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tiredassmage · 11 months

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smokescreens & signal flares

Oh lawd it is finally here. The Nar Shadaa disaster night that has been kickin’ my ass the last week is finally done, lol. Featuring @commander-krios‘s lovely Dash to my disaster Leo, lol, and a blink and you’ll miss it name-drop to @jbnonsensework‘s Rees for the lulz, lol.

What started off as a silly little piece spawned from oc dating asks just wondering what would happen if we set Leo and Tyr loose in the same cantina turned into... one of the longer pieces I’ve written in a while and a bit of an emotional heavy-hitter of a character study. Send help. x,D

Leo hits the Nar Shadaa cantinas between jobs looking for a quick distraction from feelings he’s been trying to avoid naming for far longer than he’d ever like to admit. An off-duty Cipher happens to take notice.

Rating: M for sexual themes // Caution warnings for alcohol use and a brief exploration of homophobia - external and internalized.

“Y’know…” The smuggler’s voice slurs as he props a shoulder back into the seat, swirling the remnants of his drink in his glass. “I’ve heard interestin’ things about… this antiques dealer.” Leo hiccups and nods across the cantina again.

Tyr tips back his shot carefully before he follows the smuggler’s indication, lip twitching briefly at the burn. This would not be his choice, but it went a fair ways to explain how thoroughly in his cups his company was.

Leo bites at his lip. “Whatch’ya think, Cap’n?”

Tyr’s eyes briefly dip to his watch before they narrow slightly.

Instead of an answer, he paints a friendly smile across his lips and claps the smuggler’s shoulder. “I think…” You’ve had plenty enough. And if he went home with almost anyone else in this cantina, he’d end up cold in a gutter somewhere.

Not that this was his problem to worry about, exactly, but… He was off-duty at the moment - as much as a Cipher could be - and that idealistic streak Keeper had given him a mildly concerned frown about earlier seemed to be catching up with him a bit more than usual.

He tugs lightly at the captain’s jacket and lets his gaze drop as Leo’s eyes settle back on him. “Maybe we should get out of here.”

Leo huffs. “Wha’s a matter, flyboy?” He slams his cup a bit heavily against the table. Tyr’s thankful it’s practically empty. “Havin’ trouble keepin’ up?”

Tyr lets out a chuckle as he shakes his head and brushes a hand under Leo’s jaw. The smuggler almost instantly caves to the gentle caress, leaning forward eagerly. There’s something flickering in his dark blue eyes that the agent could’ve recognized just about anywhere: an unfulfilled longing begging desperately for fulfillment, even if only in distraction.

Still, Tyr leans in a bit closer, letting Leo’s eyes wander down his jaw to partially parted lips. “I dunno, Captain… You still haven’t rated your company.”

Leo’s teeth dig subtly at his lower lip again. “How uh… rude of me, huh..?” he says.

Tyr plays at hesitating, letting the smuggler’s gaze roam for a few moments longer. “I could think of a few ways you could make that up to me.” His thumb brushes against Leo’s ear and he tangles a few fingers into his loosened dark locks.

Leo doesn’t resist when Tyr finally presses a kiss to his lips. In fact, the smuggler surrenders almost surprisingly easily. His faint whimper isn’t entirely drowned out for Tyr by the cantina music as his fingers dig around Tyr’s shoulders, needily pulling him closer.

He breaks from his lips, hearing Leo gasp before he presses a kiss to his neck. Leo wraps a hand around the back of his neck and Tyr finds his opening to slip a hand inside the smuggler’s jacket. Datapad, commlink, something - aha.

Tyr’s breath is warm against his ear, “What say we take this back to your ship, Captain?”

Leo nods, so Tyr stands and pulls the smuggler up after him by the hand. Leo giggles as he sways a bit on his feet before Tyr slips an arm around his waist, hooking his thumb in the smuggler’s belt loop. Exchanging another quick kiss gives Tyr an opening to tuck the smuggler’s datapad away in his pocket to crack later. It’s easy enough to keep a smile on his lips for his subject, but his eyes carefully scan the cantina again as he leads them out, Leo’s head contentedly lolling against his shoulder.

There. The man Leo had been eyeing almost all night, still tucked into a quieter corner of the cantina. The lights are too bright and flashing to really make eye contact (probably better that way), but Tyr gets the impression that their exit isn’t entirely missed and that was all he really wanted. For once, the agent was actually counting on being noticeable

o-o-o-o-o-o

Tyr's breath catches quietly in his throat as Leo's arms wrap around him, hands snaking up his back underneath his jacket.

Shit. He hadn’t accounted for that. Rookie mistake.

Leo only breaks the kiss they'd tangled in to crook a brow at him. A lopsided smile lolls across his lips. "Say, cap'n." He nearly starts to giggle. "Is that… a vibroblade in your pocket, or…?" His features split as a snorting laugh tumbles out of him, muffled only faintly as he presses his face against Tyr’s shoulder.

Tyr pulls him flush against his chest, one hand squeezing his ass. Leo inhales sharply, tossing his head back to clear bangs from his hazy blue eyes.

Tyr catches his chin with his free hand, eyes locking together as his smile widens playfully. "What's to say I'm not a bad man?"

Another little amused snort issues from the smuggler. "All sorts of 'em here, ain't there?" Leo purrs.

Tyr takes the opportunity to spin them, pinning the smuggler against the wall with enough force it knocks a bit of the wind out of him. Leo squirms slightly, but only to get slightly more comfortable against the wall, his dark blue eyes locked fully on the way Tyr bites his lip, letting his own eyes wander as he hooks a few fingers along Leo’s waistband. "Man's gotta stay prepared in these parts. We have a problem, Captain?"

Leo only chuckles again, one hand reaching up to twist in a stray lock of his hair. "No," he muses. "I’d say that makes you a smart man."

Tyr’s smile widens again like a reward. "Good boy."

