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Haunted

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Prompt - ‘You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time, never ever thought I'd see it break. Never thought I'd see it.’

For years both you and Anakin had known you walked a fragile line, at first it wasn’t too obvious, how could it have been when the two of you were just children? The years spent growing up together, side by side were filled with the best of memories but what you didn’t know was the Jedi Council was always watching the blossoming friendship, always weary of how far it would grow.

It wasn’t until you were years older that you realised the scrutiny you were under, even if nobody outright acknowledged it, everybody knew. There were whispers in the halls of you and Anakin, ones that neither of you helped with considering how your friendship grew stronger and stronger each day. You and Anakin were inseparable, you did everything together, you trained together, you ran off together to explore the city, you went on missions together.

The Jedi Council could see the attachment that was growing but just as they were about to put a stop to it, to put some plan into place that would force you and Anakin apart, the Clone Wars began and not even the Jedi Council, much as they wished they could, could deny the fact that you and Anakin were a force to be reckoned with when you fought together.

So whilst they didn't trust this growing attachment they couldn’t do anything but send the two of you off to fight alongside each other, knowing that the risk of your attachment growing was outweighed by the war hanging over them.

The Clone Wars saw you and Anakin somehow spending even more time at each other’s side, fighting back to back for months on end. It wasn’t a surprise to either of you when you both finally caved, it had been a bad mission from the get-go, one that saw you and Rex taken and tortured for days before Anakin and the rest of the 501st could get to you.

Anakin had carried you onto the ship after slaughtering anybody who had stood in his way of getting to you, uncaring of the fact he knew he’d have to answer to the Council later for going against their direct orders to come and rescue you but their plan would have left you with the Pyke’s for days longer and he refused to do that.

He didn’t leave your side as Kix worked to patch up the injuries you’d received and Anakin barely held his anger in check, the ones who had hurt you were dead and you needed him more now. By the time you were blinking awake Anakin had managed to calm himself, smiling at you and assuring you everything was fine even as his heart raced and he remembered the fear that coursed through him each day you were gone.

When Kix finally gave you the all clear Anakin wrapped his arm around you despite your, admittedly weak protests that you were fine. You felt much better but you were never going to push Anakin’s touch away. You let Anakin lead you to his quarters on the ship, both of you needing to be close to one another after the past few days.

It wasn’t until you were in bed together, nothing unusual especially since the Clone Wars began, you and Anakin had often shared a sleeping space. Anakin had you in his arms, finally calm as he listened to you breathe evenly against his chest. He pressed his lips to your head and murmured soft words against your hair, telling you how scared he had been, how he couldn’t lose you.

It was only when you turned your head to look up at him, your expression so full of understanding, of shared fear of what could happen during the War, of love. Anakin could hardly have stopped himself, he’d been so good keeping to himself, knew the kind of scrutiny you were under at the Temple, but here on the ship it was just the two of you, no need to pretend that there were no feelings between the two of you.

That night was spent trading lazy kisses and smiles full of so much happiness, years of feelings finally allowed to be felt.

Of course neither of you were foolish, you knew the risks of a secret relationship, knew it was a dangerous game to play. Away from Coruscant it was easier to manage and whilst you weren’t foolish, you weren’t always all too good at keeping away from each other. Thankfully the Clones were capable of keeping secrets they learnt out on the field a secret from those back home, something you and Anakin were immensely grateful for after being caught locked at the lips by more than one trooper.

Being back in Coruscant was challenging, especially when you were there for longer stretches of time which was becoming few and far between as the war stretched on. It seemed like since the Clone Wars began everyone was keeping an even closer eye on you each time you returned home. The sneaking around and all the risks that came with being together were worth it, especially when you got to spend your nights together.

The two of you talked about everything but the topic you liked most was what you would do when the Clone Wars were won. If Anakin had asked you months ago, before the Clone Wars began, you would have left the Order to be with him, of that you had no doubt. Now both of you were a part of a fight, one neither of you would walk away from until it was finished, but it didn’t stop you dreaming of a life together far, far away.

So many different ideas got tossed around but the one you liked most was a quiet life together, just you and Anakin, a little house that was just yours, away from the questioning eyes of the Council, away from people judging if your feelings for Anakin were wrong. Both you and Anakin had made such promises and plans for the future, neither one of you believing that your relationship could break, there was so much love there that the thought was impossible.

And the thought only became more and more unthinkable as years passed, both of you had grown a lot in the years of the Clone Wars. You really had no choice but to adapt, to toughen your emotions but it only made you and Anakin lean on each other even more, the longer the war lasted the more you tried to hold on hope of the future you whispered about in the early hours of the morning.

But there was a shift in the Force that had you on edge, had you feeling like you couldn’t trust anybody. Anakin felt it too, you know he did but he refused to talk about it with you. You didn’t think too much of it at first, the war was dragging everybody down but Anakin was still angry and lost with the loss of Ahsoka, the shift in the Force only making his mood worse.

Each day passed and you could feel the power of the Dark Side growing more and more, leaving you feeling cold and hopeless for the future of the war. Anakin was going off more and more these days, something that had you raising an eyebrow since the two of you were practically always together, now it felt like you hardly saw him.

When you did finally see him again it was to greet Ahsoka, the young ex-Padawan looking so much more grown up than she had only a few short years ago. Somehow it felt like this war had been going on for much longer than three years, it felt like it was all you’d ever known. Anakin had looked tired and only gave you the bare minimum of responses but when Ahsoka finally arrived his whole face lit up and you couldn’t help the sad smile that pulled at your lips, you really couldn’t wait for this war to be over.

It wasn’t much later than that when Ahsoka was leaving with Rex and half of the 501st that Anakin excused himself after glancing down at his comm, murmuring something about meeting with the Chancellor. You barely suppressed an eyeroll, something about the man had always set you on edge but you’d never been able to figure out why. Anakin had always told you what a great man he was, wise and willing to teach him, but you never bought into the kind, grandfather act.

You let your thoughts wander until Cody came to alert you that Obi-Wan had received a message asking for you and him to meet with the Council, Anakin already there before you arrived with news to share. Hearing him say that the Jedi finally had their chance with Grievous had you feeling a spark of hope, one you hadn’t felt for a while, Ahsoka was on her way to attempt to capture Darth Maul and if the Jedi were successful then this war could be over.

“The Chancellor has requested that I lead the campaign to capture Grievous.” Anakin said and you frowned slightly, looking around the room and seeing the immediate disagreement, quietly sighing knowing it wouldn’t go over well with Anakin.

“No,” Master Windu said, not wasting time, “the Chancellor does not get to decide on these matters.”

“Agree, I do.” Master Yoda said and you watched Anakin’s face shift into a cold, emotionless look. “A master, we shall send.”

It wasn’t even a conversation that needed happening, one Master said Obi-Wan was the Jedi for the job and everybody agreed.

“Skywalker, your mission is to…observe the Chancellor, he won’t suspect anything amiss since he trusts you.” Master Windu said and you watched Anakin frown.

“Suspect? You want me to spy on the Chancellor? What reason do you have for this request?” Anakin exclaimed and you couldn’t help the quiet sigh that escaped you.

“Nothing concrete yet, nothing that you need to concern yourself with, just watch the Chancellor.” Master Windu commanded before turning to you. “Y/L/N, you will accompany Master Kenobi to Utapau and assist with the takedown of General Grievous.”

“And now you’re not even letting me and Y/N work together? You only wished to send a Master to Utapau and now you’re letting her go.” Anakin interrupted but both you and Master Windu ignored him. “Send me to Utapau instead, there is no need to spy on the Chancellor!”

“Of course, Master Windu.” You agreed and Anakin turned to look at you in disbelief, you could all see he was gearing up to say something but you spoke before he could. “If me and Anakin could be dismissed, I’d like to talk to him before our missions?”

“Of course Y/N,” Obi-Wan said softly, a tired smile pulling at his lips. “I’ll have Cody prepare the ship, join us as soon as possible.”

With that you nodded towards the Master’s before gesturing for Anakin to follow you out of the room who did so with a small huff. You lead him to an empty room, making  sure the door closed behind you before you went to talk but before you could Anakin beat you to it.

“Can you believe this?” He huffed again, pacing the room with his arms crossed. “They suspect the Chancellor is a part of something, it’s ridiculous I’ve known the man since I was a child, he just wants to help. Not only that but they want to tear us apart, I won’t let them do it, Y/N!”

“Anakin,” You said slowly, taking a step back towards the door, there was anger coming from Anakin you had never felt before, he was practically radiating burning rage and it felt like it was trying to wrap around you, consume you, to the point where it was almost overwhelming. “I can’t speak for the Council’s decision to observe the Chancellor but for them to think it necessary then something must have happened-”

“Nothing happened, Y/N! Can’t you see, this is just another plan to keep us apart.” You couldn’t help but frown at the words, Anakin kept repeating them, convinced the Council had finally decided to put a stop to yours and Anakin’s bond.

“Anakin, we’re fighting a war! The Council couldn’t care less what we get up to in our free time, not right now. Can’t you feel it Anakin, the war is coming to an end,” You told him desperately trying to dispel some of his anger, stepping forward and wrapping your hands around his crossed arms, “after that what they have to say won’t matter. We’ll have done our part, we’ve fought this war for so long but soon it’ll be done and we can pick one of the thousand lives we’ve wished for and make it our own.”

“They’ll never allow us to do that, you have to see they want to take you away from me.” You had never understood why the Jedi forbid relationships, in the whole time you had known Anakin, in the time you’d had with him you had never felt anything bad from your bond but right here with him you could see why the Jedi forbid attachments. There was something unsettling about the possessive, almost dark look in Anakin’s eyes, the way his pupils widened until you could barely see the colour surrounding it. “Why else would they send you with Obi-Wan?”

“They’re sending me with Obi-Wan because he’s preparing to take on Grievous, he’ll need backup. If I suddenly showed up at the Chancellor's office don’t you think he’d get suspicious?” You said, keeping your voice clear and calm even though you felt anything but.

“Do you want to be with me, Y/N?” Anakin asked suddenly and you couldn’t help but frown.

“Don’t ask stupid questions, Anakin. You know I love you more dearly than anything.” You told him honestly, even with this dark cloud that seemed to hang over him, you hoped it was just because the end of the war was approaching and that once it was won everything would go back to normal.

“Stay with me then. Obi-Wan has the 212th, they’ll be his backup.” Anakin pleaded but you were already shaking your head.

Before you could say anything though you comm went off and Anakin’s face darkened as Obi-Wan’s voice filled the room.

“Y/N, we’re ready on the ship.” He told you, “Do be quick, I’d like to capture Grievous quickly without giving him a chance to escape again.”

“Don’t go with him, he wants to keep us apart.” Anakin told you but you shook your head again.

“I’ll be right there, Master Kenobi.” You said softly into your comm and suddenly Anakin’s hand was around your wrist, holding tightly to him. “Anakin, let go of me.”

Anakin didn’t say anything, just stared at you with a dark look on his face. You held his gaze until he released your arm with a sigh and you didn’t waste any time before leaving the room, not looking back as you made your way to the hangar bay where Obi-Wan waited with the 212th.

“Ready to end a war, Y/N?” Obi-Wan asked as you joined him on the ship, the warm smile on his face such a sharp contrast to the fiery, dark look on Anakin’s.

There was no time to think about that now though, Obi-Wan was right, it was time to end a war. General Grievous was so close, if today went well the war would be over, peace would spread across the galaxy and you would happily leave the Order behind to start a new life with Anakin.

“Let’s do it, Master.” You grinned at him, pushing all thoughts of Anakin out of your head for the moment.

Everything would work out just fine.

It wasn’t the longest battle you had ever fought but it was tiring, thankfully the exhaustion was beat out by the excitement, knowing that you were so close to the end gave you all the energy you needed.

Just as Grievous threw you aside, the air leaving your lungs as you crashed into the wall, you lifted your head up, watching as Obi-Wan clung to the ledge. You watched as he used the Force, drawing a blaster into his fist before he took the shot at Grievous with no hesitation.

You could only stare wide eyed as Obi-Wan kept shooting until there was nothing left but useless remains of Grievous, a breath of relief, of disbelief leaving you. That was it, that was what was needed, the war was won.

“So uncivilised.” Obi-Wan said as he threw the gun causing you to laugh and he immediately walked past Grievous' remains and held a hand out for you, wrapping his arm around your shoulder once you were up and wincing.

“Congratulations, Obi-Wan, you just won a war.” You grinned at him, both of you beaming happily, waiting for years for this moment and it was finally here.

“I couldn’t have done it without your help, young one.” Obi-Wan chuckled, “come, let us go and assist Cody and the others.”

Obi-Wan and you quickly made your way over to Cody, letting him know the news and prepared to make quick work of the rest of the battle so you could return to Coruscant together. As you and Obi-Wan made your way up towards the higher levels you were stopped by blasts directed at you, the fall and then the shock of the water startling you.

“Obi-Wan!” You yelled as you re-emerged from the water, coughing as you looked around. Obi-Wan came up for air seconds later, yelling at you to follow him and he tossed you an aquata breather.

“Come on, we must get to a ship and find out what’s happening.” Obi-Wan whispered once the two of you were a safe enough distance away, Obi-Wan climbing out of the water first, beginning the climb up the wall, holding a hand out to help you up too.

It didn’t take you long to get back to the surface, you and Obi-Wan sharing a glance once you realised it was the Clones that were targeting you. Obi-Wan put a finger to his mouth, gesturing for you to stay quiet before motioning for you to follow him.

It wasn’t long before the two of you got to a ship, both of you climbing in and Obi-Wan didn’t waste any time getting the two of you off of Utapau. You were breathing heavily by the time Obi-Wan had the ship off the planet, the Master immediately taking control of the situation in a way only he knew how to do, sending out an emergency code in a clear and calm voice, the complete opposite to your shaky hands and panting breaths.

Listening to Senator Organa tell you that it wasn’t just the 212th that had turned against the Jedi but it seemed to be every Battalion sent an ache through your heart. For years the Jedi had fought side by side with these troopers, they had become family and to have them turn on you all, it was like you could feel each loss.

The journey to Master Yoda was a silent one, both you and Obi-Wan lost in your heads, thoughts racing a mile a minute. How had things gone so wrong in the span of a few hours, this battle on Utapau was meant to win you the war, it was supposed to be cause for celebration, not whatever this was.

“Good to see you, it is, Master Kenobi, Young Y/N.” Yoda greeted as you and Obi-Wan boarded the ship.

“Master Yoda, thank the Force you’re alright.” You said as you made your way over to him and the Senator, leaning into Bail’s touch as he set a steadying hand on your shoulder.

“How many other Jedi survived?” Obi-Wan asked as Master Yoda gestured for you all to follow him.

“Heard from no one, have we.” Master Yoda told you both and Bail told you of the attack on the Temple and on Coruscant, thousands of troopers attacking and killing any Jedi inside, killing the younglings without a shred of mercy. You stopped walking suddenly causing Obi-Wan to walk into the back of you and call your name but you were staring down at Master Yoda with wide, watery eyes, shaking your head.

“What about Anakin?” You choked out around the sudden lump in your throat. “You’ve heard from Anakin right?”

“Only hope, can we, remains safe, young Skywalker does.” Master Yoda said, suddenly sounding older and more tired than you had ever heard him before.

You stumbled backwards into Obi-Wan’s chest, the man’s hands coming up to your arms to steady you and you immediately turned and buried your head into his chest, sobs wracking your body as he held you close.

“It doesn’t make sense, we know the troopers, we’ve fought at their side for years! Why would they suddenly turn on us?” You cried into his chest and Obi-Wan shushed you, his hand rubbing up and down your back as he looked down at Master Yoda.

“Have we heard anything from the Temple?” He asked, trying to stay strong, stay composed because right now he needed to be a Jedi Master, he could fall apart later.

You listened to the rest of the conversation, hearing the others tell Obi-Wan that all Jedi have been requested back to the Temple, shaking your head into his chest. You heard Obi-Wan say you must go back and stop others from walking into a trap, the two Jedi agreeing that dismantling the code was the only course of action.

You didn’t care about any of that though, all you could do was close your eyes and reach out with the Force. There was far too much distance between you and Anakin but it didn’t stop you from trying to find him, from pleading with him to meet you halfway through your connection and just show you he was alive.

The answering silence sent a wave of fear crashing through you, Anakin couldn’t be dead…he just couldn’t be.

You let yourself be guided into a seat at the front of the ship, only half aware of the plan to sneak into the Jedi Temple whilst Palpatine held a meeting with the Senate. There was an overwhelming amount of anxiety coursing through you on the journey to Coruscant, knowing that if Anakin wasn’t there then the troopers must have gotten to him first. You knew Anakin was a skilled fighter, one of the best Jedi you’d ever met, but even he would be caught off guard by the Clones suddenly attacking.

When you were landed you were forced to snap back to reality, the Temple was guarded by Clones and every one you took down sent an ache through you, especially when you saw their helmets telling you it was the 501st you were fighting, but eventually you were inside the Temple, following closely behind Obi-Wan and Master Yoda as you walked the halls, trying not to look down at the younglings, not until Master Yoda announced they had been killed by a lightsaber.

The security codes were taken care of by Obi-Wan, whilst he and Master Yoda spoke quietly together you couldn’t help but wander over to the displays. Glancing around to see them occupied, you pressed some buttons to access the security recordings, using Obi-Wan’s password to see them.

All you had to do was press play and you would see who had done this, see if you could see any traces of Anakin and prayed to the Force he had managed to escape.

You held your breath as you started the footage, forwarding through the holo recording before stopping, letting it play at normal speed. Tears filled your eyes, a choked gasp escaping you as you stumbled back, like somehow putting distance between you and the recording would make it less real.

It couldn’t be real, Anakin wasn’t capable of that. You believed that with your whole being and yet the proof was playing out before you. You couldn’t stop the sob that left you, knees buckling and you would have fallen to the floor if Obi-Wan had been there to catch you and keep you up right.

Obi-Wan finally turned the footage off when Anakin was pronounced as Lord Vader, shaking his head and pulling you closer to him.

“Destroy the Sith, we must.” Master Yoda said and you pulled away from Obi-Wan, tears staining your cheeks.

“You can’t kill Anakin!” You protested just as Obi-Wan told the other Jedi he couldn’t kill his old Padawan but Master Yoda gave neither of you a choice in the matter, saying it was too late for Anakin, he was gone and only this new Dark version remained.

You couldn’t believe it, you refused to believe it. Not when you knew Anakin better than you knew yourself, not when you had been there when the war became too much and held him against your chest as he cried for all those who had fallen under his command. Not when you had seen his whole face lit up as he snuck the two of you out of the Temple, not when you had felt him hold you so gently, whispering sweet nothings into your hair, so soft and sweet with you.

He couldn’t be gone.

Of course you had known something had changed in the past few months, especially more over the last few days but surely you couldn’t have missed so much that Anakin had fallen to the Dark Side. No, you couldn’t believe that. Master Yoda might have been so ready to give up on Anakin but you weren’t, you knew there had to be some light left in him, Anakin always seemed to shine so brightly, the Darkness couldn’t engulf it all.

“Young Y/N,” Master Yoda said as he turned to leave, “gone is the man you knew. From your attempts to bring him back, only pain and death and suffering will come. What you know is right, do, for the galaxy.”

You didn’t say anything and he walked away without expecting a reply, leaving you and Obi-Wan alone with your memories of a bright boy you both loved deeply, neither of you ready to believe what you had seen.

You let Obi-Wan take the lead, waiting alone for him to tell you he had found Anakin and when he did he gave you a choice.

