I did another :)
why must tumblr eat the quality đđ
pictured below is me trying to figure out how to draw the standard clone hair
tags: @lonewolflupe @ghostymarni :)
Happy 1 year of Hunter Bad Batch in âBad Territoryâ to all who celebrate (me)
Hunter moodboardđŞ
#star wars #captain Rex #tcw
POV ur Commandant Sobeck watching the citadel's camera feed
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Yeah, I....
Could? Would I? I can't...
Who Says It?
New Star Wars reaction image just dropped
PEDRO PASCAL having a good time during Christmas đ
TUP
@swsourceâ star wars week: day 5 â don't make me nickname you clones & chosen names
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A/N: A lot has happened, I wrote this then it got lost and I thought maybe I wrote it in a dream, you know those kinds of dreams where you go about your day but I didn't give up, I was SURE I had written it. Anyways, save a horse ride a cowboy
warnings: sex jokes. cowgirl pose reference, if I am missing any warnings please let me know. there're some hints for the future đ
Minors stay out or read at your own risk! I'm not responsible for your consumption!
Do not copy, translate or claim this story as your own. Thanks!
"Rise and shiiine!" Your dad flicked the light switch on and off repeatedly, making the room flash like a faulty strobe light. You jolted awake immediately.
"Jesus fucking Christ!" you groaned, yanking the sheets over your head. It was way too early for this.
Your dad chuckled as he walked over and ripped the blanket off. "Come on now, gotta make the most of the day."
"What time is it?" you mumbled, your voice thick with sleep.
"Almost 5 a.m.," he said, clapping his hands as he headed for the door. "Making some coffee downstairs before driving you to Joel."
Shitâright. You had to work with Joel today. The only thing motivating you to get out of bed⌠and simultaneously, the one thing making you want to stay buried under the covers. Because having a crush on your dadâs friendâthe one you had to work withâwas both exciting and painfully embarrassing.
You head downstairs, dressed in comfortable clothes for the ranchâpractical, but with just enough effort to look cute and put-together. Not that youâd admit it was for Joel, but if it made him do a double take, well⌠that wouldnât be the worst thing.
Something had been off about him last night. He wasnât his usual self. And maybeâjust maybeâyou were a little too tempted to poke at whatever was bothering him, like pressing on a bruise just to see how much it hurts.
Your dad drives you to the ranch, and after a quick goodbye, you step out, making your way toward Joel.
Joel turns when he hears your voiceâor maybe itâs the sound of your footsteps crunching against the packed dirt and gravel. Either way, he does, in fact do a doubletake.
He plays it off like he hadnât thought about you last night after dinner. Like he hadnât pictured your face, your lips locking with his in the dark, or the shape of youâyour waist, the way you moved. Like he wasnât just caught looking.
"Iâm shocked you actually showed up," he says, his voice edged with something unreadable.
"Oh, come on," you tease, tilting your head. "Why the bad image of me? Thought you had a better impression."
Joel shakes his head with a smirk, wiping his hands on his jeans, but his eyes linger on you a second too long. âUh-huh,â he mutters, clearly unconvinced by your teasing. His eyes linger on you a second too long before he turns away.
âCâmon, letâs get to work.â
He leads you toward the stables, where the horses are saddled up. You already know whatâs coming.
âNope,â you say, shaking your head. âNot happening.â
Joel lets out a low chuckle, resting his hands on his hips. âWhat, you scared?â
âIâm not scared,â you scoff, folding your arms. âI justââ You pause, glancing at the horse. âI donât ride.â
Joel raises an eyebrow, voice edged with something unreadable. âYou forgot how to?â
Your stomach tightens at the way he says it, slow and deliberate. You pretend not to react. He doesnât need that kind of power.
âWell, Iâm not about to relearn today,â you mutter.
Joel ignores you completely, adjusting the saddle straps before turning to you expectantly. âPut your foot in the stirrup.â
You donât move.
He sighs, stepping behind you. âHere,â he says, voice lower now, hands settling firmly on your waist. Before you can protest, he lifts you effortlessly, guiding you up onto the horse.
It happens fastâone second youâre on the ground, the next youâre settling into the saddle, straddling the horse, legs spread over either side.
You struggle for a second, adjusting yourself in the saddle, shifting your weight, fingers fumbling with the reins. This is harder than it looks.
