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[starry-crossing-zone]

General Storyteller - Rex

Summary: After the Battle of Kamino, Rex finds you surrounded by clone cadets. Length: 1.4k Warnings: Post-Battle; Lots of Teasing; Rex's Flirting is Improving

The battle of Kamino had yielded heavy and unfortunate losses, but the Republic managed to repel the Separatists in the end. Rex, after promoting Echo and Fives to ARC Troopers, sought out the generals. He walked over to where Jesse and Hardcase were relaxing, assuming they would have an idea.

“Has anyone seen the generals?” Rex asked, resting his bucket against his hip.

“General Skywalker’s at the south end of the city, but I have a feeling that you’re not asking about him,” Jesse quipped, causing Rex to narrow his eyes. “She’s with Kix in the infirmary.”

“You know how she always turns into a mother hen after battle,” Hardcase reminded his captain, leaning back against the wall. He elbowed Jesse with a mischievous grin. “She’s probably giving shinies heart attacks.”

“Well, if she can make our esteemed captain blush, what hope do the shinies have, Hardcase?”

Rex, tuning out the rest of their conversation, turned and made his way to the infirmary. Due to the overflow from battle, it had expanded into the mess hall. But Rex assumed that a Jedi would be easy to spot among the clones and Kaminoans. But when he didn’t spot you, Rex made his way over to Kix, who was setting another trooper’s ankle.

“Kix, have you seen the general?”

“She’s in the other room,” Kix stated, pointing to his right. “You won’t be able to miss her.”

Rex raised an eyebrow, but continued on his way. Stepping into one of the wings of the infirmary, Rex paused when he spotted exactly what Kix was talking about. You sat at the end of the room, smiling and talking with all of the young clone cadets gathered around you.

“And then the bridge started to collapse,” you retold dramatically as you carefully bandaged up a cadet’s wrist. “The Separatists planted detonators along the bridge and lured us onto it. And the tactical droid tried to blow us all up.”

“How did you escape?” one of the cadets asked, sitting on the edge of his seat.

“Well, we started running. Anakin and I pushed your brothers to safety with the Force because all of you and all of your brothers in every corner of this galaxy are important to us.”

You gently poked one of the cadets on the tip of his nose to emphasize your point. He blushed bright red, reminding you of another clone, and looked down at his feet bashfully while one of his brothers grabbed his shoulders from behind.

“And no good leader and certainly no good Jedi would say otherwise,” you added, looking out around at the clone cadets. 

Rex was quite sure that the meaning behind your story was not part of the approved Kaminoan curriculum, but he couldn’t help but smile at his younger brothers’ reactions to your story. You smiled and finished up with bandaging a cadet’s wrist before continuing with the story.

“But then we had to run to safety ourselves. Now, Anakin was lucky enough that he was standing close to the edge. So, he escaped easily. But I wasn’t so lucky because a lingering detonator went off right behind me, causing me to lose my balance.”

“What happened next?” a cadet gasped.

“Shhh!” one of the other cadets shushed his brother.

“I’m getting to it,” you promised them with a chuckle. “As I was saying, your brother, Captain Rex, grabbed a long gun—right out of Mule’s hands, mind you—and shot a cable at me.”

“Did he hit you?” one of the cadets asked quickly.

“Do you think I’d miss, Cadet?” Rex called out teasingly.

“Captain Rex!” the cadets called turning around to see him walking towards them.

They all jumped to their feet and stood at attention. Rex stopped in front of the crowd of his young brothers and dismissed them, urging them to sit down again. He turned to you as the cadets got settled again. And even though Rex felt a familiar heat start to climb up his neck, he moved to take a seat on one of the beds. Clearing his throat as you offered him a soft smile, he nodded.

“You were saying, General.”

“Right, Captain,” you mused before turning back to his brothers. “No, Captain Rex didn’t hit me with the cable. It landed in front of me and I held onto it as the bridge tumbled down. And with some help from some of your other brothers, he pulled me up to safety.”

“Captain Rex saved your life?”

“Yes, he did,” you stated without hesitation.

“To be fair, you’ve saved mine a number of times, General,” Rex spoke up, causing you to smile.

“Yes, shall I tell all of you one of those stories next?”

The cadets cheered but Rex got back to his feet and motioned towards the door. You nodded and slowly stood up, causing the cadets to sigh and whine. Giving them a kind smile, you kneeled down so that you were eye level with all of them again.

“I must go back to being a general. But you should try and find General Kenobi, for he’s an even better story teller than me. But which battalion is the best in the GAR again?”

“The 501st!”

“And don’t you forget it,” Rex added, causing his younger brothers to grin.

Bidding the cadets goodbye, you stood up and walked with Rex out of the infirmary. The two of you moved in silence for a moment before Rex turned to you with a soft look.

“You survived the battle alright, General?”

“I should be asking you that question, Rex. This is your home. All of your homes.” You sighed and added quietly, “I’m sorry we didn’t defend it better.”  

“Kamino was always a target to the Seppies,” Rex stated, turning to look forward again. “But thank you, General.” Clearing his throat a bit, Rex turned forward once again. “And thank you for looking after the cadets. They were bred for war, but they were never trained for it to happen in their own home.”

“Of course,” you returned, nodding politely. “I have a soft spot for children. I believe my master’s habits rubbed off on me.”

“It’s not a bad habit to have.”

“Well, and clone cadets are adorable. In a way, the clones and the Jedi have a lot in common. We were raised communally as well. It’s a setup most citizens find unnatural, almost.”

“Well, your people can move things with their minds. My brothers and I all share the same face. They might not be far off,” Rex quipped, causing you to chuckle.

Stepping into the lift together, you stood side by side as you made your way back to the upper floors of the facility. No doubt that Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan were looking for the two of you. Placing your hands on your hips and turned to Rex with a mischievous smile.

“What were you like as a cadet, Rex?”

