#but gently trying to shake him off in luke’s general direction

[mmelolabelle]

au where Aemond still loses control of Vhagar but instead of hunting Lucerys and Arrax with murder on her mind, Vhagar just herds them down onto dry land and refuses to take off again until Aemond gets down and asks the other kid out, because she’s (a) psychically connected to Aemond and (b) has 180+ years around Targaryens, she knows what’s up this is stupid

meanwhile Aemond and Luke have no idea what’s going on and Arrax is freaking out because the big dragon could eat them at any moment why aren’t you panicking Luke? Luke???

#vhagar not throwing aemond off cause he’s her rider and very high up #but gently trying to shake him off in luke’s general direction #vhagar ‘someone needs to help aemond and i guess it’s gonna be me’ #brought to you by the fact that House Targaryen has a limited number of braincells and the dragons get most of them #caraxes has like five all to himself tbh #lucerys velaryon #aemond targaryen #lucemond #aemond x lucerys #lucerys x aemond

[hold-him-down]

One Day

Notes: Maybe like 9 months in?

CW: vague references to noncon, references to noncon drugging, all the typical CW for this story.

✥ ✥ ✥

Leo is shivering as he pulls off his sweatshirt; he feels another wave of dizziness wash over him and he swallows. It took three days of skull-splitting headaches and increasingly persistent nudging from Luke before he agreed to go visit Rob. They left with a prescription for antibiotics and a word of caution to take it easy for a few days. Leo waited in the car while Luke got the medicine, and, while his desperation for relief was palpable, the bottle of pills that he turns over and over and over has his stomach in knots.

The relief will be worth it, Leo tells himself, closing his eyes. It will be worth it. On the peripheries of his worry is the pain that constantly accompanies being drugged, the disorientation, the nausea. Further back is the feeling of hands on him, of not being able to lift his arms, of people looking down at him whispering that it’s okay while lower, his legs are prised apart. And then, the one where everything is dark, and everything hurts, and he doesn’t know what’s real. That one is even further, so far back that Leo blinks the thought– no, the memory– away as quickly as he can, as he swallows and puts the bottle down. Luke won’t hurt you. 

He wraps his arms around his stomach and sits on the edge of the tub, waiting for it to pass. He hears Luke’s footsteps down the hall. If he can act okay, he thinks, maybe Luke won’t make him take them. Maybe, if he can make himself feel better, or at minimum, if he can make Luke believe he’s feeling better, then Luke won’t be worried, and he won’t make him take them.

He swallows again, and his shivering fingers moving to grip to the side of the tub; he sucks in a deep breath through his nose and holds it. His vision swims as he blinks against the fluorescent light.

"Leo?" Luke knocks softly on the door before pushing it open.

Leo opens one eye, squinting in his general direction. His grip tightens on the ceramic, trying to keep himself both upright and still. He’s okay, he tries to say with an easy half smile, but his vision is a little blurry, and he’s distantly aware that unshed tears are the culprit. He can’t pinpoint when that happened, but it’s too late to do anything about it. He shakes his head, offering his best approximation of a smile.

Luke drops to a kneel in front of him, his hand brushing against Leo’s forehead.

"I'm really okay," he hears himself saying, his voice warbled in his ears. He knows he isn’t convincing– not to Luke, and not to himself– but his words come out ahead of his thoughts. “I’m feeling… I think a little better.” He swallows, pinching his eyes shut again. “I think I can… I think it’ll be okay without–” 

At Luke’s expression, he trails off. 

"Right.” Skepticism colors Luke’s tone, but he smiles warmly in spite of it. “You still dizzy?"

"Mhmm." Leo presses his head into Luke's palm, a half-hearted bid to ease the tension there, as Luke brushes the hair away from his too-warm flesh. It's Luke's favorite way to show concern, or, if he’s lucky, sometimes affection. It's become one of Leo's favorites, too. He lets his eyes close, even though he knows there’s danger there. His body, his mind, have been forced to accept this, and to find comfort in it, and to long for it. But he’s never been forced to let his guard down, and he’s never been forced to find safety in this. 

“You’re shivering,” Luke whispers, pressing his fingers into Leo’s palm and uncurling his fingers gently. When he withdraws, he places the plastic bottle in the void, then wraps Leo’s fingers around it.

“How bad is it?”

“Better than before,” Leo replies carefully. “I probably can just… sleep it off.” The bottle in his hand makes the shivering more noticeable.

No response immediately comes from Luke, but he squeezes Leo’s forearm. There’s a long silence, where Leo knows that Luke searches for the words to convince him without commanding him. 

“I don’t want to take them,” Leo eventually whispers, so soft that he’s not sure Luke even registered that he was speaking. He shrinks back automatically, his body readying itself for the pain that’s sure to follow. Slowly, he brings his eyes up to meet Luke’s.

Luke nods, but he’s not happy. 

It’ll help–You’ll feel better– Take these– It doesn’t matter if you want to or not– You can swallow them or I can force them down your throat– We gave you something to help calm you down– We gave you something that’ll make it difficult for you to eat for a few days– We gave you something that might make it hard for you to stand– Take them, Leo. 

Take them. 

Take them. 

Take them.

His head is pounding, the lights are too bright, the sounds too loud. His arms are wrapped around a bucket with doctors surrounding him, he hasn’t eaten in days. He wakes up restrained. He doesn’t know where he–

“Alright,” Luke says, wrapping his fingers around Leo’s, which are gripped tightly around the bottle. They both stare at it.

It doesn’t matter if you want to or not. 

“I’m sorry,” he chokes out. “I’ll– I shouldn’t have said that. I’ll take them, just… just give me a minute?”

Luke takes the medicine and sets it on the counter. The absence of the bottle in his hand is an immediate alarm bell, and he reaches out to Luke. “I’m sorry,” he says again. “I want to take them.” He clears his throat, wincing as he does. He has more planned to say,  but Luke cuts him off.

“Hey.” Luke pushes his fingers into Leo’s hair. Something in Leo’s face, which, Leo suspects, is half a decade of anxiety manifesting itself in unshed tears, must have Luke on edge; he tries to fix his expression. “If you want to take them, take them. If you don’t, it’s fine. You’ll survive either way,” he says, his tone overtly lifting. He moves to sit on the ledge of the tub next to Leo, nudging his shoulder with his own. “Probably,” he amends, and Leo forces a smile. 

There’s a silence as they both stare at the pill bottle, innocent-enough looking but wreaking absolute havoc on Leo’s anxiety. 

“You don’t have to take them,” Luke says again. “Why don’t you lay down for a little bit, and once you’re in a better headspace we can reassess? I’ll grab dinner?”

Leo nods, and Luke squeezes his arm. And then, at the risk of unraveling every ounce of confidence he’s gained in the last six months, he says, “It used to be a whole thing.” He stares straight ahead, but he can feel Luke’s eyes on him. “They knew, I think. Early on, that it fre– That it scared me. So they–” He shakes his head. He swallows. His fingers tangle together in his lap. “I don’t know. I just… I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself,” Luke eventually responds, when it’s clear that Leo doesn’t plan to go further. “I hope you do, though. That one day, you’ll tell me what happened?”

Leo nods, taking a deep breath and blinking back the unshed tears, and stands. He picks up the bottle from the counter and turns to face Luke.

“One day,” he says, nodding. 

Luke trails behind him as he walks back toward his bedroom, and at the door, he says, “I mean that, Leo. I’ll help you, in any way that I can. But I need you to know that you can talk to me, and it won’t go anywhere you don’t want it to go.”

FIGHTER TAG LIST: @whump-cravings, @afabulousmrtake @crystalquartzwhump @maracujatangerine @pumpkin-spice-whump @distinctlywhumpthing @thecyrulik @highwaywhump @batfacedliar-yetagain @finder-of-rings @dont-touch-my-soup @skyhawkwolf @suspicious-whumping-egg @also-finder-of-rings @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @peachy-panic @melancholy-in-the-morning @urban-dark @nicolepascaline @quietly-by-myself @pigeonwhumps @whump-blog  @seasaltandcopper @angstyaches @i-msonotcreative @mylifeisonthebookshelf @anonintrovert @whump-world @squishablesunbeam @considerablecolors @whumpcereal @whumperfully @pirefyrelight @whumpsday@whumplr-reader@lonesome--hunter@darkthingshappen

#the fighter #references to noncon #references to noncon drugging #chaos post i didn't actually read through this SO if any paragraphs or sentences just trail to nowhere #plz lmk lol

[mykingdomforasong]

What’s the sick fic?? 👀👀👀

It was something I had been working on for Mandocule Mondays and then didn't finish in time lol.

Grogu gets sick while on Tatooine with Din, Boba, and Fennec. din is dating the two of them, but is also dating Luke. Boba and Fennec know Din has a mystery man somewhere out in the galaxy, but (per Luke's request) don't know that it's Luke. Din also doesn't know Han, for the same personal safety reasons.

Of course, once Grogu gets sick, though, Din calls Luke for help, since he's he's the only one who can communicate with Grogu, and the only one they know with any experience about the species.

The general plot was going to go in the direction of: Luke decides to go to Tatooine to help Grogu, willingly giving up his secrecy for Din and Grogu. And Han, well, .... You know how sometimes when a dog sees and hears a vacuum, it stands in between you and the vacuum because it wants to protect you, even though it's the one shaking scared of it? That's basically Han. Han doesn't let Luke go alone, even though Luke isn't the one who's really afraid.

They ultimately put all their differences aside, and the mandocule helps take care of Grogu for a few days until he's better.

snip-it under the cut:

Grogu made a tiny noise from the other side of the room. And then again, and again. 

Din was used to the sounds of him playing, making up little stories and games for himself in whatever language he used. But these were different. Listened a little closer, and sure enough, the kid was coughing. 

“You alright, kid?” Din asked. They’d just landed on Tatooine a few hours before, and Grogu had seemed fine the entire journey. 

Grogu responded in his Grogu way, making small sounds that were, to Din’s trained ear, less than happy. 

“Alright, let’s take a look at you…” 

He looked a little green -- well, greener than usual. Din slipped off a glove to gently check his temperature the way his mother always had. He didn’t notice anything unusual, but, then again, he wasn’t quite sure what usual was. 

It was dawning on Din in the worst way that he didn’t know anything about what it might mean to care for a sick Grogu. 

Grogu coughed in his arms again. “Alright,” Din said, “let’s go see if I can find you some soup.” 

~ 

The sound of rattling pots and pans seemed to be enough to alter Boba and Fennec to whatever he was up to. 

“You know,” Fennec said, appearing behind him without him ever registering that she was on the move, “we have cooks if you want something.” 

He turned to show Grogu in the sling Luke had given him. Grogu had fallen asleep on the long journey down the stairs, and Din didn’t know if that was a good sign or a bad one. 

“The kid is sick,” he said. 

“What?” Boba said. 

“How can you tell?” Fennec asked, poking the sleeping child’s head. Din shooed her off. 

“I’m just trying to get some soup made for him,” he explained. 

“Not a lot of soup in the desert, but I’ll see what the droids can do.” 

~

Back upstairs, Din swaddled Grogu to keep him warm, and laid him down on his wide bed to make sure he was comfortable. Boba had promised to send some food up for them when it was ready. So now all Din had to do was sit, watch Grogu, and try not to panic. 

He tapped his fingers on the mattress, trying to consider what to do. Boba could be back any minute, and he might want to stick around to try and help. Din would welcome any help, of course, but the one person he really wanted to talk to had given Din strict instructions to “not tell Boba Fett you know me, you know where I am, that we’re --” 

He and Luke had spent more time figuring out how Din was going to be both honest and open with his partners on Tatooine, while also keeping Luke’s life a total secret. Thankfully, given his proximity to several criminal undergrounds, Din’s request that Boba and Fennec not ask too many questions about his new man didn’t get challenged or even questioned. 

So, all in all, it probably wasn’t a smart idea to comm Luke from inside the palace while he was waiting for Boba. But Luke was the only one with any experience with the species, and he didn’t want to be making the situation worse. 

Din crept into the room’s closet and commed Luke. 

“Din?” Luke said on the other end. “Is everything alright?” 

Din could hear a voice in the background. He knew Luke occasionally had visitors to the planet, but there was one visitor in particular Din hadn’t been allowed to meet yet. (“Because of Boba Fett?” “Because of Boba Fett.”). Din’s anxiety swelled a little, realizing just how much this call might break their one very important rule. 

“I’m sorry to call you from here, it’s just … Grogu is sick. You’re the only one I know who has experience with the species.” 

A voice somewhere behind Luke spoke up. “The little green guy?” 

“The little green guy,” Luke confirmed. “Uh … Din, that’s Han, Han that’s Din.” 

“Nice to meet you,” Din said. 

“You too. Sorry about all the … yeah. Wish I could tell you Luke was the paranoid one.” 

“We’ll talk about it another time,” Luke said. “Tell me about Grogu?” 

Din gave a brief description. “I don’t know,” Luke confessed. “I mean, it sounds like a cold, but I can’t really tell you what might help him. I mean, I only saw Master Yoda sick once, but he died pretty fast.” 

“What?!” Din yelled. 

“He was like 900 years old!” Luke added hastily. “And I think I might have just annoyed him to death.” 

“Typical of you,” Han said in the background. Luke didn’t bother protesting the jab. 

“If you brought him back to Yavin 4, I could communicate with him, see how he feels, what he wants.” 

“Or,” Han interjected, “if you’re really worried, just bring him to a doctor. Doctors on Tatooine have seen all kinds of weird things. Trust me.” 

Din started to talk again when the door of his closet swung open. Din hung up the comm fast and without warning.  

“What are you doing in there?” Boba Fett asked him, staring down at where Din was sitting. 

“Had to make a call, I didn’t want to wake up Grogu.” 

Boba nodded. If he had more questions about who Din called and why, he didn’t say anything. “I brought up a soup and some blue milk. How’s the little one?” 

Din looked at the bed. “Still asleep.” 

“Let him rest. If the soup gets cold or the milk gets hot, we can fix it,” Boba promised. “Did your mystery man have any good ideas?” 

Din’s face got a little hot at the mention of him. “Take him to the doctor,” he said. Well, he added to himself, that idea had come from his mystery man’s mystery man. 

Boba laughed. “Can’t go wrong with that, I guess. I’ll see who I can bring in from town.” Din nodded. Boba rested a gentle hand on his face, before pressing their foreheads together. “Kids get sick, Djarin. He’ll be fine.” For good measure, Boba pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

When the door closed behind Boba, Din shed his armor. He should call Luke back and apologize for hanging up, but that could wait. Luke was remarkably understanding and patient, and Din found his claim that he had once annoyed someone to death a little hard to believe. 

#the mandocule #my writing #bobadin #dinluke #bobadinfennec #skymandolo #grogu

[loveelle]

Leap of Faith~ Part 1

Luke Patterson x Reggie’s sister!Reader

A/N: My first JATP fic! Well, my first fic on this account in general and its a series rewrite! I hope you guys enjoy it and if you have an requests that I could tackle, I’ll try! I’ll update this series weekly on Wednesday!

WC: 7.5K (oops... that’s a lot for my first post...)

SERIES MASTER

---

If someone told you when Sunset Curve was formed that you’d be watching them rehearse for a show at The Orpheum, well, you would’ve believed them right away. This band, these four boys, you had no doubt would do amazing.

“Take off, Last Stop, Countdown till we blast open the top”

Luke’s voice filled the Orpheum as you smiled, watching your boys on stage, completely in their element. How they could do it, you had no idea, but you loved watching them. You nodded your head along to the song you’ve heard what had to have been millions of times, drumming your fingers against your arms as they sat crossed.

“They’re good.” A girl said directly behind you as you spun around, seeing the impressed smile on her face as she wiped down the table. You chuckled as you moved next to her, never taking your eyes off the stage.

“Yeah, they are.” You admitted, watching Luke nod towards Reggie to join him on his microphone. Reggie quickly obliged, coming face to face with Luke as the girl glanced to you.

“You know them?” She asked, nodding to the stage.

You chuckled again, sparing her a brief glance before pointing to Reggie, who was in the middle of moving back to his own microphone. “My brother.” You told her, seeing her nod as she glanced around the band. “I’m Y/N.” you said, offering her your hand.

She took it graciously, sharing a smile with you. “Rose. I work here.” She said and you were slightly jealous.

“Wow, working at the Orpheum, hearing all kinds of bands playing, experiencing the music first-hand,-“

“Wiping down tables.” She interrupted you, holding up the cleaning rag she’d been using for the last 5 minutes. You both started laughing at her joke.

“Fair enough.” You said, moving out of her way so she could reach the rest of the table.

Her smile grew as she looked up at you, seeing the blissful look on your face as you watched your brother and his band. “It’s not all bad.” She finally admitted, pulling your attention away from the group as she smirked. “I do get to hear some awesome music, like your brother’s band, for one.”

You took pride in her comment, even if it wasn’t for you. Even if you weren’t a member of the band, you were still a part of them, Reggie made sure of that and the boys loved you, they’d want you there anyway. The boy’s sound check had ended and Rose and you started clapping as you jogged to the stage.

“Thank you, we’re Sunset Curve.” Reggie spoke over the mic, directing it towards Rose as you jumped to sit on the edge of the stage and Luke took your hands to help you stand.

“You guys killed it!” you said, throwing your head back with a smile. You were met with a few cheers from the band as you looked at them and Reggie threw his arm around your shoulder, shaking you into his embrace. You rolled your eyes, gently nudging him off of you as you shared a smile and you could see the adrenaline in his face.

“Too bad we wasted the tightest we’ve ever played on sound check.” Bobby chuckled but Luke shook his head, turning to where the audience would’ve been.

“Just wait until tonight, man, when this place is packed with record execs.” He said as you gently shoved him, making him play shove you back as Alex came around his drums.

“Alex, you were smoking.” Reggie said after putting down his bass.

Alex shook his head, not at all ready for the compliment. “Oh no, I was just warming up.” He said as you let out a sigh. “You guys were the ones on fire.” He pointed to the rest of the band, not paying attention to you as you moved in front of him, putting your hands on his shoulder to get him to listen.

“Can you just own your awesomeness for a second? Reggie’s right, Alex. You were amazing.” You assured him, shaking him by the shoulders for a second until he caved.

“Alright, I was killing it.” He admitted as you pulled him in for a hug, moving out of the way for him to hug Reggie one handed. Luke reached over, patting Alex on the back, before his arms found a spot around your shoulders.

You looked at him over your shoulder, seeing the dimply grin as you shook your head. “You’re sweaty.” You said, playfully trying to shake him off.

Luke just laughed. “You love it.”

“You wish.” You retorted with a scoff but you couldn’t stop smiling. That was until you saw your brother smirking at you out of the corner of your eyes and you looked his way, poking his stomach. “Need some fuel?”

“Street dogs!” Luke beamed as Alex quickly agreed, Reggie too, after pushing your hand away.

“Bobby, you in?” You asked, turning to the first boy only to see him gone. “Bobby?”

Reggie tapped your shoulder, showing you Bobby who was already off the stage and heading towards Rose. “Bobby, where are you going?” Reggie asked, but it didn’t take a genius to know he was going to flirt with her.

“Oh boy.” You mumbled, following the band off the stage.

“I’m good.” He told you all before facing Rose, putting on his charm. “Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal.” Bobby said and you had to hide your face in Reggie’s shoulder to keep from laughing. He noticed, sharing an amused smirk with you before looking back at Rose.

You glanced at Bobby and Luke. Bobby was focused solely on Rose, but Luke was focused on making Bobby’s attempt at flirting with her a failure. “You guys were really good.” She told them and you took a deep breath, focusing back on the conversation. “I see a lot of bands and been in a few and I was really feeling it.”

“That’s what we do this for.” Luke smiled, showing his dimples as he stepped in front of Bobby. “I’m Luke, by the way.”

“I’m Reggie.” Reggie pointed to himself.

“Alex.” Alex continued before Bobby stepped up again, wanting his chance.

“Bobby.” He grinned at her and she nodded her head.

“Nice you meet you guys.” She told them, not needing another introduction of you before she told the boys her name. Luke bumped you accidently as he pushed closer, bringing his finger to his mouth before sticking it in Bobby’s ear. You rolled your eyes at his antics, not at all surprised.

“Oh!” Reggie said, adjusting his hands to correctly stick out the band’s demo. “Here’s our demo and a T-shirt. Size beautiful.” He put the T-Shirt in front of her and you heard Alex groan much like you had at your brother’s horrible flirting.

Rose held the T-Shirt up to her body, looking to you as you shrug, letting out silent chuckles as she joined. “Thanks.” She told your brother as you nudged his shoulder, receiving a nudge back, but he didn’t look at you. “I’ll try not to wipe the table down with this one.”

“Oh, good call.” You spoke up, making Reggie and Luke move so you could be seen. “Whenever they get wet, they kind of just fall apart in your hands.” You told her, nodding your head slowly. Luke, Reggie, and Bobby all looked at you, making you let out a nervous laugh. “I’m kidding!” you said but as soon as they turned around you met Rose’s eyes and shook your head. She just laughed at you.

Bobby turned to you four, greatly wanting your absences. “Don’t you guys have hotdogs to get?” He asked. You shared looks with your friends before Luke decided to ‘help out’ Bobby more.

“He had a hamburger for lunch.” He said before patting Bobby on the back, running into you but throwing his arm over your shoulder in recovery, starting to lead you away.

You paused momentarily, looking back at Rose who watched you and Luke start leaving. “Bye Rose!” you shouted, being dragged away by Luke. “It was nice meeting you!” You heard her yell back a “you too”, but Luke had already dragged you out of the room.

Throwing on your coats, the four of you walked outside of The Orpheum, taking the side door since the front was off limits for now. The cool air hit you right away as you sighed and followed the boys out of the alleyway. Luke talked about what Rose said and how the feeling of the music was why he played and how he connected to people.

He stopped walking, pulling Alex and Reggie into his sides. You stopped walking as well, watching in amusement. “I want that connection with everybody.”

You snorted, reaching into your bag and pulling out a white Tee. “Then you’re gonna need more T-Shirts.” You joked and tossed the T-Shirt at his face, Luke caught it, more or less with his face, but handed it to your brother. He grinned at you, moving forward and locking his arm with you as you all started walking. “Come on, I’m starving.” You laughed, feeling Alex lock his arm with your other free arm.

Starting to walk past the already forming line in front of the Orpheum, Luke tugged his hood over his head and Alex ducked his head, using his hand to hide his face and Reggie, well, your brother didn’t bother hiding. Instead, he went up to the closest set of girl fans, handing them the shirt you tossed the boys and walked away. You all snickered at the sounds of squeals and shouts coming from the girls as you all picked up speed, Luke’s hold on you tightening as you started to laugh.

Finally, you made it to the street dogs, each of you getting a dog and you all crowded around the back of a car the condiments were set up in. You always hated the set-up, but the food was worth it. You looked at all the condiments, trying to decide which ones to put on your hotdog as Alex grabbed some of the pickles, accidently dropping them in the process.

He sighed, giving you a defeated look. “I can’t wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren’t served out of the back of an Oldsmobile.” Alex said as you nodded, decorating your hotdog and listening to him speak to the man selling the hotdogs. “Sorry, I got some pickles on your battery cables.” He said, pointing to the car.

The man just shrugged. “Not a problem. It’ll help with the rust.”

Alex just stared at him, turning around to see you doing the same. “That can’t be true.” His words died out as you shrugged and shook your head. You were eating hotdogs out of the back of a car; it isn’t exactly a fancy restaurant.

The four of you headed over to a couch set out for people to eat on. The boys all sat on the cushions as you took your seat on the couch’s arm next to your brother, snaking your feet between him and the couch to hold you up. Luke sat forward with a bright look on his face you could barely see past his hood, but you smiled nonetheless. “This is awesome, you guys.” He said, shaking his head and glancing to you briefly. “We’re playing the Orpheum!” He fell back between Alex and Reggie, excitedly. “I can’t even count how many bands have played here and ended up being huge.”

“You’re gonna be legends.” You told the boys who laughed, Reggie draping an arm over your leg and shaking it happily. “You know I’m right.” You told them, meeting each of their eyes. “You guys worked so hard to get here. You belong on that stage.”

The boy’s faces soften at you as you rolled your eyes, not allowing yourself to be emotional in front of them. “Eat up guys.” Luke interrupted as he held his hotdog out and you each did the same. “Cause after tonight, everything changes.”

You grinned as the four of you put your hotdogs together in cheers before taking a bite of them.

Immediately, you stopped chewing, glancing up at the boys in disgust, Luke and Alex had both stopped like you, but your brother just kept going. “That’s a new flavor.” Alex mumbled holding his dog up as you nodded.

“So, it’s not just mine?” You asked, very alarmed by the taste.

Reggie just licked his fingers free of the mustard on them before looking at you and Alex. “Chill guys, street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” He assured you and you reluctantly nodded and kept eating.

Oh, how you should’ve stopped.

You remember feeling sick, you remember the ambulance, you remember floating away from the ambulance, you remember dying. How did this night go so wrong, so quick?

The four of you only spent an hour, or so it seemed, in a black room, none of you quite sure what was happening, but it didn’t stop you from trying to cheer Alex up as he cried. Luke and Reggie stood back, completely unsure how to even help Alex as you hugged him, sending the others glares every time they spoke. You thought you’d be in the dark room forever before hearing the boy’s song playing in the distance, seeming to get louder until you were enveloped in light. The four of you started screaming, doing so until you landed flat on your backs. Groaning from the pain, you felt Reggie writhe on the floor next to you.

The music stopped as you all slowly stood up, immediately you started looking around the room and you realized where you were. “How did we get back here?” Luke asked, earning nods from you before your eyes landed on a young girl in front of you.

Before you could say anything, she started screaming, making the boys scream as well as they clutched each other and you. You just stood there almost dazed as the girl ran out of the studio. Finally, they stopped screaming as you looked at them wide eyed. “What just happened?”

No one knew what was happening, one second you were sitting in a dark room and now you were back in the studio? Could this day get any weirder?

“We’re dead. We died, and now we’re here?” you began as your breathing hitched, looking at the boys. “Are we ghosts?”

They just stared at you, each of their brows furrowing before Alex shook his head. “Nope. No way, not possible.” Alex said before he started pacing. You deeply sighed, locking his arm with yours and getting him to look at your face, trying to show him you were serious. You knew he didn’t like change, but this wasn’t something he could ignore.

When Alex looked like he’d stop pacing, you let him go, turning around to see Reggie standing there. You furrowed your brows. “Where’s Luke?”

Reggie spun around, thinking his best friend was standing right beside him, but he wasn’t. “Um, I don’t know.” He opened his mouth, just about to call out his name before Luke called his name from the Studio’s loft.

The three of you spun around, mouth’s agape at how he got up there so quick before he was right behind you, tapping your shoulder to get your attention. You just stared at him, unsure how he did it. “Woah cool!” Reggie beamed. “How did you do that?”

Luke shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought about it.” His response made you and Alex share a look as Reggie was completely on board.

“Oh sure. It’s that eas-“ Before Alex could finish his sentence, Reggie was gone and you jumped back, feeling Luke grab you as you bumped into him. You didn’t say anything as he let go of you, both of you separating before Alex was gone himself.

You turned to Luke, nervous written straight across your face. “It’s that easy?” You asked quietly, looking around for your brother and best friend.

Luke nodded and stretched a hand out to you. “It’s that easy.” You took his hand, quickly bringing the thought of teleporting to your head before you were gone just the others.

As soon as you were gone, the young girl crept slowing into the studio again, only this time she was holding a cross, pointing it around the room as she moved petrified. “Are you still here, whatever you are?” She asked, her voice shaking before she sighed and put the cross down. “I know I saw something. I’m not crazy.”

It was that moment that the four of you reappeared behind her. “Well, we’re all a little crazy.” Luke said as he stepped forward, frightening the girl as she jumped and spun around. She started screaming again, making you all flinch as you grabbed Reggie’s arm.

“Oh my god! Please stop screaming!” Alex yelled at her as she finally stopped, but the cross she was pointing around the room earlier was directed at the four of you.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my mom’s studio?” You furrowed your brows, glancing to Reggie who was just as confused.

Luke stepped up, voicing everyone’s confusion. “Your mom’s studio?” He said moving to the girl before the cross was thrusted at him and he tried to avoid it. “This is our studio!” You felt Reggie tug on your sleeve as you looked to him, seeing his eyes move about the room and particularly the roof. You hadn’t bothered looking around before, you figured it would be in the same condition you left it in, but this? This was different than your studio. There were chairs hanging from the ceiling, pots and plants you definitely had never put in, and a big grand piano right in the middle of the room.

What happened to your studio?

You were so focused on your own glancing around, you hadn’t been listening to Luke talk to the girl until he put his arm around your shoulder, trying to get you to focus on his talk. “How did she get her stuff in here so fast?”

“Maybe- Maybe she’s a witch.” Your brother said as you turned to him dumbfounded. He noticed your look and pointed up. “There are chairs hanging from the ceiling!”

“Ok, there are no such thing as witches.” Alex told him, honestly not surprised Reggie would suggest that.

Reggie made a face at him. “You sure? Because I used to think there’s no such thing as ghosts.”

Alex paused before nodding. “That’s fair.” He muttered as you took a breath, turning to Luke for help.

“So, we’re going with a witch?” Luke asked as your eyes widened.

“No! We’re not going with a witch!” you told them, burying your head in your hands briefly before looking over Luke’s shoulder at the girl. “Look, she’s not a witch, she’s scared.” The boys turned around, seeing her still thrusting out the cross as Alex put a hand on Luke and your shoulders.

“Let someone with a softer touch handle this.” He said before turning to her. Luke, Reggie and you shared a look.

“Oh god.” You mumbled, bringing a hand up to hold your head as you watched Alex stop in front of her.

He cleared his throat. “Why are you in our studio?” You rolled your eyes, knowing Alex was going to do something weird. The girl, having no clue what was happening, shoved the cross at Alex and the five of you watched as it went right through him.

She was shocked, watching her hand go through Alex before she pulled it out. “Oh my gosh, how did you do that?!” She shouted.

Alex shook his head. “You’re not understanding.” He said before he turned to you three. “Clearly she’s not getting it.” He looked back at her, making you slightly nervous. “We’re ghosts, all right? We’re just four ghosts, really happy to be home.” He began, gesturing back to you three before over the girl’s shoulder. “Thank you for the flowers, they really brighten up the room.”

“Alex.” You called him, quickly realizing the girl wasn’t accepting it still. He looked back at you, seeing your eyes widened momentarily to tell him to stop as he nodded, moving back with the group.

Luke decided to have his go. “We’re in a band called Sunset Curve.”

“Tell your friends.” Reggie butted it, always ready to promote the band when he could.

The three of them nodded in response. “Last night was supposed to be a pretty big night for us.” Luke went on. “It was supposed to change our lives.”

You let out a laugh, biting your lip before meeting Luke’s eyes. “I think it did.” You told him, pointing out the fact you were, you know, dead.

“This is freaking me out.” The girl said, causing Luke and you to break eye contact to see her pulling something out of her pocket.

Luke furrowed his brows, bringing a hand up to point at whatever was in her hands. “What’s that? What are you doing?” The girl shoved the cross in Luke’s face as he stepped forwards and you grabbed his arm, making him drop it but you never let go of it, too focused on what she doing.

“It’s my phone.” She told you and you nodded slowly, trying to looking at the screen of it. She stopped herself. “Nope stop talking to them. They aren’t real. There’s no such thing as cute ghosts.” She tried to reason with herself.

Reggie chuckled. “You think we’re cute?” You rolled your eyes.

“Obviously she’s talking about me.” You told him, playing with his ego as his face fell and you saw Luke smirk as he nudged you slightly.

Alex was the only one still focused on the girl for the moment. “Who you calling?” He whispered as he stepped forward to peer over the edge of the phone.

The cross was once again thrusted in his face. “I’m googling Sunset Swerve.”

“Sunset Curve!” The boys defended as you braced yourself, knowing that was coming. She just let out a laugh shakily before turning back to her phone, pulling up an article and reading it, her face slowly falling.

“Woah,” She began, looking between the boys. “There is a Sunset Curve. You did die.” She said before stopping. Everyone nodded, but she furrowed her brows. “But not last night.”

“What?” You asked, growing confused.

“Twenty-five years ago?”

“What?” Reggie repeated from you, shaking his head as you let out a nervous laugh, feeling your grip tighten on Luke’s arm as he slowly moved it up to hold your hand, knowing you were freaking out. “No, no, no, no. That’s impossible.” Freaking out much like you were on the inside. “After we floated out of the ambulance, all we did was go into that weird dark room where Alex cried.”

“Well...” Alex cut him off, his voice going high as he opposed your brother’s words. “I don’t think- I think we were all pretty upset. Right Y/N?” He looked past Luke, glancing at you and you nodded, playing along and gave him a thumbs up.

