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beskarthief · 2 months ago

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Chapter 6 of the Star Wars fic "Order 65". The rest can be found here.

This had better work, Rex thought, chiding himself for the level of risk this plan involved. General Skywalker would have liked it. Fek, General Skywalker would have come up with it. Rex could almost hear his voice.

And how do we find out where the prisoners are being held? That's right. We become prisoners. You've gotta think like ‘em to find ‘em!

Ahsoka would have rolled her eyes, General Kenobi would have sighed, Cody would probably have done both.

It would have worked though, and afterwards the General would be beaming and all the rest of them would have to admit that, actually, it had been a pretty good plan. Everything seemed to work out so long as they stuck together.

But that had been then. And this was now.

Rex stumbled to a halt as the trooper with a grip on his arm stopped abruptly. He recovered quickly, taking the opportunity to scan his surroundings.

He'd guessed they were underground by the length of the elevator ride, and the room around him confirmed it. There hadn't been anything this big on the planet's surface when they'd flown over. The cool, metal walls of the compound reflected the cold white light that emanated from panels in the ceiling. The space was mostly empty, save for a few crates here or there and a lone shuttle. For a moment Rex's heart dropped as he thought that they had missed them. Again.

They had checked five different leads before this; nearly a week of hopping around the galaxy only to be disappointed. There were always signs that his brothers had been there. But they'd either been moved or... Rex didn't want to think about the other option.

He couldn't have missed them. Not again.

But he might not have. As Rex waited, he began to hear footsteps. Sharp and clipped against the metal floors of the facility, reverberating slightly as they got closer. And from around the side of the shuttle came an Imperial officer, datapad in hand.

"Oh. Another one." the man said, sounding almost disappointed.

"We found him snooping around the perimeter, sir." the trooper holding Rex said, grip showing no signs of loosening.

"I don't care where you found it, just put it with the others."

The others. They weren't too late. The words filled Rex with a sense of hope he hadn't felt in a long time. But it was just as quickly dashed. How was Echo supposed to see him give the signal if they were underground?

"Yes, sir." the trooper didn't miss a beat, just turned and started dragging Rex away down another hall.

He escorted him through a maze of passages, Rex being careful to make note of every twist and turn, until finally they emerged into what was clearly a cellblock. Though a rather small one.

Rex couldn't help but be disappointed, Unless they were piling them up five clones to a cell, he doubted there could be more than six here. But that was always the way with these facilities; size sacrificed for discretion.

He wondered what could be so bad that even the Empire wanted to keep it hidden.

The trooper with the death grip on his arm shoved him forwards, tightening his fingers around Rex's arm as he swiped a key card through the slot next to one of the doors. The cell opened with a faint shunk sound and Rex was unceremoniously thrown inside.

He threw his hands up and caught himself against the far wall, door already clicking shut behind him. The trooper’s footsteps receded back the way they had come and he was left alone in the darkness. Or so he thought.

"Before you get any ideas, this corner's mine." came a voice from the darkness, and Rex spun to face it.

Leaning his back against the wall was another clone, stripped of most of his armor, though what remained was dirty and striped with a muted, green color. He stretched his legs out in front of him, the space small enough that his feet touched the far wall.

"How many others are there?" Rex hissed, not sure if the Imperial might still be within earshot.

The other clone shook his head. "Nope. Not doing that again."

"Not doing what?"

"A prison break." he sat up, turning slightly to face Rex. "Do you really think we haven't tried it? It just... it just makes things worse."

A flicker of pain passed over his brother's face, and Rex saw the familiar lines of his own loss. But that was exactly why they couldn’t give up. Not yet. Not ever.

He scooted closer to the other clone, close enough that he could speak in the faintest of whispers so as not to be overheard. “I have a guy on the outside.”

“Oh, really? Well, let’s hope he stays there.”

“If you could just tell me how many others there are, maybe we could join him.”

“Look, pal.” Rex didn’t like being called pal, or appreciate the clone’s tone. “It’s not like I want to stay in here. But I’m not getting shot just because you think you’re the one in a million that can pull off a jailbreak. So leave me out of it.”

Rex sighed. “What’s your name, trooper?”

“Doesn’t matter. We’re all the same to them.” he jerked his head in the direction of the hall. Rex waited, and after a long moment he let out a breath. “Clik. My name’s Clik.”

“I’m Rex. Captain Rex.”

“Oh yeah, I heard about you. 501st huh? Not bad. Doesn’t matter in here, though. You’re not captain of anything once the Empire gets you.”

“What if I told you I let the Empire get me?”

“I’d say you better be joking cause that’s about the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. And I’ve done multiple shifts with Fireball.”

“Is he here?”

“...Yeah.” Clik said begrudgingly after a moment. “But like I said, it doesn’t matter. We’re not getting out of here. Nobody does.”

Rex ignored him. “When I give the signal, will he follow your lead?”

“Signal? Are you even listening to me?”

“When I give the signal, will he follow your lead?” Rex reiterated.

“Yeah.” Clik sighed. “Yeah. He’s that kind of stupid.”

“Good.” Rex replied with the beginnings of a smile. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

“I’m still not helping you with this idiotic plan.” the other clone reminded him.

“Good thing it’s not idiotic then.”

It wasn’t long before the Imperial returned, this time with friends. They opened up the cells and Rex stepped out into the hall, only to immediately have cuffs slapped onto his wrists alongside the others. But at least he was finally able to see what he was working with. Three other clones beside himself and Clik. Assuming one of them was Fireball, that meant two clones that he had to find a way to let in on the plan. He just hoped they would follow his lead. And that Echo would see the hangar doors opening and be able to slip inside. The shuttle had to get out somehow.

A lot of this plan was relying on hope.

The guards stopped them before the shuttle, giving each of them a final pat down to make sure they weren’t carrying any kinds of hidden weapons. Rex thought it was probably unnecessary, but was thankful for the distraction nonetheless. At least he could rely on protocol to be menial as ever. Some things never changed.

And then it happened. The trooper was halfway down the line when the hangar doors began to grind slowly open, dropping bits of leaf litter onto the ground. It wasn’t ideal; the doors were above them, so Echo would have no way of sneaking inside. But, on the other hand, that also meant that it was even more obvious from the air.

He watched the edges of the slowly opening ceiling until the officer had returned, looking them over with an expression of extreme distaste.

“Are you quite done?” he asked the trooper still in the midst of a pat down. “I would like to get this over with as quickly as possible.”

“Almost, sir.”

Rex was fairly sure he would like to have working for this officer over as quickly as possible. He knew the type.

“Well, hurry up.” the man glared down his beaky nose at his datapad, scrolling through it with a flick of a finger. “Five, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“CTs, yes?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Are you done yet?”

“Almost finished, sir.”

“I’m not interested in a status report, trooper. It was a yes or no question.”

“Yes, sir.”

If Rex hadn’t of felt a deep seated hatred towards the Imp that had thrown him and his brothers in a cell, he might have even felt sorry for him. Just then a flash of movement at the edge of his vision caught his eyes and he glanced at it, careful not to turn his head and give anything away.

Echo. He was perched above them, rifle in hand. The reflective surface of the sniper scope flashed at him and Rex inclined his head ever so slightly to let him know he’d seen him.

Now he just needed to get the Imps’ attention. As the officer walked past him Rex stretched out his foot, catching the end of the man’s step and making him stumble.

He grimaced, looking down his nose at Rex.

“Don’t start a fight you can’t win, clone.” He said it with such disdain that Rex had to smile.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, sir. Not what us clones were made for.” He said innocently.

“Oh really?” the Imperial raised a thin eyebrow.

“That’s right, sir. We don’t start fights.” Rex said, tilting his head in Echo’s direction. “We finish them.”

He brought both his fits up in unison, still cuffed together at the wrists, and felt the resounding - and very satisfying - thwack as they connected with the man’s jaw. One of the troopers leveled his gun at Rex, finger inching towards the trigger, and then a shot rang out from above and he slumped to the ground.

Then everything happened all at once.

Both Rex and one of the other Imperial troopers lunged for the fallen man’s gun at the same time, but Rex got their first, rolling into a firing position even as he slammed the butt of the weapon into his opponent’s helmet. The trooper toppled backwards, thrown off balance, and fell directly into the line of clones still standing single file behind him. They weren’t orderly for much longer.

Clik, despite his earlier hesitations, was the first one in; grabbing the gun out of the Imperial’s hands while he was distracted and shooting another of the swiftly approaching guards point blank. He then tossed it to one of his comrades, who moved to cover his back as Clik began searching the stunned guard for the keys to unlock their cuffs. When the Imp tried to get up one of the other clones hit him in the head; knocking him out cold.

“Get to the ship!” Rex yelled, gesturing towards the shuttle even as the hangar doors above them began to grind closed. He glanced around for the control panel and spotted another trooper standing by the far wall, the blinking lights of the console beside him, leveling his blaster at-

“Get down!” Rex barreled into Clik, knocking him to the ground. He could feel the searing heat of a blaster bolt fly over head, barely missing the top of his head as he covered his brother with his body. Another shot followed it, and then the sound of someone falling to the ground. Rex raised his head in time to watch the Imperial’s gun fall from his now limp fingers. Thank the Force for Echo.

But it wasn’t over yet. He could already hear the echoes of footsteps approaching from back the way they had come, and when he scanned the hangar bay for the officer he was nowhere to be seen. Rex cursed himself. He should have known the coward would go for reinforcements. If they were going to do this, they had to do it now.

“Everybody to the ship! Now!” he shouted, waving them on. Clik tossed the keys into his outstretched hands, cuffs already dangling off his own wrists, and Rex saw the flicker of light back in his brother’s eyes. It looked like hope.

And then it was gone.

Rex saw the flash of light before he heard the shot, reflecting off the cold metal halls of the hangar. Clik’s eyes widened with shock for a fraction of a second, then he went limp and slumped towards the floor. All of it had happened in the time it took for Rex’s hand to close around the keys.

He was gone before he even hit the floor, the light snuffed out with him. Rex blinked hard, once. All the time he had to grieve right now if he didn’t want to lose any others.

“Everybody, move!” he shouted, voice raw as he urged the others - the survivors - onwards. One of them was already standing on the ramp that led up to the shuttle, pulling his brothers in one by one. He helped Rex up, then continued to wait, as though expecting Clik to get up and follow them.

“He’s not coming.” Rex forced the words out, every syllable taking something from him.

The other clone lingered for a moment more, not wanting to leave his brother behind. Rex grabbed his shoulders and pulled him inside as another blaster bolt hit the side of the shuttle.

“We have to go!”

That seemed to snap him out of it and he nodded, turning and bolting into the ship after the rest of them, hitting the panel to close the shuttle doors as he did. Rex followed him, clambering up into the cockpit and settling into one of the seats. Three of them. He had gotten out three of them.

But somehow the loss of one felt so much greater.

Rex took a deep breath and added him to the list. He didn’t have time to mourn now, but he would later. They all would. Once they’d won this war. Once it was over. He owed it to all of them.

To Clik.

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yanderes-galore · 1 year ago

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Yandere platonic Ashoka vs Yandere platonic Darth maul hcs with a Jedi reader who was close to Ashoka till reader left to work with Maul instead.

Sure! Kept the idea general so there may be some spoilers but I don't entirely focus on specific plot points if that makes sense?

Yandere! Platonic! Ahsoka vs Yandere! Platonic! Darth Maul with Jedi! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Angst, Rivalry, Violence, Potential murder, Dubious companionship.

The idea of you and Ahsoka being friends as Padawans only for you to turn to the Dark Side is the idea that came to me for this.

For some reason she noticed changes in you... right up until you disappear.

What happened to you? Well, you found a new master.

Darth Maul.

Darth Maul has been shown to have a lonely life.

For the most part he just cares about vengeance against Darth Sidious and Obi-Wan.

This is the primary reason he is searching for an apprentice.

Which is when he eventually finds you... a disillusioned Jedi.

Once Maul gets his hands on you he cultivates hate and anger within you... making you his to teach and control.

But let's talk about you and Ahsoka first.

You and Ahsoka knew each other for months as Jedi in training.

You had your own master and was well acquainted with Ahsoka and Anakin.

Being Jedi you naturally grew close as allies and even friends.

On missions you often met up to provide aid.

Since Jedi are unable to have close attachments, Ahsoka is the closest you have.

You're friends... protective of one another.

Things most likely don't go downhill until something tragic happens to you.