Joel stands nearby, arms crossed, watching as you awkwardly try to mount the horse. Heâs ready to step in, but heâs clearly trying not to overstep.
Finally, after a few wobbly adjustments, you settle in. You exhale, trying to play it off like youâre totally in control.
âWell, Iâm definitely not a professional cowgirl,â you mutter, still shifting slightly, âbut I guess Iâm figuring it outâkinda like when youâre learning a new position.â
You laugh awkwardly. And then it hits you.
Oh. Oh.
Joel freezes. Blinking at you like he just misheard. Then his expression changesâhis lips twitch, his shoulders shake slightly, and suddenly he lets out a deep, unrestrained laugh.
âDid you justââ He snorts, shaking his head. âDid you really just make a cowgirl joke?â
Your eyes go wide. âOh. My. God. Why would I say that?!â
He exhales sharply, grinning as he drags a hand down his face. âChrist. Now thatâs stuck in my head.â His voice dips slightly, eyes trailing over you, slow and unreadable. âAnd I canât decide if thatâs a problem or not.â
And thatâs when your brain fully malfunctions.
You freeze. Your whole body burns.
Joel smirks, clearly aware of what he just did to you.
Now youâre both in full-on awkward mode, avoiding eye contact like two people who just walked straight into something dangerous and are pretending it didnât happen.
You focus very hard on getting comfortable in the saddle, adjusting your posture, gripping the reins, trying to seem like you have a clue what youâre doing. But every small shift you make, every slight adjustment in the saddle, feels too much, like you can practically feel Joelâs gaze flicking to youâwatching, thinking, replaying.
Meanwhile, his brain is racing.
Heâs staring straight ahead, jaw tight, but heâs not thinking about the horse, not thinking about work. No, his mind is looping one single thought over and over againâwhat you just said.
You clear your throat, desperate to move past this. "Okay. So. How do weâuhâstart moving?"
Joel takes a second to respond. Maybe because heâs still forcing his brain to reboot.
He exhales, stepping beside the horse. "Just a light kick, let her know youâre ready."
You do as he says, and the horse starts to move at a slow, steady pace. Crisis averted.
Or⌠not.
Because as you walk alongside him, your hand accidentally brushes against his arm. A small touch, barely anything, but itâs like an electric shock.
You both flinch, just slightly.
Neither of you say a word, but you know. You both know.
Youâre not thinking about the joke. Except you are. So is he.
You try to act normal, cool, indifferentâbut the tension is palpable, crackling in the air between you.
One accidental glance at each otherâjust oneâand everything feels like fire. And suddenly, you need out.
The second you get the chance, you slip away, finding a quiet room in the stable, shutting the door behind you.
You lean against the wall, pressing your hands to your face.
"Did I really say that? What is wrong with me?! What just happened?!"
The secondhand embarrassment is real.
You groan into your hands, replaying it all over again.
But then the overthinking starts creeping in.
"Did I just make it super weird?! Or did he? Was he actually flirting with me, or was he just messing with my head?"
You think about the way his eyes lingered on you. The way his voice dipped just slightly. The way he said he didnât think he wanted to forget it.
You shake your head to yourself. No. No way. He was just teasing.
Right?
Meanwhile, outside, Joel is definitely not as unaffected as heâs trying to be.
He goes back to work, hands busy, mind not busy enoughâbecause he keeps thinking about what you said.
Heâs still smirking to himself, shaking his head every now and then like he canât quite believe it. He should let it go. Should pretend like nothing happened.
But heâs aware of you now.
Every time you move, every time you speakâhell, even when youâre silentâhe notices. Every small brush of your arm, every glance that lingers a second too long.
And then he realizes youâre gone.
He frowns, scanning the stable before heading toward the room where you probably went in hiding. He hesitates for a second before knocking lightly.
âYâalright in there?â
You freeze.
Shit. Shit.
You take a second before responding, forcing your voice to sound normal. âYeah! Justâuhâchecking something!â
Joelâs voice is too casual when he replies. âRight. Well. You done checkinâ yet?â
You swear you can hear the smirk in his voice.
You swallow hard. Your heart is doing something ridiculous.
You open the door just enough to peek out, avoiding eye contact.
Joel is standing there, one hand resting on the frame, a steaming cup in his other hand. His eyes flick over you, watching the way you shift on your feet, the way you won't look at him directly.
