#threatened to get my mom (who was nearby) to come remove me from it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bookishofalder · 3 years

Text

Night Changes [Six]

Summary: In which Poe and the reader recover, and feelings intensify. A mission brings them closer, and memories give us insight into their pasts.

Warnings: Language, violence, smut, fluff, emotions, angst. Everything you came for.

Poe was wandering aimlessly, his feet scuffing along the dirt road as he kept his eyes focused downward, his cheeks stained with tracks of dried tears. His unruly curls were falling into his face, somewhat shielding his eyes from the lowering sun as he ventured around his neighbourhood. When another sniffle threatened, he cleared his throat aggressively and choked it back.

His father told Poe that it was more than okay to cry, as much as he wanted and for as long as he needed. It wasn’t that he was ashamed of crying and showing his emotions, nor was it why he hadn’t yet gone back home. It was just...he was tired; of crying, of feeling so enormously miserable. And now that the funeral and life celebration was over, it felt suddenly very final. Like the second he walked through the door tonight, it would hit him that she was never coming back.

That she was lost to the stars, forever.

It still didn’t feel real, not fully, and so when they were making their way home a short while ago, Poe froze up when they turned the corner onto their lonely stretch of road. He couldn’t bring himself to continue walking, and after a few moments, his father had glanced around to find Poe standing several feet back. A look of sorrow and understanding had crossed his face before he pulled him in for a tight hug and suggested that he take a walk. Told Poe to take his time and come home when he felt ready, that he’d be waiting up no matter the time. Dad was good like that, never pushed but always seemed to understand, to tell Poe he was seen.

He was on a street not too far from home now, the sun low and golden and the temperature easing just enough, though Poe was still sweating a little. He was considering removing his sweater when a voice to his left cut through the air very suddenly.

“Duck!”

He did, not needing to be told twice even though he wasn’t sure what he was avoiding. Glancing up, Poe saw a large red ball fly over his head and instinctively reached up and caught it before it could get too far. When he looked around, standing back up, a boy that looked to be his age was running toward him, his eyes crinkled in a friendly way as he pulled a face that conveyed his apologies.

“Wow, sorry!” The boy said, coming to a halt in front of Poe and panting. He pointed at the ball, “I was aiming for my sister’s head, but I’m not the best kicker.” He admitted, and Poe smiled at the boy’s candour.

“That’s okay, you missed me too,” He held the ball out for the boy, but before he could hand it over a girl, who looked to be a couple of years younger, came barreling over. Her face scrunched in anger that Poe wanted to think was adorable, but it was also kind of scary.

That was the first time Poe saw you.

“Charlie mommy said not to do that anymore!” You shouted, ripping the ball from Poe’s hands and then aggressively tossing it toward your house. It bounced until it hit the duracrete side, rolling to a stop. “You’re a massive-“

“Hey, don’t swear in front of-oh,” The boy paused and looked back over at Poe, who was standing somewhat awkwardly as he watched the siblings exchange. “Sorry, what’s your name?”

You were both looking at him now, your faces friendly and open. “I’m...Poe. Dameron. Poe Dameron.” He mumbled nervously, suddenly feeling too tired and hot. His face flushed a little from the heat and embarrassment, and he just knew you were both going to think he was a real loser.

“Poe Dameron, nice to meet you, buddy! I’m Charlie and this pipsqueak-“ The boy-Charlie- broke off to ruffle your hair as you rolled your eyes, “Is my sister (y/n). We’ve seen you around before, you must live close.”

Poe nodded, “Yeah, just over by-“

“Why are you dressed like that?” You asked suddenly, a hand shooting out to pluck at his black sweater.

Poe hesitated, unsure of how to explain without immediately scaring both of you off. You were surprisingly serious for a little kid, your big eyes sweeping over his face and taking in his red eyes, before again taking in his outfit.

But when you looked back up at met Poe’s nervous gaze, your lips tugged up ever so slightly in a way that...well, it made him trust you. He didn’t know why, but he looked between you and the equally friendly face of your brother and didn’t sense a shred of hostility or insincerity.

“My mom just died, today was,” He took in a shuddering breath, the words heavier to admit than he ever could have imagined, and yet just saying it out loud was surprisingly freeing, “The funeral. I was just...I wasn’t ready to go home yet, I guess.”

Poe had stared at your bare feet as he spoke, focusing on the wiggling toes because he didn’t want to see the pity on your faces after spending the last few days receiving nothing but pitying looks from everyone he’d ever known. He was entirely caught off guard when he heard you give a little gasp, then launched yourself into him, your arms wrapping around his waist and pulling him into an unexpected, firm hug.

“Poe that’s awful,” You whimpered, peering up at him with tears eyes.

Poe felt it then, the shift inside of him that he wouldn’t realize for a very long time was his universe colliding with yours, the staggering sensation of his soul meeting your soul for the very first time. He was too young to know this, of course, but the intensity of his feelings was felt nonetheless. The first thing he did recognize was that he really, really wanted to prevent you from looking so sad.

Charlie’s hand clapped down on his shoulder as Poe gazed down at you in surprise, only seconds had passed, “We’re really sorry about your mom, Poe,” He smiled sadly as he spoke, shaking his head a little. After a moment his gaze shifted to you, “Kid, he’s already warm! Give him some space!”

You almost seemed surprised at your reaction to Poe’s news, though upon hearing Charlie’s admonishment, you quite suddenly jumped away from him, as though you had been electrocuted, all while furiously apologizing to Poe.

You were so adorable and sincere that Poe laughed. For the first time since his father had come into his room and kneeled next to the bed with the most heartbreaking expression to tell him his mother had died, he laughed. Full bellied, the muscles in his face stretching upward into a wide grin, Poe Dameron laughed. There was only a slight pause before you and Charlie joined in, your pealing giggles filling his ears as Charlie held his shoulder and stars, did it ever feel good.

Poe was still just a kid, even though his mom had died and he’d had to suffer through heartbreak that no child ever should, he was at heart still only ten years old. Yet as he stood on the front lawn laughing with the Horn children he was overwhelmed by the feeling of home he found in you both. He knew this was the start of something incredible.

Charlie gestured toward the ball once the laughter began to fade, “Do you have to go home yet, or do you want to play with us for a bit, Poe?” Charlie asked, gesturing toward the ball.

You were nodding eagerly next to him, and with a glance at the sun to confirm it wasn’t yet too late to stay, Poe smiled at his new friends, his eyes meet yours as he answered. “I’d love to.”

————-

Your hips swayed lazily to the music as you eased your way through the evening crowd gathered at Maz Kanata’s cantina. Poe kept close behind you, his face relaxed but his eyes flicking carefully around the room, watching for signs of trouble, his senses on high alert. He kept his face neutral, holding back the frown he found himself tempted to make as strangers' eyes fell down your body when you passed them, drinking in your curves.

You found an empty booth and sat, propping your legs on the seat across from you, the picture of ease and comfort when you smiled up at Poe. He tried to mimic your relaxation, but you’d always been much better at acting a part than him when it came to the cause you both fought for. He had trouble pretending to not be on edge, and so he kept close to you. Not just for safety, but also to be considered a protective partner, rather than an undercover Rebel.

With a small wink, you patted the seat next to you to give Poe permission, that you knew he needed, to sit close to you. He flung an arm behind you, resting against the booth seat, and spread his legs wide in hopes of appearing at ease. Your hand patted his knee briefly and he had to actively work at not tensing under the heat of your touch.

You sat in silence together for a few minutes before Jess Pava cut through the crowd to join you, her hands holding four drinks carefully that you jumped up to help her with. Your body leaned over Poe’s as you plucked two drinks from the fellow pilot’s hands, and he had to take a small breath to steady himself due to your proximity. Stars.

‘Your system is entirely flushed of the pollen, Commander. We ran the extra tests you requested and they came up the same as the previous.’

‘But I feel so...you know what, never mind. If you say it’s gone, then I believe you.’

You handed him his drink and he raised it in thanks, then pretended to take a sip. None of you would be drinking this evening, because you were working but it would have looked suspicious if you’d all sat down in the cantina without them.

“Thanks, Jess,” You sat back down, your thigh only inches from Poe’s. He watched Jess toss you a flirtatious wink and rolled his eyes in amusement as you flushed in response. She had always loved to flirt with you.

“Well, I’m not sure when exactly our friend will arrive but he can usually be counted on to be on time when there are free drinks.” Jess rapped her knuckles on the table, her eyes drifting around the room casually. She’d been based at an outpost nearby Takodana and was the lead on the current intel handoff that required Poe and you.

You scoffed, “I don’t care if he’s late. But if his intel isn’t as good as he claims, I’m shooting him before I ask questions.” Out of the corner of his eye, Poe saw your fingers twitch on your shooting arm; as though you were tempted to pull the hidden blaster from your backpack.

Poe nodded in agreement, “Not that it isn’t lovely to see you, Jess.”

She laughed as Poe grinned, sitting back into her seat to get more comfortable while waiting for the contact to show up. Each of you was dressed to look like casual, tired travellers. In various shades of khaki, Poe wore a light linen shirt tucked into his pants, his blaster hidden in the waistband at his lower back, his regular boots exchanged for a worn pair of travelling boots that were anything but comfortable. You were wearing the same light linen, though the tunic you wore was tighter fitting, tucking into loose-fitting shorts that hit mid-thigh, the look revealing a lot more skin than he was used to seeing.

It was distracting, you were distracting to him, especially as you sat so close to him that he could feel your body heat, smell your shampoo.

Poe and you had been released from the med bay two days before this mission on Takodana. He’d returned twice to demand further testing, unbeknownst to you because he wanted to be certain he would never hurt you again. He’d woken up feeling pretty spectacular, that first day after receiving what Tahla told him had been special transfusions to clear out the pollen. His friend had said it would feel intense, the new clarity in his mind, because he’d spent nearly a month unknowingly gripped by a fog that only increased each time Poe and you touched.

And stars, it was true how free and open his mind felt now. It was like losing a large amount of weight all at once, and with his newfound clarity, he thought there would be a substantial decrease in his attraction to you-enough, that is, to stop his thoughts from wondering and his heart rate to increase every time he so much as looked at you, but that hadn’t happened. Instead, it was like the exact opposite had occurred; free of the effects of the pollen, Poe was no longer confused or overwhelmed by his feelings, rather they had all seemed to be glaringly obvious.

Now, instead of looking at you and remembering what had happened after the pollen exposure, Poe simply became distracted because you were beautiful. Equal parts protectiveness, adoration and attraction surged within him anytime he glanced your way now, and it didn’t feel wrong or confusing any longer. There had been a few times now where you’d looked at him similarly, and he wondered, or rather, hoped, that maybe you were feeling the same.

With a low sigh, you shifted next to Poe, recrossing your legs as your feet rested on the seat opposite, and Poe’s eyes automatically swept over your form. He sensed your apprehension and impatience and let his hand fall forward slightly, sweeping some of your loose hair away from your neck. His belly warmed when he saw you shiver a little.

Pulling his gaze away from you, he glanced around the room once again. Maz Kanata’s was a neutral territory, which meant that coming in disguise was as important as it was to keep your blaster nearby. The place was filled with a mixed bag of smugglers, spies, travellers and more. There was no telling who could be in the room and with you at his side, Poe was hyper-aware of the risks that being members of the Resistance held and he was as eager to leave, with the intel, as he knew you were.

“Oh, here’s our green friend now,” Jess’s voice pulled Poe from his thoughts and he glanced around, spotting the Twi’lek man approaching their table with an easy-going smile.

“Fucking finally,” You murmured to Poe, your warm breath brushing against his neck and raising goosebumps along his skin.

He was starting to wonder if you were doing these things on purpose, now.

Medical Bay Two Days Prior

You awoke somewhat rapidly with a gasp, almost sitting up as you came to, only a hand on your shoulder that seemed to be expecting the reaction cautioned you to remain laying down. You allowed your body to relax, your eyes still shut.

A distant and possibly familiar voice was speaking to you quietly, though you couldn’t make out the words yet.

To wake yourself up properly, you pulled in a deep breath and focused on yourself for a moment, noticing how good you felt, your body light and pain-free. And your head...it felt so clear.

The memories came back, then, of walking down the hallway toward the hangar with Poe, his hands touching you more and more like he couldn’t help himself. How good those hands felt until each of you was falling to the ground in twisted versions of ecstasy. It had been painful, terrifying, and you remembered clinging to him both in panic and for safety as you screamed, Temmin appearing and then it all slips away, the last thing you could recall was the stinging sensation in your arm. It must have been a quick dose of bacta, enough to keep you from dying even though you still passed out from the overstimulation of everything.

As you thought of Poe, panic began to rise within you and you heard the resulting increase in your nearby heart rate monitor. Had they been able to save him, too? Or had he...oh, what if he-

“Major, relax, you need to calm yourself. You are alright. Commander Dameron is safe as well-yes, that’s right, breath for me, Poe is safe, good, good.” The voice next to you was soothing, the firm hand on your arm rubbing up and down gently as your heart rate decreased.

Poe was safe. Your Poe.

And then the clarity hit, no longer blurred by your panic over Poe’s condition, and the monitor picked up the brief spike as your mind caught you up. It was like...the pollen had mangled and warped your feelings, pushing back everything that mattered most to focus on what your body wanted, what it wanted your bodies to do. It left you both in need, even after you worked through the initial exposure, and you hadn’t even realized it. It was like a filter on your brain, not blocking out the real stuff, but keeping you more and more focused on Poe in a sexual way the more you touched, until it all became too much.

But now you could feel everything real and it was almost too much to suddenly bear. You knew you’d forgiven him, that you’d each begun repairs on your broken friendship, falling back into a comfortable pattern...but stars, it was so much fucking more, wasn’t it? You were completely-

With another gasp, you opened your eyes before the realization could send you into a panic, and the Healer next to you prevented you from sitting up again, coming into focus now as you adjusted to the sunny medical room. You saw a privacy curtain around your bed, then looked at the person standing over you.

You blinked in surprise as you gazed at the Healer because you knew him.

“Tahla!” You cried out in delight, and he let you move finally so that you could pull him down to you for a bone-crushing hug. He laughed, a rich baritone he definitely hadn’t had when you last saw him on Yavin-4 years ago.

“Hey kid,” He said, pulling back to gaze down at you with a wide smile, “Welcome back. How do you feel?” He searched your face in a way that told he was there in a professional capacity as much as a friendly one.

“I...well, shit,” You stammered, struggling to sit up. He helped you, adjusting your pillow behind your shoulders and then pulling your blanket up a little. “My head feels so clear, I can’t believe it.” He nodded knowingly as you gazed up at him, looking at his Healer uniform, then to the medical droid next to him waiting for instructions.

Noticing your shift in focus, Tahla pointed in question to the edge of your bed and you nodded, scooting your legs out of the way so that he could sit. He settled, then took one of your hands into his own. “It’s been a few years, hasn’t it?” He asked you softly, “I’m sorry about that. And for not being able to make it to Charlie’s funeral, either.”

“You don’t owe me any apologies, Tahla Martell, you should know that,” You replied quietly, squeezing his hand, “Not after everything you’ve done for me.”

He sighed, nodding his understanding as you both remember your last few months on Yavin-4. He then glanced back at you and despite the faint laugh lines around his eyes, the more dense peppering of facial stubble, you thought he looked much the same as he had all those years ago. Based on how his eyes were roving over your face, you believe he was thinking the same thing.

“I suppose it goes without saying, but I am a Healer now, a specialist actually. In foreign contaminants. My team was responding to the General’s request for assistance, but when I saw your name and Poe’s name on the patient files, I decided to come myself,” He explained, tossing you a little smile that told you he just knew you’d get yourself into trouble someday. You grinned back at him. “The Healer’s here put you both into temporary medical comas, and once I arrived yesterday I was able to complete the transfusions required to clear your system of any and all lingering toxins.”

Frowning now at the memories of the last month, you shook your head, “Tahla, I really fucked up on this-”

“No,” He interrupted softly, and you felt yourself flush a little from the sincerity of the look he was giving you. “You didn’t. That pollen is one of the more lethal ones known to us in the field. The fact that you were both able to survive this long...and once you were exposed, you were both technically compromised. The pollen didn’t want you to report the exposure, that wasn’t a lapse on your part,” He paused, thinking over his next words carefully as you waited patiently with your guilt-ridden heart sitting in your throat. “One could argue that had there not been a delay in your return to base, meaning the three-day travel, it could have been more likely you’d have reported what happened. But because you and Poe were exposed together, worked out the initial effects together, and subsequently remained within close proximity during the travels home, there was absolutely no chance of either of you making that correct call.”

You let that linger for a moment, closing your eyes as the build-up of emotion swelled. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t fuck up. Though, you couldn’t help but wonder how far-reaching the pollen’s hold on you was. When you opened your eyes, Tahla was watching you closely with an expectant expression, as though he sensed the direction of your thoughts.

“Did-did it affect everything I did and said? That P-Poe-?”

“No, just the more, shall we say, primal parts,” He said thoughtfully, “I read the report you did submit, and I found it interesting. You stated the trip home was fairly uneventful. Was that true, to your recollection?”

“Oh,” You thought back to those three days after you’d made up with Poe. “It really was.”

Tahla bobbed his head in thought, “It’s unique, I think, that exposure happened to two people who had a pre-existing friendship beyond being mere teammates. At least in our reports over the years. Do you recall wanting to touch Poe, but not allowing yourself to do so?”

You stared at Tahla in surprise, “Yes, right after we rolled through the bush that they were growing from. Why?”

He ran a hand over his jaw, brows furrowed in thought. “I think the pollen had its work cut out for it, getting you both to ignore your instincts to protect one another. If you were fighting it that early, well, that’s the first time I’ve heard of such a thing,” He tapped over his lips now and you could practically hear his scientific brain whirring away. “Even the timeline here is beyond anything I’ve ever come across. You were both able to resist initially, then worked the first dose out of your system. But when you came back to base, you were still fighting against the urges and that is...something else. The more you touched, the harder it was not to touch, am I right?”

You wanted to feel more embarrassed at the questions, but you were too caught up in what he might be getting at to give a damn. So instead, you nodded, “Harder not too, but felt more dangerous to continue.”

“I think the preexisting friendship played a major role here, it allowed you both to walk around nearly for a month when you should have been succumbing within a day after the initial-hold on, what symptoms have you had since you’ve been back, other than what we’ve discussed?”

He gave you an intense look then, and now you flushed a lot because you were hoping not to have to talk about the dreams. “I was uh, having dreams. Nightly, or like really early in the mornings. They woke me up.” You bit nervously at your cheek.

Tahla, ever the Healer at heart, got straight to the point. “You were having sexual dreams that woke you up because you orgasmed?”

You pulled your hand from him, covering your face, “Yeah, but it was like only a second or two of relief. And then I’d be worked up all day...tried, you know, before bed to see if it helped, but nothing did.”

“Huh,” Tahla grunted, going quiet for a few minutes as he thought. You suddenly felt very grateful you were having this conversation with him and not any other Healer’s. Stars. “Remarkable.”

You peeked out from behind your hands, “Tahla, are you saying that because Poe and I care for each other so much, we were able to fight against the pollen to a degree? That what happened the other day was the result of too much touching after so much time resisting?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, or theorizing at this point,” He replied, and you huffed out a breath. This was too much to think about. He seemed to sense your exhaustion and reached out to grip your shoulder. “Back to the initial question, though, you were both still yourselves underneath the underlying desire to, well, you know.”

He laughed a little shyly then and you smirked, quirking a brow in surprise. “Oh now he gets shy,” You giggled, “Stars, Tahla.”

“I know,” He agreed, laughing along with you, “I suppose it doesn’t make sense for us, considering our history. It was my poor attempt at being delicate after asking such personal questions.” He blushed a little and you couldn’t help but grin at him.

You shrugged, “Honestly, I’m glad you’re asking. I want to understand it all, and I’m sure Poe will want to as well. Have you spoken to him at all? Is he awake?” You wanted to see him, tell him everything was okay now.

Tahla opened his mouth to reply, only another voice cut in from the other side of the curtain. “I’m awake, sweetheart.” Your friend stood then and walked around to the other side of your bed, pulling the curtain along as he did. You watched Poe come into view, sitting on his bed with his legs over the side, and you knew straight away he’d heard everything. Meeting his gaze, you felt your stomach flutter in a sudden wave of nerves, because there he was.

Your Poe.

Tahla was saying something to him, but you couldn’t focus on what because you were lost in his eyes, drinking in his features, the soft expression on his face as he gazed at you, and you realized that whatever Tahla had done to cure you of the pollen, it had worked. Because you were looking at Poe now without any barriers-no pollen, no grief, no anger-and you felt like you were back on Gold team, the night before Charlie died, walking across the cantina as Poe watched you and you started to realize how you felt...

He pulled his gaze away, meeting Tahla’s outstretched hand and you looked to your hands where they sat in your lap. You swallowed, your mouth suddenly dry, though the hovering medical droid passed you a cup of water moments later and provided a nice distraction from your thoughts.

“Well, you’ll both remain here for a few more hours just for observation, but I’m releasing you at dinner time. You’re cleared for duty, so I’m sure you’ll be in the field as of tomorrow.”

“And we...you’re sure, one hundred percent sure, that nothing else can happen? That I-we-“ Poe broke off awkwardly, and you kept your eyes on the drink in your hand.

“I’m completely, entirely sure, Commander.” Tahla assured you both, “Listen, I’ll be off by dinner time so I’d love to catch up if you’re both up to it?”

You glanced up, meeting Tahla’s warm eyes, “That sounds great, Tahla.”

You saw Poe nod out of the corner of your eye, “Yeah man, see you then.”

He left you then, not before reminding you both to relax, and throwing a wink your way that you knew Poe hadn’t seen. When the door shut behind him, you were both silent for a long minute, though you could sense Poe looking at you. And you felt...nervous, under his gaze now, though you wanted to look at him as well, you were afraid of what he might read from your expression. He’d always been able to read you well, and you him.

“How are you doing, sweetheart?” He finally broke the silence, his voice low.

You clasped your hands in your lap, then looked up and met Poe’s eyes. The heart rate monitor gave you away, gave you both away. Each of you gazed at one another, hearts racing, and you thought it felt really good to be looking at Poe, no pollen making it about sex. Instead, you looked over at your best friend and realized how much you cared for him. How much you missed him. How scared you had been to lose him again.

Before you could overthink it, you were out of your bed. It was only a few steps to his, just enough time for Poe to sit up straight, eyes bright, before catching you in his arms. You flung yours around his shoulders and pulled him close, stepping between his legs as you did. “Poe,” You murmured, and his arms tightened around you in response.

You slid one hand into the curls at the nape of his neck, smiling to yourself when you heard him give a low sigh in response. He pressed his face into your neck, making you feel safer than you’d ever felt in your life, wrapped there in his arms. You think you were both putting a lot of things left unsaid into the hug, neither of you quite ready to talk it all out, but silently agreeing all was forgiven.

And as clear as you realized your feelings were for Poe Dameron, you also knew that you weren’t ready to voice them aloud, no longer because you denied them, but rather because you feared they wouldn’t be reciprocated.

Poe didn’t trust the contact, despite the Twi’lek’s easy smile and friendly banter. His opinion was possibly coloured by the fact that Dario had first greeted Jess, whom he’d met several times, before promptly and very obviously dropping his gaze to check you out and then making a show of shaking your hand as Poe glowered at him. He would have remained angrier had he not noticed you shift a little closer to him once Dario looked away to take his seat.

“Listen, I think considering the shit I’ve gone through to give you this information, the least you can all do is enjoy another drink with me,” Dario stated, tapping his glass with a long green finger. “At least make me feel like we’re friendly, Jess.”

Jess rolled her eyes, her jaw tight, “Don’t pretend to suffer more than you do, Dario, it’s unbecoming.” The Twi’lek barked laughter in response. Jess sighed, “We can stay a little longer, and then we’re giving you your credits and you are giving us our intel and we’re leaving, got it?”

“Fine, fine,” He relented, glancing around at the three of you, “Well, who's buying this round?”

Poe wasn’t about to let the man out of his sight, something that you understood just from the set of his shoulders because you sat forward instantly, “I’ll go,” You shot Poe a look that said you were just as annoyed as him before standing up and stepped past him carefully.

Dario noticed the way Poe’s eyes determinedly stared at the table when you stepped over his lap. And he didn’t let it go unmentioned, either, “So are you two a thing or do you just enjoy the heavy sexual tension you carry for one another?”

Jess tried to hide her laughter in her drink, giving Poe an apologetic sort of look when he glared at her. “You said friendly, not friends. I’m not going to let you braid my hair and ask about feelings and shit.” He huffed, to which Dario simply chuckled, raising his glass at Poe.

“Sorry, sorry. Just wanted to be prepared if you suddenly started going at it on the table.”

“You know what man,” Poe growled through clenched teeth, leaning forward, “You suck at making friends.”

Dario raised his green hands in mock surrender, “Then you won’t mind that a smuggler just pinched her ass?” He jerked his chin toward the bar and Poe whipped his head around, seeking you out in the crowd.

Sure enough, you were leaning against the bar and a large, unruly-looking man was standing way too fucking close. Poe was out of his seat in an instant, catching your eye as he approached. The thing about places like Maz’s was that if a little traveller woman like you suddenly pulled out highly skilled hand-to-hand combat moves, it would draw a lot of attention, which your group was rather eager to avoid. Poe, on the other hand, could easily get away with what he decided to do the moment he saw you flinch, the smuggler having pinched you again.

Wordlessly, he pulled you close with one hand and grabbed the back of the smuggler's neck at the same time. Before he could react to Poe’s sudden appearance, his face was smacking off of the bar. He folded somewhat comically, unconscious on the floor. Poe looked at the bartender now placing the drinks on the counter.

“Here’s a few extra credits for the trouble, man.” He passed them over, and the gruff-looking man merely grumbled his thanks, pocketing the credits and then directing a nearby droid to drag the man outside.

“That was satisfying,” You quipped at his side, drawing Poe’s gaze. You pitched your voice lower to prevent anyone from overhearing you, “I think you broke his nose, flyboy.”

Poe laughed, releasing his hold on you but moving his hand to rest on your lower back, just in case anyone else thought they could come near you. “You good? I can go outside and finish him off, you know.” He was only half-joking, and you arched a brow at him before reaching out to pick up the drinks, passing two to him to carry.

“If I can resist the urge to kill him, then you can too,” You replied, leading the way back to the table. “But thank you all the same.”

Before he could reply, Poe met the amused expression on Dario’s face and frowned at him over your shoulder. Jess was determinedly looking anywhere but Poe, which told him enough about where her loyalties were. And while you’d been all smiles for him moments ago, evidently your patience had been torn to shreds from your interaction with the smuggler.

“Alright, here’s your fucking drink,” You growled, slamming the glass on the table in front of Dario, “Now hand over the intel or I’m kicking your ass.” Poe had to bite back a proud smile.

Dario exhaled as he gave you a weary look, “Wow, you’re kind of scary when you get all worked up,” He admitted, shooting back his drink in one go, “Since I don’t think you really want to be my friend now, I’ll give up on the attempt here at civility.”

You gave a cold laugh as Jess leaned toward Dario, “Look, you promised me good intel, good enough that I called in these two to get it straight from you rather than risk it hopping between squadrons. Hand it over and you get your credits and a continued pass from our people to remain on Takodana peacefully.”

With a roll of his icy blue eyes, the Twi-lek man reached into an inner front pocket of his jacket and pulled out a data stick, passing it to you. You grabbed for it but Dario didn’t let go straight away, instead leaning forward to meet your eyes levelly as you both held the intel. “Probably should mention one thing,” He began, and Poe felt himself go rigid, eyes on Dario.

“Oh yeah?” You replied coldly, giving another tug on the intel.

Dario let go of it, “The man I stole that from has a lot of people working for him and I may have been made a few minutes ago. More than likely there are First Order officers on their way, which is why you’ll be happy to hear I no longer want your money. Just sneak me out the back with you and I’ll be on my merry way, deal?”

Poe’s eyes flicked around the room, seeing no immediate threats but fully aware that sneaking out was going to be an issue with so little warning. You had stiffened, then quickly pushed the data stick down the front of your shirt into your chest band before reaching across the table and grabbing Dario’s shirt roughly, tugging him close. “You motherfuck-“

Jess was already typing into her comm as you let loose on Dario, unleashing the fury of your words in place of kicking the shit out of him and Poe continued to survey the room. “Poe,” Jess said, and he glanced toward her, “I’ve got back up coming in for a distraction in two. You’ll have to go out the doorway to the south, take a long way around to your ship.”

“Well, it was great seeing you again, Jess,” He replied lightly, “We’ll have to do this again sometime. Everything, the bad drinks, the toxic masculinity, our idiot Twi’lek the Major is currently teaching a new language. Really, it’s been wonderful.” With a final laugh, Jess reached over and patted your head in farewell, winked at Poe, and then sprinted away from the table to meet her backup outside. The distant sounds of shouting and a sudden loud bang was all the warning Poe needed a minute later.

Grabbing you by the arm, Poe quickly stood and began toward the exit, hearing rather than seeing that Dario was still there because he was cursing as he stumbled along in your angry grip. Pushing through the doorway, he heard Dario cry out in pain and glanced around to see him reaching for his shin. You had kicked him. “Sweetheart, need you to-“

You were on your wrist comm before he finished, “On it,” You said, running a scan of the immediate area, which thankfully came up clean, “It’s your lucky day, Dario, you get to live to see another. I’d say farewell, but I wouldn’t mean it!”

Poe laughed, then pointed into the tree line, “Go that way as long as you can before circling back to your ride, they’ll be gone pretty soon.” He told the Twi’lek, who grunted his thanks and tore off in the direction Poe had indicated. “Which way?” He asked you, knowing you had the entire area memorized in preparation for this mission.

You nodded to his right, adjusting the bag on your shoulders, “That way, there’s some water we can lose them in. Unless you’ll let me go and kill Dario-“

“I’ll let you kill him if we ever bump into him again, I promise,” Poe grabbed your hand and started running, neither of you unaware of the danger you were in with First Order troops nearby. Once safely in the cover of the trees, he continued between breaths, “Though I think it’s safe to say he’s going to be in hiding for a while.”

“He won’t be able to hide from me if this intel is anything but as good as he claimed,” You grumbled, your grip on Poe’s hand tightening as you jumped over thick roots, “You think Jess is alright?”

“Of course,” And he wasn’t lying, he knew she would be long gone by now, seeing as this was more her territory than anything. “You should really be more worried about us, sweetheart.”