Leo whimpers as he's taken in another kiss, Tyr easily dominating again, tongue slipping past his lips. Leo grips desperately at his shoulders before he's shoving at the jacket. Tyr barely breaks their lock long enough for them to pant for breath until he's ready to slip out of his jacket.

Leo leans heavily back into the wall as Tyr steps back to toss it aside on the captain's footlocker. He's down to a simple tee and carefully slips out of the extra holster, setting aside the previously concealed blade and his pistol while they have a moment. For now, he also leaves aside Leo’s datapad, but the smuggler’s eyes are anywhere but Tyr’s hands.

He raises a brow over his shoulder. The smuggler has a rather pleasant flush to his cheeks now. It paints a smirk across Tyr’s lips. "Like what you see, Captain?"

Leo nods wordlessly. Tyr's eyes narrow before he motions the smuggler over with a finger. "So. Where were we?"

He lets Leo chase him until the back of his legs hit the bed, then stops him with a hand against his chest.

He clicks his tongue in mild disapproval. "At least make yourself comfortable, Captain," he says quietly, working Leo out of his jacket and adding it to the pile.

And finally, they fall into bed. Leo's hands roam easily across his back under his shirt as Tyr toys with his hair. Leo shifts slightly to let him pull it free from the tie, dark strands falling in messy waves. Tyr starts to work a few knots out with his fingers before Leo brings a hand up to pull him down for another kiss that trails away from his lips and down his throat. Tyr awards him a contented sigh and closed eyes, slipping a hand underneath the captain’s shirt to idly trace fingertips over his hip.

"Dax.., was it?"

Tyr hums acknowledgment, quirking a brow as his gaze draws back to the smuggler’s.

The edge of hunger in Leo's dark blue eyes seems to have quieted, overtaken by something a bit more uncertain.

Tyr brushes his bangs carefully back out of his eyes, noting how the smuggler’s eyes flicker shut for a few moments underneath his touch. "I oughta let my crew know I'll be spending the night," he murmurs, "If… you'd like?"

"Yeah." The response comes after a moment of silence, Tyr’s fingers brushing carefully back into his hair.

Tyr nods and presses a soft kiss to his forehead. Leo's hand trails down his arm as he pulls away, catching his wrist before he stands completely.

"Dax?"

Tyr cocks his head.

"You'll be back?"

Tyr smiles faintly. "Worried I'll run off, Captain?"

Leo lets go and tosses his head, loose hair falling across his eyes and half-concealing a lopsided smile, but not before a bit more color dapples across his cheeks.

Tyr's smile widens just a touch. "And miss the opportunity to make an entrance?"

Leo toys with his hair and Tyr gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Stay put."

He stoops to collect the smuggler’s datapad on his way out. Hopefully, the captain's sense was a bit stronger sober.

o-o-o-o-o-o

The ship is silent in the hangar without the rest of the smuggler’s crew, so Tyr only wanders as far as the couch in a nook of the ship that felt built for crew interactions. Still, he hesitates a moment, breath catching in his throat as he listens to the silence to ensure the smuggler hadn’t followed him nor that his crew had returned without warning.

Once he’s sufficiently satisfied he has enough privacy, he settles in and turns his attention to the datapad he’d lifted off the captain back at the cantina. Leo had surprisingly retained enough of a sense of direction to lead him back to the appropriate hangar where his ship was docked without Tyr having to crack it earlier for the details, but now he wants to follow up on his suspicions. Someone ought to know the man was alive and well, at least.

It only takes him a few minutes, tops. Tyr checks his contacts. It’s a relatively short list for a smuggler - or at least the ones used with any noteworthy frequency. But there’s one that’s more common than any other - someone called ‘Dash.’

Tyr checks over his shoulder again before he links the contact through his holo.

He recognizes the man that answers from the cantina, though the frown is a lot more noticeable across his handsome features this time.

“Who is this?” Then the irritable twist of his brow sharpens. “Wait-”

“Call me a concerned citizen,” Tyr interrupts with a brief wave of a hand.

“How’d you get this frequency?” Dash snaps. “I’ll give you a whole new meaning of ‘concerned’ if-”

“Cool your jets and keep your voice down.” Tyr shrugs a nonchalant shoulder, if only to keep play with the cool persona Leo was acquainted with from the cantina. Though he does check again over his shoulder, keeping an eye out for their wayward smuggler. “Ain’t nothin’ happened to our mutual friend. Just seemed a little too in his cups, is all.”

“And now you’re on his holo.” Dash snorts as his arms fold across his chest. “Forgive me if I’m not inclined to trust you.”

“Tell ya what,” Tyr says, “You don’t have to. Ship’s docked where he left it. Why don’t you bring yourself by?”

Dash huffs. “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Dash eyes him suspiciously before he heaves a sigh. “I’ll be there. Try anything? And I’ll kill you.”

“Pleasure doing business.”

Dash barely spares time for an irritated growl before the holo quiets and Tyr sets the datapad aside carefully by the holo to be rightfully found in the morning.

o-o-o-o-o-o

When he returns to the room, Leo’s curled up with one of the pillows, a hand twining idly in a long lock of dark hair with unfocused eyes settled somewhere along the wall.

Tyr props a shoulder in the doorway and flashes a grin. “Miss me?”

Leo blinks, brought back into the present before he smiles and tosses his hair back over his shoulder. “You stayed.”

Tyr bluffs a light huff of laughter. “‘Course I did, gorgeous,” he teases as he saunters over. “Y’don’t find goods like this just anywhere, right?” He momentarily caresses Leo’s ass before he falls back into bed with him, Leo rolling onto his back to let Tyr straddle him again.

Tyr brushes his hair back from his eyes. “Hey,” he says as his features soften, “Wha’s a matter? Somethin’ on your mind?”

Leo shakes his head, but his gaze remains elusive. Tyr works fingers gently through his hair for a few more moments, carefully teasing out knots he comes across. Leo’s fingers tangle in his shirt at his sides, twisting slowly a few times until the fabric is pulled more taught across his back.

