talkcloneshipstome

[talkcloneshipstome]

sorry for taking so long...🥺

@codex-week 2022

Day 2: Imperials, Inquisitors & Purge Troopers

Bonus:

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cuddling prompts

Cuddling prompts

Because that’s the kind of mood i’m in today.

In bed

On the couch/loveseat

On the floor

In front of the fireplace

In the back seat of the car

For warmth

For comfort

Reluctantly

Totally platonic

Totally romantic

Post-coital

Just waking up

Falling asleep

In public

In the dark

With rain outside

With snow outside

While someone’s crying

While someone’s sick

Post-proposal

In the water/in the bath

Congratulatory

Reunion

Between strangers

With a first kiss

In lieu of kissing

First cuddle

Familiar cuddle

Last cuddle (if you’re feeling super angsty)

Out of necessity (trapped in a small space, etc.)

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I absolutely cannot get over this art

And, alright. I might be late to the game here but — those scars they all have. Those are from the armor? Because I can't imagine what else they come from and I'm just sitting here in awe of you, Caco, because never once did it occur to me that the clones might have matching scars from years of wearing their armor. What are your thoughts about that specifically, because now I am dying to know every tidbit

plus this is the new headcanon and no one can tell me otherwise

Echo/Fives/Thorn snuggles <3

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reading these prompts and all of them SCREAM Kix 😂😂😂

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I Don’t Like Mushrooms, I Hope You Enjoy your Portabella Burger

I don’t like mushrooms. 

I think they’re gross and slimy and I will not willingly eat them. If I order a dish that has unexpected mushrooms in it, I will probably pick around them to enjoy the rest of the dish. If the mushrooms are part of the dish in a way that I can’t pick around them, I may request a new dish that doesn’t have mushrooms. But I’m not going to order, for example, a portabella burger without mushroom, because that’s the entire point of the dish. Do I care if others eat mushrooms? Nope, have fun, enjoy yourself, just don’t expect me to partake, and if you offer I will politely decline.

Why am I talking about mushrooms right now? Because there’s another round of anti bullshit going around in the Clone Wars fandom, and I like metaphors.

You can’t compare mushrooms to incest/underage/murder/torture/father-raping/whatever thing you dislike that you deem “problematic” though! These are Real Issues that Affect Real People!

And some people are allergic to mushrooms. Some mushrooms are even POISONOUS! Some people can be exposed to the smallest amount of truffle oil and go into anaphylactic shock. Some of those people are even children! It’s fine for me to say that I don’t want mushrooms, but children don’t know any better! Someone needs to protect them from the mushrooms!

Now, if we were in a restaurant, you would have a menu of choices to pick from. In a good restaurant, the menu will list the main ingredients of the dish so you can make an informed decision. Oh, this one contains mushrooms, guess I’ll skip that. That list of ingredients? That’s your tag list on a fic. 

But the children, Sol! Think of the children! They can’t be expected to read and understand the menu!

You’re right. Anyone under the age of 13 probably can’t be expected to read and understand the menu to avoid something they’re allergic to. But this is also why you need to be 13 to join websites like AO3 or Tumblr. You need to show that you’re old enough to understand at least those basics.

But teenagers!

By the time you’re a teenager, you should have a pretty good idea of your likes, dislikes, and allergies. If you are fifteen years old and your parents still have to pick food for you off the menu, you should maybe reconsider some things about your life. But if you are fifteen years old and you read that the meal includes mushrooms, and you, knowing full well that you are allergic to mushrooms, order it anyway? That is not on the restaurant. That is on you, and if you are at the restaurant with a guardian, them for not stopping you.

In fandom terms, you might call “likes, dislikes, and allergies” instead “kinks, squicks, and triggers”. Note the difference between a squick and a trigger–one is something you just don’t like, while the other one is actually harmful to you. Let’s bring back the term squick so we don’t water down the concept of triggers! But just like food preferences, nobody else gets to dictate your fic preferences. Certainly no one gets to tell you whether your allergies or triggers are “wrong” or “irrational” or whatever. People don’t get a say in their triggers any more than they do in their allergies.

But Sol, mushrooms gross me out so much that even thinking about someone else eating them makes me physically ill. Surely this is reason enough for no one else to ever be allowed to eat mushrooms ever again, right?

