#neyo x oc

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Okay this came to me sitting at dinner with my in laws and I need to know

Cerra and Neyo 👀

When I tell you I laughed so hard I choked on my water and nearly drowned

All right @wizardofrozz, let's do this: Cerra x Neyooooooo!!!! Smut below; MDNI as always.

It started when the 91st was running a joint operation with the 501st. Cerra ran into Neyo while she was temporarily at the forward operating base coordinating supply runs. She didn't know who he was at first; they had an anonymous hookup after encountering each other in the mess hall. When she found out she'd been kriffing a marshal commander, she nearly had a panic attack.

Neyo was the one who wanted more. Worried about getting a reputation for sleeping her way up the ranks, Cerra kept their relationship on the DL until Neyo accused her of being ashamed of him.

WAC-47 repeatedly tried to get into Neyo's office one day while the commander was enthusiastically eating Cerra out. Neyo shot at him through the door. He then refused to allow maintenance to clean the carbon scoring off the door; he said it was a good reminder for everyone else to leave him the kriff alone.

Neyo once joined a holocall with General Mundi while balls deep in Cerra. He had his holocam angled strategically, and Cerra did her best to keep quiet, but Mundi definitely knew.

Cerra once bet Neyo that he couldn't pilot a BARC speeder while she rode him. She lost. But did she really?

#commander neyo #neyo x oc #ask game #oc ask game

[vodika-vibes]

Midday Blooms - Lilacs and Daffodils

Years after the Sith took control of Coruscant, the Coruscanti Citizens live on a series of Space Stations surrounding the planet, waiting for the day when they're allowed to return home. When it's safe to return home. The Clones, elite soldiers born of the DNA of Lord Jango Fett, make up the large majority of the fighting force, though not the entirety. And after it comes out that Lord Fett had elected to side with Count Dooku, a fallen Jedi Master, and that both men were pawns of none other than Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the men are freed from the chips, and any compulsions that would have them turn on the jedi, and the civilians they protect so ably. But even now the war rages on. The soldiers, and their Jedi Generals, rotate three month deployments to Coruscant, in the hopes that one day, they will be able to live on the planet that glitters over their heads. This is very tangentially a war story. Because I cannot write action. But I will do my best. Tagging: @starrrgazingbunny Ships: Marshal Commander Neyo x OC, Marshal Commander Bacara x OC

Nebula Space Station

Bell Manor - 10:00 am

“It’s only a matter of time,” Doctor Dee Bell said excitedly to his daughter as he waved his morning toast around over his head. He either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, that some of the jam had fallen off the bread and landed on his white jacket. “You’ll see, Talia! Someday soon, we’ll be able to resettle Coruscant.”

Talia shook her head in amusement, “Father, you’ve been saying that for years, and the soldiers are no closer to retaking Coruscant from the Sith today then they were when I was six,”

“Bah! That’s only because Lord Fett decided to throw his weight behind Dooku.”

“We’re fortunate that the Jedi figured out his plan before Palpatine enacted it,” Talia pointed out as she took a sip of her tea, and then made a face. Cold, yuck. “Though it’s a shame that Knight Skywalker decided to throw his weight behind Palpatine.”

“He’s an idiot. And he’s on the losing side.” Her father countered, “Why, even Senator Amidala has been denouncing his actions since the day he defected, and she’s the mother to his children.”

He trailed off as he finally remembered that he was in the middle of eating, and he took a bite of his, now plain, toast. And then he paused and squinted at Talia, “Don’t you have a Salon you’re supposed to go to today?”

“...No.” Talia lied, badly. Damn it, she was hoping he had forgotten about the Cunningham Salon. 

“Talia,”

Aw, man. The Disappointed Dad voice. 

“You cannot skip Betty’s Salon, she’s always so happy when you go and visit.”

“Yeah, but she’s awful.”

“She’s lonely.”

“She insults Ophelia constantly.”

“Maybe Ophelia deserves it.”

“Dad!”

“What? I know she’s your friend, but she is a bit of a wild child!”

“She’s calmed down a lot since we were in Finishing School, dad. You know she’s working at her father’s company now, right?”

“Is she really?” Her father looks surprised, “Huh, well. Even so, you should go get dressed for the party. You should wear the purple dress your grandmother bought you.”

“I look awful in purple.” Talia whined, acting much younger than her 22 years.

“Nonsense, you love purple. It’s your favorite color! And you look beautiful in it!”

“That’s worse! Betty will just accuse me of showing her up at her own Salon.”

“Nonsense. Now go and get dressed.”

Talia rolled her eyes, but allowed her father to propel her out of her seat and to the stairs. She supposed there was no way out of it now. Stupid dad actually remembering shit at inconvenient moments.

Still, it wouldn’t take her longer than, maybe, half an hour to get herself dressed and her hair and make-up done. Maybe she would go all out and put fresh flowers in her hair, rather than pulling it up into a fancy updo.

She would have to send Ophelia a message. Her best friend always was good at coming up with ways to make Betty look like the hag she was.

*********

Marshal Commander Neyo was not happy.

In his defense, he was rarely happy. Being a Marshal Commander often came with more responsibilities than rights, and he had spent the last three months on rotation on the front lines.

He was exhausted.

Down to his bones.

All he wanted to do was retire to the apartment the Government gave him, and sleep for the next 9 months, until his next rotation to Coruscant started.

But no.

He couldn’t.

Because Fucking Faie agreed to a fucking Salon.

He didn’t even know what a Salon was. A party of some kind, based on the fact that he was required to wear his dress uniform.

He scowled at the pure white uniform. It was perfect, of course, and covered in medals and awards that meant jack-shit in any real world scenario. He hated it. He was much more comfortable in his armor. Hell, even his blacks would be preferable to wearing that get-up.

“Don’t be such a grouch,” Faie said with a roll of his eyes. He was already wearing his dress uniform. “We’re going to be rubbing shoulders with high class ladies.”

Neyo considered shoving him out the window. He would probably get another medal of service for it.

“Lovely,” Bacara said in monotone, “Just how I wanted to spend my first day decompressing from battles. Schmoozing with the rich and lazy.”

“It’ll be fun.” Faie insisted.

“Your idea of fun used to be reading Reg manuals,” Neyo pointed out snidely.

Faie gasped, “He talks!”

The urge to shove him out the window got stronger. “Wow. It’s sad that you think you’re funny.” Neyo said.

Faie rolled his eyes again. Neyo hoped his eyes got stuck that way. “Look, we finally have rights. We might as well take advantage of them. Besides, Bly is coming too.”

Bacara’s fingers slipped on one of his buttons, “You managed to convince him to step away from General Secura long enough to flirt with rich ladies?”

“Of course not. General Secura ordered him to come.”

Oh. That made sense.

Wait-

“I thought Bly was about to rotate to Coruscant,” Neyo said absently, as though he was commenting on the weather.

“He was supposed to, but General Secura was injured, so her battalion and the Wolfpack switched places.” Bacara replied as he finished buttoning his jacket and made sure that his ribbons were straight, “Hurry up, Neyo. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can make our escape.”

Neyo was pretty sure that was a damned lie, but it was a nice lie, so he finally pulled his jacket on and started buttoning it. Stupid brothers. Always getting him involved in stupid shit.

Maybe there would be good food at this party, if nothing else.

******

Talia stepped out of the speeder and thanked her father’s droid with a kind smile. She had been in luck, mother’s lilac bush was still in bloom, which meant she had been able to weave the delicate purple flowers through her braid.

And they matched her dress and sandals. One point for Talia and none for Harpy Betty.

She cast her gaze around, and a bright smile crossed her face when she saw Ophelia waiting for her. She looked annoyed, though no one else would think that, as her friend had mastered the art of hiding her emotions behind a fan.

Her entire face brightened, though, when she saw Talia. Ophelia snapped her fan shut, and stepped over to her. “Tali, darling, I thought you weren’t coming!” She hugged Talia tightly.

“Sorry, there was awful traffic by the spaceport.” Talia smiled warmly, her gaze lingering on the crown of daffodils that Ophelia had perched on top of her neat, platinum blonde, hair. “You decided on yellow, then?”

Ophelia stepped back and twirled for Talia, showing off her vibrant yellow dress, “Betty told me that yellow wasn’t my color due to my hair,” She said, “So I decided to be petty.”

Talia’s smile became so achingly fond as she regarded her best friend of twenty years, “You’re always petty.” She said, warmly.

“Pssh. You were the one who suggested real flowers, rather than ribbons.” Ophelia grinned, “I already got a comment about my daffodils, from Anne, of course.”

“Oh? What did she say?”

“That it was unbecoming of me to try and show up Betty at her own Salon.” Ophelia rolled her eyes, “I could wear a trash bag, and still show her up.” She hooked her arm with Talia’s and tugged her towards the garden entrance, “It’s because she has the personality of a sewer rat.”

The pair stepped into the garden, and were immediately overwhelmed by the scent of roses. “Ew.” Talia whispered, “Roses, really? And red ones?”

Ophelia leaned in, “I heard that she’s hunting for a husband.”

“At a Salon?”

“Mm. She invited some of the men who recently returned from Coruscant.” Ophelia replied, as she cast her gaze around the garden, “Though I doubt they’re here yet.”

“Oh, Talia you made it-” Betty hurried over and stopped, her gaze locked on the flowers in Talia’s hair, and then her gaze drifted to the flowers in Ophelia’s hair, “You made it.” She finished, sounding very annoyed. 

“There was awful traffic, Betty,” Talia said sweetly, like she had no idea that Betty was annoyed with her, “I suppose it makes sense with so many men returning from Coruscant yesterday.”

Betty flushed, the unheard condemnation heard loud and clear. “Ophelia, I’m surprised at you. Did I forget to mention how washed out yellow makes you look at my last Salon?”

Ophelia smiled winsomely, her yellow fan coming out and snapping open in front of her mouth and nose, “Mother made this dress for me, Betty. Surely you don’t expect me to disrespect her?”

Ophelia’s mother was a fashion designer of some renown. Well, she designed the gowns that the ladies of the senate wore on a daily basis, so “some” renown was rather an understatement. 

“Your mother should know better than to dress you in yellow,” Betty sniffed.

“I’ll be sure to mention it.” Ophelia replied. “Come along, Talia. I see Elizabeth over by the tea, and I’m sure that Betty has other people she needs to greet.”

Talia allowed Ophelia to direct her over to the tea table, where Elizabeth most assuredly wasn’t. The third part of their little trio from Finishing School stopped coming to these events as soon as she turned 18. With her mother’s blessing, of course.

Talia and Ophelia hadn’t been so lucky, tragically.

“Have you spoken to Elizabeth recently?” Talia asked as soon as Betty was out of earshot.

“I have, she’s met a man,” Ophelia grinned wickedly, “A soldier, named Gree. Apparently he’s as sweet as sugar and dotes on her.”

“I’m glad for her,” Talia said loyally.

“I think it’s boring.” Ophelia whispered as she handed a teacup to Talia, and then took one for herself.

“Hm. Have you heard from your gentleman lately?” Talia asked, innocently.

Ophelia looked disgruntled, “He returned yesterday, but he said that he had been roped into something today, so I’m not going to see him until tomorrow at the earliest.” 

“You poor thing. How will you survive?” Talia teased.

Ophelia shot her a look, and then her shoulders slumped, “I haven’t seen him in three months, and I wasn’t even able to greet him yesterday because he has responsibilities. It’s not even fair.”

“As if your father would okay you going to meet a man, any man, on your own.” Talia points out as she snags one of the picnic tables for them to share, “You’re lucky your mother approves.”

“Mother loves him. She’s been designing my wedding dress since I was three, of course.” Ophelia said warmly, “Of course, the moment she finds out that I’m already married, all bets are off.”

Talia laughed. She opened her mouth to say something when there was a commotion from the entrance of the garden.

*******

Neyo decided immediately that he hated roses. He hated the look and the scent. And he really, really hated the woman who dressed herself to look like a rose. Who was simpering over Faie like he deserved anything more than being shoved out a window.

At least most everyone else was dressed in more pastel colors. He saw several pinks, quite a few blues and greens, and more than one pastel yellow. This woman was the only one wearing wine red.

She stood out. And not in a good way.

“Neyo, this is Miss Betty Cunningham. This is her party,” Faie said, his glare practically screaming at him to be nice.

“Nice to meet you.” Neyo replied in a flat voice, everything about his screaming I don’t want to be here.

He took it as a victory when the red woman faltered under his unimpressed stare, and she turned to focus her attention on Bacara and Bly…neither of whom were paying attention to her.

Bly was staring at his chrono, likely wondering how long he had to remain at the party to not be seen as rude when he left. Neyo was sure that General Secura told him he had to stay for at least an hour.

Bacara, though-

Huh. Bacara was staring at something across the garden.

Neyo followed his gaze, and landed on a young woman, dressed in vibrant yellow, with yellow flowers in her hair. A young woman who was well aware of Bacara’s stare, as her face was glowing red. Her companion, a young woman in pastel purple with purple flowers in her hair, looked like she was trying not to laugh.

Neyo glanced over at his brother, who was now playing with something around his neck. That something, Neyo knew, was a wedding band. Something Bacara had admitted to him late one night, after a particularly bad day on Coruscant.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Neyo hissed, “Go talk to your wife before she implodes.”

Bacara shot him a relieved look, and slipped away from the group of men, and across the garden. Laser focused on the yellow woman, who stood and greeted him with a tight hug.

Neyo was amused to note that the red woman flushed an angry shade of red when she saw that. He decided to take a note from his brother’s book in this case, and make a tactical retreat. 

Neyo found himself near the back of the garden, by a rather large, and gaudy looking, fountain. A fountain that was covered in red roses. What was with that woman?

“It’s hideous, isn’t it?” Neyo turned and flickered his gaze slightly down to regard the young woman standing several feet behind him, she smiled at him apologetically, “The Fountain, I mean.”

She stepped up next to him, her gaze remained locked on the fountain. She smelled softer, like the purple flowers in her hair. It was nice, compared to the overpowering scent of roses. “What is her obsession with roses?” Neyo asked.

She laughed, a bubbly noise that made Neyo want to make her laugh again. “The roses are new,” She said, once her laughter calmed, “Generally you can tell what kind of mood Betty is in based on the flowers she decorates her garden with.”

“And what do red roses mean?” Neyo asked warily.

“That she’s looking for a husband,”

Fuck.

She laughs again, and Neyo’s panic fades a little. “I don’t think you need to worry,” She reassures, “I think you intimidate her.”

“Thank fuck for that.” He paused, “Do I intimidate you?”

She released a thoughtful hum, and then looked up at him with a bright smile, “I’ve never been intimidated by a man in my life.”

That was…unfairly attractive, actually, Neyo decided after a moment of thought.

“Marshal Commander Neyo, of the 91st Battalion.” 

Her smile widened, “Talia Bell. It’s very nice to meet you, Commander.”

“Neyo.”

Delight flickered across her face, “Well then, it’s nice to meet you, Neyo.”

He decided, then and there, that he liked the way his name sounded on her tongue. Plans flickered through his mind, as his entire world shifted a little bit. “So, Talia,” He liked her name. It suited her, “What kind of flowers are these?” He brushed his fingers against one of the purple blossoms in her hair.

She considered him for a moment, and then she motioned for him to duck his head. Talia pulled a single blossom bunch from her hair, and lightly tucked it behind his ear, “They’re lilac blossoms,” She said, “And now we match.”

Well then.

A slow smile crossed his face, “If we match,” Neyo said slowly, his gaze locked on her face, “Then I suppose it’s okay for me to ask if you want to leave.”

She laughed, and leaned closer to him, the scent of lilacs swirled around them. “I know how to get to the back gate open,” Talia said brightly, “And there’s a nice little restaurant not far from here that has the best sandwiches on the station. If you’re interested?”

He was definitely interested. In more than just sandwiches. “It sounds like a good start,” He says instead, “Do you mind if I ditch the jacket at my barracks though?”

She shook her head, and then offered him her hand, her eyes sparkling in the midday sun. “Come on, Neyo. Let’s go have some real fun.”

Half made plans solidified into something solid. Something real.

Neyo smiled and took her hand, “Lead the way, Sarad.”

#star wars #star wars au #sorta regency au? #Midday Blooms #Neyo x oc

[jackiequick]

Let me love you || Rooster Fanfic 🎼

Summary: Peachy feels like unsure about Rooster’s feeling for her until he heard what his heart is saying..

Song fic: Let Me Love You (Until You Learn To Love Yourself) by Ne-Yo

Notes: Fluff

Pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x OC, Rooster x Peach

Top Gun Maverick Au Series ✈️

—

The beach water was glitzy outside of the windows, the porch wasn’t fill up with groups of people and inside the music was playing. Soft tunes and gentle smiles. The Daggers were bouncing around the bar as Penny, Lucky and other servers ringed up their drinks. Even some burgers and fries was being given. The older members such as, Wraith, Sunset, Maverick, and Ark, were there too.

But Peach couldn’t care less. Lately it felt was Bradshaw was just playing around, her feelings felt mixed. How could Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw fall in love with a simple brunette like her? Her friends like Amber Kazansky was blonde and confident.

Simple answer, Rooster adored her. From her giggles to her eyes, the way they shine. He wasn’t one to tell the world his feelings however he was willing to show them.

JenPen was laying back against a table, scrolling on her phone half listening to Falcon talking about Frostbite and how she’s crushing on her. The young brunette glances around to not noticing her best friend anywhere. She can hear everything in the room, from Hangman and his pals to Amber and her ladies chitchatting away. The music played on and on.

Until the sound of keys rang across the bar. The smile played on the man’s face as his sunglasses tipped off his nose, slightly. The glowing sun kissed skin being covered with his Hawaiian shirt.  He played the keys with such eases that it catch everyone’s attention.

He sang, “Much as you blame yourself, you can't be blamed for the way that you feel..Had no example of a love that was even remotely real. How can you understand something that you never had..Ooh baby if you let me, I can help you out with all of that…”

Lucky turned down the music completely, allowing the music that played on the piano fill up the room. Phoenix caught wind of this, lowing in the light letting the natural light shine across the windscreen onto the warm barrier of the bar. Summit appeared next to her getting a better view of it all. JenPen pressed record on her phone as she heard Falcon’s footsteps carry over to Frostbite who sat a few feet away from them originally.

As if the music that Rooster swiftly made locked into the entire room, as people started finding who they would like to be their partners.

Falcon to Frost.

Lucky to Phoenix.

Valkyrie to Cyclone.

Maverick to Penny.

Wraith to Ark.

And the list went on.

——

However the musical taste didn’t fill a certain someone’s ears, just yet. Rooster kept singing softly, glancing over his shoulders around the corner of the room. Georgia ‘Peach’ Wells kept sipping her drink, looking out the windowsill ever since Amber went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Rooster sang another chorus with a soft smile, “I just wanna be the one to remind you what it is to smile..I would like to show you what true love can really do.”

This time, Georgia’s ears rang softly at the very sound. The lyrics filled up the wind in the air, like it was swaying her to look back and face the middle of the room. Her ears perked up and her eyes glitz over at the room. People swaying to the music, chatting and very flirty with cheeky smiles. She stood up, letting the music guide her.

The breeze of it filled up the room. The harmonic soundscape and the beating hearts that rose onto the floor. The breathtakingly smells of fresh water from the sea entered the bar and the birds outside singing softly. The cool air. It felt right.

Peach appeared softly among the crowd of Daggers, smiling at the sight. Rooster in his element. The keys bouncing against his fingers in gentle motions, the bench he sat was big enough for two. Georgia looked over her shoulder to notice Falcon, who was currently blushing next to Frostbite, signaling for her to sit down.

She hesitated for a moment, before taking a seat next to the dark curly haired blonde. She sat down with her hands on her lap, playing nudged his shoulder to get his attention.

“Girl let me love you. And I will love you. Until you learn to love yourself..” Bradley sang with ease, glancing at the women who sat down next to him with a soft smile, “Girl let me love you. And all your trouble. Don't be afraid, girl let me help..”

It was like the song spoke volumes to what Rooster meant. Georgia listened to his words with a blushing smile. Falcon was blushing was well as she talked to Frostbite. The song did speak volumes.

Summit smiled at JenPen friendly and held his hand jokingly, “A dance, m’lady?”

Jen laughed in return taking her friends hand, “Why yes, of course.”

——

Rooster kept singing softly with a glorious grin, “Heart that beats. Heart that beats. Girl let me love you. And I will love you..Until you learn to love yourself..”

Georgia smiled at him, leaning into his shoulder as he rested his head onto hers. Rooster’s mother always told him, if you want something go for it even if it might be a mistake in the end, it’s always good to try. In result, without a second later, Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw leaned in and placed a small kiss into Georgina’s lips smiling softly. She smiled softly blushing with surprise and glee, placed a shy small kiss onto the piano man’s lips.

Lucky and Phoenix swayed to the song with smiles. Falcon confidently offered Frostbite a dance, in which the shy blonde agreed. It was good, it felt good. Real good.

Amber returned from the restrooms fixing her blonde curls, taken back by the sight in front of her. She was only gone for 12 or more minutes. She smiled sheepishly a little confused.

“Uh what did i miss?” Amber asked taking a seat next to Coyote who laughed muttering, ‘a lot’.

Hangman handed her a ice cold beer bottle and chuckled, “You were gone for a hot minute, sweetheart.”

The trio laughed, especially when JenPen and Summit went over to grab some more beer watching the sight in front of them.

—-

/=/=/=/=/

Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Remember to like, share and comment.

Tags: @gaminggirlsstuff @msrochelleromanofffelton @topgun-imagines @gcthvile @t-nd-rfoot @levijeanqueen @rooster-84 @superspookyjanelle @hangmanbrainrot @withakindheartx @mak-32 @morgan108 @hanlueluver @starkleila etc

#rooster fluff #tgm fic #tgm fluff #top gun maverick au #top gun maverick fanfiction #rooster bradshaw fic #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster x oc #top gun maverick x oc #bradley bradshaw x oc #rooster x reader #song fic #neyo #natasha pheonix trace #hangman imagine #natasha phoenix trace x reader #hangman fanfiction #our ocs #bradley bradshaw blurb #rooster blurb #bradley bradshaw x reader

[wanderinginksplot]

Gar Cyare Chapter Three

Alpha-17/fem!reader fic

Word Count: 6,200

Warnings: Threats, extended flashback sequences, minor insecurities on the reader's part, Kaminoans being creepy, flirtation.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

—

Tome'tayle (Memories)

Tracking the passage of time on Kamino was difficult.

You were sure that the planet had seasons of some kind - most did, after all - but you had never really seen evidence of it. You rarely needed to step outside and, when you did, you found the weather extremely unhelpful in estimating the season. When there was a storm coming in, the winds whipped past Tipoca City, bringing a brisk chill to the window panes. When it was raining, the air seemed close and thick between the drops. There was never a scent of petrichor on Kamino; after all, there was very little greenery to be found. If there were no active or incoming storms, the platforms tended to be breezy and cool. On the rare occasion that sunlight reached Tipoca City, it built up humidity so intense that it was hard to breathe.

All of that was to say that your time with Alpha passed in a pleasant blur. Days turned to weeks and longer. You had thoroughly settled into your altered role with the Senate, Alpha had regained favor with his ARC trainees, and the repairs to Tipoca City were nearly finished. Life on Kamino was settling back into normalcy, insofar as it could ever be considered normal.

It was odd to think about how natural everything felt. You could almost imagine that the Separatists had never attacked Kamino. 

Almost.

As you sat in your office, darkened holopad screens reflecting the gray Kaminoan skies visible through the window behind you, your attention was caught on a small holoprojector sitting on the corner of your desk. It had been given to you by the ARCs-in-training, set to display a series of images in rotation. The images had mostly been captured by Bacara, who proved to have quite a talent for recording people and scenes at the perfect time. 

The current one was a candid image of the group sitting at the table you had claimed in the cafeteria. Despite the normalcy of the setting and people, you remembered that day vividly. 

