#vod'ika's thoughts

[vodika-vibes]

I'm thinking about Dad!Rex

Rex having a pair of identical twin girls and just being like, "one set of identical twins isn't enough?" And then names Fives and Echo as their unofficial official older brothers.

Both girls being platinum blonde like him and no one believes Rex when he says he can tell them apart.

Twin A wears 501st blue. Twin B also wears 501st blue, but with white stripes.

Rex carries a baby in each arm as he does routine inspections. Vod'e who pass get to cuddle a baby, or both babies if they're lucky.

Anakin does something foolish and Rex lifts the twins and says, "Just know that you've disappointed all three of us." And it just wrecks Anakin.

Ahsoka has big sister privileges and gets to cuddle the twins whenever she wants.

Cody once babynapped the twins and had a full debriefing with a baby in each arm, he pretended he didn't know what anyone was talking about when they asked about the babies.

[yoursrosie]

i love seeing the command batch + rex as cadets

the one sunny day ever

[cc1010fox]

Fox: Did you know Alpha-17 was my first kiss? Thire: I thought I was? Years Earlier: Alpha-17, holding a tubie: Aren't they too little to be outside of their tubes? Kaminoan: We are conducting tests on them. Tubie, reaching up at Alpha-17's face: Ah! Alpha-17, leaning into his hands: What is it, vod'ika? The tubie pushes his face against Alpha-17's, planting a big sloppy baby kiss on him. Alpha-17, laughing: A little charmer, huh? You're going to be trouble, aren't you, 1010? Present Day: Fox: Nope. Alpha-17 told me he was.

[ct-51-4305]

AU - Priest kidnapped clone cadets and absconded from Kamino.👀

Cody thought his vod'ika had been decommed.😔

[mamuzzy-creates-stuff]

For the kiss ask prompts:

Deadshot x Fives + 32 - a kiss while someone watches

I want my babus *^*

One of the few things Deadshot had to accept that clone troopers didn't know the meaning of privacy. And that would mean, no sex without audience. "It's just makes things even more exciting" said Fives with a mischievous grin. When Shot's eyes met with Dogma's wide ones in the dark, it occured to his mind that maybe - just maybe -, the vod'ika didn't share this sentiment and Fives' round naked ass mooning at him wasn't the first thing he wanted to see when woken up in the middle of the night by the muffled moans and the squelching noises of sloppy kisses. Fives made sure that such inconveniences wouldn't bother Shots anymore while with him.

I really snorted when I saw this prompt, because my first thought was: Privacy? ON A VENATOR???

Also I returned back to my comfort zone with this one art-wise, I hope you like it ^^ I missed these di'kuts so much, thank you for asking for them ith <3333

[vodika-vibes]

I love him

I wanted to do some anatomy practice and because I need something to motivate me I decided to draw Commander Fox not just that you can see the improvement from when I last drew shirtless clones

[oceansssblue]

Ok, rare pairing for SW.....Fox and Yoda.

Still with me? Yoda is on Coruscant more often than not, usually meeting with Palpatine; he's bound to have run into Fox at some at some point; maybe Fox is his security escort when he visits. I HC Yoda being vaguely paternal, similar to how he treated the three clones in the first episode of TCW.

Rare pairing at it's highest! xD

Here's my take!

Xx,

Blue.

"REST, YOU MUST" – YODA/FOX 💖💔

WARNINGS: some angst implying fox being mind-manipulated by mr palpatine, work stress, otherwise fluff.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fox feels... Fatigued. It's the best word that describes it –the best he can find, at least–. He's not excruciatingly tired; he's not really depressed either. He's just that; fatigued.

It has been a tough week for the Corries. Tension is all but growing in the low and medium levels of Corusscant; more and more resources being redirectioned to the effort of the –what seems to be– endless war, and therefore pushing the most vulnerable citizens of the capital to suffering. And he suffers, too; his heart breaks everytime he sees a scrawny kid bitting into his own dirty jaket, trying to fool his mind into thinking that the biting equals eating. Fox would wish to do more; but there's only so much a single man –or a few– can do.

The hardest part of everything is probably protecting the Chancellor. There have been a few attempts at his life lately –nothing mayor, nothing properly organised–; and he had been ordered to become his shadow at almost all times. It's draining. Fox doesn't know if it's all of this pent up stress; or the tension from having to stay vigilant all day. The knowledge that if something happens to the Chancellor, he'd be remembered as the foolish clone that hadn't been up to the task. He doesn't want to be remembered as such. Fox wants to be remembered by his duty with the Guard; chasing evil, helping those in need. He might be seen as a tough man; but he's just that, a man.

The bunkroom is the only place he really feels safe in nowadays. There, his body half crushed in the human pile he makes with his brothers, his vod'ika, he doesn't feel in danger. Or fatigued. He feels soothed; warm. He's able to breathe, to just be; nose hid in Thorn's neck and one arm slumped over Thire's chest. Surrounded by his family, the shadow and darkness that always seem to follow him dissipates.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Fox is having one of those days again. He feels dizy; a sharp headache pounding against the side of his forehead. The muscles on his neck and shoulders feel like proper stones by now; hours and hours of guarding the Chancellor's office finally catching up onto him. He's not on the best physical condition to do this, right now; but he's somewhat relieved that no-one could possible harm Palpatine in this instant. He's in a reunion with Master Yoda; and no one is as powerfull as him.

Fox has only seen the Grand Master fight on two ocassions; as the Corries don't get to join the rest of the GAR in the galatic battles. Two ocassions had been enough to solidify that idea, though. No one would think the small Jedi would be much of a threat just by looking at him –his body hunched over his cane, deep wrinkles in his face and a tuff of white hair on his head–; but the agility Master Yoda was able to conjure was astounding. His understanding of the Force, more so.

Fox was pulled of his thoughts with said Jedi slowly walking out of the Chancellor's office; a deep frown etched on his face. Fox inmediately straightened, not wanting to leave a bad impresion on the Master; but the small Jedi discovered something in him that went behond his physical form.

"Commander Fox" he greeted him, his cane tapping once against the floor right in front of him. "You should not be here".

Fox freezes. He stutter's; not expecting the comment. He had been ordered to...

"S-sir?"

Yoda makes a small, dissaproving sound with his tongue.

"A mess, your mind is. Rest, you must".

Fox sighs. He should have guessed; Master Yoda can feel about everything.

"I can cope with a few more hours, Sir. It's no problem" he answers, voice firm.

Yoda taps his cane against the floor again.

"Caring for the mind, we should, as much as caring for the body. A weakened mind is a weak oponent" he mussed, looking up at his bucket, and Fox could swear he was looking ar him into the eye. "Call one of your men to take care of the job, you should".

The commander relented. He didn't like the fuss; but he knew Master Yoda would insist, and he didn't like to feel reprimanded by him. He guessed he did need some rest; it would do him good.

"As you wish, Master Yoda" he agreed, and asked Thire to cover him.

The Jedi hummed, pleased, and asked Fox to follow him. He walked by his side, slightly confused as to what else the Master would want of him. Perhaps he wanted to make sure he truly went to rest?

Fox followed the Jedi into an empty room; and watched in confussion as Yoda sat down on the floor as if it were the most normal thing in the world. The Jedi gestured for him to do the same; and Fox obbeyed in silence.

"Meditate, we will" Yoda resolves, final, and the clone frowns.

He doesn't know how to do that kind of thing.

"Take your bucket off and close your eyes, you should" the Jedi guides him. "Empty your mind of all worries you can not control, you try. Breathe in and feel yourself, you shall".

Fox follows if only to please Master Yoda; because he doesn't really think this will be usefull for him. He's therefore surprised when, an unkown time later, his mind is somehow quiet; ebbing out of his physical form to somewhere warm and abstract. It's almost as falling into a peacefull trance.

He feels something brushing against his mind. It's bright, soothing, warm; like a caress that slowly takes the pain away and makes everything lighter, easier to carry. Still holding a part of his consciousness, Fox understands it's Yoda's life force; the Jedi Master interacting with his mind with the understanding fondness of an old friend.

When he opens his eyes again, and Fox locks eyes with the small Jedi, he can't help but flush; feeling that mental contact more intimate than any of his late sexual escapades.

Yoda looks unbothered and peacefull, looking back at him; and he reaches out to pat his hand with a few gentle taps.

"To take care of others, taking care of ourselves first, we must" he tells him, more tenderly than condescendant, and Fox nods in silence.

He can almost hear his heart beat speeding up.

THE END.

[coffeeandbatboys]

Where Your Road Leads

Pairing: Fives x Fem!Reader, platonic Torrent (Kix, Jesse & Rex) x reader, platonic Echo x reader

Warnings: Heavy angst, temporary spousal death, pregnancy, fluff, language, throwing up...I think that's all

A/N this is possibly my longest one shot ever...

A knock sounds on your door.

Kix.

You'd been expecting him for the last two hours and he’s just now made it to your home. You open the door with every nerve buzzing.

“Kix, what took—”

You pause in fear when his face reveals only sadness and guilt.

“What's going on?” You demand, ushering the medic inside.

“I'm so sorry, vod'ika.” Is all he can manage with tears gathering in his eyes. Fives. Something bad happened to Fives. You’ve heard the report that he'd tried to kill the Chancellor, and that he was wanted by the Corries. But you thought he'd be safe with Rex. After all, the captain had been worried about him when he stopped by earlier.

“Kix.” You repeat. “Where's Fives?”

The medic takes a deep breath.

“He’s been,” he chokes on a shaky breath and his already unstable voice lowers to a whisper. “killed.”

Your knees buckle beneath you and you want to throw up. You stumble to the ‘fresher, Kix following behind to hold your hair as you empty the contents of your stomach.

“Oh, maker! No….fuck no.” You cry, dry heaving now. “There's no way.”

Kix runs a hand over his face to hide the haunted look in his eyes.

It takes a few minutes for your breathing to calm down. “And the test?” You quietly ask the question you've been dreading since he came in. It’s the reason you were expecting him, after all.

He turns to face you.

“Conclusive. You're two months pregnant.”

For the next six months, Torrent is always a comm away. Kix stopping in to make sure you're eating well enough to support both you and the baby, and Jesse helping you set up a nursery. Rex goes with you to most of your appointments if he can. You're grateful to have a family, even if they're not blood, and even if you and Fives weren't officially ‘married’. He’s still your husband, and they're your family.

