggled into a lazy pile together, morning be damned.

Naturally, she had already been up, sweeping around the room in his robe. Greeting his groggy wandering with gentle kisses along his jaw, humming good morning to him. Tea in hand, hair piled elegantly on her head. Dodging his hands trying to pull her back into bed with a teasing click of her tongue.

He emerged from their bathroom feeling more like a person again, sleep pulling it's veil back. The rising sun cascading across the balcony where she was sat, leaning her hand on her chin, smiling at a little figure striding on the table.

Tara twirled happily, speaking low to her. A conspiratorial look passing between them, Aurum's wide smile telling of secrets being passed.

His heart soared watching them, a sleepy smile spreading across his face.

"Now, what are we whispering about?" He hummed, raising one eyebrow. Kissing Aurum's temple as he came up behind her.

"Well, I was just informing Ms. Orndeir that both your mother and I are so excited to see you finally find a partner, and such a lovely one at that. She was absolutely beside herself when I told her the news."

She tutted at him, turning back to Aurum. "Thank goodness he's found someone to settle down with. We were starting to think he intended to die alone! Now, if you could just convince him to shave that unsightly beard..."

"Oh, I don't know." Aurum smiled, eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. "I think it makes him look rugged."

Her fingernails scratched light circles into his beard, sending little trails of pleasure across him. His eyes closing, mind emptying.

"Such a cat." She teased, scratching under his chin playfully.

"Oh, Morena is quite eager to meet you, my dear." Tara remarked, tail in a happy curl.

"Now hold on a minute," He started, already knowing far too well how the Dekarios women schemed. "How much has been agreed upon without my input?"

"Oh, please, let the women talk." Tara waved away his protest easily.

"We have ever so much to catch up on, and it wouldn't do to not have a spot of tea and chat. Wouldn't you agree, Mrs. Dekarios?"

Gale sputtered out his tea, Aurum patting hard into his back with a laugh.

"I couldn't agree more." She hummed, smiling radiantly at the little tressym. "Tell Morena that she can expect us as soon as we're available."

Oh, the three of them would be trouble together, of that he was sure. Though he desperately yearned to have them all under one roof, he knew there was no hope for him once they were united.

"Of course, we must meet your family as well." Tara added.

Aurum smiled sadly, her jaw tightening just slightly. "I'm sad to say it's just me. There are no more of my lineage left."

"Oh," Tara intoned softly. "I'm very sorry, dear."

"I appreciate that." Aurum sighed, eyes warm.

"Well, no matter. The Dekarios clan is sprawling enough to make up for that tenfold."

Gale laughed appreciatively at that. "Truer words never spoken. An abundance of family, honestly a suffocating amount."

"I would like that." Aurum smiled, thumb caressing his on the table.

"Of course, we would always welcome another..." Tara started, eyeing her in a leading lilt.

"Tara!" Gale hushed, glaring down. "That is not up for discussion!"

Of course, he had thought about it. In vague faraway musings naturally. Even more so as he realized in a jolt that he had finished inside her last night. But still.

Aurum's face slid into that practiced grace that, to the outside, presented a calm serenity. His fingers subtly stroked hers in a reassuring arc, acknowledging her veiled distress.

"I'm sure we will have much to discuss when the opportunity presents itself." He retorted, reigning the conversation back in protectively.

"But my beloved and I have much to attend to today. Our work is endless, isn't it?" He sighed, kissing her cheek.

She smiled, signing a subtle 'thank you' into his fingers. "Truly." She sighed in return.

"Tell Morena that I'll be expecting that letter, though I'm uncertain where it will find me." Aurum added, rising with him from the patio table.

"Ah, no matter. I'm certain I can spot that light in any crowd." Tara tilted her head at Aurum's chest, purring. "Such a radiant sight."

Aurum rested her hand over it, the silvery white hue reassuring.

"Thank you." She offered graciously. Giving away none of the discomfort he knew she felt. Keeping to herself that she tightly shielded this light away from the prying eyes of the world.

His hand weaved into hers pulled gently behind her back to sign freely.

Are you okay?

She stepped back into him.

Good. Safe. I love you.

His knees still went weak when she said it, by mouth or hand. He imagined it would have that effect on him for quite some time.

As Tara glided away he led her inside by the small of her back. She sighed heavily, a sad smile pulling across her face.

"I wish I didn't have to disappoint them."

His heart fell three stories.

"What do you mean? There's no way-"

She turned to him, taking both of his hands into hers. The clench of her jaw and the shaky breath she exhaled through her nose making him pause.

"Is it time?" He hushed, opening his mind to her pre-emptively.

She nodded, the pain in her face making his heart ache.

He leaned his forehead into hers.

"Show me."

She took one deep breath, then closed her eyes. Releasing to him.

A wave of memories crashed over him.

Rising choirs, large sweeping rooms and great clanging bells. The weight of duty. The weight of bearing worship. A purpose so definitive that imperfection was not possible. A voice that was silenced to only sing in hymns. A body that belonged to a higher power, to many powerful hands. Many hands. Many hands holding down. Many hands carving. Many voices drowning out her screams in harmonized rising prayer.

He choked out a sob, tears burning his eyes. But he held strong onto the channel as she tried to pull away. Feeling her hesitation that it was overwhelming him.

The broken hollow cries to her god. Begging night after night on hands and knees to return her faith to her. To return her love, her trust. Then to ask why. Why, why, why.

Then, finally, to give her retribution. To intercede for her if nothing else. If she cannot hide from his wrath, then neither can he. She must stop him, she must be the only one. The unbearable burning in her chest. One word, the only her god spoke to her. Hissed in her ear.

Ungrateful.

She pulled back, cupping his face as he wept.

"I'm sorry, that was too much." She wiped his tears away with her thumbs. Kissing him in soft pulses.

He stared at her in deep sorrow, gripping her hands in a desperate attempt to communicate his grief. No words could express it.

She smiled at him, gently sweeping her thumb over his cheek.

"When I would cry as a child, my wet nurse would never scold me. She would only say a phrase: Roesor russte xanalress, xta'rl transilit. Sorrow exhausts language, touch translates."

"Come here." She whispered, pulling him into her arms.

-

"We need to tell them." Gale's voice equally determined and genuine. Lathering soaps into her hair.

Aurum had just started to relax, his fingers massaging into her scalp.

"They don't need to know. It won't do any good to just add another thing on their backs. Not while there's a elderbrain still looming."

Her hands swam slowly in the bathwater, hoping he would relent to her. That her tone and words could be sliding and smooth enough to pull him back around.

"Both Astarion and I know." He pointed out, unhelpful.

"Yeah, and that's two more than I had planned on already." She grumbled.

"Okay, ouch..."

"You know I don't mean it in that way... Look, it won't change anything if they stay in the dark. We'll still have the same battles lined up as far as the eye can see, just with one less looming death on their minds."

He hissed out a breath behind her, clearly caught hearing her say it so plainly.

Another of the reasons she had planned on keeping it entirely to herself. Her death was a certainty that she had made peace with long ago. Others were usually not ready, nor willing, to meet her where she was.

It was unfair to expect that level of acceptance from people so fresh to grief, so it suited her better to just keep that information where it belonged. A facet of her that was irrelevant to their endeavors.

"Besides, Aylin cooled the heat death enough for a few extra years. Even if our troubles carry on to that excruciating of a degree, it's covered." Her tone was fluid and twinkling enough to usually make him laugh.

"Rosa." His voice stern.

Her jaw clenched hard. She knew, deep down, that he was right. They both were. Her approaching death would weigh heavy on them and they would want to know.

"Chi'thall... you're not going to give in on this, are you?" She huffed, letting her hands float on the warm slippery water.

"No." He kissed the edge of her pointed ears. "I am not."

Rising her arm from the bath, she rested an elbow on the water fragrant wood. Leaning her forehead into fingers.

He stayed quiet, knowing her far too well now. Knowing more of his words meant more pathways for her to persuade. Letting her sit in the silence.

"After dinner." She finally offered.

"You're doing the right thing, my love." His warm voice in her ear, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"I know..." She sighed, heart already exhausted.

Aurum avoided the grief-stricken eyes as much as she could. Explaining in as clear and as reassuring words that could be mustered when dealing in death. Harnessing all of her gracious talent to distill this news into something less devastating.

Answered all of the tearful follow up questions that naturally came.

"There's no way to fix it, outside of divine intervention. Or giving in, but trust me, you dont want that."

"Burning, then implosion. It's safe to be near, I can't hurt you. I would hurt you far worse as the weapon I was designed to be."

"Long enough. With Dame Aylin's grace, I have more than enough time to see this through with all of you."

The air in the room was quiet and swollen with sorrow, soft sniffling and heavy sighs.

Karlach rose from her seat, breaking the silence with a stride forward.

She gathered Aurum up into her. Arms twining strong around her back, cradling the back of her head. Not crying, not choked. Just holding on.

Aurum's eyes closed, relieved. Leaning into her chest, relaxing into her in a slow exhale she hadn't even felt herself holding.

They weaved into each other in solidarity, an unspoken understanding flowing warm through. More arms joining around her until she was encircled completely. Tears staining her shoulder, her back, the crown of her head. Quiet hiccuping breaths and choppy embarrassed laughs.

"We're so glad to have you." Karlach murmured into her ear. Several heads nodding into her in agreement. Recognizing the scratch of Gale's beard against her neck.

"Thank you." She whispered, overcome.

~

Part 10

[coffeehighallthetime-blog]

I am Kind Not Complacent Chpt 2

I am Kind not Complacent chpt 2

{prev},{next}

Heimdall gow x reader

word count: 6 k

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hello and thank you to every single person who has liked, commented, and reblogged my silly little story. I'm so glad I can make a few people smile and share my little fic. if anyone would like me to tag them to make finding the next chapter easier in the future please don't be afraid to ask!

as always, enjoy and have fun reading!

@engardeitsme as always, love bouncing ideas off and getting to share stuff with you before I post it! thank you for helping again! @lunaryasha @nokolla I hope you enjoy Thank you so much for your support and kind words <3

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As YN got closer to the training grounds, Her limbs got ridged and her steps were more sluggish.

“Um, Mal?”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think I can do this.” She froze in her tracks, whimpering as Mal tried to move her forward. She sighed and grabbed hold of the girl’s arm. YN leaned against her pulling, digging her heels into the mossy floor. “I-I mean I’ve only fought to get away, I don’t know anything about combat!” she looked up at Mal pleading, Her cheeks going rosy in embarrassment, “A-and I don’t know these people…” Mal huffed, looking back at Thor and Heimdall as they seemed to be waiting for YN, getting more and more annoyed the longer she took to get there. 

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice really, do you? No come on, I'll introduce you. But you need to act properly. They are the Aesir princes and as someone under Asgard they now rule over you as well, you should know,” Mal tried to encourage the girl while also pressing it was important not to keep the princes waiting, “I’m sure they won’t go hard on you, dear little thing.”

“Oh? Are they nice?” YN asked, a bit hopeful. Mal looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

“Ni-? No, they’re princes. But you’re so small and sweet, so they may lose interest in you. Where did you say you were from again?”

“Vanaheim.”

“...Mmh,” Mal just hummed, now getting s bit nervous herself for the girl.

YN frowned at Mal’s lack of help. She almost felt like she was going to throw up. Meeting new people? who were mean? And she had to spare with them? 

“B-but why do I have to? Why now? I-I just got here, d-don’t you think-”

“Ah ah ah, don’t you go doing that negotiating thing. I saw what you did at breakfast. Now let’s hurry on, I rather not keep the Aesir princes waiting.” YN swallowed thickly, looking down at her feet as she allowed Mal to drag her the rest of the way. They stopped at the edge of the sparing area, where the dirt had gone wet and muddy from constant trampling. Thor quickly blocked a hit from young Heimdall and looked over at Mal and the girl. 

“Lord Thor, Lord Heimdall,” Mal lowered her head and put her hand on YN’s head to elicit a bow as well. “This is YN, a guest of the All-Father’s. She is to train with you today for an introduction to Aesir's fighting tactics.”

“Took you long enough, come here, I don’t have all day.” Thor didn’t even glance an eye at Mal, his focus purely on YN who gulped as he pointed to a spot at his feet. Heimdall didn’t even spare her a glance as he made his way to the opposite side of the circle across from Thor. YN felt Mal give her one more nudge as she finally moved to stand in front of the thunder god. 

“I will take my leave,” Mal stated, before turning back towards the great lodge. YN tightened her fists as she watched Mal retreat. Thor crossed his arms as the girl stood in front, craning her neck up at him. She gulped and dipped into a deep bow. ‘Just introduce yourself, don’t speak too much, and maybe this won’t be so bad. Maybe they’ll go easy if I’m polite.’ YN thought she heard a scoff come from behind her at the thought. But that was impossible. 

“Hello, my name is YN of Vanaheim and I am the goddess of peace. I was brought here to-” She peeked up at the sound of Thor clicking his tongue in annoyance or boredom, she wasn’t sure. She swallowed thickly, focusing on her feet, “U-um to be of assistance in some way t-to the All-Father?”

Yn gasped at a sudden large hand on her shoulder, roughly twisting her to face the blond boy on the other side of the sparing circle, and nearly tripped into the mud as she was shoved forward. 

“Quickly, let’s see where you are. Heimdall, keep her face intact. We don’t want to be scolded by Father, do we?” YN could almost hear the smirk in Thor’s voice and tried not to show her fear as the boy in front of her picked up two swords, the blades dulled for training. He tossed one to the girl and she caught it before it hit the ground, surprised at the weight of it. YN was shocked as the boy seemed to disappear from in front of her and yelped as she was kicked sharply in the back, skidding in the mud but staying on her feet. She whipped around to see Heimdall starting to circle her, smirking with his lips but glaring at her intensely. 

“Gods you pathetic. ‘Maybe I’ll go easy if you’re polite’? Ha!” he laughed sarcastically, before sneering and rushing YN. She moved quickly to try and block, their swords straining against each other as he leaned in, overpowering her easily. 

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Her eyes widened as she processed his words. What would happen if she failed? Would she be shunned again, would she be shut out? Didn’t she want to go home? Why did the thought of isolation suddenly scare her so much?

She thought of how to get out of the stalemate, wanting to parry and jump back to put some distance so she could have more options. But as she moved to do so, Hiemdall was quick to twist her around and shove her back from him. While she stumbled, her back turned, he moved quickly again, grabbing her by a fistful of hair and kneeing her hard in the ribs.

“And thinking we could ever get along? That you’ll ever belong here? Don’t make me laugh. Crawl on your belly like a dog and maybe I’ll tell the All-Father to send you back to your hovel in one piece, Vanir scum.” there was venom in his voice. Even at this young age, godly strength knocked the air out of her and she sputtered, coughing up drops of blood onto his once pristine tunic. He scoffed in disgust and pushed her back. Her mind raced as her vision blurred. She dissected the situation, his movements, reaction time, and words. She caught her breath, feeling him approach again behind her, and whipped around, knocking him in the brow with the hilt of her sword. Heimdall stumbled back in a daze and stared at the girl in disbelief. He wasn’t planning on retaliation, so he had stopped reading her movements. 

He watched her as she panted, her face contouring into a snarl as she squared her shoulders and changed her stance from submissive to feral; like a beast trying to get away from a hunter. Desperate, scared, angry. 

“That’s a dirty trick,” she growled out, straightening to stare into his eyes, “you have some nerve crawling into spaces you’re not welcome.” he was caught off guard by the statement, shocked that she had found him out so quickly. Thor meanwhile just rolled his eyes on the sidelines, thinking his brother was a fool for talking too much and revealing his hand so easily. Heimdall flushed in embarrassment as he heard Thor’s thoughts prodding into his head and growled, lunging in frustration. YN was able to narrowly dodge and the two circled each other.

“You catch on fast,” Heimdall offered with a sneer.

“You talk too much,” YN bit back, guarding her body just in time as Heimdall attacked again. 

Thor noticed the following pattern:

Heimdall would always attack first, getting a few good hits in. he moved fast, and precise; then got cocky and didn’t remember to put space between him and his opponent. He had a bad habit at his young age of underestimating enemies and didn’t use his foresight as fluidly as he should be,(or so Odin thought, and told Thor to push him harder.)

YN was the opposite. She seemed to almost run away, backing away and refusing to keep her eyes off her opponent for as long as possible, and constantly whipping around to try and keep up. She would try to defend herself, taking a slash to the arm, or leg while protecting her core, and when Heimdall got careless she would go in to retaliate. Her movements were hard-hitting and violent, going for jabs hard enough to push Heimdall across the field or knock the air out of his lungs. That said, she was precise in her own way. Thor also noticed that as Heimdall seemed not to care where he hit the girl, aiming for arteries, joints, and soft spots; she only aimed for places that would discombobulate him, throw him off balance, and put space between them. Thor stroked his beard in thought, calling out to Heimdall. 

“You need to use your powers, Heimdall,” He scolded, “you underestimate too much, and you need to do so quickly, process the information, and act accordingly.”

“Underestimate?” Heimdall scoffed and dropped his stance to stifle a sarcastic laugh. YN stiffened at the mockery and growled.

“Well, what kind of god who can read minds lets his opponent land hits on him?” She barked, blocking another attack and ducking to elbow him in the side.  Heimdall was quick to pary and kicked against the length of her sword, knocking her off balance.

“Maybe you just think yourself too highly. What is a goddess of peace supposed to be able to do in a real fight? You haven’t attacked me once! Goddess of pushovers more like!” He cackled, nearly doubling over. YN dropped her stance, her cheeks searing red in anger and embarrassment. 

“Try goddess of logic and tactic, you oaf!” Her heart pounded in her ears as her anger started to rise. She wanted to stand up for herself. She wanted to reason with him. She wanted to rip his tongue out from his teeth and-

“Ooh! Such snark! Not very peaceful of you, Queen Kindness ~” 

“I’m warning you!” ‘Be calm. Be calm. Be calm. Don’t let your anger get the best of you. It will only end badly. Just breath.’

“Oh or what? You’ll sign a peace treaty? Bake me a cake? Cry and beg for forgiveness?” Heimdall was almost out of breath from laughter, and YN saw red. Suddenly time stood still as Heimdall’s laughter was cut off by a mound of mud flying into his face. YN watched satisfied as the dirt dripped down his chin and smeared down the front of his tunic. 

Thor snorted and threw his head in laughter as he watched Heimdall swipe his hand down his face, his fiery pink eyes searing holes into the girl's face. 

“I told you to shut up!” she shouted, She reeled her hand back with another pile of mud. Heimdall dodged, running at her full force and grabbing her face, slamming her down into the mud. 

“You repulsive little worm.” he snarled, watching her sink into the ground under his weight. With her face still covered under his palm, she blindly grabbed another fistful and slammed it into the side of his head, knocking him off of her and deafening him in one ear momentarily. Thor was wheezing, doubled over the fence. YN stood slowly, the weight of water and dirt seeped into her clothes and hair dragging her down. She looked down at her grimy hands and shook them once, spraying mud and hitting Heimdall with droplets of muck.

“I don’t bake cake” she stated, smearing mud off her face nonchalantly. “But you’ll find I’m quite good at mud pies,” She smirked as Heimdall shook his head, regaining his senses. The next three minutes were full of pure chaos.

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“ Sire, are you certain that Lord Thor and Lord Heimdall were the best suited for the job of testing the girl’s abilities?” A man with curved horns spoke, walking a foot behind Odin at all times. 

“Of course. Heimdall and her are nearly the same age, so it’s a fair fight wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes sir, but Heimdall is young and doesn’t know how to hold back at times. That with his fighting prowess and Thor’s…buffoonery, may cause a bit of disastrous cocktail.” Odin laughed at Mimir’s statement, holding his belly. 

“I always appreciate your bluntness, dear friend!” Odin regains his composure with a sigh, still smiling slightly. “That may be true, but I need Heimdall to read the girl’s mind. And because he is progressing so slowly, he still needs to be close and be able to concentrate, making the whole ordeal less than ideal. And Thor? He’s just grounded and I knew he would hate the job of babysitting.” Mimir frowned at this, not sure why Odin was so carefree about having his two most hot-headed sons be with their new guest. “ I fear Tyr or Baldur would go far too easy on the poor creature. I need results quickly to see where she stands. I just hope they haven’t beaten her too badly.”

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 Mud flew in every direction, both from wads being thrown at each other, or residual splatter from tackling each other into the ground and wrestling each other like feral little goblins.

“Ugh!! You are such a little weasel!” YN screamed as Heimdall managed to slip behind her, shoving mud down the back of her shirt, but not before she flipped around and tackled him to the ground, shaking his shoulders violently and slamming him into the mud. He growled, his eyes glowing as he flipped her over, pinning her to the ground under his hips and yanking her hair, smearing it with dirt. 

“Oh yeah!? Well, you’re nothing but a squawking raven!” 

YN reached up, yanking at Hiemdall’s mud-caked hair, pulling so they flipped and rolled across the floor. Heimdall elbowed her in the eye. She yelped and punched him in the nose, pinning him to the ground, and closed the gap between them. Her hands found home around his throat and she didn’t feel herself squeeze, tighter, tighter, tighter. Heimdall gasped for air, kneeing her in her already bruised ribs. She screamed out in pain, her grip loosening and Heimdall threw her off, making her skid into the mud, curling up in pain as her side throbbed. 

“Hey, alright, that’s enough,” Thor called, getting closer to the two, still chuckling at the state of his brother. Heimdall heaved, grabbing a sword that lay forgotten in the mud. 

“Heimdall, come on, put the sword down,” Thor spoke firmly this time, reaching to grab the sword, Heimdall yanked free of his hold and trudged over, raising the sword above his head to swing down, YN nursed her side and prepared to dodge and tackle him again. 

“Heimdall!”

“ What is the meaning of this!?” A voice boomed, making the children both freeze. YN watched as Heimdall’s eyes widened in horror, dropping the sword and stepping away from her immediately, getting down on one knee in the mud and bowing his head, eyes screwed to the ground. Thor followed, not even the hint of a smile on his face anymore. YN finally looked up, seeing Odin approaching with a scowl on his face, followed by a man with curved horns atop his head, his eyes shining with what looked like opals. 

Odin turned immediately to Thor, his arms crossed and his foot tapping as he waited impatiently for an answer. Thor straightened, deciding to look at the children instead of his father.

“They were just sparing, All-Father. Nothing but some roughhousing.”

“Roughhousing?” Mimir drawled out as he walked closer to YN. “They’re covered head to toe in filth. And this one’s eye is swollen shut!” He grabbed YN's face to get a good look at the bruising. He tutted and walked over to Heimdall, looking him over as well. Heimdall winced as the man checked his nose. “Oh lovely,” he spoke sarcastically, looking back at Thor and Odin. “his nose is broken!”