You had been sitting with Alpha, the ARCs, and Limit, enjoying your meal. Being in the cafeteria hadn’t stopped being uncomfortable since the attack. The cadets weren’t hostile to you anymore, not the way they had been just after the invasion, but they weren’t going out of their way to be friendly. There were no flirtations. Anywhere you went around Tipoca City, wary glares and suspicious whispers followed, but you did your best to ignore them.

The cafeteria was tricky, since you were sharing an enclosed space with the cadets. Your ability to ignore them waned in the close quarters and your heart sank every time one of them made a derisive face at you. 

Still, the troopers didn’t make it easy to pay attention to those cadets. They were loud. It was something you had noticed the first time you had ever eaten in the cafeteria. You had been terrified back then, nervous that you would offend someone or be in their way. Between your fears, the underwhelming food, and the sheer level of noise in the room, you had never managed to relax in the cafeteria.

Things were still loud now, maybe even more so. Alpha and Limit were quiet, but the ARCs tended to be bold, especially when they were arguing about something ridiculous. And that was often.

Surprisingly, you didn’t find the noise as jarring when you were in the middle of it instead of on the outskirts. And you had very much been in the middle of it. Alpha was sitting beside you, occasionally contributing to the conversation but mostly just listening in alternating waves of irritation, amusement, and fond exasperation.

Somewhere between dumping his tray and returning to the table, Bacara had managed to capture the holoimage, which showed everyone enjoying a meal together, talking and laughing exuberantly. 

Then everything had gone wrong.

A cadet had been moving past your group, clearly heading for a table, when someone shouted something. You didn’t hear what it was, but the tone wasn’t entirely friendly. You turned to see what was going on - worried that it was directed at you and unsure what you would do if it was. 

Unfortunately, the cadet had been startled and lurched to the side with his heavily laden tray. His full glass of water had toppled, spilling cold liquid onto your shoulder, splashing it across your chest and trailing down your arm.

The cafeteria had gone silent a moment later, but you couldn’t be sure whether that had happened when they saw your drenched sleeve or when Alpha had seized the cadet by the arms. 

“You have ten seconds to explain what just happened,” Alpha ordered tersely. 

The cadet stammered for a moment - he was a young trooper, too young to look like anything other than a child. “I- I was walking to a table and got startled, sir. Sorry, sir. Sorry, ma’am.”

Alpha stared at him as if he could read the cadet’s mind if he looked deep enough, a hard light in his eyes. Your mind was screaming for you to say something, but all you managed to do was watch. Alpha’s grip didn’t tighten, but he didn’t let the cadet go, either. He just held on and stared grimly.

Bacara had approached the table with a smooth, easy stride that didn't quite manage to hide his worry. “Alpha, I saw the whole thing happen. It was an accident.”

That spurred you into speaking as well. “It’s just water, Alpha,” you soothed quietly. “It’ll dry and he didn’t do it on purpose.”

Alpha let the cadet go. Without breaking his gaze on the cadet’s face, he scooped up the empty glass and handed it back. “Best go get more, trooper. Take a different way back to your table.”

The cadet backed away quickly, nodding too many times. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.”

The rest of the meal had been quiet and tense, ending shortly afterward. 

Originally, that image hadn’t been included in the rotation on the holoprojector the ARCs had given you. You had to ask Bacara for it. You understood his reasoning for keeping it out, but even the mild reminder of unpleasant moments made the rest of the rotation much more pleasant. It kept you grateful for the better times.

As that image faded, it was replaced with one of you standing with the kids. Tech was next to you with Hunter beside him. Wrecker was on your other side, already towering over you and everyone else. One of his arms was propped on your shoulder - because Alpha had scowled at him for propping it on your head - and the other was wrapped around Crosshair. All of you were smiling, even Crosshair. For that alone, you had demanded a copy of the image.

It had been a surprise for you to find that you and Alpha had apparently adopted four genetically altered troopers. Granted, you had already planned something along those lines after they had helped Alpha and the ARCs so much during the Separatist attack, but it was a bit of a surprise to learn that the adoption had essentially happened without you knowing. 

In any case, the troopers had been a bright spot during the recovery, just as fiercely protective of you as Alpha and the ARCs were. You thought their efforts were more cute than intimidating, but you could see them growing, learning, and becoming more competent even as you watched with fascination and a bit of sadness.

The day Bacara had captured that holoimage, you had gone to the ARC training area to support the men in one of their late-afternoon trainings. You had finished with your work earlier than expected and thought you would drop in. Alpha never said anything directly about it, but you hadn’t missed the way he preened and showed off just a bit when you were watching a training session. And it wasn’t exactly a punishment for you, either.

When you had settled at your usual spot inside the training area - safely tucked off to one side so you wouldn’t accidentally get in the way - you were taken aback by the training. Instead of the planned training about infiltration tactics, Alpha and the ARCs were standing in a loose circle around the cadets. Alpha would announce a move or series of moves and the cadets would perform them. The ARCs called advice, encouragement, or stepped in to provide an opponent if necessary. 

You couldn’t hide that you were worried at first. A lot of the moves the cadets were doing were intense, seeming far too advanced for them… but they completed every one perfectly. In that moment, you were struck by the difference you were already seeing in the four young men. 

You had only known them for a handful of weeks, maybe a few months at most, and they already looked so grown-up. Their faces and bodies were leaner, they had gotten taller, and they were already starting to put on the muscle mass common to the troopers. Wrecker was taller and more muscular than his brothers while Tech and Crosshair were far more slender than typical, but the changes were clear. 

While you were coming to terms with the ache in your heart, already mourning the lost childhoods of these cadets you had barely gotten to know, Alpha called an end to the exercise. 

As the cadets took a moment to catch their breath, Alpha nodded approvingly at them. “That was much better. You’re improving quickly.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Tech said, eyes shining behind his goggles. 

“We’re just tryin’ to keep up with all of you guys!” Wrecker tossed out, dodging and returning the punches Drift playfully threw in his direction. 

“Yeah, but we’re ARCs,” Neyo countered. “If you’re keeping up with us, you’re better than most of the cadets on Kamino.”

“Not bad for a bad batch,” Crosshair said, a wry smile on his face.

You had frowned, sitting up and opening your mouth to say something when the ARCs burst out laughing. Before you could say anything at all, the ARCs had congratulated Crosshair on that piece of humor and the name had been repeated more times than you could count.

“You okay, neverd’ika?” Alpha had asked, coming to sit beside you. 

You gestured at the cadets. “The bad batch? Don’t you think that’s… I don’t know… insulting? I don’t remember a lot of the Separatist attack, but I remember enough to know that they were a huge help. Why would they call themselves that?”

“I don’t know; they didn’t talk it over with me,” Alpha replied with a shrug. “Ask ‘em.”

“I will,” you decided, firming your jaw. 

Alpha’s fingers on your wrist stilled you before you could move too far, and the warning look on his face stopped you from saying something immediately. “But remember, it might be more insulting to tell them that they don’t have the right to choose what they call themselves.”

You paused, deflating slightly. Alpha had made a fair point, and you had no idea how to convince the cadets not to call themselves that without taking away their agency. In the end, you settled for calling, “Why ‘bad batch’?”

The cadets paused at the sound of your question as the room’s occupants turned toward you. They exchanged glances, but when Hunter spoke, his answer was confident and firm. “That’s all the Kaminoans see when they look at us. It’s what they call us. If we call ourselves that, they’ll know we don’t see it as an insult. It’s just who we are. We’re a Bad Batch.”

You wanted to argue, to convince them that they were more than that, but when Hunter said their self-chosen title with relish, enough emphasis to capitalize it in your mind, you couldn’t say anything about their choice. If they wanted to be the Bad Batch, that was who they would be.

Somehow, though, these four headstrong young troopers were watching you with nervous anticipation, like they needed your approval. Your heart melted just a bit more for the cadets you and Alpha had unofficially adopted. You nodded gravely. “If you’re going to have a group name, you’ll need a group symbol. That way, there’s no mistake about who you are and what you’re going to do. Every place you go and every bit of good you do, the Kaminoans will be reminded that they tried to shrug off some of the best troopers this place has ever produced.” 

Warmth at your back warned you that Alpha had stepped up behind you. With a heavy hand on your shoulder, he rumbled, “I’ll never forget that you stepped up to help me and these men during the attack. You put yourselves at risk for no gain. If you want to call yourselves the Bad Batch, you should. I’m proud to say that I was there for the Bad Batch’s first mission.”

There was a beat of silence before the newly-christened Bad Batch saluted the captain. 

No - that wasn’t quite right. The angle of their bodies was wrong. 

You had to choke back a wave of emotion when you realized that their salutes were aimed at both Alpha and you.

The image switched, breaking you from your reverie. Only then were you aware of the fond smile stretched across your face. It didn't leave as the next images in the sequence appeared.

It was an image of this very office, one major difference being that the holoprojector currently displaying these images was missing. If you remembered correctly, this image had been captured shortly before Bacara had given you the gift.

You were laughing in the image. You were half-sitting behind your desk, but you were clearly being pulled up and out of your chair by Monnk and Drift. They were laughing, too, and you distinctly remembered Bacara doing the same behind the holocamera. 

You had called to warn Alpha that you would be working late that night. Since you had accepted the new contract with the Republic, your workload had lightened considerably. You still had to reach certain goals with your report, regularly submitting sections to Jaiss for review, but those goals were far more attainable than they had ever been. You couldn't remember the last time you had to work through a meal. 

Even staying late wouldn't have put you at risk of missing dinner with Alpha, but you definitely intended to work past the end of the work day. Alpha hadn't been thrilled by that when you called him, but he didn't try to argue with you… which was suspicious, since he argued about everything. 

At roughly three minutes after you typically left your office, you heard running footsteps in the hall followed by frantic pounding on your door. When it had opened, Drift and Monnk had invited themselves in, followed by Bacara. 

"C'mon, work day is over," Monnk announced, starting for your desk.

“What?” you had asked reflexively, having heard the question but been too confused to process it immediately. “No, I just have to finish this part of the project. I’m almost done. It won’t take more than an hour.”

“Then that will be an easy start to your day tomorrow,” Drift told you. “Let’s go.”

“I can’t just leave,” you protested.

“You can,” Bacara told you. “And you need to.”

“We all saw how hard you worked before the contract was changed,” Monnk agreed. “None of us are gonna let you start working like that again.”

You were touched by their concern, honestly… but you really did need to finish this section or you would forget the point you had been trying to make. You didn’t trust that you would remember the particular phrasing that you had come up with by the time you started your next work day.

“I’ll just finish this section and then I’ll be done for the day,” you bargained.

“Nope, not good enough,” Monnk decreed. “Come on.”

He had reached out - carefully giving you ample time to pull away if that’s what you chose to do - and gently took one of your wrists in his hands. You used your free hand to save your progress on the report but shook your head at the same time.

“Monnk, it’ll be five more minutes,” you protested, the loud laughter spilling from you detracting slightly from the overall impression. “Maybe ten.”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Drift said sternly, holding up a hand in your direction. “Are you refusing to comply with orders? Attempting to incite a riot? Resisting arrest?”

Despite yourself, you only laughed harder. “Am- am I being arrested?”

“If you don’t leave here, sure,” Bacara told you, lifting the holocamera in your direction as Drift grabbed your other wrist. 

“Alpha will bail me out,” you insisted.

“Nah, Captain’s on our side,” Monnk said, utterly unconcerned.

That sounded about right, which only made you laugh harder.

“Shift it, civvie,” Drift ordered, though his grip on your arm was more insistent and irritating than forceful. He and Monnk ended up waving your hands around as they pulled you back and forth in an extremely silly manner.

“Don’t tell me she’s overpowering you two,” Bacara teased from behind the holocamera. “What kind of ARCs are you?”

“She’s a tough one,” Drift grunted, pretending to struggle. “The captain must have taught her all his best tricks.”

“Don’t worry, Bacara, we’ll get her,” Monnk promised, pulling your wrist in a way that let him strain against his own hold while you were hardly jostled. “She may be tough, but we’re tougher!”

Bacara gave a skeptical grunt. “Dunno, I might put credits on her instead.”

Monnk and Drift had looked offended for half a second before they had started laughing as hard as you were. Bacara had snapped the picture and here it was.

The image slowly faded into another one. As lovely as the other memories were, they couldn’t begin to compete with this one. It was a relatively simple one - just you and Alpha walking down one of the many bland hallways of Tipoca City. The edges of things in the background were blurred slightly from Bacara’s speed as he had taken it. For that reason, he had been reluctant to give you a copy of it, but you had managed to plead one from him.

The background may have been blurry, but you and Alpha were in perfect focus. You weren’t walking hand-in-hand or anything equally overt, but you were in the middle of a conversation. Neither of you had noticed Bacara or his holocamera yet, so neither of you had your guard up.

You were staring up at Alpha with admiration written clearly across your expression. Even in the middle of whatever you had been saying to him, you were watching him more closely than your surroundings. There was a smile curving your lips and your face was bright with happiness.

You would have been embarrassed by how openly stunned you were by Alpha… if he hadn’t looked equally adoring. His expression was a little more subtle by nature, but his eyes were warm and satisfied. 

As the two of you had agreed months before, you weren’t open about your relationship. You weren’t touching, but something in your body language spoke of closeness and a familiarity formed over long exposure to each other. It was impossible for you to know for sure, but you liked to think that a stranger seeing the two of you for the first time would know that you were friends or more, just based on the way you walked in harmony even with the slight distance between you. 

“Hey, you ready for-? What? Why are you smiling like that?” 

You glanced up quickly, meeting Alpha’s eyes from where he was standing at the doorway of your office. Despite the judgment of his words, his tone was soft - more curious than anything. Your heart performed a series of gymnastics as you noted that he was wearing the same warm expression he had in the treasured holoimage.

“Just watching the projector,” you explained, glancing at the chrono past Alpha’s shoulder. It was time to go to dinner. “I didn’t realize it was so late. Give me a moment and I’ll be ready to leave.”

Alpha hummed, settling comfortably into a chair as he watched you. “Busy day?”

You laughed. “Something like that.”

As soon as you had finished saving your documents and storing the datapads, you shut off the lights and left your office with Alpha walking beside you.

In your more introspective moments before you had confessed your feelings, you had done your best to envision what it would be like to date the stern and imposing Captain Alpha-17. The results had often been overly romanticized - especially since you were well aware that no relationship was perfect - but you had typically reminded yourself that Alpha was, above all else, a soldier. You had thoroughly expected him to struggle in this new role, something unlike anything he had known before.

You had been wrong. 

Was Alpha the perfect boyfriend? Absolutely not. But you weren't perfect either and your relationship seemed to be going just fine. What Alpha lacked in relationship experience, he made up for with focus. 

Alpha had approached dating you with the intense scrutiny he used to study battle plans or landing conditions for an upcoming mission. (Or so you assumed from the stories he had told you.) If he didn't understand something, he asked questions until he did. And after he had woken from his alcohol-assisted sleep, he dissected his communication breakdown with the precision of a man defusing a bomb. 

It was intense but flattering. Alpha had made it clear through his every action that this relationship was a priority for him. Maybe not the most important thing in his life, but certainly not far off. He was focused on you, studying your relationship together until he knew he understood every part of it.

The only thing you could do was put your full focus on him in return. There were ups and downs, even with your prior experiences with romance. You weren’t totally lost, but between the need for secrecy, the intensity of Tipoca City so soon after an infiltration, and Alpha’s own propensity for showing his feelings rather than speaking about them… Actually, when you stopped to think about it, your prior romantic experience didn’t help all that much. 

Even then, walking down the hallway in comfortable quiet, was something you hadn’t experienced before. You had always felt the need to fill silences in the past. Why didn’t you now? Was it because you didn’t need to speak or because you didn’t know what to say? And did Alpha feel the same? He didn’t spend much time talking, but was he wondering why you weren’t? The last thing you wanted to do was hurt him yet again…

“Neverd’ika,” Alpha said suddenly, making you tense. Your gaze scanned the hallway ahead of you, automatically searching for some kind of threat, but found nothing. Alpha murmured your name, drawing your attention. “You’re frowning. Everything good?”

“Are you happy with me?” you asked, the words bursting from you before you could think them through. 

Alpha halted immediately, his fingers on your forearm pulling you to a stop as well. His brows were furrowed low over his eyes as they scanned your face. “What’s going on? Am I happy with you? Of course I’m happy with you. Are you happy with me?”

“Of course!” you replied earnestly. 

Alpha huffed, making an exasperated gesture that showed his frustration with you without using a single word. “Then why are you asking questions like that?”

“I just-” you cut yourself off with a sigh. “I just wanted to make sure.”

Narrowing his eyes at you, Alpha took a step closer. His height meant you were left staring up at him, but you couldn’t deny that his nearness had your heart beating faster. His hand, tucked close by his side, found yours. With his hand running gently over the back of your palm, you were caught in a firestorm of anticipation and comfort. 

“Neverd’ika, I promise you this,” Alpha started, voice low and serious. “If I ever think things need to end between us, I’ll tell you. I’m enough of a man to do that. You know that, don’t you?”

You nodded and Alpha nodded with you. “And you’ll do the same with me. Promise me that you’ll tell me if you want to end this.”

You nodded again, but Alpha looked skeptical. “And you won’t be nice to me just to spare my feelings like you do with the cadets?” You shook your head, a grin fighting to form at his over-exaggerated suspicion. “Because I’m the perfect person to practice your meanness on. In fact, that might be a good idea…”

“Alpha, don’t,” you argued, half-laughing. “You know how you couldn’t help me spar because you could never try to hurt me? I feel the same way about you. I couldn’t be cruel to you. Please don’t ask me to.”

“I don’t think you would ever be cruel, cyare,” Alpha admitted. “But I think you could hurt me. Kriff, I know you could. You’re the only one who could.”

Your heart melted a bit at that and you lifted slightly onto your toes. Alpha’s gaze bounced from your eyes to your lips and back - an unbelievably quick flick of his attention, but it was enough to make your lips part with your suddenly quickened breath. 

Just as Alpha started to lean down, a group of cadets passed. Alpha straightened, throwing a dirty look at the cadets. Whether it was because of their interruption or because he was preparing for them to throw an insult in your direction, you couldn’t be sure.

In either case, the cadets took no notice of you or Alpha. They passed in laughing conversation. When the noise of them had faded, you and Alpha reluctantly pulled apart and continued in the direction of the mess hall. 

You and Alpha had been remarkably tame as a couple. 

Sure, you had kissed. You dreamed about that kiss. You had shared a few touches here and there. You had woken up in his bed - and his arms - the morning after his encounter with Zackra Trem and her alcohol. But those scattered incidents were as far as things had ever gone between you.

There was chemistry between you. The urge to get closer physically was there, but the obstacles seemed to appear out of nowhere. If you weren’t busy doing your jobs, there were Kaminoans around. If the Kaminoans weren’t nearby, cadets were. And even when the stars aligned perfectly, there was an odd sense of hesitancy. You had initially wondered if it was coming from you, but you had noticed it from Alpha as well. 

Your only guess was that months of denying yourselves the slightest physical touch had given both of you a natural reluctance toward moving forward in your relationship. At least, that was what you hoped it was. If there were deeper issues between you and Alpha, you needed to find out as soon as you could.

Those thoughts disappeared as you finally reached the mess hall, but the underlying sense of urgency still remained. Still, you tried to push it from your mind as you stood in line to retrieve a tray with Alpha. The ARCs-in-training, the self-proclaimed Bad Batch, and Limit were all waiting at your usual table.

You and Alpha were greeted as cheerfully as ever. Out of long-formed habit, you took seats facing the door, the edges of your trays aligned so that you had an excuse to sit a little closer than one would typically see in the Kaminoan cafeteria. 

As you shared a meal with your boyfriend and the odd group of friends you had collected, you began to relax into things. Your tumultuous thoughts of earlier faded into nothingness as you chatted with everyone. You even got Alpha to smile.

You didn’t know exactly when you had started to lean into Alpha’s side, or when he relaxed the muscles of his thigh so that your legs were pressed together from hip to knee. All you knew was that when Limit hissed for you to watch out, you yanked away from him and the time it took to unlace your fingers felt like a heart-pounding eternity. 

“What is it?” Alpha demanded lowly, pretending to pay incredibly close attention to his meal. 

“Kaminoans,” Limit told you, voice the darkest you had heard from the friendly medic. 

“They’re circling today,” Neyo muttered. “Upper levels. They’ve been staring down at everyone for almost an hour.”

“Why?” you asked, glancing around the table. Having people stare at you while you were trying to eat seemed like an invasion somehow, and bad manners if nothing else. But though everyone else seemed irritated by it, apparently none of them were surprised.

“They do this every so often,” Faie told you. “No one is sure why.”

“Looking for excess,” Alpha said, spearing a piece of food so hard that you were sure his utensils would go through the table itself. 

“Excess,” you repeated blankly. “What excess?”

“Any excess,” Alpha said, glowering up at the raised bank of windows that looked out onto the cafeteria. “You forget, neverd’ika, the Kamiini are running a business. They watch us to search for overages in food provision or consumption, deficiencies with any of the men and the way they eat, or too much conversation between them. They don’t like their products forming bonds. There is no money to be made through brotherhood.”

The bitterness was so thick in Alpha’s voice that you felt you could choke on it. To hear Alpha sounding so angry was far from unusual… but the underlying pain made you settle a comforting hand on his forearm. 

Alpha had a half-moment to glance over at you and smile before Bacara rapped his knuckles against the underside of the table with a sharp crack. “What did we just say? Watch yourselves or the entirety of Tipoca City is going to know about the two of you.”

“I’m confused,” Hunter said, speaking for the first time instead of continuing his quiet observation. “Everybody already knows about the two of you. What does it matter if the Kaminoans see it? They probably already know, too.”

Alpha stared at him, frowning heavily. “Kid-”

“You know what?” Drift interrupted. “The rest of us are pretty much done here. Why don’t we take the Bad Batchlets and teach them about the concept of plausible deniability?”

“Batchlets?” Crosshair repeated, sounding irritated. 

“C’mon, let’s go,” Monnk told them, urging everyone up and out of their seats. When everyone was on their way to the garbage cans or the cafeteria doors, Monnk leaned down to speak. Glancing between you and Alpha, he said, “If I were you, I would take this time to talk about everything, especially what comes next.”

“And that means?” Alpha asked, arching a brow.

Monnk shrugged, sending you a kind smile. “Whatever comes next for you according to how you want your relationship to go. Surely you’ve got some kind of plan? And if you don’t… that might be the first thing you need to talk about.”

And then he straightened, throwing a nod over his shoulder and leaving the cafeteria before either of you could give any kind of response.

You and Alpha finished your meal in silence - you hadn’t spoken about it, hadn’t planned it, but you were clearly on the same wavelength. Unlike the earlier lack of conversation on your way to the cafeteria and most silences you and the captain had shared, this one was distinctly uncomfortable. If you had been able to see past your own sense of nervousness, you would have figured that both of you were trying to plan what you wanted to say. 

Alpha’s fingertips brushed your elbow and you knew what he meant. You stood, following him to dump your tray and leave it in the appropriate place before you left the cafeteria. 

You knew, of course, what Monnk had meant by ‘what comes next’. He wanted you and Alpha to talk about where your relationship was going, what you would do when your contract on Kamino ended, and any excuses you would give if you were caught and your relationship was exposed. There was a lot of conversation to be had.

So why did your mind immediately jump toward the question of moving things forward in your physical relationship with Alpha?

Your nerves were on fire as Alpha steered you wordlessly in the direction of your personal quarters. No matter which way your conversation ended up going, you were going to need privacy for it.

The snarled thoughts in your head cut short so abruptly that they seemed to echo in your mind as a cadet started walking toward you with a purposeful air. Beside you, Alpha straightened, a lethal-looking scowl already forming on his face. You pressed your palm against the warm span of his back and Alpha closed his mouth. His glare didn’t fade.

The cadet stopped a short distance in front of you, his air of professionalism contrasting sharply with his youthful appearance. He nodded at Alpha. “Captain.”

Alpha didn’t nod back, but the cadet had already shifted his attention to you. “How involved are you in the production of clones, ma’am?” 

