#i absolutely adore the idea of cadet batch and this. this right here is so amazing

[eyayah-oya]

The Father You’ll Be

Boil/Waxer with a side of Cody/Rex

Rating: G

Warnings: there is brief mention of the cadets dying during the Battle of Kamino. Nothing graphic, but there are mentions.

for @clonehavensotm

Ao3 link

           Boil walked into the barracks and began stripping off his armor, desperately ready to go to sleep.  After a long day of fighting, the 212th and the 501st worked with Rancor to clear up the debris around Kamino, until they’d been awake for approximately two and a half day cycles.  Every step felt heavier than the last, until Boil felt like he was about to fall asleep where he was standing.

           At least, he felt that exhausted until he realized Waxer was no longer behind him.  Nor was he anywhere in the barracks.

           For several moments, Boil debated the merits of just falling into bed without Waxer, but the longer he stood there without knowing where he was, the more agitated he became.  With a heavy sigh and a silent curse, Boil put his armor back on and marched out into the hallways of Kamino.  Several other vod’e tried to reach out and stop him, to try and drag him to bed, but Boil just shrugged off their concerned hands and continued on to the mess hall.

           Boil sighed heavily when he couldn’t find Waxer in the mess hall, nor could he find him back in the area they had been cleaning up. He would not be able to settle down properly until he at least knew where Waxer was and what he was doing.

           There were many places on Kamino that Waxer could be hiding.  He tended to go for a run after a high-risk battle, just to help himself settle.  But he could also have gone to the training halls to work out his energy, as there were most likely plenty of brothers who he could spar against.  Boil really should have expected this kind of reaction from Waxer.  This battle was different from any other they’d fought in before.  There was more at stake, more at risk if they failed.  Worse casualties.  They’d lost far too many ikaade when the droids crashed through one of the domes, and several barracks were overrun by droids—

           Boil froze.

           He knew exactly where Waxer was.

           With a quick about-face, Boil marched towards the Littles’ barracks.  Waxer always had a bleeding heart for anyone who was in need of help, but especially animals and children.  Numa was a perfect example of that (Boil conveniently neglected to remember how enamored he had been by the sweet Twi’lek girl).  After the kind of loss all clones had experienced that day with the death of their vod’ikase and ikaade, Waxer would want to comfort the Littles.

           “Boil?  What are you still doing awake?”

           Commander Cody was leaning against the wall, guarding a doorway with Rex by his side.  They both looked exhausted, especially since they’d been working with Rancor command while Colt and Havoc were in the medbay getting patched up.  Boil did not envy their jobs.  The two of them were effectively coordinating three battalions in the cleanup efforts with the help of Commander Blitz and ARC Hammer.  They were also the ones dealing with the casualty reports.

           “Sir,” Boil snapped off a salute.  “Just going to find Waxer, sir.”

           Cody’s brow furrowed.  “He’s not with you?  I thought I assigned the two of you to the same work crews.”

           “You did, sir,” Boil answered.  “I got to the barracks and turned around and he wasn’t there.  I have a pretty good idea of where he disappeared to, though.”

           With a strained look in his eyes, Cody nodded.  It was likely that he, too, had guessed where Waxer was, and the Commander definitely wouldn’t get mad at either of them for being in the littlest cadet dorms.  “Make sure he gets some sleep tonight.  A pile of Littles will probably help more with that than anything else at this point. Hell, I might even join you later. We lost too many of them today, and it’ll be nice to see them and make sure they’re holding up well.”

           “I’m sure they’d love that,” Rex murmured.  “The Great Marshal Commander Cody coming to visit them and hug and hold them.  They’ll love you for that.”

           Cody sighed and thunked his head back against the wall. “You’re never gonna let me live the hero worship down, are you?”

           “Nope,” Rex huffed a weak attempt at a laugh.  He sounded exhausted, just as worn as the rest of them, and more since he was also dealing with a padawan commander who stumbled upon a bunch of cadets killed by Grievous.  Boil had heard the rumors, and he was so glad neither he nor Waxer had had to see any of the bodies of their little brothers.  That would have crushed them both.

