OC-Tober Day 24: Being Cared For By Someone They Love

OC-Tober Day 24: Being cared for by someone they love

Prompt: Being cared for by someone they love

Apparently, I dreamed of posting this but I never did. Oops.

I used the OC-tober list made by @icannotreadcursive

Link here

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OCs: Len and Jake

Len was shuffling through his mail as he stepped off the elevator. He paused when he found one with Jake’s full name on the label. It caused his lips to curl up at the corners. It was just a simple letter, but it made him wonder what it would be like to see Jake's mail shuffled in among his all the time. He felt giddy at the thought as he pulled his keys out of his pocket to unlock and open the door. That feeling vanished as soon as Len stepped past the door. He stopped at the sight of Jake’s clothes trailing towards the bedroom. The large frosted doors were halfway open, but it wasn’t that that had him quickly rushing for the room. The sight of blood smeared on the wall had his anxiety spiking and his draconic features becoming visible.

“Jake!”

“In the bathroom. I’m fine.” His voice was muffled and stuffy.

“There is blood!” He covered his nose. How did he miss it on his way into the penthouse? “What happened?” He made it through the door and found more clothes. The tee shirt with security across the back was ripped along the shoulder.

“It’s mostly from my nose. It stopped at the hospital but started up again on the way up here. Couldn’t stop the sneeze in time.” 

That would explain the lack of blood smell till he had gotten closer to the bathroom. “Hospital!?”

“I’m fine.”

Len entered the bathroom only to freeze at the sight of Jake standing in only his underwear. Jake was standing over the bathroom sink, pinching his nose. His blonde hair was messy and matted. One of his eyes was almost swollen closed, but he could see the way blue-green eyes were watching him. His lip was split, and fair skin along his torso was mottled with quickly bruising skin. What made his anger burn hotter was the bruising around the front of his throat. 

“What happened?” The rumble was deep in his chest.

Jake motioned to his body with a bandaged hand and wrist. “This?” When Len caught sight of it, Jake quickly dropped his hand. He gave a grin only to wince when his lip split open again. “It only looks bad. The doctor looked me over and gave me something for the pain and swelling.”

Len reached past Jake to turn on the water, letting it wash away the drops of blood in the sink. “Who hurt you?” His skin itched to go find out who did this to Jake.

“It's taken care of. They’re in police custody and can’t hurt anyone else.”

“But you got hurt.” Len reached out to brush his olive-brown fingers over Jake’s bruised forehead. “What about this?”

“No concussion. Everything is okay. I even brought a copy of the doctor’s notes if you want to take a look.” Jake pulled his hand from his nose, and when nothing started dripping again, he grinned. “See, I’ll be alright.”

Len cupped the back of his neck to pull him in close enough to press a kiss to his forehead. He gave his neck a gentle squeeze, causing Jake to shiver and press back into his hand. “What can I do to help?”

“I just want to soak in the bath or watch a movie until the medicine knocks me out.”

“How about soaking in the tub?”

“You just don’t want me to get dirt on the bed.”

“Maybe.”

Jake reached up to cup Len’s face so he could rub his thumbs over the freckles of deep green scales along his high cheekbones. He let his thumbs tuck under the lobes of pointed ears. His fingers dug into the shorter strands of Len’s dark brown hair to give a gentle scratch. “I absolutely love you, and I hate to break it to you. You’ve tracked more dirt into that bed than me.”

Len gave a grumble as he tipped his head into Jake’s scratching fingers, his narrow green brown eyes closing.

“Lies.” Len gently pulled Jake’s hands away from his head. “What about this?” He gently touched Jake’s injured wrist.

“A sprain.” Jake gave Len a grin. “I get two weeks of paid time off from my job. The boss called to let me know.”

Len dipped his head to bump his forehead against Jake’s gently. “I’ll get the water started.”

Jake gave a careful smile, trying not to pull on the cut on his lip. “Soak with me. Just in case I fall asleep.”

“Okay.”

Len watched as Jake undressed the rest of the way while he turned the water on to fill the large tub. He grabbed some epsin salt and poured some into the water. Glancing over his shoulder, he watched as Jake slowly made his way across the bathroom toward him. “Are you sure you’ll be fine?”

“Yes, just sore. I’ve been off worse.”

At the worried look Len shot him, Jake waved his hand in a way that felt like he was trying to brush off the worry. “Long before I met you. You saw where I was when we met. I went through worse beatings.” Jake tossed his arms over Len’s shoulders. Len, without any hesitation, grabbed onto Jake’s waist. “I wasn’t in a good place then.”

Jake slowly pulled Len’s shirt off to toss on the floor, and Len frowned at the mess of clothes. “I should go pick those up.”

