#take Howzer instead | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dustmusings · 7 months ago

Text

angel of small death

Howzer x F!Reader / Twi'lek!Reader

word count: 7.8k / 24k

part one | part two | part three

description: after the rise of the Empire, Howzer finds his position on Ryloth to be precarious at best, but his attention is drawn from his troubles when he finds himself captivated by a new politician’s arrival

warnings/tags: 18+ !!! strangers to lovers, mutual pining, some angst — political thoughts/discussions throughout, specific reference to clone rights/treatment/autonomy in this part, fluff :) smut in part three

a/n: ok I'm actually very proud of this one. lowkey my magnum opus. It took so fucking long to write though omg. if you get the title you get it, re: français risqué. but also howzer is hozier-coded in my mind and I can't tell you what that means. gentlemanly but not immune to hot women? perhaps? part two in a couple days :)

masterlist | join my taglist | read on ao3

Howzer shifted uncomfortably in his spot. He had never been one to play politics, but the conversations that he had been overhearing of late had him worried.

He stood guard at the door while Cham Syndulla spoke with diplomats of various denominations around a large oval table, and all the talk of the newly risen Empire made his insides twist with an unpleasant feeling. There was something truly sinister in play, he just couldn’t place it. That’s what distressed him the most about it.

He had heard of a new refinery that was situated at the edge of the city, he’d heard the rumours that the Empire’s methods were less than humane, that they were using slave labour. He didn’t want to put stake in false claims, but the whispers were getting louder. He wouldn’t dare speak of it to Cham, especially not now, while tensions were already so high.

He could see the focus on his superior’s face, a displeased expression that he knew all too well; a deep frown on his lips that would turn the tide of any conversation to his favour. The senatorial representatives seemed unphased, however. Howzer presumed they were more familiar with the tactics of politicians, of which Cham wasn’t recognised as by the senate, despite how much harder he had fought for Ryloth’s freedom than Orn Free Taa. The Hammer of Ryloth would fall on anyone in his path eventually, no matter how they were resisting his opening gambit, Howzer knew that.

It was what worried him the most.

There was no way Cham would be allowed to continue partaking in senator-level discussions, not when it was well known how the true senator of Ryloth felt threatened by his mere existence. He worried what Cham would do then. He could never be forced into subservience.

“Captain” the voice of his superior called to him, and he straightened, his gaze shifting over to the Twi’lek who approached, “is everything alright?”

“Everything is fine, sir” he replied assuredly, a respectful nod accompanying his words.

The diplomatic guests filed out of the door beside him, and Cham gave him an unsubtle and questioning look.

“Well then” he motioned to the door, “we are now to meet Senator Orn Free Taa in the foyer”

Howzer visibly cringed as he left the room behind Cham. He had never liked the politician. It was clear how little interest he had in his people, and how all of his attention was instead focused on making himself seem more important. Howzer didn’t play politics, but it didn’t take a genius to see that much.

He stalked down the hallway in silence, one step behind Cham, who in turn kept his distance from the senatorial reps.

“What is it Captain?” the Twi’lek asked him in a hushed voice, turning to face him.

Howzer sighed, looking to the floor ahead of him, “nothing sir, it’s just been a long week”

“Hm” Cham seemed unconvinced by his explanation, but he took it anyway, “it has been indeed”

At the start of the week, Howzer was still a soldier of the Republic. He was still a Captain in the Grand Army. Now? He wasn't sure what he was, or what he would become either. His men had been acting exceeding strangely, and he didn't know what to make of it. He figured that if he kept his head down and followed orders, something would come to light eventually.

The elevator ride down to the ground floor was quiet, and Howzer couldn’t have been more uncomfortable. The ping that let them know they had arrived brought a welcome reprieve to the tense atmosphere that surrounded the discontented politicians.

Cham's wife, Eleni, swept down stairs opposite, lifting the hem her gown in one hand. She held herself with the grace of a queen, acting accordingly, and Howzer had the utmost respect for her. He gave her a steady bow of his head, and she smiled warmly at him in return before greeting her husband with a kiss to his cheek.

“Where is our guest, my dear?” Cham spoke, running a hand down her arm.

Eleni chuckled, a pleasant and breathy sound, “Be patient my love”

Howzer kept his distance, hovering at the edge of everything. He preferred not to be involved, it was only his job to stand guard after all, and it was certainly no shame to miss out in conversation with Orn Free Taa.

The grand doors that opened into the square parted, a party of four being ushered in. It was unusual, ordinarily there was only the Senator and two of his aides. Howzer paid it no mind, keeping his gaze on those he was charged with protecting.

That was until his eyes caught the lilac skin of the fourth Twi'lek to enter the room. Her demeanour was a stark contrast to that of her counterparts. She bore a plain expression, and had none of the smug self-importance that the others had so perfected. Her clothes were a little more grandiose than the other aides, robes of rich velvet and silk hanging from her frame, cinched against skin and flowing freely in equal parts. She looked regal, and yet, there was something reserved about her appearance, as if she didn't want to make herself known.

For all that she hadn’t caught the attention of the other people present, Howzer could scarcely take his eyes from her.

“Senator” Cham welcomed him inside, “how wonderful it is to see you”

Howzer could hear how strained his voice was in saying the false words, and in the reply from the Senator even more so. He was not interested in the specifics of the mock flattery between the rival Twi'leks, he instead turned his focus to the woman who insisted on hiding herself behind the Senator.

He trailed his eyes down her lekku, which stretched past her waist and were adorned by pale swirling markings, reaching forwards towards her face and beneath her headdress. Her eyes were darkened by makeup, but when her irises met his, he was struck by the spark of life within them.

Her eyes found his a number of times throughout the exchange, the only two people who were not engaged in conversation. He tried to keep from staring entirely, not wishing to make her uncomfortable or seem improper, but his eyes always found their way back.

Eventually, Eleni addressed her, finally noticing the person who hung back from the Senator.

“What is your name? I don't think we've met before” she asked, taking her hand to shake.

You went to speak, but the Senator beat you to it.

“This is my aide” he explained, giving your name.

You looked at the man with a small amount of contempt before giving a polite nod to Eleni, “it’s a pleasure to meet you ma’am”

The sound was music to Howzer's ears. Your accent was similar to that of the other Twi'leks, though softened slightly, as if you had been off world for a long time.

Eleni smiled graciously, “the pleasure is all mine”

You stepped backwards, your hands folded neatly in front of you, and the conversation shortly dwindled. Cham was finding he had little to say to the pompous Senator, and luckily he was saved by way of his daughter, Hera, invading the room with her droid in toe.

Howzer smiled at the sight, and even more when Orn Free Taa looked visibly uncomfortable at the intrusion. He kept his head down from that point on, for fear of being called out for laughing at the Senator. He instinctively glanced over at you once more, and was pleasantly surprised to see you also having to hide your laughter.

Your lips were twisted in a smirk, your hand coming up to partially cover it, but from the angle, nothing was hidden from the clone. Your eyes met his, and a small moment passed between you, both of you having to try harder to supress your chuckles.

Howzer was convinced by that simple action alone, without having spoken to you himself, that in time he would find you to be the most welcome company.

When Howzer left the barracks the following morning, he was displeased to find that the air outside still felt heavy. It had been this way since the shift in power, an invisible mist that surrounded the people of Ryloth, but specifically his men. He took a deep breath, seeking some of the fresh air that should be present on sunny mornings such as this one, but evidently the powers of the galaxy didn’t see fit to reward him with any relief.

His walk towards the senate bureau was short enough, but Howzer revelled in every moment he could. Before long he’d be holed up inside once more, listening to overzealous politicians discuss the future of the planet, as if they knew the first thing about the inhabitants of it. Howzer couldn't help but feel resentful towards the bureaucrats. They posed as public servants, but being inside their talks, he knew they only cared for themselves. It was the reason that Cham and his freedom fighters had even had to step up during the war.

He tried not to let it weigh on his mind. There was nothing he could do to fix it, after all, and with the Empire on the rise, he wouldn’t presume that anyone else could either. He held back a sigh as he turned the corner into the square that the bureau overlooked, not needing to be questioned on why he looked so utterly defeated. As he strode across the square, his eyes caught on a glimmer of light, shining and dancing in the early morning sun, which he discovered had bounced from your silver headwear.

Howzer didn’t expect to see you again so soon, and he couldn't help but notice how utterly lost and confused you looked, wandering along the edge of the square and glancing all about the place. He smiled softly, adjusting his grip on his helmet, and changed direction to cross in your path.

“Are you alright miss?” he asked softly, not wishing to scare you.

You whirled around nonetheless, evidently a little surprised that someone had approached you. The moment your eyes caught his, he could see the embarrassment flash across them, and you let out a quiet self-deprecating chuckle.

“I appear to be lost” you informed him, though he had already figured that much out.

Instead of telling you that, he asked, “where are you headed?”

“Um… I'm not entirely sure” you admitted, a mauve blush appearing across your cheeks. Howzer gave you a patient smile as you collected yourself, finding it hard not to be instantly enamoured by you. “Might you know where the Senator resides?” you asked him, a hopeful look in your eyes.

He nodded, “I can show you the way if you like”

Your eyes lit up a little at his words, “that would be lovely, though I do hope it's not too far out of your way”

“It's not” Howzer assured with a kind smile, “this way”

You followed the clone trooper silently across the square, and he took stock of you in a flick of his eyes. Your robes were a dark plum colour, a little less formal than the queenly attire you had been wearing the previous day, but exceedingly opulent nonetheless. It was hard not to notice the clothes that you wore, not only because of their sophistication, but also because he himself never changed from the armour that he currently wore on his back.

“How long have you been working for Senator Taa?” he inquired, holding open the door to the building.

He noticed the way you sighed, squaring your jaw before you spoke, “a little over 3 years”

“So… you live on Coruscant?” he prompted, aiming to move the conversation from the imperious senator.

“I did” you looked up at him as you walked in tandem, a sad smile pulling at the corner of your lips.

Howzer instinctively raised his brows a little, “you don't like it here?”

“I do” you confirmed in an assured voice, your hands closing around your robes and lifting them an inch as you began climbing the stairs, “it’s my home planet, it’s just…”

Howzer watched the way your throat tightened as you forced yourself to swallow, burying your words. The action was filled with all the grace and restraint of a politician, though it was obvious that something was bothering you.

You gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes, “I shouldn’t say. It’s not my place”

Howzer nodded with an amiable enough expression, though his eyes observed your movements carefully. Your fingers slotted together as the two of you reached the top of the stairs, hands joined in front of your robes, your gaze ahead of you, fixed and steady, and your mouth a hard line. You were impossible to read, and he found it more than a little unnerving.

“What about you?” you turned your attention to the clone beside you, “do you like it here?”

Howzer was a little startled. Aside from his brothers, no one but Cham or Eleni ever asked him about himself. There was an expectancy in your eyes however, something kind and patient as you waited for him to reply, something that told him you cared to know his answer.

“Oh, well” he began a little inelegantly, “anything is better than Kamino, I suppose”

You chuckled, a charming sound that made Howzer’s heart flutter with pride, “have you always been stationed here?”

“For most of my time in the war, yes” he replied, guiding you through a doorway and towards the office that the two of you had been searching out.

