#riyo chuchi fan fiction

[sashketter]

The Captain and the Senator

Summary: Captain Rex and Senator Riyo Chuchi undertake the difficult task of building and running the Clone Underground and, in the process, begin a close relationship.

Warnings: Chapters labeled 🌶️ contain explicit sexual content.

Notes: This takes place during the events of The Bad Batch, in and around the episodes featuring Riyo Chuchi. As of now, it’s a work in progress, and I will update this list as each chapter is posted. The titles and amount of chapters are subject to change.

Truth and Consequences Revisited

Coruscant Covers 🌶️

Tipping Point to Pantora

Project Spycraft

Infiltration on Orto Plutonia 🌶️

Offerings to the Moon Goddess 🌶️

The Cavalry Deferred

Epilogue

[kotemf]

Gift wrap banner by: @the-little-moment.

My gift for @lonewolflupe for the @galactic-gift-gathering event is nothing else than a short fic about Commander Fox and his biggest love: caff. Your gift is belowthe cut, I hope you like it!

(Also, you can read this on Ao3 too)

Fox has always had a thing for caff.

He was a little older than eight standard years old when him and his batchmates decided to sneak out of their sleeping pods after the curfew and wandered to the mess hall. They were there for snacks but the moment Fox laid his gaze on a forgotten cup of the brown liquid on one of the tables, he couldn't look away. There was something about that brown liquid, something that made him take a sip.

There was no way to describe the taste, or the rush of contentment and energy that flooded Fox the moment he swallowed. And he knew in that moment that he wanted more.

His liking for caff hasn't changed. By the end of the war, he was drinking enough caff to show on a drug test.

And then the war ended, Fox was forced to quit his job of a commander until he recovered from the damage Palpatine did to him - not that he actually needed the time off but try explaining that to his overprotective batchmates - and along with his job, he list the option of stealing caff from the coffee machines in the senators' offices.

So he went and tried a coffee shop after coffee shop. And who knew caff could be even more delicious? Don't take him wrong, the plain black liquid he used to drink was good but it was nothing compared to pumpkin spice latte or strawberry creme frappuccino.

He didn't get why his batchmates laughed at his choice of drinks but then, his batchmates has always been weirdos. Fox didn't take it personally and brought them each a vanilla bean frappe with two pumps of raspberry syrup to their meeting in Wolffe's apartment.

"What's that?" Wolffe gave the plastic cup Fox just handed him a weird look. What was his problem? It was aesthetic!

"Looks kinda poisonous. Are you trying to kill us Fox'ika?" Cody joked. Asshole. Next time, Fox was getting him decaf.

"It's vanilla bean frappe with two pumps of raspberry syrup you moron."

"You know, maybe you could open a coffee shop," Rex snickered.

"You know what? I will."

"No, Fox, that was a joke! You can't just open a coffee shop!"

"Watch me."

Fox was nervous. He had exactly ten minutes and forty five- forty four- forty three- forty two- Alright, that's enough, he needed to calm down. He had approximately ten minutes before he opened his very first coffee shop. His worry was unnecessary. He was just opening his first ever coffee shop. What could go wrong?

Fox nervously sipped his iced matcha espresso as he watched the numbers on his watch change steadily. The drink was good. Surely his customers were going to agree. It was so good Fox ran out of the drink before he was supposed to open. He needed something to drink, something strong.

He was in the middle of the process of making a unicorn frappuccino when the door opened. Fox forced himself not to run away as he turned to his first ever customer. He was surprised to see senator Chuchi.

"Hi!" she greeted him cheerfully. She looked perfect as always, her blue skin glowy, robes carefully ironed without a hint of wrinkling, not a hair out of place... What was she doing in Fox's coffee shop. Not that it was Fox's business he was just curious. That... that didn't make it his business, right?

"Senator. What can I get you?"

"Surprise me."

Alright. Fox could do this. Caff was his job. No. No, caff was more. It was his life. He could make a good drink for a pretty senator.

Without even thinking about what he was doing, Fox started mixing ingredients in a cup. He started with some melted chocolate, added ice, almond milk, blueberry juice and mixed it well before pouring some well brewed coffee into it and topping it off with whipped cream and some heart shaped chocolate sprinkles. He looked at his creation. That wasn't any of the drinks on the menu. He did it all on instinct, without thinking. It didn't look bad, though. He handed it to the senator.

"Looks great. I don't remember seeing this one on the menu?"

"It's a... it's a special. Just for you," Fox stuttered.

He watched the senator take a sip. He hoped he mixed it well. An angry senator was the last thing he needed, especially when it was the one senator who treated the clones with respect. What was he even thinking, he should've just fixed her a regular latte with some extra cream and- "Wow. This is... I don't have words for this, this is the best drink I've ever had."

"Really?"

"Uh huh." The senator took another sip. Fox guessed he was lucky. "How much is it?"

A good question. "It's on the house," he blurted out.

"Thanks, Fox." The senator smiled at him. "I'll be back tomorrow!"

Fox watched the senator toss a generous amount of credits into the tip jar as she walked out of the shop. He was still busy wondering if she really just said his name. How did she recognize him? Kriff, how did she even know he had a name? He always went by CC-1010 when in the senate.

He was still pondering over that when he heard his batchmates snicker from the door. So they really came. Sweet.

"Are you going to be standing there or do you actually want to purchase something?" Fox asked impatiently. He was a barista, not a comedian. His job was to get people so hooked on caff he could live out of their orders, not making them laugh.

"Just basic blacks caff," Cody ordered.

"I will let you know that I offer a variety of different-"

"Black caff, vod," Cody asked again, the others following his example. His batchmates were the worst! Why couldn't they just all admit what drinks they really loved? Fox had no problem with admitting that his favorite drink was strawberry cream frappuccino.

"Of course." Fox rolled his eyes as he prepared each of his beloved batchmates a plain, boring coffee. "Two credits each."

"You're kidding, right?" Bly asked.

"No."

"You mean a senator gets a drink on the house and your batchmates don't?" Wolffe looked offended.

"The senator didn't get the most boring drink I offer, did she?"

"We are your batchmates!" Rex argued. It was ironic that it was him of all people, he wasn't even from the same batch, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and got kidnapped and later adopted by Cody. Not that Fox cared, no one was getting free drinks if they didn't at least order something interesting.

Fox's coffee shop turned out pretty well. Soon he had more customers than he could handle. Senator Chuchi kept coming every morning and sometimes in the evening as well. The command batch stopped by daily to order their plain coffee and then the di'kute returned alone later to order the drink they were embarrassed to admit they liked. The entire Coruscant Guard frequented the place as well as many other clones. Then there were Jedi and of course the regular citizens of Coruscant. To sum it up, the place was popular.

Fox was proud when he learned how well known his humble coffee shop was. Sure, his vode knew his shop. But nat-borns did too and that was a surprise. And it wasn't just some regulars who lived nearby, no. His coffee shop was a well known place! People would say they will meet at Fox's and their friends knew exactly where. Teenagers would buy caff just so they could spend an hour taking selfies with the cups and let the drink get cold. Fox couldn't be more happy. He loved caff and he loved making it for the citizens of Coruscant.

He heard the door open.

"Hey, Fox," Rex greeted him. He was the first one to return for his alone drink that day.

"Rex." Fox nodded at him. "The usual?"

"The usual."

Fox started making Rex's favorite espresso with milk, dragon fruit syrup, pink whipped cream, white chocolate topping and marshmallows. "Here you go." He handed Rex the cup and watched his vod'ika leave. He shook his head fondly. If only him and Fox's batchmates could admit they weren't all that much into boring, black caff, their lives would be much easier. It wasn't like they could laugh at each other. Rex loved milky espresso with dragon fruit, pink cream, white chocolate and marshmallows. Bly loved pumpkin spice latte. Cody loved affogato with cookie cream and two pumps of extra caramel. Wolffe's favorite was iced matcha tea latte with almond milk, raspberry syrup, seven extra pumps of dark chocolate, purple whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles. Fox didn't judge. His batchmates did but they didn't have the right too.

Fox was distracted by the door opening again. He looked up to see his favorite customer. He smiled. "Hi, Riyo. What can I get you today?"

She smiled back. "Surprise me." She always said that. It was more of a game at this point, she could've ordered any of the drinks Fox has served her in the past. But she seemed to enjoy the surprise and Fox liked the challenge of creating new and new delicious and aesthetic combinations.

"Of course."

[beskarthief]

Chapter 17 of the Star Wars fic "Order 65". The rest can be found here.

19 BBY, Coruscant, Coruscant Underworld

 Rex stared up at Cody above him, the blaster still level with his face. He was wearing civvies, and was a little unsteady on his feet, but the barrel of the blaster didn’t waver.

 “You didn’t survive.” Cody said again. “They put your name on the wall, Rex. There are records of the ship going down. I read them all. You died.”

 “I made it off the ship.” Rex said, slowly pushing himself up onto his elbows. The blaster stayed where it was. “Barely. But I did. Commander Tano helped me.”

 The blaster did waver then. “The Jedi are dead, Rex.”

 “If you don’t think I’m alive, then why do you keep using my name?”

 “You being alive and you being you are two different things.” Cody said, hand tightening on the blaster. “If you were going to arrest me, Stormtroopers would already be swarming this place. So you’re you. You’re just also dead.”

 “And how does that work?”

 “Simple. You’re not real.”

 Rex’ heart clenched as he took in his friend’s disheveled appearance, really took it in, for the first time. The wobble in his step, the open door of the bar behind him, the stench of alcohol that wafted out into the street.

 “How do I prove to you that I’m real?”

 “You can start by not bringing up ghosts.” the blaster finally lowered, Cody’s hand falling to his side. He pushed the hair out of his face. It had gotten long enough to fall into his eyes.

 “Commander Tano is alive.”

 “Even if she was, she’s not a commander of anything, anymore.”

 “It’s a sign of respect.”

 “It’s a lie.” Cody leaned against the wall of the alley, staring at him with his head tilted to the side.

 “I’m alive, and so is she.”

 “Stop making things up. Better yet, just go away.” Cody pressed a hand to his temple.

 Rex pushed himself to his feet, and when the blaster didn’t come up again, took a few steps towards his friend. He reached out a tentative hand and placed it on Cody’s shoulder. His brother jumped, looking up at him with wide eyes.

 “I’m real, Cody. I’m alive, and so is she.” Rex said again.

 And his brother’s eyes filled with tears. Rex had served most of his life alongside Cody. He’d always been one of the most put together people Rex knew; practical and grounded, able to put his emotions aside and get the job done. You had to be, to run a legion. You had to be able to bury the dead and move on, all in the same day.

