drunk dean calls to tell cas they're going to end up together. eventually. wc: 2k
"Hi, hic , Cas."
Castiel, on his end of the call, puts his mug down on the counter. Icy cold coffee, with froth on the top. If Dean hadn't called him out of the blue, he would probably have sent him a picture of it in guise of documentation - or, well, to get him to tell him how much he wished to be there and drink it with him. If Dean hadn't called him drunk, he would at least have asked him to wait until he took a picture, with the froth all perfect and frothy.
Given the circumstances, however, he sits down, and nets his eyebrows in a frown.
"Dean? You okay?"
Drunk calls weren't that rare, but they were usually pre-planned. Or at least, you know, he’s aware Dean’s drinking when it happens.
"Oh!" Dean says, voice too bright and too loud. It’s like he’s somewhere that’s making it echo. "Of course. I'm drunk."
"I can tell." Cas rolls his eyes, for absolutely no one's benefit. His coffee grows warmer, untouched. "Where are you?"
A hum resounds. "So - it's not my room. I can tell that much."
"What the -” Cas swears under his breath. “Who're you with?"
"Friends." Dean says, dismissively. "I'm safe, it's all safe. Familiar faces. I just came away for a bit because I wanted to talk to you."
At that, Cas finally lightens. Stirs his cup (still admiring). "Uh-huh?"
Friends wouldn't be enough to describe what they were. And yet - it was what either of them would've said. Rather, convinced themselves to say.
They were the video-call-at-three-am, watch-the-worst-movie-known-to-man, a-football- match-just-afterwards-where-they-root-for-the-wrong-team and go-to-bed-consoling-each-other kinda friends. The kind who had nothing in common - from colleges, to friends, to hopes and dreams - but still let themselves be strung along for the ride and stuck together for whatever it counts. Texting day-in, day-out - with any excuse to think of the other person kinda friends. And the kind who didn't even get weird about girlfriends and boyfriends - which, well, both had, respectively - because they knew nothing would ever change what they had - and nothing could ever come close.
At one point, they'd come close to dating. At two different points, they'd had larger-than-life cruhes on each other. And now? Now they just danced this familiar dance around each othis, toeing blurry lines - hands-tied behind their backs at risk of twirling too close and falling indubitably into each othis's arms.
Oh, and they lived half a country apart. Thise was also that.
"Uh-huh." Dean repeats, definitively. Then, more distracted, "Cas, the whiskey today, I swear to god . I should go get more."
"You sound pretty whiskey-ed already, just FYI."
"And you sound jealous."
"Dude, I have coffee. The Castiel-Novak special, with the expensive kind of cream and all that schtick, because Gabriel just visited." He smirks. "I do not want to be drinking evil-tasting liquid hellfire right now, thankyouverymuch ."
"Jea-lous." He sings, and Cas scoffs.
Dean hiccups again, almost like he'd forgotten he was having hiccups for a while, and then remembered again, now that there was a lull in the conversation.
"Oh, boy."
"Dean, you okay?" Cas raises his eyebrows, repeating himself. Something sounded different about that oh boy. Not very average-drunk Dean, no, it wasn't. Cas is more or less a connoisseur by now. And he prides himself on it.
"I think so."
"How do you feel now?" He asks, bordering the line of concerned again.
"Strangely happy."
There's obviously a smile in his voice when he says it. Cas smiles too. "Oh. Why?"
"'Cause I figured something out today, Cas." Dean didn't pause for questions, went on rambling. "Realized we're going to end up together. It’s final. And it's a strangely happy thought." Before Cas could say a thing, "Uh, I guess thoughts can't be happy. Or unhappy. The thought made me happy. Or not unhappy. Yeah, that makes more sense. I think."
Cas just blinks. A warm feeling starts spreading in his chest that he doesn't exactly know how to define. Or, worse, confine . "How'd you figure that out?"
Another smile in his voice, and this time, Cas can picture exactly what he looks like. Knowing, crinkled eyes, lips curled, head just a little bit quirked. (They'd only met once - a whopping 10-hour first-’non-date’-date that'd been, story for another time - but they'd been through enough movie nights at this point for him to know his I-know-what-happens-and-you-don't look.) "I'm not going to tell you."
"Wh—"
"Because, you're not drunk . So you won't get it."
"So the fairies of alcoholism and bad decisions deigned this upon you, did they?"
