#ft. ridley.

[lovebythesea]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 // thread.

WHO: Love & Ridley [ @lazersong ]

WHEN: Jan. 14

WHAT: Post Take Cover Thread [ Link ]

Ridley

Ridley knew that Love would freak out about his missing arm, so he chain-smoked on the way back to his apartment and let the toxins settle in his lungs just as a sedative for what was to come. He could get another arm, perhaps even a better one, but of course he had to run interference before he could even dream of making it to a repair shop. He quietly entered the apartment, hoping they were both asleep as he removed a half-finished cigarette from between his lips and discarded it in the ashtray by the door.

Love

Love was worried sick about Ridley going out to confront the bolug. So much could happen — right down to her own death if anything happened to him. So she stayed awake as long as she could, crashing on the couch when she couldn’t stay up any longer. The smell of smoke startled her slightly, her body instinctively going into fear of a fire. “B-Babe?” She asked, not awake enough to process what she said.

Ridley

Ridley's eyes flickered up whenever he heard Love call out, unsure whether or not he should process that nickname as his own - but, well, no one else had been in his apartment aside from her father. Who else could it be? "Hey," he said. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

Love

Love yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “S’Okay. Come over here,” she said, starting to sit up.

Ridley

Ridley was hoping that his jacket would keep disguising his missing arm for as long as possible, slowly making his way over to Love and sitting beside her. "You all good?"

Love

Love instantly moved her head into his lap, letting out an anxious sigh as she made herself comfortable. “I worried about you. A lot.”

Ridley

He placed a hand in her hair and worked his fingers through the dark strands carefully. "I'm fine. There was nothing to worry about."

Love

“Are you sure?” She asked, letting tiredness kick in. “What happened?”

Ridley

"We just had a scrap, really. Nothing remarkable. I think he might stay away from your dad's ship for a while, though."

Love

“Take your jacket off, it’s too warm in here for that,” Love insisted, looking up to him. She always liked it warmer anywhere she went — it reminded her of her home. “I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

Ridley

"Nah, I don't get hot." Ridley said, clearing his throat. "Yeah. I'm good. Is your dad doing alright?"

Love

“Well, you’re home. Take it off,” she replied, playfully tugging at his sleeves. “He’s doing okay. We’re both doing okay.”

Ridley

"It's fine," he insisted with a quiet laugh. "That's good. I'm glad."

Love

“If you loved me you would take it off,” she laughed. “Good thing we have a trusty kitchen droid to keep us alive.”

Ridley

Ridley glanced away self-consciously. "It's just a jacket, Love," he said. "Oh, yeah. What would you ever do without me?"

Love

“Then it’s no problem,” Love said, perking up in her suspicion. “I don’t know. I’d die. That’s for sure.”

Ridley

"Definitely. Both of you would. But alas, I'm your savior."

Love

“My savior, hah.” Love sat up slowly, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. It was there that she realized something was off. “... T-Take off your jacket.”

Ridley

"Really? It's comfortable," Ridley said, keeping one arm secure around her.

Love

“N-No, take off your jacket. Now,” Love insisted, moving one of her hands to feel under the jacket.

Ridley

Ridley let out a huff before surrendering and shrugging off his jacket, exposing his missing arm.

Love

“What — what ha-“ she started, covering her mouth as she started to feel immediately nauseous. “What — “

Ridley

"It's not a big deal," he said immediately. "I can get a new one."

Love

“It’s a big deal!! That’s — that’s your arm!” she exclaimed, pulling back from him. “Did that thing do that to you?! What else did he do?!”

Ridley

"Yeah, he did," he admitted, rubbing between his eyes. "That's all, I swear. I drank some blue blood before I got here and I patched it up, I can get a new one for cheap."

Love

“What — what if he killed you?”  she asked quietly, starting to shake. The ghel stood up from the couch, suddenly very awake and very stressed. “... You could’ve killed me. You could’ve — you could’ve killed me. Because you — you just had to go after him.”

Ridley

“He couldn’t have killed me. If I shut down someone would’ve found me and brought me to a repair center,” he said. “Hey. Calm down. I’m fine.”

Love

“Unless he broke whatever keeps you you, and then you’re just — you’re not you anymore,” Love insisted. “I don’t lo- uh, look at other droids like I look at you. That’s — stars.”

Ridley

“Look, I survived. You don’t have to worry about the what-ifs. It’s just an arm and I can get a new one.”

Love

“Shut up!” Love said. “You’re — you’re going to end up killing me one day! Because you’re so dumb!”

Ridley

Ridley let out a sigh, "C'mon. Don't be overdramatic. Once I finish this last job then I'll never have to go to Sevian again."

Love

“You say this like you’re going to live some normal life after that,” Love said, heading back to the couch to grab her blanket.

Ridley

"I'll try my best to," he said and reached out with his still intact arm, grasping her wrist gently. "Don't be mad. Or — or be mad but don't shut me out over this."

Love

“I can be mad all I want,” she said, tugging her arm. “You did something so-so stupid! I have every right to shut you out because of this.”