 And some part of that person was still in there, fighting to keep it all under wraps. Rex could see it. But still a single tear traveled slowly down his cheek.

 “It’s really you?”

 “It’s really me.” Rex affirmed, wrapping his arms around his brother. The blaster clattered from Cody’s hand as he hugged him back.

 “It’s you. You’re real. You’re here” Cody said, quietly, into his shoulder.

 “I’m here, brother.”

 “How did you survive? I saw the holos of the ship going down-”

 “Commander Tano is alive. We escaped together. She helped me with my chip, just like I’m going to help you with yours.”

 Cody pulled away from him, confused. “Chip?”

 “Inhibitor chips.” Rex explained. “We were all fitted with them. The Kaminoans did it. I don’t know why, or who ordered it, but that’s how they made us do it. How they made us turn against the Jedi.”

 Cody stumbled away from him, nearly tripping on a broken bottle left lying in the alley. “What do you mean how they made us?”

 “Couldn’t you feel it?” Rex’s fists clenched at the mere memory of it. “The way those words wormed their way into your head? Forced your body to move even as your mind refused? I would never have fired on Commander Tano, you would never have-” His eyes widened with realization. The booze, the layer of stubble covering his usually clean shaven face, the haunted look in his brother’s eyes.

 The broken look. 

 You’re not real. You can start by not bringing up ghosts. The Jedi are dead, Rex.

 “Cody, that wasn’t you.” Rex told him. 

 The bond between the clones and their Jedi generals had always been strong. Rex would have died for General Skywalker or Commander Tano in a heartbeat. The same way he would have for any of his men. They were some of the few outsiders that were like brothers to them. Their brothers and sisters in arms.

 Rex couldn’t imagine what it would have felt like if he’d hurt Commander Skywalker. If he’d been the one to pull the trigger and-

 But Cody had always been close with General Kenobi. Closer than he should have been, maybe. There were rules. Cody usually followed rules. He lived and breathed them. Or he had, anyway. Before all of this. But Rex had seen the way he looked at the General. If-

 “That wasn’t you.” he repeated, but Cody just took another step back, shaking his head.

 “Who else could it have been?”

 “The Emperor. The Empire. Whoever was pulling the strings of this whole kriffing war. It was all for nothing, Cody. All the battles, all the deaths.” he reached out and took his brother by the shoulders, shaking him. “But it wasn’t you. Whatever happened, whatever you think you did, that wasn’t you.”

 “What does it matter who it was?” Cody looked up at him, eyes wide and horrified, voice dropping low. “He’s dead.”

 Rex squeezed his shoulder. He didn’t know what else to do. What to say.

 Eventually Cody took a deep breath, shrugging him off and going to pick up his blaster from where it had fallen. He shoved it back into it’s holster. “If you’re right, and there is some way for them to… to control me again. Then let’s get it out.”

 His hands were shaking. Rex didn’t mention it.

 “Alright. Let’s go.”

[redroverrider]

For Fox

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44932879

“For Fox.” Riyo whispered, eyeing the door that was now just meters away. The scream of her last remaining guard was still echoing in her mind. 

The blaster rifle kept ringing out, followed in split seconds by the bolts lighting up the machinery around her, each one coming closer to her than the last. At last she reached the door, pulling on it as hard as she could, only to find that it would not budge. She would need to try and find another way out of here.

“Do not try. Do.” She thought to herself, running back through the building, with no idea where she was going. “You may have lost Fox, but you can still save his brothers from being lost, too.”

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

It had all played right into the Emporer’s hands. All their hard work, all their efforts to give the clones a better life ahead of them, and all of it would only give more power to Palpatine. 

The same man, Riyo realized, who had Fox and his brothers under his control the whole time. And the one person whom Fox feared. 

Riyo remembered all the times Fox had mentioned his name to her. She remembered him saying that he would give his life to protect him. But yet every time he was called to report to him, she could sense him trembling nervously, his normally deep voice growing quiet, his hands shaking as he put his helmet back on. 

She remembered all the comments Fox would make to her about his fallen brothers, rising crime, and growing hostility among both senators and citizens. How he expressed concern to her about the Chancellor’s seeming indifference to all of it. Only to immediately push that concern away, assuring himself that the Chancellor knew the needs of the Republic best, and Fox was there to serve him, not the other way around. 

She thought about all of Fox’s hard work, and all of his loyalty to both those he served, and those who served him.

And she remembered Fox telling her how much he admired her for always standing up for what she thought was right. 

Echo’s voice brought her back from her thoughts. “The fate of all the clones is now sealed, because of us.” Bitterness colored his voice. “What’s gonna happen to them?”

“I don’t know,” Riyo admitted. “But I will keep fighting for the clones. You all deserve the same rights as every citizen.”

She bent down to Omega and looked the female clone in her bright, young eyes.

“I won't give up.” she said.

And she looked around at the rest of the men who faintly shared Fox’s face. 

“Just like Fox never did.” She thought to herself.

[kotemf]

I need a fic!!!

Zootopia, but it's a buddy cop adventure with Commander Fox and Senator Riyo Chuchi as they uncover the truth of order 66 and the destruction of Kamino. And there is a lot of stigma against the Clones after Order 66 and they fight together for clone rights.

[odetotano]

a riyo outfit i’ll probably use in my fic if i ever bother to write it (in link tree). the is fit based off some concept art for padme’s handmaidens i believe. fitting since her original design was also one of padmes scrapped ones :)

[wildhoneyprose]

Wild Honey Masterlist

Stories Of Rebellion Series:

Subterfuge - Rexsoka (Rebel Spies / Friends to Lovers)

I Just See You - Riyo/Wolffe (Post Foxiyo Riwolffe Hurt/Comfort)

Better Left Forgotten- Gregor/Kiki(oc) (Set during chapter 6 of Subterfuge)

With Respect - Gregor/Kiki (Short fluffy one-shot)

Deadlines and Distractions - Rexsoka (Fluffy, established relationship one-shot)

Rexsoka One Shots and Short Fics:

To Find A Home - Rexsoka (Post Order 66 Fluff)

When The War Is Over - Rexsoka (Fix-it Fluff)

Coming Home - Rexsoka (Modern AU Multi-Chapter)

Heart of Valor - Rexsoka (Fantasy AU)

Soldiers and Senators Series:

Of Soldiers and Senators - Foxiyo (Multi-Chapter Fic)

Don't Cry Pretty Girl - Thire and Ariya (Thariya Fluff)

Strength of Character - Anidala / Thornidala (Angsty MCD Fix-it. Anakin is a hero. Thornidala set up)

Medal of Honor - Foxiyo (Foxiyo baby/Family Fluff)

Interruption - Foxiyo (short and fluffy)

Foxiyo One-Shots and Short Fics:

Caf: The Sixth Love Language - Foxiyo (Fluff/Crack)

The Last Dance - Foxiyo (Senate Gala Pining and Fluff)

Leap Of Faith - Foxiyo (Action/Fluff)

Unrequited - Foxiyo (Angst, Hurt No Comfort)

Fracture - Foxiyo (Pining and Fluff)

Home Is You And Me Together - Foxiyo (Domestic Fluff)

Hold Me Close - Foxiyo (Pining and Fluff)

Other Shorts and One-Shots:

Neon Rain - Blyla (Pining and Fluff)

Always Be Your Fool - Thornidala (Short fluffy drabble)

Closer Than A Brother Series:

Three Shinies Walk Into A Security Control Room - OC Coruscant Guard Shinies and Foxiyo (Crack/Fluff)

That's What Brothers Are For - Rex and Cody (Found Family Fluff)

Fox Regrets - Fox and Thorn (Brotherly Hurt/Comfort)

Lovesick - Kix and Rex and Rexsoka (Crack/Fluff)

That One Time Captain Rex Went Viral - Echo, Fives, Rex and Ahsoka (Crack/Fluff)

Tales From Grand Republic High Series:

Muse - Foxiyo (Modern High School AU Fluff)

[space-blue]

Tried to help a friend in need... Wrote my first Foxiyo and gifted it to her, because that's how you make life better, yes.

Rating : Mature

Pairing : CC-1010 | Fox/Riyo Chuchi

Characters : Fox, Cody, Bly, Neyo, Wolffe, Rex, Riyo Chuchi

Summary : Fox listens to his brothers as they harp about their Jedi and simmers. He has someone too, but not a Jedi, not even a civilian he could introduce to them, no. Fox has a secret. One he wishes he didn't have to keep...

[labrats-and-clonetroopers]

Request Guidelines

Fandoms I Write For:

Star Wars 

The Prequels, The Original Trilogy, The Sequels, Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Tales of the Jedi, The Clone Wars, Kenobi, Rebels, Andor, The Mandalorian, Darth Plagueis (by James Luceno), Book of Boba Fett, Visions*

Star Trek

Enterprise, Discovery*, The Original Series*, Alternate Original Series, The Next Generation*, Voyager*, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Generations, Picard*

Lab Rats, Mighty Med, Lab Rats: Elite Force

Roswell (1999), Roswell High* (by Melinda Metz)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Captain America, Agents of Shield*, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Agent Carter, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, WandaVision, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

*I have not finished watching all the episodes/movies/read all the books within this series. Thus I may not be familiar with a specific character or context in your request. I will do my best to write your request as best as I can though

——————

Note: NOT all the types of content I post I will take requests for. Right now, I do takes requests for fan-fiction and head-canons. 

Reader Insert

Reader must be gender neutral and of unspecified sexuality 

No smut/NSFW

No poly relationships

For romantic/potentially romantic inserts, character must be a teenager or adult. Keep requests pertaining to minors age appropriate and no minors x adults. Also, no romantic master x padawan relationships, even if the padawan is an adult.

Character x Character (Romantic)

Only for the following pairings (I do write for a lot more pairings, even ones I don’t like, but these are the few that I feel comfortable enough to take requests for. As time goes on I will update this list, adding to or removing). No smut/NSFW

Jonathan Archer x T’Pol [Star Trek: Enterprise]

Ahsoka Tano [Star Wars] x Chase Davenport [Lab Rats/Elite Force]

Kanan Jarrus x Hera Syndulla [Star Wars: Rebels]

Riyo Chuchi x Commander Fox [Star Wars]

Leo Dooley x Janelle [Lab Rats]

Bree Davenport x Oliver [Lab Rats/Mighty Med/Elite Force]

General/Other

No modern AUs or anything that would erase the sci-fi genre (what if? AUs, fix-it AUs or just canon bending are fine though)

Crossovers between above fandoms are fine.

