#and it was nice to read about clone troopers

[bruh-myguy-what]

Uncommon Reaction

Pairing: Tech x Fem!Reader (our lovely medic line) Warnings: female insults, gross man being a jerk to reader, violence, cursing, Mando'a cursing, fluff, not proof read I just needed to get it out as my mourning, nothing else I don't think Word Count: 4.5k Summary: Needing something from town, you're stuck with going with Tech, as everyone else is busy. You're not used to his response when a man decides to be rude to you.

Requests are open if you have anything you'd like to send in!

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"Echo," your mirthful voice reverberated around the walls of the Maruader as you laughed, "please?"

Laughing at your shameful display as you childishly hung off of the man's shoulder, playfully pouting at him with eyes as wide as a loth kitten. He chided you with an amusingly stern use of your name, dragging you alongside him as he walked down the gangplank, "I've already told you that I can't go with you into town. I'd love to but I have to help Hunter gather the rations and make sure we have enough for the next trip."

Whining dramatically, you pull at his hand, "I can wait! Really! I'll even help count so it'll go quicker!" Though you tried your most convincing grin, hoping your innocent tone would win him over as it had multiple times before, the Arc trooper shook his head.

"Sorry, sarad, no can do." His simple decline made you groan in frustration and drop his hand indignantly but he continued, "It's already getting late, anyway, the sun'll be gone before we even finish counting. Why don't you see if Tech will go with you?"

At the mention of the clever clone, your cheeks immediately warmed and you pulled away from Echo a bit in fear he might catch your sudden change. "I-I'm sure he's busy...he's always busy with some kinda tinkering." Your mumbled response was met with a raised brow from the cybernetic clone before you, his trained eye-catching the evergrowing red color staining your cheeks. Though the planet had a warmer temperature than some others the Batch had stopped on recently, Echo knew this couldn't have affected you so suddenly. You noticed his scrutinizing squint and quickly tried to move the subject elsewhere, "Maybe Wrecker or Cross could go with-"

With another shake of his head, a knowing grin starting to grow over his pale lips, arms crossing over his armored chest, Echo interrupted you, "Busy with rearranging the cargo hold so Tech doesn't get rid of their explosives again." Then he smirked at your obvious dilemma, "Besides, I'm sure that if you ask him, Tech'll set whatever he's doing aside. He seems to like you more than any of the rest of us."

Stammering at Echo's teasing, you fumbled with a response. He couldn't be serious, right? Tech was nice, of course, he was just as nice as any of the others- just in his own way.

The way that sent butterflies screaming into your stomach...

The way that made your hands tremble sometimes when he forgot about the social decency of personal space...

Tech was nice in the way that you adored and couldn't get enough of even when you'd been around him for hours upon hours, even when his brothers wanted to strangle him.

"Uh, w-well, I don't-" You started as Echo tapped his chin with his scomp-link, in thought when footsteps from the gangplank sounded.

Walking down a step at a time, Tech emerged, face ever plastered to his datapad. A miniscule glance was sent from Echo to you then back to the device in his hands. "I heard whining from the pilot's seat," he began, his precise tone sounding uninvested as it typically did when he was observing a situation unbiasedly.

Echo grinned over at Tech, "Just the clone we were looking for," he praised with a welcoming wave of his scomp. "Our dear medic here is in dire need of heading into town and no one has any time to go with her."

As soon as Echo mentioned you needing to go into town, Tech put away his datapad, eyes meeting yours. "It would seem I am currently unimpeded by any projects that require my immediate attention, for the time being, that is." He stepped further down the gangplank, standing in the unoccupied space before you and Echo. "An appropriate solution would be that I accompany you into the nearby town."

Echo slowly turned his head to meet your red face, smirking proudly at you, "It would be, wouldn't it?" He chuckled at your incredulous expression, then looked back at the taller clone. "Then make it quick the two of you, it's going to be getting dark soon and I'm sure the town isn't the best place to be, even for us." He rested his hand on Tech's shoulder, walking back up the gangplank to head inside the ship, momentarily turning around to salute you with a wink.

You stood there for a second in disbelief, trying to understand how the situation left you with just Tech....alone.

"I cannot believe him." You muttered to yourself under your breath, shaking your head.

"He is correct, actually" Tech interjected into your thoughts, causing you to start a bit, forgetting his proximity. Looking up to see him fixing his goggles on his face more comfortably, you noticed the way his brown eyes caught the sun, as light snuck behind the frames to speckle the golden hues decorating them. "The town we are heading to is known for its rather," he searched around the area for the appropriate word, "sordid, is perhaps the best term I can use for it. We would be safer grabbing what it is you need quickly, then returning at a proper pace." His explanation continued but you began to get lost in your own thoughts, admiring the man before you. It seemed to happen, sometimes, that you would find yourself marveling at how someone who was supposed to be a clone- "defective" or otherwise- was so uniquely designed. However, no matter how smart Tech was, he was so clueless of his beauty (unlike Hunter who was exhaustively aware of his looks). The way his freckles brushed over the thin bridge of his nose to paint his tanned cheeks. The way his honeyed eyes were just a few shades brighter than his brothers, the way the light lingered in them even after all was dark. He was oblivious to how handsome he looked when he raised that one eyebrow in challenge, or when one of his brothers said something entirely incorrect. He was just as strong, just as well adept in battle, as any of his brothers (other than Wrecker), but he had the added allure of his intelligence that made you fall that much quicker. Tech's straightforward behavior, the endearing seriousness, his misconception of certain social cues, and the way his heart was still as open as any of the others- more so, you could argue- just made cherishing him so much easier.

A gentle call of your name caught you off-guard and you shook your head to refocus. "Hmm? Yes?"

Tech's face had grown adorably perplexed as he searched yours inquisitively. "I had asked if you were ready to leave, though I was met with only your vacant expression. Are you alright?"

A burning crept up your neck as you blinked dumbly at the clone trooper, "Y-yep! I'm perfectly fine!" You winced at the crack in your voice, hoping that if he asked any further questions you could blame some of it on the slightly elevated temperature of the planet.

Tech seemed gracious, or oblivious, enough to move on from the situation and nodded at your reply. "Then I suppose we should leave," he gestured for you to go ahead of him, "after you, mesh'la."

-

Once in town, you had noticed quickly what Tech had meant about the town being a little less desirable. The people seemed to even shy away from one another from time to time, going about their own business and then skittering away.

Tech kept a close pace behind you, placing himself directly behind your shoulder, his impressive height becoming even more pronounced. People seemed content to avoid the two of you and you hadn't noticed any issues with the trip so far until you felt Tech press himself further into your back, the smooth front of his chest piece cramming into your shoulder blade. "Tech?"

You glanced up as you continued forward, noting how his eyes narrowed behind his goggles, analyzing something further into the crowd. If you hadn't been in what seemed like a rather precarious situation- based on his current manner- you would find his closeness thrilling and unusual, but by his squared shoulders, you knew he was locked onto something questionable. "Apologies for my proximity." He spoke in a low, curt tone, eyes never meeting yours.

"Is...everything alright?" You questioned, trying to look around the crowd of people to see whatever was bothering the trooper.

Tech hummed in response, the rumble of his chest shaking through his armor and into your shoulder. "Our safety is secured for the present moment. Though it would be wise for my presence to be as near to you as comfortably possible for the duration of our outing."

You hadn't been out by yourself very many times with just Tech, possibly a time a two, but any time you had been it was always causal and friendly places. You'd seen Echo, Wrecker, or Hunter get protective in the face of social danger when you'd gone out with them before and it seemed like an evident connection to make that Tech (or even Crosshair) would've as well even though it hadn't been something you'd actually thought about before. However, now, you couldn't stop the way your heart ached at Tech's rapid transition from relaxed to defensive, the strong line of his jaw the first thing you caught sight of whenever you glanced up to make sure he was still on the lookout.

"Alright," you rushed out, "I'll be quick then. Sorry for the hassle, I didn't expect there to be an actual problem." Any more guilt you had been about to express died when you felt a large hand on the other shoulder blade, the warmth spreading through your entire body.

"Your apology is unwarranted. You required something, it is only sensible that one of us accompany you for protection. Although you are a reputable member of the GAR whom I have seen manage precarious situations rather exceptionally, I am certain every one of us would prefer to maintain your safety as much as we are capable." Tech finally glanced down to give you the slightest hint of a smile, accompanied by a reassuring nod. "Please, continue."

"Th-Thanks," was all you could dumbly reply as you tore your eyes away from the clone to search around for any pop-up stand that had what you had dragged Tech out here to get. It was some form of balm that you had needed to add to your collection for healing cuts and scrapes that the GAR hadn't entirely said was a part of the standard order of supplies but it worked as a wonderful substitute for bacta. It didn't take much longer to find a stand that was selling medical salves and the like, though the warmth of Tech's steady touch- whether from his chest or his hand- distracted you desperately.

While shopping through the procured items laid out, you felt Tech's hand fall away from your shoulder and a voice that was unknown to you spoke. "Listen goggles," the gruff man spoke, "just walk away from the woman and nobody has to get hurt, alright?"

As you began to turn, you were met with Tech's broad back blocking you as his hand came behind him to tuck you closer. "I regret to inform you that I am incapable of doing so." His voice was as steady and casual as typical for Tech, if you'd not known any better you would've thought he'd been speaking to Hunter or one of the others.

Choking out a gurgled laugh, the man pulled out a blaster, clicking off what you recognized as the stun. You were hardly terrified, Tech was highly skilled, though faced with a blaster you were worried he might be injured. Tech wasn't the first to respond with violence, opting instead to de-escalate the situation with a straightforward and disarming method. "I don't think you heard me, prick. I don't think you want to die over a whore, do you?" The insult hit you, surprised by its accusation and you placed a steadying hand on the backpack Tech wore, to steal a glance of the situation. You felt the hand that was placed on your arm tighten its grip protectively at your movement.

Tech was caught off guard by the insult as well, inclining his head at the shorter man. "Pardon me?"

"The whore, you fool. I want to whore. Move away so I can have her and we can part ways without anyone getting harmed." The man motioned with his blaster for Tech to step aside, though he remained unmoving.

Tech adjusted his goggles with his free hand, "by my estimation, it would seem that the only fool in our current location would be you. I will not be moving, so in light of our impasse, how would you prefer to proceed? By the tremble of your blaster, I would venture that you are incapable of properly wielding the weapon, which is a dangerous decision in and of itself. Again, it would seem you are the fool." Tech took a step forward, calm assurance complimenting his candid tone.

"B-Back up, freak! I'll blast you without a second thought." The man snarled as he raised his blaster higher toward Tech's chest. As you noted what Tech said, he was right- as always- the man's hand shook prominently. Though the sight of a blaster pointed so blatantly at the trooper was unsettling, you trusted him.

"Proper blaster decorum is to hold higher on the handle, finger over the trigger, and placed securely at the target of the blaster bolt." Tech's nonchalant lesson to the man seemed to only set the situation more on edge, which was surprising to you. He wasn't de-escalating, he was...antagonizing. "Is it standard practice here that any chakaaryc is allowed to carry a blaster?"

"A-Any...what?" The man asked confounded by the word he didn't understand, using his other hand to stabilize the blaster now as Tech approached closer to him.

It was normal for the Batch to use their Mando'a around one another, though they didn't use it much around others outside the GAR and even you didn't understand the language so you never paid attention to the words. Though now you were silently cursing yourself for not studying it, wondering what it was that Tech said.

"Di'kutla," Tech's voice lowered to a tone you hadn't heard him use before, it sounded almost...dangerous, "It is a Mandalorian translation for a filthy low-life, such as yourself."

"Why you!" The man's finger began to push the blaster's trigger and you felt your heart drop, stomach-churning, until you blinked and nearly missed the effortlessly elegant way Tech disarmed the man of his blaster. Crying in pain as his hand was bent backward while Tech placed the rogue blaster in his belt after switching it off, the man spat curses at the trooper. "She's just a whore, man! What's your big deal?!"

At the man's insistence on your status, Tech furthered his grip, causing him to yell out, Tech’s stoic composure- in contrast- never faltering. "I believe I have heard quite enough from you, mir'sheb."

"But-" Interrupting the man's argument, Tech's fist connected directly to the criminal’s face in a surprising display of brutality, effectively silencing him- and bloodying his nose.

"I said enough."

Standing in absolute awe of the current events, you were speechless, and before you could muster anything to say you watched as Tech yanked the stumbling man toward you by the grip on his wrist. "Forgive my lack of decency, mesh'la, though regarding his offense, this man owes you an apology."

"Tech, I-" You began, only for Tech to twist the man's arm behind his back and press him forward a bit harsher to which the man stumbled onto his knees, causing Tech to bend down with him, muttering apologies at your feet.

"Are you pleased with his display of atonement, cyar'ika?" Tech's honeyed eyes rose to meet yours, his tall frame bending over the man on the ground, refusing to let him free until you were satisfied. At your nod, he released his hold.

The man scurried to his feet and scuttled away as quickly as he could, nursing his wrist. Confusion washed over you as you glanced at the trooper, dusting off his hands and shuffling things around on his belt to make room for the blaster he had acquired. Once satisfied with his work, Tech met your eyes once more, adjusting his goggles nonchalantly. "Have you found what it is that we came to find?"

Still stunned by Tech's uncommon display of brute force and his complete willingness to act as if it has been just a normal day of the week, you stood there silently holding up the salve. "Wonderful, then we should return quickly." He sent a look around the sky to notice that it was dark now, "I am sure-" and as if on cue, Tech's comm link made a sound. Echo's voice rushed out with a stern use of Tech's name as soon as he’d answered it.

"Where in the galaxy are you two? I said to be quick!" The clone complained on the other end of the comm. Motioning for you to join at his side, Tech explained that you were momentarily disrupted but were unharmed and returning shortly.

While he spoke with Echo, you stared stupidly at the salve in your hand, replaying Tech making an absolute fool of the criminal. You'd never seen him react in such a way and you could feel your cheeks burning at how attractive the response had been to witness. What could've caused such a change in his approach? Of course, the Batch was known to be unconventional, so maybe Tech just thought the only way to dissuade the man was to use brute strength, but it just seemed like something bothered him. Could it have been when the guy insulted you?

A call of your name brought you back to the present, where Tech was standing in front of you, his hand extended. "Take my hand, please, it is quite dark. I do not wish to lose you in the crowd, it would seem this town is worse than I had originally read about. I will make a note to update the Republic's records properly." His hand enveloped yours delicately, pulling you closer to his side to guide you through the mass.

-

The walk back to the Marauder was quiet, your mind reeling from what happened. You were no stranger to difficult scenarios such as that one, so it wasn't as if you were scared just baffled.

"Stars! Finally, you two are back." Echo huffed in frustration as you emerged from the treeline. "Come on, we gotta get out of here. We're wanted back on Kamino for some new mission. Everyone else is already prepped to leave."

Tech merely nodded, saying something about how he'd set up the ship to be ready for the journey, and departed with a casual 'see you inside' as he let go of your name.

"What's wrong with you?" The accusation behind Echo's voice elicited a glare from you, none of this would've been an issue had he not forced Tech to go with you. You wouldn't be standing here struggling to erase the image of Tech decking a criminal right in the face. Replaying the sound of his voice when he demanded his apology to you for his insults...

This was Echo's fault. For sure.

"Tech punched someone, Echo." You explained with narrowed eyes to which the pale clone laughed as if the joke you tried to tell him was the funniest thing he'd heard. "No, I'm serious. He dropped this guy. He pulled a blaster on us and Tech just...punched him in the face."

"That's weird. Tech's not usually the type to-"

"TRUST ME," you raised your voice, "I'M AWARE."

Echo started laughing again, "I told you that he had a soft spot for you, sarad." He motioned for you to follow as he began his ascent up the gangplank, and punched the closure button when you joined him.

-

Later into the night, while you lay awake in your bunk, you tossed and turned trying to quieten the memory from earlier though it was a futile effort. The thought was driving you crazy.

Why had Tech reacted that way? It was just too out of the ordinary for him. It seemed far more personal than he ever responded.

And Echo's comments about him having some sort of bias toward you weren't helping the racing of your heart.

So you crawled out of your bunk, making sure not to wake anyone up as you tip-toed up to the main hull where there were small sounds of tinkering echoing. Of course, he was still awake.

"Mesh'la," Tech commented as you walked in, surprising him. "You are supposed to be asleep, what are you doing awake?"

Flashing him a grin as you took up residency in the co-pilot seat across from him, you pulled your legs up close to your chest. "Much like yourself, Tech, I couldn't sleep."

Adjusting his goggles, Tech blinked a few times in consideration. "Well, are there any extenuating circumstances that are barring you from getting the rest you usually require? Such as Wrecker's snoring? Crosshair mumbling in his sleep? Echo has a bad habit of shifting a lot during the night, could it be that?"

Shaking your head at his list of options, you took a breath, "I, actually have a question."

A glance in his direction showed his brow raising in confusion. "A question for me?" Upon seeing your nod he prompted you to continue, setting his tools aside to give you his undivided attention.

"Earlier..." you began, nervously playing with the hem of your GAR-issued pajama shirt, "in the town." Tech's intent gaze spurred you to continue, though you were anxious about how he would take the question. He was always truthful, but would he find the question odd? Would he think it was a stupid question? "You reacted differently than normal." You pointed about, changing directions a little, instead of asking a question.

"I am obligated to point out that your statement is not a question, cyare. However, your assessment is correct. It is not my usual course of action to resort to physical altercations in such situations..." He responded evenly. "Though, this circumstance required a unique response from me." His added comment confused you even more.

"Why?" You inquired, eyes now meeting his.

Tilting his head to the side slightly, his brows furrowed as if he were the perplexed one now. "I thought it would be obvious." His simple response was mildly bothersome. Of course, it wasn't obvious! That's why you couldn't sleep!

"Tech, you have to remember, sometimes, some of us need you to explain what's going on up there in that exceptional mind of yours." You clarified as you tapped your temple, gesturing for him with a soft smile on your face.

It dawned on him then, that perhaps it probably wasn't obvious to you. Though he struggled to find how to put it into words. "I was required to respond irregularly because he had offended you. Pointing a blaster at me is less of an issue, one I am perfectly well adept at discouraging," Tech's voice was unchanging until he glanced at his hands and his tone dropped. "It wasn't until his unwarranted comments regarding you that I felt my common strategy of de-escalating was not suitable enough. Your virtue demanded more than my words to right the occurrence." His eyes were still downcast as he spoke, seeming...embarrassed?

"My virtue?" You repeated his term of use.

Nodding, the clone finally met your eyes, the emotion behind his brown hues causing the breath to catch in your lungs. "Yes. I will never allow someone to speak so disparagingly about you in my presence. You deserve far more from those who say they care for you."

The blue streaks of hyperspace highlighted the contours of his handsome face, highlighting his features. It seemed as if time slowed to a crawl between the two of you at his admission. Was it a declaration of love, no, but it still burned in your chest as if it had been. "You care for me, Tech?"

"Considerably so, yes." The speed and certainty of his response felt as if it knocked you against the seat, like your first trip into hyperspace, kicking you back. His honesty was staggering every time. "If I can be forthright, I find that I am more partial to you than even my brothers are. I have spoken with Hunter at length about why this may be. The solution we have come to at the very moment is," Then he paused for a moment, considering his words carefully, "that I have a romantic interest in you. The signs of psychical attraction I have are evident, or so I thought. I desire to be close to you as often as possible, and the ability to speak with you about things is a welcomed one that I look forward to regularly."

As you listened, the burning in your chest only worsened. Tech not only punched a man because he insulted you, but punched a man who insulted you because of how much he cares about you and your honor? And now he was telling you how much he'd cared for you? This had to be a dream.

"Forgive me if this is not the answer you were envisioning, however, that does not change the truth of the answer to your query." Tech finished with a resolute nod, though the emotion did not leave his eyes.

You sat there across from him for a while in silence, reflecting, assessing, and gathering, but once everything sorted itself into place in your mind you rose from your seat to stand before Tech. He'd always been so straightforward, so honest with you...he only deserved the same in return.

Your hands hesitantly reached out, testing the waters of his current mood. When he didn't pull away, you caressed his jaw on either side lovingly, tilting his chin up to meet your eyes. The astonishment in them betrayed his outwardly calm demeanor as you leaned down to graze your lips against his, a whispered 'thank you' tumbling from your lips before you kissed him.

As if your confusion and amazement had been transferred to him, Tech merely sat in his seat, numbly. However, as you began to pull away, his hand quickly reached out to rest around the back of your head to stop you from going too far. Brown eyes explored your face as if you were an illusion, "you captivate and baffle me," he breathed out in wonderment, pulling you back in for another kiss, "show me more, please."

Laughing under your breath at his request you lowered yourself into his lap gingerly, "I'd love to, but right now, I just want to kiss you a little more."

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Mando'a translations just in case- chakaaryc - lowlife, rotten,  di'kutla- useless/ worthless, mir'sheb- smartass

@stellarbit - this is for the both of us.

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb tech #tech #tbb #tech bad batch #bad batch #tech x reader #tech x you #x reader #x reader fanfiction #tech fanfic #tech fanfiction #bad batch fanfiction #bad batch x reader #star wars x reader #tech fluff #tech girl #x fem!reader #x female reader #y/n

[captainkirkk]

✩ WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP ✩

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Miraculous Ladybug

Open My Eyes by buggachat

Adrien smiles as he eats breakfast with Nathalie, smiles as he walks through the halls of his new lycée, smiles as people stop him on the street and tell him time and time again what a "hero" his father was.

(Adrien wishes he could've been a hero, too. He should've been. Maybe then his father would still be alive.)

(But he's surviving. Everyone may be treating him as though he were made of glass, but he can still go through the motions, he can prove them wrong, he can still smile.)

“And you’re… happy,” Marinette spoke carefully, a nervous tilt to her voice, “... right?”

(Adrien has some things to find out.)

DC

the good, the bad, and the power hungry by konan_konan

dim trake ☑ @timdrakeceo・8hr if one more person tweets about #superlex unironically im gonna end it all 391K Views | 200 Retweets | 13 Quote Tweets | 22.1K Likes

j-son of a bitch ☑ @jsntdd・8hr ↳ replying to @timdrakeceo hurr durr these are the consequences of ur actions bitch 201K Views | 109 Retweets | 4 Quote Tweets | 18.4K Likes

or: lex luthor makes bad choices. and then, so does everyone else.

call me cute and feed me sugar by suzukiblu

Tim Drake had absolutely no intentions of ever becoming anyone's sugar daddy when he met Superboy.

This would have worked out better for him if Superboy had ever had an actual legal identity or an actual legal guardian or just . . . literally anything whatsoever in life. Ever. At all.

