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beautifulbuckys · 2 years

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Can’t Stay Away (1)

Out of all of the wizarding kids Harry’s best friends could’ve been, why did it need to be a Weasley?

George Weasley x Reader

A/N: Hello! I��m back to writing! I’ve been in a huge Harry Potter phase recently. So...I’m doing some come back writing with a multi-part story! Enjoy!!

Warnings: Some swearing, enemies to lovers. Some back and forth between characters! No use of Y/N

Out of all of the wizarding kids' Harry’s best friends could’ve been, why did it need to be a Weasley?

Don’t get me wrong, the Weasley’s are a lovely family. Molly treats me with warmth as she would another daughter. Arthur would send me owl after owl questioning me on muggle happenings. Whenever I could see Charlie and Bill it was always pleasant. Percy would be tolerable at best. Fred constantly dropped flowers off in my dorm room yet always denied it. Ron confided in me and trusted me with anything regarding Harry. Ginny was almost like a little sister to me, I’d braid her hair and she showed me how to sew.

George?

Where do I begin?

Since we began our first year, he found a way to get under my skin. Literally. Once a spell he meant to cast on Filch backfired and lead me to the uncomfortable feeling of movement under my skin for 3 weeks. A time after that, he’d stained my silk scarf gifted to me by Harry when we were small. If you add on the act that he’s loud, disruptive, unruly, and barbaric; he’s a total unlikeable package!

The worst of it? The time he broke my pearl necklace during a failed escape from Snape after a prank. He’d collided with me right by the corridor closest to the Great Hall. Our chests collided violently and he pushed himself away. Unfortunately taking my necklace with him. The same necklace that my Mom had gifted to me when I was around 3. The last thing I had to remind me of her. The closest thing I had to her.

Fred had begged and pleaded with me to forgive George. Damage was done.

And since, I haven’t had a pleasant experience with him. Yet I find myself at the Weasley’s crumbling house every summer. It’s become a routine since we left the Dursleys. I’d room with Ginny, while Harry would stay with Ron. It worked out perfectly. Ginny and I would find ourselves sitting in the glowing sun helping Molly with the gardening. I found it quite peaceful. Us three stuck together a lot considering the amount of testosterone that lived in the Burrow. We’d sit in the same corner of the wobbly, patchy wood dinner table that sat in the middle of the cramped dining room. We’d share tea and Molly would educate us on the proper ways to crochet or knit.

Harry was surrounded by the lively Weasley boys. I never see them repeating a single task during the day, always onto something new. They’ll have practice quidditch matches during midday. Harry and Ron always manage to be on the same team, much like Fred and George. They’d move onto roughhousing near the garden patch, leading to a solid scolding done by Molly. I’d never missed the few occasions the boys would disappear for hours, only to return muddy and worn.

Today was no different.

“Oi, boys! What have I said about you lot wrestling in the mud! I absolutely refuse to clean this laundry. Fred and George. First to the showers! You’re helping us with dinner this evening!” Molly shouted at the returning group from just behind a small berry bush sitting outside the kitchen window.

Fred scoffed, throwing his pale arms into the air. “Mum! We were having fun, Harry learned some new moves!”

Nevertheless, the twins disappeared inside.

“I don’t know what I’ll do with those two boys. Always dabbling into trouble.” Molly turned to me, pushing a small ginger back curl with her forearm.

The sun was just beginning to set, creating a soft pink and orange hue in the sky. Whenever sunsets like this happened, they made me smile. Orange was a happy color. It reminded me of the Weasley family no matter the hassle they added to your lives. The Weasleys were my found family. Whenever a tough day happened and a sunset like this followed, I couldn’t help but picture the zany family bouncing in the sky.

I barely realized I was spacing out before a tall figure appeared to the right of me.

George.

I looked over to my left, where he stood next to me. He was wearing a periwinkle tee that wasn’t shy highlighting the slight muscle tone in his arms. George’s fiery hair was messy and wet. Some pieces clung to his forehead, while others stuck up like bedhead. Small freckles dusted his nose, adding a pop of color to his otherwise pale face.

“What’s got your focus?” He spoke softly. The kitchen was bustling with life, a few Weasleys and Harry running to help with supper. I was assigned to snap the ends of the fresh green beans we had grown. George picked up a few from the pile in front of me and began assisting.

“Nothing too important.”

“Seems it.” He pushed.

I tilt my head slightly in his direction. His tall frame is balanced on the aged kitchen counted by his hip. George’s legs were crossed, his patched white ankle socks slightly revealing themselves from underneath his discolored red pajamas.

“What’s it to you, Weasley?”

The sharp corners of his mouth perk into a smirk. “I can’t help but notice I’m the only one you call Weasley. I live in a house full of Weasleys. Yet Ron is Ron. Percy is Percy. Bill is Bill. But I’m Weasley.” I finally turn my head fully in his direction. His smirk is still prevalent on his face. I wanted to smack it off of him.

“Congratulations.” I sassed.

George snapped an end of a green bean off, tossing it in his mouth. “Someone is awfully snippy today,” He whispered. “Harry get some mud on your scarf?” The smirk he had been wearing never left his face. It sat, proud. What an asshole.

Thankfully, Molly had swiped me away to set the dinner table. The table, obviously repaired to expand its area, was rough and bumpy. There were a few times I’d assisted Harry and Ron with splinters they gained from the old piece of furniture. It was wobbly. What some would consider run down, I’d call it well loved. The original table dawned a dark oak color. The staining darkened the color and once made the woodwork shine. The first addition to the table was some leftover wood from Molly’s garden boxed. It was a birch slab nailed onto the original table. When a table cloth covered the table, a large dip was noticeable due to the level difference. The legs were also constructed with scrap pieces, causing one leg to be longer than the other. Yet, it still held the original charm the initial table was blessed with.

Molly had handed me an emerald green table cloth to cover the rugged surface. The various sets of worn china decorated the tabletop. Small ivory plates decorated with cornflowers were scattered on the table. While Arthur and Molly’s seats had the older, cream and rose plates they loved. Molly’s mother had gifted the couple with this set of dinnerware after their wedding. It definitely didn’t go unappreciated.

As the family settled down for dinner, conversations varied from Harry’s dream last night to Ron’s rat eating a hole through Percy’s special prefect robes.

“That damn rat needs some bloody training. He’s the worst behaved Weasley! And that’s counting Ron! Do you have any idea how much those robes cost?” Percy whined, gripping his chipped metal fork. His thin eyebrows furrowed, causing a horrible wrinkle on his forehead.

Ron shoved a slab of chicken breast into his mouth. “The school gave them to you.” He spoke with his mouth full. Thin pieces of chicken slipped out of his mouth while speaking.

Percy glared at Ron.

“They’re priceless.”

I giggled at Ron’s antics, him joining me. Percy began ranting about how his position of power made Ron jealous and that’s why he sent Scabbers to go chew a hole in the hood of the robe. While rambling, he flailed his frail arms into the air; nearly smacking Fred in the process. Fred dodged the hit dramatically while scoffing.

“Oi, can you watch where you’re swinging those muscles? I get you’ve been doing 5 push-ups every night but spare us from your fury,” The older twin snickered. The dim yellow lights of the Burrow cast a shadow down his face. His brow bones shadowed his chocolate eyes. From this angle, he could’ve been mistaken for one of those cheap muggle Halloween statues.

Percy didn’t take this comment lightly. He shut up quickly and began rapidly eating his food. Occasionally, he’d mumble something under his breath and glare at Ron.

“Dear brother I think you hurt poor Percy’s feelings!” George gasped. He raised his hands to his cheeks and feigned a shocked expression. Slight chuckles could be heard from Ginny beside me. “I demand at once that you apologize to my esteemed relative. If you don’t, I fear your food may be coming out from the other end!” George’s fake expression was replaced by a boyish grin. If you looked closely, you just see the tiniest dimple on both corners of his mouth.

“Thank you, Geor-” Percy began.

“My brother cannot help the brute strength that he gets from being part cyclops! It already ruins his self-esteem enough that he looks like one. Do not begin to make him fear using his true strength around those he’s supposed to feel safe around.” The entire table of Weasley’s erupted in laughter, excluding Molly. Ginny’s face could match her hair color. I could’ve sworn I saw tears falling from the corners of Fred’s eyes. I laughed too, I can’t lie about that. I’ve always found Percy to be tightly wound and in need of a serious laugh every once in a while.

As I wiped the falling tears from my face, I glanced across the table. George was staring right at me. We made brief eye contact before I broke it, bringing my eyes to the meal in front of me.

Shit. I laughed at George Weasley’s joke. I broke my front.

Dinner otherwise was rather peaceful. Of course, Molly scolded both twins for picking on their older brother. Arthur included himself in the punishment too. I’m assuming it was to cover up the fact that he slammed the table laughing in reaction to the conversation. Molly definitely saw it though. She was just letting him off easy. Percy left the table the second he finished his plate. As he stomped up the stairs, Ginny heard him grumbling about how Fred and George would soon get a reality check. Soon after that, a nearby door slam shook the Burrow.

As the evening continued, members of the Weasley family dropped like flies. Ginny was the first to go to bed. Eventually, Fred and Harry followed. Molly and Arthur disappeared without a word. Ron sat with me by the fireplace for a while.

The familiar warmth of the Weasley fireplace was always comforting to me. I spent hours tutoring Ron and Harry on charms homework during cold winter nights by the fireplace. I experienced my first heartbreak here. 2nd year, after Clarence Hillbox broke up with me the day before the summer break. Molly sat with me all day, comforting me and telling me about Arthur’s first fight.

“He had shattered my father’s vase! He was meeting my family. He tried teaching my younger brother the wonders of muggle ‘baseball’. Somehow in the mix, a ball flew in the opposite direction straight through the den window! Completely shattered the family heirloom that had been in the family for over 800 years!”

I sniffled. “Did he make it up to you? Or your Dad?”

Molly’s familiar smile appeared on her round face. “Well, he tried. He took me to a muggle pottery barn to paint a new one. He paid for the costs, and let me do anything my heart desired. He was the one to pick it up from the barn and brought it to my Dad. Obviously, he was still hurt but he appreciated it.”

Ron and I sat in silence for a while, staring at the yellow and orange flames that danced on the charred logs. Then I felt the couch dip to my right.

“Hope I’m not interrupting something.” The loudest, and younger of the twins broke the silence.

Silently, Ron stood up and left the room. Not a ‘goodbye’ or a ‘goodnight’ left his mouth. His soft footsteps could be heard above my head, walking quickly to his room. Great. Now Weasley and I are left alone.

I clear my throat, “Not exactly. My scowl must’ve been present on my face, as his face dropped slightly once he looked at me. “I was just hanging out with your brother. Obviously, he had other plans. So now I’m left alone.” My hands were fidgeting with the hems of my sleep shorts. There were a few frayed strings that stuck out from the sides.

“But I’m here.”

“Take the hint, Weasley.” I groaned, pulling the sides of my shorts out in frustration. He chuckled softly, turning his head to look at the fire. However, his arm had other plans. It snaked its way behind the back of the plush couch. His pink knuckles sitting inches from my cheekbone. I turned my head slightly, to see exactly how he was sitting. As he obviously wasn’t getting up. His broad-shouldered form sat comfortably on the seat. His left ankle was balanced on his right though, legs forming a perfect 4. Due to his arms being raised, his shirt lifted a little. A small blue boxer line peeked out from under his pajama bottoms.

“I can’t stand you.” He said.

I frown. “Yet you can’t seem to leave me alone.

“Touche.”

And for the first time ever, I didn’t want to smack George Weasley across the face.

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theelvenhaven · 2 years

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Archery Lessons

Requests: can you base something on Haldir teaching you how to use a bow but his brothers are keep on teasing him because Haldir is very much in love with you :) Please? Thank you - 🌙

A/N: I hope you enjoy this anon! <3

Haldir x Reader

2.5k words

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You stood there in silence, trying your hardest to ignore the audience that you had surrounding you. Even though it was just Rumil and Orophin that was here with you, you couldn’t help but be nervous. You had never picked up a weapon, especially a bow. Something that required such incredible skill compared to hacking and slashing more wildly with a sword- which you understood still took skill too.

Though you didn’t doubt the ellon who was going to teach you. Haldir had exceptional skills as an archer and had been more than generous in offering to teach you how to use a bow. Something he said you could do together, part of you hoped it would have just been the two of you. Yet you weren’t surprised that his brothers had decided to tag along.

“Now we will start simple, and we will work on just hitting any part of that target there.” Haldir began from in front of you and you watched the ellon pulling arrows from the target. Having demonstrated what to do. From beside you, you could hear Rumil and Orophin snorting out in response to his words.

Your eyes firmly fixated on the well made target before you, it was some distance from you but not too far. Giving you some confidence that you would actually be able to hit it, rather than miss despite your nerves. Haldir having moved out of the way and coming to stand behind you.

“That is about the only thing simple between the two of them…” You heard Rumil sniff in a teasing tone, though he tried to say it in a low voice to Orophin. You turned to look at the Haldir, who took a heavy breath, the ellon bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose at his brother's words. You couldn’t help but feel the heat burning on your face, pondering Rumil’s words. Orophin was snickering at what Rumil had said. ,

“Ignore them, Y/N.” Haldir said to you gently as he shot them a warning look from just behind you. You couldn’t help but smile faintly over the fact that he had called you by your name. Somehow you had managed to convince him to drop any formality he tried to refer to you as before your name. You supposed it helped that the setting was so casual, had it been anyone else around you other than Orophin and Rumil you knew Haldir wouldn’t have relented.

“Oh yes don’t mind us, you’ll hardly notice we are here.” Orophin grinned, folding his arms over his chest, and you only hoped that was the case. Haldir took a steadying breath before he moved to hand you an arrow.

