#audrey lasky

[authortobenamedlater]

I wrote a thing. Part of a story I may write at some point about what Tom and Chyler were up to during Reach.

@ionlymadethissoicouldleaveanask based on our AO3 conversation 😁

—

General Audrey Lasky dabbed at her eyes and for the third time in the last hour, tried to pull herself together.

Her daughter-in-law was dead, and the work wouldn’t let up enough for Audrey to go to the other side of Ankara and be with her grieving son. Or for him to come to her.

Some things never change. We’re in the same damn city, and I still can’t be there for him.

“You kiss our children with that mouth, Marine?” Audrey’s late husband would have asked her.

Shut up, Jim, Audrey wearily told the voice in her head even as she wished its owner were admonishing her in person.

She fought off tears again. Nobody needed to see General Lasky sobbing at her desk.

Ping…ping…ping

Who wants me now? Audrey hit the “accept” button without caring much about who was on the other end. “This is General Lasky,” she answered tonelessly.

“Audrey?” A staticky female voice asked.

“Yes,” Audrey confirmed. 

A sigh from the other end. “Oh, finally. I’ve been trying to reach Tom for the past three days!”

Reach Tom? Audrey stared at the wall. Now she was hearing things. Things that sounded a lot like her daughter-in-law. The same daughter-in-law who had died over Reach.

“Have you heard from him?” The caller continued. “Do you know how to get in touch with him?”

“Who is this?” Audrey demanded.

Chyler was dead. So who was this on the phone?

“Who is it? It’s me. It’s Chyler.” A confused pause. “Is everything all right?”

Audrey nearly laughed. Nothing was all right. Reach was ash, Earth had nearly joined it, humankind was running for the hills, and now she was hallucinating a call from her son’s dead wife.

“You’re dead.” Audrey didn’t see any point in beating around the bush. This was all a dream or something, anyway.

“What?!”

“Your name was on Bleak Midwinter’s casualty list,” Audrey said bluntly. “Saw it with my own two eyes.”

“I wasn’t on…oh.” A gasp. “Oh, I must have still been listed on the crew manifest.”

Audrey sat up straighter. Was it possible? Was this real?

I have been down this road once before.

“I got reassigned at the last second,” Chyler—maybe it really was her—continued. “Glory’s Light. They needed an ops officer and…wait, did Tom not get my message? That I got switched?”

“He must not have,” Audrey murmured.

“Wait, you two thought I was dead?!”

A surge of adrenaline jolted Audrey out of her fugue. “Chyler.”

“Yes.”

“This is really you?” Audrey covered her mouth with one hand.

“Yes. Yes, Audrey, it’s really me.”

Audrey hit the mute button and let herself have a few seconds to cry into her palm. “Chyler. Tom thinks your dead, and I did too until about thirty seconds ago.”

“Oh, no,” Chyler gasped. “Is he OK?”

“No, but I’m about to change that. Can I reach you at this frequency?”

“Yes. It’s my command line on Glory’s Light. I really shouldn’t be using it for this.”

“We’ve all got bigger fish to fry right now.” Audrey made quick note of the numbers. “OK. Stay by your line.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“I’m going to find him.” Audrey pushed herself back from the desk. “We’ll call you.”

“OK.”

Audrey almost ended the call and then thought better of it. “Chyler, I’m…” I’m what? Nothing Audrey could think of seemed to do this justice.

“I know,” Chyler said. “Just find Tom. Please.”

“I will.” Audrey ended the call, locked her computer, and ran. All thoughts of duty were gone.

Now, she had a duty to her son.

[infinityactual]

🤝💕🕊️ GIUSEPPE & AUDREY

🤝 How did they meet in the first place? what were their first impressions of each other?

Giuseppe and Audrey have a mutual friend named Kyle. Giuseppe and Kyle grew up together on Emerald Cove, and Audrey is Kyle's squad leader. Kyle introduces them on shore leave, thinking "Hey, these are two people I really enjoy hanging out with, I should introduce them so we can ALL hang out!" without considering he liked their company for different reasons. Audrey and Giuseppe were NOT at all fond of each other to start with. Giuseppe found Audrey to be loud, coarse and fairly invasive, and Audrey found Giuseppe to be easily annoyed and standoffish.

