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throwaway-yandere · 2 years

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Dendro NA: 101 (Yandere!Alhaitham/Reader)

a/n: “ansy weren’t you going to write faceless!ayato and music composer!tighnari” well yes but things happened so now here we are. I’m dedicating this fic to crying anon since they’re the person that gave me an idea of an "what if Alhaitham had an elf!darling?" after this fic. The beginning reads like an enemies-to-lovers fic with a slice of crack where nothing goes wrong but trust me it’s not lmao

unreliable synopsis: After Alhaitham forged your signature, you're now forced to become the Acting Grand Sage’s assistant. It's even more annoying when he nearly visited your house all drugged up. Seriously, when will he learn to respect his seniors?

CW: yandere themes, noncon touching, aphrodisiacs, possessiveness, so much bickering, and the reader slanders dendro for plot reasons.

Pulcinella, The Rooster, came to visit early in the morning.

“Pups, please… Stop turning my apartment upside down and just tell me what you want.”

It was unexpected how the old man barged into your “unconquerable mess of an apartment” with the intent to celebrate your newfound job at the Haravatat. Mayor Pulcinella isn’t your direct grandfather, but he is your grandfather’s brother. The fact that you are connected to him is a well-known secret (as absurd an oxymoron as that may sound) in the College of Engineering and Technology at the Akademiya. Because of the collectivist mentality that characterized your family, every last pointy-eared relative you are aware of is blatantly nosy and annoying. The "mayor" is much more so.

Pulcinella did come to extend his congratulations, with a generous batch of cookies even, but he had an objective in mind. His way of showing that he cares is usually in the form of letters but he stands right in front of you now. You can only imagine how difficult it is for someone in his position to take a leave of absence this far since Port Ormos is so far away from home and it takes days for mail to arrive here.

Your grandfather is obstinate. Terrifying so since you recognize that expression on his face all too well. Although you are unsure of what he needs from you, you do know that you want him out. Immediately.

“Don’t talk to me in that tone, child.” He scowled, jabbing your briefcases with his wooden cane. “I’m not leaving until I find it.”

That "Rooster" moniker belongs to him without a doubt. Your belongings were seized by the elf-like a bird's beak. He prodded the dreadful equation-filled sheets hanging on your wall and snatched a few trinkets on your work table. Good lord. Pulcinella made so much noise that if you weren’t already planning on starting your day, you would’ve been incredibly cranky when he knocked on your door.

“For Her Majesty’s sake– just what are you trying to find, grandpups?”

He turned to look at you.

Not mad, but disappointed– sad, even.

“An engagement ring. Evidence that you’re dating that fool, Alhaitham.”

You groaned.

“Him again?! Motherf—”

Pulcinella quirked his eyebrow at your outburst, “hmm?”

You chuckled nervously, “ah, sorry, I just… It’s nothing.”

No, it was not “nothing.” That bastard ruined a lot of things for you, including your vision. You didn’t want a dendro vision. You were praying for Rex Lapis every night even after his death but somehow being involved with Alhaitham strayed your path to gaining the “grass fertilizer tool” as you loved to call it. Sure, there’s little evidence that he’s the reason behind the fact that you got a dendro vision instead of geo but that doesn’t change the fact that you want to crush him between your palms like a writhe scarab. Especially after he enlisted you as his scribe-disciple without your consent. What a complete scumbag.

Oh, to quit the Akademiya only to be forced to go back again…

But of course, your grandpups don’t know anything about this and you have ZERO intentions of letting him in on your business. If he knows, then ALL of Snezhnayan elves know.

“I’ve heard from your mother that you’ve gone lovesick and left the Akademiya,” Pulcinella spoke in a slow somber tone. “And falling recklessly in love and gaining a dendro vision does not sound like you at all.”

Eww. Lovesick? Hell no.

If it weren’t for this man, you would’ve graduated as a fully pledged civil engineer next year. If he wasn’t such a great scribe, no, forger, your signature wouldn’t be on that damn contract.

That man seriously has no respect for his seniors.

Nevertheless, it was too late to do anything. You just have to accept the consequences of your inaction. Additionally, if you're going to take this "new job," you might as well act as if you adore it.

Hooray! Don’t you love working for Alhaitham? Isn’t it fun to discard your 4 years of studying? Oh, what joy! You definitely did not burn your eyebrows out trying to ace FIFTY Kshahrewar mock tests!!!–

“Talk to me, poppet.” He continued, eyebrows knitted. His wrinkly hands reached to gently hold yours. Suddenly, you remembered that he is still family. That this was the same old major that your young self boasted their miniature construction toys to.

“I’m worried that something might’ve happened. And my dear, health is not the absence of disease or infirmity, it is also–”

“The complete state of physical, mental, AND social wellbeing. Yes. I know, Pups. You nearly forced me to study medicine.” You groaned and palmed your forehead, weak but playful.

He chuckled heartily.

The old man’s rather soft with you compared to his other grandchildren. If he wasn’t, you’d likely find yourself as Il Dottore’s new assistant.

Although most people would find working for a harbinger, especially The Doctor, to be a complete nightmare, you concluded that being Alhaitham's slave was the epitome of "overrated garbage," and you despise the scribe so much you can't even remember his appearance. Sure, Layla’s jealous that you’re essentially set for life by being a scribe assistant but at least Dottore gives his assistants a hefty pay (discounting his crimes against humanity…)

You’re not proud to call Alhaitham your boss. That stupid #093c0d face doesn’t make your 2 million mora salary worth the trouble. He needs to pay for your mental health insurance–

“Are you alright, poppet? You’re looking at me like you would with one of your test slimes.”

You exhaled deeply, “sorry, I suddenly thought of a hex code #093c0d person.”

Pulcinella closed his eyes.

“A dark green shade?”

“That’s right.”

“...”

With an unreadable yet deliberate face, Pulcinella fixed his gaze on you. Your unique perspective on others didn't seem to disturb your grandpups the way it did your parents. He is one of the select few who is aware of how you assign people's personalities through colors. Pulcinella raised his glasses further up before giving a sage-like nod. The moment he crossed his arms, you knew he understood what you were trying to express.

“So it’s a lover’s quarrel.”

“Yes, exactly.”

…

“Wait, what– NO!!! Pups, please stop assuming shit– things!!!”

Never mind— he is SO far off.

Why is he convinced that you’re dating that prick? What the hell did your mom tell him?!

“I heard that, poppet. And do not misunderstand, I think this is a good thing.”

Your uncle-grandfather cupped your cheeks and squished them between his fingers. Perhaps this is what people consider a wholesome grandpa-grandchild dynamic– but social norms should’ve also labeled this as domestic violence. His pinching hurts. Your clipped groans made him grin wider.

“After all, this means that you have seen his flaws and true character. What better way to break a couple up than a genuine argument?”

“PWUUUPS!!!”

Pulcinella pulled his hands away.

“I felt distraught when I heard you have given up your pursuit of civil engineering and chose a career in the Haravatat,” he sighed and took off his hat, holding it against his chest. “I was rooting for you, dear. I had faith in your aspirations. Even Lord Capitano found it upsetting to learn that the future engineer I frequently boasted about had become a lesser Lord Kusanali underling.”

You squirmed and rubbed your cheeks, staring at the ground.

Lord Capitano was not someone you often interacted with, but you knew that he had an eye for talent– and he sought after yours. Perhaps this is your ego talking, but it felt like even he believed you’re best suited for an engineering course too. Other than your grandpups and subsequently his recruit, Ajax, Lord Capitano was one of the Fatuis you respected.

Alhaitham truly crushed your dreams.

“I know, Pups…”

“You know what to do, right?”

You nodded solemnly, before looking him dead in the eye. Pulcinella can see your determination clear as day.

You breathed in.

“I’m going to commit arson.”

He patted your back, smiling.

“That’s my grandchild!”

Pulcinella tip-toed and ruffled your hair.

“Alright, this old man had given up. Just show grandpups where the ring is.”

“Her majesty the Tsaritsa’s sake– I already told you Pups– ALHAITHAM AND I ARE NOT DATING!!!”

It was an exceptionally hot evening in Sumeru City despite being far from the desert. You should be inside your apartment right now, studying the Dendro Vision book Alhaitham gave you but you’d rather be where you are now. It’s about to get warmer, yet you’d dare argue that both you and master architect Kaveh’s headache can compete with its 38°C average temperature.

“C’mon, please?”

“No, I’m not helping you burn Alhaitham’s house down.”

“What?! Why not?!”

“Damnit, (Y/n)– BECAUSE I LIVE THERE!!!”

“Oh, right.”

You flopped back to your seat, eyes rolling back, deflated.

Kaveh cried out in pain while lowering his head to the table. He somewhat resembled a dried-out raisin. He had a drinking binge the night before, so this isn't because he's not a morning person. Although you expressed regret for knocking on his (Alhaitham's) door, the architect never misses a chance to rant about his housemate. Kaveh's pain wasn't even close to how much he detested Alhaitham. Now here you both are, sitting outside Lambad’s Tavern like morons because you both forgot to bring your wallets.

Not a sight you’d expect from a master-of-all-trades (ex-)engineering student and a genius architect.

“Damn it…” You whined. “What else am I supposed to do now?”

“Await until Focalors passes her judgment,” he answered hoarsely.

In other words: curl up and die, probably.

“Yeah… Yeah, that sounds viable. Let me just go to Fontaine real quick– oh wait, I can’t, because some dumbass scribe paid the corps to keep me from reaching the borders.”

Kaveh chuckled, still caressing his headache, not caring how his messy and unwashed locks covered his eyes. You’d be surprised if he told you he didn’t just get out of bed. He appeared like he was ready to sleep for all eternity, or more accurately, Kaveh’s starting to look eerily similar to Layla. In terms of colors though, he’d still be a #ffda29 and not a #003153.

He sneered, “did the sun always look this bright, powerful, and oh-so hateful?”

“It wouldn’t look like that if you didn’t down the pitcher I left on the table last night, Kaveh.”

You both turned to look at the voice– rather, the abyss. Alhaitham stood behind you. Or at least, you think it’s him.

Okay, here’s the deal: you hate remembering his face.