Odin sighed, bordering on a groan as he pinched the bridge of his nose. YN couldn’t explain it but despite what only looked like mild frustration, there seemed to be electricity in the air. She was not blind to the way Heimdall seemed to cower under his father’s gaze, and Thor seemed so small all of a sudden in the All-Father’s presence. The way everyone reacted to him unnerved YN and she hated the feeling of tension closing in on everyone.

“Boys, I told you to train her, not maim her. Mimir helps her up, will you?” 

Mimir gently grabbed her arm, helping her to stand, and walked her over to Odin’s side. 

“ S-sir it was my fault. I-I’m no good at fighting! I fought desperately and my temper got the better of me, I’m deeply truly sorry.” She tried to reason. Heimdall peaked up at her, confused as to why she would bother to take the blame. She didn’t know him or his brother. Didn’t she know what would happen if she spoke out of turn? Heimdall couldn’t help the pang of jealousy he felt at the way his father acted towards the girl. How his voice softened. Was she manipulating him? Heimdall tried reading her mind but he was still dazed from the scuffle the two had had. 

Odin cut off the girl’s apologies by holding his hand up, shushing her silently. 

“ I won’t hear it. You are a guest and in a strange new land. You were taken from your home and told to fight without any time to understand what was going on. I simply wasn’t thinking. And for that, I am sorry. I was supposed to come here to introduce you and watch you spar, not fight! But I thought to myself, ‘Surely my sons will do well in some friendly competition. I mustn’t worry so much!’ Isn’t that what I said, Mimir?”

“Yes, sir.” Mimir nodded, but YN felt his hand tense against her shoulder. Odin nodded and scowled at Heimdall and Thor, shaking his head with a sigh.

“But I suppose I was wrong to trust them with such a simple task.” YN was caught off guard as she felt Odin’s hand rest on her head.

“Are you alright, child?” YN looked up at him and nodded meekly. He smiled and pushed the girl over towards the two still bowing in the dirt. “Get up.” They stood quickly. Thor looked his father in the eyes, while Heimdall struggled to do the same, his hands squeezed tight at his sides. Odin nudged the girl forward. “I’d like all three of you to apologize to each other.” 

At this, the girl immediately bowed, apologizing for letting things get out of hand. Now that her anger had subsided all she felt was anxiety at the tension in the air. YN wanted nothing more than to apologize and hopefully get along with everyone. She turned to Thor and looked up with big round eyes. 

“ I apologize, Lord Thor, for not paying better attention to your encouragement and advice, and instead letting my nerves take over. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to teach me.” Thor let out a harumph, looking away. But then sighed and lowered his head in a passive bow.

“Yeah… sorry I didn’t keep a better eye on you both.” Odin scoffed, not satisfied but knowing that was the best he’d get out of Thor. He looked down at Heimdall expectantly, who just seemed to be frozen in place. Yn stuck out her hand as a peace offering. 

“I’m deeply sorry, Lord Heimdall. I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.” Heimdall tsked at the statement and didn’t move. YN looked him in the eyes and he heard her thoughts.

‘I know you can hear me. Shake my hand, and play along. Unless you want to get in more trouble.’ He clicked his tongue in annoyance but with the nudge of her thought and the searing eyes of his father, he grabbed her hand and shook it.

“No my…lady…” he strained with a smile, his brow twitching “The fault is mine for thinking you could withstand a fight with me. I must remember that you are a woman, and therefore, weak and delicate. Like a baby bird,” She smiled back, squeezing his hand so tight that the tip of her fingers turned white. 

‘I’ll show you delicate, you little weasel.’She thought, her brow twitching as she pried her hands away and noticed him flex his hand subtly at his side to subside the aching of her anaconda squeeze.

“There, see? All better now! Mimir, take our guest to the infirmary will you?” Mimir nodded, guiding YN away. When they were out of earshot, Odin’s smile disappeared and he looked at his sons expectantly. 

“What have you learned?”

“She is reactive in her fighting.” Thor started his report, “ only attacking after her opponent makes a move. Otherwise, she’s a bit of a chicken shit. Kept running away from Heimdall until the only choice was to fight back.” 

“Hn…” Odin looked down at the younger boy. “So she was trying to run away and you still ended up like this? Honestly, Heimdall.”

“B-but father-“

“ I don’t want to hear it.” Heimdall shut his mouth stiffly. Odin repeated his original question, directing all his attention to Heimdall. The boy swallowed thickly and remembered her thoughts and the way they rushed one after the other.

“She…she’s a goddess, and she’s from Vanaheim. She wanted to avoid fighting me, kept trying to find a way to introduce herself, and thought being polite would stop me from hurting her. She kept trying to calm herself down, so I provoked her to see where she would go from there. She’s hotheaded and immature. I don’t think she can be trusted. You should just send her back.” Heimdall fidgeted as he spoke and Odin lost his patience, grabbing the boy’s chin roughly to look up at him. 

“Unfortunately that’s not in the cards just yet, son. She’s a child, and a goddess, therefore powerful and unpredictable. We need to keep an eye on how she grows and see if we can use her for the betterment of Asgard before one of our enemies finds her and uses her against us. You understand, don’t you?” Odin squeezed Heimdall’s chin as he posed the question. Heimdall whimpered slightly at the pain of Odin’s bony fingers digging into his skin and just barely was able to nod. Odin abruptly released his son, smiling brightly. “Good. So then, anything that we can use to get her to trust us? Get her to work with us?” Heimdall nodded again, reaching up to rub his sore chin. 

“She’s very lonely and pathetic…, which you can use to gain her trust, All-Father.  She seems passive in her solutions but she is also quick to anger and frustration so it would be important to keep that in mind during any negotiations…” 

Odin looked down at his son, taking in the information. He hummed in satisfaction and nodded.

“ alright. Good. I can work with that.” With that, Odin turned to walk away, paused, and spared Heimdall a glance over his shoulder. “Clean yourself up. You’re filthy.”

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“What’s his problem, anyway? Is everyone in Asgard as… volatile?” YN asked as Mimir prepared an ice pack for her. He snorted and shook his head. 

“Heimdall is a special cocktail of issues, lass. Best to keep away from him. He’s a spoiled little prince, and I’m afraid the way he’s going it will only get worse.” He walked over to her with a white cloth. He dipped it in a bowl of warm water, rang it out, and pressed it to the girl’s swollen eye. She hissed, pulling away slightly, but Mimir kept her head gently in place, blotting the wound. “Stay still, I know it stings but I need to get all the dirt and blood off.” YN stayed tense but allowed Mimir to clean the wound. There was silence in the room, save for the slow trickle of water from the towel being run out every once in a while. YN interrupted the quiet.

“Are you allowed to say that about the princes?” She asked meekly, looking up at Mimir with her good eye. He raised a brow, dipping the cloth in the water again and going back to cleaning.

“Are you going to rat me out?” He posed, grabbing the ice he had prepared and holding it up to her face. YN shook her head slightly and smiled as Mimir simply shrugged, “Then I have nothing to worry about. Besides, my loyalties lie with the All-Father, not his band of brats. Like I said, best to just keep away.” YN thought for a moment and shook her head, holding the ice to her face as Mimir walked away to grab some medicine for the cuts on her face.

“That doesn’t seem right. Why should they be able to do whatever they want at the expense of others? Because they’re royalty? They should be held to even higher standards considering the power they have.” 

“What we think is right and what will end up happening are two different things. Best to forget the whole thing to save yourself the disappointment.”

“And who taught you that? Was it the All-Father?” Mimir stilled, seeming to be in deep thought. YN pouted, guilty at the tension she had caused.“ I-I’m sorry.” Mimir shook his head, a smile returning to his face. 

“It’s alright. It’s just… you’re quite forward for a young goddess in a new place.” YN frowned at that. She wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to be acting. She had spent so long working off instinct, that it may have made her a bit blunt in her words and actions. Mimir let the silence hang as she fidgeted with her ice pack before deciding to elaborate.

“… I’m not from here… Asgard, I mean. Hel, I’m not even from the 9 realms.” He looked back at YN and chuckled as she straightened her posture, her interest peaked. “ I’m a Fae, a Goodfellow. I used to be a fool to a Celtic faerie king.” He got a faraway look in his eye, as he slowed the grinding of herbs. She swung her feet as she waited for him to continue, tilting her head in curiosity. “What’s a Fae? What’s Celtic?” Mimir snorted at this, shaking his head. 

“That’s too long a story. The point is that I’m an outsider, like you. And I wasn’t happy where I was so I left… things may seem rough here, but they are better than they were. That’s what I hold onto. This is all new to you, and new is strange. The All-Father told me a bit about your background. Going from complete isolation to being surrounded by people and sparing lessons is a lot, and I apologize for your rushed introduction to Asgard thus far.”

Yn nodded, thinking about her own home. There was nothing for her there, really. And though Heimdall and Thor were less than pleasant and Odin had not yet shown he could be fully trusted, there were already things YN felt would be hard to let go of. The food she was able to eat here, the feeling of a warm bed and a crackling fire, the sound of people moving to and fro in the morning. The sound of people living around her, unbothered.

“ Odin called you Mimir…that means wise one doesn’t it?”

“ yes. I am Mimir, the smartest man alive.” He said proudly. He saw as the girl raised her brow in confusion and chuckled, “I am the ambassador of the gods and the nine realms, I know every corner of the realms, everything that has happened, every language spoken, every moment in time past now.” YN’s eyes widened in awe, to meet someone who claimed to know so much of the world after she had been isolated from it for so long, it made her mind soar. YN pulled the ice from her eye and balled her hands together in anxious excitement.

“ Would you… Would you be able to teach me? Please?!” She pleaded, nearly shaking with excitement. Mimir pretended to think about it, stroking his beard.

“ Oh? I dunno, it’s a lot of information I’d be throwing at you. Could be a bit boring.”

“Yes, that’s what I want! I want to learn about the realms, I want to help build connections, That’s what Odin said I’d be able to do here! Will you please teach me, Mimir?” 

The truth was, he was tasked with keeping an eye on the girl and taking her under his wing. Odin wanted him to teach her about the relations of Asgard to the rest of the realms and see if she could aid in Mimir and Tyr’s growth of Agard’s connections. He looked back down at the girl, guilt buried at the back of his mind. She was only here to be used. But then, weren’t they all in some way? 

“I suppose I could use an apprentice. But don’t whine when you feel you're being thrown over the deep end.”

“Yes!” she cheered, hopping off the table. She bowed deeply, before looking back up at the man with a hopeful smile. “Thank you, Mr. Mimir. I hope that your teachings allow me to be more useful, so that I may continue to stay here. Maybe my first day was hard, but I’m sure I can find my place here.” She beamed, the pain of her wounds already subsiding thanks to godlike healing and the creams that had been applied.  She runs to the exit, hoping to find Mal. She wanted to tell her about her fight with Heimdall and tease her for being too scared to stay and watch. 

“Oi, wait, your eye! I need to put this on it!”

“I’ll be fine! I have to go! Thank you again, Mimir!” she gathered her things, a new skip in her step. 

“Ah ah ah, at least take it with you.” He grabbed her by the shoulder, handing her a metal tin with the cream he had made with the crushed herbs and some bandages. “The great hall! Tomorrow at 6 am. Do not be late!” he barely got it out before she left, the heavy door slamming behind her. 

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The sun had set in Asgard and YN was on her way back to her room from supper with Mal, who had apologized for leaving in a hurry and gave her an extra serving of potatoes as a sorry. 

YN yawned with a stretch. The swelling in her eye had gone down, but the bruising was now a deep yellow and purple. Mimir had also found out she had two broken ribs, but with the ointment and bandages he had applied, the girl felt fine and knew they would be fine by morning. 

YN was about to retire for the night, walking to her door, when she heard a loud hiss come from across the hall. She quirked a brow at the sound and turned. Dim candlelight flickered from under the door and YN walked over at the subtle sound of a pained groan. 

“Hello? Are you ok in there?” She asked with a knock. There was silence for a beat, and she knocked again, “Hello?” The person on the other side clicked their tongue in annoyance and YN could hear the loud screech of a chair dragging across the wooden floor. The door swung open and YN was met face-to-face with Heimdall, scowling with a blood-stained handkerchief over his nose. She tilted her head in confusion. 

“What the Hel do you want?” he grumbled, but his voice was slightly nasily because of his broken nose. YN had started to regret ever knocking but quirked a brow and pointed at his handkerchief. 

“You’re still bleeding.”

“No! Really?” Heimdall gasped in fain surprise.

“ I didn’t know we lived across the hall from each other.” She spoke again, ignoring his rudeness. Heimdall rolled his eyes and went to slam the door in her face. 

“Seriously, just get out.” She held her hand up to stop the door from fully closing. “What the- hey! I said, "Get out!”

“Why didn’t you go to the infirmary?”

“Tsk! Are you serious? I’m not a baby, I don’t need bandages and a cookie for staying still.” YN just rolled her good eye at the statement, pushing further against the door. “Hey!”

“You know we heal too fast for you to leave that alone. Your cartilage is going to grow back crooked.” Heimdall’s eyes widened at that, but he frowned as he looked away. 

“That’s not true. You're lying.” 

“Why would I lie about your nose growing back crooked?” YN watched him fidget in place. It didn’t take a genius to know that he cared about his vanity. The bright white shirts with gold trim and intricate braids in his hair when she first saw him were enough of a hint. And despite everything, she still wanted to make peace, if not to become friends then to at least have to worry less about being tackled at a moment's notice. Heimdall groaned in defeat, knowing she was right. 

“ Alright, fine then. What do you suggest I do, pestering raven?” YN sighed at yet another insulting name and crossed her arms.

“ May I come in?” She asked, annoyance obvious in her voice. Heimdall frowned but opened his door wider. Yn walked in and noticed the room was nearly the same as hers, save for a vanity in the corner of the room with the chair pushed back. She grabbed the back of it, dragged it over to the bed, and sat down, turning to Heimdall and patting the spot on the bed across from her. He shut the door and trudged over, sitting across so that their knees touched.

“Can you move the handkerchief?” Heimdall hesitated but slowly did so, his face showing discomfort as he removed pressure. His nose had in fact already started to bend slightly and YN couldn’t help the concerned hiss she let out. “ I really am sorry…”

“ Whatever. Just fix it.” His bright eyes glared through her.

“ I’ll have to break it again.”

“Like hel you will!”

“OK, if you don’t mind a deep bend at your bridge.”

“… fine.”

“What was that?”

“ I said fine already!”

She just nodded with a smirk, touching at the soft cartilage, and pressing it into place. Heimdall winced and tensed at each prod, his hands squeezed tight on his thighs. 

“If you keep scrunching your face, this won’t work.”

“Well, it hurts! You're doing it on purpose.”

“ I am not. Do you want a towel to bite down on?”

“ Shut up- ow! Hey!”

“OK, take a deep breath, This one is gonna be the worst but it should open up both nostrils so you can breathe better.” 

“H-how do you even know what you're doing is right?” 

“ I’ve been alone for a long time. I’ve always had to heal myself. And I’ve fallen on my face many times, my nose looks pretty good if I do say so myself.” She smirked slightly at him as he only gulped. YN grabbed the bridge of his nose and when he braced himself, she twisted her hand sharply, effectively knocking a piece of cartilage that had grown crooked out of place. Heimdall screamed as blood rushed out his nose. He brought the handkerchief back up to his face.

“Are you crazy?!”

“If I didn’t do that, your nose would have looked like a tree branch. Keep pressure on that for a moment.”She pulled the small tin from her pocket. “Look, Mimir gave me this to apply to my eye and ribs before going to bed. It will help with the pain.” She grabbed some bandages that were tucked in her pocket and ripped them into two strips, rolled them up into tight coils, and dipped the ends into the concoction. “Take that off, please. The bleeding should have stopped, and this will stop the soreness.” YN had started to think the boy’s brows were permanently knitted together in annoyance by this point as he moved the kerchief from his face. YN quickly pushed the wads of bandage up his nose to keep the cartilage from collapsing and to promote healing in the correct direction. That being said, he looked ridiculous and she couldn’t help the giggle that bubbled out of her mouth. His face went red and he pushed her chair away from him with his boot. 

“ Alright, you’re done, right? Get out.” he hopped off the bed, pushing her towards the door. 

“W-wait a minute, do you think we could-” she gasped as she was shoved out the door, but twisted and jammed her foot before it could slam. Heimdall let out an exaggerated growl, throwing his head back.

“Gods- now what do you want?” she swallowed thickly and offered a small bow. 

“My name is YN, goddess of logic, tactic and peace. I will be staying across the hall from you. I hope we can learn to get along.” She stood back straight and smiled nervously. Heimdall pulled together a sickly sweet grin.

“I am Heimdall, god of foresight, and my time is too precious to be wasted on you. Good night.” And with that, he swung the door wide open before slamming it in the girl's face. YN winced and then sighed in defeat, fidgeting with her hands.

“Good night…” she called softly back through the door. At no response, she turned toward her room to retire for the night. Maybe the next day would be better. 

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

[k1nky-fool]

HEY! I would like to request a "When they hold your face in their hands and just look into your eyes and just hold the other softly" with Mita and Vander, please. You know I adore those two. I'll request some others later!

I know this took a hot minute, but I promise it's because I actually really wanted to put this scene in a fic, but obviously the time setting is far after Least Sane Moments, and during Fuck Around and Find Out, so there wasn't actually a place to put it. And my Devil of the Crossroads sequel doesn't have a spot for a Mita POV flashback because it's exclusively Pepper's and Sketch's POV.

So this one was a long time coming, and I might do a couple of oneshots with Mita and Vander between the ending of Least Sane Moments and canon Arcane Act I.So please enjoy!

"You've been quiet, Mita." Benzo pointed out. "I figured if anybody had a bone to pick, it'd be you." 

-Vander-

He could tell something was wrong. Which wasn't any surprise with everything going on. Mita stayed in her booth as the crowd cleared out. She glared at Sevika's back after that threat, but she was smart enough not to let her anger get the better of her. 

"I'm not stupid. Hitting them now would be war." Mita said. "But I think we should have struck back the second they came looking for our children at their home." 

"Either way it'd be war." Vander argued. 

"It's self defense if they come to our home, Vander. But you're right, a counter attack is the worst thing we can do right now." He was at least happy they were on the same page. "Besides, we've got worse things to worry about than enforcers." 

"I haven't been able to find anything on Silco. If he's making a move, he's covering his tracks." Benzo reports. 

"Then we'll have to revisit our strategy." Vander decides. "Benzo, I'll need to pawn off some of the gruntwork to you. Running the ship is gonna get harder."

Benzo gave a respectful nod as Vander turned to Mita. 

"And I'll leave investigating Silco to the big guns." He explained. "Mita, you're our last hope." 

Mita stood, shooting a look at Benzo that told him to get lost for a bit. If there was anything that he didn't want to learn the hard way, it was finding out what happens if he starts arguing with Mita. Vander however, had to admit he wasn't ready for whatever she was about to say. Least of all when she said nothing. 

Gentle hands cradled his face as she touched her forehead to his. Vander wrapped his arms around her, knowing there was something fighting in her mind and she didn't have words for it. "You're scaring me a little, love." 

"Vander, I've never been more scared in my life than right now." 

His hold tightened. "What are you scared of?" 

"You know this can only go wrong. They want a prisoner, and that means it's gotta be me, you, or Benzo." 

"Benzo needs to be here, and I'm not letting you take the fall for this." 

"And I'm not letting them take you." Mita pulls back to scan his face. "If they put you in cuffs, they'll wish I just started a war after what I do to them." 

"What are you saying, Mita?" Vander finally asked. 

"If you can't get them out of here without a prisoner, let me take the fall for it." She offered. 

"Mita that's-"

"I'm not saying I'm giving up. We can find another way, but if all else fails… I can take the conviction and escape from the station before they ever get me on a boat." 

It was an easy way out at first glance, but risking Mita was not something he was willing to do. A lot could go wrong and he'd likely never see her again if the enforcers knew how good she was. "I'm sorry, Mita. That's not an option." 

"Until it's the only option left." She pointed out. "Just- you do what you have to in order to keep this family safe, and I'll do the same." 

"You're part of this family too." Vander disagreed. "I can't lose you." 

"And I won't lose you." She stood her ground. "I fought too hard to get here to just let you slip through my fingers, Vander." 

"Nobody's getting arrested." Vander assured. 

"Then I trust you." Mita said and pulled away to start on her task of chasing a ghost.

[padfootdaredmetoo]

Hello! I saw you opened requests... May I ask for a female character x Tommy Shelby?

Here's the plot: the protagonist wants to kill him cause he's responsible of her brother's death. She knows he's vulnerable due to Grace's death and she gets close to him taking advantage on his need to have someone beside. A night of love is the perfect moment in which she can carry out her plan, having him alone, disarmed and off guard.. (So NSFW is perfectly ok 😝)

Whether she ends up killing him or not is up to you 🍷 surprise me ✨

I'd just like to have the female protagonist on the "dominant" part. Like... In the show Tom is always the one who wants everything under his supreme control and many fics depict him as such ... Well, he gives me totally opposite vibes, if you know what I mean 😂

That's all ✨ I'm looking forward to reading this! ❤

This was a super fun request!!!! I hope I got what you mean..... I tried really hard. Honestly kind of a slut for sub Tommy. Never thought about it before- but - I might be in love.

Any way because I'm such a softy I made two ending options.... I'll let you all decide which one I was more into ;)

Warnings: dealing with loss, murder, gang type stuff, seduction with bad intentions, sex, oral sex fem receiving, orgasms, kinda kinky, hopefully hot

Eventually the moment he was dreading was clear in view. The large house came into sight making his stomach turn violently. As if sensing it Charlie started to kick up a fuss. His little cries for his mother doing nothing to settle the pain in his chest. 

Grace was dead. This house was horrible. Charlie seemed to loudly agree in his own way. So why did he come back? 

Appearances mostly. He needed to get his feet back on the ground and settle the situation. The Russians had a tight rope around his neck, if only they would pull a little tighter. The Italians were waiting in the shadows like hungry wolves. 

Charlie’s pudgy little hand tugged on the white collar of his shirt making him hate himself for thinking such things. 

He got Charlie settled back into the house, envious of the sleeping child next to him. He had no idea when the next time he would be able to rest. 

There was a lot of work to be done. 

______

Readers POV

Growing up in a mob family was not what most people expected. Your brothers carried an unhealthy amount of pressure, while you were completely ignored.

The Shelby - Italian feud had carefully made its way to your family. Your youngest brother was to prove himself to the family & organization by killing the ever annoying Thomas Shelby. Not a simple task by any means. 