Just a bank account, even.

how big, how blue, how beautiful by merils

Kon-El is not good with medical settings. One could even say he's quite bad with them. How bad, exactly?

Well, let's put it this way: Very few things in the world can make him scream for Superman to save him.

(Superman will save him. That's what family's for, right?)

Clone Wars

The Kenobi Chronicles by WobblyCat

General Kenobi isn't actually dead. Someone should really tell that to his troopers, though.

Or: The clones under General Kenobi's command have a groupchat dedicated to him. Cody wishes his subordinates weren't so fucking stupid.

SVSSS

Shen Yuan's Forced Shen Qingqiu Redemption Arc by SpicyReyes

The System's OOC function won't unlock all at once - instead, character traits have to be added individually, through quests. This leads to Shen Qingqiu having to jump through endless hoops just to complete enough side quests to unlock the ability to be a decent person - all while avoiding the effects it has on those around him. If only the cheapskate System wouldn't keep changing the cost of point values - he needs to know what the hell Yue Qingyuan told the others about him that makes them all look so sad when he does manage to be nice! He's breaking his back here, can't we just appreciate his work?!

second-hand alibis by nex_et_nox

"All right. I’m in Proud Immortal Demon Way," he says, once he's had a chance to compose himself again. He sits back up, tossing his stupidly long hair back over his shoulders where it belongs; he is totally calm and ready to grill the System for more information.  "Who am I supposed to be?" Please please please don't let it be someone who Bingge violently murders. Though given the fact that he's a man in PIDW, his chances are already skewed, and not in his favor. Ugh. [Bound Role: Shen Yuan, Rogue Cultivator. Weapon: the sword Heng Li. Starting B-points: 100.]

or: Shen Yuan transmigrates as a rogue cultivator, one completely unconnected to any canon characters or events. Right, System? Right?

#my laptop broke :(( can i get an f in the notes #i'm using my super old one from high school rn and i am Struggling #my posts #weekly fic round up #fic recs #svsss recs #dc recs #sw recs #ml recs

[freesia-writes]

Hey there! So... I saw your Valentine post and I would really love to read a little something with my beloved, if that's alright! I really like your blog and your vibe so I figured it would be a great read!

So if it's alright, I'd love to request a Crosshair x Fem!Reader where the reader is shorter than him, kind of with a grumpy/sunshine or a "stoic man goes soft when he looks at the woman he loves" kind of thing... I'm so weak for that trope, honestly, and Crosshair always sweeps me off my feet ❤️

No pressure at all, love! I'll be happy to read what you write for this February 14th.

Hugs!

Hellooooo friend! :) Thanks so much! I hope this is a warm and fuzzy little read for ya. Dividers courtesy of @stars-n-spice via this post. I wasn't sure if I should post them all on the 14th or just churn em out as I finish, but I figured I'd space em out a bit. 🤓

Crosshair x Reader (I think it could be Fem or GN; hair in the face is mentioned, as well as "looking pretty", but I think that's it)

1.2k words - SFW - content warnings are just flirtin n kissin. 😜

The indoor shooting range on Kamino hummed with the steady rhythm of blaster fire, the loud noise constantly reverberating off the walls. You stood at the edge of the range, observing the troopers as they honed their skills and ready to provide additional instruction or advice as needed. A tall, lanky figure caught your eye, and your heart skipped a beat. Clone Force 99 must be on world.

Crosshair's presence always commanded attention, his tall frame towering over the troopers as he moved with purpose and precision. It wasn't the first time you had encountered him here, and each time, you found yourself captivated by his silent prowess and unwavering focus. 

As he lined up his first shot, you couldn't help but admire the way he handled his weapon with ease, his movements fluid and controlled. Despite his stoic demeanor, there was an undeniable magnetism about him, an irresistible pull that drew you in like a moth to a flame. The interactions you’d had over the last number of months had always left you wanting more; you were sure of an incredible depth and complexity beneath his icy exterior, and the few quips and jabs you’d traded in the mess hall as well as the firing range had only served to fuel your interest.

The presence of other troopers always kept his walls up, though. You noticed the way he’d walk -- steady and focused, unaffected by anything around him. His gaze was steely and his affect flat, save for the few glances you’d shared where you could swear there was an imperceptible softening in his sharp eyes.

"Nice shooting," you called out as he completed the course, a genuine smile playing at your lips. "You make it look easy." 

Crosshair grunted in response, but there was a flicker of something in his amber eyes, a hint of appreciation for your words. It wasn't often that he received praise, and you could tell it meant more to him than he let on.

"It is easy," he replied gruffly, his lips hinting at a smile. "You ever shoot anything in here, or do you just stand around and look pretty?”

You chuckled at his comment, feeling a warmth spread through you at the compliment. "I guess I just stick to what I’m best at," you replied, unable to hide the smile in your voice as you peered up at him. 

Crosshair's smirk grew, a rare display of emotion from the typically stoic sniper. "I guess," he conceded, his gaze lingering on you for a moment longer than usual. “You want a lesson?”

The air between you crackled with tension, the unspoken attraction simmering just beneath the surface. You could feel the weight of his gaze on you, and for a moment, it felt as though the world around you had fallen away.

“I suppose a little extra preparation couldn’t hurt,” you attempted, casting one last glance down the range to ensure that everyone was alright on their own for now before stepping into one of the stalls. 

Crosshair stepped in behind you, slipping a basic blaster into your hands and nodding down the alley, where the targets had begun to move and shuffle around one another in their predictable way. You took a deep breath, suddenly feeling wildly self-conscious, as though you’d never handled a weapon in your life. 

“Maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” you confessed. 

“Performance anxiety getting to you?” he teased, stepping closer so his chest was pressed against your back. He reached around your shoulders, easy for him from his height, and fitted his hands around yours where they rested on the blaster. Your heart skipped a beat at his proximity, suddenly swimming in this scent and closeness and presence. Almost automatically, you found yourself nestling into his embrace, completely and totally unaware of everything else going on. You heard him inhale behind you, then he quickly compensated by leveling the blaster at the first target. “Come on, show me what you’ve got.”

You sighed, bringing yourself back to the task at hand and raising the blaster to your eye, squinting to get a good aim and waiting to get the timing right. You watched the rhythm of the targets, memorizing the track and speed of each, then squeezed off a few shots, hitting some of them but not all. A self-effacing little chuckle fell from your lips as you set the blaster down on the tray in front of you, stepping to the side to look at Crosshair sheepishly. 

“You make me nervous,” you admitted, seeking an excuse but realizing it was more of a confession. 

“So sorry,” he crooned, stepping a bit closer and brushing a strand of hair back from your face. You sucked in a sharp breath, caught off guard by the sudden intimacy of the gesture.

"You've been watching me," he murmured, his voice low and smooth. "I've noticed."

Heat flooded your cheeks at the realization that he had been aware of your gaze all along. "I... I have," you confessed, meeting his gaze with a mix of nervousness and anticipation. “Sorry. You’re just really good at what you do.”

“Mmm. Is that it?” he prodded, moving his hand to brush your cheek with the backs of gently-curled fingers. 

“Geez, Crosshair,” you breathed, eyes dropping to his chest as your heart pounded in your chest. You were utterly speechless, simultaneously frozen in place and yet fighting every urge in your body to reach out and touch him, pull him hard against you. 

“Maybe a lesson of a different sort,” he suggested, a gleam in his luminous eyes that made your knees weak. Before you could respond, he leaned closer, gaze flickering down to your lips and back, hesitating for a second as though waiting for you to pull away. But you were drawn in, moving without your permission, reaching up to bring your face to his as your hand snuck around the back of his neck.

And then he was kissing you. It was gentle at first, hesitant and questioning, then slowly grew firmer as he took one more step closer, cupping your face with two strong hands. Your eyes were closed so tightly that you thought you may have been dreaming, trying so hard to commit every single detail to memory, from the shocking softness of his lips to the intoxicating sensation of his frame curled around your own. Pulling back, he met your gaze once more, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Not bad," he remarked, his tone teasing. "But I think it could use some further practice."

You couldn't help but laugh at his playful arrogance, the tension between you dissipating like smoke in the wind. Lingering for a moment, you cupped his cheek before stepping back, resting a hand on his chest for a second and then dropping it to your side. 

“Anything for the Republic,” you said with a cheesy salute, cringing immediately at your own attempt at humor.

He slipped a toothpick into his mouth, flicking it into one corner as touched your chin with some lightly curled fingers before giving you a wink and sauntering away, leaving you standing there, dumbfounded. 

“If you’re done making out with the weirdo, can I get a reset on the lane over here?” a clone voice called out, evoking a bright blush across your face as you rushed over to help him, ignoring the taunting grin on his face. 

Tag List: @littlefeatherr @arctrooper69 @foreverdaydreaming1 @stunkbiggu @mxkyrie @littlemissbshine @dreamie411 @skellymom @followthepurrgil @the-hexfiles @1vlouds @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @ghostperson69 @secondaryrealm @hellhound5925 @thew0nderer2342 @cloneloverrrrr@kashasenpai @clonethirstingisreal @dukeoftheblackstar @kimiheartblade @mooncommlink @stardusthuntress @starstofillmydream @eyecandyeoz @dhawerdaverd @ladylucksrogue @thiswitchloves9904 @tech-aficionado @foodmoneyandcats @eternal-transcience @cw80831 @adh-d2 @techmexicanvieja @ezras-left-thumb @trixie2023 @sleepycreativewriter @nonsenseandm3mes @mlichaelm @nahoney22 @mary-on-the-contrary @sverdgeir @roam-rs @starsaboveclones @falconfeather23435

Click here to join or leave the tag list. <3

#the bad batch #tbb #bad batch #star wars fanfiction #the bad batch fanfiction #tbb crosshair #crosshair x reader #crosshair #x reader #reader insert #x reader fluff #crosshair fluff #tbb crosshair x reader #crosshair romance #first kiss #clone fluff #tbb fluff

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Someday

A/N: Happy Cody Day!

Pairing: Commander Cody x Reader (GN)

Rating: T

Wordcount: 526

Warnings and tags: straight fluff; established secret/forbidden relationship.

Summary: You enjoy a quiet morning with the man you are absolutely not supposed to be with.

Suggested listening:

Masterlist | Sign up for my tag list

Shore leave mornings were your favorite. They were too rare, these golden, stolen moments with Cody when you didn’t need to sneak past security holocams or explain your presence outside the marshal commander’s quarters to overzealous troopers patrolling the hallways of the Negotiator. Mornings like these were to be savored, and you hoarded them like the precious treasure they were. No comlinks, no datapads. Just slow, lazy hours sipping caf that hadn’t come from an industrial machine and reveling in the quiet intimacy of time alone with your lover.

Cody was reading a volume of Venestrian poetry—an actual flimsi edition he’d found in some charity shop in the Mid-Levels. You lay on the sofa with your legs draped across his lap, dabbling lazily with a piece of charcoal in your sketchbook. At that precise moment, you were trying to capture the exact way the warm sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains caught on the planes of his cheekbones and cast deep shadows on the hollows of his face. It was a futile task if ever there was one, but still, it gave you an excuse to admire him openly.

The only sounds were the soft scratch of charcoal on paper, the occasional rustle of a turning page, and the music playing quietly from your favorite holoradio station. The song ended, and a new one began, its melody hauntingly familiar.

“I love this song,” you murmured absently.

He glanced at you, then set aside his book. “Dance with me.”

“Hmm?” you asked, startled.

“Dance with me,” he repeated in a low voice.

He tugged the sketchbook gently out of your hand, then trailed his fingers up your wrist. With a tiny smile, you shifted your legs off his lap, and he stood, offering his hand to help you up. He pulled you to your feet and seamlessly into his arms, swaying in time to the slow beat just as the singer’s lovely, wistful voice joined the instruments.

“Is that Ryl?” he asked.

“Yes,” you replied. “She’s singing about…”

You trailed off, keenly self-conscious about your tendency to monologue. He smoothed his hand up your shoulder and stroked his thumb across your clavicle softly.

“Tell me,” he whispered. “What is she saying?”

“She’s singing about all the lovely, distant places she wishes to see—Naboo; the temple ruins at Jedha, Cantonica; Scarif; Rugosa. She wants to experience them all instead of just staying at home on Coruscant.”

“Does she ever go?” he asked.

“No. It’s a song about longing, not about doing.”

“That sounds sad.”

You considered for a moment. “I don’t think it’s sad or happy, either one.”

“No?”

“It’s more like daydreaming or wishing.”

He gazed pensively into your eyes, tracing his thumb up the side of your throat. “Is that what you wish for?”

You shrugged. “It's not like we haven't seen our share of the galaxy.”

“I wouldn't exactly call what we do sightseeing,” he observed drily.

“True,” you laughed. “Maybe when the war is over, we can see it together.”

“Mmm.” He pressed his lips to your forehead. “Sounds nice. No more fighting. No more hiding. No more pretending.”

“I know,” you sighed. “Someday.”

Taglist:

@secondaryrealm @sev-on-kamino spicy-clones @wings-and-beskar @523rdrebel @merkitty49 @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @arcsimper5 @starrylothcat @clio3kantarella @cloneloverrrrr @goblininawig @ladytano420 @arctrooper69 @wolffegirlsunite @sunshinesdaydream @mandos-mind-trick @littlemissmanga @stunkbiggu @starqueensthings @clonemedickix @marierg @idontgetanysleep @moonlightwarriorqueen @dudewhynotthis @sleepycreativewriter @tcwmatchmakingau @littlemissbshine @multi-fan-dom-madness @heavenseed76 @wizardofrozz @bobaprint @sweetcream-coldfoam @banksys-rat @skellymom @pickleprickle @trixie2023 @mythical-illustrator @dickarchivist @cw80831 @kimiheartblade @meredithroseg @flyiingsly @lightwise @swcowgal @reader6898 @cdblake1565 @epicy0n @codyday2224

#Cody Day #Cody Day 2224 #Coday #commander cody #commander cody x reader #gn reader #star wars #the clone wars #sw tcw fanfic #dystopicjumpsuit writes

[jedipoodoo]

I can't imagine how raw and irritated echos skin gets, especially from his armor rubbing against it. now I can imagine is his s/o applying lotion all over his upper body, and once rubbed in, giving him a massage cause lord knows the poor baby's been through enough.

finding good echo gifs is so hard 😭 I feel like I've already used all the good gifs in my other one-shots. If anyone has some Echo gifs they'd be happy to let me use for story visuals, please let me know!

Patch Your Broken Wings (ARC Trooper Echo x Reader)

Notes/Warnings: Got a little off topic here sowwy :3. People are jerks to clones, descriptions of scents, Echo has a hard time making decisions for himself and feeling good about himself.

This one-shot does not contain spoilers for season three. Please do not discuss spoilers in the comments.

"Here, smell this one!" You took a bottle off the shelf and shoved it in Echo's face. He stumbled back a step or two before he caught his balance. He took a deep inhale of the scent and closed his eyes, imagining himself in the middle of the meadow printed on the side of the bottle. The scent, however, didn't quite match up to the picture.

"Well, what do you think?" You asked. You were so giddy you were bouncing up and down on the tips of your toes as you waited expectantly for his answer.

He shrugged, "It's nice."

"Nice?" You frowned, "Is that all you have to say about it?"

The truth was, Echo really didn't care for that one at all, but with how excited you were about it and the other five bottles you'd thrown in your basket, he didn't want to disappoint you. Plus, there were at least three other customers staring at him, speaking in what barely counted as whispers. He knew he looked weird, on top of being a clone. Most people didn't like him being out in public, not that it bothered you. You were fearless.

"Yeah, smells like flowers." He mumbled.

You frowned, "Okay then..." You put the bottle back on the shelf, and Echo immediately knew he messed up.

"We can still get it if you like it! I don't mind!" He insisted.

"Do you like it, though?" You asked.

Echo blinked. "What do you mean?"

You sighed deeply, "Echo, I wanted to get these lotions for you."

"For me?" Echo pointed to himself with his good hand, "Why?"

"For your skin!" You reached out and took his hand, squeezing it gently, "It's so dry and rough, especially by your cybernetics."

"Oh," He said softly, "I've never really thought about it before."

You smiled at him and leaned in to kiss his cheek, "I was doing some reading on the holonet, and it said that prosthetics can start to chafe after a while, but lotion so help with that."

Echo couldn't believe it. You'd done research to help him? On your own? He almost started crying.

"Come on," You pulled him after you, "You need to find one that you like. I'll help you put it on."

Echo felt a bit like he was floating as you pulled him along to the next aisle of lotions. Was that all that this store sold? Well, there had been some candles at the front of the store, and they were selling scented antibacterial packets by the register.

"We are not leaving until we find a lotion that you like," You warned him, "Now, what smells do you like?"

Echo fidgeted a bit under your scrutiny. "Well, I like caff, and flimsi. It smells nice when it's warm."

"Well, we could find a caff-based scent, but flimsi will be a bit harder to find," You hummed, "Keep going."

"Uh, I like the smell of the antiseptics that they use to keep the medwing clean, that's always nice."

You shook your head, and grabbed two sample bottles of lotion off the shelf. "Do you prefer flowers or fruit?"

Echo panicked, "Uh...both?"

Just as you reached out for him, an older woman shoved her way in between you both to get to the display wall.

"Pardon me-" Echo coughed.

"Excuse you!" You snapped. The lady turned to you, and though Echo couldn't see her face he knew she must be scowling.

"Watch where you bring that thing," She snapped back at you. She didn't even grab any of the lotions as she pushed past Echo towards the registers. Even more people were staring now.

"Maybe we should go-" Echo tried, but you grabbed his arm and kept him standing right where he was.

"You have just as much right to be here as anyone else," You whispered to him. Echo just gulped, and nodded.

You pulled his arm towards you and dabbed a bit of the first lotion onto his wrist. As you rubbed it in, it felt kind of nice, feeling you work away the tension building up in his muscles.

"What do you think?"

The first one was tinged purple, and smelled like joganfruit with hints of lavender. It was much too strong and Echo shook his head with a grimace. You applied the second scent, and Echo gave a hearty sniff. It was light and floral, with hints of meiloorun in the background.

"That one's nice," He said somewhat wistfully.

"You like it?" You seemed shocked at this revelation.

"What's the flower in that one?" He asked. You took a moment to read the label.

"It's made from ti'il blossoms, from the planet Alderaan," You read, "It's made with meiloorun and hints of prosecco."

"Prosecco? Isn't that an alcohol?" Echo asked.

"Yeah, but it smells nice," You shrugged, "You want that one?"

"Yeah," Echo said, reeling a bit from these events. Maybe the prosecco in the lotion was giving him the same effects as drinking it.

Buying the lotion and going back to your apartment were a bit of a whirlwind for him. He liked being at your place, it was a safe haven from the rest of the galaxy, where no one would oogle him or whisper about his condition as if he couldn't hear them.

"Hey," You called him from his trance, lotion in one hand, "You okay?"

He nodded, quickly, "I just...I don't usually get stuff like this."

"It doesn't hurt, if that's what you're worried about," You teased. Echo chuckled half-heartedly.

"Echo?" You said softly, "Babe, what's wrong?"

Echo tried to wave it off, but the lump in his throat betrayed him.

"No one has ever cared about me, not like you have." He stammered.

"Echo, that's not true," You pulled him to sit on the couch and cradled his face in your hands, "Your brothers would do anything for you, and you know it."

"They're my brothers, they don't count."

"They're your brothers--of course they do," You rested your forehead against his, breathing deeply in order to allow his breaths to align with yours.

"Thanks for what you did back there, at the shop," He murmured.

It was your turn to get flushed, "I barely did anything-"

"Not just with the lady," He clarified, "For the lotion, for looking stuff up, for this," He waved his scomp arm between the two of you, "It means everything to me."

He caught a glimpse of your smile, "You mean everything to me, Echo. I hope you understand that."

Echo chuckled again, "I think I'm starting to."

#lizart writes #tbb echo x reader #clone wars echo x reader #arc trooper echo x reader #the bad batch x reader #the clone wars x reader #apparently I can only write if I complain about writing beforehand.

[vodika-vibes]

Hello! I've been reading a lot of your content lately and love your writing so much! I was wondering if I could request a little fic about Dogma x a very outgoing, naturally confident social butterfly kind of reader who works on base and a lot of clones seem really into them, but they only ever flirt with him or try to ask him out. And their admirers can't figure out why Dogma of all people but the reader has no kriffs to give and just keeps giving him all their romantic attention until he gets it. Thanks in advance!

Two Souls Intertwined

Summary: You’ve made your choice, you just have to convince Dogma that you mean it.

Pairing: Clone Trooper Dogma x GN!Reader

Word Count: 886

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni @imabeautifulbutterfly

A/N: Hihi! Thank you for your request! I'm always happy to write for Dogma, so I hope you like this!

“Let me see if I understand you correctly,” You don’t look up from the game you’re playing on your comm as your coworker, and sometimes friend, drops into the seat across from you. “You’re surrounded by attractive men. At all times. And you want Dogma?”

You glance up at the way she says Dogma’s name, “What’s wrong with Dogma?” You ask, offended on his behalf.

“Well...he’s just...he’s not much fun, is he?”

“He doesn’t have to be fun, I like him anyway.”

“Just…” She shakes her head, “I know that so many of the men have a thing for you. And you’re, like, scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

You scowl at her, “I’ve made my choice, and, just for your comments, I’m going to go flirt with him even harder.”

She chokes on her caf, “I...what?”

You throw a cocky grin at her, and push to your feet, downing your caf in one long gulp, before you head out of the break room.

At this time of day, Dogma is probably outside. He likes to take what free time he’s allowed to read something. For a moment, just a moment, you feel bad about interrupting his free time, though you push the guilt aside with ease.

It’s not like he’s ever said, “Leave me alone,” after all.

You head through the halls, and open the door that leads to the courtyard in the middle of the base.

Why this base has a courtyard is beyond you, but you’re glad it does. It offers a nice change of pace from the sterile white and gray halls of the base.

And there he is, sitting under a tree with a datapad in his hands.

A bright smile crosses your face and you dutifully ignore the way that your heart skips when you see him.

You’re well and truly in love with him.

Dogma doesn’t say anything as you walk over to him, and he says nothing as you settle onto the ground next to him. Though he does glance at you when you shift so that your back is pressed against his arm and your head is tilted back to rest on his shoulder.

“Back again?” He sounds more amused than anything.

“Always.” You counter cheerfully.

“You are determined, aren’t you?”

You tilt your head back so you’re able to grin at him.

Dogma’s smile is tiny, but it is there, “Alright. Lay it on me.”

“What?”

“Today’s pick up line.”

