#rex immediately popped out and said no

[bibannana]

Hardcase *placing his datapad down infront of Fives*: So I had this idea.

Fives *picks up datapad studying it*: Why are you telling me this?......Did Rex say no?

Hardcase *nods*: Well yes, but I wanted to ask you.

Echo *reads the plan*: This is a trap.

Fives *places the datapad down*: I know.

Hardcase *smiles*: I thought I would ask seeing as he isn't the boss of you.

Fives *who likes to do his own thing*: Uh oh. He's got me there.

Echo *deep inhale*: Yes he does. This is definitely a trap.

Hardcase *really wants to execute his plan*: And I ask because I respect you.

Fives *limited impulse control*: Let's do it!

[rooksunday]

when the coruscant guard toured their new barracks, they immediately clocked a problem.

“where are the rest of the bunks?” stone asked, looking between his datapad of assignments, and the last of the dozen bunkrooms.

even sleeping two to a pod, with four pods to a room— even hotbunking, like they were going to have to if the ‘suggested’ shift schedule was correct— there simply weren’t enough beds.

thorn grimaced. “we could give up the rec room and mess.”

“and eat where? and we need at least one room for sitting in and staring into the middle distance,” stone countered. they’d been doing a lot of the latter that day already.

with a conceding shrug, thorn turned to fox, who had been increasingly stiff and silent as the inspection had continued. stone couldn’t blame him. the building that the senate had ‘generously provided’ appeared to be held together by force of habit and spite; stone could relate, but he didn’t want to spend a war there.

“what are you thinking, sir?” stone prompted fox. the vod was always thinking something. that was his problem.

fox shook his head slightly, as if stepping out of deep water. he hummed.

“i saw something on the holonet… leave it with me,” he said.

after fox had left—marching with determination toward the broom cupboard he’d claimed as a an office—stone turned to face thorn, who was already looking at him with a particular tilt to his visor.

“on the holonet?” thorn repeated. “have you got any idea what he’s talking about? all he looks at on there is conspiracy theories and pictures of tookas.”

stone slowly shook his head. “i’m sure it’ll be fine. i’m sure it’ll be… fine.”

the guard moved in. they made it work. what other option did they have?

six weeks after landing on coruscant, fox burst into the commanders’ shared bunk with something fluorescent streaked across his armour and the stench of burnt feathers in his wake. he’d lost his helmet somewhere. stone had been cleaning his armour and threw the cloth at fox in instinctive reaction, but fox just batted it away.

“what the kark, sir?” stone spat out, heart thick in his throat.

“whuzzat?” thorn mumbled as he rose to a sit. “fox, you stink.”

“of victory,” fox countered. he stalked across the room and thrust and vial of smoking … something… to stone. “here, drink this.”

stone’s eyebrows rose. “no? sir?”

“is it tasty?” thorn asked, sleepily.

fox produced another vial from his utility belt and held that one out to thorn. he popped the cap with his thumb. smoke boiled out, glittering like dust motes. this vial was presented to thorn.

“i put honey in yours,” fox said.

of course he did.

but if fox was handing mysterious vials to thorn, he probably wasn’t planning to kill them all. probably. besides, it had been a long assignment and the war wasn’t going anywhere. the chancellor wasn’t going anywhere. stone took his vial, and saw thorn take his.

“well. cheers, i suppose,” he said, catching eyes with thorn, who rose his vial in turn.

between them, fox danced from foot to foot like he’d drank too much water before a long shift. his attention flickered between stone and thorn as they drank. his eyes were bright and he kept making and unmaking fists at his sides. he looked like a tubie waiting for their first live fire drill.

stone drank.

“huh. that doesn’t—“

then things got really kriffed up.

cody rubbed at his comm as if that would help comprehension.

“say again? some interference on my end,” he said.

the tiny blue rex rubbed the bridge of his nose. “tookas, vod. hundreds of tookas. they’re all over the senate building. they’ve herded the chancellor into his office and are blocking the hallway. no one can move them. the optics would be terrible.”

“where did they come from? can’t the coruscant guard take care of it?” cody didn’t want to assign fox to animal crowd control, but wasn’t protecting the senate his job? an invasion probably counted.

“that’s the problem. one of the tookas… it knows dadita.”

“excuse me, captain. did you say there’s a tooka that knows dadita?” general kenobi asked, leaning in to see rex. he’d been working on the other side of the office on the negotiator; sound didn’t have far to travel.

“that’s right, sir.”

“fascinating. what did it have to say for itself?”

rex shifted his weight. he looked off-camera. “it said, ‘tell cody i’m the kar— i’m still the smart one’. sir.”

silence weighed heavily in the room. cody scratched his nose and turned the message over for a second time. a third. an eleventh.

“therefore you believe that this tooka—“

“is commander fox, sir, yes,” cody said, so rex didn’t have to.

“fascinating,” kenobi said again.

“yes, sir,” rex said, his tone implying that fascination wasn’t really the problem. “and also— excuse me, sirs, one moment.” his voice became louder as he looked off-cam again, and his brow furrowed. “did someone give fox’ika a lightsaber? why is it red? what do you mean, you found it in the chancellor’s office?”

cody met his general’s eyes, and suspected his own were as wide.

blast it, fox was the smart one.

[eileenslibrary]

Man Of The Hour

A/N: Just needed some fluff today so I wrote this, hope you enjoy 

Tiny Dragon! Zhongli x GN! Reader

Warnings: Only mentions of work stress and crying, Zhongli is a lil shit, fluff, me listening to Norah Jones too much.

Song: Man Of The Hour, by Norah Jones

GIF is not mine

“It’s him or me”

The two men stand in the doorway looking at you incredulously as the tiny dragon sits in your lap you look up at him “Neither I am happy now” you hum petting behind his ears as the dragon purrs like a cat.

That’s what he said

But I can’t choose between a vegan and a pothead

The two men scoff and leave your house the door slamming behind them the dragon curling his small tail around your wrist and letting out a big yawn.

So I choose you because you’re sweet

And you give me lots of lovin’ and you eat meat

“No more complicated meals for us huh?” you pick him up from under the shoulders and flop onto your back looking up at him, his little tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth you chuckle and pull him under your chin.

And that’s how you became 

My only man of the hour

The tiny dragon wiggles in your arms as the sunlight peaks into the curtains before dancing over your head “It’s not breakfast yet” you grumble grabbing the tiny cat serpent and tucking him into your arms.

You never lie

And you don’t cheat

He stands on his hindquarters as he watches you cut up the salmon you chuckle at the cuteness throwing him a piece for him to catch and eat.

And you don't have any baggage tied to your forefeet

You boop his little nose when you return home immediately falling onto the bed to say hi to your little dragon your work attire ruffled from a long day. “So quiet in here?” you hum picking him up and placing him on his pillow his tail swatting in excitement, watching as you switch into his favorite hoodie immediately slipping into the big pocket his head coming out one side, his cute butt out the other.

Do I deserve, to be the one, who will feed you breakfast, lunch,

And dinner and take you to the park at dawn

He peaks out of the top of your shirt as you meet with your friends downtown his forked tongue peaking out taking in the new smells, you feel his tail wag as he smells all the delicious food. You chuckle as you approach Wanmin restaurant sitting with your friends as they coo at the tiny dragon poking his head from your shirt, you all order and feed some of your noodles to the little one until he slips into a food coma.

Will you really be

My only man of the hour

You feel the tiny dragon climb up your pants with his tiny claws as you wait for your coffee to be done as you read the paper, he finds your lap and curls still sleepy, you stroke one of his horns making him purr in content as he naps on your lap.

I know you'll never bring me flowers

Flowers they will only die

You once again find a shiny rock on your bed waiting for you on your bedside table, They weren’t flowers but it was just as meaningful, you stash it in one of the drawers with the other knick nacks he brought you. 

And though you'll never take a shower together 

You put him in the bath with you as you rinse the grime off his scales making him pout as the mud falls from him “No rolling in mud Rex! It tracks mud into the house” you scold washing under his belly.

I know you'll never make me cry

You sink in front of the door sobs wracking your body from the hard day at work, Rex’s little head pops up from one of your boots yawning as he climbs out of it and walks over to you rubbing against your leg and getting your attention, you look up and peak at him before scooping him up into your arms sobbing into the soft scruff of his neck. 

You never argue

You swing him around at the soft jazz making you smile as he gives you an odd look, none of your significant others did this with you always breaking into an argument due to your “childish” nature. You kiss his snoot pulling him into your arms once again and cuddling him next to your heart.

You don't even talk

Even though he can’t talk he does make a bunch of ruckus as he ruffles in your sock drawer making you chase after him when he grabs one of your socks his tale wagging frantically as you try to corner him and grab the sock but he dashes between your feet. “Oh come here you little shit!” you huff chasing after him as he climbs up the towel holder, you finally grab him and gently yank the soaking sock from his mouth making sure not to hurt him.

And I like the way you let me lead you

When we go outside and walk

You bought a chicken harness so you could take him out on walks as you stroll down the harbor the gold collar that has REX in bold red lettering. He leads you down the harbor and sits on the dock you sit next to him and swing your legs over the edge your socks and shoes to the side as you dip your toes watching the fish swim by.

Will you really be

My only man of the hour?

He was glad you dumped those pea brains and lived this nice life with your cute dragon, maybe someday you’ll catch him in his human form and he’ll tell you his true feelings for you, maybe he’ll finally swing you around the living room, bring you flowers, and finally share a shower with you.

My only man of the hour.

My only man of the hour.

[colacat53]

Reasons Why If I Was In Camp Cretaceous I Would Have Died

I have autism and ADHD and I sometimes stim without processing that I'm doing it so we could all be hiding from a dinosaur and then my neurospicy ass just goes "yippee! :D" and gets us all killed

I have entomophobia + arachnophobia so I will see a bug and scream bloody murder

the one pair of shoes I've been wearing recently are boots with heels. Have you tried running in heels? Have you even tried walking on grass with heels on?

my ankle does this weird thing that whenever I go down stairs it pops like 20 times so if we're trying to sneak away from a dinosaur by going down stairs my heel would pop and the dino would hear it and kill us all

I am a lazy introvert that prefers never leaving the house

the second I feel even a bit hot I will immediately complain. I may live in Texas but fuck the heat get me out of here

I would try to pet a dinosaur

if I even made it to season 4 I would have most definitely said "kitty! :D" and tried to pet saber tooth tiger

I scare really easily, yesterday my mom opened one of the sliding screen doors in our house and I screamed

I have a lovey that I would've 100% brought with me to Isla Nublar and when the indominus rex destroyed the camp I would've cried because my lovey was in there and going off of stories from when I was younger I could've cried until I threw up(true story, my grandmother tried throwing my lovey away and I cried so hard I apparently threw up. luckily my sister found my lovey)

I don't like drinking plain water because it tastes too bland

[typingatlightspeed]

Metal Gear Fanfic - Thunder

Hal discovers another metal gear leak, in perhaps the most obvious of places. A very stupid fic with a very stupid joke. Ao3 Link! @tarisbackyard made a joke about this months ago and I knew then I needed to write a silly lil ficlet of it, lol.

---------

The frantic clicking of Hal's laptop mouse and absence of any other active sound was what alerted Snake to the fact that something was amiss.

Typically, even when deeply engrossed in work, a flurry of sound tended to accompany Hal's computer activity. He usually listened to something, background noise to help him focus in the form of some 80s city pop or an episode of a mecha OVA, rarely actually paid attention to. When Snake was doing something in the same room, he'd wear headphones, but when he was alone, he didn't bother.

So when Snake walked out of the bathroom, fresh from a shower and toweling off his hair, it immediately set off alarm bells to find such relative silence, doubly so as he walked into the living room to find Hal sitting cross-legged on the couch, hunched over his laptop like a shrimp in near-complete silence, save for the sounds of his own busy typing and clicking.

"Everything okay?" Snake asked, digging in his ear with his towel. Rounding on the couch, he caught sight of Hal's face and stopped, his guts clenching tight. The man looked like someone had just shot his dog.

"Not even slightly," Hal murmured. A few clicks, and he sat back to let Snake see the screen, upon which were a set of metal gear blueprints. "This was just posted. Publicly, on the War Thunder forums."

Snake came up alongside Hal, peering at the screen, eyes wide. "War Thunder forums?"

"War Thunder's an online military vehicle combat game. It's whole gimmick is that it tries to be as realistic as possible with its portrayal of the vehicles it features."

"And they've added a metal gear?"

"Yes, but this isn't their post. Their public forums have a reputation. People get really passionate about their favourite vehicles, their specs, the verisimilitude, and a bunch of times over the years, there have been players with access to classified design and specification documents who've posted those documents on the forums in order to win arguments about the vehicles they're discussing."

"You're serious?"

"Never underestimate a military nerd with an axe to grind. Some people get so deep into it that they forget that winning an argument on the internet isn't the be-all end-all," Hal said, shaking his head ruefully. "It's happened enough times to become an internet meme known outside of the player base of the game. People who have no interest in the military, vehicles, or the game know about the War Thunder forums and people leaking classified information on it."

"And someone leaked metal gear plans."

"Yeah. Recently, they added TX-55 to the game, and it's caused a bit of an uproar on the forums. Some people are mad earlier iterations of metal gears weren't added first, others are angry that something that powerful was added before the infantry models like Metal Gear G, but for the most part there's been a lot of back and forth about the actual specs of TX-55 itself, how it compares to other metal gears, and modern innovations. And then someone leaked these plans."

Snake squinted at the schematics onscreen, scanning the information as quickly as he could. There was no mistaking the shape of it. "That's REX."

"It is," Hal confirmed, the weight of it making him sink in his seat, slouching over again.

"Who posted it?"

"That's what I've been working on," Hal replied, taking his mouse back in hand. "The username is a jumble of letters and numbers. It looks like a bot username, honestly, but the poster uses enough slang and has enough grammar errors in their post history that I'm reasonably sure it's a human user. They're here to argue about tanks and planes and metal gears, no doubt about it. So I've been working on figuring out how to hack into the forums' database and get their IP info. Once I do, I can work on finding them."

"You can do that." It wasn't a question, it wasn't a statement. The words left Snake's mouth bereft of tonal indicator, himself unsure which direction they should go.

"Of course I can." Hal smirked, and began typing something out.

"Alright. While you get on that, I'll go get dressed. Once you've got a bead on them we can make our plan from there," Snake said matter-of-factly.

"You gotta get dressed?" Hal lamented, reaching out and giving Snake's ass an appreciative squeeze.

"If I don't, you'll get too distracted to work," Snake chuckled, grabbing Hal's hand and removing it from his butt.

Hal pouted. "Now I really hate this leaker," he grumbled, turning to watch all the same as Snake chuckled and sauntered out of the room, swaying his hips for Hal's benefit.

