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superlarva · 7 months

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Modern AU kid Domino Squad! Cutup (back left), Hevy (back right), Fives (front left), Droidbait (front middle), Echo (front right). I felt the need to make them all look different since quintuplets would be a bit out of place in a modern AU, so Cutup, Hevy, and Droidbait are adopted.

Okay, I know it's been a few weeks, but I promise I'm still here and still working on Raising Dominoes. Life's just been super busy and I had to put in extra hours at the lab these past few weekends.

Anyways, here is Chapter 11 - Memories. And on a Saturday, not a Sunday! :)

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 10

Summary: Rex battles guilt and Echo recalls the events leading up to his hospitalization.

CW: Child abuse, death, death of children, guilt, missing limbs, hospitals, explosions. Heed the warnings on this one, friends. It's not a fun time for the boys.

Chapter 11 - Memories

Rex woke from an uncomfortable sleep as the first rays of sunlight began to illuminate the hospital room. He had not had the heart to separate the twins while they were sleeping, so he had hunkered down in the chair by the boy’s bedside for the night. Now his neck and back ached and he had pins and needles in his legs.

A quick look at the boys and he could see they were still sleeping. In the night they had drifted away from each other. Fives was now sprawled out on the bed, lying on his stomach like a starfish, leaving Echo a tiny sliver of space, and even that was invaded by Fives’s elbow.

Rex smiled to himself and gently moved Fives’s arm to his side so the boy would not accidentally take out one of his brother’s eyes. Luckily the kid was out cold and did not stir at his touch.

Now that he was up, Rex stretched and lazily strolled across the room to the window. Cody would have loved the view. The sun peaked between skyscrapers, casting the streets below in harsh shadows and warm light. From the way the whole city was bathed in orange it looked like a mild autumn morning despite the frigid temperatures Rex knew were on the other side of the glass.

He did not know how long he stood there, staring out the window and watching the cars march by in the lines of morning traffic like ants. He let his mind wander freely, enjoying the peaceful quiet of dawn. His brain had been working in overdrive constantly the past four days, always worried or planning. It felt nice to turn it off for a few seconds, doing a hard reboot and getting himself back on track.

Eventually the sound of the door opening caught Rex’s attention. Kix nodded to him from the doorway and strode over to the bed to change out Echo’s med bag.

“Hey,” Rex called softly, abandoning his post by the window and moving to stand beside the doctor. “Shouldn’t you be at home? It’s Saturday.”

Kix shrugged, focused on checking up on Echo, “I guess I picked up an extra shift.”

“What about Dogma and Tup?”

“Jesse’s got them,” Kix shrugged again, his tone nonchalant. He scrawled something quickly on his clipboard and then turned to Rex and nodded to the door, “Let’s talk outside.”

Rex followed Kix outside Echo’s room without complaint, and sat when Kix motioned to a bench in the hallway.

Kix sat next to him, sighing heavily, and running a hand through his intricate buzzcut, “Echo’s doing really well. Even better since you and Fives arrived.”

Rex nodded.

“If everything continues to go well, we should be able to discharge him this Wednesday. We have to ween him off the meds and make sure he won’t be in too much pain when you take him home. At this point, that’s really all he’s here for. The medication, sterile environment, and so that we can monitor the healing process.”

“So, he’s going to be okay?”

Kix smiled, leaning back, and resting his head against the wall, “That’s one resilient kid you got, Rex. It’ll take time, but he’ll be alright.”

“Good…” Rex trailed off his mind already whizzing over a million different questions. What if he was not? What if he healed physically, but could not mentally or emotionally? What if he hated him? What if he’d never be able to gain the kid’s trust? What if-

“Rex,” Kix laid a hand on Rex’s violently bouncing knee, and Rex instinctively jerked away from the touch. Kix frowned, retracting his arm, “More importantly, are you going to be alright?”

“‘More importantly?’” Rex scoffed. He turned his head away from Kix, choosing to focus on the checkered floor pattern instead. Echo was the one in the hospital, not him.

“Yeah, ‘more importantly,’” Kix hunched over, bracing his elbows on his knees before lowering his voice and continuing, “Listen to me, Rex. I don’t know a lot about what those boys have gone through, but if it’s anything half as bad as my boys—and I’m confident it’s worse—you’re going to need to be strong for them.”

Kix’s eyes flicked over to Rex to ensure his friend was still paying attention, “You’re going to have to show them they can trust you over and over and over again. And once you think they finally do, you’re going to do something that’s going to mess it all up. You’re going to have to start from square one.”

Rex was about to interject, but Kix held up a hand, “Listen, I’m telling you this because I want you to be prepared. I want this to end well. For that to happen, you need to show them how to be strong and learn to trust again. You won’t be able to do that if you let yourself get overwhelmed.”

“I-” Rex stuttered, voice caught in his throat, leg bouncing erratically again. He shook his head as if to shake unpleasant thoughts from his mind.

“Please don’t live in the past, Rex. Please. I don’t want that for you, and I don’t want that for your boys.”

Rex turned to Kix, eyes full of desperation, “How? How can I not live in the past? Look at what she did to them! Look at what I did to them! I should have been there. If I had been there-”

Rex broke off, hands trembling in his lap, a pained smile stretching across his face.

“You have to understand it’s not your fault. I know that’s hard, but what happened to them is not your fault. It’s not.”

Kix paused for a second, letting Rex meet his eyes before continuing, “What will happen to them will be. So, let’s make sure that it’s your fault that they smile. That they laugh and play and miss you when you’re gone. Make sure it’s your fault they’re happy.”

Rex shook his head, “And if I can’t?”

“You can. I know you can. And Cody and I will always be here to help, okay?”

Rex shrugged.

Kix nudged him in the arm, a slight smile spreading up the corners of his mouth, “Heck, even Jesse wants to help out. He’s been complaining that he’s the only one that hasn’t met them yet.”

Rex let out a clipped chuckle at the idea of his twins meeting Kix’s younger brother, “Yeah, okay.”

Echo woke to an aching pain coursing through his body and a familiar white light as he blinked himself awake. He must have overdone it during training yesterday. Must have hit his head too with the way it pounded.

He could feel the warmth of Fives’s body next to his left side just like every morning, but the space on the cot to his right was cold and empty. Where was Droidbait?

Echo reached out to feel for his younger brother but retracted his arm when all he found was a fistful of air.

Gone.

The world pitched around Echo. He blinked trying to block out the blinding light and sinking feeling in his gut and focus. He felt sluggish and fuzzy like he had been sedated, but he could not remember doing anything wrong. No, if he had done something bad, he would be in isolation. It would be cold and dark, and Fives would not be beside him.

Then Droidbait must have been in isolation. What could his youngest brother have done? Why could he not remember?

His head, right. His head. He must have hit his head.

Echo reached over to Fives, about to shake his twin awake when he stopped, pulling back his arm as if it had been burned.

Something was not right.

The light was slowly turning from the intense white to a warm orange as his eyes adjusted. It looked like sunlight. But that could not be right. There were no windows in their room, just a single exposed bulb that’s harsh light reflected on the white floors and walls.

No. This was wrong.

Echo tried to sit up, tried to look for Droidbait, Hevy and Cutup as his eyes gradually focused on the room around him. Tried to make sense of the bed he was on and the machines surrounding him.

He could not. Could not sit up. Could not see his brothers.

Then he could not stop himself from remembering.

Remembering Hevy’s plan.

They were going to escape. Going to climb over the wall during their morning drills. He had thought it was a bad idea. Mom told them not to go near the citadel walls. She had warned them bad things would happen. Cutup said she was probably lying. He had said she would not be watching. Echo did not agree.

She was always watching.

Droidbait was scared. He had said over and over that he did not want to go. That he was afraid. That they would not make it over the wall. That she would find them even if they did.

As soon as the drill started Hevy had grabbed him. Dragged their youngest brother after him. Cutup had followed just behind, leaving Echo to wake up Fives.

Fives never woke to the alarm. Echo thought the flashing red lights and the incessant ringing would have been enough to wake a dead man, but Fives never so much as stirred. Echo had to shake him.

Fives had not been sure about Hevy’s plan either. He had said that even if they cleared the wall and made it down to the other side, what would they do next? Where would they go? But when the time came, he was on board. If Hevy and Cutup and Droidbait were doing it, so was he.

If Fives was doing it, so was Echo.

They had run down the hall and out through the normally bolted shut doors. The doors outside only opened during morning drill. Echo knew. This had not been the first time they had tried to escape.

By the time he and Fives had made it out into the yard, his adopted brothers were already scaling the wall. Cutup was nearly at the top and Hevy was helping Droidbait a few feet below.

No one had stopped them.

Fives ran to the wall. Echo followed.

They were doing this now.

No turning back.

About halfway up Echo heard the first explosion. He heard Droidbait screaming Cutup’s name. His voice had been laden with fear and grief. He heard Hevy yelling at Droidbait, begging him not to move. He heard Fives whimper quietly next to him.

When Echo pulled himself up onto the top of the wall he saw Hevy crouched next to Droidbait’s foot. He saw his youngest brother’s eyes wide with terror, staring at the place where the explosion had been. He saw the pile of rubble. He saw Cutup’s eyes staring blankly up at the sky from under the settling dust.

Hevy had turned to him and Fives and moved aside so they could see the dark olive cylinder resting under Droidbait’s foot. Droidbait stared at the rubble, repeating Cutup’s name over and over, his voice hollow and quiet.

Hevy had hesitated looking from their baby brother’s foot to his lost expression before turning back to the twins.

“You take him and you go,” Hevy had ordered.

Echo watched as he yanked the mine out from under Droidbait’s foot and curled his body over it in one fluid motion. He had been trying to stop the explosion from harming anyone but himself.

It had not worked.

Hevy was blown back towards the twins, a mess of blood and flesh. Droidbait was pushed backwards from the force and teetered on the edge of the wall.

Fives screamed and rushed forwards, reaching out a hand.

He had not been fast enough.

Droidbait fell.

Echo remembered the sound it made when his little brother hit the ground.

He doubted he would ever forget.

Echo did not remember much after that. He must have stepped on one of the mines as well, considering the state of his body. He looked over at his brother, making sure his brother really was as unharmed as he had seemed the day before.

Fives seemed fine, and Echo closed his eyes again to block out the too bright light before they flew open in surprise as the door to his room creaked open.

That man was standing there, the one who had brought Fives. The one named Rex. He looked like the other one—Cody—but with shorter blond hair instead of the longer dark curls that matched him and his brother.

Cody had come a lot to visit. Echo barely remembered much from the past few days, but it seemed every time he woke, he had been there, sitting at his bedside, quietly reading a book of some sort. He had thought Cody was his dad at first. It made sense, they looked just like each other, and why else would anyone take an interest in him.

When Echo had asked, Cody had smiled and said that his dad was taking care of Fives, that he was his uncle, that his dad’s name was Rex.

Rex.

His dad.

The guy had seemed nice enough yesterday, but Echo knew better than to believe his charade. Besides, Echo did not want a dad. He wanted his brothers back.

Echo must have let his face show too much disgust when Rex came into his view, as the man quickly rushed to his side, “Are you okay?”

Echo narrowed his eyes. Rex sounded like Fives any time Echo or one of their other brothers got hurt during drills. His voice was soft and gentle, even caring, and Echo was taken aback. It sounded genuine.

“Fine,” Echo mumbled, voice scratchy.

The man hovered awkwardly by the side of the bed for another moment before nodding and sitting slowly in the chair, “Your brother’s still sleeping, huh?”

Echo nodded, waiting for the command to wake his twin and rob him of a few more precious minutes of sleep.

It did not come.

Instead, Rex passed a small book to Echo, and pressed a finger to his lips, “We’ll have to be quiet, then.”

Echo watched as Rex took out a book of his own and flipped to a page in the middle, his head bowed as he read silently. The boy looked down at the book clutched in his hand. It appeared to be some sort of fiction book based on the colorful cover.

Echo snuck a glance at the blond man. He was still engrossed in his novel. The boy cautiously opened to the first page, chancing another look at Rex. Just because he was handed the book did not mean he was allowed to read it. The blond man looked up at the sound of the page crinkling, met his gaze for half a second, flashed a quick smile, and then went back to reading.

Echo followed suit.

Maybe his dad was not so bad.

Just maybe.

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny @tearfulsolace @rndmpeep @brokenphoenix99 @nerdy-valkyrie @xylionet @tazmbc1 @eyayah123 @the-bad-batch-baroness @sarcastic-nebula @ihaventpickedausername @sexysmeagolshitposting @emma-1409 @marcadamia

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superlarva · 8 months

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I'm only asking this on anon, because I have to message people from my main account/blog which is confusing when I do most of my reblogging from my side blogs. So for the purposes of this message, I am @clonethirstingisreal

And I want to apologize for reblogging all of the chapters of your Rex being a dad to Echo and Fives story, because I'm sure you're going to be inundated with notifications and you might not even be on here very much...so please don't feel the need to respond to my reblogs, I just want to make sure they live on my blog and that my followers get to see them, because I think everyone should read them!!! I love this story so much!!

So anyway, yeah...thanks for writing it! And I'm pretty sure you said you would be writing at least one more chapter, so I look forward to that!

I just didn't want to stress you out with a bunch of notifications.

OMG, hi @clonethirstingisreal (I hope you can see this, for some reason it won't let me tag you properly)

First of all, you have nothing to apologize for, friend! I love receiving notifications--hearts, reblogs, and comments are all much appreciated. I cannot express the amount of joy that I feel after coming home from a long day of work and seeing that someone has been enjoying and engaging with something I have written, so, thank you very much! <3

Second, I only started seriously posting things on tumblr this summer and I am still learning tumblr etiquette and features, so if I'm being honest, I have been a little scared/nervous to respond to people all the time. With that being said, I do read everyone's comments and reblogs (as I said before, they make me very happy). Perhaps as I get more comfortable here I will respond more. :)

Third, I'm delighted that you are enjoying Raising Dominoes! I currently have nine (I think) unposted finished chapters and more on the way, so don't worry, there's plenty more to come. Some things to look forward to are first days of school, trips to the library, Echo coming home, celebrations, a side of angst, all the good stuff. I've been trying to post every Sunday night, but sometimes I have events or work that get in the way.

Okay, now on to some responses to some of your comments/questions! :)

I'm happy that the little Bad Batch cameo brought you in! We'll see more of them once the boy's are in school!

Hehe, I'm glad you like the hospital parking lot scene. I wrote that one from experience. I feel I have done my duty if I was able to give someone the feels!

I LOVED writing the shopping trip chapter. I'm glad people have been reacting well to teen Hardcase, I was afraid people weren't going to like my choice of ages for the characters.

Speaking of ages, I could have sworn you (I think it was you?) had mentioned something about doing the math to see how old Rex would have been when the twins were born and I can't find it now, but anyway, you were right, ~16-17. I might go into that a little later, so I don't want to spoil anything for now!

Ahh, okay, that was long, sorry!

TL;DR: Feel free to reblog as much as you want! It makes me so happy to hear your thoughts!

#raising dominoes

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superlarva · 8 months

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Much needed cuddles!

Raising Dominoes has reached double digits!!! I've never been this committed to a project before and I can't wait to share more!

Here's Chapter 10 - Reunited.

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 09 Next chapter: 11

Summary: Rex and Fives visit Echo at the hospital.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, food insecurities, hospitals, missing limbs

Chapter 10 – Reunited

Fives bolted into Echo’s room before Rex could even think about stopping him. One second the boy had been holding his hand, the next the door was beginning to swing shut after him.

In the split second that Rex had been able to see into the room, he caught sight of a familiar figure in a long white coat standing next to a bed occupied by a small boy. The shades were not drawn this time, and there were less machines beeping away. From the fleeting image it looked like Echo was doing better.

Rex followed Fives into the room and his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the kid climbing up onto his twin’s bed. Worried that Fives was going to accidentally hurt his brother, he quickly covered the distance between them and reached for Fives, ready with a lecture about proper behavior in a hospital, but faltered when he heard a deep chuckle.

“It’s alright, Rex,” Kix said, smiling as he finished hanging a bag on an IV pole.

Rex frowned, worry etching creases in his brow.

“He’s being careful. He won’t hurt him,” Kix reassured. He walked around the bed to Rex’s side and lowered his voice so the boys would not be able to hear, “Trust me, they need this. That was the first time I’ve seen anyone get near the kid without him flinching.”

Rex nodded, but his frown deepened. Echo weakly shifted over in the bed to give Fives more room.

“See if you can get him to eat anything,” Kix whispered before turning on his heel and starting for the door. When he reached the door, he looked over his shoulder at the twins and waved, “Okay, Echo, I’m going to go now. I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you, alright, trooper?”

Echo made no response, but Kix did not seem to expect one since the door was already clicking shut behind him.

Rex should not have felt uneasy being left alone in a room with his twin boys. It was ridiculous, really, but the way Echo stared put him on edge. The boy’s eyes never left him, not even as Fives snuggled up next to him, close but not touching. Not even when Fives called his twin’s name.

Echo’s eyes were cold and evaluating. Sizing him up as if he were a threat. Rex supposed that was probably what he thought he was: someone else that would hit or yell, someone else that would poke and prod with needles.

Rex really only had one move. He backed away from the edge of the bed slowly and sat in the chair pulled up beside it. Echo’s eyes followed him.

It was Fives who broke the silence, “Are you better now?”

Echo blinked, his eyes slowly pulling away from Rex’s to settle on his brother, “…yes.”

His voice was so small and though he wanted to sound brave for Fives, it was more than clear he was lying. His face was pale and gaunt, his voice hoarse and dry, and he was still surrounded by bags of meds and beeping machines.

“So, we can take him home now?” Fives asked hopefully, lifting his head from the pillow to address Rex.

Rex shook his head, “We have to wait for Kix to discharge him.”

Fives let out an exasperated sigh and let his head drop back into the pillow dramatically. After a minute of silence, he turned to Echo, his voice soft, “I missed you.”

The corners of Echo’s thin lips quirked up into the image of a smile, but an image was all it was. There was no sincerity to the motion and the smile dissipated quickly, face contorting in pain, or grief, or sadness.

The boy’s mind was elsewhere, his sad eyes darting around the room before drifting back over to study Rex. Rex smiled, though he was afraid his was as empty and meaningless as Echo’s had been, “Uh, Echo, it’s nice to meet you. I’m… I’m Rex.”

Rex cringed at his awkwardness, but he forced himself to gauge the boy’s reaction. There was none. Echo remained still, eyes locked onto his.

Rex broke eye contact, dropping his gaze to the gift bag still clutched in his hand, “Oh, um, Fives, do you want to give your brother his present?”

“Oh, yeah!” Fives jumped off the bed and retrieved the bag, crinkling it around loudly as he climbed back up, kneeling at Echo’s side. He held out the present in front of his brother, “I saw this at the… the gift shop and- and Rex said I could get it for you!”

Echo reached out slowly and took the bag, letting it rest on his chest as he used his remaining arm to attempt to fish out the gift.

Fives watched his twin struggle for a moment before his excitement won out, “It’s a book!”

Echo finally pulled out the book and turned it over, looking at the cover.