Maybe your master died?

Even worse, Darth Sidious had them killed or something similar to that.

Somehow an event strong enough to shake your faith occurs and you begin to feel... different.

If we're going based off the idea your master died, maybe you blame The Order for it.

Honestly... you could blame a lot for your tragedy.

Ahsoka most likely notices a change in your aura.

After all, you're close friends!

She couldn't imagine her life without you!

That's why when she notices you feel... darker, she's concerned.

Being her usual kind self she tries to ask you about it.

She fears your actions will turn dark and she'll lose you.

She really doesn't want her best friend to become her enemy.

You try to tell her not to worry about you but she keeps pressing.

She can tell you no longer believe in the Jedi... perhaps even deciding to pursue vengeance and anger.

Ahsoka doesn't want to leave you alone, she wants to convince you not to do what you're about to do.

But eventually a mission will drag her away from you.

Something she regrets deeply... as when she goes to find you, you're gone.

Ahsoka most likely blames herself for your actions.

She has no idea where you went and wonders if she ever could help you.

She doesn't give up on the idea of finding you and making things right... but that brings us to Darth Maul.

Your encounter with Darth Maul was willing.

While he looked for someone to help him with revenge, he met you.

He could even sense the craving for vengeance and rage laying dormant within you... yet traces of it were evident.

As a result... he offers you to join him.

He promises to give you the power you need to soothe your inner torment.

He promises if you help him... you'll be happy.

In the end... you accept.

You become Darth Maul's apprentice.

Originally he plans to just use you to get revenge against his old master and Kenobi by feeding into your hate.

He convinces you the Jedi are useless now and that he can only change things if he has you.

He needs to get rid of his master, his master's puppet, and the one who ruined him.

But he soon realizes he doesn't need you just to obtain his goal.

He appreciates the company you provide.

Your thoughts are similar to one another, allowing you to bond over shared hate.

He manipulates your dark side... making you someone new.

He trains you and learns about you.

Through you he most likely learns about your past friendship with Ahsoka.

He can tell you still care about your fellow Padawan.

Yet why should you?

You should just care about your new master and the new role given to you.

He fears Ahsoka will try to purify your darkness... that she'll take you from him.

So he'll do everything in his power to prevent that.

Ahsoka only gets to meet you again when she has her final confrontation with Maul.

She has never met Maul, only heard of him from Obi-Wan.

Which makes it a big shocker when she meets Maul... and you beside him, clothed in black.

Oh her heart aches.

This is where you went!

You really have given up your role as Jedi.

She can't blame you, by this point she left The Order too.

She understands your pain and betrayal.

But now you've hurt her.

She no doubt tries to get you back, a desperate attempt to convince you to change.

Maul no doubt has the fear of losing you bubble in him again and tells you not to listen.

Ahsoka just wants her friend back, while Maul wants to keep his new apprentice to change fate... neither wants to be alone again.

This final confrontation has different motives than the original in Clone Wars.

This one is about preventing loneliness.

A fight to see who keeps their companion... one whose now torn on who to be with.

You care for Ahsoka as a dear friend... you care for Maul as your master and yet another friend.

You worry you'll lose one of them.

In fact you worry mostly for Maul killing Ahsoka.

You know Ahsoka would never murder... but that look in her eyes scares you.

By the end of this long battle... one of them will have you in the end.

You quickly begin to dread the outcome.

Maybe if you never left Ahsoka... you wouldn't have to see them fight over you.

Or maybe this was your fate all along no matter what you did?

#yandere star wars #yandere ahsoka tano #yandere darth maul #platonic yandere #yandere star wars clone wars

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arctroopertinky · 6 months ago

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Look Towards the Future Ch3: Guilt

Captain Rex x FemaleJedi!Reader

Words: 7.9k

Summary: Guilt makes you do something you regret. Rex is hurt, but realizes something important.

Warnings: Nightmare / Hurtful confrontation / Self deprecation / Vomiting / Alcohol use

A/N: If you'd like to read ahead of what's available on Tumblr, feel free to click the link to the fic on AO3!

AO3 Link / Previous Chapter / Next Chapter / Master List

You found yourself in a briefing room with Anakin, Ahsoka, and Rex to discuss the events of the last mission. However, you noticed that the words that came out of your comrades’ mouths were muffled and ineligible. But, they all seemed extremely invested in their own conversation, so you thought it was best not to interrupt them. You were content simply standing there patiently, you felt strangely relaxed, but thought nothing of it. Then, they all turned to you in unison, looking concerned and perplexed.

“Y/n, I asked you a question, are you not listening to me?” Anakin asked you, sounding clearly annoyed.

“Uhh…” You couldn’t come up with a lie. “I a-apologize Master Skywalker, can you please repeat what you said to me?” You requested.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “I said; why didn’t you help us?”

You started to look confused. “Help you with what, Master?”

“Help us get off that planet alive, y/n.”

Your chest immediately tightened as fear corrupted your senses. “What...?”

Ahsoka interjected with a stark haste as they all began to march towards you at a steady pace. “You left us there to die! How could you do that to us?”

You jumped a mighty distance back in response to the gap closing between you and your interrogators. But they kept coming. “Please!” You found that you were sobbing, but you did not know when you started. “You know me, I didn’t leave you behind! I would never have done that to any of you!” None of them seem phased by your defense. “I had no choice!”

“Did you really?” Rex sneered . Your attention, which was on Anakin and Ahsoka, swiftly geared towards the clone, whose armor and helmet suddenly changed to that of your old Captain.

“I trusted you- no!” Rory leaned in extremely close to your face, aggressively hitting his index finger against your chest. “We trusted you! I thought we meant more to you, I thought I meant more to you!” You couldn’t see his face, but you could almost hear the tears falling from the Captain’s eyes, you could only imagine his pain. His anger.

“Please…!” You begged. Heaving in between words. “There was no way for me to save you…” You stared deeply into the Captain’s helmet, your mouth hung open in absolute distress. “I’m sorry, Rory…” The Captain showed no reaction to your words. Instead, he said nothing as he swiftly forced one of his hands around your throat.

“You should have died, not us.”

You shot up with a gasp, sweat glazed your body as your mind raced. You had another nightmare. Ever since the incident they threatened your sleep and corrupted many of your dreams. You clutched your shirt as your breaths ran at a panicked tempo. This continued for many minutes as Coruscant’s sun continued to rise, illuminating the bustling skies of the galaxy’s capital as your breaths finally began to separate more and more.

Once you regained control over yourself, you urged your body to swivel to the edge of the bed, placing one foot onto the floor, and then the other. Your quarters in the Jedi Temple used to look a lot… different. On your lone dresser used to be items you would collect from your previous missions. Sometimes, they were gifted to you from the clones of your lost battalion. But ever since the incident, however, you threw all of your items into a box and swept it under your bed. You quarters, that were once bright and inviting, now looked dull, as though nobody had been living there for some time. All that seemed to exist in your quarters now was the minimal furniture that the order sought to provide all jedi for their quarters. Despite the sunlight that made its way through the window, your quarters continued to maintain a melancholy substance to it.

You prepared yourself for the meeting ahead. To allow you to heal from your injuries, it was decided that it would be best to move the post mission briefing from late that night to late in the morning the next day. You were completely healed, but you moved about your quarters like a corpse. You forced your clothes upon you in reluctance, and you cringed as you felt your clothes bump against your scars, never letting you forget what had been tormenting your mind for weeks now.

You then equipped your robe awkwardly, you immediately pulled the hood over your head as if you wanted to hide from yourself and the world around you. You still weren’t used to wearing your jedi robes so much. Unlike many other jedi in the order, you preferred not to wear your robe very often. You only did so if it was necessary because you preferred how free you felt without your robe, all it did in your eyes was slow you down. Now, however, you wore your robe constantly. Your clothes covered up only most of your scars, so your robe was your tool to prevent you, and any others from seeing what made you feel so ashamed. Any sliver of a hopeful demeanor you had the day prior was swept away by your nightmare, both living and dreaming. Any thought that you might have done any good for the 501st was gone with it.

You buckled your belt around your waist, then silently approached your door as you heard it begin to exclaim with a hiss. Once it was open, you took a single step into the outside world. But then you paused in confusion before your hands instinctively reached down to feel your belt. You sighed and twisted your upper half to look back into the quarters. You forgot your lightsabers on the dresser. You lifted one of your hands up, attempting to call out to the force, asking it to bring the lightsabers into your grasp. But to your dismay, the force did not respond back, you couldn’t even feel it within you. The familiarity you lost the day before still did not return to you. Asking the force turned to begging turned to pleading as you strained your hand, desperate to see your sabers fly to you. You almost broke into a sweat as you felt the rest of your body straining the more you needed to feel the force again. But… nothing. Those sabers stayed in the exact spot you left them the night before. You didn’t want to cry, but you also did? But you couldn’t? You just stood there, staring blankly at your sabers. After a couple of brief moments, you lowered your hand in defeat, deflating the tension you allowed yourself to accrue. You reversed your step back into your quarters and grabbed your sabers, one in each hand. You looked down at your sabers as they sat in your open palms, eyebrows furrowed and mouth hung in an obtuse frown. Then, you closed your hands around the weapons, your grip tightening until it hurt. Your eyes squinted at the sensation before you attached your sabers to your belt. You took one last look at your empty quarters, and then at the box beneath your bed. You then turned to fulfill your duties, and your door snapped shut.

- - -

Upon the Resolute, you stared at the door of the briefing room. You knew you were about to be late, but the thought of entering through that door ate at your insides like an animal. You were hesitating to save yourself some comfort, but you could feel the prying eyes of dozens of clones as they walked by, locked on the lone jedi staring at a door. That was enough to push you closer. But before the door could detect your presence, you heard your name from behind you. As you turned to face the source of the greeting, you realized it was Rex, somehow just as late as you were.

“General y/n.” Rex said, approaching you kindly. “It’s good to see you this morning, how are your injuries?” He inquired. His helmet was not on his head, but was instead being supported by his right arm and hip as he held it in his hand. You noticed his warm smile that creased the sides of his eyes and flared his nostrils ever so slightly. He looked happy to see you, and you felt so guilty.

“I-... I am fine Captain, thank you.” You responded coldly. Finding yourself unable to face Rex, all you could think to do next was to turn yourself back towards the door to the briefing room before you could see the Captain’s reaction. You then entered the room, hearing the Captain follow you at a distance as he equipped his helmet.

The briefing room contained Anakin and Ahsoka, with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mace Windu accompanying the pair. They all stood patiently in a wide circle as they looked over in response to the door rushing open, their eyes meeting you and the Captain.

“Master y/n, Captain Rex.” Mace Windu acknowledged. “Please come in, we are to discuss yesterday's mission.” You filed in and found a spot in the circle that was the farthest you could be away from anyone. You found some relief when you realized that Rex found a spot on the opposite end of where you stood. But, some more anxiety and guilt found you when you realized how easily he could see you.

The meeting dragged at an agonizing pace as you struggled to pay attention to the discussion at hand. All you could think about was your old battalion, and how you failed them. You thought about your nightmare and what Rory said during it; that you should have died. If there was something you could have done to save your troopers, you considered that maybe it would have been worth trading your life for theirs. The thoughts chewed at your brain. And what made everything that much worse was the Captain standing in the room with you. Even without the force you could feel his eyes piercing right through you. With hurt? Anger? Confusion? You couldn’t even begin to guess what he could have been thinking about you. You felt bad for how you brushed the Captain off, but the guilt you were feeling about your troopers dying while you were allowed to live made interacting with him too much to bear, despite how much you surprisingly enjoyed his presence during the battle. You felt like you were an embarrassment to the Grand Army of the Republic for your failure. And therefore, you didn’t deserve any of their kindness or their sympathy.

“Y/n?”

You snapped out of your thoughts. “W-what?” Your eyes zipped over to the Masters. They were waiting patiently for your response to something.

“Did you hear what I said?” Mace Windu inquired. His stance was dominating in comparison to Obi-wan’s, his eyes pierced yours with mysterious inquiry, making your insides curl at his seriousness. It took so much of yourself to look them in the eyes.

“I apologize Master, I did not hear that last part.” You admitted, trying to seem collected. “Would you mind repeating what you said?” Luckily, or unluckily for you, they showed no emotional response to your statement or your request.

