#and in this pairing he’s more of my favorite than ahsoka

[masterjedilenawrites]

Not sure why Obi-Wan wins every poll he’s in but here we are… let’s see how well the other fan favorite - Ahsoka - does against him!

Obviously these polls are just for funsies, and your favorite is still your favorite regardless how other people feel about them or whoever they’re pitted against. I just thought it was cool to see how many characters there were… enough for every letter of the alphabet!

[forcemeanakin]

Make you feel better.

•WARNINGS: SMUT.  Vaginal sex (female top), unprotected sex, blowjob, handjob, degradation kink, spanking, dirty talk. Explicit mentions of injuries.

Pairing: TCW!Anakin Skywalker x female reader.

Summary: You are a nurse in the 501st squad and General Skywalker needs some assistance. Only you could help him feel better.

Word count: 4.8K. This started as a blurb, but I’m incapable of shutting up. I haven’t stood up from my chair since 10am, so enjoy.

A/N: I’m so so so so in love with this man, it’s sickening. Scenario inspired by Ahsoka ep.5!. NOT PROOFREAD!!, english is my second language, so please be gentle. If there are any mistakes, pls let me know in private so I can correct them, thanks :) Also I have a serious issue between differentiating “in” and “on” situations, so bare with me lmao

Also first one shot since like forever????

____________________________________________

As a war nurse, you are used to treating the nastiest of wounds, the bloodiest of cuts, the vilest of injuries. 

You have chosen your profession out of love and vocation. As cliche as it might be, the true desire of your heart was to help people feel better: The plan was to specialize as a pediatric nurse, even becoming a doctor one day. Working at a hospital, maybe have a private practice with that medic husband of yours you often dreamed about. 

All of that was erased the moment war erupted. 

Fresh out of nursing school, every single one of your classmates, including yourself, were drafted to report to duty as nurses on the frontlines. The assignment of troops was random, but as if fate had decided, you were put at the service of the 501st. Little did you know, the job was harder than you had ever imagined it would be; and the constant bombing and deceased people you had to observe had nothing to do with it.

It was the general of the squad that made your job more complicated than it had to be.

General Skywalker. 

Well, it wasn’t exactly him, but the persistent crush you had on him. 

Needless to say, it was extremely unprofessional to be daydreaming of the person who was technically your boss. Even more unethical to be full-on fantasizing about his dick size when you were supposed to be suturing injured clones. But dammit, was it hard. So hard to be so close to his pulling presence and yet so far from achieving anything real with the man. Not that you had tried. Public rejection would be even more embarrassing than crushing on him. 

Anakin Skywalker hardly recognized your existence. Between his duty as leader on the field, his responsibilities as Jedi off-hours and the reduced sleep time he could squeeze in between battles, he didn’t have time to remember the name of one of the nurses of his legion. Especially when he never went to the tents himself; the god of a man was indestructible. 

Fuck, was he hot.

Just watching him scream: “Forward!” every day, as he ran directly to conflict with bravery was enough to have you dripping. His whole General image was your own personal definition of lust; his armor, the tone in which he would deliver orders, the frown he would wear until he had defeated each and every single one of his enemies. The smile he would flash whenever they won over a battle. Luckily, it was often.

But you had this idea that, out all of the medical staff, you were his least favorite. Maybe it had something to do with how social you were: always distracting his soldiers with jokes as you cleaned their cuts so they wouldn’t think of the sting. Or maybe it had something to do with how emotional you could get during your shifts: always fighting with your colleagues so they would treat the troopers as people, not numbers. Even if he had created a culture of trust among his peers, you weren’t sure if he appreciated that you caused so much trouble within the medical wing. 

You had endured a year of stolen glances, salivating at the sight of him from afar and lonely nights with just your hand. Cheeks would blush so fast whenever he would catch you checking him out, and maybe you were drunk on the smell of medical alcohol, but you swore that you caught him checking you out too once.

But that was long forgotten the next day, when he came back to being his same old cold persona. You forgave that aspect of him: the atrocities he had committed in the name of the Republic weighed heavy on his shoulders, slouching his proud figure whenever he had to face the reality of his situation. 

The same you had to face everyday.

“Who’s available?!” Yelling was the official way of communicating over here. You were finishing up a bandage on a trooper that had lost his left leg, meaning that you had to answer the call of duty.

The Ryloth takeover was more hectic than the squad had ever anticipated. Soldiers falling left and right, some didn’t even make it to the medical bay, just straight to the pseudo-morgue that was built to then give them a final resting place. 

“I’m almost ready to take the next one!” You screamed over the noise from the ships flying over.

“Ms. Dana.” Someone called you by your last name from outside the medical tent. “General Skywalker’s tent in 5.”

That made you drop the jar of gauze.

No one has ever been there, you thought. 

Outside of his skippy padawan and uptight master, Anakin’s tent had always been off limits to the public. His sacred place to unwind in peace. The ways he must unwind after a long day of battle…

“Ms. Dana!” That woke you up from a very explicit image of Anakin jerking off the stress away. 

“C-coming!” You choked. Grabbing your personal kit, you ran to the destination that had your clit throbbing with anticipation. 

You would see the sheets he slept on, the place where he storaged all of his robes, the shower that saw him naked every day. Jealousy of an inanimate object took over you as quickly as it left, making you feel stupid for getting angry at a room.

You almost didn’t notice that the battle was over, the only remnants of it were the people being moved in gurneys, the clouds of dust and the beaten up ships. Your outfit was probably not the best to endure the hardness of the Ryloth landscape: a tight, white buttoned up dress with a stupid little hat on top of your head. You hated the son of a bitch, it was ridiculous as fuck, but necessary for recognition among all of the personnel working in camps.

Anakin will think it’s stupid too. 

He will think you are stupid. 

The self-degradation stopped once you reached the entrance of his tent. Gulping exaggeratedly, you were unsure if to knock, announce yourself or wait until he was annoyed enough to come out and see you standing there like an idiot. 

“Come in.” It was his voice who cruelly cut the silence, growling. 

With shaking legs, the green fabric that formed his personal chamber was removed from your eyesight and you were hit by the delicious smell of him. So manly, so musty. It smelled like his cologne all over and you wished you bottle that up to spray it on your own sheets. 

It was less rewarding to see him sitting on the edge of his bed with an exasperated stare, analyzing your figure with obnoxiousness. You even cut short your eye-fucking tour of his body when you met his tired eyes.  Have you taken too long to get here?

“So they sent you.” He sighed, deviating his gaze. The evident disgust at your presence made you slouch timidly. You were a good nurse. The best one in the camp, if you dare to say. “I told Rex I’m fine. I don’t need assistance, it’s just a bruise.” His tone was harder than his words, surprisingly. 

“Well, now that I’m here, might as well take a look at that, huh?” Fighting through the devastating embarrassment, you proceeded to walk over his bed to place your kit. Biting your lip, you feared to ask the next question. “Shall we get started?”

He was one step away from rolling his eyes. “Fine. Just do it quickly.”

“Got it, sir.” Weird. There was no chilly breeze, however, Anakin had just flinched. “Care to show me where the bruise is?” 

He hesitated for a bit, closing his eyes with frustration. You were about to ask again when he exhaled with annoyance. “It’s not that big of a deal.”

“I would like to confirm that. Please, sir, the faster we do this, the faster I’m on my merry way.” You hated that he was desperate to kick you out, but apparently your compelling argument helped to accelerate the process. 

After seeing that he still felt fuzzy about checking the bruise, you decided to start somewhere else. “Let me get started with this cut over here. Looks pretty nasty.” 

You doubted if to take a seat, scared that it would be too close to him, but you needed the space to maneuver. Giving up to your internal fight, you sat down next to him and began by cleaning up the wound that escaped the fabric of his burgundy robe. 

“That’s nothing.” He mumbled under his breath, still not looking at you. 

Ignoring his attempt to diminish your work, you decided to also ignore your basic instinct to start a conversation to ease up the process. The internal alarms of survival were yelling at you not too. However, there was a moment where the alarms shut down, basically because every part of your brain shut down simultaneously and it was when you had to grip his bicep to make it stand still. Your fingers dug into the hard muscle, feeling how every little bit flexed under your fingertips, proving first-hand just how strong he was. 

“Done. Now I’m gonna clean the ones in your face.” You poured some alcohol into another cotton ball and turned to face him. 

Being face to face with Anakin Skywalker had been the most intimidating experience of your life and that hot as hell scar and mean frown didn’t make it easier. In fact, it had you clenching around nothing. You cleared your throat before slowly reaching out for his chin, pulling him to give you a better look of his dirty and exhausted aspect. 

He gasped the second the puffy ball made contact with a cut on his left cheekbone. You took that opportunity to bring him some comfort, despite your irregular breathing and overall tenseness. Rubbing your thumb along his jaw, you saw his pain decreased until the sting was gone. You moved to another cut on his forehead, repeating the process until you had treated most of them gone. When you swapped your current cotton ball with a new one so caught him looking down on your body. 

It’s this stupid uniform.

He sensed your eyes on him and quickly deviated them to focus on your irises. You gulped before continuing your beeline around his face, this time close to the scar you often fantasize about in bed.

“That one 's old. No need to worry about it.” He joked.

He joked.

Unable to form a coherent comeback, you limited yourself to give him a nasal laugh, demonstarting that you got it. 

“Thought you wouldn't be this silent. You’re more chatty with the clones.” He said, slightly tilting his head.

“I didn’t know you wanted me to talk.” You replied, this time with a little smile as a peace offering.

“What did you think I wanted?” He frowned, interrupting your cleaning.

“I thought you wanted me out as quickly as possible.” You stopped momentarily to accommodate his face once more into a position you could work with.

He let out a dry laugh. “It’s nothing personal. I just want to come back to work.” 

“You just came back from battle and want to keep working? Do you ever stop?” You joked back, feeling how the atmosphere inside the tent had changed. Feeling more comfortable, you switched your body a little, now your chests were aligned, just inches apart. 

“Hardly.” He clicked his tongue, gaze slightly dropping to give a quick sweep of your lips. 

“Well, you should rest. Relax. That’s an important part of recovery.” You advised him, finishing up the last cut. You took a cloth of your kit and used it to clean some of the dry blood and dirt off him. 

“Can’t stay still.” He shook his head.

“There are other ways to relax.” You shrugged your shoulders, taking that little pause to admire his beautiful demeanor. Those blue eyes could spell you into saying yes to basically anything. 

“Like?” He pushed, licking his lips as his intense gaze focused on making you feel smaller and smaller.

“Like…” You dirty minded bitch, think about something other than sex! 

Almost like he could hear your inner dialogue, he chuckled. 

“Like taking a walk or reading a book.” You finally came up with a pg-13 alternative to relaxing. 

“Could be.” He snickered. After his beautiful giggle dialed down, you felt the tension switching. Thicker. More intense. “More of a physical guy myself.”

Feeling the pull to his plump lips, you rushed to get out of the trouble zone. “Ready for me to see this world-famous bruise?” 

Your brain short circuited when he snapped his shoulder armor in one swift move and threw it on the floor. The next thing had you mentally panting and physically in shock: Anakin was removing his robes to expose his naked and bruised torso. The skin of his middle part would dip perfectly into breathtaking abs, not to mention the flexing of his arms became more evident to you without the stupid robe in your way. 

The reddened-purplish spot expanded all the way from the right side of his lower abdomen, all the way down the waistband of his pants. The silent gawking didn’t go unnoticed by him, a little smirk coming to greet your widened eyes. That woke you up enough to get moving.

“H-how-“ You took a moment to regain some composure. “How did this happen?”

“A droideka fell on me.” He muttered shortly, almost as if the portion of information brought shame to him.

“Alright, I’m gonna need to palpate the area to know if there’s any further damage.” You announced with more nerves than a medical professional should speak to their patients.

Because he was now standing up, sitting down didn’t give you the best height to disinfect some of the minor cuts that tainted his perfect tanned skin. 

“Sir, I’m going to need you to lay down for me, please.” Formalities came back as soon as you felt threatened by his overpowering presence again. 

“No.” He spat, furrowing his eyebrows. “I’d prefer to stand, if it’s possible. Please.”

“Sure.” After all, it was your job to make the process easier for him. On the other hand, that meant having to kneel in front of him. That caught him off guard and almost backed down when you reached out to feel the tampered skin. “Please tell me where it hurts.”

Your little fingers began to poke around the wounded area, massaging the zones where you knew a more serious injury could present itself. It didn’t go under your radar the way he would have goosebumps whenever you looked up to him or groped him more firmly. Repeating over and over: “How does it feel here?” you made your way all over the part of the bruise that was visible to the eye. 

“Good. It seems like no internal organs have been compromised.” You announced with a little smile. Now the part you dreaded -and kind of expected- was next. “Uhm, I’m going to need to check the rest of the bruise to make sure you didn’t break your hip, sir.”

“Anakin.” He spat.

“Pardon?” You blinked rapidly.

“Call me Anakin. It makes this… easier.” He cleared his throat.

“Okay, Anakin.” You nodded. How you said the next thing so calmly was still a mystery to you. “So, I know this part may be uncomfortable, but I’ll need to remove your pants out of the way. Probably your underwear as well, if I need to take a better look. Don’t worry, I’ve seen enough male anatomy for this to be routinary for me-”

In the middle of your speech, as you dropped your gaze to prepare yourself for dipping your fingers under his pants, something snapped your attention. 

The gigantic bulge right in front of your eye line.

How you had missed such a tent while you palpated his abdomen was another mystery to you. 

“Uhm- I-” You choked, unwilling to look up. “I-”

Anakin made no effort to try and hide his wood. But what was the point? It was already there. You had already noticed it. 

Mumbling, you decided to continue being professional. It was a normal response after all. “I’ll go ahead and lower your pants, sir- Anakin, sorry.” You corrected yourself, but it was too late.

You had already seen the reason why he made you call him Anakin: his dick twitched the second you said “sir”. Now that was interesting. 

Your hand pulled down the brown pants, lowering his black underwear at the same time, only revealing his right hip, leaving the bulge quietly covered. Anakin’s chest rose uncontrollably, flinching every now and then when your hand would get too close to his boner, or when your warm breath would fan his exposed hip. When you finally dared to meet his gaze, to let him know you were almost through with the exam, you were pleased with the view above you. 

Rose pink cheeks, bottom lip trapped in between his teeth, darkened gaze fixed on your cleavage. It was the equivalent of liquid courage in human form. 

“Does this hurt?” You felt up another portion, this time closer to his groin. When he murmured a weak “no”, you inched even closer. “And here?” Same response. 

When you got to a point where your pinky grazed the bulge and he gasped, you knew this was the point of no return. 

“And does this hurt?” You asked, slowly palming the thick shaft that was threatening to rupture his pants at any given second. 

Swallowing harshly, Anakin refused to speak up a word. Instead, he let you carry on with your devilious plan. 

“And this? Does it hurt, sir?” You wrapped your hand around the still clothed member, rubbing faster and harder. 

He limited himself to closing his eyes, moaning on the low as your hand gripped his swell cock with more pressure and more confidence. Your ego was so high up in the sky that you had the impulse to rub your lips against the fabric already stained with pre-cum. 

“Sir, can I finish up the exam?” Your wide doe eyes were quite the contrary of your filthy intentions. 

Once he nodded with hooded eyes, you fished his veiny cock from out of the confinements of his underwear and tugged it out for you to admire all of its glory. It sprung free, the tip pointing directly at you, like it knew. Involuntarily, your mouth opened in admiration to such a big and thick frame. Anakin’s sly smirk made another surprise appearance at your gawking.

You were acquainted with male genitalia. But not like this. Never like this. 

So huge. So intimidating. So mouth-watering. 

“It’s almost like you have never seen one. Not as huge as this one, right?” You shook your head, biting your lip as you took in the whole image. You needed a minute to wrap around the idea that he was carrying this weapon everywhere he went.

Your hands -yes, plural, because you needed both to handle such beast- pumped fast to grant him the deliberation he so desperately craved. Yanking his thick shaft in between your palms had you pooling all over your white panties, like a goddamn slut. His hips were thrusting at the rhythm you had set, fucking your fist like he pleased. Feeling how he tensed his abdomen, the climax was closed.

Taking a last leap of fate, you stopped the jerking off momentarily and clutched the fabric of his pants down with both hands, revealing his whole lower part to your delight. His thighs, oh, his muscular thighs always did unholy things to you and to have them right there for you to grip was making you rub your own thighs together. Foreseeing what was to come, you let your hair down, losing the stupid hat.  

Digging your nails on the hardness of his leg, you licked the tip of his shaft, testing the water. The little drop of pre-cum you managed to catch was salty and warm, so deliciously milky. Moaning, you opened your mouth to lazily envelop his tip, rubbing it without interest, just softly teasing him.

“Look at you. Who would say that you would be so unprofessional, sucking your commanding general’s cock? Huh?” Anakin mocked you from his proud stand. “Miss little giggling nurse turned out to be a filthy cockslut. Salivating at the sight of my dick.”

You moaned, still pampering the reddened head of his cock.

“I could.” He chuckled, his thumb coming to caress your jaw just like you did to him earlier. “You think I haven’t noticed the way you stare when I walk by the medical tent? How you practically undress me with your eyes? Such a desperate slut. Begging to be fuck just right. Acting like you're not thinking about hopping on this dick while working.”

After giving a last open mouthed kiss on the sensitive tip, you opened your mouth and presented your pink tongue to him, for which he rewarded you with a smiling expression. 

“You offer yourself to make me feel better?” He cocked an arrogant brow.

Nodding, you let out a small, high pitched whimper to hurry him up. 

“Hope you know what you’re doing, baby.”

 And with that, he grabbed a handful of your locks with his gloved limb and the other one he used to tug your chin further down, making room for the rest of his cock. In the blink of an eye, he was fucking your throat raw, having no mercy for you or the tears that spilled from our eyes when he would especially far down. He emphasized repeatedly how he had to train you to take all of him in, that you were not properly ready to take someone as big as him. He even said it with pity, making fun that you hadn’t been fucking with real men. 

But he was here now. And he was going to take care of you. 

Even if you lack the ability to relax your throat enough for you to take the whole 9 inch monstrosity that was violating your breathing canal, he was appreciative of the way you gagged around him and the noises you made whenever the tip would hit a wall. He even praised the movements of your tongue on his underside, rewarding you with a little slap on your cheek. Anakin laughed when he heard your horny moan at the harsh action. 

Suddenly, Anakin stopped bobbing your head up and down his length, causing the mess of saliva that was covering both you and him to dissolve into a mesly string connecting you two.

“Let me see how well your other hole makes me feel, baby. Up.” As your legs made an effort to stand without shaking, Anakin returned to his previous seating position, this time manspreading to let his cock breathe in all of its glory. Patting his lap, he called you in like a dog. “Here.”

Dying of shame at the wetness that dripped from your inner thighs, you spread yourself until both your knees were at each side of his hips. Anakin glanced at the leaking juices and fucking grinned the brightest smile. 

“So wet just for sucking dick.” His index and middle finger retrieved some of the spill, playing with your sensitive nub on their way. He tasted the juices himself, licking his fingers clean. He hummed in approval, ripping your panties apart to have more access and drink up more of your arousal. “Pretty little pussy. Do you think it’ll fit?” He asked you with a narcissistic loop side smile, as he sucked some more off his fingers. 

“I don’t know.” You answered honestly, shaking at the ministrations of his hands around your ass.

“It will.” He reassured you, pulling your skirt up and entangling it just above your hips. “You’ll make it fit.” He put his hands behind his back, on the bed, yielding control to you. “Now show me how bad you’ve been wanting this. Ride my dick.”

Using his strong shoulders for leverage, soon your slick pussy was sucking up his length. The first contact had you digging your nails on his shoulders, fighting through the pain of the stretch, this position only enlarging the already swollenness of his member. Gasping with an open mouth, you fought to push yourself even further down. Skin to skin, you were feeling all of him in: every curve, every wrinkle, every twitch. Even after remembering the condom, you opted for not mentioning it. There was no way you could say goodbye to feeling him bare.

Anakin pulled you in by the neck, drinking in the scream you let out when you bottomed out. His lips tasted better than anything you had ever tried, so sweet by nature and salty because of the sweat. You just wanted more and more; anything he was willing to give you.

“Faster.” Anakin demanded; clasping to your hips to bounce you harder on him, to remind you that this was about him, not you. 

Obeying like the sub you were, you humped him faster, adjusting yourself to surround his shoulders with your arms so you could pull his hair. You knew he liked it by the way he purred on your ear, embracing your waist tighter to manhandle you better. The hug you were both entrapped in ended with his big hands holding both your ass cheeks, groping them in such a disrespectful manner: splitting them open, squeezing them until it hurt, slapping without any sort of consideration. 

“Mhm, just like that, baby.” He praised blissed out, his hand cruelly smacking your already red and abused rear. “You do know how to ride dick. So good, taking me so well with this slutty pussy of yours.” 

Chasing your own pleasure, you gripped him harder and grinded on his wood, rubbing your clit with his pubic bone. You whimpered when you felt the delicious shock on your clit, which only incentivized you to rock your hips even faster. You were close, so close to coming undone, clenching him like a vice. 

“C’mon, you offer yourself to me, to use you as I seem fit.” Anakin pushed you back so you could see him clearly. “I want you to bounce, baby. Bounce those tight tits for me.” 

Anakin removed three buttons of your dress, enough for him to get drunk on the sight of your boobs pressed together and bouncing, but not all the way exposed. Like instructed, you bounced on his dick like it was your job to do so, enamored by the view of him hypnotized by your jumping breasts. Your nipples would shyly come to greet out of your white top, albeit Anakin wouldn’t have the full show because of the fabric that still caged them. 

Tired of the partial view, Anakin’s hands left your ass and traveled to their next destination: your full tits. Without removing another button, he took in the weight of your boobs inside of his palms and played with your meaty buds like he had never seen a pair before. The rough movements of his hands around the fat caused your dress to open a bit more, basically leaving you naked for him. 

“They’re more gorgeous than I ever anticipated.” He muttered, before enveloping a peak inside his mouth and lapping at it repeatedly. “Seeing you with this lame excuse of a uniform it’s harder than going to war, baby. Craving a taste of you and not being able to do anything about it, it’s torture. Pure torture.” He moaned in a ragged voice, sucking in the same nipple with closed eyes, savoring it. 

“You- you wanted me?” You cried, sliding in more frantically.

You were so close and he had it in his hands to make you come in that same instant. 

“Baby, I’ve been dreaming about filling this pussy to the brim the second you were drafted.” He exhaled with a smile. “I hate seeing you with the clones: gifting them smiles that should belong to me, parading this cleavage around when it should be for my eyes only, showing off this ass when only I should know the feeling of it inside my palms.”

“Anakin! I’m coming! I’m coming!” You announced, simultaneously feeling how his dick twitched inside of you. 

“Let me feel it, baby. Come all over my cock. Indulge me.” This time it was you who took the initiative to kiss him, thinking this would be your last chance to savour him before this was all over. 

You convulsed around his dick, just like he asked, tumbling over his shoulder to regain your breath. Anakin followed short after you, shuddering as he spilled over, biting your shoulder to muffle his groan. 

After the aftershocks dissipated and you regained consciousness, the shame of what had transpired hit you like a train. Fixing your dress to cover more of you, you wondered how long you should wait before saying something. Luckily, Anakin broke the ice first.

“Next time you should keep the hat. I like it.” He chuckled, making you giggle as well. 

Needless to say, you were now expected to be in his tent every night after he came back from battle, split open for him, ready to take in all of the frustration of the day and make him feel better.

[cosmicanakin]

more than just an interview.

pairing. hayden christensen x female reader.

outline. your nerves are everywhere for your first big interview with hayden christensen himself, but things take an exciting turn when he asks for your number.

contains. fluff, reader being a fan girl, tattoos mentioned, workplace romance, anxiety nerves.

authors note. i've only ever written for hayden's characters but never for him :( so here's a little hayden fic!

your heart races as you smooth down your skirt for what feels like the hundredth time, nerves wracking your body while pacing the length of the small room. today marked your first big interview covering the much anticipated release of ahsoka, and the lucky subject chosen was none other than hayden christensen himself.

ever since the prequels first captured your imagination as a young teen, you've harbored a hopeless crush on the actor behind anakin skywalker. his smoldering screen presence and talent at bringing such depth to a complex character left you wholly enamored, fueling artistic pursuits like drawing and even getting a tattoo tribute on your 18th birthday.

glancing down at the familiar lines inked below your left wrist, fingers tracing over them brought both comfort and fresh butterflies. would hayden appreciate the sentiment behind such a permanent mark of fandom, or find it odd and off-putting? you couldn't decide which terrified you more in that moment, the impending interview or potentially showing him such an intimate secret.

before anxiety could mount further, a light knock sounded at the door. "they're ready for you y/n." with a final calming breath you nodded, steeling nerves as best able while trailing your guide down bustling halls. rounds of cameras and crew zipped to and fro in organized chaos, only serving to heighten your jittery state.

entering the room, bright lights and microphones came into view alongside your subject for the day. hayden sat relaxed in an armchair, striking features gently illuminated while conversing easily with staff. at your approach he glanced up, meeting your eyes with a warm smile that set butterflies aflutter once more.

"hayden, this is y/n l/n, she'll be conducting your interview today. make yourselves comfortable and we'll begin filming in 5." with that your guide slipped away, leaving you alone under his keen gaze that seemed to assess every minute detail.

stumbling through introductions you both settled into adjacent seats, closing the small distance between as a PA adjusted lighting and levels. "it's truly an honor hayden, i've been a huge fan of your work for so long. thank you for taking the time today."

he graced you with another genuous smile feeling heat rush your cheeks. "the pleasure is all mine y/n, i'm always happy to chat with fellow star wars enthusiasts."

you then launched into prepared questions relying heavily on note cards to steady shaking hands. hayden spoke eloquently of the joys in revisiting ahsoka and anakin's dynamic through animation, the creative challenges of lending voice without physical presence, as well as hints of where future stories may lead the beloved character.

absorbed in the discussion, you almost missed the lull signaling a natural break between topics. glancing down to reorder cards, hayden's eyes caught a glimpse of your inked tribute.

"is that...?" trailing off inquisitively, his gaze held yours in silent permission to explain. heart thundering in your ribs, you extended your arm stiffly for closer inspection with a sheepish smile.

"oh yeah, it's a little silly. but i got this on my 18th birthday as a sort of tribute to anakin. he's my favorite character in star wars thanks to you." chuckling nervously, you shrugged awaiting judgment on such a bold permanent choice.

instead, hayden gently cradled your wrist to examine lines tracing each curve with a focus that sent shivers through your veins. his thumb rubbed absent circles causing thoughts to short circuit, breath hitching slightly at the contact.

"not silly at all, i'm truly flattered. it's not often i come across such devoted fans, let alone marks of appreciation so meaningful. thank you for sharing this with me, it will certainly remain a treasured memory."

releasing your now flaming skin, hayden graced you with a look loaded with warmth that threatened composure. frantically you shifted topics back to the interview, desperate to regain threads of coherency spinning out of control under his gaze. thankfully he indulged without further comment, captivating the audience once more.

all too soon your allotted time came to an end, both of you graciously thanking one another while crew prepped for the next guest. hayden bid farewell with a lingering handshake, flashing one last smile that left you lightheaded long after exiting the stage.

leaning against the nearest wall, you attempted to regulate your breathing and pounding heart. had you truly just conducted that interview, seen that sweet genuine reaction to a silly fangirl choice that meant the world? pinching yourself proved no dreams, only solid reality awaiting further processing back at home with friends.

giddiness prevented focus for the remainder of promotional rounds, drifting through subsequent interviews on autopilot buzzing with endorphins. by late afternoon you found solace beside a refreshments table, quietly replaying treasured memories while nibbling on a giant cookie.