Wrong. This is reason enough for you to figure out coping mechanisms to deal with that, and if you can’t do that on your own, perhaps it’s time to seek professional help from a therapist. Saying “don’t talk to me about mushrooms” may work in a limited circle of people who know you, but you cannot expect the rest of the world to abide by this rule of yours that makes you more comfortable.

But mushrooms are illegal where I’m from/not allowed as part of my religion. Everyone knows this. 

First of all, not “everyone” knows this. There are over 7 billion people in the world, and most of them will never even think about you or the rules from where you are, let alone care about you or them. At the end of the day, people are selfish. All we really care about is ourselves and our immediate circles, and making it through today, and the next day, and the day after that. And not everyone in the entire world abides by the same restrictions that you do. Muslims aren’t supposed to drink alcohol, but wine is a central part of a Catholic mass. That’s just how the world is, because people throughout the world with different beliefs and biases and understandings. And the reasons behind some of these restrictions have been lost to time.

Pork is not considered kosher, because pigs don’t chew their own cud (among other reasons) and that makes them “unclean”, where cleanliness is an important part of what constitutes kosher. But is that really what causes them to be “unclean”? More likely, ancient people realized that pork had a habit of making people sick; it’s extremely prone to parasites that don’t necessarily get killed off if the pork isn’t cooked perfectly. Instead of just saying “don’t eat pork, it will make you sick”, the ancient Jewish rabbis decided to make it a religious tenet, that way the advice of Don’t Eat Pork wouldn’t get lost in time. They also may not have had enough of a scientific understanding of why they were getting sick that explaining it via religion made more sense at the time.

Today, it’s very easy to make sure that pork doesn’t contain parasites, but the mitzvot (commandment) not to eat pork is still considered part of Jewish law (halacha).

But go ahead and tell an American they can’t have bacon anymore because it’s against Jewish law. They’ll probably laugh in your face. Why? Because it’s not their law.

Likewise, just because incest is considered illegal in the United States does not make it illegal in the rest of the world. Some cultures hold it as a common practice. And the western concept of incest being taboo is a fairly modern one, in the grand schemed of things. It wasn’t until the late 1800s/early 1900s that people started to understand why incest should be discouraged, and that was from a purely reproductive point of view.

Are you saying incest isn’t bad, Sol? You’re a gross pedophile!

Funnily enough, we have this societal conception that incest automatically means adult/child relations. That, of course, is completely untrue. But those are the cases we hear about the most in the news, because they’re the most sensational. 

Also, I am capable of saying that incest being taboo is a modern concept tied to biology, and also disliking incest personally. I have two sisters, and the thought of that kind of intimacy with them does gross me out. But I am also an adult capable of understanding that other people may not have that reaction.

As for the pedophile accusation, I find that gross too. But I also recognize there are shades of gray. Two sixteen year olds having sex is technically considered underage, but can you really put that in the same category as a thirty nine year old having sex with a fourteen year old? They’re just not the same thing. We do not exist in a world of black and white, including good vs bad. Take an introductory level class on ethics and morals, if you don’t believe me.

Here’s an unpopular opinion: everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions.

Yes, even children. Even teenagers, and adults, and politicians, and anyone who has the mental capacity to understand that actions have consequences. If you knowingly engage with something you dislike, whether as a squick or a trigger, that is on you. No one else held a gun to your head and made you engage with that thing–and if they did, there are other problems here. 

You don’t get to tell anyone else what they are allowed to like, dislike, or be triggered by. You’re allowed to have an opinion about it, sure–no one can stop you from doing that, but you also have the choice to be an asshole about that opinion or not. You can go out into the world of the internet and attack an actual person for something, potentially ruin their lives and hurt them emotionally by spewing negativity and hate everywhere. Cyberbullying is still bullying. But you hurt no one by keeping that opinion to yourself and choosing not to engage in the thing or sharing your opinion in a respectful way.

I don’t like mushrooms. I hope you enjoy your portabella burger.

[talkcloneshipstome]

For the character ask: let's go with Echo

This is so late, I'm sorry!!

1. Sexuality headcanon

Hmm... Very rarely to a really sit down to think about characters' sexualities. But I feel like Echo strikes me as bisexual or pan. And in either sense, his experience of attraction to others would be the same, it would just depend on how he would prefer to identify. In my mind, he leans more towards pan.