It still hurts to wake up with a cold back where there would normally be the warmth of his chest, pressed against it, and anything that reminds you of Fives in your apartment remains untouched

When Echo is brought back, he finds out all about what happened and decides that the Bad Batch can wait. For now, he needs to uphold a promise that he'd made to Fives when the two of you first got together. If anything were to happen to a domino twin and his significant other was left behind, the remaining brother would take care of them. Even with the looming realization that his best friend is dead, Echo couldn't be more excited to be an uncle.

A year and a half later, you're sitting at the table, reading about the Chancellor’s ‘accidental' death and a subsequently revealed plot to kill the Jedi via the GAR, when you hear the front door open. Echo must be back with little Fiv'ika from the store earlier than expected.

But the footfalls that find their way into the kitchen aren’t mechanical like Echo's, and there's no excited babbling from your son.

You turn to see just who had let themselves into your house and—

Well…damn. This is new.

Fives is standing in the doorway. His curls are a little longer and his shoulders hang a bit, but he still has that light in his eyes, and his goatee is kept the way he always used to do it, and the tattoo is on the same spot that it always was.

You don't trust your eyes with the image. He can't be alive. He would have been here this whole time if he was alive.

It’s only when he speaks that you accept that he's here.

“Ner runi…” he murmurs, and you cross the distance to throw your arms around him. He's warm and soft and above all, he's real.

“Fives!” You cry, bitter tears rolling down your cheeks. “Where the hell have you been? You were dead!”

Instead of letting him answer, you grab his face and crash your lips against his. He returns the kiss with a relieved hum and tugs you closer. When you pull away, he wipes a few tears off your cheek with a calloused thumb, and his own eyes become glossy.

“I went in deep cover to investigate the chancellor. Commanders Cody and Fox are the only ones who know that I'm alive at all.”

The front door opens again, and this time it’s the sounds of your laughing child and Echo announcing “We’re home!”

Fives, however, stills with panic and pulls away from you.

“Osik,” he curses himself. “I should have realized that you could have moved on.”

I didn't.” You cut him off. “I didn't move on. You're in for the surprise of your life, Babe.”

His eyebrows scrunch as Echo and Fiv'ika enter the room. Echo stops in his tracks when he registers Fives’ face and you silently take the child from his arms.

“Firstly I want you to meet your son, Fives Jr., or as we call him, Fiv'ika.”

Fives’ eyes go wide and his knees suddenly feel shaky. He's not sure that he trusts his voice, but he tries anyways.

“You had our first kid and I wasn't there? Oh, maker. Fuck.” he brings a hand to cover his mouth, and tears spill over his cheeks. He falls to his knees and looks up at you.

“Ni ceta, Mesh'la. I don't know what to say…”

You shake your head and tug on his sleeve, silently asking him to get up. You wrap one arm around the love of your life and press your temple to his, while the other arm holds your son.

“It’s okay. You whimper. “We’re here. Were together.”

Fiv’ika reaches tiny hands up to grab his father’s goatee. Fives lets out a wounded noise and kisses your cheek.

You pull away for a second.

“Secondly, you’ll want to see who’s been helping me.”

Confusion crosses his face and you look over to Echo, who’s been standing outside the doorway of the kitchen.

“Who is….” Fives trails off, eyes locking on his twin. “Echo?”

The paler clone’s eyes fill with tears and he nods.

“Su cuy’gar, Fives.”

Your husband gives your shoulder a squeeze and rushes towards his brother with open arms. The two quickly fall into a sobbing embrace and you watch, practically beaming.

“I would ask how you’re alive but if I survived being blown up I’m pretty sure that it’s not that hard.” Echo laughs.

Fives only looks horrified. “I am so sorry to both of you. I should have been there-”

“Hey,” you stop him, moving next to both of them, Fiv’ika in between. “We’re safe.”

Fives pulls you all together in a hug, mumbling “I love you all so much.” He’s holding his entire world—his wife, his son, and his twin brother—in his arms, and he’ll be damned if he’s letting any of you go soon.

Mando'a translations:

Vod'ika: Younger sibling

Ner runi: My soul

Osik: Shit

Ni ceta: I'm sorry; I kneel

Su cuy'gar: Hello; You're alive

[ani-and-the-corries-au]

Ani and the Corries Moments.

Little Anakin's first meeting with Commander Fox, aka, when things get really chaotic.

This moment has been living rent free in my head pretty much since I thought up this idea.

It's probably only days after the Senate agrees to put in another order for troops, Fox is Stressed, Tired and done. And has a run in with a really obnoxious senator who has some less than nice things to say, including a few comments about how easily replaceable the guard is, and how they're republic property and how they can always buy more of them if the current ones aren't good enough.

Eventually the Senator Leaves, but then just when he thinks he's done, he's confronted by a few other Corries, who saw the whole thing.

And the Tiny Jedi who's wiggled his way into the hearts of several of his brothers.

Said Tiny Jedi apparently heard the entire conversation and apparently has decided that he needs more information, and upon hearing confirmation that, yes they are Republic property. Promptly decides to go in to denial and starts going on about how that's not possible because this is the Republic, and they're literally on Coruscant and that's not possible.

Fox, who doesn't want to deal with tiny Jedi in denial about a fact that's common knowledge turns and snaps. "Yeah, Welcome to Coruscant Kid." Before Truging off to deal with whatever else he's got to deal with today, because there's always something.

Several hours later, he discovers that there's a baby Jedi sleeping in there Barracks.

Because apparently the Kid ran off to Senator Amidala the moment he'd gotten the chance and swarmed her with questions, Starting with a Confirmation about there recent new Purchase, and Ending with a Demand to know at what point in the last Ten years they had Legalized Slavery in the Republic.

The Kid had then proceeded to have a Breakdown because the Republic apparently had a slave army, especially one led by the Jedi was apparently some sort of intimate betrayal and the poor kid was having feelings about it.

He hadn't wanted to go back to the temple, and none of the Corries involved wanted to try and force it Because they were in fact not unfeeling assholes, and also because apparently the kid could stay because he had been claimed as a Vod'ika by the three Clones who'd allowed this situation.

[tending-the-hearth]

so my brother and i watched the episodes and yes, all signs point to clone x being tech, but we were throwing around suggestions, and we both thought of one name that would cause SO much angst.

dogma.

dogma, who we don't know exactly what happened to him.

dogma, who went along with the regulations until it was too late, and did the only thing he could think of to avenge his fallen brothers, and make it up to the living ones.

dogma, who left behind his best friend after what he did, who learned of tup's death, and wanted to do what he could to help, but ended up trapped and experimented on until he lost every little piece of himself.

just... rex and echo realizing who it is, maybe by taking off the helmet, either when it's too late, or just in time, and both of them just freezing, because it's their vod'ika, the one who struggled so much, whose mind was never truly his own, who was used by so many different evils.

[electrikworm]

Test Subjects: Part 6

previous next

Relationships: Crosshair & Echo & Hunter & Tech & Wrecker

Content Warnings: Blood and injury, Drug Usage, Emetophobia, CPR, Near Death Experience

Summary:

The immediate aftermath of Hunter and Crosshair's arrival at the Marauder as the Batch fight to get Crosshair's heart starting again.

Word count: 2’568

Read on Ao3

Chapter Text

Hunter heaves for air, adjusting the grip he has on Crosshair. He's made it out of the base, it's only a little further to the Marauder. Every step he takes, Hunter can sense her, closer and closer.

Crosshair groans weakly, coughing. He's been sick once more on the way, but hasn't tried to attack Hunter again. Hunter's ready to react if Crosshair were to throw up a third time, but he just wheezes.

“Just a little further, vod'ika” Hunter sighs, patting his brothers back. His leg is on fire, hot blood coating his skin, soaking his blacks. There's so much blood, Hunter can smell it stronger than any other scent, even Crosshair's own blood, the bile he threw up and the sweat running over his skin. Hunter grits his teeth and bears the pain of course, for his brother.

Crosshair's in a bad state, but Tech will have already figured out a solution. Tech always fixes the problems experimental substances cause, there's not a doubt in Hunter's mind that it wont be the case this time.

Hunter can practically smell the Marauder by now, the fuel fumes from the landing and dust it's picked up in space, as well as the familiar scent of their living space, their home. Limping a little faster, Hunter sighs softly. Almost there, almost safe. Then he'll finally get to sit down.

Crosshair wheezes loudly as Hunter shifts his grip on him. Despite his wiry frame, Crosshair is heavy, pushing down on Hunter's shoulder uncomfortably. But unlike the other times, Crosshair's breath doesn't go back to normal, becoming short, laboured gasps.

Fear grips Hunter's heart as he forces his injured limb to carry more than it should. Something is horribly wrong, he can feel it, almost taste it in the air.

Crosshair's heartbeat quickens, shifting to an erratic and irregular pace. Hunter's own heartbeat seems to want to match Crosshair's, thundering against his ribs as he starts running as best his bad leg allows him to.

Crosshair coughs, breaking out in a fit, then suddenly, Hunter's left alone with nothing but the sound of his own heart and breathing. A silence has fallen over Crosshair, over his body, his heart. It's the worst absence of noise Hunter's ever experienced.

Panicked, Hunter shifts Crosshair into his arms, holding him in front of his chest so he can see him as he hurries back to the ship. Crosshair's pale face is slack, just like the rest of him. His chest doesn't rise any more.

Hunter sprints the last few meters to the Marauder, feeling sick. This can't be happening, Crosshair can't die here. That thought is the only thing going through Hunter's mind and he takes the steps up to the ship two at a time.

Hunter can barely make himself form the words he needs to tell his brothers what happened.

Dropping to his knees with no regard for his own health, Hunter places Crosshair's still form on the floor carefully as chaos erupts inside the Marauder. He's aware of Tech and Echo's presence, but doesn't acknowledge them as he claws at Crosshair's chest plate, yanking it off his body.

Hunter's blind to the world as he places his hands on Crosshair's chest, extending his arms and pushing his weight down on his brother's chest. Nothing but how Crosshair reacts to the chest compressions matters to Hunter, everything else blocked out.

Distantly, Hunter's aware of some song they were taught to think of when applying CPR, but trying to recall it does nothing but piss Hunter off. It was something stupid, something to do with surviving. Who ever thought a song like that would be what someone wants to think of whilst a person dies in front of them, whilst their little brother dies in front of them, must have been crazy.

