Excuse the wippery but I just love them taking caring of each other. I want to share it while it’s still baking so I’ll be held accountable to try to finish it this weekend 😄
Ficlet synopsis below
Tech: Crosshair, please hold still.
Crosshair: Speak for yourself.
Tech tends a deep wound in Crosshair’s forearm after a nearly disastrous mission to destroy a shield generator. Crosshair was so focused down-range on his brothers, that he didn’t notice the commando droid sneaking up in him until it was too late to dodge it completely. Tech asks Crosshair to keep still, but it’s actually Tech who is trembling because he’s so worried about Crosshair.
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a/n: hello hello hello everyone! This is it! This is BHBKSSJKSNKJNJKNSKJNSKJWNWJSDN. Okay so honestly I don’t want to cry writing this a/n cause I already cried enough writing this because of all the crazy stuff happening with me. Quick life update: I’m finally in college, just started taking classes and you know, just adjusting to dorm life. It’s been more than just a crazy few weeks for me and well, yes- enough tears have been shed. So y’all probably know that this is technically my final-final OC season and I’m so happy with what I had been able to accomplish with all my girls. It’s been a pleasure playing all three girls, each of their characters definitely being vastly different from each other and wELL, I’M JUST SENTIMENTAL because the OC had really been a huge part of my life for the past year and it’s definitely brought me a lot of highs and lows. With this being said, I’m HONORED ™ ™ ™ to have made it this far in this season with my homegirl, Vivienne and it’s been a wild ride trying to play this smol angry lifeguard/escort. Being this outspoken as a character was a lot of fun and well, I just hope you enjoyed reading her thoughts as much fun I had writing her. I’d really like to thank @benjaminschreave (BRIANNA AND ESTER) for giving us the opportunity to really develop our characters and plotlines- and being ever supportive hosts and for cranking out all of their own plotlines and ~drama~ and well ALL THOSE RPs and HONESTLY TO MY FELLOW FINALISTS AND FRIENDS @danielle-leblanc and @opheliagardinier GIRLS WE MADE IT AND AHUDHKHEJKHDSHJFHEDSHJEN AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH *SCREAMS* i JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH THANK YOU FOR BEING AROUND TO LISTEN TO ME BE WEIRD AND TALK PLOTLINES AND I’M SORRY FOR ALMOST KILLING VIV’S DAD OFF. ANYWAY YES. This is the point in time where I really say good bye to all of you and the OC so yes, Thank you so much and I’ll probably be making my OC farewell/exit ™ post soon within the weekend. So this has been Anya, your resident procrastinator, here to say good bye with this last fic. I hope you all enjoy and remember that I love you all! <3
Would it be possible to watch the whole world pass by you while you stayed in one place? One singular point in the world among the millions of places in the world? If I could just stay here, and stare at these paintings, maybe somehow I’d be stuck here long enough to become an exhibit myself, probably titled “Selected Contemplating Last Date with a not-so-boyfriend Prince”. It feels like forever had gone by as I looked at the paintings, trying to find the one kernel, one inkling of an idea as to what I wanted this date to be.
Considering everything that had happened in the past few weeks, it was a surprise to be kept around as everyone around me had been getting sent home. To even think I stood a chance after the whole escort thing had been exposed. I tried to pretend to not be as bothered by everything said on the magazines, the derogatory terms I haven’t already heard or thought of as everyone accused me of sleeping my way to stay in the competition. But it all hurt, and what hurt even more was how the whole scandal had affected Ben’s reputation too.
Guilt is possibly the worst feeling in the world, thinking about how your actions affect other people- which is why I try to limit it by trying to not really care about people- but this was a whole other level of guilt when everything was made so public. And somehow, guilt made me want to make this last date even more special than ever. Somehow to prove my worth that Ben’s decision to keep me was worth the hellfire he went through with… for me.
This is why I’ve been trying to think of something worth it all, and maybe the paintings that Ben loved so much could give me a hint as to what would be the perfect thing to do. It felt too long ago, getting guided along this art gallery and toured personally by a prince. My first genuine memories that wasn’t ridden with the fear of wanting to impress him because I wanted him to like him. The first time he really was Ben to me, Ben with the thick glasses and the knowledge of all the paintings in this gallery. Ben who first introduced me to a painting of bananas before he showed me a portrait of a wave, and the Ben I discussed coffee and sunrises with on the balcony nearby- and then and there, as I wrap my hands around myself I realized. I realized my best memories with him and thought of the one thing I wanted to experience with him for the last time.
I send him a note right away.
First of all, why must you put this much pressure on us? Seriously. Second of all, I'd like to formally invite you to a date tonight no later than 7:49 PM. SHARP. But don't look too sharp. Be comfortable. You're in for a long night. I'll see you in front of Room 42 on the second floor.
Alright, later stud.
-Viv
I was a little jealous of the girls who got bedrooms that faced the ocean part of the palace, and Room 42 was my favorite view, the room never haven been occupied and was left as this empty but well-kept guest room that was still bigger than my apartment back in Bonita. I grew worried though as the minute got closer and closer to 7:49, fearing the inevitable arrival of my guest to the area I had set up on the room’s balcony. I check my watch.
7:45, it’s still too early for him to come around.
7:46, don’t get too desperate. He’ll be here.
7:47, is the food still hot in their happy meal boxes?
7:48, should I have worn something prettier? Were the shorts too short? Maybe I should have left the crocs in my room.
7:49, he should be here. The sun’s starting to set. Oh no, he isn’t here. Maybe he already made his decision and asked Fee or Danielle to…
There’s a knock coming from the door at exactly 7:50 and I don’t waste a second to rush and open it to see Ben do everything I had asked him to except come here on time.
“You’re late.” I point out after giving him a once over. He was in a shirt and a pair of jeans, a sight for sore eyes, something new against the monkey suits I’ve seen him in for the past few months.
“By a minute. I thought I'd be funny but from the look on your face I don't think I am.” He raises a brow, attempting a small smile.
My tone immediately goes dry, “Ha ha, I'm laughing so hard right now.” I roll my eyes at his intentional lateness, huffing a breath out as I grab his hand and lead him through the room, the door shutting from behind us. He follows me through and I look over my shoulder to give him my own smirk- making sure he knew that I wasn’t mad. “At least you weren’t any more late. I was starting to worry that we’d miss it.”
His head tilts, “Miss what?”
“Miss the season premiere of Riverdale.” I joke before turning forward, tugging him towards the doors of the room’s balcony.
“You know there’s a guy who looks like Wyatt on there.” Ben mentions, making me tilt my head at the lack of resemblance with any of the actors on the show but I don’t dwell on making any further comparisons as we soon reach the doors and I open the balcony doors to show him what I had been planning been preparing for the past hour or two.
There was a reason I had asked Ben to meet me at an exact point in time, at this exact location.
It was the sunset, because nothing said stupid romantic moment than watching the sunset along with a blanket and a pile of junk food in the middle of the blanket, and a box of still hot happy meal orders I had picked up earlier. A picnic.
The sun was dipping back into the horizon of the ocean, the big ball of light, starting to disappear into glinting waters and turning the sky into a burst of blues and oranges. It was beautiful, but I turn my eyes to Ben’s direction to gauge his reaction. Was it too plain?
The small smile on his face contradicted that though, his eyes looking around the balcony before they meet mine. “You’ve certainly outdone yourself.”
“Considering that it took me forever to think about this… thank you.” I manage out a small smile, putting my other hand on his arm, hopeful that this was good enough.
