#pythiaspeaks

“Literally everything about this is illegal!”

"That's never stopped us before," Lydia huffed, fiddling with the lock of the storage unit. She was picking at the mechanism with two bobby pins she'd just pulled out of her hair, letting one section of red curls spill down the side of her face. "Now's not the time to grow a conscience, Stiles!"

Stiles paced back and forth, rubbing his face with both hands, the way he did when he was nervous, anxious, or scared, which was about 70% of the time.

"Don't just stand there stressing out!" she scolded, not even bothering to look away from the lock.

His jaw flapped open, like it so often did whenever he was around Lydia. She always seemed to know what he was doing, and that had nothing to do with being a banshee and everything with being exactly who she was. "How did you know I'm-"

"Stiles!" She cocked her head to the side, just enough to shoot him a pointed glare.

He sighed and slumped into a crouch beside her, giving up. "I can't even really do anything while you're..." he trailed off, twitching his fingers in mid-air.

Feeling a bit exasperated, Lydia closed her eyes, telling herself that now really wasn't the time to tell him to stop being so... so Stiles. Thankfully, he picked up on her frustration, stood back up, and said, "Okay, okay, you do what you're doing and I'll..." he looked around, pacing, "I'll keep watch."

"Thank you, Stiles," she clipped back in her sing-songy way, attention already back on the lock.

She thought he'd gone already, but she was surprised when he was suddenly kissing her cheek. "Thank you," he said. "You're wonderful."

She gave him a close-lipped grin. "I know," she shrugged with self-assurance, and quickly kissed his cheek back. He looked at her with his puppy-dog, idealist's eyes, and she bit her lip before snapping back into reality. "Go! We have to get in here and I'm not getting caught... again. There's only so many times we can lie to local law enforcement."

He started to say something, but she stopped him before he could get started with that wide-eyed glare she liked to give when she was done having a conversation and he was already supposed to be on to the next thing.

"Okay, okay!" He held his hands up in mock surrender. "Whatever you say. I'll uh," he ran his hand through his hair, "I'll be over here."

from this fanfic ask meme:

11. What do you like best about this fic?

YES! Particularly if something is deliberately a one-shot.

I wasn’t speaking out against these comments, just kind of telling everyone how my brain works, which is garbagey.  Garbage-like.  Trash-can-esque if you will... 

;)  

100% a huge downside. Probably the number one thing that’s pulling me away from it. I’m thinking I’ll be able to work in the Damerons in another way though...

@pythiaspeaks replied to this post:  I vote for Rey, because I want Kes and Shara alive! :)

Excellent point!! With Rey in Jyn’s care, I think they’ll be able to make at least a cameo appearance in the story :)

Aaaaannnnd Tumblr has decided to be mean and not let me tag you, so I deeply apologize. I still hope you see this!!

@lustfulpasiphae replied to this post:  I'm kind of feeling Rey--I don't know that it lends anything to the story to have Kes and Shara in the background like that. Also, this movie is adorbs and I'm excited for the fic!!

Yeah, I absolutely here what you’re saying. I think everyone has completely pulled me over to Rey! (I was already leaning that way, honestly) Ahhh this movie is one of my favorites (I’m a huge fan of family plotlines as well as the romance, and this story pulls on every one of my heart strings... Just like Rogue One, so I figure they’ll go together well!)

Also, for some reason, Tumblr is being mean and not letting me tag you in this, so I hope you still see this post because I really appreciate your input :)

@ibonekoen replied to this post: I vote for Rey :) Also, this sounds like a great AU and I'm excited to read your story!

Everyone has definitely pulled me into the Rey camp! I think it works better for the concept of the movie, really! I hope I won’t disappoint with this one!! I’m finishing up a mood board for this and then starting on writing! Hopefully I’ll have a snippet out soon :)

@callioope replied to this post:  Ooh originally I envisioned Rey, but I actually think your idea of Poe might be better

Ahhh, well I hope you’ll forgive me, but I’m going to go with Rey for this one! Part of me feels like it fits better with the original plot of the movie, and I also just don’t want to kill Kes and Shara lol. I have a feeling the Damerons will show up somewhere in the story though :)

@haylestorming replied to this post: I'm a sucker for Jyn mothering Rey and I think that will suit this fic best!

