#fox’s medical specialist clone group | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

imabeautifulbutterfly · 2 years ago

Text

Upside Down - Chapter 32

Summary: Nerex have some important news to share; brining everyone together during a moment of peace.

A/N: Hello Lovelies,

Another chapter down, so many more to go, LOL.

I wanted to let you all know that starting September 12, I’ll be going back to full time work, so my uploads may not be as consistent as they’ve been in the past year. I will do my best to keep it going, but some things may take a bit more time.

I do apologize for that, hopefully once I get a routine going it won’t be so bad.

Thank you all for showing this story so much love. LOVE OO.

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol, talks of marriage, meeting up in an abandoned warehouse, being followed, clone prejudice (talked about vaguely), I think that’s it, if I miss any warnings, please let me know.

AO3 Link | Words: 6,711 | Previous - - - > Next

Upside Down Master List | Main Master List

ANNOUNCEMENT

“Girl stop it” I closed my eyes as I listened to Iz talking about her date and her subsequent run in with Fox.

“Honest to goodness truth!” Izani took a swig of her glass of wine.

“Okay, but how was the kiss?” Mafs asked, as she glanced over to see Rex and Leif playing together by the couch, Hardcase and Jessie were on their way up, along with a few others.

“Oh … it …” Izani leaned against the kitchen cabinet, her face felt flush as she thought back to how strong and soft Fox’s lips were, “it was intense and … yeah it was a good kiss. It was a kriffing good kiss.”

“Hey!” Mafs smacked Iz’s thigh, “Language, my kid is here!”

“The PARTY HAS ARRIVED!!!” Came Hardcase’s voice from the front, we all looked over to see a hoarder of blue and white, gray and white, and some yellow dispersed throughout.

“Hey guys, welcome” I shouted waving hello, Leif running over to hide by his mom. “I simply have two requests to make, first” I held my finger, “we have a youngling here, so please no cussing, and no inappropriate conversations, and yes I’m looking at you Hardcase and Sinker” I motioned between the two. “Second, please try not to break anything, the walls are somewhat thin, but I don’t have a next door neighbour, thankfully. However, that doesn’t mean you can be as loud as you want, Fives, Vi, I’m looking at the two of you!”

“Hey we are awesome!” Fives called out, Vi wrapped her arm around his shoulder placing a kiss on his cheek, “Agreed!”

“Where are the Generals?” Waxer asked as he glanced around.

“Not here, they weren’t able to make it, they needed to check something out for the ceasefire negotiations” Rex clarified as he shifted some of the furniture around with Boil so everyone could have a seat.

“Hey! No shop talk! We all promised” Mafs voice echoed over Rex’s.

“Alright, Echo, you pick the holovid. Ureli, Vi, Pepper, come over here I want you to meet Mafs and Izani” I motioned for them to come over. “Ultimate, don’t hug all of the pillows; Owl-eyes, please make sure Sten and Flex each get a can of beer don’t hog them all.”

“Would you stop being such a mother nuna” Kix shouted from his seat.

“Fine, then you organize them ori’vod … slacker”

“I heard that”

“Said it loud enough for you to hear, old man”

“Are you two always like this?” Sinker teased.

“They’re worse. Much. Much worse” Rex grumbled out, as he came over, grabbing Leif from behind Mafs legs. Leif giggled as Rex had him dangling from his shoulder, as he carried him back to the group, introducing him to his various vode.

“Whatever, riduur, you love it” I teased quietly, as I placed a kiss on his cheek, Leif let out a disgusted growl at the display of affection. I couldn’t help chuckle at his little emotion, it reminded me a little of Wolffe.

Rex gave a simple wink before heading over to the rest of the guys. Leif’s legs swinging back and forth with each of Rex’s steps.

“Vi, Pepper, Ureli, this is Mafs and Izani. Vi works as a mechanic, Pepper is a medic, and Ureli is a communications specialist, these lovely ladies all work on the 501st and have been a life preserver for me. And these two lovelies, have been a blessing too, Mafs works as a Mechanic and Tech Engineer at GAR’s headquarters, whereas Izani works for the Senator’s Guards.”