You wished it was you that pulled the trigger, you wouldn't have missed. The aftermath of Grace Shelby’s body crumpling to the floor left you with two dead brothers, and an engagement to a man you hated. They fought hard to get out but it was no use. He went for a grand shooting in the middle of the room, your other brother's attempt to get him out was useless. Your stomach twisted as you knew taking a shot like that was a suicide attempt… Maybe this was his way out of the family business. Tears stung your eyes and you shook your head, surely he wouldn't have left the consequences on his siblings? 

You felt trapped by this grief, maddened by it. The way everyone reacted, especially your father, started a mass unraveling of your whole life. You became buried under harsh realizations and questions on how you were raised. Everything started to evaporate once they were dead, leaving you with a drive to fix the unfixable. You knew that there was no way out of your life's path, yet your mind was determined, spinning in blood lust. 

You laid in bed as the cool summer air caressed your skin. Mind engulfed by every bit of information you had collected about what had happened. The cocky smiles of their faces the last time you saw them slowly fading, replaced by the heavier, more traumatizing memory of their broken bodies being returned to your family. 

The rest of the crime families your father associated with thought it pathetic, and embarrassing. Out of shame or fear from the Shelby family, people started to try and back away from your father. This meant you were requested to marry into the Changretta family. You were given the task to clear the family name, strengthen bonds, bring the business back, all well someone else got to destroy Thomas Shelby….

A plan had started to form in the absence of sleep. They were your brothers, it was your family given the task, naturally it should be you to complete the task. If you could kill Thomas your family's reputation would be restored earning you enough praise to slip out of the unwanted marriage. Not to mention they would surely benefit from the division of the Shelby estate. 

You drape yourself in black fabric and sit in church everyday. Asking for forgiveness, asking for a direction forward. More than revenge, you wanted a way to escape all this life. Killing Thomas just seemed like the best way forward. Looking at the statue of Mother Mary in front of you, her eyes filled with something you’d never felt. You wanted her to tell you what to do. 

No clouds in the sky broke, sending a beam of light into the room. No one descended from the sky. No messages fluttering from the grand ceiling. 

Instead a group of girls sat in the back of the church attempting to speak in hushed whispers. You were annoyed at first, until you recognised one of the voices to be Ruth Berryman, a known friend of Ada Shelby. You listened as she described the family's peculiar way of grieving the loss of Grace. How Thomas had disappeared and would be returning to the public eye in a charity event hosted at his house. She went on to speculate that he’d hidden himself away to drown in women and opium. 

You didn't have any opium, but you were remarkably pretty when you wanted to be… All you needed to do was dress up and sneak in, then get Thomas alone.

A silence fell over the space as Elizabeth Gray made an entrance. You pulled your scarf around your head a little tighter as you watched her slender frame fall into a seat. She looked exhausted, you felt a strange sense of sadness for her. The image of your brothers flashing in your mind pushed that feeling down until it was unreachable. 

___________________

Your parents were more distant than ever, no one noticed you plotting away in your bedroom. As long as you were on top of your wedding planning no one paid you any notice. The loneliness started to seep into your bones again, making you feel weighed down. You poured another cup of coffee trying to shake the feeling off. Everyone would see you clearly once this was over…

The night of the event had come around. You had an entrance secured and a clear exit plan. 

You looked over your body in the gold framed mirror. The fabric rested heavily on your curves. You would never normally wear anything like this, and you couldn't escape the powerful feeling it gave you. Your body was displayed in a way that was elegant while also being undeniably sexy. You pinned your dark hair up and did your make up. 

You’d never seduced anyone before but looking over your final look you felt it shouldn't be too hard.

You pulled up to the large house, leaving your car down by the road. You were late enough that no cars were pulling up the drive to notice your descent on the house. Your long black wool coat covered you from chin to ankle, making you look a part of the woven night. 

You made your entrance under a fake name and joined the mess without anyone thinking twice about you. 

_________________________

Tommy POV

He wished that this event had been unnecessary. The effort it took to stand about moving from conversation to conversation was almost unbearable. His bones were on fire, head pounding, all he could do was pour more whiskey and hoped it would take the edge off. The night dragged on, until a woman caught his eye. 

She was tall, wrapped in a tight red dress, and had a look in her eye. The room seemed to be swallowed by her presence, the light bending to wrap around her. Her dark eyes held a gaze that made it hard to breathe. She walked over to him like this was her house, tall and proud, despite not being invited. 

“Mr. Shelby.” Her voice floated around him like smoke. She looked content as he held the silence between them, searching her eyes for what secrets they were holding. 

“I don’t believe we’ve met?”

“Y/N L/N” She held her hand out to him. He knew she was lying but he couldn't help but the wave of desire that crashed over him and holding her slender fingers in his hand. 

They chatted for a while, no mention of Grace, or work. He met everyone of her lies and questions with honesty. He watched as his answers spun around in her eyes, she seemed conflicted, but not surprised. He wanted to impress her, but she was unmovable, like stone. She conducted the conversation, and decided which of his answers she wanted to elaborate on. 

Things started to wind down, and he regretfully had to remove himself from her presence to wrap the evening up. She showed no interest in leaving, pouring herself another glass of whiskey. 

Polly set in on him about how stupid this was, but he shrugged it off. He knew that there was something this woman wanted to say to him, he was determined to figure it out. Everything about her was weighted heavily with significance. She was here for a reason, maybe because of the Russians, maybe the Italians, but he felt it was something above business. She had nothing vicious in her eyes, there was something she wanted desperately, but it wasn't violence. 

___________________________

Readers POV 

Thomas Shelby was an interesting man. He didn't try to step on your toes, he let you lead the conversation. Never mocking, always hanging on your words. His answers were not what you expected. He wasn't what you expected. Every time you touched him you felt something bigger than grief for the first time in so long. 

Eventually he took you into his study to wait while he wished his guests well. You listened as his family loudly made their way upstairs. Stumbling and laughing on the stairs. Elizabeth Gray’s voice carried into the office as she laughed and poked fun at another Shelby woman. 

You thought about snooping around his desk but you were stopped by the picture of a woman staring back at you. 

His wife's eyes found the words in the back of your head and twisted them painfully. She was dead, and the sadness in him was still very visible to someone who was grieving just the same. Dead at the hands of your brother. He flashed before you and you started to feel sick. 

It was either this or be married. Unfortunately your mind was already set. 

Thomas entered the room slowly, his eyes dragging over your lounging body. The couch was comfortable and the fire light only made everything seem more warm and  intimate. 

“Sit with me?” It was meant to be a question but it came out more like an order. He looked at you for a moment before sitting next to you. He was so close you could feel the cold air still attached to his suit jacket. 

You didn’t want to talk anymore. It would only make this harder for you in the long run. You needed to get him out of his jacket, make sure he didn't have any weapons still on him. 

You raised your hand to brush your fingertips along the short hair on the side of his head. He closed his eyes, and leaned into your touch, your heart gave a twinge as the fire light only made him look more tired. 

You were going to fuck up if you kept this up. You dragged your hand down and tugged on his jacket, he wordlessly removed it. 

“And the vest” You whispered, there was something in his eyes that made you hate yourself. A wetness started to pool between your legs, even your own body was betraying you. 

You pulled your skirt up your thighs and moved to straddle his lap. His hands went to your hips to help settle you into place. You felt the power of sitting here on his lap, his eyes heavy as he looked at you. 

“Do you want to kiss me?” You asked in a smoky tone. His eyes flashed in a way that made you feel like gravity had increased. You were falling into him more and more.

“Yes” His tone was breathy and you wished things were different as you studied him. He was so willing to let you take charge. You liked being seen. 

He waited patiently for your mouth to reach his, he let your lips take charge, and you deepened the kiss slowly. He was breathless, cheeks flushed, his hands were digging into your hips painfully. You loved the way he clung to your body, how badly he needed you to take his pain away. 

Your hand wrapped around the side of his neck causing him to moan. You pushed his head back to rest on the top of the couch exposing the length of his pale throat. You went in for a deeper kiss, holding his neck firmly in place you—----

Option one: 

Take your other hand up to your chest and pull the small knife from between your breasts. Quickly you drag it across the skin of his neck. He gasped into your mouth as the blood started to rush down his body. You looked into his eyes and admired the love you felt. 

“Thank you” He whispered softly. You held his body while he left this earth for something better. He slipped away so peacefully you knew that it must have been more of a favor to him than anything. 

The house was quiet and you made your way to the window behind the desk and slipped away into the night peacefully. Things went back to usual in your family so you decided it was in your best interest to move on. The war got worse, Tommy's brothers took over and his Aunt was determined to destroy your family. You had the money, so you ran away, unnoticed, placing as much distance between you and Birmingham as possible.

Option Two:

You stopped suddenly. Looking over his face.

“Tell me what it is.” He whispered, pupils blown out. You knew that it would be suicide to tell him the truth. Death seemed like a friend you would greet with open arms. Your vision was filled with the photo on his desk, his wife. His dead wife. The smaller photos of a little boy. Eyes bright, motherless. You pressed your head against his and took a shaky breath. 

“My brother - I - I came here to kill you.” You watched how his face didn't change. Stayed just as relaxed and calm. 

“What have you decided then?” He asked like he was asking if it was raining. You knew a part of him wishes you would go through with it, just like there was a part of you that would be more than happy to die at his hand. 

“I can’t do it.” You said feeling a weight lift off of you. 

“Why not?” His eyes were back in focus now searching you. 

“You feel different -” You couldn't explain it. He was different and it was intoxicating. “And you have a kid upstairs.” You shook your head. You would either die right here, or you would go home to die everyday beside your husband. Either way you’d finally made your choice. 

His big hands ran along your body and you could see him weighing his options carefully. 

“Be a shame if either of us died without fucking first eh?” 

You nodded at his crude words and your mouths met again instantly. 

You both fought for control at first, ripping each other's clothes off, hands groping frantically. You ended up falling off the couch landing flat on your back. The texture of the carpet was surprisingly soft and the heat from the fire kept you comfortable. He parted your legs, leaning down towards you. You gripped a handful of the longer hair at the top of his head and used all your strength to push his head where you wanted it. He let out a deep moan as you pressed his face into your hot flesh. He submitted entirely and ate you out like he was starved. Tongue caressing you coupled with the sharp suction created by his mouth had you writhing. 

“Ah yes. So good. Fuck -Tom” Your words came spiraling out of you as he worked you over. His eyes flashed up at you with a different kind of need. He wanted to make you happy, he wanted to know it made you happy. 

You were getting close, but you wanted to cum around him. You pushed his face off and he got up on his knees, heavy cock standing proudly. You wrapped your slender finger around him, the walls off your pussy fluttering at the size of him. God he was going to destroy you. You could see he was about to lose his patience with your hand, you were naked and strung out. It was his time to take charge. 

“Are you ready?” You asked him, tightening your grip on him, you wanted to push him further. 

“Yes” He moved toward you but you only squeezed him further causing him to moan. 

“See if I’m ready” You whispered into his ear like it was a dirty secret. You felt his fingers push into you slowly and his head dropped to rest on your shoulder. You let out a moan when his fingers rubbed against the spot you needed him the most. 

“Feels so good, so good at stretching me open” You whisper, feeling his jaw clench against your neck. You wanted to see his face but wouldn't push him. You had no idea what you were doing or why it felt this good. 

“Feel how wet you made me?” He let out a deep groan and you felt his cock twitch in your hand. 

“You think I'm wet enough?” 

“Yes” He answered out of breath. 

“Are you sure? You're so big” 

“Fuck - Yes” He was so far gone and you’d barley touched him. You were fairly confident that you could make him cum just like this, and it would still be the hottest thing that had ever happened to him. 

“You want to fuck me now?” You pulled his cock against your wet folds causing him to make a small strangled noise. 

You took that as the answer it was, lining the head of his cock up with your wet entrance you guided his hips forward. You expected him to take over, rip through you to find his release, take his revenge. Instead he followed the wordless directions of the hand you had placed on his hip. This time it was your turn to groan. He stretched you out so slowly, soon you were at your limit. Taking all of him was a beautiful and painful task. Guiding him to pull out and slowly move back in pleasure won over the pain and your hips moved to meet his shallow thrust.

“God, you fill me so well” You felt his body melt under the praise. You guided his hips in and out of you slowly feeling yourself slip away. The pace got quicker gradually and eventually he was fucking you with a stregth that ruined you for anyone else. 

There was only so much you could take before you demanded he touch you. His thumb circled your clit, his body pushing you somewhere it hadn't been before.

“Please, dont stop - Tom - Ah - youre going to make me cum - fuck baby make me cum” Words spiraled out of your moth and he drank each one of them down. Fucking you harder, he took you over the edge, your body swallowing him. Walls rhythmically contracting pull him over the edge spilling inside you. He rode both of the orgasms out before collapsing on you. Your arms held him tightly, not wanting him or the feeling inside you to go. 

He broke your hold and held himself above you. His hand came up to caress the side of your neck and you took one last look of his blue eyes before closing your own. You tilted your chin up exposing his neck. You waited for his other hand to embrace your neck, for him to take your life. 

“Promise you won’t bring harm to me or my family.” 

Your eyes flew open and met his gaze. “I promise” He gave you a nod then pulled out of you slowly. His mouth moved to suck a deep mark into your throat before he pushed himself back inside you. After pulling another orgasm from you he cleaned the both of you up. 

“What are your plans for next friday?” He asked as you both sat on the floor in front of the couch. You were sipping whiskey and smoking cigarettes unsure of what to make of the situation that just happened. 

“I’m supposed to be getting married.” 

“For business or love?” 

“Business, my brothers couldn't kill you and that led to a lot of problems.” 

His face twisted briefly remembering the problems it caused him as well. He was quiet and you felt yourself yearning to apologize. 

“We both lost a lot because of this. I don't even know who started all of  it but I’d like to end it. Leave all of it, everyone and thing behind if I could” He studied you carefully before lighting another cigarette. 

“How bout I make a counter offer then?” His words hit you like a truck. Surely he couldn't be serious. 

“I’ll marry you. Take the territory that would have been handed down to your brothers. In return you can do what you like within reason and the fighting stops.”

You thought about it for a long moment. You thought about all the plans everyone was making, how much destruction was about to move into action.  

“Can I do what I like to you?”You asked in a cheeky tone, desperate to stop thinking about everything. You watched his gaze get hungry. 

“Most certainly” 

“I won't share you. With anyone, ever” The words were out of your mouth before you realized what you said. He may not love you, this may be for business, but the thought of someone else touching him and having him like that caused your blood to boil.

“Somehow I don't think that will be a problem” The corner of his mouth pulled up into a ghostly smile. 

You clink your glasses together and fell back into a comfortable silence, your head resting on his shoulder. 

___

They did get married, it was a business deal that ended the feuding. (Saving John) 

She freaks out about how to look after Charlie because her parents were so distant towards her growing up that she has no idea what to do. Polly and her bond over this. Charlie almost immediately gets attached to her. Eventually she proves herself to the rest of the family. 

She takes good care of Tommy, giving him someone to trust. But she's very opinionated and they fight a lot. Its explosive and usually ends with them fucking against any surface. She just wants the family to be protected and doesn't like taking big risks. So they balance each other out a little. Tommy’s calm and she’s so tired of being calm that the first chance she gets to lay into someone she takes it. 

The first time she had to kill someone it was to protect Charlie. She broke down after the situation because she almost did that to Tommy. Everything she had now - a family that loved her and respected her, a husband that paid attention / was kind to her, a little boy that called her mum and ran to her every time he was scared - She got all of that from Tommy - He has to hold her for hours before she calms down. That's when they realize that they really love each other.

Tags list: @tommydoesntpayforsuits @misselsbells06 @kpopgirlbtssvt

If anyone wants to be added to the list just let me know in my inbox!

[ddejavvu]

i love your work so much!!! a ~dark theme~ id like to request for sacreligious saturday would be professor remus lupin x student reader if thats alright!! keep up the amazing work and congratulations on hitting 1k, you deserve it so much!

today is sacreligious saturday >:)) request some dark fics!

thank you sweetheart! you're adorable, i'm glad you're here with us :D

This takes place consensually between two adults. reader is over 18, in her last year at hogwarts. newts are mentioned for proof, i do not write anything sexual about minors.

"'Mione," You groaned, cheeks burning as you tried escaping the scrutinizing glances your friends were giving to you, "I dunno why he marked you down. If you're so bothered by it, why don't you just talk to him?"

"I will!" She huffed, "We put the same answers down, either you're wrong or i'm right!"

You watched as she stormed angrily over to Professor Lupin's desk, losing most of her steam at the last few steps and shuffling politely up to speak with him. You heard vague chatter between the two, trying not to focus too long or too hard on the kindly attentive look on Remus's face.

Remus. Only you got to call him that. Only you got to scream that into his cavernous classroom, hands gripping the front of his desk with all your might as your chest was mashed into the wood, thighs shaking as he held you steady, pounding relentlessly into you. Only you got to coo that at him when he brought you some warm tea afterwards, an apologetic smile on his face and a soft kiss pressed to your forehead. Only you got to see it written in softly scripted letters, the paragraphs appearing as a simple note from your mum to anyone who had the audacity to peek at your mail, but as a heart-twisting love letter to you, and only you.

Unfortunately, your daydreaming had attracted the attention of your peers, and you felt Hermione elbow you on her way back to her seat.

"You there?"

You looked up startled, blinking dazedly up at her, "Oh! Yeah, I'm just really tired. I was up super late last night, had a nightmare or something, I dunno, just couldn't sleep."

She stared suspiciously at you for a moment, but ultimately settled without asking any further questions. You felt your leg begin bouncing anxiously, and you averted your gaze to the whomping willow on the school grounds, watching through the windows as it thrashed about in the strong winds.

You managed to avoid further questioning until the end of class, only looking up when Hermione nudged you once more.

"Hey, didn't you hear me?"

You shook your head hazily, standing as you watched the rest of the class file out one by one, hastily packing your bag.

"I said the professor wanted to see you, he said my answer was wrong so he needs to adjust your score too." There was a soft pout on her face at the knowledge that she'd been docked a point instead of given one, but you were sure she was comforted by the fact that you were getting marked down too.

"Oh," You fought back a smile at the idea of alone time with Remus, "Okay. I'll meet you in the hall for lunch, then?"

"Y/N," She stared at you concernedly, eyebrows furrowed, "He only has to adjust your score. It'll take ten seconds, I'll just wait for you here."

"No!" You blurted, the sound prominent in the now silent classroom, and felt Remus's eyes boring into you, "Um, I've got some questions for him about yesterday's lesson, and I know it'll be on the newts, so I'll be here a while. You go on, get us some good seats for lunch, and save me a roll!"

She finally accepted your proposal, nodding and wishing you well with your impromptu study session. You rushed excitedly to the front of the classroom as soon as she was out the door, watching Remus shut the windows with a soft flick of his wand as a soft smile twisted upon his lips.

You reached him quickly, feet pattering against the stone floors and eliciting a soft 'oof' from him as you slam into him, your arms winding around his torso and your head resting on his chest.

"'Missed you Rem," you mumbled, breathing in his comforting scent, "Couldn't stop thinking about you in class."

"I know," Remus chuckled, hands lifting you into his lap as he sat back in his chair, "Clumsy girl, you are, a stuttering mess. Y'gonna give us away, sweet thing."

You shook your head earnestly at him, "No! No, I'd never," Your heart sunk at the premise of Remus being fired because of you, and never being able to see him again, "We'd be separated."

"Y'right, angel face," Remus spoke lowly, "Y'gotta be careful. Can y'keep your mouth shut f'me?"

You grinned lazily, turning in his lap to press a kiss to his jaw. He smiled softly at your actions, eyes glancing down at your lips that had grown into a lovesick grin, "But before you do, precious, why don'tcha open it 'n we can have some fun before your next class?"

[thecomfortgoth]

Always and Forever

Eddie Munson x Fem Reader

(Mechanic!Eddie undertones)

CW: pure unadulterated fluff/comfort, established relationship, you and Eddie live together and have promise rings, that man loves the BONES off you, worry/kinda angst, L-bombs, I guess Eddie worshipping the ground you walk on and doing anything for you?

A/N: um... hi! This is my first ever fic (I guess?) I wrote this for a lovely new friend I met who has been going through a very tough time recently and I wanted to help her feel a little better. I hope you enjoy!

Word count: 2.6k (I got carried away lol)

Please let me know how I did! Feedback is always appreciated

You sat at the edge of the bed, head cupped in your hands as you fought off the feelings of stress and worry. You didn't want to cry or feel this way. You just wanted everything to be better already and for things to start going right. Feeling overwhelmed, you let out a big sigh and sank back into the soft, plush duvet behind you and closed your eyes. You just wanted to lie there for a moment, not doing anything, not thinking about anything. Suddenly, your phone starts ringing, making you jolt upwards. Was this something important? You run over to the phone, picking it up and letting out a crackled "Hello?"

"Hey baby! It's me.. are you okay?"

It was Eddie. He was at work in the autoshop and was calling you on his lunch break, as he often did. You felt a little calmness wash over you as you heard his voice. He always soothed you, even if he didn't know it.

"Yeah.. I'm okay.. I'm just- I don't know" you croak, fighting back a sniffle or two.

"Tell me what's wrong sweetheart, tell me everything" he says with a worried lilt to his voice. You can't contain it any more and you start to sob quietly, letting out all of your frustration, your worry and anxiety. It was at a point it was too much. Eddie notices this and immediately comforts you as you tell him what's been going on and how you're feeling.

"Oh baby" he says in a soft hushed tone, "I don't like hearing you like this.. Infact, I'm taking the rest of the day off, I'll be home as soon as I can" he says

"Eds, no, it's okay you can't-"

"Try and stop me sweetie" he says and you can tell he's smirking at you on the other end of the phone. He hangs up. It gives you a slight smile to know that he's coming home and he's on his way to you. You always felt much better when he was around.

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

Eddie pulls into the driveway and opens the door with a "Baby! Where are you? Can you come down please?"

You hear him calling for you and get yourself up off of the bed, smoothing out the shirt of Eddie's you happened to be wearing that day, rubbing your hands momentarily on the rough denim of your jeans, using all the energy you possibly could muster to do so. You felt tired and your limbs felt a little heavy. You slowly make your way downstairs, to see him standing there with his hands behind his back. He's wearing his signature leather jacket with his battle Jacket over it, a Black Sabbath t-shirt and his usual black jeans with white Reeboks. His chain hanging from his jeans clinked against his belt as he swayed and grinned at you.

"There's my girl" he says softly. "Come here"

You slowly walk over to him, a slight smile on your face because how could you not smile when he was around? He was your rock, your protector, your safe place. And you were his too. It didn't need to be said or spoken, you both just knew.