“You seemed to have done a good job on your first mission back on the field, you were able to take down many battle droids.” Obi-wan started. “But we have also heard reports that at some point, you were unable to fend off a small portion of an enemy company. Can you please explain what led to this happening?”

Uh oh. This was an interrogation.

“Um…” You squeezed out, feeling sweat begin to permeate throughout your body as your eyes widened ever so slightly. Suddenly you remembered why the two masters were likely here in the first place; to keep track of you and your emotions.

You didn’t know whether to lie to the Master or tell the truth. “Well, what happened was…” You could feel all eyes penetrate yours as they struggled to maintain contact with the two jedi. Time was running out, and you had to say something. But, as you were about to come up with a lie on the spot, you were interrupted.

“General Windu, if I may.” Rex began. “General y/n made herself quite busy with the battle droids. She took down more in one mission than I ever could in a dozen.” All of the attention was on him now. “I saw it happen, while she was distracted a battle droid took a shot at her from behind at its first opportunity, then she was surrounded. I’ve seen this exact thing happen to General Skywalker and Tano many times, it’s nothing to fault her for.” You couldn’t help now but to look at the Captain. Your eyes, now as wide as they could be, stayed locked onto Rex. Your mouth slightly hung open in surprise and your lungs refused to take in any air. Did he just lie for you?

Then, their heads turned back towards you. Your eyes remained placed on the Captain until you realized what they were waiting for. They needed an answer.

“He’s telling th-the truth, Master.” You mentally screamed at yourself to stop the stuttering as you forced your eyes back onto the Masters. “A blaster shot took me down, and the droids took the opportunity to surround me.” Mace Windu clearly didn’t look entirely convinced, one eyebrow remained raised high above the other. He clearly wanted to say something, but Obi-wan peered over at the jedi master next to him with a bit of concern in his eyes before he decided to cut in.

“Well, we’re glad to see that you have fully recovered, Master y/n.” Obi-wan said, before reinstating his dialogue to the rest of the room. “I’m sure you all will be given another mission shortly, be prepared.” He advised. Anakin decided to start making half-joking statements about being the best general with the best battalion who is always prepared for their missions (a complete lie). As the two jedi went back and forth with their brotherly banter, you noticed that Mace Windu still had a look of suspicion in his eyes as he observed the quips being made, his mind was still clearly crowded in thoughts, and it made you extremely grateful that he decided not to interrogate you further.

- - -

Eventually, the humorous conversation died out, and everyone began to return to their duties once more. First it was Obi-wan and Mace Windu, the latter taking one more swift look at you before the door closed shut behind him. Next, it was Ahsoka, who stated she had some personal training to do before the day ended. Then, with the population of the room dwindling, you swiftly took the opportunity to take your leave. You tried to act as normal as possible, but you horrifically failed in front of Anakin and Rex. Now, all that was left was the General and his Captain.

Rex stared at the closed door restlessly. Both regretting that he lied to his superiors and feeling invigorated at the same time. His fingers twitched in his desperation to leave. The Captain turned to his General and gave him an impatient salute, then turned to the door and started his speedy escape.

“Hold up there, Rex.”

The Captain froze, he did what he was told as an anxiety creeped into his chest and locked it tight. He forced his body to turn back towards Anakin.

“Sir? Is there something you need?” Rex inquired. Anakin had a certain look on his face, one full of questions, but Rex couldn’t make out what the General planned on doing with it.

“So about what happened back there…” Anakin took a step towards Rex. “Did you lie for her?”

Oh shit.

Rex, lucky to have his helmet on, struggled to keep his eyes on his Captain as his attempt of an excuse came out as a bunch of stutters and ums and buts. After an agonizing moment of this, Anakin put his hand up to signal Rex to stop.

“Rex, buddy, chill.” Anakin approached Rex and placed a hand on his shoulder. “No one is in trouble, I just want to know what the hell that was about.”

Rex took a deep breath. “Well, you see- General, I-... She-...” As the stuttering continued, Anakin’s eyes gradually glazed over. Rex tried to make any sort of sense, he really did. But he seemed to be in no position to stop himself.

“Rex.”

Rex shut up.

“Listen…” Anakin rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb. “I don’t want to torture you for the details. Just… humor me for a moment.” Anakin requested. Rex took a big gulp, before nodding his head silently.

“Do you know what happened to y/n before she was assigned to this battalion?”

Rex took a moment to think on what to say next.

“Not exactly. But… I have theories.” Rex answered truthfully.

“Well just so you know, her entire battalion got wiped out in one mission.” Rex’s posture visibly stiffened. “Don’t try to ask me how it happened. The Council didn’t bother to give me the details.” Anakin begrudgingly explained to the Captain. The General took a step back from Rex, relinquishing his hand from the Captain’s shoulder. “I can tell when I shouldn’t involve myself in certain things, Rex. But… when it comes to whatever happened during yesterday’s mission… is that going to put you, or me, or Ahsoka, or any of your men at risk?” Anakin stared into Rex’s visor with a powerful intent. Rex had to respond.

“No, General.” Rex wasn’t sure if this was a lie. “Of course not.”

Anakin studied his Captain for a couple more moments, pupils dancing slightly as they observed each edge and shine of his visor. Anakin, whether he could see it or not, was looking right into Rex’s eyes, and that made him nervous. No, it made him feel guilty. But against Rex’s expectations, he saw a smile creep onto his General’s lips.

“Welp, I’m convinced,” Anakin stated with a pep. Rex, out of sheer confusion to this reaction, cocked his head slightly to the side.

“What?” Anakin shrugged his shoulders. “I trust your judgment Rex. If you say that everything is fine, I’m going to believe you.”

A smile began to develop underneath Rex’s helmet. “I appreciate that, General.” This warm exchange lasted for only a moment, before Anakin began to step towards the door.

“Listen, I have to go. But, Rex?” Anakin stopped himself as the door hissed open. “You’ve been looking tense recently, you should think about actually having some fun soon, instead of being such a square all the time.” Rex scoffed at the comment, but before he could make up some sort of comeback, Anakin was long gone.

Once again, Rex was the last to leave a briefing. He thought to himself for a moment, pondering why he rushed to your defense. His first thought was that you were simply part of the team now, and he always helped his own. But, Rex never lies, not when he doesn’t think it’s necessary. He could count on one finger how many times he has lied for the sake of someone else. Hell, he’s barely ever even done it to save his own skin. Why are you deserving of such a privilege? What made you so special to garner his attention in this way?

Then he thought about what Anakin said about your battalion, how they all died at once, leaving you to be the sole survivor. At that moment, Rex put himself in your shoes. If he were to lose his entire battalion in such a way, there would be no pretending anymore. He wouldn’t be able to put on an act, that he was the Captain that the Republic needed him to be. No… he would never be able to forgive himself if a massacre of that caliber were to happen under his authority.

The image of your exposed scars flashed through Rex’s head. Oh… you were definitely right there when it happened, weren’t you? The possibility made Rex’s heart burst. He took a mighty deep breath in, before huffing it out all at once. Rex wanted to sit with these thoughts, but unfortunately, he still had a lot of work to do, and it was time to act like the Captain he was expected to be. He would have to reconcile with these thoughts later. The door opened swiftly to reveal the Resolute. Before stepping out, Rex ensured that his armor was on correctly and his posture was proper. Once he was happy with how he presented himself, he exited the room, hearing the harsh hiss and muffled bang of the door as it closed behind him.

- - -

You didn’t really know what you were doing, waiting like this. You felt like a fool just standing here, body leaned against the wall near the briefing room. It hadn’t been that long, maybe only a few minutes, but each second felt agonizingly slow, as if time had slowed down just to torture you. Each time a clone walked past you, you kept your head down, refusing to even take a slight peak at the troopers. For all you knew they could have been saluting you, just to be met with your cold lack of a response. You tried to convince yourself that you didn’t care at that moment, but the possibility ate at your insides and refused to stop.

Suddenly, you heard footsteps that differed from any clone you’ve ever met. Despite their wide array of personalities, each clone’s footsteps had a similar ring to them that you familiarized yourself with extensively, enough to discern if one was walking near you without you even needing to check. But these steps clearly did not belong to any clone. You lifted you back off the wall as you stiffened into a professional posture. You tried your best to warp your face into a natural expression, but without a mirror you were lost to how you truly looked. Either way, there was no more time, the figure turned the corner for Anakin to be revealed.

“Oh…!” Anakin stopped in his tracks. “Master y/n, I did not realize that you were still around.” He gave you a warm smile, and you struggled to keep your eyes on his. “If you weren’t in a rush to get anywhere, you could have stayed in the briefing room for a bit longer. You know that, right?”

You plastered a smile on your face, mimicking the jedi’s. “Of course, Master Skywalker.” You quietly began. “I just needed some time to myself is all.”

Anakin’s eyes drifted about his surroundings. As it was the middle of the day, the staff of the Resolute strolled up and down this hallway quite frequently. If you really needed to be alone, Anakin knew that you knew that this was not the place to be. But, it wasn’t his business to call you out on your obvious lie.

“I understand.” He responded kindly. “But if you need anything, please let me know… Don’t be afraid to ask for help, okay?”

Anakin’s eyes looked deep into yours with an unwavering care. You felt bad about it.

“Thank you Master Skywalker, but I’m okay.” You strengthened your eye contact. “Truly.”

He looked at you for another moment, you could see a twinge of concern in his eyes. But yours lied for you, they looked back at his and told him that you were telling the truth. Anakin wasn’t completely convinced, but he backed off anyway. His typical demeanor returned to him and he bid you a good day before continuing his walk through the Resolute, out of your sight.

You sighed as you leaned yourself back against the wall, hands combing at your hair under your hood, slowing against the grain. But then you heard a new set of footsteps, one you were able to recognize. You stiffened but remained laid back against the wall, trying to act as natural as possible. You heard the footsteps approach your hallway, but then begin to fade away. You turned your head to see Rex, who you wanted to see, but he was walking the opposite way than you’d hope. You would have to get his attention.

“Captain.” You saw Rex halt in his tracks, then turn around to face you.

“General y/n!” Rex greeted, “I thought you left a while ago.” He approached you with energized steps. “Do you need anything?” He swiftly removed his helmet and perched it in between his right arm and his side. He clearly was trying to hide it, but he couldn’t help but let a smile creep across his face. This was going to suck.

You took a hard look at him, screaming at yourself to not let go of the eye contact. “Why did you lie for me back there?”

This clearly threw Rex off. “W-what do you mean, lie?” Rex’s eyes were the first to break the contact as they bounded back and forth between you and your surroundings. His feet took turns favoring one another and the smile quickly faded from his face. “I-I was just telling them what I saw, General. I…” His attempt at words faded into the background as you began to think. The obvious lack of honesty made you all the more upset at the current situation. This was dragging on long enough.

“Rex-!” You rubbed your eyes with one hand as his silence crept in.” “Just- please… I don’t know what you saw out there, and I’m grateful that you bothered to help me yesterday. But please, whatever you think you’re doing by lying for me…” you almost didn’t want to continue, but you believed that this was for the best, “just STOP.” You put your other hand up to exaggerate your point, your fingers outstretched in half-genuine frustration.

“Stop what, General?” Rex looked at your extended hand and back at you, his eyes bouncing between the two sights. Then, his eyes locked onto yours, and his eyebrows furrowed, telling you he was genuinely confused and hurt. His expression poked a hole in your heart. But you had to prevail.

“Stop trying to help,” you said plainly. You tried to make your face look more stern. Rex’s eyes widened a bit to express more hurt. “I don’t understand why you’re even doing this, we aren’t friends, and I barely even know you.” You crossed your arms and turned slightly away from him, your head angled towards the floor to hide the regret that spread across your face. “Just… stop it, before you start to make things worse.” You couldn’t bear to look back at the Captain. There were so many things you wished you could say instead of what you forced yourself to express. You listened as Rex’s armor pieces rubbed together as he shifted his posture. Then there was silence for a while, and you weren’t even sure if the Captain was there anymore, but you still didn’t have the courage to look.

“I apologize General,” Rex stated sincerely, but almost robotically, “I didn’t mean to bother you or intrude on your business.” Then there was a bit more uncomfortable silence, before you heard Rex finally turn around and walk away from you towards his destination. The familiar footsteps gradually died down, until they were finally gone.