“It’s a- a guide book. For Kamino- no, um- Coruscant. That’s where we are!” Fives exclaimed, excitement and his difficulty remembering what Rex had said about the book causing his words to come out breathless.

In Rex’s eyes the book was worthless—a cheap tourists’ guide to Coruscant—but it had been the only book in the gift shop, and Fives had insisted Echo would like it. Who was Rex to dispute his claim?

Echo turned the book over one more time to look at the back and set it down at his side. “Thanks,” he said quietly, looking at Fives before turning his attention to Rex, voice now so soft Rex had to strain to hear it, “Thank you, sir.”

Rex smiled, and this time he was sure it looked genuine, “You’re welcome.”

“Do you like it?” Fives asked, beaming at his brother and bouncing a little on the bed.

Echo nodded, his eyes flicking over to Rex and shoulders tensing.

He was lying.

He was lying and he thought Rex was going to what? Punish him for it? Call him out on it? Make both of them upset?

“Wow,” Fives breathed, flopping back down onto the bed, seemingly oblivious, “I’m so happy to see you.”

“I’m so happy to see you,” Echo repeated, tearing his eyes away from Rex to face his brother.

“Does- Does it hurt?” Fives asked, looking at the places on the sheets where the lumps ended.

“Not really, I’m just tired.”

“Can I see?”

Echo shifted to sit up a bit higher on the pillows and pulled the blankets down. The stumps where his limbs used to be were wrapped up in bandages. His right arm had been cut just above the elbow, his right leg above the knee, and his left leg below the knee. It was a miracle the paramedics had been able to arrive in time to stabilize him before he bled out.

“Not much to see,” Echo rasped, letting out a strangled laugh that quickly morphed into a coughing fit.

Rex rose from his chair instinctively, “We should get you some water.”

Echo flinched back at the sudden movement, screwing his eyes shut, coughing subsiding for a moment to allow a small whimper to escape his throat.

“Okay, okay, I’m sitting down,” Rex slowly lowered himself back into the chair.

Fives hovered over Echo, hands twitching like he wanted to touch him, but he was not sure he should. Instead of offering any sort of physical comfort, Fives opted for verbal, “It’s okay, Rex is nice. He’s nice.”

“He’s nice?” Echo managed weakly, eyes opening a crack.

“Mm-hmm! Nice,” Fives answered cheerily.

Echo began coughing again and it took all of Rex’s strength not to get up from the chair for a second time. There was a glass of water on a tray full of food next to the bed and Rex pointed to it, “Fives, can you get that water for Echo?”

Fives turned and grabbed the cup, pressing it into his twin’s hand. Echo took it and brought it to his mouth, arm trembling under the small amount of weight. Much of the water spilled down the front of the boy’s papery hospital gown and onto the sheets, but Rex was relieved to see him take a few gulps.

Echo passed the glass back to Fives and relaxed back into the pillows, giving out one final cough.

“That feels better, huh?” Rex asked, relaxing back into the chair himself.

Echo blinked, “…feels better?”

“Yeah, doesn’t it?”

The boy slowly nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“You know what else would help you feel better?”

Echo swallowed, his eyes darting over to where Fives sat next to him before returning to stare blankly at Rex, “No, sir.”

“Some food in your tummy,” Rex nodded to the tray of food by Fives.

Fives pushed the tray over to Echo, who shook his head, “I’m alright, sir.”

“Aren’t you hungry?” Rex questioned, concern written across his face.

“A bit,” Echo confessed after a moment. The boy dropped his eyes to the bowl of stew and looked at it like it was a cup full of bugs.

“Are you allergic?”

Echo shook his head, still watching his meal with disgust.

“You just don’t like it then?”

The boy shrugged.

“Okay…” Rex mumbled, wracking his brain for a nicer what to ask what the problem with the food was.

It turned out he did not need to.

“So then why won’t you eat it?” Fives asked.

“I…” Echo started, his voice barely audible, “I don’t deserve it.”

Everything stopped for a moment: the beeping of the machines, the little particles dancing in the waning light, even the beating of Rex’s heart. The kid thought he did not deserve hospital food. Hospital food. It brought Rex back to the first night he brought home Fives, when the boy had cried because he was “being too nice” to him.

Vaguely Rex wondered if Echo thought he did not deserve the meal because it was nicer than whatever type of sustenance he was used to, or because he was accustomed to having to work for his food. Neither option made Rex very happy.

In fact, he was angry.

No, angry was not quite right.

He was livid.

Rex gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before his heart exploded with rage. When he opened his eyes he was met with twin sets of chocolate colored irises staring back at him.

His heart melted, “You deserve it, Echo.”

The boy kept his face unnaturally still and Rex wished he could read what was going on under that carefully maintained mask.

“You deserve it,” Rex repeated, louder this time. He looked down at the floor, hoping to hide the sadness in his eyes, “Everyone deserves to be able to eat when they’re hungry.”

The room was silent again. Rex did not dare look up from his shoes. He did not know if he could bear looking into their innocent faces after everything they had been through because of him. Because he had done everything he could to not look back.

If only he had, then he would have found them earlier, before-

“I can eat it,” Echo’s quiet voice cut through Rex’s thoughts.

He snapped his head up to see both boys looking at the tray of food with downcast expressions.

“I’m sorry, sir” Echo muttered, his shoulders tensing, “I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

“What? No, no, I’m not upset,” Rex said, waving his hands around as if that would prove his sincerity. The last thing he wanted was for his boys to be tiptoeing around him and worrying about upsetting him.

The twins looked up at him skeptically.

“Not upset,” Rex reassured, giving them a small smile, “Not upset, just- Hey! I’ve got an idea.”

Echo’s head tilted to the side, one eyebrow cocking up in interest.

Rex turned to Fives, “Hey, bud, are you hungry?”

“Uh-huh?” Fives’ brows crinkled together.

“Why don’t we go down to the cafeteria real quick and get some dinner to bring back here? Then we can all eat together.”

“Okay,” Fives agreed easily, sliding off the bed. Once his feet hit the ground he turned back to his twin, “Okay?”

Echo nodded, “Okay.”

The rest of the evening was spent answering Fives’s one hundred and one questions about the hospital and watching Echo slowly pick at his food long after both Rex and Fives had finished. When he finally pushed it away, he had only gotten through around half, but when Kix came in to say goodbye at the end of his shift, he seemed ecstatic that any of it was gone at all, so Rex counted that as a win.

At around 8 pm both boys were exhausted. Rex was about to suggest that he take Fives home for the night when the boy passed the Coruscant guidebook to his twin, “Can you read to me?”

Echo smiled softly and took the book, sandwiching it between his chest and his hand so he would be able to keep it steady as he read.

There was no way Rex was interrupting this. He leaned back in his chair and listened to Echo rattle off facts about the Bureau of Ships and Services Heritage Museum.

After a few minutes Fives shifted in the bed next to his brother. “Cuddle?” He asked, looking at Echo hopefully.

Echo put down the book for a moment to pat his shoulder, “Here.”

Fives smiled sleepily and inched closer to his twin to rest his head on his shoulder.

Echo resumed reading and in no time at all Fives was asleep. Rex watched as Echo carefully set the book down so as not to disturb his brother. He then pulled the covers up around Fives’s shoulders. As he did, he noticed Rex looking at them and frowned in a silent question.

“You take such good care of your brother,” Rex said softly.

Echo looked down at Fives, a real, true smile spreading across his face, “I love him. I’d do anything for him.”

#Fives takes care of Echo just as much as Echo takes care of him #but we'll get there #eventually #the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #captain rex #clone medic kix #clone trooper kix #domino twins #baby dominos #superlarva

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superlarva · 8 months

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They're totally paying attention! :)

Welp, I'm starting to think I don't know what day Sunday is...

Regardless, here's Chapter 9 - School Visit of Raising Dominoes.

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 08 Next chapter: 10

Summary: Rex and Fives visit the local elementary school.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, a very minor curse (I wouldn't really consider it a curse, but just to be careful... also, it's said in narration, not dialogue)

Chapter 9 – School Visit

“I want to see Echo.”

“I know, bud,” Rex sighed, trying not to let the exasperation show in his voice.

Fives had been at it since he woke, refusing to move, eat, or say anything that did not express his want for his twin. Now they sat in the elementary school parking lot, two hours late for their appointment with the principal.

“Fives?”

The boy did not stir from his position curled up in his car seat.

“Fives, look at me,” Rex said, exhaustion allowing some of his usual sternness to slip into his tone.

The kid’s shoulders tensed and his eyes reluctantly wandered over to Rex’s.

“We are going to go see Echo as soon as his doctor tells me it’s safe to see him, okay?”

“Want Echo n-now,” Fives whispered.

His words lacked the high-pitched whiney quality Rex had been expecting and he blinked dumbly, taken aback. The last thing Rex wanted to do was keep the brothers apart. He knew the feeling that accompanied the separation from one you admire, trust, need. He knew the feeling well, and he would not wish it on his worst enemy, let alone his child.

Rex slumped back into the seat and began unconsciously picking at the sleeve of his jacket, mind whirring and leg bouncing erratically, “When- when I was your age, me and your Uncle Cody—er, Cody and I—we, uh, didn’t really have a mom or dad to take care of us.”

Rex paused to take a breath, still unsure where exactly he was going with this story. He could feel Fives’s eyes boring into him and he squirmed, unable to meet the boy’s gaze, “We got sent to a lot of different homes where different people would, uh, take care of us, but sometimes… sometimes they would split us up. Sometimes we wouldn’t go together.”

Rex stole a quick glance at Fives. The boy was staring, waiting for him to continue. Rex attempted a smile, but could not help but feel like it more resembled a grimace. He sighed, hands moving to fidget with the zipper of his jacket, “Every time they separated us, I felt so lost and powerless. There was nothing- nothing I could do, and I never knew when I would be able to see Cody again. And- and I hated it. It was the worst feeling.”

Rex turned to meet Fives’s eyes, “So, I get it. I really do. I know you want to see Echo. I want to see him too. If I could do anything I wanted, I’d bring you to him right now.”

“…you would?” Fives asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“I would.”

“I-I don’t want to go without Echo,” Fives mumbled, turning his attention towards the elementary school.

“We have to go take a look at the school because I told them we were coming and they are all super excited to meet you,” Rex said, starting to regret his decision to not include Fives when he and Cody called the school to set up a meeting and tour. “It’s going to be really fun. They’re going to show you around and tell you about all the cool things you’re going to learn.”

Fives made a face, “Echo should be here. Not me.”

Rex felt as if he had just been stabbed in the heart, “No. No, you should be here.”

Fives scoffed and turned his head so his face was obscured from Rex’s view.

“No, Fives, listen to me. You should be here. Echo should be here too, but you should be here. I- you-” Rex sighed, letting his head fall into his hands. He wished Cody were here. He would know what to say.

Cut would know what to say too. He had kids. Little rascals, if Rex remembered correctly. He had to make everything into a game for those kids to do anything. Putting away dishes: who can stack them the neatest? Time to get in the car: who can get there the fastest?

A game.

Of course.

Rex lifted his head out of his hands, “If we go in and take the tour and you remember what they tell you, then when we go see Echo this weekend, you can tell him all about it. Think he would like that?”

Fives turned to face Rex again and hesitated, eyes searching Rex’s for something, before nodding seriously.

Rex smiled, “Sounds like a deal.”

The secretary had them wait on a bench outside the principal’s office until he was ready for them. Given the fact that they had arrived later than expected, Rex had thought the principal would leave them waiting, but almost as soon as they sat, the door opened.

“Good afternoon, young one. I am Mr. Plo Koon,” A tall man that Rex recognized as the principal of the school greeted, smiling down fondly at Fives.

The boy jumped to his feet and stood stiff as a board, almost as if he were standing at attention, “G-good afternoon, Mr. Plo Koon, s-sir.”

The principal’s smile deepened, “My, what lovely manners. You must be Fives?”

Fives nodded, “Yes, sir.”

“Many of the students here call me Mr. Plo, but ‘Mr. Plo Koon’ or ‘sir’ is alright too if that’s what you’re comfortable with.”

“Oh-Okay Mr.- Mr.-” Fives looked up at Rex uncertainly.

Rex nodded and smiled encouragingly.

Fives turned back to the principal, “Okay, Mr. Plo.”

“Very good,” Plo said, beaming down at Fives and clasping his hands together. He then shut the door to his office and began leading them down the hall, “Shall we begin our tour?”

The school was nice. It had clearly been remodeled a few years ago as it had a very modern interior design and was relatively free from wear and tear that would denote that it was the home of tiny grade schoolers for eight hours a day.

They were shown the cafeteria, auditorium, gym, library, and the rooms for the various different extracurricular activities like art and music, all of which Fives marveled at for their large open spaces, walls and walls of books, or amenities.

Mr. Plo was clearly taking pleasure in Fives’s wonder and Rex could not help but enjoy the boy’s delight as well. He was glad that the tour had allowed his mind to wander from Echo, even if just for the good part of an hour.

At the end of the tour, they circled back around and stopped outside of one of the classrooms they had passed on the way to the library. Plo turned to address Rex and Fives, “This one of our second-grade classrooms. If you want, the teacher of this class volunteered to let us sit in on a few minutes so that you could see what it would be like to go here. Would you like that?”

Fives nodded eagerly.

The principal smiled and opened the door. Fives bounded in after him and Rex followed quickly, pulling the door shut behind them.

When Rex looked up he found a class full of 7 year old twisting around in their desks trying to get a good look at him and Fives. The class was eerily quiet and Rex was thankful when the teacher standing at the front broke the silence, “Good afternoon, Principal Plo.”

Mr. Plo nodded, “Good afternoon, 99. Good afternoon, second grade.”

The teacher—99—led the class in a chorus of “Good afternoon, Principal Plo” as Plo ushered them to an empty table in the corner of the class.

Once they were seated, 99 resumed his lesson and Rex scanned the classroom. It was as well put together as the rest of the school. It was bright and colorful, and there was plenty of stimulus for young children.

Rex also got a better look at 99. At first from his voice, stature, and the wrinkles lining his face, Rex had thought the man old like his name, but as he looked closer, he realized the man was not elderly, just had some sort of facial deformity. Perhaps a muscle one as well, as he looked awfully thin and hunched over oddly as he walked.

The children in the class appeared to be engaged and attentive, save for a group of similar-looking boys in the other back corner.

The big bald boy was playing with a toy half hidden under his desk, his face lighting up with joy occasionally from his own, internal musings. His stature was intimidating for a seven-year-old, but such an innocence played out in his eyes that Rex had to believe the kid would not hurt a fly. At least, not on purpose.

The second boy had long wavy hair, pushed back by a red bandana. He was staring out the window, boredom etched across his features. Rex thought he looked a little like Cody when he was fed up someone’s bullshit.

The scrawny one with glasses appeared to be scribbling notes in the margins of a book. He might have been taking notes on 99’s instructions, but Rex doubted it, as no other children had books out to take notes in and the boy was hunched over it like it was the only thing that existed.

The fourth boy was sleeping. Wispy white hair sticking out in all directions as his head rested on his folded arms across the desk. Even through the oversized hoodie Rex could tell by the boy’s pointy elbows that he practically had Fives and Echo beat for the “most emaciated kid of the week” award.

Mr. Plo noticed the direction of Rex’s gaze and gave him a small nudge, “Those are the quadruplets. They transferred here this year. Bit of a special case, those boys. Not so different from yours, perhaps.”

Rex took one last look at the brothers before turning his attention back to 99’s mini lecture. He hoped Fives and Echo would behave differently from those boys at school. He hoped they would at least try to pay attention.

After sitting in on 99’s lesson, Mr. Plo lead them back to his office and had them sit across the desk from him. He laced his fingers together and leaned his elbows on the desk, smiling warmly at Fives, “Did you enjoy the tour?”

The boy nodded, “Mm-hmm!”

“I’m glad,” Plo glanced quickly over at Rex, then turned his attention back to Fives, “Now, your father told me that you’ve never been to school before, is that true?”

Fives looked to Rex before cautiously letting out a small “uh-huh.”

“Okay, that’s alright. Would it be okay if I asked you a few questions?”

“What kind of questions?”

“Well, your dad told me you were really good at math, so I wanted to ask you some math questions. Then we might play a couple games. Is that alright?”

Fives’s brow crinkled and his eyes darted between Mr. Plo and Rex. From the look Rex didn’t doubt Fives knew this was a test, but the boy eventually shrugged and muttered a quiet affirmative.

Fives made it all the way through to multiplication before he started having problems answering the principal’s questions. He clearly did not know his times tables, but from what Rex could remember, that still meant he was on track for second grade.

After the math questions Mr. Plo pulled out a few logic puzzles and had Fives complete them. Fives seemed to do so without difficulty, filling in the picture with the correct puzzle pieces and picking the right color to finish the pattern.

The principal seemed quite pleased with the boy as he put the puzzles away, “You did a very good job, Fives. I just have one more question for you if that’s okay.”

Fives nodded, though Rex could not help but notice that the kid looked tired.

Mr. Plo slid a piece of paper and a pencil across the table, “Could you write your name for me?”

The boy visibly deflated a bit, but he said nothing and reached out, gripping the pencil awkwardly. At first Rex had no clue what Fives was writing; the lines were large and wobbly, curving in places they should not. By the time the boy got to the second vaguely “s” shaped letter, Rex realized what “name” he had been writing and reached out gently to still Fives’s arm.

Large brown eyes looked up at Rex in confusion.

“Fives…” Rex started softly, “That’s your other name. Could you spell ‘Fives’ for us?”

Fives squirmed in his seat, looking down at the paper for a long moment before meeting Rex’s eyes, “This is the only one I’ve seen before.”

“Okay, that’s okay,” Rex whispered, and he honestly was not sure if that was for his son’s benefit or his own. He reached out and flipped the paper over, “Do you know what letter ‘Fives’ starts with?”

The boy opened his mouth to respond, but no sound came out. The room was so quiet Rex could practically hear the tears welling in Fives’s eyes before he saw them. He sprung into action, scooping up the already shaking boy and shushing him softly, hoping to stay the torrent of “I’m sorry”s that were sure to follow.

“It’s okay,” Rex soothed, shooting an apologetic look to Plo before turning his attention back to Fives. “It’s alright if you don’t know. Nobody’s mad. I’m not mad. Mr. Plo’s not mad. It’s okay.”

Fives sniffled against Rex, but Rex could tell the boy was already calming down, his breathing slowing to his usual rhythm.

Rex set Fives back down in his seat, but kept his hand on the boy's shoulder, “Today was a tough day, but you did a really good job, okay? A really good job. I’m proud of you.”

Fives wiped at his eyes, his ears turning a bit red as he mumbled a shy thanks.

Mr. Plo cleared his throat, “Thank you so much for answering my questions, Fives.”

The boy nodded.

Plo continued, “I would like to place you in the class that we sat in on today, if that sounds good to you. The other children will be your age and will be on similar levels in most subjects.”

The principal paused and studied Fives, “Now, Fives, you’re a smart boy and you’re probably going to notice that the other kids in your class are better at reading than you, but can I tell you a secret?”