“I understand if you do not wish to come,” He said softly, you following him out to the ship and trying not to cry again. “I would hardly blame you for wishing to stay away but you may just be the one who is able to bring Anakin back.”

It wasn’t a difficult choice and you boarded the ship alongside Obi-Wan, not bothering to ask where you were going. You were silent for a long time, thoughts running wild before you spoke.

“What did you mean, I might be the one to bring Anakin back?” You asked quietly, turning to look at Obi-Wan, the man keeping his gaze out the window.

“Please do have some respect for my intelligence, Y/N.” Obi-Wan said softly, a small smile that didn’t meet his eyes pulling at his lips as he turned to look at you. “Do you really believe you and Anakin have been so discreet that I haven’t noticed? Of course I know the two of you are together. I know that he would have left the Order for you had you asked and I know you’d have done the same for him.”

“You never said anything.” You said after a few moments of silence, of course Obi-Wan knew and of course he had never given you away to the Council.

“I care deeply for you both, I only wanted you both to be happy.” Was Obi-Wan’s reply before the ship filled with silence again, a planet could be seen in the distance and you took a deep breath, preparing yourself for whatever awaited you on the fiery planet.

“There he is.” Obi-Wan said once you landed, watching a hooded figure leaving the building and you stood first, stopping Obi-Wan before he could stand.

“Let me talk to him first, please Obi-Wan.” You begged him, eyes wide and watery and Obi-Wan hesitated for a moment, eyes darting out of the window before settling back on you.

“Fine but if anything goes wrong I want you to leave me to deal with it, you get back on the ship.” Obi-Wan said, his tone leaving no room for disagreement and you nodded, not wanting to hurt Anakin.

If it came to it you didn’t envy what Obi-Wan would have to do.

“Good luck, Y/N.” Obi-Wan murmured as he opened the hatch and you made your way off the ship, meeting Anakin as he came down the stairs.

“Y/N!” He called, marching over to you and engulfing you in his arms.

Despite everything you had seen, despite the proof so clearly shown to you, you couldn’t help but sink into his arms, gripping his robes between your fingers and crying silently into his chest. Anakin hushed you, feeling your shoulders shaking against him as he tucked you under his chin, his lips pressed to your head.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” He whispered into your hair and you shook your head, allowing yourself one more moment, one more moment to memorise the way his arms felt around you, the way he felt so strong and steady and desperately hoped this worked out, that you could have this moment again.

“Anakin, what are you doing here?” You cried as you stepped out of his arms, Anakin’s hands not leaving you as they settled on your forearms. “Tell me none of it is true and I’ll believe you.”

“None of what is true?” He asked, his tone deep and cold, sending a shudder through you.

Deep down you knew all of it to be true but until you heard it from Anakin you could let yourself hope.

“Tell me you didn’t fall to the Dark Side, tell me the death and destruction, the killing of the younglings, tell me none of it was you. Tell me you are not this Darth Vader.” You pleaded with him, watching his eyes go cold as his expression hardened. “Please Anakin, please I’m begging you, tell me it isn’t true.”

“I did this for you, Y/N!” Anakin told you, tightening his grip on you. “Don’t you see that, all of this was for us, for you. The Jedi, they are not to be trusted anymore, now the galaxy belongs to us, Y/N! There’s nothing the Council can do anymore, they can’t take you away from me.”

Your blood turned cold and it felt like your heart had stopped. It was all true, you had known it, but now you couldn’t deny it, couldn’t hope that there was some misunderstanding, some deception. It was all true.

“Anakin,” you sobbed, taking a step back and forcing his hands to drop from your arms. “I don’t want this, I don’t want the galaxy. I just want you, Anakin, that is all I ever wanted.”

“And we can have that. With the Jedi gone we are free, don’t you see it? They were going to take you from me, force us apart but now they can’t.” Anakin told you, trying to make you see reason like you were the one who was being unreasonable. “You’re mine, Y/N! I’d kill anyone that tried to take you from me. I won’t lose you.”

“Whatever the Chancellor has told you, whatever he has filled your head with, it’s all lies!” You told him, desperate to break through, to find that small sliver of Light you hoped to be buried within him somewhere. “It’s all lies, nobody was going to take you away from me, I promise. We had a plan, remember, fight the war side by side and then we would do what we wanted with the rest of our lives. We had victory in our fingertips, Anakin, Grievous is dead, we could have gone anywhere, left the Order behind peacefully.”

“They wouldn’t have let that happen!” Anakin protested and you forced yourself closer to him, cupping his cheek and bringing his forehead down to rest of yours, Anakin’s hands automatically wrapping around your waist.

“Of course they would, Ahsoka left and they let her. We were so close, Anakin, none of this destruction was needed. We could have left.” You told him brokenly, tears still sliding down your face. “Stop this now, stop this madness and we can leave together, just take a ship and leave together, we’ll find our own corner of the galaxy, we don’t need it all.”

Anakin was silent for a moment before he looked behind you and you cursed silently when you heard him mutter Obi-Wan’s name.

“I knew it! They want to tear us apart!” Anakin roared and you took a step closer to him.

Anakin-”

“Don’t, you’re a liar! You would just let them take you from me!” He cried out and you moved back when you felt his anger and rage in the Force, the strength of it almost knocking you down.

“Anakin, I love you, I love you more dearly than anything else. Stop this, please, just stop this. We can leave together, Obi-Wan can tell them you won’t be a problem anymore, all of it can be forgotten.” You knew even as you spoke that your words were a lie, the image of Anakin slaughtering your fellow Jedi, slaughtering dozens of younglings, without a shred of mercy was seared into your head.

It seemed Anakin knew your words were a lie too.

“I did this for you, Y/N! You’re all I wanted, all I ever wanted, I couldn’t let them take you.” He told you again, shaking his head like he couldn’t believe you couldn’t see it.

“Don’t put your actions on my head, Anakin. Don’t force me to blame myself for the death of the Jedi, the destruction of the galaxy.” You told him, tone firm but soft. “I never asked for this. I wanted us to fight the Clone Wars, to fight alongside our troops and restore peace in the galaxy and then I wanted to just leave the Order behind us. Nobody would have stopped us. Everything could have been different, Anakin. Why would you walk away from everything we had, from everything we ever spoke and dreamt of?”

“Y/N, I know of their plans, they were never going to let us see each other after the war. I saw it! Just the visions alone were enough to drive me mad, to actually live it, to not have you at my side-”

“Don’t you see, Anakin, none of it was real. The Chancellor, Darth Sidious, whatever he calls himself, he was manipulating you, using any means necessary to get you where he wanted you. Surely you can see it?” You pleaded with him to see sense but knew realistically he was too far gone. “He knows of our love and he is using it for his own gain. Don’t let all those words we said become nothing. I meant everything, did you?”

“You dare question my love for you?” Anakin snarled, one hand raised and suddenly you were in the air with the breath snatched from you.

Obi-Wan finally stepped off the runway, heart breaking at the scene before him. He truly had believed and desperately hoped that you could bring Anakin back but the Anakin he knew would sooner hurt himself than hurt you.

“Admit it, Obi-Wan, you want to take her from me!” Anakin shouted. “I won’t let you.”

“Anakin, don't be foolish. If you truly believe I haven’t known about you and Y/N for years now then I have done my job too well. If I were so against this I have had plenty of opportunities to tell the Council.” Obi-Wan said and that gave Anakin pause but whatever bit of doubt he had quickly left as he shook his head, the Chancellor’s manipulations running too deep.

Your eyes darted to Obi-Wan, panicked and scared, but the other man just gave you a small nod. You desperately hoped Obi-Wan could get you both out of this alive, though with Anakin’s madness, the way the Dark Side seemed to be eating him up, you weren’t particularly enthusiastic about your survival rates.

“Anakin, come with me. All three of us can return to Coruscant, we can fix this. Don’t do something you’ll live to regret here.” Obi-Wan said calmly but it seemed to only anger Anakin.

“You think I’d fall for such a trap, Master?” Anakin spat, the word like venom coming from his tongue and you watched as Obi-Wan let out a small wince, unable to hide it. “I know what fate awaits me if we go with you.”

“Anakin, please listen to him!” You managed to choke out but Anakin only tightened his Force grip on your neck and your fingers scratched at the phantom pressure, your vision dancing with black dots.

“You claim to love her and yet you’re killing her, Anakin!” Obi-Wan exclaimed, lighting his lightsaber and taking a step towards Anakin.

“You truly think you can beat me, Obi-Wan? I have powers you couldn’t even begin to understand. Soon I shall take my rule in my new Empire and Y/N will stand by my side.”

“No, Anakin, she won’t.” The words sent a fresh wave of anger through Anakin and his fist closed tightly.

You felt your airways completely close, lungs burning as you choked, pain spreading throughout your body. It wasn’t until Anakin threw your body aside, painfully hitting the ship that you were left struggling for air, slumping down on the ground and letting your head hit the floor, the sounds of lightsabers hitting against each other the last thing you heard before darkness took over.

You don’t know how much time passed but at some point you felt your body being moved, your eyes flew open and you pushed away from the hands on you, scared Anakin had won. There was no need for it though as Obi-Wan crouched down in front of you, hands raised and you let out a shaky breath.

You let Obi-Wan help you up onto unsteady feet but a groaning from your right had you turning your head, even as Obi-Wan tried to pull your gaze away. You gasped, knees buckling and sobs escaping you as you saw Anakin’s body aflame, broken groans and screams leaving him as he shouted after Obi-Wan, after he saw you standing.

“I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan murmured sadly, tears in his eyes as he pulled you into his arms and led you back towards the ship.

Once you were sat in the seat your eyes immediately found Anakin, the picture before you would forever haunt your waking days as well as your dreams, it would be one that stayed with you forever.

You didn’t know what you were supposed to do now, everything seemed so dark and hopeless. So much of your future had always involved Anakin but now Anakin was dead, left to burn on a fiery planet and you knew the pain would never leave you. You had never thought that what you and Anakin had would break, truly never thought you’d live to see the day, and yet here you were, flying away from him, heart broken so painfully for a future that was so close and lost just like that. 

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The Bad Batch taking care of a sick Omega

Hello! I am back with more Bad Batch stuff, I started out writing these as headcanons then got carried away and now they’ve sorta turned into drabbles/blurbs/mini stories. Maybe one day I’ll write an actual story.

You can find my other stuff here and here.

So this has been done before, but I wanna do my own spin on it. This is how I think the Bad Batch would react to Omega being unwell and how they would look after her. I love writing about the Dad Bad Batch interacting with Omega, it gives me life. Basically, they all encounter Omega sick at one point and this is how I think it would go. The boys won’t get sick since they are genetically engineered to withstand most illnesses, but Omega is not.

Warnings: Sickness (nothing explicitly described, just mentions of general unwellness), a plethora of fluff, some swearing, slightly AU possibly since Crosshair is in it. Some angst too. Also, it’s pretty long. I tried my best to look for spelling/grammar mistakes, but I may have missed some so sorry in advance!

Hunter:

Sergeant Hunter usually prided himself on his keen senses most of the time, they sure had gotten him and brothers (and Omega of course) out of some arduous situations. And this time was one of those times he thanked the Kaminoans for making him ‘defective’, because he sensed that something wasn’t right with Omega.

They were taking a break from mercenary life and were on a nice, warm planet to rest for a couple of nights. Omega was excited as they were gathering supplies for the trip. But the next day after they got there, Omega, usually the first to wake up, slept later than usual. Hunter knew for a fact that something was amiss. He could hear that her heart was beating faster than it usually did, and he could hear her quiet little whimpers and shuffling as she tossed and turned.

He immediately went to her little room on the Marauder to check on her. She was awake, and his heart broke at her little face, screwed up with obvious discomfort. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat. Now, clones were genetically engineered to not get sick, but Omega, being an unaltered clone, clearly was not.

He immediately called on Tech, the squad’s de facto medic, to come and take a look at her. He concluded that she was suffering from the flu, and that she would recover in a few days, with plenty of rest, fluids, and medicine if needed. The rest of the batch offered to take it in shifts to look after Omega but Hunter, being the dad that he is, refused and insisted that he look after Omega until she was better whilst everyone else enjoyed the break, so that’s what he did.

He made sure that she drank enough water, and made sure that she was comfortable. He moved her to his bunk, and begrudgingly let his brothers take over when he could hardly keep his eyes open.

He held her hand and felt his heart clench when she moved to sit in his lap, clinging onto him. He adores his little Omega and it hurt him to see her unwell. He stroked her back and whispered comforting words to her whilst she drifted in and out of sleep. “Don’t you worry, ad’ika, I’m here to look after you,” he said gently, “I’ll keep you safe.” And from that moment on, any time Omega was unwell, she would usually seek him out first and he would stay by her side until she was better.

Wrecker:

Wrecker was using Gonky as a weight, like he always did. He always had so much energy and doing this helped. Gonky didn’t seem to mind either, kicking his legs lightly and beeping happily every time he was hoisted up. Having this routine helped focus his mind and calm him down, especially before or after a mission.

The ship was quiet, aside from the quiet chatter from his brothers. Omega was strangely quiet, and he put Gonky down, intending to ask her what was wrong.  Suddenly, Omega let out a rather loud and obnoxious sneeze that had her rushing forward in her chair. It was an impressive sneeze, Wrecker had to admit, even Gonky chirped in what could only be described as awe (or the droid equivalent of awe, anyway).

He guffawed loudly and patted Omega on the back, whilst the others looked on. Hunter went to stand up to go to her, obviously sensing something that the others couldn’t, but immediately hissed in pain and sat back down again, as he had evidently aggravated his chest injury from a blaster shot by that damn bounty hunter who took Omega on Bracca. Wrecker’s blood boiled at the thought of those bounty hunters.

Hunter pointed out that Omega was coming down with a sickness bug, as he recognised the symptoms. Omega tried to insist that she was fine, but another loud sneeze followed by a slight coughing fit proved otherwise. Tech confirmed that she was coming down with a common cold and should rest for a day or two until she was better.

She tried to refuse, not wanting to go to bed and miss out on any fun, but after a few stern looks from the others and a pointed scoff from Crosshair, she stood up to make her way to her little room. Before she could get there, however, Wrecker scooped her up and carried her the rest of the way. He then went to his bunk to get his extra warm and fluffy blanket, along with Lula, who, in his opinion, was the best medicine and could make anyone feel better.

He then went to her room and tried his best to sit beside her, but being as big as he was, it was a struggle. But somehow, he managed. Tech brought Omega some water, and Wrecker busied himself with trying to cheer her up and make her feel better. He told her silly jokes, and funny stories about him and his brothers, and made her smile. He let her cling to Lula as he recited funny stories about him pranking Crosshair when they were cadets on Kamino.

He loved making Omega smile and it made his heart soar when she did. He knew that he and Omega had a special bond, and he was glad that they escaped with her from Kamino. He was relieved that they managed to get her back from that bounty hunter, and he was impressed that she had actually managed to escape on her own. She was a little ray of sunshine in their small family, always full of curiosity and wonder and he couldn’t imagine life without her.

Tech:

Tech knew a lot about, well, everything. From fixing the hyperdrive on a ship, to the benefits of giving someone a hug. The knowledge that he held within his exceptional mind was important to the squad, and Omega loved to listen to what he had to say. She would often follow him around the ship when he was making repairs and ask him question after question, which he didn’t mind because it was refreshing to not be brushed off for spouting out ‘useless info’.

On one such day, Omega was dutifully helping him around the ship whilst Echo was holed up in the cockpit and the others were out gathering supplies. However, he could tell something was off about her as her movements were rather sluggish and she wasn’t enthusiastically asking about anything and everything like she usually did. He quickly came to the conclusion that she must be under the weather.

He checked her over and deduced that she was over-tired and needed to get some rest. She tried to protest, but was cut off by a large yawn. He helped her to her room and made sure she was comfortable, fluffing her pillow and tucking her into her blankets.

As he made to climb back down the ladder, Omega reached out and held his wrist in her little hand and asked him to stay. He hesitated for a moment, as there was work to be done on the ship, but when he looked into her tired, pleading eyes, he didn’t have the heart to say no, so he climbed into her room and she made room so that he could sit beside her.

He put his arm around her shoulder and sighed, racking his brain for some information on how he could help her get to sleep. He remembered reading that dim lighting can help a child sleep, so he used his datapad to dim the little lights Wrecker had installed in her room. He also remembered reading that reading or telling stories to a child can help them sleep, so he again racked his brain for a story he could tell her.

Before he could think of something, Omega spoke up. “Tech.. could you tell me a bit about the Jedi?” she asked shyly. He paused for a moment, thinking about the Jedi and what had happened to them, a pang of guilt finding its way into his heart. But he powered on and began to tell her about the Jedi and their powers, harnessed from the Force. After around ten minutes, she was fast asleep.

He slowly and quietly got up and left Omega’s little room, pausing briefly to brush hair away from her eyes. Who would’ve guessed that in the midst of the fear and turmoil in the galaxy a group of ragtag clones, bred for the sole purpose of fighting, would adopt a child into their ranks, especially one as pure and special as Omega? Tech would never have guessed that in a million years. But as he continued with his work around the ship, he thought about how happy he was that she was with them.

Echo:

Echo spent a lot of time in the cockpit of the Marauder. He liked to watch the stars, and he liked the swirling mass of brightness when they were hurtling through hyperspace. He also liked to stare out of the viewport when they were planetside, watching the comings and goings of the natives, or watching the sunsets and moons. When he first came aboard the Marauder, he wasn’t quite sure how he would fit in with the ragtag group of clones who had named themselves the Bad Batch, but they had let him aboard their ship and even made him his own bunk, and made him feel at home. And when Omega came aboard, he made sure to make her feel at home too.

On a quiet night on a quiet planet, Wrecker, Tech and Hunter had gone out to do an easy job for Cid, whilst he remained on the ship with Crosshair and Omega. Crosshair was outside of the ship sitting on the grass, cleaning his rifle, as he always did. Omega was in her room, electing to stay behind because she was tired. Echo thought nothing of this, as she was only a child and needed more rest than he and his brothers did.

He was starting to doze in the co-pilot's seat when he heard hesitant footsteps approaching behind him. Now, if this was a few months ago, his reflexes would have kicked in and he’d have launched himself out of his seat with alarming speed, blaster at the ready. But he knew that the only other person on the ship was Omega, and that Crosshair was keeping watch out front, his sharp eyes scanning for possible danger. “Echo?” Omega asked, her voice quiet and strained, a strange lilt to it as if she was on the verge of tears.

He swiveled around in his chair to face her. The lighting in the cockpit was dim, but he could still see her. She was standing holding her stomach, and everything about her stiff posture and hunched shoulders told him that she was in pain. He immediately stood up and went over to her, kneeling down in front of her. “What’s wrong, little one?” he asked her gently. She heaved out a little sob and told him that she had a sore tummy.

He then guided her to sit down in the co-pilot's seat that he had just vacated whilst he went to look through the medical supplies they had on the ship. He returned a minute or so later with pain medicine and some water.

He sat down in the pilot’s seat and gave her the medicine, and then gave her the water to take a sip. She sighed slightly and slouched back in the seat.

It appeared she was starting to fall asleep, so he tried to tell her to go to bed but she said she wanted to stay with him, and he just couldn't say no to her. So they both sat in comfortable silence in the cockpit, the only sounds to be heard being the odd beep from Gonky. Echo leaned back in his seat, glancing over every so often to check on Omega, who was just tiredly looking at the sky from the viewport.

He was starting to doze off himself again, his eyes closed, when he heard Omega stir beside him. He opened his eyes and saw that Omega had vacated her seat and was standing in front of him, rubbing her eyes. He watched her for a second and was about to ask her if she was alright, when she climbed onto his lap and curled herself up to his chest.