“Top of my class, of course.”

“Of course,” you agreed teasingly, causing Rex to tilt his chin up. “But don’t tell me that you were always this stoic and brooding.”

“Brooding?” Rex repeated, earning a laugh in return.

“Come on, Rex. You must have broken a few rules in your time on Kamino.”

“I would assume as many as you did when you were a padawan, General.”

“My master was on the Jedi High Council, so I had an image to uphold.” After a moment, you added with a grin, “But also more time unsupervised. And, well, Anakin was a poor influence on me.” Your smile softened as you turned back to Rex. “Perhaps I’ll tell you some of those stories one day, Captain.”

“I look forward to it, General.”

Stepping off the elevator together, you and Rex shared a smile before Commander Cody called out to the two of you. Rex winced when he spotted Cody’s knowing look and you pulled on a more professional expression in the presence of the marshal commander.

“General Kenobi requested your assistance with moving some of the larger pieces of debris,” Cody told you. “He’s in the eastern part of the city.”

“Thank you, Commander Cody, I will go meet him.” Nodding to Cody, you turned to Rex, who returned your burning gaze. “I’ll see you later, Captain.”

And with that, you walked down the hall and away from them. You couldn’t help but glance over your shoulder at Rex. Staring after you until your figure disappeared around the corner, Rex ignored Cody’s stare and smirk. Rolling his eyes, Rex brushed past his brother.

“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Cody called after him, causing Rex to wince.

“Stow it, Cody.”

[starry-crossing-zone]

Nail Polish - Hunter (TBB)

Summary: After Omega shows an interest in some nail polish, you steal some for her. Hunter pretends to be annoyed. Length: 1816 words Warnings: Female Reader; Former Bounty Hunter Reader; No Physical Description of Reader; No Y/N Used; Pickpocketing; Mentions of Dark Pasts (Reader)

Walking through the busy streets of a Mid Rim planet, you kept a close eye on Omega as you made your way back to the Marauder. The Bad Batch had split up to gather supplies and you and Omega had been sent to get a new water purification filter, which was securely strapped to your chest.

“Come on, Meg, this way,” you directed, resting a hand on Omega’s shoulder.

“Wait, what’s that?” Omega asked, pointing at a stand to the side.

You glanced over before slowly leading Omega over to the small stand. A group of merchants greeted you as you approached, and you quickly sized them up. Glancing down at what Omega was curiously examining, you bent down to Omega’s height.

“That’s nail polish.”

“What’s its purpose?” Omega questioned, turning to you.

“You paint your fingernails or your toenails with it. It’s pretty to look at,” you explained to her.

“Is it permanent?”

“No, just temporary. It’ll last longer if you add more layers of it,” you continued, glancing over the various colors at the stall.

“And can you only pick one color?”

“No. You can pick as many as you want. In the Inner Rim, there’re artists that spend their whole day painting people’s nails.”

“Really?” Omega gasped, causing you to nod.

“Where are you two from?” the vender asked, eyeing the two of you.

“Outer Rim. Just passing through,” you replied, shrugging your shoulders nonchalantly. You stared down at Omega, who was still curiously studying the vials of nail polish. You paused for a moment before nudging Omega in the side. “Come on, Meg. Let’s get going. The boys will worry if we’re late.”

“Alright,” Omega agreed, setting the vial of nail polish back.

Bidding the venders goodbye, Omega and you turned to head back to where the Marauder was docked. You waited until you were a few streets over before sliding two vials of nail polish out of the hidden compartment in your vambrace.

“I thought that you liked these colors the best,” you stated quietly.

Omega’s eyes widened in surprise when she spotted the two vials of nail polish in your hand. She quickly grabbed them, smiling giddily, before she quickly connected the dots. Turning back to you, Omega frowned.

“When did you pay for these?”

“That’s not for you to worry about, Meg,” you dismissed, pushing Omega forward to stay on schedule. Omega hissed your name, looking around nervously.

“We can’t do that," she insisted.

“Why not?”

“It’s illegal.”

“Well, I can think of quite a few other illegal things that we’ve done,” you replied evenly, leading Omega into the docking bay. “We’ll just add it to the list.”

“How did you do it?” Omega asked curiously.

“That’s far from the most impressive move that I can pull off,” you stated, shooting Omega a smirk. “Come on, Meg, give me more credit than that.”

“Can you show me?”

“I don’t think that Hunter would approve of that,” you mused. After a moment, you added, “We can start tomorrow.”

Omega grinned, but you shot her a look to keep a low profile. Omega stowed the nail polish into her pockets as the two of you walked towards the Marauder. Tech looked up from his datapad and perked up when he spotted the water filter.

“Ah, just what I was waiting for.”

“Sorry, got a little sidetracked,” you replied, tossing it over to Tech.

“What kind of sidetracked?” Hunter asked, stepping off of the ship. “Imperial trouble?”

“Just some window shopping,” you spoke evenly, folding your arms over your chest. “Don’t get your bandana all in a twist.”

“We now possess all of the items that we needed to acquire on this pitstop. We should depart shortly, if we want to return to Ord Mantell for a new mission,” Tech announced, causing the Bad Batch to make their way onto the Marauder.

You were about to take your seat in front of the computer when Omega gestured for you to follow her to the back of the ship. Smiling, you headed back, missing the way that Hunter turned in his seat to look back at you. He heard the clinking of glass earlier when Omega and you approached, but now he was certain that it was coming from the two of you.

“Can you show me?” Omega asked quietly, holding out the vials.

“Give me your hand,” you instructed, sitting across from Omega.

Opening the nail polish bottle, you gently grabbed Omega’s right hand and started to apply the dark gray nail polish. Omega watched, fascinated, as you worked to carefully paint her nails.

“Where did you learn how to do this?”

“I used to paint nails. When I was about your age,” you explained elusively.

“For who?”

“A lady.”