I feel the arm between us, wrap around my waist, the feeling making my stomach do a flip. Why did it do that? He’s done that a dozen times before. My stomach does another flip when I feel him kiss the top of my head, a chuckle escaping me.
“Thank you, small fry. Speaking of which, I think they’re calling my name.” Ben remark before heading over to the direction of one of the happy meals, dropping down to sit on the blanket I set down.
Small fry. I was not that small. I move over to sit across him on the blanket and give him the box I ordered for him, the order already memorized by heart. “I’m pretty sure that you know what’s in this already.”
“I’d be offended if it wasn’t what I thought.” Ben replies as he takes a fry out, throwing one at me before he starts stuffing his face with the rest.
I dodge the dry, grabbing my own fry to toss it at him with a smirk.
“Did you even wash your hands?” I ask as I start eating.
“I don’t see you washing your hands now do I?” his eyes narrow.
That’s where he was wrong. I reach over to the side of the pile and pick up a small bottle of hand sanitizer and wave it in the air, smirking. “I used this a while ago, you heathen.”
“Heathen,” he scoffs. “Alright then, toss it over you clean freak.”
I throw it over to his lap, talking around my mouth. “I’m not a clean freak. I just find the idea of eating with dirty hands unappealing.” I stick my tongue out at him.
“Unappealing.” he snickers.
“Yes, unappealing” I echo back, shaking my head before reaching for one of the sodas and turning my head a little to watch the sun going down. I don’t think I could be as cheesy as wanting to do this with him, or with anyone for that matter. There’s a certain silence between us, focusing on the food for a while before Ben pipes up with a question.
“So. Angeles or Bonita sunsets?”
He asked a question like that, and no matter what I do I feel the memory coming back to me. Coffees and balcony included. And do our sunrises live up to Bonitas? The entire conversation over the different sunsets between the two places makes me feel slightly homesick.
“No place can ever quite compare to your home province.” I reply to a comment made by Ben about him picking the sunset in Angeles.
“Bonita's are beautiful, of course. But their lifeguards are my favorite.” I see him grin from the corner of my eye, and I try not shrug at him.
“Smooth move, stud.” I chuckle at the comment, shifting slightly to face his direction. “Do you think that line’s really gonna work?”
“I'm extremely confident seeing as we made it this far.” his grin turns slightly more crooked and I try not to smile too much.
I wrinkle my nose in response, still trying to suppress the smile tugging on the corners of my lips at the knowledge that we really did make it far. “And considering where this all started, if I might add.” I finally let go and let myself grin back, and I sigh. “The good old days.”
“Right well these are the better days, Miss Loyola.”
“That’s Lady Loyola, Prince Schreave.” I tilt my head as I eat a fry pointedly.
He quirks his brow up, “I thought that name was off limits.”
“I’m referring to the title, not the name, stud. While I’m here, I’m a Lady.” I snort, “And you're right. That name is still off limits.”
“Even for me?” he bats his eyes at me.
I purse my lips to the side. “Do you honestly want to be dating someone with the name ‘Lady’?”
“I, personally, don’t mind that your name is Lady. I think of you as Viv anyway.”
“Aweeee,” I tilt my head sweetly before dryly saying, “well you don't mind it because you're not the one who has to avoid getting called ‘Lady Lady’.”
A short laugh escapes Ben. “That’s fair. Forget I mentioned it, dearest small fry.”
I swipe the back of my hand over my forehead, “Consider it forgotten.” I blink blearily for extra effect, looking around disorientedly. “What were we talking about again?”
“Such a comedian,” he laughs again, this time flicking at my hair.
“Comedienne.” I correct before shoving a fry in my mouth. “It’s with an ‘ienne’ like the last letters of my name.”
Ben snorts, throwing a fry at me. “You’re ridiculousienne.”
I try to snort back before feeling the fry hit me in the face and making me chuckle slightly. “Try saying ridiculousienne 10 times. Sounds like a great tongue twister.”
“I’m not even going to attempt that. Ever.” Ben says as he reaches over for his mcflurry.
“You made the word up,” I say as I continue to go through the remainder of my happy meal, nuggets and all. “I dare you to do it.”
He sighs talking around a bite of his mcflurry, “Fine, but I’m only setting myself up for failure.” Ben swallows before he starts to recite. “Ridiculousienne ridiculousienne ridiculousienne ridiculousienne ridiculousienne ridiclousnkasokdnd.” his words start to jumble up, ending with him making a face and instantly making me start laughing uncontrollably, some of the food I was chewing making me choke slightly.
“Oh my God,” I try to manage out between coughs and wheezes. It wasn’t supposed to be that funny, oh god, it wasn’t supposed to be this funny. “ridiculousienne.” I suddenly fall to my side as I try to contain my laughter.
I can hear Ben’s laughter mixing my own a little before suddenly feeling him poke me. “Stop it, I told you it would be bad.”
I scrunch my face up while laughing- taking a moment for me to sober myself before sitting up again.
“Okay okay okay…” I blink, curling my lips in to avoid laughing. “It wasn’t that bad. It was just… ridiculousienne.” The word was just weirdly funny, so funny that it made me suddenly start laughing again.
“Vivienne.” a small laugh comes from him, making me look up to see his face flush slightly before he suddenly flops back onto a nearby pillow. I move over to hover over him a little, sitting closer to him- still trying to contain myself.
“Benjamin?”
For a moment, he just stares up at me and I’m taken by surprise when I feel his hand reach up to squish my face between his thumb and index finger. “Your cheeks are perfect for this.”
“My cheeks? Really Ben?” I lift a brow up, “Well we can’t all have great bone structure like you.”
“Yes, it is especially fine, isn’t it?” he smirks, feeling the pressure on my cheeks grow a little more before I lose that contact from him, a small travesty.
I reach over to pinch his cheeks in retaliation, smirking down on him. “Actually the whole package is especially fine.”
Ben’s eyes narrow, his face suddenly going red again. “How do you always manage to catch me off guard with your flirting?”
Well…
“I’ll let you in on a secret.” I lean down, making sure to close the space between us. Flirting with Ben was always hilarious, and his reaction to my lips hovering over his was priceless, the sudden bobbing up and down of throat, the look in his eyes. “I just need the right inspiration.” Of course teasing was just part of all of this and I shift slightly so I can place a kiss his cheek.
Nothing was ever as good as the real thing though. I feel him put his hand behind my neck, bringing me and pulling me in for a real kiss, only kissing him back and leaning down even more to cup the sides of his face and I could feel the two of us smile against the kiss before Ben pulls away.
“I’d say you’re also a pretty good motivator.”
I smile down at him as I lean back, “I suppose the combination of insults and compliments might bring out some pretty good results.” I toss a part of my hair back out of habit.
“Ah, the hair toss. What a trademark.”
“As iconic as your smile.” I reply before he reaches out to me and wrap his arms around me and pulling me down to him, making me squeal a little, looking up at him with a laugh. “The one time that I didn’t have to tilt my head up to look at you… ending so quickly.”
He laughs a bit, “Yes, this giant was eager to feel even more like a giant today.”
A groan escapes me at his smugness, but I can’t help but tuck myself closer to him. “Today of all days!” I jokingly lament. “How selfish of you.”
“I know, I’m absolutely terrible.”
I reach an arm over to hug him a little, my arm barely managing to wrap around his torso. “Terrible, awful, dreadful, atrocious, ghastly,” I look up to him. “Should I continue?”
“By all means. Since I have a walking thesaurus now I should put it to use.” He smirks.
