#► reaction image time (dash comm.) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

neakco · 3 years

Text

The Lost Temple ch. 2

Ao3 Ch.1 Ch.3 Masterlist

Marinette doesn't fully trust the American Heroes but knows that she probably needs their help.

Tim doesn’t trust these two teens that are definitely hiding something.

Yet they made camp together anyway.

Ch.2 Sleepless Night

It had taken longer then they would have like to figure out a watch schedule. While they had both agreed to an alliance, neither group trusted the other.

Finally a compromise was made. Each group set their own schedule. Marinette and Adrien agreed to each do half the night. While the Trio took one 2 hour shift each.

Adrien would take the first 3 hours and would be starting his shift with Superboy. Impulse had the 2nd watch which he would share with both of them before she would finish out the night with Red Robin.

Marinette was a little nervous, she knew Superboy had heard Plagg earlier. They weren’t used to others being able to hear as well as her Kitty. She was lucky that her bond with Tikki allowed communication via emotions.

She stared up at the stars, at least this wouldn’t be the first time she had gone without sleep for a mission. She glanced briefly at the tent the American heroes had set up. It looked cramped. She was quite happy with her blanket.

Her and Adrien had tried using tents before but he preferred to sleep up high and she enjoyed the connection to the plants she got on the ground. It always allowed her to feel more rested, even if, like tonight, she didn’t actually sleep.

Adrien came to let her know it was her turn so she rolled up her blanket and went to join Impulse.

The boy never seemed to stop, he constantly dashed back and forth as he talked non-stop about everything.

“Doesn’t that drain your energy?”

He stopped short as if he had forgotten she was there. “No, well yes, but II can quickly get back to civilization for snacks.”

She nodded as the hero began to move around and started talking about his favourite snacks. She had an idea to run past Red Robin once he joined her on watch. She would suggest it to Impulse but she had a gut feeling that would be a bad idea.

Tim woke a little early for his turn and crept towards the trees in order to observe Marinette and Bart.

He was a little surprised that she seemed interested in the one-sided food conversation. At least he had assumed it was one-sided until she chirped in with a question about Bart’s preferences on French pastries. He didn’t expect the girl to become so offended when Bart told her he didn’t like croissants.

Tim decided that it was close enough to his watch and stepped out of the shadows.

Impulse flew into the trees in his surprise while Marinette hadn’t moved. Had he lost his touch? No, she may not have jumped but he noticed she had a hand to her back where it hadn’t been before. He concluded that she had probably reached for a weapon.

“Seriously Rob? I love you but that’s just mean.”

Tim smirked, “Maybe next time you will pay attention.”

“You’re a bat, doesn’t matter how much I pay attention.” Bart grumbled as he waved goodnight to Marinette and headed off to find his sleeping bag.

Tim turned back to Marinette and was shocked by the level of malice being directed at him. “What did I…”

“Don’t you ever do that again.” Her voice, while harsh, was soft and filled with concern. “I could have killed you. If it was Adrien you had startled you wouldn’t be alive.”

Tim swallowed his retort. Normally he would think it hilarious that this tiny enigma thought that she or her delicate looking friend could hurt him, but there was something there. It was the way every sound stilled at her anger, the way his gut yelled at him to run. Putting all this together with their first conversation, he began to wonder if the two teens had been granted power by the gods.

Marinette was taking deep meditative breaths. “You are lucky I analyze before reacting.”

“Sorry. I had figured you had a sixth sense.”

She eyed him, “You were testing a theory?”

“Yes. I like to know what my allies are capable of and it’s not like you two have been very forthcoming.”

It surprised Tim to see her relax at this rather than get angrier.

“The decision to share isn’t really up to me or Adrien. I assume it is similar to your identity, unless what I've heard about Batman is wrong.”

Tim laughed quietly while keeping an eye to their surroundings. “We actually tell people our identities all the time, people just assume we are joking.”

Her eyes widened, “That works?”

“Well it works if the public's image of your two personas are vastly different. People will believe what they want no matter what you tell them.”

He was about to ask if she was thinking of becoming a hero when he noticed her darkening look. Unlike before where it had been anger mixed with concern, this time it was mixed with sadness and pain.

“You okay?”

“People really do believe what they want.” Her eyes turned wistful and she looked up into the trees. “Really shows you who your real friends are.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” How was he supposed to comfort her? Alfred would probably offer her hot chocolate and sweets.

“No, it all happened years ago. I am mostly over it.”

Tim let out a sigh of relief, at her look he tried to smile kindly. “No offense but I was raised by the most emotionally distant people and I really had no idea what to do if you started crying.”

The sudden laughter surprised him. That wasn’t a normal reaction. He frowned as he watched her try to stifle the sound.

“I'm sorry, it’s just, well, welcome to the club.” She started laughing a little bit harder and maybe a bit more broken. “Adrien can tell you some stories. Well I can two, but mine only start a few years back. I don’t have a life's worth like he does.”

“But why is that so funny?” He frowned harder trying to understand if he was the joke.

He jumped and threw a batarang that thankfully missed when Adrien suddenly dropped out of a tree and landed beside him.

“Where we come from it was always better to laugh instead of giving in to emotional distress.” He turned to Marinette, “You okay M'lady?”

“I just,” her giggles increased slightly, “strays, it’s always the strays.” She giggled a bit longer before stopping suddenly and glaring at Adrien, “Why aren’t you asleep?”

Tim could see the blonde visibly gulp as he lied poorly, “bathroom. Going back to sleep now. Bye.” He quickly left back into the trees and took off roughly in the direction of camp based off the rustling.

“You two are very strange.”

“Says the talented human commanding literal super humans.” She snorted. “Oh, I almost forgot. Do you think Impulse could quickly map out the jungle for us?”

“If he can keep himself from tripping over roots and snakes then maybe. Why didn’t you ask him?” Tim was curious. She had spent an hour with Impulse, there had been plenty of time.

“I figured you were the leader and I would have to ask no matter what. Mostly I was worried he wouldn’t be able to but pride would cause him to say yes anyways.”

Tim tried to study her expression but it gave nothing away. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“Simple, Impulse acts like a younger Adrien.”

Marinette thought back, Chat had been so free. She missed those times. Unfortunately reality had hit them both fairly hard. She doubted if they could ever be that carefree again.

“I would deny your assessment if I could.” Red Robin leaned back against her tree and typed into his arm. She hadn’t realized there was technology integrated into the suit. She was almost jealous.

A holographic map of the jungle was displayed floating above his arm so she leaned forward to gain a better look.

Red Robin pointed to a small area causing a dot to appear “This is our camp.” He gestured to highlight a portion green. “This is the area we checked yesterday. My initial reports showed activity in these areas.” This time the highlighted red, or brown in the areas that overlapped with the searched area.

She hummed in thought, “Add another kilometer to the searched radius. Adrien split off a couple times yesterday.”

She could see his eyes shift to suspicion briefly but he complied anyway

“If you knew that then you never needed Impulse to make a map, you wanted him to find the enemy.”

She nodded but stayed silent and observant. It was kind of nice watching someone else think like she does.

“It wouldn’t be a bad idea if Impulse was capable of stealth. “She watched him remove the searched area from the map in order to zoom in on the rest.

“You have a plan.” She was grinning, she could already tell what he was thinking.

The way he looked at her screamed that he knew that she had already figured it out. She was happily surprised when he decided to continue explaining to her.

“I propose that we split up. My team has trackers to keep track of our own whereabouts and comms to communicate. I think Superboy and Adrien take this route.” A Blue and red line appeared on the map. “While we take this path more to the right.” This time the line was red and black. She knew they were supposed to represent his colours but they worked just as well for her. She bet Adrien would have a laugh.

“I'll have Impulse cover this middle area in between our groups to cover any gaps and act as a runner in case we need anything. Anything to add?”