Hunter focuses his senses, hearing the organs shift in Crosshair's chest as he applies pressure. Ribs crack under the force, but that's nothing compared to death. Someone's cutting the blacks off Crosshair's chest, but even that doesn't keep Hunter from his mission. He refuses to let Crosshair die here.

Tech pushes Hunter's hands from Crosshair's chest. He wants to protest, but trusts Tech. Hunter wrings his hands as he watches Tech inject a hypo of unidentified substance into Crosshair's chest before applying electrodes to his skin. Hunter had almost forgotten they had a defibrillator. It's not like they ever used it.

Someone tells Hunter to stay clear of Crosshair, but he barely hears them over the blood rushing in his ears. Crosshair is still so horribly still. An painfully loud buzzing of electricity flares to Hunter's right, making him want to clutch at his head. It's like metal pipes imbedded in his brain is being hit over and over again.

Crosshair's body twitches, a controlled shock coursing through it. At the same time, Crosshair's heart reacts, twitching in response. Tech orders Hunter to continue the chest compressions, so he does.

Hunter keeps pressing his weight down on his brothers chest, once, twice with no response. Every time he fails, it's like the air around Hunter gets ticker, harder to inhale. Hunter keeps asking himself why it isn't working, what he's doing wrong.

Then Crosshair gasp, Echo just about able to flip him onto his side in time for more watery saliva and bile to pour from their little brother's mouth. Hunter's never been happier to watch one of his brothers throw up.

A shaky exhale leaves Hunter. It feels like an eternity since Crosshair's heart stopped, even if Hunter knows it's barely been a minute.

Echo wipes Crosshair's mouth before putting a breath mask on him, moving him onto his side more stably. Hunter's hands shake as he places one on Crosshair's wrist. He can hear the faint heart beat and ragged breathing, but wants to feel it too. If Hunter were to try standing up, he's sure he'd fall right back down.

Tech explains what they did with Wrecker, giving him blood to potentially dilute the drug in his body. Hunter's holding his arm out for the transfer before Tech's even finished. "Cross is bleeding," Hunter says, pointing at his brothers injured shoulder. Despite his best efforts, his voice shakes more than his hands do. Hunter's their Sargent, he should be level headed and calm at all times yet he's acting like a shiny. It's pathetic. Echo tends to Crosshair's injury with precision and care. He's doing so much better than Hunter is, managing to act like the soldier he was bred to be. It shows that Echo was chosen to be an ARC trooper for the skills he proved in combat and that Hunter's only Clone Force 99's Sargent because he was assigned that roll as a cadet. When Echo isn't watching, Hunter takes a roll of bandages from the med kit at his side. Hunter bunches some of it up and presses it into the wound on his leg. He won't make a fuss of his own injury. He can smell Echo's blood and Tech's voice is unusually rough, proving they're both ignoring damage to their own bodies. Tech connects Hunter's arm to Crosshair's swiftly. Hunter's already lost blood, but he can do with losing a bit more for his brother's sake. "They're stable for now," Tech rasps. There's something wrong with his neck for sure. The skin looks discoloured where his blacks don't fully cover his neck. "Watch them whilst I fly the ship." Hunter nods. There's no way he'd do anything other than watch his brothers. Echo is at Wrecker's side, so Hunter watches Crosshair. He still takes a moment to look at Wrecker, to listen to his breathing and heart. Both is weak, like Wrecker's body is struggling to keep up. But it's there. Wrecker's pale too and shaking. Echo, armed with the med kit, it trying to pull the glove off of Wrecker's burned hand. It's an ugly sight, skin coming with the item of clothing no matter how gentle Echo is. Hunter turns back to Crosshair. His chest is rising and falling, the motion almost steady. With his blacks cut, Hunter can see the damage he did to his little brother. Big bruises mar his skin, blood smeared from the cuts Hunter put in Crosshair's shoulder and hands.

Hunter had been slow. With getting to Crosshair, as well as subduing and bringing him back to the Marauder. They almost lost him and it would have been entirely Hunter's fault. Something in Hunter's chest seizes, making breathing hard. His eyes sting.

On top of everything, Hunter was also the one to accept the experimental stims in the first place. He should have told Tech to check over all the new supplies. A better Sargent wouldn't have neglected that.

Their two youngest vode could have died, almost did die. Kark, they might still do so if things take a turn for the worse.

The air is thick with the smell of blood and vomit, clouded with the heavy scent of fear. Hunter feels a little light-headed. He refuses to believe that's already from the blood loss.

Crosshair twitches and Hunter's immediately ready for his heart to stop beating, adrenalin spiking in his chest in response. But Crosshair's heart keeps going, just as weak as it was before. Something beeps at Hunters side, and only then does he realize that Echo's been alternating using the med scanner on both of their unconscious brothers.

Hunter hadn't even thought of that. His breath catches in his throat, the air hard to breath. He failed his vode and he continues to do so. If it weren't for Echo and Tech, they'd both be dead.

A burning sensation spreads through Hunter's chest and up his throat as his eyes flick between his unconscious brothers. He can barely hear them through the sound of his own heartbeat and laboured breaths. There must be something wrong with the ventilation in the Marauder, Hunter barely seems to gain any oxygen from the surrounding air.

Vision swimming, Hunter curses himself. He should focus on his brothers, but his mind wanders, finding it hard to stick in one place. Every sensation surrounding him, the smells, the Marauder's engine, the noises Hunter himself makes, it's all too much. Hunter can't seems to wade through the layers upon layers of stimuli, all desperate to pull the Sargent beneath its murky surface.

A loud snap in front of Hunter's face breaks through the overwhelming mist engulfing his mind. Echo's snapping his fingers near Hunter's head. Hunter wonders how long he might have been doing that.

Whilst the action does get Hunter's attention, it hardly gets him to focus. Their surroundings, what really matters, feels so distant. Hunter can barely keep a grip on it.

Something warm drips onto his hands and Hunter's blurry vision is pulled downwards to his shaky hands. He can't see anything, but he smells it now. Salt, specifically the saline scent of tears. Hunter hadn't even noticed that he'd started crying.

A soldier, even more so a Sargent, shouldn't be breaking out in tears whilst other trooper's lives are still at stake. Hunter's endangering them by loosing his composure, but no matter how hard he tries to clear his throat and wipe the fluid running down his face off, he can't calm down.

Hunter struggles to breath, his own body betraying him. He remembers all the trainers that used to shout at them for such emotional outbursts, though the additional guilt helps little to correct Hunter's behaviour. Sharp pain blooms in Hunter's skull, even sitting down he feels dizzy.

Then out of no where, arms are wrapped around Hunter's chest, drawing him close. Even with his senses preoccupied with his outburst, Hunter recognizes Echo. Hunter can't help but lean into the hug, head coming to rest on his brother's shoulder. Tears flow across his face and onto Echo's shoulder.

Echo seems to try and pull Hunter's composure back together with the embrace, and little by little, it works. Still unable to stop crying, Hunter becomes more aware of his surroundings.

He tries to push away from Echo when he remembers what Tech told them to do. “Wrecker and Cross-”

“I called Tech over, they're being monitored,” Echo interrupts him, like he's read Hunter's mind. Hunter is embraced tighter again.

Still struggling to get a hold of himself, Hunter tries to at least listen for his downed brothers as he clings to Echo. When he can finally pick the quiet thud of their hearts, interrupted by skipped beats ever so often, Hunter makes it his short-term mission to focus on that sound like Crosshair and Wrecker's lives depend on him doing so.

Hunter feels like a cadet, breaking down this badly during a crucial moment. He's a Sargent, he should be calming down his squad, not being the one needing comfort. On top of that, he's the eldest of the original Clone Force 99. Tech should be able to rely on his ori'vod in these situations.

When Hunter finally musters the willpower to remove himself from Echo he's shaking, barely able to look at the ARC trooper. Instead, he keeps his eyes on Crosshair. Tears still clouding his vision, Hunter relies on his other senses to keep an eye on his vode. Hunter mutters an apology, Echo patting his shoulder in response.

Hunter sways where he sits, blood loss affecting him more than he'd like to admit. He grits his teeth, reaching for the aggravated injury on his leg. This time, Echo notices, immediately grabbing Hunter's arm.

“Are you crazy?” he exclaims, loud enough to make Hunter jump. “You're bleeding this much and haven't told is to stop the transfer to Crosshair yet?” Muttering something Hunter can't quite make out, Echo pulls the needle from Hunters arm, with more care than the Sargent honestly deserves.

The puncture on Hunters arm is wrapped, and after Crosshair's is attended to, Echo helps Hunter with his leg. The armor is removed and the wound is covered in bandage material, tight enough to stem the blood flow. Hunter helps however he can, still feeling pathetic. He apologizes again, glancing over to Tech. Their pilot looks away hastily when Hunter makes eye contact with him.

“It's fine Hunter, we've all had a long day. Happens to the best of us.” Echo pauses. “But not the thing with your leg. Are you trying to die of blood loss?” The ARC shakes his head as he moves to the other side of Wrecker.

Hunter catches a glimpse of his face and Echo gives him a small smile, even in such a dire situation. The Sargent manages to return the gesture weakly. They're on route to Kamino and they've done as much as they could. Whilst Hunter helped little in keeping his brothers safe, at least he managed to give a decent amount of blood to Crosshair. Echo's right, it was dangerous but Hunter hardly cares. Rather he be in danger than any of his brothers. It's a risk he'd take any day.

Hunter goes back to wringing his hands as he watches Crosshair. The skin on his face is starting to feel tight from drying tears and Hunter inhales sharply to try and clear his nose. Now that he's had his little outburst he can go back to monitoring his siblings. Hopefully that was the last mistake he'll be making any time soon.

Mando'a Translation:

Vod/vode – sibling/siblings Vod'ika – little sibling Ori'vod - older sibling

[vodika-vibes]

I had a thought, just a minor one. And I'm gonna share it~

Late one evening, at the beginning of the Clone Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi (a former child soldier who's beginning to wonder if he's be cursed by a god of war) is sitting on the floor of the council chamber.

And by sitting, he's actually laying on his back with his feet propped up on his seat.

He's tired. Hasn't sleep in a week and has started hallucinating tired.

And maybe that's where the idea comes from.

He tilts his head back to look at the other members of the council, "we should end the war."