“Senator’s Guards?” Vi looked from Nerium to Izani, “I thought that was disbanded and it’s all under the Coruscant Guards”

“That was the plan, and we were suppose to be shifting under their purview, but a few of the … more … shall we say non-flexible Senators didn’t feel comfortable handing over all the security to the clone army” Izani clarified as she swirled her beer around.

“Ahhh - in other words, they were prejudiced against a bunch of men who all looked alike and probably would be wearing their helmets more often than not and therefore felt uneasy.” Izani nodded as she took another sip of her drink, “So exactly what does the Senator’s Guards do differently from the Coruscant Guard”

“We mostly do the same thing, but focus more on Senators and Senators’ families, that way the Coruscant Guard can focus on the citizens of Coruscant. We really don’t do much.”

“She lies” Mafs mumbled through her drink.

“I do not”

“Hey! Fox! What brings you here?” Rex asked as Leif climbed on his back, as he glanced to the door that had slid open.

Mafs, Iz, and I all froze, not that I wasn’t happy having him here, I just didn’t want Iz to feel uncomfortable. I took a quick peek over to see Fox’s red armour, his helmet clipped to his belt, he seemed exhausted. However, his armour wasn’t the only thing that caught my attention, standing beside him was a very familiar grey armour. The grin that wanted to erupt on my face was the biggest self-satisfactory grin imaginable, oh dear lord, this night just got good, “Hey Fox! Hey Wolffe! Welcome!” I glanced at my girls, nodding to them before heading over to welcome Fox and Wolffe properly.

“You two want to tell us why you’re acting like you’ve just seen the grim reaper?” Pepper motioned between Mafs and Izani.

“Umm … let’s just say our last individual encounters with each of them were less than …” Mafs glanced over to Iz, hoping for her to finish the statement.

“… Less than admirable” Iz shrugged.

“You can tell us” Ureli offered, “we all know how to keep a secret” she giggled.

Iz looked from Mafs to the three girls in front of them, despite the fact they just met, the fact that Nerium trusted them meant they could trust them. Izani nodded as she shrugged her shoulders and started from the beginning.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

“Looks like you have a big crowd” Wolffe grumbled as he looked around the room, he spotted Mafs easily enough, but his eyes kept focusing on the youngling that was climbing all over Rex and Hardcase, and seeming to be having a blast laughing and joking with them.

“Well everyone is always welcome here”

“Who’s the kid?” His voice still low enough only for Fox and Nerium to hear.

“The kid actually belongs to Mafs, that’s Leif”

“Huh” was all the response he gave, even he didn’t know if it was because he didn’t actually believe she had a kid, which of course that didn’t make sense, who lies about having a child, or was it because he expected the child to be a misbehaved little brat or short-tempered like his mother.

“Why don’t you go introduce yourself?” I nudged him, motioning for him to move over to Rex, he simply let out a sigh and nodded. I glanced from him to Fox who simply shrugged.

“If you’re asking me what he’s thinking…” Fox looked from me over to the kitchen his face having pure shock as my eyes followed his direction to Izani, who was standing there laughing with the girls, her eyes glancing over to the two of us, I simply smirked back at her. My eyes focused back on Fox who seemed to have lost all thought at seeing her face.

“You know” I stepped closer to him, focusing my attention on a scratch on the wall keeping my voice down, “Api and her aren’t dating.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice lowered, “What made you think I care? Even a little.”

I leaned into the wall a bit more, my finger trailing over the scratch “Oh, I’m just talking out loud, what you choose to do with that information is up to you. Anyway, despite the fun night they had, and the amazing kiss they shared” I glanced over to Fox’s hands which were clenched by his side, his knuckles turning white, “Turns out they didn’t have a spark. Interesting, huh?”

“Again, why do I care?”

I stretched my neck, rolling it slowly till I looked Fox in his eyes, all joking pushed aside, “Don’t act like you don’t.”

“Like you know anything”

“Fox I’m going to offer you some words of wisdom, just two words that you should keep in mind.”

“Which is?”

“Women talk”

“Women talk?”

“Women talk” Fox face shifted to full understanding, “Listen, it’s not my place to say anything, I just thought you might find that information relevant. Plus, if I’m not mistaken you’re still seeing the Senator, right?”

“It’s … well … somewhat … I mean …” Fox let out a big sigh, as his hand trailed over his tired eyes, “it’s complicated.”