Fives frowned and looked from Rex to Mr. Plo.

Plo leaned over the desk and lowered his voice conspiratorially, “Your intuition and logic skills are beyond those of many children twice your age.”

Fives shifted in his seat, “R-really?”

The principal nodded, “It’s quite impressive. You'll be reading in no time.”

Fives left the school with higher spirits than when he had entered and that was enough to convince Rex it was the right place to send the twins. As he was setting up for Fives to start the next week and for Echo to start after the holiday break his phone rang.

It was Kix.

"What?" Fives asked after Rex hung up.

Rex smiled, "Go get in the car, we're going to go see your brother."

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superlarva · 8 months

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Fives, Tup, and Dogma in a fort!

Soooo sorry about last week, I've been ridiculously busy, but we're back to my usual weekly Sunday updates of Raising Dominoes for the foreseeable future!

Anyways, here is Chapter 8 - Furniture and Forts. It was mostly just an excuse to draw the boys in a blanket fort :)

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 07 Next chapter: 09

Summary: Tup and Dogma help Fives set up his new room before a power outage frightens them.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, panic attacks, power outages

Chapter 8 - Furniture and Forts

Fives had not been able to fall back asleep after his nightmare, so after Cody left they spent the rest of the morning playing with the toys that Rex had bought the day before. At first Fives seemed to have trouble with the concept of playing. He would just sit in front of the toys staring at them blankly until Rex told him to do something specific with them, at which point he would comply, but after a while he seemed to get the gist of it. He began to make up little scenarios with the action figures and would have them battle each other.

It did not sit well with Rex that fighting seemed to be the only thing his son knew well enough to recreate in play, but Fives did seem to be having fun, so he tried not to intervene. Well, he might have been trying to coax Fives into helping him build a racetrack out of Legos for the matchbox cars, but the boy was too busy bashing the small plastic soldiers together and making blaster noises to notice.

By early afternoon Fives seemed to be running out of energy. The workers also arrived to deliver the boys’ furniture, so Rex turned the TV on to a random cartoon channel and let Fives curl up on the couch and watch it while he helped the guys set up the room.

When they were done the workers left and Rex found Fives still watching the show. He had hoped the boy would have fallen asleep, but he supposed it had probably been a little loud for that.

“Hey, buddy,” Rex sank down on the couch next to Fives.

Fives quickly turned his attention to Rex, television forgotten, “Are they done? Can I see?”

Rex chuckled, “Yep.”

Fives grinned and jumped up. He ran to his new room and stopped in the doorway. Rex joined him.

The furniture was all from the same set, so every piece had the same dark stained wood. It was a little weird to see the room with just furniture and no decorations, but Fives did not seem to mind. The kid was practically trembling with excitement.

Each side of the room had a bed with a bare mattress sitting in the far corner, and a nightstand, desk, dresser, and bookshelf up against the wall. Fives looked up at Rex, “This is really all just for me and Echo?”

“This is your room, yeah.”

“Wow.”

Rex grinned and pushed Fives lightly into the room, “Go on. Pick which side you want.”

Fives looked around the room and took a tentative step forward before looking back to Rex uncertainly.

“It’s okay,” Rex tried to reassure, “Just pick which bed you want to sleep in.”

Fives looked like he was making the hardest decision of his life before stepping over to the bed on the left and turning back to Rex, “This one?”

“Perfect.”

Fives beamed, “Can we-”

He was cut off by the sound of muffled voices:

“No, you have to knock louder, Tup. He’s not gonna hear that.”

The second voice was too soft to hear through the walls, but a loud knock rang through the apartment.

Fives looked up at Rex, his brows drawn together, and a tight frown tugged down the corners of his lips.

“It’s alright, those are my friends,” Rex said, flicking on the light in Fives’s room and motioning for the boy to follow him as he made his way down the hallway towards the door, turning on all the lights as he went. “You remember Hardcase?”

“Y-yeah,” Fives answered.

“These are his little cousins Dogma and Tup. They’re just a bit older than you.”

Fives nodded, but hesitated as they reached the entryway, “Why’d you turn on all the lights?”

“Oh, uh, they don’t like the dark,” Rex said softly, opening the door before Fives could ask why not.

They were met with a scowling preteen with close cropped hair and a boy with longer wavy hair that could have been the other’s twin if he was not a few years younger standing in front of a large box.

It took Rex a second to register, but when he did he grinned, “Thanks. This is your guys’ old stuff?”

The boys nodded.

Rex pulled the container into his apartment, “Awesome. This is great.”

Fives peered out from behind Rex and gave the older boys a small wave. Tup offered a shy smile and inched a bit closer to Dogma, who wrapped his arm around his brother and attempted a smile of his own, but it did not quite reach his eyes.

Dogma craned his neck to see into the apartment, “What were all those people doing?”

“Setting up Fives and Echo’s new room,” Rex said, ruffling Fives’s hair.

Tup’s eyebrows raised in interest. Rex new the look well and smiled at the boy, “If it’s okay with Fives, you guys can check it out. It’s not finished or anything though.”

Tup and Dogma exchanged a glance before looking to Fives.

“It’s okay,” Fives said, shifting a little behind Rex even as the words left his mouth.

Tup smiled and followed Dogma as he made his way into the apartment.

Dogma puffed out his chest and turned to address Fives, “My name is Dogma, I’m twelve years old and 3 months. This is my brother Tup. He’s ten.”

Fives’s large brown eyes darted between the boys, “I’m Fives.”

Dogma and Tup stayed to help unpack and decorate the bedroom. Dogma was helping Rex make the beds and the younger boys were putting Tup’s hand-me-downs in the dresser. Fives pulled out a shirt and passed it to Tup, “Echo.”

Tup hesitated, “Are you sure? You’re giving way more clothes to Echo than to yourself.” Fives shrugged, “That shirt is red. Echo likes red.”

Rex looked over to the dresser and saw that Echo’s was full and Fives’s practically empty, “Tup’s right, Fives. You need clothes to wear too. Why don’t you start putting more things in your dresser.”

Fives’s eyebrows pushed together, and he looked down into the box of clothes, “But- but what if Echo wants them?”

Rex shrugged, “When Echo gets home you guys can trade if you want, but for now you need to give yourself more clothes.”

Fives still looked a little confused and when Tup moved to place the red shirt in his dresser rather than Echo’s, he shook his head.

Tup froze, looking from Fives to the dresser to Rex, who was busy tucking in sheets. Dogma had been listening to the exchange while making Fives’s bed and looked up at the silence. He caught on quick and scowled at Fives, “Rex said-”

“But Echo would really like that shirt!” Fives interrupted, voice hitting a whiney pitch.

Dogma’s scowl deepened and Tup looked like he would rather be anywhere than caught in this crossfire.

Rex looked over and was about to say something, but Fives beat him to it, “I-I’ll take the rest of them, just- just Echo would really like that one.”

“But-” Dogma started, confusion replacing his scowl.

“It’s fine,” Rex interjected, he had heard the panic in Fives’s voice, and he did not want to make it any worse.

Dogma opened his mouth to say something.

“It’s fine, Dogma,” Rex repeated with a bit more force.

Dogma mumbled out a quiet apology and turned back to Fives’s bed, his ears turning red.

“Tup, why don’t you put that one in Echo’s drawer,” Rex nodded to the red tee still clutched in Tup’s hand. The boy obliged and Rex continued, “But the rest go to Fives, okay?”

Fives nodded seriously.

With four sets of helping hands, they were able to finish setting up the room fairly quickly. After learning that Jesse was out taking Hardcase to his drum lesson and Kix had picked up an extra shift at the hospital (which Rex could not help but feel responsible for), Rex insisted on Dogma and Tup staying for dinner. The boys did not complain.

While they were eating Dogma suddenly pointed out the window, “Hey, it’s snowing!”

“Really?” Tup jumped up and ran to the window.

Fives joined Tup, “Whoa, it’s so fluffy.”

Dogma’s eyes darted between his plate and the window, clearly debating something. Rex felt an odd pang in his chest at how hard this decision seemed to be for the kid. He smiled gently, “You can go take a closer look.”

Dogma’s eyes snapped to his, “But we’re eating?”

“The food will still be here after you take a look.”

“Come on, Dogma!” Tup exclaimed, unable to hide his excitement.

Dogma slowly and a little rigidly got up from the table and made his way over to his brother, glancing back uncertainly at Rex every few feet.

Rex nodded encouragingly. He had known Dogma and Tup ever since Kix had taken them in six years ago. The boys had been scared and nervous and so afraid of the dark that they refused to sleep until they all but collapsed. As the years went on, they acclimated to their new environment as well as one could expect, but Tup was still a shy bundle of worry and Dogma was still overly compliant to what he believed the “rules” were. And they were both still scared of the dark.

“It’s windy,” Fives noted.

“Really windy,” Dogma breathed, sounding lost in thought.

Tup turned from the window to look at Rex, his face scrunched up with worry, “Do you think the power’s gonna go out?”

Rex shook his head, “Probably not.”

Tup turned back to the window and Rex grimaced; he could hear the wind howling outside.

The boys had taken to playing in the twins’ room after dinner while Rex cleaned up. From what he could hear in the kitchen, it sounded like Dogma was teaching Fives some sort of card game. Rex smiled; he was glad they were getting along.

As soon as he finished scrubbing the last dish, the lights flickered in the apartment. Rex dropped the plate back into the sink and ran to the bedroom.

Dogma sat cross legged on the floor in front of a game of palace, back stiff as a board, eyes wide and focused on a space just in front of Rex. Tup had thrown himself over his older brother and was clinging to him, eyes just as wide and filled with terror.

Fives’s back was to Rex, and he turned, a frown tugging down the corners of his lips, “What-”

Just then the lights went out and they were plunged into darkness.

Rex moved quickly, scooping up Tup and pulling him into his lap, just as he had seen Kix do a million times before. The boy was already hyperventilating, his small chest rising and falling quickly with each shallow, ragged breath. Rex pulled his hand through Tup’s wavy hair, and exaggerated his breathing in the hopes that Tup would feel it and it would help him regulate his own.

“You’re safe, Tup. It’s me, Rex. You’re in my apartment.”

Tup clung to Rex a little tighter, but his breathing remained quick and shallow.

Rex turned to Fives, whose outline he could see in the dim light from the window, “Fives, there’s a flashlight on my nightstand in my room. Do you think you could get it for me?”

Fives made an affirmative noise and scurried into the darkness.

“How are you doing, Dogma?” Rex asked, turning his attention to the older boy for a moment.

Dogma did not respond, so Rex pulled him in close to his side, “I got you, you’re safe.” Dogma rested his head against Rex’s shoulder and trembled, speaking softly, “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to.”

Rex felt hot tears seeping into his shirt and could not help but feel like he was in way over his head. He had no idea what Dogma was apologizing for, but he supposed that did not matter.

“I know,” Rex said gently, even though did not, “It’s alright.”

Fives reappeared with the flashlight in hand and passed it to Rex. Rex switched it on immediately and it flickered to life, bathing the room in a golden light. He felt Dogma relax a bit beside him and gave the sniffling boy a quick squeeze before turning his attention back to Tup.

Tup was still in the throws of a panic attack and clung to Rex with a force and determination he did not know the ten-year-old had. Rex gently pried one of Tup’s hand off him and pressed the flashlight into it, “Here, have the light.”

Tup clutched the flashlight and slumped against Rex, his breaths erratic as he struggled to calm down.

“Breath with me, Tup. In,” Rex took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly, “Out.”

Rex kept inhaling and exhaling with Tup and eventually got the boy to slow his breathing. All the fight left Tup’s body and he slumped weakly against Rex.

“You want me to call Kix?” Rex asked gently.

Tup shook his head.

“Jesse?”

“No.”

“It wouldn’t be a bother.”

“No. I’m- I’m okay now,” Tup said shakily.

Rex frowned, Tup was far from okay, “You’ll stay here until Kix or Jesse get home.”

Tup nodded against him.

“Um, excuse me, sir?” Fives pipped up from the doorway of his bedroom where he had watched the scene unfold.

“Yes, little soldier?” Rex said the joking nickname coming automatically.

“Can we build a fort?”

“Like a blanket fort?” Rex asked, a little surprised Fives even knew what that was.

Fives nodded, “When we were scared like this, we would hide in a fort.”

“Yeah,” Rex said slowly, wondering how many times the twins had been “scared like this.”

Fives grinned and turned to Dogma, “Dogma, there are extra blankets in the closet in the hallway. We need three.”

The preteen sniffled and wiped his face, but got up and swiftly made his way out of the room, following the orders like his life depended on it.

Once Dogma had his mission, Fives sat down next to Tup—who was curled up in Rex’s lap and did not seem like he planned on leaving anytime soon—and explained his architectural vision for the fort. The plan distracted Tup from the power outage and Rex had to admit that there was no way he could have handled the situation better than his seven-year-old son currently was.

Dogma returned from the dimly lit hallway quickly and handed the blankets over to Fives.

The construction of the fort was left mostly to Fives and Dogma, but Tup did seem to be taking an interest in it. Rex nudged the boy in his lap as the other two finished up the fort and began crawling around in it, “Want to play with Dogma and Fives?”

Tup hesitated, “Can I keep the flashlight?”

“Of course,” Rex nodded, giving the kid a gentle push towards the others.

Tup crawled over to join his brother and Fives, who were now talking enthusiastically about “defense systems” they could put in place to fortify their creation.

Rex could have sworn he even saw Dogma smiling.

#There are some chapters that actually have Echo in them coming up #Sorry about the wait #the clone wars #clone trooper fives #clone trooper echo #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #captain rex #clone wars #tcw #clone trooper tup #clone trooper dogma #domino twins #baby dominos #superlarva

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superlarva · 9 months

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They sat like that for some time.

Finally, here's Chapter 7 - Nightmare of Raising Dominoes! Sorry it took so long to post! Traveling's a pain.

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 06 Next chapter: 08

Summary: Rex and Cody meet up to go over some important information late at night. Fives has a nightmare.

CW: Child abuse (in a dream, but still), nightmares

^Please be careful, friends. The first part of this chapter could be distressing to some. I put a thing like this:

~~~~~

where the dream ends, so if you want to skip it, just scroll down until you see that.

Chapter 7 - Nightmare

The man slammed the car door, cutting Fives off from the loud argument outside the apartment building’s entrance. He could not hear what Rex was saying anymore, but he seemed mad. He was trying to push past some of the men, but they grabbed him and held him back, away from the car.

One of the men got into the driver’s seat and the car roared to life. As they began to drive away, Fives tried to turn to see Rex one last time, but the seat belt was constricting him. He could not move, not even an inch. It was pulled taught. He strained against the belt. Pulled against it. Tried to wriggle out. But it just dug into his skin deeper.

It hurt.

He let it hurt.

He wanted to see Rex.

Fives knew where he was being taken soon as he heard the first drop of rain hit the windshield. Kamino. White halls. Cold, hard beds. Ration bars.

Home.

He was going home.

Mom was nice as the men had handed him over. She smiled and hugged him and talked about getting him something nice and warm to eat. He knew as soon as the door slid shut behind them and the men were out of sight she would be frowning and hitting and yelling.

Fives stepped into the house and screwed his eyes shut. He jumped at the sound of his mom slamming the door.

Fives sat in the room he had shared with his brothers. They were all gone now, even Echo. He felt like he should be more sad than he was.

He was scared.

He wanted to go back to Rex’s apartment.

Fives could hear yelling from down the hall. That was odd, his mom did not normally have company. He climbed down from his bunk to listen at the door.

He could hear her voice clearly, although the words were too faint to distinguish. The other voice he also recognized and with a start he opened the door and ran down the hall towards it.

Rex had come!

Rex was here!

He was going to take him back and make everything all better.

But what if he didn’t?

No, he would. He was nice.

Was he really?

Suddenly Fives couldn’t quite remember.

He peaked around the corner to see his mom and Rex standing in the training room. He had heard them arguing, but now they were not speaking to each other at all. Both faced away from him.

Fives crept closer and softly called out to Rex. The man did not turn around. Fives pulled on the sleeve of his jacket, “Rex?”

Rex yanked his hand away and whirled around, face contorted in disgust, “Don’t touch me!”

Fives stumbled back, surprised, “I- I-”

“What did you think?” His mom turned to face him as well. She wore the same disgusted expression as Rex, “You thought he came here for you? You thought he cared about you? You? CT-5555? You’re just a failure. A failed experiment. You mean nothing.”

Fives looked over to Rex, “I-I’m s-s-sorry.”

“You’re suh-suh-sorry?” Rex mocked, a smirk spreading across his face.

Fives took a step back. Rex was supposed to be nice. This wasn’t right!

Rex stepped forwards and leaned down so his face was inches from Fives’s, “You’re a waste of space. You and CT-1409 should have died that day with the other three. I don’t want you.”

Fives turned and ran, but Rex grabbed his arm before he could escape the room. Rex yanked Fives back towards him so they were face to face again and sneered, “You really thought you could get away that easily?”

Rex was holding his arm so tightly that Fives thought if he squeezed any more it might pop off.

Fives’s mom knelt down next to him and poked his thigh, grinning, “You know, if we chop off his legs, he won’t be able to get away at all.”

Fives looked to Rex for help, but Rex was already pulling a long knife from his pocket and eyeing his legs.

“N-no!” Fives protested, trying to wriggle out of Rex’s grip.

“Calm down, sweetheart,” His mother said, petting his shoulder and sending shivers up his spine. “You’ll be just like your brother. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? To be just like your brothers?”

“No! No!” Fives looked frantically from his mom to Rex, trying to find any spark of the man he had first met only a few days earlier, but there was nothing comforting in Rex’s face. His skin stretched and sagged to make room for his wicked grin. The proportions bordered on inhuman.

It was not Rex; it could not be. Not the real one. Fives screwed his eyes shut and began to scream.

He screamed for Rex, for Echo, for Cody.

For anyone.

~~~~~

“Fives?”

Someone was shaking his shoulders. He was lying down now. He vaguely wondered if they had tied him to a table, but he was lying on something soft. He wanted to see where he was—he was so confused—but he did not want to open his eyes just to see Rex’s twisted face glaring back at him. He trembled.

The shaking stopped.

“Fives?” The voice asked again. It had a tremor in it almost as if it was scared. “Are you awake now?”

The voice sounded like Rex’s, and it sent a shiver down Fives’s spine.

“Cody,” The voice said softly, “Could you get the extra blanket from the closet?”

Fives laid stone still. Cody and Rex. Not mom and Rex. Had he been sleeping? Had it just been a dream?

He felt a hand run through his hair, smoothing it back, away from his forehead. Rex’s voice asked if he was awake again and Fives relented with a small nod.

The bed dipped as what Fives assumed was Rex—although he refused to open his eyes—sat on the edge, “Bad dream?”

Fives gave another small nod.

“We heard you calling out for us.”

Steps began to approach the bed and Fives tensed.

“That’s just Cody with another blanket,” Rex’s voice said as Fives felt the blanket being placed over him. “Is that better?”

“Mm-hmm,” Fives finally managed as the footsteps faded away.