“Nock your arrow and draw, all will be well if your stance isn’t perfect. I can help you adjust as necessary.” Haldir assured you in his instructions, you looked at him over your shoulder with the concern visible on your face. Haldir merely gave you a faint smile, motioning for you to begin.

You took a steadying breath, knocking your arrow, and drawing with your gloved hand as he instructed. Trying not to obsess over the fact that you didn’t have an inkling as to what you were doing and that you could possibly be messing this up. You were simply mimicking the things you had seen from Haldir when you had watched him practice. Haldir’s brothers were silent, not judging you, simply whispering between one another and you could feel Haldir’s eyes trained on you.

“Good, now can you see the target out of that eye the best?” Haldir asked you, and quietly you looked down at the target. Focusing for a moment as you tested to see if you could, before finally you slowly nodded. Relaxing your draw seeing as you weren’t going to be firing immediately, and didn’t tire yourself out before you even had a chance to shoot.

“I think so.” You responded in a soft tone, with some uncertainty. Haldir hummed at your words, and then gently you felt his hands reach around you. Beginning to adjust your stance, and you felt heat rise to your face. Haldir fought against the heat that found him, breathing in your scent, feeling your arms beneath his fingers and your back against his chest. Bringing his heart to pound and his stomach to flutter.

There was a temptation to bring you to release your bow and arrow, to pull you back into him and press his lips to yours that he so longed to do. But those annoying and pestering brothers that he loved, were watching his every move. Making mocking noises over what he was doing,

“He sure is lingering…” You could hear Orophin playfully criticizing, only serving to make Haldir blush further. He was grateful your back was too him and you couldn’t see just how flustered he was over this ordeal. Haldir knew he was going to hate what came next, not because his hands were going to touch you, but because of what his brothers might say.

“A little too long isn’t he?” Rumil whispered in return to Orophin, and you muttered something soft in rebuttal under your breath that was incoherent. You weren’t complaining that he was lingering so long in fact you welcomed it fully, you just wished there was privacy between you both.

“Now…” Haldir began in a softer voice than he intended, hesitating for a moment but bringing his hands down to your waist. Hands cupping around them, getting a resounding oooooooh from his brothers as they watched you two like nosy hawks.

“Shift your weight to the front of your feet, not on your toes. I will keep you from falling forward.” You could feel his breath against the shell of your ear and you repressed the shiver that you felt wanting to run through you over the feel of it. Damn his brothers for still being here. The tension between the two of you was becoming taut and they were just dampening the mood.

“Ooooh how romantic.” Rumil shot out in a teasing sing-song voice, making Orophin snicker at his words.

“Who knew Haldir had it in him?” Orophin bounced out to Rumil without any hesitation, Haldir huffed heavily, turning his head to glare at his brothers. You felt a reflexive squeeze of his hands on your waist as he angrily looked at them. A silent threat that they’d regret it if they continued to tease and press the situation, yet his threat had no effect on either of the brothers.

Both smiling widely at Haldir, trying to put on a more innocent expression to all their teasing while you just tried to focus on leaning on the balls of your feet. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at them, knowing they’d see right through you and how you were enjoying Haldir’s touches and hand placements and the closeness in which he was indulging with you.

Even if it was just a teaching setting, you certainly wished for it to continue and progress into something beyond him being your teacher. Once you were comfortable on the balls of for your feet, without worry that you would tip forward it was then his hands reluctantly left your waist. Haldir hoped that you didn’t notice his hesitance fighting back the heat that wanted to scorch his face… Curse his brothers.

“Now-” Haldir began, you could feel the warmth of his chest pressing against your back as he leaned forward to bring his hands to lift your arms up. Your face was scorching with heat, savoring the feel of him being so close. Smelling the cool scent of fir on his skin and clothes filling your nose, you fought the urge to turn your head to look at him.

Seeing his profile just out of your peripheral. If you turned your head… your nose would brush against his cheek… Yet if he turned his head too… Well then your lips would certainly meet his. You simply tried to get control of your breathing, though Haldir hadn’t missed the hitch in your breath, the way you seemed to tense a little as he touched you. Yet you didn’t thwart him, oh how he wished to yell for his brothers to leave. But it would only be dirt on him for them to use against him.

“I want you to hold your arms here, and draw… You will pull this arm back, and hold this one steady.” Haldir’s voice came to you in a soft breath, his lips almost brushing against your ear and you felt goosebumps rise on your skin. You repressed the shiver at the feeling of his breath fanning against your face, and with a shakier hand you began to draw the string of the bow back.

Haldir’s fingers gently brushing against the underside of your arm as he went with the motions. Before the sound of Orophin and Rumil oohing over the ordeal broke out, only bringing the tension to wind tighter.

“Ignore them.” He grumbled out bitterly, you could hear the glare that he wore on his face at his brothers pestering. Were it not for your quiet feelings of attraction for Haldir, you would’ve found amusement in all their jesting and joking. Yet you felt like they could see right through you and how you felt for their eldest brother. It only felt like they were making fun of you too rather than them just trying to get under their brother’s skin.

You barely nodded in return at Haldir’s words, just following his instructions as you drew your bow. Haldir’s fingers coming to your fingers, encouraging you to draw further,

“Hold it.” He breathed out, leaning his head into yours, his breath tickling your ear. By Eru…

“Now can you see the target down your sights?” Haldir asked, and you honestly weren’t sure. You could see the target, so you supposed that was the right answer. So you nodded your head at his words,

“Good… Now when you are ready, let go.” For a moment you kept your gaze fixated on the target, the air was thick and heavy with tension, and the brothers were surprisingly quiet and without any jabs and jeers directed at their brother. Or you for that matter, finally you decided to chance it, unsure of when you’d ever be ready to release the arrow.

So you did so, feeling the string snap forward, launching the arrow forward bringing it to sail through the air. You held your breath as you watched before the arrow hit the target with a heavy thud, your heart pounding suddenly with excitement! You hit the target!

It wasn’t a bullseye, and it was just at the bottom edge of the target! But you did it!

Haldir smiled with satisfaction, for a first try with assistance it wasn’t bad, and he felt pride that you had done so well. It was as you both went to say something, your heads turned at the same time.

You turning your head to look up at him, and he down at you. Your noses softly brushing against one another, and his soft blue eyes looked back at yours before you watched them trail down your face.

For a moment all was still, and you were absolutely positive your heart stopped beating. There was a heavy fluttering in your stomach as butterflies filled you, Haldir once more heard the hitch in your breath as you went to hold it. His eyes focused on your lips that were slightly parted as you stopped before you could speak.

Haldir was amid a short battle between the urge to lean forward to kiss you, and without the distraction of his brothers to stop him… Haldir couldn’t resist. Closing the few inches in that distance, pressing his lips to yours firmly and with confidence.

You released a shuddering breath, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek as you melded your lips against his slowly. Time stood still, you felt his arms move to wrap around your waist, drawing you in closer to his body. It was hard and strong against yours, yet so gentle and careful with how Haldir treated you.

Though the moment didn’t last as long as you’d like and gently did Haldir break the kiss. Those soft blue eyes looking back down at you, tracing over your features. Committing them all to memory, admiring your beauty unable to resist staring now that finally he had kissed you. Something he landed to do for so long. Haldir went to open his mouth to speak, with you waiting on baited breath to only hear-

“It’s about TIME!” Orophin practically shouted, as he clapped his hands together. Rumil was nothing short of guilty as he too began to clap, the sarcasm palpable from the two brothers. Leaving you to smile as you curled your lips in, growing bashful as you kept close to Haldir.

“So much for archery lessons though, I think it was just an excuse to kiss.”

“Well at least he finally did it. We’ve only been waiting for a millennia.” Rumil exaggerated out, and you watched as Haldir snapped his head towards his brothers. While he in no way regretted kissing you, or spending this time with you, he certainly regretted his brothers being here.

Mood killers is what they were.

Gently Haldir pulled from you, and you watched as a look of horror found both brothers face as Haldir swiftly began to approach.

“Now we’ve done it. Run. Run!” Orophin said, scrambling to walk backwards and pulling Rumil with him. You couldn’t help but laugh watching the way the two of them were scrambling to run away. With Haldir hot on their heels.

“Just wait until I get my hands on you both!” Haldir barked out in a threat only pausing in his chase when he was sure his brothers were good and running away. Not wishing to leave you behind even despite the revenge he was going to enact against his brothers. He’d make sure that they’d regret the words they spoke here.

With a huff he turned to you, satisfied that they were smart enough to run and hide from him. Moving to approach you again, back with more confidence and less threatening as you smiled at him. Bringing his heart to stutter in his chest at the sight of it. If he had known that would be how he could get rid of his brothers, he would’ve done it much sooner.

“Let us continue.” Haldir said, but he could hear his brothers voices in the back of his mind poking fun at how it could insinuate with kissing. Only bringing him to blush deeply, “With archery. If that is what you wish.”

Haldir quickly clarified, closing his eyes as he stopped just before you. You grinned out at his words, unable to stop smiling, as you couldn’t wait to spend more time with him.

“I would like that very much, Haldir.” You responded, bringing him to relax before he took his place right behind you. Readying to enjoy archery lessons with you and without his annoying brothers.

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Tags: @saviorsong @lilmelily @dicksoutformtl @fandomhoe101 @icarus-fell-in-spring @red-riding @miriel-estelwen @ta-ka-shi-ma @nerdysimpy @thegirlwithoutaname87 @anunexpectedsideblog @spidergirla5 @eunoiaastralwings @eternalabysss

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constantly-in-limerence · 9 days

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Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 9-1-1 (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV) Additional Tags: Light Angst, Pining, Getting Together, Friends to Fiances, This is mostly just Eddie pining away in love, the others are mentioned - Freeform, Tommy doesn't really show up but he's a great boyfriend for Buck in the meantime, I need you to know that Buck was pining equally badly, Eddie is just blind, Featuring references to Ryan's interviews, Which is insane btw what is he can break my ankle and it's fine Summary:

"And he shoved the part of him that had always used Evan with a weight to it away, only ever using it when important, shoved the part of him down that wondered what it would be like if it had been him using Evan as casually as breathing"

Eddie goes through a lot in the days before, during, and after Buck and Tommy's relationship.

(also known as, Eddie Diaz try being normal about Evan Buckley for one second in your life)

Posted fic for the first time in forever for my fave gay firefighters!

#911 #911 abc #evan buckley #eddie diaz #buck x eddie #buddie #buck #bucktommy #Eddie #fic #Fanfc #fic rec #bi buck

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gun-roswell · 2 months

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Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types, Star Wars - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Clone Trooper Boil/Clone Trooper Waxer (Star Wars), CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo/CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives Characters: Clone Trooper Waxer (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Boil (Star Wars), CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo, CT-7567 | Rex, Pong Krell, Clone Troopers (Star Wars) - Character Additional Tags: Cloneshipping | Clone Trooper/Clone Trooper Relationships (Star Wars), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, prompts, Umbara Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), Reimagined, Nobody Dies/Everyone Lives, Established Relationship, Waxer/Boil Month, Poetic Justice, Gallows Humour in the mix Series: Part 5 of Waxer/Boil, Part 1 of Waxer/Boil Month 2024 Summary:

Summary: Waxer*Boil Month prompts - week one: Umbara what-if

They figured him out early on. The clone troopers did.

Part of Waxer/Boil Month 2024 // Waxer/Boil series

#fanfc #star wars #the clone wars #waxerboilmonth #cloneshipping #waxer/boil #events #prompts #umbara arc #reimagined #echo fives #rex #poetic justice #clone trooper waxer #clone trooper boil #waxerboilmonth2024

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mango-sp1ce · 1 year

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Family Leave

There's been an update to my Masterlist btw ;]

The Story Here!

here's the summary:

"He knows he can leave his kids unsupervised in his house. He's done it before. And sure, he has a lot of unexplained incredibly powerful objects just lying about. But his kids aren't stupid. One of em's even in his twenties.

Not to say they aren't dumb. They're definitely dumb. They're just not stupid. They'll be able to handle themselves.... ?

Nevermind. He's not leaving the house unless the dimensions are colliding. Fuck Gotham, fuck Batman, and fuck the League. No way.

Shit. It's mandatory."

#dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc fanfic #dad!constantine #danny phantom #batfam #but not batpham #atleast #not yet maybe #dc #danny phantom x dc #fanfic writing #fanfc #danny phantom fanfiction #fanfiction #family leave dp

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that-one-weeb-buts-its-the-main · 1 year

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Icon Duo| Ronin

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Reader: female | Ronin & Reader (platonic | siblings)

Warnings: death :), some cursing, weapons, fighting, arguing, all that good stuff, nothing too detailed in the fighting.

Notes: This is because of two edits I saw on Instagram; am I ashamed? Maybe- But it's my hyper fixation and I get to choose it

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"Get up!"

"Five more minutes!"

Ronin rolled his eyes, "Come on."

He pulled the blanket off Y/n as she groaned.

"We'll be late." He argued, causing her to groan and sit up and look out the window.

"It's not even light out."

"Leaf Men rise early."

"Good thing I'm not a Leaf Men." Y/n argued, reaching to grab her blanket, which he only pulled out of reach.

"You are as long as you live with me," Ronin ordered.

"Last time I checked, I don't have a choice in that." Y/n defended.

"Then you don't have a choice in this either." He argued causing Y/n to groan and stand up; "I promised our parents you'd be a Leaf Man, a good one at that-"

"That's a real annoying excuse- stop taking orphans in when you don't know how to care for them," Y/n defended, she only received a glare from her brother; "Can you go so I can get dressed now?"

He left, and with her blanket. Y/n sighed and got ready for the day; trousers, and a long sleeve that went just past her elbows before dressing in her armor. On her way out she grabbed her belt with her sheathed sword, quiver, and small pack, securing it to her belt she closed the door behind her with her foot and a yawn.