The hall was far more luxurious than those which Howzer usually passed through. There were grand arches and satin curtains which swayed gently in the breeze, the lavish wooden windows thrown open to overlook the city. Your imposing garb didn’t seem so garish here, it just made Howzer feel underdressed.

“Well, this is it” he smiled cordially, gesturing a gloved hand to the door at the end of the hall.

“Thank you” you stopped, squaring your shoulders with his and giving him an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, I didn’t even ask your name”

Howzer couldn’t help but smile at you with more intention. He had never known a politician apologise to him.

“It’s Howzer” he spoke, “and it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, ma’am”

You let out a breathy laugh, shaking your head slightly and a certain twinkle in your eye, “the pleasure is all mine, as long as you don’t call me that again”

Howzer huffed a small laugh, “certainly, my apologies”

“No need for apologies” you waved him off, “but thanks are in order, I would never have found my way here without you”

You held out your hand, and it took a moment for Howzer to register what was going on. He hesitated for a second longer even so, unsure if it was proper conduct to be touching senate officials, but your gracious expression made him give in. He took your hand and shook it firmly, though not gripping too hard for how delicate it looked wrapped by his fingers.

“Anytime” he bowed his head in respect and let his hand fall from yours as he exited the hallway.

Howzer could now admit that he was entirely fascinated by you. To him, you gave the air of such importance, especially as you were only an aide. Aside from that, you were unlike any of the other senate members he had had the misfortune of crossing. The difference being that you actually seemed pleasant to be around.

He took the route towards Cham’s office, and he had to suppress the grin that threatened to take over his face. He didn’t exactly know what he was grinning about, but he felt anything that could draw such a reaction from him in the troubling times he inhabited surely couldn’t be a bad thing.

The next few days passed in a blur of tedious meetings and rising tensions, and Howzer just kept his head down, staying out of everything. It was a welcome respite from the all-out conflict against the separatists, but he still couldn’t help but find it exceptionally dull.

As he had hoped, he had crossed paths with you reasonably often. He came to realise that you didn't speak an awful lot, or that you only spoke when you had something notable to say. You were practically silent in senate discussions, though you had a seat at the table. It only made Howzer more intrigued and confused, since the other aides stood behind the Senator, whereas your place was beside him.

You were always engaged, though it was clear that you aimed to keep to yourself. A number of times he could see you holding back, and he came to recognise the tick in your jaw when someone said something you disapproved of. It was fascinating to watch you work. You were the only one that took notes in meetings, the only one that seemed entirely immersed, and yet, you said so few words.

He couldn't fully understand the way you went on, and it only made him think that there was more to you than met the eye. The way you carried yourself was something curious to him. You were elegance incarnate, unaffected by your heavy robes and gliding around almost as if you were a ghost, hauntingly beautiful.

The most thrilling thing of all was that you made sure to speak with him every time you passed him by. It was always a simple ‘good morning’ or ‘good afternoon’, but he couldn't ignore the way it sent a shiver running down his spine, especially as your words were always accompanied by an affectionate smile, your eyes sparkling.

He found you entirely charming, and even more so when he often saw you sat outside of an evening, under a tree that the barracks overlooked, a flimsibook in hand and stylus working furiously against it. He greatly desired to know what you were writing. The scene was like something from a painting, similar to the ones he'd seen in the more grandiose corners of the senate bureau; your robes fanned out around you at the bottom of a tall whiptree, your expression thoughtful as you scribbled words down onto the pages of the leatherbound book. The dying light hit your skin in a similar fashion as those brush strokes, a warm glow that made you look ethereal, as if you had been someone's muse.

Howzer had even caught himself leaning on the window ledge, watching you write, and then internally scolded himself when he realised what he was doing. It was entirely improper to be fawning over a senate official, he knew that. There was just something about you he couldn't quite figure out, and he was determined to know what it was.

It was around midday when Cham addressed the people of Ryloth, Orn Free Taa at his side, with a speech that he had been preparing for a number of days now. You hung back from him, standing beside Eleni, and Howzer found himself edging forwards so he was in earshot of your conversation. His ears perked up the sound of your laugh. It was something he hadn’t heard since your first encounter.

“I couldn’t say” you replied to whatever Eleni had asked, “ordinarily I don't accompany Senator Taa to meetings”

“Oh? How come”

Howzer watched the way your shoulders sagged as a sigh escaped you, “Truth be told, we don’t usually work so closely. I represent him in the senate when he’s… otherwise engaged”

“You’re a senate representative?” Eleni asked, her tone surprised, “I could have sworn the Senator introduced you as his aide”

“Yes, well…” you jaw ticked with indignance, your voice becoming hushed, “the Senator doesn’t really seem to understand the work I do in his stead”

“I see” Eleni matched your quiet tone, “Though… if you represent him in his absence, why are you here on Ryloth? Shouldn't you have remained on Coruscant”

You didn't answer for a moment, and Howzer tried to gauge your thoughts. You gave nothing away, as always. His eyes followed the movement of your arms as you slotted your hands together behind your back, disappearing beneath your robes. It was clear that whatever you were about to divulge was not for the ears of everyone, so you must have trusted Eleni more than he realised.

“The Emperor saw fit to… relocate me” you admitted.

Howzer's eyebrows raised in surprise.

“The Emperor?” Eleni asked, her tone incredulous, “why does the Emperor want you here?”

You swallowed, glancing behind you, and Howzer averted his eyes as to not get caught listening in.

“I think it was more about me not being on Coruscant” you said lowly, your voice dripping with unease, though carefully measured.

Howzer was alarmed. What did you mean? What possible reason could the Emperor have for getting rid of you?

In any case, Eleni's own questions died on her lips as the Senator and her husband returned from the front of the room. Orn Free Taa addressed you, your name sharp on his tongue as he instructed you to accompany him to his office without so much as looking in your direction. You nodded and said a courteous goodbye to Eleni as you turned to follow him with Cham on your heels.

Your eyes flicked towards Howzer as you passed by him, and you gave a warm smile. There was a certain glint in your eyes, a small flicker of repressed amusement that didn't go unnoticed by him. He gave you a respectful nod, taking his place one step behind Cham as the four of you walked towards the Senator's office.

The session that followed was hard to sit through. It felt like a mutiny against Cham, whilst dancing around the fact that that's what was going on. The bureaucrats that had travelled from Coruscant rallied behind whatever the Senator was saying, and Howzer could feel his own anger and irritation bubbling up on Cham's behalf.

As if that wasn't enough, the session ran late, and the sun began to set as the heated discussion continued. Howzer kept half an eye on you, and though you stayed quiet, he could see the way your jaw was set. He felt that if you tensed it any harder then it would snap. He couldn't help but wonder why you wouldn't speak up if you so clearly didn't agree, and especially now knowing that you had more authority than most of the people in the room.

By the time some form of conclusion had been reached, the sun had fully sunk beneath the horizon. The senate members filed out of the room, but he saw you pull Cham aside. You spoke in a soft voice, and he couldn't hear what was being said, but the deep crease in your brow gave away the seriousness of your words. Cham nodded along, and then sighed, replying with a comforting hand on your shoulder. Howzer stood at attention until it was just you three left, and gripped his helmet a little tighter when your gaze wandered his way. You straightened, stepping back from the other Twi'lek with a gracious smile.

“Well, anyway, I should be getting back to my residence” you said, your voice raised from the hushed tone.

“Of course” Cham gestured to the exit, “Though, I would ask you to take extra caution, with it being darker than usual”

“I will” you nodded, making your way over to where Howzer was stationed at the door.

“Ah” Cham said suddenly, his eyes landing on the clone, “you know Captain Howzer, correct?”

Your eyebrows raised slightly as your eyes moved from the Twi’lek and over to Howzer, and he kept his expression as neutral as possible, despite being cautiously optimistic about your reaction.

“I do” you smiled at him, the slight tip of your head as you added, “Captain”

The inflection made it difficult for Howzer to keep a straight face, but he managed to supress his smirk nonetheless.

“Howzer, if you could escort the our guest here home, I would be very grateful” Cham addressed him.

“Certainly, sir” Howzer obliged, and followed the pair out of the room.

“Perhaps we can continue our conversation tomorrow?” You suggested to Cham as you descended the stairs, your voice airy and light, feigning innocence to anyone listening in.

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing” Cham replied, a glance in your direction that was not as subtle as your calculated demeanour.

Howzer trailed behind, keeping his distance and standing by the large doors while you said your goodbyes. You turned back towards him as Cham's receding footsteps rang out in the grand entrance hall, a tired smile gracing your lips.

“Shall we?” you asked, and Howzer promptly opened up the door, escorting you outside.

The air outside was cool, a light breeze gently rustling and scattering leaves along the stone floor of the town square. The feint scent of lavender hung in the air, and despite the amount of people moving about, civilians and clones alike, it felt still, calm.

“I didn't realise you were a Captain” you commented, looking up at him with a wry smile curving your lips.

Howzer couldn't hold back his smirk any longer, “I suppose we were both downplaying our roles then”

A soft laugh escaped you, and you shook your head at him, “I knew you were listening to that”

He shrugged, not sure what else to say for himself. He knew it wasn’t necessarily appropriate to be listening in on private conversations, no less private conversations that concerned the senate, but your expression told him you didn't mind all that much.

“So what do you usually do on Coruscant then?” he asked, taking his helmet in his other hand so he could inch marginally closer and hear you clearer.

You took a breath before you spoke, “for the most part, I attended senate sessions in his stead”

“How often did he have you doing that?” he questioned, lifting the branch of a tree as you passed underneath.

“Well…” you began, looking back ahead of you, “if I'm being honest, probably nine times out of ten”

Howzer's eyebrows raised, “you're essentially a Senator then”

You shook your head, a pessimistic chuckle leaving your lips, “whatever I was, it doesn't matter anymore”

Howzer knew when to keep quiet, and with the way your mask of stoicism swiftly covered your features again, he held his tongue. He had endless questions he wanted to ask you, and it took everything within him to keep his mouth shut.

Soon enough, you stopped outside a dwelling, a ground floor apartment with very little affluence to its outward appearance. If he had passed it by on his own, he never would have thought it belonged to a Senator, as he was now coming to think of you as.

“Thank you for the escort, Captain” you smiled up at him, “it seems I'm making a habit of dragging you around”

Howzer chuckled, especially as it didn’t seem like you were all that sorry about it, “I don't mind, I couldn't say it's really an inconvenience”

“I'm glad” you replied with a simper that set something alive inside of him.

He observed you for a moment. You were a little shorter than him, but your presence dwarfed him all the same, and he could feel the tips of his ears burning at your steady gaze. For all that you lived in Orn Free Taa's shadow, more literally than figuratively, you seemed exceptionally sure of yourself. It was a quiet confidence, where your imposing nature came from rationality and restraint, rather than in seeking unabashed dominance, like some other politicians. If you'd been raised in a different setting, he thought that you'd make a good soldier because of it.

“Well, thank you again” you spoke a little quieter, your hand raising to the control panel beside the door.

Howzer gave you a polite nod as he stepped back, “anytime”

You shortly disappeared behind the door, and Howzer turned to make his way to the barracks for the night. He rolled his neck, feeling the soreness that lingered there after a full day of keeping at attention.