You giggled, “I am! Listen, I know we said we’d go straight around to our ship but with Dario out there knowing that it’s probably best we hide for a while.” You left it unspoken, but it meant that you’d be camping in the dense wilderness as you hid from the First Order with highly sought-after intel that they didn’t want in the hands of the Resistance.

“All in a day’s work, eh?”

You sighed heavily in response. Jumping into the ankle-deep stream, you began walking in the opposite direction of the ship, further into the forest. Poe felt the water soak through his socks in seconds and couldn’t help but agree with your angry reaction back in the Cantina. Careless or intentional, Dario had all but ensured Poe and you would be on the run until you could get off of this planet and escape in hyperspace. And he had wet socks to top it all off.

“It’s open!” You called out, glancing up from the dining table where you were sealing the last few boxes of your mothers' things, to see Tahla Martell standing in your doorway. “Hey, Tahla.” You said warmly, moving to greet him in the hallway.

“Hi kid,” He replied, pulling you in for a hug, “I know you’re leaving first thing and you already said your goodbyes to us all, but I didn’t want you to be alone on your last night on Yavin-4.” He held up a covered dish that you caught the scent of, his mother's lasagna.

Warmth spread through you at his kind gesture, “Tahla, that’s so sweet of you,” You had to clear your throat, blinking back tears.

It had been a rough few months since your mother had passed, the house you’d lived in with her for over a year without Charlie and Poe seeming far too big now with just you wondering the lonely hallways. Packing things into storage was at least somewhat therapeutic, and you were keeping the house, but you knew you wouldn’t be visiting anytime soon. It just felt wrong to sell it until you saw Charlie in person and discussed the options.

And you felt a little guilty too, with how excited you were to be headed to the Resistance base the next morning. You’d be seeing your brother and Poe again after two years apart and you couldn’t wait. The fact that your friend understood your mixed emotions and shown up with dinner was...beyond appreciated. Tahla had always been good to you, even when you were younger and Poe had caught you kissing and punched him for it. He hadn’t done anything other than saying he’d prefer to be friends and a friend he’d remained all of this time.

“Are you hungry now?” He asked, and you nodded before moving to the kitchen and realizing you packed up all the plates. Tahla followed you, placing the food onto the table.

“Uh, you okay with eating straight from the dish? I think I have some forks...” You glanced around and spotted the box with cutlery, popping it open and pulling out utensils. Tahla laughed and sat at the kitchen table, taking the cover off of the food. You joined him, moving your chair close and passing him a fork before you both dug in.

You ate in comfortable silence, eating your fill and then sitting back in your seat and pushing the rest toward Tahla while you held your full stomach in content. You looked around the bare kitchen, another wave of nostalgia and emotion bubbling up.

“It feels sadder because it’s not how you pictured it,” Tahla said, breaking into your thoughts. You looked up at him, confused, and he clarified. “You were supposed to be leaving while your mom fussed over you and promised you she’d spend all of her free time with my mom, that she wouldn’t be lonely. She was supposed to take you to the flight dock and wave at you when you boarded, tell you to give Charlie and Poe hugs from her. It’s okay to be sad about how it is instead.”

Emotion swelled again and you nodded because he was right. Your mother was supposed to be here, you were the one that was leaving her, it shouldn’t have been this twisted version, where she left you by way of a sudden and fatal heart attack as you shopped the market together one morning several months before. Tahla and his mother had been at the market as well, a few booths away haggling when they’d heard you screaming, and Tahla had had to pull you away from your mother’s still, peaceful-looking body as his mother checked her pulse and called for Healers. He’d held you for hours, eventually bringing you home, only leaving when you insisted he could come back first thing in the morning.

You ducked your head down as tears spilled onto your cheeks, ashamed to be crying in front of Tahla. He put down his fork and shuffled closer, pulling you in for a gentle hug, patting your back, “I’m sorry, I didn’t want to upset you, I could just tell-”

“No, you’re right,” You interrupted, pulling back only slightly and wiping a hand across your face, “Y-you understand, and I’m grateful. You’ve always been an amazing friend. I’m going to miss you, you know.” You tried for a small smile, and he returned it with his warm one. You sighed, “I just wish I was leaving this place...my home, with better memories. Alone for the last few months, packing things up, sorting out mom’s will, it’s not how I pictured it.”

Tahla nodded in understanding, “I’d tell you to focus on the fact you’re seeing Charlie and Poe, but I know it doesn’t help with this part.”

“I appreciate it all the same, Tahla,” And you leaned back in to hug him again, knowing he’d probably be leaving in a few minutes and wanting to enjoy the last moments of peace before you were alone in this whole house again. “This is a good memory, though, so thank you.”

He chuckled, the vibrations moving you as you leaned into his chest, “I know the lasagna makes it seem like mom sent me over, but I was planning on stopping by either way,” He admitted, his eyes finding yours again when you leaned back. “Didn’t seem right to let (y/n) Horn fly away from home without a proper goodbye, and by that I mean I selfishly wanted to be the last person you saw.”

You quirked a brow at his joke, Tahla was always ready to flirt with you, “Oh yeah? Well, I’m glad you did.” And while your words were light, the tone of voice you used surprised even you, coming out a little more sultry than either of you expected.

You saw Tahla swallow in surprise, his wide eyes flicking from yours, then down to your lips as you wet them. Boldly deciding to go for it because he was your friend and it was your last night at home and he was handsome and kind and sweet-

Tahla closed the distance, pressing his lips to yours and you moaned in response, gripping his shirt. Opening your mouth to deepen the kiss, you smiled because you both tasted like lasagna. Beneath that, though, you could taste the warm, masculine undertones of Tahla Martell, and based on the low rumble in his chest and the way his hands tightened on your waist, he could taste you as well.

It was kind of like one of your books, how you ended up in your bedroom down the hall, clothing stripped as you moved together until you were hitting the bed and he was pulling away from your mouth to move his lips down your bare body. The sun was low now, casting your room in a gentle golden glow and for the first time in some time, you were feeling something other than grief and loneliness in your bed.

The fact that it was with your friend Tahla...while you’d admit you had always imagined your first time with someone different, you had accepted a long time ago that it wouldn’t happen that way. He was older and more experienced and had spent two years worlds away and free to do whatever he wanted. And Tahla had always been your close and trusted friend, he’d been there for you before your mother died and since, and now he was moving his lips and tongue across your most sensitive areas like he couldn’t imagine a better way to be spending his time.

The empty house was filled with your cries and moans as Tahla, who admitted it wasn’t his first time, brought you to the edge and over several times with just his mouth and fingers before he climbed up your body and kissed you again. You moaned, tasting yourself on him, surprised at how turned on that made you, and then almost cried when he moved back and told you that you could stop here if you wanted, that it didn’t need to go any further but he would still stay the night, wouldn’t leave you alone.

You had intended to go all the way the moment he’d literally lifted you from your chair in the kitchen, but now you pulled him to you with a renewed sense of longing, telling him you trusted him, that you needed him. He didn’t to be told twice, his eyes searching yours one moment, then dropping down between your bodies as he glided his cock through your wet folds. He sighed your name when he pushed in, filling you slowly but entirely before stopping and allowing you to adjust to his considerable size. It hadn’t hurt as much as you’d feared, but the sharp sting was still enough to have your eyes pricking, and he leaned forward and peppered you with soft kisses and kind words, encouraging you to voice what you needed and tell him if anything was too much.

It had surprised you both when the pain had ebbed away and you were suddenly rolling your hips eagerly. Tahla recovered and braced his elbows on the bed and began a hard pace that had you practically begging for more, unrelenting even as you came around him. He grunted as he neared his orgasm, his pace slowing to draw the pleasure out as long as you both could stand. He let you roll him onto his back and ride him at an almost lazy pace, his eyes never shutting, even when you found just the right angle to draw the deepest groans from him, intent on watching your face. He’d seemed almost in awe of you like he couldn’t believe what was happening even though it had been...well, the sun had set so going on just over an hour, you had realized.

When you came again as you rode him and his name tore from your lips, Tahla went over the edge with you. He had grabbed your hips and held you down when he came, your name mixing with curses as he filled you.

And then you’d let yourself fall forward and shift, felt him slide out of you before cuddling in and realizing that he meant what he said, that he wasn't going anywhere. He even kissed you again between whispering his promises to remain, his praise over how good it felt to be with you.

You think you loved him a little then, but at the same time, you couldn’t help but think of how he’d done a good job replacing the man you’d pictured having your first time with and you knew that it was a good thing this had happened on the eve of your departure. You could love Tahla Martell but never fall in love with him.

Tahla woke with you in the morning, helped you gather your things, promised to check in on the place occasionally. And then he drove you to the flight dock, where he waved you off with a promise to see you again someday. His smile a little sadder but genuine and filled with enough affection to have you run back for one last hug goodbye, one last kiss on the cheek and a final thank you for being everything you had needed without even knowing.

“This is cozy, really very cozy,” Poe grumbled from where he sat on the cold ground of a small-make that, minuscule, cave that you’d found after several hours of hiking through the forest stream. “Just enough room to stretch out and feel the ache in every part of my body.”

You hummed in reply, rifling through the backpack you’d had strapped on during the journey. “I can only feel the blisters on my feet, everything else is nothing compared to those.”

Poe grunted in agreement, glancing down at his now bare feet. They were reddened and bloody from sloshing through the water for so long in cheap boots. “Think I’ll be fighting you on who gets to take out Dario now, sweetheart.” You laughed tiredly in response.

You were settled on the ground in front of him, pulling out items from the pack now; food rations, water, and a medical kit. He’d put a small light on, the glow barely casting, just enough to see each other. Poe watched you kick off your shoes and then peel off your socks, setting them aside with Poe’s to dry, before tearing open your ration and taking a bite. Plucking his ration from your extended hand, Poe copied you and together you ate in silence, the meal brief but filling. His eyes were already starting to droop, the busy day catching up to him.

You pulled out some small bacta patches from the medical kit and pointed to his feet, “I’ll do yours if you do mine,” You smiled, and he chuckled lowly, nodding.

You held out your hand for his feet and he carefully adjusted his legs to plop them into your lap, reclining back on his hands. He watched you work, tugging the light closer to see his blisters better and place patches over each one, which instantly eased the discomfort. When you finished, you squeezed his leg before pulling out a cleaning wipe and working it over your hands. You glanced up very suddenly, catching Poe as he watched you.

He held your gaze, wishing he could read your mind. He could tell you were equally as annoyed with the way the mission had turned out as he was, that you were relaxed over the current predicament because you’d both escaped the close reach of the First Order plenty of times before. You were tired, too, but there was something else about the way you looked at him that sent heat up his back, and he felt grateful again for the freedom from the pollen-now he knew his reactions to you were genuine, and he felt the depths for which they went, the intensity, the rightness of it all.

“I feel like we’re thinking the same thing right now,” You surprised him by saying, passing him a package of patches, then switching places to rest your feet in his lap instead. Poe caught your feet in his hands deftly.

“What’s that?”

You tilted your head, a small smile tugging your lips upward, “That it’s nice to be around each other without any other bullshit affecting us-pollen or anger, I mean.” Poe wasn’t sure if it was your intent or not, but something about the tone of your voice had him flushing, and he returned your smile quickly before dropping his gaze to your feet.

He set to work, wanting to laugh at how small your feet were, before replying, “I was thinking that, yes,” He admitted, carefully placing the patches on your blisters. “It’s nice...nice to know what I’m feeling is real, now.”

“Yeah, it sure does,” You agreed softly, sighing a little when he placed the final patch over a particularly nasty-looking wound. You tossed him a wipe and he cleaned off his hands as he moved his eyes from your feet to your face. “Thank you.” You added, wiggling your toes happily.

Pulling your feet from his lap, you returned to rummaging in your backpack, first finding a couple of pairs of clean, dry socks for you each to put on. You then pulled out two thin, rolled-up blankets. Poe sighed, “I’m guessing you don’t have a couple of comfortable fold-out cots in there, Major?” He teased, and you giggled while shaking your head.

“Just some lovely, extra scratchy cameo blankets, Commander,” You passed him one of the pitiful little blankets. They were made of a material mixture that worked to confuse heat signature detection more than they provided any warmth or comfort, but they were better than nothing. That’s what he told himself, anyway.

It took no time at all to prepare to sleep, though as Poe shifted around on the hard ground he wondered exactly how he would achieve it. Usually, he was content to pop a jacket under his head, but the planet was warm enough this time of year that you’d only packed a couple of very thin raincoats as a precaution. You clicked off the light and laid next to him, a few inches separating your bodies as you tucked yourselves into your blankets and tried to get comfortable.

It was maybe three minutes later, staring into the pitch black, the Poe gathered the courage to throw out a suggestion. “Proposal...” He spoke softly into the darkness and heard your head turn toward him.

“Go on then,” You replied, though he could sense you had probably guessed what he was going to say, seeing as you were no doubt as uncomfortable laying flat on the rocky ground.

“How about we roll your blanket into a makeshift pillow, you come here and share mine, and we actually get some rest?”

Instead of replying he heard you sit up and felt a brush of air across his face from you lifting your blanket to straighten it and roll. Now that he’d offered up the idea, however, Poe tensed slightly at the realization that he was moments away from holding you in his arms. He felt his face grow warm and felt grateful for the impenetrable darkness the cramped cave provided.

“Lift,” You said at the same moment your hand found his head, tapping. He raised his head and you slid the rolled blanket underneath, providing immediate relief. Poe slowly reached out for you, hesitating when he found your back, then curling it around you when you shuffled into his side and laid against him. After a moment, your head dropped down onto his chest, though your body was almost rigid against his. Another instance where the ability to read your mind would come in handy.

“Relax, sweetheart,” He murmured, turning his head and pressing his lips to your hair. He adjusted the blanket, ensuring it covered you both, then rested his hand on your hip. He thought you might not listen, you still seemed frozen against him, but Poe was smiling a moment later when he felt your entire body melt into the side of his before your hand came to rest over his heart. The position was so familiar, a lifetime of nights together growing up just like this, that he almost couldn’t bear it. “That’s it, sweet girl, get some sleep.”

He couldn’t have said what happened after that, because you both very promptly fell asleep, warm and safe in one another’s arms. Despite being on the cool, hard ground in a cave in the forests of Takodana, hiding from the First Order, Poe had one hell of a good sleep that night.

—

You were staring through a gap in the trees towards the shipyard outside of Maz Kanata’s castle, sitting entirely still in the morning light that filtered through the trees as you surveilled for any sign of First Order troops. You’d bee on watch for twenty minutes while Poe ran around the perimeter, and you were on edge. You didn’t like having to separate, afraid if one of you was captured you’d be less likely to get away without backup, but there was nothing to be done for it.

You might also be a little worked up from spending the night wrapped in Poe’s arms, but you weren’t focusing on the right now. You definitely weren’t fixating on the way he’d spoken to you to encourage you to relax, nor of how he’d called you ‘sweet girl’ and seemed unaware of the effect that had on you. And you certainly were not remembering how, upon waking up at dawn and enough light came into the cave, you had realized how wrapped around one another you were. At some point in the night, you’d both shifted, legs tangled and Poe’s head nuzzled into your neck, an arm wrapped over your body in a way that made you feel safe at the same time revealing how small you felt compared to his broad, muscular frame.

But most of all, you were absolutely not thinking about how Poe had woken up moments after you, lifted his head to peer down at you with heavy-lidded eyes, and then just held your gaze with an unreadable expression on his face that had left you breathless. It was like he’d pinned you to the floor with that fucking look, and you weren’t sure if it was a minute or an hour before your comm alarm went off, indicating an incoming message, and you tore your eyes away to read the message from Jess, who’d managed to send through that it was safe to return to your ship.

In fact, you were so focused on your mission, so completely not obsessing over the last twenty hours, that you were not at all surprised when Poe suddenly appeared at your side, panting slightly from his run.

He saw you jump in surprise. “Did I scare you?” He joked, and you grumbled in response, though this was worse than denying it outright and he started to laugh, before pointing ahead to the pathway “We can take that, head straight for the ship, everything is clear ahead.”

Click.

All it took was the sound of a blaster’s safety clicking off for Poe to grab you and whirl, shielding you completely from the enemy who had snuck up on your six. It took a second for you to steady yourself, then you had to peer carefully around his shoulder to see who it was. The familiar green form stood a few feet away with a grimace, pointing a fairly old-looking blaster directly at you and Poe.

“Dario, you fucking-“ You snarled, attempting to move around Poe but his arm shot back and held you behind him with surprising strength, and you stilled.

“I know, I know,” Dario drawled, unmoving, “Honestly, I had no plans to do this but the First Order put a pretty decent reward out for whoever manages to capture you two. Figured I could get back into their good graces, clear my ledger, you know how it is honey.”

Poe had left his hand resting at your hip, and at Dario’s words, his grip tightened. You were pressed against his back and could feel the tension, the coil in his muscles ready to snap. “Buddy, you do not want to try this. Handing us over to the First Order only puts a massive target on your head-and the Resistance doesn’t play games when it comes to betrayal.” His words were laced with venom, his voice low.

You’d seen Poe like this only a few times in your life because usually when it came to being cornered by enemies he was cocky, mouthing off to distract until he could come up with a plan. Today, however, Poe was almost frightening to you, his focused rage as intense as it was. You pressed a hand into his back, just to do something to calm him-this was one Twi’lek, surely you could take him before he called for back up, when your hand brushed over something hard.

His blaster.

Yours was at your hip, and you knew it was too risky to go for it with Dario pointing his own at Poe’s heart. You wouldn’t even attempt it, however, the blaster tucked into the back of his pants, hidden beneath his shirt, was more than ideal. You just had to time it right.

“Look, I’m more sorry than anyone that it’s come to this. But you two are valuable, did you know that? I certainly didn’t,” Dario took a half step closer, his eyes moving from yours, where you were still peeking from around Poe, and then up to Poe’s, “I will do you one favour though. I won’t tell them how close you are; hopefully, that’ll keep them from torturing you in front of one another-“

Your temper flared again, “They wouldn’t get anything out of us regardless, Dario, that’s why this is fruitless. You hand us over and you’re only letting us die!” As you spoke, you dropped your hand to pull Poe’s shirt from his pants, sliding your hand underneath to grip the blaster.

“Don’t,” Poe said firmly, his eyes still on Dario. You knew it was a command for you, and you hesitated.

Dario sighed, “I have to, and I’m sorry about this but I’ll have to shoot you, big guy because I can’t risk things getting physical,” He lowered the blaster to aim for Poe’s leg, “I hear the First Order have excellent medical staff, so-“

You felt Poe’s grip on your arm adjust, and realized he was going to try and throw you out of harm’s way and take the shot. Now, you didn’t hesitate, pulling the blaster out, clicking the safety off and aiming it at Dario’s head before he realized what was happening. With no other choice, Poe let you go as you stepped from behind him.

“That’s good, you’re going to need them.” You seethed, watching in amusement as Dario tightened his hold on his blaster, gritting his teeth to outgun you. He didn’t stand a chance. You shot his arm first, forcing him to drop his weapon, and then fired two more shots; one to the opposite shoulder, and one to the leg. He cried out in agony and you marched forward, flipping the blaster in your hand to grip the heated shaft, and drove the blunt end into the side of his head.

Dario sagged to the ground, unconscious.

“Well, I’ll hand that one to you,” Poe spoke from behind you, and you glanced around to find him watching you, hands on his hips, smirking in a way that didn’t meet his eyes. “Even if you did ignore my order.”

With a sigh, you held out his blaster for him, watching his jaw clench as he took it from you. “You put that in the report. And I’ll put in the part where you shoved me behind you,” You quipped, quirking a brow at him. He knew it wasn’t protocol for him to have protected you like that, and as much as you were touched and your heart was racing over how instantaneously he had reacted to ensure you were safe, you weren’t going to let him chew you out for doing the same. “Now can we leave this fucking forest, flyboy, or do you want to punish me first?”

You hadn’t meant the words to come out so...charged. You were worked up, still reeling a little over the fact that Poe was almost shot, and you wanted to leave before anything else happened. He had been watching you like he expected your initial remarks calling him out for the break in protocol, seemingly amused. You weren’t sure what he was going to shoot back at you, and you didn’t find out because the moment you tacked on the last line, his expression went blank and he simply stared at you for a very long moment.

You couldn’t look away from him, despite the heat crawling up your neck from embarrassment. You weren’t even sure where the words had come from, because they were enormously similar to how you and Poe used to speak to one another, teasingly, but you’d said it with so much more attitude. Like you were flirting without caution, and it caught him entirely off guard. You wished you could read his mind, as his eyes, now brighter than you’d seen them in a while, searchd your face.

“Let’s...let’s go,” He finally looked away, his eyes flicking around the forest, then to the still unconscious Dario, and then to his blaster. You weren’t sure, but you thought his voice came out a little more husky than usual, and heat pooled in your core as you briefly wondered what being punished by Poe Dameron would feel like.

Poe stood under the hot water, eyes closed, replaying the last few days in his head. His fresher was one of the few places he could be completely alone and he was taking advantage of a quiet afternoon to himself.

After returning from Takodana that morning, he had taken the intel from you to give to BB8 to begin decryption, and you had gone off to begin working on your mission report. Usually, you did this right in the hangar, but today you’d given him a shy smile, and then marched off. He hadn’t seen you since, though he was sure he would find you in the dining hall for dinner.

He was worked up from the mission, that much he knew for sure. It hadn’t gone as planned-when did they ever?-but he was, well, fucking impressed with you. You’d always been something else when it came to being pinned in a corner, though thankfully he’d only seen it a couple of times. But today you had been like a warrior goddess, shooting Dario without even a tremble in your finger and then knocking him unconscious like it was an afterthought. You made it all look easy.

He tried to admonish you just a little for ignoring him, but you had been right that he wasn’t one to talk about breaking protocol. And then you hit him with that flirtatious little line, wetting your fucking lips as you said it, appearing a little shocked at your boldness. He’d had to force himself to go blank, fearing your ability to read him like a book, while he watched you squirm under his gaze.

That pollen had nothing, nothing, on you. An innocent remark from you and he was bulldozed, ready to drop to his knees and tell you he’d give you whatever you wanted, needed, even if he had to fly across the galaxy for it. And you had no idea, he could see that you just didn’t know how much of a hold you had on him, on his heart. Poe had gone back to the med bay the other day, before the mission, and confirmed twice over with Tahla and his team that he was clear of all toxins because his feelings were so intense.

And he’d realized that what he was feeling was so much more real and right compared to the foggy desire that the pollen had caused. And he knew now, after watching you in action in the cantina, and then as you found a safe spot to hide for the night, and certainly in the morning when he’d woken up wrapped around you and gazed into your sleepy eyes, that he loved you.

That he was in love with you.

There was no one else.

And there never would be, because you were his soulmate.

Stepping out of the shower, Poe dried off and began dressing. His mind was flipping through old memories, some from when you were kids, others from after you’d joined the Resistance, each of them evidence to support his realization. He was fastening his trousers when a knock sounded at his door, and he wandered over and hit the release button without thinking, so lost in thought as he was.

“Hey, Poe, sorry I...uh...” You faltered, wide eyes falling comically down his bare torso before snapping up to look somewhere above his eyebrows. Your voice came out almost in a squeak, “Just seeing if you wanted to get dinner.”

Seeing you get flustered looking at him made Poe sweat. He stepped away from you and went to his dresser, pulling out a black tee. “Sounds good,” He replied slowly, then glanced back over at you and grinned. “You want me to throw some cold water on you, sweetheart?”

His joking had the desired effect, instantly clearing the tension from the room. You laughed, rolling your eyes. “I’ll be fine, flyboy.”

“I don’t know, I recall a day at the river a long time ago, pulling off my shirt and then you falling out of a tree...”

You scoffed, then stuttered, stepping into Poe’s room, “I-that’s not, I was talking to someone. It wasn��t because of-Uhg!” You flipped him the bird then, unable to form a clear sentence in Basic. Poe was laughing, enjoying the teasing banter as he walked over to his desk and picked up his wrist comm, glancing at the time.

When he looked back up, expecting to see you still laughing shyly, he was surprised to find you frozen, eyes glued onto something over his shoulder. His brows came together in concern, “What’s up?” He looked around, following your sightline.

At first, he was momentarily confused because you were looking at his corkboard. But when his eyes fell to the picture of you, Charlie and him he realized you didn’t know he had it. He’d seen it in your room a while ago and had almost started sobbing on the spot. But you hadn’t come to Poe’s room before this.

Poe turned around to find you with a watery smile, your gaze fixed on him in an intensely affectionate way. “You kept that all these years?” You sounded winded, eyes locked on his. Poe swallowed, nodding, and felt himself blush.

He couldn’t look away if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to, though. He was pretty certain he could remain on this spot in his room as he burned under your gaze for the rest of his life. A million questions formed in his mind and he didn’t know where to start, what to say first.

The silence was broken by the sounds of footsteps in the hall. Pulling both of you out of the moment to look around at Poe’s still open door. Tahla appeared then, breaking into a grin when he saw you both. “Hi! Glad I caught you both, I was hoping to join you for dinner?” He stopped in the doorway politely.

As disappointment washed through him, Poe relaxed his stance and tossed Tahla a grin, “And here (y/n) was asking me to dinner too, I’m more popular than I thought!” You giggled, shaking your head in amusement, but Poe could see you bite your lip when you glanced back at him.

He thought maybe Tahla was giving you both a knowing look, but it slid off his face when you turned to walk out of Poe’s room. Grateful for his lack of comment, Poe clapped Tahla’s shoulder once in step with him in the hallway, and his old friend winked at him in response.

—

34 ABY

Poe knocked on the door of General Organa’s private quarters, repeating the motion desperately until it finally slid open and he burst through, eyes searching until they landed on Leia. She gave him a knowing look like she’d been expecting him. Of course, she was, she knew what was at stake now.

“General,” He glanced around, confirming they were alone. “You know what I know. Please help me.” He didn’t care how desperate he sounded.

Leia sighed, nodding kindly, “Of course I will...but Commander, Poe, it’s not going to be easy. There’s always going to be danger-“

Poe rubbed a hand over his face, “I know, I know but I have to do something. Tell me the safest planet, and then I’ll go to Jakku, I’ll find Lor San Tekka. I’ll complete my mission.”

The General stood, her expression soft, “You won’t be able to-“

Poe shook his head, “I know.” His voice broke.

“Then I know just the place.”

Did you enjoy this chapter? Consider leaving a comment or reblogging to ease my inner turmoil as a writer. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Taglist

@mermaidxatxheart @foxilayde @eleinemk @paintballkid711 @mylifeisactuallyamess @20th-centu-fairy-girl @deitysnips @cannedsoupsucks @ubri812 @poedameronloverx @hoeforthefictional @astrological-bitch @itsnottilly @itsdameron @alex-sulli @generousrunawaydonut @wildmoonflower @onlyferorder66 @afootnoteinyourhappiness

#reader insert #fanfic #poe dameron x reader #poe dameron #angst #fluff #multichapter #night changes series #friends to lovers #star wars #poe dameron fanfic #poe dameron imagine #poe x reader #poe dameron x female reader #poe dameron smut #oscar isaac

176 notes · View notes

dumdumsun · 3 years

Text

Of Starlight

A/N: Honestly one of my favorites

Word Count: 3040

Warnings: mentions of violence, guns and blood

————————————

Chapter 6: The Best of the Best

For what seemed like the hundredth time, the video footage of Grace standing by as Reginald writhed in his bed flashed before (Y/N)’s (e/c) eyes, along with the eyes of her siblings who stood beside her. Though the evidence stood true and before her, her gut was begging her not to believe what she saw. Swallowing, she tuned in to hear what Vanya had to say, “I mean, do you really think Mom would hurt Dad?”

“You haven’t been home in a long time, Vanya,” Luther turned away from the television to his sister. “Maybe you don’t know Grace anymore.”

“If he was poisoned, it would have shown in the coroner’s report.” Diego stated matter-of-factly, (Y/N) nodding in agreement. But Luther hadn’t been so easily convinced.

“Well, I don’t need a report to tell me what I can see with my own eyes.”

“Then your vision’s fucked, dingus,” (Y/N) moved closer to the television, clicking a button to rewind. “Look. Dad has the monocle on, then Mom stands up, the monocle is gone.”

“Oh, yeah!” Klaus chuckled, the clone from earlier still standing at his side. Diego walked away from the television.

“She wasn’t poisoning him. She was… taking it. To clean it.” He guessed. Everyone’s bodies turned towards their vigilante brother, Luther in disbelief.

“Then where is it? No, I’ve searched the house, including all her things. She doesn’t have it.” A moment of silence passed before Diego raised his hand.

“That’s because I took it from her. After the funeral.”

“You’ve had the monocle this whole time? What the hell, Diego?!” Allison leaned away from the pillar she was against. Luther stuck his hand out immediately, demanding Diego give the monocle to him.

“I threw it away.”

“You… what?” Luther blinked as Allison scoffed, going for a drink from her glass. (Y/N) rubbed her temples as Diego explained himself,

“Look, I knew that if you found it on Mom, you’d lose your shit, just like you’re doing right now.”

“Diego, you son of a bitch.” Luther took a couple threatening steps forward as Diego got into a fighting stance. (Y/N) and Vanya immediately got in between the two of them, halting both their actions.

“Hey. No. Calm down. Look, I know Dad wasn’t exactly an open book. But I do remember one thing he said. Mom was, well, designed to be a caretaker, but… also as a protector.”

“Oh, yeah,” (Y/N) slowly nodded in realization. “She was programmed to intervene if someone’s life was in danger.”

“Well, if her hardware is degrading, then… We need to turn her off.”

“Luther!-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait,” Diego’s voice rose in panic and anger. “She’s not just a vacuum cleaner you can throw in a closet! She feels things, I’ve seen it!”

“She just stood there, Diego, and watched our father die.”

“I’m with Luther.” Allison shrugged.

“Surprise, surprise.” Diego muttered.

“Shut up.” She shot back as (Y/N) crossed her arms.

“Well, I’m with Diego.” She voiced her opinion, her brother gratefully smiling at her. She returned the expression as Luther scoffed.

“And what does your opinion matter? The moment you moved out, you went and found the woman who gave you up the moment you were born-”

“Don’t you ever, ever, speak about my mother that way!” She boomed as she pointed a finger at him. “That woman has done more for me than I’ve ever asked of her and has supported me through everything I’ve done since I left this shithole! You have no right to give your fucking opinion on her! Even with that said, Grace is my mother as well and I will treat her as such. We were all raised by her, so my opinion matters just as much as yours, Apeman.” When she stepped back, Diego rested his hands on her shoulders from behind to steady her. Luther only stared at her in shock, not expecting her to blow up at him. Backing down, he turned to Vanya, as well as everyone else, to hear her opinion. The woman looked between her siblings, stammering out her answer before Diego interrupted her,

“Yeah, she shouldn’t get a vote.” He removed his hands from (Y/N) and moved away from them. She and Luther were going to start yet another argument between them when Vanya finally gained some confidence.

