#geronimo-11

She sells her mama’s house, sells her shitty half of a shittier duplex, packs everything she owns into her Tacoma with a trailer on the back, and just drives.

She follows the string, hits up motels and shitty diners and rest stops, following the string as it gets brighter and brighter.

It takes days, but finally, she drives into Fall’s End, Montana and she realizes... this is it.

Her soulmate has been in fucking Montana this whole goddamn time.

She parks at the first restaurant she sees and goes inside, hands in her pockets and heart in her throat.

The woman at the bar smiles and is friendly enough, though she’s not really the kind of girl Chelsea might have been friends with back home. She introduces herself as Mary May and says Chelsea can find a room at either the King’s Hot Springs Hotel across the river or the Grand View Hotel up in the mountains, and if she decides to stay, the sheriff might need extra help.

Chelsea gets a room and doesn’t sleep a wink.

She follows her string on foot in the morning because the connection feels close enough. She ends up at the Hope County Jail and almost throws up in the parking lot as her anxiety insists she’s made it this far to find her soulmate locked up in a cell.

She goes inside anyway.

She can’t not.

A woman named Nancy introduces herself and asks if Chelsea’s new in town before she asks if she needs help, and she guides her into the station’s bullpen when Chelsea asks to speak to the sheriff.

The red string gets even brighter as they walk, and Chelsea’s horrified for another few seconds that her soulmate might actually be the sheriff, but as Nancy continues deeper into the office, the red string twists to the side.

And Chelsea stops.

And she stares.

Across the bullpen, a man stares back at her. He’s her height, with dark eyes and hair, a patchy beard on his cheeks and a dumb expression on his otherwise handsome face.

A female deputy stands next to him, looking back and forth between them, and she finally elbows him hard in the ribs.

That pushes him forward, and he crosses the room with long strides until panic rises in her and she takes one step back.

He freezes and stares at her, eyebrows drawing together, as she stares back.

“How can I help you?” The sheriff’s voice makes them both jump, and they turn to look at him. He’s older, almost exactly what she would expect the sheriff of a tiny little town in the middle of Montana to look, with a big mustache and a cowboy hat. He’s smiling, but he glances between Chelsea and the other deputy with a look she can’t decipher yet.

She pulls her shit together and turns fully to face him. “I’m here about a job,” she says, and she’s proud that her voice is steady. “Just got here from Georgia and heard you might be hirin'.”

“Huh,” says the sheriff. “Come tell me about yourself, then. Get back to work, Pratt.”

Pratt, her soulmate, opens his mouth like he’s going to object, but he finally nods instead. He watches her as she follows the sheriff, and she knows he does because he’s still staring at her when she glances back as she shuts the sheriff’s door.

---

He’s not in the department when she emerges from Whitehorse’s office with a brand new job lined up for Monday morning, but she knows now it’s only a matter of time before he finds her again.

She goes back to her hotel and watches TV until she feels like she’s going to burst, then she goes and runs outside until she feels like she’s going to collapse, then it’s back to the hotel.

She should’ve talked to Pratt at the station. Having to wait again after she saw him makes he feel like she’s going to die. 

She goes back to the Spread Eagle when it’s time for dinner even though she’s sure she won’t be able to keep anything down. She tells Mary May that she met Whitehorse and she thinks the job’ll work out after all, and then she nurses a beer as she watches the red string slowly getting brighter as Pratt gets closer.

It’s like she can feel it when he gets to the bar, and she can’t stand it. She gets up and goes outside, slipping away while Mary May’s not paying attention, and catches Pratt climbing out of a jeep in the parking lot.

He hesitates when he catches her eye, but he closes the door behind him and tucks his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He’s gone home and showered, or something, shaved the patchy beard on his face and put on a clean flannel shirt -- because of course he’s wearing a flannel shirt -- and he walks right toward her.

This time she doesn’t step back, and he keeps walking until he’s in her space, looking right into her eyes.

This close, she can tell he’s just a bit taller than her. She’d be taller if she wore heels.

“Hey.” His voice is a little raspy, and it makes her smile grow against her will.

“Hey.” She reaches out and fixes his collar, face warming as he draws in a sharp breath at the touch.

“You come all this way to find me?” He’s smirking, and she hates that she loves it.

She tucks her first two fingers between the buttons of his shirt and tugs him a step closer, and he moves forward like it’s the most natural thing in the world to be in her space. She has to draw in her own sharp breath as his hands settle on her hips, confident and warm.

“Well,” she says, voice nice and steady. “I got tired of waiting.”

She lifts her chin and drops her eyes to his lips, and he gives her what she wants without hesitation. He kisses her, lips warm and dry, and it feels a hundred times better than every kiss she’s ever gotten. It shoots through her, makes her fingers tingle, her head spin, her toes curl. She parts her lips for him and his tongue finds hers, and she lets him pull her the last half-step between them until their bodies are pressed together.

When he finally pulls away, she’s not particularly surprised to hear him say, “Can we get out of here?”

She doesn’t even want him to let her go for them to go inside, and as far as she’s concerned, he can take her anywhere right now.

Why did she believe her mom for so long? She should’ve driven up here the second she graduated high school.

“I have to pay my tab,” she says, and her voice is breathier than she’s ever heard it.

He grins at her and looks at her mouth before he kisses her one more time. “I’ll get it. Get in my car.” He releases her, and she turns to do what he says, because it feels right even when he has to turn back and grab her arm. “Wait,” he says, looking a little embarrassed. “What’s your name?”