Tyr stops and looks back down at him. “If you’re uncomfortable, just say the word,” he says. “You owe me nothing, Captain.”

Leo’s head shakes again. “It’s… It’s not…”

Tyr’s hands settle on either side of his head, just enough to brace himself. “Drinks catchin’ up with you, handsome?”

Leo’s nose screws up in a mild frown that pulls a faint breath of a chuckle out of Tyr. He settles beside the smuggler, resting against one arm. “D’you wanna talk?”

Leo’s frown wavers for a moment as he shuffles to face him. “Awfully uh… awfully accommodation’ for a man I picked up at a cantina.”

Tyr offers him a softer smile before he reaches out and traces a finger softly down Leo’s nose. “Troubles are a credit a piece, Captain,” he says. “Sometimes cheaper. They ain’t so easy to solve, though.”

Leo grunts, lightly smacking at his hand and making Tyr’s smile widen for a moment before he settles quietly as the captain contemplates. “I dunno…” He nuzzles a bit against the pillow, eyes dropping to follow where his hand tangles with Tyr’s shirt where it dips across his chest.

Tyr merely waits and, for that, Leo finds himself grateful. Something about it all still felt… off. This time.

This was… a habit of his, truthfully. Had been for… years. As far back as cadets? Father would’ve done the military a favor and killed him then if he’d ever found out, he was sure of it.

Still, it'd felt… a lot more harmless back then.

It was what he heard the other boys or older soldiers describe more as a home tour crush - all fireworks and bright eyes that never really covered ground before you were packing up on the next shuttle out again. He still remembered the unit daring each other to spray paint the CO’s speeder, how their cheeks had been nipped pink by the frosted air that seemed to always hug Ziost the night he'd finally said he'd do it.

There'd been the one with eyes as vibrant as the leaves after the first thaw, shaggy hair, and a contagious laugh. That first kiss still hit harder than any stim or adrenal he'd ever experimented with. But he'd been assigned to a different squad in the end and they'd lost touch during deployments.

Tonight was one of the quieter ways this ‘habit’ of his had ended for the night.

Something twisted in his chest, like it was clawing to get out, trying to make it past the way his throat seized at the idea of ever breathing a word of it aloud.

It felt a lot more like racing tonight than drowning. And no matter what he tried, the speeder wasn't ever fast enough.

Every time, no matter what regret greeted him in the mirror the next morning, how many times he'd let himself be led astray by ulterior motives behind glittering eyes and seductive smiles, a part of him always craved a return of the burning touch of the night before - how it felt so right in the moment, how it felt like… him.

Freedom. Like how captains talked about endless stars and the hyperlanes.

And it always came back, in the end. Especially when… with… Dash.

Fuck.

Tyr’s hand gently wraps around his arm, fingertips gliding over the faint trace of veins beneath his skin. Leo’s eyes sting as he watches, trying to keep control of his breathing under the intensely seeing storm gray eyes of his partner for the night.

“We don’t have to talk,” he says gently. “But you’re safe here, Leo. I promise.”

Leo buries his face against his chest before the sting in his eyes can finally overwhelm him as Tyr’s arms wrap around him, pulling him closer and brushing through his tangled hair carefully.

‘Dax’ asks him no further questions, occasionally murmuring assurances against his hair over quiet sobs muffled against his shoulder.

Tyr lays with him until he quiets, his breathing levels out. Leo’s nestled in against him, still tucked against the crook of his neck, his breath puffing warm against his skin in steady intervals. He’s finally got most of the tangles and knots worked out of his hair by the time he’s certain the man’s night has finally caught up with him.

He sighs quietly with the faintest touch of a frown across his lips. With a little luck, it’d be… a step for the wayward captain. At least it seemed the man had one good friend looking out for him.

Tyr eyes his watch again over Leo’s head. Soon, he reckons he’ll have to deal with that.

o-o-o-o-o-o

Tyr’s eyes snap open at the subtle sense of disturbance, breath stilling silently in his lungs. The drinks at the cantina and the warmth of Leo tucked against his chest must have lulled him into the temporary sense of security.

Leo’s still asleep though. Good.

Tyr carefully extricates himself from the smuggler’s embrace, socked feet quietly connecting with the floor as he drops into a crouch. He snags his pistol from the footlocker and checks the thermal clip quickly. Full charge.

He throws one last glance back at Leo. The captain’s barely shuffled to curl a bit more into the pillow in his absence.

Another check of his watch. His eyes narrow slightly. Maybe. But this was also Nar Shadaa.

He tucks in against the door first, checks one way down the hall towards the crew area and the ship’s entrance, then over his shoulder towards the bridge.

It’s quiet, still easier to hear his own breathing. He counts… one set of footsteps.

Tyr moves towards the entrance.

And a hand wraps firm around his right wrist and jerks. Tyr grunts as his back slams into the opposite wall. There’s a new pistol level under his chin before most would be able to react. “Whoa, whoa now, easy,” he drawls, easing a smile across his lips as his eyes settle on their would-be intruder.

Dark brown eyes, cybernetics - the same man from the cantina. That made this easier and… slightly more complicated. The sharp draw of his brow really brings out the glare. He wouldn’t have to work himself out of a fight he’d given up an advantage on, at least. If he played this right.

Tyr raises his other hand, keeps his finger carefully off the trigger. “Drop it,” Dash growls.

“We can’t start with ‘hello?’” The barrel digs against his neck and Dash’s eyes narrow. “Easy, friend.” Tyr emphasizes his free, empty hand. “Why don’t you put that piece away?”

“You better have a damn good reason for me not to shoot you right now.”

Tyr wets his lips. “Your friend’s had a long night. Let’s keep this civil, alright?” Dash’s grip flexes around his blaster, so Tyr throws a quick nod down the hall. “Just… see for yourself, yeah? He’s asleep. Finally.”