"y/n!" whirling at the call of your name, disbelief flooded as none other than hayden christensen hurriedly approached with a beaming smile. had he mistaken you for another, or somehow recalled you despite a packed schedule? politeness held your tongue awaiting clarification.

"i'm glad i caught you before leaving, this day has been a whirlwind. i hope i'm not being too forward, but i was wondering if i could maybe take you out for a drink sometime? get to know one another outside of work and such. only if you're interested of course."

heart ceased functioning at the implication, mind reeling to comprehend such an opportunity unfolding before your very eyes. hayden christensen, long-time crush and the subject of your teenage fantasies, was genuinely interested in you beyond surface-level small talk of the press circuit.

"i-i would love that hayden. um just give me a second," you said fumbling for your phone with shaky hands, exchanging numbers felt surreal akin to glimpsing behind intricate hollywood veils so seldom witnessed up close.

"wonderful, it's a date then. i'll text you later this week to discuss plans further. see you then y/n, take care." with a final radiant smile hayden turned on his heel, disappearing behind heavy doors towards whatever awaited beyond this magical day.

plopping onto a chair legs feeling like they might give out at any second, you simply stared bewildered at open phone grasped tightly in palm. had any of this truly happened, or had stress and fangirl aspirations finally sent imagination into overdrive? only time would tell where genuine connection may blossom if given proper chance to take root. for now, replaying treasured snapshots on a loop would have to suffice to quell your pounding heart until destiny worked her mysterious ways.

true to word, your phone lit up later that week with an unknown number. unlocking brought a message reading simply "hey, it's hayden. are you free saturday night?" giddy butterflies exploded anew seeing his name, fingers rushing to confirm eagerly while coordinating logistics.

[flyiingsly]

Briefing

Pairing : The 501st x reader

Summary : Early mission's briefing and night out at the 79' aren't the best match for you and your fellow troopers, much to Rex's despair.