           “Bring Commander Tano,” Boil said spontaneously.  He shifted back on his feet when both the Commander and the Captain looked at him in surprise.  “Well, I think it would do her good to see the cadets, too.  And I’m sure they’d like to meet a shiny Jedi. They probably have only ever seen General Ti from a distance.”

           “Ahsoka would like that, I think,” Cody answered, looking to Rex for confirmation.  Boil wasn’t sure why.  It was well-known among the 212th and the 501st that both Rex and Cody had adopted the young Jedi and loved her as fiercely as any nat-born loved their children.  Ahsoka looked up to Cody and probably spent just as much time with him as she did with Rex.

           “We have some a few tasks left to do before we can bunk down,” Rex said slowly.  “But then we should be free to come join you.  Ahsoka is debriefing with the Generals and checking on the injured in the medbay, but I’ll try to wrangle her into coming with us.”

           Boil nodded.  “I’ll go find Waxer and let you know which barracks he’s hid himself in. I’ll see you soon, sirs.”

           Cody and Rex waved him off, and Boil continued down the hallway, each step heavy with grief and exhaustion.  He counted off the doors until he reached the bunks for the youngest cadets decanted and poked his head into each one, looking for the tell-tale sign of a puppy-pile of vod’e flopped all over Waxer.

           It wasn’t until the fifth barracks he checked that Boil finally found him.  Waxer was telling a story about one of their many missions, watered down so that it was appropriate for little audio receptors.  He had a pair of Littles curled together under each arm, and two sitting on his lap while another dozen or so piled around his legs.  His armor was neatly stacked on a nearby pod, and it was clear that Waxer was planning on spending the rest of the night here with the little ones.

           “And then these great big, hungry monsters started chasing them through the streets of Nabat.  They were closing in on Commander Cody, and his blaster wasn’t working against their tough skins.  He was trapped, weaponless, and about to be eaten.  And do you know what happened?”

           One of the Littles on his lap perked up and grinned.  “He punched them?”

           “Or kicked them!”

           “Nah, he used his blaster to beat them up!”

           “You saved the day, Waxer!” a Little chirped from where he was practically buried underneath his brothers.

           “Thank you, 53, but no.  I was actually on my own adventure with Boil at the time.  I heard about all of this after it happened,” Waxer grinned.  He looked up, caught Boil’s eye, and shrugged apologetically.

           Boil found he couldn’t really be mad at Waxer.  Not when he was helping the little vod’ikase. With a heavy sigh, Boil stripped off his armor and set it next to Waxer’s while he distracted the little brothers.

           “I’ll tell you what happened,” Waxer continued his story with a wide grin.  “General Kenobi leaped in front of the charging monsters, without his lightsaber—“

           “No!” a Little cried.  He was curled up on his brother’s lap, tucked snugly under Waxer’s right arm, but when he shouted, he sat bolt upright, horror written on every tiny, adorable feature.

           That one is going to be Cody’s.  He’s going to adopt that Little next, Boil thought to himself. As he sat down, he and Waxer exchanged a knowing look, even as his lap was immediately overrun by Littles looking for a comfortable place to curl up.  If Cody managed to adopt this one, General Kenobi would stand no chance at ever running away from medical or losing his lightsaber in battle again.  The large, sad eyes pleading with him would be his downfall.  Boil made a note to tell Cody all about this one.

           “It’s alright, 2467,” Waxer soothed and kark, the kid even had Rex’s and Cody’s numbers combined into his.  “While it’s always a bad idea to go into a dangerous situation unarmed, the General had a few tricks up his sleeve.  So, there they were, cornered by starving beasts, when General Kenobi holds up his hand, just like this.”  Waxer demonstrates with arms raised in a decent imitation of the General when he was doing his Force magic stuff.

           “What happened then?  What happened to Commander Cody and General Kenobi?” a Little from the pile at Waxer’s knees piped up.