“Later. Please.”

Len’s green eyes focused back on Jake. “Okay.” Jake smiled and slowly unbuttoned Len's pants. Len stood up from where he was sitting on the side of the large tub. His fingers tucked under Jake’s chin, and he lifted his head up so he could press a gentle kiss to Jake’s lips. Jake let out a shaky breath. “Get in the tub and relax, I’ll get in after I get undressed.”

Licking his lips, Jake winced and muttered as he pressed his fingers to the cut. He nodded as he turned to the tub, and slowly, he stripped his underwear off. His body protested the movement as Jake climbed into the tub. A low sigh slipped out of him as he sank into the water. Leaning his head back against the ledge of the tub while his injured hand rested on the cool ledge, he watched as Len puttered around the bathroom. Turning his gaze, he found himself looking out the large windows behind the tub. The city stretched out towards the mountains in the distance, the sun’s rays slowly sinking behind the mountains. Had he been in the ER that long? He frowned and let out a bone deep sigh.

Len’s fingers were gentle when he touched his shoulder. Jake looked up as Len asked. “Have you taken the medicine?”

“No. It’s on the counter in the bag. Should also be cream in there for the bruising.”

“I’ll help with the cream after you get out of the tub.”

“Okay.”

Len headed for the counter, and Jake watched as he walked away. His pants were gone, leaving him in his underwear that hugged him in just the right places. “You should just take your underwear off. It’s just us.”

The raised brow tossed in his direction had him answering with his own grin. Len was lean and tall. Jake wanted to touch every inch of him every day. The pills and a cup of water appeared in front of him, and Jake had to focus on that, or he would drop them. Jake set the cup of water on a shelf above the tub after swallowing his pills. Len caught his chin, turning his head to look at him. When Len went to smooth something over the cut on his lip, Jake tried to recoil from the smell. “What is that?”

“Family ointment for cuts.”

“It smells awful.”

Once Len was done, he added, “Tastes just as bad.”

Jake grumbled as he started to lean back when Len finally pulled off the last of his clothes. Len placed his hand on Jake’s shoulder to stop him from moving as he climbed in to settle behind him. Leaning back against Len, Jake sighed and let out a hum. “How long does it need to stay on?”

“Thirty minutes.”

Len ran a wet hand over Jake’s arm as Jake tipped his head against Len’s shoulder. “Fine.” He looked back out the window. “It still amazes me that you’re not used to me getting hurt from fights.”

Tipping his head back so Len could look at him. “I don’t like seeing you hurt. Besides, I’m annoyed someone thought they could put bruises on you.”

When Jake hummed and then let a grin appear, “Is that why you didn’t like me fighting in the Alley? You could barely keep your hands off me after every fight. Then again, that quickie against the lockers is still my favorite memory.” Len made a little growl as he gently shoved his head forward, causing Jake to snicker.

“Brat.”

Jake stretched his legs out and winced at a sore muscle twinge. Len gave a grumpy grumble, causing Jake to reach up to smooth a hand over his hair. “My grumbly dragon.” The coo had Len huffing and then biting down on the ball of his shoulder. Jake laughed as he leaned into Len further.

A sigh left Jake as Len rubbed a hand over one of the many bruises he had. His eyes slowly drooped as Len slowly just ran his fingers over him. Len bumped his nose against Jake’s ear. “Stay awake a little longer. We still need to take care of your bruises.”

Jake sighed and reached up to rub at his eyes. He let out a yawn as Len reached for a wash rag. Grabbing the cup of water, he poured the rest on the rag and tipped Jake’s head back. He slowly cleaned the ointment off Jake’s lip. Len pressed a kiss to the side of his forehead as sleepy eyes blinked up at him. Len smiled as each blink slowly became longer and longer.

At one point, Jake blinked, and Len went from being in the tub to standing outside the tub with the water almost gone. “Come on. Let’s dry you off.”

“Shit, they really gave me the good stuff.” The slur of his words had Len chuckling as he helped him out of the tub. He balanced Jake against his side as he grabbed a towel. Jake made a sound of protest as he forced himself to stand while Len started drying him off using the towel. Once he was done, he let out a surprised squawk as Len scooped him up. The shock woke him up enough to grab at Len as he carried him into the bedroom. Jake yawned as he was placed on the bed. He shuffled up on the bed to flop his head on the pillow so he could let the exhaustion hit him. It was as Jake was almost asleep that he felt the bed dip more than normal. An amused huff left him as clawed hands gently lifted him so he could lean against Len’s scaled side.

Cracking open an eye, he looked at the earthy green and brown dragon watching him. In this form, his horns looked more like branches curving out of his long, narrow skull. Sleepy eyes blinked up at Len. “pretty.”