She bit her lip. These were heroes, she could probably trust them, at least a little. Plus Adrien wasn’t able to sense the temple’s magic. “How good is Superboy's x-ray vision?” Damn it, she thought she had fixed her word blurting problem.

Red Robin seemed surprised by her words, “What? Why?”

She chewed on her lip a bit more before she felt Tikki's reassurance. “What I am about to tell you is secret enough that it could very well get you killed. Are you sure you want to know?”

She watched his face carefully. There was hesitation, doubt, curiosity, and finally that thirst for knowledge that got her into trouble constantly.

He finally shrugged, “Just an average day for me.”

She smiled but dropped her voice into a serious tone. “There is a temple here that was lost underground years ago. No matter what else happens I can not let anyone get the knowledge and treasures it holds.” She remembered some of the things the monks had told her and Adrien without ever actually explaining what the temple was guarding. “If these people find the temple first then best case scenario has them taking over the world.”

Red Robin's voice was low, “And worst case?”

“They destroy the entire universe as we know it.”

Taglist @toodaloo-kangaroo

#maribat #the lost temple #adventure #rin writes

48 notes · View notes

the-gunslock · 4 years

Text

Hiver 7 - Infinite

This is a story about reality and my meeting of the one who stands against those who threaten it.

“Honey? Amanda?”

The awoken woman called to the dark. No answer.

“Trinity?”

The little light never appeared. She looked around frantically.

“Selene! Reyla! ...Junko? Uh, Luna?”

The ground to her feet had begun to shift into a blocky, dull grey platform. The ambient around her had turned into a stone and metal room with rectangular, jagged edges. After a while of looking, she spots a dash of burnt blonde hair. Relieved, she runs to meet it.

“Amanda!” She says, ecstatic to see a familiar face, specially her lover’s.

But, to her dismay, no response.

“Honey?” She starts tearing up in desperation. She waves a hand in front of her face and snaps her fingers.

Nothing.

Then she reaches out.

Immediately she is met with a wall of intense solar energy that causes her to stumble backwards. As she regains her vision, she sees that the image of Amanda had burnt away and in its place…

Spun a Harpy. Not a common one -- its eye and shell glowed a bright, phased blue, and it was much larger. The Warlock had only heard dreadful stories about them, from Guardians more experienced than her.

Gorgons.

Vex constructs that patrolled a cave inside the Vault of Glass and held the power to define what is real or not.

Its bright, ice-blue eye gazed into Hiver’s soul as it started to give a deafening, almost pained, mechanically-filtered shriek and released pulsating red energy in all directions.

She was paralyzed. Tears started to roll down her eyes as she struggled to bring her hand to eye level, watching her body be deconstructed in white simulation particles.

Feeling like her existence was little more than… a nuisance. A speck of dust that needs to be sweeped away.

As she sobbed at the extinguishing light of this cursed creature, she started to hear a faint sound.

“..er.”

A voice? Couldn’t be.

“Ier.”

She had almost lost her entire body now. Fear overcame her as she felt the disintegration reach her neck--

“Hiver.”

The voice clearly said her name now, but she couldn’t do anything.

“HIVER!” The Shipwright’s husky voice called to her, with a load of worry on top of it. Hiver gasped awake to see Amanda’s face close to hers, her fingertips tapping against her cheek.

It’s sunrise. The light grazes the clouds with a soft touch, making the whole sky purple.

She rolled onto her back and brushed her hair out of her forehead, sobbing uncontrollably. Amanda softly wiped the tears from her nose and temples, sitting her up and hugging her tightly, trying to appease her crying.

“You’re okay, babe. Everythin’s alright.” She says, alternating it with soothing ‘shh’ noises with her mouth. Hiver is hiccuping so much she can barely breathe right, let alone say a word.

After reattaching her mechanical leg to her thigh, she takes her girlfriend’s hand and helps her stumble to the kitchen. The blonde sits her down on the island’s chairs and gets her a cup of water so she can normalize her breathing. While the Warlock gulps it down, the Shipwright stands beside her, caressing her hair. She tries asking her what she saw, knowing from her that Awoken tend to experience extremely vivid dreams.

Good or not.

Hiver started to tell the dream the best she could, trying to catch her breath and staring vacantly at the water cup.

“I… I-I was alone. Unknown place. It was… Vex built. cough I saw you, called out to you. You turned into… a… a Gorgon. I had to… sigh, stand still as… as it stared into me... and, and slowly deleted me from existence.”

Amanda hugs her from behind and smooches the top of her head.

“I…” Hiver blurted out, putting the cup down. “I felt... every second of it. And I heard your voice calling to me. Couldn’t answer. Couldn’t do anything. Not even say ‘I love you’. Or ‘goodbye’.”

Amanda sighs. “Babe, you ain’t in a simulation. You’re here, with me, where it’s safe. You ain’t gonna need to say goodbye. Okay?”

The Awoken girl opens a smile. “Okay.” She replies as she starts feeling better, and gets up to face her girlfriend. Both of them walk together to the bedroom.

“I might need proof of that, though.” She continues, sitting back on the bed. Amanda sighs, just wanting to use her precious hours of sleep.

“Hiver…” She says tiredly as they lie down again. “What proof do ya want? It’s like... 5 in the morning.”

Hiver giggles as she pulls the blanket over them both again. Her face close to Amanda’s once more, she blinks and puckers up for a second before going back to her calm grin. Getting the message, Amanda pulls her closer for a ‘sleep well’ kiss while caressing her hair once more, Hiver gently scratching her back under her tank top.

Both of them having relaxed, they happily drift off together once more. Hiver has an idea for what she’s doing the next day.

It’s now noon, and everyone is at their workstations. The Chief Shipwright is having difficulties understanding what happened to the Sparrow in front of her. It clearly had not been treated well, giving that most of its hull was missing and the engine metal was completely fried. Whoever used this was a worse pilot than Hiver, and it’s saying something.

Amanda was using a datapad to scan the ill-fated vehicle in front of her, trying to assess whether she could order spare parts to repair the thing, or if it would have to be scrapped entirely and sell the owner a new one. Either way, it wasn’t gonna be easy or cheap.

“My Light, why do Guardians always do the stupidest Sparrow stunts? They forget someone has to fix their mess?” She mumbles to herself while her stomach grumbles in anger. “Damnit. Guess I’ll just grab ramen real fast or something… I don’t know. Ugh, this job.” Luckily, her Guardian angel appears just at the right time, wearing her usual black duster, Black Armory boots and gauntlets, and big smile on her face.

“Amanda!” The Guardian called out, carrying a black, aluminium-like case by the handle in her hand, jogging towards the Shipwright.

“Hey darling, what’s up?” She greets before noticing the case she is carrying. “...What’s that?”

“It’s almost noon and I’m leaving for Mercury. So…” She starts, holding the case close to her chest before offering it to Amanda, and also taking a thermos out of her duster’s bag. “Brought you this.”

“Oh, thank ya! Have a safe flight there.”

Hiver kisses her on the cheek, whispering “love you, honey”, and walks off, transmatting into orbit, leaving Amanda with the case. Pulling up a chair and unlocking the side clasps, she finds out the case has three layers, one having a small case with a plastic lid and two large cases on top of each other.

The first one carries silverware and a little post-it note, and the other two carry two parts of a fresh meal. Spaghetti with bolognese sauce, vegetables and rice, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. She smelled the thermos she was handed which contained lemonade, still cold.

The note had a coupon for Spicy Ramen under it, reading: “Honey, treat yourself if I’m not back soon enough to make you dinner. I love you. ♥ - Hiver”

Hiver put everything there to get her girlfriend back on her feet for the workday. It made her blush and smile in fondness, but then she looked around to realize some of her workers and Guardians walking around the hangar had their attention captured by the girls’ little display of affection… drawing varied reactions from them.

“WHAT?!” She angrily bellowed at the meddlers, making them resume their jobs or disperse, before digging in on her lunch.