"We're late."

"No, everyone's just early."

Y/n earned another stern glare and eyebrow raise from Ronin, and once again she waved and rolled her eyes at it.

"Forgetting something?" He argued holding out her bow which she grabbed.

"no,"

"You're helmet."

"oh in your dreams Ronin," Y/n snapped kicking open the door with her foot where the chilly air of morning greeted her.

"It's uniform."

"Is it?" Y/n gasped; "Oh if it's that, then it can get a fat drink of poison and die too."

Ronin walked out following her, closing the door behind him; "What are you gonna do when you get shot in the head and die?"

Y/n whistled as two hummingbirds flew their way; "Just that Ronin, I'll roll over and die."

Y/n climbed onto her hummingbird, Ronin grabbing the reins of her bird; "When are you going to grow up."

"When you do." Y/n told, grabbing the reins back; "Good hunting."

She clicked her tonnage as the bird took off, Ronin sighing. What was he to do with her? She was sixteen; most Leaf Men started training early; though she was younger than most...all, she was younger than all Leaf men currently in training; and she was already on the field with real work, not just basic escorts; boggin fighting; killing the dreaded dark forest that ventured too far into the light. Y/n was good at that too; most summed it up to his work, Ronin leader of the Leaf man militia. It was really her; her restlessness to defy him, to be who she wanted to be.

What she needed to be was safe; Ronin had drilled that much into his own head; she needed to be safe, and he was the only one that could do that even with how well-trained she was.

"He just doesn't get it!" Y/n argued, "I don't want to be a Leaf Man!

She kicked up water as she stood on the lily pad.

"Being a Leaf Man is a high honor!" Grub defended, "I've always wanted to be a Leaf Man! Flying high with my brothers and sisters in arms!"

"Trust me it's a lot less glorious than it sounds." She argued flopping back onto the lily pad; water splashing up.

"Could you not splash around! Being around pods is a delicate operation." Mub argued.

"Right sorry." Y/n apologized, "I just don't get it! Grow up!? Grow up? I would love to grow up before I got shot off my damn bird! I want to be something! Do something!"

"Well, why not tell your brother that?" Grub asked.

"oh please, the only time I'm even allowed out of the house is if I'm 'being a Leaf Man.' Whatever the boysenberries and carp that means! He's...He's just so!-"

"-frustrating!" Ronin complained, "She's as bad as Nod! Worse, even! Runs off to do whatever and whatever she pleases! She'll get herself killed!"

The hummingbird was silent as Ronin sighed, lifting up a hollowed-out acorn filled with flower sap for the bird to eat, both at the Leaf Men headquarters stables. Y/n is nowhere to be seen; nowhere to be heard, and not even checked in for the day.

"She'll be the death of me," Ronin grumbled, pulling away the empty acorn to refill it for the bird.

Y/n came flying in quickly, hopping off her bird before it even touched the ground.

"Where were you?" Ronin argued.

"Not kissing your ass." Y/n told, "trust me when I tell you a lot of people do it."

"You were due an hour ago!"

Y/n didn't say anything and led her bird to her stall; already fed from some flowers on the way there.

"Y/n I'm talking to you," Ronin ordered, Y/n only continuing on her way, wet footsteps following her.

It was best not to ask as she vanished into headquarters halls.

"You're late again!" Ronin's second hand called, standing by the check-in cards.

"Oh no, I'm so scared." Y/n quivered, the act soon dropping as she went straight-faced, "Bite me."

He only laughed, "I got you anyway, and on time, well; on Ronin's on time."

He held out Y/n's check-in card, and she sighed; "thanks."

Placing it in the small slot for safe keeping she was thrown a piece of fruit wrapped in a leaf by him.

"What are you two fighting about now?" He asked, the two starting down the hall for daily assignments.

"The same thing, again."

"Hate to say it, but if you're going to leave; might as well leave. What good are you doing us if you don't want to be here?"

"That's brutally honest. Thanks."

They laughed; eating breakfast together. They made their way to the assignment hall, finding their names quickly. He was in Ronin's squad as usual, and Y/n...Y/n was joining him, causing her to groan.

"Think it's early enough to leave now?" Y/n asked.

"Ronin knows your here?"

Y/n nodded.

"He'll track you in a heartbeat."

"Damn..." Y/n mumbled.

"Scouting Partners then?" He questioned.

"Yeah. Before I have to hear Ronin lecture me for the whole day."

With it set: the two were scouting partners for the day, they made their way to the stables to grab their birds, and then meet up with the rest of the group. Then their daily debrief started; what was happening: how Boggin activity has been; increasing, as it always had been of late.

Y/n mimicked him behind the group: two other soldiers were trying not to laugh, yet it was increasingly getting harder.

"y/n." Ronin snapped.

She stopped, "You have something to add to the group?"

"If I say no can I go home?" Y/n asked, snickering coming from others.

Ronin's forever glared hardened, but it was soon let go, she'd probably get chewed out for it later.

"The queen chooses a new heir within the upcoming days, I need everyone at their best, and I mean everyone."

It was in the next few minutes that they took off. The sun was rising, it was one thing that was the real kicker of the job; seeing it every morning never got old. It brought back old memories.

"Can I!? Can I go with you!" A young Y/n begged, "please! Oh please!"

"And what are you wearing?" Ronin laughed, his helmet he couldn't find on her head, and her own hand-carved bow and hand-sewed quiver on her back.

"Please!" Y/n pleaded with her "I've been practicing my archery! I could beat you!"

"is that so?" Ronin smiled watching his sister nod excitingly, "You have to stay close, but alright-"

"Yes! Alright!" Y/n cheered, jumping happily into the air, a little too high as she hit her head, the helmet too big for her and hitting her head hard, "Ow.."

Ronin chuckled, "Come on."

He held out an arm as she jumped into his grasp, hugging her brother tightly.

Y/n smiled at the thought of it, she use to be so excited to go out with Ronin and sat in front of him on his bird, he hanging onto her tightly; her excitement usually got the better of her and she'd usually jump off at the bird before it fully landed, excited to explore the scouting area.

The times he did take her out when she was young, she had only been involved in one head-on Boggin fight. There was always a hiding place for Y/n if there was an attack.

Ronin and his group thought they had gotten the small scouting squad of Boggins until Ronin heard Y/n's scream, he rushed for the hiding spot just to see her gone. Ronin shouted for her, worry painting his face, another shout coming from her. He found not her but a Boggin; on the ground, dead. It was the rustled leaves that caused him to draw his sword and be ready to take the attack when Y/n ran out, face cut, and full of dirt.

"Big Brother!"

"Y/n!"

She had run into his arms, holding onto him tight, and he held on to her tighter before he pulled away to look at her.

"You're okay?" He asked, she nodded, she had a look of fear in her eyes, as she looked past him.

"Did...Did I do that?"

"Hey, it was you or him- look at me." He told holding her face, "You did nothing wrong."

"Promise?"

"With my only good eye." He promised, and he closed his right eye, "Wait it's the other one."

Y/n giggled as he smiled and picked her up, "Come on, I think that's enough adventure for you today."

Y/n's train of thought was broken when Ronin ordered birds to be perched.

"I want two in a group, keep tight and have each other's back." Ronin ordered, "Y/n your with me."

"I have a partner."

"That wasn't a recommendation," he ordered.

Y/n sighed looking at Ronin's usual second in command, "Good luck." he muttered.

"Thanks." Y/n sighed getting off her bird to follow her brother.

She lagged behind him slightly; mind other places.

"You're quiet." He commented.

"What?" Y/n asked.

"You, quiet," Ronin repeated, "What did you do now?"

"I didn't do anything." Y/n argued, "But being myself seems to really tick you off nowadays."

"Don't be dramatic," Ronin told.

"Easy to be dramatic when your brother hates you." Y/n defended.

"I don't hate you." He told hopping down from the branch.

"I feel like you do even if you say you don't," Y/n answered.

Ronin looked back at her, she wasn't lying, "Now why would you think that?"

"Honest?" Y/n asked.

Ronin nodded, "Honest."

"Promise not to get mad?"

"Promise."

Y/n sighed, setting down her bow against a stone as she sat down on it; "I think you just don't like me."

"That's your reason? I just don't like you?" Ronin questioned.

"Resentment." Y/n continued, "I think you resent me."

Ronin was quiet, "Well I don't so get your head in the game-"

"That's it." Y/n argued, "You're doing it-"

"Doing what exactly?"

"Not talking things out with me 'Well I don't so get your head in the game?' that's all I get?"

"What do you want me to do? treat you like a kid?"

"I want my big brother back! Not some! Some! Some stupid ass general!" Y/n argued.

"I am your commanding officer-"

"No!" Y/n stopped him standing up, "You're my brother! I don't love my commanding officer! I love my brother!-"

"I am your brother!"

"no! You're my commanding officer- you're never my brother not anymore!"

"You're being dramatic!-"

"It's how I feel!" Y/n defended, "You never talk about how you feel! Maybe we could actually fix things instead of arguing!"

"How I feel!?" Ronin argued. "You wanna know how I feel!?"

"Yes!"

"I do hate you! Does that make you happy?!" He argued; seemingly just trying to end the conversation by making her right, yet his words weighed heavy, "You won't take responsibility, you won't grow up, Our Mother-"

"News Flash Ronin our Mother has been dead for sixteen years! So don't drag her into this!-"

"And who's fault is that?!"

It wasn't meant to come out like that, yet it did. The silence grew thick, Y/n trying to hold herself still even though her body wanted to shake. Ronin opened his mouth to speak but retracted. Y/n made the first move in silence, grabbing her bow.

"Y/n I-"

Y/n was silent as she walked his way; running her shoulder into his without a care as she pushed on. Ronin sighed and followed her, lagging behind her he watched her tight shoulders push forward. The rest of their time was set in silence, painful silence when they regrouped with the others; there was only silence, and the few words spoken were necessary and bleak.

The silence went from hours to days. The days that led up to the queen's pod choosing the new heir were silent. Get up; get dressed, and leave. For most of those few days Ronin stood at her doorframe, the bed a mess, and her armor gone, her bird gone too. Up and out of there before Ronin could even wake himself up fully. The only time he really saw her was at the bird stables, or within scouting. She was quick to run off with another team member before he could comment.

"What's got you in a worse mood than usual?" Queen Tara chuckled, tending to a small little purple tulip, "Now I know your quiet, but never this quiet. It's scary almost."

"It's my sister, your majesty," Ronin answered.

"Y/n?" Tara smiled, "How's she doing?"

"Fine..." Ronin lied, as she looked at him cocking a brow up; "I don't know. I don't see her."

Tara frowned, "Don't see her? She's a little young to be living on her own don't you think?"

"She's sixteen." Ronin answered, "She's grown, and still lives with me, not that that's the problem,"

"Sixteen and Grown?" Tara chuckled, "When she was eight you were telling me she's not grown until she's one-hundred and one. What happened?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

Tara hummed, "Doesn't sound like a boy; you're hiding it, and If I know you and Y/n, you did something you regret; you both do that silent treatment to the whole world when that happens."

"We had an argument is all," Ronin informed tensing, "I said some things, I shouldn't have."

"Ronin, talk to her." Tara started, " There's one thing I know, and that's that she loves her big brother. She looks up to you, Ronin."

Ronin was silent, Y/n loving Ronin? Surely not after that argument. Big brother Ronin fails once again.

"Thank you for your time your Queen Tara." Ronin bid farewell with the bow of his head.

Tara only nodded as she watched Ronin walk off. He was deep in thought; conflict really, he messed up, he knew that. Yet explaining his feelings never came any easier than admitting he even had feelings. Ronin didn't, not in his eyes; he kept his emotions in some little box that he threw away the key to. His job was more important; keeping the people safe was more important, and that's what he did. That's what he tried. The parade showed how much of a failure he was. It made him feel that way again. It was meant to go smoothly; grab a pod, get out. Easy and simple. Easily and Simple is just saying things are black and white when nothing truly is. Y/n again; avoided him; someone that would usually calm his nerves, he only saw her once or twice, dressed in uniform, standing at her post; she was still, nothing but seemingly a hard glare, she looked like him; unfortunately.

The parade? A disaster-filled mess with a Boggin ambush at the center of it all, ending with a dead queen. Ending with a dead friend. Ronin was supposed to be there; Not Y/n.

"You'll be okay." Y/n told Tara, "You'll be okay, you'll be okay."

The Queen looked up at her half dead in Y/n's arms, "Do me a solid, stick with you, brother - can't imagine one of you without the other. The worlds lost with that duo."

Y/n couldn't help but smile sadly as tears fell down her face, it was like Tara to make jest in her final moments. She let out a cry as she fell limp in Y/n's arms.

Ronin had gotten there too late, he watching the queen fade away in his sister's arms. Y/n stood up trying to cover up her face from the girl in front of her.

"I'm...sorry-"

"Y/n!"

Ronin ran over, "Are you hurt?"

Y/n kept her body turned away, "Y/n please."

With a careful hand, her face was grabbed, and soon, he had her face between both his hands. He looked her over for injury, a few cuts here and there, a bruise would form alongside her lip, before she rushed into his chest, holding onto her tightly.

"The queen...I.I," She cried, holding onto him tight, "I. I didn't - It's. It's my fault."

"It's...it's not your fault. Look at me." He told her, she looked up at him with glossy eyes and a tear-stained face," it's not your fault, listen to me."

Y/n looked up at him, holding onto his forearms gauntlet, "Go back to Moonhaven, I need you to stay safe-"

Y/n shook her head, "Go back to Moonhaven-"

"No way," Y/n argued, "I can help- Ronin please."