His body still wasn't used to standing around all day, and neither was his mind, despite the fact that he felt he should be at peace. It was odd, really. He was in his element when in battle, and without it, he didn't know that he'd ever truly feel like himself again.

The following week passed without much consequence, but the mounting pressure was beginning to feel stifling.

Howzer had been stuck inside all morning with Cham, going over and rethinking the defence of the refinery just outside the city. It wasn't entirely clear to Howzer why it was so pertinent to guard the refinery so closely, but he wasn't in the mood for asking questions anymore. It was more for the fear of the answers he would get, especially from the Empire.

Finally, Cham dismissed him for lunch, and as it was far later than his usual lunch hour, he allowed him to take the rest of the day off as well. Howzer fully intended to join him again after he had replenished himself, but those plans were scrapped when he walked into the mess hall and saw you sitting in the back corner.

You looked so out of place. Your luxurious navy robe and silver jewellery only made you more noticeable, not to mention your pale lilac skin and lekku, but you were also the only other person in the room. You looked forlorn, and more outwardly emotional than he had ever seen you before. Your chin rested in your hand, your gaze fixed out of the window, and your lips were turned down in a frown.

Howzer called your name as he approached the table, and you whipped your head over to him, evidently having been lost in your thoughts. You gave him your best attempt at a smile, “Captain, how are you?”

Howzer brushed past the question, barely even registering it as he took the seat opposite you, “what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the Senator?”

“Ah, yes. Well…” you trailed off for a moment, your eyes wandering back outside, “he dismissed me for the rest of the day”

Howzer frowned, “why? isn't that a good thing?”

You let out a humourless laugh, and your shoulders slumped in defeat. “He doesn't like when people speak out against him” you shrugged with a nonchalance that Howzer didn't quite believe, “I should know better really”

You hid your affliction well, but for Howzer, who had grown accustomed to your usual impassive expression, it was obvious that you were upset.

“What are you doing in here?” he asked, lowering his voice to what he hoped was a comforting tone.

“I didn't want to be around the other aides” you said, then glanced back at him with one side of your lips quirked up, “and I thought no one would be in here at this time”

Howzer huffed a laugh, “I'm sorry for disturbing you then”

“Don’t be” you smiled, genuinely this time, “I'm not”

Howzer’s eyebrows raised instinctively, a little taken aback by your candour. He supposed that you had never been anything but honest, so it shouldn't surprise him that much. You had withheld things, even obviously so, but you had never not made your opinion known when speaking truthfully.

“As it happens” he began, watching your reaction carefully, “I have the rest of the day off as well”

Your head tilted, almost imperceptibly, and you raised an eyebrow, encouraging him to go on.

“I could keep you company, if you'd like” he suggested.

Your lips lifted at his words, “I'd like that”

“Alright then…” Howzer smiled, looking out the window and then back to you, “have you eaten yet?”

You shook your head.

Howzer stood from his seat, “Let's go then”

Your eyebrows raised as you followed suit, stepping out of the bench and readjusting your robes, “let's go where?”

“I know a place” he shrugged, struggling to hold back his grin at your cautious expression.

You rolled your eyes in a playful manner as you fell into step beside him, “I didn't take you as one for clichés, Captain”

“Sorry” Howzer chuckled as he held open the door to the corridor, “it'll be worth it, I promise”

“Alright” you conceded with the ghost of a smirk crossing your face.

Soon enough the two of you were making your way through the marketplace, vendors and civilians alike milling about around you. There was a sense of joy in this area of the city that Howzer rarely got to see, an innocence, as if the war had never even happened. Children played together, chasing after each other while their parents watched on with bright smiles, eyes full of love.

“This way” Howzer said, gently guiding you down a side street, his hand accidently brushing your lower back as he placed a protective arm around you body to shield you from the hustle and bustle.

“You don't need to do that, Captain” you told him, “I'm not made of glass”

“Sorry, just doing my job” he insisted.

“By bringing me to some secret lunch spot?” you asked, raising an eyebrow.

Howzer huffed a laugh and his hand instinctively curled around the back of his neck, “I— uh, perhaps not”

“I’m just teasing” you smiled, “I don't expect you to do your job while you're not on duty”

“Then perhaps you can stop calling me Captain” he suggested, his heart beating a little faster, hoping you wouldn't see the request as improper.

Thankfully, you let out a small chuckle, “I suppose that makes sense”

Shortly, you came upon a stand that smelled divine, and the vendor's eyes shone as she saw Howzer approaching.

“Captain” she beamed, “it's been too long”

“It has” Howzer smiled back politely, “we'll just get two of the regular”

“Of course” the Twi'lek then cast her eyes to you, sweeping her gaze down your regal attire, “who's this?”

Howzer was going to answer, but you beat him to it, giving your name, and nothing else. He raised an eyebrow at you, wondering why you were so adverse to admit your importance, but you just glanced at him and subtly shook your head.

“Well, it's a pleasure” the vendor smiled, eyes darting between the two of you “never known the Captain here to bring anyone else with him”

“Is that so?” you asked, a wry smile curling your lips as you tilted your head to him.

Howzer could feel himself blushing, his cheeks burning as he looked down, “yeah, I guess not”

“Sorry Captain” the vendor chuckled, handing over two small boxes of food, “that'll be 15 credits”

Howzer busied himself with digging through the pouches in his belt, and pulling out the credits to hand over. Before the vendor could take them, you placed your hand on his arm to stop him.

“Please, let me” you insisted, pulling out your own credits from your pocket.

Howzer said your name in an aporetic tone, “you can't expect me to let you pay when I'm the one who brought you here”

“That's exactly what I expect” you spared him a glance as you counted your credits, and you looked startlingly serious.

“No” he shook his head, trying to hand over the credits again, “I won't let you”

You grabbed his arm and this time tugged it down, your gaze stern, “you will”

Howzer was more than a little confused by your actions, but he wasn't going to refuse what felt eerily like an order. A force of habit, perhaps, but the look in your eye was something fierce that he didn't want to be on the receiving end of again.

He let you hand over the credits to the vendor, whose lips were twisted in an amused smirk, an eyebrow raised at him. He waved it off, and led the two of you away, throwing a thank you over his shoulder as you left.

“Sorry” you looked up at him with more bashfulness than he’d ever seen from you, “I didn't mean to be rude”

“Don't worry about it” he smiled reassuringly, choosing not to dwell on it too much.

You mirrored his gesture back to him and then looked towards where he was leading you.

“So” you began, “where are you taking me now?”

Howzer's lips twitched with a smirk, “I told you, I know a place”

A genuine laugh escaped you, and Howzer's heart sang at the sound, “you're really talking it up”

“Trust me, it's worth the mystery” he claimed.

“Alright” you smiled with a light shake of your head, “I'll trust you”

Howzer led you out of the city, the streets becoming increasingly empty as you strolled, and the cheerful cries of children playing were exchanged for birdsong. The edge of the city gave way to a forest, tall whiptrees casting spindly shadows onto the outer buildings and scattering the floor with leaves.

As you made your way between the trees, you lifted the hem of your robes, an instinctual move on your part, but Howzer could only think about how graceful the action was. Your head was angled towards the ground, taking in the way the afternoon sun shone through the leaves and spread shadows across the forest floor.

Before long, the forest path opened up and you came upon a lake, the water a deep blue colour and glittering as it gently swayed in the breeze. Half of it was cast in shadow as a part of the cliff face above jutted out and hung over the body of water. Your eyes were full of wonder looking upon it, and he couldn’t take his own eyes away from your awe-struck expression.

“This is…” you failed to complete your sentence as you looked up at him with a wide grin, something of childlike wonder and pleasant surprise.

“It’s nice, right?” he said, taking a seat on a soft patch of grass by the side of the lake, gesturing for you to do the same.

“Yeah, you weren’t kidding” you laughed, your eyes dancing with amusement as you took your seat across from him, “this is some place you know”

Howzer allowed himself a smug look, a shrug to soften it, “told you”

He passed your food over, and popped the lid from his as you did the same. You inhaled through your nose, taking in the sweet yet spicy scent of the meal, and his lips lifted as you looked pleased by it. You both dug in using the utensil provided, and Howzer felt his shoulders relax as you let out a contented noise, your eyes closing for a moment to savour the taste.

“Good?” he prompted.

“Very” you nodded, opening your eyes, “you sure know how to spoil a girl”

Howzer could feel his cheeks burning as he chuckled and turned his attention down to his food. Your wry smile and the teasing glint in your eye was frankly too much for him to deal with if he wanted to maintain an air of professionalism, so he kept his head down for the remainder of the meal. It wasn't hard, the food was delicious after all.

“Howzer” your voice called to him, using his given name for the first time, “can I ask you something?”

“Of course” he said, placing his empty box down next to where you had left yours and giving you all of his attention again.

“Why is it that you're stationed in the senate bureau? If you're a Captain, I would have thought you might be elsewhere” you clarified.

“Oh” he looked past you for a moment, searching for the right words, “well, now that the war is over, I don't serve the same purpose. Cham trusts me, I suppose — we work well together, so for the time being, I'm stationed with him”

You nodded as he spoke, taking a moment to understand the information before you spoke up again. It was the very practiced act of a politician, and Howzer noted the concentration in your eyes that he only usually saw in meetings.

“Cham isn't a fan of the Senator, is he?”

Howzer hesitated, giving you a dubious look.

“I'm just curious, I'm not going to speak of it with anyone else” you assured him, and he relaxed a touch.

“No, we're not big fans of him, really” he admitted.

Your lips curled into a smirk instantly, “we?”

Howzer realised his slip up, a nervous laugh escaping him, “uh— yeah, I'm not a fan of politicians in general I suppose”

This time your eyebrow raised, and Howzer realised the error of his ways before you even spoke.

“I mean— no, I didn't mean it like that—” he tried to explain himself.

“Relax” you laughed, interrupting his ramblings with a hand over his forearm, “I don't like them either”

The weight of your hand delicately placed over his vambrace was surprising, but that's not what made Howzer raise his brows.

“Why not? You work with them”

“Exactly” you huffed, drawing back from him.

He watched on as you turned towards the lake and stretched out your legs, a brown pair of boots emerging from beneath your robes. They looked out of place poking out from the rich navy material, oddly comfortable among all the opulence. He supposed that they weren't usually visible, and it felt like a strange look into your psyche, who you were beneath all of the political propriety.

“It's odd, being back on Ryloth” you mused quietly, you eyes trailing the cliff which hung over the lake, leaning back on your palms.

“How so?” Howzer asked, slumping forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“Well, I'm not from around here. It's like being home, but not really” you paused, tilting your head a little “and I suppose I'm more used to being on Coruscant now.” A small crease formed in your brow as you continued to speak candidly, “I've just— I've been so busy, for years, and now… well, I'm back to being a shadow”

Howzer frowned, “you want to be… important?”

“No” you said straight away, shaking your head, “I don't need to be important, I just want to be useful”

Howzer heard how defeated you sounded, but he saw it even more in the look on your face. Your mouth turned downwards in a frown and your eyes flicked towards your feet as you kicked your heel into the ground. He called your name gently, and your head snapped over to him.