“But that was only for like an hour.” Luke cut in. “We just got here.”

The girl shook her hand, holding her phone out for you all to read. “Look, I’m telling you what my phone says.” You leaned in, reading all about your brothers and your friends’ deaths in the article as she spoke. “See? You died in 1995. When you were 17.” You barely paid attention to her, staring at the article where the 4 of your names sat under a picture of the boys. “It’s now 2020.”

“So, this is the future?” Reggie asked and slowly you let your hand fall out of Luke’s, not purposely, but Luke looked to you as it happened, seeing the look on your face as you stared at the now empty space the phone used to be.

“So, so it has been 25 years?” Alex asked, his hands started shaking as he wrapped his mind wrapped around this new information. “I have been crying for 25 years?!” He shouted, moving his hands a lot as he processed. “How is that possible?”

“Well, you’re a very emotional person.” Reggie told him.

“I am not!”

A new voice to the room pulled you out of your mind, and you looked up seeing Luke’s eyes almost latched on the girl, right in time to move to let a little boy walk up to her. “I thought you were afraid to come out here.” You all watched him, unsure of whether he could see you until he didn’t spare any of you a glance. “Are you talking to your ghost friend? How does he look? Is he hideous?”

You smirked, looking up to your brother who knew exactly what was coming. “Look Reggie. He can see you.” He shot you a mocking look as you stifled a laugh, hearing Luke and Alex chuckle before the girl’s eyes shot to you.

“No, he can’t.” She said quickly, becoming aware of the fact she could see you all, and her little brother couldn’t.

The boy just looked around, staring right through you all. “What?” He asked before the girl shook his question off, asking what he needed. “A normal sister for starters.” He told her as your eyes widened, taking in the attitude on this little boy. “Stop being weird and come eat.”

He walked out as you chuckled. “I liked him.” You admitted, seeing the boys roll their eyes.

“Must be a younger sibling thing, then.” Reggie muttered to you as you stuck your tongue out at him.

“He couldn’t see you.” Your banter was broken as the girl stared where her brother disappeared.

Alex nodded. “Well, that’s usually how ghosts work.” He told her. You let out a breath. Ghosts. How were you supposed to be a ghost? It’s not like there was an instruction pamphlet.

She pushed right past you all, clearly irritated with you all before pausing. “Look, I’m very sorry for what happened to you guys, but this isn’t your studio anymore. You have to leave.” Your face fell.

“Wait!” Luke called out to her before she could leave. She spun around, eyeing him to continue. “We didn’t get your name.”

“It’s Julie.” She said before Luke smiled at her. It was that moment your stomach tightened, making you look away to your brother who noticed your movement and moved past Alex slowly, throwing an arm around your shoulder and pulling you close to his side.

“Cool.” Luke said, stepping forward and reaching his hand out. “I-I’m Luke.” He stuttered and you tried to pretend you didn’t notice it. Julie threw the cross up again as Luke stepped back, beginning to introduce you all now. “This is-“ He pointed to your brother, seeing you tucked neatly in his arm, but he didn’t say anything.

“Reggie. I’m Reggie.” He said before looking to you.

“I’m Y/N.” You said, giving her a little wave.

“Alex. How’s it going.” Alex said awkwardly as Luke joined the rest of you, stretching his arms out to ‘introduce’ you all.

“Ba-da!” He said softy before letting his arms drop.

Julie looked at him unimpressed. “Okay?” She said before turning out of the studio and walking away, leaving the four of you standing there with no clue what to do.

“Julie seems nice.” Your brother said as your arm came up to hit him gently on the chest, making him let go of you.

You walked over to the couch, flopping down on it like you’ve done millions of times before as Alex spoke. “Did you miss the part where she kicked us out? Or…?” Reggie stayed silent, making a face that gave Alex his answer. “Yeah, okay.” He muttered as the boys tried to figure out what to do. Luke pushed past your brother, having watched you lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling.

He joined you, sitting by your head as your feet dangled off the edge. You didn’t say anything, looking at the ceiling as Luke kept glancing at you, trying to hide what he was doing.

You rolled your eyes, sitting up and turning to face him. “You’re making me sick with the constant looking back and forth, what do you want?” You said with a smirk as Luke let out a nervous laugh, turning to face you more as well.

“How are you holding up?” He asked and you your lips fell into a line as you moved again, now facing the room and doing whatever you could to not look at him.

“How am I holding up?” You let out a laugh. “Luke, I wasn’t supposed to play one of the biggest gigs of my careers so far before being taken out by a hotdog.” He laughed too, his hand falling so naturally on your leg you weren’t sure if he noticed. But you did. You always did.

He was about to speak again but your brother interrupted. “What if we go talk to her?” He asked, looking around for advice. Luke stood up, loosing contact with your leg as he made his way right over the table.

“Talk to her?” You asked, keeping your spot on the couch.

Reggie nodded, adjusting his jacket. “Yeah, convince her to let us stay.” Alex and Luke right away were down, ready to convince the random girl to let you guys crash in her studio. “Y/N, you coming?” Reggie asked as the three of them started towards the door.

You hesitated but shook your head. “I’m fine. I don’t see this ending any other way but badly.” You admitted, seeing the smiles on their faces as they all shrugged and walked right through the door. Luke was last, casting one last glance your way but again, you weren’t looking at him. He frowned but followed Alex and Reggie out.

As soon as they were gone, you let out a shaky breath and looked around. 25 years. It’s really been 25 years since you last stepped in this room? Pushing yourself up from the couch, you walked around slowly, noticing more differences in the room. It was cleaner. The boy’s dirty shirts and sweatshirts weren’t tossed everywhere, ready for you to yell at them to clean up. It seemed more girly with more décor and flowers around the room. And the instruments were all different. In particularly, that grand piano. You glanced to the door, noting the boys weren’t back as you walked over to it, letting your fingers dance across the surface before you uncovered the keys.  

There was a song sheet sitting on top and you glanced over it briefly. You took a deep breath, letting your fingers rest on a few familiar keys, but before you could play them, the boys returned. You quickly shut the keyboard cover, rushing away from the piano before any of them saw.

“How did it go?” You ask when you got far enough away and the boys were arguing with each other, not at all paying attention to you. You giggled, making them stop as you crossed your arms. “That well then?”

They all exchanged looks before looking to you embarrassed. “You were right.” They said at almost the same time, making you roll your eyes fondly at them all. They began to tell you what happened as they slowly grabbed their instruments, already knowing what the others were thinking. Without another word, they all started playing, making you smile at them. You leaned back in the nearest chair, watching them play before the studio doors opened and an angry Julie barged in.

She tried yelling over the music to get the boys to stop, but they weren’t listening, even trying to play for her. You quickly jumped up, bringing your hand up to wave in front of your neck to tell them to stop playing. If Julie was already mad, not listening to her was only going to make things worse.

“The whole neighborhood could hear you. I thought I told you to leave.” She stressed as the guys and you shared looks.

“Wait, people could hear us play?”

“Yes!” Julie shouted at Luke’s question. “And so did my dad and my brother!”

The boys started striping themselves of their instruments, processing this information just like you were. “Wait, wait,” Alex began, “So, only you can see us, but everyone can hear us?” The boys started getting excited, Luke bouncing on his feet as Reggie looked between you and his bandmates with glee. “What kind of ghosts are we?!”

“Who cares man!” Luke cut off his questions. “People can hear us play!” They all shared fist bumps with each other as you looked at Julie, seeing her annoyance with the situation.

“We might be dead, but our music isn’t!”

The door to the studio opened behind you as you turned around, getting out of the way as a man walked almost right into you. “Dad!” Julie shouted as Reggie grabbed you, keeping you from tripping over your feet.

Julie’s dad, Ray, just gave her a small smile. “Just making sure you’re okay.” He told her before she made up a lie about needing to turn off the CD player. He nodded, almost leaving before seeing Alex’s drum kit out as well as Reggie’s bass and Luke’s guitar. “Is this the junk that was in the loft?”

“Junk?” Luke asked incredulously and you had to admit, even you took offense. Their instruments were not junk. Ray moved forward, coming to Alex’s drums and hitting them, not even trying to play correctly. Everyone watched him, not sure what to say to stop him.

“Some of this stuff’s in pretty good shape.” He said, glancing up to his daughter. “Maybe we can make a couple bucks.” He started playing with the cymbals, making Alex freak out.

“Stop touching my drums!” He shouted at Ray before remembering he couldn’t hear him. He turned to Julie. “Tell him to stop touching my drums!”

Luke turned to you and Julie, both of you already sharing a what-are-we-supposed-to-do-about-it look before Ray moved away from the drums and you let out a relieved sigh. “I liked that song you had on earlier.”

“Sweet! We’re Sunset Curve!” Reggie said as you rolled your eyes, moving back to your chair from earlier and falling on it, letting your feet dangle off the side as Luke told Ray to tell his friends, as if Ray could hear him.

“It was just an old CD.” Julie lied again, avoiding looking at the boys.

“Well, it’s nice to know you’re listening to music again.” You furrowed your brows at Ray’s words. Why would she not listen to music? Why would she stop listening to music? “Out here you can play whatever you want, whenever you want.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke, unknowingly driving his hand right through Luke and Reggie’s stomach, and much like it had with Julie and Alex earlier, his hands went through. Sitting back and watching, Julie snapped at the boys, making her father think she was obviously talking to him. Ray went into supportive dad mode and immediately it made your face fall with jealousy. You wish yours was like hers. Instead, he was always fighting with your mom, too busy to remember little things about Reggie’s and your life, like Reggie’s gigs, or even your birthday.

As soon as Ray was gone, you rolled off the chair, straightening your clothes out. “He likes our song.” Luke smiled as you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, he doesn’t count.” You told him, putting his shoulder.

Alex, who agreed with you, nodded. “He’s a dad.”

“Why can’t you guys be normal ghosts?” Julie asked out of desperation. “Hang out at an old mansion. I hear Pasadena’s nice.” She opened the Studio door, stomping out before closing it right after.

The four of you just looked at each other. “I think she’s warming up to us.” Alex said with obvious sarcasm as you snorted out a laugh.

Reggie nodded. “I’ve always wanted to go to Pasadena.” He said, looking at you and you smiled, remembering your brother did in fact always bug your parents about going to Pasadena. Always being met with the same answer of ‘no’.

“I’ve got this.” Luke said briefly before disappearing, most likely going to talk to Julie. Reggie looked at you as soon as Luke was gone, but you didn’t look at him, not wanting to deal with his so called ‘brother’s intuition’. What ever he was thinking, was wrong.

“Come on.” Alex said, reading the room as he turned towards the door. Reggie and you followed and the three of you walked right through it, seeing Luke and Julie talking on the steps to her house. Luke was trying to explain to her how much music meant to them, how playing in the Studio just then was the first time they felt alive in 25 years. He even brought up Julie’s mom, saying how she is into music. But Julie brought all your spirits down, telling you all that her mom had passed.

“You guys haven’t seen her anywhere, have you?” Julie asked awkwardly, not quite sure how this whole ghost thing worked. Not like you had any clue.

You shook your head, much like the boys did as Alex spoke up. “No, um, you’re actually the first person we’ve seen.” He admitted and Julie’s face fell.

“Yeah, but she’s not dead.” Reggie butted in as your head snapped his way. “So, that doesn’t really answer her question.” He said before looking at you, seeing your wide eyes which meant it was time for him to stop talking. He did and you took his arm, laying your head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” You told Julie who forced a smile at you and looked to the ground.

“Thanks.” She whispered. She looked up, seeing you smile at her. “Sorry I got mad.” She said and you shook your head, telling her it was alright as you let go of Reggie and she looked between the boys. “You guys are kinda good.”

“Kinda?” Luke eyes snapped to hers, and you stifled a laugh. “Y-you know that was 25 years of rust just getting dusted off, right?” The three of you watching them laughed together.

“Do you play piano too?” Reggie asked and immediately Julie answered no.

“No, I don’t play. That’s my mom’s stuff in there.”

“No way, she’s an amazing songwriter.” Luke told her as you watched his smile grow slowly on his face as he spoke to her.

Julie nodded but with a frown on her face. “She was.” She paused before her brows furrowed. “Wait, how do you know?”

Luke licked his lips and faced her fully. “There’s a song on the piano, if its hers,” he stopped himself, calming himself down with the remembrance that Julie’s mom had passed. “She was really talented.”

You saw that song earlier sitting on the piano, Luke must have looked when you weren’t paying attention but he was right. It was amazing.

Julie looked saddened by Luke’s words and started to turn around. Luke, seeing her actions, turned back to the three of you and your eyes met almost instinctively. “I guess,” Julie began as she turned back around, knowing she didn’t have the heart to throw the four of you out. “If you need a place to stay, you can stay in there.” She gestured to the studio as the four of you smiled wide, happy she wasn’t leaving you to fend for yourselves. “There’s a bathroom in the back and a couch that turns into a bed, if you still need any of that stuff.”

“Dibs on the shower!” Reggie shouted, not surprising you in the utmost. Everyone looked at him shocked but you. He just happily shrugged. “I just really love showers and the occasional bath.”

You rolled your eyes. You had to battle your brother for bathroom time when you were alive and you still have to in the afterlife? Not fair.

“This…” Julie said, moving her hands in front of the three of you. “This is just too weird.” She turned to leave and you four kept in your excitement until she was gone. Luke jumped down from the path he was standing on and threw his arm around your shoulders as you four walked back into the studio together.

Not knowing what to do for the rest of the night, Luke suggested a visit to the place you had planned on spending your night. The Orpheum. The band and you transported yourselves there to sit on marque.

You were sat between Luke and Reggie as you looked at the people passing beneath you, unaware of your presence entirely. Luke glanced at you, nudging you with his shoulder as he patted Alex’s leg. “Hey, I know being dead isn’t our first choice, but it sure makes getting around easier.”

You offered a forced smile yet your eyes went right back to people watching. “Easy for you maybe.” Reggie said as you looked at him, eyes widening when you realized your brother didn’t have a shirt on. “I lost a shirt in that one!”

You glanced down to your own clothes, seeing your flannel, shirt, and ripped jeans all there before you breathed out. “Oh thank god.” Luke laughed at you as Reggie made his shirt reappear. Your cheeks heated up, hiding a smile from Luke that he saw nonetheless.

“So, why’d you bring us here? Just a painful reminder of where we never got to play.” You glanced up, looking at the neon blue sign. Alex patted Luke’s chest. “Thanks Luke.”

“I mean, boys,” Luke stopped himself and looked at you with a cheesy smile, “and Y/N,” he added as you rolled your eyes, not having minded being grouped with the boys, “the game’s not over yet.” He said before you all disappeared and reappeared on the walk below. You stood in the back this time, knowing this was more about the boys than it was you and you were happy to just look around. Reggie walked right through a man as you stifled a laugh and did the same, smiling at the first time you felt a person pass through you. You were all ready to feel it again as a man in a cape and top hat headed straight for Alex. You confused on the man’s look, not seeing anyone else with such a strange appearance, but you were even more so confused when Alex didn’t walk through the man. Instead, their shoulder smacked into each other, resulting in a collision with you as well that knocked you off your feet.

Alex immediately helped you up, but he was too busy looking at the mysterious man, as were you. He tipped his hat at you both as you stood confused. “Are you okay?” Alex asked and you nodded, not looking away from the man whose back was turned to you.

“Yeah, I’m fine, but what was that? Who was that?” You knew Alex didn’t have the answers to you, if you didn’t know then he didn’t know.

“Alex, Y/N! You coming?” Luke’s voice called back as Alex ran a hand through his hair and tugged your arm, bringing you back to reality as you both ran after Luke and Reggie, ready to spend the nights walking the streets of LA. You decided to avoid people after that, deciding you didn’t want to end up on your butt again.

By the time morning set, you were growing tired of walking. Sure getting around as a ghost was easy, but right now all you wanted to do was collapse back on your couch. The boys finally listened to you, all of them getting tired as well and you brought yourselves back to the studio, ready to collapse before you froze.

Julie was playing the piano. The song she was playing, the one that sat on the piano yesterday, filled the air as the four of you stood behind her. She was amazing. Her voice was something you never heard before causing goosebumps to travel up and down your skin despite the flannel that had kept you warm all night. The sun came through the windows behind you as you felt Luke’s hand find yours, but neither of you looked away from Julie as she played the last notes, an ache in your chest as she stopped and you wished there were more.

Wake up.

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#Luke Patterson x Reader #Luke Patterson imagine #Reggie Peters x sister!Reader #Luke Patterson #Reggie Peters #Luke Patterson series #Julie and the Phantoms #Julie and the Phantoms x reader #Julie and the Phantoms imagine #JATP #JATP imagine #JATP x reader #JATP series #Red writes

[amiedala]

SOMETHING MORE (the mandalorian x reader)

CHAPTER 24: There's the Kicker

RATING: Explicit (18+ ONLY!!!)

WARNINGS: this chapter doesn't warrant warnings except brief mentions of violence!

SUMMARY: When you hear your name, you think you’re hallucinating it. It comes out of nowhere, and the voice that it comes from is familiar, trusting, warm. And there’s the kicker: it’s unmodulated. You’re pretty sure you’re imagining it, because you’ve spent so many nights playing over Din’s voice in your mind, his promises, the way he broke them.

And still, you freeze, turning around, feeling completely suspended on the space-time continuum. Standing there, unmasked, heartbreak written all over his face, is your Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian. As your heart hammers, drowning out every impulse to run towards him and jump into his arms, you have to remind yourself he left you, and even though he found you, he’s not yours anymore.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: HELLO MY LOVES SO SORRY THIS IS DAY LATE!! i had a lot of family and personal stuff come up on the back half of the week, and the chapter just wasn't where i wanted it to be last night. i hope this makes up for it! and i promise, the next chapter is going to be muchhhhh longer, and (in my opinion) very good ;) ENJOY!!

*

Getting back to Hoth feels like trying to run up a staircase that doesn’t fully exist.

Your starfighter, the one you put together with your aching hands and a little bit of wishful thinking, is rebelling against you. It’s fitting, you think, trying to hit warp for the thousandth time, that in the Crest’s unceremonious, splintered death, it left behind a new ship for you can wrangle in its wake. Immediately, you feel awful, swearing and kicking the parts of your hand-me-down Rebel ship into shape, reminding yourself that your home—the physical part of it, at least—is gone, and it makes you want to break down in the middle of space, get lost in the stars and not think about anything in this forsaken galaxy ever again.

But every time you close your eyes, you see the lightsaber glow green, and you know somewhere deep in your chest that Wedge called you back for a reason. It’s colossal and monumental in the same thundering way finding Din and the baby for the first time was, as illuminated and fated as meeting Ahsoka. There’s something here, something real, something more, if General Luke Skywalker himself sent Wedge a hologram and shook your old friend up this badly.

Finally, you get the ship to move. You kick the malfunctioning warp system a few times before she shudders to life and groans under your pressure. “Kicker,” you mutter, flipping all the colorful, variant buttons on the dashboard to get her to move. “Kicker, that’s what I’m gonna call you. I’d name you Rebel,” you continue, punching the ship into hyperspace, “but that one might be a little too on the nose. What do you think?”

Because it’s a ship, Kicker doesn’t say anything. You smile though, a small, stolen one, and as you exit the crush of warp in front of the icy behemoth that is Hoth, you feel your heart aerating and releasing, nervousness building a colony of butterflies up in your stomach. Luke Skywalker, you whisper a few times, turning his name over in your mouth. You know he’s real. You’ve seen him before, only from a distance, but you’ve heard the concrete stories, the way he turned from desert farm boy into the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy. He’s the kind of man that can turn into myth with the right storyteller, and he’s always awed you. There’s a part of you that connects to him—something yearning and desperate, that part of the tales you always heard where he keeps trying to save people beyond saving.

Wedge knows him. Knew him, maybe, with the mystique surrounding the Jedi that Luke became, but you’ve seen the way Wedge talks about him, how the double suns of Tatooine shine in his eyes, his enthusiasm, his kindness. And you know they haven’t seen each other in ages, because Wedge has been from one end of the galaxy to the next, and Luke—you aren’t on a first name basis, he’ll always be General Skywalker, but there’s something about the way he appeared in your vision that makes you feel closer to him—well, Luke’s been becoming a Jedi.

And after perceiving said Jedi on the seeing stone immediately after your premonitions of Grogu getting whisked away by something evil? It feels like too close of a coincidence. And you don’t believe in coincidences to begin with.

The descent to Hoth feels even colder and slower when you’re shivering in anticipation before you even break through the planet’s atmosphere. You’re in your jumpsuit, and one of the spare blankets from your makeshift bed in the back of the cockpit is draped over your legs, but you’re still freezing. It feels like forever until you’re finally docked and you can sprint towards the control room where Wedge told you he would be, boots stomping heavy and intentional against the frozen ground.

“W—” you wheeze, immediately skidding to a halt the second that you breach the doorframe, all the breath leaving your lungs, “what did he say?”

The room, you realize, a second too late, is full. There’s seven people splayed around the hologram, and they’re all staring at you. You recognize all of their faces, both from seeing them around here on base, and from your youth when you were still a fully integrated member of the Alliance, and you feel the heat rush to your cheeks as you pull your helmet off, trying to walk over to where Wedge is standing with as much grace as you can muster.

“It seems like some of the message is corrupted,” Wedge manages, lowly, pulling you gently out of the way of the other people talking urgently over the holotable. “He said something about a new Jedi, though, and that he’s heading back to find them—”

“Me?” you blurt.

Wedge startles. “What?”

You bite your lip, grabbing his arm and dragging him a bit further away, hoping to avoid the other generals’ earshot. “I—I was on Tython,” you breathed, “just now. And before my fiancé and our kid abandoned—left me on Dantooine, we were on Corvus. Where we met with a Jedi—I think. I don’t know if she identifies as one anymore. Her lightsabers were white.”

Wedge blinks at you. “What?” he repeats, and you steal a nervous look at the others gathered around the hologram. Some of them are examining the table itself, others are watching you, and you feel both incredibly small and incredibly judged. “You’re not making sense, rebel girl. What about you?”

You inhale. It’s shaky, but it’s a start. You’re still out of breath. “I—I’m Force sensitive,” you whisper, as quietly as you can, “that’s why I was left on Dantooine. The baby—Grogu, our son—he’s also Force sensitive, and Moff Gideon was after the both of us. It was safer if we split up. Can,” you interrupt yourself, still out of breath, “can you play me the message? I think that Luke—General Skywalker—might have been talking about me.”

Wedge stares at you. After a second, he takes a half step back, but the look on his face, disbelief, is so close to Din’s of confusion and betrayal after you showed him the same piece of information about yourself. You swallow, suddenly self-conscious, pulling your braid over your shoulder.

“How long have you known?” Wedge whispers, voice urgent. “About your abilities?”

You shake your head. “Not long,” you promise, “two months at most. Listen—”

“Why did you say yes to me?” Wedge interrupts. “Why did you come here? We’re barely anything, right now, Nova, the Alliance is completely scattered after the fall of the Empire. There’s not enough of us to protect you.”

You blink, anger slowly filling up the expression on your face. “I can protect myself,” you hiss back, “and, besides, I’m not—I’m not dangerous, Wedge, and I can take care of myself. Besides,” you say, trying not to choke, “I think Gideon has the baby right now, b—because our ship was shot to shit—”

Wedge faces you again, putting both of his broad hands on your shoulder. Immediately, you close your mouth, suddenly anxious. You don’t know what he wants from you, and you don’t know if you should have told him about everything. But if he was friends—close friends—with Luke Skywalker, he shouldn’t be this uncertain about your Force sensitivity. You bite your lip, unsure how to react, but you can feel the anger and desperation slowly building back up in your chest, billowing like an old, ancient flame.

“Moff Gideon,” Wedge says, voice low, “is after your fiancé and your kid?”

Troubled, eyes furrow, you nod. “Yes.”

“And when you just left the base earlier today,” Wedge continues, his voice intense but slightly strained, “where did you go?”

“I—” You inhale, sharply, breaking his intent gaze to look over at the rest of the people in the room. Almost every single one of them is outfitted in the regalia reserved for admirals and generals, and the ones who aren’t are pilots. You know the uniform. You’re practically wearing it yourself. They’re all looking at you with a strangeness to them, eyes flickering back and forth between you and Wedge, as if asking for permission. “When we met Ahsoka Tano on Corvus,” you continue, trying to direct your conversation to both Wedge and the others in the room, “she told us—me and Grogu, my kid—that she couldn’t train us, because we had emotional attachments to one another. But she told us to go to the planet Tython,” you pause to swallow, mouth dry, “because it has a strong connection with the Force, and we could connect with a Jedi who could.” You stop, looking back at Wedge. “I heard him,” you whisper, “and I saw him. His lightsaber, lighting up the hallway of an Imperial cruiser. I know that Gideon was after my family.” You pause again, inhaling a shivering breath. “When I was just on Tython, I saw our ship. It was just rubble.” You’re trying so hard not to cry, but you can’t help yourself. “I’ve had visions, Force visions, for months now, of the planet. Gideon and his troops were after the baby, and I know Tython is where they took him.”

Wedge’s hand is up against his chin. He exchanges a quick, unreadable look at one of the generals, and then he faces back to you. “How many men does Gideon have?”

You look around at the people in the room again, and decidedly take a step forward, towards the table, towards the paused, flickering, blue hologram of Luke Skywalker pulsating up from the table. “A lot,” you admit, hand flying to your necklace before you startle with the realization that it’s not there, that you gave it to Grogu right before you were deserted out on Dantooine. “I know the galaxy is still in reparations from the fallen Empire.” You swallow, trying to meet the eyes of the rest of the people in the room. “But I don’t think the Empire is as fallen as we previously thought.”

Wedge moves in behind you, and a space opens up around the table. You smile, grateful, falling into rank with the other eight people in the room. “That’s what we’ve been afraid of,” he affirms, bumping his shoulder gently into yours, the same thing your dad always did when he wanted to include you. You let your stature relax, leaning in to examine the pulsing of the hologram on the table. “After we defeated the Empire, most people left the Alliance. It seemed like the natural thing to do when there wasn’t active, visible evil to fight off anymore. People wanted to get on with their lives.” He inhales, deeply. You can see worry lines chiseled into places they weren’t before, the last time you saw him. “Luke, though.” He stares at the rotating disillusion of his friend as he exhales, “Luke knew it wasn’t over. He’s been all over the place,” Wedge says, and this part sounds like it’s just for you, “trying to find people who can use the Force like he can, and like you can too. Trying to rebuild the Jedi Order.”

You swallow, looking up at him. “What does the hologram say?” Your voice comes out shaky and small.

Wedge sighs, pressing the button to play the message.

“Wedge,” Luke says, voice tinny but full of relief. “It’s been a long time, and I know you’re busy, but I need your help.” You watch, transfixed, at the blue, flickering image of the greatest Jedi in the galaxy. You swallow. “I think I’ve found someone. Maybe two people, I can’t be sure. I felt it through the Force.” He pauses again, giving Wedge a look that feels private, intimate, like something only for him to see. You avert your eyes. “I’m headed to the planet Tython. Then—then I’d like your help, and the Alliance’s, to help safeguard whoever I find.” You look at Wedge. “I know it isn’t fair to ask. I know I’ve been distant for a long time. But I need you to know that the galaxy is still in danger. I feel it, Wedge, and I know you can too. I’ll see you soon.” And with that, the holotable flicks off, the rotating, grainy, blue image of Luke Skywalker himself turned to dust.

“He found you,” Wedge says, but it sounds more like a question.

“No,” you whisper, voice small. “No—I saw him, but it was a premonition. I didn’t call out to him.” Your eyelids flutter, because you’re trying to hold back tears. “Grogu,” you say, voice even smaller than it was before. “Gideon has Grogu.”

Wedge exchanges looks with the others in the room, then looks back at you. You’re exhausted, and you rub your hands over your tired eyes, pressing until you see stars. “So Luke is going after Moff Gideon?”

“Yes.”

“So we need to help him.”

You spin around, back to Wedge and the generals. “No,” you enunciate, trying to stress just how bad that idea is with a single syllable. Then your words come flooding back. “No. We—you, any of you—cannot go after Gideon. I know you want to, and I know you’ve taken down plenty of the Empire, so I know you’re capable, but you can’t.” You look back at Wedge. “You can’t,” you whisper again. “I’ve seen him. He’s flattened entire cities in his destroyers, and he’s ruthless. He’s power-hungry, and anyone or anything that stands in the way of that is something that will soon be dead. I held him off once,” you say, projecting this part to the rest of the room, “once, and I barely got out of there in time, and it drained me for days. I still feel that exhaustion here. You can’t help Luke with this. Protecting me, and whoever the other Jedi are—that’s what you need to do. I know this is horrible. I know you probably feel helpless.” You swallow, fingers grasping around open air around your throat where your necklace used to be. “But you can’t take on Gideon. Not alone. And not even with all of you. I’ve seen how that story ends. It cost me my family.”

Wedge stares at you. “So you’re suggesting we do nothing? To help Luke Skywalker? To get your kids and fiancé back?”

The question burns. You meet his gaze. “No,” you answer, finally, “I’m suggesting we strategize before we attack.”

There’s rumblings from the generals in the background, but Wedge holds up a hand, and the low voices cease. You swallow, trying to push your shoulders back, give off confidence, but you’re not sure if it’s working. Wedge nods at you, and you feel relief spread through your whole body as he turns back to the generals. “Nova’s right,” he says. “There’s not enough of us left to adequately fight off Gideon and the troops he has.”

“He has a weapon, an awful one,” you say, stepping forward. “It’s called the Darksaber.”

No one seems to blink an eye at that one, but Wedge looks at you. “Is Gideon Force sensitive, too?” he asks, and you shake your head.

“No,” you answer, softly, “but this weapon isn’t like a lightsaber. It’s cruel, and ruthless, and its blade is black, vibrating with a ring of white around it. He can use it, and he has, and he’ll continue to until he’s been stopped—”

Suddenly, all the lights start blinking, sirens blaring. You jump back in panic as everyone immediately mobilizes, starts pulling weapons out of hidden places, running out of the room. Wedge beckons for you to follow him, so you do, and your legs scream with the soreness of trying to climb to the top of the seeing stone back on Tython.

“What’s happening?” you yell, following Wedge into another control room.

“We’re under attack,” he answers, grimly, his face paling. “You need to go.”

You blink, coming to an abrupt halt. “What?”

“It’s Gideon’s men,” Wedge says, turning around to face you. “It’s not Gideon himself. But he’s sent in three fighters, and they’re big ones. I assume they’re after you?” he asks, and your stomach twists. Wedge starts striding towards the hangar, and you follow him, immediately getting blasted in the face with Hoth’s frozen air.

“It’s three fighters,” you say, urgently, “I’ve taken out six of them before, Wedge, singlehandedly, let me get in the air and I can shoot them down—”

“No,” he interrupts, “we’ve got it. I promise. You have to go. There will be a decoy ship alongside you, one that looks enough like yours so they’ll follow it. Only when that ship is clear do you leave the atmosphere, and then you immediately jump into hyperspace.”

You’re frozen.

“Do you understand?” Wedge asks, and you exhale, letting go of all the seizing stress in the pit of your stomach.

“Yes,” you answer, and he nods. You’re at Kicker, so you grab the parka out of Wedge’s outstretched hand, starting to climb.

“Rebel girl,” he calls, and you go back a step to catch his face. There’s so much there. You can feel it the same way you see how worn his worry lines were when you were reunited back on Dantooine. It’s longing, loss, and, somewhere hidden, hope. You see the way he’s trying to convey everything—condolences for your parents, plans to get Din and the baby back to you, whatever was going on between him and Luke—but he can’t vocalize it. You nod at him, smiling softly. “Fly safe,” Wedge says finally, “and let me know where you land. No matter what,” he tacks on, at the last minute, and you see for a split second how concerned he is, “do not turn around. Do you understand me?”

You want to defy him. You want to say no. You don’t want to leave, you want to stay and fight. You promised Din all that time ago that you wouldn’t run, and here you are, deserting the people that you’re supposed to protect. Finally, though, because of the look in his eyes, you nod. “Don’t you dare let them touch you,” you manage, and your voice only cracks on the last word, which is an improvement. Wedge nods back, and then he’s gone, running through the hangar to his X-Wing. You watch him take off, and your eyes track the decoy ship that’s supposed to be yours, and as the three fighters go after it, you exhale and punch it. You’re moving fast, too fast, and your takeoff is sloppy, but you know Wedge wouldn’t tell you to book it if he didn’t mean it, so you fly recklessly and you fly fast.

