the brain is rotting and the worms are feasting

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#goose honks : mod posts, additions, just me talking

#goose feathers : finished written pieces

#goose scribbles : art by me

#goose mail : asks

#gosling gift : gift art by you! 🫶

rules for requesting

only reader inserts

reader is always gender neutral

reader’s ethnicity is always unspecified (as in skin colour, cultural background, etc.)

reader with specific physical traits is okay, please specify! (e.g. height, build, hair length, etc.)

mutant/non-human readers are okay, please specify!

in general, the more specific, the better!

no smut, only platonic/romantic

no blood-related reader (where the reader is the requested character's biological sibling, parent, kid, etc). sibling-like relationship through friendship/found family is ok!

no witch/sorcerer reader or demonic themes. reader with powers (think superhero/x-men mutant) is ok, please specify!

be nice :’)

After deciding you’ll play something on the console, there’s only a quick shared glance between Leo and you before you’re both sprinting to the projector room. You could alternate who’s Player 1 and Player 2 like civilised people, or you could settle it with a friendly game of Rock-Paper-Scissors; but no. There’s no mercy when it comes to the P1 controller. 

So after you both arrive at the same time and all but throw yourselves onto the couch, a mess of tangled limbs, you wrestle each other, holding onto either side of the controller, engaged in a merciless tug-o-war. 

But Leo knows a trick or two, so he distracts you by attacking you with kisses. He starts on your cheek, working his way to your lips, where – against your better judgement – you start melting into it. He feels your grip on the controller give in slightly, and he deepens the kiss until you almost let go, wanting to hold onto his shoulders to pull him closer. 

After a moment of getting lost in the kiss and noticing he’s not responding as usual, you catch on to what he’s doing. Tightening your grip on the controller, you leave a trail of quick kisses over his jaw and down his throat, where you playfully bite him. To your surprise, he lets go of the controller entirely. But that’s not the only thing to escape him. 

You pull back to look at him, a violent blush on his face given the sound he just made. You blink at him for a moment, then grin slyly. 

“Don’t even–!” he says, pointing an accusing finger at you, already reaching over the side to grab the other controller. You’ve won.

“Didn’t even say anything,” you say in feign innocence, lifting your hands in mock surrender. But you’re definitely tucking this bit of information away for later.

🐥 taglist: @theoriginalmintyyyshake, @DyByNyght, @Lieutenantlashfaz, @galaxtic-writings, @Lovestruckfictionadict, @salty-s-r, @sleebykei, @miso-sopas, @wings-of-sapphire, @ashtheboookworm2, @xxnoxx, @crystal-crax, @lunaramune, @luckynesser, @strange_fella, @thesafireartist, @toelady, @hardkiddonut, @asras-sweetheart, @braveangel777, @tsunchani, @sleepyomeowers, @alexxavicry, @Jakiicomics, @aceofspades-washere

Tensions are high.

The Inquisitor and you have been dancing around each other for a while now. Neither of you daring to make the first move. You, because you're maybe a little scared of him, despite your obvious attraction. And him, because he's actually taken a liking to you, so he doesn't just act on instinct like he'd usually do but waits for you to meet him half way. 

Tonight, you somehow find yourself in the Inquisitor Kestis’ bed. He's been kissing you senseless for what feels like hours, shedding an item of clothing every now and then. You feel your heartbeat thrumming in your ears, and he softly bites your throat just over your pulse.

By the time he pulls back, you're lying down on your back sans uniform, and he sits up with one knee on either side of you. You take each other in for a minute, eyes roaming the other's body. An uncountable amount of freckles covers his skin, and there are more scars than you had anticipated, but you don't mind. You can't wait to find and trace them all.

He dives back in for more kisses, starting at your lips, then to your collarbones, your chest, and keeps going lower and lower until he’s at your hips. With his hand underneath your knee, he bends your leg and lifts it up, kissing the inside of your thigh. All the while, his eyes never leave yours. 

You take in a shaky breath, skin tingling in anticipation.

No words are needed tonight, you merely nod, and that's all he needs to show you that now you belong to him and him alone.

🐥 taglist: @DyByNyght, @galaxtic-writings, @kalea-bane, @soka-writes-things, @Padawancat97, @Riddikulus-Obsessions, @optimisticprime3, @starilicious, @ivelostmyabilitytoeven, @alternatescififandomlover, @lovelyygirl8, @Cathyket, @wildefire, @ghostkestis, @reckoning-star, @Wyvernthekriger, @padawan-solimar, @batboysandgirls, @toelady, @hardkiddonut, @theblazes-world, @bluesprings18, @call-me-a-fool, @braveangel777, @mmcringelordmcgee, @Magikdarkholme, @reckoning-star, @crumbledcastle28, @kaleb-kries

If there’s one truth in this universe that you’re sure about, is that when Hodari grills, no one goes home hungry. 

After a late and abundant lunch, Najuma took off to the workshop, leaving you and Hodari at the house. You pat your belly with a sigh and let yourself fall backwards onto the couch, stretching your limbs. Hodari chuckles and gives you an amused look.

“I thought you wanted to go for a walk?” he asks.

“We can go in a bit,” you say, grunting as you make a show of trying and failing to get back up. “I ate so much, if I went out right now, I would be rolling, not walking.”

He laughs, and watches you stretch your limbs again. A satisfied grunt leaves you as your arms and legs go limp again, partially hanging off the couch. I just want to rest my eyes a bit, you think. Your eyelids start feeling heavier and heavier.

Hodari approaches you, and for a moment you think he'll sit down next to you or pick you up to bring you to bed. Instead, you watch him get down to his knees next to you and lift your shirt slightly. You watch him curiously when he leans in and places a kiss on your belly. 

“That tickles,” you laugh, and he makes a point to rub his stubble on your skin, making you giggle, half-heartedly swatting him away. He looks down at you with adoration in his eyes.

“We can stay here as long as you want, Darlin’.”

🐥 taglist: @reckoning-star, @hardkiddonut, @asras-sweetheart, @braveangel777, @chiccynug

An impromptu undercover mission with Pike has left you stranded on a pre-warp planet. With the horrible storm covering most of the city, it causes too much interference to be beamed back onto the Enterprise, but also hinders you from going to the outskirts where your sudden disappearance would go unnoticed. 

Luckily, all inhabitants are about the same size as a human but keep their heads and faces covered, meaning you managed to move around without gathering too much attention for your mission earlier in the day. When the storm came on, you decided to stay at a small hotel – after getting your hands on some local currency.