“Do you want to open your eyes? It’s just me—just Rex.”

Fives cracked an eye open, half expecting to see the Rex from his dream hovering over him. Instead, he was met with a head of short curly hair bathed in golden light flooding in from the open doorway into the hallway, kind brown eyes, and a face wracked with worry.

Fives let out a shaky breath and opened both eyes fully, “R-Rex?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“Are- are you real?” Fives reached up to touch Rex’s face.

Rex did not flinch away and did not look at him in disgust. He instead smiled and allowed Fives to prod at his cheek, “As real as you are.”

Fives let his arm fall back down onto the sheets, satisfied that he was no longer dreaming.

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

Fives turned away and curled up, hugging his T-rex plush to his chest, “No, I’m fine. I’ll b-be quiet now. I’m s-sorry.”

Rex sat down heavily next to Cody at the kitchen table. The table was littered with papers and informational pamphlets. Before he and Cody had heard Fives screaming out for help, they had been going over the documents provided to them about the twins and had been signing the boys up for school, doctor’s appointments to get their vaccines, and therapy.

Cody crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back, “How is he?”

Rex shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, sighing, “He wanted to be left alone. Didn’t want to talk about it.”

“You know it’s not your fault, right?”

Rex looked up at his older brother desperately, “Of course it’s my fault! He’s terrified of me!”

Cody reached out and laid a reassuring hand on Rex’s shoulder, “He’s not scared of you, just scared of what he thinks you might do. He just met you and you know he’s had bad parental figures in the past. It’ll just take time.”

Rex nodded, but there was still a deep sadness in his eyes.

“Besides,” Cody continued, “When I saw you guys this morning at the hospital, you were thick as thieves. I think he trusts you.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do. I mean, when he was yelling our names, yours was the first he called for.”

Rex’s eyes scanned over the table and landed on the boys’ birth certificates, “Heck Cody, do you think she really called him that?”

“CT-5555?” Cody clarified before his eyes fixed on a point over Rex’s shoulder and he went white as a sheet.

Rex’s heart dropped, landing in his gut, as he turned to see a tiny hand disappear from around the corner of the hallway.

“Fives?” Rex bolted from the chair to reach the boy’s retreating figure.

Fives was wrapped in a blanket and in his haste to get back into Rex’s room, he tripped over the edge that was dragging on the ground and fell to the floor with a loud thwack. Rex quickly covered the distance between them and knelt down next to the boy.

Fives was silent for moment before he started wailing loudly, curling up into a ball on the floor. Rex looked back to Cody who was hovering uncertainly a few feet away, face still drained of color.

Cody met his eyes, a reassuring calmness spreading across his face, and slowly sank down next to the sobbing boy, “That looked like it hurt.”

Cody’s voice was gentle, and Fives let out a shuddering breath as he nodded in agreement.

“Yeah?” Cody asked softly, “Can you tell me where it hurts?”

“E-ev-everywhere!”

Rex grimaced, he had to give it to the kid, it probably did hurt everywhere given the massive collection of bruises and scrapes he was sporting when he had acquired him a little over 24 hours earlier.

“Okay. Do you think you can sit up for me?”

Fives acquiesced and was soon sitting with his back pressed up against the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. Tears were still running down the boy’s cheeks, but his sobs were much quieter, “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t m-mean to l-leave the- the room. I-”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Cody interrupted.

Fives turned to Cody, looking a little stunned.

“He’s right,” Rex jumped in. “You’re allowed to go anywhere in this apartment.”

Fives turned his large confused eyes on Rex.

“I mean it,” Rex said before switching gears. He needed to make sure Fives was alright after that fall, “Did you hit anything when you fell? Are you hurt?”

“N-not really,” Fives admitted, wiping a tear away with his sleeve.

“Are you more upset about what I said?” Cody asked. He looked like he already knew the answer.

A fresh wave of tears gathered in Fives’s eyes, “I’m s-scared.”

Rex and Cody exchanged a glance before Cody ventured a cautious, “What are you afraid of?”

“That you’ll- that you’ll b-be just l-like m-m-mom!” Fives cried before hiding his face behind his knees.

Rex scooted forward and wrapped Fives in a tight hug, “If I ever do anything she did to you, you let me know and I’ll stop. I promise.”

Fives hugged Rex back and sobbed into his shirt.

They sat like that for some time.

At one point Cody got up and returned with a glass of water and a box of tissues. Fives seemed content to cry into Rex’s shirt, but Cody was eventually able to coax him into blowing his nose a could times and taking a few sips of water.

After the boy calmed down a little Rex decided they needed to clarify a few things.

“Fives?” Fives sniffled in response, and Rex continued, “First off, do you want me to call you Fives? Because you’re not a number. If you want, we can change your name. Change it to anything you want.”

Fives was silent for a moment before turning his head to the side against Rex’s shirt so he could speak, “I-I don’t like CT-5555, b-but I- I like F-Fives.”

Rex glanced over to Cody, then back at the boy, “So, we should call you Fives?”

Fives nodded, “Fives is what Eh-Echo calls me.”

“Okay,” Rex said softly, trying not to let his heart shattering into a million pieces for his boys show in his voice, “Next, it is very important that you understand that I will not let anyone take you back to her.”

Fives took a breath, “I- I don’t have to- to go back?”

“No, never.”

“Really?”

“I think you and Echo are stuck with me.”

Fives was silent for a moment and Rex’s heart sunk. What if he’d ruined it already and Fives did not want to stay with him? Suddenly Fives shifted his head up to look at him, his chin digging into Rex’s sternum. The boy’s face was full of hope, “Forever?”

Rex smiled, “For as long as you want.”

#I almost cut this chapter from the story #I still think I could have #But IDK #I figure there's no harm in posting it #the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #captain rex #commander cody #domino twins #baby dominos #superlarva

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superlarva · 9 months

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I am so sorry, but I have been traveling this past week and I forgot my flash drive that has all the chapters written on it, so I will not be posting chapter 7 of Raising Dominoes until Wednesday when I return home.

In the meatime, here's an old drawing I did of Echo and Fives as I was coming up with ideas for the fic.

#sorry for the delay #also #thank you so much for all the love and kind messages on my posts <3 #the clone wars #tcw #domino twins #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #baby dominos

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superlarva · 9 months

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Teen Hardcase with what I think of as the quintessential teen haircut.

Here's Chapter 6 - Shopping of Raising Dominoes! I had fun writing this one. Well, I have fun writing all of them :)

Prologue: 00 Previous Chapter: 05 Next Chapter: 07

Summary: Rex, Hardcase, and Fives go shopping.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse (not really in this specific chapter, but just to be safe)

Chapter 6 - Shopping

After dropping Cody off at his car, Rex swung back around to his apartment building to pick up Hardcase. He had to admit, it would be helpful to have the teen around at the mall. An extra set of eyes to watch Fives and an extra set of arms to help carry things would not hurt.

That being said, Rex could not help the feeling of anxiety that settled in his gut as he knocked on the apartment door across the hall from his own. Hardcase could be a handful. He was a good kid, but he was loud and energetic to the point where it gave Rex a headache. He just hoped this was not going to turn into him babysitting the teen.

No one came to the door immediately and Fives began to fidget, “Maybe no one’s home.”

Rex frowned and knocked louder, “Well, Kix and Jesse are at work and Dogma and Tup are at school, but Hardcase should be here.”

“The half adult, half kid?”

Rex smirked, “Yeah, the teenager.”

At that the door swung open, revealing Hardcase, headphones dangling around his neck and mouth gaping a bit at the sight of Rex at his door.

“Uh, hey,” Hardcase fumbled with his headphones to pause his music before grinning up at Rex. He gestured to the headphones a little sheepishly, “Sorry, I guess I had it on a little too loud.”

“It’s fine.” Rex shrugged then motioned towards Fives, “This is Fives. He’s my, uh, he’s my son.”

Rex cringed at how uncomfortable he felt introducing Fives as his kid. Fives was his son and he already loved him more than he ever knew he could love anyone, but at the same time, he did not really feel like he knew the boy. And he sure as hell was not confident he deserved to be the kid’s dad.

Neither boy acknowledged Rex’s awkwardness and Hardcase gave Fives a silly salute, causing the boy to giggle and mimic the salute back, “Hiya Fives! I’m Hardcase.”

Fives giggled again, “Hardcase is a funny name.”

Hardcase grinned, “Fives is kinda a funny name too.”

Fives’s eyes glazed over, and the smile dropped from his face, mouth hanging slightly ajar. Rex jumped in quickly and laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder to try and bring him back from whatever thought had just crossed his mind, “We’re going to go to the mall to get some lunch and some things for the kids if you want to join us.”

Hardcase hesitated, looking between Rex, Fives, and the empty apartment behind him, “Am I allowed?”

Rex’s brows raised, he never knew Hardcase to be this cautious, “I wouldn’t be asking if you weren’t.”

Hardcase narrowed his eyes at Rex before something clicked and he grinned, “Okay.” He raced back into the apartment to grab his things.

As Hardcase disappeared, Rex crouched down next to Fives, “Hey, you okay?”

After a beat Fives shifted his gaze to meet Rex’s, the fog lifting from his eyes. He nodded.

“Hardcase is a good kid,” Rex explained, worried that something about the teen had freaked Fives out. He smiled fondly after Hardcase, “Sometimes he just gets into a little trouble because he’s too… energetic. That’s why he’s not at school today.”

“Do I go to school too?”

“You will,” Rex said, gaging the boy’s reaction. He seemed completely fine now. It was… puzzling.

Rex heard Hardcase footsteps approaching and straightened back up before smiling down at Fives, “Soon. But don’t worry about that right now.”

Hardcase reappeared and shut the door, locking it behind him, “Thanks so much, Rex. I was bored outa my mind.”

Rex smirked, “Don’t mention it. You’re only here to help me carry the heavy stuff.”

“Well, I only came for the free lunch,” Hardcase teased back as they headed down the stairs.

By the time they arrived at the food court, Fives and Hardcase were thick as thieves. Fives had asked what Hardcase’s headphones were, which resulted in them learning that Fives had never heard music before and Hardcase introducing him to the medium.

Fives clearly loved the sounds, his grin only growing wider as each new song was played. Rex made a mental note to show the boy Cody’s CD collection when they visited his apartment.

“Alright,” Rex said as they entered the food court. “Lunch first. What do you boys want?”

“Chicken teriyaki!” Hardcase said grinning and darting off through the throngs of people.

“Does that sound good?” Rex asked Fives as he grabbed the boy’s hand so as not to lose him in the crowd.

Fives shrugged.

Rex realized that it was possible the kid had never had chicken teriyaki before and made his way towards a man holding a platter of samples, “Here, you can get a sample from this gentleman to see if you like it.”

As they approached the man he smiled down at Fives, stuck a toothpick in a piece of chicken, and offered it to the boy. Fives looked up at Rex and Rex nodded, “Go ahead.”

The boy took the piece and popped it into his mouth.

“Yummy?”

Fives’s contemplative face devolved into a massive grin.

Rex couldn’t help but smile back, “Should we get more?”

“Can we? Please?”

“Of course,” Rex said, leading Fives towards the back of the line where Hardcase stood, fidgeting impatiently.

They got their food quickly and made their way to a table by the fountain. Rex had been worried about Fives near the crowds of people, but the boy seemed fine. He had even ordered his meal by himself, copying what Hardcase had said just before him.

Rex watched both boys begin to inhale their food and had to remind them to drink some water between bites. After Hardcase shoved the last bite of Fives’s unfinished chicken into his mouth, he turned to Rex, “So, what are we getting first?”

“I was thinking we’d start with the furniture, then move on to clothes and, uh, other things,” Rex said, starting to wish Cody was with him, making a list of everything the boys would need.

“Cool, so Ikea first.”

Rex nodded and began gathering up their trash. Fives and Hardcase started helping him and they were off to the furniture store before Rex knew it.

Rex himself was overwhelmed with the vast selection of children’s furniture at the department store and could tell Fives was as well. The boy never strayed out of arm’s length of Rex and was staring at the displays with wide eyes.

Hardcase, on the other hand, was pushing the cart excitedly and pointing to various different items he thought looked “cool” and asking Fives if he liked them.

Eventually, Rex picked out a couple bedroom sets that fit within what he assumed was his budget and asked Fives which one he wanted. The boy almost shyly pointed to the dark stained wooden set. Rex grinned, that was the one he would have picked. Hardcase seemed a little disappointed that Fives wouldn’t be getting a bed shaped like a rocket ship.

“What about Echo?” Fives asked, tugging Rex’s sleeve.

Rex frowned, he wished he knew more about the other twin, “Do you think he wants the same kind, or a different one?”

Fives shrugged, “I don’t think he’d care.”

“We’ll just get him the same one then,” Rex said, pulling out a pad and writing down the name of the bedroom set. They still needed two twin mattresses and sheets. Rex knelt down to Fives’s height, “Do you want to go with Hardcase to pick out some sheets for your beds?”

Fives shrugged a little reluctantly.

“I’ll just be right over there looking at the mattresses,” Rex said pointing.

Fives still didn’t look convinced, so Rex stood, pointing to the children’s section, “I don’t know about you Hardcase, but I saw a lot of fun looking sheets over there. I guess if Fives doesn’t want to go with you, you can pick out sheets for him and Echo all by yourself.”

Hardcase grinned, catching on quick, “Oh, yeah, I’ll be sure to get the best ones. Princesses and fairies and butterflies.”

Fives’s brows knit together, eyes darting between the two older men. As Hardcase turned away and began strolling over to the sheets, Fives gave in and ran towards the teen with impressive speed, “Wait! Wait, I’ll go with you!”

Rex snorted, a victorious grin plastered onto his face. As good as if felt to have Fives latch onto him, it was important that the boy would be able to separate himself from him, especially when it came time to send him to school.

Once the boys disappeared down an aisle, Rex turned away and headed towards the mattresses. The bed sets Rex was planning on buying for the boys contained frames for twin beds, so he picked out a twin mattress and noted the name down on his pad for later.

Rex grabbed a few pillows as he made his way back over to the sheets section to make sure the boys were still alive. Fives was standing next to the cart, arms full of what looked like sheets decorated with little colorful cartoon planets and spaceships. He looked over to Rex as he approached and held out the sheets, “For Echo?”

Rex smiled and dumped the sheets and pillows into the cart, “Where’s Hardcase?”

“I wanted the dino ones,” Fives explained, pointing up.

Hardcase was scaling the shelving unit to retrieve white dinosaur print sheets from the top shelf, about 4 meters off the ground.

“Hardcase!” Rex hissed, moving to stand under the boy in case he fell.

Hardcase looked down and shot Rex a sly grin, pressing a finger to his lips, before grabbing the sheets and tossing them down into the cart. He then motioned for Rex to move away.

“Don’t you dare,” Rex said through gritted teeth, even as he backed away towards Fives.

Hardcase sprung from the ledge and hit the ground, rolling as he did to break his fall. It made quite an impressive sound and Rex saw heads turning their way. He grabbed Hardcase by the arm and yanked him to his feet, “They have people who get paid to get things from the top shelf.”

“But that was more fun,” Hardcase smirked.

“We don’t climb inside.”

“What about at the rock gym?”

“That’s an exception. You know what I mean.” Rex sighed, turning to Fives, who was watching their back and forth with interest, “Sorry, kid, sometimes Hardcase isn’t a good example. We don’t climb on things in stores.”

Fives nodded, eyes not leaving Rex’s.

Rex shook his head, he knew Hardcase was just trying to be helpful, but he didn’t want Fives to try anything and get himself hurt, he was so small and fragile. “Okay, we got some sheets…” Rex trailed off thinking of what else they needed.

Fives pointed to a stack of quilts across the aisle, “Look! A bigger one!”

Hardcase picked up the quilt off the shelf that Fives was pointing to, “Hey, it matches.”

The navy patchwork quilt did indeed look like it belonged to the same bedding set as the sheets Fives had picked out.

“You want this quilt?” Rex asked, taking it from Hardcase and showing it to Fives.

Fives nodded and bounced a little on his toes, “Yes, please.”

“Alright, now for Echo’s.”

The trio scanned the shelves in search of a matching space quilt for Echo and found it after a few minutes, adding it to their cart.

Rex led the boys over to get lamps and nightlights next before finishing up at Ikea in the rug section.

After they paid and ordered the bed sets and mattresses to be delivered, they put everything into the trunk and wandered over to Target to get more clothes for the twins. Fives seemed to be enjoying himself and Rex was glad, he had thought the mall might overwhelm him too much and they would have to stop for the day after getting the furniture.

It was starting to get late in the afternoon, so Rex decided he would go grab some of the more “boring” essentials for the boys like socks and underwear while he let Hardcase and Fives take care of shirts and pants.

As Rex finished up, he made a quick stop in the toy section to get a few games for the kids. He didn’t really know what the boys would like, so he just picked out what he thought were the quintessential children’s toys: a box of matchbox cars, a deck of playing cards, little plastic animals, Legos, some cool action figure dudes in shiny white armor holding blasters, monopoly, dominoes, and a coloring kit. He was floundering around the kid’s aisle wondering what else he could get them when something fuzzy caught his eye.

Rex found Hardcase hard at work measuring a shirt against Fives’s body. Fives saw him first and pointed over to a cart with a few sets of clothes in it.

Hardcase, seeming to decide that the shirt would fit, flung it over his shoulder into the cart and turned to Rex, “Kix kept all of Tup’s old clothes, so we didn’t get a ton. I figured we could donate his stuff to you.”

Rex nodded, “That would be great actually. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Rex turned to Fives, “I got you a present.”

“A present?”

“Yup,” He revealed a stuffed T-rex from behind his back and presented it to the boy.

Fives’s mouth dropped open, “Is- is that a real one?”

Hardcase laughed, “No, silly.”

Fives reached out to touch it.

“It’s a stuffed animal,” Rex explained, letting the boy take the toy. “Or, I guess, a stuffed dino.”

Fives looked up from the plushie with big innocent eyes, “What do they do?”

Rex paused, looking to Hardcase, then back at Fives, “Er- wait- stuffed animals or- or dinosaurs?”

“Dinosaurs?”

“Yeah, dinosaurs… dinos,” Rex shut his mouth, mind racing at Fives’s blank expression. Had Fives not known what dinosaurs were from the start? Had he first seen them on the pajamas he had picked out for him that first night and then just recognized them on the sheets and wanted them?

Luckily Hardcase covered for Rex as his mind went into overdrive, “Dinosaurs are these animals from a really long time ago. They’re really cool looking. They don’t live here anymore, but they used to. Their bones are underground now, and people like to dig them up.”

“So, this is a pretend one?”

“Yup,” Hardcase said popping the p. “You sleep with it at nighttime.”

“Oh,” Fives hugged the toy close to his chest and closed his eyes. “Like this?”

“Exactly.” Suddenly, a wicked grin spread across Hardcase’s face, “Hey, you know what that dinosaur is called?”

Rex was pulled out of his thoughts and began to blush. He knew where the teen was going with this.

“What’s it called?” Fives asked, oblivious.

“A T-rex, a tyrannosaurus rex.”