Echo froze for a few moments, unsure of what to make of this new turn of events. He had hugged Omega before when she had awoken from a nightmare or if she was upset, but this was something new.

Before the Citadel, physical touch was normal for him. He often hugged his brothers and found that he enjoyed the comfort it gave him. However, after he was rescued from Skako Minor, it was like he had to relearn some things, what he liked and disliked, and physical touch was one of those things. The Bad Batch didn’t regularly hug each other, but touches to the shoulder and other such things were not uncommon. But he found that after Omega joined them, hugging her had made him realise how comforting it can be for both him and her.

He slowly put his arms around her, and rested his chin on her head, rubbing her back soothingly. Soon enough, Omega was fast asleep and Echo found himself falling asleep too, happy that Omega was safe in his arms. When Crosshair came back onto the ship, he saw them both sleeping in the cockpit and he couldn’t help but let a soft smile grace his features at the sight of them. He grabbed a blanket from the bunks and gently laid it over them, before going back outside to resume his watch.

Crosshair:

Crosshair sat on his bunk, an ever-present toothpick hanging from his mouth whilst he disassembled, reassembled and cleaned his customised 773 Firepuncher sniper rifle. It was second nature to him and he didn’t even have to think about what he was doing. He enjoyed and took pride in setting up and cleaning his rifle. It was a part of him and who he was, and he enjoyed the routine.

The ship was quiet, the only people on it being himself and Omega, as the others had gone to gather some much needed supplies. He preferred staying behind, not liking going to stall after stall and store after store, looking at item after item and listening to his brothers haggling, so he decided to stay behind with Omega, who said she wasn’t feeling great. Hunter had tried to stay behind with her but Crosshair pointed out that he was the best at haggling and Hunter reluctantly left, only stopping to get Omega tucked up in his bunk under a mountain of blankets, with some water nearby and some medicine.

At first, Crosshair wasn’t sure what to make of Omega. But he had grown used to her presence and even began to enjoy it. They had grown closer and they bonded over him training her how to shoot her bow more accurately and he had even comforted her when she was upset. She usually always wore a smile on her face and it was enough to even bring a smile to Crosshair’s usually scowling face. His heart hurt a little at seeing her huddled under the blankets, looking so small.

He paused to look over at her every so often, making sure she wasn’t getting worse. He could hear her steady breaths as she slept, and he put his rifle to the side and stood up, flicking his toothpick into the waste-bin next to his bunk as he did so. He gently pressed his hand to her forehead and noted how her temperature didn’t feel as if it had gotten higher, but it didn’t seem like it was getting lower either.

He picked up the cup of water Hunter had left and gently roused Omega from her slumber. She looked up at him with bleary eyes, scrunching her little nose up in confusion. “Kid, it’s time for a drink of water,” he spoke softly to her. He put his hand behind her head to support her and tipped the cup slowly to her mouth, making sure she took a few small sips, before laying her back down again. He brushed her hair away from her head and began to stand up again, but she made a small noise of protest when he went to move.

By the way she looked at him, he knew that she wanted him to sit with her. After all, that’s what the others did when she was unwell. He hesitated for a moment, then let out a soft sigh, moving onto the bunk and leaning his back against the wall. Omega shuffled closer to him and reached out her little hand to take his. At first, he did nothing, he just looked at her small hand grasping his. Then he sighed quietly again and held her hand, rubbing his thumb gently across her knuckles.

“Please... don’t leave me,” Omega breathed, sounding scared. Crosshair’s breath hitched in his throat, and he swallowed thickly, having never heard Omega sound this way before. She was usually the life and soul of the group. “I’ll never leave you, Omega. I promise.” he replied, the words coming out oddly strangled.  His heart clenched again and he tipped his head back against the wall, a surge of affection and protectiveness going through him, thinking about how he would do anything for Omega.

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Hide and Seek

word count: 1043

notes: ties in a little to my story "Sunset" but you don't need to read that to understand this.

Hunter sat, face towards the sun on the stone patio, a smirk on his lips. Giggles and shrieks came from inside the house. Omega was playing hide and seek with her “baby brothers” Stak, Deke and Mox. Judging from the noise, Hunter didn’t imagine any of them were winning.

Omega fell through the front door and onto the patio, “Huntah, you have to hide me,” she whispered, a grin spreading from ear to ear.

“Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of the game?” he replied, amused.

She rolled her eyes and brushed her blonde hair out of her face, eyes darting for another place to disappear. “I’ve already been under all the beds, a kitchen cupboard and behind a lamp in the living room.

“How did you hide behind a lamp?” Hunter asked, impressed.

She waved off his question with her hand and ducked under the bench he was sitting on.

“Omega,”

Just then Stak skidded onto the patio. “Where is she?” he asked, wild eyes

“I really don’t think you understand how this game works” Hunter chuckled.

“She’s won twelve games in a row. But I’ve got her this time” He sank to his knees, looking under the bench, the long wooden table and over the brick wall to the path beyond. “Ah! I thought she’d be here,” he said angrily.   

“Any luck yet?” Mox and Deke stuck their heads out of the door too.

“Nothing. She’s a ghost,” They all piled back inside the house to start the search again.

Hunter looked under the bench and couldn’t help but be proud. Omega was clinging to the underside, her arms and legs spread in an X shape. “Need a hand” he said, offering to help her extricate her from her current predicament.

She smiled, taking his offered hand to clambered out. “I really thought they’d get me this time,” she said, collapsing on the bench next to Hunter. “I guess climbing through the walls in Tantis was more useful than I thought.” She said it lightly, in the same sunshiny way she talked about everything, but a cloud had formed behind her eyes.

The smile faded from Hunter’s face too and he felt a twinge in his back that seemed to appear whenever Tantis was mentioned. “But we’re safe now,” he said, gazing out at the turquoise sea and breathing in the sweet, salty air of Pabu.  

“Uhuh” she agreed, leaning into his outstretched arm.

Hunter closed his eyes, again enjoying the warm sun on his face. A fresh breeze ruffled his hair.

“Huntah?”

“uhum?” he grunted, not moving from his contented spot. Soaking all the peace and warmth into his bones.

“You said we could be whatever we wanted to be now…”

Hunter opened his eyes and looked at her, his Omega. She was playing with the silver, Ingot necklace that he had given her. A remnant from his footlocker on the marauder. He had no idea how it survived the explosion.

The occasional part of the ship still washed up on Pabu’s beach. The chair from the gunners mount, a storage locker and the necklace, wrapped around some string lights.

“…what is it that you want to be?” she asked sheepishly

“That’s a good question, Kid.” He said with a sigh, “I’m still trying to figure that out.”

“Crosshair’s got his painting, Wrecker is fishing. I’m in school. You’re the only one who…” she trailed off, but he knew what she was trying to say.

Hunter had been the one pushing for a civilian life, a quiet life away from war. The irony wasn’t lost on him that he was the one struggling to adapt to it the most. He loved the quiet, the warmth and the wonder of the little things in their lives now. But he missed having a sense of purpose, a direction.

Tech had always called him the squad’s compass. Always pointing at the right track, but suddenly they had no direction. Their time was idle and serene. The only real job he had left was keeping an eye on his squad, and even that was pretty superfluous these days.

He turned and noticed Omega looking at him intently, her brow furrowed slightly.

“Is there something bothering you?” he asked

She looked down at her hands still playing with the necklace but was struggling to find the words, “I just…was thinking…I mean. You’re going off with Rex in a few days. And I know it’s just one mission but…what if you…what if you get hurt and we aren’t there to help you? Or what if you decide to leave, like Echo did,” the last part of the sentence fell out of her mouth almost involuntarily.

Hunter gave her a soft smile and sat up straighter so he could look her directly in her amber eyes.  “I’m not going anywhere, Kid. My place is with you and Crosshair and Wrecker.” He paused, thinking about the upcoming mission. It would be dangerous, he knew that. “I won’t be gone for too long. It’s just a favor for an old friend. This is my home. This is where I’ll come back to.”

Omega seemed satisfied with his reply. Her smile returned and she once again leaned into his arm and they both gazed at the sea. One of the islands many moon-yos jumped onto the stone wall in front of the patio, gazed at them both quickly and dashed off the catch up with its friends.

“GOTCHA,” Stak screeched.

Omega and Hunter turned around to take in the triumphant look on his face. He was sweaty, his dark hair brushed away from his eyes but sticking to his forehead.

Omega smiled at him, “were we still playing?” she asked before going back and looking out at the beautiful ocean view. It never ceased to impress.   

Hunter stifled a smile as Stak looked crestfallen. “Why don’t you check on Wrecker, I think he’s got a new batch of cookies coming out of the over any minute,” the cadet’s eyes lit up and he dived back through the door. The sweet scent wafted out to the patio, but Hunter and Omega remained on their bench, watching the ocean waves lap against the hull of the old boats. Just letting time pass.

Tested

Summary: Hunter and Rex go on a mission for intel and come across some unlikely acquaintances.

Word Count: 4349

“Are you sure you’re doing that right?” Rex asked,

“You know this is kind of my thing, right?” Hunter said exasperatedly. He was crouched, close to the ground, rolling dirt over his fingers. His helmet, or the replacement helmet he had been given by Echo, sat next to him on the ground. An unfamiliar face staring up at him.

Hunter understood where Rex was coming from. They had been at this for more rotations than he could count. He couldn’t even remember the name of the small, jungle like moon they found themselves on, but they seemed to be going in circles, and it wasn’t because of Hunter’s tracking skills. The muscles in his calves were screaming. Sweat dripped down his back and bandana was soaked through.

“Did you ever think that maybe this Jedi doesn’t want to be found and that’s why we’re having such a hard time.”

“I did.” He said smugly, clapping Hunter on the shoulder, “that’s why I brought the best,”

Hunter signed and got closer to the ground. They were close, he could sense it.

Suddenly he stood up, “Rex, move!” he shouted, shoving the captain out of the way just as the glowing blade of an emerald lightsaber fell to the ground where he had been moments before.

Hunter fell back onto the attack stance, blaster pulled and aiming in front of him. The stranger wore a black cloak, only his chin visible underneath.

“Well, well, well,” he said in a relaxed kind of way, “Captain Rex. I heard you were dead”

“Likewise, Master Vos,” Rex said cooly.

Both men relaxed their stance. Quinlan Vos lowered his hood, a cocky smile on his lips. His black hair hung past his shoulders, the yellow markings on his face seemed to glow in the green light of the lightsaber.

The hum on Vos’ laser sword still hung in the air. Hunter hadn’t lowered his weapon but had loosened his grip. He knew of Vos by reputation. But these were difficult times and given his last experience with a force user, he had no intention of letting his guard down.

“And who’s this?” Vos nodded at Hunter, “your tracker, I’m assuming?”

“That’s right, this is Hunter,”

Vos shut off his lightsaber with a snap hiss and stepped forward. He reached his hand out to shake Hunter’s, “not many people can track me. I’m impressed.” Hunter nodded but didn’t respond to the outstretched hand. He still wasn’t sure if they were safe yet or not.

“I don’t need to worry about you both trying to blast me, do I?” Vos asked with an amused expression, as if he’d like to see them try.

“We’re not working for the Empire.” Rex said simply, and that seemed to assuage any fears in Vos.

“So, what can I do for you, Captain” he asked, hooking his lightsaber to his belt and turning his back on them, walking through the thicket of trees, bushes and twigs crunching with every step.  

Rex looked at Hunter, shrugged and followed.

“We rescued a number of force sensitive children from the Empire. Are working to find their families, have found some but we think they’re being watched. We can’t return the kids to have them taken again. A friend suggested we try and find you. That you had a network that might be able to help.”

“A friend?” Vos asked, eyebrow raised.

“Fulcrum,” Rex responded quietly.

Hunter was only half listening to the conversation. There was something lingering at the edge of his senses that he couldn’t place. He could hear something in the tops of the trees. It was moving methodically, not like an animal. His eyes searched the dense canopy. The rustling was following them.

“We’ve got company” Hunter said quietly.

“Don’t worry about it,” Vos said with a shrug.

Hunter looked at Rex who just nodded and continued to follow the Jedi deeper into the forest. Hunter rested his hand on his blaster, held his virboknife and continued to trek.

It was some time before they reached a small cave like structure in a small clearing. A circular opening looked like it had been cut directly into the rock, Hunter assumed with the lightsaber hanging from Vos’ waist. He hated to think how long that had taken.

Rex settled on a large tree stump that lay horizontally on the ground. He sighed as he took off his helmet, wiping the sweat from his face. Hunter wasn’t ready to sit. He was still unsettled. Whatever was following them was still lingering at the edge of his senses. It was oddly familiar.  

Vos disappeared into the cave and came back without his cape and carrying a tray with a grey liquid in a bottle. “Figured we could all use a drink” he said.

There were four cups. Hunter raised his eyebrow at Rex. He had taken the cup he was handed but Hunter noticed he hadn’t taken a sip yet. The captain knew something was off too.

Hunter slowly turned around on the spot, looking out into the deep forest, through the trees. A gentle scent wafted over the clearing, flowers, ash and…death?

Hunter spun around; blaster raised to the tree line. He knew that scent.

“Have you come for round two?” a tall and slim figure emerged, the grey markings tracing down the side of her mouth, giving her a permanent scowl. He hair was longer now, chin length and cut in a slant as sharp as the side of a blade.

“Ventress?” Rex said, blaster up, eyes darting from Hunter and Vos.

“How’s Omega?,” Ventress asked, casually walking through the clearing and taking the seat next to Vos. Any closer and she would have been sitting on his lap.

Hunter didn’t answer, lower his weapon, or blink. He had turned on his heel to follow her as she walked.

“Another one of your acquaintances, my dear?” Vos asked her sweetly, pouring her a cup of the cloudy liquid. “Is there anyone you don’t know?”

“What can I say, I get around,” she replied with a smirk. She crossed her left leg over her right and knocked back the drink in one go.

Hunter was still scowling and wondering what Rex had gotten him into. He didn’t know Rex’s contact and who had put him on the path to Vos and Ventress, but he couldn’t help but wish he were back on Pabu with his squad. He, Crosshair, and Wrecker had been no match for Ventress the last time. He and Rex wouldn’t stand a chance against both her and Vos.

“Easy fellas,” Vos said, standing with his hands up as though approaching a wild animal. “She is no longer a Sith.”

“Something I believe I shared with you on your island,” Ventress added to Hunter.

“We didn’t get a great impression of which side you were on,”

“You’re still beathing, aren’t you?” Ventress replied, tucking her silver hair behind her ear.

Hunter hesitated but lowered his blaster. He watched out of the corner of his eye and Rex followed suit. They weren’t going to get anywhere with open hostility. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner the kids could get back to their families, and the sooner he could get back to his.

Rex cleared his throat, seemingly trying to get things back on track. “We’re looking for help relocating…”

“Force sensitive children. Yes, I heard” Ventress said. She looked at Hunter with a smile on her lips, “are you collecting them?”

Hunter scowled but didn’t respond. She was trying to get under his skin. It was working.

“Have the children been tested? Have their abilities been confirmed?”

“They were being kept at a secret facility run by an Imperial scientist working directly for the emperor. They wouldn’t have kept them if they weren’t” Hunter replied, bristling a little. He didn’t want the kids to have to go through anything else, especially Ventress’ ‘tests’.

“A secret facility?” Ventress looked at Vos who simply nodded. He seemed more than happy for her to take the lead. “And how did you hear about it?”

Hunter didn’t respond, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Ah… Omega. She was taken I’m assuming?”

Hunter felt a tightness in his check and a catch in his throat but kept his face blank. He didn’t want to think about the time she was taken from him. The many times she was taken. He fought the immediate need to check in with his squad on Pabu, making sure she was still there.

She was safe, she was fine. He repeated it again and again in his head until it took hold.

“So, what happened to the facility” Vos interjected

Hunter shrugged, “partially destroyed,”

“And the scientist?” Ventress asked.

A cloud fell over Hunter’s eyes. “He died.” He said calmly.

***

Hunter sat by the fire. Watching the embers spark and float into the deep forest night. He and Rex hadn’t had time to return to their base before nightfall. The woods weren’t safe to navigate in the dark, although Hunter had been prepared to take the risk.

Vos and Ventress did plan to help them. Rex’s contact had been right about that. Their small network was growing exponentially but it would still take time to locate a safe space for Jax and Sammi.  The kids had been in contact with their families, something Hunter was pleased about, but it hadn’t been safe enough to reunite them yet. He knew how painful that must be for their parents. They were willing to help Rex and Echo locate the families of Eva and Behrn, if possible.

Hunter heard the crack of a tree branch behind him, but didn’t stir. Rex sat down on the log opposite him and smiled.

“Need an extra set of eyes out here?” he asked

“Hm, not really,” Hunter replied, his eyes not leaving the fire, “but you’re welcome to stay.”

“I appreciate you doing this, Hunter. I know this is not where you want to be,”

“Happy to help, Rex. You know that.”

“I do,” Rex said, scratching at the stubble on his chin, “I hate to think the chaos your squad is getting into,” Rex chuckled.

Hunter smiled. He had been trying not to think about it. “I’m sure Crosshair’s keeping them in line,” he said. Rex, raised an eyebrow. “Okay, maybe not Cross. Omega then. If she’s following the rules herself that is.”

He knew she wouldn’t be. That kid had never heard an order and followed it.  He smiled at the thought of Omega’s big brown eyes and floppy blonde hair.

“This work you and Echo are doing. When’s it going to be enough, Rex? You can’t do this forever. There’s only so much time before your luck will run out. Trust me,”

“We’re in it for the long run,” Rex said with a confident smile and Hunter couldn’t help but think back to their first missions together, his unwavering belief and trust that he was on the right track. He admired his friend but feared for him too. If Rex was an optimist, then Hunter was a realist. This was a fight that was not easily won.

For so much of their lives, their decisions, had been made for them. Hunter didn’t know how any clone could want anything other than peace after the madness and misery of war.  

“You think we can trust them?” Hunter asked, nodding to the cave where Ventress and Vos had retreated to.

Rex looked pensive for a moment, like a memory flashed behind his eyes. “Not all Jedi are trustworthy, I’ll give you that. I trust Vos, I have no evidence not to but… Ventress…she’s something different. From the story of your encounter with her and some other things I’ve heard, I like to believe she’s changed…”

“We can’t trust these kids to just anyone.” Hunter said, adamantly. “We can’t let the empire get hold of them again. Who knows what they’d do to them this time.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Rex said firmly. “How are they doing on the Island, anyway?”

Hunter smiled, a wide, serene smile that he didn’t think he was capable of anywhere but Pabu. “Good. Adapting. Omega meditates with them most days. The oldest go to school. They’re being looked after by two neighboring families so we can keep an eye on them. Baryn is walking now although things tend to start flying when he loses his temper. There’s the occasional Jedi stuff with the others too but we have been able to keep it quiet. Contained.”

Rex smiled. “Fatherhood suits you,”

Hunter felt his cheeks get hot and brushed the comment off, “Well, someone’s got to look after them.”

“You did that for Omega too, you know. Do you ever think where she’d be if you hadn’t taken her with you?”

Hunter shook his head, but he had thought about it. She wouldn’t have been chased by bounty hunters, shot at, kidnapped and otherwise threatened. But she could have died on Kamino, or been sent to Tantis earlier.  It didn’t really matter, Hunter thought. She was meant to come with them. She was their family before they even knew it. She chose him before he had an opportunity to choose her. It was a choice he would make every single time.

“Why don’t you get some rest, Rex.” He said finally. “I’ll keep watch. We’ll switch in a few.”