A/N : Just a (really) short thing that was waiting in my WIPs folder for several months already ... It was inspired by a very early and boring meeting I had one day at work, I was nearly falling asleep on my chair and the only thing I was able to think about to stay awake were our favorite Boys in Blue. It was quiet efficient actually ! Enjoy ❤

~~~~~~

It was early in the morning. Well, not so early in fact, but it felt like. You were unusually late to the briefing, not that much, but late enough to arrive after Anakin, who was already here, visibly struggling to stay upright.

You were supposed to leave for a simple recon mission this afternoon with the 501st. Not a dangerous one, only routine on a neutral planet near Coruscant, just to make sure everything was still alright there.

The problem was, last night was not really relaxing. You and the boys had spent most of the night at the 79’ with your General, which wasn’t often, for most of the nights he spent on Coruscant, he stayed with a certain Senator. But not this time. She had been sent on a diplomatic meeting somewhere else in the galaxy, so he gladly joined you at the bar when you asked him. And it was even more funny than usual this way.

But now that you were all here standing in front of General Kenobi, all sleep deprived and some still sobering up, it wasn’t really funny anymore. Of course, it wasn’t your first night off at the 79’, and it was more than worth it, but still, waking up the next morning was always a bit hard. Only Rex and Dogma were good looking, the first because he stayed at the base finishing reports (and yet you tried your best to make him come with you, in vain) and the second because, well, he never seemed to suffer from lack of sleep, strangely (and he left the bar a bit earlier than anyone else, but still, it was far from enough sleep anyway).

It was glorious, Echo and Fives were leaning against each other, trying their best not to fall on the ground, Kix was staring into space, dark circles around his wide opened, completely empty eyes, his third cup of caf in his hand, Anakin was trying to yawn in the most discreet way possible, when Hardcase was, on the contrary, yawning widely, showing all of his teeth to a glaring Dogma. Even Jesse, who was usually doing his best to look as presentable as possible, was a mess, and you weren’t feeling very good neither to be honest. But most of all, Tup was missing, and nobody was able to tell where he was.

Obi-Wan and Rex decided to start the meeting anyway, it was already late enough, you’ll resume it to him when he’ll show up, you thought.

Staying focused was difficult as hell, and Ahsoka couldn’t help but grin at all your sleepy faces. But soon, Fives legs couldn’t take it anymore, and he suddenly collapsed on the ground, dragging a very surprised Echo in his fall. Rex’s eyes widened with embarrassment while Obi-Wan held a smile back. Dogma looked absolutely outraged, but the rest of the company started to laugh uncontrollably at the sight of the two ARCs laying comically on the ground, too tired and stunned to get up.

“ARC Troopers, stand up, immediately !” Rex screamed at them, cheeks turning red.

The poor Captain was so done it showed on his face. He was trying to stay composed, but the expression he wore was so priceless it made the scene even more funny.

You and Anakin helped the two soldiers on their feet, Echo’s arm grabbing your shoulders tightly not to lose his balance again. You were doing your best to contain your laughter, but the lack of sleep and the nervousness due to the multiple cups of caf you ingurgitated right before weren’t helping.

Nobody was able to calm down anyway, and since even Obi-Wan seemed amused by the situation when he turned toward him in search of some support, all that was left for Rex to do was facepalming heavily, probably asking himself was he was doing with his life right now.

The sudden scream coming from one of the nearby technicians working on the company transport ship suddenly made everyone stop laughing, all faces turning toward the origin of the noise.

Then you heard Fives murmured with a mischievous smile on his lips.

“I think someone finally found Tup !”

Rex looked at him with a horrified look on his face.

“What the hell ? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE AGAIN YOU LITTLE … ?”

He didn’t got the chance to have an answer for a technician showed up in the second, asking him to come and see what he had just saw, because, apparently, one of his men was “asleep, snoring and duct-taped to the cockpit’s celling”.

You swear you caught the Captain’s head begin to steam as everyone started to cackle again, hurrying to follow the shocked technician to the said ship. Passing by Fives, who was laughing his ass off, he sent him a frightening death glare.

Needless to say that some troopers received a huge amount of chores to do after that failed briefing.

[toomanybandstocare]

{Caring Hands}

Program: After months of heartbreak and worry, your roommate takes you out for a night to your old stomping grounds- 79s. A bar that used to hold such fond memories of spending blurry night with your friends of the 501st legion by the side of your riduur, Rex. tonight, it seems the magnetic pull between the two of you is determined to bring you together for one last chance.

Pairing: Ex! Rex x Ex, GN! Reader

Side Pairing: Fives x OC! Kiva

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Second Chances

Length: 3956w

Warnings: Pet names (Lover, Cya're, Cyar'ika, Riduur), Drinking to the point of being tipsy/drunk, Heartbreak, Swears, Barely edited

Captain's Notes: Hi guys!!!! It's been awhile. Life has been a force (hehe, no pun intended), but I've been really enjoying my rewatch of the Clones Wars series. And I am simply in love with so many of the clones/boys. They make my heart very happy and fuzzy. It's been nice to revisit one of my favorite shows from my childhood, and the fact that Rex is still my favorite character (other than Ahsoka) makes me feel happy and at home.

Camp Resolute's Masterlist

Camper Tags: @staygoldwriting

The soft green and muted yellow lighting envelop you in an intimate atmosphere of buzzing excitement. Music thrums through the air as the 79s’ clientele swirl around the dance floor or wrap themselves around this evening’s partners in booths. As the war invades every nook and corner of the galaxy, the GAR’s unofficial bar offers its services for wayward individuals who look for a semblance of normalcy. A chance to forget the lingering, stale breath of unknown destruction breathing down everyone’s necks. Time stands still at the mercy of drunk shouts of excitement.

“You know,” Kiva drawls as he drags his cocktail’s straw across his lower lip, “going out to bars and clubs is more interesting if you actually speak to people”. His deep, teasing chuckle shudders through you more than the deafening bass.

“You know,” you hum as the tingling sensation of your fifth drink courses through your veins, “going out to bars and clubs is more interesting when you aren’t surrounded by your ex's brothers. Who happen to share extremely similar physical features”. Your voice drips with whiskey and venom.

Leaning onto your white knuckled fist, you down the last few sips of your liquor unable to pull your eyes away from the booth in the alcove corner just past the bar. The unmistakable colors of the 501st and 212th battalions flash under the pulsing lights as troopers recline in the booth or lean over the seat backings to join in on the conversation. Your attention flitted between your roommate and the CO table when the two of you sat yourselves at the bar at the beginning of the night. When you caught sight of hidden smirk and mischievous glint in his amber eyes, you ordered the first round of shots. Your eyes stung from neon lights that lit up the bar area of the tenders to see their work and as you watched Rex pull the beautiful Twi’lek close to his side. His hands palmed her soft curves and pulled her as close as possible. Bile rose up and bit the back of your throat as you threw back another drink. 

As alcoholic cloudiness eases into your system, a sigh pushes past your lips and you turn your gaze to Kiva. His dark eyes look past you as a small half smile grows on face. Blinking at him, you follow his gaze. Leaning against the section divider of the CO table, Fives animatedly speaks to a friend from a different battalion whose armor is decorated in a scratched gray paint.

“You know,” your voice light and airy with its teasing melody, “going out to bars is more interesting if you go speak to people”. You jab your elbow into his arm and signal to the bartender for another drink.

“I’m not going to leave you here, heartbroken and drunk,” his tentacle tresses bounce around as he shakes his head, “Especially, alone. It’s a remarkable phenomena that you’re still able to form a coherent thought at the rate you're consuming spotchka shots”. Taking a sip of his drink, Kiva eyes you, “Besides, I don’t even know him”.

A bubbling giddiness washes through you as you look from Kiva to Fives to your fresh drink in front of you. Tracing a slightly trembling finger around the glass, you take a deep breath. Just because your trooper romance didn’t end how you had hoped doesn’t mean the same will happen for Kiva. Especially if he’s interested in sweet Fives.

“His name is Fives- CT-27-5555, if you want to get technical. But, only his twin is allowed to call him that, so don’t even think about it until he says you can use it” your voice is warm and quiet. It drips with whiskey and sweetens the soft smile you share with Kiva. His shocked expression causes a flurry of giggles from your lips. “He’s an ARC Trooper in the 501st. Too charming for his own good, but he knows exactly what to say at any moment,” you share as you watch Kiva’s lovestruck expression fall back onto your former friend. Taking a slow sip of your drink, a wave of conflicting emotions tumble through you. If you stepped one foot too close to that booth, all eyes would be on you. As much as you wanted to help Kiva, you knew that the night would only end abruptly if you inserted yourself back into the group.

“Doesn’t mean he’s into guys though,” Kiva nervously deflects with a wave of his hand and the last sip of his cocktail.

“Every time I would run into him, he would find a way to ask about you. I don’t think we’ve had a conversation that didn’t somehow include your name since he met you at Hellkai’s birthday party,” you carefully use the leg closest to him to start pushing him off the barstool.

“Wha-what,” Kiva stammers as he slightly stumbles out of his seat.

Before he can protest, you throw both your feet on top of the stool and cross your legs. “I’ll be here when you’re ready to leave. Either with me, or with Fives. Just let me know, and I’ll crash a couch somewhere. Now go have an interesting night,” you exclaim and shove him in the direction of the clones.

With every step Kiva took, the fleeting feeling of happiness seeped out of you. Although you see the nerves bouncing in Kiva as he weaved his way through the mass of tipsy dancers, you know he’ll be in caring hands. When he clears past most of the crowd, you see Fives stand up a little straighter and beam past the other trooper’s shoulder. Like a missing piece of the picture, Kiva finds his place next to Fives. A twist in your stomach tingles as he rests a hand on the back of Fives’ neck. With ease, Fives rests his hand on the small of Kiva’s back, and the tingles flame inside you. When their gazes meet, the coil snaps in you and you tear your stinging eyes away from the touching scene. Good for them. They both deserve happiness.

“You alright there, mesh’la?” a gentle hand rests on your shoulder. With a jolt, you snap your head and are met with a concerned clone. Your breathing becomes heavy as you open your mouth to send him away, but the sight of scratched blue armor with a medic symbol on the shoulder causes your throat to constrict.

“Hey, hey,” Kix slides closer to you and rests his other hand on your cheek, “It’s okay. Just too much to drink tonight, huh? How about some water then? Wait, you- you look familiar.”

“I’m fine,” you croak out and swing your body away from his caring hands to face the bar. You keep your shaking hands around your whiskey glass and watch the iceball water down your only ally in the bar.

“Wait a minute,” his timber voice hummed closer as he slid into the now open stool, “It is you. What- what are you doing here?”

“Don’t worry, Kix. I’m not here to ruin anyone’s fun. Just trying to have my own,” you bitterly chuckle.

“That’s not what I meant,” Kix rests an arm on the bartop and shifts his body closer into your personal space. His usually soft eyes flood with concern as he takes in your appearance. “I- we haven’t seen you in months, mesh’la. Thought you moved planets- kriff, even to a different system. Rex wouldn’t let up any info, so we all thought it was an emergency”.

You’re barely able to keep the choked sob locked behind your grimace as your heart pounds in  your throat. The truth trying to break past your loyal lips. Shrugging, you keep your eyes locked on the flowing lights that twinkle behind all the glass bottles. The cold synthetic material of your glass balances on your lip before you throw it back.

“Enough,” Kix hisses and grabs your wrist to pull the cup away. His look of disbelief causes a twinge of guilt to register in your haze.

“Come one, mesh’la. Let’s get you home,” Kix carefully wraps his arm around your waist and pulls you up. 

Panic stabbing into your skin, you throw some credits onto the bar and try to drag your feet to stop him. “Kix, what are you doing?” you hiss. 

“Making sure nothing bad happens to you. Why were you alone over there? You must have seen us in our usual spot,” Kix looks at you in confusion as the two of you work your way through the throng of dancing bar goers.

“Because,” you try to quickly clear the situation before you are recognized by any other clones, “there’s a reason that Rex didn’t want to talk about me”.

You try to wriggle out of Kix’s hold once you see Kiva and Fives wrapped in each other’s arms. “Seriously, Kix. Leave it alone. You’re doing more harm than good,” you practically beg.

“What are you talking about? Look, even if you and Rex are in a bit of a tricky spot, I can guarantee that you’re his endgame. The man won’t stop talking about you,” Kix sends a genuine smile your way and rubs his thumb in soothing circles on your side.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” Fives calls both of you over. Kiva straightens up in Fives’ embrace as he watches the two of you walk towards the booth.

You frantically shake your head and try to think of a plausible excuse to get out of this. What was once your safe haven for nights out now spits you deep into enemy territory.

“I thought I said to keep it easy on the drinks,” Kiva chuckles uncomfortably and moves to your other side, “Time to go home, huh?” Slipping his arm around your waist above Kix’s own, Kiva turns to say something to Fives.

“Wait, no. Do you have to,” Fives castes the two of you a sad look. “I didn’t even know you were plantside, and now you try to scurry out in a rush? That’s just rude,” Fives jokes.

“Come join us, mesh’la,” Kix coaxes you, “All the guys have missed you and would be thrilled to catch up. We’ll just get some sodas for the rest of the night”.

“You’re joking. No way in haran that me and Jesse are letting you go home before we start the games,” Fives reaches for your hand as you shake your head so hard, it nearly causes you to tumble over.

“Fives, cya’re, it’s time we go home. This one can’t even stand on their feet,” Kiva tries again and successfully makes one step closer to the exit. Which is one step closer towards Fives and the entrance to the CO booth.

“Cyar’ika, let’s get them in a seat then,” Fives leans into Kiva’s chest to whisper something in his ear. You feel the excited tremble on Kiva's side and another wave of guilt washes over you.

“Guys, come one. I’m fine. Definitely not my worst night out, so I can get home with no issue. Kiva, why don’t you stay here,” you pull away from the group and notice the growing number of glances you’re all attracting.

“Why are you trying to run from us? I thought we were your friends,” Kix’s voice is dry with confusion and hurt.

“We can hang out another time. I promise. I’m just tired. You said it yourself, I’ve had enough for tonight,” you frantically try to deescalate the growing unease in the area as you sway and twist through the crowd.

Not even caring about bumping into other patrons, you focus your attention away from the twisted expression on Kix’s face and the shouts of recognition from the CO table.

You use your elbows to move others out of your way, but the dull, plastoid armor does nothing but bite back at you. Blaster boots and high heels trip you as you lose yourself in the crowd once more. Your heart jumps in time with the rhythm of the song blaring. Sweat sits heavy on your skin as you break free and try to find sight of the exit.

Hallow pants wrack your body from the close proximity of other patrons, but you find the neon blue exit sign for the door. Taking the first step, you continue your trek to fresh air as you narrowly push past another clone and jostle the drink in his hand.

“Watch it,” the gruff voice mumbles.

Two words in a bitter tone are all that cause your blazing body to turn ice cold. He’s supposed to be up in the booth.

“Sorry,” you breathe out.

With a weary look from the corner of his eye, the clone’s stoic expression is broken by shocked realization. “Cyar’ika,” Rex’s voice rumbles.

“I’m just on my way out, so don’t worry about holding back. Okay? It’s all good. Have fun tonight,” you mutter breathlessly and sway a step forward.

“Hey,” Rex gently demands your attention. He twists his body to face you completely and holds out his free arm to catch you from falling.

“Are you-,” Rex looks at you with tense, uncomfortable eyes, “Are you okay? You look-”.

“You don’t get to ask that anymore,” you growl behind gritted teeth. Pushing his arm out of your way, you continue your trek to the exit. You are so close. Just a few more bodies to get past.

“Wait a minute- kriff,” Rex exclaims and gently grasps your arm.

“Stop it,” you hiss, “You’re going to make a scene. Just let me go. Let me go, again.” The final word sits heavy in the air, and Rex’s grip tightens around you for a moment.

“Take this,” Rex mutters, “I’m walking this one home. Too much to drink”. Without a moment to register who he was speaking to, Rex pulls you along to the exit. Not even casting a glance to make sure you could keep up with his determined strides.

Stumbling behind Rex, you can’t find the strength to pull your arm out of his careful hold or tear your glossy eyes away from his figure. With each step closer to the entrance way, you choke back the dry sobs that well inside you. You had hoped that the last time you were with Rex in the 79s that it would be a happy memory. Instead, the galaxy decided to throw the two of you together for one last spat.

The cool night time air soothes your burning cheeks. Speeders and cruisers fly past the entry line of rowdy soldiers and excited patrons as they wait for entry. Coruscant’s cityscape lights up the starry night with synthetic warmth from billboard to skyscraper.

“Same place,” Rex asks softly.

Not answering his question, or allowing yourself to meet his pertinent gaze, you feebly pull your arm out of his comforting hand. “Please, stop,” your hollow voice responds.

“Cyar’ika,” Rex says in exasperation, “Come on, you shouldn’t be out like this. Let’s get you back-”.

“Stop,” your hoarse voice pleads as you begin walking back to your apartment. Memories of walking home with Rex after a night out with the 501st should bring you happiness. You didn’t want them to be tainted by the lingering heartbreak of tonight if you could help it.

The racing sounds of nightlife mutffle your hearing, so a stab of fear strikes you when you feel yourself being suddenly tugged into the side alley of 79s.

“Enough,” Rex growls into your ear. He leads both of you out of sight and behind some of the bar’s shipment crates. With careful hands, he lightly pushes you into the wall and stays pressed up in front of you. Just enough room for you to push him away if you really wanted to. Just enough room to intoxicate your senses with only his presence.

Running his hands over his cropped hair, Rex watches you with a glint of frustration in his eyes. “I tried to be nice,” he starts off in a low voice.

“I didn’t fucking ask. I told you I was leaving,” you bite back. Your finger nails dig into the palm of your hand.

“Will you let me speak,” he snaps. His chest plate rising and falling in heavy breaths. “You were the one kicking up a scene in there and out front. What are you doing here?”

“You don’t own this bar, Rex. Anyone can come and enjoy a night out,” you seethe.

“I may not own this bar in a legal sense, but this is the closest place us clones can call home. You know that. Why not some other bar? I told you- we’re done. We had a nice run. But we need split ways,” he rumbles. With each painful word, his face moves closer your own. Hard, amber eyes lock with yours as mixed emotions flash across the surface to show peeks of the soft look of adoration underneath. The musky scent of his cologne mixes with the whiskey on his breath to make you feel dizzy. “That includes where we spend our nights out. Now I’m going to have to bat off Kix and Fives for who knows how long”.

“That’s what you wanted. Not me,” you lash out. His eyes widen slightly at your volume, and you jab his chest plate with your finger before he can regain control of the conversation. “I didn’t want our relationship to end. I didn’t want you to let me go. I didn’t even get a say in the matter. And, I certainly didn’t ask you to be nice”. Your voice steadily grows in volume as your body trembles in anger. “You're a soldier. You made where your loyalty stands, so fucking clear. If this is your choice then you have to own up to the consequences of your actions. So dealing with your squad’s questions -- my fucking friends, who I haven’t see because I for some fucking reason respected your request for space -- about why I haven’t been around or why I was so desperate to leave tonight, is your own fucking fault. Kriff, for someone who is haran bent to follow orders and lead by a good example, you’re an awful person”. 

Rex takes a step away from you. Hurt melts away his anger, and he looks down at his boots. Fists flexing by his sides.

“This isn’t you,” you quietly sob, “I know you. I know the real Rex. Your boys know you, and they see something’s wrong”. With shaking hands, you softly hold his armored hand in a careful clasp. “Why won’t you let me in? Let me help you. All I have wanted in our relationship is to be by your side and support you”. You take a daring step closer to him, and when he doesn’t pull away, you wrap him in a tight embrace. 

The cool plastoid feels grimy to your skin. They couldn’t have been plantside for more than a few hours. Desperate to taste a sense of home and normalcy after the latest dire mission. Tentative hands drag across the fabric of your shirt and press you further into his chest plate.

Rex flexes his fingers to gently pull your body as close as he can with armor still sitting heavy on his shoulders. Pressing his face into the curve of your neck, he breathes you in to try to ground him. It’s always been you. Your face is the first image that would grace his vision when he closes his eyes each night. Memories of small acts of love keeps him grounded when news of a lost brother is announced. The echo of your laugh overpowers the crashing bomb shells on the battleground. No matter where in the galaxy he travels to, Rex can only think about you and how you have cared for him. He couldn’t risk that being taken away from him. He couldn’t risk anyone trying to use a GAR officer’s riduur as leverage.

“Enough,” Rex’s broken voice pleads into the crook of your neck. He closes his watery eyes and pulls you closer when you tenderly trail your finger across his back plate. Even with GAR issued armor and regulation protection, Rex knows your caring hands will be his downfall.

“Rex,” you gasp in his ear. Your voice light like the cool breeze that causes both of you to shiver. “Rex, I-”.

“Don’t,” he begs, “Don’t say it”. He drags his nose across the column of your neck, and both of you feel slight dampness where your bodies connect. Placing a gentle kiss in the dip of your neck, Rex shakes his head and pleads, “Cyar’ika, if you finish that sentence I will never be able to walk away from you. Not even when I’m called back to base for training or briefings. Especially, not when I know I face death like a familiar acquaintance everyday”.

“But, you didn’t face death today,” you hold him closer. The two of you are trying to mold into each other. Either to rekindle a lingering flame or to imprint a final memory of each other’s body to forever remember. “You face your lover today. Your lover who only asks one thing of you”.

Rex shudders a pained breath that sweeps across your skin. His lips trail everywhere as he can’t find the strength to pull himself away from your hold. “I can’t stay, cyar’ika. And, I can’t put you through the constant pain of not knowing if I’m alive,” his words break with a sob. “I’m trying to protect you. I don’t get to make many choices for myself or my  life, but I have the choice to protect you. I will always choose you, your safety, and your happiness over my own. My runi is tied to yours, and I am bound to you for darasuum”. Overwhelmed by emotions, Rex moves his head to lean his forehead against yours. Tears freely stream down his face as he bares himself in front of you.

“You are my happiness, riduur,” your gentle affirmation is met by a pained whimper. “Without you, I am nothing but a body. My runi is tied to yours, and I am bound to you for darasuum. Come home, lover”.

“I don’t want to keep hurting you,” Rex whispers. His amber eyes glisten as he watches your own eyes trickle with tears.

“Then come home where you belong. By my side. I don’t ask you to give up your brothers or stay away from the battlefield. Let me know that when you come planetside on leave, that you’ll come home to me and let me care for you”.

Unable to tell where one body starts and the other meets, the two of you keep each other in a searing embrace. Tears stream together as you press closer to his face. Nose bumps cause choked chuckles to fall. Heavy breaths fan across chapped lips just millimeters away from meeting in the middle.

“Please,” your soft plea ghosts over his mouth. Your invitation tastes of home cooked meals and warm caf in the morning.

“Always, cyar’ika. I will do everything in my power to come home to you,” Rex promises and places a gentle kiss on your growing smile, “I’m so sorry I left you, riddur”.

One hand slips just underneath the hem of your shirt to feel the familiar planes of your body as Rex rests his other hand on the nape of your neck. Unable to fight against the force pulling the two of you together, Rex dips down and presses a chaste kiss to your beaming smile. Another falls soon after, slightly longer as he traces the curve of your bottom lip with his tongue. And another when you look at him in adoration that pulls a soft sigh. A new sound to allow himself to reimagine when he misses you. Ready to come home to caring hands.

[gffa]

I'm very curious, and sorry if you've answered this before but, how do you think an AU where Ani does not fall could happen?

The solutions I've seen in fic are mostly three: Palps dies (disappointingly rarely via Zillo beast); Obikin get together and clear up their disagreements/Ani comes clean about the Tattoine massacre and together they figure out Palps is the sith lord and prepare the order to face him/prevent order 66; or something happens that makes Ani realize his mistakes and ask for help (something that's somehow more of a wake-up call than Padmè begging him to stop and Obi Wan trying to talk sense into him). Shmi not dying is often part of all 3 options but I've never seen it alone changing Ani's fate and I don't think it would either.

I love the prequels, but Ani falling makes me sad because he starts as such a kind boy (though he struggles with attachment and later fear) but as a young adult he already has these massive flaws that seem insurmountable and he seems doomed to fall no matter what happens. So I think a lot about how could Ani not have fallen, in a close-to-canon AU? Palps dying, of course, but that doesn't feel like an emotionally satisfying story to me. Obikin getting together isn't (though I love them!) the story Lucas wanted to tell (disregarding that Ani not falling wasn't the story he wanted to tell either). And the third option I just don't buy.

What do you think? Is Ani doomed by the narrative, and no small change could have saved him, and a big deus ex-machina event is needed so Palps dies/Obikin get together/Ani comes to his senses?

Sorry if this is a bit rambly!

Hi! I've given this thought before and I generally come down to--once we set aside that Anakin had to fall, because that's the story being told--that I'm with George Lucas on this, that Anakin's fall is down to his unwillingness to accept that life is transitory, that life changes, that you have to let go, instead of trying to possess things. That is the issue that has to be solved, so any fix-it AU has to stem from that, in my mind. One instance is, as Lucas said, if Anakin had been found by the Jedi earlier, he would have been trained to love people without becoming attached to them, but that's changing more than what I think you want to change. For me, my answer is usually pretty boring--as much as I love reading pairing fic with fix-its and I roll with the way an author sets things up, I generally don't believe that a romantic relationship would have fixed Anakin, not even a healthily balanced one. Anakin's problem is that he was so afraid of losing people, of living with that loss, that he clung to the ones he loved, putting him in a relationship just hurtles him down the same path as in canon. The best way for him imo is to get rid of Palpatine, which doesn't take away Anakin's issues, but it gives him breathing room to grow in a healthier way, to not have that constant temptation and seductive whisper dripping poison in his ear. It gives him the space to slowly come to trust the Jedi ways, because I very much do think that Anakin believed in the Jedi ways, he just couldn't get over himself when it was his own fears on the line. The way he teaches Ahsoka, he works to help her to let go of her attachments, he tells her exactly that when she's on Onderon. He teaches that to Rex when they're looking for Echo on Skako Minor. He believes in the Jedi ways, he has a good heart, he wants to do the healthy, balanced thing. He just can't get past that last, most terrifying hurdle. In a galaxy where he has more breathing room, where he doesn't have Palpatine driving a wedge between him and the Jedi, preying on his insecurities, he has the time to slowly do the self-examination necessary to grow into the person that he had the potential to be. And it's actually my favorite one, because I think it sticks closest to the heart of Lucas' Star Wars and the Force and the Jedi. That it's about learning to let go, to have a lifetime of discipline and work on yourself, to look inside and acknowledge your feelings and let them pass beyond you, that you have to do the hard work yourself and there's no shortcut to a better self. You have to work at it. I genuinely believe that Anakin could have gotten there without Palpatine. That doesn't mean his choices aren't his own, I've planted my flag hard on that hill, but that doesn't mean that Palpatine didn't fuck him up hardcore and, without his influence, in the events in Anakin's life where Palpatine's not a direct influence, he actually generally fares pretty well. When Palpatine isn't around, Anakin rises to the potential in him, he reaches out and does good, he accepts the help he's offered, like Anakin Skywalker had so much good in him, and if he hadn't been so tempted by Palpatine's siren song of "your feelings make you special", then I believe he would have gotten to a really good place with himself. But it's one I see as an internal journey of self-discovery, rather than being magically fixed by an external change. Getting rid of Palpatine is pulling the knife out of his side, but Anakin still has to heal the damage himself. Whether that happens during ROTS (harder, but still doable) or when he was younger, I think you have to truly get rid of Palpatine's existence, not just put distance there, but that Palpatine has to not be an option at all. Then Anakin will do the work himself.

[illuminatedquill]

Well, that was certainly a finale.

Initial thoughts below (SPOILERS AHEAD):

Ahsoka 1x08:

THE JEDI, THE WITCH, AND THE WARLORD

I’m a bundle of many emotions but first -

Look, nothing’s over. Okay? Filoni is clearly playing a long game here with these characters. So let’s all calm down and wait for the next season.

There was simply too much to show in this final episode for it to be satisfying on every front. I think, for the most part, he succeeded in ending this first season and setting up What Comes Next.

But I do feel like some of the character stuff was resolved a little too neatly, in my opinion.

There’s such potential in these relationships and I feel like Filoni was laser focused on getting the groundwork laid down for the future. And it’s Big.

(THE MORTIS GODS ON PERIDEA. ANAKIN FORCE GHOST. I SCREAMED WHEN I SAW IT.)

I’m not 100% pleased with where Sabine ended up and the fact that she just irrevocably altered the fabric of her home galaxy due to her decision seemed to have been glossed over by Ahsoka and STILL not found out by Ezra.

I mean, there’s HUGE ramifications from what she did. And I’m worried that none of it will be played out to it’s proper devastating conclusion.

Yet, I’m willing to let it slide because it’s clear that there will be more. So, we just have to wait.

Also, the exploration of why Sabine made her choice was never addressed. At least, not in a way that was satisfactory to me. Again, I’m hoping that’s explored in the future . . . but I don’t know.

Even Thrawn was confused about her decision! He couldn’t understand it. And this is Thrawn we’re talking about.

How can you not interpret everything Sabine did in this season as being driven by something more than just friendship. Even the casual fans picked up on it.

(It’s me! I’m the casual fan. Didn’t ship it before and then I saw the first Ahsoka trailer and it suddenly clicked.)

She officially cemented her place in the Disaster Lineage when she made the choice to hand over the map to Baylan! Gambled the fate of an entire galaxy just for the chance to see Ezra again!

That’s peak romance! Literally have not seen a character’s choice forever alter the future on a galactic scale of this magnitude since the main man, Anakin Skywalker, himself!

All for love!

And, yeah, I know the Wolfwren fans are pleased with Shin also being on Peridea. I know Filoni is on the record being against an Ezra/Sabine romance (at least during Rebels, which made sense at the time to me) but I don’t see that pairing being a thing.

We’ve gotten prime examples of healthy, loving, supportive romance from him: Sabine’s parents, Kanan and Hera, Ezra’s parents.

Shin would need to mellow out her murderous nature by 100% to be friends with Sabine. If that happens, I would be cool with it.

Don’t see her doing that anytime soon with her last scene being that. She’s too power hungry.

Other thoughts:

Fantastic battle scenes - highlight being the final duel between Morgan and Ashoka. She went out like a fighter.

Thrawn was excellent, as always. Lars Mikkelsen was born to play this role. His cold, calculating menace is balanced perfectly by some flickers of emotion here and there; the regret when he asked Morgan to stay and his annoyance at Ahsoka escaping his hellfire.

Eman is Ezra. Fantastic casting.

As for Natasha as Sabine . . .

I want more from her. Just more of her as Sabine, forever and always. Still my favorite character on the show. I think there’s more emotional depths to be explored (LIKE HER FEELINGS FOR EZRA) but I’m putting that on Filoni.

(. . . This post is a mess. Sorry for rambling. I’m sure a lot of you feel the same.)

Just want to emphasize that it’ll probably be fine. Nothing’s been decided, one way or the other. And the success of this season should hopefully guarantee more of these beloved characters on our screens soon enough.

And, well, there’s nothing a good fanfic can’t fix. I expect we’ll be seeing plenty of those after this.

[meshlasolus]

House Of Memories (29/?)

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Padawan!reader

Warnings: okay so like this one's fun, very dark, but fun. not really a lot of warning except for maybe clone wars typical violence??

Summary: You've lost your path to the light... in an attempt to even the score, you travel with Anakin and Ahsoka to kill the man who took your master from you.

A/n: i cannot explain how much i LOVE this episode.... y'all needs understand i'm so hyped for this plotline it's my favorite in all of clone wars it's so angsty UGH

also y'all if you like the story, maybe consider buying me a coffee :)

Words: 3.8k

You did not sleep; you were never able to. You lied still until sunrise, and never rested. Obi-Wan was at eternal rest, but you were restless. It was impossible to calm your mind.

Your entire body was unable to move, weighted down by the heaviness in your head, swirling around and taunting you with its gruesome storm.

You faintly were able to hear the knocking sounds, two taps and then two more on the front entrance door. It shouldn't have made you anxious to hear it, but you were in no state of being to have any sort of company in your presence. You doubted you'd even be able to look whoever it was in the eye. You sure as hell wouldn't be able to speak.

Your prayers for them to leave went unanswered, as the door was opened, and a pair of footsteps came into the apartment, unwelcome. You curled even deeper into your solemn cocoon of sheets and blankets, closing your eyes and feeling darkness wash over you.

You'd welcomed the darkness during the night. The once scary and uncontrollable dark force inside of you, became the only thing that could bring you a semblance of peace... nay, not peace, but a quieter mind. When the darkness consumed you, your thoughts were not painful, just angry. You longed for revenge, to ease the pain and suffering. You were willing to let it drive you, to keep going, to live on after the loss you swore would be your end.

"She's not in her room," you heard Ahsoka's confused voice, and Anakin's reply, which came unsurprised from her words.

"She's in his."