Requests involving platonic dynamics between characters are also fine.

Please leave your requests in my inbox. They do not have to be given in any particular format. I do have a list of writing prompts (& Writing Prompts List 2, Fall Writing Prompts , Christmas Writing Prompts  ) should you be inclined to use one or more in your request. 

[sashketter]

Dancing The Blues Away

Summary: Padmé Amidala convinces Riyo Chuchi to go out dancing. They bump into a few men from the 501st, including Captain Rex and ARC trooper Echo. Padmé leaves Riyo with the clones. Years later, Rex, Echo, and Riyo reminisce about that night.

Word count: 2.3K

Warnings: Mentions of Anidala. Hints of Echiyo and Rexiyo.

Notes: This starts during the Clone Wars and jumps ahead immediately after season 3 episode 15 of The Bad Batch, “The Calvary Has Arrived.” I can’t get over Echo’s throwaway line about Riyo sheltering clones on Pantora (THE QUEEN THE ABSOLUTE LEGEND THAT SHE IS). I figured that can’t be the only time she’s surrounded by our boys.

Growl, growl, growl, growl.

Riyo Chuchi looks up from the packet on her desk. She stares in disbelief at the clock on the wall. She had missed dinner, and her stomach was protesting. She starts to remember her guards offering to fetch her food hours ago, but she had dismissed and ordered them to fetch their own meals instead. She reaches for her comlink when soft knocks land on her door.

“Come in.” Riyo’s voice cracks from disuse, so long had she been poring over papers in silence. She stands to greet her visitor. “Senator Amidala!”

“Good evening, Senator Chuchi.” Padmé opens and stands next to the door, her hand still on the knob. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all. Please come in.” Riyo gestures towards the two seats in front of her desk. As Padmé crosses the floor, a gloved hand from the hall reaches for the doorknob and closes the door quietly. “I’ve almost finished reading the revised refugee bill. Did you have something to add?”

“No, I think we’ve covered everything.” Padmé sits and takes in Riyo’s desk, bare of trimmings except a simple, gold lamp on the corner. “It’s a shame it’s taken so long for the Republic to provide aid to those displaced on the Outer Rim. I’m glad you decided to co-sponsor it.”

“Of course.” Riyo sits back down. “Naboo has been an inspiration to those like myself and a few in our moon’s Assembly who wish to take Pantora in a more active and humanitarian direction.”

Padmé nods and smiles at the compliment, but immediately changes direction. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t come to discuss legislation or diplomacy. Are you busy tonight?”

Riyo blushes. “Oh! Um, well, I had hoped to study the bill further in case the opposing—”

“We have the votes, Riyo,” Padmé soothes. “There’s not much the opposition can do.”

Riyo looks down at the packet and searches for another strategy. She doesn’t want to turn down the senator, but her body is screaming for sleep and sustenance.

Padmé senses Riyo’s hesitation and tries again. “It’s just we’ve been stuck in the Senate district for days, ironing out this bill, and I think we both deserve a break.”

“I agree,” Riyo concurs a little too quickly. “But I’m afraid I skipped dinner, and I don’t think I’ll make good company before—”

“Then it’s settled! Dinner it is.” Padmé is up and at the door in the blink of an eye. “I’ll meet you at your quarters in an hour.” She turns the door knob before whirling back around to clarify, “Oh, and don’t wear anything too fancy.”

Riyo blinks in confusion. “Why?”

~~~

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this, Padmé.” Riyo tugs at the hem of her dress as they cross the busy street. They land on an even busier sidewalk.

“Nonsense. A little music and some dancing won’t hurt.” Padmé manages to outpace Riyo’s guards who are losing their breaths trying to keep the two senators in sight. “Think of it as a treat after all our hard work.”

Riyo lost count of the number of levels they’d descended searching for whatever destination Padmé had in mind. She had simply said, “Trust me,” after dinner before grabbing Riyo by the wrist and venturing into Coruscant’s perpetual darkness. Each turn around a blind corner seems to reveal a new shade of neon lights, a deeper depth of dampness clinging to the walls, a more pungent smell of different species packed tight.

After what feels like a full rotation to Riyo, Padmé stops in front of a nondescript building. No signs, no crowds. Blue neon light bathes the alley from above the sole door. If not for the low thrum of the music within, Riyo would’ve thought these durasteel walls were empty.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Riyo looks at her guards who start to station themselves.

Padmé looks around until she spies some graffiti. “Yes. Senator Mothma said to look for that.” She points to an imperceptible rendering of a lotus blossom to the right of the door frame. It glows a faint blue. Riyo admires the simplicity of the blacklight above. “She used to come here as a junior senator, said it was safe and out of the way.”

Inside is only marginally brighter than outside, though with significantly more people per square meter. Padmé spots the bar at a distance and starts towards it. Riyo follows close behind, looking around the crowded floor before colliding into the senator’s back. She peers around her at the unmistakable armor of a trooper.

“Captain Rex?” The clone turns at the sound of his name and faces Padmé. His eyebrows shoot up in shock. “What are you doing here?”

“Senator!” He starts to stand at attention until he spies Riyo. “Uh, senators.” He plants his feet and points his thumb behind him. “Uh, some of the boys thought 79s was getting old and stuffy.”

“No, I mean what are you doing here on Coruscant?” Nearby patrons start to recognize Padmé’s voice. Elbows jab and eyes turn for quick glances; Rex’s peripheral vision serves him well. “I thought the 501st was on a mission to Saleucami.”

“Yes, we were. But you know General Skywalker, he—” Rex stops abruptly, eyes bulging, and blushes impossibly red. Padmé smirks and steps in to save the captain’s decorum.

“Let me guess: he saved the day and cut your stay short.” She shakes her head in amusement.

Rex clears his throat but finds himself coughing. “Y-yes, ma’am.”

“How long will you be on Coruscant?” Padmé somehow stretches the question several syllables longer.

“Just for tonight. We received orders as soon as we landed to support General Gallia in the Mid Rim. We leave at 0900.” Rex doesn’t miss the senator’s surprise.

“I see. Excuse me,” Padmé plans her escape, “have you met Senator Chuchi?”

Rex and Riyo exchange nods. “We’ve met. Senator.”

“Captain. Padmé, what—” A small hand and a passing group shove Riyo into Rex’s chest. His hands fly up to her arms to reestablish a respectable distance between them.

“I’m so sorry, Riyo,” Padmé starts to back away towards the exit, “but I need to— um—”

“Prepare for a briefing?” Rex raises an eyebrow and employs her and the general’s code word.

“Y-yes. My apologies, Riyo, really. I-I promise I’ll make it up to you.” Padmé disappears into the anonymous crowd. “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

Riyo stares in shock at being abandoned in the lower levels. She turns around and finds Rex pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Are you alright, captain?”

“Uh, yes, ma’a—uh, senator.”

“You don’t have to entertain me if—” She stops and squints at Rex. “How long have they roped you into their dates?”

Once again, Rex is caught off-guard to the amusement of the senator in front of him. “I, uh, I-I’m not sure what you—”

“Never mind.” Riyo doesn’t want to torture the man. “It’s none of my business.”

“Hey, Rex!” The captain looks over his shoulder as it’s enveloped by the hand of another trooper. The clone takes in Riyo with interest. “Hello there, sweetheart. Listen, if the captain here’s not showing you a good time, I—”

“Stow it, Hardcase,” Rex sneers. “The senator doesn’t want to hear your sithspit.”

Before Riyo can ease the tension, a voice from behind her chirps, “Senator Chuchi?”

Riyo turns around to a wall of white and blue armor. She recognizes the ARC trooper designation of the clone’s double pauldrons. “Yes?”

A second ARC trooper elbows the first. “Aiming a little high there, Echo.”

“What? No, I just—” Echo starts to double back. “I mean, not that I wouldn’t, but—” He lurches forward when the second ARC trooper slaps his back with a dull thud.

“Gentlemen, please.” Riyo is surrounded. She spies Rex start to laugh at her own befuddlement.

“Stand down, men.” The captain steps in. “Let the senator gain her bearings.” He puts a gentle hand on her back and leads her towards the bar. As they gain some distance, Riyo catches the sound of plastoid meeting plastoid before Echo growls, “You’re a karking sack of bantha fodder, Fives!”

Rex deposits Riyo on a stool before taking the seat to her left. “Sorry about that, senator. We don’t get a lot of opportunities to,” he searches for a less provocative word, “decompress.”

“No need to apologize, captain.”

The bartender ambles up to them. “The usual, Rex?”

“Yeah, thanks, Slice.”

Riyo recognizes the bottle as Slice pours a generous amount. “I’ll have the same.”

“Really?” Rex takes his glass and watches the bartender fill another. “I wouldn’t have thought you liked brandy.”

Twin glasses in hand, the captain and the senator toast and take big swigs. “Pantoran distilleries aren’t as famous as Corellia’s,” Riyo raises her glass to the light, “but we still make a good bottle.” She blinks at Rex above the rim of her glass and takes another mouthful. She suddenly remembers that she had had two glasses of wine at dinner with Padmé. She regrets the show of bravado and hopes her stomach won’t betray her.

They turn to face the crowd in time to see the second ARC trooper from before march up to the bar. A playful smirk wrinkles his eyes as he makes a beeline for the senator. He bows before her ceremoniously, his head nearly level with her lap, and raises his right hand to her. She puts her hand in his and turns to send a confused look at Rex who’s already shaking his head. The ARC trooper’s fingers curl around hers, and he looks up. “Care for a dance, senator?”

Riyo smiles wide. “What’s your name, trooper?”

“CT-5555, but they call me—”

“A real pain in my ass,” Rex bellows. The bar erupts in laughter.

Riyo’s sympathy starts to flare until Fives aims a finger gun with his free hand at Rex and winks. “Only to the best ass in the GAR, brother.”

The bar roars even louder. Rex rolls his eyes and turns to the bartender for another drink, blocking fists to his back and shoulders.

The force of Riyo’s laugh almost knocks her off her stool, her outstretched hand already disrupting her balance, but Fives straightens up and takes her other hand in his, steadying her.

“Don’t fall for me yet, senator.” Fives steps closer to balance her forearm on his.

Riyo laughs. “I suppose I can stand to—”

“Not sure you can stand at all, ma’am.” A new clone flanks her from the right. Riyo recognizes the medic by the insignia on his spaulder.

“I-I’ll be fine, trooper, thank you.” She looks up at Fives. “Unless you’ve gotten cold feet.”

Fives smiles broadly and swings her around to the dance floor. Riyo’s head spins, but the ARC trooper gives her all the support she needs. The rest of the night is a blur of flashing lights and reassuring baritones and white armor. She dances with Echo who keeps his kit to himself. She dances with Rex who keeps a hand on hers and twirls her around. She even dances with Hardcase whom Rex and Fives have to peel off her shoulders when his fifth shot of tihaar hits him hard. Between the warm treatment of the troopers and the lingering effects of the wine and brandy, Riyo floats. Her skin fizzes, and her mind empties of the galaxy, replaced by the simple desire to remain in the company of the clones.