You handle your memory much like a student would a personal bookshelf– you’ll occasionally take out the information you no longer wish to retain in favor of more useful and relevant ones. As a creature with longevity, an elf should be picky when it comes to memories. You believe your approach is in the same vein as Pulcinella disposing of “less valuable assets’' without hesitation. If there’s no point in having it, why carry the baggage? But there are at least two facts that you can easily recall about Alhaitham: it’s his voice and the color #093c0d.

In other words, he’s just a talking dark green slime in your eyes.

Which he considers a major step up, by the way. You went from ignoring him to recognizing his voice, to associating him with one color. That’s quite a development. A pathetically slow progression, but still a positive one.

“THERE YOU ARE, ALHAITHAM, YOU PRI–”

The man swiftly dodged his slap by crouching down. He honestly didn’t have to put in the effort when Kaveh’s attacks were sluggish.

“–CK! WHY’D YOU LABEL THE ALCOHOL AS WATER?!”

Tons of passersby stared at Kaveh as he flailed around, but they were quick to look away. It’s no longer a secret that he lives with the scribe. Everyone in Sumeru City knows about his tactless antics and none are deaf when it comes to his loud gripes about his housemate. Even so, you went up to him to soothe his worries and restore his reputation because not everyone understands he's not a bad person.

Alhaitham scoffed, glaring.

“I didn’t. The label said "Fire-Water.””

“WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES THAT MAKE?!”

“Fire-water? Oh.”

Your hand flew to your mouth as you connected the two dots.

That beverage from Snezhnaya is notorious for having a high alcohol content and is only known in Mondstadt as the drink Master Ragnvindr forbade exports of. As a quote-unquote "wine connoisseur," you were invited to one of his parties. Fortunately, you were able to warn Diluc of how potent it is firsthand– Kaveh? Not so much.

You snorted.

“Yeah, Kaveh, I hate to take Alhaitham’s side on this but this one is on you, friend.”

The blonde’s eyes widened, betrayed.

“HAH?!”

“Need I remind you that fire-water is an alcoholic beverage, Kaveh.” Alhaitham waved his hand, emphasizing his condescending tone. “Maybe if you listened to me instead of ranting about my work ethic, you would’ve known that I received it as a gift from a Fatui Harbinger.”

Your ears perked up. “From a Harbinger?”

Alhaitham smirked but it was gone as quickly as it came.

“Hmm. I’m certain that you know him, assistant (L/n). His name is Pulcinella,” the scribe said. “He left me a note. He said he wishes that I drink to my heart’s content as a thank-you gift for hiring his grandchild. I wasn’t aware you have a kind grandfather.”

You smiled back, crookedly.

No. No, your uncle-grandfather DEFINITELY wanted to see Alhaitham in pain. He didn’t even bother giving him a bottle– he gave him a fucking leftover pitcher.

Alhaitham took your arm. Unfortunately, he’s taller than you with muscle strength you can’t compete with. You squirmed but resistance was futile. Doesn’t mean you can’t bite his arm off–

“Assistant (L/n)–”

You gritted your teeth. “Don’t touch me, sir.”

Alhaitham paused, processing how much emphasis you put into pronouncing the word “sir.”

“–I’ll be taking you away now.” He looked down on your friend and scoffed. “Kaveh, do try your best to not be a burden to Mx. (L/n) again.”

Kaveh clutched his head, still in pain.

Sorry, Kaveh. That drink and beating headache were not meant for you in the slightest. You made a mental note to make it up to him, but not today. You have a lot on your plate right now.

“Idiot. They’re the one that invited me here!”

“True–”

“I quite frankly don’t care,” Alhaitham spat coldly.

“From now on, refrain from having conversations with my assistant. Unless you’re prepared to face the consequences.”

“Do you remember the approximate damage multipliers an aggravate reaction causes?”

“Nope.”

“Tch. I just discussed this, I can’t believe you already forgot.”

“You think I forgot? Haha, hell no. I didn’t forget, I just wasn’t paying any attention.”

Alhaitham dragged you down a secluded area in the rainforests with a sword in hand. Quite frankly, you hoped he brought his weapon to kill you, but you’re well aware of what this is about.

This is a lesson straight out of a page of “Dendro Vision Qualifications 101: Normal Attack Patterns.” The Acting Grand Sage thinks that you should have at least enough fighting proficiency for you to start formally working for him. As for you? You think this whole charade is utterly meaningless.

Sometimes, you truly do wish you were born as a rock instead. Maybe then you would be able to perform the “gray-rock method” whenever Alhaitham starts his drivel about dendro visions. You bet you’d make a pretty good tombstone for your dead childhood friend if you were a rock. Being a rock is probably the nicest thing to be. You get to be something created from the Geo element– the element and vision you desired. And not dendro.

Anything but lame old dendro.

This is so stupid. You wanted a geo vision, damn it. What on earth did you do to make Rex Lapis spite you, and what kinda breakthrough did you accomplish to gain the Lesser Lord Kusanali’s favor instead?!

If only you got something that isn’t the same as Alhaitham’s vision. Maybe if you got an electro vision you’d be learning how to brandish a lance with the General Mahamatra instead. Unlike most people, you enjoy being in his prolonged company and dry jokes. You’ve exchanged letters with Cyno multiple times– but your friend’s on-the-spot puns are 10x funnier than the things he writes down. Of course, that’s only because his earnest delivery sells it.

“In this fighting stance, you can perform up to 4 consecutive attacks, dishing out dendro damage approximately every 2 seconds interval–”

You held up your Eye of Perception.

“Bold of you to assume I’ll use this vision.”

“–charge attacks on the other hand require a hefty amount of stami–”

You yawned, halting Alhaitham in the middle of his “lecture.”

There’s a reason why you chose an Eye of Perception, and that’s because, unlike most catalysts, it procures physical damage as well. With someone as petty as you, it’s only natural that you’d brandish a weapon that doesn’t rely too much on dendro reactions.

“Yeah, I’ll just hit the enemy with my catalyst. Like, aim and shoot, or maybe I’ll just go with blunt force. This eye of perception looks like it’s made of metal, it can probably dish out some physical damage–”

Alhaitham shifted forward. Your gentle yet insouciant voice forced him out of his momentum.

“(Y/n).”

“...Yes, sir?”

His gaze sharpened.

“Pay attention.”

You snorted. Was he trying to intimidate you?

You, an elf who lived longer than him? How arrogant. It was becoming clearer why Alhaitham never once had a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or maybe a genuine friend in general. His senior who happens to also be his housemate does not count.

“No thanks.” You laughed to yourself, barely containing your amusement. “I think I’m doing fine.”

“What do you expect will happen if you don’t listen to my instructions? Your unfailing indifference sickens me.” He sheathed his sword back. “Do I have to spell everything out? You’ll get injured in combat. You won’t be able to defend yourself from fungi, eremites, and other enemies on the prowl. All for what? Useless pride? Grow up. Accept that you got a dendro vision and be done with it.”

“Tch…” You know how you feel, but you do not have the strength to say it out loud.

What an impossible task. He’s telling you– the most stubborn person you know– to give up on your goals? Inconceivable. You bet he sees the mediocre majority as nothing more than defective pawns, and you’re well aware you belong in that lowly category.

To him, grief may as well be easy as breathing. For you, years had gone by and you could still hear their voice. The scribe knows nothing about tributes for the dead.

Your old childhood friend beckons you back to the chasm. His voice comes once the dark rears in, reverbing his desperate pleas for a fitting grave. It’s a voice that twists around your chest like a knife. You can’t get their faces out of your memetic bookshelf, but it’s not as if you’re willing to dispose of them.

You didn’t want a dendro vision.

You wanted a geo vision to construct mausoleums for your dead friends.

Alhaitham scowled.

“Fine. We’ll resume our lesson next week.”

He bumped into your shoulder as he walked by. For a split second, you’re reminded that your superior had longer eyelashes than you do. And it made the gesture more annoying.

Strange.

Alhaitham wouldn’t normally let you off so easily…

Maybe he’s busy?

“If you’re so insistent on only utilizing physical attacks, be my guest. Next time, I will not back down a single step.” Alhaitham walked away with heavy feet, stamping the dirt with his heels.

The consequences of your actions began to sink in. You may have lived longer than Alhaitham, but needless to say, he had more experience in combat.

Admittedly, you may have done yourself a disservice by acting out… You huffed.

No, no way.

“What could possibly go wrong? He’s just a feeble scholar!”

Unsurprisingly, Alhaitham was not, in fact, a feeble scholar.

Thankfully you have the Eye of Perception at your disposal because the moment he found you walking towards Devantaka Mountain the following week, the bastard went for your jugular.

“What the fuck, Alhaitham?!”

You fired a single shot, aimed higher this time knowing that he would attempt to evade. Much like his actions with Kaveh last time, Alhaitham was quick to dodge that projectile. His timing is impeccable as he activated his vision.

#ff0e0e starts blaring in your line of sight. You’ve always trusted these colors— your instincts.

You’re in danger.

“Tch!”

You almost didn’t recognize that it was him. If he wasn’t breathing heavily, you would've mistaken him for an assassin. Alhaitham never made any unnecessary movements. His slashes were not done with the intent of harming you, but shepherding you to an appropriate trap. Your knee scraped against the grass and minuscule rocks. Prioritizing distance over attacks was a wrong move– he’s faster than anticipated. You gasped sharply as the scribe pinned you against a tree trunk–

… His scent caught your attention.

“A cicin mage’s perfume…?” You mumbled, eyes wide.

That didn’t seem right. Their perfume usually doesn’t smell this unpleasant and metallic.

Your ears drooped down as you realized this Alhaitham did not attack because he’s a lunatic, no. That malodorous stench was akin to a grandmother’s bittersweet husk.

This Alhaitham was under the influence of aphrodisiacs, and it is not something you can fault him for.

“What– What on earth happened?”

He twisted your arm slightly, not enough that’ll make you scream but just rough for a tiny yelp–

and that’s how he boldly claimed your lips.

You froze in horror, letting him take advantage of your plight. Alhaitham pulled away, panting slightly.