"Maybe." He draws out the vowels. "Point is, I know it's true. End up together, you, me. Eventually. Boom."
"Is that the sound of us having sex?" Cas snorts. The warmth has concentrated in his stomach, making it feel fluttery. He doesn't want to dwell on it too much - because he's so clearly drunk, and he has Jimmy - and things are not even that bad with him right now, really - but. But it’s not like he’s ever known how to not feel things when it comes to this dumbass.
"I know you think you're kidding," Dean interrupts him, seriously. "But you're not that far from the truth. Keep seeking it."
"The truth of the sound of us — okay. Slightly too much alcohol for you, Dean."
"Mmm-hm." Dean hums again. "Wait and watch."
"Is that a threat or a promise?" Cas mumbles, out of habit.
He knows this isn't exactly a normal conversation for them to be having - but he also can't say that it isn't something that has crossed his mind in the past.
All that chemistry - all those times he’s been complaining about something and he’s known just the right thing to say, or do, or be - and then there was that one time that they met. Cas still can’t get it out of his head. He’s always had a good memory - but this is a different level of good. Maybe it’s not entirely normal to remember what it felt like to hug his friend at the train station before he left. How they fit just right against all of you. Only maybe.
But then, it’s also impossible, right? They live hours away - and are certainly both the clingy, affectionate kind of fools who may think they can ace long-distance-relationships but are doomed from the beginning. Of course they are. Plus, he knows Dean has a girlfriend. And he has Jimmy. So yeah, things are fine right now - they’re safe, they’re innocent, okay, they’re half-innocent , half-kidding-themselves, but they’re safe and nothing is fucking them up right now. Because Cas, well, he can’t stand to lose his.
It doesn’t matter how easy it’d be to remove Dean from his life tangibly since he’s barely there at all, outside of one of his top three chats on WA at all times, and the ever-so-occasional co-movie-marathoner — none of that matters, except from the fact, that two years into this strange friendship, and he’s forgotten what life was like, before. But in a good way. In a healthy, he-gets-him, matching-wavelengths-of-weird, tries-to-make-him-a-better-person-sometimes kind of way.
So yeah, he can’t say the thought of a relationship hasn’t crossed his mind. He can’t even say that it’s ever really stopped crossing his mind. But Cas can’t have nice things, can he?
"It's an omen ."
Cas sighs. "You're so weird."
"You love me." Dean justifies, as if somehow that makes him weirder than him. It might, but Cas doesn't want to think about that right now.
"And you're a massive simp - as long as we're just stating facts."
"I am." Dean sings, again. He sounds a lot mellower now. Tuckered-out would be the word, if he wasn’t all of twenty one. He sounded ready to drift off to sleep, like that forecast had tired him out entirely. A classic drunk-Dean move, Cas rolled his eyes. "And you love me."
"Yeah, I do." He admits, a little quieter and is encouraged by another mmm-hm .
"Okay. I love you too." Scuffling sounds, as if he's getting up. Something clutters and falls, sounding queerly like stationery. So he's not outside, then . Probably in, like, a closet or something. The sound of a knob follows, and then, when he speaks, it's a lot less echo-y — with the contrast, Cas can definitely pin it to the previous place being a closet. "I'm going to go back to my friends. Amara's here too, uh, I'm definitely being rude."
(The girlfriend. Not an altogether bad person but severely, severely undeserving of him.
Dean had to know that too.)
"It's fine. You’ll make it up to them." Cas consoles, trying to avoid the strange hollowness in his gut at the mental image of him cosying up next to Amara, drunk, trying to make it up to her - okay, that’s never come up before.
(Not in this magnitude, at least.)
"Yeah, I will." he laughs. "G'night, buddy."
"Yep." Only a little miffed, Cas repeats it. "G'night."
"Don't forget, okay?"
Cas knew he'd be lucky if Dean didn't forget this entire conversation in the morning. But he didn't want to push the conversation any longer and make it weird - for him, or for Amara . "I'll try not to, but not making any promises." Dean makes a sound of affectionate disapproval, and then there's the familiar holler in the backdrop, of a group of ‘friends’ - rewelcoming his to their midst.
And that's that, for the night.