“I was gonna say that I agree with you.”

“Okay! She should get a vote,” He concluded before turning to Klaus, who leaned against another pillar. “What about you, stoner boy? What do you got?” Klaus looked up at them with raised brows.

“Oh, so, what? You need my help now? Oh, ‘Get out of the van, Klaus!’ ‘Well, welcome back to the van!’.”

“What van?” Allison questioned, clearly not understanding the situation that happened earlier. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at her druggie brother as Luther scoffed.

“What’s it gonna be, Klaus?”

“I’m with Diego, because screw you!” He furrowed his brows as Diego pointed at him, pleased that he and his brother agreed on something. “And if Ben were here, he’d agree with me.” A second afterwards, he hissed at the air beside him, (Y/N) guessing that Ben had disagreed with Klaus, but she wasn’t going to voice that. She sighed and turned to Luther.

“That’s three, Spaceboy-”

“Wait-”

“To two.” Diego finished, holding the numbers up with his fingers.

“It’s not final. Five’s not here.” Allison pointed out and (Y/N) sighed. He wouldn’t be here to give his say on the matter, anyway. Diego groaned.

“Oh, come on, he’d just agree with whatever (Y/N) has to say.” He motioned toward Number Eight, who bristled to argue with him.

“No, everyone in the family gets to vote. We owe each other that.” Allison shook her head as Luther and Vanya agreed with her. They all left the room, minus Diego, who stayed with a look of defeat. (Y/N) pat his shoulder as she left. She truly didn’t want Grace to be shut off. Granted, it was suspicious that she watched Reginald die without acting on it, but she would never hurt anyone. She showed the most care to them as kids and she couldn’t disregard that for anything.

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

As the night washed over the sky, (Y/N) found that she would not have been much use to Five. When she left the Academy to join him, she saw that he still sat in that van, still watching that building. As much as she had begged to help, she was slowly starting to realize that Five wasn’t letting her in on everything. She knew he hadn’t been lying about the apocalypse, but she wished he would’ve told her whatever else he was in on. She felt horrible about it, but without even alerting him of her presence, she left him and arrived back at the mansion. As she wandered, she still felt tension between her siblings, and decided that it would be best not to interact with them for now. However, she felt a tug pulling her towards the bathroom. This familiar tug was what alerted her of her clones’ presence nearby. She followed the pull and peeked inside to see Klaus taking a bubble bath, her clone still watching over him. She quietly giggled at the sight, startling her brother and causing him to sit up quickly, some water splashing over the tub and onto the floor.

“Christ, (Y/N)! Don’t scare me like that!”

“You okay?” She whispered, side-eyeing her clone. Klaus sighed and relaxed once again.

“Yes, dear. Now can you take your robot with you? It’s been following me around for hours!”

“No, I still want it to make sure you don’t die. It’ll help if you, uh… drown or something,” She grinned before leaving the room, ignoring Klaus’ calls to her. As she continued to wander around, she found Diego, who seemed to be in deep thought. When he caught sight of his sister, his tense posture relaxed before he went to stand at her side. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Just thinkin’,” He answered. “About what you said about Mom… how she raised us all and cared for us… makes me wonder how Luther could just choose her over Dad…” He shook his head and clenched his jaw. (Y/N) surveyed his expression, gently nudging him.

“I just don’t think Luther has much of an emotional connection with Mom… Not like you do,” He turned to her with a questioning gaze. “Oh, come on, Diego. You are a Mama’s Boy and you know it. But it’s not a bad thing! It’s not like Dad gave a shit about her. It’s good that someone checks up on her and actually takes her thoughts and emotions into consideration. You have no idea how good it feels to hear your kids ask how you’re doing.” The two shared a soft chuckle as they headed towards the rooms again. They halted their steps, however, when they heard guns cocking. Slowly turning in the direction it came from, they saw two people in suits and creepy kids’ masks pointing guns at them, ready to shoot.

“Shit. Go, go!” Diego pushed (Y/N) forward, the two bolting down the hallway as gunshots zoomed past them. Right as Diego launched his knives and hit the intruders, a bullet grazed (Y/N)’s right outer thigh. She cried out in pain and nearly fell if it hadn’t been for Diego catching her. Without a second thought, he lifted her onto his back and ran further down the hall, swiftly swinging around a corner and hiding the best he could. As gently as possible, he set (Y/N) down to her feet, the girl holding in a wince as she supported herself on the wall.

The sound of footsteps echoed and increased in volume. Just when they were right beside the two, Diego jumped out of their hiding place and attacked the taller intruder with his knife. (Y/N) heard him call out for his partner to shoot, but they couldn’t get a clear shot of Diego, not being able to see (Y/N) from where they were. Diego kicked his opponent against the wall before taking off down the hall, but not before grabbing his sister. She tried to ignore the throbbing in her leg as they ran just above the parlor. Without warning, Diego wrapped his arms around her and threw them off the bannister, landing on the couch in the parlor. Since he had broken her fall, her body nearly knocked the wind out of him, but he didn’t let himself recover. He jumped off of the couch with (Y/N) and hid behind a table. Once his arms were removed from her frame, she tried to stop the bleeding in her leg by pressing down on her wound. Diego placed his own hand down over hers, eyes moving around frantically before they landed on the portrait of Reginald on the wall across from them, bullets lodged into his face.

Footsteps approached the parlor and his head snapped in their direction. “(Y/N), stay here.” He whispered right beside her ear. She looked up and shook her head.

“No, I wanna help-”

“Do not help. Stay fucking here.” He violently hissed before starting to shuffle away, but he didn’t get very far, for bullets started flying towards them. Diego quickly wrapped his arms around his sister again and threw them down to the floor, his body curling over hers. The bullets stopped and they heard fighting, (Y/N) recognizing Allison’s grunts. Diego moved himself from his sister and allowed her to climb onto his back again. She whimpered as she willed herself to move and wrap her legs around his waist, arms around his neck. When Diego stood, the two intruders had been thrown out of the room by Luther. Allison whirled towards Diego with wide eyes.

“Who the hell are these guys?! (Y/N), did they hurt you?!”

“Yeah, kinda…” She sighed as Luther turned to them.

“You’re welcome.” His words made (Y/N) groan as Diego shifted her on his back.

“I was doing fine!”

“Oh, yeah, you really had them-”

“(Y/N) is fucking hurt, what the hell did you want me-” Diego stopped talking when the intruders started shooting once again, everyone ducking down. In his haste, (Y/N) had fallen off his back and landed on the ground. She started to do an army crawl out of the room along with her brother, who yelled for Luther and Allison to go. When the two were on their feet again, Diego grabbed her hand and continued to run, the intruders heading to the opposite direction. “We need to get you to a safe place!”

“Nowhere is really safe at this point!” (Y/N) let him drag her wherever. He eventually stopped and turned her towards him. Sweat covered her forehead and blood seeped through her pants. Her eyes met his, full of concern. She shook her head and shakily sung her tune, her clone appearing beside them. Hating the order she was about to give, she clenched her teeth. “Protect me,” Immediately, the clone went to attack Diego, but (Y/N) stopped it, climbing onto its back. “Follow Diego.”

Just as the three headed towards the basement, where the shorter of the intruders had followed Allison, Klaus had been dancing around the house, completely unaware of the threat around him due to the headphones he wore. (Y/N)’s clone from earlier simply followed, standing to cover him if any bullets came near. When the three entered the basement, they saw that Allison had just been struck and was now leaning over the pool table, her lip bleeding. “You wanna rumor this psycho?” Diego questioned, Allison wiping her lip.

“I don’t need to, because this bitch just pissed me off.” She spit before turning to the woman.

“We just want the boy.” She tried to explain before Allison attacked her. Five… These bastards are looking for Five… (Y/N) thought. That information alone made her blood boil. She hopped off her clone’s back just as Allison was kicked to the ground by the intruder. Diego whistled as he approached her, the two starting their own fight. Following its second order, the clone stepped forward to follow Diego, but turned back to the stumbling (Y/N). It was confused, and she could tell. (Y/N) quietly cursed before commanding it to help her fight. The intruder broke away from Diego and Allison and headed towards (Y/N) and her lookalike. Number Eight smirked and grabbed her clone by the hand, using all her strength to swing it around. It used its legs to kick off the wall and then the woman in her chest, causing her to fall to the ground with an “oomph!”. The clone, after landing on its feet, steadied (Y/N) by her arms. This gave the intruder time to stand and make her way out of the room, but not before Diego launched, what (Y/N) could only tell as something sharp, into her leg. She cried out in pain, but continued up the stairs. The four followed her not too long afterwards, but lost her once they were at the top. (Y/N) whimpered again and hummed her second tune, the clone disappearing.

“You good?” Diego held onto her, receiving a nod in answer.

When the three made their way to the entrance, Allison cried out to Luther, who was laying on the ground in pain. (Y/N) wanted to join the two in helping him up, but her strength was wearing out, so she leaned against the wall. Looking up, she saw the female intruder going to mess with the chandelier. Luther had noticed at the same time, for they both called out for their siblings to watch out. Luther pushed Diego and Allison out of the way, allowing it to land on him. (Y/N) slumped to the floor as her breathing got shallow. She could only hope Luther had been safe before she blacked out, but not before she sang her three-note tune almost silently.

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

(Y/N) awoke to a sharp pain in her leg. She almost shot up, but felt a hand on the flat of her chest. It was Allison. “H-Hey, hey, it’s okay, sis. Just patching your leg up…”

“W-Who?” (Y/N) turned her head to see her clone, silently stitching up her leg. She let out a breath and relaxed against the cushions of the couch she was laying on. She turned her head to Vanya, who was nursing her own bleeding head with a rag. “Shit, Vanya, I didn’t even know you were here. You okay?” She received a nod from her sister before she heard footsteps. Diego walked in, his breathing shaky. Vanya looked up and called out to him softly. He turned to her with a cold stare.

“What are you still doing here?”

“I’m just trying to help-”

“No, you could’ve been killed! Or got any of us killed. Shit, we’re lucky (Y/N) didn’t die from blood loss!” He yelled before leaning closer to Allison. “She is a liability.” He muttered before heading towards (Y/N). Kneeling in front of her, he watched her face scrunch up in pain as the clone lifted her leg slightly to wrap it up. She reached over and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m okay, don’t worry…”

“I told you not to help.” He slightly growled and held the hand on his shoulder. Past the growl, (Y/N) detected a whimper. Looking into his eyes, she felt the pain in his stare. Only it was a type of pain she knew all too well.

“Diego, what happened…?” She whispered just as she saw Vanya stand from the corner of her eye. She and her brother turned and watched her leave.

“Vanya, wait.” Allison tried to rush after their sister, but Diego told her to just let Vanya go, that it was for the best. (Y/N) heavily sighed and let her head fall back against the cushions. She hoped Five was doing fine, wherever he was.

————————————

Taglist: @melinda-hargreeves @43sparrows @sapphicsyn @m00n-sh @starcurrent @alexander-hamilhoe @youcandalekmyballs @wonderlandfandomkingdom @yrdadjstcallsmekatya

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua fanfic #five hargreeves #five hargreeves x reader #tua five #number five #number five x reader #umbrella academy x reader #of starlight #tua #tua x reader #five x reader

156 notes · View notes

bubblefina · 3 years

Text

King of Hearts chapter 6

Masterlist

Summary: Reader and Tom meet during their years at Hogwarts, but as the years pass a rivalry grows between the two of them, which leads from soft beginnings to tragic endings.

“What could have caused it?” his face turned to yours, his eyes weren’t the same as the ones he used to glare at you, they looked vulnerable. “There are things about my family that just don’t make sense, I found out things that I didn’t want to find out. I found things…”

Pairings: Tom x f!reader

Warning: mentions of suicide(very briefly)

•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩•̩̩͙*˚⁺‧. •̩̩͙*˚⁺‧.˚ *•̩̩͙ ✩

Chapter 6- King of hearts

The halls were silent, only the slight sound of footprints made by prefects could be heard walking down the halls.

It was 11:45, five minutes before you had to pick up Tom from the dungeons. You stood against the wall patiently, listening carefully so if someone were to walk nearby you could hide yourself.

The dungeons were cold, cold and dark. A few dimly lighted lanterns helped to see better, but they didn’t do much. If you weren’t careful, you could trip over your own robes, but luckily you weren’t wearing your house robes tonight.

While waiting, you hear footsteps coming closer. Hiding behind a column that was nearby, you tried staying as still as possible.

The footsteps got closer until they couldn’t be heard anymore. Your heart felt as if it would beat outside your rib cage, if you were to get caught in the Slytherin dungeon as a student from another house, who knows what the punishment would be.

The footsteps were long gone, that or the person making them was as still as you. Taking a small chance, you turned your head slightly, so you could see if anyone was there, fortunately there wasn’t.

On the other hand, while you were looking away, a presence had made itself present in front of you.

“Oh my god-” your sudden outburst was cut off by the person putting their hands over your mouth.

“Seeing how this whole this was your idea, your carelessness of standing out in the open shows how stupid you really are.” It was Tom.

He removed his hand from your math and wiped it on his trousers.

“Apologies, I wasn’t expecting you to poof right in front of me. How’d you do that anyway, I didn’t hear you walk up to me.” It was more of a rhetorical question, but Tom took the time to answer it anyway.

“You can do many things if you're clever enough. For a Ravenclaw, you’re rather daft, aren’t you.” He followed you as you walked out of the dungeon and onto the main floor of the castle.

“For a Slytherin, you’re really annoying, you know that Riddle?”

Your ears perked up as you heard another set of footsteps coming from down the hall. You ushered Riddle into a nearby room and closed the door behind you.

“Nice going, are we going to spend the whole night in a broom closet?” You could hear the annoyance in his voice, at this point it might as well be his normal tone of voice.

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Riddle,” you took out your wand and pointed it in front of you, “Lumos.”

You then started to rummage through some supplies in the closet.

“What are you doing now?” Tom asks.

“I’ve gotten stuck here before when I was running away from my house's head boy. He chased me down the halls because lost a few house points.”

“How did you lose house points?”

“I may have accidentally jinxed someone.”

Tom found your playful tone amusing, he continued to ask you more questions about your experience.

“How do you accidentally jinx someone? And why?”

“Long story short, a girl from Gryffindor was gossiping about me, I overheard and put an Oppugno jinx on her, and she went and told the head of Gryffindor on me, and then 50 house points were taken from Ravenclaw, and the head boy was furious.”

“Oppugno? That seems a bit advanced for you, l/n.”

You turned from shuffling the supplies and smiled in Riddle's face, “You can do many things if you’re clever enough.”

After shuffling some more, you found a small door that was hidden behind a curtain in the corner.

“If we go through this door, it’ll lead to a trap door above this floor, then we can take the nearby corridor to the Astronomy tower.” Opening the door, you crouched down and started to crawl into the door, Riddle reluctantly followed you.

After crawling for a few minutes, you were able to stand in a small space, it was lined with stones and a few of them stuck out of the wall to act as a leverage for climbing.

Riddle had appeared next to you, waiting for the next move.

You started to climb the wall until you got to the top, and pushed the trap door open, climbing out of the small space.

“Hurry and climb up, I don’t know how long these halls will be empty for.” You reached out your hand for Tom to grab as he climbed up, but he turned away from it and pushed himself out of the door.

“Where to now?” he asks as he closes the trap door.

“If we go left, the nearby hallway should lead to the Astronomy tower,” you take a second to look at Tom before asking, “Want to run for it?”

He looks at you as if you just asked him to commit murder.

“Run? Why would we run?”

“Just in case a prefect is nearby.”

“If we run, we’d be more likely to get caught. The perfect would hear the noise.”

“You’re such a wet towel, Riddle.” You say, walking away from him and heading to another hallway.

୨୧┈┈┈୨୧୨୧┈┈┈୨୧୨୧┈┈┈୨୧

You entered the Astronomy tower by using an unlocking spell on the door. The telescopes were still there, along with the desks and stools.

Sitting down, you adjusted your telescope and looked to the place where you had seen the nebula.

“It’s still here.” you gushed.

“Did you expect it to run away?” Tom took a seat next to you.

You took the book you had gotten from the library out of the small bag that was slung over your shoulder, flipping the pages until the passage about the nebula was visible to you again.

“What do you think the rest of the paragraph was supposed to say?” you ask him.

“How am I supposed to know? I never took interest in this in the first place?” He pushes the book away from him and turns to his telescope.

“You’re such a negative Nancy you know that?”

“First I’m a goody two shoes, then a wet towel, and now I’m a negative Nancy, is there anything else you want to call me?”

“Tempered Tommy seems like it might fight you.”

Tom sent a glare your way that caused you to laugh. His serious eyes just never managed to fit in with the rest of his features, they were too innocent looking to be threatening.

Time passed as the both of you looked into your telescopes, talking about what could fit the rest of the prophecy, and writing down anything that made sense.

A few laughs were passed between the two of you here and there, but things got a bit dull after a while.

You were laying down on your back, staring at the stars. The noise of Tom scribbling stuff down on a notebook you had given him made a question pop up into your head.

“Why were you in the restricted section?” you asked, trying to break the ongoing silence that had been going on between you two.

“Why should I tell you?”

“I’m just curious. What could interest you in the restricted section that you can’t find in the open sections of the library.”

Tom stopped writing, putting the quill down. He didn’t talk or look at you, but he was debating on whether he should tell you.

“My family.”

“Your family?”

Tom nodded his head. You sat up from your position on the floor and looked at him.

“What about your family? Why would they be in the restricted section?”

Tom still didn’t turn around to look at you, which made his response that much detached.

“I was born and raised in an orphanage. I have no real family, and even if I do, I doubt they’d want me. Since I could do magic, I figured at least one of my parents could do magic. I thought it had been my father, so I looked up his name using the records, but found nothing. Then I looked up my middle name, ‘Marvolo’, and found my mother's family. The Gaunt's.”

You shifted your position, so you were sitting closer to him. He never seemed like the type to open up to just any person, what made you so special. He could have just told you ‘no’, to your question.

“My mother, I didn’t believe she could be the magic one. She died while she gave birth to me, if she was a witch, if she had magic, she couldn’t have died, she couldn’t, could she?”

Tom sounded like he was asking you that question, like he wanted reassurance. Reassurance from the fact that his mom was the magic one, and she had died.

“There could have been other reasons that your mother died.” You weren’t sure if he wanted an answer, but not saying something made it feel so much more awkward.

You patiently waited for him to finish what he was going to say, he looked like he was struggling to form another sentence.

Before he could speak, you heard a voice coming from beyond the tower door.

“Is someone up there?” the voice asked.

Looking at the door, then quickly at tom, you whispered with fear, “A prefect.”

You grabbed the book that was on the floor next to you and stood up. Tom pointed to the back of the tower and whispered that the both of you should hide behind it. You stumbled with your feet, running to the back of the tower. The both of you managed to hide before the prefect opened the door. The darkness of the tower managed to keep the both of you covered from the perfect view, who only looked around the tower for a few seconds before leaving through the door.

You exhaled a breath you didn’t even know you were holding, thanking Merlin that the both of you were able to stay hidden.

You turned to Tom, who was as still as a statue, not moving even after you started to.

“C'mon scaredy-cat, the prefect is gone, but let's go before he decides to come back for a follow-up search.” You placed the book and notebook back into your bag, moving completely out of the shaded area.

Looking back at Tom, he was still standing in the shadows, and it was creeping you out.

“Stop standing in the dark like a lunatic, let’s go before the prefect comes back.” you grabbed his wrist once more and moved him out of the shadows, heading towards the tower door.

Hopefully the both of you could make it back to your dorm rooms with no problems.

୨୧┈┈┈୨୧୨୧┈┈┈୨୧୨୧┈┈┈୨୧

Another week had passed since that night at the Astronomy tower. Not wanting to risk getting caught, you decided to wait before you could return to the tower again.

You had devised another plan and told Tom that you would meet him at the Astronomy tower that Friday night, same as the last time.

However, you couldn’t come and get him like the last time. There was a Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin earlier that day. Since Gryffindor lost the match, Slytherin was expecting petty pranks. Prefects would be patrolling the dungeons at all times.

‘Why should I run off alone? If the prefects are going to be patrolling all night, then I would be caught easily.’ Tom asked you as the both of you were walking down the hall together.

‘Because, even if you are caught you’re a Slytherin, they’ll probably just tell you to go back to your dorm. If you manage to evade them, then you can meet me at the tower.’

‘What about you? You’ll be on the tower alone.’

“What's that now, Riddle? Are you worried about me?’

Tom stopped walking, and so did you.

‘Don’t look at me like that. I’ll meet you at the tower tonight, see you later.’

That conversation took place hours ago, it was around 30 minutes before you had to leave for the Astronomy tower.

Pretending to be asleep, you were tucked under your blanket. Keeping an eye out for your friends, who seemed to be fast asleep.

That croaking frog finally managed to quiet up during the nights, which allowed you to sleep carefully for the past few days.

With 15 minutes to spare, you slipped out of your dorm and sneakily exited the Ravenclaw common room.

There were prefects all around the halls that night, more than usual. It was expected, so you took the necessary precaution to head to the Astronomy tower.

Using an opening charm, you entered the tower with ease.

Tom wasn’t there, which was expected. Why would he lock the door if he knew you were coming?

You had waited in your seat and kept yourself occupied by looking through the telescope. The nebula was still shining brightly.

How weird was it that you and Tom were the ones to see the nebula, out of everyone that was looking into the sky that night.

Waiting had felt like a chore. Usually Tom was very punctual with his time, seemed to be the first in every class, first everywhere, actually.

Perhaps he was caught by a prefect and was sent back to his dorm?

‘I hope not, it’s no fun being up here alone.’ you let go of your telescope and just stared into the sky. Being entrapped in your thoughts and fantasies, you didn’t hear the door open behind you.

“You’re truly insufferable, you know that?”

Startled, you looked behind you and saw Tom. He was breathing hard, his hair a bit messy, and face a bit flushed.

“Riddle! What took you so long, and why do you look like you ran here?” your eyes followed him as he sat on his seat next to you.

“I don't know, maybe because I did run. A prefect caught sight of me leaving the dungeons, I sprinted all the way here. I hated it.”

“You sprinted away, just to have the chance to meet with me?” you touched your chest, you were being sarcastic, and he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself. If it weren’t for you blackmailing me, I would have left a while ago.”

Riddle looked into his telescope and ignored all the dramatics you were doing.

“You know, I have a story that goes well with us looking at the nebula.” Your dramatics were over and done with, but you still wanted to talk to him.

“What story would that be?” Tom still sounded uninterested, but he knew you wouldn’t stop bothering him if he didn’t answer.

“The story about the King of Hearts.”

Tom looked at you with one of his brows raised, “There’s a story about a card figure?”

“There’s a story behind everything, Riddle.” You moved your seat closer to him, which made him scoot backwards.

Ignoring his weirded expression, you continued with your story.

“My mom used to tell me stories about how each figure on the deck of cards represented a European monarch. I took interest in the king of hearts, mainly because the story of his card is weird.”

“Hm, alright then. Indulge me.” Tom, who seemed a little interested, turned his attention away from his telescope and focused it on you.

“The king of hearts was represented by a king named ‘Charlemagne’, who ruled over France. He was a good king and ruler overall. The part that interested me about the King of Hearts was that he was nicknamed ‘the suicide king’.”

“I didn’t know you were into stuff like that.”

“I’m not into it, I just found it interesting that he was called that.”

Tom rolled his eyes and told you to continue with your story before he stopped taking interest.

“He’s called the suicide king because in the picture, he is seen stabbing himself in the head. Apparently it was a printing mistake of some sort, but that’s not what I’ve been told.”

“What were you told?”

“I was told that it was someone else that was stabbing him.”

“Why would you stab a king?”

“You know how sometimes kings turn into tyrants, instead of guiding their followers they control them with fear. Someone needs to stop them. I was told that kings are usually killed by the person they trust most. Maybe someone in the king of hearts court, you know.” you made a stabbing motion with your hands, making Riddle laugh.

“I doubt someone as powerful as a king would let someone lower than them have the opportunity to kill him.”

“You never know, when you really trust someone, you wouldn’t think they’d do anything bad to you.”

Riddle stopped smiling, his lips forming into a straight line.

“Would you do that? Kill the person you’re closest with?” he asks.

“Under what circumstance? I wouldn’t kill someone randomly, or at all for that matter.”

“If they turned into a tyrant, and were hurting people. Would you do it, if you had the chance to?”

“If they were out hurting people, killing people. Doing immoral things...if I had the chance, I guess I would.”

The both of you just stared at each other after you gave your response. The silence, ironically, was loud, you didn’t know how you should continue the conversation.

“It’s getting late, I think we should get back before the prefects check here,” Tom stood up from his seat and headed towards the door, “Goodnight.” He says before he exits through the door.

You sat there, confused. He left out of the blue, with a lame excuse for that matter. Did the story bore him? Make him uncomfortable? Who knows. It’s so hard to read him sometimes, he’s like a different type of human being.

Picking up your bag, you opened the tower door and walked down the stairs.

Tom wasn’t anywhere to be found. That was weird, you had left mere moments after he did, how was he able to get back to his common room so quickly?

Heading back to your dorm room as quietly as you could, you shut the door gently behind you and step towards your bed. Before you could make another movement, the lights flashed on and there stood your friends, who all had curious looks on their faces.

“Where have you been, young lady?” asks Melissa.

You stood still, unsure of what to do or say. How could you explain to them what was going on without having them misunderstand?

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

Bonus: I found this gif of the heart nebula, and it fit so I thought I’d just put it in here for fun (っ＾▿＾)۶🍸🌟🍺٩(˘◡˘ )

credit to the gif owner ^^

#tom riddle #tom riddle imagine #tom riddle x reader #tom riddle x you #tom riddle fanfiction #voldemort #daddy voldy #hogwarts #harry potter #original character #hocrux #King of Hearts

48 notes · View notes

fangirlandiknowit101 · 3 years

Text

Here's the sad pining sasuke i wrote last night... it's not finished and who knows when/if i'll finish it. university AU, not edited and there's some naru//hina and sasuke//OC bc i couldn't think of a canon character that fit. The texting part is also weird bc i wrote it all very fast lol. i'm sharing bc why not *shrugs*

xxx

It hurts, to look at them.

Sasuke can’t help himself. Naruto is his best friend, after all, and he’s not yet so desperate that he’ll avoid him. It’s worse, somehow, that he can’t even dislike her.

She’s good for him, he thinks, when he’s feeling particularly self-deprecating. Her hair is dark and her skin pale as porcelain, and that’s where the similarities end between him and Hinata.

Sweet, and so patient with Naruto. Soft-spoken, but not a pushover. Impeccably dressed, always, no make-up needed to outshine any girl beside her. A picture perfect couple, that’s what they are. It wouldn’t be so bad if he didn’t have to watch it unfold from the front row.

How her shyness turned to surety, how her eyes would catch on Naruto and look away before, but now – now she looks at him like he belongs to her, soft smile on her plump lips.

Sasuke can’t even hate her, and he wishes he could.

It’s not her fault that Sasuke is the way he is. She doesn’t know, isn’t doing it on purpose. And yet, there’s a stab to Sasuke’s chest every time she takes his hand, every time Naruto tucks her silky hair behind her perfect ear.

Naruto will kiss her cheek and Sasuke will be looking, always looking. His face devoid of emotion, his voice carefully neutral. He can’t be mean to Naruto’s girlfriend, though he wishes he could. Maybe if Naruto got mad at him and pushed him away, Sasuke would be free to move on.

It’s more likely that Sasuke would apologize and do better, and he’d rather spare himself the embarrassment.

Sometimes he imagines that Hinata will find out, that she’ll start treating him with suspicion, watch his every move with her wide eyes. Feel threatened by him. But Sasuke is no threat. He’s tired and hurting, but he’s not a homewrecker. It would be a lot easier if Naruto didn’t keep nudging him in Sakura’s direction.

It’s not Sakura’s fault, either. She’s dreaming of something she can’t have, and the similarities make him sick to his stomach.

Sometimes he thinks he’ll date her, live the lie to the fullest. Give her what she wants, since he’s doomed anyway. He doubts he’d last long, though. If he had even the slightest bit of interest in women – but when he looks at her, there’s just no attraction. He’s not sure how no one’s noticed yet. It’s not like he’s that good of an actor. He thinks the only reason no one’s figured it out is because he’s so deep in the closet, and they’re all so heterosexual. Why would they suspect he’s gay? It suits them better if he isn’t.

“Oh, I didn’t realize it was that late already,” Sakura says beside him, breaking him out of his thoughts.

The bar is lively around them, but the music is at a bearable noise level. She’s looking at her phone, frowning. On the other side of the small table, Naruto pouts.

“It’s not late!” he objects, the beer in his glass sloshing around as he waves his hands around. “We just got here!”

“We’ve been here for three hours, I think,” Hinata says, leaning her cheek on his shoulder.

Sasuke wonders how she manages, the way he moves around so much. Perhaps her body is as soft as her voice, easily following him.

“I told you I have to get up early tomorrow.” Sakura sighs, irritated. She fishes her bag up from the floor, putting her phone inside it. “I really have to get going.”

“I’ll walk you to the station,” Sasuke offers. Not because he particularly wants to, but he’s not in the mood to subject himself to third-wheeling Naruto and Hinata. “I should get going, anyway.”

“What?” Naruto looks disappointed, more disappointed than when Sakura announced her departure. “I thought you were free tomorrow.”

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke swallows down the last of his drink.

“Doesn’t mean I want to stay up all night,” he counters with, easing out of the booth. “I still have to study.”

“You study too much,” Naruto mutters, giving Hinata a smile like an afterthought when she squeezes his arm.

“Maybe if you studied at all you wouldn’t need to panic before every exam,” Sakura nags at him, coming around the table to wait next to Sasuke. “Some of us care about our grades.”

“Nerds.” At least Naruto looks a little happier, and Sasuke hates to think that it’s because he thinks anything’s going to happen between him and Sakura. “Don’t get lost, you two!”

They say their goodbyes, and Sasuke tries to pretend he doesn’t notice how Sakura’s cheeks fill with color when they step outside the bar. She’s put a jacket on, but Sasuke’s fine in his sweater. It’s not cold enough that her blush can be blamed on the weather.

“Thanks for walking me,” she says, hefting her bag higher up her shoulder. She’d joined them straight from the library, researching her latest paper. “You didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine,” he tells her, hands tucked into his sleeves.