There’s nothing for you to do other than waiting for the storm to pass so you can get picked up. So you change into the sleeping garments provided by the hotel, which are soft and silky, and call it a night. Might as well get a good sleep, after all.

The next morning you wake up and find Pike’s side of the bed empty. You can hear water running and go to the bathroom, where you find him brushing his teeth over the sink. 

“Good morning,” you say, and he grumbles something back at you through the foam in his mouth.

Scanning the sink, you notice a couple more packaged brushes, so you do the same. Being used to the sonic toothbrushes, you never really got to try one of these. It feels like a bit of waste of water, but you  find you don’t necessarily dislike the scrubbing sensation. 

After you both properly rinse everything out, you inspect your teeth in the mirror. They do feel clean.

You want to ask him if he feels the same, but he gently holds your chin and brings your lips to his, giving you a good morning kiss. What started as a peck, quickly intensifies, but you pull back before you completely lose yourselves, knowing you're technically still on mission.

Pike smacks his lips, and smiles at you. “Minty,” he says, and you laugh.

🐥 taglist: none :o check the link in my pinned post to be added!

It’s the night shift on the Resolute, and Fives has sneaked away from the barracks to go sleep in your quarters. It’s not the first time nor will it be the last, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

The only thing you can hear in the darkness of your room is your breaths, even and steady, starting to doze off. With your back to his chest, you’re all snuggled up, when suddenly you feel Fives press a kiss just below your ear. You hum at the sensation, leaning into it, and he keeps kissing you, then lets his lips linger on your skin as he travels up, ending at your earlobe where he nibbles at it softly. 

“Fives, what are you doing?” you say, sleep heavily laced in your voice, as well as slight annoyance that he started this just as you were about to fall asleep. “It tickles.” 

You feel a breath through his nose, like he’s laughing to himself, and you open your eyes, knowing that he’s scheming. Before you can do anything, he gives your ear a lick from top to bottom.

“Eew!” you shriek with a giggle, trying to pull away from him, but he’s holding you tightly, so you turn around in his arms instead, fully awake now. He chuckles, and it reverberates through both your bodies.

“If you’re gonna kiss me–” you start, wiggling within his hold to free your hand so you can cup his face, “–then do it properly.”

🐥 taglist: @DyByNyght, @galaxtic-writings, @kalea-bane, @soka-writes-things, @Padawancat97, @galaxtic-writings, @padawan-solimar, @batboysandgirls, @braveangel777

It’s a lazy Friday afternoon, and you’re in Raph’s room. You’ve planned a sleepover for the weekend so you’ve brought a bag with your things as well as your favourite stuffed animal. Raph, of course, has a favourite plushie of his own, and when the other turtles aren’t looking, you two often play with them, making voices and everything. The plots range from domestic scenarios to murder mysteries, all the way to complex coups, where knights have to overthrow their tyrannic overlord. 

Right now, your characters are acting out something along the lines of the Robin Hood storyline, and you’re trying to steal the money without the king waking up.

Raph makes exaggerated snoring sounds, his plushie violently arching up and down. You have to contain your laughter, or else he’ll wake up. Carefully moving your animal’s feet, you attempt to make them sneak past the king, but the snoring sounds are getting more and more ridiculous, and you can’t hold it back anymore, erupting into giggles, that end up in full-belly laughter.

The king awakes abruptly, and finds your character in his room. 

“Who goes there?!”, Raph says in a deep voice.

“Uhm, it’s–It’s your secret admirer, my Lord!” you end up going with. Raph looks at you with a tilt of his head.

“I’ve never read Robin Hood, but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it goes,” he says with his normal voice, chuckling. 

“Well, it is now,” you retort, bringing your animal to Raph’s and pressing their faces together. “Mwah, mwah,” you imitate, and he shakes his head in amusement. 

“Ah, thank the heavens,” Raph continues in the deep voice. “I thought you were a thief.”

“The only thing I’m here to steal is your heart,” you say dramatically, making your plushie bend backwards slightly, with a paw on their face. 

“Well, I mean, it worked,” the turtle says in his normal voice again, and you look up at him, finding so much warmth in his gaze that you can’t help but climb over your current scene on the bed – careful not to trample any animals, of course – and hold his face with both your hands. 

You place a big kiss on his cheek, ending it with a loud ‘mwah’, and when he giggles, you do it again, and again, until you’re peppering his whole face with so many kisses that he squeals underneath you, breathless from laughing.

🐥 taglist: @theoriginalmintyyyshake, @DyByNyght, @galaxtic-writings, @Mountain-wire, @Lovestruckfictionadict, @salty-s-r, @sleebykei, @miso-sopas, @xxnoxx, @lunaramune, @thesafireartist, @toelady, @hardkiddonut, @asras-sweetheart, @braveangel777, @tsunchani, @sleepyomeowers, @alexxavicry

Like many times before, Reth came over to your house for date night. He brought all the ingredients, promising to make you a feast. You offered to help several times but he’d refuse, telling you to just sit back and relax.

After the dish is in the oven, Reth turns around and wipes his hand off on his apron.

“We’re on the home stretch now,” he says with a satisfied sigh. “Just gotta wait for it to finish baking.”

“I’m starving,” you whine, hopping onto the kitchen counter.

“I know, I know,” he says. “It took longer than intended. Sorry about that.” Reth looks over the mess he made in the kitchen, and your eyes follow. “While we wait, I guess I could clean up a little.”

“You did all the cooking, I’ll clean up later, don’t worry about it.”

He looks back at you with a hum, slightly narrowing his eyes. Shedding his apron, he leaves it on the back of a chair and approaches you to stand between your legs.

“You’re supposed to be taking a break. That’s why I’m here,” he says, hands coming to rest on your thighs. “I’ll clean up.” Leaning in, he places a kiss to the tip of your nose. “Sorry for the wait. I’ll make it up to you.” He angles his head to capture your lips with his, kissing you tenderly.

You pull back only enough to speak into his lips, unable to bite back a smile, “I guess that works for me.”

🐥 taglist: @reckoning-star, @hardkiddonut, @asras-sweetheart, @braveangel777, @chiccynug

You adjust the strap of your bag over your shoulder as you walk up the ramp into the Trailblazer. After finishing your mission and getting some decent loot, ND-5 meets you outside the cockpit. Letting the bag drop by your feet, you look up at him and pucker your lips, waiting for him to greet you. He knows what you want, but decides to taste you.

“What are you doing with your face?” he asked, amusement seeping through his intended deadpan. You pout.

“Come oooon.” You pull on his coat, trying to get him closer to you.

“You’ll stretch out my coat,” he states. Leaning in, you think you’re finally getting your proper hello kiss, but he keeps bending all the way down to pick up the bad you left at your side. “Got anything good?” he asks as he walks into the lounge of the ship.