Fives’s grin matched Hardcase’s and he turned to Rex, “Like you!”

“Yeah, like me, kid,” Rex sighed, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Do you want to come help me pick one out for Echo?”

Fives’s face lit up, “Are there more?”

“Uh-huh,” Rex nodded, feeling a little self-conscious, “You can pick out a different one if you want too, I just thought…”

“No! I like this one the most! I just didn’t know there was another for Echo.”

“There’s plenty to choose from,” Rex said, leading the boy over to the toy aisle.

When they arrived at the shelves stocked full of plushies, Fives jaw went slack. He kept the T-rex under one arm and began riffling through the toys, trying to find the perfect one for Echo.

Hardcase and Rex stood back and watched the boy with amusement as he seemed to gravitate towards the other dinosaur stuffed animals. Eventually the boy pulled out a blue triceratops and held it out to Rex for approval.

“Think he’ll like that one?”

Fives nodded and popped it into the cart, keeping his T-rex secure under his arm.

#Rex kinda liked dinos as a kid #and he still kinda does #he's just embarrassed about it now #the clone wars #clone wars #tcw #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #captain rex #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #domino twins #baby dominos #tcw hardcase #clone trooper hardcase #superlarva #star wars

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superlarva · 9 months

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We finally meet Echo! :)

I didn't have as much time as I thought I would this week, so have a sketch with some colors slapped over it... sorry :|

Also, I think I settled on a name for the fic. Does "Raising Dominoes" sound okay? In any case, here's Chapter 5 - Echo, I hope you enjoy!

Prologue: 00 Previous Chapter: 04 Next Chapter: 06

Summary: Rex and Fives visit Echo in the ICU.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, missing limbs, hospitals

Chapter 5 - Echo

The waiting room was packed with people. Even though he had told Cody to go home earlier that morning, Rex made a quick scan for him, but it was too difficult to see over the hordes of visitors and patients. Fives was also looking around the room fervently.

“Rex, sir?” The boy asked straightening up and squaring his shoulders to address Rex.

“Yes, little soldier?” Rex joked, guiding Fives towards the front desk.

“I don’t see Echo.”

“Echo is in one of the rooms back there,” Rex explained, pointing to the door leading to the rest of the hospital. “This is the waiting room. It’s for people waiting to get help or people waiting to see friends or family in the hospital.”

“Do we have to wait here to see Echo?”

“We’ll see,” Rex said as he approached a young man behind the desk.

The man looked up and smiled, “Hello, how may I help you today?”

“We’re here to get Echo,” Fives piped up in a slightly more authoritarian tone than Rex would have expected from him.

“Echo Se, we’re here to see him,” Rex clarified, ruffling Fives’s hair.

“Right, of course, sir,” The man behind the desk nodded, but paled a bit and shifted forward in his chair to see Fives over the desk.

“Problem?” Rex asked, raising a brow.

The man smiled nervously, “We don’t allow children under the age of 12 to visit patients in the ICU, sir.”

Shit. Rex hadn’t thought about age limits on visitation. He looked down at Fives, then gritted his teeth and leaned in closer to the man, “Look, they’re twins, and I promised he’d be able to see him today.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” the man replied still hiding behind a false smile. “It’s hospital policy. For the health of our patients and your sons, I can’t make an exception.”

Rex sighed, moving away from the man. He was right. It would be bad if Echo got sick in his condition. But, had Cody not said Kix thought they could visit? Maybe he could drop Fives off with Cody and visit Echo and have them face time, or-

“Rex!” A familiar voice cut through his thoughts.

Rex’s eyes shot up as a lean man with an intricate buzz cut pushed through the doors leading to the ICU, “Kix!”

Kix’s white coat billowed out behind him as he strode over to the desk and smiled down at Fives, “And this little one must be Fives.”

Fives tried to mirror Kix’s cheery expression but fell short as his attention turned on the door swing shut behind the man. To quell any temptations of running off through the ICU looking for Echo, Rex put a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

Kix walked behind the desk and leaned down to whisper something to the man. The clerk’s face turned a little pale as Kix pulled away to smile at Rex and Fives, but he nodded and began typing away on his computer.

“I cut a little deal for you two,” Kix said, motioning for them to follow him through the door.

Fives looked up at Rex and Rex nodded his permission to follow Kix into the ICU. The boy smiled and ran to catch up.

Rex looked over at the clerk. He was deliberately avoiding eye contact and his hands trembled at the keyboard. Rex sighed out a sympathetic “thanks” to the poor man before following after Fives. He sometimes forgot how scary Kix could be.

The ICU was full of doctors, nurses, technicians, patients and visitors, and others Rex couldn’t quite place. Most moved with purpose and didn’t give the trio a second glance, but a few workers shot Kix inquisitive looks. None of them approached them though.

They took a few turns before Kix stopped outside a bathroom and ushered them inside, “We have to get all cleaned up before we see Echo.”

Fives nodded in understanding and began washing his hands at the sink. Rex and Kix joined him and soon Kix was ushering them back out the door.

“Now Fives,” Kix started as he stopped again outside a room. “I know it’s going to be really hard, but it’s important that when we go in to see Echo you don’t touch anything, okay?”

Fives nodded.

“No touching any of the machines and definitely no touching Echo.”

Fives looked up at Rex before turning back to Kix and nodding again.

“It’s because he had a lot of surgeries and if he got sick or hurt right now, it would be really bad, so we don’t want him to get sick because we spread him our germs.”

Fives nodded again.

“And it’s really important if you start to feel sick that you leave the room as soon as you can and try to make it to the bathroom.”

“Okay,” Fives said in a small voice.

Kix nodded and opened the door, walking in before Fives could sneak his way past, and situating himself in the far corner of the room.

After Rex shut the door behind him, he was met with a dim room, the only light coming from behind closed blinds and the lights on the countless machines hooked up to a small body lying on the bed under papery white sheets. Fives stood motionless at the foot of the bed. Rex made his way over to the boy and put his hand on his shoulder. Fives looked up and Rex saw tears spilling down his cheeks.

“Here, come here,” Rex said softly, picking up the boy carefully.

As soon as Fives was in Rex’s arms, he wrapped his limbs around him, holding on for dear life and trembling with each sob. Rex stepped over to a chair at Echo’s bedside and sat down, carding his hand through Fives’s hair as he held him.

At Echo’s bedside Rex had a much better view of Fives’s sleeping twin. They looked identical, the only differences being Echo’s slightly shorter hair and the noticeable lack of lumps under the covers where his legs and right arm should have been.

Fives sobbed into Rex’s shirt loudly and Rex grimaced, “How are you feeling, Fives? Do we need to step out for a bit?”

“N-no!” Fives shouted, squeezing Rex harder.

At Fives’s shout Echo’s whole body seemed to convulse and Rex looked to Kix, thinking maybe the boy was having a seizure. Kix didn’t look up from Echo’s body, but he also didn’t move to help, so Rex turned his attention back on the boy in the bed. His eyes were open now, but looked glassy and unfocused, staring towards the ceiling. He looked dead.

Fives’s turned his head from Rex’s shoulder to face his brother, “Ech- Echo?”

Echo’s eyes didn’t move, but he did open his mouth in response, and panicked but hoarse and weak words spilled out, “We- we need to get to the wall to escape the citadel. No. I’ll go first. No. No. No! N-”

“Echo,” Rex interrupted softly as Fives buried his head back into Rex’s shirt and let out a wave of fresh sobs.

The boy stopped babbling, but his breathing became more and more labored.

Rex wanted to pull the injured boy into his embrace as well, but refrained, “Fives came to see you. Fives is here.”

Rex extracted Fives from his torso and turned the boy around so he would be facing Echo before placing him back down in his lap.

“Fives…” Echo said drowsily, almost as if he were in a trance.

“Echo, I’m here,” Fives said tenderly, though his voice was still shaky from the tears.

“Fives.”

“I’m here.”

“Fives?” Echo shifted his head and locked eyes with his brother.

“Eh-Echo!” Fives tried to reach out to his brother, but Rex restrained him. “You’re okay!”

Echo flinched away from the noise and Fives looked from his brother to Rex with a hurt expression.

“It’s too loud for him,” Kix explained. “Sometimes that happens when you hurt your head. We just need to be quieter.”

“Sorry,” Fives whispered.

Echo turned back to Fives, brow scrunched and eyes searching his brother’s face, “What- what happened? Where are we?”

“You got hurt,” Fives supplied. “We’re in the hospital.”

Echo began to look panicked.

“It’s okay, you’re safe now,” Rex said. He needed the boy to hear that, even if he probably didn’t believe it yet.

Surprisingly the words seemed to calm the injured boy down, so much so that he drifted back off to sleep.

Fives twisted to look at Rex, confused, “W-why’d he go back sleep? He- he just woke up.”

“He has to get a lot of sleep right now because his body is healing.”

Fives turned back to Echo and Kix walked over to the bed and adjusted the blankets to fit around the boy more snuggly.

“Should we let him get his rest?” Rex asked the doctor.

Kix nodded, “We can talk in the waiting room with Cody if you want.”

“Cody’s still here?” Rex said incredulously, standing with Fives in his arms to follow Kix out the door. “I told him to go home and get some rest.”

Kix shrugged, leading them out into the hallway, “I told him the same thing.”

The trio made their back to the waiting room quickly and found Cody dosing in one of the corners.

“Cody,” Rex said as he sat in the free seat next to his brother.

Cody woke with a start, then locked eyes with Rex, “Sorry, I must have fallen asleep.”

Rex shrugged, “I told you to go home anyway.”

“Didn’t want the kid to be alone.” Cody looked from Rex to Kix, “How is he?”

Kix crossed his arms in front of him and leaned against the wall, “All things considered, he’s doing really well.”

Fives looked up at Rex from his perch on his lap, eyes full of hope.

Kix continued: “The good news is so far the surgeries seem to have gone successfully and he appears to be on the mend. We have him on a morphine drip for now to keep him comfortable, but I’m hoping we can get the dosage lower soon. The broken ribs and concussion all we can recommend is rest. For the legs and arm, once he’s feeling well enough that he can stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, we’ll start physical therapy. It’s going to be a long and painful road to recovery, and even with the best of the best, there’s no guarantee he’ll ever walk again.”

Rex and Cody nodded simultaneously with matching grim expressions.

“When can we- When can he leave?” Fives asked, looking to Rex for the answer.

Rex looked to Kix, who responded to the boy in an even tone, “We’d like to get him moved to the regular part of the hospital in a few days. Then he’ll probably stay there for around another week if things continue to go well. After that he’ll be able to go home.”

“Can we see him again?” Fives asked in a small voice.

Kix smiled, “Once we move him to the hospital you can visit him any time you like. Does that sound okay?”

Fives nodded.

“Do you have any other questions?”

The boy shook his head slowly.

Rex had so many, but he was not sure all of them were suited for Fives’s ears, so he kept his mouth shut and shook his head, “Thank you, Kix.”

“Don’t mention it,” Kix smiled cheekily. “It’s my job.”

Cody snorted.

Kix pointedly ignored Cody’s obvious eyerolling, “If anything comes up, you already have my number.”

As Kix weaved his way out of the waiting room Cody stretched back in his chair and turned to Rex, “How’s everything going with you two?”

“Good,” Rex said, looking down at the small boy in his lap. As Kix would say, all things considered, things were going surprisingly well. Fives seemed to trust him—as long as he wasn’t yelling at him—and was fairly easily calmed down with physical contact. Rex could tell Fives was a good kid and already knew he would do anything for the boy’s happiness.

Cody nodded, then turned to Fives, a slight upturn to his lips, “He treating you okay?”

Fives nodded vigorously, “He let me sleep in a real bed and we made pancakes! Do you know what pancakes are?”

Cody’s eyes flicked to Rex’s for a millisecond in what Rex could only assume was horror, before they focused back on Fives, feigning innocence, “No. What’s a pancake?”

Five’s face lit up, “It’s a food that you make from a box. You mix it all up and then pour it in a pan and you get to flip it! Then you eat it when it’s done. And you get to put syrup on it!”

Fives was breathless by the end of his choppy explanation.

“Was it good?”

Fives nodded in an exaggerated movement.

“I’ll have to try it sometime then,” Cody said, standing from his seat.

Rex stood as well, depositing Fives at his feet, “Echo’s in good hands, you should go home, Cody.”

Cody nodded, “What’s your plan for the day?”

“Give you a ride back to the station, then I think we might go to the store and get Fives and Echo some things they’ll need.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Cody praised as they walked towards the exit. “If you need any help, Kix said Hardcase is suspended again this week. Give the kid something to do.”

Rex searched Cody’s face for any hints on what possibly could have happened this time, but Cody just shook his head sadly.

Rex sighed, “We’ll pick him up on the way to the mall.”

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny @tearfulsolace @rndmpeep @brokenphoenix99 @nerdy-valkyrie @xylionet @tazmbc1 @eyayah123

#poor babies #next chapter will be a little lighter #clone wars #tcw #the clone wars #captain rex #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #commander cody #domino twins #baby dominos #superlarva #star wars

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superlarva · 10 months

Text

"You've got a mustache."

Hey guys! Sorry, my art style is like the least consistent thing on this planet... I just like trying new things out :)

Anyways, continuing on our Rex parenting journey we have Chapter 4 - Pancakes and Apologies.

Prologue: 00 Previous chapter: 03 Next chapter: 05

Summary: Rex gets some news on Echo, pancakes are made, tantrums are thrown.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, talk about injuries from landmines (nothing too in depth)

Chapter 4 – Pancakes and Apologies

Rex sunk down into his couch with a sigh, leaning his head against the armrest. Fives had been tucked in and the hallway light was left on. One kid taken care of, one to go.

Rex pulled out his phone and opened a text from Cody: I have some more info. Call me when you’re ready.

The phone only rang once before it was picked up.

“Cody, is he okay?” Rex tried to keep his voice down so he would not wake the boy sleeping in the next room.

“He’s…” Cody trailed off and Rex could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“What? He’s what?” Don’t say dead. Please, don’t say dead.

“He just got out of surgery. They had to amputate both legs and an arm,” Cody was trying to keep if voice calm and leveled, but the words came out a little choked. “I’m so sorry.”

Rex stared across the living room and into the kitchen, he’d know the boy’s injuries would be bad if he had landed himself in the ICU, but the loss of three limbs? That was too much.

Cody continued, “Echo’s okay for now. He hasn’t woken up yet, so there could still be some complications, but they are optimistic about how the surgery went.”

“Both legs and an arm?” Rex asked, still processing his brother’s statement.

“Yes,” Rex heard Cody take a deep breath on the other side of the line, “He stepped on a landmine.”

“Wh- How?”

“I don’t know. No one told the hospital how it happened either.”

Rex was silent, but his mind screamed.

Screamed in anger.

In sadness.

In pain.

In guilt.

It was his fault. His.

“Rex? You still there?” Cody’s voice cut through the phone.

“Yeah,” Rex said a little absently. “Yeah, I’m still here.”

“Alright,” Cody said, tone laced with worry. “You should get some rest. I’ll text you any developments, but don’t stay up for them.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?”

“I- I’m not sure.”

“Try, okay?”

“I will.”

“I love you, Rex’ika.”

“Love you too, Codes,” Rex dropped the phone from his ear as he disconnected the call.

He rolled onto his side and curled up on the couch, pulling his knees up to his chest and letting the world melt around him as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Rex woke, panicked from a dream he couldn’t remember and drenched in a cold sweat. From what he could tell it was early morning, the living room was washed in a dim warm light. He was not sure when he had fallen asleep, but he could not have gotten more than four hours.

He reached for his phone on the coffee table and found it, bringing the screen close to his bleary eyes. He had some texts from Cody from around 3 am:

Just found out Kix is Echo’s doctor!

He came into the waiting room to tell me that Echo seems to be responding well to the surgeries.

He’s sleeping now, but he woke up for a bit while I was in there and asked for Fives.

Kix said he thinks you guys should be able to visit today.

Rex felt a surge of relief, Echo was going to be okay. He was going to be alright. Not only that, but Rex had known Kix since he’d been in a group home with him and he knew the boy was in capable hands.

Rex swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up to type out a reply, thanking his brother profusely.

“M-mister police officer, sir?”

A small voice cut through Rex’s thoughts, and he jerked his head up. Fives stood stiffly on the other side of the coffee table. Rex was taken aback, when had the boy slipped into the room? At least the kid looked like he had slept well, “Yes? And Rex is fine.”

“Would you like me to make you breakfast?”

Rex was initially going to deny the request and insist that he make breakfast for Fives instead, but realized he could not assume Fives was only offering because it was something required of him previously. Perhaps the boy really enjoyed cooking. Rex wouldn’t know so instead he put down his phone and smiled, “Why don’t we make ourselves some breakfast together?”

Fives’s eyes widened a bit before he nodded consent.

Rex stood and stretched, “What should we have? I’ve got eggs, pancakes, oatmeal, cereal, or bread for toast.”

Fives seemed to debate something before looking up at Rex, “What are pancakes?”

“Pancakes?” Rex parroted, a little shocked.

Fives blushed and turned away, muttering a quiet apology.

“No, it’s okay, it’s good to ask questions,” Rex tried to amend quickly. He hurried over to his pantry and grabbed his box of pancake mix, showing the box to the boy, “This is what they look like. They’re really good and you get to put maple syrup on them.”

Fives whipped his head around to Rex at the mention of maple syrup, an excited grin plastered onto his face, “Maple syrup is from Canada.”

“Uh, yeah?” Rex said taken aback by the random fact.

Fives turned back to the pancake box, “Echo had a book about flags. Canada’s is a maple leaf because of all the maple trees there and maple syrup comes from the maple trees.”

“Do you and Echo like to read a lot?” Rex asked.

“Echo does,” Fives said, shoulder’s tensing. “He tried to teach me, but I’m no good.”

Rex didn’t like the boy’s defeated tone, “You know, I didn’t learn how to read until I was a little older than you.”

“Really?” Fives asked. “Because Echo learned when we were little.”

Rex wondered what “little” meant to the boy because in his eyes the twins were still very much just little boys. “Different people learn different things at different times, it’s not a contest.” Rex shrugged, taking the pancake mix from Fives, “Do pancakes sound yummy? They’re one of my favorites.”

Fives nodded, then shrugged, “But I don’t know how to make them.”

“That’s okay,” Rex said grinning. “I can teach you.”

Fives had been a surprisingly competent chef for a seven-year-old boy. He knew how to measure ingredients and pour things without spilling, and, once Rex had helped him up onto the counter, had proved that he could work a stovetop. Rex made sure the boy was aware he was not to be climbing on things or using the stove without permission first.

Rex watched as Fives took his first bite of pancake. The boy chewed slowly and then grinned up at Rex.

“Good?” Rex asked, taking his first bite as well.

Fives nodded enthusiastically and began shoving the rest of the plate into his mouth as fast as he could. He was finished before Rex had swallowed his third bite.

Rex pushed the glass of milk he’d poured the boy closer to him, “milk first, and then you can have more.”

Fives eyed the glass suspiciously before carefully taking it in both hands and downing it, seemingly without stopping for breath. When he put the glass down, he had a little milk mustache. Rex couldn’t stop himself from laughing.