"Just like that?" Kit asks as he stares at his datapad, presumably reading something, only his eyes haven't moved in the last 30 minutes.

"...we're fighting droids who are using blasters." Obi-Wan points out.

"But what about the clones?" Depa asks, thinking fondly of Gray and the rest of the men she met earlier that morning. "They'll feel useless."

The Council chamber falls silent for a moment, and then Obi-Wan sits up, his legs toppling to the ground, "I have it!"

The next morning, Commander Cody nervously heads deep into the Jedi Temple, following the instructions given to him by his General.

"Commander! I'm glad you made it!" Obi-Wan sweeps over to him, a bundle of yellow cloth tucked into his arm. "Here, hold this!"

Cody holds out his hands and goes grey when he sees a tiny twi'lek baby staring up at him, sucking furiously on their pacifier.

"Uhhh..."

"Have fun! Don't worry! You only need to watch her for a couple of hours today!"

"Uhhhhh..."

Obi-Wan claps his shoulder, "You and your brothers are on Temple duty while we, the the Knights and Masters, end the war. Have fun!" And then he's gone, and Cody is left staring at the tubie in his hands.

" ...would you like me to read you the reg manual, tubie?"

She just stares at him and waves her fists in his direction.

[kotemf]

Codywan week - day 7

This is my last (late) post for @codywanweek 2024, thank you guys for organizing this event because I sure enjoyed it. I hope you all enjoy reading the story. You can read here, on Wattpad or Ao3.

  Prompt: modern AU (teacher / university / academia AU), courting, dimension travel (by one character)

The mandalorian palace in Keldabe was under attack. It was Death Watch, only there was more of them than the haat'ade thought. There were supposed to be a few hundreds at most. These were thousands. They weren't prepared for this.

  Kote was in his room when the attack started. He wasn't dumb, didn't stay there. Just put his bucket on and went to fight rather than wait for the demagolkase to come for him. With his blaster ready, he ran through the corridors, shooting at every kyr'tsad warrior he came across.

  Making sure his blaster was ready to fire, he turned another corner. Someone was there. Only at the last moment, Kote recognized his buir's armor. He lowered his weapon. So did Jango.

  "Kot'ika..." Jango hauled Kote into a firm embrace. "Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."

  "Why are- why are you telling me this?" Kote had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

  "Not all of us are getting out of here. You have to go, Kot'ika. While there is still time. Take Boba and get out of here."

  "But I- I can't just-"

  "You can and you will. Take Boba and go."

  "I can't- I can't! I can't leave you here, I can't leave the others here!"

  "I know it's hard, Kot'ika. But you have to do it, for Mandalore. You need to run and wait for the right moment. You will defeat kyr'tsad once, when the time comes. I believe in you, ner Kote."

  "I'm scared, buir," Kote admitted.

  "It's okay to be scared sometimes, Kot'ika. What matters is that you can face your fears. I love you." Jango brought their foreheads together into a gentle keldabe kiss. After a moment, he pulled away and with a brief touch to Kote's shoulder, he was gone.

  Kote suppressed his tears. This wasn't the right time for crying. He had to find Boba and get then out of there. He couldn't fail Mandalore. He couldn't fail his buir, his mand'alor. And most importantly, he couldn't fail his vod'ika.

  It's been two years since they crash landed on Earth due to some problem with the hyper drive. With their ship broken and no way to repair it on Earth, there was no way of going back. They were never going to see buir again, they won't even know if he survived the attack. The same goes for their brothers, their friends and the rest of the haat'ade. 

  It sucked but everything could be much worse. Cody didn't even want to think about what could happen if it wasn't Obi-Wan who found their crashed ship in the middle of a forest.

  Obi-Wan Kenobi was a wonderful man. It didn't hurt that he was also attractive. And so very mandokarla. When he found a damaged aircraft in the forest, he didn't go and report it. He made sure that Cody and Boba were alright, took them home with him and helped them to adapt and to get registered as citizens. That's how Cody got the new name.

  Cody loved Obi-Wan.

  They still shared an apartment, but a bigger one now. When Cody started seeking a new home for himself and Boba because they just couldn't bunk on Obi-Wan's couch forever, Obi-Wan admitted that he enjoyed their company. They ended up renting a bigger apartment, with a room for each of them, and splitting the bills. They worked well like that. Cody cooked and made sure that Obi-Wan didn't forget to eat. Obi-Wan watched Boba when before Cody got back home from work.

  Cody liked seeing Obi-Wan engage with Boba. He was a mandalorian. They gentle way Obi-Wan spoke to Boba, how he played with the boy, might be the main reason why Cody fell for him.

  Right now, Obi-Wan was once again patiently helping Boba with his math homework. Boba excelled in English, perhaps thanks to Obi-Wan being his English teacher, but he was struggling with math. Cody was glad Obi-Wan could explain math to Boba because he had no idea how he would do it.

  It also gave him time. When he knew that Obi-Wan was with Boba in the living room, he couldn't come to Cody's bedroom. Cody didn't need Obi-Wan walking in right now. He didn't want Obi-Wan to know just what was in the package that Cody got earlier that day. Obi-Wan would definitely have questions that Cody couldn't answer just yet.

  Cody waited for the weekend before revealing the contents of the package to Obi-Wan. He cooked dinner, same as every day, only then instead of bringing the dessert right after they finished their meals, he handed Obi-Wan a carefully wrapped package. Obi-Wan looked surprised. Boba, not so much.

  Cody was nervous as he watched Obi-Wan unwrap it. He was so sure when he picked it out. But what if he picked the wrong thing?

  "It's nice," Obi-Wan said a few moments after he finally got a look at his gift. He didn't sound too convinced. 

  "If you don't like it, I can just retu-"

  "No, no, it's nice," Obi-Wan lied. Cody was sure he was lying.

  "Obi-Wan, I can tell you don't like it. It's okay."

  "No, I do like it. I just... I guess I didn't expect you to gift me a knife? Not that I don't like it, it's just... unexpected."

  Boba leaned closer to Obi-Wan. "Knife is a traditional mandalorian courting gift," he whispered loudly enough that even Cody could hear it. Boba was smart, Cody had to admit. He himself didn't even realize that to Obi-Wan, the ornamented weapon might not mean anything.

  "A courting gift?" Obi-Wan's eyes widened in realization. "I- Cody, I had no idea you felt that way!"

  "It's okay if you don't feel the-"

  "Of course I feel the same!"

  Cody didn't remember the last time he was this happy.

  A few months later, Cody found himself standing in the forest, where Obi-Wan first found them and their crashed ship. Obi-Wan was standing next to him. He dressed into a suit for the occasion and Cody thought he looked gorgeous.

  "I love you." Cody couldn't help but say it for the millionth time that day.

  "Considering we're about to get married, I would hope so."

  Cody grinned. He still couldn't believe it. He was marrying Obi-Wan, the love of his life, his amazing cyare. He held out one of his old vambraces, something he didn't even wear anymore and that Obi-Wan will probably never have a use for, but beautifully traditional all the same. "Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde," Cody recited the ancient mandalorian words.

  Obi-Wan took the vambrace before reciting the vows himself. He started learning mando'a shortly after Cody courted him, even if Cody assured him he didn't have to. He did love hearing the mando'a spoken with Obi-Wan's crisp accent, though. To finish the ceremony, he accepted a ring from Obi-Wan. That wasn't traditionally mandalorian but they decided that since Obi-Wan didn't posses any armor, the ring, traditional for most of the worlds in the galaxy, will be a nice exchange for the beskar vambrace.

  Then it was over. Just like that. They were married.

  Cody couldn't resist grabbing Obi-Wan, his beautiful, amazing riduur around the waist and spinning him in the air before finally kissing him. They kissed before, sure. But that was different. He wasn't just kissing his boyfriend anymore. He was kissing his husband. And Cody loved that feeling.

  Until Boba started fake gagging. Cody guessed he should've expected that from the nine years old. He couldn't say he was mad at the boy, though. Boba was a good kid, if a little grumpy. And as estranged as they used to be, being the oldest and the youngest of the brothers with almost twenty years between them, their time on Earth brought them together. Taking care of younger brothers used to be a chore but now, taking care of Boba strangely felt... nice.

  That being said... "We actually wanted to say one more vow today. If you will agree, Boba, that's it."

  Boba looked confused.

  "We were- we were thinking about adopting you," Obi-Wan explained.

  "If you don't want to, it's okay," Cody added.

  Boba looked at them, wide eyed. "You- you want to adopt me? Like... be my buire?"

  "Yes, darling. We would love to." Obi-Wan answered and in a moment, he had his arms full of a sniffling boy. Cody decided not to be offended at not being the first one to be hugged and instead hugged both Boba and Obi-Wan. His riduur and his ad. His throat was burning with tears as he said the gai bal manda. "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Boba."

  "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad," Obi-Wan repeated the words. Cody could tell he was crying and he couldn't really blame him.

  "I love you both so much." Cody kissed Boba's dark curls and then pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan's cheek. This was the most important day of his life, he decided. It didn't matter that there was no one to witness it, no one taking pictures and filming videos. What mattered was that Cody was going to remember this day until the day he died.

[tereox]

Warmup #13

Rating: T

Summary: Coruscant is haunted. The ghosts aren't bothering the Corries so they just go with the flow. What are they gonna do? Assassinate- oh.. Oh. Good riddance.

~~~

Fox picked up his mug of caff and paused when he realised that it was still warm. He could have sworn he'd put that there hours ago.

He looked around the glorified storage closet that was his office. "Vor'e." He whispered to the empty room.

He went back to work, the mug warming his hand.

~~~

"Kriff, I need-" Thread shoved his arm into the cabinet he knew was empty. He'd checked it several times but he needed that bacta, the vod'ika sprawled on the medical cot wouldn't make it.

Against all odds, his hand caught on something solid. He tugged the item out of the cabinet and spared only a fraction of a second to stare at the bacta. Then he threw himself out of the storage closet and held up the bacta like it would bring them salvation.

It would, for this particular vod'ika.

~~~

"You have no idea what I'm capable of." The senator sneered, tugging their fancy cape away from Grizzer. "I will have that beast put down."

Hound carefully tugged Grizzer back, pushing down the panic rising in him in the same motion. "Sir, she's trained to detect illegal substances and you-"

The senator whirled around to face him and their foot caught on something.

There was an aborted attempt to reach for them, but Hound could only watch as they tumbled off the platform. If there had ever been a good place for a railing on Coruscant, it would have been there.

… he should call that in.