Rex nodded and stepped closer to the treeline, put on his helmet and sat against a tree.

The creatures of this moon were making a strange trilling noise in the trees. The air smelled like wet dirt. The scent had been stuck in his nose for days. He longed for the sweet, salty air of Pabu and the dry heat instead of this wet, cloying environment.

Hunter pulled out his knife and started twirling it between his fingers. There was a time, as a cadet that his fingers would be covered in bandages, as he tried tricks with the blade. These days it was an extension of his hand. It was intuitive, a mindless activity.

It wasn’t long before Hunter sensed her behind him. Her footsteps wouldn’t have been detectable to anyone else, that’s the nature of the Jedi or Sith or whatever she was these days. But Hunter knew, he heard as soon as she stood up in the cave.

She stepped lightly over the log and sat down next to him, a little too close for comfort. Once again, she was trying to make him uncomfortable, and once again he hated that she was succeeding. Her angular face turned towards him. “How is Omega?”, she asked, her drawling voice quieter than usual.

Hunter raised an eyebrow, “curiosity got the best of you?” he asked, turning towards her and managing to put a little space between them at the same time.

“I suppose you could call it that,” she replied, running her long fingers through her chin length hair.

“Well, she hasn’t made anything levitate or explode like some of the other force sensitives I’ve met. Does than satisfy you?”

Ventress looked into the fire, deep in thought. Hunter frowned, watching as the orange flames danced in front of her face, making her eyes look like they were glowing.

“She is…unusual…”

“She’s unique,” Hunter corrected.

Ventress turned to him, eyes narrowed her eyes. “She’s not force sensitive. Why was the empire after her?”

“Why do you care?”

“Call it professional curiosity,” she said sarcastically.

“I couldn’t tell you if I wanted to. I don’t know.” Hunter said, lying. He knew Jedi should be able to sense when they were being deceived, he’d seen it in action during the war, but Ventress didn’t press, and he was thankful for it.

They sat in silence for a while. Listening to the strange calls of the creatures in the trees. Hearing the rustling of larger animals in the woods.

Ventress seemed to be comfortable with the silence, but Hunter found it intrusive, much like her presence. He didn’t know why she was here or what she wanted.

“You smell like death,” he said, into the night.

“I bet you’re really popular with the ladies,” she retorted.

Hunter rolled his eyes. It had been bothering him since she had appeared. He had been too fraught when they last met to notice but it was so obvious now.  There was something in the back of his senses, he couldn’t describe it, or see it, but it was there.

“Is it true you can see things through the force?”

Her eyes narrowed, “yes,”

“Like people?”

“All living things are connected through the force. But yes, I can see them, in my mind’s eye”

“Even dead people?” Hunter asked slowly, looking down at the knife he had been casually twirling his hands as he did so.

Ventress sat up straighter and shifted in her seat. This clearly wasn’t where she thought the conversation was going to go when she came out here.

“Yes… occasionally force sensitives can see, hear and even talk to the dead.” She paused; lips pursed as though holding in a question that didn’t want to be contained. “Why are you asking these things?”

Hunter ran his hand through his hair, “it doesn’t matter,” he said, suddenly feeling foolish. He wasn’t ready to talk about this. Why would he bring it up with this woman of all people? He hadn’t even brought this up to his family. Was that why he had been so interested in leaving Pabu? Was the stress of keeping this secret from them easier at a distance?

Ventress was staring at him intently, unwilling to let her question go. “Should I have tested you instead of Omega?”

Hunter scoffed, “I’m no Jedi,” he said, amusement in his voice.

Ventress narrowed her eyes at him again. “Stand up,” she barked, snatching the blade out of his hands. “Over there,” she gestured a few meters away. Normally, a former Sith assassin stealing his knife would set off alarm bells, but Hunter didn’t feel threatened. Without thinking he followed her directions.

“Close your eyes,” she said in the same tone, “I’m going to throw your knife. Try and catch it”

“I am not force sensitive,” he said exacerbated, “The Kaminoan’s enhanced my senses.”

“And what do you think force sensitivity is?” she asked, dryly. “Now close your eyes,”

Hunter huffed. He thought of the look on Crosshair’s face when he told him he willingly let Ventress throw a knife at him, smiled to himself and closed his eyes.

He felt his senses start to tingle, as though they were reaching out to try and find the knife. He heard Ventress pull the blade back to her ear.  As she released the knife it made a schwing sound though the air. He heard it as if came closer, second by second until his hand shot out, involuntarily, and the hilt fell into his palm.

Ventress crossed her arms looking smug, but Hunter just shook his head.

“I’ve been catching knives and everything else by brothers could throw at me since I was a cadet. This doesn’t mean anything,”

“It means I should test you further”

“Ventress,” it was the first time he had used her name, in the same tone he would use Crosshair’s or Phee’s, and it took him aback. He cleared his throat and started again, “I was just asking because…”

“You can sense dead people.”

“Just the one, my brother. But yes,”

“Well, technically two. You sensed me as well, remember? There were three people in this galaxy who knew I died. There is no way you would have known, unless you sensed it. You have no way of knowing how the Kaminoans enhanced your particular skills. They had access to Jedi. Perhaps you were supposed to be force sensitive.”

“But I’m not.”

“That remains to be seen. I can’t sense your brother in the force right now. Perhaps he’s not around but I can sense you. You look different in the force than your friend,” she nodded to Rex, sleeping slumped against a tree. How he was sleeping through this conversation Hunter didn’t know. “All clones are unique in the force, but even Omega didn’t look like this. Perhaps you find these force sensitive children, protect them, because you can sense them through the force.”

“Does it matter? It just matters that they’re safe,” He replied. He had thousands of thoughts jumping through his mind. He was suddenly overwhelmingly tired. He wished Rex would wake up and Ventress would leave.

Ventress shrugged, “it doesn’t matter to me, beyond mild curiosity. But the force works in mysterious ways, and it sent you here for a reason, perhaps it was to discover this information.”

Her words hung in the air. Hunter didn’t know how to respond. Had no way to respond. He was different by design; they all were, but could it be possible? Did he want it to be possible? He needed to talk to Tech, ask him what he thought. But that was easier said than done. The silence hung there.

He hastily changed the subject. “This path you’ve created. How safe is it?”

“As safe as anything now days.” She replied cooly. She paused and looked intently at his face, as though trying to read his mind.

“So, not safe at all,” he said, more to himself than her.

“Your children will be protected by Quinlan and myself. It doesn’t get much safer than that,”

“They’re not my children,” he insisted. Although they might as well be.

“You could help, you know. Your skills would be useful.  I could continue to test you. Perhaps between the Quinlan and I, we could give you some answers.”

Hunter raised an eyebrow. “I’m retired,”

“And I’m dead, yet here we are. Think of all those children and survivors who need help, just like Omega. You could do a lot of good.”

“I’ve got my own family to look after.”

“Then why are you here?” she asked pointedly.

Hunter paused. The light of fire was dimming now, the embers fading from bright red and orange to cool yellow amid the tangle of twigs and leaves. He had thought of little else but returning to Pabu during his time with Rex, usually in the quiet moments. But when on the island he struggled to find purpose. When you have been going night and day since you were born, slowing down was a strange sensation. But the longer he was away, the more he thought it was something he could learn to be satisfied with.

“Hmm.” Ventress cooed “well, if Island life ever gets too dull, I’m sure you can track us down,”

She stood up and sauntered back to the cave. Hunter sat bemused for a moment, staring out into the darkness of the forest. He really needed to get back home.

***

Hunter was at the ramp before the ship had even landed. The heat of Pabu hit him as soon as the ramp started to lower. The sweet, ubiquitous scent of blossom from the weeping maya tree, cooking smells from the market and salty air of the surrounding sea signaled that he was finally home.

Omega ran at him as soon as he hit the stone top of Pabu. He kneeled to hug her and then stood so her short legs dangled. She giggled and hugged his neck tighter, burying her cheek into chest. She had grown since he had left. Her hair was longer down her back, her bangs stretched to fit tightly into the braid.

“Huntah, we missed you,” she said with a beaming smile.

His brothers, Crosshair and Wrecker both came forward. Wrecker giving him his usual, spine crushing hug and Crosshair, a slap on the shoulder.

“Managed to stay alive then?” Crosshair said with a smirk.

“Yeah, despite Ventress’ best efforts,” Omega, Crosshair and Wrecker exchanged confused looked and exploded with questions at once.

“We can talk about it when we get home,” Hunter said with a smile.

They walked back to their little house. After some time in the refresher, Hunter, clean for what felt like the first time since he left, joined his family at the table on the patio.

Wrecker had created a feast. The table heaved under plates of fish, cooked meat from the market, fruits and vegetables and a sweet dessert that Omega had decorated with flowers.

“So, was the mission a success?” Wrecker asked as Hunter took the seat opposite.

“Yeah, you could say that. We found the target. Two for the price of one it turns out. They’re going to help the kids find their families find a safe place…”

“And where does Ventress fit in,” Crosshair asked cooly “I knew I should have gone with you,”

“She and Vos are an item. They may have been together before we met her last,”

“And why are you alive despite her best efforts?” Crosshair continued.

Hunter knew his brother wouldn’t let that comment go. He paused and took a sip of his wine. The liquid was sweet with a bitter, rich aftertaste. “ I let her throw my knife at me while my eyes were closed,”

“YOU DID WHAT?” Crosshair, Wrecker and Omega all shouted in unison. Batcher started underneath the table at the noise, shook head so her collar tinkled and laid back down on the warm stone patio.

Hunter chuckled and gazed out over Pabu’s harbor. He felt a familiar prickling at the edge of his senses and closed his eyes to see Tech in his mind’s eye.

He smiled at his fallen brother.  He supposed now as was good a time as any. He nodded to the empty chair they always kept for him at the family table, and sensed Tech slide into it. There was a slight scraping noise on the stone, but he was the only one to notice. Omega, Crosshair and Wrecker looked at him quizzically.

Hunter sighed, put down his glass and faced his family. “I have a lot to tell you.”

Goodbye

Summary: Hunter has recently learned that he can sense Tech’s ghost and has shared that information with his family. Omega comes to terms with Tech’s death with the help of her brother.

Notes: This story follows canon and deals with Tech’s death. If you’re not comfortable reading about that I would give this story a miss. This also follows along with some of the other stories I’ve written. You can read them here: Hope; Sunrise; Sunset and Tested

Word Count: 1431

****************************************************

Omega sat on her bed, holding her fallen brother’s goggles. She hadn’t done this in a while. She had been content to let them sit on her nightstand, silently watching over her. A thick layer of dust had collected on the edges of the broken glass. The light, formally glowing red, was now dark.

If she squinted, they would sometimes look whole, and she should imagine the chocolate-colored eyes behind them looking back at her. But not today.

Hunter had told them about his mission with Rex and newest encounter with Ventress. And that he had sensed Tech or Tech’s ghost or whatever it was.

Initially she had been thrilled. It was like getting him back again. Hunter had even pointed out that he was at the table, sitting with them, laughing with them. But in the dark, in the quiet, Omega realized that he wasn’t back. He wasn’t here. Not in the way she wanted.

There had always been a small part of her that had hoped. Hoped that he had found something to catch himself on, fallen into water, been saved by some miracle and now the reality of it crashed over her. He was gone. He had fallen to his death for them, and he would never show up on an idle afternoon, scratched, maimed, but alive.

A tear fell onto the goggles as this realization hit her like a fresh wave of grief.

She heard a creak outside her door and didn’t need to look up to know who it was.

“Are you okay,” Hunter asked softly, crossing to the bed and sitting next to her. His palms were in his lap, not wanting to intrude too directly onto her grief, but still close enough if she needed him.

Omega had always found Hunter’s lack of touch frustrating. She knew he loved her, knew he wanted to hug her, comfort her, but he wasn’t capable in the way that Wrecker was.

She sniffed in reply and dissolved, sobbing over her most prized possession, the last remnant of her long-lost brother.

“I’m sorry, kid,” Hunter whispered, putting his arm around her. He squeezed her close to him, resting his chin on the top of her head and holding her. She sank into his arm, drinking in the safety and warmth. She would have been surprised by his sudden affection was she not wholly consumed with sorrow.

They stayed like that for a while in silence, except for Omega’s shuddered breaths. She felt where the tears had fallen on her cheeks, as though they were permanently etched in her skin like her brother’s tattoo. The sun was streaming into her golden room. When she finally sat up, she wiped her eyes and exhaled deeply. She looked down at the goggles, ran her finger over the shattered lens, and gently placed them on the nightstand once more.

“I thought he might come back. Hoped,” she mumbled.

Hunter nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Where are Wrecker and Crosshair?” she asked, suddenly realizing how quiet the house was.

Hunter sighed, “Wrecker went fishing to clear his head. Crosshair is painting at the crest. Said he’d be back later. It’s difficult information to…”

Hunter paused and chuckled “of course,” he said to no one. He stood up from the bed and sat on the floor facing her.

“He’s here, if you want to talk,” he said with a smile at the space he had vacated next to Omega.

“I can’t sense him the way…”

“I’ll translate,” Hunter leaned forward, took her hand and placed it on the spot next to her on the bed. “he’s here,” he said gently, sitting back down.

“I don’t feel him,” she said, staring at the nothingness next to her.

“I know,” Hunter said sadly. “He asked how you are… oh sorry. Yeah, okay Tech.” Hunter looked at her, amused. “He said I need to translate verbatim,”

Omega giggled and sat up straighter. She noticed Hunter close his eyes and lowered his head as though not to intrude into a private conversation.

“How are you, Omega,” Hunter said, his voice punctuated in Tech’s familiar rhythm.

“I’m okay…Tech,” she said, feeling silly but also lighter than she had in a while.

“I’m very…proud of how you have grown up. You are an excellent pilot,”

Omega’s eyes swam with tears, “thank you.” she looked down at her hands and across to Tech’s goggles, “I’m sorry we couldn’t save you, Tech,” she said, feeling a weight dop into her chest. She looked at Hunter whose face had crumpled.

Omega had never seen Hunter cry, although Wrecker had assured her that he did, had, many times after she was taken; When he thought no one else was around. She was aware in that moment how young her brothers were and how much they had endured in their short lives.

“I would make the same decision again and again if it meant you were safe,” Hunter as Tech said.

“Did it…hurt?” she asked, finally voicing her greatest fear.

“I didn’t feel anything, Omega. I was not and am not in pain. I am lucky that I am somehow able to watch you live your lives in peace,”

Hunter looked up at the space next to Omega and smiled.

“Are you always here?” Omega asked hopefully.

“Not always. I seem to pop in every now and then. It’s not something I control. It would be fascinating to do further research. However, in my current state that doesn’t seem possible,”

Omega giggled; Tech was always trying to discover more.  “Where are you when you’re not with us?” she asked and Hunter looked at her, surprised, as though it had never occurred to him to ask that question before.

“I seem to go to a strange, void space. It is black with white, glowing arches like some kind of ancient star map. I’m always alone but can hear other voices. It is quite an odd but not unpleasant sensation. Regardless, I much prefer to be on Pabu with you and…”

“Phee?” Omega supplied.

“Why…ah…yes…I do pop in on her from time to time,”

“Does she know?” Omega asked, directing the question at Hunter. He shook his head but kept his eyes closed and head down.

“Perhaps you can help Hunter with that particular conversation,” Hunter as Tech said.

“I’d be happy to,” Omega said.

The light was streaming through her window now, a beam of sparkling dust illuminated the space next to her and for a second, she could imagine Tech in his armor, looking down at her with a smile on his lips.

“I love you, Tech,” she said to the nothingness.

“And I you,” Hunter responded in Tech’s familiar tone.

There was a pause before Hunter raised his head and blinked open his eyes, focusing on the spot. Omega knew Tech was gone. She could see it on his face.

“Did that help?” he asked, concern in his voice.

She smiled and launched herself at him, hugging him around the neck. “Yes. Thank you.” She said, tears dripping onto his shoulder.

“I was just the translator,” he said softly. He picked himself up and wiped his hands over his face and through his hair absentmindedly.

“Should we go and see Phee?” Omega asked excitedly. She felt so light, happier than she had since she heard the news, she wanted to spread it as far as possible.

“I dunno, Kid,” Hunter said solemnly. “I’m not sure I can break anyone else’s heart right now. Maybe we wait until Crosshair and Wrecker get used to the idea.”

Omega nodded in understanding and took his hand. “you’re not breaking hearts, Hunter. You’re giving hope.” She said with a smile.

“It doesn’t feel like that,” he said quietly. He squeezed her hand twice and let go, crossing the common room to the kitchen beyond.

Omega looked back at the spot where Tech had been. At least, where she thought he had been. His goggles sat in a pool on sunlight, the broken glass which looked grey and devoid of life before glowed yellow and she gasped.

She knew she would carry the loss of him with her forever. It was burnt into her skin like a brand. But knowing he was watching, that he was proud, and that he loved her as much as she loved him, she realized that it was enough. The grief would never fully leave her, but it took up less space, knowing she could speak to him again.

“Goodbye, Tech,” she whispered into the room as she followed Hunter to the kitchen beyond.

If Yes: Read Galactic Exodus Chronicles part 1 on fanfiction net.

Darth Revan & Bastila (accepting both sides of the Force)

I love this story

Fanfiction net. Dark Destyny

Revan was silent for a minute, then said, "You have been misled by your so-called teachers. Light Side, Dark Side, you see them only as good and evil. In truth, they are so much more."

"Oh? Then what are they?" Bastila asked incredulously.

Revan began to explain his philosophy. "The Light Side is the, shall we say, wider area of the Force. It consists of the, for lack of a better word, 'higher' emotions. Selflessness, self-sacrifice, compassion. All of them are very positive things. But the Light Side ignores the more human emotions. If you limit oneself to the Light Side, you lose touch with your natural emotions."

Bastia had to interrupt. "Even if I believe you, which I don't, isn't that a good thing? Human emotions, selfish emotions; they only bring down a Jedi in the end. That's why we keep them under control, so our judgement is not clouded."

Revan shook his head. "You misunderstand. Many more basic emotions are not selfish. Personal love and happiness are not, but they form part of the Dark Side. You have been raised, Bastila, to see the Light and Dark Sides to firmly represent good and evil, but you are wrong. Yes, anger and rage are part of the Dark Side, but so are love and passion. No, the Dark Side is not evil, it only comes from natural, human emotions."

Bastila considered his words. It was an interesting philosophy, but she knew Revan was either lying, or deluded.

"I am not deluded, Bastila. In fact, I will be your first Master who is not. The Jedi have it all wrong, Bastila. The danger is not using the Dark Side. No, the danger is becoming too limited on one side of the Force. Only focusing on the Dark Side can lead to your anger and greed consuming you. That is what happened to Malak."

For the first time, there was a hint of regret in Revan's voice. Did he feel remorseful for what had become of his friend? Maybe he...no, Sith felt no remorse. Whatever Revan said, they were evil, and Bastila knew that.

"On the other hand, becoming blind to all but the Light Side is also very dangerous. Over time, you lose touch with your humanity. In the end, you become nothing more than an emotionless puppet. Eventually, you stop truly caring about those you protect. You start to help others only out of a sense of duty, and deep down, you don't actually care anymore."

4 Star Wars fanfictions considered by me masterpieces about:

Vader & Exar Kun

Thrawn & Chimera Crew

Thrawn & Karyn Faro

Revan & Bastila

Do you have any favorite fanfictions about these characters?

Please let me know in the comments down below

New Fic:

hello

When responsibilities increase, decisions have to be made. After the death of Quin Gon, many changes come for both Obi Wan and Satine. They know what they have to do, but that doesn't mean it will be easy.

hello

When responsibilities increase, decisions have to be made. After the death of Quin Gon, many changes come for both Obi Wan and Satine. They know what they have to do, but that doesn't mean it will be easy.