💕 Who confessed first and how? Did it go as planned or did shenanigans ensue?

It was Audrey, and it was a very spur of the moment kiss, followed by The Realization that this had been a mutual pining situation, which was in turn followed by Audrey grabbing Giuseppe by his shirt and yanking him back into her hotel room.

🕊 Give a domesric tidbit!

Cadmon's name was a Lirerature Nerd Name, and pretty much the whole time Audrey was pregnant with Tom, Giuseppe terrorized her by suggesting names like "Rehoboam" or "Chaucer". or "Gilgamesh" It was very good natured, something that was a continuation of them trying to figure out a name for Cadmon. Even after they settled on just Thomas, he'd suggest other names just to make Audrey laugh.

[eclecticboogaloo]

Audrey Lasky and Giuseppe Hall (his unmarried name), roundabout 20-21. I haven't figured out who's the older of the two, tempted to say it's Audrey by like, 2 years.

[am-i-right-marines]

Prompt: Surprise

“Come again, Roland?”

“You heard me, Sir. One Brigadier General Audrey Lasky is making a surprise inspection once we reach the Cairo.”

Captain Thomas James Lasky was incredulous. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard from his mother. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed. “Right. Ok. I’ll need to organize an honor guard. Inform sub commanders about the inspection...”

As the Captain started muttering to himself and planning the necessary things for General Lasky’s arrival, Roland discretely accessed his vitals via his CNI transmitter. Elevated heart rate. Increased Beta waves. Shallow breathing.

Classic signs of both minor PTSD and basic emotional distress.

The A.I, ever faithful to his commanding officer, paged the XO to the bridge. “Captain, if I might recommend it, you may want to tend to these matters in private.”

Tom looked over at the holotank that Roland’s avatar currently occupied. That is to say, the holotable in the center of the bridge with the A.I. ‘standing’ on one corner. Judging by his expression, he didn’t mean what he said. He implied something completely different.

Roland titled his head and raised his eyebrows, prompting Tom to nod. He knew what the A.I. was really getting at. “You’re right. Thank you, Roland.”

Roland saluted wholeheartedly. “Always, Sir.”

——————

Commander Sarah Palmer, for one of the very few times in her life, was worried.

Not for herself mind you, but for her friend.

Roland had told her everything, and the former ODST had immediately set off towards Tom’s quarters. Thankful she wasn’t in her armor when Roland told her, because while the Captain carried enormous respect for the Spartans ever since Circinius, he always found it a little off-putting to have to look up at his friend when he didn’t use to need to. Well, he still had to, but not as much.

Passing by a pair of marines who’s salutes she completely ignored, Sarah turned a corner and stopped at a specific door before knocking.

“Who?”

She allowed her lips to twitch in a small amused smirk. “Jul‘Mdama.”

“Come.”

The door slid open to allow her in, then closed behind her. Taking a moment to examine his quarters, the Spartan looked around.

Immaculately made bunk. Organized desk. Zero messiness aside from a small pile of paper books next to his desk.

He was definitely anxious.

Sarah turned her attention towards the Captain of one of the most dangerous ships in the Orion Arm.

Pacing. Arms at parade-rest even though that wasn’t necessary. Piece of Hunter armor that the Chief had given him not stuffed inside his BDU. Eyes dark.

“Tom...” She started.

“Am I overthinking it?” He asked.

She didn’t need to ask for clarification. She knew what he meant. “Yes. But you have a right to do so.”

Tom stopped pacing and turned to face her, raising an eyebrow.

Sarah crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “You haven’t talked to her in thirty years. And before that she hadn’t acted particularly warmly to you in years.”

Tom had ranted to her about it before. After a particularly... Helljumper tradition, years ago. It hadn’t damaged their friendship at all. She had nearly died, and Tom was worried about her. Nothing special. Those were thoughts Tom kept locked away, and that had rather lowered both of their defenses. Hell it had probably cemented their friendship.

“Just... take it as it comes. Lima Charlie?”

Tom raised an eyebrow, then smiled. “You always know the right words, Spartan.”

Sarah smirked. “Behind every strong Captain...” She joked.

Putting on his best arrogant ODST impression, Tom spoke again. “Atta’ girl.”

Playing along, the Spartan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t say that unless you back it up.”