Oh I absolutely have the same weakness!! It’s been decided... Rey is becoming the pseudo-child of Jyn and Cassian :) (now I just need to create her mother...)

Yessss. Have I told you how excited I am that you write RebelCaptain?

1. “Are you kidding me? We’re not fine!”2. “Oh my God. You’re in love.”

“no.  no no.  that one.”

“which one?”

“that one there.  that i’m pointing to.”

“the--”

“blue one, yes.  come on hurry up.”

“i’m working on it.  we’re fine.”

“are you kidding me?  we’re not fine.  hurry up.”

“you’re starting to stress me out.”

“then maybe you’ll see the urgency of poisonous gas filling the hold.”

the sirens that are blasting their warning stop and rey sags with relief against the hyperdrive.  “finally,” she mutters.  then she rounds on him.  “look, i know you don’t like this ship very much, but i’d hope that you at least would want to keep us alive in it.”

then she catches the look on his face, and throws the rag she’d been using to mop up battery liquid at him.  “you were making fun of me,” she snaps.

“look, this piece of junk is a piece of junk, but if you think i don’t know how to fix her... han solo cared more about this ship than me when i was growing up.  i know which wires will do what in the compressor.”  

rey glares at him, which only makes his lips twitch in a smile.  

“so you were just having a little bit of fun.”

“so it seems.”

“at my expense.”

“not really at your expense.”

“while i thought we were about to asphyxiate in the middle of space and die tragically before you got to see your mother again even after i promised her i’d get you home safely?”

“you’re the one who didn’t have faith in me,” he says, extending a hand to help pull her out of the hyper drive.

she takes his hand and as he pulls her up, she said, “i wonder why i might not have faith in...” he pulls her very close and the word, “you,” gets lost in her throat because she’s suddenly feeling very warm.  

the amused look on his face falters, and his expression is suddenly, so very serious.  rey’s not sure that either of them is breathing.  

Thank you so much for this fantastic (perfectly suited to me hahaha) prompt, my dear @pythiablogs! I hope you like this (and I do know that area well!)

There were few things Rey loved more than escaping her office during lunch to sit outside and people watch while she ate. She loved her job, but she liked the solitude of eating alone with the sun on her face, and she didn’t mind the DC heat in the summer. It was far more humid than her childhood home, but she had grown accustomed to that.

Putting her PIV card away as she crossed Pennsylvania Avenue, she headed to her usual spot in Pershing Park. From there, she could sit under a tree and laugh at tourists doing DC Segway tours, or see if there were any protests happening close to the White House.

She was surprised to find a tall man with dark hair and an equally dark suit sitting on the bench across from hers. He looked like he could have been Secret Service, so deep was his scowl, but there was no tell-tale bulge under the arm or ear piece. Despite the scowl, he was good looking. Handsome, even. She sat down in her usual spot, the man seemingly not noticing her for being engrossed in his phone.

He reached over to his briefcase next to him, pulling out a legal pad and pen, and began frantically scribbling, his brow furrowed.

Rey noted his handwriting appeared to be beautiful from a distance as she ate her sandwich. She texted Finn and Rose about their plans for the weekend, and pulled out her book.

She had become as equally engrossed in her reading as he had seemed to be in his writing when he spoke.

“Does it live up to the hype?” he asked, startling her a bit.

“I’m enjoying it so far,” she replied. “I always think it’s worth it to see something for yourself. Especially in this town.”

He chuckled, and the corners of his lips cracked into a bit of a smile. He’s even better looking when he smiles, Rey thought, and hoped that if her cheeks flushed it would appear to just be the heat.

“Do you work near here? Come here often?” he asked, gesturing at her professional apparel and bag.

“Yes, do you?” She didn’t want to give away where she worked to a stranger, and hoped he wouldn’t be taken aback.

He nodded and gestured behind her. “I’m at Treasury. I don’t often come out here for lunch, though I think I should more often now.” It was his turn to blush.

“I’m Ben,” he said, getting up hurriedly and extending his big hand to hers.

“Rey. Pleased to meet you, Ben.” She smiled and laughed internally at how he suddenly seemed nervous, a contrast to his imposing presence.