You let out a breath you didn’t even realize you were holding in. You let yourself go from your defensive position to look up and confirm that the Captain was no longer in your presence. Then it hit you that you were all alone, and you were without a clone who cared once again. But, this is what you wanted right? To be alone, so you couldn't be a burden on another clone again? So you could focus on the retribution you owed to these men? The thought should have made you feel better, but the guilt continued to creep up your chest and into your throat as you found yourself walking back to your quarters in the Jedi Temple.

You found yourself once again ignoring the clones who acknowledged you as you walked past them. The progress you made from your first mission with the 501st had completely disappeared. As you made it to your door, the guilt within your throat seemed unbearable. Or maybe it wasn’t guilt… oh shit.

You practically threw yourself into the refresher down the hall as the vomit made its way into your mouth. You just managed to stick your face into a toilet before the liquid poured its way out. You had to kneel there for a few moments as your body attempted to wretch more and more nutrients from your stomach. Luckily, nothing else came out of you, but it surely left you winded.

Your hands gripped the seat as you struggled to lift yourself up from the floor, your arms shaking from your weight. As you stood, you peered downwards at the mess you created in the bowl below, and a look full of disgust and distress filled your face. You questioned your choices as the mechanism automatically cleaned up the mess you left. Was this really the right choice, to be alone? To tell the first clone to show you any genuine care since you lost the ones you held so dear to stop caring felt so wrong to you in this moment, despite the mental protests you presented to your heart. Maybe rest is what you really needed… You turned to leave the refresher, but you caught yourself in the mirror. Despite your mental objections you took a closer look, but you did not like what you were seeing. Instead of the confident and powerful jedi you were just weeks ago, all that was left was a broken woman. Dark circles haunted your under-eyes. Your eyelids were heavy from exhaustion but your eyebrows possessed a tireless anxiety that morphed the upper portion of your face.

You looked at yourself for a few moments, feeling even more dread and guilt build up inside you. Eventually you were able to tear yourself away from the sight, and you exited the refresher, heading towards your quarters. You hoped that getting some rest would undo the burden you felt within you.

- - -

Rex stepped out of the air taxi, his feet reunited with the ground beneath him as he peered up at his destination: fucking 79s. Ugh, why was he here again? Oh… right.

(‘Rex!’ Fives yelled to his Captain as he walked past. ‘What the hell man? You can’t even say hello to your brother when he greets you? That’s fucked up!’ Rex slowly turned towards his fellow trooper to reveal a face littered with depressive features. This caused Five’s joking demeanor to quickly diminish.

‘Rex… you good?’ Fives approached his Captain swiftly, ‘I haven’t seen you look this down since… I don’t even know how long! What’s up?’

Rex took a moment to consider if he should tell the truth. ‘Fives, I appreciate the concern, but I don’t think this is something I want to talk about right now.’

Fives clearly looked annoyed at the lack of his desired response. ‘Bullshit, Rex! There’s no way you don’t want to talk about this right now, you look absolutely distraught!’ Fives then looked as though he was deep in thought, before a devilish grin appeared across his mouth. ‘You know what you need Rex?’ Fives asked his captain.

Rex genuinely looked a bit confused. ‘No actually, I don’t.’ Annoyance poked through his response.

‘I think you need a trip to 79s tonight!’ Fives looked extremely proud at his ability to come up with this answer. ‘What do you say?’

Rex rolled his eyes. ‘No. Absolutely not. You’re not just going to drag me there just so I can watch you and the others get drunk again.’

Fives let out a hardy laugh. ‘Come on Rex! Maybe you should try getting drunk too for once!’

‘Yeah, no.’

‘Don’t be such a square Captain.’ Fives said, pretending to be annoyed. ‘You’re always so serious! About the mission, or the Republic, or staying focused… What is with you man? Just loosen up! You’re always so tense, maybe you’re even a little more tense than normal.’

Rex’s nose crinkled in reaction. ‘I am not always tense, I know how to relax without putting my ability to lead in jeopardy.’

‘Whatever you say, Captain.’ Fives rolled his eyes, ‘I don’t think that I’m going to convince you…’ Fives put his arm around Rex’s shoulders to prevent his escape, ‘so I’m deciding for you, you’re coming to 79s with me tonight!’

‘Please no.’ Rex begged.

‘Too late, the plan is set!’ Fives exclaimed as he squeezed Rex twice as hard. All Rex could do at this point was grumble in protest as Fives suddenly made himself sparse.)

Rex filled up his lungs before sighing it all out. The bright lights decorating the exterior forced him to squint as he regretfully made his way into the establishment. The inside wasn’t much better. Despite all of the bright decor it was way too dark, the music was loud enough to pound his chest, and dozens of clones and civvies crowded the interior around him, causing a need for him to push past them as they ignored his need to advance deeper. They were clearly annoyed at this, but Rex didn’t care so much, he just wanted to get this night over with.

��Rex, over here!” Rex heard a trooper yell. He cocked his head to see Fives and Echo sitting at a table together. Typically, more of his brothers would be a part of this entourage, but luckily for Rex he would only have to deal with two drunk troopers tonight. Rex begrudgingly made his way over to the table, dodging clones and the civvies they attempted to flirt with along the way, and took a seat with his brothers. Accompanying Echo was a simple glass of neat liquor, something that he politely sipped at every couple of minutes or so. Fives however, had a couple of glasses full of a liquor that Rex was unable to identify, most likely due to his inexperience. But, either way, his brother had multiple beverages ready at the table, patiently waiting to be drunk.

“Well well, I’m honestly a bit shocked to see you here Captain,” Fives said with a relaxed smile smudged across his face.

Rex scoffed at the comment, “and why’s that?”

“Because you looked the saddest I’ve seen you in a while,” Fives explained before taking a small swig of his drink, “I half expected you to hide in your quarters all night.”

“My goodness Fives, how many times am I going to have to tell you tonight that I’m fine?” Rex rolled his eyes at his brother as Echo gave Rex a slightly concerned look.

“We don’t have to be completely sober to see that you’re not doing well Rex. What, did you have a bad day or something?” Echo inquired.

Rex shifted uneasily in his seat, “yeah, you can say that.”

“Are you going to tell us what’s going on?”

Rex considered telling Echo the truth, but then Fives caught his eye. “Uh, no. I’m good.” Rex answered, realizing he did not want to talk about this with his clearly drunk brother. Echo lifted one of his eyebrows in wanting curiosity.

“Lay off him, Echo, I bet he got rejected by some girl.” Fives interjected. In response to the comment Echo and Rex turned to look at Fives with extremely perplexed and irked expressions. Fives’s eyes bounded between his brothers for a moment, their silence allowed for the pounding music to take center stage. Fives shrugged his shoulders.

“What? I’m drunk, sometimes crazy shit comes to mind and I gotta say it.” Fives then noticed the still full glasses of booze sitting on the table, and he looked back at his Captain appearing absolutely shocked. “Rex! I got these for the table!” Fives impatiently grabbed one of the glasses and shoved it in Rex’s face. Fives almost splashed the drink in his face, but the liquid managed to stay in its glass as it rocked up to the rim. “Drink up! I don’t wanna see your sad mug anymore!”

“You know I don’t really like to drink, Fives…” Rex responded. But Fives wouldn’t relent, the drink maintained its spot in Rex’s vision, completely blocking out his view of Echo and most of the cantina. Finally, Rex regretfully took the glass into his hand to satisfy his intoxicated brother. Then, with a big smile on his face, Fives brought his glass into the air for a toast. Echo lifted his half drunk glass as well, eventually followed by Rex, despite his silent protests.

“What are we toasting to, exactly?” Echo inquired. Fives’s eyebrows immediately furrowed in drunken thought. A response took a lot longer than expected to resonate within the trooper.

“Uhhh… I don’t know…” Fives’s eyes then lit up. “How about we toast to our latest victory… Here's to beating the Separatists!” Fives immediately shot his drink down his throat. Echo smiled and chuckled at his brother, before finishing the rest of his drink as well, being way more polite and patient than Fives. Rex studied his drink before slowly raising it to his lips to take a small sip. His nose and his eyes crinkled at the bitter taste.

Luckily, Fives was extremely preoccupied by getting wasted to notice Rex’s responsible drinking as he quickly gathered another drink into his hands. “Let’s do another toast, shall we?” He asked excitedly. “How about we toast to our new General, for taking down all of those clankers… and for not being too bad on the eyes either.”

Rex, who had decided to take another light sip before processing what his brother had said, blew out into his glass, causing some of the liquid to splash above the rim. The sound took Echo’s attention away from Fives’s drunken activities, his eyes grew a bit wider in reaction to Rex’s face being covered in the alcoholic liquid. Once Fives chugged his drink down, he slammed the glass to the table and let out a holler in reaction to the taste. A smile corrupted him when he looked at his brother.

“Damn Rex, that struck a nerve.” Fives slurred. He then leaned into the table in order to get closer to Rex, who was sitting across from him. “Don’t tell me you actually got rejected by a girl.”

“Fives, I didn't-”

“A fuckin jedi no less!”

For some reason the Captain’s face burned up at the thought as Fives laughed hysterically. He had never thought about you in that light before, but somehow a mere reference to it caused him to react in such a way. He immediately chalked it up to pure embarrassment. No one should be talking about a General in this way, you were owed way more respect than what Fives was shitting out.

“Fives!” Rex yelled, causing Fives to whip his head back towards his Captain. Echo cocked one of his eyebrows, Fives, however, looked mostly unfazed. The two additional shots had clearly worked their way through him quickly, his eyelids appeared heavier as he stared at his captain with a confused expression.

“What..?” His eyes blinked at two different times.

Rex’s hand cupped his forehead in frustration, before it slowly made its way down his face, flattening his nose as they met and taking the booze on his face with it. “You shouldn’t talk about the General like that.”

“Why not? She’s hot.”

Strangely, a bit of rage twinged from within Rex. Not enough to make him act out, but it was enough to make him suddenly sit up straight in his chair, causing Fives to react minimally. “She is our General and we owe her some respect.” Rex stated, trying to sound composed.

Fives blew a raspberry, “whatever Captain,” He saluted, his hand completely missing his head, “I didn’t mean to disrespect your girlfriend.”

“She’s not my-!” Fives was long gone already, heading towards the bar to grab himself more drinks. Typically, Rex would stop Fives to prevent him from getting too drunk, but this time he let the trooper go, not wanting to deal with him at that moment. Echo laughed as he witnessed Fives bound towards the bartender.

“Well, there he goes… I don’t think we’ll be able to stop him tonight.” Echo then looked back at Rex, whose face was still extremely tense from what the other trooper had said mere moments ago. Echo’s face softened into concern.

“You still don’t want to tell me what’s going on with you?” Echo inquired.

“No, not really.” Rex glued his eyes to the distance.

“Does it really have anything to do with General y/n?”

Rex thought about it for a second.

“I don’t think she likes me very much.” Rex sighed, immediately regretting saying anything at all.

“I thought she was warming up to us after the last mission, no?” Echo asked.

“Yeah, but today we started back at square one.” Rex’s eyes darted to his barely touched drink in his hand as he raised it close to his nose. He wasn’t sure why he was sharing so much. “I think I might’ve made her upset.”

“Well…” Echo paused, “I wouldn’t take it personally like that. She’s clearly been dealing with some heavy shit recently… whatever it is. So I wouldn't be surprised if she was upset at that moment, ya know?”

Rex nodded his head, wishing he knew what more could be said to make him feel better. Echo was right, but he didn’t know everything that had happened between the two of you earlier that day. Rex wasn’t about to tell Echo about it either, but he wished he wanted to so Echo could understand more.

“Do you like her?”

What?

“What?” Rex asked.

“Do you like the General?” Echo repeated. “You seemed quite upset when Fives was talking about her.”

Rex groaned, squinting his eyes as he cringed at the question. “I really wish I didn’t have to keep repeating this, but it’s not like that at all. She is new to our battalion and I simply want her to feel as comfortable as possible. That is it.” He said sternly, somehow not totally convinced of his words.

Echo looked a bit guilty, but maintained a smile on his face. “Okay Rex, I believe you. I’m just a bit drunk is all, so I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”

A chuckle made it past Rex's uneasy feelings. “Don’t worry about it, Echo. If anyone is making me uncomfortable tonight, it’s Fives.”

