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dystopicjumpsuit · 11 months

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Martyrs and Kings - Chapter 9

Only Ghosts

Rating: Mature/18+/Minors DNI

Pairing: Kix x archivist/historian OFC

Wordcount: 4.2k

Warnings: angst; iconoclasm; the inevitability of time; boundary testing; SMUT; semi-public sex; accidental voyeurism; hair-pulling; biting; sex under the influence of alcohol

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The galaxy had changed a lot in the last half century, but Coruscant still smelled the same. The stench hit Kix like a punch in the face when the shuttle doors opened. It wasn’t so bad on the upper levels, but it got noticeably worse as he descended. Captain Ithano had sent him a list of supplies to requisition when Kix notified the Meson Martinet that he was headed to the old capital, and most of them were only available from some of the shadier establishments in the Coruscant underworld. More than one of the items were a complete mystery to Kix, and he didn’t bother to ask exactly what it was that he was picking up for his totally legitimate, not-at-all-disreputable employer.

Republics and empires could rise and fall and rise again, but some things never changed, and black market dealers seemed to be a universal constant. Kix kept his head down and his blaster close. He wore his armor, craving both protection and anonymity. This deep in the city, it was always dark, and anyone who let down their guard was likely to get robbed or worse. He kept a watchful eye on the shadows, ignoring the fetid puddles and skittering vermin on the walkway. Ithano’s errands kept him busy most of the day, and his life was only threatened twice, which was a marked improvement over the last time he’d gone to level 1313. His last stop brought him near a familiar neighborhood, and as he headed back topside, Kix made an impulsive detour.

The building still stood, of course. 79’s had been located in one of Coruscant’s massive skyscrapers, so it was no surprise that the platform and facade were still intact. But the bar itself had obviously gone out of business years or even decades earlier, and nothing had moved in to replace it. Even the iconic neon sign was still installed over the doors, though it was not illuminated any more, and he could see that the transparisteel was broken in several places. The doors were boarded up, but it was easy enough to work a few free so he could squeeze through the gap. He switched on his helmet light and looked around, wary of finding something—or someone—living in the derelict club. It looked like nobody had been inside since it closed.

The floor was littered with assorted detritus: broken glass, cocktail napkins, faded drink menus. A few crumbling pro-clone propaganda posters still hung on the walls: actual posters made of paper, not holosigns. He could see bits of graffiti scratched into some of the tables, and he laughed quietly as he remembered the night he had scrawled “Fives’s sister” next to a sketch of a wampa in the refresher.

Kark, he had so many memories of this place. He remembered his first trip to Coruscant as a wide-eyed shiny, dragged to the bar by his new brothers in the 501st, terrified the entire time that he was going to be reconditioned for breaking the regs. He’d overheard a cute civilian sigh, “Captain Keeli. The prettiest clone in the GAR.”

Kix had spotted the legendary clone captain right away, sharing a drink with his Nikto Jedi General Di. That night, Kix went back to the barracks and drunkenly shaved his head in imitation of the older clone. Jesse had teased him relentlessly, telling him he’d gotten the pattern wrong.

“I didn’t get it wrong,” Kix had retorted. “I made it my own.”

When the news came back that Captain Keeli, General Di, and their entire company of clone troopers had sacrificed themselves to protect the Twi’leks of Ryloth, Kix had kept the hairstyle to honor their memory and added a tattoo that read, A good droid is a dead one .

He’d lost count of the nights he’d spent here, celebrating victories, mourning fallen brothers, searching for something more than the life of a man bred exclusively for war. Nights spent dancing and drinking with Jesse, Fives, Cerra, and Tup; nights spent seeking out nameless hookups with beings who only saw him as a piece of meat; nights spent brawling just to feel something, even if it hurt. Anything to drown out the screams of the brothers he couldn’t save, to drive away the memory of blood on his hands.

