#help with electronics engineering assignment

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📥 How to Install a Downloaded Sim

You need a file that ends with .sim

Place it in: Documents / Electronic Arts / The Sims Medieval / SavedSims

If the SavedSims folder doesn't exist, just launch the game, go to CAS, and save any sim to the library. The game will create the folder for you

✅ That’s it! When creating a new hero or editing one in CAS, just click the star icon — all your saved sims will be right there.

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⚠️Game Freezes After Picking a Downloaded Sim

Reason: The sim you downloaded uses custom hair, skin tones, or sliders that you don’t have installed. The game can’t load the missing content and gets stuck.

What to do:

Install the exact same mods / CC the author used

Or ask the author to save the sim without custom content

Advanced option: open the .sim file in s3pe and manually delete the references to the missing resources.

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🔄Picking One Sim but Another One Shows Up

Reason: You have too many sims in your SavedSims folder and two of them ended up with the same unique ID. The game gets confused.

Solution:

Temporarily move all sims out of the SavedSims folder

Leave only the one you actually want

If you want to keep the others, load them one by one and re-save each as a new sim in CAS — the game will assign fresh IDs

This isn’t a bug, just an engine limitation. Keeping your SavedSims folder clean is the only real fix.

⚠️ Important: Too many sims in the library can also cause the entire CAS to freeze when you try to open it. If CAS suddenly stops loading or takes forever, your SavedSims folder is very likely the culprit. Move some files away and the problem should go away.

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💾 How to Save a Sim to the Library During Gameplay

In the vanilla game, the “save to library” button only exists in CAS. Mods have this feature:

TSM Command Center 

CAS Overhaul 

Watcher’s Hand 

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🔁 How to Replace an NPC With a Downloaded Sim

Vanilla game doesn’t allow this. You need a mod:

CAS Overhaul 

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👗 The Sim Looks Different After Loading — Wrong Outfit / Hair

You see: In the author’s screenshots, the sim wears a beautiful dress and a specific hairstyle. But in your game, they show up in random, mismatched clothes.

Reason: The clothing/hair items used by the author don’t have the IsRevealing flag enabled. Without this flag, the game doesn’t “remember” that the sim should keep wearing them when loaded from the library. Instead, it assigns random EA items.

In my own CC, I always set the IsRevealing flag — so my items will stay on your sims correctly after downloading. But EA’s original objects (and some other creators’ items) don’t have it.

What can you do?

If the author’s items are available as CC — install them. If they have IsRevealing enabled, they’ll work.

If you know how to use s3pe, you can open the .package file of the clothing/hair, find the CASP resource, and tick the IsRevealing checkbox manually. Then save.

The simple (but manual) way: just re‑dress your sim in CAS after loading them.

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(◕‿◕✿) Bonus: A Tiny Tip

You fiddle with your bunny keychain while your manager explains what you have to do. It's your first day working as a sound engineer at a Stray Kids concert. You have experience in the business, having worked for Hybe in the past. But you've changed companies since your accident with Hybe and one of the singers. However, JYPE isn't the safest place in the world for you: Minho is there, too, and you're hoping to go unnoticed. Especially since you know who you're hiding in your room.

When your manager stops talking, giving you the schedules and assigning you an assistant. You've arrived two days earlier than the others so you can test the equipment, but today you have to do the test directly with the group members. Looking at the preparations left by your manager, you sit down in front of the controls and raise your glass of hot chocolate to your lips, headphones on. The sound is different, through your ears. You watch the scene from a distance and wait for the members to arrive.

Seungmin arrives first, greeting everyone and approaching you to say hello. He has a slight smile on his face and looks shy and uncomfortable as he searches for your name, a badge. As if he's not sure if he recognizes you. You put your glass on the floor, away from the electronic wires, and stand up to greet him.

“Good morning, I wasn't expecting you to come and greet me- my name is Y/l/n Y/n. Nice to meet you."

You look up at him and he nods, his mouth forming a small "o" as he bends down to introduce himself before walking away. His action forces you to purse your lips, uncomfortable in your turn. "Do you always do this?" He pauses and turns to face you. You feel your skin burn as you play with the laces of your sweatshirt. "I mean - do you often go around greeting all the staff?"

Seungmin looks at the others and tilts his head. It's early, most of the members are still sleeping or playing, they don't have to be there for the warm-up. He just likes to arrive a little earlier than the others. He blinks, straightens up a bit, and shakes his head, smiling at you when he sees your worried look. "No. Usually only Chan takes the time to greet everyone. But he's not feeling well, so I'll do it for him."

It's not his duty to do it in Chan's place. It's nobody's place to do that. Still, she's grateful to him for making the effort. "That's very kind - hm... Thank you for taking care of us." You thank him with a hand over your heart and a big smile on your face before returning to your seat, half-hiding under your sweatshirt as you try to concentrate on the quality of the sound as he continues the round of greetings.

After a while, the members arrive one by one. It's the first time you've really seen them. But you can't help smiling as you manage to put a name to each face. You look at Han Jisung and think of your friend who never stops writing in capital letters. You look at Seungmin and the image of another friend comes to mind. Each of the boys is related to a girl you know. With the exception of Hyunjin.

When everyone arrives, Chan is one of the last to arrive. He enters the stage with Minho by his side. He is perfectly groomed and his makeup is perfect. But his eyes are elsewhere, lost on the horizon. He picks up his microphone, looks down at his phone as if waiting for someone to answer, and you lean forward to discreetly take a picture of him.

"Y/n? Already playing stalker?" Your assistant leans over to look at the photo on your phone, an amused smile on his lips. You shake your head, hide your phone, and frown in surprise at his behavior and words. But you say nothing, unable to speak up and explain what you've just done. It's officially your first day, and you'd better keep a low profile. How do you explain that you did this to show your friend his condition so she knows how much Chan needs her and that their breakup was too brutal for him? He'll think you're some kind of psycho for that.

Lost in thought, you adjust the high-frequency sensing power on Changbin's mic. His mic starts to ring in the rapper's ears, Changbin lets out a shriek as he removes his headphones and looks at his mic, disturbed.

"Oi, Binnie, are you okay?" Hyunjin approaches him to see what the problem is. Jisung's eyes turn to him.

"No, my microphone is acting up, it's set wrong."

"You're not the only one, Chan's is lower than usual." Minho points out. Chris shrugs, runs his hand over his face to wake himself up and mumbles that it doesn't bother him any more. Chris sighs.

"Bear with it. If I remember correctly, we have a new sound engineer."

"Yeah, she's pretty young too." Seungmin adds to Chan's words. He brings the microphone to his lips, his eyes turned in your direction. "Y/n sshi, can you turn up the volume on the old man's microphone? He's deaf so he doesn't notice the problem with his microphone." He lets out a small laugh and looks at Chan, who gives him a small tap on the shoulder. But his tap is weak, without the slightest force.

Minho looks at Seungmin and raises an eyebrow at his words. As everyone goes back on stage and talks into their microphones to see if the volume is more appropriate, you grimace and hide your face. You can't calm your anger at yourself. So you concentrated on adjusting the microphones while Minho and Seungmin chatted, occasionally waving to the fans who were there to listen.

"Shall we take a break now?" Your assistant turns to you, eyes shining with fatigue. It's still an hour before the concert starts and the manager has to check the sound himself. So you get up to get something to eat, taking your empty glass with you. On the way, you play nervously with your phone, balancing it in your hands and wondering when you'll be able to talk to your friends, listening with one distracted ear to your assistant who can't stop talking to you.

When you reach the back, your assistant stops first, greeting a few people more formally, and that's enough to get your attention. You turn to the people as well, greeting them in turn without really looking at them. When you raise your head, your blood runs cold.

Minho. Lee Minho. Lee Know.

He looks at your assistant and then at you, not even seeming to notice you. He quickly waves you off and continues on his way without another word. And you feel tears building up in your eyes. You lower your eyes and start walking to the room where all the staff is meeting for lunch, picking up your phone and stepping away from everyone so you can chat with the girls.

Your hands shake as you type on your keyboard, you sniffle, hiding under your sweatshirt as you check the time on your phone. Soon you'll have to get back to work. You'll have to get behind your sound keyboard and listen to Minho's voice in your ears. And he will pretend that you don't really exist. As if you weren't really there.

Your assistant lands next to you, pats you on the shoulder, and you jump. You turn to him, your eyes red and tears rolling down your cheeks. He looks at you in panic and jumps to his feet, hands in the air, trying to look innocent.

"I didn't do anything!"

"I-I know-I..." You search for your words, your face turning to the other staff who look at you without really understanding, and you dry your tears as you get up and leave the room. "I'll go back to work first."

Seven years ago...

The rain pours down as Minho leaves the main JYPE building. He watches the rain fall, his heart heavy with the realization that he will not be able to continue the adventure. For a few seconds, he feels unable to speak, so he puts his hands in his pockets and stares at the rain without saying a word. He hesitates to call a taxi or even to take his umbrella, and finally decides to continue walking. The rain falls on his face, soaking his hair and forcing his eyelids to close. He takes a deep breath, trying not to cry, and moves away from the building to make sure the cameras don't catch him in a moment of weakness.

He doesn't know what to say to his parents. "I failed"? Such simple words, but so full of meaning. He doesn't want to be a disgrace to his family. For himself. A tiny mistake has earned him a place in the group and a much too quick elimination. Going home sounds like a way to punish him. He doesn't even have the strength to call a taxi. Minho politely refuses the help of the JYPE staff and continues on his way, preferring to enjoy the solitude of the night and reflect on what just happened.

A sneeze leaves his lips and he closes his eyes, lowers his head a little to compose himself and lets out a curse into the rain.

But the rain stops. He still hears it, but doesn't feel it. Heavy breathing can be heard next to him and further away he can see a taxi that seems to be waiting for someone. For him.

Minho looks up, blinking in surprise, and turns his head in your direction, frowning.

"Y/n?" He acts like you're a mirage. He reaches out his hand to touch your cheek, to prove that you're real. Then he steps back, trying to pull himself together as he frowns. "What are you doing here? Don't you have school tomorrow?"

"Idiot! What are you doing in the rain?" Your voice shakes. Even though Minho is the one who got eliminated, you're the one crying. Heart broken by the news. Your breathing is fast, your cheeks are red as he approaches you, trying to calm you down, making you speak lower so as not to draw attention to yourself. He's sweet, caring. Almost loving to you.

"When a cat does something stupid, do you spray water on them?"

"What? No! What are you talking about?" He begins to panic. Did you fall on your head? Why would you even ask him something like that when you know how much he loves cats?

"If a cat falls and gets hurt, if a cat limps and meows for help, do you spray water on them? Do you punish them for something they can't change? They tried their hardest but they failed because of the tiniest mistake ever, do you tell them to punish themselves?" Your voice gets louder with each example. You cough a little, not used to forcing so much down your throat. Tears fall down your cheeks, snot dripps from your nose. Your gaze look for his, but you can't find him.

"No, of course not." He calms down a bit, trying to understand what you're getting at. What's hurting you.

You move forward a little, slip your hand into his to squeeze a little tighter, and look him straight in the eyes. "So tell me, why is it that when it's you, you spray yourself with water? Why do you refuse to look for shelter? Why do you refuse a warm embrace from those who love you? Why are you standing in the rain and not in a taxi on your way home? Why do you treat other cats with tenderness, but forget to treat the cat you are with kindness?"

You lower your head. The pain you feel is great. Sympathy pierces your heart at the sight of Minho in the rain, punishing himself for something he didn't do wrong. Surprise appears on his face as he grimaces and tries to hold back his tears a little more.

You were always sweet to him. Shy. The kind of girl who never speaks, but always watch and learn. Your smile was like a gift tenderly wrapped in a cotton candy scented box. "Thank you." His voice is soft. His thumb caress the back of your hand. "Thank you for looking after the cat that I am."

He squeezes your hand a little tighter and nods, walking with you to the taxi. He looks at the rain, protected by your umbrella, close to your body, your love swathed him softly.

You sit in the back with him and grab a towel from your backpack to start drying his hair. He grunts as he takes the towel from your hands, mumbles that he's capable of drying himself, and watches you for a few seconds.

"Did Minzi send you?" Your body freezes. You let go of his hand and purse your lips. "I don't know how she knew so fast. She really is amazing." Your hand slides up your thigh and your eyes wander to the cab window. Silence fills the car as he taps his phone and wipes his hair, sending a message to Minzi.

Suddenly, everything felt heavy. suffocating. You almost miss the rain and the loud noise from the cars. Surrounded by loneliness and pain, you become deaf to his laughter as he texts her. Not you. Her.

Minzi could have come. She should have. Because the moment you heard he'd been eliminated, you ran out of your house to see him. Minzi? She didn't move from her bed, tired, preferring to wait for him to come home. You're the one who did it all. You're the one who begged Minzi to come. You're the one who finally came to him because she was too lazy.