“Did she paint her nails like this too?” Omega asked, causing you to shake your head as you switched to Omega’s thumb.

“No, she preferred this weird green color. It looked horrible but apparently it complimented her eyes.”

“Can I paint yours next?” Omega questioned, causing you to look up.

“Course you can. Maybe if you ask nicely, you can paint the boys’ nails too,” you mused, dipping the brush back into the polish.

“They didn’t have nail polish on Kamino,” Omega continued, causing you to nod.

“I wouldn’t expect the Kaminoans to have much need for it. Do they even have fingernails?” you snorted, working on Omega’s left hand. “But a lot of species use this stuff. And there’s other types of polish or things that people put on their nails. But you have to be really rich to get those.”

“Like what?”

“Some people get gems and other valuables embedded into their nails,” you explained, causing Omega to frown.

“Why?”

“The same reason that why rich people do most things. Because they can,” you stated a bit blunter than you intended.

“Did you ever get your nails painted?” Omega asked, causing you to shake your head. “The lady whose nails you painted, she never painted yours?”

“No,” you replied, placing the brush back into the vial and screwing the bottle shut.

“Why not?”

“She wasn’t as nice as I am,” you responded, not meeting Omega’s confused gaze. “Now, keep your fingers apart and don’t touch anything. You have to let the paint dry first. It could take some time, but I didn’t put too thick of a layer on it.”

“And then what?” Omega asked, looking at her newly painted nails.

“Then we can put another layer on, or I can start with the red,” you explained kindly. “Your choice, Meg.”

“What did you do when you painted nails before?”

“I would put another layer of the gray first,” you stated, causing Omega to nod. “It could make the polish a little more durable.”

“What do we have here?” Hunter drawled, leaning against the doorframe with his arms folded across his chest. He noted the nail polish bottles on the floor and paint on Omega’s nails. And even if she hid them, he would have smelled it. “I didn’t realize that we had a salon back here.”

Hunter’s gaze drifted over to you, and you stared back at him with some measure of defiance, knowing that the edge in his tone was directed at you. But Omega got in between the two of you.

“Look at my nails, Hunter!” she called, causing Hunter to turn to her. He bent down to her height and reached out to grab one of her hands, but Omega quickly drew them towards her chest. “Careful! The polish is still drying!”

“I’ll be careful,” Hunter assured Omega before looking down at her nails. “Dark gray, huh?”

“To match your armor,” Omega explained, causing Hunter to nod. “We got red too. She said that she’s going to do designs on my nails once the layers dry.”

 “Anything specific picked out?”

Omega turned to you with a questioning look, but you simply smiled and casually leaned back against your hands.

“It’s whatever you want, Meg. You get to pick,” you assured her.

After the top layers of the nail polish dried, you got to work on the red nail art that you promised Omega. You did a horizontal stripe to represent Hunter’s bandana, two adjacent dots to represent Tech’s goggles, an ‘H’ to represent Wreaker’s lula, and a ‘V’ to represent Echo’s kama. And then a '99' symbol too.

“They should be all set now,” you stated, causing Omega to smile and get to her feet.

You watched with an amused smile as Omega ran around and showed off her nails to every member of the Bad Batch. Wrecker seemed most excited for Omega, though the others offered her their praise in their own ways. And it wasn’t long before Omega was going around and painting all of their nails.

You walked over to where Hunter was sitting in front of the computer, watching as Echo offered Omega his hand. Wrecker was blowing on his nails, not wanting to disappoint Omega by ruining her hard work. You folded your arms over your chest, as Hunter had done earlier.

“You going to give me a lecture on pickpocketing again?” you asked him, not taking your eyes off of Omega.

“I’ll make an exception. This time,” Hunter replied, slowly turning to look at you. “I still don’t like it though.”

“Yes, I’m aware,” you stated, pushing off the computer table.

“Then why do you keep doing it?” Hunter asked, causing you to raise a playful eyebrow.

“Well, someone has to teach her how to have fun,” you responded, brushing past Hunter. He turned slowly in his chair, watching as you kneeled down beside Omega. You smiled at her work and offered some praise. “You’re getting the hang of it, Meg.”

“You think so? It’s still sloppy compared to yours,” Omega replied, glancing down at her own nails.

“With practice, comes perfection, as with everything else,” you assured her before standing up.

Walking past Hunter once again, you could feel his eyes on you, but kept walking. Hunter shook his head and turned around to find Wrecker staring at him with a grin. Nudging Hunter in the arm with his elbow, Wrecker let out a teasing laugh.

“Did you want her to do your nails, Hunter, huh?” he teased, causing Omega to pick her head up.

“She’s the best at it,” Omega vouched innocently.

“I’ll just wait for you, Omega,” Hunter replied awkwardly, sinking in his seat.

[starry-crossing-zone]

Oh, Captain - Rex (TCW)

Summary: The 501st is getting a new Co-General and Rex wants to be prepared. His brothers, however, dare him to flirt with a woman at 79s the night before. Length: 1370 words Warnings: Unnamed Female Character (Can be Read as OC or Reader); Rex's Horrible Flirting Skills; Fives is a Menace

79s was packed full of clones as usual, though the color scheme of the night was predominantly blue and yellow for the 501st and 212th. They had just finished a battle together in the Mid Rim and returned to Coruscant to resupply before they shipped out again. And in the case of the 501st, they were on Coruscant to pick up their new Jedi general. 

It was the only reason why Rex went out that night in the first place. 

He had to make sure that all of his men were presentable for their meeting with the new assistant general, who had been assigned to the battalion so that General Skywalker could be called away more often. General Skywalker assured Rex that the new assistant general wouldn’t be that much of a stick in the mud, but Rex didn’t want to take a risk. 

“Oh, come on, Rex, you heard the General. The new general’s fun. Have a drink for kriff’s sake,” Fives urged, placing a drink in front of Rex. 

“I’m all set, Fives,” Rex replied, pushing the drink away from him. 