Dash hesitates and spares a glance down the hall, but doesn’t slack his grip until he finally takes a step back. “You’re not going anywhere. Yet.”

Tyr rolls his shoulders and nods. He offers his pistol to Dash. “I will be expectin’ that back before I leave.”

Dash huffs humorlessly, but takes it. “We’ll see about that.” He points down the hall with the barrel of his own. “Move.”

Tyr keeps his hands where Dash can see them, leading down the hall to the captain’s quarters. He steps off to the side and leans a shoulder against the doorway. “See?” he says quietly with a nod into the quarters. “Just keep your voice down. I think he needed the sleep.”

Dash squints suspiciously at him a moment longer before he peers in. It doesn’t feel right to give the stranger a clean shot at his back, even supposedly disarmed, but-

A breath he hadn’t quite consciously been holding eases out of his lungs to find Leo surprisingly just as promised. Finally, he lowers his blaster and stashes it away to step in and actually confirm there’s nothing wrong. For the moment, he elects to ignore the discarded jackets, carefully settling on the edge of the bed.

Leo sighs in his sleep, brow briefly twisting in a way that makes Dash hold his breath again until the smuggler settles blissfully unaware once more in the deep throes of sleep.

Tyr clears his throat quietly from the doorway. Dash looks up to see he’s awkwardly taken a step inside, but he lingers, not wanting to infringe on the slim good graces he’s managed to earn. “So, uh… we good?”

Dash sighs. If he thought it’d actually do any good, he’d have quite a bit to say to Leo about the whole thing right about now. Foolish.

But… He frowns. “I still don’t trust you,” he says carefully. “If I find out you did anything-”

Tyr holds up both hands placatingly. “You’ll hunt me down, I’m sure,” he says. “I’m…” He frowns slightly and folds his arms across his chest again, looking over the sleeping form of the smuggler. “I’m just… glad he’s got a decent friend.”

Dash looks away and rolls his jaw. “Yeah,” he gives carefully, though the word still wavers against his best attempts. “He’s uh… He’s… a mess, but…” He draws in a breath carefully and slowly before he finally looks back over at the stranger. “I uh… suppose I owe you thanks, then.”

Tyr shakes his head. “Don’t mention it.”

Dash’s gaze settles back on the smuggler, a hint of worry still creeping across his features.

Tyr’s gaze drops to the floor for a moment. “I uh… I should… probably be going then, I guess.”

Dash blinks. “I’d consider that wise.”

Tyr nods, chewing on his lip slightly as Dash stands. Tyr pushes away from the doorway to accept the pistol Dash offers back to him. He holds on for just a moment longer when Tyr has the barrel. “Still. Do remember. I don’t know who you are or what motivated you… But it won’t matter. Understood?”

“Like crystal,” Tyr says. Dash releases the pistol and, for the moment, Tyr tucks it into his waistband. “Look, it’s uh… It’s not my place-”

“It’s not,” Dash warns carefully.

Tyr shakes his head. “Look, you… seem like someone he trusts,” he says. “That’s… valuable. Just…” He sighs and looks around Dash’s shoulder. “I don’t know what is or isn’t between you two,” he says quietly, “But… I think he cares about you. A lot. And you seem like one helluva friend.”

When he looks back at Dash, there’s a tension in the hard set of his jaw. Hmm.

“Take care of each other, friend. Alright?”

Dash rolls his jaw carefully before he clears his throat. “Get the fuck out of here.”

“Right.” Tyr steps past him and collects his jacket and discarded items, strapping holsters carefully back into place on his way back out of the room.

Dash, for his part, stands careful guard over Leo until the stranger pauses at the door to look over his shoulder, finding Dash’s gaze one last time.

“You should… probably stay with him tonight,” Tyr suggests. “I… said I’d stay the night. I don’t like breaking promises.”

Dash merely nods. “Not that it’s any of your concern, but… I will. Don’t worry about it.”

“Right… Thanks. I think.” Tyr pulls his jacket together a bit more over his shoulders and makes for the exit.

Dash waits for the quiet to fade to Leo’s small snores before he closes his eyes and carefully pinches the bridge of his nose.

He looks back over his shoulder and reaches out to tuck a stray lock of raven hair back behind Leo’s ear. Even that simple action was enough to get his heart racing a little harder in his chest. And he hadn’t done it nearly as much as he’d wanted to.

What a fucking mess they’d all gotten into, huh..?

#dot words #swtor fanfiction #swtor fanfic #swtor smuggler #imperial agent #republic trooper #swtor trooper #ch: leo ashold #ch: tyr #dash felaeon x leo ashold #ch: dash felaeon #friends ocs

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tiredassmage · 1 year

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wip wednesday

Ough @kemendin tagged me two weeks ago now??? So thank you for the reminder & tag @pentacass! The end of the semester is so close, I’m almost free to go back to blorbo hours full time.

No pressure as always, but if y’all would like, tags for @captainderyn @jbnonsensework @sullustangin @commander-krios (your boy’s here!!!) and ofc anyone else who’d like to share, feel free to say I booped you!

Let’s release more Dash & Leo content upon the masses!!! From the time Leo decided to try to move out on his own because he worried about his dumbass decisions affecting his best friend’s career prospects. (And is, predictably, dense as hell that Dash cares anyway.)

x-x-x-x-x-x

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“You don’t…” Leo waved a hand with a huff. “It’s… I’m not good for you right now, Dash.” His shoulders sagged. “Look, I just… I’ve got a lot going on, just… stupid work shit and-”

“Why won’t you let me help?”

Finally, Leo looked over his shoulder at him. He looked like shit. Like he’d been sleeping even less than usual, which really wasn’t a whole lot to begin with. And despite whatever he might’ve liked to believe, he was shit at hiding it. And Dash had seen that hollow look in his eyes in enough other places already to pin a guess or two as to where it might’ve started from.