"Y/n. Go back to Moonhaven. Please."

"Ronin-"

"Please."

Y/n looked up at him and nodded in silence, wiping her face of mostly dry tears with her gloved hands she started to back up, finally turning to make it to her bird, only to turn back and rush into his arms again hugging him one last time, he hugging her back, before returning to her bird. As she climbed up onto her bird, she looked at Ronin one last time before flicking the reins and she was off and into the air.

She couldn't help but keep looking back; she shouldn't be helping him in the first place, not after their argument, not after what he said. She couldn't help it at the end of the day; Ronin was the last thing Y/n had, and it went both ways. Or maybe it was the guilt, maybe Y/n agreed with her brother, maybe she did feel responsible for what happened to their Mother, now she had let the queen die, and her brother seemed next in line for the chopping block; he'd die fixing her mistake. It'd be her fault. She perched her bird on a branch, Moonhaven just below. She could continue forward, and then again, she could turn back; go and help her brother.

"Come on!" Y/n shouted, pulling her reins to turn the bird around and she was off in the direction she came from.

When she returned to the spot, her brother was gone, she looked around for tracks, but only found a slime trail that ended pretty shortly where some hummingbird tracks sat facing North.

She hopped on her bird, quickly flying in the direction of North. Luckily her ego wasn't so large that she stopped and asked for directions from multiple people who lived in the forest.

"Leaf Man? You're the first Leaf Man I've seen here." One told

"Oh no sorry dearie." Another answered.

"Nope sorry." The next apologized.

"Oh yeah, I seen a leaf man! with two slugs on his bird weird." A stickman answered.

"Can we be Leaf Men!?" A kid asked.

"yeah, can we miss!" A second kid asked.

Y/n backtracked; "Wait you saw a Leaf Man with two slugs on his bird?"

The stickman nodded, "Yeah, poor bird looks like it was struggling, they were going towards the races."

"Thank you so much, sir."

"no problem."

Y/n took off quickly towards the racing tree. Docking her bird just outside the game stables she walked in, she heard people talking she quickly took behind a wall.

"Kid thinks he can double cross me- he'll wish he never was born. We get rid of Ronin and the kid's easy pickings,"

Y/n unsheathed her sword quietly as she crept forward, quick to press the tip of her sword against the fancily dressed toad. His goons getting ready to fight at the sight of her.

"You wanna run that by me one more time?" Y/n argued.

"Well, if it isn't the dog that lives in Ronin's shadow-"

"Cut the crap before I cut your non-existent cock off." Y/n snapped, "Where's Ronin?"

"And why would I tell you-"

Y/n pushed the tip of her sword farther into his clothed back; not enough to pierce skin, but until his coat was cut, he croaked in fear.

"The good thing about being in the shadows is that no one realizes you till it's too late." Y/n threatened, "Now where's my brother?"

"He took the kid and that damn pod to Nim Galuu's !" He answered quickly.

"Who's the kid!" Y/n argued the sword was easily able to cut threw him right then and there.

"Nod! yeah! Nod he took Nod with 'em, and his gear! Had a chick with 'em and slugs"

"Go." Y/n ordered pushing the toad forward, "Before I have toad for dinner."

He growled at her, the gang members following. The toad looked around to look glare at her, but she was gone, on her bird, and already off to Nim's place. They had two birds, two slugs, and three people. They couldn't be far ahead now, and they weren't.

Screaming caught her ear as she quickly followed the sound through the forest. She had no idea she was flying into a large group of Boggin bats.

"Shit!" She cursed flying into the tree quickly for cover. No one luckily spotting her.

When the bats subsided, she took flight once again and to the ground where she heard the shouting.

"Did you see that!? I didn't think I could jump that high!"

"Jump out!"

Y/n jumped off her bird before it even landed and fell into the hole. The mouse stood on its hind legs, Y/n looking up at it as she snarled and growled at it, lurching at it even to scare it off, and with success she did, it ran it off back into its hole.

She sighed in relief and turned around.

"Hey! Y/n!" Nod cheered jumping down.

Y/n looked his way: "you're an idiot."

"Get it from you." He laughed, Y/n shaking her head.

"You're older than me. Remember?"

"Oh. I am aren't I?" He chuckled nervously, "Guess you do get it from me."

There was a thud, Ronin landing besides the two.

"I told you to go back to Moonhaven," Ronin argued.

"And I decided not to listen. With the most respect as possible, that is." Y/n answered.

"Woah. Wait, respect? Are you two actually cool for once?" Nod laughed, "Seriously?"

"Are you alright?" Y/n asked walking over to the knocked-out girl.

"Mhm. Dad- you'll never guess the dream I had. There were tiny men in the woods and talking slugs-"

Y/n stood above her with cross arms, Ronin and Nod coming up beside her.

"Aw, come on." She complained, "Did one of you split in half?"

"Do I really look like Ronin that much?" Y/n asked.

"Will you take that as an insult or a compliment?" Nod asked, causing Y/n to punch him in the arm, "Uh! Ow!"

"Should I punch you harder?"

"No! No, I'm good!"

Y/n helped the girl up.

"New seating arrangement, she's with me. You're with the slugs." Ronin commented whistling to call his bird.

"What! No fair!" Nod argued, "Have Y/n take one of the slugs!"

"Alright. Grub you're with me." Y/n told, whistling for her own bird.

"yes!" Grub cheered.

"No, Y/n's returning to Moonhaven."

"She didn't go back the first time, what makes you think she's gonna go back this time?" Nod questioned, the three looking Y/n's way, she tossing Grub on the back of her bird.

"Can I wear your helmet?" Grub asked.

"Yeah, to be honest, I don't like wearing it even," Y/n answered pulling it out from her satchel attached to her saddle and putting it on his head without care.

Ronin sighed; Nod was right about this.; "If she gets hurt that's on you."

"Come on its Y/n we're talking about." Nod laughed, "She'll bust Boggins up easily."

"Come on," Ronin told M.K. who followed him to his bird.

With weight distributed more even, travel was a lot easier. They were flying in silence for a while.

"So." M.K. spoke up, "Who is she? one of your soldiers?"

Ronin glanced back at M.K. and then toward Y/n; "Her names Y/n."

"Pretty name."

"It was our Mother's name," Ronin told.

"You're siblings?" M.K. asked, Ronin nodding; "You guys seem to have a good relationship"

"Looks can be deceiving."

"you're serious?" M.K. asked in disbelief, "She's a mini you."

"So, you've said." Ronin commented looking over at Y/n who was keeping idle chatter with the snail behind her, "She's got a lot of things I don't."

"Like?" M.K. asked as Ronin perched his bird, Nod and Y/n following as Ronin scouted the area out.

"Clear." Ronin told the bird taking off again, "She's got a heart, and compassion for everyone, even if you're her worse enemy,"

"Well, how bad is her worse enemy?" M.K. asked Ronin stopping the group one more time, before pushing forward.

"You're looking at him," Ronin answered.

"You? Her worst enemy? But you're her brother." M.K. defended.

"The ones that know us the best hurt us the worse," Ronin informed, "and I've hurt her pretty bad."

Y/n whistled to catch Ronin's attention, "Nim's place on happy hour?" Y/n called out to Ronin, perching their birds for a final time to overlook the overflow of people.

"I thought this was a secret Leaf Man Mission; how many people did the Queen tell about this?" Grub asked, "hey! How did you learn about us?"

Y/n looked back at her friend, "Oh I threatened to cut off that toad's-"

"that's enough." Ronin stopped her Y/n shrugged, and he sighed, rubbing over his face; that was his sister alright.

"Anyways he ended up croaking and telling me he saw you guys leave together."

"Wow." Nod spoke, "You know you should threaten people more often, I'd love to see that fight."

"I would too, but it's not a fight if I just beat people up." Y/n commented, "I'll see you down there."

"Hey! Wait up!" Nod called.

Ronin quickly followed the two, Y/n hopping off her bird and helping Grub off it after her, the others following close behind.

"He'll be able to help us right?" M.K. asked.

Y/n watched as Ronin nodded, "If that's what the queen said, then this is the best option we have."

"Can't we just stab Mandrake?" Y/n asked.

"If it was that easy I would have done it myself," Ronin commented Y/n shrugged.

"He has to be able to help us," M.K. reassured the group; "He's like the wise old man of the forest, right?"

"Oh please," Y/n mumbled.

"He's more of like the crazy uncle," Nod told, "He's real... what's the word."

"Theatrical?" Y/n answered, "Showy? Spotlight lover?

"Yeah, that." Nod smiled, "He can put on a good show."

Y/n was silent as they made their way through; parties weren't her thing, too many people close together, no space to turn, it'd get hot and sticky too quick. Not to mention she didn't really know how to act at a party. She pulled at her collar, it was getting hot, rubbing the back of her neck as if something was bothering her. Her eyes darting around for what seemed to be an escape.

"Come on." Ronin spoke, hand on the mid of her back, "You're lagging."

"I don't like this."

"I know you don't, just stay close."

Ronin was quick to guide her through the crowd and to the side where the rest of the group waited. She looked back at him.

"Thanks..."

"It's what I'm here for."

Y/n nodded, "Yeah..."

Ronin was quiet, keeping his sigh to himself; they'd have to talk about it eventually. But with them actively with no task at hand but waiting today was the first time they talked in a week. They just, stared, at each other in awkward silence, who speaks first?

"Ronin!" Nim called, breaking his train of thought, "The queen, did you hear!? This is terrible! What's going to happen to us!"

Ronin explained, the queen's passing, how, and what were the next steps. Y/n stood quiet during the whole thing, she watching her brother. Nim finally guided them through the tree.

"Are you alright?" M.K. asked quietly walking beside Y/n.

"I'm fine." Y/n told her, "Thanks...uh..."

"I'm M.K." She introduced.

"Y/n." Y/n spoke a small smile coming to her lips, "Nice to finally be introduced,"

"Same here." M.K. smiled back; "Us girls gotta stick together you know."

"uh, yeah." Y/n responded unsure, "Like honey...?"

"That's one way to put it." M.K. laughed, the two girls starting to lag behind the group, "friends then?"

"Friends?" Y/n asked.

"Yeah." M.K. spoke, "You have friends here right? or is there another term for it-"

"No, I. Don't think I'd ever have a girlfriend though," Y/n responded rubbing the back of her neck embarrassingly.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah,"

"you have one now," M.K. spoke a smile in her voice, punching Y/n on her armored shoulder as Y/n chuckled.

"Catch up would you two!" Nod called, Y/n quick to make haste with M.K. following behind her as they all squeezed into a lift which was lowered down.

"Welcome to the scroll rooms!" Nim cheered passing layers and layers of scrolls, "Everything here, past and present."

"So this conversation is being recorded?" Grub asked.

"Yep," Nim told, enthusiasm lacing his voice.

"And this?" Mub asked, sucking his eyeballs into his head.

"Yes," Nim answered.

"What about this?" They both asked, using their eyeballs and knockers, the ones you'd get as a kid on a string.

"Yes," Nim told, a slight change in his tone was subtle but was soon replaced as the lift stopped and they filled out.

"Ah ha!" He smiled, "Should be right here!"

He grabbed it thanking the bug who was carrying it and ripped it up, uncaring about the cleanup.

"Aw, man," Mub complained.

"you've read all of these?" M.K. asked.

"Skimmed mostly," Nim answered, "Now, blooming a pod."

Y/n started to wander.

"Don't go too far," Ronin commented.

"Yeah, yeah." Y/n waved him off casually walking to one of the rows, "Don't worry about me."

Ronin only sighed.

"Here! it is," Nim spoke, "now, let's see... good thing is, once the Queen picks a pod, it will bloom no matter what, but the pod must bloom tonight, at moonlight's highest peak."

"And if it doesn't bloom in the moonlight?" Grub asked, Nim shrugging.

"To be honest termites have been a problem," Nim answered showing the ripped-up scroll end.

"We won't have to worry about that." Ronin spoke, "We'll make a plan to get some energy back."

Ronin walked off, and the others followed him.

"Y/n!" Ronin called for her.

"I'm coming," Y/n called back, making her way back to the lift.

"Hey, before we go back up." Nim stopped her Y/n turning her way.

"yes sir?" Y/n asked.

"Sir? Come on we're family!" He cheered, which Y/n could only raise a brow to, and his response was a laugh, "I knew your Mother very well, we were like two peas in a pod."

"Nice to know she made a lasting impression." Y/n answered, "Sorry to tell you-"

"She's gone I know; I should be the one sorry," Nim told, "You look just like her you know; she'd be proud, Leaf Man's a high honor, and at your age, you're one the first."

Y/n smiled small, "...thanks..."

"Anyway, she'd asked me to give you this, when you came, came with a note and everything that when you came by you'd be ready," Nim told, passing a scroll up his arms and to Y/n which she took with caution, a red string around it to keep it closed, with a little note tied to it, "She had sent it before she past away, I assume just before you were born."

"What is it?"

"I don't know, not my story to read," Nim answered, Y/n looking at the red string tied around it.

She started to untie it, but he stopped her, "It's yours to keep, don't feel pressured to read it here."

Y/n stopped, "Thank you."

The two made their way back to the lift, she took her previous spot and looked down at the scroll in her hand, quietly fiddling with the note on the string, finally, she opened it, Ronin and her name wrote nicely on the small folded paper, then made it to the main halls again.

"eat something, get something to drink, get your energy back," Ronin ordered the group, "Whatever you do stay with the pod."

Nim was kind enough to guide everyone to food and water. Ronin went a separate way from the group, Y/n following her brother.

He stopped by a window, which was really just a hole in the tree depending on how you looked at it.

"I'll take the first watch." Y/n told; "You should go eat first."

"I'll be fine." Ronin answered.

Y/n nodded, "here."

