THIS FIC NEEDS TO BE FOUND AND READ 😭😭😭

Crosshair doesn’t miss…

I REPEAT CROSSHAIR DOESNT MISS. HIS AIM IS DEADLY AND PRECISE

Look at the destruction one shot caused.

Another perfect shot.

Immaculate aim.

He only needs one shot per target. Never more than one. But he missed every shot he took against the bad batch. That kind of failure cannot be explained by a simple inhibitor chip. He never wanted them dead. He always loved his brothers. He could never kill them. Even with the chip intact and increased to its highest intensity, he missed every shot except for the one on Wrecker’s shoulder (but let’s face it Wrecker is quite a large target so it’s easy to hit him even on accident but he’d been hit in the same spot earlier that episode which means Crosshair knew he’d survive it).

He had the perfect shot. He could have killed Hunter then and there. But he didn’t. He hesitated. Because in his heart, no matter what they did to his mind, Hunter is his brother and he’s loyal to his brothers. No wonder he felt so betrayed by them when he did everything in his power to protect them.

The truest thing he ever said was when he told Hunter

“if I wanted you dead you would be.”

The batch may not have believed or trusted him, but boy do I.

Seeing his neck makes me go feral!! 👀

✨️ This ✨️

That's it. That's the post.

Sweet and sensual

Hunter x reader

Warning: smut, nervous reader

\_\_\

Your first time with your boyfriend hunter. :3

Very gentle and loving

\_\_\

Hunter was kissing you over and over and over again. You felt like it was never gonna stop. You squeaked and squirmed in his arms as his lips tickled yours.

His hand move down your back further and you caught it. He stopped and looked at

you nervously.

"I'm sorry Mesh'la.. I didn't mean to make

you uncomfortable"

"No.. I. I'm not uncomfortable. I'm just nervous. I've never been touched by someone like this before"

"You haven't? You should have told me cyare. I would've been more careful"

"No I don't want you to.. I want to do it with you. I.. I just feel like you won't like what's underneath my clothes"

"What makes you say that? I didn't fall with your body I feel in love with you. I don't care how you look under your clothes"

"You mean that?"

"Of course I do y/n. I love you"

"I love you too"

You placed your hands on his chest and kissed him feverishly. Your arousal causing you to have a burst of adrenaline.

Hunter started to pull the hem of your shirt up. You stepped away for him to take it all the way off. You did the same with the top of his blacks.

You looked at his firm, tan chest and ran your fingers across his strong biceps. His fingers lightly feathered across your collar bone and the top of your bra.

You reached behind you and unclipped it. Letting it fall from your arms. Hunter ran his finger tips across your nipples and down the side of your breasts.

You moaned lightly. Hunter reached down and kissed your neck gently.

"Hunter. I want to do it now. Please I don't want to wait anymore."

"Yes Mesh'la.. anything for you"

You shimmied your pants off and let them fall to the ground as you sat on the bed. Hunter came closer and rested his hands on your thighs.

"I promise to take of you cyare.. do you

trust me?"

"I do hunter. I trust you"

He pushed you down gently and slotted himself between your legs. He ran his hands across your hips and pelvic bone. He kissed the top of your panties causing you to moan.

He pulled your panties down and threw towards the pile of clothes. He ran his finger tips across your clit and opening. You gripped the sheets and arched your back.

He pushed his tongue into your pussy. You moaned out in surprise. His nose brushed against your clit deliciously. It was too much and you started to feel your stomach tingle.

"Hunter! I'm gonna cum"

He responded by pushing your legs up over his head and devouring you like a starved animal.

A gush of slick fell onto his face. He groaned and licked a stripe across your slit.

"Hunter stop teasing! I want you"

You demanded

"As you wish"

He chuckled

He took his blacks off and his underwear with it. His large member stood hard with arousal.

He was about to push into your slick when

you stopped him.

"Wait! Im nervous.."

Hunter looked down at you calmly

"Do you want to stop?"