“Who is the new assistant general, anyways?” Echo asked curiously, leaning over. “The Commander didn’t have a name.”

“I bet they’re a brand new Jedi. Young like General Skywalker,” Jesse stated, earning some nods. “He mentioned that they trained together.”

“It’s not for us to speculate,” Rex replied, earning a sigh from some of his brothers. “We need to be prepared. I don’t want the new general’s first impression of us to be that we look sloppy.”

“Oh, relax, Rex,” Cody spoke up, causing the rest of the 501st to perk up. If anyone could talk some sense into Rex, it would be Cody. “You’re going to be fine. Have a drink. We were just in trenches on a dustball for fifteen rotations. Or maybe make a new friend.”

“Like her,” Fives interjected, smacking Rex on the shoulder. 

The entire table turned to watch a humanoid woman take a seat at the bar. A woman alone in a clone bar? It would be about five seconds before she was swarmed. But there was something about her that intrigued Rex. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was just something about her that drew all of his attention without any work at all. 

“I’ve never seen her here before,” Echo stated as the woman ordered a drink. 

“I wouldn’t mind seeing her around,” Fives spoke up before glancing at Rex. “And looks like you wouldn’t either, Captain.”

“Not all of us think with what’s under our codpieces, Fives,” Rex grunted in return. 

“I’m thinking that they are, though,” Jesse pointed out, gesturing to two clones who made their way over to the mysterious woman. “Hopefully her first experience with a clone isn’t one of Fox’s shinies. She’ll never come to a clone bar again.”

Rex glanced over at the woman again before getting up from his seat. Fives looked over at Echo with a shit-eating grin, to which Echo simply rolled his eyes. Rex walked around the bar, nodding to his brothers that he passed, but keeping his gaze on the mystery woman and the two clones that sat down next to her. 

But before they got too far into a conversation, she seemed to say something with a seductive smile and his brothers got up and left her alone without a word of protest. Now, downright curious, Rex found his legs carrying him over to the woman. She turned her head and their eyes met for the first time. His heart seemed to stutter as he took the last few steps toward her. 

“They weren’t bothering you, were they?” Rex asked, causing the woman to smile. 

“No, not at all. I told them that I was just looking for a drink and nothing more. They seemed to do the rest of the math.” She took a sip of her drink, peering over the rim of her glass and practically into Rex’s soul. “Sorry if you were planning on playing hero, Commander.”

“It’s Captain, actually. Captain Rex,” Rex introduced himself, causing the woman’s eyes to widen a small fraction. 

“My apologies, Captain Rex.”

And there was that arrhythmia again. Was this woman part-siren or something?

“You can just call me Rex,” he assured her, causing the woman to smile softly. “And what exactly should I call you, ma’am?”

“Anything but ‘ma’am’,” she quipped, taking another sip of her drink. “You’re making me feel a little too old, Captain.” 

Kriff, he could get used to her calling him that. 

They got to talking. Not so much specifics about themselves, but rather life around them. The GAR, galactic politics, the drink menu. Rex didn’t even realize that he literally didn’t know any basic facts about the woman until she got up to leave for the night. 

“Do you come to this part of town often?” Rex asked, causing the woman to chuckle. 

“Not usually, but I suppose I could make an exception . . . Captain.”

Rex watched her walk out the door before he was suddenly swarmed by brothers, rattling off question after question. Up until Cody, as the highest ranking officer of the bunch, took control of the situation and asked one simple question. 

“What’s her name?”

Rex opened his mouth to reply, but instead winced, causing his brothers around him to groan. 

“He’s hopeless,” Fives sighed, shaking his head. 

“He was hopeless the second that he decided to follow your advice,” Echo pointed out. 

*~*~*~*

Rex walked through the rows of his men, inspecting them one last time while the General and Commander brought aboard their new General. Co-General. Whatever. Either way, Rex wanted to impress them. And that meant that his men had to be in tip top shape. But when he heard the doors to the hangar open, Rex quickly took his place at the front. 

Only to nearly drop his helmet when he recognized the woman walking with Anakin and Ahsoka. And when he heard Fives’s giggle, he could only swallow down a choice set of words.

“And here’s our captain, Rex,” Anakin introduced, causing their eyes to lock for the first time since the bar. “The best of the best.”

“I would expect no less,” she replied with an easygoing and mischievous smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Captain Rex.”

“You as well, General,” Rex practically choked out, trying to not sweat through his blacks. 

“Rex, this the new co-general,” Ahsoka introduced, adding the general’s name. “She was Master Plo Koon’s padawan and served with the Wolffe Pack.”

“Why’d you leave it, General?” Rex directed towards the new general, who smiled at him. 

“The Jedi Council needed someone to babysit General Skywalker and because I value public service above my own sanity—”

“—This whole spiel again?” Anakin complained, causing her to turn to him. 

“You're just upset because Admiral Yularen laughed in your face when I told him what happened back on Corellia when you—”

“—Perhaps we should move on to the rest of the tour,” Anakin stressed, causing her to smirk. 

“Of course.”

Anakin and Ahsoka led the way through the rows of troopers, though she lingered behind them. Looking over her shoulder, she offered Rex a smile that made his heart stop for a moment all over again. 

“I’ll be back to meet the full battalion formally once the rest of my briefings are concluded. If that fits with your timeline, Captain?”

“Yes, of course, General.”

“Great.” She offered him a curt nod before that smirk returned. “And next time we’re at 79s, drinks are on me, Captain.”

The galaxy was testing him today, that was for sure. Rex watched her walk off with Anakin and Ahsoka before slowly putting his bucket back on his head. 

“Fives,” he growled out. “You have exactly five seconds before—”

Fives took off in a sprint across the hangar and Rex took off after him. Echo sighed and shook his head before turning to his comms. Sending Commander Cody a message that Rex did learn that the woman that he was flirting with last night was the new general, Echo couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Fives evade Rex. 