Rex and Echo chatted for a while after that. Fives never came back to sit down, but they made sure he was still in eyesight as he kept drinking throughout the night with other brothers and as he attempted to talk to many women. As they spoke about whatever came to mind, Rex couldn’t help but feel conflicted about their prior conversation about you. He defended you and maintained that you were nothing more than what he hoped to be friends, like he wanted to. But for some reason he felt… off. There was this uncomfortable tightness in his chest that remained all night without any sign of withdrawing. He contemplated this feeling, but chalked it up to the guilt he was feeling about making you upset earlier that day. He really was feeling guilty about it after all, he never meant to offend you by helping you like that. He did not know what he really saw on the battlefield, but he saw an opportunity to step in during the briefing, but he guessed that he stepped in too far. The two of you seemed to have gotten along during the mission, but you treated him like a stranger before the briefing, and like some stalker after it. Rex then started to consider why he cared so much about you and about what others thought about you. He tried to ignore these feelings, this desire to know you, and enjoy his time with Echo, but the thoughts never stopped eating away at him.

He then checked the time, despite the continued high population at 79s, it was getting quite late.

“Hey, Echo, I should probably go.” Rex told his brother as he carefully got out of his seat.

Echo clearly had gotten to a comfortable drunkenness, his head rested in the palm of one hand as the other held a glass, and slowly nodded to the Captain. “Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow-” the clone was interrupted by the sound of Fives hollering in the distance, obviously having the absolute time of his life. Echo smiled, “don’t worry about him, I’ll make sure he gets back safe.”

Rex returned a smile to his brother. “I appreciate it, Echo.” Immediately Rex and Echo heard Fives let out another yell, which caused Rex to cringe in response. “I don’t think I can handle him right now…”

- - -

Rex sat in silence as he stared out the window of the air taxi. He watched as an endless line of vehicles made their way across his vision. Thousands of lights emitted across the city, all moving in unison with each other as they followed closely behind one another patiently. His eyelids were growing heavy, so in order to keep himself awake he outlined every detail he could make out of each air speeder he could easily see. Their colors, their models, even their imperfections to keep himself entertained. He was able to keep this activity up until he noticed the Jedi Temple in the corner of his eye.

His heart dropped slightly as he immediately whipped his eyes towards the temple. Despite the tension that persisted in his chest, he was able to mostly get his mind off of you and what transpired earlier that day. But now that the temple was in sight, there was no forgetting about it now.

Rex, with no other option now, thought about you. He thought about when he first met you, how timid you were. But then a smile lifted the corners of his mouth as he thought about your first mission together. He saw another side of you; one that was kind and social and brave. But now? You seemed to want even less to do with Rex now. Rex’s smile fell into a slight frown as he thought about what you said to him earlier that day. Then, Rex saw your exposed scars in his mind’s eye. If his theory was right, you bore witness to something Rex fears every day. He once again considered how he would feel if he lost his battalion, and began to feel extremely embarrassed as he recognized his sympathy for you was what drove him to you in the first place. He sighed at this realization.

‘I’m definitely making things worse for her,’ Rex thought to himself. Rex then remembered what Fives said about the two of you; how you were more than friends.

‘No.’ Rex immediately thought. A Jedi and a clone were not compatible in that way for endless reasons. Besides, there was no way he would ever want that, and it’s not like you could ever be friends, not like how bonded Rex was with Anakin or Ahsoka anyway. You made yourself very clear; it was not something you wanted, so it was never going to happen. And Rex knew he would have to learn to be content with that, despite how much, for a reason becoming known to him, it hurt.

#star wars #captain rex #the clone wars #clone wars #swtcw #tcw #ct7567 #captain rex x jedi!reader #captain rex imagine #captain rex x reader #sw tcw fanfic #star wars the clone wars

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notgonnaedit · 7 days ago

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Beskar and Bone

Chapter 13.5: The Doll

Summary: A lone bounty hunter must make his way through the galaxy as he cares for two children with mysterious powers.

Chapter summary: Pit stop!

Warnings: Canon-typical violence, not even that, fluff warning (If I miss a tag LMK)

A/n: This one shot is for plot development that I forgot to add earlier.

@thecoffeelorian @dreamsight73 @valeria-lilian

Updates on Fridays. If you want to be tagged LMK

Master list

Mando tapped a few buttons on the controls of the Crest. He and the kids were on their way to Tython, which was incredibly far from Corvus. The kids now were playing in the hull, giving Mando time to think. Ahsoka had said to go to an ancient Jedi Temple, where a seeing stone was. If he placed the Child–Grogu, he was still getting used to that– another Jedi might sense him through the Force. But Ahsoka had said that Elaine was not Jedi or even Force sensitive. She had said that if they found another Jedi maybe they would train her to control her powers.

Mando was unsure of what to do. He had been instructed to deliver the kids to their kind, but Elaine's people were dead, and she was no Jedi. A sudden beeping brought him out of his thoughts. He had to refuel soon. Another detour, he thought exasperated. But maybe this was a blessing in disguise. He had to say goodbye to Grogu and Elaine soon and this would delay it. Mando brought up a star map for the nearest planets. He would only need to refuel and maybe get some rations. For being so tiny, the kids could really pack it in. The nearest planet was Ackron, so Mando rerouted and made the jump to hyperspace. He walked over to the ladder and climbed down.

As he expected, the kids were playing together. Elaine was trying to catch the silver sphere that Grogu was tossing to her with the Force. But, the little guy aimed to high, forcing Elaine to jump to get it. The girl was trying to climb on to a crate now. It seemed that Grogu had put the ball on there and for whatever reason couldn't get it down. Elaine wriggled her way up to the top, standing and grabbing the ball. "Got it!" She proclaimed proudly. But the crate began to wobble and Elaine began to lose her balance. "Whoa," She muttered nervously as she waved her arms in an attempt to steady herself. But gravity got the best of everyone and the girl fell forward.

Mando darted to her and caught her just in time. Elaine gave him a sheepish smile. "I got it." She held the ball up to show him.

Mando let out a sigh. "That's enough for now."

"Aww." Elaine said with a frown. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but Mando just held her tighter. "Lemme go." She had a small smile despite her words.

Mando smiled under his helmet. "And why should I do that?"

Elaine huffed. "Because," This was going to be the start of a long, nonsensical explanation. "If I can't get down, then Grogu won't be able to get his ball, and then the ship will crash!"

Mando chuckled. "And why would the ship crash?"

Elaine sighed like Mando wasn't understanding the simplest things. "Because, Grogu would use his powers to crash us!"

Mando decided to humor her. "Oh, well when you say it like that..." He set her down and she ran over to Grogu to give him the ball. He sat down on one of the lower crates, his boots hitting the floor with a thud. The difference between the kids was like night and day. Grogu was usually the same around all people, but Elaine only showed her true colors to him and Mando, maybe Cara. Around others, she was quiet, shy, and stuck to Mando's side, but in the ship she was loud and ran every which way.

"We're gonna have to make a pit stop before we get to Tython." Mando explained. "We're running low on fuel and rations."

Elaine looked at Grogu. The two seemed to have developed their own secret language. It gave Mando a bit of comfort that they would at least be together when they left him. Elaine ran up to Mando, grabbed his knees. "Can we get the cookies again?"

Mando smiled under his helmet. He didn't have long with them and wanted to make them as happy as possible. "Sure, Sarad'ika. We can get some cookies."

Elaine's face broke into a wide grin. She turned back to Grogu who cooed in excitement. Mando would miss them, no doubt about it.

~~~~~

The gangplank of the Crest lowered to the surface of Ackron. Mando, with Grogu in the satchel, walked with Elaine through the spaceport. "Remember, we're only getting essentials." Mando reminded them.

"And cookies." Elaine said. She grabbed Mando's hand as he led them to the market. They walked through at an easy pace, since Mando had already paid the men in the port to fuel the Crest. All they really needed was rations, but Elaine's attention was grabbed by many things. One of which, halted Mando in his tracks. He stopped his walk to look down at her, then following her gaze.

She was staring at a small doll on a vendor's rack. It was white and looked to be from the Clone Wars. The vendor, an old woman, smiled down at Elaine. "Do you like that doll, dear?"

Elaine shrunk back into her shell, pursing her lips. But the woman was kind. "Maybe if you ask nicely your father will buy it for you." She smiled at Mando, but Elaine kept her gaze on her feet. She didn't want to ask Mando. After all, he was already getting them cookies.

Mando looked at the old woman. He didn't have enough credits for the doll, even though he wanted to buy it. "No thank you, ma'am." He said respectfully. He gave her a short nod before taking Elaine's hand in his and walking off.

They went to the baker's stall where the smell of cookies and cakes temped Mando to take off his helmet they smelled so good. The picked up Grogu and gave him to Elaine. "Go on, pick which ones you want." He handed Elaine a few credits, enough to buy a reasonable amount of cookies. She took them gingerly and looked to the treats with Grogu.

Mando wanted them to learn to make their own choices, and he didn't want to look if the baker had his favorite kind of cookie. If that happened he wouldn't be able to resist taking off his helmet and eating it immediately.

Mando watched the kids with a small smile, but a nagging thought dug at the back of his head. Elaine really wanted that doll. It wasn't unreasonable, after all, she didn't have any play things or toys at all. Grogu had his little ball, but Elaine didn't have anything. Mando found himself walking towards the old woman's stall. He scrounged around for credits, but he didn't have enough.

"Changed your mind, have you?" The woman asked.

"Yes, but–" Mando stopped when she took the doll and put it in his hands, closing them around it.

"Take it." She said with a smile. "I have no need for it. All my children have grown, but yours are still young." She gave his hands a light squeeze before pulling away. "Cherish this time. It won't be long before their fully grown and have their own lives." She glanced behind Mando and smiled at the kids. "It's obvious she adores you. You must be a wonderful father."

Mando took the doll and tucked it in his pouch. "Thank you." He walked back to the kids. "Ready to go?"

Elaine nodded, her mouth already full of cookie along with Grogu. Mando shook his head as he placed Grogu in the satchel. "You couldn't have waited until we got to the ship?"

Elaine just stared up at him, her face smeared with crumbs. Mando held his hand out for her to take, and the three walked back to the Crest.

~~~~~

Mando climbed down the ladder to check on the kids. Maybe it was a mistake to give them sweets, because the trouble makers seemed to be on a sugar high. Elaine squealed as she ran back and forth across the hull. Grogu sat on a crate, reaching his little arms for her. Mando could hear the meltdown to come and shuddered at the thought. He realized he still needed to give Elaine her doll. "Elaine,"

The girl halted mid stride to look at him. He bent down to her level and took out the doll. Elaine gave a surprised gasp.

"This is for you." Mando said. He handed it to her and she took it like it might break any second. "I noticed you didn't have any toys, so–" He was cut off by Elaine throwing her arms around him.

"Thank you!" She said.

Mando closed his eyes and held her close, quietly enjoying the embrace. "You're welcome, Cyar'ika."

At first Mando hesitated to give it to her, for fear if the Jedi didn't allow personal belongings. But then he remembered the old woman's words. They were his kids, and until he gave them to a Jedi, his they would be.

#star wars the mandalorian #the mandalorian #grogu #mando #din djarin #Beskar and Bone

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lunarmoonanons · 2 years ago

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Worries

🌕 �� 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕

Without much news from the battlefront, YN worries about her husband. Worries eat her up inside.

🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕

Masterlist

It had been a long few months, at least that was what it felt like when you were pregnant. The months dragged on and YN felt lonely without her husband, Anakin. Sure she had her friends Bail, Mon Mothma, and occasionally Ahsoka would sneak into her apartments. But having milestones in her pregnancy missed when her husband was off fighting made YN feel hopelessly lonely.

“Mistress YN, I do wish you would take it easy.” Threepio fussed. The protocol droid always worried about you more so now that you were pregnant.

“I can’t take it easy. I’m so worried. What if he’s hurt or dead?” YN paced and bit her thumbnail, one hand placed on the swell of her stomach. “I wouldn’t know, I’m not entitled to that information.”

“I assure you that master Anakin must be fine. There would be news if he was hurt.” C-3PO always tried his best to calm her down, these past months her nerves became more and more active.

Before YN could retort with more worries, her comlink went off. YN quickly answered it and heaved a sigh of relief. Anakin was back and he was alright. YN threw on a cloak and headed toward his location as quickly as possible. Once there she watched as the chancellor walked away from her husband followed by his attendants and senators. Anakin spied her standing off to the distance and once the chancellor and senators were far enough away he made his way to her.