“What?” Fives asked, looking down at his plate, searching for whatever was so funny.

“You-” Rex broke out into another chuckle, “You’ve got a mustache.”

“No, I don’t,” Fives said, folding his arms.

“Yes, you do. Go look in the mirror.”

Fives gave Rex a confused look before heading off to the bathroom.

Rex shook his head and finished up his breakfast, smiling to himself.

Fives emerged from the bathroom a minute later with a clean, smiling face.

“It was from the milk,” the boy explained, as if Rex didn’t already know.

Rex nodded as Fives joined him in the kitchen, “Do you want some more pancakes?”

Fives shook his head as he sat back down in his chair, then he looked up a Rex, “Could we bring them for Echo?”

Rex shook his head, giving himself a few seconds to figure out the best way to explain to Fives, “Right now Echo’s in the ICU. Do you know what the ICU is?”

“Like the hospital?”

“Yeah, it’s a part of the hospital where they put the people who need a little extra help to get better. It stands for intensive care unit.”

“Is he going to die?” Fives had clearly picked up on the fact that someone already in the hospital needing extra help was bad. His voice was so small.

“We think he got through the worst part. He woke up last night and asked for you, which is a really good sign, but we can’t bring him anything from outside the hospital because he had to have some really big surgeries and we don’t want him to get infected.”

“Oh,” Fives’s eyes darted back and forth before they made their way back to Rex’s. “Can- can we still-? Are we allowed to see him?”

Rex nodded, “We can head on over after we get dressed and brush our teeth.”

Fives jumped up out of his chair in excitement and made a beeline for Rex’s bedroom. Rex marveled in the boy’s ability to switch his emotions so quickly, and his inability to hide any of them.

As Fives got dressed, Rex washed all the dishes as quickly as he could so he wouldn’t have to keep the boy waiting for long. Not surprisingly, Fives finished getting ready before Rex put the last dish on the drying rack. The boy bounded into the kitchen, bouncing on his toes and grinning.

Rex couldn’t help but match his grin, “Alright, get your shoes and coat on while I get dressed.”

Fives nodded and hopped over to the entry way where his tiny set of shoes sat next to Rex’s boots.

Rex threw on his clothes and swished some mouthwash around in his mouth (brushing took too long) before joining Fives in the entry way. The boy was practically exploding with energy and Rex had to tell him multiple times that his shoes were on the wrong feet before he stopped jumping up and down and sat so Rex could fix them.

As soon as they got onto the road Fives asked how long it would take to get to Echo, and not wanting the entire 45 minute car ride to consist of 45 “are we there yet?”s, Rex made Fives his navigator. He knew the way to Kamino General well enough that he would tell Fives to remind him to turn right when they got to the next intersection or get off the highway when he saw a green sign with the number 79 on it. It kept the boy surprisingly occupied as he seemed to take his role very seriously.

As they neared the hospital and sat waiting in city traffic, Rex glanced at Fives in the mirror, “Fives, there’s something I need to tell you about Echo before we see him.”

Fives twisted forward to look at Rex from his position analyzing the city outside his window.

“He got really hurt and he- his-” Rex started to explain, struggling to find the right words.

“His legs were gone,” Fives interrupted, eyes wide.

Rex stared at the boy in his mirror, “You saw?”

Fives nodded, “Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” Rex didn’t know what else to say.

Fives shrugged, “Green light.”

“Huh?” Rex gaped before he realized what Fives was referring to as the car behind him honked, “Shi-oot!”

Rex slammed on the gas and turned into the hospital’s visitor parking lot, “Sorry about that.”

“S’okay,” Fives mumbled. Then his head shot up with excitement, “Are we here?”

“Yep,” Rex said, pulling into a spot.

Before Rex came to a complete stop, Fives unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door, ready to leap out. Rex stomped on the breaks and lunged back to grab the boy’s wrist, lest he fall out of the car, “Fives!”

The boy yelped as Rex dragged him back away from the door.

“No!” Rex yanked the boy towards his face, “No. You do not get out of the car until it’s stopped moving! Do you understand?”

“I’m s-sorry,” Fives stared at Rex, face going pale.

“Do you understand?”

Fives tried to yank his arm away, but Rex had him in an iron grip.

“Do. You. Understand?”

Fives’s tiny fist came up from where it was clenched at his side and struck Rex on the cheek. Rex was so surprised he almost let go of the boy as Fives began screaming “sorry” repeatedly, flailed his captive wrist around, trying to bash Rex’s hand down into the console, and used his free hand to hit Rex’s arm with as much force as he was capable of.

Rex caught Fives’s other arm to prevent any further damage to either of them and held him still while he struggled. Even though Fives’s eyes were screwed shut, Rex tried to soften his expression from the angry one he was sure it held a few moments earlier to one as neutral as possible.

Eventually Fives’s struggles grew weaker, and his apologies died down to a faint whisper. Rex realized the boy was crying, tears leaking out the corners of his shut lids.

“Fives?” Rex said softly, loosening his grip on the boy so if he wanted to remove his arms he could.

Fives opened his eyes and tears gushed down his cheeks, “’m ssssorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m not mad, see?” Rex held up his hands.

Fives stared up at Rex with big watery eyes before slowly reaching out one of his own hands and placing it against Rex’s opposing palm.

Rex curled down his fingers so his hand enveloped Fives’s, “Are you okay?”

In response Fives pulled his and Rex’s hand towards his chest.

“Hug?” Rex asked, remembering last night.

“Please?”

“Alright, come here,” Rex said, hoisting the boy up over the console and into his lap.

Fives held Rex’s hand to his chest as Rex held him to his and they sat just breathing in silence together until Fives shifted to look up at Rex, “Are- are you very mad at me?”

Rex squeezed Fives a little tighter and smiled sadly, “I’m not very mad at you.”

They sat together for a few more moments and this time it was Rex who broke the silence, “Can I explain why I got upset?”

Rex felt Fives nod against his chest.

“Cars can be very dangerous if we aren’t careful in them or around them,” He felt Fives nod in understanding and continued, “One of the rules when you’re in the car is that you always keep your seatbelt on and you never open the door unless we are parked in a driveway or in a parking lot, does that make sense?”

Again, Rex felt Fives nod against him.

He continued, “When you opened the door, I was scared that you might get hurt, so I got upset. But I was more upset that you might get hurt than I was upset at you.” Rex rubbed Fives’s arm, “I’m sorry for yelling at you and for grabbing you.”

“I’m sorry, too. For- for breaking the rules.”

“It’s alright. You were excited, I get it. But next time we don’t jump out of moving cars.”

Fives nodded, sniffling.

Rex grabbed a tissue and handed it to the boy, “Ready to go see Echo?”

Fives smiled, blowing into the tissue, “Ready.”

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny @tearfulsolace @rndmpeep @brokenphoenix99 @xylionet @tazmbc1

#sorry for the late post #it's technically still sunday somewhere...#Also #I think tumblr's not letting me mention certain people :(#IDK how to fix that #so I am super sorry to anyone who's not being alerted properly when I update #clone wars #the clone wars #tcw #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #captain rex #clone trooper echo #commander cody #clone trooper fives #superlarva #domino twins #baby dominos

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superlarva · 10 months

Text

Some much needed hugs in this chapter!

Chapter 3 of my baby domino twins and dad Rex fic without a name if any of y'all have suggestions I'd love to hear them, I can't decide on a good title :(

Links to previous chapters: 00 01 02

Next chapter: 04

Summary: Rex and Fives bond as they get ready for bed.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse

Chapter 3 - Home

Rex’s keys clattered across the hallway floor loudly. He cringed and held his breath, stopping in his tracks. Fives’s head burrowed deeper into his shoulder, his boney legs constricting around Rex’s hips.

“It’s okay, I got you,” Rex hushed quietly, hoping the boy wouldn’t fully wake up.

Fives shifted again in Rex’s arms, pressing his small body up even further against Rex’s chest. The boy hummed quietly, slowly pulling himself from the depths of sleep, “…Echo?”

“Rex!”

Rex whirled around, clutching Fives tight as the boy jerked awake in his arms. He was met with a familiar face staring at him half hidden behind a mop of jet-black hair and the door to apartment 6116.

“Hardcase!” Rex heard Jesse’s voice bark from deep within the apartment behind the teen in front of him.

“What?” Hardcase answered, still eyeing Rex and the boy in his arms.

“Leave him alone. Aren’t you supposed to be grounded?”

Hardcase rolled his eyes, turning his head back towards the apartment, “Aren’t you supposed to be putting Tup to bed? Anyways, Kix isn’t even here right now.”

“Right, so that means I’m in charge. Get back in here.”

Hardcase stepped out into the hallway and let the door slide shut behind him, grinning at Rex, “Oops.”

Rex readjusted his grip on Fives as the boy squirmed in his arms, trying to turn to see the new presence in the hallway.

Hardcase moved into the kid’s line of vision and gave a small wave, “Hey, little guy.”

Fives snuggled his head back down into Rex’s shoulder, clearly not wanting to interact.

“Hardcase,” Rex warned, moving to pick up his keys. “You should listen to Jesse.”

Ignoring the comment, the teen bent down and grabbed the keys swiftly before Rex could reach them, “Here, let me get that for you.”

Rex sighed and let Hardcase open his apartment for him, holding out his hand for the keys as the door swung open, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Hardcase said, dropping them in Rex’s palm.

“Get back in there before you give your brother an aneurism,” Rex ordered over his shoulder before kicking the door closed behind him.

Rex set Fives and the bag of clothes down on the kitchen counter, “Sorry for waking you up. My friends can be a little, uh… overly enthusiastic. Sometimes.”

Fives rubbed at his eyes looking around the small kitchen and adjoining living room.

“Yeah, so, this is my apartment,” Rex wrung his hands, studying the boy’s curious glances for hints of satisfaction or distaste. “I know it’s not that big, but it’s got two bedrooms, so, you know, I figured it should be alright if you and Echo are okay sharing a room.”

Fives’s eyes snapped to Rex’s, a look of pure wonder etched across his face, “A whole room just for me and Echo?”

“Uh, yeah… is- is that-” Rex stumbled over his words, anxiety building in his chest. He took a deep breath, “Is that not okay?”

“We never had a whole room to ourselves before.”

“Oh, well, yeah, you guys will have your own room. It’s not set up or anything yet, so we’ll need to do that.”

“Tonight?”

“No,” Rex said the edges of his lips twitching up at the hopeful note into the boy’s tone. “Tonight we’re just gonna get you all cleaned up and ready for bed. First up, we got to take off these shoes.”

As Rex removed Fives’s socks and shoes the boy fidgeted uncomfortably.

“Something up?” Rex asked, peeling off a sock.

“Was…” Fives’s faced screwed up in confusion. “Was he a grown up or a kid?”

“Who? Hardcase?”

Fives nodded.

Rex chuckled, “Yeah, I can see how that’d be confusing. He’s a teenager, so he’s kinda in between being a big kid and an adult.”

“Will I be a teenager too?”

“Mhm,” Rex affirmed, taking off the last sock, “When you turn thirteen.”

“When will I turn thirteen?” Fives asked, letting Rex help him hop down off the counter.

Rex dug around in the shopping bag and pulled out one of the pairs of dino pajamas and a pair of underwear, “Do you know how old you are now?”

Fives shook his head, following Rex as he made his way towards the bathroom.

“Well, when’s your birthday?”

“What’s a birthday?”

Rex stopped outside the bathroom, looking back at the boy’s questioning face. The kid had no idea how heartbreaking his innocent question was. Rex sighed and stepped into the bathroom, depositing Fives’s new clothes on the counter, “It’s the day you were born when you were a baby. Everyone has a new one on the same day every year. So, for example, on my birthday this year I turned twenty-four.”

Fives looked down at his own body then looked up at Rex, “I don’t think I’m twenty-four yet.”

Rex turned away from Fives, both to obtain a clean towel from the cabinet and also to hide his face from the boy. Every word Fives said solidified just how deprived and neglected the twins had been in her care. It made him livid, not just at her, but at himself: for not being there, for not even trying to find out that he had kids he should have been there for. He did not want Fives to see him fuming and think he was angry at him, so he took a deep breath.

Once he made sure his expression was neutral, Rex turned back to Fives, “No, not yet. I think you’re around seven right now.”

“So, then I’ll be a teenager in six years?”

Rex smiled, surprised that with Fives’s lack of basic knowledge he knew how to do subtraction, “Yeah, I think so.”

Rex had showed Fives where everything was in the bathroom and explained how to work the shower bath, but he still resorted to fidgeting nervously in the hall outside the closed door after he got changed into his pajamas.

After only a few minutes of waiting the water in the shower turned off. Rex rubbed the back of his neck, listening intently for any cries of distress. That had been an awfully short shower for the amount of filth on the kid.

After waiting and not hearing anything from inside the bathroom, Rex’s anxiety won out and he knocked softly on the door, “You okay in there, bud?”

“Y-yeah,” came a slightly panicked response. “I’m almost done. S-sorry.”

Rex frowned, “It’s okay, take as long as you need.”

Rex stood outside the door for a minute trying to think of something better to say to ease the boy’s anxieties before he gave up and went into his bedroom to sit on the edge of his bed. As soon as he did, he heard the bathroom door open, and a little face appeared behind it.

“All done?” Rex asked, surprised that Fives actually did look clean.

The boy nodded, pushing a sopping wet curl away from his forehead.

Rex laughed and made his way over to Fives, who opened the door a little more for him.

“Here,” Rex said, grabbing the towel that Fives had left on the edge of the tub and using it to dry his hair, “If you rub it on your head like this it’ll dry your hair.”

Fives squirmed a little, but calmed down after Rex explained what he was doing. When Rex was done drying Fives’s hair, he hung up the towel on the back of the door and began rummaging around in his bathroom cabinet for a new toothbrush for Fives. After finding one, he held it out, “Toothbrush.”

Fives took the toothbrush, and went over to the sink, “Can I use your toothpaste?”

“Yeah, of course.”

As Fives brushed his teeth, Rex picked up the boy’s dirty clothes from the floor and threw them into the wash, changing his settings to “soil level heavy” before letting it run.

By the time he had finished, Fives reappeared from the bathroom. He smiled shyly as Rex approached, “I put my toothbrush next to yours.”

“Perfect,” Rex said, smiling.

Fives smiled back.

“Ready for bed?” Rex asked, hitching his thumb to his bedroom.

Fives regarded him nervously, “Is-isn’t that yours? Your room?”

“Yes, but I’ll be sleeping on the couch,” Rex said quickly, pointing to the couch behind Fives in the living room.

“I can sleep on the couch,” Fives said, looking up at Rex with big innocent eyes.

“I’m sure you can, but I would feel a lot more comfortable if you slept in a real bed tonight.”

“But…” Fives’s eyebrows pushed together in confusion, “But it’s yours?”

“Your right,” Rex nodded. “And that means I get to make the decision of who sleeps in it.”

Fives stared at him, bewildered.

“And I’ve decided that person is you.”

Again, the boy made no response.

Rex sighed, “Am I going to have to chase you in there?”

Fives sobered and shook his head vigorously, slowly backing away from Rex and sidestepping into the bedroom. Rex held back a smirk and followed the boy into the room.

Fives was standing in the middle of the floor, looking between Rex and his queen-sized mattress. He had a funny look on his face, almost as if he were asking permission to approach the bed.

“Go on,” Rex snipped, jerking his head toward the bed, he was exhausted and just wanted to get Fives to sleep as soon as possible so he could crash himself. He regretted his clipped tone as soon as the words came out of his mouth. He didn’t want to scare the kid.

Fives climbed up onto the bed and sat on top of the sheets, balling them up into tight fists as he stared at Rex, Rex thought for further directions.

No.

Not for further directions.

There was a slight quiver in the boy’s lip just visible in the dark room.

Fives was trying not to cry.

Rex, scared he had frightened the boy, covered the distance between them slowly and sat on the edge of the bed, a bit away from Fives, “What’s wrong?”

At that Fives burst into tears, his whole body shaking. Rex tried not to get upset himself and took a deep breath. He didn’t know if Fives was crying because of him or just because of everything he had gone through today or because of Echo, or what, but he wasn’t going to be able to figure it out unless he handled this with tact. Rex thought back to all the times others had tried to comfort him before settling on his first question.

“Do you want me to stay here or go?” Rex had hated it when the people who had hurt him tried to comfort him and he didn’t want to do the same with Fives, but he also didn’t want to say anything that would make Fives assume that Rex thought Fives was upset at him.

Fives tried to say something but was racked with a fresh wave of sobs and nothing but unintelligible noises came out of his mouth. Finding a solution to his problem, Fives shakily uncurled one of his fists and reached out to Rex.

“Stay?” Rex asked, scooting closer to the boy.

Fives nodded and grabbed Rex’s arm, pulling it to his chest and hugging it with all his strength.

“Okay,” Rex said softly, pulling Fives into a hug with his free arm and rubbing the boy’s back. Rex didn’t really know what to do but whisper the phrase “you’re okay, I’ve got you” over and over as he rubbed circles.

Luckily, it seemed to work and eventually Fives’s sobs slowed down and his grip on Rex’s arm loosened a little. Rex squeezed the boy tight before pulling back a bit so he could see his face, “Okay now?”

Fives wiped a tear from his eye and took a shuddering breath before shrugging a little and closing his eyes as more tears spilled from them.

Rex pulled him in close again, cradling Fives’s head to his chest, “Oh, bud… What’s the matter?"

“Y-y-you’re- y-you’re-” Fives was starting to hyperventilate, clinging to Rex for dear life.

Rex’s heartrate picked up. He’d done something wrong hadn’t he. And now his son was practically inconsolable. He carded a hand through Fives’s damp hair, hoping to calm him down enough that he would be able to speak.

“You’re t-t-too nice t-to m-m-m-m-me!” Fives let out with a wail.

Rex froze. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t that. He went back to rubbing Fives’s back as he tried to organize his thoughts. Suddenly he realized. He turned to the shaking boy in his arms, “Fives?”

The boy sniffled and shifted his head to peak at him, “M-mh-hm?”

“Do you know why they called me to come get you and Echo?”

Fives shrugged, “B-because you’re a- a policem-man?”

“Because I’m your dad.”

Fives looked up at him in confusion, tears come to a halt.

“Do you- do you know what that means?” Rex asked softly.

“It means…” Fives trailed off. “…you have to take care of me?”

“It means I get to take care of you and I get to make you feel safe and I get to make you happy.”

Fives scrubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, sniffling, before regarding Rex curiously and saying in a small voice, “I didn’t know you were my dad.”

Rex smiled, he could barely believe it himself, “I am.”

Fives cocked his head to one side, “Eh-Echo said you were probably a bad man.”

“Do I seem like a bad man?”

“No… but Echo s-s-said you-” Fives took a second to snort some of his snot back up into his nose, “-said you come get us if you w-were a good guy.”

Rex cringed; he knew Echo was right. When he looked down, he was comforted by Fives unjudging face. The boy wasn’t mad at him, just confused, just trying to figure out how everything fit together. Rex shifted the boy off of his lap and onto the bed so they could face each other more comfortably, “You know how you said you didn’t know I was your dad?”