The question wasn’t outright offensive, so you did your best to answer it honestly and without clear suspicion. “Not at all, trooper. I’m just the one writing the report requested by the Republic Senate about the production process.”

“And do you have anything to do with the testing of the final products?” he asked.

You frowned at him. “Testing? No. That’s all done by the Kaminoans and their staff.”

“Do you want to be part of the testing group?” One corner of his mouth curved upward and he waggled his eyebrows as he added, “I’d be fine with it if you wanted to make sure all of my pieces work. In fact-”

“That’s enough of that,” Alpha cut off, stepping forward between you and the cadet. “Run along before I test how firmly your arms are attached.”

The cadet smirked, but you noticed his speed as he fled the area. You glanced up at Alpha, a smile growing on your face. He shook his head, voice grumpy as he asked, “What?”

“That’s the first time one of the cadets has flirted with me since the attack!” you exclaimed, trying not to tear up about such a minor thing.

“That isn’t true,” Alpha argued. “I watched you- uh, saw you in the mess. There was some di’kutla cadet flirting with you at every meal.”

Any glee you may have felt knowing that Alpha had been watching you during your separation dissipated in the face of your embarrassment. Ducking your head slightly, you mumbled, “Uh, not- not quite. But it’s okay. Let’s keep going.”

The effort it took not to run down the hallway toward your quarters was ridiculous, but you managed. Of course, it took less than the length of one hall for Alpha to catch up with you. “What does that mean, neverd’ika? I saw it. I was proud of you for standing your ground, even when I thought you would never speak to me again. You shut the cadets down without a problem and you did it every day.”

“Those cadets…” You trailed off to take a deep, slow breath. It wasn’t something you necessarily wanted to admit, but you refused to lie to Alpha. “They weren’t flirting with me.”

“You said they were,” Alpha told you. 

“Technically, you said that.” 

Something in Alpha’s eyes told you he was thinking back over your conversation in his quarters after your cast had been removed. “I did,” he agreed eventually. “But you didn’t correct me. What were they really saying to you?”

“A lot of it was questions,” you answered honestly. The fact that there had been a few threats and insults wasn’t worth mentioning, especially since the ARCs-in-training had dealt with those situations immediately and decisively. “As long as they were polite, I answered their questions and invited them to stay. Some of them took me up on it, some didn’t.”

Alpha frowned, but reached out to brush the side of your hand with his fingers. “I can’t believe you misled me.”

“We were arguing,” you reminded him, smiling to take the sting out of your defensive tone. “And I can’t believe you were watching me in the cafeteria.”

“Every day,” Alpha said unashamedly. “How else was I supposed to survive eleven days without you?”

Your heart lurched at that. When you could speak, your voice came out so low and rich that you almost didn’t recognize it. “Alpha, you’re lucky we’re still in public or I would show you exactly how that makes me feel.”

Alpha’s head whipped in your direction. “Your leg is bothering you.”

The sudden change of subject - especially with a statement that was patently untrue - made your head spin… or maybe that was just the shift of Tipoca City as Alpha scooped you into his arms and rushed off toward your quarters at top speed.

---

Author's Note - sorry for posting later than expected! I think I'm going to start planning Thursday posts in the future to make things a little easier. On the bright side, only about a week and a half left until the next chapter!

Thanks for reading, and extra thanks for those who commented on or reblogged the last chapter! My motivation for writing this story is starting to fade a bit and those really keep me going!

(I have no plans to abandon this story, but the reblogs and comments just make writing a little easier.)

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[clonemedickix]

Rating: M

Word count: 6.9K

Pairing: Commander Neyo x OC General Lara Lin

Warnings: implied clone warfare, dark humor, snarky banter

Excerpt Summary - Part 2 of the Neyo vs Lara chapter. Using the intel Neyo and his group collected, the Dragon Company is sent to find General Grievous. Neyo has met his match if he thinks he can bully General Lin into fearing him.

If you would Iike to read the full chapter on AO3, click here WARNING - full chapter is NSFW, MINORS DNI, UNDER 18 DNI

If you would like to see more fanfic posts, click here

@blueink-bluesoul @523rdrebel @anxiouspineapple99 @dystopicjumpsuit

Excerpt:

Lara walked to the ramp of the Talon, escorted by Fives, Rex, and Cody. While she couldn’t take Rex with her on the mission, they had at least seconded Fives to their group for this trip to the small Outer Rim backwater Neyo had given them as the location for Grievous. Pausing at the foot of the ramp, she looked up at her sleek flagship, its black and red paint with gray hues giving the onlookers the impression of dragon scales. Lara was proud of the detail Anakin, Kenobi and Rex had paid when getting the ship outfitted for her, taking the time to put an intimidating paint scheme on her, befitting the Dragon Company.

She glanced over at Rex and Cody and said, “Well, guess I’ll see you when I see you. Hope this doesn’t turn into a wild goose chase.”

Cody smiled at her and said, “Neyo and his group are usually pretty spot on with the information. There will definitely be something there, though whether Grievous still is - that’s up for debate. You and your lunatic Dragons be safe, General.” He reached out his hand for hers, and she answered by grasping it, skinning the fingers and giving him a firm fist bump.

“We’ll be fine. Keep Rex out of trouble,” she said with a smile. Rex smiled back into Lara’s eyes, and they repeated the little handshake, though they lingered a bit before giving each other fist bumps. They couldn’t say goodbye properly with a whole ship full of clones watching, as well as all the dock workers.

Lara turned to look at Fives and gave him a little nod with her head, gesturing to the ship, and the two of them started up the ramp. “Gonna be just like old times, General,” Fives said with a chuckle.

“I do hope so, though it’ll be a bit less sunny with Neyo skulking around.” She looked up at the large hangar when they entered the ship, watching all the crew members moving to and fro, getting ready to sail. “I wonder if I can contrive to stuff him in a broom closet for the duration of the flight, so we can continue on our merry way?”

Fives snorted. “You know the scary thing is - I know you’re actually enjoying baiting that guy, and looking forward to however else you can dig the claws in. You’d better be careful around him - he’s known for being able to sniff out all sorts of dirt on everyone.”

“Eh, I wouldn’t call the knowledge of me and Rex so much ‘dirt’ at this point. Everyone knows. They just pretend they don’t.” The pair headed for the lift that would take them to the bridge. Lara and Fives were a striking pair - the rakishly handsome ARC Trooper in his full kit, carrying his helmet under his right arm, and the stunningly beautiful, tall General in her shining enameled, bejeweled armor and chain mail, her great sword’s hilt peeking over her shoulder while her short sword and dagger swung at her hips. Her mane of curls draped over her shoulders and down her back, bouncing slightly as she strode down the hallways of the Venator with her friend at her side. Fives was more than just a friend, though it was difficult to pin down a definition of his place in her life. There was only ever the thinnest layer of control between them, keeping them from ripping their armor off and finding a broom closet of their own.

When the door of the lift opened on the bridge of the Talon, heads turned to see the General step out, Fives one step behind on her left. She proceeded gracefully across the room, acknowledging the welcoming nods of the clone staff, her head high like a queen entering her throne room. She saw Admiral Shepherd standing before the great expansive windscreens, Primer and Neyo on either side of a holo table, watching each other with very guarded expressions.

Neyo saw the General arrive on deck and was actually rather taken aback by how changed she was in her armor. Only a completely blind fool would have thought she wasn’t beautiful, but her whole demeanor was different from the day he’d met her. She carried herself like a queen, head high, back straight, a composed air about herself that immediately snapped one to attention, knowing a leader was approaching. The clone commander watched her silently as she moved forward to speak to Admiral Shepherd, greeting him with a warm smile. He felt the eyes of both Primer and Fives watching him, sizing up his reaction to their General, both men perhaps a little nervous for her sake.

“Well, Shep, what say you to getting this ship off the ground? We’ve got a fairly long journey ahead of us.”

Admiral Shepherd smiled back at Lara; he truly admired and respected her as his partner in crime after having worked so closely with her Company. He knew her quirks and manner of leadership now without any question, and had gotten used to her insistence on blaring music everywhere they went over the loudspeakers. He no longer minded it and had long ago realized that the crew worked somewhat better, able to focus around the noise in a way that seemed sharper and more relaxed. He turned to address the room and said “The Dragon Rider is aboard, men. Admiral has the con.”

The Chief of the Boat replied “Admiral has the con!”

“Helmsman, right full rudder, come to heading 060, quarter steam, make our course hyperspace lane 151.” Shepherd gave the commands easily, watching as the crew moved to quickly and smoothly carry them out, their replies sharp and succinct to indicate their receipt and understanding. The Talon started to move, pulling away from the pier of the GAR space port. Lara stood before the large windscreens, watching silently as the towers and skyscrapers of Coruscant started to slide by, then dwindle as the ship gained altitude. “No music today, General?,” Shep asked her quietly.

Lara’s head came up, a small smirk on her face. “When we get out of atmosphere. I’m not sure Marshal Commander Grumpy Pants would approve.” She didn’t even look at him, but her voice carried to the clone behind her. Lara didn’t see Fives purse his lips in amusement, looking down at his boots quickly, nor Primer’s quick glance at her back. Neyo himself shot the other two a look. Lara turned, pulling a small rectangular disk from her pocket. She stepped over to the COB’s station and handed him the disk and murmured, “I’ll let you know when the time is right.”

“Very good, General,” the COB replied.

Lara stepped over to Primer to make small talk about the Company, whether all the small details were sorted. He answered in the affirmative, filling her in on some relatively unimportant information, assuring her that everything was ready for their mission. Meanwhile, the ship picked up both speed and altitude under the command of Admiral Shepherd. Once they were in the void of space, outside of Coruscant, Lara pulled her phone from the thigh pocket of her breeches, and thumbed through the screens to the music app. Without looking at the COB, she said “Alright Chief, it’s time. Let’s have some tunes.” The COB plugged the disk into a port and punched a button, activating the shipboard speaker system. Lara picked a first song and hit play. The opening chords of “Remember the Name” started streaming from the sound system and everyone aboard seemed to mentally move into a different headspace, ready for the mission, relaxed but anticipating the action to come.

Neyo watched the proceedings quietly, taking note of the easy manner in which the crew interacted with each other, the Admiral and the General. They seemed to be a well oiled machine, all confidant and well practiced in their roles. And it was clear that everyone there both respected and loved their leader. He’d seen nothing of the flighty, almost unprofessionally bubbly woman he’d met the day of the planning committee.

The ship’s crew got them into hyperspace, safe on their journey, and Lara nodded to the Admiral. “Alrighty then, Shep. I’m going to retire to my quarters. Gimme a holler if you need something.” She stepped over to Primer and Fives and said, “For my part, boys, you’re dismissed. Come get me if you need anything.”

Everyone murmured acceptance of her parting words as she made her way off the bridge, heading for her quarters. Suddenly she heard a voice call her back. “General Lin, what are my orders?” Neyo actually wasn’t all that interested in what she wanted him to do, but he was rankled that she’d ignored him the entire time he’d stood there.

“Oh, Commander Neyo…” her tone laced with a layer of amused loathing. “Forgive me, I did not see you there.” Everyone knew she’d seen him there, and she saw Fives reach up to cover a smile on his face, turning into a bit of thoughtful stroking of his goatee. “I don’t particularly have any orders for you; we have a guy over cleaning the toilets already.” She saw Primer’s head snap toward the windscreens to hide a laugh. “Maybe you could get a bucket of prop wash and go clean out the fallopian tubes in the engine room?”

Neyo’s neck started to creep with a dull red of annoyance at her sass. He was well aware of what she was suggesting; he was no ignorant rookie. “I mean a real assignment, General. I could perhaps update you on the latest information we have obtained, or be dismissed to my own devices,” he fairly snarled in a clipped voice, the strain of not biting back with insults evident.

“Perhaps when we get closer to our destination, Neyo. I have some very pressing, highly interesting paint to watch dry in my quarters and I’m afraid I just can’t spare the time for you right now.”

Neyo stared back at her, fury flaming in his hard brown eyes. “Very well, General. I will be sure to report to your quarters at the top of every hour, just to check in on the most appropriate time for an intelligence update.”

Lara let that veiled threat sink in, pursing her lips and narrowing her eyes a bit. “Fine, Needo. Come on. Walk and talk.” Lara turned on her heel, striding purposefully for the lift; she punched the button to call it, smashing it like she imagined she was gouging Neyo’s eye out with her thumb. She heard him follow behind her quickly, almost running to catch up at the last; he felt sure she’d love nothing more than closing the elevator door in his face and leaving him to wait for the next ride. He heard Lara sigh a little disgustedly when he turned to stand beside her, shooting Primer a look of displeasure at the last moment, as the door slid shut on the pair. She muttered, “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch’entrate,” in a dramatically low voice as the elevator descended to the level of her stateroom. Neyo had no idea what language she’d just spoken in, but he could at least understand that the tone indicated a distinct lack of enthusiasm for her company.

The lift door opened on the hallway; her quarters were at the end of the corridor. “So do you actually have an update or are you here just to haunt my steps like a ghoul?”

“General, I assure you, I could find all manner of things I’d rather be doing than remaining in your presence. For both of our sakes, I will make this quick.” Neyo didn’t look at her as he spoke, carefully concentrating on the approaching gray door.

“Very good, Commander.” She reached out and punched in the code for the door, stepping across the threshold when it snapped open. The clone followed her in quietly. Lara immediately walked over to the clothes tree standing against the wall, lifting her great sword, bow and quiver off over her head and setting them to lean against the bulkhead wall. Looking back she said shortly, “Have a seat Commander. You can start the briefing.”

Neyo took a seat at her desk, watching as she removed the layers of her armor, finally stripping off the chain mail shirt and hanging everything neatly on the clothes tree. She shrugged her shoulders a bit to relax after unloading the weight of her armor, then turned to step over to the desk. She was wearing the thin, translucent shift she customarily wore beneath the mail to prevent chafing; the clone took in the form of her curves and the dark shape of her sports bra through the gauzy material. Lara pulled the chair back and plopped down in it, leaning back and propping her boots on the edge of the desk, her hands folded over her abdomen, her snapping blue eyes fixed on him coolly. For a brief moment Neyo wasn’t sure where to begin, and couldn’t form words.

Lara raised an eyebrow, watching him stare at her. “I’ll remind you, Needles, I have many other incredibly uninteresting things I could be doing, rather than watching you sit her and glower at me. Tick tock.”

Neyo cocked his head a little at hearing her mispronounce his name - again - then started to speak. He reached into a pocket on his belt, removing a holo disc, and placed it on her desk, activating it. He moved through the briefing quickly, updating her on the new information blandly, watching as the General listened attentively, silently. When he was done, he removed the disc from her desk and stood. “If the General has any questions, I am at your disposal.”

“Oh, to be sure. Thank you, Commander.” Lara sat up, putting her feet on the floor again. She stood, turning her back on him, assuming he would show himself out. When she realized he was still standing before her desk, she turned around, her look askance.

“Am I dismissed, General?,” he asked in a cool voice.

“Very. Buh-bye, Nemo.” She turned away from him again, her whole posture dismissive. Get the point and leave, she thought to herself in an annoyed manner.

“I am at the General’s service,” he said with a little bow.

“Duly noted, Commander.” She was rifling through a drawer beneath the bunk, looking for a comfortable shirt to change into. As she pulled a baggy sweatshirt out of the folded clothes, she caught sight of the persistent clone still in her room. Lara stopped, turned to face him full on, and stood to her full height. “Neyoda. What the hell do you want? You’ve been dismissed. I’ve told you bye. I’ve turned my back to you in as clear a motion of ignoring you, as I could contrive. Why are you still here?!,” she asked, exasperation clear in her words.

“I have yet to hear you say ‘You are dismissed, Marshal Commander Neyo.’” There was a little gleam of amusement in his eyes as he delivered the reply; she was going to use his name correctly if he had to stand here and stare at her for an hour. Lara stared back at him, her face a bit blank at this challenge, then she ducked her chin a little and glared at him from under her lashes.

“Try this on for size, then. Get. Out. Marshal Commander Newman.” Of course he wouldn’t know what she meant, but she could completely envision the curl of Jerry Seinfeld’s lip as he snarled the name out.

“That is not my…” His words were cut off as she stepped around the desk and forcibly grabbed his shoulders, turning him and hustling him toward the door. To his surprise she was every bit as strong as any clone, and he had no choice but to move with her. She shoved him into the hall, half hurling him. Neyo quickly stood and turned, ready to finish his comment, but saw her raise her hand and shake her head at the same time.

“Don’t you dare, or you’ll be doing a FOD walk on the hull in hyperspace,” she said imperiously, pointing her finger at him. “Now, shoo.” Lara hit the button to close the door between them and then made a face behind it that he’d never see. What a pain in her ass, she thought. The door snapped open and she whirled, thinking she was going to absolutely lose her shit if Neyo was trying to come back for round two. She froze in surprise at seeing Fives and Primer, and relaxed visibly. “Oh, thank god, it’s you two.” She turned away and walked back to her bunk, quickly pulling the hooded sweatshirt over her head and arms while the two clones traded amused looks.

“Neyo get the better of you?,” Primer asked with a little chuckle.

“He did not. I was just warming up.” Lara rolled her eyes a little and bent to rifle through her bag for her iPad, then she came back to her desk and plopped back into her chair. “What can I do for you two gentlemen?,” she asked smoothly.

Fives sat in one of the chairs opposite her, leaning back and sprawling his legs out in relaxation. Primer took the other, sitting comfortably but less messily than Fives. “We were bored, and came to see what you were up to, and to know if you needed backup. Or a cleaning crew to disappear the murder we felt sure was coming,” Primer drawled out with a grin.

“Murder won’t be necessary. I can handle ole Ney-ewt there. He’ll make it back to Coruscant alive and in one piece, I promise.” Lara looked at her two friends - subordinates yes, but both so much more than that at this point in the war. “We’ve got what? Two days on the Talon until we get to wherever this place is? We can get in plenty of training between now and then with the men. Send out a general message and tell them meet up in the hangar in a couple of hours.”

Primer nodded and rose to leave so he could spread the order. Fives remained sitting in his chair. As soon as the door closed behind Primer he looked at Lara flatly and asked, “You do know Neyo isn’t a guy to be messed with, right? If you start a war with him, you better be able to finish it.”

Lara smiled and shook her head, rolling her eyes lightly. “It’ll be fine. He’s just a guy I love to hate at the moment, complete entertainment. Besides, under all that ice, I think he’s all bluff.”

Fives shook his head at her, eyes wide. “I don’t think so, Lara. I’m pretty sure that man was created without a soul.”

“Well, he’s no ginger, and he’s got something stirring around in there, else he wouldn’t have taken the time to have someone tattoo his name on his face. A man who’s got pride, has spirit, and therefore some kind of soul. It might be a thoroughly rotten one, smelling of death and bad cheese, but hey it’s there.”

Fives laughed. “If you say so. Just, be careful around that guy. Spooks can’t be trusted.

“A truer statement there never was. I’ll make a bet with you - 100 credits that he’ll show some form of actual human activity before the trip is out.” Fives thought about it and then nodded, reaching over to shake on the deal. Lara sat back and asked, “Okay, my friend, what are we watching today?” The two of them settled in at her desk and flipped through her extensive library of movies and TV shows. Fives was working his way through the Marvel series, and so this time he requested Thor: Ragnarok. They watched the movie, laughing along at the funny parts and sass until it was time to head for the hangar for physical training with the Dragon Company.

Two days’ flight brought them to the mysterious Outer Rim system Neyo had designated as the current lair of Grievous. Admiral Shepherd kept the Talon in the region but far enough from the planet to shroud their presence, while they worked through what scans of the surface they had available. On the bridge, Shepherd, General Lin, Neyo and his two spy buddies, Fives and Primer worked to come up with a plan for getting to the surface and moving on the structure the rogue cyborg general was supposedly hiding in. Lara stood back, watching the information on the holo table critically, while listening to the team hash out suggestions.

The team came up with a workable plan, and got to the surface to carry it out, but as with many best intentions, there was no Grievous present on the surface to capture. The facility was empty save for battle droids, which was a complicating factor but not over all a bad thing. The men got to blow them up, the dragon got to incinerate some, and it seemed everyone went home happy. Except for Neyo.

His intel had proved incorrect, and the mission had in fact turned into a wild goose chase. He could see that General Lin and Primer weren’t overly upset about it; in fact they seemed quite content with the day’s work. But Neyo felt the cold hand of shame creeping up his neck, knowing he would have to answer for being wrong, dragging a battle group out to the middle of nowhere, burning precious fuel reserves and supplies, for what amounted to target practice.

Baiulus landed a short distance away from the Venator as the ramp dropped, and Lara watched the progress of her troops from his back, keeping an ever mindful eye out for any droids that might appear. On the whole, the trip was a waste of fuel, but good practice for the men. There were only a few wounded casualties, and Volte assured her they would be perfectly fine by the time they got back to Coruscant. When the last of the clones boarded, leaving only Fives, Neyo and Primer on the ground, Lara dismounted the dragon and patted him on the jaw, murmuring praise to him and dismissing him back to wherever he went. The dragon turned in a lumbering circle and took off, disappearing into the distance. Lara turned to her escorts and nodded towards the ship, moving to climb the ramp herself.

“Well Commander Neyo, that was a fun little side trip for literally nothing. I may be forced to start calling you Commander Null-o.” She didn’t spare him a look.

The man blushed a dusky red color in embarrassment and annoyance. “That’s just how it works sometimes, General.” He was actually mortified that there had been no sign of Grievous at all. If the cyborg had been there, it hadn’t been very recent. Rather graciously, the General said nothing more and simply headed for the bridge while making small talk with Fives. Neyo was alone with his shame, wondering how they could ever live this down.

She was also kind about the situation on the bridge, when she updated Admiral Shepherd. He’d watched their approach to the windscreens and holo table, and asked rather lightly, “No Grievous, I see?”

Lara shook her head. “No Grievous. Just battle droids. Cyclops was able to pull this off the central data computer though.” Lara held up a disc with the information imprinted on the memory chip. “Maybe it will have useful information.” She handed the disc to a staff officer, who plugged it into the holo table and worked to decode the information. Looking up, she dismissed Fives and Primer, thanking them for their work and praising their efforts that day. Neyo saw them leave, and realized she hadn’t dismissed him. Perhaps the shoe was about to drop after all. “When you get the information decoded and ready, let me know. Commander, please come with me.” Lara turned and breezed off the bridge, heading for her quarters. Neyo followed quickly, knowing he was about to get dressed down by the General, after all the bravado he’d been fronting.

As soon as the door closed to her stateroom, Neyo saw Lara turn to stand behind her desk and face him. “I don’t really have to say anything; I know you’re wishing you could find a rock to crawl under at this point. You better hope there’s good intel on that disc we pirated.” Lara folded her arms over her armored chest and gave him a piercing look. “You and your guys need to go over that stuff and see what we can glean for our benefit.”

Neyo stood waiting for real chastisement to come from the General, and when she finished talking, his eyes kind of flickered in realization - she wasn’t going to rebuke him. Instead she was watching him with a curious expression of understanding and patience that was totally unexpected. Neyo’s mouth opened in his surprise, and for a moment he forgot how to speak. “General, I am… sorry for this whole affair. I cleared that intel and verified it to the Jedi - it’s my fault we are here.” He stopped talking, staring at the desk top.

Lara didn’t speak for a long time; rather she watched Neyo as he worked to salvage the shreds of his pride. She didn’t want to watch the man struggle, so she decided to throw him a bone. “Honestly, Commander, I liked you better when you were an asshole.” His eyes snapped up to her face at hearing her. “You screwed up. It happens. Nobody died, and we got to incinerate some droids. As far as the Dragon Company is concerned, it was a good day at the range. Now, you best scuttle off and go over that intel with a fine toothed comb.”

Neyo stood tall, realizing she had basically wiped the slate clean for him, and given him an invite to continue on as they had been before. He studied her with a look of appraisal and newfound respect. The clone commander snapped a perfect salute and turned to head for her door. Before he could leave he heard her voice. “Oh and Neyozle. It’ll be our little secret.”