[letitrainathousandflames]

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 3.9 K

Character: CC-2224 | Cody, CC-5052 | Bly, Aayla Secura (mentioned)

Warnings: Major Character Death

Additional Tags: angst, drinking, suicide, grief, order 66 aftermath, major character death, post traumatic stress disorder - ptsd, canon divergence

-

Section Nine, Paragraph Twelve of the Clone Army’s Code of Conduct:

Should a unit, hereby referred to as “Clone”, suffer malfunction and self-destruct, their superior officer, preferably their Commander, must carry out cleanup of the remains and have your medic issue the following report:

“Clone trooper [insert number identification] has suffered a sudden illness and the medical team onsite was unable to resurrect him. The Clone Trooper’s time of death was [appropriate designation of time and date of the occurrence]”

Mental malfunctions are a non-standard deviancy from the norm, as all clones are design to withstand any amount of stress. Therefore, the body of a clone deceased in such manner must be immediately removed from the scene and shipped back to Kamino for further analysis of its anomalies.

Cody wakes up at what he is certain to be three, maybe four in the morning, which means he has only two or one more hour to sleep before he has to wake up, cranky and exhausted, only to then force his equally cranky and exhausted men to get up themselves as well.

Something feels weird. A buzz in the back of his brain. General Kenobi had once mentioned that, while not all beings could wield the Force like Jedi and Sith did, it did surround every living creature, even those as unusual as clones.

He would often say, too, that the creeping shiver Cody would feel up his spine whenever they set foot in a dangerous place could very well be a manifestation of the Force itself. A warning that reached the very core of his being.

Cody finds himself in the mess hall minutes later, dressed only in his blacks and boots, too tired to care for the proper use of uniform attire even though he was the Marshall commander and should lead by example. His commlink is still in his pocket, just in case any kind of emergency pops up. It’s not like anyone would be awake at this time anyway, not after that endless campaign in Cato Nemodia from which the 2224 had finally returned.

He realizes he’s wrong when he sets foot in the mess, only to see captain Rex sitting at one of the tables with a steaming cup between his hands. Rex is as careless as Cody himself, dressed in his Blacks and boots, his cropped blond hair a couple of inches longer than the Captain would usually keep it.

“Codes.” It’s murmured at him with a nod, and Cody takes a moment to fill his own cup before sitting in front of Rex “Sleepless?”

Cody nods, taking in Rex’s features. He looks positively shitty, bags under his eyes, five ‘o’clock  shadow darkening his features and a gaze that said Rex was more sleep than awake at the moment.

Cody is pleased that he hadn’t seen a mirror in a long while, because he can’t be really sure he’s looking any better than that. Odds are that he’s looking even worse. He nods instead of answering, and Rex sighs.

“Heard you got captured. Are you alright, brother?”

A quick memory flashes through Cody’s head. The crack of a whip, screamed threats. Two of his fingers being pulled too far back until a nauseating crack came, followed by Cody’s own ragged yelling.

“Had worse.” He shrugs, downing a big gulp of too-bitter caf “General Kenobi got to me before they could quite get started.”

A troubled look passes through Rex’s expression, a slight tremor of his right cheek. Cody had seen the scars on Rex’s back in the showers, and he was honestly relieved that the men who captured him had only a bantha leather whip. Whatever those Zyguerrians had used on Rex had cut him almost all the way down to muscle tissue.

“Want me to fill in on anything for you tomorrow?” Rex offers, looking down to his cup “My general will be busy with, uh... some security detail duty for a senator so I’m mostly free.”

Cody shakes his head, drinking another sip with a grimace.

“Nah, I’m good. Life goes on, vod’ika.”

That was the last conversation he had with Rex before he got shipped away along with Commander Tano.

Before Order Sixty-Six happened.

-

Cody sits on that very same chair, looking at the empty space where Rex had been sitting on that very night one year ago. So much had changed since then. The Republic, now the Empire. The Chancellor, now his Emperor. His targets, now the men that had once been the generals leading his army.

It’s a sleepless night once more, this time due to the recurring dreams of his first – presumably dead – Jedi target. Obi-Wan Kenobi, falling from an incredible height, crashing into the waters below, disappearing in its depths…

Why does he keep thinking about it? He’s starting to look like-

Cody’s commlink rings, and he picks up the call.

“CC-2224…” he starts, trailing off once he recognizes one of his brothers’ voice; one that would often call him with questions they were never meant to ask themselves, or anyone else “Ah, it’s you.”

“Hey Cod- CC-2224.” Says CC-5052, sounding just as tired as the time demands one to be “Can you do me a favor? I won’t be able to take the men to that incursion on Dantooine.”

“I can’t keep covering for you, CC-5052. Get your act together for once. I don’t need more slacking clones now, with all this talking of phasing us out of active duty. Nothing’s stopping the brass from just kicking us all out in the street and replace us with those volunteers, and we need to show that we are still as useful as we were back in the clone wars.”

There is a pause, so long that Cody wonders if 5052 is still on the line. Then…

“Cody…” another drawn out pause “Don’t you ever think that what we did was…?“

“Silence!” Cody hisses, face tightening in anger “Kriff, 5052, how many times do I have to tell you not to talk about your- your deviant thoughts over the comms?! Just- Just hang up, get to your bunk, go to sleep…”

“I’m not at the base.” The drawl on the clone’s voice is much clearer to Cody now. he isn’t sleepy, he is drunk “I’m not coming back.”

Cody is aboard a transport headed to the location pinged from the other clone’s commlink within minutes, knowing that the missed sleeping hours are gonna be sorely missed at the meeting later that day.

He walks into the cheap hotel, places a hand on the grip of the blaster on his holster to get the flustered desk worker to let him in without a warning, climbs the creaky stairs and tests the old mechanical lock on the door, noticing it is unlocked.

He can hear the voice of a woman inside the room. His hand goes to his blaster, unfastening his holster. He slowly pushes the door open as its hinges whine in protest, and then he realizes that the voice isn’t clear enough to be a person’s. It is a recording.

“fifty-two?” he calls out, stepping in the room “Don’t waste my time, I have a meeting in three hours and I should be asleep.”

His eyes quickly assess the small room, his gaze being drawn to the small holoprojector placed on top of the desk in front of the opposite wall where an armored clone sits. The desk is pretty much covered in over a dozen bottles of different cheap alcoholic drinks, some of them tipped on their side, almost all of them either empty or half-empty. The shards of a bottle that must have rolled over are littered by the left side of the desk.

The old blinds are drawn on the window at the end of the room, shrouding the place in darkness. The only sources of light are the semitransparent blue hue of the holoprojection, and the rectangles of light cutting into the room through the broken horizontal blinds.

Cody walks further in, now recognizing the woman in the recording, a tall, blue-skinned twi’lek dressed in a brown headpiece, pants, a short top, and an open cloak. The recording seems to have been made with the camera of a trooper’s helmet, judging for the medium quality of the projection.

Cody knows the woman. She had been a Jedi General during the Clone Wars, and became a traitor to the empire near its very end. Her assigned clone battalion as successfully carried out her elimination in Felucia exactly one year ago.

“Alright, so we have Korin, Mar’eti or T’aleh. Which one do you like best?”

The twi’lek is grinning at the person filming her, and a clone’s laugh comes in response.

“Any name you pick will be good.”

The Twi’lek laughs at that, shaking her head and reaching her hands towards the camera. The image shakes, and the camera is moved until it is placed at their bodies’ height, most likely a crate, given the background that seems to be the weapons’ depot of a Venator-class Star Destroyer.

“Are you sure you’re okay, love?”

The clone, now helmetless and in view of the camera smiles brightly. His cheeks have yellow-colored tattoos and his hair is shaven close to his scalp.

“I’m still getting used to the thought that I’m going to be a father. It’s… it’s incredible.”

The twi’lek laughs again, this time nervously, her hands dropping to her stomach.

“I don’t know what we are going to do.” Her smile falters, vanishes “How are we going to raise a child in this war?”

The trooper gently cups her face in his hands, pressing a delicate kiss to her lips.

“Don’t worry about that. The war will be over before our kid arrives. We’re closing in on the Seppies, this whole mess is almost over, and our baby will grow up in a peaceful galaxy.”

There is a small beat of silence, and the twi’lek raises her arms to hug the clone, huffing out a long sigh.

“I won’t abandon my duty as a Jedi. I can’t. Even after the war is over, I will still be a Jedi. You understand that, don’t you, Bly?”

The clone pulls back just about enough to look down at the Twi’lek’s face and nod.

“I wouldn’t ask you to.”

“I might be called to aid others all the way across the galaxy, and I can’t refuse.”

“We will follow you wherever you go. Me and our ad’ika. We’ll make this work. Haven’t we made this work so far?”

“Commander?” another clone’s voice pipes up from afar, and the clone hastily grabs his helmet, placing it back on his head and cutting off the recording

“Just a moment, trooper!”

The recording stops there, and a different one starts. The background is different this time – colorful trees and leaves all around the Commander’s vision of the same commander.

“I have a bad feeling about this.” The Twi’lek says, looking around warily

Hundreds of clones seem to be lining in formations, preparing to an attack. AT-STs are being prepped and yelled orders fly through the air.

“We’ll be fine.” The Commander says, placing a gloved hand on the Jedi’s shoulder, his voice then dropping to a whisper that crackles on its way out of his vocoder “Aayla. Cyare. Please let me lead this time—”

“No.” the answer is firm, the Jedi’s eyes sharp and her posture commanding “I will lead.” Her voice then drops to the same whisper, barely audible among all the noise muddling the recording “There is no one else I’d trust to have my back, Bly. I know you’ll always keep me safe.”

“All set here, General!” An ARC Trooper yells somewhere from behind them

The Jedi places a hand on the Commander’s chest, smiling softly.

“May the force be with you.” before he can reply, she is turning around to march ahead “Alright, troopers, follow my lead!”

The commander sighs heavily.

The recording stops once more. A new recording starts, at a clearing of the same colorful woods, the commander and his men slowly trailing behind their general.

“It’s so quiet.” Bly mutters “Where have they run off to?”

Their general stops, gesturing at her men to do the same.

“Be careful. There’s something wrong here. I can feel it.”

A commlink rings, and the commander presses the blinking button on his gauntlet. A voice, raspy and all too familiar to Cody pours from the speakers over the ears of the Commander in his helmet.

“Execute Order Sixty-six.”

With trained muscle memory, the Commander raised his DC-15 rifle, the gesture echoed by the other six troopers of their assault squad as they moved in sync to form a semicircle behind the Jedi General.

“Good soldiers follow orders” he whispers almost too quietly for the recording to pick up

A large flying alien creature cawed from somewhere behind them as it crossed the gold-tinted skies, and the Jedi turned around with a startle, he eyes going wide at the sight of her men and the aim of their weapons on her.

The general attempts to raise her lightsaber despite the horrified shock taking over her features.

She doesn’t have enough time to power on the weapon on before something bright and blue flashes out of her own clone commander’s rifle, whistling through the air to strike her right between her shoulder blades at her heart’s height.

Her body is jerked forwards, her arms flying up as the second bolt hits her on the ribcage, the lightsaber slipping off her grip as a pained scream is punched out of her.

Two more bolts strike her on the back and shoulder, and Bly fires another just as she stumbles forward, her protective shirt smoldering brightly over her back as the fourth bolt hits her there.

She falls down on her chest, one hand shakily and uselessly trying to reach for her lightsaber, and the men keep firing over and over, blaster shots hitting her middle. Her arms. Her legs. Her lekku, which slowly cease all movement. They keep firing until the only movement from the fallen Jedi are the occasional twitches caused by the electricity charges from the blaster bolts.

“T-Target eliminated” the Commander says with an almost unnoticeable stutter “All of you, let’s rendezvous at the alpha location, we must assist the other troops. We can’t stop until every jedi is dead and accounted for.”

Nodding, the men turn away, leaving the ground of their massacre behind. The commander lingers for a moment, his breath catching and coming out in a stuttered, heavy exhale.

Then he leaves.

The recording loops back to the first video, where Aayla Secura is trying to get Commander Bly to choose a name for their unborn child. Cody walks closer to the desk, his gaze now looking past the blue light of the projecting and further to the man sitting at the desk.

CC-5052, known as “Bly” during the Clone Wars, watches Cody with weary eyes, the semitransparent projection floating between them from the small device placed on the table between several empty bottles of various alcoholic drinks. Cody stops in front of it, removing his helmet and placing it by a cluster of purple-tinted bottles. He, too, is fully dressed in his kit except for his gloves and helmet.

Bly’s elbow is resting on the arm of the chair, his hand supporting his chin, while his other hand rests on his lap somewhere out of Cody’s view. He gives him a drunken smile that doesn’t reach his eyes, which are reddened and swollen.

His eyelashes are wet and there are dried trails of tears down his tattooed cheeks.

“Hey there, Codes.”

 “You need to come back to base.” Cody oders dryly.

“Told you I’m not coming back. I can’t.”

The recording has reached the moment where the troops are about to move out, and Cody ignores the audio overlapping over CC-5052’s words, pretending he cannot hear the trembling that underlines his own voice.

“You are a Commando clone, CC-5052, same as myself.” Cody says the words he had been told since his infancy back at the sterile white walls of the Kaminoan laboratories in Tipoca City “We can endure anything, and we do not deviate from our duty.”

He swallows down thickly, the sound of the blaster that had killed Aayla Secura along with the life growing inside of her echoing through the speakers of the projector on top of the table.

He had heard Bly’s confession of his anguish over having killed her during the issuing of order sixty-six multiple times. He had always told Bly to keep those thoughts to himself, and to never let their superiors hear these treacherous words.

But only today he truly understands the whole picture. There was more to his relationship with the deceased Jedi than that of a duty-bound trooper and their general.

Still…

“We will not have this conversation again – the Jedi were traitors” Cody presses on “and a threat to everything we fought for. They had to die.”

Good soldiers follow orders, whispers the Bly in the recording.

“I loved her.” Says the CC-5052 in front of him, and under the faint blue glow of the projection, Cody sees the glistening of the tears brimming in his eyes, trailing down his cheeks “I- I loved her, and we were gonna-- She was—”

An ugly, anguished sound comes through CC-5052’s - Bly's - gritted teeth, and suddenly the stoic mask of numb exhaustion drops, being replaced by an expression that is so twisted in agony, it reminds Cody of those he had seen in the battlefield on the faces of men whose limbs had been torn off by landmines and no amount of anesthesia could put an end to their pain.

Bly sobs, bringing to his eyes a hand that rattles against his brow with how hard it shakes. The pained noises being punched out of the clone between every sharp intake of air begin to die out as his breathing becomes more and more ragged.

A stuttered breath hisses out of him as he drops his hand, and he raises his swollen eyes to Cody again.

“I c-can’t do this anymore.”

Cody stares at him, at the hollow eyes and broken expression in that face that is a mirror of his own, and the two sentences that keep haunting his dreams.