"N-no I don't, I just don't know what will happen"

"Well I've heard it's different for everyone. Men and women both"

"Yeah.. what if it hurts?"

"Then we can stop if you want to"

"Alright..I'm ready"

Hunter gently pushed his tip into you. You felt pressure on the inside of your pussy.  You put your arms on his shoulders to brace yourself.

Hunter pushed against your hymen and felt like you were going to burst. You gripped his neck tighter as the pressure released and he slipped inside you. You took a deep breath.

"It's alright cyare. Does it hurt?"

He kissed your head.

"A little."

"Is it uncomfortable? Do you want to stop?"

"Not really.. and I don't want to stop. Please keep going hunter"

"Alright Mesh'la"

He pulled out slowly and pushed back in. You moaned as he drug across your g-spot. You wrapped your legs around his waist and he started to move quicker.

"H-hunter. Nhh- please go faster"

He went faster in and out of you while still remaining gentle and calm. You kissed his lips and he wrapped his hands around your head.

"Mesh'la.. I'm close."

"C-can you do it outside?"

"Of course I can my love"

He pulled out and released across your stomach and in his hand.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you go inside.. I

was nervous"

"You don't have to be sorry y/n. It's your choice. I wouldn't have inside even if you didn't say anything."

You nodded and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you hunter"

"I love you too cyar'ika"

(Consent is a key ingredient to a good intimate relationship. There is nothing wrong with saying no to something)

Mens tits. You agree. Reblog.

UNDERSTANDING ──── echo.

summary: in the middle of the night, echo finds you, hurt and exhausted and in need of an apology. with the prompt "you want a bite?" / requests are closed!

pairing: arc trooper echo x reader

word count: 1.6k

warnings: none! just a sprinkling of angst and grief.

a/n: so…. i kinda went crazy with this one….... it's a bit angsty but i hope you like it anyway! to me, this prompt felt like it would be awkward, maybe used as a way of proposing a truce, or a peace offering. also, i listened to “waves” by chloe moriondo while writing this!

You’re not sure what to think of Echo.

Most of the time, he’s quiet. When he does speak, it’s usually to enforce a rule, remind the group of their current plan, or to keep Wrecker in check.

Officially, Hunter is the group leader; ever since Clone Force 99 accepted you into their squad, that much has been clear.

You’re the only non-clone—or “natborn” as the others refer to you—living on the Marauder. It’s been several months since you saved Omega from bounty hunters on your home planet of Pantora, and now, you’re as much a part of the Bad Batch as anyone else.

Except, you’re not a batcher. Not really.

Despite how much you care for your squadmates, it’s easy to feel separated from them at times. Easy to feel different.

Most of the others have picked up on this by now, and often go to great lengths to make you feel like one of them.

Not Echo, though. He seems wary of you, and you’re not sure why. Once, you brought it up to Tech, who simply waved you off with one of his shrewd, knowledge-filled comments. “You are new here, you know. Some people are simply slower to open up than others.”

You, however, know that’s not the case. You’ve seen Echo with his brothers, and with Omega. He can be kind, and funny, and even angry. But to you… to you, he’s nothing but quiet.

For some time, you tried your hardest to be yourself around him—to crack your usual sarcastic jokes at his expense, to be friendly, like you are with the others. But the constant avoidance and clipped answers leave you increasingly confused and hurt.

So you withdrew from him, too.

It still bothers you, sometimes. But you’ve learned to brush it off.

Now, you sit in the cockpit, feet resting against the control panel. A ration bar—one of the good ones—rests in your hand. Every so often, as you watch the blue glow of hyperspace streak past the viewport, you take a bite of the ration bar.

You’re on first watch. Someone has to stay in the cockpit to oversee the ship’s journey back to Ord Mantell—and, since you still can’t fall asleep in hyperspace, you keep volunteering for the job. The cockpit is mostly dark. All the lights are off, and the viewport is dimmed. Anything brighter reminds you of how sleep-deprived you are, and so you’re content to sit in the blue gloom.