You braced yourself to face your friends, or rather them facing you. You took in a breath in time with the small hiss of the door retracting, and now those same four feet brought their steps up to you, seeing your huddled up form lying motionless in the bed... Obi-Wan's bed.

"Is she awake?" Ahsoka couldn't be sure, she wasn't so in tune with your presence as Anakin was, and yes, he knew you were awake, and trying to avoid them.

He sat beside you on the bed, his hand lifting to rest on your shoulder, his thumb moving in soothing motions that did nothing to help you.

"We got him, the sniper," Anakin told you, and your eyes shot open. What? They got him. What does he mean by that?

"Is he dead?" you asked shortly, your tone was so flat and uncaring, the complete opposite of what you used to be.

"No, he's in a max security prison."

You forced yourself to sit up, looking at Anakin with your dead, sleep deprived expression. He didn't look all that great himself, but you were a wreck. What happened to you?

You shot him a glare, and he could have sworn he saw a golden glow reflect off the center of your irises in that moment. It was gone the next, but it frightened him all the same.

"You brought him in without me?" you barely moved, your normal expressions of rage, with your wild hand movements were not included with your statement... but no, this was far more terrifying. The state you were in, the way you spoke, it all told Anakin that you were battling the darkness, or maybe it had won. He was in no position to tell you it was wrong, because he himself was having to fight it, still.

"The council thought it best to avoid your inclusion," Ahsoka replied, trying to defend Anakin, but also deflect your attention for a moment. You had never looked more lethal than you did right now, wrapped up in Obi-Wan's blankets and clinging to his bed.

You turned your head in her direction now, and she gasped, having seen the face of the girl she knew become cold and ruthless.

"The council did not know what Obi-Wan meant to me; you did. And you decided not to tell me about finding his killer," you had to use every ounce of restrain in your body not to force call an object to your hand, before you would inevitably throw it across the room, shattering someone breakable. You still loved these people, you couldn't hurt them.

"He was unarmed, you would have killed him."

Anakin's words meant nothing to you, because yes, of course you would kill him. He could be begging for mercy at your feet, and you would use your saber to cut every limb from his body until he was unable to even crawl to safety, then you would end his life in the slowest, most agonizing way you could possibly think of.

"And would you have stopped me?" It was a valid question, if you had been there, you wouldn't have hesitated, but would Anakin let you go through with it?

He ducked his head, unwilling to lie to your compelling question, but not wanting to answer truthfully, knowing it would be a travesty against your master's teachings.

"Obi-Wan would not want us to act on revenge."

Good answer, but not the one you were looking for.

"The answer is no; you would have let me kill him in an instant," you corrected him, and he shot his head up to meet your dark eyeline. Everything about you emanated so much weight, something so deep that he began to feel the effects of it in his signature.

"It's not the Jedi way," Ahsoka reminded you, and for a moment you thought you heard Obi-Wan's voice echoing the sentiment to your mind, but it didn't instill in you a need to respect it.

"The Jedi have become corrupt, the republic has made us an army, and we do their bidding without hesitation. The Jedi way has fallen far from what it used to be, and you both know it."

You were getting more frustrated as the time passed, and you sent into Anakin's mind a hint that you wanted them to just stay away from you, to leave you alone and to let you wallow in your misery.

He looked at Ahsoka and nodded for her to leave the room, before ultimately, he stood to his feet, and followed after her. Before he shut the door, he turned back one more time. He shuddered to even speak the words he wanted to say, but they needed to be said.

"Obi-Wan said to us once, that if you suffer to let go, you will suffer to grow."

And then he was gone.

Obi-Wan was ever as wise as his former Master, and often you wondered why he was never a consular like Qui Gon. It was his spirit that was a Guardian. His passionate heart to defend his will and the will of the force, to defend those he cared about, the ones closest to him, and to defend you. He always defended you, and you relied on it, more than you should, but now you have to fight your own battles, and you need more strength than you have.

Sometimes suffering is just suffering. It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t build character. It only hurts.

-

You heard the news of the prison break, it echoed in the halls outside of your apartment, and you were practically jumping out of bed to make sure you hadn't misunderstood anything.

The chancellor was sending Anakin and Ahsoka to capture the escaped prisoners, that of which included Moralo Evol, Cad Bane, and of course, Rako Hardeen.

They would likely be leaving soon to follow the trail that the prison had begun to track.

You needed to be on the ship before it left, this was your chance. This was your chance to even the score, it was your chance to avenge the life of your Master, the one you'd adored so dearly.

You were wearing his robes, and his old cloak, which he kept with him since his padawancy, even after taking the trials, it was a sentimental article that meant something to him. It fit you quite well, and it was full of echoes in the force, from his time and training before you entered his life. There were some remnants of yourself you could sense within the ragged fabric, a younger version of yourself who's trouble seemed so foolish, now.

Your saber was on your hip as you walked down the corridors to the elevator. There were few Jedi, but several clone squads that stared on. Some were from the 212th, which was now your battalion by inheritance. You never gave any of them a second glance, your focus was uninterrupted, and would remain that way until you had accomplished your main goal.

Stepping into the elevator, you caught sight of Master Kit Fisto, who had looked at you with disbelief before the elevator doors were shut and your view was blocked from his expression.

Everyone you passed on the way to the hanger seemed to be completely distracted by you, and you knew why. They sensed it in you, the vengeance was radiating off of you like hot steam, filling the air with the mist and heat when you walked by them. It was frightening to them for sure, to see a young girl who was so optimistic become so enraptured with hatred for a single being.

You saw Anakin and Ahsoka in the distance, waiting on their ship to be fueled, and you approached them swiftly, non-hesitant. Your confidence could not be swayed, even if they cut it down with a lightsaber, you would quickly rebuild it, and keep moving.

"What are you doing here?" Anakin stopped you from going any further, placing himself in the way of the ship and not allowing you even an inch of access.

"I'm coming with you. You'll need my help," you insisted, and though he knew you were very capable of doing so, he was still worried that your emotion will cloud your judgement. "He was my master, Anakin."

"He was mine, too. I understand how you feel, and I'm not going to hold you back, but I need to know you're up for this," he crossed his arms, looking down on you and waiting for a sign of your readiness. You furrowed your brow and shook your head, stepping forward so that you were nearly nose to nose.

"I will not rest until I know the man responsible for Obi-Wan's death has been taken out."

He sighed. That wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but he knew better than to argue with you when you were angry, especially this new side of you.

"Let's go," he stepped aside, letting you up onto the ramp, following after you and Ahsoka when you walked up.

The first planet they had been tracked to was already set in the coordinates in the pilot's console, and with Ahsoka as copilot, you figured you would sit in the back, and be company to yourself.

The ride was long, and silent.

Sitting in the hull of the ship, you waited. You waited for them to come back and tell you where you would inevitably find the escaped bounty hunters. You held your saber in your right hand, sliding your thumb up and down over the crystal chamber. It was a subconscious movement, simple and fluid, but you had no idea the affects you were causing with it.

You were already filled with so much anger, so much hatred, you let it motivate you, you allowed it to consume your signature in its whole. You hated that it had this much control over you, the darkness, but it made you stronger, you could feel its power in your veins, every muscle felt energized by the dark force. It was pushing you towards the only new success you craved: vengeance.

You closed your eyes, meditating on this darkness for the first time since you let it overtake you. You absentmindedly kept your hand around your saber, clenching it tightly and using it as a tether.

You weren't sure how you felt, indulging in the darkness like this, to meditate on it in a way you'd been raised to avoid. The Jedi never told you how peaceful and quiet the darkness could be. They always mentioned it was made up of all the horrors you could not yet understand. Perhaps they were wrong.

For you, the dark side had worked almost seductively, luring you in with all it could offer, and empowering you to feel like you were untouchable. You did not even think that something like this could be bad.

You poured all your anger into your meditation, and let it fester, turning into raw power that you could later use to conquer your enemy, and make them-

"Kriff," You swore silently, dropping your saber to the ground for the way it began to burn your hand. It wasn't hot like fire, but the energy stung your skin, and you opened your eyes, letting them fall on where your weapon hit the ground of the ship.

You sensed that something was off, and when you picked it up, you felt it. You'd infused your weapon with your feelings, you may have damaged it from the inside. You ignited it, just as Anakin and Ahsoka were now coming back aboard the ship, and all at once you all witnessed what you had done to your lightsaber, your treasured weapon. This weapon is your life...

"What did you do?" Anakin asked in confusion, looking at the blade in disbelief.

The beautiful green glow that emanated from the hilt was only halfway there, as it collided with the dark red that took over its beauty, and made it into something new, something deeper, something more powerful.

"I don't know."

He looked once at his Padawan, nodding for her to go and start the ship. You were still gazing upon the new red and green glow of your saber, mesmerized by the duality it now possessed. It was quite lovely, and you'd never seen anything like it before.

"We have to talk about this," Anakin said gently as he walked over to you. "I know it's hard to resist the darkness, but you're making me concerned."

You deactivated the saber, clipping it back to your hilt and letting it fall by your side. You looked back at Anakin and saw your truest friend as confidant, the person you felt you could be honest with, and the only other person in this galaxy who might be feeling even a shred of your loss, your grief.

"I can't feel the light anymore... I'm trying, I promise," it wasn't a lie. You were struggling beyond measure to find even the slightest bit of connection to the light side of the force, but every time you thought of your master's teachings, the way he led you, guided you, it pushed you back to the start... but the dark side let you in, and it embraced you with open arms, like it had been waiting all this time.

"This isn't the Jedi way; this isn't what Obi-Wan would want for you."

"Obi-Wan didn't want for me to suffer like this, either," you said, a tear that threatened to spill over but was held back for the sake of your sanity. You couldn't stand to cry anymore, it just kept you in the same state of pain.

"Going against the order won't do us any favors... the council already looks down on us, anything we do is under their scrutiny."

He tried getting closer, but soon realized that was a bad idea.

"I'm going to be expelled," you let out, scoffing with furrowed brows. You were so confident that it would happen, because deep down, even before you lost Obi-Wan, you felt you weren't meant for the Jedi. You felt that they only accepted you because they had to.

"You won't be expelled. They might act like they hate you, but for Obi-Wan's sake they would still care enough to help you."

“No, they won't. All they have ever done is lie to me. To the both of us. For almost our whole lives, we have been told to follow a code. No emotion, but peace. No ignorance, but knowledge. No passion, but serenity. No chaos, but harmony. No death, but the Force,” you stepped forward to him, and though you were not trying to, your force caused the ship to rattle and vibrate beneath you, “But, anger is what brings me peace. The passion to want to hurt the person who killed him…is what brings me serenity.”

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, the strained look in your eyes to hold back tears, your clenched fists. It was all too much for Anakin to take. He was still battling the dark, but for you, the darkness had won. The only way you would be coming back to the temple with him would be if by some miracle, killing the bounty hunter gave you your clarity back.

"You will kill him, I promise."

And with that, he was back in the cockpit, leaving you to fume in the hull.

-

The chase was on, and as you spotted the hunters in the docking port to obtain fuel, you heart pounded deeply in your chest. You were hovered over Ahsoka's seat, watching everything going on and making sure you had the perfect view.

"I have eyes on Cad Bane," Ahsoka said, nodding to the entrance ramp on the ship in the dock.

"Are you sure that's him?"

You scoffed and nodded along with Ahsoka.

"Who else wears a hat like that?"

Anakin circled the station slowly, being careful not to attract any unwanted attention, or to give away to the hunter that you were, in fact, after them.

He waited until they were airborne, letting them gain some speed before he rammed your ship into theirs. You jolted forward, catching yourself between the seats as you stood back up into a straight position. You could see them react rather quickly, but they had nowhere to go. The ship they were in had half the speed and agility capabilities that yours had.

"Ahsoka, take over, we'll bring them down ourselves."

You smirked, discarding your cloak and shaking off your nerves. This was finally it; you were about to set in motion a series of events that would end in the death of Rako Hardeen. You hopped at the chance to jump out of the ship with Anakin, landing on the stabilizer panel by the wing.

Anakin tried to gain access through one of the side entry points, but was immediately met with a challenge, fending off Cad Bane. He was perfectly capable of taking him on, and probably ten other men if he needed to, so you left him in order to find your real target.

You climbed up in front of the cockpit, seeing Moralo Evol looked scared out of his wits. You scanned the area, and as soon as your eyes met with the man who killed Obi-Wan, you froze. Something didn't feel right, but that must have been the anxiety talking. Everything else, the hatred, the anger, the fire that was lit beneath you, it pushed you forward.

He looked at you with not a semblance of fear, but with confusion, and dismay. He made eye contact with you, and for whatever you reason, he looked distraught, like he was sad. It didn't make any sense, but you weren't going to let it bother you. In the end, he would die by your hand, and nothing could stop you, now.

You placed your hand on the glass, focusing the new dark energy within yourself, and using it to slowly crack the glass. The hunter you sought after wasn't scared of you now, but he would be. You'd make sure of it.

You detached your lightsaber from your belt, holding it out to your side and activating it, never breaking eye contact with the man you called your target. You wouldn't be letting him out of your sight. His mouth gaped open and having seen the half-bleeding blade of your saber, he now held deep fear in his eyes.

The glass was almost shattered, with only a few lines left to connect with each other, and Rako knew he had to act fast. He shifted the steering on the ship, lifting it into a climb momentarily, causing the ship that Ahsoka flew above it to collide with the top, and send both transports spiraling into the ground. You were thrown from the vessel, along with Anakin and the other hunter, Bane.

You stood to your feet after coughing up a small amount of dust that you'd inhaled, and then you dusted yourself off, force pulling your saber to your hand as it had landed a bit further from you.

You activated it, stepping through the cloud of fog that surrounded you, and finding the man you were here for. He had gotten off the ship, for what reason you were unsure, but it didn't matter. He was making it easier for you.

You saw Anakin step closer to him on the other side of the fog, surrounding him from leaving in any direction.

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Anakin engaged him in hand-to-hand combat, throwing him into a pit, which you quickly jumped into.

Anakin was kicked back into a corner, so you took your chance, pushing Hardeen into the rocky wall that had formed around the hole in the ground.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved," Rako sounded, for lack of a better word, exasperated, like he took no joy in fighting you both. He had no problem in killing your master, so what was any different now, with the both of you?

You took a hit to the shoulder from Cad Bane, who was fast approaching on your left. You deflected his next shots with your saber, and struck forward, taking out one of his boot thrusters. He was grounded for now, and you needed to focus on the target.

Anakin was now tangled up in a bash with Bane, so you fixed your saber on Hardeen, slowly walking towards him as he struggled to stand to his feet.

"You took everything from me," and then you were right in front of him. He looked at you with eyes of pity, and it bothered you to no end. You were about to bring this man's life to a pathetic halt, and he was the one looking onto you as if you deserved to be pitied. You hated him, hated the very ground he stood on.

You raised your saber, only for it to stop in the air, along with your arm. Why can't I move?

Rako tackled you into the ground, deactivating your saber, and pinning you beneath him, arms on either side of your head. He straddled your hips and put nearly all his weight to keep you immobile, before he leaned down and whispered in your ear.

"I can't hurt you... Stay down, little one."

You froze, a gasp leaving your throat and your eyes widening in shock.

"Obi..." you trailed off, complete disbelief washing over you. You felt a warm, comforting presence embrace you, before his hands at the side of your head faded you into unconsciousness.

-

@spencerrxids @sawendel @fandomstanner24 @i-shall-abide @officialjellydoughnut @whatshxrname @darkened-writer @superavengerpotter @cutiepoo16 @hypnoash @softlymellow @howlerwolfmax @mephistominion @honestlywtfisgoingon @anakinskywalkerog @mandiiellen @je--a-n @guyinachair27 @avenger5-a55emble @amelia-song-pond @kaminanii @the-abyss-of-fandoms @queenofnightdreamland @world-dominating-kitty @mandowhatnow @ella-error505 @annahalo @infinity-witch @beetlejuice-stuff @liueski @solarbxby @sirianisrock @lxdyred @endless-warrior-always-fighter @iloveinej @msjb2002 @shoochi @itsilvermorny @gingerrosecosplay @sebschicken @loversjoy @argentinemango @1-800-vader @house-of-kolchek @marierg @graciexmarvel @ttzamara @truly-madly-nerdy @molieux @majahu @dyzlks @pancakefancake @

[forever-rogue]

Sweetie idk if this is a request or not, but I NEED some Kenobi fluff after the last episode 😭😭 my heart can't take it. I just want obi wan to be happy, also anakin even if it's a bit too late. My heart is hurting but in a good way but also not

AN | Here you go, some soft fluff! Set sometime during the clone wars era, in which we pretend that everything ends happily ever after 🥰 Enjoy!

Pairing | Obi-Wan x Fem!Reader

Warnings | None

Word Count | 1.2k

Masterlist | Main, Star Wars

── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──

“There you are,” you found him sitting in the gardens, observing one of the many groves of flowers, intently studying them as if they held the secrets to the galaxy. He turned around at the sound of your voice, a smile tugging up the corner of his mouth, “I should have known that you’d be here and made it my first stop.”

“Hello there,” there was an amused lilt to his voice as he subtly pressed a kiss to your forehead. Unable to stop yourself, you wrapped your arms around him and gave him a hug, “I did not realize I was so missed.”

“Always,” you promised, ruffling his hair and brushing it out of his face, “and where is your young padawan? Hiding not-so-subtly away with the senator?”

“He thinks we do not know, but it is so blindingly obvious it’s a wonder half the galaxy does not know,” he huffed with a bit of laughter before picking one of the colorful blossoms and gently tucking it behind your ear, “perhaps he should learn a thing or two from us.”

“That is why you are master and he is padawan,” your whole face flushed with warmth at his sweet, intimate little gesture, “for now.”

“For now?”

“Of course,” you started to walk around the garden, reaching for his hand so he would join you, “he will not always be your padawan. Anakin is a lot of things, my love, but he is powerful. Perhaps one day he will rival you. I’d say he’s already following in your footsteps.”

“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow as you nodded, “just how so?”

“Taking on a rogue and fearless apprentice of his own, sneaking around with the woman he loves…tell me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who does that sound like?” you grinned at him, proud of yourself for rendering him speechless for a few moments.

“Ahsoka is much less reckless than Anakin ever was-”

“I don’t know about that,” you both laughed, and a sense of ease and peace settled over you. You liked this - spending uninterrupted, quality time with him…it made you earn for it everyday. Especially when he had to leave for longer missions and all you could do was wait for him to return, “either way, he is much like you. He looks up to you, Obi-Wan, he is your brother. Perhaps we shouldn’t tease him too much and let him keep his little secret for now.”

“It won’t always have to be like this,” you’d sat down on one of the secluded benches and he followed suit, sitting as close to as humanly possible. Obi-Wan reached for your hand and laced your fingers together, studying them as though they were the most precious thing, “things will be different. We will have the family we want, a home we build…”

“I am not holding my breath in anticipation of the future, Obi-Wan,” you rested your head on his shoulder, exhaling softly, “I did not fall in love with you in the hopes of changing who you are, or having things be different. Even if it is always like this, I will not mind. I love you regardless, and nothing will change that.”

“You are more than I could have ever asked for,” he pressed a kiss to the top of your head before closing his eyes and resting his head on top of yours, “I do not deserve you in the slightest.”

“You have a flair for the dramatic,” you laughed, and oh. That sound was one of his favorite things ever and made his whole body vibrate with happy energy, “it is not about deserving. And even if it was, you would be more than deserving of me. The heart is a fickle thing but we do not choose who we love, it simply happens. For what its worth, I am glad my heart picked you.”

“And just how am I supposed to top that?” 

“You’re not,” you pulled back from him, moving so you were facing him. You brought your hands to his face, gently stroking his cheek, causing him to lean into your touch, “it’s not a competition. Have I ever told you how handsome you are?”

“A few times here and there I do believe,” he pressed a kiss to your palm, “but I am not opposed to hearing it more often.”

“Oh dear,” you beamed at him, “I fear I must keep you humble before your ego grows too large. I’ll hold my tongue just in case.”

“I will just have to remind you of how beautiful you are, won’t I?” you could have melted right then and there at the sweet sound of his voice, “I have seen many things throughout this galaxy, but there is nothing that could ever match your beauty and heart.”

“Now you’re just flattering me.”

“Hardly,” he insisted, leaving in so his lips were barely brushing against yours, “I mean it, I would never lie to you, my darling.”

“I know,” you closed the miniscule remaining distance and gently kissed him, relishing in his touch and taste, “nor would I to you.” 

“One day we will not have to hide,” he was insistent, so sure of what he was saying that you believed him. One day things would be different, and it was all worth the wait. He was worth the wait, “this I promise you.” 

He reached for the delicate chain around your necklace, pulling out of your bodice to run his fingers over the ring that lived on it. He had given it to you some time ago, a promise of what was to come, a promise of the future. You hadn’t taken it off since. 

“I know, Obi-Wan,” you whispered, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he kissed you again, a gentle need and urgency behind his touch as you easily melded into him. 

“Master!” the sound of Anakin’s voice caused you to jump and pull back from Obi-Wan as you gently pushed him to the other side of the bench. There was a huge knowing grin on his face as he stopped in front of the two of you. He had impeccable timing as always, “oh, no need to hide on my account. I already know!”

“What are you doing here, my padawan?”

“We’re needed in a meeting,” you could tell he was holding back an eye roll, “if I must suffer through it, so must you.”

Obi-Wan sighed deeply, running a hand over his tired features as you giggled at him, “go on, my love, best not get in trouble. I will see you later.”

“Alright,” he looked between the two of you before standing up. He stopped for a moment to kiss you one last time before starting to follow Anakin, “I will see you later.”

“I count on it,” you promised, “see you soon, my love.”

[mwolf0epsilon]

🌤️

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP:

I couldn't pick which was my favourite, so you get 2 for the price of 1.

Both of these are not very happy pieces of dialogue for VERY DIFFERENT reasons, but it was fun writing a narcissistic queen very blatantly creeping on Rex, and it was also fun to rip into the new Ahsoka characterization that just kept bothered me so much.

The Lady of the Castle is a Creep (Magnus Rex Apocalypsis)

"Tell me captain, do you not find it strange that my castle is heavily decorated with the portraits of queens past? I'm sure you've wondered how a bloodline may pass on without mention of any kings to pair off with the queens?" the lady of the castle asked. "Or perhaps, in your case, you don't need to wonder all that much... I may not understand the finer details of cloning, but it seems effective in populating the galaxy with strong strapping men such as yourself..." "It never crossed my mind, no." He didn't like where this was headed. "Well, that's where my... Inheritance comes into play..." She smirked, one thumb stroking the cube with something akin to reverence. "Titania's monarchy has always been matriarchal in nature... Men, brutish stupid pigs that they are, cannot be trusted to think about the finer details... They serve only three purposes: To serve, to fight, to bare spawn. Nothing more, nothing less." Oh stars, not one of THOSE talks. "But I must say, I find you to be the opposite of that... For a man bred to be nothing more than a weapon, you're quite endearing." She purred once more, her free hand returning to caress his face. It took a lot of restraint not to bite her in retaliation, especially after she'd just exposed her true colors so blatantly. "You're perfect. Absolutely perfect... A candidate to be my king. The one who'll turn the tide on this little revolution my subjects seem to think they're bound to win..."

'Sponge' confronts Ahsoka in the World Between Worlds (No Title)

"Lets take a look at the list of sacrifices then, shall we?" Sponge snarled "You sacrificed the lives of my vode by abandoning them and then aligning yourself to a wretched following of Mandos who had seen my kind as nothing more than subhuman pests. Sacrificed them yet again my letting loose a deranged sociopath who saw no issue in eradicating an entire battalion by crashing a ship on a moon. You spat in the face of the captain who loved you like one of his own, time and time again, because you were too good to be vod and too good to be Jedi. You did nothing to save those who survived a genocide, assuming your mission and your own life worth more than those of the children that were taken away to be turned into bloodhounds and attack dogs. You ignored efforts to save the lives of my kin who were just as much victims in all this as the Jedi themselves. You sacrificed EVERYTHING but yourself, you entitled disgusting Skywalkerish wench." "I did what I had to, to make things right! I'm fixing the Jedi!" "You aren't fixing anything. You are not a Jedi. You are nothing but a cowardly ignorant child, just like your putrid-hearted master before you." Sponge spat, disgust evident in their face. "And just like him, you resort to heinous acts

[thementalloth-cat]

Captain Rex x GN!Reader {part one}

AN!: Reader is a medic for the 501st and has a fat ass crush on Rex, but of course nobody knows. [at least not yet! ;)] Also, this is my first fic! I'm open to constructive criticism so feel free to lmk if there's more I can improve on! Summary: As transmissions are received, a dire mission is begun to protect the Republic and quite possibly end the war. As assignments are given out your hope sparks up at the chance of a night out with your favorite captain, even if it's just for a mission, you'd be able to be closer than ever with him. word count: 433

Although it was a relatively easy mission, it was dangerous, and you really couldn’t get past the task of it. As the end of the year creeps up on Coruscant, so does the ball. Every year’s end, Coruscant would host a galaxy wide ball, celebrating the victories and positive happenings of the year. But this year would have a change, a masquerade ball with guests, guests who could be anyone.

After a recent mission to Felucia, General Skywalker and Echo had found a way to track Separatist transmissions and somehow the system still goes un-noticed. After monitoring transmissions for what seemed like months, Ahsoka and Barriss had managed to find a transmission between Count Dooku and Asajj Ventress about word of a masquerade ball happening on Coruscant, which would let relatively anyone in. Ahsoka and Barriss immediately caught onto the plan and told the rest of the Jedi Council. Asajj Ventress would be infiltrating the ball, along with another partner, and sabotaging the systems and sending out a full-on attack on Coruscant while the infamous General Grievous would kidnap the chancellor. Due to the severity of the situation the council collectively made the decision to have a few jedi and clones go undercover to stop the ambush. Jedi Quinlan Voss, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Ahsoka Tano would go undercover as attendees to the ball.

General Skywalker and General Kenobi decided to take their best men to go with them, due to their excellent blaster and battle skills, which would come in handy when, if the fight broke out.

As the word of the mission reached the Barracks your body flooded with excitement, then you reminded yourself: you’re just a medic they wouldn’t pick you out of anyone. As General Skywalker Addressed the men you got lost in your thoughts, He was sure to be paired with Ahsoka. After all, they had fought together for ages, so why would you be chosen? General Skywalker and General Kenobi called you over to the war room, where you would be given an assignment. “Wait-‘ you thought. ‘Why am I getting assigned a job? Your heart skipped a beat as you dreamed of the opportunity of going on an undercover mission, let alone with him.

 You entered the war room and saw General Skywalker, General Kenobi, Rex, Fives, Echo, Cody, Waxer, and boil staring at you. You hadn’t realized it, but they sure did. Unknowingly, your cheeks were a perfect lookalike shade of Meiloorun juice, and your face adorned with a bright smile. “Looks like someone ready for the mission. Let’s get started.” Began General Skywalker.

[rexxdjarin]

Captain’s Log: Chapter 12

Demoralize

Series Summary: The galaxy is in turmoil. The Republic has fallen, giving rise to the sinister reign of the totalitarian Empire, led by the insidious Emperor Palpatine. The millions of valiant clone troopers of the former Grand Army of the Republic are now blindly sworn, against their will, to protect a regime they once sought to destroy. After being saved from a terrible fate by his former-Jedi ally and close friend, Ahsoka Tano, seasoned veteran CT-7567 Clone Captain Rex remains loyal to the pillars of Democracy, freedom and truth that shaped the former Galactic Republic. We follow him now struggling to deal with the personal aftereffects of survival and finding his place in the galaxy alongside the only person he has left. You. The love of his life.

[previous] [next] part of Captain's Log series post on ao3

Pairing: Captain Rex x Fem!Reader (she/her pronouns used) Word Count: 9.8k Series Rating: Explicit (18+ only, Minors DO NOT INTERACT) Chapter Summary: Everything is revealed when the stakes are highest. Our crew at long last realizes that deciding how to counter an unspeakable evil determines who they are in a galaxy where inaction is often easier than being a hero. Chapter Warnings: 18+ as usual but SFW, No Smut this time, Mature Themes, Language, Political References, References to Canon Plot, References to Canon Deaths, Angst, Anguish, Political Infighting, References to genocide

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The low steady siren rang as it alerted us to our drop out of hyperspace. Senator Organa’s private cruiser was far too luxurious to be suspected by anyone of holding three renegade clones and an exiled Coruscanti senator’s aide on board.

You’ve now arrived in the Atrivis Sector.

Bail’s remote navigator announced over the ship’s comm’s. Rex shifted under my head, the soft plush of his unarmored chest an unfamiliar yet not unwelcome feeling. We’d all changed into clean and unassuming clothes for the trip. The less we raised suspicion the better. They cleaned up so nicely. Such stoic and handsome men looked too good for civilian rags.

Gregor stuck to his usual yellow, a favorite of his. He chose a leather quilted jacket and deep brown cargos with rugged boots which he’d carefully propped up on the end of the table. Wolffe, to no one’s surprise, opted for a gray bomber over all an black top and bottom. Since they were to stay behind on our ship, being stowed away in a small cargo hold hidden on board the massive luxury liner, they didn’t need anything formal.

Rex and I, on the other hand, were decked out in the nicest options Bail and Breha had to offer. Rex fitted himself in a navy blue sport coat and dark tailored pants that fit him like a glove. He was lucky enough to find something that looked like it was made for him. He looked incredibly dashing, there was no denying that. Though, he was anything but comfortable. I could tell he felt exposed. Not only was his actual clone face way too visible, so was his signature blonde hair. He’d definitely put up more of a fuss than I was expecting.

I managed to find a glittering blue dress that matched Rex, the color coordination not going unnoticed. That was, of course, intentional. He had to look like a date to a high class event, which the secret meeting was headlined as, in order to subdue any suspicions from the Empire. The delicate straps glazed over my shoulders and the fabric was busy enough to distract from the growing bump just starting to appear underneath my clothes.

Needless to say Rex’s eyes popped out of his head when I exited the fitting room where Breha herself made the alterations to the gown. The other boys hadn’t been able to stop staring as we all sat in the ship's passenger lounge awaiting arrival.

“You sure you won’t be cold in this, mesh’la?” Rex finally spoke, his bare knuckle grazing down the curve of my shoulder. “You can have my coat whenever you need.” He muttered, his tired gaze taking a quick peek down the top of my dress.

I sighed, looking up at him and readjusting my position to cuddle into him tighter. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry so much.” My hand traced the exceedingly tempting line of muscle on his chest under the fabric of his undershirt. “You look…so unbelievably handsome, Captain. If I wasn’t already months along, I’d be worried…” I chuckled.

His lips quirked into an amused half grin. “Me? Don’t think I’m the one everyone’s going to have their eyes on tonight, my beloved.”

I blushed and bumped his shoulder with my own. “Mmm, maybe that’s for the best. If they focus more on me, they might not immediately notice you. Even if I think you look so good that they should.”

“Yeah..yeah..would feel a lot more comfortable if they at least let me carry my helmet or something. What am I supposed to do with my hands?” He chuckled, lifting one up to stare at it like he didn’t recognize it without the black glove to cover it.

“You can start by holding my hand.” I slipped my fingers between his, the weight of his palm dropping our joined hands between our laps. “I’ll have to lead you through the crowd like my date once you put on this ridiculous thing.” I laughed, tipping my chin toward a far too formal hat sitting on the table in front of us.

Rex groaned loudly, “Ugh don’t remind me. Thing’s hideous.” He leaned forward, picking the hat up in his hand and looking it over like it was the most foreign object he’d ever seen. “Will never understand civvie clothes. How does anyone pay attention to the things that come out of your mouth while you’re wearing this?”