“I consider this a challenge.” I chuckle before racking my brain up for even more synonyms. “Appalling, abhorent, sickening, unpleasant.” Of course I meant none of that, but an idea crosses my mind as I continue to list things down. “Heinously... handsome, agonizingly... sincere, abominably kind, grievously benevolent…”
“Oh my God,” he puts his hand on his face. “Is it your mission in life to make me the most embarrassed person ever?”
“Why would you be embarrassed?” I watch his reaction. “I mean every word of it.”
He glances over to me, pausing for a moment before speaking up with a hint of curiosity. “The good parts right?” he lets out a short chuckle.
“Yes, only the good parts.” I laugh, keeping my arm around him. “All those good parts are synonymous to Ben Schreave.”
I feel him reach up to hold one of my hands, a small smile on his face. “To think I could only get a compliment out of you every week, if that.”
That was true, my compliments were very rare at the beginning of this but somehow, they started to flow more naturally now.
“Oh don't worry, the important thing is that I'm thinking about it when I'm not saying it.” I smile, squeezing his hand. “I just have that prickly reputation to protect.”
Ben shifts, rolling onto his stomach, propping himself on his forearms. “Hmm, so I get thought about often then?”
What? No… “Um…” suddenly the breeze from the ocean could do nothing to save the odd feeling of the heat rushing to my cheeks. I try to reach up to cover my face and formulate an answer. I couldn’t deny it, that’s for sure. I couldn’t because if I did it would seem like I didn’t care.“Not exactly often. Perhaps... moderately?” Nope, that didn’t help me at all.
Ben moves again, taking my hand away from my face, a crooked smile on his face. “You can tell me if it’s more than moderately.”
I huff out a breath. “Okay, maybe it’s more than moderately…” I feel myself flush even more, feeling awkward with admitting that I do, making me try to look away and prop myself up on my elbows.
His hand gently turns my face to face him, gently holding me. “I know you, well we, both have trouble talking about our feelings, but… well if we could keep up the honesty talk I’d appreciate it.” he smiles genuinely but I feel a sudden pang in my stomach. I try to let his words sink in, holding his gaze for a while before sitting up and try to put my feelings into words.
“Then I need you to be honest with me too.” I furrow my brows, “ I don't want anything to be unsaid right now, hard as talking about things could be.”
Like it or not, this could really be my last date with Ben. This could be it, the end and I suddenly flashback to one particular conversation I had shared with my dad on better days between us. The story of my mom leaving him, a delicate conversation between a 15 year old and her dad.
Ben immediately sits up and nods once, “Okay. Full honesty.”
“Where do we begin?” I cross my legs and tuck them underneath each other, not breaking eye contact with him, huffing another breath out as I run a hand through my hair. “Do you wanna ask each other questions?”
“I think I'd like to know what you ask first before I do. I'm not even sure what I want to say.” the corners of his mouth lift up slightly, as if it was a small reassurance that this conversation was going to end up being good.
“Fine, Lady first.” I slump my shoulders down, not bothering to practice perfect posture right now, not with my mind is so burdened with all these questions in my head, making me look around before settling on a question. “Why did you keep me around even after the whole scandal incident? Even after everyone judged you for keeping me?”
It hurt me to see people try to hurt Ben because of something I did.The one thing I’ve always tried to be is genuine with him, no matter how unpleasant I really could be. My hands fidget as I listen to him, try to see things through his point of view because a part of me needed to know why, if I really was worth all the trouble to him.
“Because I know you. I like to think I do, at least. Your values have always been with loyalty to others and to who you are. What I've gotten to know is worthy of my trust in you and your character, no matter a less than ideal job. You deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
Everything he says makes me glance down, leaving me touched because I had gained his trust.“I hated that job with the passion of a thousand suns.” I shut my eyes for a moment, trying to avoid any unnecessary flashbacks. “I always had to pretend to like people.” I shake it off, opening my eyes once again and looking up at him. “But trust me when I say that there was no pretending with you.” My lips curl in, “Thank you for believing in me that way.”
“I care about you, Vivienne. I couldn’t do anything else but believe in you.” He says, drawing up his knees to his chest- leaning forward to rest his arms on them. Well, make yourself comfortable because obviously both of you are trying to have a heart to heart.
I nod my head once, tilting my head a little to try and get over the growing lump in my throat, trying to do what he asked and try to express myself. “I care about you a lot. At times, I get scared because I feel like I'm drowning with how much I do.”
There, I dare not break eye contact with him for a few seconds before he glances a way and picks up a happy meal toy and starts fiddling with it. “Drowning, huh?” His words come out in a mutter, as if he was talking to himself.
“Head reeling, shortness of breath, this feeling of being overwhelmed... feels a lot like drowning.” All of those, I’ve felt whenever I was with him, or even thought of him at times. I blink when I see him look away, and I fear that he may think of this as a bad thing for me. “I've never really felt this way about someone before.”
This is that feeling only matched when I think and try to care for my dad, but vastly different too. It was in a different way, the kind that I just wanted to try and avoid- but now, here: there was no avoiding all of this.
Ben finally turns back to me, “ Ever.” he echoes, as if in question.
I shake my head, my chest feeling like it’s starting to cave in on itself with exposing myself like this. “Never to this extent.” Never with someone I think I could be in love with, and think that it could end up destroying me.
“Which extent?” he quietly asks. That is an excellent question.
“To the extent that I know that if this doesn't end up working out, it's going hurt.” I run my hand through my hair, continuing as I glance down and try to explain things. “And I've seen how bad relationships ending could be, my dad's the perfect example. The first heart attack he had? It was right after my mom left him. The doctors called it stress induced cardiomyopathy. Most know it as broken heart syndrome.” I finally look back up at him. “Seeing that happen to him... it made me want to avoid every situation that could leave me like that.”
It’s never easy, the thought of having to say good bye to someone you have a relationship with- or if I relented a little, I’d say romantically involved with in good consideration that you’d want to see a future with them. Nobody ever gets their chance to say good bye to their love. Neither my dad. The day my mom had left him, he’d lament to me how all he wanted to say was that he loved her. He still loved my mother to this day, even after she fell out of love with him and left him for someone else. Even when he had his accident, all he could ask me to do while I watched over him was to call mom and tell her that he did.
Would you honestly believe that? The last words he’d ever want to say to my mother, and it was that he loved her.
It makes me wonder, could you still really be in love with the person who hurt you the most? Or is it because you love them the most, that they’re damage on you is the greatest? I believed it was the latter but I hoped to never put myself in the position to get hurt.
But here I was, waiting for an answer and trying to grasp at everything he says for a clue as to what the future ahead.
And it scared me, it scared me too much because I was considering giving up what I dreamed of because there was everything good, everything I couldn’t imagine wanting right in front of me encapsulated into soft brown eyes and an unrelenting smile. And I fall, I fell, and I grew into the lovesick person I didn’t want to be in fear of becoming as weak as my father.
Ben’s quiet for a moment, holding my gaze. “I’d never want to do anything to hurt you like that, Viv.”
I shift a little from where I’m sitting, wrapping my arms around myself and taking a moment to try and believe that, as if Ben’s final decision wouldn’t hurt me, I understood that it would- but I still nod my head. “I know you don't. But we've got to be honest and acknowledge that even the best intentions can leave damage.” I shake my head this time, noticing the sad look on his face.
“The worst part is that I still want to take this risk.” I meet Ben’s eyes, “Or maybe it's the best part.”
It could be the best part, wanting to take this risk. To even think of all of this as a means to an end. I could see it, and what hurts is the possibility of it all not happening.