“What secret, General?,” he asked, completely confused.

“That under that whole shell of tough guy, cute animal torturing, cold as a frozen dead fish exterior - there’s an actual honest to god soul.” She gave him a little devilish grin. “Fives and I had a bet going. Granted, it’s a small soul. A shriveled little thing, but it’s there.”

Neyo’s eyes narrowed but internally he laughed ruefully. “I’ll send you the bill for my next shipment of tookas, General. And I hate fish.” He turned to leave and called out, “I’ll update you as soon as I have a report on the decrypted intel.” He didn’t see the small amused smile on Lara’s face as the door shut behind him. She knew she’d won the man over, though he’d probably never admit it openly.

The pirated CIS intel contained some highly valuable information, thankfully. It did prove Neyo and his spies correct - Grievous had been using the random, isolated facility as a base for some Outer Rim activities. He’d last been there a couple of weeks before their raid. The biggest find though, was the information it contained concerning other hidden CIS bases, their armament, and which leader frequented them. Neyo was vindicated, quite by luck and Lara’s quick thinking to steal information from the computers in the building, and the mission was deemed a success. The flight back to Coruscant was relaxed and triumphant, and Neyo was privy to watching the rather secretive Dragon Company’s downtime routines on their ship.

It was really quite vanilla - they trained, they played a game called basketball which the General had taught them, and also lounged around listening to the music which was always playing over head. Neyo had seen the General play a few games of ball with her men, her easy laughter and camaraderie readily apparent with her troops. She was sassy, laid back, approachable, knew every single clone by face and name. She was a leader that men loved to serve and would fight for with their very lives. She saw Neyo standing by the basketball court at one point and turned, chunking the ball at him unexpectedly. He flubbed catching it, suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

“Come on Neon, catch the ball!” She was wearing the biggest smile, and had her hands up ready to catch the ball. She expected him to throw it back to her.

“That is not my name, General,” he said in a slightly bored tone.

“And yet you answered. Hmm. How about Neil? Neidermyer? Noodles? Ney ney? Come on, I like Ney Ney.” She kept floating silly names while Neyo shook his head, his expression getting more and more stony. But beneath that painful frown, Lara could see his eyes were lit with internal mirth - it was all he could do to keep the angry look up. Lara sighed. “Fine. Neyo…Nono.” She’d seen his posture relax the tiniest fraction and then stiffen back up at the second half. The men around her were all snickering with laughter at the General bugging the Commander; she had no compunction whatsoever to behave. “You disappoint me Commander. I thought we could be friends and I could have some really cool nickname just for you. Ah well, guess it just goes to show beauty and fame can’t buy everything.” She gave him a grin and turned to get back to the game.

Neyo kept watching, trying to understand the rules, but also just admiring the General’s athleticism and bubbly nature. She talked a lot of smack to her troopers, handling the ball well on the dribble and driving to the basket to score frequently. She wasn’t afraid to slam herself into their bodies to physically move them out of the way, and they gave it right back to her. At one point a player blocked her so hard she ended up on her butt on the floor, laughing ruefully and rubbing her sore cheek. “Nice hit Falco. Gonna pay for that though!” The game went on with varying results; Lara’s team came up one point short and the winners made a lot of noise about their loss. The men enjoyed rubbing it in her face, watching her smile sheepishly and make big promises about how the next game would go.

A command staff lieutenant ran up to ask Lara to report to the bridge. He turned to Neyo and said, “the message was for you as well, Commander.”

Lara passed the ball off to the clones so they could continue playing and turned to walk with Neyo to the bridge. As they got in the elevator, Lara took a sideways glance at the stiff clone beside her. “You dating anybody, Commander?” Her open frankness always caught him off guard.

Neyo stared straight ahead and didn’t speak for a moment. “No one in particular,” he grumbled. “You applying for the role?”

“You mean you can’t find someone with that bubbly personality of yours? I’m so shocked.” Lara huffed out a laugh.

“They don’t like all the body parts in jars in my foot locker. No one understands the value of being able to go back and study things in detail, at leisure.” He said it so smoothly Lara’s eyebrows shot up and she stood regarding him with her mouth open for a moment. He heard her close her teeth with a snap and snort a little.

“I can imagine eau de death isn’t a fragrance most girls want to smell.”

“Do I smell like death, General?,” Neyo asked her with an arched eyebrow.

“I’ll give you that much, Neeman - you don’t smell half bad. Should I feel honored that you washed up for me?” Lara smirked at him playfully.

“It’s Neyo… and I wouldn’t dare put you in a position of having to choose between myself and your Captain.” His voice smoothly purred that last out.

There was silence for a moment. “If you recall, I already told you there’d never be a choice in your favor. Remember - cattle prod, artificial insemination… I like you Neyo (yes I do know your name but since it annoys you so much, I’ll probably keep finding ways to change it). But you aren’t Rex. And, while I generally never have to resort to threats, I will say that if you try to throw Rex under the proverbial sky bus because of my relationship with him, I may be inclined to use that cattle prod sooner than the end of the world, and in ways you’d find surprising.” She shot him a hard glance with her glowing blue eyes and he stared back stonily.

“What if I enjoyed the cattle prod?” He watched her with a very flat look.

“I’m not above stuffing you in a footlocker and hiding you on a lonely planet, either. You can tell whomever you like there, as long and as loudly as you like. Besides, I know I’ve already won you over to my side.” She gave him a small conspiratorial wink as the elevator finally reached the level of the bridge and the door shot open. The pair walked forward to the holo table, behind which stood Admiral Shepherd, Fives and Primer. General Kenobi was present via holo, waiting for them to arrive so he could relay his message.

“Ah we are all here now. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to attend, General,” Kenobi said dryly.

“But of course, Obi Wan. I was teaching Marshal Commander NoNo the finer points of the use of a cattle prod on Earth. It was a riveting discussion.” Lara leaned her weight back on one foot and folded her arms over her chest, an incorrigible smirk on her face. Neyo looked at her like he’d never seen such a creature before, while Kenobi worked to decide if she was serious. He finally decided to just carry on with the reason for his communication.

“We have been able to verify the intel given us from your data piracy, and we are moving forward with plans for sending officers to those systems to see if the CIS leaders can be captured. The Jedi Council is thankful for the assistance of Dragon Company in this matter, and to you Commander Neyo, for your work in getting us there in the first place. When you return to Coruscant, you will be given new orders for your Reconnaissance Corps. Any questions?,” Kenobi asked, looking at the attendees around the table. Most of the heads shook in the negative; they understood and had nothing further to add. “Very well. We will see you when you return to Coruscant. Thank you again, General Lin.”

Lara smiled and gave him a lazy half salute with two fingers. Looking up to address the group around her, Lara said breathily, “Whelp, looks like that was the official kudos and blessing to be off the hook Commander. Attaboy, Noodles,” she said with a dramatic clap. Fives and Primer both grinned at her insistence on screwing with Neyo’s mind. Lara knocked her knuckles on the table a couple of times and then stood to leave. She was heading back down to the basketball game if they no longer needed her.

During their two day flight back to Coruscant, Neyo found small excuses to hang out in the vicinity of the General. If he was honest with himself, it was because he found her entertaining, and enjoyed the little battle of wits between them. The man was far from personable; after leaving Kamino with his birth squad he’d become frightfully solitary and taciturn. Few wanted to put up with his surly, isolated ways. He was friends with Commander Bacara, who was a similarly lonely shark, but in all honesty, Neyo stayed aloof among clones, dated when he felt the need to pick someone up for a one night stand and otherwise moved from mission to mission. He found General Lin a breath of fresh air that made him … feel… inside. Not so much attracted to her - he just found her a comforting presence, perhaps even someone he liked. It was a novel feeling for him. Regardless, she’d proven he didn’t intimidate her in the least, and that she found his gruff nature something of a challenge to conquer. Neyo had developed respect for her indomitable spirit, her battle skills and leadership acumen, and secretly he felt Rex was a truly lucky man to have won the love of this General.

As the Talon pulled back into port on Coruscant, he joined General Lin on the bridge of the ship. Admiral Shepherd was busy with the tasks of bringing such a large vessel into her berth, so Lara had the area by the windscreen by herself. She was watching the high rises and sky scrapers of the metropolis rise before her, as the Venator sank lower to the ground. Lara glanced over at her company briefly, and back out the windscreen. Neyo had become something of a skulking shadow the last couple of days, and while she didn’t mind, others had watched in amusement to near concern; Lara was notorious among the GAR and the Jedi for her antics, and none of the Dragons wanted to see her get into trouble. Outside the ship, standing on the pier, Lara recognized the familiar shape of a clone in white armor with blue accents, with a blue pauldron over the left shoulder. Neyo snuck a glance to see her wearing a little private smile on her beautiful face, her eyes shining happily at the sight.

Lara suddenly took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Well, Commander, it’s been a ride. I hope you enjoyed your time with the Dragon Company.” She shot him a little sideways look and grin.

“I have never been more miserable in my entire, short life. You and your Company are the biggest bunch of renegade, order refusing, nigh unprofessional soldiers I’ve ever traveled with. It’s no wonder you have the reputation you do within the GAR.” He stared back at her flatly, watching her reaction. Lara had blinked and drawn herself up, her expression one of slight befuddlement.

“Really, it was all that? Well then…” Lara pursed her lips and nodded a little to herself.

“Actually General, I would say this is the most interesting mission I’ve been on in a long time. The level of teamwork and respect between you and your men is unequaled in any of the other Companies I’ve served with. Your men love you and would follow you into any battle.” He paused and then said a bit hesitantly, “And I think I see why, now.”

She’d perked up quite a lot at his sudden change of tone. “Oh, Commander? Why is that, pray tell? Wait, wait, don’t tell me - it’s because I’m so beautiful and fantastic and irresistible that even you cannot resist my charms, isn’t it?” She delivered it with a giggle and a teasing tone.

Neyo’s ruggedly handsome face split into a smile - quite shocking for him. Lara wondered if his cheeks hurt from the stretch, and his teeth ached from the exposure to sunlight. She was shocked that they weren’t filed into sharp points. He didn’t answer immediately, trying to formulate the best reply. “I’d say it was more the lack of fear and loathing you showed me. I think most people really do think I torture small animals for entertainment, and survive off blood straight from the source. But you - you treated me like a man, no better or worse than yourself. And you didn’t let my manner insult you nor hurt your feelings. I’m not sure I’ve come up against a Jedi General of your … personality, before, and I’m impressed. If we ever get forced into another mission together, it won’t be the worst thing I’ve had happen.”

Lara accepted his words for the high praise it was, coming from this particular clone. “Wow Neyo, that was… Do I need to call someone to come check you out? You having any chest pain after all those feelings? Head spinning? I’m not gonna give you mouth to mouth but I’m totally down for foot applied CPR.” Her smile lit the room, as she laughed.

Neyo grinned back at her and put his hand over his chest. “You know General, the fact that you believe there’s even a heart to show concern over it more than most would believe. But no, all is well, I’m not having a seizure, and this was no hallucination. I will live another day to put the fear of the devil into someone.” The clone watched as General Lin turned to leave the bridge; the Talon had finally docked and taken on the mooring lines. She wanted to get to the pier to see her shore party. As she moved away, Neyo called out, “Don’t give away my secret though, General!”

He heard her laugh, and Lara turned back to face him as she kept walking backwards. “Oh don’t worry Needles. No one would believe me if I tried to tell them you have a soul in there. Your secret is safe with me. Catch you on the flip side, Commander!” She disappeared into the lift and the last Neyo saw of her was her slim form breezing down the ship’s ramp to greet Captain Rex. Her secret was safe with Neyo, as well.

#worksbyclonemedickix #clone thirsting #clone smut #original female character #captain rex x oc #captain rex #commander neyo #commander neyo x ofc #letthesnarkflow #snarkbattle #starwars fandom #starwars the clone wars #the clone wars fanfiction #star wars fanfiction #my fanfiction

[wild-karrde]

For the recs, listen…I know…I KNOW Gar Cabur / Gar Cyare by @wanderinginksplot has been shouted out several times (as it should) but chapter 4 released not long ago and AAAAAAAAAAAOHMYGOD. I’ve reread it so many times already it’s SO soft I’m losing it ❤️❤️

Repeat recs like Gar Cabur and Gar Cyare are ALWAYS welcome, and repeat reads are one of the highest forms of compliments (in my opinion as a writer). Absolutely love seeing these two fics get a repeat rec!!! THANK YOU D!

Participate in Fandom Friday to show your favorite creators from this week some love! :)

#FANDOM FRIDAY #creator appreciation #fic rec #star wars #the clone wars #tcw #republic commandos #alpha 17 x reader #alpha 17 x you #fives #neyo #slow burn #commando OCs #colt

[tcwmatchmakingau]

Everybody Hates Neyo Round 2: Matchmaking Boogaloo

A/N: This is a standalone sequel to “Everybody Hates Neyo,” (NSFW) by @dystopicjumpsuit​ (that’s me), and “The Blacklist,” by the brilliant @blueink-bluesoul​, who also generously let me borrow the character of Daria Trace (THANK YOU!). You don’t need to read those fics to understand this one, but you should because they’re great and they provide more background. I converted the Reader-insert into an OC because to be frank, she’s a piece of work, and I didn’t want to project that onto my readers. That said, as always, feel free to insert yourself into the story if you prefer; I haven’t described the OC beyond being a woman with hair long enough to pull.

Pairing: Commander Neyo x the Admiral (formerly Fem!Reader)

Rating: M | 18+ | Minors DNI

Wordcount: 6.5K (I know)

Warnings and tags: toxic, obsessive behavior; SO MUCH SMUT; hatefucking; rough sex; oral sex; PIV; hair pulling; biting; sex under the influence of alcohol; Neyo and the Admiral being absolute menaces to society

Disclaimer: Let me just put on my Auntie DJ hat for a second. *ahem* This is a work of fiction intended for entertainment only. Please do not take this as a guide to romance or a healthy relationship. Neyo and the Bad-miral are flawed characters in a wildly problematic relationship with more red flags than the Fire Nation. Enjoy!

Matchmaker extraordinaire Daria Trace was not accustomed to failure. When she applied her considerable intellect to a problem, she did not stop until she formulated a solution. Which was why her now-99% matchmaking success rate galled her so intensely. In all her years of matchmaking, she had never encountered a client so stubbornly determined to thwart her efforts as Marshal Commander Neyo. After twelve failed matches—one of which involved a call from an infuriated woman demanding to know “why the kriff you thought I was a good match for that sociopath”—she had reluctantly conceded defeat.

The blacklisting of Commander Neyo from the Right to Love Matchmaking Service spread like wildfire through the GAR gossip channels. Most of the troopers thought it was hilarious; others insisted that he’d finally gotten what he deserved. In fact, the only people who seemed to have any sympathy for Neyo were Commanders Bacara (to be expected) and Fox (somewhat less expected). And when Fox reached out directly to Daria and asked her, as a personal favor, to give Neyo one more chance, she agreed. One more chance, and ONLY to give her an opportunity to get that track record back up to a perfect 100%.

She glared irritably at Neyo’s file and clicked her stylus three times, twirling it between her fingers. The man was impossible. It was no wonder he’d turned to RTL for help finding a partner; any woman in her right mind would run in the opposite direction the minute she looked into those blank, frigid eyes. She shuddered involuntarily. Shark’s eyes. Daria had made a few discreet inquiries after he’d first signed up for the service, just to make sure she wasn’t about to set up some unsuspecting match with a serial murderer. Without fail, every single answer said the same thing: he was an ice-cold sonofabitch, but he had a strict code of honor, and no, he wasn’t a serial murderer. Probably.

She sighed and tossed his file to the side, to be revisited some other day. He was her most difficult client, but by no means was he the only problematic match candidate, and she had a small stack of what Blizzard liked to call The Hopeless Casefiles waiting for her to review. Just thinking about Neyo’s case had given her the beginnings of a spectacular tension headache, and she flipped through the folders quickly, looking for one that was a little less challenging. As she skimmed the stacks of flimsi, her eyes came to rest on one name: Reeda Wai’yen.

Now there’s a thought.

Daria was sure that Reeda was a lovely woman, despite all evidence to the contrary. She was just very… intense. Like Neyo, she had chewed through several potential matches, and the most frequent word that appeared in her failed matches’ post-date surveys was “intimidating,” followed closely by “terrifying.” Daria had sniffed disdainfully that those particular matches simply couldn’t handle a strong woman; however, she had to admit that after several months of trying, she had not been able to find a perfect match for Reeda. She pulled Neyo’s file and laid it out next to Reeda’s. As she compared their backgrounds and preferences, she became more and more convinced. This could work. Given their personalities, it might well be the best possible outcome for society at large if they were both removed from the dating pool. And if it happened to close out her two most annoying files, well. That would just be the cherry on top of her perfect-track-record sundae.

A timid knock sounded on Reeda’s office door.

“Come,” she called shortly.

Her assistant, Lissi, poked her head into the room. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but you’ve received a comm from RTL Matchmaking.”

Reeda cursed. She was up to her ass in flimsiwork, and she was meeting with the Senate Task Force on Galactic Security in ten minutes. She did not have time for this now. 

“Take care of it,” she ordered.

“Sir?” Lissi asked, her wide, startled eyes giving her a distinct resemblance to a terrified ash-rabbit. 

“Just take care of it,” Reeda repeated, tamping down her irritation at being questioned. “You know my schedule better than I do. Set it up. Somewhere nice—somewhere in the Federal district. I don’t have time to deal with traffic.”

Lissi blinked, nonplussed. “Don’t you want to see who you matched with?”

“No time,” Reeda said, rising to gather her materials for the meeting. “Just put it on my calendar, and I’ll be there.”

Three nights later, Reeda sat in the restaurant at the top of the tower where her penthouse was located, waiting for her mystery date to arrive. She had to commend Lissi’s efficiency in choosing the venue; the only traffic she’d had to endure was at the lift. And it was a lovely restaurant, she had to admit, with stunning views of the Coruscant cityscape. She had only eaten here once since she’d bought the flat, usually opting to have food delivered to her office at the Republic Center for Military Operations as she worked late into the night.

She had resisted the urge to bring her datapad with her to the restaurant, knowing that if she did, she would inevitably get sucked into work, but now she wished she’d taken a moment to review the file from RTL. It wasn’t that she thought all clone troopers were interchangeable; far from it. She had worked closely with them during the war, had fought by their sides, and she had found them to be brave, competent, and loyal. They were also notoriously attractive, but she was a professional, and she was their superior officer, and she had never allowed that line to become blurred—except on one memorable and highly regrettable occasion.

She had had no time for a personal life during the war, but now that it was over—well, to be honest, she still had no time for a personal life. Which was exactly why she had reached out to RTL; it was the perfect solution. She didn’t enjoy solitude. She wanted companionship, and maybe even something more. But she needed a partner who would understand the demands of her career, and nobody understood the burden of duty better than the clones. Now that she had separated from the GAR and returned to her post in her home planet’s military defense force, the rules regarding fraternization no longer applied to her.

She hadn’t bothered to review the file because she’d learned from the previous several failed dates that a promising file was no indicator of compatibility. Still, as she waited for her date, who was now seven minutes late, she wished she’d at least checked to see if he had any identifying marks or tattoos that would make him easier to spot. To be fair, though, the few clones present in the restaurant were already paired up with other diners.

Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t intended to skip lunch, but she’d had back-to-back meetings with the joint chiefs of the Core Worlds Defense Alliance and the senate appropriations committee, and one thing led to another. The service droid had delivered a basket of fresh, hot bread rolls, which she had heroically resisted for the first six minutes past the scheduled start of the date, but now her resolve began to crumble. If her mystery date didn’t have the basic courtesy to be on time, by the Force, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if she ate all the bread before he arrived.

She buttered a roll and took a small bite. She couldn’t suppress the groan of relief at the buttery, yeasty goodness, and she quickly polished it off, then picked up another. She had just begun to butter her third role when the unmistakable voice of a clone spoke next to her.

“Admiral.”

She turned automatically, a smile just beginning to form on her lips, when she caught sight of a familiar set of numbers tattooed on a handsome, arrogant face.

“Oh, no,” she said with disgust. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Marshal Commander Neyo replied contemptuously. “I have as much right to be here as you do.”

“I’m on a date,” she snapped.

He looked pointedly at the empty chair across from her. “Looks like your date has a strong sense of self-preservation. Probably took one look at you and ran for their life.”

“He’s just a little late,” she said, tilting her jaw at a haughty angle to hide the flash of hurt at his words.

“That must kill you,” he said with a mirthless chuckle. “I remember the time you made a Jedi padawan cry for being three minutes behind schedule.”

“There were barely tears. Do. Not. Sit,” she gritted out as he made himself comfortable in the chair across from her. He picked up one of the remaining bread rolls and took a large bite, and she sighed. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“It just so happens, I am also on a date,” he said, mumbling around the bite of bread.

“Oh?” she wrinkled her nose at his table manners. “And who’s the unlucky lady?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Some civvie named Reeda.”

Her hand tightened dangerously around her butter knife. Neyo’s eyes dropped to the blade, and he smirked.

“Disappointed?” he asked.

“You could say that,” she said, grinding her jaw. “I’m Reeda.”

He choked on his bite of bread and wheezed a bit, pounding his chest to clear his airway. Alas, he survived.

“What?” he sputtered.

“You didn’t even bother to find out my first name after you were inside me?” she demanded. Her sharp tone attracted attention from the surrounding diners, and she heard a few quiet titters from the tables around her, but she was too irate to care.

“You didn’t even bother to find out who’d be eating dinner with you?” he retorted.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t just as surprised as I am,” she snapped. “Didn’t you read the file?”

“I didn’t get a file, just a call.” He grunted. “Apparently, ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ and I was lucky to get a match at all.”

“Why am I not surprised?” she mocked.

“Careful, Admiral. Don’t forget they matched you with me.”

“I would be insulted if it weren’t so obviously a mistake. I can’t say I’m impressed with their performance thus far.”

“For once, I agree with you,” he said. “You’d have to be a special kind of incompetent to think we were a good match.”

The service droid approached the table and asked, “May I take your order?”

“He’s not staying,” Reeda cut in.

“I’ll have the bantha filet,” Neyo replied, ignoring her. “Bloody.”

He turned to her and arched his brows. The droid waited expectantly.

“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” she lied.

Neyo’s mouth twisted, and he huffed a breath through his nose. “The admiral will have the roast porg. And a bottle of Alderaanian red.”

The droid nodded and ambled away. Reeda glared at Neyo.

“I don’t eat meat, you presumptuous ass,” she said.

“Liar,” he said. “Unfortunately, the souls of the innocent weren’t on the menu, so I had to settle for your second-favorite meal.”

“At least you’re safe, since you obviously have no soul and you’re definitely not innocent,” she said in a pleasant tone.

Damn him for being right about the porg, though. How did he know?

The wine arrived, and he poured a generous glass for each of them. She didn’t toast; just downed half of it in a single swallow. Neyo sipped his and leaned back in his chair to observe her. His sleek, severe hair and the large tattoo on his cheek made him look menacing as hell, but it was his eyes that made brave men take a step back. She didn’t know how it was possible for his eyes to be that unnerving. Gods, why did he have to be so handsome? What a waste of perfectly good Fett genes to have a personality like that.

“Did you stay just to torment me?” she asked when the silence stretched beyond the limits of her endurance.

“And because I heard the filet was good,” he said affably. “What are you even doing on Coruscant? I thought you’d scuttled back to whatever hellhole spawned you.”

“Kuat,” she bit out from between clenched teeth. “I was assigned to work as our military liaison on Coruscant.”

“Couldn’t stand having you back on the planet?” he derided. “I don’t blame them.”

“I need to use the fresher,” she said, flinging her napkin down on the table with excessive force. “Feel free to die while I’m gone.”