Chapter two : Desires of impossible things

The senate of the republic was a battlefield and in it fights are fought for interests that many times are not those of the people and this would not be the exception, the duchess of Mandalore would not leave without the triumph in her hands, although she knew it would not be easy, she would make it work because the economy of her planet depended on it, It was the first time she saw Chancellor Palpatine and although she tried not to judge him at first sight she did not like him at all, there was something about him that made her distrust his exchange despite his courteous manners and his measured tone had been quite measured and to be honest quite uncomfortable, no one who came to power in those circumstances should be promoted so quickly. “The Duchess of Mandalore has the floor” one of the Chancellor's secretaries spoke forcefully as she turned to the capsule to face the audience. She could feel all eyes on her as she focused on the center of the room and on keeping her voice at an appropriate volume.

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

Captain Rex X F!Reader You aren't special. You don't have any form of magical connection to the force. So why then, are you constantly plagued by vision-like nightmares straight from the pits of Mustafar? Word Count: 4,632 Warnings: Minor swearing, minor cut to thumb, concussion, horror, mention of character death, feelings. A/N: This took so long to write when I have to spend my evenings stressing at work T_T but its here and its out, even tho no one asked for it lol. I'm quite happy with this one, it's a mix of a few different genres (?) and I'm happy with how it came out <33 hopefully whoever reads it will enjoy it just as much <33

Pure, blinding light ignited the hallways in a sterile white glow until you could almost taste the smell of disinfectant on the tip of your tongue. Distant whirring and humming of machinery filled the inside of the building, drowning out the raging storm outside. You had no kriffing clue where you were.

In a flash, the lights blacked out, one by one, until the hallway was swallowed in a momentary darkness. Your eyesight had a hard time adjusting, as the power promptly came back on, and once again you were blindsided.

Although the hallways were barren of any life, your gut churned. Anything and anyone could be lurking about, deep in the shadows where no artificial light could reach. Just like in the deep ocean, creatures lurked. They peered from below, anticipating the right moment where they could strike. Like an innocent, disoriented animal, maybe you were being carefully observed by some predator of a higher strength and intelligence. Maybe they were watching through a camera or watching you from behind the glass.

As thunder roared wildly, a loud creak travelled through the walls, all the lights in the room flickering out with a crackle.

You waited a moment, observing the ceiling expectantly. A small spark crackled from one lamp. But nothing. The power was dead.

Your gaze moved to watch the glass, the waves crashing against it with a vile ferocity, blanketing the facility you found yourself in, in further, deeper darkness. Droplets of water hung onto the glass, racing downwards with the pull of gravity, similarly to bleeding paint on a canvas.

Your body was stuck in a state of distress, and you wondered how you even got to this place. The last thing you remembered was laying in your cozy, warm, queen-sized bed, enjoying the absurdity of some comedy-based holofilm.

The last thing you expected was to find yourself standing in an unknown, bleach-scented, derelict, straight-out-of-a-horror hallway.

As the waves continued to claw at the windows, a shiver ran down your spine. A sudden coldness enveloped you, icy shadows embracing your body.

Anything could be lurking within the darkness, waiting, inching closer, anticipating.

As your vision adjusted to the darkness, you noticed something.

Your reflection moved, but you didn’t.

You blinked furiously, leaning forward and hoping that if you squinted hard enough, your eyesight would adapt to the darkness faster. Your arms wrapped around yourself, providing some warmth amidst the freezing air of the facility.

You could almost feel frost settling in your lungs.

For a split second, you wondered if this is what it felt like. If sheer cold and anxiety embraced one moments before death.

Something moved. Again.

A flash of clarity struck through you. This had to be a really, really shitty dream, you realised.

There was no possible explanation other than this being a nightmare. An overly, awfully vivid nightmare.

But there was a dull ache crackling in your fingertips, and it settled deep within your knuckles and bones as you tightened your grip on your arms, on something.

Something cold. Something hard. Something almost… Metallic.

Your subconscious seemed to clock the nature of the object before your conscious mind could.

You grazed your thumb across the object, feeling for that familiar ridge. You counted six, perfectly equal elevations. Your thumb trailed higher, feeling for the gradual thinning out of the instrument. Until the pain registered in your mind, and a warm sensation enveloped the delicate pad of your thumb in a pooling droplet of blood.

A… Scalpel.

Bile teased at your throat, burning and scratching its’ way up, yearning to see the surface. You quickly averted your gaze, the tool dropping to the floor with a hollow clank.

This felt too real to just be another shitty nightmare.

As you glanced into the window again, you caught a glimpse of a shift in the shadows. It was slight, so subtle you were convinced it was just your imagination playing up again.

Suddenly, you felt movement.

At first, it felt like a shiver on a cool spring morning. Almost as though it was nothing to fret over, something you could insist would pass. But then you felt the unmistakable sting of sharp claws digging into your waist, and the panic settled in. You weren’t alone.

Foreign limbs strangled around your body, suppressing your chortled scream with a hand, pulling you deep into the shadows of the facility. Your vision was slowly blocked, until you could only see a fine line ahead of you.

Your hands clawed at the thin air before you, begging to latch to any foreign surface that could save you from the darkness, and pull you back into the light.

Thunder roared and lightning cracked, igniting the room in a blinding white glow for a split moment, your screams suppressed as your eyes landed on the reflection in the glass.

Your arms fell limply to your sides, the veins in your sclera’s a stressed, bulging red.

A body.

Your eyes fluttered open in a hurry. Your lips were gaping in a silent scream, beads of sweat trickling down the side of your temple. Blood pulsed loudly in your head, almost hurting as you brushed the sweat away.

An involuntary, guttural groan escaped your chest as you crawled backwards in your bed, your hand frantically searching behind you for your bedside light as your gaze never strayed from the space before you.

Whatever that thing was, it was following you. It could be anywhere. It could be hiding in plain sight, and you wouldn’t know it until the lights were on-

The familiar click and the spread of a warm amber glow illuminating your room eased your senses, your fingers lingering on the switch. It took a moment to register what just happened.

You were safe. There was no creature. There was no body.

You took in a deep, shaky breath and hid your face away into the safety of your palms.

It was that dream, again.

Ever since you left med school on Coruscant, your mind has been plagued by these nightmares. Each time they increased in their intensity, in their detail, in their vividness.

Your heart rattled against your ribcage, and your mind raced at thousand miles per hour.

What the fuck…?

This couldn’t be normal, you thought as you slowly settled, your body drenched in cold sweat. Those weren’t just silly images conjured up by your mind.

There was something else at play.

You shook your head as you leaned back against the headboard, looking down at your palms. Shadows hung over them, deepening the scars and creases.

Those nightmares… They meant something.

You weren’t quite sure what they meant, yet, but you were determined.

You’d find out, someday.

But for now, you needed to catch some Z’s, after all, tomorrow was your first assignment.

Blaster fire and pained howls of men coddled your brain like a swarm of wasps.

You couldn’t catch a break. It was constant analysing, bandaging and praying as one soldier after the other were hit with plasma bullets, their agonised screams and cracking of bones and barely contained groans playing in a loop like a broken record.

Heat from explosions blew charred smoke in your face, drenching your skin in more sweat with each passing second. Your hands were painted with ash and dried dirt. No amount of disinfectant was adequate enough to sanitise at a faster rate than the one of injured men coming to you.

You were more of a surgeon than a field medic, but a shortage of medical staff in an already politically unstable Republic was not something you could fight against. You had no choice.

Sure, the GAR could afford to train their own medical personnel, or even better, invest in droids, but the hostility between its soldiers and the mech wasn’t something that could be easily treated.

Either way, you were a surgeon stuck amidst a raging invasion and piling injuries and corpses.

“What’s your name soldier?” You asked as you scanned him over, brows furrowed, lips narrowed into a tight line. At this rate you were simply following a script, offering a false sense of comfort to the injured.

“R- Rex. The name’s Rex.” He coughed out, groaning as you gripped his shoulder. Or well, his pauldron. The metal beneath had been grazed with a bullet, cracking under the initial impact.

“Rex?” You mused, testing it out before removing his armour to quickly assess his shoulder for any injuries. Your fingers quickly found your scissors and got to work in cutting some of the black undershirt he wore. “That’s a pretty name, for a pretty soldier.” You joked, sending him a quick wink and your prettiest smile.

You gave him no chance to reply as you moved the piece of fabric, your eyes quickly analysing the extent of the damage.

The armour did absorb most of the impact, though it didn’t prevent him from coming out completely unscathed. There was visible swelling, his otherwise tan skin becoming discoloured where most of the impact had been taken, and tiny, raging, red vessels were swimming aggressively in the bruises. You had seen similar injuries before. This would be a piece of cake.

Something felt off, though.

Something about his demeanour. You weren’t sure what specifically, just yet, but he was brimming with confidence, with experience.

“This’ll need to be checked over later, but a bacta patch will do just fine.” You slapped a patch over the bruising, before placing his armour back into place. “See me after the battle, soldier.”

A smirk tugged at his lips as he thanked you, checking his armour was in place.

“That’s Captain for you, doctor.” He threw over his shoulder as he placed his helmet on, his voice quickly turning robotic under the modulator.

Recognition flashed in your eyes as you scanned him over, spotting the navy blue kama, the markings on his helmet, the pauldron that sat proudly atop his shoulder. He was the Captain Rex. Right hand of your new General, Anakin Skywalker. How could you not have realised the moment he spoke his name?

“Kriff.” You hissed out as another explosion erupted, shielding your face. The captain glanced back at you, and without missing a step he hauled you up.

“Come with me. It’s not safe out here.”

The two of you ran, narrowly dodging bullets as Rex manhandled your body out of the way, expertly aiming for the droids’ weak spots. He had done this a thousand times and would do it a thousand times more.

The doorway was just a couple more metres, the clear glass reflecting the colour of plasma bolts and fires. But as always, your luck seemed to run out at unexpected moments, as a droideka pulled up in front of the two of you. Rex pushed you behind him, shielding you away from the mech. It wasted no time in raising its’ shield, had its guns drawn before you could even blink. But Rex wasn’t the Captain of the 501st for no reason.

The droid was blown up almost in slow-motion. From the rolling of the grenade to its downward look as it pierced through the shield. A yelp left your lips as Rex turned, bringing you into a protective embrace as the two of you were flung backwards.

Air escaped your lungs as if you were a deflated balloon, your body feeling hollow as you struggled to breathe. Unexpectedly, the air returned, and you found yourself gasping.

Intense pain bloomed in the back of your head, spreading through your body like a shockwave. Your eyes felt as though they were about to pop out, a heavy ache resting in your skull.

Something was ringing in your ears. All sounds were muffled as you slowly lifted your head. The Captain’s figure was blurry as he leaned over you, his helmet moving slowly, animatedly, his voice drowned.

Were you underwater?

His gloved hand lifted to your cheek, giving it two light taps.

And then, everything rushed in all at once. The sound of blaster fire, the screams, the metallic stomping of droids, the Captain’s voice.

“Talk to me, doc. We gotta get going if we don’t wanna get blasted.” He said quickly, taking your wincing as a response as he hoisted you up, draping your arm over his shoulder. His touch was warm and firm, it enveloped you like a warm blanket.

Confusion overtook you as Rex placed you down against a wall before he took his helmet off.

Your vision was blurred, spinning. But his voice acted as your guide through the blurriness.

“Doc, how many fingers am I holding up?” He asked, raising his hand up.

Squinting, you looked him over. The explosions outside seemed to quieten down as you looked from his hand up to his eyes. In your hazed state, you were stunned to silence. You never knew clones had such beautiful eyes.

They brought a sense of calm amongst the raging battle around you. You leaned closer, so close you could feel his breath fanning over the tip of your nose. Something sparkled in his eyes; and it drew you in like a bee to honey.

His irises were a perfect mirage of the golden dunes of Tattooine, coated in the amber glow of the setting suns.

His voice, coarse like sands of arid deserts, soothed your mind back to the present, back to his question.

“T- Two?” You asked hazily, rubbing your forehead. The confusion was slowly easing, only to be replaced by a stinging sensation. A hiss escaped through your teeth as you touched the spot, retreating your hand to observe your bloodied fingers.

“S- Stitches…”

“What was that?” Rex asked, rummaging through your backpack.

“S- Stitches… I’ll need stitches.” You huffed out, letting him handle you however he pleased. He was gentle as he pressed a cloth against the back of your head, his breath fanning over the tip of your nose.

“Stitches… That’s catchy. And yeah, you’re right.” He said as he retracted the cloth, the softness that accompanied it gone too. You heard a soft thud before Rex’s hands were on you again. He carefully wrapped a gauze around your head, his fingers careful not to cause more discomfort.

From the corner of your eye, you noticed the bloodied cloth laying limply on the floor. It was stained a crimson red, laying abandoned by your side. Surely the bleeding wasn’t that bad.

He ripped the ends of the gauze, tying them into a knot. It sat tight against your head, and you fought the itchiness in your fingers to rip it off. You weren’t usually one to be injured. Though you had to admit, the added gentle pressure kept you grounded.

“We need to go and get backup. C’mon, this way, Stitches.”

You concluded that the hallways were endless. Rex had been hauling your body for the duration of the journey, narrowly avoiding colliding into another clone. A Commander. After that, time became a blur yet again.

It didn’t help that you were feeling tired, sleepy, nauseous.

The three of you headed down the hallways, searching for any other lingering troopers. The sound of distant conversation caught your attention, your head turning in the direction it came from.

“You hear that, Rex?” Commander Cody asked, his helmet turning to face Rex’s.

“I hear that, Cody. We’ve got backup.” He proudly said, exchanging quick glances with him.

As the three of you rounded the corner, you were able to pick up on their conversation. They were discussing their next course of action, it seemed.

“What are we going to do?”

“We fight.” Rex replied as you came into view, his hands reaching to take his helmet off, your vision swayed though a steady hand quickly supported you. As the rest began talking, Rex propped your body against a wall, and you couldn’t help but glance over the other 501st members.

One of them, Fives, you heard his name earlier, had a goatee and a tattoo. He seemed fiery and so damn sure of himself – not in an arrogant way, no – as he spoke encouraging words to the young cadets. The other one, Echo, seemed shyer and more reserved, and was constantly glancing up at Fives. He looked like any other normal Reg. Freshly shaven, distinct regular haircut, no identifying facial marks like scars or tattoos.

Something twisted at your gut with a molten fist. He was so familiar, and yet you couldn’t understand why. The answer was settled just on the tip of your tongue, scratching at your brain like an unreachable itch.

The pain in your head had shrunk into a dull ache and blurry vision whenever you attempted to walk on your own, so resting and letting the actual soldiers do the rest was not up for discussion on your part.

With a boosted morale, the clone, 99, began talking about an armoury. Rex used that moment to kneel beside you. His gloved hand felt warm on your shoulder, his grip tight and comforting.

“I’ll be back for you in a sec, Stitches. Don’t close your eyes, understood?”

“Yessir.” You muttered in response, attempting a mock salute. He rolled his eyes at you before departing, his steps hurried and glances anxious as he disappeared behind a corner.

The walls were painted a filtered red, doing little to quench your own anxieties. Were you going to get out of here? Would Rex and the others come through? You had very little experience with a gun, nethertheless facing a whole group of bloodthirsty, unfeeling droids. You reached for the strap of your bag, fiddling with the bumpy material. A soft hand on your shoulder shook you from your thoughts.

“You’re a new face around here, what’s your name?” The clone asked, Echo, as he eyed the gauze wrapped tightly around your head. You eyed him up and down, the itch returning as you thought over your response.

After a moment, you let up, rubbing the strap between your fingers.

“I’m the new medic for the 501st.” Your reply was short and curt as you pulled the bag atop your lap, unzipping it.

“New medic? That’s perfect. But, what’s wrong with your head?” He asked as he watched you pull out a bacta patch. It probably wasn’t a good idea to put the substance onto your hair, but you had no other choice. Not if you wanted to avoid having to be stitched up.

Recognition flashed in Echo’s eyes as he watched you unwrap the gauze. His gaze followed it as you let it drop to the ground. It was bloodied, dirty with sweat and gunpowder and hair sticking to it in a weird mixture of odd substances.

“A concussion?” He asked, offering his palm to you. “Let me help.” He said, and you reluctantly dropped the unopened patch into his hand. You were hoping he’d know what he was doing as he gently moved your head away from the wall.

His fingers were delicate, practiced, as he moved some hair away. He remained quiet as he opened the patch and applied it to your injury, but a soft huff bubbled in his chest at your relieved sigh. The cool liquid was amazing, to put it simply. It latched to your scalp, tiny cyan tendrils reaching out for your skin. A quiet curse left your lips, your eyes rolling into the back of your head as you let yourself lean against the cool metal of his armour.

“Thank you.” You muttered against him, relief blooming in your chest. Your heart swelled as he caressed your hair tenderly.

Rex’s voice cut through the barracks as he, Cody and 99 returned, essentially interrupting your strange, little moment with Echo.

You lifted your head, resting your chin on Echo’s shoulder as you looked the three of them over.

They had stacks of guns in their arms, the cadets cheered as they crowded the three of them. You quirked a brow at Rex, noticing his quizzical expression as he looked you and Echo over. What you failed to notice was the stunned look and deep blush adorning Echo’s face.

“Ready up, boys,” Rex spoke, handing the last gun to Fives, “This might be a tough one.” His sight fell upon you again, his stare stern and yet tender as he remained focused on you, and you only.

“Doctor?”

Your body stuttered at the sound of a voice, your shaky hands almost dropping your datapad. “Captain?” Your voice was laced with confusion as you looked up. There he was, shoulders relaxed, gaze tender as it locked onto some feature of yours. “What are you doing here?”

“I’d like a follow-up on my shoulder, Doctor.” He replied almost instantly. He’d only ever gone to Kix for medical examinations, but unfortunately – not - his usual go-to medic was suspiciously nowhere to be found.

“You can look at me, y’know.” Your voice softened as you set your datapad down. Guilt began to tug at your heart as his gaze met yours. The last time the two of you were in a room together, you had made a grisly confirmation of 99’s death. He had not only protected the others, but he even risked his life to save yours. He hadn’t even known you for more than a couple of minutes at most. He was a soldier, through and through, no matter what cruelties life and Kaminoans had thrown at him.

“Doc?”

Your attention snapped back, your body taking in an involuntary breath. Rex’s eyebrows were furrowed, a small wrinkle formed between them as he eyed you.

“C’mon, let’s see what’s underneath all that armour.” You breathed out, hoping to distract him. You didn’t need the Captain to study you under a microscope.  

Rex nodded, remaining quiet. He began to carefully remove his armour, one by one, his touch careful, practiced. He had done this a thousand times, and he would do it a thousand times more.

You distracted yourself by reaching for a medical cart. His armour would not be going on the floor, nor the bed. As you returned to his side, cart in hand, his stiff figure had you quirking a brow. His hands were hesitant to lift his shirt, itching at the hem.

Rex wasn’t a shy man by any means, he had been friendly with many fine women. So why did his heart stutter at the thought of being undressed around you?

“I’ll need to watch to assess for any impairment.” Your voice startled him. His throat grew dry, his fingers restless. He wasn’t expecting you to be so forward. This is just a normal checkup, Rex, he scolded himself internally.

With a quiet nod, his arms crossed over and tugged at the hem of his shirt. He lifted it, hissing a little as his shoulders shrunk in. It was nothing to worry about, you noted, as that was where the bruising was.