“F-Fuck…”

Alhaitham moaned as he slipped his tongue back inside. You tried to stop him but you yelped the moment his hand groped your thigh. His breath fanned your flustered skin as he moved to slither his arms around your waist, closing the already small distance between you two.

You weakly pulled back. The rainforest had never felt this humid before.

Something is truly off about his scent.

“L-Let go!!!” You hissed and punched his chest, completely forgetting your catalyst in your panic. “What the hell is wrong with you?!?! Are you out of your fucking mind?!”

He didn’t listen despite your physical protests. Alhaitham disgustingly crooned down and sloppily dabbed wet kisses down your neck. His saliva dripped over his shoulder, coating you in hopes that it would leave his trace.

It felt wrong. You felt dirty– like you were kissing an actual #093c0d slime.

“P-Please…” He whispered, his voice dropping dangerously weak and vulnerable. “H-Help me, (Y/n)…”

Your face flushed as you wiped the saliva that connected you both from your lips.

You’ve never heard Alhaitham beg before.

Is this really him?

His fistful grip on your clothes grew taut as desperation colored his knuckles white. You had never seen Alhaitham lose his cool the way he does now, and the broken sight in his eyes made you uneasy and uncertain.

He looked pathetic.

“Haitham, your…” your hand supported his neck and he hungrily leaned in to feel your touch. “Your heartbeat is loud.”

“I know,” he whimpered.

You bit your lip. You could sense his pulse going faster.

This isn’t the first time you’ve been kissed– or first anything. You’ve had your fair share of “soulmates” and “flings”, but those happened decades ago. Before you were mastering engineering, you were a freelance artist who’d had many affairs with humans and elves alike out of the undiagnosed emptiness that was grief. Up until Faruzan made you start a new leaf, you indulged in numerous vices, including wine and one-night stands. She was the closest a human could hope to understand the loneliness an elf would have.

Both your appearance give the illusion of youth, but your bones are held together by flesh older than this man. She would undoubtedly be angry with you as soon as she learns that you enabled Alhaitham's small rendezvous.

“Alhaitham, I’m more than a decade years older than you–” you squirmed.

“But I want you,” he groaned.

Those words felt so different when he was the one who said them. Nearly sinister.

“I know,” you said, but your voice doesn’t match the confidence you were meant to exude. “But this isn’t you, this is your hormones doing the talking. Where did the cicin mage attack you?”

“Between Pardis Dhyai and Yashna Monument”

“Between WHAT?!” You gawked. “That’s miles away from here!”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does!!!”

You yanked his shirt. It’s thin, yet surprisingly durable. The strength of the fabric is not what made you unnerved, but his stare.

He gazed at you as if you were his lifeline— as if you were the only thing that allowed him to breathe. Alhaitham’s hot breaths were shallow, fanning your face as you took note of how red his face, neck, and ears were. You noticed how he struggled to gulp— struggled to keep his composure. His bedroom eyes had not once diverted their attention away from you.

“It doesn't matter how far I ran. You were the one I wanted to see. You were the face that came to mind after getting poisoned."

You pretended not to hear that.

“Alhaitham, we need to get you to Tighnari.”

“He can’t help me.”

“The forest watcher can most certainly help you more than me.”

“You don’t know that.”

You don't want to hear him talk anymore, to be honest. You're horrified by how weak and inaudible his voice sounded.

“Why did you come to Avidya Forest all the way from there? Why not head straight to the city?”

“So many questions…” He irritably spat. “Just stop talking and kis–”

“I refuse,” you glared. “Why were you heading towards Port Ormos? Did you think I was going to help you get over this mess out of the goodness of my heart?”

Did he forget how much you loathe him?

“No. No, of course not.”

He chuckled, full of self-loathing.

“I know you hate me, (Y/n). I would hate myself too.”

You raised an eyebrow. Of course, he’s self-aware— you just didn’t expect him to say that out loud.

Alhaitham continued, “but I’m not the one at fault here.”

Defeated, he rested his head on your shoulder. To avoid having you look at his expression, Alhaitham cupped your back, running fingers through your scalp so that you may only look forward. His body pressed against yours firmly. There’s no possible way for you not to be wholly aware of how warm he was and how fast his heart was beating.

It was distracting to know how much the poison affected someone like Alhaitham, whom you thought was damn near untouchable.

Awkwardly, you returned the favor and played with his hair. Alhaitham gasped softly, making you shiver as you realized how sensitive you are to his breathing from this position.

“And who would that be?” You asked quietly. “If your pride won’t let you seek Tighnari’s aid then since you’re here you might as well tell me everything, starting from the very beginning.”

“T-That won’t be necessary.”

“If we want to rule out who your true assailant is, then yes it is,” you answered. “I think this is what you call the process of elimination.”

Suddenly, he pulled away from you with his arms stretched out. Alhaitham still kept you pinned on the tree, but there’s more space for you now to move and see his face.

Ah, you’ve nearly forgotten again.

Alhaitham has green-orange eyes.

“No need.”

He clicked his tongue.

“It was Pulcinella. Your grandfather sent a cicin mage in an attempt to seduce and assassinate me.”

… Oh.

You should’ve guessed. You really should’ve guessed that he was behind all this.

Instinctively, you tried to cover your mouth from shock, but he quickly grabbed them and pressed them back to the tree behind you again. He tightened his hold once more, making you wince.

“I didn’t mind at first because your grandfather reminded me of my own grandmother,” Alhaitham gritted his teeth. “Pulcinella—”

He bit his bottom lip, his seafoam eyes looking unstable and royally pissed.

“He’s not after me because of my position as the Acting Grand Sage. H-He was merely looking after you. His expression was one I recognized. It's a grandfather's love. I may not show empathy as frequently as my housemate would like, but at least I am conscious of how important family is. I don’t want you to have to arrange your grandparent’s funeral like I did.”

You’re not unaware of who Alhaitham’s grandmother was. At one point, you had befriended her back when she was out on a mission to acquire 1,000 books. To think that you’ll meet her grandson for the first time in college and that you’ll end up in a situation like this… you’re sure she would’ve never condoned any of this. She wouldn’t appreciate that her grandson was trying to fuck the elf that helped her build her small library.

This is wrong.

Everything about this is wrong. From the age gap to the work power distance– it’s vile–

You want to vomit.

“So— s-so what did you do?”

“I didn’t want to kill your grandfather in retaliation.”

“Yes, you’ve established that. You don’t usually beat around the bush— go back to being the Alhaitham I know and just get straight to the point, damn it!”

“I ended up tracking all of his people in Sumeru down.”

He chuckled lowly.

Your heart started racing as well.

If his heart was beating out of excitement, yours were out of a rational fear that you wouldn’t get out of this unscathed and mentally sound.

“It’s laughable how his lackeys were so incompetent. If they listened to my lectures at all, they would’ve known how to defend themselves.”

“What… What the hell are you talking about?”

There was nowhere to run. You’re trapped unless Alhaitham lets go of both your wrists. Your dilated eyes surveyed the woodland, but you weren't confident that, should the occasion arise, your shaky knees could put some distance between you and the scribe.

“Didn’t you notice? They were stalking us from the moment I was teaching you how to use your vision last week, and likely even before that.”

His face drew near and you strained your neck to hopefully maintain at least a hair of distance between both of your lips.

Alhaitham closed his eyes.

“Did you honestly think I’d postpone our practice due to your mild complaining? Don’t you understand how excruciating it is to be away from you for a week?”

He pressed his forehead against yours.

“But I had to do it. For us.”

“Where… Where were you when you were gone? What did you do to them?”

You didn’t want to ask.

You already know the answer.

“When will you start thinking before you speak?”

With fears renewed, your body felt small underneath his gaze. He’s not even looking at you— his piercing green eyes weren’t even looking directly at your soul. You turned away and gazed at his left shoulder— shrieking.

Never in your 100+ years of life did you feel so stupid. Only now did you realize that it wasn’t just a cicin mage’s perfume you smelled earlier.

There was blood all over his coat.

“Stop screaming, (Y/n). I’ve finished the job and it’s high time you reward me, wouldn’t you agree?”

#ansy-writes #yandere alhaitham #alhaitham #al haitham #yandere al haitham x reader #yandere alhaitham x reader #alhaitham x reader #al haitham x reader #yandere genshin #yandere genshin impact x reader #yandere genshin x reader #yandere fanfiction #yandere oneshots #male yandere #x reader fanfiction #yandere male lead #yandere genshin imagines #yandere genshin impact

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photogirl894 · 6 months

Note

Hello my beautiful, kind friend! Congratulations on 1,300 INSANE! 🤩 🎉

Please may I request some Hunter fluff with a female reader with the prompt:

“A life without you isn’t one I want to live.”

Perhaps Hunter accidentally confesses his true feelings to reader & then follows up with that cute line? Up to you if you’d want to do of course but I feel like you’d love to write for your Clone Hubby! Love you so much 🥰🩵

Thank you so much, Alanah!! Your friendship and support all these years has meant the world to me! 💜

Ohhhh you are far too kind with this request, my dear! 🥰🥰

**Putting a spoiler warning in case, but spoilers for Bad Batch s3 ep7**

"Chasing Waterfalls"

4. "A life without you isn't one I want to live."

Pairing: Hunter x fem reader

***

The escape from the Empire on Teth hadn't been easy for you and all the Clones, but you'd all managed to get away nonetheless. It definitely hadn't been without its challenges.

Not only had the Empire managed to find everyone there and blow up the Clones' secret base, but they'd tracked you through the jungle and there had been an assassin on your trail. You had told everyone that you and Crosshair would draw his fire while everyone got to the rendezvous point to meet with Echo and you both pursued the assassin. However, he had attacked the both of you and, to protect Crosshair, you had tackled the assailant over a cliff's edge into a swiftly flowing river, which connected to a series of large waterfalls. You'd gone over one and fell into a rocky landing where the assassin tried going for you again. With a vibroblade drawn, he'd attacked you, but luckily, Hunter had trained you not only in hand-to-hand combat, but with a blade, as well. How to use it and how to fight against an opponent with one. You'd held your own, but only barely. The assassin was strong and highly-trained. Eventually, he'd forced your head under the water and you found your breath being driven quickly from your body. Lucky for you, Crosshair had caught up with you and stunned the assassin, which made him fall into the river and be taken with the next waterfall. Crosshair and also Howzer had been quick to grab you before you could fall over, as well, and saved your life. Hunter soon followed and you could tell, even with his helmet on, that he was worried about you. You figured you falling over the cliff had frightened him and he was trying to reassure himself that you were okay.