When you hurtle out of the atmosphere, you catch one of the fighters diverting from the group to chase after you, so you don’t even bother punching in coordinates. You just floor it. “C’mon, Kicker,” you whisper, voice low and desperate, as she shudders and groans to hop into warp. “I know you want to go slow, but now is really not the time—”

And, like the rebel she is, she sputters down to nothing.

“Fuck!” you scream, loud, too loud, it hurts your own ears, but you get up and start pounding on the dashboard while the fighter’s getting closer and closer. You look out the window as you flip switches and slam on buttons, and now you’ve got their attention, too, and you watch in panic as the ships flock to you, firing, trying to hail you on your comm.

“This is an order from Moff Gideon. Turn of your shields and lower your blasters.”

“Like hell,” you spit, “Kicker, I’m serious, I need you to work now—”

“This is an order from Moff Gideon. You have been warned once.”

“Warn me again, then,” you seethe, closing your eyes as you disconnect one of the wires and try to spark it with the other.

“This is an order from Moff Gideon. You are resisting capture. If you disobey one more time, we will fire on you instead of taking you prisoner.”

You ignore them. If this works, the ship will finally hop into warp, and you’ll be in the clear not only to evade, but to shoot back at them. If it doesn’t, you’re about to die in a fiery explosion, and all of your promises to Wedge would go—very quickly—down the drain. You cross your heart and pray to the Maker that you did the right thing, and then there’s nothing, just three very large—and very scary—TIE fighters about to surround you and take you prisoner at best, and then, finally, the glorious rebel she is, Kicker thunders to life. “Yes!” you scream, buckling in, cracking your neck, putting one hand on the accelerator and one thumb over your blasters. You have a second to do this, and you need to do it right.

“This is your final warning. Either board our ship or die.”

“Die,” you answer, your voice calm and not much like yours. As you speak, you push the accelerator forward, hit warp, and fire. You catch the biggest fighter right on the wing, not a hard hit, but enough to knock it back into the other two.

“Get back here, scum—” the pilot shouts, but you’re already in hyperspace.

“That’s Rebel scum to you,” you say, and the grin that swallows up your whole face is worth every bit of the close call.

You don’t know where to go. You don’t really care, because the farther you get away from the Alliance, the safer they’ll be, so you just set Kicker to coast through warp and lean back, seeing how far she’ll take you. Maybe she’ll dump you on a desert planet, or maybe she’ll crash land you on Nevarro again. Your heart feels daggered, impaled. There’s no way you could go back there. Sure, maybe Din wouldn’t be there, but Cara would be, and Greef Karga, and all the other people you met in the Guild. They’d ask questions, for starters, and Cara might go after Din and kick the shit out of him, and it would just leave you on the verge of tears. You want to go somewhere populated, you think, like Dantooine was, even though you know you can’t go back there yet. It’s too fresh, and Gideon’s men might come looking, and, besides, if Din wants you back, he’s going to have to chase you a little.

“Novalise,” you whisper to yourself, echoing the time almost a decade ago where you only had your name out here to hold onto, to bring you back to life. It still sounds like yours—no matter Din knowing it, no matter how you shared it with Arlen, no matter that it’s what everyone in the Alliance calls you now, after you told Wedge you prefer it to your original name. It’s yours, and right now, your own self feels like home.

So you coast. You hop out of warp every few hours to make sure that no one’s after you, but no one seems to have tracked you anywhere. It’s quiet out here, but it’s not the kind of shattering silence that it used to be. You sleep sometimes, huddling under the next of blankets for warmth, and then you go back to your chair to spin and look out at the stars.

You’re not sure how long it takes, but it feels like a few days when you finally decide to hop out of warp for good. You’re not sure exactly where you are, but you need food, and you need fuel, and you don’t think you drifted into the Mid Rim. It takes a little searching for anywhere that looks populated, but when you drift into the middle of an asteroid field, you realize you’re in Polis Massa. You’ve never been here. It’s not as filled with people as it used to be, once you break through the atmosphere on the rock that holds the research base, but it’s large and it has food and fuel. This is where your dad would go, before he joined the Alliance. Here and Coruscant, or what was left of it, had the most history about language and linguistics, and he’d take day trips from Yavin to collect as much research as he could to bring back and share with you.

It feels familiar here. Even though it’s not home, or anything close to it, you know that there’s something pulling you here, and something anchoring you too. The city is dense, but there aren’t a lot of people out and about. It’s dark here, darker than you imagined, so when you park Kicker in a landing bay, you bring a small flashlight with you. People don’t pay you much mind out on the street, even while you’re dressed in glaring orange, which is comforting after the close call you just had back on Hoth.

You wander. For a while, until the city starts getting lighter on the horizon line. Soon, the cafes and small markets on the street open up, and you sit outside, still wrapped up in your parka, glad to not be shivering. You eat, eventually, and have a steaming mug of caf, which helps. You don’t live the way it makes you feel, all jittery and nervous, and you don’t love the taste, either, but you’re happy for the warmth. Eventually, people filter in and out of the streets and you start to make your way deeper into the heart of the city.

You trip over the cobblestones at one point, practically launching yourself into the person ahead of you. You wince at his dirty look. “Sorry!” you call after him, and you hear him grumbling, but he acknowledges you with a nod. When you stand back up, you see where you are—the research institute your dad always talked about, where he’d go and spend hours reading about the different languages in the galaxy, to write them down and bring them back to you. You hesitate, for a second, and then you’re climbing the stone steps, driven by ache and longing.

It’s massive in here. It’s gorgeous, but huge, and the shelves are stacked all the way up to the ceiling. You have no idea where to start, but you pick an aisle at random and start browsing. You’re not sure what you’re looking for, if it’s something to connect you with your family or to connect you to this new life you’re haphazardly building for yourself, but you stumble again and nearly knock over the librarian.

“I’m so sorry,” you manage, seeing how tiny she is, how frail. “I’m sorry. I—”

“It’s quite all right, dear,” she answers, kindly, adjusting the wire-rimmed glasses on her face. “Can I hep you find anything?”

“The…language section,” you say, decidedly, eyes still caught on how many books there are here, how many years it would take you to read every one. “Linguistics.”

You follow her deeper into the labyrinth of bookcases, and when she shows you where the linguistics shelves are, you thank her excessively, your gaze buried deep on the titles on the spines. Most of them are in Basic, likely for inclusive access to anyone who ventures here, but there’s so many that have unfamiliar letters, the way they jut out and curl around themselves, and when your finger finds one, it falls open.

You don’t know what it is at first. You just feel called to it, opening it up and poring over the pages, and then a familiar word catches your eye. Kar’taylir. To know. To hold in the heart. Your own heart catches in your throat, stomach twisting itself over in impossible knots. You slam the cover closed to look closer at the text, and you realize it’s a dictionary of Mando’a, and all its translations.

There are tears in your eyes. You came here, to be closer to your father, sure, but also because you wanted to build something new. And you walked through these doors that held millions of books, and the one you picked out was a dictionary of language that your fiancé shared with you. It’s too much. You choke back a quiet sob, hoping everyone else here for research can’t hear your silenced wailing. Against your better judgement, you tear through the pages, looking for the familiar syllables, and when your finger finds the word cyar’ika, you have to close your eyes and desperately beg your heart to stop beating so horrifically, to slow the pulse down.

You follow the word over to its translation in Basic. Cyar’ika, it reads, sweetheart, beloved.

Beloved. Beloved. It says beloved, it doesn’t just mean sweet thing, it doesn’t mean that you’re kind and close to his heart. Din had been calling you his beloved for months, and then he fucking left you.

It’s too much. Everything is hot and fuzzy. You slam the book shut, heart pounding a staccato in your chest. Immediately, you get up and run. You don’t know where you’re going. In hindsight, you should have put the book back, but you didn’t. You’re running. You promised Din you’d never run, but he promised you forever and then stole it away, so you don’t owe him a damn thing anymore. You’re crying, loudly, openly, and when you rush by the same librarian you toss her a halfhearted apology.

You trip going down the steps, bang your knee up something horrible. It makes your eyes flash white hot for a second, but you pick yourself up and just keep going. You only have a vague idea where Kicker is, but you run in that general direction, blood dripping down your scraped knee, and then you’ve found the landing slot. You hurry up the ladder, not even bothering to get out the bacta kit that you stowed in the hull of the ship, just desperate to get out of here, to go somewhere else. It doesn’t matter.

You have history with Din on so many planets, it’s impossible to pick one where he won’t be hanging in the air. But something feels horribly right about heading to Tatooine, considering he hates desert planets and you can hide in plain sight. Maybe you’ll go to Mos Eisley and pick up bartending, maybe you’ll be a hermit that lives in the sand, maybe you’ll learn to speak Tusken and really never be seen from again. But before you breach the atmosphere, you call Wedge.

“Rebel girl,” he sighs, coming in almost immediately. “I was worried. You didn’t respond earlier.”

“I’m sorry,” you whisper. That seems to be the only thing you can utter today. “I—I went into warp for a while, turned off my comm. I was just on Polis Massa, just for the day, but it’s not—”

“Safe there,” Wedge interrupts, and you want to tell him that’s not what you meant, but he’s still talking. “We intercepted the comms of some of the people sticking close to the Empire. There’s enemies there, I’m glad you got out.”

“Me too,” you say quietly. “I’m going to Tatooine. Not forever, just for a bit. I figure I can ditch Kicker—the ship—somewhere safe and get some sort of job for a few weeks, throw people off my trail.”

“Good call,” Wedge says, then he sighs. “Luke’s from there, you know.”

You swallow. “I know. Listen, don’t tell anyone else where I am, but if he asks—”

“I’ll tell him where you are,” Wedge assures you. “Can you get word out to your fiancé?”

You gulp, slowly coating towards the atmosphere line, watching how your whole vision fills up with sun and sand. “I’m not sure,” you say, barely anything at all. “Listen, Wedge, I gotta go. Thank you for checking in on me. I’ll tell you if I’m headed anywhere else.”

“Do that,” he agrees. “Lay low. Unless you need to go after Gideon. But if that happens, you call me. You have to promise you’ll let me help. Not the full Alliance, if you don’t want our guns and ships. But you have to call me. I’m not letting you go in there alone.”

Your eyes fill up with tears. You don’t have the energy to argue, really, so you don’t. You just nod, slowly, finding a safe place to land. “I promise,” you say eventually.

“Nova?”

“Yeah?”

“Be careful.” You hear the line go dead, but you nod again against your own company in the cockpit. “

“I will,” you manage, low and deliberate.

It’s hot out here. It’s a no-brainer, you know how relentless Tatooine’s suns are, but it’s even worse than you imagined. You shed the parka, most of the jumpsuit, and tie your hair up on the top of your head before you step out into the sand, but even then, in just your tank top and light pants, it’s ridiculously hot. You struggle for the first few klicks, and then the suns slowly start to go over the horizon, and it’s a bit more bearable. You drink the last of your water, and keep stumbling closer and closer to a settlement.

It’s not Mos Eisley, but it’s a cantina. Smaller, probably lower profile, and you stagger in with your empty water canteen and your bag full of the few credits you have left, and you pick a small table out of the way to sit down upon. The wall is cool, and you press yourself up against it as you signal the waitress.

She’s definitely not human, but you’re not sure what race she is, because the dark in here is such a stark contrast against how blinding the light was outside, and your eyes haven’t fully adjusted. “Hi,” you say, your voice coming out cracked. “Can I please get some water, and—and something to eat?”

“What would you like?” she asks, and you balk at the menu, all of which has meat on it. The thought of putting anything made out of mat in your mouth makes your stomach roil, so you shake your head.

“Is there anything you offer—um, that doesn’t have meat?” you ask, and your words come out small.

“We have a plate of vegetables,” she answers, “but they’re not the freshest—”

“I don’t care,” you interrupt, warmly, “that’s fine, thank you.”

She gives you a soft smile and offers you a whole pitcher of water. You should pour some in your canteen, but you just start drinking straight from the jug, gulping it down as fast as you can, trying to get rid of the dry heat in the back of your throat. When she comes back with your food, the water it totally drained, and you ask for a refill as your stomach grumbles.

“Can I get anything else for you?” she asks, and you shake your head, and she starts walking away.

“Wait,” you call after her, mouth full of food, “wait—uh, do you happen to have any positions open? For a job? I can’t offer much, but I’m a good cook, or I could clean, I’m good at that too—”

“What’s your name?”

You swallow around your mouth of food. “Novalise. And I usually have much better manners than this, I’m sorry.”

She smiles. “I’m Kuna,” she answers. “We only have pick-up jobs available around here right now, I’m afraid. It’s not steady pay, but it’s something, and at least it’s out of the heat.”

“Yes,” you say immediately, “yes, I would love that, whatever you have for me. Thank you.”

Kuna nods. “Dinner’s on the house,” she says, voice still lowered, “and you can come back sometime tomorrow to start, if that works.”

“Yes,” you nod. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you so much.”

You sleep better that night than you have in the last week, which isn’t saying much, but at least the hulking silence of being alone in the ship is satiated with the knowledge that you’re not going to be easily accessible to anyone that doesn’t wander into the cantina, and after you hike back to Kicker, you fly her closer to the hangar on the edge of town and cover most of the ship with a tarp you find rolled up in the hull. As long as stormtroopers or anyone associated with Gideon doesn’t stop in the hangar on the outskirts of town, you’re safe.

The work is hard, and slow, but it’s rewarding. It gives you that same distracted feeling that working with Arlen at the hostel did, and something to show for it. You mostly clean, sweeping out the freshers and scrubbing down the bar, but you get the stools spotless and you’re able to polish the backs and seats of some of the other cluttered chairs, moving tables back and forth to best optimize the space. After a few weeks of working a handful of days, Kuna lets you back behind the bar. Mostly, you’re making small drinks, no big cocktails or anything fancy, but you like it. It’s nice to interact with people, even if you don’t share a language with them, and it keeps your mind off the book of Mando’a and Din stranding you on Dantooine after promising you an eternity.

You don’t care that it’s temporary. There’s nothing momentary about heartbreak, nothing compartmentalized enough for you to simply forgive him. Not now. And maybe not ever. But your heart yearns for Grogu. Whenever you let your mind wander, you tap into the Force as much as you can, searching for him, or searching for Luke Skywalker, trying to figure out if they’re okay, if Grogu is still under Gideon’s grasp, and in the corners of your visions, you look for Din.

It’s involuntary. It hurts, and it leaves you reeling, heart spinning out into an abyss you can’t cartograph your way back from. So you try to stay distracted, try to keep busy. Days pass, and you’re not sure for how long, but they’re filled with work and you sleep at the end of them, restless, with nightmares, but you’re still getting sleep, and that’s all that matters right now.

Kuna lets you start serving drinks unsupervised, which isn’t much, but it makes you feel accomplished. The whole cantina looks better every day you’re here, and it’s something to be proud of, especially since you haven’t done anything to call attention to yourself other than being a woman in the middle of a skeevy bar in the desert, which just means you attract creeps instead of stormtroopers. It’s a good bargain. One night, you serve a regular, a Twi’lek with green skin, not purple, and you can look at her without seeing Xi’an, her dead body, or Din. She’s kind, and she asks about you as much as you ask about her, and you walk out of the bar to clean up the mess one group of people left behind, letting the rest of the people filter out for closing time.

When you hear your name, you think you’re hallucinating it. It comes out of nowhere, and the voice that it comes from is familiar, trusting, warm. And there’s the kicker: it’s unmodulated. You’re pretty sure you’re imagining it, because you’ve spent so many nights playing over Din’s voice in your mind, his promises, the way he broke them. And still, you freeze, turning around, feeling completely suspended on the space-time continuum.

Standing there, unmasked, heartbreak written all over his face, is your Mandalorian.

The Mandalorian. As your heart hammers, drowning out every impulse to run towards him and jump into his arms, you have to remind yourself he left you, and even though he found you, he’s not yours anymore.

*

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as always, reply here or send me a message to be added to the taglist!!!

*

I HOPE YOU LOVED IT!!! thank you all for being patient and bearing with me these past few weeks!! i promise more is coming, and we still have the whole last arc to go, so SM isn't ending soon ;) and when it does? i already have plans for a sequel in the works!

so sorry again that this is a day late!!! i hope you loved it anyway <3

xoxo, amelie

#something more #something more fanfic #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #din djarin x female reader #din djarin x original character #din djarin x original female character #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x female reader #the mandalorian x original character #the mandalorian x oc #din x nova #dinova #novalise #mando x reader #mando x you #mando x oc #mando x original character #mando x original female character #pedro pascal fic #pedro character fic #star wars fanfiction #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin smut #the mandalorian smut

[kasey-writes-stuff]

Take a hint

Warnings- Unwanted advances , Bar , Alcohol , Drugs mentioned , , unwanted touch , just dudes being creeps in general

You’re at the bar for a very rare night out at first no ones coming up to you. You’re simply sat at the bar drinking a margarita you weren’t looking to get wasted tonight just buzzed and to enjoy yourself. Suddenly a guy comes over to you and taps you on the shoulder, you turn and look at him he smiles a knowing smile one that clearly says he thinks he’s for sure getting in your pants tonight. You hold back an eye roll as you smile softly back

“uh hi” he nods “Hi I just wanted to come say hi and see if maybe I could get your number and did you wanna come home with me tonight” you hold back a sigh as you say “thank you but I’m actually not into that and I’m just here to have a couple drinks and maybe sing some karoke” he seems practically offended that you didn’t immediately say yes and jump into his arms “oh come on no one comes to the bar just for a few drinks and karoke” he tries to wrap an arm around your waist his hand resting your hip but you quickly shove his arm away “Well you might not, you might come here for quick hook ups and one night stands but I don’t so now get your hands off me and leave me alone” he rolled his eyes scoffing and walking away muttering “stuck up snobb”

You paid no attention to his muttering and simply went back to your drinking your drink and then turned yourself to face towards the small karoke stage humming along quietly when suddenly someone came and sat in the bar stool next to you “they sound great don’t they?” You nodded softly not giving the person a ton of attention but still being polite “they do” suddenly the person is much closer they lean so close you can feel their breathe on your ear as they say “maybe we should go up there and try a little duet and later we can do a private duet if you know what I mean” you shiver as their breathe tickles your ear and you slowly scoot yourself away slightly “uhm no thanks I’m not into that kind of thing” suddenly their arm wraps around your shoulder and they say “oh come on just once? For me hmm? Please I promise I’ll be gentle”

Suddenly a new figure appears a pretty tall looking figure with blonde hair, the person quickly grabs the arm from around your shoulder and holds it firmly “I believe they said they’re not into that, now get up and leave them alone” the guy didn’t seem intimated and snickered looking at you and stood up but upon seeing the height difference and truly seeing how tough the person holding their arm was they quickly nodded and mumbled a half hearted apology before running off the second the person let their arm go

You quickly look up to thank the person but the person was already gone, you shrug softly and down your drink quickly before going to sign up for karaoke… You come back and order another drink unaware of the person watching you from a distance… Another figure approaches “hello, I couldn’t help but you see over here all alone and wanted to know if I could buy you a drink?” He was at least three feet away from you but you could smell the drugs regardless and the way he had a hand in his pocket left you unsettled but before you could even say anything he held his hands up and started backing away “never mind um enjoy your night miss” you couldn’t help but notice the small packet that fell out of his pocket, you quickly picked it up and your eyes widened as you quickly got a bar tenders attention and gave the packet to them and gave them a direct description of the guy

By the time all that is over it’s your turn to go up… you shake yourself gently to ease the nerves but the second the song starts you have no nerves, you take a breathe and begin

“Why am i always hit on by the the boys i never like

I can always see them coming from the left and from the right

I don't want to be a priss

I'm just trying to be polite

But it always seems to bite me in the-

Ask me for my number

Yeah, you put me on the spot

You think that we should hook-up

But I think that we should not

You had me at hello

Then you opened up your mouth

And that is when it started going south”

You move around the stage with ease a surprising confidence emitting from you that you never even realized you had

“Oh!

Get your hands off my hips

'Fore I punch you in the lips

Stop your staring at my-

Hey!

Take a hint take a hint

No, you can't buy me a drink

Let me tell you what I think

I think you could use a mint

Take a hint take a hint

T-take a hint take a hint”

You scanned the crowd as you sang looking for the three men who had approached you, you spot the first guy and attempt to shoot daggers his way with only your eyes… His eyes widen at first but then narrow as he seems to find it sexy… You nearly throw up right then and there but you simply tear your gaze away from him and continue on

“I guess you still don't get it

So let's take it from the top

You asked me what my sign is

And I told you it was stop

And if I had a dime for every name that you just dropped

You'd be here

And I'd be on a yacht

Oh!

Get your hands off my hips

'Fore I punch you in the lips

Stop your staring at my-

Hey!

Take a hint take a hint

No, you can't buy me a drink

Let me tell you what I think

I think you could use a mint

Take a hint take a hint

T-take a hint take a hint

You scan the crowd for the second guy and quickly find him off in a corner intensely watching your every move, you quickly give him the finger as you sing

“What about "No"

Don't you get

So go and tell your friends

I'm not really interested

It's about time that you're leavin'

I'm gonna count to three and

Open my eyes

And you'll be gone

One

Get your hands off my-

Two

Or I'll punch you in the-

Three

Stop your staring at my-

Hey!

You search for the last guy but don’t see him but instead you see who you believe to be the figure who saved you from the second guy and you can only assume saved you from the last guy judging by how quickly he left… You smirk as you stare directly into his eyes slowly walking off stage and towards him not missing a beat as you continue singing but you switch up some lyrics

“Take a hint take a hint

I am your missing link

Let me tell you what I think

I think you could use a drink

Take a hint take a hint

Take a hit take a hint

Whoa...

Get your hands on my hips

'So I can kiss you on the lips

Start your staring at my-

Hey!

Take a hint take a hint

T-take a hint take a hint”

You swiftly grab his shirt with your fist pulling the tall figure up and towards you silently asking for permission… he nods quickly and you pull him down to you slamming your lips onto his! Sparks begin to fly as he quickly wraps his arms around you lifting you up your wrap your legs around him your arms around his neck as the bar is erupting in hoops and hollers, you break away smirking at him as he’s also smirking at you… You quickly hop out of his arms and hand the microphone back before running back to him and grabbing his hand pulling him out of the bar

He smiles softly at you as he says “I’m Luke by the way” you smile “Well Luke I’m Y/N” You spend the rest of the night walking around with Luke talking about anything and everything, you go for a midnight Walmart trip no real plan in mind you both just browse around finding a multitude of random games and snacks,he insists on paying for everything but you manage to weasel a twenty to the cashier to at least help pay for some of it… You make it back to his place and stay up all night playing games, eating snacks and talking…

When the night started you had never regretted going to the bar more in your entire life but now you were sure it was the best decision you’ve ever made

The end

#my writings #Punz x reader #x reader #Punz x you #Punz fic #punz fanfiction

[where-dreamers-go]

“Dark Choices” Luke Skywalker x Reader

(A/N: So this was suppose to be an imagine and it quickly grew beyond my control. I was inspired to write a Dark Side!Luke Skywalker after reading an insert reader from the lovely @moonlit-imagines. This insert reader has morphed A LOT. That’s what happens when I just jump in to write without an outline. So instead of turning to the Dark Side, I wrote where Luke tapped into the Dark Side and explored his reactions and such. I love writing for Star Wars. How come I don’t do it more often?? Also platonic relationship with Luke! He’s a sweetie! Part of @girl-next-door-writes Bingo Challenge! Bingo Card: Hurt/Comfort Warnings: Angst. Canon violence and language (their curse words). Death (the Empire isn’t getting away with anything today). I used meters for estimated distance. Injury/Wound mention, but not described. Word Count: 3,661 words)

The rendezvous point was well behind you and the departure time had long since passed. Your group’s part of the mission was complete and reported in. The other part of the mission, Commander Luke Skywalker’s, had yet to be determined.

Something’s wrong, you thought as you gained sight of the caves up ahead. Soles of your boots padding quietly atop of rocky ground.

The Imperials had been looking for something and destroying the environment in their path. Skywalker’s job was to figure out what the subject of their interest was.

Luke had not reported in nor had he made any sign of arriving to the rendezvous. Contact had not been reestablished since he had found the caves.

Where is he?

Signs of Luke’s whereabouts was laid around the area. At least two different classes of stormtroopers had been taken out either by their own blasterfire or a lightsaber. Burn marks littered the rock faces, cargo crates, and stormtrooper armor.

He must have cleared the area. You kept a hand on your blaster pistol just in case. Cautiously nearing the closest of the cave’s mouthes, you stayed low. You were not sure if there were any more scouts in the area. It was relatively quiet much to your suspicion.

It was not in Luke Skywalker’s character to not report in when scheduled. Being that he did not, you called in that you were going to look for him. You had not waited for approval.

Sure, he was a Jedi and all, but Luke tended to find himself in unusual predicaments.

A chill ran up your spine as you entered the cave. Imperial supplies were scattered along the walls. Most were opened.

Explosives. Typical. You thought. But what are they after?

Another chill ran through you and you forced yourself to pick up the pace. You were strangely thankful that the Imperials had lined the tunnel with artificial lighting. The air inside was cooler, but not enough to relieve you of your growing worry.

A generator must still be on somewhere. I hope he’s not in trouble. You followed the curves of the walls. I was able to extract datacards worth of information with little security in my way. Kriff. How many Imperials were at this site instead? Are they always after him?

Coming to multiple tunnel openings, you stopped.

I don’t think I have time for this.

“Luke?” Your voice reverberated against the rocks. “LUKE?”

Patiently, you waited for a response. The echos of your voice had faded.

This is what happens when he goes alone. You trudged to the right-most tunnel to start, however turned as something reflective caught your eye. White stormtrooper armor.

Quickly changing directions, you kept a hurried pace. Passing more fallen Imperials, there was little doubt of Skywalker’s whereabouts.

Faint electrical sounds reached your ears and you followed them down another path. Up ahead crackles and small bursts came from an open area beyond a tunnel. Pieces of armor and blasters greeted the soles of your boots before you walked in.

What…?

You had to step over a fallen stormtrooper that had a very prominent hole through their chest plate.

“Luke?” Your eyes scanned over the immediate area. Sparking consoles with slashes through them. Every stormtrooper and Imperial officer was either crumpled by an interior wall or had the mark of a lightsaber’s blade.

The room, whatever it was used for, was destroyed. Debris decorated the cave floor. Large rocks and metal alike. There was no way to know if there was used to be another exit.

You let out an uneasy breath and called out again. “Commander Skywalker?”

Checking each body, there was one with hair you recognized nearby. No Imperial symbol on his attire.

Rushing to a cargo crate, you fell into a crouch. “Luke?”

Knees pulled up to his head, Luke was huddled in on himself.

You gently placed a hand on one of his arms he had wrapped around his legs.

He jolted as if you had shocked him. Face still tucked in and hidden, his breath was uneven.

“Are you okay?” You asked, eyes not finding any visible wounds.

“(Y/N)?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“It’s cold.” Luke murmured.

“What?”

“It’s so cold.”

Did something happen with the temperature in here? I don’t feel that chilly. Cave dampness.

“Why didn’t you show up? You missed the rendezvous.” You let your hand rest on his arm again. Luke was shaking. “Let’s get you out of here, okay?”

“I had to do it.”

You frowned.

“It was powerful.”

“An explosion?” You asked. “Luke, please look at me. What are—?”

Picking his head up, his eyes met yours.

Your words stilled.

Their usual brightness had dimmed, his blue eyes darkened in pain.

“They knew we’d come. They wanted us to take their files. The facility was set to explode.” Luke shuttered. “They were going to send in a whole squad of troopers.”

“But I made it out fine. Everyone else made it back.”

“I stopped them.” His voice cracked. “All of them.”

“Why didn’t you come back?”

Blue eyes looked behind you. He looked to the destruction, the taken lives, and rock walls. The room was full of wreckage and Imperial bodies.

What’s wrong? He’s been on missions before. Why’s this one got him so….unnerved?

You rubbed your thumb along the fabric of his sleeve. “You could have come back. You can come back now.”

“I made sure that they never ordered the troopers to attack. They couldn’t even send for help.”

You were hesitant before you asked, “What did you do?”

“I took down the ceiling.”

You followed Luke’s gaze. What you assumed to be another interior wall was actually a cave-in. Not just battle debris. There was no telling how large the room was before.

“There were so many of them. They didn’t even attack me first. I-I just….” Luke returned his eyes to you. “I couldn’t let you die.”

A lump formed in your throat and the corners of your eyes started to burn. Circling your arms around his shoulders, you hugged Luke. There were no second thoughts about it. His face pressed into your shoulder as his arms brought you closer.

“The call wasn’t going through to your comm.”

“It’s over, okay?” You said. “We can go back to the ship.”

What else could you say? You didn’t consider yourself incredibly close with Luke Skywalker, however being in the Rebellion meant you shared some missions together. His words seemed to prove you otherwise.

“I say this with all of the respect to you,” you said pulling out of the hug. “I think you need a break.”

The corner of Luke’s mouth tipped up.

“I think Leia would chew me out in a lecture if I leave you here any longer.” You added, trying to give him a motivational boost.

Wiping his face with his sleeves, Luke inhaled deeply before standing up with you.

As much as you knew Luke needed to sort through his feelings and what he had done, you both needed to physically get out of there. The Imperials could show up to investigate at any moment. Added that being in the same location that was causing him to be upset was not the best place for him to be.

“I’m sorry.” Luke said as he brushed dirt off of himself.

“Hey,” you caught his gaze. “Rule number one: survive.” You gave his arm a light squeeze. “Let’s go.”

After he gave a nod, you lead the way back into the tunnel system.

Remembering the way you came, but backwards was always either really easy, frustratingly hard, or filled with you double-checking. Walking beside Luke, you were double-checking each change in direction for boot sole marks and familiar details. Downed stormtroopers being a main detail that helped. Unfortunately for them.

“Ar—….fizz…lo…fizztt….roopers…out….rr….” An undistinguishable voice came from your commlink.

You looked from your commlink to Luke. The Rebel reached for his lightsaber and continued forward. A confident demeanor covering him like a fitted tunic. Any pain he had was hidden or extinguished. A Jedi walked beside you.

Imperial movement always at the wrong time. The reinforcements got here faster than I thought. So much for any heart to heart conversations.

The tunnel ahead was illuminated by the lighting setup along the walls. Crates were still in their same positions.

“We’re close to the exit now,” Luke said in a hushed tone.

You grabbed your blaster pistol from your hoister. The two of you turned and found yourselves amongst Imperial crates again. More of them. Up ahead was the mouth of the cave. Cluttered with crates and long cables, the way out was either going to be safe or loaded with trouble.

Stepping in front of you and causing you to halt in your tracks, Luke ignited his green lightsaber. Trouble. That was when you heard it. The clanking of armor, rushed stomps, and muffled orders. You raised your blaster pistol.

“I’ll shield you.” Luke took measured steps forward.

“Got it.”

In less than twenty seconds, the pair of you made your way through the tunnel to cover as much ground as possible. Getting out in one piece was a top priority. There was only about eight meters or so left until you were back under the open sky, but trouble had arrived.

“Rebels!”

A squad of stormtroopers jogged their way into position.

“REBEL SCUM!”

“Scum?” You called back.

“Blast them!”

The stormtroopers opened fire.

Before the first red laser had come within two paces of you, Luke was already tilting his lightsaber. Each fire was deflected.

Fanning out, the troopers had the environmental advantage, however they were not trained to go up against the likes of a Jedi.

Beams of red were ricocheted back as Luke blocked and you had started firing. The returned fire doubled with their own and took down stormtroopers one by one. Almost each Imperial shouted orders and aggravated commentary.

Not long now, you thought.

A confident-striding trooper with heavy armor appeared at the cave’s mouth and took a stance outside before their weapon started shooting out rapid blasts towards you both.

“That’s a problem.” Luke commented as his lightsaber deflected as much of the blasterfire as he could. A blur of green and a reverberating sound that made the hair on your neck stand on end.

“On it.” You ducked as a red beam passed your head. Time was temporary. Aiming higher, you fired multiple shots to your attacker. One of which took the trooper and their weapon down. You breathed out a quick sigh of relief.

It was short-lived.

From out of your line of sight, white armor of another group appeared and lined up behind the first squad. As a unit they marched into the cave.

Ah, kriff. Someone must have mentioned Jedi over the comms.

Words on the tip of your tongue, you abruptly dismissed them.

Black boots moved across the ground with barely a sound. No huffs of fatigue nor beads of sweat came from Skywalker. The air in front of him was illuminated by flashing red and green. Each attempt at firing at him was delivered right back. To the shoulder, his head, arm, chest; they failed. No matter where blasterfire was aimed on him it did not reach. A blur of green light was there to meet it.

There was a reason that lightsabers were referred to as weapons of a different age. An age where people had mystical powers and swords of light. Anyone trained to use one was someone who should not be ignored nor underestimated. A mastery and awareness in each swing.