Cas stares at his coffee, now almost irritatingly room-temperature-d. Finishes it off in a gulp, while staring at his phone for good measure. Maybe the fairies of caffeinism and moderately-okay decisions would grace him with a visit, but it didn't seem very likely. Dean also doesn’t text for the majority of the night, except a view-once image of Amara's roommate licking a beer bottle (he’s made generally unfunny jokes about setting Cas up with the roommate in the past, probably playing off of that) and Cas replies righteously with eggplant emojis. He then sends a goodnight, at like six am, when Cas has already worn himself out with thoughts - and their annoying brethren, feelings - and passed out on his own couch.
Many years later - many Amara's and Jimmy's, moving-apart’s and mildly-closer’s, more degrees and a few salaries later - it happens.
(Of course, it does.)
Dean claims to have known all along. Sunday morning, breakfast-ing in bed with bread-and-jam and Castiel-Novak-specials, Dean solemnly swears he’d seen it coming. Not that he’d gone out of his way to jeopardize anything else for it, nope, but that he’s always known. “ Seriously .”
Cas laughs. Turns out, Dean didn't forget everything after all. But he did forget the call - too many inebriated misadventures in one night to recall life-changing conversations, of course - and Cas doesn't think he’ll tell him yet, that he’d known it equally long himself. Not right now , when Dean's half in his arms, Cas is halfways to shirtless, and they’re half a minute away from carefully sliding the plates and novelty mugs away to commence a different, but equally compelling Sunday-morning ritual altogether. And not when he’s this thrilled to be acting like a prophesier, an unbearable, inevitable all-knower, and the apparently- destined love of his life.
I dug out what I had started so far on the shan trio coffee shop au, still seriously debating on working on it more again. Lemme know what you guys think! :D
-
It was busy as usual in the shop, customers coming and going since the doors had opened. Kara recognised a few of them, her regulars who always ordered the same coffee and breakfast muffin, the same ham sandwich with extra swiss, the latte with extra espresso to go. The hustle and bustle at the small coffee shop known as Port Nowhere was commonplace, they were well known for their talented baristas and friendly staff.
Kara strode from table to table, dropping off orders and taking a chance to move around while Risha took over the register for a while. She saved the last mug for a regular who she’s come to consider her favorite.
Heading to a table in the corner she slid over the fresh cup of coffee, extra strong with a little bit of whipped cream along the edge and took the empty one from it’s spot next to the laptop the guest was currently glaring at. Noting the fresh drink he looked up at her, and while he was clearly tired he immediately perked up and smiled at her, thanking her and taking the new cup and sipping at it carefully. She returned the grin and debated on trying to sit and talk for a moment, but that idea was tossed out the window as the next wave of customers came in and she had to hurry and back Risha up at the desk.
She didn’t know anything about the man personally, but from what she could tell he seemed a good sort. Young, around her age, asian, brown hair, brown eyes, hard worker, took his coffee extra strong and had a bit of a sweet tooth. He was a regular who would always come in after 6, set up his laptop at the same table, order the same drinks only under the name ‘Shan’. He keeps to himself, rarely talks to anyone except the kids that get curious to what he’s doing or with Kara herself when making orders and always stays until close.
The main thing she noted was how he'd watch her sometimes when he wasn't grumbling at his laptop. He would look away quickly if she made eye contact with him, but otherwise seemed content to just watch. On occasion he would begin to say something when she would bring him a refill but he never seemed to be able to find anything to say except "thank you".
Kara had had plenty of creeps that would hang around the store, would sit and watch her or Risha while they worked, but they rarely ordered anything, just watched. It was enough that she had started keeping a knife on her just in case.
But with this one, mr. Shan as they had started to call him, seemed more unsure of what to say at this point. He had been coming to the shop every work day for months now, sitting in the same spot, working on his laptop the whole time, and then heading home. She supposed that it might be odd to try and start a conversation after that long.
Not that she could worry about that at the moment with the sudden influx of people who were lined up. So when she noticed him watching again she gave him a smile and a wink, chuckling to herself at the look of surprise on his face before he quickly turned his attention back to his laptop. Kara counted herself lucky that he was handsome.
Two weeks later it was a madhouse, there was a holiday and most of the offices around town were closing early to celebrate. But for a place like port nowhere it was absolutely packed. Parents wrangling kids, couples hanging on each other and flirting in the most annoying ways while ordering, older folks just passing through. And of course her regulars were there.
