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selfaware-bungou-stray-dogs · 5 months

Note

Hello!! This is my first time requesting something so I'm sorry if I did it wrong or something, so I was wondering if you could do one with preferably Dazai where the reader is suicidal and mostly copes with humor. Oh and could the reader also be a teen like 13 years old?

Circus Hop

Self-Aware! Platonic! Dazai Osamu x GN! Teen! Suicidal! Reader

Description: You were two years younger then him, when he tried to end his life for the first time. You resemble him in more, then one way.

Warning: Mentions of Suicide, Suicide attempt. Parental Neglect. Emotional abuse. Terrible parents. Self-harm. Breakdown. English is my second language

Inspired by the song Circus Hop by YonKaGor.

List of Suicide hotline numbers can be found here and here.

____

Your father brought you to this small building. Someone from school insisted on that.

The room she asked you to stay was quiet. Her voice and your father's voices were muffled, because of the door.

Few minutes ago you were talking to the woman. She asked you about your life, your plans for the future, your friends.

Your answers were simple.

Nothing interesting. Don't have any plans for future. Don't want to meet my friends... Just don't want to.

Then she asked you about pictures you have drawn. And asking about your parents about death. And when the thoughts appeared.

Another set of answers.

I feel like drawing it. I feel like talking about it. After Granny's death.

You... think, that you feel like it. You still can feel, right?

Then she asked you to do some tests. First, you must answer, if some sentences can describe you¹, than you must finish some sentences², then group other sentences together ³.

After you finished, she asked you to wait here, while she talks to your father.

You were left alone.

You looked around.

There were nothing interesting for you. Yet, you continue sitting on the sofa and dangling your feet.

You didn't flinch, when your father opened the door, shouting at the woman, who was talking to him.

"Don't you have anything, that will fix them? They are creeping out everyone!"

Woman's voice was firm.

"I already told you, that your child need professional help. You should..."

Your father's gaze became colder.

"I will take them home. They aren't suicidal. They just a little brat who want some attention and who are angry at their mother and I for working too much and not playing in their stupid games. Come, [Y/N], we are leaving!"

He took your hand in his and start to drag you behind him. You simply follow after him.

Before completely leaving the small building, your father stopped.

"Where's your jacket?"

You point at the door, that leads to woman's office.

"There. I forgot it there "

Your father grumble something and, after slapping you on the back of the neck, he walked towards the door and enter the office again.

"Idiotic brat."

Nothing new. As usual.

Then you heard, how the secretary and one of the janitors were talking.

"Another one of these parents. At first, they refuse to treat their children, because they don't have time for that..." Janitor said, glaring at the office door.

"And then, they must find time to bury their kid..." The secretary's gaze was full of sympathy, when she looked at you.

Your father returns with your jacket. You put if on and follow your father again.

He was mumbling under his breath.

"The nerve of this woman... [Y/N]! Just stop being sad. Be happy!"

You mindlessly nodded. You didn't pay much attention to your father's words. One thought were circling in your head.

"Is it important... to attend someone's funeral?"

_______

It was important. At least, The Internet said so.

Your parents... Work hard. If you die, they won't be able to go to your funeral.

You shouldn't die. At lest, for now.

But... You were so tired. You were so afraid. Future was scary. Life was scary.

and you were a failure

You remembered, your father's advice.

"Just stop being sad. Be happy."

Maybe... you could...

________

For a year, you followed your father's advice.

For one year, you manage to keep up a happy façade.

You became interested in life again.

probably... you do become interested in your hobbies again... at least...you don't even scratch your legs or pull out your hair that much.

Dad's advice works.

kind of... your jokes freaked people out... but the school therapist insisted on helping you in secret from your parents.

when dad found out, he enrolled you in a different school.

he yelled at you for being a brat

mom yelled at you for being a difficult child

You must stay happy. Just be happy.

Pretend to be happy.

you just want to be truly happy again

________

You liked BSD even before these thoughts appeared in your head. Your Granny bought you BSD Manga as a birthday present. It is special to you.

Dazai was one of your favorite character before. Now, he truly became your most favorite. You two are similar. He laughs and jokes. You laugh and joke.

both of you need help

You shake your head, chasing away the thoughts.

You open BSD Mayoi app, humming that song again.

________

Dazai felt nervous.

Two weeks ago, he and the rest of BSD Cast finally got into your world. And, he didn't like what he saw.

First, your parents left the country for a business trip. Leaving you under the care of a complete stranger. Who checked on you two times a day. For the rest of the day, they were doing their own business. And don't pick up the phone.

Your parents left a thirteen-year-old you on your own!

Thankfully, with a few bucks from Fitzgerald and a death glare from Fukuzawa, your 'babysitter' left. You were under BSD Cast care now.

Second, your jokes are concerning. Dazai isn't a hypocrite, he admits, that he jokes about ending his own life! When he and others heard your jokes, back in their world, Dazai was sure that it was his bad influence. But, it turns out, the truth was much darker.

Dazai stopped joking about suicide. He didn't want to worsen your condition even more.

Third, the scratches on your legs.

You scraped your knee a few days ago, and Yosano bandaged it. And she saw this strange marks on your legs. Scratches. Deep. Dazai had a feeling, that you were the one, who made them.

Dazai was worried about you. He wanted to help you.

_______

With each day, it became harder and harder for you to pretend to be happy.

BSD Cast makes sure of that.

They weren't rude. They didn't yell. They... were there.

Asking if you need help. Telling you, that you are allowed to cry. That they will always be there for you.

You wanted to tell them everything. To tell the truth.

But, the call from your father happened.

_____

"Why your voice shaking, [Y/N]? Are you being a brat again?"

"I...I..."

"You're a little ungrateful... You want to make our lives hard?! Did you like it?! You know what, fine! If you didn't want to be there so badly, then d[|||||||||||||||]! See, if your mother and I will cry."

The call ended.

And you were broken.

______

It was dinner time. And you were uncharacteristically silent. No laughter. No jokes. No questions. No talking about your day. Nothing.

Then in the middle of the dinner, you start humming the song. Song, that they heard you humming all the time.

But your eyes were empty.

Dazai carefully touch your shoulder.

"[Y/N], kiddo? Are you alright?"

You slowly nodded. An empty grin appears on your face.

"I am! I am fine... I am happy! I...I can even sing a song!"

BSD Cast looked at each other. Dazai carefully spoke.

"A song?"

You nodded, taking your phone. You quickly found an instrumental.

"Yes! Want to hear it?"

You didn't wait for his, or anyone's response, you pressed play button. The song started playing from the middle.

A cheerful melody start playing.

Soon you sang.

"I shall now accept the fact that I'm a failure (You're a failure). 'Cause I'm still afraid the future might be scarier (It is scarier). I'll slip while having fun and cut off my own tongue. They'll think I was dumb!"

The grin on your face and empty gaze was frightening. Everyone slowly stand up from the table. Fukuzawa took a step towards you.

"[Y/N], if something is wrong, please..."

You ignored him.

"Up from the sky, I won't want you to cry. So here's an act for everyone to sneer at"

Suddenly, you stand up and star jumping up and down.

"So sing along, it's such a silly song. The cackling carousel, it spins and never stops. The acrobat who's waiting at the top. Should do a circus hop!"

You let out a hysterical laughter.

Mom and dad won't cry. No one would care. You can't be happy. You didn't feel anything. No one would care.

"I've said goodbye, I don't want you to cry. So have a laugh with everyone but me"

You were now standing in the middle of the room. You didn't pay attention to BSD Cast. To their pleas to talk to them.

The only thing that matters to you was the open window.

Quick.

You made a dash towards the window. For some reason, you still sang.

You forced yourself to sing. Like this song gave you strength.

"So sing along, it's such a silly song. The cackling carousel, it spins and never stops. The acrobat who fell off from the top. They did a little drop!"

Right before you grab the window's handle, something heavy crushed against you.

You fall down on the floor.

Dazai was pinning you to the floor, making sure, that you can't move.

Something wet fall on your face. You looked up.

Dazai was crying. With shaking hands, he hugged you.

BSD Cast surrounded you. You were in a group hug.

"[Y/N]! Never, never do it again! Kiddo..."

"[Y/N]! Are you hurt? Do you need medical help?"

"First thing tomorrow we are going to the therapist... No! I will find the therapist right now! There must be someone working right now!"

Tears. They were worried about you. They were crying for you.

For the first time since Granny's death, you cried.

"I... I am so scared! After Granny died, I was so alone! Mom and Dad weren't home! They didn't answer my questions about Granny! One day... I just stopped to care about the future. I was afraid of future! Live became so hard! I didn't feel anything... I just want it to end! I want to..."

You didn't finish your sentence and sobbed, hiding your face in Dazai's chest.

Dazai's words were warm. His voice was still shaky.

"You are not alone, [Y/N]... We will be there. I will be there."

_____

For the next few days, you were constantly under supervision. BSD Cast make sure, that you don't have any access to sharp things, medicine, windows.

You start attending therapy. What surprised you the most, that Dazai were attending it with you.

"I will be a bad big brother, if I don't act as an example."

Your parents were fired. Fitzgerald pressed charges about neglect and abuse.

You don't know how, but Fitzgerald adopted you almost instantly.

You had a long way ahead of you.

But you know, you will be better.

Because, one time, you finally thought about your future. And you were waiting for this future to come.

____

¹ Modifications of "Eysenck's Personality Test" for Teens is used to diagnose suicidal behavior.

²Modification of "Sacks Sentence Completion Test, SSCT" is used to diagnose suicidal behavior of teens and children.

³ One of the test, that is used by psychologists in Russia.

#self-awarebsd #self-awareau #bungou stray dogs au #bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd anime #bsd x gender neutral reader #gender neutral reader #platonic #self aware dazai osamu #dazai osamu x reader #dazai x reader #bsd dazai #bungou stray dogs dazai #platonic Dazai #tw: sucidal thoughts

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futbol16 · 1 year

Text

Last Door • Alexia Putellas

Request: “Hey just wanted to say I love ur writing! I was wondering if you could do an Alexia fic where reader and her are a secret and have been for a long time so they live together but no one knows. Barca has a team bonding activity or something at Alexa’s and people keep asking where things are and reader knows where everything is just like it is her house. Also reader won fifa player of the year and it’s in Alexa’s room and someone walks in and finds it and gets more suspicious. They also keep finding things around the house that are readers.The team gets suspicious and asks Alexa and reader about it and you can decide the ending. Thanks so much!”

Word count: 2,5k

It’s late in the evening when you finally enter the apartment complex and you tiredly trudge up the stairs. With a heavy sigh you search for your keys in your right pocket but before you get the chance to pull it out, the door is being opened for you. It takes a second for your eyes to adjust to the light coming out through the doorway, you hadn’t bothered with switching on the hallway lights.

“Hola capitana!” a sing -song voice brings you back to reality and you smile at Laia in confusion.

“Buenas noches” you hold back a yawn and the younger brunette laughs in realization.

“Sorry, buenas noches” she lets you into your own apartment and you’re instantly hit with a dozen voices screeching at your presence. Your eyes wander over the place until they connect with your favorite pair of hazel eyes and your face drops slightly.

“Oh shit” thankfully no one hears you muttering the words as Laia and Aitana usher you closer to the team and you sit with them in the living room.

It doesn’t take long for the girls to get back to the card game they’ve been playing and you lean back on the couch in exhaustion. A warm body presses themselves closer to you and though your eyes are closed you recognize them. A small smile pulls at your lips.

“How was your interview?” Alexia quietly questions, most of her attention on you but she does make sure none of the girls are looking as she leans in more.

You had just come home from a media event you had for Barca. They had you and Frenkie De Jong from the men’s team complete a few challenges with Barca B players while answering questions. It was quite fun and you enjoyed it but it had been a very long day and all you wanted to do was lay in your girlfriend’s arms and have a good night’s sleep.

“Good, good. It was nice and Frenkie’s a real sweetheart, made it a lot easier.” One of the things you and Alexia had in common was your dislike for media appearances.

"Totally forgot about this though" you gesture to the girls and Alexia hums in amusement.

You cock your head to the side as your eyes open and you’re met with a soft smile on Alexia’s face. You reach out to her but before your fingers could touch her she gently takes your hand in hers and moves it onto a pillow on the couch. Your eyebrows furrow and she nods to the left, gesturing to where the rest of the team are and you hold back a groan. The brunette’s beaming look has you melting deeper into the cushions and you smile to yourself as you turn to the girls.

Despite being so awfully worn out you love team bonding and you eagerly join the team in the uno they’re playing. You pair up with Jana since they’ve already started the game when you arrived and you’re in a heated battle with the others when Alexia stands. Your eyes follow her until she disappears into the kitchen and out of sight. Your curious gaze meets Martha and she smiles at you from her place next to Caro.

“She went to get some drinks for all of us” she explains.

“Does she need help?” you ask though if you weren’t trying to hide your relationship with the team’s other captain you would’ve immediately went after her.

“No, Irene went to help her out” Caro shrugs and you nod at the two as you refocus on the cards Jana is holding up.

“Do any of you know where the bathroom is?” Patri squeaks out and Frido looks down the hall.

“Erm that way?” she points unsurely and Ingrid gives her a blank stare.

“Yeah no shit, but there is like…5 doors. I really need to goooo!” Patri is now whining as she throws her head back and the girls laugh at her. Finally deciding the brunette has suffered enough you give in with a chuckle.

“It’s the second door to the right” she thanks you profusely as she rushes off. Asisat eyes you curiously, wondering how you knew when this was the team’s first time at Alexia’s apartment. The others' laughter breaks her stare and she’s distracted by Mapi moaning about the +4 card Mariona just threw onto the pile of cards.

Truthfully the Barca team has never been to or seen where Alexia goes home to after games and after much persuasion the captain had agreed on hosting the team’s next bonding night. Something the girls were really looking forward to.

It’s well into team bonding when you finally decide to eat and chaos erupts as the girls try to sit down at the table, all eagerly waiting for dinner to be served.

“God you guys are like hungry dogs” Alexia comments with a chuckle, earning a laugh from the others.

“Let me get that, you sit down” you gently tell her and you slide your hand over her waist as you move past her to get the last of the plates. You couldn’t stop yourself, you’ve missed your girlfriend’s closeness. As you hand out the plates a blue hoodie draped over Claudia’s chair catches your attention and your eyes widen. You take the last plate to the shorter girl and with a squeeze to her shoulders you try to subtly pull the hoodie off the back of the chair.

“Oh who’s is that?” Bruna curiously points at the clothing in your hand and you stand there frozen in spot like a deer caught in headlights. A beat of silence passes through the group as they all wait for an answer.

“Mine, it’s mine” Alexia clears her throat, schooling her panicked expression.

“Really? I’ve never seen you wear it before.” Ingrid comments as her eyes take in the navy blue color of the hoodie. It wasn’t one of Alexia’s favorite colors but it did look nice.

“Yeah, it’s new” she answers quickly and shrugs.

“Well, I like it” Bruna nods and as she turns back to her plate you look at your girlfriend. Alexia can barely stifle her giggle at the expression you’re wearing and you playfully shake your head at her, tossing the hoodie onto the far end of the couch.

You’re quick to dig into the delicious dinner Alexia has cooked and the brunette patiently eyes your reactions from her seat across you. A satisfied smile spreads across her lips as you hum in delight and she finally takes her first bite too.

“Where do you keep the spoons?” Ana’s question earns her a few confused stares and she points to the mashed potatoes on her plate. “I like to eat it with a spoon” she expectantly looks at Alexia but she’s got her mouth full and you instinctively answer for her so that she could continue with her dinner.

“Try the cupboard closest to the sink” you try to play it off as a suggestion but the suspicious look in Mapi’s eyes when Ana thanks you and pulls out a spoon from where you ‘guessed’ it’d be, is a stare that makes you shrink in your place.

“You really know where everything is, don’t you Y/N/N?” you swallow a mouthful of water as several of your teammates turn to the defender and you.

“I uh, guessed..?” Alexia lightly smacks her forehead.

“Mhmm” Mapi presses. “You sure this is your first time here? Because I know it is for us and we didn’t even know where the bathroom was, but you, you even knew where to find the cutlery.”

Mapi’s interrogation catches you off guard and you shift in your seat.

“She’s been here once or twice” Alexia nonchalantly announces and you almost drop your knife in surprise.

“Oh how privileged of you” Irene teases knowing just how much Alexia liked her privacy, one of the reasons the team has never visited her place before.

“Not really. Y/N came over to pick up something Barca sent to the wrong address.” That’s a good lie, you had to admit. Mapi doesn’t seem to buy it but she leaves it for the time being.

You’ve eaten yourself full when the team decides to watch a movie to end the night and you hang back as they settle in the living room.

“Let me help you clean up” you wink at Alexia, letting Caro know that she could join the rest of the girls and choose a movie. The two of you wait a second and then Alexia’s arms are immediately around yours neck, her lips capturing yours in a tender but deep kiss. You sigh into it happily, keeping a close hold on her hips.

“Te amo”

“Te amo” she whispers back as you separate and your eyes shine with love under the warm light of the kitchen lamp as you beam at her.

“Was that your mom’s recipe?” Alexia nods at you with a bashful smile and you squeeze her hips. “You’re getting better and better, Ale. It was so good” you reenact a chef's kiss gesture and the girl in your arms giggles quietly. A soft smile is etched onto your face as you soak in the moment.

“Are you guys coming? We wanna start!” Jana and Lucy call out from the living room in synch and you roll your eyes at their antics as you pull away from Alexia who instantly misses your warmth.

“Come on, querida”

As interesting as the film is, you’re dozing off. It isn’t intentional though and Alexia hides her grin behind her hand as she watches your head loll to the side before you pick it up again.