“Well, this is going to be interesting.”

[starry-crossing-zone]

The Medic - Echo (TBB) (Part 2)

Summary: Echo returns to his medic for help after the Bad Batch is betrayed by Sid. Length: 2475 words Warnings: Unnamed Female Medic (Can Read as Reader or OC), Canon Angst, Some Body Dysmorphia (Echo); References to the Citadel; Fives is Brought Up; Tears; Happy Ending **Picks up right after Season 2 ends. Written before Season 3 came out but is compliant with it. No spoilers.

Part 1

After Sid’s betrayal, Echo was first and foremost focused on getting somewhere safe to regroup. They needed to heal. They needed to gather information and supplies. And they needed to have a plan. Running after Omega blindly wasn’t going to solve anything.

They needed help.

“Where are we going?” Hunter asked Echo, walking into the cockpit.

“Somewhere safe,” Echo replied, keeping his gaze forward.

“Pabu?”

“No, somewhere different. Somewhere with brothers who can help us. Rex showed me a colony of clone deserters. Some were rescued directly from the Empire, so they may be able to help us.”

Hunter nodded and turned to sit at the computer, slowly typing away. Echo tried not to stare, knowing that the sergeant was still slightly manic from watching Omega be taken away. And Echo didn't need to be a medic to know that Hunter was still in pain from his injuries from their failed mission.

The weight of losing Omega so soon after losing Tech weighed heavily on the Bad Batch. And Echo needed to get them somewhere safe before something else happened.

Pulling out of hyperspace, Echo maneuvered the Marauder down to the same landing patch. Once the Marauder touched down and the landing sequence was complete, Echo stood up.

“I’m going to speak with my contact here. I’ll be back.”

Hunter nodded and Echo disembarked from the Marauder. Walking around the ship, he wasn’t shocked to see some of his brothers lined up with blasters. But when they spotted him, they lowered them. Echo walked forward and greeted them before getting straight to business.

“We were attacked. We need a medic.”

Echo gave her name and the clones nodded before walking off to contact her. Looking up at the Marauder for a moment, Echo followed after them.

*~*~*~*

When she heard that Echo had returned, albeit with a different ship and brothers, she hurried to meet him. Turning NAN back on, she jumped on her speeder and took off, her heart pounding in her chest. If Echo asked for her by name, that had to mean that he was conscious. And not severely injured. Right? But that didn’t make her blood pressure go down.

Slowing her speeder down, she slid off of it and grabbed her medic bag, barely breaking her stride as she ran down the hill. Echo turned around at the sound of footsteps and straightened up when he saw her approaching. She stopped in front of him, managing her desire to throw her arms around him.

“You came back,” she stated softly, reminding him of their conversations after battle.

“I need your help,” he replied, causing her to nod. “We were attacked. Our mission . . . everything that could have gone wrong went wrong. I have two brothers injured and they’re very sensitive right now. We lost two of our own.” Echo looked back at the ship before returning his gaze to her. “I didn’t know where else to go.”

“I’ll look at them,” she promised him.

Echo led the way into the Marauder before guiding her over to Hunter. After a brief round of introductions and an explanation of his enhancements, she started her assessment. Working diligently and professionally, she patched him up before reaching into her bag. Pulling out a pill bottle, she turned back to Hunter.

“How does your body take medicine compared to a normal clone?”

“Usually, they give me half or less of the normal dosage,” Hunter explained slowly, causing her to nod. “Tech had it all written out somewhere.”

“What about sleep pills? Did you ever try them?”

“A long time ago. When I was still a youngling.”

“How much did you take then?”

“A quarter of a pill.”

“Then let’s try half a pill,” she prescribed, moving to break a sleeping pill in half.

“I don’t need sleeping pills,” Hunter stated, straightening up.

“You need a bacta chamber, but we don’t have one of those here.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“Muscling through the pain will only prolong your recovery,” she replied calmly, breaking a sleeping pill in half. “And right now, the best thing that you can do is have a good night’s sleep. Let your body relax and repair itself.” She held out the half pill to Hunter, who stared down at it. “There’s no shame in accepting help when you need it, Sergeant.”

Hunter stared at the pill for another moment before picking it up. She poured him some water before turning back to Echo. Leaving Hunter, Echo led her down the hall to where Wrecker was sitting. Echo made introductions again before she began to assess him as well.

“You definitely took some hard hits,” she commented, assessing Wrecker’s neck and spine. “Luckily, whoever set your casts did it correctly, so I don't have to redo them.”

“Echo did them,” Wrecker explained, causing her to turn to him.

“You taught me,” Echo reminded her, a bit sheepishly, earning a soft smile in return.

“I remember.”

Giving Wrecker some medication and a pain killer so that he could sleep peacefully as well, she packed up her med kit and made her way off the Marauder. Echo offered to walk her to her speeder, and she accepted. Throwing her leg over it, she offered him a smile that was brimming with anxiety.

“They’ll be alright, Echo. They just need some time to heal.” She let a moment pass before she asked, “Are you sure that you don’t need any medical attention?”

“I’m mostly machine. And metal can take hits better,” Echo replied, causing her to wince. “I’m fine. Thank you for taking care of them.”

“Of course.”

They stared at each other for some time, just silently communicating how relieved they were to see each other again. And in one piece, for another. She wanted to stay. She wanted to speak with Echo. To tell him. But he had just lost members of his squad and she knew that he wasn't in any shape to have that kind of discussion.

And then her alarm went off and she knew that she had to go.

“How long will you be staying?” she asked softly.

“I’m not sure. A few days? However long it takes for Hunter and Wrecker to heal some more.”

“Come visit my hut whenever you can. I’ll give you the coordinates.” She gently grabbed his arm and typed them into his vambrace, before releasing him. “Just . . . before you go.”

“I will,” he promised her, causing her to smile.