But you weren't her. You werent as pretty as her. As clever. As full of life.

The taxi door opens and Minho gets out first, a big smile on his lips, while Minzi runs to throw herself into his arms, they kiss as you pay the driver, walking past them and into the house to get a towel to dry off a bit. A short time later, they both return. Minzi lifts her chocolate eyes to you and smiles.

"Sis, I'm going to Minho's, he wants me to be there to break the news to his parents." And without another word she closes the door. Minho doesn't even look at you as he leaves for his house. Forgeting who came for him.

Every step you take makes your heart ache a little more. Each step you climb brings tears to your eyes. Your hands, weak and shaking from the cold, cling to the banister as you climb up to the attic, your room.

You like it. It's big, spacious, and comfortable. But what you love most about your room is the view.

You go to your bedroom window and bend down to look out. From there you can see Minho's room. You smile a little, sit down on the floor and pull your knees up to your chest as he lies down on his bed, pulling Minzi against him for a kiss.

And you imagine yourself in your sister's place.

You imagine Minho's lips on yours. Your breath shakes, your cheeks burn and you feel your core quivers as the thought of him looking at you the way he looks at her.

But nobody knows how much you love him. Nobody ever care.

It's your first time at a Stray Kids concert. The crowd is going wild, everyone is talking and shouting, the fans are happy, the boys are jumping all over the stage. But your eyes never leave Minho. Your smile is sweet as your hand caresses your thigh in gentle circles, your attention is elsewhere.

Your assistant turns his head towards you, looking at you with an amused smile on his lips as he leans down to pock your cheek. You frown at him. He smiles a little wider. "I know someone who has a crush on Minho!" You smile softly at him, not responding to his comment, and continue to watch the show, making sure the sound is adjusted.

His eyes are always on you, as if he's watching your every move. You pull your jacket neatly over your shoulders and run your tongue over your lips, trying to ignore his gaze that burns your cheek.

Seungmin grabs Changbin's microphone to yell into it. You quickly adjust the volume of the microphones so that Changbin's ear doesn't hurt too much. As you do so, you feel your assistant's hand brush against yours. You try to ignore the contact, quickly understanding what he's trying to do, and pull your chair back a little further, giving him an uncomfortable smile, hoping he'll understand the message you're trying to convey. But his eyes sparkle. He seems pleased that you're smiling at him.

Suddenly, the concert is long. Too long. You fumble with your phone, sending an SOS to your friends, hoping that one of them will be able to get you out of this situation. Panic wells up in your throat as your eyes begin to moisten again, and you're ready to cry.

It's your biggest flaw.

Did you stub your little toe? Did you get a bad grade? Did they run out of your favorite ice cream flavor? You still remember all the times you cried because your friends were late in wishing you happy birthday. But despite all your tears, your friends never let you down.

And once again, they came to your rescue: Princess sends a message saying she'll take care of the problem, and a few minutes later, a woman arrives asking your assistant if he'll follow her for a check-up. You don't know how Princess always manages to have direct control over everything going on around you, but your shoulders relax as you settle back a little more comfortably in your seat.

“Princess has been using her strange fairy godmother powers again?” a delicate voice echoes as your friend settles down beside you. She watches the whole concert from the auditorium, taking your assistant's headphones and placing them on her ears as she looks at you. You smile back, placing a kiss on her cheek. “As always. Thanks for being here, Noona. I didn't want to be alone. You are like... My second fairy godmother.”

It's your first day at work and everything seems incredibly complicated. Between your assistant who seems a little too clingy for your liking, Minho who didn't seem happy to see you, and the breakup between your friend and Chan, you feel like everything is falling apart around you.

Your eyes burn and you close them. "Do you... do you think I should quit? Apparently he's already asked around if they can change the sound engineer for the next gig."

"What an asshole." Your friend mumbles under her breath as she watches the scene, then shakes her head after a few seconds of thought. Her eyes are full of determination and confidence. You admire her for it. Because you know you'll never have half her mental strength.

"I think you should prove yourself. Stay here, earn your money, show that you're good at your job and make him understand that his presence won't hurt you anymore. After what happened at Hybe's, JYPE is the best thing that could happen to you. This is your chance to show him that you've moved on. Everything's going to be okay, Bunny."

Your head rests on your friend's shoulder as she strokes your back. The rest of the evening is quiet. No one speaks. Soon you can hear your friend's soft breathing as she falls asleep next to you. But you don't blame her. How can you blame her when she's come all this way for you?

And when the concert is over, the lights go down, and everyone leaves, you sit there with your friend. You admire the stars, the silence, the beauty of the universe next to you. The beauty of the universe right in front of you.

Even though it all seems fleeting, you're glad you got a glimpse of it, if only for a few seconds.

"The sound was better than usual, I like the new sound engineer, she's talented and cute." Felix smiles and hums as he removes his makeup. His gaze rests on the mirror in front of him, trying to catch his friends' eyes through his reflection. Seungmin looks to his side and smiles slightly as he takes off his top.

"Is there a single person here that you don't think is talented and cute?" He laughs a little as he reaches for his hoodie to get dressed and warm up, fatigue starting to creep through his limbs. He expects nothing more than to be able to lie down in his bed and get some sleep. Tomorrow morning they have to catch a plane to their next destination: Australia.

Felix is excited to get home and see his family. Chan, on the other hand, seems lost. He keeps looking at his phone, and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he's looking at. Seungmin falls onto the sofa in the room and pinches his nose as he tilts his head back and closes his eyes to catch his breath.

"But it's true she's good. And cute." He opens his left eye and looks in Minho's direction. He silently removes his makeup. "Minho Hyung, I heard you know her, is that true?"

Minho stops in mid-action. He frowns as the others turn around to hear him. He clears his throat. "Who told you that?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Did she tell you?" He turns to Seungmin and refuses to answer his question. Seungmin has a small smile on his lips, amused by his elder's fuzzy answers. He shakes his head and opens his mouth to answer. But Jeongin's phone starts to ring.

Everyone falls silent.

Jeongin walks over to his phone and looks at it. "It's an unknown number."

The silence lasts a few seconds as he hesitates to answer, unsure. Very often, in this kind of situation, it could be a sasaeng. He waits, hoping the person will hang up, but the phone continues to vibrate. Chan stands up, lets out a long sigh, and finally picks it up, turning on the speaker as he leans over to the phone.

"Hi? Who is this?" His voice is low, filled with fatigue and anger that he tries hard to hide. He stomps his feet, hands on his waist as he leans forward toward the phone.

"Hello...? Yang Jeongin-sshi?..." Your voice is hesitant. You don't remember Jeongin's voice being so deep. So cold. But you've never talked to him before, so that's probably why. You run your tongue over your lips. "It's Y/n, I-"

"What do you want with him?" Minho turns to the phone, gets up from his chair and approaches the phone, trying to find out why you're calling Jeongin. "How did you get his number? Leave him alone."

"Ah, Y/n, hello!" Seungmin adds, amused to hear you when they were just talking about you. If Jeongin's girlfriend was here, she would probably talk about faith.

At the other end of the phone, you startle. Surprised to hear Minho's voice. Automatically, his accusatory tone brings tears to your eyes and your hands shake a little more, already forgetting Seungmin's softer tone. "I-it's on speaker...? Can I talk to Yang Jeongin-sshi alone...? Please. It's kinda- personnal." Your voice trembles and becomes thinner, discreet.

"If you have something to say to him, say it in front of us."

You hesitate. Your gaze falls on your friend sleeping next to you. Slowly, you sniffle and shake your head.

"Excuse me for disturbing you." You hang up, frightened after hearing Minho's voice. He frightens you as much as you love him. He hurts you as much as he makes you feel good.

"What was that?" Changbin looks at Minho, surprised by his friend's behavior. But he says nothing more and sits down to continue removing his makeup. Everyone looks at him uncomprehendingly and Jeongin picks up his phone again.

"How did she get my number? And why didn't you let me talk to her? I wonder what she wanted with me."

"She probably got your number through the girls, apparently she's in the same group as the other girls and they're super close. She's even Princess' best friend." Seungmin added with a shrug, still looking at Minho. His behavior didn't go unnoticed after all.

"Princess' best friend? Innie, can you give me her number?" Felix's eyes sparkle and he stands up all at once to approach the maknae, phone in hand, ready to get your number. But Jeongin is busy looking at Minho.

"Why did you talk to her like that if she's a friend of the girls? Don't you like her?"

Minho finishes removing his makeup and gets up to change. He does it slowly, ignoring everyone's stares, as if none of it matters to him. Once he's changed, he puts his hands in his pockets and gets ready to leave, looking at his friend.

"You should block her number. And tell the girls to stay away from her. She's nothing but a Sasaeng." And with that, he closes the door and leaves, leaving them to their own devices.

You watch the stars from the engineering room, knees on your chest, tears in your eyes. Your friend is sleeping peacefully next to you and you don't have the strength to wake her up. So you let her sleep and stay with her to watch over her. You think back to Minho's tone, to his words, and the pain in your heart is stronger than ever.

Maybe you shouldn't have accepted this job. But it's too late to change. It's too late to do anything else.

Maybe it's even too late for you to think of a better future for you.

A few minutes later, you hear someone knocking on the door. You turn your head, drying your tears and biting your lower lip, not knowing what to say. The door opens and you see Jeongin's face. He looks at you for a few seconds, then turns to your friend, a broad smile on his lips. His eyes crinkle and you understand a little more why everyone compares him to a fox.

"Noona!"

"She's sleeping-"

"Oh."

He puts a hand over his mouth and walks over to his friend to watch her sleep peacefully. As he does so, you allow yourself to admire his gaze. Up close, he's even more handsome than he looks on the big screens, and he has a smile that would melt anyone's heart. You can see why everyone wants to hug him.

"I called to ask if you could help me carry her up to my room without us being noticed or waking her up. I'm sorry for bothering you."

He shakes his head, slips an arm under his friend's knees to carry her in his arms and watches her sleepy face. "When Seungmin told me you were friends with the girls, I thought it must be important. Neither my girlfriend nor my noona would give out my phone number if it wasn't for something they thought was important. Thank you for calling me. It means a lot to me."

You walk silently to your room. You play nervously with the sleeves of your sweatshirt as he follows, careful not to wake your friend. Once in your room, he gently places her on your bed and comes to take off her shoes and cover her up.

"Thank you for taking care of her for me. I'm glad to know she can count on someone during the tour. I can't always look after her and right now, she does need someone to be with her."

He looks at you and you lower your head, unable to hold his gaze. But strangely, even as you mumble a small "thank you" that seems to be stuck halfway in your throat, he stays there, letting his fingers rub against his thighs in an intense moment of reflection.

"Minho Hyung doesn't seem to like you."

"I know..." Your voice is cut off by a hiccup and you already feel tears welling up in your eyes. You're about to cry.

"Don't cry! Please" He leans towards you but doesn't touch you, looking towards the bed, hoping not to wake his friend under the panic he feels. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just... wanted to ask why?"

Your gaze straightens at him, and despite the tears, you stare, confused.

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Yes, but I'd like to hear your side of the story."

"You don't believe him?"

For a few seconds he said nothing, just shrugged.

"Noona has always cared for me. My girlfriend loves me with all her heart. I don't see why the people I love would be friends with a Sasaeng or give my number to a sasaeng." He tilts his head slightly, the silence of the room having a soothing aura after all the noise of the concert. "And for the last few days I've been thinking that it's important to hear the two sides of every story. Misunderstandings happen too easily."

His words make you open your mouth. But no words come out. Your eyes become moist and you purse your lips, remembering the day Minho began to see you differently.

A year ago...

The moaning from the room below makes you frown. You take off your headphones, knowing full well that these sounds are not coming from your music, and look towards your window. From there you can see Minho's room.

The window is closed.

Minho is a creature of habit. He only closes his bedroom window when he's sleeping or when he's not in his room. And since he has become a K-pop idol, he rarely comes to his parents' house. You always know when he's there, the cats get your attention, and his parents are always static when he comes to visit.

Soonie rubs against your leg and meows. Normally, if Minho were here, Soonie would already be out looking for him.

You put your pen down on your desk and slowly get up to walk over to the door and open it, trying to hear what's going on. The moaning is intense and you recognize your sister's voice.

With light steps you go down to the lower floor and approach your sister's door, opening it slowly and silently. It's not right, you shouldn't do this. It's just not right. But your curiosity gets the better of you.

And as soon as you saw it, you closed the door and ran into your room to double lock the door, your heart pounding in your chest. As tears stung your eyes, you picked up your phone and dialed Minho's number, bringing the phone to your ear and covering your lips with your hand so as not to risk screaming and alerting your sister of your presence in the house.