Ronin looked her way, she holding out the scroll for him to take, "It's from Mom... Apparently, her and Nim were good friends or something."

"She patrolled around here a lot with her people." Ronin told her, looking down at the scroll he looked back out the window, "Nim gave it to you, must mean Mother wanted you to have it."

"It has both our names on it," Y/n responded.

Ronin returned his gaze to her.

"I couldn't imagine what she'd want to tell me," Y/n spoke, her voice low and filled with a solemn chuckle, "I don't know her, and she doesn't know me, wouldn't be surprised if it's a big punch in the face- anyways- just take it?"

Y/n shook her hand, gesturing for him to take the scroll, he finally took it from her grasp and set the scroll against the wall. She took a step back and turned around, starting to walk away.

"It's not your fault." Ronin finally spoke up.

"The Queen?" Y/n asked not bothering to turn back to face him, "I know...but I'll do better."

"I don't see what you could have better." Ronin told, "you did what you could, you got her farther than I ever would of, you did good..."

"Thanks," Y/n responded.

"But that's...that's not what I'm talking about."

Y/n turned herself to look at him; "I don't get it."

"Mom."

There was silence between the two, the sound of chattering in the background from the group of people.

"It doesn't bother me-" Y/n was quick to speak up.

Ronin chuckled under his breath, "You're my sister, I know when your lying."

"It's fine," Y/n responded "Really."

"Y/n I'm being serious." Ronin defended.

"So I am." Y/n told him, "I. I'm fine-"

"Fine would be not freezing in a crowd-"

"Just anxiety-"

"Which you get worse when somethings bothering you," He defended, "Fine would be arguing with me -"

"I got tired of it is all-"

"Fine would be me waking you up, not you checking into headquarters hours before I'm even there, Fine would you and Nod talking each other up the trees. You haven't made fun of me this whole time-"

"You're mad because I'm not making fun of you and annoying you?" Y/n argued, "What type of thing is that to get mad at? You asked me to grow up- I did-"

"Well stop it!"

"Stop what!?"

"Being me! Stop being me!" He blurted out finally grabbing her shoulders, the heated air deflating as he sighed.

Y/n looked at him, "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"No." He told, "I don't, I want my sister, not a commanding officer. I want the little girl that was excited about being a Leaf Man! The little girl that used to beg me to go on scouting missions with me, I want the old you back, and your stupid jokes."

Y/n's couldn't help but laugh, trying to hold it in, "And your impressions are even worse. I don't sound like that one bit-"

Y/n held a smile on her face, "You do."

Ronin shook his head in disbelief with a chuckle, "And I'm sorry, Mom had a choice, and she chose you, I would do the same, no matter how many times I would have to. I'd do anything to keep my little sister safe."

Y/n looked up at him, it's been a while since she looked at him like that, with hope, and joy, proud that he was her big brother.

"I love you." Y/n smiled.

"I love you too," Ronin spoke Y/n hugged him tight, and he hugged back kissing her forehead, they pulled away after "now, go eat something, I have a message to send to the other Leaf Men."

"I'll bring you something too." Y/n spoke a smile still on her face, backing out of his grip and running off to find something to eat.

"Woah! Where are you going?" Nod asked with a laugh, grabbing Y/n's wrist, "Not to mention your glowing like the sun- who'd you kill."

"I'm going for food," Y/n said.

"I'd be excited too- but you'll be here?" Nod asked.

Y/n nodded, "Yeah."

"Good," he spoke rushing off quickly, leaving her confused.

"Nod! Where are you- Where's the pod!" She called for him but he left too quick, she sighed and went on the search for food.

Grabbing enough for herself and her brother she went to find the pod, finding Grub and Mub standing in front of a dead fruit fly. She sighed when Mub had the pod.

"Oh did he just die?" Y/n asked.

"We were just talking to him, and then-" Grub started, as the ground shook, "The forest shakes at the passing of the humble fruit fly-"

The ground shook again as Y/n dropped her food, "Get behind me." She ordered the two, hand on the handle of her sword.

There was screaming as a mole came from the floor, and people scattered in fear; looking to hide, to keep themselves safe, all from the person who rode it; Mandrake.

"Well if this isn't a surprise!" Mandrake announced, "I wasn't expecting a party to crash!"

"get out of here!" Y/n ordered drawing her sword quickly.

"Y/n! Wow I haven't seen you since you were a baby!" Mandrake cheered, "Leaf Man! Your Parents must be proud!"

Y/n glared at him, "How is your Mother doing? Her and I, we were good friends after all -"

"Fuck off!" Y/n snapped.

Mandrake chuckled, as his steed circled around the group, "So rude to your guest, tsk, business is business I suppose, a good friend of ours left something very dear to me with your people, and I was told it was here with you."

"yeah! well, you can't have it!" Mub argued.

"Yeah! There's no way we're letting you hurt this pod!" Grub agreed.

"Hurt it?" Mandrake asked, almost as if he was offended, "No, I don't want to hurt it! I need it to live!"

"Well, we're the only ones that know how to take keep it alive!" Mub snapped.

"Thanks for the tip boys!" Mandrake smirked, his staff swinging quick to hit Y/n who luckily blocked it, pushing the strike back at him, he quickly jumped off the mole.

She swung at him, but he blocked, a sound of disapproval coming from his mouth.

"I thought you Leaf Men were better than this-"

"Oh shut up and fight me-"

"Y/n behind you!"

Y/n turned her head quickly to see the Mole's tale whipping her way, smacking her in the back and across the room into a pillar, where she let out a cry at impact and hit the ground hard.

"Thanks for the party, everyone!" Mandrake bowed, grabbing the two slugs with the pod.

Ronin was there too late, jumping from the upper balcony into the hole, a cave-in stopping him from chasing Mandrake any further. Jumping back out of the hole he looked around; looking for someone to yell at; Nod especially, he and M.K. had been glued at this hip; so he should have been there- then he spotted her; Y/n laying on the ground, her sword thrown across the room.

"Y/n!" He called, running her way, tossing his sword aside as he dropped to his knees, rolling her over into his arms, "Y/n, come on. Y/n!"

Her nose was bleeding, and a fresh cut above her brow and her eyes closed, and her chest plate armor cracked.

"Y/n!" Ronin shouted, "Y/n get up!"

He sighed in relief when she made a sound of pain, holding her close, she only pushed herself out of his grasp, her head hurt, and she felt hot, rolling onto her stomach she growled in pain, trying to get herself up to her knees.

"Y/n-"

She slipped, he quickly caught her, "I. I'm okay."

"Y/n please."

Getting to her knees her breath was heavy, and she leaned on Ronin to help herself up. He wrapped her arm around his neck and put an arm across her back, she finally opened her eyes the light blinding her.

"I'm okay," Y/n told him again holding her stomach.

"Ronin!" Nod ran in, M.K. behind him.

He ignored the two, "Is anyone here a healer!? Please! My sister needs a healer!"

A few people stepped up to the plate as healers, they being taken to a side room, Y/n holding onto her brother as tight as she could. She sat down and ripped off her chest plate as quick as she could, sighing in relief as she took in deep breaths. Healers getting to work on her quickly.

"Ronin I-" Nod started.

"You had one job stay with the pod!" Ronin argued grabbing onto Nod's shirt, pinning him against the wall, "That's the last part of the queen I- That anybody had! And I just almost lost the only other thing I ever had!"

"It's my fault!" M.K. defend Nod, as Ronin backed up, "The Queen gave me the pod, I should have been here with it."

"And you, I expected this from him, but from you?" Ronin told voice full of disappointment, "I expected more."

"I was here with it, I should have protected it-"Y/n spoke up.

Ronin snapped his head towards her, "Don't you start."

Y/n groaned instead of arguing back, as one of the healers applied a salve to the cut on her side, wrapping the cut up. Another applying the same salve to her cut brow bone.

"She'll be fine. Armor really helped you there, Miss." One the healers informed, "You'll be sore."

There was a sigh of relief all around, Y/n thanking the healers before they left. Y/n stood up, wincing as she started putting herself back together.

"And what are you doing?" Ronin asked.

"Well, we have to get the pod back." Y/n spoke, pulling the chest plate on and lacing it up, "you really think you were benching me?"

"And how do we do that?" Ronin asked.

"Easy." Y/n spoke, "we'll sneak in with disguises."

"Oh great. I'll go as a rat, and Nod can be my cricket lady friend. You can be a shrew."

"Hey." Nod complained.

"Not to mention I don't have any Boggin armor on hand." Ronin spoke, Y/n grabbing her sword which had been leaning against the wall.

"I know where we could get some." M.K. chimed in, climbing onto Nod's bird.

"I'm down," Y/n spoke walking towards hers.

"You're not going anywhere. Not like that." Ronin stopped Y/n, stepping in front of her.

"He took my only friends. I'm fucking his face up, not that it isn't already," Y/n defended pushing past Ronin and climbing onto her bird looking towards M.K. "I'll follow you."

M.K. nodded and looked towards the last two, "well?"

Ronin sighed.

"In my experience, six hands are better than two." Nim answered, "and you'll have eight."

"Come on," M.K. told Nod, his only response a shrug, hopping on the bird behind her as she took off faster than light, Nod's shout of surprise being left behind.

The siblings were quick to follow M.K.'s path. They made it to the edge of the forest. Y/n perched her bird beside M.K.

"Woah where are we?" Nod asked.

"We're not supposed to go out this far," Y/n told.

"No, you aren't supposed to go out this far," Nod commented Y/n rolling her eyes.

"Rules apply to both of us you know?"

"Right, Right," Nod nodded, "And guess who comes out here anyways?"

Y/n glared at him, "Oh, you!" He cheered.

"You come out here?" Ronin asked, clearly mad; "You'll get hurt out here- you know-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm not allowed out here because it's dangerous, yadda, yadda, ya." Y/n mimicked, "I go places I'm not supposed to go, and you don't share your feelings, seems like a fair deal to me."

"You'll be the death of me."

"You'll get a cool death at least."

"Come on," M.K. told, flying the bird off as Y/n shrugged following her.

They made it to the window seal, hopping off their birds Y/n looked through the glass.

"How'd you know about this place?" Nod asked.

M.K. didn't bother answering as they slipped in through a small crack in the open window.

"It's over there." M.K. pointed across the room.

"Let's make this quick," Ronin ordered, taking the lead and jumping down with ease, just to jump back up onto the high desk.

"See you on the other side." Y/n playfully saluted to the two, "Oh- and don't die Nod?"

He shook his head, Y/n easily made her way down, using a stapler on the floor to help her jump higher and onto the desk with ease.

"Can't jump as far as you use to?" Ronin joked.

"Oh please, I'm saving my best moves for the end." Y/n spoke, "plus- oo! ow ow!-"

Ronin went from joking to worried in a matter of minutes, Y/n holding her side as she hunched over, "y/n-"

She laughed, he glaring at her as she stood back up, "had to get you back."

Y/n pushed past him to go back to the edge with a smile, looking down, "Guys come on!" She called.

Turning back around Y/n looked around: "What is all this stuff?"

"Beats me," Ronin told.

"Hey, what's that?" Y/n asked happily wandering off, Ronin grabbing her arm before she could go.

"We're not touching anything, we're getting the boggin armor and getting out." Ronin told.

"Fine, I choose the forbidden place we go next time then," Y/n spoke, Nod and M.K. finally made their way up.

They carefully made there way across the desk, to the Boggin armor.

"You know some of this stuff I've seen-" Nod told.

"It's boggin armor, you see one you saw 'em all," Y/n told, stopped by one of the boards with pinned-up armor, she reached out for some.

"No, touching," Ronin told her.

"Seriously? how do you expect me to grab the armor then?" Y/n asked.

"hey this is my saddle!" Nod argued grabbing the saddle from the pin-up board, "Where are we-"

The ground-shaking cut him off, Ronin grabbing onto Y/n to steady the both of themselves.

"oh no." M.K. shook, the group turning there heads towards the giant that walked across the room.

"Oh!" Nod laughed.

"It's where this guy lives," Ronin spoke, the group rushing to higher ground.

"Wait you know him?" M.K. asked.

"yeah, he's a stomper," Nod answered.

"Stomper?" M.K. asked.

"Most come and go," Y/n informed, "This one's been here for years."

"why are they called stompers?" M.K. asked.

"Well there, like me and you, but, bigger, stupid, and stomp on everything," Nod told.

"And he's been obsessed with proving our existence," Ronin commented, "That'll never happen. Can't have his big feet stepping on Moonhaven, so we've been throwing him off our trail."

"Seriously?" M.K. aspirated her arms out gesturing to all the stuff, "But he's found all of this stuff."

"He only finds what Ronin 'wants' him to find." Y/n told, "I think the stompers could be helpful. I heard that there's a spray that could kill easily, easy for them to get and everything; it could just cover Mandrake's area in it and we'd be home free."

"bug spray," M.K. answered.

"I don't know, but if it kills Mandrake i could care less." Y/n told.

"But come on!" Nod jumped in, "You know how funny this guy is? Parading around the forest? Look. at. this. acorn."

M.K. clearly wasn't impressed with the impression.

"come on it's not funny-"

Y/n was surprised when Ronin jumped in faking holding his elbow in pain; "I.hurt.my.elbow."

"it's his life's work!" M.K. argued.

"Come on Y/n! You've run into him before!-" Nod tried to get Y/n to join in on the fun Y/n shaking her head with crossed arms, "Remember when he fell!"

"he's my dad!"

The laughter stopped

"Seriously?" Nod asked in disbelief, "So what? You shrunk down?"

"Yes!" M.K. shouted, "Which they know!"

Nod looked at Y/n and Ronin, "Seriously?"

"it's been a weird day for all of us," Ronin answered a smirk still on his face.

"Y/n?" Nod asked.