You press a hand to your chest, a look of mock offense crossing your face, “I would never-”

“Ah, so I’ve been imagining all of those other pick-up lines, then?” Dogma asks with an arched brow, and you laugh and shift so you’re sitting next to him properly, “You know, my brothers are convinced that you’re using those just to get a reaction out of me.”

You roll your eyes, “They’re just jealous that I only have eyes for you.”

“Or they don’t believe it.” Dogma points out, “I’m sure that there are people who are more similar to you in personality than me.”

“Eh, maybe. But I’m not interested in them, I’m interested in you.” You reply.

Dogma sighs and rubs his hand over his face, “You...someday I’m going to actually believe you when you say stuff like that, and then what are you going to do?”

“Plan our date. Well, schedule our date. I already have our first date planned. We’ll get dinner and go for a walk, and then I’ll kiss you on the way home.” You nod once, “It’ll be perfect.”

He blinks at you, surprised.

You flash a crooked smile, “What? Is it really so hard to believe that I only have eyes for you?”

“Yeah, a little bit.”

��Hm, well then.” You muse thoughtfully, “How about this then? I’m in love with you.”

Dogma jolts in surprise, and you smile at him.

“I’m in love with you, and if you’re really not interested then let me know and I’ll leave you alone. But. Until that happens, I’m going to keep pursuing you.”

“...you’re in love with me?” He asks slowly.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason? I like you. You make me feel safe when I’m around you. You don’t judge me for being me.” Your grin widens, “I love you.”

Dogma releases a strangled noise and lifts his datapad to hide his face, “You’re impossible.” he complains, though he drops the datapad and flashes a small smile, “I’d like that date, actually.”

“...really?”

“Really.”

You laugh and fling your arms around him, knocking you both over, “Thank you! It’ll be the best date! You’ll see!”

Dogma just laughs and folds his arms around you, “I’m looking forward to it.” He replies, a warm smile on his face, “But I need you to get off of me.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.” You scramble off of him and settle on the grass next to him as he sits back up. “What are you reading, anyway?”

“Want me to read to you?”

“Will you?”

“Yeah,” He flips back to the start of the book, “Get comfortable.”

You shift and drop your head to his shoulder, and as soon as you’re settled, he started reading.

And this, really, is all you ever wanted. Who cares if no one else understands. You certainly don’t.

#star wars #tcw #clone trooper dogma x reader #dogma x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction #gn!reader fic #answered asks

[nahoney22]

Would it be possible to commission you for a few more one shot of the spontaneous helmet kiss prompt for the other batchers and possibly other clone soldiers like Rex or Howzer?? I WAS IN LOVE WITH YOUR TAKE WITH TECH’S!

Thank you & Absolutely you can! Let’s gooo (decided to just do little one shots in this post, hope u don’t mind nonny 😚)

Helmet Kisses

All Bad Batch boys + Rex, Fives & Howzer X GN!Reader

Little HC about reader giving our boys a spontaneous helmet kiss.

warnings: none, pure fluff. Little mentions of injury. Not proofread

A/N- Originally inspired by this post by @whoneedsname501. I’ve already done Tech which you can read here so this will be all the others 😊

Masterlist

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁 𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙

☾ Echo

This man was smitten the day he had met you so when you kissed him on the helmet one day, his body just did not compute what happened.

The Batchers including him had been away on a mission for two days now and thought it was best that you stay with the ship as a ‘just incase’. Which, you didn’t mind.

You were in a forest in Raxxus and wildlife was absolutely your thing. The sight of new plants, herbs and animals always amazed you and it was something Echo thought was quite endearing about you. Although he is usually grumpy, he did perk up around you when you would go on a tangible rant and rave about something new.

On his return back to the ship, he notices a strange looking orange plant with sweet smelling leaves. So, he grabs a handful (he did hide away from his brothers when he did this because he didn’t want to hike back to the ship with them teasing him all the way) and stuffs them in his pocket carefully and would give them to you on arrival.

You’re sitting on the steps of the ship with your head in your holopad when you heard the crunch of branches and leaves and sure enough your clones were in view.

“Hey guys! How’d it go?” You wave over at them, standing to your feet and bound down the steps to greet them.

They tell you all went well so in return you tell them you brewed something up for them food wise in the ship if they’re hungry. Of course, Wrecker went racing inside with the others following aside from Echo who hung back a little.

“Hello my Arc Trooper, you alright?” You beam at him teasingly as you nudge his shoulder playfully. Luckily for him, he was wearing his helmet still so he could hide the stupid smile on his face when you called him ‘my Arc Trooper’.

“Very well. Though, I found something you may be interested in?”

Your ears perk at this and watch as he reaches into his pocket and pulls something out. He hands it to you and your eyes widen in surprise. It was a herb from what you can tell but it was new and that excited you. “Oh wow!” You took them into your hands and inspected them closely. “They smell nice. Could be good in some stew of some kind?” You spoke more to yourself than at him but he watches you and again, smiles.

When you do look back at him to see him still standing there, you’re thankful for the kind gesture. So thankful that you don’t realise that you leaned towards him and placed a small kiss to the side of his helmet.

Echo stilled and cursed to all what was greater in the Galaxy for having his damn helmet on. But then again, would you have thanked him with a kiss if he didn’t?

Your mouth is moving as he stares at you but he hears nothing. It’s not until a confused expression crosses your face and you place a hand on his arm gently when his senses come back to him. “Are you okay?”

Nodding quickly, way too quickly for it to be believable he walks past you and goes to his bunk to research more rare herbs for another kiss to happen again.

☾ Hunter

“Hey Sarge, what are you doing up?”

Hunter turns around to face you and that’s when you spot your blaster in his grasp. “Did I wake you?” He questions you before you could ask what he was doing with one of your weapons.

“No,” you shake your head, stepping towards him to see what he was doing, “I usually wake at this time anyway. What are you doing with my stuff?” You question, curious and a little apprehensive. Truthfully, you were quite forgettable when it came to maintaining your kit and you really didn’t want to get in Hunter’s bad books. After all, you did have a tinchy-tiny crush on the long-haired Clone.

His voice is a little modulated by his helmet but you’re sure he chuckles a little before holding up a rag. “Cleaning your gear for you.”

Your face drops and a wave of embarrassment and shame washes over you. “Hunter, you don’t have to do that. I’m sorry, I thought I was up to date with all this stuff.” You grimace at yourself for being foolish.

Hunter didn’t need his senses to know how tense you suddenly got and he hated that he could have made you anxious for no fault at all. “Easy there cyare,” he says very softly and almost hesitantly places a hand on your shoulder, “I’m only cleaning it because I saw it on the side when I was doing mine. Thought I’d, uh, spruce it up a little.” He tries not to show that he’s shy at the confession but he’s also trying to hold his own as he feels the warmth of your body seeping in through his gloved hand.

Relief washes over you and your shoulders drop in relaxation. “You didn’t have to do that for me.” You’re blushing a little and his heart picks up as he notices that his action had good consequences.

“Wanted to. You’ve been busy taking care of us lot so it’s only fair.” He says casually, looking back to your blaster and giving the barrel a bit of a wipe. “Don’t want it jamming up in battle now do we?”

You watch him and the action you want to do next is a bit of a risk but since it would only be on his helmet, you weren’t breaking a huge boundary in your mind. So, you ever so gently place a hand on his shoulder this time, lean up and place a kiss to the right side of his helmet.

His reaction is quick as he turns to look at you, baffled but also feeling very warm and grateful. “W-what was that for?” He stammers, not realising the rag in his harsh grasp had slipped onto the floor.

Gushing at what you did, you tuck your hands behind your back and rock back and forth on your heels shyly. “Just a thank you.”

“Can you do it again?” He blurts out.

☾ Wrecker

Usually, your sparring buddy would be Hunter so when you heard that Wrecker wanted to you were both very excited yet a little nervous. After all, he was a very large and muscular guy.

“Ya ready for this cyar’ika?” You tried to ignore the feeling you got at the name, something he would always call you out of endearment.

You alter your stance, hands coming up in defence whilst Wrecker forms his offence position. You pause for a second and frown. “You’re wearing your armour? How am I meant to spar with you?”

He laughs behind his helmet. “Gotta be prepared for all types of scenarios. Now c’mon over ‘ere and hit me with ya best shot!” He teases whilst also being deadly serious.

So you do. You managed to land a few blows and managed to dodge those he threw back at you. It’s going well, well you thought it was until a piece of uneven ground decided to surprise you that sent you toppling down whilst in an awkward grappling embrace with Wrecker who falls down too.

He’s quick however and softens your fall all the while he places his hands on either side of your head to stop himself from completely crushing you. Sweat glistens at your brow and a sigh of relief washes over you.

“Kriff, you alright?” He too sighs in relief but you’re too tense to speak as his right hand cups your bare cheek, as if to inspect you.

You gulp, a little flustered when you realise that Wrecker, someone who you had liked for a while, was hovering over your body and giving you the softest of touches to your face. “F-fine.”

“Ya sure? Didn’t hurt ya did I?” He’s nervous in his question, knowing that he was a little more rough-handed than the others and the last thing he wanted to do was to hurt you.

A smile grows on your face and you softly nod. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“But I do worry. A lot.” He sighs, almost as if he was ashamed and at blame that you could have gotten hurt which couldn’t have been further from the truth.

No matter how many times you would reassure him, he would think the latter and so as you gaze up at him through his visor, a bold idea pops into your mind.

Ever so gently, you prop yourself up on your elbows and purse your lips before kissing his helmet, a little bit over where his lips would have been if it weren't for the gear.

The second you pull away, blood rushes to your cheeks as you whisper to him that you really were alright but Wrecker was in to much shock to even do anything. It wasn’t until you spoke his name softly that he snapped out of this haze.

“You kissed me.” He states, a wide smile behind his bucket.

“Technically I kissed your helmet.” You smirk a little, head tilting to the side and into his hand that he still hadn’t moved.

A second later, he pulls the helmet away from his head and sure enough, the man is flustered to the max and shyly asks if he could kiss you.

☾ Crosshair

Kissing Crosshair on his helmet would either be the best decision you had made or the worst. There were no thoughts in your mind when you did it but there were certainly a lot of thoughts in his mind.

It’s a late evening, so maybe you were a little drowsy when you spontaneously kissed him but you were all playing a game of Sabacc. One by one, each batcher got eliminated until it was just the two of you left. The others had gone off to bed which just left you and Cross. Truthfully, you had no idea how you managed to beat the likes of Echo and Tech but somehow you did.

“You know it’s kinda cheating wearing your helmet, Cross.” You taunt with a playful wiggle at your brows.

“No it isn’t. It’s strategic.” He mumbled, eyes focused on his set of cards. You had no idea if he was looking at you or the cards.

“That strategy being able to see what cards I have with the vision in your helmet?”

“Disabled. Now make your move.” He prods at you with a kick of his foot under the table to which you kick back just as hard.

There’s tension in the air but after all, there’s a measly ten credits at stake.

When your cards are shown, you hear a small snarl as Crosshair slams his luminescent cards on the table which only meant:

“Have I won?!” You try to bite down your excitement but it’s hard to do when it comes to beating Crosshair at something. For the first time, too.

He’s grumbling but as you finally let out a small cheer and scoop up your credits, he can’t help but smile a little underneath his helmet upon seeing you so happy. “Well played.”

He stands and you do too but as he does, a bunch of credits fall off his lap. You’re confused but then the slow realisation of what was really happening dawned on you. “YOU CHEATER!”

Cross freezes and raises his hands in mock defence. “I see it as helping you win against Tech.” The Marksman declares casually. You can’t help but feel a little deflated that he had been helping you win all along somehow but you were curious as to why he would let you win in the first place.

“Didn’t know you were a softie for me.” You’re teasing him but you noticed how stiff as a board he got. Him being called soft felt odd but it wasn’t something he found not necessarily hating.

“Am not.” He mutters, voice raspy as he stares you down as you approach him.

“Yeah yeah,” you roll your eyes, smiling up at him through his visor, “goodnight Crosshair.”

Then you kissed him. Well, you leaned up and placed a kiss in the middle of his breath filters, the centre of his helmet where his lips would have been.

You realised what you did straight away and backed away, mumbled a quick apology before scooting off but Crosshair was adamant to get the real deal.

You heard footsteps behind you and you were certain it was Crosshair who was about to give you a telling off. But when you turned around to face him, you didn’t expect him to be ripping his helmet off and tossing it to the side as he bound towards you.

“If you’re gonna kiss me, do it properly.”

In a second, he has you pinned to the wall with his body, one hand in your hair and the other to your waist as he flushed his lips to yours in a heated embrace.

Your eyes are wide and hands are flailing pathetically as you were both unsure where to put them or if you could even touch him. A second before you felt yourself melt into the kiss he pulled away, panting a little but there was that infamous smirk.

“Better?” You gasp out, not quite believing what just happened.

“Better.”

Bonus

☾ Rex

Seeing Rex get injured on the battlefield crushed your heart. Thankfully, he only came into the medic tent with a sore ankle and a nasty blaster shot to his left arm.

He didn’t like his teammates seeing him like this and so those who could leave, you politely discharged to give your Captain some more space.

Rex is laying on a cot as you sit on a stool beside him when you’re patching up his arm. “Can’t believe I got shot.” He grouches, wincing a little as you fix up a tender spot.

“You’re a soldier, Captain. It’s bound to happen some time.” You say as a matter of fact. It wasn’t exactly a nice truth, but a truth nonetheless. To which, he agreed with a small grunt.

“Suppose. And I told you to call me Rex.” He lifts his head up a little to gaze across at you, heart fluttering as he becomes easily smitten at your deep concentrating face.

You rolled your eyes and grabbed a medpatch, applying it to the wound in the hopes it’ll heal up nicely. “Well Rex,” you say playfully, helping him sit up, “you’re all done.”

He cranes his neck to the side and swings his legs around on the cot. He knows he has to go back out there and finish the mission, but he found himself much rather being here and beside you. His crush on you was deepening but he just didn’t know how to tell you. “Thank you. You’re, uh, a great medic.”

It’s awkward the way he compliments you but from him? It meant everything. You always valued what he had to say and to hear him praise you sent a warmth through you. “I appreciate your words Cap- I mean Rex.” You enthuse shyly. “But it’s best if you get back to it.” With a nod towards the front of the tent where the mission was happening just on the outskirts, Rex sighs but nods in agreement.

He stands and places his bucket back on his head. He’s turning to face you to bid his goodbyes when you lean up and place a kiss to the centre of his helmet. His eyes comedically widen and his lips part in pure awe as he watches you giggle, wave him off and quickly rush to the aid of a new incoming clone. Rex definitely had to speak to you about that kiss later.

☾ Fives

You both like each other, that much is clear but you’re too shy to make commitments just yet but Fives still wanted you to know that you were all he wanted when he had the chance.

It was a quick start to some romance; love at first sight if you will. He saw you leaning on a bar one night, uninterested in your date at the time when the two of you locked eyes across the room. Then that was it, you were both rather smitten. And you loved, adored his teasing.

However, liking someone in the GAR is never easy. Especially a clone. Not only is it frowned upon by superiority forces, but there was always the risk of never seeing them again. And sadly, today could be one of those days.

Fives comes up to you in the Hangar before he’s set to leave for a mission. He’s already suited up in his Arc Trooper armour and if it wasn’t so bittersweet, you would say that you definitely had the hots for him right now.

“Mesh’la, we’re leaving soon.”

You smile sadly, wrapping your arms around your body as the two of you walk somewhere a little more private and out of ear and eye shot. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Your tone is meak and it crushes Fives to hear.

“I don’t know this time.” He says truthfully, stopping to stand in front of you. “But I’ll come back for you? Okay? I promise.”

It’s hard not to get emotional with goodbyes and it’s especially harder when you find yourself having some unexplainable feelings for someone. “You better.”

You take a step to him, shaking hands coming up to grip the side of his helmet before you bring his head down a little so you could plant a kiss to his helmet, just where you wished his lips would be.

“Oh mesh’la please let me take it off so I can kiss you properly.” He begs quietly, taking a hold of your waist but you shake your head with an emotional smile.

“Come back to me first… then we can kiss forever.”

☾ Howzer

Howzer came to your market stall more and more as the weeks passed by. You’re new to the city and had already taken the eye of a certain Clone Captain.

You sold an arrangement of bric-a-brac things including the odd jewel and you always managed to have something new that Howzer was interested in.

He’s walking into the market, meant to be patrolling but when in reality he just wanted to see you. But on his arrival he hears shouting followed by

some smashing. He rushes to see the commotion and is flawed when he sees you get robbed! In broad daylight!

“GET BACK HERE!” He calls after the thief and begins his mad dash to retrieve whatever was stolen and to also implement a form of punishment.

You're saddened by the events and do your best to tidy up the mess that was caused, sweeping the smashed vase on floor up. Even some of the locals helped too.

“Sorry about that, but the perpetrator has been caught and taken into custody by some of my men.” You turn to see Howzer walking towards you and you smile thankfully at him.

“Thanks for that. Not what I needed today at all.” You sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you look at the mess that you still had to clear up.

Howzer gives you a sympathetic smile yet it’s covered by his helmet so you couldn’t see it. But for some reason, you had felt it.

“I believe this belongs to you?” He holds out the stolen item, a ring.

“Yeah. They didn’t even steal it from the stall either. Yanked it straight off my finger!” You frowned at first but that soon dwindled as you let Howzer - quite sweetly you may add - slip it back on your finger.

He realises his actions may have come across a little… intimate but he saw how happy you were to have the ring back and that’s all that mattered. You both look at each other with a hint of awkwardness until you break it by saying you should close shop for the day.

He understands but is a little dejected that he didn’t get to speak to you as much as he would like. But then, you leaned across and placed a kiss to the side of his helmet. “Thanks again for the help. Means a lot.” You say softly before walking away.

Howzer is left pretty dumbfounded. He also felt slight guilt that he wouldn’t mind if he was your saviour again from getting robbed if that was the reward. Maybe he could ask you out on a date if he read your relationship with each other correctly

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Masterlist

tags: @teletraan-meets-jarvis @jennamelinda12 @nunanuggets @andyoufollowyourheart @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz z @captxin-rex x @cwarssimp @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka a @oohyesplease @megafrost4 @adriiibell @theroguesully @equalityforcats @rexandechosandwich @mustluvecho @inagalaxywickedfahaway @misogirl828 8 @ladykatakuri i @sadspring @chxpsi @alexandrisonfire @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @salaminus @by-the-primes @torchbearerkyle @tech-aficionado @in-the-crosshairs @therealnekomari @a-c-lee @autumnleaves1991-blog @tech-depression-inventory @mylifeinthetardisforever @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @lucyysthings @the-good-shittt @buddee @s1st3r @cosmic-persephone @imalovernotahater @ilovebadboys

#nahoney22 writes #the bad batch x reader #the bad batch x you #the bad batch #captain howzer #captain rex #bad batch #tbb hunter x you

[twinsunstars]

The Medic - a Star Wars fic

Summary: In another version of a galaxy, far, far away, a clone trooper gets his name through his own skills.

Word Count: 1,794

TW: blood, some abuse

Notes: I was inspired by @warsamongthestars's post about the alternative names for "Hemlock" and one being Kix and @paperback-rascal's drawing of Kix that was based on that post. I really wanted to write something about this concept since it sounded so intriguing, so I hope you all like this! HIGHLY RECOMMEND you view the posts before reading below! Let me know your thoughts! :)

also up on AO3, read under cut if you want to read on here!

As a cadet, CT-6116 grew to have multiple interests in different areas of medicine. Chemical, botanical, anything that involved studying items that would help people heal. Though, many of these things had potential to be deadly, and CT-6116 loved learning more about them. 

All clones were primarily bred for the purposes of being a soldier. With CT-6116, he would be out in the training rooms with the rest of his brothers, practicing with a blaster and going through various strength exercises. Sometimes, he was put with a few Kaminoans to learn about healing practices. CT-6116 was allowed to operate on many clones who got injured during training sessions, preparing for his purpose as a soldier and a medic out in the battlefield one day. The Kaminoans supplied him with various files and readings about many plants and substances that could help to heal injuries. CT-6116 enjoyed practicing with any of the substances he was given, often teaching himself how to make supplements to help clones heal. 

CT-6116 often spent some nights studying these files, expanding his knowledge of everything that could become useful to him one day. Many of the medical plants had various locations spread across the galaxy. There could be a high likelihood that CT-6116 could stumble upon one or many of the planets in his lifetime, becoming wonderful opportunities to gather these plants to make use of. 

He swiped to the next small reading on his datapad, coming across a bright green plant that was labeled as one that was highly poisonous and could be found in various distinct sectors of the Outer Rim. The plant did also have a separate species that was mostly used for healing purposes at the utmost caution. CT-6116 was intrigued by this plant, and it had various names in different dialects. 

Hemlock. Or Kex. Another alternative. Kix. 

That one sounded like it had a nice ring to it. CT-6116 kept the name in mind. 

As CT-6116 grew rapidly over time and closer to his chances of becoming a soldier in the Grand Army of the Republic, he had kept a journal of everything he had learned from the Kaminoans regarding medical practices. Kamino had a small sector where they kept many plants and medicines collected from outside worlds, and CT-6116 had gotten the chance to visit that sector multiple times to aid the Kaminoans in their experimental endeavors. 

During a training session, CT-6116 witnessed one of the trainers in charge of getting the clones ready for the war harassing a fellow clone cadet he was close with. CT-6116 hid behind a wall, listening closely.

“You barely hit any of the targets assigned to you!” The trainer slapped the young clone hard across their face. A bright red mark remained on the clone’s cheek. The trainer grabbed the clone’s face, their sharp nails digging into the clone’s flesh. The clone let out a whimper from the pain. 

“Oh, you’re a crybaby alright. You’re bred for war, yet you display the weakest of skills apart from your other kind.” The trainer’s claws dug deeper into the clone’s skin. Blood was exhibited within a few seconds, dripping down the clone’s neck. 

“You know you can be better,” the trainer growled, letting go of the young clone. The clone cadet hung his head down, avoiding the trainer’s gaze. He refused to cry in front of him. His lips trembled as he slowly picked up his helmet from the ground.

“Be better tomorrow, or I’ll make the Kaminoans scrap you like a droid. Understood?”

The clone cadet shook his head nervously, his hands shaking while holding his helmet.

“Get out of my sight.”

The clone cadet walked away quickly as the trainer left. CT-6116 quickly grabbed the young clone’s arm, hiding with him behind the wall. The clone cadet gasped and raised his fist, ready to attack. 

“Relax. It’s me.”

The young clone relaxed upon seeing CT-6116. CT-6116 examined the clone’s face, blood continuing to drop down from his face. “Come on. I’ll patch you up. Do you want some of the warm herbal tea you like a lot?”