He slowly takes his hands out from behind him, revealing a huge, beautiful bunch of your favourite flowers. He offers them to you and says "For my gorgeous girl", staring deep into your eyes and cupping your face with one of his hands, feeling the cold metal of his rings on your warm cheek. He plants a soft kiss on your forehead, then the very tip of your nose and then finally your lips, embracing you in his arms as he does. He holds you tight and close, it seems to go on forever as you hold on to him, finding it hard to hold back the tears you fought off earlier. You breathed deeply and smelled the leather from his jacket, mixed with his sandalwood cologne and the faint smell of hemp.

"Would you like to go for a walk down by our spot, beautiful?" He mumbles into your neck, his face has been planted firmly in the crook there since the moment he embraced you.

You pull back a little too look him in the eyes, tears pooling a little and nod at him. He softly brushes his thumb against your cheek and you move your face into his hand as he does so. "Okay, let me go and get your shoes, would you like a jacket too?" he muses as he waltzes over to the closet.

"Just the shoes please, honey" you reply softly.

He grabs your boots and motions you to sit down on the small bench you have in the hallway. You put your hand out expecting him to hand you the shoes, but he doesn't. Instead he kneels in front of you and motions you to lift your foot so he can slip them on for you. "You don't think I'm gonna let my girl put her own shoes on do you?" He looks up at you and grins, his brown doe eyes sparkling in the early evening sun coming through the glass in the door.

You let out a small chuckle, "You're silly, I can put my own shoes on!".

"Absolutely not! The queen shall NEVER don her own boots! Tis not the rules, m'lady!" He muses theatrically, lifting his hand up to the sky and then back to his heart, like an actor in a Shakespeare play, making you giggle a little harder now.

"Shall we then?" He says grabbing your hand and softly planting a kiss on the back of it, still on the floor.

"Yes, let's go" you smile at him and say, getting up and both walking to the door, hand in hand. You already felt so much better with him being here and your walk hadn't even begun.

Eddie runs around to your side of his van before you can even get there, opening the door for you and standing there with a smile on his face and his eyes closed. "Your highness" he says in a terrible accent as he bows and motions you inside the van, taking your hand to help you up into the van. He knows you're not that tall and he always holds your hand as you climb in. He's such a gentleman and the sweetest man you've ever met. Not to mention the most beautiful.

He clambers in himself and starts the engine. Before setting off, he turns to you and points at the glove box, this is where he keeps all of his and yours cassettes. A nice collection of both of your music tastes.

"Pick whatever you want baby, even if it's god damn Billy Idol. I'll listen to whatever you want today and I promise I won't call him a poser" he smiles at you, knowing that you'll complain if he does. He didn't care for Billy Idol, but he knows you do and he loves you so much he'd listen to pretty much anything at all if it made you happy. Even Madonna.

You stare at him wide eyed and say "Really?"

"Deadly" he replies shooting you a huge grin.

You rustle through the casettes for a brief moment and finally decide on Metallica. You both loved them so it was a nice happy medium. You push the casette into the tape player and soon the car is filled with the shrill guitars and the thundering drums of James Hetfield and co.

"Man! I love this band so frickin much!" Eddie exclaims as he starts tapping the steering wheel and headbanging in a silly way that made you giggle again. He starts singing along to Battery in a very silly voice, even imitating the guitars, including the solos. This makes you laugh harder than you've laughed in days. He would do anything to cheer you up, even if it meant making a fool of himself. But you didn't think he was a fool at all. He shoots you a wicked grin and blows you a kiss as the song finishes, grabbing your hand and laying both your hands in your lap for the rest of the journey as you both listen to the tape and just enjoy each others silence.

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

"Oh wow, I think it's going to be a beautiful night!" Eddie says cheerfully as he helps you step out of the van on to the path next to the soft grass near you. Another thing he always did. You were silently grateful for a second that you had a man as chivalrous as him, smiling slightly at the thought.

He catches you smiling and wonders what you're thinking about, but he doesn't ask. He just smiles back, holds out his hand for you to grab and you entwine your fingers with his. You start walking down the nearby beach together, taking your time. Neither of you are in a rush at all. You float your way on to the beach together, taking slow but steady steps as you hit the sand underneath your feet. You look out towards the water on your right, the sun should be setting in around an hour. You two stroll along in silence for a little while, hand in hand, just enjoying the beautiful view, the sound of the small waves crashing nearby and lapping at the sand and some birds nearby. You squeeze Eddie's hand three times, you and his secret way of saying "I love you" and he looks down at you with a big toothy smile and soft eyes, and squeezes back three times. He slowly puts his arm around your shoulder and you both walk like that for a while longer.

He pauses for a second and turns to you, facing you and wrapping his arms around your waist. You put your hands on his shoulders, looking up at him, feeling totally safe. "Feeling any better, baby?" He asks softly, laying a soft kiss on your forehead, brushing a stray hair out of your face with his finger.

You look up at him and smile, "A bit".

"Shall we walk back now? The sun is almost ready to set and I have something I want to show you" he leans in and says, planting a few soft quick kisses on each cheek and then your lips. You nod and you're once again hand in hand, walking back along the beach. You can feel him stroking your hand with his thumb as you both walk along.

You look out at the water. And then you look up at Eddie. He's watching some birds soaring in the distance, smiling as he watches them dance around in the sky. You cannot help but feel overwhelming love for this man in this moment. Your man. You wonder what you did to deserve such a sweetheart and how in the world he chose you to be his. You glanced down at the simple silver promise ring he gave you and smile, biting your lip slightly. It doesn't matter what you did or how he chose you, all that you know is that he did and you couldn't be happier to have him by your side. You ride that high for a little while, feeling like you're walking on a cloud, leaning your head against his arm and mimicking his thumbstrokes across your hand on his.

--------

You reach the van and go to get inside, but Eddie tells you that you're going in the wrong door with a cheeky smile. You look at him puzzled and he leaps over to the back of the van. You walk around slowly to see why the hell he's going in there and as you do, he opens the doors. Inside, you see pillows and blankets, almost like he's made a mini fort in the back of his van. You see a cooler filled with yours and his favourite drinks and next to it a duffel bag. "What is all this babe?" You look at Eddie with a shocked but happy look on your face

"I thought we could watch the sunset together and have a little picnic" he smiles as he unzips the duffel bag, showing all of your favourite snacks and candies.

You look at him with a grateful smile and say "Oh baby you didn't have to!"

You were quite content just being with him, he really didn't have to pull out all these stops to make you happy. But he always did it anyway, because he wanted to show you how much he loved you and make sure you knew just how much he appreciated you. You throw your arms around his neck and give him a huge, long kiss. Both smiling as you pull away.

You both settle in to the softness of the blankets and cushions in the back of the van. He hands you a drink and you pick out something from the bag of goodies in front of you. Eddie picks something out too and starts making silly faces at you and you start to make them back at him, you both sit and laugh together.

It starts to get a little cold as the sun starts to set in the horizon and you rub at your arms. Eddie notices this and stands up for a second to take off his leather jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders as he plops himself down right next to you, leaving a soft kiss on your neck as he does. He puts one arm around your shoulders and the other grabs your hands. You both stare off into the distance and enjoy the beautiful hues of the sky as the sun goes away for another day.

"You know I'll always be here for you right?" Eddie turns his head to look down at you. You look back at him, waiting for him to continue, sensing he's going to say more.

"I will be here every step of the way. No matter how tough things get, no matter what obstacles we will face, either together or individually. You're my girl and I will do everything in my power to make you happy, to lift your spirits when you're sad, to chase away your demons and protect you from harm"

He cups your face slowly, brushing at your cheek again, as he so often does.

You look up at him, feeling tears well in your eyes, but this time it's happy tears. You can feel your heart swell with love. You loved Eddie more than you've ever loved anyone. And you didn't think you could ever love anyone as much ever again.

"I know Eds. And I feel the exact same about you. I never want you to feel alone or battle your fears alone. I'll always be your girl. And I'll always be by your side. Every step."

He smiles at you softly, and leans in to kiss you. It is a long, passionate kiss. Your hands in his hair, his hand on your face, his other arm still behind you, now holding you close to him and pulling you into his chest. You pull away slightly, needing some air because of how amazingly breathless his kiss left you.

"I love you so much, sweetheart. Always and forever." he says in an almost whisper, stroking your face and looking deeply into your eyes.

"I love you too, Eddie. Always and forever." You reply in the same almost whisper.

You both kiss once more and then you snuggle up to his chest as he holds you in his arms, softly humming a beautiful little riff you recognised.

You feel safe. You feel comforted. You feel absolute bliss. But most of all.. you feel so much better than you did before. You know all your worries are still there, but you finally feel like you have the strength to face them, especially knowing that he will always be in your corner and he will face them with you..

Always and forever.

[nyforceuser]

A Different Kind of Clone War (3)

This, along with all of the others in A Different Kind of Clone War is a tickle fic, but pure fluff.

(1) (2) (3)

Masterlist

Falling Dominos

Rex was so done. He was so so done, and it was all Cody could do to hide his snickering because it was funny. The Domino Twins were a menace when they were with the 212th, but they seemed to be even more mischeivious with their home batallion, the 501st. The way they drove Rex up the wall was hilarious.

And it wasn't exactly like Rex could do anything about it, either. The two ARCs were the source of laughs in many companies and somehow got away with pretty much anything. Pranks, jokes, you name it. It just wasn't worth trying to punish them because they'd bounce right back and do it all over again.

..and Fives would just slip Echo the manuals and Echo would finish them in record time because he's already read them all. It just wasn't worth it.

Rex had just found the CG's massiff in his quarters and had had a hard time returning her to Fox and his squad, first because he had no idea how she got there, second because she almost bit his hand off and he was scared to touch her after that.

After Hound had come to extract her (she greeted him happily) Rex had found the culprits and now they were defending themselves with stupid excuses like, "She was cute!" And "But massiff's are awesome! We should get one!"

Rex would argue that no, no they were not cute, Grizzer was vicious, and they would not be getting one any time soon.

Echo shrugged. "We tried."

"Yeah." Fives shrugged in a perfect imitation of his brother. "I really thought Rex would've liked her."

"I did too."

Rex sighed and glared at the two of them before exchanging a glance with Cody.

Cody chuckled. "You take Fives and I'll get Echo?"

The two started advancing toward the ARC troopers.

Rex grinned, almost relieved. "Works for me."

Fives and Echo looked at each other in confusion and then Rex dug his fingers into Fives's sides and Cody grabbed Echo around the middle, scratching at his stomach. Thier reactions were completely different: Fives yelped and snapped his elbows against his sides and Echo started squirming desperately and choked on a startled gasp. Neither succeeded in evasion and both ARCs were on the floor in ten seconds flat. Fives kept shrinking away and curling in on himself while Echo squirmed and fought, hysterically giggling and giving Cody a hell of a time.

Rex pinched at Fives's lower ribs, a spot that seemed to be incredibly effective. The clone cackled and arched his back before curling up again, wrapping his arms around his torso and failing to block Rex's fingers.

"You ticklish, Fives? Don't think I've ever heard you laugh like this."

"Rehehehex!!"

"Hey, you deserve this! I don't think Grizzer or I liked that you obducted her, so this can be your punishment for ticking me off."

Fives squeaked a protest that was lost in a new fit of laughter when Rex wormed his fingers under his arms.

Cody was discovering that Echo was much more ticklish than his brother and much more defensive too. He had narrowly avoided a knee to the groin and evaded a forearm to the nose, but did manage to get an elbow to the stomach.

With much difficulty, Cody managed to wrestle the ARC trooper on his back to sit on his thighs and it was all over for poor Echo.

He screamed as Cody squeazed his hips and skittered his fingers up his sides.

"Cody! CODYYHEHEHEHE!!" He finally managed in between fits of hysterical laughter.

Cody grinned at him and scribbled over his stomach, making him thrash and throw his head back.

"STAAahaHahapp!!"

"Sorry, Echo. I wanna see who can last longer."

"Echo! ITS ECHO!" Fives screamed. "Gahaha-REX NO!"

"No what? No this?"

Fives pounded his heels into the ground as Rex pressed into the spots just below his underarms.

Cody chuckled at how alike the two ARCs really were as he wormed his own fingers under Echo's arms, earning a shriek from the younger clone that toned down to hysterical cackling.

But where Fives's energy to fight was slowly ebbing, Echo was still struggling, despite how much more ticklish he was.

As Fives gave in, curling up and helplessly laughing while Echo continued to thrash and fight Cody, Rex huffed a small chuckle and let up. Cody squeezed Echo's sides one more time before following suit and getting off of the poor trooper.

Echo kept squirming and giggling as the sensations faded and Fives kicked him weakly. "This is all your fault."

Cody laughed and moved to sit on the floor next to Rex, who wore the easiest smile Cody had seen on him in a while. Echo pushed himself up enough to shoot Cody a glare before resting his head against Rex's leg.

Rex chuckled and carded a hand through his hair as Cody muttered, "Oh I see how it is," with a smile plastered on his face.

[bookwormmedz]

I was thinking of a scenario what baki and jack find out they have a sister who's 19 y/o

Oh wow, what a unique idea. It's actually a theory my older brother and I share as well that there are offspring scattered across the globe just waiting to be discovered. I put a bit of research into this and it ended up becoming a short introductory fic! I really hope you enjoy it! - Medz Title: The New Hanma in Town

"Wait, are you serious?" "I'm serious Baki. She even passed the check. She showed me the demon on her back. She's definitely a Hanma." She looked across at them, one after another. "What? I'm not an alien you know.." Baki chuckled and smiled, waving his hand. "No, no, that's not it. It's just that, it's actually quite nice, finding out you have a sister. I feel like I want to protect you." Looking deathly serious, Jack corrected Baki before he could say anything further. "She's very capable of defending herself. She broke into my house and dislocated my jaw before I brought her here." Still, he found himself grinning too. "She's definitely our sister Baki." The girl shrugged. "Hey look, I didn't mean much harm by it. It just helps speed up getting my answers. My mother sent me here with instructions to find Yujiro Hanma, the man who is supposedly my father." Baki began to pace, biting on his thumb nail. When it came to delegating the family affairs, he wasn't necessarily..the best. Neither was Jack. Still, there she was. A 19 Year Old sister they didn't know they had, standing there in the flesh, waiting and expectant for answers. A sister, they both believed they had much time to repay to. Though young, her body was riddled with scars. She spoke up, not exactly enjoying the silence between them. "I'll recount to you Baki, what I told Jack as I stood over him during our first encounter." Jack sighed, almost letting out laughter. "C'mon little sister, now you're making me sound like a real loser." "Yes Jack, but your back did hit the ground first. Guess you're not used to being struck behind the ear huh?" She didn't suffer from a lack of personality, that was for sure. Jack and Baki both gave their attention towards what she was going to say next. "So, as I was saying. I lived out most of my life in rural China. My mother is Sino-Thai. She trained me in Muay Khao, all techniques with enough force to kill. Force to shatter bones, disrupt the body's natural systems. She said that it was the reason she encountered my father. I didn't care much for him, but I still heeded her stories. I respect my mother, she is a strong woman, and so I listened to her." Baki was gripped with anticipation. There was so much to know about his newfound sibling, and he yearned to know more. "But, there's more to the story isn't there? What happened after that? How did you make it to Japan? And how did you find us?" "How I got here up until this point was hard, but finding you was easy. As for the rest of my story, I'll make it quick. When my mother could gather enough money to send me out into the city, she wanted me to study. Until then I'd been living rural life, training and helping my mother with our small living off of agricultural endeavours. With the money I was given, instead of enrolling into a school, I found myself paying a fee to enter my first fight in an underground fight club. In a single night, I bloodied, bruised and destroyed all of their best. I've been fighting my way through Asia ever since. Now I'm in Japan, and I'm here for Yujiro Hanma." She looked down at the palm of her hand, clenching her fist tightly, feeling the blood course through her veins. "This Hanma blood that flows through me, I can't fight or deny it. I fought to give my mother a better life, yes, but I fought more because I loved it. I craved it, the heat of battle." Jack had his eyebrow upturned. She'd told him most of the story, but not the entire narrative. "So, do you want to fight Yujiro?" "No, I want him to train me."

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Bc I have zero self control here is part 2 to my mini Trans Keith fic <3

Part One!

Disclaimer:

Krolia does refer to Keith as she/her and as her daughter because she is unaware!!!!!! It's not intentional but don't read if that bothers you

-----

He sliced through another century, quickly rolling out of the way of another one; their sword getting stuck in the metal floor. 

Keith stood up and quickly finished them off, taking a brief moment to catch his breath. He began to shift his body to head back down the hallway but he found himself shoved against the wall before he could take a step. 

What the hell?! He fought back against his captor, feeling a bit useless as they easily lifted him off the ground. The brief thought of death crossed his mind, quickly replaced by a worst thought; being tortured. 

He kept trying to break free, kicking any part of his assailant's body. "Let me go!" He gritted through his teeth. 

Their grip didn't wavier, "how did you get that blade?" 

"What?!" 

He was dropped to the ground, the Galra's hand quickly grabbing his Marmora blade before he could react. The Galran used their left hand to hold him against the wall, their grip borderline crushing his shoulder bone. They held the blade in front of his face with their free hand. 

"Where did you get this blade?" Their voice sounded a bit robotic through the mask. 

Keith looked at the masked person, then down at the blade. Why are they worried about that?! He kept his mouth shut.

Their grip tightened slightly and Keith bite his inner cheek to stop himself from yelping.  

"I'll ask you one more time. Where did you get this?" 

He thought he could hold out, but even the strongest will break under pain. "My dad gave it to me! He said it was my mom's that's all I know." 

Their grip didn't falter and Keith try to escape; failing. 

They adjusted their left hand to the front of Keith's armor, lifting him back up and slamming him into the wall. They let the red paladin fall to the ground with a thud. Keith blinked the stars away from his eyes as he tried to catch his breath which was torn from his lungs. 

They kneeled down in front of them, "tell me the truth." 

"I am," he sucked in a breath, coughing a bit at the action. "I wouldn't lie about that," he wheezed out. 

The Galran lifted on their mask, their yellow and purple eyes meeting Keith's. "What is your name?" Her voice was a bit gruff, her eyes peering into Keith's soul. 

"Keith." He cursed himself for how much his voice wavered. 

Her face shifted to a look of confusion for a brief second before she shook her head. "Tell me again how you got this blade?" Her voice was still harsh but it has lessened ever so slightly.  

"I told you. My dad gave it to me. He said it was my mother's." 

The Galran looked at him for what felt like an eternity before she stood, studying the blade intently. She mumbled something to herself and Keith took the moment to stand, at least give himself a slight chance of fighting. 

She looked him up and down, studying random parts of him. 

Keith tried to look around her, trying to plan an escape route before she spoke. "What happened to your father?" Her eyes gazed down at the metal of the blade, twisting it slowly. 

Keith watched how her hands twisted slowly, "he died." 

Her breath hitched slightly, his head drooping some. "I see." 

"Who are you?" 

She looked at him, "did your dad have any other children?" 

Keith fought the urge to roll his eyes at her evasion. "No. Just me." 

She took a step closer to him, backing him against the wall. She leaned in closer to him, staring at his face. "I don't understand." 

Keith held his breath, unsure of what to make of this situation.

"I had a girl." 

He blinked, "what did you just say?" 

She stepped away from him, wearing a puzzled look. "I had a girl." She looked down at the blade, "I met a man on Earth, we had a daughter. I instructed him to give this to her when she was older...I don't understand how you got this." 

Keith swallowed around the dryness of his throat; dreading the answer to his next question. "What was their name?" 

The name rang through the silence of the hallway. A name Keith hadn't heard in years. The name he never felt connected to. 

"Do you know her?" The Galran asked hesitantly. 

Keith nodded, his voice staying stuck in his chest. 

"How?" 

 Keith looked down at the ground, the pieces slowly falling together to make a picture he never thought he would see. "I guess...I'm..." his voice trailed off. 

"You're her?" 

He shook his head, "I used to be I guess. But I was never a girl, just born in the wrong body." 

Her voice became a whisper, "I see." 

He forced himself to look up at her, her face holding an emotion he couldn't label. 

"So you go by Keith now?" 

He nodded. 

"And you identify as?" 

"A guy." 

She gave a small smile, her face showing a look of pride. "I've always wanted a son." 

-----

Thank you for reading <3333

My trans heart is happy <3

Also I just had to wrote Krolia being a badass and super protective of her family but yes she does apologize for slamming him against the wall sksksk

[randomshyperson]

Left Behind - Chapter 10 - Atlantis

Gif was made by @abimess aka wifey

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

Series Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader || platonic bucky barnes x reader, mentor!natastha romanoff and mentor!steve rogers, bruce banner x reader (friendship), pietro maximoff x reader (friendship).

Words: 3.445K

A/N> I should warn you for the angst in this one i think. Please don't hate the ending of this or the fic. Good reading you all. Also, listen to "Atlantis" by Seafret, i chose the name based on that song.

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Series Masterlist

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Chapter 10 - Atlantis

You ignore the insinuating look Pietro gives you when he sees you leaving Wanda's room in the morning.

"Not a word." You warn threateningly as he raises his arms in surrender, holding back his laughter.

You turn and go back to your room, trying not to smile like an idiot as you prepare for the mission, and failing miserably.

You try not to think about last night, or the morning after, but the feel of Wanda's lips on your skin is all that comes to mind for the next few hours.

Even during breakfast, where after she stole a kiss on your cheek in the hallway before you guys joined the Avengers, and sat beside you at the table while Steve went over some details to everyone, all you could think about was the last night. In Wanda's taste, her hands inside…

"Stop it." She warns softly at your side. Lower enough so only you can hear, and not to get in the way of the captain's speech. You blink in confusion, and then you understand. Feeling your face heat up, you look at her with a mixture of surprise and indignation.

"You can...?"

"Yes, now eat in silence please." She interrupts in the same tone, equally embarrassed as she keeps her gaze on the plate in front of her.

"Wanda?" You try next. And she mutters under her breath, and then she realizes. She rolls her eyes, and goes back to eating. You smile. "I can't believe you didn't tell me you could hear thoughts."

"It was kind of obvious don't you think?" She retorts mentally. "My whole thing is mind control."

"Your whole thing is to be the love of my life." You tease and she chokes lightly on her coffee, making you hold back a laugh as you gently touch her back. She says she's fine softly, and Steve, who had given her a worried look, goes back to talking about planning for the defenses in Sokovia.

"When this is over, I want to try a few things." You mentally tell her and Wanda looks at you quickly before turning her attention back to Steve. You imitate the movement.