He doesn’t want to run the risk of her attempting to reach for his hand. As much as he dislikes her attention, it’s safer if she thinks he’s just playing hard to get. He won’t have to explain, then, why he hasn’t outright told her to give up. He should, he knows. But Naruto would just nudge him towards some other girl, would bother him about it until Sasuke started going on actual dates. It’s touching, how worried he is over Sasuke potentially being lonely.

Too bad Naruto himself is the cause of it.

“You’re not doing anything tomorrow, then?” Sakura asks, stepping aside as they meet a group of half-drunk businessmen. “I’m working until five…”

It would be so easy to invite her out. To suggest a movie, or trying out that new café near campus. To watch her eyes light up with hope, watch her mouth stretch into an excited smile.

“I really do need to study,” he says. “And I’m almost out of clean clothes.”

None of it is a lie, technically. He’s just not sure he’ll actually do either of those things tomorrow.

“Oh.”

She tries to hide her disappointment, and Sasuke is an expert by now at pretending he doesn’t notice. They walk the rest of the way in silence, waving a quick goodbye at the ticket gates as Sakura’s train is due to arrive in just two minutes. Sasuke buys a drink from a vending machine and takes small sips as he waits for his own, mindlessly scrolling through social media. He almost ignores the text Naruto sends.

> Wanna hang out tomorrow?

He contemplates it. On the one hand, yes, of course he wants to. On the other, having an entire day to himself has its appeal.

> I’ll be busy

> Ooh, with sakura?

The train arrives, and Sasuke snags a seat next to a couple too caught up with each other to pay attention to him.

> No

> Got studying and laundry to do

The reply is instant.

> That’s too boring!!! I’m coming over for lunch

> Whatever

He pockets his phone, and stares down at the bottle in his hands for the rest of the trip. It doesn’t help against the warmth rising in his chest. At least he doesn’t do this to Sakura – doesn’t invite himself into her space, ignorant of her feelings. It doesn’t make him feel better.

xxx

Sasuke doesn’t have a lot of friends. He’s got Naruto, and then there’s his small group of friends from high school. Naruto is the only one who still lives nearby. Rather, Sasuke had ended up staying in Konoha like him. It’s a big enough city that most of his classmates are strangers, although slightly less so in their second year. He stayed with his parents for his first year, but when one of his cousins moved abroad for work he took the opportunity to stay at her apartment instead. It’s closer to his university, and if he, potentially, wanted to bring a guy home then no one would know.

He doesn’t think his parents would mind, but there wouldn’t be any privacy. He relishes in it, and Naruto does, too.

“I should just move in with you,” Naruto groans, spread out on his couch. “You wouldn’t believe how annoying my mom was this morning.”

“I think I can believe it,” Sasuke tells him, cleaning up after their lunch. “And just to be clear, I’ve never said you’d be welcome to live here.”

“Stingy,” Naruto grumbles. “How long is your cousin gone, anyway?”

Shrugging, Sasuke dries off the counter just for something to do with his hands.

“A year at least. We’ll see. So it’s not like I’ll be living here forever.”

“But still!”

“Where would you even sleep?”

Naruto happily pats the couch. When Sasuke scowls at him, he simply grins.

“Come on,” Naruto says. “I want to watch a movie.”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I need to study.”

Still, he gives in too easily. Naruto lifts his legs to give him room, dumping them all over Sasuke’s lap once he sits down. It’s things like this that makes Sasuke’s heart refuse to give up. He leans his elbow on the back of the couch, cheekbone pressed to his closed fist. He doesn’t say anything when Naruto picks a drama at random, letting him comment on the plot as much as he wants. Watching movies with Naruto is certainly never quiet, and he winces as Naruto kicks his legs as he shouts his anger at the main character.

When the movie ends, Naruto doesn’t start a new one. Instead he chews on his bottom lip, playing with the remote. Sasuke considers getting up to use the toilet, maybe suggesting going to the corner store for snacks, but then Naruto clears his throat suspiciously.

“What?” he asks, irritated when Naruto takes his time.

“So, how are things going with Sakura?”

He resists the urge to pinch his nose. He still lets out a heavy breath, not quite a sigh but close enough that Naruto frowns.

“I mean,” Naruto continues, “you could just ask her out. She’s definitely going to say yes.”

Sasuke shifts, uncomfortable. Naruto’s legs are still on top of his. His socks have little frogs on them.

“I’ve told you I’m not really into the idea of a relationship right now.”

“Uh-huh.” Naruto rolls his eyes, pushing himself up and finally removing his legs, crossing them at the ankles instead. “Sounds like excuses to me.”

“Just drop it, Naruto.”

“But if you get together things will be so much easier,” Naruto insists, poking at his arm. “We can go on double dates, and stuff.”

Sending him a glare, Sasuke pulls a leg up to his chest. It won’t prevent Naruto if he decides to get comfy on his lap again, but it might make him think twice at least. Naruto’s only wearing shorts, and all that naked skin isn’t good for his heart. It’s definitely too cold for it, but Naruto’s never been one to care about the weather.

“We already go places together.”

“Yeah, but it’s not the same!”

Sasuke pinches his lips, looking away. If he’s not careful, those large blue eyes will convince him to cave in, and then he’ll find himself with a girlfriend. He does a lot for Naruto, but there are limits.

“I’m not going to ask her out,” he mutters, knowing it will only lead to more questioning.

Sure enough, Naruto makes a noise of protest.

“But you haven’t rejected her either!”

“She hasn’t asked me out either.”

“It’s obvious she likes you.”

“That’s her problem.”

Naruto kicks at his thigh, using his heel. He looks properly annoyed now, as if Sasuke is a petulant child, refusing to do what’s best for him.

“If you got over yourself for a minute, you’d realize what a catch she is!”

He doesn’t reply. Let Naruto think he’s just stubborn, or an asshole, or whatever. Let him think Sasuke’s just stringing her along, keeping her attention while refusing to commit. It’s better than the alternative.

“Leave it, Naruto,” he warns, getting up and moving to the kitchen. “We’re not talking about this.”

At least Naruto doesn’t follow him, though it doesn’t make much of a difference. The apartment is small, no wall separating the kitchen from the living room. He searches through his cabinets, locating a forgotten bag of wasabi peas. He throws them at Naruto’s head.

“Eat these and shut up,” he says.

To his relief, Naruto does as told.

xxx

He picks up the call from Karin half-distracted, mind still stuck on a question for tomorrow’s seminar. As usual, she doesn’t wait for him to say hi, making her wince with the volume of her voice.

“Do you have any idea how tiring it is to listen to Naruto whine about you?” she starts with, the background noise suggesting she’s outdoors. “Can’t you just tell him you’re gay and put me out of my misery.”

“No thanks.” He drops his pen on his desk, rubbing at his eyes. He regrets not going to the university library, at least then he wouldn’t have been able to pick up the call. “Was that all? I’m kind of busy.”

“You know, this is exactly why I moved away,” she continues, ignoring him. “I thought I could get away from all the high school-level drama. Just get yourself a boyfriend, and go on those stupid double dates my cousin is so desperately yearning for. How hard can it be?!”

He can feel a headache incoming, and he rubs his fingertips between his brows. Naruto had sulked for hours the day before, until Sasuke got sick of it and threw him out. It was definitely backhanded of him to call Karin and complain.

“If you really wanted to be left out of it, why are you calling me? That’s the opposite of not getting involved.”

“Because it’s really painful and I’m morally obligated as the only person with functional brain cells to tell you to move on. Juugo’s too nice to say it and Suigetsu would give you terrible advice and sit back and watch. I’m being nicer to you than you deserve.”

“By telling me to move on,” Sasuke deadpans, wondering why his parents couldn’t have settled down somewhere else.

“Well, someone has to do it! Clearly I’m the gay cousin in the family, so you’re screwed. Might as well get over it and get laid.”

“I really hate you sometimes, you know that?”

She huffs at him, traffic and broken conversations filtering through the phone. There’s the jingle of a shop’s door, and the noise cuts off.

“Your pining is just getting sad,” she eventually replies, distractedly. “Trust me, I know my cousin. He’s not worth it.”

Something unpleasant churns in Sasuke’s stomach. He wants to argue with her that he is worth it, but he doesn’t want to land himself in an hour-long lecture if he can help it. He rolls his neck, making a face. She’s got a point, but he doesn’t enjoy hearing it. His life would be a lot simpler if he could find someone who made him forget about Naruto. He’s just not sure it’s fair to expect someone to instantly replace a lifetime of friendship.

“I don’t think I should have to come out just because Naruto irritates you,” is what he says instead, leaning back in his chair. “What if my parents find out and disown me? You want to be responsible for that?”

“Sasuke,” she sighs, “your brother is literally gay and your parents love his boyfriend.”

“So?”

“Stop. Making. Excuses.”

He bites his cheek, holding back a denial. He’s not worried about his parents, he’s worried about Naruto’s reaction. That things will change between them. That he’ll think Sasuke has feelings for him, which would be correct but would also ruin absolutely everything.

“I’ll… consider it,” he concedes, after a long silence, during which Karin has finished buying whatever it was she needed.

“Really? Because I’m going to hold you to that.”

He sighs.

“Next time I’m not picking up when you call me.”

xxx

A few weeks pass, and not much changes. Naruto still takes up too much space in his head and life, Sakura continues to drop hints but refuses to make the first move, and Hinata is still as lovely as ever. She doesn’t seem to have much of a personality other than being Naruto’s girlfriend, but to be fair Sasuke hasn’t precisely paid attention or tried to get to know her. Naruto’s birthday is drawing closer, and he can’t bring himself to do anything to break the status quo before then.

He’s been considering it, though. It would be a relief to stop pretending. He can’t imagine himself finding a boyfriend, though, because where would he even meet someone? It’s too awkward to use a dating app, and he’s not precisely social. He doesn’t have any experience, either, if you don’t count those childish games they played sometimes when they were younger. And that one time Naruto kissed him by accident when they were twelve.

Because of this, he’s really not expecting it when one day in class, just as the lecture ends, his eyes fall on the messenger bag that the guy next to him has just finished packing. There’s a rainbow pin on it, and Sasuke blurts out his question before he can stop to think about it.

“Are you gay?”

He only lifts his eyes from the pin when the surprised silence stretches out a bit too long. Their eyes meet, and the other boy is staring at him like he’s not sure how to react.

“Uh,” he says eventually, fingers clenching around the bag’s strap. “I mean, yes? But if you’re thinking about the pin it’s just a regular rainbow…”

He trails off, and Sasuke feels his cheeks heat up a bit. He can’t believe he just asked, when he himself has gone to such lengths to make sure no one made such assumptions about him.

“Sorry,” he apologizes. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s fine.”

Maybe he should know the guy’s name, but he doesn’t. He’s pretty short, hair dyed a light brown and glasses perched on his nose. Cute, but Sasuke’s not sure he’s his type. He’s not sure he has a type, other than Naruto.

“Are you gay?” the guy asks him, eyebrows rising above the frame of his glasses.

Sasuke licks his lips. He could say no, but to what end?

“I am,” he forces out, breathing in a deep breath.

“Oh.” There’s red color blooming on the other boy’s face, his eyes flickering to the side for a moment. “I was kind of hoping, but, um… I mean, hoping sounds weird! Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you to ask outright.”

When Sasuke stands up, he realizes he’s almost a head taller than him.

“I’m Sasuke,” he offers, clicking his laptop shut and slowly sliding it into his bag.

“I know. I mean! I’m Hiroshi. Nice to meet you.”

Sasuke nods, and awkwardly turns to leave. Hiroshi stops him with a hand to his arm, though, and Sasuke swallows nervously as the turns back. He’s not interested in Hiroshi, not really, but he’s never been asked out by a boy before and the novelty of the situation is getting to him.

“Do you, um, are you busy right now? We could have lunch?”

He weighs the pros and cons in his mind. As nervous as Hiroshi looks, there’s a determined glint in his eyes that sways Sasuke over.

“Okay,” he says, and just like that he’s doing what Karin told him to do.

He’s trying, at least.

xxx

Over the course of a week, including having coffee together and a visit to the aquarium, Sasuke learns a lot about Hiroshi. Or Hiro, as he likes his friends to call him. They don’t have too much in common, but they’re both gay and studying agricultural economics. Once Hiro gets over his initial shyness, Sasuke finds he’s got a great sense of humor and won’t hesitate to poke fun at him.

It’s a breath of relief, to spend time with someone who doesn’t know him from before. He didn’t realize how much he needed it – just being able to be himself, without constantly keeping himself in check.

He can’t fool himself to think it’s enough to replace Naruto, but maybe he doesn’t need to replace him. Maybe it’s enough that Hiro seems to like him. He doesn’t really think about it, when he invites Hiro over on a Saturday night, after they’d had dinner at a nice udon place.

“Oh, wow,” Hiro says as he steps into Sasuke’s apartment, making an impressed face. “Nice place.”

“It’s my cousin’s, so no need to sound so impressed.”

Hiro rolls his eyes, taking off his shoes and jacket and following Sasuke inside.

“Alright, I’ll try to keep it in,” he teases, sitting on the couch when Sasuke motions him towards it. “But it must be nice, to have your own place like this. The dorms are fine, but I can’t exactly bring guys there.”

Humming his agreement, Sasuke grabs two cans of soda from the fridge, handing one of them to Hiro when he sinks down on the couch next to him.

“Want to watch something?”

Hiro nods, and Sasuke brings the TV to life. He’s not expecting anything to happen – they’ve only known each other a week. He’s still coming to terms with having a friend other than Karin he can talk to like this, and she doesn’t really count since there was never the potential for anything to happen between them. Hiro is… potentially someone Sasuke could date. At least there’s nothing wrong with him, not yet, and Sasuke’s easing himself into the idea of getting to know him better.

He finds a movie at random, some sci-fi that doesn’t look terrible. The movie turns into background noise as they talk, Hiro’s eyes watching his face more than the screen. It’s nice, in a new, exhilarating way, to have a guy’s attention on him like this. He’s not sure what to do with it. When Hiro moves closer, knee touching Sasuke’s thigh, hand resting on the back of the couch and occasionally touching his neck, Sasuke can’t find it in him to move away.

It feels like a secret, shared between the two of them. He thinks of Naruto for a long moment, allows himself the pain lacing through his chest as he imagines light brown hair replaced with blond, dark eyes replaced with blue. Then, he pushes it away, tells himself he can have this. The emotions are only his own.

It’s all happening too fast when Hiro grows bold, leaning in to press their mouths together, but he doesn’t care. It’s no one’s business if he spends the evening on his couch with a boy in his lap, a boy who isn’t his best friend.

The pain is easier to swallow if he tells himself that he’s the only one hurt.

#at this point i'm just writing whatever's in my head #something is better than nothing #i hate tumblr's formatting

25 notes · View notes

loveisnotadagger · 3 years

Text

Love is Healing - Chapter Three

Chapter 3/?

Warning: There are brief descriptions of Loki's wounds in this chapter. I don't think it's too graphic, but it is there.

After all the Avengers left the room Loki relaxed only slightly. His mother showing up on Midgard to reveal his punishment had thrown him a bit – if one could actually call this a punishment after all he'd been through with Thanos.

Loki had expected to be taken back to Asgard. He'd expected to have to face Odin. He'd expected to be locked up like a criminal. What he hadn't expected was to receive the same punishment as Thor had received when he'd gone to Jotunheim and almost caused all-out war with the Frost Giants.

"You've always wanted to be treated equally to Thor. I convinced Odin to do it this once," Frigga said. "Things could be worse."

Loki looked at his mother and glared faintly. "Define worse."

From what his mother had said earlier in response to Arianna's words about him having a reason for bringing war to Midgard, Loki assumed Frigga knew at least part of what he'd been through. She would know that physical punishment was all relative to him now. Maybe that was why Odin had agreed to this insane solution.

"You realize this punishment is meant to be for your own good," Frigga said. "Maybe you will find your humanity here? A light to fend off the darkness."

"And there is darkness."

Thor, who had been almost completely silent, said, "This will help, brother. I learned much when I was mortal here."

Loki outwardly ignored Thor and continued looking at his mother. He really did love his mother and he knew she loved him.

"You would leave me here defenseless against this world? This world that has been through much destruction in my name?"

Without his powers how would he protect himself?

The Man of Iron and Arianna didn't seem too violent, and the patriotic one wouldn't hurt a defenseless person. But Agents' Barton and Romanoff had every reason to want him dead, and the green beast was downright frightening. And what of the Chitauri and Thanos?

Loki had to suppress a shudder that wanted to take over his body. He couldn't take anymore torture. He just couldn't.

"Befriend Arianna," Frigga said. "She has a good heart." ----------

Arianna and the other Avengers – Dr. Banner included - had been out of the penthouse and downstairs for about thirty minutes. During that time Tony had been on the phone with his contractors. They would start rebuilding the penthouse first thing in the morning.

Arianna knew Tony wouldn't only help rebuild Stark Tower. He would also help pay for the damage that had been done to Manhattan earlier. Tony could help heal too, in a way, by making things appear as if they'd never been destroyed.

"I should be out there," Arianna said, pacing back and forth.

"And risk exposing yourself?" Natasha asked. "You know you have to wait."

Yes, she knew she had to wait. She knew she couldn't just go out and heal people on the streets even though she wanted to. She had to wait until the streets had been cleared a little and the wounded had been taken to the hospital

She'd made the mistake before by going public with her abilities and it had gotten her under government surveillance. That was how SHIELD had gotten hold of her. The reason she wasn't actually a field agent was because only Natasha and Clint knew Arianna could do more than heal the wounded.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that Mama Bear put our littlest Avenger in charge of her crazy son?" Tony asked, off the phone now.

"Was planning on it," Arianna said, rolling her eyes. "And I'm hardly the littlest Avenger. I'm taller than Natasha.

"Arianna!" a thunderous voice boomed from the staircase to their left. "Healer, come quickly!"

Arianna was already on her way to the stairs. She'd started moving as soon as she'd heard her name.

"What? What is it?"

"My brother is in need of assistance."

At the mention of Loki Natasha began following Arianna. Of course she wasn't going to let Arianna face him alone.

"Is he . . . powerless now?"

"It's much worse," was Thor's response. ---------- At the doorway of the penthouse, Loki's and Thor's mother was pacing back and forth. She seemed agitated and overwhelmed. She quickly broke her stride when Arianna reached her.

Frigga grabbed her hand and began leading Arianna into the room. Loki wasn't where he had been. In fact, Arianna didn't see Loki at all at first, and she didn't feel him either.

One of the things she hated about being able to invade minds was the leftover vibes she would get from the people whose minds she'd invaded. She could usually tell when said people were nearby.

Right now all she could feel was the worry coming from Frigga. She was thankful that there weren't any images to go with it.

"Where's Loki?"

Had they been tricked? Had Thor actually let Loki go after all the trouble they'd gone through to capture him?

"He's resting. It seems . . ." Frigga began, and Arianna noticed how the woman's eyes glistened. "Loki is a master of illusions. Without his magic . . ."

Frigga stiffened and looked behind Arianna. Arianna looked over her shoulder and was shocked to see everyone from downstairs there in the doorway.

"They won't hurt him," she said, hoping to get rid of whatever fear the woman may have had.

"It's not that. I just don't wish for them to see Loki this way. He wouldn't want him to see him this way."

"Oh. Well, they will see him anyway. He will be staying with me, and I will be staying here for the time being."

"Um . . . this is my house," Tony said from behind her.

"Yes," Arianna answered, turning around. "But none of you want me alone with Loki, so . . ."

"She has a point," Clint said. "She shouldn't be alone with him."

"I assure you, he cannot harm anyone now." Frigga grabbed Arianna's arm. "Come."

Arianna was led to the couch and around it. An audible gasp escaped her and bile threatened to rise. She swallowed compulsively.

Before her was a beaten and bloodied Loki. There were cuts and bruises everywhere she could see. His armor had been removed along with everything covering his upper body, and he was no longer restrained. He was laid out over the couch and he was on his stomach. Lashes from whips covered the pale skin of his back. There were scorch marks along his arms and back as well.

"What happened?" Arianna's voice shook with the effort it took her to not yell. "He didn't look like this before, so what happened?"

"His magic was removed. He must've been covering it up."

Loki must have had a serious endurance for pain because she hadn't seen any sign of him being wounded before. She had seen his memories – or some of them, at least – but she'd had no idea what she'd seen and felt had happened so recently.

She now knew why Frigga didn't want the others seeing Loki like this. He would probably be humiliated once he woke up.

"Can you help him?"

"I . . . it will take time. If I try to heal everything at once, it won't end well for me."

"Just do what you can."

Arianna nodded and moved forward until she reached the resting form that was Loki. She knelt beside him, the irony of which was not lost on her.

On closer inspection, Arianna realized that Loki was extremely malnourished. In fact, she was certain that if he'd been human before now he would've been dead.

"Dr. Banner, we need an IV drip. Now."

She didn't look up from Loki, taking it on faith that Bruce would listen. He was a pretty nice guy when he wasn't green.

"Tony, I know you can help him with that."

If Tony didn't have medical equipment in the building, he would know where to get some quickly.

Arianna brought her hands up and let them hover over Loki's back. She didn't really want to touch him, didn't want to feel what he'd been through, not again, but he did need to be healed. His whole body was probably teeming with infection. Now that he was mortal, he would need help fighting it off.

"Tash, go tell Banner he'll need antibiotics too."

Loki's body was filthy, but that was the least of her worries.

"Clint, I'm gonna need some warm water and a wash cloth. Cap, I need Tony to set up a room for him."

After each Avenger left to do his or her duty Frigga touched Arianna's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you."

"It's nothing. I didn't understand until I saw him."

Arianna jumped when a broken and shaky breath escaped Loki's lungs. She didn't know what that meant. She could heal people, but she wasn't a doctor.

"Ms . . . um . . . Loki's mom, I will have to clean him first. I can't leave the infection there. I may have to wait to heal the lashes."

"Please call me Frigga."

"Frigga."

"And what of the bruises?" Thor, who was standing off to the side, asked.

Arianna smiled softly. "Those I can heal."

Regardless of her fear, Arianna gently touched Loki's back. She had to fight her very nature so she wouldn't be pulled into whatever nightmare he was having, and she knew he was having a nightmare.

Arianna forced herself to focus so she could heal the bruises that littered Loki's skin. She was fairly certain the bruises were from when Bruce had lost his temper and banged Loki around a bit. Well, when the Hulk had banged Loki around a bit.

She didn't force her energy into Loki. In the state he was in it might throw him into shock. Plus, it was just rude, forcing your energy in to try and meld with someone else's. She was aiming for a stream not an ocean.

She was glad Loki was unconscious, though, because he might have known how to steal energy, latch on and just take, and she didn't want that either.

"Does anyone know how long he's been . . . tortured?"

"Perhaps a year," Thor said. "He's been away for a year."

"A whole year? You didn't know where he was?"

"I . . . we thought he was dead. We didn't know he –"

"The burns," Frigga interrupted. "Can you heal those? They are probably what bothered him the most."

Arianna nodded. She would do all that she could.

"It will take time," she said. "I am human and will have to rest frequently, but it will get done." ---------- "His room is ready," Bruce said. "We were able to get the saline and the antibiotics."

"Good. We may need to take him to the lab, though. I sensed there was internal damage. I need to know how bad it is."

Bruce helped move Loki, and Tony met them down in the lab. Arianna would have preferred being alone aside from Thor and Frigga, but it was Tony's lab and Bruce was an actual doctor.

Besides, she had no idea how to use the equipment in Tony's lab.

Arianna cleaned Loki off as best as she could, considering only the upper half of his body was free of clothing. The bruises Loki had been burdened with before were gone as they had been the easiest to heal, but everything else was the same on the outside.

Once she'd sensed internal damage, Arianna had decided to take a break to conserve her energy in case the damage was so bad that Loki would need immediate attention.

X-rays and Cat-scans were taken, revealing broken ribs and damaged lungs. Arianna was fairly certain that these particular wounds had come from the Hulk swinging him around and smashing him against the floor multiple times.

Bruce made sure the bones were set right before Arianna sent enough energy into Loki to help jumpstart the healing of his ribs. Then she changed her focus to his lungs.

Him being able to breathe on his own was the most important thing, in her opinion. It would save them the time it would take to hook him up to a bunch of machines, assuming Tony even had the equipment they would need for that.

Once Loki was stable enough, Arianna moved onto healing the burns littered across his skin. Or she tried to. The burns were extensive and to heal those she would have to manipulate his tissue to heal itself, which was hard by itself. Add in her exhaustion from all the healing she'd already done, and it was almost impossible.

She felt as if she'd been going at it for hours, and it wasn't until her head was hurting and her nose was bleeding that she realized she needed a break.

That and Tony saying, "A'right, Miss Miracle, you need food and a nap."

"I . . . okay, yeah. Is he gonna be okay if I stop?"

"He's as stable as he can be at the moment," Bruce said. "And he's better than he was."

"Are we leaving him down here, or . . . ?"

"We can take him to his room," Tony said. "I set up a room for you too, right next to his. Jarvis will keep watch." ---------- Arianna ate something small to put Tony's mind at ease, and it helped her headache go away. She wasn't able to sleep, however, even though she did lie down for over an hour in the bed Tony had provided.

She kept thinking about the words she'd pulled from Loki's mind. She hadn't meant to, but it happened when she was so fully connected to someone, and with the amount of healing she'd done to Loki, she was very much connected to him.

He was having nightmares and that was where the words had come from. One of his tormentors must've been equipped with the mission to make Loki feel unwanted and unloved because those were the words she had picked up the most.

No one had said anything to her when she'd come back up from the lab, but she could tell no one really understood why she was expending so much energy to help Loki.

Tony seemed to be the least judgmental, and then it was Clint. It had nothing to do with Loki and everything to do with the fact that he knew Arianna couldn't help but lend a helping hand to anyone that was suffering. Bruce was the most compassionate and she knew he would help her with Loki as much as he could. Steve was the least understanding, but only because he saw Loki as someone who had tried to destroy his home. Natasha was more worried because she knew how far Arianna could push herself.

Arianna didn't know what the big deal was. Everyone else on the team pushed themselves, risked their lives in the line of fire and what she did was no different. ---------- Frigga and Thor were in Loki's room when Arianna went in after resting but not sleeping. His mind had suddenly gone silent and she'd wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.

Thor was standing off to the side of the Spartan-like room. Loki was on the bed and Frigga was seated on a chair beside it, and there was an IV drip as well attached to Loki. Other than that, the room was bare.

"He's quiet," Arianna said.

"He's asleep," Thor said.

"No, I mean, his mind is quiet. I've been able to sense his thoughts from the first time I touched him. I don't sense anything now. Either he's stopped dreaming or he's blocking me."

"Is that bad?"

Arianna sighed. "That depends on how you look at it. If he's blocking me, it means he's aware enough to block me. It also means I won't be able to heal him, not if he's gonna fight me."

"He will sense you as you sensed him," Frigga said. "He'll think your magic is foreign. He will fight that."

"If I can make my way back into his mind, I can wake him up. I was hoping to heal him more fully first, but if this is the only way . . ."

"Is that not dangerous?" Thor asked.

"It's actually not dangerous at all, physically."

"And mentally?" Frigga asked.

Arianna hesitated before answering. "If Loki had his powers, I wouldn't try this. I think the worst he can do now is to just keep blocking me. He might be able to remove me if I make my way in."

"Have you done this before?"

"Yes, with trauma patients."

The younger patients almost never put up a fight. The adults, however, were another story altogether. She was sure that was because adults had defense mechanisms that children did not.

"What will you need?" Frigga asked

"I'll need the room so I can concentrate. I need it to be quiet." ---------- Arianna was surprised when she was able to easily gain access to Loki's mind. Most people who were unconscious fell deep inside of themselves. Add in the fact that she hadn't been able to hear or sense him before, she thought it would have been harder.

She'd found him within seconds, however, crouched behind a rock. He was hiding. That was probably why he'd suddenly disappeared from her mind. Whatever or whoever he was hiding from had shielded his thoughts from her.

Why was he hiding, anyway? There didn't seem to be anyone else around aside from Loki and herself.

As she grew closer to him, she noticed that all of the bruises she'd healed were still covering his skin in his dream state. None of what she'd been doing in real life was taking place here.

And where was here? It looked like the barren wasteland that she'd seen flashes of earlier. This was Loki's own personal form of Hell, probably, and he was stuck here.

She crept forward and knelt beside him, surprised that he hadn't even glanced her way. Did he not feel her there or was he just so overwhelmed that her presence didn't register?

"Loki?" she whispered and touched his shoulder.

He jerked away but finally looked at her nonetheless. His eyes were wide with fright and she regretted touching him. She was downright flabbergasted when he tried to cover his head. It was as if he thought she was going to hurt him.

Well . . . of course he did. This was a place of pain and he wouldn't have known anything else but pain here.

"Loki, I'm not here to hurt you."

"Everybody hurts here," he said, though he didn't move to get away.

"Loki, you're not actually here anymore. You – you got out."

"No one gets out."

"You did. You went to Midgard."

Technically, he'd been sent there, but she just wanted to help him wake up. Best not to bring up what he'd done once he went to Midgard.

"Thor is waiting there for you."

"He came for me?"

Loki seemed to want to believe that so badly, but he also seemed afraid to.

Arianna nodded. She would have to play this carefully. It appeared that this Loki, the part of Loki that was still truly himself was locked up here. This was probably a defense mechanism for the Loki that wanted to rule Earth. That Loki couldn't have had this one running loose or it would've messed up his plan.

"Loki, do you know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"Yes. Well, sort of. I met you earlier today."

She told him about how she could heal people and that she was trying to heal him, but he was blocking her.

"This is madness," Loki muttered.

"I know it probably seems that way, but you have to trust me."

She knew that was asking a lot, considering he didn't know her at all, but she did need his trust to even begin to bring him out of his head.

"What are you hiding from?"

"Thanos."

She remembered that name. Thanos was the one she'd heard threaten Loki. He was the one Loki was so afraid of.

"He can't actually hurt you here. He can only do what you allow him to do."

"Actually . . ."

A voice came from behind Arianna and Loki's eyes widened in fright again. She turned around to find a huge, purple man in black clothing and gold-plated armor. If this was Thanos, what exactly was he?

He had to be about seven feet tall and he looked to weigh at least a thousand pounds of pure muscle.

"I'm very much real."

His huge fist came toward her and she instinctively flinched even though he shouldn't have been able to touch her.

'He isn't real,' she thought even as his fist connected with the side of her head. She was sure if this had been real, she would've been knocked unconscious by the blow, assuming she would've still had her head.