After that, you had been stopped at the rendezvous point by a battalion of Clones, but Rex knew their Commander; Commander Wolffe, and he had been willing to let you all go. Once all of you boarded Echo's ship, you were safe for the time being.

The entire ride back to Pabu, Hunter said nothing to you, which was very unlike him. The two of you were very close and talked all the time. He knew you better than you even knew yourself and the same could be said for you about him. What was wrong? Was he worried about Omega, since the Empire had nearly caught them? Was he reconsidering their options?

Or...was he angry at you for what you had done?

It wasn't until you got to Pabu that finally you decided to break the longstanding silence between you two.

While the others returned to the Marauder, you pulled Hunter aside by the big tree on the collanade. "Hunter...what's wrong? You didn't talk to me the whole trek back. That's not like you."

He turned away, his brow furrowed with conflicted emotions. You could tell he wanted to say something, but was fighting against it.

"If you're mad at me for what I did on Teth, I'm sorry. I was just trying to--"

"Don't ever do that again."

He had interrupted you so abruptly that it almost made you choke on the remainder of your words.

Then he looked back at you, his brown eyes radiating with pain, but not of physical nature. He kept going, his voice firm yet nearly shaking, "Do you have any idea what it did to me to see you disappear over the cliff and the waterfall like that? Do you know how terrified I was thinking that you had been killed and that I'd lost you forever?"

"Hunter...."

His hands came up to your arms, clutching you tightly. "I never want you to do anything like that again! Do you hear me? I can't lose you, (Y/N)! You mean everything to me and I care too much for you to even dare imagine my days without you!"

You blinked in surprise. This wasn't anything you were expecting to hear from him. While you had suspected for some time that he harbored feelings for you, just as you did for him, you hadn't expected him to say anything like this nor did you think his feelings ran that deep.

As you struggled to find the words to respond, he lifted his hands to your face and brought his forehead to yours, his eyes squeezing shut to try and hold himself together. "A life without you isn't one I want to live," he then said to you, now a more present trembling in his voice.

The fear in his words was unmistakable and it made you realize how reckless your actions on Teth had been. Not only just in regards to your own life, but to the lives of your squad; to Hunter's life. You had been thinking of their safety, but hadn't considered how your possible demise would affect them, especially Hunter. It was never your intention to frighten him and hearing how scared he sounded broke your heart. It had apparently scared him so much that it caused him to confess to you, which you hadn't anticipated.

You reached up and took one of his hands on your cheek, leaning into his gentle touch. "I'm so sorry," you whispered. "I...I never meant to scare you like that. I was only thinking of keeping you and the others safe."

"You can keep us safe, but please...not at the cost of your life," he replied. "I would never survive if you were no longer at my side. I need you. I...I love you."

As soon as those three words left his mouth, his hands grasped the back of your head and his lips came upon yours, kissing you softly but with evident yearning. Your heart soared within you as you kissed him in return, knowing now that your life was no longer your own to trifle with.

Your life was his and his life was yours...and neither of you would ever live without the other.

Photogirl894's Fluff/Romance prompts

Photogirl894's 1,3000 Celebration fics

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #sergeant hunter #my sergeant #bad batch prompts #hunter x reader #photogirl894 1300 followers

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littlemissmanga · 4 months

Text

What Are You Wearing?

Pairing: Crosshair x Reader

W/C: 400 (lazy writing)

Rating: R, 18+ (no spice but pretty close)

A/N: I started this months ago but apparently never finished it. Whoops! So here it is :D

It's set in S3, EP 6+7 (Infiltration and Extraction), so very slight season 3 spoilers. Divider by @stars-n-spice

While at Teth, you decide to use Rex’s offered hospitality to finally wash your grimy clothes. But finding yourself without anything to change into, you steal Crosshair’s blacks. Just the top, though, as the bottoms don’t fit. It comes down just long enough to hit your mid-thigh.

Your clothes should be done, so you make your way across the base, not noticing several pairs of eyes following you.

You do, however, notice when Crosshair cuts across your path, glowering at you.

“What are you wearing?”

“Oh, my clothes are in the wash, so I had to borrow your blacks. Sorry, but my stuff should be done now. I was just on my way to grab them now.”

“Pants?”

“Yeah, in the wash.”

“No. From my blacks.”

You glance down at your bare legs. “They’re back on your bunk.”

“I’m aware. Care to tell me why?”

You shrug. “They wouldn’t stay up. The shirt is long enough, anyway. It’s fine.”

Crosshair grabs your arm, his grip firm but not tight enough to hurt.

“No. It isn’t.”

He drags you to one of the empty back rooms, pressing you against the door once it closes behind you and making you shiver.

“Wanna tell me why it isn’t fine, kitten?” he asked, nipping harshly at the juncture of your neck and shoulder.

“Cause – oh, fuck!” you hiss as his knee comes up to press firmly against your core. But when you try to rock against him, he stops you, demanding his answer. “Cause everyone could see.”

Crosshair growled and pulled you along his thigh, making you writhe on him. “Everyone did see. Saw their eyes track you across the damn room.”

It always surprised you when Crosshair’s jealousy got the better of him, but it never failed to light you up.

You nuzzle into his neck, pressing your tongue against his pulse point until his grip on your hips starts to feel like it’ll bruise.

“They didn’t see everything. That’s just for you.”

Crosshair’s kiss is demanding and all-consuming. His lips dance over yours, forcing them to give beneath his, before he bunches the fabric of his shirt at your sides, teasingly pulling his hands up slowly.

“That’s right. Now show me what’s mine.”

Liked this fic? Check out my Masterlist.

Taglist: @dreamie411 @wings-and-beskar @starrylothcat @sev-on-kamino

@wolffegirlsunite @secondaryrealm @idontgetanysleep @freesia-writes

@multi-fan-dom-madness @dystopicjumpsuit @sinfulsalutations @sunshinesdaydream

@wizardofrozz @anxiouspineapple99 @dhawerdaverd @mythical-illustrator

#tbb crosshair x reader #crosshair x reader #white ppl spicy #so like not spicy but you probably shouldn't read it at work #it is safe-ish for Costco tho #slight spoilers #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb spoilers

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the-bi-space-ace · 9 months

Text

I have a migraine coming on so I present to you:

How the clones react when they have a headache:

Rex: takes so many pain pills. Refuses to let this stop him. Drinks water constantly. And yet. This man refuses to try a snack to fix his headache. Cody has had Fives and Echo hold him down so he can make Rex eat a granola bar. (The granola bar helps Rex refuses to admit it.)

Cody: refuses to admit anything is wrong. Total hypocrite. Will bully everyone else into pain relievers, snacks, and water but will never take his own advice. Quite like his above mentioned brother he will never admit to something working and has to be tricked into doing something to relieve the pain.

Fox: chews on espresso beans to make his headache a caffeinated headache. Also is just in a constant state of discomfort from not sleeping enough. His headache would go away should he drink water or nap but the man would rather down another energy drink and move on.

Wolffe: will be grumpy about it until he can nap. Is really good about finding some sort of relief and is quiet about his pain. (Likes when someone will rub his head though that helps he won’t ask for it though.)

Fives: biiiiiiig mad. Super baby about it. Immediately wants an aleve and a snack but somehow thinks drinking something with sugar will help??? Instead of water??? And he’s somehow correct every time??? Lays his head in Echo’s lap and requests a head massage and promptly falls asleep.

Echo: I think he’s good about managing pain because he doesn’t want it to impact his ability to do things. He carries snacks and water and will take a reliever if pushed (although he says he doesn’t want to take it because he doesn’t want to ‘waste’ supplies on himself. Take the damn pill Echo you’ll feel better.) Refuses to be alone when he’s in pain and would always prefer someone to just sit nearby if he’s going to nap. As long as it’s dark and calm he’s pretty quiet about it. Tries to hide it 9 times out of 10 but he’s got nosey friends and they somehow always know and bully him into taking care of himself.

Hunter: oof. Poor guy gets migraines. Can never hide it. His eyes hurt so bad. His brain feels like it’s banging against his skull. Has to take some sort of medication immediately otherwise he gets sick. He’d prefer some solitude to be in pain alone but sometimes someone will take his bandana off and play with his hair to help.

Wrecker: Hates headaches but gets them concentrated right behind his eyes. Is not quiet about the pain and will request literally anything to make it go away. Tech is excellent at playing doctor here and knows exactly the combination of things to make it go away and keep Wrecker comfortable.

Tech: if it’s bad enough he will take a sedative and pass out for twelve hours and wake up fine. Does not fuck around and will not remain uncomfortable. He gets the slightest inclination of a headache and he’s eating a mini candy bar and a piece of cheese and also drinking eight ounces of water in five minutes before trying a pill that he knows will target the root cause of the problem. Scary efficient and competent.

Crosshair: oh boy. Will make it everyone else’s problem. He hates headaches. He’ll curl into a ball in whatever dark corner he can find and snap at anyone who tries to talk to him. Best bet is to silently bring offerings of food and water and leave him be until he feels more comfortable. He will never admit it but sometimes really quiet talking or even singing can help him at least feel better.

#space chatter #the bad batch #the clone wars #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #captain rex #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #commander fox #commander cody #commander wolffe

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swee7dream · 4 months

Text

ilichil as agere caregivers ! nct 127 x f!reader

warnings feminine nicknames dni if you sexualize age regression in any way . author's note i guess this is my opening to start writing cg!127 and cg!wayv ! mahae can be found here and winwin's headcanons can be found in wayv's when it's out .

moon taeil (´ ∀ ` *)

he’s just so entranced with you and age regression in general.