~~~

Riyo sits on a crate and waits for the caf to finish brewing on the busy table next to her. From a distance, she watches her guards distribute food and water to the prisoners scattered in groups of twos and threes across the small airfield. Rex and Echo make their way to each group. At the edge of the Remora’s platform, the female clone speaks to Howzer whose face flickers between horror and curiosity.

Sunset drapes over Pantora. Pink and purple meet in the sky while the city past the airfield is cloaked in silhouette. The air starts to chill, but the atmosphere is filled with warm relief. Tantiss is destroyed, its prisoners freed, and a glimmer of hope spreads with Emerie’s arrival and intel. Riyo looks on with pride.

Rex and Echo start towards the caf table. Riyo stands as they reach her. “Good work, you two.” She’s always eager to comfort them.

“It’s a start.” The clones nod at each other, a shared thought voiced by Echo.

Without warning, music warbles out of the airfield’s PA system. The three turn towards the communications tower where they see Gregor wave and give a thumbs up. He bends to speak into a microphone. “It’s a party tonight, boys! You’re free men! Woohoo!”

Cheers and laughter drift through the airfield. In the distance, Riyo spies the city’s lights come on, a blessing on their festivities.

“Not exactly Lotus, is it?” Rex smirks down at Riyo. On her other side, Echo is simply stunned.

Riyo looks up at Rex. A hazy memory from a lifetime ago starts to sharpen. She remembers him escorting her to a waiting taxi away from the club, her guards securing the sidewalk. She thought they were alone and had left the other clones back inside until a chorus of jeers and laughter erupted behind them. Hardcase and the ARC troopers had run to catch up. “That was a fun night,” she recalls, surprised at the details coming back to her.

“The boys never let me live it down.” Rex crosses his arms. “For awhile, my kit was covered in blue lipstick every time I got out of the fresher.”

Riyo smiles fondly at the image of Fives and Hardcase pressing blue-painted lips to Rex’s armor. She looks between Rex and Echo and at the clones celebrating and marvels at how far they’ve all come since that night.

“It should’ve been purple,” Echo interjects, “but I could only find blue.”

Rex chokes on a curse, and Riyo bursts into laughter. She doubles over, clutching her sides and gasping for breath, while Echo blocks Rex’s punches over her head. For awhile, Rex finds a single stain of purple lips on his helmet every time he debriefs the senator.

[beskarthief]

Chapter 12 of the Star Wars fic "Order 65". The rest can be found here.

19 BBY, Coruscant, Coruscant Underworld

 Rex was surprised to see the Senator back so soon. After hearing her talk about… him and all the watchful eyes up top, he’d expected her to stay away, at least for a little while. Lay low and offer the risky business of ferrying them supplies to one of her guards.

 Rex smiled a bit at the sight of her carrying crates onto the ship. Sometimes he forgot there were still good ones out there; willing to get their hands dirty and do their share of the work. 

 “Captain!” Chuchi called, catching sight of him as he stepped off his own ship. She set the crate she’d been carrying down with a small grunt of effort, wiping the back of one hand across her forehead. “Was your mission a-” 

 She broke off as Howzer and the others came into view behind him, following Rex down the ramp and into the landing bay. Her smile widened, and Rex let the elation of a successful mission buoy him for a moment.

 “Things are looking up, Senator.” he said. “Drixx’s intel was right. And we might have gotten another lead.” 

 Rex nodded to Echo, who was still clutching the data stick in his hand. 

 “We’ve got somebody who can crack this, no problem.” Rex told her. “At this rate we might actually be able to take the fight to the Empire.”

 “I knew you’d be able to.” Chuchi smiled, hefting the crate up again as she turned to Howzer and the others. “I’ll get this inside and then I’ll get out some food. You all must be famished.”

As she hurried off to finish loading the transport, Rex turned back to the others, offering to help them down the ramp and guiding them over to a clear spot on the floor of the bay where they could rest.

 “Some setup you’ve got here, Rex.” Howzer said, looking around.

 “Empire might think it's through with us, but they’ve got no idea what’s coming.”

 “Well, I know I for one am ready to take the fight to those bastards.” Howzer shook his head. “Half my men gone to who knows where because we didn’t turn on our own and the people we fought beside.”

 He sighed “I thought this war was over, Rex.”

 “Starting to think wars don’t end.” Rex said with a sigh of his own, sitting beside him and leaning back against one of the crates. “They just change faces.”

 “Maybe.” Howzer said, watching as Chuchi offered food to what remained of his men. “But at least we’re not alone in the fight. Maybe it could end. If we do it right.”

 “We were never alone.”

 “I’m not talking about our brothers.”

 “Neither am I.” Rex replied. “The Jedi-”

 “The Jedi betrayed us.”

 Images of General Skywalker and Commander Tano flashed through Rex’s mind. “They didn’t. They would never. You don’t know them like I do.”

 “Then where are they, Rex?” Howzer asked, and Rex couldn’t argue with that. “Even if they didn’t betray us, they abandoned us.”

 “We didn’t give them much of a choice.”

 They lapsed into silence, Rex’s thoughts wandering to where his general might be. He knew he was alive out there, somehow. It didn’t matter that he’d been on Coruscant when the temple was destroyed; General Skywalker was fine. For them to stand a chance, he had to be.

 In the end, they all settled in fine. It wasn’t long before Howzer and the others were helping to load the transport with supplies; getting everything ready for the transfer to the new base. Rex couldn’t help but think about what Howzer had said, though. Where were the Jedi? He refused to think they’d have abandoned them. That they really thought the clones who had fought loyally beside them for so long could turn on them in an instant. They must have known, he thought. The way Ahsoka had known. Known that something was wrong. That this wasn’t them.

 But if they knew, then where were they?

 Rex didn’t want to think about the alternative. That maybe there really were no Jedi left.

 “Captain?” a tap on his arm pulled Rex back into the present, and he turned to look at Chuchi. She offered him a tired smile.

 “I believe that's the last of it. I should be getting back.”

 “Thank you, Senator.” he said, and he meant it. “For everything.” 

 “It’s the least I can do.” she said, just like she always did. But then her expression turned businesslike again. “I’ll keep in touch with Drixx, pass along any intel we can gather.”

 Rex nodded his thanks, clambering up onto the shuttle. He couldn’t say he would miss Coruscant, but he felt something as the ramp began to climb up behind him. It hadn’t been home in a while. Rex hadn’t had a home in a while. None of them had.

 “And Captain!” Chuchi’s voice echoed from below and Rex glanced back down at her. She smiled. “Stay safe.”

 It was the last time he’d see her until the war was ending.

[shinyasahalo]

Thoughts (5/24/20)

I read the beginning of a fan fiction today because it had Riyo Chuchi and I made the mistake of not reading the tags, and once again I am reminded that a part of the problem with romance is that many women don’t know how to write a hetero relationship that doesn’t portray problematic male behavior as romantic.  Blackmailing someone into kissing you is not sexy.  

[sashketter]

The Captain and the Senator

Chapter 2 - Coruscant Covers

Summary: Riyo Chuchi shelters Rex and Echo in her senatorial living quarters for the night. With Echo fast asleep, Rex confronts Riyo about the danger she’s in, and sexy time ensues.

Word count: 4.2k

Warning: Porn With Plot. Starts with angst, continues with sexy times, ends with fluff. Oral (M and F receiving), fingering, PiV, unprotected sex (no glove, no love), creampie, cockwarming.

Notes: This take place after season 2 episode 8 of The Bad Batch, “Truth and Consequences.” It’s my first attempt at writing something spicy, and it, uh... got away from me lol This can be read as a standalone separate from the series. However, subsequent sexy times in the series will build off this chapter.

Chapter 1 - Table of Contents - Chapter 3

“Senator, a word?” Rex’s voice rumbles close behind her.

Riyo places a blanket over a lightly snoring Echo, prone and peaceful on her sofa. Rex had insisted that the corporal shower first after the senator. He had arrived at the apartment hours earlier, after all, and the captain wanted a chance to do his own sweep of the premises. Echo fell asleep as soon as he changed clothes.

Rex stood bare-chested with a Pantoran guard’s purple pants hanging loosely around his waist. A damp towel hung over his left shoulder.

Riyo pivots to face him. “Of course,” she whispers. Rex turns and misses her blush lavender.

Despite Rex’s misgivings about staying with the senator, he was grateful for the change in pace and scenery. He had spent countless rotations frantically hiding his movements, scurrying between the Outer and Mid Rims and scavenging sources in dark corners while subsisting almost exclusively on caf. It all blurred together in a sleepless haze. He more than welcomed having the Pantoran guards relieve him of watch duty while he enjoyed the use of a ready fresher. Riyo’s apartment was modest compared to other senators’, but it was luxurious to the clones who had been on the run since the fall of the Republic.

Riyo follows Rex down the hall. The door to the fresher is open, steam still clinging to the mirror and drifting above her head. Rex pops his arm inside quickly to discard the towel on the vanity and turn off the light. Something about the movement strikes the senator, his seeming familiarity with her surroundings, and she wonders idly if he’s known apartments like hers before. She shakes her head at the thought of Rex off-duty, her focus landing instead on the muscles on his back as they twist and go taut on their way to her bedroom. She looks down and tries to rub the heat from her cheeks.

Rex walks through the double doors and holds one side open for Riyo. She smells her soap on him as she passes. She walks to the bedside table on the left and turns on the two lamps on either side of her bed, their low warmth contrasting with the cool lights of Coruscant glowing through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Rex faces and closes the doors quietly. “Senator, we appreciate your help,” he starts cautiously, “but you need to trust my judgment on this.” His shoulders hunch as he looks down and rubs the back of his head.

Riyo blinks in surprise. “On what exactly?”

He turns around to look at her, eyebrows furrowed on the edge of anger. “I know you don’t think my presence here is necessary, but you’re in greater danger than you realize.” His voice is low and gruff. “The emperor wanted you to expose Rampart. That was his plan. He was using you, and now you’re a loose end.” For a brief moment, Rex remembers when he himself had been unwittingly used against his brothers and winces at the memories of Umbara.