The clone cadet nodded. That trainer was going to pay. 

***

CT-6116 arrived at a medical room, where the Kaminoans would be needing his assistance with some medical experiments in precisely an hour. He gathered a few supplies, preparing the table. 

“Hey, you’re one of the clones the Kaminoans train in medicine, aren’t ya?” 

CT-6116 turned to see the same trainer who had hurt the clone cadet walking in. He kept a straight face, waiting for the trainer to talk more. 

“Say, I’ve got a real bad migraine. Could you whip me up a drink to help it?”

CT-6116 swallowed. He thought for a moment. 

“Right away, sir!”

He grabbed a cup and heated up some water, having an idea in mind. “Be right back, sir. I will grab some things that will be useful for you.”

 CT-6116 headed over to the sector where all of the medical plants were kept. He grabbed a few, ready to use them in the drink. He returned to the medical room, brewing the plants in the hot water and mixing them together. 

“Here you go, sir.”

“Finally.” The trainer moaned, the pain of his migraine increasing. He raised the cup to his lips and took a sip. Another. 

Within a minute, the trainer began to cough violently, dropping the drink on the table. His hands shook as he coughed and wheezed. CT-6116 tilted his head, observing the trainer suffer from the side effects of the drink. 

“What… is this?! Are you trying to kill me, clone?!”

CT-6116 shrugged. “You asked me to whip up a drink for you, sir. So I did!”

The trainer coughed more, the taste of blood coming near. “You know… what I mean…”

CT-6116 came closer. “Ah, that. I don’t take kindly to trainers abusing their power over cadets, silly.”

The trainer understood what he was talking about. This clone had seen him yesterday. And now he was trying to make him die. He stared at the leaves that were in the drink. “How did you… What did you put in this? Some kind of weed?”

“Maybe,” CT-6116 said. “It’ll hurt for days, but you’ll live.”

The trainer tried to breathe. “You’re a danger, a poison.” He coughed again, feeling like he recognized one of the plants in the drink. “Is there a hemlock in this?”

CT-6116 didn’t answer. There was the name of that plant again he was so intrigued by. The trainer called him a poison. CT-6116 was made to be a soldier and a medic. He knew he had much more potential to do good for others by punishing evil, and everything he had learned about chemicals and plants were his open gateways. 

CT-6116 grinned. “Possibly. But I like Kix a lot more though.”

***

Becoming one of the 501st Legion’s soldiers and its primary medic, Kix did all that he could to help heal clones from their injuries in the battlefield. It was difficult learning that he couldn’t save many of his brothers, but it was a hard reality he had to face.

The 501st had recently captured a Separatist spy after discovering he wasn’t all that he seemed to be. He was pretending to be an ally of the Republic, though the clones managed to see through his deceit and the way he would mistreat the clones. 

The clones were getting ready to head back to the Republic with the prisoner in transport. General Skywalker had said he will meet them there after taking care of another issue the Jedi Council had assigned him to. 

The Separatist prisoner was handcuffed and left with Kix. He had been severely injured during an attack, and Kix was assigned to patching up his wounds so that he could be in a good condition to talk in a jail cell at Coruscant. 

Kix applied bandages to the prisoner’s injuries, keeping a close eye on the prisoner in case he tried anything to escape. He turned around, picking up a cup and handing it to the prisoner. “Drink.”

The Separatist prisoner looked up at Kix, letting out a scoff. He took the cup with both his hands, gulping the drink down. The prisoner spat the drink out, coughing from the bitter taste. His eyes watered and he felt sick to the stomach. 

“How… why…”

Kix just chuckled. “I don’t take lightly to my brothers being mistreated by others. Especially by Separatists.”

The prisoner choked, trying to clear his throat. “How did you…”

Kix grabbed the prisoner by his shirt’s collar. “Next time you try to murder and hurt my brothers, I won’t be forgiving. I am not called ‘hemlock’ for nothing.”

***

Kix woke up cold one day in the galaxy, met by a rugged crew of pirates. He would soon learn that the Clone Wars were long over, and so were the days of the Republic. The First Order spread its terror across the galaxy with its reign. 

Everyone Kix had known were likely all dead by now. The pirates said that all clones were extinct by now. It was just him that was left. 

All Kix remembered was trying to get back to the Republic to tell General Skywalker the truth about the “virus” that had caused Tup to act strangely, and that Fives was trying to warn them about. Everything had gone black, and he never got his chance to tell him. 

Out of options, Kix joined the pirates to survive, traveling through the changed galaxy and looking for lost treasures. He would often tell people stories about the clones, keeping the lives of his brothers alive. Kix listened to stories about what happened to the Jedi and what the Galactic Empire would do during the time it ruled the galaxy, and how the rebels and a certain Jedi managed to bring their tyranny to an end. Kix couldn’t believe what he was hearing when he heard the name “Skywalker” after so many years. 

Whenever the pirates went undercover, Kix used the name “Hemlock” as a code name. He still used his medical skills to his advantage, and his ability to poison someone whenever it was needed. There were still dangerous people out there in the galaxy harming people who didn’t deserve to suffer under the hands of evil. 

Kix had never gotten to learn that there used to be a doctor alive many years ago with Hemlock as a birth name, responsible for the torture of many clones. Unfortunately, that doctor’s name never reached the former Galactic Empire’s history books, yet Kix’s stories kept the names and tales of his brothers alive. The galaxy would forever remember the bravery and strength of the clones who served the Old Republic.

#tw: blood #tw: abuse #star wars #the clone wars #clone medic kix #clone trooper kix #tcw kix #kix #501st #tcw #clone wars #star wars tcw #star wars the clone wars #sw tcw #clone trooper tup #arc trooper fives #anakin skywalker #first order #star wars sequel trilogy #star wars sequels #the bad batch #royce hemlock #star wars fanfiction #star wars fanfic #sw tbb #tbb #clone wars fanfic #clone wars fanfiction

[the-bad-batch-baroness]

Beloved

Fives x Fem!Reader

Chapter 1: Hormones vs Pheromones

Summary: A horrible smell leads to a precious discovery. You and Fives have been enjoying your life together, but everything is about to change now that you’re pregnant. While your hormonal imbalance rages, Fives must hang on for dear life as he’s dragged through the stages of fatherhood. Luckily, the 501st has his back and comes to the rescue more than once.

Pairing: Fives x Fem!Reader

Characters: Fives, Kix

Tags & Warnings: established relationship, suggestive themes, pregnancy, morning sickness, vomiting, humor, domestic fluff, insults, sarcasm, light angst, dialogue heavy

Word Count: 4.8k

Author's Note: I came up with this idea after listening to a podcast about a woman whose pregnancy hormones made her absolutely hate her husband. Then it turned into a series… Whoops. Written in second person, but from different perspectives. Main focus is on Fives. Also, lots of dialogue because sarcasm and insults require some talking.

Beta Read: By the lovely @commander-sunshine because I was going to throw this fic in the trash and she convinced me otherwise. Thanks babe 💚

@clonexreaderbingo Square: Fives

Chapter 1

Your life is blissful nowadays. You and Fives live peacefully in the GAR Commons, which houses the entire 501st Battalion. The communal building complex has multiple accommodations, including studios, one bedrooms, and multi-rooms that will fit up to four clone troopers at a time. There’s also a community mess hall, medbay, shooting range, weight room, and even a courtyard with benches and flowers to enjoy. For GAR standards, it’s a nice place to live.

As an ARC trooper, Fives was able to swipe himself a one bedroom for the two of you. It’s a little thing, but it’s cozy and it’s spacious enough for all of your needs. When you first moved in, you completely fell in love with its simplistic charm. It has all of the necessities, a bedroom, refresher, kitchen, living area, and lots of closet space. You quickly set to work making it a home for you and Fives by adding pictures, a couple decorative pillows, and some nice curtains.

There’s not much else you could ask for to complete your little world. The life of a clone trooper’s wife isn’t always the best, but you never let yourself dwell on the unpredictable aspects of the war. Some days Fives will wake up and be gone for sixty-five rotations and other times he will wake up and be gone for two rotations. Better still, some days he wakes up and doesn’t have to go anywhere. Those are your favorite days, the ones where you get him all to yourself. 

Everything is pretty quiet at the moment. Fives hasn’t gone out on assignment for eighty rotations, which is his longest base assignment on record. Although, he still has duties at the GAR headquarters. Sometimes he trains the shinies and other times he has local missions, but at the minimum, he still makes it home for dinner every night. Well, almost every night. Once and a while, he’ll kick back at 79s with the boys and drink late into the night like old times. 

Fives isn’t the party boy he used to be, so you find it funny when he makes an attempt. When you first met him at 79s, he was wild, rowdy, and an absolute terrible flirt. He tried time and time again to get you to go out on a date with him using cheesy pick-up lines, but they never worked. Eventually, he stopped trying, and you found yourself missing his playful advances. You thought he was charming and funny, and adored his hearty laugh. Finally, you caved and began dating. 

Now married, he spends more time at home and less time at the bar. Neither of you know when he will ship out again, so it’s important to spend quality time together as a couple when he is at home. This particular evening is brimming with relaxation while you watch the latest holo-film. Both of you are snuggling in bed, your head resting on his shoulder while he holds a bowl of popcorn on his chest. You put your hand in the bowl, take a few pieces, and pop them into your mouth. 

“He’s going to die,” you say while munching away. 

Fives cocks his head. “You think?” 

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” you nod. 

“Why do you say that?” Fives asks while grabbing a handful of popcorn.

“They’ve built him up way too much to let him live,” you point out while gesturing towards the holo-film.

“Brutal,” Fives shakes his head.

“I know right?” you chuckle and toss more popcorn into your mouth.

As the holo-film draws to its conclusion, you begin to doze. You nod off repeatedly, all the while Fives giggles to himself at your adorable attempts to stay awake. He turns his head to look at your sleeping face and plants a small kiss on your temple. He flexes, stretching his legs, and carefully lifts you off his shoulder to lay you down without waking you. He turns the holo-film off as the credits roll and gets up to bring the popcorn bowl into the kitchen. 

He returns to bed and crawls in next to you, spooning your back tightly against his chest and draping an arm across your stomach. He breathes deeply, inhaling the faint scent of your gardenia and jasmine shampoo before snuggling in for the night. But, just as he gets comfortable, you shift under his arm. He shifts with you and readjusts. A couple minutes later, you shift again. He sighs and repositions himself to accommodate you. The third time you squirm is when he breaks the silence.

“What’s the matter?” he mumbles into his pillow.

“Do you smell that?” you ask as you scrunch your nose. You can smell a putrid odor in the air, but you can’t figure out where it’s coming from. 

“Smell what?” Fives takes a whiff, but all he can smell is your shampoo and maybe something else mixed in with it.

“That smell,” you answer in annoyance as you roll out of his arm’s hold and onto your back. “You don’t smell it?”

“I don’t smell anything but you,” Fives laughs as he props himself up on his elbow. 

Your face scrunches in repulsion of his movement and you pinch your nose. “It’s you!”

“Me?!” Fives exclaims, a mix of surprise and confusion.

“When was the last time you showered?” you ask in disgust.

He blinks in bewilderment at your question. “This morning.”

“I don’t believe you,” you argue while sitting up. “You smell awful.”

“You were there,” he reminds you with a sigh. “In the shower, with me.”

You think back and realize he’s right, you both showered this morning and you’ve been together all day. You wonder what else it could be. “Deodorant?”

He sniffs his armpit to make sure. “Yeah, I put that on too.”

You both look at each other, puzzled at the weird occurrence. You think as hard as you can about where else the smell might be coming from, but you swear it's originating from Fives. You ask him to move again and he sits himself up against the pillow. Your nose is immediately assaulted by a horrendous smell and you gag in response. You turn away from him and gag again. Fives raises an eyebrow in concern at your bizarre response to his body odor.

“Why don’t I go take another shower,” he says as he gets out of bed. 

You're not sure if it will help, but you nod in between gags as he moves away from you. 

“Sorry,” he apologizes, not knowing what else to say. He doesn’t know what’s going on, but it seems like he’s the cause and he feels bad about it.

You lean back against your pillow and try to relax. The awful scent still lingers, but at least it’s weaker now that Fives has left. You grab his ill-scented pillow and toss it off the bed to try and get rid of the rest of the smell. You roll over on your side, away from Fives’ side of the bed, clutch the covers to your face, and begin to cry. Why you're crying, you don’t know, but you feel the need to cry anyway. At least the congestion from crying will help clog your nose and keep the stench out. 

When Fives returns from the shower, toweling dry his wet hair, he sees you laying in bed crying. He drops the towel, rushes over, and crawls onto the bed next to you. He places a tender hand on your back to let you know he is there. “Cyare, what’s wrong?” he asks with concern.

“I…” you say through coughing sobs. “I don’t know. I… I just want to stop.”

“Stop what?” he inquires, looking for any semblance or idea of what is causing you to be crying so suddenly. He visually looks you over to make sure there’s nothing externally wrong with you.

“Everything,” you cry harder and curl into a ball.

Fives is even more baffled. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I don’t know!” you yell in frustration at yourself for also not knowing what you mean, and for the fact that he’s asking you questions you don’t have the answers to.

“Udesii, cyar’ika,” Fives soothes while rubbing your back. “Shh. It’s alright.”

As his hand gently circles your back, the putrid smell returns and you reach around to push his hand away to make him stop. Fives is taken aback by your rejection and recoils his hand. You turn your head to look back at him with apologetic eyes. You’re not sure why you pushed him away, but you don’t want him touching you right now. Something isn’t right. This is all wrong. Your emotions are running wild and you can’t seem to get them under control. You start crying again at your helplessness.

“Cyare…” Fives trails as he watches and listens to your insatiable distress, but there’s nothing he can do about it. If he knew what to do, he would be doing it already. There’s nothing in his training that has prepared him for whatever this is. All he can do is be here for you if you need him.  

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” you say through your tears. 

“Maybe we should go see Kix in the morning,” Fives suggests.

You nod, thinking it might be a good idea to have a medic look you over. Fives brings a hand down to cup your cheek, a sweet gesture he always does when you’re feeling down, but instead of leaning into it, you slap his hand away. You put your hands over your mouth in shock at what you just did. Fives curls his lips and sighs as he flops back against the backboard in defeat. He doesn’t know what to do and you don’t know what you want him to do. Everything is confusing.  

“I’m so sorry,” you say as more tears fall. “I… I don’t know. I didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay,” Fives interrupts before you can berate yourself further. “I know.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” you repeat as if saying it out loud will help you solve the puzzle.

“If it’s my smell bothering you,” Fives begins, his voice wavering with uncertainty, "why don’t I sleep down there, with my pillow.”

“Fives,” you begin to protest, even though you really do want him and his unbearable stench to be somewhere else.

“It’s fine, really,” Fives chuckles as he slips off the duvet and lays himself down next to the bed. “I’ve slept in worse places than our bedroom floor.”

You bury your head in your pillow as your shattering cries take over again. Fives can hear your muffled sobs and it kills him that he can’t hold you through them. You don’t know why you’re upset. It’s a terrible emotion to both want and not want your husband. It never crossed your mind. You have a playful and fun relationship, and always enjoy his company, that is, until now. You can’t wrap your head around it, but you’re hoping a good night's sleep will fix everything. 

Eventually you both fall asleep, for the first time, separately. When Fives is home, you always sleep together in some form, whether it’s backs touching, spooning, or legs intertwining, even his hand accidentally smacking your face. No matter if you're happy with or angry at each other, you never sleep without some type of contact, that is, until tonight. You both feel it, the sting of separation, but there is a part of you that just can’t bring yourself to touch him right now. 

As the early hours of dawn break, you feel a stirring in the pit of your stomach. You shift to try and alleviate it, but it only gets worse. The feeling travels up your esophagus and into the back of your throat, making you squirm in discomfort. “Fives,” you call out to him as you hold your aching stomach.

“Mhm,” he mumbles sleepily from his little blanket nest on the floor.

“I don’t feel good,” you answer as you curl yourself up a little tighter.

“What kind of ‘not feel good’?” he asks as he slowly sits up and rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

“I think I’m gonna puke,” you say while jolting up and putting a hand over your mouth.

“Oh no,” Fives groans as he stumbles up off the floor to find a bucket. “Hang on!” he calls back as he scurries to the kitchen.

Your stomach muscles contract and you start to gag. “Fives!”

Fives rushes back into the bedroom with a small bucket and comes around to your side of the bed, but he’s a little too late. Your mouth fills with saliva in preparation of what’s to come and you can’t hold it in any longer. Fives dives for it, but misses by a couple inches as you vomit on the bedroom floor. He’s able to catch the end of it, while simultaneously grabbing most of your hair to hold it out of the way. You continue to vomit into the bucket until the spasms stop.

“Sorry,” you pant when you can finally speak again. Your chest hurts from the convulsions and your throat burns from regurgitating your stomach contents.

“Don’t worry about it,” Fives says with a dismissive wave of his hand. “I’ll clean it up.”

You smile lazily at him and are grateful he is there to help you, but something still doesn’t feel right. As he gets up to find some cleaning supplies you get a whiff of the same smell from last night and start gagging. Fives turns to bring the bucket back just in case and shoots you a worried look. Something is wrong with you. Something is very wrong with you. You don’t know what it is about his scent all of sudden, but it’s the most nauseating smell in the galaxy.  

“Please, get away from me,” you plead through gags while putting up a hand to signal him to stay back. “You smell so bad.”

“That’s it,” Fives sighs while rubbing his forehead. “We’re going to see Kix.” 

He leaves the bedroom to empty the bucket and comes back to clean up the floor. He places a clean bucket on the bed for you to use, trying with difficulty to respect your new boundaries. He then opens the dresser and throws on whatever he can find the quickest and tosses you one of his shirts. You grab the shirt, but it's covered in that horrific smell so you throw it at his back and it plops on the floor by his feet. He slumps his shoulders and you put your head in your hands and start to cry again. 

Fives lets out a discouraged sigh and grabs something of yours from the closet that will be comfy to wear to medbay and something you won’t mind throwing up on, just in case. He eventually finds an oversized hoodie he knows doesn’t smell like him and he tosses that to you. You smell it to be sure, and you sigh in relief as you pop it over your head. You grab the clean bucket and slowly get up from the bed, legs still wobbly from the stomach convulsions earlier.

Fives does everything in his power not to hold you steady. He reaches, but he pulls back knowing you’ll probably start vomiting again if he gets too close. He grabs the keys and your bag and opens the door to the GAR Commons hallway and waits for you to follow him. You trail after him as he leads the way to the medbay. It’s strange walking behind him and not alongside him, or holding his hand, but you quickly realize that following him was a terrible idea.

You stop and vomit into your bucket. You’re not sure where all of this is coming from, because there’s no way you have this much food in your stomach, but you don’t take the time to try and figure it out. Fives stops at the familiar sound and turns around to look at you. His eyes are compassionate. “I’m leaving a trail, aren’t I?” he asks knowingly.

You nod.

He sighs. “Why don’t you take the lead and I’ll follow you?”

You nod again and walk past him while holding your breath.

As you enter the medbay, you see Kix bustling about as he gets ready for the day. The medics always start early, but since Kix is in charge of the Common’s medbay, he has to start earlier than the other medics, which is great for the both of you. He doesn’t notice you at first, but as you both hobble awkwardly into his periphery, he catches a glimpse and stops what he’s doing. “Are you two okay?” Kix asks as he checks the time and looks at your fatigued states.

“I think I’m sick,” you answer while clutching your bucket. 

“I can see that,” Kix says as he notices the bucket you're holding and glances at Fives suspiciously standing a good distance away. “Come on, let me take a look at you.” He gestures with his head for you to follow him to one of the exam rooms. 

You both sit down, on opposite sides of the room, and it doesn't go unnoticed by Kix. He can already tell something is amiss. He sits down backwards on the rolling medical stool and crosses his arms over the seat back. He looks at you, sitting closest to the door, and then swivels the chair to look at Fives sitting in the opposite corner. “So, tell me what’s going on,” Kix asks as he swivels back to look at you.

“It started last night,” you begin to explain. “We were watching a holo-film, ate some popcorn, and then went to sleep. But, suddenly, I started smelling this weird smell and it made me super nauseous. But the weird thing is that the smell was coming from Fives.”

Kix raises an eyebrow at your last comment and looks over at Fives who’s sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, foot tapping rapidly on the floor. Kix can only describe the expression on the ARC trooper’s face as a mix between confused, concerned, and annoyed.  

Feeling Kix’s stare burning a hole in his skull, Fives adds to your comment about his odor. “Then, I took a shower thinking that would fix the smell issue.”

“Did you use soap?” Kix asks blankly.

“Yes, I used soap,” Fives answers with an unamused huff. “But she still said I smelled.”

Kix narrows his eyes and looks back and forth between the two of you, but doesn’t say anything about what he’s thinking yet.

“Then I woke up this morning feeling like I was going to vomit,” you continue on with the timeline of events. 

“Yeah,” Fives interjects with a small laugh. “And she missed the bucket too.”

“Shut up, Fives!” you exclaim in frustration at his irritating laughter. His penetrating voice grates against your eardrums, so you rub them to try and get some relief. None of this is funny to you and you don’t understand how he could be laughing so flippantly about it. Something is seriously wrong with you and his perceivable apathy is making you furious.

Fives’ mouth drops open in shock at your uncharacteristic outburst, but Kix just snorts at it. Your overreaction is the last piece of information he needs to connect a few dots that have been rolling around in his head since you got there.

“What are you smiling at?” you exclaim at Kix with annoyance. You wonder why everyone all of sudden thinks you’re suffering is a joke.

“I think I know what your problem is,” Kix chuckles as he pushes his feet to the floor and rolls his chair backwards to one of the drawers. He pulls the drawer open, grabs a small box, and slowly wheels himself back over to hand it to you.

You look at the box and your eyes widen. “You’re joking?”

“Afraid not,” Kix grins while placing his chin in his palm. “You have most of the early stage symptoms.”

“What?” Fives asks nervously, completely oblivious to the contents of the box as he cranes to look from his position across the room. “What is it? What does she have?”

You let out a heavy sigh at Fives’ pestering questions and toss the small box to him with an exasperated shake of your head. 

He examines the box and gives Kix a puzzled look. “This is a pregnancy test.”

“So, you can read,” Kix says sarcastically. 

“How did that happen?!” Fives wonders in shock. 

“If I have to explain it to you, then you probably shouldn't be having sex,” Kix answers bluntly.

You place your head in your hands in defeat and let out a small squeal of irritation. How in the world did you end up with this idiot for a husband? What was it that you saw in him that made him so appealing? At this point, he has as much appeal as a bantha’s backside, and that’s being generous. This changes everything. You can’t be pregnant, can you? Your life has been perfect up until now. You don’t need anything else to make you happy.