He had proven that he was real, however, and Arianna was now afraid. She'd actually felt pain – not from the hit itself, but a sharp migraine-type pain. A mental blow to match the one he'd given her in the dream state.

Since she'd been knocked over by him hitting her, she scurried backwards as if she were crab-walking.

"I told him what awaited him if he failed. You will not take that away," Thanos said. "You can choose to leave him here."

Loki stiffened and she could tell he thought she would leave him. The truth was that she would if she thought she could bring someone back with her to help, but she knew what it was like to be trapped in her own head with no one to help pull her out and she wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Maybe if Loki had been truly evil, she could leave and not regret it, but now that she knew why he'd done what he'd done . . . she couldn't, with good conscious, leave him there.

Thanos couldn't really hurt her if she didn't let him. Maybe she would be able to pull Loki out of this despite what this Thanos had said. ---------- Loki hated himself at the moment. Not that he'd ever loved himself, but he really hated himself for being a coward. He didn't know this girl even though she'd said they'd met earlier and yet he still didn't want her to go. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

He especially didn't want to be alone here, but he didn't want the girl to be hurt either, not when she seemed so willing to help him.

"No one can help you," Thanos said. "No one would want to."

Nobody could love him. He was a monster. He was a Frost Giant. He'd never been anyone's priority and he definitely didn't expect this girl to pick him over herself. It was absurd to hope for anything other than a quick and painless death.

"Loki?" the girl said. She never had said her name. "Don't listen to him. I'm not going anywhere and I can help you. You have to let me."

Thanos yelled and Loki saw the Titan rush forward to hit the girl again, but she was quick and he ended up falling over himself.

If what the girl had said was true, if they really were in his mind, then he could do whatever he wanted here. He could take away his pain and he could get rid of Thanos even if the Titan was real.

The first thing he did was make himself strong again. He needed to assist his helper. She wasn't a fighter, he could tell by the way she carried herself.

What he really needed was a weapon yet he'd been made defenseless. Was he able to conjure one out of midair? Apparently he was, because as soon as he thought of one of his many daggers it appeared in his hand.

The girl was standing still with her hand in the air. She had her palm faced outward and Thanos . . . well, he was still too. He seemed to be attempting to move, but it wasn't working.

This girl knew magic – more than just illusionary magic. She was literally keeping Thanos still by sheer force of will.

"Now, Loki. You have to be the one to do it."

Since they were all in his mind that made sense. He couldn't actually kill Thanos since this wasn't physically real, but maybe just the act itself would force the Titan out.

Loki moved quickly. Within seconds he'd stabbed through the leather of Thanos' attire. He twisted the dagger and yanked upwards, properly eviscerating the image of the Titan.

Just like that, Loki opened his eyes to the world.

#loki #loki x reader #loki/oc #loki/ofc #love is healing #chapter three

13 notes · View notes

shwazzberryswriting · 3 years

Text

Movie Night

Pairing: Renjun x Original Female Character|Reader

Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Romance, Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Humor

Summary: Renjun's crush just broke up with her boyfriend, now is his chance to make a move. Things don't go according to plan. ---- Part 3 of my "The NCT Frat House Series"

Word count: 4.5k

Rating/Warnings: PG-13/Kissing, watching an R rated movie together

Author’s Note: My first Renjun fic! Please enjoy!

------

As a favor to Lucas, Kun’s girlfriend Ruby was organizing a surprise birthday party for Alma, Lucas’s girlfriend. Ruby and her roommates offered their house to host the party, and though Alexandria didn’t qualify as a roommate, she was a friend, so she was part of the party planning committee. When she arrived on the day of the party, she was not prepared for the NCT frat bros to be at Ruby’s house, helping set up.

Once Janell handed out responsibilities to the volunteers, Alexandria was seated at the dining table, using Ruby’s coveted decorating tweezers to strategically place silver sprinkles onto a simple white frosted cake. With her legs crossed in front of her, and her shoulders slumped down to get a closer inspection at the cake, Alexandria stopped and sat up straight, rolling her shoulders as she fixed her posture. Blowing her brown bangs out of her eyes, she tried not to think about her mom’s constant nagging, You’re an adult now, and you still need to fix your posture.

“The ‘A’ needs more sprinkles,” Haechan said, leaning over from across the table to look at her work, breaking her concentration.

“Who died and made you my boss?” she asked, looking up at him.

“I mean, if you want the cake to be ugly, don’t take my advice,” he said with a shrug, turning back to the game he was playing on his phone.

“What are you doing here if you’re not helping set up for the party?” she asked, trying to keep her tone even.

“Johnny told me to be here two hours before 5:00 so I’m here two hours before 5:00,” he said.

“We’re here two hours early so we can help set up for the party,” Renjun explained as he sat down next to Haechan. “Janell put us on balloon duty.”

“Where’s the helium tank?” Haechan asked, looking up. “I’ll fill the balloons and you can tie them.” “We can take turns,” Renjun replied. “It’ll be faster.”

“No, you have nimble fingers. They’re perfect for tying balloons. I can’t tie balloons. I should be in charge of the helium tank.”

“Lex!” they heard a voice shout from the backyard. The only person to call her by that name was Janell's younger sister. Renjun jumped in his seat and Haechan snorted a guffaw while Alexandria stood up and slapped Haechan’s arm gently, chiding him for laughing at Renjun. Renjun was easily startled but Haechan took extra glee in his reaction due to Renjun having a crush on Janell's sister.

Alexandria hadn’t meant to find out that Renjun had a crush on Violet, but during a recent party at the NCT Frat house Renjun had drunkenly admitted to her and a couple friends his secret. Before the party, Alexandria considered herself friendly with Renjun, but now that she’d experienced him make a drunken confession they were comfortable calling each other friends. He’d even gone to her condo a couple times to hang out. Unfortunately for Renjun, since Alexandria was in on the secret Haechan felt more comfortable teasing him in front of her.

“Alexie,” Haechan said, touching her arm to stop her from leaving, “don’t make it obvious that Renjun likes Violet.”

Renjun reached over to wrap his hands around Haechan’s neck, a pained smile on his lips, and Alexandria shook her head as she turned away from the fight. She was going to have to remind Ruby and Kun that they were better off not asking any of the NCT guys to help with any sort of party planning. The small surprise birthday party for Lucas’s girlfriend had turned into a daycare for man-children, and not even half of them had come.

“You called?” Alexandria said to Violet once she made it outside to the backyard. She sat down on the picnic table. Violet, Janell, and Johnny were decorating a couple mason jars for the small bouquets of wild flowers they’d picked from around the neighborhood.

“If I gave you some cash, would you go to the dispensary and buy me a couple joints?” Violet asked. "My sister and her boyfriend won't help me out."

“Hold on,” Alexandria said, raising her hands out before her as she stood up. “Am I the only one who remembers what kind of party this is? Lucas asked for a small cute surprise birthday party for Alma, this isn’t a house party.”

“Oh my gosh, Lex, you’re always so dramatic,” Violet said with a sigh. “I need some weed because I broke up with Joey, OK?”

“I’m sorry,” Alexandria said as she sat down beside Violet, hugging her. “We can chill at my place after Alma’s birthday party. I’ll take you to my favorite dispensary, my treat. What happened?”

As Violet tearfully went on a tangent about her ungrateful ex-boyfriend, Alexandria glanced over to see Janell and Johnny rolling their eyes. It was in Janell’s nature not to extend too much sympathy toward her younger sister, still holding a grudge that Violet had followed her across state lines to attend the same university, so Alexandria took on the task to give Violet a little more patience as a surrogate older sister. With that in mind, Alexandria couldn’t blame Janell and Johnny for reacting the way they did when it came to Joey, Violet’s boyfriend of 5 months.

The couple were cute, but they argued constantly. Violet and Joey had spent the last month threatening to break up with each other, and now that they were properly broken up it seemed like the drama was still ongoing. Alexandria tried her best to remember what it was like with her first boyfriend. She'd believed he was The One and put up with the petty drama, so she understood why Violet was putting herself through the unnecessary pain with Joey. After a five minute rant, Violet seemed satisfied and grew quiet as Alexandria confirmed that she would buy Violet some weed.

Returning to the dining table, Alexandria found Renjun tying ribbons onto a single balloon, and then heard Haechan with some others in the front living room, playing with the balloons and helium tank. She sat down and crossed her legs in her seat before returning to spelling out Alma’s name onto the cake using the sprinkles. Renjun ran a hand through his hair and leaned back as he watched Alexandria decorate the cake, his new platinum blonde hair making his brown eyes seem bigger and darker than they already were.

“Did you hear?” she asked softly, raising an eyebrow. “Violet broke up with Joey.”

“You’re lying,” he said, though he sat up straight, leaning over closer to her. “What happened?”

“She broke up with him a few days ago, and I invited her to my place so we can get high,” she replied. “You should come along. Maybe you can cheer her up.”

He laughed nervously as he met her gaze, and she closed her mouth as Ruby and Kun entered the kitchen. Given the tone of his voice, Kun was nearing the end of his patience as he barked orders over his shoulder only to be met with what sounded like Yangyang imitating Kun. There was a ripple of high pitched laughter, and Ruby gave Kun a pleading look.

“They’re grown men, they’ll be fine,” Kun said, setting some grocery bags onto the countertop.

“They’re playing with a cheap helium tank,” Ruby said softly. “Do you hear them?”

The front living room sounded like the Chipmunks singing Migos’ “Walk It Talk It” followed by more high pitched laughter. Groaning and slumping his shoulders, Kun turned around and led Ruby back to the front living room so they could make sure the boys weren’t going to hurt themselves. Meanwhile, Alexandria and Rejun set up the dining table with the bouquets, balloons, and cake.

As everyone gathered around the front door to surprise Alma, Alexandria asked Jeno and Hendery to help her tape up the streamers in the kitchen so that Renjun and Violet would have a moment alone on the loveseat. When she returned to the front living room, she saw Renjun and Violet deep in conversation, and patted herself on the back. As she stood beside the loveseat, Violet grabbed her hand and invited her to sit with them, sandwiching Renjun between them.

"Isn't he the softest thing in the world?" Violet asked as she reached her arms out around Renjun and grasped onto Alexandria's arms.

Alexandria gave a chuckle as she reached out to grab Violet’s arms in return and the two women hugged Renjun, his face turned bright pink and he began guffawing. It was difficult for anyone not to like Violet. She enjoyed showing affection to her friends and was doing her best to make Renjun blush, making some of the other guys laugh. Alexandria placed a hand on Renjun’s cheek and chuckled again as she felt that it was burning up. She removed herself from the group hug and let Violet continue to hug him while she turned around to see Kun and Johnny standing nearby, complaining like middle age dads, each man holding a can of beer in his hand.

Even after graduating, Kun and Johnny were still in touch with the frat house, making sure the guys were taking care of themselves. It also benefited the NCT guys that Kun and Johnny's girlfriends were still attending university, so the two men were likely nearby the campus during their free time. Alexandria understood the sentiment. She hadn't lived with Ruby and Janell for over a year, but she visited them often and helped clean the house as if she still lived there.

When Lucas and Alma arrived at 5:00, Yangyang, Haechan, Xiaojun, Hendery, Jaemin, and Chenle had taken some of the helium filled balloons and insisted on singing Alma's birthday song with their high pitched helium voices. Alma was a good sport and clapped as everyone suffered through their helium induced singing. Once she was served a slice of cake, Alexandria sat down with Violet and Renjun in the dining room, the trio sitting across from Alma and Lucas.

Lucas pulled Alma into his lap and he kissed her free hand as she ate her slice of cake. For as long as Alexandria had known the couple, they were proud to be affectionate with each other. Their PDA didn't bother her, but she knew it made some people uncomfortable. She stopped herself from laughing out loud and snorted cake up her nose as she glanced over to see Renjun poking his fork into his slice of cake as his eyes darted nervously from Alma to Lucas while Violet's eyes were focused on the pair as she passively chewed on her food. The pair looked to be taking notes from Alma and Lucas.

"I-I need water," Alexandria coughed out, distracting Renjun and Violet. The cake crumbs up her nose burned her sinuses, and she stood up to find a tissue.

"Let me take you home," Violet announced, standing up immediately. "Happy birthday, Alma! Janell and Johnny paid for your present but I picked it out. Remember that when you unwrap it."

"Over here, Dria," Renjun said, standing up and leading her toward the front living room by placing his hand on her elbow.

"Lexie!" Yangyang and Xiaojun exclaimed together.

"Alexie!" Haechan and Hendery screamed, making her laugh before she gagged and fell onto the sofa beside Jeno.

“Are you dying, Andria?” Jeno asked as he helped her sit up. His shoulders were shaking as he tried not to laugh.

The guys found out that Renjun gave Alexandria a nickname in an attempt to start a conversation with Violet when he first met Violet. Whenever any of them heard Renjun call her "Dria" they enjoyed making jokes out of her name, and Alexandria knew it was easier to let the kids have their fun rather than take the teasings to heart.

“I don’t want to ruin the party,” she said when Renjun handed her a bottle of water. “I’m going home.”

“Can I come?” Violet asked immediately, linking her arm with Alexandria’s.

“You want to come along?” Alexandria asked Renjun.

“I do,” Haechan said, raising his hand. “Alexie! Will you make me your mom’s eggrolls?”

“Sorry, Haechan,” Violet said as she grabbed Renjun’s hand. “Alexandria only likes me and Renjun.”

“Happy birthday, Alma!” Alexandria shouted as Violet walked her and Renjun out of Ruby and Janell’s home.

As she dropped by the dispensary, Alexandria had Violet and Renjun go buy snacks, directing them to meet at the front of her condo complex after 20 minutes. She took a slow stroll through the streets, appreciating the warm spring weather. She thought about how she was playing Renjun’s wing(wo)man, and she wondered if her interest in Renjun and Violet hooking up was her way in dating vicariously through her friends, something Ruby and Wen, one of Ruby’s other roommates, had accused her of before.

She gave herself another pat on the back when she saw Renjun and Violet laughing together, plastic bags in their hands. Was she dating vicariously through her friends? Whatever the case, Alexandria was glad that Renjun and Violet seemed to be hitting it off. Renjun was a fun person to be around, and Violet was playful as well, the two would always have fun together. Violet could take advantage of Renjun’s NCT Frat status to invite herself to Janell and Johnny’s dates. There was so much to be gained, Alexandria hoped Violet would see Renjun’s datability.

"We decided to watch a horror movie," Violet announced when Alexandria led them inside. "Have you heard of It Follows? It's about a sexually transmitted monster. Renjun makes it sound good."

"Um, OK," Alexandria replied, plastering on a bright smile. She hated horror movies, but Renjun and Violet looked excited as they shared a smile and raised their eyebrows. "Is it, like, super scary?"

"It's not super gory but there are definite scary elements to it," Renjun answered. "Your condo is perfect, too, Dria. It's quiet and there's only going to be the three of us."

"Perfect," Alexandria muttered as Renjun and Violet listed their favorite horror movies to each other while they entered the elevator.

Renjun made them iced green tea, and Alexandria popped 2 bags of popcorn in her microwave and unpacked all the candies into bowls. Violet sat by the patio door and lit a joint as she played music from her phone, setting the mood for the evening. Alexandria went through stages where she either smoked a lot of weed or she didn’t, and she hadn’t smoked in over 2 months, but Violet tempted her into taking a few hits, especially when Renjun said that he’d take a hit if Alexandria did. He didn’t react well, coughing up a storm, and Alexandria felt bad that Renjun was smoking in an attempt to impress Violet.

She felt worse when she noticed that Violet was texting with Joey. Violet’s music playlist had started with playful Bruno Mars songs, but after a few texts with Joey she began playing Ariana Grande love jams. Renjun was too busy singing along to the music to notice the shift in Violet’s mood. Placing the bowls of snacks onto a serving tray, Alexandria asked Violet and Renjun to bring the snacks to the living room and start the movie while she would finish preparing the iced tea, hoping to give them a few minutes alone.

“I invited Joey over,” Violet announced when Alexandria arrived with a small serving tray that held the glasses of tea, sitting up straight. “He wants to watch the movie with us.”

“Um, sure,” Alexandria said as she sat down next to Violet, making sure it was Violet who was seated in the middle. “How long before Joey gets here?”

“He’ll be here soon,” Violet said loudly as she picked up the remote and started the movie.

Alexandria held the bowl of popcorn in her lap as she sat on the couch with her legs crossed in front of her, her shoulders slouching. Noticing her posture, she straightened her back, and rolled her shoulders as she glanced over to see Violet’s eyes glued to her phone while Renjun was busy shoving M&Ms into his mouth, completely absorbed in the movie. They were roughly ten minutes into the movie when there was a knock on the front door.

“I’ve got it!” Violet said immediately, jumping up and rushing to the front door. She stepped outside and shut the door, having not invited Joey in.

Alexandria ate some popcorn as she tried to pay attention to the movie, but all she could hear was Violet and Joey having an argument in the hallway. As Joey sounded like he was crying, begging Violet to give him another chance, Alexandria glanced at Renjun and was impressed to see him absentmindedly shoving Skittles into his mouth, still completely immersed with the movie. She turned her attention to the movie, and felt her face grow hot as she realized that the scene was a sex scene. Feeling silly for her bashfulness, Alexandria set the bowl of popcorn onto the coffee table and grabbed her glass of iced tea. The movie was about a sexually transmitted monster, of course there would be at least one sex scene.

Sipping her drink, Alexandria’s eyes drifted to the front door as she heard Violet and Joey talk, their voices sounding softer and less volatile. Her eyes returned to the TV screen as she set her drink down, and she sank into her seat as she watched the scene unfold. The lead protagonist, a blonde girl named Jay, was lying on her stomach in the backseat of her date’s car as she talked.

It was a sweet post-sex scene, her date was crawling up behind her, and Alexandria gave a soft sigh as she thought about the last time she’d felt a guy press his body up against her back. It’d been before Ruby and Janell began dating their boyfriends, and she cringed at the length of her dry spell. Her mind forgot about her lack of a sex life as the lead’s date chloroformed her from behind, shocking Alexandria. She leaned in close to Renjun and threw a hand over her mouth, worried that she might scream.

“Renjun, what’s going on?!” she breathed out, shaking his arm. “I thought this was about a sexually transmitted monster! Is her date going to kill her?”

“Watch the movie,” he said, sighing gently. “Can I get some popcorn?”

Alexandria screamed and grabbed on tighter to Renjun’s arm as the scene in the movie became more intense, Jay’s date had tied her up to a chair and she could not move as her date explained to her of the monster that was now after her. It was a slow monster that took on the form of a random person, and once It caught up to the infected person It would kill them. She buried her face into Renjun’s arm, and said to him, “I can’t watch this! I can’t watch this!”

Renjun laughed, making her look up, and she sat up straight, feeling her face grow hot.

“It’s just a movie. I knew you were afraid of scary movies, but…wow, Dria. You’re a complete wimp.”

“I never denied being a complete wimp,” she said, shoving his arm. “If you want to finish this movie then you’re going to have to put up with me jumping and screaming.”

“Fine,” he said, giving a small chuckle, throwing his arm over her shoulder. “I can’t believe I have to hold you like a little kid.”

“Oh my gosh, they called the cops?” she asked, turning her attention to the movie.

“Cops are useless in horror movies,” he replied. “You really don’t watch scary movies?”

“No. Do you remember that old Japanese movie…Ju-Oh? My cousin was babysitting me when I was 8, and she put it on for us to watch and I haven’t liked scary movies since.”

Renjun laughed and she poked his side to shut him up. After he pushed her away, Alexandria hugged her legs and Renjun leaned back into the sofa as he ate the popcorn. The movie’s pacing was slower and more subtle than she’d anticipated, and Alexandria found herself being drawn into the mystery. What was going on, and would Jay be able to avoid the monster? Alexandria bit her bottom lip, wondering if she’d be able to go through with finding new sex partners in an attempt to prevent a monster from coming to kill her.

The suspense built up again, and Alexandria tried to be brave, but the reveal of the monster entering Jay’s house at night was too grotesque. She screamed once more, and grabbed for Renjun’s arm again, throwing her face into his shoulder. He laughed, and threw his arm over her shoulder, letting her grab onto his hoodie as she turned her face in toward his chest. The movie kept slowing the suspense down to build up drama, and whenever the suspense built up it went on much longer than she was prepared for, so Alexandria spent the majority of the film curled up in Renjun’s arm, clawing her fingers into his chest.

“So are they going to die?” she asked him once the movie ended. It ended on an ambiguous note.

“Maybe,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “What do you think?”

“I think if I ever watch scary movies, this is the only way I can watch them,” she said, burying her face into his chest again.

The air was silent and became very still after what felt like an entire minute. Renjun hadn’t moved a centimeter, so she lifted her head up and saw him looking down at her with his eyebrows furrowed. Looking into her eyes, his face softened, and he reached over to cup her cheek in his hand. She looked at his long eyelashes for a moment when he kissed her, but feeling the warmth of his lips on hers instantly had her closing her eyes. His hold around her tightened, and she moved her hand up to touch his neck. As her fingers moved to caress his earlobe, he pulled back, breaking the kiss.

They stared at each other, and Alexandria could only think about wanting to kiss him again, her mind feeling foggy. She could feel her heart beating fast and loud in her throat, and his arm draped around her body felt heavy. She pressed her chest against his as she pushed forward, kissing him, but turned her head aside when she felt his hand on her cheek drift down to her neck. He groaned as his tongue flicked the side of her cheek.

“I think you should go home,” she said softly.

The heat that burst into her gut was intense when his fingers had touched the bare skin of her neck, and she wasn’t sure how well she could handle Renjun’s touches. The night had been a mess, and she didn’t want him to think she was the type of friend who was into hookups. They might come to regret it, especially if Renjun was going to continue to crush on Violet.

“Did I do something?” he asked, releasing his hold on her. She shook her head, planting her feet onto the ground, sitting up straight.

“I’m sorry that Violet bailed on our movie night,” she said softly, her eyes unable to meet his.

“Oh, right, yeah,” he said, falling back into the cushions of the sofa. He ran a hand through his hair, and he gave a nervous chuckle. They sat together in silence for a few moments, and then he spoke up again. “Why did you kiss me?”

“You kissed me,” she replied, shoving him gently by pushing her hand against his knee. “You started it.”

“The details don’t matter,” he said, sitting up straight. “We kissed, I liked it, and I know you did too.”

“So?”

“So...can I kiss you again?”

He barely had the question out of his mouth when she’d already begun to climb onto his lap. She held onto his shoulders as she straddled him while he rested his hands on her hips. They kissed, her fingers running gently through his hair as she dove her tongue into his mouth, giving a soft moan every time his mouth was able to capture her tongue to suck on it. When her lips began to burn, feeling a little swollen, Alexandria pushed against Renjun’s chest, and sat up straight, looking into his eyes.

“This is a bad idea,” she said.

She shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip, pulling his head to rest on her shoulder as his hands slid down to grab her ass. She raked her fingers through his hair as she panted heavily, breathing through her mouth as his hands groped and squeezed her ass cheeks. Instinctively, her hips thrust against his, but she closed her mouth and found the willpower to shove against his chest, getting off his lap to sit back down beside him.

“What’s so bad about it?” he asked, out of breath, his eyes looking at her in a way she’d never seen before. His eyes were darting around, seeming to look over every inch of her.

“I mean, I think Violet and Joey are back together, but...you know, what’s going to happen when they break up for good?” she asked, brushing her bangs with her fingers, trying not to look at him.

“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging.

“You really don’t care about her? This girl you’ve been crushing on for months?”

Renjun gave her a grin. He sat up in his seat, and he said, “Dria, I forgot that you invited me here for Violet. It’s just you and me here, and I like it better when it’s just you and me.”

“So are you saying that you like me?” she asked.

“Dria, you just felt my boner poking your ass,” he said, making her blush. “Yeah, I like you. What? You don’t like me? I can go home.”

He made to stand up, but she reached over and grabbed his arm.

“No!” she shouted. “Renjun! I like you! Stay. You have to stay.”

“Oh, I have to stay now?” he asked, guffawing as he moved to stand up. “I thought you wanted me to leave.”

“I watched that scary movie with you!” she said, placing herself onto his lap. “You have to give me company now, because I’m going to have nightmares.” She kissed his cheek, making him stop as he grinned at her, his face turning pink. “What a twist,” she said softly. He laughed, touching her chin to tilt her head toward his, and then kissed her.

“None of our friends are going to see this coming,” he admitted.

“Can we watch another movie?” she asked him, resting her head onto his shoulder.

She didn’t want to think or talk about their friends. He kissed her cheek, smiling at her before picking up the remote to scroll around for another movie to watch. He insisted all the movies he wanted to watch weren’t very scary, the title cards and movie posters just looked scary. She didn’t believe him, but eventually let him pick a movie for them to watch. As much as she didn’t like scary movies, it was worth it since she was in Renjun’s arms.

------ Thank you always for reading!

#nct renjun #nct fanfic #NCT #nct x reader #nct fluff #renjun x reader #renjun fluff #nct au #AU college #au university #fluff and humor #nct dream #no beta read

27 notes · View notes

ayo-cowbelly · 4 years

Text

when the fire goes out, how do we stay warm? - part 1/?

next part ~ masterlist

welcome to my new series ~ an angst dump of “what if anakin and obi wan’s roles on zygerria were reversed?”

you can blame the New SW Canon discord for this. Their angst-loving asses fueled this fire, and what was supposed to be a snippet spiraled into this.

the yarra root i got from discord- we had a huge discussion about tatooine slave culture, and said yarra root is something tatooine parents will put in their child's tea/drinks, to kill them/"put them to sleep", so the masters won't hurt/kill them (it is seen as an alternative to a brutal, painful death). We also discussed the idea that people on tatooine will take their children (or just themselves) and go out to the sand dunes and "let the Desert decide their fates", so when Anakin mentions being "swallowed", that's what he means. Just to clarify.

Hope you like it!

@youngcreativenerdgoddess @alabasterswriting @ilonga @rynae-reblogs @everything-or-anything @waterrose3 (i love y’all, thanks for the support!)

***

Obi-Wan looks down into the arena from his place beside the Zygerrian queen. He wants nothing more than to jump down there, to yell, to scream, to do something- but he knows he can't. To blow their cover now is to destroy any chance of saving the colonists. But he wishes he could save more than just them. He wishes he could liberate this whole damn planet. He wishes he could get rid of the threat the Zygerrians posed, somehow- even if he had to rip the crown out of the slaver queen's cold, dead hands.

Obi-Wan looks across the arena as the queen speaks, not looking at Ahsoka nearby (in that horrible outfit, that made people leer at his grandpadawan, like she was a mere object. They looked at her the way Obi-Wan had seen people looking at Anakin during his brief time on Tatooine all those years ago).

Oh. Anakin. Where was he?

Obi-Wan was furious that the Council had sent Anakin, of all people, to this slaver planet. The should have remembered Anakin's past, his time as a slave when he was just a child. They should have remembered that Anakin was once considered nothing more than property, an object to be passed around to different Masters. Obi-Wan should have remembered, he should have fought harder.

He hopes Anakin doesn't know of this auction, as Obi-Wan knows that Anakin would tear down this entire planet if he found out. He would scrape tooth and nail to destroy this disgusting empire. For Anakin mostly acted on his emotions, not that it was necessarily a bad thing- but he sometimes forgot to look at the big picture. There was a balance there, one Anakin struggled to find.

Balance always seemed to elude him.

Obi-Wan worried greatly. After this dreadful mission, they'd actually talk, for once. About everything.

He focuses back on the queen's words, as she announces the Togrutan governor. Obi-Wan tries and fails to look away from the man's beaten form.

And then the worst happens.

"My friends, behold! Anakin Skywalker, the Hero With No Fear- on his knees before us!"

Obi-Wan barely registers Ahsoka's horrified gasp, for he is equally as distraught. Below him, on the sandy platform, is Anakin. A shock collar is on his neck and dirt on his face. His clothes are ripped, and his hair is mussed and greasy. Obi-Wan wants so badly to run to his brother before Anakin does something rash and gets them all caught.

But when Obi-Wan looks over Anakin's frail form again, he sees something. Something so much worse.

The fire in Anakin's eyes is... gone. There is no defiance, no opposition, none of that trademark confidence- only the hollow gaze of someone who is dreaming of being anywhere else. All at once, Obi-Wan's previous fears vanish. Before, he had been worried that Anakin would say something sarcastic, signal for his 'saber, fight back; but now, Obi-Wan knows that isn't the problem.

Anakin had been a slave, once. Before he was a General, a hero, a Jedi, a Master, a brother, or a husband (yes, Obi-Wan knew. Anakin had never been subtle, and try as she might, neither was Padmé)- before any of that, he was simply Ani. A slave, a son, a child of a cruel Desert that took more than it gave.

This is who is before them now. It wasn't Anakin down there, it was Ani, and that was so much worse. Obi-Wan Kenobi's (previously unknown, for he had never imagined it to be possible) greatest fear had come true, before his very eyes.

For the first time in over ten years, Anakin Skywalker was not fighting back.

"This Jedi, this watchdog of a petty, corrupt senate, a preacher of freedom and peace though he brings only war and death- is nothing more than a puppet! And now, he will kneel before us," The queen boasts, proudly smiling at the cheering crowd.

At this moment, Obi-Wan wants her life to end. He wants it to be at his own hands. How dare she do this, how dare she make Anakin go through such a thing, how dare she-

Oh. She's speaking to him now. "Show him his true place," She commands. Obi-Wan nods numbly, a pathetic movement of a broken man. Obi-Wan feels broken, he does. He feels crushed, splintered, shattered into a million tiny pieces-

Anakin had broken, and as Obi-Wan is his brother, he will too. Two halves of the same whole, and if one goes down the other surely will as well. They are nothing without the other, and are only something when together.

Some may ask, "What is the galaxy without Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

The real question is, "What is the galaxy when Anakin Skywalker stops fighting?"

Obi-Wan doesn't know the answer to that. He doesn't know what it's like to witness your dearest friend, your son, your brother, your soul, fractured into pieces-

Or maybe he does, now. He doesn't want to think about it.

He remembers things Anakin once said, about his mother and Yarra Root and a saying.

"I would rather my child die than be a slave like me."

But Anakin, Ani (for as much as they are different, they are also the same) had once been a slave. And now, he is again. Or maybe he always had been, and only his title had changed with time.

Has Anakin ever truly been free?

How could Obi-Wan have let this happen?

He approaches his former apprentice (though everyone knows that statement is a half-truth; no Master-Padawan pair had ever stayed so close as they had after Knighthood) and he almost wants to claw his eyes out. Anakin is kneeling on the hard ground, his shoulders are hunched. Obi-Wan has never seen him look so... defeated.