However, you supressed a choked gasp. The sight of his naked chest had your well-practiced professionalism struggling. Tan, sun-kissed skin, taught muscle and broad shoulders, numerous scars littered across the expanse of his chest, stomach and waist. A few freckles here and there.

Something bloomed in his chest, something warm, and a smirk tugged at his lips, his chest almost puffing up with pride as you stood motionless for a few seconds. His hands were resting on his lap, and you wondered for a moment whether the flex of his biceps was forced or natural in this position.

“Doctor?” His voice was raw, guttural as he leaned his head to the side. That was when you finally averted your gaze, settling on looking at his shoulder instead. The bruise was still there, discoloured skin and blood vessels swimming around in patches. It must have hurt like a bitch.

“Let me get a patch for that.” You said quickly, moving to rummage through a drawer on the side of the bed. They contained all sorts of supplies and materials, in case of emergencies. “We’ll check for your range of motion – in case the damage is deeper than just surface level.” You mused as you placed the bacta patch and gauze beside him.

You moved around him, poking at different muscle as you inspected him. So far so good, no abnormalities or bumps.

“Try and raise your arms above your head,” You requested, observing as he does so with little difficulty, “And now stretch them behind your back.” You continued, placing your palms on both of his shoulders, applying gentle pressure.

No swelling, no stiffness, no difficulty in movement.

“Now place your arms by your sides, then slowly lift and extend them until they’re above your head.” You requested, showcasing an example with your own arm. Starting from your hip, you kept it straight before slowly lifting it to the side, from your hip to your head. Rex followed your instructions, and you found yourself quickly dismissing any concerns about the damage to his shoulder.

“Your shoulder seems to be doing just fine, Captain,” You said as you stepped away, typing away on your datapad, “Try not to apply pressure onto the bacta patch, or else it might pop. Come back in two hours and I’ll take it off for you.” Your fingers were careful as you placed the bacta on, softly smoothing it over as you ensured it stuck.

You reached for the gauze, your arm brushing against his.

“Sorry.” You muttered, facing him.

Your breath hitched, realisation striking you like lightning.

His face was just inches away. His breath fanned over your nose, his warmth reaching out to you.

You could count every freckle, every scar, every imperfection across his features. Thousands of tiny stars and speckles flickered across his face, the light above you serving as his little sun, casting shadows to dance over his features.

And just like a shooting star, you disappeared from his orbit in the blink of an eye.

His gaze remained trained on you, observing every little movement and twitch. He was studying you again, like bacteria under a microscope. A blush fought its way to your face, painting your cheeks a shade darker.

You moved away from Rex wordlessly, keeping your attention fixated on wrapping the gauze over his shoulder.

As you stepped back, Rex uttered a small thank you, easing back into his shirt.

The two of you remained silent, you watching him put his armour on, and him fighting to keep the poker on his face. His heart was beating fast, hard against his ribcage and he worried you could hear it in the silent confines of the medbay.

You continued watching, quietly, even as he uttered another ‘thank you’ and headed for the exit.

Your voice stopped him in his tracks.

“Captain?”

“Doctor?” He asked, his body half facing you.

You swallowed, taking a sudden, deep breath.

“Thank you… For saving my life back there. I owe you.” You said, offering a small, rigid smile.

He shook his head at you, mirroring your smile. Much softer, though.

“I guess you do, Stitches. I’ll see you around.” He said, before stepping outside. The doors closed behind him with a woosh, and you should have felt relief. You could breathe again. But your chest ached. He saved your life, he took care of you, so why did you feel so tense in his presence? So nervous?

Stop being silly, you thought as you made your way over to your desk, the screen of your holopad lighting up. You did your best to focus on the reports at hand, and yet you couldn’t fight off the giddy smile that ghosted over your face, or the nervous, unsteady racing of your heart.

Or the recurring memory of his lips so close to yours.

Tags: @flamingbisexual08

Breathe

↬ Rey x Force Senstive!Reader ♥

✧ Genre: fluff !

✧  Word count: 500 (this is v short)

✧  Warnings: none :)

↬ fem! reader (could also be read as gender neutral)

<3 author’s note: i love love love her sm so here is this short fic ! ❀ :) I’m currently working on my requests - I have some Anakin, Luke, Cal, and Merrin stuff in the works... ;) 

✧ Summary: It’s been a while since you’ve been able to feel the Force, and there’s no better way to do it then have your Jedi girlfriend help you out.

“Come here. I’m going to help you relax.”

Her soft, silky voice aided her hands in guiding your leg to cross on the floor. 

“Now put your hands on your knees. They can face the sky or downward.” She grazed your hands with light fingers, setting them gently on your legs. You felt her move around you, ever aware of her presence as your eyes fluttered shut. 

She moved just behind you. You noticed stray strands of her smooth hair dangling from her face, tickling the side of your cheek. You could feel her hovering over you on the right, whispering gently into your ear, “Now breathe. Just in and out, like that. Softly. Don’t force it, okay? Let it be natural.” 

You’d swear it was working if her sweet voice wasn’t putting you to sleep. But not enough to really do so…it was working. 

It had been a long time since you’d felt the force. It used to be a wonderful, playful, magical thing in your life. It brought you peace and allowed you to feel free, even if it was just for a moment. 

That was until being hunted down by Inquisitors and the Empire corrupted your flow and relationship with the force. Until now, it had been a symbol of restraint and horror to you. It was something to be ashamed of. It had been what kept you on the run and what eventually got you captured and tortured. You had resented it. You’d hated it.

But that warmth you felt now - the feeling of it rushing and humming all around you, through your fingertips, hair, and entire body. Through the floor you sat on, Rey’s saber sat near her body, and the woman herself who had let you reconnect with your first love and light again.

Your second love was quiet. She was concentrating hard, making it her goal to help you reconnect with the force. She could feel a sudden, warm, pink presence in the air. It was lovely, swirling all infront of her like a bubble of compassion, friendlessness, and sweetness.

Though your saber was blue, Rey often found the color aura of Jedi’s around her matched their saber. Her yellow aura was clear as day to you despite your closed eyes. It mixed with reds and blue, pinks and greens - but the clearest was that sunshine yellow. Your mind flooded with happiness, joy, and hope as you reached for her through the force. 

You both opened your eyes once you’d forgotten to breathe, the familiar yet fairly experienced scenario stripping your other scenes. 

You were gasping for air as Rey stroked your arm, coming to your side right as she broke from it as you did. 

Once your breath returned, your heart beating as it should - or as slow as it could with her presence - she moved excitedly in front of you. Her hands gripped your shoulders softly, shaking you as she shouted, “That was you! I felt you, you did it!” 

A long needed hug from the Jedi ensured as her arms wrapped around your frame, the warmth of her shoulder muffling your tears. 

“Thank you.”

“Of course, love. I’ll never let you lose it again.”

A/N: Hi guys! I’m fairly new to fic writing and brand new to tumblr (in a sense, I’ve been ON Tumblr since like 2016 but I’ve never really posted), so I’m not really sure what I’m doing tbh. I’ve been writing for awhile but I’ve never really posted anything, so let’s just see how this goes! PS Constructive criticism is welcome! I'd love some tips :)

Han Solo x Reader

Prompt: “Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!” + Kissing to hide from someone

The funny thing is, you were probably the best pilot in the rebellion before Han. And you absolutely resented him for it. There were few things you hated more than someone upstaging you, but there was nothing you hated more than them being smug about it. And Han Solo without smug is like Hoth without winter, impossible. So when you found yourself crammed nose to nose in a maintenance closet staring back into that smug, shit eating grin, you came to the conclusion that if you made it out of here alive the first thing you were going to do was rip the wires out of that cocky assholes prize winning ship and shove them down his throat.

The morning was typical, breakfast in the Cafeteria and some training in the Gym, then straight to the meeting that was scheduled for that afternoon. Unfortunately, you never actually made it to that meeting, because half way through your training session the emergency alarm went off. You dropped your practice weapon and turned to run towards the center of the base.

“Damnit!”

You forgot to take off the resistance band tied around your ankle and ate shit on the training room floor. A mocking laugh echoed through the room as you felt firm hands grasp your wrists and pull you up.

“You should really be more careful, we wouldn’t want you to do any damage to that pretty face of yours now would we?”

Han grinned, sarcasm dripping from his tone. You groaned in frustration, face flushing from a wounded ego.

“If you haven’t noticed we’re in a bit of an emergency, so if you could be a little more helpful and untie my leg so that we can make it to the meeting before The Galactic Empire blows up our base that would be great.”

“As you wish, Princess”

He leaned down to pull the band off of your thigh, lingering a beat too long in his particularly flirtatious manner. You shoved ahead of him, tactlessly hiding your blush. You know it meant nothing to him, but that didn't mean it didn't drive you nuts. You just didn't operate like Han. He was so casual. Sometimes it seemed like he couldn't help but charm anyone that walks by, just to prove he could. You're pretty sure he would flirt with a coffee pot if it was wearing mascara, while you, on the other hand, had barely managed to seduce half a dozen people in your lifetime. It was for this reason that Hans nature was so irritating to you. When he first moved to this base, you had assumed he was making a pass at you. It's just that no one had ever been so bold about it. At least not with you, the plain looking girl from Batuu who's hottest feature, in the literal sense, was her perpetually flushed cheeks and sweaty palms. It had barely been a week before you fell hard, giggling like a child every time he made one of his frisky remarks. Bless Leia's heart for being the only person kind enough to burst your bubble. After what must have been a few too many puppy eyed stares, she pulled you aside to tell you Hans' deal. That he was an egotistical bastard who got a kick out of making people fall in love with him just to see if he could. You crashed back down to Earth pretty swiftly after that, and had now spent the better part of a year rolling your eyes every time he entered a room. Now you're stuck being second best to the man who stole your heart and your rank.

By the time you both reached the meeting room, the alarm had stopped and Leia was the only person left there.

“Y/N, Han! There you are. Where were you two?”

“Long story, what’s up?”

“ok...”

Leia raised her eyebrow suspiciously before continuing 

“There’s a Galactic Empire ship flying in our atmosphere. We’re not sure if they got a tip off about our base or if they’re doing a routine scan of the planet, but either way we can’t risk allowing them to continue. We only have one stolen TIE Fighter at this base, which means the rest of the crew will be working from land to shield the base and prepare for battle in case we’re spotted-“

“Great, where do you need me?” You interjected.

“I was actually hoping you and Han could fly the TIE fighter...”

“Oh?” You questioned, a bit shocked.

She eyed you with a sympathetic look, the two of you still close enough for her to be well aware of how you feel about Han.

“I don't need to tell either of you that you're the best pilots we have on site, and we need this mission to succeed. We can’t risk sending anything but our best, I’m counting on you two to destroy the ship by sabotaging the main engine.”

“Just tell me where to fire and that ship’ll be out of the sky before it can get within 100 miles of our base.” Han said, rearing for battle.

“Not so fast”

Leia sighed, clearly not willing to deal with Hans' rash nature at this exact moment. 

“There’s a reason I’m squeezing Y/N into a single-pilot TIE with you, Han. You need someone who actually thinks rationally, this is too much of a risky situation for you to just go in there and fire at will like you usually would. You need to be calculated and precise, which is why you’ll both be undercover.”

“Hey! I’m calculated and precise...” Han frowned.

You gritted your teeth and turned back to Leia.

“Where’s the engine?”

“It’s on the north end of the ship, right next to the escape pod, you can’t miss it. A few hits should do the trick, especially since we’re using a stolen Empire ship with stronger blasters. By the time they realize you two are there they’ll already be toast. Here are your Uniforms, just in case anything goes south and you have to come face to face with Galactic Empire soldiers.”

You nod and take the uniform out of Leia’s hand, two Stormtrooper suits probably taken off of the soldiers from the stolen TIE fighter.

“Be careful, they’ll be on high alert if a ship just flies at top speed towards their engines. Don’t be suspicious.”

Han scoffed,

“Yeah, great advice ‘Don’t be suspicious’. And how are we supposed to do that? A random TIE fighter that’s probably already been reported as stolen flying up to the ship during what seems like a routine check? How are we going to be sure they don’t stop us immediately and blow us out of the sky?”

Leia took a deep, patient breath,

“You really have no faith in me, do you. We’ve been monitoring the ship and can see that there are TIE fighters flying in and out. Just follow the path that the rest of them are taking to avoid standing out. We know the ship hasn’t been reported as stolen because when it crashed the pilot died, so there was no one to alert them when we recovered it. We don’t have much time, I just need you to trust me. Put on the uniforms, fly in if you have to, but fly out and destroy the engine. It’s our only chance.”

A grim look passed over your face, this mission was risky, and you knew if she was going to put the two of you together it really was her only option. Things could very easily go south and if worse comes to worse her best pilots would have the closest shot at getting out of there alive. You turned to Han and realized he must’ve gotten the message, because for once in his life he didn't have anything witty to say back. He just nodded and went to change into the stolen uniform

You turned back to Leia and took a deep breath before wrapping your arms around her. She returned the hug before pulling back and putting her hands on your shoulders.

“Just, please make it back, ok?”

You smiled “I will. I might leave Han on the ship though, he’s already starting to get on my nerves.”

Leia laughed “As much as he’s a pain in our asses, he’s one of our best. Try to keep him in line for me, you know how he gets...”

You chuckled, “Yeah, I will. See you later, okay?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

You walked off to go change before meeting Han at the ship.

...

By the time you squeezed into the stolen uniform Han was already in the pilot seat of the TIE. You truly wish you had the energy to argue about it, but there wasn't enough time to be petty. He was a better pilot, plain and simple, and your pride wouldn't change that. You also wouldn't change anything by slamming on a non-existent brake pedal as he took off with an all too aggressive jolt, but that certainly didn't stop the instinct.

"Can you slow down?" You snapped, tension seeping into your shoulders. "We're supposed to be blending in, and your narcissistic flying style gives you away to literally anyone who has ever seen you pilot."

"'Narcissistic flying style'?" Han scoffs "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, shut up." You blushed, doing your best to avoid his gaze.

"You've got to get better at that, you know"

"At what?"

"Being mean. It doesn't suit you"

"Unless you want to figure out how well my foot suits your ass, I suggest you just shut up and fly"

He lets out a warm chuckle, laughing through his response -

"See what I mean? It just sounds weird coming out of your mouth. It's like a youngling swearing for the first time. To much bite, it's not natural yet"

"Well if you're so sure it's unnatural to me maybe I should take notes from you, you seem to have no problem being an asshole."

This one came out with a real bite, he's pissed you off now.

"And what does it matter? Maybe it's not natural to me because you're the only person who makes me feel like saying rude shit. Now what does come natural to me is flying, and maybe if you weren't so focused on how things sounded coming out of my mouth you'd have noticed the TIEs flying on either side of us."

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed, caught off guard for once.

"We're going to have to land on the ship."

"what? why?"

"We don't have access to their channels of communication and we're going to have to explain what the hell we're doing flying off Crait. If we start flying towards the reactor now they'll just gun us down. We can pretend to be the soldiers that crashed on this ship, explain that we were only missing because the engine failed and we needed time to repair it. The communicator broke in the crash, and that's why we haven't called for help, got it?"

"Got it, captain" He said, with an impressed lilt in his voice.

You smiled, tallying this as a win against him. If it was impressive to him that someone could come up with a plan that wasn’t whatever made the most explosions, then so be it. He’d just better be prepared to be impressed for the next few hours.

As Han flew the TIE into the landing bay, it became increasingly clear that this was going to take more convincing on your part than you were prepared for. The two TIEs guarding either side of you followed you into the port, and a group of high ranking soldiers began to gather where your ship was landing. You shot Han a concerned glance before remembering it was useless through your helmet. He seemed to get the message anyways, giving you a short nod in response. You just hoped that meant he was taking this as seriously as you were and wasn't planning on doing anything rash. 

The both of you slowly stepped out of the TIE, unsure of what the soldiers around you were planning. You tensed as a burly looking man approached, eyeing the both of you suspiciously-

“CF-0065, TZ-1764. It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard from you. Your vessels had been reported missing and it was our assumption that you had crashed or been captured. Explain what has kept you from reporting to your posts immediately.” 

He snapped, authority evident in his voice. You decided to cut in before Han could say something stupid-

“Yes, sir. Our vessels crashed on Crait, and we have spent the time in between now and then repairing the engine of the more salvageable ship. We were able to get it functioning yesterday, and we're working on getting the communication systems functioning next. We spotted your ship flying over and hoped to explain ourselves and have aid in fully repairing the TIE.”

“Ah, yes, well I’m glad you were able to recover your vessel and return to work. We could use the extras hands on board.”

“What exactly is the mission of this vessel?” Han chimed in. “We’d like to help in whatever way best suits our skills.” He added, nonchalantly.

The man, who you had now gathered to be the chief officer, began to walk. The two of you followed, doing your best impression of the mindless soldiers surrounding you.

“Well, we were sent to a maintenance level scan of this star system, but have since detected some suspicious activity on this planet in particular.”

 Your shoulders immediately tensed, and you shot a sideways glance at Han. 

“We would like to get a more comprehensive idea of the situation before moving forward, so as of now we have not reported anything to the other fleets in the area. We’d prefer not to alert the planet of our suspicions yet, and give them the least time to prepare if we decide to strike.”

You silently thanked the stars that they haven’t allerted anyone else of their suspicions. You know Han did too, it’s going to make what you have to do here a whole lot easier without an entire fleet against you.

"Well, we’re both especially skilled in repair and maintenance,” Han jutted in, “so if you could point us towards the engine room we would be happy to make sure everything is working in order while you further investigate the planet.”

It was a risky move, and the general eyed you suspiciously.

“The both of us were able to repair a damaged TIE fighter engine with nothing but the materials we were able to trade for on Crait, if you have any issues we’d be happy to help.” You added, hoping it would convince him.

“Actually,” he conceded, “I have been concerned about the operation system in one of  our navigation ports. We’ve been having quite a few rough takeoffs recently. I was going to wait until we landed to get it looked at, but since the two of you clearly possess enough skill to repair that TIE I’d rather you just take a look at it now.” 

He led the two of you down a series of long, winding hallways, which you did your best to memorize if a quick escape became necessary. The room he brought you to was a small one, with about a hundred buttons you barely recognized. You may be an experienced pilot, but Empire technology was something else entirely. You just hoped the general wasn’t planning on staying, or you and Han would have to put on a pretty convincing performance.

“So,” Han coughed, “what seems to be the matter?”

“Well since you two are such experienced mechanics, shouldn't you be the ones telling me?” The general questioned suspiciously.

“Of course, Sir,” You turned, praying to god that you could make some sense of this mess in time to keep your cover. “It looks like-”

A loud thud echoed behind you and you whipped around to see Han standing over the unconscious general. He just shrugged, turning to replace the wrench he pried off the wall to club him with.

“Han!” You whisper-shouted, trying not to alert more people than he probably just did by being his typical, impulsive self.

“What? He replied, “He was totally on to us and It was more trouble than it's worth to try and convince him we know anything about Empire tech.”

“Right, so you decided braining him with a wrench was the next best option?”

“We don’t have time for this, Y/N. At this point we’re going to have to sabotage the reactor from the inside, which might take more effort than we anticipated.”

“And what are we supposed to do with him?” You both eyed the unconscious general, and Han shifted his gaze to a utility closet in the corner.

A few good thunks with the wrench for extra measure later, the both of you began to fold, shove, and contort the general into a crate in the navigation room closet. You had taken your helmets off, sweating uncomfortably with the effort it took to lift the fairly bulky man across the room. You wiped your forehead, staring at the now properly concealed general, and shot a concerned glance at Han, 

“How long do you think it’ll take before they notice he’s gone?” 