“I’ve always known you to be a risk taker.” the smallest of smiles hints at his lips, a small bit of humor to relax our minds from how tense this topic could be and for a moment the joke does make me want to smile, but I curl my lips in.
“When it comes to the people I care about the most, I'd take risks for them any day.”
“And I’m part of the most category?” his expression changes again, turning more serious and I sober my own too.
“There's no denying that you are, Ben. Somehow in the time we've spent together, you've somehow managed to find a spot there.”
“You’re incredibly important to me too, you know. Don’t doubt that.”
“I would have never guessed.” I hang my head for a moment, looking at my own fidgeting hands with a hint of a smile.
From the corners of my eyes, I can see Ben smile just a little. “Good.” he says before pausing. “So is this… well I don’t know what this is.” he seems to admit, probably referring to this whole conversation.
“I'm pretty sure you gave it the name ‘honest talk’ earlier.” I reply as a matter of factly before I try to get back to business with him. “Do you have any questions to add to this? This could be your last chance to ask it, stud.”
“I don’t think so. Waiting for what feels like something big.” he says, running a hand through his hair and looking at me.
“Alright,” I breathe out before deciding to flop back onto the blanket and close my eyes, somehow exhausted from all that talking about feelings. “You've got the whole night, stud. That's a lot of time to think.”
“Um.” Ben stares at me for a while. “I guess the only one on I can come up with is whether or not this reveal is good or bad.”
I turn my head to his direction, tilting my head as I ask, “What reveal?” Reveal that I like him? That wasn’t obvious enough??
“I don’t... I don’t know. I mean, we’ve established we’re important to each other, that we mean something. I can’t think of anything else to say other than- well, I don’t know who I’m picking yet. It’s all complicated.” he sighs, glancing away for a moment.
My brows furrow at the uncertainty he’s showing me, and I suppose this is his way of being honest too. I sit back up again to reach over and place my hand on his arm. “I don't think complicated can really sum up what's going on right now. Everything right now... it feels like we're walking around eggshells. You're afraid. So am I.” I sigh.
“I don’t think I’m afraid actually. More anxious really.” Oh.
“Who wouldn't be? Most 21 year olds don't have this kind of decision to make. So you're anxious and I'm scared. Great combination, if I do say so myself.”
He chuckles at the joke, “I’m sorry I don’t have more questions. I genuinely don’t know what else to ask.”
“It's alright.” I click my tongue before reaching out for my sundae, a little disappointed that it had already melted but nonetheless opening it to mix the melted soft serve and hot fudge and creating a make-shift milkshake and taking an experimental sip. Surprisingly good. “I think I have a couple of more questions to ask you.”
“I’m ready.” he gives me a crooked smile as he starts cleaning up around him.
“Do you know what you're looking for at the end of all of this?” I raise a brow up, wondering what his idea of this ending would result to.
“Lots of things. Someone I love deeply and who hopefully feels the same way. Who can also be a great queen for my people because- well it’s not as simple as love.” he makes a face. “Even love isn’t that simple.”
It never was. I nod my head in agreement, another question coming into mind. “Do you think you're already in love with someone here?”
He immediately pauses, his lips curling in as he turns his focus away, speaking up with an “ I think so. My only dilemma is who.”
“And these last dates are here to help you figure that out?”
“Mostly. And to... give everyone some closure in a way. Or at least try to.”
Closure, what a blessing.
“Yeah, it would have sucked if I didn't get to have a conversation like this with you.” I admit, glancing down for a moment. “Not a lot of people get to have this kind of talk…” They just pack their bags and leave a note on the fridge.
“No, they don't.” Ben says before I feel a hand over mine, tilting his head. “Are those all your questions?”
“For now, yes.” I look up and take his hand in mine. “Thank you for answering them.” I brush my thumb over the back of his hand, managing out a small smile.
“To quote myself and with a signature smile.” He grins. “'happy to do it.'”
I let go of his hand, my face going flat. “Oh my god, you sound like a broken record with that.”
“That was the point.” he smirks and I snort, reaching over to my happy meal to throw a fry at him and his stupid smirk, but find the box empry-deciding to just grab a wrapper and turn it into a little ball before throwing it at him.
He immediately blinks when it hits him in the face. “That's what I get for being so compliant? Rude.”
“You catch onto things very slowly, Ben.” He smirks, “You should have noticed my rudeness a long long time ago.”
“Hey” he throws the paper ball back at me. “I chose to be decent and not point it out until now. I am not slow.”
”You're decently slow for someone who loves fast food so much.” I tease before the ball hits me on my shoulder and I pretend to feel the pain of the impact, clutching my shoulder and falling to my side. “Oh! The agony! I've been hit! Go on without me.”
He snorts before poking my shoulder, “I think I will. And take the oreos with me.”
“I knew it. You were in love with the oreos all along! *points an accusatory finger at him* This is how you leave me for another, injured, broken hearted... Oh the humanity!
I hear the crinkling sound, watching him immediately grab a pack of oreos from the pile of junk and clutching them to his chest. “I won't apologize for having my priorities in order.”
“Oreo sure about your decision?” I look up at him, still on the ground but trying to maintain a challenging expression of my face and try not to laugh at my own joke.
Ben rolls his eyes, “Now I'm 110% sure of my decision. There's really no coming back from that.”
“Thank you.” I joke. “I knew that my humor was really going to win you over.”I tilt my head with a smirk.
“Right right, the puns. That's what it is.” He chuckles.
I point my thumb to the room. “Should I go and start planning everything then?”
“Plan what? More oreo binge eating?” He laughs,
Ben snorts. “Yeah, and I was soooo going to raid the pantry's entire oreo stash.”
“Not before I get to it. I know all the secret nooks and crannies.”
“Really now?” I hold his gaze for a while, lifting my brow up. “That sounds like a challenge.”
“No challenge.” He narrows his eyes, “My secrets are going to stay my secrets.”
“The ever so honest Ben, keeping secrets?” I gasp as I cover my mouth with my hand in mock shock. “This is a completely new side of you I've yet to see. ”
He smugly replies. “A wonderful, exciting side.”
I tilt my head. “Exciting? Really? Does this side of you come with sarcasm?”
“Every part of me comes with sarcasm.” he gestures to his body before he takes an oreo out of the pack in his hands.
“I still find that hard to believe.” I say as I reach over to pick out the oreo from his hand and pop it into my mouth, smirking at him.
Ben’s jaw suddenly drops before he grabs a blanket and putting it over his head. “No more theft!”
If you listened in well enough, you’d probably hear the distinct sounds of him eating underneath.
“Oh my god, the prince has disappeared! Oh whatever would I do without him now?” I try not to smile at how ridiculous he’s being, but play along anyway.
“You sound like you're talking to a five year old.” he pauses, “And please don't say I'm the five year old or a child of any age.” I hear him eat again.
“Fine,” I snort as I reach over to lift the blanket up to see how he was doing. “You act like a baby, all swaddled up in your blankey.”
He pouts before bringing the blanket over his head. “Let me eat in peace.”
I chuckle, an idea coming into mind as I quietly stand and tiptoe off the balcony and into the empty room, choosing to press my back against the wall by the door- waiting to see how long it would take him to realize I was gone.
After a while and a few more eating sounds, I hear him call out, “I hope you know, wherever you are, that I'm not moving from my oreo safe haven. I'm very comfortable.”
I try to stay quiet, not quite wanting to give away my hiding spot and suppressing a groan with him not playing along.