2. OTP

Fives. Forever and always.

3. Brotp

I think Rex fits the bill for Echo. The Domino ARCs are so close with their captain, Rex just feels like the natural person for Echo to attach to.

4. Notp

Honestly, I don't really have a Notp for Echo. Or anyone, really. There are a list of characters that I don't like personally and would never want to ship anyone with, but I wouldn't really count that as a Notp.

5. First headcanon that pops into my head

Echo in sweaters. Cool weather, changing leaves, mugs of something warm to drink. And cuddles, lots of cuddles (from Fives, *cough cough*). As an aside, this isn't my general impression of Echo, literally just the thing I thought of first.

6. Favorite line from this character

Oh, okay. Hang on. Gotta do some digging. My brain doesn't store random lines from characters very often, lol. Alright, I've got it! It's a tie between these two moments:

Trace: "Is there an echo in here?" Echo: "Yes." T: "What?" E: "I'm Echo."

And

*Hevy blows up Rishi Station* Echo: "Hevy always did hate that place."

7. One way in which I relate to this character

I'm... not sure. I think I don't necessarily relate to Echo, but more that I just find him and his story inherently appealing. This is true for all the clones, of course, but Echo is one of our more prominent characters, especially with TBB out now. I just really enjoy his attitude and sass, which there is more of than I think we remember sometimes. It's easy to let Fives fall into that role, whereas canonically, it was Echo who fit that bill more often than not.

8. Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character

I actively avoid and try not to think about those moments in shows that cause me second hand embarrassment. That stuff can be very squicky for me, regardless of the character or scenario. I find those types of scenes exceptionally hard to watch and usually won't, actually. So this one I'm just gonna leave here.

9. Cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

Uhm... neither? I really wouldn't count him as a problematic fave, and he certainly isn't a cinnamon roll, lol. That doesn't change the fact that I will continue to write him as a cinnamon roll in all my fics, hahaha

If you would like to play the game with me, my asks are open! Here is a link to the headcanon ask game. Send me a character, and I'll tell you my headcanons about them.

[talkcloneshipstome]

Send me a character and I'll answer these!!

1: sexuality headcanon 2: otp 3: brotp 4: notp 5: first headcanon that pops into my head 6: favorite line from this character 7: one way in which I relate to this character 8: thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about this character 9: cinnamon roll or problematic fave?

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Hewwo... Can I ask for some fluffy Dogma/Rex, with the prompt "Five more minutes"?

Always, friend!

“Rex, just—”

Rex pauses in picking up his shed greaves. Dogma hovers beside him looking forlorn, balanced on his knees on the sofa.

“Five more minutes?”

Rex is sure his smile when he sighs and drops the plate is far, far too soft. Dogma never asks for things—they’re precarious enough as it is, take what they can get and never complain when they’re inevitably cut short—but they’re on leave, and it’s been… So rough, recently. And Rex hates to deny him anything.

He turns instead to reach out and tug Dogma into his lap. Another thing Dogma always hesitates about, but he straddles Rex’s thighs with such quiet pleasure of being close that Rex hopes he’ll one day realise that he can have something this simple any time he wants.

“Come here,” Rex murmurs. Dogma makes a noise, brow and pretty tattoo crinkling, and lets Rex tug on the small of his back until they’re pressed up close and Rex can lean up and kiss him.

“Mm,” Dogma hums. “Thank you…”

Rex smiles against his smile and hugs him closer, nips on his bottom lip when he laughs and breaks the kiss and gazes at Rex with those sparkling eyes of his.

“Five minutes hasn’t hurt us before,” he says.

Dogma knocks their foreheads together and hums again. “There’s a first time for everything you know.”

“Please, stars, don’t.”

Dogma’s lips twitch. “Sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

Dogma pretends not to laugh and kisses him again.

[talkcloneshipstome]

i like your art but if you ship clonec*st i’m gonna have to hit that block button sorry chief

Oh no, whatever shall I do if some annoying rando doesn't approve of me shipping fictional space people?? Maybe I won't win the middle school Tumblr popularity contest??? XD

Incidentally, I've had this sketch lying around for a few weeks, and since you asked so nicely:

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Fresh out of ARC training, Fives gets maybe a bit too excited.