A defeated, quiet sigh slipped out of him slowly. “Because you’ve done… enough,” he said. “And you’ve got… a lot more figured out than I do. I can’t let you… I can’t be the reason that gets fucked up for you, alright?”

“I thought we talked about this,” Dash said quietly.

“I know, I know,” Leo muttered. He rubbed at his eyes as he slumped against the desk again. “But I can’t be a burden, Dash. And I can’t-”

“You’re not.”

“Dash,” Leo groaned. “Please? Just… Who the hell else just…” It was just… insane the level of risk it’d all been from the start. To drag him all the way to Coruscant? He’d been out of his damn mind then. “I appreciate it, I do, okay? I’m not saying… I just.” He scrubbed a hand over the side of his face. “I’m tangled in some shit, Dash. And it’s my mess. There’d be enough hell if anyone ever figured out how we even fell in together and this won’t help. I can’t… I can’t do that to you. Okay?”

Dash sighed, reaching to pinch the bridge of his nose carefully. “You aren’t,” he tried again. “I’m going to worry anyway because you’re my friend, Leo.”

“I’m not asking for help-”

“Of course you’re not,” he huffed.

“I’m asking you to be a little bit more selfish for once, damn it!” Leo snapped. “I don’t know how else to spell this out for you.”

“You can’t because it’s not going to work,” Dash countered as he stood. “I want to help, okay? I’m not just going to sit here and watch you back yourself further into a corner. When’s your rent up?”

“Dash.”

“We had a perfectly functional arrangement at my place. There is no sense in adding more to your plate when you’re already stressed.”

“Dash.” Leo sighed. He received only the same steady stare.

Guess that made two stubborn bastards of them, didn’t it?

He shook his head before his shoulders sagged in defeat. “Look, I’ve got a job comin’ up they want me to do that’s gonna take me off-world for a few weeks, at least. Let me… take care of that and… I should probably lay low a while after. They’re used to a turnover rate down here. I’m guessing it won’t cause any problems.”

“Good,” Dash said with a nod. “Because you look like shit. You need some sleep.”

He grunted with a half-hearted attempt at a dismissive shrugged shoulder. “I’ll… manage.”

“Where are you staying tonight?”

Leo frowned slightly as he considered Dash’s raised brow and patient stare. It’d been maybe a year or two and he still hadn’t quite puzzled out the why of it all. But…

He scuffed a foot against the floor. “Maybe uh… I could come back over for a night or two..? I’ve got some time before they’ll need me for my job.”

The smile that started across Dash’s lips was the warmest thing he’d seen in weeks. “And I’m not due to deploy again for another week or so.”

“Great, uhm… I’ll just.. Grab a few things then,” Leo agreed with a nod. “Just uh… stay put?”

“Alright.” Dash nodded, that warm smile settled further across his lips. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

#wip wednesday #dot words #swtor fanfiction #swtor fanfic #ch: leo ashold #ch: dash felaeon #friends' ocs #dash felaeon x leo ashold #swtor smuggler #swtor trooper #they're idiots your honor but leo. leo for fuck's sake

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tiredassmage · 11 months

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come back, be here

More disasters (beloved) content!! Today I bring, piece from a bit before the start of the class stories. <3

Dash (very beloved) belongs to the lovely @commander-krios

There’s good intentions, and there’s Leo’s penchant for not ‘minding his place’ well enough. And Dash is too good a friend to risk losing over a mess he made himself.

Trouble is, Dash is too good a friend to let him deal with it alone.

Rating: T, swearing in this one, but no other warnings, I believe.

Dash’s eyes narrowed at the unresponsive door. He’d had eyes watching him from the moment he’d stepped off the speeder and he could feel them getting more antsy. Unfortunately, it seemed the lack of uniform and armor wasn’t quite enough to entirely disguise his presence.

Blasted regulation haircuts…

He huffed a sigh and pounded on the door again. “Answer the damn door, you dumb bastard,” he muttered. It’d be a helluva lot easier to not have to rely on the blaster pistol he’d tucked away under his jacket, but- I’ll tear this damn place apart if-

Finally, the poor excuse for an apartment door slid open. “What?” Narrowed blue eyes were on his chest first before they leapt up and then widened. “Dash!” Leo hissed and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. He narrowly managed to shove his unexpected company through the door behind him before he glared both ways down the hall and slammed the door shut behind them.

The breath all twisted up in his lungs puffed out. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Dash almost snorted, brow twisting irritably. “I could ask you the same question, idiot.”

“I happen to live here,” Leo muttered stubbornly with a shake of his head. “You’re going to get yourself killed.” He jabbed a finger at him. “You know these bastards have ‘Pub official sensors wired into their whacked brains, right?”

Dash’s frown only deepened. “Exactly why I’ve been looking for you.”

Leo smacked a palm to his forehead before both hands raced back through his half-loosened hair. He huffed when his fingers tangled with his hairtie before he yanked it out, stretching it hastily across several fingers before he let it snap over his wrist. “Did’ya fuckin’ forget how to read?” he muttered, pushing past him back into the narrow slice of living space that passed for an apartment down here.

“Did you really expect me not to worry?” Dash pressed, shrugging open his arms even as he was left staring at Leo’s back.

“I expected you to value your fuckin’ job, Dash!” he snapped back. He snatched something from a tiny sidetable and shoved it away on the lower shelf of a desk crowded into a corner.

“Leo-”

“I fucking told you that you worried enough, didn’t I?” He rounded on him with a glare. He raised his hands. “Look-”

“No, you look,” he said sharply. He swept an arm over the room.

It was barely much more than a couch shoved in between a few side tables with a tight space for the desk in the back, lit more by a shoddy, sickly yellow light and whatever flashing glare bounced around from the neon signs outside. Another room or two lurked vaguely in the shadows amid a few of Leo’s jackets haphazardly dangling from the minimal furniture.

“The hell are you doin’ this to yourself for, man?”

Leo’s jaw set with a wavering frown as he folded his arms across his chest and his eyes dropped to the dingy floor. “I already told you,” he mumbled.