As soon as they were close enough, Anakin pulled her into a tight embrace. They held each other close for a few second, breathing each other in before YN pulled away and kissed her husband dearly. Anakin sighed into the kissed, bringing his hands up to pet her hair. Eventually they pulled apart for air. YN rested her forehead against his and held his cheek in her palm. Without saying anything, Anakin did the same.

“I’m alright. I came back just like I said I would.” Anakin whispered.

“There were whispers… rumors that you were killed or hurt. I was so worried-”

“I know. But I came back. I wouldn’t leave you.” Anakin kissed her lips once again, then pulled away from her. “Let’s get out of here.”

YN nodded and pulled her husband away. Eventually they found themselves back at her apartments. YN wanted to stand and make some dinner for them both, but her feet hurt too much so they waited on the couch together. Anakin’s favorite thing to do was to rest his hand on her stomach and feel the little kicks against his palm.

“She’s a kicker.” Anakin laughed.

“She’s a he. And he is Luke.” YN teased and threaded her fingers with his.

“Force wielder here. I’m sensing a girl named Leia.” Anakin teased back.

“Well I am the mother and I can tell it’s a boy. Motherly intuition.” YN smiled as he brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her palm.

“Oh I dare not argue against motherly intuition. Even though I am right.” He laughed as YN swatted him on the chest. “I saw Ahsoka.”

YN sat up at that and looked into his face. “When? Where? Is she okay? I haven’t seen her in months and I was worried she left Coruscant without telling me.”

“She’s fine. She’s on a mission with Rex to Mandalore. I saw her off beforeI was called to save the chancellor.” Anakin pulled her to his chest and rested his hand against her hair. “I tried to make it all up to her, but I couldn’t go with her. I disappointed her again.”

“Anakin… You did all you could.”

“I could have gone with her. But I chose to stay with the Jedi.”

YN looked up and held his face in her hands once again. “I know you. You couldn’t leave the Jedi order. It’s your home and family. I’m sure she doesn’t blame you.”