“Where is your bathroom?” Aitana whispers next to the captain.

“Again? Didn’t you just go?”

“No, that was Patri”

“Last door I think” the midfielder’s eyebrows furrow.

“What do you mean you think?” But Alexia is too entranced by the film, at least that’s what Aitana thinks but the brunette is looking at you from the corner of her eye.

With a small sigh Aitana gets up and waltzes down the length of the corridor and slowly opens the door on the far end, almost as if she was expecting for something to attack her.

She lets the door swing fully open and she stares into the room, chewing on her lip as she takes in the sight. In the middle of the room sits a bed that’s way too big for one person and far too many pillows stand at the headboard to not question it. She shrugs to herself nonetheless, Alexia probably just liked to be comfortable and that bed looked very comfortable.

“What are you doing?” a voice has her jumping in place and she holds onto the door post in fright. Patri stands in front of her, the taller brunette giving her a questioning look.

“I- the bathroom?” Aitana stutters out as she tries to calm her racing heart.

“It’s the second door to the- woah that’s a huge bed” Patri muses as she cuts herself off and she steps into the room. Aitana follows her as she convinces herself that it’s because she doesn’t want Patri doing anything stupid and not because she’s just as nosy. The two of them walk closer to the dark shelves around the tv on the wall and their eyes wander over the things lined up on them.

“Oh look! It’s baby Ale with her first team!” Patri enthusiastically points to the framed picture before she picks it up and shoves it under Aitana’s nose. “I always forget Ale and Y/N/N knew each other back then”

“She’s in the picture?” Aitana takes it from her friend as she analyzes it.

“Yeah, see?” Patri points to the figure standing next to their captain, a girl that so happens to be their other captain.

“Wow” Patri is already looking over at the other shelves. Her eyes rake over the many trophies and medals on the lover shelves, a seemingly never ending collection of silverware and she lowly whistles to herself. Aitana smacks her in the back for causing noise and she’s met with a slightly offended look on Patri’s face.

“Do you think she also keeps her Ballon D’or here?” she looks around as if trying to spot where the spherical trophy could be hiding.

“I don’t think they’re allowed to just keep those” Aitana wonders to herself as she looks over the shelf Patri had been eyeing mere seconds ago.

She squints her eyes at certain awards, though she doesn’t question them too much, no one could keep count of how much Alexia has won. Until her eyes stop on a certain trophy and she pulls a face and she starts counting in her head. As far as she knew, Alexia didn’t have so many Fifa best player awards or Fifa best XI awards, not as many as were decorating her shelf.

Her head snaps back towards the bed, now taking notice of the blue hoodie that was draped over the dining room chair. She saunters over and gently runs her fingers over the material until her hand stops. She straightens it as she reads your last name etched onto the front of the shirt and though the letters are small, they’re still visible.

She doesn’t have much time to think about it.

“Come on Tana, the girls are leaving” Patri pulls her out of the room quickly so as to not get caught snooping around their captain’s room. They knew it was wrong of them but they were too curious.

“Are you coming Y/N?” Marta is halfway out the door as she herds the rest of the team out and you meet her questioning gaze.

“No, no. I’ll help Ale tidy up but you guys go” you shoo her away with a smile and she nods back.

“We had a great time girls, have a good night!” Alexia calls after them before shutting the front door closed after saying goodbye. You find yourself wiggling your way into the brunette’s arms and you inhale her comforting scent as you lay your head onto her shoulder.

“Let’s go to bed mi amor” your girlfriend softly coos into your ear as she brushes your hair back from your face and you tiredly smile at her as you press a quick kiss onto her lips.

“They don’t got a clue in the world” you grin and wink at her. Alexia laughs in agreement.

“No amor, we did good” she high fives you and intertwines your fingers as she tugs you closer to kiss your cheek.

“They’re definitely together” Asisat speaks up the second the door is closed behind the team and the girls nod, many giggling at the new found information.

“I told you!” Mapi confidently points out, her victorious smile blinding the rest.

“It’s cute that they think they’re hiding it well” Laughters erupt amongst the team at that, though they had to admit, you and Alexia made a great couple even if they haven’t seen much of your relationship just yet.

#alexia putellas imagine #woso imagine #futbol16 #woso x reader

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imawkwardlysoc · 1 year

Text

twenty buttons and a strap

Song- Green Green Dress from tick.. tick.. BOOM!

Pairing- Pete Mitchell x afab!reader

Warning(s)- Allusions to sex (not mentioned), reader and Pete have a five year age difference, reader and Pete have a daughter together

Summary- Reader goes onto base to pick Pete up for their date and Pete sees her in her outfit

Wordcount- 1,117

“So,” I stepped back so I could fit in the frame. “What do you think?”

“You look great mom,” Y/D/N replied with a smile.

“Are you sure?” I questioned my outfit choice. “Shouldn’t I dress my age?”

“Mom, do you think Dad dresses his age?” She let out a laugh. “Besides, you look hot.”

“That is true,” I chuckled and put on the earrings that Pete got me for our twentieth anniversary. “At the same time if he’s not in his flight suit, it’s just jeans with a t-shirt, and his bomber jacket along with his aviators.”

“There’s the occasional suit that’s not his dress uniforms,” she shrugged.

“All right, your dad and I will see you in a few days when you get back from college,” I let out a chuckle and finished getting ready. “Love you.”

“Love you too,” she smiled and we hung up the video call.

Grabbing my phone, I saw the text Pete sent me saying that he’s running a little bit behind. We already had plans for me picking him up on base as he changes for our date. Sending him a reply, I adjusted the straps and smoothed out the velvet green dress that I got a little while ago. Putting on my heels, I grabbed my purse and made my way out of the house.

Getting into the car, I turned on the ignition and pulled out of the driveway before making the ten minute drive to base. On the way there, I hummed to some of the songs that Pete and I have in our playlist. Pulling up to base, I pulled my ID out and was allowed to go in. Parking the car, I got out and headed to where Pete and the Dagger Squad were.

“Well guys,” I heard Pete say as I walked into the hangar. “You all are dismissed. Need to get ready for date night for the misses.”

“Are you going to dress up Mav?” Hangman jokes.

“Oh please, his version of dressing up is wearing the same thing and putting on the fanciest pair of aviators he has,” Mickey quipped.

“Hey, he can don a suit from time to time,” I said, making my presence known.

“Oh wow,” I blushed at Maverick’s reaction.

“Damn Mama Mav,” Coyote hyped me up. “You look-”

“Amazing!” Phoenix completed his sentence. “That color looks great on you.”

“Thank you,” I thanked her and walked up to Mav. “So, what do you think?”

“You look amazing,” he replied before placing a kiss on my lips.

I let out a chuckle when I saw Pete flipping Bradley off as we heard him gag.

“Now go change,” I smacked his butt. “We have reservations.”

“Yes ma'am,” he saluted me as I rolled my eyes.

Once he left the hangar, I went up to the rest of my Dagger Ducklings and talked to them while we waited for Pete. I also mentioned there was going to be a family dinner when Y/D/N comes back from DC. I might’ve also threatened to ground Bradley since he let out a groan when I told him that he needed to pick her up from the airport since Pete and I are busy on the day she lands and he had a day off. I’m pretty sure Mav forgot to dismiss them since they haven’t left to go change yet. All of us continued to talk to each other about other things until Mav came back.

“Looking sharp old man,” Hangman whistled. “Suit, tie, cufflinks, and everything else.”

“Well then, you all are dismissed,” Pete announced. “I’m taking this lovely lady out on a night on the town.”

“Have fun guys,” all of them told us.

Thanking them, I reminded them about family dinner and we headed off base to the parking lot. Pete opened the passenger door for me and I got in. Getting into the driver’s seat, Pete started the car and started to drive off base to our location. During the drive there, Pete and I sang along to the songs that were playing through the speakers. Parking and getting out of the car as we got to the restaurant, we headed in and waited for a little bit for our table.

“Don’t give me that look,” I told him as we sat down and looked through the menu.

“What look?” I could see him smirking.

“That look,” I replied while looking at him.

I could see him undressing me with his eyes.

“This is the only look I have darling,” he winked and I rolled my eyes.

Our waiter came back with our drinks and we ordered our meals. Munching on the free bread, we talked about the plans we’re going to have with Y/D/N when she lands here. We already have the family dinner planned but we’re not sure what to do for the rest of the week. Our food came and we continued our conversation.

Throughout the meal, Mav and I kept on sending each other looks. We teased each other a little bit but not too much. Pete would sometimes place his hand on my thigh while I smirked. When dinner reached an end, Pete paid for our meal and we headed out of the restaurant. Pete wrapped his arm around my shoulders and he got closer to my ear to whisper something.

“That dress is immediately coming off once we step into the house,” he whispered.

“I would love to see you try,” I laughed as we got into the car. “The back has twenty buttons and it took me a while for me to button them up.”

“Darling, I’m a highly decorated captain of the Navy,” he chuckled. “I’m able to do anything.”

Rolling my eyes at his answer, he drove us back home. Parking the car in the driveway, we got out of the car and Mav rushed to open the front door. Getting to the front door, I let out a squeal and a laugh as Mav picked me up bridal style as he carried me into the house. Wrapping my arms around his neck, we started to kiss as he carried me up the stairs. Opening the door to our bedroom, he placed me down on the bed and started to unbutton the back of my dress while placing kisses along my body.

*Meanwhile in the Living Room*

“Did we just?” Phoenix questioned.

“Yeah, did we just?” Bob looked at his pilot.

“Wanna go back?” Hangman suggested.

“Yeah, let's go back,” all of the aviators agreed.

All twelve aviators grabbed all of their things and headed out of the house to the shared house they own.

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thegreatestsandwich · 1 year

Note

Hi! I saw you wanted Xavier requests! I was thinking one where Bianca had made him forgot about trader (who was his best friend) and that’s the reason they broke up. I would love to see them reconnect! Maybe reader doesn’t know and she’s hurt Xavier just ditched her. Hopefully that makes sense, happy ending plz

Oh can you tell, I haven't slept very well (Xavier Thorpe x f!reader)

Masterlist

Pairing: Xavier Thorpe x f!reader

Word count: 1.5k

Summary: After your break up, you couldn’t help but to hate him and when classes started once again, you were confused on why he acted like he didn’t know you

Warning: Angst and Fluffiness

A/N: This is like the part two (if you want it to be, it can also be read on it’s own) of If clarity’s in death, then why won’t this die? (Xavier Thorpe x f!reader)

Coments, Reblogs and Asks are happily received! I love to read your lovely coments :)

You didn’t want to come back, you even went as far as to beg your dad (because your mother just stared at you, shaking her head) to let you stay, he was going to say yes but then your mother came in and with a simple ‘Darling’, your dad told you to just endure it a bit more.

Well, you can’t blame him, your mother was terrifying, so you understood him.

The ride to Neverland Academy was a long one, your father taking the opportunity to take a road trip with you, also because he wanted to hunt a few different fishermen from other places so he could determinate which one of them your mother would enjoy to cook.

“We’re almost there, my little tadpole.” Your dad happily chipper, his fingers tapping alongside the melody of whatever song was on the radio. “Just remember, if they hurt you or bother you, your mother and I give you full permission to drown them in that horrible school’s lake, just don’t forget to collect their souls on your jar.”

You hummed, your fingers cradling the jar closer to your body, it only had one single soul, an accident that happened this past winter break. You didn’t meant to kill that guy, but he was being so annoying that your anger just lost control and drown him before you even try to stay calm. At first you were completely numb, staring at the body as your figure was just above the surface of your swamp. Your dad was the one who found you and when he saw the corpse…let’s just say he cried in happiness that his little girl was already going the path of the Vodnik. Your mother even went as far as to go to town to get you your own jar.

“I can’t do this.” You whispered, hugging tightly at your jar. “I can’t do this.”

Your dad sighed, taking one of his hands from the wheel and offering it to you, you grasped it tightly. “You can do this, that boy made a mistake, show him that it didn’t affect you, bubbles.”

You shook your head. “But it did affect me…” You sighed. “That idiot made me cry.” You frowned as you saw those familiar gates. “The least I want is to see him again.”

Your dad nodded alongside your words, finally pulling to the gate, he stopped the car and offered you a smile. “Here we are, my little tadpole, just a few more months and you will be back home in a blink of an eye.” He kissed your forehead and before you got out he reminded you. “Don’t forget the jar!”

And so it began, for some reason he began appearing everywhere you went, it didn’t matter if he had the same class as you, you always ended up together. You even felt the annoyance glare of Bianca but you didn’t care to be honest. Fuck her.

Xavier didn’t give up, he tried to talk to you more and more, hoping to understand why did you hated him so much. Until one day when Professor Grant-Amari decided to put his students in pairs for the upcoming project. Much to your dismay, he put you with a very happy Xavier.

“So,” He stopped you on the exit, his hands playing with the straps on his backpack. “I think it would be really cool if we do our project on the differences of visions and predictions. What do you think?” He broke into a smile.

“Whatever.” You tried to leave but he didn’t let you. “Fine, awesome, just tell me what to do and I’ll send you my part or whatever.”

He grabbed your arm before you could passed him. “What is your problem?”

“My problem?” You shook him up. “Really, you are asking me that.”

“I mean, yeah.” He frowned. “I don’t know what I did and I’m sorry about whatever it was but I’m trying to be your friend here.”

“Un-fucking-believable.” You muttered under your breath. “My friend? You’re serious right now?” You couldn’t help but began laughing at his face. “Oh, wait, you serious?”

Xavier nodded.

“You really don’t know?” You frowned as he shook his head. “But the text…?”

“I really, really don’t know.” He sighed. “To be honest, much of my memory is a shitshow right now.”

You sighed. “Look, I can’t tell you, mostly because if I do I might want to kill something and even if I have my parents’ permission to do so, I don’t think director Weems would be happy.”

He kept quiet for a few seconds. “We know each other?” He whispered.

“That’s something you need to find out on your own.” You tried to be as gentle as you could. “I’ll do the project…just…you just…yeah.”

You tried your hardest to do the project on your own, it was a bit easy as Xavier left you completely alone that whole week but it didn’t ease your mind because whenever you managed to catch a glimpse of him, he looked completely devastated. I mean, you had feelings, of course It made you feel awful.

It was a foggy day and you decided to spend it closer to the lake, your feet were inside the waters and your laptop on your lap, a word document completely empty was facing you. It was annoying to watch that stupid line blink, waiting for you to write something good and clever.

“Hey.” Someone greeted you and you turned your head to see Xavier sitting down next to you, copying your actions and putting his feet inside the water. With shoes and all.

“Hey.” You greeted him back. “You look awful.”

“I would say more like shitty than awful.” He tried to smile but it didn’t stayed. “How’s the project going?”

“Shitty.”

He nodded. “I…um…I talked with Bianca.”

“She denied it?”

“She even god offended with the way our conversation was going.” He huffed. “She always does this thing when she’s lying and when she did it…I just knew.”

You nodded quietly. “The nose scrunching?”

“The nose scrunching.” Xavier sighed. “I still don’t know what I did and I know you won’t tell me but for whatever it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” You whispered, putting the laptop to your side, away from the waters. “I should have known it was all an act.”

“Yeah?” He asked you. “How so?”

You smiled. “The way you spoke to me was just so old school dude.” He finally smiled. “And you didn’t even threw a fuck you or a shit or a cunt in there.”

“So I was that kind of boyfriend?”

“Yeah.” Your smile was now softer. “You loved to buy me things and give me food that caused me to almost die in food poisoning, really awful boyfriend.”

“The worst.” Xavier was now smiling widely. “And you? What kind of girlfriend were you?”

“Oh I was the best, you even had me on your wallet.”

He shook his head laughing. “I sound so whipped men, like a pussy.”

“You were such a simp for me. Imagine a dog, you demanded my attention 24/7 it was so annoying.” You bumped your shoulder with his. “My mom even begged me to get you home for Christmas, made her famous stew only for you dude.”

“Yeah?” He bumped your shoulder back. “What kind of stew?”

“Fishermen stew.” Your smile widened when he gagged. “Hey! Us vodniks love fishermen stew, I am truly offended with your reaction.”

He threw his head back, laughing. “Sorry! Sorry! I just can’t imagine the taste.”

“Just imagine a chicken dude, just a chicken.”

Silence surrounded you so you decided to grab your laptop back and decided to try and write something. “Our topic is why vodniks are superior to mermaids?” He asked you amusedly. “What about psychics?”

“Vodniks are superior to psychics, it’s our subtheme.”

“You are so dumb.” He was laughing and you turned to look at him. “What?” He was smiling.

You smiled back, “You are an idiot, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Xavier gently told you. “I know.”

#xavier thorpe oneshot #xavier thorpe blurb #xavier thorpe imagine #xavier thorpe wednesday #xavier thorpe x y/n #xavier thrope imagine #xavier thrope x reader #xavier thrope x you #xavier thorpe #xavier thorpe fanfic #xavier thorpe fluff #xavier thorpe netflix #wednesday adams imagine #wednesday adams fic #wednesday netflix

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anothermansjeans · 10 months

Note

idk how you feel about songfics but i’m obsessed w tswift’s dbatc rn and i’m just thinking about spencer reid having a secret relationship that he leaves bc he’s afraid his so will be killed by an unsub but his so is like a local singer and garcias a huge fan and is like omg this song is so beautiful and sad happy ending or angst ending doesn’t matter i just think that song encompasses how i would feel if i loved and lost reid sorry for rambling anywayyy

i am a woman on a mission and ik you just requested this but as soon as i saw it i got immediate inspo

i also have a hotch x reader fic called death by a thousand cuts BUT i had to do this one as well 🫶 also i’m so sorry if it’s shit i’m so tired lmaoooo

I Can’t Pretend It’s Okay When It’s Not

spencer reid x fem!reader

When Penelope gushed about a local musician she absolutely adores playing at the cafe she visits frequently and forced the entirety of the BAU team to tag along, she forgot to mention what Spencer would deem the most important piece of information— her name.