“No,” Dash said, “You left me a vague as hell note. Remember?”

He shook his head and puffed out another short breath before he sagged back against the desk which gave a mild groan of protest. “Maybe,” he said as one hand reached up for the back of his neck.

Dash raised a brow as his hands settled on his hips. “Talk to me,” he said. “What’s going on with you?”

“What kind of question is that?”

Stubborn as ever. “You’re shit at deflecting, by the way,” he offered. Still, Leo avoided his gaze pointedly as he stepped around the couch and sagged into it with a sigh.

“Thanks! Been doing it all my life,” Leo fired back with a roll of his eyes as he stood. “I really don’t need you to worry about this, Dash,” he said. “Don’t you have enough going on with… I dunno, Republic Army hero business?”

“No more than usual,” Dash said. The couch sucked. Stiff as hell. He leaned his head back against folded hands anyway. “Nothin’ changed, Leo. I just… woke up one morning and you were gone. Why?”

He frowned hard at Leo’s back. He couldn’t make out what he was rustling through on the datapad he’d picked up, but he wasn’t getting anywhere. And he hated it.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Why won’t you let me help?”

“I thought we talked about this,” Dash said quietly.

“I know, I know,” Leo muttered. He rubbed at his eyes as he slumped against the desk again. “But I can’t be a burden, Dash. And I can’t-”

“You’re not.”

“Dash,” Leo groaned. “Please? Just… Who the hell else just…” It was just… insane the level of risk it’d all been from the start. To drag him all the way to Coruscant? To not ask for anything more than just..? “I appreciate it, I do, okay? I’m not saying… I just.” He scrubbed a hand over the side of his face. “I’m tangled in some shit, Dash. And it’s my mess. There’d be enough hell if anyone ever figured out how we even fell in together and this won’t help. I can’t… I can’t do that to you. Okay?”

Dash sighed, reaching to pinch the bridge of his nose carefully. “You aren’t,” he tried again. “I’m going to worry anyway because you’re my friend, Leo.”

“I’m not asking for help-”

“Of course you’re not,” he huffed.

“I’m asking you to be a little bit more selfish for once, damn it!” Leo snapped. “I don’t know how else to spell this out for you.”

“Dash.”

“We had a perfectly functional arrangement at my place. There is no sense in adding more to your plate when you’re already stressed.”

“Dash.” Leo sighed. He received only the same steady stare.

Guess that made two stubborn bastards of them, didn’t it?

“Good,” Dash said with a nod. “Because you look like shit. You need some sleep.”

Leo grunted with a half-hearted attempt at a dismissive shrugged shoulder. “I’ll… manage.”

“Where are you staying tonight?”

He frowned slightly as he considered Dash’s raised brow and patient stare. It’d been maybe a year or two they’d been together after the shitshow on Begeren and he still hadn’t puzzled out just what cosmic force gave Dash such a sense of patience, but…

He scuffed a foot against the floor. “Maybe uh… I could come back over for a night or two..? I’ve got some time before they’ll need me for my job.”

The smile that started across Dash’s lips was the warmest thing he’d seen in weeks. “And I’m not due to deploy for another week or so.”

“Great, uhm… I’ll just.. Grab a few things then,” Leo agreed with a nod, one hand scratching the back of his neck. “Just uh… stay put?”

“Alright.” Dash nodded, that warm smile settled further across his lips. “Don’t keep me waiting too long.”

o-o-o-o-o-o

Leo dropped his bag at his feet by the couch. Behind him, he heard Dash yawn as he shuffled through the kitchenette. The same old shadows stretched lazily across the floor from the windows, spilling over the room.

A breath quietly slipped slowly from his lungs that let out some tension in his shoulders he hadn’t been particularly aware of before then.

“D’you want anything?”

He blinked and wrapped his arms across his chest as he turned around to face back towards Dash, propping a hip against the arm of the couch. “Uhm…” He shrugged a shoulder with a slight shake of his head. “Yea, uh… just… water? Might be nice…”

Dash cast him an easy smile. “Don’t be a stranger,” he said with a raised brow and a nod at the couch.

“Right.” Leo puffed out a breath and swung his arms awkwardly.

It was… weird… How quickly this had all…

He ran a hand lightly over the back of the couch as he stepped around and sagged back into a seat. His eyes closed almost as soon as his back touched the cushions. Dash’s quiet movement around the kitchen eased over him as he propped his head against one hand.

He’d been battling with insomnia longer than he’d bothered to keep track. If he cared to bet about it, he’d guess the bulk of it had been agitated thanks to the military and the scarring that crossed down his right cheek and neck and patterned over his shoulder. Shit like that had a way of makin’ you rethink your whole damn life, he reckoned.

Little had ever really countered it - though he hadn’t particularly tried too hard, to be fair. The stims and adrenals likely had the opposite effect, quite frankly. Not that knowing better had been able to stop him yet.

Still, it was far quieter here with Dash than it’d ever be in the lower levels. Less risk of gettin’ shot or robbed in his restless sleep, too, he’d bet.

He slumped a bit heavier into his hand, eyelids weighted down with the ease that came with the promise of the familiar.

“Hey.”

Leo inhaled sharply at Dash’s voice so close, eyes opening again with a light jolt to find a cup already offered out to him.

“I told you you needed sleep.”

“I’m… alright,” Leo mumbled as he accepted the cup and carefully wrapped both hands around it just to hold it to his chest for a moment while Dash settled in beside him.

"I, uh… I-" He closed his eyes and blew out a short, abrupt breath. "Thanks..?"

Dash smiled, blinking slowly. He seemed tired himself, but more… relaxed. Content, almost. "No man left behind, right?"

A smile flickered at the corner of Leo's lips. "Yeah… guess so." His fingers flexed around the cup as his gaze fell away and he finally took a small sip.