Anakin sighed and kissed her forehead. Calming himself instantly by her touch. His mind still focused on Ahsoka and other things. But when he was with YN, it felt like he could pause the whole galaxy and focus on one thing. Nothing else mattered when he was with her, and that wasn’t something he would give up for anything.

~~~

Later, YN sat up in bed. It was nighttime and she was alone in bed. YN sleepily rubbed her eyes and looked around her room, but there was no sign of Anakin. With a groan, she got up from bed and heaved herself to a standing position. She wandered through her place until she found Anakin on the balcony, visibly shaken and looking down. YN sighed and came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his torso and placing kisses on his shoulder.

“Was it another nightmare?” She whispered against his skin.

“You should be asleep.” Anakin said, holding her hands. When she said nothing he sighed and turned around to look at her. “It was about you.”

“What happened?”

“You were in pain. Dying. I think you and the baby were both dying, and I couldn’t do anything.” Anakin blinked back some tears and gripped her hands harder. “I was as useless as I was when my mother died.”

“You’re not useless.” YN assured and brought her hands to his cheeks. “You couldn’t do anything to save your mother, that is not your fault. Look at me.”

“These dreams, their just like the ones I had before my mother died. What if you die too? What if I lose the both of you?” Anakin placed his forehead against hers. “I won’t lose you the way I lost my mother.”

“No you won’t. But worrying yourself over a nightmare isn’t gonna do anything. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” YN tried to smile to reassure him. “I love you. Now please come back to bed.”

Anakin sighed and kissed her briefly. “I love you too. I won’t ;et anything happen to you.”

With that the two went back to bed, but Anakin didn’t go back to sleep. He just watched his wife sleep, as he rested his hand against her stomach smiling at the small kicks against his palm. He leant down and placed a kiss on the swell of his wife's stomach.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

#Anakin Skywalker #anakin imagine #anakin x reader #anakin skywalker x reader #star wars #anakin x pregnant reader

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mydarllinglover · 9 months ago

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Stars Collided || Eight

Lovisa had woken, what felt like only a few hours later, to Anakin thrashing around, in his sleep, his body was sweating, and tears fell from his eyes, as he called out to someone, his Mother.

"Mom! No, Mom, no!"

"Ani? Ani, wake up!" Lovisa gently shook him, as she lightly tapped his cheek. "Anakin, it's just a dream, wake up."

He sat up, abruptly, trying to catch his breath, as he looked around, in confusion.

"Anakin?" She asked, after leaning back, when he sprung up. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"My mom, she's in danger." He said, as he threw the duvet off of him.

"Ani, slow down, it was just a bad dream, talk to me." She tried stopping him, as he got out of the bed.

"No, I- I'm sorry princess, I have to go, she needs me, and I need to help her, I'm sorry."

"Where are you going?" She got out of the bed, after him, throwing her robe back on, as he rushed to get his own clothes back on.

"Back to Tatooine, I have to make sure she's safe."

"I'll go with you." Lovisa suggested.

"No, you can't, you need to stay here, where it's safe."

"No, I need to stay with you, you'll keep me safe, but I won't let you go alone."

"Vis, please."

"I'm coming with you, Ani." She said, leaving no room for argument.

He thought about it, before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Fine." He grumbled. "Meet me downstairs."

Anakin left, and Lovisa scrambled to get ready, slightly afraid that he might leave without her, but she knew she had to go with him, he was leaving his post to go find his mother, after a bad dream, nothing rational can come out from that.

She picked out a simple but pretty darkish blue dress, to wear, paired with an dark cloak with floral embroidery, and her most comfortable heels.

Lovisa then found a satchel, throwing in some more light dresses, as well as her hairbrush, a small pouch full of coins, and a book, she wasn't sure what else she would need, but if need be, hopefully there would be somewhere she could get it, if she somehow forgot. It was the middle of the night, and she had no idea how far, far away actually was, and she knew Tatooine was far, no one could really blame her packing skills at a moment like this, normally she had others do it for her.

As quietly as possible, when she was finally ready, she raced down to the entrance hall of the castle, where Anakin was whisper arguing with Ahsoka.

"What's going on?" She whispered to them.

"I knew you were going!" Ahsoka whisper shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Ahsoka's trying to come with us." Anakin folded his arms across his chest, looking visibly frustrated.

"How did you know we were going somewhere?" Lovisa asked.

"Uh, I could hear him scuttling about, and I could sense it, I knew something was suspicious." She answered.

"Well, you can't come." Lovisa told her, with some authority in her tone.

"Yeah, stay here." Anakin added.

"It's my job to be there for the princess's every need." Ahsoka's face was blank, not bothered by their words. "'Sides, good luck getting very far, I'll snitch as soon as you leave those doors, and I'm not ashamed to, either."

Anakin let out a sharp huff of anger, as he looked away.

"Fine, you can come, but... be cool about it, okay, we're going to Anakin's home, Tatooine." Lovisa told her.

"Cool, we should get a move on, then." She turned, her own satchel swaying with her movement, as she walked out the large doors.

The boy pressed his finger to his temple, calming his nerves, how'd he get stuck babysitting, once again?

Lovisa followed after her, and he strolled behind last, admitting defeat.

The three had snuck onto the lone boat, and Anakin was the one to steer it back to the other dock, where they were set loose in the streets of Naboo.

"Where are we going to find transport?" Ahsoka asked.

"I hadn't got this far." Anakin shrugged, trying to think, this would have been so much easier back in Coruscant, where transport was located everywhere, for any time of need.

"Don't worry, I know a guy." Lovisa shared, leading the two deeper into the village.

"You know a guy?" Anakin repeated, not sounding too thrilled.

"Yeah, not far from here, come on."

She had led them to a rough looking Cantina, where it looked like a brawl was the peak of their entertainment, what gave it away was the small pile of broken stools, among other things, in the alleyway, where a back door was.

Lovisa pounded on it, a couple of times, before a balding man with a long scar down his face, and a crooked nose, poked his head out.

"What?!" He demanded.

Lovisa pulled the hood of her cloak off, so that he could see that it was her.

"Visa!" He cheered, as he cupped her face, kissing her cheeks. "I was beginning to worry when I haven't seen you in so long. What can I do ya for, hun?"

"Hi, Gido." She smiled kindly. "Uh, we're actually in a sticky situation, and we need a horse, or two..."

"What's this for, huh? You ran away, again?" He asked, with a raise of his brow.

"Uh... not officially, but we are on a clock, these are my friends, and it would be really kind, if you could help us out."

"Hello" Ashoka waved.

"How'd you do?" Anakin greeted, meekly, looking behind the man, at the crowded Cantina.

"Gimmie one sec, alright, I'll get it sorted, for my favourite girl." Gido winked, before heading back inside.

"See, I know a guy." She shrugged her shoulder, looking back at the two.

"Yeah, how, though, is what I wanna know." Anakin told her, suspiciously.

"I come here, sometimes, and I tip well."

"This place?" Ahsoka grimaced.

"Yeah, Colo showed it to me, once, it's nice, you gotta experience it to get it."

"Oh, right, Colo." Anakin rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Lovisa asked him.

"Don't tell me your jealous." Ahsoka chuckled.

"I didn't say that." He dismissed.

The door reopened, and they were met with Gido's face, again.

"Here ya go, sweetheart, this guy will help ya out, go to him, tell 'im ol' Gido sent ya."

"Thank you so much, Gido, here, let the guys have a round, on me." She placed a small handful of coins in his palm, as she took the paper.

The door then closed, and they heard a very loud chorus of cheers from inside, as they turned around, to walk back out of the alley, Lovisa lifting her hood back over her head, as they did.

"Long live Visa?" Anakin quoted from inside. "Yeah, cause that's not gonna give away the fact that the princess is out from hiding."

"Will you calm down? No one is gonna think that. 'Side's, if you really thought that people important would know I'm back, from the local pub, they'd know I snuck out to go there, every night?"

"She has a point." Ahsoka shrugged.

"Thank you, Snips." Lovisa nodded, as she looked at the piece of parchment Gido gave her.

Lovisa led the other two around the village, hiding in the shadows, as they found their next destination.

Until they heard something coming from an alleyway.

"Do you hear that?" Ahsoka asked, as she looked around, trying to locate it.

"Yeah" Anakin breathed, as he did the same.

"What is it?" Lovisa asked, looking at the two.

"This way." Her friend said, walking down the alleyway, where she and Anakin could hear it from, but she felt this feeling in her chest, telling her to go to it, that it was important, there was life down there.

The princess quickly followed behind the two, as they sped to the place, as it started to trickle down with rain.

She gasped sharply, as what they could hear, was a soggy box, filled with three small puppies.

"Oh, wow!" She kneeled down, not caring for her dress, as she petted the three.

One with the golden coat, was quick to jump at her, licking her face excitedly, as she caught it, hugging the puppy to her chest.

Ahsoka had picked up the other one, he had an darker coat, with spots of red in his fur.

Then there was the last one, which Anakin felt obligated to pick up, not wanting him to be left all by himself. He had white and grey fur, but the most bright blue eyes, similar to the boy's.

"We have to keep them." Lovisa decided, knowing she couldn't give up her new puppy.

"Vis..." Anakin sighed, as he pet behind the ears of his own.

"Anakin, they're strays, they have no home, we need to."

"I don't think I can give this one up, if I tried." Ahsoka shared, as hers chewed on her hair.

"Fine... we can keep them, but can we please remember why we're here in the first place?"

"Right, come along, no more distractions." Lovisa stood up, her puppy in her hands, as he continued to lick her.

There wasn't much further to go, when Ahsoka dug through her satchel, finding some jam sandwich's she had packed, just in case.

"Skyguy, take him." She held her own puppy out, not giving the boy much choice but to take him, as she ripped up the sandwiches, handing a piece to Lovisa, before giving it to her own puppy, taking him back from Anakin and giving him the last piece.

"What did you just call me?" He furrowed his brows, as he lifted the sandwich to his mouth.

"Not for you, idiot, for your dog." She told him, when he went to bite it.

"I knew that." He mumbled, giving it to his dog.

"Looks like we're here." Lovisa shared, as they looked up at the barn, that was attached to a small house.

"Maybe I should go ask." Anakin assessed, his hand automatically going to fall on the hilt of his sword.

"No, Gido told me, so I will." Lovisa finalised, before handing Ahsoka her puppy, and walking forward.

She knocked on the door, and fiddled with her fingers, as she waited.

The door was pulled open suddenly, causing the girl to jump, as a burly man poked his head out.

"What?" He asked.

"Hello, I'm a friend of Gido's and he said that you would be able to help me, and my friends." She gestured to the two behind her, "With transport?"

He assessed her, and the two for a moment.

"Do I know you?" He asked.

Lovisa froze at the question, her cheeks heating up, before quickly shaking her head.

"No, uhm, no I don't think so, I'm just a friend of Gido's in urgent help. I'm willing to pay."

"Hmm" He grumbled, before opening the door wider and stepping out. "Follow."

The three walked behind, as the man headed towards the barn, and opening the doors.

"There's a reason Gido sent you here, if you're in urgent need of getting somewhere, my horses are the best around, fast and reliable."

He clicked his teeth, alerting the two horses in the stables, waking them from their slumber, as he prepared the carriage, it was a bit smaller than the royal ones, and it had no roof.

"Thank you so much, sir, we are extremely grateful." Lovisa smiled kindly.

"Aren't youse lot a lil young to be running around by yourself?" He asked, assessing all three of the teenagers.

"We're orphans, actually." Ahsoka answered. "And we're travelling for work."

"You're all orphans?" The man didn't seem so convinced.

"Yup! We're the only family each others got, our mama and pa.. it's too painful to talk about..." She sighed.

"You're all related?" He raised a brow, looking at Ahsoka, then the other two.

"Their parents were like my own, but these two are the best cousins around." She threw an arm around the pair, who had both gone stiff.

"alright, then..." He then walked off to grab the gear for the horses.

"What was that?" Lovisa hissed.

"Yeah, way to play it cool." Anakin quipped.

"I panicked, and then I couldn't shut up." Ahsoka shrugged, "But neither of you were much help."

"You didn't give us a chance." Anakin rolled his eyes.

#anakin x reader #anakin imagine #anakin skywalker x reader smut #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin smut #sw anakin #anakin fanfiction #obi wan and anakin #star wars anakin #ahsoka tano

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kalevalakryze · 1 year ago

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Yhe'na Det Och'sa

Chapter 3: Bhat Yeh Mjet

Characters: Shin Hati, Ahsoka Tano, Professor Huyang Relationships: Ahsoka Tano & Shin Hati, Shin Hati & Huyang, Ahsoka Tano & Huyang Notes: This Chapter will be full of snapshots as we go through the years of training. Shin is aged 7-10 around these snapshots. And DO NOT FORGET. All art credit used in this AU as of this time goes to the amazing and wonderful @somewillwin . Other lovely pieces of art can be found under out Shin Tano AU tag, and a spotify playlist collaborated on by members of Pathfinders can be found under Here!

Word Count: 4,656 AO3 Link: Here! Chapter One Chapter Two

The weeks following Shin’s recovery were introductory. Ahsoka knew the child had experience with their connection to the force, but she just… couldn’t train Shin if it was enough, if the child couldn’t control the overwhelming pull- So while Huyang instructed, Ahsoka watched, and Shin soaked up everything the ancient droid was willing to teach.

Ahsoka had expected the first days to be a fluke when Shin adapted in a flash to the schedule of a Jedi Initiate. The schedule and early wake up call had been torture for young Ahsoka and her crechémates, but each morning, just before the suns would crest whatever planet they’d found themselves resting on, Shin would be awake, dressed in the robes Huyang had made pieced together for them, and ready to learn everything about the force.

This morning was no different, with the pitter-patter of small feet rushing out onto the wing of the parked shuttle, Ahsoka’s gaze raised from the murky darkness of her caff to find Shin tugging their cloak over their shoulders. Muscle had built smoothly once she had access to real food, and Ahsoka’s physical training regime had expanded on this, though they still held themselves like the scrawny Ibaarian kid they’d picked up months ago.

“Good morning!” Shin chirped when she noticed Ahsoka’s gaze on her.

Ahsoka couldn’t help the smile that fluttered onto her lips at the seemingly boundless energy of her charge. “Good morning, tazi unt,” She rose from her position against cool durasteel to ruffle her fingers through Shin’s hair. The rat tail that marked them as an initiate had grown out enough to hang over their shoulder, braided carefully each morning by deft hands that had picked up the instruction easily under the Jedi’s instruction. “Did you sleep well?”

There would be no end to the horrors a force user could face in their sleep, especially for one who had yet to master warding the darkness away, and yet, each night Shin clambered into the lone bunk in the ship and curled into Ahsoka’s arm, even her own dreams had become lighter. Shin’s head nodded quickly in confirmation, before Huyang interrupted their mornings greetings, clanking out into the quiet of early morning and bringing the two to a halt.

“Good morning, young Shin! Ms. Tano!” His head dipped respectively as Ahsoka smiled impishly at his formalities. “Are you ready to begin, youngling?” A metal hand was reached across, of which Shin took easily and nodded her head. “Will you be joining us, Lady Tano?”

Ahsoka’s eyes flickered to the horizon, catching the early gold beginning to seep into the dark vastness of night, casting long shadows across the ground as the world around them itched to stir. “I think I will, today. Thank you, Huyang,”

She didn’t need eyes to see the way Shin beamed at her, it shined through the force, brighter than most things her short-term memory could recall. “But you can’t let my presence distract you, Shin,” Ahsoka’s hand rested on their shoulder as Huyang began to lead them closer to the nose of the ship.

“I won’t! Promise!”

Shin and Huyang settled across from each other under the watchful gaze of the suns, and the protective Togruta. They settled into Lotus positions, Shin dropping down easily, while Huyangs’ joints creaked and groaned under old metal scraping together. When the pair was settled, The lesson began.

“What is the Force?” The Professor questioned his young student, feeling her weight shift as nervousness ate at her from the sudden audience. “Steady yourself, youngling,”

“It’s what gives a Jedi their power, or…” Ahsoka watched the way their brows furrowed as they thought over their last few lessons on just what the force was. “It connects all living things, but some people can… touch it?”

Golden eyes blinked towards her, Huyang was waiting for the Master to lead her apprentice. “Not quite,” Ahsoka corrected, finally stepping forward and lowering herself between Shin and Huyang, the rays of sun warming her cheeks as she settled. “The force surrounds and penetrates us, binding the galaxy together, not unlike the threads of your cloak, or the Dathomirian Bane Black Spiders weaving their webs.” Silver eyes blinked open to stare at her; she could feel the way the child studied the lines in her face, though she pretended she did not see their inquisitive gaze. “The force flows through us, not from us. We are no more influential than a leaf caught in the breeze, following the path that had been set out for it long ago.”

“What if we stray from that path?” Their brows furrowed cutely as their position shifted, bending their legs beneath them as their hands joined together in her lap to twist at the smooth skin between her fingers.

“Every way the force blows, every path you are taken on, every decision you make, it is the will of the unified force. Your actions and the consequences that follow. There is no way to stray from your unique path.” Ahsoka’s hand raised and reached out as if she were catching the rays of the sun as it inched higher in the sky.

There was a long moment of silence that stretched after Ahsoka’s words, though Ahsoka could hear the telltale taps of fingers pressing against the screen of the datapad Bail had given Shin for her studies. “Put the pad down, Shin.” She whispered at last. “Just, feel the force. Learn to understand it, like you have yourself,”

“But…” A pause as the child looked between Ahsoka and the faintly glowing screen of the pad. “I’ve been taking notes for that too…” It took all the composure Ahsoka had in her body to remain neutral at the admission. Of course Shin was taking notes of everything she’d been learning, it seemed to be all the child wanted to do, even when Ahsoka had to step away from her training to focus on the Rebellion.