           “With the power of his mind,” Waxer said, “he spoke to the monsters and lured them away from Commander Cody and the rest of Ghost Company.  He led them deep into an alley, where there was only one exit.  And then he ordered Ghost to shoot at the walkways above him.”

           “NO!” 2467 shouted again.  “He can’t do that!  The General’s supposed to be safe!”

           Kriff it, Boil was going to help Cody sneak the whole squad onto the Negotiator, so he could adopt this one.  After all, they would never split up a batch.

           “Commander Cody was worried, but it all turned out okay. The General used the Force to leap high over the new blockade Ghost Company created, and he landed safely outside by Commander Cody, while the monsters were stuck.  And of course, Commander Cody handed the General his lightsaber and they went on to save Nabat.  The villagers were all safe and could move back into their homes without worrying about those awful clankers taking over their homes.”            “Wow!” one of the Littles in Boil’s lap whispered.

           “I’m gonna be just like Commander Cody when I grow big and strong!” another said, leaping up to demonstrate various kicks and punches. They weren’t very coordinated yet, and it was absolutely adorable to watch.

           “You better keep practicing, vod’ika,” Rex called from the doorway.  “Someday, you’ll be just as good as Cody.  I know it.”

           He slumped against the nearest pod and began taking off his armor.  Ahsoka slunk into the room behind him, and as soon as the top half of his armor was off, she attached herself to his back.  Her thin arms wrapped around his waist, and her face was pressed tightly in between his shoulder blades.  Boil would be willing to bet all the credits he never earned that she’d likely been crying as soon as she got away from the Generals.  But here among vod’e, she was safe to express all the awful emotions she had pent up in her heart.  Boil had learned over the course of the war that Jedi struggled with all the death far more than any vod.  They felt each death as if it were their own unless they shielded themselves so completely from the Force that it rendered them entirely useless.  To feel the lives of children slip away?  Boil couldn’t imagine.

           “Captain Rex, sir!” the Littles all shouted, and they tried to detangle themselves to salute, but Rex immediately waved them back down.

           “At ease, cadets.  Do you mind if we join you?  Commander Cody should also be coming soon.”

           “Really?”  The enormous eyes were filled with hope and disbelief that one of the greatest soldiers in the GAR would be coming to visit them.

           “Yes, really,” Boil answered.  “I invited him.  I hope you don’t mind?”

           Immediately, the little cadets were all wriggling around in excitement, talking loudly over one another about how cool and heroic Marshal Commander Cody was.  It was karking adorable.

           Boil slid into the newly freed space and wrapped an arm around Waxer.  Immediately, he felt him relax into his hold, some of the tension draining from his shoulders.  Rex plopped down against a wall, and immediately pulled Ahsoka into his lap, cradling her tightly against his chest.  She went almost desperately, needing the grounding contact of one of her adopted dads.  Boil knew that as soon as Cody arrived, she would somehow manage to wrap herself around both of them.  They’d probably end up buried beneath a pile of vod’ikase, but Boil sincerely doubted any of them would mind in the slightest.  He might not have the Force, but he could feel himself relaxing in the presence of such innocence and enthusiasm.  Waxer had made an excellent choice to come here.  Boil was glad that he had followed.

           He would always follow Waxer.  Whether it was on the battlefield or to a hoard of Littles that needed the comforting presence of their ori’vode, he would walk right beside him. Waxer was special.  Boil didn’t quite know the name of what he felt for Waxer, but he knew that it was enough to just be near him.  To press against each other tightly at night, and to shake apart together.  To be together for the rest of their lives.

           It was enough.

             (Cody nearly managed to sneak the entire squad onto the Negotiator undetected, but at the last minute, General Kenobi caught him. And then proceeded to help them set up a nursery perfect for the 212th’s newest squad of cadets.  No one could ever say their General didn’t have a bleeding heart, nor a soft spot for children.  And just as Boil had predicted, Cody adopted 2467 and helped pick out the name Dara.  They would be eternal, no matter what happened during the war.)