"learn how to read a room maybe dingleberry-brain," Y/n answered.

"You got a problem with stompers?" M.K. asked.

"A stomper stepped on my uncle," Nod answered.

"Oh, my god? seriously?" M.K.'s face full of concern.

"No." Nod laughed, M.K. groaning in annoyance, and pushing Nod hard in the chest.

"Too far?" Nod asked.

"Don't as me about too far, me and my brother joke about death," Y/n answered.

"But do it again, maybe she'll hit you harder," Ronin answered as Y/n covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her laugh. Ronin elbowed her playfully she pushing him back as they went their own way to get what they came for.

It was with ease that they pulled armor from the pinned display array.

"Hey!" Ronin called, Y/n looking back, Ronin hunched over hand out like they were claws, "How do I look?"

"Sad and depressing." Y/n answered honestly, "it suits you."

"Haha." He laughed sarcastically as Y/n laughed pulling on her own mask, covering her face fully

"Hey, you look better than you did before." He spoke Y/n pushing him as he laughed.

M.K.'s scream that came next broke their jokes, Y/n turning towards Nod: "It wasn't me!"

The continued screaming came as the three watched stuff come crashing down and the slow sound of a dog barking. Y/n rushed to the edge, M.K. being chased around. If that wasn't bad enough, the stomper was getting up.

"Go!" Ronin ordered.

Y/n jumped down with whatever she grabbed in hand, hoping to help M.K. and get the dog to stop chasing her.

"Come on!" Y/n shouted, grabbing M.K.'s hand to speed her up.

"I can't keep up!" M.K. shouted, tripping over her own feet, grip lost as her hand slipped from Y/n's hand, hitting the wooden floor.

Y/n stopped her running, sliding across the floor to a halt. She ran back towards her, quickly helping M.K. up to her feet.

"Go!" Y/n shouted, making sure to stay behind M.K. to keep her safe.

Ronin drew an arrow, aiming it at the oncoming Stomper.

"No don't hurt him!" M.K. shouted, pushing him off target, the arrow hit still, just unsure of where.

"Hey!" Y/n snapped at M.K., "watch it!"

"That's my dad!" She reminded.

"And that's my brother!" Y/n complained.

There was a crash, glass breaking, and the Stomper ran into its desk.

"Ow! I. Hurt. My. Elbow!"

Nod laughed, looking the way he pointed up at the Stomper: "Did you hear him!? He said it! Aw that never gets old!"

"Move!" Ronin ordered the group.

Y/n was quick alongside her brother to make it up back to the window seal. Nod and M.K. not too far behind.

The vacuum of wind caught everyone off guard, Y/n almost slipping from the sudden pull as Ronin grabbed onto her. M.K. wasn't so lucky and ended up being sucked into the vacuum. Nod made it up to the window seal.

"What do we do?!" Nod asked.

"You want us to go against that thing?" Y/n argued.

"No-Yes! I don't know!" Nod defended, "come on help me!"

Nod jumped back down, Y/n groaning and following.

"Y/n!-" Ronin called after her, she rushing after Nod.

Tipsy was one way to put the stumbling man, he slowly starting to fall.

"Nod!" Y/n shouted, pulling him from jumping across and onto the desk.

The stomper hit the desk, and M.K. was free with the break of glass. This guy sure did have a lot of glass in his house. Nod broke from Y/n's grip to rush after M.K. and Y/n made her way back up to the window seal.

"No ones dead." Y/n spoke.

"Surpisngly."

"Hey, I can't make everything perfect." Y/n told slipping outside and whistling for the birds.

Ronin joined her short after ordering the two to hurry, strapping the gear to the side of his saddle.

"You know after this." Y/n commented, "We should eat dinner."

Ronin raised an eyebrow, "Saving the forest? And your thinking about food?"

"Yeah," y/n told, "me and you, we should eat dinner like we use to. Whens the last time we did that? Sat down? And ate dinner that we made together? I liked when we did that."

Ronin was silent for a moment, they hadnt sat down for dinner since before Y/n started trainning to become a leaf man, it had to be atleast two? Two and a half years?

"Time goes by fast." Ronin commented, then looked her way, "I don't see why we couldn't do it again."

Y/n looked at him and smiled: "Yeah. It would be nice."

He watched as she looked back at her bird, smile faultering, she looked anxious.

"Hey," Ronin spoke up, She looking his way once again, his hand cupping her cheek, "we're gonna do it again."

Y/n was silent, "I....know..."

"You dont sound so sure that you know." Ronin pointed out; his next words ment to come out jokingly;"Dont tell me your scared."

Y/n's eyes casted down: "uh...no...No-"

"Y/n its okay to be scared-"

"Im not scared." y/n reassured, "I...I'm just..."

Ronin's thumb rubbed over her cheek in a soothing matter, he remembers when there Mother use to do it to him when he was young.

"Bile took...mom that day." y/n finally muttered out, "what if it takes you."

"Life can't stop because I go." He answered.

"Im being serious, Ronin." Y/n argued, pulling away from him and crossing her arms in matter comforting to her, "What happens if you die? What happens to...to the forest. To the leaf men..."

"The Leaf Men, the forest, it was here before both our times." He answered, "it'll be here long after,"

Y/n looked at him and nodded, arms stay crossed for a moment as she thought, "Yeah... okay."

They returned to there birds, "oh an Y/n."

Y/n turned her head, "yeah?"

"I'd never leave you alone. Even if I hated you, I'd never leave you alone."

"Promise?" Y/n asked.

Ronin gave a curt nod, "With my last good eye."

A smile was brought to Y/n's as she shook her head with a chuckle, Nod finally making his way outside with M.K. It was back to stern faces and hidden emotions, minds only focused on the task at hand; sneaking in sucessfully across enemy lines.

They hid their birds in the dead tree tops. Down below the boggin army marched. Dressing themselves in the armor - the stolen armor - they quickly joined the walking army, keeping close together.

"Smells like something died in here." M.K. complained.

"That's because something did," Y/n answered.

"Keep it down. We dont want to be noticed." Ronin ordered.

The group went quiet, Mandrake's half downed caslte of a tree came into view, Y/n found herself wearing a hard glare and walking faster than the rest of the group.

"Y/n!" Nod whisper-shouted after her, "Y/n!"

Ronin was careful to catch up, he grabbing Y/n's arm.

"You'll give us away." He argued quietly there pace slowing back down to normal.

"My friends are in there." Y/n defended.

"Rushing in will get them and all of us killed." Ronin told, "have patience."

"Im out of patience."

"Well make some more."

Y/n pulled away from his grip with a growl under her breath and kept pace beside him. Later, rather than sooner, they made it inside Mandrake's base, safe, together and still under the cover of surpise.

"You three go and find the slugs." Ronin directed, "keep the pod safe."

"What are you going to do?" Nod asked.

"I'll be the distraction." Ronin told.

"By yourself? No way." Y/n argued, "I'm coming with you. There's four of us, we split in half; no one goes alone."

"I need you to protect the pod." Ronin defended, "I don't trust anyone more than you for this."

"Ronin-" y/n argued.

"That's an order." He cut her off, Y/n's eyebrows knitted in anger.

"Fine." Y/n complained, defeated, "then you promise me, you're not going to do anything stupid."

He let out a laugh,pulling off the Boggin mask, "Stupid? Please it's me."

Y/n rolled her eyes as he tossed the coat to the floor. "Follow the trail."

Ronin pointed out the slime trail left behind by the slugs: "You'll find them easy."

Y/n nodded, "Now. Excuse me while I go have fun."

Ronin jumped off whistling loudly, Boggins turning his way, "I'm goin' to make this real simple! I run! And you try to catch me!"

"Come on, on me." Y/n ordered, leading the two to follow the trail of slug slime.

With every Boggin after Ronin, the trip was easy: the slime trail led to a cell in the ground. Y/n pushed the cover off.

Nod reaching inside to grab the first slug.

"This woman has got a grip!-" Mub cheered slurly, Nod pulling him up by his eyes.

"Oh, come on!" He complained seeing it was Nod; "You got to work on your grip dude its a bit womanly."

Y/n pulled Grub up while M.K. was handed the pod.

"You came for us!" Grub cheeded, hugging Y/n's legs.

"You're my friends. Why wouldn't I come for you?" Y/n asked.

"Well man after Mandrake whipped you into that pillar we thought you were dead!" Mub laughed.

"We did not!"

"Ub huh!"

"No!"

"Uh huh!"

"No!"

"Hey! Dead or not. Im alive." Y/n argued with the two, "we need to go!"

"The gaurds! There coming back!" M.K. told the group seeing the shadows getting closer.

"I have a plan! Everyone hide in there shells!" Grub told, he hiding in his shell, in the moment it sounded like a good idea sure; "oh...right! I have another plan!"

"Do it quick! Im going after Ronin from another angle-"

"He said your in charge!" M.K. argued.

"Right. I'm in charge. Get out of here with the pod, now!" Y/n ordered quickly running off, discarding the Boggin armor as she ran into a hall across from where they had come in.

Y/n was quick to find an opening, drawing the bow from across her body and pulling an arrow from her quiver to knock. Mandrake was boasting to her brother, pratically standing still, handing her the jackpot. Greed often spoils the jackpot, and it would again. She took the shot, a direct hit into his shoulder.

Y/n smirked, even that was to big of a celebration.

"Wow! Brought your dear sister to watch you die!" Mandrake smirked breaking the arrow at the entry point, he hissing in pain, "Kill her! Leave her bones for me: I want a new bow."

Ronin was quick to charge at him, sword unseathed, and quick to clash with Mandrake's staff, each pushing against each other with all there anger.

"You threatened my sister, so I'll have your fucking head." Ronin snapped.

"Oh, family!" Mandrake smirked, "can't live with them. Can't live without them. You know how that is: all alone!."

"I don't know I'll ask your son." Ronin argued, "Oh. Wait."

Mandrake's smirk went dark, anger, painting his face as his slashing became more furious, a frenzy of them full of anger, hard to keep up with; hard to block.

Y/n was on the run with what seemed half the boggin existence on her, she jumping from walkway to walkway leading them away. The doorway in front of her she'd figure she'd go through come out through another hall' loop around, yet Boggins came from the opening, she skidding to a stop to turn back around, her way blocked by the enemy. She trapped herself.

"Nowhere to run."

"and nowhere to hide."

Y/n backed up, almost slipping over the platform's edge, bringing her fingers to her mouth, she whistled loudly, and let herself fall off the platform, her hummingbird following in a dive after her. Grabbing onto the reins, she managed to catch her feet in the loops and pull herself into the saddle, she pulled the reins to level out the bird and guide it to a deep incline.

"Thank you!" Y/n aspirated, patting the bird on the side, they had been practicing that for a while, "Let's go get Ronin!"

The bird was quick to fly up despite the deep incline, the bird whizzed past the two fighting, past Nod and M.K. hanging from the ceiling holding onto the slugs, they where playing footsies with two guards chasing them, trying to make each other fall. Turning the bird around to make its way back down, Y/n pulled an arrow from her quiver, knocking it the bird flew back toward her brother and Mandrake. She was quick to take the shot, missing terribly as he dodged one of Ronin's attacks, he kicking Ronin back. She cursed to herself, pulling another arrow to knock, a Boggin coming up from behind Ronin, which Y/n quickly shot. Defending Ronin of extra oncoming attackers seemed the better route to go. Nod's whistle caught her ears.

"Come on! Hurry!" Nod shouted toward Ronin

"I got him! Go!" Y/n shouted the order, shooting a boggin grabbing onto M.K.'s legs, "get out of here!"

Nod looked her way on nodded, Y/n nodding back as she focused back on defending her brother.

"You know what to do girl," Y/n told to bird, they dived back towards her brother as Y/n jumped off her bird, her brother's bruises already forming.

She stood with him fighting Boggins back, "She's gonna loop back around! And then we jump!" Y/n ordered.

"Did you think of this specific situation when training her!?" Ronin laughed, back to hers.

Y/n laughed back, "Hey, who doesn't love fighting to the death! It's a great family outing!"

There was chirping; Y/n's hummingbird coming back around.

"Ready!?" Y/n asked, punching a Boggin hard across the face, ducking as another came after her with a punch, Ronin punching it instead.

"On you!" Ronin told, Y/n grabbing Ronin's arm as she ran off the edge, they landed on the bird, but not evenly, as it rocked and chirped in fear.

Ronin took lead, Y/n behind him.

"Hold on!"

The bird took off with speed, another steep incline Y/n held onto Ronin tight, and they made it out into the open air.

Ronin laughed, "Not bad at all!"

Y/n's grip started to slip from him, he looked back at her; their incline not helping at all as she was falling backward with a look of shock on her face. Shot in the back with an arrow.

"Y/n!" He called out for her, reaching his hand out, hoping to catch her, to no avail.

"Go!" Ronin ordered the bird, grabbing its reins to turn it back around, but it didn't listen and leveled out, flying quickly away; "Go back! Go back for her!"

The hummingbird continued at a face pace flying to catch up with the rest of the group that had escaped.

"Ronin!" Nod cheered, "You're alright!"

The broken look on Ronin's face told otherwise; he look away from the group.

"Where's Y/n?" Grub asked.

"Y/n..." Ronin started, "Didn't make it..."

"Oh," Mub answered.

It grew silent, Ronin's sister gone, Mub and Grub's best friend, their only friend really; gone. The idiot squad of Nod and Y/n dismembered.

"I'm sorry," M.K. offered her condolences, arm securely around Nod.

The trip back to Moonhaven was quiet, filled with saddening silence, the moon would be at its highest soon and the new Queen would be crowned. Almost to Moonhaven; a defense squad stopped them all lead by Ronin's second in command.