You had seen firsthand what a direct blow sent to troopers did. As a rebel, you had been on your share of missions with Commander Skywalker, however this was the first time you had seen him go on full defensive mode. Defense and trickery were more his style. Yet what you were witnessing was him taking on almost all of the blasterfire. It was only the two of you against two squads.

Hearing a familiar vrrr, you had to take a quick step back as the green lightsaber came a little too close to you for comfort. A red laserbolt was deflected.

Woo, okay. Watch for that.

Returning fire, you weaved around Luke’s wide gestures to take aim at the stormtroopers.

Once one stormtrooper was down, another stepped around furthering their takeover in the cave.

You took a step to the right and were given a clearer shot of the approaching troopers. It was a step too far to the side.

“Ah!” A hit to your arm threw you back. Dropping behind the closest crate and taking cover, you immediately applied pressure to your upper arm with your free hand. The pain only then making itself really known.

Kriff! There’s one on the right somewhere, you thought as you looked to Luke.

The Jedi was not hiding, not ducking behind anything, nor dodging. He stood his ground. Green blade of his lightsaber twirled through the air and deflected each oncoming blast. Rapid blasterfire resounded throughout the tunnel and the shouting became louder.

For two seconds, you peeked around the crate before quickly taking cover again.

“Behind the crate!”

Darn it.

“I got him!”

“Take them out!”

“One behind the crate!”

If your heart was not hammering in your chest before, it was then.

How many of them are there?

Hearing a small whoosh through the air, you turned in time to witness a thermal detonator arch over your head and land about two meters away. The silver sphere rolled near a stack of crates. Crates full of explosives.

On your feet before you could speak, you were already running to Luke. He gestured with his hand and sent a group of stormtroopers either flying backwards or toppling over. Even as more stormtroopers were still standing and firing, both you and Luke sprinted to the opening of the cave.

Another gesture of his hand and Luke sent more Imperials back. Passing a line of them, your fear skyrocketed with knowing what was coming.

“Hurry!” Luke made sure to remain beside you.

As the soles of your boots reached the mouth of the cave, Luke turned —

KABOOM

The first explosion created a domino effect and set off more explosives within the tunnel. Heat waved out after the first sounds. The ground beneath your feet shook and you were sent flying forward. Soon, you had met the ground as you tumbled across and landed on your already hurting arm.

KABOOM

You covered your ears as you pushed yourself up on an elbow.

Black.

It took a second for you to recognize that Luke was knelt over you and facing the cave. Your chest tightened at the sight.

Various and many rocks that had splintered off in the explosions were levitating in the air above you. The explosions had stopped, but the debris was still on the move. Boulders rolled a distance away as the ground shook. The debris smaller in size with each second that passed.

How close of a call was it this time?

With extended arms, Luke set the rocks away from anyone. You, him, and the possibly still alive stormtroopers on the ground that were not there before.

Lowering your hands, your ears still buzzed from the detonations. There was no telling how sore you would be later from your tumble. But you would gladly take soreness over what the Imperials had.

Luke sat back on his heels and clipped his lightsaber to his belt. Sometime amongst the chaos he had deactivated it.

“Luke.”

The man looked to you with heavy concern in his eyes. His gloved hand gestured to your wounded arm.

“Hey, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere else?” His voice sounded muffled in your ears.

“Are you okay?” You asked quietly, sitting up.

  “I’m better.” Luke’s expression softened until he inclined his head to you. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yeah…well.” You gestured with your hand to the fallen Imperials. “I could be worse.”

He leaned away from you once you spoke.

“What?”

“I think we need to get your ears checked.”

“Sounds good.” You smiled despite yourself.

A black glove covered his mouth for a couple of moments before he looked over his shoulder then back to you. His expression less exuberant. “I’m sorry. I…I shouldn’t have let that happen. This isn’t what I wanted.”

“Neither of us wanted this.”

His chest rose and fell as he sighed. Shoulders more relaxed than they were a minute ago.

“This was all a trap. The Empire was looking for metals long before they were storing weapons. They knew we would show up.”

Typical. Now that we have a real chance at winning this war, they’re being sneaky and a little risky.

The air around you smelled of smoke that nipped at your nostrils and dried out your throat. With your hearing not up to parr, the only sound aside from your breathing was any shifting rocks. Nothing moved. White armor could be seen amongst the large rocks that were almost everywhere you looked in the open area. Some blasters were still in gloved hands.

Both you and Luke peered around as you slowly stood up. Even outside you found yourselves surrounded by destruction and Imperials.

When will it end?

Rubbing at your ear with a knuckle, you rested your sights on the Jedi.

Luke reached out a hand to the rubble and in a matter of seconds, your blaster pistol was in his grasp.

“Here. You might need this.” He turned to you.

“Hopefully not,” you said as you nodded in thanks and holstered your blaster pistol.

Walking over and around rock, the pair of you distanced yourselves from the caves as well as the Imperial locations.

“We should get back as soon as we can.” Luke said.

“Our absence and delay has probably climbed up the rank of command.”

Luke nodded as you grabbed your commlink. Heading out of the area was possibly the easiest part of your day, you hoped. You opened your comm.

“This is Lieutenant (Y/L/N). Commander Skywalker and I are heading to the rendezvous point. Over.”

“We hear you Lieutenant. Good to hear you.” An answer came from another Rebel officer. “Come back safely. Ship is waiting. Over.”

“Roger that. Over.” You set your commlink back into your attire. “Almost afraid they would have left already.” Hands free, you applied pressure to your wound.

“We don’t leave anyone behind if given the chance. You should know that more than anyone.”

Your footing only hesitated briefly. Hardly noticeable.

“Thank you.”

Turning, you were met with sincere blue eyes. The weight of the sincerity could have collapsed your ribcage with how it reached your heart.

If we weren’t still in Imperial territory, I’d hug him right now. How can he be so sweet with so little words?

“And thank you,” you said. “For what you did back there. I’m not sure I thanked you.”

“You would had done the same for me.”

“I’m not a Jedi, Luke.”

“I know.” His bright smile making an appearance. “But I’m just saying that if you had the opportunity—.”

“And skill.”

“—that you would have helped me.”

“You were by yourself.”

“Yes, but if I was in your position, I would have told the others that I had a wound on my arm.” He raised his eyebrows at you.

“…Oh yeah.”

“The sooner we reach the rendezvous point, the faster someone can look at your arm.”

“The faster we get to having a debriefing.” You added, your tone solemn.

No telling if there are more scout troopers either.

Were you really going to disclose every detail of your mission? Yes, however finding Luke was not a part of your assigned mission. That part was up to him to debrief. However personal and detailed he would speak was solely up to him. You would not speak with anyone, under any circumstances, what had happened with Commander Skywalker in the caves. The only portion you were willing to disclose was the part when you were leaving. That much needed to be reported.

What a day, you thought. At least Luke looks better. Brighter spirits. And…I’ll keep an eye on him, I guess. Make sure he’s okay.

“You’ll give your report first, right?” You looked over at Luke who already had his attention on you.

“Before you, you mean?”

“Yeah.”

“I will.”

“I won’t say anything…about…you know.”

Luke stopped and you were quick to follow suit.

“I trust that you will give your report the way you always do. Honestly.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t say I was going to lie. Just…not say any personal stuff. Only what I need to say.” You squeezed your arm. “I completed my part of the mission, I left the ship, I found you, Imperials found us, I got shot, we ran, explosions hurt my ears, and we made our way back.”

“I think Leia will want more details than that.” His lips curved into a smirk. “But I am grateful that you respect my privacy. In matters of the Force.”

Sighing you continued forward, “I wish I could get to a state of calm as fast you.”

“It takes practice.”

“You’re something else, Luke Skywalker. I hope you know that.”

A chuckle was the only response he gave.

. . .

The pair of you headed back to the awaiting group of rebels. Their worries were written across their faces. Of course, Luke immediately alerted them of your injuries. Soon after, the ship had rose above the canopy of foliage and traveled through space. It would be a matter of time before the Base was back into your sights.

  A small smile graced Luke’s lips as he sat beside you in the ship.

“What?” You asked quietly.

“You’re something else too.”

~~~

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Best wishes and happy reading.)

~~~~~

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#Luke Skywalker x Reader #Girl Next Door's Make Me Feel Bingo #Luke Skywalker #Star Wars fanfiction #Star Wars #Star Wars imagines #Luke Skywalker imagines #where dreamers go #Jedi #Dark Side #Was I planning this in October and it was supposed to be a Dark Side!Luke? yes but I couldn't do that to him. I couldn't! #Rebellion

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Is this real?- |J. Hughes|

“Jack, you know I can’t move with you. New Jersey? That’s how many hundreds of miles away from Michigan? From Trevor?” I watch the shadow of sadness creep across Jack’s face. The two of us had been avoiding this discussion ever since he had been drafted. Neither one of us wanted to talk about the fact that he would be moving 604 miles away from me until Trev and I moved to Boston. Neither of us wanted to acknowledge the fact that I probably wouldn’t be going with him either. Trevor would be heading to Boston in 2 months, Jack leaving a few weeks after him. Alex flew out in 4 weeks. It had been decided that he and Madi would be living together off UW’s campus since she would only be a 10 minute drive away at Edgewood College. Madi was studying criminology and Alex was studying sports management in case hockey didn’t ever pan out the way he planned. Trev and I would live together, renting out an apartment in Chestnut Hills and attending Boston College together. Him playing hockey and studying business, me studying journalism and babysitting Trev’s drunk self. Again, that was all depending on me deciding not to go with Jack. I had gotten into Seton Hall, which was about 20 minutes away from the arena and practice facility Jack would spend the majority of his time at. The two of us had spent a ton of time looking at apartments between the two and had found ones we liked but I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave Trevor and my parents. Driving to Jack’s wouldn’t be a huge issue, he was only 4 hours away, but with my class schedule and his schedule, it wouldn’t work.

“Charlie, you’re the only one I want there with me. You’ve been going through this with me since the beginning. I can’t be that far from you.” I rake my hand through my hair, taking a deep breath at the same time.

“I want to. But what happens when you’re gone and I’m sitting alone in some city I’m not used to? When you’re on the other side of the country and I’m at home, alone?” All of the sudden, there’s a crazy look in Jack’s eyes. One I’ve only seen when he suggested we hook up for the first time, behind Trev’s back.

“Let’s get married.” He says, looking at me. My mouth drops open.

“Get married? Now? With you and everyone else leaving in less than 2 months? Not exactly the best time to plan a wedding and get married. Jack, we’re 18!” It wasn’t the first time Jack had talked about us getting married. He’d been saying it since the first time I told him I loved him. He had vowed to marry me, but we had both decided it wouldn’t be till after I was through college and working and he was somewhat settled in the NHL.

“Baby, think about it. We’ve talked about it and it’s the perfect solution to everything. We get married, you come with me to Jersey. One last big thing with everyone before we leave.” He says, a smile growing on his face.

“Honey, I know. I want to marry you, I do. But I thought we were waiting.” I say, leaving back into the lawn chair I’m curled up in.

“Well yeah, that was the plan. Before I got drafted to somewhere 4 hours away from you. But it’s close to one of your schools, plus we found an apartment already. Come on, why not? We’ve got a month with everyone still here. Let’s do it.” I shake my head.

“Baby, think about it. We’ve talked about it and it’s the perfect solution to everything. We get married, you come with me to Jersey. One last big thing with everyone before we leave.” He says, a smile growing on his face.

“Honey, I know. I want to marry you, I do. But I thought we were waiting.” I say, leaving back into the lawn chair I’m curled up in.

“Well yeah, that was the plan. Before I got drafted to somewhere on the other side of the country from you. But it’s close to one of your schools, plus we found an apartment already. Come on, why not? We’ve got a month with everyone still here. Let’s do it.” I shake my head, not even believing myself as I agree, and kiss him. His eyes are a golden honey color, bright with excitement as he yells for everyone to come out here. I hear the back door slide open as I stand up out of my chair and move to settle myself on Jack’s lap.

“Oh lord, what now? Is Charlie pregnant?” Madi asks, laughing and walking over to where Jack and I are.

“Well…” Jack says, wrapping his arms around me. Her face turns to stone but then back to normal, carefree Madi.

“Shut up, no she’s not. She would’ve told me by now.” Mad says, reaching over and smacking him as she sits in a chair next to Alex. Jack laughs and shakes his head. Trev and Alex take the porch swing and Trev crosses his arms.

“This had better be good. Your screaming woke me up.” Trev says, yawning and throwing a pointed look in Jack’s general direction.

“We’re getting married.” Jack says, bursting. Trev’s jaw sets, Madi’s drops open and Alex covers his mouth with a slap.

“Uh, what?” Alex asks, the first one to recover. Madi and Trev are still in shock.

“We’re getting married.” I repeat, looking down and seeing my hands shake. Jack covers them with his, gently rubbing his thumb across the back of my hand.

“You’re joking. Wow, real funny guys.” Trev says, pretending to laugh. He rolls his eyes but then looks at me. I beg him with my eyes to believe me and not blow up. His face softens but his eyes stare hard at Jack.

“It’s not. We’re getting married. And I’m moving to Newark with Jack.” Madi stands up and looks at me like I have two heads.

“Wait, did I just miss like the last 4 years? Cause last I checked, you two were planning on waiting a while. At least till Charlie was out of school.” Alex grabs Madi’s hand and pulls her back down into the chair next to him.

“Madi, come on. We’re 18, we’ve already talked about this. If anything goes wrong, well then you can say I told you so. But Mads, I’m asking you, I’m asking all three of you. My best friends, my brother, support us in this.” Trev has been silent the whole time. I can see him working it over again and again in his head. Trying to figure out how this was going to work and whether he should be upset or happy. Then I see a calm wash over him. Which could mean one of two things. One, he’s pissed and going to never speak to me again. Or two, he’s decided it’s okay and is happy for us. I hold my breath as he starts to talk.

“You know what, I support you. I’ve trusted Jack with you for 2 years. He’s taken better care of my little sister than I ever have. I’m proud of who both of you are. So I say go ahead.” Trev stands up and walks over to me. He pulls me to my feet and hugs me. Jack stands and puts his hand on my shoulder. Trev lets go of me and reaches for Jack’s hand. They shake hands and I smile.

“Trev’s right. I support it.” Alex smiles, coming to hug both of us.

“Love you guys.” He says, going to stand next to Madi who still looks very confused.

“Charlie, I’m just not sure. Jack, you know I love you, I really do. But I’m just not sure. Charlie, you’re both so young. I guess I have to say yes. You’re probably gonna get way worse from Mom and Dad.” I smile, pulling Madi into a hug.

“Thanks, Mads, love you.” She pulls back, smiling a watery smile as tears fill her eyes.

“Now you know, my apartment is always open. You can come stay with me whenever. Especially if the idiot here is being a jerk.” I smile and Jack laughs. She wipes her own tears and has a huge smile on her face.

“Now you’d better get her a ring. A nice pretty one. Especially with the size of that first paycheck.” Madi says, sticking her finger into Jack’s chest. Jack smiles and puts his arm around my shoulders.

“I’ll get her a ring. You can even go help us pick it out.” Madi laughs and nods in agreement.

“Even though I’ve already asked you and you said yes, can I still plan a big engagement?” Jack asks, sitting down with me still settled on his lap. I nod and kiss his cheek. Trev was on the phone with our parents, asking them to meet us at the house in an hour and a half. Jack’s parents were already planning on coming over for dinner, along with Quinn and Luke so the perfect time to tell them would be tonight.

“Okay, I need to go get ready. Trev, Madi, are you guys okay with cooking?” Trev nods and Madi follows him inside. Alex had gone inside and apparently fell asleep because he never came back out. I head inside behind Jack who goes over to the island in the kitchen and sits down, supervising Madi and Trev’s cooking. I run up the stairs and go into Jack and I’s room. I turn my curling wand on and grab my makeup bag off the dresser. I sit down on the floor in front of the mirror and start by putting my primer on. I go through my whole makeup routine, keeping it decently simple. I’m starting to curl my hair when the door opens and Jack sticks his head in.

“Hey, bub.” He says, coming in and sitting down on our bed. I smile, catching his eye in the mirror.

“Are you ready for this? Do you think your parents will be alright?” He asks, leaning back against the pillow at the top of the bed. I shrug, focusing on my hair. Very rarely anymore am I silent. Jack knows that if I’m silent, it’s usually because of one of two things, anxiety and stress, or I’m mad about something.

“Char, it’s gonna be okay. You need to get out of your head. Your parents love us together. My parents love us together. They may not entirely approve because we’re so young but it’ll be okay.” I smile, walking over to kiss him. He wraps his arms around my waist and I cup his cheeks. He smiles as I pull away.

“Okay, let me finish getting ready. Go make sure Madi and Trev aren’t burning the house down.” He laughs and heads back downstairs. I grab the gray skirt and orange ombre knit sweater I had bought the other day and put it on, tossing my pajamas in the basket by the bathroom door. I flip my hair over, shaking my curls out. I spray some perfume and check in the mirror. I pull the necklace that Jack bought me for our 2 year anniversary out from under the sweater and twist the promise ring on my left hand ring finger, also from Jack about 4 months ago. Both coping mechanisms of my anxiety.

“Jack, babe, come change please!” I yell out the door, still twisting the ring. He bounds up the stairs and grabs me around the waist. He drags me back into the room.

“Okay honey, okay!” I laugh as he tackles me onto the bed.

“Sweetheart, I need to go make sure Trev gets dressed too! Let me up!” He finally lets me go and I head downstairs to talk to the three remaining people in the house.

“Trevor Micheal, please go put on nice clothes!” I say, walking into the kitchen. He turns around, makes a face at me, and runs upstairs. Madi is stirring something on the stove and I walk over, leaning my head on her shoulder.

“Hey, Mads. Thanks. I know this wasn’t the plan.” She nods, continuing to stir.

“It’s okay, Char. As long as I get to be your maid of honor, I’m beyond happy for you. Both of you.” I smile and hug her around her shoulders. Trev and Jack come banging down the stairs, being as loud as possible. Jack is wearing a white waffle knit long sleeve shirt with a khaki jacket over it, and blue jeans. Trev has on a dark blue and green flannel with khakis.

“Alex Turcotte!” I yell, hopping into the living room where he’s laying on the couch. He sits up, his hair sticking up in fifteen different directions. His eyes are wide, almost in terror.

“Charlotte Grace Zegras I swear to God, if you ever wake me up like that again, I will hurt you!” He shouts, rubbing his eyes.

“I’m sorry, but can you please go put on nice clothes? The parents are gonna be here soon. And take your girlfriend up to change with you please!” I shout as he rolls off the couch and walks into the kitchen. He and Madi disappear upstairs with Madi yelling “Watch the cookies please!” I check the oven and make sure they’re not burning before sitting down at the island and getting on my phone.

“Bro, chill out, you’re gonna be my best man.” I hear Jack say, as he and Trev walk into the kitchen. I laugh.

“Oh Trev, only you would worry about that.” He smiles and sits down next to me.

“Wait so, small wedding planning meeting, how many bridesmaids do I need? Because you and I both know I don’t have that many girl friends so we might be in trouble.” Jack crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.

“Well, there’s Trev, but he’ll be paired with Madi. Alex, Coley, Case. So there’s 3. Oh, wait, Quinn and Luke. Oh damn, you don’t have that many friends, Char.” Trev laughs and tries to cover it with a cough.

“Um, I’ve been saying that since we were 6! I always get punched when I say it but lover boy says it and it’s totally fine.” Jack reaches across the island and squeezes my hand.

“I mean, we could just do a little ceremony. Just like you, me, Alex, Mads, your family, my family. Keep it kinda a secret for a while and then have a big party, announce it, once we’re all settled and the 1st season has ended. I mean, I know I’d be fine with just the little ceremony but you probably want the big dream wedding with all the people.” I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder. I nod and the front door opens.

“I don’t need a big dream wedding. I’m marrying the love of my life in front of the people I care about most. I’d love to have all the boys there but with everything and them all leaving, some already gone, I’m okay with this.” Jake kisses the side of my head as we walk towards the front room of the house.

“Hi kids!” My dad yells, closing the door behind him and my mom. I ran out, catching both of them in a hug. Trev follows me out and Jack stands in the doorway. Madi and Alex come back down the stairs. Madi is wearing an orange flowy shirt with ruffles and black jeans. Alex has on a black button-up shirt and khaki pants.

“Hi Mom, hi Dad.” Trev says, hugging both of them as I let go. Madi waves hello from the couch and Jack gives my mom a hug.

“Hi Julie, Gary.” Mom smiles and Dad shakes Jack’s hand. The front door opens again and Jim and Ellen, followed by Dumb and Dumber, walk in, crowding the entryway. I hug both of Jack’s parents then move to hug both Quinn and Luke. Trev takes Mom and Dad into the dining room where Madi and Alex are finishing getting dinner set out on the table. Jack hugs his parents and then does the weird bro handshake thing with both of his brothers. Quinn looks at me funny and then leans down to whisper in my ear.

“Why the hell are you guys all wearing nice clothes? This is what I slept in!” I laugh and Luke smirks. I herd the 3 boys into the dining room. Quinn and Luke sit across from Jack and I. Trevor is sitting next to my mom and dad. Madi and Alex are across from the Hughes. The dinner flows smoothly but I can tell Jack is nervous from the way his knee is shaking constantly under the table. I rest my hand gently on his thigh and his knee suddenly stops.

“Hey, family.” Everyone gets quiet and looks at Jack and I. I feel Jack take a deep breath and I lean back in my chair. Quinn catches my eye and winks at me, calming me slightly, even if he doesn’t know what’s going on.

“Mom, Dad, Julie, Gary, This is going to be a bit of a shock. Especially since I know Charlie and I have talked to both of you about waiting to get married until I was settled in the NHL and she’s through college. But Char and I talked through things and we’ve decided we’re going to get married now. Um, I know I should’ve asked for your blessing, Mr. Z, Mrs. Z, but it was something we just figured out today.” I watch my parents’ faces, along with the Hughes’ faces. Quinn looks amused and Luke’s mouth is hanging open. Madi nudges him and his mouth snaps shut.

“Getting married? You’re 18, Jack, sweetie. Are you sure you two are ready for everything that comes with that? Especially heading into your first professional hockey season?” Ellen asks, holding tightly to Jim’s hand. I nod and Jack pulls my fingers into his.

“We’re ready. We’re sure about this. I mean, you guys have done an amazing job raising both of us. I’ve always wanted a love like you and Dad’s, Mom. Jack is the person I get to share that with.” Mom smiles at me with tears in her eyes.

“Alright baby. If you’re sure about this.” Dad smiles too.

“Wait, let me get this straight, y’all are getting married?” Luke asks, resting his chin in his hand.

“Yeah, and I want you and Q to stand up there with me. We agreed that we would just have a small ceremony at the house in Toronto. Just our families, Madi and Alex. We’d keep it on the down-low for the time being. Then later, maybe once the season is over, we’d have a big elaborate wedding reception party thing with everyone.” Jack says, looking at his parents. His mom nods and Trev coughs.

“I get to be his best man! Mads is Char’s maid of honor. Alex, Luke, and Quinn are Jack’s groomsmen.” Trev’s smile on his face shows exactly how he’s feeling and I can’t help but laugh at the fact that I’m pretty sure my brother is more excited about me getting married than I am.

“Wait, one female attendant and 4 male attendants? That won’t work!” My mom says, sitting up and looking at me.

“Honey, you need at least 3 more female attendants.” Ellen says as Jack slides his hand between my thighs and traces circles on the inside of my thigh.

“I know. But these are the only people I really want there. I’m okay with just these people at my wedding.” Jack smiles, gently kissing the side of my forehead.

“I know you already said yes but do we get to plan a big “surprise” engagement? You would have to act surprised though, Charlie.” Mom says, smiling as Jack laughs.

“Oh my gosh, I’ll act surprised. But yeah, you and Mads can help Jack plan all that.” Mom smiles and turns to Madi, who also has a big smile on her face.

“Alright, real wedding talk. You want this wedding at the Toronto lake house? How soon?” Jim asks, looking at Jack and I.

“Oh my gosh! Can I be a bridesmaid?” Luke asks, suddenly standing up and looking at Jack and I with the same crazy look I saw in Jack’s eyes earlier. The whole table bursts out laughing and I smile.

“Luke, you can be a bridesmaid if you want, but maybe not wear the dress? I love you for offering. I also think Jack would prefer for you to stand with him.” Jack smiles and looks at Luke with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s nice Hughesy.” Trev says, fist-bumping Luke.

“Okay, back to the original topic. Yes, at the lake house. Well technically at the Cape building we used for the one dinner last summer. And since Alex, Jack, and Trev all leave within the next 2 months, it’d have to be as soon as we can get it planned.” I say, looking at Ellen and Jim.

“Okay, let’s set a date then. Jack reports September 19th, Trev, Quinn, and Alex are both on September 13th, so before then. How about August 30th? It’s a Friday and we can all just spend the week up there before, getting everything ready. Then you two can go to your apartment in Newark for the rest of the month, finish getting it all ready until Jack has to report.” Jack’s face drops.

“Oh crap, we probably need to actually decide on an apartment. And soon.” I nod and Jack shows me his phone.

“I messaged the landlord of this building and he said we could move into a 4 bedroom apartment on the 14th floor on September first. Which would be right after we get back. The building, The Colonnade, is about 10 minutes away from the stadium and training facility. What do you think?” I take his phone and scroll through the photos. The apartment looks big and isn’t as expensive as most of the other ones Jack and I have looked at. Especially for having 4 bedrooms.

“Let me and your mom have a look.” Ellen says, reaching for Jack’s phone. I hand the phone off to her.

“Now the big question is, is there a guest room for me, Trev, and Madi to crash in when we come to visit?” Alex asks, nudging Jack.

“Yeah, me too! We’re all gonna come visit!” Luke says, bouncing up and down like the teenage boy he is.

“Yeah, there’s a guest room. There’s honestly probably enough room for all of you to visit at once.”

I lay down on the bed, exhausted from getting Jack’s family lake house ready for our wedding tomorrow. Madi flops on the bed next to mine and groans.

“I love you but I’m so tired of getting ready for your wedding.” I laugh and cover my face with my pillow.

“I feel you. As excited as I am to be married to Jack, I’m so sick of cleaning and getting things ready.” Madi rolls on her side and looks over at me. I run my hands through my hair and close my eyes.

“Dude, this is crazy. Like it’s still processing that you’re gonna be married in less than 24 hours. Married!” Madi’s eyes get big, almost like a bug. I laugh, rolling over and falling onto the floor with a bang. I can hear footsteps running up the stairs and our door flying over. Madi and I are both dying laughing when Jack and Trevor burst through the door, Alex not far behind.

“Babe! You okay?” Jack says, rushing to where I’m laying on the floor. Madi and I are both still laughing.

“Honey, I’m fine, I’m fine!” I say, sitting up and leaning against his legs. He wraps his arms around my shoulders and lets out a deep breath.

“Guys, we’re gonna party so hard tomorrow! I’m psyched!” Trev says, bouncing up and down on my bed. Luke and Quinn make their way into the room and sit down on Madi’s bed next to Alex and Mads. Trev is stretched out on my bed.

“Um so since our parents are here, does that mean no drinking?” I look up at Alex, confused.

“We’re all legal here. Plus it’s my wedding so I will be doing whatever I want.” Jack says, laughing. Everyone laughs and I hear the front door slam downstairs.

“Kids, we’re home!” The parents had gone into Toronto for dinner and shopping. Alex’s mom and dad had ended up coming with us, along with Madi’s mom and dad too. Madi’s parents counted me as a second daughter, and with Madi being in the wedding, they came along. Alex’s mom was our photographer. They were all getting here tomorrow morning since the wedding was in the afternoon.

“Madi, we picked up your dress!” Madi jumps up and runs out of the room. I had picked out Madi’s dress and hadn’t let her see it before I had bought it for her to wear. It was a long sky blue off the shoulder dress that would look absolutely gorgeous with her hair and skin. The boys and I follow Madi down the stairs to where Ellen is standing with the dress bag. Madi unzips the bag and gasps.

“Oh my gosh! Char, I love it so much! I’m gonna go try it on!” She runs into the bathroom as the boys scatter to the different couches and I sit down on the floor between Jack’s legs, my head resting against his stomach. Suddenly the bathroom door flies open and Madi spins out. The dress fits her perfectly and makes her look radiant.

“Oh my gosh, wow Mads! I love it so much!” I say, smiling. Alex’s mouth drops open, he’s speechless.

“Dude, your girl is gonna look so good tomorrow!” Trev says, nudging Alex but Alex still can’t find his words. Madi walks over to him and kneels in front of him.

“Baby? What do you think?” Alex looks up and smiles.

“It looks amazing, baby girl.” He kisses her and I smile, leaning my head against Jack’s leg. Quinn gets up and walks to the fridge, pulling a bottle of Smirnoff out of the fridge.

“Night before the wedding shots!” He shouts, setting the bottle down and smiling.

“Do I really wanna get drunk the night before my wedding? And spoil my own fun for tomorrow? Sure why not!” Jack says, reaching for one of the shots Quinn just finished pouring. He hands one to me and everyone else around us.

Alright, 3, 2, 1!” Quinn counts down. Luke starts to cough and I flip around.

“Oh my gosh, Luke! Give me that!” I shout, taking the shot glass out of his hand.

“Damn! I forgot you’re only 16!” Quinn says, laughing as I glare at him.

“Not like it’s the first time…” Luke says, dabbing Trev up and turning around. Luke disappears and the rest of us continue taking shots. The parents finally make their way back out to the living room.

“Kids, are you planning on doing anything? It’s your last night before you’re stuck together forever.” Jack’s dad says, sitting down on the couch and wrapping his arm around Jack’s shoulder. We all laugh and I look up at Jack and smile.

“I don’t know, I was kinda planning on just hanging out on the dock and just spending it with these guys.” Jack says, motioning to the gang gathered around us. I nod and the boys all stand up.

“Hold up a minute. Jack, you’re coming with us. Mads, you’ve got Charlie.” They pull Jack to his feet, almost knocking me over.

“Wait what? Guys, stop it!” Trev turns to look at me, a grin covering his face.

“Chillax, Sista. We’re just gonna have a little fun with Jacky Boy on his last night of being a “boy.” Don’t worry.” I raise an eyebrow at Jack as he is herded out of the room by Quinn and Alex. He has a goofy smirk on his face and blows me a kiss as they grab their jackets from the hallway.

“Don’t worry, we’re going with them. We’ll make sure they’re responsible.” My dad says, grabbing his jacket as Jim grabs his jacket and the boys make their way out the door. Madi moves to sit on the couch next to me. I cross my arms, watching the headlights of Jim’s car leave the driveway.

“And we’re gonna have a spa night and get you all pretty and ready for tomorrow.” Madi says, grabbing my hand and pulling me upstairs while Ellen and my mom go into the kitchen to grab a bottle of wine and glasses. We go to my room and she points towards a bag with light blue tissue paper sticking out of it sitting on my bed.

“Open it!” She says, excitedly. I pull the wrapping paper out and pull out a light blue t-shirt. I unfold it and it has 3 words on it. The first one, ‘Girlfriend’ is crossed out, the second one, ‘Fiance’ is scribbled out and the last one is ‘Wifey’ in a fancy script. There are black pajama pants in the bag too.

“Awe Mads, I love it so much. This really still doesn’t seem real that I’m gonna be Jack’s wife. Guess I have to get used to being introduced as his wife to people now, huh?” She smiles and leaves me to put the pajamas on. My phone buzzes and I grab it off the night table, seeing Jack’s name on the screen.

Jack💙: Hey Baby, just wanted to let you know that I love you a lot and I can’t wait to have you asleep on my chest tonight :)

I smile and send back a red heart. He reads the message and I shut my phone off. Mads walks back into the room, sporting a shirt the same shade of blue as mine and the same pajama pants. Her shirt has 3 words too but none are crossed out. The words are ‘Best friend’, ‘Sista’ and ‘Maid of Honor’.

“Awe Mads, these shirts are too cute. I love them.” She smiles and hugs me.

“I know I’ve already said it but I’m so so so excited for tomorrow! You’re gonna be Mrs. Jack Hughes in less than 24 hours!” She squeals, jumping up and down. I laugh and jump with her.