She strode purposefully through the restaurant, her face set in a steely mask. She knew she was drawing attention from other patrons, but if she sat at that table and listened to Neyo needle her for one more second, she was either going to stab him or burst into tears. She pushed through the refresher doors and went to the sink, washing her hands just to give herself something to do. The face that stared back at her from the mirror was Admiral Wai’yen, not Reeda. Stern. Unyielding. Unaffected.

She swallowed, and her face crumpled. Tears of rage stung her eyes, and she ruthlessly wiped them away with her clenched fist. A soft noise at the door startled her, and she whirled to face the intruder. Horror flooded her. It was Neyo, and he’d caught her crying in the ladies’ room.

“What the kriff do you think you’re doing in here?” she demanded icily. “Get out.”

He stared at her for a moment, and then he locked the door. Stalking across the room, he cupped her jaw in his hands and tilted her face to get a closer look. She tried to pull away, to put her Admiral Wai’yen mask back in place, but then his thumb stroked softly next to her eye, wiping away the tear that had breached containment. She gasped involuntarily, and his lips collided with hers.

Reeda was so shocked that for a moment she went perfectly still, but then Neyo flicked his tongue across her lower lip, and her body remembered how to move. She thrust him away and stood back, glaring at him. His chest rose and fell quickly, and those cold eyes blazed with a dark and covetous fire. She raised a hand to her lips and felt the slickness left by his tongue. Something snapped inside her. She took two hasty steps forward, and she was in his arms again, his hands rough and dominating on her body as they consumed each other with a kiss that teetered on the edge of violence. 

Lips, tongues, teeth crashed together. He clasped her tightly against his hard, unyielding body, and unbidden, the memory of him deep inside her came flooding back. He gripped her ass and ground his rapidly stiffening cock against her. Her reaction was electric. She rolled her hips, nearly climbing him in desperation. He dropped his mouth to her neck and kissed her once, roughly, and then to her breast, yanking aside her dress as he closed his teeth on her soft skin. He picked her up by the waist and set her on the edge of the sink, dropping to his knees between her thighs, rucking up her dress around her hips, and then his mouth was on her.

He didn’t even bother removing her underwear, as though he couldn’t wait another millisecond to taste her. He licked and sucked on her through the fabric, his mouth working frantically. Her body jolted and trembled at the effort of staying upright, and then his tongue snaked past the lace and dipped into her, smooth and hot and wet. He let out a vicious growl and grabbed her hips, settling her thighs over his shoulders, and then he pulled her off the sink and thrust her against his face as his tongue speared over and over into her cunt. She yelped and scrambled to brace herself with her hands, her arms shaking with exertion.

She couldn’t come like this, but kriff, it was hot to feel Neyo throw her around with such ease, like she was his own personal toy. How many nights had she fucked herself to sleep to the memory of their first encounter? The way he’d lifted her bodily off the ground and thrust into her, supporting them both with those powerful thighs—it played on a loop in her head for months, long after the bite marks and bruises had faded.

His tongue slid out of her cunt and swirled around her clit, and her legs spasmed around his head. She couldn’t come like this. Could she? All the muscles in her body began to tense, and her pelvis began to rock rhythmically against his face. Shit, I’m going to come. No sooner had the thought formed than Neyo dropped her back onto the sink and pulled away from her.

“No!” she wailed. “You bastard, I was right there!”

He shot to his feet. “Shut. Up,” he bit out, and kissed her punishingly hard. “Do you want the whole Federal District to know what we’re doing?”

He pulled her head back to expose her throat, and he scraped his teeth across her delicate skin. She felt his other hand fumbling in between them. Within seconds, his cock was free and thrusting against the scrap of lace that still covered her. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him against her, determined to find the stimulation that she needed to reach completion.

“Get inside me,” she hissed.

“You aren’t calling the shots any more, Admiral,” he growled. “You don’t get to give commands.”

“I hate you,” she breathed. 

“And yet here you are, begging for my cock,” he said coldly. 

“I do not beg,” she said. “Ever.”

He released her hair and pried her legs away from himself, then took a step back. “You get nothing until you admit that you want me. I’ve waited a long time for this. I can keep waiting.”

“What the kark is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, sliding off the sink to stand in front of him.

“It means you give me what I want, or I walk out that door right now and you can figure your own shit out.”

Was this his twisted kriffing way of asking for consent? Because she was pretty sure she’d covered that when she all but ordered him to fuck her.

“Fine,” she said in a low voice. “I…” She nearly choked on the words, and Neyo’s intent gaze pinned her in place. “I want you.”

He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a bruising kiss, then spun her around and bent her over the sink. He pulled up her dress, yanked down her panties, and thrust into her. She muffled a whimper at the intrusion and squeezed her eyes shut as she adjusted to the stretch. He wrapped his hands around her hair and jerked her head up.

“Open your eyes. I want you to watch,” he ordered.

She complied, shocked when she saw her own ravaged face in the mirror as Neyo pounded into her from behind. Her makeup was smeared, her hair was a wreck, her eyes were dilated with lust, and a sheen of sweat glistened across her skin. She flicked her gaze to stare at Neyo. His face was twisted into a scowl, and if she had any sense at all, she would have been frightened, but she was in too deep to care. His hard eyes met hers in the mirror, and his jaw tightened.

He released her hair and slid his arm around her body, between her breasts, to wrap around her throat, and he lifted her upright so he could whisper in her ear.

“Do you know what you did to me?” His voice was hoarse and anguished. “Every time I kissed someone, all I could taste was you. Every time I hooked up, all I could remember was this perfect fucking pussy.”

He pounded into her with bruising intensity, furiously working her clit with his free hand. Her head began to throb. This was so wrong. He couldn’t be saying what she thought she was hearing. She was confused from the lack of blood flowing to her brain.

“I got matched twelve different times, and not one of them was right, because not one of them was you,” he snarled. “You cursed me. You haunt me.”

The world began to darken around the edges as her eyes drifted closed, and he released her throat and forced her head to the side so she faced him.

“Look at me when you fucking come,” he ordered.

She gasped, and he clamped his hand down over her mouth to muffle her scream as he wrenched an orgasm from her body. He didn’t let up, chasing after her at a frenzied pace that rocked her entire body as she sobbed into his hand.

“Inside?” he asked roughly.

She nodded and whimpered as tears blurred her vision and spilled down her cheeks. He came with two brutal thrusts, and she felt the hot rush of his release deep inside. He shuddered against her hair as his cock softened and slipped out of her. At last, he loosened his grip and turned her to face him as he leaned against the wall for support. He wrapped her in his arms and stroked her hair as she rested her head against him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she sighed as she licked his neck, unable to resist the temptation of tasting his skin.

“I’m sure there’s an official list in my GAR file,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

Reeda cleaned up quickly while Neyo went back to their table so they wouldn’t be spotted leaving the refresher together. Her hairstyle was destroyed, so she hastily repinned it as well as she could, and then wiped off the mascara that smudged heavily beneath her eyes. A quick reapplication of lipstick, and she almost looked presentable—with the minor exception of her missing panties, which Neyo had silently retrieved from the refresher floor and tucked into his pocket while maintaining strong eye contact.

When she returned to the dining room, Neyo waylaid her with a ferocious expression. Force, what is he scugged about now?

“We’re leaving,” he said, taking her by the wrist and pulling her toward the exit. A few quiet murmurs whispered around the room as he dragged her behind him.

“What?” she asked, tugging her wrist to no avail. “Why?”

“The karking droid gave away our table,” he said.

“My deepest apologies, Admiral,” the droid said. “We can locate another table if you would care to wait.”

Reeda assessed the room quickly. Every table was occupied, and none of the diners were anywhere close to being ready to leave. Moreover, at least half of the customers were eyeing her and Neyo with expressions ranging from amusement to overt curiosity.

“No,” she said. “Have the food delivered to my flat.”

“Right away, sir,” the droid replied, waddling off to relay the order to the kitchen.

Neyo looked at her inquisitively. “Your flat?”

“I live in this building,” she said. “Come with me.”

She was keenly aware of the many sets of eyes that tracked their hasty exit, but before long, she led Neyo into the private, secure lift that opened directly into her penthouse. He stood silently next to her on the trip up, watching her with an inscrutable gaze. She tried not to give herself an opportunity to second-guess her decision to let him into her home. Strange, she thought, how this seemed more intimate than allowing him inside her body. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed another person into her home. 

The lift doors opened, and he followed her into the flat, pausing long enough to remove their shoes, then looking around curiously.

“Lived here long?”

“A few months,” she said. “I bought it when I found out I’d be stationed on Coruscant long-term.”

“It’s nice,” he said. “Very… clean.”

She laughed. “You mean sterile. I haven’t had time to do much decorating. I’m hardly here except to sleep, anyway.”

He nodded. “I thought I’d have more time for hobbies after the war ended, but now it’s just nonstop—”

“Red tape and committees,” she finished with a sympathetic grimace. He shot her a wry grin. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him smile before, and it did uncomfortable things to her brain. She tried not to think about it, instead asking, “What kind of hobbies? Aside from plotting my slow death, obviously.”

“Oh, you know,” he said vaguely. “Torturing small, adorable creatures; sharpening my vibroblade collection; collecting stamps; that sort of thing.”

She blinked. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

He regarded her steadily for a moment, eyes unreadable as ever. “You really think the worst of me, don’t you?”

She was taken aback. “I—”

Her reply was cut off by the chime of the door. The food had arrived, thank the Force, which gave her a moment to stop herself from blurting out her immediate thought: You’ve never given me any reason to think anything else.

Neyo was a competent soldier—brilliant, in fact. There was no question that he had one of the finest tactical and strategic minds in the GAR. But as a person? From the moment they’d met, he’d been antagonistic, sardonic, cold. He’d challenged her authority and provoked her in meetings. He’d only treated her with the barest semblance of civility in public, and in private—Well. They both knew how things went when they were alone.

The service droid rolled a cart into the dining room and began setting up the meal.

“Can I get you a drink?” she offered Neyo. “I don’t have any Alderaanian red, but I do have Cheedoan whiskey.”

“The good stuff,” he replied. “I’ll have a glass. Thanks.”

The droid finished setting up and shuffled out the front door as Reeda poured two generous glasses of whiskey at the wet bar.

“Ice?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, and when she turned around, she nearly dropped the glasses in surprise to find him standing close behind her. He locked his eyes on hers and never looked away as he took one of the glasses and drained it in a single swallow, then set it down with a decisive click on the counter. Her heart began to pound as he loomed over her. He traced his fingers from her elbow up to her wrist, and then he wrapped his hand around hers and raised her glass to her lips. 

The whiskey burned a fiery path across her tongue and down her throat. A few droplets escaped and splashed coldly on her chest. Neyo didn’t let up until she emptied the glass, and when she was done, he leaned down and sucked the liquor off her skin. His hands dropped to her hips and slid up her back as he located the zipper of her dress and dragged it down excruciatingly slowly, and all the while, his mouth moved across her skin. He slipped the straps down over her shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor, and then he kissed a path along the lacy edge of her bra.

“Thanks for the matched set,” he said, unhooking it and pulling it off.

“Those were expensive, asshole,” she said unsteadily.

He didn’t reply, but she knew she was never going to see that bra again. He kissed his way down her breast and captured her nipple in his mouth, abrading it lightly with his teeth. She jolted, and the empty glass slipped from her hand and smashed against the hard tiles of the floor. 

Neyo barely responded to the sound of shattering crystal. Reeda froze, keenly aware that the smallest movement could result in a bloody footful of glass. She stood utterly, helplessly still as he continued to explore her body with his teeth and lips and hands and tongue. He was thorough in his attentions, and something about being entirely at his mercy was wildly arousing. Her head spun as the whiskey began to work its insidious way through her bloodstream.

“I missed this perfume. What is it?” he murmured against the soft skin of her abdomen.

“I don’t wear any,” she said.

He nuzzled against her as though he could transfer her scent to his own skin. Without warning, he scooped her up and carried her out of the room, completely disregarding the risk to himself. But instead of dropping her as soon as they were clear of the broken glass as she expected, he asked, “Bedroom?”

“Left,” she said, and he strode across the flat and kicked open the door, to her intense irritation. “You gonna pay for the broken doorknob?”

He didn’t reply, just tossed her onto the bed and pounced on her as soon as she landed. He slid in between her thighs and gripped her hard as his mouth descended on hers, kissing her as though he were trying to devour her soul. He was still fully clothed, and she scrambled to pull off his shirt. He was completely unhelpful, too engrossed in her taste. She raked her nails across his skin as she yanked his shirt over his head, and he seized her lip in his teeth in revenge.

At last, the barrier of his shirt was gone, and she writhed against him, desperate to feel as much of his warm, smooth skin against her as possible. They clashed together, sinking nails and teeth into each other. At some point, Neyo got his trousers down enough to free his cock, and he shoved into her. His belt chafed harshly on her delicate skin as she wrapped her legs around him, urging him to go deeper, harder, faster. The sounds they made were unholy, primal: growls and grunts and screams of pain and ecstasy as they tore into each other with all the aggression that they had built over the years. 

She pulled his hair; he clawed her back. She slapped his face; he bit her shoulder. She snarled that she loathed him; he interlaced his fingers with hers and whispered how beautiful she was when she came apart beneath him. She thrust him away and kicked him across the bed; he pinned her down and fucked her until she sobbed and begged for more. At some point, she tasted blood, and she didn’t know or care whose it was. And when at last she lost count of how many times he’d brought her to orgasm, he curled his body around hers and traced his thumb softly over her features as she drifted to sleep.

“If I die while I’m inside you, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to heaven,” he whispered.

“Force, you say some kriffed up shit,” she grumbled.

Reeda awakened slowly, aware of something blissfully warm and soothing moving across her skin. She cracked her eyes open. Neyo was lying on top of her, dragging his tongue lazily over her body. He roamed along her curves, and it wasn’t until he paused at her bruised wrist that she realized what he was doing.

“Are you licking my wounds?” she breathed.

He didn’t answer, but his eyes met hers with an intensity that bordered on madness. Gods, everything about this was so fucked up, and she didn’t dare examine too closely why she found it so incredibly arousing. He moved slowly, meticulously, his tongue gliding softly over every centimeter of her body, until she felt like a bomb, ready to detonate at the slightest spark. She came before he ever reached her cunt, and again as he rocked gently inside her, his lips soft against her mouth, silent tears spilling from the corners of her eyes to course down her temples.

After, he guided her into the shower, and when her legs gave out, he held her upright as the hot water washed over them. Once he’d massaged her entire body with his strong, soapy hands, he dried her off and laid her back on the bed while he spread bacta across the damage he’d inflicted. It was disorienting to be cared for so thoroughly by the man who’d spent the better part of four years making her life hell. He didn’t speak, and she didn’t know what to say, so in the end, she simply watched him in silence.

When he finished with the bacta, he retrieved their dinner from the dining room. The food had long since gone cold, but after hours of intense physical activity, they were famished, and they ate it anyway, sharing bites and sipping whiskey straight from the decanter. Neyo sat with his back against the headboard, his long, strong legs bracketing Reeda as she leaned back against his broad chest.

“How did you know porg was my favorite?” she asked.

He shrugged. “They’re tiny, cute, and innocent. I just assumed you would enjoy extinguishing the life from them and consuming their remains.”

She laughed and snuggled closer to him. “Is that why you order your meat rare? Because it’s the next best thing to drinking straight from the source?”

“Finally, someone who understands,” he smirked. “Truthfully, I overheard you tell Admiral Coburn that porg was your favorite during a banquet at the strategy conference at Valor.”

She turned to stare up at him. “Neyo, that was two years ago. That was before we ever…”

“I know,” he said, burying his face in her hair and breathing deeply.

“Stalker,” she murmured.

He dropped his mouth to her neck, and she tilted her head back against his shoulder as his lips glided across her skin. 

“What does it say about you that you like it?” he whispered when he reached her ear.

He pulled her close, positioning himself between her and the bedroom door. From the proprietary way he held her, she knew it was a deliberate choice; any threat that came through that door would have to go through him before it got to her, and she had a feeling that there weren’t many beings in the galaxy that were brave or foolish enough to try.

Reeda jerked awake to a furious pounding at the front door. Neyo was already halfway out of the bedroom, stark naked and armed with a steak knife from their midnight dinner.

“Wait here,” he ordered, his voice hard and flat.

She rolled her eyes as she pulled on a bathrobe and grabbed a blaster from her nightstand. Neyo glared at her when she joined him, but didn’t bother yelling at her.

“Coruscant guard! Open up,” a modulated voice shouted harshly from outside the door.

Neyo glanced questioningly at her, and she shrugged, hiding the blaster behind her robe. He stepped out of view of the door, and she opened it to find none other than Marshal Commander Fox, flanked by two Corrie ARC troopers.

“Commander,” she greeted him, not bothering to conceal the surprise in her voice.

“Good to see you’re in one piece, Admiral,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“I beg your pardon?” she asked, baffled.

“We received multiple calls about a disturbance at your address. Are you alone?”

Reeda felt a hot rush of blood wash over her face and neck. “I fail to see how that is any business of yours, Commander.”

“Sorry, sir, but it’s my duty to—” He stopped abruptly, and his visor shifted to a point behind her. 

“Isn’t this a little below your pay grade, Fox?” Neyo drawled close behind Reeda.

Fox’s visor turned back to Reeda, then to Neyo, and then back to Reeda again. The two ARC troopers appeared to be fascinated by the walls on either side of the front door. 

At last, Fox spoke. “I don’t send shinies to wake up admirals.”

Neyo’s hand slid possessively around the front of Reeda’s abdomen, and he pulled her against his nude body. Something large and solid prodded against her backside. Dank farrik, is he turned on right now? Sick bastard.

“Thank you for your concern,” she told Fox, “but everything is under control.”

“So I see,” Fox replied. “Still, you’ll need to keep the noise level down, or I’ll have no choice but to arrest you for disturbing the peace.”

Neyo reached forward silently and shut the door in Fox’s face, then he spun Reeda around, picked her up over his shoulder, and carried her back to the bedroom. The last thing Fox heard was the unmistakable sound of Neyo’s hand slapping her ass as Reeda shrieked with indignant laughter.

Republic Military HQ buzzed quietly with speculation the next morning when not one, but two of the most senior command staff called in sick for the first time in either of their careers. Rumors swirled: some were convinced a secret bioweapon had been released by Separatist holdouts; others maintained that the stress of dealing with politicians was beginning to take a toll; still others claimed that it was a coverup and that the marshal commander and the admiral had been taken hostage by pirates. It was whispered that Commander Fox had a particularly haunted expression that morning, and two of the Coruscant Guard ARC Troopers had contacted the legal department to update their wills. In the midst of all this, the beleaguered Lissi received a brusque order to inform RTL Matchmaking that the admiral no longer required their services.

Daria drained her third iced caf of the morning as she flicked through her holomessages. Buried amidst the intake forms and meeting invitations was an abrupt-bordering-on-rude note from Marshal Commander Neyo ordering her to close his file.

“Why do you look like the tooka that got the blue milk?” her fellow matchmaker Tarsi Renda asked as she passed Daria in the corridor.

“Oh, no reason,” Daria smiled. “The galaxy is back to normal, that’s all—and my track record is once again perfect.”

---

DJ’s masterlist | Join my tag list here

#tcw matchmaking au #clone matchmaking au #91st Mobile Reconnaissance Corps #commander neyo #neyo x the admiral #commander neyo x ofc #neyo x ofc #neyo x the bad-miral

[image-thot]

Information

This blog is mainly a nsfw one so No Minors allowed

About me:

Just a not-so-casual Aussie nerd who likes to read, write, draw and use maths for degenerative things. I like to push the limits on the themes I write for, so heed the warnings on my post as they are there for a reason! I have an army of birds and we will eventually conquer the world once they stop killing my wallet. Ao3 (Everything I write is almost always posted here) Twitter Tiktok

Do you want a transformer's spike and valve Measurement? Check out the Spike & Valve Master List

Request info:

Status: Closed

At current I’m only writing for Transformers (all media) although I like to partake in other fandoms I am only interested in writing transformer-related content at this time.

When Requesting Please Include:

Character and Contenuity

What the reader is (e.g. human/cybertronian, gender etc)

Description of what you want ( nsfw/sfw, could be listing kinks or a scenario.) If you don't list what you want I will take creative liberty and write something of my choice with that character)

Do's

Oneshots

Drabbles

Headcanons

Spike, Transfluid, Valve Calculations (make sure to check the list before requesting :D)

nsfw and sfw

Character x Reader

Character x Character

Dub-con, non-con and anything dark!

Hurt no comfort

Hurt with 1% comfort

Practically all kinks

a/b/o

No's

Fluff/cute/sweet themes (yes this includes nsfw that involves these things)

Character x oc

Platonic ( mainly because idk how not to put smut in there sorry)

I don't judge, if you have something that isn't on the No's but not on the Do's send it in! I learn what I do and don't like to write via writing and if it's not up there, then I haven't had the opportunity to write it. If you're unsure send an ask in and I'll let you know if I will or won't write it.

Master List 2023

Caution when looking at the works! Like most of my works, they tend to be on the nsfw, darker and non-con side so read their tags before reading the stories.

Transformers

Tfp

Soundwave x reader x Shockwave: For the Cause (a/b/o) Soundwave x Reader: Whatever He Wants (Dubcon)

Rotb

Mirage x reader: Throw Him off his rhythm Does it count as peeping? Don't look down

Idw

Scavengers x oc/reader -Slip slip bang bang Chapters: 1, 2 Shockwave x Firstaid - Two face (Non-con, gore) Kaon x reader: Torture and Training Tarn x reader: Play Along

Cyberverse

Yandere Starscream Yandere Shockwave, Soundwave, Bumblebee, Preceptor Soundwave x reader x Soundblaster - Watch Me take everything (Non-con) Soundwave x reader: More Than I Can Say (Dubcon)

G1

Yandere Soundwave x Cassette Reader x Rumble & Frenzy (non-con)

War for Cybertron

Soundwave x reader x Soundblaster -More than A Screw Loose Chapters: 1, 2,

Earthspark

Soundwave x reader: The Experiment (a/b/o) Shockwave x reader: All for what? Part 1 Part 2 (Dubcon)

Thots Hot Spike Reviews

Rodimus - Sisi_Esprit Shattered Glass - Bad Dragon Rumble - Exotic Erotics

Resources

Spike size guide Transfluid guide The how's and why's of spike sizing

Blood of Zues

Song of Dogs - Ares x Reader x Hermes Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Bad Batch

Headcanons

First Meeting Nsfw Alphabet: Hunter Tech, Wrecker Platonic Yandere

Walking in on them 

Dark overprotective/possessive 

Series

Things that Lurk on the holonet (tech non-con) Chapters: 1, 5, 72, 3, 4, 

Oneshots

Cody x Hunter (non-con) Tech x Reader (non-con) Cody x Crosshair (non-con)

Clone Wars

Headcanons

Yandere: Rex, Cody, Fives, Echo, Jesse, Dogma

Oneshots

Fox x oc (non-con)

Neyo x oc (non-con)

Wolfe x oc (non-con)

Waxer & Biol x oc(non-con)

DC

Billy Wintergreen x reader (non-con)

Deathstroke x reader -Don’t Shoot The Shooter Chapter: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Death Stroke Nsfw alphabet

Readhood x reader 

Doom Patrol

Larry Headcanons

Meeting for the First time Accidently Hurt

Touch affectionate s/o

Cuddling

Comforting s/o s/o comforting Larry

Tiktok

Jealous Larry

S/o wanting a pet

S/o with plants

Watching Game of Thrones (slight nsfw)

Making up with larry Confessing

Drunken Mess

Chapters: 1, 2, 3

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 

Donnie x reader x Leo - Instincts Be a Bitch - (Non-con) Leo x reader x Future Leo (dub-con/non-con)

#bad batch #transformers #x reader #non con #smut #yandere headcanons #reader insert #doom patrol #Doom patrol larry #negative spirit #star wars clone wars #clonewars #Blood of Zues #masterlist #fanfiction writer #ao3 writer #fanfiction requests #request open #tfp #transformers idw #earthspark soundwave x reader #a/b/o #transformers earthspark #transformers cyberverse #transformers rotb #transformers fanfiction #tfp x reader #transformers x reader #valveplug #soundwave x reader

[fordo-wifey]

Greetings my lovely peeps!