Len huffed and nudged Jake’s leg with his large snout. Fingers rubbed over the patch of dark brown fur that lined the backs of Len’s forelegs. The long tail flopped closer to Jake so Len could rest his head on his tail. A low rumble started in Len’s chest as Jake pressed his forehead against the back of Len’s foreleg. “Love you,” Jack muttered into Len’s side as his eyes drifted shut. The pills finally pulled him under, and he let out a sigh.

Day 27: Meeting someone important to them for the first time

The first time Max was introduced to Sam right as Sam was planning to leave for his concert

Prompt list by @icannotreadcursive

Day 26: Writing a letter

Max formally telling their friend they burnt their brownies

Prompt list by @icannotreadcursive

Pirates of the Caribbean au! for Oc-tober b/c Kami and Kashi give major Elizabeth Swann and Will Turner vibes 🏴‍☠️

-Son of notorious pirate and good man Sakumo ‘the white fang’ Hatake! All Kakashi has left to remember him is a gold medallion that he’s “lost” along with everything and everyone. He is intelligent, loyal, fearless and kind. He redefines the rules to find what’s truly important, and he will stop at nothing to protect the people he loves.

-Daughter of Lord Orochimaru who would rather play pirate than be shackled to her fathers expectations, and those befitting her status. Follows her gut and her heart and gives up her privilege and status to do what she believes is right. She’s sharp, independent, manipulative and just as callous as the men around her. She will do whatever is necessary to keep herself and her loved ones safe.

Oc-tober prompt 11: ‘In a different story world or setting’

Prompts by @icannotreadcursive

OC-tober Day 21: Kisser exploring an unfamiliar subculture

Recently, I’ve been working on a Star Wars fic with a higher than usual number of OCs. The fic isn’t posted yet, but I thought I might put a few of these out there.

Under a cut due to length~ I got inspired~

The original post is here by @icannotreadcursive.

Day 1

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The Aquatic District on Coruscant was not a particularly pleasant place. Despite regulations about water quality and the truly cutting edge filtration systems installed throughout its crown of all-water towers, much of the pollution sunk to the lower levels where filtration was expensive and the inhabitants poor. Coming from a predominantly oceanic world, Kisser didn’t know how Coruscant could possibly have restricted its livable waters to a single district. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t like the answers.

“Keep up,” Finley scolded him  on their internal comms, pulling Kisser’s attention away from the fact that he could barely see the people around him, let alone the buildings they were swimming between. 

The bastard was keeping a SCUBA trooper’s pace, though, so Kisser snipped, “I haven’t been in a suit since Kamino, jackass.”

“Weak,” Finley teased, but he did slow down. “We’re nearly there.”

“Thank fuck for that.”

“Aw, don’t be like that,” Finley laughed, “They have these snail-sucker critters that they keep around the market, so the water quality’s a lot better. Might even be cleaner than the air at the one near the Temple!”

What Finley didn’t bother to mention was the waterlock that separated the market from the street–Kisser would bet that helped as much as the filter-feeders.

When the water around them had been fully cycled, the doors opened to reveal a brightly lit space both like and unlike any market Kisser had seen. It was lit from every direction with colorful bioluminescence–Kisser couldn’t tell if it was painted on or cultivated or both–and stalls were arranged according to the hollows in a massive column of coral stretching vertically in both directions. The deeper levels decreased in brightness, while the ones above seemed to have something simulating sunlight in the furthest heights–barely detectable from their current depth. Plants and filter-feeders littered every surface not dedicated to commerce, ranging wildly in size and shape. The cacophony of colors substituted for the noise Kisser usually associated with markets, as most vendors and patrons were using various dialects of Republic Basic Sign. 

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Finley said wistfully. “If the war ends for me, I want to get a place nearby so I can come here every day.”

Kisser simply nodded, still poleaxed by the unfamiliar beauty.

Finley quickly decided that was enough “gawking like tourists” and led Kisser through the market. They were technically there on assignment–an errand for Finley’s General, Fisto–but really it was a thinly veiled excuse to get them both out of their own heads. No use wasting shore leave thinking about their losses; they said Remembrances for that. It was an excellent distraction, and Kisser didn’t mind coming off like an idiot tourist. He was one, really.

One of the more doodads-and-trinkets style shops caught Kisser’s attention, so he swam over to it. When the shopkeeper paid him no particular mind–Finley had warned him to just leave any shop that seemed even a little hostile–he perused the half-flan bin. It was mostly a collection of flawed items: carved beads and clasps that weren’t quite up to standard, woven bracelets clearly done by a still-learning apprentice or a faulty machine, and a variety of other decorative bits and bobs.