Leaning your head against the headrest of the pilot’s chair, you close your eyes. Your entire body feels heavy with exhaustion, but every time you try to drift off, the rumbling of the ship’s hyperdrive jerks you awake.

The sound of footsteps startles you. You open your eyes, leaning around the back of the chair to inspect what little part of the ship’s corridor you can see. You can hear the sounds of someone moving around by the small common area, but you can’t tell who it is.

Tech’s probably experimenting again, you think wryly, and settle back into your comfortable position.

Soon, though, the footsteps grow closer. Someone enters the cockpit with a tired sigh, placing something on one of the chairs nearer to the door. It sort of sounds like Hunter, but with the similarity between everyone’s voices, you can’t be sure.

The footsteps halt suddenly. You look up to find honey-coloured eyes surveying you with apprehension. In the dim light, awash with blue, you register the glint of a cybernetic headpiece.

“Oh,” you say, blinking up at Echo, “hi.”

Echo only grunts.

You frown, looking down at your hands, at your half-eaten ration bar. “It’s late,” you say quietly. “You, um—you should get some rest.”

When Echo answers, you don’t look up. “I slept for a couple hours.”

Slowly, you nod, fiddling with the foil wrapper of the ration bar. The cockpit falls silent; you wait for Echo to leave, but he stays still, his shadow falling over your tired frame.

You want to ask why he’s still here. You want to be rude, to ask him to leave so you can have some peace and quiet. But truthfully, he isn’t saying anything, or causing any disturbances, so instead you hold up your unfinished ration bar. “You want a bite?”

Echo blinks. It seems to take him a moment to process your question. Then, to your faint surprise, he nods. “Thank you,” he says as you hand him the ration bar wordlessly.

It’s a peace offering, of sorts.

He sits in the co-pilot’s chair and takes a hesitant bite, chewing slowly. You see his expression brighten—probably at the realization that this is one of the good ration bars, the kind that Hunter always says not to hog—then return to his usual neutral one.

You watch as he swallows. He hands you back the bar, holding out his hand, but you don’t take it.

“Why… why are you here?” you ask quietly.

As soon as the words leave your mouth, Echo drops his arm and breaks eye contact, looking almost—embarrassed. Or maybe even ashamed.

Still, you wait for his answer. Several long, painful seconds pass before he says anything. When he speaks, it’s like he’s forcing out the words.

“I wanted to—” he pauses. His flesh hand fiddles with his metal one. “I wanted to apologize.”

You feel your breath hitch. Staring, you try not to gape. “What?” you say, whispering without meaning to. “I don’t—”

“I’ve been horrible to you,” Echo continues, voice steadier. “I didn’t mean to be so… withdrawn. I didn’t realize I was doing it. I… I hope you can forgive me.”

Instead of acknowledging his apology, you bite the inside of your cheek with uncertainty, then cross your arms over your chest. One of the others must have put him up to this. Probably Omega, or perhaps Hunter. Raising an eyebrow, you ask, “Who sent you?”

“No one!” Echo replies hurriedly, then presses his lips into a thin line. “I mean, Hunter told me that you—he said that—” He sighs. “I didn’t realize it on my own. But I came because I wanted to.”

You blink, cursing yourself when you feel your eyes sting. With a start, you realize that this is the most Echo has said to you since you joined the squad.

Taking in a breath, you wring your hands anxiously. “I just… I just don’t understand why.” You shrug. “You’re not the same with me. Not like how you are with the others.”

Echo swallows. “It’s not—”

“I just want to know what I did wrong.”

At that, Echo falls silent. Guilt permeates the air, enough that you can feel it.

“Hey,” Echo says, kinder than you’ve ever heard him. “Look at me.”

You do. His eyes, like lava, or maybe liquid gold, bore into you. It almost hurts to look.