“wait, that’s a thing you can do?”

he can’t keep his eyes of you when you’re feeling tiny, not because he thinks you’re in trouble or anything, but because he views you as the cutest thing in the whole world!

a grandpa-like caregiver. loves pinching your cheeks and pretending to eat you up! nom nom nom

not a big title user. he’s just moonie and ur his kid! his baby :3 his precious bit of starlight

got a rocking chair just to sit in with you to sing you lullabies when you have trouble sleeping!

what’s the opposite of an iron fist? that’s taeil.

if it’s past bedtime and you’re small or you don’t want to eat a certain food on your plate, you can bet one of two things will happen: a) he just lets you do what you want or b) bribes you with a sweet treat

you can try to bribe him in return the few times he puts his foot down, but he’s surprisingly firm. he’s not a pushover by any means.

“please?” you bat your lashes at him.

“no.” the little bugger puffs his cheeks right back at you.

the worst at playing with dolls /lh

“oh no, we got kidnapped!” you gasp, moving the bingo mini figurine in your hand.

“oh no...” taeil moves bandit in his hand with a voice lacking so much emotion it’s actually impressive.

he’s doing his best. try playing pretend instead! (he likes playing doctor the most)

seo youngho (￢‿￢ )

you got him wrapped around your finger! not that he’ll ever admit it

saw a cute dress? he got it for you. your stuffie’s arm ripped? he’s learning to sew for you.

purposefully hides pieces of the puzzle you’re building and feigns innocence just to see you get mad when you find out his schemes

“how’d that happen?” he pouts, cocking his head to the side.

if he every truly upsets you, he’s quick to apologize, pulling you into his arms and leaving kisses all over your cheeks until you’re laughing again because it tickles so much and he’s holding you so tight you can’t get away!

johnny loves being called daddy! he’s your daddy and you’re his babygirl!

loves cheesy, old-fashioned nicknames like honeybun, buttercup, cupcake… he just thinks you’re sweet, is what he’s trying to say

he loves when you sit on his lap and show him the coloring pages you finished while he was gone. he’ll make up stories off them like the purple elephant that wants to be a trapeze for the circus!

another big fan of playing pretend

his favorite game is dinosaurs, stomping around the house in slow motion with an evil toothy grin. you always manage to sneak away from his t-rex arms somehow but he’ll get you one day!

but johnny isn’t just a big goof. he knows when to put his foot down and is more 50-50 with it rather than taeil’s 90-10.

“i said no. put that back, please.”

his serious voice never fails to cause a shiver up your spine, settling you down within seconds.

when you finally decided to tell johnny, it took a minute for him to understand what exactly age regression is but kept the line of communication open. very open.

once, you were at work and your screen lit up with a message notification from him reading ‘do you like pacifiers?’

you almost beat him up

lee taeyong (.❛ ᴗ ❛.)

worrywart !

doesn’t wanna make your regression feel even the slightest bit off. prioritizes your safety and comfort

at the beginning, taeyong as a cg can be seen as… a bit much

in preparation for his first time caring for you when small, he bought so many things. just anything he saw mentioned just once in all of his research of agere.

from itty bitty gear to middle/teen gear, bubu bought it all. if you don’t use any gear at all and have the ice cold heart to tell him so, you watch the color drain from his face.

poor guy

he just likes to be prepared. there’s nothing he likes more than a good plan.

cooking together is always so much fun. never lets you near the knives or heat but likes to keep you around to be his taste tester!

“what do you think, sweet pea?” “so yummy, bubu!”

loves doing crafts with you, particularly finger painting. you do it regularly, always forgetting that taeyong’s going to make you take a bath when the two of you end up with paint all over your faces and clothes

if you are allow it, taeyong is great with bathtimes !! he’s got rubber duckies and bath crayons to play with while he washes your hair.

cackles like a witch with a cauldron when adding a bathbomb to the bathtub, saying he’s preparing ‘baby soup’

“mommy, stop bein’ creepy.” “sorry, bug (っ- ‸ – ς)”

nakamoto yuta (￣ω￣)

“so yeah, it was just me and this big panther booking it down the forest to get away from this bear.” “and then?!” “i dunno i made it up :3”

an evil, evil man that takes advantage of your imagination during your tiny time to make up stories only to not finish them!

“what do you think would’ve happened next, baby?”

evil, but a good storyteller that gives you ideas for games nearly everyday you suppose….

loves playing dress up and salon

learned to do your hair! it’s an ongoing process… how did you end up with one low bun and one high? don’t ask

your breath hitches because he pulled a little too tight and he drops everything. are you okay? are you crying? he’s sorry, so so sorry. you know what? let’s have ice cream for dinner

likes listening to acid black cherry while doing your (v-kei) makeup! lets you sit on his lap when its your turn to do his

“daddy’s making you a total rockstar, baby.”

lets you draw on him! might get one (or several) of your doodles tattooed on his skin permanently just because he likes it so much

cuddling is his true life’s passion. takes out all the pillows and blankets in the house to make a pillow fort for movie nights. if he has any left over he uses them to wrap you up into a burrito

kim dongyoung （´▽｀）

just smile and wave, doyoung, smile and wave

maybe he shouldn’t have introduced you to his friends… they help add to your mischievous streak

“bunny? kangaroo! …pogo stick?” “doie… ‘s obviously you.” “me?” “yeah! when you can’t get the stuff on the top shelf at the the store so you did like this. ‘member? doie so bad at charades...” “:D ?!”

simultaneously the most competitive and worst player when it comes to video games

says he’s gonna win as you load up animal crossing like ….? okay gramps

hates when you call him that so you do it as much as possible because you live to displease

always knows the right thing to say when you’re feeling big feelings that feel only bigger when you’re small

treats you like you’re made of porcelain, his fingers delicately wiping your tears away silently.

never tells you to not cry or to stop, just tries to makes the process of feeling your emotions as easy as possible by making sure you’re drinking as much water as you’re crying out and making sure nothing could trigger you further

when you first told him about your regression you weren’t sure what his reaction was gonna be. he just stared dead at you in silence for like 8 minutes and then whispered “yeah… that makes sense” to himself

what is that supposed to mean? you know as well as i

jeong yunoh o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

he really just wants you to think he’s cool

that’s his main thing. of course, you being comfortable and happy is first, but you thinking he’s cool is a close second

most of his cg work is actually done behind the scenes; trying recipes, researching agere tips, and learning different crafts so that when you’re finally little again he can see the sweet, sweet sight of your awe

if you two planned for you to have some tiny time after a long time spent without regressing because overwhelming stress and responsibilities, you can bet on jaehyun to have organized an entire mermaid scavenger hunt in your home at a 6pm on a wednesday evening

the reward is always a ticket for something like a veggie-free night or a warm hug (he’ll give them to you whether you have one or not)

he calls them baby tickets

yes, that’s really what he calls them. yes, he chose the name himself.

there’s a reason you don’t let him name your dolls or stuffies

you tried once, this is basically how it went:

“hyunnie, what you think?” “it’s a bear… and pink… what about bearie? like strawberry and bear. bearie, haha. get it?” “…”

likes being called mister! but it’s actually rare for you to call him anything other than hyunnie

“say ‘please’ and i’ll think about it.” “please, mist-”

he’s already swiping his card

dong sicheng ♡✧( ु•⌄• )

read here (when it’s published) !

kim jungwoo (☆^ー^☆)

the silliest!!!!! how can you not love snoopy

your number one supporter in every single thing.

“the way you colored the sky with cerulean blue instead of the standard blue is just a peek into the artistic genius mind you have, my dear. how is every single art piece of yours just flawless?”

your babbles? “you don’t say! you know, i never did like that scoundrel…”

loves playing doggy! he could be cleaning around the house but if you slip that dog ear headband on him he’ll drop everything to entertain you.

he’s shattered a few plates...

he’s the most loyal friend you could have. he herds all your sheep plushies together and sniffs out the clues to help you solve the mysteries!

he also lets you doodle on his face. he’s just so easy-going it doesn’t matter what. whiskers? meow! mustache? hm, yes, it’s quite becoming of him, he thinks. you stuck some gem stickers on his cheeks? he’s an alien from the moon.

likes playing pretend much more than playing with toys.

sulky when you choose to play with your dolls rather than him. when he’s literally right there!!! your best friend :(( your buddy :((

i don’t know how else to describe this other than a dog-like caregiver

energy is always up, even when its bedtime which can be counterproductive sometimes. although? not completely? he definitely helps you tire yourself out until you’re knocked out on the couch

his nickname for you is giggles !! your giggles are his favorite thing in the whole wide world and makes sure to tell you that often.

lee minhyung (ᓀ‸ᓂ)

read here !

lee donghyuck ʕ˙Ⱉ˙‧:ʔ

read here !

extra ! ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹

cg!johnny+yuta is being hit with whiplash every two seconds because they can either be the sweetest people ever or pranksters from the deepest depth of WICKEDNESS AND DARKNESS. they always, always, always tag team too, so it’s not like you can run to one when they other is trying to tickle you to death

cg!jeno+jungwoo is what happens when a baby is left alone with an old, tired dog (jeno) and his younger brother that has all the energy in the world (jungwoo)

cg!taeyong+doyoung has the same power imbalance as djj, leaving doyoung groveling at the ground even when he’s supposed to be the one taking care of the others

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stevestevesstuff · 1 year

Text

We are meant to be expendable | Captain Rex x jedi!reader

Summary: you get hurt during a mission while saving Rex and some of his brothers.

Warnings: angst, bomb going of, mentions of injury, shitty ending lol

"What the kriff were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed out there!"

Rex was mad, really mad. You did not have to concentrate on the lingering feeling of the force to know that.

"Please Rex, could you lower your voice a little? My head is killing me..."

"It would not hurt that much if you didnt throw yourself infront of a BOMB!"

During the mission to free a planet from seperatist forces, you and a few men from the 501st got cornered and caught in the middle of a crossfire. While the troopers tried to shoot as many, as they called them, clankers as possible and you deflecting blaster shots as fast and precise as you could, you noticed one of the droids holding something. It was definitely NOT a blaster, but from the distance, you were not sure what it could be.

As you looked again, that particular droid was gone.

It must have been your mind playing games on you. After all, this situation you were in was quite stressful and chaotic.

The fight continued for a few more minutes, blaster shots were exchanged and your concentration slowly but surely left you alone. Suddenly, you felt something hit the ground right next to Rex, Fives and Echo.

From that moment on, everything happened in slow motion.