~~~

Thire's patrol route was the same every Taungsday. It was a security risk, but with how scheduling worked it was difficult to change.

He caught a glint out of the corner of his eye and grabbed his patrol buddy's arm, wrenching them behind cover.

Paperclip stayed down. "What did you see?"

"Glint, might have been a sniper."

"Ah."

Thire reached for his comm and called in backup. Better safe than dead.

There ended up being no sniper. However, several blocks further, an ambush had been laid. He should ask Fox to have his patrol route adjusted.

~~~

Fox placed down his stylus and ran a hand down his face. He was dead tired. There were.. way too many things he still had to do before passing out in his bunk for a couple hours. He couldn't allow himself to stop now.

He grabbed one of the more important datapads and reached for his stylus. His fingers touched the empty desk.

Fox frowned and looked over. His stylus wasn't where he'd left it. Maybe his desk had gotten slanted from the constant pressure of hundreds of datapads and pieces of flimsi on top of it.

He leaned over to check and did not find his stylus. That sucked, it had been his favourite stylus. Oh well.

He went to open his desk drawer to get a new one but it wouldn't budge. Something slapped him in the face and that was his stylus!

Fox jumped up in a vain attempt to grab the floating object but he only got a wave of nausea rolling through him.

Maybe.. maybe he should go to sleep.

~~~

"The security cameras show it flew across the room and embedded itself right in the Chancellor's heart. There was no one who could have thrown it. The Chancellor was in his office by himself."

Fox silenced the thought of his floating stylus and nodded dutifully. "We'll keep an eye out for an invisible assailant."

Even a CorSec officer should have caught the sarcasm in that.

~~~

Mando'a vor'e - thanks vod'ika - little sibling

[bunny7567]

I got you - chapter 15

Pairing: Rex x Jedi!ofc

Word count: 7.1k Tags/Warnings: NSFW 18+; piv sex; dry humping; a very melodramatic first kiss; a bit of a title kink; insecure Rex is adorable; the slow burn is finally burning; angst; have you ever felt the need to just disappear into the sea?; inappropriate use of the Force;

A/n: I'm really excited to post this, I think it's my favourite chapter, for obvious reasons. However, I need to take a break for the rest of the year, with work and the holidays coming up it's a bit too much atm. So next chapter will be posted on the 5th or 12th of january.

Previous chapter | Next chapter

vod - bother vod'ika - little sister cyare - beloved cyar'ika - darling, sweetheart osik - shit, crap gedet'ye - please

~~~

The dress that Padmé had lent her was a simple, floor-length gown with an off-shoulder neckline, in a beautiful dark purple colour. Lexie twirled in front of the mirror, observing the fluid movements of the expensive, silky material. It was nice to be out of the combat-appropriate clothes she always wore, to put on makeup, tie her hair in an elegant updo. She actually giggled at the sight, she had not felt so feminine in months with all the missions she’d been on.

I wonder if Rex will like it, the thought entered her mind before she could stop it and she groaned at herself for, once again, not being able to stop thinking about the Captain. And she was doing really well too…for the past 15 minutes as she focused on her hair anyway. Lexie still couldn’t believe what had just happened, what she’d just said to him.

She really should have thought it through before she followed him out the parlor. She assumed she had, she thought she would be able to apologise and explain, but the words that left her mouth had shocked her as much as they shocked him. Lexie couldn’t really see a way to come back from that… he will want an explanation and she will have to confess her feelings...

“Come in”, she said, a bit startled as she heard the signal sound on her door. She’d been so lost in thought she had not sensed anyone’s presence outside of it.

The door slid open and the Senator walked in. Lexie looked at her and briefly wondered if the smile on her face was genuine or the carefully crafted one of a politician. She was generally sceptical of all politicians but she reminded herself of her importance. If Anakin loves her then I should give her a chance.

“Master Khalla, you look lovely”, Padmé said warmly.

“Thank you, Senator. And thank you for letting me borrow this dress. It’s gorgeous”, Lexie replied.

“The least I could do after stealing you away for a mission on such a short notice”, Padmé replied.

“I’m happy to do my duty, Senator”, Lexie said with the rehearsed politeness she used on any Senate official.

“Please, call me Padmé”. She said. Lexie nodded and there was a brief pause in the conversation. An awkward pause. “I know Anakin wanted to talk to you, did he have the time?”, Padmé asked.

Lexie could feel a little nervousness coming from the woman in front of her. “Yes, he did. He informed me of your… situation”, she replied, carefully selecting her words.

“I take it you don’t approve”, she said with a small laugh.

“Do you need my approval?”, Lexie asked, a little amused.

“No, but I know Anakin would like to have it. He thinks very highly of you”, Padmé told her.

“I want him to be happy. He’s a dear friend and, honestly, I’m not really a stickler for the rules”, Lexie admitted with a smirk.

“He might have mentioned that”, Padmé chuckled. “Should we go join the men in the parlor? We’re about to start our descent on the planet”.

Lexie took a deep breath, trying to mentally steady herself. The mission was starting, she had to focus, she had to stay calm. She had to not let Rex consume her thoughts like he usually did.

“Yes, let’s go”, she said.

Rex didn’t know what to think anymore. He had spent the past weeks feeling sorry for himself, and angry at his brother. He had been jealous of Fives, jealous that he had done something Rex himself longed for, something he had not allowed himself to do because of rules and propriety. And because he didn’t think Lexie would’ve wanted him. But after what she just said…

Did he even hear her right? Did he understand her properly? His mind went over every moment they’ve shared together, every lingering touch, every time she had confided in him. He thought about their time on Felucia and on Dore’e, of the days she had stayed close to him and the nights she had slept with her head on his shoulder. He thought about what she had told him on Saleucami. He thought about all of their late night conversations in his office and about the last time they’d hung out together, eating ice cream in Monument Plaza. Could she really share his feelings?  

“-are you with us vod?”, Fives asked.

“What?”, Rex replied, suddenly brought back to the present.

“I asked you a question? About the security measures? Ring a bell?”, Fives said with a chuckle.

“Uh… yes”, Rex mumbled.

“It wasn’t a yes or no question”, Echo said in the same amused tone as his twin.

Rex shot the ARC troopers a pointed look.

“Do you want us in shifts outside the Senator’s quarters all night or do you think the Kaldonyan security inside the palace is enough?”, Echo repeated the question.

“The security plan they have provided for us seems solid enough. The General’s quarters are right across from the Senator’s, she will be able to sense any danger and act quickly if anything. We can reassess as needed”, Rex replied matter-of-factly.

“So”, Fives started, a shit-eating grin on his face, “you and Lexie are about to spend a lot of time together. You must be excited”.

“I enjoy the General’s company, yes”, Rex said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

“Mhm, I’m sure you do”, Fives continued.

Rex opened his mind to reprimand him, but before he could reply, the door to the parlor room slid open and Lexie and Padmé entered, mid-conversation. Rex shot up from his seat, his wide eyes stuck to Lexie. He always thought she was elegant, even in the midst of battle she would make slashing droids look like a graceful dance, but now, in that dress, she was absolutely stunning. Rex’s eyes fell to the exposed leg visible through the slit of the dress as she walked into the room and he nearly lost his mind. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

“Damn, Lex, you clean up nicely”, Fives said after he wolf-whistled.

“You look great vod’ika”, Echo added.

“Thank you, boys”, she replied with a slightly nervous chuckle.

“Don’t you agree, Captain?”, Fives prompted, turning his head to look at Rex.

“I-I… uh… y-you’re…”, Rex stuttered. His mind was blank, he had no idea what to say. She looked absolutely stunning, but could he say that? Was it too inappropriate?

“I think we need to call a medevac for Rex”, Fives announced with a chuckle.

“Lexie might need one too from the looks of it”, Echo said teasingly.

Rex’s eyes lifted to her face and he noticed her flushed cheeks. He was confused for a second before realising that she was looking at him, her gaze moving over his body. She seemed just as stunned by the sight of him as he was by her.

The Captain was dressed in a midnight blue double-breasted tunic, with matching trousers and black boots and belt. Lexie had never seen him in civilian clothing before, and she was struck by how the formal attire was making him appear even more handsome than he usually was. Her eyes caught his and she blushed deeper, before averting her gaze. A smile appeared on Rex’s face at the realisation that she was, in fact, checking him out.

“You look beautiful, General”, Rex managed to say after awkwardly clearing his throat.

“Thank you, Captain. You too. I mean g-good, uh, handsome… I… you look very formal”, she struggled to reply, eyes flickering up to meet his again. Rex felt the blush creep on his face again and he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck. They both looked in each other’s eyes for a moment, not finding anything else to say. But Lexie felt something, she felt hope. The way he was looking at her… he must feel the same, right?

Fives and Echo shared a look, and even Padmé was amused by the flustered looks on Lexie and Rex’s faces. The Captain straightened, trying to regain his composure while Lexie cleared her throat and gave the ARC troopers a warning gaze, stopping Fives from making another teasing comment.

The ship landed and Lexie followed Senator Amidala down the ramp. Rex was quietly walking by her side, while Echo and Fives were behind them, helmets on. She didn’t pay much attention to the welcome greeting and formalities exchanged between Padmé and the Kaldonyans, she was looking through the Force, gently probing around the minds of their hosts. She let out a breath of relief when she couldn’t pick up any deceitful intentions.

They were led from the landing platform, through the dark stone corridors of the palace and into the large gardens of the estate. Kaldonya was in its warm season and so the banquet was being held outdoors, the nights on the planet being quite pleasant. She gave a quick nod to the ARC troopers who would not be allowed into the garden and stepped out the large double doors.

The palace was built atop a small cliff, and Lexie could just about make out the sound of the ocean over the live, classical music. She walked by the elegantly dressed sentients and across the garden, heading towards the edge, and leaned over the sophisticated durasteel railing. The water was sparkling bright teal from the bioluminescent organisms native to the planet and the moon was just starting to rise on the horizon. Lexie really hoped she would have the time to go down to the beach later. It looked so beautiful.

Rex stayed by Senator Amidala’s side, his eyes following Lexie through the crowd as she moved away from them. He knew how much she loved being near the water, be that a river, a lake, the sea, so it didn’t surprise him one bit how she immediately went to peer over the ledge. Her last name meant ‘river’ in old seccayan, he remembered she’d told him. A small smile was tugging at his lips at the childlike wonder he saw on her face. She would no doubt drag him down to the beach at one point during this mission.