“This,” he continues, gesturing to the space between you, “is not your fault.”

Against your will, a lone tear slips down your cheek. “So whose fault is it?” you whisper, barely loud enough to be heard over the ship’s engine

It’s obvious from the look on Echo’s face that he’s thinking of something—or someone—specific. Despite how much you want to, you don’t ask.

You just wait.

“It’s my brother,” Echo finally murmurs, and you raise your eyebrows, quickly cycling through the rest of your squad. Hunter, Wrecker, Tech… maybe Crosshair? You can’t think what any of them, even the one who’s no longer a member of your group, have to do with you.

“Your... brother,” you repeat dumbly.

“Yes.” Echo nods. “Fives.”

Oh. A fellow soldier, then. Probably from before the war ended… and probably long dead.

Drawing in a shaky breath, you hastily wipe your cheek with your sleeve. “What—what about him?”

“You…” Echo shakes his head, then lets out a humourless chuckle as he turns to look at the viewport, at the swirling blues and whites and greys of hyperspace. When he speaks again, his voice is barely above a whisper. “You remind me of him.”

You blink.

Truthfully, you have no idea what to say to that. Luckily, Echo continues, saving you from having to come up with an answer.

“Your sense of humour, I mean. The sarcasm, the jokes.” He shrugs, and the light from the viewport catches on his cybernetic headpiece, glinting in the otherwise dim cockpit. “And… and the way you know people.”

“‘Know people’?” you echo, confused. “I’m not following.”

“You understand people,” Echo says, and finally looks at you again, eyes impossibly sad. “Somehow, without ever having experienced what others have gone through, you understand their pain—and you feel it with them.” He closes his eyes for a brief moment, then opens them again. “Fives used to do that too.”

And suddenly, as though a switch inside you has been flipped, it all makes sense. “That’s why you’ve been avoiding me,” you realize, and Echo winces. “It’s because I remind you of him.”

“See?” The barest hint of a smile graces his lips. “You’re doing it now. And you’re not even trying.”

“I guess I never thought about it like that.”

“I’m sorry for everything,” Echo says. “I am. It just…”

“Hurts,” you finish, and Echo blinks, surprised. You smile softly. “I know you too, you know.” Reaching out, you take his flesh hand, gently prying it open and taking the ration bar. As Echo watches, you split the remaining piece in half and hand one to him. “And for what it’s worth—I forgive you.”

The shadows colouring Echo’s face suddenly seem lighter. He smiles, then—really smiles.

You take a bite of the ration bar and smile back.

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Ima be real. My heart breaks for Tech. I always felt like Echo and him were besties, now all I can see is Tech in the pilot's seat turning about to ask Echo something only for Tech to go quiet cause the co pilots seat is empty.

A little love for TBB Echo

I love my pasty boi sm Jesus Christ such a angry little baby

Genderless reader! ...slight angst?? out of all ive written so far it all has to do with getting sleep

Cursing

"Echo?" your voice was quiet, not wanting to wake up any of the batchers. You knew how important sleep was to them, well maybe not Tech but well its Tech.

"Hmm?" a low and quiet hum met your ears as quiet footsteps neared your bunk. They stopped and before you knew it an Echo shaped silhouette came into view. You let out a small happy squeak as he soon joined you in the small bunk.

"The ones on Kamino are bigger" He grumbled face first into the mattress. You took his metal "arm" into your own it was hot on the ship despite the cold endless void of space mere inches away, yet his enhancement was cold. He let out another grumble this time inaudible.

"Why so grumpy?"

"I'm not grumpy....I miss the beds on Kamino" with his other hand he fumbled to remove his chest armor.

"You've mentioned it" a small giggle left you as you began to help him out.

"My old General made sure that we got comfy futons in our barracks" he wiggled free and you tossed the piece to where yells feet were.

"Old General?" Echo hasn't been the type to talk about his past, well nothing to in-depth and from finding out what made him half machine you didn't really want to ask, he was getting better each day and you didn't want to accidently trigger a relapse.