“Why did the Emperor send you away?”

You sighed as you turned your body towards him again, you legs curled up beside you, “I can't know for sure, but… it's most likely because I was too vocal”

“Vocal?” Howzer asked in surprise. You were so quiet in the sessions he had attended that it seemed out of the question.

You chuckled, “yes, even when he was the Supreme Chancellor, he didn't like that I was one of very few who actually called for change within the senate”

“What kind of change?”

“It was things such as… improved spending policy, advocating for clone rights, fair distribution of relief supplies among—”

“Clone rights?” he interrupted, “what do you mean?”

“Well, I'm sure you're well aware that the clone army aren't recognised within the senate, you're—” you paused, “you're property, for want of a better term, to the Republic, and now the Empire. You don't get a choice in whether you serve or not, and you're not paid for it, it's essentially slave labour”

Howzer didn't know how to feel about it being put so bluntly. They were things he'd considered before, especially since the birth of the Empire, but to hear it so concisely described, it put a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to—”

“No, you’re right” he said, dragging his eyes away from you.

“But that's why it's important; a bill put forward against it would seek to give you the option to serve, and a wage should you choose to”

“Do you think it would pass?” he asked.

The sigh that left your lips gave him his answer, “truthfully, I don't know. There's a lot of vile people in this galaxy, people who would see to it that you aren't given what you're owed”

“And what am I owed?” Howzer questioned, a hint of mirth in his voice.

“To be treated like a person” you said simply.

Howzer was taken aback by how easily your mouth formed those words. He had no idea that there were a number of people in the senate that were advocating for him and his brothers, but the fact that you were one of them made his head spin. It just made him respect you more, a newfound reverence for you washing over him.

“I've kind of always operated under the belief that you've just got to do what you can, but the things within my reach have significantly decreased, and now… I don't know whether a bill like that would pass under the Empire, if it was contested when we were still a Republic”

Howzer nodded. He could understand that reasoning, however bleak it was.

“Is this why you wouldn't let me pay for the food earlier?” he then asked, one side of his lips curling up.

You chuckled slightly, looking down to the grass that you both sat upon, “Yeah, it was”

An unfamiliar warmth spread throughout Howzer’s chest, spilling throughout his veins and begging to reach out and tip your head back up to look at him.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you all that” you murmured, looking up at him through your lashes with a particularly sheepish expression which he couldn't help but find extremely endearing.

He offered you a smile, “your secrets are safe with me”

You returned the kind expression and sat up straight, a thoughtfulness about you that stoked the warmth inside of him.

“You're a good man, Howzer” you told him, eyes shining with something vulnerable, “you've been nothing but kind to me ever since I got here, and I just have to thank you for that”

Every word you spoke only sought to make him more enamoured by you, and he could feel the way a violent blush was creeping up the back of his neck, threatening to take over his face.

“You don't need to thank me” he replied, “you've made it very easy”

taglist: @darthnihila @cdblake1565 @heidnspeak @mae-lou-ron

#trex writings #captain howzer x reader #star wars #the bad batch #tbb #bad batch #clone troopers #clones #howzer #captain howzer #tbb howzer #howzer x reader #bad batch howzer #clone trooper howzer #clone trooper #clone x reader #divider by saradika #the clone wars #tcw

83 notes · View notes

legacygirlingreen · 2 months ago

Text

Cracks in his Armor || Captain Rex x OFC! Mae

May01st Day 2: Devotion Armor

Author's Note: Second day of @may01st! Continuing on with these short glimpses of them. I did swap one of the prompts for day 2. If you are new to their story, they exist within @leenathegreengirl's PabuAU, Tagged below I have my masterlist where their story is listed in order, as well as the previous section. Art, as always is by @leenathegreengirl. The events referenced in this section, were actually from a flashback written for clonexocweek2025, which can be read HERE. Anyhow, enjoy day two💙

Summary: Rex spends some time cleaning up his armor, and realizes that he and Mae share more history than he originally thought...

Word Count: 3.4 k+

Warnings: a kiss I think? Nothing crazy

Rating: SFW (with some kissing)

Masterlist | Previous | Next

Rex was neglecting it—and he knew it. Every day he remained on the island, every sunrise that came without a mission briefing, only deepened the gnawing guilt in his chest. He should’ve returned to the field by now. Gregor was probably having a laugh at his expense, ribbing while Howzer subtly slipped deeper into the role Rex was supposed to occupy. With every passing day, their leadership grew louder, steadier. The movement was no longer waiting on him—it was evolving without him. And this setback, this injury that should’ve been just a detour, felt more and more like a turning point he hadn’t meant to take.

But it wasn’t just the injury that had derailed him. It was what had come after.

He told himself he needed to get back—because it was true. He had brothers out there who counted on him. A cause that still burned in his bones. But the idea of leaving Mae was like trying to pry himself from something warm and alive. Something real.

Returning to the field meant no more quiet mornings with her pressed against his side. No more slow, lingering touches or half-asleep murmurs that made him feel human instead of just a soldier. No more stolen glances across a kitchen or the way she smirked before handing him a plate of something hot and homemade. It meant trading tenderness for tension. Comfort for chaos.

He’d grown soft, maybe. Too domestic. But maybe for the first time, he understood what peace could feel like—and it terrified him just as much as it tempted him. Because how do you choose between the people you were born to protect... and the person who makes you want to stop running into the fray?

Rex dragged a hand over the stubble on his jaw, the bristles rough beneath his calloused fingers. He’d need to shave soon. The itch alone was bad enough, but wearing facial hair beneath that Maker-forsaken helmet? Miserable. He’d always kept it clean before—military discipline, personal preference, necessity. But lately... he’d let it go. Weeks now. Ever since she’d smiled at him across the porch one lazy morning and said she liked the way it looked on him. He hadn’t said much back, just grunted and looked away, but the words stayed with him longer than they should’ve.

And so the stubble stayed, too—like a quiet rebellion against the life he was supposed to return to. A symbol of everything he was pretending could be real, even when he knew better. A mark of softness that didn’t belong on a soldier.

The others would say he was slipping. Maybe they were right. But what did that say about him—that a soft bed, a steady voice, and the weight of someone’s hand in his own could undo years of programming? He wasn’t sure whether to be ashamed or grateful. Maybe both. Maybe that was the worst of it.

He knew the others would be happy for him. If he asked, they’d all encourage him to stay. Forget it all. That he earned a chance to be happy. But something in it all felt not quite ready to let go. He would. One day he’d stop. But he wasn’t ready for it now. Mae knew it.

Mae never asked him to stay. That would’ve been easier. It would’ve given him something to push against. Maybe even an excuse for him to tell himself if he did stay. She just waited. Not for him to choose her—but for him to decide what he wanted. Without her interference.

And Rex didn’t know the answer to that anymore.

Rex stood still, staring down at the pieces of his armor scattered across the floor. The sight of it unassembled, inert, felt almost foreign—like looking at the shell of someone he used to be. That armor had been part of him for so long it was hard to remember where he ended and the plastoid began. It had shielded him, shaped him, scarred him. In the thick of war, it was as essential as breath. He’d bled in it. Slept in it. Watched brothers die wearing the same. It wasn’t just gear—it was history, etched in carbon scoring and burn marks. And seeing it now, reduced to a pile of cold, lifeless plates, felt like standing over a grave.

He couldn’t bring himself to put it back on. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

The memories came uninvited, curling through the quiet like smoke. He remembered when it had all still felt new—when fresh armor meant something. Back then, they'd gather together with paint-stained gloves and laughter lingering in the air, passing around cans of blue. A shared ritual, a quiet rebellion. They made that armor theirs. Personalized it. Humanized it. It was how they carved out identity in a system designed to make them the same.

Rex had kept his simple—no excess, no flash. His rank had always spoken loud enough. But the blue… the blue was a bond. A tie to the men he led. A way to mark himself as part of something bigger, even when the weight of command threatened to isolate him. And then there were the Jaig Eyes. Few earned them. Fewer still remained to wear them. A symbol of valor. A reminder of those he fought for, and the ones who never made it home.

Mae had asked about them once.

It was after that evening on the beach—laughing, racing each other along the shoreline like they were younger and freer than they were in reality. When they got back to her place, they soon felt the warmth of cheap whiskey. He’d set the helmet down on her table until she retrieved it. She traced the Jaig Eyes with her finger, gentle, curious. “What do these mean?” she’d asked, voice soft with respect.

And he told her. No bravado, no romanticized tale. Just the truth. What they stood for. Who they were for. She listened, nodded, and quietly told him he’d earned them a hundred times over—then changed the subject. That was Mae. Always knowing when to lean in, and when to let something breathe.

And that’s how she found him now. The door eased open behind him, the quiet click of it almost drowned by the sound of his own thoughts. He didn’t turn. Just kept staring at the armor like it might vanish if he willed it hard enough.

Mae said nothing at first.

She stood there, watching him—not the soldier, not the symbol, but the man. The man who once carried the weight of an army on his shoulders. And now couldn’t quite bring himself to pick it up again.

“Looks like it could use a cleanup,” she said gently, her voice threading through the silence like sunlight through storm clouds. She stepped closer, then knelt beside him without waiting for permission, fingers brushing over one of the arm bracers. It was scratched, scorched, the paint dull with age and wear. Dirt clung to the edges. Dried blood had crusted into the seams—most of it his. Maybe not all.

She didn’t flinch.

“Yeah,” he murmured, staring at it like it belonged to someone else. “It needs it.”

Mae set the piece down with care, like it was something sacred. “Need some help?” she asked, her eyes lifting to meet his.

Rex hesitated. The instinct to brush her off came first—reflex, muscle memory. He didn’t need help. He was trained not to. But the truth didn’t sit so easily anymore.

“Need?” he echoed, voice quiet. “No.”

A beat passed. Then he looked at her—really looked—and let the armor of habit fall away just a little.

“But I’d appreciate it,” he added, softer this time. “If you want to.”

Mae smiled—subtle, not triumphant, not expecting more than that small opening. She nodded and rolled up her sleeves, reaching for a rag without another word.

And just like that, they began.

No ceremony, no grand gestures. Just two people, side by side on the floor, the weight of history laid out in front of them—piece by piece. They worked in silence at first, careful and deliberate, wiping away grime and blood and ash, as though cleaning the past might somehow make it easier to carry. Maybe that’s what they were really doing—sorting through what to hold onto and what to finally let go.

At some point, Mae rose wordlessly and disappeared into the other room. When she returned, it was with a half-drunk bottle of wine in one hand and two mismatched glasses in the other. She sat down beside him again like she’d never left and poured without asking.

The wine helped. So did the silence softening between them. What had begun steeped in heaviness, tension, and quiet grief began to shift—bit by bit—into something lighter. Not weightless, but easier. That was Mae’s gift. She had this quiet magic to her, the kind that didn't erase darkness but made it bearable. Something about the way she existed in his orbit dulled the sharper edges of his past. She didn’t try to fix it. She just stayed.

“That’s what you did?” she said suddenly, her voice laced with playful disbelief as she picked up one of the gauntlets. “You took perfectly functional, regulation-grade armor... and welded scraps of your old set onto it?”