“Then I suggest you un-complicate it before you miss out on what makes you happy.”

I moved away from Fox, although I had met him here and there during shore leave with Rex, we still weren’t exactly the closest. I sat beside Rex as Hardcase took Leif with him making the toddler chuckle as Wolffe scowled at his younger vod “What do you think?” I whispered to Rex, as my hand trailed along his neck.

“About?”

“Telling everyone?”

“You still want to tell them. I know it’s a concern for you”

I placed a kiss on his temple, “I want to; if this ceasefire doesn’t last and this war continues, I’m going to be back with the 104th and training with Quinlan. I want our family to know what you mean to me.”

Rex’s hand rested on my thigh, as he nodded, “Did Kenobi, Anakin or General Plo say anything with regards to the test?”

“They’re only going to share it with a few members of the Council. Plo’buir mentioned something about some struggling with the ways of the force, but he didn’t go into more detail.”

“Hmmm …”

“What?”

“He mentioned something similar to me during your test”

“What did he tell you?”

“He said a lot of things, but basically to sum, to keep an eye on you.”

“Good thing you’re even closer to me now to keep an eye on me”

Rex rested his forehead against Neri’s, smiling at how his life turned so hopeful simply by having her there with him. “Indeed. I hope this ceasefire lasts forever”

I hummed in agreement, “Should we tell them now?”

“Good a time as any, plus Kix said if we don’t say something soon, he’ll tell everyone.”

“He told you that too, huh?”

“Yup”

“Well, that’s about right for Kix. Well riduur, you have the floor.”

“Thanks, love. Thank you ever so much.” Rex looked at Neri narrowing his eyes at her, trying hard to hide the smirk that appeared on his lips every time he looked at his wife. “Ahem!” Rex stood from his seat, as he rested his hand on her shoulder, “Thanks everyone for coming, thank you Nerium for hosting” round of applause circulated around the room as Tup and Dogma settled making sure everyone had a can of beer, “We …” Rex looked over to Neri smiling, “We have an announcement that we wanted our family to know about.”

“We debated about whether or not to tell you, but my loving ori’vod” I motioned to Kix, “told us that if we didn’t tell the rest of you, he was going to take out a GAR news update on our behalf, so we figured this was the best way not to get anyone in trouble.”

“We simply ask you do not share this information with anyone outside of this circle of family”

“We got you vod” Fives spoke up as he nudged Echo, “Right?”

“Absolutely. You can count on us not to say anything” Echo raised his beer reinforcing his statement.

Rex looked to Neri, his face feeling flushed at the thought they were about to announce the reality of their lives, “Keep in mind we wouldn’t have thought to bring it up, if there wasn’t a ceasefire negotiations in progress.”

“Kriff, just get on with it!” Wolffe muttered as his hands rested against the back of the couch.

“Wolffe, language” my face was stern as I glanced to the kid in Hardcase’s arms, Wolffe looked over nodding, muttering an apology.

“And on that note,” Rex chuckled, “Neri and I exchanged our riduurok vows.”

Silence unlike ever heard before filled a room full of clone troopers and women who lived for joyous news, gossip, jokes, and trading barbs back and forth, quite like it filled that moment and hung around every single person there.

Everyone simply stared at us for a good minute.

“Wait … are you serious?” Vi questioned as she looked between the two of us. I simply nodded, “How … I mean … how?”

“Mandalorian vows” Rex spoke up before I had a chance to.

“When?” Echo asked

I turned to look at Rex, “Three days before the ceasefire announcement” a smiled graced my face, as his arm wrapped around me, pulling me in closer. I rested my head against his torso.

“It’s about damn time!” Ultimate shouted, followed by everyone’s uproarious laughter and clapping, and a hurl of congratulations coming from everyone. Followed by Rex and I getting swamped in hugs.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

The rest of the evening progressed with half of the people watching the holovid, the other half asking what everyone thought about the ceasefire, Wolffe was getting more and more annoyed he hadn’t had a chance to actually discuss anything with Mafs, he hadn’t even been able to send her a response to the message he received. From learning about Nerium’s test results, then the ceasefire, getting things prepared in the event the ceasefire failed, he hadn’t been able to thank her for the work she put in to save his jetpack.