The last time he’d been here, he’d come with Jesse to celebrate his brother’s successful completion of ARC trooper training. It was his first time visiting the bar since the fateful night Fives had cornered him in the filthy bathroom, ranting about inhibitor chips and conspiracies and corruption at the highest levels of government. Kix had avoided the place after that, but Jesse had been so proud of his promotion, and he’d wanted to show off his new armor, and Kix had never been able to say no to Jesse. They’d started the night with tihaar shots, and then somebody had passed around tablets of sansanna spice. Kix had a vivid memory of a stunning Zeltron woman trailing her hand suggestively over Jesse's pauldrons.

“I like your armor," she'd said. "It’s so thoughtful of the Republic to provide leg rests.”

The night had degenerated into a wild blur of spice, booze, and anonymous sex after that. Jesse had loved every second of it. Kix, on the other hand, had been in full self-destruction mode after losing Fives and Tup, and that particular outing was when he hit the bottom. The next morning, bandaging his knuckles after a fight he didn’t remember, reeling from a nuclear hangover and a deep feeling of self-loathing, he’d commed Cerra and asked her to help him follow Fives’s investigation. He started by removing his inhibitor chip, growing his hair to cover the scar. It had been strange to let go of something that had been a part of his identity for so long.

Without direct access to the Kaminoan data, it had taken months to uncover the full potential of the chips, and he’d been assigned to the mission on Skako Minor before he’d completed his investigation. Finding Echo alive had renewed Kix’s determination to save more of his brothers, and he’d redoubled his efforts. Within weeks, he found what he was looking for, and then the Separatists found him.

He couldn’t save any of his brothers after all.

Kix took a long, last look around. The galaxy had moved on from the Clone Wars, and 79’s had failed to adapt and survive. All that remained of the clone bar was an empty shell, and only ghosts within.

It was late when Maree arrived on Coruscant. Teejay had booked a driver to pick her up from the spaceport and take her directly to her hotel at the top of one of the city’s gleaming towers. It had been a long day, and she desperately wanted to take a shower and go to bed. She stared at the garish holosigns that flashed by the speeder, replying mechanically to her driver’s inconsequential chatter.

It had taken longer than anticipated to receive approval for Kix to enter the Imperial Military Records Archive, and thus several days had passed since they had spent the night together. He hadn’t contacted her except to acknowledge that he’d received her message explaining the delay. The approval had arrived in the late afternoon, and Maree had Teejay book transport to Coruscant that night. As soon as she boarded the shuttle, she sent Kix a message with instructions to meet her at the archive the next morning.

Maree avoided Coruscant whenever she could. Something about the planet gave her the shudders. It was strange; she loved Hosnian Prime even though it was also an ecumenopolis. She had attended university on Coruscant and left the planet at the first opportunity. Accustomed as she was to the endless expanses on the planets of the Outer Rim territories, she felt claustrophobic and panicky among the towering spires and plastcrete canyons of Coruscant. At least on Hosnian Prime she could see the planet’s actual surface. The only way she could do that on Coruscant was to visit the peak of Mt. Umate in Monument Plaza, as if it were a curiosity or a tourist destination, and not the very foundation on which the ancient city was built.

But beyond all of that, Coruscant had always seemed to Maree to have an air of desperation. Strip away the glittering facade of the upper levels, and underneath one would find only pain and misery and exploitation. She was too young to remember Coruscant under Imperial rule, but she couldn’t imagine that much had changed with the formation of the New Republic. The corruption here was too systemic, too entrenched, to be undone with a mere regime change, no matter how determined or well-intentioned the government might be. It had been this way under the Old Republic; it had continued under the Empire; and there was no sign that anything had improved under the New Republic.

The soft chirp of her commlink startled Maree out of her pessimistic ruminations. It was a message from Kix.

Are you on 000?

She typed out a quick reply. Yes. Heading to my hotel now.

Have you eaten? He responded immediately.

Not yet, Maree typed. I was planning on getting room service.

Want some company? He replied.

Maree was a little surprised at the offer. She’d thought that his lack of communication had signaled that he wasn’t interested in continuing what they’d started his last night on Hosnian Prime. She’d told herself it was for the best, even if it stung a bit. She didn’t do long term, as Valsi had pointed out. The rational part of Maree’s brain said she could hardly fault Kix for sharing her attitude. But there had been something different about her time with Kix—something she could almost have believed was special, if not for the haunted look in his eyes as he’d left her flat.