“I'll wait.” he calls out again after a quiet moment. Well, I guess I’d have to lure him here.
“I'll just be waiting here too.” I slump down, moving to sit on the ground and staying hidden. “I think I'm liking my view better here. Enjoy your special time with your oreos.”
”I bet you're staring at your couch or something.” he snickers.
A snort escapes me, “No I’m not,” I pause before adding, looking forward. “I’m staring at the door.”
“Because that's such a great improvement.” Oooo, I can just smell the sarcasm from here.
“It's a-door-able, unlike you.” I prod back at him, bringing my legs to my chest, laughing at the joke and sure that could lure him in.
I hear a scoff and the sound of some rustling a distinct sound of someone starting to walk to the door and my direction. “Alright now we need to share some words.” I can hear him approaching. Bingo. “on how you're absolutely, terribly, completely wro--”
“BOO!” I yell as I stand up and surprise him.
“AH!” He takes a step away from me, putting a hand over his chest with a glare. “You’re mean too.”
I cackle, seeing the look on his face making me laugh hard enough to hold my sides and lean against the wall. “I'm sorry! Oh god, sorry!” I laugh again, “Please continue describing me. Go on. I'm absolutely, terribly, completely…”
“I was going to say wrong but horrid might be another one.” He gives me a flat look.
“Come on.” I laugh, unbothered by the look on his face. “You know you love me.” I snicker. “You just can’t admit it.” I joke, the words leaving too quickly that I don’t realize in time what I had just said.
Ben suddenly blinks at the statement, his face going red before laughing nervously. “Well um, I don’t know about that.”
I look at him, his reaction and well… “Oh.. OH, sorry. I didn't mean it like /that/... or anything. I was kidding.” I try to laugh, coming out more nervous as I feel my own face flush- eye contact wasn’t exactly an option right now, looking down and mutter. “You know you love me... pshhh. I sound stupid.”
He just told you that he didn’t know. Don’t push it, don’t seem desperate.
“No, not so stupid.” Ben mumbles before gulping, a quick silence between us. “I have a question for you.”
I lift my brow up at the nervous expression on his face, nodding my head. “Fire away.”
Please don’t be what I think it could be.
“Do you love me?”
There comes a point in your life when you try to get a grip on yourself when just a couple of words could leave you shaken to the core. My eyes widen at first, the entire world slowing down as I feel my heart start to race. “The one question you ask, and it’s that one.”
I look down. I try to get a grip on myself, I try to- because I couldn’t lie to Ben, even if it means forgetting to protect myself. How do you even answer that question without getting hurt? I don’t want to say it out loud, saying out loud could make everything worse, but Ben… nothing left unsaid. This was it.
“I've always known that there was a danger to falling in love with someone. Most of the time, I always had a tight grip on that reality…” I try to take a breath, trying to keep myself calm but feeling the nerves catch up to me and my throat. “but I can't let go of everything that's in front of me right now because no matter how many times we joke about ending this, I can't because…” Time to take a page out of dad’s book. I meet his eyes, trying my best to keep every emotion imaginable at bay.
“I do.”
As always, I knew what I wanted. I wanted Ben. I loved him. I wanted all those sunrises, and sunsets, and breakfasts and lunches and dinners with him and this all felt even more stupid the more I think about wanting it and the possibility of that and so much more was actually appealing to someone like me. I wanted to be loved by him too, was that so bad? Was that honestly such a bad thing to want? To be loved in return?
Everything seems to go at slow motion as he blinks a few times, sucking in a breath before he reached for my hand. “I... don’t know what to say other than like earlier, it’s all so complicated. But you feeling that way, it makes me happy alright? Really happy.” He manages out a small crooked smile, his smile doing what little effect it could to soothe the feeling that I had opened a new wound on myself and everything just start spilling one after another.
I squeeze his hand hand once, taking a step towards him. “I know, it's all so complicated. It's complicated for me too.” I furrow my brows as I shake my head- another reality coming into my mind, something tucked away to avoid even more complications. “I know that being with you means going down a certain path. and after considering it for a while, I realized that going down road means giving up the one dream I had been holding on to for the longest time.”
Ben’s brows knit, “And are... you willing to give up that dream? If it came to that? Even though I’d hate asking you to sacrifice something you love, it’s an unfortunate part of the job.”
“You can't ask me to give it up, I know. In the long run, it really goes through two separate choices.” I feel the pit in my stomach grow as I think about it. Giving up wanting to be a doctor? “Right now, I'm going through two ifs. What if I choose you and you choose me in the end? I let go of being a doctor, I'd always end up feeling the regret of not pursuing it, probably hating myself to a certain degree. If I chose it over you, I'd end up always asking and hating myself what if I stayed with you?”
In the end, I’d be hating myself either way. I end up shaking my head again as I hold his gaze- one sure thought coming into mind. “Just because I have those thoughts /doesn't/ mean you're not worth the sacrifice because,” I huff a breath out. “you are.... but I've already given up so much for other people, Ben.”
There’s a sad look on his face. “I know you have. That's why I'd never want you to do something that felt wrong in your heart, regardless of what I feel. I want you to have the freedom of your own choices.”
I held onto that dream for so long, I’m not quite sure I’d ever let it go. It got me through the worst, knowing that I’d get a better life for me and my dad while doing what I’d want to do- but a possible life with Ben? That’s a chance of living life with the reassurance of having someone there, someone who’d choose to love you. (Hypothetically speaking of course).
“Thank you.” I take a look at him, closing the distance between us and running my hand through my hair. “Everything's been pretty complicated these past few days because of that.” I shake my head once. “ I just needed you to know that... and that other very important thing…” I reach a hand up to run a hand through his dark hair, starting to come to terms with all of this. “if this really is the end.”
He looks to me, staying quiet for a moment. “Are you willing to stay then? For me to decide? Or…” he trails off, not needing to continue the thought since we both had it on our minds.
“I've waited this long Ben. I think you and I have been through a lot.” I move my hand slightly to rest on the nape of his neck, trying to comfort whatever distress was on his mind with a small smile. “I'm staying, and I'll wait to find out what you decide. I think I can trust the feelings that lead you to keep me here.”
I’ll stay for as long as he wants me to be here. If time was going to run out, then so be it. At least I could say I tried.
Ben seems to let go of a breath he was holding, a tired smile on his face. “Okay, that's... good to hear. Thank you, Viv. For everything really.”
“Thank you, too.” I reply, slowly closing the gap between us and giving him a soft kiss. “You don't know how great these past few months have been for me. This was the life I finally got to experience everything I never got to do back home.”
I feel him lean in and kiss my forehead, “That's all I could ever want for you. A life that you wanted and needed.”
I move to lean my head against his chest, wrapping my arms around him. “And I just want you to be happy… as cliche as that really sounds.”
That’s the least we really want for the people we love, happiness, contentment- things that sound easy at first but more difficult than assumed.
“Cliche but always true. Feeling is mutual.” I catch a smile tugging on his lips.
“This is actually the part where I'd usually say, ‘oh god, we're not going to hug now are we?’ but seeing that we already are.”
“Well you are. We'll see if I return the hug.” he smirks down.
“Fine, don't hug me then.” I reply, only squeezing him tighter.
“Losing... oxygen…” he says out in a strangled way, obviously pretending.
“Shhhh, just let a girl hug you a little longer.” I laugh, loosening my hold on him.
He laughs along, finally returning the hug. “That can be arranged.”