Lief ran over to him, pulling on his pants. He looked down to the wide curious eyes of the youngling that seemed to be fascinated with everyone, “Yeah, kid?” Wolffe lowered himself till he was eye level with the youngling. He thought for sure the kid was going to get on his nerve, but when he met him, there was a weird connection of understanding between the two.

“Up” he held his hands up waiting for Wolffe to pick the kid up.

“Aren’t you tired of being carried?”

Lief simply shook his head from side to side, “Up!”

“Lief!” Mafs walked over when she heard her son demand being carried, she snatched Lief into her arms, feeling slightly embarrassed by her demanding son. “I’m sorry Commander” she turned to walk away, carrying him to the sofa.

“Wait” Wolffe rose from his kneeled position, looking at the woman who was incredibly intelligent and wasn’t afraid to stand toe to toe with him, he cleared his throat watching as her face took on a quizzical appearance as Lief lowered his head against her shoulder, his eyes slowly closing, “I …” he glanced over her shoulder to see Hardcase watching him carefully. Was there some form of understanding between them? Wolffe shook the idea out of his head, that wasn’t his business.

“You?” Mafs asked pulling him out of his distraction.

“I wanted to thank you for the work you did on my jetpack, not only repairing it but touching it up. It looks practically brand new. You didn’t have to repair it, especially since I just dumped it on your desk, and then …” Wolffe cleared his throat, thinking back to the anger she unleashed on him that day, “anyway, thank you.”

Mafs shifted Lief in her arms, Wolffe stepped forward taking him into his arms, as though it was the most natural thing for him to do, despite the fact it was the first time he carried a youngling or even held Lief. She was shocked and wasn’t sure what to do or how to react, “Uh … you don’t …”

“You repaired my jetpack, carrying him for you is the least I can do. After all we’re friends right?”

She simply nodded, before she walked over to Nerium. Wolffe watched as she mumbled something to her, she simply smirked and motioned to the hallway behind Mafs. He watched as Mafs motioned to him to follow her. Shifting the young boy in his arms and followed behind her.

“Nerium said I could use the guest room, which apparently doubles as Kix’s room. Did you know he stayed here?” Wolffe simply shook his head ‘no,’ how could he know? Why would he know? “Let me just make sure there’s nothing unpleasant for a child to see, give me a second.”

While she went into make sure the guest room was suitable, Wolffe turned to look at the pair of eyes that had yet to stop scrutinizing him, since he started talking to her. He narrowed his eyes toward Hardcase, tilting his head, asking him silently, yet firmly, what his issue was?

‘Don’t. Hurt. Her’ was all Hardcase mouthed.

Wolffe scrunched his face, telling his vod very clearly, ‘What are you talking about?’

Hardcase simply raised his eyebrow, as his face shifted, saying ‘Really?’

Wolffe rolled his eyes at the man, turning to face the guest room. In case, Hardcase missed what the rolled eyes meant, he hoped turning away from him would tell him loud and clear that he needed to shut up.

“Okay, all good” Mafs appeared in the doorway again, motioning for Wolffe to bring in Lief, the room was simple but cosy, and extremely clean, “Just place him on the bed.”

As soon as Lief, sprawled out on the bed, she grabbed a blanket and draped it over him, ruffling his hair, and placing a kiss on his forehead.

“Thanks for carrying him” she stated over her shoulder as she sat beside Lief watching him sleep for a bit longer.

“Like I said least I could do” Wolffe clenched his fists by his side, he kept hearing her words from that day playing over and over in his head, ‘How dare you!’ Should he apologize? After all she did apologize, but it still didn’t feel right. He had clearly overstepped. He cleared his throat, hoping to garner her attention one last time.

Mafs turned to look at him, surprised he had still been standing there, she had expected him to leave after he put Lief on the bed, “Something else?” Her voice was lowered hoping not to wake her son, who was clearly exhausted from using all his clone uncles as a climbing gym. Despite the amount of times she told him not to, Hardcase and Jessie kept goading her son.

“I wanted to apologize” Wolffe matched her tone.

“For?”

“For that day”

She crinkled her forehead trying to understand where he was coming from and why he felt he needed to apologize, “Wolffe, I apologized for a reason. You didn’t do anything wrong. I was the one who was being overly sensitive, like I mentioned in my note.”