"Hm? Y/n? Everything okay?" You rarely call him, especially when he's on tour. Which he is, judging by his tired voice, even though it's barely six in the afternoon. On the other side you hear the rustle of blankets and a long yawn.

"Sorry, did I wake you?"

"No, no. Don't cry, okay? I'm already awake, you're not disturbing me. You never disturb me." Even though he's not there, you can feel his smile through the phone and your heart feels a little lighter. Even though the tears are still rolling down your cheeks. "You're crying, aren't you?" His voice sounds almost amused, as if he knows you too well.

A small laugh leaves your lips, and for a few seconds you almost forget why you called him. "Guilty." You purse your lips, your hand caressing the top of Doongie's head as he meows softly. "How's your tour going?"

As much as you'd like to tell him what's going on downstairs, you don't feel up to it. Not while he's on tour.

"Yes, but I miss my children. Can I talk to them?" You turn on the speaker and the three cats automatically approach the phone and meow softly, happy to hear it. While the cats are on the phone with Minho, you put the headphones back on your ears, trying to block out the annoying sounds that are parasitizing your room.

After a moment, the silence seems to become present and you slowly remove the headphones.

"Y/n? Are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here, Minho! Sorry, I was lost in thought."

"Are you sure everything is okay?" His voice becomes more present, as if he can sense that there's a concern, even through the phone. You don't know what to tell him, so you pick up your stuffed animal from your bed and hug it to your chest.

"Yeah, just a little tired. I really miss you. And the kids miss you a lot."

He laughs.

"They're with their mother and their favorite aunt, so I'm sure they're fine. Give Minzi a kiss for me. I tried to send her a message earlier, but she hasn't seen it yet, she must be studying."

A thousand words press against your lips, the desire to shout to him that no, Minzi isn't studying. No, Minzi is not a busy person. Minzi is a person who has found a completely different interest in the world. And that interest is not Minho. At least not this time.

"You heard us." She doesn't even try to hide it, her coffee mug in her hands, snuggled in her favorite blanket, she sits on the couch and look at you, her eyes seem sad. Filled with sorrow. But no regret. "I truly love him, you know?" You can't answer that. Do you know? How much your sister loves Minho? She cheated on him while his cats where there. In front of his freaking kids. But you can't say a word. Worries burn down your throat.

"Will you tell him?"

"I told you I love him. Isn't the answer obvious?" She straightens her back, still fixing you, judging your actions as if you are her biggest enemy right now. "If I say a word, he will leave me."

"He deserves to know."

"Does he? He is the first one to cheat on me. Always on tour, always doing aegyo for strangers. Forgetting his own girlfriend." Her voice rises as anger burns inside her small body. "I was there before his fame. Now, all I get is money and a few text messages. I want more. I need physical attention. And he can't give me that."

"Then shouldn't you... Leave him?" You mumble, lost in your thoughts while you get down to pat Doongie's fur. "If you're not happy, you should leave him. You are both suffering right now. And that not good, right?"

"He has money and fame. I can find love when he's not around." She sips a bit of her coffee, still looking at you. "If you tell him that I see other men, I will hurt you. So don't do anything dumb."

The choice is both difficult and easy. What can you do? Choose your personal happiness, knowing that your neighbor and your first love is suffering, or become your sister's brimstone, knowing that at least your first love can move on? You bowed your head and became your sister's shadow, fearing her even more than before, shutting yourself off from the world. But the truth was about to come out. You refused to be fooled.

The day Minho returned from his tour, he came straight to his parents and their cats. He cuddled them for hours and slept peacefully in their arms. You didn't have the courage to face him. So you broke the news to him through a message. Was there a better way? No doubt there was. But the fear of seeing him self-destruct in front of you was far greater than the rest.

Still, the rest came crashing down on you.

The next day, everyone is ready to board the plane for the next destination: Australia. Jeongin is in the van with the boys, Seungmin looks at him from time to time with a small smile on his lips and leans over to whisper a few words in his ear. His friend frowns and puts a little more distance between them.

"Hyung, what is it?"

"I found it." Seungmin shows him his cell phone. A photo of you and Joshua having lunch in a small cafe. "She used to work at Hybe before she came to JYPE. But she was fired because of dating rumors between her and Joshua."

He opens his eyes wider and leans toward the photo. You have a big smile on your face as you chat happily in front of Joshua, "They look good together." The words escape him as he wrinkles his nose before raising his eyes to Seungmin. "Were they really together?"

"I asked Changbin Hyung for Lee Chan's number from Seventeen. Apparently it was them. They weren't officially a couple, but they often went on dates together, and when the rumor spread, she was fired from Hybe. But apparently she and Joshua still write to each other and see each other whenever they can. He even said he will visit us on tour just for her.

He sit back more comfortably in his seat and look at the photo for a few seconds before turning off his phone and putting it away. The airport is not far away, they have to get ready for the fans. Seungmin yawns a little. "Where were you last night? You came quite late to your room."

"I was with Bunny. We talked a lot."

"Bunny?"

"Y/n, that's her official nickname."

Immediately his friend starts to tease him, wondering when you two got so close in such a short time. In the back, Minho looks at them with crossed arms and furrowed brow. Minzi still hasn't answered his messages. And the fact that you have a relationship with Joshua from Seventeen doesn't please him at all.

Why Joshua? They look nothing alike. He has absolutely nothing in common. So why him? He shifts a little in his seat, struggling to find a comfortable position, and closes his eyes, suddenly annoyed for some reason that escapes him. He got used to ignoring you. But now that he has to see you everyday and that you seem to have moved on, it annoys him. He hates this feeling that creeps inside of his chest at the tought of you with another man.

The most impressive feat, though, was the four-story atrium, with a built-in Telesonic projector. She stood, watching the team on a lift as they assembled the massive piece of machinery. Her eyes were then drawn to the floor-to-ceiling screens, which were being inspected by a large crew with an even larger scissor lift. It was a wonder that it’d even made it down into Vault 33, but she heard rumors about an equipment elevator somewhere in the maze of hallways. She knew she should be doing her own job, but it was particularly fascinating, and relieving, to slow down and analyze the handiwork of other professions.

It also helped with the simmering anxiety of being down here. After all, this was a place meant to be used after the world had ended, after the bombs had fallen on the surface and rendered it inhabitable. This place wasn’t relieving to her in the slightest, it was a testament to humanity’s undoing.

Not that there was anything she could do to stop it. The best she could do was hope that her efforts for this project earned her a spot on the reservation list.

Elodie held out her clipboard, glancing at the foundation she was tasked to overlay as she compared it to a batch of previous schematics. Technically, she was here to collect measurements for the assembly of a hydroponics system below the floor of the atrium of all three vaults. Her and the other agricultural engineers had theoretically designed a system, yes, but they still had to get the exact measurements so that a design could be more than just that. They had to start producing parts, and machines, and an actual system that could provide for a batch of real, living humans that’d inhabit the vaults during the test run and beyond.

It definitely didn’t help that the Three Vaults Project, or TVP, as it’d come to be known, had a mandatory end-date of August of next year because of this test run. Simultaneously, then, every single project had been given a timeline of just over one year. And, of course, she only learned about this after she signed on, and after she’d arrived in California.

To make matters more annoying, they were incredibly restrictive on who was able to access which Vault. The members of the Agricultural Engineering division were divided into three teams, each assigned to one of the respective vaults. The layout was apparently the same in each Vault, so no one had to repeat any measurements or designs, but it didn’t help the fact that everything had to be relayed through electronic messages and very underpaid interns.

Sigh.

At least she was assigned to Vault 33, which had a beautiful view of the ocean. Once you made it past the Vault door retaining walls, and into the upper levels of the building that shielded them from the elements, the Santa Monica Pier was in full display, and it was definitely relaxing after an extended period of time underground.

It was something to look forward to after all of this work was done, and it was something that could keep her going. Whatever it took to get these files in by tomorrow, she’d indulge.

She moved to the nearby tables, which were an impromptu setup for the underground workers. The kitchens in the diner were the first things to be set up, thanks to their proximity to the atrium. So, the higher-ups decided to break them in by hiring people making lunch and dinner for whomever was working that day. It was also definitely a ploy to eliminate wasted time, as the Vaults themselves were set up a mile from the main TVP campus. Regardless, the smell was intoxicating, but she knew the flavor would be bland in comparison to the farm-grown fruits and vegetables she was used to.

The dwellers that were slated to live here would get to experience that. They were supposed to grow corn in Vault 33, if all of the information she’d been given was correct. Every agricultural system revolved around high levels of corn production. She’d designed them, though, to allow the assigned Hydroponics Engineer to easily alter the solution’s properties if needed.

Hopefully, the board would actually approve that measure. People couldn’t just eat corn. Sure, they didn’t have to worry about the nuances of soil chemistry when the chemistry was all controlled by dials and pumps injecting concentrates into water. They’d need a balanced diet, not just for health, but because the people themselves needed more. Living in a vault, only eating synthesized foods and corn, would be hellish. They needed variety, like tomatoes, and herbs, and fruits.

She laid her clipboard in front of her, flipping to a page and adding raspberries to the ever-growing list of seeds to recommend for the Seed Vault. If she was stuck underground for an unknown amount of years, possibly even her whole life, she’d want raspberries. It’d help with the existential dread of being trapped under a hundred feet of dirt and rock.

“What are you doing out of the lab?”

Her muscles tensed as she whirled around in her seat, nearly slamming her knees into the bench she was sitting on as she locked eyes with-

“Norm, stop doing that! You’re going to give me a heart attack!”

“That’s statistically unlikely,” he said, raising an eyebrow at her and faintly smiling. “How’s your day been?”

She looked him over. He had a cafeteria tray in his hands, and had on a typical set of dress clothes. Striped shirt, striped tie, and striped pants. The patterns were faint enough on the former and latter so that the middle stood out, and everything looked fairly cohesive. He’d even worn Vault Tec colors, but she wasn’t sure if that was intentional or not. Or, maybe it was standard attire for the men. Most seemed to wear a blue or yellow tie when possible, and Norm seemed fond of wearing one that contained both.

“Bleak,” she replied, clasping her clipboard to her chest. “If I don’t get this done quick, we have no chance of actually completing the agricultural setup in time.”

“You’ll get it done.”

“Because I have to.”

“And because you’re good at your job.”

“How do you know that? We’re in different departments. Fields. Specialties.”

“Got it. Last time I compliment you,” he said, scoffing. She could tell he was joking, even if they’d only been talking for a month, with how his eyebrows raised and his face faintly lit up.

“Can I sit?”

Her eyebrows raised as well, and she nodded before her mouth even formed words.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure!”

She pulled the clipboard closer to her side of the table as he took a seat and set down his tray. On it, there was some fried Cram, mashed potatoes, and green beans, which made Elodie grimace. Of course they'd push the ‘Vault Menu’ right away. They had to make sure it was fully capable of only making post-apocalyptic meals, or else it’d all be for naught.

“You drew those?”

He was pointing at her clipboard, and she nodded in response.

“Kinda,” she mumbled. “I designed the pipe system and the nutrient mixture. A couple others designed the actual pumps and soil mixtures. Someone’s even building a tractor, for some reason. Executives probably told them to, I guess. Might save five dollars.”

“It’s amusing to think of why our superiors do what they do,” he said, “For example, why do they give us a free cafeteria but no health insurance?”

“It’s probably cheaper,” she replied, looking back to her clipboard, then eyeing his tray again. She was hungry, now that she thought about it. “It’s cheaper to give us good food, I guess, because it helps us stay healthy. I’d like to get my eyes checked without shelling out a thousand dollars, though.”

“Everything has to be cheaper, that’s the Vault-Tec way.”

“Don’t say that so loud,” she said, furrowing her brows. “Someone might hear!”

“At this point, they can’t fire us. Plus, my dad would never let them fire me. And, he likes you, so you’re probably safe too.”

As if to accentuate his words, Norm placed an elbow on the table, resting his head against his palm as he looked at her.

“Is that why you’re slacking off? Because your dad can bail you out?”

“I’m not slacking off,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I was on my way upstairs. To the surface. I have to pick up a motherboard because our intern broke one. Then, I got hungry.”

“Ah,” she said, nodding. “The food doesn’t look bad.”

Curiously, he hadn’t eaten any of it yet.

“You should go get some before they run out,” he said, motioning towards the diner’s open doors with his chin.

“I doubt they will,” she replied. “And, I have work to do.

“Go eat, Elodie. Can’t work on an empty stomach.”

“Fine.”

Elodie sighed as she stood up from the table, walking over to the diner. She swiped her ID against the scanner, then grabbed a tray. He wasn’t wrong, since her rumbling stomach had only gotten worse the longer she stared at his untouched food and smelt the spices wafting over to her nostrils. And, she couldn’t deny that the fried Cram, regardless of the fact that they could have made something far healthier, looked absolutely delicious.