A pause.

Then they both laughed. “Thanks Sarah.”

“Anytime, Tom.”

——————

The ramp of the Pelican lowered to reveal a woman of fair skin with brown hair that held a few streaks of grey. Clad in a standard UNSC Marine Corps Officer Uniform with the insignia of a Brigadier General on her collar, General Lasky walked down the ramp and along the rows of Marines and Spartans there to greet her. As one, the Honor Guard saluted.

When she reached Tom and Sarah at the end of the guard, the two saluted. Audrey saluted back. “Captain. Commander.”

“General Lasky.” The pair responded simultaneously, punctuated by a deep breath from Tom.

“Lead the way, Captain. You know your ship best.”

...

Hours of it.

Simple nods, the occasional question, not a variance in her expression.

“Thomas, it is with a heavy heart that I must inform you that today your brother Cadmon was shot down by Insurrectionist forces.”

Tom’s fists clenched, only for skin to brush his hand. Glancing to his left, he saw Sarah wearing a sympathetic expression.

She knew when to cut off the sarcasm and just be by his side. He loved his friend for that.

...

“Captain, may I speak with you in private for a moment?”

The question surprised him. Glancing at his mother, he saw no change in her expression. “Yes Sir.”

Sarah nodded and walked away, with Tom stepping into his quarters and Audrey following.

After a moment of silence, Audrey sighed. “Thomas... I... am sorry.”

Tom blinked several times. “Excuse me?”

“I’m... sorry.” She said again. “For everything. I...”

“Mom,” Tom started. “it’s ok. It’s in the past.”

Audrey rolled her lips, sniffling slightly and tilting her head towards the ground.

Was... was she crying?

“Mom...?”

“I neglected you and your brother for so long. Then I lost Cadmon. I don’t want to lose you Thomas... not you too.”

Slowly, Lasky crossed the room and wrapped his arms around her. Audrey stiffened, she couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched her non-clinically. Especially a member of her family.

Slowly, the General leaned into her son’s embrace.

“You haven’t lost me mom. We just lost time.”

——————

And here it is! Audrey and Tom. Admittedly their actual interaction is short, but I think it’s meaningful. I also got Kinda sidetracked.

Here it is @infinityactual !

[authortobenamedlater]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Audrey pulled the tablet from the laundry pile next to her bed. “Yes, I’m here.” She righted the screen. “You what?”

“I got married,” Thomas said again.

--

I know I said I was putting everything on hold until after DinBo/Sabezra solidarity, but I hit a wall after pushing myself with that the last several days and needed to clear the cache, so to speak.

@ageless-aislynn @sarnakhwritesthings @writeforfandoms @christian-latte-anon @a2on1break

[authortobenamedlater]

Survivor

I did it!

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Audrey Lasky, regrets, and second chances.

Title and some themes drawn from Survivor by Zach Williams. Especially the "out of the fire" line in the chorus, and the opening stanza because Circinius surely dogged Lasky for a long, long time.

Anyway I’m wiped out from being on my own with the kids for way too long, send dopamine.

AND NOW. I will work on my Picky Procedural Fic and finish it if it's the last thing I do.

@ageless-aislynn @sarnakhwritesthings @christian-latte-anon @sweethoneyjazzeuphoria @morganas-pendragons

[infinityactual]

POV for the writing meme? ' v '

Giuseppe's POV of this bit:

So far he knew three things about John: He was very large, his eyes were alarmingly blue, and he was very quiet. All things Thomas had mentioned beforehand in some form or fashion. But Giuseppe was also expecting something more in line with other UNSC personnel he'd met through his wife, who usually came in two flavors: outrageously foul-mouthed bawdy people who loved a good, loud party and meticulously well-mannered creatures of habit. 'Starched', he called them.

John was neither. Despite his size he kept to himself thoroughly enough to lack the sense of presence everyone else had, and in a way that made Giuseppe want to try and gently pry him open more than he had when they'd first met. John wasn't aloof...he might look it, but his eyes betrayed him: he was anxious and uncertain, so far out of his element that the only thing he could think to be was completely and utterly benign.