Thank you Cody.

Blast him!

“You have to.” Cody says, the commanding tone slipping from his voice and giving place to a plea instead “You need to.”

Because a clone commander can withstand any kind of stress.

Even the horror of carrying out orders that changed the entire galaxy and the structure of their army and robbed them of the generals that would actually put themselves in the line of fire to protect them, even though they were nothing but expendable clones.

“I have nothing left, Cody. Nothing.” it’s like the words are being pulled out of Bly like shrapnel, fresh wounds being opened with every tug “I’ve served my purpose…”

The hand he’d kept resting over his lap, out of view from Cody’s gaze because of the desk between them is raised into view, along with a blaster in its grip.

“…and I hope you can find yours, brother.”

Slowly and without a hint of hesitation, Bly brings the muzzle of the weapon to the underside of his chin. Cody’s eyes widen, icy dread pooling in his core and sending a shiver up his spine, his entire body stiffening in tension as he understands what is about to happen.

“Bly— Hey, listen to me!” he tries to think through the distinct click of the blaster being cocked; he has to stop this, has to do something, anything “Bly, put the blaster down, now--”

“Never gone, only marching away…” Bly whispers with the faintest hint of a smile

“DON’T--”

The sharp whistle of blaster fire echoes in the room as a flash of bright blue illuminates the scene for an instant, Cody’s unprotected ears ringing loudly over the thudding of his own spiking pulse.

Bly’s head whips back with the blaster’s shock, a smoldering, perfect circle letting out smoke on the wound under his chin. His hand drops, the weapon slipping from his fingers and clattering to the floor with a dull thud.

Cody stands there, breath shallow and cut off by small gasps as he tries to fight the instinct to just turn around and run away from this nightmare. His stomach clenches in nausea, and he covers his mouth with his hand.

He stares at the lifeless body of a brother with whom he had shared many battles and down times with, a man he had trusted with his life and who trusted Cody with his. A man who had been birthed from a tube like him, had blasters instead of toys since he was five like him, scientists instead of a family like him.

A good soldier who had followed every order. And that had killed him.

Cody doesn’t know how long he stands there, petrified, the recording of General Aayla Secura’s short-lived dream of having a child with the man she loved looping so many times that Cody could recite it from memory, and then looping enough for Bly’s words to dissolve into a cadence of joy, tension, and resignation, joy, tension and resignation, joy, tension and—

Cody walks carefully around the desk, standing close by Bly’s side. He is supposed to report the self-termination immediately and wait for the Kaminoan staff in Coruscant to retrieve the body. He is not supposed to interfere in any way.

Bly’s eyes stare vacantly into nothing, brown and formerly full of life, shaped exactly like Cody’s. After a small moment of hesitation Cody reaches up to close them, his gloved hand lingering for an instant on Bly’s face.

He had failed him. He had failed his brother.

He thinks of Rex, whose helmet was the only one not found in the mass grave of former 501st clones in a distant moon. Could he be out there, still alive? His own words to Crosshair in front of the memorial of the clone troopers who had died in service of the Republic - and later the Empire - come back to him.

Do you know what makes us different from battle droids? We make our own decisions. Our own choices. And we have to live with them too.

Cody moves his hand to rest over Bly’s chest, on the stillness of his heart.

“Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc, ni partayli, gar darasuum, Bly, ner’vod.”

He straightens himself up, finally stopping the recording and removing the memory chip from the device, placing it in one of his belt pouches. Someone should keep Bly’s story and keep it from being forgotten.

Swallowing thickly around the lump forming in his throat, Cody picks his helmet up from the desk, placing it over his face with its expressionless mask of carved white and turning his back on the scene.

The armor would help him up until some point, and then he would do well to change out of it. The outline of a plan begins to take form in his mind. Safe locations, away from the Empire’s ever-watchful gaze. Old friends that might show mercy on him in spite of what he had become.

A hope, faint and delirious, that his former general might still be alive and willing to forgive him for what he had done.

Bly was right. Cody had to find his purpose. And he had to start now.

[flyiingsly]

How to get away with bad pranks

Square : Fives

Pairing : Fives x gn!reader

Warnings : mentions of blood and injuries, reader being shot at, Fives being a tease, swearing, kissing and pining

Wordcount : 2,7k

Summary : You catch Fives trying to pull a prank on Kix, but things backfire quickly on you, leading you into an unexpected but enjoyable position.

A/N : Here it is finally, my first submission for the @clonexreaderbingo ! I'm a bit nervous about posting it, because it's the first time ever that I'm sharing something I wrote on Tumblr, so it's a big first for me ! I had so much fun writing this one, I hope you'll enjoy it :D

Disclaimer : I'm still struggling to understand English grammar properly, English is not my native language and even if I have proofread my writtings several times, there is probably still typos in it. I'm very self conscious about it and I apologize for it in advance, but I'm doing my best to do better and I'm actively working at improving my writting skills !

So if you spot a typo, feel free to point it to me so I can correct it, it will be much appreciated :)

It was Fives's idea, of course ... He was always the one for the worst prank ideas ever ... And much to your despair, he was the kind to drag everyone around him along when things go out of hands.

That’s how you ended, thanks to him, running for your life around the corridors of the 501st quarters, a very angry Kix after you, firing paralyzing blaster charges at you and cursing like an angry hutt. As most of the time when someone got caught between him and the one he wanted to prank, you were only at the wrong place at the wrong moment.

You were searching for some band-aids to begin with, as you badly cut your hand with scrap metal while fixing an astromech droid who got shot on your last mission. You didn’t wanted to bother Kix, for he was currently reporting about the latest medical interventions from that said mission to Rex. So you decided to go get some at the medbay on your own. Since you were accredited as a medic too, you had the authorization to treat your own wounds if needed, if they weren’t too bad, of course, and a total access to the medbay.

You thought you’ll be alone, since there was nobody left here to heal. All injured men were already back on duty, thanks to the wonderful cares Kix provided to them. But when you opened the door, you heard some suspect noises. You stop moving for a moment, feeling that something was kind of wrong.

“Is there anybody here ?” you shout.

“Ho, hey, (y/n) ! What are doing here ?” a very awkward and embarrassed Fives answer you, popping his head from behind the curtain separating the entrance of the medbay and the nearest examination room.

Oh, not that idiot again you thought. His presence here wasn’t suggesting any good. And not to add to your bad premonition, the lights were shut, except for that one lamp behind the curtain, and you immediately knew that whatever you were going to find behind it would be something overstepping every possible protocols.

You were absolutely fond of each one of your comrades for sure, you could give your own life for them. But this one … You were particularly susceptible to his charms to be honest, even if you knew that when he had decided to be sneaky and to play a joke on someone, he could become a huge pain in the ass.

“I came here to find some disinfectant and band-aids, I cut my hand … And what about you ? You know you have no authorization to be here alone Fives. You know you can come and find me if you get injured, I will not judge you, you know me !”

You try not to sound too suspicious, for maybe he was here because he really needed it and not to do something unreasonable for once.

He had, indeed, developed the bad habit of injuring himself in the stupidest of ways. Not very serious injuries fortunately, but Kix was tired of having to deal with his case and one day reprimanded him, so he became reluctant to find him when in need of a medic. That was why you offered him to come find you if that had to happen again. Which he did most of the time. And when he didn’t, you always ended up noticing he was injured anyway. Of course, all of this gave you the opportunity to spend more time with him, but you wish it could be under others circumstances.

“Well …”, he hesitate, “I, huh … No, I’m fine, I just wanted to make a little surprise for Kix, you know …” He finally admit, a nervous smile playing on his lips.

So, it was what you were fearing, he was doing something stupid, again …

“Oh my god, Fives, I hope it’s not that bad this time !” you groan, hurrying toward the curtain and opening it.

It was that bad.

“FIVES WHAT THE …. ???”

You didn’t get the chance to finish your sentence that you hear a desperate scream behind you. You turn back and see Kix, who just happened to enter the room. You forgot to close the door behind you, so the sound of its opening didn’t inform you of his arrival.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ?” he screams, anger piercing trough his voice, “THIS TIME I SWEAR I’LL KILL YOU !” he adds, grabbing his paralyzing blaster from his belt.

“Wait …” you try to explain, but you were cut by Fives taking you by the hand and dragging you across the room to the door.

“Run !”

“I didn’t do anythiiiing !” you try to protest anyway, but it was too late, Kix was already chasing after you, aiming at you with his weapon.

The best option would have been to stay and explain yourself about the fact that it was absolutely none of your fault, but now that you were running away, considering how angry Kix was, you became highly suspect and were almost immediately assigned guilty. Even though he knew you usually were the wise one, trying your best to discourage his irresponsibles brothers to make a mess. But he was way too furious to think about it right now, and you cannot blame him.

So here you were, dodging electric shocks, passing by other soldiers whit absolutely no idea of what was happening, with a still bleeding hand, and pursued by a very hysterical medic.

“FIVES I SWEAR I KRIFFIN' HATE YOU FOR MAKER’S SAKE !” you bark at the clone, your cheeks burning from the sudden adrenaline rush.

“Oh, I don’t really think so my dear ! » he answers, smiling with pride.

You were speechless. So that dumbass still had the nerves to do humor to your face after embarking you in his mess ! You promise to yourself that you were going to make him pay for that, one way or another.

But the only thing that matters at that very moment was to find a place to hide until Kix could finally calm down. Thankfully, you were running faster than him, and you managed to pass a few automatic doors that you closed behind you to slow him down.

“THERE !” Fives suddenly yells, pointing at a little door on the right side of the corridor. You reach it within seconds, and he slams the controlling pad to open it, pushing you inside and closing it quickly again before you could even ask what was behind it.

It was dark, but you could still distinguish some blurry shapes around you, even without really knowing what they were. All you could tell was that the space was very tight.

Both of you remain silent for a moment. You were both shaking and panting from your intense and unexpected run. You could feel your heart pumping in your ears, and your blood rushing through your veins. You both try to listen to what was going on outside. It was very quiet. Too quiet.

After what seemed like an eternity, you hear fast footsteps and a ragged breathing passing by the door at full speed without slowing down at its sight.

You look around you, realizing that your eyes had got used to the darkness, as you were now able to see what was around you. You were in some sort of closet, and there only was a shelf against the back wall, crowded with what was looking like tools and cans of paint. Some kind of a storeroom in fact.

Your heartbeat had finally calmed down, and you let out a sigh of relief. You were safe in here. But for how long ?

You then notice that you were barely more than a foot from each other. A very thigh space, indeed.

You raise your head toward the man standing right in front of you, and when you meet his gaze, it was already upon you. His eyes were glowing and intensely focused on your face. Your heart start to race again, as you felt a bit taken aback by the closeness and the way he was looking at you. You weren’t expecting your day to go on like this.

“Well, what are we supposed to do now ?” you ask him nervously, whispering as quietly as possible.

“Now that you ask …” A mischievous smirk was growing on his lips, making you fear the worst. “I see plenty of possibilities honestly …”

Of course, you should have known what kind of answer that question was calling for. You knew him so well, it was inevitable, and yet, you had to ask anyway.

Teasing each other with suggestive remarks had always been a thing between soldiers, and Fives was always going for it any time he had the opportunity. Witnessing this behavior usually made you laugh and roll your eyes, not really minding it. But this time, it makes you feel unusually flustered, and your brain start to send you unwanted and detailed glimpses of what those possibilities could look like.

You didn’t know what came to your confused mind, but you decide to play his game, just to see if he was bold enough to go along with someone who was not one of his brothers.

“Oh really ? I’d like to see that.” You tease, raising an eyebrow in defiance, but instantly internally facepalming for it. “What the hell are you doing ?” you wordlessly yelled at yourself, feeling the heat rising to your face.

“W-what ?” he mumbles in a high-pitched tone, forgetting to whisper, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping at your words. He was obviously not expecting that kind of answer.

“What ?” you repeat, as shocked as him. But quickly, his expression of pure confusion makes you chuckle, allowing you to release a bit of your nervousness.

“Relax, I was joking … I just wanted to see if you were going to add to it, apparently not.” You were grinning, a bit proud of yourself afterward.

“You’re an awful person, you know that ?”

“Hey ! You started this !”

He rolls up his eyes and pulls his best annoyed face, but ends up smiling at you anyway. He never was good at feigning annoyance, or any other emotion, actually.

The silence fall between you again, but you feel that there still was some tension in the air, and you knew by the look on his face that something was bothering him. He was so close that you could hear his heart starting to race again.

“Fives ? Are you okay ?” you ask after you noticed that his gaze was locked on you again, but for way too long this time.

He seems like paralyzed, wanting to move but too hesitant to do so. He opens his mouth like if he was about to say something but immediately shut it again. His eyes were still glowing, and without a warning, he closes the space between you, cups your face with both his hands, and his lips came crashing against yours.

It happened so fast that you couldn’t saw it coming. You let out a muffled squeak of surprise and your whole body tense up at first, but soon you close your eyes and relax, allowing yourself to get carried away by the moment. He wasn’t lying when he bragged about being a good kisser.

But he breaks the kiss, you were both panting. He quickly lets go of you and takes a step behind, a frightened expression on his face.

“I … I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, I … I got overwhelmed …” he was so embarrassed and afraid of your reaction that he was struggling to find his words. At this point, the idea of whispering to avoid being caught was far gone from his mind.

You, on the other hand, were standing completely silent, still processing what had just happened, trying your best to refrain your mind from going wild over inappropriate thoughts. You bite your lips, avoiding his gaze, trying to get yourself together and carefully pick up your words.

“Was that what you were thinking about when you were talking about “possibilities” ?” you ask blankly.

He hesitate for a moment before answering you, not sure if he could tell you the truth at first, but soon remembers that he was screwed anyway.

“Well …” he sighs, “to be honest, yes, and I had to admit that I have been thinking about it since the first time I met you.” He spits out in one go, immediately cursing himself as he saw your eyes growing wider than ever.

You still didn’t answer anything, but on the inside, his confession had turned you into a huge mess. You were doing your best to keep your composure, but it was becoming harder and harder.

“Oh kriff, what’s wrong with me …” he breathes out, hiding his eyes under his hand.

Without hesitating much longer, you came closer to him and gently take his hand in one of yours to uncover his face, much to his surprise. Your sudden closeness was unexpected, as he was waiting for you to storm out of the closet and go report him right in the minute. But instead, his fear was greeted by the feeling of your lips passionately meeting his again.

He immediately dives in, answering and deepening the kiss, one of his hands unconsciously finding its way to your hip, grabbing it firmly, while the fingers of the other hand came running through your hair. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him even closer, desperately wanting to feel his body against yours.

It was so intense and thrilling, and you were holding your breath so tight that you were seeing stars, and you both had to stop kissing so you could reach for air. But it didn’t take long for him to come back at it, teasingly biting your lower lips in the process. You couldn’t help but let out a faint moan as it made your excitation level dangerously increase. You could feel him smiles mischievously at your reaction, visibly enjoying it.