"He was reckless and stupid, but he treated his men well" with that he also threw off his shoulder pads.

"Sounds like someone I know" you giggled beginning to mindlessly poke at the ports on his head.

"yeah you"

"Echo!" you said in a quiet gasp as he had managed to lunch onto your chest snuggling his head into you neck, legs still hanging off the bunk. You began to quietly laugh as his human hand began to tickle at your side, you would be kicking the ceiling if it weren't for Echo's new position pinning them underneath him.

"Shhh you are gonna wake the others" more mumbles came from him but he didn't stop, what a prick.

"I'm already awake" The rough voice of Hunter was heard, oh he was defiantly pissed. "You to go to sleep or I'm leaving you on the next planet we pass" very much pissed

"Sorry!" you squeaked out as Echo himself stopped letting a low chuckle into you neck "asshole" you quietly told him only to receive an arm around you. Quiet snores soon followed, you smiled. Finally you could get some sleep.

"asshole" you quietly giggled out kissing the top of his head before closing you eyes listening to his soft breaths.

Hey, university student here. I’m having a hard time getting around to working on reading and homework due to depression and anxiety. Do you have any tips for developing discipline while taking care of my mental health?

Hi there, my love. First off, thanks for your message, as someone who also has anxiety, it’s been a lot to try and manage that as well as work/life balance. Some tips with developing discipline while taking care of your mental health are:

have set times each day where you know you for sure will be studying and cut off times where you know you will be taking care of yourself eg. studying from 5pm-7pm and from 7pm-8pm just do things that are for you and your mental health

seeing a mental health professional regularly, whether this be school councillor or psychologist. It’s so important.

journalling - I used to journal every night, now I journal every other night. I keep my diary on my bedside table and a pen with it so it’s convenient to do before I go to sleep

build a routine - I use THIS printable planner by @anoukostudies I’m currently making a video on how I plan so I’ll let you guys know when that’s out. As a subcategory of building a routine, have a cut off on devices and work at the same time every night to make sleep a priority.

exercise - I had REALLY REALLY low moods a few years ago, and I can honestly say that moving away from a toxic environment in combination with caring for my body through exercise and proper nutrition made me a MUCH happier person. At one point I felt like I wouldn’t be happy again, I was struggling so hard. We are built to move! If you currently do no exercise, even walking to the shops and back or going for a morning walk can make SUCH a difference to your mood and productivity.

I could do more but I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much so I’ll stick with this! Don’t get me wrong, I still struggle with my anxiety, despite doing all this. There are going to be good days and bad days no matter what but what you can do is some of these to make the bad days a little more manageable <33333 Thank you for this ask, my love!! I really hope this helps!!

Forgiveness

Notes: I reused the same gif as last time, so sue me. I'm kind of vaguely basing his appearance off of Tem's character in Aquaman, kind of not. @moodymisty I have an update for you!

Pairing: Clone Trooper Veteran Tai (from Kenobi) x f!Reader

Warnings: making out, talk of drunken flirting/innuendo

Everything hurts the moment you open your eyes. The light pouring in from between the blinds is too, too bright, your body is insufferably warm under the covers, and your mouth feels sticky and dry. You can still taste remnants of alcohol on your teeth.

Stars above, the hell did I do last night?

A guttural moan rumbles out of you as you roll onto your side and squint in the general direction of your window. It takes a moment, a long, long moment, but flickers of last night start coming back to you. The bar, your minimum 3 and horrifyingly, very possibly more than 3 shots, the music that screamed so loudly you could feel it inside your skull. Tai.

Electricity screams through every vein and up your spine into your brain where it jolts you upright.

Oh Maker, Tai.

You were so wasted last night that you weren't your usual self. You were unfiltered, raw and wanting. You dragged him out onto that dance floor and-. Your face goes scalding hot with shame. The way you'd danced with him was the exact opposite of everything you'd been trying to be with him; instead of being patient and restrained, you were clingy and flirty. And he'd danced with you.