“Finally.” I smile smugly, leaning more into him and trying to remember things. There were a lot of little things I’d miss about him, this small little piece of happiness for the past few months. The kisses on the top of my head, like the one he gives me now. Ben’s hair, sometimes softer than it looks, the way he always managed to smell fresh but also as rich as brewed coffee, kisses with the boy who smiled despite everything around him. I both hated and loved how much I grew to care for him this way, because one day I could be forced to stop.
I guess you could really say that I am my father’s daughter. We just loved getting our hearts broken. I could only hope that this story had a happier ending.
No, I hate writing whump, what do you mean? I’d never write a 20k word TBB fic after HCing one specific whump scene. No! that’s so silly. I don’t like to try to draw it either!
Okay but the amount of time I spent making sure Padmé and Anakin are “causally picnicking in the BG” in the Naboo dilemma 😅 🧺
Tech DOES NOT Mess Around with Cybersecurity [excerpt from a longer, TBB mission fic]
Republic specialists at Cyber Ops Squad try to spy on the Boys of the Havoc Marauder. They get their asses handed to them (in a sparkly gift bag).
Basis: A snippet from Chap. 15 of long-form TBB fic called ‘Success Rate’ that can be found here. These two regs just helped Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker rescue Tech and Echo from a brutal ordeal in captivity. How'd these mysterious regs meet Tech before all of it went down? Hunter and Crosshair find out… and sympathize.
Length: 3,100 words
CW: swearing and mentions of adult themes
An hour or so goes by, and Hunter and Crosshair are still up in Serpent Squad's shop, swapping stories with Easy and Slowpoke. By now, several more of Easy's guys have wandered over to meet the two Bad Batch commandos and revisit some of the epic tales that are being told. There are still a few guys at their various watch stations, but the ones who’ve been relieved seem to be forgoing their racks and personal time to join in on the fun.
"So lemme get this straight," Hunter says to his and Crosshair's new mates: the OIC and AOIC of a highly secretive, highly reserved, gang of radar operators and crypto specialists. "You two were both ARC Troopers when you deployed to Geonosis, but you got hurt and now you're both cryptos. And you met Tech... when you were doing deep dives into encrypted networks?"
"I know it sounds mental," Easy affirms. "But it's the damn truth. Cadet's honor."
"Well,” Hunter says, first and foremost, “I’m sorry you boys got hurt.”
"Thanks, vod. Yeah, we were sorry too when they yanked our ARC designations," Easy says. "Not sorry right away, though. What happened was me and Slopes were caught in a bad blast during the final push. But it was all the typical injuries you know? We still finished the job and all."
"It was only later we learned we'd both sustained some pretty serious TBIs," Slowpoke adds. "When we tried to go back to duty after everything on the outside had healed, we were having a lot of trouble."
"Still do," Easy continues. "Slopes has these violent seizures now and then. It's really hard on him. And me, I get some nasty vertigo pretty often. Can't tell which way's up or down... it's madness! Also—not that my mind was a durasteel trap before—but my short-term memory’s just garbage now."
"The first time vertigo happened to him, we were in formation," shares Slowpoke as he takes a careful sip from his beer. "All of a sudden, he keels over and starts hugging the deck like the ship was going belly-up. Our CO was furious because he thought Easy was takin' the piss. I mean... we all did. But when he looked up at me, green as Endor moss, I knew something was horribly wrong."
"Yup. Then, not long after, Slopes kept getting 'the shakes' more often, and it became clear that both of us were still affected by whatever that blast did to our brains,” Easy adds, amiably. “Our CO transferred us to medical for eval and treatment, but the long-necks never could cure us. They put us on meds, and the meds do help, but we'll always have symptoms. They wanted to decommission us."
"How'd you dodge it?" asks Crosshair.
"Yeah," Hunter says, also craving to know how a medical decision made by one or more Kaminoans was thwarted. "The long-necks are heartless and stubborn when they deem a vod can't perform as promised."
"Kenobi," Easy says simply. "He heard we were being decommed, then he made other plans for us before the Kaminoans followed through."
"He said he 'negotiated' our 'lateral transfer,'" Slowpoke adds. "But really, we think he pulled us out of there and somehow hid us in Skywalker's inventory. We think he assigned us to crypto because there's not a whole lot of people who even have the clearance to look at our muster sheet."
"That and crypto at a top-tier command is probably the last place the Kaminoans would expect two infirm, unsound, adrenaline-addicted ex-ARCs to wind up," says Easy, grinning around the growing circle of brothers. "But here we are!"
"Here we are," Slowpoke agrees.
"And it’s a pretty good gig too, eh, fellas?" Easy says, turning his head to include everyone within earshot.
There's an excited murmur of assent from around the room.
"We do miss working directly for Kenobi, though," says Easy, sounding a little forlorn. "But he kept us close enough by stashing us with Skywalker's crew. We still see him every now and then. Plus, they're so close that if you're working with one, you're pretty much directly working with the other too."
"I can see that," Hunter tells the group, thinking about all the times he's seen the two men joined at the hip both in battle and in banter.
"Works for us," says Slowpoke. "Plus, we figure the best way to show Kenobi our gratitude is to look after Skywalker."
"Yeah. Just not in the same way we used to on the ground," says Easy. "But with crypto and espionage and slicing instead. Digging up intel and cyber-sneaking around enemy databases and frequencies."
"You're good at what you do," Hunter reminds them, thinking about how instrumental Serpent squad was in helping the Batch retrieve Tech and Echo. "Can't see how anyone could stay off your radar. Or how they could keep intel hidden from you if it's something you guys really want."
Easy and Slowpoke share a wry grin and a few mutters and sniggers break out around the room. Vexed by Serpent squad's communal reaction, Hunter and Crosshair glance around curiously, feeling very much on the outside of an inside joke.
"We're not laughing at you," Easy tells them sincerely. "Promise. We're laughing because it's so damn ironic you would say that."
"Oh... yeah?" Hunter says, still unsure. "Why's that?"
"Bet I know why," drawls Crosshair, revelation dawning on his sharp features.
"Why then?" Hunter asks him.
"They tried their little tricks on Tech," mutters Crosshair pensively. Then turning to Easy and Slowpoke. "Didn't you? And he knew it."
"At the heart of it," Slowpoke says, "that's exactly why.
"We weren't 'trying our tricks' on Tech, specifically," Easy clarifies. "We were doing a routine breaching exercise and Havoc Marauder was just one of the ships on our scopes. We didn't know anything about her but her name and designation, so we wanted to give it a go. Plus, Slopes and I were still relatively new here at the time, and our brass was adamant that we prove our worth."
"Yeah, we were new, but we'd already done a hundred tests on a hundred different ships,” says Slowpoke.
”And we'd cracked all of them without breaking a sweat. So there we were, dumb and cocky enough to think that spying on Havoc Marauder would be like spying on all the others," Easy adds frankly. "We soon learned the hard way that we were wrong."
"Oh man," Hunter says, feeling like he finally knows where this story's headed. "Wha'd he do when he detected you guys?"
"He identified himself as Marauder to confirm your vessel. And then he warned us fair and square," Easy says. "Said he'd recognized our efforts to slice into Marauder's mainframe and that they'd just be futile. Told us to turn back, or he'd be compelled to retaliate."
"And, what?" Crosshair asks. "You thought the arrogant nerd was bluffing?"
"Of course, we thought he was bluffing," Slowpoke tells him.
"Yeah, by then, we'd looked on the GAR universal database and saw who you guys were, and we figured the one called 'Tech' was on the comms,” Easy adds. “We thought you guys were too specialized to bother with crypto know-how, and we thought our advanced training and equipment platforms would give us the upper hand in this challenge. So we went right ahead with it, trying to show Marauder who was boss."