You looked over to them, then at the round thing laying on the ground next to them. It was a bomb.

While still deflecting some shots, you ran as fast as you could to reach them in time. You tried to warn them about the danger, but your shouts were swallowed by the thundering sounds of the ongoing battle. As your last solution, you force pushed them out of the way and tried to get infront of them to keep them safe from the coming explosion.

This action earned you confusing looks from the ARC troopers and your captain, but there was no time for you to notice. The moment you stepped infront of your men, the bomb went of. In a matter of mere seconds, the explosion hit everything and everyone around you. The troopers were send flying through the air and you were flying with them.

The moment you could sense the ground underneath you, your head hit something hard. Then, everything went black

The only thing you could hear was a loud and already annoying ringing sound right in your ears.

You were still feeling too weak to open your eyes but still tried to find some orientation without them. Obviously you couldnt.

The ringing in your ears plus the thundering beating of your heart hindered you from hearing anything around you. After a few seconds, you gave up and tried to concentrate on your body and on how it was feeling.

Your hand.

Your right hand to be more specific.

It felt heavier then your left one.

You concentrated a bit more on that heavy feeling on your hand until you could make out the fact, why it was heavier.

Someone was holding it.

Pretty tightly that is.

With the last bit of strength left in your body, you forced yourself to open your eyes.

You were met with a bright and blinding light that made you close your eyes immediately again.

You waited a little until you tried again, this time, way slower.

You let out an unvoluntarily groan as your eyes started hurting from the light. But, you were able to keep them open.

The moment that groan left your mouth, you could feel the grip on your hand tighten and someone stirring right next to you.

As you tried to make your eyes familiar with the light and your surroundings, you could hear a faint voice.

"General? General are you alright? Medic! We need a medic! Shes awake!"

Rex. Rex was with you. You would recognise that voice anytime, even with an irritating ringing in your ears.

You moved your head in his direction and tried to sit up in your bed, but a crushing pain in your head made you lie down again.

"Woah, slow there, General."

Your eyes found Rex's face. The look of concern painted over his features. His eyes were blown wide, his eyebrows furrowed a little. But hidden underneath was a sliver of relief, or maybe a big sliver.

"Wha...what happened?", you managed to croax out.

"You...you jumped infront of a bomb. You saved us, General."

Before you could answer, Kix came rushing down the aisle of the medbay with a Med-droid following close behind.

They checked your vitals, your eyes and ears, then asked you some questions you barely remember.

Everything happened under the watchfull eyes of your Captain, which in the meantime let go of your hand. If he didnt, his brother would be nagging him about it for a long time.

After Kix was finished, he gave you some quick infos about what would happen next.

You were on bed rest for at least 2 weeks, you insisted that you wouldn't need them, but right in that moment, your head betrayed you and started hurting a little more. You let out yet another groan, then Kix left, giving you a 'I told you so' look.

Once you were alone, you moved your head in the direction of Rex, who was already looking at you with a look you could not quite figure out. A shaky breath left his lips as he opened them to say something.

"What were you thinking...?"

"What?"

It was a whisper which you couldnt understand due to the still present ringing in your ears.

"What the KRIFF were you thinking!"

You flinched a little. You have never, NEVER, seen him so angry.

"You could have gotten yourself killed!"

""Please Rex, could you lower your voice a little? My head is killing me..."

"It would not hurt that much if you didnt throw yourself infront of a BOMB!"

You wanted to answer, to get back at him with a snaky remark, but you couldnt. He left you literally speechless. Was he angry because you safed him and his brothers from their definite death?

"Wha...what was i supposed to do? Let you get blown up?"

"YES! Kriff...you are not supposed to put your life on the line for someone like us...for someone like me..."

The last part was barely above a whisper. He turned his head away so he wouldnt have to look at you.

This took you aback. What was he talking about? Was he serious?

"What do you mean with 'people like me'?"

You gave him some time to answer, but as he still hasnt looked at you nor said a word, you lifted your arm slowly to caress his cheek.

At first he stiffened at the unfamiliar feeling of your hand on his cheek, but after mere seconds, he leaned his head against you touch, fully submerging in the warmth of it.

"Rex, talk to me. What did you mean?"

He inhaled sharply as he turned his head around to look at you again.

"What i meant is...we are clones, sir. We were bread for this exact purpose, to serve in battle. We were also bread to die, as harsh as it sounds. One of us dies, a few thousand are coming to take his place. You on the other had...your life is way more worthy as mine will ever be. As i said, we are clones...we are meant to be expendable."

Once again, the captain has left you speechless. Thats what he was thinking about himself? About his brothers?

No.

No one thinks about themselves that way. It was drilled into their minds. Not only by the Kaminoans, but also by your fellow jedi and politicians.

You were so lost in your thoughts that you didnt even notice, that Rex was about to leave. A small panic rose inside of you. You couldnt let him go after what he just said to you.

"Rex! Wait! What are you doing?...please stay..."

You mustered some strengh to sit up and still reach his arm in time. The pain that shot through your body was screaming at you to lay back down, but as you met the captains teary eyes, it was forgotten.

You pulled him back to sit down in the chair next to you again. But as he was sat, you still did not let go of his arm. Instead, you moved your hand towards his and held it.

"I...I dont know how you must be feeling about...about the thing you just told me. I cant imagine it, but to me, your life is just as valuable as any other. I dont care if you are a clone or a jedi or...or even a droid. You have feelings, you have a personality. Your life is important. Your...your life is everything to me..."

As Rex heard the last sentence, his eyes snapped towards yours. It seemed like he didn't believe you at first, but the longer he looked into your eyes, he noticed the truth and honesty behind your words.

"You dont have to say anything but...I feel like its time to speak my mind. I woud do it again. One hundred percent. I would jump infront of a hundred bombs, just to know you are safe and ALIVE. That doesn'tjust apply to you, but also your brothers. But...especially to you..."

You smiled slightly as you said the last words.

By the looks of it, the captain infront of you was dumbfounded. It took him a minute to process your words, but as he let them go through is head, he realised what you meant. At least he hoped so.

He searched your face for anything that told him otherwise, though he couldnt find it. Your eyes screamed sincerity, there was nothing that could deny that.

With your hand still in his, he leaned forward. He was just inches from your face, you could feel his breath on your lips.

"Just so you know...I would do the same for you, General."

He looked at your lips, then back into your eyes as if he was asking for consent. You nodded slightly and with that, his lips connected with yours.

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superlarva · 1 year

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They sat like that for some time.

Finally, here's Chapter 7 - Nightmare of Raising Dominoes! Sorry it took so long to post! Traveling's a pain.

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 06 Next chapter: 08

Summary: Rex and Cody meet up to go over some important information late at night. Fives has a nightmare.

CW: Child abuse (in a dream, but still), nightmares

^Please be careful, friends. The first part of this chapter could be distressing to some. I put a thing like this:

~~~~~

where the dream ends, so if you want to skip it, just scroll down until you see that.

Chapter 7 - Nightmare

The man slammed the car door, cutting Fives off from the loud argument outside the apartment building’s entrance. He could not hear what Rex was saying anymore, but he seemed mad. He was trying to push past some of the men, but they grabbed him and held him back, away from the car.

One of the men got into the driver’s seat and the car roared to life. As they began to drive away, Fives tried to turn to see Rex one last time, but the seat belt was constricting him. He could not move, not even an inch. It was pulled taught. He strained against the belt. Pulled against it. Tried to wriggle out. But it just dug into his skin deeper.

It hurt.

He let it hurt.

He wanted to see Rex.

Fives knew where he was being taken soon as he heard the first drop of rain hit the windshield. Kamino. White halls. Cold, hard beds. Ration bars.

Home.

He was going home.

Mom was nice as the men had handed him over. She smiled and hugged him and talked about getting him something nice and warm to eat. He knew as soon as the door slid shut behind them and the men were out of sight she would be frowning and hitting and yelling.

Fives stepped into the house and screwed his eyes shut. He jumped at the sound of his mom slamming the door.

Fives sat in the room he had shared with his brothers. They were all gone now, even Echo. He felt like he should be more sad than he was.

He was scared.

He wanted to go back to Rex’s apartment.

Fives could hear yelling from down the hall. That was odd, his mom did not normally have company. He climbed down from his bunk to listen at the door.

He could hear her voice clearly, although the words were too faint to distinguish. The other voice he also recognized and with a start he opened the door and ran down the hall towards it.

Rex had come!

Rex was here!

He was going to take him back and make everything all better.

But what if he didn’t?

No, he would. He was nice.

Was he really?

Suddenly Fives couldn’t quite remember.

He peaked around the corner to see his mom and Rex standing in the training room. He had heard them arguing, but now they were not speaking to each other at all. Both faced away from him.

Fives crept closer and softly called out to Rex. The man did not turn around. Fives pulled on the sleeve of his jacket, “Rex?”

Rex yanked his hand away and whirled around, face contorted in disgust, “Don’t touch me!”

Fives stumbled back, surprised, “I- I-”

“What did you think?” His mom turned to face him as well. She wore the same disgusted expression as Rex, “You thought he came here for you? You thought he cared about you? You? CT-5555? You’re just a failure. A failed experiment. You mean nothing.”

Fives looked over to Rex, “I-I’m s-s-sorry.”

“You’re suh-suh-sorry?” Rex mocked, a smirk spreading across his face.

Fives took a step back. Rex was supposed to be nice. This wasn’t right!

Rex stepped forwards and leaned down so his face was inches from Fives’s, “You’re a waste of space. You and CT-1409 should have died that day with the other three. I don’t want you.”

Fives turned and ran, but Rex grabbed his arm before he could escape the room. Rex yanked Fives back towards him so they were face to face again and sneered, “You really thought you could get away that easily?”

Rex was holding his arm so tightly that Fives thought if he squeezed any more it might pop off.

Fives’s mom knelt down next to him and poked his thigh, grinning, “You know, if we chop off his legs, he won’t be able to get away at all.”

Fives looked to Rex for help, but Rex was already pulling a long knife from his pocket and eyeing his legs.

“N-no!” Fives protested, trying to wriggle out of Rex’s grip.

“Calm down, sweetheart,” His mother said, petting his shoulder and sending shivers up his spine. “You’ll be just like your brother. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? To be just like your brothers?”

“No! No!” Fives looked frantically from his mom to Rex, trying to find any spark of the man he had first met only a few days earlier, but there was nothing comforting in Rex’s face. His skin stretched and sagged to make room for his wicked grin. The proportions bordered on inhuman.

It was not Rex; it could not be. Not the real one. Fives screwed his eyes shut and began to scream.

He screamed for Rex, for Echo, for Cody.

For anyone.