She was glad, at least, she didn't have to eat lunch alone. In fact, Norm had willingly sought her out, quite a contrast to the hazy memories of their elementary school days. Back then, Norm was a typical loner, not that he wanted anything different. He’d sit on the end of a table, without much care for socializing, and Elodie would slip into the seat across from him. They’d chat, talk, and go back to their homerooms, meeting up after school to walk home together.

Rose often walked with them, if Elodie’s own mother wasn’t available. She was a sweet woman, and Elodie could see the features she’d passed to Norm and Lucy. Neither of them really resembled Hank, but their eyes were a dead giveaway of their relation to Rose.

“Food smells really good,” she said, placing her tray down right atop her clipboard.

Norm still hadn’t eaten anything, but picked up his fork the second that she’d sat down. She followed suit, cutting a piece of the fried Cram off and biting it off the fork.

“Mm… mm!”

He nodded in response, quickly taking another bite. She chuckled to herself, taking a sip of the Nuka-Cola she’d snagged for herself.

“It's good,” he said, eyes flickering up to hers. “Better than school lunch.”

“I was just thinking about that,” she said, feeling her face flush. “We’d trade the pieces of our meals around. You always wanted my carrots.”

“Because I gave you apple slices.”

“God, I’d love some apple slices right now,” she said, grinning mischievously as she popped another slice of Cram into her mouth. “Why can’t this be an apple orchard instead of a corn farm?”

“I dunno. You’re the plant person.”

“I am. And it’s because corn starch is pretty versatile, when I think about it. Apple trees are also way more complex to support with hydroponics. I just want an apple now, though.”

“You can get one when we’re back on the surface.”

“Yeah,” she said, sighing softly. “They don’t even have apple juice down here. It’s a crime.”

“The Nuka-Cola sponsorship was too lucrative.”

She laughed, letting out a soft snort before she covered her mouth in surprise.

“Are you always this skeptical of the company that pays your bills? That’s saving America from nuclear war?”

She briefly felt anxiety spike at the thought, even if it was self-induced. For all she knew, the bombs could have dropped on the surface already, with no warning. They’d have to scavenge whatever they could in the barely assembled shell of a vault they currently found themselves in.

Norm cleared his throat, and her attention shifted back to him.

“It’s always good to be skeptical,” he said. “Just, only in the right company.”

“I’m the right company?”

“You don’t want me fired. At least that’s my assumption.”

“Why would I want you to be? You’re funny, and, most importantly, you do your job.”

“I don’t have enthusiasm for it, according to Betty. She’s like, my personal HR manager, or something,” he said, sighing as he pushed the green beans around with his fork. “I get called into performance reviews every three months. Each time, I get told I lack enthusiasm. It’s hard to be enthusiastic about building vaults where only a few people can survive.”

Elodie nodded. He had a point, and she agreed with it. But, she couldn’t just air out her grievances when surrounded by a slew of other employees.

“I… don’t disagree. I wish we could help more people, but I’m happy to help who I can,” she said. “Besides, at this point, there’s not many jobs doing anything else. Unless you want to work food service-”

“No. I worked at the dining hall in VTU. Never again.”

“When did you do that?”

“The last two years I was there,” he grimaced, taking a quick swig of his own Nuka-Cola. “I lost my scholarship when I dropped out of the Overseer program, so it was the only money I had. Life is tricky like that.”

“I see,” she said, nodding despite her frown. “I didn't know you wanted to be an Overseer.”

“I didn’t,” he grumbled, clearly getting a bit agitated. Elodie felt her heart sink, but Norm kept talking. “My dad wanted me to be one. Lucy had already graduated from the program.”

“That sucks,” she replied. “I… well, on the bright side, maybe you served me dinner at some point.”

“Probably,” he said, face softening a bit. “When did you go?”

“Around the same time as you, most likely, but for four years. Had to actually do some research for my doctorate. I started in 2071, graduated in ‘75.”

“I graduated in ‘74.”

“Small world,” she said, chuckling a bit. “We probably crossed paths and didn't even know it.”

“It’s likely. But the campus was always packed.”

“I wonder if we ever took a monorail together.”

“That would be an extreme coincidence. Those only fit four people, maximum.”

“It’s fun to think about, though,” she grinned. “Maybe we were always crossing paths, but were meant to meet again here. If it happened back then, maybe we’d hate each other.”

“Bold to assume I don’t hate you now.”

“You do?”

“No.”

“Exactly!”

The two continued chatting back and forth, and Elodie found a sense of joy in actually getting to know each other again. They’d had conversations before, yes, but they were mostly superficial, about each other's days and vaguely catching up. But now… now they were bonding over how stupid the fraternities were at VTU, or about how the Vault-Boy statue always ended up covered in graffiti and underwear after football games. It was reassuring, to have an actual conversation where she didn’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing or keeping up a good face. She could laugh, and enjoy herself, even if she wasn’t being entirely proper.

Elodie even dared to explain how she’d left an offering at the statue one day, following the superstition that said it’d bring her a semester of good grades. She’d then gone on to elaborate on how her professor had accused her of cheating right after. Norm followed that up with his own story, saying he’d done the same and a pigeon instantly stole the piece of muffin he’d left. Nuka-Cola nearly shot out of her nose from laughter, and she proceeded to whine about how her nostrils were burning.

As their meals wrapped up, Norm was the first to stand, holding out a hand to Elodie.

“I’ll take your tray over.”

“You really don't have to, Norm.”

“I’m already going there.”

“Fine.”

She huffed, holding out the tray to him. Much to her dismay, though, she found that the tray she’d grabbed was fresh from the washer. And so, the top paper on her clipboard had stuck to it, with enough water having accumulated on the bottom of her tray to soak through the rest of the pages. When she’d raised her tray, a few sheets ripped off with a pathetic noise, accompanied by the pitter-pattering of the clipboard falling back to the table. She flipped through a few of them, groaning in annoyance as she realized they were all ruined. Every note, everything she’d done so far today, ruined.

Norm had quickly disappeared from her side, only to return a few moments later, sans their lunch trays. Either he sprinted over, or her fixation on the splotches of ink were making time pass even faster than usual. Both were believable at this point.

“Are you okay, El?”

“No,” she said, unclipping all the papers and balling them up. “I have to go to the surface. Aboveground. Back to campus. Whatever. To get more copies of these plans. God, I’m so stupid.”

“You’re not,” he said, taking the wad of papers and gently unfurling them. “These are still readable.”

“They’re not presentable. I need to redo them,” she groaned, taking the ball of papers from his hand and shoving them into her messenger bag. “You’re not getting rid of me yet, it seems. Sorry about that.”

“I don’t mind the company.”

“You sure? I feel like you’re the type who’d want to ride the elevator and bus alone.”

“I do, but I can make exceptions.”

Elodie felt her face flush, but not out of anger, or annoyance at her situation.

“Well, ah,” she stammered, grabbing her clipboard. “I don’t want to waste any more of your time, then.”

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but instead, he sighed and grabbed his own bag.

“Where do you have to go?”

“The IT office,” he replied. “I have a stash of motherboards, and a bunch of other spare parts. Good quality ones. If you ever break something, you can email me.”

“Noted.You’re my personal IT man anyways.”

“Just don't call too often. I have actual things I have to do.”

“Me too. It’ll work out.”

They turned to the elevator, which was set up fairly close to the makeshift cafeteria. Norm swiped his access card over the scanner, and the door opened. He put his arm over the door, motioning for her to step inside.

She sighed, pressing the button that would bring them to the vault’s entrance. The doors slid shut, and the elevator rumbled.

“Are other people bad? At their IT jobs?”

The question lingered in the air, something she was far too curious about to simply forget. Plus, if he took the bait…

“No,” he said. “Well, maybe.”

Bingo. Three points were added to her mood meter.

“You’re being cocky.”

“Am not.”

“Are too!”

She snickered to herself as the elevator began to rise, and Norm clicked his tongue in annoyance.

“You’re being annoying.”

“Ah, you do hate me!”

“Right now, maybe I do.”

She laughed again, and noticed the faintest redness on his cheeks. Hell, he was even smiling, a nonchalant smirk as he leaned against the railing around the perimeter of the elevator.

“If you’re mad at me, then I’ll never call you for IT help.”

“Good. I hope your computer breaks. And your plants die.”

Elodie snorted again, covering her mouth as she braced herself against the railing.

“That’s so mean!”

“Mm. I told you, I'd never compliment you again.”

“Fine. We’ll just sit in silence the whole elevator ride then. All two minutes!”

“Okay.”

The ride was silent for half of the time, but Elodie quickly began to giggle as they approached the surface. Norm didn’t crack, which just made Elodie laugh more, and she didn't stop giggling until the sunlight hit their faces, and he finally spoke up.

“Don’t trip when you’re getting on the bus.”

“Hey!”

“It’s a fair warning.”

“Fine. Well, make sure you don’t trip either. Or I’ll trip you again.”

“Rude, Elodie.”

They boarded the bus back, teasing each other back and forth throughout the short ride. It was a relief, honestly, from the stress of having to redo everything. They’d even walked together to her building, which was on the way to his.

They stood in front of each other as she grinned, noting how his face was still slightly flushed.

“See you around, Norm.”

He smiled back, cheeks faintly red.

“Bye, Elodie.”

She had no idea why she was practically skipping into her office, but she wasn't about to argue with it. It was annoying to reprint all of the paperwork, and it was annoying to ride the bus back, and sign back into the Vault and get verified. It was tedious as hell to take all of her measurements again, but hey, getting the same number twice was always a good sign.

At the end of the day, she made her way back to her cubicle, and curiously…

There was a bag of apple slices placed onto the surface, with a small note attached.

Found them in the IT building’s cafe. Figured you’d want some.

-Norm

Now that… that made her whole week absolutely perfect. It didn’t matter how many times she had to redraw the same schematic, or explain to her non-scientific bosses why certain things were crucial when growing plants. She did it all with a smile on her face, and a tingling feeling in her body.

The assignment was a relatively straightforward one – you, one of the Republic's leading scientists in the highly specialized field of bioacoustics, were to head to the planet of Eyyhá to record data and assess the feasibility of possible human colonization. Normally, a squad of regs would have been assigned to you for security detail and general assistance out in the field. However, this time around, you were left with questions when the word came down that a squad of specialist clone troopers – Clone Force 99 – would be accompanying you.

You found out that General Skywalker and Captain Rex were the ones who pitched the idea of giving you this assignment after your assistance helped the 501st locate a deeply hidden Separatist base that previously, no one was able to detect. You received the proper clearance, and the day you first met the squad still sticks out in your mind. Memories of Rex walking you up to the guys, who were casually waiting outside the Marauder for you to arrive... Remembering the looks each one of them gave you, particularly the tall silver-haired one, and the one with the facial tattooing; you assumed him to be the squad leader before he even spoke.

“Men, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Y/N. She will be accompanying you on this mission to gather critical bioacoustic data that will ultimately lead to a decision as to whether Eyyhá can be colonized. You are to provide round the clock security and assist with any help she needs out in the field.”

The silver-haired one looked at you, an expression of contempt riddled upon his lips. “Just great...our talents being underutilized yet again for a civilian. If anyone needs me, I'll be in my bunk.” He picked up the large rifle at his side and walked into the ship. “Hunter, why are we even doing this?!” he said loudly, before disappearing.

“I'm really sorry about that,” the tattooed one spoke, his voice low and smooth. “That's Crosshair, by the way. Resident sniper, and usually a completely insufferable asshole. I'm Sergeant Hunter. I'm glad to meet you.”

“No offense taken, Sergeant. I've worked with regs before and gotten my share of snide remarks, but his was a bit much,” you reply, a little curtly.

“Please, call me Hunter. Everyone else does,” he said with a genuine smile. “Let me introduce you to the rest of my squad. The behemoth next to me is Wrecker, our demolitions expert. The one with the cybernetics and wearing the kama is Echo, who's new to the squad. The one who can't seem to be pulled away from his datapad for a split second, is Tech. Both Tech and Echo's electronics and engineering skills should be invaluable in the field.”

You smiled at the one called Wrecker, who caught your gaze and returned it with a light wave. “Glad to have you aboard, Y/N! If you need anything blown up, I'm your man!”

Hunter put his face into his hand, shaking lightly. You laughed heartily and winked. “I don't think there will be any real need for explosives on this mission, but you never know!”

Both Echo and Tech looked over at you. Echo smiled and gave you a salute with his scomp-link arm. “Welcome, Y/N. I'm looking forward to assisting you in any way possible.”