You were both so focus on each other that you didn’t even notice that footsteps were passing by the door once again to stop in front of it. Only a second after, It was slammed open without a warning, making you jump in surprise, stopping you in your tracks and bringing in the violent light of the corridor.

“HERE YOU ARE !” You hear Kix screaming triumphantly at you, although you were too blinded by the sudden burst of luminosity to clearly see him. All you could distinguish was the form of the blaster he was still holding in his hand.

He instantly stops moving when he notices in which position and how close you were, dropping his jaw in disbelief.

Fives and you both throw a horrified look at each other, not expecting to be catch like that. You had nearly forgot why you were here in the first place.

“We … we can explain !” the ARC trooper stutters.

But Kix quickly moves on and you didn’t even get a chance to protest that he was already aiming his blaster at you, not bothering to ask for a clarification. You both let out a scream, trying to beg him not to fire at you.

“PLEASE, KIX, DON’T DO THAT, I’M SOR …”

Fives couldn’t finish his sentence that a shot reaches him, making him collapse on the floor in a painful start. Nearly immediately after, you felt a dazzling pain passing through your whole body and your muscles contracting. You wanted to scream but you were unable to, and soon your mind blacks out, leaving you unconscious too.

Needless to say that Kix didn’t hesitate to use what he saw to tease you when you woke up as a revenge for the prank, and he seemed to immensely enjoy it. The last thing you wanted was to get involved in Fives' plans, but you had to admit that it was more than worth it this time.

[knightprincess]

Forgive Me (Echo x Medic Reader) Part 24

Words: 1.7K Warning: None Pronouns: She/Her - Use of Y/N

Setting up a new secluded and hidden base after the attack on Teth was anything but easy. The new direction had forced all other priorities to be put on the back burner. The Senators slowly coming together would be fine under the watchful eye of Riyo Chuchi; the same couldn't be said for (Y/N), whose extract was long overdue. Despite the best efforts of Echo and Gregor to focus on getting her and Wolffe out, something else that needed their immediate attention popped up. Something always prevented the pair from seriously sitting down to plan the finer details. 

"Umm! That's not good," worded Gregor, the weight of the latest intel crashing down on him. Quickly, he scribbled down what the contact within the Empire was telling him on a piece of flimsi. Wolffe had been compromised and sent to Tantis to be questioned and interrogated. If (Y/N) had been in danger before, then she would be in dire straights now, even more so if Hemlock was as smart as Crosshair had claimed. 

"What's up?" asked Rex, appearing behind Gregor and creeping along through the shadows of their latest base. No matter how hard the Commando tried, he found it difficult to hide the concern swimming through his golden eyes, even more so when his gaze landed on Howzer and Echo. "How bad is it?" sighed the former Captain, wiping a hand down his features before pinching the bridge of his nose and mentally preparing himself for the terrible news he was about to be hit with. 

"Our contact confirmed Wolffe has been compromised," spoke Gregor, trying his hardest to keep his voice even despite the urge to scream out in frustration, despite wanting nothing more than to charge into Tantis and pull both (Y/N) and Wolffe from the fingers of the empire. "He was sent to Tantis for interrogation days ago." 

"And Snap?" questioned Rex, suspecting Wolffe being arrested was just scratching the surface of the bad news to come. Briefly, the great captain turned to where Echo slouched over a makeshift table, a bowl of soup and datapad before him. Howzer was close by, trying to set up the communication table; every now and again, he'd swear about something not going right and wish Nemec and Fireball were there to help. 

"Our source says (Y/N) was taken into custody, and the Dark Trooper project has been put on hold until an internal investigation is complete. They mentioned something about CX-2 but couldn't make it out," replied Gregor, his words whispered now as if he attempted to hide the truth from Echo and save him the crushing guilt and regret for not getting (Y/N) out sooner. "On other news, though, Devika is back within the senate; I hear she's quite the sneaky one," he laughed, attempting to lighten the mood, as he handed over a piece of flimsi with scribbled notes on it. "Message from Devika, all the senators that may pose a future risk against anyone who speaks out against the empire." 

"Call Hunter and the boys," replied Rex, patting Gregor on the shoulder as if to convey silent comfort before walking away with the scribbled list. The idea was clear enough; the batch was intending to get to Tantis to rescue Omega, no matter the cost of doing so. The four there would be targeting the facility soon enough; it was better to work with each other rather than get in the other's way. They had a common goal, and working together would get them there faster. 

With a heavy sigh, Gregor got to work on sending a quiet message to the boys of the Bad Batch, or at least what remained of them. He understood his goal loud and clear: keep Echo in the dark for now until they could be sure about Snap's position. Despite the urge to go into Tantis guns blazing, they didn't know for sure if the news of Snap was true or an elaborate trap designed to pull in rogue clones who'd attempt a rescue. 

"Echo," called Rex, setting himself up to deliver the bad news. Upon gaining the Arc Troopers' attention, the captain gestured him to follow to the quiet corner shrouded in shadow not too far from their position. Already, Rex dreaded the response, dreaded giving the news of uncertainty. "Intel suggests Snap may have been compromised. She's being detained at Tantis," the captain said slowly, feeling the dread build in his stomach and his confidence begin to dwindle. The horror etching itself on Echo's features did little in the way of comfort. Instead only brought more guilt. 

"Message sent to the boys," called Gregor upon realizing nobody was being kept in the dark this time. "Apparently, they already have a way to find Tantis. They broke some Imp out of a labor camp." 

"Cause that doesn't sound suspicious in the slightest," replied Howzer, suspecting it was all a trap. This was even more so when the Empire wasn't known for its willingness to spare those who failed them. Execution was normally the preferred method. "Who is this imperial anyway?" asked the hero of Ryloth, allowing curiosity to get the better of him, if only for a second before he pushed it aside to return his attention to more pressing matters. 

"Admiral Rampart," said Gregor, seeing the harsh disappointment paint on Echo's features. He then rolled his eyes as he figured out which of Hunter, Crosshair, and Wrecker was responsible for breaking the untrustworthy weasel out of prison if it was the admiral who had mercilessly destroyed Kamino. 

"I'll go to them," Echo said, reaching for his helmet. He knew the boys of the batch were going to do something crazy again, and this time, they were willing to risk it all to get Omega back. "Whatever they're planning, they're not going to wait. I'll signal if we need backup." 

"We'll have everything ready for your return," called Gregor, raising his voice so Echo could hear him as he left for the makeshift hanger bay. The Commando refused to think negatively thrust forced himself to believe Echo would return, and among all their missing brothers, Wolffe and (Y/N). 

"Any idea who the Shadow on our trail is?" asked Rex, turning his attention to Howzer at the makeshift table. At first, they believed it was the one marked CX-2, but they soon figured otherwise. Whereas CX-2 seemed to have a personal vendetta against the members of the Bad Batch, CX-3 seemed to have it out for all of them, as if he knew each of them. 

"My first thought was Fox, but intel suggests this mysterious Sith apprentice killed him months ago," started Howzer, a wave of sadness washing over him, another brother lost at the hands of the empire. Destined to be forgotten as those who perished during the war were. "After a bit of digging, I found Bly was within the imperial ranks until about three months ago, and Cody's been listed as Awol for almost seven months." 

"What about Scorch and Sev?" questioned Gregor, knowing his fellow Commandos were likely still within the ranks of the Empire. They were loyal but never truly believed in the republic. "Could one or both of them be these Shadows?" he added, allowing another sigh to pass his lips. Deep down, he knew there were only two ways of finding out who the operatives were. Either by capturing and removing their helmets or getting intel from the person who'd created them. (Y/N). 

"Remind me to shoot whoever created these guys," commented Howzer, quickly noticing when the air seemed to have been sucked from the room and how it had fallen into a deathly silence. 

"Snap created them. It's why there was such a high bounty on her," answered Rex, hearing Gregor begin to chuckle from across the darkened room. 

"That's why they're so effective," laughed Gregor. "These X troopers only started popping up after we sent her in. They're a part of the Dark Trooper program the Empire wanted her for." 

"They're protecting her?" asked Howzer, confusion evident in his voice. Was that why none of them answered when asked questions? Was that why none of them said anything when asked who they were and who turned them into the operatives? 

"Snap created them. The odds are she knows how to reverse it," added Gregor, choosing to think on the bright side and have faith in his friend. He doubted Snap would have tortured all the clones and turned them into empire loyalists and assassins without a way to reverse what she'd been forced to do. Even more so when so many knew she would do anything to protect them, even at the cost of her own well-being. 

"Note to self: Don't shoot her. I'd rather not be the recipient of Echo's wrath," noted Howzer. As he allowed himself to think, he suspected it would be more than just Echo he'd be dealing with. Wolffe and Gregor, too, perhaps Rex as well. 

"It's better than being on the receiving end of his disappointed look," voiced Gregor, recalling the last time he'd personally been on the receiving end of the expression of irreparable shame. The Arc Trooper had mastered the art better than anyone else he knew. "I still haven't forgotten when he threw it at me, when I helped (Y/N) prepare for her mission." 

"Howzer, make a list of everyone who could potentially be a Shadow. We'll get (Y/N) to confirm once she's back," commanded Rex, choosing to focus on what they could do rather than dwell on everything that could possibly go wrong. From losing more brothers to the impromptu rescue mission going horribly wrong. 

"I'll work on getting communications up and prepare the packs in case we're called for backup," spoke Gregor as he stepped toward the communications table, kicking some of the thick wires from his path. "Snap, Wolffe, Echo, The Batch, and all our brothers out there need us. Let's not let them down when the time comes," added the commando, refusing to allow the doubt to creep into his mind. The empire had already taken so much from clones; he wasn't about to let them take away those his brothers loved, too. 

Series Masterlist

[ninjigma]

RexObi Week Part 4/7 - First / Previous / Next

Day 4: Midnight Picnic Track: 'Constellations' - The Oh Hellos (Spotify / YouTube)

"And which part of the holonet said this was a good idea?"

Obi-Wan nearly tripped over nothing at the question. It wasn't actually for how sudden it was, though it had definitely seemed out of nowhere as they reached their spot, but more for being called out on the real truth. That the cooling bag and large blankets they were carrying to a spot near some of the resort lakes in the middle of the night was yet another thing he had turned to the holonet for guidance on. Sure, they had plenty of small moments just wandering around and there had been a few times staying in that had been much preferred to anything else, but Obi-Wan was really trying to make the trip something special. And knowing that Rex had experienced so little like this, that Obi-Wan's questions were often met with the reminder that Rex really didn't know if he would like something purely because he had never tried it, and that Obi-Wan's actual capabilities with dating were... slim at best, he had done perhaps a tad too much research.

"I- This-" the oh so great negotiator began fumbling almost immediately, despite the attempts to seem unwavering as he laid out a blanket and pointedly avoided Rex's face. "It was um, just an idea to be out and it is a beautiful night cycle here and I..."

Obi-Wan didn't know why he was still fighting it at this point. When had he ever been able to convince Rex of something, especially when the clone had already had the answer before ever asking him the question. It was basically just formality, he realized, another small tease perhaps as he rolled down to sit cross legged with the bag now in his lap.

"I found it on the holonet."

He realized now, as he refused to look up when Rex approached him, that he was ashamed. Embarrassed that he hadn't come up with any original good idea. He had wracked at everything he knew about Rex, had nonchalantly bounced ideas and thoughts off of Cody, had even gone to Anakin a few times for Force sake, and yet had felt inadequate every time. He was trying to fit a little bit of everything he thought Rex might like into this, to make the whole trip memorable, especially considering what he had planned for the end of it. But if it flopped, if he fell short as he often felt he did with certain expectations, he worried he wouldn't feel confident at all in the end. And if he wasn't confident enough in how well he knew Rex to even plan a vacation for him then how could he ever-

A warm hand was suddenly beneath his chin, startling Obi-Wan out of the start of his panic he hadn't even been aware of. He let slim fingers guide his gaze back up, and fought the flicker of his eyes to anything that wasn't the look Rex was giving him.

"Obi-Wan, that's a good thing."

Obi-Wan blinked a moment, then another, not unlike the bird he could hear cooing in the silence. Then one stuttered breath and- "What?"

Rex chuckled, and then sat more properly down, taking the bag gently from Obi-Wan and opening it. It gave Obi-Wan the needed moment to process, to not feel like he was being evaluated or restricted, and Obi-Wan really had to take a small moment to remember how lucky he was. 

"You aren't upset?"

Rex looked up this time, the popping of the cork synced with his deadpanned gaze leveled in the Jedi's direction. "Why should I be upset? What did you do this time?"

Obi-Wan gaped a bit, the attempt at humor not sinking past his nerves still. "Well I... I couldn't come up with ideas for dates or activities on my own. As if I just have been so horribly inattentive that I couldn't come up with things you would like because... because I did not know you well enough or pay attention to what you actually like, and I-"

"Well you got that right, because if you knew me we would be at a winter resort, not an ocean one."

At this Obi-Wan near physically recoiled, sputtering. "What? No that's- you don't like the cold and the ocean-"

"Is something I love." Rex finished for him, tipping a container of chocolate covered strawberries on to a wood platter. "You caught me. But really, seafood this much? And why do I always have to wear this sweater?"

Obi-Wan shook his head like he had been thrown through realities at some point without him even noticing, all his earlier disappointment dashed in the absurdity of what he was hearing now. "No, Rex, I- you have always preferred seafood to other things! You order it so much... and you stole that sweater, you always steal it, I thought you'd, well I thought..."

"You thought I would take this sweater over the others anyways, because I do like the feeling of it more. I have even taken it directly off you before, right?" Rex had poured them champagne and took a sip, gazing lowly at Obi-Wan over the glass. "And I have yet to find seafood I truly can't eat, especially compared to anything else, because I love it."

Obi-Wan felt his heart racing, head near spinning. He was second guessing everything now, the whiplash from feeling like he didn't know Rex to hearing Rex himself tear apart any hope he had of understanding the clone to then suddenly confirming it as truth was staggering. "Rex, what are you saying?"

"I am saying that you, sir, are being cruel to yourself, and I am not going to stand for someone treating you that way, even you." Rex then set aside the drink and moved closer, hands slipping beneath Obi-Wan's folded legs and gently pulling. Obi-Wan flowed with it, still too stunned to do anything other then follow Rex's lead and let his feet be guided forward, crossing his legs over top of Rex's. "You know I don't like to be cold, you know I love the water, you know I enjoy seafood, and you even remember which of the sweaters I prefer to steal. So why exactly are you looking on the holonet for things you think I would like?"

Obi-Wan twisted his fingers around each other more, somehow feeling like a fool ten times over. "Because I... well, I have never gone on dates. Not any that weren't more so set ups or missions or just, ended horribly. So I suppose I simply didn't trust myself to do it right anyhow."