She thanked her luck that Corso had offered to take her sons to the parade so she could focus on the task at hand. And what a task it was, she thought as she hurried from table to table, bringing out mugs of coffees of varying types and sizes to a dozen different tables.
She spotted her favorite in his usual corner, watching her with what looked like concern on his face. But she didn't have time to worry about that at the moment as the sound of a plate breaking had her scrambling for the broom.
Fake smile on her face she cleaned up the mess, and turned, nearly running into a guest.
"Oh! I'm so sorry." She said as she went around them to throw away the shards of ceramic.
"It's fine, very busy today."
Apparently he had followed her, "yea well, the lights festival is tonight so no surprise." After dumping the pieces in the trash she turned to face the speaker. "Is there something you…" she hadn't realized it had been her favorite, hadn't even seen him move in the time it had taken to get the broom and sweep up. "Need?"
He stood there his face serious, but a little unsure, like he didn't plan this through entirely.
"Can i help?"
She was surprised at the request, especially since this was the first time they had truly spoken. He was there often and if he paid attention to what she was doing all those times he watched her, he should be able to at least take out orders.
She debated on telling him they had it handled, but a shout from Risha made her rethink that. "Sure. Yeah, we could use the help with corso out right now." His face seemed to light up at that. "Here, you can put your things in a locker," she said as she led him to the backroom. When he locked his things in she handed him a hat with the shop's logo on it and led him back to the front. "Have you worked in a coffee shop before?"
He shook his head earning a tired sigh in response. He had watched her a while, something about her caught his attention when he had first come to this place months ago, and while it was somewhat out of the way, getting to see her was worth the extra travel time. Though he currently cursed himself for having not tried talking to her sooner, he couldn't sit by while they were overwhelmed. "I did help out with a restaurant a while back, taking orders mostly."
"Good, then you can help Risha." She paused a moment, "I'm Kara, by the way."
"Theron." He couldn't help but smile even as he walked into hell.
♗: One falling asleep with their head in the other’s lap. + Kurana/Andronikos ?
Apologies on the delay with these but getting to these slowly but surely! <3
It was late, nearly 3 am when Andronikos made his way back to the Fury. He had spent most of the evening at the cantina on odessen, drinking and partying with Hylo and her crew, telling stories, making bets and winning most of them until last call.
After all who could top his tales?
Even still he had managed to stay sober, for the most part anyway. It wouldn't do him good to stumble into his room blind drunk, especially if he woke his wife in the process.
He adored Kurana, his Rana, but she never was happy when she first woke up. Didn't matter if she had been asleep for a few minutes or over ten hours, her waking up was always full of grumbling complaints.
Not that he ended up having to worry about that it seemed, as he walked into their quarters on the ship and found her sitting on the loveseat that sat in the wall opposite their bed, attention trained on a datapad in her hands.
Frustration was obvious on her face as she glanced up at him as the door whooshed closed. He chuckled as he took off his jacket, hanging it in the small closet they shared, and took off his shirt, tossing it into a laundry bin by the refresher.
"Stayed up waiting for me huh?" He dropped on the seat next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as she leaned on him.
She let out a frustrated sigh, "Talos found some relics on Yavin and had been trying to explore the nearby temples to see if they're connected. But the empire is not thrilled about him being there." Kurana hummed as andronikos rubbed small circles on her arm, gently massaging the muscles.
He chuckled, "you knew they wouldn't be happy with an alliance rep being there."
She sighed, "I did, yes, but I didn't expect them to completely bar him entry."
"Does the commander know?"
"Not that I know of, no." She yawned, tapping at the keys on the datapad. "Was writing up a message to her when you walked in."
"And then you're going to bed, yeah?" When she didn't reply he narrowed his eyes at her. "Rana…"
"I have a lot more work to do. Ashara sent over some data on some Jedi texts and Theron forwarded over some intel on…" she yawned again, cutting herself off mid-sentence "too much to do."
"It can wait." He said as she leaned on him heavily but opted to not reply. Humming in annoyance Andronikos shifted, causing kurana to slide off his shoulder. He didn't let her fall, even if he was annoyed by her push to work all night, he loved her too much to do anything too rude. Still, the slip caused her to squeak in surprise as he caught her and shifted so she was laying down with her head on his lap. He had debated on just picking her up and taking her to bed instead, but he doubted she would let him. So this would have to do.