At first, when they walked into the coffee shop already a couple songs in due to the team's later arrival (much to Penelope’s dismay), Spencer wasn’t completely aware of the angelic voice completing beautiful melodies. His main focus being on getting coffee into his system asap, while he was up at the counter, he tuned it out almost completely— again, almost. The moment he heard her speak was a completely different story.

“Um, so this is a new song…” the woman on the small five inch high stage started, “I actually wrote it a couple weeks ago after a very… difficult time in my life… a time I’m still actually going through, but I hope you guys have it in your heart to give it a listen with open minds. This is Death by a Thousand Cuts.”

Spencer slowly walked back over to the team, eyes wide and fixed on the woman he believes is the love of his life. The only problem being he has no right to call her his anymore.

Soft strumming of the guitar began, with low my’s being sung, and he heard a soft gasp come from his left. “Oh, this is gonna hurt,” Penelope said, one hand placed on her chest while the other hugged around her body.

“Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts

Flashbacks waking me up

I get drunk, but it's not enough

'Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby

I look through the windows of this love

Even though we boarded them up

Chandelier's still flickering here

'Cause I can't pretend it's ok when it's not

It's death by a thousand cuts”

Not even a minute in and Spencer feels as though he’s been stabbed through the heart. It’s difficult hearing it from her perspective. When he made the decision to end what they had, it was out of protection— it was so that she wouldn’t have to deal with the burdens of his job.

“I dress to kill my time

I take the long way home

I ask the traffic lights if it'll be all right

They say, "I don't know"

And what once was ours is no one's now

I see you everywhere

The only thing we share

Is this small town”

“You said it was a great love

One for the ages

But if the story's over

Why am I still writing pages?”

Spencer thinks back to their love story, back to when it began and the blissful moments, the rendezvous’, and the unasked questions about why they only ever had real dates inside and why no one on the team or anyone with any semblance of importance in Spencer’s life knew of them.

He thinks back to how happy she was, and how she was content with just being with him. How when her eyes lit up the first time he said he loved her, but also the dim the second he ended things.

He thinks about the nightmares he thought were over. How instead of Maeve being the victim it was now her. How if it wasn’t for those nightmares, the onslaught of “what-if’s” wouldn’t plague his mind. How if he had a less dangerous job, a job that didn’t take every ounce of life or happiness out of him, he would and could still be with her.

And as he thinks of these things, he suddenly becomes aware of the blazing eyes that had locked with his, and a tiny gasp is heard from the microphone before she starts playing with more vigor.

“My heart, my hips, my body, my love

Trying to find a part of me that you didn't touch

Gave up on me like I was a bad drug

Now I'm searching for signs in a haunted club

Our songs, our films, united we stand

Our country, guess it was a lawless land

Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand

Paper cut stings from our paper thin plans”

It hurt. So much. And it was clear it wasn’t only him because each word she sang was aimed to puncture him. The tears brimming in her eyes were also evident. To anyone else, her words are curated from past

memories from someone who hurt her, but to Spencer, it was a message. A message that every single part of their relationship was taken into account while writing this song. A message that everything they’ve ever said or done had been tainted with the memory of him leaving her with no explanation.

“My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust

Trying to find a part of me you didn't take up

Gave you too much but it wasn't enough

But I'll be all right, it's just a thousand cuts”

He watches as she screws her eyes shut, and the sharpness of her words becomes duller as she sings on. He knew he fucked up the moment he walked out of her apartment the night he ended it, but he has never regretted it more than now. He misses her. He misses smiles, the laughter, the unconditional love that radiates from her. He would do anything to get that back.

He doesn’t realize he’s standing there, staring at her in awe mixed with sadness until applause is heard throughout the cafe and Penelope lets out a small “so sad and and beautiful,” while wiping under her eyes. He also doesn’t realize that after she announces a small break that he was walking up to her in a daze, the entire team behind him eyes wide with shock.

He also doesn't realize the first words he speaks to her are what they both longed to hear between the two for weeks.

“I miss you so much.”

She’s shocked to say the least. She’s completely speechless to the point where he begins to speak again due to the lack of words on her side.

“I’m an idiot— I’m, I’m so stupid. You’d think with an IQ of 187 I would be able to not make decisions like leaving the one woman I love the most in the world. Y/N, I swear I thought I was keeping you safe because with me and my job, that’s not always a guarantee, but listening to you and what you’re going through, I can’t— I know it wasn’t the right thing to do—”

“Spencer,” she finally cut him off, placing her hand on his arm and shifting her eyes to the people behind him who had been standing with him. “Later, okay? You can tell me everything later when we aren’t surrounded by a bunch of people.” The look in her eyes was genuine, but there was still hurt swimming in them. He wanted to say something, anything to ease it, but before he could open his mouth she grabbed the acoustic guitar and gave him a small smile. “And I miss you too,” she said before walking back up on the small platform and adjusting her mic.

While introducing her next song, Spencer slowly made his way back to the group who were going to ask the inevitable questions, but that didn’t stop the small smile from making its way to his lips, and he thought that maybe, just maybe, they won’t have to pretend to be okay anymore.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #dr spencer reid #criminal minds #criminal minds fanfic #anne marie answers

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eggyrocks · 27 days

Note

gnawing at the bars of my enclosure i loved the ch ending. ur works r so great keep it up. also do u happen to have tanaka n kiyoko relationship lore theyre so silly *twirling my hair and twiddling my fingers*

hehe im giggling the couple of all time okay here we go

tanaka’s first words to kiyoko were literally: “hi im tanaka ryuunosuke you’re very beautiful i think i am in love with you”

and all she could do was blink before yn was hitting him upside the head and dragging him away with a bunch of apologies directed at kiyoko

from that day on tanaka would not stop talking about kiyoko

he brought her up at least once a day

and at first everyone thought it was just a really intense crush

but tanaka kept insisting it genuinely was love at first sight

when yn and kiyoko started hanging out she didn’t tell tanaka

it’s not like she lied to him or anything

he just didn’t ask ok

tanaka was so betrayed though when he found out

“why didn’t you tell me you’re hanging out with my future wife?”

“because you say freak things like that”

whenever kiyoko did show up around him he was trying his best to act completely normal and not nervous at all

which consisted of him clenching his fists and sweating and repeating over and over in his head “be normal be normal be normal be normal”

and then kiyoko would be like “hey what’s wrong with your friend”

“he’s an idiot”

kiyoko did not think much of him at first except the occasional “that sweaty guy is staring at me”

she was sort of confused as to why he was always so nervous bc she didn’t really think he had anything to he nervous of

she did think it was sort of endearing though

not that she ever said it out loud

yn and kiyoko got closer and yachi got closer to them too and then even nishinoya started to get used to kiyoko and was more chill

not tanaka tho

nope

butterflies in his stomach every single time he sees her throat going dry head getting hot

she just always has that affect on him

and then when kiyoko started helping out with the band it actually sort of became an issues

because he would get so nervous around her that he literally forgot how to play the drums

the band was like “my dude you have got to get a grip”

then one day at before one for their earlier shows tanaka was showing signs of being crazy nervous and kiyoko said to him “don’t be nervous. you’re a great drummer”

and that just changed everything

because she thinks that of him?? she thinks he’s a great drummer???

he’s not about to disappoint

tanaka might’ve gone too hard that day he broke three drum sticks

but kiyoko told him he did a great job after

so it was worth it

tanaka would always go out of his way to try and impress her

drumming skills: “hey kiyoko watch me play this fugazi song…..okay wait no…wait let me start over i fucked up…..shit…”

strength: “hey kiyoko do you need help carrying that” “no” “are you sure it looks heavy” “this is just one of nishinoya’s pedals”

knowledge: “hey kiyoko did you know that you burn more calories drumming than you do weight lifting” “cool” “yeah”

and tanaka was way too in love to notice but kiyoko started smiling more that the things he would say

and would listen more intently

and start to ask him follow up questions

yn and yachi knew immediately when she started having a crush on him

they both thought it was very cute

and would lightly tease kiyoko abt it

but ultimately told her tanaka would be a great boyfriend and would be very sweet to her

like he already is

kiyoko knew she would have to be the one to confess because tanaka never would

he would just continue to be completely obvious about his feelings

but would never actually do anything about it

but still she was nervous

even though she was sure she wouldn’t be rejected

she chickened out the first three times she planned to confess

and on the fourth time

it actually turned out yachi and yn had had enough

and what do you do once you’ve had enough

why you lock your friends in a storage closet until they confess their feelings !

in a weird way, being in the small dark space made it a bit easier for her to admit her feelings

so she did

and then it took about ten minutes to convince tanaka that he was not dreaming

once he did bro was on cloud nine

for him the honeymoon phase has never ended

he’s so in love with her and every day he wakes up he feels lucky to be with her

and kiyoko loves him more and more every day

they’re gross together

so sweet to each other that it makes everyone else roll their eyes

tanaka got kiyoko a hoodie that says “i prefer the drummer” and she wears it to bed almost every night

they’re soulmates :)

#THE CALLOUSED HANDS CINEMATIC UNIVERSE #ITS GROWING #ask

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kasagia · 1 year

Text

Our little game

~Part 2~ ~Part 3~ ~Part 4~ ~Part 5~

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x witch! reader Summary: You and Klaus have been playing this game between yourselves since your first meeting. One day, you two would fight with each other like dogs, and the next day, you would flirt and act like people completely mad with love. But whatever was between you two, you would never lose this game and admit that you fell for him. He would only use you for your power, right? At least that's what you were telling yourself all this time. Words count: 4,2k

I had no idea what I was doing here.

Wearing one of my fancy black dresses, I was staying in the middle of Mikaelson's compound in New Orleans, with hundreds of people surrounding me.

I was definitely making a huge mistake.

But a few hours ago, when my Mystic Falls gang tried (and failed) to kill these crazy heretics who came to our town two weeks ago, I could only think about coming here.

I needed to find a safe place to stay until Damon or Stefan called for my help.

But after hours of driving here, I wasn't sure if I still wanted to be a part of their group. Yes, I loved them all, especially Bonnie, who became my main "witch-teacher" after I found out I was like her, but sometimes I felt used by them. My power was stronger than any typical witch's. Even Bonnie was surprised to see the things I was able to do until my strength was exhausted and my nose started to bleed.

One day, Damon said that I was their greatest weapon. Then I burst out laughing. Now I'm not so sure how much the black-haired man was joking and how much his words were true. But I had to keep the promise I gave myself and stay with them, if only for Bonnie's sake. She would have killed herself trying to protect her friends, and I wouldn't let that happen. After all she did for me, I have to repay her debt of gratitude.

I turned on the radio while driving to nowhere and heard one of my favorite Mikaelson's, beloved, old songs, which was "better when it played at ball without this strange background sound." That's when I remembered Rebekah and her last words before leaving for New Orleans with her brothers: "You know, if your gang falls apart, you can always come to me. It would be funnier to have a partner in crime against Nik."

After a lengthy moral debate within me, I decided to fuck Salvatore's opinion of me and visit their nemesis. If Damon was so smart to make and realize his own crass plan without telling anyone, I could do something really stupid too and spend a week (or more) with Rebekah. After all, no one could control me.

Then it seemed like a very good plan.

Now with so many people around me, I decide that I have made a great mistake.

I totally forgot that four days ago, Bekah told me about the "engaged party" of Katherine and Elijah. (Thank God for my magic. At least I could turn pants and a T-shirt into a pretty dress.) I sent my gift to the happy couple with separate, joking congratulations to Katherine for "entrapping her Mikaelson after a long couple of centuries" without actually intending to attend the party.

Elena and Caroline would skin me if they knew that instead of buying them fancy birthday presents, I spent my money on something special for my best friend's big day.

In retrospect, I'd like to see their faces. They would be invaluable. Especially Damon's.

"My God, look who arrived!" a familiar voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Hi Beks." I turned around to face her.

"Hi Beks? You appear here without telling me or Katherine anything; you hide in the crowd with a mean expression on your face, and all I get after months apart is a simple "hi"?"

"Well, in my defense, I was thinking about bringing you wine, flowers, cake and saying, "I'm sorry, baby," but I figured it would be only a waste of time and my money because you're going to yell at me anyway. Also, your boyfriend would be jealous." she started laughing and pulled me into a hug.

"I haven't seen you for too long."

"Bekah, we were talking yesterday morning."

"You called her yesterday and didn't call me?!" I heard Katherine's resentful voice behind me.

"You look gorgeous, honey. Engagement suits you." she gave me an unimpressed look. "Oh, c'mon. Don't be angry. I'm here now, ready to give you compliments and fight with your fiance's brother, who loathes you. Now, show me the ring. I want to see how much money Elijah was willing to spend on you." she burst out laughing, waving her ringed hand in front of my eyes.

"You realize you're not getting off so easily? Besides, something must have happened for you to suddenly decide to come."

"We can talk tomorrow. Tonight, it's about you and your undying love for her brother." I pointed to Rebekah.

"Talking about my brothers. We'll use some help with Nik's composure for the rest of the evening."

"It is so bad?"

"Yes. He's been following Elijah and trying to convince him to change his mind since this morning." Katherine complained. "He doesn't leave us alone, even for half a second."

"Do you two really think I'm able to "charm" him for the rest of the night?"

I asked, doubts about his supposed affection towards me. Since our first meeting, I and an original hybrid have had a kind of love-hate relationship. At the beginning, we only had short, verbal skirmishes, then it evolved into an open war (he tried to hurt Bonnie, so I gave him a headache and snapped his neck. After that, he used one of his hybrids to crack my car, so I convinced Rebekah to steal his car keys and give them to me. He gave up after two weeks of our teasing and after I (with little of Damon's help) ruined all his dark plans. The original hybrid bought me my own car, trying to bury the hatchet between us.) After a month of these events, the hatred between us began to develop into a kind of mean-companionship. At least no one had tried to gouge out the eyes of the other one anymore. Our "game" developed so much that one day he began to tease me with flirtatious phrases. And it's not true that I choked on my drink and blushed like a teenager from a romance book when he called me for the first time his "innermost, darkest pleasure," whispering it with his seductive tone, which he undoubtedly used for many women before. It was at our school party in the style of the 20s. Since then, I've figured out how to play by his new rules. I couldn't be worse than him.

"Well, you're doing your job even now. He's been staring at you for about five minutes, and you haven't even used any magic. I think we all know why, but you're too stubborn to admit it, so you might as well use his soft spot for you as reparation for your silence for 3 days."

"It's not a soft spot or any other stupid feeling you assume. This is a game."

That was our way of communicating: by circling around, lulling the other person's vigilance, and attacking when he least expects it. At the end of the day, I was just a toy for him—a mortal witch who was never scared of a 1000-year-old hybrid. He proved it after he moved with his family to New Orleans, and I never heard from him again.

"I like spicy stories, but please, keep my brother's kinks away from me. BOTH of you. It's just disgusting." Rebekah shuddered.

"I'm not…"

"Did I hear something about kinks? Y/N darling, it's a pleasure to finally see you here!" Kol suddenly appeared from nowhere. He got closer to me and gave me a strong hug.

"What the bloody hell? You should be on Hayley's tail!"

"Relax, sister. Our brother's formal one-night stand peacefully came back to her husband and wolves. Which means I'm free for the rest of the evening. Y/N do you want to dance with me?" without waiting for any response, he took my hand and led me to the dance floor, where other couples were dancing.

"Alright, what did you do?" I asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"I have no idea what are you implying. I just wanted to dance with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time."

"Kol."

"Y/N."

"Okey, okey. Don't look at me like that. In a nutshell, there is a girl." Oh, I've heard about her. I was curious how much of the original's interest in this girl was genuine.

"My God. I never expected to live to see the day Kol Mikaelson finds his epic love." I cut him off with a smirk.

"She is a hag like you, by the way." he continued, ignoring my taunt. "She doesn't want to know me, but she loves me. I just need a little magic of jealousy, and voilà, I'll be kissing her at the end of this night."

"And you didn't think, Sherlock, that acting like this would make her think that you only play with her?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The gears in Mikaelson's head began to turn.

"F*ck. So what should I do? I've tried everything. Flowers, jewelry, old grimoires, unexpected almost-dating, puppies, cats, and all of this modern stuff."

"The idea of coming to me with a "love problem" is as ridiculous as expecting an answer, but I will try my best because you are kind of my friend and seem desperate. I don't know if you thought of it, but speaking with her and making a true confession seemed too simple, didn't it?" I said it sarcastically.

"You mean… "L" word?" he cleared his throat, ashamed.

"For the love of God, Kol Mikaelson! Do you love her?"

"Of course."

"Then get out of my eyes and tell her, not me." he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, leaving me alone in a sea of people.

"Little bastard." I said it to myself while trying to get out of there.

But someone made sure I wasn't left alone for too long.

"Hello, my love."

I would recognize that voice even on my deathbed, and I undoubtedly knew that he would someday be the reason for my death.

"Hello Klaus." I turned around to look him in the face. He had grown more handsome since the last time I saw him, which worried me a lot. I tried to hide my unwanted emotions behind a sarcastic smirk.

"If you're wondering if Stefan or Caroline sent their regards, I'm going to have to disappoint you."

"Actually, I'm wondering who I have to kill." I frowned, not understanding him. He swept me into his arms and whirled me about the dance floor as the orchestra played. "I knew you were planning not to go to this party. Katherine was very upset about that."

