#lacksley

*looks at prompt after im done writing* well

They’ve lost.

Matt knows it, knows him and Shiro have finally run out of luck because there’s so many of the Galra soldiers, and they just keep coming at them from seemingly nowhere, and both Shiro and Matt are wounded and exhausted and-

They’ve most definitely lost.

Shiro is pressed against Matt’s back now, and Matt doesn’t have to raise his voice much to say, “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m the one who-ugh-should be sorry, I-”

“Shiro-”

The sound of an explosion and gunfire some distance away interrupt them both, and manage to stun the two fighters long enough for the Galra soldiers to disarm and surround them.

Shiro swore under his breath before trying to shove Matt behind him, but Matt stood his ground.

“Let me protect you this time, okay? We go down together this time.” Matt told him, and Shiro gave him a watery smile.

“I-Matt-”

The door at the end of the room slid open with a burst of gunfire and absolute noise, and both Matt and Shiro ducked, huddling together as all the soldiers surrounding them turned to the chaos.

“Lance, cover me and Pidge, we’re going in!”

“The fuck?! Keith you idi-WATCH OUT!”

“Thanks, Lance, I-Pidge, left!”

“I’ve got it!”

“Thanks, Hunk!”

The last voice was so achingly familiar to Matt, and he felt Shiro tense beside him before laughing.

“What-” Matt started, looking up from Shiro’s neck to see figures in armor like Shiro’s, except in different colors, all taking down the swarm of soldiers like it was nothing at all.

It was honestly the best thing Matt had ever seen.

“My team.” Shiro murmured, as if it wasn’t completely obvious, and Matt felt himself smile for the first time in what felt like forever.

The last of the Galra fell, and the four finally seemed to notice Shiro and Matt huddled on the floor.

“Shiro!!! Oh my god!!!” the one in yellow yelled as the one in red simply dropped his sword and ran over, practically tackling Shiro to the ground. The one in blue started making incoherent, happy noises as he joined the red one, and-

And the one in green was frozen in place, looking at Matt, and they looked so familiar-

Matt stood, trying to place the face, and the green soldier reached up and pulled off their helmet.

“Matt?” the same achingly familiar voice as before asked, and suddenly Matt couldn’t breathe and his vision was blurring and he was running to the small green-armored figure and they were running right back, and-

Katie slammed into him with the force of a freight train, knocking whatever breath he had left out of him, and Matt is both laughing and crying and so is she and oh, god, he had forgotten how Katie somehow always smelled like flowers after the rain and sweat and he had missed his sister-

“What are you doing here?” Matt demanded, pushing Katie away from him. 

She gave him a defiant look (another thing he had missed about her, christ), saying, “Saving you and Shiro’s asses, idiot. You’re welcome, by the way.”

Matt let out a choked laugh and pulled her close again, gripping his baby sister tightly. “I missed you.”

Rating: Mature Relationships: none Characters: Tan M&M, Brown M&M (mentioned), Blue M&M (mentioned) Additional Tags: Crack Treated Seriously, I Can’t Believe I Wrote This, Existential Angst, Existential Crisis, Angst, Heavy Angst, War, Soldiers, Historical References Word Count: 689

Summary:

You lost.

“Shepard?” Garrus’ voice hesitantly interrupts the near-quiet of the main battery, and Shepard smiles to herself.

“Garrus?” She hums, not looking up from her datapad. Play it cool, Commander.

“Ah-well. I was wondering. Why-why have you been working in here instead of...elsewhere on the ship?”

“Am I bothering you? Because I can leave if you’d-”

“No!” Garrus interrupts, and Shep feels her smile grow a bit wider. “No, I-I don’t mind, it’s just that I was wondering...why?”

“Because I like it in here. It’s nice, quiet, and you’re here.”

“I...what do I have to do with anything?” Garrus stammers, and Shep finally lets herself look up from her datapad, watching the tense line of his shoulders.

“I like you, Garrus.”

“I-oh.”

“Mmmhm.”

“I-well. Well, I-um.”

Shep looks back at her datapad, grinning. Flustering Garrus was so easy.

“Commander?”

“Yes?”

There was a long, quiet pause before Garrus spoke again, his voice quiet. “May I-may I kiss you?”

Shepard felt her heartbeat stutter, dropping the datapad in her lap as she looked up at him. She hadn’t expected that.

And she also hadn’t been expecting the look Garrus was giving her, determined and a little pained because of the way his scar was pulling at his cheek.

“I-well.” Shepard snorted, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing outright. “Well, Garrus. If you have to ask, then no.”

There was another long pause as they studied each other, and Garrus nodded.

“You’re near that big rock cluster, right?”

“The-the one that looks like a fist, right.”

“You’re moving, aren’t you?! I told you not to-”

“I-ha-I can’t just sit here, Keith! You’re so-ow-close, I-”

“Lance, you’re- god, I don’t even know how bad but you’re hurt, and I need you to stop moving so you don’t make it worse!”

“But-”

“I’ll run to you, okay? I’ll run. As fast as I can. As fast as i can get the jetpack to take me. Just rest, okay?”

“I-fucking shit-fine.”

“Promise me you won’t move?”

“I’m not moving. Promise.”

“I’m coming, Lance. Fast as I can.”

I don’t believe each person has just one true love, but sometimes we don’t have enough time to find another. (That’s the way it crumbles.  Cookie-wise.)

NORMANDY PERSONAL LOG

USER: COMM. SHEPHERD, ID:-----N7

TIME: 5.16.2185 3.19AM SST

Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d never responded to the call on Eden Prime.

Would some other poor sap have seen the visions and gone through what I had? Would Saren and the Reapers just destroyed us all, no prep or warning or any sort of defense? Would it all had happened as soon as it did? Would I have ever met the crew or-

...Would I have ever met Garrus?

.......I. I don’t know. Hah. I never thought I’d ever-I’d always been on the verge of some war or something that’d most likely get me killed to really think about it, but-

....I don’t believe each person has just one true love, but sometimes we don’t have enough time to find another. And I almost didn’t.

If so many things had gone differently, if the slightest variable had changed, jesus, if Cerberus hadn’t thought to bring me back or if that shot had killed him...

Who the fuck knows, really? I certainly don’t. But here I am, unable to fucking sleep, thinking about all the goddamn little things that could’ve gone wrong, that could’ve-

....It terrifies me, to be honest. To think that I’m the only one who is capable of all this crazy shit. To think I could’ve never met these people who’ve become my family, to think-to think I could’ve missed out on being loved like this.

And that I could lose it any day now.

...shit.

Ah-fuck. I should...fuck. I should get back to bed. Before he-before he notices I’m gone. He’d worry, and I can’t-I don’t think I can deal with that. Not now, not with the end of everything looming.

...I love him. More than anything. And I just hope-I really want-

.....Nevermind.

Written in the Stars is my oldest HP fandom WIP. It was first posted on 5/10/2010 and last updated on 7/31/2010. Check out this gem from the author’s notes: 

This story is going to be epically long, and yes, I will update. It may not come as fast as the updates to The Vindication of James Potter did, as I'm posting this as I write it, but I do promise that this story will not fall victim to apathy. Hopefully, you enjoy this story if you decide to read it. :)

Second Time Around is my oldest HQ fandom WIP. It was born 2/19/2015 and last updated on 4/11/2015. This one was outgrown by canon so I decided to leave it as-is. I didn’t want to mark it as complete because it’s not, but I don’t plan on updating it. I may rewrite it, but updating what’s there won’t happen.