He notices.
He doesnât say anything about it. Doesnât push.
But he doesnât leave either.
And thatâs when you realizeâyou can pretend all you want, but whatever this is⌠it's not going away.
"Don't hide from me next time."
Then he walks away.
_____________________
You spend the next couple of hours pretending that moment never happened. You avoid looking at him for too long, focusing on the horses, the work, anything but him.
Joel? He doesnât say anything about it.
Not at first.
You think, Okay, maybe weâre just moving past this.
Then, mid-task, while youâre standing side by side, working in comfortable silence, he suddenly leans against the fence and says,
âSo, Iâve been thinking about that cowgirl jokeâŚâ
You freeze.
Your heart does something stupid, and you turn to him way too fast.
Joel just watches you, waitingâexpression unreadable, but thereâs a flicker of something mischievous in his eyes. Heâs baiting you.
Your mouth opens, but nothing comes out.
He smirks. "What?" he says, voice slow and knowing. "You donât wanna talk about it?"
You flinch. "Iâno, I justâWhy are youâ"
He leans in slightly, arms crossed over his chest.
âYou know,â he drawls, way too amused, âIâm not sure Iâll ever look at a horse the same way again.â
Your jaw drops.
You gasp, whipping around to glare at him. "Joel!"
He laughsâlow and entirely too pleased with himself.
You slap his arm. "Oh my God, youâre the worst."
He doesnât even flinch. Just grins down at you, eyes still flickering with something unspoken.
You groan, dragging a hand down your face, but youâre laughing too.
And he just watches you, smirking, shaking his head like he knows exactly what heâs doing to you. And he knows he shouldnât.
But the thing is?
Joel doesnât seem to care. Not right now.
Because for some reason, none of that matters. Not the age gap. Not the fact that your dad trusts him. Not that this is a bad, bad idea.
Because he likes this. Likes watching you get flustered, he likes the way youâre pretending youâre not thinking about him too.
The workday finally comes to an end and the tension is still hanging thick in the air.
Joel doesnât say much when you get into the truck, just a quick glance your way before starting the engine.
The drive is quiet. Not awkward, not exactly. Just⌠charged. Like thereâs something unspoken pressing against the space between you.
Joel parks his truck in your dadâs driveway. You could get out now. But you donât.
You sit there, stealing glances at him, pretending youâre not hyper-aware of how close you are.
Joel keeps one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on the gearshift. He looks calm and composed, but you notice his fingers twitchâlike heâs thinking.
And then, he glances at you.
No, he's looking at your mouth.
For a full minute, his gaze lingers there. Slow. Deliberate.
You donât move. You donât even breathe.
Your pulse pounds, and suddenly, you can feel every inch of your skin.
Joel shifts in his seat. His grip on the wheel tightens.
Heâs debating something. You can see it. Feel it.
And thenâjust as he makes his decision, just as he starts to lean inâ
Your dadâs voice cuts through the air.
âJoel!â
You jerk back, the moment shattering instantly.
Your dad walks up to the truck, leaning against the open window, completely oblivious.
Joel exhales sharply and immediately leans away, one hand gripping the wheel like he needs to ground himself. His eyes snap forward, blank, unreadable.
Your pulse is thundering. You donât look at him. You canât.
âHow was the workday?â he asks.
Joel inhales sharply, blinking like he just snapped out of something. He clears his throat.
"Good," he says, voice a little rough.
Your dad grins. "How was she?"
Joelâs eyes flick to you for just a fraction of a second before he answersâtoo smooth, too casual.
"She was a really good girl."
Your breath catches. That fucking sentence.
Your dad smiles, then playfully taps the roof of Joelâs truck, a familiar, warm gestureâone that feels easy, trusting. Like Joel is just some guy your dadâs comfortable sending you off with.
Like this is nothing.
âGuess Iâll be sending you off to work with Joel often then,â he says, still grinning.
Joel just nods, his smirk barely thereâbut his eyes?
Theyâre still on you. Burning.
And as you step out of the truck, heart pounding, you realize:
This isnât over.
Not even close.
THAT LAST SENTENCE WHEN I TELL YOU I WAS SCREAMING GNAWING AT THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE!!!! UH UHUHU AAAH AH AH
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think of this chapter and stay tuned for the next one!
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#I am both #give me more clone screen time
leave this man and his coffee alone đ