No matter what anyone thought, it definitely brightened up her day.

The Warlock touched down near the intimidating triangular gate where she had been months prior. She had hoped to never go in again, but her curiosity was deeper than her fear.

With a sigh, she stepped into the jagged hallway leading to the Infinite Forest and unformed her helmet.

“Trinity, can you reach Sagira?”

“A minute.”

The duo waited for a moment while Sagira didn’t pick up the message, Hiver trying not to regret this decision.

“Welcome, Guardian.” A smooth female voice came through the comms minutes after.

“Hey, Guardian-thief.” Trinity answered, eliciting a chuckle from the other Ghost. “My partner here is kind of having an existential crisis and could use some Osiris wisdom right now.”

“Sure. Step inside.”

A portal opens up in front of Hiver and her Ghost, and they go through it to find Osiris and Sagira sitting at a currently empty portion of the Forest. Mossy and levitating in the massive space between the planet’s mantle and core, replaced by Vex atmosphere and engines.

The old Dawnblade is inspecting his rifle’s magazines in order to pass the time as he waits, his attention caught by the Awoken Stormcaller who just stepped through the portal.

“Hello, Guardian.” He said sympathetically, his standing up motion rustling the many feathers in his armor. “What can I help you with?”

“Hello... Osiris.” Hiver greets back, unsure of where to start. “My name is Hiver. I came to Mercury to get your input on some concerns I’ve been having.”

“Careful, girl. If he wasn’t kicked out of the City for his prophecies, it would totally be for his terrible women skills.” Sagira replies, causing both Ghosts to laugh.

“Do not be concerned with her.” Osiris says, causing Sagira to pout. “Speak your mind.”

Hiver sits down on one of the stone blocks and gathers her thoughts. “I’m not the most eloquent of individuals, but I’ll do my best. See, I’m… afraid. Of the Vex. They haunt me whenever my mind decides to be cruel.” She starts fiddling with her fingers. “I’m a Guardian, sure, that is what’s nailed into my head since I came back. But also at some point I… realized I’m a person.”

Osiris listens intently, caressing his beard as he starts to piece together what the Warlock is trying to transmit.

“There is the “me” that is not a Guardian. She is building a life. She has… clanmates, she has friends, hell, just last week she got a girlfriend who makes her the happiest woman in the world. I love her so much, I love everyone so much but… but the Vex... and their space-time manipulation… make me wonder if this is all a hollow shell of a life.”

She punches the block near her thigh in frustration, slightly cracking it. Osiris starts to get up and puts his bird-shaped helmet on.

“I’m sorry, I… rambled too much.”

“How about a trial, Warlock?” He says, taking a strange device of three cubes with glowing runes of them, and rearranging them into a specific order. He gets an immunity barrier.

“Oh boy.” Sagira and Trinity state at the same time.

“Prepare yourself. It is a test of force of will.”

Trinity transmats back into nothingness. Hiver is tense, jumping down from her seat and putting on her helmet as Osiris rearranges the device once more, materializing Vex units on that part of the forest. She stands before them, ready to draw.

“Okay...”

Three Goblins raise their guns, and she fans her Ace’s hammer on their Radiolaria cores while running to her right for cover, spotting Hobgoblins on the platforms above. Gliding upwards, she intercepts more Goblins and a Harpy with her Arcbolt grenade, chaining lightning between them and disintegrating them all.

Dodging Wire Rifle shots from said Hobgoblins, she sees a Minotaur and more Harpies coming in her direction. Avoiding them, she climbs up the platform and slides while destroying their cores as well.

Switching to her Kindled Orchid to engage the Minotaur, she jumps down and rolls sideways to dodge its teleporting blow, immediately countering with shots from the void revolver, which shatter the heavy machine’s barrier and cause it to stumble backwards. Switching once more to her Hammerhead machine gun, the Warlock gunned down the remaining enemies.

“You face the final round.” Sagira states, imitating the missing warden of the Prison of Elders.

To the final round, a Hydra appeared, with its three immunity shields circling around it. It tried to hit Hiver with an energy wave, but she managed to float safely to the ground, circling around and unloading her machine gun’s belt at the eye of the menacing robot, which goes down in a spectacular fiery show.

She jumps back and holsters her weapons while the Hydra explodes in front of her. When everything is back to normal, Osiris floats back to the platform and Hiver removes her helmet.

“You perform exceptionally against the Vex.” He praises. “As such, I believe I have an idea as to why you are afraid of them.”

“Or, more precisely, why you aren’t.” Sagira elaborates, much to her confusion.

“I’m... not?”

“No. Sit down, Warlock, and I will explain.”

She obeys, sitting on the same stone block as before, reloading her weapons. Osiris clears his throat and begins his explanation.

“The Vex are terrifying creations. With their incredibly accurate simulations, they have made us question everything we believed we knew about time and space, and if reality is actually a linear concept or just a branch out of an eternally multiplying tree where every possible choice is happening simultaneously.”

Hiver starts getting visibly unsettled.

“But you wouldn’t be afraid of them if they were just the murderous proxies you find in the field. You can dispatch them very easily.”

“You love your girlfriend, right?” Sagira asks. Hiver nods. “You love your clanmates, you appreciate your allies, you care about your reality. You want it to be real.”

“Correct.” The Warlock confirms nervously.

“Then, your fear is not of the Vex, it’s of the possibility that you might lose all you love. Or, rather…”

“That what you are living right now has never been ‘real’ in the first place.” Osiris concludes.

Hiver is starting to tear up for the second time today as anxiety hits her once more. Osiris moves closer to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“A simulation is exactly that. A simulation. Imitation. Mimicry. It requires a model, a starting point. And more than hundreds of years studying and battling the Vex have shown that this is the model they are using. We are the start of their digital futures; everything else is mere extrapolation entertained by their stone-cold calculations and amoral what-ifs.”

He removes his hand and turns to face the blue-colored sky on the Infinite Forest. Sagira is using her shell’s pointy bits to try and wipe Hiver’s cheeks, careful not to hurt her. Trinity does the same.

“As much as I despise admitting it, the Light is the reason. The Traveler bears an unsimulable force, and the Vex have to circumvent this in every timeline they create. It’s very convenient to us. Our continued efforts and meddling have set them back from our reality.”

Osiris turns to her again.

“Does your emotion feel real? Can you feel the things you don’t want to lose?”

Hiver looks at him with a puzzled expression, turning her head to the right slightly. “Of course it does.”

“Then, to you, it doesn’t matter if there are alternate timelines or simulated realities.”

He pokes her forehead, eliciting a bit of a smile. “Your reality is here.”

Then he pokes her duster’s leftside collar, over her left breast. “And your affection is here. And it is as real as you’d like it to.” He backs down with his arms crossed. “Go home. Cherish all that you have, and don’t let fear prevent you from living how you see best. After all...”

He transmats his bird-shaped helmet over his head and pulls his red bandanna over his mouth. Then he picks up his rifle and loads it.

“If any Vex want to get to you, they do have to go through me.”

“They have tried infinite times, and failed just as many times. So I’d say it’s par for the course for you. And, by the way...” Sagira begins.

Hiver’s spirits have been lifted a tenfold since she came inside the Forest, and she’s ready to go on with her day. Osiris can feel the change in his fellow Warlock.

“Thank you two.” She sneaks in before she concludes.

“...You’re welcome. Damnit!”

Hiver laughs, Trinity sending a triumphant “Got you” Sagira’s way.

“Nice talking to you, Sagira.” Trinity bids her farewells. “Call us if you need some mess fixed.”

“Same to ya, Trinity. I’d love to know you two better. And give Amanda my cheers on finding such a cute girlfriend!”

“Congratulations on finding love, Guardian. If you ever need to find me again, you know where to find me.”

The Stormcaller giggles and blushes while turning to walk away through the portal.

“Wait.” She turns around again. “I never told you her name was Amanda.”