“Thank you.”

They bid their goodbyes before she rode off into the night. Echo watched her go until the small dust cloud from her speeder dissipated. Returning to the Marauder, Echo stepped into the barracks. Wrecker was already snoring in his bunk, but Hunter still seemed to be awake. Echo silently climbed up into his hammock and settled in for the night.

“That’s her?” Hunter asked quietly, causing Echo to look down.

“Yeah . . . that’s her.”

*~*~*~*

“Jemis! What did I tell you about biting your brother?” she scolded, pulling her son off of his twin. Marching over to the cot, she placed him down in toddler jail and when he started to pout and cry, she kneeled down to his height. “Don’t bite your brother, Jemis.”

Leaving Jemis to sit there for a moment, she turned to pick up her other sobbing son, who was holding out his arm to show her the bite mark. She pressed a kiss to the bite site before cuddling him into her chest and rocking him back and forth.

“I know, Rubem. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

When she soothed Rubem enough for him to focus on his toys again, she walked over to free Jemis from toddler jail. Picking her younger son up, she brought him back to her chest and pressed a kiss to the dark hair atop his head.

“Now, if you stop biting your brother, you’ll stop going into toddler jail, alright?” she promised him, wiping his tears and snot away from his face. Pressing a kiss to his chubby cheek, she set him down beside his brother again. “There, now can we have peace in this house for one moment?”

A knock at the door caused her to whirl around. Tapping NAN in for a moment to watch the twins, she made her way to the front door. She glanced out the window and sucked in a breath when she spotted Echo standing there. Taking a moment to gather herself, she opened the door.

“Hi, Echo," she greeted him nervously.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked, causing her to shake her head.

“No, no, come in.”

Sitting down at the table, Echo thanked her as she ran and grabbed him a cup of caf. They chatted casually, trying to ease into the conversation. They had a long history with each other, but with everything that had happened since the Citadel, it was best to be cautious.

“It’s a lovely hut,” Echo stated, causing her to nod. “Very spacious.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you live here . . . alone?”

“No.”

“Oh,” Echo replied awkwardly, causing her to pick her head up.

“Echo,” she stated, causing him to meet her gaze, “there’s something that I need to tell you.”

Here it was, Echo thought to himself. The moment that she told him that she had moved on and there was no way that they could ever go back to anything like they had before the Citadel. At least she was being kind about it.

“After the Citadel . . . there was more than one reason why I left the GAR. Fives came to tell me about . . . and I sort of passed out. He called Kix, who ran some tests, and Kix diagnosed me with a condition.” Fiddling with her fingers, she looked up at Echo, who was on the edge of his seat with worry. “Pregnancy.”

“You—”

Echo eyes nearly popped out of his head, and he went rigid. Almost like a robot. Pregnant. She was pregnant. Well, she was pregnant. She clearly wasn’t pregnant anymore. She had been pregnant. He sacrificed himself and he left her behind, pregnant and alone. He left her pregnant. He got her pregnant.

Kriff.

“And about six months after I thought you . . . I had our sons.”

“Sons?” Echo finally rasped, causing her to smile and nod.

“Identical twins. Fives thought that it was the funniest thing in the galaxy that a clone had identical twin boys.” Wiping tears from her eyes, she turned back to Echo. “He would have given you such a hard time about it. He actually read through the entire regulation manual to find the section that explicitly outlawed fraternization between civilians and clones.”

“I can imagine,” Echo croaked, struggling to keep his voice level. “Where . . . where are they?”

“Here. In the other room.”

“Can . . . can I . . .?”

She got up and gently grabbed his hand, pulling him with her. Opening the door to the nursery, she released his hand and stepped over the toys. Thanking NAN, she scooped her boys up and turned to Echo, who stood frozen at the door. She hefted her boys up and smiled as Echo stared at them with wonder.

“Our older twin is named Rubem. And our younger twin is Jemis.” Turning back to Echo, she added, “I wanted to name them after Fives in some way, because I thought it was what you would have wanted, and so both of their names have five letters.”

“You know,” Echo croaked, throat clogged with emotion and tears started to stream down his cheeks, “if he was here, he would have joked that they look more like him than me.”

“He definitely would,” she agreed, lips wobbling with emotion.

*~*~*~*

Hunter walked down the path that Echo had, tracing his steps. He talked with some of the other clone deserters that lived here and was gathering leads on where to look for Omega. Wrecker wasn’t in any mood to discuss them, though, so Hunter came in search of Echo.

Looking up, Hunter could see Echo sitting out on a porch. But Hunter wasn’t expecting to see two toddlers on the porch with him.

The medic sat beside Echo with one toddler in her lap, who looked distinctly clone-like, while Echo lifted the other into the air with his human arm. Echo laid on his back and did upside down pushups with his son Rubem, who giggled and squirmed in his hold. Holding Rubem above his head, Echo gently lowered his son until his and Rubem’s foreheads rested against each other.

He had struggled with physical touch ever since Skako Minor. His body had not been his own for so long that he felt protective over it. And also deeply ashamed of it. Ashamed of his grey skin, the metal parts sticking out of his head, all of it.

But Rubem did not care about how he looked. His son simply laughed and grabbed ahold of his dad’s cheeks, smushing his face into Echo’s own. Smiling at the action, Echo turned back to the mother of his children as Rubem continued to headbutt him.

“He’s not the biter, right?”

“No, that would be this little demon,” she replied, setting Jemis on Echo’s chest.

There were a lot of times why Echo wondered if it was all worth it. If all of the suffering and pain was worth it. And after the last few days of his life—kriff, the last few years—he was starting to believe it wasn’t. All of that loss was for nothing. And he was just the last man standing out of sheer bad luck.

But now, holding his sons in his arms, Echo was taken back to all of the times when he knew that it was worth it. His time with his brothers of the Domino Squad. And then his brothers in the 501st. Messing around with Fives. Meeting the future mother of his children. Strategizing with Rex. Joining the Bad Batch. All of the times where he felt like there was nothing in the galaxy that could stop him.