Then Rex's hand was stilling Obi-Wan's. The Jedi had a moment to appreciate the feeling, calloused but smooth, lean and precise. They were hands infinitely capable, that had done a thousand tasks and would do a million more. Hands that had been offered openly as much as swung valiantly. Hands Obi-Wan could feel the phantom touch of on his sides, could sense the Force flowing and ebbing at the tips of his own worn and rough finger's. 

And the words Rex spoke next matched those hands and that feeling of deadly love only a clone seemed so capable of balancing perfectly. "Well good thing the thing I actually love most is you."

And finally, Obi-Wan found he couldn't fight the swell of joy at the words, couldn't resist the slightly warbling smile that broke out on his face as he looked more fully at Rex again, noting the clones own blush nearly hidden in the moonlight. "Should I close all those holo tabs on my datapad then?" Obi-Wan asked.

It was a question made in humor that both of them knew held a lot more truth. "Well, you did all that research," Rex shrugged a shoulder. "So maybe not all of them. But I wouldn't mind there being a lot more water involved in things."

"A bit more spontaneous then?" Obi-Wan asked, gaining the confidence to grab a strawberry and gently hold it up for Rex. "I do at least remember how much you clones seemed to thrive in the more unexpected."

"You know me Kenobi," and Rex hummed as he leaned forward, tongue darting out the briefest moment. "So what you should actually remember is that there is a very specific chaos you should actually look in to."

And as Rex slid his lips over the strawberry and Obi-Wan forgot exactly what he was just told to remember, a few things fell into place. A few more strawberries were shared, their glasses emptied and whispers between kisses given. There was the soft carding of fingers in greying hair, the quiet noises of surrounding night life beneath three moons. There was the taste of the sweets and the dry champagne to balance them. It was soft blankets under socked feet, softer clothing over bodies pressed close. It was quiet and frozen, warmth and thundering hearts. 

It was simply Obi-Wan, one hand gently reaching out to find Rex warm beneath it. And it was uniquely Rex, eyes locked on Obi-Wan without any hesitation or uncertainty.  

It was the plainest of picnics, with all the most wonderful complications a life of love could hide within it.

@rexobiweek

[kaminocasey]

25 Days of Life Day: Day 2 - Hot Cocoa and Fireplace Cuddles with Rex

Summary: You and Rex cuddle up to a warm fire and drink hot cocoa after he comes in from the cold.

Warnings: None.

A/N: I was going to do regular Rex but was writing for The Cottage and was in a Rebels Rex mood!

25 Days of Life Day Masterlist

The snow had been coming down for a while now in giant chunky flakes, sticking to the ground immediately. You’re pretty sure there’s already about six inches of snow outside already, so you keep the curtains drawn open so you can watch it.

“I think it’s really starting to pick up out there.” Rex comes in from chopping wood out in the barn, carrying a wooden crate of said wood.

He looks up from taking off his boots, finding you waiting with a tray of hot cocoa and treats that you’d spent all afternoon baking. His gaze softens and the cold is quickly replaced with warmth. 

“Let me go change into warmer clothes and I’ll meet you by the fireplace.” He winks, giving you a quick, but cold-lipped kiss. 

You go and sit the tray down on the ottoman and wait on the pallet of pillows and blankets that you prepped while he was outside. It’s nice and warm by the fire. All you need is Rex.

Finally, you hear his heavy footsteps descending the stairs and soon your husband joins you on the floor. He lands with an oof and quickly pulls the blanket up toward you so that you can cuddle up next to him. He hands you your mug of cocoa and you sip it, contently. 

Rex grabs a bunch of marshmallows from the tray and puts it in his mug. Just how he likes it. More marshmallows than cocoa. You can’t help but chuckle.

He smirks down at you and trails his cold hand up your shirt, resting on your warm stomach and you nearly drop your mug.

“Maker!” You gasp with a laugh. 

He can’t help but laugh as well. “That’s what you get for laughing at me.”

“Lesson learned.” You grin as his hand starts to warm up a bit. 

He hums triumphantly and pops a cookie in his mouth, picking up the poker and maneuvering the burning logs around a bit, making them pop and crackle. 

“You want me to grab your reader?” He asks, starting to reach for it. 

“No, I’m good here in your arms.” You assure him, getting comfy against his warm chest, drinking your cocoa. 

He rubs your back and rests his scruffy cheek against your hair.

As you finish your cocoa and eat a few cookies, you and Rex get comfier under the blankets, watching the snow fall past the window. 

“I’m so glad we have this.” You tell him, resting your head on his shoulder.

You’re starting to get tired and you know that you’ll have to put the fire out soon and go up to bed, but for now you just enjoy it. 

“This what?” He kisses your head, a little sleepy.

“This life.” You smile, reaching up to twirl your fingers sleepily in his beard. 

“Me too, cyare.” He smiles back. “Me too.”

TAGS: @grievouus @brynhildrmimi @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @misogirl828 @rexandechosandwich @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @twistedstitcher27 @zoeykallus @maulslittlemeowmeow @littlemousedroid @arctrooper69 @rexxdjarin

[broiderie]

Lost Princessa: Meet the Reaper 20

Okay... this is pure fluff. Like.... rot your teeth cotton candy fluff... but I enjoyed it. I'm a fluff writer at heart.

Warnings: cursing... girly things... but that's all I can think of. Let me know if I missed a trigger.

Don't steal my shit.

It felt like only minutes of sleep when he stirred at the subtle creak of the door hinges. It was only Rex letting himself out, but Hank was immediately alert anyway. He could hear the television playing low in the living room now- the early morning news report. Taza was awake.

Hank didn’t try to detangle himself from Megan at all. Rex had the dog doors now. He could let himself out and if Taza was awake - he could feed the big dog. It was more important to Hank that Megan sleep and he be there when she woke up. 

Sooner than he’d like, Megan stirred. He stroked her hair gently and tried shushing her back to sleep, but gave up when her eyes popped open. “Easy, Princessa, go back to sleep. You’ve only had three hours or so.”

Megan yawned. “What time is it?”

“Almost six. Go back to sleep. You need some rest.” He pressed a kiss between her eyebrows. 

“Tía Diana and Tessa are here though…”

“And they’ll still be here in a few hours. And you and Venus don’t have any plans until lunch. Rest.” He cradled her close to him. “Please? Try for me?”

Megan cuddled into the warmth of his bare skin as he stroked her back gently. The repetitive motion lulling her back into a bit of a doze. She yawned. “Papa will need….” she yawned again “...breakfast.”

Hank chuckled and continued to pet her back soothingly. “I promise you, mi amore, your papa can feed himself,” he murmured so it was a deep, comforting rumble in his chest that she could feel. “Just close your eyes for a little bit longer…”

Megan’s eyes closed and she nuzzled closer. “Just a little bit…”

He smiled as she dozed back off and closed his own eyes for a little more sleep.

Megan woke a few hours later, still cuddled as close to Hank as she could get with her sling on. His breathing was still deep and even which meant he was still asleep. She took comfort from the absolute heat of him in the slight chill of the autumn morning. 

Today, Hank had a yard shift and Taza had some paperwork to do at the yard. Since the accident, that meant Taza bringing the paperwork home to do while Megan basically stayed within a few feet of him reading. Today would be different.

With the other clubs in town, Megan had to at least try to show some obvious progress in her panic attacks in a visible way. So today - Hank would go to work, reluctantly - as would Taza. Megan would tag along and hang out in the bar with Venus, Tía Diana, and Tessa. Maybe they’d call Mama too. See if she wanted to come over and join in. Megan was anticipating a long, but fun, day of princess lessons from all the strongest ladies in her life.

Hank stirred gently and Megan kissed his skin to let him know she was awake.

“Mornin’,” he rasped.

“Morning Hank.”

“How’re you feelin’, Baby?” he asked, pressing a kiss to her lips gently. “How’s your pain level?”

Megan smiled at him. “I’m okay. Pain level is actually not bad. It’s much better than it was before.”

“Good. We’re past the two week point now. Doctor said that the pain would most likely start slacking off some. In a few days we’ll run you over the border to the doctor there for an x-ray. Maybe the sling can come off soon.” He kissed her again and chuckled as she deepened it in her excitement.

There was a soft knock on the doorframe and the sound of Rex’s paws on hardwood. Megan reluctantly broke the kiss upon hearing Taza chuckle. “Good morning,” he said.

Megan rolled carefully to see him and smiled. “Morning Papa.”

“Marcus just called. Tessa and Diana are awake and moving. They’re going to meet you at the bar in a bit. Diana said to bring the heels she bought to go with your quince dress,” Taza said, leaning casually in the doorway.

“Okay, Papa. I wanna call Mama and see if she’ll come join us too. Maybe Letty if she’s not busy,” Megan said, snuggling back into Hank’s arms. “We can have a girls’ day while you guys work.”

The rumble of Hank’s laugh vibrated through Megan. “That sounds like fun, mi amore. Mama will love it.”

Megan sat up and stretched as best she could. “Papa - the heels restriction - do my cowboy boots count?”

Taza smiled as he realized that Megan was determined to do things right. “No, Chica. Your cowboy boots are fine.”

“Oh good!” She petted Rex’s ears in greeting. “I want to wear them today.”

Hank slid out of bed on his side with a smile. “Which jeans, Princessa?”

“The bootcut ones - I think they’re light wash - and a t-shirt and flannel, please.”

Hank went into the closet and rummaged a bit before finding the jeans she wanted. He found one of her band shirts and a red and black flannel of his that was well worn and soft. “Which boots? Brown or black?”

Megan glanced up to see which flannel he had. “Black, I think.”

Taza grinned. “Alright. I’ll start breakfast then. Burritos okay?”

“Sure, Papa,” Megan agreed. “I’ll come help in a minute.”

Hank grinned and laid out the clothes on the bed. “This okay, Princessa?”

“Get ready for the day, Chica. I can manage not to poison us for one morning,

Taza assured her before walking back out to the kitchen and shutting the door. 

Megan smiled. “Perfect.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Gonna go get washed up.” 

“Okay.” He grinned as he watched her head into the bathroom. She’d call for him in a minute to loosen the lid on her moisturizer, so he found his work clothes while he waited. He got his jeans on, but was still shirtless when he heard the annoyed huff from the bathroom that made him chuckle. He poked his head through the door and took the jar from her to open it. 

“Thank you,” Megan said with a rueful grin. She handed him her sunscreen while he was there. “Could you…”

He unscrewed that top too. “You’re welcome, Princessa.” He chuckled and kissed her hair before going to finish getting himself dressed. 

As he was pulling his denim work shirt on, Megan came out of the bathroom. He loved how she looked so calm in the morning after her routine. “Ready for clothes?”

“I think so…”

Hank helped her get dressed in her bootcut jeans and band shirt before she pulled on her cowboy boots. The heel on them gave her the slightest boost and Hank couldn’t resist ogling how they made her ass look in those jeans. They threaded her belt through the belt loops with her belt knife on it. Megan tucked the third street fighting knife into the left side of the belt. The other two were still in her kutte. They got her holsters on her too. She picked up her bag of hair stuff and was ready to go. 

They met Taza at the table just as he finished the breakfast burritos. “Ah. Ready to take on the day.” Taza kissed her hair as she stirred sugar and cream into her coffee. “We can braid your hair after we eat.”

“Actually, Papa, I think I want to leave some of it down. Tessa mentioned wanting to play with it last night. Can we do what we did for the bonfire?” She smiled as Hank sat a shoe box down under the hooks that held their kuttes.

Taza smiled. “Sure we can. You girls gonna turn the bar into a beauty parlor?”

That made Megan laugh. “Maybe a little, but we’ll turn it back into the clubhouse when we’re done. Promise,” she said as she sat in her seat at the table.

Hank smiled. “I sent Mama a text while you were in the bathroom, mi amore. She said she’d meet us there for your girls day.” 

“Oh good! We can do Quince lessons…”

Taza slid a plate in front of her. “And Coco said Letty would be free sometime after lunch. She’s got homework to do first, but he’ll pick her up after her lunch break to come join the fun.”

Megan smiled and picked up her burrito. “So… Mama, Tía Diana, and Tessa this morning with Venus and Letty joining us in the afternoon - are you sure you guys don’t mind us using the clubhouse?”

Taza laughed, “We’re sure, Chica. Your tíos are going to be meeting with Chibs and maybe Tig later in Templo, but other than that - it’s yours for the day.”

Hank pressed a kiss to her temple as he sat down. “Just have fun.”

When they arrived at the clubhouse, Diana’s Escalade and Mama’s car were already parked. Hank got out of the mustang and came around to help Megan with the door and her seatbelt. “Looks like they beat us here,” he said with a laugh as he sat the seat forward for Rex.

At the top of the stairs, Mama met them. “Good morning mija, mijo.”

“Morning, Mama,” Hank said, stepping forward.

Mama’s hand on his chest stopped him in his tracks, making Megan giggle. “Ah - stop right there. YOU are not allowed inside right now, Hank.”

Hank’s jaw dropped. “What?”

“You heard me, mijo. Megan’s Quince dress is in there for her to try on and YOU can’t see it,” she cackled. “So kiss your princessa and take yourself to work now.” She flapped a hand dismissively at him. 

He shook his head, but he could only chuckle. “Alright, Mama. I hear you.” He tugged Megan close by her belt loops and smiled down at her. “Be good, Princessa. Call if you need me - but enjoy your day with your ladies, okay?”

Megan grinned up at him. “I will. Love you.” She stood on tiptoe to kiss him softly and giggled when he deepened it, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing close. He released her finally before pecking a kiss to her nose. “Have a good day at work,” she said as he handed Mama her prescription bottle.

He kissed her once more before heading out to the yard to work with the newest commission with Creeper and Coco.

Megan braced herself breathlessly on the porch railing and laughed as Mama shook her head exasperatedly at her son. “Just like his papa…”

Taza chuckled and greeted Mama on his way to the office.

“Che - come to the bar in a few minutes,” she called. “La princessa’s dress is done and I brought it.”

Taza stopped and smiled up at them. “Yes ma’am. Just text when you’re ready for me. Don’t want to intrude on ‘girl time’.”

Mama led Megan inside where Tessa and Diana were waiting. Apparently, Tessa was in charge of entertainment because the movie The Princess Diaries was playing on BOTH televisions. Both Mama and Chuckie had gone all out and every kind of snack Megan could think of was laid out on the bar. Tessa was dancing along to a pop song on the jukebox as Diana cheered her on from a bar stool.

A dress bag laid on the pool table.

Megan greeted Tessa - who chattered excitedly about Megan’s Quince party and all the plans - and Diana - who grinned as she realized that Megan never took her eyes off the dress bag.

“You can look, Sweetheart. It won’t bite you…” Diana assured her after hugs were given.

Megan nodded uncertainly. “I’m just… nervous. What if I designed it wrong? Pf what if I stem on the hem or tear it?”