"We'll leave as soon as you finish eating." Steve says already getting up. You suddenly feel anxious.

Wanda notices the way your body has tensed, and looks at you immediately.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asks tenderly. You give her a weak smile, placing your hand on her thigh. Wanda puts her hand on top of yours.

"I'm nervous."

"Me too." She confesses. "But we'll be fine. I got you."

"And I got you."

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As soon as you join the jet with the rest of the Avengers, you could already feel the control serum starting to wear off.

Sighing a little, you don't even have to ask to have Wanda's hand in yours. Her eyes and fingers glow red for a moment as she helps you, before returning to normal. You mumble a thanks, resting your back against the jet's wall.

"Remember what we trained, Avengers." Announces Steve upon entering. "Removing the civilians is the support team's priority, while Clint searches for Natasha. The strike team must deal with Ultron's guards."

"Yes, captain." The team says in understanding, and then the jet is leaving.

It takes ten minutes for Pietro to start teasing you.

"I hear we had a girls night yesterday." Commented the boy out loud, attracting the attention of Bruce and Bucky, who were standing next to you. Wanda glared at her brother.

"Pietro..."

"What is it, sestra? I’m just saying.”He joked. You wondered if you could throw him off the jet from that high. "I heard that this type of activity is a great stress reliever."

You felt your face heat up, and you sank into your seat. In the next second, the rest of the team understood. Clint whistled loudly, and Tony laughed. Bruce blushed and pretended to pay attention to his boots while Bucky giggled at Steve's embarrassed expression.

"Forgive me, I'm not following the reason for the humor in this conversation." Vision commented then.

"Don’t you dare." Wanda warned when he saw Pietro raise his hand to tell Vis what was being said, and the boy laughed before ducking.

Vision watched the interaction with confusion, but it was Tony who threw his arm around him.

"They had sex, champion." Tony announced, making you grunt in embarrassment. "I can't wait for Nat to know, she owes me fifteen bucks”.

“What?” Wanda asks, confused.

"Ah, it's just that before you arrived, the golden eyes there were always talking about you." Tony counts with irony. "How much she loved and missed a certain little witch and her inconvenient brother. So we made a bet that you two would work it out. I said it would happen before you went back to Sokovia, but Natasha thought Y/N was slower and would just work it out after we’re done with Ultron."

"Thanks for the faith, Tony." You mumble awkwardly, adjusting your posture. "Now if you don't mind, can you stop talking about my life?"

The team laughs but the comments about you and Wanda stops. Until you reach Sokovia, you spend your time playing with Wanda fingers as you both lay against each other's shoulders while listening to whenever small talk the Avengers build up.

Things get tense once you reach the country.

Steve signals that you arrive and starts moving around to get read for the jet to land.

You only let go of Wanda’s hand to put your suit on and once you’re done, she’s right in front of you, smiling tenderly as she puts a jacket on.

“Are you good?” She asks.

“Yes. You?”

“Yeah.” She aswerns as she moves forward to kiss you firmly on the mouth. It relaxes your body completely, and you keep your hands on top of hers that are on your face until you break the kiss.

You wish you could care about the teasing looks the team cast to you too, but all you see is Wanda.

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You sat down quickly on the ground, your body against a wall, while trying to get your breathing back to normal.

Wanda was using her powers to get civilians out of their homes, and well, it took some of her magical attention away from you.

It didn't take long for you to be able to detect all the biological life around you again, meters and meters away, quickly feeling overwhelmed.

"How are we?" Steve asked over the communicator, probably already advancing with the rest of the team towards the former Hydra base. You looked up at the sky to get a quick glimpse of Tony flying in his suit before he vanished away.

"All right around here, Captain." Clint responded first followed by the rest of the team.

Your hesitation made Steve specifically call you, but before you could say anything, Wanda was kneeling beside you, one hand on your shoulder and the other on her communicator.

"We are good." She responded before turning her attention to you completely. You felt her magic envelop you quickly, your body relaxing. "How do you feel, dear?"

"Better now." You respond with a smile. "Thanks."

As she helped you to your feet, you noticed her worried expression, and placed a hand on her cheek.

"I'm fine Wanda, I promise."

"Just don't push too far, okay?" She asks. "You can go back to the jet whenever you want."

"I'll be okay, Wanda." You mumble. "Let's get this over with so we can go back to bed." You teases with a mischievous smile, stealing a kiss before walking away, giving her a wink before heading towards the rest of the civilians.

Ultron had better plans than this.

“We need to get everyone out of here immediately.” Tony told through the communicator. “A vibranium bomb. We don’t have time.”

“Working on it, iron boss.” You mock as you helped another family move out of their home. Just like, Pietro had already headed to police stations and hospitals to remove people from there. There was a large crowd of inhabitants heading out of town, but there were still many more.

Peace ended quickly.

Ultron activated the robot army, and they literally began to sprout from the ground.

"Bucky, we're going to need support here pal." Steve warned through the communicator while you were drawing your pistol to prevent one of the robots from advancing on you.

"On my way, cap." The soldier warned. "Just don't tell my therapist."

You and the team laughed lightly as you fought. The whole thing getting bigger and bigger every minute.

Wanda covered for you while you guided people out, but it was becoming untenable.

So, as soon as she tore apart the small group of Ultron’s army that was surrounding you two, you called her.

"You can't keep babysitting me , this is getting too bad." You warned, your voice almost muffled by the length of the fight. The robots flying above you, and Thor and Vision facing them in the sky.

"I won't leave you." She insisted seriously and you swallowed hard.

"Wanda..."

“End of discussion.”

“You are cute and all, it's just that we have a situation here. Mind getting back into the fight?" Natasha's voice interrupted the moment over the radio, sounding amused and teasing. You sighed with relief when you realized she was okay, and you exchanged one last look with Wanda before going back to fighting. “By the way, Tony said I lost the bet.”

“Please don’t bring this back.” You ask Natasha, that just laughs before hanging off, not without teasing you about being proud of you for making a move.

The ground shook beneath your feet, making it difficult for you to keep your balance.

"Guys, what's going on?" You asked through the communicator.

Sokovia is going for a ride.

Friday tells the whole team. You gasp in surprise, looking around.

The ground is breaking apart, and the city is rising into the air. You don't need your powers to know that not all buildings are empty. The debris will end up hurting someone.

And even with all that, the advances of Ultron's army get even worse.

You barely have time to duck before Wanda rips apart a robot that attacked you.

Clint catches up with you two the next second.

"We need to regroup, Tony needs us back there." He warns you. You frown.

"Not a chance, there are civilians all over the place." You say, moving quickly to fire at the machines that have appeared behind you.

"Well, we need the offensive back at the church." He counters. "That's where the bomb is."

"You two go then." You say when you finish shooting. Wanda, who has just destroyed three machines at once, turns to you in indignation.

"No."

But you don't look at her, you look at the blue flash figure approaching.

“Hey Peete, do you mind?” You shouted to him as he stopped next to you two. He nods at you before picking Wanda up, who has no time to complain. He teases Clint "Keep up, old man." before disappearing at high speed, making you laugh.

Clint looks at you.

“Are you sure?”

"It's my job to protect them.”

“The Maximoff or the civilians?” He mocks, making you roll your eyes.

“Go, Barton.”

It doesn't take long for your biological detection to come back.

You think you're going to pass out. But you take a deep breath, and stumble among cars and wrecking machines.

Calm down. You remember Wanda's soft voice in the glass room. The feel of her fingers on your skin. Calm down, I'm here. You can do this.

"I can do this." You mutter to yourself, trying to keep your balance.

You find a horde around the corner, almost close enough to a group of civilians coming out of the municipal hospital.

Ignoring the feeling of being overwhelmed at being able to feel the fear and despair of those people, you advance with the pistol in your hand.

The machines were destroyed, but not by you.

"You took your time, Barnes." You tease with a wry smile, rushing to help the civilians, feeling their superficial wounds before helping them. Bucky smiles and shrugs, a rifle in his hand as he gives you cover to help the population.

"Two minutes out here and I'm already missing my retirement." He comments as he fires, making you laugh, a bit breathless due your powers. Bucky notices right the way. "Are you all right?"

"I'm just considering retiring too after here." You retort by standing up again, helping the little girl who had bruises on her forehead to join the rest of the family. She smiles in thanks, but you're already walking away again, your head pounding from how many people you can feel at once.

You stumble around the rubble to the front of the municipal hospital. Ignoring the memories you have of the whole neighborhood, you try to focus on some group.

"Y/N, I think there are kids coming out of that corner!" Bucky unnecessarily warns you because you've already felt them.

You recognize Church clothes that the adults leading the group wear. They are coming from the Orphanage where you grew up.

You run to catch up to them, and it's the first time you've really noticed Ultron's cruelty. It's a horde that arises, and they notice you right away. The machine in front follows your gaze to the small group, and it has a chance to shoot only you, but it turns its mechanical hand, and aims directly at the kids.

You widen your eyes, feeling your heart race.

"NO!"

Something explodes in your chest. Everything turns golden before returning to normal color. You can’t see the golden wave that reaches the group because there’s a pain in the back of your head that makes you close your eyes tightly.

The robot fired, but if it weren't for the gunshot marks on the robes, no one would know as none of the civilians had any injury. The kids were wide-eyed, and you fell to your knees.

Bucky shot the machines before looking at you in amazement.

"How did you do that? They were practically a street away." He asked in shock, watching the nuns guide the kids to cover quickly, just as in shock as he was. Your lack of response alarmed him and he turned to face you quickly, touching your shoulder. "Y/N, you're bleeding..."

"I know." You grunt weakly, taking a deep breath as you lean on Bucky to get up. "Let 's keep going."

You wiped the blood running from your nose with your hand, but ignored the wet sensation in your ears. Bucky hesitated.

"No, you're not okay." He insisted. "Let's go back..."

"Let go of me, Bucky." You exclaimed angrily, pulling his hands away. "I heal, don't I? I'll be fine. Let's keep going."

"Y/N..."

But you are already walking. You can feel all the injured, and you need to keep going.

You help at least two more groups to shelter, until you're resting your hands on your knees and trying to stay on your foot.

You see your blood dripping to the ground, and you hear Bucky's footsteps approaching, so you wipe your face quickly while disguising the way your head is spinning.

"This isn't working Y/N." He says as he looks around at the wreckage. "These things seem to grow out of the ground, and there's no end to them. The city is too high right now and these people have nowhere to go."

You were going to agree with him, but something in the sky caught your eye.

"I think that's their ride." You say while pointing straight ahead.

It's a gigantic ship, flowing alongside the city. You and Bucky exchange a look, before he uses the communicator to confirm that this was a good thing.

With Shield providing shelter for civilians, you started running to help evacuate people from the floating capital of Sokovia.

Your head was spinning, and your feet were about to give up, but you forced yourself to continue.

Your body is shaking when you turn to help a boy who cut his leg.

"Ty angel, devochka? (are you an angel, lady?)" He asks, scared when you heal him and you give a weak laugh.

"Net, ya Avenger. (no, I’m an Avenger.)"

The wound isn't that big, but it's enough to rob the air of your lungs. Bucky guides the boy with the rest of the group back to the ship, and you can barely stand, your stomach turning.

You force yourself to get up. Just a bit longer.

Lifting your hand to your ear, you call out to Wanda while leaning on the car beside you so you don't fall to the ground.

"Wands?" You say wait for her to respond. She sounds worried when she says your name, but you just sigh. "Babe, when this is over, I'm taking you out on a date. Like the cliches we've never done before, okay?"

"Why are you talking like this?" She asked, scared. You can hear the background noises, the way she was probably keeping the bomb safe but facing Ultron's army. "Where are you?"

"I think we should try Disneyland too. Americans seem to love that." You continue as you begin to walk again. One hand on the tech inside your ear and the other in the wound in your belly, formed while you faced the last horde of robots, not healing anymore. "You would like a candlelight date with wine and music, wouldn’t you?"

"Please tell me where you are, I'll come to you." She begs through the radio and you smile before hanging up.

You saw Clint run further to the town.

You take a deep breath, rushing to catch up. You also see the jet Ultron stole rounding the city towards them, the rifles outside ready to aim.

That's why Clint ran there, to save one of the civilians left behind, you notice as you see the little boy on your friend's arm.

You try to do what you did before. Project your healing magic to them to keep them protected, but as you lift your hands to do that, all you feel is a sharp twinge in the middle of your chest and you almost fall to the ground.

Fine, I'll heal them myself. You think impatiently as you ignore your own limit and run.

You are almost there. But so is Ultron. If you stay up front, you think you can protect Clint and the civilian, you'd heal later, no problem.

“I’m gonna win.”

You widen your eyes in surprise when Pietro whispers in your ear, disappearing in his speed the next moment.

No. Don't do this.

You feel the shots before you hear them. You feel it through Pietro's body, who stepped forward to protect Clint.

You throw yourself forward, desperate.

You reach Pietro the second his heart stops beating.

"Piete?" You call to him as he falls into your lap. You can feel the air disappearing from his lungs, life fading away "Hey buddy, don't do that. Pietro! Please..."

You bury your face in his chest, trying to hear something. Anything. You press your hands against his chest next, then his face.

"Don't die on me, Pietro." You beg with a sob. You force your magic in despair. No matter how much it hurts, Pietro cannot die. He just can't.

You can only remember the skinny little boy running with you in your childhood. Laughing with you on the roof. Teaching you to fight.

Your tears mix up with your blood.

"Captain, we have a problem." Clint announces at your side.

No.

I'm not giving up.

You grunt in pain as you press your hands hard on Pietro's chest, your veins popping with a golden light. You're not dying on me.

Something starts to pulse in your head. Loud enough to completely disorient you. Your eyes are heavy, and you choke on your own blood coming out of your mouth.

You smile because you can feel the air returning to your friend's lungs at the same rate as it leaves yours.

When Pietro breathes again, your eyes close.

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[zealous-whispers-of-us-redux]

homecoming

(A/N: I tweaked an old, unposted [on this blog] fic of mine for @multi-stann and her 1k writing event. I picked the smut prompt: "Love the taste of you, but I need more.”) :)

Warning: demon sex and desecration in/of a church. Please don't read if that offends you!!

SMUT AHEAD

Intoxicating dreams. The feeling of her mouth around his cock. His teeth sinking into her plush bottom lip. Heat racketing up his spine until all he knew was her. Wrapping a hand around her neck and feeding on her pleasure as he fucked her. Taking anything and everything she would offer him. He missed her. He missed her.

He...

Bucky jolted awake in the confession booth. Sweat dripped down his face, and he could still feel the flames of Hell licking his skin. He was hard in his slacks. Crossing himself absently, Bucky muttered a few prayers under his breath because this was happening again. He knew what it all meant. He has been away for centuries, but his past was finally catching up to him. The more vivid the dreams, the closer she was to finding Bucky. And the closer she was to finding Bucky, the more his true nature rose within him as his body fought against the angels' invisible chains. Bucky was hungrier than he had been in a long time, but the runes on his skin made him unable to leave the church, let alone go out and feed.

He checked his watch, and as he expected, it read 3:17 a.m. Bucky's heart thumped excitedly in his chest. He knew that she knew where he was. Finally, she had found him, and she would rescue him from this hell. He opened the door to the confessional just as she blew into the church, stalking nearer and nearer until Bucky could take her in for the first time in years. She looked just as beautiful as he remembered- wild and passionate with eyes that glowed from within. With each step she took, the floor cracked underneath her feet. Crucifixes clattered to the ground, and the stained-glass window shattered, raining colored glass down onto both of them. The statue of the Virgin Mary cried, and she grinned.

"There you are," she said, and Bucky could not take his eyes off of her.

"You found me," he croaked in the language he never forgot, no matter how many beatings he took.

"You’ve been calling out to me for ages, but your jailers kept you well-hidden. Even my father couldn't see you."

"They summoned me," said Bucky bitterly. "They summoned me, an' they stole me as a barginin' chip."

"If they think they can stop this, they're wrong. It is only the beginning. My father has gathered his troops. I asked him to wait until I found you. Lord Belial wasn't happy with me, but I came for you anyway. "

Bucky squirmed at the innuendo, his gaze dropping to her mouth. His stomach rumbled, and she must have heard it because she smiled. He reached out for her, and she threw herself into his arms. He pressed his lips to the top of her head, breathing her in.

“You do remember me, don't you?” she asked, sounding vulnerable in a way he would never expect.

“How could I ever forget my baby?" Bucky asked.

"How come you haven't left this church if you remember me?"

"The runes." He gestured to the symbols carved into his skin. "I can't leave."

"You can leave if the angels who created the runes are dead."

"What did you do?"

"They gambled away their vessels, and I burnt them to a crisp," she said, baring her teeth. "It was a fitting punishment, Father said. If they thought they could take away what is mine, they were wrong if they thought they could hurt you without retribution. They deserve worse than what I gave them."

"You-"

"You're free, Bucky," she said firmly, placing her hands against his cheeks. "What will you do now?"

Bucky kissed her, and it was like slipping a key into a lock. He had forgotten almost everything about his old life, except for her, but she saved him and was now giving everything back. He vividly remembered Hell again, remembered how it was not as dreadful as the angels brainwashed him into believing it was. It was his home. It was hellhounds and halls of crystals glittering in the low lamplight. It was decadent food that demons didn't need but ate anyway. It was her naked in his bed, waiting for him to return from corrupting souls on Earth. It was sex all the time, whenever Bucky wanted. She was as insatiable as he was.

“Welcome back,” she said.

“It's been so long,” Bucky replied, pawing at her greedily. “I need ya right the fuck now. I'm starvin.'”

“Remember when we fucked in that church in Romania? Right under the statue of their precious Mary?” she asked.

“Hell, I’ve missed you."

As they kissed again, Bucky felt her heating up under his hands until tendrils of flame erupted from her skin. She pulled back, and Bucky saw her eyes alight with hellfire. He gathered her closer with a groan, knowing he would never get burned. She kissed him again, clawing at his hair as she swung herself into his lap. The confession booth swayed dangerously, but both ignored it. Bucky sunk his teeth in her bottom lip, and she snarled, scraping her nails over his scalp in retaliation. They pulled apart to blink at one another, then she dove to take off Bucky's shirt. Her fingers burned his skin so good, leaving red streaks that would fade quickly. Bucky could feel it crawling under his skin again, the hunger for sex that he hadn’t felt in ages. He wanted; he wanted to feed off of her pleasure and make her scream.

“I see those pretty black eyes,” she said, drawing Bucky’s gaze from her bare chest. “I knew they wouldn’t succeed.”

“Missed you,” Bucky growled, sucking her jaw so fiercely that he drew blood, “Take yer panties off for me.”

“Ask me nicely.”

She dug her nails into his pecs- a warning. Bucky rolled his eyes as he carried her out of the confessional and into a booth.

“Please take off yer panties. Sweetheart,” he said.

“Okay, darling, whatever you say," she replied.

“Disgusting. Don't ever call me that again. An' take your fuckin' panties off, huh?"

“You're such a dick."

"Hey, leave me alone! It's been two hundred years."

She shoved Bucky’s shoulder, trying to push him off of her enough so that she could wiggle out of her bottoms. Bucky ignored her unspoken command. He grabbed her wrists and slammed her arms over her head.

“Keep ‘em there," he said.

“How am I expected to take my underwear off? Think things through, will you?” she said.

“Yer bein’ unusually bratty today.” Bucky wrapped his lips around one of her nipples. “Ain’t had anyone put you in yer place for a while, I guess.”

“Oh, please. My father is one of the seven kings of Hell. If anything, you should submit to me. I remember how much you liked it when I made you beg at my feet like a hound."

“It's been decades since I’ve had ya underneath me. Now that I have ya, I ain’t just gonna give that up so willingly. Stop bein’ a brat."

“For Baal's sake, just do something instead of talking about it."

“No swearin’, we’re in church,” Bucky said. “An’ keep yer arms above yer head. No touchin.’”

“For fuck’s sake.”

“An’ shut that mouth a’ yours too. You don’t want me to gag ya, do you?”

"Who the fuck has been going around and telling lies saying I wouldn't like that?" she asked with a smile.

Bucky softened. He knew he was probably looking at her like a dumbass, but she was so beautiful and here for the first time in a long time. Bucky wouldn't want his first feeding session in centuries to be with anyone else. If a beast like him could love, he was sure he would love her.

"Missed you," Bucky said softly, tucking his thumbs in the waistband of her panties and stuffing them in her mouth. "So much."

"Missed you too," she mumbled.

"Did you make 'em suffer?"

"You know I did. They hurt you."

She said everything he needed to know in just seven words. His hunger overwhelmed him, and Bucky blacked out until all he could see was her. Flames tickled him as Bucky leaned down to kiss a fiery trail down her stomach. She growled at him in an ancient tongue, and the foundations of the church shook at her words. The statue of Mary cracked in two the louder her words got, but Bucky ignored it, not content on just eating her out- he wanted her screaming. But she was a hard one to please. Bucky could rarely get her to scream when he ate her out, no matter the amount of coaxing he tried.

"Love the taste of you, but I need more," he said, his tongue flicking over her clit. "We still gotta topple that statue."

"Come up here and fuck me. It's been so long."

Bucky left the plush comfort of her thighs and made his way up her body, pressing kisses along the way.

"I know it has, babe," he said, kissing her forehead in a display of comfort that they were both unaccustomed to. "But I’m here now, an’ nothin’ can pull me away from ya again, you hear me?”

"I'll kill anyone who tries," she said.

Bucky grinned sharply. "That's my girl."

"Not yours," she countered.

"No?"

He reached down and drew her legs up around his waist. She locked her ankles together, holding him there so tight he could not move, not even to get inside her. He growled, trying to break free.

"I'm not yours," she repeated.

"If you fuckin' think for one second you ain't mine, you're wrong."

"I'm a fucking demon. No one owns me."

"Never said 'owns.' I said mine. Now, you gonna lemme fuck you or not?"

"No. How is it different?"

Bucky groaned, dropping his head onto her chest. He pressed a few kisses at her breast, bit her nipple.

"C'mon, gimme a break. I'm starvin.'"

"No, not until you tell me."

"Fuck's sake. You're mine, an' I'm yours, okay? An' I don't wanna feed on anyone else, ever again. You're enough for me."

"Okay."

"You don't have to reciprocate."

"I put a war on hold, and I killed three angels to find you," she said flatly.

"Yeah," Bucky said, his vessel's heart fluttering. "You did."

She loosened her grip on Bucky, allowing him to slip inside her for the first time. His body shuddered in delight at feeling her again. He could taste her pleasure in the air, and his tongue flicked out to gather it from her lips as they kissed. Bucky knew he wasn't going to last long, but he would be (more) damned if he finished before she did.