"So you must have had an enjoyable couple of days." I can't stop myself from interrupting him. He gave me a small smile, shaking his head in amusement. I was so close in his arms that I could feel his every breath adjust to mine.

"You don't usually change your plans, so it's obvious that your bunch of stupid friends must have done something impressively dumb. And quite possibly, it has to do with the emergence of competition vampire's group in Mystic Falls."

"You seem quite well informed, especially for someone who doesn't care about anyone but his family."

"Ouch. As mean as I remembered."

"And you're as irritating as always. It looks like no one changed."

I sighed as I looked around the room. Mission successful - Katherine talks to Elijah. The only problem was that they looked like they were gossiping about me and Klaus…

"Tell me, did you miss me?" Klaus' taunt diverted my attention.

I thought for a moment about how to answer his question. Of course, I missed him. I frequently found myself recalling memories of us in locations where I was at the time. But as I said to Rebekah and Katherine, there was no bond between me and Klaus. We were just two bored souls who were looking for entertainment. We liked messing with people and making fun of them. That's all. There is no feeling involved. But it doesn't mean I will miss my chance.

"Yes." I whispered this while staring into his ocean eyes, never taking my gaze away from him.

He was surprised by my bold, direct statement. He leaned slightly closer to me. His gaze was moving from my eyes to my lips.

"I was bored as no one was trying to hurt me or my friends. Fortunately, Miss Salvatore came back with her own, special family." I got a little closer to him so I could whisper in his ear. "And then we had a new member of our group. Enzo. He's incredibly handsome and was an excellent substitute for your company."

He moved his hand slowly as he extended his arm to encircle my back. Then he dipped me deeply, looking at my eyes all the damn time.

"Be careful, my love. You may fall for him, of course, if you have a heart." he whispered, tightening his grip on me. I held my breath, too enchanted by the moment to respond to his taunt.

I should feel uneasy, distrustful, and disgusted that I am at his mercy, for he could drop me at any moment. Instead, all I could feel was being hypnotized by his blue eyes until he helped me get back on my feet again.

"Every girl would love him. He has dark hair, plays the guitar, and speaks with an English accent. Everyone's type, espessialy mine." I said, when I came back to my senses. If he wanted to tease me, I'd make sure I was a worthy opponent. I just had to keep my emotions under lock and key.

"So your "type" has to have an English accent? It's good to know."

"Yeah, but not as old as some of the people who live here. Also, not this one who wants to get closer to me only to use me for my power."

"You really think that little of me?"

"Is it truly important what I think about you?"

"No, not if you want me to remain a stranger to you. Not at all. But I'd like to think that we are more than we're willing to admit."

"Are you drunk?" I asked, taking a step back to examine him more closely. He began laughing at my reaction, drawing me closer to him once again.

"No, my love. I'm honest. But I'm not sure if there's a big difference between these two."

"You're honest only if you know it's in your interest. Clearly, you want something for me because you've been nicer to me than you have in the last few years. But you have to know I'm not that stupid to let you control me." I got out of his arms and went out in search of a room free of anyone.

"Running away isn't a solution, Y/N! I hope you know that." He shouted as he followed me. We came to a halt as we entered his art studio. Of all the fucking places in this huge villa, it had to be the den of the big bad wolf.

"Katherine has managed to escape you for more than 500 years." I said this without giving him a single, damning look. I much preferred to admire his works.

"Yes. Because she wanted. I'm not sure if you share her desires." He grabbed my arm, turning me to face him.

"What kind of fucked-up game are you playing right now?!" I yelled, yanking his hands away from me. He confused me. We never crossed that unspoken line in our banter. Few months apart, and now he shares the attitude of our crazy friends. That kind of playing wasn't fun at all.

"Did I bring up a sensitive topic? You're not ready to finally stop lying to yourself?" I laughed, mocking him.

"I've never claimed to be a saint." I growled at his face.

"You also never admitted being a sinner."

"That's good I've always wanted to be an anti-hero, then." I whispered, looking into his mesmerizing eyes, not even realizing that as we talked, we were getting closer, as we were suddenly a foot apart. I felt his hand slip around my waist like a snake. He pulled me closer and then I found myself pressed between his warm chest and cold wall.

"If only you weren't such a paranoid woman and suspected me of using you whenever I wanted to get closer to you. Maybe you would understand who you should be scared of and what is truly between us."

"Said the man who murdered his biological father because he was afraid Ansal would endanger Hope."

"You seem quite well informed, especially for someone who doesn't care about me."

"Katherine and Rebekah are gossipers. You can't blame me for listening to them."

"You have an excuse for every circumstance, don't you?"

"It's not my fault you can't accept the truth. Whatever you've been taking today, you'd better take less of it. It's damaging your immortal, ancient head." I started to turn towards the door, but he stopped me by grabbing my hand.

"Don't turn your back on me, love." he threatened, keeping his firm grip on my wrist.

"Or what are you going to do? Dance with me again? You're right, it's so dangerous and horrible that I can't take it anymore." I ignored his warning and tried to leave the room.

He used his vampire speed and pinned me against the door. He leaned in, his eyes closed, and rested his brow against mine. In a silent, peaceful room, our hard, synchronized breaths were the only sound I could hear. My world shrank to just the two of us. The party outside was long forgotten by me.

He rubbed the tip of his nose on mine. I shivered as I got close enough to him for the first time to feel the warmth of his lips (and yet they were so far from mine).

"You have no idea… what you're doing to me."

His deep, hoarse whisper reminded me of who was standing in front of me and why I couldn't give in to my inner, treacherous desire. Before his lips could catch mine in his intoxicating trap (and possibly destroy me for any other men), I wrapped my hands around his neck and pinned him against the door, keeping a decent distance between us.

When he felt a piece of wood on his back, he opened his eyes, looked at me, and gave me an impressive glance. He giggled sinisterly, sending a shiver down my spine.

"For your own good, if you're not ready for a fire, don't play with it, love." I leaned slightly toward him, still catching his gaze with mine.

"Who said I wouldn't be the one to burn you?" I whispered against his neck, placing a burning kiss on it.

His soft, strangled moan after I gently bit into his skin was enough reward for my patience and a sign to stop before things got deeper.

I slowly took my hand from his arm and put it on the doorknob. I smiled on his neck because he was too preoccupied with the feeling of my lips to notice anything. I decided not to tempt fate anymore. Hybrid could easily take control from me (which wouldn't be good for me at all). So I pulled the handle and opened the door. The original nearly fell down because of my sudden, unexpected move.

I left Klaus behind in my haste, casting a quick glance behind me. It was definitely worth it. His look of indignation will stay in my mind for a long time. This battle was mine. We gonna see what future bring.

I walked into the room in a magnificent mood and took the glass of wine from one of the waiters.

"Can everyone get together, please?" Elijah caught everyone's attention. "Thank you. I wanted to thank everyone for coming to our engagement party. Me and my beloved fiance are very happy to see people around us who are wishing us a long, beautiful future." the crowd began to applaud, interrupting his speech for a moment.

"Such a diva." I whispered under my breath as I sipped my wine. Rebekah somehow heard this and tried to hide her laughter.

"But I didn't gather you all here just to talk about my luck. We wanted to announce who, from our closest friends, will be the second-most important couple at our wedding. My best man and Katerina's maid of honor, I don't think it will surprise you that my best man will be my brother Niklaus."

Klaus stood on the stairs next to the couple, wearing his trademark sly grin. He scanned the crowd. His gaze lingered directly on me, and he didn't want to take his eyes off me. The little bastard must have been up to something.

"I've been thinking about this since the day we got engaged, and to be honest, the decision wasn't as easy as it seemed to be. It was my desire to have this person as my maid of honor, but circumstances indicated that, unfortunately, my dream would not come true. You don't know how happy I was when I heard a few hours ago that she agreed. So without further extensions. My chief bridesmaid and best friend, Y/N Y/L!"

Applause erupted around me. It took me a second to recover from the shock and climb the stairs. I was standing right in front of this smug son of a bitch.

"Thanks for asking." I said to Katherine when Elijah ended his speech and people spread around.

"Klaus didn't tell you?" she asked, looking at her future brother-in-law.

The original just shrugged.

"Don't worry, Kath. I won't make a scene. I'm not going to play according to the script of this drama queen. It will be a pleasure to be your maid of honor."

"I'm not a drama queen." the hybrid interjected, frowning.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night." I responded, giving him a small look.

"If you're so worried about my good sleep, why don't you join me in my bed, love?" he asked, coming to my side, so I had to give him my attention.

"Ha ha. Not even in your wildest dreams."

"In my wildest dreams, we don't need a bed, love." he said, casually adjusting the strap of my dress on my shoulder. His icy fingertips brushed against my heated skin, right next to my collarbone.

"You're the thousand-year-old father of a little girl. You don't think it's time to act like an adult and not a horny teenager?" I asked, grabbing his hand and pulling it off me.

"Ouch. But then you wouldn't even notice me." he pretended to be offended. He also tightened his grip on my hand without thinking of letting go. I fell into his trap with my own fucking wish.

"Believe me, it's impossible to miss you. I've tried. Many times." I growled, trying to free my hand from him.

"Aw, is that your way of telling me I'm special to you?" he asked, clearly amused by my annoyance. I've never seen such a huge smile on his face.

"Yeah, like a plastic, red punch cup at a school party," he laughed, reluctantly releasing my hand.

I turned to say something to Kath, but then I realized that she had left us in the middle of our conversation. I sighed as I was alone with him again. It's going to be a very long week (or month).

"By the way, when are you going to tell me I'm Katherine's maid of honor?" I asked, favoring him with my look again.

"It must have slipped my mind when you were passionately kissing my neck, love."

"Oh, I remember. You were moaning for me like a street lady."

I turned to leave, but he suddenly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his hard, well-built chest. He placed my head on his shoulder and cupped the tip of my right ear with his lips. His fangs came out, reminding me of his superhuman strength. Sometimes I forgot that the man I was teasing could easily break me with a flick of the wrist. Of course, if I let down my guard and drop my magic for a moment. We both knew that was impossible.

"Maybe I should return you a favor, and then we will see which one of us is making the most tempting moans?" he whispered suggestively and placed a small kiss under my ear. "What do you think about it, love?" he asked, rubbing his nose against my neck. He took one deep breath before placing his revange-wet kiss there.

And then, when I was burning for even his littlest touch, he just walked away like nothing happened.

I stood there, frozen in shock, watching his receding silhouette (definitely with a proud smirk on his face).

There was only one thing in my head.

1:1 motherf*cker

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reeeallygood · 4 months

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911 Lone Star Rewatch: 1x02

Okay here we go again!

First note: I whip my hair back and forth is perhaps the funniest choice for a song to be playing in Owen's car when he pulls up to the fire house. Like I understand it is supposed to fit in with the fear of balding storyline we have in this episode. But it immediately made me think of this:

TK asking his father if he got laid.... Tells us so many things about their relationship.

Ahhh the mercury food. I forgot about this call. Which is surprising because it is HORRIFIC. Especially since the lady that jumps first has my name. (but also I would have discovered the mercury immediately because I always pick those kinds of sandwiches apart when I eat them)

You know what. I need to see Carlos tackle more people. There has been a distinct lack of Carlos tackling people--I understand he fought off a serial killer last season, but still. More tackling. But poor Carlos is honestly so stressed throughout that entire scene.

Nancy! There she is. Still surprised that she wasn't in the pilot! Unless I missed her?? But I don't think I did.

They already have Grace in better costuming for this episode! Her clothing is a lot softer and relaxed, which fits her character better. Plus it doesn't look like they are dressing her to make her look older as much as they did last episode.

Okay, so about Michelle. The part of her character that does interest me is all of her volunteer stuff. The work she does with the homeless community and the part in this episode with the little boy who needs an inhaler. I wish they had spent more time on that because it's very compelling.

So Carlos recommends that Michelle goes to a curandera. How superstitious do we think Carlos is? Like he kinda admits that the story about his aunt's experience with a curandera was a little ridiculous. But I don't know... I get the feeling that he believes some of it. Not sure that he would ever admit it, but I think he does. Like Carlos seems like the type to scoff and say 'ghosts aren't real', but the moment he hears some creepy shit in a haunted building he's about to scooby doo run his way out of there.

Owen using almond milk for his cappuccinos is perhaps the worst sin he has committed.

Judd and Owen confiding in each other already! So early! Already on the road to becoming best friends! But Judd checking in with Owen about his cancer diagnosis and asking about how TK is taking everything-- JUDD RYDER THE MAN THAT YOU ARE.

Oh yes, the racist lady! How could I forget this was in this episode. Ugh, her avoiding Marjan when shaking their hands. And honestly, Marj is so patient with her even though she's a complete bigot. Which makes Marjan losing her job for insensitivity towards someone in the field in season 4 just that much more unfair to her.

There are so many choice pieces of dialogue in this scene though. There of course is the iconic "sure ma'am, but just so you know I am a homosexual" and Judd's simple "no". But also TK's kinda confused "we don't have any cuffs, Cap..." And Mateo's super quick "On it!" to going to get the zip ties. So good.

Last night I slept in my stileeettooos. Holiday Inn.

Carlos' little "totally" after TK says he wants to zone out before work is so funny. He's so whipped. Like, 'yeah whatever you say. I am so in love with you.'

I honestly forgot about the bald nightmare sequence until it started. And it's just so great from start to finish. Even if the freckly bald cap they have on Rob is terrifying. Also, Mateo still being nice and complementary even in Owen's nightmare speaks volumes.

On a more serious note, the whole part with the woman choosing death over letting him rescue her because he's bald is obviously a metaphor for how Owen would rather risk his cancer treatments not working--which could kill him--over risking losing his hair. And it's seen as insane and overdramatic even by him in the dream, which strangely enough I think was an important step for him realizing that he needed to let go of his worries about his appearance.

How does Rob Lowe manage to have great on screen chemistry with like... everyone. How does he do this??

And the gas leak call with the guy who has paranoid delusions! This episode has so many iconic calls!

As an aside, if a cop ever just burst through my door I would be so incredulous and angry. But a firefighter, on the other hand. Like when Paul crashes into that one apartment. I would just be like 'whatever you say sir'. Firefighters have my trust.

Wait. wait what was that headline on the news article that the man with paranoia had up on his wall?? The enslavement of kpop what?? Can someone who has quick access to it let me know the full thing. How have I never noticed that before.

The entire scene with Judd and Owen on horses is so great. Like the whole thing is just such a sweet gesture on Judd's part. But does anyone know if the hat that Judd gives to Owen is the same one he has when he goes to the hill country? That's awesome if it is. But I can't remember if it looks the same or not.

Also, Uncle Cash reveal when???

Slow down, Tiger

Carlos' shirt is really hanging on by a single button through that whole scene. I wonder if they did multiple takes of the button ripping part? Does that mean Rafa had to change his shirt every time?

"I don't do this a lot" "Clearly" TK THAT WAS MEAN. I understand why you said it, but ouch!!

I would like to state that at this point in the episode my voice recording is just me sadly saying, "Carlos and his snapper :(. TK is so hurt :(. Judd in his hoodie :(."

YEE-HAW

Another lovely episode! And to no one's surprise, another 10/10

If you made it to the end of this, here is your star for the good noodle board: ⭐

Previous episode thoughts

#911 lone star rewatch 2024 #911 lone star #So many fun responses to my other one!#this is exciting!#The whole rewatch was such a good idea

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word-scribbless · 2 years

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My Shirt?

Whew it feels good to right again! Here is my first request for my 1000 follow celebration.

@mandy426 requested “is that my shirt?” Thank you for the request love

As always thank you to @leroyjethrogibbsgirl for the proof reading and brainstorming sessions go check her out!

This is written as a female reader. Please feel free to request gender neutral reader if you’d like I usually tend to write female reader if not.

Masterlist

———————-

Y/N shivered as she stepped out into the chilled air. She felt an arm pull her into a firm body and smiled at the warmth knowing it was Gibbs. She had been consulting with NCIS that week. When he heard they were bound to get snowed in, the team leader had sent everyone home and suggested Y/N come back to his house to keep working on the case.

It wasn’t unusual for Y/N and Gibbs to huddle up together on his couch to work on a case. Everyone around them knew their feelings were deeper than consultant/team leader and friends. They also knew better than to mention it, even Tony. Y/N rarely let herself admit her feelings and when she did she quickly reminded herself it was enough for her just to have Gibbs in her life even if it wasn't how she wanted. Gibbs on the other hand had admitted long ago how deeply he cared for Y/N but promised himself he’d never let that come between them. He knew what happened when he let himself love someone, and when they loved him, he didn’t want that for Y/N.

The duo was sitting on the couch as the snow fell behind them. They had opened back up their case files when they had arrived back at Gibbs’ and were working hard for a few hours now.

“You hungry?” Gibbs asked, pulling Y/N from the file she was skimming for the 5th time that hour.

“Starving.” She mumbled “and hitting a brick wall here.”

“Yeah, I’m calling it for the night. I’m making the steaks, you go change and find a movie.”

“ Shoot my go bag’s in my car” Y/N remembered.

“Grab a shirt from my drawer and you still have those stretchy pant thingies here from when your dryer broke” he reminded and she smiled.

“Any shirt Iwant?” She sing songed

“Make it one I’ll forget about if you’re gonna try to steal it.” He called as he walked to the kitchen.

“Ooo good point” she laughed and ran up the steps to change.

By the time gibbs had finished the steaks, Y/N was curled up with a blanket in one of gibbs old USMC shirts with an old movie playing waiting for him to slide up next to her with their food. Which is exactly what he did moments later, They spent the night curled up together until they fell asleep. If anyone asked they worked all night and gibbs slept on the recliner but that’s never what really happened when she stayed over. They always ended up snuggled on the couch, even though they’d never admit it.