Still, it couldn’t have been such a terrible night for him if he was interested in a repeat. The cynical voice in her head told her it was just more convenient for him to booty call her than to go to the effort of picking up another bedmate. Maree took a moment to consider. Kix had been good in bed—fantastic, actually. She definitely wouldn’t mind going another round or three with him. She was fully capable of keeping her feelings under control—it was her specialty, after all. And if she felt a twinge of disappointment that he only saw her as a warm body, it would fade.

Sure, she replied. Meet up at the hotel bar in an hour?

She sent him the name of her hotel, and he replied with a thumbs-up. She sighed a little, thinking wistfully that she’d have to settle for a sonic shower. She could see the hotel from the speeder now, and by the time she checked in, she had just enough time to unpack her bags and touch up her makeup after getting cleaned up.

Kix was already at the hotel bar when she arrived. She spotted him immediately, leaning against the bar, looking impossibly handsome and absolutely radiating unfriendliness. Something in his posture made him look dangerous in a way she hadn’t noticed during their earlier encounters. The other bar patrons gave him a wide berth. He stared down into his glass and didn’t notice her until she slipped into the space next to him. He looked up, and his stormy expression cleared at once.

“Hey, stranger,” she said, stretching up to kiss his cheek. “Am I late?”

He shook his head. “Got here early. Nothing better to do.”

Maree raised her eyebrows. He wasn’t slurring, but his breath smelled like whiskey, and she wondered how many he’d had. She signaled the bartender and ordered a cocktail, while Kix ordered another whiskey. The bartender shot her a meaningful look.

“Let’s get a table,” Maree said. “I’m starving.”

“Can I get anything started for you?” the bartender asked.

Maree glanced at the menu and ordered an assortment of appetizers, then led Kix to a cozy little booth in the back corner of the bar. Remembering his dislike of having his back to a door, she scooted into the side with the best view of the room, then patted the seat next to her. He dropped into the booth and immediately slid his hand high up her thigh.

Damn, he’s not wasting any time, she thought.

“How’ve you been?” she asked, hoping to pump the brakes a bit.

He shrugged. “Didn’t come here for small talk.”

He leaned in to kiss her, and she pulled back automatically.

“Agreed, I came here for dinner,” she said pointedly. “When’s the last time you ate?”

“Don’t remember,” he said. “Not hungry. At least not for food.”

He pushed his hand higher up her leg and cupped her sex through her gown. She suppressed a twinge of irritation and—to her horror—arousal.

“Well, I am,” Maree said, firmly pushing his hand back down her leg to rest safely on her knee. “I guess you’ll just have to wait.”

The bartender approached with their drink order as well as two glasses and a large pitcher of water, then beat a hasty retreat as Kix glared at him. Kix reached for his whiskey, but Maree picked it up and moved it to her side of the table.

“Water first,” she said.

He glowered at her, but she didn’t back down, meeting his eyes squarely with an expression she normally reserved for arguments with NRGL administrators. He grumbled a protest but drained one of the water glasses, and Maree refilled it before she gave him back his whiskey and sipped her own cocktail.

“Bossy,” he muttered.

“Yep,” she said agreeably. “If you’re a good boy and do what you’re told, maybe I’ll let you have dessert later.”

His eyes darkened. Maree hadn’t missed the way he responded when she’d called him a good boy in the bedroom, and she was not above exploiting that tidbit of knowledge to get him to make at least slightly healthier choices.

“Why wait?” he rumbled.

“Because the food is here,” Maree said, stifling a relieved sigh.

A service droid rolled up and deposited a tray of food at their booth. Maree picked up a bite and offered it to Kix. He ate it directly from her hand, his warm lips brushing against her hand.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said.

“I should hope so,” Maree replied, handing him another bite.

“Do you know how much whiskey it would take to get me drunk?” he asked.

“I don’t know. How much have you had?” she asked.

“Not enough,” he replied. “I don’t need to sober up.”

“What do you need?” she asked.

“Something stronger than whiskey.”

“What happened, Kix?” she asked. “Why are you doing this?”

He sighed, looking away from her. His eyes focused somewhere in the middle distance on something only he could see.