"Come on, move," she said, her nails pricking his back.

The pace Bucky chose was brutal, and she moaned, arching her back. He remembered now the way she’d never utter more than a moan. No matter the amount of coaxing, Bucky could never make her scream. She had passed out from him fucking and feeding on her a few times, but even then, all he managed to get were a few calls of his name. It kept him desperate to please her even though she was the one feeding him.

"Go faster," she sighed, her head tipped back enough so that Bucky could get at her neck with his teeth.

"I gotcha, babe. Wan' my hand?"

"Yes, please."

Naturally, Bucky obliged. He wrapped one of his big hands around her neck, squeezing gently and then harder. Her mouth fell open against his as he fucked her, and they stayed like that, panting into each other's mouths. And Bucky wanted so much for someone to burst in and see them like this, see him fucking her into the ground and feeding off her desire.

He pulled out of her when he got an idea. She speared him with a glare, but he calmed her down, urging her to get to her hands and knees. Bucky smacked her ass, and she muffled a cry into her forearms. The flames on her skin burned hotter and hotter the more Bucky spanked her until sweat was pouring down his chest. He gathered her hair up in his hand and dragged her up from the floor, curling a possessive hand around her throat. Flames licked his skin wherever her body was pressed to his. Bucky could feel it rising within her, and he gasped at the taste of it after so long without. It was the best drug in the world.

"C'mon, rub your clit for me, and scream when you come. You know it makes it taste better," he demanded.

"Make it worth my while, and I will."

"You wan' it? I'll give it to you," Bucky said, squeezing her neck until she was gasping. "Now, come for me. Gimme it."

It only took a couple more sweeps of her fingers over her clit and a quick kiss from Bucky for her to come. He kissed her to muffle her screams, drinking her down, thirsty for everything she could give him. He continued fucking her through her orgasm, his eager pants ringing around the church.

"Again, again, gimme one more. So hungry, babe, you taste so good," Bucky panted.

It didn't take long for her to come again, and Bucky fed on her, moaning as he felt her slipping down his throat. He licked his lips and pushed himself entirely inside her, holding still until she triggered his own orgasm.

"That's a good girl," Bucky cooed, kissing her to get the last of her orgasm.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, looking upside down at him.

He snuggled closer. "Yeah."

"Are you pulling out or what?"

"Nah, wanna stay here for a minute or two. Missed this. So happy y'found me. You saved me."

"I always will," she said, scowling.

Bucky laughed, burying his face into her hair.

"How's Hell, anyway?"

"It's good. Will you come back with me?"

"I'll go anywhere you want me to."

"We'll get those runes off your skin."

"'Kay, but later. I'm still ravenous," said Bucky.

She grinned, all sharp teeth and fire in her eyes.

"Come on, then. Let's go to a real bed."

"Lead the way," said Bucky, flipping the bird toward the Mary statue that lay shattered on the ground.

[writing-good-vibes]

i hate the look that's on your face

another sinclair brothers fic. i kind of love them, their co-dependency is very interesting to investigate and i just know that anytime their conjoinment is brought up it sets them off, which is why they try not to ever discuss it. bold is in sign. a little bit angsty but no real warning needed.

They never fought.

Well, they did. Sharp words that gave brutal blows and long silences that cut like knives.

But they never hit each other. Sure, when they were kids they'd roll around together in the the dust (until their mama told Bo off for roughhousing too hard) and pushing and shoving to decide who got to bat when they played baseball out on the fields behind town, but there was one rule: no punching.

And they never did hit each other. Until today, with Bo pined beneath Vincent's knees and his arm over his head trying to block Vincent's calloused fists.

"Vince! Vincent, stop!"

*

"Will you just leave me the fuck alone? Always fucking hangin' off me like a damn dog," Bo was in a bad mood.

Vincent shied away, regretting even going down to the garage. Usually he kept himself to either the museum or the house, but today he needed to see Bo. The last body that came to him had been in such bad shape he couldn't salvage it; if he was to carry on with his work, he needed new subjects.

Vincent signs an apology, willing to just drop the whole thing and go back to the house, but Bo wasn't finished, "Fuckin' freak, thought I'd got ridda you when pa sliced us up but, nah, now you wanna be joined at the goddam hip -"

Vincent put up with a lot, he really did, but Bo's denial was really rather grating at times. And their separation was always a touchy goddamn subject.

"Shut up!" Vincent signs, about to add something else when Bo continues.

"Or what?" That smug smile of his was barely there a second before it was wiped off.

Bo's neck jerked as Vincent's fist collided with his cheek.

"Vince," Bo smirks, voice alarmingly calm He lets out a breathy laugh, "You do not wanna play this game with me, Vince. You know I'll win."

They both know if it really came down to it, Vincent would win every single time.

"I fucking hate you," Vince signs furiously. "And I hate your stupid fucking face."

"Maybe you do," Bo shrugs, "folk always hate what they can't fuckin' have."

Vincent's breathing was ragged and his chest, tight with anger, was rising and falling rapidly, "I'm glad dad split us up."

Bo's face dropped. A muddle of emotions descending over him. Before he could make another brutal comment --

(Vincent just knew he had a back catalogue of scathing comments from years of arguments and quarrels and spats.)

-- Vincent shoved his twin hard, hands twisted in the front of Bo's work shirt as they both fell against the harsh, scratched concrete.

Bo tried to catch Vincent's wrists but he landed three more punches before Bo gave up, aiming only defend his flawless face from his twin's wrath.

"Stop it! Stop it, get offa me!" Bo grunted from behind his arms. The grunts were sounding suspiciously wet though now, and strained around the lump in his throat.

Vincent didn't let up, but he was getting sloppy; fists slow and hard and bruising.

"Vincent," Bo wailed, "q-quit it right now or I'm -- I'm gonna tell momma."

The fist which was on track to smash Bo's nose again paused. Bo peers up at Vincent, chest heaving and with something which could have been guilt, glinting in Bo's baby blues.

When they were kids, momma never took Bo's side. He was the one hurting Vincent. He was the one pushing too hard or pinching to sharply or being too mean.

Vincent never told their momma if Bo pulled his hair or stole his toys or left him behind when they rode their bikes. Their momma always found out, of course, but Vincent never told.

Bo had never, ever told their momma on Vincent. Momma would never of believed him anyway.

"Tell her then, I'm still her favourite," Vincent gives Bo one last shove before standing up heavily and skulking off.

Bo stays on the ground for a long time, blood working its way around his teeth while he waits for the tears to dry on his cheeks.

[starksinner]

Rest

Summary: Charles takes care of you after a job goes terribly wrong.

Pairing: Charles Smith x Reader

Warnings: Heavy depictions of Violence, Blood, Gore, Hurt/Comfort, Slight Angst, Fluff, Implications of Sexual Harassment/Assault, Mention of Dissociation

Author's Note: I haven't written in what feels like a lifetime, so I apologize if this is a mess. Either way, the lack of Charles Smith fics across this website and others is downright a crime, so this is my "fine, I'll do it myself" moment. I hope I do some justice to (one of) the best characters in the Red Dead universe. I hope you enjoy reading, y'all!

AO3 Link

The bruised grass of The Heartlands scrape against the skin of your ankles and calloused feet as you are led from the wide-open prairies into the privacy of an austere and diminutive forest.

The air is moist with remnants of rainfall. Petrichor and the scent of nature tickles your senses as your bare feet meet the soiled ground of the woods.

In your mind, loud and boisterous, rumbles an orchestra of deafening thunder and screaming. The pounding of your head originates from the open and festering wounds that continuously pulsate from the split skin of your sensitive scalp — seething and oozing.

Your hands tremble as they are softly caressed and held within the palms of another, the caring touch calming and guiding as you find yourself threatening to slip off the face of the Earth.

When Charles whispers your name, the most delicate reminder of your existence, you can’t help but whine and whimper pathetically. You force your eyes shut as you fester in a cloud of anger and pride, condemning your humanity and the fragility of your own body as a soaring pain runs up the curve of your torso.

You breathe heavily as you groan and peer down at Charles’ language of love: touch — his ethereal touch, displayed by the tender interconnection of his fingers with your own. A familiar scarlet liquid has crept and dried into the small crevices of your fingers, serving as a grisly reminder of the evening’s barbarous events.

“Men love underestimatin’ a woman in a frilly dress,” you splutter softly, the task of speaking suddenly foreign. “Used their idiocy t’my advantage, but I ain’t too sure the price was worth it.”

Charles gives you a look that reflects that of solemnity rather than one of silent derision. You, like many individuals whose identities cause them persecution, prefer to be given a look that serves as a reminder of the severity of a situation rather than a look of belittlement. That look — the one of silent derision — is well known to you as you’ve watched it be used by men as a means of reprimanding and reminding women of their weakness, naivete, and disorder of hysteria.

Charles wasn’t most men, though. Charles was fair, liberal, and wise — no matter how much he’d quietly argue with you over such labels. He admired and encouraged your strength, both in the physical and intellectual sense. Before you even understood your love for him, you had viewed him as a mystical wonder — an actual man among men. He never viewed you as lesser or judged you unjustly. He took you as you were — in all your strength and all your weakness, with all your stubbornness and all your recklessness.

“You were only protecting yourself,” he asserts calmly, his brown eyes observing yours. ”Those men were...savages. They would’ve killed us if you didn’t hurt them first.”

Like most situations that have transpired the past couple of months, Charles held his head and was right — you knew he was right.

Haphazardly, you grip onto Charles’ hands harder, willing off the tears of discomfort that blur your irises.

“I...I don’t know where my dress stops and where I begin,” you murmur, frowning as you see his features drop sadly.

A deep maroon, the dress you wear is tailored to attract the eyes of desperate men and curious travelers. The bodice is silk and accessorized with a corset that shapes and accentuates that of which men drool and desire. Now, the lengthy ruby material is ripped and caked in pools of dried blood and other human materials you dare not to think about.

Your arms, neck, and chest are redder than the dress, dried patches of red and brown mementos from your slain enemies. You crave ripping off your skin and ridding yourself of the deadly feeling and sight of your sins.

“Camp is right over the hills through here,” Charles notes, pressing his fingers lightly under your chin. “Close your eyes and just focus on your breathing. Let me carry you, love.”

You melt into his soft touch, your face scrunching in defeat as a loud sob escapes you. “I hate killing, Charles. I hate it and I hate myself for it. It was...me or them, I know. That man said he wanted me to...I just…”

“I know,” he whispers. Without any trouble, as if you were a mere pelican feather, Charles hooks his arm under your knees and holds you to his chest. He swiftly carries you through the woods and into the open plains, navigating his way back to Horseshoe Overlook. He gently coos and whispers into your ear sweet assurances as you cry justly. “Nearly there, love.”

---

You felt dissociated from your own body as Charles helped you strip out of your ruined dress, kissing, caressing, and whispering to you all the right things. He helped you wash yourself by a nearby lake, lathering your skin with soap and pressing soft kisses against any apparent scratches and blooming bruises.

What was supposed to be a quick con job just north of Valentine, turned into a full fledged bloodbath. Your role was a simple and tired one — dressed as a rich simpleton, you were to distract some revenue agents and pose as a woman found lost on her wary travels. Charles, the silent hunter, would rummage through the agents’ wagons in search of the lock box that you had on good authority was carrying a wealthy prize.

It was easy — a con that you’ve been participating in since your rebel days with Arthur, both of you incredibly spry and dramatic in your teen years.

Things took a drastic turn as you spotted a third wagon headed in Charles’ direction, just as you were chatting up and charming a lanky looking agent. In a last attempt at distraction, you placed your hand against the agent’s chest and began flirting with him, making his eyes wander to your red painted lips and nearly exposed chest.

Alas, the third wagon of revenue agents had spotted Charles — causing a boom of gunshots and shouts to echo across the plains. Your body immediately tensed until you spotted your love hiding behind a boulder, shooting off his Springfield Rifle into the growing crowd of agents. You acted on pure instinct as you swiftly reached under your skirt, gripping your knife, and slicing the throat of the agent in front of you. His blood splattered across your face as he choked, whined, and fell to the ground at your feet. You grabbed the Bolt Action Rifle from his dead grip and began firing into the agents around you, covering yourself behind one of the large wagons.

It wasn’t until you heard Charles struggle and shout that things took a gory route. He was fighting against a brawny agent that had pinned him to the ground, both men grunting and punching for dominance. You no longer considered your own wellbeing as you kicked off your shoes and sprinted towards him, shooting the agent straight in the head and another three of them as they screamed and barreled towards the both of you. You took hold of the left side of the field while Charles ran to another empty boulder and flanked the right. Both of you fought to pick off the pack of revenue agents that had seemingly swarmed the area, reloading your guns and bearing the pain of flesh wounds resulting from incoming bullets.

Just as you thought you were in the clear, the air was knocked straight out of your lungs as your head smashed against the side of the wagon and you were pushed, face first,  into the solid ground.

“You enjoy playing with guns, sweet thing?” The man on top of you grunted and gripped your neck as you thrashed and struggled below him. He dropped his knee against your lower spine, causing a mantra of curses to pass your lips as you promised death upon him.

“You got some mouth on you,” he groaned into your ear, holding you down harder as you continued to scream and fight beneath him. “I’m gonna take you in. Teach you how to kneel an’ please me good with my dick in your mouth, sweet thing.”

Suddenly, the commotion of gunshots leapt into a dreary silence, causing the man above you to turn his attention to the sudden absence of noise.

In your panic, you heard Charles scream your name.

With all your strength, you growled and practically bucked the agent off of you, reaching forward for your knife and whipping around to kick the man where it truly hurts the most.

The coward wailed on the ground and gripped his manhood, cursing you out as he shuffled backwards in fear. You spat and stalked towards him, your chest heaving and your eyes only seeing red. You pressed your right foot into the agent’s abdomen, hard, squatting down and positioning the tip of your blade near his chest.

“I hope hell burns extra hot for you, sweet thing.” You sneered at his visible fear and hurled the blade into the man’s chest — over and over, you plunged your knife into the agent’s body as blood poured from his mouth and he gaped at you with wide, dying eyes.

Blood poured from your scalp down to your face, your side screamed in agony, every inch of your skin was matted with blood that wasn’t your own — you stabbed until you physically felt the soul of the man beneath you leave his body.

That’s how Charles had found you, still and motionless, covered in blood and lost in your head as he called out for you and led you away from the strew of dead bodies.

---

“I need you,” you speak softly, breaking the night’s silence. You and Charles were under the protection of your tent: he’d been crafting poultice for your inflamed wounds while you’d been attempting to find pleasure in a bowl of Pearson’s stew. Your mind couldn’t stop racing and mulling over the day’s events.

You craved a distraction. You craved Charles.

“Charles?”

“Not tonight,” he murmurs. He speaks with an unwavering finality but with no anger, upset, or aggression. “You need rest. The both of us.”

You frown, like a child. “I just...I’m…”

“I know.” He places the cloth he was working with down and shuffles his way over to you, gripping the blanket by your feet and putting it over your body. He wordlessly noticed you had been shivering, wrapped only in your thin chemise. “When we’ve both recovered, we can share each other...It’s been a long day and I don’t want the love I have for you to pose as a distraction from the pain.”

You snuggle into his side, basking in his scent of ginseng and cedar, and nod against him. He was right, he was always right. “I...I love you, Charles. So, so much. You’re...everything and more to me.”

“And you to me.” He presses his lips against your temple, making sure not to touch the bandages against your scalp. He too takes in your scent, sprinkles of honey and peaches, a smell that proves to be his home and final landing.

He watches your eyelids flutter shut and lets you lay against your shared mattress, pressing a final day’s kiss against your warmed cheek. He is satisfied by your peaceful reflection. “I’ll wake you in the morning for coffee, my love. Get some rest now.”

Charles' sweet whispers are your last rememberings of the day as you drift off into a calming dreamland.

[wiypt-writes]

Leave No One Behind

Ch 13- We Don’t Get Along

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing​

Summary: The team undertake another mission, only this one doesn’t go according to plan putting the entire team in danger and Ari is left facing the fact that he might have pushed both Hannah and Sammy too far this time…

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairings: Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

A/N: Man it feels so GOOD to get back to this fic! We’re ramping up to the climax of the film now guys, so buckle up!

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Chapter 12 Part 2

A love like ours is love that's hard to find. How could we let it slip away? We've come too far to leave it all behind. How could we end it all this way? When tomorrow comes and we'll both regret, the things we said today.

  “Ari?”

Ari turned from where he had been helping someone across the sand to see a Navy Seal heading up the shore towards him.

“Yeah?”

“Here, this is for you.” The man handed him an envelope and Ari frowned. It wasn’t unusual for the Navy to sometimes bring messages and the like from home, especially as recently the stricter rules had meant that mail into Sudan from certain countries (Israel included) was being closely monitored, but still, he’d had a letter from Maya little over a week or so ago and wasn’t expecting another so soon.

“It's from your wife.” The seal continued, noting Ari’s hesitation and Ari reached out for the item in the man’s hand, glancing down at it.

“Thanks.” He folded the envelope and stuck it into his inside jacket pocket before he glanced up to see Hannah watching him, a confused expression on her face having clearly overheard the man refer to Sarah as his wife, which in fairness she still was as they weren’t divorced yet. But as he locked eyes with her, he saw the confusion slide into, well, hurt would be the most appropriate thing to describe it as and Ari, despite everything that was going on, let out a little groan. He hadn’t bothered to correct the man about Sarah and him being estranged because it wasn’t important all things considered.

Thankfully, Hannah shook herself out of her little moment and turned back to the task in hand which Ari was grateful for. This wasn’t the time or the place and he knew that Hannah would understand that. There were far more pressing things to deal with.

And those things got even more pressing when Max’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Guys, we have company.”

Ari froze, the radio in his hand as he hastily glanced around. “Say again?”

“We have company.”

Ari wheeled round and frantically began gesturing at the group of people on the shore line. “Go, go, go!” he urged, walking along the wet sand, his hand running through his hair as he looked up and over the beach. “What kind of company?” He asked, his voice urgent.

But the only response that came was Max cursing. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Military jeeps approaching from the North!” Max’s voice was clear but Ari could tell he was panicked “I see three, four jeeps.”

“Fuck!” Ari yelled, turning and gesturing to another Navy seal “Go, go, go, get on the Waverly!”

“Ari, what-” Hannah looked at him but before she could finish her sentence the sound of gunfire exploded across the night, sand scattering into the air as the bullets hit the beach all around them. Hannah gave a scream and ducked as Ari instinctively pulled her in front of him, placing himself between the oncoming fire and her.

“Sammy!” She yelled, looking around and Ari raised his head to check if everyone was alright. Jake was hurriedly shepherding a group onto one of the boats, helping push it out into the ocean, Sammy dodging around everyone trying to stop the panicking refugees from running away up the beach.

And then, one of the Navy seals gave a shout and dropped not far from where they were. Sammy paused and looked at the injured man, Hannah doing the same and they both ran towards him, keeping low.

Hannah was the first to reach him, and dropping to her knees she instinctively started to remove the man’s outer layer of clothing. “What's your name, soldier?” She asked, and when the man’s response was nothing more than a pained and panicked scream, she repeated her question a little more forcefully, trying to get him to stay conscious. “What's your name?”

“David.” He stuttered out, swallowing as he glanced up at her, his eyes wide with fright.

“David.” She nodded, her gaze not moving from his face as Sammy dropped to her side and immediately got to work, tearing off a sleeve from the man’s jacket and pressing it to the wound in his chest attempting to stem the blood. “Stay with us, okay?”

“You're gonna be all right.” Sammy nodded, before he looked up at Ari. “Get my bag, it's in the truck.”

“There’s no time!” Ari urged, ducking as another wave of bullets came flying their way. “We gotta get him to the Waverly.”

Sammy and Hannah exchanged a glance and Hannah took a deep breath.

“We’re sitting ducks out here, Sammy. His best chance is with the Navy medics.”

Sammy nodded and Ari grabbed one of the seals who had come running to help “Grab a leg!”

Ari and the Soldier lifted the wounded man, Sammy keeping his hand pressed over the wound in his chest as they made their way to the last waiting boat where they lay him down carefully with another seal.

“Hey, don't let go of this wound.” Sammy looked at the soldier who took over from him.

“Keep the pressure on even if your hand turns numb.” Hannah shouted over the noise, issuing instructions to the man in the boat. “You let go, he's dead!”

Hannah began to back away as Ari and Sammy gave the boat a shove, sending it over the beach before the three of them began to sprint up the beach, the bullets continued to fire into the air and sand around them. Ari shoved Hannah in front of him, yelling at her to keep low and not to stop, his heart pounding in out and out panic that she was going to get hit as they half ran, half stumbled to a cluster of rocks set a bit further up the beach, a little back from the shore line. Ari had no idea where Max or Jake had gone, he only hoped they’d found cover, but they were sensible guys, they knew the drill.

The three of them dropped into the shelter of the rocks, gunfire splintering shards off the boulders as they ducked, Hannah shrieking again as Ari once more twisted himself around her, one hand pushing her head down, the other curling around his own in a brace position.

“Dozen or so targets have been identified.” A Navy operative cracked on his radio. “Permission to engage.”

“No, do not engage!” Ari yelled back into his radio, desperate to try and keep control of the situation. “If you engage, it's all over. I'll handle it.”

“How?” Hannah screamed at him. “How the fuck are you going to handle this, Ari?”

Her eyes were wide with fright as he looked at her, swallowing slightly before he moved and took a quick look around at the approaching Sudanese Military.

“Do you trust me?” His chest heaved as he snapped his head back to look her in the eyes and she frowned.

“What? Yes, of course I do but-”

Before she could say anything else he grabbed her face, his large hands practically crushing her cheeks before he gave her a quick, furious peck on the lips and moved, tossing his radio onto the beach and covering it with sand.

“What are you doing?”

“Stay quiet and hidden.” He looked at her. “Once we’re gone, you find Max and Jake, and get back to the resort.”

“Ari, don’t you dare! I swear to fucking God if you leave-“

“Hannah for once in your life just shut up and do what I say!” He hissed at her, his face stern. At that he turned to Sammy “Follow my lead. “

“No, Ari-” Hannah began to protest but at that Ari stood up.

“Don't shoot, don't shoot!” He urged as he stepped out of the cover of the rocks.

“Sammy, please!” Hannah sobbed quietly as her brother dropped a soft kiss to her head.

“Do as he says, Han.” He urged before he too stood up and walked towards Ari, his hands held either side of his head.

“My name is Guy Thomas!” Hannah could hear Ari shouting. “From the Red Sea Diving Resort. We have tourists on night dive. What are you doing? Where's your commander?”