Note: This profile contains NSFW content, with that means no minors under the age of eighteen.

It’s My Pleasure to Meet You!

I am Maggie and I am in my late twenties and heading into my thirties, I have been writing since I was fourteen and have since made it into a career of sorts. I am also a married woman that is generally happy with life and is hoping for a better life not only for myself but for people I consider my friends.

About The Blog:

This blog is a bit weird at the moment but the only solid thing about it, is the NSFW content that I have mentioned above. As all topics I choose to write about is basically for adult eyes only.

Fandoms I Write For:

Star Wars

Naruto/Boruto

BNHA/MHA

Red Hood

Tokyo Revengers

Original Works

Note: This list could grow or lessen depending on fandom cycle...

Request Guidelines:

I generally write original fan fiction, but I am open to writing requests! Though you should take this moment to go through my guidelines:

What I WILL Write For:

Fictional characters

Reader inserts (please make sure to specify gender, anything unspecified will be f!reader)

SFW and NSFW (Fluff, Smut, Angst)

What I WILL NOT Write For:

OCs

Forced Feeding

R*pe/Non-Con

Real people  

Character/Reader Death 

Coprophilia/Urophilia (Sh*t/P*ss Play)

Pedophilia/Ephebophilia

Cannibalism

Necrophilia

Bestiality

Depicting abuse in a positive light

Incest

Ships (canon or non-canon)

Please please PLEASE add your age in anon asks!

If you submit a request that involves anything from the second list, I will not reply to it. The same goes for any other requests that involve anything I’m uncomfortable with. If you have questions about why there wasn’t a reply for your request, please DM me.

Thank you and happy reading! 

Check out: @daisies-daydreams

My AO3

My Star Wars Masterlist is under the cut.

->Shadows of the Republic

Starring: Wolffe x Original Female Character

The fall of the Republic, and the birth of the Empire, Wolffe—a former clone Commander—finds himself in limbo. Battling his demons, as he struggles to create a life worth living, but that’s when a chance meeting with Jaina Pellian, a human woman who had fallen into the same trap as him. Will his life be better with her? Or will he suffer a loss he can’t recover from? Word Count (Completed): 000,000

-> Forbidden Ecstasy

Starring: Neyo x Original Female Character

nothing yet Word Count (Completed): 000,000

-> Station 40 (Only on AO3) 

Starring: Crosshair x Original Female Character

A SOS broadcast puts the Bad Batch in a tough situation, where they have to decide whether to save the clone troopers that were sent to investigate the same SOS or take in the scientist wanted by the Republic guards. Word count: 000,000

-> The Man of Ryloth

Starring: Captain Howzer x Original Female Character 

The war raged on, battles hard fought, even with the battalion of clones that were led by Captain Howzer, there seemed to be no end in sight. At least until Lissa Amnel--a human woman-- arrived with support, allowing for more victories in their wake. But Howzer who had slept with nearly every Twi'lek he could, found himself changing with each attempt to gain her attention. Word count: 000,000

-> I Was Made for Lovin' You

Starring: ARC Hevy x Original Female Character 

A quick hike gone wrong, leaves Diana Brown in a world of service and sacrifice, stumbling around the galaxy that was not her own. Far from Earth or anything she might know, but a chance meeting brings Diana and an ARC trooper together. But when it comes time to leave, will she choose to return, or will she stay? Word count: 000,000

-> Trouble in The Pine Series

Starring: Crosshair x Original Human Female  

Book 1: Into the Unknown Elon, a green planet untouched by the war, and the former Republic—now Empire. A place for a man to start over, if that was possible for someone who didn’t have a say in regard to his birth. Will Crosshair, a man of regrets be able to move forward and start a new? Word count: 000,000 Book 2: Title Word Count 000,000 Overall Word Count: 000,000

-> Mr. Cupid

Starring: Mereel Skirata x Original Female Character

The playboy of the Skirata clan, Mereel Skirata, was the type to get any woman he wanted. From any walk of life. But that would be only a half truth, as the one he truly wanted was Sara Vene. A woman that worked closely with the Senators, and the Coruscant Guard. They met by chance, and the two were nearly inseparable until one night when the truth of his feelings came to light.  Word count: 000,000

-> The Promise

Starring: Niner Skirata x Original Female Character

The word love didn’t match up with the likes of Niner, a clone commando that wasn’t known to show much of any emotion one way or another. But when he met Malia his heart bloomed with desire, and love. Though his appearance never changed, his words spilled all. Will Niner keep his promise to Malia, or will their love die out?  Word count: 000,000

-> A Soldier's Heart

Starring: Commando Sev x Original Female Character

A soldier's duty is to protect those they love, and Sev was no different when it came to his new family which was steadily growing as years passed. Lingering thoughts of his brothers often cause him to grow quiet, but when the Empire arrives on the planet he calls home, he is met with the reality of the new galaxy. Word count: 000,000

-> Upside Down

Starring: ARC Captain Fordo x Original Female Character

The birth of his son had sent Fordo over the moon, becoming a parent meant he had more to fight for, more than just his brothers or even the woman that brought his son into the world. Word count: 000,000

-> Kiss Her You Fool

Starring: ARC Commander Alpha 17 x Original Female Character

Alpha was anything but kind, strong willed, effective soldier on the field but when Syala entered the picture. His heart took a hit, a hit that made him feel more than he ever had. Word count: 000,000

-

-

Commander Fox's love letter to Alax Halcorr

-

Dreaming of Her (Commander Neyo x OC)

Sinful Surrender Part 1 & Part 2

-

-

-Crosshair Western AU (sort of)

-Delta Squad headcanons

-The Bad Batch headcanons

-Delt Squad Parenting Styles headcanons

The Bad Batchers First Time Holding Their Newborn! (Fluff, Angst, and full of love)

-

-

If you want to be tagged, please like this pin post, and I will add you to future works!

#star wars #masterlist #the clone wars #original character #original content #original concept #fordo-wifey #bnha #red hood #tokyo revengers #naruto #boruto next generation

[hazbinextgeneration]

A Maison Talo/Heim Baile x Oc Playlist

Again this is just for fun and some songs will have mature, dark, yandere themes etc. Art of Heim Baile done by Mortisfox.

Maison Talo x Oc:

Into You by Ariana Grande 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHHkVUaOxe4

HURT by 1 800 PAIN

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9qN6KvB7Ro&pp=ygUPSHVydCAxLTgwMCBwYWlu

I’m In Love With A Monster by Fifth Harmony 

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlkFTxnizyk&pp=ygUZSW0gaW4gbG92ZSB3aXRoIGEgbW9uc3Rlcg%3D%3D

Cannibal by Kesha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt4fb3keGX8&pp=ygUOQ2FubmliYWwga2VzaGE%3D

Monster by Lady Gaga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKbB9bvC9MA&pp=ygURTW9uc3RlciBsYWR5IGdhZ2E%3D

Jerma Remix: THE MEAT GRINDER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luETBDUpU_w&t=0s

Animal by Kesha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ1j3TNxNok

Christina Aguilera- Feel This Moment (solo version)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iflqDgA6bs8&pp=ygUfRmVlbCBUaGlzIG1vbWVudCBqdXN0IGNocmlzdGluYQ%3D%3D

Never Knew I Needed by NeYo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBFfbdOgnbg&pp=ygUpeW91ciB0aGUgYmVzdCB0aGluZyBpIG5ldmVyIGtuZXcgaSBuZWVkZWQ%3D

The Red Means I Love You by Madds Buckley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbcsAfjLxDk&pp=ygUVcmVkIGlzIGhvdyBJIGxvdmUgeW91

L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_HmF84G7ZY

"omg it's worse than we thought, they made her emo" - {sped up + nightcore}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2233zuVAvo&list=PL-fJ7QGZdTEFllyUhYyR-2ie_qAw3ZGGe&index=36

Sugarcrash! by ElyOtto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7CG3ngSYls&pp=ygUKU3VnYXJjcmFzaA%3D%3D

I Get Along Without You Very Well by Frank Sinata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3u3clov9mE

Why Don’t You Do Right From Who Framed Rodger Rabbit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaeAlG-G968&pp=ygUeSmVzc2ljYSBhbmQgUm9kZ2VyIHJhYmJpdCBzb25n

Sway Glee Cast

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdQi-sm5d4&pp=ygUOU3dheSBHbGVlIENhc3Q%3D

Heim Baile x Oc:

Put Your Head On My Shoulder by

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvazBqAlx58

I’m In Love With A Monster by Fifth Harmony

https://href.li/?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlkFTxnizyk&pp=ygUZSW0gaW4gbG92ZSB3aXRoIGEgbW9uc3Rlcg%3D%3D

Around The World 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TGPRg89eCw

I’m Coming Home by Skylar Grey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffA0veKqtW8

Unconditional by Katy Perry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjwZAa2EjKA&pp=ygUVS2F0eSBwZXJyeSBsb3ZlIHNvbmdz

"omg it's worse than we thought, they made her emo" - {sped up + nightcore}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2233zuVAvo&list=PL-fJ7QGZdTEFllyUhYyR-2ie_qAw3ZGGe&index=36

Animal by Kesha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ1j3TNxNok

Sugar by Flo Rida

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-Cr85aPl8

Fnaf Moondrop/Sundrop Theme

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R-AVyXtonk

When Can I See You Again by Owl City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM1YMeDsc-M&pp=ygUYd2hlbiBjYW4gaSBzZWUgeW91IGFnYWlu

Love You Like A Love Song by Selena Gomez

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9183S-f82Q&pp=ygUXU2VsZW5hIEdvbWV6IExvdmUgU3Rvcnk%3D

Still Into You by Paramore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7Ei5JkZpTE&pp=ygUOU3RpbGwgaW50byB5b3U%3D

#yandere games

[dystopicjumpsuit]

Fic Masterlist

Hello there.

Thanks for stopping by! This is my masterlist of Star Wars fics. I'll update it as I publish new works. Please note that most of my fics contain mature content and are intended for readers over 18. Enjoy, and feel free to drop a comment any time; I love connecting with fellow readers and writers. May the Force be with you!

Requests are currently open. 🩵

Follower Celebration Requests: OPEN!!!

Join my tag list here

Looking for my cocktail masterlist? It's here

🍋 indicates mature content 🍋

My AO3

Longfics

Stars Beyond Number. (AO3 link, complete)

Soldiers. Heroes. Deserters. Traitors. They've been called many things. As the Galactic Empire rises from the ashes of the Republic, a small group of clone troopers and their allies will find a new identity: Rebels.

Echo, Rex, and Gregor are on a mission to save as many of their brothers as they can. The task is daunting, and their friends are few. But from these small and desperate beginnings will come a spark of resistance that will set the galaxy ablaze.

Cerra Kilian GAR Personnel Datafile

Martyrs and Kings. (AO3 link, complete) Star Wars meets light academia. A post-stasis Kix longfic. Clone medic Kix is a man displaced in time. Captured by Separatists and put into cryostasis when he learned the truth about the clones' inhibitor chips, he awakens fifty years after the end of the Clone Wars. The Republic is gone. The galaxy has changed. And now, the last clone trooper searches for answers with the help of a New Republic historian.

🍋 "Martyrs and Kings AND ZOMBIES!!!" 🍋 - a spooky, sexy one-shot sequel.

Jedi

Cal Kestis

Request: "Cuddles of consolation after a bad day" (GN)

501st Legion

Rex x Reader

🍋 "No Sleep Till Coruscant" 🍋

Request: "Soft looks while cuddling" (GN)

Jesse x Reader

Jesse First Kiss Ficlet (GN)

🍋 "In Which Jesse Gets What He Deserves" (AKA the cuddlefuck fic) 🍋  

🍋"She's Such a Scream"🍋  

Hardcase x Reader

"A Question of Seman-dicks" (GN)

"Hey, Sunshine 💙" (GN)

Dogma x Reader

Quote prompt ficlet (GN)

Tup x Reader

Tup fanart!

🍋 "Do It Again" 🍋

🍋 "Tup à Trois"🍋

The Bad Batch

Hunter x Reader

First kiss ficlet (GN)

🍋 "I Wish All Readers a Very Hunter Life Day"🍋

Crosshair x Reader

"I Know." (GN)

"The Plant Prowler of Pabu" (GN)

Tech x Reader

Request: "Feeling the rumble of their chest when they talk while cuddling/Needing their cuddles even though they have something else to do" (GN)

Request: "Putting your ear against their heart" (GN)

Wrecker x Reader

Request: "Trying to crawl under their shirt" (GN)

212th Attack Battalion

Commander Cody x Reader

"Someday" (GN)

🍋"The Night Before Someday"🍋 (GN)

Boil x Reader

"Double, Double Boil and Trouble (Part 1)" (GN)

"Double, Double Boil and Trouble (Part 2)"

"Double, Double Boil and Trouble (Part 3)"

🍋"Double, Double Boil and Trouble (Part 4)🍋

Art: "Boil deserves to feel pretty" (mildly 🍋. Let's say 🍊)

🍋"Double, Double Boil and Trouble (Part 5)"🍋

Waxer x Reader

"The Sixth Language (part 1)"

"The Sixth Language (part 2)"

"The Sixth Language (part 3)"

🍋 "The Sixth Language (part 4)" 🍋

"The Sixth Language (epilogue)"

104th Battalion - Wolfpack

Wolffe x Reader

"Sweet as Summer Rain"

🍋"Just a Little Bit More"🍋

Other Clones

Alpha-17 x Reader

🍋"Who's the Alpha Now?" 🍋 (GN)

🍋"Who's the Alpha Now? Part 2"🍋

Hound x Reader

🍋 “Watch and Learn, City Boy 🍋

T version | 🍋 E version 🍋

Neyo x Reader

🍋 "Everybody Hates Neyo." 🍋

🍋 "Everybody Hates Neyo Round 2: Matchmaking Boogaloo" 🍋 (reader got converted to OC)

Neyo first kiss ficlet (GN)

Mayday x Reader

Accidental first kiss ficlet (GN)

"A Match for Mayday, Chapter 1" (collaboration with @nika6q)

"A Match for Mayday, Chapter 2" 

🍋"A Match for Mayday, Chapter 3" 🍋

🍋"A Match for Mayday, Chapter 4" 🍋

O'Niner x Reader

🍋 "Nine Lives for Sergeant O'Niner" 🍋 (cowritten with @anxiouspineapple99) 

Sev (RC-1207) x Reader

"Are You Sure About This?" (GN)

🍋 “Turn It Up When You’re Gone.” 🍋 Part 1

🍋 “Turn It Up When You’re Gone.” 🍋 Part 2

🍋 “Turn It Up When You’re Gone.” 🍋 Part 3

Mandalorians

Jango Fett x Reader

"Promises and Pastry"  

Fenn Rau x Reader

🍋 Fenn Rau Thots 🍋

"The Protector of Chopper Base" (GN)

Please don't put my work through AI programs or repost elsewhere. Also, if you’d like custom dividers, feel free to send a request via DM or Ask; I love designing these! But please don’t use mine without permission.

#dystopicjumpsuit writes #sw fanfic #sw tcw fanfic #fanfic writing #ao3 link #ao3 fic #fanfiction #clone medic kix #delta squad #repcomm #republic commando #sev #sergeant hound #grizzer #coruscant guard #tcw fanfic #star wars #star wars tcw #clone simp #tcw kix #Kix x OFC #Sev x reader #hound x reader #hound x you #jango fett #Jango Fett x reader #jesse x reader #hunter x reader #captain rex x reader #commander neyo x reader

[vodika-vibes]

Welcome to my Masterlist version 3.0~

Well, actually, it’s a masterlist of my masterlists! I apparently had too many links for one masterlist and Tumblr said “lol, no.”

Anyway! Thank you for your patience while I sorted this whole mess out, and I hope you enjoy your stay!

Also! You can now give me a tip if that’s what makes you happy! But I certainly don’t expect you to do so! 

❤️❤️❤️ - Vod’ika

Writing Prompts

OC x Canon Characters Masterlist

Captain Keeli x Reader Masterlist

Other x Reader Masterlist - This masterlist currently consists of: Droidbait, Hevy, Sinker, Hound, Gregor and two of my own clone OCs

Clan Skirata x Reader Masterlist - This masterlist is currently made of up Darman, Mereel, Ordo, Atin, Prudii, A’den, Niner, Kom’rk, and Corr Skirata

Delta Squad x Reader Masterlist - Sev, Boss, Scorch, and Fixer

Mandalorian x Reader Masterlist - Consists of Boba Fett, Jango Fett, Jaster Mereel, and Mij Gilamar

Alpha-17 x Reader Masterlist - Consists of Alpha-17, and poly Alpha x Reader x Fordo

501st x Reader Masterlist - currently consists of Echo, Fives, Rex, Tup, Dogma, Jesse, Kix, and Hardcase

TBB Masterlist - consists of Hunter, Crosshair, Echo and Howzer

Commanders x Reader Masterlist - currently comprised of: Wolffe, Neyo, Thire, Fox, Thorn, Monnk, Bacara, Cody, Bly, Doom, Colt, Mayday, and Gree

Multi-Character List

Magic and Knights AU Masterlist - Consisting of: Wolffe, Jesse, Fox, Fives, Cody, Gregor, Hound, Tup, Boba, Howzer, Rex, Kix, Echo, Hunter, Dogma, Alpha-17, Fordo, Keeli, Bly, Neyo, and Crosshair

Ahsoka Travels to the past AU - Part 1, Part 2

Follower Celebration Jan-Feb 2024 - Consisting of Cody, Rex, Fives, Echo, Dogma, Jesse, Wolffe, Alpha-17, Tech, Wrecker, Hound, Crosshair, Sev, and Fixer

500 Followers Event: March-April 2024 - Consisting of Fives, Kix, Rex, Clone Assassin, Hunter, Crosshair, Howzer, Tech, Keeli, Ezra Bridger, Fox, Tup, Dogma, Sev, Jesse, Echo, Wrecker, Jango, Cody, Boss, Alpha-17, Fordo, Darman Skirata, Scorch, Fixer, Colt, Wilco, Atin,

Chapter 1 - Modern Star Wars AU - Commander Wolffe, Captain Rex, and Captain Gregor are trapped on an island where the rules are a little different than what they're used to.

#vod'ika masterlist

[book-of-baba-fett]

Illicit Affairs - Chapter 16

Captain Rex x OC

Previous Chapter

Chapter Summary: Captain Rex meets up with a few of his brothers, but the weight of the war and recent events take their toll. Talia has some time alone to recover and train.

A/N: I’M ALIVE! So sorry for the delay in this one; life has just been a LOT lately. One of the reasons this took so long was I wrote a giant chapter, which I actually decided to break in two so I can promise you another update in a week! Thanks to the wonderful @galacticgraffiti for not only beta reading, but also for the amazing new cover photo!!!

Chapter Rating: M

Warnings: Angst, mourning, general post breakup sadness, implied sex, drinking

Ao3 Link Series Masterlist

19 BBY - Coruscant

79’s was quiet. Well, as quiet as 79’s could get.

Clones of various battalions in different colored plastoid filled the booths and seats at the bar, but the dance floor was practically vacant, a more somber atmosphere hanging in the air tonight.

Rex had thought, almost three years ago now, that they would have made some progress in this damned war, but the longer it dragged on the further away victory seemed. Apart from the group he was with, Rex didn’t recognize any clones in the cantina. The generation ones were something of a myth now, something the shinies stared at as they whispered tales of rumored feats, hoping to live up to the status one day themselves. Rex could see why, as he sat at the booth with the Commanders; they all looked like they had been ravaged by war. Cody and Wolffe bore the obvious facial scars, with Wolffe’s eye particularly unnerving the shinies. Neyo’s reconnaissance helmet naturally set one on edge, with the two smooth edges and thin visor slots for his eyes. Bacara was…Bacara. Huge, and gruff, his face in what some took to be a perpetual grimace, covered with a full beard. Bly was the least intimidating of the bunch, but the lines on his face alluded to his age as well as an air that portrayed some inexplicable and unspeakable knowledge.  All of their armor was scuffed by blaster marks; the tally marks of campaigns and missed encounters with death.

It was rare for them all to be on Coruscant at the same time, as they usually mounted campaigns in the farthest reaches of the Republic, but leaves overlapped this night. There was a strange calm lately in the war, like the smooth swell of a wave about to break; you could see the threat of water about to burst but nothing could stop it. The troops all felt it, perhaps this group the most. They had been around so long, they now knew these nights on leave were little more than a false comfort. A brief escape from the beckoning of fate, because how much longer could this stand still go on?

Even for a lower energy in the bar, the drinks still flowed and the bass pounded on a level that threatened to form a headache in his ears, Rex couldn’t help but recall the last time he was at 79’s a far busier night than tonight.

It came to him like flashes of the strobe lights in the cantina; the loud laughter and the music, the way Tup had slyly grinned, Fives’ head tilting back in raucous laughter, Talia’s eyes sparkling at him as they danced together, the way she blushed when he leaned in to kiss her. Rex grabbed his glass and took a gulp, trying to bring himself back into the present.

The burn of his whiskey did little to numb the ache in his gut, the emptiness he felt at all times since he last saw Talia. The fight in her quarters had replayed in his head about a million times as much as he wished he could block it from his memory.

The hurt expression on Talia’s face lingered in his brain, the way her eyes welled with tears and her lips pursed in anger. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt her; in fact, he had almost lost the resolve to do what he had to do as soon as her voice started to crack in the moment. He’d had half a mind to step back on his words, tell her he didn’t mean any of it. But there was that voice in the back of his head, reminding him that they would only hit this point again. That, just like this war, there might be points of calm and even what might bring him happiness, but something was bound to crash and end it all. He made the decision to end it. For their own good. That didn’t mean he was happy with it.

Rex had never been so dedicated to his work as he had been in the past few weeks. Maybe early in the war, when he was a shiny hellbent on following protocol, but now it gave him an excuse to occupy himself. The work kept him busy and prevented his mind from wandering. It delayed the flashes of everything that had happened on Turia from playing in his mind.

Sleep was evading him as of late, half his dreams were spent still digging through rubble, or waiting outside the room of the medical station, where no good news came. The worst dreams were the ones where Talia was standing and staring at him, her beautiful features hauntingly so as the argument repeated. In some, she regarded him without a care, reminding him that he was beneath her anyway. In others, the scene replayed like it had in real life, with Rex shutting the door and walking away, hearing Talia crying from the other side of the door.  

Rex felt guilty, like the ache in his chest wasn’t something he was allowed to feel. After all, he didn’t feel the burn of the blaster shots he had fired. He was the one who ended things with Talia, he should be a man enough to come to terms with that. But it didn’t ease his own pain. And Talia’s reaction, and the words she had thrown at him still lurched his gut every time he thought about them.

Is that what you really think or what you were bred to? It wasn’t the first time he had similar words tossed at him. Normally they came in prejudiced tones from someone talking down to him, or occasionally from a brother trying to encourage him to see things a bit differently. But never from Talia. Those words were venom spouting from her lips, the same lips that had spoken to him so sweetly, curved in that mesmerizing way that his eyes couldn’t help but flick to them before he would steal a kiss. He didn’t know they had the capability to be cruel.

What was worse, in a way, was that he knew Talia had not meant to hurt him. But she had been so careless to say it, it flew off her tongue so easily. Was that all he really was to her, just another clone bred for war? He couldn’t believe that, not from her, but it didn’t make it sting any less.

“Credit for your thoughts, vod?” Cody asked, his brow raised as he elbowed Rex in the side. Rex shook his head out, trying to clear his thoughts as he returned to the table.

“Just tired is all,” Rex shrugged off Cody’s questioning look; he knew Cody saw right through him, but wouldn’t say anything with the present company around. Cody frowned and glanced over at the bar.

“That girl over there has been staring at you,” Cody mumbled, “Could be a good idea to get out some stress.”