“I think we’ve got some time,” He said, reaching for his helmet.

It was at that moment that the doorknob began to jiggle, and in a blur of movement Han had you up against the wall with his lips on yours. It didn’t even register at first, shock and adrenaline coursing through your veins hard enough to freeze you completely.You weren’t exactly sure what the rules were in The Galactic Empire about soldiers kissing, but you had a feeling the punishment for being caught would be less severe than killing a high ranking general. Plus, this was probably the easiest way to hide both of your helmetless faces, yours may not be recognizable, but his certainly is. It took a second before you began to kiss him back, but by the time you let yourself reciprocate, you heard the door click shut and Han pulled away. You kicked yourself and your neurotic brain for running through all of the possible plans of action before you even got the chance to soak it in. You’d dreamed of this so many times, and in so many ways, and the one time it’ll probably ever happen you let it get away from you. As you looked back up at Han, he was stuck with the same searching look you couldn’t wipe off your face. You stared back at him for a second, trying to gauge his reaction.

Han butted in, cutting right through your thoughts. “Maybe we should do that again. You know, just in case they come back.” He said, dazed.

“Yeah…” You muttered, “Yeah that might be best.”

His lips crashed back into yours, and you kissed him with a renewed sense of purpose. Han kissed with a passion you had never felt before. With everyone else it had been awkward and fumbling, but the two of you seemed to fit together so naturally. You took a metal note of every part of him, from the rough feeling of his lips to the bold flick of his tongue. You tried to memorize everything you loved about this, because you knew it was never going to happen again. You’re sure you were going to torture yourself with this moment forever, so you might as well remember it as clearly as possible. The way his hands grazed your waist, not grabbing, but just hovering above your hips with a feather-like touch as if he was afraid you were going to burn him. How his adams apple bobbed when you kissed his neck, swallowing hard out of desperation. The way his hands felt in your hair, not tugging, but carding through it with a sort of reverence. He pulled away too soon, tearing you out of your blissful analysis of his body and back into the present tense. 

“We can’t keep doing that,” He said, panting.

“Yeah, I think we’re in the clear and we need to find the reactor” You replied, trying your best to hide how it stung and moving towards your helmet.

“No.” Han put both his hands on your shoulder, holding you in place, “No, we can’t keep doing that because if we do I will want to do it again.”

“What?” You paused, shocked.

“You know what I mean, Y/N, don’t make me say it out loud.”

You stared back at him blankly, truly at a loss for words.

“Jesus Y/N, Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!”

“What?” Seemed to be the only word your brain could muster in this moment. You felt as though your whole world view was crashing around you, as though the very ground beneath you was shaking… On second thought, the ground might actually be shaking, because judging by Hans face you weren't the only one feeling the rumbling beneath you.

“We’ll deal with this later.” He shot you a look before grabbing his helmet and running out the door, following quickly after to discover what was the matter. 

It became clear as you walked that the ship was preparing for takeoff, but you weren’t sure why. Your nerves were on fire, and you know you’ve wasted too much time to get it wrong now.

“That general sure wasn’t kidding when he said their takeoffs were rough. We need to get to the reactor before they can get the ship up and running or we’re screwed.” Han said, eyeing you nervously.

“Do you think if we go back to the landing bay we can tell them we have orders to go back to Crait and investigate some of the suspicious activity we saw on-world? If we take a nicer ship than the TIE we came in we won't have to worry about the blasters not being strong enough to take down the ship.” You replied, already in go-mode.

“Sounds like a great plan,” Han said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “except how the hell are we supposed to find our way back to the landing bay with no map of the ship?”

“Just trust me.” You said, grabbing his arm and leading him down the hall. Your freakish memory is good for more than memorizing Hans lips, and you were able to bring the two of you back exactly the way you came. You strode up to the nearest pilot you could find, and with the confidence of somebody who has no other choice, demands he give the two of you access to an ST-70 Assault Ship. 

“For what purpose?” He responds, taken aback by your assertiveness.

“We are the two soldiers who we’re just recovered from Crait, and were ordered back down there to investigate suspicious activity on the planet. We don’t have time for this, just give us the vessel.” Han repeated what you had planned to the pilot, striding towards the ST-70. 

“I haven’t been told of such an order, the two of you are going to need to wait until I receive the command from higher up to authorize use of this vessel.” The pilot replies sharply.

“We’ve already been held up by engine maintenance,” You added, not exactly sure where this was going but hoping you found something convincing to say in the midst of your rambling, “and spent much of that time relaying to a general on this ship the reason for our brief disappearance. We are part of a high clearance mission to uncover rebel activity on the planet Crait, and are close to infiltrating one of the largest branches of their military. We came here to dismiss your vessel, as we were worried your presence would alert the Rebel Alliance of our presence on the planet.”

Han joined in, stepping up to the unarmed pilot with his intimidating stature. 

“If you don’t hand over this vessel, the failure of a months-long plan to eliminate one of the largest branches of the Rebel Alliance will be on your head. Whatever you think we might do with this ship that is ‘unauthorized’ cannot possibly have consequences as dire for you as that will.” Han rolled his shoulders back, taking one more menacing step forward.

The pilot stepped aside, granting you and Han access to the ST-70. If the two of you make it out of here, you would have to be permanently assigned as partners for missions like these. You have never felt more invigorated or on your game than when you were with Han, the idea of the word ‘partners in crime’ finally settling in your skin. You weren’t out of the woods yet though, and as Han began to start the ships engines, a very rumpled looking general marched into the landing bay.

“Shit!” You exclaimed. “Go, Han, Go, go, go go GO!”

“I hear you Y/N!” Han shouted back, kicking the ship into overdrive and jolting you violently into space.

 You got a few feet out from the ship before three TIE fighters started tailing you, and Han took a sharp left before nose-diving under the belly of the ship. You whipped around to the laser cannons, doing you best to aim as Han whipped the ship around to try and find the main engine. Just as you took one TIE out, two more appeared.

“Do you have eyes on the engine Han?” You shouted, limbs tingling as you shot down two more TIE fighters.

“Got it!” He yelled back, and you swiveled to face the ship's surface as he flew at top speed towards the engine.

You began to count down, preparing Han to nose dive the second you blasted this thing out of the sky.

“Three… two.. One!” You fired directly at the engine, and your stomach did somersaults as Han dodged the blast.  

“Yes!” He screamed, and you laughed with manic joy as you felt relief wash over you. 

The TIE fighters following you weren’t prepared to dodge the blast, and the two of you watched joyfully as they went down with the ship. You barreled towards Crait, with more than just a successful mission to show for it. The two of you had just destroyed a high ranking Empire ship, and come back with an ST-70 Razor Crest M-11 ship as your bounty. Han landed the ship and ripped off his helmet, smiling from ear to ear. The excitement was electric, making its way through every limb and out your fingers to charge the atmosphere around you. You turned to Han and before you knew it you were crashing your lips into his, desperate for an outlet. He kissed you back with double the vigor of the last time, and seemed to be determined to explore every inch of you. Your mouth, your waist, your hair, your thighs, he groped and fumbled at all of you as you pushed back with just as much energy. Kissing Han felt like, for lack of better word, winning. Winning your first race as a newly vetted pilot, winning a mission against the empire, winning the man you thought wanted nothing to do with you and you thought you wanted nothing to do with. You laughed into the kiss as he bit your lip, giddy with an amount of energy you didn’t know how to control. 

“What?” He said, sporting that smug grin you always wanted to slap off of his face.

“Nothing,” you replied, deciding firmly that kissing it off was the better option. “I’ve just been so in love with you forever and can’t believe this is happening.”

FIN.

A/N: Hi guys! I’m fairly new to fic writing and brand new to tumblr (in a sense, I’ve been ON Tumblr since like 2016 but I’ve never really posted), so I’m not really sure what I’m doing tbh. I’ve been writing for awhile but I’ve never really posted anything, so let’s just see how this goes! PS Constructive criticism is welcome! I'd love some tips :)

Han Solo x Reader

Prompt: “Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!” + Kissing to hide from someone

The funny thing is, you were probably the best pilot in the rebellion before Han. And you absolutely resented him for it. There were few things you hated more than someone upstaging you, but there was nothing you hated more than them being smug about it. And Han Solo without smug is like Hoth without winter, impossible. So when you found yourself crammed nose to nose in a maintenance closet staring back into that smug, shit eating grin, you came to the conclusion that if you made it out of here alive the first thing you were going to do was rip the wires out of that cocky assholes prize winning ship and shove them down his throat.

The morning was typical, breakfast in the Cafeteria and some training in the Gym, then straight to the meeting that was scheduled for that afternoon. Unfortunately, you never actually made it to that meeting, because half way through your training session the emergency alarm went off. You dropped your practice weapon and turned to run towards the center of the base.

“Damnit!”

You forgot to take off the resistance band tied around your ankle and ate shit on the training room floor. A mocking laugh echoed through the room as you felt firm hands grasp your wrists and pull you up.

“You should really be more careful, we wouldn’t want you to do any damage to that pretty face of yours now would we?”

Han grinned, sarcasm dripping from his tone. You groaned in frustration, face flushing from a wounded ego.

“If you haven’t noticed we’re in a bit of an emergency, so if you could be a little more helpful and untie my leg so that we can make it to the meeting before The Galactic Empire blows up our base that would be great.”

“As you wish, Princess”

He leaned down to pull the band off of your thigh, lingering a beat too long in his particularly flirtatious manner. You shoved ahead of him, tactlessly hiding your blush. You know it meant nothing to him, but that didn't mean it didn't drive you nuts. You just didn't operate like Han. He was so casual. Sometimes it seemed like he couldn't help but charm anyone that walks by, just to prove he could. You're pretty sure he would flirt with a coffee pot if it was wearing mascara, while you, on the other hand, had barely managed to seduce half a dozen people in your lifetime. It was for this reason that Hans nature was so irritating to you. When he first moved to this base, you had assumed he was making a pass at you. It's just that no one had ever been so bold about it. At least not with you, the plain looking girl from Batuu who's hottest feature, in the literal sense, was her perpetually flushed cheeks and sweaty palms. It had barely been a week before you fell hard, giggling like a child every time he made one of his frisky remarks. Bless Leia's heart for being the only person kind enough to burst your bubble. After what must have been a few too many puppy eyed stares, she pulled you aside to tell you Hans' deal. That he was an egotistical bastard who got a kick out of making people fall in love with him just to see if he could. You crashed back down to Earth pretty swiftly after that, and had now spent the better part of a year rolling your eyes every time he entered a room. Now you're stuck being second best to the man who stole your heart and your rank.

By the time you both reached the meeting room, the alarm had stopped and Leia was the only person left there.

“Y/N, Han! There you are. Where were you two?”

“Long story, what’s up?”

“ok...”

Leia raised her eyebrow suspiciously before continuing 

“There’s a Galactic Empire ship flying in our atmosphere. We’re not sure if they got a tip off about our base or if they’re doing a routine scan of the planet, but either way we can’t risk allowing them to continue. We only have one stolen TIE Fighter at this base, which means the rest of the crew will be working from land to shield the base and prepare for battle in case we’re spotted-“

“Great, where do you need me?” You interjected.

“I was actually hoping you and Han could fly the TIE fighter...”

“Oh?” You questioned, a bit shocked.

She eyed you with a sympathetic look, the two of you still close enough for her to be well aware of how you feel about Han.

“I don't need to tell either of you that you're the best pilots we have on site, and we need this mission to succeed. We can’t risk sending anything but our best, I’m counting on you two to destroy the ship by sabotaging the main engine.”

“Just tell me where to fire and that ship’ll be out of the sky before it can get within 100 miles of our base.” Han said, rearing for battle.

“Not so fast”

Leia sighed, clearly not willing to deal with Hans' rash nature at this exact moment. 

“There’s a reason I’m squeezing Y/N into a single-pilot TIE with you, Han. You need someone who actually thinks rationally, this is too much of a risky situation for you to just go in there and fire at will like you usually would. You need to be calculated and precise, which is why you’ll both be undercover.”

“Hey! I’m calculated and precise...” Han frowned.

You gritted your teeth and turned back to Leia.

“Where’s the engine?”

“It’s on the north end of the ship, right next to the escape pod, you can’t miss it. A few hits should do the trick, especially since we’re using a stolen Empire ship with stronger blasters. By the time they realize you two are there they’ll already be toast. Here are your Uniforms, just in case anything goes south and you have to come face to face with Galactic Empire soldiers.”

You nod and take the uniform out of Leia’s hand, two Stormtrooper suits probably taken off of the soldiers from the stolen TIE fighter.

“Be careful, they’ll be on high alert if a ship just flies at top speed towards their engines. Don’t be suspicious.”

Han scoffed,

“Yeah, great advice ‘Don’t be suspicious’. And how are we supposed to do that? A random TIE fighter that’s probably already been reported as stolen flying up to the ship during what seems like a routine check? How are we going to be sure they don’t stop us immediately and blow us out of the sky?”

Leia took a deep, patient breath,

“You really have no faith in me, do you. We’ve been monitoring the ship and can see that there are TIE fighters flying in and out. Just follow the path that the rest of them are taking to avoid standing out. We know the ship hasn’t been reported as stolen because when it crashed the pilot died, so there was no one to alert them when we recovered it. We don’t have much time, I just need you to trust me. Put on the uniforms, fly in if you have to, but fly out and destroy the engine. It’s our only chance.”

A grim look passed over your face, this mission was risky, and you knew if she was going to put the two of you together it really was her only option. Things could very easily go south and if worse comes to worse her best pilots would have the closest shot at getting out of there alive. You turned to Han and realized he must’ve gotten the message, because for once in his life he didn't have anything witty to say back. He just nodded and went to change into the stolen uniform

You turned back to Leia and took a deep breath before wrapping your arms around her. She returned the hug before pulling back and putting her hands on your shoulders.

“Just, please make it back, ok?”

You smiled “I will. I might leave Han on the ship though, he’s already starting to get on my nerves.”

Leia laughed “As much as he’s a pain in our asses, he’s one of our best. Try to keep him in line for me, you know how he gets...”

You chuckled, “Yeah, I will. See you later, okay?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

You walked off to go change before meeting Han at the ship.

...

By the time you squeezed into the stolen uniform Han was already in the pilot seat of the TIE. You truly wish you had the energy to argue about it, but there wasn't enough time to be petty. He was a better pilot, plain and simple, and your pride wouldn't change that. You also wouldn't change anything by slamming on a non-existent brake pedal as he took off with an all too aggressive jolt, but that certainly didn't stop the instinct.

"Can you slow down?" You snapped, tension seeping into your shoulders. "We're supposed to be blending in, and your narcissistic flying style gives you away to literally anyone who has ever seen you pilot."

"'Narcissistic flying style'?" Han scoffs "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, shut up." You blushed, doing your best to avoid his gaze.

"You've got to get better at that, you know"

"At what?"

"Being mean. It doesn't suit you"

"Unless you want to figure out how well my foot suits your ass, I suggest you just shut up and fly"

He lets out a warm chuckle, laughing through his response -

"See what I mean? It just sounds weird coming out of your mouth. It's like a youngling swearing for the first time. To much bite, it's not natural yet"

"Well if you're so sure it's unnatural to me maybe I should take notes from you, you seem to have no problem being an asshole."

This one came out with a real bite, he's pissed you off now.

"And what does it matter? Maybe it's not natural to me because you're the only person who makes me feel like saying rude shit. Now what does come natural to me is flying, and maybe if you weren't so focused on how things sounded coming out of my mouth you'd have noticed the TIEs flying on either side of us."

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed, caught off guard for once.

"We're going to have to land on the ship."

"what? why?"

"We don't have access to their channels of communication and we're going to have to explain what the hell we're doing flying off Crait. If we start flying towards the reactor now they'll just gun us down. We can pretend to be the soldiers that crashed on this ship, explain that we were only missing because the engine failed and we needed time to repair it. The communicator broke in the crash, and that's why we haven't called for help, got it?"

"Got it, captain" He said, with an impressed lilt in his voice.

You smiled, tallying this as a win against him. If it was impressive to him that someone could come up with a plan that wasn’t whatever made the most explosions, then so be it. He’d just better be prepared to be impressed for the next few hours.

As Han flew the TIE into the landing bay, it became increasingly clear that this was going to take more convincing on your part than you were prepared for. The two TIEs guarding either side of you followed you into the port, and a group of high ranking soldiers began to gather where your ship was landing. You shot Han a concerned glance before remembering it was useless through your helmet. He seemed to get the message anyways, giving you a short nod in response. You just hoped that meant he was taking this as seriously as you were and wasn't planning on doing anything rash. 

The both of you slowly stepped out of the TIE, unsure of what the soldiers around you were planning. You tensed as a burly looking man approached, eyeing the both of you suspiciously-

“CF-0065, TZ-1764. It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard from you. Your vessels had been reported missing and it was our assumption that you had crashed or been captured. Explain what has kept you from reporting to your posts immediately.” 

He snapped, authority evident in his voice. You decided to cut in before Han could say something stupid-

“Yes, sir. Our vessels crashed on Crait, and we have spent the time in between now and then repairing the engine of the more salvageable ship. We were able to get it functioning yesterday, and we're working on getting the communication systems functioning next. We spotted your ship flying over and hoped to explain ourselves and have aid in fully repairing the TIE.”

“Ah, yes, well I’m glad you were able to recover your vessel and return to work. We could use the extras hands on board.”

“What exactly is the mission of this vessel?” Han chimed in. “We’d like to help in whatever way best suits our skills.” He added, nonchalantly.

The man, who you had now gathered to be the chief officer, began to walk. The two of you followed, doing your best impression of the mindless soldiers surrounding you.

“Well, we were sent to a maintenance level scan of this star system, but have since detected some suspicious activity on this planet in particular.”

 Your shoulders immediately tensed, and you shot a sideways glance at Han. 

“We would like to get a more comprehensive idea of the situation before moving forward, so as of now we have not reported anything to the other fleets in the area. We’d prefer not to alert the planet of our suspicions yet, and give them the least time to prepare if we decide to strike.”

You silently thanked the stars that they haven’t allerted anyone else of their suspicions. You know Han did too, it’s going to make what you have to do here a whole lot easier without an entire fleet against you.

"Well, we’re both especially skilled in repair and maintenance,” Han jutted in, “so if you could point us towards the engine room we would be happy to make sure everything is working in order while you further investigate the planet.”

It was a risky move, and the general eyed you suspiciously.

“The both of us were able to repair a damaged TIE fighter engine with nothing but the materials we were able to trade for on Crait, if you have any issues we’d be happy to help.” You added, hoping it would convince him.

“Actually,” he conceded, “I have been concerned about the operation system in one of  our navigation ports. We’ve been having quite a few rough takeoffs recently. I was going to wait until we landed to get it looked at, but since the two of you clearly possess enough skill to repair that TIE I’d rather you just take a look at it now.” 

He led the two of you down a series of long, winding hallways, which you did your best to memorize if a quick escape became necessary. The room he brought you to was a small one, with about a hundred buttons you barely recognized. You may be an experienced pilot, but Empire technology was something else entirely. You just hoped the general wasn’t planning on staying, or you and Han would have to put on a pretty convincing performance.

“So,” Han coughed, “what seems to be the matter?”

“Well since you two are such experienced mechanics, shouldn't you be the ones telling me?” The general questioned suspiciously.

“Of course, Sir,” You turned, praying to god that you could make some sense of this mess in time to keep your cover. “It looks like-”

A loud thud echoed behind you and you whipped around to see Han standing over the unconscious general. He just shrugged, turning to replace the wrench he pried off the wall to club him with.