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Couldn’t let today go by without some love 💙💙

[Image ID: a digital illustration of Echo and Fives embracing. Fives is seated, with Echo facing him. Their arms are wrapped around each other and Echo is kissing the top of Fives head. End ID]

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Hi, guys! So, I'm incredibly busy with camp fire and my summer job, but this looks really fun. So if you'd like to send in requests and prompts from this bingo card so I can at least pretend to try and participate in something, then I would be immensely happy.

Thanks!

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“your hair isn’t regulation.” “yeah, but you like it though.” bc sometimes you’re just feeling tup/dogma in this chilis tonight

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I would like to request Rex/Fives, incorporating the word: forever ❤️

D... did I really never answer this ask? I wrote the prompt. It's been written for a while now. I am so sorry I forgot about this! I'm pretty sure Kanra even reminded me at some point, and then upon being reminded, I forgot to come and post this. Either way, I hope you like this. It's geared more towards Rex/Fives/Echo — which was done on accident — but Echo isn't actually present. This takes place post-Citadel. Due to that, the fic is under the cut for talk of death and character death.

Rex sits alone in the barracks. He hasn’t got a clue how he’s managed it, but he seems to have found a random sweet spot of time in which the entire bunk room is totally empty. It’s just Rex, the bunks, and his thoughts.

Thanks to General Kenobi, Cody, and the 212th’s ARCs joining the 501st for a few rotations for strategy planning and other similar responsibilities, Rex has been relegated once again to the barracks, along with Fives. They’re the only ARCs at the moment, so the ARC bunk room has been given over to their guests. Not that Rex is complaining though. He likes staying in the barracks usually. It feels less lonely…

The pressing quiet of his and Fives’ bunk room has been driving him insane. They were never an overly rowdy bunch in their free time, so the quiet isn’t out of the ordinary. But there’s something horribly oppressive about silence brought on by a missing presence who should, by all accounts, be there. But he’s not.

It’s been… oh, Rex isn’t sure anymore. He lost count of the days by the third after returning from the Citadel. It’s been over a week, he’s at least sure of that much. But other than that, time has been blurring into itself of getting very little (if any) sleep, rising with his alarm, and forcing himself to go through the motions. He is aware that his men are getting concerned, but it’s not like there’s much to worry about. Something will snap him out of this eventually, Rex is sure of it. It always does.

Though, they’ve also never lost Echo before. They’ve lost vode, of course. That’s just life for the clones. They’ve been losing brothers since before they could even remember. It’s different now that the war is officially going. Now that it’s been a year and a half or however long, losing brothers is different than it had been on Kamino.

And truthfully, Rex would be a filthy liar if he said that losing Echo wasn’t the punch in the gut that it is.

He tries not to think about it too hard. Tries to ignore the weight bearing down on him from all angles, and how sometimes he wants to cry so hard he can’t breathe. Rex doesn’t deserve to feel this way. He shouldn’t get to think of Echo and feel pain wash through him, so debilitating that he once actually stumbled and fell to his knees with a silent, grief-stricken sob.

Luckily, Fives had not been around.

After all, Rex is the one who said no. He’s the one who turned them down. Them. His chosen shinies, his ARC troopers. His Echo and Fives. They held out their hearts to him, full of love and hope for the future. They asked him for forever, and Rex told them no.

He wanted to agree so badly. It hadn’t been a new concept, of course. Brothers marry all the time. It’s not unheard of. Beyond that, the three of them had actually talked about it before. Rex had shared his concerns — his fears, his dreams, his realism. For all that he knew there was nothing wrong with it, Rex was scared of marriage. He still is. How can he promise someone forever when he can’t even be sure he’ll make it to see the morning?

It didn’t matter that they are his troopers. It didn’t matter that it’s more likely for all of them to die together than to die separately. Rex couldn’t promise them what they wanted. He refused to break their hearts like that.

Of course, he broke them a little bit by doing this anyway. They had looked at him with hope and love so true and deep in their eyes, and Rex had crushed it.

No, Rex does not deserve to miss Echo. He doesn’t deserve to feel like he’s bursting at the seams and falling apart. Fives is the one who deserves to be feeling this way. And he does. Rex knows Fives is barely keeping a lid on this thing. One misstep, and the whole tower of cards will come crashing down. Rex needs to be there for him when it finally does. Even if Fives hates him, Rex will be there.