“I know I know I know! Now let’s go downstairs and watch a movie with my mom and future mother in law.” She laughs and takes my hand as we run downstairs. Ellen and my mom are both sitting on the couch, glasses of wine in their hands, “Bridesmaids’ pulled up on the TV. Madi and I both flop on the couch and I grab the blanket Jack had given me as a joke for my birthday. It had a picture of him, Trev, and Turcs from when they won Worlds 2 years ago. It was a picture they had actually sent to me but they looked really little and it always made me laugh. I wrap myself in the blanket and snuggle into the couch. The evening is uneventful with the moms going to bed as soon as the movie is over and Madi and I turning on ‘Friends’ after. Madi falls asleep after about two episodes and I stay up, sort of waiting for the boys to get home, mainly just not wanting to go to bed because I know I won’t be able to sleep because of the excitement I’m feeling. My eyes are just starting to close when headlights flash through the window. The car doors slam and I hear the front door open, the boys coming in quieter than I expected. I walk out to the hallway and watch Trev, Alex, and Quinn head upstairs, probably going straight to bed, trying to avoid the hangover I know they’ll all have tomorrow morning. Luke walks in, my dad and Jim not far behind.

“Hey, Char, Jack’s waiting for you down at the dock.” I nod and smile.

“The moms and Madi are all asleep. I’m gonna go get Alex or Trev and have them take her up to bed.” The dads nod.

“I can get her. Actually, better have Alex do it. He’s the least drunk out of the two.” I laugh and nod, heading upstairs to get Alex. I push his door open, seeing him on his phone.

“Hey Turcs, go down and get your girlfriend. She’s asleep on the couch.” He puts his phone down and rubs his eyes.

“Alright, I got it. Go have fun with your lover boy.” I smile and leave his room. I grab the blanket off the couch before heading out the back door and walking down to the dock. Jack is sitting in one of the chairs, his head leaning back against it.

“Hey baby, how was tonight?” He turns around, a smile on his face.

“It was fun. I drank the least out of everyone and Quinn tried to get a girl to come home with him. Luke had a ton of fun watching Quinn, Alex, and Trev act like idiots the whole night.” I smile, glad the boys had fun.

“I’m glad you had fun tonight. Bubs, I’m so excited for tomorrow.” I say, settling on his lap with the blanket wrapped around me. He kisses the side of my neck and I can feel the smile on his lips.

“Baby girl, I know. I’m excited too. You know, I’ve been thinking about this day since I met you. You’ve always been my dream girl. I’ve never wanted anyone else. I’m so excited to be able to introduce you to all the big important New Jersey people as my wife.” I smile, turning my head to kiss him.

“Jack, I love you. I always will.” I say as I pull away.

“I love you, Charlie Grace.” He says as I hear running footsteps down the dock.

“Dad says you two probably need to be heading to bed. Since we have to be up and finish getting stuff ready for tomorrow.” Luke says, stomping down to where Jack and I are sitting. I look up and nod.

“Can I have one last hug Dukes? Before I’m related to you?” He laughs and nods. I stand up, leaving the blanket on Jack’s lap. I pull Luke into a hug and he wraps his arms around me. I gently kiss his cheek and pull away.

“Love you, Baby Hughes. We’ll be in soon.” He nods and heads back inside. I settle myself back on Jack’s lap, wrapping my arms around his neck. He holds me close and I close my eyes. His thumb gently rubs my knee, giving me an overall sense of calm. I can feel Jack placing gently, soft kisses up and down my neck.

“Honey, if you keep that up, I’m gonna fall asleep out here and you’ll have to carry me inside. So we should probably go inside.” I can feel him smile and he starts to move.

“Okay, sweet girl. Let’s go inside.” He lifts me up off his lap and wraps the blanket around me a little tighter.

“Aren’t you glad I bought you that blanket? You use it all the time.” I laugh, leaning into his chest as we walk up to the dark house. The only light on is the back porch light and the light in our room. Jack leads me up the stairs and into our bedroom.

“You know, technically, this is like the opposite of how the night before our wedding is supposed to be.” I say, flopping on our bed.

“Sweet girl, you realize nothing about any of this is normal. We’re 18...Getting Married tomorrow...And moving in together next week. Babe, it’s all the opposite of how things go.” Jack says, pulling his shirt off and grabbing a pair of sweats out of the dresser. He replaces his jeans with the sweats and I bite my lip, smiling at Jack.

“Okay okay, hold up. We’ll save that, the best thing, for tomorrow.”He says, laying down next to me and wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulling the covers over us. He kisses my cheek and rolls over to turn the bedside light off. The dark envelops us and I close my eyes. The next thing I know, Jack is kissing me awake.

“Morning sweet girl. The boys and I are heading to the hotel. I can’t wait to see you. 6 more hours until I get to call mine. For good.” I sit up and kiss him, cupping his face. He gives me one last smile then heads out the door. I roll over, feeling the excitement wash over me all over again. Madi comes bouncing into my room, with my mom and Ellen not far behind.

“It’s your wedding day, it’s your wedding day!” Madi sings, jumping on the bed next to me. I smile and Mom looks at me with the same misty eye look she’s been giving me since Jack and I announced to our family.

“Alright my gorgeous girl, time to start getting ready! Let’s make you more beautiful!” Madi pulls me downstairs and drops me into the armchair in the living room. She hands me a black robe and two other ladies walk into the room.

“This is Linda and Mary. They’re gonna do your hair and makeup for today.” I nod and go into the bathroom to put on the robe. I come back out and Madi is sitting in one of the chairs at the island. Ellen and Mom are both double-checking on the dresses, making sure they’re ready for us to put on when we’re finished. I sit down next to Madi and the woman I think is named Mary starts running a brush through my hair. She turns on a curling wand and begins the two braids that I had decided on with Madi last week. She braids my hair and then curls what’s left down. I look over at Madi and she looks amazing. Her makeup looks perfect for her. But with her crazy messy bun, she looks kinda crazy. I laugh and she giggles.

“Dude your hair looks so good. I love it so much.” She says, standing up and moving to where I’m sitting.

“Thanks, girl. Your makeup looks so great but you look kinda crazy.” Mom and Ellen both laugh and Mads and I switch places. Linda starts on my makeup, going with the basic but still done up look Madi had decided on for me. I close my eyes, letting the makeup artist do her work. A few minutes later, Mom is handing me my phone.

“It’s Trev.” She says, walking away and going to get her hair done.

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” I ask, glancing at him on my phone.

“Um well...We can’t find Jack.” My heart drops.

“What? You’re joking right?” He rubs the back of his neck.

“I wish I was joking...He got all ready and we were heading downstairs to go to the car and he just disappeared. He won’t answer any phone calls or texts. Oh wait, Alex found him. Never mind, we’re good.” I take a deep breath and roll my eyes.

“Trev, remind me to kill you when this is all over. Are all of you boys ready? Is Luke’s tie tied? The right way?” Trev nods and smiles at me.

“You look gorgeous, Charlie. I love you, see you in a few.” I smile and blow a kiss to him. I hang up the phone and Madi looks at me.

“Okay, now let the poor lady finish and stop worrying, Charlotte Grace.” I laugh and close my eyes.

“We have to leave in 45 minutes. Charlie, you’re just going to put your dress and everything else on when we get to the building. Your flowers, the boys, and everything else is already there.” Ellen says, checking her phone. I nod and Linda sighs.

“Young lady, I’m never going to be able to finish your makeup if you don’t sit still.” I suck my lips in and remain as still as I can be. Finally, after about 10 more minutes, Linda finishes the last part of my makeup.

“Alright Charlotte, we’re all done. Mary and I will be at the venue to provide any last-minute touch-ups needed for you, Madi, or the mothers.” I smile in thanks and then head upstairs to finish packing up everything I need to take to the venue with us. I grab The Blanket off the bed and fold it, sticking it in the bottom of my bag. I grab my shoes and my extra clothes bag. Mom and Ellen are waiting in the car with Madi and the dress bags. I pull on Jack’s sweats from last night so my legs aren’t exposed under the robe. I head downstairs, grab a blackberry Hint from the fridge, the first thing I’ve eaten or drank all day, and head outside. Madi had ordered food for us that was going to be waiting at the venue so I would have something to eat before all the excitement. I slip into the back seat next to Madi and she smiles.

“I just got off the phone with Alex and Trev. They locked Jack, Luke, and Quinn all in a room. Q and Luke are making sure he doesn’t escape and keeping him entertained. Your dad and Jim are double checking all last minute things and our food is ready in your room.” I smile in thanks and look out the window.

“You’ve been pretty quiet today, Char. You okay? Not getting cold feet or anything, right?” Mom asks, turning around to look me in the eyes.

“No, no. I’m fine. I’m excited. I love Jack, I could never dream of marrying anyone else. It just still doesn’t seem real.” Mom smiles.

“I remember having the same feeling on my wedding day. I’m sure Ellen does too. It will seem real very soon. Speaking of which, you’re still planning on doing the first look with the boys right?” I nod and look back out the window. The venue, a small building on the grounds of the country club the boys usually worked out at when they were up here, was gorgeous on the outside. It was decorated with white lights and covered with sweet pea vines. It looked like something out of a fairy tale.

“Alright baby, let’s get you into the building. There’s a door on the side of the building, see that path there, that leads to the womans’ room. Head in there and Ellen and I will go see where all the boys are. Madi, help her get into her dress.” Madi grabs both dress bags from the trunk and follows me inside. The room is a farm girl’s dream. Everything is modeled after a farmhouse vibe and is part of the reason I love it so much. Mads hangs the dress bags up and then turns to look at me.

“This is the big moment. We get to complete the princess transformation. This is even better than the prom!” She squeals as I sit down on the couch.

“You put your dress on first. I wanna see how your dress looks on you before I put mine on.” The door to the room opens and Mrs. Turcotte sneaks in.

“Just gonna snap a few “before” pictures.” She says, smiling and positioning herself. Madi grabs her dress and slips into the connected bathroom. I pick at the chicken salad that had sounded so good a few hours ago. Now, the nerves are suddenly bubbling up. What if Jack and I aren’t meant to be? What if this was a bad idea and we don’t work out? I shake my head, clearing those thoughts away as the door opens to the bathroom. Mad steps out, looking like something out of a dream. I gasp and Turcs’ mom snaps away. Madi twirls, letting the dress flow out around her.

“I seriously love this dress. I may have to just get it in white for my wedding.” Mama Turcs and I laugh.

“Oh please girl, don’t you and Alex go pulling something on me like this. This is wonderful for Jack and Charlie but I don’t know if I could handle it.” I smile.

“You’re right Mama Turcs. It takes a special kinda love to do this as young as they are. I love Turcs but yeah no.” We all laugh and I take a sip from my water. Madi looks at me and shakes her head.

“Stop it, Char. Just eat your food.” I look up at her, glad she can read me so well.

“I know.” She points at my food, which suddenly sounds good again and I start to eat. I hear a knock on the door and Mrs. Turcotte goes to answer it.

“Mom, is Madi in there? I need to talk to her. It’s kinda important…” I hear Alex ask. Madi walks towards the door and steps outside. Ellen walks in, wearing the light blue dress that matches with the blue that’s scattered randomly around the venue. Mom and Ellen both went dress shopping together a few weeks ago for their dresses and both picked out pretty ones that look really good on them in the light blue color Jack and I decided on.

“Alright Charlotte, we’ve got about 30 minutes till the first look. We decided we’ll do a private one with just you, Jack and Shelly. Then we’ll do the one with Trevor, Alex, Quinn, and Luke afterwards. We figured you’d want to see Jack first.” I nod and continue to eat. Madi comes back in.

“Okay, the boys are ready whenever you are. Jack is freaking out but in a good way. I swear, if that boy doesn’t cry when he sees you, I’m dragging you out to the car and we’re running away.” I laugh and hug her.

“I know Mads. How’d Alex handle seeing you all dolled up?” She rolls her eyes.

“He wanted to make out with me right there. Like boy, I have all this fancy makeup and you’re trying to ruin it? No thank you!” I laugh and she nods, a smile that hasn’t left her face all day, still there.

“Okay, you’re done now. Let’s go put on your dress, please? Mama Turcs has some pictures she wants to do. Uh, has Trev came by yet?” I shake my head as she follows me into the bathroom with my dress bag. My dress was about the plainest wedding dress I had ever seen but it looked gorgeous on me. I had fallen in love with it the second I had tried it on plus, it had pockets, my one requirement of any dress I wore. The top half was lacy and delicate with thin straps that crisscrossed in the back. The skirt and train was an almost ivory tulle fabric layered to fall just perfectly. My veil would be pinned in just above the two braids and my shoes were ivory heels with a square heel so they wouldn’t break while I was walking around in the grass. Madi and I had gotten pedicures and manicures two days before and my fingernails and toenails were a very light pink, almost no color at all. I closed my eyes as I slipped the robe and Jack’s sweatpants off. I had to put on nude underwear and a weird bra thing before putting the dress on. I put both on and turned to Madi. She’s holding the dress, ready to help zip it up. I slip it on and let it fall. It feels nice against my skin. She zips it up and I look in the mirror.

“Oh my gosh.” Is all I can say as I cover my mouth, biting my tongue to hold back the tears. Madi stands to the side of me and smiles.

“You’re ready Charlie. And I just wanna say, we did a pretty good job picking this stuff out. I mean come on,” She says, grabbing my hand where the engagement ring from Jack rests.

“You picked the perfect boy, he picked the perfect ring, and we picked the perfect dress. Tell me this isn’t your dream?” I smile, still fighting the tears, and turn around to hug her.

“Thank you, Madi, for being my best friend every step of the way. I love you.” She squeezes me and I can feel the smile on her face.

“Love you too, now stop it before you and I are both in tears and ruin the gorgeous makeup job Linda did.” I laugh and take a deep breath. I follow Madi out into the room where my mom, Ellen, Mrs. Turcotte, Dad, and Jim are all waiting. They all gasp and smile when I walk out. Dad and Mom both cover their mouths, fighting tears. Ellen is already crying, Jim has a smile on his face, hugging her to his side.

“Darling girl, you look gorgeous. Jack is going to be awestruck when he sees you.” Dad says, coming to hug me.

“Thanks, Daddy-o. You look pretty spiffy yourself.” He smiles and kisses my cheek softly.

“Now I know this isn’t tradition but Trevor asked me if he could walk you down the aisle. He would’ve asked you himself but he’s not allowed to see you right now. What do you think?” Dad asks, looking at me as Madi is pinning my veil on.

“I mean, we’ve done everything else in our lives together, might as well do this. But I totally get to walk him down at his wedding.” Everyone laughs and I smile, the most genuine smile I’ve felt all day.

“Alright, we have a little area set up just a short walk that way, we’re going to meet Jack over there.” Mama Turcs says as I finish checking myself in the mirror. She points in the direction I had seen the boys walking when we pulled up. I nod and head out the door, wrapped in The Blanket. I find the little gazebo where Jack and I had said ‘I love you’ for the first time, 2 summers ago. It was all decorated with white lights and white flowers. Jack is standing in the center, a box in his hand, and a light blue blindfold over his eyes. I smile, seeing the smile on his face and unwrap myself from the blanket, folding it up and handing it to Madi who heads back towards the building.

“Alright Charlie, when you’re ready, you can go ahead and take the blindfold off of Jack. I’ll be taking pictures the whole time.” I smile and nod. I take a deep breath and step forwards.

“Charlie? Before you take off the blindfold, I want you to open the box. It’s a present from me and the boys. Mainly me.” He smiles under the blindfold. I take the box from him and open it. Inside is the most beautiful necklace. It’s a teardrop-shaped pendant with a diamond in the center, surrounded by tiny gold and diamond pieces. It sparkles in the sun.

“Baby, I love it. Thank you.” I say, leaning in and kissing him.

“You’ll have to help me put it on once you can see me.” He laughs and I smile.

“Are you ready to let me see you?” He asks, his face growing serious but soft. I smile and reach behind his head to untie the blindfold. The blindfold drops and he blinks. His eyes widen and his mouth drops open. He covers it with his hand and I watch the tears grow in his eyes.

“Bub, you look beautiful. I...I can’t even put into words what I’m feeling right now. You look so good!” He says, almost jumping back and pumping his fist. He runs his hand through his hair and he grabs my hands, pulling me in.

“Jack! I love you!” He laughs and comes back to me, hugging me close.

“I don’t wanna mess up your lipstick again but can I please kiss you? That’s the only appropriate thing I wanna do right now.” He says, giggling and wrapping his arms around my waist. I giggle right back and he leans in, kissing me. His tongue slips in my mouth and I almost moan, but remember that Turcs’ mom is literally 10 feet away with a camera. Jack finally pulls away, but not before exploring every corner of my mouth with his tongue.

“I just, you’re so beautiful. And so, so damn sexy, mama.” I laugh and he interlocks our fingers, walking back down the path with Mrs. Turcotte snapping the whole way.

“Ready to face your brother and my brothers?” I roll my eyes and nod.

“Baby, I just wanna be married already. I wanna be Mrs. Jack Hughes.” He rolls his eyes back and audibly moans in my ear. I bite my lip.

“That’s the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.” He says, kissing my cheek as we walk up behind the boys and Madi. Madi raises her eyebrows, asking me if I’m ready to reveal myself to them.

“Alright, boys, ready to see your sister? She looks hot as hell.” Madi says, crossing her arms and looking at the four boys standing in front of her.

“3, 2, 1, look!” They all four turn around and their faces are about as priceless as Madi’s was earlier.

“Holy crap Char, you look so good! Like damn!” Luke says, nudging Trev whose mouth is stuck open.

“Damn Charlie, you look amazing! I’m impressed!” Quinn says, dabbing me up as I laugh.

“Yeah really Char, you look awesome!” Alex says, coming to hug me. I hug him, smiling at Trev who is still awestruck.

“Hi, bubby, what do you think?” I ask, unattaching myself from Alex and walking over to him

“Wow sis, you look so good. Like so good! I’m so proud of you and I love you so much. Look I’m crying!” He says, pointing at the tears running down his face. I laugh and pull him into a hug. He gently kisses the top of my head.

“Oh, and I hear you said yes to letting me walk you down the aisle? Good.” He says, pulling away but leaving his arm slung around my shoulders. Jack takes my hand and I smile. These are the people I’m choosing to spend the rest of my life with. And I’m so excited to see where I go with them.

“Alright gang, time to take my favorite wedding pictures. Alex, can you go in and get the box of flowers on the table? It has all the boutonnieres and the girls’ flowers. We’ll need them.” He nods, heading inside to grab them. Mrs. Turcotte starts positioning all of us for the first few photos. She puts Jack and I in the middle, Madi and eventually Alex on my left, Trev in the middle, down in front of Jack and I, then Quinn and Luke on Jack’s side. The parents fill in around us and Jack leans in and kisses me. Alex somehow manages to slip my flowers into my hand and Mrs. Turcotte snaps away. We go through so many poses then Mom checks the time.

“Alright Hughes-Zegras family and Co., this wedding starts in 10 minutes. Let’s get inside and get all situated. Trevor, you’re walking your sister down the aisle, correct?” Trev nods and turns to me. He sticks his arm out and I link mine through it. Jack kisses my cheek and whispers, “I can’t wait to see you walk down that aisle, future Mrs. Hughes.” I smile and kiss him quickly. Quinn and Luke follow him inside and stand at the end of the aisle, waiting for our parents to be sitting down and all ready. The preacher is already in position and waiting. The music, an acoustic version of ‘I Won’t Give Up’ by Jason Marz, without words is playing softly. Jack and I both loved that song and had kind of declared it our song. It also described the way Jack and I wanted our relationship to be. Jack walks down the aisle and stands, ready for me to come. Quinn and Luke walk down next. Luke trips and almost wipes out. I cough to contain my laugh and he looks back at me, giving me a thumbs up. I smirk and nod to Madi and Alex. They start their walk down the aisle.

“You ready baby sis? You can still back out. I’ll hide the evidence of Jack’s body.” I laugh and shake my head.

“Come on, bubby, let’s do this.” Trevor sticks his arm out again and I loop mine through it. We begin a slow march down the aisle. Trev pulls me close to him and hugs me, kissing my cheek then handing me off to Jack who’s waiting with a smile. He takes my hand and we turn to face the preacher. He launches into the whole “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...” speech. Jack keeps leaning over and whispering “You’re mine tonight” in my ear. I bite my lip and catch Madi’s eye. She grins, knowing exactly what’s going on.

“Trevor, the rings please.” Trev pulls the two ring boxes out of his tux pocket and hands them to Jack and I. We remove the rings and hand them back to Trev.

“Now it is time for the couple to share their vows. Jack, you first.” Jack pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and clears his throat.

“Charlotte Grace, you’re my soulmate. I’ve known that since the day I first met you. I have loved you since the beginning. With this ring I’m about to give to you, I give you my promise to hold on to you no matter what and to never let go. I promise to love you no matter what. I promise to take care of you, no matter what’s wrong. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll be there. I’ll be your shoulder to cry on. Charlie, you’ll never be alone. I love you.” He finishes, slipping the ring on my finger. I smile, the tears forming in my eyes mirroring those in Jack’s. I catch Madi, Mom, and Ellen all wiping tears as Jack and I exchange a smile.

“Okay, my turn!” Everyone laughs as I pull out the paper I had worked on for weeks beforehand.

“Jack Hughes. The golden boy. Mr. Perfect. The love of my life. To this day, I’ll always hold on to the first time I was introduced to you. You made some dumb snarky comment and it was all I could to keep myself from falling in love with you. Thanks, Trev, by the way.” Everyone laughs and I smile, winking at Trev over Jack’s shoulder.

“But Jack, I love you beyond a shadow of a doubt. There’s nothing that could ever change the way I feel about you. I’ll love you forever, Jack. Through sickness and health, through victory and defeat, through trials and trades; through everything. With this ring, I give you all those promises. I’m trusting you with me. Everything I am. You’re all I want and I am genuinely so excited to get to spend the rest of my life with you.” Jack’s crying now, I’m crying now, everybody’s crying. I grab Jack’s hand and slip the ring on his finger. I blink and slow the tears. Jack takes a deep breath and regains his composure.

“And now, by the power vested in me by the state of Toronto, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Jake dips me down and kisses me. Everyone cheers and he lifts me back up, the smile on his face matching mine. We walk back down the aisle to the song ‘Best Day of My Life’ by Imagine Dragons. Everyone else follows us out and gathers in the hallway as Jack and I go ahead into the reception hall. Across the hall from the room we held the wedding in, is the reception room. After Jack and I had a few minutes to regroup and to share a few kisses not appropriate for in front of our families, they’re allowed in and sat at the long table set up for us. Jack and I sit at the head, Madi to my left and Trev to Jack’s right. Alex is next to Madi, Quinn and Luke are on Trev’s side, with my new in-laws next to them. Dad and Mom are next to Alex and all I can do is smile. We all get drinks, champagne of course since it is a celebration, resulting in Luke getting a little too excited to “try his first drink”, even though I’m pretty sure everyone knows about what goes on at NDTP parties. Madi stands up and gets everyone quiet.

“So, since you guys are now officially married and you’re Charlie Hughes now, we’ve planned a little surprise for you two. Each of us has prepared a speech that we’d like to give and then there’s gifts from each of us. I’m going first.” She says, staring the boys down. Jack and I laugh and he interlaces our fingers, resting our hands on his knee.

“Charlotte Grace, you’ve always been my best friend. Since as far back as I can remember, it’s been you and me. Well and Trev but he usually was too cool to hang out with us. But I always knew that we were inseparable. There was no one else I’d rather tell my secrets to, cry over boys with, laugh with. You are my soulmate and will forever hold a very special place in my heart. Now you’re married, which was scary, at first. I thought I was going to lose you. But I know, no matter what happens, you will always be my person and things will never change between us. I love you so much. Now Jack. You changed Charlie’s world. I had never heard her talk about a boy the way she did you. You treat her with the love and care that she deserves. And although she may drive you crazy, I know you do love her so much. And if she ever gets to be too much to handle, I’m just a call away.” Everyone laughs and I lean my head on Jack’s shoulder.

“I honestly thought this was just some crazy idea you had to try and get her to come with you to Jersey, at first. But now I know, you really do love her and not only want but need her in your life. So thank you Jack, for taking care of and loving my soulmate, sister and best friend as much, if not more than I do. I love you both, congratulations.” Madi finishes, tears in her eyes and mine as she hugs me then sits back down.

“Okay, best man’s turn.” Quinn says, nudging Trev as he stands up.

“So it took me forever to figure out what I was gonna say. I mean, talking about my kid sister and my idiot of a best friend? Oh boy we’re in for it.” We all laugh and Trev smirks, looking up from the paper he’s reading from.

“But then I thought about it. These two people, two people I love more than anyone else in the world, decided that they loved each other enough to decide to spend the rest of their lives together, and for that, I couldn’t be more proud to call Charlie my sister and Jack, not only my best friend but now my brother. Now I’m gonna tell you a little bit about what it was like in the beginning, although pretty much all of you were around for it. I always kinda figured Jack would be the one of us to settle down first. I mean, he started dating my sister basically as soon as we all moved into town for NDTP. But I definitely wasn’t expecting it to be this soon. Or that I would be standing at my baby sister’s wedding a month before her 19th birthday. But I love Jack and Charlie. They make each other happy. Jack makes my sister the happiest I have ever seen her, even happier than when I got my license and was able to drive her to get food all the time.” Everyone laughs and I smile at Trev.

“Plus, getting to see my girls all dressed up and looking beautiful is always great.” He says, looking at Madi and I and winking.

“Boys, not too shabby either. But anyway, congratulations to Jack and Charlie. May you have the happiest life, the life you both deserve.” Trev raises his glass and everyone toasts Jack and I. Luke and Quinn stand up next.

“Hi everyone, you all know us. We’re the comedic relief. Or Dumb and Dumber, as Charlie so affectionately calls us. We’ve had the luck of getting to watch Charlie and Jack from the beginning. Charlie was this super awesome, really funny, drop dead gorgeous girl that Jack would not shut up about. But, like always, Jack was a little scary cat and wouldn’t do anything about it. So, with some scheming, meddling and a whole lot of intervention and teamwork from Madi, Alex, Luke, Trev and I, we made it happen. And now, we’re here today, celebrating two of the very few people I don’t hate. Congratulations, we love you both, and welcome to the Hughes family, Char.” I smile and hug Quinn and Luke both. They pat Jack on the shoulder and sit back down. Madi nudges Alex and he coughs, standing up.

“Um...So I’ll be honest, Madi wrote my speech.” Alex starts, smirking as Mads nods and we all laugh.“Just like 95% of things I do, I put it off until the last minute and probably wouldn’t have done it if she hadn’t finally done it for me. But anyways, I owe the two of you a huge thank you. You two are the entire reason I even have Madi. Charlie, you told me to go for it, Jack, you helped me realize how much I need her. And now, getting to see the two people who made sure I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, now get to be this happy? Makes me feel so awesome. So thank you, so much. Jack, we’ve been buddies for a while now. Charlie rocked your world the second she stepped into it, 2 years ago. You’ve never been the same and Charlie is the reason. Charlie, you’re the sister I never had. Congratulations to you two, I love you both.” I smile and hug Alex.

#jack hughes #nhl writing #hockey players #hockey #nhl #nhl story

[nimsajlove]

Warm

This is kinda related to the brothers-au, but you can take it as an alternate ending. In a reality, where the war ended and everyone is safe, at least the clones, Anakin and the other Jedi.

Ao3

*~*

It was dark and hot. Panting, she tried to get up and look around. In doing so, she discovered two things. First, she felt so incredibly light and her head was spinning. However, her body remained chained to the ground. Second, there was nothing really to see. It was dark around her and when she at least put her hands up, her fingers quickly met resistance. There were just a few inches of air between her face and what felt like a hot stone under her fingers. Why was it so hot? 

Her thoughts were slow and only with thinking really hard, the images of the last few minutes returned. Or hours? The moment, the building swayed. That small second, in which she had pushed the other three figures away from her. She still knew that Rex had hit the ground pretty hard and wondered briefly, if she had given him another head injury ... wouldn't be the first, the captain would get up again. Like always! She digged her way back into her memories. Actually, this had been a peace mission, after all these years she should be allowed to fulfill her task as Jedi! Where did the bomb come from? She puzzled over it for a moment, then gave up. Lying here any longer wouldn't do her any good, her fingertips got cold and it worried her a little, given the heat around her!

With a grunt, she pulled her hands to her head and felt around at her wrist, the communicator was still in place and she pressed it firmly, there was a low squeak and she sighed, thanking every little god she knew, that the little device was still working. In fact, someone answered her too. "General! Where are you?”, somebody called, it sounded a bit hectic and she thought she recognized Fives. He always sounded like that when she threw herself in danger again. At least, since she'd actually taken a shot for him and was not able to walk for nearly two weeks. But hey, they got him out of the trouble and everything was back to normal, kind of! "Don't know... downstairs?", she tried to grin and noticed how her face hurt and a little dust got into her mouth. She turned her head in disgust and spat the dirt out again, tasted blood and spat again, ran her tongue over her lips. Yep, that was blood indeed! 

"Not funny, Snips.", growled another voice and now she had to laugh after all, the movement shook something against her ribs and she stopped, it hurted more than she would have thought. She ran one hand down to her ribs and gently pressed on her flesh, she didn't had to be a medic to feel the narrow pipe. It appeared to pierce a lung and she suspected that the pressure on her body alone was keeping her alive. But for how long? She had grown up on the battlefield and knew the results of such injuries. She couldn't remember a single case, where Kix or the other medics had been successful. And now he wasn't here, but at home! In preparation for the next mission for the reconstruction... "We will come down to you, I think I got your location.", she heard her former master again and she thought about it. How thick was the layer of building debris above her? "Master, I don't know...", she mumbled and ran a hand over her face, damn tears! The only response she received were curses and rebukes. She was silent, did not answer. She didn't wanted those curses to be the last thing they had in conversation. 

She rubbed her face again and was angry, she normally had better control of her emotions! But she couldn't dismiss the fear that crept into her throat. Should that be it now? She had survived the war, Palpatine, and all that crap. Had offered her master an anchor and had promised to train Luke in a few years. Just to die down here now, alone and cold? She had thought the war was over... The fear of death was joined by another and she reached for her comlink again. "Rex?", she asked, her voice was shaking ab bit, and there was silence for a few seconds. Then there was a soft crack, it indicated a slightly unstable connection and she suddenly feared, that the conversation would simply break off. "Yes?", the clone answered, panting, she heard the others working in the background and her heart clenched hard in her chest. She couldn't hear them down here, so the layer was definitely too thick! "How's your head?", she asked, suppressing a sniff, it was good to hear something and she didn't want to miss anything. "I'm fine, but I'll pay you back." The answer came as half of a joke and she smiled, although small tears continued to run down her cheeks. "Have you already found out how...", she wanted to end the question, but was interrupted by a cough and simply swallowed the blood. Every time she turned her head, she was afraid of having to vomit, so she preferred to lie still.

“Yes, Fives got his hands on him practically straight away. Don't worry.” She let the calm voice lull her in a little and almost felt guilty. She knew, that Rex had nightmares as much as anyone else. That he was afraid too. But in moments like these, he hid all of this well. It made her feel at home, something that had been with her for years. Her eyes hurted and she closed them, she couldn't see anything anyway. The cold had crept up to her elbows like cold water. She no longer felt the communicator under her fingertips and was afraid again, that she would suddenly just be alone. "You're taking care of them, aren't you?", she asked, her tongue was so strangely heavy in her mouth and a thought popped up in her light head. She always thought she would die quickly. Simple. But this was so different. Now the captain's voice became harder and she heard the stern tone, that had brought the men back to their feet again and again. “You won't get rid of us that easily. Just give us a few more minutes." 

The whole time she doubted, that she would be able to notice when the three of them reached her. But at some point she heard the scratching above her and a cloud of dust trickled down to her. She wanted to cough, but every breath was already too much for her. She was freezing terribly and her arms were numb, she didn't believe that she could still use the comlink, although calm voices persuaded her the entire time. She didn't knew, when she'd last replied and when she tried to think she felt sick. Though, she actually felt miserable enough to throw up all the time. "Please tell us, that we're at least digging in the right place.", Fives muttered in the comlink and she thought, he was talking more to himself and to others than to her. Another few minutes passed before a fine beam of light appeared next to her head and she turned her head slightly. A familiar hand reached into the tiny hole and felt around a little, then the gap widened and a narrow torso pushed its way into it. 

"Hey, Snips.", Anakin muttered, his smile slowing her frantic heartbeat. With an effort, the corners of her mouth pulled up a little and she stretched her numb arm a little helplessly in his direction, she did not feel him gripping her wrist. Her tongue was too heavy, but she was glad not to lie alone in the dark any longer, forced to just wait. If the men's words had already been balm for her soul, then this was like a beacon that drove away the darkness. Breathing heavily, she tried to return the grip and saw the exact moment, when Anakin realized how weak she really was. His gaze routinely scanned her and his face hardened, as he absorbed the severity of the injuries. She saw his shoulders pull up and wanted to comfort him, she fought against her own body and managed to loosen her tongue. "Took you a long time.", she mumbled and watched, as the three men enlarged the hole further. Eventually the two clones climbed in too and didn't hesitate to get her free. However, they all had their lips pressed to a thin line, and Ahsoka hated that they looked so seriously. The war was over! 