Suddenly the room is spinning and it's not because of your hangover. He'd danced with you. Sure, he'd been hesitant at first and you certainly couldn't blame him for that, but something had changed when you cupped his face in your hand. He'd moved differently with you, held you closer, tighter. If you weren't still pushing through the mental fog of your final shots, you might have even said it was intimate.

But that dry, sticky feeling in your mouth draws you out of it. Arguably, it draws you into a deeper, darker spiral. Because you can't remember coming home. Or getting into bed. And you're terrified you might have done something that you'll regret.

You're stumbling out of your bed, covers flying through the air and heart in your mouth. You have to be sure. Tai wasn't in bed with you when you woke up, so that's a good start, but you have to be certain. You don't want to ruin whatever it is you've forged with him, you can't ruin it. Or him. You can't lose him and the thought that you might have fucked it all up because you were too intoxicated to hold yourself back is making you feel sick.

No. No, it's not dread that's making you feel sick.

You barely make it to the bathroom before bile hits the back of your throat. Everything that was in your stomach unloads into the bathroom sink, mostly tinted blue from all the spotchka, and fuck, it burns. You turn on the faucet and blink down at the mess you've made.

What the hell are you doing? Going out drinking with a homeless guy? Letting him live in your home? He's a former soldier. He's half a stranger and you're the idiot letting him co-habitate with you. You're the idiot falling in love with him. Why are you falling in love with him?

The person looking back at you in the mirror looks just as perplexed and frustrated as you feel. How long as it been love and you didn't realize it? How long have you been coming home late to see him passed out on your couch and smiled at him with so much fondness that it made your chest ache? How long have you been stealing glances when he isn't looking, watching the way he moves about your space like he belongs in it, watching the muscles in his shoulders grow stronger every day from all the hard labor he's putting himself through? How many nights have you spent lying in bed, tired but unable to sleep, something hungry thrumming beneath your skin while you were too shy to try and soothe that ache with him in the apartment? How many clever smiles of his have you etched into your memory? How many blaster shots to the chest before you admit you're in over your head?

"You alright?"

Tai's voice startles you and you very nearly choke on your own esophagus. You quickly scoop a handful of water into your mouth and gurgle out the remnants of bile before answering.

"Yeah." It comes out as a croak. "Just hungover."

Your chest hurts from the strength of your heart pounding into your ribcage. You swear it's beating out the shape of him into your bones. Best not to dwell on it, on him. You need to clean up. You have a housemate and you need to be presentable. A shower would feel good. And you ought to brush your teeth. You should probably try the toilet while you're in here, too. So you let yourself fall into the mindless routine of it, stripping down and standing under the water, scrubbing yourself until it hurts to wash the embarrassment out of your skin, toweling yourself off, brushing your teeth, rubbing yourself down with lotion. It's better than stopping to think about what you've done, easier.

Until you realize you have no change of clothes. And for all you know, Tai's still standing outside your door. It's unlikely, but it's not impossible. Like him. The impossible man you've fallen impossibly far for. Dank farrik.

It takes all your bravery to press your temple to the door and whisper a hesitant, "Tai?" through the crack. "You there?"

Silence. Your heartbeat is going wild still. But there's no answer. Which means he's probably in by the sofa. If he's turned toward the hallway even slightly, he'll catch a glimpse of you as you leave. It's not an appealing thought coming on the tail end of last night's fiasco, but it's not the end of the galaxy either. You just need to dart into your room for some fresh clothes. It'll be fine.

He's not visible when you crack the door open, so you open it a little further and poke your head out. You catch the back of his head just above the sofa where you guessed he'd be. He's not looking. Run for it!

It's all a rush. You can feel water trickling down your legs, slowly dripping down the nape of your neck and over your temples. You're paranoid the towel's going to slip at exactly the wrong moment, that he'll turn and see you just as it falls and he'll get a full view of your rear, and you know that if that happens, you'd honestly rather just be eaten alive by a rancor. It would be more merciful that way.