“Sometimes it’s that you don’t want them to pay attention to what you’re saying. At least as far as the Senate used to go, sometimes…” I sighed remembering the first time I took a look at Padmé’s expansive wardrobe. It seemed unfathomable to a girl like me who had little more than the clothes on her back. “Sometimes it’s about putting on such a performance that they don’t notice what’s going on behind the scenes.”

“Hmmm…I suppose that makes sense. A fake out if you will.” He thought aloud, his dark eyes searching the inner workings of the ship above our heads like he was constructing a map of it himself. “That seemed to be his plan all along.” He muttered, sighing and looking down at our joined hands. “Some of them might say…that’s what I- we- were doing too, you know?”

“I know.” I replied solemnly, “but you are the proof it wasn’t. You wouldn’t be bold enough to come before all of them unless it was to tell the truth.” I shifted, pulling my arms up to clutch my shoulders as if to stave off chills creeping along my exposed skin. “If I believe you, if Bail believes you, why shouldn’t they?”

Rex closed his eyes and reopened them, nervously glancing at both his brothers snoozing with their heads resting on each other’s shoulders. “For their sake…I hope they do.” His fingertips ghosted along my collar bone as he pulled me into his side. “Have you planned what you’re going to say?” He asked, the far away haze in his brown eyes hinting at just how much his mind had raced through his own hasty explanation of his survival.

“Well, I figured I’d start with some kind of acknowledgement that a rebellion like this is what Padmé had always been a fierce supporter of. And that it’s in her honor that I stand before them today as a survivor of a purge designed to destroy the independent thinkers and freedom fighters of our galaxy. The clones included.” I swallowed thickly, knowing that discussing the involuntary aspect of the clones’ hand in what happened was probably going to be a tough sell at the start.

“You’re definitely going to need me to chime in on that. Talk about the chips, show ‘em my scar. We’ve got more than enough holo scans and proof that the chips had some hand in how things went down. The removal part is where I’m getting stumped…” He drifted off, addressing the obvious bantha in the room.

Ahsoka.

“Ahsoka?” I asked him gently, the continued radio silence from his closest friend worrying him more than he’d ever let on.

“Mhm.” He responded solemnly, “I don’t know how we explain it. I did tell Fox that Maul killed her. I’m sure I could work that into a believable explanation. Say I buried her with my brothers that day. Sometimes in a way it feels like I did.” His eyes were welling up with tears and I took a deep breath to hold back my own. I cupped his cheek in my palm and wiped them away before they had the chance to fall.

“Oh Rex,” I cooed, allowing him the space to be vulnerable and breathe while bolstering the strength he needed to get through tonight. “She’s alright. I know it. She’s probably doing exactly what we are right now, trying to help out in what little ways she can.”

“Yeah, yeah…you’re right, I know. I’m okay. It’s just going to feel weird giving a briefing without a jedi beside me. Doesn’t feel right. They were always better with the words and convincing stuff than we clones. Leading a fight isn’t the same without her.”

“Well, Rex, maybe that’s the next mission. Looking for Ahsoka. We do whatever we can for your brothers, then us…and our son…we go find her. She’s going to want to meet her little nephew.”

He grinned, the existential dread that crept in on him from time to time faded back into obscurity as the smile grew on his face. “You’re sure it’s a boy huh.”

I rested my hand on my belly and his followed, lacing his fingers into the spaces between mine. “I know it is. Like everyday I know him a little more. Everyday he’s more and more restless. He’s got all his Daddy’s fight in him, that’s for sure.”

Rex beamed, his cheeks flushing as he let the praise soak in. “Does it feel…weird? Like, do you feel him in there? I…grew in a test tube. This is all foreign to me.”

I laughed out loud, both Gregor and Wolffe perking up immediately at the sound. “He hasn’t kicked or anything…yet. But it’s like I can feel his feelings…his presence, it’s like he’s already right in front of me. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

“So he’s dramatic and intense…wonder where he gets that from.” Rex teased, nuzzling into my neck and kissing so delicately it sent shivers down my spine. He pulled back to meet my playful little pout and chuckled, “See what I mean?”

Wolffe let out a deep sigh of mild annoyance as he stretched to shake the sleepiness off. Gregor turned back over to tuck in for at least five more minutes of sleep. I wondered just how much they’d ever been taught about little ones or how to prepare for them. They probably wouldn’t be getting much sleep in just a few months' time. Especially if he does turn out to be what I am starting to suspect he is.

“I think we should start coming up with names, Rex. Maybe it’ll help us pass the time until we land.” I offered, realizing my own apprehension for the upcoming meeting.

“Don’t need to think too hard. I’ve already got one I like, mesh’la.” He reached over and pulled me into his lap, letting my head rest on his shoulder. “Wanna hear it?” I looped my arms around his neck and cuddled into him tighter, careful not to destroy all I’d done to dress myself up for later.

“Yes, of course I do. Tell me what you’re thinking, baby.”

His bicep curled around my back to support me and he slid one of the straps that had fallen off my shoulder back into place. “I’ve thought about this one a lot. I…I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a name any of my brothers had. At least not in the 501st. And I tested it out so it sounds good with our names. Your last name too…since I don’t really have one.”

“Rex…you’re rambling again…” I scolded playfully, giggling at how serious he was taking all of this. He really was an overachiever at everything. No surprise that he’d want to excel at fatherhood too.

“Uh..right. Mesh’la…my love, what do you think about Kai?”

Kai.

Instantly, I felt the tiniest thump in my belly. Barely a slight tickle or a flutter. A very early little kick that was just present enough to be noticed and meaningful.

I gasped, sitting up and grabbing Rex’s hand to rest in the same spot I’d felt it before.

“What?” He asked with way too much concern in his sweet, deep voice.

“Say it again…the name…” I exclaimed, Gregor and Wolffe now sitting up and making their way over to check things out.

“Kai.” Rex said, the pride radiating off him in waves now.

The feeling came again, this time a bit more enthusiastic than before. 

Rex turned to me immediately, the excited twinkle in his eye lighting up his whole face. He turned to his brothers, as giddy as a bright eyed cadet and kissed my forehead. “He kicked.” He explained to his puzzled brothers, now squatting on the ship floor in front of us.

“Really? You can feel that? It’s sorta early, no?” Wolffe wondered aloud, his hand hovering above ours and looking at me with hesitation before I nodded my approval. He and Gregor both let their palms spread over the same spot Rex and I felt before.

“Not for him. He’s special…our little Kai.” I said, resting my forehead on Rex’s, the subtle kicks coming again in response to the name he clearly liked. Gregor and Wolffe’s gleefully surprised expressions matched their brother’s as they felt it now too.

Rex kept his eyes on me, a haze of relief now flooding over him. “Guess he likes it, huh?” He chuckled. I nodded, tipping my chin up to kiss Rex softly and repeating the name under my breath until it felt fully etched into my heart.

“Yeah. Yeah, I think he does. Nice to meet you, Kai.” Gregor whispered, trying his best to rein in his excitable nature during such a tender moment.

Wolffe looked between the group of us, the faintest hint of a smile on his usually stern, serious face. “Welcome to the crew, little bug.”

–

Fest feels like one giant endless mountain. The entire landscape was snow capped peaks with ancient ornate temples carefully constructed around the craggy rock faces. Quick research on my datapad stated that many of these were once monasteries and meditation centers for jedi of a bygone era. They now served as little more than monuments and attractions for wayfaring tourists looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the inner rim.

Our ship circled into a modest spaceport at the center of an old, quaint city settled in a valley of hills between the planet’s snowy peaks. Though the place looked old, the people who greeted us were anything but. There was Bail, looking sophisticated and expensive like usual. The other people at the admittance gate to the next transport looked even more ornate and opulent than Bail did. It was like every person on this planet had moved here specifically to fit into a culture of glamor and vacationing. As if there wasn’t galaxy wide terror going on outside of here.

It was a strange place to have a meeting about rebellion efforts. Though, maybe not an obvious one, which was probably why it was chosen. It could all be explained as a simple retreat for hardworking planetary leaders. The Empire could dismiss any suspicions if it just seemed like they were all headed to a known getaway planet for a few rotations.

There was also a lack of any security forces around, which felt more off-putting than it did safe. At least to Rex and I, who clearly knew better than to trust any planet that arrogantly thinks it doesn’t need to protect itself from anything. The entire transport ride to the conference center and spa in the high hills was spent crowding into each other due to lack of trust of any of the people around us.

The “conference” was being held at the Fest Oasis Spa & Retreat, an exorbitant grand temple converted into a hotel meant for only the wealthiest of the galaxy. The sprawling stone building was clearly well kept and equipped with tall towers and balconies to overlook both the ancient city below and the towering mountains above. The most awe-inducing sight of all was the meadow of bright, bursting orange flowers dotting the entire hillside where the old building was set and one gigantic, spiraling tree that must’ve been growing there for millenia.

It was not entirely dissimilar from the one that was supposedly at the old Jedi temple that now sat decimated and in cinders back home on Coruscant. That meant that this place was likely once used by Jedi. Although the Empire had already done plenty to try to wipe them from recorded history all over the galaxy, there were some places where the evidence of them would always be present if you knew what to look for.

In the late afternoon sun, the large stone patio entryway was bathed in golden amber light that mimicked the rich color of the flowers in the meadow it overlooked. The Senators and leaders were all invited to attend a large banquet at an elegant dining hall that Rex and I wanted absolutely no part of. We were probably not invited anyway.

Instead, we opted to take a walk around the grounds. Might as well make it look like a date even though we were in for one of the most important meetings of our lives in just a few hours. We stopped by a toppled ruin of what was once a tall stone tower and laid down beside each other in our fancy clothes.

The soft green grass swayed in the warm breeze. Sunshine bled through every blade, washing over us in waves. Around us on all sides was the beautiful meadow, with the mountains off in the distance and the lone tree offering us the promise of shade if we wanted it. He breathed softly under my cheek, his chest a more grounding comfort than the earth beneath my back. His hand slowly dragged up my spine just over the dress, making cold chills raise goosebumps on my warm skin.

I was too preoccupied with the view and the dreamy peace it provided to notice that he was staring at me. My eyes sparkling as I took in the landscape around me, my face lighting up in a soft, satisfying smile every time the breeze lifted my done-up hair just so, my heart beating faster with each touch of his fingertips along my back. This place could be my peace, my dream and my safety. But his peace, his dream, his safety was with me.

I could feel that now, though I had always known. He had told me more times than I could count. Slowly, I pulled myself up to rest on top of him. My head leaned on my crossed arms on his chest and blinked up at him in a daze, hoping he could read the intense swell of emotion I felt for him just in the bat of my lashes. His hand smoothed through my hair, staring into my eyes as I watched a smile spread across his face.

We didn’t have to talk. He didn’t speak. I didn’t either. We just looked at each other, comfortable in this brief moment of rest that by some miracle we’d been afforded. The adoration and devotion between us both was as prevalent and as sure as the sun shining on my open back. I was almost positive I could hear the grass itself singing to me and the wind whispering his name through the rustling branches of the only tree around.

He tilted his head at me, remarking all the ways my face showed beauty he swore could have only been made for him. He leaned down to brush the pad of his thumb along my blushing cheek and smiled. “Come here. Can’t wait any longer to kiss you.” He rasped.

I slid up to rest my forehead on his, “you never have to ask.” I whispered , letting our lips brush with each word I formed. I held his face in my hands and kissed him slowly, allowing us to lose ourselves in this dream place where nothing else existed but he and I. Just for now, in this moment it was us. Me and Rex, our future growing rapidly inside me. The rest of our family at home waiting for our return. Hopefully, it would always be this way. Somehow.

We watched the sun sink down over the mountain peaks on the other side of the valley and cuddled each other closer as the bitter chill of the evening breeze swept through the tall grass. As the hours ticked by, we sat in silence, mentally and emotionally preparing ourselves to lay it all on the line. The future of Rex’s brothers all hinged on the decision the rebellion made tonight.

Rex would fight to free them, with or without anyone else’s help if he had to. But it would certainly help things to have the underground resources available to back us up.

The commlink on Rex’s wrist lit up, signaling that they were ready for the actual purpose of this meeting to begin. He tapped the button to respond his receipt of the request and then sighed deeply. 

“You ready?” I whispered, sitting up and brushing the wrinkles off the fabric of my dress.

“As I’ll ever be…” He remarked, standing up and offering his hand to guide me with him. “Senator Organa said the meeting is in the far monastery building at the base of the mountain. They’re taking the interior hallway entrance from inside. We’ll enter through the tunnels. He left us with a way to escape, if we need it. Guess he knows I always like to have an exit plan.”

I chuckled, resting my head on his bicep as we traveled toward the meeting point. “Yeah, imagine where he might’ve learned that.” 

Rex hummed his understanding and looked down at the bag carrying his helmet rustling between us. “Why did you need me to bring this, again?”

“For effect. To make them visually understand what you’ve been through. Helps it really hit home for them. Lot of these people haven’t seen the war from a clone's perspective. We have to try to change that.” I kicked a few tiny pebbles down the trodden dirt pathway, the stone rimmed opening to a passageway inside appearing in view.

“Hmm couple that with my report…all our evidence. They’ll see. You’ve got the puck with Rampart’s recording too, right?” Rex asked, a scowl beginning to form as he remembered what that message contained.

I reached into the bag and turned the small holodisc in my hand a few times, nodding in confirmation. “I’m sure all of these leaders have come into contact with Imperial officers like Rampart or Tarkin often. It’s not like they’ll think of them favorably or anything. Guys like them have destroyed the way of life on many of their planets. Even before the war ended.”

“Do we know who’s going to be there?” Rex asked tentatively, like he was looking for a certain response to the question. 

“No…but if you’re asking if the rebellion includes former separatists…I think the answer is probably yes. From what I’ve been reading on the holonet, your buddy Saw has been a bit of a nuisance to everyone. Imperial and otherwise. Think he’ll be there.”

Rex laughed and rolled his eyes, “trust me, I’d expect nothing less from him. He’s had the spirit of a rebel since the day I met him. He’s admittedly…tough to rationalize with at times, but his heart’s in the right place.”

“Well, we’ll find out who’s at this meeting soon enough.” I said, as we approached the entry to the tunnels and stepped inside to find it was already pre-lit for our arrival. Torched flames dotted the wall every couple feet and it was easy to find our way around since only the paths we needed were lit.

“Hey, mesh’la?” He stopped, pulling me back into his arms.

I rested both my hands on his chest and smiled up at him, “yes, Captain?”

He grabbed my face in both his hands, kissing passionately and urgently, like everything he’d ever needed the courage to do depended on this to give it life. He pulled away hesitantly, like he didn’t want to stop, and pressed his cheek to mine. “Thank you. For being here with me. For being there for all of us.”

“It’s what every good soldier would do for their men, right? I may not have been able to fight alongside you during the war. But I can fight to protect you all now. I’d do anything to make this right.”

Rex held me against his chest tightly, like if we stayed here nothing would change. Like the fate of his brothers wouldn’t have to be determined by what we say to a group of people that had enough power amongst them to once again choose what happens to millions of clones.

I breathed in the deep musky scent of him, the faint undertones of the flowers from the meadow still present all over the blue jacket he wore. I could practically feel my heart jumping through my chest to calm his. “No matter what they decide, Rex, I won’t stop.”

“I know.” He muttered, pulling back and holding my hand to lead us to the door at the end of the tunnel. “You’re going to make me proud in there.”

“I could say the same, you know. And if they don’t show you the respect you deserve, I’ll have something to say about it, Captain.” I laughed, watching him straighten up and snap right back into military mode like he’d been taught to do his entire life.

He shook his head and laughed to himself, looking straight ahead as he tapped on the tunnel exit three times to signal our arrival.

“Hey, you know something?” He asked softly as someone entered the passkey into the blast doors on the other side.

“Hmmm, what?” I whispered, the doors beginning to open as I stared at him quizzically.

“I love you.”

“I know.”

–

For a supposedly small uprising against the Empire, there sure were a lot more well-known and easily recognizable faces than we thought. Representatives from planets all over the galaxy sat around a large holotable, a star map in the center serving as placeholders to guide everyone where to sit. Rex and I had two obvious empty seats directly beside Bail.

From just a small glance around the table, I recognized a few people immediately. Senator Mothma of Chandrila, a close friend and ally to both Padmé and Bail over the years, sat across from us. Beside her were several Rodians, who were serving in place of Senator Farr who I knew quite well before his untimely murder by one of his own. Humans from several planets who I recognized by face more than name filled the chairs between her and someone I knew would show up.

Saw Gerrera leaned back in his chair, arms folded across his chest and sporting bacta patches over what must have been a nasty blow to his left eye. He was accompanied by a young, well-dressed and clean cut man, probably about my age. I’d never seen him before, but he looked about as comfortable standing around this table as Rex and I were.

Our hosts, rebels from Fest sat nearest to Bail and were in control of the swirling and ever changing holo in front of us. Beautiful blue Pantoran women led by Senator Chuchi were cautiously talking amongst themselves as they tried hard to avoid their neighbor.

Cham Syndulla, his wife and several of his famed Freedom Fighters glared at the group of leaders around the table. To my memory, they were a proud people who were not quick to forget just how little they were helped by the Republic brass during and after the war. They all had less respect for these leaders than they did their own representative, which was saying something considering they were led by Senator Taa.

“This is a group of people I didn’t think I’d ever see in one room together.” Rex joked sarcastically under his breath, holding my hand and keeping his head down as we took our place just within the protection of Bail’s shadow.

“Everyone seems restless. On edge. Gods…who knows what's been going on on their planets since the Empire took over. I don’t blame them for being desperate enough to work alongside people they didn’t like.” I commented, keeping a watchful eye on the people around us. I didn’t need them to notice us before we were ready, get startled and do something rash.

Luckily, three chimes signaled the beginning of the meeting before we could worry about that happening. All the lights in the room, except the spotlights around the table, dimmed down to near nothingness. Bail’s focused and determined face illuminated and the remaining voices quieted instantly.

“Good evening everyone. I trust you all have been wondering what calls this urgent meeting to Fest. I wished it was under more optimal circumstances, but such is the way of war. All of you have been gathered here in secret today for a special briefing, one that discloses information privy to the Empire’s continued growth and occupation of more and more worlds. Many of you had once known the loyal protection of the members of the Grand Army of the Republic. Several of you would not be standing here today without their valiant efforts. Tonight’s briefing is with great concern for the status of the lives of the millions of clone troopers scattered across our galaxy.” Bail exclaimed, his voice firm, but calm and his hands resting with ease on the edge of the holo table.

“What about them? We know what they’ve done. Why should any of us feign concern for such betrayal?” One voice hissed.

“Are they not the enemy? The very thing we are fighting against!?” Another voice cried out. I gripped Rex’s hand tightly, hoping this wouldn’t get to him the way it was me. More and more angry voices filled the room before Bail raised his hands.

“That is what we are here to discuss. We have very important intel that has been delivered to us by two individuals who both risked their lives to report this information to support our efforts. They,” he turned his body toward us both, the spotlight following and illuminating our faces now and motioned with his hands, “would very much like to provide us with vital insight that could help us make more sense of all that has happened.”

Audible gasps filled the room as Rex removed his hat and revealed his face. He stood at stern and serious attention, the familiar focused scowl of a determined clone reappearing in a snap. He hadn’t gone into duty mode in so long, yet it was still so perfectly second nature to him. His hand still held mine beside him as he waited for our introductions from Bail. Finally, he spoke, proud and confident, like always.

“My name is Captain Rex. My designated birth number is CT-7567. I was commanding officer of the 501st clone battalion led by Jedi General Anakin Skywalker. I am here today, risking my life, to reveal a sinister truth. That the decimation of the jedi order by my…my brothers was a plot orchestrated into our genetic code by the Chancellor years ago. That none of what the men you all knew did was done willingly. My coming forward today is living proof that betrayal did not happen by choice, but instead was manipulated within the minds of every clone by force through use of an organic inhibitor chip placed in our brains during our embryonic stages.” He stopped and looked at me, opening up the datapad with all the brain scans we had gotten our hands on.

“I know that what the Captain says sounds…beyond the realm of possibility. Certifiably insane. But I have seen the chips with my own eyes, witnessed the effects of their activation first hand. In front of you are the brain scans of five separate clone troopers. The organic chips were present in the same location in all specimens. These chips were implemented into every clone by the very same person who coordinated their creation and who programmed them with demands that rendered them useless to resist whatever order he desired. The Chancellor…the Emperor himself.” I explained, swiping through the brain scans of Rex, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech and Fives to prove that each contained the identical growth in the same spot. I looked around the room to gauge the level of understanding and every face seemed equally as entranced by our findings as they were horrified. 

“So what did this supposed chip make them do? What was it like?” Senator Chuchi spoke timidly, staring up at the holoscans with ever increasing worry.

Rex cleared his throat and closed his eyes. “It felt like my mind snapped. We all received a transmission from the Emperor. The trigger words were spoken and…our independence, our very will was just…gone. Stolen from us. I couldn’t fight it. It was like who I’d grown into, the man I’d chosen to be, was shut off in an instant. I became blindly led by one mission. To destroy all the jedi and anyone who supported them. I nearly killed the one I served. So long as this chip remains inside, we are powerless to be anything but a human killing machine.”

“How did you survive this?” Mon Mothma’s lofty and languid voice inquired, her hands folded to support her chin as she watched deep in thought.

Rex turned and pointed to the scar on his scalp. “I had it removed. As did all the brothers whose brain scans you saw today. With them removed, we are instantly back to the men you knew. The men we are. We cannot take back what we were made to do. We will all have to live with the loss of the Generals we loved as our own Fathers, Mothers, Sisters and Brothers. But unless we all are given the opportunity for chip removal, we are doomed to live in involuntary enslavement to the Empire or worse…” He nodded to signal the next part of our explanation, the holorecording we had smuggled out of the prison that day.

“Rex and I have obtained intel from within Imperial command that the clones inhibitor chips were also programmed to act as remote kill switches. Unless their unwavering commitment to the Empire can be proven better than that of volunteers, they will be destroyed.” The holorecording of both Rampart and Tarkin discussing their plans played for the entire alliance to hear and when it finished they sat absorbing the information in near silence for a long time.

“What is it that you are asking of this group?” A Rodian asked skeptically, her large eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“For your help in making this right. Many of you know me. You know my dedication to the Republic, to the Senate,” I paused, closing my eyes and letting out a deep sigh of sorrow escape me, “to Senator Amidala, my most beloved mentor. She trusted the clones and fought for their rights and equal treatment as much as I have these many years. These men are gifted, brilliant soldiers and leaders, and intensely loyal friends. Millions of them deserve the chance to be free from a life of unwilling service to the Empire. An Empire that treats them like spare parts instead of men. Living, breathing men with hopes, dreams and loved ones. Haven’t we all seen enough senseless and unnecessary death? One mass extinction is one too many for our lifetimes. Help us ensure that there will not be another one.” I stood at the helm of the table now, all eyes jumping between myself and Rex.

“We don’t deserve to die for a choice we never made.” Rex said firmly, with more passion and emotion breaking through his proper, by the book exterior than he’d ever permitted before. His deep brown eyes reflected the same spark of light, the same spirit of rebellion that we felt watching the sunset beside Padmé’s tomb. This was his moment, this was his purpose. To demand that his life, all their lives, were more important than duty. Each clone deserved to know that and Rex’s mission for the rest of his life was to find a way to make that dream possible.

Senator Mothma closed her bright blue eyes and let a single solemn tear slip down the rosy porcelain curve of her cheek. She was always an ethereal being with a quiet air of sadness haunting her every move like it hurt her to watch injustice poison her almost heavenly existence. She let a broken, sorrowful smile widen her pale lips before the stoic wall of a gracious, expressionless stare reappeared. “Be that as it may, we simply do not have the numbers or the credits to spare to support such a lofty effort as a liberation of this magnitude. I’m afraid there is no course of action we can take that would delude suspicion. We are a small, but growing effort. I cannot risk exposure for such a fringe conspiracy, my dear.”

Saw Gerrera’s booming laugh broke through the silence from the far side of the conference table. “Risk. HA. Senator Mon Mothma…from her purist ivory tower in the clouds. Watching planets…hell- entire systems suffocate under the Empire’s rule while you waste time arguing with what’s left of a broken senate. A senate that never worked for all even at its peak. While I lost my planet, my sister, where were you? When my freedom fighters die for the truth, where are you? Risk. What do you know of risk?”

Mothma’s head swiveled in his direction and I could practically feel the steam rising as her anger did. “Don’t speak to me as if I have done nothing to contribute. All I donate, all I speak out about to hide my work, all I give up at great personal cost…I risk everything I have to bring an end to this tyranny.”

“The blood my people have spilled for liberation is worth more to me than every credit you’ve ever touched, Senator. Not until the body who stands before the red blades and blaster bolts of the Empire is your own will I hear you speak about what giving up everything means.” Cham Syndulla’s temper flared, his pointed teeth bared in disgust as the infighting continued.

Bail raised his hands to silence the room. “That’s enough. This infighting will get us nowhere. The matter still stands, the Captain brings us insight and truth at a cost higher than any of us could ever know. We have all lost family to the Empire. That is what is at risk for this man. For all of them. We cannot sit idly by and allow mass extermination to happen again.”

“We don’t have the numbers.” A Rodian man I didn’t recognize argued, the worry beginning to cloud the complex nebula of his eyes. 

“How would we ever determine which of these clones is worthy of having his life saved?”

“What if they killed one of the great Jedi Generals? We cannot excuse this behavior and reward them with freedom. They should be executed for their crimes!” 

More and more voices cried out in fear around the table and more and more I could feel it demoralizing Rex to his very core. The fists by his sides that were once curled in determination unfurled as his shoulders sagged in a sign of defeat that I hoped was only obvious to me.

I stood up slowly and grabbed his bicep in reassurance as I stepped past him. I slammed my fist on the table and quieted the room in an instant. “Listen to yourselves! Arguing and debating over the minute details of a decision that was never theirs to make. Punishing them for crimes they did not willingly commit. These are men. Good men. Men you once trusted with your lives. Who answered us when we needed help. And now that they need us you all could stand to close your eyes and turn your backs to another grand injustice? You would sit back and let the Empire wipe them out the same way they would every one of your planets? Your families? Your people? You seek to call yourselves a Rebellion. A Rebellion against a single being who oppresses all - every man, woman and child - who dares call out for their liberation. Who are all of you to place boundaries in the way of freedom? If you leave these men to suffer the consequences of a life stolen before its beginning, then this Republic was dead long before a clone ever picked up a blaster. Help us free these men from the binders we created or wear the scars of their loss on your very skin like the tallies on his armor.” I shouted, grabbing his helmet from the bag at our feet and tossing it in the middle of the holotable.

The people in the room gasped at the sheer brutality of it all etched into the plastoid. Each tally wasn’t for a republic victory like I once thought. Every tally stood for a brother's life lost from their battalion. Rex wore their loss on his outer skin so he’d never forget them. Pretty soon one tally stood for five men, for ten, for a hundred. So he didn’t run out of room. Plastoid was designed specifically to be light and wearable for extended periods of time. Yet, each etched memorial strike felt like the weight of a thousand brothers on each piece of armor. It wasn’t until he’d buried his brothers by hand outside the Tribunal did he realize how heavy a load survival truly was. How exhausted he was by the unbearably large loss of life he was surrounded by.

And now for the first time I truly felt it collapse down on top of me in the same way. I took in a deep breath to hold back the tears I wanted to cry and instead spoke again, my voice viciously serious and far more scornful than would’ve been permitted on the Senate floor. “I can’t bear to carry the weight of any more stolen lives. Can you?”

The representatives from planets all around the galaxy exchanged glances, silently absorbing the heavy tone in the omen of my words. Each and every person here stood for the lives of millions, just like Rex did. They had entire worlds to protect and their own interests to serve. They came together for a common goal. To destroy the evil that had taken root in the center of the galaxy we knew. Whether they liked it or not, that galaxy included the lives of clones.

Maybe they were never ready to address what was to come of them when the war was over. Maybe for the clones war would never be over. They would be re-conscripted and re-sold to fight in other wars, for other purposes. Maybe some planned to retire them. Let them choose to go free and live a life they should’ve been afforded all along. Maybe we would never know what their future would’ve been. Because this war wasn’t over. It had just begun and the forming rebellion now had the choice to deliberate on the very same issue they had more than five years ago. What to do with a clone army.

Senator Mothma let out a deep sigh and looked to where Rex and I stood beside Bail Organa. “Shall we put it to a vote? Senator Organa may record our conclusion.” The group of leaders audibly agreed in unison.

Rex turned to me with an expression of defeat I’d only seen on him once in our lives together. After the death of the way things were.

I leaned into his side and gripped his bare hand, his very real, very human, flesh and blood hand, in my own and did my best to comfort him. To brace him for whatever the possible result might be.

“Those in favor of exploring the liberation of the clones of the former Grand Army of the Republic and the removal of inhibitor chips say I.”

Three voices spoke.

An entire room full of decent people who I’d come to call friends of mine over the years, who had their lives, their entire planets saved time and again by clones throughout the war, who claimed numerous times to care about acting against injustice…

Nearly an entire room full of people fell silent. As the bystanders of oppression tend to do. 

Of the dissenting voices, there was one whose accented tone stood out immediately. Cham Syndulla looked around the room in vehement disgust at the cowardice surrounding him. Clones had lived with his people since nearly the very beginning of the war and had become as much a part of their cause as anyone. There were even whispers on the holonet of an uprising on Ryloth that eliminated ISB forces from the planet for a rotation.

The second was Saw Gerrera, speaking in opposition of the young, yet timid and unsure former CIS Senator that accompanied him. It had been more than a year since Rex had helped train Saw and his rebels on his home planet of Onderon. But from what I could tell, Saw had aged quicker while fighting a war. Something that clearly made him identify with the clones' cause. Him being close enough to Rex to consider calling him a friend of sorts didn’t hurt either.

The last of the three voices, to no surprise, was Bail. Bail who believed without a shadow of a doubt that the clones were worthy of saving. Bail trusted my judgment and he trusted Rex because I did. Because Padmé always did. He had given us the shirt off his back and housed us all in secret when doing so could get him killed. Bail was with us. 

But not even the tried and true, reliable and powerful voice of Senator Organa was enough to convince the group of utterly defeated leaders before us.

Palpatine didn’t just destroy the Jedi and the Republic as we knew it. He didn’t just take the will and independence right out of the bodies and minds of every clone. Palpatine destroyed the trust the people had in the men they owed everything to. The people no longer believed or felt safe with the group of them. 

In many ways, it was like they were already dead in the eyes of the people. And pretending they weren’t anything worth saving was easier than coming to terms with the idea that they were individuals who deserved a life they were never going to be given. That the former Republic senators and leaders were signing death warrants for the second time since their creation.

Despite all that each and every clone fought and died to uphold for trillions of lifeforms across the galaxy, the people they saved didn’t care enough about them to return the favor. I broke inside as I watched Rex realize how devoid of meaning his life was to the people at the table. There was nothing I could do to ease that pain. To shield him from a cold reality he had given everything to try to prevent.

Bail made a solemn, apologetic glance over at me before he rested his hands on the table and spoke calmly, “It is decided then. The Alliance declines the motion.”

“Then this is no alliance.” Cham spat, “We do not abandon our own on Ryloth. The clones are as much family to my people as our own children. I will not stand beside people who treat them as anything otherwise.”