As Gibbs had predicted the next morning when Y/N went home bundled up in her coat she had stolen his old marine shirt. He knew she would but didn’t mind. He completely forgot about the shirt within a week. Y/N however didn’t forget at all. Two months later and she was still sleeping in the USMC shirt. Sadly it didn’t smell like him anymore after the first wash but she still smiled as she thought about him every time she snuggled up in it. She vowed no one would know she had his shirt in her PJ rotation, and an embarrassing amount for that matter.

That was the plan anyway, until she was called in to help NCIS one night on a call. She had just finished consulting with another team and was exhausted when she went to bed maybe 5 hours ago. When Gibbs called at 3 am she didn’t think. She just hopped out of bed, threw on a pair of tactile pants, tucked in her shirt. She pulled on a cardigan and grabbed her jacket as she ran out the door.

Y/N had met the team at the scene to get a feel for the evidence and take pictures and notes. The freezing weather had Gibbs ordering everyone back to NCIS once all the evidence was collected to go over what they found. Y/N had stayed bundled up until she was starting to thaw out as she worked at the corner of Gibbs desk while the team was out checking leads or down with ducky or Abby. She finally warmed up enough to shed her jacket and unzip her sweatshirt, still not remembering what shirt she was sporting. She was scribbling on her notepad for a while longer before she heard a familiar sound of Gibbs clearing his voice.

“Can I help you” she asked with out looking up.

“ That my shirt?” he asked and she could hear the smirk in his voice. She felt a blush in her cheeks right away as she quickly looked down.

“Crap” she whipped before looking up and gibbs reluctantly “i forgot I was wearing it I’ll go see if Ellie has an extra in her locker or I’ll just” she began to ramble before gibbs cut her off by gently pulling her up from her seat by her wrist and leading her to the elevator.

“Gibbs”

“Shh” he cut her off again before flipping the emergency stop.

“You wear it a lot?”

She looked down reluctantly, but knew she wouldn’t get out of answering. “Most nights”.

She saw him nod and wasn’t sure if she really saw a smile or if it was just in her head.

“Why” he asked, rubbing his thumb against the wrist he never let go of.

“Do you want me to be honest?” She asked, peering up at him unsure.

He nodded “ always do”

“Not sure you want this answer though Gibbs” she said quietly.

“Think we’ve been avoiding it long enough.” He said. What Y/N doesn't know is that the moment he saw her in his shirt at his desk all denying and avoiding his feelings went out the window. Her standing there, clearly caring more about his feelings than her own, told him all he needed to know. It wasn’t always going to be easy for him, but this was his Y/N he couldn’t let her go.

“ The truth is” she whispered and looked into his eyes, “it reminds me of being wrapped up in your arms and that’s my favorite place to be.” She admited with a smile.

Gibbs smirked and moved his hand to grasp her cheek.

“That mean what i think it does?” He asked

She nodded and leaned into his hand as she whispered “i kinda love you Jethro”

Gibbs smileed one of those rare beautiful smiles only she gets to see and leaned in to kiss her. Pulling away he rested his forehead on hers and said “kinda love you back”.

#gibbs drabble #ncis image #ncis fandom #ncis #female!reader #leroy jethro gibbs imagine #leroy jethro gibbs x reader

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photogirl894 · 6 months

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"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 23

"Mob Funnel"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: Wow, when inspiration hits, it hits! Cuz here I am with another chapter a couple days after the last one when I had insane writer's block for months! This is nuts!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter because I know I certainly did 😊 There is a scene later between Echo and Lex and, once again, I have more songs for them for my "Sun and Rain" playlist. Parts of the scene were inspired by "I See You" from the movie "Avatar" as well as "Angel Cry" by Corbin Bleu, both songs I enjoy a lot! (Also, if you play Baldur's Gate 3 and know a bit about Astarion's romance storyline, there's a small reference to that in here, as well 😉)

And good news: after this chapter, we'll be getting back to the canon storyline of the Bad Batch show, picking up with episode 7, "Battle Scars"! 😁

Happy reading, my lovelies!! 💜

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @cole-kenxbi , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettrose9901 , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49 , @avathebestx , @idoubleswearimawriter , @techs-stitches , @fantasyproductions

《 Chapter 22

》 Chapter 24

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch and Koriena Force work out their escape from the gala and particular members from both squads deal with the aftermath of certain decisions that were made during the mission.

The position Echo found himself in was the last thing he'd ever expected.

He and Lex had heard the security guards were close, Lex had pushed him up against the wall, saying she was going to take a risk...and now, suddenly, she was...passionately kissing him!

He had expected her to charge and start fighting the security guards on her own. How had it come to this?

His whole body locked up in complete and utter shock, yet his lips didn't fail to respond in kind and kiss her back. Then one of her hands came up to his face while the other pulled his arm around her waist as she kept going, deepening the kiss even more.

She broke away for a split second to whisper, "Go with me here," and then her mouth returned to his with just as much vigor as before.

With all logical thought having disappeared from his mind--even though he still didn't fully understand how they'd gotten to this point--Echo obeyed without hesitation and pulled her flush against him in his arms. His good hand moved up her back as his lips danced in perfect tandem with hers, losing himself in the kiss. Her arms came up about his neck and pulled him even closer. Kissing her felt as amazing as he dreamed it would be; his heart was about to burst inside him and for but a moment, he forgot why they were even there. There was only him and his Zabrak beauty.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be down here!"

The voice of a guard calling out to them and Lex abruptly breaking the kiss pulled Echo back to reality, much to his dismay.

She turned to face the four guards that were approaching them, but she kept her hands on Echo's chest. Then she feigned embarrassment and cried out, "Oh, we are so sorry, sir. We just...snuck away to be...alone for a few minutes." She snuggled up a little closer to him, which prompted him to bring a hand up around her shoulders. "I'm sure you understand," she added to the guard.

The guard, however, stated in return, "Even still, this is restricted to guests. Please return to the main area or, if you wish to be alone, you are free to leave and go elsewhere."

"Of course, sir. Our apologies. We'll head back right away," Lex complied.

She took Echo by the hand and pulled him along behind her. Once the security was behind them and they moved into another hallway, they both heaved sighs of relief at the fact they managed to get out of that situation without having to fight. It was a miracle.

"I…I can't believe that actually worked," Echo commented, still slightly in a daze as they kept going.

"Honestly...I wasn't sure if it would either," Lex said back. "I'm as surprised as you are. Come on, let's hurry back!"

They both picked up the pace to get themselves back to the main ballroom. Lex informed everyone over comms that they managed to get away and were going to rendezvous back with the group in the ballroom.

As Echo ran, a single thought ran through his mind: "She's crazy...she really is a lot like Fives."

Having this thought a second time about her since after Balmorra made it dawn on him that maybe that was why he was so drawn to her; why he felt a deep connection with her. She was just like Fives, someone that meant a lot to him and whom he connected with deeply before. Now, he was seeing a kindred spirit of Fives in Lex. It all made sense to him now.

He'd been doomed to fall for her from the start.

He also didn't fail to notice that as they were running…her hand was still holding his.

"Omega, ensure the child is secure. We're heading to engage a cargo ship," Tech informed Omega over the Aurora's comm system as he and Irys reached the cockpit of the ship and took their seats.

She responded back through the speaker, “Kida told me the sound of the ship flying lulls Kori to sleep, so he’s sleeping now. Try not to wake him!”

Irys snickered and Tech replied, “Duly noted.”

As Irys continued to fly their ship upward into the sky in the direction they’d scanned the incoming ships, Tech started running an additional scan of the cargo ship’s systems, now that they were getting closer. He needed to know if they had any weapons or additional features on the ship they needed to watch out for when taking it down.

“Anything coming up on the scan?” Irys asked him.

“It’s running now,” he answered. He waited a few more seconds before the full scan report appeared on the screen. Adjusting his goggles, he quickly looked it over before declaring, “Irys, we need to deviate our course.”

“What? Why?” she questioned.

“The cargo ship has its shields up and they’re too powerful for our guns. Veer off now!” he cried.

Irys jerked the controls, steering the ship hard to the right, and removed themselves out of the way of the cargo ship’s course. Once they were secure, she exclaimed, “Well, great! What are we supposed to do then? Those shields will be up until the ship lands. By then, it might be too late. We risk the ship landing too close to the mansion and, if we destroy it on the ground, that could put our friends’ lives in danger.”

“Indeed. That would be too great a chance to take,” he replied, putting a hand to his chin in thought.

They heard the doors to the cockpit slide open and Omega came running in, her eyes wide with concern. “What’s going on? Why did we suddenly pull away?”

“The cargo ship has its shields up. Our guns will be useless against it,” Irys explained.

“What’s the plan, then?” Omega asked.

“Uncertain,” answered Tech. “We can’t destroy it here and if we let the ship land before taking it out, we risk either the destruction harming the teams on the ground or the weapons getting into the Empire’s hands.”

“That and there’s no way any of our teammates will be able to get to the weapons without being discovered,” added Irys.

Omega, who had been listening closely to the other two, was thinking hard of another solution that could possibly work in their favor. Then an idea came to her. “Tech, would you be able to hack into the cargo ship?”

“If we were to get closer to it, I could. What are you thinking, Omega?” Tech inquired curiously.

"Why not just crash the ship?" she suggested.

"Crash it?" Irys repeated.

Omega then explained her plan to them: “It's simple. What if you override the cargo ship’s flight control system and steer the ship remotely from here? You could just crash the ship, both destroying the weapons and controlling where it lands, making sure the explosion isn’t near the mansion so it doesn’t put our friends in danger.”

Both Tech and Irys shared impressed looks.

“That…actually might work,” commented Irys.

“I agree. If we can make the ship crash a distance away from the mansion, it won’t put our squads at risk, but can still cause enough of a disturbance for them to make their exit from the gala. Remarkable thinking, Omega,” Tech complimented the young Clone, who beamed brightly with delight. “Irys, take us back closer to the cargo ship. Once I’ve hacked into the system, avert our course away from it so we can’t be followed by the escort shuttle.”

As Irys redirected the Aurora, she mentioned, “They’ll be too focused on the cargo ship to worry about where we’re going, anyway.” Then she opened back up the comm frequency with the others and informed them, “Aurora to ground teams: the cargo ship is shielded and we can’t take it out in the air, but we have another solution. Tech’s going to hack into their flight system and orchestrate a controlled crash away from the mansion. It should still cause enough of a scene that hopefully, it can help you guys make your escape.”

They heard Echo respond first, “Copy that. Good plan, Tech.”

Tech replied, “I cannot take the credit for this plan. That belongs solely to Omega.”

Hunter’s voice came through, “Impressive. Great work, kid.”

“Thanks, Hunter,” Omega said, smiling to herself proudly.

With a new plan in motion, Irys kept the Aurora on a steady course back in the direction of the cargo ship, keeping a fair speed to make it seem like they weren't pursuing it, lest the escort shuttle come after them. Tech kept a close eye on the screens in front of him waiting for the opportune moment to slice into the ship's flight system.

"Just a little closer," he said.

"I'm doing my best," replied Irys.

A brief moment later, there was a beep on the screen and Tech stated, "The process is complete."

Irys cast him a cunning grin and said in return, "Then bring her down, hotshot."

Back in the mansion in the midst of the gala, Kimber was finishing up another song and had requested a quick respite from performing, ducking behind the stage for a short time. She passed it off as just needing a moment to recoup her voice while in reality, she had heard about Tech's plan to crash the cargo ship and was hoping to stall long enough so that, once it happened, she could make an easier break for it with the others.

She ducked behind a wall where no one else could see her, activated her ear comm and whispered, “Guys, I’m running out of songs here. Do we have what we need?”

“Lex and I acquired the files on the weapons being brought in. That should be about what we need,” answered Echo.

Then she heard Hunter’s voice, “Kida and I have the information about Crassus, as well.”

“The big guy and I caught a snippet of info you’ll want to hear, too,” also added Rina. "Mak Plain, the Banking Clan guy, is the one funding the weapons the Senator is expecting."

"Sounds about right," said Kimber.

“Speaking of which, sounds like we should be expecting a commotion here soon once that cargo ship goes down,” Rina pointed out.

“I’m not certain the ship crash will be enough to deter anyone here at the gala,” said Kida. “If I were a party guest and heard a crash like that outside, I wouldn’t want to go anywhere near it.”

Then Wrecker’s voice came through, “She’s got a point. We need something to happen inside that’ll make everyone go running.”

“I placed some detonators in the Senator’s office,” said Lex. “That should definitely freak anyone out. Plus, I’ve got smoke bombs we can use, if needed, to give us some cover.”

"I brought some, too!" added Wrecker.

Rina then said in addition, “If we really wanna add to the panic, everyone just pull out your blasters and we’ll start a firefight. I doubt any of these Empire snobs even bothered to come with weapons, so no one’s gonna want to stick around if they’re not armed. Then we’ll only have to deal with the security guards, which should be a cinch.”

There was a small moment of silence before Hunter finally spoke, “That may be our only chance at getting out of here. Just everyone be careful and focus on escaping more than fighting.”

“So what’s our escape plan once that happens?” inquired Kimber.

Then Irys chimed in, “There’s a back entrance to the mansion out on a terrace where the Senator keeps his personal shuttle. You can head that way.”

“We’ll want to make sure the rest of the guests don’t go that way, too, though,” Kida put in.

“What should we do then?” asked Lex.

Kimber came up with an idea right away and suggested, “We go for Mob Funnel.”

“Ah, I was hoping you’d say that, boss lady!” Rina quietly cheered.

“What’s Mob Funnel?” asked Wrecker’s voice.

Kimber explained, “It's a plan the girls and I came up with a while ago. We cut off all the other exits to the mansion except for one, which can be the main entrance at the front. That way, everyone will be focused on finding the right way out of here instead of worrying about anything else. Once all the guests head that way, we’ll all sneak out the back.”

“I can lock all the doors from here,” stated Irys. “The rest of you focus on the rest.”

“Ooh, I do love causing drama,” everyone heard Kida say with glee.

Now with a plan in place, Kimber told everyone, “I’ll make my way out somehow. I’ll join in the chaos once it begins.”

Then she heard Tech’s voice: “Prepare yourselves, everyone. The cargo ship will be making its crash landing shortly.”

“Copy that, Tech. Everyone, get into position,” Kimber ordered. She then went back over by the backstage door and peeked back out at the party, looking for her friends. She spotted everyone where they should be: Rina and Wrecker near the back, Hunter and Kida by the East wall and Echo and Lex, now back in the ballroom, by the West. Seeing they were all ready, she casually strolled back out onto the stage, where a few nearby Imperials began to cheer for her arrival.

Right then, they heard the distant boom of a crash outside just a few clicks away. Many of the partygoers all gasped and cried aloud as they heard the sound and some could see out some windows the explosion nearby. There were a few groups already crowding by the windows to see what was going on.

The Bad Batch and Koriena Force then heard Tech inform them, “The ship is down and the escort shuttle just landed. I would expect extra company once you all begin your escape.”

“We can take them,” answered Lex. “Ready on your signal, Hunter.”

“All right, go, Lex,” they heard Hunter say.

Immediately, there was another loud explosion from down the Western corridor that echoed through the ballroom, causing many of the Imperial guests to scream out in alarm. The security guards throughout the room all raised their weapons, now on high alert.

"We're under attack!" cried out someone in the crowd.

Kimber relished in being able to finally fight instead of entertaining the enemy, so she dropped her act, ripped off her heavy sun crown and yelled out, "Party's over, Imperials!" Then she thrust out her arm and threw her crown with great pleasure at the nearest Imperial trooper, hitting him right in the head and sending him toppling to the ground. Then she pulled out her blaster from one of the folds of her dress and fired a couple shots at the ceiling, the sounds of the blaster bolts causing even more of an uproar as people began to scatter and cry out.

"Rebels! They're here!" screamed a feminine voice.

Arsin Crassus, who was still close to where Hunter and Kida were, exclaimed in astonishment, "That's impossible! How did the rebels possibly get in?"

Kida came up beside him and stated, "Simple…they got their hands on an invitation." When he turned to face, she grinned proudly at him and then proceeded to punch him right in the throat with her left hand and then, when he was gasping for air, threw another punch with her right square between the eyes. He slumped to the ground right after that.

"You certainly don't pull your punches," commented Hunter.

Kida crouched down and answered as she pulled a code cylinder from Crassus' pocket, "Nope. Besides…he was incredibly annoying."

Hunter snickered as the two of them pulled out their own weapons and ducked behind a nearby pillar to escape incoming fire from the guards.

Outside, the team on the escort shuttle, now with the wreckage of the cargo ship behind them, approached the outside security.

One of the guards cried out to them, "We've had reports of an explosion inside! Rebels have infiltrated the gala."

The commander, clad in black armor and carrying a sniper rifle, responded in a snide voice, "Secure the outer perimeter and evacuate the mansion."

"Yes, sir!" replied the guard before they all ran off.

The commander turned to his squad. "The cargo ship is lost. Move inside and take out the rebels."

"Understood, Commander," responded one of his soldiers. Then they ran off towards the mansion, their commander in tow.

In the ballroom, it was absolute chaos. The guests were running for any door or egress they could find, only to discover they were locked and panic ensued. Wrecker was punching and throwing Imperial troopers left and right while Rina was taking out their kneecaps with her rope dart. Hunter and Kida were still shielded behind a pillar, jumping out from behind every few seconds to blast at the security. Kimber had jumped from the stage and had knocked over a table for cover.

Echo and Lex found themselves back to back, blasting at the guards that were trying to surround them.