"Kix would be handy.", she gasped when Anakin checked the back of her chest with his long fingers without turning her over. Rex grumbled, but Fives gave her a weak smile. “Oh really?", he muttered and she had to smile, until the pain made her grimace. Hands grabbed her and moved her gently. "Doesn't go through, must have come from above.", her old master stated and she broke out in a cold sweat, when she even thought about changing her current position. However, there was no way around it. 

She gritted her teeth and let herself be pulled out of the hole and lifted. As she lay on a stretcher, the suddenly bright world turned wildly around her and she swallowed at the nausea. When did the others join them? The edges of the world blurred as she was loaded into a Gunship and she tried to find the others. Where were they? Tears began to gather in her eyes, as hands appeared and gently rested on her shoulders. On her cheeks, on her montreals, soothing hands were placed everywhere, warming her cold body. She blinked again, the world was strangely dark and cloudy, but she wasn't alone. She tried to concentrate, the pain was just dull and she was trembling slightly, tiredness reached out for her. "Take care of them!", she puffed into Rex and she saw his face suddenly soften. He stroked her cheek, she felt his thumb catch a tear and wipe it away. "Of course, vod’ika.", he muttered and she was satisfied, turned her gaze to Anakin and Fives. "Don't do anything dumb!", she growled, trying to appear stern. The rattle in her chest might work against that. Still, both nodded and she sighed, her heartbeat dropping again. It was like sinking into meditation. Peaceful, kind of. "Its okay. Sleep a bit, rest.", her former master mumbled and she nestled her face in the offered warmth. She felt the vibration of the ship and heard the quiet conversations of the other clones around her. Then it got dark. She was warm.

#why did I do this? #character death #ahsoka tano #clone wars #after the war #I wanted her to be safed but you know... #at least its kinda peacfull at the end #rex #fives #anakin skywalker #clone trooper fives #clone trooper rex

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Anidala Week Day 2: Canon Divergence

(Canon Divergence is pretty much all I do. So here’s a thing loosely set in the universe I play around in anyway. :) )

To save the Republic(’s approval ratings), Anakin and Padme have to get married. 

Again.

“I’m not saying you have to.” 

Padme lifts an unimpressed eyebrow at her friend, crossing her arms. “But you’re saying we should.” 

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Bail shrugs. As head of the Chancellatory committee, he’s had a lot of work to do, and not much of it makes him popular with anyone. “You can’t argue that there’s been a lot of distrust between the people and the Jedi Order...and the Senate and the Jedi Order...and the Jedi Order and the Jedi Order. It would make them seem like they could be normal people.” 

“They’re not normal people,” Padme points out, taking a seat in Bail’s office. It feels strange to be able to move around again without feeling like there are two bowling balls in her stomach. Though she misses her babies terribly when she’s not with them at home, she’s glad for the freedom that not being pregnant gives her. “They’re Jedi. That’s always been the point.” 

“A point that isn’t working anymore,” Bail tells her. “Obi-Wan being on the committee is a good start for repairing relations between the Jedi and the Senate, but a public display would make a bigger impression on the people of the Republic.” 

“Bail, Anakin and I are already married,” Padme argues. “We’ve been married for years, and now we’re parents, and Anakin is still recovering from that fight with Palpetine. Between those things and my work, we don’t have the time.” 

“So hire a wedding planner,” Bail shrugs. “Look, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being married to the Queen of Alderaan, it’s that sometimes you do stupid, ridiculous things to make your people happy.” 

“And you think that the stupid, ridiculous thing that I should do is have a very large, very expensive, very public wedding to the man I’m already married to, to show the people of the Republic that we’re all playing nice together,” Padme surmises. 

“Exactly.” Bail sighs softly. “You’ve already had the intimate wedding you wanted to have.” 

Padme huffs to herself. It hadn’t quite been what she’d always dreamed of, but…

“And the Senate and Jedi approval ratings are quite literally circling the drain,” Bail goes on. “If we’re not careful, all of us will lose our upcoming elections, which means that all the work we’ve done here so far has the potential to be completely undone. And a vote to remove the Jedi from government oversight wouldn’t be far behind, which means they would lose government support and funding. We have to at least try to give the people some sort of hope. Some sort of positive display that will restore their faith in the idea that we can all work together to clean up this terrible mess. And yes, a wedding is hokey. It’s obvious, it’s clearly a ploy. But it will be a popular ploy. Anakin is the most successful Jedi General of the Clone Wars; he rooted out the Sith Lord in our midst, and you are one of the most popular Senators among us. The people adore you. This is a PR goldmine.” 

“It’s my life,” Padme reminds him. “One that, up until a month ago, was very private.” 

“Well, you’re our only choice,” Bail says, sympathetically. “I’d ask Obi-Wan, but Jinn is already a year old, and no one likes Satine. Hell, they don’t even like Obi-Wan anymore, now that he’s on the committee instead of leading an army.” 

“Not that he cares, which he shouldn’t,” Padme mutters. “He’s here to advise us. Not win popularity contests.” 

“We work in politics, remember? It’s all a popularity contest.” 

Padme sighs heavily. “So. I’m getting married. Again.” 

Bail smiles at her. “Congratulations.” 

***** 

Anakin is visibly confused when she gets home that night. “What was wrong with our wedding?” 

“Nothing,” Padme tells him quickly, taking his hands. “Our wedding was wonderful and beautiful. I got to wear my dream dress and you were so handsome, and sweet, and it was just for us. But…” 

Anakin waits for her, still frowning. “But?” 

“But...this...isn’t about us,” Padme goes on. “This is about restoring the faith of the people of the Republic. Of showing them that there is unity between the Senate and the Jedi.” 

“There isn’t,” Anakin points out. “In fact, all there has been is finger pointing over who missed what sign that things were terrible. Mace got angry. I’ve never seen Mace angry. I thought he was going to slice off the heads of the entire committee. Including Obi-Wan.” 

“Well, that was a bad day at work.” 

“Angel, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they’ve all been bad days at work.” 

“Which is why we need to do this.” 

Anakin sighs softly. “So you want us to get married again. In front of the entire galaxy.” 

“It’ll be fun,” Padme insists. “We’ll get dressed up, we’ll eat cake...and we only got one night of a honeymoon, maybe we could take longer this time.” 

“Between twin infants and your work schedule?” 

“Why are you making this difficult?” Padme asks, starting to lose her patience. 

Anakin pauses for a moment before speaking up. “Because our wedding, however small...however brief, was special to me. It was the most important day of my life, right along with the day the kids were born. I don’t need or want a do-over.”

Her heart melts as she sees the sincerity in his eyes. “Oh, Ani.” 

He takes a breath and grins sheepishly. “Alright. Okay. If us re-getting-married is going to be the thing that unites everyone and brings peace to the galaxy, who am I to argue?” A rush of relief washes over her as she throws her arms around him. “Thank you. I promise I will make this as painless as possible.” ***** It is not painless. It is weeks of planning. Robe and gown fittings. Of tastings and flower arrangements and guest lists. “Well, the Council has agreed to come.” Anakin blinks owlishly. Padme sighs, a touch exasperated. “Ani, the entire point of this is to show unity between the Jedi and the Senate. I spoke with the Council last week, and they’ve agreed that they, along with other key members of the order will be there.” Anakin shakes his head as he changes Luke’s diaper, playing with his son’s feet absently. “Whatever you say, Angel.” “I know your relationship with them is a little strained…” “Yes.” Padme deflates a little, knowing that it’s taken a long time for Anakin to heal from his fight with Sidious, and that the Council nearly threw him out of the order anyway, for his marriage and children. “I should have spoken to you about this first. I thought you knew.” “It’s fine,” Anakin tells her. He takes a deep breath and turns to her. “After all, this isn't for us. This is for the Galaxy, right?” She nods, pursing her lips, and staying quiet. “And as long as I get to have Rex and the 501st there, it’s fine,” he says. It’s Padme’s turn to blink owlishly. “...Oh.” Anakin narrows his eyes. “You did invite my men to our wedding, didn’t you?” “I...may have...forgotten?” Before he can get truly upset, she holds up her hands. “I will fix this, right away, I promise, Anakin.” As she rushes out the door, she hears him call back “Invite the 212th, too!” Padme closes her eyes and takes a deep, cleansing breath. Between her work schedule, and this wedding planning, and trying to fit in Anakin and their children, her life has been a mess. Her husband has been a complete saint through most of this, taking care of the children, and putting quite a few of his Jedi responsibilities on hold, it’s hard to be mad at him when he acts like a bantha brain. But she will be completely glad when this is all over. ***** The day arrives without much fanfare. Since the ceremony is at night, (Mace Windu had been adamant about “On the steps of the Temple. The Senate needs to show it’s willing to actually meet the Jedi halfway, since we’re always coming to you.”), they have time for a quiet morning together. Padme feeds the twins as Anakin makes them breakfast, and she sighs contentedly as she listens to the nuna bacon fry under Anakin’s soft humming. “I want this forever,” she says wistfully, as she cuddles Leia. Anakin turns to her, cracking a grin. “Good thing we’re already married.” ***** It goes by much quicker than Padme had thought it would. Jar Jar performs the ceremony, which is strange, but it feels fitting, since he was there when they first met as children, and before they know it, he’s saying “I’sa now pronouncin’ you, husband and wife! Kiss her, Ani!” And Anakin does, tugging her close and kissing her eagerly, as if he’s been waiting to do this in front of the Senate and the Council and the Galaxy for years. He probably has, Padme thinks as she wraps her around around his neck, smiling against his lips. ***** The reception is enormous, and loud, and busy, and Padme is being pulled in all different directions, to be congratulated and kissed on the cheek and hugged, and the longer the party goes on, the drunker everyone seems to get. She knows she should be having a good time, but mostly, she wishes that she could have gone with Dorme and the twins back to their apartment. She would love to get out of this tight gown and rock her babies to sleep and then get a little work down before curling up with Anakin in bed. Padme supposes that she can do that tomorrow night. It takes her a while to find Anakin. They keep getting separated in all of the chaotic revelry, but she eventually finds him at a corner table with Rex, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, Satine and Cody, watching all the party while nursing a drink. He beams at her when he sees her and when she gets close enough, he takes her hand and gently pulls her down onto his lap. “There you are.” Padme wraps her arms around his neck and instantly relaxes, surrounded by the people she knows well, a port in a storm. “I was busy making the rounds. Which you should be doing.” “Eh. Everybody knows where I am,” he shrugs, grinning at her. “Besides, nobody cares about the groom at a wedding. It’s all about the bride.” “I’d say congratulations, but since you’ve been married for years, it feels a bit silly,” Satine teases. “You said it,” Ahsoka pipes up. “I should have been in on that particular secret, by the way.” “No one was in on it,” Obi-Wan grouses. ‘Not even I knew.” “Er,” Rex says awkwardly. “Rex knew?!” Ahsoka cries. “Rex knew and I didn’t?!” “He didn’t know we were married,” Anakin snaps. “Just that we were together. And...talking regularly over holo comm during the war. That’s all.” “That’s all,” Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. “How are you any better?” Anakin asks, bewildered. “Jinn is a year older than the twins. I had no idea you and Satine were still seeing each other. You hid your baby from me, Ahsoka, and the Council for an entire year.” “We were at war!” “Hey, no fighting,” Ahsoka cuts in. “We don’t fight at weddings.” “We were already married,” Anakin points out. “And our first wedding was better.” Padme smiles and kisses Anakin’s temple. ***** When they finally make it home, it’s incredibly late. Anakin goes to check on the twins, who are fast asleep, and Padme closes the door to the guest room that Dorme is sleeping in, so as not to disturb her. She sighs softly and turns to Anakin, taking his hands. “Thank you, Ani. I know this wasn’t really what you wanted. But I appreciate that you went through with it.” “Well, now that it’s over, we can get back to some semblance of normalcy,” he says, kissing the top of her head. “Maybe we could take the twins to the park tomorrow.” She smiles and closes her eyes, pulling him close. “Yes. Let’s do that.”

#anidalaweek2020 #fic #au #anidala #padme amidala #anaikin skywalker

[hold-him-down]

✋ - A hand carding gently through their hair for Leo :)

A response to this ask thing.

Takes place like ~2 months into Luke's contract.

TW: Legalized Slavery Setting, general pain and sadness.

“I know you’re hurting,” Luke whispers, knelt beside a visibly shaking Leo. He is curled on the floor next to the bed, his arm covering his head. It’s a trauma response, and if Luke’s heart wasn’t already shattered from the day, this would have done the job. His hand hovers over Leo’s cheek, the only part of his face that is visible, but he is reluctant to make contact there. Leo’s eyes close slowly, as silent tears trail along his jaw, puddling onto the wood beneath him. “I know, buddy.”

Luke sets the two small pills on the nightstand, and then softly pulls Leo’s arm away from his head. Leo offers no resistance.

“You can bring him in on your own, Senator, we’ll take him for a few hours, we’ll have him home by dinner. Hell, you can even stay with him if it makes you feel better,” Edison said, as Luke paced in the kitchen, his phone clutched tightly in his palm. “Or I can get a court order, and we’ll keep him here for a week. We’ll provide you with a substitute during that time.” There was a pause, and then for extra punch, he added, “We can even do some light retraining if we find it’s needed.” After spending the last three days reading and re-reading and re-reading the contract, Luke knew it was not a bluff; they would forcibly remove Leo if they needed to.

Luke isn’t sure how often Leo winds up on the floor, but this isn’t the time to bring it up. Instead, he sits down next to him; he’s shivering. Luke pulls the comforter off of the bed, gently draping it over his shoulders.

“Can I… can I go lay down? For a… for a couple minutes, p… please,” Leo asked, his voice shaky and his eyes red and his shoulders tense. He barely waited for Luke’s pained nod before he hurried to his room, leaving the door characteristically ajar.

Luke set the bag from the pharmacy on the table, then filled a cup with cold water, dampened a washcloth, and took two pills out of one of the bottles. This was always the hardest part. Of all that he’d learned about Leo, his distrust of medicine was one of the things that came up most frequently. Paired with a very questionable medical history, this was a near constant issue in some form or another.

“Lift your head up,” he whispers now, rearranging himself underneath it. Leo is desperate for physical attention, he craves it, and he doesn’t access it nearly as often as he wants it. It’s one thing that Luke cannot, no matter how many therapy sessions he spends trying, come to grips with how to handle. He knows by now that there are deep-running issues of consent, and of power, and of conditioning at play. But he also will not idly allow Leo to suffer through his contract, through his life. So he’s done his best to categorize ok touch and not ok touch, and it’s honestly all a fucking mess. This isn’t the time to dwell on it.

Leo’s head sinks onto his lap, and he grips tightly into Luke’s jeans. Luke lets his fingers press into the soft black hair, offering a little bit of pressure as he cards his fingers through it, down to Leo’s neck. Tears are still spilling silently from Leo’s eyes, and Luke repeats the action. Back to the top, down to the neck. With his free hand, he sweeps the cloth over Leo’s face, wiping the tears and cooling him down. He lets it linger on his forehead, while he gives a little more pressure at Leo’s scalp.

“It’s alright,” he whispers. “It’s over.” It’s probably a lie, he realizes, as he reaches for the pills on the nightstand. “I want you to take these.” He tries to very strictly limit how often he explicitly directs Leo, and it’s become almost universally linked to taking medicine. He hands him the pills and Leo hesitates, just for a moment, before closing his eyes and swallowing them dry. Luke notices the tears intensify, and mumbles a soft, “Good,” which tugs at his gut uncomfortably. Leo’s body immediately reacts, curling up a little tighter as a tense breath is released. He’s tried to describe it before, he tells Luke that it’s palpable, that sometimes when he hears it, it’s like he can breathe a little easier. Luke is careful not to think too deeply about a lot of things, and that one is always at the top of his list. He keeps his attention on Leo’s head, running his fingers down his scalp.

Leo’s eyes close, and Luke watches the tremors that roll through him, the pattern of gripping his pants tighter and then slowly loosening, over and over, until eventually, the remaining tension dissipates from his body, and Luke knows he’s asleep.

He keeps going, but lifts the blanket and peeks under his shirt to make sure his bandages look okay. Leo doesn’t stir, or move, or do anything. Only when he’s sure that Leo is completely, totally asleep, does he let his own eyes slip shut, a few unexpected tears sliding down his cheeks. He ignores them, he breathes deeply, and he makes sure that none of the images from the day creep into his thoughts. Even as he drifts to sleep, his fingers stay tangled in Leo’s hair.

@peachy-panic, @whump-cravings, @afabulousmrtake, @crystalquartzwhump, @maracujatangerine, @pumpkin-spice-whump, @distinctlywhumpthing, @thecyrulik, @highwaywhump

#anonymous #the fighter #legalized slavery #sadness #lmk if you want the hurt counterpiece #you'll prob get it regardless #spoiler: its medical whump #still chugging away on a real chapter

[the-lady-of-stars]

Assuming the Worst

Requested by @thescarletknight2014​

Summary: Reader was Poe’s childhood best friend. At the age of sixteen she was recognised for her strength in the force and sent to train with Luke Skywalker. After that fateful night when a young Ben Solo turned against the Jedi, Poe had assumed the worst. 

You had never gotten over having to leave him behind. Poe Dameron had undoubtedly been the best friend you were ever going to have. Maybe, just maybe, had you not been called to the Jedi temple all those years ago, you could have become more. 

You shook your head, some sort of pathetic attempt to stop yourself from thinking about him. The wing of the trashed old ship you were perched on still felt slightly warm to the touch, despite it being night. That’s all there was to Jakku really- heat, sand. Better than nothing you supposed. 

After the incident with Ben Solo at the temple you had abandoned that lifestyle. Sure you could have stayed with Luke, but losing everyone you trained with wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to get over. Personally you had found it the easier option to just run off to Jakku. Fixing ships up for Unkar Plutt wasn’t a dreamy lifestyle but hey- credits were credits. 

Soon enough you found yourself drifting off on the wing of an old cargo ship under the stars, the uncomfortable heat of Jakku that even after all these years you still weren’t accustomed to pushing you over. 

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

A loud noise startled you out of your sleep. Blaster shots? Your eyes were still blurred but you could tell that it was morning. Squinting through the sun in an attempt to get your eyes to focus resulted in you seeing some sort of chase. Stormtroopers? You hadn’t seen them round these parts in a while. Ties soaring overhead rattled the cargo ship you were sat on, nearly knocking you off. You gripped onto the edge of the wing to keep yourself steady, trying to observe the situation closer. One of the two people running from the troopers was a man, a leather jacket with the well known Resistance symbol etched on it draped over his shoulders. You knew what to do. You couldn’t just let members of the Resistance get gunned down by the Order. 

Reaching out with the force you flung the troopers backwards hard enough to knock them out. Next you closed your eyes, sensing the ties which were circling like vultures and bringing them down in the direction of the sinking fields nearby. The two Resistance members stopped, staring at you, grateful for your help. 

The girl approached you first, shouting up a greeting. You tensed your legs and slid off the wing, landing softly in the sand in front of her. The man stood cautiously a few feet behind her, looking confused. 

“You did that?” the girl questioned you, furrowing her brown eyebrows. Her hair was tied back into three buns, and she held a staff in her hand. There was a small orange ball droid at her feet, which whistled curiously.

“Uh- yeah. Yeah I did,” you stuttered. The man behind her stepped forward, now stood shoulder to shoulder with the girl. 

“You’re a Jedi?” he gasped. 

“Used to be. Long time ago. Now I’m just a mechanic.”

“That’s a lightsaber on your belt!” the girl chimed in.

“Yeah. Didn’t have it in me to get rid of it.”

“I’m Rey, by the way,” she responded. “And this is Finn. He’s with the Resistance. I’m just a scavenger.” 

“Y/N.”

Finn waved a hand in an awkward but sweet greeting, not taking his eyes off the saber on your belt.

You were about to reply when the sound of more ties coming interrupted. 

“Kriff, there’s more!” Finn cried out. 

“You should get out of here,” you suggested urgently. “Take that old freighter there.”

“We could use someone like you on our side,” Rey said. 

“It’s now or never, the Order’s almost here!” Finn called as he started stepping in the direction of the freighter. 

“We’re going to the Resistance. Please come with us?”

“Sure, why not. Let’s get out of here now, though. Those ties are going to be on us like Kowakian monkey-lizards in about twenty seconds.”

-------- Time skip to Maz Kanata’s Castle --------------

Somehow the First Order had found out you were here again. As it turned out, that old freighter from the junkyard was the Millenium Falcon. Han Solo’s Millenium Falcon. 

Currently you were outside the remains of Maz Kanata’s castle, troopers surrounding you, Finn, Han and Chewbacca. Rey had been taken by Kylo Ren. Or Ben. Ben Solo. You were good friends back at the temple. You knew that he recognised you. He paused and looked into your eyes at one point, but you couldn’t look back into his. Where the sweet hazel eyes of a friend used to be you only saw a reflective metal visor. Cold. Dark. 

In a flash all of the troopers around you began panicking. They started heading for the bank of the lake, making you turn to Han in confusion, furrowing your brows. 

“It’s the Resistance,” he whispered, relief showing on his face. 

You saw them. A whole squadron of X-Wings, a black and orange one leading them. The black X-Wing soared up from the surface of the lake, blasting Tie after Tie out of the air, swerving through the ruins of Maz’s castle. 

“That’s one hell of a pilot!” Finn cheered giddily, a bright smile widening.

You only knew one pilot who could fly like that. You gasped sensing his presence through the force. It was him. Poe. Your Poe, after all these years. 

You felt yourself choking up, tears stinging at your eyes. 

“Y/N, you okay, kid?” Han asked. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good,” you managed. Han didn’t look all that convinced but didn’t press you further. 

------------------ At the Resistance Base on D’Qar -------------

You stepped off the Falcon onto the concrete. Your eyes roamed rapidly in a search for the black and orange x-wing you were so sure held Poe. Finn ran past you, stopping when the ball droid you had come to know as BB-8 crashed into his legs in an attempt to speed past towards something. Towards someone. A man in an orange flight-suit hopped out of the black x-wing, pulling off his helmet and handing it to a nearby technician. You’d recognise those dark curls anywhere. It was him. Poe. 

Finn and Poe ran to each other. So that was who Finn was talking about when he said he’d escaped the First Order with a Resistance pilot. Small galaxy. They embraced, talking for a while before Poe happened to glance over Finn’s shoulder. He froze, face scrunching in confusion. Finn turned back to see what Poe was looking at. 

“You know Y/N?” Finn asked. Poe didn’t respond, starting to walk towards you at a slow, steady pace, still hesitant to approach you. You were dead. That’s what he’d told himself all those years. All those nights where he lay awake, crying over the loss of his very best friend. He shook his head in disbelief, blinking to bring himself out of whatever cruel dream he was currently in. You couldn’t be here. It wasn’t possible. He had heard that every Jedi at the temple had died in the betrayal of Ben Solo- and that had included you. 

The area had cleared now, everyone going inside to celebrate their victory at Takodana. Even Finn had gone with Han to speak to the General, deciding to leave Poe to it. 

Poe still stood about four metres in front of you, staring at you with a blank expression. You didn’t blame him. Couldn’t. You had let him believe that you had died all those years ago. Had never bothered to contact him to tell him you were okay. That you were alive. Thinking about it now, you felt awful. You should have at least sent him a message. 

Tears welled up in your eyes for the second time that day, hands shaking. As a tear escaped your eye, Poe was snapped out of his trance. He strode towards you, wrapping his arms around you ever so gently when he finally reached you, almost as if you would disappear if he held you too hard. 

“Poe,” you choked out quietly, desperation lacing your voice. 

“It’s really you?” his voice shook. You’d missed that voice. 

“Yeah, Poe. Yeah, it’s me.”

“No, no you died,” he finally released a sob. 

That was the line. That heart-wrenching sob that slipped out of his mouth was it. You broke down, tears now flowing freely as you clutched his sleeves. 

“I’m sorry, Poe. I’m so kriffing sorry. I should have told you I was okay. I just- freaked out and I needed to get away from everything so I-”

“Hey, hey- it’s alright. Really. You don’t have to explain yourself to me. I understand perfectly. What you went through couldn’t have been easy. All that matters is that you’re alive, and I’ve got you back. Oh, angel.” Poe sniffled, finally getting the courage to pull you close to him, burying you into his shoulders. 

You both stood there for a while, crying into each other for everything you had lost and everything you had found again. You held each other and rocked side to side, the time passing not crossing either of your minds for a second. 

Poe began to speak.

“You know, the night after you left all those years ago I couldn’t sleep a wink. I was up all night just thinking. Thinking about all the things I should have said when I had the chance. And after the whole temple thing? The things I thought I’d never be able to tell you. So I’m not gonna wait any longer. The galaxy is unpredictable. Who knows what’s gonna happen next. If I’ve learned anything it’s to not waste time thinking about whether you should say something or not. Because if I don’t say anything now then it shows that I haven’t learned anything- and I have. So I want you to know that I loved you. Still do, in fact. Never stopped. Really broke my heart to think that I’d never be able to tell you. But life’s given me a second chance. So I’m gonna tell you again and again until I’m out of breath just how much I love you, and how much you mean to me. Y’know, my dad always used to tell me to wish on a star and your dreams would come true. Thought it was nonsense- a fairy tale that you tell kids to keep them dreaming. But hell, desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ve wished on a star every single night since that day you left, begging whatever forces are out there in the galaxy to bring you back to me. Did I think it would work? Probably not. I thought I was just being hopeful. Yet here you are, stood in front of me again. I’m not going to lose you this time. Not again. I don’t have the strength for that. So what i’m trying to say is that I love you. I love you.”

You couldn’t verbalise a response. What do you even say when someone pours their heart out for you? So you did the only thing you could think of. 

It was a good kiss, perfect even. You might go as far as to call it one worth waiting a lifetime for. You weren’t letting him go again. Not now, not ever. 

#poe dameron x reader #poe dameron imagine

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Put Me In a Movie

Keanu Reeves x Reader (A/n- its been a while, I haven’t known how to carry the story forward, but recently had a burst of inspiration and wrote the next three chapters. Judging from the last chapter’s feedback, the events of this one isn’t going to be too satisfying.)

Summary Prologue  1   2   3  4  5  6 7  8  9  10  11  12  13

Warnings- Angst, angst and more angst

Chapter 14- Cut The Ropes And Let Me Fall

2 Months Later Filming had been through with Jackson’s yelling, “And that’s a wrap!” At the end of the last scene. The camera had stopped rolling, and wouldn’t again unless the need for re shoots arose and by the end of the week, Y/n and Keanu were carded to fly back to Los Angeles. But that wouldn’t be before a photo shoot for promotional pictures and the wrap party the night before their flights. 

By then, they’d managed to smoothen things out yet again, though, they hadn’t been left void of tension; every now and then, they’d reach a fork in the road, reminding them that things weren’t what they used to be. He’d say something a little too harsh or Y/n would get a bit too close, and for a few days, until one of them had decided that it was time to forget, they’d toe around each other, desperately avoiding any kind of serious talk. 

But, despite the awkwardness, things were surprisingly good too. The highs were higher than they used to be. Keanu had mostly forgone his suite, falling asleep next to Y/n most nights, and they would wake up tangled in each other’s embrace the next morning. It was nice, and was worth the bursts of tension, that served as tormenting punctuation.

“You look cute in this,” Keanu slowly sauntered towards Y/n in the now empty dressing room, immediately taking her in his arms, bending to nuzzle her cheek, "You should keep this blouse," he tugged on the fabric of the lace crop top, which generously boasted her cleavage, the color standing out on her skin.

"Maybe I'll ask if I can," Y/n giggled, looking at their reflections in the lengthy mirror mounted to the wall. Her manicured nails skimmed his forearms, clad in leather, leaning her head back on his shoulder. 

Quickly kissing her, Keanu let his touch invade the scalloped hem, inching upwards suggestively, "How long do we have before the shoot?" The mumbled inquisition was muffled as his ministrations traveled lower; behind her ear lobe, lower down her jaw and along the delicate column of her neck. 

"Not long enough," with wavering restraint, Y/n tried to untangle herself from Keanu's affectionate embrace. He'd still insisted on keeping their entanglement under wraps, hiding things from the press and their co workers. Of course, there'd been a few close calls; pictures taken displaying compromising positions and mummers on social media, but even then, their respective publicists had been able to spin the stories to suit their narratives. Y/n and Keanu were close, comfortable friends, who'd grown used to intimacy on set; there was nothing more between them. Each time, it had stung and Y/n couldn't help but feel like his dirty little secret during those periods. But alas, if she wanted him, she'd have to compromise. That was how relationships worked, right?

Even if what they shared was never really a relationship.

Wiggling and turning in his embrace, Y/n gently pushed on Keanu’s chest, biting half her lip as her eyes sparkled, clearly wanting things to continue, just as much as he did, “As much as I want to, we have maybe ten minutes-”

“I’m sure we can make that work,” Keanu leaned in, trying to kiss her again, “Besides, who cares if we're a little late huh? We’re the stars babygirl, they aren’t gonna start without us. Now come on,” dismissing her objecting, outstretched arms, Keanu closed the space, finding her lips in a breath-stealing, hungry kiss, already pawing as the button of her jeans.

“Is the door locked?” Breathless, Y/n spoke against her lips, smiling at how his beard scratched her face. Y/n was already in the process of finding the lapels of his jacket, ready to push it off his broad shoulders, when, answering her question instead of Keanu, was the sound of someone opening the door.

“Places in- '' Jackson stopped abruptly upon seeing them, and frazzled they instantly sprang apart. Immediately, Keanu folded his arms, backing away hastily to put some space between them while Y/n slumped against the edge of the counter, where various products had remained scattered. After months of hiding things, they’d gotten caught on their very last day on set. “I knew it!” Smirking defiantly, Jackson propped himself on the door-frame, “You two,” he pointed between them, “Are good actors, but terrible liars. Especially you,” he pointed accusingly to Keanu, who went all red in the cheeks, barely saved by his scruff covering half his face. 

“What?” Y/n croaked, her throat suddenly dry and her voice hoarse. She was fine with being discovered, but Keanu, she couldn’t tell what he’d do when they were alone. Maybe he’d decide that she wasn’t worth the risk. Maybe she should get to decide if he was worth another round of tears. “You knew?”

“Of course I knew,” maybe their resident mad genius wasn’t as mad and out of touch as they’d made him out to be. It was always the ones you didn’t suspect anyway. “Those little looks that you two share, the very realistic kisses. At first, I thought I’d struck a chemistry goldmine,” chuckling, Jackson shook his head, pushing up his glasses with his pointer, “But there was something about the way you hold her,” he turned to Keanu, his features softening, “I’d never seen in something,” making an elaborate gesture with his hands, Jackson searched the ceiling for the right word, “Manufactured.”

“I…..” She could tell he was flustered and uncomfortable, even from where she stood, almost two feet away. Keanu would have done everything to keep their so-called relationship in a box, away from the outside, away from something that would make it real.

Saving Keanu the trouble of having to find an excuse to deter his suspicions, Jackson's ability to be sociable left as quickly as it came, and in no time, he was back to his skittish, borderline intolerable self, “Well,” he clapped his hands dramatically, “I hope you two can keep up this momentum, it’ll be fantastic for press. We can tell the media that working together sparked your love and now, you’re inseparable, I’ll run in by the publicists,” already he was walking out of the room, expecting Y/n and Keanu to follow him, something they’d only caught up on when he’d already started down the long hall. Before they joined Jackson, Y/n tried to catch Keanu’s gaze, hoping to gauge his reaction, but he was actively avoiding her face, and that in itself was enough to tell her that he was not okay with what had gone down. 

“Your relationship is going to be a great selling point,” he continued, not caring for their objections, his mind already made up, “But anyways,” they’d just broken off onto the main floor, where things were already set up for the photo shoot, “We should get into the shoot, we’ve only got this guy for a couple hours, Gary had an emergency back home,” Jackson explained briskly, “But thankfully, Lucas here is an amazing photographer. Lucas!” Jackson snapped his fingers, beckoning over a tall, blonde figure.

When Y/n saw his face, she gasped, and she could have sworn that it was impossible for her jaw to not hit the floor. As if things couldn’t get worse. “It’s actually just…..” upon seeing her, he seemed just as shocked, though Y/n supposed that he should have had the upper hand, considering he should have known what movie he’d be doing the pictures for. “It’s just Luke,” he finished, shaking his head, looking bewildered, “Y/n.”

“Luke, you’re….” at a loss for words, Y/n couldn’t help but long for a spontaneous split in the earth to swallow her up and dump her straight into hell. At least there she wouldn’t have to deal with awkward situations with her current ‘sort of’ boyfriend and a ‘sort of ex-boyfriend’ that she’d never officially broken up with. “You’re doing the shoot?”