There was more shouting, and angry yelling and Hannah clamped her hand over her mouth, her body shaking uncontrollably as the tears poured down her face. She fought to keep the sobs from escaping her mouth, as she flattened herself back into the rocks as the shouting grew quieter and quieter. Eventually she heard the slamming of truck doors and the sound of engines as the vehicles tore away from the beach, and then there was nothing but the noise of the waves crashing against the shore.

Her chest felt tight and she was struggling to breathe, like her airway had been cut off. Scrunching her eyes closed, she hugged her knees closer to her body, waiting for the panic to subside as the world around her began to spin. She counted, reached down to the sand, feeling it between her fingers, cool against the heated skin on her clammy palms. Eventually, her chest released and she took in a painful gasp of air and opened her eyes, focussing on a spot of seaweed which lay to the left of the rock she was leaning against.

Hannah had no idea how long she was sat there, but eventually she gathered enough about her to take a cautious peek out from the rocks. She could see nothing, so she emerged at a crawl, staying low to the ground before she tentatively rose to her knees, then her feet, and began to scramble as best she could up the sand. A movement in her peripheral made her still but as her eyes focussed in the dim moonlight she recognised Jake’s loping gait. Then, another movement to the right had her focussing in that direction and she saw Max making his way towards Jake.

With a relieved sob she began to run towards them, stumbling a little as she sprinted as fast as she could towards the two men, just as Jake tackled Max to the floor. She continued running as Jake let go of Max having realised who he was and helped him to his feet, giving him a quick and urgent embrace. The two of them then spun in her direction and as she stumbled again, this time she couldn’t stop herself, and she felt her body pitching forward.

“Hey, I got you.” Max caught her under her armpits and pulled her to him as she pressed her face into his chest, her breathing ragged as she began to sob.

“Ari, Sammy, they took…they took…” She was hyperventilating again, the tears coursing down her face and Max pulled back a little, both his hands cupping her cheeks.

“We know.” He nodded. “They’ll be okay.”

“You don’t know that!” She practically screamed and Jake hastily hushed her. “This, it’s like Andy again, Max! I can’t lose him! I can’t lose him, or Sammy, I can’t!”

“Cracker, I know this is hard, but you gotta be quiet.” Max’s hands curled around her upper arms as he stooped down a little so his face was level with hers. “We need to get out of here.”

Hannah took in a deep gulp of air, trying to control herself as she knew he was right.

“Let’s get home and find out what’s going on.” Jake added, his voice a little shaky.

“Yeah, okay.” She nodded, her voice wobbling. “I’m sorry, I just…”

“Hey, nothing to be sorry for.” Max gently placed his hand on her neck in a sign of affection. “Come on.”

He offered her his hand and she took it, lacing her fingers into his and he gave a little encouraging squeeze. Taking a tentative step, she was pleased to find her legs cooperating, and with Jake walking on her other side, the three of them made their way quickly to the trucks.

“Dumb bastards left the keys.” Jake’s voice was shaky but relieved as he checked the ignition in one truck, Max inspecting the other before he gave a nod.

“Same here.” Max spoke. “Okay, we’ll take the off road route home. It’ll take us a little longer but we’ll avoid anyone who may or may not be waiting for us.”

Jake nodded, before he paused, and gave Max a quick embrace before he stooped to give Hannah a hug, noticing that she was shivering violently from a combination of fright and cold.

“Here.” he said gently, taking his jacket off and dropping it over her shoulder.

“Thanks Jake.” She mumbled, clutching it round her tightly, her fingers curling over the material, clinging to it as if her life depended on it.

“Any time, Red.” He smiled and she gave a little nod before she turned and made her way to the truck Max had checked.

As Jake made to walk away, Max grabbed his arm.

“You stop for nothing or no-one. If anything happens to one of us, the other keeps going.” He instructed, his voice low as he shot a glance over his shoulder to double check Hannah wasn’t in ear shot. “Fuck this leave no one behind bullshit.”

Jake nodded. “Keep going, yeah, got it.” He looked around before he sighed.” Ari and Sammy, man. They’re-”

“I know.” Max replied, his voice sombre as he cut Jake off. It didn’t need saying, he knew that they were in deep shit. “But if we don’t get back, then this situation is gonna be a whole lot worse.”

“Stay safe.” Jake nodded, and with a final quick embrace the two men headed to their respective trucks. Max hauled himself in to his and stole a quick glance at Hannah as she sat on the passenger seat, huddled in on herself, looking out of the window over the ocean. He took a deep breath, turned the key in the ignition and then set off, pulling away from the beach quickly, the wheels spinning slightly on the loose shale ground beneath the tyres.

****

"We're gonna get outta here. It's gonna be okay." Ari stated with fake conviction as he paced up and down the filthy jail cell he and Sammy had been thrown into. 

Sammy didn't respond, he had fallen into an introspective state the moment the Sudanese soldiers had made them get in the jeep and was now sat on a rusted bench inspecting the blood on his hands. Ari was worried about him and he had given Sammy a side glance before assuring him everything would turn out right, hoping to get the man out of the dangerous headspace he seemed to be caught in, but Sammy didn't even spare him a look. 

Then a guard walked past, the sound of a bunch of keys jingling and the clanking in another cell lock alerting Ari who turned hastily. "Hey, hey, excuse me." He called. "Excuse me. I need to talk to your commander. Hey!" Ari insisted but the guard totally ignored him, causing his despair as he resumed his pacing along the cell. "Fucking asshole."  

 "You're the asshole, Ari." Sammy spoke, his voice calm as his eyes remained fixed on the floor. 

"What?" Ari stopped and turned to look at him. 

 "I told you to cancel tonight's operation, I told you. I told you." Sammy insisted, his tone still calm as he fiddled with his fingers.

"You don't get to make that call." Ari responded somewhat irritated as he approached the cell door again.

 "No, I don't get to make that call, only you get to make that call."

"Is there something you wanna say?" Ari harshly asked.

"Why did you bring me down here?" Sammy lifted his head to look at Ari for the first time since they had arrived in the jail. "You act like we're best friends, but you never listen to a word I say. And I'm clearly not the best field doctor around anymore." He added as he raised his injured hand to punctuate his words. "Is it pity? Or was it just so you could get close to Hannah again?”

Ari snapped at Sammy's insinuations of him having a hidden agenda. "Yeah, it was pity. You happy? Now shut up." He ordered as he ran his hands through his hair. "We'll get out of here if we stay calm." 

 "They're gonna find out who we are." Sammy groaned. "They're gonna go to the hotel if they're not there already and they're gonna kill every single one of them, Max, Jake, Rachel..."

"Hey, stop using names." Ari cut him off as he walked towards him. He wanted, or better yet, he needed Sammy to keep the cover, and he also didn't need to hear him say the name of his sister. He didn't want to think about it, nor did he want to think about the fact he had left her behind albeit for a good reason, and the thought of her not being able to get to the resort safe and sound made him feel physically sick. "You don't know who's listening."

Sammy sat still but continued with his tirade against Ari's methods. "You think this kind of work is romantic? It's not romantic, it's practical. There's a protocol. You can't just make shit up as you go along and hope for the best."

"I know that." Ari snapped. "What we do is dangerous. People get hurt sometimes." He said in an attempt to justify his reckless ways, but that was the last straw. At the mention of someone being hurt Sammy cut him off loudly.

"Oh, I know." He shouted as he help up his hand angrily

"Is that what this is about? Your hand? Tangiers?"

"You know, I was a surgeon before I met you, and you dare come into my clinic, and make a joke about me not saving lives." Sammy replied, his tone harsh but calm at the same time.

"What joke, when did I make a joke? What joke?" Ari asked, annoyed and stunned at Sammy's accusation.

"It's not about my hand! It's about you." Sammy yelled as he stood up to face Ari. "It's about you and me. And Hannah. You had to drag her back into this fucking shit, and now she loves you." He spat the words at his friend's face, causing Ari to wince. "And they’re gonna torture us and we're gonna die in here and she’s gonna lose the both of us, lose someone she loves, again, and... and it's because your ego won't accept any help from anybody else.  And no matter what you do, I still fucking follow you around like that fucking dog of yours."

Ari swallowed. He was frozen and lost for words and the least he could do, or so he thought,  was to allow his friend the right to pour his heart out whether he liked his words or not. Sammy stood there looking at him for a few seconds before he laughed softly.

"I'm so stupid. I'm so stupid, I'm so stupid..." He repeated as he retreated to the cell door crying until he eventually shut up and started sobbing as he held onto the bars of the door.

"Hey." Ari tried to calm him, but then Sammy let out a scream of a yell, causing Ari to run towards him in an attempt to make him shut up.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop, stop, you're gonna get us killed. Don't-" he started to say as he tried to keep his voice even but Sammy cut him off with a punch which took Ari by surprise. Sammy took advantage of his staggering friend and blew him a couple more blows before Ari finally reacted, dodging the next one and was able to retaliate with a punch of his own, more in the hopes of making Sammy stop in order to avoid attracting the guards attention, than in a real desire to hurt him.

Eventually, the fight finally broke when Ari was able to overpower Sammy slamming him against a wall.

 "Sammy, stop." He hissed.

Sammy didn't fight back but pushed him away. "I tell you something now, Ari. If by some miracle we get out of here, if anything has happened to my sister, or Rachel because of you, I’ll fucking kill you myself."

Ari stared at Sammy as his words sank in. He was devastated, overridden by guilt and worried that his friend’s words might be actually a reality when or if they got out of that prison. That something might have happened to Hannah, to his firefly, because of him and his ego getting in the way. He had put his need to try and maintain cover so that they could continue their work before the safety of his team by forbidding the Navy Seals to get involved. They could have ended this there and then on the beach, and now they’d be on a ship heading for the safety of home. Instead here he was, banged up in a cell, again, with Sammy, having no idea if Hannah and the rest of the guys had made it home.

And if something happened to them, to his Firefly, he didn't know what he was gonna do. 

He felt the tears stinging at the back of his eyes as he slumped on the bench, his head in his hands, before he starting to silently sob.

****

The cell was silent, both men slumped on the floor on opposite walls. The only noises made since the fight had been Sammy's panting and Ari's hushed sobbing, which had died after a while. Ari was now watching his diver's watch, the time going painfully slow. It had been almost eight hours since they had been there. Eight fucking hours and every guard had ignored him. He sighed and threw his head back, grimacing as his face hurt from the blows Sammy had given him. He felt miserable. It was hot and sticky and he was in pain both physically and emotionally as Sammy hadn't spoken a word to him since their fight.

Eventually, Ari gathered all the strength he had left and pulled himself from the floor to sit on the bench and there he was, led on that bench, trying to clear his mind, when he heard footsteps. He sat up when a guard opened the door and nodded to them. He shared a glance with Sammy, who was also sitting up from his spot on the floor, and together they followed the guard out, down the corridor and into the main building where he saw Rachel and Madibo. Ari quickly put two and two together, Rachel must have gone to find Madibo to talk him into letting them out of the prison, and Sammy must have been thinking the same thing as Ari heard him give a little sigh. 

Ari was looking at Rachel, trying to read any sign Hannah was safe, but she was just staring at Sammy, taking in his horrible appearance as she struggled to keep a straight face. Ari knew that much, so his eyes fell on Madibo who was looking at him also taking in his injuries and then the Colonel's eyes flicked to Sammy's blood stained top. 

"Who did this to you?" Madibo asked them both, before he angrily turned to a guard speaking to him in Amharic.

"No, no, no, that's...It's not, they didn't..." Ari explained before he gestured between him and Sammy. "We did this. To each other."

Madibo frowned at Ari. "What do you mean?"

"We don't get along." Sammy deadpanned.

Madibo looked at Rachel before looking back at them and started chuckling heartily "Crazy Hawajas."  He said before laughing again. "You're free to go."

Ari paused, not daring to believe it, to believe his luck once more. He glanced at Sammy and then at Rachel and, looking for confirmation, he turned to Madibo who nodded. “You may go."

The three undercover agents thanked him and silently they made their turn to go, being escorted out by a guard. No sooner had they put a foot out of the building that Ari gently grabbed Rachel's arm, making her stop. 

"Did…"

"All three of them made it back, safe." Rachel cut him off before he could mention any names, her face expression not giving anything more away.

Ari let out a sigh of relief, as did Sammy, and the three of them stayed silent until they reached the jeep a few steps ahead when Rachel stopped and turned to Sammy, wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey." Sammy whispered, as he held her tight against him.

Ari dropped his head and stood still, hands on his jacket's pockets. He felt like he was intruding, but at the same time he was also desperate to get back and he knew it was like a five hour drive at least, till he could also wrap his arms around his firefly. Eventually Sammy pulled away and Rachel turned to Ari and examined at his face. "You did that?"

 "He’s an asshole." Sammy just shrugged.

Ari sighed and rubbed his head for a moment before holding his hands out for the keys. "I’ll drive."

****

The car drive back to the resort was distressing to say the least. You could cut the tension inside the car with a knife. Sammy had been sulking on the back seat all the time, refusing to say a single word to either of them. Rachel, on her part, had remained silent as well once she had filled them in properly in all the details of the last twelve hours or so at the resort and how she had gone to ask for Madibo's help after speaking to Ethan, who had told her he was flying to Port Sudan that very same day, but she turned back to check up on Sammy or watch Ari every now and then.

All in all, Ari was anxious and couldn't wait to get out of that suffocating space and hold Hannah in his arms again and check with his own eyes she was well. And he did after a few hours, as the car approached the resort he could see her figure standing behind Ethan, holding onto Jake's arm, squinting as if to check it was really him who was driving the incoming car.  Uneasy though he was about Ethan's presence at the resort, Ari tried unsuccessfully to hold back a smile when he stopped the car and Hannah ran past Ethan towards him, jumping onto his arms once he had got out of the jeep, hugging him for dear life.

Ari held her tightly, chuckling before whispering sweet nothings into her hair to assure his girl he was really there and in one piece.  But no sooner had he chuckled again and kissed Hannah's cheek and put her down, she slapped him fiercely across his face, causing his head to whip sharply to the right as she started yelling at him.

"It isn't funny, you asshole!" 

Ari tried to calm her as he struggled to dodge her blows as she hammered her fists at his chest, his face, anything she could aim at, but it was proving a really difficult task. Hannah had gone into overdrive and was desperately trying to whack him as tears run down her face. 

"Hannah!" Sammy called her, in an attempt to stop his raging sister, more as a desire to calm her than preventing her from hitting Ari. And then, as Hannah's brain registered the sound of her brother's voice, she stopped dead and threw herself into his arms, sobbing disconsolately. 

Eventually Hannah pulled away and Sammy kissed the top of her head before Rachel took her out of Ari's reach. Ari was confused, he knew deep down that Hannah had all the right to be mad at him but was hoping to make her understand why he had acted like he had before having to deal with Ethan and thus, he made a move to follow her and Rachel but Ethan cleared his throat demanding his attention and compelling him to stay put with only one look.

"You're overdressed." Ari commented, trying to lighten the tension a bit. But Ethan wasn't in any mood whatsoever to entertain his dark humour.

"Let's talk, inside." he ordered, un-phased.

 Ari dropped his head and had just started following Ethan who had turned to go inside when Sammy called the older man.

"Ethan!" He paused, giving time for Ethan to turn to look at him. "The soldier that was shot?"

Hannah dropped her head, she already knew the man’s fate as it had been one of the first things she had asked Ethan when he arrived in the resort, and Ethan looked at Sammy sympathetically before answering. 

"He lost too much blood." 

Sammy's head fell in understanding and Ethan turned again to follow Ari to his and Hannah’s hut. 

Ari paused to take off his jacket, before he felt something in the inside left pocket and suddenly remembered the letter he had received on the beach. He pulled it out, taking a look for the first time at the writing on the front and whilst it was addressed in Sarah’s tidy writing, he spotted a small smiley face in the bottom corner drawn in crayon. Taking a deep breath to steady his once more brewing emotions, he tossed the letter onto his nightstand before throwing his jacket over the chair in the corner as Ethan closed the door to the hut behind him.

"How did this happen?" Ethan asked, his voice calm.

"They mistook us for smugglers." Ari explained, his voice lower than usual, as he took off his watch as well and placed it on the bedside table, before picking up a towel that was on his bed.

"This whole thing's a bloody mistake." Ethan stated, visibly angry now, before sighing "It doesn't... It doesn't really matter anymore."

 Ari then stilled, realising what he meant. "You shutting us down?" He asked, and Ethan nodded, making him drop the towel he was cleaning himself with and sit on his bed. “You can't, Ethan." he said then, keeping his voice as calmed as possible. This mission's a success, we've got thousands of people out, we have thousands more coming this way." 

"That's exactly why we have to stop now.  While it's still a success." Ethan offered.

 Ari then stood up again. "God, you're thinking about the politics. Nothing's changed." He said, almost pleaded, as he approached Ethan. "The Sudanese don't know the missing..."

"You could have died last night." Ethan cut him off. "We were this close," he said, gesturing with his index finger and thumb, "to having an all-out war between our Navy Seals and the Sudanese military.  You were arrested. Again. They have a file on you."

With a groan Ari sat back down on the edge of his and Hannah’s bed.

"My job here isn't finished." He stated stubbornly, his voice soft again, making Ethan sigh and take a seat on a chair in front of where Ari was sat.

“Open your eyes. Look what's happening in Khartoum. They're arresting and executing dissidents. They're beating uncovered women in the street. They're expelling foreigners. Textbook revolution. It's time to get out." 

"Please, Ethan, please." Ari pleaded, but Ethan cut his pleads off loudly.

 "I want you chaps home." And then he shrugged.  "I don't need more bodies on my conscience. Take a few days to organize. And get the hell out of this God forsaken place."

Ari didn't say a word, but then again there wasn't much else he could say, and Ethan sighed as he stood up.

"Now I suggest you go deal with your domestic problems."

Ari shook his head, fully understanding what Ethan was referring to, and as much as he knew that was exactly what he had to do, he wasn't looking forward to Hannah's reaction to him again.

"I've been here for a few hours already and she’s hardly spoken a word. Every so often she would simply get up and walk the dog but that was it." Ethan explained and Ari sighed frustratedly. "Textbook PTSD if you ask me." He added, watching Ari intently.

"PTSD?" Ari frowned, lifting his head to look at Ethan who rolled his eyes and audibly sighed at his team leader's stupidity.

"Shall I remind you she already lost a husband in very similar circumstances?"

"Shit." Ari groaned, suddenly everything clicking in. A night mission, an ambush, them hiding behind rocks trying to find cover from stray shots...

"Penny dropped, Ari?" Ethan asked, before opening the hut's door.

Ari looked at him and swallowed hard as he nodded, his head falling down before whispering. "Yeah, yeah."

"Good. Now go deal with it." Ethan suggested before stepping outside the hut. Once outside he paused, and turned to Ari, a slight twinkle in his eyes. “I have to ask, where did you find the dog?”

“Erm…” Ari frowned at the man’s change of subject before he took a deep breath. “Han found him, in a cave at the end of the cove.”

“Hmmm.” Ethan said, his eyes flashing with a sudden humour. “I like him. He reminds me of someone, can’t think who” And with a final look at Ari he turned and left.

As the door shut behind Ethan, Ari let out a groan and ran his hands down his tender face. His fingers steeped in front of his mouth as he contemplated the fact that Ethan had basically just ended the mission. Ari wasn’t an idiot, he had known for a while this day would come, sooner rather than later, but still he wasn’t ready, not yet.

But then, would he ever be?

His eyes wandered around the hut that he had, for the last two years, called his home and all thoughts of disappointment flew from his mind as he spotted the envelope he’d tossed down five or so minutes ago. He stood up and made his way over, snatching it up before he opened it and pulled out the contents. There was no long letter, simply two folded up pieces of paper. The first one was blank, but inside that one was another that held a crayon drawing and he instantly felt his nose begin to sting and his eyes watered as he glanced down at the sketch of Maya, Sarah and him, complete with his rucksack hanging from his hand and beard on his face. He took a shuddering breath as he saw the words ‘My family’ written over the top of the photo and he wiped his eyes hastily, before he spotted that Maya had written the letters PTO in the bottom corner. He did just that and felt his mouth drop open at the second drawing on the back. It was him, this time depicted on a beach, with a woman next to him with long, dark hair, and at his feet sat a small grey dog. This time, the words ‘My Dad At Work’ were written alongside it and Ari sighed, taking a deep breath as he chuckled a little.

“Oh Munchkin.” He whispered, tracing the lines of the drawing a little before he folded it and tucked it into the back pocket of his jeans to show Hannah.

That was if he could find her because, as it stood, she was proving to be quite elusive. She was nowhere to be found in the main building, Max and Jake who were in there both told him they hadn’t seen her in a while. He checked everywhere he could think of, the reception, kitchen, spare rooms, lounge area before be headed out to her little cave and there was no sign of her there either. With a sigh he stood on the beach, hands on his hips as he glanced along the shore line trying to figure out where she could possibly have gone when he heard a little bark in the distance. Turning his head towards it, Ari felt a smile cross his face as his eyes landed in the little boat shed where all the diving equipment was kept.

Bingo.

He hurried towards it and found her, not in the hut, but sat in one of the boats tied to the jetty, looking out over the ocean. Simon gave a little whine as he saw Ari coming and started to wag his tail in greeting.

“Hey.” Ari spoke as he walked down the small wooden jetty towards the diving boat. “I’ve been looking for you all over.”

“Take a hint then.” Hannah sniffed, not bothering to turn to look at him. “When someone hides it usually means they don’t wanna be found.”

“Is that what you were doing?” Ari asked as he gently stepped onto the boat causing it to sway gently, ripples spreading out on the surface of the ocean which was as still as a millpond. Simon jumped up at him and he gently pushed the dog down, giving him a quick pat.

“Leave me alone, Ari.” Her response, although not a direct yes, was affirmative. “I don’t wanna talk to you right now.”

“Come on Firefly, please.” Ari sighed, sitting on the bench opposite her. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what exactly?” Her head snapped up to look at him and Ari took a deep breath as he saw the anger blazing once more in her eyes. “For almost getting us killed? For being a reckless asshole? For fucking leaving me behind?”

By the time she had finished her voice was loud, laced with hurt as much as anger, and Ari swallowed, shaking his head.

“I needed you to stay hidden, Hannah.” He pressed, trying to explain his actions. “If they’d have seen you and taken you do you know what they’d have done to you?”

“You left me, Ari!” Hannah sniffed. “You left me and I was terrified.”

“Because I couldn’t let them find you, Baby!” Ari felt his gut twisting at the expression on Hannah’s face as she glanced away from him, tears in her eyes. “Do you think I wanted to leave you?”