That’s the thing that’s killing him though.

Fives does not hate Rex. Hell, he’s not even mad at him. Even as Rex watched his troopers’ hearts shatter before his eyes, they still smiled at him — sad though the expressions were — and said it was okay. They told him they understood. Because that’s how they are. Understanding. Caring. Loving.

Rex couldn’t have asked for better partners even if he wanted it.

The swish of the door opening and closing again pulls Rex out of his thoughts. There are tears on his cheeks, dripping down his chin.

Fives stands in front of Rex. His eyes are dull and watery with his own unshed tears. There’s a slackness to his features that tells Rex all he needs to know about how well Fives has been sleeping recently. Not.

Rex startles a little, not having realized someone was coming toward him.

“Fives—”

Fives holds up a hand and shakes his head silently. Rex shuts up immediately. He may be the captain, and Fives one of his ARC troopers, but Rex still knows when to take orders. The answer is “now” and “definitely from Fives”.

“You haven’t been sleeping,” Fives eventually says. It’s not what Rex was expecting to hear.

“Not well.”

The ARC nods. “Me either.”

There’s a pause after that in which neither of them speak. They just watch each other for a moment. A million things to say flash across Rex’s mind. In the end, he says none of them. It’s Fives who has to break their silence again.

“You and I both know he wouldn’t want us living like this,” he says finally. “This isn’t living, cyare.”

No, it’s not. Rex knows that. He nods in agreement, because really, that’s about as much as he can get out right now.

Fives sits heavily onto the bunk side Rex with a deep sigh.

“I don’t know why you’ve been avoiding me, Rex, but this has got to stop.”

“I’m not—”

“You are. I won’t pretend to know what going through that head of yours. Only you can say. So the only way I’ll know is if you actually tell me.”

Rex stares down at his lap, playing with his fingers and twisting them together painfully.

When he thinks he’s finally found his words, Rex swallows.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t have… I wish I hadn’t said no.”

Fives shakes his head again, cutting off whatever was going to follow that thought up.

“He knew you love us, Rex,” Fives tells him. He leans into Rex’s side, pulling him into a side hug with an arm hooked over the blond’s shoulders. “No marriage or lack thereof would change that. We love you, and you love us. You have your reasons for denying our proposal, so—”

“Had,” Rex corrects him. “I had my reasons, which I’ve realized now were really just making me feel worse. I just want to use whatever time I have at least trying to find some semblance of happiness.”

Fives doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t argue, either. He doesn’t pull away from Rex and leave him alone.

“I’m not asking you to marry me,” Rex cuts in again quickly. “That’s not— I wouldn’t—”

“Shh…” Damp lips press against his temple in a kiss. Fives tugs Rex even closer, until he’s practically in the ARC’s lap, hiding in his neck. “Shh, it’s alright. We can talk later, after we both take a nap. Got it?”

Rex nods, finally and suddenly realizing he doesn’t mind that he’s crying in Fives’ presence and noticing just how exhausted every part of him is. Fives maneuvers them until they’re laying down together. The new position is much more comfortable for the both of them. Rex finds himself sinking into the warmth of Fives’ embrace and the safety and comfort that he offers.

“Forever,” he mumbles. “You feel like forever.”

Fives smiles tearily against him.

“You do, too.”

Rex falls asleep to the feeling of a phantom hand he isn’t sure exists brushing over his hair. Warm air tickles across his ear like perhaps someone had whispered something into it.

“Forever, cyare’se. I’ll come back to you.”

[talkcloneshipstome]

You know, it just occurred to me that I meant to post my spite prompts on ao3 and never got a around to it because I forgot.

Seems like I've found my project for while my laundry's in the wash...

[talkcloneshipstome]

Heya! For prompts how about Echo5 and first kiss or first time?

Yay! I haven’t written these boys in ages :3c

(Heck this ended up half a fic. Lucky choice anon!)

“Do you think it’ll be different?” Fives asks. “Now we’re back.”

Echo turns his head on the pillow to look at him.

Fives wonders if he thinks it’s a stupid question. Things are already different: they’re in ARC berthing rather than the standard fare, and they’re not even on Skywalker’s cruiser. They’re with the 327th, lending a hand; Rex hasn’t even seen them yet.