"It's glad to have you back sir." He told he wasn't the only one excited to have their commanding officer back.

Ronin nodded, "Have any Boggin's tried to attack Moonhaven?"

"No sir-"

He stopped himself, realizing the bird he was riding on; "Y/n is with you, sir?"

Ronin looked his way, a look that was all that was needed; "No,"

"Oh."

"Double defenses." Ronin changed the subject, "Mandrake will be coming for the pod."

His second-in-command nodded as they made it to the outskirts of Moonhaven. The pod would be safe inside the castle, guarded and taken care of. Nim was there, he knew about blooming a pod more than anyone else. It was the chaos before the storm; the last stand to save the forest and everyone within it. Everybody running around: armoring up, restocking arrows, and quickly sharpening their swords, Ronin ordered people around with haste: this had to happen, formations had to be tight and precise.

"Sir!" A leaf man shouted to grab his attention, "They're here!"

It grew silent as everyone looked at someone; it would be people's last days.

"You heard her! Out now!" He ordered, "Moonhaven does not fall!"

There were battle cries all around; soldiers rushing to their birds ready to take to the sky.

"You ready for this?" Ronin asked Nod.

"No!"

"Good!"

The fight was brutal; Boggins dropped like flies, and did Leaf Men, but it ensued, arrows flew through the air and swords clashed with clubs.

M.K. who was left to sit and wait; needed to help; she felt obligated; after all, if this pod didn't bloom, she'd be stuck here forever. So she rushed off with a bright idea, to get her dad involved, bat noises to draw away the Boggin's steeds.

Sure it worked, but Mandrake was already there; ready to claim his dark heir to the throne. Even with Nim and Mub trying to distract him, and pull him away he advanced, yet he was stabbed in the back, an arrow lodged deep inside his skin as he let out a cry and turned his head in anger.

"You miss me bitch!?" Y/n shouted, battered, bruised, bleeding, armor broken and missing; she pulled out her sheathed sword in the ready position.

"Y/n!" Mub cheered.

"You just don't die!" Mandrake shouted in anger pulling the full arrow from his back.

"Yeah well maybe don't shoot a soldier with her own arrow," Y/n smirked, "Plus imagine Ronin without me? He'd die, let's be honest."

His only response was to growl and run at her, she lifted her sword in defense as they clashed.

"not bad for a boggin." Y/n teased, Mandrake growling, if she got him mad enough- his hits became filled with fury, they were uncoordinated and spasm-like.

Finding the first wide opening she dodged to the side slashing his side and ending up on the side of the pod, she quick to take the offensive side and slashed, hit, and fought; he was tired from his anger, she pushed him hard enough to where he slid across the floor, even with his planted feet.

"Retreat while you have the chance," Y/n ordered; "Or I will kill you."

Mandrake came at her again; compassion was defeated by passion, he cursed her as he attacked with newly found energy and strength, her grip lost on her sword as it went flying across the room, landing and sliding across the floor. She glared up at him, just to be punched across the face and hard, knocking her to the ground, along with the wind out of her, before she could even try and get up she was kicked in the gut.

"You know what I love about leaves?" Mandrake asked, "They all fall to the ground and die! And you're dying all alone!"

Y/n tried to get up, as he raised his staff into the air, ready to end her life, by his hand. Two swords blocked the heavy hit that Y/n was expecting. Ronin and Nod holding their ground in defense, leaf men standing behind them defending the pod with shields.

"Alone is not the word I would use for it-" Ronin answered, "She's annoying, but never alone; not as long as I live!"

Y/n reached her hand forward grabbing the arrow that had been discarded beginning of the battle,.

"Then you'll all die!" He shouted, Ronin and Nod struggling against Mandrake's pressure.

Y/n looked back, moonlight soon to be encasing the pod she forced herself up as Ronin's and Nod's defense was broken, Y/n shouting as she drove herself into Mandrake's chest. Panting heavily as she pushed the arrow farther into his chest.

She pushed herself off him, breath still not caught as she walked him to take a step back, hand phantomly cupping in the arrow, unsure if he was to even touch it.

"I told you to leave." Y/n told holding her side, "and you didn't."

He turned to retreat, but he wouldn't get very far, not with death creeping up the steps of the palace to meet her newest addition. He made it to the stairs, but that was it, he fell to his knees, and soon his side followed as he died on the steps of Moonhaven's castle.

Y/n's body gave out after, exhausted, and tired. Ronin caught her, putting her arm around his shoulder.

"Did you know-" Y/n interrupted herself with her own coughing; it hurt and sounded deep, yet she managed to clear her throat, "Did you know...that...oh jeez...it's, give me a minute would you?"

Ronin only smiled at her exhausted state; she was beaten to hell and back, but alive.

"I don't know what you're going to say, but I know that I'm the luckiest brother out there," Ronin told causing Y/n to laugh in exhaustion.

Before she could reply, the room was filling with soldiers and civilians, and the pod was blooming. It was a happy moment laced with sadness; Queen Tara would be gone forever after this.

A warm yet phantom hand was placed on her shoulder, she smiled at the impression of the queen in front of her.

"You did good, hard to split up the icon duo isn't it?" Tara jested as they both smile, Y/n looking at Ronin and he looks back at her as they chuckled, then turned back at the queen, "You'll be amazing Y/n, I know it."

Y/n nodded, bowing her head in a final goodbye her eyes closed, Tara's last goodbye to her was a kiss to the head, motherly even. She was let go by Ronin, and luckily she could balance herself, joy filled her; her people were alright, her friends; her brother.

She raised her head, eyes opening as she looked towards Ronin who smiled proudly at her. Everyone was looking at her she chuckled awkwardly as she looked down at her feet- her armor white, with gold detailing; looking at her hands they were adorned with white gloves and golden leaf details.

"Wait! Did I just-" She asked looking at Ronin, who couldn't help but laugh at her expression.

Nim walked in front of her, "You're majesty." he bowed.

Y/n bowed back, and everyone followed quickly with a smile on their face.

"Never thought Y/n would be queen, the get-up looks good on her though," Nod murmured, Ronin hit him on the arm, "What it's a compliment- I'm jealous of the new armor."

Everyone rose to their feet, "okay I can't balance any longer-"

Ronin was quick to hold his sister up once again, they laughed as she leaned on him; "Moonhaven's lucky to have you."

Y/n smiled yet winced, "And I'm lucky to have the best brother, I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world,"

"how about a healer?" Ronin asked.

"Yeah I might trade you for that," Y/n answered both laughing, "But besides that- I'm one lucky sister, even if we do fight, and we say things we don't mean, and we hate each other. I know you'll always be there for me."

#epic 2013 x reader #epic 2013 #ronin epic #Epic 2013 x sibling! reader #sibling reader #Ronin x sibling reder #x reader #x female reader #female reader #Ronin x reader #I love it when my own work makes me cry #fanfc #Epic 2013 fanfic

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inkformyblood · 7 months

Text

i lose all (but not him) #3

Codywan, slow-burn, canon verse with some divergence. Written with CWW23 prompts: day 2 trading weapons. Ao3 link here

(Cody knitting is introduced in this chapter)

When the war is over, Cody is never stepping foot on to a planet that rains again.

He wrenches his helmet up a scant few inches, the edge catching his nose and reopening the tear on his lip so the rainwater he spits out is streaked with red. It doesn’t matter, landing in the indistinguishable ground that is mostly mud and the parts that aren’t mud soon will be. With part of his face bare, the chill sets in, clawing at the edges of his gums and the exposed line of his chin, and it doesn’t slide away when he pulls his helmet back down. In the moment between the system flickering back into life, Cody waits in the delicate in-between, staring out across a bleak battlefield and wondering if he’s already dead.

He would hope that death would feel warmer or, at the very least, be drier in places.

His helmet systems flicker back into life, wavering between a wash of pale green that comes as standard loaded onto them straight out of the factory and Cody’s custom settings before it stabilises (much like Cody himself, factory made and manufactured and as heavily customised as he could stand). The scar on the side of his face itches before he knocks his wrist against the side of the helmet, pushing the foam lining back into place. It had been a long two weeks with a vibroblade and some borrowed cast-offs to try and mould it into something more comfortable and, even then, it still doesn’t fit quite right.

It doesn’t matter.

Nothing else matters right now.

Cody clicks his teeth together, pulling up the scroll of reports, scanning through them and dismissing them in the same moment. The plan is a good plan, enough variation to prevent the droids from learning their tactics and beginning to use them against the infinitely more fragile clones, but it isn’t good enough and it never will be. The counter in the top right of Cody’s helmet keeps flickering up and up and up, never moving downwards. He doesn’t know if the other Commanders have the same, he suspects Fox doesn’t. The Coruscant Guard is too far removed from the main bulk of the army for a count of their dead to be anything other than a blade Fox would craft himself, hone it to a sharp point and pierce it between his own ribs again and again and again and again with every tick of the counter upwards. Red on their armour, red on his hands, and for what? The Guard are lambs to a slaughter in an entirely different battlefield of senators who don’t see them as human, just poseable accessories.

Another blink, another increase in the counter.

Diving into another thread, Cody pulls up a secondary helmet cam with a blink, dismisses it in the same moment and turns to another. He thinks, to himself and to the small patch of thought that isn’t his and twists around a scrap of his mind regardless — a net snarled around his foot, waiting for him to stop struggling so the whirling scavengers overhead could descend and pick his bones clean, but why, why wait until he’s grown, why wait at all — that this could be what a Jedi feels like, connected to everything and everyone and bearing witness to their deaths. Two of the helmet cams Cody taps into are still, wedged into the mud and nearly swallowed by it; one is in the medbay and Cody catches a glimpse of a medic, their face bare and their eyes wild; and several more are moving, fighting, still alive. Cody notes their locations on the map, comparing it to the plan.

He only catches one glimpse of the General. He is the General on the battlefield, a clear line of distinction drawn and held and then pushed as far as regulations would allow. He has to be because there are decisions to be made, choices that Cody would make if he needed to and that Skywalker couldn’t comprehend the need of. Obi-Wan trusted Cody to make them, he trusted him.

(In an aftermath of one of those choices, Skywalker could be tricky. The errant patch of not-his thoughts locks on this, a scratch across Cody’s skull from the inside out, an incessant questioning why. It would take up too much time, time Cody couldn’t spare, to work through the necessary thought sequences to negate the demand so he answers.

Response: Skywalker cares for Obi-Wan. He doesn’t listen to him or obey his instructions at a rate of 64.5% but he would become unstable if Obi-Wan was deliberately injured or killed. He can’t know.)

Cody wonders why there’s a part of himself that he doesn’t know.

He wonders if the others have it to.

An explosion echoes to his left, a distant kick-back of dirt spraying over his up-raised arm and knocking against the crevases of his helmet. His trim is barely still orange, the paint chipped away from the last campaign and he hadn’t found the time to correct it yet. If Cody’s map is right, and his map is right, then the explosion has something to do with the General. The original plan hadn’t called for any explosions but, giving Skywalker some allowance because the General asked him to, Cody had relented.

Obi-Wan and Skywalker’s relationship is strange,

It doesn’t match to any command flow Cody knows. They had all been briefed on the practices within the Jedi Order prior to their deployment, the channel from Padawan to Knight to Master clear enough even if the promotions don’t seem to be based on anything solid. Obi-Wan had been vague about the subject of his own Knighting, merely stating that it had been a long time ago in a voice that hadn’t seemed stable enough to carry all of his grief, but he persisted through it.

Cody waits for Skywalker to be decommissioned.

The Kaminoans wouldn’t have waited for this long.

He wonders if it would happen at all. He hopes not, dares to hope in a tiny fledging thing that doesn’t have a shape yet and is lodged somewhere in the hollow of Cody’s throat, keeping the grief-stricken scream inside because if it had been wrong — if it had been as incomprehensible to the galaxy at large as Cody thinks it might be — then why did his batch die?

Another explosion, closer this time.

Cody flicks through the helmet cams once more, catching the raised edge of the torn skin on his lip between his teeth and pulling at it. The pain is immediate, a deep pulse that he can feel in the upper echelons of his skull and far more than the tiny scrap of missing skin would suggest. Just a glimpse. He just needs a moment to see if the General, if Obi-Wan is safe, he needs—

(Hand out.)

Cody obeys.

Several things happen in quick succession, absorbed at the time, only to haunt Cody in his sleepless nights. In some, the lightsaber slips through his fingers, or he hadn’t held his hand out in time, and he watches it sink into the mud to rot along with countless corpses that have his face. Sometimes, the lightsaber activates as it falls, often blood red instead of blue and Cody, sweat soaked and trembling in his tangle of blankets when he wakes, cannot say which one is worse, which one hurts the most when it cuts into him and slides through his armour like it isn’t even there. Other times, it isn’t Obi-Wan who slams into the bolt hole next to him, his robes long gone and his hair braided back from his face and faintly smoking, it’s an unknown figure but Cody is afraid, so afraid, and those nights he wakes with his nails cutting lines into his cheeks to keep himself from screaming.

The lightsaber hits his palm, Obi-Wan hits the ground next to him, and Cody moves, curling himself over Obi-Wan, his arm raised to shield them both.

“Hello, Commander. Fancy seeing you here.”

“Sir.”

This close, Cody can make out the ethereal shine around Obi-Wan’s iris, the universe bleeding into him and peering through the crack in the haphazardly bolted bay door. His cheeks are flushed, not the deep hue of cherries that Cody always thinks of but the paler pink of exertion. Despite this, Obi-Wan’s breathing is regular, made impossibly more perceptible by the absence of his outer robe and the close fit of his tunic. Cody notices. He always does.

“Are you hurt?” Obi-Wan cups Cody’s helmet in his hands, his fingers marked as an intrusion on his HUD, one Cody is warned to remove as soon as he can.