“Psh. Then Francisca fixes it. That’s why it’s done so early, mija. And she sent another dress in the same measurements for you to practice in. That way you can learn to manage your skirts and heels before the party without that fear,” Mama assured her. “Your papa thought of everything.”

“Let’s try it on. Then the anxiety is over and you can focus on the fun,” Diana suggested.

Megan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, but she nodded in agreement.

Diana smiled. “Tessa - go stand watch at the door.” As Tessa scurried to be the lookout, Diana picked up the dress bag and hung it from one of the bar shelves. She unzipped the bag to reveal a true princess style ball gown. There were petticoats and crinolines galore - as well as a hoop skirt - but the dress itself was a true work of art. The base of the skirt was a creamy white with a tulle and lace overlay. As your eye traveled up the dress, it gradually darkened to the deep Mayan green at the sweetheart neckline. There were loose, draping, off- the shoulder- straps of that same tulle lace material in the dark green and the fabric continued to form a sheer halter style neckline that was its own jewelry being so decked in rhinestones. Rhinestones of all sizes and shapes dotted the bodice as well, all the way to the waist. The many tiers of lacy tulle hid the fact that layers could be removed to shorten the dress in the front for the dancing and fun of the party.

Megan gasped and covered her mouth in shock. “That… That’s my dress? Holy shit. I get to wear that?”

Mama chuckled. “Si. A dress fit for La Princessa de los Mayas. Let’s try it on.”

Mama agreed that Megan could remove her sling to try on the dress properly, but only after Megan assured her that she would tell them if she started to hurt at all.

Diana gather Megan’s hair and quickly threw it in a bun, wrapping her braid around it, to make tying the corset back easier and then helped Megan into the dress as Mama fussed with the skirts and made them lay right.

“Mama! Papa’s here with Tío Bishop and Chibs!” Tessa called out from her station by the door.

“Shit.” Diana muttered as she quickly laced the back. “Go and stall them, mija. Your Tío Taza gets first look!”

“Okay!” Tessa scurried out the door to stall the bikers.

Mama called Taza to let him know that the dress was on and that he needed to come look, then she went out the front door to help Tessa with the men.

Diana tied off the corset and let Megan’s hair back down quickly before stepping away to look. “Perfect. You look beautiful.” She smiled, hearing footsteps and motioned for MEgan to face the door before pulling out her phone to record Taza’s reaction.

Taza slipped through the door carefully and shut it behind him before turning so slowly that Megan held her breath. Taza’s breath caught as he saw Megan in her Quince dress for the first time. He blinked tears from his eyes and cleared his throat. “Sweet Chica, you look perfect. Beautiful.”

He stepped forward to take her good hand and give her a spin, slowly so she could keep her balance.

Megan giggled a little tearily. “Thank you, Papa.”

Taza cupped her cheeks and leaned down to kiss her forehead gently. “Absolutely stunning.” He smiled. “Hank’s going to have a heart attack.”

Megan giggled again and fussed with the skirt. “Hopefully not or I won’t have an escort. Does it really look okay?”

“It looks beautiful on you, Sweetheart. Do you want to show your tíos or do you want to keep it a secret?” Taza asked.

“Oh! They can see. I don’t mind. One man losing his mind because he can’t see it is enough.” Megan laughed and wiped her eyes. “Chibs too. They can come in.”

Diana slipped her phone back in her pocket and grinned. “I’ll get them.” She went to the door to allow the other men entry into the bar.

Both Bishop and Marcus had to blink back tears as well, much to Mama’s amusement. Chibs was the true surprise though. He smiled and pun her gently before kissing the knuckles of her good hand. “You lads have been addressin’ the lass wrong this whole time. Princess - cha - she’s obviously a queen.”

After that, the men retreated to Templo with strict instructions to knock before they came out of the closed room. Mama and Diana got Megan out of her dress and into the practice dress that had been sent for that purpose. They put her sling back on as well. This dress was shaped and fitted exactly the same, but it was made of remnants of material from other dresses in the factory. No two colors were the same. That way if Megan stepped on the hem during her ‘practice’ sessions and ripped it, it wouldn’t matter.

Diana first had Megan practice walking in the dress in flats. She did fairly well with that once she got used to shortening her steps in the skirts. Tessa helped by showing Megan how she was taught to walk in dance class. The corset back on the dress helped with Megan’s posture too, although Mama still said she walked like a boy.

Once Megan got into the heels, it was a disaster. She tripped over everything from her skirts to her own feet. Maman and Diana tried their best to help her, but nothing seemed to work. She was just about to give up when Venus arrived. 

“Oh Honey - no,” the tall woman said as she saw Megan get frustrated for the hundredth time. Venus came over to steady her and wiped the stray tear from her cheek. “Let me help.”

Megan nodded and sniffed. “Please, but I’m afraid I’m hopeless. Mama and Tía Diana have tried everything.”

Venus smiled at the other women. “I’m sure they have, Sweetness, but they also have never had to unlearn how to walk a certain way. I did. Now - first things first - while I’m thrilled you have a practice dress, let’s swap you back to your jeans, alright? Not being able to see your feet is not helping you.”

Megan nodded and allowed Diana and Mama to help her change back into her jeans and band shirt. Once her sling was once again in place, Venus smiled. “There now. Feel better?”

Megan smiled a bit sheepishly. “Yeah. Kinda…”

“Good. Now, we need a playlist. Favorite bands and songs?” Venus asked, pulling out her phone.

Megan shrugged. “Honestly - I like classic rock, but I listen to whatever is playing on the radio or jukebox. I don’t have favorites…” 

“Well we need music you dance to, Princess,” Venus explained.

That brightened Megan’s face. “Let’s ask Tío Marcus! He’s been teaching me to dance when Papa and Hank can’t. And Papa can help too!” Megan hurried over to the Templo door barefoot and knocked. She explained to the men inside what Venus wanted and they were more than happy to take a break and join the women in the bar for a while.

Diana ordered lunch from a nearby restaurant as Marcus chose songs on the jukebox. Taza grabbed beers for the men, while Bishop and Chibs moved a few more tables to make more room on the dance floor.

The latin music started and Marcus claimed Megan for a salsa lesson. Diana talked Chibs into dancing with her while Taza partnered Mama and Bishop with Venus. After the first song, Venus got Megan to put the heels on again. She reasoned that since Megan was on her toes for the dance anyway, the heels wouldn’t trip her up. Sure enough - Megan could salsa dance in heels. Once she relaxed into the fun, changing partners regularly, she forgot completely about the heels on her feet. By the time lunch arrived, Megan was walking comfortably in her new footwear without even realizing it.

Venus found herself resting on a barstool next to Mama as Megan danced with her papa with both tíos coaching her. 

“That was brilliant. You got her out of her head. Thank you,” Mama said quietly.

Venus chuckled. “She didn’t need much. Just needed to get out of her own way, really.”

“Maybe, but thank you for helping her do that. You’re good for her confidence.” Mama patted Venus’ arm softly.

“I hope so. Every girl deserves a hype woman,” she smiled at the older woman.

Taglist:

@jemmakates

@msjava1972

@drabbles-mc

@delightfulheroshoeflap

@xeniarocks

@iamthegraham

@oureternalbond

@lyly00

@camelia35

@anaeve

[satoaifan4eva]

Since you popped into the post’s comments and said I’m free to do this: https://www.tumblr.com/sturthepotofmadness/760451400618606592/i-got-a-random-idea-for-a-xenoblade-chronicles-2 (aka my give Rex Wulfric early au)

Have fun cooking!

Will do! Much like you, I'm going to do an au with Rex and a Megalance Blade. But unlike you, I'm doing my favorite Blade in the game, Praxis, along with Theory!

At one point, before the base story of the game begins, Rex gets a job in Mor Ardain to obtain a rare artifact through salvaging. This happens two years before the base story begins, when he's only 13 years old.

Eventually, Rex arrives in Mor Ardain by traveling on Gramps, and arrives in Alba Cavanich, the capital. However, the employer for Rex's job was already murdered. Bummed out by the fact that his job was already over, Rex decides to head back to Argentum, but before he reaches the elevator, he starts hearing gunfire. He then sees a few guards firing at two girls with eyepatches, one carrying a Megalance, and the other carrying a Chroma Katana.

Pulling out his giant butter knife Rex jumps into the fight, and immediately, the the girl with the Chroma Katana tells the girl with the Megalance to attack Rex. She obliges and goes after Rex, and surprising the guards, Rex holds his own against the eyepatch girl, even though Rex is not a Driver at this time. After the fight, Rex gets info from the guards, who tells them that the two girls they were firing at were Core Crystal Hunters, named Praxis and Theory, and highly wanted. They decided to use Rex as bait by holding a bunch of Core Crystals near the old plumbing entrance.

Eventually, the bait works; Praxis, Theory, and their Drivers showed up. After a ridiculously long fight, just before he can make a move, Praxis's Diver gets eaten by a monster. This forces Praxis to return to her Core Crystal, which Rex instantly picked up. Theory was about to attack Rex, but the monster suddenly started going for her Driver, and after fighting it back with Rex and killing it, she and her Driver retreat, leaving only Rex with Praxis's quiet Core Crystal.

Back in Alba Cavanich, Rex explains what happened to Praxis and her Driver. Rex tries to hand Praxis's Core Crystal over to the guards, but the one who volunteered to use Rex as bait tells him to keep her Core Crystal, so that he can use it and give Praxis a newer, better life.

Rex heads back to Gramps, who tells Rex about how Core Crystals, and people touching them to create Blades and becoming Drivers, works. Little did Rex know that this news spread all across Mor Ardain, and it even impressed Mórag, Niall, and their two Blades, Brighid and Aegaeon.

3 weeks later, Praxis's Core Crystal starts glowing again, which Rex recognizes, and Gramps tells him that she's ready to be reawakened by someone new. He tells Rex the basics of resonating with a Core Crystal, and how to do it. Putting in all the focus he has, Rex resonates with the Core Crystal, and reawakens Praxis. This time, she has more of a bubbly personality, which is way different than her murderous personality from last time. Gramps explains that Blades can sometimes tap into the personalities of the person who's reawakening them, and learn from them. That explains why Praxis tapped into Rex's optimistic personality and made it her own. When this happens, Rex just turns 14.

For a whole year, Rex and Praxis salvage a whole bunch of stuff and make a decent amount of money, which Rex sends to Fonsett Village, his hometown in the Leftherian Archipelago.

When Rex turns 15, the base story of the game begins, only Praxis is involved in all of it. Praxis gets very defensive against Nia when they first meet. After Nia's snarky comments, Praxis starts glaring daggers at Nia, only to have Rex and Dromarch calm her down..

When Jin stabs and kills Rex, Praxis does return to her Core Crystal, but Malos doesn't pick it up because it was stuck to the ground, which was definitely Pyra's doing. After Rex gets revived, Praxis reawkens again, but she still has her year's supply of memories of her and Rex, which was very confusing to her, but Pyra explains it to her when they're searching for Nia in Gormott.

When they're being attacked in Torigoth, Brighid recognizes Praxis and assumes that Tex decided to become a murderer, just like her previous Driver. When Rex escapes with Pyra and Praxis, Brighid spreads this assumption to Mórag. When the gang attempts to escape the Torigoth Relay Base, Mórag gets very angry with Rex, and claims that he turned Pyra to becoming a Hunter, too.

Eventually, at the campfire scene at the end of Chapter 2, Rex reassures Praxis about everything Mórag said about her. This makes Praxis happy, and she confesses to Rex, telling him that she likes him.

After the whole thing in the Spirit Crucible Elpys, Rex and his complete gang arrive in Fonsa Myma, the capital of Uraya. There, the quest Blade-Sharp Memory occurs as normal. At the end of the quest, Rex attempts to comfort her, and works well. Praxis tries handing Theory's Core Crystal to Rex, but he tells her to hold onto the Core Crystal until it was resonatable. Praxis obliges, and makes sure she takes good care of it.

Two weeks after that whole mess, Theory's Core Crystal is glowing again, and Praxis hands the Core Crystal to Rex, who resonates with it and reawakens Theory.

After their Heart-to-Hearts and their dual Blade Quest in the base game, Praxis and Theory spend as much time as possible with each other and their Driver.

By the end of the game, the two live in Fonsett Village with Rex, Pyra and Mythra (now seperated), Nia, and Dromarch. I have my own set of headcanons in my blog, and much like it, even though Rex already married the two Aegis sisters and Nia, Rex still marries Praxis, only in secret. Also in my headcanon, even though they were already sisters, Praxis also marries Theory, and this marriage was public to the whole village.

Well, that's all I got! I hope you like it!

[storm-breaker7]

• Code name: TANGO •

Pairing: Rex X Reader X Fives

Summary: Being one of the best pilots you gain the attention of the republic. You become a getaway driver for the 501st battalion but when an assignment is given to Anakin, you find yourself between a rock and a hard place.

Warnings: Swearing, A creepy perverted fat dude (yea. It's a warning in itself), Fem reader, Very spicy (I may continue if I have modivation)

A/n: Sorry this took so long but holy water and grass for 50 cents 😅 (The sins I have committed in this one fanfic is scarry 💀🔥) please lemme know if you want the extended version- this has been in my drafts for way to long tho so it's outta here.

Edit: Help why are so many ppl liking this post. I really thought this would be a major flop. Why is this even past 10 likes 💀💀💀

I groaned, "This slagger won't fucking work!" Grumbling to myself how nice it would be if R2 showed up to help. This ship is as stubborn as me, and it's getting annoying. My comm buzzed and I picked it up after I had let out a string of course words. "Yea?" I asked into the comm,

"We have a new assignment, we need you for this one so be up at the bridge. Were starting in 10 minutes." General Skywalker explained over the comm.

"Be there in a shake, General" I told him and ended the call before he could argue again how I don't have to call him general. I left the tools on the floor and went to clean myself up. I could hear footsteps coming down the hall behind me but I continued on, I'm being paranoid.

"Hey Tango!" I heard Fives call,

"You do know you only have to call me that on missions?" I called over my shoulder as I continued down the hall. Fives jogged up next to me and started to walk backward so he could face me.

"Come on, You know I know you love it when I call you that" He pointed at me and himself boldly, I only hummed and gave him a side glance that, to put it simply, said 'Sureee'.

"Whatever floats your boat Fives" I say before stopping at my door and punching in the code. "Cya later" I wave at him as I closed the door, chuckling quietly when you heard his pleas for you to let him in.

I walked into my personal bathroom and washed my hands from the grease quickly. I looked into the mirror and tried scrubbing away some grease off my cheek and forehead. I sighed and gave my face a little splash.

Then I walked back out and pulled my shirt off. I pulled a half decent shirt on and walked back out again. If I'm right I have about 4 minutes to get to the bridge.