“It’s this kriffing planet,” he said at last. “Too many memories.”

“I didn’t realize you’d spent much time here,” she said.

He laughed humorlessly. “I used to live here. It’s been a long time.”

“I take it that things didn’t end well?” she asked, feeding him another bite, and then scooting his water glass closer.

“You could say that,” he said. His glance flicked between her face and the water glass, and his lips nearly twitched into a smile, but he obediently took another drink of water.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

“Not particularly.”

Stars, the man held onto his secrets like they were made of solid beskar. It didn’t bother her, exactly. After all, he was technically just her client, and spending a night together had not changed that, nor had she expected it to. She shrugged and began to eat her own food.

“Well, with any luck, it won’t take long to find what we need in the Archive, and you can get back to your life and leave this place far behind,” she said.

Kix made an odd expression, but he didn’t reply. Once she’d gotten him to eat those first few bites, he seemed to realize that he was ravenous, because he polished off the three plates she’d set in front of him and then began to steal bites off of her plate, too. He drained a second glass of water as well, so she didn’t object when he finished his whiskey. Throughout the meal, he’d kept his hand firmly on her leg, though he didn’t attempt any further explorations after she shut him down. Instead, he contented himself with drawing lazy circles on her thigh with his thumb.

They ate in silence, and Maree couldn’t help contrasting it with their banter at the hanging garden. Just when she had thought she was getting to know Kix, he reminded her that she really had no idea who he was.

He flagged down the server droid and ordered it to bring the bottle of whiskey. Maree sighed but didn’t intervene. She wasn’t his mother, and if Kix was determined to get plastered, that was his call to make. Still, she had no interest in watching him make a public spectacle.

“We’ll take it to go,” she said. “Charge everything to my room.”

To his credit, Kix didn’t stumble or weave on the walk to the lifts. In fact, he didn’t show any visible signs of intoxication at all. He was a perfect gentleman until they entered the empty lift and the doors closed behind them. And then he pounced. His mouth crashed into hers as he pinned her against the wall. All the air rushed out of her lungs, and she nearly dropped the bottle of whiskey. His hands roamed over her body, squeezing, stroking. His kiss was rough and hard, and Maree let out a strangled moan as he used his tongue and teeth. He kissed and licked and sucked his way down her neck and chest, pulling her neckline down to give him access to her shoulder. He bit her hard enough to leave a mark, and she flinched. He pressed his lips soothingly to the mark, and then returned to her mouth, consuming her with a kiss that danced along the edge of pleasure and pain. She didn’t even realize he’d rucked up her dress until she felt his rough fingertips slip into her underwear. She broke the kiss with a gasp.

“Kix, w—wait,” she panted.

He froze.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” he asked raggedly. “Isn’t this why you told me to meet you here?”

“Yes, but you’ve been drinking, and—”

“Do I look drunk to you?” he demanded. “I know what I am doing. If you don’t want this, tell me now, and I’ll leave.”

“No, I—I want this,” she said, and he lunged back into action, kissing her until she was breathless. He yanked the fabric of her panties to the side and stroked his fingers over her pussy, hissing when he felt the wetness there.

“Not so calm as you pretended, are you, dirty girl?” he asked. “Is this all for me?”

“Yes, damn you,” she cursed as he slipped one of his fingers inside. Her body convulsed around him. “F—f—fuck!”

He thrust into her over and over, stretching her out until he could fit a second finger inside, dragging his thumb over her clit. She arched into the sensation. Her legs quivered and gave out, but Kix was there to catch her, wrapping his arm around her waist as she clung to his shoulders. There was no trace of the gentle man who’d touched her so reverently the last time they were together. This time, Kix was dominant, almost aggressive, handling her with a sublime roughness that had her trembling on the edge of an orgasm within seconds.

The lift slowed and emitted a soft chime.

“It’s not our floor,” Maree gasped.

Kix moved to shield her with his body just in time for the doors to slide open. He snarled at the hapless intruder, an Ishi Tib who stumbled back with wide eyes as he took in the scene before him.

“Sorry!” he squawked. “I’ll take the next one!”