The two Ghosts trade looks for some seconds and vanish. Osiris lets out a hearty laugh.

“Goodbye, Hiver.”

“Bye, Osiris.” She said, relieved, as she stepped through the portal back to Mercury.

On her way to the ramen shop, Amanda receives a text message from Hiver.

“Going back home. You want to have ramen or eat at home?”

“Can we have both?” She replies with a cocky smile.

“Of course, I’m on my way. Love you honey ♥”

Amanda was eager to hear about whatever it is she went to do on Mercury. But whatever it was, it definitely helped her recover from her nightmare and put her in a lighter mood.

Both of them silently hope it stays that way.

#destiny 2 #destiny oc #destiny warlock #destiny fic #oc x canon #hiver the gunslock #amanda holliday #osiris #sagira

7 notes · View notes

legendofepic · 6 years

Note

For the fic prompts, how about post battle shance + the quote “I thought I lost you”?

( @soyouthinkyoucanshance I wasn’t sure if you meant post battle Shance in that they get together after said battle? So I kind of interpreted it that way…. But here, have a snippet that actually turned into a LONG drabble!!

“Quiznak!”

The loud clash of metal on metal wasn’t enough to muffle the set of gasps that crackled through Black’s comm as Shiro slammed his galra fist onto his Lion’s console. The following warning growl that echoed around him was enough for the paladin to uncurl his fingers and stroke the dash in brief apology.

As if sensing his distress, Black quieted, accepting her paladin’s actions grudgingly. Shiro couldn’t blame her irritation, but at the moment he had other things on his mind besides his uncharacteristic outburst and the others’ reaction to it.

Like the fact that they’d lost sight of Lance in battle.

The blue paladin had followed orders beautifully, going as far as destroying a good fourth of the attacking fleet on his own before they’d formed Voltron. However, after the destruction of the main ship, they’d all been separated from the backlash of the explosion. It didn’t help that after the rest finally regrouped, they’d all been trying to contact him frantically for the past 10 minutes, only to encounter unending static. Even now- with the battle over and all of them huddled together on the castle’s platform- neither Allura nor the other Lions could seem to feel Blue’s presence. It was as if she and her pilot had vanished- and didn’t that just set Shiro on edge. After living through so many horrors himself, he couldn’t help re-living them with the image of the blue-eyed pilot in his place.

“–iro?”

If only he’d kept a better eye on Lance!

“Shiro, buddy…?”

Shit, he shouldn’t have sent him to snipe without backup! Now he’d never get to–

“Shiro!!”

Jerking his head up at Pidge’s alarmed voice, he had just enough time to see Blue’s battered and unresponsive form floating down towards them while being guided by Red and Yellow. Hunk’s voice filled the comm line, calling out to Lance. The answering static had Shiro’s heart racing and blindly releasing Black’s seat harness. He could barely hear Pidge saying something about Blue’s systems being down before he was out of his Lion’s hatch, activating his visor and floating down towards the Lion that now lay motionless, surrounded by her sisters. “Pidge,” he heard himself call out in his stern leader voice that betrayed none of his inner panic. “Help me find a way to open Blue’s emergency hatch. Hunk, Keith- keep an eye out just in case it’s a trap.”

It took only a few moments of following the green paladin’s instructions before he managed to pry open Blue’s hatch and he slipped inside. As he did, the emergency power flickered on feebly; enough for Shiro to make out Lance’s slumped form hanging awkwardly like a rag doll from Blue’s harness.

“Lance!” he barely recognized the cracked, strangled tone of his own voice as he lunged into motion towards the other and quickly freed him. Sliding to his knees with the blue pilot, Shiro cradled him and looked for any injuries.“Come on McClain- stay with me!” grey eyes darted up to the cuban’s face, startled to see a sliver of blue staring back up at him from barely open eyes and a weak, lopsided smile that was caked in dry blood. “Am I in heaven…?” The croaked, almost playful tone of Lance’s voice had something in Shiro’s chest loosen. He barked out a laugh in relief.

“Quiznak, Lance! I thought I lost you!”

Without thought, Shiro leaned down, head tilted. The echoing thump as their helmets awkwardly slotted together was white noise in the background as his lips pressed gently against the blue paladin’s in a brief kiss. He tasted sharp metal, salt and Lance.

When he pulled away, the blue paladin’s expression was startled and his eyes were wide and locked onto Shiro’s in disbelief and a hint of hope. After a shaky inhale of breath–“Ok, I’m definitely dead.”

#Shance #soyouthinkyoucanshance #@soyouthinkyoucanshance #I tried so hard #shaladin #idk what else to tag this #It's 3am holy crow #my writing

138 notes · View notes

allisquish · 6 years

Text

stargazer chapter 5

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

warnings: language

in which the other shoes begins to slowly drop.

Yondu watches as the Terran girl follows the Krylorian, shutting the door behind her. As soon as the door clicks, he stalks across the room, listening intently. When he can no longer hear the footsteps of the two women, he places his hand on the door’s panel. The door slides open. A feral grin runs across his face, and Yondu takes a step forward.

Immediately, he falls to the floor. A painful electric shock sends his body into convulsions.

"Damn it!" He curses, picking himself back up as the door slides closed. He had tried earlier that day when the Terran, [y/n], had left that morning to the same results. Whatever those Sakaraan sonuvabitches injected into his neck was keeping him trapped in her room. He tries one more time, to the same results. Growling low in his throat, Yondu smashes a fist against the door.

This wasn’t the Kree, and the Terran girl wasn’t his captor, but damn if the chains and restraints chaffed just the same.

Running a hand down over his face and across his shoulders, Yondu picks up the comm link blue prints he's crafted. He’s lost his wrist comm and his arrow; the two things that would’ve been able to get him off planet. The one he’s designed is beyond basic, but it will do.

He goes over his drafts for a moment before eyeing the bed. His body is still sore and bruised from his crash, and the girl's bed is one of the softest he's been in, ever. If there was one thing Yondu could say in favor of the Grandmaster, is that at least he has good taste in creature comforts.

Speaking of comforts… a tiny seed of an idea begins to form, niggling in the back of his mind. It grows and grows as Yondu strips off his duster and jacket. It's the kind of thing, really, he would expect from a little piece of shit like Peter, knowing his boy.

And, well, what was that one Terran saying? The apul never falls far from the tree?

[Y/n] is certainly a pretty little thing… And he certainly wouldn’t mind seeing more of that gorgeous rosy color to her face.

Removing his shirt, Yondu briefly checks on his bruises. They're looking much better than they were, and he's not feeling quiet as sore. The cuts are healing nicely as well. Good, good…

It's just as he's leaning back against the bed that [y/n] opens the door. The long silver gown she changed into for the Grandmaster clings to her like a second skin, flowing out from the hips down. She's a right lovely image, standing there in the doorway, the light in the hall highlighting her form. Although, the look on her face could be a little more... flushed.

She takes one long look at Yondu on her bed, before she turns and heads to her washroom. Her annoyed expression wasn’t unexpected, but it was a little unwelcomed. Yondu couldn’t help snickering.

She returns, now dressed in yet another dress, this one a deep blue ending at her knees. She snaps, “What’re you doing?”

Not what Yondu was hoping for, but he could still use it; “Why don’tcha bring yaself over ‘ere and join me?”

He’s immediately shot down, “No thanks, dude.” He watches silently while she retrieves a blanket from her closet and settles back into the armchair.

If he’s honest, this Terran reminds him of Peter. Y/n is obviously trying to keep herself together, but she’s been dropped into a world that life on her planet would never have prepared her for. But there’s certainly a fire in her, a drive to survive. To make it to the next day, if only to spite those who hold her bonds.

If Yondu is truly honest, she reminds him of himself.

“Tell me more about your boys.” You ask the next morning, munching on a slice of bread.

“My boys?”