None of that happens, though.

You stumble into your bedroom door and stub your toe, which kicks the door open. You know even before you turn to look that he's seen you. Damp. Mostly naked. Running face first into your own door like some idiot who's never walked before. And your fears are confirmed when you spin around to slam the door shut and catch his wide-eyed gaze. His skin is dark enough that you can't tell if he's blushing or not, but something tells you he probably is.

You're no better than an injured wild animal at this point. Someone should just put you out of your misery. You already accosted him in the bar last night, you wouldn't be surprised in the least if you were told you'd tried to kiss him, and now you're running around in the nude with nothing but a towel for privacy? What in the entire fuck is wrong with you? You'll be lucky if he stays another day, let alone another night.

Get dressed, you tell yourself. Pull yourself together. You need to apologize.

That becomes your mantra for the next few minutes. You pull on some undergarments, a roomy sleep shirt, some comfortable bottoms, and then you stop and look at yourself in the mirror on the back of your door. You take in your panic-stricken expression, your wide eyes and the pulse jumping out of your throat, and you sigh. This is as good as it's going to get. And you can't reasonably hide yourself away in here any longer. Sooner or later, you'll have to face him and you'll have to scoop up what remains of your companionship as best you can.

He's there when you swing your door open. He's a singular stride away, one arm already raised as if to knock.

"Tai." His name stumbles out of you in a shocked sort of whisper.

His Adam's apple bobs up and down as he swallows. You look up at him for a moment and he looks down at you, your mouth goes dry and your chest starts to tighten, and even though you're entirely sober, some stupid, feral, idiotic corner of your brain is dying to pull him down to you and kiss him. You think you want to throw up again.

"I'm sorry." He says it almost exactly the same time that you do.

"Why are you sorry?" you ask. "I should be the one apologizing to you."

He frowns. "You have nothing to apologize for. I-..." His head ducks and turns away from you as his frown starts to spread to the rest of his face. "I encouraged you last night. I shouldn't have."

Encouraged you? Does he mean the drinking? Something in your heart hurts. Or does he mean the flirting?

"No, Tai, you're fine. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who got wasted and-." Maker, you don't want to say it but you know you have to. "I know I flirted with you. A lot." You wish a black hole would open under your feet and swallow you. "I'm so sorry. I know we're just friends and I'm so glad we're friends, really. You're amazing. I love having you here."

Shut up. For the sake of your own sanity, shut up! But you can't stop talking. It's like the first night you spoke to him all over again. You're telling him he needs soap all over again. You're trying your best to do a good thing and all you're doing is making it worse. As usual.

"And I-I know that you don't have to stay here and after last night, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to leave. I can't imagine how uncomfortable you have to be right now, especially after you saw me leaving the shower, and fuck, I'm sorry, Tai. I didn't mean to do that. I just, I wanted to let loose and have fun and then I got drunk and I couldn't control myself properly with all that spotchka in me. Not that that makes what I did okay because it's not, but-."

"I don't want to leave," he rumbles and suddenly the world snaps back into focus. He's shuffled closer to you, not as close as you were at the bar when you danced, when he had his palms in the curve of your waist and you had your hand at the back of his neck, but it's still. Close. "Thought I was the one overstaying my welcome."

You're breathless when you shake your head. "No."

Relentless heat flushes from your face all the way down your body as more memories of your dancing flood your senses. You can still remember his scent, you can almost smell it now with how close he is. You chance a glance up at his eyes and it almost sends a shudder down your spine when you realize it's just like how he looked at you last night. Like he'll die if he's not touching you.

You swallow. "Tai-."

"Felt like a dirty old man dancing with you." His voice is wrecked.

You shake your head. "You're not. You're not, I wanted you to."

"Why?"