"He warned us one more time before he counterattacked. And then..." adds Slowpoke. "And then he made us learn just who the kriff we were dealing with."
"How?" drawls Crosshair.
"Then all of our display screens went dark for a few seconds," Easy says. "And when they recovered, a little feature film was playing for our enjoyment. On all of them."
"Oh no..." Hunter says, only daring to imagine what Tech had in store for them at that moment.
"An adult feature film," Slowpoke supplies.
"No way!" Hunter says, hooting in unison with Crosshair.
"And I know what you're thinking," Easy says, cracking up at the memory. "You're thinking, 'oh yeah, like you've never had one of those tacky vids passed around the barracks,' right? Well, it wasn't just any smut film, fellas. It was all Hutts."
The collective groan that sounds out through the rollicking atmosphere of the room only makes everyone laugh even harder.
"But-but! Not just Hutts!" Easy chokes, fighting back tears of mirth. "They were fucking ancient, elderly, old Hutts."
"Probably the sickest shit I've ever beheld," says Slowpoke, collecting himself just enough to put some sincerity behind the remark.
"And that's saying something!" comments one of the boys Hunter hasn't met yet, and Slowpoke looks on, playfully peeved and casually brandishing his middle finger.
"How long did he let it go on?" asks Hunter, almost afraid to find out.
"A good hour," Easy tells him. "And by then, we were on our humble knees, begging him to relinquish control before any of the brass caught on, or we'd all be sent up! And he did, just in the knick of time. So, that's the story of how we met Tech.”
"And," Slowpoke adds, "we've been friends ever since."
"Friends?" Crosshair grumbles. "You all then just decided you wanted some dangerous slicing maniac as your friend?"
"Yeah, why not?" Easy says. "He was perfectly civil about warning us, and we were the ones who bit off more than we could chew. I would have done the same thing he did if someone was trying to mess with my guys' info, and I had to teach them a lesson they'd never forget."
"True," Crosshair agrees. "He was protecting us. Sounds like it did the trick."
"Sure did," says Slowpoke. "But we couldn't help but like him.”
”Yeah so we stayed in touch. We see him logged in as "Marauder" at some of the virtual Crypto conferences that we attend for training,” says Easy. “We always say hey, and he does too. But, collectively, we never messed with Marauder again after that."
"Collectively," Slowpoke reiterates. "Doesn't mean we're above having some of the shinies give it a go on their own when they're getting too big for their britches."
"Yeah, whenever we get students or rookies who come through thinking they're real hot shit," Easy says. "We send them right to Tech. We have them do a test in which they target Marauder, and Tech takes care of them for us. You know, knocks them down a peg or two."
"How does Tech only target one guy at a time if they're working out of your shop?" Hunter asks.
"Well, we can't tell you how he does it because we have no karking idea," says Easy.
"None whatsoever," Slowpoke adds.
"But, we can gladly tell you what he does. It's different every time, but he'll usually send out a mass message from their personal account with something ridiculous typed in the body of it. We've actually got them all saved somewhere..."
Easy then swivels around in his chair to address the gathered members of Serpent squad.
"Oi, Serpent," he says to them. "Whose got that list of messages that were sent whenever we've had shinies try to spy on Marauder?
"Got it right here, boss," says a clone from Easy's squad, tapping and scrolling on the datapad at his console.
"Yes, Timbre, well done!" Easy then swivels back to Hunter and Crosshair. "Hunter, Crosshair, meet Timbre. He's gonna do a dramatic reading of some of the good ones. Aren't you, vod?"
"Can do Sarge," the reg says readily, clearing his throat. "Let's see... oh here's a good one. This one was from a rookie whose unit was here for training before they went on to check in aboard Tranquility."
To everyone's delight, the reg called Timbre stands up out of his seat to make sure everyone can hear, then takes on a serious tone of voice to read out the messages.
"Good morning, brothers. Sorry to bother, but does anyone have a spare set of sheets I could borrow for my rack? I pissed in mine again last night and they're absolutely ruined. Thanks in advance."
"Damn, Tech," Hunter hears Crosshair whisper fondly as the room erupts into more laughter.
"That one got sent to our whole battalion and the battalion he was due to check in with a few days later," Slowpoke adds happily.
"That one's one of my favorites," Easy says admiringly. "Timbre, give us another."
"Sure thing, boss," says Timbre.
Hunter finds himself wondering if Timbre is Serpent squad's designated orator when it comes to recitation of the absolutely absurd.
"Any requests?" asks the reg before sharing another.
"Do the aftershave one!" shouts somebody on watch at a comms console.
"You got it," Timbre says readily, as he repeats the same process but with a slightly different voice this time so that the audience knows a different rookie is now speaking.
"Hey Fellas!!!!
Does anyone know what that alluring aftershave is that Commander Cody uses? I just passed him in the p-way and it made my mouth water. Can't get it off my mind and thinking of trying it out for myself. Cheers!"
"Hells! Tell me Cody didn't see that one," says Hunter, eyes going wide but with a guilty grin.
"He did," Slowpoke reports mildly. "From some ass-licker down in Air Frames who was trying to make chief at the time. And the Commander was fuming.”
"Ahhh, he sure was!" Easy agrees wistfully. "We actually caught flak for that one too, because it's literally our job to stop external tampering of any kind. And I just had tuck tail and say 'sir, look, if we knew how this guy was doing it, we'd put an end to it.' But, as you guess, that didn't really cut it for ole Code-y."
"'This guy'," Crosshair repeats curiously. "You didn't rat on Tech?"
"'Course not, Crosshair, you sullen prick!" says Easy, playfully cuffing the sniper on the chest. "Kriff, you're pessimistic! We were the ones who set that loud-mouth, blowhard shiny into Tech's lair to begin with. And it's well-known Bad Batch gets far less free time than most."
"Yeah," Slowpoke agrees. "He's doing us a huge favor every time he gives arrogant new guys like that a good lick because it's arrogance that could cost our operations everything. Plus we bounce ideas off him all the time. We kinda lean on him here and there."
"Also, it was a nice reality check for those of us who were thinking we'd take another swing at Marauder's database," Easy admits. "Some of us thought we could find a way past Tech's defenses. But the truth was, we'd just forgotten that if we tried to mess with the wampa, we were gonna wake up, swinging by our ankles, in his cave."
"He did feel bad though when we told him Cody had us on scullery duty for a week after the incident," says Slowpoke. "After that, he stopped including anyone else in the narratives by name."
"Let's hear another message, Sarge," someone requests.
"Alright one more," Easy allows after consulting with and sharing a knowing look with his number two. "But just the one or we could be doin' this all night. Pick another good one for our honored guests, lads."
"The one about the butterfly!" shouts a Serpent reg, to an outpour of general agreement.
"No, do the one about the dance recital!" cries another to a similar level of assent.
"Both are fantastic, but let's have the butterfly," says Easy, swiftly and expertly breaking the tie. "Go for it, Timbre."
"Butterfly it is," says Timbre, preparing for one last little speech.
Hey comrades! I'm looking for a tattoo artist onboard... anyone have any good recs? Preferably someone good with colors because I'd like a maridun butterly on my lower back. And also, someone with a tender touch. I've extra sensitive skin and I cried a lot last time because it really, really hurt. Best regards.
"Oh shit!" Easy exclaims. "He straight castrated that bloke!"