“Looks like we ended up having to fight to escape after all,” Lex pointed out over her shoulder.

“Yeah, not sure we can kiss our way out of this one,” Echo teased, grinning to himself in amusement.

She shrugged. “I mean…we could try, but I’m pretty sure we’d get shot,” she replied.

Her response surprised the both of them and after taking a couple more blaster shots, they glanced over their shoulders at each other, a sheepish look on their faces as the memory of what happened earlier in the corridor came back to them.

They heard a grunt and then a thud right behind them as they noticed Rina taking out two more troopers that had almost gotten the jump on them.

“Hey, keep your head in the game, guys!” she chided them.

With her focus back on the mission, Lex withdrew a smoke bomb, activated it and lobbed it across the room, setting off a cloud of smoke that only made the rest of the guests panic even more. She activated a second one and threw it to the other side, creating a second smoke cloud.

Wrecker saw Lex throwing her own bombs and decided to follow suit. He took out a couple of his own smoke bombs and tossed them randomly through the room, creating even more chaos. Though, as the crowd of partygoers were clamoring to get out of the room, pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, he got caught in the middle of the sea of people. In the midst of the craziness, he then got hit over the head by a trooper’s gun and his mask was knocked off. Lucky for him, before the trooper could see him, Kida saw what happened and shot the guard.

However, the commander of the escort squad managed to push his way through to the entryway of the ballroom and he saw the larger guest lose his mask. It was a face familiar to him and one he didn’t expect to see.

“Wrecker.”

His keen eyes scanned the rest of the room to try and see where the others he knew would be there were, but the crowd of panicked people pushing and shoving him made it hard for him to focus.

Over their comms, the teams heard Irys tell them, “Make your way to the back entrance now while the crowds are running out. Now’s your chance.”

“Everyone, move!” called Hunter, signaling the others to follow him and head for the other way.

With Kida’s help, Wrecker had gotten his mask back on and the two of them ran the opposite direction of the crowd. Lex and Echo had immediately followed orders and ran after Hunter, making sure to blast any troopers that tried to follow them. Rina joined up with Kida and Wrecker, as well.

Kimber went to follow her friends when something suddenly caught her eye and she found herself unable to move for a moment. In the middle of the crowd of people, she spotted a set of black armor and a helmet with a green visor, even through a faint cloud of smoke. She knew that armor…all too well.

"No…it can't be!"

Echo’s voice crying out, “Kim, let’s go!” broke her out of her brief stupor. She kept her eyes on the other figure for a moment longer as she made her way after her friends, who still was trying to get past the crowd. Finally, she turned away and ran the way her friends were going, her heart aching deep on the inside despite the success of the mission.

He thought his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Surely, the woman in gold couldn't have been her…but then he'd heard another voice he knew yell for her and he knew right away that he had been right.

"Kimber."

So Clone Force 99 really had been there at the gala…which would then explain the sudden loss of control on the cargo ship that led to the crash. That had to have been Tech's doing. They had been there and had managed to escape. How had that been possible? He hadn't seen the Marauder anywhere or picked up its ship signature close by.

He had barely missed them…but Crosshair knew of a way he could potentially find them and was determined to use it eventually.

The infiltration of the Imperial masquerade gala by the Bad Batch and the Koriena Force proved to be an overall success. Despite the obstacles, they'd come away with valuable information they could pass on to Cid. Once they were back on the Aurora, they all immediately started getting out of their outfits, wanting to be back in either their armor or just regular clothes. For Hunter and the ladies, they also didn't want to have their faces caked in makeup anymore either.

In one of the refreshers on the ship, Kimber was helping Hunter wash off the makeup on his face.

"You did amazing tonight, just like I knew you would," he told her as she ran the damp cloth over his cheek, the darkness of his tattooed skin beginning to emerge.

She chuckled. "Thank you, darling. Though, I'm going to say this: after tonight, I don't ever want to wear a dress again!"

"I don't blame you," he said back.

Then she changed her mind. "Well, actually, that's a lie. I do want to wear a dress for one occasion eventually," she said.

His eyes narrowed curiously. "What would that be?"

She smiled up at him. "Our future wedding."

Hearing that answer nearly made his heart leap right out of him and all he could do in response was kiss her firmly and with devotion.

"I greatly look forward to that day," he said quietly against her lips.

Kimber chuckled gladly again and then continued getting the rest of the makeup off his face. Before long, she could fully see his tattoo that she adored on his face. Then she took his bandana that she'd grabbed and wrapped it carefully around his head. The undercover Hunter was now gone and her beloved Sergeant was back.

"Now there's the Hunter I know and love," she said.

With that done, he left the refresher so she could finish getting all off of her makeup. However, it took her a moment to get started as her mind was distracted, remembering the figure she'd seen at the last moment of the gala.

“Crosshair.”

He had been there. Her brother had only been yards away from her on the other side of the ballroom, fighting to get inside. As far as she knew, he didn’t seem to notice she was there. All the weeks she’d spent missing him, sending him secret messages and desperately wanting to see him again and then suddenly, he'd been there in the same place as her and her squad. She could've called out to him at that moment, had she chosen to. It was what she wanted to do more than anything, but she'd found herself incapable of using her voice for it had gotten caught in her throat. She knew him being there was dangerous for her and her friends, but she so desperately wanted to believe that there was still good in him; that he was still the partner and brother she loved.

Why? Why had fate chosen to almost rub that in her face; that Crosshair had been at that gala and she couldn't go to him? Was there even anything she could've done? Most likely not, unfortunately. If anything, it would've put her and her friends in greater danger. The only takeaway from it all was now, her heart was hurting and had to try her hardest not cry. Especially around Hunter. She knew she could never tell him or the other Clones that Crosshair had been there. They wouldn't react well at all. That only hurt her even more, having to keep secrets about Crosshair from them…but it was what she had to do.

Finally, she pulled herself together, cleaned herself of her makeup, changed back into one of her civilian outfits and met up with the others who had changed already out in the main area of the ship. They all ran through the finer details of the information they'd acquired as well as went over how the mission went in their eyes. Though, a great part of the conversation focused on the fact that Rina and Wrecker could dance, considering how shocked everyone was about it.

Very soon, Irys landed the ship on a mountainside not far outside a town that was miles away from the Senator's mansion. There, they figured they could rest for the remainder of the night and then in the morning, they could head back to Ord Mantell.

Most of the group chose to head to bed, but Echo still had something on his mind that kept him from going to sleep just yet. Or rather, someone.

As he spotted Irys heading to her room, he asked her, "Do you know where Lex is?"

"I saw her go outside," she answered. "She's probably admiring the town next to this mountain. She loves to watch city lights at night."

A small grin crossed his face. He found that fact about Lex endearing. "That's good to know," he said.

"Echo," Irys called out as he moved to leave. When he looked back at her, she told him, "I saw what happened with you two outside the Senator’s office. I caught it on the cameras. I'm sure that's why you want to find her right now." He started to appear embarrassed, but she quickly said, "Lex means a lot to me. You know this. And I know she means a great deal to you, too. I know how you feel about her. She's in a tough spot emotionally, but I have full confidence that you can help her out of it. Can I trust you to take care of her the way she deserves?"

With firm resolve, Echo told her, "Yes. I promise, I only want her to be happy. She deserves the whole galaxy and more and if I can give her what she needs, then I’ll do it."

"Good. Then go after her. She needs you," she said, turning her back to him and walking off to her room without another word.

Echo was glad for Irys’ belief in him. Now, he only hoped that he could get through to Lex. He had tried earlier in the Senator’s office and it didn’t get very far, especially since she was still being stubborn about everything. What didn’t make sense to him was the fact that, not long after that, she had chosen to kiss him as part of a ploy to throw off the guards. What was she really thinking? She acted like she didn’t want to be around him, but then turned around and did that. She was a hard book to read at the moment, but after what had happened, he was determined to have an in-depth discussion regarding their relationship once and for all.

He stepped out into the cool night air and looked around for any sign of Lex. It was times like this that he wished he had Hunter’s ability to track. Though, he did notice some faint footprints leading away from the ship and chose to follow those.

Outside, sitting with her back against a tree on a cliffside overlooking the city below, Lex was lost in her own thoughts. Her fingertips ever so lightly traced over her lips, her mind wandering back to the passionate kiss she’d shared with Echo earlier in the night. Even sitting there thinking about it, she couldn’t figure out what had possessed her to even do such a thing. Once she knew the guards were coming, it was the only thing she could think of, even though now she knew that it was probably a mistake. It most likely made Echo uncomfortable or, if anything, it probably made him even more confused about her situation now, which was her own fault. All this time, she’d been trying to avoid deepening her feelings for him and then she went and kissed him anyway…now she was confused herself. She didn’t know what she wanted anymore. She didn’t want to risk getting her heart hurt again…but all she could think about was Echo. He made her happy, no matter how much she wanted to deny it. After kissing him earlier tonight, she was beginning to wonder if maybe avoiding him was worth it anymore. Was he worth risking her heart again?

“Hey,” she then heard a mild voice say behind her.

She turned around and, just as fate would have it, there was Echo, standing just a few feet away. She knew she shouldn’t be surprised that he had come looking for her.

“Hey, Echo,” she said back softly.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

She hung her head, but grinned knowingly. “You probably want to talk about what happened earlier in the corridor, don't you?” she inquired.

He nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

Her cheeks went hot as she tried to explain to him, “Listen, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you. It was just the first thing I could think of in the moment to throw the guards off; it was crazy and I'm sure I made you uncomfortable.”

As he walked over and sat himself down beside her, he responded, “You're right...it was crazy. A crazy risk that I couldn't believe actually panned out. You remind me a bit of someone actually.”

Lex gave him a puzzled look.

“Someone who was also reckless and a risk-taker,” Echo went on, “but was also loyal and passionate about what he believed in. His name was Fives.” He looked out to the glowing lights of the city in the distance, a reminiscent smile crossing his face. “He was my brother and my best friend. We were both in the same group of cadets, later got recruited to the 501st and made ARC Troopers together, as well. He was always one of the first to get into trouble and he'd drag me in with him. He, too, took a lot of insane risks.”

She listened intently to his words, intrigued by what he was saying about this other Clone brother he’d never mentioned before. “What happened to him?” she asked.

His smile slowly faded. “He was killed while I was still on Skako Minor. I haven't talked about him hardly with anyone.” Then he turned his head to look at her as he told her, “When I found out you saved me on Balmorra and when you kissed me tonight and we got away with it, both times I thought to myself, 'She's crazy...just like Fives was'.”

Snickering at that remark, she replied, “I remind you of him, huh?”

He nodded back. “Despite the things I've gotten into with the Bad Batch, I haven't had that sort of crazy risk-taking in my life for a long time, which is something I didn't realize I missed...until I got to know you.”

The soft, sweet look in his eyes and in his face told Lex exactly where his point was going. Her heart began to race like mad. At this point, she knew what he was going to do or say and she was uncertain of what she could do or say back. Her anxiety and longing were both clashing inside her mind as she anticipated what he was going to say next.

“Lex, you know that lately, I've felt a connection with you,” he continued, shifting over onto his knees so he could face her fully. “While Kimber understands my past as a slave and she and I have a deep bond through that, no one has ever understood this part of me.” He held up his scomp arm in front of him for a brief second and then lowered it again. “That night I found you alone on Ord Mantell and we talked, I felt...strangely relieved for once in a way I haven't in so long in sharing that part of myself with you.”

She lowered her gaze and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. “Echo...I can't…,” she said, almost begging him.

That didn’t deter him as he went on to say, “I understand if the kiss was just a spur of the moment idea to keep from fighting and didn't mean anything, but I need you to know that it meant something to me. I care for you and I have deep feelings for you, Lex.”

Her head lifted up to gaze at him. Even though she’d always known he cared for her, it still hit differently hearing him admit it out loud.

He kept going, “I’ve never tried to hide that...but I also won't push you for anything you're not ready for. I only wanted you to know how I feel.” Echo laid his hand on top of hers and grasped it ever so gently. “I don't want you to shut me out and keep me at arm's length. What we have between us is something I don't want to lose and it can be whatever you need it to be. If you want me to only be your friend, then I'll do it. If you…want more than that, then I'll gladly give you whatever you ask. I just can't lose you.”

Finally, getting overwhelmed with a myriad of emotions, a small sob escaped Lex’s mouth and her tears fell, sliding down her cheeks. She so badly wanted to tell him the truth of why she had tried to shut him out and how she was really feeling. It was killing her inside keeping it from him. He was loyal enough to her that he was even willing to just be her friend if that was what she needed, even though her heart was screaming at her that she wanted more than that. She’d always said he was too good for the likes of her…yet there he was, declaring his feelings for her and his devotion to her. What had she done to deserve someone so kind and tolerant as him?

As she quietly cried, she felt something cold and metallic carefully touch her face. She realized it was his scomp arm and he was brushing away her tears. He was so gentle and caring and she could see in his eyes a look of understanding as he let her cry; his eyes that saw through her almost into her very soul. He knew there was pain and anguish in her heart that he was willing to help her overcome. She could see that he wanted to stay by her side no matter what the outcome. How could she keep pushing him away when he was willing to offer her so much?

Her voice trembling with trepidation, she admitted to him, “I'm afraid, Echo.”

His hand on hers tightened slightly to comfort her. “Why are you afraid?” he asked.

Looking down at their joined hands, she finally spoke the truth: “After what I told you happened with Dune all those years ago...I'm terrified of giving my heart to someone again. He betrayed me so badly that it's taken me years to heal from it. I can't go through that again. I just can't. None of this has been easy for me…because I'm scared it'll happen a second time.”

In that moment, everything about her recent behavior towards him at last made sense to Echo. “Is that why you've been avoiding me?” he inquired for clarification.

With a nod, she confirmed, “Yes. I thought it was the only way to protect myself from being hurt again. I've hated every moment of it.”

“Lex...do you trust me?” she heard him ask.

She lifted her head, meeting his unwavering gaze. “I do.”

“Then trust me when I tell you that I will never hurt you the way he did,” he vowed. “I would rather die than hurt you. I promise that, if you choose to give your heart to me, I will treasure it and protect it the way Dune should have. If you let me, I'll do all I can to undo the damage he's done to you and help you truly smile again. I don't want you for any possible gain like he did. I want you for who you are and nothing else.”

There was no lie in his eyes whatsoever; no form of deceit or false promises that she could see. He really meant every word, which is something she’d never believe would happen with any man, not after all the lies and false promises she’d gotten from Dune. Echo only proved to her that good men really did still exist in the galaxy.

“I believe you…,” she replied before releasing a heavy sigh, “...and I want you, too.”

The incredible relief Lex felt wash over her in finally admitting that out loud was overpowering to say the least. Echo’s eyes widened with joy at hearing her admission after what felt like so long.

She went on to tell him, moving onto her knees, as well, so she could directly face him, “If I had been paired with anyone else for the mission...I would never have thought to kiss them. With you...I wanted to...and like I told you, I took the risk...because I have feelings for you, too, Echo.” She smiled at him widely with gladness at finding the strength to be honest with him about her true feelings at long last. “You've been an amazing help to me throughout my struggles with my new arm and I can't thank you enough for that. After my accident, I thought everything would change for me and no one would ever understand me the same way...until you came to me. I, too, have felt a connection between us since that first night because you do understand me. You made me realize that my life wasn't over and that I was still me, not just a woman who's now part machine. You didn't see me just as a cyborg, but you still saw me for who I am.”

Moved immensely by her powerful and heartfelt confession, Echo brought his good hand up to Lex’s cheek, where she instinctively leaned into his touch. “Of course, I see you. I've always seen you,” he said softly.

“And I've always seen you,” she said back.

He leaned forward and tenderly touched his forehead to hers, his thumb on her cheek caressing her skin soothingly. “After everything you've been through, you deserve something real. I want us to be something real,” he told her, his voice near a whisper. “I know you're afraid…but I promise I'll take care of you, if you're willing to give me a chance. Though, if you're still not ready and need more time, then I'll respect that and step back.”

He felt her shake her head back and forth until she sat back, removing her face from his hand and declared, “No…I can't do it anymore. I can't keep avoiding you.” Her violet eyes glistened with forming tears again as she told him, her voice full of emotion, “I'm still scared, but…it's tearing me apart to push you away. Every moment, it feels like I'm driving my own vibroblade into my heart over and over again. I'm tired of being controlled by my fear.” She inhaled slowly and then released a steady breath. “I'm ready to open my heart again…because I also want something real…and I desperately want that with you, Echo.”

No words could describe the pure and profound happiness Echo felt at what Lex was saying to him. He finally knew where they stood and what she wanted and it was exactly what he wanted, too. This wonderful woman he’d pined for shared his feelings and wanted to be with him. There was nothing better he could ask for in that moment. Then without a word, he pulled her into his arms, holding her close and cradling her head against his chest. In return, she wrapped her arms around his torso, holding onto him almost tighter than he was to her. The warmth and safety in being in someone’s arms again; better yet, being in Echo’s arms was already healing her heart immensely. She could feel it deep inside. They both felt they could stay like this until the end of time.

Echo pulled back a little, glancing down at Lex again, and they shared joyful smiles that they couldn’t hold back. Then he told her, “I really would like to kiss you again...this time, not under the pretense of trying not to get caught by guards.”

She let out a tiny giggle and smirked. “ But it's more fun that way,” she replied.

He grinned and shook his head. How he adored her teasing sense of humor. “Oh, Lex,” he sighed fondly.

Then he cupped the back of her head, bent his head down and sweetly kissed her. This time, the kiss was slower and gentle yet no less passionate as they lost themselves in each other’s arms. Everything surrounding them seemed to disappear like it had before. There was only them on this mountainside and the rest of the world; even the entire galaxy was but a brief, distant memory.