“I know how it happens,” Fives retorts with an eye roll. “I’m just surprised that it did happen.”

“Contraception isn’t one hundred percent effective,” Kix explains. “Abstinence is, but we both know you don’t have any of that.”

“Does it even matter?” you interrupt their annoying banter, about ready to smack them both. You’re not sure where all the agitation is suddenly coming from, but your fuse is wearing thin. You get up and walk over to Fives. “Give me that.” You swipe the box back from him and go to the nearest refresher to take the test. 

“So, how did you know?” Fives asks after you leave the exam room and close the door behind you.

“Easy,” Kix answers with a shoulder shrug. “The hormone changes during the first trimester can be drastic, including morning sickness, food cravings, breast tenderness, irritability, heightened sense of smell, and in rare cases an aversion to the father.”

“She has at least four of those,” Fives notes while listening intently.

“The others will come eventually,” Kix explains further. As a medic, pregnancy is not what he is trained for, but he can never be too knowledgeable about these types of things, considering the amount of men he has to look after. One of them was bound to have a baby at some point in his medical career.

“Is she really not going to like me anymore?” Fives asks nervously, still thinking about the list of hormonal changes Kix mentioned.

“Eh,” Kix scratches his head, trying to be realistic and honest. “More like she’s going to hate your guts, if this morning’s events are any indication.”

“Hate?” Fives questions with concern. “How long is that going to last?”

“Could be just the first trimester,” Kix begins while thinking out loud. “Or the full 280 rotations.”

“280 rotations!” Fives exclaims. “What am I supposed to do during all that time?”

“I don’t know,” Kix says. “That’s your problem, not mine.”

“Can’t you give her something for it?” Fives frantically asks as he goes into panic mode.

“Yeah,” Kix says sarcastically. “Vitamins and prenatal supplements.”

“No, not that,” Fives corrects while waving his hands. “I mean for the hormonal changes.”

“You want me to give her something to change her pregnancy hormones to non-pregnancy hormones?” Kix clarifies with a raised eyebrow. “Fives, I know you can be clueless at times, but that’s gotta be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“But, how am I going to survive this?” Fives asks, desperate for guidance. “She can’t even stand the way I smell.”

“Again,” Kix repeats. “My only concern is mother and baby, not your identity crisis.”

“C’mon, Kix,” Fives pleads. “You gotta help me.”

“Get a therapist,” Kix advises bluntly. 

Fives and Kix’s conversation comes to an abrupt stop when you swing open the door to the exam room. Fives sees you crying and isn’t sure if they are happy tears, sad tears, or angry tears, but he’s bracing for all the possibilities. You look at Fives, smile, and nod your head to let him know that the test is indeed positive. You are pregnant. You are going to be a mother and Fives is going to be a father. You feel an overwhelming sense of joy at the prospect and can’t stop smiling.

“Congratulations,” Kix says with an ear-to-ear grin. “You're going to be parents.”

Fives takes a deep breath as his heart beats rapidly in his chest. Him, a father? A parent? He doesn’t even know what a parent is, let alone how to be one. All at once, the issues of last night and this morning seem to melt away as he’s now flooded with anxious thoughts about what the rest of your lives will look like. Will he be a good father? How does one take care of a baby? He’s a soldier. He isn’t bred for this sort of thing. It’s not part of his genetic make-up.

Rex is good with kids, but him? He is the most awkward person alive when he gets around kids. Most of the other clone troopers seem to be naturals, always knowing what to say, what to do, and just fun to be around. He, on the other hand, makes children cry. Echo too. Maybe his batch got messed up during the cloning process. Maybe the rest of Domino Squad was terrible with kids and he just didn’t know it since his original batchmates have long since departed. 

You cock your head at your husband's silence as his brain short circuits from the news. “Fives?” you prod to try and get a response. He hasn’t moved or said anything since you came back into the room, so you’re not sure what his thoughts are. What if he doesn’t want to be a father? What if he doesn’t want a baby? What if he doesn’t want you anymore? The destructive thoughts wash over you in waves as your anxiety increases while awaiting his response.

Kix, seeing the dazed look in Fives’ eyes and your nervous expression, picks up a tongue depressor off the counter and throws it at Fives’ face. It bounces off his cheek and he slowly looks up at the two of you. Finally realizing he is not alone with his thoughts, he snaps out of his swirling haze and sees your worried face. The affection and protectiveness he feels for you, his now pregnant wife, begins to overwhelm all his senses. 

Fives shoots up from his seat, rushes over to you, and pulls you against his chest. He squeezes you tightly and presses adoring kisses against the top of your head. “We’re going to be parents,” he whispers against your hair, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile.

“Yeah,” you mumble into his chest as fresh tears of joy roll down your cheeks. “We are.”

Kix watches the adorable display and sighs happily. It’s not every day a clone trooper makes a baby and he knows he’s going to have his hands full with your prenatal care. He chuckles to himself as he thinks about what the rest of the pregnancy is going to look like and if Fives will be able to survive it. However, something is nagging at the back of his mind and he can’t quite put his finger on it. But then his thoughts are interrupted by the sound of you retching. Oh, yeah.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologize to Kix. You are mortified at what you just did. It was so involuntary that you didn’t have any time to find somewhere else to let it all out.

Kix shakes his head and sighs as he gets up from the medical stool. “Don’t worry. I’ll get an orderly to clean it up.”

“Can you get me something to wear while you’re at it?” Fives requests as he looks down at his vomit-covered clothes. 

“Might as well get used to it now,” Kix waves dismissively as he leaves the room.

“Sorry,” you apologize again while looking up at him in embarrassment. “I forgot how bad you smell.”

“This is going to be a long 280 rotations,” Fives sighs while pulling off his soiled shirt.

“It might get better, right?” you encourage while trying to offer some optimism into the bleak situation.

“I hope so,” Fives agrees, but he has a sinking feeling it won’t be that easy.

Chapter 1

Masterlist

A03

Tag List: @nahoney22 @commander-sunshine @kixs-husband

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#tbbb writes #CFB2023 #the clone wars fanfiction #clone wars fanfiction #tcw fanfiction #fives x fem!reader #fives x reader #fives x you #clone x fem!reader #clone x reader #clone x you #arc trooper fives #tcw fives #fives #the clone wars fanfic #clone wars fanfic #tcw fanfic #the clone wars fic #clone wars fic #tcw fic #star wars

[xecutivecucumber]

Executive Cucumber's Thoughts on The Bad Batch 03×12!

Spoilers under the cut

Let start out by saying holy heck that was the cool down episode I needed. My sister watched it before me and was able to tell me that Tech/CX-2 wasn't in it for a significant amount, so I was able to get past my disappointment and not be stressed out during the episode. Yes, I'm still on the 'Tech is CX-2 Bandwagon.' I do think they should have revealed him to the audience earlier, because I have to actively avoid Bad Batch social media (*cough*reddit*cough*) for my own mental health because of the negativity around the idea. It's really draining.

Anyway, on to the actual episode!

Today I realized that I might be triggered by Omega being trapped at Tantiss because of some past experiences. (And yes, if you've read my fics you know that I've done it to her too, but I have control over that and I think the problem is the lack of control I have)

Hi Tech! I love you! Please be un brainwashed soon!

I want to murder Hemlock. I don't know if I've ever hated a Star Wars villain like this before. It feels so personal.

It devastates me that they're going to take Omega's clothes away. Clothes that were given to her by people who love her. Ow.

Also you're playing a dangerous game, not keeping those binders on her, Hemlock.

'Is everything all right, Dr. Karr?' 'No, the Jango parent gene got awakened in me and that does not go away'

Why does Emerie think she HAS to do this?

I'm a little disappointed we didn't see Hunter find out about Omega. He's probably just in 'go' mode, honestly. Adrenaline and all that.

Crosshair is so proud of Omega oh my gosh.

PHEE MY QUEEEEEEEEEN

Oh my gosh Tech told Phee about Crosshair. That implies that had more time than we saw. That makes me so happy and sad.

Phee talks about Tech with such fondness. You can tell how much she cared about him. I feel like I'm watching a widow who's processed her grief but still talks about her husband because she loved him.

Also, looking at Phee, she doesn't really have any implied make up on. She's very natural. Good for her.

...Rampart looks kinda good with a beard.

Okay Tech would find the stunt Phee pulled extremely attractive.

This is the closest we've gotten to the original Batch we've gotten in a very long time. It feels good to see them go mission mode with Crosshair.

This is reminding me of Eriadu and I don't like it.

Crosshair asking Wrecker if he remembered whatever plan and then patiently waiting for him to remember lives rent free in my head he's so sweet.

WRECKER'S THEME IS BACK BABY

Also, Crosshair's theme is played in this really fun way?

Crosshair should be allowed to kick Rampart in the balls. As a treat.

Rampart you snake. Crosshair should have shot him in the leg instead of stunning him.

My sister pointed out that the juggernaut represents how the Batch is right now. You cannot stop them.

Man, it's nice to not to be as conflicted when the TK troopers die, as opposed to when clones were sent against them. Quick thought though, does Wolffe have all the remaining clones?

Man these guys get BRUTALIZED.

Them throwing around passed out Rampart is amazing and should continue to happen.

Okay Wrecker has his knife out HE IS READY TO TORTURE A MAN.

Frick you Rampart. He is the worst replacement for Omega.

Aww they probably didn't bring Batcher on the mission to protect her. (Plus she a half trained dog and it was a stealth mission)

And then the boys spent the next hour arguing over who has to call Echo and tell him.

Hemlock you FOULE you're giving Omega ALLIES. Also why are you telling her all this. She will use it against you.

Gall, I hate Hemlock.

Again, I really needed this cool down episode. Though I'm afraid the final three episodes are going to hurt. THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOW WHY IS IT STRESSING ME OUT SO MUCH. ALSO WAITING A WEEK FOR EPISODES ALSO SUCKS. A LOT.

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb season 3 #the bad batch spoilers #the bad batch season 3 spoilers #the bad batch season 3 #tbb omega #royce hemlock #emerie karr #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #phee genoa #vice admiral rampart #mount tantiss #tbb tech #tech lives #otherwise the writers have been extremely cruel #tech x phee #techphee #tbb spoilers #tbb echo

[tcwmatchmakingau]

The Beauty In All, Part Two

Editor's note: written by @deejadabbles Pairing: Echo x GN!reader Rating: General Audience (but minors DNI) Summary: Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice- still shame on you, don't take advantage of my kindness! After so many times of falling for people who mock and manipulate your kind nature, you thought that love, true love, was simply not in the cards for you. Thankfully, Right to Love is here to make sure you and a lucky ARC trooper get your happy ending together. A.N: For some clarity: in my take on this AU, Palps had his "unfortunate accident" pretty late into the og clone wars timeline, so Echo was still rescued from the techno union and was rolling with the bad batch for awhile. And of course, since this is an everyone lives AU too, Tup's chip never activated so that whole thing never went down, Everyone lives, everyone's rescued, happy endings all around! Also....if you guys read this chapter closely, you'll see references to more stories I have planned for this AU *wink wink* Lastly, Daria is @blueink-bluesoul 's wonderful OC, who you will find in other works of this AU! Word Count: 2,742

Warnings: Mentions and discussions of ableism

Part One

With all her appointments taken care of for the day, Maura sat at her desk and got to work with the stack of profiles under her care. With her favorite playlist starting in the background and a shawl wrapped loosely around her shoulders, she started sorting today’s new clients. She used her own little “personality-type” system to highlight and sort each of them, which made it easier to draw up a short list of possible matches for each client, which were then looked into deeper from there.

She had gotten this process down to a nice, practiced rhythm and had just begun drawing up the ‘maybe-matches’ for the first new client, when there was a knock on her door. As usual, she gave a distracted noise to whoever was on the other side, and most people at RTL would know it meant a cheerful, “come in”.

“I come bearing gifts,” came an almost light tone, and Maura didn’t have to look up from her desk unit to know it was Kix.

Still, because it was Kix, she tore herself away from her work and smiled up at him. He was holding two togo cups in his hands, both bearing the logo of the tapcaf down the street that many at the matchmaking service frequented nowadays.

Kix was giving his most charming smile as he handed the cup to her, “One hot cocoa, with extra whipped cream and caramel drizzle. And yes, hot cocoa, because I know that, even if you like it, caf this late in the day makes you stay up all night.”

His smile was very infectious, not that she needed much reason to smile, but it was easy around a man like Kix. “You are the actual sweetest,” she said as she took the cup, waiting till she removed the lid and swiped some of the cream before adding, “even if it is just a bribe.”

Kix didn’t even flinch. He was still smiling as he put a hand over his heart, “But I bring you drinks all the time without ulterior motives.”

Maura leaned back in her chair and narrowed her eyes playfully at the medic, “In the morning, yes, not in the afternoon. Come on, Kix, out with it.”

He at least had the decency to look like he was thinking his answer over, even though she knew he had whatever he wanted to say planned down to a T. Finally he sank into her chair, instantly grabbing the tooka plushy and holding it aloft. “So, I had a lovely chat with one of today’s clients in the waiting room and I was thinking that they would be perfect for…you know who,” he moved the tooka’s head as if it agreed with him. Dang it, he was bringing out all the cute charm today

Honestly, she should have expected this, especially since she knew exactly who he was talking about…and that the thought crossed her mind too. How could it not? You were charming and sweet and obviously cared deeply about people, especially clones. One of her previous clients, Tiio, had sent her a long, detailed letter of recommendation the moment you signed up for RTL. Everyone knew about the whole flower crown event now and, according to Daria, even Fox was fond of you and the way you treated his brothers.

And, as for ‘you know who’, Maura had met the stubborn brother in question a few times now, when Kix invited her along to 79s. Even when she wasn’t working, Maura couldn’t help but to read people, to think about and observe them, and that man may benefit from someone like you.

But, in the end, none of that mattered. Not until Echo came to RTL himself. 

“Kix,” it was undoubtedly a warning, though it had no real teeth since she knew he was a good enough man not to make her resort to that. “You know I can’t do anything until he comes to us. And even then, I can’t set them up on a date just because you got a feeling or a vibe.”

“I know I know,” he set the tooka plush on his lap so he could hold up both hands to her, “Obviously you know more than I do, I just had a short conversation, but,” he shrugged, “I don’t know, I just got this feeling when I talked to them. You’re the expert but, if I can finally drag him in here, will you at least give their compatibility a look over?”

Maura quirked an eyebrow, “You think you’re wearing him down?”

He ran a hand over his neatly designed hair, looking a little smug now, “You know not to underestimate my skills. We’re going out tonight, a bunch of us and a lot are bringing their partners. I bet the morning caf that Echo’s name will pop up in the appointment requests by this time tomorrow.”

All she could do was wave her hands, “I won’t promise anything, but, if he submits his profile, I’ll keep all possible matches in mind.” Oh, he was practically beaming now. “But Kix, don’t expect me to wait for him if you still haven’t convinced him,” her tone was firm, but he knew she was only saying it as a professional reminder.

“I wouldn’t expect any less,” was his pleased reply, “I won’t even say I told you so when he signs up.”

“No.”

Kix looked quite affronted, “You don’t even know what I was going to say!”

Echo’s eyebrows climbed up his forehead, “You mentioned Right to Love, I know where this conversation is going.”

As if he couldn’t be bothered with his brother’s offended look, Echo simply took another drink of his Bespin brandy as Kix recovered himself. Currently, between everyone who had shown up tonight, Echo, Kix, Tech, and Hunter were the only ones still sitting at the booth and table they’d claimed. Fives always made sure to include Echo when the old 501st gang went out, and in turn, Echo tended to drag clone force 99 along with him. It had taken…a while for the two teams to get used to each other, but they'd managed something of a relationship by now.

Kix leaned back in his chair, “All I said was that there’s been another influx of new clients recently.”

“And,” Echo said in a bored tone, “that was your attempt at shifting the conversation so you can try to convince me to sign up, again.”

“There’s something wrong with that?” Kix shrugged, unbothered by the resistance, “It’s kind of my job to pester my brothers into taking care of themselves.”

“I don’t see how getting set up on a blind date is ‘taking care of myself’.”

“You know it’s more than that.”

“Kix,” Echo’s voice was a rumble now, but made it a little less barbed at the edges when he said, “why are you so set on this?”

The other man couldn’t help but sigh. He cast a look around the table, Tech was engrossed in his datapad while Hunter leaned back with his eyes closed. Hopefully, they would use the loud music as a way to turn a blind ear.

Still, Kix leaned in and lowered his tone when he said, “Vod, I see the way you look at them.” 

Even though he certainly didn’t need to, he nodded his head toward their brothers. To Fives who was dancing with his once shy partner. To Tup who was cheering his girlfriend on at the billiards table. To Rex who, while never having been a client, still found love at the little service devoted to it.

“It’s okay to want what they have, Echo,” Kix said, and he hoped the sincerity in his tone came through.

Echo didn’t look at him, at first he seemed to stare at nothing in particular, but Kix knew his eyes were drifting between the pairs. He saw the way he watched Fives tease a blush out of his cyare, or Tup smile when his girl leaned her head on his shoulder, or Rex and his little matchmaker staring at each other with pure adoration.

Kix took a sip of his own drink before adding, “Look, I’m not saying love’s going to make life perfect or anything, but, I think they could find someone who could really make you happy.” He waited a beat, then nudged his old friend in the shoulder. “Hell, I’m sure they can even find someone who can handle how grumpy you are. And when that happens, I know you can make that person happy too.” This time he didn’t give Echo a chance to reply, instead, scooting his chair back from the table as he took their glasses, “Think about that while I get us another round.”

  Still there, at the table, Echo watched the medic go and released a long breath from the depths of his chest. Yes, Echo had thought about Right to Love many, many times. Every time one of his brothers gushed about their partners, he would feel a small, short tug in his chest. Echo never had been, nor ever would be, the type of man who needed to be in a relationship, but, there was still a longing there. A pining, almost. And he supposed he owed it to himself to finally acknowledge its existence.

“I think it’s a good idea.”

The voice startled Echo out of his thoughts and he turned to find Hunter, still sitting with his head tilted back and eyes shut.

“All you can lose is time, Echo, so why not try it?”

“There’s more to it than that,” he grumbled.

Hunter finally opened his eyes and looked at him. “So? Since when have you backed down from anything? I would have thought the ARC trooper in you would like the risk.”

Echo knew what Hunter was doing, especially since Hunter was observant enough to realize what he meant by ‘more to it’. Still, he had to admit that Hunter's challenge was working.

And, once Echo thought about it with a little more grace, he supposed Kix had a point. If there was anywhere that could help him find someone who was nothing like his previous dalliances, it was probably RTL.

Kix was making his way back to the table now, and got a thankful nod from Hunter when he handed him a fresh drink. Before the medic could even settle back in his chair, Echo knocked him off balance with his next words.

“Alright, you win.” 

  If Echo wasn’t so hardwired to see things through, he might have walked out the door during the time he waited in the lobby. Filling out the profile questions had made this all feel a little too real all of a sudden and a part of him still couldn’t believe he was actually doing this.

Still, seeing the look on not only Kix’s face, but the way Fives’ lit up when he heard that Echo was coming here, made it all a little easier. Kix at least had the decency not to keep harping on the matter after he ‘won’ so to speak. Fives, on the other hand, couldn't stop going on about how excited he was that Echo was ‘getting out there’ again and would finally find someone they could go on double dates with.

It was half endearing, half annoying as all kriff.

Now, Echo was being led into a cozy little office by a woman who put the casual in business casual. A part of him was glad it was Maura who took him on, at least he knew her, even if they weren’t necessarily friends. Though, he supposed if they were, that would be some kind of conflict of interest.

“So, how does this work?” he asked after settling down in the chair across from her.

“Right now? We talk so I can get to know you better, so I can understand your needs and what you’re looking for better.”

To the point, but not unkind, Echo could respect that. “What do you want to know?”

For a moment she simply looked at him, considering and he felt a little uneasy under the gaze, not that he would let it show. Then, “I want to know why you were so reluctant to come here.” Her eyes softened a little, though she didn’t take them off him, “You don’t strike me as someone who balks at love, or even what we do here. And yet, Kix has spent many a lunch break complaining about how you brushed him off every time he brought it up to you.”

Alright, diving into the deep end. At least she didn’t waste time. Still, he needed a moment to think, to collect himself and she seemed patient, settling back in her chair to relax a little.

“It’s not just Right to Love," he started after a while, "it’s not as if I have some weird prejudice against this place. It’s just, dating in general, I suppose.”

“A bad history with dating?”

Echo scoffed, “Yeah, you could say that.”

She didn’t reply, just continued to look back at him, only now she gave him a small, encouraging smile.

Again, he waited a moment, falling back on some of his strategic tendencies before he even thought about it. Old habits died hard, but, he did want to think his answer over carefully. It’s not as if he kept these things secret and, if he was going to tell someone, it should be the woman responsible for finding him someone who wouldn't repeat the mistakes of lovers past.

Echo shifted in his chair, eyes drifting down to the dark wood of her desk. “In the past, when I’ve tried to date, I either get one extreme or the other.” He lifted his prosthetic hand and waved it over the rest of him, over every cybernetic detail. “A lot of people can’t handle this. They act like they can at first, but I see the way they look at me before eventually forgetting my comm number. Or, they’re at the other end of the spectrum. They see all this and think that they need to ‘fix’ me.” The word was bitter in his mouth, and his eyes snapped up to meet hers again, “I don’t need to be fixed, just like I don't need someone who can't stand the way I look. I don't want either of those. I want someone to look at me and…”

His voice trailed off, which was a little unlike him. Echo was usually so sure in his words and actions.

“To look at you and just see you?” Maura finished for him, and the words struck home.

Echo found himself taking in a breath, then, he almost let out a huff of a laugh, “Yeah. Just me. I’m not saying that these aren’t a part of who I am, they are, but there’s so much more to me than that.” He sighed, "So yeah, that's why I'm a little reluctant on dating."

That small, encouraging smile got wider and warmer as she straightened up in her chair, “Thank you for being so honest with me, Echo. Being hesitant to put yourself in our care is understandable, given all that.” It was only then that her eyes left him, instead focusing on her datapad as she typed away. “I’m not going to belittle the trust you’ve put in me by making flowery promises. I can’t guarantee that whoever I match you with will undoubtedly see you the way you deserve to be seen. I will, however, promise that I won’t give up until we find someone who does.”

Echo chuckled at that, “So, you’ll take on my high-maintenance case?”

Maura smiled at him, “High-maintenance? Oh, dear Echo, don’t flatter yourself. If you were truly that, we probably would have sent you to Daria. I don’t think there’s ever been a challenge that woman didn’t want to tackle." She winked at him, "You’re stuck with me instead.”