He smirked faintly, catching the way streaks of blue paint now adorned her hands and forearms. The sight was oddly grounding—like his past and present had met in some soft, unexpected way.

“Call me sentimental,” he replied with a shrug, eyes returning to the bracer. “I wanted to keep a piece of it.”

Mae let out a laugh, pointing her paint-covered brush at him like an accusation. “Sentimental,” she repeated, mock-scolding. “You do realize I fought tooth and nail to get you boys an upgrade that actually fit your bodies—and this is what you do with it?”

Rex blinked, caught off guard. “Wait… what?” He wasn’t sure of the logistics of how the armor change came about during the war. Nor did he have the time to question it either. Simply accepting it, slightly modifying and then going back into the blaster fire.

Her tone turned a touch more thoughtful as she leaned back on her hands, eyes drifting slightly as she recalled. “It was after Ryloth. I’d just been dismissed—barely out of surgery, arm still in a sling. I was halfway out the door when the Council intercepted me. Wanted intel on Cham and the resistance. They were planning another landing, and I was the last person who'd had contact with him.”

She paused mid-sentence, wine glass dangling loosely between her fingers. Her gaze unfocused, caught somewhere far off in a memory that seemed to rise slowly, unbidden, like a wave she hadn't expected. Her lips parted like she might continue, but no words came. Whatever she was remembering, it had settled over her heavy. And maybe it hurt more than she thought it would.

Rex tilted his head slightly, watching her. “I get it,” he offered, voice low and a little uncertain. “We never touched down on Ryloth ourselves… but our General broke the blockade. That was a mess.”

He tried to piece it together—the battle logs, the comms traffic, the long stretches of deployment that all blurred into one another. So many worlds, so many fights. It was hard to distinguish one from the next anymore. But Ryloth—that had stood out. The chaos. The urgency. The pressure of saving a world already half lost. Plus the continued separatists pushing on the planet. He’d heard from Howzer how bad it continued to be after his General had been moved elsewhere.

“They rushed me out,” Mae said finally, voice softer now, more composed. “Shoved me onto a medical transport before I could even sit upright. I was still bleeding when they told me the RAR was disbanded but I’d be meeting with General Kenobi’s forces to report on Cham and the others. I barely made it ten steps off that ship before I started yelling at someone.”

She gave a breathy laugh, almost embarrassed, but there was pride in it too. “I was furious. I’d just been dismissed, barely conscious, and the first thing I see is a Commander standing there like I’m some kind of delicate flower.”

Then something shifted in Rex’s expression. A flicker of realization passed through his eyes, sharpening with memory.

“Wait…” he said slowly, leaning forward, the puzzle pieces sliding into place. “You’re—Cody’s little Spitfire?”

Mae blinked, her brow furrowed. “His what now?”

Rex actually laughed—short, disbelieving. “That’s what he called you. It was after that encounter. I heard it over the coms, all the boys said a tiny woman with a busted arm and murder in her eyes had given everyone—including Mace Windu—an earful.”

Her expression was a mix of disbelief and delight. “You're serious?”

“Oh, dead serious. I teased him about it for weeks. Told him it sounded like he was smitten the way he’d looked at you while leaving.” Rex smirked. “We didn’t get many women out in the field—especially not ones who weren’t Jedi. So when someone like you showed up, storming in like that… yeah, I assumed it meant something else.”

Mae’s lips parted, surprised. “And he told you what I did?”

Rex nodded. “Told me you chewed through half the Council and rewrote half the tactical assessment on your way out, tossing the files and then leaving.”

Mae gave a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “Maker. That sounds about right.”

Rex stared at her, somewhere between amused and stunned. “You’re telling me you’re the reason my armor finally stopped cutting into my collarbone?”

She grinned. “You're welcome.”

He shook his head, half laughing. “I wore that armor for years and never knew.”

“Well,” Mae said with a wink, raising her glass, “now you do.”

There was a pause—comfortable now, laced with the shared wonder of a connection they hadn’t known they almost made.

“Wait,” she said, narrowing her eyes slightly. “Does that mean…”

“We almost crossed paths,” Rex finished for her, a warm grin tugging at the edge of his mouth. “Yeah. Looks like we did.”

He leaned back slightly, the memory sharpening in his mind now—the frantic energy of the hangar bay, the brief glimpse of a slim, red-haired figure limping up a ramp. At the time, he’d barely noticed. Just another moment in the rush of war. A slight piece of ammunition against Cody. But now?

Now it felt like fate playing its long game.

He shook his head with a quiet laugh. “Maker, all this time I thought I met you on Pabu. Turns out, I nearly met you years ago. Just missed it.”

Mae looked at him for a long, lingering moment, her gaze soft, almost reverent—like she was seeing something in him she’d always believed was there. Something solid. Something worth waiting for. “Seems like we were bound to find each other eventually,” she murmured, the faintest smile touching her lips.

Rex didn’t look away. Her words settled into him like sunlight on old wounds—gentle, warm, unexpected. He felt it down to the marrow. All the years, the close calls, the seconds they’d nearly crossed paths... and now here they were, kneeling over pieces of his past like it was something sacred.

“Yeah,” he said, voice low, rough with more than just time. “Seems like we were.”

He leaned in before he could second-guess it—driven not by impulse, but something deeper. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, warm and flushed from the wine, but also from the weight of everything shared between them. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch or pull away—just closed her eyes for a breath, as if committing the moment to memory.

And then, quietly, Rex went back to work—picking up a brush, dabbing it into the paint, resuming the small, careful strokes along the edges of his chest plate. The silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t empty.

It was full.

Full of the past, and everything he hadn’t known. And then a question surfaced—quiet but persistent.

He set the brush down, fingers resting lightly on the armor as he turned to her again.

“Why did you do it?” he asked, brow furrowing slightly. “Back then. The armor. All of it. You didn’t owe us anything.”

Mae tilted her head, eyes tracing the lines of his face. She didn’t answer right away. And when she did, it wasn’t flippant or coy. It was honest.

“Because you should never have been treated like you were disposable,” she said, her voice soft but steady. “None of you were. But they treated you like numbers—like assets, not men. And I couldn’t stand it.” Suddenly that fire lit long ago burned again.

“Armor that didn’t account for your frames, your movements, your needs—I lost it. I’d already started asking Keeli’s men what they needed, what could actually help them stay alive. Formality didn’t last long on Ryloth. We were fighting just to breathe. Everyone cut the nonsense fast. They gave me real insight—things the Kaminoans never bothered to ask. I’m still not convinced those cloners understood human anatomy at all.” she scoffed.

Her eyes didn’t leave his, even as her voice caught slightly. “I saw what you all gave. What you lost. And no one was fighting for you. Not really. So I did. Not because I was ordered to, not because anyone told me to—but because you deserved better. You all did. Besides, if I was getting tossed aside, what did I have to lose?”

His whole life had been firefights and battle plans, sacrifice and survival. He had never once paused to think about who might’ve been fighting for him while he was out there bleeding for the Republic. He didn’t know there had even been someone who cared enough to raise their voice when it would’ve been easier to disappear.

And Mae had done it. Quietly. Fiercely. Unseen. Unthanked. But not forgotten. Not anymore.

A hazy memory stirred in the far corner of his mind—just a flicker, a blur of red hair and defiance, a woman standing tall even while injured. He’d barely noticed her then, one of a hundred moments before the next firefight. But now it came into focus. Now, he saw her.

“I didn’t know,” Rex said, his voice barely above a whisper, rough with something he didn’t quite have words for. “All this time… I didn’t know what you did for us.”

Mae reached across the space between them, fingers smudged with blue paint as they gently brushed across his knuckles. “Well,” she said with a small, crooked smile, “I guess it paid off… if you’re here now.”

Rex stared at her hand over his, paint-smudged and warm, grounding him in a way that nothing else ever had—not command, not duty, not even victory. Her smile was quiet, a little bashful, but it carried the weight of something true. Something earned.

He turned his palm slowly, lacing their fingers together. His hand, calloused and scarred, dwarfed hers, but she didn’t flinch. She never had.

“I’m here,” he said, more to himself than anything. The words felt strange on his tongue—like he was still trying to believe them. “After everything… I made it here.”

Rex looked up at her then, really looked. There was a gentleness in her eyes that unraveled him. Not pity. Not awe. Just this quiet, unwavering belief in him—as a man, not a soldier. As someone worthy of peace. Of love. Someone she’d grown to love in this new, exciting shift they’d experienced.

It was more disarming than any battlefield.

“You made our lives so much better,” he said, voice thick. “You did that and I didn’t even know your name.”

Her eyes shimmered, just a little, and he swore his chest tightened at the sight of it.

“I don’t know how I got this lucky,” he said, voice quieter now. “After everything… to end up here. With you. That’s something I never thought I’d have.”

He leaned in again, brushing his lips against her forehead in a kiss that lingered.

“I just… I’m so thankful for you, Mae,” he whispered into her skin. Her arms came around his waist, pulling him close, and for the first time in a long time, he let himself be held—not like a soldier, not like a symbol—but like a man who deserved to be loved.

And the armor? It could wait for another day.

#may01st #may01st2025 #may01st2025day2 #star wars events #captain rex x oc mae #captain rex x oc #captain rex #captain rex fic #i love them #captain rex fanart #let captain rex be happy #man deserves a vacation #rexmae

27 notes · View notes

insertmeaningfulusername · 3 months ago

Note

Okay I gotta ask because it's been eating at me since you mentioned it on the rex and howzer post a few days ago... but smut fic? 👀

Adskafjdjfdjkjksjj yes 👀 I'm not sure into how much detail I can go with this seeing as it's Tumblr (my DMs are open to scream about clones any time any place kadlsfkldj), but it's a small idea I started like, last summer!!

I didn't get very far in (until now) but the gist of it is that Howzer is mourning all the troopers he lost when he, Rex and the Bad Batch were escaping from the CX trooper - and he obviously blames himself for not being better prepared, not protecting his troopers like he should have... and Rex takes care of him via some gentle domming <3 disclaimer that this is trans Rex, and I sort of wanted him topping for once instead of always being the bottom just because he happens to have a holster and not a deecee, so they're going to switch for sure.

#maybe one day i will finish it #i really want to!!#but i always start a 100 things and finish like one of them (if all goes well)#also this sounds very vanilla because i think it is lol #but i just think howzer deserves to be taken care of gently #mereelskirata #ask #thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to ramble my friend 💙#cloneshipping #what even is this ship's shipname #rexzer #hmmm #howzex #?

21 notes · View notes

masterjedilenawrites · 1 year ago

Text

Operation: Give That Clone More Fics!

🩵 Howzer edition 🩵

After a quick tie-breaker poll, Captain Baja Blast has been voted as the character in need of more fics! For anyone interested, here are some ways you can contribute to helping build up Howzer's fic library:

Write a new fic! Short or long; reader insert or 3rd person; fluff or smut; AU or canon compliant... No rules, just show Howzer some love with however many words you feel like

Write a continuation of an old fic! Already wrote something for Howzer in the past? Dig it up and add an extra something to it... a new chapter, a prequel scene, a rewrite from another POV, etc

Write him into a current story! For those who like a little challenge, take a current WIP and see if you can find a way to include Howzer in the next part (even if it's only an alternate scene)

Help out a writer! If you're not a writer yourself, or don't have the time/capacity/interest to work on this initiative, send some prompts or ideas to a writer friend instead

Whatever you write, tag with #MoreHowzerFics and/or @ me... In addition to writing a fic of my own, I'll compile a list of any new Howzer fics for interested readers to reference.