After a moment, Echo broke the kiss and only pulled back a little, his mouth hovering just over hers as he rested his forehead against hers again. Lex, however, eagerly closed the distance and affectionately kissed him a second time, wanting just a little more.

When she came back, she only spoke one word: “Elexiss.”

Echo looked at her, puzzled. “What?”

She smiled adoringly at him. “Elexiss Valen. That's my full real name,” she explained. Then she blushed slightly and looked away briefly. “I've never told anyone that, not even the girls. I just...you told me about Fives, so I felt impressed to share that with you to return the favor.”

He smiled back at her as he replied, “Elexiss is a beautiful name...but Lex suits you better.”

With a light chuckle of amusement, she said back, “I definitely prefer that, anyway. Especially coming from you.”

“Thank you for trusting me enough to share that with me…and for opening your heart to me,” he said.

She nodded. “I know you've been incredibly patient with me through all this…and I only ask that you continue to be patient with me,” she calmly requested. “There may still be things in the future that will be a struggle for me because of my past with Dune, but I want to try and move beyond it all. It'll still take time, though.”

He fully understood what she was asking of him and he carefully nudged her head forward, tenderly kissing her brow both for comfort and acknowledgement. “I understand. I promise to be patient and I'll help you in whatever way I can,” he told her.

“Thank you,” she responded.

Echo reached down and grasped Lex’s hand with his own and she took his scomp in her robotic hand. Then he said with a pleased grin, “I also want to say: you were an absolute vision in that dress you wore tonight to the gala. I never wanted to take my eyes off you.”

She grinned back. “You looked like quite the catch yourself. Why else do you think I was wanting to kiss you all night?”

He found himself enamored with this new, flirtatious side of her. He knew he definitely could get used to that and he would enjoy it immensely. “The feeling was mutual...and it still is,” he said back, nuzzling her nose.

Needing no further encouragement, Lex took Echo’s face in her hands and eagerly returned her lips to his as he pulled her close in his arms once more. After a long time of going back and forth regarding how they felt about one another, they had at last been open and honest with each other and now, they were beyond overjoyed to finally be together.

They shared many kisses over the next few minutes until finally, they both sat back against the tree, his arm around her and her head on his shoulder--while being careful not to poke his face with her horns--and they just watched the nightly horizon of colorful city lights. Echo began to wonder if they should go back to the ship for the night…but he didn’t want to go back. Not yet. The only thought on his mind was Lex. He could still feel her lips on his, her hand on his cheek, the warmth of her body mingling with his own. The night had come to a wonderful conclusion and he didn’t want that all to be over just yet. He’d waited for what felt like forever to finally be with her and he still wanted more. He didn’t want this night to end.

He then spoke in a quiet voice, “I know we should probably get back to the Aurora…but after all this, I can’t be apart from you right now. Not yet. I need you still in my arms. Please, Lex…will you stay out here with me a while longer? I…I hear you love watching the city lights at night. We can stay and admire them together.”

Lex smiled fondly to herself. She didn’t know how he’d found out about that fact--though she had a hunch as to who might’ve told him--but she found it so sweet that he wanted to stay there with her just because he knew it was something she liked. Already, she began to wonder how she got lucky to have him. She also realized that she was in the same predicament as he was: she didn’t want to go back to the ship; she didn’t want to be away from Echo yet. She wanted to stay in his arms for the rest of the night. It felt amazingly freeing to let another man she cared for into her life and to allow herself to be vulnerable again. Whatever Echo wanted, she wanted it, too.

She snuggled up closer to him, nuzzling his neck, and answered him, “Of course, I will, Echo.”

Now more content than he had been, he turned his head and placed a kiss on her temple. Then there, the two of them stayed, resting up against the tree, taking in the quiet stillness of the night in the warmth of each other’s arms.

Echo stirred awake at the sensation of someone lightly shaking him. He realized that he had fallen asleep outside and was still sitting up against the tree. Lex was still asleep and her head was resting in his lap. Though, feeling him shift when he woke up caused her to wake, too. It wasn’t her that had shaken him awake. Who was it then?

Then he heard a female voice he knew all too well say above him, “Well, well, well…!”

His eyes shot open and he looked up to see Kimber standing there with a knowing grin on her face and her arms folded across her chest.

“Kim!” he cried out, making Lex jolt awake, too, as they both scrambled to stand up.

With a hearty laugh, Kimber commented, looking primarily at Echo, “You know, this seems incredibly familiar…as if I’ve seen this particular scenario before…but if I recall correctly, the roles were reversed, weren’t they, Echo?”

Echo’s cheeks were turning red and Lex appeared a little confused.

“To clear things up for you, Lex,” Kimber went on to explain, “in the early days of mine and Hunter’s relationship before we even got together, we too fell asleep outside together one night and Echo was the one who found us.” She cast him a devious smirk. “Then he proceeded to tease me a great deal about it afterwards.”

He gave her a half-smirk back. “So you’re out here for revenge then. Is that it?” he asked.

Her grin widened. “It’s as I told you before: I have a whole year’s worth of teasing to get back at you for…and this is only the beginning.”

While Echo, still seemingly embarrassed, ran a hand over his face, Lex simply chuckled in amusement at seeing him like that and at the idea of Kimber teasing him relentlessly.

Then her teasing grin turned into a genuine smile as she glanced between the two of them. “In all seriousness, though…I am truly happy for the both of you,” she told them.

“Thank you, Kimber,” said Lex.

“Now, are you going to tell the others, as well, or are you also going to be like Hunter and want to keep this a secret for a while?” Kimber asked Echo.

He shook his head and smiled. “I don’t think I could even if I tried.” He gazed back at Lex and took her hand in his. “I’m too happy to hide anything.”

Lex happily smiled back at him.

Kimber saw this and wanted to scream and hug them both, but figured she’d play it cool for the time being. There’d be time for proper celebrations later. “Well, I came to tell you both that we’re getting the ship prepped to leave soon. Take your time, though. We’re in no rush.” She gave them a wink and then just turned and walked away, giving neither of them a chance to protest. She glanced back over her shoulder a few seconds later and, sure enough, they were sharing a good morning kiss, which made her quietly squeal with excitement. She made her way down the hill where she saw Irys waiting for her.

“Were they together?” Irys asked.

“Oh, you bet they were,” Kimber replied.

“Good. It was about time the two of them realized their feelings for each other,” Irys commented.

Kimber said back, “About time, indeed.”

“I had hoped that having them paired together for the gala would give them the push they needed to face the truth. I don’t know everything that happened, but apparently it was enough. For that, I am glad.”

“As am I. They’ll be good for one another.” Then Kimber laid a hand on Irys’ shoulder. “You’re okay with this?”

Irys nodded. “I trust Echo to care for Lex the way she needs. Her heart will be safe with him.”

“I believe so, too,” Kimber agreed. “It’s been a long road for them and now…they can walk it together.”

Satisfied with the outcome they were hoping for with their two friends, Kimber and Irys walked back to the Aurora to be with their squads, knowing Echo and Lex would be along to join them when they were ready.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

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nexstage · 7 months

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What happened to Marceline in Winter King’s world?

That's a question everyone has been asking themselves since the airing of that episode and even after the finale of Fionna and Cake. Honestly, the contrast between what would've been of Marcy without Simon and Simon without Marcy is really telling of the effect both have on each other’s lives. Despite the tragedy surrounding the crown which destroyed Simon’s mind and forced him to leave Marcy, both saved each other from becoming the worst versions of themselves. But I’m going on tangents, the real focus is Marcy’s fate in the messed-up world of the Winter King.

Now, while we might never have an explicit answer, I think I came close to, in my opinion, the best one, based on information from the show -Marceline and Bubblegum’s story, the Stakes mini-series-, Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook, and even The Winter King episode. And some key elements draw a bigger, clearer picture:

SPOILER WARNING FOR MARCY’S SUPER SECRET SCRAPBOOK.

1. Marcy’s vampire hunt arc

2. Marcy’s relationship with the human survivors in her vampire hunt

3. The mentioned-only-once-and-never-addressed lore of the Ice King being The Empress’ slave

4. The Vampire King’s power and army

5. Princess Bubblegum’s role

Alright! Let’s start with some obvious context. So, as we know, there are two clashing concepts in this image:

According to the Scrapbook, when Marcy was older, she got the Abadeer axe from his father and she kept it with her which, if you ask me, is both a pragmatic choice due to the dangers of a post-apocalyptic world and an emotional/conflictive one because of her rocky relationship with Hunson Abadeer. Much more important is that in Marcy’s flashbacks on the Stakes mini-series, she was shown with her axe turned into a bass already, playing a song for the human tribe.

Now the question is how it got into the hands of the Ice King if Simon had left her. Well, browsing through YouTube I’ve found a video with a fan’s headcanon* about Marcy’s fate showing Hunson Abadeer giving him the axe and explaining what happened to her. But that comes with more questions: how could Hunson and Ice King have interacted if Ice King forgot about him due to the crown’s madness? What could’ve compelled Hunson or Ice King to talk with each other? After all, in the letter Simon left to Marcy after leaving her, their only interaction was watching each other after he opened the portal to the Nightosphere.

Simon even mentioned in said letter this: “After I completed the binding spell on your dad the portal closed and everything went dark. God knows what I did.” It didn’t mention anything about Hunson attacking him for entering his realm, or stopping him from executing the binding spell; therefore, the chances of an interaction between them are slim next to nonexistent. Of course, we also have this scene:

Here Hunson enters unapologetically and pretty violently into Marcy’s crafted little house and then points at something in particular that was on the wall whether it is the portraits of Simon Marcy had drawn or Hambo, my far-fetched theory is that he wondered about the guy on those portraits but again, this is far-fetched so it doesn't have a solid base to keep going.

What's next? Oh yes, Simon and The Empress’ abusive* past relationship. Why past relationship? Because of this line: “Hello, Simon. (…) Wait, you don't remember me?”. Most importantly, maybe this was the first and only time when Marcy and Simon met again after the heartbreaking departure and she had to confront him in his almost-complete Ice King transformation while saving him from The Empress’ hypnosis. Why almost-complete transformation? Because of this piece of dialogue from the Empress: “He used to have more of a silver fox thing going on, with the hair and those cute glasses.” This can mean two things: one, that Simon still was himself but in tiny bits and pieces both in personality and appearance and a characteristic item of his past self are the glasses. Two, those ‘cute glasses’ might signify something ridiculous and humiliating the Empress manipulated Simon into using while he was still her servant.

Now, it's hard to pinpoint how much time had passed between Marceline and Simon’s separation and their encounter when he was serving the Empress due to the unstable count of time on the Scrapbook but, in my opinion, it must have been like several weeks or a few months. With that in mind, perhaps Simon still remembered Marceline albeit in fragments that came and went which was too painful for her to deal with; for that reason, after she saved him from the Empress, she left.

But after that what was next? Well, the last enemy Marcy must kill to ensure humanity’s survival was the Vampire King, and knowing Finn didn't exist in the Winter King’s universe leaves two possibilities: Marceline dies fighting the Vampire King but is unsuccessful in killing him which leads to him rebuilding his army and slaughtering the survivors. However, how could the vampires still thrive in a world where there were no more humans, only penguins and ice creations from Winter King and the candy people from Bubblegum? That would mean extinction for them unless the Vampire king had led his army to search for more scattered tribes. Going further, with Marcy and all her human friends gone, who could be there to give Ice King the axe bass? I doubt even Hunson could sense something this terrible had happened to Marcy.

The second possibility has a few changes although makes more sense. Marcy manages to kill the Vampire King but dies due to her injuries or because he sets her a trap right before he perishes to get revenge. Then after the whole mess is over, the human tribe she had befriended finds what is left of her: the destroyed axe bass and her stake.

Mourning her, they later find Hambo, Schwabl, and her diary. By reading it, they discover two family members of hers are still alive: Hunson and Simon. Obviously, after suffering attack by attack from the vampires, summoning the “Nameless One” would be the last thing the tribe would do. That and according to her diary, Marcy was mad at Hunson for killing the werewolves and eating her fries. The other option is Simon and that is where it gets interesting. If they believe it’s true that Simon has lost his sanity and memories because of the crown, then trying to find him and tell him what happened to Marcy might be a waste of time and a double tragedy. Also, they don’t know what kind of north Simon had gone to exactly, so trying to find him could take them a lot of time they need to escape the next disaster.

That leaves another two possibilities: the first one I have some doubts about because what if Simon, in his bits of memory and old self, is looking for Marcy and finds out what happened to her? But knowing the crown’s madness is leading him to build an ice kingdom, that is again a farfetched theory. The other one that is riskier but makes more sense to me is that, despite the dangers and the time spent, the human tribe travels to find Simon as a way to honor Marcy’s memory and sacrifice. Once they find him, they tell him what she did for them and give him her axe bass. Despite losing his memories and the crown’s madness, a tiny part of his old self reacts strongly to the news.

It’s unknown what happened to her dog Schwabl and Hambo, maybe they were passed on to Ice Marcy and Schwabl died of old age, or both were taken care of by the child of the human tribe Marcy had befriended to honor her memory. Going into tangents again, about the humans, another reason Finn might not be in this world is because either he wasn’t born in the Winter King’s dimension or he was born but never left the island.

Coming back to where I left it, Ice King transformed due to the most important aspect of the crown: the heart’s deepest truest wish. In the show, his obsession with princesses was due to his desire to be with Betty again and be loved by her, although his wish wasn’t taken that far except for the episode where he stole a piece of each princess’ body to create a Frankenstein-like princess. However, Marcy’s death might have caused his grief to be so strong to battle the madness of the crown and regain some of his memories that were related to when he met and raised her.

Because of that, his biggest wish turned from having Betty again to bringing Marcy back and kind of absolving himself from the guilt of not being there to save her. This is connected to another character’s fate: Princess Bubblegum and the fall of her kingdom. As is shown in The Winter King episode she was turned from this:

To this

Winter King had sang to Simon that thanks to his sheer force of will he had overcome the crown’s influence which in this theory of mine is half-true as his grief had its own sheer force of will that resisted the ice power and madness until Ice King found a way to have Marcy back. Of course, we all know he was unsuccessful, he might have found a way to transfer the madness to Bubblegum, condemning her people to the whims and brutality of an insane ruler, but reviving the dead was impossible. It was even established in the show because neither Margles (Magic Man’s wife) nor Betty (fused with Golb) could come back despite Prismos’ efforts.

Still, it didn’t stop Winter King from trying. I think that after he created Ice Marcy, his denial skyrocketed. Deep down, he knew Marceline was gone and in front of him was just a copy of her when she was a child but he couldn’t accept that leaving her behind to protect her from himself led to her death. He couldn’t accept that despite his best efforts: spell-binding Hunson, the ritual to the Nightosphere, believing she could be strong enough to survive, he would find out time later that she had been taken away from him.

And despite this, he doubled down as he “raised” -if you could call it that- Ice Marcy but also kept her isolated as a way to protect her from the outside world. In many ways, Winter King is what Magic Man would’ve become if he had let his grief overtake him to a new level. His madness indeed came from the loss of his wife and his obsession for bringing her back but after too many failures his efforts focused more on making everyone miserable maybe as a coping mechanism. Not so different from Winter King as he let the Candy Kingdom fall into chaos after transferring the crown’s madness to Bubblegum.

As a last detail in this extensive theory, why Princess Bubblegum? Why not someone else? It could be because Ice King’s former obsession with princesses was still alive and it became more of a means to an end than his feelings for Betty twisted by the crown. And maybe that’s also why Ice King is callous about Betty’s memory and calls her “the dead one”.

*Link to the video I was talking about and that inspired me to write this:

https://youtu.be/k2zJKsABi0A?si=em0JMNQYGsA4LPG0

*Yes, the past relationship between Simon and The Empress was abusive as she had tried to hypnotize him to have him as a servant, took advantage of his crumbling mental state to make him do things that might be against his wishes or moral code (for example, killing Marceline in the miniseries), was delighted in how pitiful his madness made him look, and insulted him when he defied her orders

#Fionna and Cake #Adventure Time #Meta and theories #The Winter King #Marcy’s Super Secret Scrapbook #This is like a super dark theory of mine yeeesh #Winter King world is like seeing the worst Au but covered in shiny glitter

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whatacaitastrophe · 9 days

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Everything Has Changed - Chapter 11

Previous Chapter

Chapter Song Inspiration: "Seven Nation Army" - Stevie Howie

Chapter Warnings: Idiots talking about their feelings.

Spotify Playlist: Here

Author Notes: thank you all so much for reading, reblogging, liking, and commenting on this fic (and the first one)! if you are interested in supporting me in other ways, I have a Ko-Fi link <3

i also have a discord server! it was created to coincide with my twitch channel but you do NOT need to follow/subscribe/watch my twitch streams to come hang out with us <3 we talk a lot about bg3 and share memes and fics.

Chapter 11: Talkin' to Myself at Night

The night of what she’d started referring to as “the incident” in her mind, Fallon didn’t sleep. Her mind was too busy. It was one thing to imagine her boyfriend and ex-boyfriend kissing, or imagine herself as the middle portion of a vampire and sorcerer sandwich, but it was another entirely for those fantasies to become a reality. Add in the fact that “the incident” in question occurred without her consent, and Fallon was left feeling truly unsure of how she felt, or if coming to some sort of arrangement with Astarion and Gale was something she even wanted anymore.