The doors slid closed. Maree’s cheeks burned with humiliation, and she hid her face against Kix’s shoulder.

“Look at me,” he commanded. “I want to see your face when you come all over my hand.”

His filthy words, the deft movements of his fingers, and the adrenaline rush of getting caught were too much. He wrenched her pleasure forcibly from her. She whimpered in surprise as her body clenched around him, her orgasm bursting through her.

“That’s it,” he growled. “That’s my beautiful woman. Kriff, you look so gorgeous like this, coming apart around my fingers. I could watch you for hours.”

He didn’t slow his movements until she stopped twitching and slumped against him with a breathy moan. Still supporting her with his arm around her waist, he gently withdrew his fingers from her. He stroked his thumb across her clit in one last, soft caress, and then he allowed her skirt to fall back into place, smoothing the wrinkles. She leaned against his chest, gasping for air. He wrapped both arms around her and held her close, whispering into her hair, telling her how well she’d done, and how sexy she was, and how he was going to take such good care of her.

“I can’t wait to get you back to your room,” he murmured. “I’m going to fuck that pussy until you scream my name. Everyone in this karking hotel is going to know who is getting you off.”

Her knees buckled. He caught her with a dark laugh, taking the whiskey bottle from her loosened grasp.

“Not much longer, love,” he said. “Just a few more floors. Can you hold it together for me?”

She nodded, dazed. She was already wildly turned on again by the way he mixed praise with the dirtiest of promises. The lift slowed and the door chimed.

“This is us,” she said, her voice sounding embarrassingly unsteady.

She led him down the hall and fumbled as she keyed in her door code with shaking hands. He followed closely, dropping the whiskey on the console table and crowding close to her, his hands roaming greedily over her body. Her skin felt like it was on fire wherever he touched her. He tugged her dress off over her head in a single fluid motion as he backed her up against the bed. She tumbled onto the mattress, and he stood back, eyeing her with a hungry look.

“Stars, look at you,” he breathed. “Prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“You are overdressed,” she observed.

He began to strip off his clothes as Maree propped herself up on her elbows to watch. He unbuttoned his shirt to reveal broad shoulders, muscular arms, and a thick chest that tapered down to a lean waist. His smooth, golden brown skin was criss crossed here and there by scars, and he had a smattering of dark hair. She had seen him naked before, but she hadn’t had time to admire him at her leisure. He was glorious.

As he lowered his trousers, she could see that he was fully erect, and a bead of precum had dampened his underwear. She sat up to reach for him, teasing his cock through the fabric before easing the garment down over his narrow hips. She made a happy little noise and leaned forward to swirl her tongue around his shaft. He tangled his hands in her hair with a curse. She loved the gentle tugging on her scalp and hummed with pleasure at the taste of him. His hips bucked forward at the sensation. Before she could proceed, though, he used her hair to pull her head away from him, then pressed her down onto the mattress, climbing on top to straddle her hips.

She could feel the weight of his erection resting on her belly. She traced her hands up his thighs, but he stopped her before she reached his cock. Gripping her wrists, he pinned her hands to the bed. He leaned down and began to explore her body with his mouth. Rubbing his cock against her torso, he kissed and licked down her chest, and then he drew one breast to his mouth and bit down, hard, as he sucked on her. She let out a ragged, broken sound.

“You’re going to remember me,” he growled as marks bloomed across her skin. “Don’t ever forget me.”

“Never,” she whispered as he sucked bruises onto her breasts again and again.

“That’s fucking right,” he said, and he plunged into her in a single, hard thrust, sheathing himself fully in her slick heat.

She cried out his name as he drove himself into her again and again. She could feel her body pulling taut around him, drawn like a bow, all her sensation pulling itself into the base of her spine, building in intensity until all at once, it was too much. The bowstring snapped, and she shot into ecstasy. Kix ground out a curse as he buried himself deep inside her and spilled into her heat. His arms gave out, and he collapsed onto her chest, breathless and utterly spent.

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I humbly apologize to the 79's girlies (gn). If you'd like to read about the club in happier times and tag along with Kix and his friends on a night out, please allow me to recommend my fic "Do It Again," which shares continuity with this story.

Chapter 10

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