No firm deadline on this, but I will put up another poll soon and have a new clone winner the following week. (Not sure on the timing of these, is 1-2 weeks between polls okay??) Continue to shower Howzer with love as often as you can in the future!

Tagging @winniethewife who said they were interested in writing.

Alright friends, you have your mission orders... now go give that clone more fics! 🩵

#star wars #clones #captain howzer #the clone wars #the bad batch #morehowzerfics #calling all writers

70 notes · View notes

dreamingangelwolf · 4 months ago

Text

Codex Week 2025 - Day 4: Amnesia/Memory Loss

I am just under 2k words from finishing this @codex-week story, I think…! Usual daily snippet below in the meantime - a little longer than previous snippets, but I couldn’t find anything shorter that wasn’t irrelevant to the prompt/a bit of a spoiler. Enjoy Rex defending Cody and Howzer trying to do right by his brothers.

As if on cue, lick of anger shoots through his chest, the intensity dying as quickly as it rises but settling low and thrumming in the same spot. With the accompanying thought of ah, kriff, Rex double-times it all the way to the hub, skirting the central console just in time for Cody to barrel out of the back interrogation room, brow drawn, expression dark, his very aura screaming do not approach.

“Cody?” Rex asks, slowing as they cross paths - but even his concern isn’t enough to make Cody pause, and, sensing how wound-up he is, Rex leaves him to go and cool off by himself for a moment (the bond will help locate him later). Instead, Rex approaches Howzer, also leaving the interrogation room with a less-than-satisfied expression, asking him, “What’s going on?”

Refreshingly, Howzer doesn’t launch into a tirade on the spot; he does, however, gesture for Rex to follow him back into the room, then keys the door shut and lets out a heavy sigh.

“We hit a… blocker,” he says carefully. “Everything was going well - you were right, he was willing to tell us as much as he could, and a lot of it we can certainly use to our advantage. When it came to Tantiss, though, he had nothing.”

“Nothing?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Didn’t matter what I asked, he apparently couldn’t tell me. Says he’s got these ‘blank spots’ when he tries to remember returning there. I - uh.” His lips twist in a grimace. “I may have implied he wasn’t being truthful.”

Rex resists clapping a hand to his face, but he does give Howzer a look. “Seriously?”

He scowls. “He’s a Purge Trooper -”

“Was -”

“Rex, you can’t just expect us to take his word for it that he’s fully turned, now.”

Hiding a wince at his choice of wording, Rex argues, “Maybe not, but there’s nothing to be gained from telling someone to their face that you don’t trust them. For all we know, his memory loss is a side-effect of the chips, or perhaps even something that’s been done to him by the Empire.”

Howzer raises his hands in submission, drawling, “Alright, you’ve made your point. I was out of line, I’ll apologise at the next opportunity, then we can all go back to pretending that one of the most dangerous members of the Empire’s forces after the kriffing Inquisitors isn’t playing house in our secret base.”

As he turns away, glowering, Rex regards him closely. There’s more to this than Howzer having a problem with Cody specifically, but now is not the time to pry. In an attempt to part on less-turbulent terms, he asks instead, “You said a lot of what Cody told you was useful?”

Glancing at him, Howzer nods. “Yeah. Tactics, key outposts, personnel and the like. Just nothing that would get us to this Tantiss.”

“Better something that nothing,” Rex muses. “I’ll speak to Cody about his memory. I trust you and Echo can put all that new knowledge to good use?”

After a beat, Howzer’s shoulders lower marginally. “We’ll think of something.”

#codexweek2025 #Cody/Rex #Codex #Captain Rex #Amnesia/Memory Loss #Cody is in this chapter too I promise #Howzer is not being the bad guy here either!#I will have these chapters edited soon I swear…!

12 notes · View notes

xecutivecucumber · 1 year ago

Text

Executive Cucumber's thoughts on the Bad Batch: Season 3x06 and 3x07 (I'm pretty sure I'm formatting this differently every time. Oh well)

Okay, there's a subject I'm going to have to postpone until the end of the post because I want all my thoughts on that to be together: the main operative clone. And the rest might be slightly out of order. I'm also doing this before I see anyone else's thoughts, just so we get the pure version.

Let's go!

I honestly thought that Senator Singh and Riyo were dead meat. But no, they're fine because REX IS COOLER THAN ANYONE. Ugh that man. Freaking throwing the grenade back at him.

Clones are beautiful. That is all.

THAT'S THAT ONE PLACE FROM THE OG CLONE WARS MOVIE!!! TETH!!!

Howzer I love you but if you touch Crosshair we will be having words.

I am actually really proud of Crosshair and his restraint this episode. He could have been really cutting to Howzer.

OMEGA WITH THE TOOTHPIIIIICKS and Hunter is jealouuuus

EDIT: ECHO AND THE CROSSBOW HE'S SO SWEET

WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU CROSSHAIR

It's really nice to see normal clones being normal again. (Too bad it doesn't last)

There's something up with Omega. I'm not going to lie, I think that she and Rex are going to plan to get her captured in order to track her back to Tantiss.

HOWZER STOP DISTRUSTING CROSSHAIR THIS MOMENT

I appreciate that Hunter doesn't seem to distrust Crosshair during this point.

...they really shouldn't have brought that operative back.

Rex is considering stealing Omega, I swear. I love that he gets down to her level.

WOOOOOOOOOOOLFFE (Plo would be so disappointed in you)

It's...odd to see these normal troopers with him.

It's also strange that he cannot comprehend that the clones could be traitors at first.

STOP DYING YOU BEAUTIFUL REGS

'She only bites half the time' I'm pretty sure Omega is lying here but I don't care.

CROSSHAIR IS SUCH A WORRIED DAD HOLY CRAP. 'Oh, I'm much worse' I LOVE YOU

And this just gives such a little insight into how the Batch was when they were together. I have a feeling that Crosshair was a fusser and a nagger.

And I love how Howzer's natural and correct conclusion is: 'no one evil could love that child.' (Unless you're Nala Se)

Hey, actual candor from Crosshair. I keep saying this is who he always was under it all, but I do think he's healed somewhat, at least towards regs. The healing power of Omega.

'Too bad' I LOVE THIS MAN

STOP DYING REGS

Rex talking down Wolffe reminded me so much of him trying to talk Jesse down. So ow.

Okay, what ROCK have they shoved Wolffe under for the last YEAR??? YES THE EMPIRE WOULD GET RID OF THE CLONES YOU DOG BRAINED IDIOT

(Plo would be proud that you let them go)

...they just killed all of Rex's clones, except Howzer and Gregor. And I have a bad feeling about Howzer. STOP TAKING THINGS FROM REX HASN'T HE LOST ENOUGH???

Okay here we are, at the big topic. Hold onto your pants.

That operative clone. Is. Tech. Because if he is not, they are purposefully using the narrative to deceive us.

I might miss a few things, but that's because I'm up past my bedtime and I've been up too late the last few days.

1. The falling and water parallels. This clone falls a LOT during this episode and dives into a lot of water. He even falls into mist. This time it's to kill and capture his siblings instead of save them.

2. The injury. This clone is hobbling around a lot after his injury, which was immediately reminiscent of Tech's broken leg at the beginning of season 2. Both of them are forcing themselves past their limit to achieve a mission. Specifically with injured legs.

3. General attitude and demeanor. In combination with the stealth and injury, this clone has a more hunched posture. His speech patterns are more formal, though we haven't really heard a lot of other clone operatives talk with their helmets on. But he's also apparently allergic to orders. I first thought that he'd be out of the chain of command, but they would have told Wolffe that he wasn't in charge of the operative if that were the case. Or the operative would have straight up told him 'I don't take orders from you' instead of staring awkwardly at him. Instead he runs off and does his own thing. While injured. Not to mention the buttons on his gauntlet. The other clone operatives don't have those.

4. The cybernetic legs. Now we don't know for sure if Tech would have cybernetic legs, but it seems likely for a severely injured trooper. And when Crosshair is looking at the heat signature, you can see that his legs are blue instead of yellow or red. No heat. Not organic.

5. What he says to Crosshair. 'You could have been one of us.' 'You chose the wrong side.' Yes, he's talking about Crosshair resisting the re-education. But flip it on its head real quick. 'You could have been one of us. One of the Bad Batch.' 'You chose the wrong side. The Empire.' Those lines very easily have double meanings.

6. An interesting one is when he starts moving rocks after the explosion. Why would he do that? Why not immediately go find another way in? He's moving only the smaller rocks. There's a large one in the way that he couldn't move himself. And he doesn't get the rest of the troopers to come move it when they arrive. He almost seems confused.

Like he's somewhere else after an explosion, having to move rocks. Like in the Crossing.

I know that this hardly seem like iron clad evidence. But in the language of story telling, it's practically screaming in our faces.

And I'm so glad he's back. I missed him. He won't be himself for a while, but I legitimately believe we'll get one last fight with the Batch all together. Because brain washing is a heck of a lot easier to fix than being dead.

My sister is doing the good work and creating a tik token about it, and I'll probably share it here when she's finished.

(We're getting the episode 'Identity Crisis ON MY BIRTHDAY and so help me if that's about Tech)

Honestly I thought I'd be more excited, but I spent the entire two episodes forcing myself into not having expectations and also I might be in shock.

57 notes · View notes

thecoffeelorian · 1 month ago

Text

Chapter Title: Tightening Grips

Word Count: 2,524 words.

Brief Description: Captain Howzer x Female Reader, Captain Howzer x Chandrilan Reader (Singular Love Interest). As the amount of days leading up to the wedding becomes smaller, so too do the tempers of the people involved become shorter...

AO3: Link Here (Must Log In)

Extra Notes: I had wanted to include a longer conversation between the Reader and her relatives, but given that my mind was beginning to drift aimlessly in the process, I made the creative decision to move that part to Chapter 9.

Also, the flavor of the wedding cake is going to be a secret until the chapter where I finally reveal it. :D

And finally, the white braid divider in this chapter was created by @v6que.

Chapter Masterlist: Link Here

The No-Pressure Tag List:

@crosshairs-dumb-pimp-gf @cloneflo99 @vrycurious @gun-roswell @padawancat97

@littlefeatherr @yeehawhijack @knightprincess @masterjedilenawrites @skellymom

@orangez3st @ci-avmovies14 @523rdrebel @tink1221 @frostedlittlecupcake

Additional No-Pressure Tag For The Lurkers:

@hellhoundmaggie @cc-cobalt-1043 @techsbrowneyes @insertquestionmarkhere @small-ratchild

@embonbon @hellfiresky @autumnwoodsdreamer @atticusblackwolf @riversings42

Six days and counting until the big day, and although you’re all enjoying the calm before the eventual rush to the end, the arrangement of The Circle, the small group of people present during the ceremonial rites, is also simultaneously being established. This arrangement, judging from your knowledge of weddings past, is going to end up determining your immediate social circle after all of the rituals are performed.