He didn’t mean to cause trouble, exactly - not for Dash. The man had done enough just getting him this far. He’d started drifting from odds and ends jobs after a while just to try to take some of the edge off of the burden it had to be.

And it was easier to say he owed a few of the wrong types of people credits than explain just how his opinionated mouth had gotten him into tangling with the likes of the Black Sun because at least he knew which end of the blaster fired. A lot of those people weren’t quite so lucky.

And leave it to Leo to not know when to keep his mouth shut and leave the rancor’s den alone. There’d only been so many fights he could pick before enough of the wrong people started noticing he had a penchant for getting places he didn’t fuckin’ belong.

He’d made the mess of the whole thing. Supposedly cost them “business.” Their “offer” to do a little work for them to make up for some of it all wasn’t the kind you refused.

Dash let his silence hang for a while - a blessing and a curse, if the struggle going on at the back of his throat to find a way to explain any of it was anything to go off of. Anxiously, Leo drew circles across the cup’s outer surface, unseeing eyes settled somewhere in the spire of shadows cast by the neighboring buildings across the floors.

Dash cleared his throat after a while, starting to draw Leo back to the present. “We should both tuck in for the night,” he suggested, struggling to bite back a yawn as he did. He nodded down the hall. “Your room’s still in order.”

Leo’s grip tightened around his cup and his eyes widened for a moment. He only caught a glimpse of the half-smile Dash threw him over his shoulder. “Good night, Leo.”

“Dash-” He swallowed as the other man stopped, tilting his head in acknowledgement. It felt something like standing on the taxi pad back on Ziost - one of the last times he’d seen his sister in person, before deployment.

But this wasn’t a goodbye.

Still, it seemed to hollow out a similar ache in his chest.

A faint smile flickered across his lips. “I… I owe you.”

Dash puffed out a faint breath of a chuckle. “You’d never pay me, anyway. Even if you did.”

Leo’s eyes dropped to the floor, grip readjusting around his emptied glass in an attempt to ignore the brush of heat that threatened to rise to his cheeks. “I… Thanks. For…”

Dash shook his head fondly. “Go to bed, Leo,” he scolded gently. “You need it.”

“Yeah…” His smile flickered again. Being home was… a lot to begin with. But there was still a sliver of emptiness that threatened to writhe in his chest. “Good night.” Instead, he made to grab his bag off the floor and let Dash roam off down the hall in peace.

Still, Leo’s eyes wandered back for a moment.

Dash would still be here in the morning. Because he was a far better friend than Leo could’ve ever deserved.

Knowing that kept the fear that he’d be seeing Dash walk away again rooted in his chest. Not that he needed to know about that.

#dot words #swtor fanfic #swtor fanfiction #swtor smuggler #swtor trooper #republic trooper #ch: leo ashold #ch: dash felaeon #dash felaeon x leo ashold

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tiredassmage · 1 year

Note

falling asleep on the other’s shoulder for whatever pairing you’re feeling

Still sitting on a few of these, I promise! The end of the semester is just kickin' my butt. xD

Time to release some Dash x Leo content into the wild, methinks. 👀

[touch prompts]

x-x-x-x-x-x-

“Departures for Coruscant are currently operating on a three standard hours delay. We apologize for any inconvenience. Please see the nearest departures assistant for further details.”

Leo groaned as he shifted in the narrow, hard bench seat beside him, propping a shoulder into the unforgiving seatback. “I’m gonna have that engraved in my skull by the time we get out of here,” he grumbled.

Dash frowned, gaze drifting over the roving crowds of dock workers, merchants, and soldiers idling through the spaceport. “I’m going to shoot the next droid that tries to apologize,” he mumbled.

Leo craned his neck to eye his companion. “Don’ start that,” he said. “Your little security friends already loused me once for lookin’ at ‘em funny. We’ll be here even longer then.”

Dash rolled his eyes and sighed as he leaned back. “Suppose you’re right.” Sometimes it was a real shame they had to go through official Republic channels constantly for deployments. This all wouldn’t be a problem if they could just haul jets. “How’s your ship? I’m thinking we should’ve just taken it.”

“Better still be where I docked,” he said. “That Rodian bastard looked shiftier than a loanshark.”

“Why’d we take the shuttles again?”

“‘Cause you’re on leave and I am allergic to Republic Customs, remember?” Leo shrugged one shoulder. “Fuck, they prattle more than the bloody theater junkies back ‘ome, y’know?”

Dash rolled his eyes fondly with a puffed breath of amusement. “Alright, alright, I get it. Still, what’s the point of being friends with a starship captain if I can’t get a few free rides, huh?”

Leo stuck his tongue out. “My knight in shining armor gonna protect me when your fellow hounds start sniffin’ ‘round tryna steal my whiskey, then?” His eyes narrowed with the beginnings of a smirk, as if he was about to win whatever ‘argument’ he was playing at.

Dash shook his head, eyes making for the list of departures on a screen across the room - covered in far too much orange and red for delays for his taste. But it beat acknowledging the way a bit of warmth rose to his cheeks.

Leo knew he’d do a hell of a lot for him. But it was never a favor that went unpaid.

The smuggler puffed out a chuckle behind him. Smug bastard. Guess it took one to know one.

“You alright, man?” Dash asked rather than spin wheels any further, fixing him in a pointed stare. “You’re the one that looks like you’ve been steamed over by a Corellian tram.”

Leo waved a hand with another grunt. “‘M fine,” he muttered as he rubbed at his left eye - easier to not scrape the cybernetics that crossed the scarring on the right side of his face that way.

His eyes were a deeper blue than most horizons he’d seen.

“Take it easy, why don’t you?” he suggested. He tugged on the other’s shoulder. “C’mon,” he coaxed when he groaned stubbornly. “Look, it’s not like we’re goin’ anywhere fast and I’m not listening to you gripe later when you can’t sleep on the shuttle because it’s too crowded.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, you would,” he muttered as he relented, scooting back to prop against Dash’s shoulder and kicking a leg out across the remaining seats.