“Yeah,” You grab a piece of fruit as well, settling down in front of the low table. You tossed and turned most of last night; not just because of your sleeping arrangements. You kept having nightmares involving the Grandmaster, Yondu, and Lily. They were different variations of the same thing- you found Lily only to lose her again, or Yondu and your only chance home, or all three at the same time. Always with the Grandmaster looking on, laughing and taunting.“I’ll tell you more about Lily, if you want.”

“Just got the two o’ ‘em. Peter and Kraglin.” Yondu replies around a mouthful of food.

“Peter’s the Terran, I guess?”

Yondu nods, “Yeah, and Kraglin’s a Xandarian.”

Huh. That has to be a very interesting family dynamic. A Centaurian space mercenary for a dad, with two alien sons. Imagine the holidays.

“Lily’s human- Terran,” You catch yourself, “My aunt adopted her, so I guess she’s not really my kid? But I used to watch her a lot for my aunt so she could teach. It worked out nice- she’d teach during the day, and I’d take night classes. Pretty sure she’s the reason I even got accepted to Culver in the first place.”

“Met Kraglin when the boy tried to steal from us- was shit at tryin’ thieve but showed better promise than most. Found Peter during a job. Now tha’ kid is just more trouble than he’s worth.”

A soft look shines in Yondu’s red eyes as he talks about his boys. There’s obvious affection in his voice, and a dash of melancholy. He misses them both, just as you miss Lily. Your heart fills with sympathy, near breaking.

Yondu shares tales of when Kraglin and Peter first joined his crew, and you told him stories about some of the little silly things Lily would get up to. It was nice, being able to talk about her to someone again. You haven’t told anyone on Sakaar about Lily, instead keeping her locked safe in your heart. Your reason to keep going.

Eventually, however, your conversation slowly steers from loved ones to the communicator device. You quickly read off the list the both of you have created, with Yondu making you repeat back to him what each component looks like. You get the vague feeling that this must be what it’s like interning for Tony Stark or something. Yondu has you do this twice before he’s satisfied.

“Be easier ta do this maself.” He grumbles. He’s probably right, but it’s not like he can leave the room. The control disks you both have are literal shock collars. After last night, you do not even want him to leave the room; if he stays in here then Yondu is out of the Grandmaster’s sight. Out of sight, out of mind.

The Grandmaster can’t become any more interested in Yondu. If he does, you both are as good as dead.

You plow forward, choosing to ignore both Yondu’s complaints and your negative thoughts, “A chaise shouldn’t be hard to get ahold of. I’m pretty sure they’ve got some old gadgets down in the kitchens they can be bribed to trade… We can start there first, and then sometimes the Scrappers will bring some things to market…”

It’s… it’s entirely possible that this might work. You try to smash down your hopes before they get too high, knowing that everything good on Sakaar comes paired with something equally terrible… but it’s difficult.

You let a small smile form, looking up at Yondu, “Thank you.” You mean the words with every fiber of your being- even if this turns to shit, even if it blows up in your face, you can’t remember the last time you’ve been given such hope.

The Tower’s kitchens are always a bustle of busy activity, and as you enter them later that morning, it’s the same as always. The cooks ignore you for the most part, as do the other servants dashing about. You are, however, greeted by the head cook, a Skrull woman named S’Llei.

“Storyteller!” The older alien woman announces, stepping away from where she was ordering another Skrull about, “What brings you to see us today?”

“Oh, Cook S’Llei,” You say, doing your best impression of a 1930’s starlet, clapping your hands once in joy at seeing the old Skrull woman and keeping your voice high, “How wonderful it is to see you! I hope everything with you is well?”

“As well as it can be, yes,” S’Llei places a hand on your back, leading you to a table towards the back of her kitchens. Besides the Grandmaster, there are two people who have any real power on Sakaar; Topaz, who serves the Grandmaster directly, and S’Llei, who feeds him. If anyone truly wants to survive, then their hopes lay with those two. You had made your choice long ago about who you’d rather side with.

“Now tell me about this… guest you have.” S’Llei continues, motioning for you to sit down next to her.

“Oh, what’s there to say?” You smile, studying the expression on the green woman’s wrinkled face, “I asked the Grandmaster for him, and the Grandmaster has been very gracious in allowing my guest to stay with me, so that I might be able to, ah, expand my storytelling horizons a bit.” One of the kitchen servants brings a tray of refreshments, placing it on the table by S’Llei’s elbow.

It’s a common green liquid that tastes like mint soda and has a name you can’t pronounce. S’Llei pours herself and you a glass, presenting it to you in a grand flourish. You murmur your thanks, accepting the glass and taking a sip.

“Still,” S’Llei leans back in her chair, a knowing look in her gaze, “It’s not every day a Ravager Captain lands on Sakaar.”

She’s fishing. S’Llei’s obviously fishing for some kind of information, but you don’t know what, or why.

“I didn’t even know what a Ravager was until he showed up.” You admit, picking and choosing your cards to play carefully. You wait for her reaction.

“Oh, I forget how… sheltered you Terrans tend to be,” She remarks, sipping her drink, “Has he been good company?” There’s an emphasis on company that sends goosebumps up your arms. You know what S’Llei is insinuating. The problem is, how do you reply? Truthful with an “I’ve never been much interested in that” or lie, “Oh yes, the very best”?

“Well, he hasn’t tried to steal anything yet,” Seems the best option. You place your half-empty glass on the table before derailing that topic, “I was actually hoping, S’Llei, if I could take a look at the kitchen’s junk pile if you don’t mind? I’ve been gifted this cute little piece of tech from Terra, but I can’t quite get it to function.”

S’llei waves a hand, “Of course you can, Storyteller. Please, feel free to take whatever you need- not one piece of it functions anymore, anyway.”

You chat with the Skrull cook for a moment longer, before she has to return to duty. The kitchens are preparing for a midday meal. Slipping away, you head into a small room connected to the main kitchens. The room might have been extra food storage at one point in time, though now it is nothing more than a junker’s paradise. When the Scrappers bring in anything remotely interesting, the Kitchen’s always get first choice, after the Grandmaster. They take what they want to keep the kitchens working, and never throw anything away, even if it malfunctions. If there’s a chance something might one day work again, then it stays.

You’re grateful S’Llei is a practical woman, and acknowledges that not all of it will. Hence the junk pile you were currently scrounging around in, trying to find anything that looks like it might match up with something on Yondu’s list. You do manage to find a good chunk of the list, and grab a few other things as well that might be useful.

Satisfied with your haul, you sneak back out of the kitchens, and hurry back to your rooms.

Topaz is waiting for you outside your door. She sees you just as you spy her; you immediately slow your pace. The pile in your arms suddenly feels heavy and bulky. There’s no way to hide it from her keen gaze.

Pausing a good distance from the other woman, you nod in greeting.

“I was just looking for you, Storyteller,” Topaz “The Grandmaster has requested that you join him for lunch.”

“Oh?” You gasp, your heart picking up speed.

“I’ll give you time to freshen up,” Topaz continues, looking you up and down with the beginnings of a sneer on her face, “But you do know how he likes to eat on time.”

You dip into a half curtsey, before scurrying into your rooms.

“Fucking shit.” You curse, dumping your loot onto the table.

“What’s with that mouth, girl?” Yondu snorts, looking up from his blueprints.

“Like you’re one to judge, Mr. Space Pirate Mercenary Man.” You roll your eyes while frustration colors your tone. Your hands clench and unclench as your pace the room, “The Grandmaster is going to be the death of me, I swear.” Eventually, you head into your washroom, leaving the door open, to check your appearance in the mirror.

“You goin’ out again?” Yondu’s rough voice is raspy with his own irritation, and you don’t blame him.

You’ll look presentable, at least so long as you change out of your now dusty dress covered with black smudges.

“Yes,” You hiss, pulling a long golden gown from the closet, “My… presence has been requested.”