She made a face at him and went to sit up but he held her down, keeping a steady weight on her shoulders to make it clear he wasn't the mood for her to be stubborn. "Niko…" there was a warning to her tone but there was no actual threat to it, especially with the muffled yawn she tried to hide from him.
"Sorry sith, you need your rest." He chuckled when she huffed quietly but gave up on trying to sit back up, bringing her legs up so the new position was more comfortable. It was his turn to let out a sigh as she decided to keep working. "Rana you need to sleep sometime."
"Mhmm." She replied distractedly as she finished typing and reread the message before sending it over. Andronikos thought that that was that, but she pulled up another message immediately after, typing away.
He didn't say anything, letting her read over the message, while he ran his fingers through her hair. She let out a quiet sigh as he did so, enjoying the feeling, the action soothing after having her hair in its usual braid all day.
He hummed, nothing, in particular, parts of songs that he knew. And as he did so he noticed that his plan seemed to be working. She had lowered the datapad so it was resting on her stomach, and her breathing had started evening out.
Still, he kept up his humming, moving his hands to rub at her shoulders gently, being careful not to wake her. When she started to quietly snore he decided to risk moving enough to take the datapad from her hands and put it on a nearby table before shifting so he could lay with her in his arms on the small couch. It wasn't all that comfortable but he also didn't want to trade this moment either.
So he did what he could, shimmying down so he was laying on his side, Kurana tucked in close to him her head resting on his arm. He ran his hand gently on side, rubbing his thumb on the dip of her waist when she made a noise and started to wake, whispering to her as she settled.
Kissing her lightly, he settled as best he could. He'd be sore from sleeping at an odd angle he was sure, but for his sith? He was willing to make that sacrifice.
“Are you testing me?" For whoever strikes your fancy!
I chose to go with my dear albino fire mage, shey, and varian! (Post WoD and Pre Legion because I'm still emotionally compromised from all that thank you.) Thank you so much for sending me the prompt! 💖
Shey grumbled, the fire that she summoned swirling around them in a protective wall sending wild shadows as she pressed her back against one of the few people she trusted in all of Azeroth. She hadn’t brought her staff for their little excursion, thinking it unnecessary for a horse ride through the forests of Elwynn.
It had been her king’s idea, Varian claimed they had been apart too long between her work with ending the war on Draenor and his managing things back home, they both needed, deserved, a break. A moment of peace to just step away for a little while and enjoy some time alone.
But the day had other plans for them it seemed as she allowed the flames to die out slightly to take a shot at a nearby creature as the corrupted beasts that had jumped them stalked the perimeter. The shot had missed but it still made them back off a bit as she strengthened the flames once more, sweat beading at her brow.
“Any ideas?” She heard Varian growl out as he swung Shalamayne at one creature that had forced its way through the barrier, striking down the smoldering thing before it made it more than a step in.
“A few.” She shot back, “but nothing helpful while I keep this up.” She watched one of the creatures circle around, clambering over the fallen horse that they had ridden out. “You?”
“Nothing you’ll like.”
She shot him a look.
“Lower the barrier and cover me. I should be able to distract them while you-”
“Distract?!” Shey kept most of her focus on the spell that kept the monsters at bay as she turned on her lover, “You’ll get yourself killed if you try to take them on yourself.”
“Wasn’t that your plan? To try and take them all out in one blast?”
She grumbled, but couldn’t say that hadn’t been one of the plans that had crossed her mind.
“Then let me get their attention, gather them all in one spot.” He grinned proud and almost feral, a look she hadn’t seen in quite some time.
She shook her head, “Varian that’s not.” She sighed, “No. that’s a terrible idea.”
The flames flickered, dying down slowly and causing the pair to start, readying themselves as the spell weakened.
“It’ll work.” He stated as he readied himself, holding his blade before him and preparing to charge. “Trust me.”
Shey grumbled as she gave up on the failing spell, letting the shield fall as she gathered her mana, muttering as her king charged through the fading flames with a shout, cutting into the nearest creature and getting the attention of the rest before the first had even hit the ground.
"I swear you're testing me." She ground out as she started reciting the words for the spell she had in mind. Normally it was too long to use when she fought alone or without a trustworthy shield, and while she trusted Varian with her life, each attack he barely parried or dodged set her on edge nearly making her mess up the pronunciation of the words.