“I know …” his hand rubbed against his forehead, hoping the gesture would generate the words he needed, “however, I did overstep regardless. It was not my place to intervene.”

She let out a slight huff at his statement as she nodded, “You’re right, it probably wasn’t your place to intervene, however…”

She stood from her spot beside Lief and walked over to the man who was leaning against the wall of the room, “If you hadn’t - we would probably be having this conversation through a jail cell, and I’m quite certain Lief appreciates me being by his side and not in jail. You did the right thing, Wolffe.”

There was something about him that was so different from all the other clone troopers she had met, he wasn’t flirtatious just to get notches on his belt like most of the men she met, nor was he trying to be her friend just so they could reap some benefits whenever they were on shore leave. He was just him, not asking anything from her, not implying or demanding anything, he was simply just there. In a world, full of disingenuous flirting and comments, he was a breath of fresh air.

“I was …” she took the spot on the wall beside him, letting out a breath she had been holding in since her husband passed away, finally feeling for once she could be unguarded even just a little. Her eyes focused on her son, she was amazed how relaxed he looked, how trusting he felt, he had the softest smile on his face. She smirked at how much her son truly trusted not just her but the man beside her, and all in the span of an evening.

“It’s been a long time since anyone … specifically a man, has protected … no, that’s not correct, um … has defended me without any thought of reward. You even told me, via Hardcase and Jesse, to trash the jetpack, after you saved me. You didn’t want anything from me. You never demanded anything. Nor did you try to seek me out after what happened. You threw me off and I was … kerfuffled by your actions” she turned to look at Wolffe, there was a quizzical expression on his face.

“Kerfuffle?”

“Never heard that before?”

Wolffe shook his head ‘no,’ “Nope”

“Means to cause a commotion or a fuss”

“So I caused a commotion?” He smirked as he looked at the youngling sleeping soundly, he tried to remember if he had ever slept that well.

“You saying you didn’t?” She matched his smirk, he simply shrugged his shoulders, “You, confused me. Truthfully, I hadn’t realized how guarded I’d become, till after you left. It’s been so long since someone didn’t demand something from me as a quid pro quo, that when you stepped in all I could think about was how embarrassed I felt, and how often you’d bring it up until I repaid you for your ‘act of kindness’ towards me. I misjudged you. So, you see, there’s really nothing for you to apologize for. Others are at fault. You …” Mafs shook her head “not so much.”

“I hope you know, I just couldn’t stand there and not act.”

“I know. I realized that once I calmed down. Like I said, just not used to being looked after”

Wolffe glanced from Lief’s sleeping form to his mother, the more he looked at her, the more he realized how truly beautiful she was, how strong she was. Did she have to become strong or was she always this strong? She was a single parent, she had to do double the work. Putting herself through hell in order to look after her son, and her efforts showed.

He was a happy grumpy kid that Wolffe fully approved of, he’s not sure what came over him between looking at the sleeping kid and Mafs who looked ready to collapse, but for some reason his mouth opened up and his arm moved of it’s own accord, “Get use to it” was all he said as his arm wrapped around her shoulder pulling her into his side.

If it had been anyone else, she would have smacked his hand, punched him in his ribs, maybe even slapped his face, or kicked his knee out. However, somehow she knew he wasn’t trying to make a move, he wasn’t trying to be overbearing, he was just stating a fact and it … she couldn’t help chuckle a little as it warmed her heart.

She turned to face him, standing on her toes as she placed a kiss on his cheek, she’s not even sure where that gesture came from, but she hoped it conveyed her gratitude for having a friend like him in her life, “Appreciate it. Glad we’re friends now.”

She lowered herself and leaned into his side, the warmth from his body, the pressure from his arm, it provided a sense of relief and trust easing her into a sense of deliverance from the hard life she had been living these past years, a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time.

He was a little amazed at her willingness to offer up such a tender gesture, as the kiss on his cheek, it left him speechless. Despite the fact his mouth may not be working, his eyes were ever vigilant as he watched her eyes began to droop, slowly closing as she leaned against him. The way her furrowed bro eased, how her body which was rigid and guarded, slowly relaxed against him. Soon enough, her soft snore filled the space beside him.