Tech looked up from his datapad and nudged his lenses up with a finger, nodding a few times in what you considered to be approval. “I have heard a great deal about you, Dr. Y/N. Your work as a bioacoustician is unparalleled. I read your last published journal...remarkable observations, I must say. I look forward to working with you, as well.” He glanced down at his datapad once more, tapping away at it absentmindedly.

Rex clapped his hands together once. “Excellent! You're in good hands with these men. You'd better be on your way. Intel we received indicates it will be best to land on the day side of the planet and establish a base camp. We know the planet is teeming with life, but the last thing you need are any unwanted surprises in the dark.”

“Then we'll take our leave, Rex. Let me take those cases from you, Y/N,” Hunter offered, picking up both the heavy black cases like they were nothing. “Good luck, everyone. May the Force be with you,” Rex called as Hunter took your belongings into the Marauder, Echo and Tech entering behind him, with you and Wrecker bringing up the rear.

Wrecker clapped you on the back a little too cordially, causing you to stumble with your overloaded backpack full of personal effects. He caught you just before you fell face first onto the entrance ramp, laughing loudly. “Sorry about that! Guess I don't know my own strength! I'm happy you're joining us. I don't know what bio... Uhh, bioac-- What is it that you do, again?”

You paused a moment, turning around to look at Rex, with his always handsome, stoic face. Raising your arm, you waved to him. He nodded once, then turned and walked off. Turning back, you looked up at Wrecker, feeling supremely tiny next to him. “I'm a bioacoustician, Wrecker. It means I study the sounds of nature, put simply.”

He nodded thoughtfully, and you knew he was trying to figure out exactly what you meant. “Well, I don't know what you'll do with all that, but it sounds kind of boring, if I'm being honest.” His remark caught you just the right way, making you laugh long and hard. “You're not the first one to say that to me, Wrecker. It's definitely not for everyone...”

His infectious laughter joined yours. “Come on, let's get you a bunk so you can settle in.”

*****

The mission was doomed from the very start. You quickly realized the intel was missing critical information that didn't prepare you or the squad for the horrific storms Eyyhá often has, and not long after you had set up base camp, some of the equipment had been struck by lightning. Cases of precious sensor arrays and receivers were mangled beyond repair, although you had Tech and Echo look at the blackened parts to see if anything was salvageable. They looked at you, and didn't even say anything...they just shrugged and gave you the look that clearly said, “sorry, you're shit out of luck.”

Thankfully you still had a few spares to at least get some work started, but without everything in place, it was rather pointless to start data collection. Your request to the Senate to return to Coruscant was denied after being told that despite how little functional equipment you had left, you needed to begin research immediately; a transport with replacement equipment would be sent as soon as you submitted a request with your needs.

Much to your chagrin, most attempts at field work have been rained out thus far, so you've spent more time hanging out with the guys in the Marauder than you have doing any actual research. They've certainly turned out to be a lot different than the regs you've worked with in the past. Very distinct personalities, senses of humor, personal habits... Hunter and Wrecker warmed up to you very quickly. Wrecker took to you so much, he affectionately started calling you ad'íka, while Echo and Tech took a little longer to come around, and Crosshair... You're still unsure of Crosshair.

Initially, you were afraid that being a woman, the risk of awkwardness or sexual tension would be quite high, especially since you were spending a lot of time in close quarters with them. Quite the opposite, actually...you get along with them very well, tolerating the light flirtation and off-color remarks better than you thought you would. You discovered just the level of respect they had for you the week you went through your period for the first time while on the mission.

You pulled Hunter aside just before you were due to start, and cautiously explained what was about to happen. At the time, you couldn't have known that he already knew, because the changes of your pheromones in the days prior, along with subtle behavioral changes, told him so. He was empathetic, offering to make up a makeshift bunk for you away from the others, if that's what made you feel most comfortable.

He explained that women worked alongside them on other assignments in the past, so he wasn't uncomfortable with the subject. Little did you know that those days leading up to and including you bleeding, would be some of the most arousing and tempting for Hunter. That was four weeks ago...

*****

Early this morning, you wanted to go exploring, extending the invite for the entire squad to join you. It finally stopped raining, and you wonder if this is just a temporary reprieve from what you believe to be Eyyhá's rainy season. Echo declined, offering to stay back at the Marauder, trying to think of ways to modify equipment to help you until the new parts come. The rest of the men were more than happy to come with you, grateful for fresh air and a change of scenery.

Here you are now, sitting in a field of tall prairie grass, swaying gently with the warm summer breeze. There's not much of anything you can do right now except scribble notes in your field journal about meteorologic observations and visible flora and fauna. After finding out replacements may take up to six weeks to arrive because your parts requisition request had been mishandled, you resigned yourself to the fact you might have to chalk up this mission as a failure. Looking up at the clear blue sky, you put your field journal in your backpack and lie back in the grass, hands cradling your head.

Unbidden thoughts of Hunter flit through your mind – some savory, some not so much. You've discovered through casual observation, coupled with confirmation from Tech, that Hunter's genetic enhancements shine through in his senses of hearing, and especially scent; his exceptionally keen tracking skills are merely another perk. A thought races through your mind now, thinking back several weeks to when you had last gone through your cycle – was he able to SMELL all that?

Oh, Maker, I hope not... Then you realize how much time has actually passed, and that you're due for your next cycle within the next day or two. That would explain why you haven't been sleeping well for the past several days, despite the fact you've been feeling quite fatigued.

“Oh...shit...” you say, thinking that no one is within earshot.

“Y/N, what's the matter? Is everything all right?” Hunter asks, emerging over the top of the grass, very close to you.

You let out a startled gasp, then cover your eyes with a hand. “No, Hunter, not really. I need to make use of the spare bunk...I just realized that now,” you say a little sheepishly.

He looks at you with those expressive brown eyes of his, concerned, but caring all at the same time. “No worries, I'll make sure it's fixed up for you.” “I'm sorry this is so much of a hassle,” you blurt out. “I can't help it, and I'm sure it doesn't make things any easier for any of you. ”

“Hey now, what kind of talk is that?” Hunter replies, coming to sit down next to you. “This isn't a hassle at all. Sure, the rest of us have to make some minor adjustments, but it really is no trouble, I assure you. When I get back to the Marauder, I can set it up for you, okay?”

Out of nowhere, his finger comes to your face, pulling a lock of stray hair back into place. He smiles gently at you, then gets up and starts walking back to the ship. You touch the place on your face where his finger had been, shivering a little. You have no idea what that's about, but the slow heat beginning to build between your legs is trying to tell you otherwise.

The warmth of the sunshine feels quite comforting today, so you close your eyes and exhale deeply. The rest of the guys are somewhere nearby and won't leave without you, so now seems like a perfectly acceptable time to catch a little loth cat nap. Maybe in dreams, Hunter's actions will become more apparent. You already think he's the most attractive of the squad, and you'd be lying to yourself if you said you didn't fantasize about him fucking you hard at least a couple of times, especially the last time you went through your cycle...

*****

Hunter's strong, warm hands slide their way up your legs, parting them when he comes to your knees. Running his hands along your thighs, he lets one of his thumbs rest on the hood of your clit, the other lying on one of your outer lips. Slowly, he begins to retract your hood, exposing the smooth pearl within. The other thumb begins to pull you open, exposing your glistening wet entrance. He moans softly as he traces his thumb through your wetness, smearing some on your clit. Gently, he begins to swirl the flat of his thumb over it, making you moan and arch up into him.

He chuckles as he slowly slips his index finger inside you, marveling at how tight, hot and wet you are. “Someone's needy, isn't she?” he teases. “I think you like it when I've got my fingers buried in your pussy...isn't that right?”

“Y...yes, Hunter...” you moan softly, grinding your hips up against his hand in an attempt to get him to start stroking your insides.

“That's my girl,” he whispers, pushing his middle finger inside you, your deep-seated groan of satisfaction bringing a broad grin to his face. He starts to move his fingers in and out, hooking them upward a little so he can touch that beautiful little sensitive spot that always makes you come so hard for him. “You want to come all over my fingers, mésh'la? Or do you want my cock, instead?”

You don't answer him right away, for the feeling of his fingers touching your sweet spot make you moan out his name. Hunter takes one of your breasts in his hand, squeezing gently, before his thumb swirls over your hardened nipple. He leans down and his tongue flicks over it, sending chills down your spine and a pulse of heat in your core. You contract your walls around his fingers, breath catching in his throat.

His mouth latches onto your nipple, suckling lightly on it, causing involuntary contractions that to Hunter, feel like delicate kisses on his fingers. He moans against you, swirling his tongue madly before his teeth close down on you, pulling gently. Your hand runs through his hair and down the back of his neck, cradling him as he releases you and his ravenous mouth searches for yours.

Hunter takes your lower lip gently between his teeth, pulling just a little before licking at it and letting his tongue slip into your mouth, letting it glide over yours. You moan deeply into his mouth as he gives your insides a few loving strokes before pulling them out. As he breaks the kiss, he looks at his fingers that are coated with your creamy juices. Your eyes meet his and he smiles, tracing his wet fingers over your lips.

“I want to watch you suck my fingers clean, cyar'ika. Do it like you're sucking my cock,” he tells you, his voice dropping into a husky whisper.

You comply, opening your mouth slowly as his fingers slip into your mouth. Your hand closes around his wrist as your tongue swirls around them, tasting the salt and tang of your secretions. Hunter moans softly and reaches down to adjust himself through his sleep shorts; he's almost painfully hard right now and wants nothing more than to sink himself balls deep inside you.

Suckling more firmly on his fingers, you start to mimic the motions of giving him a blowjob, your head moving to and fro with vigor. Hunter smirks as you fight to suppress your gag reflex once his fingers are fully in your mouth. With his open hand, he begins to free himself from his shorts, the elegant curvature of his thick length aching for the sanctuary of your pussy. He pulls his fingers out, then leans down to kiss you deeply, the taste of your juices still there.

“That's my good girl,” he whispers into your ear, making you shiver and moan his name once more. “Open up for me, cyaré, and take my cock...you're such a greedy little slut. Isn't that right?”

Hunter aligns himself with your entrance, slowly gliding the head of his cock through your outer lips to pick up your wetness, then lets it slip effortlessly over your swollen clit. A heated cry escapes you and you close your legs around his waist, pulling him forward and coaxing him to enter you. He plants his hands on either side of your shoulders, breathing heavily in anticipation as he parks himself firmly at your entrance.

“Fuck me, Hunter... I'm your greedy little slut,” you plead.

“That's all I wanted to hear, mésh'la.”

His lips press against yours for a heated kiss, tongue easing into your mouth as he begins to slowly push inside you, moving slowly so you can stretch around him. You let out a lusty moan of unbridled pleasure as he seats himself fully inside you. Instinctively, you flex your walls around him, squeezing his cock with everything you can muster. Hunter's head snaps up as you do this, with a primal growl. He closes his hands around your hips as he withdraws his cock until he's almost out of you, and with no warning, he surges forward –

*****

“Ad'íka? Ad'íka, where are you?” Wrecker yells, looking over the sea of grass, trying to spot you. “We're gonna catch hell from Hunter if we can't find her,” he groans. “Oi, Tech! Help me find Y/N. I know she's here somewhere.”

“Wrecker, please calm down. The likelihood of her going far without at least one of us accompanying her is statistically speaking, quite low. I saw Hunter heading back to the Marauder awhile ago, so I assume he likely spoke to her before doing so. I believe I can make an educated guess as to where she may be,” Tech replied.

Tech begins to move off in the direction where he last spotted Hunter, walking slowly and parting the grass as he goes, careful not to make a misstep – or accidentally step on you. He looks around cautiously, trying to look for telltale signs such as places where grass looks unnaturally flattened. The wind picks up and the skies are beginning to cloud over again, threatening to bring more rain, or worse, another storm.

“Wrecker, pack it in and move to my location. The weather is becoming inclement and we need to make it back to the Marauder with haste,” Tech calls.

He's still looking around and finds a patch of the grass that doesn't look quite like the others. Striding with a little more purpose, he's almost to where you're lying, but since he can't get a good visual of what's just beyond the grass, he stops and looks up at the grove of trees that marks the division between the forested area and the field.

“Crosshair, can you give me visual confirmation that I'm close to Y/N?” Thunder booms in the distance and Tech looks to the tree line.

When you and the squad exited the grove, Crosshair stayed back and got himself up into one of the taller trees, closely keeping an eye on all of you. He sighs and looks out upon the field, seeing Tech and Wrecker waving. Luckily, he's up high enough and can easily see that they're right at the edge of where you are, still blissfully wrapped up in your dream about Hunter. He laughs and then they hear him rasp, “she's down there all right, fast asleep. Watch your step. If I were you, I'd wake her gently...looks like she's having one hell of a dream!”

Wrecker looks at Tech with a quizzical look on his face. “How does he know that?”