You want to grab him by the shoulders and scream it at him. You want to turn and run. You want to ball your hands into fists and cry and rage and pout because after the way you touched him last night, after you traced the shape of his face, after you looked up at him with your drunken 'fuck me' eyes, how could he not know?

Don't make me say it. Don't make me say it just to turn me down, please.

"How did I get home?"

That impossible expression of his shifts into something more down to earth. "I called us a taxi when you couldn't walk on your own. Tried to get you to eat something, but you were... more stubborn than I'd anticipated."

Yeah, that sounded about right. But the question you've been steadily crumbling under the weight of since you woke up still worms its way out of you. Finally.

"Did anything happen?"

Something flickers deep in Tai's eyes and he quickly looks away again. "No," he says with all the authority of the soldier you know he once was. "I would never-."

"I know you wouldn't. I wasn't worried about you."

Your name is pleasant on his tongue, warm and right, and you like how he makes it sound. You like the look he's giving you right now even more. You wonder if that's how you've been looking at him.

He hesitates for a moment and you can see him carefully mulling over his next words. You almost want to hope he's going to ask you, tell you what he wants, how it's exactly what you've been wanting. You almost want him to just take you in his arms and kiss you. His hand is shaking when he moves it, light as a feather, to the curve of your jawbone.

"I don't deserve you."

And everything inside you melts. Because doesn't he see? "I'm not that special," you say.

His eyes drop down below your nose. His thumb shifts ever so slightly to rub into your skin. "You are to me."

You stretch up on your toes and press your mouth into his with all the urgency and gentle longing you've been fighting for Maker knows how long. He starts at first, frozen against you and you worry that maybe you made a mistake, maybe this was one step further than he was willing to go and dammit, why the kriffing fuck did you think this was okay-? And then his mouth opens to yours. The warmth of his breath falls onto your tongue for the briefest of seconds before he's suddenly all you can feel. His tongue on yours, his nose pressing into your cheek, the scratch of his scruff on your chin, his hand cupping the back of your neck so gently, so firmly that you couldn't move even if you wanted to.

Something akin to a whimper slips out of you when his other hand grips at the meat of your waist to pull you into him and it seems to spur him on. He tilts your head back a bit and surges into you, tongue seeking out the roof of your mouth, guiding you into his mouth so he can suck at you, and it only makes you more vocal. Your hands are at his chest, gripping, shaking, pulling, begging for more.

And then, suddenly, you're stumbling backwards. You pull away to try and catch your balance as the world starts to spin, only to realize that it's Tai. Your shoulders hit the wall and arousal drops heavy in the pit of your stomach. Oh.

You don't realize at first that the breathy little sighs and mewls are coming from you. Not until they cut off when he kisses you again. And all that raw, frantic want from last night is bubbling up inside you all over again. You reach for his neck and stretch up into him again. And while you love the look he's gone for with his buzzed hair, you can't help wishing it was just a little longer so you could get a grip on it. You're sure he would make the prettiest sounds if you tugged hard enough.

He pulls away an eternity later and while you lament his absence, you're grateful for the opportunity to properly breathe again. His face hovers over yours, eyes hooded, while his breath warms your chin. And then he smiles.

"What?" you huff, although you're smiling now too.

He ghosts a hand over your hair, down your neck to your shoulder. "I never thought..."

"You're handsome, Tai. Like, really handsome. And you smell good. Not sure why you're surprised."

His laugh warms you down to your toes. "Is that all?"

You tilt your chin up to better see him and you can feel something swelling in your chest. "No," you answer with a shake of your head. "I like you." But that's not what you mean.

He rumbles low in his chest like a purring lothcat and leans down to press his forehead against yours. His gentle exhalation stirs in your lungs. It feels like a kiss. "I like you." You don't think that's what he means either.

😘sexy💯 independent😈✨free-thinker😝🎱 roger, roger!🙊real🏅yes, we are hooman😇💫all your base are belong to us👍🙌🏼💋