He chuckled at watching his friend fall asleep standing up, being held up by his body and his arm wrapped around her. When her head began to bob, he shifted till he was able to pick her up, one arm wrapping around her knees, while the other shifted from being wrapped around her shoulder to her back. He carried her over, placing her gently beside Lief, shifting the blanket till it wrapped around the both of them. He sat beside them watching as they curled into each other, a smile gracing his lips before he even realized.

Friends. He huffed at the notion that one simple word could bring a smile to his face so easily.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Izani watched as Wolffe carried Lief in his arms following Mafs down the hall, she couldn’t help smirk at Mafs willingness to let someone other than her pick up her only son, especially when he was already asleep. Ever since he was born she was always protective of Lief, and her protectiveness increased once Onem passed.

She shifted towards the kitchen to put her empty bottle in the reusable shifter, when her comm beeped, she pulled it out only to see she received a data stream.

‘The representative from Malastare is ready to meet with you Agent Izani’

She shoved the comm device back in her pocket and headed over to Nerium and Rex, “Could I pull the two of you away for a second?”

“Sure” they followed her easily enough out to the balcony, as they shifted among those watching the holofilm and the others who had fallen asleep.

“I have to get going, but I wanted to congratulate the two of you properly, and if you guys need anything, please let me know. I’m always here to help.”

“Thank you, Izani” Rex wrapped his arm around Neri’s waist pulling her into his side.

“Oh and Rex, you hurt her, I’ll hurt you, deal?” She held out her hand, true she wasn’t super close to Nerium compared to how close she was to Mafs, but she respected her a great deal, and for that alone she had her loyalty.

“Deal” Rex chuckled as he shook her hand.

“Give Fox some time Izani,” Nerium smirked, “You know, how head over heels for the Senator he’s been, ever since the first time he met her. However, I think he’s starting to realize she’s not the right one for him. So just give him some time.”

“Hmm” Izani fixed her hair as her eyes caught a passing freighter with a youngling’s face pressed against the window, waving madly at anyone and everyone they passed. She offered a wave back with a smirk at the youthful innocence, she focused back on the couple in front of her “Hopefully, he realizes before it’s too late.”

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Nerium looked suspicious.

“It’s nothing - - never mind, anyways, I have to go. Congratulations you two” Izani hugged Nerium and Rex before heading out.

As quickly as she could, she said her goodbyes, before she headed to the roof of the apartment building, where her speeder was parked.

“Where are you going?”

She closed her eyes, she was really hoping to avoid him, that’s why she exited as quickly as she could, she didn’t want to talk to him, she had successfully avoided him all evening and she wasn’t about to let all that effort go to waste. She didn’t stop, simply moved faster towards her speeder.

“We’re not even talking now? I thought you were my best friend”

A slight twing of resentment and guilt shuddered through her. It’s not that their friendship was over. It’s just she couldn’t bear to hear him tell her, the kiss was a mistake, he wasn’t into her as much as he thought, and he was going to stay with the Senator. If he were to utter those words to her now, she didn’t know if she could’ve survived.

Her hand rested against the handle of her speeder, her eyes focused on the ignition button, Gods how she wanted to press it, but she also wanted to look at him, she wanted to talk to him, she wanted to hear him being the gruff and annoyed Marshall Commander she’d known. Despite, the fact she kept yelling to herself to turn on the bike and take off, her eyes turned to look at Fox.

“What do you want me to say?” Her voice was resigned, exhausted, it was as though she had been fighting for months and was now completely spent.

“Anything?”

“You really want me to say anything…” her statement was cut by her comm beeping, she glanced at it, to see the data stream, ‘The Representative of Malastare is waiting for you at the designated location.’

She let out a sigh, she couldn’t be late, she had to meet the Representative “I can’t talk about this right now”

Fox knew that tone all to well, this was about a case. She was on a case? Maybe that dinner with Api really was for a case, maybe it wasn’t a real date. Fox allowed a glimpse of hope to glow in his heart, especially after what Nerium told him earlier in the evening, “What’s going on?”

“Meeting with one of your Senators”

“My Senators?”

“You know what you asked me to look into.” He nodded his head, he was going to ask which Senator, what she had found out, but she simply held her hand up, “I can’t talk about this right now, I have to go” with one quick flick of her hand, the speeder came to life.