He picked up one of the beads–a malformed little fish with luminescent stripes.

The shopkeeper came over and waved to catch his eye. “It won’t glow,” they told him. They were a slim Nautolan, reedy and animated.

“Sorry, again?” he asked, a half-step behind as he adjusted to using RBS in his suit.

They pointed up, then said, “In air, the paint can’t glow. It only glows when there’s enough water.”

“Got it, thank you,” he said, not putting the bead down just yet. “Are they all like that?”

The shopkeeper considered that for a moment, then answered by pulling out some iridescent pieces. “These are shinier when wet, but they’re still pretty dry. If I were making them for air, there’s a varnish I’d use to get the same effect.”

They chatted about materials for a while, until Finley appeared next to Kisser.

“I see you met Portia,” he signed happily. On comms, he said, “I thought you got lost. Glad you’re okay.”

“Sorry, I got distracted,” Kisser spoke, even as he signed, “They were telling me about shell inlays.”

“No worries, trouble’s not subtle around here,” Finley assured him. Outwardly, he said, “Oh, they’ll go on all day if you let them.”

“You let me,” Portia said playfully.

“I have a crush on you,” Finley replied, completely blasé.

Kisser blushed, but Portia grinned toothily and said, “Careful what you wish, little fish.”

Before they left, Kisser bought the bead for Finley.

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Day 22

OC-Tober Day 26: Writing a letter

Prompt: Writing a letter

I used the OC-tober list made by @icannotreadcursive

Link here

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OCs: Jessie, Mark, Nick

Jessie heard a loud bird cry, pulling her attention to the open window. She looked up at the high window she left open just for the bird. The hawk swooped inside to land on a perch Jessie made just for the bird. She looked around the repair shop, making sure no one was about to pop out from any shadows. Jessie wouldn’t put it past one of them trying. It took Jessie a moment to clean her grease smeared hands before she approached the bird.

Jessie reached out to brush her finger along the hawk’s chest. “Hey, Smokey.” She watched as he seemed to puff up his chest before letting out a few chirps. “Like father like son. You two are too proud.” Reaching out, she pulled the neatly folded note out of the travel case around the hawk’s leg. The folds were even, and when she unfolded the note, the lettering was neat and in pen. That alone told her who it was from.

Nick, with how easily he took to being a leader of a group, had handwriting that looked like he had to get every thought out on paper as fast as possible. Scratchy and uneven with scratched out mistakes. The paper folded up in odd folds that seemed to work no matter how weird it was.

Mark, ever the shadow that followed Nick everywhere, his handwriting looked like he took his time to think over the written words. Each letter was written in neat and tight capitals. Even his folds on the paper were neat and even.

Jessie smiled as she unfolded the paper. There was a time written on the paper, along with a short question about food. With a roll of her eyes, she went to find a pen and paper. She ended up finding an old paper with equations on it. Scribbling them out, she flipped the paper over and wrote out an answer. Her handwriting was a mess of quick scribbles, used to writing everything out fast as the customer explained what was going wrong and where. “Been working all day. Bring something to eat.”

Jessie walked back to Smokey to slip the paper into the travel case. She passed him a treat that he snatched up before taking off out of the window to deliver her reply. Turning back to the table covered in electronics and mechanical prostheses in different states of disrepair, she went back to work. She had time to finish off some of her projects.

Smokey let out a cry as he neared his return location. A man looked up, his hood pulled low over his face. He raised his arm, the flash of metal catching the bird’s attention. Swooping down, Smokey landed on his outstretched arm. Reaching up, he scratched at the puff of chest feathers. “Was your flight safe?” He passed a snack to Smokey as another man joined him on the catwalk they were hiding on.

“What did Jessie say?”

With a huff, he reached for the travel case to pull out the paper. “So impatient, Nick.”

Nick blew him a raspberry from behind his gaiter. A hood was also pulled down low to hide his face. Mark rolled his eyes before handing Nick the letter and coaxing Smokey to move over to Nick’s shoulder. Nick reached up to rub at the bird's head as he answered his question out loud. “Awe, she’s been working all day. We have to bring food.”

“Should be something we can find on the way back.”

Nick pulled out a pen from his pocket and motioned to Mark to turn around. He used the pen to sketch out three hearts intertwined under Jessie’s reply. When he showed it to Mark, the man gave a fond but exasperated sigh. “Sap.”

“You love it.” Nick shot back as he quickly folded the slip of paper into a star and tucked it into Smokey’s travel case. “Go on, little guy. We’ll be following you shortly.”

Smokey nipped at his hood before taking off from his shoulder. They watched as he flew off before quickly falling into a debate over what they should get for dinner.