She can’t help but laugh. “Chelsea Cooper.”

He chuckles and lets his hand slide down her arm until he can squeeze her fingers. “Chelsea.” She nods, and he adds, “Staci Pratt.”

40. Who is the most affectionate?

Nova, though she is more affectionate with those she cares about in general. 

43. What is the first thing that changes when they realize they have feelings for the other?

Din gets much more protective of Nova, and it takes him a while to fully understand why he’s being like that, knowing full well she’s capable of handling herself in a fight. He’s stubborn, and will entertain literally every other idea imaginable before admitting to himself that maybe... just maybe... he cares for her in a different way than he originally thought. 

44. What are their nicknames for each other?

Nova predominately calls Din Mando when around others out of respect for his desire to keep his true name hidden, so to him, hearing her say his name has more of an impact than any affectionate nickname would. He likes the soft smile she wears when he calls her ka’ra in return. 

45. Who worries the most? Over what?

Din. The poor man has the weight of the world on his shoulders almost constantly, and while he is good at compartmentalizing it during sticky situations in order to put the mission first, the worries do creep in when he has a rare moment of quiet. 

46. Who initiates kisses?

Kissing is... a challenge when there’s a layer of beskar in the way, so it’s usually Din who initiates them after he’s removed his helmet. 

.....he also likes the surprised oh she makes when she feels his lips on her neck if he’s caught her off-guard. 

50. Who gets overwhelmed by small acts of kindness?

⤐ More Here

⤐ Joseph Seed: Wren doesn’t fully agree, or even believe, in what he’s doing. That’s not at all why she even joins. He’s manipulative, treats Whitney like shit, and is just...creepy and passive aggressive. If it wasn’t for what happened between her and John, she wouldn’t have hesitated in taking his ass down, but it just...became complicated. Also, Joseph killed his own daughter, and had the audacity to claim him and Wren were the same, so...yeah, there’s major hatred there for him. 

⤐ Jacob Seed: She hates being in enclosed spaces, she’s claustrophobic, and she absolutely despises cages and brainwashing. Him also killing and eating someone totally puts her off, she doesn’t ever forget that. And him doing that to her and Rowan? Hell no. She’s not about that life. 

⤐ Tracey: She just doesn’t like the chip on her shoulder, is all. Wren doesn’t appreciate the attitude, and with her being exhausted, stressed, and completely filled with the panic and anxiety from being thrown headfirst into a fucking warzone...she has zero patience and was tempted to swing. But she didn’t and she got over it since Tracey got a bit better after that. 

⤐ Fuckin’ Linda: Dahlia...can’t...fucking...stand her. AT ALL. Think Grace and Polly, and that’s Dahlia and Linda, except its worse. Dahlia has actually threatened Linda, and being married to Arthur (with Tommy being Tommy) is the only reason she hasn’t had her ass handed to her. 

⤐ Grace; She honestly liked her in the beginning, although she knew that Grace was lying about her past. She didn’t care about that though, Dahlia understands what it’s like to not want any part of your past. It was giving Tommy up that burned that bridge. Dahlia is very much like Polly, having her as a mom figure after hers died when she was young. So it’s not shocking that she’s just as protective and cutthroat. 

⤐ Esme Shelby: So...I know this looks bad because it’s literally the three wives...listen, she absolutely adores Lizzie, okay? This only happened once or twice, she normally gets along great with Esme. But when Esme was wanting to leave and run, and attempted to talk Tommy into it, Dahlia didn’t appreciate it. She also kinda laughed about the chickens thing during a family meeting. But the biggest one was when John died, with how she treated Arthur and Tommy. But despite that, she helped Esme leave with the kids, understanding that she’s a mother and Dahlia didn’t want anything to happen to the kids either. 

⤐ Tatiana: Dahlia doesn’t trust her and she didn’t like her influence on Tommy, but it was the interactions with Alfie that really fucking pushed it. The disrespect towards him and the little exchange Tatiana has in front of Dahlia when they were leaving had Dahlia actually grab Tatiana by the face. Dahlia can be catty (as I’m sure you’ve picked up on), but honestly...she’s very protective and isn’t afraid to throw hands. The girl can fight, look who she grew up with. Tatiana crossed a line, and she makes damn sure Tatiana is aware of it.  

⤐ Luca Changretta: Not only did he kill her cousin, but he had the audacity to snatch her and use her as leverage to convince Alfie to help him kill Tommy. Which, she believed that Alfie wouldn’t go through with it, not really. She thought he had done it just to get Luca off his back and that maybe his love for her would be enough to spare her family. It wasn’t, but her anger and grief is more focused towards Luca because that’s the immediate threat. (She thinks that she’ll deal with the fallout of her new husband after....yikes). 

⤐ Tommy Shelby: Dahlia is loyal to Tommy, she has always stood by Tomy even when she didn’t agree with him (and it made things hard with her and Alfie), and she pleads for Alfie’s life after Luca is dealt with. When he pays no mind, Dahlia is distraught, heartbroken, and furious. She never asked Tommy for anything, and the one thing she does ask for...he ignores. It’s worse when she finds out she’s pregnant, and she gets caught up in blaming him for Rosie having to grow up without a father. They do make up, and she lives with him and Lizzie to help around the house, but that becomes strained when Mosley enters the picture.