“You’re at least honest with me,” Echo shrugged, “And Kix seems to have faith in you, so I’ll trust his judgment.”

“I’m so glad I have glowing recommendations,” she drawled as she finished her notes.

He actually found himself smiling and almost, almost felt like something in his chest lightened. Alright, Echo wasn’t too proud to admit when someone else was right and, somehow, he actually had a good feeling about this.

 .

#tcw matchmaking au #clone matchmaking au #The Bad Batch

[ghostofskywalker]

Did I miss my window on the drunk drabbles!? Could I request drunk crosshair getting messy drunk? Pls <3 much love and remember to stay hydrated

no you're weren't too late :) i loved this prompt idea!!

words: 877

clone troopers masterlist

It was clear that Crosshair hadn’t drank in a while, because according to Wrecker he used to be able to handle his liquor better than the entire Bad Batch combined, but now it had taken barely three drinks before he was completely out of his mind. 

Slumped over on the countertop of Cid’s bar, he burped loudly for the entire room to hear, and Hunter just rolled his eyes with a sigh. You watched the sniper with a curious expression, checking to see if the glass he was holding was in danger of falling to the floor (or at least, that’s what you told yourself). 

You had held something of a fascination with Crosshair, having joined the squad when he was still working with the Empire. And now that he was back, you couldn’t help the way you wanted to get to know him, no matter how prickly and standoffish he may have seemed.

Hunter could see where your eyes kept shifting to, and he raised his eyebrows at you. “Just let him be,” he said quietly. “I think he has a lot of feelings that he needs to work through.” 

You nodded, but didn’t want to completely listen to the advice. Clearly he was more drunk now than he had been in a while, possibly more drunk than he had ever been. It didn’t seem right to just leave him somewhere to figure everything out himself, and when the rest of the Batch retired to the ship to go to sleep, you elected to stay behind. 

“Are you sure?” Echo had asked you, a concerned expression on his face. “I can stay here if you want, this way he has someone to make sure he doesn’t pass out in an alley.”

You laughed, patting the ARC trooper’s shoulder and shaking your head. “No, don’t worry about it. I know you’re tired, and I should be fine here on my own.”  He nodded, and only left the cantina after making you promise to comm him if anything went wrong. 

And just like that, you were alone with Crosshair. 

He was mumbling to himself at this point, and you wondered what else would happen before you were finally able to convince him to go back to bed. From what the rest of the Batch had told you about him, he didn’t seem like the type to cry while drunk, but you never knew. 

“Anotherrrr,” he slurred, holding out the empty bottle of beer that he had finished. 

“Absolutely not, Grumpy,” Cid said from behind the bar, shooting you a look that screamed get him out of here or I’m going to lose it. “You’re being cut off for the evening.” 

Crosshair mumbled something not-so-nice under his breath, and you snapped your fingers, causing him to look over in your direction. The stern expression on your face and the way you shook your head made your feelings clear. “Oh I get it,” he drawled. “You’re my babysitter for the evening. How does it feel to be stuck with the job nobody wants?”

“For your information, I chose to remain here and make sure you got back to the ship safely,” you snapped. 

“How noble, do you want a prize?” he sneered, and you tried to remember that this was likely just the alcohol talking. “Still, it wasn’t like anyone else was going to do it.” 

For a moment, you could read his true feelings through his expression, he was sad, and he didn’t know what to do about it. Instead of trying to argue the point further, especially to a man who would in no way remember this the next morning, you decided to try a different approach and try to herd him back to the ship. And for the most part, it was successful, once you managed to get Crosshair to an open area. He was certainly more drunk than he was used to, given the fact that he stubbed his toe twice (on two different tables!), and he threw up a little in Cid’s trash can on the way out. After he realized that you weren’t going to go away, and that you didn’t shrink away from his insults, Crosshair got a little easier to deal with. 

Once you finally made it back to the Marauder, you literally had to wrap your arm around his waist and get him into his bunk. Hunter was still awake, and he looked at you two with an odd expression, but you preemptively silenced any comment he would have made with a quick glare. 

The touches you shared with Crosshair seemed far too intimate for a man you barely knew, but there was no way he would have any recollection of this, which made it a little easier to process. You rifled through the medkit to look for a pain reliever, and you left two of them on the little ledge next to his bunk, along with a canteen of water for the next morning, because he was going to need it. 

And as you laid down in your own bunk, you tried to forget the feeling of him laying his head on your shoulder and his fingertips gripping your waist, but you knew that wouldn’t be happening any time soon.

#🍷 blurbs #tbb crosshair x reader #tbb crosshair x you #tbb crosshair #crosshair x reader #crosshair x gender neutral reader #crosshair x you #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch x reader #star wars x reader

[hellhound5925]

HERE IT IS 🙌🏻 THE MOMENT LONG AWAITED

Cyare Verd

*OC Raven x Hunter

A/N: Welcome back! I apologize for taking so long but ☝🏼 I edited my original story up to the fourth chapter only to decide I still didn’t like it so guess what I edited the same four chapters again 😅

I’ll start by saying, yes it still follows the season two storyline of The Bad Batch (unoriginal I know) but I did change it up quite a bit. If your looking for Omega (lol) shes gone 👋🏼 I was never a huge fan of her so I wrote her out 🫣 otherwise, I hope you enjoy the new version of my fic. I will be taking it off Wattpad and AO3 in the meantime so I can finish making edits.

Oh, one last thing. If you would like to be tagged please drop a comment or send me a message ☺️ Thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time out of your day to read this. It means the world to me.

Anyways. Without further ado 🤲🏻 I present to you my updated fic 💖

Prologue/Background

Raven (If you see this. It’s the Pov for the following)

​Before order 66 went down, I spent my time on Kamino training new batches of clones for the Grand Army of the Republic. I met many of the troopers who lived there during the time including Sargent Hunter of the infamous Clone Force 99. Our interactions were usually quite brief but there was a certain charm about him I enjoyed from our very first encounter. However, I was there to perform my duty to my clan and that always came first.

​It was an honor to continue the legacy my father - Kal Skirata - left behind. He and my brothers - the Null ARC’s - have been off trying to thwart a plot they didn’t realize would lead to order 66.

​During that time, Kal’Buir had asked that I stay on Kamino not only for intel but also to get out any defecting troopers.

A friend of mine, who is another Mandalorian by the name of Aspen, posed as a supply ship for myself. She would drop off supplies or bring me an array of random items I asked for to validate her being there. Aspen would then smuggle troopers to Mandalore where they were to live out their days as they wished. A part of our clan. Clan Skirata.

When order 66 did finally happen, my brother Ordo had warned me to prepare for something big that would be happening soon. Whether or not he knew exactly what I’ll never know.

For the first few days, I lingered on Kamino waiting for any one of my brothers or Kal’Buir to contact me but it didn’t come. About a week later a droid appeared in my quarters with a message. ‘Get out now. You’re in danger Sen’ika (little bird).’ Kal’Buir was the only one who ever called me Sen’ika - mostly because I hated it but he could get away with anything.

Shortly thereafter, I packed my things discreetly and called for Aspen. She came within a rotation claiming the usual - that she was here to deliver supplies for me - and to my surprise they let her in.

The minute I was on her ship, the two of us left. We ended up on the planet in the mid rim. Where Ord Mantell became our temporary home.

Chapter One: Cid’s Parlor

Raven

Standing out in the busy streets of Ord Mantell, the sun beats down on my beskar fighting the darkness that rests on my shoulders. I will my feet to move it’s as if this weight is too much for them to carry.

My irritation radiates off me as the thunderous pitter patter pounds in my head each time a citizen passes by - must be nice to live so carefree - I think to myself. Yet they pay me no mind, even though the very nature of my armor is intimidating.

The dull black shein of a well-worn helmet that sits upon my head, with the infamous T shaped visor. The rest of the plates are the same color with a few iridescent feathers poking out from underneath. Ironic right.

This armor is my pride and joy. It was a coming of age gift - if that's what you want to call it - from my father. Kal’Buir was by far one of the greatest Mandalorians in the history of our people - though my opinion might be biased.

A wave of sadness washes over me at the thought of him, my family, my brothers, and my best friend Aspen. Shaking the thoughts from my mind I tell myself they wouldn’t want me to sulk. Aspen would smack me if she were here. Unfortunately, the two of us had to go our separate ways after getting into some trouble. What else is new?

Aspen has always been the friend I can count on for anything. We met as kids on Mandalore and practically grew up together. Once we were old enough, the two of us would drink - a little too much - and run our mouths. Sometimes I’d come home with a black eye and Kal’Buir would say ‘I hope the other guy looks worse’. With a osik (shit) eating grin he knew I could handle myself.

Eventually that trouble caught up to us. When I had been on Ord Mantell before, she and I got into it with a group of merc’s and Cid saved our skin. Usually I didn’t pick fights we couldn’t win but that time I did.

That was just after our home was bombed by the Empire. My family. My clan was there as far as I know. Rumor has it the surface is no longer safe. The blast destroyed everything and killed everyone. Grief does funny things to people.

Since then Cid feels we owe her every time she calls. Aspen was smart enough to ignore her but I can’t leave business unfinished. I don’t like owing people anything.

Bitterness courses through my veins and I find my feet moving through the doorway.

Hunter

Cid's Parlor is loud and crowded - as usual. Which for enhanced senses is why I prefer the solitude of the ship. Let’s not even get into the stench of hot bodies and alcohol might put me over the edge.

I take a deep breath to steady myself and push out the overwhelming sounds and smells, in an attempt to tune back into my brother's conversation. Echo and I were discussing whether or not the Marauder needs maintenance. Which is true it does. However, we don’t have the credits.

One glance over at Wrecker and its obvious Tech is beating him - again - at dejarik.

With a sigh and a gentle swirl of the pint in my hand, I watch as the amber liquid spins like a world pool. The sickly-sweet smell of blood orange and yeast reaches my nose. I let myself get lost in it for a moment, the scent totally washing over me.

The weight of the things we have had to endure begins creeping in. My men. Their safety and well-being are my responsibility. Crosshair.

Before I’m sucked too far into the void, my senses pick up something that wasn’t there a moment ago. Dark, sweet raspberry, rose. I’d recognize that scent anywhere after the hours I’d spent committing it to memory.

Lifting my gaze from my glass, it’s pulled like a force of gravity as a Mandalorian female enters the parlor. A warmth washes over me mixed with a little relief at seeing that all too familiar T-visor. I can’t contain the shock that creeps on my face at her presence or the memory—

‘Alright everyone, today we go over the basics.’ Her voice is crisp but not cold, giving orders and yet…silky smooth. I could listen to her speak to the regs all day.

She continues barking out orders which I recognize as the basics for hand-to-hand combat. I stop listening about half way through just to commit her to memory.

Covered head to toe in dark black beskar, her visor drifts over the group of men before her. The small frame is quite a contrast to the 6ft Clone troopers in formation. She has such a commanding presence, exuding confidence. My eyes roam over her curves and stop at the dual westar -35’s attached to either side of her thighs. For a moment I swear my heart might leap out of my chest—

Raven Skirata.

My trousers suddenly become constricting forcing me to shift uncomfortably. We only ever ran into one another a few times on Kamino. Mostly casual conversation about war efforts. The sound of her laugh when I told her about some of the things we’d improvised on missions, is one my brain never lets me forget. I never did get the courage to ask her about herself.

Raven crosses over to the bar and my eyes follow her every move. It’s only now that I notice she’s skinnier than I remember. Her complexion is quite pale in comparison to the dark circles under her eyes. The sight causes my chest to tighten. What the hell happened?

"Long time no see. I was starting to think you wised up" the Twi-lek bartender says by way of greeting. There's a long pause as the Raven drops her shoulders considerably.

"Unfortunately, I'm a little low on rations to be wise" she shoots back, that silky smooth voice taking on a sarcastic tone.

Having caught the attention of a rather large man - whose been talking loud enough for everyone in here to hear - he leans over to speak to her.

"Wow, that must be real beskar.......Wonder what kind of price someone would pay for th-that...." He slurs a little at the end.

In one smooth motion, Raven ejects her vibro-blade from her vambrace - the steel practically sings - slamming his head into the bar top with the other hand. A loud thud follows. Some of the patrons stop talking to stare while the Twi-lek laughs.

Pressing her blade to his throat she leans in close she sneers, "Try to take it from me and I'll find out how much someone will pay for your head.”

The man proceeds to mumble and she cocks her head at the bar tender as if in annoyance. Letting go of the man he slumps to his knees before getting up and stumbling away, hand pressed to his temple.

I have to work had to suppress the smile that threatens to creep onto my face, the corner of my mouth twitches anyways.

"Don't mess with Mandalorians" Echo chuckles, drawing attention. Raven glances our way tensing. Mentally I command myself to look away but I can’t. For a moment I swear, even through her visor we make eye contact.

Raven

After I’m satisfied I’ve put this man in his place, I let go and he slumps to the floor. Comments fly from over my shoulder but there’s that voice I’ve heard thousands of times that stands out.

I can’t help but turn and that when I see them. The red and white plastoid. Thanking my ancestors for the helmet, I roll my eyes at just how ironic it is they are here. Sargent Hunter and the Bad Batch. He and I have spoken a few times on Kamino but the others I’ve never officially met.

Frozen in place, I stare for a second. The Sargent doesn’t take his eyes off me with an unreadable expression. If I’m lucky he won’t recognize me - I think to myself. Forcing myself to move, I turn back to the bartender with a finger in the air, signaling I’d like a shot.

My gloved hands make their way to my helmet and gently slide it off, letting my messy blonde braid at the back of my head fall. Lately I find myself caring less and less about what I look like.

Placing my helmet on the bar top, I take a breath to steady myself before taking the shot. The burning liquid a welcomed punishment if nothing else.

The bartender nods over my shoulder and I sign knowing what's coming.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes" Cid says, throwing an arm over me like we are old pals.

I roll my hazel eyes "I'm not here because I want to be. Lets get on with it" I grumble.

"No 'Hi Cid, how are you?'" She asks.

"Nar'sheb (shove it)" I say in my native tongue with a polite smile on my face. She has no idea what I said to her but there's a snicker from someone close by.

————

"Remember what happened last time you threw your attitude around like that? " Cid scolds me as we enter her office.

Picking dust off my flight suit I sass, "I'm not here to discuss my 'attitude'. What's the mission?"

Cid moves behind her desk and crosses her arms "Fine, I need you to help out a group of fine gentlemen." She starts to explain, her tone a little too...chipper.

I raise a brow, shifting my weight and hum my dissatisfaction.

Cid immediately gets defensive, “Look it’s not my fault you mandos like to find trouble. You’re just lucky I was there to bail you out. Besides, these guys could really use someone with your skills. Dooku's private stash is being relocated by the Empire and I want you to help them get as much as possible".

The fact that she said Empire had my attention and attitude immediately shifts.

"I thought you might like that and I promise I'll give you 20%" she continues noticing my mood lighten.

"30 and it's a deal" I counter.

"Hey! I gotta pay those other guys too. I feel I'm being quite generous.”

I guess for considering who I’m speaking with… "Fine 20%, Now who are these guys?"

"They call themselves the Bad Batch. Wait here I'll go get them" she doesn’t give me a chance to respond before she heads out the door.

For a moment I stay where she left me and contemplate my next move. I can either play it like I don’t know them and take the chance their Sargent will recognize me or…

With an annoyed sigh, I stride over to her desk and set my helmet down before scanning the book shelves. Most of these I’ve read during my ‘spare time’ when Cid let me crash here before. Not surprisingly, there’s nothing new.

Leaning my back against one I take my gloves off and unbraid my hair. The blonde waves fall loosely over one shoulder ending just below my breast. It’s a wonder I ever let it get this long but a part of me just can’t bring myself to cut it.

I make myself comfortable at her desk, leaning back and kicking my boots up on it, When Cid flings the door open and scowls at me. My stomach ties itself into knots but I try to seem disinterested by playing with my hair.

There’s a chance these guys decided like the others to side with the Empire. But the odds they did and they are here? Slim but not zero.

Pushing off the desk I stand and stroll around to the front, leaning against it. A few golden strands fall into my face with the movement. My hands naturally side down towards my blasters holstered at my sides. A defense position that’s become muscle memory. The Sargent eyes follow my every move.

"Take it easy there Mando these are the good guys."

Cid rolls her eyes after seeing my body language. Once again in typical Cid fashion she hid this from me, likely knowing I wouldn’t come.

The largest one of the 4 pushes past.

"I'm Wrecker! I like to blow stuff up!" He says very loudly, sticking out his hand. My body is further tensing.

I hesitantly shake his hand, which compared to mine - even with gloves on - looks like it could easily crush it.

"Wrecker, I feel that last part was not necessary" says the one holding a datapad.

"I am Tech by the way.”

Nodding by way of greeting, I quickly glance over at their Sargent. Had I blinked I would have missed the split second of recognition before the mask of a leader slid into place.

The one with a socket arm glances over at him. Probably from the tension radiating off of me. Those amber eyes see me for exactly who I am.

My breathing picks up, but I quickly get it back under control. The former doesn’t seem to notice, not taking his eyes off me.

I decide to meet his gaze with a challenging one. Hoping to hide whatever it is he sees.

Shaking his head like he’s having a difficult time dragging himself from thought, introduces himself.

“I'm their Sargent-well was their Sargent...Hunter and this is Echo" he gestures to socket arm.

Echo waves at me with his socket and a soft smile. I nod slowly and clear my throat.

“I know who you are.”

Tech lifts his eyes from his datapad to look at me once again. Before he or anyone else can I say anything I continue,

“Raven. Raven Skirata.”

————

When I start towards my ship - alright so it's not really my ship, I stole it - I was so deep in thought I almost didn’t hear someone call out to me.

"Wouldn't it just be easier if we all went together?"

I stop not bothering to turn around "How do I know you won't leave me behind?"

If these are the clones I’ve heard so much about, there’s a good chance I can trust them. However, my instincts are telling me not to. Echo, almost like he is reading my mind says,

"You can trust us, we aren't like the others".

The sorrow in his voice fills the space between us, making me uncomfortable. I roll my shoulders, hands flexing at my sides.

Without saying anything I head up the ramp to my ship, gather a few things in my pack, and come back out to see Echo standing where I left him. The rest of the group must have gone to their ship. With a small nod he leads the way.

As we approach, I stop for a moment before heading up the ramp to admire the hull before me. An Omicron class attack shuttle but it’s been modified. It’s just as impressive if not more so in person. My brothers - specifically Mereel and Jaing - would have loved this thing, I can practically hear them fighting with even Ordo for who would pilot.

With a few steps up the ramp, I peer inside and it’s notably clean. Briefly I take in the surroundings noting the others up front in the cockpit area. Echo glances back at me sensing my hesitation.

“I’ll show you around”

I tip my visor towards him appreciatively, without saying a word.

————

Echo finishes the tour with the bunks, two on the left and two on the right. He gestures to the right, showing me which one is mine and offers me a gentle smile. With a quick glance I realize there are only 4 of them.

“Hunter usually stays up in the cockpit. You get his bunk.”

Great.

I nod my appreciation again and take my pack off my shoulder. The only things in it are a couple changes of regular clothes and some rations. I've not got much to lose that isn't my beskar these days.

Placing my pack on the lower bunk, the mythosaur skull on the back of my gloves stare back at me with hollow eyes. It’s almost like they know. Our people are gone. For a moment I wonder if anyone will even remember what it means.

I forgot Echo was still standing there until his throat clears. He says carefully, “Your father is Kal Skirata.”

My heart starts to thunder in my chest at the mention of his name. I finish settling my pack before I turn to face him. A part of me wants to answer but it feels like my mouth is full of cotton. I mentally thank my ancestors for the visor between us.

“He was one of my instructors. In my early days I mean. He was always really good to us. I heard about what he did...he got some of us out.”

Silence fills the space. I slide my helmet off, tucking it under an arm. Unable to look him in the eye, my boots seemingly interesting all the sudden.

“He’s gone.” My voice almost doesn’t sound like my own. Distant.

“Too many good people have been lost because of the war. I’m sorry to hear that.”

In his kind words, the galaxy feels a little less lonely. I finally lift my head and meet his gaze, seeing the loss there.

“I’m sorry for your loss too.”

Echo only offers me a somber smile in response. My walls go back up and I decide to change the subject. It comes out a little sassier than I had intended.

“So, you all have enhanced something or other right? I mean I was on Kamino and spoke to your Sargent a few times but mostly what I know is what I’ve heard.”

”Each of us had a unique quality. Wrecker is brute strength, Hunter has enhanced senses, and Tech is really smart.”

”Wasn’t there another member? Crosshair?”

Another sad look from him, “He chose the Empire.”

“Ah” I nod my understanding. “How do you fit in here?”

He rubs the back of his neck and chuckles.

“I was originally with the 501st under General Skywalker. We were on Skako minor and I was blown up. Captured by the Techno union and they made me mostly a machine.” Echo lifts his socket arm as a reference.

“My Captain. Rex. He and the Bad Batch rescued me. I owe them everything.”

That name. Captain Rex. It sounds familiar. ”No offense but you just met me and you trust me enough to tell me all this?” My sass once more evident.

He smiles and says “Your father spoke highly of you.”

My throat closes up at the same time pride washes over me. When I don’t respond he continues.

“I’ll leave you to get settled in” and with that he turns and heads toward the cockpit.

I watch as he reaches the others and takes a seat. Unable to do anything else other than process what he just said.

————

It takes me a while to recover from the conversation. A part of me hesitates to comm Aspen but I can’t risk compromising her.

Instead, I take my time to check my weapons (two blasters at my hip, vibro blade in my vambrace, and the various blades stashed in my boots and under my back plate). No one bothers to check on me, which is just as well. Finally, I end with checking the HUD in my helmet - which seems to be functioning fine.

Discarding my helmet on the bunk, I head for the cockpit where the others are chatting quietly. The hushed tones likely to prevent me from overhearing. Hunter stiffens as I approach which only confirms my thought.

The four seats at the front were taken up by each of the members. Leaning against the doorway I cross my arms over my chest plate.

"We don't have a reason to trust each other but once this mission is over and I'm paid, I'm gone. You won't have to worry after that.” The annoyance plastered on my face is visible to all.

They all glance at one another except Hunter, his eyes fixed on my face like he’s trying not to look anywhere else. He almost looks hurt at my comment.

"That seems reasonable" Tech says very matter of factly.

”Great. So, what's the plan?”

“Get to Serenno and scout the area." Hunter says turning his attention to space zooming by at light speed.

I sigh, "That's not much of a plan but I can improvise."