~~~~~

“Fives?”

Someone was shaking his shoulders. He was lying down now. He vaguely wondered if they had tied him to a table, but he was lying on something soft. He wanted to see where he was—he was so confused—but he did not want to open his eyes just to see Rex’s twisted face glaring back at him. He trembled.

The shaking stopped.

“Fives?” The voice asked again. It had a tremor in it almost as if it was scared. “Are you awake now?”

The voice sounded like Rex’s, and it sent a shiver down Fives’s spine.

“Cody,” The voice said softly, “Could you get the extra blanket from the closet?”

Fives laid stone still. Cody and Rex. Not mom and Rex. Had he been sleeping? Had it just been a dream?

He felt a hand run through his hair, smoothing it back, away from his forehead. Rex’s voice asked if he was awake again and Fives relented with a small nod.

The bed dipped as what Fives assumed was Rex—although he refused to open his eyes—sat on the edge, “Bad dream?”

Fives gave another small nod.

“We heard you calling out for us.”

Steps began to approach the bed and Fives tensed.

“That’s just Cody with another blanket,” Rex’s voice said as Fives felt the blanket being placed over him. “Is that better?”

“Mm-hmm,” Fives finally managed as the footsteps faded away.

“Do you want to open your eyes? It’s just me—just Rex.”

Fives cracked an eye open, half expecting to see the Rex from his dream hovering over him. Instead, he was met with a head of short curly hair bathed in golden light flooding in from the open doorway into the hallway, kind brown eyes, and a face wracked with worry.

Fives let out a shaky breath and opened both eyes fully, “R-Rex?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Are- are you real?” Fives reached up to touch Rex’s face.

Rex did not flinch away and did not look at him in disgust. He instead smiled and allowed Fives to prod at his cheek, “As real as you are.”

Fives let his arm fall back down onto the sheets, satisfied that he was no longer dreaming.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Rex asked softly.

Fives turned away and curled up, hugging his T-rex plush to his chest, “No, I’m fine. I’ll b-be quiet now. I’m s-sorry.”

Rex sat down heavily next to Cody at the kitchen table. The table was littered with papers and informational pamphlets. Before he and Cody had heard Fives screaming out for help, they had been going over the documents provided to them about the twins and had been signing the boys up for school, doctor’s appointments to get their vaccines, and therapy.

Cody crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, “How is he?”

Rex shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, sighing, “He wanted to be left alone. Didn’t want to talk about it.”

“You know it’s not your fault, right?”

Rex looked up at his older brother desperately, “Of course it’s my fault! He’s terrified of me!”

Cody reached out and laid a reassuring hand on Rex’s shoulder, “He’s not scared of you, just scared of what he thinks you might do. He just met you and you know he’s had bad parental figures in the past. It’ll just take time.”

Rex nodded, but there was still a deep sadness in his eyes.

“Besides,” Cody continued, “When I saw you guys this morning at the hospital, you were thick as thieves. I think he trusts you.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, when he was yelling our names, yours was the first he called for.”

Rex’s eyes scanned over the table and landed on the boys’ birth certificates, “Heck Cody, do you think she really called him that?”

“CT-5555?” Cody clarified before his eyes fixed on a point over Rex’s shoulder and he went white as a sheet.

Rex’s heart dropped, landing in his gut, as he turned to see a tiny hand disappear from around the corner of the hallway.

“Fives?” Rex bolted from the chair to reach the boy’s retreating figure.

Fives was wrapped in a blanket and in his haste to get back into Rex’s room, he tripped over the edge that was dragging on the ground and fell to the floor with a loud thwack. Rex quickly covered the distance between them and knelt down next to the boy.

Fives was silent for moment before he started wailing loudly, curling up into a ball on the floor. Rex looked back to Cody who was hovering uncertainly a few feet away, face still drained of color.

Cody met his eyes, a reassuring calmness spreading across his face, and slowly sank down next to the sobbing boy, “That looked like it hurt.”

Cody’s voice was gentle, and Fives let out a shuddering breath as he nodded in agreement.

“Yeah?” Cody asked softly, “Can you tell me where it hurts?”

“E-ev-everywhere!”

Rex grimaced, he had to give it to the kid, it probably did hurt everywhere given the massive collection of bruises and scrapes he was sporting when he had acquired him a little over 24 hours earlier.

“Okay. Do you think you can sit up for me?”

Fives acquiesced and was soon sitting with his back pressed up against the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. Tears were still running down the boy’s cheeks, but his sobs were much quieter, “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t m-mean to l-leave the- the room. I-”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Cody interrupted.

Fives turned to Cody, looking a little stunned.

“He’s right,” Rex jumped in. “You’re allowed to go anywhere in this apartment.”

Fives turned his large confused eyes on Rex.

“I mean it,” Rex said before switching gears. He needed to make sure Fives was alright after that fall, “Did you hit anything when you fell? Are you hurt?”

“N-not really,” Fives admitted, wiping a tear away with his sleeve.

“Are you more upset about what I said?” Cody asked. He looked like he already knew the answer.

A fresh wave of tears gathered in Fives’s eyes, “I’m s-scared.”

Rex and Cody exchanged a glance before Cody ventured a cautious, “What are you afraid of?”

“That you’ll- that you’ll b-be just l-like m-m-mom!” Fives cried before hiding his face behind his knees.

Rex scooted forward and wrapped Fives in a tight hug, “If I ever do anything she did to you, you let me know and I’ll stop. I promise.”

Fives hugged Rex back and sobbed into his shirt.

They sat like that for some time.

At one point Cody got up and returned with a glass of water and a box of tissues. Fives seemed content to cry into Rex’s shirt, but Cody was eventually able to coax him into blowing his nose a could times and taking a few sips of water.

After the boy calmed down a little Rex decided they needed to clarify a few things.

“Fives?” Fives sniffled in response, and Rex continued, “First off, do you want me to call you Fives? Because you’re not a number. If you want, we can change your name. Change it to anything you want.”

Fives was silent for a moment before turning his head to the side against Rex’s shirt so he could speak, “I-I don’t like CT-5555, b-but I- I like F-Fives.”

Rex glanced over to Cody, then back at the boy, “So, we should call you Fives?”

Fives nodded, “Fives is what Eh-Echo calls me.”

“Okay,” Rex said softly, trying not to let his heart shattering into a million pieces for his boys show in his voice, “Next, it is very important that you understand that I will not let anyone take you back to her.”

Fives took a breath, “I- I don’t have to- to go back?”

“No, never.”

“Really?”

“I think you and Echo are stuck with me.”

Fives was silent for a moment and Rex’s heart sunk. What if he’d ruined it already and Fives did not want to stay with him? Suddenly Fives shifted his head up to look at him, his chin digging into Rex’s sternum. The boy’s face was full of hope, “Forever?”

Rex smiled, “For as long as you want.”

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny @tearfulsolace @rndmpeep @brokenphoenix99 @nerdy-valkyrie @xylionet @tazmbc1 @eyayah123 @the-bad-batch-baroness @sarcastic-nebula @ihaventpickedausername @sexysmeagolshitposting @emma-1409

#I almost cut this chapter from the story #I still think I could have #But IDK #I figure there's no harm in posting it #the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #captain rex #commander cody #domino twins #baby dominos #superlarva

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sparkplug02 · 1 year

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Ventress meets the Skywalker twins

I think Rex and Ahsoka, after meeting Luke and Leia, would die laughing if he saw Ventress meet the Skywalker twins.

Imagine this:

The Empire is dying, and your general's/master's/friends' twin children are leading the fight to track down the last of the Empire's lackeys along with their mother's protocol droid, their father's astromech, a veteran Wookie, and the Wookie's pet human (who is dating one of the twins). You keep an eye on them, offering them guidance and old stories and occasionally a rescue. All is well, and the galaxy is healing.

Until one day, that old bounty hunter that terrorized you every other week returns.

She's honestly not looking for trouble these days. The pet human struck a deal with her to get some equipment that they needed and couldn't get without going through the black market. According to the pet human, this hunter is dangerous, resourceful, and delivers more consistently than the pet human does most of the time. Her prices are in the upper ranger, but worth it. She even delivers on time.

However, you'd recognize her anywhere. Among her weapons array are two lightsabers, her voice is still raspy, and she still hums in the Force. This is Asajj Ventress, ex-apprentice to Darth Tyrannus.

And THEE Luke Skywalker is walking up to her with a smile on his face (because he's the people person, who else is going to complete the transaction?).

He's got the payment and he offers a cheerful greeting, expressing appreciation for making the delivery, but the masked bounty hunter doesn't say anything. She recognizes that face. Are you kidding me? It's a damn carbon copy of Anakin Skywalker, except that nuisance never smiled this much. Ventress takes off her mask to make sure she's not imagining things, and gets a little closer to Luke's face than he would prefer, but he still doesn't understand what's going on.

Neither does Leia, who just came from around the corner, but she sees this bounty hunter too close to her brother's face and she doesn't like it. She calls out the hunter and stalks over, telling her to back up and mind her own business. Ventress isn't even listening to her yell because now that she's remembering ole' Skywalker, she recognizes his brash, bold behavior in the girl. That fire she used to feel in the Force? The same one she felt when she was tracked down by a certain Jedi because he thought she betrayed his apprentice? Yeah, it's back.

She looks back at Luke, then back at Leia, and then she gives up. She looks up at the sky, pointing an accusing finger and starts shouting for all the galaxy to hear that NO, SHE IS NOT DEALING WITH THIS AGAIN, DAMMIT! ONE WAS BAD ENOUGH, BUT NOW THERE'S TWO AND SHE'S TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT!!! She snatches the payment from Luke, who is still bewildered, and storms off back to her ship, pausing only just long enough to flip of Ahsoka and Rex, who are laughing their asses off in the background. Anakin and Obi-Wan's Force ghosts are right next to them, barely able to breathe despite being dead.