Therefore, Orinna’s standing in for your mother as she’s done a hundred times before, a fact that you won’t stop being grateful for as long as you live. Dad takes the obvious place beside her as your mother’s surviving spouse, two of the people designated to walk around you and Howzer as you’re presented to him at the center, and along with your sister in one corner and two more old friends from school in their own, these five nearly make up your half of the ceremony with one ‘Peermaiden’ missing.

Howzer’s side, though…well, that’s taking a bit of negotiation on his part.

“I am not inviting ze Kaminoans.”

He currently sits in attendance with two of his squad members, Fourteen and Gulf, both of whom are looking slightly insulted at what’s just been proposed for the “parents” of the groom. Apparently, according to his future father-in-law, the traditional spots of both mother and father can easily be filled in by whichever stepparent, adoptive parent, or biological engineer is responsible for the groom’s upbringing.

Unfortunately for Dad, on the other hand, he’s just proposed two of the worst beings to ever be considered for this position.

“And why not? Aren’t they a little, ah...responsible for you existing in the first place?”

“Just because they made me does not mean they ever cared to raise me.”

“Did they oversee your upbringing in any way, though?”

“Only indirectly, sir.”

“All right…then who do you propose instead? Some other clone?”

All three Troopers are bristling at the slight now, which is probably not only the worst thing your father has done since attempting to keep your studies upon Coruscant, but also performing the additional foolishness of insulting his future son-in-law. In other words, if there was ever a grand prize for the worst communication skills on Chandrila alone…he would certainly be near the top of the contestants list.

“I was going to suggest Captain Rex, sir, but thanks to your reaction just now...why stop at just one? Why not a mentor figure from Ryloth as well, if you would rather not be overrun with other Troopers?”

Howzer’s not about to be put down so easily, though, for now he’s brought up the possibility of including more Twi’leks in the ceremony itself, alongside a few of his own immediate relatives.

“Ryloth? Why that planet?”

“It was where I was stationed before I came ‘ere.”

“So your substitute is…?”

“Gobi Glie, also known as ze fellow who first showed me around Lessu.”

There’s a nervous shudder in Dad’s posture now, a sure sign that he either knows and fears the name of Gobi Glie, or he’s merely heard a few stories and learned how to tremble in his finery at word of mouth alone.

“And if you still need one more Peermaiden, I would finally like to nominate Hera Syndulla to fill zat role.”

Whatever the case may be, however, he seems to be at a sudden loss for words as far as responses go.

Such a good thing it must be, then, that you most certainly are not.

“Those two sound perfect, actually!”

You make this affirmation before anyone else can sneak in and speak over you, and with it, Fourteen, Gulf, and Howzer act as one unit by regarding you with silent approval.

“How soon do you think they can travel here?”

“Mmm…about four to six days, with the proper clearance.”

“Then let’s not keep them waiting.”

You share a quick kiss in full view of Dad, barely paying him any attention as he nervously looks away just in time.

Good.

Let him ponder that one in awkward silence for the rest of this rotation, and so consider all of the ramifications that will most certainly come from you not living under his thumb for much longer.

As for you, there’s a quiet little voice in the back of your mind now, a voice that, after a long twenty years of remaining silent, is slowly learning how to speak…and that voice promises you that your exit from Chandrila can’t come soon enough.

Five days remaining as of today, and with a little help from Briana, you’ve managed to finish your veil without making it look like a clumsy pile of knots and dropped stitches. Though it measures around two and a half feet by four feet altogether, it’s still been fixed up enough to resemble silken lace from Ghorman, and not a moment too soon.

There, you see? It looks absolutely lovely now!

Heh…I can only hope that its owner fits in with its aesthetic.

That's one less problem around to give you a headache later.

In its place, though, there remains the important task of meeting with Orinna to discuss the menus for what you’re nicknaming “The Party Trilogy”, and for that, you and Howzer are off to the kitchen to check on the general progress in this matter. Maybe you’ll also get to sneak in a few bites as the unofficial taste testers, even if it’s just to ensure a little quality control before the festivities begin.

Whatever the case may be for you, you’re both present at around half past nine in the morning, a small assortment of dishes already on the table. The aromas of bean sauce and red powder slowly make themselves known here, and with them, you’re noticing the beginnings of your wedding feast taking shape.

“Is zat munch-fungus over zere…?”

Howzer’s noticed a little about the food as well, and is currently eyeing one plate of the breaded fungus with interest.

“I’m afraid I normally see it in bread more zhan anything else.”

“Deconstructed munch-fungus loaf,” a familiar voice recites, the corresponding body of your chef droid coming around the corner with a Chandrilan cheese board in tow.

“Orinna’s orders, though we haven’t yet figured out how to bring the yogurt back in!”

“I’m sure you’ll find another use for it, CHF-1000…anyway. Is it all right for us to sit down?”

“At the table, if you please—and no snitching bites until Orinna comes back!”

“You ‘ave a clanker making all of your meals?” Howzer asks, both eyebrows raised in concern.

“He certainly helped Mom with things before she passed away.”

“What if he ever gets angry with you, and decides to burn all your food?”

“Then I suppose we'll just have to get delivery.”

The two of you enjoy a brief respite from all of the chaos, your hands gradually finding one another until your right hand is taken gently into his left. This is the moment where you're able to explore him just a little, making a mental note of the few callouses and scars marked into his otherwise smooth skin, as well as finding it close to impossible to believe that these are the hands of a soldier at all.

In another time and place, you might have grown up as mechanics together, and perhaps even avoided a great deal of formality-related stress if you chose to marry on your own. A different life, even, if not also what others might consider a somewhat better one.

The life you could easily have had, if the war had never taken place.

Still, when Orinna returns with something hidden beneath a red cloth in her hands and a mischievous look in her eyes…you wonder if this life might not be so bad either.

“Ah, but you are just in time, my dears! Come closer, I have a little surprise for you!”

With this thought safely in your mind, you allow yourself a small change in focus from daydreaming to reality. Here, the two of you are sure to lean in as she removes the cloth with one hand, and are soon after rewarded with the sight of a freshly-baked cake.

“Oh, now that looks good, Orinna! What’s it for?”

“Zis will be our dessert for your reception, or so I ‘ope.”

She brandishes a small serving tool almost like it’s a bidding rod, her eyes glancing between you both.

“Would you like to test it for me?”

“Hmmm…what do you think, Howzer? Should we give it a taste?”

“I think I was ready for it long before I recognized it,” Howzer answers, though not without accepting Orinna’s knife first.

“Now…let’s find out what this cake is made of!”

“There he is! The lucky Captain, back among us!”

A public transport hovercar brings a second Captain to your doorstep, only this time, it's a slightly older blond fellow dressed in dark blue clothing, a somewhat out-of-place feeling evident in his eyes as he comes closer. Apparently, it’s a long way between here and Coruscant, the unofficially temporary Capital of the galaxy now that Palpatine is no longer among you.

Nevertheless, you’re going to be as welcoming as you can, as this is no mere guest right off the street to you.

“From what I ‘ear, Captain Rex, you must be feeling a little lucky yourself.”

Both Howzer and Rex move in to shake hands, and with it, you waste no time in offering the caf and pastries that you helped put together earlier this morning.

“It’s nothing a few days of calm can’t fix...thank you.”

“So zere are no losses, I take it?” Howzer asks next, his focus entirely on Rex. “How is Ashla?”

“None so far, and I think she's done shaking at last.”

“Does one of us need to pay her a visit, or...?”

“She'll be just fine among the rest of brothers. Remember, this day is yours.”

“So it is...Y/N, will you do us ze honor of taking us to the garden?”

“Of course. This way, gentlemen, if you please...”

It’s a short walk to where you mean to go, all right, but at least you have the opportunity to introduce this second Captain to the site of the ceremony to come, as well as fill him in on the part he gets to play within it.

“…That’s where the Circle’s going to be, in case you haven’t already guessed.”

“The area with all the flowers around it?”

“Yes. You, Mr. Glie, Orinna, and my father will eventually stand just inside the flower wall, but first, Orinna’s going to lead me to Howzer around where that one gap is.”

“And there’s going to be four other girls surrounding us at this time?”

“More like off in the four corners, but yes.”

“What purpose do they have?”

“In the present day, they supposedly relight any lamps that have gone out by accident.”

“And their original role…?”

Your voice lowers right then and there, suddenly sounding too flat even for your taste.

“They would have made sure the wedding party never got captured by the Rakata.”

Silence reigns behind you afterward, a feeling of awkwardness permeating everything as you all draw closer to the garden. You probably should have chosen your words a bit more carefully here, especially in light of the various battlefields that these two men have been fortunate enough to escape without a scratch.

“That’s…quite the history lesson, Miss Minola. I had no idea that this planet knew other things besides comfort and status.”

“From what I’ve learned about Kamino, Captain Rex, yours isn’t the only planet who witnessed an attack on its capital.”

Then again, if you’re meant to establish closer bonds between yourself and other Troopers besides Captain Howzer…perhaps the plainest truths about your culture will serve them a lot better than the most stylized of lies. Your mother had taught you a long time ago that honesty was the best policy, after all, so maybe it would be a wise decision to start doing just that before you lose your second braid.

“No wonder we’re getting along so well, then…our landmarks seem to make the best targets.”

Just the same, though, you’re considering yourself lucky that neither of these two Captains decides to run back the way he came after hearing this story from you, but instead join the rest of the guests as though nothing out of the ordinary has just taken place.

“Here we are, gentlemen…feel free to sit anywhere you like.”

This is where the three of you find your Uncle Taryn and Aunt Ceelia already seated, conveniently upon opposite sides of the garden and with their respective shares of the caf and pastries. They are also in the company of Briana, who thankfully has been granted a small rest period in between her studies, be they the usual or the ‘special’ lessons with her two new ‘Professors’.

And, provided that absolutely nobody dares to bring up any politics or debates about just who won or lost the Clone Wars…this little gathering should progress just fine.

“There she is! Chandrila’s very first postwar bride!”

Aunt Ceelia is the first of the group to meet you, a diplomatic smile frozen upon her face as she rises to give you a welcoming hug.

“They’re not working you too hard, are they, dear?”

“Not without sharing the burdens, Auntie.”

Once the two of you have your arms around each other and the rest of the group is barely listening, however…that’s when Ceelia drops her voice to a whisper.

“All right, the truth now—did my idiot brother-in-law try to sell you off to a business partner?”

“Captain Howzer found me before anyone else. That much I can tell you.”

“You’re sure…? I have a hovercar nearby, we can leave right now if you wish it—”

“—I’m sure, Auntie. Please, trust me to do the right thing.”

Someone clears their throat behind you, most likely Uncle Taryn Himself, and then you’re pulling away from each other reluctantly, an island of women within a sea of predominantly male wedding guests. Guests who might soon be looking to make some matches of their own, if the rest of the guest list decides to bring along any of their daughters to the celebrations.

“Would you ladies care to join the rest of us...? Or are we to celebrate without you?”

“We’re ready,” you promise him, establishing a diplomatic face of your own as you take your seat beside Howzer. Briana takes this as her cue to start in on another story for everyone’s amusement, this time speaking about how one of the twin sisters from further down the mountain switched the other twin’s shoes with hers as a prank...and, for a moment, nearly everyone present is able to enjoy a laugh over the girl's imagined reaction.