Fives nodded.

“Well, I didn’t know you were my son. Not until today.”

“Oh,” Fives said, blinking slowly. “And I r-really am?”

“You really are,” Rex echoed softly.

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny @xylionet @tazmbc1

#we got some Hardcase in this chapter :)#sorry for giving him hair lol #we'll get some Echo soon #in chapter 5 #the clone wars #captain rex #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #clone wars #tcw #superlarva #tcw hardcase #domino twins #baby dominos

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superlarva · 10 months

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Rex: I thought I told you boys to get ready for school!

Good luck washing that off his face, Rex. It's definitely permanent marker :)

Just an idea that wormed it's way into my brain while working on my fic. I had to share even if this won't happen until a little ways down the line!

#Echo! Put the rest of your body on #they have to leave in 5 minutes #the quilt took wayyyyy too long #captain rex #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #clone wars #tcw #the clone wars #domino twins #baby dominos #star wars #superlarva

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superlarva · 10 months

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Rex got Fives a blanket :)

Here's chapter 2 of my fic about Rex parenting baby domino twins!

Chapter 1 here! <- Although you probably don't really need to read it to figure out what's going on.

Next chapter: 03

Summary: Rex brings his newly acquired 7 year old Fives home, making a few stops along the way.

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse

Chapter 2 - The Journey Home

It was dark outside. And raining. Always raining. Fives shifted closer to the nice policeman. His hand was warm. Fives held it a little tighter.

Echo always said policemen were like superheroes. He had read about them in a book one time. Apparently, they made sure people were following the rules and kept everyone safe. Fives had not been sure they were real; it had seemed like a fantasy.

He had asked his mom who the police were once. She had gotten mad and said that the police would only come if he and his brothers were really bad. She had said that they would separate them and make sure he never saw Echo or his other brothers ever again.

Fives looked up at the nice policeman as they walked through the parking lot. His mom was sort of right: they had separated him from Echo.

But she was also sort of wrong.

This policeman had not asked a million questions like the other ones, had not yelled and been scary like the other ones. Instead, he had offered to let him stay with him until he had to go back home—was he going back home?

Fives figured maybe some of the policemen were like Echo’s version and some were like his mom’s. He was glad that this one was like Echo’s.

He liked this one.

They stopped walking.

The nice policeman—Rex?—pulled something out of his pocket and clicked a button. Fives jumped back when the car in front of them lit up and emitted a strange beeping noise.

It was like he was back at home. Back at home going through a drill.

The drill.

It had been Heavy’s idea: during morning drill they would escape.

Halls of flashing red lights and loud sirens.

Climbing over the citadel walls.

Then the explosion.

Cutup, Droidbait, and Heavy gone.

Just him and Echo left.

Just him and Echo.

Then just him.

Rex tried to coax Fives into the backseat of his car, but the boy would not budge. He had tensed up when Rex unlocked the car, and was now just staring absently at the vehicle, rooted in place.

Rex needed to get the kid out of the cold rain and if Fives would not move himself, he had no other option. Rex crouched down in front of the boy, “I’m gonna pick you up and put you in my car, okay?”

Nothing.

“Alright, up we go,” Rex swung Fives up into the back seat.

The contact seemed to get the boy’s attention and he made a quiet whine of protest when Rex extracted himself from him. Rex quickly strapped Fives in before shutting the door so no more rain would get in.

As Res walked around the car to the driver’s side, he checked his phone and sighed when the screen came up empty. Cody had taken a taxi to Kamino General to check on Echo while Rex was signing paperwork. He had said he would text any updates on Echo’s condition.

Rex ducked into the car and checked Fives in the mirror. The boy was curled up with his knees to his chest, the same way he had been when Rex had first seen him. Rex twisted around in his seat so he was facing Fives, “Hey, buddy.”

Fives peaked up at him.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty hungry. Should we stop somewhere on our way home?”

Fives’s eyebrows pushed together, but he nodded his head.

“Any type of food you’re in the mood for?”

Fives shrugged, eyes darting around that dark car, before offering a small, hopeful, “Pizza?”

Rex grinned and started up the engine, “Pizza it is.”

After they crossed out of Kamino, Rex pulled off the highway and found a small pizza place in the outskirts of Coruscant. It was a quiet family run place and the older man behind the counter greeted them warmly when they walked in. There was a couple at the front ordering and a group of teens sitting at a booth in the back whispering excitedly about something.

The prospect of food had seemed to energize Fives a bit and as they waited in line he bounced on his toes a little. Rex decided on a slice of classic peperoni, then looked down at Fives, who was squinting up at the menu, “Anything look good?”

Fives hummed and then pointed to one of the pizzas with a pile of colorful toppings on display over the counter, “What’s that one?”

“Uh,” Rex craned his neck to see the small label over the heads of the couple in front of them. He turned back to Fives, “The Works.”

Fives looked up at him, a fire in his eyes Rex hadn’t seen before, “That one. I want that one.”

The couple moved away from the counter and Rex and Fives filled their place. The old man smiled down at the boy from over the counter, but his expression soured quickly, and Rex became painfully aware of just how odd the pair of them must look.

Fives was wearing a sleeveless undershirt, a pair of boxers, and nothing but socks on his feet in cold December weather. He was—quite honestly—filthy, and bruised head to toe. Rex on the other hand, looked fairly well put together. They painted quite the picture.

Rex grimaced and shuffled around in his pockets for his wallet, taking care to make sure the man would be able to see his 501st patch on his jacket as he did. That was sure to stop him from calling the police, even if it would mean he jumped to the slightly wrong conclusion.

“We’ll have a slice of peperoni and a slice of The Works.”

The man behind the counter looked up from Fives and smiled despite the look of horror brewing behind his eyes, “That’ll be $3.98, anything else I can get you, officer?”

Rex looked at Fives asking a silent question, but the boy just stared back looking slightly overwhelmed. Rex doubted Fives could fit more than one of the giant slices in his stomach, and figured that even if he could, it likely wouldn’t be good for him to eat too much while half starved. He smiled up and the man and took out a wrinkled ten, “Two waters.”

They paid for their food and then went to sit at a table by the front window, away from the other customers. Fives shivered as he sat in the metal chair and Rex cursed internally for his stupidity.

“Wait right here. I’ve got a blanket in the car for you, I’m gonna run out and get it really quick.”

“Okay,” Fives said softly, eyes darting around the Pizza shop.

“It’ll only take a second. You’ll be able to see me through the window, and I’ll be able to see you, okay?”

Fives nodded.

Rex stood and turned to the old man behind the counter, “I’ll be right back, gonna get the kid a blanket from my car.”

The man nodded and smiled at Fives, who offered a weak smile in response.

Rex left the shop and made his way over to his car, looking over his shoulder to make sure Fives was still sitting at the window. The boy was watching him, gripping the edge of the table. Rex grabbed the blanket from his trunk quickly and jogged back to the pizza place, waving it over his head for Fives to see.

As he entered the shop, the boy visibly relaxed but then stood suddenly, the chair screeching backwards with his harsh movement. Fives’s face was racked with guilt and he looked like he was standing at attention, his shoulders squared and thrust backwards, back straight as a pillar, and legs pinned together.

Rex strode over quickly to Fives and wrapped the large grey blanket around his shoulders. He sat in his chair. Fives watched his movements intensely, clutching the edges of the blanket around himself and pulling them in tight. He looked so small engulfed in the blanket and Rex chuckled.

Fives shot him a quizzical look.

“At ease, little soldier.” Rex motioned to the chair, “Sit.”

Fives obliged him a little stiffly, but just as he did the man behind the counter called out their order and pushed two slices of pizza and two cups of water over the counter.

The boy moved to stand again, but Rex waved a hand in dismissal, “I’ll get it. You sit.”

Fives sank back into his chair and Rex grabbed the food, depositing a colorfully decorated slice and a water in front of the boy, “Drink some of that water first.”

Fives nodded seriously, and grabbed the plastic glass with two hands, treating it as if it were an ancient relic, so fragile that if he held it the wrong way it might break. Rex smiled and watched the boy proceed to down the whole glass in a few gulps as he took a few sips of his own.

When Fives set the cup down Rex raised an eyebrow, “Want some more?”

Fives ears turned pink, and he shook his head, “No. ‘m sorry.”

Rex set his own cup down, confused, “No, it’s okay, you can have some more. It’s no problem.”

Fives didn’t say anything, so Rex grabbed the boy’s cup and stood, “I’ll get you some more.”

Rex could feel Fives’s eye boring holes into his back as he refilled his cup. He did not like the way Fives watched him. There was so much suspicion in his eyes. However long it took, he was going show the kid that he could be trusted.

“Okay,” Rex said after they both finished their meals. “Here’s the plan: we’re gonna head home, but first we have to stop at the store and pick up a few things for you.”

“I don’t need anything,” Fives protested.

Rex frowned, “Yeah, you do. I need to get you a booster seat. It’s not safe for you to be in the car without one.”

Fives mirrored his frown, brows drawn together.

Rex continued, “You also need a clean set of pajamas for tonight and clothes for tomorrow at a minimum. I know it’s not a lot, but I think we’re both tired. It might be better to do the rest of the shopping tomorrow.”

Fives pulled a face, “I thought you said we were going to see Echo tomorrow?”

As soon as the boy realized what he said, he clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes full of fear.

Afraid of challenging authority, Rex analyzed. He figured the best thing to do was to pretend he couldn’t see Fives’s fear, and answer normally, “Assuming Echo is well enough for visitors tomorrow, we will, but no matter what, they likely won’t let us see him for very long. We’ll have time for both.”

Fives didn’t seem completely satisfied with Rex’s answer, but he seemed to accept it, looking out the window at the car. Rex followed his gaze, “Ready to go?”

The boy nodded.

They stopped at the Target near Rex’s apartment. He figured it would be better for Fives to start getting comfortable with his new neighborhood rather than stop at some random store on the way.

As they walked up to the sliding doors, Fives tugged on Rex’s sleeve. “Hm?” Rex asked, looking down at the small boy still engulfed in his blanket.

“What’s a booster seat?”

“It’s a chair that you attach to the seat of the car to make it more comfort—”

Rex was cut off by a muffled shriek from Fives as the sliding doors automatically opened. The boy jumped into Rex’s side and grabbed his hand with both of his own, dropping the blanket on the sidewalk behind them. Rex would have laughed if the intensity of the overreaction hadn’t been so concerning.

“Just an automatic door. They open for you when they see you on the motion sensor,” Rex explained, kneeling down and grabbing the blanket, throwing it back over the boy’s shoulders.

Fives looked from the door to Rex and pulled back his hands, the fear slowly melting into a sheepish smile, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Rex said, “They still scare me sometimes too, and I’m all grown up.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

Fives looked over at the store a bit uneasily.

“Hey, Fives?” Rex asked softly, watching the boy carefully, “Have you ever been inside a store like this before?”

Fives shook his head, “We weren’t supposed to leave the house. Except for— Except for training.”

“Okay,” Rex said slowly. He could unpack that later, right now he just needed to get through the shopping without traumatizing the kid any further. “It’s a pretty big store, so you need to stay where I can see you, ’kay?”

Fives nodded seriously.

“And there’s going to be a bunch of other people in there, but they won’t hurt you.”

Fives nodded again.

“And if you see anything you want for tonight, let me know and I’ll see if we can get it, alright?” Rex looked down at Fives’s little hands, which were gripping the blanket around him tightly, and held out his own, “If you want to hold my hand, you can.”

Fives tentatively reached out his hand, searching Rex’s face as his did. Rex offered an encouraging smile and, seemingly satisfied, Fives took his hand.

They got a pair of shoes for Fives first and paid for them immediately so Rex could cut the tags off and put them on the boy’s feet. He had chosen a pair of blue and white lace-up sneakers after trying on a pair with Velcro and deciding that Rex’s “kind” (shoes with laces) were cooler.

After Fives was all set with his new shoes, they made their way to the boy’s clothing section. Rex pointed to the racks of pajamas, “Do you want to pick out a pair while I go get you some underwear?”

Fives didn’t say anything in response, but his grip on Rex’s hand tightened.

Rex looked down at the boy and noticed his eyelids were drooping a little. The calories from the pizza must have worn off. “Together?” Rex asked, cracking a smile at the sleepy look on Fives’s face.

The boy nodded and rubbed his eyes.

Rex led them over to the pajamas and pulled out a set of long sleeve navy dinosaur print pjs, “You like dinos?”

Fives’s eyes lit up a bit behind the sleep and he reached out for them.

“Hold on, lemme see if they have it in your size.”

They did in fact have both smalls and extra smalls, which Fives seemed to be in between the sizes of. Rex eventually decided on the small because even though it would be a little big on the kid, at least he would grow into it.

As Rex threw the pair of pajamas in the crook of his arm, he felt a slight tug on his hand from Fives. The boy was holding up a second pair of dino pjs, “Can we get one for Echo too?”

“Yeah,” Rex said taking the clothes from Fives and folding them over the other pair. He hoped Fives and Echo weren’t identical. It’d be a nightmare to tell them apart if they were wearing the same clothes.

They made their way through the rest of the store, picking up a couple packs of underwear and socks, a new set of clothes, a puffy winter coat, and a booster seat for Fives, as well as matching products in different colorways for Echo. By the time Rex paid and loaded everything back into a cart to take it out to the car, Fives looked like a zombie. His hand had loosened its grip on Rex’s and every so often his eyelids would droop and his head would begin to sag before he caught himself and whipped his head back up into alertness.

Fives made it back to the car without falling asleep and even helped Rex load the trunk by throwing in the small bag of clothes while he set up the car seats. Once Fives’s booster was strapped in, Rex picked up the boy and placed him gently in the seat, showing him how to buckle the seatbelt under the armrest.

Fives sagged back into the seat and Rex chuckled, “Comfy?”

Fives nodded and closed his eyes. Rex repositioned the blanket around the boy’s shoulders before shutting the door and making his way back around to the driver’s side.

The rest of the ride home was short, only a few minutes, so Rex was surprised when he parked in his usual spot and turned to see Fives fast asleep, slumped against the seatbelt.

Rex sat for a moment, just staring at Fives. His son.

His son.

Even though he didn’t know him—hadn’t known he even existed for years—Rex was filled with a strange sense of pride. It didn’t wash the guilt away—he was sure nothing could wash the guilt away—just covered it a little, obscuring it from the forefront of his thoughts.

It was a nice feeling, Rex thought. And he could live with that.

@marierg @stressed-cherry @ffdemon @renton6echo @bambambunny

#sleepy Fives #also #can I just say #y'all have been so nice :)#your comments and reblogs make my day #the clone wars #tcw #captain rex #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #commander cody #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #clone wars #superlarva #domino twins #baby dominos #star wars

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superlarva · 10 months

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Happy Sunday! I had a little more time than usual this week, so I tried my hand at a more realistic rendering (there's a slightly different version under the cut with Fives's injuries).

Anyways, here's chapter 1 of my fic (I promise I'll come up with a name soon) about Rex parenting baby domino twins!

Summary: Rex and Cody go to Kamino and pick up Fives.

Prologue here!

Next Chapter: 02

CW: Implied/referenced child abuse, implied/referenced sexual assult (not of Fives)

^Please stay safe, friends, there's a decent amount of talk about trauma in this chapter.

Chapter 1 - Fives

Cody had insisted on driving. He knew Rex well enough to know his brother, normally unbreakable under any stressors, was just barely holding himself together.

Cody was barely holding himself together.

Rex had never explicitly told him what had happened when they had been separated, but there had been hints. Hints that made guilt and protectiveness and anger surge through Cody’s veins.

Rex came back quieter, more cautious, less trusting. He would get night terrors that left him pale and trembling, only soothed back to sleep by the sound of Cody’s voice reading stories or whispering affirmations.

Back then, Cody had not wanted to assume, and Rex had not wanted to share.

Now Cody knew. He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt what she had done to him. He knew why his little brother had come back from her care nervous and shaken. Why he hadn’t let anyone so much as tap him on the shoulder for years afterwards.

It made his blood boil.

If only he had been a few years older, he could have gotten Rex out before they were split from the group home. If only he had realized the lack of letters he received wasn’t because Rex was making new friends and didn’t have time for his older brother, but because he needed help.

He had needed help and Cody had not been there for him.

He had not, but he would be damned if he was not going to be there for Rex now.

Cody stopped at a red light and looked over to his brother. Rex was hunched over in the passenger seat, slumped against the window, lost in thought.

“You alright, Rex?”

Rex slowly turned his head towards Cody, his eyes still anchored on a spot of air in front of him. After a moment he tore his gaze away to focus in on Cody, fingers pulling at the hem of his sleeves, “Fine.”

Cody’s brow raised; Rex was a horrible liar. The light turned green, and Cody eased onto the gas, shooting his brother the occasional glance to let him know he was still listening if he wanted to say more.

“Nala Se,” Rex mumbled the name so quietly, Cody would not have caught it if he had not known to look for it. Then Rex’s eyes filled with grief and his voice turned desperate, “They were with her, Cody! Her! I didn’t know! All this time, they were with her! I- I could have- I should- I didn’t know!”

Cody grimaced and gripped the steering wheel tightly but tried to relax and remain calm for his brother, “I know. It’ll be okay. They aren’t with her now. We can make sure they never will be again.”

Rex sank back into his seat and closed his eyes. Cody was happy to see some of the tension in his brother’s shoulder lessen.

They drove in silence until they crossed into Kamino. It began to pour, buckets of water thudding against the windshield. Cody grinned and nudged Rex playfully, “Twins, huh?”

Rex opened his eyes and Cody thought he saw the ghost of a smile play across his lips, “Echo and Fives.” Rex dropped his gaze to his lap and sighed, “I don’t even know how old they are.”

Cody shot his brother a soft smile. He knew, he had already done the math, “They’d be at least seven. Maybe eight.”

By the time they arrived at the KCPS office, Rex had had plenty of time to steel himself for meeting the twins. Even if he did not really feel it, he wanted to appear calm and collected for the boys after the day they must have had.

Walking back into the familiar white, sterile building of his childhood almost broke down everything he had built up over the drive, but a gentle squeeze on his shoulder from Cody grounded him.

The waiting room was empty save for a tall, gangly woman sitting behind a sleek white desk. As Rex and Cody approached her, she looked up from her computer and smiled, “What can I help you with this evening, sirs?”

Rex took out his wallet and slid his ID over the counter, “My name is Rex Fett. I’m here to pick up Echo and Fives.”

“Of course.” The woman checked his ID, typed a few things into her computer, then slid it back to him, “If you’ll just follow me, Mr. Fett.”

The woman stood, grabbing two folders from the desk and then briskly made her way towards one of the hallways branching out from the waiting room. Rex followed hot on her heels with Cody not far behind him.

When they reached a room at the end of the hall, the woman turned to face the brothers, one hand on the door handle, “I apologize. I didn’t make it clear on the phone. Fives is the only one we are currently holding. Echo is in the ICU. There was an… accident.”