I heaved out breaths and slowed in front of the bridge doors. I took a deep breath, fixed my ruffled hair and walked in still huffing lightly. "For a second I thought you weren't coming Y/n." Ashoka joked and I only smiled at her,

"You know me," I started and she joined in saying a phrase that went back between us both, "Fashionably late is just my/your style" We both laughed before getting back on topic, General Skywalker was waiting with a small smile on his face. A hologram near where the General was standing had a human male that was the definition of fat rolls, Don't make me throw up breakfast.

"Alright. We have been given intel that this mob boss, here," Anakin gestured to the hologram, "Is selling black market goods to the separatist. We either were going to get Ashoka or Y/n to be the distraction while Me, Rex and Fives sneak into here, his storage shed at these docks. We only need enough time to slip in, get evidence and slip out" Anakin gestured to another hologram that popped up, Anakin gulped and sucked a breath in, "So... Who's the distraction?"

I cut in immediately, "I'll go, Ashoka is too young to be trying to get an ugly mug that to touch her." I stated quickly placing my hand on Ashokas shoulder.

"She has a point, General. N-not that I want her to touch... That" Fives stumbled over his words as he explained himself. Anakin shook his head,

"We can do it another way-"

"Anakin." I walked up and patted his shoulder, "Just tell me for how long and I'll do it. I don't want anyone touching her, being the age she is."

Anakin huffed, a war raging behind his eyes, "Fine. But if I say get out of there, I mean it. No risking it."

"You got it, General." I smiled at him, "I've gotta dress the part though don't I?"

"How many times must I tell you? I'm tired of telling you? Just Anakin is fine" He huffed out a sad laugh and glanced away, "But yea, I'll get Ashoka to take the dress to your room. Be ready by 1930 hours and meet at the ship you were just working on. It's going down tonight, the council wants no delay." Anakin glanced back and sighed waving me away and worked on the plan with Rex. Me and Ashoka walked out of the bridge and down the endless halls.

I noticed Fives and Rex exchange glances multiple times throughout that whole thing... Maybe they were just worried about me. I zoned out of my daze when Ashoka tapped my shoulder, "Sorry what?" I asked, glancing down at her quickly.

"Go to your room and I'll grab the dress for ya" Ashoka repeated with a smile, I nodded and returned it. Ashoka parted off down another hall and I continued on down to my quarters. It was a good few minutes before I got to my room and I took the extra time I had to take a quick shower.

I turned the water off, missing its warmth already now that the cold air replaced it. A knock at my door sounded and I raised a brow as I peeked my head threw the bathroom door into my bedroom. "The door is open Ashoka! What are you waiting for?"

"Uhm.. what?" I heard Fives say,

"Goddamn it Fives. I have to go soon and aren't you meant to be getting debriefed right now?" I called back keeping my body in the bathroom, just in case.

"It's finished, Y/n, Ashoka told us Skywalker needed her help so she got me to take your dress.... And Fives just tagged along." Rex explained and I mentally cursed, Just had to be those two-

"Hey it's alright. Uhm I'm still finishing up in my bathroom so just put it on my bed, if that's not a problem" I said closing the bathroom door and started pacing in the bathroom waiting for them to leave my dress so I can get dressed.

The door opened with a hiss and I heard their light footsteps walk in then out again and the door hissed closed. I sighed as I walked out of the bathroom, then called out, "Thanks boys! Appreciate it!" A small call back from Fives was all I could hear and It made me smile lightly.

I walked to my bed that was in the corner of the room. I smiled as I picked up the dress. The beautiful royal blue silk cascaded down like a waterfall. At least I got to stay in our colours, I thought to myself.

I pulled the towel off and dried myself before slipping it on. I grimaced, "God fucking damnit" Was all I managed. The dress I had on had large slits on the side that let everyone have a nice view of my thighs, but thankfully covered up everything else.

I sighed but continued on, grabbing black high heels and putting on a black leather bracelet, it's my comm system. I brushed my hair quickly before grabbing my heels and running out barefoot. I have to make it in time.

By now I had run past many clones that may have or almost passed out, I was concerned but I kept runnin', I can't be late again. I ran smack into the doors because I forgot to open them but I quickly recovered and opened it, walking through. I cursed to myself and made my way over to the ship I was working on not 45 minutes ago. It's fine I was only fixing some small things.

"I sure hope I'm not late guys. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Late both... Times... ...uhm.. Why are you all looking at me like that?" I slowed down to a stop and shook the heels in my hand lighty. I was getting real nervous, this silence was stretching out forever. "Does it not look good-? I don't really have time to chan-"

"No, nono no. You look great. Really great." Fives waved his hands around, "Were just.... Stunned.."

"Uh-huh.... Well come on we don't have all night. Can't be dreaming about me, we got a mission to complete" I joked and stepped into the ship and waved everyone else in, "I thought I was late, Come on"

Ashoka had a mischievous grin on her face and I could hear the General whisper yelling 'no' repeatedly. Rexs' face was red and priceless and Fives suddenly found the floor interesting. The general and commander walked in with Rex and Fives close behind. I walked into the cockpit and started the small-ish ship up.

The ear piece was uncomfortable but I dealt with it in the end. We had split off earlier, me and Ashoka were dropped near the club and the others went off to the dock. Ashoka was only meant to be in the club and somewhere close to me for back up, and when I mean back up I mean if someone pulls a blaster on me she can help.

I walked in with a sway, god I hate heels, and made my way over to the bar. "Where is he?" I asked Ashoka, but quietly because the boys and us shared this comm frequency.

"To your right. In the corner with Twi'leks all over him." Ashoka whispered back.

"Got it, Thanks" I whispered before setting off toward the Mob boss. I could hear Anakin and Ashoka lightly arguing in my ear piece but I ignored them and stalked over to the target.

He got up and practically brushed off all the Twi'leks he had gathered and started walking away, Something must be up I thought. I put my path on his and 'accidentally' ran into him. God has he ever heard of a breath mint?

He looked me up and down like a creep. "What's a pretty girl like you doing in this part of town?" He drunkenly slurred, tracing a finger down my arm.

I grimaced but continued to do my job, "You first" I purred, trying my best to think of how much I saved Ashoka from doing this.

"Well if you want to follow me, I'll show you enough" His words were still slurred as he leaned forward.

"Well I'd have to turn that offer down. I'm only here for a drink." I thanked the maker I was a good lair because it came in handy at times like these.

"Just a drink, dressed in this?" He asked, fiddling with the front part of the silky dress.

I heard Anakin and Rex bark something in my ear and it didn't sound good. The target turned away a tad and checked his comm that was buried deep in a pocket, somewhere where I wasn't going to bother looking.

I forced my best smirk on and turned and walked away from bar and his 'hideout' altogether, hoping like hell he'd follow.

"Playing hard to get, huh? Two can play at that game" He growled as he caught up, pushing past people trying to catch up to me. I gulped and kept walking.

"We've got it. Get out of there Tango. Now." Anakin whisper yelled over the ear piece.

"Alright." I responded with before I whipped around and let my fist fly to his face. "Whoops my bad, my hand slipped" I growled and stormed off leaving him a wheezing heap on the floor.

I burst out the bar and pulled my heels off. I sat down on a random bench nearby and sighed a relief. Thank the maker I'm out of that mess.

Getting back up again proved to be a hard thing to do after getting hit on by a whale, but I did and I continued on to the ship pushing past people. I didn't know nights got this busy here.

When I finally made it back to the rust bucket I was given a big hug by literally everyone. Ashoka first, then the general, and Fives jumped in then Rex after him.

"Yea guys don't worry, I don't need any air today" I joked and they all let go of me a smidge but didn't let go fully.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that" Ashoka mumbled into my dress. I hugged them back with a small smile growing on my face. "Hey it's alright-" I started,

"No, it wasn't. I could hear everything he said. That chakaaryc got a fist to the face for a reason." Fives growled.

*Translation- Rotten, Lowlife [chah- KAR-eesh]*

"Guys you can let go I'm not going to disappear. Come on we have to get back to the cruiser." I suggested, lightly tapping Anakins' shoulder and Rexs' back. They all slowly detached from me and looked around guiltily. I shook my head and smiled as I walked up the ramp and into the cockpit.

Once everyone was in, I took of back toward the republic cruiser. Tonight was not so great, let's just hope that dinner will be better.

I landed the old rust bucket in the hanger then stepped out of the cockpit. I followed the others out and saw R2 frantically coming over here. He zoomed straight past Anakin, who was going to pat him like a puppy, and continued over to me.

R2 skidded to a stop in front of me then bumped my leg. I smiled and patted him, "What's up with you?" I asked and kneeled down to be eye level with R2.

"Traitor" Anakin called jokingly but continued off to report the mission to the council. I smiled and patted R2 once again before standing to my full height. I started to walk but stopped and turned back to R2 when he beeped up a storm.

"Don't tell me you came here just to say sorry about not helping R2." I shot back, He beeped a reply and I scoffed dramatically, "R2, I swear one day you are going to get decommissioned because of how sassy you are"

He beeped then followed after me as I walked off. We chatted on my way to my quarters then went off by his lonesome once I had gone into my quarters.

I placed my shoes down and pulled my jewelry off. Just as I was about to pull my dress off a knock sounded at my door. "Yea?" I called, flattening my dress out and walking over to the door. A few more furious knocks later and I opened the door. Fives came tumbling with Rex close behind, their blacks were hugging them tight and I gulped.

I closed the door and rolled my eyes, "What have you two done now? You can't keep hiding here whenever you start something." Fives sighed and Rex huffed,

"Fives decided it would be a great idea to start a-... Why are you still in your dress?" Rex gestured at me and I only frowned.

"I was just about to take it off when you two barged in" I grumbled and stalked over to the baggy shirt and some skinny jeans.

"Wait- Hold on a damn minute" Fives held his hand up. I put the clothes back on top of the dresser and turned to the two boys. "We have managed to find something we can share."

"I'm interested... I gotta see it" I grinned and waved my hands around.

"Well... If you insist.." Rex and Fives glanced at each other before walking up to me. I raised my brow at Fives as he circled around behind me and Rex walked straight up to me.

I swallowed thickly and froze. Fives started tracing patterns on my hip and they had both pressed themselves against me. My hands stayed strictly at my side though because I had some good bad ideas.

Fives leaned in and whispered into my ear from behind me, "Found it"

I'm half mad and half thankful at myself right now... And I'm not sure which one takes the cake. I thought as my eyes carefully watched Rex and Fives. I gave a curt nod, and Fives shot up to attack my neck. Me and Rex met halfway and he eased into the kiss.

I could feel Rex and Fives' hands roam trying to carefully yank the silky blue dress off me. The dress fell with a light thud and they both pulled away.

I felt their eyes drag down my body and I shifted uncomfortably under their gaze. Rex rested his hands on my hips and Fives leaned in whispering a small few words of approval, "Hotter than I expected, Cyar'ika"

I smiled back at him as I felt his hands slither up my back toward my bra and unclasped it, slipping it off. Rex let out a strangled groan as my bra joined the dress on the floor.

I turned around to Fives and smirked, "You both better start, I'm feeling a little left out here"

They both started to yank their blacks off and I pulled my underwear off leaving it in the pile of my clothes. I leaned back against the wall and watched the show unravel.

I let out a heavy and shakey breath as they both finished and threw their blacks somewhere else in the room. "You alright with us doing this mesh'la?" Rex asked as he and Fives guided me toward my bed.

Fives sat at the edge of the bed waiting just as I replied, "Do your worst"

[grumpy-zane]

'The Party' - Scruffshipping

'Get me the hell out of here...' Ronin thinks as his weaving became more frantic.

So maybe it wasnt the smartest idea to sneak into a fancy party right next door to the place he 'aquired an item' from, it seemed so at the time but by now the police were around combing through. Thankfully the building was big, it would buy him enough time to plot out an escape route... if the authorities didnt already have REX surrounded.

"Hell," Ronin glanced out of a passing window as he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. "No quick way out, no REX," he pushed a large door closed behind him and hid out into a suit closet, "why did I do this in the first place."

And it was then he realized the buzzing in his pocket. It was Dareth, informing him that he would be late to the date, typical. This time Ronin was glad for it at least, although it was a reminder that this fiasco he was in was because he wanted to *get* Dareth something.

He didn't even *know* if the man wore earrings or not, and these ones were heavy in his pocket.

'I'll be late too.' Ronin replied, siking down into the clothes.

The meatballs popped up on the screen almost immediately. 'r u OK'

'Yeah just caught up'

'should i can it?'

Can it? That was the last thing he wanted to do, but it seemed inevitable... unless...

'Dareth I need an out im hiding at a party and i need a distraction'

'WHAT' Ronin could practically hear his exasperated tone. 'R U STEALING RN'

'Will talk later pls pick me up for our date XOXO ;)' Ronin sent him a location ping before stuffing his phone back in his pocket. Hiding in a closet wasnt exactly ideal, what he needed to do was blend in until Dareth showed up- it couldn't be that hard right?

And thankfully the room was dark and unoccupied, closed off for the party. The first thing he put on was a hat that clashed with his off green suit. It was the only thing he wanted to put on, but he would have to do better than that.

The door closed behind him again as the dark teal boots stamped their way down the wooden landing. They matched the teal coat he wore, and the copper bowtie around the neck. He really should have gone with black, but the colour wasnt that pronounced as he stood on his own.

In a sea of people, however, he felt like a sore thumb.

"Drink, sir?" One of the catering waitors offered a platter.

"Ah, no thanks." No use doing that right now.

A woman approached him, "why Ive never seen you before- care to dance?"

"Err, sure," Ronin smiled and let her take him. The two stepped about and twirrled to the waltz, something he was glad Dareth taught him how to do. Who knew it would come in handy?

"Tell me about yourself, your eye." She offered, "you look like a man with a lot of stories."

He caught a glimpse of a guest speaking to an officer, who pointed towards his general direction. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he pulled her around towards the back of the dancing bodies, "would you believe me if I said I'm in the middle of one now?"

She laughed, "oh? And what role do you play?"

"The one who got away," he spun her close before spinning her out and letting go.

She gave him an odd look before suddenly looking apologetic and stepping back into the dance. He watched her, confused, before turning around and nearly running into another woman.

This one stood taller than him, especially in heals, and narrowed her eyes as she read him. She was espcially sparkly in her tight red dress and star-shaped earrings, the faux feather scarf framing her neck and face. "Um-" Ronin started but was abruptly hushed. She walked her two nails up his nose while her other hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the crowd.

'This was getting weird, where's Dareth?' Ronin asked himself as he looked around. As he did so, he noted that they were being followed- closed in on. The woman's footsteps became faster until she was practically draggign him behind like a ragdoll. Ronin stumbled and was pushed aside to the left by her. He scrambled and wound up by the enterance, below the eye-line of anyone looking over.