Rex glanced over at the bar, sure enough there was a woman sitting at a stool at the corner of the bar, long, curly brown hair falling to her waist. She kept tossing glances over to the table, offering Rex a sly smile when he made eye contact. He could see she was attractive to some, and maybe if Rex were a younger man he would have gone for it. But things had changed, and the woman sitting at the bar wasn’t the woman he would be wanting to go home with.

Rex just shook his head at Cody and returned to his drink, “Not interested.”

Before Cody could make another attempt, Bacara huffed a deep laugh across the table. “What, not blond enough for you Rex’ika?”

Rex glanced at the commander across the table, his brows furrowed as he tried to read the teasing smirk growing on Bacara’s face. Rex was used to teasing remarks about his hair from vod, something that came from naturally standing out when the Kaminoans were usually sticklers for uniformity. Bacara shrugged and leaned in, “Heard you had a little fun with a certain general here a while back.”

Rex’s blood ran cold as he processed Bacara’s words, but he maintained a straight face. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Rumour has it you and General Riva got a little bit close on the dance floor,” Bacara shrugged, his eyebrow wiggling as he took a sip from his drink.

“It’s a bar, people dance sometimes.” Rex answered bluntly, his jaw clenching. Beside him he could feel Cody shift, releasing a slight sigh.

“Come on, nothing to be ashamed of Rex’ika,” Bacara teased a flash of white teeth peeking between his beard. “I haven’t worked with General Riva much, but when I have, she was pretty attractive and if you could get with that-“

“He wasn’t getting with that,” Wolffe grunted from the other side of the table. All heads turned to Wolffe; Rex met Wolffe’s for a second before the commander rolled them to meet Bacara’s. “I was there, they were dancing. I know you don’t get enough action to tell the difference, but that’s not ‘getting’ anything.”

Bacara’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at Wolffe, flicking his eyes to Rex then back to Wolffe. He huffed and leaned back, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “I heard they made out on the dance floor.”

Wolffe snorted a laugh, “I think Rex’ika had a little too much to drink and got carried away with himself. He could never hold his liquor, isn’t that right, Rex?”

“Yeah,” Rex gritted out, a bit too bitter at first. He dropped the tone and fixed Bacara with a cool gaze and leveled words, “You know how it is when you have one drink too many, one thing can lead to another-“

“Ehh, whatever, I’m just messing with you,” Bacara waved off, already bored with the conversation since it really didn’t give him the information he wanted. “Should’ve known you didn’t have the balls to pull something like that.”

Rex worked his jaw but kept his mouth shut. Wolffe shot Rex a quick glare that simply read ‘you owe me’ while Cody pinched the bridge of his nose before tossing back his drink and returning to the conversation.

Fuck, Talia was the last thing Rex wanted to think of right now. And having his own carelessness flung in his face just stung, a reminder of why things had to end the way they did. How many people were talking?

Rex leaned back in his chair, and even with the group already on to another topic of conversation he still felt eyes on him. Rex glanced up to see Bly carefully watching him, a curious, almost pitying look on his face.  The perk of sharing a face with his brothers meant it was easier to tell the emotions they wore; even though each brother had his own way of expressing himself, a brother could see things on another’s face that natborns could miss. Still, there was no way to really read the thoughts inside Bly’s head, but Rex was suddenly brought back to something else from that last night at 79’s; a conversation with Wolffe about Bly and General Secura. Was Bly staring at Rex so pensively because, even if Rex had brushed it off, Bly had a gut feeling about the truth behind Rex’s denials? Rex wanted to ask Bly if he and Aayla were making it work, how they were making it work? But Rex also knew that he could never ask, and that even if Bly and Aayla were together, the answer would only be complicated. A clone and a Jedi. Two paths that were smooth when walking side by side, but once they crossed the road became rocky.

One drink turned into another, and soon, Rex’s head was foggy and the lights blurred a little bit as he turned his head. The boys got a bit rowdier, and a few of the girls who worked as dancers in the bar had come over to join – Rex wasn’t sure if they had been called over or if it was just such a dead night in the bar they had to resort to a more personal way of attracting clients. After so many years, Rex recognized some of them, and had even had conversations with them on similarly slow nights such as this. But he wasn’t in a chatty mood tonight. Something his brothers didn’t seem to notice or mind, only Cody casting a frown at Rex every now and then.  At one point their voices rose in greeting and Rex’s gaze finally lifted from his focused gaze on the melting ice in his glass, but his stomach turned.

Two figures in Corrie guard red had entered the bar, their footsteps leading them in the direction of the booth as they were hailed. Thire and Fox. He couldn’t stay here.

He mumbled an excuse under his breath and began to slide out of the booth, as he stood, he caught Cody’s eye once more that night. Cody just nodded at Rex, a look of exhaustion on his face. Rex made his way to the bar, on his way passing the guard members; he was sure Fox stopped for a moment, maybe even said his name, but Rex couldn’t hear over the music in the club and the rushing blood in his ears.

Rex slid into a stool at the bar and clenched his fists, trying to steady his breath. He didn’t blame Fox, not really. The only thing he could fault him for was not setting his blasters to stun. Rex knew how things were in the heat of the moment, and he couldn’t begrudge a brother for a judgment call on the field. Hell, he knew Fox was accustomed to grieving a close brother now since the recent events on Scipio and Thorn’s death.  But Rex had a hard time meeting Fox’s eyes, or staying in his presence too long knowing he had been the one to kill Fives.

The last time they were here, he and Fives had been in almost this exact spot, squeezing their way through the throngs to order drinks from the busy bartender. Rex couldn’t remember what they had been talking about, but Rex knew that at some point in the conversation, his eyes had caught on Talia as she stood at a nearby table, chatting with some of her men from the 412th. Her smile was wide, her hair a bit wild and astray from being in the club, her cheeks flushed, and Rex couldn’t take his eyes off her. There had been the comforting warmth in his chest, a soft grin on his lips before he’d been nudged in the gut. Rex straightened and glared at Fives, who was wearing an all too smug smirk. 

“Have you told her yet?” Fives had asked, nodding at the bartender as she handed over his and Rex’s drink. 

“Told her what?” Rex had been confused, not sure what Fives was getting at, grabbing his glass and leaning back against the counter, his eyes once again instinctively flicking to where Talia stood. 

“That you love her,” Fives stated quickly, nuding Rex’s arm once more as his eyes lit up. “That your galaxy revolves around her, you would do anything for her, or something along those lines; that's what they say in the holos anyway.” 

Rex shook his head, ignoring the nervous twist in his gut as he avoided what Fives had pointed out, “Things aren’t as simple as they are in the holos, Fives.” 

Fives rolled his eyes at that, “But what are you waiting for? And, you can’t tell me you don’t because you’re a horrible liar.”

Rex did laugh at that, even if he was annoyed at his brother’s pestering. Rex sipped from his drink, knowing he couldn’t just ignore Fives completely. He fixed his brother with a look and glanced back at Talia, then back to Fives. Rex had known then that Fives was right; time wasn’t something they were graced with, Rex didn’t take it for granted because he had seen too often what time cut short looked like. 

“Fives,” Rex’s voice lowered, a frown creasing on his lips as he fumbled for words. He looked at Talia again as he continued, “If something were to happen to me…if i didn’t…you would keep an eye out for her, right?” 

“Don’t talk like that,” Fives’ grin had disappeared, that determined look he often had falling on his face. “You’re Captain Rex, you're basically invincible.”

“If only,” Rex added in a huff. “Just promise me-”

“I said don’t talk like that,” Fives insisted, he sighed and nodded. “You know I would, but I don’t like to think like that. We’ve lost too much. We’re going to make it out of this mess, and at the end of this you, Tal, and I will probably be back here at 79’s celebrating.”

 Rex had sat at this bar so many times with Fives. Sometimes he drove Rex crazy, but he was also one of the people Rex trusted most in this galaxy. And now Rex couldn’t help but feel like he had failed Fives.

A drink slid in front of him, another whiskey on the rocks and Rex glanced up curiously; a server droid had dropped it off so he couldn’t even clarify that he didn’t order it before someone tapped his shoulder.

“You seem stressed, figured you could use a drink,” the stranger said, a human woman with pale skin, freckles speckled on her nose and kind brown eyes. She had long golden hair, sleek and shiny as it framed her face. Rex nodded in thanks. The woman took the seat next to him, holding her own drink, something bright pink and fruity looking,she held it out, clanking it to Rex’s and took a sip.

Rex sat in silence, watching the replays of a bolo-ball match before she spoke again, “I’m Naobe, by the way.”

“Rex,” he stated, glancing at her again. She was completely facing him, the dip of her neckline showing the curve of her breasts. Rex’s eyes darted back up to her face. She offered him a coy grin.

“So, do you come here a lot, Rex?” Naobe asked, a light giggle in her voice as if she were making a good joke.

“When I’m not shooting clankers,” Rex answered bluntly, something Naobe seemed to find more hilarious than her own comment as she laughed out loud. 

Rex raised a brow at her but was jolted with familiarity. She had a dimple on her left cheek like Talia had. Rex tried to ignore it, the little innocuous detail that probably belonged to half the people in the galaxy, but now he was just flashing back to another moment with Talia, her head bent back and laughing, how she would smile, and that dimple would come out.

Naobe was insistent, continuing to make conversation with Rex and he did warm up; she was friendly, and even without the aid of alcohol he would find her attractive. Maybe that’s why he didn’t care how she shifted closer to him, her foot nudging his, her knuckles grazing the back of his as he held his glass, her hand resting on his shoulder. When the lights of the bar turned brighter, signaling the end of another night she mentioned her place nearby. Rex offered to walk her home; it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

As they go to the apartment doors, she offered to invite him up for another drink. Why not, Rex thought, it’s a long walk back to the barracks anyway. 

In her small apartment, it was clear she had little intention of finishing the drinks she poured for them. Rex didn’t stop her when she straddled his lap, taking her shirt off and leaned down to kiss him. It felt good to touch her, to hold someone. He wanted this. A chance to work out the stress that had been building up. He just had to ignore that strange sense of guilt gnawing at him.

Talia awoke in darkness, the weight of the room enveloping her, the unfamiliar surroundings stealing the air out of her lungs. She lay in bed, her limbs tight and still asleep, her skin clammy as her heart pounded, gasping breaths leaving her body. Slowly her reality came back to her as her eyes adjusted to the shadows in the small room, even without light there was an unnatural glow to the white of the surfaces. She steadied her breath, trying to block out the images tattooed in her mind from her nightmare; the rocks falling in, the flames scorching her skin, the child crying as she tried to hold on, the rain from Turia continuing to pour and seep through the cracks of the rubble.

But the rain pelting against her window wasn’t the constant drizzle of Turia, and the terrain wasn’t the lush forests that bled into mountains. It was the torrential downpour of Kamino, no green or plantlife outside, just the massive waves breaking against the structures of Tipoca City.

Talia slowly pushed herself to sit upright in the small bed, her sheets all messy from her restless sleep. She glanced out the window, watching the streaking water droplets race to the bottom of the rim, her breath calming as she watched the rocking and swaying of the waves. They almost looked like mountains with how high they rose, with the seafoam bursting as the waves broke being their snow caps.

It had to be early dawn, by the eerie glow across the sky from behind the cover of clouds; the grey clouds mingling with the deep blue of the ocean as they met on the horizon. One time, Rex had told Talia that her eyes reminded him of early dawns on Kamino. Talia had never liked her eyes, feeling they weren’t remarkable blues to stand out, but dulled by grayness.  But Rex had made them sound more beautiful and precious than gemstones, telling her how they reminded him of home. Talia shut the blinds and started to get ready for another long day.

The 412th stopped over in Kamino as a convenient stop when they needed repairs, and it gave them a chance to integrate some new troops into their forces. The Kaminoans were eager for Talia to meet with them; they didn’t have a Jedi trainer on Kamino at the moment and it seemed they were hoping the Council would send her to fill the spot Shaak Ti had left vacant when she had returned to Coruscant. But Talia struggled to think of worse scenarios than being trapped on a planet with men who shared the face of the one who broke her heart.

It had been a jolt to the gut, walking down the halls the previous day and hearing his voice echoed along the walls. But to Talia, the worst pain was knowing it wasn’t him; everything felt like a shadow of Rex - close but not quite right. And what hurt her most was how little the Kaminoans seemed to regard the clones when they talked about the future of the army. The Kaminoans clearly saw them just as property, an order they were producing for the Republic. They asked Talia for her thoughts on how the clones acted in battle, had her examine training sessions, she even sat in on an instruction for a group of cadets. Young boys, the age where they should be playing and having fun, sitting in a room staring at screens all day to study warfare. Talia understood the need for training; as a Jedi she had learned how to fight and defend herself from a young age; but there was more to Temple life than just the lessons. There were trips to other planets, holidays at the Temple, and goofing off with the other Padawans; there was fun.

The Council had thankfully been clear with the Kaminoans that Talia wasn’t there to stay, but they had their own plans in mind for her future. Talia had returned to Coruscant after Turia. The 412th had shore leave and it gave Talia a proper time to heal from her injuries. But Talia had had little time to relax, from being summoned to talk with Master Plo about how the Council felt it was a good idea for her to think about training a Padawan. I took every bit of Talia’s restraint to not laugh in the Master’s face; her, with a Padawan? How could she bring a Youngling under her wing and train them with all she knew when it seemed her only knowledge was failure? 

Talia assumed it was the Council trying to prod her into a different direction, give her a sense of maturity like they had done with Anakin when he began to train Ashoka; but look how well that turned out for the parties involved. Master Plo spoke of Talia’s future path in the order, how a Padawan could be a good step for her to continue her own training and eventually become a Master. Plo had always had high hopes for her, yet Talia felt like he was just another person she would let down.

Talia felt stuck. Torn between wanting to withdraw from the war effort because she couldn’t handle the back and forth of victory and death but she was unable to stand by and do nothing. She was too devoted to Storm, to all of her men, to leave them in the hands of another. Sometimes she wondered if she would be better off alone, working as an investigator for the Temple like she had always trained to do, disappearing for months at a time in a position where she had her excuses to ignore the Council’s constant badgering. But the idea of being on her own for too long terrified her; she knew of some Jedi who went years without contacting the Order, who lived in such remote corners of the Galaxy that it was like they didn’t exist. Would that be her future? Or would she train her own Padawan, rising through the Temple hierarchy and potentially sit on the Council one day? What scared Talia most, was how she couldn’t see anything she understood in her path. She was not blessed with keen foresight like the Temple Seers, but she did have visions from time to time.

The ones of Maul were what haunted her the most, but it had been months since she had seen the burning eyes of the Zabrak. She was now thinking Dooku’s taunts were nothing more, some tool he had used against her to try and bring out some sliver of fear in her.  Perhaps what she had thought of as visions were really nothing more than nightmares, her mind playing tricks on her using dark memories of her past. Another dream she had, one that had recurred ever since she was a child was one she couldn’t explain; each time she had it, it came more clear than before, the edges of her mind less blurred, the detail crisper and even though it wasn’t real she couldn’t ignore the sense of foreboding it held.

It always started the same. Talia was floating, up in the air of Coruscant outside the Jedi Council chamber. There was a meeting, but she couldn’t hear what the Masters were saying, their voices muffled and lost to the wind. The sky darkened and one by one each Master faded into shadow until the sky was black, the only light in the room from a blue saber, with a hooded figure wielding it.

Talia never truly understood it, at first looking back and thinking it was a warning sign for the start of the Clone Wars. But she still had it from time to time, the eminent feeling of danger prickling her skin every time she awoke after it, even though the dream itself wasn’t frightening. The only thing she could ever understand from it was that feeling she had of always being on the outside, out of reach for what the Council was planning.

Talia glanced at the chronometer, she had too busy a day ahead of her to dwell on dreams, but still had enough time in her morning for a training session.

One good feature of the Kaminoan facilities was the amount of training rooms. Most were large and sprawling, meant to handle large drills and exercises among the cadets. But a few smaller rooms existed, better meant for close range and hand-to-hand training. Talia knew she could have called Storm in, but she felt he deserved more than to be poisoned by her down mood. Gone was the panicked chill of her dreams; now, a burning anger festered in her body. 

Talia took her wrath out on an innocent punching bag, hitting it until her knuckles were raw, kicking it, and even launching it across the room with the Force in an attempt to channel her rage. What frustrated her the most, and added to the fire, was that she really couldn’t define her irritation by one specific reason. She was frustrated that she had been fighting a war for almost three years now that it seemed no one could win. She was pissed that she had lost more men than she could possibly remember the names of, and that at this moment she was in a facility that cranked out more of them to fill the places left vacant, as if they were replaceable parts of a machine. She was mad at The Council for letting this war go on as long as they did, for getting involved as much as they were, for not seeing it coming in the first place.

The anger cooled with each blow against the bag, but it didn’t cease. It just festered, a chilling wrath that seeped into her bones. Because it wasn’t just anger; Talia was also afraid. She didn’t know what her life would be outside this war. She couldn’t see it; she just saw the clouds of death approaching. That prickling feeling that she would be lost like so many others, another body in the mass grave of lives claimed by this maddening war.

Talia summoned the bag back with the Force, only to smash it back against the wall. She called it, and slammed it away again, each time grunting and letting that cool rage simmer. Faces flashed in her mind; all the men and villagers that were slaughtered by Maul, Sergeant Church before he was gunned down by droids, her Master being shot down on Geonosis by the very template for all the clones she cared about.

Talia screamed, a guttural and anguished yell escaping her as she pulled the bag back to toss it away again, but instead of flying across the room the bag was struck by blue bolts leaving her fingertips. The room glowed from the lightning expelling her body, her arm rigid as the energy surged through her. Talia grunted, forcing her arm back down and the lightning ceased. Her knees hit the cool floor, her other hand lowering to catch her fall as Talia fought to catch her breath, staring at the hand that just shot the lightning.

She hadn’t been able to recreate it since her captivity by Dooku, not that she had tried to; the Council made it very clear that it was forbidden, a power she had only used when channeling the fear and anger inside her. Talia turned her hand over, expecting to see some sign of injury but it looked the same as always, not as if unimaginable power had just struck from it. A power that terrified her. But it felt good to use, to expel that negative energy and rage from her system.

Like the last time, Talia felt a bit weak, but she pushed herself up; the bag was a bit singed but still useable. Talia summoned it back and took her stance; it wouldn’t hurt to practice this a bit more really; no one from the Council was there to know anyway. And a part of her wouldn’t care if they did find out.

—

Next Chapter

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[wanderinginksplot]

Gar Cyare Chapter Two

More Alpha-17/fem!reader!

Word Count: 6,200 (ouch)

Warnings: Mentions of fights, mentions of punching, reference to past abuse, reference to murder, descriptions of self-defense training, mentions of drunkenness.

*I'm actually going to include translations before my author's note because this is an extremely Mando'a-heavy chapter!

Previous | Next | Masterlist

---

Nynir (Strike)

Alpha was watching you. 

It wasn’t like you particularly objected to that. After all, he did it often enough that you would have thought you’d be accustomed to it by now. And, to be fair, you watched him in exactly the same way - like you were suffering silently until the next moment you could touch him, even if it was just to brush against him ‘accidentally’. 

But you didn’t think it was that, especially since your fingers were currently laced together under the cover of his kama. Between you and Alpha, you had quickly discovered that the kama, as well as being the mark of a distinguished warrior, made an excellent cover for hand-holding. Alpha said it was the most useful thing it had ever done. 

That only made you melt a little bit.

But he was still watching you, a considering light in his dark eyes, and it was starting to make you nervous.

You rested your fork politely on your napkin and turned to face him directly. “You’re staring at me, Alpha. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Do you want to fight?” he asked nonsensically.

You blinked at him, allowing yourself a beat before you gathered yourself enough to ask dryly, “I would have thought we had done enough of that last week.”

Alpha laughed, the sound rich and tingle-inducing. “Not exactly what I meant, little one. Do you want to learn how to defend yourself?"

"Oh," you said ineloquently. It wasn't a bad idea, though you profoundly hoped you never had to go through another situation like the Separatist attack. "It would probably be smart."

"I think so," he agreed. "And, fortunately for you, you'll have the best trainer on Kamino."

"Best trainer on Kamino?" Monnk asked, sliding into a seat at your table. "Did T’vert come back?" 

"Nah, never," Drift argued. "Don't you remember how badly things went wrong on that departure day? The Kamiini swore, never again. He has to be talking about Zarll."

"Isn't he a politician now?" Neyo asked, joining the group and the conversation. "And I only asked to be polite. He's a politician now. Why are we talking about Zarll?"

"Trying to figure out who the best trainer on Kamino is," Drift reported.

Neyo looked thoughtful for half a moment. "Has to be Trem. Have you seen her cadets? Most of them will end up as ARCs someday, watch for it."

Alpha gave a piercingly loud whistle to draw the attention of the chatting ARCs. "Thanks for the ego boost, men. Who invited you here, again?"

"You did," Monnk reminded him. 

"Regretting that, Captain?" Drift asked with a cheerful grin. 

"Always," Alpha grumbled. "You almost done, neverd'ika? I'm losing brain cells with company like these idiots."

"Yeah, I'm done," you agreed, and Alpha took your tray to discard everything on it. He had started doing that recently, claiming he was tired of waiting for you to politely make your way through the line. He cut through lines almost exclusively, a practice you watched with a shake of your head.

"What training are you doing?" Monnk asked, pulling your attention away from your boyfriend towering over cadets as he briskly disposed of your collected garbage.

"Oh, uh…" This wasn't a secret, right? Alpha was a secretive man, but surely he wouldn't care if his ARCs knew. "We've decided that I should learn how to take care of myself. Like, in a self-defense situation."

You weren't sure what reaction you would have expected, but blank stares and silence weren't quite it.

"And the captain offered to train you?" Drift asked, inferring from this new information and what he had overheard.

"Yes," you replied, arriving to sound serene rather than concerned by their skepticism.

That silence was laden with tension and sideways glances shared between the men. You did your best to wait patiently for someone to say something, but when the quiet stretched, you broke.

"What? What's wrong with Alpha offering to train me?"

Neyo was the first one to speak, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "The captain is a great trainer, but… he's tough."

"I know that," you replied, bewildered. You didn't think anyone could have survived so long here on Kamino if they weren't tough.

Neyo shook his head. "Right now, you know it in the abstract. If he trains you, you'll see it in-person. I've seen him make a nat-born cry with a look."

"I've heard him punish someone by ordering him to run laps," Monnk told you. "He didn't let the man stop for five hours."

"He's threatened me eight times today," Drift pitched in, sounding inordinately proud of that fact.

"Ready?" Alpha asked, coming back to the table. With three sympathetic pairs of eyes aimed in your direction, you nodded and stood to follow Alpha, feeling like someone doomed.

Alpha had suggested you start the next afternoon, spending the hours before dinner together. You had hedged slightly, reminding him that you were still working to regain the muscle you had lost in your injured leg.

"That's why it's so important," he had countered. "You've lost your weapon - that crutch. You have to be your own weapon now."

So you had agreed to meet with him, dressed in the workout clothes you had optimistically brought with you to Kamino and never worn.

"The first thing you need to focus on," Alpha started, dressed in his own workout gear, "is blocking a hit."

"That's the first lesson?" you asked, only slightly embarrassed at how squeaky your voice sounded. "It feels like there are other things I could learn first. Easier things."

“Easier things? Sure,” Alpha confirmed with a nod. “But not more useful. If you can block a hit, you can set yourself up to return it. I don’t think you understand how much damage a well-aimed punch is capable of…”

He trailed off, voice odd, and you noticed that his eyes were tracing the edge of your cheekbone. The bruise had long since faded, but - judging from the gentle way Alpha’s fingers smoothed over its exact boundaries on your face - he hadn’t forgotten about it. There didn’t seem to be any reason to bring it up directly, so you didn’t. 

As it turned out, you didn’t need to. With his warm fingers brushing your face and his warm gaze locked with yours, Alpha’s jaw clenched slightly. “Say the word, neverd’ika… One little word and I’ll kill that beroya aruetii.” 