He lost so many of his brothers—too many—but he felt them here now. This was what they had been fighting for. This was who they had been fighting for.

Echo chuckled as he watched Jemis nibble at his skomp. Kriff, this kid was reminding him of Fives. Sharing a look with his partner, Echo smiled as she shook her head at their son’s antics. She smiled teasingly as Jemis looked up at his dad.

“He gets it from your side of the family,” she pointed out to Echo.

“I wouldn’t dare disagree.”

Hunter watched the family interaction from afar. The toddlers in Echo’s arms couldn’t have been anyone other than Echo’s children. Logic was Tech’s business, but Hunter was familiar with the look of a proud father. And he had never seen Echo happier.

Not wanting to interrupt the moment, Hunter turned around and started heading back to the Marauder.

[starry-crossing-zone]

The Medic - Echo (TBB)

Summary: Before the Citadel, Echo fell in love with the 501st civilian medic. After he's rescued, Echo tries to not think about her and what she's doing. But the Force has other plans. Length: 2056 words Warnings: Unnamed Female Medic (Can Read as Reader or OC), Canon Angst, Body Dysmorphia (Echo)

Part 2

Echo remembered everything about her. The way that her hand fit into his own as they laid together in her bed after a long campaign. He remembered the exact weight of her as she slept against his chest. The distinct way that her eyes always crinkled with joy whenever she spotted him among his brothers. 

He remembered all of it. All of her. But at some point he had to wonder if it was masochistic to keep thinking about her. 

She thought he was dead. And that was so long ago now. And a woman like her? There was no way that she wouldn’t move on. She was beautiful. She was smart. She was talented. There was no way that she was still waiting for him to come home. And why should she? Echo stared down at his scomp as his memories continued to whirl around his head. 

“Echo?” Omega called softly, breaking Echo out of his thoughts. 

“Hmm?” Echo hummed, turning to face Omega. 

“Are you alright?”

“Of course, I am. Why do you ask?”

“You looked upset,” Omega observed, causing Hunter to glance worriedly in their direction. “What were you thinking about?”

“Omega,” Hunter started to warn her, but Echo shook his head. 

“It’s alright, Hunter.” Turning back to Omega, Echo cleared his throat as he tried to come up with an explanation. “I was thinking about an old . . . friend of mine.”

“How did you know them?” Omega asked curiously.

“She was a medic for my old squad.”

“She?” Omega repeated, taking a few steps closer to Echo as she studied his expression. “There were civilians with you?”

“She was one of the few,” Echo replied softly. “And one that I miss. A lot.”

“We should look for her!” Omega suggested with a beaming smile, but Echo shook his head. 

“Any involvement with us would only endanger her. And besides, I’m pretty sure that she still thinks that I’m dead.”

“You never told her that you were alive?” Omega asked, sounding taken aback. 

“I didn’t have a chance. She left the GAR after the Citadel mission, according to Rex. And then I left with this team after I was rescued. There wasn’t much time after that to track her down.”

“I’m sorry, Echo,” Omega replied quietly, causing Echo to nod. “I’m sure she misses you.”

“Yeah,” Echo returned, though his voice lacked conviction. 

Echo got up from his seat and walked deeper into the Marauder. Omega watched him disappear into a separate room before turning to Hunter for further explanation. But Hunter merely shook his head in return, nonverbally telling Omega to drop it. 

*~*~*~*

“Come on, there’s someone I want you to see,” Rex stated, gesturing for Echo to follow him further up the hill. 

“Where are we?” Echo asked, frowning as he walked behind Rex. 

“Just a small pit stop.”

Echo continued to frown, but didn’t comment further. Once they reached the crest of the hill, Echo spotted a farm with a few huts scattered along the dirt road and a large barn adjacent to the dense forest. Rex strode over to the barn, where some light spilled out from the cracks in the door. Rex typed in a code and opened the door, revealing a large group of clones. 

It reminded Echo of the barracks from the war. Brothers were spread out around the barn, some still dressed in their plastoid armor, but most were in some mix of civilian clothes. Rex greeted the brothers that they passed and Echo nodded to them, but did not say or do much else. 

“So, this is where the operation is headquartered?” Echo asked, causing Rex to shake his head.

“No, just a small offshoot. Mostly for the brothers who want to disappear into the galaxy. Those who are ready to put the war behind them,” Rex explained to Echo, who glanced around the barn again curiously.

“Then why are we here?” 

“There’s someone here that I want you to see,” Rex replied, causing Echo to raise an eyebrow. 

“Who?”

“You’ll see.” 

Rex walked around a set of metal shelves, stacked with farm tools and fertilizer, but also medical supplies and other boxes. In the dim lighting, Echo quickly spotted the medical table under a brighter spotlight. An injured trooper sat on the table as the woman in front of him wrapped his bicep with a bandage.

“That should do it,” the woman stated, pinning the bandage in place. “You’ll be good as new in about two rotations.”

Echo froze at the familiar sound of her voice. And the closer that he looked, the more familiar that she got. Her hair was shorter now and she was no longer wearing her GAR uniform, but when she turned around, her eyes were just as he remembered all of those cold nights on Skako Minor. 

“Cyare?” Echo whispered, almost as a reflex. 

“Echo?” she returned, sounding just as surprised as he did. 

Rex nudged Echo in the shoulder before helping the injured trooper over to where the rations were kept, leaving the former couple alone for the first time in years. Echo stood frozen and rigid, not unlike a droid would, as she slowly stepped towards him, coming out of her own shock before him. Her eyes searched his face as the familiar warm smile fell over her lips. Echo was still frozen in time, but not frozen enough to miss the subtle tears building in her eyes. 

“You’re here,” she whispered out breathlessly. 

You’re alive, is probably what she meant to say. 