Saw let out a hearty laugh, contemptuous and paired with an arrogant, haughty smile. “You see, Mothma? See how your indecisive hand-wringing pushes away those who are willing to act? Your fear of consequences condemns them all to death. There will come a time where action is your only option. And I will not be waiting on anyone’s permission to fight.”

Their words were severe and fracturing. There was a clear lack of consistency within the levels of this newly formed Alliance. Mothma was all about decisive calculation, carefully orchestrated solutions without unnecessary loss. Syndulla and Saw, on the other hand, were from the school of thought that fighting and action were the only meaningful tools to battling an oppressive regime. Every loss made in the pursuit of freedom was not without purpose. 

Rex usually agreed or at least understood this mentality. It’s the rule by which his brothers had lived for the last decade or so. Yet avoiding unnecessary loss was exactly what we both came to this meeting to do. Even though we looked forward to speaking the truth to people with the means and positions to actually do something, it felt like there was no right answer. That no one among them had any one right idea about how to fix things. We came here hoping for clarity and camaraderie. Now it just felt pointless.

Rex’s hand squeezed mine, turning to stare at me with the same vacant emotion that was filling my chest. This was not the outcome we wanted. This was not what we thought a rebellion would be. This was nothing short of demoralizing to everything we had worked toward. We both knew it.

Slowly, his fingers unfurled and he stepped back, letting the bickering at the table continue. He looked at me like all he wanted to do was run. I nodded and he faded into the back corner of the room, slipping out the door without so much as a word from any of the others in the room. I stood frozen in place, coming to the realization that whatever dream I’d once had of following in Senator Organa or Amidala’s footsteps was all a farce. 

I would never allow myself to debate when people’s lives were at stake. That was never the person I was. I grew up in a criminal underworld and found my way through by crawling and scratching my way to survival. To do the right thing in a place surrounded by people who never did. Once, I thought that meant climbing up the sky scraping buildings to the light of the surface. To the place where liberty and fairness and political discussion could shape a better world for our people.

But now, knowing that everything was manipulated far before I was even born. That every single person in the Senate building was a pawn in one person’s lust for ultimate power. Through knowing Rex, and every clone I’d ever met, I knew that I wasn’t someone who spoke for others. I was someone who fought for others. It wasn’t until now, at this very meeting, that I realized what a difference there was between those two things.

Lost in my own numbing thoughts and realization of the death of a former dream, Bail nudged my shoulder delicately. I turned to him with more betrayal in my eyes than I’d ever looked at him with and let out a shaky breath just barely holding back my tears. He subtly nodded his understanding, his condolences for being outvoted, his deep, mournful sorrow at his inability to garner enough support for what he knew was the right thing. Even the greatest man I knew could fail sometimes.

“Go. He needs you.” Bail muttered below the crowd noise, “Your place is with them. I pray you find the solution they deserve. I’m sorry I couldn’t.”

I did my best to hide the scorned glint in my eyes, but the way he averted his gaze from me told me I hadn’t. “I know you’ve done all you could for us. We appreciate your help. But I expected more from the people I once knew. She would’ve been ashamed to have once stood amongst them.”

Bail sighed, “she understood sacrifice better than anyone. She would’ve understood our position.” He argued in the group's defense, though knowing he was on the losing side of our discussion. He could be too fair sometimes.

I thought about what Padmé would’ve done with millions of innocent lives on the line. I thought about the personal risk she would’ve taken to protect the rights of others. About all the things she’d do to protect me and the person I loved. Before I could realize what I was doing, I rested my hand on the bump I’d been hiding in plain sight.

“And she would’ve understood mine.” I bit back the tears brimming, as his eyes widened in realization. “They fought and died to protect your families. And since none of you find them worthy enough to return the favor, I’m going to do what you all won’t. Even if it kills me.”

I took off toward where Rex left the briefing room, Bail speechless and with little more to add that wouldn’t make this worse. The torch light of the tunnel we entered through led me back to the safety of the meadow. The tall grasses swaying in the haze of twilight felt like whips against my skin trying to hold me back. All the peace that we’d found here during the waning hours of daylight in late afternoon was replaced by the shaded gloom of night.

Running down the path left by his footprints, I followed his steps into the clearing of the open meadow. All the bright flowers of hope had closed as the light faded away. Not even the planet's three pale moons could be seen through the thickening clouds of fog rolling in. I could just make out his silhouette sitting beneath the knotted roots and limbs of the winding ancient tree, likely the closest he’d get to the jedi presence we all desperately needed right now.

I approached slowly, his jacket and pants sloughed off and in a heap on the ground behind him. He sat in the body glove he felt more comfortable in than real clothes and shivered slightly each time the wind picked up, brushing through curls he’d never worn this long before. With one knee pulled to his chest and the other dangling over the bended edge of the hilltop into nothingness, he stared off with his hands joined together in his lap.

My body collapsed down next to his, pulling him into a hug he was almost too numb to recognize immediately. He buried his face in my shoulder and tried calming his panicked breathing, coming in short heaving bursts or such faint inhales it felt at times like he wasn’t breathing at all. His mind was racing, but his body had surrendered, the control he’d maintained throughout the briefing completely cracking as reality set in. 

My fingertips and palms took turns caressing circles and massages at the nape of his neck, totally failing to stop my tears from falling too. We could’ve been sitting there for hours, minutes, entire rotations and it still would’ve been impossible to tell. Such a brutal rejection in our darkest hour made time stand still while we tried to gather our thoughts.

After a long time he spoke, “I didn’t want to believe they don’t care. I-I hoped they’d find some humanity in us…in me.” He sniffled, sitting up and switching positions to let me lay my head on him now. “The simple fact is…we were always just numbers to most of them. All those battles, those men we lost, were just meaningless credits spent instead of lives lived. No one ever asked how it made us feel. It’s ironic that the ones we were forced to eliminate are the only ones who would’ve saved us.”

“I won’t give up, Rex. Whatever we can manage together…the five of us, we’ll help as many brothers as we can. I won’t abandon you all. We’ll find our own way.” 

He slid me into his lap and kissed my forehead, “We’ll do all we can, until we can’t anymore. And when that time comes and we have to run, you listen to me. If we can’t save all my brothers, then we at least have to try to survive to live the lives they would’ve wanted.”

I nodded hesitantly, “it’s just…cruel. What kind of people create men who were only ever meant to die? How could I have wanted to be one of them?”

Rex tipped my chin up to look past the tears pooling in my eyes. “You’re not like them. You found me. When all the galaxy saw me - saw all of us - as weapons of war and destroyers of the Republic, you loved me. You love me.” He brushed away the streams of tears on my cheeks and let a bittersweet smile inch across his own stained face. “So maybe I was meant for that too.”

I let out a choked sob because his words, his feelings were selfless and beautiful when most people would be filled with nothing but despair. “Rex…it’s-it’s about more than that. You are meant to live. To be a survivor. So you can have the life that every one of you deserved to know. To grow old in.”

His eyes fell and he swallowed slowly, like it hurt him to absorb the idea that his own destiny might differ greatly from that of which his duty had always stated. “Living now means being with you. If I was always meant to survive to live a life I choose, then I was meant to spend it with you.” Our gaze into each other's eyes was an unspoken, unbreakable agreement to live in spite of the odds against us.

Life is about the pursuit of glorious purpose. Not to have it scripted to you or forced upon you at birth, but to find it for yourself. Rex found a reason to survive despite all the obstacles and though now that he knew his true purpose, he still felt he had a few more challenges to conquer.

“Pardon my interruption,” A smooth, accented voice whispered into the air behind us. “And my deepest apologies for what happened back there. I know many of them are not ready to experience, first hand, the harsh reality of war.” 

Rex and I turned to find that Cham Syndulla and two of his younger advisors stood behind us under the cover of nightfall. We exchanged glances, before Rex stood up to meet him where he stood beside the twisted tree roots. “It’s alright, Cham, sir. Thank you for sticking up for us back there. We need all the support we can get now.”

“That…is why I am here. Your brother, Howzer, speaks of you with great regard.” Cham explained, sounding far more polite than he probably was on a battlefield. “We would like to present you, your partner and any other free clones with the means to support liberation. We have an opportunity for you, Captain Rex.”

Rex perked up, shaking off the effects that the meeting had on him the only way he ever knew how; diving right back into his duty. Knowing there was nothing else we could do to sway the larger rebellion in our favor, I squeezed Rex’s bicep to confirm my agreement. He reached for his helmet in the bag between us and slung it under his arm like he did thousands of times before when he meant business.

“...well, what’s the mission?”

--

Notes: I am sad :) also uhhhhh rebellions aren't easy, people don't always agree, political frustrations rampant as I think they would be during times like this. this fic has basically become an unnamed/physically undescribed oc...if you want to know more about her check here or send me an ask!

taglist (please let me know if you'd like to be added/removed):

@literallydontlook @sleepingsun501 @moonstrider9904 @thefact0rygirl @fett-djarin @starwarsmeninhelmets @zinzinina @kaminocasey @pinkiemme @queenquazar @galacticgraffiti @loversoncsilla @ashotofspotchka @rexandechosandwich @calkestiis @jocastaslibrary @twistedstitcher27 @wild-karrde @patchmates

[sendpseuds]

Are you still playing with the X-files/Obitine crossover? I was sure that was one of your WIPs. I recently started watching the X-files myself and would love to hear whatever your thoughts/premise were for it

This ask is over a month old and I have no excuses other than to say that I suck at Tumblr. But here we are!!

I think about the X-Files crossover constantly. It's mostly just VIBES but let's break it down anyway.

This first came up as an idea when I was wrapping Resolute Theater Presents, and I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to that specific version of Obi-Wan. He talks to old buildings with Oujia boards, he studies astrology, he has strange rituals... he's weird.

Obi-Wan is often the straight man in a dynamic, and it's usually only because he's paired with a loose cannon [Anakin, Ahsoka, Quinlan, Qui-Gon, etc.], but that doesn't mean he's not weird [we all remember the worm episode]

Anyway, in this way, I think he's a great comp for Mulder. Yeah, Mulder believes in weird stuff, but he's completely serious about it. He knows how people see him and he just doesn't care, he is completely resolute in his pursuit of the truth and Scully just has to hope she can keep him from getting himself killed while breaking into a top-secret government black site or something.

Speaking of Scully...

Dana Scully is one of my favorite characters of all time. She's smart, she's strong, she's clever, she kicks some serious ass, [she has to shoot Mulder to stop him from doing something stupid more than once], and she is so fucking hot.

[Gillian Anderson as Satine Kryze would kill me]

I would still lean closer to the Obitine dynamic. In X-Files they don't know each other until Scully gets assigned to Mulder, but I'd like to keep the "previous relationship" dynamic on the table. Maybe they trained together at the FBI academy? I'm not sure, but I think adding the whole "I've seen you naked" thing to the dynamic only makes it better.

Unfortunately, this is kinda as far as I've gotten? It's surprisingly difficult to come up with a plot idea that fits... Like, it's such a broad genre. It could be a deep-state conspiracy with Palpatine as The Smoking Man and Anakin as Krychek, or it could just be a fun monster of the week. There are so many possibilities that I've had a hard time getting past just the concept.

All this is to say, yes, I'm still thinking about this, and if anyone has plot ideas, especially ideas for a one-shot, I would love to hear them.

Thank you for the ask and the reminder 🖤

[wild-karrde]

In Command - Part 1

Master List | Next Part

A/N: ALRIGHT, WELL, HERE WE ARE AGAIN! For those of you reading this story for the first time, this was my first fic in about a decade. I've written a lot since then (including three complete sequel fics with more planned), and my writing style has changed quite a bit, so I wanted to circle back and see if I could do this fic more justice. Rex and Senna are my favorites, and it's been a blast to revisit their origins to see if I can improve upon them. This go-around, I'll have the incredible @teletraan-meets-jarvis beta reading for me, which is also going to make this a better story (fun fact: TJ and I first connected over this fic). Anyway, whether this is your first time reading this fic or not, I hope you enjoy this re-write!

Chapter Rating: T (entire work is rated E, but M-rated version can be found on AO3)

Warnings: language

Word Count: 4.2k words

Sunlight filtered in through the thinning curtains, chasing the last traces of sleep from the captain’s mind as he slowly opened his eyes. Lothal’s lone sun twinkled through the weave in the curtains, casting dancing shadows across the small bedroom. He could already hear children outside in the street and the sound of the morning’s first speeders making their way further into town. Rex stretched his arms over his head, rolling his ankles under the blanket as he inhaled deeply, feeling his muscles tense and flex. He sat up in the bed, rubbing sleep from his eyes and rolling his neck, which popped satisfyingly. His fingers raked through his blonde curls, which he’d allowed to grow beyond the buzz cut he’d sported during the war. He was sure that any of his brothers would tease him that his hair was hardly long, but it was longer than Rex was used to, the length being more comparable to the regulation haircut Cody, Fives, and millions of others had sported, although less militaristic in its styling in an attempt to blend in. If nothing else, his blonde curls hid the scar on the right side of his head. It was a reminder he didn’t need to see every time he looked in a mirror.

At least the dreams hadn’t come last night. He hadn’t seen the faces of countless brothers lost, friends betrayed and presumed dead. Rex rubbed his hands over his face before glancing over to where his commlink was resting on the nightstand. There was no blinking light to alert him of a waiting message, and he sighed. He went through this same routine every morning, but the disappointment each time never seemed to abate.

She’ll call when she’s ready. For now, you just have to trust that she’s safe. Ahsoka has always been good at taking care of herself.

Hardly a day went by where he didn’t think of the young Togruta he’d come to view as a younger sister, hoping she was safe. While he had been eager to carry on the fight after the fall of the Republic, Ahsoka had needed time to grieve, unsure if there was any fight left in her, and he had chosen to respect that. She’d fought in a war and watched thousands die before her sixteenth year. She’d felt abandoned by the Jedi, and yet still returned, only to watch her men turn against her and lose everyone close to her yet again. Of course she was tired of it. Of course she needed time. He never doubted her competence or her ability to survive, but that didn’t make him any less worried about her. 

The sound of ceramic tinkling in the kitchen outside of his bedroom drew his attention, alerting him that his companion was already awake, and judging by the sharp smell wafting past the door, in the middle of making another offensively strong batch of caf. He sighed.

She’s at it again, I see. Time to go face whatever chaos she’s created this morning.

Rex clambered out of bed, replacing the sheets, pillow, and comforter with his usual military precision, creased and folded back without a wrinkle in sight. Some habits were impossible to break, even after almost a year. He yanked on the pair of grey trousers he favored, buckling his belt and holster across his hips before pulling a loose-fitting light blue shirt over his shoulders, the worn fabric grazing his skin as the hem fell to his waist. While the civilian garment should have been far more comfortable than his armor kit, it left him feeling constantly exposed, a feeling he didn’t particularly care for.

He picked up the beat-up DL-44 from where he’d placed it the night before on the nightstand, turning it over in his hand for a quick inspection before he tucked it into his holster. The weight of the blaster still felt off in his hand, but with practice, he had grown more accustomed to it. He had never been a poor shot, but the unfamiliarity of the weapon concerned him, and he felt that he couldn’t allow for even the most minor mistakes at this point. Not with what was on the line. The war had been a constant threat to his life, but this was an entirely different sort of danger, with him embedded deep in enemy territory with a complete stranger as his partner.

Rex hoped that the information that they were planning to glean would prove to be worth the risk in the end. It still felt like they were chucking pebbles at a giant, hoping to somehow make a scratch, but he had to believe that in time, things would grow. The rebellion would spread. There had been rumors of uprisings across the galaxy, most of which had been quashed easily by the Empire, but that could change. It had to.

All it takes is one victory. And then another. Until then, we don’t stop fighting. 

He had to believe that winning was a possibility; if not, then what was the point of going on? Rex was a soldier, loyal to a Republic that no longer existed, loyal to friends that were mostly dead, and now, loyal to a rebel faction that was outmatched in almost every way. Carrying on the fight seemed the best way to honor those that he’d lost in the hopes that those that were still alive might know the peace he and the rest of the Grand Army of the Republic had promised to deliver.  

He paused at the door and listened to the silence on the other side. The quiet always made him nervous. Did she go back upstairs? Closing his eyes, he could still smell the caf, and then he heard a sigh and the shuffling of feet, barely perceptible through the door. 

Nope. Still down here. Great. 

Taking a deep breath, he pushed through the door for another day.

She had her back to him, staring out the kitchen window, a steaming mug of caf in her hand. The steam rose over her bare shoulders, and her dark blue sleeveless tunic hung down her back, slightly too large for her, but cinched at her waist with a belt. He could see her blinking data pad tucked into its slot at her thigh. There were new bandages wrapped around a few of her fingers, and he briefly wondered if they were soldering burns, cuts, or from some other mishap. Her dark brown hair was piled on top of her head in a mess that more resembled a loth cat nest than the sleek military buns Rex had become accustomed to from the female officers he’d served alongside the war. She’s a civilian, he reminded himself. You can’t expect her to hold herself to the same standards.

Although some standards wouldn’t hurt. Just a minimum of decorum.  

Rex had never necessarily been a stickler for the rules or regulations, but he had no doubt his counterpart wouldn’t have lasted a day had she served in one of the civilian factions of GAR. He’d never commented on it before, but she was a downright slob, and it nagged at him even if he remained silent. The hairdo, ill-fitting wardrobe, and general clutter that followed her around seemed to perfectly encompass the technical specialist and her way of doing things: a fly-by-the-seat of your pants mess that still somehow got the job done.

He noted the second mug that was already sitting out for him alongside the sugar bowl and carafe of cream that she had undoubtedly used to make her drink more palatable. He never understood why she made it so strong only to add so many different things to it in order to be able to drink it. Even though Rex had always preferred his caf black, he could just barely tolerate the way she brewed it most days.

She turned, her bright blue eyes widening slightly in surprise as she snorted into her mug, slopping some of the liquid down her front. “KARK! Good morning. You startled me, Re – sorry.” She cut herself off before she finished his name, clearly bracing for a scolding.

Unable to stifle his reaction this time, Rex sighed in frustration. “How many times do I need to tell you to not use our real names here? You’re going to slip up and get us both killed,” he grumbled. “You’ve got to get used to saying it, and I have to get used to responding. We need to keep up the ruse here. Otherwise we run the risk of accidentally mixing things up when we’re out there and within earshot of Imperials.”

She dipped her head in apology, a slight mischievous twinkle in her eye. “Understood. But I uhh… thought you hated the name Lon anyway.”

“I do, but I understand what’s necessary for us to stay alive, Valla.” He emphasized her false name, dragging the syllables out, his eyebrows furrowed in a deep scowl.

She rolled her eyes, sipping from her mug again. “Fine, fine, Lon,” she bit back, mocking his emphasis. Reaching over, she slid the empty mug across the counter towards him.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as he caught the mug just before it slipped off the edge of the counter, reaching for the caf press and pouring some of the nearly-black liquid into the mug. “You’re careless,” he stated flatly, trying to keep his nose from wrinkling at the incredibly bitter smell.

“And you’re uptight,” she muttered into her cup, tipping the last of the contents into her mouth and wiping her lips with the back of her hand. Somehow, she already had grease on her wrist, and it smudged across her face.

Rex ignored the comment, bracing himself mentally for the first sip. He could hardly complain since she’d woken up before him. In fact, taking a closer look at her, he noticed the bags under her eyes and the droop in her shoulders. Her posture had always been terrible, but it seemed extra slouchy today. Her neck was tipped forward as if her head was almost too heavy to hold up, and her shoulders were hunched at such an extreme angle it made his spine ache just looking at her. 

Perhaps she didn’t even go to sleep last night. Got wrapped up in another one of her science projects again.

She interrupted his observations as she reached across him to pour herself another cup. “So what’s the plan today then? Do we get to leave the compound?”

Her eagerness to step into danger read as naivete to Rex, and it annoyed him. It normally was an indication that the person didn’t fully comprehend or appreciate the situation they were in and didn’t understand how easily it could all fall apart. Frustratingly, it seemed no matter how much Rex preached caution, she ignored every warning, still nagging him to let her be more directly involved. But he didn’t trust her yet, and she’d done nothing to earn it in their short time together. How he’d gotten paired off with her to begin with was beyond him, but he’d been assured that their skill sets were the perfect complement for this particular venture. 

She wouldn’t have been my first choice. Or second. Or tenth. 

Even with all of his concerns and issues with her, he had to admit that while her methods were unconventional, they had been successful, at least so far. He once again wished there had been more in her personnel file to reveal her background and where she’d gotten her technical prowess, but it had been almost empty. It mentioned her engineering coursework she’d completed on Naboo, her estimated birthdate, and a few other facts and tidbits that weren’t particularly relevant to the work they were doing, but other than that, her background was a mystery, and that concerned him further. 

No personal history means no work experience. No military service. Hardly any travel beyond her home planet. It’s like she’s spent the few decades of her life hiding out in her workshop and never setting foot outside.

Abandoning his misgivings for the moment, he turned to her. “You’re not going anywhere. I’ll head out to do some recon work in the area, but you need to stay on the waves here. We have to establish a baseline of what Imperials are stationed here and who’s responsible for what before we can start having any interactions that are worthwhile.”

She dumped another few scoops of sugar into her cup, her face pinching into a borderline pout as she reached for the cream. “I’ve spent the last few weeks doing nothing but that.” Rex’s face remained impassive, and she sighed dramatically, seeing that there would be no budging him. “Fine, but at some point, we should probably go out together at least once. We are supposed to be a newlywed couple after all. Otherwise people are going to think you murdered me and buried me in the backyard.”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” he muttered under his breath.

“I heard that,” she said, shoving past him, sloshing some of the bitter liquid dangerously close to the edge of his mug. “Fine. If you need me, I’ll be in my cave.”

“As if you’d be anywhere else.” 

She muttered something under her breath he didn’t catch in response. He listened to her tromp up the stairs, her boots falling louder than they feasibly should for a person her size. Turning his attention back out the kitchen window, he watched the dust swirl in the early morning winds as he finally took a sip of the caf. The bitterness overwhelmed him, and his eyes watered as he grimaced, exhaling sharply out of his nose before he managed to choke down the mouthful.

Can’t say I’m not awake now. But that’s as much as I can stand of that.

He took a look at the remaining caf in the cup, and with a deep sigh, walked to the back door of the dwelling, punching the unlock button. The door hissed open, and he stepped outside, dumping the remaining contents of his mug on the potted plant closest to him. It had started to wither after just the first week they’d been here, presumably because it was his regular disposal spot for the caf he couldn’t tolerate, and he had to hide his smile every time his partner made a comment about how she couldn’t figure out why it was dying. “Sorry” he whispered to the plant before stepping back inside and shutting the door behind him.

---

Senna stepped into her “cave”, smiling to herself as some of the tension from the conversation with Rex evaporated. If one were to judge by the layout of the dwelling, this room had likely been intended to be an extra bedroom or perhaps an office. However, Senna was using it as a storage space for piles and piles of tech, tools, and junk that also doubled as her command center. Spare parts of hardware that she’d collected were strewn around the room in various states of repair, and she carefully picked her way to the desk tucked into one corner. Pushing some loose wire and her soldering tool aside, she settled her mug of caf within reach and slipped the headphones over her ears, punching on the holo computer’s power. The hum of the system booting up gave her a warm feeling in her stomach, and she grinned. “Good morning, baby. Ready for another fun day of foiling the Empire?” she asked quietly.

The computer beeped cheerily in response.

She tuned into the comm transmission frequencies she had identified as the ones most frequently used by the Empire, opened a notes application, and after masking her location, she logged into the Imperial database using the false credentials she’d been given prior to the mission. Tapping a few keys, the audio crackled into her earphones, and she leaned back in her chair, taking another swig of her caf. She grinned triumphantly as the first voices came in clear. She’d been up the entire night tweaking the modulator to try and increase the audio’s clarity, and it appeared her hours of cursing and the two electric shocks she’d experienced hadn’t been in vain. Idly, she picked at the fresh bandages on her fingers before shaking her head to clear her mind. 

Alright, let’s get started.

Yanking the datapad from its pouch on her hip she began scrolling through the news feeds, searching for anything noteworthy that she could feed back to the captain. Lothal was an Outer Rim world that had largely been untouched by the war, but in the last few months, Imperial activity had skyrocketed. It couldn’t be denied that the planet was drastically in need of help after several large hits to its economy from drought and famine that went unaddressed during the war, but the new activity went above and beyond the standard aid that would normally be expected from the central government. And what’s more, it seemed that central government knew very little about what was actually planned for Lothal. The sudden uptick in activity had drawn the attention of many in the Imperial Senate, and while the inquiries of those attempting to have some insight over the Emperor had stalled, some back channel information had led to Rex and Senna being sent to investigate, although their activities were anything but sanctioned. Senna still wasn’t entirely sure how many in the Senate she still trusted, but from everything she’d seen at the mission briefing, this source was considered to be as reliable as they come, and that would have to be good enough for her.

Halfway through an article about the new job postings at Pryce Mining that were allegedly coming due to the Empire’s increased presence on Lothal and its need for resources, she felt a warm prickling sensation on the back of her neck. She slowly turned to find the captain standing in the doorway. He’d thrown a waist-length cloak around his shoulders and had hidden his blonde hair underneath a wide brimmed hat. He seemed pleased and perhaps slightly smug about the fact that he’d snuck up on her. 

She spluttered again in surprise, choking on her caf and ripping off her earphones. “Would you STOP doing that? Just make some noise or something when you’re moving around, for Maker’s sake.” She dabbed at the caf she’d splattered down her front with a filthy rag from the corner of her desk. She knew it was a lost cause, and that this caf stain would join the other one from earlier along with countless grease marks and other mystery stains. Tossing the rag aside, she glared at Rex, who smirked as he leaned into the room, not daring to try and place a boot among the mess.

“How do you even function in here? I’ve seen cleaner bantha pens.”

She huffed in annoyance. “Did you actually need something, or are you just here to criticize how I do things?”

His smirk faded as he straightened, eyebrows furrowing again into what seemed to be a perpetual frown. “I’m heading out. Do you need me to grab anything?”

“I’m almost out of sugar again,” she replied.

“Can’t imagine why.”

Senna’s annoyance deepened. “If you’re going to give me shit, then why ask?” When he didn’t say anything, she rolled her eyes. “Would you just pick some up on the way home please? And we could use some more noodles.”

“All you eat is noodles.”

“They’re easy.”

“Fine. Noodles and sugar it is.” He turned to leave. “Try to find something useful for us to go on today.”

Her attention already back on her datapad, she waved a hand at him absently. “Yeah, yeah.”

Appearing to suddenly remember something else, he turned back one more time. “It would also be nice if I had a speeder bike that was usable to get around on.”

She looked up at him through her eyebrows. “You have one.”

“It’s in pieces outside.”

“I put it mostly back together. You’re welcome for the improvements I made, by the way. The fluid lines were super worn out and caked with sludge.”

“I walked by it this morning, and the brake compressor cables are still dangling loose on the side. I think it’s safe to assume those are important.”

She sighed. “Yes alright, I’ll get to it today. Any other technical upgrades you require while you’re out?” she asked mockingly, her patience continuing to wear thin. She didn’t like to be bothered when she worked.

“A working comm would be nice,” he replied.

Senna had absolutely noticed the commlink that never seemed to move from Rex’s nightstand, and for a moment, she considered mentioning it. But, the captain had a particular way of operating, and ultimately, she found he really hated having to explain things when she asked questions. If he hasn’t brought it up, then maybe it’s best not to ask. It’ll save me a painful conversation filled with more annoyed glares and disappointed sighs from him anyway. Turning in her chair, she dug under a pile in one corner of the desk, pulling out a scratched up comm and tossing it to him. “That should work.”

He stared at the item in his hand with obvious concern. “Where did you even get this?”

“One of our neighbors threw it out the other day. Couldn’t believe it. All it needed was some wiring replaced. It should work. Go on, power it up.”

Rex clicked on the commlink, and she grabbed her own device, holding it up to her lips and whispering, “Go get me some sugar for my caf, Lon.”

Rex didn’t bother to hide his exasperation as he clicked off the device and tucked it into his belt before turning on his heel to leave. “Stop going outside and picking through people’s trash. It’s strange and could draw attention.”

“I think you mean ‘Thank you, my wonderful fake wife! You’re so resourceful and good at anticipating my needs’!” she called after him. All she got in return was yet another sigh and some muttering that she couldn’t discern. A few moments later, she heard the front door of the dwelling hiss shut and turned her chair to watch out the window as he strode away, losing sight of him as he turned the corner and disappeared behind the outer wall.

Shrugging back into her seat, she pulled one of her feet up onto the chair cushion and rested her head on her knee as she continued scrolling through the comm channels, making notes about which Imperial officer was saying what. Over the last few weeks, she’d been able to identify a good chunk of the command infrastructure that the Empire had put in place on Lothal. She had mapped out the command hierarchy and who was responsible for what tasks, but even with all of that information, she still hadn’t managed to impress the captain or even satisfy him in the slightest. She wasn’t sure exactly what was gnawing at him or why he took such issue with her, but she had decided to not be overly concerned with it.

No one had explicitly told her he was a clone, but it had been apparent to her from the start, and once he’d introduced himself as Rex, she knew exactly who he was, but had never let on. He had made some references to being a soldier during their always-brief interactions, and so she assumed he was fine with her knowing that he was a clone, but she had never pushed the conversation further. The darkness that would reach across his face when the war came up and he became lost in the memories made it abundantly clear to her that it was not a topic he liked to revisit. She’d noted the light scarring on the right side of his head before his hair had grown long enough to cover it. She’d heard the rumors that some clones had removed their inhibitor chips, but again, it was not a topic she wished to broach, for both of their sakes.

The end of the war had come as a shock to everyone, and it wasn’t something she wanted to discuss either. While the outcome of the war had never been certain for anyone, never in her wildest dreams had Senna imagined this would be the result, the Republic gone and replaced by the Empire. She had to imagine Rex hadn’t either; it was apparent that something still haunted him, and while she wasn’t sure she wanted to know, she certainly had her suspicions as to what that was. She had heard him yelling himself awake sometimes at night while she was upstairs tinkering and had always opted to pretend the sound didn’t make it to her. She assumed he’d done the same when she woke up screaming. The war was over, but the nightmares persisted, which was why she often chose caf and her work over unconsciousness. Her bed was too soft compared to what she was used to sleeping on anyway, and when she was stooped over a broken piece of hardware, the sparks of her soldering iron seemed to stave off the fingers of darkness that reached out to drag her back into her nightmares.

At least awake, she had some control.

Tag List: @seriowan @partoftheeternalsoul @rosmariner @misogirl828 @ellichonkasaurusrex @zoeykallus @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @gjrain20-starwars @dsburnerblog @staycalmandhugaclone @redheadgirl @fordo-kixed-rex @wizardofrozz @ariadnes-red-thread @moonstrider9904 @rain-on-kamino @ladykatakuri @sleepingsun501 @ladykagewaki

[flyiingsly]

Smoke Screen

Square : Fire

Pairing : Wolffe x gn!jedi!reader

Warnings : Hurt/confort, fire (a lot), angst, mention of burns and injuries, medical equipment, unconsciousness, mention of death, slight mention of alcool, Wolffe deserves a hug (and reader too)

Wordcount : 5,8k

Summary : Your battalion is sent as reinforcements to the 104th in anticipation of a potential separatist attack, but things turn out worse than expected, leading you to risk your own life to save your beloved Commander from a terrible fate.