You glare daggers into his back, not that he cares. That’s it. You tackle the droid from behind, not moving him an inch, obviously. 

“You asked for this,” you say, trying to sound threatening. Stepping onto and off the low table, you climb onto his back, pushing yourself up until you’re almost hanging over his shoulder. 

“What are you doing?!” The teasing in ND-5’s voice is gone, now replaced with concern for your well-being.

“You haven’t given me my ‘hello’ kiss yet! I’m mad! I demand attention,” you explain, giving half-hearted swats at his hands trying to get a hold on you. He ends up rolling you off of him, securely catching you and letting you back down onto your feet.

“Alright, alright,” the droid finally gives in, realising that you’ll end up hurting yourself otherwise. 

You hold onto the lapels of his coat and his metal hands come up to gingerly hold your face, and you still have to get onto your tiptoes despite him leaning down to meet you halfway. Once ND’s face is within reach, you press a kiss to the top of his snout, and another for good measure. He straightens up again, and you beam up at him. His thumb gently smoothes over your cheekbone.

“Welcome back,” he finally greets you, voice impossibly soft.

🐥 taglist: @padawan-solimar, @batboysandgirls, @braveangel777

Martin doesn’t want to be rude and interrupt you, but you've been yapping about who knows what for the past hour.

Your head is propped up on your elbows as you lean on the railing. The two of you came outside to talk business but got sidetracked, ending up on a walk by the water. His eyes keep falling to your lips, moving at an impossible speed. He can't keep up with your words or your facial expressions, completely mesmerised by the shape of your cupid’s bow, imagining what it would feel like to trace over it with the tip of his tongue. The sudden change in tone of your voice catches his attention, and he blinks several times as he’s broken out of his trance.

Ah crap, you asked him a question. Martin hums, giving a slight nod with a small smile, bringing his eyes back to yours. You pout, brows scrunched together. Wrong answer, it seems.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologises with a sheepish chuckle. “I zoned out for a moment there. What were you saying?”

You straighten up, suddenly erupting in laughter. Now he’s confused. 

“I’ve been talking nonsense for a while now,” you admit, playfully pushing his shoulder with yours. “I wanted to see how long it'd take you to catch on.”

“Sorry about that.” 

“It’s okay. You're fun to watch when you think I'm not paying attention.”

“Am I now.” Martin raises a teasing brow at you, and you giggle. He stuffs his hands into the pockets of his jacket to curl them into fists for a moment, then opens them up again, trying to get rid of this weird restlessness that seems to have spread through his body. It takes a monumental effort to tear his eyes from your face and let his gaze roam the water and city skyline behind it. 

“What were you thinking about?” you ask. He hums, as if wondering himself, and before he can stop himself, his eyes are once again on your lips. You lean in, adding in a hushed voice, “I’d really like to join you on whatever trip you're on.”

“I’m not high,” he laughs and rolls his eyes.

“I know,” you say, matching his playful tone. 

Martin licks his lips. Ah, why is this so hard? You’re both here. You could have left hours ago. Could have never come out here in the first place. Even if you don't feel what he feels for you, surely you must feel something, right? He's never wanted to kiss someone this badly, and it's eating him up from the inside.

“Martin?” You nudge him again to catch his attention, your eyes looking for his as he zoned out again for a moment there. His eyes flicker up to yours and back to your lips.

Ah, screw it.

Martin leans in, pressing his lips to yours. It takes you by surprise, but you smile into the kiss, tilting your head to match his angle better. He sighs into the kiss; the curve of your lips feel even better than he could have ever imagined.

He keeps the kiss short and sweet for now, wanting to show some restraint. When he pulls back, you keep your eyes closed for a moment longer until they flutter open, brows still raised in surprise, mouth slightly agape.

Before he can say anything to fill the silence, maybe apologise for potentially overstepping, you speak first. 

“Finally,” you say, pulling him in by the tie for another kiss.

🐥 taglist: @hiireadstuff, @alexxavicry

Hux takes a moment to let his eyes wander through the large windows, darting from star to star. The view from right here, the bridge of the Finalizer, is one of his favourites.

The General turns back around to look at his crew, working. Everything seems to be in order. He barks his orders as usual, and everyone complies. The respect and slight fear everyone has of him makes him puff his chest out a little further.

Something catches his attention from the corner of his ocean eyes, and he turns to catch a glimpse of something, or rather someone, walking around the corner on the other side of the bridge. He doesn’t know why, but there’s something deep within him that beckons him to follow. So he does.

Leaving one of his officials at the helm, he strides through the room to investigate. Hux follows this mysterious figure through various hallways, always one step too far behind, always a second too late to catch a glimpse of their face. 

After taking a sharp corner, Hux bumps into someone. His mouth opens to let out a scold, telling the other person off for being reckless and impertinent. But nothing comes out when he sees it’s you, his favourite officer that he’s been harbouring a crush on for so long now.

Hux’s whole body tingles, not in a good way, at that thought. Crush. He’s a grown man, for Maker’s sake. He’s a General. He shouldn't get crushes. Yet every time you're within sight, his brain seems to freeze up and his limbs are stiffer than usual. Even when you're not in sight, he finds his thoughts often wandering, ending up with you sooner or later. He realises he still hasn't said anything while you rub the spot on your face where you walked into him. Before he can gather his thoughts and tell you to be more careful next time, you speak first.

“General,” you say with more pep than usual. “Excellent timing. Come with me.”

You take his gloved hand and guide him further down the hallway. Hux’s eyes are glued to his hand in yours, tracing to keep up with your hurried pace. He can’t believe you're holding his hand. Even through the material of the glove he feels the warmth, and his head starts spinning. No, actually everything around him twirls, the panels starting to come off the walls of the hallway, turning into colourful dust and getting swept away.

Did he hit his head? Is he hallucinating? 

The two of you continue walking, and your surroundings disappear until it’s just you and Hux, floating in the air which feels strangely warm against his skin. Not suffocating, but more like a cabin fire on a cold night.

You turn around mid-air, and take his other hand too, holding both of them now.

“I have something important to tell you,” you confess, a shy smile playing on your lips.

“What’s that?” Hux swallows a lump.

Without warning, you lean in and kiss him. His whole body freezes where it is.

For the floating and the hallway disappearing he could find an explanation eventually; now he’s certain he must be dreaming. But if his brain blessed him with this vision, why should he hold back? He might wake up any moment.

So after hesitating for only a moment, his arms wrap around your middle to hold you against him as he kisses you again, deeper this time. You whisper his first name into his skin and he thinks he might faint.