Yondu picks up on the anger vibrating your voice and body, and he knows it’s not directed at him, yet it still sets him on edge. You’re his only connection to any kind of world outside these walls.

You step back into the room a moment later, wearing the gold gown. You take a deep, calming breath, “Please let me know if we need anything else.” You whisper, pointing to the scrap pile, “I’ll hopefully be back soon.” You turn to go, only to feel a hand wrap around your wrist. “What?” It’s soft this time, your voice, as you look at Yondu.

He immediately lets go, “Nothin’… Just… Be safe?” He sounds unsure, like the words are as foreign to him as the sky full of vortexes is to you.

“My only goal in life.” You smile, your voice and expression full of self-deprecation. The door slides open, and you dutifully follow Topaz through the halls.

The Grandmaster is, oddly enough, having his lunch in the Viewing Room. He is seated on his long, curved golden couch, looking down at the empty fighting pit far down below.

Something is going wrong.

“You know,” He says, his gaze never leaving the pit, “Once, when we were younger, my brother and me watched a pretty spectacular fight?” His tone is moroseful, an emotion you have yet to see from the ancient being.

“Oh?” You bite the inside of your cheek, careful to avoid sitting on the trays of food beside the Grandmaster, “Was it anything as spectacular as the Hulk’s victories?”

“Believe it or not,” He picks up a glass, swirling it in his grasp, “It was something better.”

You wait for him to elaborate, knowing that the Grandmaster does like the sound of his own voice, but nothing else comes. You wonder if you should say something, anything, when the Grandmaster seems to break himself from his reverie.

“But that’s not why I asked you here!” A boyish smile breaks out on his face, as he motions Ruelyz closer. She’s carrying a jar of something on a tray.

“What’s this?” You ask, keeping your hands folded in your lap. He never said if you could take it.

“A gift!” He puts his glass down on the floor by his feet, turning fully to face you now, “You know, I’ve, uh, just remembered a few things about Centaurians, and one of the more interesting facts is how sensitive their skin is. So, I found some lotion that I think will help our newest addition after his stint in the vastness of space.”

You are very much not enjoying how much the Grandmaster is focusing on Yondu. This isn’t the way it’s supposed to go.

He needs a distraction, but what?

You take the jar from Ruelyz, and wonder.

tagging: @loveisyondublue

#my fic #yondu x reader #yondu udonta x reader #my fic: stargazer #my wrting #gotg fic

46 notes · View notes

shannrussell-blog1 · 5 years

Photo

What’s an adventure without challenges, right? I’m going to spoil this, the last of my 3 part adventure (here’s 1 and 2) up to Abminga Station. We resorted to a Plan E in the end. Read on to see what happened.

Saturday 10 September – Eringa to … Eringa (via Mt Dare)

Packed up, ready to go early. Daily check of vehicles. All okay. Backed up to the trailer to hitch up. Disaster! One wheel on the trailer was at an odd angle. The bearing had disintegrated. No indication of when it had happened. After taking off the wheel and the hub it seemed there was no damage to axle, hub or wheel, but there was no bearing, it had disintegrated. This trailer was less than a year old, so I hadn’t bothered with basic pre-trip checks and was not carrying spare bearings. One learns all the time.

Sat phone again. RAA could not help for at least two days in spite of our extensive cover. So, which is closer Coober Pedy or Oodnadatta? Look at the map. Mt Dare has a workshop and they are closer. Gave them a ring. Yes, we have lots of trailer bearings.” “See you as soon as we can.” Leaving our friend to write up her notes and enjoy a day in the sun, my wife and I set off once again for Mt Dare.

I’ve spoken a lot about Mt Dare in this series. Here’s the hotel. Image credit: Mt Dare Hotel.

This little side trip gave us a bit of a laugh and cheered us up. When we first arrived at Eringa there was quite a deep puddle leading to the Eringa Bridge. Armed with the advice from the Mt Dare people, we just slowed down and went through. No problem. On our way back to Mt Dare with the trailer bearings we charged straight through. There was a couple on the far side, who we recognised from the Mt Dare campground, shoes off and just about to test the water depth. Slowing so as not to splash them we stopped, and being a smart alec, I called through the window Is that what you wanted to know? referring to our journey across as a reference point for them. Luckily they too had an ‘off’ sense of humour.

The roads had seemed to dry up a little over the past few days so we made better time reaching Mt Dare. We were confronted by the same mud and water but this time had the confidence to go straight through. To the Mt Dare staff the trailer bearing was just a routine problem, and quickly we were on our way again with new bearings fitted to the hub. I said this was just a routine problem for them – to us they were a lifesaver. To the Scott family, proprietors of the Mt Dare Hotel, and their staff, we are very grateful for your cheerfulness and for not treating travellers in need as unprepared amateurs, which we must have seemed to them. You are a credit to the people of the outback.

We returned to Eringa, fitted the hub with its new bearings and were ready to go. Just in time for dinner, with a bottle of red.

Sunday 11 September – Eringa to Coober Pedy

Having lost another day it was time to consider the maps and Plan D. We realised that we could not include a visit to Peake nor the Oodnadatta Track. We could just manage a quick trip via the Painted Desert provided we camped by the side of the road and then returned home on the boring blacktop. Okay, so that was it. But Murphy had not quite finished with us. When we reached Oodnadatta we discovered that the Painted Desert road was closed. So cutting our losses we headed for Coober Pedy, planning to spend the night somewhere along the road. Again, Murphy had a chuckle. This road to Coober Pedy is one of the most barren I have come across.

The monotony of the road from Oodnadatta to Coober Pedy.

Half way down it with dusk approaching, we found a possible campsite on a creek bed with some gidgee trees around it. Not an ideal spot but sufficient for our purpose. We drove off the road and got out of our cars to look at the site. We were immediately attacked by all the mosquitoes from the surrounding aforementioned thousand miles. I have never seen so many. As our friend sleeps in the open we had to move on. Plan E. As the countryside between that creek and Coober Pedy looked to be all the same we decided on a dash to Coober Pedy, which we reached just after dark. No mucking about – pizza for dinner, with a bottle of red.

Monday 12 September – Coober Pedy to Woomera

In the morning it seems almost unnecessary to say there was another hiccup. Normal vehicle checks revealed a broken fan belt. So being past the stage of being alarmed it was just a matter of fitting a new one. Except, the spanner broke. Luckily it was a Monday morning in a well-supplied outback town. Having finally bought a new spanner, replaced the fan belt, and set the tyres to highway pressure, we were on the road to Woomera, our next planned stop. Strangely, there were no incidents worth reporting that day. We found the campsite I remembered from a previous visit, about 50km south of Woomera. Lit a fire, and had a small libation before dinner. Then it started to rain.

This time I was prepared. Rain had been threatening and being aware that our friend’s reaction to rain was to retire to the vehicle and spend the night sitting up, I had brought a tarpaulin to make a shelter. This done, we enjoyed a peaceful night. The last in the open.

Tuesday 13 September – Woomera to Laura

Deadlines were now upon us and we had to be home the next day.

After packing up a wet tent, we planned to have lunch in Port Augusta then a quick visit to Wilmington before a night in the caravan park at Laura. But naturally, the rain had caused a landslide on the Horrocks Highway, so we had to go via Quorn (does that qualify as Plan F?), which was no hardship as it’s a very picturesque township.

As we reminisce on the outback this is where the mind went. Track in this condition.

We had dodged the rain before venturing into the outback, survived the mud and ‘open’ roads full of water, and were now on the black top. And Hughie decided to “send er down”. We drove from Wilmington through Wirrabara and on to Jamestown, Spalding, and Clare. We only just made it. In a couple of places the water was over the roads and the next day they were cut. We were lucky to get through. During the next week there were floods all over South Australia. We had the feeling of not being hounded out of the outback, but of being looked after!

This book on Ted Coulson will be a good one.