Giuseppe attributed this insight to having married an ODST; while Audrey was 'starched' to a degree after fifty years, he'd seen her through her worst episodes of PTSD, during which he'd noticed similar (but far less pronounced) behaviors whenever her anxieties would get to her. So, Giuseppe did what any dad would do in his mind: gave the big man something to do.

So far, it was working. As he watched John methodically cut the carrot into near-perfect cubes, his movements became a little more organic, a little less robotic, less rehearsed. He still watched Giuseppe demonstrate each task with that carefully-cultivated neutral expression, but getting him to feel comfortable with something was a start.

As he left John to make sure he hadn't missed any bones in the chicken, Giuseppe decided to check in on his family and rounded the corner to see his two sons engrossed in a semi-argument about something involving cheese and plastic wrap.

"Cadmon, get your fucking feet off my table." Giuseppe sighed.

"Oh come on, dad. It's a table. And my feet are clean."

With remarkable speed for his age, Giuseppe pulled his foam-sole sandal off his foot and slapped the Spartan-IV in the back of the head.

"OW!" Cadmon yelped, and jerked forward in surprise.

"Oh, don't 'ow' me. I know for a fact the UNSC made your skull thicker than it already was."

There was a quiet snort from the kitchen, almost inaudible over Cadmon's sheepish apology and Tom's barely-stifled cackles. Before Giuseppe could check on John, Audrey appeared from the bedroom. She paused and looked from her half-shoeless spouse to Cadmon - who looked for all the planet like a kicked puppy - to Thomas, who had a fist pressed to his mouth trying not to laugh.

"The hell did I miss?"

"Just some light percussive parenting." Giuseppe replied as he put his sandal back on.

As Audrey sat back down, Giuseppe returned to the kitchen to check on John.

"All good?" John paused.

"Yes, sir."

His face was still a mask of neutrality, but there was a faint crinkle at the corners of his eyes that hadn't been there before.

[infinityactual]

🖋 for Beppe.

So uh I caught up on sleep and.

As he made his way back across the bar, Giuseppe noticed that the Jarhead that Audrey had brushed off earlier was back. She'd already told him in no uncertain terms to go play Gravball in traffic, and he was either too stupid or too arrogant to get the message.

As Giuseppe came up to his barstool next to Audrey he heard her scoff, and just as he was about to take his seat, noticed the man's hand slipping down to grope her ass.

Giuseppe wasn't a fighter; quite the opposite. But seeing this guy violating Audrey's person after she'd made it exceptionally clear that his attention was offensive made him angry.

"Hey, stop touching her, you contemptuous pig!" He yelled over the music. Surprised at the sudden outburst, both Audrey and the Marine turned their attention to Giuseppe. The other man looked him up and down once, then laughed.

"Or what, beach bum? You gonna hit me?"

He didn't have time to be surprised at the intensity of the white-hot rage that boiled into his chest. Giuseppe pulled his left arm back almost on reflex, and his punch caught the man in the cheek, just under his right eye.

Jarhead staggered back and caught himself on the bar, but was almost immediately back on his feet. And before it even occurred to Giuseppe to duck, Jarhead's fist hit him right in the nose. He only had time to register the snapping sound of his glasses before a second hit landed and everything went black.

The first thing he felt was pain. Then brief panic when he couldn't breathe through his nose. He gasped, then coughed, and whatever he was leaning against moved.

"Oh thank fuck." The relief was obvious in Kyles's tone. "You alright man?"

Everything seemed fuzzy, and when he reached up to adjust his glasses, they were gone.

"Th'fuck're m'glasses." He slurred. His head throbbed and he felt a little sick, and he vaguely wondered if he'd had anything to drink the night before.

"I think Audrey got them after the bouncer kicked that asshole out of the bar, yeah?"

Giuseppe squeezed his eyes shut and focused for a moment. This was still tonight, he was still at the bar, he recognized the decor now.

"Yeah, I got them, or what's left of them." Someone knelt in front of him and he squinted. Audrey.

"We're going to take you to the clinic, you were knocked out and we need to make sure the concussion isn't too bad okay?"

Concussion. He knew what that word meant...something about concussive blasts, pressure waves...

He'd been decked. He had to concentrate a lot harder than usual, but now he remembered losing his temper and punching a Marine...that was probably why his hand ached.

"Oh...yeah...punching people hurts more'n I thought."