Riyo hadn’t thought ahead to what the consequences of her actions might be. She had only hoped to provide the clones with some amount of justice. Now knowing the depth of the emperor’s cunning and forethought, she wonders how far he would go to keep her from revealing more.

She sits at the foot of the bed, her hands on her knees. “What could he do? The Senate would never stand—"

“The Senate doesn’t need to know for the emperor to act.” Rex enunciates each word like stubborn nails to be hammered home hard. His stare is cold steel.

Riyo flinches. She remembers friends and colleagues who had faced threats to their lives because of their political stances. Padmé, Onaconda, the Duchess of Mandalore, even Bail – all bore the bouts and bruises with dignity. Still, she always looked on in shock and horror that such brutality could exist at the center of a centuries’ old republic. Never could she have imagined that she herself could be caught in the crosshairs of the highest ruling member of the government she serves.

Rex watches the senator contemplate his words. He hadn’t meant to upset her, but he can see fear start to creep into her face. Before he could move to comfort her, she stands and crosses the floor to him.

She’s all determination, her voice as firm as his. “I said I wouldn’t give up.” She stops just a hair’s breath away from him. She pulls herself up to her full height and stares up into the captain’s eyes. “I appreciate all that you’ve done for me, Rex. I can’t thank you enough for saving my life.” Rex starts to shake his head, but she puts a hand up to stop him. “I apologize if I seemed to question your counsel before, but I can’t ask you to put yourself in more danger just for me.” Tears start to blur her vision, so she takes a deep breath to collect herself and raises her chin. “After all you and the clones have sacrificed, it’s my turn to protect you.”

Rex freezes in surprise. He had expected her to say something about fighting or putting herself in danger for him and was ready to counter, but this was a different tack. This wasn’t a reckless inversion of their duties or a desperate attempt to lash out at him or the emperor or anyone else standing in her way. This was care and reciprocation. This was a clear declaration of her intentions as a senator and an assumption of responsibility as another living being – something more than a soldier and a politician in a mutually beneficial arrangement. This was loyalty.

Rex stands for what feels like a lifetime. Unsure of his thoughts, Riyo instinctively reaches out to comfort him and meets the bare warmth of his abdomen. Her fingers pull back, but not fast enough. Rex catches her hand. Eyes fixed on her knuckles, he brings them up to his lips and kisses the backs of her fingers. He had meant it as a gesture of gratitude, something he’d seen his Jedi general do several times with high-ranking women, but he feels Riyo’s breath hitch. He catches her eyes glow darker with something more than surprise. Testing her nerve and looking for his own, he closes his eyes and turns her palm to cup the side of his face, his hand warm over hers. Riyo holds her breath as she watches him. Eons pass before he opens his eyes.

For the second time in half a rotation, Rex reconsiders Riyo Chuchi. During the war, she had been just another politician to him; one of the good ones, he had decided. While it was true that they had technically known each other for a long time, they were never close and had no reason to be. Their disparate duties kept them apart, him on the battlefield and her on the Senate floor. In this respect, not much had changed. But the galaxy had, more than they could imagine, and it was forcing them to change in ways they couldn’t predict. Adapt and survive. With this in mind, Rex was ready to take the next step.

Riyo never saw brown as bright and fiery as in Rex’s eyes. She searches his gaze and finds a mix of fear and determination, but no hesitation. Gravity seems to lurch as she steps into him and his hand reaches for the back of her head. Their mouths meet in a muffled moan. His stubble scratches her cheeks, but his warm lips and probing tongue soothe any anxieties she might have had just a moment ago. All the danger in the galaxy could wait while the captain and the senator seal their alliance.

Rex makes quick work of the buttons on her loose pajama top. Featherlight fingertips push the periwinkle fabric off her shoulders, and he brings her to equal his state of undress. His right hand finds the nape of her neck, his left the side of her waist, and he pulls her back into a slow, tender kiss. Her hands move down his forearms and reach for his chest, looking for purchase and finding only unyielding muscle. Unable to grasp him, she hooks a finger into the waistband of his pants and walks them both towards the bed. His hands leave her face and trail after her own waistband. He keeps his breath on her lips, not wanting to break contact. She sits down when the backs of her legs hit the edge of her mattress.

Wasting no time, Riyo rids Rex of his trousers and comes back up to do the same with his briefs. He stops her with a hand over hers.

“Wait,” Rex pants, his head swimming. “Senator, you don’t have to–”

“Call me Riyo, Rex,” she says softly. She frees her hand and works his briefs down to meet the purple fabric already around his ankles. “Please.”

Before Rex could breathe her name, she grabs him midshaft and places his head in her warm and waiting mouth. She pinches her lips as his frenulum meets the flat of her tongue, and he moans raggedly at the sensation.

Riyo quickly finds her rhythm and bobs in earnest. Her hand covers where her mouth can’t reach, and her wrist twists with each pass. She hollows her cheeks and sucks hard, breathing tightly through her nose. She lays her tongue flat against the underside of his shaft, and her mouth waters as her tongue explores every bump and vein. Wet, sucking sounds fill the air and grow louder to match Rex’s low moans. Eventually, she works herself up to take him further down her throat where she swallows shallowly. It earns her a breathy grunt, so she holds him there until he starts to paw at her hair and buck lightly into her face. She looks up to find Rex watching her intently, brows furrowed and jaw tight. The pained look on his face betrays the intensity of his impending orgasm.

“Riyo, stop,” he gasps, fighting hard not to come. She cups his balls and dislodges her mouth. He growls, “My turn.”

Rex takes a step back away from her grip. He bends down and finds her mouth with his. Any sense of apprehension is blown away when he feels her wet chin. He uses the kiss to push her back flat onto the bed. He breaks away to start a scorching trip down her torso. He presses soft lips and burning stubble to her neck and collarbone, stopping to nip and lick at her left shoulder, before continuing to her chest and leaving a damp trail of wet kisses down the valley of her breasts. He palms and kneads her soft mounds before dragging the flat of his tongue from her breastbone to her right nipple. Her head feels light from the sensation.

Riyo’s hands leave Rex’s scalp to try to push her pants off, but her knees connect with his erection, and he groans. Before she can apologize, he mouths at her stomach, and his hands wriggle her pants over her hips and down her legs. He leans back up over her for another kiss, soft and sweet in contrast to the rigid tension bumping into her leg. Riyo’s mouth waters at the thick sight, but Rex still has one piece of clothing left to remove. He heads back down her body and grazes his teeth on her left hip bone before biting on the thin strap of her underwear and pulling it down past her knees. Hunger and anticipation linger between them.

Rex stands as he reaches Riyo’s feet, bringing her legs up in the air and her heels on his chest. He throws the last piece of fabric behind him. Rough hands slide down the sides of her legs as he slowly lowers his knees to the floor. When she can, she bends her knees and rests her legs on either side of his head. He shifts his hands to the insides of her thighs and parts them, wedging his wide shoulders between her knees. Riyo feels impossibly exposed, but Rex kisses and rubs his cheeks on the insides of her thighs, calming her. He watches her blush from violet to mulberry wine, holding her gaze with promises of intoxication.

With a wink, Rex licks from opening to clit, earning him a mewl muffled by the hand that isn’t squeezing his hand on her thigh. As he laps and sucks on her bundle of nerves, Riyo starts writhing, her back arching off the bed and her heels pressing into his back and shoulders. Her movements push him on. He parts her folds with two gentle fingertips and searches first with the tip of his tongue and then with the flat of it flush and rolling against her inner lips. Her moans start to rumble from lower in her abdomen.

Riyo glistens from mound to cleft, but Rex wants more. Focusing his tongue on her clit, he pushes his middle finger in to the second knuckle and looks up in time to find her biting down on her own. He thrusts shallowly until he can feel her dripping down his finger and then adds his forefinger. Her hands fly to her sides, clawing the sheets and releasing her howls.

“Careful, senator,” Rex rumbles low as he seats his fingers fully and starts to slide. “Don’t want to wake the trooper in the other room.” In and out, in and out, from the webs of his hands to the tips of his fingers, never leaving her folds.

Riyo’s laugh turns into a moan. She looks down at him, determined to say, “Speaking from experience, captain?” She’d heard the stories. Not of Rex specifically, though she knew those must exist, too, but of the clones and their fan clubs and parties and incident reports.

Rex catches the allusion, but files it away for later. For now, he starts to kiss his way back up her torso, the two fingers massaging her walls now joined by his thumb on her clit. She’s chanting his name between breathy whispers and resonant groans. When he reaches her face, she uses both hands to pull him in for a searing kiss, open-mouthed and searching. Their tongues dance for dominance, and Rex smiles as Riyo tries to bite his bottom lip.

He withdraws his hand from her weeping core so they can crawl up to the head of the bed. Riyo finds a pillow, her pastel hair fanning out, and Rex sits on his knees between her open legs. Looking down, he smirks at his wet handiwork, but before he can get too smug, Riyo reaches two fingers down to pinch his engorged head. Two pearly beads of precum bud on his tip, and she swipes them on nibble fingertips up to her mouth. Rex groans and turns impossibly harder. With no time to waste, he tucks his forearms under her knees, pulls, and hooks her legs on top of his thighs. Riyo giggles at his strength. He brings the head of his heavy shaft to her entrance, pushing just enough to part her folds. He catches her watching them meet.

“Hey,” he checks in softly.

Her eyes snap up to his. “Rex, please,” she whines, impatience bordering on incredulity. Her hands pull on his forearms, bringing herself a little more but not enough onto him. That’s all he needs.

Gripping the swell of Riyo’s hips, Rex pushes in, slowly and steadily, one delicious inch at a time. Her chin tilts up, and she lets out a long, satisfied moan. His stretch meets her tight canal in a simmering blaze. They take their time feeling each ridge and every crevice of each other until Rex bottoms out, his balls tapping her perineum. He drapes his body over hers for a meandering kiss, pausing to melt and mold into each other. Riyo moans at the matching sensations above and below, the rough stubble of Rex’s five o’clock shadow and pubic hair paired with the hot velvet of his tongue and shaft inside her. It was a lot until it wasn’t enough. Eventually, she plants her feet and wiggles her hips. Rex takes the hint and starts.