She turned and their eyes met and he saw her give him a once-over before shaking her head, an amused expression on her face. Lexie walked back to where he was stood behind Padmé, his hands clasped behind his back, posture straight. She stopped in front of him, placed a hand on his shoulder and lifted herself on her tiptoes in order to quietly talk in his ear.

“You look too much like a soldier. You need to relax a bit”. The action had the opposite effect, however, as Rex felt his whole body tense at the warmth of her breath on his skin.

Lexie then moved closer to Padmé, leaning and whispering something in her ear. The Senator nodded and smiled before returning her attention to the Kaldonyan officials she was speaking to. Lexie took Rex's hand and guided him through the crowd. His eyes were glued to his hand in hers. Her skin was so soft and the Captain couldn’t help the way his thumb brushed over it. Lexie looked back at him and smiled.

“Where are we going?”, he asked her.

“To get a drink”, she replied simply.

“Is that a good idea? We’re supposed to be watching out for the Senator”, Rex protested.

Lexie stopped and turned to face him, repeating her earlier action in order speak to him and not be overheard by the Kaldonyans around them.

“We need to blend in Rex. We’ll watch her from a distance, but we need to play the part of party guests”, she explained.

This time, his hand landed on her waist as she raised herself on her tiptoes and it lingered there a little too long after she was done with her explanation. Lexie’s cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink that almost had the Captain lean in to kiss them. He couldn’t do that though, and his own face got warmer when he realised his hand was still on her body. He abruptly pulled it away and cleared his throat.

The two made their way to the bar and decided to try a local sparkling wine. Lexie then suggested they split up, mingle with other people and Rex reluctantly followed her instructions. Still, he tried not to stray too far away from her in the next couple of hours, he socialised as much as he could, but her beautiful form kept drawing his eyes. Her polite smiles, the way she would shift her weight from one foot to the other when she was bored with a conversation, every little thing about her was captivating.

Rex wanted nothing more than to pull her aside and a talk to her, ask her what she had meant back on the ship, finally figure out if his love was unrequited or not. It was really hard to stay focused, he had to keep reminding himself of his mission.

“You should ask her to dance”, Padmé told him, coming to stand by his side after a while.

“I’m not here to dance, Senator”, Rex said.

“It’s a party, Rex, you should unwind a little. And don’t worry about me, I’m turning in for the night”, Padmé told him.

“I’ll escort you to your room”, he offered.

“There’s no need. Fives and Echo are right inside. They can handle it”, she said as she started walking towards the palace entrance. “And, Rex? You’re allowed to enjoy yourselves”.

The Captain watched until Padmé entered the palace, not relaxing until he saw the two ARC troopers give him a nod and disappear after her into the building. He then turned and searched through the crowd, looking for the woman he longed to be near. He saw Lexie was once again stood by the railing, gaze lost to the see. Rex made his way through the crowd, coming to a stop next to her.

“The Senator has turned in for the night”, he informed her. Rex cringed internally at the forced formality of his tone of voice. That was not what he had wanted to say, but was all he could muster as he once again got lost in how beautiful Lexie looked tonight.

“I suppose you want to follow her example”, Lexie said without moving her gaze from the water.

“I want to dance with you actually”, he blurted out, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

Lexie quickly turned her head to look at him, a surprised expression on her face. Rex straightened almost at attention, trying to keep away the fear that he was overstepping, that maybe he had not understood her properly on the ship.

“I’d love that”, she said, a bright smile appearing on her face. He let out a breath of relief.

He took her hand and the two of them moved to where all the other couples were dancing. Lexie placed her left hand on his shoulder and he positioned his right hand on her waist. He took her other hand in his as he quickly looked around him, attempting to figure out how he should move.

“It’s simple, just follow my lead”, Lexie told him with a small chuckle.

“Aren’t I supposed to lead?”, he replied in a similar amused voice.

“You can once you pick it up”, she said as she started to move, gently pulling him after her. “Listen to the music, do you hear the tempo?”

“I think so”, he said uncertainly.

“The steps are simple, just follow the music. 1-2-3, 1-2-3”, she started counting as they moved.

Rex started counting in his head, following her lead. Soon enough he felt confident that he understood the movements, and lifted his eyes from his feet in order to look at her.

“Good, just like that. You’re a quick learner, Captain”, she praised. He couldn’t help but blush.

They held each other’s gaze for a few moments, as Rex gathered the courage to ask the question that had been burning in his mind for the past few hours. Before he could, however, the music changed, a slower tune being played by the band. Lexie moved closer to him, allowing her left arm to wrap around his neck and placing her head in the crook of his neck. Her thumb started softly tracing over the nape of his neck. He got lost in the feel of her, her warmth, her smell, the softness of her hand, and he closed his eyes, swaying slowly to the music. It felt as if they were the only two people in the galaxy.

 “Rex?”, she got his attention.

 Rex hummed in response and lowered his head so that he could hear her better.

“I would've said yes”, Lexie said, her lips softly grazing the shell of his ear, making a shiver run down his spine. “That night in the break room, before Kix and Hardcase interrupted us. I was going to say yes”.

Rex's grip on her hip tightened and he inhaled deeply. “What if I were to ask again... at some point?”, he said, heart pounding in his chest.

“You don't need to ask. I'll always say yes to you”, she whispered in his ear.

“Cyare, you can’t say things like that”, he warned.

“Why not?”

“Because you have no idea of the things I want to do to you”, Rex said, his grip on her hip now almost bruising.

“Then show me”, she encouraged him.

Rex pulled away a little and looked at her with darkened eyes. The stare felt dangerous and exhilarating and it sent a tingling jolt to her core. But then the look in his eyes changed, replaced by what Lexie thought was sadness. Rex placed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes, taking in a long, shuddering breath.

“We shouldn’t”, he said so quietly she almost didn’t hear him.

But she did and just like that the spell was broken and Lexie stepped away from him. She couldn’t help but feel sad and disappointed. But Rex was right. He was thinking more clearly than she was. They shouldn’t, it wasn’t proper, it wasn’t allowed. What the hell was I thinking?

“I… I think I’ll go for a walk, clear my head”, she said quickly and tuned to walk away.

Rex hesitated for a few moments, watching as Lexie walked away from him, eyes following the fluid movements of her dress. He had ruined it, the thing he had wanted for so long, he had let his fears ruin it. He decided to follow after her, needing to apologise, to somehow salvage the beautiful night they’d had up until then.

Lexie headed straight for the gate on one side of the garden, then down a stone path that lead to the beach. Rex called after her but Lexie didn’t stop. She didn’t even slow down. She kicked off the flats she was wearing, feeling the coarse sand on the soles of her feet, and quickly walked towards the water. She knew Rex was only a few meters behind her and really did not really understand why he was even following after her. What else is there to say? They shouldn’t break regulations, no matter how much they wanted to. She knew she would try to change his mind if she stopped to talk to him and she didn’t want that, she didn’t want to force him into anything.

Tears starting rolling down her cheeks as Lexie swiftly unzipped her dress and let it fall to the ground, leaving her in just her bra and underwear. She needed to swim, she needed to feel the cool water envelop her body in an embrace she knew she actually wanted from Rex.

The Captain stopped dead in his tracks as he saw Lexie undress. Her body looked eerily beautiful the way it was illuminated by the teal glow of the bioluminescent water and by the faint moonlight. He was so stunned he nearly forgot how to breathe. He quickly snapped out of it however, as he watched her enter the water, and he called after her again, asking her what she was doing. Frustration was rising in his mind as she once again ignored him. He watched as Lexie dove in once the water reached her waist and he waited to see her come back up for air.

Only… she didn’t. Seconds were passing, then one minute, then two, and there was no sign of her. Rex felt the panic rise inside his mind, a nauseating feeling stirring in his stomach; how long can she hold her breath? Was the water safe? Were there any predators this close to shore?

Rex hurriedly took off his tunic and ran into the sea. He dove in after her, the salt water stinging his eyes for a moment. With the help of the shining algae around he was able to make out Lexie’s silhouette sat cross-legged on the seafloor and he grabbed her by the shoulders, abruptly pulling her up with him.

The sudden movement startled Lexie. She had tuned out everything around her as she tried to calm her mind, focusing solely on the feel of the water. She accidentally took in a breath before her head was above the surface.

“What the hell are you doing?”, Rex yelled, his hands still firmly secured to her shoulders.

Lexie coughed, her nostrils burning from the water she had inhaled. “I was trying to fucking meditate”, she yelled back between gasps. The water was half covering her breasts, raising rhythmically to just under her chin with every wave.

“You weren’t coming up for air”, he yelled again.

“I can hold my breath for like five minutes. No need to be so dramatic”, she scoffed.

“Well I didn’t kriffin’ know that. You scared me, Lexie”, the Captain said, a bit more composed as one of his hands came up to cup her cheek.

“I’m sorry… I-I didn’t think you’d worry so much”, she said quietly, looking up and meeting his gaze. She could see the emotion in his eyes, the worry, the fear… the longing.

“Of course I worry. I always worry about you. I… I couldn’t stand losing you, cyare”, he said, moving the hand that was still on her shoulder down to her waist.

“Why?”, she asked almost in a whisper. Lexie placed a hand on his chest and another on the back of his neck, her fingers slowly tracing over the wet skin.

She looked into his eyes expectantly, almost seeing the gears turn inside his head as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. Rex could feel his resolve crumble as he gazed into her eyes, rules all but forgotten.

“You know why”, he replied eventually, his own thumb now caressing her cheek as his eyes flickered down to her lips.

“Rex-”, she started to say, but was interrupted by his lips crashing into hers.

Lexie melted into the kiss, pressing her body against his. His lips tasted like seawater but once she parted her own and his tongue entered her mouth she could make out the flavour of the syrupy sweets that the Kaldonyns had served during the banquet. Rex pulled her in even closer, the hand on her waist sliding so it was almost on her ass. He kissed her as if he was afraid he’d never kiss her again, because, truthfully, he was, he didn’t know where to go from here.