Ridley

"I was just trying to defend your dad," he replied. "And I did! I shot the damn thing twice."

Love

“You didn’t defend him, you went out looking to kill it! That’s not the same!” Love said, before pausing. “...Did you kill it?”

Ridley

"... No, I didn't. I mean, I might've. I didn't stick around to check if he was dead for sure."

Love

“So you might’ve just pissed him off even more. And you’re down an arm and, ugh! I-I hate you! You made it worse!”

Ridley

Ridley sighed, then relented, figuring it was better for her to release her anger rather than be the subject of passive aggression for weeks to come — although that was still very much a risk.

Love

Love finally yanked her arm out of his hold, looking at him with teary eyes. This got so out of hand. She wished she never met him. “I think — I think I’m going to ask Papa to take us out of Avalon tomorrow morning.”

Ridley

"What?" Ridley said in momentary disbelief, "That's—" Then he remembered what the bolug had said about destroying Avalon, and he knew that he should've protested but he couldn't find it in him to. "... If- If that's what you want."

Love

“I think that’s what I need,” she said, despite knowing the effects it was going to have on her body.

Ridley

"Okay, um... Then you should go." he said, avoiding her gaze.

Love

Love nodded. “In the morning. I’ll just — I’ll let my father sleep before we have a big day.”

Ridley

"I'll help you," he offered. "If the bolug's there, you'll need my help."

Love

“No. No, you — you stay here,” she denied. “I don’t need any more of your help.”

Ridley

"C'mon. You're both in rough shape still. You need it."

Love

“And you’re missing an arm, Ridley! You’re in rough shape. Take care of yourself.”

Ridley

"I can get an early appointment in at the repair shop tomorrow and be good as new!"

Love

“No!” Love snapped, trying to push past the sadness on her tone. “I don’t want you there! It’s going — it’ll make it harder!”

Ridley

"... Okay," he surrendered. "I'll... I'll stay here, then."

Love

Love nodded, her lip quivering as she teared up. She hated this. “You better. Or I’ll never talk to you again,” she replied.

Ridley

"Okay," he repeated. "I hear you."

Love

“Th-Thank you,” she said, walking away from him slowly.

[krcolou]

𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 // thread.

WHO: Cole & Ridley [ @lazersong ]

WHEN: Jan. 14

WHAT: Ridley confronts Cole for attacking Rune and threatening Love.

WARNING: Some violence

Cole was curious as to where the Rwaddi man went after their interaction, wondering if he was ever going to come back to the ship as promised. They were all weak, in his mind, so he expected the man to never return and let his ship take the fall in the end. He sat outside of the ship, smoking a cigarette. It tasted terrible, just like the last four that he had smoked and discarded by the ship’s entrance.

Ridley didn’t have much experience with bolugs. In fact, he had zero experience with them, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try his luck with one. He kept two blasters on him — one for show and the other as a surprise in case things got too messy. Immediately once rounding the corner he spotted another man, sitting outside a ship that matched Rune’s description. He approached him nonchalantly, not wanting to cause alarm quite yet. “This your ship?” he asked.

Cole tossed the cigarette when he saw the droid approach, eyeing him cautiously. It didn’t matter who it was, he didn’t trust anyone that wasn’t Junko or his own kind by him. “Yes. No rides,” he answered.

Ridley nodded in understanding, tucking his hands in his pockets. "It's a nice rig. How long you've had it for?

“Doesn’t matter,” he said, starting to glare at him. “Keep going.”

"Can't really do that," Ridley said, adjusting his hands so they were resting on his waist. "Because I know this isn't your ship."

“Oh? Know Rwaddi?” Cole asked, perking up. “Good. Where is he?”

"Nice try, wastoid," he scoffed. "I'm here to tell you to fuck off."

Cole stood up slowly, stepping towards the droid. “So you say that. Thank you. Is all?”

"No, that's not all." Ridley reached forward and grasped tightly onto the bolug's shoulder. "I don't know what you or the rest of your species' problem is, but if you try and threaten that man or his daughter again, I'll kill you and your little friend."

Cole didn’t budge much when the droid grabbed his shoulder, just looking down at him with a glare. “You cannot. Not very scary. I can threaten him or ghel. You cannot say.”

"I can. In fact, my sole purpose is to kill, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it. So I don't need to be scary, I just need to be efficient."

“Me too, little man,” Cole said, his glare turning into a smirk. “I kill. Many people. Planet.”

"Yeah, sure, with those big fuck-off ships of yours. But how good are you on your own?"

Cole shrugged. “You don’t wish to know,” he said. “It is smart to go away. No plans on hurting ghel unless father is bad. No plans on hurting father unless father is bad.”

"Neither of them are going to be 'bad', so you might as well quit while you're ahead. He'll give the stupid ride to your friend and we can all sing kumbaya and go our merry ways after. Just get the fuck away from his ship and try not to be a piece of shit like the rest of your species."