“I do not know. Maybe by her body language?” Tech postulates.

“Wrap it up, you two. I'm heading back to the ship. Last place I need to be is up in a tree when it starts storming,” Crosshair warns as he starts making his way back to ground level.

Tech plows through the grass once more, and finally comes to a stop where his suspicion is confirmed. Sweeping the grass aside with one arm, he sees you lying on the ground, head resting on your backpack. You're still asleep, and Tech's eyes go wide when he realizes that you have slipped a hand down your pants and are slowly rubbing your clit.

“Did you find her? Is she okay?” Wrecker says lowly as he stands beside Tech. “I...I...yes, I found her all right,” Tech mumbles, feeling his face grow hot. This is something new for him, and he's distinctly uncomfortable, feeling like he's somehow violating your consent by seeing you in such a vulnerable state. “She's...well, I...how do I put this,” Tech stammers.

“Tech, what's the matter with you? What's she doing? Crosshair said she was sleeping, so what's got you all jumpy?” He looks down and sees you touching yourself and his eyes get just as big as Tech's, and he clears his throat, trying not to stare and desperately trying to ignore the fact he feels himself starting to grow hard. “Oh, I see, now. She's, uh...she's...” He's embarrassed, not wanting to say the word.

“Yes, that,” Tech replies, not wanting to say it either. “I am not sure how to approach waking her up. But we have no choice. It is going to start raining shortly and I do not wish to get caught out here if it decides to storm.”

“Let me do it, Tech,” Wrecker offers. He kneels down next to you and very carefully places his hand on your arm. “Ad'íka, he says quietly. “Ad'íka, I need you to wake up, honey, please?”

You groan softly and remove your hand from your pants. Tech coughs nervously and also kneels down at your side. “Y/N, it's time to wake up. A storm is coming and we have to get back to the Marauder quickly.”

“Come on, ad'íka, we'll get you out of here. I just need you to wake up first,” Wrecker tries again.

You slowly open your eyes and blink a few times, trying to focus. You have no idea how long you've been out, but you do know that your dream of Hunter fucking you mercilessly is now hopelessly irretrievable. “Tech? Wrecker? What time is it?” you murmur sleepily, rubbing at your eyes.

“Time to go, honey,” Wrecker says, slipping his huge arm under your back, pulling you up into a sitting position gently. “It's getting ready to storm, and this could be a bad one. Come on, let me help you up. Tech, grab her backpack, would you?”

Wrecker helps you get to your feet, and you let out a mighty yawn. “I'm so sorry, guys... That sunshine felt so good, and you know I haven't been sleeping well lately.” You grimace a little as you feel your lower abdomen beginning to seize up a little. You swear under your breath and Tech's eyes narrow as he studies your features.

“Are you quite all right, Y/N? You look like you're in pain.”

“I'll be all right, Tech. Don't worry about it.” You glance up at the sky and black clouds are building in behind you. Glancing at your chrono, you curse again and take your backpack from Tech. “Yeah, we need to get out of here. I can't believe how late it's gotten, and those thunderheads are looking nasty.”

You begin to feel a few raindrops hit your face, and you shoulder your backpack, wincing as pain shoots through your lower abdomen. What you don't see is Tech's look of deep concern as you start back toward the grove, with Wrecker quickly blazing a trail for you and Tech to follow. The three of you end up making it back to the Marauder in record time, sprinting through a deluge as you leave the relative protection of the grove into the clearing where the ship lies.

“What the hell happened?” Hunter calls from the cockpit. “I thought you would have all been back a few hours ago!”

“I'm sorry, Hunter, it's my fault,” you reply. “I ended up falling asleep and it took Tech and Wrecker awhile to find me.”

“Maybe you need to start carrying a homing beacon with you,” Crosshair interjects, coming around the corner as the three of you get inside the ship. “Wouldn't want you getting lost, or anything,” he says, looking at you with that smug expression you wish you could slap off his face. He lets his gaze linger as he looks you over, and you feel like he's boring holes into you.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” you fire back at him.

“Oh...no reason,” he says, and then he winks at you before walking into the cockpit to join Hunter. You look at Tech and Wrecker in disbelief, shaking your head. “What's his problem, anyway?”

“He's always like that, ad'íka. Try not to take it personally,” Wrecker says, frowning.

“I must agree with Wrecker, Y/N. We are used to him always trying to get under our skin. Do not let it get to you.”

Hunter emerges from the cockpit, a little smile on his face as he looks the three of you over. “You all look like drowned womp rats. Go get yourselves cleaned up and then come get something to eat. I managed to trap and kill some kind of larger foraging animal, so we've got some fresh meat, for once. Tech, I might ask you to keep an eye on the radar later. We might be in for a long night with this storm... If it looks like something dangerous is brewing, we'll need to get out of here as fast as possible.”

“Certainly, Hunter. I shall keep you updated.”

“Come on, ad'íka, I'll take your backpack,” Wrecker says quietly, pulling it away from you as he starts walking back to the bunks.

Tech gently touches your shoulder, startling you. “Are you quite all right, Y/N? You do not look well. Would you like assistance returning to your bunk?”

You look up at him, his large, golden brown eyes clearly showing signs of worry. “I'll be honest with you,” you say quietly. “No, I'm not feeling well at all, and yes, I think I'll accept the help, if you don't mind.”

A small smile briefly crosses his face, and he offers his arm to you. You happily accept as more cramping strikes, trying not to audibly groan, but you can't help it. As you get back to the bunks, you can see that Wrecker has carefully put your backpack by your bed. He sees you holding onto Tech's arm and immediately looks concerned.

“Hey, ad'íka, you don't look so good. Is there anything you need?” “Could you take my backpack to the spare bunk, please? Hunter said it would be ready for me by the time I got back. I'm...not feeling well, Wrecker.”

As you mention the term “spare bunk,” Tech turns to look at you, and then it all makes sense to him. “Ah...now I understand. You are not feeling well because you are...” He hesitates to finish his sentence, and he coughs awkwardly.

“It's all right, Tech. You don't need to say it. I think I'm going to grab a quick shower before coming to join you all for dinner. Thank you for helping me today...both of you. I appreciate it.”

As you let go of Tech's arm, he turns to look at Wrecker. “I think we should leave Y/N alone for awhile, Wrecker. Why don't you go see if Hunter needs any help with dinner preparation? I need to speak with Echo and see if he came up with any workarounds we can use for Y/N's research until the new parts arrive.” As Tech turns to leave, he stops and looks over his shoulder at you, concern still etched across his face. You give him a little smile, then nod. He accepts that as the sign to leave, and heads out.

Wrecker picks up your heavy backpack and walks it back to the small room just off the main sleeping area, separated by a floor to ceiling curtain fashioned from an extra blanket. He pushes aside the curtain and gently puts your backpack on the floor. On the way back, you stop him and put your hand on his upper arm. As terrible as you currently feel, you still feel the need to thank him again.

“Thank you again, Wrecker. Both you and Tech have been very kind. I'll come eat after I'm done in the refresher, okay? Maybe a shower might help me feel better.”

“It's nothing, ad'íka. As far as I'm concerned, you're a member of our little family now. We've got your back.”

You chuckle quietly. “Even Crosshair?” you ask, with a hint of suspicion in your voice.

Wrecker stops to think about that for a moment, and with great amusement gives you an honest response. “Yep, even Crosshair.”

*****

The pain in your pelvic floor is steadily growing more intense. As you strip off all your wet gear, you check your panties to see if you've started bleeding yet, and sure enough, there's a few spots of blood. Sighing in annoyance, you throw them on top of the pile of wet clothing, mentally reminding yourself to ask Tech later if there's any kind of good stain removing solvent on board. You see that Hunter was kind enough to leave a stack of clean towels for you, and you suddenly feel irrationally guilty, but then you can't help but smile when you see Wrecker's beloved Lula tucked in the corner of your bunk.

You pick up a towel and wrap it around yourself, grabbing your bag of toiletries as you peek your head around the curtain, making absolutely sure the bunks are cleared out. You don't particularly want most of the guys seeing you like this, and thankfully the path to the refresher is clear. You step in, and crank the hot water. As you wash your hair, you start feeling marginally better, although you're worried about how the rest of the night is going to play out. You finish the rest of your bathing routine quickly, not wanting to make the guys wait too long to have dinner.

When you get back to your bunk, you only want to be as comfortable as possible for the rest of the night, yet still be presentable. Fishing through your clothes to find the special black panties you have specifically for absorbing blood, you slip those on, along with a clean bra and one of your oversized t-shirts that you use for sleeping in. You catch a glimpse of your reflection in a small mirror as you comb out your hair, and you can clearly see you're not well. Dark circles under your eyes, and paler than usual.

“Could be worse,” you say softly as you dig through one of your bags for a small bottle containing painkillers. Tapping two pills into your palm, you down them with a swig of water from your canteen. You look back at the mirror and sigh. “Could be a hell of a lot worse.”

You make your way to the common area where you know you will find the guys waiting for you. They will not eat unless you're present, which you've told them repeatedly they don't need to do, but they still insist upon it. You remember the last time you went through your cycle, there was one night you were too sick to eat anything, and you had spent the entire night in your bunk. Now you truly feel guilty, because that means they all went hungry that night.

You stop in the doorway and see them sitting around the table, laughing and having an animated conversation. This brings a smile to your face, seeing that they're content and happy, despite being stuck on what has truly been a horrible mission. The others don't notice that Hunter turns to look at you standing there. He knew you were coming; he picked up your scent after you left your bunk, the smell of blood teasing his senses.

As your eyes lock on his, you see his expression change from one of acknowledgment to one of definite interest. His dark eyes began to take on a hooded appearance, and you realize what you see there – it's sheer lust. Then it hits you that he knows you've started bleeding, and a twinge of arousal begins to form in the pit of your chest. Hunter raises an eyebrow at you and a sly grin forms, because you've betrayed that you're more than interested, too.

Conversation stops when the rest of the guys notice that Hunter falls silent, and they turn to follow his gaze. You walk slowly toward them, one hand clutching the material of your shirt between your breasts. Glancing over at them, you can see that Wrecker's mouth is hanging open, a look of surprise on his face. You catch Tech's gaze, and he immediately blushes and looks away. Echo, always the gentleman, looks away immediately. Crosshair's usual stony faced visage is replaced by something resembling a combination of surprise and the same kind of interest you saw in Hunter's eyes.

“I'm sorry, guys, I just need to be as comfortable as I can tonight, so please forgive the way I'm dressed,” you say quietly.

“There's nothing to forgive, Y/N. We understand,” Hunter replies, gesturing for you to come and sit. “Hopefully after you eat a little something, it will help take your mind off your discomfort.” Your eyes widen as he says this, because he didn't see you grimacing earlier...how does he know? “Tech and Wrecker told me you were exhibiting clear signs of being in pain. It's nothing to be ashamed of,” he says reassuringly.

“Please, ad'íka, have something to eat,” Wrecker says as he nudges a plate of roasted something at you. “Take whatever you want.”

You look around at the others and they look at you expectantly. It certainly smells good, whatever it is, and you haven't eaten much other than a measly ration bar early this morning. As you pick slices that have the brownest, crispiest skin, you can hear Echo next to you letting out his breath in a large sigh of relief. You pat his arm gently as you start to eat. Whatever this animal is, it's surprisingly tasty.

“This is really good, you guys. It reminds me of boar-wolf meat.” Tech turns to you with a look of rapt interest. “When did you get the opportunity to have boar-wolf? They're supposedly endemic only to Endor.”

You swallow a mouthful of food and grin. “I was part of an expedition to the forest moon of Endor. We were tasked with locating any sentient life with the goal of establishing contact, but ultimately we found nothing. Some of the men decided they wanted fresh food instead of the rations, so they went out hunting and managed to bring down a boar-wolf. That was some fine dining, I tell you. The expedition was a total failure, but spit-roasted boar-wolf was the highlight of that entire trip.”

“Fascinating... Y/N, when you feel up to it, I would like to talk with you further about your trip to Endor, if you don't mind. So little is known about the planet itself, let alone the forest moon.”

“I'd be more than happy to share that information with you, Tech. I have all of my findings backed up on one of my datapads.”

You turn to look at Hunter, and his eyes still have that sultry look to them. You pause a moment before speaking again, because you feel the familiar heat of arousal creeping back between your legs. Your face starts to grow hot just looking at him, as juicier bits of your dream come back to flood your mind. Hunter notes that your scent has drastically changed, your pheromones intermingling with the thick smell of rich blood. He's glad he still has his codpiece on, because it's hiding the fact he's hard as steel underneath it.

“Truly, this is outstanding, Hunter...thank you for all of this.” You look around at the others, and do your best to not betray the fact your insides feel like they're being squeezed half to death. “Dig in, everyone. There's no guarantee we'll get an offering like this again while we're here.”