As Obi-Wan nears him, Anakin turns. His eyes are glassy, his cheeks are gaunt, and above all he looks haunted. "Obi?" He says weakly.

Obi-Wan doesn't care about their cover anymore. "Yes, dear one, I'm here."

Anakin shudders, his voice cracking from disuse and the delusions of fear. "I- I wanted to help, I was going to- the Root, Obi, the Root- I'll find it, so they can rest- let them rest, let me rest, please-"

"It's going to be alright, I promise. Just hang on," Obi-Wan whispers, and his younger brother makes an aborted movement, one he guesses was meant to be a nod. Obi-Wan looks up at R2, not able to take anymore of this con.

His and Anakin's lightsabers soar gracefully through the air, and Obi-Wan catches them both. Ignoring the angered roar of the spectators, he pulls with the Force and removes the shock collar, trying not to look too closely at the angry red mark it left on Anakin's neck. When Obi-Wan goes to hand Anakin his lightsaber, his brother flinches, but makes no move to take it. "I don't- I don't want it- I want to rest- I want to rest, like Mom- let the Desert swallow me, Obi, please-"

"Anakin, please just hold on, for me. Sleep, and I will be here when you wake up." Obi-Wan blocks the Zygerrian guards' shots as Anakin closes his eyes, slowly crumpling into a fetal position on the ground. The Jedi Master glances up to the balcony, where Ahsoka is holding the queen, green blade pressed close to her neck.

Obi-Wan grips the two lightsabers (lighsabers that would forever be entwined, just as their souls were. Though Anakin loved Padmé more than anything, with his mother a close second, Obi-Wan was somehow more. He was his other half, and they would be brothers until the end). Blades ignited, he scowls up at the slaver queen. "Your Majesty, I feel it is time for your reign to end."

"Oh?" The queen has the gall to laugh, even with a blade to her throat. "Is this what the Jedi are now, wild beasts that fight wars and threaten royalty?" She's not sending her guards to detain him, not yet. She's waiting for him to move, to break, to fight (fight when Anakin cannot).

Obi-Wan doesn't reply. Instead, he jumps.

He goes for the nearby guards first. Their heads roll onto the ground, cleanly severed. One by one, they fall at the enraged hand of a Jedi- no, this is not the fighting of a Jedi, this is the fighting of a brother, an other half, someone who is seeing red because their sibling has been torn apart. Obi-Wan had felt anger before, but never like this. This is cold, and detached, but it is also hot and painful and so horribly real-

And Obi-Wan is drinking it up, letting it fuel him as he practically flies through the arena.

Rex is taking out the Zygerrian reinforcements, his aim always ringing true. Ahsoka, who now seems to be nearing the Dark path Obi-Wan has started down, has killed the prime minister and is slowly backing away with the queen. Obi-Wan jumps up to them, signing at Rex to meet them outside.

"Get Anakin" He signs to the Captain, who nods once and as gently as possible lifts his General (the clones are much stronger than they look, Obi-Wan has learned) and exits. The Jedi turns to the enslaving, despicable ruler. She smiles cruelly, blood from where she must've bit her tongue starting to coat her teeth. She looks almost primal, exuberant, her eyes flashing with excitement-

She knows Obi-Wan is in pain, and she is reveling in it.

"Kenobi, is it? I must say, I've never seen a Jedi so unhinged. You've surprised me."

"I do like to keep my opponents on their toes," He says roughly, trying to keep his voice steady.

"You and I are similar in that fact." She smirks, making Obi-Wan's blood boil. How dare she compare herself to him (him, who had let Anakin be taken, let him be dragged off to Force knows where, to then be thrown in chains-)

Who was he to act so above this slaver? Yes, she had been the one to do this Anakin, but Obi-Wan hadn't helped at all (never mind the fact that he hadn’t known); and doesn't that make him just as guilty? He had been too preoccupied in the mission, the part he had to play.

That always seemed to happen to them. Obi-Wan was always busy with duties, while Anakin spiraled. Obi-Wan never noticed, never helped. His eyes flutter closed, just for a second, and he is met with the image of his sleeping brother, cheeks sunken and face pale. The guilt eats at him, painfully carving out a place in his heart.

The world fades. Obi-Wan lunges. There is a scream.

However, the scream doesn't come from the queen. It comes from Ahsoka.

"Master, no! It's not- you can't-"

"Ahsoka," Obi-Wan whispers, one blade mere breaths from slicing through the queen. "Anakin-"

"-Wouldn't want you to do this," She interjects. They are both aware of the unspoken truth that hangs in the air; Anakin would do it himself, before either of them could even move. "Master, please, she'll be taken back to Coruscant, but we can't do this." She gestures to his ignited lightsabers.

Obi-Wan looks to his weapons, then to Ahsoka, and back again. The blinding anger slowly melts away, leaving an icy-cold feeling in his bones.

The queen glowers. "Master Kenobi, I grow tired of this. Perhaps we can work up an agreement?"

"I will not barter with slavers, you witch," he snaps. He tries to shrug off Ahsoka's wince, knowing she was surprised at his tone. She had never heard her grandmaster so... outraged. Impatient, tired, disappointed, sure- but not this.

This is almost Dark.

The Zygerrian queen chuckles. "How about this: If you agree to my terms, I will let your friends go, no questions asked."

As much as he doesn't want to listen, Obi-Wan is enthralled by the promise of Anakin's safety. "What do you require?"

"Master, you can't-" Obi-Wan shakes his head, and Ahsoka, upset as she is, quiets.

The conversation resumes. "It seems I'm in need of an attendant, if the girl behind me is a fake. Would you be willing to take up the role?" Her tone and word choice are misleading. There is no option, no room to decline- if he tries, she will have them all killed. She is in control of the situation (Obi-Wan certainly isn't, he lost control when Anakin came out in a shock collar- don't think of it- don't- stop- no- ANAKIN-)

"You will let them go?" Obi-Wan asks quietly.

"They will be free," The queen answers, the irony of her words likely not lost on her. How rare it must be for her to let a person go, let alone three and a droid.

The lightsabers hiss as they turn off. Ahsoka looks horrified, and Obi-Wan's stomach churns at his decision. 'But Anakin will be safe,' He thinks to himself.

The queen grins. She has won.

***

if you want to be tagged in the next part, let me know! also i love comments vv much so please let me know what you thought!

107 notes · View notes

rrickgrrimes8 · 3 years

Text

Normality is Death

Chapter Seven ~ One of The Infected

masterlist

For Jacey, it felt as if the camp was at 10x speed. She couldn't tell if that was the norm for them but either way, it threw her into a state of discomfort. She watched as a small group of the adults assembled close to where the blonde woman still cried over her sister.

Her parents had pushed her away every time she attempted to go over, which she understood but it still hurt, she just got her family back and they won't even stay around her for longer than a second except for Carl of course.

Carl had yet to withdraw his hand from his older sisters, which Jacey didn't mind at all. She knew that she missed her brother while separated but not to the extent she felt right now.

Another thing she knew as well is that she'd have to leave soon. It pained her to say but she already had a home and that just wasn't with her parents, not anymore, it was with Addie and Mitchell. Now she just had to summon the strength inside her to tell her family.

Jacey could hardly breathe due to the rotting flesh of the dead, it seemed she was the only one affected by it or rather the only one who couldn't hide it. Earlier, she had heard a commotion from the Korean that saved her and Addie a day earlier about the importance of burying the dead and to not treat them like those things. She couldn't agree more with what he was saying but it still hurt her thinking about it. No, she didn't know any of the people that died or if they deserved it or not but she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to the idea that if she hadn't shown up when she did her father would have the bury her mother and brother as well. For that reason alone she wanted to stay, just to protect them but she knew she had other people to protect, people that didn't abandon her.

"What you thinking about, Jacey?" Her brother asked interrupting her guilty thought stream.

"Nothin' kiddo," she smiled down to him, hand still intertwined, "What about you?"

"About you," he admitted curtly to which Jacey furrowed her eyebrows at, "You were dead. Y-you were gone... but you weren't. We left you Jacey, why don't you hate me?"

Jacey could see the tears beginning to form in the younger boys eyes and dropped down to his level brushing away the already fallen ones, "I could never hate you, squirt. Don't ever think I could. And besides, I did say I'd always find my way back to you"

"B-but I was such a bad brother I didn't protect you, I didn't talk to you. I was just so upset about dad a-and I took it out on you. I didn't know you were gonna leave me but you promised you wouldn't," He choked out.

"I know squirt. I'm so sorry but I'm here now, okay? And I'm okay and you are too."

"Promise you won't leave me again?" Carl said, unlacing their hands so he could hold out his pinky finger for her. Jacey looked at it guiltily, trying to blink away the tears, "I can't promise that, Carl."

Carl looked back to the girl his young mind attempting to comprehend her words, she was going to leave again, she was going to leave me again.

Carl grabbed her small hands which were still bigger than his own and hooked their pinkies together, "Now you can't. You already promised a-and you can't go back on that." Jacey removed her hand and stood up.

"Jacey please."

"I'm sorry." She brushed herself off and picked up her gun placing it back into her belt and started to walk in the direction of her parents.

"Dad? Mom? Can I talk to you?" She asked in her thick southern accent. Rick looked to his daughter the wrinkles on his forehead creased telling Jacey he was stressed.

Lori, however, kept her eyes trained elsewhere and said, "Nows, not the time, Jacey. We're busy." the child muttered an 'oh' before moving back towards, stopping when a panicked voice called out, "A walker got him. A walker bit Jim." Jacey turned around eyes meeting the concerned ones of her fathers as he went over to the woman she learned to be called Jacqui. Jacqui was stood with the tall man from before, he looked paler than he did earlier and there was a small patch of blood seeping through his shirt - definitely signs of a bite Jacey thought to herself remembering when a member of her team, earlier at the beginning, had been bitten.

The group crowded around Jim as he spoke, "I'm okay. I'm okay." Daryl, the redneck that threatened to shoot Jacey the previous morning, calmly ordered, "Show it to us. Show it to us." Jacey stopped listening for a moment as she met eyes with the dark ones of Jim's. She'd seen that look before and it was certainly something to fear.

Jim picked up a nearby shovel as some of the men grew closer to him. She heard Shane say something to him before a dark-skinned man came behind him, restraining him from moving.

"I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay," He told the group unconvincingly before Daryl lifted his shirt to show the symmetrical mark of a walkers teeth, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm okay."

Sometime later, Jacey found herself watching the debate between the group on what to do with the unforeseen issue at hand. She knew what had to happen but she could tell they didn't or rather they knew but didn't want to say. She wanted to be honest with them, to put him out of his misery before it was too late but had to remind herself that this was their friend and they'd certainly not give up on him that easily even if it was the better thing to do.

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head and the dead girl's and be done with it," Daryl stated his rough exterior not letting an ounce of sympathy out. Although Jacey agreed with him she wouldn't dream of having the balls to put it that way.

Wearing a disgusted expression Shane questioned, "Is that what you'd want if it were you?"

"Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

"I hate to say it… I never thought I would… but maybe Daryl's right," An older gentleman, Dale, admitted.

By that point Rick decided to join in, "Jim's not a monster, Dale, or some rabid dog."

Jacey shook her head ignoring Dales attempts at reasoning with the officer, "No, but he will be soon."

Her father looked to the girl shocked, "He's sick. A sick man. We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

"He's infected dad, he's as good as one of them." If it was possible Ricks jaw dropped further not recognising the unsympathetic girl as his own daughter.

"The line's pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be," Daryl agreed with the child, telling the police officer, who was still looking at his daughter for any sign of regret.

"Daryl's right, dad. And there will come a day you'll understand that too."

Ignoring Jacey's words, he looked to his group and said, "What if we can get him help? I heard the C.D.C. was working on a cure."

"I heard that too. Heard a lot of things before the world went to hell," Shane responded.

"What if the C.D.C. is still up and running?" Jacey looked at her dad hopefully, a small part of her still believing that that could be true.

"Man, that is a stretch right there."

"Why? If there's any government left, any structure at all, they'd protect the C.D.C. at all costs, wouldn't they? I think it's our best shot. Shelter, protection…" Rick proposed.

"Okay, Rick, you want those things, alright? I do too, okay? Now if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning," Shane offered, earning the attention and response of Lori, "That's 100 miles in the opposite direction."

"That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. Now listen to me. If that place is operational, it'll be heavily armed. We'd be safe there," Shane suggested.

"If that place was operational wouldn't they have gotten us out of this shithole already?" Jacey sassed, causing both Rick and Shane to roll their eyes.

"Language," Rick warned her, "Besides the military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun. We've all seen that. The C.D.C. is our best choice and Jim's only chance."

"You go looking for aspirin, do what you need to do. Someone needs to have some balls to take care of this damn problem!" Daryl's accent getting thicker the angrier he got. Daryl marched over into Jim's direction, pickaxe in hand attempting to swing at Jim's head.

In response, her father draws his gun pointing at the side of the redneck's head, "We don't kill the living." Jacey walked closer to the scene, hand on the top of her gun just in case Daryl decide to risk taking his frustrations out on her father.

"That's funny coming from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, not on this. You put it down. Go on," Shane demanded causing Daryl to drop his weapon and walk off. Shane walked over to the infected man before dragging him off the opposite way Daryl did, for 'safety'.

Rick watched as his best friend walked away with Jim before turning to Jacey anger seeping from every orifice, "What the hell were you thinking? Saying all that stuff back there."

"I was thinking about telling the truth unlike half the people in this damn group," She shot back, hating whenever her and her dad got into arguments.

"The truth?!" He yelled ignoring the stares he got from the other group members, "You think executing Jim is the right thing to do!"

"I never said we were going to execute him! All I said is that sooner or later that man will turn and when he does he won't have any problem with killing every last one of us!"

Rick brought his right hand across his face, his left hand resting on his waist the way he would when he wanted to appear threatening, "I don't even know who you are right now because this," looking over her, "is not my daughter."

Jacey scoffed, scowling at him, "I haven't been your daughter in a very long time, not since you abandoned me."

"I didn't abandon you."

"Yes, you did! You left me. You left me alone with them! I needed you and you left!" She screamed at him ignoring the tears forming in both his and her matching blue eyes, "You all left me! And I hate you! I hate you so much for it!"

"Jacey..." He started but it merely coming out as a whimper.

"No! Don't try and justify it! You don't care about me. You let me think you were dead only for me to come back here to see you okay, w-with the family you always wanted, right? God, I'm so stupid I should've never listened to Shane. You don't need me neither does mom or Carl. I should've never come here," The young girl cried before crumpling to the ground, Rick catching her instantly.

"That's not true, okay? I thought you were dead and God you don't know how hard it was coming back here seeing your mom and Carl and having them telling me you were gone," He held her tighter thinking back to nights before, "It felt like my entire world was collapsing around me because you weren't there. I don't know how you got here nor where you were or what happened but I am so glad you're here with me now. I'm so sorry I left you. I love you so much, angel."

By the time he was finished Jacey had somewhat calmed down and all Rick could hear was small cries buried deep into his chest, "Its okay angel. Everything's okay now," he calmly put ushing her off into a deep, much needed rest.

19 notes · View notes

nalu4emily · 4 years

Text

The Unexpected Reward - Chapter 9

Summary: Natsu and Lucy go on a job together, but what they bring home is something neither anticipated. Forced to make a life changing decision, they have to adapt quickly, but that's never easy, especially given the circumstances. As they work together on their toughest adventure yet, they find themselves drawn to one another, in ways they never realised. Nalu/cute/fluff/multi-chapter.

Lucy had been startled awake again that morning. Her heart was pounding and her breathing heavy from the same recurring nightmare she dreamt of every so often. A nightmare that had continued to disturb her sleep ever since they'd returned from their last mission, the fateful one where they'd been stalked by Haru's biological father. It always started with him looking for them in the forest. Sometimes her dreams replayed what actually happened, other times it was Haru he'd kidnapped instead of Amelia. Then there were the worst ones where he'd carried out his threats on the children and it made her sick to her stomach, jolting her awake covered in sweat. Each dream always ended the same, Natsu was no where to be seen and she was unable to stop the man from harming the children.

They'd returned from that job two months ago now, and every time Lucy thought back to it, she remembered every word that guy had said and the horrific things he'd planned to do. She'd been so thrown off by who it was, she'd let her guard down and her nightmares were a constant reminder of what could have happened if Natsu hadn't been there to protect her and the girl. What if he'd been a mage? What if it'd been Haru he'd kidnapped? It's those sorts of thoughts that made her question herself and tormented her conscience.

Natsu had become acutely aware of her waking during the night and in order to help her get over it, he'd taken it upon himself to find a solution. She needed something that would bring back her confidence in her abilities, not just as a mage but as a mother who could protect her child without the assistance of others. She needed something where she had to rely on herself to pull her through and what better than a solo mission, Natsu thought it was perfect. He'd had a hard time convincing her, but she'd finally accepted the job he'd picked out. Lucy was about to embark on her first solo job since who knows when and as nervous as she was, she couldn't wait to get back in action and hopefully prove to herself that she was still just as strong as she'd always been.

Natsu had accompanied Lucy to the station, and waited with her. "You doing alright, Luce?" Natsu asked, he knew she was super anxious about going alone, but he wanted her to know that he had every faith in her, he knew she was strong, she always had been, he just needed her to see that.

"Yeah, I just hope it all goes well." She said, a few sweat drops appearing on her brow. She was just glad the mission he'd picked (without her permission, she might add) looked pretty simple, it wouldn't take more than a day to complete, which meant she'd be home late that evening. "Are you going to be okay on your own with Haru?"

"Sure, I'll be fine. Haru and I are gonna have lots of fun! Aren't we, buddy?" He beamed, lifting the smiling baby up to his face. Little Haru spent most of his awake time smiling these days, he was such a happy little guy. At only three months old, he already had his own personality coming through. Natsu chuckled at his adorable expression, nuzzling his nose up against the baby's making him giggle uncontrollably. "Listen Lucy! He's laughing! See, I told you we were gonna have fun!" Natsu couldn't stop smiling, the infants giggle reverberated through the station and it was the cutest noise either mage had ever heard.

"Oh my goodness! That was the sweetest little laugh ever!" Lucy felt her chest warm as she stepped closer to join in on the fun, "Did Daddy make you laugh? He's silly isn't he?" She chuckled, as Natsu handed him to her so that she could have one last cuddle. "Mama's going to miss you so much today!"

"Think of it as a break, Luce. You're a great mom, but you need your space too and then you can tell us all about it when you get home." He grinned at her, trying to relieve her stress somewhat with the approaching train thundering into the station.

She gave Haru one last little kiss on his cheek, before giving him back to Natsu. As she was about to walk away, Natsu grabbed her wrist and drew her to him, placing his hand on the back of her head and tangling his fingers into her hair. "Remember why you're doing this, Luce. You've saved my ass more times than I can count, but you've just gotta believe in yourself again, like I believe in you." Her chest flood with warmth, eyes turning watery from his kind words.

Laying eyes on his beautiful partners face, he kissed her wantonly, heatedly, not caring who was around to see. He smirked against her, gazing at the cute blush that'd crept up onto her skin. Still in each others embrace, they pulled their heads away, lost in their own small bubble.

"Damn you and that mouth of yours! How am I supposed to get on the train looking like this?" She gave him a bashful smile, her eyes flickering between his hot mouth and fiery gaze.

He leaned closer, sporting a sly grin and tickling her ear whilst whispering into it, "Maybe I'll show you more of what my mouth can do later."

Lucy's ears were red and steaming, her entire face felt like it was on fire. How was she meant to concentrate on this job now, when all she was going to be plagued with was erotic images of his hot mouth all over her. He chuckled lowly, leaning back to get a good look at her flushed face. Feeling satisfied with her reaction he let go, wishing her luck as she boarded the carriage and they waved at each other through the window when the train pulled away. It was strange seeing Lucy go off on a mission without him, he'd always accompanied her before, but he knew she needed this, it was for her own good and so, with that in mind he looked down at the gurgling baby, and grinned.

"What do you think, little guy? Where d'you wanna go?" He waited for some sort of response. The baby held his head up from his father's shoulder and smiled once again, "To the guild? Good choice! Daddy was thinking that too! Happy should be there by now." Natsu grinned, turning to walk in the direction of the city.

He wandered slowly through the streets of Magnolia, talking softly to the little one as he showed him all the different market stalls, making sure Haru knew exactly where to get the best food in town. Although he never liked being apart from Lucy, Natsu did enjoy spending his time with just Haru. He loved to show him all the things he found cool and exciting, or spend hours playing with him whilst telling him stories of Igneel or his and the teams past adventures. It was their special bonding time, something Natsu hoped they would continue to do as Haru got older. It was these precious moments that the slayer would cherish for the rest of his life, one's he wished he could've had more of with Igneel, but that was the past and Haru was his future and what a bright one it was turning into.

After finally reaching the guild hall, Gajeel was quick to run over, "Salamander! Are we still on or what?" Referring to a bet they'd made the other day. Natsu had been bored, so challenged Gajeel to see who could use their roar attack for the longest, but before he could follow through with it, Haru had woken up from his nap. "Or do you surrender to the superior dragon?"

"Superior? Ha! Don't make me laugh, Metal head, I just got better things to do." Natsu scoffed, gesturing to the bundle he was carrying, whilst continuing to walk straight passed Gajeel without a second glance.

Gajeel's mouth dropped open, totally dumbstruck. Did the infamous salamander just turn down a bet? The iron dragon slayer was speechless, he couldn't believe his own ears and apparently neither could any other guild member that'd heard him.

"Are you sick, Natsu?" Lisanna asked, putting her hand against his forehead to check his temperature.

"No, of course not. I don't get sick!" He looked up at her hand until she removed it from his head. Checking his temperature wasn't going to work, it was always high. "I feel fine." He reassured her. He sat down at the bar and turned to the crowd gathering around him, staring sceptically at the bewildered looks they were giving him. "What did I do now?" He groaned, rolling his eyes.

"What don't you do, Pinky!" Gray muttered under his breath from across the bar, knowing Natsu would hear him. The fire breather turned swiftly to the smug looking demon slayer and scowled, about to give him a piece of his mind but instead was interrupted by a barrage of comments flying at him from all over the room.

"Uh-oh! He's pussy whipped!" Macao shouted from a nearby bench.

"You're damn right he's pussy whipped, what's she threatened you with? No sex? That'll do it!" Wakaba shouted straight after, then they both began to laugh when Natsu choked on and spat out the drink Mira had just given to him. Luckily his reflexes were quick enough to move Haru out of the way.

"He's on his best behaviour so Lucy gives him some once she gets back!" Cana drunkenly blurted, "Good boy Natsu, you'll be getting your dick wet tonight!"

"Making babies is MANLY!" Elfman cried.

"Who said anything about making babies you big dolt!" Evergreen scolded, smacking Elfman with her fan.

"You're trying for another baby? That's so cute! Haru needs a sibling." Levy said with a little sparkle in her eye.

What the hell were they all going on about? A question Natsu often asked himself with regards to his guild mates. He'd stopped trying to look at each person individually as they spoke and had started to drift off. Is this what Lucy had to put up with every time their relationship was brought up, because, man, did he feel sorry for her! The only thing he could do was wait patiently until they all shut up, because unlike Lucy, he was use to their antics.

"You guys are like vultures…" Natsu sighed, not looking remotely amused whilst raising his eyebrow at them. Haru had started to get tired and began whimpering from all of the commotion. "See, now look what you've all done! Haru was the reason I turned the bet down, not because of whatever you old lechers were calling it." He accused, pointing his finger at a sniggering Wakaba and Macao, then turned back to the others. "And anyway, what's it to all of you what Lucy and I do?" He pulled Haru away from his chest and laid him down in his arms, making the little one comfortable and pulled out a bottle of milk from his backpack to warm up and feed him, watching as the baby's eyes instantly lit up.

"So… you are trying for another baby?" Mira sneaked in there, her eyes like stars at the possibility of that being true. "It's okay, you can tell me."

"Why would I tell you that?" Natsu looked up, confused as to why he'd tell her something that wasn't true, until he realised she'd misunderstood him. "That's not what I meant!"

"But you didn't deny it, so how're we to know?" Levy teased, elbowing Natsu in the arm.

"I think they are! You should hear the noises they make when they think they're alone together." Happy flew over, and started circling Natsu's head, giggling along with some of the girls.

"Happy! You'll upset Haru if you keep doing that!" He growled at the exceed, then turned back to the rest of them. "No, we're not trying for anything. Lucy and I haven't even… er-" He stopped mid sentence as he realised what he was about to say would doom him for all eternity, but by the looks on their faces, it was too late.

"How is that even possible? You've been together for months now, what are you both doing?!" Cana shrieked, making Haru burst in to tears from her racket. She was gobsmacked. How is it they'd been sharing the same bed and not touched each other?

"Oh no, it's okay buddy, don't cry. Cana's just got a big mouth that she can't keep shut." He frowned when Haru refused the rest of his milk, deciding that he wanted to be held against Natsu's chest and have a cuddle instead.

"Natsu, even I have to admit I'm surprised that neither of you have fornicated, I assumed most loving couples did that sort of thing, to, er, procreate or otherwise…" Erza had tried to keep her composure whilst saying that and even though she'd sounded the part, she'd failed miserably by turning the same colour as her hair.

"Forn-a-what now? I don't get what the big deal is here? It's not like I don't wanna, I'm just waiting for Lucy to want it too." He thought he was doing the right thing by waiting for Lucy, was that not what he was supposed to do then?

"Have you not thought that maybe Lucy's waiting for you too? If she's not done that sort of thing before, there's no way she's gonna initiate it with you. You gotta be the man and go for it." Gajeel grinned, making Levy blush.

"Go for it? But wouldn't that scare Lucy off?" He asked, if he knew Lucy would be ready for it then he would have done it ages ago, but he couldn't be sure without asking her directly and there was no way he was going to do that.

"Well you haven't scared her off yet and that's a feat all in itself!" Gray smirked again, man did he love to wind Natsu up.

"Hey droopy! What's that supposed to mean?!" Natsu snarled through gritted teeth.

"Gray, your clothes…" Cana huffed at the ice mage as he looked down at himself and freaked over losing his clothing, then turned back to Natsu, gaining his attention again. "Just go for it and see where it takes you. You never know, you might be pleasantly surprised…" She smirked, like she knew something he didn't.

Natsu had picked up on the subtle cue, and smirked to himself. So Lucy had spoken to them about it? Which was surprising but by the sounds of it, she wanted it just as much as he did. However, it's not like he could do much about it right now, she wasn't there, but she would be later and he couldn't stop his imagination from running wild. However, those lewd thoughts were unfortunately interrupted by the she demon and her sister.

"If you want, Natsu, Mira and I could take the little one tonight, so you and Lucy can spend some time together?" Lisanna offered, she'd been dying to get her hands on the baby and so had her sister. "I imagine being parents is hard work especially without a break every once in a while."

"But, I'm not sure if Lucy would-"

"Lucy would appreciate it as well I'm sure. You could do something romantic for her for when she gets home?" Mira said, smiling at the dragon slayer.

"You got to have time to yourselves every once in a while, Gajeel and I do. It doesn't make you a bad parent for wanting some space." Levy explained. It did sound quite tempting to take them up on the offer, spending a night with just Lucy sounded like heaven.

"Then you got no excuse not to bend her over." Cana laughed, watching as the dragon slayer's face started to redden a little.

"You've always gotta lower the tone!" Natsu said staring at her, before turning back to Lisanna, "Fine, but you forgot about Happy, it's his house too."

"I don't wanna get in the way of your gross kissing, you always sound like you're trying to eat each other. I'm going night fishing, Lily said he'd come with me!" Happy laughed to himself, earning a scowl from Natsu to shut him up, but it quickly turned into a chuckle, shaking his head, that cat would never change.

Natsu spent the afternoon at the bar stuffing himself silly and playing with Haru, when he was awake, and Happy, before it was time to hand the little guy over. He gave Haru a kiss on the cheek and smiled when the baby smiled back at him. He gave him to Mira, gauging his expression to make sure he was alright before he left. He noticed a slight hesitancy from the baby as he stared into the smiling face of the she-demon. But it wasn't long until Mira had managed to win him over allowing Natsu to relax a bit, making his leave he smiled to himself when he heard the baby giggle again at all the weird noises Mira was making.

Once out of the guild, Natsu halted and took a long, deep breath, he was kinda nervous and excited about the night he'd somewhat planned for Lucy. He hoped her job was a success because then she'd be in a good mood as well. He began to walk again, carrying himself all the way home.

Lucy's job had been a triumph, she was so thrilled to be back in action and she was doing it without the help of anyone else, just her and her spirits. The job itself had been relatively easy, it was to transport a load of ancient artefacts across from Hargeon to a small town on the west coast of Fiore, she was requested to keep them safe and stop anyone from trying to steal them. It had been exhausting using her magic for the entire journey but she had completed it, got paid and had just pulled in to Magnolia station.

She couldn't wait to get home to take a nice long shower and see Natsu. It had gotten quite late now and she imagined Haru would be asleep in bed, so she'd have to wait to see him. Lucy was curious to hear how Natsu's day had gone too and wondered briefly if he would make good on his words from earlier.

She felt herself flush at just the very thought of it, would he do it? They'd been together for a few months and they hadn't got passed overly passionate kissing and heated flirting. Lucy absolutely loved how he made her feel but she still wanted to go further, she wanted to experience what it was like to be truly intimate with someone and surely he did to, or was he really that clueless? In her desperation, she'd even gone to Cana for advice which hadn't really helped, she was much too vulgar to have a serious conversation with. It had left her at a dead end, she was too shy about that sort of thing to outright ask for it, but she wanted to do something, even if it wasn't all the way it could be at least some of it.

Lucy had finally reached her house, only to be startled when Natsu seemingly appeared from nowhere, he grinned, pleased to see her home at last. "Hey, Luce. I thought I could smell you." He said, watching her relax a little and smile back at him. "Are you just gonna stand there or do I have to come to you?"

She dropped her bags and ran up to him, jumping into his arms. They kissed fervently and it instantly made Lucy's skin heat up, she really didn't think she'd ever get use to kissing him like that. When they finally pulled away, grinning like idiots at each other, she remembered that she hadn't seen Haru or Happy and wondered where they were. But before she could ask, Natsu took her hand and guided her to the nearby hill top close to their house. Her breath caught in her throat when she laid eyes upon the dazzling sight before her.

Just like the view from their bedroom but even more spectacular, was Magnolia city, all lit up and mimicking the beautiful night sky above them, the stars were out in full force and she could see the constellations clearly. She looked at the ground and noticed a large blanket and a few cushions had been laid out, in just the right spot for stargazing, it was simple but effective and very much Natsu. She realised then that he must've planned this for them and that Haru was probably with one of their friends for the night.