As they pulled away, panting for air, Rex looked at her and couldn’t believe what he had just done. So many emotions were running through his head and Lexie was taken aback as she realised she could sense them. His mental walls had lowered more than ever before. When she gently cupped his cheek with her hand, she felt the exact moment his mind settled down, one emotion burning the brightest and surrounding him completely: desire. Rex wanted her, just as much as she wanted him.

“Come back to my room with me”, she breathed.

Rex leaned in, capturing her lips with his own again. This kiss was deeper, hungrier, and was accompanied by his hand sliding down to grab the flesh of her ass. Lexie whimpered into his mouth which only spurred Rex on even more, kissing her with fervour.

“Let’s go”, he growled after abruptly breaking the kiss, taking her hand and leading her out of the sea.

As they walked back to the palace and then through the corridors towards where she had been told her room was, Lexie could not stop the wide grin forming on her face. She would glance at Rex from time to time, his own smile frozen on his lips and every time they caught each other’s eyes, both of them would let out a breathless chuckle.

Rex’s confidence faltered as the door slid closed behind them, however. He’d been dreaming of this moment for so long, but now that it was actually happening, his mind was full of worry. He wanted it to be perfect, he wanted to pleasure her, to make her scream his name. But frankly, he was quite inexperienced.

Rex had only slept with two other women, the Mirialan, Astri, with whom he had spent four or five nights together, all the way back at the beginning of the war, and a woman on Naboo he’d had a one-night stand with. There had been another woman that had given him a blowjob in the 79’s fresher and a Twi’lek with whom he’d had an intense make out session with, but otherwise his experience in this department was, well… lacking.

But Lexie knew what she was doing. Rex wasn’t sure of the exact number, but he knew from what she had confided in him, and from the stories she told the others that she had a lot more experience than he did. Would he measure up to the people from her past? Would he measure up to his brother? A nauseating feeling stirred in his stomach at that last thought.

“Hey”, her voice broke through the curtain of worries in his mind. “We don’t have to do anything, we could just talk, or go to sleep”, she offered, her hand gently squeezing his.

“No, I want to!”, he said, more forcefully than intended. He winced and embarrassment clouded his Force signature as his free hand came up to rub the back of his neck. “It’s just that… I haven’t done this much… definitely not as much as you”.

Lexie’s eyes went wide at his last comment and she looked at him in disbelief, letting out an amused huff. The Captain’s face went red.

“N-No, that’s not… osik, it wasn’t supposed to sound like that”, he blurted out.

“It’s okay”, she stopped him. “I think this is my fault. I only made hints and I let you boys imagine way too much. I haven’t even slept with that many people”. Lexie walked over to the spacious double bed and sat down on the edge.

Rex awkwardly cleared his throat and followed her. “Could I…ask?”, he said after sitting down right next to Lexie.

“Nine. Six men and three women. Most were one-night stands, except for Gemma, which you know about, and a guy I hooked up with a few times during a two-month mission on Pantora, years ago”, she calmly explained, shifting on the bed so that she would face him. “Does it matter?”

“No. Was just curious”, he said with a small, nervous smile. His eyebrows then furrowed as he contemplated something. “What about Fives? You’re not… together?”

Lexie snorted a laugh. “No. It was just a one-time thing. We were drunk and I just had so much on my mind, mostly you if I’m honest and-”.

“Me?”, he interrupted.

“Uhm… yeah”, she said sheepishly, moving her eyes away from his. “After the whole thing with Gemma, when you didn’t say anything, I… I was worried that maybe your opinion of me changed. So I just… I needed to blow off some steam and he was… there”.

Rex sighed, closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m so sorry, cyar’ika. I was such an idiot that night. It’s… that’s why I was coming to talk to you that morning, I wanted to apologise. But then I saw him leave your room and I just…”, her trailed off.

“I’m really sorry Rex. I didn’t want to hurt you, and neither did Fives. So please stop being angry with him”, Lexie pleaded.

“I’m not angry. Or maybe I was a little, but I think I was mainly jealous”, the Captain admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.

“You shouldn’t be. I-I meant it earlier, I did wish it was you, I actually-”, she stopped the words that came tumbling out of her mouth.

“You actually…?”, he encouraged her to continue.

“Maker, I probably shouldn’t admit this out loud”, she pulled her head back and hid her face in her palms.

“You can tell me anything, Lexie”, he reassured her, placing a hand on her knee.

She let out a nervous laugh, her cheeks feeling like they were on fire. “I kind of… I imagined it was you, while we were… you know. I imagined it was you”, she admitted, voice muffled by her hands.

“Did you really?”, Rex asked, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.

Lexie looked at him and saw a sort of smug smile on his face. “Yeah... Not the whole time, only closer to the end, before I… uhm…”, she gestured vaguely with her hand. “Do not tell Fives that”.

“I won’t”, he said, the smug look still on his face.

Some of Rex’s confidence returned after her confession, and he reached out a hand, cupping the back of her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. It wasn’t as forceful as the one they shared in the sea. He moved slowly, savouring the taste of her lips. They were so soft and warm and Rex couldn’t believe he had denied himself this feeling for so long.

The hand on her knee hooked under her thigh and lifted her so that she was now straddling him. Lexie let out a surprised squeal before wrapping her arms around his neck. His trousers were still damp and the fabric felt cold against the thigh exposed through the slit in her dress.

Rex’s lips crashed with hers again in a much needier kiss as his hands explored her body, one of them squeezing her ass in a tight grip. Lexie felt his hardness against her clothed core and rolled her hips over it. The friction made the Captain let out a grunt and he moved his lips, trailing them down her neck and occasionally nipping at the warm skin with his teeth. Lexie repeated the motion, grinding on him again, as she felt arousal build within her.

“Can I take this off, mesh’la?”, Rex asked, scrunching the silky material of the dress in a fist.

“Kriff yes!”, Lexie nodded enthusiastically and stood up, turning so that Rex could unzip the dress. After it fell to the floor he also unclasped her bra, before turning her to face him again. Rex momentarily froze, just staring at her in awe. He couldn’t believe this was actually happening. The intensity of his gaze caused goosebumps to appear on her skin.

“You are so beautiful”, he managed to whisper, making her blush.

He tugged her by the arm and Lexie resumed her position straddling his hips. Rex took the opportunity to kiss her over her chest, on her breasts, eventually getting to one of her nipples and flicking his tongue over it, pinching the other one with his fingers. Lexie let out a low moan and threw her head back and Rex made a mental note of how well she responded to this particular action.

Her hips started moving, grinding against his hardness again. Rex switched the attention of his mouth to her other nipple before the hand not occupied with her breast travelled to her lower back, encouraging her to move faster against him. The friction was stimulating her clit and, paired with the attentions of Rex’s tongue and fingers on her nipples, it wasn’t long until a wave of white-hot pleasure washed over Lexie. The Captain released her nipple from his mouth once her hips stopped moving and wrapped his arms around her tightly after she rested her head in the crook of his neck.

She took a moment to catch her breath before tilting her head and kissing his neck, slowly making her way up to his ear. She gently took his earlobe between her teeth, causing Rex to let out a shuddering breath.

“I need you inside of me”, she whispered in his ear. “Gedet'ye”.

Hearing her beg in Mando’a turned Rex into a man possessed. He forcefully flipped her over, her back hitting the mattress and his body caging her in, and he started kissing her desperately, their tongues twisting and twirling together. Lexie’s hands were grasping at the fabric of his tunic and the Captain momentarily pulled away in order to remove it.

She watched as he took it off, leaving his chest bare, his toned muscles on display in their full glory. Lexie wanted to tell him how gorgeous he looked but before she could, her eyes fell to the scar he got on Saleucami and she reached her hand to gently trace her fingers over it. It was so close to his heart. Too close. Rex noticed the look in her eyes and took hold of her hand, lifting it to his mouth and placing a kiss on her wrist. His beautiful golden-brown eyes were looking at her with so much lust and reverence, Lexie felt her heart skip a beat.

Rex got up from the bed in order to take off his pants and boxers, releasing his hard cock from the restricting fabric. Lexie bit her lower lip in anticipation, before a slight confusion furrowed her brows. She had expected him to be anatomically identical to Fives, and he was size and girth-wise, but Rex’s cock had a slight upward curve that the ARC trooper’s didn’t. She could already imagine how good it’ll feel inside of her and the thought made her core tingle with pleasure.

“Everything okay?”, the Captain asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I just didn’t expect it to be different”, she explained.

Rex looked confused for a second before making the connection. “Umm, that’s good to know, I guess”.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring that up. My brain isn’t really working with you looking so…”, she gestured to his body, failing to find the words she wanted.

“Yeah, right”, he snorted, getting back on the bed and caging her in.

“I mean it Rex”, she insisted, her hands trailing over his chest. “You are gorgeous”.

“If you say so, cyare”, he chuckled, lips meeting hers again.

He lowered his body onto hers, bracing himself on his left elbow as the other hand groped her breast, before sliding down her abdomen. His fingers ghosted over her skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake.

“You’re so soft”, Rex said. His hand continued moving down, slipping under the fabric of her panties, calloused fingers gliding through her folds. “And so wet for me”, he added, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

Lexie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath at the contact with her sensitive core. It was finally happening, just like in her dreams. She felt a finger tease her entrance and then slowly sinking inside of her and she hummed with pleasure. Rex’s finger moved unhurriedly in and out a few times before he removed his hand from her core, making Lexie let out a disappointed whine. She opened her eyes and was about to protest, only to see Rex lift his hand to his lips, sucking the finger clean. The sinful image shot a wave of pleasure through her whole body, making her walls clench around nothing.

“You taste so much better than I imagined”, he said in a strained voice.

“Could you please stop teasing and just fuck me already, Captain?”, Lexie pleaded in a needy tone.

His eyes darkened at the use of his rank and Lexie could not supress a smirk. Oh, he liked that. In one swift motion he took off her underwear, throwing it somewhere on the floor, before he lunged at her, kissing her hungrily. Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. He dragged the tip of his cock through her folds, a low grunt escaping his lips at the warm feeling.

“Do we need uhh…?”, he asked quietly.

“I have an implant”, Lexie informed him.

Rex nodded and looked into her eyes as he positioned himself at her entrance. He wanted this so much, it was taking all his will power not to slam into her.

“You’re sure you want-”, he tried to double-check.

“Do I need to give you a direct order, trooper?”, she asked teasingly.

“I don’t think I’d hate that”, Rex replied with a chuckle after a brief consideration.