Still fully seated inside her, he sits back up on his knees and grips the flesh between her waist and hips. He pulls out half way before pushing back in fractionally faster. Riyo hums low in her chest. He keeps a leisurely pace until she starts to push back to meet him sooner and faster. Then he’s off, his hips crashing into hers at a force that bounces her breasts with each thrust. He’s chasing his own pleasure, but keeps his eyes on Riyo’s face, careful not to confuse the vice grip on his wrists for a sign of pain.

On the contrary, Riyo is blissed and breathless, her mouth open in a wide smile that lets out choked moans. She feels the pressure start to build low in her abdomen. His thick piston is molten along her walls, hot and heavy and so good. His every bump and vein catches on a part of her that sends searing electricity to her extremities. Her nerve endings catch fire, and her skin prickles with heat. They meet in warmer and louder squelches that spur them on.

The intensity of Rex’s focus moves her. Riyo sits up on her elbows and stops his motions. His confusion fades quickly as she wraps an arm around his shoulders and brings him down to her. Her back meets the mattress, and his arms snake under her shoulders, leaving his hands to frame her face. He dives into a warm, passionate kiss. Riyo’s heels find his lower back and give him a nudge.

“Don’t stop,” she whimpers into his mouth.

Rex snaps his hips eagerly. He can feel his balls start to tighten. A few more thrusts would throw him over the edge, but he slows to let Riyo catch up. She’s clawing at his back and scalp and muffling her moans into his neck and shoulder. Her grip above and below grounds him. The pressure in her belly swells and bursts into spasms as Riyo comes and clenches Rex tight. Her wails are soon joined by his grunts. Rex seats himself fully and thrusts shallowly, emptying himself in her contracting chasm. Riyo squeezes her legs tighter around his back, not wanting to waste the sensation of him engorged and throbbing inside her. They take their time coming back down.

Sensing Rex’s exhaustion, Riyo lets his weight fall to the side and take her with him. Her thighs are tight around his hips as he rolls. She lands astride him, still fully seated on his shaft. She looks down and finds Rex still halfway to the heavens, eyes closed and torn between laughing and moaning. She leans down and kisses his jaw, his chin, the edges of his lips to even him out.

“Are you alright?” Riyo ghosts the question lightly over his open mouth. She’s unsure of how to proceed, their tentative alliance now perched on a precipice.

Rex is still catching his breath, but laughs. “Sir, yes, sir,” he teases. His mind is empty and light – a feat he hasn’t achieved in a long time – bereft of anything that isn’t the beautiful Pantoran on top of him. It takes him a long moment before he realizes. “Oh, scrag!” His abs clench and pull his head marginally off the bed, his nose almost bumping into hers. “I didn’t pull ou—"

“It’s okay.” Riyo is quick to ease his mind. She sits back up, holds up her arm, and pinches her left tricep. “Implant. Thought it’d be a good idea.” She smirks and wiggles her hips, reminding him he’s still inside her. He smiles back and realizes suddenly that for the first time, he’s allowed to linger.

Rex would never let on the exact veracity of the stories Riyo must’ve heard about his brothers’ reputations. He was well aware as much as she was that for every anti-clone sentiment bandied about, there was an equal amount of love for the troopers – love that had often found itself hurried in the barracks, muffled in supply closets, frantic behind stacks of crates, any quiet corner a clone could catch for a few minutes. After awhile, Rex stopped filing the incident reports; it would’ve been hypocritical.

Part of the hope he kept in continuing to fight and freeing his brothers was knowing that there were others like Riyo who saw the clones as more than just soldiers or science experiments, expendable pieces of frag from a fallen Republic. They were willing and capable of being more than what their training and conditioning had made them. If only they were given the chance. They were men, and there were those who knew and trusted them to act like it, in all the ways that mattered but had been prohibited by their duties.

Rex may have needed release that night, as he had every other night on distant planets and Jedi cruisers, but Riyo knew that without regulation manuals and chains of command, this was different. This was no longer forbidden, no longer hurried and abridged between boxes and battles. Rex was free to choose and stay for as long as he wanted, and she was honored that at least for tonight, he chose to stay with her.

Feeling exhaustion start to settle in her bones, Riyo holds Rex at his base and gently rolls off him. He groans at the sudden loss of contact. After her feet find the floor, she steps to the head of the bed where Rex found a pillow and bends down to claim a chaste kiss. She feels his smile on her lips and his fingers curl around the strands of her hair tickling his chest. She stands and grabs a robe from a chair next to the bedside table, tying its ties on the way to the door. She swivels back around and catches the captain eyeing her. He smirks, flops back down on the bed, and gives a curt, two-finger salute towards the ceiling.

When Riyo returns from the fresher, Rex is fast asleep, the covers drawn to his waist. She throws the robe back onto the chair and tucks herself under the sheets and into his side. In moments, she falls asleep to his light snores.

Dawn is beginning to break when Rex wakes up. He watches the gradient stretch across the windows, light pink to dark blue. He finds himself entangled in Riyo: her head on his right shoulder, his fingertips on her scalp, her long hair spread down past his elbow, and their legs intertwined underneath the sheets. He runs his fingertips along the arm on his chest until her head turns to bury her face in his side.

“Hmm, good morning,” she croons, her voice drowsy with asleep.

“Morning.” He squeezes her arm. “Sleep okay?”

“Mm-hmm.” Riyo inhales his skin deeply. The smell of her soap is gone, replaced by a scent she hopes to memorize again and again and again.

Rex doesn’t want to leave the comfort of her bed, but the squad of Pantoran guards will be arriving soon, and he didn’t want to alert Echo by having him wake up alone in the living room. Reluctantly, Rex asks, “When do your handmaidens get in?”

Riyo starts to snap to full attention. “I don’t have handmaidens,” she says curiously. She looks up and sets her chin on his chest. “What made you think I did?”

Rex blushes at the memories of playing lookout for his Jedi general. He had never seen anything more incriminating than a kiss, but even in death, he felt duty-bound to keep their secret. “I, uh, remember seeing them in the Senate building,” he tries, “a few times.” He hopes she doesn’t feel his heart race underneath her palm.

“You’re thinking of Padmé,” Riyo deduces. Normally, she’d follow his train of thought and try to unravel and understand them, but her body is still light from the night before, and her mind isn’t quite up to the task. Instead, she crushes her face back onto his chest, unable to satiate the need to feel and smell his skin. “She was a queen, after all,” she says listlessly. “I’ve only ever been a senator.”

Rex thinks back a lifetime ago to Orto Plutonia where a shy but promising leader found her resolve in the middle of a snowy skirmish; back a few days ago to the Senate floor where a strong-willed idealist broadcast her defense of an unpopular cause to the galaxy; and back just hours ago on the repair shop platform where she had bent down to meet his sister’s young eyes and reassured them all that she was loyal to them, the clones. “You’re more than a senator,” he assures her gently.

Riyo looks back up and smiles at him. She thinks back a few years ago to the classified reports of Jedi General Pong Krell on Umbara and the captain’s horrified testimony in closed-door sessions to select Senate committees; back a day ago in the repair shop where a rogue but righteous clone recounted the story of Anaxes and Skako Minor while they waited for Clone Force 99; and back a lifetime ago to Orto Plutonia where a young but promising leader found his resolve in the face of his brothers’ annihilation. “And you’ve always been more than a soldier, Rex.”

(Footnotes here.)

[sashketter]

Close Quarters - Part 2

Summary: Riyo gives Echo a blowjob. Rex returns from the fresher, and the men attend to the Senator, taking turns eating her out.

Pairings: Echo x Riyo Chuchi (Echiyo), Captain Rex x Riyo Chuchi (Rexiyo)

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: Smut. Porn without Plot. Threesome. Oral (M and F receiving), fingering. Mention of Foxiyo.

Notes: FOREPLAY IS IMPORTANT. That is all.

Parts 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7

Riyo smiles and pushes his shoulders back. “Relax.”

Echo remains upright. “I want to watch.”

She keeps his gaze as she wraps her lips around his angry head and sucks lightly. He groans deeply, the head on his shoulders feeling lighter with every suction of her warm mouth. Saliva floods the insides of her cheeks and sucking sounds fill the air as she bobs and inches him along her tongue.

Between Rex, Fox, and a handful of the Coruscant Guard, Riyo had grown familiar with clone cocks, their weight and tastes and textures. She had concluded long ago that while the men were undoubtedly cut from the same cloth, their varying shades of brown all unmistakably of the same warm hue, no two cocks, much like the clones themselves, were alike. She quickly places Echo somewhere along the lengthier end of the spectrum, with Rex somewhere near the thicker end.

Echo falls back onto the bed in a fit of deep moans and choked chuckles. His arms come up and wrap around his head as it’s emptied of all thought except for those related to the sensations on his shaft. He’d forgotten, nearly written off ever feeling this warm and wet and wanted again. He sits up on his elbows and watches Riyo lave his shaft with the attention he had scarcely allowed himself to imagine. She meets his gaze with soft eyes and dislodges with a pop.

“Feel good?” 

Echo chuckles at her thoughtfulness. It’s been so long. Unable to gather enough breath to answer, he smiles and nods furiously.

She smiles back and switches tack. She dips her head lower and sucks on his balls, twisting her wrist with each swipe of his shaft and sending Echo back onto the bed. He closes his eyes and focuses on Riyo’s tongue and hand on him. Heat reaches his skin as the volume of his moans increases. His orgasm starts to crest when the door opens.

Rex enters quietly, a towel wrapped low on his hips as he rubs another on his head. He stops behind Riyo and huffs. “You were supposed to warm her up, not the other way around.”

Echo comes back up on his elbows and answers in tight breaths. “I was going to— oh, kark! You shower too fast.” Riyo pulls a long groan out of him as she drags her tongue along his underside. “Besides— unh— I’m not sure I can—” Her lips wrap around his shaft and reach his base. He bucks lightly. “Ungh, yes, that’s it!” He’s nearly doubled over, fighting to keep his eyes open.

Rex laughs and chucks both towels aside. He kneels behind Riyo, pressing his knees against her thighs. He unties her robe and works the silk off her limbs with gentle fingertips across her skin. She leans forward and bobs, keeping Echo in her mouth, as her arms come down to her sides. Rex throws her robe behind him and leans down to press his front to her back, his hands to the sides of her waist, and kisses from her shoulder to her neck.

When he reaches her ear, he purrs, “Ready for me?”

She lets Echo fall from her mouth and turns her head to find Rex’s lips. She pumps Echo with both hands, her slide eased by the slick of her saliva, as Rex steals her breath and snakes his arms around her torso. One hand lands on her breast, the other in between her legs. She moans and writhes in his grip while tightening hers on Echo.