Rex and Cody exchanged worried glances.

“What happened?” Cody asked.

The woman shrugged, “We believe there was an explosion. The police are currently investigating the matter. Nala Se was arrested on site. Echo was taken to Kamino General due to extensive injuries. Fives was unharmed and sent here.”

Rex opened his mouth to ask if Echo was okay but stopped himself. From the way the woman had worded her response it was clear she did not have much information on his condition. Besides, she had said Echo was in the ICU. He clearly wasn’t okay.

Cody rested a hand on Rex’s shoulder and said in a reassuring tone, “I can check on Echo tonight, alright?”

Rex nodded numbly, staring at the closed door in front of them.

“Good, focus on Fives. I’ll iron out the details with, uh,” Cody squinted at the woman’s nametag, “Taun We out here.”

“Yeah,” Rex said, shaking the anxiety from his mind and squaring his shoulders, preparing himself for whatever awaited him on the other side of the door.

Taun We nodded to the brothers before slowly opening the door. She stepped to the side, letting Rex take a few steps into the room.

The room was much like the waiting room: white floors and white walls. There was a small table in the center of the room with a few chairs pulled up to it and a shelf with a few meager toys lined up on it against the back wall. The space didn’t look lived in one bit. The toys hadn’t been touched and the chairs were angled slightly towards the door as they might be if they were in a picture for a magazine. Rex would have felt like he was breaking a rule if he moved anything from its place. In the back of his mind he wondered what kind of interior designer would okay this design for a CPS office.

In one of the far corners there was a single small white cot with grey sheets tucked tightly around it. In the other sat a small boy, legs pulled up to his chest, head tucked down and hidden from view. He was wearing what looked to be pajamas: a white wifebeater and a pair of striped boxers.

Cody and the woman began talking in hushed tones and Rex pulled the door closed a little more without shutting it completely to muffle their voices. The boy didn’t acknowledge his presence, so Rex cleared his throat and gave a small wave despite knowing the boy could not see him.

“Hello. My name is Rex.”

The boy made no response.

Rex took a tentative step forward before retreating back to where he had been standing only seconds before. He wasn’t sure if getting closer to the boy would spook him or not and he didn’t want to make his first impression a bad one.

“Is it alright if I sit next to you?” Rex asked, watching the small form carefully.

The boy’s head shifted up a bit, peaking up over his arms and a curious eye regarded Rex. After a moment the boy’s eyes narrowed in on Rex’s jacket. “I already talked to the police,” he said with an accusatory hoarse voice that sounded like he had been crying or screaming recently.

Rex looked down at his jacket, realizing that his 501st patch was stitched proudly over his left breast. “I’m not-” Rex stopped, he had been about to refute the boy’s claim on the principle of his tone. He tried to smile instead, “Well, I am a police officer, but I’m off duty right now. I came to pick you up. To bring you to stay at my house.”

Rex cringed internally at how lame he sounded, but the boy raised his head a bit more out of his arms and squinted at him. Taking the boy’s curiosity as an invitation to move closer, Rex slowly made his way over to the far wall and slid down against it until he was sitting cross legged about a meter away from the huddle form in the corner.

Rex evaluated the boy once he was closer. Fives was small, too small for him to be at least seven, and his bones jutted out of his skin at sharp angles. He looked like he was the same height as the little kindergarteners that waited for the bus on Rex’s streetcorner, and to Rex’s dismay, he was much thinner.

Rex ran his eyes over the boy, scanning him for any injuries and spotted multiple cuts and dark bruises, old and new, covering his arms and legs. “Uninjured” my ass. He covered his automatic grimace as best he could and met the boy’s puffy red eyes, “It’s nicer than this place at least.”

Fives cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows drawn together, and his mouth set in a small frown.

“I live in Coruscant,” Rex supplied.

The young boy’s confusion only intensified, “Not Kamino?”

“No, not Kamino. The next city over. Have you ever been there?” Rex asked, wanting to keep the boy talking.

“No.... What about—” Fives cut off abruptly, suddenly breaking eye contact and tightening his arms around his knees.

Rex waited for a minute, trying to give Fives time to formulate his question, but after a while it became clear that he wasn’t going to try and finish his thought.

Rex thought he knew what the boy wanted to know. He shifted a little closer to Fives and lowered his voice, trying to soften it, “Are you worried about Echo?”

Fives’s wide eyes snapped to his and he slowly nodded.

“Can I let you in on a little secret?” Rex asked, smiling mischievously, hoping to God that little kids liked being in on secrets.

Fives nodded, wide eyes still scared, but now also betraying some seriousness, as if he was trying to let Rex know he was trustworthy.

“Once Echo is all better, he’s going to come live with me and you too.”

“R-really?” Fives sounded like he didn’t believe him.

“I promise,” Rex said seriously, glad that some of the disbelief fell from the boy’s face. “As soon as the doctor’s say we can bring him home, we will.”

“Why?” The question was barely audible, and the boy’s eyes began to fill with tears.

“Why?” Rex questioned back, confused. He had thought that being able to stay with his twin would make Fives happy.

“Why are you l-letting Echo come?” Fives’s tears were falling freely now. “I-I thought you w-w-would t-take him away b-because w-we were— b-because we were b-bad.”

Rex watched as the boy’s small frame was racked with sobs, unable to comprehend what could have possibly happened to make him think that they were going to take Echo away for being “bad.” Deciding it didn’t matter, he scooted closer to Fives.

“Hey, listen to me,” Rex said softly, only continuing when Fives met his eyes. “You and Echo weren’t bad. You were good and brave.”

A sob racked Five’s body and Rex moved instinctively to wrap the boy in a hug, stopping with a rush of guilt when Fives flinched back. “Sorry,” Rex said, retreating. “Do you want a hug?”

The boy studied him for a second before slowly nodding. Rex shifted so he was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Fives, then reached his arm back and wrapped it around the boy in a side hug. Fives rested his head against Rex’s side and sniffled, tears still running down his cheeks.

“No one is going to take Echo away,” Rex soothed as he tried to wipe some of the tears and snot from Fives’s face with his sleeve. “He’s just at the hospital right now because he’s a little hurt. They need to fix him up, but they aren’t going to take him away.”

“Really?” Fives looked up at him with big, desperate brown eyes.

“Really,” Rex said firmly. “And I’ll tell you what: we’ll go see if we can visit Echo tomorrow morning after we go home and get some sleep. Sound good?”

Fives took a deep shuddering breath, and Rex was glad to see the tears had finally stopped falling, “We c-can’t see him now?”

Rex shook his head, he had no clue what Echo’s condition was or if they would even be allowed to see him in the morning, “Not right now. I think Echo needs his rest. But I can ask my brother if he would check up on him tonight and he can let us know how he’s doing.”

“You have a b-brother?”

“Yup, his name is Cody. He’s just on the other side of the door if you want to say hi.”

Fives glanced between Rex and the door suspiciously.

“He’s a police officer, like me,” Rex added, hoping that that knowledge might make the boy feel safer.

“O-okay,” Fives said, a little uncertainly as he uncurled himself and began to stand.

Rex stood as well and moved to the door. Fives followed close behind. When they reached the door Rex popped his head out before opening it all the way. Taun We was handing over the two files she had been carrying to Cody and they both looked up at the movement. Cody spoke first, “How’s it going?”

“Good,” Rex said quietly, “I think we’re ready to go.”

Cody and the woman both nodded and Rex opened the door the rest of the way, revealing Fives, standing half hidden behind his leg.

Cody immediately crouched down to the boy’s height and smiled kindly, “Hey, I’m Cody. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice t’ meet you. ‘m F-Fives,” the boy mumbled as his eyes scanned over Cody and the woman. Then he looked up at Rex, eyes searching for something. Approval? Rex wasn’t sure, so he offered the boy an encouraging smile.

Taun We stepped forward and Fives shifted back a little, positioning himself more behind Rex’s leg. The woman didn’t seem to notice and addressed Rex, “We just have some papers to sign back at my desk and then you can go. I’ve filled in your brother on all the details we were given access to.”

Rex nodded and Cody straightened up. The woman turned and began walking back down the hallway towards the waiting room. Cody gave Rex a face he knew meant he needed to tell him something later before trailing after the woman.

Rex turned to Fives, “Ready to go?”

Fives nodded, then frowned, “I’m really allowed to go with you?”

“Yes,” Rex said, smiling.

Fives looked from the room he had been waiting in, to Rex, to the receding figures of Cody and the CPS worker down the hall, “Okay.”

The boy cautiously reached out and took Rex’s hand, holding it tight as if he were afraid if he let go, Rex would disappear.

Rex squeezed back.

He wasn’t going anywhere.

@marierg @stressed-cherry

#you can't tell me Fives didn't immediately imprint on Rex like a baby duckling #also #I'm so so so sorry Nala Se #I know she's not that evil #I just needed a name and hers was the one that popped into my head #the clone wars #arc trooper echo #arc trooper fives #captain rex #clone trooper echo #commander cody #tcw #clone trooper fives #clone wars #superlarva #domino twins #baby dominos

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superlarva · 10 months

Photo

Happy Father’s Day!

Okay, okay, considering what my fic is about I felt obliged to post something today :)

Here is the prologue. It’s just Rex finding out he’s a dad (he’s gonna be happy about it I promise, he’s just a little overwhelmed). Also, sorry, no baby domino twins yet, we’ll get there soon (Next Sunday).

Next chapter: 01

Rated: Teen

CW: Implied child abuse

Rex turned restlessly in his sleep, his forehead dotted with sweat despite the chill of the December night air. The room was silent but for his quiet breaths, dark but for the soft red glow from the digits on his alarm clock. It was not set to go off for another two hours.

Rex shifted again, rolling onto his back and throwing off the covers, a small, uncomfortable groan escaping from his parted lips. Then, his breathing hitched and stopped completely, his chest failing to rise. His face paled, shining against the dark sheets in the dim light.

Nothing moved.

Not the flutter of a curtain or the twitch of a muscle.

Everything was still.

Then, in an almost imperceptible movement, Rex’s eyes cracked open. Not quickly, the way one does when pulled from the depths of a nightmare, but slowly, as if from a dream one cannot quite place, a dream that is forgotten as soon as it is over.

The stillness was now broken, and the silence soon followed as he gulped down ragged breaths to refill his depleted lungs. He did not sit, not yet; he lay, content to breathe and stare at the ceiling above him.

It was Tuesday. Before dawn. Yesterday he had closed one of his biggest cases. Today he would be writing up his reports. A thought like this normally bothered him. He would itch to get back into the field, to be assigned a new case, not to sit at a computer painstakingly entering information into charts, but today he felt this desire eclipsed by another. Perhaps from the dream or something else, he did not know.

Rex pulled in next to the only other car parked outside the 501st district police station. He did not need to look to know it was Cody’s. His brother always seemed to be in the office and for once, Rex was grateful towards Cody’s insomniac tendencies. He could use the company.

Rex cut the ignition and sunk back into his seat, closing his eyes. He had felt off ever since he woke up. There was a strange feeling in his chest he could only describe as anticipation: a mixture of excitement and dread, nervousness and hope. The feeling was not new to him, but the way it sprouted seemingly out of nowhere was.

He sighed, opening his eyes, and running a hand through his short blonde curls. He had thought the hot shower and quiet 5 am drive down to the station would have soothed the feeling away, but clearly he had been wrong. Rex took a few more minutes to collect himself before he stepped out of his car and made his way into the station.

Cody was sitting behind a large oak desk, hunched over a thick stack of papers lying on top of an opened manilla folder. When Rex moved into the doorway of his office, he looked up, eyes going wide before darting over to the clock above the door, then narrowing in on Rex.

“Rex?”

“Cody.”

“You’re here early.”

Rex nodded, dropping heavily into the chair in front of his brother’s desk.

Cody glanced down at his papers, hesitating, before pushing them aside and leaning his forearms on the desk, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Rex fidgeted, suddenly embarrassed. He didn’t even know how to explain his feeling to himself, how could he explain it to his brother?

Cody cocked an eyebrow, waiting for Rex to elaborate. When he didn’t Cody leaned back in his chair, “You look tired. There’s a cot in the closet, I could—”

“No,” Rex cut him off, standing abruptly. “I just… I just need to work. To focus on work.”

Cody hummed knowingly, sliding the folder back in front of him as Rex made his way out.

Work that morning was slow and by lunch the past six hours of typing up reports felt more like six days. Rex dragged himself into the kitchen to make a second cup of coffee and maybe grab something to eat from the vending machine since he forgot to pick something up on his way in.

As he was flattening a crumpled dollar bill to fit it into the vending machine, he heard rustling behind him. Rex turned around and saw Wolffe holding out a brown paper bag.

“Apparently I’m Cody’s delivery boy now,” Wolffe said, nodding to the bag, “It’s a Reuben.”

Rex took the bag and mumbled an apology before ducking his head and reaching for his wallet in his back pocket for more money.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s covered,” Wolffe said rolling his eyes—well, his eye—and hitching his thumb towards Cody’s office. Before stalking out of the kitchen, Wolffe leaned in and smirked, “You look like shit, man.”

Rex grimaced and sat down with the sandwich. It was good, he had to admit, but hard to enjoy. His mind kept wandering to the feeling of anticipation coursing through his veins that had only been growing as the day wore on. He had been doing so well recently. He had wrapped up a major gang related violence case and gotten a promotion, been best man at Bly’s wedding, and had just agreed with his therapist that he no longer needed weekly counseling sessions.

His heart felt like it skipped a beat, and Rex took in a short sharp breath, then shook his head, chuckling; maybe Kenobi had been wrong in his assessment of his wellbeing. He sighed, dumped his half-eaten sandwich in the trash, and made his way back to his desk.

Rex was in the middle of a meeting when he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. All eyes turned to him, and he quickly reached into his jeans and switched it to silent mode without checking the number.

Cody paused, crossing his arms in front of his chest before continuing to brief him and the rest of the 501st on… whatever it was he was briefing them on. Rex was too focused on counting his breaths and trying to suppress the awful feeling that kept washing over him. It only became worse with every passing minute. He felt his eyes glossing over and he diverted his gaze to the floor, vaguely aware of his hands fidgeting in his lap.

“Rex?”

Rex’s head snapped to attention, eyes focusing in on Cody’s creased brow as his older brother knelt down in front of him. Rex shifted in the chair looking anywhere around the now empty room except at Cody.

“C’mon, old boy,” Cody said trying to catch his eye, “What happened?”

Rex shrugged; he honestly did not have an answer for that.

“Do you…” Cody trailed off, eyes darting back and forth, “Do you want to come over for dinner?”

Rex began to shake his head to refuse the offer but stopped when he met Cody’s pleading eyes. His brother was just as worried as he was. About what, he had no clue, but it would be better to have something to distract himself with, even if that something was Cody grumbling at the TV about which play they should have made during the football game.

“Okay.”

Cody smiled and straightened up, “Alright, give me five and we’re out of here.”

As Cody left the meeting room Rex dug his phone out of his pocket and scoffed as his screen showed the time to be 4:55 pm. Of course Cody would make sure they left no earlier than 5. The scoff died in his throat as he caught sight of two new notifications.

A missed call and a voicemail.

Both from the same number.

The caller ID was labeled “KCPS.”

Rex blinked. His face went pale, and he clutched his chair like at any moment the gravity in the room might reverse.

He was done with the system. He had been done with the system when Cody, one year his senior, had aged out and assumed responsibility for him seven years ago. They couldn’t make him go back. They couldn’t—

Rex shook his head, trying to steady his labored breathing. They couldn’t make him go back because he was a 24-year-old man. He was no longer a child. He no longer depended on the system.

His breathing evened out and slowed. He clicked open his phone. If CPS wasn’t calling to collect him, then what were they calling for? He hit play on the new voicemail and held the phone up to his ear.

Hello. This is Taun We from Kamino Child Protective Services. We are trying to reach Rex Fett. If you are Rex Fett, please call this number back immediately. Our number is…

Rex dropped the phone from his ear and redialed the number. His heart was pounding in his chest. As the first tone rang Cody appeared in the closed glass doorway. Rex held up a finger and turned so the phone would be visible to his brother. Cody gave him a thumbs up and a quick smile just as the call connected.

“Hello?” Rex started, his pulse beginning to beat in his temples.

Hello, this is Taun We from Kamino Child Protective Services. How may I help you?

“I, uh, received a call earlier today asking for me to call you back,” Rex said before hastily adding, “This is Rex. Rex Fett.”

Yes, of course. Mr. Fett.

The woman on the other end of the line paused for a moment to shuffle around papers. After a few seconds she found what she was looking for and continued.

Your children Echo and Fives Se have been removed from the custody of their mother Nala Se. Because you are their biological father, they will now be placed in your care. Are you currently residing in the country?

“Yes,” Rex froze, unable to do anything other than answer her question.

And you are currently employed as a police officer of the 501st district?

“Yes.”

Are you physically and mentally fit to care for a child?

“Yes.”

Rex couldn’t breathe.

We will be waiting for you at the Kamino CPS office at 32 and Broad Street where you will be able to collect your children. At what time do you expect to arrive?

Rex opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He looked to Cody for help.

Cody’s mouth was set in a tight line, brows pushed together, concern written across his features. As soon as he saw Rex’s eyes meet his, he pushed his way through the door.

What? Cody mouthed, stopping an arm’s length away from Rex and eyeing his phone.

All Rex could do was shake his head, eyes wide and teary.

A woman’s voice crackled to life from the phone. Excuse me, Mr. Fett? Are you still there? What time will you be arriving?

Now that Cody was in the room, he could hear the woman on the other side of the phone clearly. He extended his hand towards Rex’s phone, seeking approval from his eyes before taking it gently from the death grip Rex was holding it in.

Cody held the phone to his ear and put a hand on Rex’s shoulder, gently squeezing, “Good afternoon, this is Cody Fett. Rex’s brother. He had to… step out for a moment. Where are we to be arriving to?”

Please report to the Kamino CPS office at 32 and Front Street. Mr. Fett will be able to collect his children there. Will you be arriving this evening?

Rex was just starting to be able to sort through his thoughts as he felt Cody’s warm hand suddenly tense up on his shoulder. Rex looked up at his brother, whose tan face was quickly draining of color. His brother felt his gaze and looked down at him, flashing a quick, sad smile before responding to the CPS worker.

“We can be there in 45 minutes,” Cody looked over to Rex for confirmation and received a small nod. “Thank you. Have a nice night.”

Cody hung up the phone before the woman had a chance to respond, turned to his brother, and wrapped his arms tightly around him.

After a minute Cody pulled back to look at Rex. Rex’s tears had remained unshed, and he quickly blinked them back, “Cody, I—”

Cody held up his hands, “I know, Rex. I know. It’s alright.” Then, only after seeing Rex relax a little, “Let’s go bring them home, okay?”

Rex nodded, “Okay.”

#Happy Father's Day Rex #I know the pic doesn't relate to the fic at the moment #But I love drawing baby domino twins #first fic #the clone wars #tcw #clone wars #captain rex #commander cody #arc trooper fives #arc trooper echo #clone trooper echo #clone trooper fives #domino twins #superlarva

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