"It's so beautiful! Did you plan this?" She asked, not being able to rip her gaze away from the stunning scenery.

"Sort of, I guess. You always say the stars are brighter from up here, so I figured you'd want to spend some time looking at them." He said, watching her reaction to it all. "Come and sit down, Luce, I made some dinner for you too if you're hungry?" Her face paled at the thought of Natsu wrecking their kitchen, she made a note to check it before they went to bed. "And before you bombard me with questions; no, I didn't mess up the kitchen and Haru is with Mira, he's fine." Natsu said, leading her down onto the blanket and bringing out a basket full of food. "Oh, and Happy's gone night fishing with Lily." He finished, feeling like a responsible adult.

"Well, look at you acting like a grown up and for the record I wasn't going to ask. I'd already guessed that Haru was with someone else, otherwise you wouldn't be so calm. However, I'm still dubious about the kitchen." She chuckled at his sheepish grin, whilst digging into the food to settle her rumbling stomach. "My job was a success by the way. You were right, I really did need that, it felt good to use my magic again. I had fun!"

"Good, did you get any one trying to steal the stuff?" He asked, he was genuinely interested in how her job went, wanting to hear how bad-ass she'd been. Which had always secretly been a huge turn on for him.

"Yeah, loads! I didn't realise the relics were that important. I sat on top of the train and used my Sagittarius star dress to shoot them all as they approached. It was like playing a game…" She continued to tell Natsu all about it, smiling and laughing at all the things that'd happened.

"...and just as we were pulling into the last station, some big burly guy came onto the train and knocked me out of the way. His size took me by surprise at first, but I quickly changed into my Taurus form and beat him. It was like letting all my anxiety out at once." She finished, grinning from ear to ear. "Apart from the train ride, you would have loved it. There must have been over a hundred of them trying to ambush me and I took down every single one of them."

She felt so refreshed telling Natsu about her achievements and he looked so pleased for her, soaking up every word she told him. He could see the little glint in her eyes had returned, the way she was talking about what she did had brought hope to him that her confidence had returned. He stared into her beautiful eyes as they held this new type of vigour, she looked ready to take on the world and just like always, he'd be right there beside her.

After what seemed like hours of talking about their days, they found themselves laying down on the blanket, huddled closely to one another, gazing up at the stars. Lucy felt like a weight had been lifted and now she had time to relax with her dorky partner, and just be themselves for a change. She couldn't remember a time where she felt more at peace then what she did in that moment, she could have stayed there like that, forever.

"Thank you for today, Natsu, it's really helped clear my head of everything that's been troubling me. I should've listened to you all along, I am strong enough, I know I am and just like always, you've been there to help me see it." She said, nuzzling her head further into the crook of his neck. His hand was splayed against her exposed stomach, stroking it lightly. "And laying here like this with you is just the perfect way to end the day."

"Anything to keep you smiling, Luce!" He murmured against her hair. "I'm just glad it all worked out! I told you I believed in you."

"You did and I'm so grateful for it." She beamed, she was so content in that moment. It got her thinking of how precious times like these were, where they could be just Natsu and Lucy, the two best friend turned lovers. "I could stay like this with you forever, but I guess now we have Haru, we'll miss out on times like this. It's a shame we didn't do more of this before becoming parents." It wasn't that they didn't spend time together, they did plenty of that, but it was always as friends not as anything more.

"We won't miss out, Luce. We'll find time to be just us, I promise. Haru won't always be this small, then we'll have all the time in the world to be with each other. I said forever didn't I?" Natsu thought back to when he'd told her that, it'd been when he first came to terms with his feelings for her. It felt so long ago now and so much had changed since then, they'd achieved so much together. However, he understood how she felt, it was a shame they'd both been too dense to see what was in right front of them. But without Haru, they'd still be in denial and who knows how long it would've taken for them both to act.

"Yeah, you did say that." She smiled up at him and kissed his jaw.

Natsu brought her closer, brushing his fingers over her hip, grazing a sore spot and making Lucy hiss suddenly. She flinched at the painful vault that ran through her leg, making her sit up. Natsu bolted upright, concerned by her reaction, he wanted to check her over to make sure she was okay. After a quick scan of her body, he caught sight of a huge dark bruise that'd appeared on her right hip.

"Whoa, Lucy! That's one hell of a bruise!" Natsu was shocked by how big it was, it must have been fresh because that hadn't been there earlier. He brushed his fingers gently over it, earning a small whimper from her, as she tried to hide how painful it was. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." He grimaced as he looked up to her eyes and saw her bravely trying to hold back her tears from the pain it had caused.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt that much. I'll be okay." She said as she went to touch it herself, "Ouch! I take it back, that's so sore! It must have been from that huge guy I defeated earlier, he was pretty tough." She yelped, whipping her hand away from the darkened area.

"That bastard! At least you beat him, Luce!" He said smiling at her, trying to lighten the mood. "I'd apply heat to it if I knew it would help, but I don't think it will. You need ice on that."

"Hmm, looks like I'll have to go and find some ice then…" She said slyly. Putting her finger to her lip, she put on a cute thinking face. "Do you know of anyone in particular, that could be of assistance, Natsu?" She pretended innocence, struggling to hold her smile down when she saw Natsu's face turn into one of disgust.

"Don't even go there!" He raised his eyebrow at her, realising that she was trying to provoke him, but after all of her past failed attempts at doing just that she definitely wasn't going to succeed this time either.

"Go where? I only asked if you knew of anyone that could provide me with ice, or would you prefer to see me suffer?" She said, moving slowly closer to him, careful not to touch the bruise. She put on her best innocent smile as she looked deep into his eyes through her lashes.

"I think you know my answer already, Lucy. And as much as it would kill me to say it…" His eyes bore deep into hers, his hands clutched both sides of her head and gently stroked her skin. His face remained calm and serious as he spoke, "I'm sorry, Luce, but I'd have to let you suffer." He murmured, flicking his nose against hers, before moving back a bit.

She gasped, watching his lips split into a mischievous grin, "You're so mean! How could you? And here I was thinking you loved me." She joked. It's only when she noticed Natsu's eyes go wide that her own mirrored his, her hands shot up to her mouth when she realised what she'd said out loud. "N-No, wait, I-I, er, that's not, I d-didn't mean…" Feeling herself become quickly flustered, she started babbling, trying but failing to make up any excuse for what she'd blurted.

Natsu tilted his head at her and furrowed his brows whilst she rambled on, confused by what she was trying to tell him, "Didn't mean what, Luce?" He asked.

She stopped her erratic talking instantly, "What I said, did you not hear me?" Was he pretending that he hadn't heard her? Her heart sank a little, maybe he wasn't ready for that yet? She felt her mood dampen, who was she trying to kid? He really was clueless. She went to stand, her painful hip pushed to the back of her mind, no longer caring about the discomfort as she tried to adjust to being on her feet. "Never mind, Natsu."

Just as she was about to turn she felt a warm hand wrap around her wrist, stopping her from walking off, but she was no longer in the mood for his antics. "Wait, don't go! I heard what you said, Luce." He said, almost frantically. He stood and took a step closer, hand cupping her cheek, totally transfixed by the radiant glow of her glossy brown eyes, wavering back and forth between them. "And you're right… I do love you."

She gasped, not actually expecting him to say it. "You love me?" She blushed a little but not caring about her pink skin. He loved her? Natsu Dragneel loved her? Why was it so surprising? That was usually how relationships developed, yet she still couldn't believe what her ears were hearing.

"Now who isn't listening?" He grinned fondly, taking in her gorgeous stunned features, with his hand still on her cheek, rubbing softly at her delicate skin. "I wouldn't lie to you, weirdo. I said it because I meant it." He brought her head closer to his, their lips brushing together and curling up into a tender smile, "You mean everything to me, Lucy."

Lucy's mind had turned to mush, she felt her knees turn weak, like they were about to collapse. She clung to his jacket to steady herself and wrap her head around what he'd just told her. She didn't know what to do with herself, she was so filled with joy it was making it hard to think straight, but luckily Natsu was there to save the day. He pressed his mouth to hers, slowly bringing her down until she was laying against the blanket, never breaking contact. He caged her between the soft floor and his hot body, overwhelming her lips, it was a feeling like no other. She wanted to sate his hunger for her, to be completely and utterly consumed by him and have him gorge on every part of her body until there was nothing left except pure, sweet bliss.

Unable to control her inner desires any more, she snaked her hands up his body and ever so slowly unzipped his jacket until his front was completely exposed. The cool air against his burning hot skin seemed to shock him at first, stopping in his tracks when he felt her colder hands lay flat against his chest. Disconnecting from her mouth and gazing deep into her eyes, it seemed like he was looking for something, a sign maybe? Or a reason to her actions? Usually, she wouldn't have been so forward, but now that he'd confessed his love for her, she didn't want to back down, no matter how inexperienced and nervous she was, but he still didn't look too convinced.

"Is this really what you want, Lucy? There's no pressure to do anything if you don't wanna. We can just have a bit of fun?" He spoke tenderly to her, wanting to show his utmost sincerity, because this wasn't some one night fling. He wanted to make sure she was actually ready for it, and not just doing it because Cana or Mira had told her she should be, and definitely not because she thought that this was what he wanted. "We can just start slow, then see where it goes."

Lucy's chest flooded with nervous energy, he was so sweet sometimes, and she definitely wanted this, she'd wanted it for the longest time, but her nerves were starting to get the better of her. "Of course I want this! I love you, Natsu. I've loved you for so long and now I want to show you just how much." She rested her hands on his broad shoulders, her words made his stomach do back flips and then she smiled, the most beautiful shy smile appearing on her smooth features and it took his breath away."I've just never done this before and I'm kinda nervous is all."

"I know, Luce, neither have I, but we can learn together. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you, your trust means everything to me and I would never break that." He spoke lowly, almost like a whisper. She nodded back at him, smiling sweetly at his words.

He leaned back down to her mouth and kissed her softly and full of passion for the girl he adored so much. It wasn't long before the kiss became more needy but it still held the same amount of love in it, because that's what he intended to do, make love to her, whether that be tonight or any other night. Natsu loved Lucy with every fibre of his being and she deserved his very best efforts.

He made his way down to her neck, paying extra attention to all the areas he knew made her squirm. Her hands went straight into his hair, while his were laid next to her head. Travelling down to his shoulders, she hooked her fingers under his open jacket and pushed it off of him, hearing it crumple on the floor. Wanting to feel his hard muscles against her skin, Lucy reached down to her own top and slowly pulled it over her head, forcing Natsu to detach himself from her. He pulled back a bit to gaze over her slender form, and damn, was she stunning! She could make any man hers if she truly wanted, but she'd chosen him and for that, he would be forever grateful.

He looked down to Lucy's chest and noticed they were still encased in her bra, that was no good! He wanted to get a birds eye view and that stupid bit of material was stopping him. He smirked up at Lucy, as an idea popped into his head. He hooked his finger around the material and in a second her chest was on fire, burning the bra away, but not hurting Lucy, exposing her enormous chest to him and all she could do was shriek at the sudden warm sensation on her skin.

He seemed pleased with himself but she never got a chance to scold him before his mouth dived down to her nipple and latched on, flicking his tongue over it. Her mouth dropped open and inhaled sharply at the new sensation, her head flung back as she arched herself a little into the air, pushing more of herself into him. His free hand came up to play with the other one, making Lucy moan out loud. Natsu felt himself respond to the noise she'd made to the point where it was now very obvious in his pants. He was so turned on from watching her enjoy herself, it was a stunning sight to behold and he could only imagine what having sex with her would be like.

He released the nipple from his mouth but kept his hand firmly on the other one as he began to make his descent to her stomach. Her creamy skin was so sensitive, and so deliciously sweet, her scent was ever so strong right now and it was overwhelming his senses the closer he got to her legs. He finally reached the band of her skirt, looking up to Lucy to make sure they were both in sync.

"P-Please don't burn it…" She whimpered out quickly as he continued to play with her nipple.

He smirked at her, she could barely get the words out, and all he was doing was playing with her breast. He removed the skirt, the proper way, as swiftly as possible, leaving her thigh high socks on and taking off her boots to make her more comfortable. She was now laying before him in nothing but her skimpy (pointless, he thought) underwear and some thigh high socks and what a sight it was. His cock twitched again, he could feel the blood rushing from his head down to his groin as his arousal began to take over. He was glad for self control because, by god, was it difficult seeing her like that.

He was having a hard time controlling the heat radiating off of him, which she was glad for because the air had a bit of a chill to it. He was staring at her, like she was some delicate piece of jewellery that might break if touched in the wrong way, but she missed the contact and so proceeded to help him along. She reached down and slowly took off her underwear until only the socks remained on her body. She felt her face blush like crazy, but couldn't take her eyes off of his face. He looked mesmerised by her, he'd seen her naked a hundred times before and yet it all felt so new. He gave her a soft smile as he began kissing her again, making his way down from her hips, to her inner thigh, nipping at her sensitive skin. He edged closer and closer to the area her overpowering scent was strongest until he could go no further.

"P-Please, Natsu, touch me. I want you to touch me." Her voice soft and wavering as she looked down at him, her heart pounded uncontrollably when she saw how close he was to her.

"Touch you where, Lucy? Show me." He said, he wanted to get this right, but with having no previous experience a little guidance was needed until he got the hang of it.

Lucy felt herself flush even more as she opened her legs wide, giving him the full view of her nether region. She reached her hand down, using her fingers to separate her lips to reveal her swollen clit. Now this was an area he'd definitely not seen before, but still felt compelled to see what that would taste like and moved his face down to where she was showing him. He held her legs apart and encased her clit with his mouth and began to suck lightly, using his tongue to swirl over and around it, whilst keeping his gaze on Lucy's face. Her eyes instantly rolled to the back of her head and let out a long breathy moan. Her hands landed back in his hair, pulling and tugging as he continued his onslaught, his warm tongue felt like heaven.

"Yes, Natsu, right there, i-it feels so good…" She mewled, totally lost in the pleasure he was giving her.

He wanted to elicit more of those erotic sounds from her and make her tell him just how amazing she felt, it was like music to his ears knowing that he was the one causing her to feel that way. Natsu grazed his fingers lightly over her entrance and watched her breathing become harsh and heavy, then ever so slowly pushed a single digit into her. He could feel her tense around him and she groaned at the new sensation. Once she seemed to relax, he added another finger, stretching her even more, but this time her expression turned strained.

"Does that still feel good, Luce?" He asked, he didn't want to hurt her, that wasn't the point of this.

"Mm-hmm… really good." She breathed, bucking her hips up a little, "Fuck me with your fingers, Natsu."

Smirking at her choice of words, she was quite the dirty talker, if she liked that then he'd have to up his game too. "As you wish." he murmured, going back down to suck on her clit, whilst moving his hand back and forth inside of her, making her groan loudly over and over again.

She could feel the tension building up within her and to add to her sweet torture, the more she moaned the faster he would go. The feeling of his fingers massaging the inside of her walls was enough to almost send her over the edge, and he could see she was close. Natsu was enjoying watching her teeter on the edge, he kissed and nipped his way up her body, fingers continuing to work their magic before he eventually found himself face to face with a very flushed and burning hot Lucy, and fuck, did she look absolutely breathtaking in this state.

She could feel her climax approaching and it was so intimate with their eyes locked on each other as he brought her closer and closer. He leaned down to her ear and sucked on her lobe, "That's it, Lucy, come on my hand, show me how good it feels." He growled against her, sending a shiver through her spine.

Hearing him speak like that made her snap. Tremors racked Lucy's body as her orgasm took hold, tensing around his fingers and crying out into the night. She felt her mind go blank, while her eyes rolled into the back of her head, it was like nothing she'd ever felt. He halted his movements, allowing her to ride it out with his fingers still firmly inside her. He gawked at her writhing body beneath him, totally captivated by how incredible she was. When she finally came down from her high, Natsu was staring down at her with the biggest smirk on his face, obviously pleased with himself that he'd managed to make her climax.

"That was so hot!" He growled against her mouth, claiming her lips briefly and removing his fingers from her. "We should take this indoors." He grinned playfully, carefully lifting her from the ground. Natsu chucked her over his shoulder, ignoring her protests to put her down and took her inside. Now the fun could really begin!

Hi! Sorry this took a bit longer to come out, I must have rewritten it about 6 times in the end, but it's here now, thank god! :D And don't worry, I haven't cheated you out of smut, this chapter was long enough without adding any more to it, so you will be getting the full, unadulterated smuttiness you've probably been waiting for, or not if you don't like that sort of thing. I hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading! :)

#nalu family #Nalu #fairy tail nalu #nalu fanfic #nalu fanfiction #nalu baby #natsu dragneel #natsu #Natsu and Lucy #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail #fairytail #happy (fairy tail)#fairy tail fanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #nalu child #nalu smut #smut

113 notes · View notes

gloves94 · 4 years

Text

Kingdom of the Sun [Fire Lord Zuko] 8

Chapter Warnings: Death Story Rating: M Pairings: Zuko/OC Kingdom of the Sun MASTERLIST

Last Airbender MASTERLIST My MASTERLIST

"Mother…" Tsai paced around the guest room where her mother would be staying. It was past midnight and the shocking news of Fire Lord Ozai's passing had been a hard hit. "What are you doing here?" She pinched the bridge of her nose already feeling overwhelmed.

"It's not safe. Why did you come? Who's taking care of things back home?" Sanju removed her glasses and placed them next to the bedside table, a bored expression on her sharp eyes. "Your friends are terrible liars. Specially that bald boy." "You mean the Avatar?"

Leave it to her mother to have absolute and complete disregard for whom she was entertaining. Just a couple of years back she would've bent over backwards just to entertain him. Now she had reduced Aang from an almighty Avatar to an honest bald boy. How typical of her to be so unconcerned with matters that did not regarded her.

"I've come to take you home. Your brother and I need help running the paper," she said placing her hands on her lap, sitting with her back completely erect, lips drawn into an intimidating thin line. "I didn't mean to come to the Fire Nation, or to stay here for so long… Wait- if you and Mecha are here? Who's in charge? Also- where did my brother go?" Tsai asked, still a thousand questions running through her head. "That boy with the ponytail, he's quite brilliant," Sanju nodded closing her eyes for a moment. 'Sokka? Really?' The young lady couldn't help but be slightly horrified at the thoughts of Sokka running a newspaper. "Your brother is off with some girl," she added flatly. 'Mai, of course.'

"Mom," Tsai looked at her nervously twirling the fabric of her dress skirt in her hands. "What if… What if I want to stay here, in the Fire Nation?" She admitted looking at her with hopeful eyes. "Stay? And do what?" Her mother arched a judgement eyebrow. "What are you going to do here? Lounge around?" Again, three years ago she would've been ecstatic at the news. Hell - she would've packed her up and kicked her out of Yu Dao with a bidding away party. Now, however, she seemed unenthusiastic at the idea. "No," she drawled out feeling small under her mom's intimidating green gaze. "I'm going to stay and I'm going to help people here. There's much reconstruction to do, just like back home."

Sanju made a disapproving sound, yet her posture did not shift. "That terribly rude man has brought nothing but turmoil and more troubles since he came into our lives and still he can't manage to say a single word of acknowledgement to me." She uttered bitter at the lack of appreciation. "Mom," Tsai reasoned with her. "He's in shock, his dad just died." "Oh?" She poked. "His father? The disgraced war criminal whom he allowed to rot in jail?" She huffed with a glare. “It’s no surprise the coward chose the easy way out. Suicide…” She clicked her tongue. Tsai's shoulders slumped forward in defeat. Clearly it would be impossible to get through to her mother and even worse when she was in a mood. "You're impossible," she muttered shaking her head and walking towards the door. "Don't you walk away from me!" Her mother called out sternly. Her daughter didn't respond and exited the room. "This conversation isn't over Tsai!" She called.

Troubled, upset and beyond irritated Tsai worriedly made way to Zuko's room. She wondered if he was still awake this late in the night.

She slid the door open slowly. The maroon room was dark, and she saw him. Zuko was on his bed, laying down on his side over the bed covers. A single candle kept the room dimly lit. She looked at him with concern and walked around sitting on the edge of the mattress. She could see that he was awake. His gold eyes fixed on a particular spot on the wall. He hadn’t said a single word since they had both been informed of Ozai’s demise. Tsai assumed this must’ve been terribly hard for him.

Sure, maybe Fire Lord Ozai was an absolutely vile and disgusting man. He was a war criminal. He was solely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. Yet he was his father – and his abuser too. He was the man who had scarred and emotionally tortured for years. Not to mention the multiple assassination attempts on his young life. Not to mention how he had taken everything away from him, even his mother.

Remaining silent she placed a hand on his arms hoping it would bring him comfort. Unsure of what she could possibly say or do to make the situation any better.

This was a lot. Even for him to process and dissect how he felt. It was not yet dawn when a knock echoed through the room. Tsai turned and allowed the person in. In stepped in Zuko’s assistant holding in several parchments of information accompanied by two Fire Nation guards standing several feet behind him. “The physicians have determined the cause of death,” he said keeping his eyes lowered. Zuko did not move from his position. His glazed eyes simply remained frozen on that same spot on the wall.

“What was the cause of death?” Tsai asked turning to look at Nezu from her seat on the mattress. “Fire Lord Ozai’s official cause of death was exsanguination. An artery was pierced by a stab wound. Foul play is suspected,” he explained. It was then that Zuko actually moved. He sat up slowly his back remaining turned against the messenger. “How’d it happen?” Was all he asked. His tone dry of any sympathy he might’ve held for his father. The assistant cleared his throat pausing for a moment, “Uh…” He hesitated. “Exsanguination,” Tsai repeated what the man had just said. “I want to know how it happened. I need to know every detail,” he spoke in a rougher and angrier tone than intended. His gaze clouded with darkness.

The assistant stammered as he once again unraveled the parchment scroll and continued to read. “- Ozai a male adult of middle age, was found dead in his prison cell in the North Prison Tower on the day of our lord past dusk. The cause of death is considered to be exsanguination from a fetal stab wound to the brachial artery. Signs of struggle were present as the man was stabbed 23 times.”

‘Twenty-three stab wounds?’ Tsai’s mouth went dry. All this time she had assumed that the man had committed suicide, not that somebody had gone in and turned him into a slice of cheese! Whomever had done this- it hadn’t been a casual hit job. This had been personal. Whomever had done this had personal beef with Ozai, but then again, who didn’t? “This was found amongst his belongings,” Nezu said pulling a wrapped bundle from his pocket. Zuko finally turned to look at his assistant. Tsai paled in disbelief, her face resembling a pillow’s bed sheets. Instinctively she reached for her neck and realized the man had taken her sunstone necklace. He placed the necklace and other information on a nearby table. “We will wait until morning to let Lady Ursa and General Iroh know. For now, we will send notice to the other nations and begin the necessary arrangements for the wake and funeral tomorrow. That is all Fire Lord Zuko.” The man bowed respectfully before exiting the room.

Tsai found that she couldn’t move. She didn’t until she noticed Zuko swiftly move around the room and snatch the necklace off the table in disbelief. She reached his side just in time also reaching for it but failing.

He brought the piece of jewelry that he had many times held in his hands and brought it close to his face for further inspection. He looked at it in disbelief. There was absolutely no way that his father could’ve gotten a hold of the necklace by causality. She wouldn’t have carelessly dropped it. It also wouldn’t have been stolen without her noticing. He noted the torn golden chain and put together that he had to have ripped her off her person.

He looked stunned, pained, almost betrayed.

‘Could she have?’ “Did you kill my father?” He rasped bluntly, almost out of air. His eyes turned to her. All evidence pointed to her. It had been a personal crime, the stabbing fit her weapon of choice, the necklace was unmistakably hers. “No,” She responded calmly, “I didn’t.”

He looked at her hard for a moment. As if doubting her. He believed her, but at the same the evidence was too striking. What motive did Tsai have for killing Fire Lord Ozai? She wanted the entire Ozai Order to collapse and she knew that it might if their leader were to be gone, but at the same time why make it so obvious? Why slay him in such a notorious way?

It was messy, emotional, loud. Wouldn’t poisoning him be easier? Zuko knew that Tsai knew how to poison someone if she wanted to. Her knowledge in herbs and mastery of them would allow her to discretely do such a thing. Specially since she once mentioned she had accidentally poisoned her family.

He proceeded to advance to the next logical question. “Why did he have your necklace?" Zuko demanded to know. His hand clenching around the stone as a concerning anger, the one he was infamous for began to boil inside of him. "Why?" He pressed at her silence.

She thought of her actions on the previous day. Everything that had happened after finding the secret passage in Mai’s house and before dinner. She still remembered her conversation with Ozai and just how she had returned to the palace injured, soiled in her own blood and with angry tears threatening to spill. "I went to talk to him," She admitted the truth. Bracing herself for his outburst. "What?" He snapped just as she predicted. Why would she put herself at such a risk? Why would she got see that man? "When? Why? What were you thinking?!" He said incredulously throwing his hands up in aggravated frustration.

"I went to directly ask him who was working for him from outside of the prison walls. So, he bartered, he wanted to see Azula in exchange for information."

"And you decided to keep this from me why?!" He demanded fuming. His father was a Machiavellian genius. If anything, he had just been playing her. Where was Azula anyway? She would probably lose the smidge of sanity that she had left when she found out that her father had been brutally murdered. "I didn't want to worry you," she said frowning slightly. "Because I knew you would react this way, and then yesterday-"

"So you lied to me," he said wounded.

"No, I did not lie," she clarified. "I just never mentioned it." "That's the same thing Tsai! You lied by omission!"

"It's not!" She pressed failing to contain her equally steaming temper. "Did you really go see Mai yesterday or was that a lie too?" "I did," she almost growled out. "I did and I found her father is - was one of Ozai's most loyal followers, and I found a secret tunnel under her house. One that lead to a chamber with dozens of tunnels that are buried all under our noses! I bet that's how they've been meeting and getting in and out of the palace without anybody knowing."

His expression remained hard, eyes focused on hers as he waited to see how this was relevant to his father.

She bit back her lip and looked at him with large eyes as she got ready to tell him her story.

Xxx

Tsai had just escaped the tunnel system. She stood outside of the tunnel entrance she had just exited from. All of this time they had been meeting and sneaking under everybody's noses and nobody had batted an eyelash. She was getting close, closer to finding out who was leading this movement.

Gazing at the Northern Prison Tower from a distance fists clenched at her sides, she angrily made way to pay the former Fire Lord a vision. He didn't have the upper hand in this. She did. She stormed past the prison guards who all eyed her oddly as she made her way to the lowest dungeons of the prison. The walls growing hotter and hotter with each step until she reached the isolated last floor. A floor which was moist with mold growing on the ceiling corners, an unpleasant heat already made her skin glisten with sweat, this time she met him with her identity unsheathed.

She stood before Ozai glowering at the pitiful man who slumped on the corner of the cell with his head lowered. He simply looked up acknowledging her and the fact that his daughter was not standing next to her. "Deals off," she stated coldly.

A vile smirk stretched across the man's thin lips as he glowered at her with malice. He let out a noise that resembled a dry laugh.

"I'm getting close you son of a bitch," she glared threatening me. "Are you?" He cocked his head to the side and rose. He approached her with his shoulder's hunched over, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know about the tunnels," she grimaced which made the smile wipe from his face. "I’m going to get to the bottom of this. Can't wait to see how loyal those rats are when Zuko and I come after them." "Zuko…" He huffed almost humorously as he turned towards her. "My son is weak, always has been still is. I'm not scared of you; I'm not scared of him." She leaned forward gripping the bars of his prison cell tightly. "Could've fooled me," she said with a cocky smirk. Her body stiffened yet she remained unwavering when his hand snatched the opening of her tunic dress pulling her close to him. She could smell his rotten breath and see his snake like eyes hoping to intimidate. She reached for his wrist ripping it away from her as she stepped back, dusting her clothes off. "It was prophesized by the Fire Sages that my demise would be at the hand of my own son," he uttered, tearing his eyes away from her. "Yet even then he doesn't have it in him."

She had never looked at somebody with as much hatred before. So that was his pathetic excuse? That was this monster's excuse for the years of abuse he had inflicted on his family. The anguish and torment he had put both Zuko and Azula through? This was the excuse for the many murderous attempts as his son's life? For his banishment? A stupid story that the Fire Sages had foretold.

Her jaw was tightly clenched. "You monster," she managed through gritted teeth. "You're scared of him…" She said nodding with a determined huff. "That's why you sent him away… That's why you banished him when he was only a child!" She rattled the bars angrily. "You're sick and you deserve everything you have coming to you."

"Everything!” She banged the metal bars rattling them xxx "So you did it then…" He looked at her with hard eyes. A blend of uncertain emotions about the demise of his father and abuser haunted him. "Of course, I didn't." She looked at him with disbelief. "I was livid, maybe I did say somethings I shouldn't have - but I did not kill your father," she looked at him with intensity. He lowered his gaze. She couldn't really tell just what was going through his head. There was sadness in his eyes, hurt, betrayal, and more than anything confusion. "Did you?" She probed. "What?" His eyes widened slightly at what she was implying. "Did you do it?" She pressed.

"What?" Seemed to be the only word he could manage. "How can you say that?!" He rose a morose look on his face. One she hadn't seen since the first few days when they met all those years ago. How could she suggest that he be the one to do it? Zuko had just as much motive just as she did. Also, if Ozai and the Fire Sage’s prophecy was correct. Zuko would be responsible for the demise of his father. Something that had terrorized the former Fire Lord for years. "Because I would've done it… " she looked down in shame. "I would've done it for us."

She shifted on her steps before taking a seat on the edge of his bed, looking at him with a sad look. His shoulders slumped as his anger waivered. "I know he was your father, but with him dead… Think about it. What this means for your people, for the rest of the world, for us… Without Ozai, the movement doesn't have any strength. They can't support him if he's gone." "Don't be ridiculous," he shook his head. "There will always be another backer, it doesn't have to be him. For all that we know it could be Ukano or anyone else." He wasn’t wrong.

She looked at him dejectedly. Of course, he hadn't done it. He had also been preparing and setting up for dinner that night. There was no way he could've sent someone to do his dirty bidding or that he could've been in two places at the same time. She was trying to support him yet couldn't find the words or the proper most effective way to do it.

He sighed and took a seat next to her before burying his face in his hands hunching over in frustration. "Okay, calm down," She said placing an arm on his shoulder. She wanted to ask what the consequences would be for the person who was responsible. Tsai was certain that she hadn't done it. Yet- if her name wasn't cleared. She knew that Zuko wouldn't throw her in the gutter, but it seemed that the other Fire Nations - ones whom already held a certain distaste for her – if they even suspected her of being capable of such an atrocious crime, they wouldn’t even blink twice when locking her up. Even worse, they might rebel against their Lord if he stepped in and meddled. It wasn't the moment to ask for the consequences.