Fallon felt betrayed, and not just by Astarion. Gale swore that he never wanted to hurt Fallon again, and it took him less than a month to break that promise. Not only that, but once upon a time, Gale told Fallon that he was only interested in monogamous relationships. Fallon also knew that if the situation were reversed, and she were the one kissing Astarion without Gale’s consent, that Gale probably would have broken up with her on the spot upon catching them. The hypocrisy was rampant, and the hole in her heart that began to fill after rekindling her friendship with Gale was leaking again because of it. All of the reasons Fallon told herself that she couldn’t open her heart to Gale again (beyond the sexual relationship with Gale and Astarion she’d already fantasized about) were completely validated less than twenty-four hours after she’d even realized it was something she might want.

Then there was Astarion: the man who’d seen how fragile her heart was, glued the pieces Gale broke back together, promised to take care with it, and then promptly dropped it on the ground to shatter at the first opportunity. When she first met Astarion, he’d been all honeyed words of affirmation with a perfectly crafted persona to entice Fallon and the rest of their companions into trusting him as a method of survival. Was that still all she was to the vampire? A means to an end to ensure he survived another day? Had Astarion been playing the long con this whole time, and Fallon fell for it? Deep down, Fallon knew this wasn’t true; that Astarion loved her fiercely and genuinely. However, the logical part of her that knew this was currently being completely overpowered by her insecurities and anxieties, both of which were screaming at her for being stupid enough to trust that Astarion would keep his promise.

It all hurt, and the thing Fallon hated the most was that the person she would normally go to when she was hurting was the source of her pain. She thought about using her sending stone to contact Shadowheart, or Karlach, but Fallon could hear her friends’ voices in her mind already.

Shadowheart would tell her to go home– to go back to Baldur’s Gate and leave the vampire and the sorcerer to suffer the consequences of their actions and reflect on what they lost simply because they forgot to use their brains. “If they’re stupid enough to make that mistake, then they deserve each other, and certainly do not deserve you.”

Karlach, on the other hand, would probably jump straight to murder. Murder wasn’t usually Karlach’s go-to method of solving problems. Unless, of course, someone she cared about got hurt. With how happy-go-lucky Karlach was most of the time, it was easy to forget that the tiefling-turned-illithid once served in Zariel’s army, and that she killed a lot of people on Zariel’s behalf. “Say the word, soldier, and I’ll meet you in Waterdeep, sneak up on them in an alley, and make their deaths look like an accident.”

The solutions her friends would likely offer Fallon were not actually reasonable, or helpful, because they were just different forms of taking the easy way out, of running away from her problems. In the end it wouldn’t solve anything, and the person that was most likely to suffer most would still be Fallon. After all, how she felt about Astarion hadn’t suddenly changed in the wake of everything. How she’d started to feel about Gale again hadn’t gone away. Walking away from the two halves of her heart would do nothing but break her further.

At the end of the day, Fallon wanted to give Gale and Astarion the benefit of the doubt. She wanted to believe that “the incident” had been as unexpected and unplanned as they said it was. She wanted to believe that Astarion and Gale actually cared as deeply for her as they claimed.

Most importantly, she wanted them , and at the end of a sleepless night into a restless morning, that was where Fallon’s mind landed. The men who claimed to love her so deeply would get a chance to prove their love, but she would make them work for it. There would be no glossing over their infidelity and jumping right into a conversation about what being “together” as a threesome would look like. No, she fully intended to make the vampire and the sorcerer squirm, and to sit with the consequences of their actions for a while; to make them see earning her forgiveness was not as simple as saying “Sorry, it was an accident, we love you!”

Fallon slipped out of the inn in Daggerford as soon as she was certain the shops were open, and purchased her own tent, as she had no intention of sharing one with Astarion for the next three days while they made the final leg of their journey to Waterdeep. Fallon knew herself, and having Astarion that close would increase the opportunity for her to have a moment of weakness, to fold too soon.

When she returned to the inn with her new tent slung over her shoulder in a bag, Astarion and Gale were in the tavern, where the latter was eating breakfast. Astarion noticed her enter the tavern first, and he nudged Gale, nodding in Fallon’s direction. Gale looked at Fallon hopefully as she made her way towards the table. Fallon did not sit down as she observed the two men. They both looked tired, and Fallon did not even feel bad about the fact that knowing they slept like shit too brought her a little bit of joy.

“I’ve decided I’ll be sleeping in my own tent for the next couple of days.” She explained, acknowledging the bag over her shoulder. Astarion’s eyes flickered sadly as he realized they were not forgiven yet, and that his actions would cost him more than a single night without Fallon in his arms.

“What you did, what it means…Quite honestly, just looking at the two of you hurts. You don’t get to treat me like that and expect me to carry on like nothing happened, even if the idea of the three of us being an “us” is something I want to talk about. I refuse,” Fallon’s voice was cold, and she could feel her throat threatening to close up as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. Gods dammit, she was not going to cry in the middle of the fucking tavern. She furiously blinked back her tears, averting her gaze from Astarion and Gale since looking at them was just making it worse. “I need more time. When I’m ready to talk, I’ll come to you. Be ready to leave in an hour.” She did not stick around to see them silently nod their heads as they agreed to her terms, or the way that they guiltily looked at each other because they made her cry (again).

Fallon did not speak to Gale or Astarion unless absolutely necessary for the next three days. In fact, a passerby would have assumed that somebody had cast a Silencing spell over their group, with how quiet their journey from Daggerford to Waterdeep was. Fallon’s silent treatment made Gale and Astarion hesitant to even speak to each other in her presence, and while Fallon hadn'tt asked them to do that, if they wanted to deprive themselves of verbal communication until she was ready to speak to them both as some form of self-punishment, she also wasn't going to correct them.

At night, after she retired to her tent for the evening, Fallon often heard them talking to each other in hushed tones as she drifted off to sleep. Each conversation was entirely about her, how terrible they felt for hurting her so badly that she was still ignoring them, and when they thought she would speak to them again.

“I didn’t think it was possible for her to be quiet for this long,” Gale muttered to Astarion on the eve of the third day. “How much longer do you believe this will last?”

“I’m not sure, but if she didn’t deign to speak to us for another fortnight, would you blame her? I consider us lucky that she’s even considering speaking to us again at all,” Astarion countered, sighing heavily, and Fallon smiled softly to herself as she listened. “We’ll reach Waterdeep tomorrow, so maybe she’ll be ready to talk once we get to your tower?”

“I hope so,” Gale said wistfully. “Speaking of which, I got a hold of Tara. Everything should be ready when we arrive.”

“Excellent. Gods, I hope this works. I wouldn’t blame Fallon for ignoring us for another fortnight if she wished, but that doesn’t mean I want her to. I didn’t realize it was possible to miss someone you see every day.”

Though Fallon could have guessed that Astarion missed her (probably Gale, too) by the way they looked at her whenever she’d grant either of them any brief acknowledgement in the last three days, it was still nice to hear the vampire say it out loud. Giving Astarion and Gale the silent treatment had been harder for Fallon than she thought it would be, because every time she acknowledged them, the hopeful look on their faces, the optimistic thought that, perhaps, the worst of her hurt and anger might be over, nearly broke her resolve. Not speaking to them unless absolutely necessary had also made Fallon miss them , too. By the time they rode through the city entrance to Waterdeep, the deepest parts of the hurt Fallon felt because of their actions had passed. The pain wasn’t completely gone, but the idea of talking to Gale and Astarion about it didn’t reduce her to tears anymore. That was Fallon’s internal sign that she was ready for this conversation, and perhaps, to begin down the path to forgiveness.

The City of Splendours was just as beautiful as the name would suggest, and Fallon was actually starting to think that Gale had somehow managed to undersell his hometown. She couldn’t help but watch Gale’s face as he took in the city as they passed through the streets. Fallon couldn’t remember the last time she saw Gale look so happy. In fact, Fallon wasn’t entirely sure she’d ever seen Gale as happy as he was in that moment.

Gale looked back at Fallon, still beaming as they rode beside each other. “If you’ll allow me to take the lead, I will escort us to my tower.” She nodded, pulling back on her horse’s reins slightly so Gale could pass, and even that small acknowledgement made Gale’s smile so much brighter. Of course, finding Gale’s tower wouldn’t have exactly been difficult even if she and Astarion had been on their own. The ornate tower was centrally located, and arguably one of the tallest buildings she could see. To her surprise, there were people waiting to take their horses to a nearby stable when they arrived, and a small bit of sadness filled Fallon as she kissed her own horse’s nose for the final time, at least until they returned. It wasn’t like the horses could go through the portal to Asha with them, and no matter how long they remained in Waterdeep, Fallon had a feeling they’d mostly walk.

The quiet filling the air as Fallon, Gale, and Astarion entered the landing level of Gale’s tower was a different kind of silence to the one they’d been sitting in for the last several days. Fallon and Astarion were in too much awe to speak, and Gale was just so happy to be home that he looked like he was trying not to cry. “It’s beautiful, Gale.” Fallon said softly as they ascended the stairs to the next level, where Tara was waiting for them in the sitting room.

“Mr. Dekarios! It is so lovely to see you sir, you’re looking much better than you were the last time I saw you– even if you still haven’t shaved that horrid thing on your face. Nice to see you both again, too.” Tara greeted them.

“Hi Tara.” Fallon giggled, not able to help herself. She remembered Gale lamenting about how much the tressym hated his long hair and scruffy face, but Gale liked it, so it stayed. Fallon liked it, too, so she was glad that Gale’s companion hadn’t managed to bully him into getting rid of it.

Gale sighed, but the smile on his face never faded as he shook his head at Tara. “It’s lovely to see you as well, Tara. I’ve missed you,” he squatted down so he could scratch beneath the tressym’s chin. When he stood again, he clapped his hands together. “Is everything in order?”

Tara hopped onto the back of the sofa. “Everything is in order and still on schedule,” she confirmed, and Fallon looked back and forth between Gale and Astarion with a curious look on her face. “Is what in order?” It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Tara was referring to whatever plan Astarion and Gale concocted to get back in her good graces, but there was a schedule?

Astarion removed his facial covering now that they were indoors again, and he gave her a sly look in reply. “You’ll find out soon enough, darling, but I’m afraid you’ll need to remain in the dark just a bit longer.”

Gale’s look matched Astarion’s, and suddenly Fallon found herself regretting putting the two of them in a situation to conspire against her. “Indeed. On that note, I’m afraid we have to kick you out for a bit,” Fallon frowned as Gale continued. “Not to worry, though! Tara has agreed to act as your guide while you explore the city”

Fallon opened her mouth to argue– she’d really been looking forward to just taking a bath and mentally preparing herself for the conversation she intended to have with the vampire and the sorcerer standing before her; but before she could say anything, Astarion cut her off as he reached into his pocket for a small satchel that had the telltale jingle of coin inside, offering it to her. “I realize we’ve not given you much of a reason to trust us recently, but I promise you won’t regret it. Please.” His eyes were soft and pleading, the closest to a puppy-eyed expression Fallon had ever seen Astarion make. Gale was already rubbing off on him.

If they really went this far out of their way to plan something for her, the least she could do is play along. Fallon let out a resigned sigh and nodded. “Lead the way, Tara.” She gestured to the door and relief washed over Gale and Astarion’s faces, the latter looked like he’d kiss Fallon if she let him. The tressym hopped down from the back of the sofa and made her way towards the door. “This way, miss Fallon.” Fallon nodded in goodbye to Astarion and Gale, smiling softly at them, and she followed Tara out.

Once back outside the tower, Tara hopped up onto Fallon’s shoulder, causing the elf to let out a noise of surprise. “Forgive me, miss Fallon, it’s just easier to travel like this– I fear you’d lose me rather quickly otherwise. Our first stop isn’t far.”

“First stop?” Fallon asked warily.

“Oh yes, this is a multiple-stop outing, miss Fallon. Astarion and Mr. Dekarios gave me explicit instructions.”

“Why am I suddenly nervous?” Fallon mused as she weaved through the streets of Waterdeep, Not a single passerby seemed to be surprised to see a tressym sitting on her shoulder, which meant things like this were just…normal here. She followed Tara’s instructions as she took in her surroundings.

Fallon didn’t know why it surprised her so much, but their first stop was a bookshop. She should have known, since this was an outing at least half-planned by Gale Dekarios. The shop was quiet, with only around twenty or so other patrons milling about and browsing books. “Hello, Norbert!” Tara greeted someone as they entered. The halfling sitting on a high top stool behind the counter looked up from his book, and as soon as he saw Fallon and Tara, his face brightened. “Ah, Tara! I was wondering when you’d be by. Let me go grab your order.”

The halfling slid from his stool and disappeared into the back of his shop. “Tara, did Gale send me out with you to run his errands?” She laughed.

“Technically, yes, but also no. We’re not here for an order for Mr. Dekarios.”

Confusion etched across Fallon’s features. “Are we running your errands?”

“Goodness, I thought Mr. Dekarios said you were a bright woman,” the tressym chastised, and Fallon frowned. “He placed an order for you, dear.”

Fallon’s face immediately softened, and her heart swelled in her chest. Of course Gale would use books as a means of re-gaining favor with someone. The halfling returned with a small stack of books in his hands, and Fallon immediately recognized the book on the bottom of the stack just from its spine. She waited patiently for the halfling to set the books on his counter before touching them. “Here you are, all present and accounted for.”

Fallon reached for the books and began scanning the titles– the first three were all romance novels, but the last book in the stack made Fallon gasp. It was a first edition copy of the book about the boy wizard. How had Gale managed to find this? The book was printed almost twenty years ago. Fallon carefully opened it, and a folded piece of parchment slipped out, fluttering to the floor. Tara jumped onto the counter as Fallon bent down to retrieve it, and she realized it was a note, addressed to her. Fallon unfolded the parchment and recognized the neat, precise script with which it was written.

“ Dearest Fallon,

As you know, when we met, one of the first things that drew me to you was our shared love of literature. Once upon a time I recommended three romance novels to you, and promised to procure copies for you after we saved the world. These are a bit delayed on delivery, seeing as we saved the world two years ago at this point, but I do hope you enjoy them all the same. I’d planned on taking you to this shop to purchase copies for you once we arrived in Waterdeep anyway and then, well, you know what happened.

You’ve obviously read the last one in the stack, but you mentioned Astarion has been hogging your copy, so I had Norbert find another for you. Admittedly, I was quite surprised when he told me that he had a first edition copy in his stockroom! What a treasure, indeed, just like its new owner.

I realize that it might seem like I am trying to buy your forgiveness, but I can assure you that is not the case. I would have bought them for you anyway, because you deserve to start doing things you enjoy again, after spending so long sacrificing yourself and your needs for the greater good. Though I do look forward to (hopefully) hearing your thoughts on the romance books once you’ve finished them. They’re quite riveting.

Yours,

Gale”

Fallon’s smile grew wider and wider as she read Gale’s not. The sorcerer might not have been trying to buy her forgiveness, but it was definitely helping. “Thank you, Norbert. These are lovely. I can’t wait to read them.”

The halfling beamed at her. “Enjoy! Gale has excellent taste, so I doubt you’ll be disappointed.”

Tara jumped back onto Fallon’s shoulder. “Tara, do we have time for me to browse for a bit, to see if I find anything else I might like?”

“We do! Mr. Dekarios had a feeling you might want to browse,” Tara confirmed, and Fallon smiled. “He said to tell you to pick out whatever you’d like, and Norbert will put it on his tab.”

Of course Gale had a tab at his local bookshop, Fallon was not even surprised. She spent the next half-hour browsing the shelves and managed to limit herself to two additional books. After all, Gale already bought her four and she didn’t want to seem like she was taking advantage of his kindness (and his desire to get back on her good side). With her books stashed in her bag of holding, Fallon exited the shop and looked around. “Where to next, Tara?”

The next shop they visited was a dress shop, and Fallon did not even need to ask which man instructed Tara to bring her here. Just as Norbert had, the elven woman running the shop recognized Tara, and she immediately greeted them both with a bright smile as she pulled a note out of a drawer on her side of the counter. Once again, the note was addressed to Fallon and was written in a familiar, elegant script.

“Fallon, my love,

I believe I still owe you a new dress after ruining yours at the Winter Solstice. The shop has your measurements, and I told them what colors you prefer, so they hopefully pulled a few things already. I look forward to seeing whichever breathtaking option you choose.

I love you.

xx,

Astarion”

Even the notes they’d each written for her were entirely in character. Gale’s verbosity extended even to paper, while Astarion was right to the point, and each note left Fallon’s heart stuttering in her chest. Sure enough, as Fallon pocketed the note from Astarion, the shopkeeper had walked across the shop to a small rack of dresses separate from everything else. Fallon smiled at the assortment of dark blue, burgundy, and black dresses that hung there. “Tara, I don’t suppose you know if there’s a specific occasion I should be shopping for, or if I’m simply just to choose any dress that suits my fancy?”

“I’ve been instructed to tell you that there are plans this evening for which you might want to have a new dress but, and I quote, 'she could show up wearing rags off the floor of the Elfsong Tavern and she’d still look beautiful, so it doesn’t matter.' ”

Fallon snorted with laughter. Even Tara’s delivery of the instructions sounded like Astarion. “Well alright then.”

There was a stool next to the rack of clothing, and Tara jumped onto it and sat down. “While I am not privy to all of the details, Mr. Dekarios alluded to the…transgressions he and Astarion committed together. As a result, he and Astarion are now both desperate to prove how much they care for you, and are equally as desperate to earn your forgiveness,”

“Well that’s certainly one way of putting it.” Fallon hummed as she began to examine the dresses on the rack before her with intent.

“So, miss Fallon, if I may make one tiny suggestion? One female to another?” There was a mischievous tone in Tara’s voice that piqued Fallon’s curiosity, and she tore her gaze from the dresses to look at the tressym.

“Let’s hear it.” Fallon agreed.

“Make them crawl.”

Chapter List

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