They both ignored a few disgruntled looks from some passerby.

“Yeah,” Dash sighed as his arm settled around his shoulders, “I wouldn’t have much of a choice though, would I?”

A smile slipped across his lips even as his eyes closed. “Suppose so.” Dash’s shoulder was exponentially more comfortable without all of that stupid Republic armor on. Guess it kept him alive though.

And he was a helluva lot better alive than anything else.

Dash wasn’t waiting long before Leo was out cold. A smile flickered faintly across his lips as he shook his head. Idly, he tucked a stray lock of bangs back behind his ear. Idiot had a terrible semblance of a sleep schedule at the best of times, let alone when he decided to move gravity itself to put himself in the same sector when Dash got leave from service.

That was just the kind of shit you did for your best friends though, right?

#answered #dot words #swtor fanfic #swtor fanfiction #ch: leo ashold #ch: dash felaeon #dash felaeon x leo ashold #touch prompts #friends ocs #they own my actual entire wholeass heart #swtor trooper #swtor smuggler

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tiredassmage · 1 year

Text

WIP Wednesday

And WHAT-IF Wednesday, ey? Ey? Sksksdfnl, this week’s donation brought to you by my brain being a goblin and @commander-krios and I having too many emotions over our silly boys who are very wholly in stupid love. (Thank you for the tag, for encouraging my shenanigans, etc etc x,D) This was hard to pick a segment from so weeee my habit of posting a whole giant chunk continues, lol.

Dash and Leo are part of our group legacy shenanigans, but uh. That wasn’t enough to stop my brain from doing (apparently it’s Thing TM) the “okay, but what if... KOTXX..??? pointing emojis??” So. Sniffs. Please send us tissues.

Gonna tag @captainderyn @kemendin @eorzeashan @sasslett if y’all would like??? And ofc, usual encouragement, if you see this and you want, I’m also tagging you. In my heart. Be ungovernable still, naturally, but. Also be obnoxious about your blorbos. It’s freeing.

x-x-x-x-x-x

“Just ‘cause I’m here doesn’t mean I’m committing to anything,” the Voidhound growled carefully with narrowed dark blue eyes. “My fleet’s been harassing blockades just fine without official government oversight the last five years. I’m not risking grounding them if your ‘Commander’ gets cold feet, got it?”

Hylo Viz shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Yea, heard you the first couple of times. Look, Commodore, why don’t ya try talkin’ to the man himself, eh? Just hear out his offer.” She nodded across the docking bay to a trio approaching the commotion.

Leo frowned and bit back the sharp retort about ‘calming down’ that threatened to fire off his tongue. He held out a hand to signal the rest of the crew to stay back, for now. Better to get a good look at this Outlander everyone was supposedly losing their damn minds about.

Who was flanked by… a familiar Sith lord and ex-SIS agent, so long as the nearly decade or more of being an insomniac wasn’t finally catching up to him.

That would have been throwing enough. As if he wasn’t looking at a dead man walking.

Their eyes met across the room and Leo felt his breath catch in his throat. Theron Shan had trailed off behind him and Lana Beniko’s Force-tuned golden eyes narrowed slightly to mirror the thinning of her lips, but all of this went unnoticed for now.

Long as he wasn’t seeing shit, he would deal with them later.

Leo yanked down his mask as he sucked in another breath. And that was when he saw the first spark of recognition in dark brown eyes.

“You.” One hand curled anxiously into a fist at his side.

Wild Space. Darth Marr’s bastard fleet of Imperial and Republic vessels scouring for any last trace of their would-be former Emperor. Five years. Five incredibly cold, incredibly desolate years - some of the longest he’d ever lived all caught in the back of his throat.

“You!” He all but growled as he finally found his footing firmly back in the Odessen hangar, ignoring a quiet, “Commodore?” issued at his shoulder.

Before another breath consciously sawed through his lungs, he gripped Dash Felaeon firmly by the front of his shirt. “I thought you were fucking dead!”

“Leo?!”

“I thought you were fucking dead, you bastard!” His eyes stung. He wanted to hit something, shoot something, and he never wanted to let go. The words raced back at him over a suddenly quieted hangar. It didn’t matter - the entire galaxy had come to a halt for him the moment he’d laid eyes on him.

Dash’s hands squeezed gently around his arms as they moved up to his shoulders, maybe to steady him as he almost swayed. He blinked furiously against the tears threatening to blur his vision.

“Leo…” One hand cupped against his cheek. Leo closed his eyes tightly and leaned instantly, desperately into the touch - just as warm and steady as any number of quiet evenings he could never forget spent on Coruscant bathed in an orange glow as the sun set over the towering buildings and dappled across their floor with the passing speeder traffic.

Breathe. He stuttered another unsteady breath into his lungs. “I thought you were dead…” He’d quieted to almost a whimper.

“What are you..?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Leo all but growled, “You-!” He dragged Dash down by the collar of his shirt into a kiss that swallowed any of the poor words that would dare try to masquerade as an explanation.

This had to be real. He couldn’t- If it wasn’t…

Dash Felaeon had been declared killed in action by the Republic over five years ago. And it’d torn a hole through Leo’s life larger than any superweapon, any galactic power could ever hope to have recreated.

He still panted when they broke apart. Dash’s fingers wove into his hair as Leo pressed his forehead against his, hooking both hands around the back of his neck.

“You were…”

“I know,” Dash said quietly.

“And I-”

“I know.”

“It’s..?”

“It’s me, Leo. It’s me.”

#swtor #wip wednesday #swtor fanfiction #swtor fanfic #dash felaeon x leo ashold #ch: dash felaeon #ch: leo ashold #friends ocs #this nearly killed me when it first exploded into my brain late at night okay i had to get it out of my system somehow #leo goes through a. a whole phase about his feelings about the republic's declaration here #five years on the winter soldier makeup routine kind of arc #distressed kazoo noises

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