“I doesn’t matter what you wanted!” Hannah screamed at him, making him recoil a little. “You did it! And I didn’t know what had happened to you, or what they were gonna do to you, or if I was ever gonna see you or Sammy ever again. I was going mad there, in the dark, hiding by those rocks and having to listen to everyone yelling and wondering if they were gonna find me, and if they had I’d have been there, alone, no gun, nothing!”

“I had no choice, Han!” Ari replied, his own voice gathering volume and momentum as he tried to make her understand. “If they’d have found you, you know what this place is like for women, shit, I don’t even wanna think about what those bastards would have done to you.” He swallowed, as the mere thought about what she could have gone through was enough to make him feel sick.

Hannah glanced at him, her teeth worrying her bottom lip as tears coursed down her face. All Ari wanted to do was hold her in his arms, but as he moved towards her she held her hands out and shook her head.

“Firefly…” 

“I suppose it doesn’t matter anymore.” She spoke softly, and Ari frowned at her sudden change of mind and demeanour. “We all got back safe. You and Sammy are here and okay, well, sort of.” She nodded to the bruises on the left side of his face and Ari took a deep breath as she continued. “But I can’t lose you, Ari. I won’t go through that again, I can’t go through that again, I’m sorry.”

“What are you saying?” Ari whispered, his stomach turned to lead as he contemplated what her words meant. And when she answered, and confirmed his fears, he felt like his entire world was crumbling around him.

“I can’t do this.” She waved her hand between them. “Not anymore.”

“Hannah, no, please.” He gulped, reaching for her hand. ”Don’t do this.”

“What choice do I have?” She sniffed through her tears. “I love you, Ari. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone, Mi Lobo, but I can’t lose you, and I can’t lose what I don’t have.”

“Hannah…” Ari felt his own lip beginning to wobble as he trailed off, the lump in his throat felt like a golf ball as the tears pricked his eyes.

“I couldn’t stand you leaving me again or dying…” Hannah’s voice dropped to a whisper and Ari shook his head.

“I’m never gonna leave you, Firefly.” He took a shuddering breath. “Not that way, you know this. I love you so fucking much.”

She turned her blue eyes to his, and he reached up, his hands cupping her face. “Ethan is pulling us out now anyway, so we’re going home.” His thumbs gently brushed over her cheekbones as he held her face steady so he could look at her. “And I’ll find something else to do. A desk job...”

“Will you?” Her tone was disbelieving.

“Yes!” He implored. “I told you almost two years ago that this was going to be my last field mission.”

“And how long until you get bored, or miserable?” Hannah shook her head, pulling her face out of his gently grasp.

“Nothing could make me as miserable as losing you.”

She turned to look out of the boat over at the sun which was sinking below the horizon before she shrugged. “Well, suppose you’d know how that feels, I mean, you walked away from me once after all.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth Ari heard her groan a little and he looked down at his hands, as he felt her turn to face him.

“I’m sorry, that was mean.”

“Maybe.” He looked at her with a sad smile. “But the truth hurts doesn’t it?” He took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. “I can’t explain how sorry I am for leaving you last night. I can’t apologise enough for being an asshole and I can’t even begin to show you how much I love you, Hannah.” He sniffed a little and looked at her.

“I know.” She shook her head, fresh tears falling from her face.

“Then don’t finish this, please.” Ari’s chest hitched as Hannah looked at him once more, before she let out a huge sob, shaking her head.

“I’m sorry, Ari, I don’t want to, I don’t wanna be without you.” She cried. “I was lashing out, you know I lost Andy and yesterday I really thought I’d lost you again, and Sammy, and as per the last time I never got to say goodbye….”

At that she completely broke down, more apologies spilling from her mouth, and Ari hastily moved to sit by her, pulling her to him as she sobbed, her hands fisting in the back of his T-shirt as her arms hugged him. Ari pressed his face into her hair, his own chest hitching with silent sobs as he held her tightly, never wanting to let her go again. He’d been an asshole, he knew that. He also, deep down, knew that Ethan was right. They did need to get out of here. Not simply because of the Authorities, but the team were tied, they were done. And it was certainly better to quit whilst it had been successful than to go out under a dark cloud should anything go wrong.

Plus, he couldn’t lose the woman in his arms. Not again. He wanted a future with her. He saw them building a home, living together in a normal place, doing on normal dates, marriage and maybe even a family of their own.

With a shuddering breath he pulled back and looked down at her, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t wannabe without you, either.” He shook his head. “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Firefly. And I know me and Sarah aren’t legally divorced yet, but as soon as we’re home I’m gonna sort that out and…” he trailed off. “Then it’s a clean slate, for me and you.”

At that Simon jumped up in between them and Ari’s large hand lazily scratched behind his ear, as he took the opportunity to steady his emotions as the relief that she didn’t want to end things between them flooded Ari’s system. As the dog let out a little sigh of satisfaction, Ari was suddenly reminded of the picture in his pocket. He shifted slightly, and reached behind him, pulling it free.

“What’s that?” Hannah asked, wiping her face.

“It’s the letter the Navy Seal gave to me.” He said, holding it out to her. “Maya sent it. Have a look.”

Hannah eyed him for a moment before she took the piece of paper and Ari watched as she studied it, her eyes growing wide. She took a deep breath, tears once more trickled down her cheeks as she gave a little laugh, before she looked back up at him.

“If you wanna know where exactly you sit in my life, then there you have it.” He swallowed. “Maya knows all about you, because I tell her so much, and, fuck, Hannah…I…”

At that he was cut off as she surged forward, pressing her lips to his, her arms round his neck, pulling him down to her. Ari’s hand slipped a little on the bench, causing Simon to grumble in protest as he wriggled free from where he had been unceremoniously squashed as Ari’s strong arms pinned Hannah to his chest. The kiss was frantic, moans and groans slipping from both their mouths as their tongues fought for dominance. Hannah’s hands moved to tangle in the back of Ari’s hair, fisting slightly around the ends of the long strands round his neck and then the pain in Ari’s face suddenly registered and he gave an involuntary hiss and pulled back, his hand reaching up to his face, fingers gently pressing along his jawline.

Hannah studied him in the dim light that was now flooding the boat thanks to the lamps coming on around the resort. She gently reached up and titled his head around so she could see his injuries and for the first time noticed that it wasn’t just around his left eye. That side of his jaw as also peppered with bruises. She swallowed.

“Did they…”

“No.” Ari assured her. “It was Sammy. We err, we had a fight.”

“What?” She frowned, her hands dropping to his shoulders. “Why?”

“Coz I’m an asshole.”  He shrugged and Hannah arched her eyebrow.

“Well, yes, that’s a given, you are but…” She sighed. “Next time he beats up your pretty face I’m gonna smash his head against the floor.”

“You think my face is pretty, huh?” Are teased, gently placing his hands on her hips and Hannah smiled.

“You’re the most handsome man in the whole world to me, Lobo.”

“Good to know.” Ari smirked.

Hannah studied him for a moment before she sighed. “I love you, I’m so sorry for before.”

“Hey, don’t.” He shook his head. “I understand, I was an asshole. You and Sammy, you’re both right but…” He took a deep breath. “That’s why I get what Ethan’s saying now. We’re done. It’s time we all go home.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Well I need to find Kabede, make sure he’s okay, and break the news to him.” Ari licked his lips. “Then we need to pack up what stuff we need to here and then we go.”

“Cut and run?”

“Most probably.” He nodded.

“Hmmm.” Hannah looked at him. “There is one thing you gotta do before all that.”

“What?”

“Shower. You stink.” She wrinkled her nose and Ari let out sigh.

“Yeah well, it wasn’t exactly the Ritz in there.” He shrugged before he ran one of his hands through his slightly greasy hair, the other flexing on her hip. “Wanna come scrub my back?”

Hannah looked at him for a moment, before she licked her lips and gave a grin. “Only if you repay the favour.”

“Why kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t?” Ari grinned and with a little groan he rose to his feet, offering Hannah his hand. She took it and together they made their way down the quiet, moonlit beach heading for their hut, Simon trotting behind them.

**** Chapter 14

[catxsnow]

CHALLENGE G.L.

REQUEST: could i pls request some gar logan x reader fluff where gar has a huge crush on the reader who's very self assured and confident and he keeps his feelings to himself because he doesn't think he's enough for her. then one day she corners him and asks why he's been so distant and he confesses his feelings and it all becomes a big fluffy mess. bonus if the reader was subtly flirting the whole time and gar was oblivious.

Warning: fluff, Gar being sad a little

A/N: First Gar fic! I hope you all enjoy! 💕

Part two

Word Count: 2.7k

Being a part of the Titans was everything you could dream of and more. For once in your life you finally felt like you belonged somewhere. Your teammates, your friends - they were more than that - they were your family. No matter how much they fought, you knew that you would always be there for each other.

Much like Dick and Jason, you were only human. On a team filled with people of extraordinary powers and abilities, you should have been the kind of person that felt intimidated. However, being without powers and still deserving a place on this team made you maybe a little too confident.

You were cocky when it came to showing off why you deserved to be there just like everyone else. That attitude rubbed off on you when you weren't training or in the field too. Even just lounging around the tower you oozed confidence. A lot of times in your life, you found that girls would be envious of you and boys would be intimidated by you.

You became a challenge.

Even within the safe walls of the tower you were still within danger of being the prey. Jason Todd relentlessly tried to win you over. He adored your skills, your beauty, the incredible intelligence you maintained all while keeping a humorous mentality. You were the definition of perfect to many.

And you knew it too. It was rare to ever see you put yourself above others, but you were well aware the affect you had on people. After years of being put on an unwanted pedestal of perfection, you knew that people desired you. It was what made you so confident in yourself. Thankfully, you knew well enough to keep yourself humble. Mostly.

Jason continuously tried to flirt his way into your life. Though you enjoyed the playful banter between the two of you, he wasn't the person that you were interested in.

You and Gar were best friends. The second that you two met it was an instant connection - he brought out a side of you that had been tucked away for so long. Around him you could be your playful, care-free self. You didn’t have to worry about maintaining the facade that people expected from you. He was like a breath of fresh air every time you were with him. It was nice to finally have someone befriend you for more than just your beauty and skills.

"Come on, Gar! You can do better than that."

Training day was always your favourite day. It was the only time that you felt like you could truly let off some steam. Kicking ass against some bad guys always did you good too, but you always had to restrain yourself to some degree. Training allowed you to go all out and gave you the time to improve your skills.

At the moment, it was you and Gar sparring in the ring. Once the dummy you were using had been beaten down multiple times, you needed a live, moving opponent. Gar was the nearest person you could find who wasn't busy. Most of the time, it was Jason you sparred with - he had a similar set of skills to you.

"You know my hand to hand skills are no where near as good as yours," Gar complained. He laid flat on the mat with a bruised ego as you stood above him. As much as he had been learning from you and Dick, he didn't even compare. He had powers, he didn't need to be as reliant as you with pure skill alone.

"Then don't use them," you stuck your hand out to help him up. "Let out the beast, I can handle it." Gar immediately shook his head, he didn't want to hurt you - being the tiger could do some serious damage against you. Being human meant you healed like a human, he wouldn't forgive himself if something happened.

"(Y/N), we talked about this," Gar argued. He ducked, narrowly missing your left hook. The two of you circled each other on the mat. You were in your usual training attire - shorts and a sports bra. It also happened to be Gar's favourite outfit on you, and the most distracting. "I'm not going to fight you like that."

"Yes, you are," you confidently told him. Gar tried to make the first attack this time. He lunged towards you and jabbed his fist towards your face but you had seen it coming. You grabbed onto his arm and twisted it behind his back. His knees buckled as you kicked the back of them and your arm wrapped around his neck. "I'll even say please."

Gar shivered as your breath fanned against his neck. Over the time that the two of you spent in the tower, he realized that his feelings for you were a little more than friendly. Just like any other man you came to encounter, he had fallen for you alluring spell. It broke his heart to know that he never stood a chance to win you over. Not when there were people like Jason out there.

"No."

"Gar."

"I don't want to hurt you!" He broke out of your hold and turned to face you. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt you. Every time you came back from some sort of mission with cuts and bruises, he wanted nothing more than to take that pain away from you. You were far too precious to have to go through any pain.

"You won't. I can handle myself," you assured him. "Besides, I always enjoy the view when you switch back to yourself," You winked at him. Gar's face flared up red with embarrassment - He hated not having his clothes after he used his powers. You on the other hand, always liked getting glimpses of him.

"I'm definitely not doing it now," Gar muttered, still blushing. Your grinned at him being so flustered by your compliment. You reached up to pat his cheek, but it had only made his redness worse. 

"Fine, I guess I'll go find Jason or Dick to spar with," you dragged out your words, hoping that he would get the hint that you wanted to train with him, not either of them. He didn't, of course. As always, unless you were being direct he never picked up on your desire to hang out with him. At the mention of Jason's name, he had already given up.

Gar hid the hurt look on his face as you offered to train with someone else. It seemed to be good timing too, Jason had just been walking by when he saw the two of you and decided to pop in to see how things were going. "Look at that, once again just impeccable timing," Gar had a noticeable tone of frustration in his voice.

He left the training room without another word, unable to see the sad look on your face as he left. Jason on the other hand, looked thrilled to get to train with you again. It was Gar that you wanted to spend time with, not him. It was always Gar that you wanted to see, he was the most important person in your life.

"Gar!" You called after him. He either didn't hear you or decided to ignore you. Either way, you frowned at his departure.

His smile would light up any bad day you were having. No matter how bad his jokes were, they always seemed to put a smile on your face. You even suffered through him playing his video games just to see him excited over a win. And when he asked you to play against him, of course you couldn't deny it.

"You ready, princess?"

"Call me that again and you won't get back off the ground."

><

Gar had been avoiding you.

At first, it was subtle. He would be late enough to dinner that his usual spot beside you was taken. He then started to choose someone else to spar with during training. That you weren't surprised about, after the last time you figured that he would go with Dick instead of you for the next few times.

If you were in the living room, he would stay in his room. If you ever went to go visit him there, he would claim he was just about to jump in the shower and he would catch you later. By that point, you were far past suspicious of his behavior.

Gar was your best friend, and without him your days were lonely. It had only been a few weeks since he started ignoring you, but you missed him. The short time apart realized how much you truly cared for him. You knew that these feelings you had for him had been there for quite a while, but you never realized how strong they were.

You wished that Gar was more than a friend towards you. With him ignoring you, it was easy to assume that he didn't feel the same way. You whole life was spent with boys chasing you, and when the one you cared about most wasn't, well it was a shock to you. Gar was the only person you wanted to looking at you with admiration and now he couldn't even look you in the eye.

After giving him his space for a few weeks, you decided enough was enough. Gar was your best friend and he sure as hell wasn't acting like it. Whatever was going on with him, you needed to know. The only way that you could help him get through whatever he was going through was to know everything.

So, when you saw him sneaking into the kitchen for a late night snack, you cornered him. Gar was peaking in the fridge as you stood behind the door. There was no way that he was going to avoid you this time. The second that he closed the door and saw your figure standing there, he got so frightened his eyes turned bright green.

"(Y/N)!" Gar shouted, nearly dropping the jug of milk he had grabbed. His hand was over his chest after the surprise and his eyes wide. "What, uh, what're you doing here?"

"You've been avoiding me, Garfield," you got right to the point. A nervous smile covered his cheeks "And don't try lying to me that you haven't, I know you better than that. You're my best friend, Gar. I'm worried about you, what's going on?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Gar stated. He turned away from you to continue making his midnight snack of what you assumed was going to be cereal. It was always his go to - you knew that. However, his hesitance to tell you how he was feeling was what made you nervous. He was never like this, not towards you.

As soon as he tried to pass you, you snatched the bowl of cereal out of his hand and stood before him. There was no way he was getting out of it this time. Not with the way that he was acting.

"(Y/N)," Gar whined. You gave him a look that insinuated that you weren't about to give up. He tried to grab the bowl from your hands but you were too quick for him to even get near it. That didn't stop him from trying. Gar tried to out-wit you, but had only failed. "Give it back, I'm hungry."

"No," you affirmed. "The only way that you're getting this bowl is if you fight me, or if you tell me what the fuck is going on with you." Gar tilted his head down, he didn't like either of those options. However, he knew he'd rather get his ass kicked by you, then to ruin the friendship that he had.

When Garfield tilted his head back up, his eyes were green and his skin was tinged the same color too. He was willing to beast out if that meant that he didn't have to confess his feelings to you. His action hurt you more than you ever thought they could. Gar wasn't a violent person, and for him to do this, it really meant he didn't trust you.

Gar went back to his normal self when you didn't budge from your spot. He was even more surprised when he noticed how glassy your eyes looked and the tremble in your hands while holding his bowl. Gar didn't hesitate to throw his arms around you in hopes to comfort you from his actions.

"I'm sorry," He whispered. The grip he had on you caused your shirt to scrunch up in his hand. You set the bowl on the counter beside you and wrapped your arms around him as well.

"No," you shook your head at his apology. He had done nothing wrong, this was your fault. "If you don't want to talk about your feelings then I shouldn't force you to do so. Just... if I'm doing something wrong, or you're upset with me for something just tell me. I can't sleep at night thinking your avoiding me because you hate me now."

You gave Gar one more squeeze before walking away from him. It wasn't fair of you to try and force him to talk about something that he wasn't comfortable with. You should have known better. It was just always so easy to talk to him, you always thought that he felt the same ease with you.

Your breathing trembled as you walked down the empty hall to your room. Maybe the friendship you had with Gar wasn't what you thought it was.

A hand latching onto yours nearly made you jump. Gar had stopped you. He tugged you back towards him, and if it wasn't for his hold you would have fallen flat on the ground. Gar held you up against him with his hands resting on your waist. Your hands were delicately rested in his chest.

"(Y/N), I..." Gar stuttered over his words. He was hesitant to tell you his feelings, but he needed you to know that he didn't hate you, not at all. The closeness of you made him nervous, he could see every little detail of your face, each one of them perfect in their own ways. "I..." he tried once more.

You couldn't take this anymore. You couldn't take teetering around him and your feelings towards him. Endless flirting that he never seemed to pick up on or the fact that you got flustered every time you messed up and he was around. This battle you were having with yourself about whether or not Gar's feelings for you were more than friendly needed to end.

Your hands slid up his chest until they rested on the side of his face. The warmth of his skin drew you in more, like you craved his touch. Gar let out a gasp as you pressed your lips against his. He stood still, surprised by your actions. There was no way that the girl of his dreams was kissing him.

Gar snapped out of his shock. His grip lowered to your hips and he finally started to kiss you back. Everything about this was perfect. The taste of your lips, the softness of your skin. He was completely blinded by you and your perfection.

You pulled away, completely out of breath but a smile on your lips. The linger of his touch resided on you and you wished for it never to go away. "I'm sorry," You whispered. "I shouldn't have... I couldn't go any longer without doing that," you changed your sentence.

"I'm glad you did," Gar grinned. You loved his smile, you always had. It seemed to be the only thing that would make you happy when you were feeling down. "Truth be told, I was avoiding you because I didn't know how much longer I could go without doing that too."

Gar kissed you again. The softness of his lips made you want to have them constantly on you. You wanted his kiss, his hold, you wanted him to love you. The happiness that filled your heart something that you hadn't felt in so long. He was your happiness, he had been since the day  you met.

"Guess we better make up for lost time then."

Part two

[the-13th-battalion]

I LIIIIIIIVE

Amazingly, I managed a fic today!!! Physically, I feel worse than I did all weekend, but mentally, I'm SUPER HAPPY and feeling pumped to be back!!! This little number is for @febuwhump day 6, "insomnia"! I imagine this is like a nightly routine for Anakin. I wrote this like a train of late night thought, the kind you get when you're super exhausted but sleep eludes you. I also used the song Don't Follow by Shelby Merry as inspiration! This fic kinda reflects the song, in a way, and the title is a lyric from it. :)))

a long way to home

The moment the door latched, Anakin pushed the blanket off and got to his feet.

His ribs ached and his knees protested as he hauled himself up on the windowsill. He let his legs dangle out the window, his toes pointed toward the ground. He sighed and rested his head against the frame.

He stared at the moon. Funny how the moon looks the same here as it did on Tatooine.

A new ache sprouted in his chest. He pulled one knee up to his chest and loosely wrapped his arms around his leg. His chin thumped onto his knee. So we're thinking about that tonight...great.

Memories rose to the front of his mind. Anakin grimaced and fought them back. No. I don't want to see her.

But no matter how much he struggled, he saw his mother's face as clearly as if he had only just looked at her. He swallowed a lump in his throat and rubbed his burning eyes. Stop. Just give me a break.

A bird soared past him. He watched as it flew to a nearby roof and nestled in its eaves. He envied its freedom. I wish I were a bird.

The wind carried a scream from somewhere in the distance. He didn't shift his gaze away from the spot the bird had disappeared, but his blood froze all the same. Just like home. All this place needs is another sun.

Home...

His brow furrowed. He had forgotten. Home didn't mean Tatooine. The only ties he had to the planet were severed when his mother died. Now he carried her with him wherever he went. That home resided within his own heart.

Home meant something else now.

Home meant Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, laughing until they sprawled breathless on the floor. Home meant dinner in the mess on the Resolute, packed on a bench holding too many men. Home smelled like tea, the dirt in Obi-Wan's plants, and Padmè's perfume. Home felt like Ahsoka's arms around his waist and Rex's hand squeezing his forearm. Home sounded like Obi-Wan singing when he thought no one could hear, like Ahsoka blowing bubbles through her straw, like Padmè's laughter.

The wind blew with more strength. His limbs quaked. He rubbed his arms as the light chill cut through the thinning fabric of his shirt. He looked to the sky and longed for the warmth of the sun.

Obi-Wan's like a sun.

The thought hit him like a blaster bolt to the chest. His heart cried out for Obi-Wan's presence, like a lost child cries for his guardian. He tried to recall his face. The only memory he could conjure with clarity was the last time they had seen each other; Obi-Wan's tired smile underneath the dust and bruises, confident that his former padawan had a plan.

And then I screwed it all up.

A bitter taste filled his mouth. His gaze drifted to the ground. He rubbed the spot on his ribcage where his detonator chip used to be. He winced as the pressure aggravated his bruises.

The wind tousled his hair and stung his cheeks. Anakin shivered. He continued to stare at the stone far below his feet.

It probably wouldn't hurt too bad to fall.

No! Don't follow that shadow, Anakin.

Anakin blinked. That had sounded like Obi-Wan.

He shook his head. He sat up straight, dropped his knee away from his chest, clenched his hands into fists. He turned his head to the sky.

"You're right," he said out loud, "I need to go home."

I still have a long way to home, but I'll get there. I'll get home.