Clearing his throat, he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly as uncomfortable with it as she was, “I am, Y/n-”

“Well, lady and gents,” Jackson interrupted, apparently not noting the tension, “We’ve only got this place for a few more hours, so we should get started.”

“Yeah, okay,” Keanu was the one who’d spoken, and it was the first time since he’d been cut off by Jackson in the dressing in the dressing room that he’d even opened his mouth, two words said in a tone that was perfectly u readable, “Let’s do this,” without another word, he walked off in the direction of the set up, not even offering a backwards glance.

Y/n was about to break off from the group and do the same, when, just as Jackson moved away, Luke grabbed her arm in a loose grip, “Hey,” he offered her a faltering, faint smile, “Can we talk after?” 

His eyes were pleading, though, just as Y/n was going to tell him that they could, Jackson circled back, “Oh and Lucas,” he’d already completely forgotten, or perhaps he just wasn’t listening, Luke’s clarification of his name, “Get some some good ones of the happy couple.”

“Couple?” His gaze still penetrated Y/n’s sickened expression, though his brows now falling as hope drained from his face, “Right”

“Luke-”

“You know what?” He mustered up a brave face to hide his hurt, letting go of her arm and taking two steps back, “Never mind, let’s just get this done, okay?” And when she nodded, not really knowing how to remedy anything that had happened in the past thirty minutes, he turned away, “Great.”

Great?

No, it wasn’t great. Not really.

Music throbbed in his chest and the air was ignited by a buzz fueled by freely flowing alcohol and the relaxed, carefree demeanor of the cast and crew alike. Filming was finally over, they’d put in the hard work and they'd reap the rewards in about four or five months. He should have been enjoying the party like everyone else, but Keanu just couldn't.

So, instead, he'd gone out through the back of the club, lighting a cigarette between his lips and holding a half finished beer in his free hand. Since earlier that day, when Jackson had caught him and Y/n almost in the act, his mind had been bombarded with a flurry of thoughts. He was the one that had wanted what they had hidden, while simultaneously, Keanu was also the one making it glaringly obvious. That wasn't what he wanted; Y/n was making a fool of him, and fools got hurt. 

Keanu didn't want to get hurt.

Things had only gone even further downhill during the photo shoot and Keanu could tell that it was taking everything in Luke to not take a swing at him. Keanu couldn't blame him, if the roles were reversed he might have done the same. Y/n was……..absolutely astounding. She was breathtakingly gorgeous, incredibly intelligent and had a one in a million personality. She worth punches. She was worth more than he could give. Because as hard as Keanu had tried to convince himself that they could work, he knew that he was just postponing the inevitable. He couldn't be with her forever, he wasn't the forever kind of man and her affections already ran deeper than his by far. 

He couldn't do that to her anymore.

The fun was over.

Taking a pull from his smoke, blowing out a white puff seconds later, Keanu barely turned when the heavy iron door behind him in the dark alley way dragged open with a definitive wail. He knew who it was without even looking, he could smell her perfume, clinging to her satin skin and the shimmery black, mini slip dress that she'd slid into before they left her hotel room. He'd had her in that dress, while it was bunched up over her stomach and she was pressed against the wall of the living room, just before they'd left for the party. If only Keanu had known it was the last time he'd lay hands on Y/n again, he might have savored it more.

"You've been out here for a while," he knew that she'd picked up on his pensive mood a while ago, and though he hadn't asked, and not had she told him, Keanu could tell that there was something weighing heavy on Y/n's mind.

"I wanted a cigarette," he huffed, blowing out another cloud, finally glancing her way when she came to stand beside him, staying a few inches away. "Shouldn't you be inside?"

"Yeah," she chortled halfheartedly, rolling her eyes, taking a punctuating sip from her red disposable cup, "Shouldn't you?"

"I told you-"

"I heard you before," when Y/n cut him off, Keanu could sense a new malice in her voice, and growing defensive, he wondered where it came from.

"What's your problem?" He rolled his eyes, taking one last drag from the stub before tossing it to the ground and putting it out with the toe of his worn brown boot.

As it seemed, Keanu wasn't the only one putting up unwarranted defenses that night, as Y/n shot back, "My problem?" Moving around so he'd be forced to look at her, Y/n licked her lips, shaking her head, "You're the one who's been icing his girlfriend out."

And just like that, just as he fired his last, shitty attempt of a defense mechanism, Keanu chuckled dryly, not even thinking as he spoke, "You're not my girlfriend." Though, the minute he caught his foot in his mouth, Keanu tried to clarify, "Fuck, that's not-"

But it was too late, it was already out there and Keanu's words had hit Y/n like a bullet to the chest, "What?" Her anger, chased with insurmountable hurt and swirling confusion flared, driving what came next, "That's not what you meant?" She mocked, trying to suppress a sniffle, "What did you mean, huh? Did you mean that I'm just some girl you're fucking cause its convenient? Or did you mean that you were still seeing were this is going, and so far, it's not going like I'm your girlfriend," she took a breath, gathering her thoughts, "Well newsflash Keanu, maybe that's a good thing, maybe I don't want to be your fucking girlfriend!"

Her words were angry, but he could see past it, the cracks in her exterior shining through to show her pain. The tears in her ears, the break in her throat. Yet still, he didn't sympathize. If they were going to be like that then it was every man for themselves. "Well maybe that's good!" He yelled, not caring if anyone would hear them over the music, "Cause this isn't working for me."

"This isn't working for you?" Y/n repeated incredulously, "It was working for today, when you wanted to fuck me over a makeup table. It was working for you when we fucked while the car was waiting for us downstairs, right before we came here. God you're so…..ugh!" Through with it, ready to just be alone with her hurt, Y/n tossed her cup at him, watching as it bounced off his chest, the alcohol soaking his front, "You know, everyone thinks you're such a nice guy, but really, you're just another asshole. No wonder you're alone."

"I-" But his argument was muted, for in just seconds, Y/n was gone through the door again, slamming it on her way in, leaving Keanu to curse at the cold air as he spun and tossed his bottle to the grimy wall, the smashing filling his ears. That was it, they were over, and on his terms too. He'd been the one to pick the fight, fan the flame. Keanu wanted that, he wanted to be done so he could move on without falling too deep. And for a while, he'd told himself it would be easy because really, he'd barely let Y/n scratch his surface. 

A breakup was what he wanted. But as he stood there, face hot and eyes stinging by surprise, Keanu couldn't quite decipher why it hurt so bad. Why his breath had gone so ragged, why tears were falling down his face. Why his heart felt like it was breaking. 

*****

Tagging- @harrisongslimited​  @paanchu786​  @thesadvampire​  @fanficsrusz​  @fickensteinn​  @ladyreapermc​  @babygirltaina​  @septimaseverina​  @snatchedbylele​  @omg-imagine @21stcenturyyfoxx​  @magnificentclodpiebanana @allie1804-fan @keandrews  @greenmanalishi  @rdjloverxxx​ @danceoftwowolves

#keanu reeves #keanu reeves x reader #keanu reeves x you #john wick #john wick x reader #keanu reeves fanfiction #ff #fanfiction #keanu reeves fanfic #fanfic #put me in a movie #chapter 14 #john wick fanfic #angst

[mandochlorian]

planetary (Padawan!ben solo x Padawan!reader)

summary: what do you do when you just want to start a new life? 

in other words:

planetary  (adjective)                 1. wandering, or erratic.

general masterlist

star wars masterlist

warnings: mentions/allusions to mental illness, angst, kinda sad but trying to be uplifting or optimistic. running away. 

The field is seldom occupied - that’s why it quickly became your and Ben’s favourite spot. He leans against a large tree, close but somewhere far away. Pressing your back against the cold grass, you let your head rest against his arm, “I’m tired.” 

“Today was tough.” Ben agrees, already feeling his eyes becoming heavy with exhaustion, “Luke’s really testing us.”

“There’s...” you find the words, struggling to pinpoint your thoughts, “There’s something about him lately. He seems...”

“Afraid,” Ben finishes, giving you a nod, “I’ve sensed it in him for some time now.”

“I thought Master Skywalker was never afraid.” You admit to Ben, staring at his expression for the answers, “Do you know what this is about?”

Ben just shakes his head. His uncle has always been a mystery to him, why would that change now? Luke doesn’t treat Ben like he’s his nephew. He treats him like he’s any other Padawan training under him. “I don’t know if I can take another day of this, if I’m honest with you,” Ben shuts his eyes, “He’s burning us all out. Did you see-”

“Lou fainted! I know!” You cut him off, nodding your head quickly, “Lucky she was okay. I think I still got bruises from Master Skywalker though.” The comment comes off in a casual laugh. But Ben doesn’t return it. He stares at you.

“Bruises?” Ben repeats your words. He’s confused, trying to hold back anger and fear that threatens to overflow in his chest all at once. “What bruises?”

“You didn’t see what happened?” You question him, furrowing your eyebrows. He’s not going to like this. Shit. “I thought you-”

“I was talking about Fera.” He dismisses.

“What happened to him?”

“Ripped the skin from both his hands from using his lightsaber too much. What bruises?” Ben asks again, never having let go of a question once he has posed it.

Shaking your head, you blink softly, “It’s not a big deal. I get bruises from training all the time.” You remind Ben.

“From training against other Padawans and simulators. Not from my uncle.” He stares, more sternly now, while his eyes are wide and staring down at you. He’s already examined your body, trying to find any clear evidence of damage or harm.

Letting out a sigh, you confess, “When I tried to help her up, Luke came at me with his saber. I tried to fight him off with the force, I left my lightsaber on my training mat to help Lou. And he took a big swing, I wasn’t able to dodge in time, so he pushed me to the ground before the blade could get me. Said if this were a fight, I’d be dead.”

Turning his head away from you, Ben casts his furious eyes upon the grassy land in front of him. He says nothing. Ben just pauses for a long moment. The moment is filled with rage, you can sense it inside him; bubbling, almost at the tipping point. Ben has to clench his teeth together, has to push the thought of the incident from playing in his head. “I detest that man.” Ben finally speaks up.

“It’s nothing, please don’t take this to heart,” you reassure him, placing your hand on his.

“I hate him.” Ben responds, looking to you with all the seriousness in the galaxy, “I know he’s my uncle but... I have zero respect for that man.”

“No, Ben, come on.” You mumble, moving to kneel before him. You place both hands on his cold cheeks, staring him deep in the eyes, “You can’t let hate consume your heart. Remember your training.”

“My training?” He scoffs, the inklings of a sarcastic smile on his lips, “My training tells me to be a droid; emotionless, logical - to remove everything I fear to lose.” You take your hands from his face. He continues, “Don’t you see the irony? We were trained by a man who is now consumed with fear,” Ben notes, gazing up at you as you listen intently, “I hate every second I have to be in the same room with that man.”

“He’s your family,” you calmly remind him.

Ben blinks up at you, swallowing the lump in his throat, “Family means nothing to me now.”

“Ben-”

“It’s true,” he cuts you off as you sit back down onto your knees, “My parents don’t visit. My uncle calls me ‘Benjamin’. I mean nothing to anyone-”

“You mean something to me.” You cut him off, watching him closely, “You mean everything to me.” Your eyes gaze into his own, and you find yourself leaning in to him. Ben’s brown eyes are focused on your lips, how soft they look, how they’re getting closer to his. And he finds himself leaning in too. He puts his hands on your waist, pulling you closer so you’re sitting in the middle of his stretched and parted legs, facing him. “Ben.” You mumble, your forehead pressed against his. There’s hesitation in your voice.

“I know,” he mutters back, voice low, “Trust me, I know.” He closes his eyes for a brief moment, taking in the feeling of having you so close to him. It’s torture. Sitting here, alone with you, and being unable to even kiss you. It’s torture being a Jedi. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Ben’s eyes open and drift up to you. His lips are parted slightly and he looks down as he takes his hands away from you.

You watch him fondly, staying between his legs and laying your back against his front. Ben wraps his arms around you, holding you close and warm.

Ben stares at a distant ship pervading through the air, heading in the opposite direction of you two, “I know you like my hair, but sometimes I look in the mirror and I get this sudden urge to shave it all off.”

“Oh, yum.”

“Yum?” He exclaims out loud, snapping his eyes to you as he laughs, “I’d be... all ears.”

“That’s hot.” You tease him, turning your head to look up at him, “We can be bald together.”

“You’re going to shave your head?” Ben raises his eyebrows.

“If you do, yeah, why not?” You shrug.

Ben huffs our a breath, turning his gaze back up to the sky, “You’d probably look good bald.” He says it with feigned anger and jealousy, causing you to let out a laugh.

It dies down against the quiet breeze that begins to build. Ben can sense your melancholy, the feeling that resides deep within you despite being able to laugh and joke and smile. Your face is expressionless now.

“Maybe you just need a change. A big change.” You add, “I feel like that too sometimes - like I could change my name, my face... everything.”

Ben understands. He asks, “What stops you?”

“You.” You admit against the quiet. Ben sits up beside you, his eyes almost questioning you; pushing you to go on. “When I think about leaving this place, you’re the only thing that stops me. I could never leave you.”

“Me too,” Ben admits, eyes widening slightly, “in my sleep, I dream about living a new life. I pack my bags and wait until nightfall... But whenever I want to board a ship and leave, I just walk to your room instead. I never leave. Y/N?” He asks all of a sudden, you watch him seriously, eyes filled with concern at his tone, “What are we doing here?” He pauses, seeing you unable to answer, “Why are we living a life we don’t want to live? I can’t live my whole life not touching you, or being with you, or...” he takes a breath, admiring your lips, “I can’t go my whole life pretending not to feel.”

“Ben,” you frown, “We’re becoming Jedis.”

“Is that what we want?” He asks sternly, seeing you look to the ground, “What do you want?” Ben stares at you closely.

“I can’t answer that.”

“Why?”

“You can’t make me say it, you know what I want. Ben, what don’t you understand?” You ask him, your heart seeming to shatter, “We have a gift, you and I. It’s our responsibility to use it for good.”

“Who says this is good? Luke?” Ben questions you gently, “Do you believe that? Or is it something you’ve learnt to recite?” He softly takes your hands into his, “I’ll tell you what I want... I want to leave this place. I want to find a planet where I could live, nothing big just a place to eat and sleep. I can get a job anywhere as a mechanic, or smuggling, or anything. Y/N,” he swallows the lump in his throat, “We can do that. Together.”

After a pause, a small smile grows on your face, “Smuggling?”

Ben lets out a small chuckle, “My dad used to take me on some pick ups. I know the most popular routes.”

“What about Skywalker?” You ask him, “I doubt he’d let his nephew go that easy.”

Rubbing a thumb on the back of your hand, Ben gives you a shrug, “He can’t make us do anything.”

A smile builds on your lips, noticing how Bengrows closer to you, “How are we getting off this planet?”

“Flying.” He answers smugly, sensing that he’s convinced you.

“What ship?” You shoot back, leaning back with ever moment he moves closer to you.

“Any,” whispers Ben, now staring down at you as you lay against the grass, “we’ll find a ship and fly into the stars.”

“Do we change our names?”

“You can,” he shrugs with a smile, “though you have such a lovely name, Y/N.”

You roll your eyes at him before pausing, taking a breath, “Ben.”

“Yes?”

“I’d follow you to the end of the galaxy.” You admit to him, placing a hand on his cheek.

Ben’s eyebrows lift slightly when he closes his eyes. It feels as though a massive weight has been lifted off of his shoulders... like he can finally breathe. “Ben?”

“Hm?” He responds, eyes still closed.

“Does this mean I can kiss you?”

Ben opens his eyes. A smile automatically comes to his mouth. “Yes.” He grins widely, “Yes.”

“Good.” You mumble quietly, breath caught in your throat as his lips brush yours. The electricity of it has you gasping lightly, your eyes coming to a close when Ben finally touched his lips against yours. Your lips move against one another sweetly, slowly, calmly, and this surprises you; you thought it’d be way more heated after spending so long keeping away from one another.

When you pull away from him, you just look at him for a moment. The grin is gone from his lips as he stares at you, his heart in shock. But then Ben grins, his eyes squinting with the size of his smile. He pecks your lips quickly, pulling back to stare into your eyes. You smile too, rubbing your thumb on his cheek.

“We’re gonna fly out of here,” Ben confirms, “We’re gonna find some place we can live. Really live.”

Pressing your body against his, you wrap your arms around Ben who returns your embrace. You can’t help but smile so wide your cheeks start to hurt. But you can’t stop smiling. You squeeze him tightly and Ben laughs, rolling around on the grass. You laugh with one another, and he pauses. You’re both side by side and you pull apart, still grinning.

The air feels fresh, you take a deep inhale of it before you speak, “I can’t wait to finally live.”

#ben solo #ben solo imagine #ben solo fanfiction #ben solo x reader #ben solo x you #ben solo x reader imagine #ben solo x reader fluff #padawan!ben solo #Padawan!ben solo x Padawan!reader

[chipper9906]

The Best Laid Plans - Chapter 9: Where It Began

LINK TO CHAPTER 1

Pairings: Kylo Ren/Rey, Ben Solo/Rey

Rating: General Audiences

Word Count: 7,480

Status: Multi Chapter Fic - In Progress

Chapter Preview: 

Rey nodded, letting her eyes flutter shut and taking a deep breath in to prepare herself. She exhaled slowly, feeling everything that surrounded her. The searing wind of Jakku batting against the baked metal of her AT-AT, the sound of hairless rats scurrying in underground tunnels miles and miles away, the bustling activity of the rare settlements scattered around the desert. The energy of it all existed around her, within her, was her.

And there was Kylo. Somehow nothing like her, and yet entwined with her. He was like a pulsating, glowing beacon within her vision, a mass of brilliant white with veins of jet black sneaking through, clinging to him like vines, digging in hard and refusing to relinquish their grip. It was reaching out to her, twirling around her, letting itself brush along her but never quite being able to hold on. Looking at him now, she knew him like she knew herself. There was nothing he could hide from her, and the fact that he was so willingly baring himself to her like this was a show of trust she couldn’t even begin to grasp.

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Chapter 9: Where It Began

Rey has encountered many experiences in her short life. Some experiences that have been experienced by many others, some only a rare few get the privilege to be a part of. Sure, there are countless other scavengers out there - not just on Jakku - who performed the same tasks every day as she did. And she’s sure there are plenty of others that have been abandoned by their parents and left to fight for their own survival. Not quite as many people have had a resistance droid carrying a map to the Luke Skywalker roll into their lives. And not everyone has been led to an ex-stormtrooper, who would then help them to escape from a pursuing group of stormtroopers onboard the most famous ship in the Galaxy (that, admittedly, she had once mistaken for garbage.) Not so many people have had the privilege to study under Luke Skywalker, to hold and wield a saber – not just any saber, but the saber that had once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, and then passed onto his son, Luke Skywalker.

She’s lived through every one of them, and she’s here now to tell the tale, isn’t she? Well, the point she was trying to make is that those experiences help her to be prepared. Ready to tackle anything that comes away.

Except, she had never planned for Kylo Ren, heavily inebriated on brandy that she had coaxed him into drinking, to say what he had just said to her. Above all else, she hadn’t been expecting to find herself wanting him to act on his words. He hadn’t moved – not yet. His lips were tantalizingly close to her own, so close that she only needed to tilt her head up a few millimeters and he would get to find out the answer to his question. His hazy brown eyes repeatedly flickered down to her waiting lips, struggling to focus on her eyes when they flicked back up.

It feels more like instinct than her own willpower that she finds herself leaning into him. His lips barely brush against hers, another wave of brandy scented breath filling her senses when it hits her. She stops, how exactly she isn’t too sure. She has a hand on his chest, gently nudging him back as she pulls her face away from his, shaking her head as she does so. She can just about see the cloudy confusion behind the drunken haze in his eyes – worst of all, she can see the clear sheen of hurt as she pushes him away.

“We shouldn’t…” Rey tells him quietly, dropping her hand away from the warmth of his body. “You don’t want this. Not really. You’ve had too much to drink, you… you’re not acting like, well, you. It would be wrong of me – of us – when we’re like this, I… You would regret it so much once you sober up.”

Kylo blinks slowly at her in his confusion, taking the time to process the words in his intoxicated mind. “What?”

Rey sighed heavily, scooting further back on her bed until her back hit the wall. The pain swelling in Kylo’s chest grew heavier the further she pushed herself away from him. “This is for the best. Trust me. You’d hate me otherwise.”

“I’d never-,” Kylo begun, but stopped when Rey shook her head at him.

“You can’t promise that. Not with us.” Rey stated firmly. “And this isn’t a decision you can make in your current state. Chances are you won’t even remember this tomorrow…”

“Okay.” Was all Kylo could say in response to that because it seemed like this was an argument he just couldn’t win. Rejection was never fun, but he wasn’t going to push Rey. Not with this. No matter how much the ache in his chest worsened with her rejection.

“I’m sorry…” Rey had practically folded in on herself, tucking her knees to her chest and peering over at Kylo worriedly. “We just can’t do this. Not while you’re drunk.”

“No, no, don’t be sorry. It’s fine, I’m fine, I just-,” Kylo stumbled to his feet, nearly knocking over a misshapen light fixture next to him as he stood. “I, uh… I think I should go. To my ship, I’ll just…”

This was exactly what Rey was worried was going to happen. Something that fractured the fragile relationship blooming between them that would only serve to push them apart instead of bringing them closer together. She had thought maybe she could have prevented it, but it appears she’s only done the opposite. She wants to tell him no, that he doesn’t have to leave, he’s always welcome in her home - but Kylo is staggering out of the door to her home before the words can even have a chance to form in her head, and she’s left with her mouth open and a hand outstretched towards his retreating form.

Rey let her head fall into her palms with a groan. She dug her fingers into the corners of her eyes, willing for the waves of dizziness to pass quickly. She can barely think when her head is swimming like this. Rey lets herself slide down the wall until she hits the somewhat scratchy but relatively soft blankets of her bed, wincing at the bulky object lodging itself into her side. She bends her arm awkwardly to reach at her back, yanking out the bottle she had discarded to the bed during their conversation. She gives a small grunt as she reaches to place the mostly empty bottle on what can barely count as a bedside table before collapsing back into the bed and rubbing a hand over the pressure she can feel building in her skull. This was the non-fun part of drinking, she supposed. Nausea and regrets.

Lots and lots of regrets…

* * *

 Rey had never been in such pain in her life.

If this is the price she has to pay to get drunk, she’s never getting drunk again. That’s something that’s probably said by every sentient creature that’s ever drank before, but she stands by her words.

There must be a microscopic creature swinging a hammer around with reckless abandon inside her skull, because that’s the only scenario that fits the agonizing pain going on inside her head. The interior of her home had never seemed so bright, the thin streams of sunlight piercing through holes in her rusting ceiling blinding her even through closed eyelids, adding to the sharp pain that was set behind her eyes. Her mouth was dry – unbearably dry, like someone had replaced it with a piece of sandpaper. Good thing she still has some water left in the reserve…. This is too much suffering for the supposed fun of last night.

Ah. Last night… Oh, she remembers that. She would probably have had to drink to the point of alcohol poisoning to have forgotten that. Perhaps Kylo has forgotten it? She isn’t sure if she wants for him to have forgotten… On one hand, it would make this whole mess easier. He’d probably be a bit confused about the whole situation, though. In fact, she isn’t entirely sure where he went. She had just about picked out the words ‘my ship’ in his jumbled mess of words as he hurriedly left last night, but that could easily mean he got on his ship and took off. Which, if he did, she’s going to have to scold him harshly for the next time the Force connects them because you absolutely should not under any circumstances pilot a complicated spare faring piece of machinery whilst drunk.

Rey forces her eyes open, immediately wincing at the light that assaulted her senses. She pushed herself out of bed, peering at the world through squinted eyes whilst groaning quietly at the ache that ran through her muscles. She only stumbled a few times on her way to the water reserve, quickly pouring herself a canteen of thankfully somewhat cooled water.

It was the most refreshing drink her life, the cool liquid seemingly lessening the ache in her head with every swallow. She felt more alive now, at least. And not like she was right on deaths doorstep. She gave a weak glare in the offending bottle’s direction, wishing to never see or taste that bitter amber liquid ever again. She passes by it, ambling over to her workshop bench and then she stops there, staring down at its surface as she places the canteen of water down.

Her saber stares back at her, its sleek dark metal standing out atop the polished silver metal of her worktop. She can still barely believe it, even now. She was sure Kylo and herself would have got to practice sparring with it today, but that seems unlikely now. She doesn’t know when she’ll get to see him again… She sighs softly, scooping up the saber from the workbench. Rey rolls it around across her palm for a moment, testing the weight and overall feel of it. That’s when she catches sight of a shadow at the doorway from the corner of her eye that hadn’t been there before.

Her finger was moments away from spinning the ignition wheel to her saber, nearly dropping it at the sight of Kylo Ren stood at her doorway. She could see his chest heaving under his many layers of clothing, breathing heavily as if he had ran the whole way here; which seemed likely, seeing the sheen of sweat plastered to his forehead.

He didn’t look panicked, though. At least, she couldn’t sense that from him. So, it was unlikely he was running from something, or that they were in any immediate danger.

“Ben?” Rey asked, turning briefly to place her saber back on the workbench before turning back to him. “I thought you had left?”

Kylo had managed to get his breathing somewhat back under control. His fingers fidgeted by his side, swallowing harshly before he spoke.

“I’m not drunk anymore.”

‘What is he talking about?’ Is the brief thought that passes through Rey’s mind. It’s brief due to the fact that her mind goes into overload as Kylo Ren storms towards her, encases the sides of her face in his giant hands, and crashes his lips into hers.

She let out a surprised squeak against his lips as Kylo pushes her back, feeling the hard edge of the workbench digging into her lower back as she collides with it. This was new, something she definitely hasn’t experienced before, but it doesn’t matter in the slightest. It seemed deep-seated in her mind, something primitive that took over her body. She drops her saber on the workbench behind her, reaching up Kylo’s back and tangling her fingers in his black locks. She leans into him, her other hand trailing up his front and resting on the solid muscle of his chest, feeling the heat that bled through his shirt.

Kylo’s hands had slipped down, one arm curled around her hips and the other resting between her shoulder blades, a constant pressure that tugged her towards him. Rey parted her lips, breaking away from him to take a breath before Kylo quickly surged forward and reclaimed them with his own. A small whine slips out of her, barely audible after being swallowed by Kylo’s lips. She feels the gentle scrape of his teeth dragging down her bottom lip, accompanied by a shiver sliding down her spine. Her fingers involuntarily clench and tug at his hair, eliciting an unexpecting throaty growl from Kylo that nearly had her legs give out from underneath her.

It wasn’t until Kylo had pulled away from her that she felt like her mind had come back together and her body was back in her control. Her lips felt swollen and warm, and probably looked about the same as Kylo’s did: cherry red and plump with a sheen of moisture. The drunken haze was undeniably gone from his eyes, but had been replaced by a much different one; dark pupils expanded until his iris was no more than a thin rich brown circle that surrounded the inky blackness, darting across her face as he waits for her reaction.

“Wha… What just happened?”

Maybe not the most intelligent words to have come out of her mouth, and probably in the worst of situations, but there they were.

“I kissed you.” Kylo spoke slowly, almost framing the straightforward statement as a question. He looked genuinely concerned for her mental wellbeing, so that was nice at least.

“…Why?”

His concerned look only deepened. “Because I wanted to? And maybe it’s foolish of me to assume, but I presumed you kissed me back because you wanted to?”

She did. Oh no, she did, didn’t she? It hadn’t even crossed her mind whether she wanted to, let alone if she even should.

“I… Yeah, I guess I did.”

She could see the relief clear as day on his face at her words, felt the tension of his muscles drain away beneath her fingertips that were still resting along the back of his neck.

“Good, because then I can do this again.” Kylo had leaned forward again before she could even blink, their lips slotting together perfectly like they were built to be. Rey had to fight against every fiber of her being not to just melt right back into him, into the deliriously addicting silky heat of his mouth, because it would only lead to trouble if all Kylo needed to do to shut down her mental capabilities was kiss her.

“Wait-,” She barely managed to get out in the brief second their lips parted, nearly forgetting what the rest of her sentence was supposed to be when Kylo runs his tongue across her bottom lip. “Ben, wait.”

Kylo does pull away at that, looking about as unhappy about having to stop as she was, even though she was the one who stopped it. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just… Is this the best idea? Not even taking into account what I want, or what you want, but thinking about how messy this could get.”

“Messy?” Kylo repeated her words in a question. “Why would it get messy?”

“Maybe because I’m a Jedi in training, and you’re the supreme leader of The First Order? The time we’ve spent together so far, it’s… well, I suppose it’s what’s led to this moment, hasn’t it? But it can’t last forever. I’m going to have to return to my duties someday, as will you. This war will continue, Ben. And we both pledge our allegiances to different sides. Battles will be fought. We’ll have to join those battles. How will we both be able to step onto the battlefield, both as enemies and as… as…”

“Lovers?”

That word didn’t sound adapt enough, but it managed to get a fierce red blush to creep up her neck and spread across her face, so she supposed it was good enough. “Yes. This is going to complicate things, in ways that will impact more lives than just our own.”

“We’ll find a way.” Kylo said firmly, raising his hands to wrap them around her arms and give them a light squeeze. “This is my specialty - working with I’ve got to make the plan work.”

“The plan?”

“This one, right here.” Kylo replied. “I’m not willing to walk away from this, Rey. All my life, I’ve done what others have wanted me to do. For once, I’m deciding what I want. And you’re it, Rey. Question is – do you want the same?”

“Ben…” Rey whispered his name under her breath. “It’s more complicated than that. Even with where we are now. If I was forced to fight you in battle… but… but I couldn’t just abandon the resistance either.”

“I know. Trust me, I know. What happened the other day with my troopers, that isn’t something I can repeat. It’s an unnecessary loss to the First Order-,”

“And a loss of life.” Rey stressed. Kylo so desperately wanted to point out that he knew that, that he couldn’t stop thinking about that, but he just… couldn’t. Couldn’t let himself admit that to her. “And isn’t that proving my point? What are we going to do if we get caught again? Either by your people, or by mine? It doesn’t matter how careful we are, you can never completely rule out that happening.” Rey continued.

“No, we can’t.” Kylo agreed. “But why would they have anything to suspect, if all they see is you and I in the midst of battle?”

Rey frowned up at him. Didn’t he hear a word she had said earlier? “Ben, I already said, I can’t fight you-,”

“And I can’t fight you.” Kylo quickly continued. “People can be easily fooled, though. I’m quite talented in manipulating people, and you might not want to admit it, but so are you. A few flashy tricks with the help of a Force, a blur of color from our sabers… They’ll be none the wiser.”

“You want us to… fake fight?”

“It’s the only solution.” Kylo stressed. “We can both continue our lives as we were but keep alive this new fire that seems to have sparked between us. I want to see where this takes us, Rey. I want to keep this little piece of happiness to ourselves.”

Rey stared up into those auburn eyes that were locked onto hers with such intensity that he must have committed hers to memory by this point. There was so much desperation hidden within them, all of him laid bare for her to witness, ready to either be elated by her answer, or be completely torn down.

“Okay.” Rey finally answered after a few too many seconds of unbearable silence for Kylo.

“Okay?” Kylo dared to ask.

“Okay.” Rey repeated, a small smile curling at the corner of her lips. “We’ll give the plan a shot. We’ll try and make it work.”

Kylo responded by crushing her into her chest, squeezing one arm around her entire body and delicately holding the back of her head with his other hand. Rey chuckled softly into his shirt, dropping her arms down to reciprocate the gesture and squeeze Kylo tighter. His heart was beating a steady rhythm under her ear, if not a bit faster than usual, and Rey let herself enjoy this brief moment of being held by him without questioning the somewhat flimsy structure to this plan.

They could make it work… right?

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

Rey jumped back from Kylo at the shrilling noise, looking around for the source. Her eyes drifted down to the Holocron attached snugly to her wrist, her heart jumping at the sight of the General’s name along its surface.

Kriff, how long had it been since her last check-up with the resistance? If she doesn’t answer this now, they’re going to worry. Questions will be asked. They may even try and track her down. But this isn’t exactly a call she can make with the Supreme Leader of the First Order in view.

“Quick-!” Rey hisses at him, shoving Kylo out of the way, much to his immense confusion. Rey kept shoving him until he reached a particularly shadowy corner of the AT-AT that would hopefully keep him concealed from his mother’s sharp sight. “If she sees you, this plan will have failed before it’s even started!”