Our final night on the road, but not in the bush, was in Laura. Laura is a pretty town worth a separate visit. An excellent dinner of Swedish meatballs with couscous and vegetables, with another excellent bottle of red.

Wednesday 14 September – Laura to Home!

On to Jamestown and a very good little bakery for a coffee and pasty, before finally saying goodbye to our friend and heading for home.

And when we got home this was the drama presented to us.

Our placid little Fourth Creek trickle now a raging river.

This was a memorable trip. Starting with Plan A, we finished with Plan E which could well have been further down the alphabet. Looking back the only things that didn’t go wrong were our personal health, food, water, and fuel supplies. Two things stood out on this trip. Communications and maps. We had satellite phones for long distance calls, UHF for convoy comms, and AM car radios to listen to ABC Country Radio – 639MHz in SA – which has excellent regional weather reports.

And maps. I try never to travel without detailed, up-to-date maps. Without maps on this trip we would have been paddleless up that creek. Literally. Maps allowed us to plan alternative routes, and achieve our main objective at least. Without a map we could have been stuck at Leigh Creek.

A quick map update: The map I had showed you in the first post of this series shows a road direct from Abminga to Bloods Creek. It no longer exists. We spent a long time looking for it. It was recently bulldozed out of existence, no reason given. What’s the opposite of the old saying if a road appears when and where you expect it to, don’t assume it’s the right road.

Got any interesting outback stories to share? Perhaps you got as far as a Plan Z in yours? Share in the comments below.

The post A 4WD Trip To Abminga Station – Part 3 appeared first on Snowys Blog.

0 notes

charyzard · 7 years

Text

I wrote another Jaal x Ryder, 2800 words. Should be spoiler free. Prompt-fill for ‘First kiss.’ read it on ao3: http://archiveofourown.org/works/10720971

Fresh Water

The firefight was almost over- Hell, Fiona was reluctant to even call it that. She’d pulled a few gas canisters together (and one sniper) and thrown them around the corner into the mass of idiots hiding behind a rock, blowing them to bits if their necks weren’t already broken. It was almost pitiful. Only the smart ones were left, keeping to cover and bolstering their shields to avoid Fiona’s biotics. It was one of those pains in her side that threw a grenade behind Jaal’s cover, snapping her focus sharply to the explosive sailing through the air towards her friend. An image flashed through her brain, losing him, losing what they’d begun to have. No- not happening.

“Jaal! Get down!” Fiona shouted, her voice piercing over the comms. She was already dashing over to tackle him, biotics boosting her speed, and the impact was enough to knock them a few feet away- still, Jaal waited for the impact of the grenade. Even at a distance, it was going to rip through his shields. He squeezed his eyes shut, wrapping his arms around Fiona’s waist as they hit the ground- he’d at least try to take some of the blast for her.

The explosion never came. In fact, there was nothing registering in his senses; no noise, no pain, not even a ringing in his ears. Was he dead? Jaal cracked his eyes open, half expecting nothingness. Instead, he was greeted with Fiona leaning over him, one hand by his head, the other splayed out towards the sky. The purple, shimmering sky. That wasn’t normal. The shimmer extended in a bubble around them, Fiona herself laced with the shifting light. It was her biotics, he realized, isolating them from the surrounding carnage. She looked down as he shifted, the barrier dissipating, and fixated her blue eyes on him with concern.

“Are you okay? Let me check you for injuries-“ Fiona began, her omni-tool flaring to life, ready to apply medigel. Jaal stared at her quietly as she tended to a slash on his leg, an earlier injury he’d been ignoring.

“Fiona.” He attempted to get her attention, listening passively to Drack destroying people in the distance. She wasn’t responding, and Jaal sat up, reaching out to put a hand on her arm. “Fi.”

“Huh? What, am I missing something? Are you hurt?” She put a hand on top of his, concern heavy in her voice. She couldn’t lose him, not to something like this.

Jaal wasn’t sure how to convey his gratefulness, nor the warmth that was welling in his heart at the sight of her. She was more beautiful in that moment than he’d ever thought possible, the last of her biotics shimmering across her skin and sweat on her brow, brown hair disheveled, a smudge of dirt across her red cheeks. “Not in the slightest. You saved my life. Come here.”

Jaal pulled on Fiona’s arm, shifting her into his lap as he pulled her into an embrace. Fiona squeaked, surprised, but not entirely protesting. It was awkward in their armor, but nothing mattered to Ryder as Jaal cradled her head, his pupils wide and holding steady with hers.

“Um?” Was all Fiona managed, her eyes flitting between his lips and his eyes. God, his eyes, they were looking at her like she was a star, and it made her heart fill with an almost terrifying mix of wanting and pure, unadulterated joy.

“May I kiss you?” Jaal asked, unsure. Fiona was visibly scared, but she hadn’t left, and she was starting to put her arms around his neck-

“Please,” she breathed, and that was all Jaal needed.

Their first kiss was gentle, gentler than Fiona was expecting. Jaal took time to brush his lips against hers, the tingling current of his bioelectric field flickering across the sensitive skin. It left Fiona breathless, and she gasped when he kissed her harder. This was what she was expecting, want and tension and curiosity bundled tightly behind their lips, his large hands holding her close, her deft fingers running across the ridges on the back of his head. The current was stronger now, nerves in her body firing off in ways she didn’t know they could. He was sweet to taste, something indescribably him, and when his tongue pressed against the seam of her lips, Fiona almost whimpered.

”Fiona,” Jaal murmured into their kiss, his rumbling voice sending a shudder down her spine. God, he sounded almost predatory, and it made heat pool in her stomach.

“Hey, you kids done with your nonsense yet?” Drack’s voice cut through the comms, gravelly and wholly cranky, “Because I’m bored.”

Fiona and Jaal pulled apart, embarrassed. The dark blue flush of Jaal’s cowl mirrored the redness of Fiona’s face, her cheeks burning under the bright sun.

“Uh, yeah, we’re good,” Fiona sputtered, rolling off of Jaal and standing. She noticed her knees shaking- shit, she had it bad. The angara stood, eyeing Fiona carefully, unsure of her reaction. She seemed concerned more than anything, which bothered him. “Let’s- um, let’s go back to the Tempest, since these raiders aren’t a threat to Prodromos anymore, okay?” Fiona ordered, her voice wavering. She needed some time to think about what just happened.

“Fiona, was that… not alright?” Jaal asked as they walked back to the Nomad, and Fiona snorted in surprise.

“That was fantastic. I just need to think about this for a little bit, okay? I promise, I’m more than pleased with what that-“ she waved her hands towards the battlefield in emphasis- “was.”

“I- alright. I believe time to think is a wise idea. I will find you later?” Jaal asked, and Fiona nodded. Their hands brushed together, and Jaal was reassured by the contact. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to think of anything else for the next few days.

Drack watched their exchange from a distance, amused. Love was a good, pure thing, and if it was making Fiona happy, it was good enough for him. Jaal was a good kid, the Krogan mused, and they were more than crazy about each other. Fuckin’ kids.

The roast in the oven smelled fantastic- enough so that Fiona had taken up shop in the galley. She was gently picking her guitar strings to pass the time, cradling the instrument gently in her lap. Music had been the one thing that kept their family together, Alec actually taking the time to teach both of his children how to play guitar for the first few months after their mother died. Then he became engrossed in himself, in his obsession with the Initiative, with SAM… They lost a parent all over again, no matter how many times Alec had insisted he was there if they needed.

‘Hollow words mean nothing,’ Fiona thought bitterly, but she shook herself out of the rut, strumming a heavy C chord and returning to thoughts of the food in the oven. Even if Drack had said no peeking, Fiona still couldn’t stay away from the mouthwatering scent of it; she’d even kept Peebee from stealing a bite, reluctantly.