“Ungh! Riyo, please. I-I-I’m…” Echo grits his teeth and tries to hold back.

Her mouth breaks from Rex and dives deeply onto Echo. He feels the pinch of her throat around his frenulum and comes forcefully, loudly. His abs clench, and his moans punch the air. He thrusts shallowly into Riyo’s face. She sucks as he releases, swallowing until he’s flaccid in her mouth. Only then, with a satisfied smile, does she remove herself and let him flop back onto the bed.

“Such a talented mouth for a talented Senator,” Rex croons between kisses to the other side of her neck and shoulder. He keeps his arms tight on her. He dips a gentle fingertip between her folds and finds her nearly dripping. He announces loud enough for Echo to hear through his lingering moans and giggles, “She’s soaking wet.” He brings the wet digit to his lips and sucks it clean before whispering in her ear, “But I can make you wetter.”

Riyo hums and presses her back into Rex. She reaches a careful hand underneath and finds his half-hard head not far from her aching core. She gently lifts and slides him along her slick slit, wrenching a moan from Rex that rumbles down her back. She rocks her hips and coats his length with her moisture. Echo sits up and watches them.

Rex clenches his jaw and growls like a predator closing in on his prey. “So needy, Senator.”

Riyo tilts her chin up and breathes, “I need you, Rex, please.”

In a flash, he scoops her up in his arms bridal style and deposits her on the bed next to Echo, her head inches from his thigh. She laughs as she bounces on her back. Rex kneels by the right side of the bed and pulls her by the ankles to close the few inches between them. He nudges the backs of her thighs onto his shoulders before catching Echo’s heated stare.

He nods and gives the order. “Take care of her up there while I work down here.”

Riyo’s giggle turns into a moan as Rex dives in, sucking and licking her labia. Her heels find his shoulder blades and push, pressing him impossibly farther into her. He laughs and tuts. “So needy,” he teases over her mound before pressing his tongue to her slit and finding her inner lips. She arches her back and moans deeply. Her hands claw Rex’s scalp, and he responds by brushing his nose against the hood of her clit. She keens and squeezes her breasts as he wraps his arms around her thighs.

Echo stands and watches, quickly doffing his trousers and slowly pumping himself. His eyes land on the blue expanse of her abdomen, arching and undulating and beginning to spasm. He kneels down and mouths at her stomach. Her skin tastes like salty blueberries and smells faintly of summer rain and the soap he had used earlier. He starts a trail of wet kisses up her torso. Riyo rubs his upper back and the base of his neck, careful not to catch on his cybernetic implant. She arches her back as he reaches her breastbone, pressing herself firmly on his lips. He licks and kisses each soft breast before sucking on each purple nipple. Riyo’s moans reach for the ceiling.

As he reaches her collarbone, Echo tucks his hand underneath her neck and finds her lips. Their tongues dance as his fingers comb through her soft hair. She reaches for his right arm, pressed carefully to his side, and brings it across her chest and abdomen. Echo starts to pull back, worried that he might hurt her with his sharp edges, but Riyo wraps her right arm around his neck and anchors him. She grips the narrow end of his scomp link and presses her front to his right arm, the cool alloy of his prosthetic refreshing on her heated skin. Echo feels her smile on his lips, and he presses a little harder.

It’s not lost on Riyo that she has two clones kneeling before her and working both sets of lips. They work in tandem, seemingly in sync. As Rex dips his tongue deeper between her inner lips, Echo does the same with her mouth and finds the back of her tongue. As Rex pumps two fingers into her dripping folds, Echo stands and presents his leaking cock to her eager mouth. She sucks the precum off his head as Rex sucks on her clit and nearly brings Echo’s base to her lips as her moan opens her throat and rumbles around his shaft. They dive into her like explorers of a new ocean, finding more pressure the deeper they push and coming back more breathless than before. 

Echo turns his head from Riyo’s mouth to look down her torso. He finds Rex mirroring his gaze, his lips attached to her clit as he keeps pumping his two fingers — not hard enough to make her come, but firm enough to keep her writhing and moaning. They lock eyes and share a nod, communicating wordlessly. Rex removes himself, wiping his mouth with the back of one hand and bringing in one of Riyo’s legs with the palm of the other.

“On your knees, baby.” His baritone vibrates on her skin and produces goosebumps.

She sits up and follows orders. She starts to back up towards Rex until he stops her with a hand to her lower back.

“Mm-mm, other way around. I want a turn with your mouth.”

She giggles and swivels around on her hands and knees. 

Rex juts his chin towards Riyo’s backend as he mirrors Echo’s movements and pumps his shaft steadily. “Got her plenty wet and loose for you.” He looks down and starts to say, “You ready— ungh!” Riyo cuts him off with a gentle suck of his engorged head.

Echo looks down at Rex’s handiwork. She glistens from cleft to mound. Her lips are swollen, and a gentle tap of his cockhead wrenches a moan from Riyo’s other end. He bends down, kisses and licks her soft rump, and presses his thumb firmly over her clit. Riyo pulls her mouth off Rex as her arms buckle.

“Echo, please,” she whines, “I need more.”

Rex laughs. “Stop teasing her, trooper. Show her what you’ve got.”

“In a minute.” Riyo squeals as Echo wiggles his thumb and watches her lips release more moisture. “I want a taste, too.”

Rex moves away from Riyo’s grip and gets comfortable at the head of the bed, turning the pile of pillows into a throne and watching Echo wrench more moans and moisture from the Senator with his mouth. She arches her back to give him more purchase. He dives between her folds and works his tongue through her inner lips. Her hands bunch the bedsheets into her mouth, her toes curl, and her feet dance in the air. Echo keeps his thumb on her clit and his licks quick and long until her moans drop an octave lower and his spit and her juices drip from his chin onto the bed.

Rex groans and pumps harder at the sight. “That’s it, trooper. Ungh, nice and wet.”

Echo pulls away and laughs, his mouth and chin soaked. “Kark, she’s sweet. Want another go?”

Before Rex can answer, Riyo takes advantage of the reprieve and cries, “I need to come, you two, please!” Her eyes land on Rex’s motions. He catches her gaze and pinches his base, presenting his erection to her.

His voice oozes in her ears. “This what you want, Senator?”

She’s wrecked by their mouths, her eyes dark and wild and her hair askew. In lieu of an answer, she crawls between Rex’s legs and grabs his shaft, shoving off his hand and pumping firmly. Her knees touch his inner thighs, and she sits on her heels to meet Rex’s heated gaze. They pant in unison.

Echo watches them standoff. He makes a note of how they get off on vying for control, Rex the battle-hardened Captain and Riyo the seasoned Senator. He’s not sure how he fits into their power play, but he figures he could at least temper the tension. His cock had become uncomfortably hard again and needed Riyo’s attention.

He slots himself behind her, his knees hugging her thighs, and wraps his arms around her waist. He kisses her shoulders and gently nips at the crook of her neck. Her eyes close, and her shoulders drop, diffusing the deadlock. He presses his front to her back and his cock along her cleft. She smiles and giggles as she tilts her head back onto his left shoulder.

Rex comes forward, keeping Riyo’s hands on his shaft, and kisses the left side of her neck. His knees sandwich one each of theirs. Echo cups her right breast while Rex massages her left with his right hand and her folds with his left hand. They fit like a puzzle and work like a dream.

The heat radiating off the clones sends Riyo to dizzying heights. Her hands rub the sides of their faces as she pants praises into the air. “So good, feels so good.” “Such good soldiers.” “My brave men, my protectors.”

“Beautiful,” Rex croons before laying his tongue flat on her pert nipple. She writhes and squeals in Echo’s arms.

Previous - Next

[sashketter]

The Captain and the Senator

Chapter 1 - Truth and Consequences Revisited

Summary: After the Bad Batch leave Coruscant, Rex, Echo, and Riyo Chuchi decide on next steps, including plans for the body of the clone assassin and the senator’s safe return to her living quarters. In the process, Rex and Riyo vie for control.

Word Count: 2.5k

Warnings: Death mentions

Notes: LET’S TRY THIS AGAIN LOLOL This takes place immediately after season 2 episode 8 of The Bad Batch, “Truth and Consequences.” It grew out of an idle thought about Rex providing Echo with civilian clothes so he can blend in on Coruscant. It’s heavy on talk and setup, but it’s necessary for the rest of the series.

Table of Contents - Chapter 2

“Let’s go inside.” Rex’s hand lands heavy on Echo’s shoulder. “You stand out in your armor.”

Echo watches the Marauder ascend out of sight. He blinks back tears and turns to face his old friend. In the far reaches of his mind, he’s back on Anaxes, leaving one set of brothers to join another. And now as then, Rex is his fulcrum.

“Will you two be alright?” Riyo Chuchi’s voice floats soft and light over the hum of starships and speeders. The clones turn around, and she takes a step towards them, wishing to provide comfort. She recognizes the moment for what it is: a necessary departure and a bittersweet reunion.

“Yes, senator, thank you,” Rex answers. He motions for Echo to follow and extends an arm out to Riyo in the direction of the garage. “You should go,” he commands rather than suggests. “I still think you’re in danger, and—”

“I appreciate your concern, captain,” she interrupts, falling into step with the men, “but so are you. Here, on Coruscant.” She leans in and whispers, “It’s not safe for either of you here.” Her face contorts in fear.

“Actually,” Rex starts as they cross into the stale air of the shop, “according to Imperial records, we were both killed in action.” He punches a panel on the wall and closes the hangar doors. “They won’t be looking for us.”

Surprise registers wide on Riyo’s face. “I see.” She considers the information for a moment before trying again, letting her worry weigh her voice. “All the same, I can’t imagine the security breach on Rampart’s Venator will go unanswered.”

“She’s right, Rex.” Echo joins in and points a stern look at the captain. “Probe droids will be swarming the lower levels soon.”

Rex wasn’t willing to give up Trace’s shop. He still believed it was a reliable hideout and the closest he would get to the barracks where both his brothers and actionable intel were housed. He shakes his head. “Then we’ll wait them out.” He turns away towards the inside of the shop, ending the discussion.

Two rows of fluorescent lights illuminate the space from high above, leaving the shop’s edges in darkness. Unmarked crates, some stacked three high on top of each other, take up the floorspace between rows of shelves and worktables lining the walls. The three weave through the maze in the direction of the body of the clone assassin, in silent understanding of unfinished business.

“What will you do with him,” Riyo asks gently as they approach the body bag. She’s never heard of funerals for individual clones, but now, at least to her, it seems like the right thing to do. She didn’t believe that the attempt on her life changed his rights as a living being.