“Yeah,” Echo says quietly. “They’re hardly going to think of us as shinies anymore.”

Fives smiles, considering that, and snorts. “There’s something about those pauldrons and kama. Too sexy to mistake us for shinies.”

Grinning, Echo turns fully on his side to face Fives. “You think I’m sexy when we’re all armoured up?”

It’s Echo that only wears his lower blacks to sleep. It’s Echo who can and will recall any reg perfectly from memory if he thinks it’ll benefit their argument. It’s Echo who laughs loudly at Fives’ bad attempts at lightening the mood, because Echo’s jokes are always worse, and it’s Echo who lies next to him now, body twisted oh so easily in a way that somehow makes him extra soft and appealing.

It’s not Fives’ fault his brain shorts out trying to answer that. It’s not, because Echo in their shiny new armour is just the next ten bricks in the tomb of Fives’ own making. But it does make Echo’s grin turn sly and his body turn closer towards him.

“Oh, do you now?” he says, and Fives might have forgotten the question, but when Echo’s voice has gone a pitch deeper like that and his eyebrows have taken on that teasing tilt, all he can really do is wet his bottom lip and say, “Uh, yeah. Maybe.”

Echo’s face twitches. He watches Fives for a moment, then lets his gaze drop down, assess, rise back up.

“Well. For what it’s worth, I think you’re pretty sexy too.”

Fives blinks at him. He’s not sure he’s quite comprehending words properly, but—he makes the mistake of looking down at Echo’s lips. His heart skips and lashes flutter. They’re close, too close on this tiny bunk, Fives can feel his warmth and their feet are tucked together and—

Echo leans forward. He rises up on his elbow until he’s hovering just over Fives’ face, and Fives has to look up at him, and, oh, hells.

“Is this... Uh, this okay?” Echo asks.

Fives’ voice has caught and hidden in his throat; he nods.

Echo’s lips are soft on his. So gentle, gentler than Fives could really imagine either of them being. His eyes have closed and he hasn’t even noticed, too focused on tentatively kissing back. So slowly, so anxiously, until Echo pulls back for barely a second before diving in again, pressing more firmly into Fives’ lips so he can feel it, can hurry to catch up as he groans in the back of his throat and lifts a hand to grab at Echo’s shoulder.

“Echo...” he mumbles between kisses. They’re verging on frantic, so clumsy and awkward where they don’t know what they’re doing, but it’s passionate, it’s meaningful, and it has Echo draped and stretching out along Fives’ chest. He’s not complaining.

They should probably—er—talk about this. At some point. When they’re done. Tomorrow, maybe. Echo’s mouth feels so good on his and his hands are framing his face, his thumbs stroking Fives’ cheeks and stars he’s wanted this for so long. They’re inexpert, they’re brash, they’re absolutely high on endorphins, but.

Yeah. Talking can be for tomorrow.

[talkcloneshipstome]

Fox/Fives, set after an AU of the chip arc where Fox helps Fives escape? I can't think of a single word but I'd love to see what you can do with this!

Alright, I think you know what’s coming. We’re in for some feelings, y’all. At this very moment, I’m not positive I would classify this as true angst, but it’s got some hurty themes to it for sure. Also, not sure how I feel about the ending to this, but it felt better and more open than continuing to just stick words on the end, so if I ever come back to it or if someone asks, it’ll be easy to do so.

Fic is under the cut for mentions of violence, death, memory loss (due to chip activation), and decommissioning/reconditioning.

Fox corners Fives in a dead end alley. He keeps his blaster raised, set to stun. The last thing he wants to do is shoot this man. Fives is one of their own — one of their brothers. More than that though, Fox loves Fives. This man means everything to Fox.

It hurts to see him like this. Fives’ eyes are wide as they dart around, looking for an exit. Sooner or later, Fox knows he’ll find one, so they’ll have to act fast. There’s desperation in his eyes, tension in every muscle. Fox can feel himself practically working up an ulcer just looking at him.

“Fives,” Fox says, forgoing his lover’s official title. “Stop running.”

“No!” Fives hisses. He doesn’t yell, obviously trying not to alert anyone else to their whereabouts. “Fox, you don’t understand!”