Suddenly, the warmth isn't as intense, the pressure against your lips starts to loosen. No, he can't let you go, not yet. Hux tries to hold on to you, but your body is like wisps of smoke, fading between his fingers. He calls your name, and suddenly reality crashes down on him. It feels like he just fell several feet when his whole body shakes on the bed, heart racing in his chest.

Hux’s hands curl around his blanket as his ragged breathing fills the dark room. It takes him a minute or two to calm down.

He shuffles to position himself to sleep again. But behind his closed eyes, all he can see is your smile and taste your lips.

He groans into his pillow, cheeks flushed.

How is he supposed to face you tomorrow? 

🐥 taglist: @alternatescififandomlover, @nocturnest, @padawan-solimar, @batboysandgirls, @braveangel777, @mmcringelordmcgee

index: (or read on ao3)

kiss in a dream :: star wars :: armitage hux

staring at the other's lips :: marvel :: martin li

height difference :: star wars :: nd-5

taking a break from cooking/baking :: palia :: reth

rapid-fire kisses :: rottmnt :: raph

ear kiss :: star wars :: fives

toothpaste :: star trek :: christopher pike

tummy kiss :: palia :: hodari

thigh kiss :: star wars :: inquisitor cal kestis

a kiss that turns into a bite :: rottmnt: leo

coming soon

i'll be tagging by character like usual but if you want to be tagged for all '50 kisses' posts regardless of character, let me know through ask/comment/DM and i'll add you to the temporary tag list~

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 

A laugh escapes your lips as you talk to Rhys over comms while you gather data on a nearby asteroid. You continue your mission, diligently scanning different samples to find the ones best suited for your project, but your thoughts are filled with the Lieutenant Commander's face. You're glad he can't see yours right now, as your fond expression surely gives it away. 

You've been dancing around each other for a while now, and the conversation while you work seems to be heading a way you weren't expecting, but welcome nonetheless. You'd rather talk in person though, and since you're almost done with your data collection, you tell him you'll talk more when you're back on the ship. Rhys says he's on his way to the transport bay and he'll meet you there by the time you're back. After hanging up, you quickly finish up your work and check your equipment one final time, then ask to be beamed back onto the Discovery. 

There's the familiar flurry of lights, the scene before you disintegrating momentarily and reattaching itself again, now showing you the transport bay of the ship. The technician stands at the controls, but there's no sign of Rhys. 

You ask her if she saw him, and she says everyone has been called back to the bridge as the Discovery was hit with something. Quickly stashing your equipment away, you hurry over, and it doesn't look good. Pike asks for a status report, but no one can quite make out what exactly hit them, as the monitors are all jumbled.

The captain commands the helm to get them out of there. However, there's not only something pulling the ship in, but there also seems to be an energy emanating from the anomaly, disrupting the warp core. Detmer informs everyone that if they engage it, it might blow.

Right then, Michael arrives at the bridge to announce that the spore drive is out of order, and engineering is trying to get it to work.

Detmer points out a wave quickly reaching for the Discovery, Pike orders to brace for impact. The ship is shaken abruptly, everyone holding onto whatever they can. Tilly slips, hitting her head on the console and falling to the floor, unconscious. 

The Discovery stabilises, there's a hiss, and before anyone can react, a panel in the wall gets blown off its hinges by an exploding pipe. The piece of metal is torn into smaller pieces by the pressure, and the chunks go flying in all directions. One smaller piece grazes Pike's face, leaving a cut on his cheek.

You turn to Rhys to ask if he's okay, but he only manages a look of surprise before collapsing to the ground. Rushing to kneel down next to him, you watch in horror as blood starts to pool around him, staining your hands and legs as you pull him up into your lap. The panel piece hit him in the back of his head, killing him instantly.

Pike appears at your side, telling you there's nothing you can do and summons some nurses to take Tilly to sickbay, as well as move Rhys' body away. He orders you to go help with the spore drive, and you leave the bridge but never make it to engineering, collapsing in a hallway on the way, fresh blood still on your hands as you curl into a ball and cry inconsolably. 

You stay there for a while, trying to process what just happened. It's only when Reno finds you, and you look up at her, trembling, that she helps you up and hugs you tightly. She walks you to a shower room to get cleaned up, generating a clean uniform for you to change into. Then she tells you to come to the lab whenever you're ready. But you just stay there, once again curled up in a corner. After a moment, there's another violent shake of the ship, and you fully fall on the floor. You can't find the strength within you to get up.

Finally, the comms crackle, and you hear Pike give the order to start evacuating the ship, but he barely manages to finish his sentence when there's a high-pitched ringing, everything goes white, then black.

— — — — —

You find yourself back on the transporter pad, and you fall to your knees as you weren't expecting to be standing all of a sudden. The transporter technician hurries to your side, helping you up to your feet. You're still trembling.

“Are you okay?” she asks. 

You sob. “Rhys, he's-he's–”

“He got summoned to the bridge, like everyone else,” she assures you, a hand on our trembling shoulder.

“W-what?” you ask, looking down at your hands, still gloved by your exosuit. You quickly shed your outer layer, and look at your bare hands; they're clean. There's no blood. 

Confused, you hurry to the bridge, where you find Pike asking for a status report just like before. Detmer answers there's been an anomaly, the spore drive is unresponsive. The warp core is unstable. You look over to Rhys' station, and see him typing on his monitor, images all glitching. You let out a sound of surprise and relief, and Pike turns to you. 

“Gen!” Ignoring the captain's order to get to your station, you run to Rhys and hug him tightly, crying into his chest. He hugs you back, slightly flustered but mainly confused.

“Lieutenant!” Pike calls to you. “You will have plenty of time to hug after we–”

“No, you don't understand–He was–Rhys was dead, captain, how…?”

“I'm very alive, as you can see,” the man in question says, a reassuring smile on his lips. You cup his face, just glad to see him still standing.

The doors to the bridge whoosh open and Michael walks in, announcing that the spore drive is out of commission at the moment. 

You turn to her, and she gives you a confused look as you're still in Rhys' arms. But your confusion is a different one. Didn't they already know this? Everything is happening again… But then that would mean… You look at Detmer's monitor, spotting the incoming wave before she does.

“Everyone, grab onto something, it's about to get shaky!” you call out. The urgency in your voice makes everyone follow suit, and as the ship rumbles violently, everyone is more or less stable on their feet. Tilly slips but catches herself before falling, and you breathe in relief.

As everyone gets back up, you hear a hiss. It's coming from the panel.