She wasn’t the type that used long-winded spells or much less ones that actually required her to speak the words to cast, but to make sure she didn’t screw up and hurt him she had to be careful, be perfect, be something she hadn’t had to be since studying under her masters on Dalaran.
She once more wished she had brought a weapon of some sort.
One word left of the spell and she held it back, waiting for an opening. Watching as Varian slashed at one beast and kicked at another. He had blood splashed across the leather armor he had opted to wear for their ride, the color marking it as having come from the creatures and not from the man himself. Even still the were cuts on his face and tears on his clothes.
Even with all this and the voice in the back of her head screaming at her that she should be in the thick of it as well she held back, waiting.
Waiting.
He swung in an arc, slicing a creature in half and squatting down to roll out of the way as another tried to catch him unaware. As soon as he had started to roll to the side Shey spoke the last word, releasing the spell on the creatures.
A wave of superheated air shot forward towards the mass of creatures that had already started after Varian. The first to be hit hadn’t even sensed the danger as it charged forward only to cough out a deluge of flames and collapse as it burned from inside out.
As the rest started to realize what had happened to the first it was already too late as they were hit by the spell and fell one by one in similar ways, the last falling inches away from Varian as he sat in the grass, blade held before him a look of surprise on his face as Shey hurried over to his side.
“That was…” He huffed and made a face, obviously impressed but a bit disturbed by the sight.
Shey knelt in the grass grabbing his face and kissing him hard before checking his injuries. Nothing major, thank the Light, but still. “You idiot.” She shot at him as soon as she knew he wasn’t in any more danger. “That was too reckless. What if you-” She hugged him tightly, practically growling in annoyance.
He returned the embrace, “I knew it would be fine, you were there to keep me safe.”
She leaned back, shooting him a look. “You aren’t supposed to make that difficult for me.” Her expression softened as he chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her softly before pushing himself to his feet and surveying the destruction.
Reaching down to help her to her feet he looked over the charred corpses of their now fallen attackers, letting out a heavy sigh at the sight of their fallen mount. “We should head back, it’s a long walk.”
“I can open a portal, I’m not that exhausted.”
He gave her a loving smile and shook his head.
“Don’t want to lose the chance for a little more time free from the throne?” She said as she stepped up to his side.
He wrapped his arm around her waist, “Or some time alone with you.”
She hummed, and returned the gesture, leaning on him as they started their long walk home.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
After much too long, I’ve updated my fic and have brought Koren’s adventure back home.
_
Koren dried his face with a towel and then his hair, shagging it up so it was his usual messy style. Sighing he looked at himself in the refresher mirror, checking to see if he missed any spots while washing off the makeup. Happy that he hadn't he turned and walked out of the small room into Kara’s quarters.
"You didn't bring any clothes with you in there?" Arcann spoke up from where he was lounging on the bed causing the merc to jump in surprise.
"Wh- no! Weren't you in the cockpit?" Koren hurried over to grab his clothes, yanking on his boxers quickly and shooting a glare at his friend who barely stifled a laugh.
"Until five minutes ago I was." He sighed, "I couldn't be around them anymore so I left." Sitting up, Arcann grumbled something that the merc couldn't hear. He went on to say something else but the door opening and Connor bolting in made him stop.
"Are you alright Con?" Koren asked, fastening his pants before walking over to the bed and sitting down as the kid climbed up.
"I don't think mom’s gonna be happy they're back," Connor muttered.
"Why?"
"Cause. They're gonna take her away, take our home away." He huffed, "they said this is their ship. And she's part of their crew. That that's how it's supposed to be and I don't like that."
"They're not going to take your mom away Con, they were friends of hers before you and your brother were born. I'm sure they're looking forward to the reunion." Koren patted him on the back, rubbing him comfortingly. "But that doesn't mean anything will change."
"But…"
"Connor, everything will be alright." Arcann shrugged, "your mother is happy with the way things are, she won't give up everything for people she hasn't seen in over a decade."
Connor hummed and then flopped down on the bed. It wasn't clear if he believed him or not, but he seemed to not be worrying nearly as much. Glancing over at Koren the kid spoke up, "I like your tattoos uncle Kor."
Koren chuckled, "thank you Con." He stood retrieving his jacket and pulling it on. "We should be dropping out of hyperspace soon, so why don't you two stay here and I'll go check it out."