“Pathfinder, Jaal is looking for you,” SAM pinged into her head, “And Mr. Vidal has located the sheet music you requested, on the condition that you come back to Kadara soon and play it over a bottle of scotch. He says he found a new rooftop you would like, as well. Shall I download the music onto your omni-tool?”

“Please do. And let Jaal know where I am, would you?” Fiona replied, left grinning by Reyes’ demands. She didn’t think she’d find so good a friend in Kadara of all places. And then there was Jaal- a small sprout of joy started in her heart. She always liked her conversations with Jaal, and since they started flirting… With the dearest one and the emails… and that kiss! They still hadn’t talked about it, and she’d been wanting more since they’d left Eos. His presence in her life was filling a need she didn’t know she had. It wasn’t long before the man in question meandered into the galley, his nose twitching as he focused on the oven.

“What is cooking?” The angara asked, leaning down to peer through the glass. Fiona took a generous stare at his behind as he bent over, idly plucking strings.

“You mean, like, the act of cooking itself or what’s in the oven?” Fiona teased, reaching one foot out to poke his rear end. Jaal jerked in surprise, turning around to shoot her a flat, unamused look.

“You know the answer to that,” he replied, humor tinging voice. Fiona giggled, drawing a smile onto Jaal’s face. “But I still do not know what’s in the oven.”

“Drack is cooking us a roast for dinner, and it’s got to be one of the best things I’ve smelled in weeks,” Fiona explained, and Jaal nodded, satisfied with her explanation. His attention then turned to the musical instrument in her arms, his interest piqued. The angara placed high value on music, and he had no idea Ryder was musically inclined.

“That is an interesting instrument. It looks similar to some of ours. Why are there so many strings?” Jaal asked as he pulled a chair opposite to Fiona, settling in comfortable. He gently rested his foot against hers and quirked a small smile, earning a grin from her.

“Well,” Fiona began, “Each string has a different tension, which is managed by tightening or loosening the tuners. Then when you strum the strings, the different harmonics produce different pitches. The body of the guitar is hollow, which amplifies the sound. This is an acoustic, but I have an electric guitar from my dad, and Scott has our bass guitars. But they’re in storage right now. We used to joke that we’d go around as a family and play for any new species we found in Heleus, but obvisouly…” She trailed off, lost in thought for a moment as she ran her hands along the polished maple-wood surface. “I suppose I could still do the same. Mind being my first audience?”

Jaal didn’t know how to respond; in angaran culture, live performances of music were very important affairs, and private demonstrations were considered almost intimate. Still, he could tell it meant a great deal to her, so he nodded. “I would be honored.”

Fiona shifted slightly- what to play? It was significant, the first song she performed in Heleus, at least for someone else. A peppy song wouldn’t do it, not given their situation, but maybe, maybe a classic. “Alright, sit still for a moment. I have to tune this.” She fiddled with her tuners, strumming with frustration for a few minutes as she tried to find the right sound. When she struck the right chord, though, she knew. With a soft sigh, she relaxed into her seat, and began to strum. When it came time for lyrics, Fiona didn’t know if she should sing- but the words were in her throat, welling up and bubbling to escape her lips.

“Come up to meet you, tell you I’m sorry, you don’t know how lovely you are,” she sang softly, the words coming naturally. It was one of her favorite songs, one she associated with her mother- It was the song that comforted her and Scott when Ellen died.

Jaal listened closely, the lyrics giving away more sadness than Fiona ever expressed. He knew she was hiding her feelings, but this… He saw tears in her eyes, but she didn’t waver; if anything, her voice grew stronger as the song went on. And by Zorai, her voice was something magical. It was soft and almost breathy, but clear and refreshing. Like a soft spring, he thought, and water after a parching day. And as she grew more confident, it rang through the small galley like a hymn. He was well and truly fascinated.

“Nobody said it was easy, nobody said it would be so hard,” Fiona breathed, the last of the lyrics trailing after she had finished playing. “I’m going back to the start.” She stilled, silence settling into the void left behind by her words. She wouldn’t look up from her guitar, a white knuckled grip on the fretboard, not trusting herself to meet Jaal’s gaze. She knew he was staring at her, trying to discern the flood of emotion she’d just poured at his feet.

“Fiona?”

“Yes?”

“Look at me, please.”

She raised her head, blinking away the tears in her eyes, swallowing the knot in her throat. Where she was expecting pity, Fiona only saw admiration. Jaal was watching her with gently reverent eyes and a smile, and as Fiona turned her head to the side in confusion, he bowed his head gently.

“Your voice has the grace of the yevara. I have never heard a vocal range that spreads so, it is wonderful. You are wonderful, darling one. Thank you for sharing that with me.” He reached out for Fiona’s hands, and she placed her guitar on the table to hold his. His fingers were larger than hers, firm but soft, and cool to the touch. She could feel a light current raising the hair on her skin, a soft shiver going up her arms as he ran his thumbs over the tops of her hands.

“Thank you for listening,” she replied softly, watching curiously as he took one of her hands and spread the fingers apart.

“Your fingers are small, but they are so deft. I was watching you play, it was intriguing. They all move so independently, and yet, there is no lack of purpose. And how eagerly they grab onto things,” he chuckled, recalling how her hands danced over his cowl when they kissed, and how even now she wrapped her hand around his. The skin to skin contact enticed Fiona, her emotions a jumbled mess, and she was struck by a desire to kiss him.

“It’s pretty useful,” she mused, her lips pursing into a smirk. She was planning something. “Good for getting a nice grip.” With those words she pulled herself forward, shifting into Jaal’s lap. He snorted in surprise, his chromatophores flushing blue in a blush, and stared at Fiona. She was looking up at him with a sly grin.

“What are you doing, dearest?” He asked, knowing full well that teasing her would elicit a rebuke.

Fiona whacked his arm softly- there’s the rebuke- and leaned in. “I’m gonna kiss you, silly. Unless, you don’t want to?” She was asking for more than just a kiss, he could see it in her eyes. She was asking for a yes or a no, a go ahead for their relationship, a culmination of their thoughts since Eos. Jaal wanted nothing more.

“Why would I ever say no?” Jaal rumbled, and they kissed again. There was no sweat on her lips, no salt to tinge the taste of her. To Jaal, she tasted almost like water in its purest form. Even better, there were no chest plates, no awkward poking armor to keep them apart. Fiona clung tightly to him, her hands smoothing over the back of his rofjinn- it was softer than she expected it to be, almost plush. Jaal splayed his hands over her lower back, pulling her closer as they kissed. His tongue pushed against hers and drew little sighs from Fiona’s chest, stress falling from her shoulders the more they moved with each other. They were so engrossed in each other that neither of them noticed Drack and Vetra walking into the galley, stopping dead in their tracks.

“What the fuck?” Vetra sputtered, and Drack started cackling. Fiona froze, turning to look at her friends guiltily.

“Hi,” Fiona giggled, the hilarity of the situation masking her embarrassment.

“Hi, yourself. Spirits, get a room, would you?” Vetra countered, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face, mandible flared. It warmed her heart to see her friend happy.

“Ah, relax. Their just having fun, yeah?” Drack joked, smacking Vetra on the back. The turian elbowed him, and Jaal finally found his words.

“Drack, you’re here. I would like to know what exactly you’re roasting!” He still had Fiona on his lap, but that wasn’t a problem, as far as he was concerned.

“I’ll tell you if you get our boss off of you. Shouldn’t you be pathfinding, kid?” Drack chuckled, and Fiona sighed. He had a point.

“Alright, alright, I’m going to the bridge. You guys have fun in here, cooking and hopefully not slandering my name. You know how important professionalism in the work environment is!” Fiona piped up, standing. Jaal pulled her in for a last peck before she left, earning a disgusted sigh from Vetra. She grabbed her guitar and booked it out of the galley, leaving her crew mates to tease Jaal and prep dinner.

#mass effect andromeda #jaal x ryder #jaal ama darav #MEA #femryder #rydaal #avery writes

17 notes · View notes