“Not yet! Duck!” you call out again, and without losing a second this time, you push Rhys out of the way and against the wall, shielding him with your own body.

The panel explodes again, hot steam exiting the hole in the wall. Once more, Pike's face is grazed by one of the flying chunks. The one that hit Rhys last time flies past where he was standing, getting lodged in Detmer's arm instead, and she cries out in pain.

Pike orders her to get to sickbay, and she stands up on wobbly feet, Tilly helping her to the lift. Owosekun takes over, getting a reading on what's out there. You peel yourself off a very flustered and confused Rhys.

“Whatever hit us, it's emanating from the anomaly,” Owosekun says. “If there's any more waves, it could end up destabilising the warp core entirely, sir.”

“Is that what happened?” you ask, turning to Pike. “Captain, I don't know how to explain it but this… This has all happened before.”

Pike grimaces slightly. “You'll get your head checked later at sickbay, and that's an order,” he retorts. “For now, go help with the spore drive.”

You want to explain yourself, but his stern gaze makes you bite your tongue. 

“Yes, sir,” you say reluctantly, then turn to Rhys one last time. "Don't die? Again? Please?”

“I-I'll do my best?” he replies, brows furrowed in confusion, but a smile playing on his lips nonetheless. 

You smile back at him, then turn and take your leave, nodding at Michael as you pass her. As you're entering the lift, you hear Owosekun announce that the anomaly is approximately 12.000 kilometres away. 

When you get to the lab, after picking up Jett Reno on the way, you find Stamets barking out orders at the technicians. A tank on the opposite wall is leaking a blue fluid, and they're trying to contain it. 

“What's going on?” you ask, trying to assess the situation to see where you can help.

“Whatever hit us disabled the mycelium network,” Stamets responds, rummaging through a box of tools with urgency.

“I didn't know what was even possible,” you say.

“Yeah, she said the same thing last time.” He points at Reno without looking up. 

The woman shakes her head with furrowed brows. “I didn't say anything.”

You're about to ask what tool Stamets is looking for when you register the meaning of his words. “Wait, ‘last time’?” you ask, approaching him. “Stamets, are you… Are you experiencing all of this again, too?”

He pauses immediately and looks at you. “Yes. Wait, You too? How?”

“I have no idea,” you say with a defeated sigh. “But why is it just us?”

“What are you talking about?” Reno interjects, and you turn to look at her.

“Stamets and I, we've already been through this, it all happened already. I don't know how to explain it.”

“Like a time loop?” she proposes.

You and Stamets share a horrified look.

“Exactly like a time loop,” he confirms.

“How many runs do we get before the warp core explodes again?” you ask, the severity of the situation starting to sink in.

“Oh, is that what happened?” he asks matter-of-factly. “I was wondering what took us out.”

“Wait, the warp core is gonna blow?” Reno asks.

You take a deep breath to parse this new information. “We need to make a plan,” you start. “With the anomaly, the warp core is unusable. We need the spore drive.”

“I know, but I can't access it,” the man laments. “It's like it's on cooldown or something.”

You look down at the floor, brows furrowed, then back at him. “Can we jump-start it somehow?”

“Maybe? But where do we take the energy from?”

Reno has been closely following the whole exchange like a tennis match, her head going back and forth between you two. The possibility of a time loop doesn't seem to faze her at all. “Even if the warp core is unstable, we might be able to generate a precise charge,” she offers.

“But we'd have to physically lay the wires from the warp core all the way up here,” you say, then turn to her. “By the way, you're taking this surprisingly well.” 

“Yeah well, with everything that happens on this ship, it was only a matter of time before we came across one of these. What else is new,” she says with a shrug and a half-smile. You can't help a chuckle at that.

“I still don't understand how you're unaffected though,” Stamets circles back, looking at you. “My tardigrade DNA leaves me mostly unaffected by time…shenanigans.” He gestures vaguely in the air. “Where were you when the anomaly hit?”

Your hand comes up to lightly scratch your face as you think back. “I… I think I wasn't,” you conclude. 

Both Stamets and Reno shoot you a confused look.

“Yeah, that must be why…” you continue. “Just when the first wave hit, I was being beamed back onto the ship. Being in the buffer for that split second left me out of bounds, I guess.”

“Huh, what are the odds,” Stamets points out.

“You've already given up on fixing anything on this run, haven't you,” Reno says after a moment, and both of you nod, Stamets adding, “Yeah, pretty much.” 

“Last time I was...distracted,” you confess, not wanting to add much more detail. “Do you know how long it takes for the final wave to hit?”

In that moment, the second wave hits the ship, and you all struggle to keep your footing. Some of the leaking mass falls through the gutter on the floor, and there's a short-circuit.

“Guess that answers my question,” you say with a sigh. “Not a lot of time until the last one.” You point to the leak. “You need to get that under control.”

“I know,” Stamet huffs, then thinks for a moment. “Let's do the following: we time every instance. That way if they're getting shorter, we'll know. I'll stay in the lab to get the drive running. You stay on the bridge and try to figure out how to get the warp core stable again. And you know, keep our crew alive.”

“Good idea. That way we only need one of us to find a solution to get out of here.” You ignore his last comment, knowing that you failed last time. But you promise yourself no one else will get hurt again while you still keep your memories of what's happening.

“You should ask for a time loop code word,” Reno says suddenly.

“What?” 

“You know, if you told me to say something only I could come up with to signify you've already talked to me, I'd say 'triple tribble trouble',” she explains. “Tell me that next time and I'll know you're serious about the time loop and we can get to work faster.”

“That's...a great idea, actually. I need to ask the captain that.” You turn to Stamets. “See you on the other side,” you say and give his shoulder a squeeze, and he smiles at you.

You know there's not much time left, so you run all the way back to the lift, crashing into the wall as you enter it at such a high speed. You jump from one foot onto the other until you arrive. When you step out into the bridge, Pike turns around, getting up from his chair to give you a stern look.

“I told you to stay in the lab,” he says, but you ignore it, knowing it'll all be over soon anyways, and approach him, making him recoil and fall back into his chair. You lean in maybe a little too close, your hands on the armrests at his side, and look him in the eyes.

“Captain, we're stuck in a time loop,” you start. “Tell me something only captain Pike would know, so I can say it back to you next time and we'll save time to find a solution.”

He holds your gaze, somewhat perplexed, and for a moment you think he's decided you've gone insane, but then his shoulders relax ever so slightly.

“Misty.”

“What's that?” you ask, pulling back a little to let the poor man breathe.

“Misty,” he repeats. “My first horse.”

You smile. “That's a good name.”

“She was a good horse.” 