“No, you do not get to say what I do,” he replied. “I do what I want and you do not get to stop me. So please, go away from ship.”

Ridley sucked in a deep breath and shoved the other backward, "You really don't wanna go down like this, man." he said.

Cole stumbled back a step, tilting his head. “Why this? Because I stand too close to ship?”

"Because you're being an asshole to people I care about. That's why." Ridley said, approaching him again.

“Are you droid?” Cole asked, standing his ground. “You do not care true. Just... machine. Trying to... compute.”

"Droid or not, doesn't matter what I am when you have a laser beam through your head. Fuck. Off." he hissed.

Cole grabbed the other man by his neck, shoving him as forcefully as he could. “Not fuck off.”

Ridley bit his tongue whenever his neck was seized, artificial blood leaking into his mouth as he reached up and clutched onto the bolug's hand. "I-I will seriously fuck you up if you don't let go."

"Can you? Can you fuck up if no gun?" Cole antagonized. "Just sad robot try to look tough."

"I-I don't need to look tough." Ridley spat and jerked his knee upward to where it would make harsh contact with the bolug's groin.

Cole let out a yelp when he was kneed, instantly shoving the droid down onto the ground. "Am not trying to fight weak! Just want ride for friend. Do you wish for rwaddi to die? For ghel to die? Leave me alone."

Ridley couldn't catch himself from the fall, tumbling to the ground and moving backwards, shifting onto his side so he could grasp his blaster. "Y-You'll get your fucking ride, just leave them alone."

Cole kicked the other's arm forcefully, anticipating for there to be some sort of gun or weapon. "I am making sure no lie. Is fair."

Ridley flinched whenever his arm was kicked away from his waist, his blaster flying from his grasp and skidding across the concrete. "It's not fair when you break his fucking arm and his face. In what universe is that fair?"

"The universe — it is fair to hurt. He did not let universe take all ghels. He kept ghel girl alive, should not have," Cole said, stomping on the droid's leg. "Universe too many people. Too much  — too much strain. Universe die."

"What? Oh, stars, this is about your bullshit bolug agenda?" Ridley groaned loudly and bit his lip whenever his leg was trampled. "Shut the fuck up. You know that doesn't make any goddamn sense, right?"

"You do not understand," Cole insisted, stomping again. The force was stronger this time, hoping to shatter the metal underneath the fake flesh. "That is okay. Avalon dies soon. Does not matter."

Ridley could hear the metal snap beneath his skin and he winced at the noise. "W-What the fuck are you people planning?"

"No need to know. You will not stop," Cole said bluntly, starting to walk away from the droid to seat himself beside the ship again. "Everyone die. Rwaddi, ghel, droid."

He forced himself onto the one elbow that hadn't shattered, "A-All because you assholes think the Universe will die otherwise, huh? Which numbskull god of yours prophesized that one?"

The bolug grinned. “Too many people of Avalon. Big fix for universe,” he said. “Does not matter for you. You do not die. Not alive. Maybe rwaddi live. If on ship with friend. Ghel. She die.”

"Fucking great," he hissed and slowly moved one hand to clutch the other blaster he had, making sure that the bolug wouldn't be able to spot it this time. "And then what? The Universe will be zen or whatever the fuck? What makes you all so special?"

“Not special. We just do what needs done,” Cole said. “We have small group. Never use more than needed. Avalon? Bad. Use supplies, bring people in. Kill planet.”

"Well, excuse me for thinking that a group of fuckers who can't even speak Basic are out of line for wanting to purge the rest of us, then," Ridley scoffed, thinking this was all fucking ridiculous and unnecessary but of course it wouldn't make sense. All bolugs knew was to destroy and, well, they were doing a good job of it today.

“Why is Basic important? You are better to know Basic?” Cole scoffed, sending a frustrated punch into the hull of the ship. “You do not get words. You are weak.”

While the bolug was distracted, Ridley took this as an opportunity to unsheathe his blaster and fire it at his back. "Yeah, I'm the weak one." he called out, stumbling to his feet.

Cole let out a yell when he was shot, stumbling for a moment. Fuck. “You are weak with no gun!” He yelled, pushing through his pain to try to tackle the droid over.

"It's a blaster, wastoid. More civilized than a gun." he said although it wasn't entirely true. The technology was updated, but it was just as clumsy as a normal pistol. He dodged the attack just barely, his arm limp as he began leaving the area as quickly as he could.

Cole stopped in his tracks, the pain overwhelming him too much to comprehend. Shit. His rage managed to overtake his pain however, as the droid tried to leave. All it took was a tight grip and a tear — and he had ripped the droids arm clear out of his shoulder.

Ridley didn't groan in pain but he did watch in shock as his arm was ripped from its socket. "Motherfucker!" he cried and fired another blast, unsure if it hit the bolug as he was already on his way out.

Cole was hit in the side with the blast, it barely clipping his stomach as it passed. Stars. He wanted desperately to murder this droid, but he knew he couldn’t make it out alive if he tried again. Instead, he collapsed, feeling the ache of his body overtake him.