"He kriffing deserved it, if my memory serves," reasons Slowpoke, casually sipping his drink. "And it does."
...
Hunter and Crosshair laugh heartily together as Easy moves to finally break up the fun. The reg sergeant sends those on watch back to their stations, while Slowpoke sends those who aren't down to their barracks to get some rest. After the shop returns to a general state of order, the four clones sit together peacefully once again.
"And thus concludes the adventure of how we met your Tech long before the mishap with the Bounty Hunters," Easy declares as he pours another round for each of them.
"Well, the story officially did not disappoint," Hunter says, clinking his glass on Slowpoke's. "And to be honest, it's probably the least controversial thing Tech's accomplished with his… skills."
"Where does he even come up with that stuff? I mean, he really doesn't mess around," says Easy, still laughing. "And worse, he looks a bit funny ya know? Like someone you could mess with at the cantina. But he's a kriffing savage, he is."
"He is on another level," Hunter agrees fondly.
"He's on his own level," Slowpoke says in a sudden moment of mindfulness. "Bet it gets lonely."
"It did," Crosshair tells the reg flatly. "But that was before Echo. Now, Tech has a partner when it comes to perpetrating cyber crimes."
"That's trouble," says Easy, sounding blissfully intrigued. "Oh right, Echo! I keep forgetting that Echo's got a whole new skillset these days. Hey, do you think Echo would know how to get past Tech's security and then help us finally retaliate? Maybe he'd sympathize as one former ARC to another."
"Fuck no," says Crosshair with a dry bark of cruel laughter. "Fuck. No. And he's still an ARC."
By now, Easy and Slowpoke both understand Crosshair's aversion to sugarcoating anything. But Hunter senses that they're still startled at the rigidly abrupt change in the sharpshooter's tone. As his brother and batchmate, Hunter knows Crosshair meant nothing more than emphasis by it, so he readily smooths over any ambiguity felt by the regs.
"What my charming scout sniper means," Hunter says with a laugh and a relaxed smile. "Is sorry, that's not happening, fellas. Our ARC’s all business. He doesn’t trouble himself with devious pranks and scruples when there's work to be done.”
"Well, that and he'd never tell you," Crosshair mutters, taking a sip from his beer. "Those two have been inseparable since within hours of knowing each other. It's revolting."
"That’s true," Hunter adds. "They kinda just meshed from the start. I don't think you could even drive a lightsaber between them at this point."
"Fuck," says Easy, cautiously admiring them. "Well, cheers to them being on our side, eh boys?"
"Cheers," Hunter says in unison with Crosshair and Slowpoke as they bang their glasses together and take a long draught.
Thank you so much for reading. I hope it made you smile! Reblogs, critiques, corrections, comments, and new ideas are welcome. Have a great day : ]
Easy and Slowpoke ("Slopes") are two OCs that roll over from another fic hehe! Easy is sort of a cross between Hunter and Wrecker and Slopes is almost a cross between Crosshair and Tech, and I've grown rather fond of these two helpful boys.
Here’s a one shot from a series I started recently called Postcards From Pabu. It’s called “Because We Love You” and it picks up right after Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo break some skulls and bust some siblings out of Mount Tantiss. Pabu's been waiting, and the entire Bad Batch may finally get the victory they deserve… and a giant group hug.
Posted to AO3 here
And I think I’ll share the full text as a tumblr post as well! This was a birthday card for a friend written in June 😊. I plan to start posting more of my writing here on tumblr as I’ve only been using AO3. I’m very passionate about TBB (lol wait could you tell??) and I really hope I’m getting their characters right! I tend to put them in very dangerous situations. But there’s always plenty of comfort to match the hurt I promise!
((a/n: heyo heyo heyo! anya here to bring yall another trilogy of birthday fics, and this is a very short first installment! This features an interaction between Viv and a very special person in her life. Yeap, it’s her dad! Since it’s her birthday, I thought it was important to highlight Viv and Leon’s relationship so yeah. This isn’t a super important fic but it’s just a nice little break from huge Selection storylines... for now. Hope you enjoy! ))
My phone is abuzz with texts today. Not really, but it’s more than the usual number of texts I get on a daily basis. I’m not complaining that much though since it’s a bunch of texts from Francis the caretaker, Duke- my brother, my mom, my sorta stepdad, Paula and Rikka, cousins from dad’s side of the family. I’ve been replying with a thousand and one variants of ‘Thank you’ that I could type those words out with my eyes closed. The birthday greetings aren’t limited to my phone either- somehow my maids had caught wind that it was my birthday and well, you don’t need twitter in the palace. All you need is a maid who can fill you in on everything in the palace and guess what?
They spread that news like it was peanut butter on my morning toast. I didn’t mind the influx of greetings from the occasional staff member or one of the other Selected girls. Felt kind of nice for people to at least remember that it was my birthday.
But there was only one person’s greeting that mattered to me most, and in the afternoon I had to slip away from from the Women’s Room.
I fall back against my bed as my phone dialed down my dad’s number.
“Dad,” I grin as I held my phone to my ear and sat up from my bed. “Feeling better today?”
I’ve been talking to my dad on the phone everyday, a small reassurance that he’s still alive and well enough to talk to me, a small reassurance on his part that the only family he had left didn’t leave him to live in a palace.
“Better than yesterday- only because it’s my girl’s nineteenth birthday.” he replies his weaker voice carrying some forced joy. He was trying to sound okay. “I wish I was there.”
“I wish I was there.” I wish my voice didn’t crack too.
He hums a little as his tone goes a little dry. “Now why would you want to be stuck with this old sick guy when you’re off hanging around royalty?”
“Oh I don’t know, maybe because he’s the old sick guy who raised me on his own for 10 years.” I reply with the same dry humor.
A broken laugh escapes him, followed by words slowly said- his breath seemingly difficult to catch in a moment like this.
“And I thought-” he takes another labored breath that made me shut my eyes and made me want to pretend that it wasn’t painful to hear, “I thought I had already gotten rid of you when I put you on that plane to Angeles.”
“Nope,” I make a popping sound at the p. “This bird isn’t quite ready to leave the nest just yet.”
“Besides” I continue as I shift slightly on top of my covers. “someone’s got to take care of you while you recover from the transplant.”
There’s dead silence on the other side of the line for a moment before my dad speaks up again. “Viv.”
“Surpriiiiiiise.” I interrupt as I break the news to him. “We’ve got more than enough to get you that surgery now. And I made sure to book you a surgery with Doctor Grey within the next two weeks.”
His stumbles over his words for a moment. “You know we’ve got better use for that money, Viv.”
“We’ve talked about it, dad. That surgery is gonna save your life, what’s better than that?”
I know what’s he going to say next, only because we’ve had a conversation like this so many times before. A part of me hopes that he’s too tired to give me a lecture and my birthday wish seems to come true after a long silence from him.
“I’ll coordinate with Francis to arrange the details of that surgery. Alright?” I knew that I couldn’t really talk to him for long. “Now go get some rest.”
“Before I go though,” he says before a yawn seems to escape him. “Did you get yourself a Happy Meal now?”
A smile creeps up my lips as I shake my head and press my phone closer to my ear. “I was going to head out and grab myself one. How could I forget the tradition?”
“Good. Happy Birthday, Viv. Talk to you tomorrow. Say hi to the prince for me.” He says as he quickly teases before he ends the call. I sigh, sometimes your parents can act like such children sometimes.
“See you, dad.” I say just as the line goes dead and I fall back against my bed and close my eyes for a few moments. Needed to rest a little before I snuck out.