Owosekun swivels around in her chair. “Captain, there's another wave incoming–”

“Yes, the last one. That's the one that makes the warp core go boom,” you explain, your words hurriedly leaving you as the clock is ticking. Then you look at Pike. “We're out of time. But we'll make it next time. All of us. I promise.” You look over to Rhys, an unreadable expression on his face. You give him a sad smile, feeling the ship starting to rumble underneath your feet. Once again, there's a deafening ring, a blinding light, heat and then darkness. 

— — — — —

This time you're ready, standing on your feet as you're beamed on board yet again. Without a word, you shed your suit and beeline towards the nearest lab. There, you grab a cooling spray and a chronometer, which you start and clip to your belt, then head to the bridge.

“Captain.” Your voice booms through the room as you enter, and everyone's attention is on you in an instant. You approach him. “We're stuck in a time loop. Think of something only Christopher Pike would know, something that isn't in a file anywhere.” You look to the side then, and mumble, “At least I don't think it is.”

“Something only I know?” The confused look on his face reveals that he's not sure if he should humour you or send you off to get your head checked. But he thinks it over for a moment, then nods. “Got it.” 

“It's Misty, your first horse,” you say. “She was a good horse.”

His face goes completely slack, mouth agape. “How did you–”

“You told me last time,” you interject, not loving the feeling of interrupting your Captain like this, but every second counts.

“How many times have you had?” he asks.

“I'm currently on the third, and I hope it doesn't get much more than that.”

The doors open, and in comes Michael. Before she can speak, you point at her.

“Yes, the spore drive is out of commission.” You turn to Detmer. “And the warp core is unstable, the third wave blows us all into smithereens. Here comes the first one, so grab onto something!”

Before anyone can ask what's going on, said wave hits the Discovery, shaking it violently. You quickly walk towards Detmer's side of the helm and grab onto her station. Once the worst of it is over, you find your balance again and head to the panel which will explode imminently.

“Gen, help me get this open,” you call Rhys over, and he's surprised at your use of his first name in front of everyone, but he comes to your aid quickly, and you pry it open. “Everyone get down just in case,” you say, and pull the tab of the cooling agent, spraying it onto the already deformed pipe. After some sizzling and some steam, it seems to have passed, and you sigh in relief, letting the empty can clatter onto the ground.

“Lieutenant, what's going on?,” Pike asks. 

You turn around and face the bridge, talking to everyone this time. “We're stuck in a time loop. Only Stamets and I are unaffected. No time to explain. The thing is the warp core is unstable, and the spore drive is out of commission. We're trying to find a solution in parallel. The first to succeed is the one that gets us out of here.”

“How much time do we have?” he inquires, his stance and tone showing that he's taking your claims seriously. 

“Not much.” You check the chronometer. “Maybe twenty-five or so more minutes? It's the first time I'm timing it.” You clasp your hands together. “So, ideas people. How do we stabilise the warp core?”

Everyone pitches in, occasionally checking in with Stamets over comms as well, running simulations, doing calculations, trying to find a solution. You don't have any final plan but at least you're getting a lot of non-viable things out of the way, which you can set aside from the get-go the next time.

Once the time is up and the final wave is imminent, you run your hands over your face. You look over to Rhys, running another simulation, clicking his tongue as it doesn't give the desired result.

Screw it, you think. They're all gonna reset soon, anyway. You make your way to him, grabbing him by the collar, and pull him in for a kiss. A sound of surprise leaves him, and before he can melt into it and kiss you back, you pull away. You chuckle at his bewildered face, flushed from the blatant PDA in the bridge in front of everyone. 

You turn to look at Pike and laugh again, he looks just as surprised. Then you face Rhys again, his hand coming around your waist. 

“I've been wanting to do that for a while,” you admit. “Even before the time loop.”

“It's unfair I won't remember it,” he says in a low voice, violent blush still on his face as he can feel everyone's eyes on you two.

“Then I'll just keep kissing you, hoping it's the time you do,” you assure him, a warm smile on your face that he mirrors.

“Final wave incoming,” Detmer announces.

“How far is the anomaly?” you ask her, still in Ryhs' arms, realising you've only been tracking time but not distance.” 

“11300 km.”

“It's getting closer every time…” You run some approximate calculations in your head. “That gives us around fifty more instances.. Probably even less.”

“Hey, you'll figure it out,” Rhys says, his free hand coming up to your face to cup your cheek. “If anyone can, it's you.”

You take his hand and turn to the rest. “Us, all of us together,” you announce. “We'll make it.” You feel the rumbling under your feet, and you lean back into Rhys, hugging him tight.

This sucks, you think before everything goes black.

— — — — —

The next instances always start the same: cooling agent and chronometer, confronting Pike and using Misty as a code word to get everyone's attention, no questions asked. And after cooling down the pipe to keep it from bursting, you keep coming up with possible solutions with the crew, bouncing off of each other's ideas. Most are discarded as the simulations fail time after time. Stamets seems to be in the same predicament with the spore drive. He's gotten into several arguments with Reno and Tilly over the course of the loops.

There's only one constant for you; by the time the third wave hits, you'll end up in Rhys' arms after surprising him with a kiss, enjoying his flustered face. 

Soon you start to lose count how many times you've rematerialised in the transport bay. The distance between the ship and the anomaly keeps decreasing however, as does the time between waves. The team comes up with good and plausible ideas, but for every simulation that ends in failure, you can feel your initial confidence chipping away bit by bit.

At some point, after your whole spiel with Pike, you throw the cooling canister to Detmer.

“The pipe behind panel A-18 is about to blow and you get hurt,” you tell her. “Freeze it down before Michael gets here.” You turn to Pike. “We've tried everything and we're getting nowhere. I need a different approach. Have Stamets explain the frequency cancellation idea and keep working on that. Rhys, you're with me.” You wave him to you and step into the lift.

“Frequency cancellation?” he asks, and as you exit the lift, you explain how by now you've figured out that the anomaly irradiates some sort of frequency that destabilises the magnetic fields responsible for containing the core's antimatter. You've tried simulations with different frequencies to counteract it in an attempt to make the warp core usable again, but it's either not powerful enough, or not feasible to engineer given your time constraint before the explosion.

“So what do you need me for?” he asks, looking around the hallway, trying to figure out where you're going.

You don't reply immediately, and instead cut a sharp corner to enter a supply closet, pulling Rhys in with you. Once the door closes, you wrap your arms around him in a tight hug, burying your face into the crook of his neck.

“I need a break,” you whisper, and you can feel yourself starting to tremble. “Can you just…hold me for a minute?” His arms wrap around you, unsure at first, but when you tell him 'tighter', he pulls you closer, softly pressing his cheek against your head.