“Will the Empire come looking for him,” concern colors Echo’s voice, “when he doesn’t report in?”

Rex rubs his chin. “Maybe. Whatever happened to him happened without Senate approval.” He looks at Riyo whose eyes go wide before nodding in acknowledgement. “He’s evidence the Empire won’t want lying around.”

“Can we use him—” Echo cuts himself off. His unsaid intention lingers in the air. Both clones recoil and seem to turn in on themselves, shame and regret blossoming between them and the body.

Riyo catches on. “I’ll keep him safe,” she soothes, “until the time is right.” Rex and Echo share a shocked glance. “For now, support for the emperor’s stormtrooper program is too strong. No one in the Senate will be able to stand openly against him.”

Rex nods in agreement, but Echo has misgivings. “We appreciate your support, senator,” determination hardening his features, “but this is something us clones need to handle ourselves. We can’t ask you to harbor this,” he motions towards the body and finds the usual “trooper” and “brother” inadequate, “asset. The consequences of getting caught are too dangerous.” He looks to Rex for backup, but the captain’s face, sullen and pensive, betrays his thoughts.

“Where will you keep him,” Rex asks Riyo. Both his voice and gaze have softened, knowing that neither he nor Echo could safely care for their fallen brother at this time.

“I’ll bring him to Pantora,” she offers. “My guards will make sure he’s not disturbed.”

“The Empire’s presence is growing on Pantora,” Echo warns. He wonders briefly about the droids he left at the merchant’s stall.

Silence overtakes them until Rex snaps out of thought. “What about Orto Plutonia?” Excitement smolders in his voice. “There’s an abandoned Republic base there, and the snow would provide great cover.”

Riyo nods. “I will speak with Thi-Sen. He may not agree to your terms,” she levels a look of resolve at Rex who mirrors her gaze, “but I will try my best.” Echo observes the exchange and senses the captain and the senator tune into a shared frequency.

With one matter settled, Riyo looks around the garage. Rex had said its owners would be gone for awhile, so he and Echo are on their own. She fails to find beds or food or even a fresher. “In the meantime,” she puts a hand on Rex’s arm, “perhaps I can make arrangements for you two.”

“No, thank you, senator.” Irritation starts to creep towards anger in Rex’s voice. He’s quickly tiring of thanking her, not because he finds her a nuisance, but because he would rather she were gone, away from the danger he and Echo invite, so they could strategize without implicating her. “We’ll get by.”

“You said something about Echo and his armor,” Riyo continues undaunted. “Perhaps I can find more suitable attire. There are clothing shops two levels down.”

“I have some already.” Rex gestures to a neat pile of folded fabric on a nearby crate. He looks at Echo who starts detaching his spaulders. “Might need to take them in, though,” he jokes, his eyes wrinkling.

“I-I’m fine, you two,” Echo grumbles. “I can dress myself without supervision.”

Rex raises an eyebrow and stifles his laugh with a grunt. Riyo covers her smile lightly with her hand. Her chest feels lighter now, knowing these two can still find a little levity with the weight on their shoulders.

Echo clears his throat. “Uh, mind giving a trooper some privacy?” He’s halfway down to his blacks.

Rex crosses his arms and huffs, “Never stopped you before.”

Riyo blushes and looks down, hums to cover a giggle, but can’t hide her happiness at watching the men reconnect. She takes Echo’s cue and grabs Rex’s attention. “Captain, a word?”

Rex nods towards the back door. Riyo turns around and falls into step with him. The sound of Echo’s armor being piled into one of the crates fades as they walk into the darkness at the shop’s edges.

“I meant what I said, Rex.” Riyo turns towards him as they walk. There’s enough ambient light to outline their faces. “You and the clones deserve to live like any other galactic citizen, and I intend to fight for them, in and out of the Senate.” She jabs a finger in Rex’s direction to punctuate her emphasis, but her face is less stern than her words. “Please keep me apprised of your progress. I would very much like to help as much as I can. And please,” she stops walking, forcing Rex to face her directly, “do not mistake my lack of combat training for a lack of ability.”

Rex looks at Riyo for what feels like the first time. It wasn’t long after the start of the Clone Wars, before scratches marred the blue paint on the captain’s armor and scars bloomed across the body underneath, that this same senator had been bullied by her moon’s militant chairman into nearly starting another war. She was, at the time, timid and more inexperienced than some of the shinies under his command. Now she was speaking on his behalf, on behalf of the millions of his brothers scattered throughout the galaxy. She had found her voice and was unwilling to yield its power to anyone less than the emperor himself. He admires her spark of tenacity.

They continue the remaining distance to the back door. Shaking his head out of thought, Rex looks down and heaves a heavy sigh deep from his core. He already knows what strategy to use, the best path forward, but can’t bring himself to take it. He knows he needs influential allies to reach more clones. He knows that a senator on the inside could facilitate things faster than a soldier on the outside. And he knows that even if she can’t outmaneuver the emperor, Riyo could at least prove to be a valuable resource, with connections to other powerful people and safe planets where bases could be built and equipment scavenged. But he couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in more danger.

“We need her, Rex.” Echo steps next to the space between them. He’s wearing clothes similar to Rex’s, his right sleeve folded above his scomp arm. “We need all the help we can get.”

Rex smiles. Even now, after everything both clones have been through, their thoughts are still one and the same. He looks from Echo to Riyo, each determined to wear him down. “All right, senator,” he sighs. “What did you have in mind?”

Riyo readies herself for an arduous argument. Rex seemed intent on hunkering down in the garage, safe in the assumption of his and Echo’s deaths, but she wasn’t convinced. Watching Slip and her guards perish so violently had shaken her more than she would admit, and she feared the consequences for the clones would be similarly severe if they were caught. And as Echo had pointed out, the search for the trespassers of Rampart’s Venator would most likely reach the lower levels sooner rather later.

“You can’t stay here,” Riyo pleads. “Even if the Empire isn’t looking for you two specifically, you still can’t be found.” She looks back at the garage, cold and dark and inhospitable. “Are you sure this location is secure?”

“I scanned the place myself,” Rex says sternly, crossing his arms. “And I trust my friends.” His simmering irritation starts to bloom into full-blown anger. Echo senses it and steps in to temper the tension.

“Senator, how many guards do you have with you?” Ever the ARC trooper, he changes to a tack he knows Rex won’t be able to resist.

“Just the two,” Riyo gestures towards the door where her guards are stationed, “whenever I’m on Coruscant. But after the,” she flinches at the memory, “loss of my last two guards, the Pantoran Assembly agreed to send a squad’s worth as a precaution. They arrive tomorrow.”

“Have they secured your living quarters?” Echo’s concern, ever genuine, always registers as gruff.

Riyo looks down sheepishly. “I’m not sure.” For most of her tenure, her guards had acted more like aides, carrying files and messages between fellow senators and chasing off nothing more dangerous than disgruntled citizens. They had always provided her with enough security. Until now.

The clones register her hesitation. Rex opens the back door and motions for the men flanking it to follow him. He grills them immediately. “When was the last time you secured the senator’s living quarters?”

The men look at each other, then Riyo. One answers, “Before the Senate vote. But that was last night. It’s been more than half a rotation since.”

Echo steps in. “It’s not secure anymore.”

“It was safe when we left.” The other guard starts to defend their work. “We’ll secure the area again once when we get there. Standard procedure when there’s only two of us.”

Rex and Echo shake their heads simultaneously. The captain steps closer to the guards. “That’s not good enough. Not after today.” He points a finger in their faces. “She’ll be a target from now on. You’ll need to be more thorough and cautious.” The clones turn to each other and nod, appearing to communicate a slew of orders wordlessly in an instant.

Riyo blinks in surprise. “A target? Captain, after Rampart’s arrest, I don’t—”

“We’ll split up,” Rex continues. “Echo will go ahead with one of you,” he nods to a guard who nods back, “and scan the senator’s apartment. When it’s clear, we’ll follow.”

“Is this necessary?” Riyo tries to gain some control. “What danger could there be in my personal quarters? It was provided by the Pantoran Assembly. Surely, it’s safe.”

Rex looks in the direction of the body bag. “We can’t take anything for granted, senator. Not after your show of support for the clones, and not with the emperor tying up his loose ends.”

“Then perhaps it is safer here,” Riyo says defiantly, crossing her arms and steeling her gaze. Rex was doing exactly what she’d asked him not to do, and she resented it, however well-intentioned his motivations.

“No, senator.” Rex puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and softens his voice. His anger had burned out as quickly as it flamed, and he had no desire for its embers to spread. “You need to return to your quarters. You’ll raise suspicions if you don’t follow your normal routine. If there are,” he searches for a delicate term, “complications, we know how to handle them.” He looks to Echo who nods.

“What about the body,” Riyo says flatly. Now she wants nothing more than to derail the good captain’s plans.

Rex removes his hand and squares his shoulders. He bristles at the senator’s stubbornness. “We’ll take him with us after Echo comms with the all-clear. When your squad of guards arrive, they can escort you and the body back to Pantora.”

“My guards will escort you, Echo, and the body to Pantora.” Riyo takes a step closer to Rex. “I will return to the Senate where I still have my duties, captain.”

Tension hangs heavy in the air. Neither the captain nor the senator appear close to backing down. They meet each other’s gaze with equal chill and determination.

“Are you two done?” Echo’s irritation cuts through. Rex and Riyo turn to see him gesturing to the back door between the Pantoran guards. “We still need to get the senator topside.”

Riyo sighs, deflated by the need to remove all of them from the lower levels immediately and knowing the clones ultimately have her best interests in mind. “Fine. We’ll do things your way, Rex. But I insist you and Echo stay with me until my guards arrive.” She starts towards the door. “If you are intent on keeping me safe, then I suggest you see your actions through.”

Rex didn’t like the idea of spending the night with the senator. Hiding in the shadows of the lower levels was easier than in the glittering towers of the surface above. And if he and Echo were in as much danger as Riyo believed, then he didn’t want to compound the trouble she was facing with theirs. But making the trip from the garage to her quarters twice was impractical and unwise, especially in the daylight. And more than the thought of leaving the garage, Rex hated the idea of leaving the senator unprepared and unprotected for the dangers ahead.

Rex concedes and accepts his fate. “Just say the word, senator.” He knew he had unceremoniously taken control out of her hands and now wished nothing more than to yield to her command.

Riyo appreciates the gesture, but saves her gratitude for later. She nods at Echo and her guard. “Be careful.”

(Footnotes here.)