“Most of me, anyways,” Echo returned quietly, moving his mechanical arm behind his back a bit. Looking at the floor for a moment, Echo slowly returned his gaze to her, a bit sheepishly. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Over two years,” she returned sadly. 

“I’m sorry,” Echo replied, but she shook her head in return. 

“What are you apologizing for? You didn’t ask for . . .” Her eyes fell to his mechanical arm and headband before meeting his eyes again, “. . . what happened.” A silence fell between them before she continued, “I’m just happy that you’re alive. And free. That’s all that matters.”

Echo nodded slowly, his face dropping as he felt the warmth and kindness radiating off of her that he wasn’t sure he deserved after everything that he put her through. 

“What did they tell you?” Echo asked, his voice deeper than usual. 

“Fives told me about what happened at the Citadel. Most of it, anyways,” she replied softly, fiddling with her fingers nervously. “And he gave me the letter that you wrote.” Echo nodded painfully, remembering every last word that he wrote right after they got their orders. “But then I left the GAR about a month after and that was the last time that I tried to think about it.”

“Why?” Echo asked quietly, causing her to pick her head up. “Why did you leave the GAR?”

“It was . . . too emotional,” you returned softly. “I was too emotional. It was just easier to leave and start over.”

“When I told you to not be afraid to move on,” Echo spoke softly, causing her to wince and look up at him through her eyelashes, “you didn’t have to change your whole career around. You were integral to the battalion.”

“It’s alright. I found my calling elsewhere. I worked at a clinic on Coruscant for a while. Fives would visit me a lot.” She trailed off for a moment at the mention of the fallen trooper before snapping back to the present. “But after . . . I had enough of Coruscant. Of the Republic, even. So, I fled here. It was just a fledgling refugee camp at the time but we built it up. And now, we’re nearly self-sufficient. It worked out in the end.”

“I’m glad that it did,” Echo replied honestly, looking around the barn again. “But how did you get involved in this operation then? After you left the GAR and everything.”

“Rex found me. He asked for help and I wasn’t about to tell him that I couldn’t.”

“You’re taking a huge risk,” Echo warned her, causing her to pause for a moment. “If the Empire finds out about this operation . . .” He trailed off, that old concerned look that he got right before every battle coming over his face, “. . . it’s dangerous.”

“Existing in this galaxy is dangerous right now,” she pointed out, a bit firmly. “And if there’s something that I can do to help, I’m going to do it. Especially for your brothers.” 

Echo nodded, not arguing with her on that point. After all, he knew that he would lose. Every time that he told her to be careful or let someone else pull off the riskier part of a mission, she always went ahead and did it anyway. She never pulled back from a difficult mission and Echo wasn’t shocked to see that she hadn’t changed. 

“Thank you,” Echo replied quietly. 

“You don’t have to thank me for that,” she responded softly. “For any of it.” 

They stared at each other for a long moment, a wordless exchange of emotions passing between them. Echo spotted the conflict in her gaze, the way that she twitched a bit and looked grief stricken in a way that he knew meant that she felt guilty. And he had an idea about what caused it. That didn’t stop his stomach from flipping uncomfortably. 

“And you don’t have to explain anything to me,” Echo returned, causing her to frown with a bit of confusion. “I knew it probably happened anyways.” 

“You did?” she breathed out, pressing a hand nervously to her chest. 

“I told you to move on,” Echo pointed out, causing her expression to quickly change. “You shouldn’t feel guilty about that.” 

“Echo, that’s not what I meant,” she replied, her expression growing more serious. 

“Then what did you mean?” Echo asked, now confused. 

She hesitated for a moment, struggling to find the words, when the sound of footsteps caused them to turn. Rex, Gregor, and Fireball walked over to them, all suited up and ready for the next mission. Echo straightened up subconsciously and she quickly turned away, knowing that the moment was now gone. 

“Ready to ship out?” Gregor cackled, punching Echo on the arm. 

Rex appeared apologetic as he glanced between them, but Echo waved off his concern. Gregor and Fireball walked off to ready the ship while Echo turned back to her. She offered him a small, encouraging smile and a nod. 

“Good luck.” 

“Thank you,” Echo returned, nodding curtly. 

The two of them shared one last longing look before Echo forced himself to turn around and catch up with Gregor and Fireball. Rex watched Echo walk off before turning back to her, to find that she was still staring after Echo. 

“Did you tell him?” Rex asked her quietly. 

“No, not yet.” Looking to the floor, she let out a shaky breath. “I’m worried about how he would react to the news after everything that he’s been through.” Turning back to Rex, she straightened up. “But I will tell him. Soon. He deserves to know.”

Rex nodded, shot her a small, encouraging smile, before walking off to join his brothers. She stood there for a moment, lost in her thoughts, before her comm went off. Knowing what that meant, she headed out of the barn and to her speeder. 

Driving down the dirt road for about three minutes, she came up to her hut. Parking the speeder outside her hut, she slid off and headed inside after typing in the code. Heading into the room that faced the sunrise, she moved to relieve her droid. 

“Thank you, NAN. You can go recharge,” she suggested, gesturing to the charging port. 

“Thank you, Mistress.” 

The droid walked off. Walking over to the large wooden crib along the wall, she leaned over and smiled at the sight. Her two identical boys were curled up against each other, both looking up at her with wide honey brown eyes that they got from their father. Running her hand through their hair, she clucked her tongue as they babbled.

“You two drained your nanny droid. Again,” she teased her sons, pressing her finger gently against their chubby cheeks. “You’re going to be little menaces when you’re grown, aren’t you?” 

[starry-crossing-zone]

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Just my thoughts, headcanons, and fics centered on Star Wars. I mostly focus on The Clone Wars (2008), The Bad Batch, Prequels, and The Mandalorian, though I'm expanding (but not into the Sequels). Original characters and readers will be used frequently, but not for everything.

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