You stay there for a few minutes. You'll have to sacrifice this run, but you don't care right now.

When you pull back to look up at him, he loosens his grip but doesn't let go completely. Your hands go to his chest, and you smile sadly to yourself.

“You know, the first time, before I knew about the time loop…you died, Gen. In my arms.” You look up at him, tears threatening to fall. Behind your closed eyes, you can still see his face, frozen in surprise, as the blood pools around his head.

He frowns slightly. “I'm sorry you had to go through that,” he says. One of his hands comes up to cup your face, wiping away a tear that rolls down your cheek. “But you won't have to see that ever again. Because Stamets and you will get us out of it. I'm sure of it.”

You hum, leaning into his touch as he ever so gently wipes every single tear from your face.

“I need to confess something,” you say after a moment, bringing your own hands up to hold his face as well. “I've been stealing a kiss every single time since then. Because I couldn't bear the thought of losing you again without ever letting you know how I feel about you.” His brows rise in surprise, then he clicks his tongue in mock annoyance. 

“It's unfair that I don't remember,” he remarks, an adorable blush on his face.

“Yeah, all the previous times you've said that too,” you say with a giggle. 

“Then…can I give you a kiss for you to remember?”

Unable to say anything with the way he's looking at you so tenderly, you merely nod. He leans in, capturing your lips in his, and you sigh into it. The pecks already had your heart fluttering, but now that you're experiencing this, you know you won't be able to settle for anything else. The way he gently pushes you back against the wall, the heat of his hands seeping in through your uniform wherever he touches you, the hunger and urgency in his ragged breaths as he dives back in time after time; if the warp core blew up right now, you wouldn't care.

Except that you do, because he wouldn't remember this moment. You've used up too much time already anyway; this run was almost for naught. At least you'll cherish this kiss forever.

Rhys finally pulls back, both of you catching your breaths. 

“I've been wanting to do that for a while,” he admits with a bit of a smirk, and you decide that you like his confident side, a lot.

“Glad the feeling is mutual,” you say with a chuckle, thinking back to how you said the same thing the first time you kissed him.

“You owe me now,” he remarks, placing one last lingering kiss on your cheek.

“What do you mean?” you ask as you trace his jaw, your fingertips gingerly caressing his skin, making him exhale a shaky breath. 

“When the loop resets, I won't be able to remember this,” he says, leaning into your touch. “So you have to promise me you'll let me kiss you like that again.”

“Easiest promise I've ever made.” You beam at him.

There's a rumble which quickly intensifies, and you two hold onto each other and the shelves to not fall over. 

“That's our cue,” you say, straightening your uniform and fixing his hair, which became a bit undone earlier. “I really hope Stamets had some sort of breakthrough.”

You two exit the closet and make your way to the lab, where you find Stamets talking to Reno and Tilly, who was on the bridge earlier.

“So, where are we at?” you ask them.

Stamets turns to you, opening his mouth to talk but stops before anything comes out. His eyes dart from you to Rhys and back to you, and he sighs.

“Seriously? When we're so pressed for time?” 

“What? I needed a break.” You cross your arms defensively, evading the knowing looks Tilly and Reno are giving you. “Besides, don't think I didn't notice you sneaking off at the tenth instance or so–”

“Okay!” Stamets interrupts you with a nervous laugh, and you shake your head amusedly. Then you bring your focus to the monitor over the work station.

“Got anything new?” you ask, pointing at the words 'SIMULATION: FAILED' on the screen.

“Well, yes and no. The antimatter in the warp core is still too unstable to use.” Stamets walks over to the monitor and you all follow, watching as he points to the diagram. “The type of frequency emitted by the anomaly is also affecting the spore drive to a degree. The problem is that the core acts as a resonance chamber of sorts, making the drive completely unusable.”

“What if we turn off the warp core?” Rhys asks.

“It's better, but still not enough,” Stamets replies, crossing his arms. 

“We need to ditch the warp core entirely,” Reno proposes.

“Sounds easy enough?” you ask, looking from one to the other.

“The problem is that when the antimatter collides with the anomaly, we are not sure what the reaction will be. It could either cancel each other out or rip a tear in space-time.”

“Of course.” You sigh, wondering why it's always the Discovery that attracts these kinds of catastrophic events every time. Tilly is visibly holding something back, so you raise a brow at her. “Yes, Tilly?”

“In theory, there's a way to ensure it will cancel each other out and not cause a black hole.”

“Which is?”

“Speed,” she says.

Stamets inputs a new set of variables, showing the warp core being ejected at different angles, but the simulations fail.

“If I may.” Tilly adds more parameters, and you see the warp core symbol doing a donut in the air before exploding, then hitting the anomaly. 'SIMULATION: SUCCESSFUL'.

“That's a very precise move,” Reno points out.

“Detmer can pull it off,” Rhys assures her.

“Not just that.” She replays the simulation and points at the explosion. “We have to program the core to detonate at just the right second. And we have mere seconds before the shockwave hits us.” 

“The moment we disengage the warp core, I think I can reboot the spore drive just in time to be out of there just as it detonates,” Stamets says, and just as he finishes speaking, the third and final wave hits. You almost fall, but Rhys catches you. You check the chronometer on your belt, it'll be a very close call at this rate.

“The next one is the one,” you say. “It has to be.”

“It will be.” Stamets takes your hand and gives it a squeeze. “Just one last time.”

“Yeah.” You return the squeeze, then lean into Rhys and close your eyes, knowing what follows. 

— — — — —

Once again at the transporter bay, you know the drill. You don't lose time with the chronometer this time, every second counting, so you just grab the cooling agent and run as fast as your legs will take you to the bridge.

This time you use the code word while you freeze the pipe. When you turn back to the captain, he waits for you to continue. You address the whole room when you speak.

“We're stuck in a time loop.” You start your explanation one final time, hopefully. “Only Stamets and I remember everything, the rest restarts. I'll explain later.” Before Pike can even ask, you add, “I have lost count of what instance we're on. Everything we've tried thus far has failed. The gist is that the anomaly destabilises the warp core, which in turn is affecting the drive spore. The only way out of here is with the drive, and for that we need to eject the core.”

Just as you're walking to Tilly's station, Michael arrives on the bridge.

“Yes, Michael, we know. Everyone hold onto something, it's about to get shaky!” You ignore her slightly offended and surprised look, but when the first wave hits, everyone comes out unscathed thanks to your warning. Pike doesn't even know what to say, he's never seen you like this. No one has.