“If who sees me?” Kylo tried to ask, but received a sharp hush from Rey in response. He does as he’s asked anyway, pushing himself back into the corner as far as he can go. Rey seemed to have a legitimate reason for her worry, so it seemed like this was going to be a ‘do as you’re told and ask questions later’ kind of scenario. He got the feeling it was going to be like that a lot in their relationship…

Rey practically fell into the wobbly wooden stool by her workbench, the chair nearly toppling over in her haste to get seated. She gave a quick glance to Kylo in the corner to her left side, who could only shrug his shoulders at her in response. This could only end poorly…

Rey swiped across the Holocron to accept the call, swallowing nervously to compose herself as General Organa popped into view. Thankfully, it appeared that the General was in her private room, rather than the officer's room, where sensitive information may have been on display. As far as Leia knows, Rey is still isolated on the hardest to reach place in the Galaxy… she would have no reason to have to hide any information.

“Rey…” The General said her name with such warmth that it was impossible for Rey not to smile, even through the nerves churning up her stomach. “It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, General.” Rey replied, letting her eyes wander over to Kylo. Kylo had turned as stiff as a board, that look of indifference he was so efficient at throwing up back on his face. In a blink, he had turned from a normal, emotional person to Kylo Ren. Seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but worry what information Kylo may try to take from this.

“Something wrong, Rey?” The Generals inquisitive voice brought Rey’s attention back to the Holocron. “You seem distracted.”

“Uh, no, I’m fine. I, um… I thought I heard something moving outside, but it’s nothing.” Rey rushed out her response, coming up with an excuse on the fly. “Everything okay back at base?”

“As well as can be.” Leia answered with a somewhat strained smile. “The First Order’s still hot on our heels. We may have to move our base of operations soon, try and throw them off our trail…”

“Finn mentioned that last time.” Rey noted, giving another quick glance over to Kylo, who was showing no reaction to this conversation. “He also said you had gained some new members? How are they settling in?”

“As well as can be, given the circumstances. They’ve been under the First Order’s thumb for so long, nothing more than average citizens… actively fighting against their oppressors instead of simply opposing them in secret is quite a jump in lifestyles.”

“And what of the stormtroopers you took in? Are they still under watch?”

“Not anymore.” Leia answered, and Rey could actually spot a hope-filled smile on the Generals face. “We sent them out on a covert mission recently. Reconnaissance. The more information we can gather from under the First Order’s nose, the better.”

“You’ve sent them back? Isn’t that a bit risky?”

“It won’t be for long.” The General assured her. “And they have full communication with us at all times. This mission wasn’t ordered, it was offered – volunteers only. Each and every one of them stepped up for it. And since we’ve lost our usual source of information-,”

“Wait, what?” Rey interrupted the General, grabbing the edge of the workbench and pulling herself closer. “Are you talking about the spy?”

The words had slipped out of her mouth before she had even had a chance to think them through properly. How could she have done that? How could she have mentioned of the First Order Spy, the one big advantage the resistance had over the First Order, when the supreme leader was stood in the same room?

“They ceased contact with us last week. They usually check in every few days, supply us with some tidbits of information, but now they’ve gone radio silent.” Leia continued, not picking up on Rey’s internal freak-out.

It wasn’t like Rey could just change the subject, at least not without arising Leia’s suspicions. Besides, it was too late to do much more damage than she already had. Kylo now knew there was a spy amongst his ranks. “Do you think something happened to them? Someone in the First Order that could have found out about them?” Rey asked.

“It’s a possibility… to tell you the truth, we simply don’t know. We’re hoping they’ll get back to us in the coming days, but we can't rely on them and their information for everything. We’ll have to find our own ways, which is what we’re doing.”

“Do we have any idea who the spy is?”

“No.” Leia answered. “From the information they’ve given us, it’s either someone high up in their rankings or someone who has a lot of reach. They never even send us the messages themselves – it’s passed along to a middle man who gets the information to us.”

“Maybe there’s a delay with the middle man?” Rey suggested. “Or maybe they’re struggling to find another middle man to pass the information along?”

“Could be, Rey. We can only wait and see.” There was a momentary gap in their conversation, one where Rey suddenly felt like she was under the General’s scrutinizing gaze. “How are you, Rey?”

“I’m… I’m good.”

“That’s it? Just ‘good?’ It can’t be easy being all alone out there.”

Oh, if only she knew…

“It’s not too bad.” Rey answered with a weak smile. “I mean, of course I’m missing you all terribly… as well as missing getting to watch Finn and Poe bumble awkwardly around each other.”

That managed to get a laugh out of the General. “They are rather oblivious, aren’t they? I can’t help but wonder when those two will figure it all out…”

“I’m sure they will one day. Hopefully when the Galaxy is in a more… stable state.”

“Which it will be.” Leia promised. “But… you’re sure you’re alright, Rey? Nothing you need to talk to me about?”

Rey’s heart jumped in her chest, involuntarily looking back over to Kylo once more. Kylo’s face was set in stone, his vision fixed on the Holocron of his mother with a look that made Rey’s chest constrict with fear.

“Nothing that I can think of, General.” Rey answered, hoping Leia couldn’t sense the slight catch to her voice as she spoke.

“Nothing at all?” The General continued to inquire, much to Rey’s annoyance. “Not even the reason why you’ve decided to leave Ahch-To?”

Dammit. Dammit, Dammit, Dammit. It was stupid to assume the General wouldn’t have found out… probably just one look at her surroundings and she would be able to tell something was different… Kylo had finally reacted to their conversation, his eyes darting over to Rey with his eyebrows raised, mouthing the name ‘Ahch-To’ to himself, like he was devoting the same to memory. She had done exactly what she set out not to do – to give away the location of a precious Jedi island to the one man who sought to wipe out anything related to the Jedi.

And yet, that stubborn piece of hope still remained firmly planted in Rey’s chest that it didn’t matter. Because Kylo was changing, wasn’t he? The sudden shift in their relationship had proven that. He knew doing anything to that island would hurt her, and Kylo would never do that to her… right?

“I was actually kind of hoping to keep it a surprise.” Rey had to think on her feet once more, reaching across the workbench to grab hold of her saber which she had discarded when she was doing something that she can’t think about without her face going red and alerting the General once again. “But I suppose now is as good as ever.”

Rey held up her saber to the Holocron for General Organa to see. The older woman's eyes went wide, alight with excitement as she laid eyes on the new weapon. “That isn’t my brother's saber…”

“No, it’s not. It’s mine. Crafted from my old staff and some spare pieces of scrap – which is why I came back home to Jakku. It’s where I am right now, actually. I’ve been working on it for the past few days – completely forgot to check in with you. Sorry…”

The General smiled at Rey’s sheepish apology. “Try not to let yourself get too distracted in the future.” Leia lightly reprimanded her. “But I suppose this is a worthy project to be distracted by… Where did you learn how to do such a thing?”

“The Texts.” Rey’s mind thankfully came up with an answer that made sense. “Your brother had a few Jedi Texts stored in his home that I was able to salvage.”

“The Jedi Texts?” Leia asked in disbelief. “Luke was forever frustrated by those books… We stopped our training before I could ever get to them – he always put them off, saying I needed more experience first, but truthfully I think he still didn’t have a complete grasp on them.”

“I can see why.” Rey replied with a breathy chuckle. “They’re not the easiest of reads.”

“They’re not written to be. Yet, you seem to be handling them quite well.”

“I wouldn’t quite say that.” Rey corrected. “I’m only getting bits and pieces, but it’s slow progress.”

And that was the truth. She hadn’t made much progress with the texts, but there were still some. Nothing to do with building sabers of course, that was the lie, but she had come across some interesting subject matters that she wanted to delve deeper into. Something she had never heard of being used before…

“If it’s enough to be able to build a saber by yourself, then I would say you’re doing fine with them.” Leia complimented Rey with a proud smile on her face, which made it all the more painful knowing the lie Rey was feeding to her.

“Thank you, General.” Rey said with a weak smile. “I know you’re all concerned about me, but I promise I’m okay out here. Really. And I’ll always be ready to drop anything and come back to base whenever you need me.”

“Ah… well, you’ve just made the reason for my call a lot easier.”

Rey straightened up at this, feeling her heart rate kick up as she racked her brains for what the General may have meant. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

“Not yet.” Leia answered ominously. “That mission I mentioned earlier? With the troopers undercover? We sent out another unit to accompany then, gather information on a First Order held settlement currently under heavy watch. We believe there’s a contact currently trapped there who could provide us with some more ships.”

“For what price?” Rey asked, because no one ever gave anything for free in war.

“We don’t know yet. That’s why we’re going to send out a scouting unit to see if we safely and efficiently liberate the settlement. I need you to-,”

“It’s better to brief me when I get back, General.” Rey quickly interrupted Leia, cringing at the disrespect. It wasn’t like she had an option, though. Kylo would have heard every detail of the plan from where he was stood. “When we’re face to face, not over this.”

“That’s probably for the best.” General Organa agreed, to Rey’s great relief. “I need you back here in about three days, if you can make that.”

“I can make that.” Rey agreed. “But… are you sure you don’t need me back earlier?”

“I believe you might be a bit of a distraction for the resistance upon your return. I need everyone’s complete focus, especially in the next few coming days.”

This did nothing but pique Rey's interest even more, but she would have to wait until she had returned to the resistance to ask, when there isn’t an extra pair of ears listening in on their conversation. Or at least, that’s what she hoped. She can never entirely control when the Force decides to connect Kylo to her…

“Three days it is, then.” Rey settled on.

“Three days.” Leia repeated in a firm voice. “Keep yourself out of trouble until then, okay?”

Rey couldn’t help but let her eyes drift over to Kylo at that. Keep out of trouble, huh? She was already deep in it…

“I think I can do that.”

* * *

The stillness they found themselves in after the call had ended was stale and uncomfortable, to say the least. Rey had assumed the time after a relationship comes to life would be a bit more light-hearted than this, but then again, you don’t usually receive a call from your new partner's mother – who also happens to be the General of the Resistance, which happens to be opposing the army your new boyfriend is the leader of. They never were going to get a normal start, were they?

“Three days…” Kylo mumbled into the dead air, still hidden away in the corner of the room, having not moved a muscle the few minutes it’s been since the call had ended. “Three days. Then you go back.”

“Seems so.” Rey said in somewhat of a daze, staring down at her hands in her lap.

“Seems important.” Kylo added, finally stepping out of the shadows, illuminated by the streams of light making their way through the damaged ceiling. “Important enough to need a Jedi, anyway.”

“You weren’t supposed to hear any of that.” Rey told him with a strained quality to her voice, already wondering how badly she’s screwed up. “I should have known something like this would happen…”

“It wasn’t really something in your control-,”

“Except it was.” Rey interrupted harshly, more frustrated with herself than anything. “I knew I had to call in, and I let it slip from my mind completely. I hate having to lie to Leia… After all she’s done for me…”

“And I’m sure you’ve done a lot for my mother as well.” Kylo pointed out. “Such as being willing to drop everything and return to her without even knowing what you’re walking into.”

“It’s the least I can do for her. And for the Resistance. I said I’d be there whenever they needed me – I don’t intend to break that promise.” Rey insisted. “I imagine you’ll be called back soon too, then.”

“Most likely.” Kylo concurred. “If the Resistance is planning something that requires you, then my officers will probably be calling me back to base for an urgent meeting.”

“You seem very confident in your officer's ability to know the Resistance’s every move.”

“It’s their job.” Kylo pointed out. “If they couldn’t do their job, they would be replaced.”

Rey snorted sarcastically at him. “Yeah, and I imagine being demoted doesn’t just involve being placed in janitorial staff, does it?”

Kylo didn’t answer that. He let his eyes drop down to the floor, then turned his head away from her completely. Rey wasn’t sure what that meant.

“So… I guess the whole ‘fake fighting plan’ is going to come into play sooner than we expected, huh?”

“Seems that way…” Kylo said in a hushed voice, a surprisingly sad twinge to his voice.

“What are you going to do?” Rey asked him. “Head back to… wherever the First Order is right now?”

Kylo looked back at her now, eyebrows furrowing as he regarded her with a bewildered look. “You’re not leaving for three days.”

“…So?”

“So, neither am I.” Kylo stated like there was no other option. “Every time we separate, we won’t know how long it will be until we get to see each other again. Face to face I mean, not just over the Force. Until I absolutely must go, I will make sure to savor this time I have with you. However long that may be.”

Yep. Rey was definitely in trouble…

“Three days, huh?” Rey asked playfully. “I’m not sure I can handle that much time with you without killing you.”

Nothing brought Rey more pleasure than seeing how hard Kylo was struggling to keep his laughter at bay.

“We’ve made it this far, haven’t we? I think you can handle another three days.”

“I guess we’ll see. Three days… What’s your plans?”

“Not sure about a plan, but… I think a trip to Ahch-To would be nice.”

And just like that, their playful banter had turned to the feeling of someone pouring ice-cold water down her back. She had nearly forgotten about him having heard that part of her and Leia’s conversation… Kylo could easily pick up on the sudden shift in her expression, frowning at the worry he could see on her face.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Rey shot down his suggestion, turning away from him and back to the workbench. She picked her saber back up, finding it was easier to stare down at it rather than look into Kylo’s disappointed and pained eyes.

“You really don’t trust me at all, do you?”

Nope, never mind. The hurt in his voice was so much worse.

“This is more than just trust.” Rey argued, placing the saber back down and forcing herself to look at him. “Ahch-To, it’s… it’s the only connection I truly have left to the light, to the Jedi. It’s where my path truly began. I would be betraying Luke by risking its location. Even you knowing the name is more than I should have given…”

“That still doesn’t explain why you don’t want me there.”

“It’s not you specifically, Ben!” Rey snapped in her frustration. “If the First Order found out-,”

“Why would they find out?”

“Because…” Because why would they? Unless, as Kylo said, she didn’t trust him? She supposed that was the question, wasn’t it? Would Kylo find a use for Ahch-To that the First Order could benefit from? Did she somehow assume that Kylo’s presence would be enough to somehow taint the island? That seemed ridiculous, now she thinks about it… But still, it felt… wrong. Ahch-To was the shelter for the light, the one place of respite for the Jedi. There must have been thousands upon thousands of years of history on that island, of the many Jedi that once stepped foot on that island that have been long forgotten to history. It seems much too disrespectful for her to purposefully bring the one man who’s set on ending the Jedi….

“Let me show you something.” Kylo’s gentle voice brought Rey out of her thoughts. He gestured with his head as he stepped away, leading her over to the make-shift couch he had sat upon the night before.

Rey waited for Kylo to sit down before taking her own seat, shifting so she was facing him. Kylo leaned towards her, ducking his head to meet her eyes and make sure her line of sight was focused on him.

“You remember the first time we spoke face to face?” He asked her.

“You mean in the interrogation chair?” Rey asked, and wow, their relationship really did start oddly, didn’t it?

“Yes. You may recall how I tried to search through your mind for the answers I was searching for. And then you threw everything off by searching through my mind.” Kylo said, waiting for Rey’s nod in response before he continued. “I want you to do that to me again, Rey.”

Rey glanced down to see Kylo was offering his hand to her, his black gloves removed to reveal tanned and weathered skin, his palm facing towards her. Timidly, Rey stretched out her own hand, softly placing her hand down into his. Her fingers curled around the back of his hand the same time as his fingers wrapped around hers, swiping a calloused thumb tenderly over her knuckles. The second her skin touched his, everything seemed to melt away. Kylo had her full focus, like all of her senses were tuned into him, and him alone.  

“Ask me something, Rey. I’ll give you my answer, and then you search within my mind. Find out If I answered truthfully. For someone of your abilities, it should be no problem.”

Rey nodded, letting her eyes flutter shut and taking a deep breath in to prepare herself. She exhaled slowly, feeling everything that surrounded her. The searing wind of Jakku batting against the baked metal of her AT-AT, the sound of hairless rats scurrying in underground tunnels miles and miles away, the bustling activity of the rare settlements scattered around the desert. The energy of it all existed around her, within her, was her.

And there was Kylo. Somehow nothing like her, and yet entwined with her. He was like a pulsating, glowing beacon within her vision, a mass of brilliant white with veins of jet black sneaking through, clinging to him like vines, digging in hard and refusing to relinquish their grip. It was reaching out to her, twirling around her, letting itself brush along her but never quite being able to hold on. Looking at him now, she knew him like she knew herself. There was nothing he could hide from her, and the fact that he was so willingly baring himself to her like this was a show of trust she couldn’t even begin to grasp.

“Do you still love your mother?”

“Yes.” Kylo answered immediately, a muscle under his right eye twitching as he answered. Something about the weird, glazed look in Kylo’s eyes made her uneasy as the words poured out of him.  “I always saw my inability to cut my ties with my parents to be my biggest failure. Killing my father did nothing to solidify my allegiance to the Dark, it just left me empty and torn in two. I know the path I’m on will only lead to either my death or my mother’s. If it’s the second, I don’t know if I’ll be able to be the one to do it.”

This was… weird. She didn’t need to search within him to see if he was telling the truth. Rather, the truth seemed to be spilling out from him, perhaps even without his consent. It was… it was kind of like Kylo wasn’t really there, pushed to the back of his mind as she pulled whatever she needed out from him.

It was weird, and it was uncomfortable, and she knew deep down that she shouldn’t be doing this. But she couldn’t help but ask him one last question…

“Are you still drawn to the light?”

“Every day.” Kylo answered with just two simple words, but it was all Rey needed to hear. In a snap, the dream-like daze on Kylo’s face was gone. His eyes cleared and focused, jumping back into the pilot's seat – more like forcing himself back into the pilot's seat – the skin around his face tightening as he clenched his jaw. He ripped his hand out of her grasp like she had burnt him, a wary and surprised look coming into place.

“It’s not very fair of you to take advantage of my trust when you’re not willing to give me the tiniest bit of yours.” Kylo muttered darkly, somehow looking at her both in disappointment and in awe of her power.

“I… I don’t know what came over me, I just… I couldn’t stop myself.”

Kylo glanced up at her as he rubbed at his hand, brushing over the patches of skin where Rey had touched him. Strangely, Rey could also feel a hot, tingling sensation like burning ants running under her skin, only on the spots where Kylo had curled his fingers around her hand.

“You got what you wanted though, didn’t you?” Kylo asked, pulling his glove back out from his pocket.

“I… Yes, actually. I think I did.”

Kylo snapped his glove back into place, raising a brow in question as he looked up to Rey, who had swiftly stood from the couch. His eyes followed her as she headed over to her workbench, grabbing her saber from the table and attaching it securely to the holder on her side. She turned back to face Kylo, gesturing her head at him like he had done not too long ago.

“Three days left together… and I’ve already spent longer on my old home than I wanted to. You’re right- I don’t trust Kylo Ren. But I do trust Ben Solo. I trust that man to come to Ahch-To with me, to keep the location of this sacred place hidden from anyone. I want to spend those three days with you, Ben. But it’s not my decision whether you come to Ahch-To with me. It’s yours. So, tell me – am I going back to Ahch-To alone?”

Kylo responded by standing from the couch, reaching her side in only a few steps and kissing her like they had done it a thousand times before. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get used to the swooping sensation in her stomach whenever his lips are on hers, and she hopes she never does. Rey’s in so much trouble… and she can’t find herself to care.

Kylo broke away, running his hands up from her forearms to her shoulders and giving them a tender squeeze. “I told you I’d be there every step of the way, didn’t I?”

Link To Chapter 10

#reylo #reylo fanfic #reylo fanfiction #ben solo/rey #kylo ren/rey

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

Survivors of Unfair Choices (Final) | FirstOrder!Poe Dameron x Reader

Words: 2415

Warning: SW-verse typical violence, minor swearing

A/N: It’s the final chapter! Thank you all for reading this series. At one point, I had promised myself to take a break from writing a series, but it happened anyways. Oops.

Series Masterlist

-

“Rey!” you called as she righted herself up.

“I know,” she said, raising her hand towards the lightsaber.

You watched as it vibrated before looking back at Rey. Her brows furrowed as she concentrated, her hand shaking slightly. You stepped back, slowly making your way over to Finn. You almost stumbled as the lightsaber darted past you and into Rey’s hand. Her eyes widened as she attempted to steady her breathing. She looked over at you and you nodded before continuing on towards Finn, knowing that Kylo Ren was now occupied with the simple scavenger that was able to obtain Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber. This was beyond your capabilities and you would only get in the way.

“Finn, Finn,” you whispered, patting his cheek.

You held a finger under his nose, then pressed your ear against his chest. His heart was still beating. You scanned his body for any more wounds before turning your attention to the gash in his torso. The medkit was back in the Falcon and you weren’t sure where Chewie had gone. The wound was cauterized, but it still seemed fatal.

You got up again and dragged him towards the clearing and away from the fight, hoping that Chewie had gone back to the Falcon and was now looking for you guys. You raised your head towards the sky, freezing snow below and a blazing fire above, clutching the ring in your hand tightly as your vision blurred.

-

Knowing how those Tie Fighters worked, Poe flew around, avoiding their blasts as X-Wings were being shot around him. He cursed under his breath. The firing wasn't letting up any time soon, preventing them from focusing on the oscillator.

“We're overwhelmed! What do we do? It isn't working!” Jessika said in frustration.

Yolo Ziff looks back down at the oscillator and sees a small explosion. Finally, a chance. “Black Leader, there's a brand new hole in that oscillator. Looks like our friends got in!” he reported.

This was it. You guys did it, and Poe knew just what to do. “Red Four! Red Six! Cover us!” he ordered. They acknowledged his order, falling into position. “Everybody else, hit the target hard! Give it everything you got!”

The remaining X-Wings dove in, blasting the oscillator while Poe, along with two other X-Wings flew over to the structure.

“I need some help here! I need some help!” he shouted. One pilot got shot down just as they were moving in. “All teams - I'm going in! Pull up and cover me!

“Copy that, Black Leader! Good luck, Poe!”

The X-Wings trailing behind him peel away, turning to keep the Tie Fighters back while Poe darted towards the breach. He weaved through, making sure the Tie Fighter following him won’t come any closer. With the structure now unguarded, he proceeded to bombard it with all that he got. The other X-Wings followed until the structure, finally, began to collapse inwards, finishing off with a deep explosion.

The pilots’ whoops sounded through communications and Poe joined in. His hand grabbed for the ring out of habit before he remembered where it was. Where it belonged. He settled with placing his hand over his heart, feeling lighter than ever before, the joy from his fellow pilots sending a pleasant buzz through him.

“Right, well done, everyone!” Poe said, “Now we need to find the others. Spread out and watch the ground.”

-

You were fading in and out when you realized that you had collapsed some time ago. You weren’t sure when it happened, but you could feel the snow gradually melting and soaking through your pants and your parka. There was a warm hand squeezing your own, followed by sobbing. You wanted to comfort them, but you couldn’t move. Your eyes closed again.

Suddenly, your body was being lifted and carried somewhere before being gently placed on a warm and soft surface. You could hear BB-9 beeping in concern, their little head nudging your hand. The warmth of the ring seeps through your shirt and you knew that Poe was close, that he was okay.

Poe flies over and spots the Falcon and follows closely. He lets out a sigh of relief before announcing, “All teams! I got eyes on them!”

“Yes!” Snap exclaimed.

The remaining X-Wings formed behind, the planet imploding as they all readied for the jump to lightspeed. The energy stolen from the sun finally breaks free and is released in the sky, birthing a new sun. Poe spares a glance back at his old base, the last time he’ll ever see it, before making the jump towards his new base.

Poe smiled. “Our job's done here. Let's go home!”

As soon as Poe landed the X-Wing, he quickly climbed out, throwing his helmet down on the tarmac and ran towards the Millennium Falcon. BB-8 squealed, being slowly lowered out of the X-Wing before being released and having to catch up with their owner.

Poe pushed through the growing crowd towards the front where he saw Chewie and Rey walk out on the ramp. Chewie groaned at the medics while Rey translated. The medics rushed in with two stretches, emerging out of the Falcon with Finn on one stretcher and you on the other. Poe hurried at your side, instantly holding your hand.

“Are they okay?” Poe asked the medics. “(Y/n), can you hear me?”

“Sir, I’m going to need you to step back while we transfer them to the medbay,” one of the medics requested.

“I’m Commander (Y/l/n)’s boyfriend,” he said, keeping in step with them.

“Okay, but we’re going to need to concentrate here. It’s very crucial that we tend to them immediately. You’re free to wait outside and we’ll call you in when everything’s stable.”

Poe nodded. “Okay, thank you. Thank you.”

He paced around the waiting room for what he felt was hours before the medics came out of your room. You had a concussion and lost a lot of blood, but you were stable now and nothing but some good rest would do. Finn had also been stabilized, but it might take even longer for him to heal from his injuries. Poe suspected as much and he was relieved that there wasn’t anything too grievous.

“Dameron!” Snap called out. Poe turned and nodded at him. “How are they doing?”

“Good. Really good with all things considered,” Poe said, “Did you need anything?”

“Yeah, we think R2-D2’s got something and I think you should be there to see.”

Poe’s eyebrows raised. “Really? Me?”

Snap nodded. “Yeah, you. (Y/n) made you acting-Black Leader and I trust their judgement. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

-

The two made their way towards the command center, BB-8 rolling close behind. Leia was already there, surrounded by Rey, C-3PO, and the other Resistance officers. Once they entered the room, Leia nodded over to R2. The droid rolled forward and projected a hologram. An unfinished map with a specific chunk missing.

BB-8 beeped at Poe and he nodded. “Yeah, all right, buddy, hold on.”

Poe looked around until he found the device that you retrieved from Lor San Tekka on that fateful night that pushed him into the right direction. He inserted the device into one of BB-8’s slots and stepped back as BB-8 projected the hologram. The chunk was shrunken down to fit and the two droids worked together to make the map whole.

Gasps and excitement filled the room as they all could see what it was. It was the complete map to find Luke Skywalker.

“Oh! The map! It is complete!” C-3PO said joyfully. 

Leia smiled, placing a hand on her heart. “Luke…”

Poe smiled as everyone cheered and embraced each other. Snap walked over and slapped his shoulder, offering a friendly smile before joining his friends in the celebration. He would have asked him to come over, but he could see that Poe was anxious to be by your side again.

“Before you go,” Leia said behind Poe. He turned and saw the general walk up to him with a warm smile. She placed a hand on his cheek. “You did good, Poe. Your parents would be proud of you.”

“Thank you, General,” he said softly.

Leia nodded. “Right,” she punctuated with a soft slap on his cheek, “Now go on back to (Y/n), kid. And tell them that if they ever try to join a mission before they fully recover again, then they’re grounded.”

“Yes, General.”

-

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” you heard a familiar voice through the fog.

You could have sworn this happened before. This time you could feel warm hands encasing your own, their voice close to your ear. There was no mossy or grass smell in the air, no breeze sending a chill over you. You assumed that you were safely in the medbay of the Resistance base, with Poe at your side.

“I have made many mistakes in the past, and I thought falling for you, the enemy, was one of them. I’m not sure what was more absurd, the son of two Rebel war heroes joining the First Order or a First Order Commander falling for a Resistance Commander. I found love where I thought it wasn’t supposed to be, the enemy in front of me, but it was where I…,” Poe sighed, blinking away tears, “I feel like I belong. I finally felt… at home.”

You slowly opened your eyes, blinking to adjust to the light, before turning your head slowly towards the mass of black curls next to you. “Did I hear that sentence correctly?” you croaked.

Poe shot his head up, the rim of his eyes red. “(Y/n)? (Y/n)!” He lurched forward and smashed his lips against your lips.

“Easy there, flyboy,” you groaned. In any other occasion, you would have welcomed it, but seeing that you were recovering from a concussion, it wasn’t exactly ideal.

“Sorry, sorry.” He leaned back. “I’ll go call the nurses over.”

“Wait, did you mean it though?” you asked, grabbing his hand.

“What?”

“Do you… do you love me?”

Poe hesitated. “I… yes, I do. I love you, (Y/n).”

You smiled. “And I love you Poe Dameron. Welcome home. Now, go and get them so I can go back out there-”

“Leia said you’re not allowed out until you fully recover,” he warned.

You rolled your eyes. “Fine.”

You released his hand and crossed your arms. Poe shook his head and left to go and find the nurse. Walking around the medbay, he spotted the girl that was with you and Finn on the Star Killer base.

“Hey, you’re Rey, right?” he asked.

She turned and nodded. “Poe Dameron?”

“Yeah,” he offered a hand towards her and she took it, “I heard a lot about you from Finn.”

Rey smiled. “And I heard a lot about you from (Y/n). Are they doing okay?”

Poe nodded. “Yeah, they just woke up. Finn?”

“He’s stable. Not sure when he’ll wake, though.”

Poe noted her outfit and the staff strapped to her back. “Going to find Luke Skywalker?”

“Yeah, the sooner, the better.”

“Of course. Mind if I walk you out to the tarmac?”

“Sure.”

After Poe spoke to a nurse, they walked out of the medbay in silence, a million thoughts running through their head. Poe had been accepted by most into the inner circle of the Resistance, though he understood the others that were still wary of him. He wasn’t sure where his place was within the Resistance, but he felt good flying among them. BB-9 had told him that you wanted a break from flying, understandably so. Maybe he could fill in the spot in your squadron. Maybe not as a leader, that could be Snap. He wanted to prove that he had the right skills to be the rank Commander, even in the Resistance.

“So, how did you and (Y/n) meet exactly?” Rey asked as they were halfway towards the Falcon.

Poe ran a hand through his curls and grimaced. “I, uh, it was on a mission and we shot at each other for a while, then they got away,” he said somewhat vaguely.

“Got away? Wait, so you were part of the First Order?” Rey asked, “Like Finn?”

“Yeah… they never told you?”

Rey shook her head. “I guess there can be light in even the darkest places.”

As they approached the Falcon, Chewie made a round of last minute checks on the ship. They walked over to Leia who smiled at them.

“Well, I’ll see you later. Will you look after Finn and (Y/n) while I’m gone?” Rey asked Poe.

Poe nodded. “Of course. Good luck, Rey.”

She smiled and made her way towards the Falcon. “Rey,” Leia called out. Rey turned. “May the Force be with you.”

Rey’s smile widened, feeling the warmth behind those words. She crossed over to the Falcon and Poe stepped over to Leia, watching with her as the ship powered up. It lifted, sending a rush of air in its proximity before flying off, jumping into lightspeed.

“Why did Luke hide after all these years?” Poe asked Leia.

Leia sighed. “Stupid tradition of self-exhile after they feel like they’ve failed a student instead of facing their mistakes. Glad I stopped my training when I did.”

Poe’s eyes widened. “You went through Jedi training?”

“Doesn’t matter,” she waved it off, “Anyways, I’ll make some arrangements with Black Squadron while (Y/n) recovers. Snap will contact you when it’s settled. In the meantime, look after (Y/n).”

“Of course, general.”

“Oh, and if you ever hurt them, Poe Dameron,” she paused, giving him a stern look, “I still know a few tricks from my training that I’m not afraid to use.”

Poe gulped, standing up straighter. “Of course, general.”

Leia watched as Poe jogged back to the medbay and smiled. This was the awakening of something new. There was a new spark of hope, a new generation of fighters, of survivors, that would bring light to the galaxy. It will be difficult and Leia could sense that the First Order will try to strike back harder than before, and there will be choices to make.

What separates the light and the darkness are what people choose at the crossroads. It was a part of existing, to make these unfair choices. Leia had a feeling that the fate of the galaxy now rests in the hands of these new fighters.

-

A/N: This series sprung up from my oneshot [Warning Signs] that I had written for Writer’s Month last year and I had played around with the idea of continuing with that story. It was also people’s response to that oneshot that motivated me to start writing this. I wanted to play around with the what-ifs, what if Poe Dameron had somehow joined the First Order? There were a few fics I’ve read where Poe was a commander in the First Order, but not many spoke of how he got there. I thought “What would make the son of Shara Bey and Kes Dameron to join the enemy?”. Then, he meets reader, a member of the Resistance and close confidant of General Leia Organa, who was close to Shara and Kes. I started thinking of motivations for characters, why choose the dark side, why switch to the light, why anything, to the point where I sounded like Agent Smith from the third movie of the Matrix. Of course, I also wanted to explore the fact that Finn was force-sensitive. It was something that we had figured out from the scripts and it was not heavily implied until the last movie of the trilogy. Being that TROS revealed about there being an entire company of troopers that escaped the First Order and it was never mentioned until that last movie of the trilogy, yet in TFA, the First Order had been really adamant in calling Finn, one defected stormtrooper, a traitor and had kept going after him for leaving. Now why would that be and wouldn’t Kylo Ren been able to sense the Force in him? Why zone in on him on his first mission in particular? Anyways, that was my thought process.

Thank you all for reading!

-

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#survivors of unfair choices #poe dameron x reader #first order!poe dameron x resistance!reader #first order poe dameron #poe dameron #star wars sequel trilogy #star wars imagine