Wrecker chimes in, ”Ahaha you’ll fit right in!” Awkward silence fills the space before I break it.

“Right. Well I guess we should all rest up so let me know when we land.” Spinning on a heel, I head for the bunks.

Next Chapter here.

Wattpad link here.

Taglist: @cloneloverrrrr @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @idoubleswearimawriter @savebytheodore @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @jediknightjana @techs-goggles9902 @clonethirstingisreal

Lemme know if you wanna be tagged in the future!

#the clones #star wars clone wars #the bad batch #tbb hunter #hunter the bad batch #the bad batch tech #mandalorian oc #tbb hunter x you #tbb hunter x reader #the bad batch hunter #bad batch hunter #hunter #hunter bad batch #hunter x reader #clone trooper hunter #Sargent hunter #clone force 99 #starwars the bad batch

[vodika-vibes]

A Selkie's Love

Summary: One day, while you're on your way to work, you return a leather coat to a man who dropped it. Only to find out later that the man who's coat you returned was a Selkie.

Pairing: Clone Trooper Tup x Reader

Word Count: 1845

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I pulled a muscle in my shoulder, so typing is very painful for me right now. That's what I get for taking apart a cat tree that's taller than me.

The first time you meet Tup, it’s a bright day. Sunny, without a cloud in the sky. And hot enough that you regret that you don’t have a job that allows you to work from home. 

In fact, it’s a nice enough day that you consider calling out from work to just lounge in the sun on the beach. In fact, you spend a whole 30 minutes fantasizing about pulling your new bikini out of the closet and just laying in the sun while you got ready that morning.

Of course, you’ve always been too responsible for your own good. So instead of pulling on your bathing suit and calling out, you pulled on your thinnest and most comfortable set of business attire, and pulled your hair into a professional knot at the base of your head, and headed out of your apartment to the ferry.

You have several important meetings that you need to be present for today, after all. Not to mention the negotiations for the werewolves are finally entering their final stage and you’re so close to getting them the land that they need to be safe-

You release a heavy sigh as your phone chimes that you’re getting a new message, and you glance at the many messages as you walk down the street. Several of the notifications are unimportant (a reminder for your nephew’s birthday party at the end of the week, a notice that your rent has been pulled from your bank account, a text from your mom reminding you that she and her husband are going on a cruise next week and that you promised to dog sit-) though some of the emails you got that morning are important (the Vampire coven you’ve been in negotiations with have elected to move rather than continue negotiations with the other coven, and the company that was dumping toxins on native dryad land decided to pay a settlement rather than risk court).

But, all in all, it was normal stuff that could be dealt with when you got to the office. Nothing that you needed to deal with immediately. And nothing that was going to ruin your day before you even stepped into the office.

You flip your phone case closed and decide to take a moment to look around to see if there is anyone taking the ferry that you know. The ride is always a little less miserable when you have someone to talk to.

Your gaze lands on a massive family, where a group of identical triplets are practicing their howling under the prodding of an older sibling…or perhaps a cousin. Their parents seem to be doing their best to get them to stop, but don’t seem to be having any luck. 

Not far from the family is a group of college students, huddled together around books and whispering frantically to each other, all of them clutching massive cans of some kind of energy drink, and you do not miss those days.

The only other person waiting for the ferry is a young man, strikingly handsome, with long hair pulled into a knot and a teardrop tattoo on his face. He’s talking on his phone, and has a nice leather jacket thrown over his arm.

Weird, it’s far too hot for any sort of jacket, let alone a leather one, but that’s not your problem. After all, it’s not your job to police other people.

Your phone chimes again and you flip the case open so you’re able to read the message just as the ferry pulls into the dock. 

It’s a simple reminder from your boss about the food preferences for the clients for the day, and by the time you respond and have the message cleared, you’re alone on the dock.

You release a quiet curse and hurry towards the ship, only to pause when you see the very nice leather jacket that the handsome young man was holding only a moment earlier laying on the ground.

For a moment, you hesitate, and then you sigh and walk over to the jacket. Now that you’ve seen it, you can’t just ignore it. So you stoop down and pick it up, laying it over your arm, and then you hurry onto the ship. 

The jacket is much nicer than you thought. Soft and warm, and you absently run your fingers over the soft material as you search the ship for the young man. 

You peek into several of the large rooms, and heave a sigh of relief when you find him near the back of the ship. 

“Excuse me,” You half jog over to him, “Sorry for bothering you, but you dropped your jacket outside.” You smile at him and hold the fine material out to him.

Now that you’re standing closer to him, he really is incredibly attractive.

He very gently takes the jacket from your hands, his gaze locked on your face, a look of surprise on his face, “...thank you.” He says slowly. His voice is low and pleasant to listen to.

“You’re welcome.” You reply with a bright smile, mentally giving yourself a slap. You know better than to be distracted by a pretty face or a pleasant voice, some of your best clients were Sirens after all.

You open your mouth to say something, only for your phone to chime, “Oh. Um…I’m glad I was able to help.” You say quickly, before you turn away and press your phone to your ear, leaving the room to head to a different part of the ship.

You put the handsome man out of your mind. After all, it’s not like you’re ever going to see him again.

Several long days later, you’re very grateful that the weekend has finally arrived. Tragically, the nice weather from earlier in the week went away as a cold front came through, but you can’t bring yourself to care.

You desperately need to get out of your home and go for a walk. Or a run.

So instead of pulling on your bathing suit and hanging out on the beach until you're cooked to a crisp, you pull on some leggings and a tank top, and decide to go for a walk in the rain. 

You wander in the rain, enjoying the feel of the cool water against your skin and enjoying the peace and quiet that comes with the rain.

You meander through the streets until you come to the small beach that no one comes to regularly because of how close it is to the tree line and because of how little space there actually is to spread out here.

In fact, unless you’re misremembering, at high tide the water comes right up to the trees, which makes this beach a poor place for families to come and relax. But it is a nice place for you to clear your head.

So you settle on a raised root, and stretch out to watch the waves.

In all, you were probably sitting for about half an hour before you heard a startled noise from behind you. You turn your head and find yourself looking at the same young man from the ferry several days earlier.

He looks just as surprised to see you as you are to see him. Though, in retrospect, if he was on the ferry at the same time as you, you really shouldn’t be surprised. 

The young man shifts his weight and nervously rubs the back of his neck. And you stare at him, bewildered. You can’t think of any reason why he’d be so nervous to see you.

He glances at you, and then his gaze darts away quickly, “Um…Hi.” He finally says, sounding incredibly nervous.

“Hi?” You turn on the tree root so you’re able to look at him properly. He’s soaked, but then, so are you. And you can’t help but notice that his ears are burning red, and he’s fumbling with something, though you can’t really tell what it is.

He really is incredibly handsome, you note, almost absently. He’s also incredibly fit, which you can only tell because his shirt is soaked and sticking to his body like a second skin.

“Um…so…I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you,” He says quickly, though he’s still not quite looking at you, “I…uh…have something for you.”

“...for me?”

“Yeah.” He glances at you, and then walks over to you, pressing the item he was fumbling with into your hands. “Here.”

It’s a small box, and when you open it, your breath catches and your face burns. Because inside the simple box is a delicate looking ring with a beautiful blue stone set in the middle. “Is…this is an engagement ring-” You squeak out.

“Well, yeah. I figured…we should probably get married in the human way too-”

“What?!”

He looks at you, and though his face is darkened with a blush, there’s something soft and adoring in his gaze, “My name is Tup. I’m a selkie, and you returned my coat to me-”

You stare at him, “I…I thought that was a myth-”

“Uh, well, unlike a lot of the myths surrounding selkies, the whole coat and marriage thing actually is true.” Tup admits, “As a side effect, it also makes me completely enamored with you.”

“What?”

“Well, most people wouldn’t return a selkie’s coat. They keep them so we can’t run away, but you returned it without so much as a second thought.” Tup says with a small grin.

“Yeah, because it’s not mine.” You say faintly.

“You’d be surprised at how many people don’t care about that,” Tup replies with a shrug. “Do you like the ring? It took me ages to find one that I thought suited you.”

You look back down at the ring in your hands. It’s delicate looking, with the metal twisted and curled almost like waves around the stone. “It’s beautiful.” You consider the ring for a moment, and you consider what you know about Selkies, and then slide it on your ring finger, and you’re vaguely aware of Tup’s blinding grin.

“You don’t have a problem with marrying me?” He asks.

You shrug, “We’re married whether I have a problem with it or not. However, I would like to treat this like we’re dating?”

“I can do that!” Tup blurts quickly, “Dating! I can do dating!”

He’s standing right in front of you now, and his touch is feather light as he trails his fingers over your hands, ghosting over the ring for a moment, before returning to your hands. 

“You’re so soft,” He says with a sigh, an almost blissed out look on his face. “Would you like to meet my family? They’re all looking forward to meeting you.”

“All? What all?” You ask.

He grins at you, “I have a very large family. What do you say?”

“I’m hardly dressed for a family meeting,” You reply immediately.

“You look amazing!” Tup says immediately, “Please?”

You sigh softly, “Alright.” You allow him to help you to your feet, “Let’s go meet your family.”

#star wars #tcw #star wars au #clone trooper tup x reader #tup x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction

[aaaaaaaaaaashes]

The Clone Wars: The Bad Batch

Part 1 of the Clone Wars Bad Batch arc with my OC: Specter! Hope you stick around and keep reading! (This has been edited, thoroughly)

“I’ve heard mixed things about these guys.”

“They have a 100% success rate.” Jesse and Kix conversed as Rex and Cody exited the dormitory. 

Their mission? Infiltrate the Cyber Center on Anaxes and retrieve whatever was rendering the Grand Army of the Republic’s attack patterns completely ineffective. 

“It’s not that they win, it’s how they win that worries me,” Jesse said. 

“Repeat, coming in hot on platform TT-3-9-7.” An announcement over the P. A. system caught the clones’ attention just as an Omicron-class attack shuttle came into view, rapidly approaching the landing strip. All personnel scrambled to get out of the way as it roughly landed, sending loose crates flying away. “Clear the airfield! Clear the airfield!” the clone over the P.A. warned. The shuttle came to a stop only a few meters away from Rex, Cody, Kix, and Jesse, kicking up a cloud of dust. 

“So, why haven’t I heard of this squad?” Rex asked the commander, already second guessing his decision. 

“Experimental unit Clone Force 99. They’re defective clones with, uh,” Cody paused to look for the right description, “desirable mutations.” 

“99, eh? Nice touch,” Rex commented, remembering the old clone.

“They call themselves, ‘The Bad Batch’,” Cody crossed his arms. With a track record like theirs, Cody knew they were the clear choice for this mission. 

Stairs lowered from the ship and the five members of the Bad Batch exited; the tallest and biggest one was the first to take off his helmet. 

“The cavalry has arrived!” he cheered in a big booming voice. Jesse and Kix exchanged looks— he certainly didn’t look like a regular clone. The Bad Batch approached the group, two more of them removed their helmets: one with long brown hair and a tattoo covering half his face, and the other with a longer face and short gray hair, complete with a toothpick stuck in his scowl. 

“These guys are clones?” Kix murmured. Another Batcher took his helmet off: he had goggles and an inquisitive expression. “They don’t look like clones to me.” 

The smallest clone in the group caught Rex’s attention. Of the batch, he was the only one who hadn’t removed his helmet. Rex couldn’t quite place just what was so curious about the way this mystery-clone carried himself and the odd fit of his armor. 

“Sergeant. Good to see you again,” Cody greeted.

“You too, sir.”

Cody turned to the rest of his group. “This is Hunter.”

“Sorry we’re late, Commander. We were putting down an insurrection on Yalbec Prime when your comm came in. Had a few unforeseen… complications,” Hunter explained, side-eyeing the big guy, who laughed in response.

“Ever fought a male Yalbec?” he asked, deciding to focus on Jesse.

“Um… No. Can’t say that I have,” he stammered. 

“You’re lucky! Only way to kill ‘em is with one of these,” the brute said, pulling out a large knife. Jesse gulped.

“That’s right. Wrecker here cut off the queen’s stinger while she was still alive. That’s why all those Yalbec males tried to eat us,” Hunter said. 

“Ah, technically they were trying to mate with us,” the one with the goggles spoke up. “And, for your information, the stinger of a Yalbec Queen is a delicacy on some planets.”

“They call him Tech,” Cody said. 

“Yeah, he can fill your head with useless info for hours. Crosshair, on the other hand,” Hunter started to say, pointing back to the scowling clone, “is not much of a conversationalist, but when you have to hit a precise target from ten klicks, Crosshair’s your man.” Crosshair shifted his toothpick, analyzing the four clones through squinted eyes. “And finally, Specter— where’s Specter?” Hunter looked around. The smallest clone was out of sight. 

When did that happen? Rex wondered, realizing he hadn’t registered the trooper’s exit. 

He reappeared, tapping Kix on the shoulder and handing him the scanner he’d left back at the barracks. 

“What in the…” he took the datapad apprehensively. The trooper wordlessly went to stand next to Hunter, with his arms crossed and head tilted. The Sergeant chuckled.

“Specter, here, is our secondary sniper and assassin when we need it: covert, fast, and light-footed. I think the sprint record was about—oh, what was it again?” he paused to ask, although Rex could tell this was nothing more than an opportunity for the pair to show off. Specter said nothing, only holding up five fingers. “Right, fifty kilometers an hour, with reflexes just as fast,” Hunter finished.

Rex, Jesse, and Kix tried to hide their amazement while Cody shook his head and smiled. 

“We playin’ the long game, Specter?” he asked. The soldier nodded while the other Batchers smirked. It made the other two somewhat uneasy.

“So, Commander,” Hunter turned back to Cody, “what kind of suicide mission do you have for us this time?” 

“Let’s get going first. We’ll brief you on the way,” Cody instructed, leading the other eight clones to the awaiting gunship. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was cramped in the gunship as they flew over the forests of Anaxes. Though the one they called Specter still hadn’t removed his helmet, Jesse could feel he was being watched through the dim red light. 

“What are you looking at?”

“We don’t usually work with regs,” the one called Crosshair chimed in before Specter could speak, flicking his toothpick at him. 

“Regs?” Jesse scoffed, shifting towards the pair before Hunter blocked his way. 

“He’s talking about regular clones. It’s nothing personal.” Specter shrugged behind him, seeming to share a look with Crosshair. Jesse wasn’t sure he liked this bunch.

“Hey now, We’re all on the same team, so cut the attitude and listen up,” Cody announced. The clones stood at attention, even Specter from their small spot in the side. “Here’s the mission: Our target is this Cyber Center,” Cody pulled up a holographic display of the complex. “It’s the brains of the entire Separatist campaign here on Anaxes.”

“I could demolish that with one hand. Yeah!” Wrecker jeered. Everyone rolled their eyes.

“This isn’t a demo job, Wrecker. It’s strictly a retrieval operation,” Cody reminded. 

“Incoming fire!” the pilot inside the ship yelled. Their presence had clearly not gone unnoticed. Everyone inside was thrown around as blaster bolts struck the sides of the ship and the pilot attempted evasive maneuvers out of the canyon. The front of the ship was struck by a blast, and the team braced themselves for a crash into the canyon.

“We’re going down!” Wrecker yelled, almost excitedly. The gunship scraped against the canyon wall before sliding along the bottom, finally lurching to a stop. 

Amid the smoke and rubble, Wrecker used his strength to help his fellow troopers out of the crash. “We always get shot down when we travel with regs,” he said, almost teasing.

His comment went unheard as Kix spotted Cody still stuck underneath the gunship.

“Cody!” he cried, rushing to his aid. “Help! He’s trapped. We have to do something.”

“I’ll get him,” Rex rushed forward.

“Woah, woah, woah,” Hunter stopped him. “Easy, Captain. Wrecker, get him out.” The brute nodded and cracked his knuckles.

“Get back,” he said. Everyone stepped back as he approached the ship.

“This is ridiculous! He’s gonna need help to get Cody out of there,” Kix complained. Crosshair chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s gonna get the gunship out of there, not Cody,” he explained, pointing with his toothpick. 

And just like he said, Wrecker, with his helmet back on his head, pushed the gunship over and out of the way; he carried Cody out from the wreckage and to the rest of the group. 

“Boom,” Wrecker quipped, just before the gunship exploded behind him. Cody wheezed and groaned; Wrecker put him down on the ground so Kix could scan his chest.

“He has internal damage. I can cut the pain, but he needs help fast,” he announced.

“We all need help,” Crosshair drawled, noticing a large force of battle droids approaching their position. “That blast gave away our position.” Hunter gave a short laugh.

“I thought getting shot down gave away our position,” he said with a smirk.

“Everyone, find cover. We’ll hold this position and let them come to us,” Rex ordered.

“I don’t think so, Captain. That’s not our style. We prefer going to them,” Hunter enunciated, pointing defiantly at the oncoming droids. “Bad Batch, Plan 82: Shockwave!” he ordered, putting on his helmet, his team followed suit. Wrecker hoisted up a large piece of the metal wreckage. “Let’s get to work.” The group ran towards the battle droids.

“Blast them!” a droid commanded. Wrecker’s piece of debris was placed in front of the team, acting as cover from the barrage of fire so they could keep advancing. Tech, Hunter, Crosshair, and Specter fired at the droids as they went. 

“Specter, watch our flank,” Hunter commanded.

“Copy,” the soldier’s voice was distorted. What must’ve been a faulty modulator made whatever Specter said next completely unintelligible. 

As the droids grew closer, Specter attached a heavily modified barrel to the end of his blaster, converting it into what could best be described as a shotgun. 

He loaded the weapon, inserting projectile shells into the ammo chamber, fired, and as the shells impacted against the droids, they exploded; weaponized plasma launched and propelled the inner pellets outward in a spray of death. It was like a firework as droids who were caught up in the blast were destroyed.

After the Bad Batch had gained some distance, Wrecker planted the makeshift shield down, allowing for Tech to peek out and scan the droids with his goggles. 

“45. Mark 151,” Tech relayed to Hunter.

“45. Mark 151,” he copied, pulling out an EMP grenade and throwing it high into the air. Crosshair shot it as it fell, disabling a group of droids. The team advanced again, Wrecker planted the shield once more.

“75. Mark 357.”

“75. Mark 357.” Tech and Hunter, respectively, relayed. Hunter threw the grenade, this time at a lower angle, but a battle droid had caught it.

“What the…?” the droid began to say before Crosshair shot the EMP, desemating an even larger group of battle droids. Spider droids entered the fray, firing near the Bad Batch as they moved forward.

“Spider droids. Specter, they’re all yours. We’ll cover you,” Hunter said, handing Specter his vibro-knife. Wrecker shifted the piece of metal, allowing Specter to speed through the rest of the battle droids, stabbing a few as he went by, towards the spider droid, dodging as it took shots at him. But the clone was too fast for the droid to accurately aim. He was soon in front of the spider droid, stabbing its eye and shutting it down. Then using the knife as a handle, Specter hoisted themselves up and reconfigured their blaster back to its original form before unleashing a rapid-fire setting on the second spider droid, completely mutilating it. The rest of the Bad Batch had destroyed the remaining battle droids and advanced to Specter’s position. 

“Any more? Come on!” Wrecker cheered in victory. Specter hopped down from the spider droid and handed Hunter his knife, who twirled it back into its sheath. With all of the droids defeated, the Bad Batch went to regroup among the broken droid pieces. The other clones made their way over, with Kix supporting Cody.

“That was some show you put on just now,” Rex complimented.

Hunter took off his helmet and nodded, “Just doing our job, Captain.” Behind him, Wrecker was playing with a dead droid head, laughing.

“Hey look, Crosshair, this little clanker likes you,” he teased, waving it in his squadmate’s face.

“Grow up, Wrecker,” the sniper said grumpily. Meanwhile, Tech and Specter were leaning close, observing something on his forearm monitor.

“Yes, your damage efficiency has increased since we made those last modifications. All in part, of course, to my engineering expertise,” Tech practically bragged. Specter silently turned his head toward him. Tech somehow understood the clone’s hidden expression and quickly modified his statement. “Fine. Our engineering expertise,” Tech sighed, giving Specter the proper credit; he nodded his head in triumph.

“We should move out before reinforcements arrive. Our position has been compromised,” Rex said, motioning for everyone to follow him out of the canyon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clones had their camp set up in the forest, Rex tended to Cody, Hunter investigated the ground nearby, and the other 6 were gathered around a warm light source. Jesse sighed.

“So, I get what makes the other Batchers unique, but what’s so special about Hunter?” he wondered out loud.

“He can put up with the other four,” Kix joked. 

“He was engineered with heightened senses,” Tech stated, kneeling down and warming his hands by the light, “A place like the Cyber Center, Hunter can feel the electromagnetic frequencies from anywhere on the planet.”

“And here I thought we were smart just using a holomap,” Jesse jeered, elbowing Kix.

“Well, maps can be wrong. Hunter never is,” the Batcher said, turning to look at his Sergeant as he stood up. 

Cody groaned, still in pain, catching everyone’s attention.

“Hang in there, Cody.” Rex encouraged his comrade. The captain stood up and went toward the group. “Listen up. We have to move out,” he commanded.

“Commander Cody’s in no position to move,” Crosshair said, stepping forward and removing his toothpick.

“Already called in Evac. Kix will stay with Cody until it arrives.” Rex indicated toward the medic, who nodded in agreement over his role. “I’m in charge now, and I’ve got a plan to get into that Cyber Center.” The sniper stepped even closer, challenging the reg.

“If your plans are so good, why did Commander Cody have to call us in?” he sneered. Wrecker moved closer too, sensing a fight. But it was Jesse who shot up and got in Crosshair’s face, pointing at him.

“You can’t talk to Captain Rex like that!”

“Says who?” Wrecker grumbled, almost with glee; he lifted Jesse up by the throat into the air, who immediately started to flail.

“Put him down!” Rex ordered. Kix went to intervene, but Crosshair pushed him away.

“Stay out of it,” he hissed. 

“Hey, watch it!” Kix pushed back; the two began to wrestle with each other.

“Uh, guys, come on,” Tech pleaded, staying out of the fight. Finally, Specter stood up and growled, taking off his—her— helmet and marching toward the chaos.

“That’s enough!” she shouted, using her helmet to hit Wrecker on the side of his head, knocking him off balancing and forcing him to release Jesse. She stalked over to Crosshair and Kix, grabbing the sniper by his ear. Her free hand reached up to pull down Wrecker by his ear too. The boys cried in pain and struggled in her grip. The regs caught their breath and watched the scene unfold.