“I’m sorry!” Fox shouted over the sound of the speeder.

Izani turned to look at him, his eyes said it all, he was going to take it back, he was going to tell her it was the biggest mistake of his life, “For?”

“Kissing you! I shouldn’t have done that.” Just like she thought, he was taking it back, “But I’m not sorry, for telling you how I feel.” She was shocked, her mouth gaped open, she watched as Fox stepped closer, closing the distance. “We should’ve talked before I kissed you. I’m sorry, I overstepped and ruined our friendship.” Fox’s throat bobbed up and down as he swallowed his nervousness, “I’m sorry for kissing you.”

Maker she really wanted to talk to him, she wanted to know exactly what he felt, how long he had felt it, but she couldn’t she had to go, the longer she looked at him, the more she felt her face flush and a smile appear on her lips, “I’m not!”

A smile spread on Fox’s lips, “You’re not?”

“No! Let’s talk more later!”

Fox nodded, as he watched her speeder take off. She wasn’t upset by the kiss, maybe she had feelings for him too, maybe it wasn’t all a lost cause, that realization alone made him happier then he had been in days. The smile that appeared at first only grew till it reached from ear to ear. He couldn’t wait to talk to her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Izani arrived at the abandoned warehouse that had previously been arranged between the two of them.

There was always something eerie about a darkened warehouse, she walked through the warehouse her hands rested against her blasters. Keeping an eye out for anything to possibly strike out at her, she sent a ping to Api, just in case something went wrong at least he should have her location. It was a system they had set up a long time ago, and she was grateful they had.

“Agent Izani?” A small polished voice came from around the corner.

“Senator?”

“Oh thank goodness Agent, please come closer”

She could see the outline of a person, but something seemed off, maybe it was her paranoia or her years of field work telling her to stay vigilant “Why don’t we meet in the middle?”

There was a slight hesitation, before the polished voice agreed, and she heard the rustling of fabric shifting. She glanced around, her eyes taking in everything around the area, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but that didn’t mean she was safe either.

“Before I begin, are you able to provide security for me and for my family? I can’t let anything happen to them. It’s not their fault I’m in this mess.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I need to have an idea about what’s going on. You can trust me.”

“I’ve been told that before”

“By who?”

“Not all are as loyal as you, Agent Izani”

“Representative from Malastare, please tell me what’s going on”

“It’s fake.”

“What is?”

“All of it”

“I don’t understand”

The Representative stepped forward into the light, “That’s the point, no one is meant to understand. It’s all a trick.”

“It still doesn’t explain why there are threats against the Senators?”

“The threats are to keep certain ones in line for future votes, when they’re needed to be absent or they’re need to vote a certain way.”

“How do you know any of this? How can I trust what you’re saying?”

“There’s someone … “ before he could continue, some sort of metal fell and clatter against the floor just outside of the warehouse, the noise put them on edge and forced the Senator to leave sooner than expected, “I have to go” the Senator whispered.

“Wait” Izani stepped closer, pulling out her blaster in the event she needed to protect the Senator, “Just finish what you were saying!” Her voice lowered as she got closer to the representative.

He let out a sigh, “Someone in the Senate is working against us.”

“Who?”

He moved further away, heading towards his exit, “I’m sorry, I have to go” and just as quickly as he appeared, his outline disappeared into the shadow of the night. She moved to go after the Senator, when another clanking pulled her focus.

She moved closer to the noise, trying to find the culprit, only to discover a rather hungry looking tooka, “I see, so it’s your fault.” She chuckled as she scratched behind it’s ears, it simply leaned into her palm, purring quite loudly. It was a very unique looking tooka, purple with a scar above it’s right eye, and a jagged looking scar on it’s left front paw.

As she made her way back to her speeder, she couldn’t help think about what the Senator said, ‘It’s fake. All of it. Someone in the Senate is working against us.’

How could the Senator realize it’s fake? What’s fake? The war? The democracy? The Senate meetings? Is it just one thing? No. He said all of it.

Her comm beeped pulling her out of her musings, there was going to be a lot she needed to investigate “Izani”

“Iz, you okay?”