“You heard Y/N, boys! Let's eat!” Wrecker booms enthusiastically.

The rest of dinner is a rather noisy affair, with a great deal of spirited conversation, bad jokes from Wrecker, a few dirty ones from Crosshair, and plenty of raucous laughter. The others don't see that you and Hunter are constantly exchanging glances, looking at each other progressively longer each time your eyes meet. You can feel yourself beginning to bleed a little more, the intoxicating scent of it starting to dominate his keen senses. Hunter's earlier assumption is correct – it's going to be a long night.

*****

As you lie in your bunk, the screaming of the wind and driving rain against the Marauder's hull does nothing to ease your shattered nerves. The spasms in your pelvic floor escalated during the course of dinner, after which you quickly excused yourself to retreat to the privacy and confines of your bed. You've attempted to distract yourself with one of the many books you brought, but nothing can take your mind off your body tearing itself apart.

The painkillers you took did nothing to abate your misery, and the only thing you wish is to be released from this punishment. You cradle Lula in your arms and curl up into the fetal position; it's not long before you feel the tears slowly roll down your face.

“Make it stop,” you whisper. “For the love of the Maker, just let this be over...”

Time loses all meaning as more waves of acute tightness pass through you. Clutching Lula tighter, you start rolling back and forth as the tears flow faster, and you try to cry as quietly as possible. The intermittent roaring of thunder combined with Wrecker's snoring provides adequate cover, but you're afraid that at some point, you're going to wake someone up. You've shown no weakness to these men the entire time you've been with them, and not about to start by admitting you're crying from pain.

Hunter lies awake in his bunk, restless and overstimulated with the scent of you assailing him. Visions of lying with his head buried between your legs, tongue slipping into you to rapaciously lap up blood dominates his every thought. He shifts uncomfortably as he feels himself starting to grow hard again, and his hand drifts down between his legs to start touching himself through his sleep shorts.

In the dim, cool white glow of the bunks' overhead lights, Hunter looks around the room at his brothers. Confident that they're all sound asleep, he sits up, swinging his feet to the floor. Lifting his head a little, he closes his eyes and inhales deeply. Though the room is filled with natural scents of the others, the one that permeates the air the most is yours – the metallic, iron-rich tang of blood commingled with the unmistakable perfume of female pheromones. He groans quietly as his cock swells, hand sliding into his shorts to start stroking himself.

Hunter stops as he picks up the sound of your distress, feeling compelled to go and check on you. Rising slowly, he makes his way from the bunks down the small hallway to where you lie, sobbing quietly. He stops just outside the doorway, hand on the curtain, rooted to the spot as he listens to you, trying to ignore the incredible redolence of blood emanating from your room.

Pulling the curtain aside, he cautiously enters, seeing you sitting up, arms wrapped around your middle and hunched over as pain wracks your body. He sees that you laid a towel down over your bed, now tinged with deep crimson. So this is why she wanted to be sequestered from the rest of us the last time... You look up at him with blurry, red-rimmed eyes and at first you have no idea who it actually is that's come to check on you.

“Y/N, are you all right?” Hunter says quietly, coming closer. You don't answer, but the slow shaking of your head and the heavy trembling speak volumes. “Mésh'la, talk to me. How bad is it?”

You let go of yourself and rest your hands on the edge of your bed before exhaling sharply, pushing yourself up and onto your feet. Your knees wobble as you take a few steps toward Hunter. As you stop, a fresh wave of cramping tears at your midsection; you let out a cry and bare your teeth at him. Locking your eyes on his, your fingers close around the hem of your nightshirt, not caring if he sees you like this. Hunter's eyes go wide, breath catching in his throat as you begin to pull it up.

“You...want to see? Look at this and...f-f-feel my pain,” you choke out.

As you lift your nightshirt up past your waist, his eyes gravitate lower to see that you're wearing nothing underneath, having shed your panties earlier in the night when you knew they would be useless at being able to catch the flow that was to come. Parting your legs just a little, he sees that your inner thighs are covered in blood, a fresh trail quickly coursing its way down your leg onto the floor. He continues to watch transfixed as a large, thick blood clot oozes out from between your legs, followed by another, unable to fathom how you're tolerating this.

Swallowing hard, Hunter stares as you bring a hand down and run your fingers through your outer lips, coating them before bringing them back to your mouth, where you slip them inside to suck them clean. He can see that blood is smeared under your lower lip, and the urge to taste you is overwhelming. Stepping forward, he reaches out and slowly takes you by your upper arms. You don't flinch as his head dips down, mouth hovering just above yours.

“Mésh'la, is it all right if I taste you?” Hunter whispers, his rapid, shallow breathing hot on your face.

You close your eyes and moan softly as his lips trail across your cheek, stopping short of the patch of coagulating blood. “Yes, Hunter...don't be afraid.”

His tongue trails delicately over you, passing over several times until the blood is gone. The concentrated taste of iron combines with the salt from your skin and tears, creating a potent aphrodisiac for his already overtaxed senses. Hunter releases your arms, then slips one of his around your waist, and the other around your shoulders to pull you close.

As you do the same, you feel his lips brush against yours, and you moan deeply into his mouth as he kisses you, his tongue ardently sparring with yours. He breaks the kiss and your eyes meet his. All you can see is a fierce hunger, and you gasp as he takes one of your hands and plants it on his cock, yearning to break out of his shorts. Without thinking, you begin to massage him through the material, feeling him twitch underneath.

“Let me help you,” Hunter says, before gritting his teeth and moaning quietly as you fondle him. “Do you trust me, ad'íka? You can't go on through the night like this.”

“I'm willing to try anything at this point... I just want it to stop,” you whimper.

“You didn't answer me. Do you trust me? I won't do anything unless I'm absolutely sure you're okay with it.”

You hook your free hand around the back of his neck and pull his head down, pressing your lips to his and slipping your tongue into his mouth. Hunter moans deeply against you and bucks his hips into your hand. You squeeze his cock hard, and this time he lets out a loud groan.

“You're here, aren't you? That means I trust you.”

Letting go of him, you turn around and step back to your bed, pulling off the heavily stained towel. Thankfully, there's plenty of towels, so you grab a few more and lay down a thicker barrier. You turn back to him, and see that he's got a thumb hooked in the waistband of his shorts. The head of his cock peeps out above it, slick with pre-cum. Eyes laden with desire bore into yours as he slides off his shorts, the graceful curvature of his thick length just as remarkable as it had been in your dream.

“Take your nightshirt off, mésh'la,” Hunter commands. “You've already shown me that delicious bloody pussy of yours. Now I want to see the rest.”

Heart beating wildly, you obey, pulling your nightshirt off and casting it to the side. You scarcely have time to breathe before Hunter rushes you, hooking an arm around your waist and slipping the other under one of your legs, not caring he's being painted with blood as he lifts you. He sets you down gently on your bed, spreading your legs with hands that feel like they're wreathed in flame. The flat of one thumb trails lightly through your outer lips before it gently flicks over your clit, eliciting a gasp from you.

“I've never seen anything more beautiful,” Hunter murmurs, trailing a fingertip from your bottom lip in a straight line from your chin down to your pubic mound. “...and I have waited so long to do this.” He looks at you with a wanton grin spreading across his face. “But before I do anything, I need to know that you want this. Trusting me is one thing, but wanting me to do this are two different things.”

You press yourself back against your pillows, stretching out a hand that Hunter readily accepts. “I want this, Hunter... You said you could help me. So help me through this...please...” you implore.

He lets go of your hand and leans over you, bringing his head down just above yours. You moan deeply into his mouth as your lips reconnect with his, feeling your clit pulse as his tongue slips across yours. One of his hands closes around a breast, squeezing tenderly as you begin to arch your body up into him in the silent plea to take you. Hunter breaks away and moves his attention to your neck, alternating between light kisses and gentle licking. As he reaches your pulse point, he nips at your flesh, making you cry out in surprise.

“Shhhh, ad'íka, you want to wake everyone up?” Hunter laughs quietly as he moves to position himself between your legs. “Just relax, Y/N, and remember, if it's too much or something hurts, tell me and I'll stop right away.”

You nod and let out a shaky breath as you look down and see how much blood is already on your lower extremities. Hunter looks up at you with fire in his eyes, and you don't look away when he turns to one of your legs, using the flat of his tongue to lick a wide path through the newest trail of blood from your knee all the way up your thigh. Lifting his head, he lets his tongue hang out of his mouth just a little, and you moan when a single drop of fresh blood drips off the tip.

“You taste so fucking good,” Hunter growls. “I want to find out how luscious that pussy is, mésh'la... Are you ready for me?”

“It's all yours, Hunter,” you moan softly.

He slides his arms under your legs, resting his hands on your hips as his face closes in on his quarry. His eyes close as he breathes you in; blood obfuscates nearly everything, but the essence of your fluctuating pheromones is the undercurrent driving him mad. In a flash, his tongue is slipping between your scarlet folds, licking at the fresh trickle of blood slowly seeping out. A large blood clot finds its way into his mouth, and Hunter moans deeply against you, the vibrations sending chills down your spine.

He lifts his head to look at you, and your eyes widen as you see not a man now, but a beast. Blood is on his nose, lips, and chin – macabre tattooing that complements what he already possesses. Hunter turns his attention to your clit, now sticky with drying blood. Out snakes his tongue, swirling over that tiny seat of all your pleasure, cleaning you off and making you moan his name deeply. Closing his lips around it, he suckles gently, letting the tip of his tongue glide along the underside effortlessly.

“Oh, Maker,” you sigh, “don't stop, Hunter...don't you fucking stop...”

He pulls away briefly, looking up at you with a devilish grin. “I have no intentions of doing so, ad'íka. I'm just getting started...” He shifts positions and sits up, bringing one finger to your entrance, which is already leaking once more. “That's what I want to see,” he says, voice dangerously low. “You're so nice and open now...play with your clit for me while you take my fingers.”

Hunter begins to sink his finger inside you slowly, letting you acclimate to him. As you squeeze your walls around him, his brow furrows and he closes his eyes, groaning as his cock flexes.

He starts to glide his finger in and out, watching as it's coated with hot, fresh blood. Watching as you deftly lick your fingertips, he waits for you to slip your hand down between your legs to start rubbing your clit.

“That's my girl,” he croons softly. “Come undone for me...”

He slides his middle finger in, stifling a moan of his own as reflexively, you constrict your walls down around him. Biting your lip, you close your eyes and let your fingers dance over your clit in tight, concentric circles, a low and perpetual moan pouring out of you. Hunter begins to move his fingers in and out gently, watching you closely for any signs of discomfort. Seeing none, he picks up the pace a little, this time hooking his fingertips up to catch your sweet spot.

Your eyes snap open and meet his as you feel that familiar tingle inside you, breath catching in your throat as Hunter's tender stroking draws you closer to the edge. Faster your fingers swirl around your clit, feeling that delicious heat and pulsation build. He grins at you as he slowly trails his free hand down his body until he closes it around his cock, stroking it in time with the rhythm of his fingers. Your walls tighten around him little by little, and he knows you're not far from your climax.

“So close, Hunter...let me come,” you moan lustily.

“Not just yet, mésh'la,” he chuckles, pulling his fingers out of you abruptly, watching a splatter of blood follow them. He holds his hand up for you to see, blood quickly flowing down his palm and onto his wrist. “On your hands and knees, baby. There's no hiding how much you want my cock... So let me show you what I've been waiting to do to you.”

Slowly, you bring your legs down, stiff from being spread apart for so long. As you get on all fours, you purposely tilt your ass up a little bit in a clear sign you're presenting for him. Hunter licks the dried blood from his mouth and shifts until he's up against you, his cock lying between your outer lips. He begins to rock his hips lightly, slipping through your wet cleft, guiding the head of his cock over your clit, relishing at the sound of a deep moan from you.

Hunter plants his bloodied hand on the back of your neck, dragging a wide maroon path down your spine before leaning down and biting into your shoulder, making you curse in both shock and pain. He curls an arm around your waist as you writhe underneath him, still latched onto your shoulder. After what seems like an eternity, he pulls his mouth off you, smirking as he sees the mark he's left behind. As he straightens up, his strong hands fall upon your ass, kneading the flesh gently.

“Now this is a view I could get used to,” Hunter murmurs as he looks down to see blood beginning to drip out of you again. “Such a messy wet cunt, waiting to take my cock...”

You push your ass back against him, and he closes a hand on one of your hips, the other hand on his cock. He slips once more through your hot, slick folds, running the head of his cock over your clit slowly, sighing happily as you moan his name. Finally, he aligns himself flush against your entrance, his other hand closing around your other hip.

“Here we go, mésh'la,” Hunter says quietly. “I want to savor every moment of this.”