“I swear, your egos are going to get us Court Martialed! Have you ever thought that maybe–just maybe–if you’d humble yourselves for one mission, it would go off without a hitch?! Heh, it’s no wonder the regs don’t like us.” she scolded. Tech sat back down, trusting his teammate to handle it. “If you would stop provoking fights, we wouldn’t need to keep cleaning up our own mess. Not like you clean up anyway,” Specter mumbled the last remark. They went to protest.

“But-”

“I don’t want to hear it!” She pulled them closer, they grunted then silenced themselves. “Think about this very carefully; would you rather deal with me, or Hunter?” The boys grimaced and looked at each other, before deciding to hold their hands up in surrender. Specter huffed and dropped them, picking up her helmet. “Honestly, Crosshair, I’m almost embarrassed to call you my twin,” she mumbled, glaring at the sniper. He only frowned and turned away. “Thanks to you idiots, I’ve lost my bet with Tech. I’ll pay you once we get back to the Marauder,” she turned to the goggled clone who merely gave a triumphant thumbs up. 

The regs were still shocked at the presence of the woman. Her skin was fair and eyes were brown, chestnut hair was styled into a braided halo, although a few strands had fallen into her face. She may have been small and feminine, but she held herself with confidence and strength they had only seen in their other brethren. 

“What?” Jesse was the first to vocalize, running a hand over his bruised neck.

“Oh! Yeah, Tech and I had a bet to see if I could go the whole mission without giving myself away,” Specter explained, her voice turning sweet and jovial, compared to being full of disdain at her squadmates. This was the ‘long game’ Cody had mentioned before. 

“Not that. You’re… uh,” Kix tried to find the words.

“I dare you to finish that sentence,” Wrecker teased. Crosshair smacked him on the arm. Specter only laughed and gave a bow.

“The Kaminoans wanted a clone that was fast and flexible, they got me and they’re stuck with me. These idiots are also stuck with me,” she gestured over her shoulder to her team. “And now, you guys are stuck with me too!” Specter pointed at the regs and winked. Hunter came up to the group, saving Jesse, Rex, and Kix from any more awkwardness.

“If you’re all done, let’s cut the chatter and finish what we started. We’ll do it your way, Captain,” he said to Rex, whose stoic expression returned. “For Commander Cody.”

“Okay. Let’s gear up and move out.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The clones carefully moved through the forest the following morning; a tower rose in the distance and the clones assessed it under nearby cover.

“Not our primary target,” Rex observed.

“It’s an outpost. Should we take it?” Hunter asked. They saw some droids guarding the entrance of it.

“Probably easier than going around,” the Captain shrugged.

“Alright. What are your orders? We pick ‘em off from the treeline, one-by-one?” 

“Actually, I was thinking we’d take a page from your book. Rush them head-on,” Rex said with a smirk. The Sergeant chuckled.

“I like your style.”

“Hunter, that’s our style,” Specter piped up, reloading her rifle. 

“Yeah, I’m still getting used to that,” Rex mumbled.

The droids remained blissfully unaware of the crew’s presence, maintaining their position. That was, until one was shot down.

“Clones! Get them!” a battle droid shouted, pointing at the oncoming force emerging from the treeline. Firing erupted from both sides, but the clones overtook the droids, making their way to the tower elevator. Wrecker and Specter stayed groundside to provide cover for the others going up the tower. More droids awaited at the top.

“Hey, you’re not authorize-” a droid began before he was shot down. The team made quick work of them, defeating them all just as Wrecker and Specter made it up.

“Is it over already? Aw, man!” he grumbled and pouted, taking off his helmet. The rest of the clones followed suit. 

“Not bad, for a reg,” Hunter complimented Rex. Tech approached a nearby console and sat down.

“All right, there it is. The Cyber Center,” Rex pointed to a building out the window. Specter whistled in amazement.

“Yeah, that would have been a fun demo job,” she said to herself, earning a few worried looks.

“That’s what I’m saying!” Wrecker exclaimed in agreement.

“It looks like the Cyber Center itself has minimal guards, about 30 droids,” Tech reported, looking at the data from the console. “Oh… wait. Wait! I got a massive signal coming in,” he warned, widening the range of the detection signal. “A whole platoon of droids is headed this way.”

“Someone’s noticed our handiwork back at the crash site,” Hunter grumbled.

“Yeah. Make sure you keep an eye on those incoming Separatist forces. I wanna know when they reach this outpost,” Rex ordered Tech.

“You got it, Cap.”

“We gotta move swiftly,” Rex looked to the rest of the group. 

“There’s some speeder bikes down there. Think we can pull off a pincer maneuver, Sarge? Flank them from the back?” Specter nodded to the bikes. Hunter and Rex smiled at her plan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the Cyber Center, Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech rode the speeder bikes around the back of the center, then hopped off the bikes and slid down an incline, leading to the building. Rex, Jesse, and Specter approached the heavily guarded front.

“Do you know what’s going on?” one battle droid asked another.

“Maybe it’s another drill-” it was cut off as the regs and Specter ambushed them. 

“Is everyone in position?” Rex asked into his comm. Jesse and Specter continued to shoot down droids and advance on the center.

“Affirmative,” Hunter answered for him, Tech, and Wrecker.

“Affirmative,” said Crosshair, who had taken a sniping position on a nearby cliff.

“Captain,” Tech spoke up, “you wanted to know when those Separatist forces breached the outpost.” He looked at a tracker on his wrist monitor; red dots, representing battle droids, surrounded the outpost. “Well, they’re getting there just about now.”

Specter took aim with her reconfigured sniper rifle, shooting down a droid talking with Admiral Trench. It signaled Jesse and Rex to also open fire on the droids. Rex threw a grenade, taking out a large group of them, also taking cover behind a pile of crates. Crosshair also assisted, taking out droids from a distance. 

“All units to the front door!” a battle droid from the back entrance commanded. The droids ran towards the front, leaving the back entrance wide open for the rest of the Bad Batch. Tech began working on opening the door.

“Hmm. This is a delicate operation,” he observed. Wrecker kicked the door open.

“Boom! Ha ha, you take too long.” Tech shook his head as his squadmate pried the door open. The team shot down more droids as they made their way further into the center. They reached a command station, quickly blasting the droids inside.

“Tech, get to work on these computers. We’ll go get the regs and Specter,” Hunter ordered. Tech did so while Hunter and Wrecker went to the front door. Meanwhile, Rex, Jesse, and Specter were making their way closer to the entrance, pushing the battle droids back until they were ambushed from behind by Hunter and Wrecker. With most of the droids destroyed, Rex, Jesse, and Specter approached the entrance and joined the other two in holding their position.

“What took you so long, Wrecker?” Specter teased.

“Hey, this is a ‘delicate operation’,” he replied. A loud noise caused them to notice a large droid transport approaching them. “Better get in there, Cap,” Wrecker advised. Rex ran back inside while the other four held their position and fired relentlessly at the deployed droids. Specter reconfigured her blaster to its shotgun form. 

“I have got to get me one of those,” Jesse commented.

Back inside, Rex found Tech working on the computer.

“Okay, I’m in. What am I looking for?”

“Here’s the algorithm,” Rex handed him the chip, taking off his helmet. “You’re looking for a program using this sequence.” Tech plugged in the chip and began working.

“Found it,” he announced after a moment. Holograms popped up above the table. “This is strange. It’s not a program. It’s a live signal from another planet… Skako Minor.”

“A live signal?” Rex wondered. 

Meanwhile outside, the battle droids continued to advance on the four clones, who were backed behind some crates. 

“Crosshair, we’re gonna need a lift,” Hunter said into his communicator. 

The sniper looked around for transportation and found a speeder, guarded by only a few droids.

“Not gonna be a problem,” Crosshair reported.

Inside the complex—

“Here it is. This is audible,” Tech said, finding a way to tap into the signal he found traced. 

“Patch it through. I want to hear it,” Rex ordered. Tech played the audio.

“What is that?” he wondered. They both listened intently for a moment. “It sounds almost… almost human.” Rex’s eyes were wide.

“It can’t be…”

“We gotta go, now!” Hunter ordered the other three. One by one they slipped inside, providing cover fire for each other as they began to make their way through the halls.

“Tech, find out who’s sending that signal. Ask who that is,” Rex said. Tech typed something into the console. The audio signal began to reply, repeating its answer.

“CT-1409.” 

The Captain went pale. “I… I don’t believe it.” The other four clones appeared in the room.

“We’re gone. Rex, let’s go,” Hunter said, urgently. Rex didn’t move, even as Tech brushed past him. “Rex, now!” He snapped out of it and put his helmet on, joining the others in escape, still pursued by droids. More droids waited for them outside, but Crosshair arrived in time with the transport speeder, pausing just long enough for all of them to hop on before they sped away.

Silence was heavy in the transport until the crew was safe and out of sight in the wilderness. It was then Tech chose to ask Rex a question. 

“That number, Captain, what did it mean?”

“CT-1409,” Rex paused, “that was Echo’s number. He’s alive.”

OMG thank you so much if you've read this far. This is the first time I've published anything anywhere so I'm really proud of what I've accomplished and really hope you (the dearest reader) continue to enjoy my story and OC! Stay tuned for more of Specter

#Star wars #Star wars oc #the bad batch #the bad batch hunter #tbb hunter x oc #tbb hunter #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #clone force 99 #the clone wars #the bad batch oc #tbb oc #sw tbb #sw tcw #f!oc #tbb wrecker

[echoedcrosshairs]

Foxglove ~ Commander Fox x F reader

According the language of flowers Foxglove symbolizes riddles, conundrums and secrets along with ambition and creativity.

Summary: A small fancy caff shops pops up in the senate building. Commander Fox is not amused.

Slow burn, enemies? to lovers, Commander Fox x reader, Commander Thorn x reader (platonic)

Warnings: Angst, Smut, implied smut, cannon violence and talks of cannon related violence.

Part two

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.9k

You fell had fallen asleep at your desk stretching out the design for the caff shop until one of the senators poked you back into consciousness. Embarrassing a paper clung to your face as you sat up, however the peeling sound was extremely satisfying.

"Thank you, Senator Chuchi," you said laying the paper back down on your desk. You noticed her observing eyes looking at the papers and partial recipes, "I was thinking to see about opening a Coffee shop a few level down so the troopers could get some," you admitted anxiously trying to tuck the papers away.

"I think it is brilliant, do you mind?" she asked pointing on the proposal paper.

You blinked stunned, "Be my guest," you said handing it to her, "I think it would benefit everyone's late nights."

"Give me a couple days, I'll see what I can do," she smiled taking the paper reading over it as she walked off.

It didn't take long for an answer. After work you had started cleaning up your desk for the next rotation when you noticed the red shock trooper approaching with a rather large looking envelope. He handed it to you and waited for the response. Your fingers ripped the seam of it open, the senate had thought it was a very good investment. You screamed giddily and through your arms around the trooper hearing a disgruntled groan come from him before coughing and stepping back, "My apologies, the senate building is getting a coffee shop on the lower levels for the troops and senators."

"Good evening, Ma'am. I will let Senator Chuchi know the delivery was successful."

The moment the trooper was out of sight you did a little happy dance. You turned your attention back to the small packet and reread it, excited that you could begin work immediately. You practically danced your way down to the designated level and room, fiddling with the controls you finally got the door to open to the near empty expanse except for a few stray box's.

"The senate building is closed to the public, I must ask you to leave," a voice called behind you.

You turned finding him waiting a kama and a visored helmet, "Commander! I work upstairs in filing, I am currently inspecting this location for a new shop."

"You must be mistaken with this is the Commander offices." You handed the commander the filing paperwork, "Great just wanted I needed distractions," he mumbled handing you the paper back.

"Given this is mostly for the stationed troopers, I thought it would be nice," you said curtly.

"Last thing I need is baby sitting duty to keep my brothers in line," he grumbled, "Good evening," Fox said turning in his heel heading back towards him office grumbling to himself about professional courtesy.

How rude? You did your best to shrug off the comment but it kept eating at you. I'll just start ordering supplies after a full nights rest. You walked past the offices noticing the Commander from earlier but another lounging in his office who gave you a small wave. At least some of the soldiers will appreciate it. You got onto the bus to head home finding the trooper who waved was standing there, he flagged you over. Keeping your hand on the rails you made your way finding the section marked 'clones' your stomach fell to the floor, the discrimination of the clones was a touchy subject but one that made you want to kick and scream.

"I just wanted to say thank you for the opening the Caf shop, no idea how you pulled it off but the boys are excited."

"The other commander seemed less then thrilled," you tried to hide the scowl on your face.

"Fox? He's rougher than durasteel around the edges. Name's Thorn by the way."

You awkwardly stuck out your free hand and said your name, "Nice to meet you," he took your arm and shook it back. His hesitation to you suggested he wasn't use to people to greeting him back, "So why are you on this bus? Don't you guys have personal speeders?" you asked noticing the lack of other shock trooper colors.

"I'm going to 79's, remember citizen don't drink and fly," he chuckled at his own joke.

"79's... Oh the clone bar?" You had never been there but overheard several troopers talking about fun nights out.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Are non clones allowed it?" You asked arching an eyebrow.

"Nat borns? Also yes, never been?"

"No, might check it out. Might give me ideas."

"You should if you're free sometimes."

"I'll go home and change, sounds like fun."

"Oh, do you want an escort?"

"I'd love that," Thorn walked with you back to your small apartment waiting outside while you get changed, "You're neighbors love to stare."

"Oh yeah... their probably wondering why work followed me home, if I'm in any sort of trouble so I should be expecting a text..." your comm beeped, "Speaking of which," you laughed. You answered the messages as quickly as possible while following Thorn back onto the train.

"That's good you have friends that care about you," he offered once you were done telling anyone that your coffee shop project got approved.

"Everyone deserves a friend, got many?"

"Thousands," he chuckled, "Just warning you might want to stick close to me or my brothers are going to hit on you something fierce."

"It can't be that-"

"Yes, yes it can be. Especially if the 501st is there," he genuinely laughed, "offer still stands, also since we'll be sitting at the commander's officer, if there's a guy in grey armor that's Wolffe. He's a major flirt don't mind him."

"Thanks for the heads up."

Both of you kept up the small talk as you reach 79's. You took it the bar, semi low lit, loud music towards the dance floor, a few luxury female droids, a distinct beer smell, and tons of troopers with a handful or too 'nat borns' wandering around. For some reason the place made you grin, happy soldiers enjoying some down time from the war given a place to feel... normal and accepted. Thorn guided you to the back table furtherest away from the music, you heard the small groan when he saw both Wolffe and Fox

"The bane of my existence," Fox grumbled.

"Don't mind him, he's grumpy because I dragged him out of his office... literally," Wolffe smirked, "Take off your helmet, breath, and drink, vod."

Thorn took off his helmet first, setting it on the table in front of him. His hair was a dark shade of red but in the regular solider cut with a miniature tattoo spelling 'Hammer' across his eyebrow. He stared down Fox until he caved and took his off. You stared at him for a moment to long looking at his short shaved sides and medium top combed comb making him squint at you for a moment before flagging the service droid for drinks. Unlike his brothers Fox’s eyes were almost true to his namesake, perfect golden sunrise kissed irises with his tanned complexion making them almost seem to glow even in the faded light.

"Need a drink with how much work I won't be able to get done," he scowled.

"It's not like I had a choice on where the location would be," you countered, "Wear earplugs."

Wolffe smirked watching Fox's anger flared up, "The lady has a point."

"Yes," Fox gridded out, "You know the 'cafe' is going to cause distractions which means lack of productivity and efficiency."

"Are you really complaining over decent caf? You live on that poor excuse of black sludge excuse for coffee," Thorn nipped at him which just got an eye roll.

"Do you really not trust your men to behave professionally and be respectful and timely? Isn't the Coruscant guard suppose to be the best of the best?" you poked getting a deadpan stare from Wolffe at the audacious comment.

Fox's lip twitch into a snarl, "Bold," is all he said.

Thorn tried to keep the smile off his face by covering his mouth with his hand eyeing the droid bringing the drinks over. Between drink the two of you passed comments back and forth about decor and drink name ideas. Most of the drinks took on names of various command titles and battalion numbers to really make it clone friendly. Wolffe scowled when his came up but didn't complain that the concept of it was made expresso.

"Him!" A blue captain came walking over who had been very obviously eves dropping pointed at a blue trooper, "Never serve him coffee. Ever. Hardcase is hyper enough. Mind if I join?"

"Getting off your leash for once, vod?" Wolffe snorted scooting into the booth giving him space to sit, "Sit, Rex" he said casually so you wouldn't have to ask.

"Switch spots with me," Thorn whispered, "501st has a few flirts."

You contently stood up letting Thorn slide out so you could slide into his spot unfortunately sliding in next to Fox causing him to scoot closer to Wolffe in the middle. Rolling your eyes you grabbed your glass taking a few sips. While they all conversed about recent duties you took your time eyeing the trooper's automatically finding the flirts as one winked at you. Thorn noticed shooting him a looking smirking as he turned around, "They should leave you alone... hopefully," his tone suggested he was less than positive about the statement.

"She should get use to it," Fox said curtly.

"Just want to through her to the wolves don't you," Wolffe teased winking at him, "You really are a blurg in the mud sometimes."

"Sometimes?" You watched the brotherly banter unfold about the stick up Fox's ass about how tightly wound to he is to his work. Another round of drinks came and they shoved towards Fox telling him to enjoy himself, he drank both of them to shut his brothers up. The drinks had started loosening him up finally but there was still an air about his unwavering authority and harshness after they got a couple more drinks in him that finally started to subside too.

"What do you think so far?" Thorn whispered.

"Like this better then the regular cantina's" you admitted, "Seems more relaxed."

"Most of the time, sometimes fights break out. I don't recommend you civs get anywhere near when one happens."

"Nat Borns, Civs, any other terms I need to know?" you asked curiously.

"Not off the top of my head. Dance?" Thorn asked while the both of you watched in slow motion as the question jostled you enough for your hand to miss completely setting the drink fully down on the counter spilling it's context over Fox.

He growled, "Can't even be asked to dance without being a problem," he grabbed the napkins out of the dispenser blotting up the mess, "Can't wait until you burn yourself with just getting hit on, the amount of paperwork."

"Fox," Wolffe growled back, "Stow it."

Thorn slide out of the booth letting you climb out the flush across your face as bright as Coruscant guard red, "I'm sorry, Fox," you said looking at him.

"It's Commander Fox to you," he said climbing out heading towards the refresher.

Slowly you made your way towards the door before Thorn caught you trying to sneak away, "Dance, he's just tired." You looked between the door and him opting to dance just so he wouldn't hold leaving over your head. After fumbling stepping on Thorn's foot several times you finally got into the grove of the danced "Something on your mind?"

"Just wondering if he's right-"

"The what if's of life are keeps you from being in the present and tends to leave you with guilt."

"Thank you."

The men he tried to ward off kept staring, Thorn scowled at them before giving them a warning gesture to back off. Putting himself between you and them he finally relaxed again muttering about maybe if Fox got laid wouldn't be such an ass, you couldn't help but giggle. He apologized saying he didn't realize he had said that out loud. After a couple more dance the two of you headed back to the table, the three of them still sitting there chatting mindlessly about whatever came out of their liquid freed up mouths.

"Pretty lady at the counter checking you out Foxy," Wolffe snickered.

"I choose the company of my Vod's."

"Even I know how to relax," Rex scowled, "Don't make me call your batch mates," he jokingly threaten.

Fox grimaced looking at the woman at the counter then back at you then back at the woman, "Your sister is prettier than you."

"So are your brothers," you deadpanned slipping out of the booth and out the front door, you felt entirely humiliated. At the risk of crying you flagged down a taxi to take you home instead of wanting to wait around on the bus. Peeling off the dress and stepping into the shower the tears finally shed. The pressure of trying to get the shop up and running, that embarrassment and just wondering what you did wrong after just trying to do something nice hit you like a plummeting ship. You shut off the water just sitting there for a moment before pulling yourself up, Tomorrow is a new day... but avoiding him couldn't hurt.

Between finishing the work load of filing early you ordered everything you needed stating the room number where it needed to be delivered too. Arriving downstairs you found the door prompt open with boxes inside along with Thorn hauling the rest of the guards boxes out.

"Stupid droids delivered some of the supplies to my office, I'll bring them over after I drop these at filing."

"Thank you, Commander," you said formally turning your attention back to the boxes. You groaned at the amount of work you had to do, finding his office you found a few more stacks groaning you push some of them to the room thanking the tiles floor for cooperating. By the time Thorn had gotten back you were gleaming with sweat but managed to get all of the boxes inside.

"I said I was going to bring them over," he scolded watching you down water as if your sweat had sucked all of it out of you.

“Problem?” You heard Fox’s rough voice.

“No, Sir,” you said gulping down the rest of the water prying yourself off the heap of boxes, “Just explaining that I can move my own boxes,” you added curtly glowering at him before stalking off to organize the piles of boxes.

“Next time please let me, it isn’t a problem,” Thorn said pointedly staring at Fox.

You didn’t hear Fox leave, you turned to see his lingering presence in the door frame “Can I help you?”

“Not even open yet and causing problems,” he scoffed walking off.

You wanted to throw a box at his head, if he wasn’t the head of the guard it might have been worth it. Even Thorn cocked his head glaring at him as he walked away, “Funny cause you went home with her ‘sister’ last night.” You’re face turned bright red, you heard him apologizing for the unchaste comment before you shut the door in his face not being able to get the burning under control. He went home with her? If that isn’t a backwards compliment. That insufferable dreadful man is not going to ruin this for me.

Hearing a barely audible tap on the door you opened it apolozing to who you assumed to be Thorn about needing a moment to yourself to find Fox standing there and the rest of your words died in your mouth. He handed you a cup of Caf, as if you didn’t have a few boxes worth in one of these piles, and walked off. Was that a poor excuse for an apology? You took a sip of the caf and nearly sprayed it into the hallway. This is why I’m opening a caf shop, this is disgusting. They get disgusting beer and even worse coffee. However you forced yourself to drink it wrinkling your nose with every drink. It was dangerously caffeinated you zoomed from task to task until the coffee bar was fully set up which looked odd in such an empty room.

“See, the coffee is fine as is,” Fox chuckled walking by to peer at the progress you were making impressed with how much you accomplished.

“I see why you have no taste,” you saw his footstep flatter for a moment knowing the punch landed.

“Don’t know if I should applaud you or be afraid of you,” Thorn chuckled bringing in another huge box, “You forgot your cups, kind of hard to serve coffee without them.”

“Thank you.”

“79’s after?” he asked setting the box next to the counter.

“Because that went so well the first time,” you muttered, “Sure,” you said offering a smile.

Sure enough, Fox walked in saying he was going too. You tried to keep a straight face but the tension between the half hidden glare was enough to make Thorn squirm hauling his brother out of the room to leave you to your work.

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