“Tilly, run a simulation with the following parameters.” You explain the ejection plan, with the donut and detonation. It ends up being successful. “Oh, thank god,” you breathe in relief, giving Tilly's shoulder a squeeze. Then you turn to Detmer and Owosekun. “Helm, we need you to grab onto the warp core with the tractor beam and perform this exact move.” You swipe the schematics over to their screens.

“This is…crazy,” Detmer comments after looking at the plan.

“But not impossible,” you say, walking over to her and giving her a pat on the back. “If anyone can do it, it's you.” Then you turn to Rhys. “As for you, you'll have to arm the warp core to detonate with precise timing. Bryce, open a channel to the lab. We need Stamets on this.” Finally, you turn back to Pike, who's been sitting in his chair, watching this scene unfold. You suddenly realise that you've been giving out orders without consulting him. Fluster crosses your face. “That is, with your permission, sir.”

He gives a small smile and a half-hearted shrug, as if to signal he has no say in the matter. “The conn is yours, Lieutenant,” he says, then he does the first thing you've not seen coming since the time loop started, the first thing to really surprise you: he stands up from the chair, offering it to you.

“S-sir, please, I couldn't.”

“I insist,” he says calmly. 

You take a careful step, and when you see he's really expecting you to sit down, you approach the chair. Sure, you've been in a captain's chair for simulation training or when the captain and commanders left the bridge and left you in charge while they were gone. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you'd ever get to sit here for real with a captain present.

As you sit down, you look over to Rhys, who gives you an encouraging nod. You mirror it back to him and take a deep breath. With your mind back in the game, you start giving orders, discussing with Stamets how to pull off the maneuver.

Once the core is armed for detonation, you give the order to drop it. There's a hollow clunk that reverberates through the hull of the ship. 

With the warp core disengaged, you tell Detmer to activate the tractor beam. She holds onto the core and spins the Discovery once, then twice, as Tilly gives her the final calculations for the throw. The crew has impeccable timing, and you carefully watch the countdown Tilly put on screen for everyone. 

“Black alert,” you announce, the lights and alarm going off, then point at Rhys. “Go.” 

He gives in the input for detonation, and there's a sharp light that inundates the bridge as the core is just about to blow up, but Stamets is already starting the jump. A few seconds later, after the familiar rumble of the spore drive, you hold your breath and look around the bridge. 

“What was the captain's first horse?” you ask the helm. Detmer and Owosekun share a confused look and answer both at the same time, “Misty?”

You jump to your feet.

“It worked!” You turn around to Pike, and go in for a hug. He goes stiff when you throw your arms around him, so you immediately pull back again, cheeks flushed. Somewhere in the back you hear someone stifle a giggle. “I–I'm so sorry, sir. It's just been… Yeah.”

He chuckles, placing a hand on your upper arm and gives it a squeeze.

“Good job, Lieutenant.” 

You give him an appreciative smile and a nod, then turn back to the rest of the crew, who clap and whistle. You laugh at their antics, and as you step forward, your leg gives out underneath you. With your support gone, you fall rather inelegantly to your knees and then fully onto the floor. In the blink of an eye, Rhys is at your side, asking if you're okay.

“Rhys, bring the lieutenant to get checked out,” Pike orders. “Have them also check for…” He vaguely gestures in the air. “Time and space remnants that could become a problem.”

“Yes, sir,” he says with a nod, then helps you up to your feet and holds part of your weight as you make your way down to the lift. In the background, you hear Pike over the comms telling Stamets to also go get checked out.

Once you've crawled onto a medical bed, Rhys explains what happened and what you should be tested for. Now that the immediate danger is over, you can feel your body starting to give in to exhaustion. Culber checks you over, running several tests.

“You're in the clear,” he says once the results come in. “The only thing worth mentioning is that your adrenaline and cortisol levels seem to have been spiking for a longer period of time, so you should go to your room and rest. Doctor's orders.” He adds the last bit with a wink, then injects something into your neck. “I just gave you a mix of low dose painkillers and depressants so you can come down from your high.” 

“Thanks, doc”, you say, rubbing your hand over the spot where he poked you. When you try to jump off the bed, your legs still aren't responding, so without even having to be asked to, Rhys puts your arm around him so he can take part of your weight, and you slowly make your way to your quarters. If it wasn't for the drugs, you're sure you'd be nervous about him going into your room for the first time. But right now, all you want is to get into your bed and sleep for a week or so.

Once the doors close behind you, Rhys sets you down onto your bed. You grumble something as you try and fail to kick off your boots. He laughs and crouches down to help you out. Once your shoes are off, he pulls up the blanket for you to get under, and you comply.

“You all set? Can I get you anything?” he asks.

Your hand comes out from under the blanket to hold his, and you tug lightly. “Will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?”

He hesitates only for a moment before giving in. You scoot to make space for him and he lies down next to you, without letting go of your hand. He's on his back while you roll over to your side so you both fit in the bed.

“You know, in the previous iteration, you made me promise something,” you say after a moment, your heart hammering in your chest as you gather the courage to make good on your word through the growing haze of your drugged brain.

“Yeah, what's that?” he asks.

Propping yourself up on your elbow and placing your other hand on his chest, you lean in slightly, your eyes falling to his lips.

“You gave me something that I'm supposed to give back.” Before he can ask what you're talking about, you close the gap. He takes in a sharp breath of surprise through his nose but quickly melts into the kiss, arms going around your waist to fully pull you up onto him. Bracing your weight on either side of his head, you kiss him like he did in the supply closet. But kissing standing up and lying down are two different things, and you have to fight to keep your cool. Thankfully, the sedative is starting to make your movements languid, so you fall into a slow make-out. After a while, you break the kiss and let yourself fall back to his side.

“Ugh, the drugs are kicking in. I'm so tired,” you grumble.

He laughs airily, trying to get his breathing back under control. “You had one hell of a day. Or days. You need to rest.” He places a kiss on your forehead and climbs out of bed to tuck you in, then sits on the edge, caressing your cheek. The fog in your brain is impossible to fight now and a silly giggle escapes you.

“I like you so much Gen, you have no idea,” you almost whine, patting around to find his hand, and he meets you halfway, interlocking your fingers. With your unfocused eyes starting to droop, you miss the flustered face and his smile, one of those that can't be stopped.

“You can tell me all about it when you wake up.”

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A/N2: i couldn't find a single gif for rhys :( so excuse the crude banner lol i made that at like 2 am last night xD

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🌸 : fluff 🍑 : steam and fluff ⚡️ : angst 🥀 : angst & comfort

💛 Gen Rhys (# gen rhys x reader)