He closes his eyes and exhales slowly as he eases his way inside you, relishing at how tight and wet you are for him. You moan deeply at the intrusion, feeling just how thick his cock is, stretching your walls tightly. Bringing a hand down between your legs, you start to stroke your clit again, letting out a sigh of relief as your fingers glide across it, slick with new blood. Hunter takes this as the sign to continue, inching the rest of his cock inside until you gasp as he presses up against your cervix.

“Shhhh, don't worry, baby, I'll be gentle. That's it...work your clit for me. Such a good girl...”

“Fuck me, Hunter...make me come...I need you,” you reply with a heated whisper.

Slowly, he begins to withdraw from you, stopping just before the head of his cock slips out. Looking down, he sees he's fully veiled with blood, thick droplets of it dotting the towels underneath. He runs his tongue over his upper lip and one of his canines, grinning as he threads himself back into you. Your breath comes hard and fast, and you have to stifle a scream as he fills you back up. Fingers swirl over your clit a little faster, and Hunter can feel your pussy fluttering against him; he flexes hard in return and now begins canting his hips into you.

He relaxes the grip on your waist, moving his hands to rest on your ass, his thumbs gently spreading your cheeks apart. You begin to bear down a little as you stroke your clit, relaxing your pelvic floor to accommodate Hunter's meaty girth. Exhaling sharply, you feel his thumb press lightly on your hole – almost curiously – giving pause before he pushes down carefully on it, massaging it as his hips collide with you noisily.

“That's the way, Y/N...” his voice dropping into a husky whisper. “You're doing so well...is this okay?”

“Keep going...I'm all right,” you reassure him. “Don't stop...”

He pulls his cock out just enough for him to wipe blood on his fingers, before pushing back deeply into you, making you gasp and squirm underneath him. Bracing himself with one hand, he leans over you and brings the other to your mouth, running the tips of his fingers over your bottom lip and chin before pushing them into your mouth. You let out a muffled cry, but quickly take to sucking his fingers clean.

“That's it, ad'íka, take my fingers like you are my cock,” Hunter groans.

You contract your walls around him hard as you feel his breath on the back of your neck, then his lips as he kisses your neck and your shoulder, moaning loudly as you give his fingers one last hard suck before he pulls them out. As he straightens once more, his hands return to rest on your ass, and now you feel him withdraw enough to feel the thick, swollen head of his cock spreading your entrance wide.

“Hunter...”

“Breathe, mésh'la...”

A tremendous rush of heat radiates through your pussy as Hunter presses forward and starts to fuck you, this time with no more teasing. His hands move from your ass back to your waist, gripping firmly as each forward surge is replete with a singular purpose. He closes his eyes and lets his head fall back as he bucks his hips up harder into you, smacking against your ass at a progressively accelerated pace.

The moans from you both grow unchecked, not caring that you're getting increasingly loud. You start to throw back against him, Hunter letting out a deep growl and loosening his hands from your hips to let you be in control. You move back and forth effortlessly along his cock, feeling him beginning to swell each time your ass claps back against his body, relishing at the way he massages your sweet spot.

He lets out a low moan as you connect with him again, this time stopping to swirl your hips as he bottoms out within you. You lower yourself onto your bed, guiding your hand back down between your legs. Your clit pulses heavily, screaming at you to bring forth the relief you desperately seek. Once more, you swirl your fingers over the hard little nub of flesh, quickly feeling that magical electricity returning.

Blinded by instinct and utterly blood-drunk, Hunter grasps your hips and retakes control. He fucks you hard and fast, hips slamming into your ass and thighs, spurred on by your cries of ecstasy. His cock drives relentlessly into you, slipping past your sweet spot, magnifying the quivering of your walls around him. Stroking your clit in time with each thrust, every nerve ending is alight as you're nearly at your peak.

“Come for me, Y/N,” Hunter groans deeply. “I know you're so close...”

Your moaning crescendos as Hunter slows his pace down, his cock swelling to its maximum. A heaving cry flies out of you as your orgasm breaks, your walls contracting around him wildly. Hunter can't believe the strength of your pussy as you bear down and start to push his cock out. He pulls out of you fully, agape as a gush of blood drenches his hand. Undeterred, he strokes himself hard a few times and doesn't hold back a roar of pleasure as he spills his seed all over your ass and onto your back.

Trembling from exertion and still coasting the waves of your orgasm, you collapse onto your side. Hunter shifts forward and slips his hands under your legs, moving you onto your back. You hold up your hand, marveling at the velvety crimson rolling down your fingers, down your palm, and back onto your wrist. He looks at you and smiles, both of you still breathing heavily and bathed in sweat. Leaning down over you, he reaches for your hand and brings it to his face, pulling it across his cheek, mouth, and chin to mark himself once more.

“Ad'íka, that was incredible,” Hunter murmurs against your palm. “So much more than I ever thought it would be. I need to ask...do you feel any better?”

Thinking for a moment, you realize you long since forgot your pain, as you now bask in the pleasant warmth spreading through your entire body. “I feel like a million Republic credits, Hunter. That was...beyond intense.”

He chuckles softly. “May I ask you for one more thing, Y/N?” He lets go of your hand and moves down to your thighs, trailing his fingertips down them gently, making you shiver. “Can I have one more taste of you? We probably won't get to do this again while we're here, so I'd like to have something to remember this night.”

You smile and nod, slipping your hand down between your legs to spread your folds apart for him. “Take all you want, Hunter. I know I'll never forget this.”

A little sigh of contentment is heard as he dips back between your legs, tongue licking every last bit of flesh, sucking on your outer lips to clean them off. Gently, he licks your still-sensitive clit, making your legs twitch involuntarily. You can't help but moan softly as his tongue probes at your entrance, before slipping in and gathering what he can. As he pulls away, he slips two fingers inside you to glaze them, then draws parallel lines on each of your cheeks and down your chin.

His lips seek out yours and you meet him halfway for a deep, passionate kiss, moaning into his mouth as he lets you have the remainder of the blood he took from you. Hunter pulls away from you and moves your hair out of your face, his dark eyes now full of tender care. He smiles and shifts you over so he can lie next to you, his hand resting on your chest, head next to yours. Putting your hand over his, you close your eyes and exhale deeply.

“Y/N,” Hunter begins, “there's something you should know.” You turn your head to look at him with a quizzical expression. “It's no secret that blood consumption is practiced by many cultures throughout the galaxy. But there's one thing that's considered universally sacred, and that's getting to taste the precious lifeblood from a woman during her cycle. Something to do with honoring women as the ones who bring forth life, and the bonds of family, I guess. Unlike my brothers, I've never gotten to go through the ritual...until now. For that, I'll always be grateful to you.” “Hunter, you don't need to...”

“There's more, ad'íka. Since you have given me the intimate honor of being the one to have you during your time, I want to offer you something, if you would accept it.”

“What would that be?”

“A place here with us... I heard what Wrecker said to you earlier today, about being part of the family. My brothers and I pledged to take care of each other in all circumstances, and I want to extend that covenant to you. What do you say?”

You shift onto your side, reaching to touch his face, your thumb gently caressing the corner of his mouth. His eyes search yours hopefully as he slings his arm around you and pulls you against his chest. “I think I'm going to the be most well-protected scientist in the Republic,” you tell him softly. “Yes, Hunter, I accept... I know you don't offer this to me lightly. I need to thank you for everything...you and the others have made this entire ordeal so much easier to bear.”

Hunter's mouth joins with yours in a surprisingly soft, delicate kiss. You chuckle quietly and curl your arm around his waist as you return the favor, slipping your tongue into his mouth and letting it tussle with his. As he presses his forehead to yours, cradling your head gently in his hand, he whispers, “No, cyar'íka...thank you. Welcome to our family.”

“What are you going to tell the others? Are they going to be okay with this? I'm not concerned about Wrecker, obviously, but –”

“Shhhhh, Y/N, there's no need to worry about anything. They'll understand why. Hell, they've been waiting long enough for me to even do this. There won't be any waiting to tell them, either.”

“What do you mean?” you ask, sounding slightly alarmed. Hunter starts laughing, covering his face with his hands. “We woke everyone up, cyar'íka. They heard everything. There's no point in hiding what we've done.” Your face grows hot with embarrassment as he sits up and moves to the edge of the bed, looking down at you. “I think you and I both need a trip to the refresher...we look like we came from a slaughterhouse. Get up, and I'll lay more clean towels down.”

You rise slowly and look back at the mess you two made, and then you look at Hunter, who looks like something out of a horror film. You catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, and you see the tattooing on your face that he gave you – grisly marks of initiation. Dried blood coats your inner thighs, but it looks like the worst of the bleeding is over. Glancing back at Hunter, he's gathered up all the soiled towels, along with his sleep shorts.

“Come on, Y/N, let's get cleaned up.” You look at your nightshirt that's crumpled up on the floor and move to go put it back on. “Leave it,” Hunter remarks as he peeks out of the doorway and down the short hallway. “If we're lucky, we can make it to the refresher before anyone spots us. If not, then...”

“Then someone's getting an eyeful,” you chuckle dryly. “It's not exactly the end of the world if the others see me naked. I guess in time, it's bound to happen, anyway.”

Hunter steps out into the dimly lit hall with you close behind him. Quietly, you approach the junction leading to the refresher, catching a shadow of someone coming toward you. Crosshair stops and leans up against the wall, arms crossed with a distinctly irked expression on his lean face.

“Pfffft....couldn't even be bothered to put your damn clothes back on, could you? Nice job waking us up!” he gripes. “You were going at it like two banthas on glitterstim and I didn't think it was possible, but you even managed to wake up Wrecker!”

“Crosshair, shut the fuck up and keep your voice down,” Hunter snarls. “Cyar'íka, with me. It's all right.”

“Cyar'íka? Hunter, what are you talking about?”

You gather your courage and step out from behind Hunter, his hand closing on your shoulder protectively. Crosshair gets a good look at you and Hunter now, eyes wide, his sleep-addled mind not entirely comprehending what he's seeing. His face grows hot as he stares at you first, dried blood caked on much of your body, your hair disheveled. Seeing all the blood smeared on Hunter's face, he covers his mouth with his hand and starts laughing quietly.

“What's so goddamn funny, you smug prick?” you snap angrily.

“Y/N, don't. I think I know what this is about. There's no need to get upset,” Hunter says, squeezing your shoulder gently.

Crosshair composes himself and coughs before looking at Hunter with soft amusement. “So, you finally went through with it, Hunter. Congratulations... We took bets ages ago as to how long it would take you to get the job done...if I'm not mistaken, I believe Tech has now earned himself quite a few credits. Jokes aside, I can see you took things to a far higher level than the rest of us ever did, but for what it's worth, ner vod, I'm proud of you, truly. I have to ask, though...what's with calling Y/N cyar'íka? I'm missing something, here.”

Hunter's hand leaves your shoulder, trailing down your spine before his arm comes around your waist loosely, holding you close to him. “She gave me something incredibly sacred, and in return I offered her something just as sacrosanct – a place in this family. You know what that means, Crosshair, and you know I didn't offer this lightly.”

Crosshair turns to you, this time his expression changing from amusement to one of solemnity. You could swear he almost looks guilty, as if he's feeling remorse for being rude to you on numerous occasions. “If he's offered that to you, Y/N, then...” He trails off, looking down at the floor, resting a hand on the back of his head.

“Then what?” you ask gently.

He looks back at you and exhales sharply. “Then I accept you too...ad'íka. Is it too late to apologize for not being exactly kind to you? For that, I was wrong. Forgive me.”

“No, Crosshair, it isn't too late. And...thank you. It's an honor to be welcomed into this family...an honor that will never be forgotten.”

“Good. Now do us all a favor and get your asses in the refresher. You reek of blood and sex, and frankly, it's a little insulting,” Crosshair laughs just as Hunter steps forward and shoves the blood stained towels into his arms.

“Just for that, you go ask Tech for that special enzymatic cleaner he has,” Hunter growls, taking your hand gently in his, turning in the direction of the refresher.

You wait until you're out of Crosshair's earshot before finding your voice. “Is it always going to be like that with him?” you ask curiously.

Hunter sighs as he opens the door to the refresher, then laughs quietly. “I'm afraid so. I did enjoy seeing you rip into him, however. He needs to learn a little humility, anyway.” As the door closes behind you, Hunter cranks on the shower. He turns toward you with a seductive grin, beckoning for you to join him. “Let me test a theory, mésh'la, that it's going be just as much fun getting you clean as it was getting you absolutely filthy.”

As you step under the blissfully hot water, Hunter's arms close around you, one hand wandering down to squeeze your ass as his lips touch yours for a particularly deep, sensuous kiss. You feel his cock stirring to life once more, twitching against your stomach.

Welcome to the family, indeed...

*****