As for you, once you remind yourself that all of four days remain until you meet Howzer in the Circle, after which there’s the high chance of you both leaving this planet behind and finding a second home...only then does your heart ache ever so slightly for your first.

[a/n: Bonus for you all--Here is an illustration of Howzer from the first third of this chapter! Hope you like it as much as I do! <3]

11 notes · View notes

mae-lou-ron · 1 month ago

Note

Who is the most affectionate between your OC and their s/o?

PIÑAAAAA! I’m so giddy at this ask and I would love to talk about it.

The short answer? Howzer. 100%.

For context, I have a headcanon that Howzer is affectionate with his brothers. As a clone captain, he would take shinies under his wing, ensuring they get proper medical attention and rest. Often sitting in the mess with his men, sharing stories and advice while really making sure they're eating enough and coping mentally with the chaos on Ryloth's front lines.

SooOooo let’s roll that beautiful bean footage:

⬆️ beautiful bean

With Vena, Howzer is always finding excuses to be physically close- his hand hovering at the small of her back as they walk, tucking that stubborn lock of her hair behind her ear, making sure to tell her how good of a job she's doing, or how beautiful he finds her at any given moment.

Howzer carries her to bed when she works too late and knows that Vena holds all of her tension in her shoulders, and melts at a firm shoulder rub- but will never ask for one. While Howzer tones down his PDA for her, he absolutely refuses to stop calling her "mesh'la" in front of anyone and everyone. Vena's affection, on the other hand, resembles a black cat bringing you a dead bird, at least at first. Having grown up without much physical affection, she shows her care in different ways. She's vigilant over Howzer's health and well-being, but never fusses or hovers. Instead, she quietly observes and provides. When Howzer is hungry, she hands him a ration bar and watches until he takes a bite. If he's stressed, she silently locks her pinky finger with his under the table. For anything medical, Vena doesn't leave his side. She learns his patterns, his schedule, his preferences. Vena fiercely defends anyone who questions Howzer's intentions or threatens his autonomy. But in private? Vena transforms completely. After being a protector for so long, my girl just wants to be held. Behind closed doors, she's always the first to reach for his hand or tuck herself into his side- and Howzer is more than happy to indulge her.

Thank you sm for the ask, @returnofthepineapple! 🩵💜

Taglist?: @lonewolflupe @dustmusings @thecoffeelorian @jetii

pls pls pls lmk if you don't want to be tagged 😂

#mae lou ron responds #mae lou ron's ocs #sw oc: cha'vena satu #[KHAH-veh-nah SAH-too]#sw oc: vena satu #pantoran defense force #howzer x female oc #howzer x vena #vena x howzer #pantoran oc #the clone wars oc #the bad batch oc #clone underground oc #star wars oc #star wars

9 notes · View notes

trooperlaugh · 4 months ago

Text

Shifting, shifting

Happy Clone Exchange Valentines day to at @sidhebeingbrand !

Hosted by: @clone-exchange

Echo paced from one end of the hall to another. In an attempt to keep himself from worrying too much about Rex, he focused on replaying their recently concluded mission.

Gregor and Howzer had been sent to Zeltros for an information exchange with a minor official assigned to the Senate. The plan had been for Echo, Rex and a small team to pick them up before making their way to a rendezvous with one of Chuchi’s informants.

Everything had been going well, timelines were on-track and there was no sign of the Imperials. Then the hotel where Howzer and Gregor had been staying was bombed. Echo couldn’t remember Rex ever losing his composure the way he had when that piece of intel had come in.

Echo could tell from the look on Outboard’s face when he got the comm that it wasn’t good news, but he hadn’t blanched enough that Echo figured the situation was salvageable. When Outbound had relayed the information to the rest of the crew, the five of them had, per usual, turned to Rex for next moves, but Rex hadn’t been standing in his perfect parade rest, ready with a plan immediately. Instead, he’d been frozen, face frozen in horror. His jaw had been moving, but no sound had come out.

“Rex?” Echo had asked.

Nothing.

Echo, Outboard and Heron had exchanged looks.

“Okay,” Echo had said, “here’s what we’re going to do.”

The plan he’d laid out hadn’t been that dissimilar from the one the Batch had used when getting the Syndulla’s out of Imperial custody on Rytloth. They hadn’t even needed to do most of what Eco had laid out. They’d landed the shuttle outside of town and walked the few kilometres in. Rex and Outboard had stayed on the ship.

Gregor and Howzer hadn’t been hard to find. They hadn’t even been in the hotel when it had been blown up, having taken one last trip through the markets for some breakfast. When they’d heard about the hotel, they’d made their way back to help. If they’d still been apart of the GAR, Echo might’ve berated them for not immediately going to their rendezvous. A few months ago, he might’ve done that. Zeltros was a friendly planet though, and from the way that Gregor was shaking, toeing the line of being frantic. Echo could sympathise with the fear and adrenaline that came with being around an explosion, and the need to try and help afterwards.

The four of them had made it back to the shuttle without a hitch.

Rex had locked himself in his room. A routine that he had continued once they found the rooms Chuchi had set up for them on Pasher.

Which left Echo to his pacing.

And to being startled when the door slid open, revealing a very slouched Rex.

“What’re you doing, Echo?” Rex asked. His voice was scratchy, like his throat was raw.

“Checking in on you,” Echo said. He accompanied the statement with a shrug and wondered if he looked anymore like Fives when he did it.

Rex snorted derisively.

“You’re pacing.”

“I can do two things at once,” Echo said. “I’m highly trained after all.”

That almost got him a smile.

“You’re a bit of a shit, Corporal,” Rex sighed. “C’mon in.”

The room was identical to the one that Echo had been assigned. Simple, but the carpeted floor was soft, even under Echo’s boots and metal feet, and the bed was big enough for two. A small dent in the comforter at the foot of the bed was the only sign that Rex had been in the room for the last couple hours at all.

Rex didn’t go back to the end of the bed. He just stood, swaying a little on his feet, facing the wall. Echo could see the twitching in his jaw.

They were quiet, until Rex asked, “How’re Gregor and Howzer?”

“Both fine,” Echo assured him. “Sleeping it off down the hall.”

Taking advantage of the bed big enough for both of them to comfortably fit in.

Rex exhaled long and loud, looking around the room with a kind of fragile desperation. When he looked back at Echo, Rex stumbled forward a few steps right into Echo’s chest and planting his face in the crook of Echo’s neck. Echo gave himself five seconds to adjust to this clear departure from their previously established roles.

During the war, Rex’s behaviour might not have been so surprising. All the vod’e were tactile, prone to crawling all over each other having never really learnt what personal space was. Torrent had been no different, and Torrent had been Rex’s. Before they were the 501st or General Skywalker’s or the GAR’s, Torrent had been Rex’s and he had been theirs. They took care of each other. Closeness like this was expected.

The Batch was even more tactile than Torrent had been, but Echo’d never joined in as much as he once might have. Spending over a year in the cryo-tube hadn’t done wonders for Echo’s desire to be restrained in any way, even if it was just a result of a cuddle.

“Okay, okay, hey,” Echo murmured, running a hand over the back of Rex’s head. It wasn’t the usual soft prickle Echo had expected. “You need a trim.”

Rex’s long groan almost made Echo laugh, but he swallowed it down. There were some things that Echo still couldn’t bring himself to do, less out of respect for Rex as his CO and more out of respect for a colleague.

“C’mon, I’ll do it for you,” Echo offered. “You’ll barely have to do anything.”

“I’ll have walk over to the bathroom,” Rex mumbled.

Echo was glad that Rex’s face was still buried in his vest so that he didn’t catch Echo’s eyeroll.

“I think you’ll make it, Captain. C’mon, no use putting it off.”

Rex huffed one more time but did peel himself off of Echo’s front and managed to slouch into the bathroom. Echo followed a step behind.

One of the perks of being put up by a Senator was that their suite was a little roomier than usual. There was at least enough space for two clones to fit between the edge of the counter and the frosted glass that enclosed the shower.

While Echo dug around in one of the drawers for the clippers, Rex peeled his shirt off, dropping it on the ground. It was such an un-Rex-like move that it convinced Echo more than anything else that afternoon of how tired Rex really was.

Echo promised, “I’ll be quick.”

“Just don’t make it uneven,” Rex grumbled.

“I’m not Jesse,” Echo said, some false offence in his tone.

He caught the ghost of Rex’s tiny smile in the mirror, and didn’t press. He remembered what had meant to be downtime on Imroosia. It had been another one failed attempt at diplomacy with the Seppies that had devolved into fighting. The fighting hadn’t been a surprise. Unfortunately, Jesse hadn’t been expecting the alarm to go off when he’d been helping Rex with his hair. He’d buzzed it so close that the only option Rex had been left with was going completely bald. Rex had not worn the look as well as Waxer.

Draping an unusually plush towel across Rex’s shoulders, Echo flicked on the clippers and got to work. A little pile of blonde curls started to pile up quickly. Echo fought back memories of Omega, her hair glowing, even under Salucami’s dull sun on her first trip off of Kamino.

To get his mind off his sister, Echo looked up at Rex’s reflection in the mirror. Rex had closed his eyes, and a new lump built up in Echo’s throat at the sign of trust. Then he had to keep himself from nicking the back of Rex’s neck when Echo noticed the tears that had started falling quickly over his cheeks. For half a second, Echo considered putting the clippers down, but decided that that would be worse. He did buy himself some time by brushing some of the hair off of Rex’s shoulders. It floated to the floor, and Echo turned the clippers back on.

Rex’s tears didn’t last long and Echo finished getting his buzz in order quickly as well. While Echo put the clippers back where he’d found them, he saw Rex roughly swiping the last of his tears from his face, leaving his face angry and flushed, tacky streaks still on his cheeks.

“Hop up,” Echo said, patting the counter top.

“What?” Rex said, eyebrows hiking up his forehead.

Echo patted the counter again. This time, Rex did as he was told.

“You’re as bad as the shinnies sometimes, you know that?” Echo told him.

Rex’s barked laugh was singular and brittle.

“Cody used to say the same thing.”

Echo winced, turning away from Rex to pull one of the small towels off the shelf by the sink. He soaked it in cold water and wrung it out. He stepped to stand in front of Rex, and started to dab the cloth at his puffy eyes. On a night that had been full of breaches of old protocol, this shouldn’t have felt as inappropriate as it did.

What, Echo wondered, was one more step across the line.

“I know you’re used to being the one in charge, keeping us all in line, making sure everything goes to plan,” Echo started, “but things have changed since the war. Hells, things have changed since you started trying to find our brothers. You aren’t going at it alone anymore.”

Rex sniffled, said “Damn,” and pulled the towel away from his eyes as he started crying again. He started to lean forward, half aborted the movement, and then followed through, pressing his forehead to Echo’s in a keldabe kiss.

They stayed there, suspended in the comfort and tenderness and sadness of the moment until Rex again broke the silence.

“Promise?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Echo murmured, “yeah, I promise.”

#cat writes #captain rex #arc trooper echo #CEValentive2025 #fic #fandom event

10 notes · View notes