#unhinged au

[solrika]

Hi

It’s me again. One how did Thrawn know enough about swain to kidnap her (or attempt to) . And two if you have anything about Thrawn and Kallus’s relationship. Thanks for answering my first ask.

Thrawn didn't kidnap Swain. He's not crazy enough to want to hurt a kid. Instead, he sent her a message insinuating that 'Misha' wasn't who she thought he was, hoping to destabilize Kallus' relationship with her.

As to how he knew about her... honestly I'm not sure! The problem with writing big brains is trying to be as smart as they are. Maybe Kallus mentioned Swain in an offhand way, and the detail stuck in Thrawn's head. That said, something other than Swain is what gave him the point to start unraveling Kallus' personas. But she's the way Thrawn could get some revenge.

Things about their relationship...

Thrawn works for big pharma in some capacity. His fat paycheck attracted Kallus, who threw on the 'art history professor' persona and went to work.

They had a ton of museum and gallery dates.

Kallus had fun ferreting out the most obscure facts to dazzle Thrawn with.

[solrika]

Jovan thinks he's won the award for Freakiest Sex, but he's fuzzy handcuffs and Pedaari is [redacted] at knife point.

[solrika]

Sketchy Kallus and Pedaari, near the end of their relationship. It may not look like it, but things haven't completely gone to hell quite yet.

[solrika]

A young Unhinged Kallus.

[solrika]

Kallus and Zeb in a nebulous happy ending for Unhinged AU.

[solrika]

Swain's dad's name is Dan, because that's one of the dad-iest names I can think of. He knew Kallus as Mikhail Smith. Swain calls Kallus Misha, the diminutive of Mikhail.

Zeb knows Kallus as Sasha Petrov.

Thrawn knew Kallus as Robert Hall.

Jovan knew Kallus as Maxim Reed.

Pedaari called Kallus his Gonchaya. For anyone who's read my Vampire AU lore, you already know the translation: Hound.

[solrika]

The other side of the flight.

~

This year, Misha's hair is long, piled up into a messy bun on the top of his head, and the car he leans against is a flashy red number that gleams in the sunlight. As always, Swain thinks that he doesn't look like a dad. Everyone else greeting their kids has a stolid, reliable look to them. Misha's dressed like a rock star, complete with an earring.

As usual, he catches sight of her before she's got time to think anything else. "Here, sweetheart!" he yells, waving an arm and stepping away from the car. Someone honks. Misha throws up the bird without looking, and closes the distance between them with his long strides.

Swain knows she doesn't have his genes, but she can't help hoping she might get a sliver of his height.

"Let me take your luggage," Misha says, and does so before Swain can answer. "How was the flight?"

"Ugh, boring," Swain replies, and ducks under his free arm to give him a hug. Misha curls around her, big and solid and a little too bony, and she breathes in his expensive cologne and relaxes. "Glad to be on the ground."

Misha laughs, stepping back just enough to tuck her against his side and start leading them towards the waiting car. "You say that every time."

"It's always boring!"

He opens the door for her, and Swain slides inside the car. When Misha gets in on the other side, luggage safely stowed in the trunk, she asks, "Where'd this one come from?"

Misha shrugs, pulls out into traffic. The engine is surprisingly quiet for how splashy the car looks. "It was a gift."

Swain eyes him. "Someone gave you a car?"

"Lots of people give me cars," Misha replies breezily. "Your dad gave me a car."

Swain tries to imagine her dad giving anyone such a gift. It's hard, but she can't imagine him with Misha, either, and that definitely happened. "Huh."

"Anyway," Misha says, shifting gears smoothly, "What do you want to do this year? Any big ideas?"

"Well," and Swain launches into her plan for the summer, putting her dad's bad decisions behind her.

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Heading to the airport with Swain and her dad.

~

Dad always gets this pinched look when it's time for Swain to go spend the summer with Misha. It's the same face he gets around end-of-quarter review. "You have all your stuff?" he asks, again and again, and Swain swallows her "duh" each time.

"Make sure Mikhail gets real food for you," Dad says on the way to the airport. "None of that processed crap. I know you kids like your junkfood, but--"

"I got it, Dad," Swain says. She tries to smile as reassuringly as she can, wishing she never spilled the beans about that time Misha brought her home and all there was in the fridge was mustard and grown-up juice. "No junkfood. Real stuff."

Cutting off a Tesla with prejudice, Dad adds, "And call me if you want to come home early, okay? Or if anything goes wrong. Or--"

"I'll be calling you anyway every weekend," Swain reminds him. "Our deal, remember?"

Dad's face goes soft for a moment. "You always keep your deals."

"Just like you."

He laughs, but it's a little too forced. "Yeah, you didn't get that from Mikhail, did you?"

Swain hopes her smile doesn't look too strained, that this won't turn into yet another story about the way Misha left them both. "I got your business sense."

"Yeah." Dad doesn't look away from the road, but he does reach out to squeeze her hand. "Yeah, you did, kiddo."