Oftentimes, she’d hear Shin on a holocall with Leia, and while the Princess would often go on about her daily life, Shin seemed more interested in asking questions about the older girl’s life, or to let her ramble while they wrote notes on what to ask about later. It was endearing, really, that Shin and Leia had made such fast friends, even if the younger girl could not return as much information as they may have wanted with the princess being watched by Imperial comms.

“Huyang! Come on!” Shin called as the trio raced down a worn dirt path. The droid kept pausing to take notes on the local fauna, and Shin, not wanting to leave him behind, kept pausing to recollect the Professor. Ahsoka ground to a halt just in time to catch Shin tugging on his hand, trying to pull him from studying a strange insect he’d found lazing along bark.

“No.”

“Shin,” The Togruta called, smile pulling at her lips as she turned to approach. “We musn’t move through life too fast. The world has many wonders, and you may find a benefit in slowing down to connect with the unique life around you.”

Shin huffed at this lesson, cheeks puffing out as she received a childish sigh from the small human. “Okay,” They relented at last, shifting instead to lean against Huyang’s arm and peer at the insect. Purple and blue dots against a black bodt, small red legs by the dozens moving as it crawled.

“Try connecting with it, young Tano. You should be able to feel it in the Force.” The professor explained, not seeming to take notice of his choice in words, even as Ahsoka and Shin’s face darkened at the name. Shin beamed at him for a moment before squinting at the object of their attentions as Ahsoka came to stand behind Shin, gentle hand pressing into their shoulder affectionately, encouraging their use of the Force as they reached out.

Shin could feel the life around her, thrumming all around in harmony. She could feel Ahsoka’s presence, bright, warm, and safe. Huyang, while stagnated in the force with his designation as a man made object, still radiated with his age and experiences, yellowed around the grayed edges of his presence, if she dipped into it, she could feel the joy and the sounds of younglings tinkering. The tree bark seemed to breath as she focused on it, inhaling carbon, exhaling oxygen, fulfilling its unique and necessary destiny in the Force.

“Breathe,” Ahsoka whispered in their ear. Shin released the breath that they’d trapped in their lungs, shaky and slow as she followed the collective exhale of the world around them. Fine tuning these abilities was still difficult, but Shin was learning slowly to not get overwhelmed by the sheer everythingness of the life surrounding her.

With warm reassurance, Shin was able to focus on the singular life form, tuning in to the strange feeling of life that resonated around it. “I don’t think they appreciate us gawking at them,” She whispered finally, lips twitching at the annoyance that radiated across the temporary connection. “They just want to go home…” Shin turned away from the bug to look at Ahsoka. “Can we run again now?” Itching to move, not wanting to stand still; Moving meditation was quickly becoming everyone’s favorite way of training Shin, burning off the energy that would make her impossible to settle once they were cramped back into the ship.

Laughing, Ahsoka nodded her head. “Alright, but you can’t keep stopping for Huyang. Remember, he’s old.” This pulled a sound of indignation from the droid as his joints croaked away at the slow turn of his body, small human and large Togruta already taking off before he could give them a long winded lecture.

Shin was bored. They’d been stuck in space, too far from the nearest comm relay to call Leia, and too closely followed by Imperial patrol to land planetside, and too tightly wound to want to do much in the way of sitting quietly. Booted feet stomped around the floor, pacing between their lessons, brushing fingers through the newly cut hair, buzzed at the sides with the braid they’d been working on for the last year hanging loosely past their shoulder.

Ahsoka sat just a few feet away, tapping at the datapad that held notes on her Fulcrum activities. “Master, when can we land?” Shin finally questioned, pausing in their relentless back and forth to peer at the contemplative Togruta.

“When the all-clear comes,” Ahsoka answered, not missing a beat as her finger swiped across the tablet. This made them groan once more, pulling a smile to the older woman’s lips.

Huffing, Shin stalked towards Ahsoka. When the woman didn’t move, the child made themselves room, elbowing her hands up so she could wriggle beneath warm arms, earning an amused expression as the child stretched into her lap, legs pressing into body shoulder blades, back stretching and cracking comfortably as they laid out dramatically. Once settled, Shin sucked in a harsh, long breath, before releasing an even longer, louder groan.

“Shiiin,” Ahsoka drawled, pad resting on Shin’s stomach as her hand brushed through the curls piled on top of their head. “I need to finish this report, tazi unt, then we can find something fun to do, okay?” She promised, finger stroking across the child’s furrowed brows.

“Fiiineeee-” Shin pitched their body to the side, rolling from Ahsoka’s lap and to the floor with a quiet ‘oomf!’ They did not look back at Ahsoka as they moped to their quarters, looking for some random trinket Leia had given them on their last visit to Alderaan.

The jar of paint was the only thing somewhat interesting, Shin had been following Leia around the upper markets, and had received it as a gift for being the Princess’s ‘guard’ for the day, though they’d winked at her when they called her security, so she could not be sure how genuine it was, but it had been an interesting process to watch be made, as the Princess chatted up the paintmaker’s daughter.

As they plopped down onto the floor, turning the jar around in their hands, an idea struck them. The white was a familiar shade, and she had a design in mind, markings they’d traced almost every night before falling asleep, markings they’d sprayed onto the corners of crates specifically for the Rebellion…

A hesitant gaze was cast towards the closed door of their quarters, weight shifting as their fingers squeezed around cool glass. Before they could eat themselves alive overthinking it, Shin broke the seal of the jar and dug a brush from an old box of their trinkets.

The paint was cold and wet as it streaked across their face, droplets breaking away from messy lines as they tried to fix the design in their head. It was so much easier to paint onto the crates. Their brows furrowed as they worked, which only served to further disturb a line that should have been sharp. Their lips pulled back at the messy reflection that greeted them, baring their teeth with a quiet grumble starting in the bottom of their chest. It wasn’t working! Maybe this whole idea was nerf-brained… They needed to go wash their face before Ahsoka or Huyang saw and they made a fool of themselves.

The hydraulic hiss of the doors opening sent their heart into their throat. Shin jumped almost a foot in the air, reaching out with the force to stop the jar of paint from toppling over. Ahsoka paused at the mortified look on their face, fighting the smile from her own as she took in the sight of droplets on their clothes and the durasteel floor. “What are you doing?” She questioned unpatronizingly, shoulder pressing into the cool metal of the door as she settled in.

“Nothing!” They answered too quickly, scrambling to wipe their face against the soft tunic, earning a laugh that Ahsoka hadn’t been able to bite back.

“Well. your ‘nothing’ is crooked, tazi unt, scooch over, let me help,” Ahsoka pushed her way into the room, despite the useless stammering of the ten year old on the floor. She sank down into the space beside them, knees bumping the wall as she settled in and turned to face shin. “You were close… very good,” she praised quietly, reaching to take their chin in her fingers and turn their reddening face towards the light.

“My Master and I tried to play a joke on our clones, once,” she explained, calling with the force to pull a rag from a slightly open drawer, wiping away still wet paint as she spoke. “I put on his robes, and he tried to put on mine… he asked me to paint his face like my markings, to sell the look, and we even switched lightsabers for the day,”

Shin was entranced in the story, beaming up at Ahsoka with wide eyes as the brush was carefully smoothed across her skin. Each line bent to the Togruta’s will, soft and calm like a tranquil river under her command. “So I sat him down and tried for hours to get it right, think I scrubbed his face raw by the time I finally got the first marking right, and his eyebrows-“ A warm laugh bubbled from the woman’s lips. “They were just so hairy-“ the brush moved smoothly over Shin’s brows, muscle memory coming back after all these years, getting each hair to follow the brush.

“But he was so happy with the results, I remember-“ a gentle blow of cool air against their cheek dried the first strokes of the brush. “When we showed the men, everyone was screaming, I was painting for hours after, all the boys wanted their faces done…” She turned somewhat somber as the brush slowed against their cheek.

“The last time I saw them all together, an entire company of soldiers got together and painted their helmets… I was something more, then. I wasn’t a commander anymore, but I was their vod’ika, even though I walked away without saying goodbye. They welcomed me back, even though I made mistakes.” The pad of her thumb caressed gently down Shin’s jaw as she sighed softly. “That’s what family does,”

“What does vod’ika mean again?” They questioned, leaning into the warmth of the hand at her cheek, eyes fluttering shut at the next stroke of the brush.

“Mando’a, the language of the Mandalorians. It means little sibling.”

Slowly, little hands reached backwards, a gentle bickering of the force brought the worn datapad from under the pillow. They knew where their Mandalorian notes were by heart now, and carefully typed it in without looking at the screen, as Ahsoka finished painting their face. “Although, your paint is a lot safer than the armor paint I used on the boys,” She recalled with a soft laugh. “Did you get this with Leia?”

“Yeah!” The child grew excited, weight shifting as they moved to sit on their knees, forehead bonking into Ahsoka’s arm and earning her another warm laugh as she spun on the woman, intrigue in their eyes. “I got to watch them crush up all the pieces that went into changing the colors and Leia was busy because there was this girl, I don’t remember what was sexual about her, but Leia was having fun, and the paint maker let me help!”

Shifting so her back rested against the wall, Ahsoka tugged the child into her lap, small hands wrapping one around her lek, and the other fisting in the fabric of her tunic as she went into a long winded story about the different types of paint that could be made with random things around the planet. And wasn’t it neat, mom?

Ahsoka couldn’t help the infectious smile that pulled onto her lips as Shin explained her time on Alderaan; it was nice, seeing Shin get to experience just being a kid, something she was afraid of them going without when she decided that no one could keep them safe from the Imperials like Huyang and herself.

“Here, settle up, let me see that,” Ahsoka reached to take the datapad from loose hands and urged Shin to lean back against her front. It was awkward, finagling the datapad up and not bonking their head as their head tilted in confusion. Not one to have figured out the picture function on the device yet, Shin was left with ideas on new things to explore as they found themselves reflected back at them on the screen. “Smile, tazi unt!” Beaming, Shin managed not to blink as the shutter clicked, already reaching out for the device as Ahsoka lowered it to their lap, peering over a scrawny shoulder to catch the image. She looked happier than she could remember in a long time… Kriff, the last picture she could remember looking this happy for, Cody, Wolffe, and Bly had taken her to a commanders only night out on the town, after Rex deemed her too young to hang with the five-oh-first… Maybe she’d dig through the old pad for those pictures, later, of course.

Sweat raced down their temple, white plasma burned hot in the small face, and electronic yellowed eyes narrowed at her. “Solah!” Huyang called at last, as Shin’s saber struck entirely clear of the target he’d placed. They stumbled as he moved out of the way, thick padding of the training mat rising up to meet them as they feel.

Silver eyes squeezed shut, blade deactivating as their fingers curled tight around the saber in frustration. “Huyang, we should call it for today,” Ahsoka spoke from the corner of the training room, eyes flickering to the small human as they forced themselves up on shaking arms.

“She needs to be prepared if-” “I know, but there is time.” She soothed the droid, reaching to place a hand on his arm.

“I can do it!” Shin’s voice was thick and wet, biting back their frustration from the hours spent running velocities, movements that only grew sloppier the more they continued. When Ahsoka’s gaze fell on them, Shin had to fight the quiver from their lip. “Please. I know I’ll get it right this time!”

White paint smeared across a high cheekbone; this wasn’t the first time the mat had rushed up to meet them faster than their hands could stop the descent. “Perhaps it is best for young Tano to move on to the training remotes before we try the disarming maneuvers once more.” Huyang suggested, mechanical arms falling to his sides as he peered at his student.

“No, it’s okay, Huyang. Let’s run it again…” Shin perked up at this, though she could sense the catch coming. “But you’re taking a break right after, until after your evening meditation,” Huffing, Shin relented, switching saber hands so they could wipe sweaty palms against their tunic.

Form one was easy, in theory, but something itched at the back of Shin’s mind; these weren’t real combat techniques, they’d read all about them in their studies, and what more, they wouldn’t be used against another lightsaber weilder, yes, these were the basics, and yes, Shin knew they needed to grasp an understanding of it before they could continue, but they’d seen what the Imperials were doing to the world, now, heard stories of dark armored men wielding tortured kyber with the intent to hurt innocent people… She just couldn’t help but feel like they weren’t doing enough.

As Shin moved back to the center of the mat, Ahsoka stepped into their bubble, bringing their determined gaze to meet her own. “Go ahead and try Form Two, this time,” She relented, watching the way they lit up under her permission. “And remember, this is almost like our moving meditation sessions. Connect to the cosmic force, let it guide your body as you move. Do not remove yourself entirely from what is happening around you, but be mindful, the Force is flowing through you, we musn’t be stubborn boulders splitting it’s current.” A hand rested easily on her shoulder, the other moving to brush sweaty brunette bangs out of their eyes. “You’ve got this… kick that rust-bucket in the shebs.” The white saber ignited, kyber humming steadily in her palms as Huyang settled himself across the mat, cortosis lined arms extruding from his back as the low orange lights flickered to catch the trajectory of each blade strike.

Step one, two, three. One two three. One, two, strike! The air hissed as ozone burned under the arc of plasma that raced towards his arm. In short order, Shin was spinning the blade three hundred sixty degrees at their back, bodyweight turning on their heel, and head ducking to avoid a late swing to her head. The first jab was met with the hissing slide of metal resisting intense heat and a sound of muted surprise from the Professor, who hadn’t expected his charge to have much of any experience outside of form one. Sometimes, it paid to have Leia practice playing ‘soldiers’ with her, it seemed.

The Force buzzed at her fingertips, tingling in her bones as she went through movements. She could hear the scuttering and scraping of Huyang’s feet on the mat, slowly being pushed to the durasteel floor, but none of that mattered as they moved around his arms, slicing through his tracking devices, catching on saber-resistant metals. Any fatigue was burned off into the Force as they focused on the feeling that came with each jab and lunge, each twirl of the saber behind her back. Burning thighs were forgotten as they moved with the currents of the force, feeling it pass through her as its thousands of years of knowledge guided each move.

The velocities felt like second nature, and Shin moved almost like a Master that had been practicing her form for a lifetime. She caught his arm high in the air when he’d moved to disarm, keeping the droid locked above before pushing out with a burst of energy. Their body turned, breeze catching their hair as their fingers flexed along Ahsoka’s curved hilt. There was a push of something unnatural, someone pushing against her-

It was only when the disengaged emitter thunked against Huyang’s abdomen that Shin realized Ahsoka was the one pushing unnaturally against her in the force. Silver eyes blinked up at Huyang; If a droid could look startled, he certainly had. A metal hand wrapped slowly around their own, when did their hands start shaking? Would Huyang have died if Ahsoka didn’t stop them? Could droids die like this?

Thoughts spiralling, Shin gaped up at him. “You did well, young Tano. Exceptional form, however-” “Shin,” Ahsoka cut him off, she seemed worried, about what? Shin may have had an inkling. The woman’s mouth opened and closed, once, then twice, as Huyang extracted the shoto from clammy hands, allowing the child to turn towards the Master. “I..” She needed to find the best way to word herself; Shin wasn’t wrong, but Ahsoka wasn’t trying to raise another soldier, she was trying to train Shin to be a real Jedi, a peacekeeper, like they were meant to be. “You did very good. I’m proud of you… but perhaps we should study the approved points of contact once more. A move like that… it should be reserved as a last resort. There is no honor to be found in taking a life. We must avoid it whenever possible.”

Their weight shifted unsteadily between their feet, unsure of how to accept the praise. “But the Imperials… they’re bad, right?” Ahsoka hummed softly as she moved to Shin’s side, tucking them close against her, allowing mindless hands to wrap in the safety of her cloak for comfort. “Essentially, but no one is ever truly bad. Not really… Not always, and not forever. It is a path they walk, and oftentimes, for the larger population, they are being fed misinformation, their ignorance and fear is being twisted and manipulated, and people will do some horrible things in response to their fear, it is our duty to show them that there is something good in the galaxy, something worth fighting for. Everyone is redeemable, should they truly wish for it.”

“I understand,” They promised, allowing Ahsoka to sweep them up. The rest was much deserved, small body worn out from the exertion of the day and the intensity of giving themselves as wholly as they did to the force. As mother and daughter rested on the bench, Huyang settled himself across the pair, only speaking when he was sure Shin was asleep.

“You do understand that the Jedi Order would never allow her to continue training with her penchant for dipping into the dark side.” “Huyang… Being a Jedi like They were… It doesn’t work, not in this galaxy. Who knows what she’ll have to do to survive, when I’m not here to protect her. I can’t allow myself to be vain enough to believe… We’ve all had to make sacrifices, and decide what the Code means to us… It’s important, it’s everything I ever was, but Shin… She’s going to be more than that… I know you can feel it to.” “I am incapable of feelings, Lady Tano,” The ancient professor reminded as he set Ahsoka’s saber on the table, watching as Shin sunk further into Ahsoka’s side at the metallic clink of the saber being set back down.

“Sure,” She rumbled, a mournful smile pulling at her lips as she settled her weight back against the bench, quietly grunting as a mostly asleep human crawled the rest of the way into her lap, finding comfort in the softness in the warrior as the two settled back in.

Huyang shook his head, circuits buzzing in what counted as a whisper of attachments as he went to fix the metal in his arms that suffered under relentless blows.

#Shin Tano AU #Shin Hati #Ahsoka Tano #Huyang #Fanfiction #AU #ahsoka series #ahsoka

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