The woman turned around and Glared at the officer that approached her, standing taller than him and staring him down. Whatever the officer was telling her, she wasn't having any of it.

Ronin slipped through the door and spotted the brown and gold motorcycle parked between a few cars, a helmet just waiting to cover his face. He smiled and fitted it on, taking out his phone to text Dareth that he was outside, but was stopped by a familiar set of nails.

Ronin slowly looked up at her, frozen.

"Hey," an offputting and familiar masculine voice escaped her smile, "nice suit, colours look good."

"Dareth!?" Ronin shouted, "I didn't know you- since when did you-"

"Mama's pride," he kissed the feather scarf and started up the bike, "never lets me down. Come on Roni, lets go get Dinner."

[judgementdaysunshine]

Yay! I’m so glad you take requests for Nautolans. They don’t get enough recognition. I was thinking the reader was either a former Jedi General that worked with The Bad Batch or is with Rex when he shows up in Cid's bar and was originally just supposed to drop them off on a planet to hide but decides to stay with the boys maybe if they fall in love with one or it’s just platonic. Eventually they'll get a pretty small tank installed on the ship for them so they don’t get dehydrated while on long trips. I don’t know if you do all them but if not could you do Hunter and Tech please?

Omg ofc babe!

Team surprise

Pairing: Rex x reader

Description: After joining the bad batch and falling in love with rex they all surprise you

You had met Rex through your friend Ashoka considering that you were padawans together and your masters knew each other. Her being Anakin Skywalker's padawan while you were the 2nd padawan under Luminara Unduli along with Barriss Offee until you were transferred and became Obi wan's padawan after not only a lot of trauma you went through but also not being able to train with the two anymore due to it and the issues between the two. Not too long after the change and becoming used to being around the other masters and padawans much more you met Captain Rex and a lot of other clones soon developing a bond with rex and soon the two of you got together getting separated after order 66 ending up meeting the bad batch in Kaller after being there for 3 weeks. You ended up joining the batch not only as their medic but also as a new friend ending up as the main care taker of Omega other than Hunter and being the one who keeps everyone together without you they all wouldn't be on the ship nor would Omega be with them. You reunited with rex after going in Cid's bar after rehydrating yourself seeing a familiar blonde head immediately tearing up and hugging an equally happy and surprised rex telling everyone what happened who are surprised not only did their friends know each other before but that they were a couple. Soon after spending time away from the batch with rex you come back being told of a surprise they all did for you walking on the ship with rex guiding you while you had your eyes covered until you opened them seeing a tank in the ship full of clear blue green water and some flowers planted at the bottom and some notes from omega taped to them as you smile hugging them. You giggle climbing and jumping in swimming in it popping back up "I love it! Guys...you didn't have to!" They all smile saying they know how exhausting it was for you to look for somewhere to rehydrate and wanted to do something to help you which made your heart swell and grow when they said it was rex's idea getting out and giving him a sweet kissing and hugging everyone thanking them.

[zhongrin]

yuan yang

— a submission for 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐉𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐘 collab hosted by @haithamuse!

◇ characters ◇ zhongli ft. al haitham

◇ tags ◇ selfship coded, be respectful; don’t like don’t read, lil blurb at the end written from zhongli’s pov (third person), zhongli x meirin (@/zhongrin), al haitham x esther (@/haithamuse), fluff, married couple shenanigans, academic rivals / enemies-to-lovers shenanigans, writing centered around the teahouse!au

◇ a/n ◇ so... a little background (or more like a mini story here lol)... i first discovered yuan yang (which is basically coffee mixed with tea + milk) when i first studied abroad. no idea if that was even the correct pinyin but that's what i saw on the menu so i'm going with it lol absolutely did not like it at first bc it tasted weird. but then i got a second cup… then a third… then a fourth…….. this is how addiction starts kids

while it’s not my absolute favorite and i don’t normally go for it unless i'm specifically craving for it, i thought it was a fitting title for these teahouse-related shenanigans and the 'implication' that coffee (me) and tea (zhongli) make a good drink when mixed somehow hahah

lastly, i had so much fun with this, esther!!! thank you for hosting this lovely collab therefore allowing me to have an excuse to write about my selfships more yay ALSO happy birthday!!! 🎂🎉 i hope you enjoyed reading this silly self-indulgent chonker of a writing and liked the little 🎁 i included at the very end <3

𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡 ⬙ 𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

❦ 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ❦

zhongli learns to brew coffee from me and i learn to brew tea from him. it’s as much of a fruitful exchange as our regular bonding activity (read: him telling me stories and traditions of olden liyue and the art of tea making as i stare dreamily at the way his lips move and the soothing lilt of his voi- ok i'll stop now-).

i might have watched a little too intensively as zhongli tamps the coffee grounds because??? the veins on his hands???? they pop even more????? hskdjskdjlsdjldfhdkshd

oh that note, as he watched me try to measure the tea leaves to brew for the first time, he realized that i have a small mole at the base of my pinky. it has since then become one of his favorite spots to kiss.

zhongli mostly dresses in hanfu whenever tending to the teashop because i said i love seeing him in them it matches the aesthetic of the traditional-esque place. his hair is either down or braided with a few fresh flowers slipped in (courtesy of me hehe).

that being said, he still helps out in the funeral parlor from time to time! the parlor does need its best consultant and hu tao is practically one of our many granddaughters at this point…

if the patrons hear a loud “NAINAI YOUR FAVORITE GRANDDAUGHTER HAS ARRIVED!” they know the tea house is about the get rowdy lol

“director hu, kindly refrain from saying such things outloud, there has been a misunderstanding spreading in liyue saying about us being secretly adepti couple whose descendants are living all around the harbor-” “now now, yeye, is that how you talk to your loveliest, adorable-est granddaughter?” “……….. *sigh*”

xiao drops by every now and then because zhongli insists, and i know he obeyed because it’s the one and only rex lapis’ request, but i hope someday he does it of his own volition - that is, because he actually enjoys visiting us.

ever since we got married, he also adores selecting traditional dresses for me to wear (seems like menogias taught him a thing or two, bless him), adding them to my wardrobe collection wordlessly and only smiling when i confront him about it while wearing said new clothes. he knows my fashion sense is lacking that 80% of the time i’d rather spend my energy doing something else than clothes shopping so he takes that matter into his own hands!

lowkey also because people who know him would take one glance at the geometric patterns and color schemes of said clothes and immediately go ‘wait those patterns and accessories look familiar… oh, of course, that’s unmistakably zhongli xiansheng’s wife-’

scarves aren’t really a popular fashion choice in liyue but whenever the weather gets a little too cold, i would happily ‘bundle up’ with a self-heating, occasionally purring, golden-brown colored ‘scarf’ with a scale-like pattern around my neck.

(no, you most certainly did not see it move. move along now.)

vortex vanquisher is mounted behind the reception desk’s wall as a decoration. you know. just in case. :)

the teahouse has a few private rooms which were built over time as we were able to expand out/up. they all have different themes and we have names for (almost) all of them; ranging from liyue’s local specialties to subtle references of zhongli’s adepti friends. some popular ones include:

═ 𝑐𝑜𝑟 𝑙𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑠 room

orange/gold themed. a geologist’s dream. has a massive display case of a collection of raw cor lapis rocks along with some pretty pebbles. the pieces of furniture inside the room are made of charred sandbearer wood, the darkened brown making it a perfect complement to the bright and shiny cor lapis decors and embellishments. i think this is probably our most expensive room from the patrons’ view… (actually it isn’t, since zhongli found and mined those ‘expensive’ gems himself...)

═ 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑧𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑙𝑦 room

soft blue/grey themed. the cozy room couples as a homage to guizhong. the bell used to call a waiter/waitress is a close replica of the cleansing bell. we also have a guzheng on display. madam ping loves this room and would help to take care of the guzheng and even play the instrument for us sometimes.

═ 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑒 room

white/sky blue themed. there’s a huge crane art piece hung at the center of the back of the room’s walls. it's filled with a number of amusing contraptions and blueprints that to normal people's eyes, look like some kind of abstract painting. a room heavily inspired by cloud retainer’s aesthetics. most of the adepti who visit us would use this room (much to its original muse’s annoyance) because it’s located the furthest from the public seating area.

═ the 𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 / first private room

aka the ‘confession room’. we have no idea how that label got there….... actually. no, we do. one time, a regular patron asked us to book the room so he can propose to his lover. since they’re a close friend of ours, we agreed to help him plan and decorate the whole thing…. and it made headlines in the local papers somehow. rumors then begin to spread that if you go to that specific room to propose you’ll definitely be accepted and your marriage will be blessed…

honestly, there’s nothing too special about the room. it was our very first private room that we intended to use for our private break room, so it was built smaller than the others. the decorations lean towards simple and sophisticated, and we had some of our favorite trinkets scattered all around the little area.

legend says that sometimes when the shop isn’t busy, lucky patrons would be able to hear a beautiful duet of a flute and an erhu coming from the room. though they’re not at a level of a professional musician, the melody brings peace and warmth to the wary hearts…

❦ 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 ❦

“mei, my beloved, i’m here!!!!”

zhongli looks up from his cup of tea, blinking slowly as he tries to register the foreign-sounding voice and the words in the loud greeting. while the endearment was a familiar title attached to his wife (her close friends tend to be rather forward and affectionate, from what he observed), it didn’t sit right with him when it came from a stranger. who on earth are this lady and her companion?

as if registering his alertness, a specific 'decoration' lightly vibrates from its spot on the wall. yet it stilled the moment he heard a familiar gasp and cry of happiness from his side.

“esther!!!”

hugs, pleasantries, and excited arrows of questions are swiftly exchanged. zhongli watches the two with a soft smile before glancing at the woman’s companion, who gave him a stiff nod. their two guests seemed to be about the same age... perhaps they were lovers? no, they seemed a little too distant for that. but there was something between them - that, he could at least tell.

mei seems to have just noticed the extra company too, for she was slightly taken aback and quietly relayed the question to the woman with a confused expression and a timid, “and this is…?”

“oh, he’s just, you know, some guy.”

“’some guy’?” his wife tilts her head in question, eyes observing the man’s attire (momentarily he feels like berating the young man for dressing up so provocatively - that is until he remembered his beloved’s remarks the other day about his choice in his archon-wear), “….. oh! is he the ‘al haitham’ you’ve been writing to me in our letters-”

“MEI.”

“hm?” the silvery green strand of hair on top of said male’s head twitches as if it was a whole being by itself, “what’s this? you write about me to your friend? i’m most flattered.”

with a pair of fiery eyes and both hands on her hips, this ‘esther’ girl turned towards her friend(?), “oh, you’re most welcome. i told her about how aggravating and insufferable you are, mr.i-have-perfect-scores-on-all-my-subjects.”

“truly? and if i am so aggravating and insufferable as you say, then pray tell, what stopped you from ditching me back in sumeru city?”

“because, unfortunately, the stupid archaic liyuean language’s professor paired me up with you of all people for this project!! and there’s no way in hell i’m letting you sit idle while i do most of the work! mind you, i can definitely achieve a perfect score by myself, but the entire rainforest section of sumeru will burn to the ground before i wilfully let you coattail my achievements!”

“based on the most recent test, i doubt you could. unless your definition of a ‘perfect score’ is a mere 99.8%, to which i would have to refute, seeing as i managed to achieve a 100%.”

“oh my god i’m about to pop a blood vessel- then what about the previous test before that, huh? did you forget who got a 100% AND an extra credit for that, you arrogant little-”

“ahem. dear, why don’t you escort your guests to the glaze lily room? i’ll bring you some tea shortly,” zhongli effortlessly moves to stand behind his wife, hand comfortingly placed on her back as he smiles politely at the two. there is nothing but warmth in his gestures, but they both had clammed up, suddenly feeling like misbehaving grandchildren who were being scolded by their grandfather.

his beloved, on the other hand, appears to have found this scene amusing, despite not being one to be comfortable with conflicts in general.

“yeah, good idea- by the way, this is my husband, zhongli,” had he was in his adeptus form, his tail would’ve thumped against the floor at the proud tone in her introduction. instead, he settled with a gentle nod in this mortal body, “’li, this is esther - the one from sumeru - if you remember me talking about her-”

“of course i do. i remember everything you tell me.”

“that you do,” she softened, hand coming up to caress his jaw lightly, and he resisted the urge to follow the warmth as it retreated, touch too fleeting and brief to his liking, “i’ll wait for you in the room, then?”

“take as long as you need to catch up with your friend. i can watch the store.”

“that’s alright, we can close the shop for a bit. i want you to get acquainted with her and this… friend of hers. besides, didn’t you two say you’re here for... what, some liyuean language project? i’m quite sure my very knowledgeable husband would have some valuable input on that.”

mirth fills her expression, and the playful nudge of her elbow onto his sides made him chuckle. way to take a jab at his age, he mused.

“i am in no way as knowledgeable as the esteemed students of the sumeru akademiya, but-”

“is that true? you know this language?”

the former archon raises his eyebrows as the two men exchanged glances. though people might mistake the sudden challenge as arrogance, he can clearly see the thirst for knowledge in the clear green-red tinted eyes.

a man defined by and attracted to competency.

… ah, so that’s how it is.

“i may be a little rusty, you must understand. they are rarely used nowadays, so i am quite out of practice.”

the fingers seeking out a smaller set beside him moves in an unconscious motion, but the way the daintier appendages curl around his almost reflexively made a genuine smile bloom on his expression, “if what little of my knowledge can help, then i will gladly extend my assistance, especially to my darling wife’s treasured friends.”

“oh you,” she snorts and rubbed his arm with her free hand, “he’s being humble. you’ll see.”

“you flatter me, dear.”

esther’s grin only widened at the interaction. she gives her friend a wink and an abstract motion with her fingers, “handsome, humble, and smart? you better keep a leash on this one.”

zhongli sneaked a glance at the geo choker on her wife’s neck before moving to her dark-colored eyes. redness colors the softness of her cheek as their gaze met, and the corner of his lips twitch threateningly. she bashfully runs from his gaze to roll her eyes at her friend, before grabbing her shoulders to steer them both towards the inner hallway of the private rooms.

“hush, you. come on now, off we go!”

as the two girls launched into an excited series of chatters, zhongli exchanged one last respectful nod with the other akademiya student and silently watched as he trailed behind the two. he doesn't miss the way al haitham's tense posture lessened, the edges of his sharp eyes softening as he specifically observed his friend. it’s a familiar look. one that he’s seen several times throughout the course of his long life.

zhongli chuckles as he starts preparing the osmanthus tea for their guests, all the while thinking about the matching clothes they would have to get tailored for in the future, when the invitation to attend the older version of those akademiya students’ matrimony event inevitably reaches their mailbox.

....

he’ll give it a few years. they seemed like a rather stubborn pair.

© zhongrin | 2023 ◆ no repost. reblogs much appreciated. feel free to reach out to submit suggestions, feedback, comments, or if you just want to talk!