"Ookay." Connor rolled over onto his stomach and pulled a datapad over from the nearby desk using the force and started fiddling with it as Arcann leaned back and closed his eyes.
Leaving the room Koren headed to the lounge that held the large holocom. He found Ren sitting on the couch cleaning the vibroblade she had brought with. Vinn leaned on her, eyes closed but Koren could tell he was awake.
One of the newcomers sat on the other couch. He looked calm like the nerves weren't spiking through the air. He watched them carefully, glancing over at the merc as he walked in.
"So that's what you really look like, huh." He grinned, tapping his cheek on the side where Koren's tattoo sat. "The tattoo is a surprise."
"I've had it for a long time," Koren answered flatly. "Koren Gates. I don't think we were introduced."
"Caleb." The man nodded toward him politely. "So you're friends with Kara?"
Koren leaned on the wall, crossing his arms, "yea." He answered simply.
Undeterred from his obvious lack of desire to continue speaking, the chiss continued, "how is she?" Caleb turned to face him fully as he asked.
Koren hummed, he didn't want to share anything she would be uncomfortable with. Since he was close to both Arcann and Theron he knew more about her than most. So he stuck with what would be general knowledge. "She's been good. Leader of one of the most powerful factions in the galaxy. Two kids, happily married to a buddy of mine. I think she could use a vacation, but that's just my opinion. I already dropped the hint to her husband, so…"
"She's married and has kids?" Caleb looked surprised.
"Yeah, the blonde is her younger, Connor, he has an older brother, Caleb, who's back home."
"His name is Caleb?" The chiss huffed a laugh, "I wonder if she did that on purpose."
"He doesn't look like you if that's what you're wondering. Cal’s a good kid too. Both of them are."
Caleb went to say something but the ship dropping out of hyperspace and a mirialan woman striding into the room made him stop.
"Were there." She nodded towards the chiss, "go give Tyr a hand." When the man stood and left the room she turned her attention to Koren, "apologies if I interrupted your conversation." She gave him a sweet smile.
Koren waved her off, "it was for the best honestly."
She chuckled, "he does get on your nerves sometimes doesn't he. I really marvel at how your commander was able to be married to him."
"My commander?" He huffed a laugh, "I think you're the only one who isn't ready to drag her back into the crew."
"We left for a reason, and while you think she won't be upset with us, you don't know her as well as we do." She huffed, "it will be good to see her nonetheless."
Tyr strode in, standing next to the woman, a grin on his face. "Riala, we should probably go talk to her now." The woman nodded and the pair walked away, heading down the hall, the last two of their crew trailing after them.
"This is going to be interesting." Vinn watched them go, an almost smug grin on his face.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
I updated my fic again because I’m impatient and was writing more for it almost all day since wow was down. I’ll figure out how to post them on here correctly one day but for now, below is part of it. As a reminder it’s a swtor fic about my smuggler, Kara and her relationships with Theron, Arcann, and her family
Arcann paced his room. The rest of the debriefing had gone as expected; talks on what will happen in the empire with Acina dead, tracking down the traitor, how they’re going to handle the Gods. That one was something Arcann was having a hard time getting a grip on. That his Gods were real, not some cosmic entity that was talked about in quiet reverence or worshiped by zealots, but actual walking talking beings.
Arcann would be the first to admit that he wasn’t one who believed in the Gods. It’s not that he didn’t believe they existed, he had figured there had to be some truth to the myths, just that they weren’t these all powerful beings that decided the path of fate like so many of his people believed. He supposed he was right in a way, they weren’t cosmic in any way, just machines powerful enough to wipe out an entire planet. Which brought his racing thoughts back to the other issue that arose from Iokath.
Someone had tried to kill the Commander. Again. He really shouldn’t’ve been surprised, since he himself had tried to take her life more than once, but to hear that it was by someone close to them? The thought that someone would betray her hurt him more than he had expected. That she didn’t even seem fazed at the idea of someone doing so bothered him much more.
Glancing at the finished armor that he had left on his bed, he stopped his pacing. Grabbing his datapad he sent a message to Kara, finally deciding on his course of action. He asked to speak to her privately, suggesting her personal landing pad. He liked it there, it had a wonderful view of both the forests of Odessen as well as the base and the Gravestone. It was both secluded enough that they wouldn’t have to worry about being listened in on, and public enough that she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.