That wasn’t quite the romantic declaration you had expected, but you probably should have. Alpha had made it clear that your safety was one of his top priorities, and he was extremely willing to resort to violence if he deemed it necessary. 

“I appreciate that, Alpha,” you started, smiling despite yourself at the offer. “But I think it would be better if I just ignore Doni and learn to take care of myself.”

Alpha frowned heavily at you. “Why do you know that di’kut’s name?”

You snorted. “Because I can’t pronounce ba-bertoya arn-arueta.”

Despite your stumbled pronunciation of the unfamiliar words, the heat flared in Alpha’s eyes. “I need a warning if you’re gonna start speaking Mando’a. It’s… distracting.”

“Yeah?” you asked, your pulse quickening.

“Okay, so blocking…” Alpha diverted, launching into a lecture about how to perform a proper block.

It turned out that there was more to it than you had originally assumed. A block was just what you did to stop a punch before it could land, but there were so many things Alpha wanted you to remember.

When he finally told you to try a blocking stance, you obliged. You spread your feet apart for sake of balance and held your hands up in front of your face, feeling faintly ridiculous as you peered up at Alpha from between your half-cupped palms.

He studied that stance, eyes narrowing. With the way the lines bracketing his mouth and furrowing between his eyebrows deepened, you assumed he didn’t like what he saw. Before you could ask what exactly you were doing wrong, Alpha reached out, pressed the tips of two fingers to your shoulder, and gave a gentle nudge.

You swayed backward dangerously, only just managing to catch yourself. Alpha tapped your chin, his way clear since you had dropped your blocking hands while you adjusted your stance.

“And now I’ve punched you in the jaw,” he said. “You’re probably unconscious.”

“How was I supposed to know you weren’t going to give me any feedback?” you asked, half-laughing.

“That was your feedback,” Alpha told you, looking nonplussed at your inability to follow his imaginary instructions. “If I can hit you, you aren’t blocking right.”

You huffed at him. “Come on, Alpha. At least tell me what I’m doing wrong.”

Alpha motioned for you to set up your stance again, then he walked a tight circle around you, blowing out a heavy sigh as he did. “First, stop standing like that. Your feet are too straight. You want your non-dominant foot forward, but keep your weight on your back foot.”

“My leg still isn’t back to full strength,” you reminded him.

From the understanding on Alpha’s face, that reminder was unnecessary. “I know, neverd’ika. If it starts to hurt, tell me, but I need you to push yourself now. It’s not going to get stronger unless you work on rebuilding that strength.”

You nodded, adjusting into the stance he had suggested as you raised your hands again.

Alpha was shaking his head before you even finished settling into place. “Your arms need to be tighter against your sides. Move your hands closer to your face. No, more than that. More than-”

His breathing stuttered like he had only just managed to keep himself from sighing again. Gently, he nudged your elbows, forearms, and hands until they were in a position he deemed acceptable for blocking. When he was done, your elbows were clasped tight to your sides, your forearms pressed to your chest and your hands hovering somewhere around your jawline.

“Alpha, this feels ridiculous,” you informed him.

He shrugged. “That’s how you block a hit. I don’t know what else to tell you. You’re covering most vital organs and vulnerable spots, and your hands are close enough to your face that you can reach up to block a hit there.”

“I thought you told me not to block with my hands?” 

“Yeah, don’t,” Alpha agreed with an approving nod, ignoring your frustrated look. “But you can lead with your hand to get your forearm or elbow in place.”

“But how do I- ah!” 

You interrupted your own question with a short exclamation of surprise as Alpha tried to tap your face again. But you saw his movement before he made contact and your arm came up of its own volition. Without checking in with your brain, your body used the long bone of your forearm to swipe his hand away.

“Good!” Alpha congratulated warmly as you gave a hesitant smile from behind your hands. “That was a block. A small one. Against a slow, light hit. But still, it’s a start.”

You grimaced at how quickly that praise had devolved, but nodded anyway. It felt silly to talk this way, standing in a position ready to guard against a hit, but you weren’t about to lower your arms. What if you couldn’t bring them back up fast enough when he tried to mock-hit you again? 

“Hold on,” Alpha said, moving exceptionally slowly to wrap his hand around your wrist. 

His fingers closed around the delicate bone of your wrist, giving you time to prepare for his touch before he gently pulled and pushed at your arm. You were holding yourself so tightly, keeping your posture stiff, that your entire body swayed as Alpha moved your arm.

“That’s what I thought,” he chided. “You have to hold your arms more loosely.”

“But this is the blocking pose you told me to use,” you argued.

Alpha shook his head. “I told you this would protect most of your vulnerable spots, including your face. But if I go for the area below your ribs-” He touched his fingertips to the spot he had mentioned, your block doing absolutely nothing to get in his way since your elbows were anchored to the front of your body. “-then you want to move to stop me.”

“But if I don’t hold my arms this tightly, aren’t I more likely to hurt myself if I try to block a punch?” you asked. “I don’t want to punch myself in the face.”

Despite himself, Alpha chuckled at that. “That is a concern. But you’ll learn to make your muscles firm when you’re blocking. Being able to block well in only one spot is less important than being able to block less completely but still effectively anywhere on your body. Does that make sense?”

“So, I’m…” you struggled to find the right words. “I’m sacrificing better efficiency for the sake of better coverage?”

“Yeah, basically,” Alpha said with a shrug. “You’ll learn to be more effective over time, but it’ll take a lot of practice.”

And he did his best to make sure you got a good bit of that practice. You blocked and dodged and blocked some more, but Alpha’s speed and strength never increased. Finally, after you had managed to block nearly a dozen ‘hits’ in a row, you took a step back and nodded at him.

“I think I’m ready for you to speed up or hit harder.”

Alpha stared at you, hard. “Why don’t you let me decide when it’s time to move things forward?”

“Sure,” you agreed easily. He was the trainer, after all. “When do you think that time will come?”

“Let’s talk about hitting,” he suggested instead.

That seemed a little odd to you, which was the only reason you noticed how the subject moved in much the same order as blocking had: Alpha explained the process to you, taught you how to perform the basic movement, then let you practice it. 

When it came time to hit, you ‘punched’ him the same way he had ‘punched’ you earlier: small taps meant to make contact or maybe be slightly annoying rather than painful. However, Alpha was having none of that.

“No, you need to be using your full force here,” he lectured after your second intentionally harmless tap. “You need the practice.”

“But you weren’t using full force for your hits earlier when I was practicing blocks,” you pointed out. 

Alpha shot a sardonic look in your direction. “And you aren’t sure why I wouldn’t?”

“No, I think I have that part figured out,” you replied. Your own sarcastic expression wasn’t nearly as well-developed, but you managed. “But I would have expected you to put a little power behind it since blocking is the most useful thing I could learn.”

“You’re misunderstanding me on purpose,” Alpha complained.

“No, I think you just didn’t think about the fact that teaching me to fight would lead to you having to spar with me.” Alpha’s face didn’t change - his mask of soldier’s professionalism was too strong for that - but something shifted in his eyes and you realized with a start that you had guessed correctly. “That’s it, isn’t it? You don’t want to actually hit me.”

That was such a ridiculous thing to complain about that you struggled with a strong feeling of idiocy… until Alpha’s jaw twitched with how hard he was clenching it.

“I… won't. I can't hit you. I can't even try.” Alpha grimaced at you.

You nodded thoughtfully. "What if I put on the right gear? Helmet and gloves and anything else I would need to protect me?"

Alpha frowned as if he was taking a moment to picture that. “Still no. It's not that I'm worried you would get hurt - even if that's part of it, too - but I just don't think I could take a swing at you. Not if I wanted to mean it in a way that would help you get better. Makes me a useless trainer, huh?”

“Not useless, just…” you trailed, searching for a less offensive word. “Just a little less effective.”

He didn't respond to that, not with anything more than a grunt. You pressed on, knowing he was unhappy about this unforeseen problem. "You can still teach me the basics, right? Enough to help me not get annihilated if I ever get into a bad situation?"

He shook his head. "Don't think you're getting out of this that easily. You still need to learn how to defend yourself. Even if it isn't me teaching you."

You almost wanted to laugh at the begrudging tone he used, but you were too busy being nervous. "Who do you think I should ask? Maybe Monnk? Or maybe Neyo instead…"

"Like hell," Alpha denied instantly. "I'll find someone, and it won't be any of my di'kutla men. It'll be someone I trust. Now, we were working on punches."

Almost two full days had passed by the time Alpha mentioned the other trainer again. When he did, it was only to tell you to brace yourself.

You frowned at him after that pronouncement. "What do you mean? I thought you were going to find someone you trust?"

"I was," he replied, an unfamiliar defensive note in his voice. "But then I remembered that I don't trust anyone."

"Alpha…"

"I'm sorry, neverd'ika," he apologized. "I was talking to one of the other trainers about who I should ask and she got it in her head that I was asking her."

That was an unexpected bit of social confusion you wouldn't have pictured Alpha falling prey to. It was far closer to the things you had done in the past, too polite to correct someone, even if their misunderstanding put you in an awkward position. A comedy of manners you would have thought he was immune to.

"And it was too uncomfortable to correct her," you summarized sympathetically.

“What?” Alpha asked, but your point seemed to process before you actually repeated anything. His face cleared of confusion for a moment before it changed to one of derision. “No. Kriff that. I told her flat-out that I don’t want her around and that I just wanted to know who she would recommend.”

“Alpha!” you admonished, even as you internally admitted that lined up much more closely with what you knew about him. “Was she offended?”

“Yes, but it’s worse than that,” Alpha told you, deadpan. “She’s insisting on training you anyway. Something about a misplaced sense of sympathy.”

“Sympathy?”

“Misplaced?”

The second question hadn’t been yours, and you turned to see where it had come from. 

The newest arrival was a female you vaguely recognized from around the training areas. She wasn’t an ARC trainer - you would have known her better if she had been - but you had seen her around the rooms used for flight training. Not that you had a lot to do with the pilots, but the female was fairly unique among the trainers.

She was a female Weequay with all that entailed. Her cheekbones were pronounced, jutting out under her eyes and giving them slight protection that was augmented by her brow ridge. The bridge of her nose was partially covered by a fold of skin that seemed ready to deflect a hit. Her jaw had a line of fine bone spikes for even more protection. Though her skin was leathery and tough like every other Weequay you had met, it seemed slightly smoother than that of Weequay males. She had a few long braids augmented with metallic ornaments that matched the rings encircling her neck.

The female was taller and slender, wearing clothes that were baggier than you would have expected - only clinging tightly enough around her hips and thighs to support the weight of the multitude of their own pockets. Her shirt was sleeveless, but her lower arms were wrapped in a layer of bandages or tape that went down to her hands, leaving only her fingers free. The muscle of her upper arms and the bends of her elbows were covered in metallic studs that you couldn’t quite figure out the purpose of.

Overall, she was a striking and intimidating figure, especially when she folded her arms and looked you up and down.

“This her?” she asked, her voice direct and slightly hoarse.

“Yeah,” Alpha confirmed. He stepped toward her slightly, lowering his voice, but you could still hear him clearly as he warned, “Don't be a besom.”

“I'm always a besom,” she replied, unimpressed at the way he was trying to use his height against her.

“Nice to meet you,” you said politely, trying to cut off any disagreement between the two. 

They both glanced in your direction - the Weequay wearing a slight smirk while Alpha just looked resigned. 

"Zackra Trem," he told you, gesturing to the female. 

"I've seen you around, but we've never gotten the chance to meet," you explained. "You train the pilots, correct?"

"As much as someone can train a soldier replicated from human genes," she told you, winking before tossing a sly look back at Alpha.

Alpha, as expected, looked unamused. "Shut it, Trem. How are you even gonna train her with those baggy clothes on?"

"Baggy clothes? You see about as much as a civvie on a good day, Seventeen. Today, you’re just embarrassing yourself." With a smirk to accompany that statement, Trem turned to you. "How many weapons would you guess I'm wearing?" 

Despite your surprise at the question, you obligingly studied her, mentally tallying up every space where a weapon could conceivably fit.

"Six," you attempted at last.

"Wrong," she told you. "Fifteen."

Alpha immediately scoffed. "You aren't hiding fifteen, even in that outfit."

"You're right," Trem acknowledged with a smirk. "Not exactly fifteen. More than that."

You frowned, feeling a little stupid at your underestimation of the very formidable trainer. Hiding weapons on one's person was hardly a surprise - the ARCs and the kids made a point of always having a few in easy-to-reach places - but something was still bothering you. 

"Why lie, though?" you asked, furrowing your eyebrows at Trem. "I was already wrong. You didn't gain anything from lying."

"Maybe I didn't, but you did." Trem folded her arms, the moment emphasizing the buckles and scale-like metallic pieces adorning her shirt. "Consider that your first lesson: your enemy is going to lie to you."

“Enemy?” Alpha asked, voice rumbling with displeasure. “I didn’t bring you in to be her enemy. I brought you here to be her trainer.”

“You didn’t bring me here at all,” Trem countered, not incorrectly. “You didn’t want me here and I came anyway. That means you don’t get to say yes or no about anything. The only one who can is her.”

They both looked your way. Alpha looked irritated and on-edge, but Trem spoke before he had a chance to sway your thinking.

“I heard what happened to you.” The way two of Trem’s fingers rose to tap at her own cheek made it clear that she was talking about your run-in with Doni Pender. “The same thing happened to me, but no one was around to stop it.”

Your heart dropped. You had known you had heard Alpha talk about Trem before, but you hadn’t been able to place her name. But you could now. Shortly after you had met him, Alpha had reported a too-flirtatious cadet to Trem, who he said took a personal interest in situations like that one. And like the one Pender had put you into. Suddenly, things made more sense - particularly, why Trem was so intent on teaching you herself.

Trem didn’t smile, but the lines of strain that had appeared on her face as she talked about her past faded slightly. “I heard you like asking questions. You can ask me one, but that’s it.”

“Is he dead?” 

Alpha’s thick eyebrows flew up at the question, erasing the look of wry consternation that had crossed his face at the knowledge that Trem knew about your question and answer sessions during shared meals. He seemed almost… startled. Like he didn’t quite know what to make of your question.

Trem, in glaring contrast, didn’t hesitate for a moment. “Yes, he is, and by my hand. The Mandalorians who shut the place down made sure of it. They honored my pain by letting me take the revenge I chose… and I did. I’ve never looked back.”

The Weequay’s tone was satisfied, almost cheerful, but the thing that stood out the most to you was her casual use of the phrase ‘the place’. Those two words alone spoke of large-scale horror, a desperate situation, and unfathomable suffering. The fact that her voice had held no real inflection was somehow worse. 

You didn’t want to ask for more information - would never ask her about it unless she initiated a conversation about the topic - but the little you knew was enough to prompt a firm nod from you. “Good.”

Even Trem looked surprised at that. When your expression didn’t buckle under her close scrutiny, she gave a short nod. “Alpha can’t bring himself to hit you, not even for training. I won’t have that problem. My goal is to make sure you can defend yourself. You may hate me by the end of this, but I can promise you’ll have the skills to kick some ass if it ever comes down to it. Can you live with those terms?”

“Yes, I can,” you agreed. “And thank you.”

“What was the first lesson?” Trem quizzed.

“Enemies will lie to me,” you parroted obediently. 

“Very nice,” Trem congratulated. “And here is your second lesson: enemies will always try to catch you off guard.” 

By that point, you had learned enough about Zackra Trem’s teaching style that you quickly prepared yourself to be caught off-guard, but there was only so much you could do with a half-second of warning.

To your utter shock, you managed to block the first hit she directed toward your face. It was a solid block for a solid hit, and catching it on your forearm made your hand tingle. You were a bit slower moving to block her second hit - that one directed toward the curve of your waist. It glanced off of the bone of your wrist. The resulting rush of feeling from those nerves made your racing mind pause for a half a moment - too long to react as quickly as you needed to.

Trem’s final hit connected solidly with your chest.

Unlike Pender’s hit, this one didn’t knock your head to the side or throw you violently off-balance. You stumbled back, but were able to catch yourself fairly easily - despite the way your leg protested. 

At first, you thought you were fine, reflecting that it was an odd place to hit someone. You even tried to get back into a stance that would let you block any other strikes that Trem threw your way. But then your heart gave a belated stutter, like it had skipped a beat but in the most painful possible way. The time it took for your heart to beat again felt like it took an eternity - a terrifying, suffocating eternity. 

When your heart beat again, it took up a pounding rhythm, beating like you had been sprinting for your life. You pressed a hand against your chest, gasping in an attempt to catch your breath once more.

So much of your attention had been focused inward that it felt like you hadn’t really been using your eyes. When you remembered to blink and refocused on what was in front of you, you found Trem looking knowingly satisfied. You dimly recognized that she had pulled her strength, landing the blow in a way that was far less devastating than it would have been. She had known exactly how far she could push the line and had gone up to the very edge. A tiny bit harder and she would have stopped your heart.

The understanding passed between you, your eyes locked with Trem’s, before your concentration was broken by a bellow. 

As much as you were taken off-guard, Trem wasn’t phased for a moment. She turned and blocked Alpha’s punch like they had rehearsed it. She dodged the next, blocked the one after, then delivered a solid blow to his ribs, dodging another wild swing before they broke away from each other. 

“You know this is the best way to teach her!” Trem told him unsteadily, her breathing having picked up from the effort of fighting him. “She needs to know how to handle it.”

“Not like this!” Alpha refused, voice rough. 

“Yes, like this!” Trem insisted. “And you know it.”

Alpha’s head lowered, his brows furrowed over his eyes. His breath was coming in sharp pants. He shook his head once, twice… “I need to go.”

And then he left, shoving roughly out of the door. His elbow connected loudly against the door frame, the sound of the collision sharp even though he was only wearing his thin body glove rather than his armor.

When you had processed all of that, you looked over at Trem. “I’m sorry, I need to-”

Trem shook her head, stopping you from making your way out of the training room. “No, I’ll go. I need to settle things with him myself. Before I do, though, I need to know if you want to keep working with me. I’m not going to be nice or kind or soft, but I can teach you what you need to know.”

“I want that,” you agreed. “I want to know what I’m doing. I want Alpha to stop having to worry about me. And… I don’t ever want to feel helpless again.”

Trem did that almost-smile again, but it was paired with sadness in her eyes. “I can’t promise that - no one can. But we can make it a lot harder for anyone to catch you off-guard. Let me go handle things with Alpha. I’ll be in contact.”

And then you were alone. 

Since you didn’t know when to expect Trem to be in contact, you stayed in the training area for a while. You practiced the moves Alpha had taught you, did some exercises for cardio strength and to keep building the muscles in your leg. When that was finished and you still hadn’t heard anything, you retreated to your own quarters to shower and clean up. 

As you showered - listening intently for the sound of your comlink making noise - you couldn’t help but wonder how the conversation between Alpha and Trem was going. You didn’t think Trem would have gone there with the specific goal of fighting Alpha, but if those two tried to have a discussion about something as sensitive as training differences, there were good odds that things had devolved into a physical fight. 

When the comlink finally rang, you were sitting on your bed and trying to catch up on some background reading for your report. You dove for the device, fumbling slightly as you accepted the transmission. “Hello? Hello?”

“Go to Alpha’s quarters,” Trem’s voice told you through the device’s tiny speaker. “You’re gonna want to see this.”

Your heart dropped, but you didn’t get the chance to respond - Trem had disconnected the call before you could even formulate a reply. 

With your earlier concerns in mind, you retrieved a small first-aid kit from your bedside table before making your way to Alpha’s quarters as quickly as you could without breaking into a full run. 

As Alpha’s door came into view, you reflected too late that you had never learned the code that would let you in. You could knock, but what if he was too badly injured to let you in? Then you got closer and realized that the door was open slightly. You didn’t quite know whether to think that was reassuring or concerning, but you didn’t give yourself too long to think about it, pushing through the door with the first-aid kit braced in front of yourself… 

 Only to stop short just inside of the door.

Alpha was lying on his bed, one arm thrown over his eyes. What you could see of his face was reddened, and his body was more slack than you had ever seen it. Alpha typically held himself with the bearing of a soldier, posture perfectly upright and always coiled for whatever could be thrown his way. Was he unconscious? 

“Alpha!” you called, concern lacing your voice as you hurried across the room. 

Alpha’s arm pulled slowly away from his face as you busily studied his body for injuries. After having found none, you raised your eyes to do the same to his face. His cheeks were reddened beneath his natural tan, but his eyes were bright and he didn’t look bruised.

“Neverd’ika,” he greeted warmly. “Hey.”

“Alpha,” you replied, furrowing your eyebrows as you continued your study with a more discerning eye. “Are you… drunk?”

“No,” he scoffed. “Trem brought tihaar, but I didn’t get batnor. I can outdrink that chakaar any day.”

“Mm-hmm,” you agreed mildly. For your own sake, you hoped he would ease back on the Mando’a. You got a lot from context clues, but you didn’t speak the language and this conversation would be a lot trickier if you didn’t understand half of it. “What did you two talk about over the… alcohol?”

“You,” he told you, filling you with warmth even as he patted the bed beside himself. “Sit down. You’re too far away.”

Obligingly, you sat down where he had indicated. You were roughly even with his waist, giving him a much better vantage point when he rolled onto his side and leaned up to rest his head on his hand. 

“But everything is okay now?” you asked. 

“Yeah, it’s fine,” Alpha agreed. “I’ll let Trem keep training you. She said you were okay with that. It was always gonna be your choice, but I just… just need to make sure you’re safe.”

“Alpha, I’m safe, I promise.” You had relaxed a bit when Alpha told you everything was fine, but you tensed when the furrow reappeared between his eyebrows. Soothingly, you added, “Trem knows what she’s doing and she’s going to teach me. It’ll be fine. I’m fine.”

“You are now,” Alpha said, the furrow deepening as his gaze fell to your leg. “You weren’t before, though.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Part of you wondered if it would have been wiser to lie, but you respected Alpha too much to give him anything other than the truth. “But that’s in the past.”

“Doesn’t feel like it to me,” he confessed, jaw clenching. “When those clankers had you… I don’t think I’ve ever been more terrified. And then you got hurt and I was more terrified. I never want to see you in a situation like that again. I want you safe - need you to be safe, even if I’m not around to protect you anymore.”

You forced a laugh in a poor attempt to hide the way that sent a horrified chill through you. The idea of living without Alpha was one you didn’t want to spend too much time contemplating. “That isn’t an excuse to skip out on future fights. You need to stick around for all of them.”

“I’ll be there,” Alpha promised, sitting up so he could trace his fingers over your jaw and stare into your eyes, his own gaze dark and fathomless. “The only way I’m gonna die is for you, neverd’ika. I’ll be around as long as you need me.”

You felt your own expression crumple as you fought back tears at that simple, heartfelt, drunken vow. You felt exactly the same way, though you knew he probably wouldn’t like hearing that. You reached out, wrapping your arms around him in a hug that he responded to with eagerness, squeezing you so tightly that you could barely breathe.

He was so warm. You would never get used to that warmth, but it was nothing compared to the comforting rhythm of his heartbeat. You could feel it in every press of muscle around you and the way his breaths took on a beat of their own. 

When Alpha leaned slowly back toward the bed, you happily rearranged yourself to stay aligned with him. When you were both lying flat, you were cradled in Alpha’s arms like you were the most precious thing he had ever held. He pressed a gentle kiss against your temple and smiled when you sighed in satisfaction.

He fell asleep only seconds later - you could tell by the way his alcohol-scented breath rustled past your head with increasing regularity, and the way he relaxed even further.

Just before you dropped off to sleep yourself, you wondered idly if you had any pain meds in your first-aid kit. Alpha would probably need them in the morning.

---

Translations

Beroya aruetii - traitor bounty hunter

Di'kut - idiot

Neverd'ika - little civilian

Besom - mannerless person

Tihaar - strong clear alcohol

Batnor - drunk

Chakaar - petty criminal (general term of abuse)

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A/N - DO NOT PUNCH PEOPLE IN THE CHEST. It is generally a bad idea! Don't do it!

Hope you enjoyed the rest of the chapter, though! Thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!

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