A/N : My fourteenth submission for the @clonexreaderbingo ! I reaaally got carried away with this one, I was so hooked while writing this, it felt like I was living the whole situation for real, that was such a thrilling feeling and so much fun ! I love our favorite grumpy Commander so much, I just wanted to give him a bit of hurt/comfort, because I think that he really deserves to be protected and comforted, enjoy ❤

Fire.

Fire was the most frightening element in your opinion, the one you had always dreaded the most.

Even if it was a situation you were often facing during missions, you couldn’t help but feel that kind of crippling terror washing over your brain every time you found yourself surrounded by flames.

It only meant destruction and suffering to you, and no matter how much training and conditioning you’ve been through to control it better already, it was still here, in a little corner of your mind.

You were a jedi, you weren’t supposed to experience fear, but this one, you never thought that one day you’ll be able to fully overcome it.

But that was until you burst into that collapsing building, shielded by the force, trying to find your Commander, and hoping that he had survived the outpost’s attack.

***

It all started when you arrived with Obi-Wan and the 212th on a little Outer Rim’s planet on which you’ve never been before, to give support and reinforcement to General Plo Koon. He needed more men on his current mission, and of course, you volunteered immediately. Master Plo was a dear friend of yours, and you were worried for him and his men.

You came to know the 104th very well, either by fighting along them, but also by all the time you were spending with the clones of the 212th, for between missions, the different battalions often shared their free time together.

You, in general, had developed a very close bond with the clones, so you were immediately adopted by the 104th as well. But there’s one particular person with who you happened to came along even better.

Commander Wolffe was a bit distant at first. He seemed like he always had a hard time trusting new people by what Rex and Cody told you. But if you had the perseverance to get to know him and to pass through the rude first impression he was giving, he could become one of the most trustworthy and kind person you’ve ever known.

What a chance, you were patient, and what you didn’t know at that time was that he got an eye on you since the first time he met you.

It was right after Plo Koon’s ship was attacked by General Grievous and his Malevolence.  You and Ahsoka insisted to go in search for Master Plo and what was left of his men, and despite the disapproval of Obi-Wan and Master Windu, Anakin and the two of you still decided to give it a try.

The unauthorized mission was a success, you arrived just in time to save them, and Wolffe was very moved by that first encounter. You were intriguing, you were kind and caring toward the clones like not so many other natborns were. You were gifted with healing abilities, and seeing you take care of his wounded men made him feel something he wasn’t used to truly experience. Safety.

You were in the middle of the space, somewhere none of you were supposed to be, chased by the most deadliest general of the Separatist army, his ship had been destroyed, he lost most of his men, he just nearly died and still wasn’t sure if he was going to survive that mission …. He should have felt doomed and frightened right now, but instead, he couldn’t help but feel safe with you on board, watching over him and his fellow troopers.

He stayed far from you for the next few times you two met again. He just looked at you from a distance, trying to hide his interest and fascination toward you the best he could. He knew very well he couldn’t afford himself the luxury of getting too attached to someone, especially to a jedi, for it will never be reciprocate anyway.

But one night, as you were with members of the 501st, 212th and 104th at the 79’, Rex and Cody became frustrated to see him burn to talk to you and never even try to do it. Of course you had tried to start a conversation with him a couple times already, and he always seemed to use his best energy to stay cold with you. You knew it was going to take time for him to open up to you, and so you were determined to give him as much as he’ll need.

Except that they weren’t hearing it that way.

It took Wolffe a bunch of drinks and a monstrous amount of courage, but pushed by his two brothers, he eventually gathered himself to go talk to you. It was a very funny moment, for when he came in front of you, you looked at him with a surprised look at first, before a wide smile appeared on your face, a smile that was screaming “finally”.

His heart melted, his cheeks started to blush badly and he found himself unable to say anything for a whole minute straight.

And that’s how it began between the two of you. As he was expecting it, he grew very fond of you, and you quickly became really close, never missing an occasion to spend some time together. You weren’t sharing that much missions or battlefields, for you were mostly assigned to the 212th, but you were always keeping in touch, no matter how far from each other you were sent.

But as the time passed by, something more than just friendship started to grow inside of him. It was something scary at first, because it was the very thing he was afraid of and wanted to avoid in the first place, and maybe the worse that could happen to someone in time of war.

He eventually ended up accepting it after realizing that he couldn’t get rid of it no matter how hard he tried. It never changed anything between you nonetheless, for he was doing his best to not let his new feelings ruin your already existent relationship, keeping it all for himself, hiding it at the bottom of his heart and promising to never tell you anything about it.

You were now way too important to him for that, and he knew that he could never handle to lose you or break that special bond. It was easier that way he thought, and the only thing that really mattered to him in the end was your safety. As long as you were safe and alive, it was enough for him.

But little did he know the he wasn’t the only one to feel the same.

***

The planet you were headed to was a highly valuable ally for the Republic, for it was hosting in its ground the biggest stock of a very rare and expensive kind of metal in the whole galaxy. That component was needed for the fabrication of a vast range of weapon’s and ship’s parts, and at the beginning of the war, its government managed to sign a contract with the Chancellor, allowing the GAR to be the one and only entity to use those resources, much to the disapproval of the separatists, of course.

In exchange, the Senate agreed to provide protection to the planet and its inhabitants against whatever would want to attack them, which was the reason why you were send here. The Senate Intelligence had reported that an attack from the separatist to steal its resources was planned a few days ahead, and that the troops already on place would never be enough to block it, so they urgently needed reinforcements.

But after a week, there was still no sign of any kind of attack. Nothing coming from the sky, no signs of spies amongst the population, not a single droid spotted anywhere. It was strange, for the source was a very trusted one and was usually always giving correct information, but both the Senate and the Order were starting to think about sending the reinforcements back to Coruscant. Maybe it really was just a false alarm after all.

Something was off about this whole situation, and you weren’t the only one thinking it. Both Master Plo and Obi-Wan were trying to convince the Senate to let your battalion stay longer, just to make sure that everything was really alright. Something felt wrong here, you could feel it, but without really explaining why, like if something was happening right under your nose, in the shadows.

One particular place on this planet was giving you a disturbing feeling : an old abandoned mine on the outskirt of the capital city. It was once one of the biggest of the area, and that was why the city had been built near. It wasn’t used anymore, because the deposit had been drained long ago, and the whole mining structures and tunnels had become unstable and dangerous, so its access was now completely forbidden.

You knew you needed to go investigate that mine, even Master Plo was starting to agree with you on that. Nobody had thought about it before because it was supposed to be abandoned, and most importantly, it wasn’t seen as a menace, since the attack was mostly awaited from the sky. So after successful negotiations with the Senate to get a couple more day on site, you and Obi-Wan decided to go visit it and see what you could find there.

And of course, your instinct was right all along.

It didn’t take you long to find some traces of recent mining activities and to bump into a bunch of mining droids busy extracting the few remaining metal from the walls of its many caves. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing at first. You had absolutely no idea how and since when the separatists have been secretly exploiting that place, and most importantly, how they managed to reach the planet without being caught. It was impressive and frightening at the same time.

You tried to get out of here without drawing attention on you, but you got noticed by a probe droid on your way out. You quickly destroyed it and decided to take a closer look at it while Obi-Wan was calling the outpost to inform them of your discovery.

Probes droids were too heavy to be transported easily, but you still wanted to analyze it to maybe get a chance to find information on its sender.

When you plugged your datapad to its system, you realized that it had already given your position away and managed to download the coordinates to where the message had been sent. But something else caught your eyes. You noticed that in addition of your position, another message had been sent by the probe before it was taken down.

When the transcription of this second message appeared on your screen, the words made your blood curdle.

“Republic found us, activate outpost bomb.”

You let out a gasp of horror, your datapad nearly falling from your hands.

“We need to go back, now !” you yelled at Obi-Wan, unplugging your datapad in a hurry.

“(y/n), what did you saw ?” he asked worriedly.

“The probe sent a message with the order to “activate the outpost bomb”, they must have known that we were going to find them someday and booby trapped the outpost in anticipation, probably to cut its communications and prevent anyone from stopping their little traffic. Our troops are in danger, we need to make them get out of the building right now !”

You started to run as fast as possible toward the entrance of the mine, closely followed by your fellow jedi who was frantically trying to call his Commander again.

“Cody, we have been fooled, the outpost is compromised, the separatists have been hiding underground all along !” Obi Wan shouted through his commlink as soon as he heard his voice pick up the call.

“What ? How ?” the clone answered in a surprised tone.

“Please, we don’t have time to explain more, tell Wolffe and Master Plo to gather all of your men, you need to evacuate the place, now, please !” You added, out of breath.

“Copy that !”

The communication cut. The only thing left to do now was to pray for them to be able to escape on time.

A couple minutes later, as you were coming closer from the building, the sound of an explosion loudly ringed out, making the ground violently shake under your feet, stopping you in your tracks and making you lose your balance, nearly falling down.

“Oh kriff, no !” you screamed, instantly understanding what had just happened.

It was too late.

A wave of panic overwhelmed your body, and you soon started to run with even more determination. You were so fast that Obi-Wan could barely keep your pace.

When you finally got the outpost at eyes sight, you immediately noticed Master Plo and Cody, gathered with men from both of their battalions, standing far enough to be safe from the ferocious and high flames that where now eating what was remaining of the structure.

The two superior floors were completely destroyed and collapsed, only the ground floor was still standing, but it was drowned under a massive amount of scrapped metal, concrete and shattered glass.

“Are you okay ?” you desperately let out at them as soon as you were close enough for them to hear you.

“Yeah, it’s okay, thanks to you, we could never have find out without your warning.” The commander answered.

“Did everybody escaped ? Are all of your men safe ?” you frantically asked, still in complete shock and looking around you, counting the troops before they can ever answer your question.

“Wait, someone’s missing …” you suddenly realized, “Where … Where is Wolffe ?” your voice was filled with concern, and you couldn’t even try to hide it as another wave of panic violently hit you.

 “He didn’t make it …”

“Wh .. What ?” you mumbled, feeling your whole body starting to shake nervously.

“He was still inside when the explosion happened, he wanted to make sure that everyone was outside, he didn’t want to leave anyone behind, but … He didn’t pass the door ... Then the building collapsed and the flames were fast to spread, we couldn’t do anything ...”

As soon as you heard these words, you felt like the whole world was crumbling around you. It was like if someone has hit you right in the chest, so strongly that your heart had just stopped beating. Your head started to spin and for a moment you thought that you were about to faint. But you were perfectly motionless, eyes staring into space, completely paralyzed.

“(Y/n), are you ok ?”

Cody’s voice was like an electroshock pulling you out of your thought and back to reality. It took you a few eyes blinks to be able to see clearly again, but without a warning you started to run toward the building. Instantly understanding what you were trying to do, Obi-Wan stopped you in your tracks, using the force against you to lift you up, making your feet leave their contact with the ground.

“(Y/n), it’s too late, you can’t do anything for him now, you have to let it go !”

You were trying to resist, but he was more powerful than you. But you just couldn’t let that happen, you just couldn’t stay here and watch the whole edifice burn to the ground without even trying to do something to rescue him, even if it meant risking your own life in the process. He meant too much to you for you to just leave him here to die alone.

You took a deep breath, trying to calm down and concentrate, and then, gathering all of your strength, you turned back to face the jedi despite all the power unleashed against you.

“I’m sorry Obi-Wan, I just can’t do that.”

Without a warning, you threw the most powerful force wave you had ever created in his direction, sending him flying away. You fall flat in the dirt from the released pressure but get up on your feet quickly. No one could have ever stopped you from doing it, and everyone perfectly knew that there was no point on trying, for you would not let anyone stand in your way.

When you arrived right in front of the outpost, you managed to find the former main entrance. The door was gone, and at its place was now a gaping hole. You took another deep breath, and, collecting your energy once again, you created a force shield around before entering the blazing inferno.

The heat was already hard to bear on the outside, but now that you were inside, even with your shield, it was barely tolerable. You had absolutely no visibility, for the smoke and the flames had took the whole space, making it impossible to distinguish anything ahead from a few feet away. In a desperate attempt to locate Wolffe, you yelled his name at the top of your lungs, without, obviously, getting any answer.

You tried to stay calm, thinking about what Cody just told you. He was right behind them when they escaped, so he shouldn’t be that far from the entrance. You weren’t able to see anything, so you decided to close your eyes and focus on what force signatures you could feel around you. Soon, you started to perceive a distant and faint pulse. Something was still living under this blaze, and even if it seemed weak, it was here nonetheless.

With your instinct guiding you, you started to move forward, stepping over a few massive concrete obstacles. The heat was making you sweat abundantly under your robes, and you had a hard time keeping your eyes opened.

You tried to call his name again, despite knowing that nobody was going to call back. You continued to move forward, the presence was getting nearer, but the path to reach it seemed never ending. You had only been here for a very short amount of time, but it felt like light years in these conditions.

As you made a turn to avoid a big concrete wall part that had felt through the ceiling, you let out a gasp as you saw a human looking shape laying on the floor.

“Wolffe !” you screamed, quickening your pace to reach him faster.

As you were getting closer, the shape became more and more recognizable. You were right, it was a human form, and it was armored. Despite the yellowish atmosphere and the messed up colors, you still were able to catch a glimpse of the grey of his armor paint, as well as the special 104th design he was wearing on his spaulder. It was him, there was no doubt about that.

You closed the distance separating the two of you quickly, creating yourself a way through the flames with the help of the force.

“Wolffe …” you breathed out, falling on your knees next to him when you finally reached him, a lump growing in your throat. You knew that there was no time to check on him right here and right now, the absolute priority was to extract him from that hell. He was still wearing his helmet on, and even if you were dying to remove it to see his face and check his breath, you knew you couldn’t.

Maintaining a force shield around you was exhausting, but you still managed to find enough strength to lift him from the ground in your arms, wrapping them around his legs and back. But as soon as your hands came in contact with his armor, you felt the metal’s heat burning your palms and irradiating your arms through your robe’s sleeves. You hissed in pain and clenched your jaws but didn’t let go, the adrenaline helping you ignore it.

You stood up quickly despite that he was heavier than you, just in time to dodge a chunk of concrete falling from the ceiling. You quickly locate the door from where you came in and rushed toward it, praying that your eyes hadn’t fooled you on this time. Your head started to hurt and your vision to blur, it became harder and harder to breathe, and the heat was less and less bearable. Your heart was pounding so fast in your chest that it felt like it was about to explode, and you knew that soon, your body will not be able to take it anymore. Fortunately, you were on the right way, getting closer and closer to the escape.

A few steps away from the exit, you heard a loud crack noise coming from above you, just after realizing that a pile a debris was now baring the path. What was left of the first floor was probably going to fall on you in the next seconds, and in a desperate move, you broke your force shield and directed all of your energy toward the entrance, blowing the obstacles toward the outside to clear the way. Right after, you were out in the fresh air without even remembering how you made it.

Your pace accelerated, and you were now running frantically toward the rest of the battalion, putting as much distance as possible between you and the collapsing building

As you were getting closer to them, you heard someone scream something to the other, and suddenly everyone turned out from what they were doing to look at you. All of yours and Master Plo’s men saw you run toward the blaze and disappeared into it, and they were all waiting for your return in concern.

When you arrived at their level and stopped, you were panting and sweating like never before, and you felt like if you were chocking. The jedi immediately came toward you, asking you if you were alright, but you barely paid attention to them, too busy worrying about the man you were carrying. The atmosphere became heavy and tensed when the Wolfpack realized that their commander was completely still and not moving at all.

“I need a medic, please, can someone help me ?” you burst as you lowered down to gently lay him on the ground, drained and barely standing on your feet anymore, your throat still hurting and your voice harsh from inhaling too much smoke.

An agitation took over the men gathered around you and some of them rushed to find a medic. An anxious silence felt on the group as you bend over Wolffe and started to cautiously remove his helmet. Nobody dared to say a world, they all seemed to hold their breath, even the jedi stayed quiet. Your heart was still beating fast, but not from your run this time. You were afraid of what you could find under that bucket, and it skipped a bit when you saw his face. He was looking just like if he was asleep, almost too peaceful despite what he had just been through.

You checked his breath and his pulse, and a heavy sigh of relief escaped you when you realized that they hadn’t stopped.

“It’s ok, he’s alive” you quietly told Master Plo, who was crouched next to you, without taking your eyes off of the clone.

“Thanks to you, he was doomed without your help, you surely were his guardian angel on that one, (Y/n), once again.”

His last words made your head raise to look at him with surprise. It was something Wolffe once told you, when you were at his bedside after Ventress ripped his eye off. He told you how lucky he was that you had found him on time before she had the chance to finish him, and that you brought him back to the base when someone else would have probably left him behind to die.

He called you his guardian angel, and those words made your heart burst. That day, you promised him that you will never abandon him no matter what could happen.

Your gazes met, and you stayed like that for a moment, staring at each other. That look the Kel Dor gave you was powerfully meaningful, you knew he was trying to tell you something, but you couldn’t exactly understand what. Then suddenly, you heard his voice ringing into your head, out of nowhere.

“I know I shouldn’t tell you that, but I think that you two will need to seriously discuss those feelings after all of this.”

Your eyes widen in surprise. Did a Jedi Master just suggested you to confess your feelings to someone ? A ton of things came swirling in your mind at his words. How did he knew ? Were you not hiding it well enough ? Did he felt it through the force ?

Of course, he knew, he was one of the closest person to Wolffe along with you, and even if you had been trying your best to ignore and repress your feelings, maybe just the way you cared for each other and spent so much time together was making it obvious.

You didn’t get more time to think about it, as you caught a glimpse of three medics running toward you from the corner of your eyes. You raised your head to look at them, breaking the eye contact with Plo, but his voice came to your mind once again.

“He really is attached to you, you know.”

“I know” you whispered in response, low enough so Obi-Wan, who was standing next to you, could not hear it, “I am, too …”

The medics were by your side in no time, and you moved aside to give them some space to work. Two of them checked on the commander, while the third was standing next to a stretcher he brought.

“General, are you ok ?” he asked you.

“Yeah, just a bit dizzy from the smoke, I feel like my lungs are full of ashes … But I’ll be alright.” You absent mindlessly answered, raising a hand to your face to swept the sweat still running on your forehead.

 “General, your hands, they’re burned !” he suddenly exclaimed with concern.

It was only at that moment that you realized how badly your skin had been burned and was hurting. Suddenly, you felt all the heavy weight of pressure and stress being lifted from your shoulders. A violent shiver came running through your spine despite the heat waves that were still striking at you, making you realized that you didn’t even get rid of your half consumed robes. You felt even more worn out, and all you were able to do was to stare at him with a vacant look, completely unable to react or speak anymore.

What happened next was so fast that you barely realized it, and you completely lost track of time.

Wolffe was placed on the stretcher and hooked to a respirator, for his lungs had been critically exposed to smoke. Then the medics removed his armor to examine the extent of his wounds. It was mostly burns, but fortunately not severe ones. They told you that a couple of bacta patches will be enough to treat them. You, too, were sat on a stretcher and gave a respirator, as well as a couples bacta patches for your hands and forearms.

 Soon after, reinforcement ships arrived to evacuate everyone and take you far from that hell of a planet. There was no point in staying here now that the outpost as well as all of the equipment had been completely destroyed. Wolffe’s state was stabilized, but he was still unconscious when you came onboard. You stayed close to him all the way back to Coruscant, hoping for him to wake up soon.

***

It took him a couple more hours after landing on Coruscant and being transferred to the GAR med bay to emerge from his coma. You stood by his side the whole time, waiting patiently for him to regain consciousness. You were exhausted, but you couldn’t allow yourself to fall asleep, not wanting to miss the moment when he’ll open his eyes.

When he finally did, he looked all around him in confusion, not understanding why and how he ended up here. He was still wearing a respirator, and run his hands through it, trying to figure out what was that thing attached to his face. Then he stared at his arms, to which some electrodes plugged to a monitor and some bacta patches were stuck, before painfully trying to sit up straight. When he noticed your presence, his eyes started to sparkles and his face instantly enlightened.

“(Y/n) …” he whispered with a weak voice.

“Hey …” you whispered back with a relieved smile.

“What, what happened ? Why am I here?”

“Well, you got trapped in the fire back at the outpost, when helping our troops to get out. You fell unconscious, so we had to extract you from the building … But you’re safe now, back on Coruscant. The medics said that your burns were only superficial. The patches will heal them in no time !”

“I barely remember it … I just remember the explosion, and that I gathered my men to evacuate, the fire was spreading so fast … But after that, nothing … How are the other ? Are they safe ? I did my best to lead them outside but …” he sighed, his brows furrowing and his face tensing worriedly.

“They’re fine, all of them, thanks to you. Don’t worry, you did the best thing you could have done for them. And you, how do you feel now ?”

“Strange honestly, but not so bad. I can feel the burns, it hurts, but it’s still bearable. I just feel awfully tired … And thirsty.”

“Great”, you chuckled, handing him a glass of water that was settled on his bed table, “You’ll feel better soon, you just need to rest for now.”

He took the glass and drank it in one gulp, quickly putting his oxygen mask back in place right after, as he was starting to cough and struggle to breath without it.

He was lost in thoughts, replaying his memories in his mind, when he noticed your hands and arms entirely bandaged, only leaving the tips of some of your fingers exposed.

“Wait, were you hurt ? Are you ok ? What happened ?” he let out with an expression of deep concern.

You lowered your head at his words, hesitant to tell him the truth, suddenly feeling irrationally embarrassed and self-conscious.

“(Y/n) ? Are you okay ?”

“It … It happened when I pulled you out of the building after you fell unconscious … The metal of your armor was very hot because of the fire … But that’s okay, I’m fine, its already nearly healed !” you said quietly, smiling shyly and trying to be as reassuring as possible.

“You did what ?” he exclaimed with widening eyes.

“I … get back inside the building to found you when they told me that you didn’t get out on time …”

You both stayed silent for a moment, Wolffe trying to process what he had just heard.

“Why did you do that ? You could have been killed …” his voice was trembling, and you weren’t sure if he was reprimanding you or if he was just very surprised and worried.

“I know, but I wasn’t thinking about it at this moment, I was only thinking about you … I told you that I’ll always be here to watch your back, remember ? I just couldn’t leave you behind you know, I knew that you were still alive, I could feel it through the Force, I just couldn’t leave you here to die, that wasn’t even an option …”

His expression softened, you were right, you promised, and he knew that you were sincere about it, but he could never have imagined that you’ll literally jump into fire for him. He was so moved by your words that he found himself unable to refrain the words that were swirling over and over again and flashing in capital letters to his mind to escape from his mouth.

“I love you, (Y/n) …” he breathed out, his gaze lost on you.

It was your turn to stare at him with a confused expression.

“Sorry, what ?” you mumbled, not sure if you had just dreamed that or not.

“I love you, (Y/n).” he repeated, a bit louder, “I should have told you that before but … I wasn’t courageous enough to do it. But now I just need you to know, because maybe next time I will not be that lucky to have you by my side to save me, and I don’t want to die without having had the chance to tell it to you. You are the best thing that ever happened to me, and now I owe you my life … You truly are my guardian angel, and I love you more than anything in this world.”

You felt your eyes becoming watery, and without detaching them from him, you moved from your chair to the edge of his bed, sitting close to him, and carefully wrapped your arms around his body, before burying your face in the crook of his neck.

His skin was warm as if it was still soaked with the fire’s heat. You completely melted as he snuggles against you, his own arms encircling you, and one of his hand settled on your head, softly running its fingers through your hair.

“I don’t want to think about the eventuality of losing you …”, you muttered in his ear, voice filled with emotion, “I Just want you to know that I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, I can’t express how important you are to me, I just know that I could never live in a world where you’re not by my side anymore … I love you too, and I just want to stay your guardian angel for as long as possible …”

You felt his embrace around you tighten a bit, and you hear him sighed in relief through his respirator.

“Thank you” he muttered back, his own eyes starting to be submerged with tears, “I’ll do my best to stay with you as long as I can then, I promise you, mesh’la, I just want to be with you.”

After a moment, you let go of his neck and planted a soft kiss on his forehead. He closed his eyes and you felt him shivered under your lips, his cheeks turning a bright tone of red.

“I wish I could take that mask off to kiss you, but I’m afraid I might suffocate again if I try too …” he met out with disappointment.

“Don’t worry about that” you giggled, “we’ll have plenty of time to catch it up when you’ll get better.”

“I can’t wait for it”, he whispered, a fond smile instantly appearing on his face, before pulling in for another gentle and long-awaited hug.

[where-fantasy-meets-reality]

“Reflections of a Distant Past” Chapter 5

Masterlist here

Pairing: Ben Kenobi x Fem. Reader

Word Count: 8.3K

Warnings: mentions of a car crash and parental death. 

A/N: ITS FINALLY DATE NIGHT! writing this chapter and diving into each character's backstory a bit more was enjoyable and I can’t wait to continue developing these characters further. Lots planned in this slow burn. As always thanks for supporting and enjoy. Feel free to comment your thoughts and reactions as I always enjoy reading them and if you want to be added to the tag list just let me know. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Whether it was the intense anticipation of a date with Ben or just the busy life of adulting (or a bit of both) the half-a-week went by at light speed.

Somehow time had kicked into hyperdrive and the hours between your lazy Sat. superhero movie session and Wed.’s date night had blurred by.

Even when you woke up this morning you felt like you needed to calm yourself because you had all day to get through before you could genuinely get overly excited about what the night would bring. 

Ahsoka hadn’t helped to curb your excitement when you picked up your coffee this morning.

“So what are you wearing tonight?!” She exclaimed as you approached the counter. Giving you a once over, she pursed her lips. “Please tell me it isn’t that…..His favorite color is blue, so you should start with that.”

Rolling your eyes, you placed your purse on the counter. “Good morning to you as well Ahsoka, I’m doing fine thanks. I’d like a dirty chi latte today please…and don’t hate on my work clothes, I apologize for my ballgown being in the shop getting pressed.”

Without missing a beat or turning to look over her shoulder at you, Ahsoka sassed you back as she made your order. “Oh no, a ballgown is far too formal for Ben….something much more casual will do, a ballgown might scare him off….No, I’d say stick with something blue for good luck…..or a soft rose color…maybe yellow, you look good in those colors….”

She placed the latte down in front of you. “....What about that blue long-sleeve top you have, the thin one with the crew neck? It’s really soft. That one is good, it can get cold at night this time of year so it should be comfortable, and it can be dressed up or down….pair that with a nice pair of jeans and those chunky black heels you have….or maybe those nude ankle-strap heels that you have…”

Your mouth hung open, interrupting her. “Jeez Ahsoka, have you memorized my closet?”

Ignoring you, she studied your face. “Definitely freshen up your makeup….maybe re-do your eyes in a softer brown, they bring out the warmer tones of your eyes.”

Throwing the cash on the counter, you picked up your purse and the latte. “Bye Ahsoka, keep the change and consider it your tip for the fashion advice.”

She smiled brightly. “Thanks…Just so you know, he is really excited…he hasn’t stopped smiling since you said yes.”

Stopping, you turned around. “Really?”

The young girl with large eyes and blue-striped hair smiled. “Yup. I think he really likes you….Just relax and be yourself. She punched something in the cash register and the drawer popped open. “…Good luck Em!” She shouted as pushed the cash draw close.

That little last bit made up for the harassment about the makeup and the clothes. You knew she meant it all in good fun….but it still made you nervous.

Unannounced to her, you really liked Ben too. And despite only having been texting him for less than a full week….You had done the one thing that you told yourself not to and that was to develop full-fledged feelings before you even went on a date.

It may just be a casual dinner, but there was a lot riding on the small talk at the dinner table.

Still, if Ben was excited, then maybe everything would be alright.

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

You were standing in front of your bedroom mirror, turning and eyeing yourself as you did any last-minute fixes or outfit changes.

You would never let her know it, but you had done everything Ashoka had suggested. The more you thought about it, her suggestions were spot on…and if she knew what he liked, why not take advantage of the advice?

The thing long sleeve dark blue shirt had paired nicely with a pair of straight-leg jeans and you had opted for the pair of ankle-strapped nude heels that Ahsoka had suggested.

Your makeup, however, changed. You had washed your day look off and opted for a more subtle and natural look this evening. A soft brown lipstick and some light brown eyeshadow and black mascara were enough…no sense in overdoing it.

Your dark brown hair was down with a nice headband that allowed your hair to flow down your shoulders and fame your face.

Turning to Coal, who sitting like a hen in the middle of your bed, you twirled and asked his opinion. Sadly though, the grumpy old cat seemed less than impressed and just stared at you blankly.

“Wow, tough crowd.” You murmured as you turned back to the mirror. “Well…I like it. I feel comfortable, confident, and ready….If Ben does’nt like it then that’s too bad.”

Before you could pretend to believe that statement or not, not the confident and comfortable part, that part was true; it was the part about it being too bad if Ben disagreed, the doorbell rang.

Looking at the clock on the nightstand, the green, large numbers glowed brightly. 7:00.

“Mr. Perfect is punctual too….”

Talking one last twirl in the mirror, you let out a short breath. You grabbed your small evening bag and slung it over your shoulder. “Bye Coal.”

But Coal ignored you.

The walk from your bedroom to the front door seemed a lot shorter than it should have, but as you were gripping the handle of the door, you took a deep centering breath.

Opening the door, you didn’t know Ben could further surprise you…but he did.

Ben Kenobi stood in front of you with a singular red rose in his hand. He wore dark jeans, camel-colored dress shoes, a white button-down shirt, and a navy blazer that made his gorgeous cerulean eyes stand out against the black of night. His strawberry blond hair and beard were trimmed and styled neatly.

He just stared at you, like you were him.

Holding out the Rose towards you, he was the first to break the silence. “Emma…You look absolutely beautiful.”

Blushing, you took it. “Thank you. Come inside while I put this in some water.”

Standing aside and holding the door open wider, you allowed him entry into your home.

“Thank you,” Ben murmured with a tight head nod.

He stood at the entry and looked around, or at least that’s what you noticed as you darted to the kitchen to grab a small vase.

“Your house... It is quite charming and cozy…very nice.”

“Thank you!” You called out over the sound of the water coming from the faucet.

Placing the singular rose hastily into the vase, you put it on the counter and shut the lights off as you darted back to the front entryway.

Ben was standing with his hands held behind his back. “You have a cat too…a long-haired one…right?”

You winced at his recognition. “Yeah sorry…I groom him regularly but the fur is so much work for me to keep up with.”