“Minor impact from a droid earlier, sir.” Cody’s side aches, his breath catching at the height of his inhalation, but the likely bruise was well-earned. The droid had crumbled beneath his boot, a wail breaking off into a crackle of sparks, but the resulting blow jammed his chest plate into his torso.

He wishes he wasn’t wearing his helmet.

Obi-Wan hums, his mouth twisting to one side as his brow furrows. It isn’t dissimilar to the expression he wears whenever a new scientific article lands amongst his paperwork, scattered throughout the regimented forms and updates that boil down the lives of an entire battalion to nothing more than a few lines of text. Cody holds still and lets Obi-Wan study him.

It should feel uncomfortable, holding the same pinpoint attention to detail that the Kaminoans do, but Cody doesn’t feel the urge to square his shoulders or hold his breath in case the slightest flaw would betray him. Instead, he relaxes into Obi-Wan’s hold, lets his breathing slow to an easy roll, and commits the pinch of the freckle beneath Obi-Wan’s eye as he smiles to memory. Cody feels like it might be raised slightly to the touch, not the harsh line of Cody’s scar but a slow incline and fall, barely noticeable except through touch and intention. Obi-Wan’s thumb smooths over the ridge of his helmet, captured in delicate wireframe and saved to his internal memory in the same blink. Obi-Wan removes his other hand, dropping to work his fingers into Cody’s free hand, and Cody realises he is still holding Obi-Wan’s lightsaber like he intends to use it, a curled grip rather than a flat palm. Obi-Wan would let him too, Cody knows, and he doesn’t have the full spectrum words for the emotion that blooms in his chest because love doesn’t seem like it would be enough, and yet, and yet…

He loves Obi-Wan.

He’d let him die if he had to.

Both things are true.

“Breath in,” Obi-Wan murmurs, his touch nothing more than dull pressure against the thick material of Cody’s glove, but he’s pressing steadily, harder than he would for any nat-born just so Cody can feel it. He obeys, breaths in and tastes ash layering over his tongue that the scrubbers can’t fully remove from the air, the tang of a blasterpack charge, and something sweet, sweet despite everything.

“And out.”

Something clicks in Cody’s side, a bright burst of pain, and then, nothing. He raises his hand, lightsaber still clutched in his grasp, and presses his knuckles against the offending chest-plate, searching for the injury he knows is there, or had been there.

“Force healing is not my speciality, I’m afraid,” Obi-Wan says, his nose wrinkling before he settles back into easy familiar grin. The emotional wound isn’t fresh, scarred over and buried deep but never deep enough. Cody recognises the worry, the concern that he would never be good enough, would never be enough, and his heart twists. He tips his head, presses his helmeted cheek into Obi-Wan’s hold for a moment.

“Thank you, sir.”

It feels better than bacta, as if he had never been hurt in the first place.

“You’re quite welcome, Cody.”

Another explosion rumbles through the earth and Cody barely needs to shift to cover Obi-Wan’s head, the other man tucked close and curling himself impossibly closer. He’s taller than Cody by a head, his superior in a war that Cody had been created to fight in, but none of that matters when they’re folded together like this, conversation flowing between them like they’ve known each other for years, barely needing to try. It’s nice. Cody hadn’t expected anything in his life to be nice before.

A confession would be ill-timed for all of the literature extoling the virtues of a battlefield confession. There’s a holoshow that the shinies are particularly fond of, consumed in tiny crackling segments as they sprawl across their regulation bunks that are pressed so tightly together that they may as well be in the same bed or perched atop of shipping crates, the volume turned up loud enough that the sound echoes. Cody would turn a corner, pause by the hollowed-out tubes and listen to a story that he could feel in his bones. A few of the newer troopers, their armour plain and their faces unmarked, named themselves after the main leads, a handful for each.

Cody knows he loves Obi-Wan. That would have to be enough.

“I feel like giving Anakin this much free reign may have been a mistake.” Obi-Wan doesn’t move away from Cody as they straighten, settling into the crater next to him as easily as he would drop himself onto the small sofa in his room for afternoon tea. He tugs on the cuffs of his tunic, scuffing his fingers along the singed edge before moving on to checking his boots. Cody watches him, the feed flickering in the corner of his vision, the counter creeping ever upwards.

Another blink, another scan through the feeds tracking the twirling glow of blue and destruction. “It is working, sir. Regretfully.”

Obi-Wan breaks into laughter, tipping his head back and squeezing his eyes shut.

One of the main characters in the holo is clearly modelled after a Jedi, charismatic in a way that stretched beyond the allowance of disbelief, magic in a way that isn’t defined but just is, and they’re wearing robes. It isn’t specified which Jedi he is based off of, a brief glance at the holonet revealed threads and forums and one enterprising chat room that Cody is only reasonably confident isn’t entirely made of up other clones that are all embroiled in discussion over who it could be.

Cody knows.

The shock of bright red hair when compared with Obi-Wan’s silver shot auburn had been enough of a giveaway, but a single ‘my dear’ and Cody had been hooked just as surely as he is in love with Obi-Wan. Cody quite likes having hobbies. He can see why nat-borns are so fond of them.

“I shall see you in a moment, my dear Commander. If I could just?” Obi-Wan reaches, not for the saber Cody is already offering him, but for Cody’s belt, unhooking his blaster.

Cody nods, his ears ringing from the sudden rush of blood to his head, his face flushing.

Obi-Wan checks the blaster like he had been made to do so. It doesn’t look as natural as it would for another clone, the motions threaded through their DNA and braided into their muscles, practiced again and again until they could complete a blaster check blind and bloody on the battlefield, but it’s close enough. It doesn’t hold the same heady weight as Obi-Wan wearing his armour, blasters are a credit a crate with no identifiable markers to them save for the serial number and whatever damage they might have accrued, but the blaster is still Cody’s for the time being, and, like Cody, the blaster is now Obi-Wan’s.

“You can use my saber, if you’d like.” The tips of Obi-Wan’s ears are pink but his voice is measured in exacting quantities. “The element of surprise can only be a benefit to us both.”

“Yessir,” Cody answer, automatic, without thinking, because if Obi-Wan only asked him to, Cody would tear the universe down and rebuild it with his bare hands. He might do that anyway. Call it a new hobby or something.

Obi-Wan winks and uncoils from the crater, throwing himself over the lip of it without a moment’s hesitation. Cody waits, forces his heartbeat to steady, and follows him.

⁂

Cody doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the hush after battle. There’s pockets of noise, the beginnings of a rudimentary camp pooled around the main stronghold and clones sit shoulder to shoulder, pooled across each other’s laps as they compare new scars and pick up old conversations; the spills of shouts from the medtent, still fighting their own battles that will be neatly packaged into a report for Cody to despair over later.

He moves past them all. Made apart, alone.

“Commander!”

Cody turns at the call, his brow furrowing as he scans his immediate surroundings. The battlefield is churned to near abstraction, hollows pitted over the surface from the heavy cannons fired from the AT-AT’s. A few lay where they had fallen, legs crumpled beneath them, and Cody looks towards the closest one, the chest caved in by an improvised round he is reasonably confident is inert. Obi-Wan perched atop waves down to him, his hair a halo of fire in the sun peeking through the heavy cloud cover.

Without being asked, just because he wants to, Cody makes his way over to him, the mud clinging to his boots. They won. They’re both safe and here and together. He can love like this, in moments.

The metal creaks beneath him as he climbs, Cody far more compact than the graceful stretch of Obi-Wan and made heavier from the dense makeup of his bones and the heft of his armour. Beneath the burn of the exertion, Cody thinks about Obi-Wan, about the splash of freckles over his face and arms and the hidden constellations contained within them. Moles were commonplace and Cody had seen in the medical files that one of the shinies had patches of paler skin that had slowly grown over one arm and the side of his face while he had been in the vat, but they had nothing quite like freckles. They were different. They were new.

“Here, Cody. Let me help.”

Obi-Wan braces himself against the hollowed out chest of the machine, stretching his arm down to Cody. He’s shed more layers, the long sleeves of his tunic exchanged for the uneven colouration and broad straps of his under tunic, and Cody snaps his gaze away, unable to find a safe place to let it land. If he looks at Obi-Wan directly, even now, he’ll fall apart and not know why that would ruin them both. After the war, he thinks desperately, catching the thought in his teeth and tasting copper. He can tell Obi-Wan after the war.

Cody takes his hand without hesitation.

“Thank you, sir,” Cody says, swaying slightly as he adjusts his footing on the makeshift platform. They aren’t exceptionally high up given the hunched form, but the wind tugs at every exposed edge of his armour, working its way beneath to the thin fabric of his blacks. Sweat has dried along his brow and the divot of his spine and he feels the chill keenly there. Obi-Wan reclines back into his chosen spot and pats the ground next to him. It reminds Cody, somehow, of the low couch in Obi-Wan’s room, cosy despite the surroundings, somewhere that he would like to be. He sits next to Obi-Wan, stretching his legs out to match the other man after a moment. Obi-Wan’s arm stretches along the back of them, his fingers tapping against the edge of the metal.

“I believe you dropped this, sir?” Cody unclips the lightsaber from the new piece of hardware he had commissioned. It detaches with a fresh click and Obi-Wan watches the movement. He can’t fully describe the look on the other man’s face — a bright mixture of sheer delight and something else that feels sweet like cherries — but Cody grins despite himself. He’s still wearing his helmet and he sits forward, pulling it off with his free hand and sets it down next to him. He doesn’t hide his grin.

His heart twists and stammers in his chest, a faulty cog left to rust, consequences be damned.

Obi-Wan breaks into laughter as the sun peers through a crack in the cloud, the universe cradling him close and bathing him — and Cody as they’re pressed so close, thigh to thigh and hip to hip, Obi-Wan’s fingertips an intermittent brand against Cody’s pauldron — in glorious golden sunlight. Cody tips his face back and closes his eyes. There’s no counter here, no steady stream of alerts and reports, just the endless comforting hush of sun-streaked evenings. Although, it could be morning. He hasn’t checked his chronometer for anything other than expected explosions for a while now.

“It’s evening,” Obi-Wan answers, his words rumbling through Cody. “And this is one of my favourite ways to spend them.”

“On an AT-AT with a clone?” Cody asks, feeling his words slip and stumble into each other. It didn’t feel worth the effort to properly move to speak clearly, exhaustion sitting heavy in his bones.

“Spending time with a friend,” Obi-Wan corrects. There’s a warm press against the top of Cody’s head, his thoughts firing like a speeder before they tick back over into idling, consumed by the knowing that Obi-Wan has tipped his head sideways and rested his temple against the crown of Cody’s head.

Obi-Wan continues, his fingers migrating from tapping against the metal to marking out that same rhythm against Cody’s pauldron. “I did catch that last kick against the droid however. It was very fine work, Cody.”

“Thank you.” Cody pauses, swallows past the anchor in his throat. “Obi-Wan.”

He isn’t Force-sensitive, but he doesn’t need to be to feel the burst of joy from the other man, the brightness of his grin that can’t be uniquely cast just for Cody but he can fool himself that it is, just for the moment; the release of tension that Obi-Wan always carries too strongly down his right side that matches Cody down to the clenched fist on his left, his habitual reach despite everything the Kaminoans tried to implant in them so it had only made sense to attach the lightsaber clip to his left hip; the tap-tap-tap of Obi-Wan’s fingers against his pauldron slipping into a different rhythm, a repeated set of threes again and again and again.

“I appreciate the use of your blaster also,” Obi-Wan says, finally, his laughter colouring his words a trembling shade of honey. He pulls it free from his belt and reaches over to place it in Cody’s cupped hands, curling Cody’s fingers over it almost absent-mindedly. It must be an action he’s used to from the Temple, Cody can remember a similar exchange occurring with the shinies, and Obi-Wan catches himself with a soft exhalation midway through Cody’s fourth finger before he continues. “You can tell me if I overstep, Cody. I don’t want you to ever feel uncomfortable because of something I have done.”

“If you do so,” Cody says, the undertones of a vow in his words because he could follow through now, he can make that choice. “I will tell you.”

“Good.”

Obi-Wan stretches, breaking the brief moment of contact between them and Cody mourns it all the more for knowing that it would end. It’s a full body stretch, closer to the muscle-stretching bone-realigning heft after stumbling from a bed that he hasn’t had to leave for hours, and Obi-Wan’s undertunic rides up, bunching at his shoulders and exposing the curve of his belly, a line of dark hair stretching from the curiosity of his navel down. Cody averts his gaze downwards, past their feet towards the landscape beyond but something else catches his eye.

“You’re wearing the socks?”

They’re by no means perfect or even symmetrical. Cody had studied the instructions from the holonet and the accompanying video made by a bubbling young Twi’lek until the images of her careful creation had been burned into his neural pathways and his too-big room had felt like it fit a little better, but he knew his didn’t match. One stretches far above it’s brother, the heel catching Obi-Wan halfway up his ankle and it had bunched in the curve of his foot, the repeating pattern broke in several places, wandering back into general cohesion before slipping away once more. He had run out of the wool part the way through one as well, the remnants fuzzy and clinging to itself and everything else, and the replacement is a brighter hue, unnoticeable until the two were joined together over the toes.

“Of course,” Obi-Wan hooks his fingers through Cody’s, squeezing them tight and Cody returns the gesture, dares to hope that he could survive like this. “They’re perfect.”

Socks is, perhaps, a slight stretch to call the garment that Cody had made. He had followed the instructions from the holonet and watched a video until the images had burned into his neural pathways while he had been folded into his single bunk in a room that felt too large for just him, but the objects he produced only bore a passing similarity to socks.

“Thank you, Obi-Wan. I’m glad you liked them.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan laughs and everything is right with the universe once more. “I more than like them, Cody. I love them.”

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