“Yeah all good”

“You sent me your location with no other information, what’s going on?”

“Meeting someone”

“There?”

She headed back to the main part of the city, keeping her eyes on the other vehicles, when she saw a transport closing the distance, “Yeah, but all good”

“Why don’t you sound good?”

She took a turn heading in the opposite direction she was originally heading, watching as the transport turned as well, “Api…”

“Iz? What’s wrong?” She took another turn, only to find the transport turn along with her. “What’s going on?” Api’s voice was full of concern at her lack of response.

“Do you remember the case that made me a Captain?”

Api was silent for a moment, his mind retracing the particulars of the case she worked with Onem. They had infiltrated one of the lower level underworld gangs, attempting to determine the rumours behind an assassination attempt on one of the Senators at that time. Onem and her were followed quite often and surveilled constantly, turned out the underworld gangs had united to become one unsavoury conglomerate of criminal activity, it was due to their work it became disbanded, “All too well, there was never a shortage of reports filling my desk from you and your partner regarding that case.”

Izani looked back to see not just one transport, but now two following her “I have a feeling you’re going to be inundated again. Do you remember how many filings I owe you?”

He searched his head, filings? It was a code word they used when one or both parties were unsure if they were being tracked. She had shadows following her, “One, wasn’t it?” Api hoped it was only one shadow following her.

“Pretty sure it’s two … although now that I think about it, it might be three”

“Really, three?”

“Looks like it”

“Need assistance to get those filings done?”

“I think I’ll be able to finish it, I’ll let you know if that changes”

“Keep me posted.”

“Will do”

Izani hung up the comm, taking turn after turn, doubling back, and heading further away from her actual destination. She headed towards one of the underground highways, using the smugglers tunnel to hideout from the three transports, she parked her speeder behind a pile of transport crates long forgotten. She pulled out her blasters just in case and waited another five minutes after the last transport passed. She inched closer to the exit of the smugglers tunnel, waiting to see if they double backed. When they hadn’t she turned around and used the tunnel to take her back to the downtown core of Coruscant.

She doubled back on her route a few times to make sure she wasn’t followed, once she was fairly certain she was in the clear, she headed straight to the Senators’ Guard headquarters. As soon as she entered her office, she began looking over all the reports relating to any of the Senators, even the Chancellor. She was swamped with paperwork, when her door chimed, she glanced up to see Api standing at the door.

“You could have called when you got back. I was sitting upstairs in my office for the past hour worrying, wondering if I was going to get a report of a missing agent or a dead body found on the street”

“I’m sorry. I literally just walked through that door ten minutes ago, and just dived into some research.”

Api let out a sigh as he took the seat in front of her, “Listen, even though it didn’t work out between us, I still worry about you. I hope you know that.”

“I do and I appreciate it. I’m sorry things didn’t work out between us”

He nodded, giving a soft smile, “It’s okay, at least we tried. Anyway, tell me, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I learned something that I don’t think I wasn’t suppose to …”

“What do you mean?”

Izani rubbed her forehead, could she trust Api with this? Fox? “Nothing, just tired. Anyway turns out the Senators are being threatened depending on the circumstances.”

“Circumstances?”

“That’s all I was able to figure out so far, not who or why - - I’m thinking it has to do with an upcoming bill or meeting. The way my source talked it sounded as though they’re being threatened to stay away on specific days, but not all of them, just certain ones.”

“In order to avoid passing the bill or to make it impossible to bring a new bill to the floor”

“Exactly”

“Who do you think’s behind it? Separatists?”

“Who else would gain any benefit?”

“What are you going to do?”

“Contact the Jedi Council, they’ll be able to help me determine who is behind the threats”

API simply nodded, “Well I’m glad your safe”

“Me too.” However, I have a feeling that’s not the last I’ve heard about this. Especially, if what the Senator from Malastare said was true, what if it’s all fake?

Previous - - - > Next

Upside Down Master List | Main Master List

TAG LIST:

@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24 @spicymcnuggies @lady-ren @firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121 @discofern @kavecika @monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri @avathebestx @theroguesully @furyhellfire66 @carodealmeida @ulchabhangorm @cheesemachine44 @justanothersadperson93 @ciramaris @sprout-fics @twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian

36 notes · View notes