"Whomever was responsible had to have done this between dusk and when my family came in an interrupted." "We have to narrow down our suspects." He said exhaling a sharp breath and sitting up. "That's still a very long list. Honestly, it could've been anyone." She pondered on just who could’ve possibly wanted to murder. Ozai, and honestly the list was long.

"Think- who had the most to win from my father's death." He turned to face her. "Us." "Besides," He continued. She's silent.

"It could've been somebody in the Society itself. Somebody wanting to take over. Somebody wanting to incriminate you. It could've been your father, your brother or your mother-"

She blinked twice staggered at what he was implying. Why was it that her family was number one on the list of possible suspects? "What about you mother and your uncle?" She shot back a little offended.

"You're accusing my mother?" He said in the same touchy tone. It wouldn't be the first time Ursa killed a Fire Lord. However, it didn't seem like her style. Why couldn't she have just poisoned him instead? Aha! Because this time it was personal… Or maybe she wanted to throw everybody off her trail? "You accused my entire family!" She raised her voice. "My family just got here. Now, I know Mecha had this agenda to kill your father a couple of years ago, but why would he act upon it now? Specially with him already locked up. My mother on the other hand… Sure she has a temper, but I've never seen her hurt a fly, much less a person. I don't think she would've managed to get so close to be able to scratch the man. Whomever did this... It had to be somebody that he knew. Somebody that he trusted enough not to hurt him…" "Are you thinking…" he egg shelled wondering if she was also thinking of the same twisted being who could’ve done this.

"No, it's impossible. If this had been Azula's doing we'd all be dead by now."

Zuko turned the evidence on his head. It all seemed to come down to one suspect. "Tsai, I hate to say it but it all points to you," He realized. "What are we going to do when you find out who it was?"

"We can't have a murder amongst us," he said darkly. "It's not safe." "I agree." She says in the same morose tone. He's looking at her eyes fixed on the carpeted floor. "You don't believe me!" She says incredulously. "I know you didn't do it. I trust you," he beathed. "But the evidence- you can't tell me you wouldn't look at it objectively in the same way if it was lined up against me."

"But it is-" She says. "Zuko if you did it, tell me. Tell me and we'll figure out a way out of this."

He couldn't help but crack a smile, of course she'd be the type to offer to hide the body.

"We'll get to the bottom of this." He reassured her.

Both barely managed to catch a wink of sleep before the funeral the next morning.

Xxx

The distasteful scent of incense flooded the Fire Nation capital’s lesser temple. It wasn’t as stunning or grand as the Main Temple, but it was as old as the nation itself. Also, small, yet respectful enough to hold the funeral services of a former Fire Lord and a war criminal.

Tsai glared menacingly at the majority of men and women witch matching Phoenix rings that filled the room. It seemed that all if not most members of the New Ozai Society were present mourning their leader. They all sat near the front. Sharing smug looks with each other all wearing black.

Zuko sat alone by the front. Any moment now he would be summoned to the front by a Fire Sage to ignite the body as the ceremony required.

Tsai sat in the middle with her family and Zuko’s. Iroh and Ursa were there too looking quite gloom and sullen. Kiyi had stayed home with her father, seeing as the event wasn’t suitable for a child. Ty Lee and Suki were by their sides keeping a close eye on everyone.

Specially on Ukano, Mai’s father, who had a dangerous glint to his eye. Zuko was right, it almost seemed like he had been the one to step up to the plate of ringleader.

All members of the Society stepped forward all holding a single white flower and tossing it at the man’s open casket as they each individually paid their services. Iroh approached his brother’s lifeless body and lightly bowed out of respect, yet he didn’t say anything the rest of the service.

Finally, it was time for Zuko to step forward. All eyes were on him as he stood before the flowery casket. He stood frozen wearing his regalia. It looked like he was struggling to ignite it. Concerned Mecha elbowed his sister and nudged her with a gaze that seemed to say to go help him. She nodded and crossed the temple’s aisle.

If he ever needed her it was now more than ever.

She stood beside him and despite still being angry with her, he smiled weakly. She gave his arm an encouraging squeeze and swallowed a lump that had formed on her throat when she looked at Ozai’s stiff pale face exposed before them. The former Fire Lord’s body had been propped on top of a sturdy marble altar table.

Zuko ignited a flame on his hand, both exchanged a look before he shot it down igniting the cask. He stepped back looking at the fire that consumed his father’s resting body slowly. He was much too distraught that he didn’t hear the small clicking sound. It sounded awfully familiar… Tsai’s eyes widened in horror.

“Watch out!” She managed to push him out of the way. Before he could react, a bright light emitted from the fire before a massive flame exploded before them. Both collapsed to the ground, she covered her body best she could shield him from the abrasive flames knowing she’d be immune to them.

Horrifying gasps and screams echoed the temple as everybody rose to their feet some getting ready to rush forward to the Fire Lord’s aid, other running towards the exit only to find the doors locked shut.

Tsai looked at her family fearfully but before they could further advance to her, black smog erupted from each of the pillars of the temple as they detonated one by one. Cracks broke the ceiling as a landslide of concrete debris and steel pieces began raining upon the crowd in destruction. Zuko kneeled his eyes also turned in concern to look at his family. There was no time, he would never reach them. The ceiling was about to collapse!

He looked at Tsai who hopelessly reached forward before wrapping an arm around her and pulling her back to the nearest shelter – underneath the marble altar table on top of which his father’s body had been propped in just moments ago.

He winced when it came down. The thought of his family being crushed underneath the ceiling making his chest ache. Debris and ash fell around them trapping them underneath the small space beneath the marble altar table. Both coughed for breath and the dust and smog. He held her protectively against his body and with more force than he intended a hand over her head shielding from any collapsing matter. Her eyes were shut tightly, heart racing as she choked on a sorrowful sin for her family, for his family, Ursa, Iroh… Their friends. There was no way they had survived the collapse of the temple.

Moments later the havoc ceased, and silence was the only thing either could hear. No more screaming, no more pain. They sat amongst a graveyard. The space that they shared was completely dark, it was also tall enough for the two to be sitting up without having to slouch. “I think it stopped,” he broke the despondent silence that seemed to linger. She hadn’t even noticed the hot tears that had begun to stream down her face. “Our families,” she cried. The thought of everybody they knew and cared for tore her heart apart. He had to be strong, logical, reasonable as his eyes scanned the small space for a way out. There would be time to mourn later, but not now.

The only thing he could do, was hold her, close, a hand lazily holding her head. Mind racing a thousand miles for house as he processed what had just occurred. “What the fuck!” She suddenly spat; her voice angry as she composed herself and sat across from him. “How could we not have seen it?” She pulled at her hair. “It all adds up!” Her jaw went slack as the dots connected in her head. “How else would you gather the entire Fire Nation Royal Family and all of the New Ozai Society in one room?”

She exhaled feeling drained, the lack of sleep taking a toll on her soundness. “My father…” She pondered on her words. “The bombs, it’s his signature style. The Anti-Revolutionary Movement is behind this,” she said out loud more to herself. However, Zuko listened carefully. “I don’t think he killed Ozai. It’s not his style, he wouldn’t have been able to get close enough.”

“It makes sense,” Zuko suddenly spoke. His eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness that engulfed the two of them. “Him wanting to incriminate you.” “I guess you’re right…” She hugged her knees and rested her head on top of them. At this point she didn’t even want to think, she didn’t want to feel anything. She had no reason to believe her father was innocent when it came to this matter. Yet, something in her gut told her she was wrong.

“What are we going to do?” She suddenly cried out frightened.

“There’s no use in trying to dig our way out,” he said stretching out a palm and feeling the wall with sturdy debris, iron and who knows other materials. If a single piece was moved incorrectly, we might lead a slide in and both would be crushed.

“Great. Be crushed or asphyxiate,” She said in uncharacteristic pessimism. “It was a large explosion,” Zuko reasoned. “Somebody’s probably digging around looking for any survivors.” He explained more to himself, than to her, in an attempt to remain cool and collected. But what if nobody was looking? What if everyone was too scared? The only people that could save them were Aang and the rest of the gang and as far as everyone knew they were all in the Republic of Nations all the way across the other side of the sea. “It could take days…” Her tone dropped to almost a whisper.

Again, silence, no sign of survivors. Both shaken by the attack, by the terrible loss of their families. Losing her grip on reality Tsai let out a loud angry scream. One he had never witnessed before.

“I’m so angry!” She shouted making his ears ache due to the closeness to her scream. “After all of this. I can't believe my dad wins. I can't believe he dethrones the Fire Nation and destroys a movement with his anarchic methods. It's disgusting… I can’t believe we…” She trailed off, her eyes growing large as they once again welled with tears.

“We’re going to get out of here,” he reassured her, his voice strained eyes hard, as he attempted to snap some sense into her. “Come here,” he said reaching for her. She crawled to him and sought refuge on his body, sitting in between his legs.

“Calm down,” he whispered hugging her close to him. He stroked her hair, running his fingers through the long locks a gesture which he hoped would help calm him down as well.

She kept her eyes closed; nose pressed against the fabric of his robes. She inhaled his scent wondering if it would be the last time, she smelled it. Wondering if this would be the last time they would be in each other’s arms. This was ironic, life was funny like that. It was what he had always wanted for the two of them to lie in the same grave for eternity. Maybe that’s why he was so calm… ‘So this was how it ended…’ She took in a deep breath. “If anything happens…” She began, “I’m glad it’s this way. In each other’s arms. I hope our story will be immortalized when they find our bodies no longer with life still in each other’s arms,” she said morbidly.

He couldn’t help but smile a little at the thought. Then again this was the guy that actually proposed in a graveyard.

“Our story will live on because we will tell it ourselves.”

“How are you so sure?” She asked wiping away her tears. She moved away from him and he turned banging a fist at the wall of rocks that kept them locked up. The wall remained unfaltering, not moving an inch. “Because it can’t end like this! I won’t let it!” He said wrathfully striking it again and again.

Both still had so much to life for, so much to do…

Tsai didn’t know how long Zuko hit the wall for, or how hard, she looked at him with worry. He was screaming at this point, breathing harshly, his knuckles to the point of bleeding. It seemed that each strike came harder than the last.

“Zuko, stop, you’re hurting yourself,” she pleaded.

He didn’t stop, much too infuriated, much too scared to quiet. “STOP!” She reached for his arm and held it down. She reasoned with him holding him tightly. She couldn’t see well, but could feel him shaking, letting out trembling heaves. It almost sounded as if he was crying. “Stop…” She finally whispered.

She reached for his hands and he winced slightly. She could feel the jagged skin underneath her fingertips. His knuckles were wet, bruised and bloody from the repeated impact.

She held them close to her, sadly stroking them with her thumbs. “Here,” she said. She took in a deep breath and did something she had almost lost the ability to do. It took her a moment to meditate on her emotions. He saw that she began to faintly glow with the life the Sun Spirit had given to her. The light illuminated the room enough for them to see each other. He could feel the pain in his hands slowly dimmish little by little. “I love you,” She couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face, “And if there’s a life after this, I’ll love you then too.”

He let go of her hands and in the dim light touched her wet face holding it in place before leaning forward and kissing her for what seemed to be the last time.

It was then that there was an impact on the wall of debris that kept them underground. Dust filled the space, and both coughed for a breath. He held her close, protectively, bracing themselves for the impact of the rock slide.

"You're about to die and this is what you're doing?" Mecha laughed as he stood before them.

Both looked at him shaken up. Tsai had never been so happy to be at the end of one of her brother’s dumb comments or to hear his mocking laugh.

Mecha stood inside of a large tunnel alongside his mother, Iroh and Ursa. Both firebenders held a small flame that lit the way in their hands.

“You’re very wise to choose love over despair my nephew,” Iroh stretched out a rare grin amongst the chaos that surrounded them.

“Mom!” Tsai’s jaw dropped, teary, red eyes went wide in shock, her mediation becoming nonexistent at what she was seeing. The auburn-haired girl gaped in disbelief. “You’re an earthbender?” She managed to ask.

“Let’s get out of here,” The earthbender said curtly. Ignoring her question.

“How?” Zuko breathed just as surprised.

“Sanju managed to shield us from the collapsing ceiling by forming a rock shelter around us,” Ursa explained in a soft tone. Despite her calm demeanor her eyebrows were tuned up in a concern look. “We were very lucky.”

“Ty Lee and Suki are already outside,” Mecha added. “We looked around, but I don’t think anybody else made it…”

That meant- Mai’s father…

“I don’t know how much longer I can hold it,” Tsai’s mother spoke in a strained voice. The woman had both of her shaking arms held up as she held most of the collapsed temple up.

“Let’s get out of here!”

xxx

AN: Wooppp only 4 more chapters to go. (We all know what’s coming ;) ;) )

50 notes · View notes

purplesurveys · 3 years

Text

1239

survey by allwrongx

Is there anything purple nearby? A lot of my merch have purple details/designs on them, because obviously. From where I’m sitting, I can see my McDonald’s BTS Meal packaging, which are mostly purple, that I keep in my room as a souvenir.

Do you usually leave voicemails on other people's machines? I don’t do voicemail; I’m not sure we have that here.

Do you know somebody whose Christmas lights stay up all year round? No? What a waste of electricity and money.

Do you always shut your computer down when you're finished with it? I haven’t shut down my laptop in months (probably even years) and this question just made me realize that lmao. When I’m done with my work I just fold it shut.

Are most of the pens around your house from random companies or plain? They’re mostly plain pens, though we may have one or two company pens lying around.

Do you dread filling out the about you box on most websites? I usually ignore those now, but when I was around 10 or 11 they were actually my favorite thing to fill out since I liked having the opportunity to share about my interests. About me boxes were the predecessors to my survey-taking habit, I guess? Hahahahaha.

Do you prefer the Code Red Mountain Dew to the Orange kind? I don’t drink Mountain Dew.

Sixteen Candles or Pretty In Pink? I actually haven’t watched either. I’ve always meant to; I even downloaded these onto my hard drive YEARS ago...I just never got around to it lol.

Do you want to have a big family in the future? No. I would be okay with one or two kids.

Do you get embarrassed when talking about things like sex and periods? No.

Are there any towels in your house with cartoon characters on them? I don’t think so, but the dogs’ towel does have a Superman hood and logo on it.

Do the half sheet paper towels annoy you? No.

Ever been in a mosh pit? Not really.

What was the last thing you did that gave you a rush? Probably watching JK’s live a few days ago? I couldn’t sleep for an hour after that and was just feeling really happy and giddy the whole time.

Is Vegas one of your must-see places? No.

Pet rat; Yay or Nay? Nay.

If given the chance, would you ride a unicorn to Iceland? Sure, whatever.

Have you ever washed a cat in your bathtub? No.

Ever seen the movie Max Keeble's Big Move? Opinions? I haven’t.

Would you call yourself a writer? Written any stories lately? Yeah, I write. I don’t focus on stories though; I found out early on I don’t have a very good handle of fiction.

Do you think that the iPad sounds like a foreigner trying to say iPod? That’s so annoyingly racist.

Did that last thing make you laugh? - Probably not. - Whatever.

Are you good at reading people's body language? To an extent. But yeah, my hunch is usually correct, especially if what I’m reading is a negative mood lol. I guess I’m oversensitive to this because my mom usually came home from work in a bad mood when I was a kid, and it continues to this day.

Do you feel obligated to feel bad for people who are crying? Erm, not obligated. I just automatically feel bad and will sometimes not really know how to handle the situation, especially if I’m not close with the person.

Ever ask a random stranger to pretend to be someone for you? I don’t think so. I’m not sure if I can be bold enough to come up to a stranger and pitch something like this to them, either.

Ever threatened somebody and actually went through with it? Yeah, I’ve removed names from a group project after warning that I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if certain people continued to not help.

Does holding newborn babies scare you? Yeah, I’ve always refused to do it. I feel like I would drop them.

Are needles something that you're afraid of? Very much so.

Piercings, Yay or Nay? I don’t mind them as long as it’s not excessive.

Have you ever been prescribed medication? I mean yeah, for flus and stuff.

Do you have a collage of pictures in your bedroom? I have a mini collage of OT7 photos on my corkboard.

Are Mac computers a bit frustrating? Not really; I’m partial to Apple products.

Ever consider a career in photography? As a teenager when DSLRs were all the rage. My sister proved to be a lot more capable than I am, though, so much so that I ended up passing on my camera to her.

Are your friends a different breed? (: I don’t really use that term but yeah, they’re great.

Excited for the new Alice In Wonderland movie? Too creepy looking? I’m not really into that genre.

Favorite Nicholas Cage movie? I’m not sure I have one.

Does either of your parents watch Judge Judy? Nope.

What colour does the button on your computer glow? I’m not sure what you mean, but the backlight on my keys are white.

Did you ever have those glow in the dark stars on your ceiling? I have one set of cousins who did, and it always excited me when we had the chance to sleep over because it meant I got to see those glow in the dark stars.

Do you have a Friday night routine? Kinda, as lazy as it is – I usually use it as my time to catch up on surveys; watch several episodes of Run BTS; and pick long-form BTS content to watch, whether it’s one of their docu-series or one of their other shows like Bon Voyage. If I have extra money to spend I’ll also order in a comfort food of mine, usually either sushi or burgers.

Do you kind of have to pee right now? Nope.

Does bad grammar in surveys annoy you at all? Annoying questions annoy me more than anything. I don’t really mind a grammatical error or two; I just end up correcting them.

For projects do you prefer using glue or tape? Tape, so that it’s more stable.

#survey #surveys

5 notes · View notes

bowerbirdboy · 4 years

Text

A Complete Character Analysis of Sgt. Anacostia Quartermaine

Anacostia Quartermaine. She’s been a giant question mark since day one but is slowly starting to reveal her true intentions. However, my curiosity still remains about her treatment of Raelle and whether or not it’s special. I rewatched all of the episodes with a special focus on her and here’s what I’ve managed to find. This is a long one, I’m sorry. There’s a whole lot to it, I understand if you have to tap out halfway through or skip to the conclusion, but I’d like to think it’s a thorough compilation of everything Anacostia has shown through her actions, words, and body language.

Intro to Anacostia’s Character:

Anacostia was raised as a fosterling, a military child with no parents, and was looked after by Alder. This caused a strong bond to form between the two of them and made Anacostia the perfect right hand woman. As no-nonsense and professional as she likes to appear, we’ve seen some moments (unrelated to soldiers and training, I’ll get into those later) of humanity from her.

One of the best examples is when the fosterlings come to visit and she can’t help but smile. I think it’s clear that she enjoyed her upbringing and they give her both a nostalgic joy and excitement for the future.

We also see her reminiscing about Beltane with Berryessa, another hint that she remembers her childhood fondly.

She even has her hair down, completely freed from her strict drill sergeant duties.

Anacostia and Punishment:

The first time we see her have a one on one interaction is with Raelle, when she finds out about her first demerit. Immediately we see the epitome of the “I’m not mad, just disappointed” look.

She wipes away the demerit first thing without bothering to ask questions about it or punish Raelle. We only see her begin to get angry when Raelle says “I’m sorry” and she snaps back “are you?”. Instead of being angry that she broke the rules, Anacostia seems upset that Raelle doesn’t care about training or putting in effort to improve her work. She almost starts to yell when talking about how Raelle’s actions negatively impact those around her but takes a breath and calms down. Instead, she sits down next to Raelle which makes the scene feel much more like a pep talk from a big sister than a lecture from a superior officer.

She brings herself down to Raelle’s level and softens her tone, not wanting to seem too much like an authority figure. Keep this in mind, it’s important for later.

She also personally hand delivers Raelle’s mail from her dad, something I would presume is way above her pay grade.

Then we see strike number two after Raelle uses Salva with Scylla. Anacostia’s main priority is making sure Raelle gets medical attention (“We need to get you both to the infirmary”). While both girls took the Salva, Scylla has two officers standing guard by her bed and Raelle has none.

I don’t know if this is protocol, but it does seem like a special case. And seeing as how Anacostia dismisses both soldiers with a simple flick of her head, we can presume she gave them the guard duty in the first place.

Anacostia makes sure the guards are gone before threatening Scylla, perhaps because what she’s about to do isn’t quite up to code.

From the daily ranking list we know it is possible to be punished for improper treatment of subordinates, or lower ranking soldiers.

When her threats don’t seem to make an impact and Scylla is still making eyes at Raelle, Anacostia decides to get her point across by bringing Scylla to the brink of death. That might qualify as an abuse of power.

There’s no regret on her face either, she seems to be enjoying making her point.

In this moment I don’t believe Anacostia knew Scylla was Spree, but when Raelle’s progress was in danger she wasn’t afraid to use fear as a tactic to stop it (“Stay away from her. Far away. As if your life depended on it”). But she only punishes Scylla, not Raelle.

We see Raelle get in trouble again, this time for sleeping during training. Anacostia kicks Raelle’s foot out from under her to wake her up, to date the most physical punishment we’ve seen Raelle receive from her. Meanwhile, Abigail gets the brunt of Raelle’s failure when Anacostia forces her to hold out a tricky seed for a dangerous amount of time.

She is unconcerned, even though Abigail is clearly risking her voice and she was the one who told the girls “It is imperative that the entirety of your vocal apparatus... must remain functional and sound producing at all times. Inability to produce sound can leave a soldier powerless.”

This could be a psychological punishment, to get the message across to Raelle that her failures directly harm her team. Raelle cares more about others than herself (even if it was before her and Abigail bonded), so maybe Anacostia knew that it would make Raelle feel guilty. But I think it’s possible she wanted to spare Raelle while still making an example of mistake, so the other girls didn’t get the wrong idea.

Anacostia and Training:

We first see this in episode one, when Raelle storms in to confront Abigail. The other officers are concerned and want to break it up immediately, but Anacostia is interested in seeing the extent of what she can/will do.

She lets the storm rage for about as long as it can without becoming harmful to all those in the nearby vicinity and I think she may have also hoped that Raelle would wriggle out of Abigail’s chokehold. When she inevitably doesn’t, Anacostia grabs Abigail and a random official grabs Raelle. That may have been a subtle hint that Anacostia wanted to ensure Raelle’s safety, only trusting herself to remove Abigail in time.

Anacostia has a strange focus on Raelle in training. This may just be because the Bellweather Unit has the main characters and it makes sense for them to always be the focal point, but I’ll include it anyway.

Even after rebelling and expressing disinterest in being there, Raelle is trusted with being the leader of the pyramid in a training exercise.

While in a unit vocal lesson, Anacostia speaks directly to Raelle by saying “Very good Private Collar, that seed is a beast to master. Maintain it.” So was Raelle specifically given harder work than the others? Or was Anacostia only focusing on her?

Tally and Abigail argue back and forth about their moms, but it is only when Raelle says “how about we cool it on the mom talk” that Anacostia takes notice of the unit and encourages them to “use what’ve you got ladies”. They then proceed to produce a strong wind strike and we hear rare words of praise (“Best wind strike all day”).

Anacostia and Praise:

That leads me rather nicely into my next little segment, Anacostia’s praise of Raelle.

When Raelle wakes up in the infirmary after trying to save Porter, Anacostia’s first words are another comment about her wellbeing (“You could’ve died”).

She looks angry but this time Raelle hadn’t done anything wrong. It seems as if Anacostia was worried about Raelle and covered it up with a layer of anger for risking her health without a second thought.

For the second time we see Anacostia sit down next to her, lowering herself to an equal level so it feels like a friendly conversation rather than a conversation with her drill sergeant.

We hear her praise Raelle, saying “We are all incredibly proud of you, that kind of bravery can’t be taught.” While not the first time Anacostia has complimented Raelle, it is a very vulnerable moment where she talks specifically about her character rather than her skills. It mirrors the first demerit scene and shows Raelle’s growth and Anacostia’s investment in it.

But more importantly, Raelle doesn’t recognize the special treatment she is given. Anacostia is stern and she punishes more than she praises, so you would think Raelle may have started to notice. But in episode five we get two quotes that show she doesn’t.

“Yeah even Anacostia was impressed with our wind strikes.”

When have clearly seen several examples of Anacostia being impressed by their work, including the vocal lesson in the first episode and the wind strike.

“There’s no way she said that.”

When Scylla tells Raelle that Anacostia praised her skills, which we saw happen, Raelle cannot believe it. We’ve seen moments of Anacostia pushing Raelle and complimenting her skills, but Raelle doesn’t see past her her demanding exterior yet.

Perhaps Raelle thinks the bad moments outweigh the good, but when you see how Anacostia treats other soldiers it becomes clear how different she is with Raelle.

Anacostia and Other Soldiers (mainly Tally):

After the swimming pool Spree attack, everyone is a little shaken up. Particularly a woman named Simms, who can’t even produce sound because she’s crying so much.

“Simms, buck up. You are in the United States Army, will you cry every time the Spree attack?” She refuses to show any weakness in the moment because she wants to show her soldiers what strength looks like.

We do eventually see that Anacostia is also shaken up by the attacks and the reactions of her girls, a softer side she doesn’t often show.

She is clearly struggling as well but wants to train the weakness out the soldiers, to keep them safe. She waits for them to leave before breaking down slightly.

However, this is entirely different from how she handles Raelle’s Scylla meltdown. When Raelle is crying and screaming about the loss of Scylla, she tries not to react. Just like Simms’ feeling of fear and sadness, grief is a common occurrence in war that they need to learn how to deal with.

She maintains eye contact and betrays no emotion. Yet.

Even though Raelle is demanding that Anacostia do her job better and is accusing of her sabotaging the search (which she was but... still), Anacostia holds her ground. But when Raelle starts yelling (“You’re acting like I’m crazy, I’m not crazy”), something softens in her eyes.

I believe here she’s realizing just how much Scylla meant to Raelle and she does not want to see Raelle breakdown like this. She even does a hard swallow, as if forcing down some emotion trying to bubble to the surface. There is a sympathy in her eyes that isn’t in the first picture or her confrontation with Simms.

The harshest we’ve seen Anacostia act is towards Tally. Tally is bubbly and naive and still a little scared, all traits Anacostia wants to train out of her. While Raelle’s rebellion and disinterest seem like they should also deserve poor treatment, Anacostia appears to save all of her “harsh life lessons” for Tally.

In episode two, Anacostia singles Tally out and asks her to stab her in the eye, knowing that she would falter and fail.

The look here is cold and expectant. She knows Tally is terrified and won’t be able to do it, but she’s going make Tally feel the full extent of her failure.

When Tally falls, Anacostia barely looks at her before asking someone else to pick up her slack. She knew Tally wouldn’t be able to complete the task and wanted to teach her a cruel reality about war.

Then when Tally find her at the wedding, pale and shaking, to tell Anacostia about the Spree balloon, Anacostia snaps “what is it?” as her first response. While typically we see her holding back her anger and annoyance, Anacostia makes no attempt to hide how she feels about this inconvenience.

And if the message wasn’t clear before, when Tally grips onto her arm Anacostia yanks it away rather unceremoniously.

In episode six when Tally tracks her down to follow up about Scylla, Anacostia doesn’t even bother turning around to acknowledge that someone is talking to her.

She keeps her eyes and head tilted away from Tally, barely even acknowledging that they’re having a conversation. One could wave this away as her trying to keep the secret of Scylla’s location if not for the previous examples of her behavior towards Tally.

Anacostia speaks in short sentences, attempting to dismiss Tally as quickly as possible and only addresses her directly when she wants to threaten her to keep her mouth shut.

Anacostia and Scylla:

This frame about sums up Anacostia’s role in Scylla and Raelle’s relationship and I believe it’s quite purposeful.

She’s standing between them, a constant obstacle. Not only directly, when she threatens Scylla and when she kidnaps her but also what she represents. She wants Raelle to be a good soldier, to follow the life the military has laid out for her. Scylla wants her to see that there’s more to life than that and wants to get away from the military.

After she walks over, Raelle opens her mouth to speak but Anacostia talks over her and directly to Scylla (“You’re not supposed to be here”). It’s as if she’s trying to leave Raelle out of it, once again protecting her as if she’s a child.

As soon as Raelle calls Scylla her girlfriend, Anacostia’s glare shifts to Scylla. Throughout the Tally distraction, Anacostia watches her carefully.

There’s too much to screen shot here, so if you want to follow along, here you go. In her and Scylla’s one on one chat I think here you can see Anacostia’s thinly veiled affection for Raelle and how defensive she is of her, almost like an aunt or mother-figure. She says “you’ve taken advantage of a new recruit” in a tone much angrier than if she really was just a “new recruit”. It seems to be a deliberate choice of words to emotionally distance herself from Raelle in this situation. When Scylla takes credit for some of Raelle’s newfound success in training, Anacostia becomes even more mad and says “Raelle doesn’t need you, she has her own gifts. I suggest you end it sooner than later or I will make life very difficult for you, Ramshorn.” Scylla responds sarcastically and Anacostia responds with a slight head shake as if to say Scylla has no idea who she’s messing with.

Now last but not least, we have the big bombshell at the end where Anacostia is revealed to be torturing Scylla.

And I think the lighting says it all, this is a true dark side to Anacostia that we haven’t seen before. Almost completely unlit, leaving a shadowy portrait gives her the scene an eerie feeling and

Her interrogation starts with “how did you plan the wedding attack?”, meaning she believes Scylla was the force behind the Bellweather death(s) and all of the destruction it caused. The real question is would Anacostia be interrogating her like this if she didn’t think she was a mass murderer?

Conclusion:

Anacostia’s treatment of other soldiers is not bad (except for SELECT moments with Tally and Scylla). She is a drill sergeant training them for war, she needs to be tough to keep them alive. It’s not even close to Izadora slitting a girl’s throat in the promo for next week. However she unquestionably gives Raelle tough love, almost as if she’s watching over her. It’s possible Raelle reminds her of a younger her, or Anacostia knew her mom, or she somehow knows Raelle’s strength and is supposed to monitor her. But you can definitely see that she handles Raelle differently from other soldiers and Anacostia has personal interest in her advancement.

I think it also shows that Anacostia will be the first to want to stop torturing Scylla. She really doesn’t seem to be cold or cruel, only when something or someone she cares about is directly affected. When she finds out that Scylla abandoned the Spree for Raelle, I believe Anacostia will no longer want to harm her.

#if you're still here i appreciate you #just needed to get that all out in one post #anacostia quartermaine #motherland: fort salem #motherland fort salem #motherland #fort salem #raelle collar #scylla ramshorn #raylla #tally craven #grace speaks #MFS Research Institute

123 notes · View notes