About three days later, after Ventress has cooled down enough, she tracks down Ahsoka's number and demands an explanation. This just makes her more mad. Rumor has it Ventress died the next day from heart problems. The only thing written on her medical chart for cause of death is 'Skywalker.'

#skywalker #disaster lineage #asajj ventress #ahsoka tano #captain rex #clone wars #star wars #luke skywalker #leia organa

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tired-night-owl · 6 months

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The freaking theory that the shadow clone is somehow a clone of crosshair bothers me so much you have no idea.

I understand that people try to find the answer that is not the most obvious but like isn’t it impossible to clone a clone ? Wasn’t there an arc in the clone wars that implied that they would run out of jango’s DNA eventually and the clone production would stop bc of that…

I guess it would be cool to have crosshair face an evil version of himself but it doesn’t really make sense to me because of what I mentioned above but also bc like the whole point of these series is to prove that every clone is a unique individual… idk it would feel wrong to me if they went into crosshair copycat mode :/

The theories I do like tho is :

if it was Cody that went under the reconditioning program and ensues a tragic death with Rex or something. It will break me but I do believe there’s something big like that that needs to happen for Rex to go into hiding and let go of the rebellion with his old geezers gang like we see in rebels.

Dogma because that would be a cool use of his character after all these years and because I do believe in the fact that the Star Wars team likes to reuse old characters that haven’t really had that big of a spotlight on them. We got to know a bit about him with the Umbara arc and it ended with a good character development but we never heard of him again like not even a mention… suspicious if you ask me or more like an opportunity for a « plot twist » that I could totally see.

Tech because I cannot accept that he would just die like that without having any kind of presence in the batch/the marauder like crosshair’s bretrayal did. We legit only had a small name drop and a glimpse at his googles which leads me to : why would hemlock look for him and only recover a personal item that means nothing to him ? If the techno union held on to echo’s body for years the empire and most importantly, a mad scientist hellbent on research and testing on clones, would definitely keep an individual with such a exceptional mind as tech’s for who knows how long.

Anyway I’m probably wrong because I usually am not that good at predicting stuff that happens in shows but I really don’t think it’s a coincidence that the shadow clones have voice modulators even after we got to see that these « assassins » are always clones. Also, some merch dropped with wrecker’s CT number implying that tech is ct-9902 and apparently it’s been confirmed that the shadow clone is the last episode is identified as cx-2… Coincidence, I think not !!! Merch has never lead me astray from guessing who dies and who’s important before so I will cling to this little bit of info until I am proven wrong XD

#the bad batch #star wars #tbb #tbb spoilers #the bad batch spoilers #tbb tech #sw tbb #tbb omega #tbb hunter #crosshair #tbb finale #tbbspoilers #tbbedit #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb season 3 #tbb theory #the bad batch theories

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skellymom · 8 months

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"Return To Pabu" Part 1

The Bad Batch CROSSHAIR Fan Fic

Companion piece to "Cup Of Caf"

To read "Cup Of Caf":

https://www.tumblr.com/skellymom/735755898541277184/a-cup-of-caf-the-bad-batch-crosshair-one?source=share

Background: The Batch returns to Pabu with Crosshair in tow. How will he adapt?

The reader (main character) from Cup Of Caf is mentioned. This story is from the point of view of The Batch and Crosshair.

(My OC Maadienne "Mad Momma" Dax makes an appearance as Hunter's love interest. Since this story takes place in an alternate universe from "Vagabonds", Love, Sil, and Tiggy do not make an appearance.)

Word Count: 1.1K

Warning: None. Angst, sadness, fluff. Passionate kissing and types of romantic relationships other than Cishet.

Lovely dividers by the talented @saradika

The Havoc Marauder skimmed over the jewel toned waters of Pabu. Echo was at the controls, humming to himself. The only other sound than Wrecker snoring from the seat behind him. Omega had been snuggled up in his arms securely but lovingly after the escape from Mt Tantiss. When Wrecker had passed out, she climbed into the copilot's seat next to Echo. He occasionally smiled and stroked her hair.

Behind them sat Crosshair with Hunter passed out in his lap, both brothers in embrace and sleeping. Hunter immediately fell into a deep sleep as soon as the Batch was out of harm’s way. Cross rested his cheek on the top of his shorter brother’s head and fell back asleep. Occasionally, Crosshair would awaken to make sure Hunter was still with him, give his brother a gentle squeeze...then drift off. Hunter sighed in his sleep and squeezed back.

Phee Genoa trailed behind the Marauder in her ship. Tech rested on a stretcher next to her, holding hands, fingers intertwined. He babbled nonstop to Phee about everything: The mission to Mt Tantiss, his fall, his infiltration of Hemlock’s laboratory. She listened intently peppering in the occasional, “Mhmm” “Yeah” or “Oh Brown Eyes.”

Both ships arrived at the island and touched down. Hunter awakened and sleepily stood. Omega hopped down and hugged Echo fiercely.

“You’re staying with us...right?” Her large brown eyes pleading with him.

“For a little while. At least until Rex needs me.”

Omega squeezed Echo HARD and held on. He embraced her gently.

Hunter stooped down and kissed the top of Omega's head then poked Wrecker awake.

“Huh...uh...here SO SOON?” Wrecker stretched and cracked his back.

“Been out for quite some time.” Hunter chuckled. “C’mon, let’s help Phee get Tech off her ship.”

“Yep, I got it.” Wrecker stole a glance at Echo and Omega. He smiled then playfully smacked Crosshair on his shoulder. “Come check out your new home.”

Crosshair refused to open his eyes. “I’m in no hurry.” He sneered at Wrecker as his brother exited the ship.

Hunter glanced down at Crosshair. Cross opened one eye to stare back at Hunter. They both grinned at each other. Then Hunter followed Wrecker to Phee’s ship.

She had yet to lower the gangplank for entry...which seemed strange.

“Their heart rates are elevated. Hope everything is ok.” Hunter was concerned.

“Here, step up.” Wrecker stooped down on one knee, allowing Hunter to step up. He grabbed Hunter’s feet and lifted him high enough to see into the ship’s cockpit.

“OH!” Hunter gave a surprise gasp and chuckled...

Phee and Tech were locked in a passionate embrace, neither one aware of Hunter peeping through the ship’s windscreen at them.

“Bring me down, Wrecker.”

Wrecker caught Hunter’s flushed face and burst out laughing, while dropping the sergeant to the ground. “WELL, IT’S ABOUT TIME!”

Hunter cleared his throat...then felt a familiar presence behind him. He spun to face...Maadienne Dax. She was leaning against the Pabu Archium Tree and had been watching the whole interaction with a sly smile.

“Hey Hunky.”

Hunter was love-struck and relieved that she was still on Pabu and waited for him. He knew her restless nature. The Nomaadi never stayed in one place for too long.

They tentatively stepped toward one another. Then swept up in an amorous embrace, gently rubbing noses, leaning in for a serious deep kiss, mouths parted.

“Omega!” Lyana and a group of other children ran up to the ships.

“Lyana!” Omega released Echo, jumped out of the Marauder to greet them.

They mobbed past Shep who waved in greeting. “Hello Miss Omega. Relieved to have you back!”

“You too, Shep! Sorry, gotta go!!!” as the children dragged her away towards the town.

Shep stopped and met Wreckers gaze. “Hello to you, too.”

Wrecker grinned from ear to ear and gently took Shep Hazard into his arms and lovingly kissed him.

Crosshair and Echo watched all of this silently from the inside of the Marauder. There was a palpable yearning in the air.

“You have someone here on this planet too?”

Echo was taken aback that Crosshair would suddenly ask that type of question.

“No...” Echo sighed longingly. “She’s back on Coruscant. Well, she’s not MINE per se...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “...a VERY close friend. You leave anyone behind...back there?”

Crosshair’s expression changed to intense sorrow. Echo immediately regretted his inquiry. “Apologies. None of my business...”

“Back on Barton IV...he didn’t survive The Empire.”

“My condolences, friend.” Echo hesitated, then reached out to put his hand on Crosshair’s shoulder.

Cross gazed up at Echo with moist eyes. “Thank you, Vod.”

Phee eventually lowered the gangplank and engaged Tech’s hover stretcher to bring him out. Both wore flushed complexions with a twinkle in their eyes. Mad hugged Phee and was introduced to Tech. The women picked up where they left before the mission with an enthusiastic gaggle of conversation. Reunions with Wrecker and Echo commenced. Shep informed everyone a large dinner was waiting at his home on the patio, after everyone freshened up of course.

Crosshair, being the last to exit the Marauder, timidly stepped out. He didn’t feel like part of the merry group and unsure how to make his entrance. He quietly stood and took in each interaction with his snipers calculating eye. Shep stepped up to Crosshair and offered his hand.

“Finally get to meet the famous Crosshair. Glad to have you here on Pabu.”

Crosshair nodded quietly but didn’t take Shep’s hand. Shep was a good sport about it, chuckled, shrugged, and followed up with, “Look forward to you joining us for dinner tonight.” before stepping away to reunite with Wrecker.

Hunter put his hand on Shep’s arm “Don’t mind him. He’ll come around.”

“Understandably he needs time. Most of the inhabitants here did when they first arrived too.”

Dinner was lovely.

Crosshair sat quietly and ate very little, while taking in the conversation around the table. He watched the happy faces of the couples and friends interacting with each other. The loudness, emotion, intensity of it all.

His head hurt, heart ached, and yearned to escape it. Cross silently excused himself and sat alone on the patio overlooking the island. Hunter paused from his drinking, concerned.

Echo leaned in, “I’ve got this. Enjoy your time with Mad.”

Hunter nodded, still concerned, but snaked his arm around Mad and squeezed. She unconsciously reached up and caressed Hunter’s cheek while laughing at the table conversation.

Echo poured two stiff after dinner drinks and took them to the patio. He settled into a seat next to Crosshair, handing him a cup. Cross nodded in thanks. They both sat silently nursing their drinks and watched the sun set over Pabu.