Looking alarmed, his eye grew as his eyebrows shot to his hairline. “No! Please don’t miss understand me, your house is quite clean…I was merely referring to his scent…had I not smelled him, I would hardly know you had one.”

Tilting your head at him, your eyes narrowed in confusion. “That’s odd…I didn’t think Cole had a smell…I must just be immune to it, as I said I do attempt to keep him clean but he always makes such a fuss.”  

He suddenly stiffened. “Ah….Well….I’ve always been known to have a sensitive nose and good senses…”

Judging his behavior, and what you had known about him prior to this, you came to the conclusion that he became nervous or put off very easily. You bit the inside of your lip hoping this wouldn’t become a problem in the long run…if there was a long run…

Not wanting the evening to start off wrongly before it even started, you changed the subject.

“That’s good to know…Remind me to take you candle shopping when Bath and Body Works has their half-off sale…”

He relaxed visibly and smiled. “Padme.. my roommate’s wife says I pick out all the best ones.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it.”

The tension left his shoulders and he extended his elbow out to you, an opportunity for you to link arms with him. “Shall we?”

Linking arms with him, you noticed that even though the blazar, his skin ran hot again like that day in the shop.

“Never mind candle shopping, remind me to take this guy with me when I go sledding or ice skating.”

Outwardly, all you said was, “So…where are we going?” as you locked the front door to the house.

“I thought I’d take you to this place in town, it is a little whole-in-the-wall bistro called “Angelina’s”....I’ve been there before and they have a large menu with the best comfort food….I thought it suitable for the evening.”

Stepping into him, you looked up at him. “That sounds wonderful…I have always wanted to go there and have good things about the food.”

A small gust of wind blew a stray piece of hair in your eyes, but before you could do anything to move it back, Ben gently tucked the stay piece of hair behind your ear. “Splendid.” He whispered as he looked at you.

Walking arm and arm down the steps toward the driveway, you started to slow down as you noticed his car.

It was nothing out of the ordinary. An average Honda Accord…..in a blue-gray color….the only striking thing about it was how new it was; it could only have been a year old.

Come to think of it, you had never even seen Ben behind the wheel of a car…he just always kind of…appeared.

But then again, you had never been outdoors when you had seen him, so that wasn’t a fair assumption to make.

Chuckling, he sensed your internal conversation. “Not what you were expecting? Padme drives a BMW, next time I could take that if you’d like?”

Quickly you turned to apologize to him, but he was wearing a smile that told you he was kidding. “...I know, no one ever suspects that this is my car….truthfully, it could be because I never pick them out. One of my roommates, Anakin, he’s a mechanic and I always just let him choose what car I drive because I do not care what I drive, and it’s fun for him. I give him a budget and just tell him not to pick any loud color like yellow or red…”

Stepping toward the car and unliking his arm so he could open the door for you. “This is his latest choice. It is quite comfortable too, drives nice….”

You gave him a bashful smile as you ducked your head to get into the car. “I agree, it’s a very nice car….I just had never given what you drove much thought so…it kind of took me by surprise….”

He just gave you a small chuckle as he closed the car door.

Walking briskly around the front of the car to the driver’s side, he seemed to be seated and seatbelted before you could blink….but that wouldn’t have been possible.

Boy…. if time was starting to blur that badly then you really must be nervous….

Taking a deep breath as the car backed out of the driveway, you scolded yourself for being this nervous. You were not 15 and this was not the first date you had ever been on. Granted…it had been a while…and the last time you went down this road, it hadn’t ended in the best way….but you could do better than the way you were acting.

As if Ben could sense your uneasiness, he started the conversation again.

“I apologize if I am quieter than usual…I find myself a bit nervous this evening.”

Finally relaxing, you couldn’t help but find his confession adorable. It had the desired effect of relaxing you (whether or not that was his intention), as you felt the tension and stress leave your shoulders.

“It’s okay, I…I too am a bit more nervous than I’d like to be.”

You weren’t looking at him, you just kept looking out the window. You were afraid that if you looked at him you would say something stupid.

“Well….then we’ll take things slow and go forward together so that we stay on the same page….” He turned to look at you briefly. “Sound fair?”

Glancing at him, you couldn’t help but smile. There was just something about him that put you at ease. You believed him when he said he wouldn’t rush things or make you feel pressured. “Sounds very fair.”

- - - - - - - - - - -

Ben continued to put you at ease for the remainder of the ride. The ride to the restaurant had been filled with small talk. He also appeared to be a very good driver…very intuitive; he handled the car well and drove at reasonable speeds…not exactly at the speed limit, but 5 mph over never hurt anyone.

Topics such as the eventual start of term at his work, what classes he was teaching, any exciting book launches that you were looking forward to at the store, the inevitable change of season…Ben had said that he was looking forward to that one, fall was one of his favorites.

Angelinas was a quaint, charming little bistro. Dimly lit, small candles on every table and fairy lights lined the windows and wrapped their way around the room, adding to the aesthetic.

It may be summer, but nights in northern Vermont could get pretty chilly, so you were grateful to be sitting inside…and grateful that you had chosen the long-sleeve wardrobe option.

Ben was not kidding when he said that the menu was huge. Italian, French, and American comfort food options lined page after page of the menu. Everything sounded so good, you didn’t know what to choose.

You weren’t one of those girls who ordered something different on the first date to make an impression. Nothing against them, but you were the type of girl who ordered fries and actually ate them.

Ben had suggested getting an appetizer, and the two of you settled on an order of Eggplant fires; they were paired with this zesty lemon garlic aioli that was the perfect dipping sauce. Ahsoka had turned him onto them and now he couldn’t get enough of them. You were down to try anything once, culinary-wise, and to your delight, they were actually pretty good.

For your entrees, you had decided to order a classic comfort food; an order of chicken parm over a giant bed of pasta. Ben, on the other hand, had opted for the steak, a baked potato, and broccoli…not exactly comfort food but classic enough.

Now, you found yourself halfway through the meal, and no end in sight as far as the conversation is concerned. Thankfully, you had completely relaxed and let your walls down, and so it seemed had Ben.

“Okay…okay, so let me see if I can get this straight….Padme and Anakin are married, you met Anakin in college….and they adopted Ahsoka….but in a way, you did too…did I get that right?”

“Bravo.” He raised his wine glass towards you. “Well done…not many people get it that quickly.”

“And Anakin is a mechanic…he owns the garage on Tower Street…right?”

Ben’s eyes twinkled in the glow of the candlelight. “Right again….Anakin is an excellent mechanic…Although, he is equally good with computers, perhaps better. I keep telling him to sell the garage and go work for some computer company. Better pay, better hours, and a lot less grease….” He chuckled. “But he insists on the garage…he loves working with his hands and truthfully I think he’d become like a destructive toddler if he had to sit at a desk all day; working with his hands is good for him.”

“That's hysterical, but I know the feeling. I love owning the store and couldn’t imagine being strapped behind a desk all day.”

“How long have you owned the store?” Ben asked as he took a sip of his wine.

Titling your head to the side, you had to stop and think about that. “I’m not sure… definitely longer than five years…I didn’t open it right after college but it has been….oh…yeah probably about 6-7 years.”

“You said you went to college up here, correct?”

Nodding your head, you cut a piece of chicken. “Yes….I went to the state college and majored in English. That's where I met my best friend, Paisley. We were roommates freshman year and we’ve been inseparable ever since. When we graduated, I had only planned on staying for the summer but I ended up not having much of a reason to go back home…”

Swallowing the piece of broccoli, he lifted the napkin to his face to dab at his lips. “Why is that? A job offer?”

You stiffened. This was never a fun subject, but you had allowed the conversation to go this far knowing you would have to disclose the information…he would have to know eventually. “...No…that summer, I was just goofing off and working a crap job to hang around with friends and say goodbye to my college life, planned to leave in the fall… when….well….one day I got a phone call from a police officer saying that my parents had died….”

You reached out for your glass and took a sip of wine. Ben stiffened and his eyes widened as he watched you take a drink.

Swallowing quickly, you continued.

“... head-on collision…a driver from out of town had got on the highway exit ramp from the wrong direction and well….you can imagine what happened….”

Ben just continued to stare at you, his eyes almost hollow.

Very quickly though, grief filled them as his eyebrows furrowed. “Oh…Oh, Emma…I am so sorry….that is terrible, ghastly….How old were you?”

You swallowed your next sip of wine hard. “24.”

His jaw dropped open and his eyes seemed to be even more concerned than they were before.

“Yup…about 7 years ago last month….I was an only child…no grandparents around, no siblings….Aunts and Uncles on both sides who live out of town and I hardly saw them when I was a kid… I went home to bury them, sold the house, and then came right back here in an attempt to bury the pain and heal. I’ve never left since. Paisley was my rock during that time…”

Ben seemed to have recovered from the shock.

“I can imagine. That must have been devastating…to be on such a precipice of life…like getting ready to jump off of a cliff, take off and soar, a world full of possibilities… only to be yanked backward brutally by reality….Again, I am truly sorry.”

Shrugging your shoulders, you shook your head. You didn’t want to dwell on this too much and have it ruin the tone of the evening. It had been some time and if you were being honest, the pain had healed enough where you were usually okay to talk about it; but not tonight.  

“Thank you Ben. But, it’s okay. They got to see me graduate and I had talked to them, ironically, that morning. We had a great relationship filled with beautiful memories…Most days I’ve accepted that this is reality now and I’m at peace with it…I don’t want to dwell on it too much tonight, so let us change the subject.…. How about you? Are you an only child?”

Ben took in a deep breath as if he was bracing himself for this topic. It just now occurred to you that his past might be just as tragic as yours. “No, I was the middle child. I had an older brother and a younger sister. My parents…well they were tough but they loved us…I guess you could consider them old-fashioned.”

Relaxing, you breathed out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in.

“That’s wonderful. Are you close with your siblings? Your parents?”

He pursed his lips. “My parents….well….I’m not sure if we were close…it was tough to explain…but my siblings…we were definitely close. My older brother, Michael… was one of my best friends, and my younger sister, Lillian…well she was adorable….I was always very protective of her and she loved to read, like you…”

You brightened. “That sounds like the type of sibling relationship I would want if I had siblings….what was her favorite book?”

Ben leaned forward, excited. “You know… surprisingly, it was “A Study in Scarlett.” She and I were constantly passing that book and forth when it came out….she was obsessed with it…”

Confusion…you must have not heard that incorrectly. “Ben…I think the wine is getting to me…I’m sorry but I think you said “when it came out”….that book was published in 1887…do you mean when the two of you got it as kids?”

His eyes clamped shut and you noticed his fist that was resting on the table ball up. He swallowed hard, taking a minute to visibly force himself to relax before his eyes opened.

Ben’s voice was strained when he spoke, his British accent thicker than usual.

“...Yes…forgive me, I believe the wine and the excitement are getting to me as well… yes, I mean when it came out…I think my mother must have gotten us a new edition from the bookstore at the time and we just poured ourselves over it….”

Not wanting to linger on the mess up, you chalked up to it him just being nervous and the wine; an honest mistake like he said. “How about Michale? Did he like to read?”

“He did. He used to pick up the copy and read it when my sister and I weren’t hogging it. But he was always working a lot of long hours, so he didn’t have as much free time as we did.”

“What does he do?”

“He was a banker…My father was a banker….In my family, it was customary that the oldest boy follows in the footsteps of his father, and thankfully Michael came first because I would go mad if I was a banker, not at all my idea of an enjoyable job…no, no I am all set…”

The two of you shared mutual laughter.

“Oh and history professor is much more invigorating,” you teased.

Ben’s mouth hung open in mock offense. “Now hang on there missy…I started out as a news reporter, thank you.”

You sat forward, a sudden excitement over you.

“Really?! What paper did you write for? And you refer to your siblings in the past tense, do you not see them anymore?”

Maybe it was the wine, or, maybe Ben wasn’t up to sharing as much information as he thought he was or he would like to. He had clamped his eyes shut again as if he was frustrated with himself or something was bothering him…like the questions you were asking him.

Sinking back in your chair, you didn’t like that he beat himself up so much and you didn’t want to push him into sharing anything that he didn’t want to, so you decided to back off…again.

“I’m sorry if my questions are too personal, we can change the subject and talk about something more general if you like.”

His ocean-colored eyes popped open. His usual calm and centered state returned.  “No….it’s fine…Just…I understand where your coming from when you say it’s hard to talk about your parents…Sometimes this is hard for me to talk about my family and my past as well.”

Okay….maybe you did want to prod a little.

“Why is that?” Your voice was gentle.

A small frown quirked up in the corners of his mouth. But at least he wasn’t visibly shutting down or frustrated like he was before. “It was a very long time ago and…things just fell apart one day and changed drastically….I’m not sure what happened to any of them, I lost touch….”

Looking up at you, for a brief second, you could have sworn you saw a flash of gold in his very blue eyes….probably just the glow from the fairy lights and the wine messing with you again.

Reaching out, you laid your hand palm up on the table, a gesture of comfort toward him. You kept your voice low and soft. “I understand, truly….Still, that can’t be easy…for what it is worth, I am sorry….I’m glad you have your friends that you live with for support, no one deserves to be alone. If you ever need someone to talk to, I am here.”

He smiled, a soft, half-mouthed smile as he reached out and placed his hand in yours.

Ben’s skin was soft and warm. His hand’s hands were so much larger than yours…but you could have linked your hands with his forever…there was something magnetic about his touch. In addition to his skin being so soft and warm, his hands were…comfortable. Frim, but comforting.

He must have felt similar things because he gave your hand a soft squeeze as he curled his fingers around yours.

But, as quickly as it happened, it was over.

Your hand lying palm up on the table felt cold and vulnerable without his hand in yours. If you two were closer, you would have asked him to put his hand back, having missed his touch already.

“One hour at a time. Go slow, remember, stay on the same page Em.”

Attempting to get off the heavy topics, you shifted to a neutral territory as you sipped your wine. “So…has Ahsoka started considering college? She’s a junior right?”  

Ben started bobbing his head. “Yes…she is a junior, where the time went I’m not sure, I feel like she’s growing up so fast….She does want to go to college, but I am not sure what for…” He chuckled lightly. “I’m not even sure she knows….Padme, Anakin’s wife, is always trying to get her to explore new ideas.”

“Really? What does Padme do?”

“She is a preschool teacher. She used to be a nurse at one point and she loves politics, but she switched careers and went into early childhood education….” He smiled fondly as if he could see something beyond you. “She loves children and she loves those kids she works with…she is an excellent teacher; patient, kind, and caring…they all love her.”

“It sounds like you have quite the group of amazing friends.”

“ I do…and…” he leaned in closer to you from across the table “...We put on a heck of thanksgiving….I’m just saying… it’s of legendary proportions.”

He winked playfully at you.

Covering your mouth to stifle your laughter and praying you didn’t snort, you tried to collect yourself. He had spoken with such seriousness that you thought he was going to say something else. When his tone didn’t match his words, it only added to the humor.

“Oh yeah, well here is hoping I’m still around by Thanksgiving….What about Christmas? I’m more of a Christmas gal personally…”

His eyes twinkled with enthusiasm. “Ah…Now see, whereas I leave Thanksgiving to my roommates…Christmas is MY thing…..I go all out for Christmas….We’ll have to introduce you to a Kenobi Christmas this year…” He winked at you again.

Lifting your wine glass, you tilted it towards him briefly, a cheeky grin on your face. “I’ll drink to that.”

Picking up his glass, he gently clanged it with yours. “Indeed.”

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

Ben had insisted on ordering dessert.

“It’s part of the rules of a first date.” He had teased.

Not being able to choose, the two of you had decided to split a very large, but delicious piece of chocolate cake with a large scoop of cookies and cream ice cream (your choice) on the side.

The cake had been the epitome of comfort food. Four moist, rich layers of chocolate cake, with sweet, whipped chocolate frosting in between each layer and covering the whole outside.

You had barely made a dent in when Ben had announced that he was throwing in the towel and insisted that you take the rest home.

Now the two of you found yourself strolling through the night, linked arm and arm. Ben was carrying the desert bag, as he insisted that “a lady does not carry her own parcels.”

Angelina’s was in the older part of town where the stores, older houses, and duplexes were very close together. The streets were still made of cobblestones and the sidewalks were larger: the concrete had been poured during a time when people utilized the sidewalks as a necessary means of transportation.

The street lamps still looked old-fashioned, despite having been converted from gas lamps to electrical ones. It gave everything a charming feel and seemed to match the aesthetic inside Angelina’s as well.

There was a slight breeze, which normally would have made you chilly, but when linked arms with Ben, between the heat of his skin and your butterflies, you were anything but cold.

You two were walking together at a strolling pace, laughter, and joy radiating from the two of you.

“No….no….see, this what irritates me…They downplayed Vision in the movies so much…in the comic books Vision is so much more of a heavy hitter and force to be reckoned with.”

Even though you agreed with Ben, there was something about his British accent that just made everything he said seem more intelligent and correct.

“Yes! I agree…I mean we get a taste of it in some parts of the movies but they never really let him loose….”

Bed nodded vigorously. “I mean…all of the Avengers are forces to be reckoned with in their own way…and we get to see that in most cases, but It always bugged me that they did Vision like that…they did him “dirty” as Ahsoka would say.”

Looking at you, he quirked up an eyebrow. “Did I say that right? Is that how it goes? “Did him dirty” means to jip someone right?”

You giggled unapologetically.

“Yes…, that is how it goes, good job on picking up the lingo…and I agree, Vision deserves his justice.”

There was a gentle hum of the city that you swear on other nights was so much louder, but tonight everything seemed to be muted; everything but Ben. Ben was lively, bold, and comforting.  

“Do you have any other tastes in film…or do you just restrict yourself to superheroes?” He teased.

“Haha…Well truthfully, it’s the book that’s the best version of any story”

His eyebrows rose as he nodded. “Hard to argue with that.”

“…But I enjoy all types of movies..drama, romance, comedy, period pieces, sci-fi..…even animated ones….”

He bobbed his head in thought.

“Well…” You started to speak again. “...that might be a lie….horror is out, no horror films…”

“Ah, got it. So animation in, horror out….”

Rolling your eyes, you jabbed him gently.

“Holy crap!… This man is all muscle. You would never know it….I mean you can tell he is in fantastic shape but… dang…I think I hurt myself on that jab, it certainly did not affect him.”

Good-naturedly, you rolled your eyes and huffed.  “No…I mean some light suspense movies I do enjoy…but the real horror stuff, like the slasher and gore…or the dark-themed films, that’s not my thing. I don’t enjoy being scared and I can never understand why people pay to be scared. Oppositely, the reason I enjoy animated films is I think that they are beautiful…they usually have great scores, and good lyrics and the artwork is always breathtaking; its moving paintings that tell you a story.”

Ben stopped walking and looked at you, somewhat amused. “...I’ve never heard anyone describe an animated movie like that but I’d be hard-pressed to disagree with you…I always felt that the artwork was astonishing myself… especially in some of the older ones…with the newer ones, its art and technology working together and it is equally as amazing…but the hand-drawn stuff…”

His eyes really were blue….like unbelievably blue as you stared into them. They reminded you of the sky on a sunny day… you could easily get lost in his stare forever.

“Exactly.”

You were afraid to talk louder than a small murmur, afraid that it would disturb the flow of the night. Why you felt that way, you weren’t sure. The town around you was anything but quiet in reality, despite what you felt, and Ben was talking at the same volume he had been all night.

However, you were feeling enchanted by your date’s charm and charisma. He stared back at you and he felt his hand that had previously been linked with your wrap itself around your waist.

You breathed in and stepped closer to him, desperate for more contact. However, something had broken the trance between you two and Ben took a step back. Regaining composure, he linked arms with you again and restarted the stroll.

‘So movies, books…What about music?” You shifted topics.

“Music, I’m a bit pickier. Anything after the 1960s is not my interest. Anakin loves, like really loves 80’s rock….Padme is big into Jazz and swing…and oddly enough disco…I have no idea what Ahsoka listens to anymore, I can’t make sense of it…”

The two of you chuckled. “Typical teenager, my parents felt the same way when I was her age.”

That was your attempt to defend an innocent teenager and her, most likely, questionable taste in music.

“Sadly…but yeah….anything prior to 1960…Although…some 90’s stuff is really good…”

“Hey, that’s my music! I grew up in the 90s and 2000’s….But I guess I can share considering you’ve got good taste.” You teased.

Ben gave a gracious, exaggerated head nod. “Ever a gracious lady.”

Blushing, you tipped your head back at him.

“Well, we’re flip-flopped then. I will listen to literally any kind of music….jazz, classical, rock, hip-hop, pop, rap, country….as long as the music is going, I’m in…whereas you, Mr.1960, clearly are pickier…”

Ben bobbed his head. “Whereas I will watch just about any film or television show…and you…well, like I said…animation in, horror out…”

He nudged you teasingly with his elbow.

Your head few back as your eyes squeezed shut in exasperation. Ben, however, was amused, his light laughter telling you so.

“I am never going to live that down am I?” You sighed.

“Nope.”

The two of you walked, continuing the causal conversation as the two of you continued to learn all about each other.

Ben’s favorite season was fall. His favorite color was blue. His job as a reporter had been a natural path to his job now as a history professor. He learned to play piano as a child. He had a best friend named Charlie growing up.

You both loved chocolate. He couldn’t begin to understand why your favorite season was summer. You also loved piano music. You both loved animals. He was not surprised that your favorite flowers were roses.

“Typical.” He snorted.

“What do you mean typical?!” You shrieked in mock offense.

“Girls always like roses. What about tulips, hydrangeas….orchids? There are so many gorgeous flowers in the world and everyone picks roses.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a classic. I bet I can still surprise you though.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Purple roses are my favorite roses….yellow daffodils are my second favorite flower.”

He smiled. “Okay…you’re redeemed. I don’t believe I’ve heard anyone say purple roses were their favorite. And daffodils are a wonderful choice, not typically what people choose and much more original.”

As you nodded your head in agreement, a small yawn escaped your lips. “Ooo I’m sorry.”

Stopping, he looked suddenly protective of you. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have kept you out so late. I can take you home if you’d like.”

Putting a hand on his forearm, he softened. “It’s okay Ben…I’m a big girl, if I wanted to go home I would have told you so.”

Giving you a bashful smile, he tilted his head. “I apologize. I just want to make sure I am making a good impression…It’s bad manners for a gentleman to keep a lady out later than she’d prefer to be on the first date.”

“Well, lucky for you….You’ve made quite a good impression…So, I wouldn’t stress…but I do apologize, as much fun as I am having, I am getting sleepy.”

Unlinking his arms with you, he wrapped them around you instead, resting his hand on the small of your back, Ben closed the distance between the two of you so that your noses were almost touching…almost.

“Well…if I want to keep myself in your good graces, I should be getting you home then…It wouldn’t be proper for me to let you fall asleep in the middle of the street.”

Butterflies erupted throughout your veins, his velvety voice crisp with his British accent almost sent you weak at the knees.

He was so beautiful…better looking than any other guy you had dated…He was kind, intelligent, charming…well mannered.

Gosh, you were falling so hard for him.

Sometimes it felt like he was from a different time. The way he approached relationships and dating…the way he acted and spoke….How he carried himself, he wasn’t like other men. Especially the men you had dated.

Some of the things he did and said should have sent red flags, but they didn’t. He didn’t feel dangerous. He felt safe.

If he thought he would fall off your good graces by keeping you out late, then he was even more of a keeper than you originally thought.

Jokingly, you bumped your nose against him. “I’ll let you off the hook this time. But next time you will lose points if I yawn and I am not home.”

He bumped his nose back with you and smiled.

Stepping back, he linked arms with you again and pointed in the direction of the restaurant that you had eaten at earlier, where the car was parked. “Your carriage awaits my darling.”

- - - - - - - - - -

The car ride home was quiet but pleasant. You cursed the fact that you were tiered; you wished this date could have just kept going. Not even in a promiscuous way…you were just generally sad to leave his side. Being sleepy made you feel like you were wasting an opportunity for valuable bonding time.

Pulling into your driveway, he turned the car off. Like earlier, he was around the car and opening your door before you had even unbuckled yourself. You must have been really tired.

Helping you out of the car, he walked you to your door.

Getting your keys out of your purse, you turned to address him from the front steps. “I had a really wonderful time this evening.”

Ben smiled brightly. “I did as well, thank you for a wonderful evening….” He suddenly became shy. “If it is alright with you, I would very much like to take you out again.”

“Absolutely.” You didn’t hesitate, and the confidence in your voice made him smile warmly.

“This time you pick the time and place. I’m still off for the summer, so my schedule is wide open…”

“How about coffee one evening? I have to go inside and look at my schedule but I can text you and let you know, maybe this weekend?”

He smiled, eyes practically glowing.

“It’s a date.”

You stared at him, lingering on your front doorstep, not wanting to say goodbye. You wanted to pull him inside and snuggle into him forever.

Ben pursed his lips, sensing the lingering awkwardness. “I apologize, I’m out of practice on current dating trends…and  I do not usually kiss on the first date…”

Not being able to help it, you snorted. “It’s okay, I don’t either…I just don’t want to go inside and say goodbye yet.”

He relaxed. “A comprise then?” One of his eyebrows arched.

You nodded your head, curious.

Ben climbed the two steps of your front porch so he was higher than you. He placed his hands on your forearms, holding you firmly but gently, close to him.

“Don’t move.” He whispered.

As he leaned in, you couldn’t help but close your eyes. You felt his warm, full lips softly touch your forehead in a gentle kiss.

Breaking away, he didn’t back away fully from you. Your body felt as if thousands of volts of electricity were flowing through you, your heart beating widely. Desire and longing spiked within you.

Closing his eyes, he squared his jaw.

“May I hug you?” His voice was low and hushed.

“Please do.” You panted.

Receiving his advances eagerly, you hugged him back, practically throwing your arms tightly around him and burying yourself into the crook of his neck unapologetically. You felt his arms come around, equally as tightly. He held you to him.

Ben smelt like a combination of musk, sandalwood, and spice. The heat that came from his abnormally warm skin surrounded you and made you sigh in comfort, adding to the flaring emotions you were feeling.

Originally, you had feared that you would have made Ben feel uncomfortable or put him off. Instead, he wrapped you securely in his arms and held you tight.

You could have stayed there all night. You had fallen so hard and so fast that it normally would have bothered you how much you had fallen for him….but you couldn’t care at this point. You felt so safe, so wanted when he hugged you like this or even just the way he looked at you made you feel like you were worth your weight in gold.

“Good night Emma.” He whispered as he let go of you.

Closing your eyes, you nodded. Turning and putting the key into the lock, you turned it and opened the door. “Thank you, Ben, for a really amazing time…and good night.”

Ben waited till you went inside. As you leaned against the door inside your house, you heard him walk back to his car. Eventually, it turned on and pulled out of the driveway.

Only then did it feel like it was possible to breathe again.

You walked into your bedroom and plopped down on your bed and stared up at the ceiling.

How was this happening?

This type of romance was only something you had ever thought existed in movies or books. There was no way you were this lucky.

Part of you, the pessimistic and cynical part of you, was waiting for the “other shoe to fall.”

Because, as cynicism loved to remind you, there was no way that Ben could be as perfect as he appeared to be. He had to have some major flaw or secrete that hadn’t been exposed yet.

Staring up at the ceiling and watching the fan spin round and round, you recalled how he seems to get frustrated easily….and that he doesn’t like to talk about himself.

….But that wasn’t so bad…..right?

It’s okay if he didn’t like to overshare things about himself, some people are just privet… especially at first. There was no guarantee that this was going to work out and that you two would officially date.

So maybe he was just being cautious? In case things didn’t work out.

“Don’t cover up the red flags just because you really like him. Being humble or even shy about oneself is possible….but he gets downright angry when he talks about himself.”

Maybe you could bring it up to him. Sometimes people do not realize that they are doing things that they are.

Sighing loudly in the silent room, you realized that if things did go badly at this point, or if they just didn’t work out, you were going to get your heart broken.

It wasn’t supposed to happen that way…but it did. You had fallen for Mr. Wonderful despite your constant reminder not to do so…

Deciding that there wasn’t much you were able to do about it tonight, other than the daydreaming that you were most likely going to be doing about him until the next date.

After you showered and toweled dried your hair, you padded your way across the house to get a glass of water before bed.

As you passed through the hall, you noticed that one of the photos on your gallery wall was crooked.

One of your few prized possessions in your house was your gallery wall full of family photos. Even though you hadn’t known your aunts and uncles super well, you had fond memories of your grandparents on both sides when you were kids. Your parents had been close to their siblings growing up, so there was no bad blood. When your parents died, you gathered all the family photos around their house and took them back home with you. Now they and the rest of your family were always with you.

Photos of aunts and uncles, cousins, grandparents, big family gatherings, photos of your parents at various sporting events, graduations, romantic dates, and birthday parties. Even a picture or two of you and Paisly had even made its way to the wall. After all, at this point, she was family.

You even had a photo go your great, great, great grandparents (or however many generations ago it was) from the turn of the 20th century. It was an old family photo that just kept getting passed down from one generation to the next, and you weren’t one to break tradition.

That was the one that was crooked… as if someone had brushed by it and moved it accidentally.

Fixing it, you couldn’t help but marvel at how remarkably well-preserved the photo was for being over 100 years.

Your great-ish Grandmother had been a beautiful lady, elegant and kind-looking. Your grandfather looked kind and dressed well in the photo, but expressionless like all the men in his generation….

While they didn’t look as if they were madly in love, they definitely looked like they liked each other, unlike most marriages in those days, which were either out of obligation or out of being promised (an arranged marriage).

In this particular photo, they hadn’t been too old….if you remember correctly it had taken a few years before the first world war…1912 if you remember what your mom had said correctly.

No, there was definitely a smile between them and warmth in their eyes. They made you smile.

Steeping back, you took in the whole gallery as one, making sure no other pictures were out of place or titled.

A high-pitched “meow” that was more like a “raw” sound. Coal came out of the living room, stretched, and eyed you with an expression that said “And where have you been?”

Full of sass, you resumed your walk to the kitchen as you addressed him.

“I’m sorry warden sir, but I am home by a reasonable hour….and my date was a perfect gentleman mind you, so I’ll have none of your backtalk thank you.”

Coal just looked up at you unamused, his usual condescending look.

Rolling your eyes, you chuckled. “Come on grumpy. Let us go to bed.”

- - - - - -

The spinning cleaning fan in your room created a nice airflow, keeping the room at a pleasant temperature. Normally the summer nights were humid, but you were the type of sleeper who had to snuggle under some kind of blanket no matter what the season was, and this bedroom fan allowed you to burrow under your covers even on the hottest of nights. Even though tonight wasn’t cold, Ben had given you plenty to feel warm about.

Plugging your phone into the charger on your nightside table, you set your alarm for the morning.

Opening the sounds app, you selected a rainy city as your soundscape.

You couldn’t ever fall asleep to nothing. Some nights you played soft instrumental music, other nights you listened to white noise. Tonight, you choose a rainy urban city, filled with the sounds of thunder, pelting rain, and the hum of car motors as they drove about the city.

Snuggling under the bed sheet, finally comfortable, you sighed deeply. Tonight had been absolutely, incredibly wonderful. Ben was just the type of guy you had imagined him to be…but somehow better.

What made your heart soar, even more, was that he clearly seemed to be interested in you as well.

Earlier, you had promised each other that you would go slow.

Relationships had left you with a bad taste in your mouth, especially after your last one, and you had sworn you wouldn’t ever jump head-first into another one again.

But this was different….Ben was different.

Your eyes kept fluttering open and closed as you remembered how his blue eyes sparkled in the moonlight under the warm glow of the old-fashioned street lamps. How warm he was as he escorted you around town…The way his large hands delicately held yours…..his perfect smile, his charming laugh….that delicious accent that you could listen to forever….

Yup….all bets were off at this point. There was no going back. You were truly and utterly in love with Ben Kenobi.

@sillynilly27 @nanagoswife @transcending-time @thewhitedannimal @kirstenvldfan21 @the-clones-and-me @hugmekenobi @naughtyry @nicole-lightfoot​ @janebby​