His datapad dinged to alert him of her reply, agreeing to meet him there, and letting him know she’d be free in a half hour. He hadn’t expected such a quick response. Shooting another message her way, he paced around his room again before deciding to just wait for her there. There were worse ways to waste time than to sit in the grass and relax for half an hour.
Fixing his tunic, he checked himself over in a mirror, inspecting the wounds on his face. The Kolto-mixture was doing it’s job, the swelling had already gone down and there was hardly any bruising. The gauze on his face itched, and it took everything he had to keep from either ripping it off or scratching at it. Unsure how long he was supposed to keep the bandage on, he shot a message over to Koren to check. He hadn’t even looked away from the datapad when it dinged, the reply flashing across the screen.
‘Tomorrow. And don’t pick at it.’ He chuckled at that, the merc already aware of why he was asking. The screen lit up again with another message from him, ‘Still on for tonight? Stealing some snacks atm.’ Arcann replied with his confirmation.
The screen lit up with a third message from the merc, ‘Can’t wait, I’ll bring the cards. Just bring you. XO’ And a fourth message came across before Arcann could reply, ‘The XO is a joke, don’t worry, I know you got the hots for the Commander.’
He scoffed, shaking his head, he shot back a ‘very funny’ before putting the datapad away and grabbed the chestplate. He left his room, making his way through the halls. People passed, though few of them paid him any mind. Some glanced his way, and a couple nodded to him in greeting as they passed. He nodded back, surprised at the interaction, but taking it as a sign that he was slowly being accepted.
He spotted Caleb talking animatedly with his brother, the usual serious look on his face replaced with a huge smile as they chatted. Connor waved his hands enthusiastically about something, causing the older boy to start laughing. Glancing over, the pair spotted him as he approached. Connor practically glowed with happiness as he started waving at him, while Caleb’s smile dropped as he watched him.
“Arcann! Hey!” Connor practically shouted. “What’re you doing? Looking for mom?”
Arcann shook his head, “I’m supposed to talk with her soon, but I know where we’re supposed to meet up at.”
“Are you going to play Sabaac with Uncle Koro tomorrow?” Caleb asked. His voice wavered slightly, like he was unsure if he should be asking, but also like he wanted to ask something else as well.
“Yes. Koren invited me.” Arcann went to scratch at the gauze but stopped himself mid motion, opting to pick at the collar of his tunic instead. Caleb looked put out at his confirmation, “Did you want to play as well?”
Caleb looked up at him, surprise on his face. “We weren’t invited since we’re too young.”
“I could play with you, if you’d like. Koren’s going to show me how to play tonight, but I can skip out on tomorrow’s game and play with you two instead.” He wasn’t sure if he was over-stepping here, by offering to play with them. Kara was extremely protective of her sons, but she seemed to trust him with them, so Arcann felt safe to at least ask them if they would like to spend time with him.
Connor beamed up at him, “Really?? You want to play with us?”
“It’s just a card game Connor, the one Risha would play with Corso.” Caleb cocked his head to the side. “The one that Guss was showing us how to play.”
“He wasn’t very good at it. I beat him once.”
Caleb laughed slightly before turning his attention to Arcann, “Alright.” He stated matter-of-factly. “We’ll play tomorrow after dinner. You should still be able to make Uncle’s game that way.” He smirked, “If you have any credits left that is.”
Arcann was caught off-guard by that smirk, it wasn’t a look that he knew from the rest of Caleb’s family. He couldn’t help but return it with a smirk of his own though, “Alright, you’re on.”
You can keep reading it on Ao3 by clicking either this link or the one at the top
I started a new fic! About Kara! (big surprise there right..) Below is a preview:
“On the run because you need a job…” He shook his head, laughing, “And you ‘hopped’ on a ship that was taking off.” He sighed, still chuckling at the image that he had in his head.” Tell you what, I like you, you’ve got guts, kid. And I could use another hand on the ship if you’re interested. I’m the captain of this ship, Tyr Baulder.” He stuck out his hand, putting his gun away with the other.
“Kara Strider.” She said as she took his hand and shook it.
He grinned at her, pulling her to her feet. “Welcome to the Ik’aad, kid.”
If you guys would like to check it out, it’s on Ao3 at:
A Smuggler’s Tyr