“I could!” he says right back, taking another step forward and lowering his blaster. Fives is not someone he’d ever have to protect himself against. It feels so viscerally wrong to train a weapon on him. “But you have to talk to me! You have to tell me what’s going on, Fives, please. Stop running!”

Fives shakes his head adamantly, backing further into the dim shadows of the dead end. His gaze leaves Fox again, planning his escape. Fox clenches his jaw, gripping his blaster a little tighter. He won’t shoot Fives, he won’t. But he’s not about to let him out of his sight, either.

“Don’t you get it?” the ARC demands. “I don’t have any other options! It’s run, or die.”

“I’m not going to hurt you!” Fox interrupts as his heart splinters into pieces.

“You might not. But if you take me back, it’s a death sentence. I’ll be questioned and tried and found guilty because we’re always found guilty!” Anger seethes off Fives in waves. Fox has to resist the urge to step back. He’s not seen Fives like this before. “And that’s only if there’s a trial. They might send me straight back to Kamino, and we all know what will happen then. I’ll be decommissioned, or — worse! I could be reconditioned!”

“Fives…”

Fox isn’t sure he’s felt so helpless in all his life. That’s probably untrue. Force knows he feels helpless when he wakes after the blackouts. Time lost and no memory of what he’d done or where he’d been, all he can do sometimes is curl up in bed and stay there for hours until someone comes to find him. Thorn or Thire usually find him there like that, a knowing look in their eyes. Sometimes they can fill in his memory, sometimes theirs is gone, too.

But this feels different. Fox won’t wake up after this with no idea what just happened. One way or another, this little standoff will end. They’ll be found, or he’ll take Fives into custody or—

This will stop, and Fox is powerless to change anything about it.

He knows Fives is right. Fives isn’t coming out of this a free man. He’ll be imprisoned or sent back to Kamino, which is so much worse. A fate worse than death awaits him there, that’s a promise.

Fox doesn’t even register his hands going limp at his sides. Not until his blaster clatters to the ground with a sharp noise that he desperately hopes no one heard.

Fives stills slightly, training his eyes on Fox for longer than a few seconds at a time. Fox is losing his breath. He can’t breathe. Not with this damn helmet on, or the armor snug around his chest or the lump in his throat or the thoughts in his head—

“Fives, I can’t—”

His lover strides forward very suddenly, his features set in determination. He stops immediately in front of Fox, wasting no time in reaching up to pull his helmet from his head.

“Help me,” Fives says, like it’s the simplest thing in the world. Like Fox wouldn’t be a fugitive right alongside him, running from everyone and never safe anywhere.

Fox shakes his head, wondering suddenly where his voice has gone. There are tears in his eyes, and he hates it. Tears are a weakness, and Fox is anything but weak. Fives has always had a way of pulling all those ugly emotions out of him, though. He shouldn’t be surprised.

“Please, Fox. Run with me. I have all the proof we need to put all this to rights. But I can’t do this alone.”

Fox swallows, working around the blockage keeping him from speaking. Silence reigns between them for several seconds. Too many seconds. They’re wasting time that they don’t have while Fox tries to get a grip. The longer they stand there, the more that nervous energy returns to Fives’ being. It trembles through his fingers, traveling up his arms and out to the rest of him. He shifts his feet, light on his toes to run at a second’s notice.

“Please!” Fives pleads.

And, well. Screw it.

“Okay,” he says, quiet and croaky.

Relief floods Fives’ face. He surges forward to press a firm kiss to Fox’s lips. It’s over all too fast though before he pulls away.

“Lose the communicator. Leave the bucket here.”

Fox nods and reaches for his gauntlet and pulling the whole thing off. They’re not taking any chances.

He feels as if he’s lost twenty pounds of weight as he rolls the piece of armor away into a corner. Like without it he can breathe. He’s almost lighter, somehow. He doesn’t like to be leaving his helmet behind, but there is a small part of him that is happy for it to go. Sometimes, Fox thinks he remembers something from before the blackouts. The chime of an incoming message, or the click of audio through the speakers in his bucket, maybe a voice, and then nothing. Just whatever happens the next time he wakes up in his bunk or office.

Fives grabs Fox’s wrist and together, they sneak their way through Coruscant, aiming for the Temple. Fives wants to take his information directly to the Jedi Council, even if they have to sneak all the way up into the council chambers to do it.