Lexie raised her eyebrows and bit her lower lip before focusing on putting on a determined expression. “Captain, I want you inside of me. Now!”, she said with as much authority as she could muster in the moment.

“Sir, yes Sir”, he replied in a teasing tone, following the order and inserting himself into her. How she would keep a straight face the next time he addressed her like that in the field or in a briefing, she had no clue.

Lexie closed her eyes as she felt him slowly sink to the hilt into her. The stretch was a little painful at first as he gradually pulled almost all the way out and then slid back in. Rex was gentle, moving slowly, holding himself back as he waited for her to adjust.

“Kriff, you’re so tight”, he breathed.

Lexie wrapped one of her legs around his waist and sighed. His hips started moving a bit faster, encouraged by the small moans of pleasure Lexie let out. The pain was now gone and the feel of his cock inside of her was intoxicating. She pulled him closer to her and Rex lowered himself to his elbows, resting his forehead on hers. Lexie’s fingernails were digging in the skin of his back as his thrusts were picking up speed. His lips found hers again, kissing her with passion. The sound of skin slapping against skin was echoing through the room, being occasionally interrupted by moans and low grunts.

Rex grabbed one of her knees, moving her leg up to her chest. The new angle allowed him to hit a spot that had Lexie seeing stars and she cried out his name. Rex cursed under his breath as her walls clenched around his cock and thrust harder and faster into her. She fumbled for his hand and guided it to her throat. The Captain’s brows briefly shot up in surprise before a smirk appeared on his face and he squeezed the sides of her neck, careful not to put pressure on her windpipe.

“Rex”, she cried out again as her muscles tensed, her orgasm taking hold of her body and overwhelming her senses. Her heart was beating fast and she looked deep into his beautiful honey-coloured eyes. The pleasure was so intense, without realising she reached through the Force, her mind entangling with his.

“Kriff, what… are you doing that?” Rex struggled to ask as he felt a pleasure that wasn’t his own wash over him.

The feeling was so powerful that he could not hold off any longer and his cum spilled inside of her with the next sloppy thrust, his head then falling to the crook of Lexie’s neck. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shaking body, one of her hands gently caressing over the short hair on the back of his head. The Captain stayed there for a few moments, breathing as heavily as Lexie. He then slowly pulled out of her and kissed her collarbone before falling to the side.

“How...”, he tried to say between panting for air, “how did you do that?” His hand swiped over his face, still trying to process what was probably the best orgasm of his life.

“I don't know. It's never happened before”, she said, still a little dazed as she was coming down from their intertwined highs.

“I'll take that as a compliment”, he chuckled.

“You should”, she said matching his tone of voice. “You didn’t mind, did you?”.

“No, it was… it was amazing”. Rex looked at her, eyes full of reverence. "You were perfect, cyare".

Lexie turned to her side so that she could fully face him and cupped his face with her hand. The Captain placed a hand on her waist, pulling her closer. She captured his lips in a gentle kiss before placing a small peck on the tip of his nose and Rex let out a small laugh at the cute gesture. The two stared into each other’s eyes for a few moments, enjoying the comfortable silence.

Lexie could still sense his emotions, and she felt the worry return, growing and twisting in his mind. She quickly got up before he could say anything and went into the fresher to clean herself and take what was left of her makeup off, trying her hardest to keep her own anxieties at bay. There was no coming back from this.

She was relieved to see Rex was still in her bed when she was finished, and she walked over to where her belongings had been stored, grabbing her pink nightshirt with tookas and pulling it on. 

“What?”, she asked as she walked back to the bed, noticing the smile on Rex’s face.

“I really like that nightshirt. You look so cute in it”, he replied.

"Yeah?", she asked with a smile.

"Yeah... I'm surprised you didn't notice the way I was staring at you that first night I saw you in it", he chuckled.

Lexie blushed and jumped into bed, snuggling into Rex’s side, her head resting on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, fingers absentmindedly tracing patterns on her hip. She had forgotten how safe she felt in his arms. She wasn’t sure what would happen the next day, they had crossed a line they couldn’t uncross and they would have to talk about it eventually. But at least for tonight she was happy, genuinely, truly happy. Rex placed a soft kiss to the top of her head and gently stroked her still damp hair until she drifted off to sleep.

[oceansssblue]

Continuing with the rarepairing masterlist, we haveee...

"A FEW EXCEPTIONS" –DOGMA/TUP 💖

WARNINGS: mentions of alcohol.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Dogma is struggling. Not in the ways shinies usually struggle, though adapting to real life outside of Kamino, real war and losses and hours of exhaustion upon his young shoulders, has definitely not been easy. He has pushed himself through it, though; his loyalty to the Republic, his fierce need to protect and fight, greater than any worry or fear. No; what Dogma is really struggling with is with his feelings for the 501st' fellow shiny. Tup. Sweet, sweet Tup.

It's almost hard to believe he's also a soldier –though Dogma knows he's not any less brave and diligent–. He's just so... Innocent, though, and lovely; like a beacon of positivity and tenderness in a war filled with darkness. Dogma is painfully aware of the hundred rules that dictaminate that he can't persue a relationship with a fellow vod; but everytime Tup smiles at him, his heart forgets about all of them.

Sitting on a booth on 79's, other troopers from the 501st sprawled around him, Dogma can't help but smile at his vod'ika animatedly gossiping with Fives. While he usually remains fairly silent in the 501st' escapades into the Corusscant night –his usually serious disposition perhaps not friendly enough for others to try to engage with him– Tup laughs and chats and dances like a natural. It's a beautiful thing to see; such freedom in a life governed by others that overpower them.

A few hours into the night, Tup comes stumbling back to Dogma; the man quickly reaching out a hand to stabilize him while he all but drops down on the space next to him.

"Oops" he giggles, alcohol clearly washing away his balance and filters. "I think I shall rest for a bit now".

Dogma nods, and Tup sighs in relief, scanning the local around him. 79's is crowded; troopers from different companies chatting and dancing and flirting with the few natives that dare to put a step inside the clone bar. Tup watches as Fives pouts after he gets rejected by a pretty twi'lek with bright pink skin and laughs. Dogma follows his line of sight and shakes his head with fond amusement.

"You aren't going to try your luck tonight?" Tup asks, wiggling his eyebrows in a silly gesture that almost makes Dogma laugh as well.

The trooper shrugs.

"No native has caught my eye" he replies, and Tup chuckles in good humour.

"Perhaps you're too picky" he points out, and then half-jokingly adds. "You know, you could always try with a clone. We do make fine specimens..."

Dogma snorts. He really doesn't want to dwell in that...

"That's against the rules" he points out. "And you know how much I value those".

It's almost rehearsed, the way he says it. He takes a glance at the dance floor, were some vods are definitely dancing way too close; and misses how Tup's smile falls.

"So you'd never go for it, even if you secretly wanted to?"

Dogma frowns.

"You think I'd risk getting decomissioned for a quick drunk fuck with a vod?" He replies, and then gently pushes Tup's shoulder with his. "I thought you knew me, Tup".

For some reason, the joke doesn't sit well with the clone. Tup's expression closes off; and he mumbles a hasty excuse before he's all but running towards the dance floor.

"You know, I think I'm gonna dance some more!"

Dogma doesn't even have time to say goodbye to him; eyes following Tup's retracting figure with utter confusion. What the fuck just happened?

"Don't worry, vod" a hand pats his shoulder comfortingly, and Dogma turns to the side to find Jesse with his eyes fixed on the dance floor. "I'm sure good old Fives will help vod'ika to get over his heartbreak".

Dogma's body tenses; eyes inmediately flying back to find Tup pressed against the trooper's front. He's intelligent enough to read into Jesse's words; though he's still having trouble to believe them. There's no way Tup is actually into him... There's no way his questions were actually about him. Right?

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Dogma tries to ignore the sight of the two of them flirting; but it's easier said than done. When Fives bends forward to whisper something against the trooper's ear, and Tup all but grins, he clenches his hand so hard around the glass of spotchka that he swears he hears a crack. It's torture; the last hour the 501st spend in 79's before collectively deciding to return to the barraks. Dogma sighs in relief and stands up; though he is unable to relax completely when Fives is all but pressed to Tup's thigh in the cab.

A million thoughts run through Dogma's mind. Are they, is he... is Tup planning on taking it further with Fives? Dogma hasn't drunk much; but his stomach lurches unpleasantly at the possibility.

When they're about to enter their barraks, tension rises until Dogma isn't able to control himself any longer. He –perhaps a bit harshly– tugs Tup's hand towards him; hauling him back.

The trooper watches him in surprise; Fives glancing back at them once before shrugging and continuing his way inside. Dogma sighs and bites his own lip, hesitant; an unusual behaviour on him.

"Dogma?" Tup asks, concerned and confussed, and Dogma swallows down and erases every single rule about fraternisation from his mind before forcing himself to confess his feelings out loud.

"What I said, in the bar, about not risking decomissioning for a quick drunk fuck... It's true" he begins, and Tup's face fills with what can only be anger until Dogma squeezes his hand tightly and blurts "But I wasn't talking about you. Because you wouldn't be just a quick fuck".

Tup's eyes widen; his whole face transforming with the information revealed. His expresion fills again with that almost child-like happiness; staring back at Dogma in surprise and wonder.

"Are you..." he stutters, momentarily lost, and Dogma finally gives in into his long burried wishes and cups Tups face with his right hand.

"I'm saying I would risk decomissioning for a serious relationship with you" he nods, and it's so clear and impossible to misinterpret that Tup's eyes fill with tiny happy tears, blurring his sight.

"You've really put me through a rollercoaster of emotions tonight" the trooper chuckles, a blush setting on top of his cheeks, a sudden shyness enveloping him.

He has never done anything further than a few heated kisses here and there. He likes Dogma so so much...

"I'm sorry" the clone offers, thumb caressing his skin, closing his eyes and softly pressing his forehead against Tup's. "You know how I am".

Tup chuckles and presses back, hands slidding around Dogma's plated hips.

"You need to learn that rules always have one or two exceptions" he smiles. "Nothing is ever quite black or white".

Tup gives in into his desire to kiss the other's lips, sighing in happiness when Dogma makes a surprised little sound in his throat and kisses him back.

"I'm willing to learn" the clone whispers tenderly, and Tup feels like the happiest trooper in all of the GAR.

THE END.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

PS. Aren't they cuties?