“Han!” You whisper-shouted, trying not to alert more people than he probably just did by being his typical, impulsive self.

“What? He replied, “He was totally on to us and It was more trouble than it's worth to try and convince him we know anything about Empire tech.”

“Right, so you decided braining him with a wrench was the next best option?”

“We don’t have time for this, Y/N. At this point we’re going to have to sabotage the reactor from the inside, which might take more effort than we anticipated.”

“And what are we supposed to do with him?” You both eyed the unconscious general, and Han shifted his gaze to a utility closet in the corner.

A few good thunks with the wrench for extra measure later, the both of you began to fold, shove, and contort the general into a crate in the navigation room closet. You had taken your helmets off, sweating uncomfortably with the effort it took to lift the fairly bulky man across the room. You wiped your forehead, staring at the now properly concealed general, and shot a concerned glance at Han, 

“How long do you think it’ll take before they notice he’s gone?” 

“I think we’ve got some time,” He said, reaching for his helmet.

It was at that moment that the doorknob began to jiggle, and in a blur of movement Han had you up against the wall with his lips on yours. It didn’t even register at first, shock and adrenaline coursing through your veins hard enough to freeze you completely.You weren’t exactly sure what the rules were in The Galactic Empire about soldiers kissing, but you had a feeling the punishment for being caught would be less severe than killing a high ranking general. Plus, this was probably the easiest way to hide both of your helmetless faces, yours may not be recognizable, but his certainly is. It took a second before you began to kiss him back, but by the time you let yourself reciprocate, you heard the door click shut and Han pulled away. You kicked yourself and your neurotic brain for running through all of the possible plans of action before you even got the chance to soak it in. You’d dreamed of this so many times, and in so many ways, and the one time it’ll probably ever happen you let it get away from you. As you looked back up at Han, he was stuck with the same searching look you couldn’t wipe off your face. You stared back at him for a second, trying to gauge his reaction.

Han butted in, cutting right through your thoughts. “Maybe we should do that again. You know, just in case they come back.” He said, dazed.

“Yeah…” You muttered, “Yeah that might be best.”

His lips crashed back into yours, and you kissed him with a renewed sense of purpose. Han kissed with a passion you had never felt before. With everyone else it had been awkward and fumbling, but the two of you seemed to fit together so naturally. You took a metal note of every part of him, from the rough feeling of his lips to the bold flick of his tongue. You tried to memorize everything you loved about this, because you knew it was never going to happen again. You’re sure you were going to torture yourself with this moment forever, so you might as well remember it as clearly as possible. The way his hands grazed your waist, not grabbing, but just hovering above your hips with a feather-like touch as if he was afraid you were going to burn him. How his adams apple bobbed when you kissed his neck, swallowing hard out of desperation. The way his hands felt in your hair, not tugging, but carding through it with a sort of reverence. He pulled away too soon, tearing you out of your blissful analysis of his body and back into the present tense. 

“We can’t keep doing that,” He said, panting.

“Yeah, I think we’re in the clear and we need to find the reactor” You replied, trying your best to hide how it stung and moving towards your helmet.

“No.” Han put both his hands on your shoulder, holding you in place, “No, we can’t keep doing that because if we do I will want to do it again.”

“What?” You paused, shocked.

“You know what I mean, Y/N, don’t make me say it out loud.”

You stared back at him blankly, truly at a loss for words.

“Jesus Y/N, Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!”

“What?” Seemed to be the only word your brain could muster in this moment. You felt as though your whole world view was crashing around you, as though the very ground beneath you was shaking… On second thought, the ground might actually be shaking, because judging by Hans face you weren't the only one feeling the rumbling beneath you.

“We’ll deal with this later.” He shot you a look before grabbing his helmet and running out the door, following quickly after to discover what was the matter. 

It became clear as you walked that the ship was preparing for takeoff, but you weren’t sure why. Your nerves were on fire, and you know you’ve wasted too much time to get it wrong now.

“That general sure wasn’t kidding when he said their takeoffs were rough. We need to get to the reactor before they can get the ship up and running or we’re screwed.” Han said, eyeing you nervously.

“Do you think if we go back to the landing bay we can tell them we have orders to go back to Crait and investigate some of the suspicious activity we saw on-world? If we take a nicer ship than the TIE we came in we won't have to worry about the blasters not being strong enough to take down the ship.” You replied, already in go-mode.

“Sounds like a great plan,” Han said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “except how the hell are we supposed to find our way back to the landing bay with no map of the ship?”

“Just trust me.” You said, grabbing his arm and leading him down the hall. Your freakish memory is good for more than memorizing Hans lips, and you were able to bring the two of you back exactly the way you came. You strode up to the nearest pilot you could find, and with the confidence of somebody who has no other choice, demands he give the two of you access to an ST-70 Assault Ship. 

“For what purpose?” He responds, taken aback by your assertiveness.

“We are the two soldiers who we’re just recovered from Crait, and were ordered back down there to investigate suspicious activity on the planet. We don’t have time for this, just give us the vessel.” Han repeated what you had planned to the pilot, striding towards the ST-70. 

“I haven’t been told of such an order, the two of you are going to need to wait until I receive the command from higher up to authorize use of this vessel.” The pilot replies sharply.

“We’ve already been held up by engine maintenance,” You added, not exactly sure where this was going but hoping you found something convincing to say in the midst of your rambling, “and spent much of that time relaying to a general on this ship the reason for our brief disappearance. We are part of a high clearance mission to uncover rebel activity on the planet Crait, and are close to infiltrating one of the largest branches of their military. We came here to dismiss your vessel, as we were worried your presence would alert the Rebel Alliance of our presence on the planet.”

Han joined in, stepping up to the unarmed pilot with his intimidating stature. 

“If you don’t hand over this vessel, the failure of a months-long plan to eliminate one of the largest branches of the Rebel Alliance will be on your head. Whatever you think we might do with this ship that is ‘unauthorized’ cannot possibly have consequences as dire for you as that will.” Han rolled his shoulders back, taking one more menacing step forward.

The pilot stepped aside, granting you and Han access to the ST-70. If the two of you make it out of here, you would have to be permanently assigned as partners for missions like these. You have never felt more invigorated or on your game than when you were with Han, the idea of the word ‘partners in crime’ finally settling in your skin. You weren’t out of the woods yet though, and as Han began to start the ships engines, a very rumpled looking general marched into the landing bay.

“Shit!” You exclaimed. “Go, Han, Go, go, go go GO!”

“I hear you Y/N!” Han shouted back, kicking the ship into overdrive and jolting you violently into space.

 You got a few feet out from the ship before three TIE fighters started tailing you, and Han took a sharp left before nose-diving under the belly of the ship. You whipped around to the laser cannons, doing you best to aim as Han whipped the ship around to try and find the main engine. Just as you took one TIE out, two more appeared.

“Do you have eyes on the engine Han?” You shouted, limbs tingling as you shot down two more TIE fighters.

“Got it!” He yelled back, and you swiveled to face the ship's surface as he flew at top speed towards the engine.

You began to count down, preparing Han to nose dive the second you blasted this thing out of the sky.

“Three… two.. One!” You fired directly at the engine, and your stomach did somersaults as Han dodged the blast.  

“Yes!” He screamed, and you laughed with manic joy as you felt relief wash over you. 

The TIE fighters following you weren’t prepared to dodge the blast, and the two of you watched joyfully as they went down with the ship. You barreled towards Crait, with more than just a successful mission to show for it. The two of you had just destroyed a high ranking Empire ship, and come back with an ST-70 Razor Crest M-11 ship as your bounty. Han landed the ship and ripped off his helmet, smiling from ear to ear. The excitement was electric, making its way through every limb and out your fingers to charge the atmosphere around you. You turned to Han and before you knew it you were crashing your lips into his, desperate for an outlet. He kissed you back with double the vigor of the last time, and seemed to be determined to explore every inch of you. Your mouth, your waist, your hair, your thighs, he groped and fumbled at all of you as you pushed back with just as much energy. Kissing Han felt like, for lack of better word, winning. Winning your first race as a newly vetted pilot, winning a mission against the empire, winning the man you thought wanted nothing to do with you and you thought you wanted nothing to do with. You laughed into the kiss as he bit your lip, giddy with an amount of energy you didn’t know how to control. 

“What?” He said, sporting that smug grin you always wanted to slap off of his face.

“Nothing,” you replied, deciding firmly that kissing it off was the better option. “I’ve just been so in love with you forever and can’t believe this is happening.”

FIN.

A/N: Hi guys! I’m fairly new to fic writing and brand new to tumblr (in a sense, I’ve been ON Tumblr since like 2016 but I’ve never really posted), so I’m not really sure what I’m doing tbh. I’ve been writing for awhile but I’ve never really posted anything, so let’s just see how this goes! PS Constructive criticism is welcome! I'd love some tips :)

Han Solo x Reader

Prompt: “Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!” + Kissing to hide from someone

The funny thing is, you were probably the best pilot in the rebellion before Han. And you absolutely resented him for it. There were few things you hated more than someone upstaging you, but there was nothing you hated more than them being smug about it. And Han Solo without smug is like Hoth without winter, impossible. So when you found yourself crammed nose to nose in a maintenance closet staring back into that smug, shit eating grin, you came to the conclusion that if you made it out of here alive the first thing you were going to do was rip the wires out of that cocky assholes prize winning ship and shove them down his throat.

The morning was typical, breakfast in the Cafeteria and some training in the Gym, then straight to the meeting that was scheduled for that afternoon. Unfortunately, you never actually made it to that meeting, because half way through your training session the emergency alarm went off. You dropped your practice weapon and turned to run towards the center of the base.

“Damnit!”

You forgot to take off the resistance band tied around your ankle and ate shit on the training room floor. A mocking laugh echoed through the room as you felt firm hands grasp your wrists and pull you up.

“You should really be more careful, we wouldn’t want you to do any damage to that pretty face of yours now would we?”

Han grinned, sarcasm dripping from his tone. You groaned in frustration, face flushing from a wounded ego.

“If you haven’t noticed we’re in a bit of an emergency, so if you could be a little more helpful and untie my leg so that we can make it to the meeting before The Galactic Empire blows up our base that would be great.”

“As you wish, Princess”

He leaned down to pull the band off of your thigh, lingering a beat too long in his particularly flirtatious manner. You shoved ahead of him, tactlessly hiding your blush. You know it meant nothing to him, but that didn't mean it didn't drive you nuts. You just didn't operate like Han. He was so casual. Sometimes it seemed like he couldn't help but charm anyone that walks by, just to prove he could. You're pretty sure he would flirt with a coffee pot if it was wearing mascara, while you, on the other hand, had barely managed to seduce half a dozen people in your lifetime. It was for this reason that Hans nature was so irritating to you. When he first moved to this base, you had assumed he was making a pass at you. It's just that no one had ever been so bold about it. At least not with you, the plain looking girl from Batuu who's hottest feature, in the literal sense, was her perpetually flushed cheeks and sweaty palms. It had barely been a week before you fell hard, giggling like a child every time he made one of his frisky remarks. Bless Leia's heart for being the only person kind enough to burst your bubble. After what must have been a few too many puppy eyed stares, she pulled you aside to tell you Hans' deal. That he was an egotistical bastard who got a kick out of making people fall in love with him just to see if he could. You crashed back down to Earth pretty swiftly after that, and had now spent the better part of a year rolling your eyes every time he entered a room. Now you're stuck being second best to the man who stole your heart and your rank.

By the time you both reached the meeting room, the alarm had stopped and Leia was the only person left there.

“Y/N, Han! There you are. Where were you two?”

“Long story, what’s up?”

“ok...”

Leia raised her eyebrow suspiciously before continuing 

“There’s a Galactic Empire ship flying in our atmosphere. We’re not sure if they got a tip off about our base or if they’re doing a routine scan of the planet, but either way we can’t risk allowing them to continue. We only have one stolen TIE Fighter at this base, which means the rest of the crew will be working from land to shield the base and prepare for battle in case we’re spotted-“

“Great, where do you need me?” You interjected.

“I was actually hoping you and Han could fly the TIE fighter...”

“Oh?” You questioned, a bit shocked.

She eyed you with a sympathetic look, the two of you still close enough for her to be well aware of how you feel about Han.

“I don't need to tell either of you that you're the best pilots we have on site, and we need this mission to succeed. We can’t risk sending anything but our best, I’m counting on you two to destroy the ship by sabotaging the main engine.”

“Just tell me where to fire and that ship’ll be out of the sky before it can get within 100 miles of our base.” Han said, rearing for battle.

“Not so fast”

Leia sighed, clearly not willing to deal with Hans' rash nature at this exact moment. 

“There’s a reason I’m squeezing Y/N into a single-pilot TIE with you, Han. You need someone who actually thinks rationally, this is too much of a risky situation for you to just go in there and fire at will like you usually would. You need to be calculated and precise, which is why you’ll both be undercover.”

“Hey! I’m calculated and precise...” Han frowned.

You gritted your teeth and turned back to Leia.

“Where’s the engine?”

“It’s on the north end of the ship, right next to the escape pod, you can’t miss it. A few hits should do the trick, especially since we’re using a stolen Empire ship with stronger blasters. By the time they realize you two are there they’ll already be toast. Here are your Uniforms, just in case anything goes south and you have to come face to face with Galactic Empire soldiers.”

You nod and take the uniform out of Leia’s hand, two Stormtrooper suits probably taken off of the soldiers from the stolen TIE fighter.

“Be careful, they’ll be on high alert if a ship just flies at top speed towards their engines. Don’t be suspicious.”

Han scoffed,

“Yeah, great advice ‘Don’t be suspicious’. And how are we supposed to do that? A random TIE fighter that’s probably already been reported as stolen flying up to the ship during what seems like a routine check? How are we going to be sure they don’t stop us immediately and blow us out of the sky?”

Leia took a deep, patient breath,

“You really have no faith in me, do you. We’ve been monitoring the ship and can see that there are TIE fighters flying in and out. Just follow the path that the rest of them are taking to avoid standing out. We know the ship hasn’t been reported as stolen because when it crashed the pilot died, so there was no one to alert them when we recovered it. We don’t have much time, I just need you to trust me. Put on the uniforms, fly in if you have to, but fly out and destroy the engine. It’s our only chance.”

A grim look passed over your face, this mission was risky, and you knew if she was going to put the two of you together it really was her only option. Things could very easily go south and if worse comes to worse her best pilots would have the closest shot at getting out of there alive. You turned to Han and realized he must’ve gotten the message, because for once in his life he didn't have anything witty to say back. He just nodded and went to change into the stolen uniform

You turned back to Leia and took a deep breath before wrapping your arms around her. She returned the hug before pulling back and putting her hands on your shoulders.

“Just, please make it back, ok?”

You smiled “I will. I might leave Han on the ship though, he’s already starting to get on my nerves.”

Leia laughed “As much as he’s a pain in our asses, he’s one of our best. Try to keep him in line for me, you know how he gets...”

You chuckled, “Yeah, I will. See you later, okay?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

You walked off to go change before meeting Han at the ship.

...

By the time you squeezed into the stolen uniform Han was already in the pilot seat of the TIE. You truly wish you had the energy to argue about it, but there wasn't enough time to be petty. He was a better pilot, plain and simple, and your pride wouldn't change that. You also wouldn't change anything by slamming on a non-existent brake pedal as he took off with an all too aggressive jolt, but that certainly didn't stop the instinct.

"Can you slow down?" You snapped, tension seeping into your shoulders. "We're supposed to be blending in, and your narcissistic flying style gives you away to literally anyone who has ever seen you pilot."

"'Narcissistic flying style'?" Han scoffs "What does that even mean?"

"I don't know, shut up." You blushed, doing your best to avoid his gaze.

"You've got to get better at that, you know"

"At what?"

"Being mean. It doesn't suit you"

"Unless you want to figure out how well my foot suits your ass, I suggest you just shut up and fly"

He lets out a warm chuckle, laughing through his response -

"See what I mean? It just sounds weird coming out of your mouth. It's like a youngling swearing for the first time. To much bite, it's not natural yet"

"Well if you're so sure it's unnatural to me maybe I should take notes from you, you seem to have no problem being an asshole."

This one came out with a real bite, he's pissed you off now.

"And what does it matter? Maybe it's not natural to me because you're the only person who makes me feel like saying rude shit. Now what does come natural to me is flying, and maybe if you weren't so focused on how things sounded coming out of my mouth you'd have noticed the TIEs flying on either side of us."

"Oh shit!" He exclaimed, caught off guard for once.

"We're going to have to land on the ship."

"what? why?"

"We don't have access to their channels of communication and we're going to have to explain what the hell we're doing flying off Crait. If we start flying towards the reactor now they'll just gun us down. We can pretend to be the soldiers that crashed on this ship, explain that we were only missing because the engine failed and we needed time to repair it. The communicator broke in the crash, and that's why we haven't called for help, got it?"

"Got it, captain" He said, with an impressed lilt in his voice.

You smiled, tallying this as a win against him. If it was impressive to him that someone could come up with a plan that wasn’t whatever made the most explosions, then so be it. He’d just better be prepared to be impressed for the next few hours.

As Han flew the TIE into the landing bay, it became increasingly clear that this was going to take more convincing on your part than you were prepared for. The two TIEs guarding either side of you followed you into the port, and a group of high ranking soldiers began to gather where your ship was landing. You shot Han a concerned glance before remembering it was useless through your helmet. He seemed to get the message anyways, giving you a short nod in response. You just hoped that meant he was taking this as seriously as you were and wasn't planning on doing anything rash. 

The both of you slowly stepped out of the TIE, unsure of what the soldiers around you were planning. You tensed as a burly looking man approached, eyeing the both of you suspiciously-

“CF-0065, TZ-1764. It’s been quite some time since we’ve heard from you. Your vessels had been reported missing and it was our assumption that you had crashed or been captured. Explain what has kept you from reporting to your posts immediately.” 

He snapped, authority evident in his voice. You decided to cut in before Han could say something stupid-

“Yes, sir. Our vessels crashed on Crait, and we have spent the time in between now and then repairing the engine of the more salvageable ship. We were able to get it functioning yesterday, and we're working on getting the communication systems functioning next. We spotted your ship flying over and hoped to explain ourselves and have aid in fully repairing the TIE.”

“Ah, yes, well I’m glad you were able to recover your vessel and return to work. We could use the extras hands on board.”

“What exactly is the mission of this vessel?” Han chimed in. “We’d like to help in whatever way best suits our skills.” He added, nonchalantly.

The man, who you had now gathered to be the chief officer, began to walk. The two of you followed, doing your best impression of the mindless soldiers surrounding you.

“Well, we were sent to a maintenance level scan of this star system, but have since detected some suspicious activity on this planet in particular.”

 Your shoulders immediately tensed, and you shot a sideways glance at Han. 

“We would like to get a more comprehensive idea of the situation before moving forward, so as of now we have not reported anything to the other fleets in the area. We’d prefer not to alert the planet of our suspicions yet, and give them the least time to prepare if we decide to strike.”

You silently thanked the stars that they haven’t allerted anyone else of their suspicions. You know Han did too, it’s going to make what you have to do here a whole lot easier without an entire fleet against you.

"Well, we’re both especially skilled in repair and maintenance,” Han jutted in, “so if you could point us towards the engine room we would be happy to make sure everything is working in order while you further investigate the planet.”

It was a risky move, and the general eyed you suspiciously.

“The both of us were able to repair a damaged TIE fighter engine with nothing but the materials we were able to trade for on Crait, if you have any issues we’d be happy to help.” You added, hoping it would convince him.

“Actually,” he conceded, “I have been concerned about the operation system in one of  our navigation ports. We’ve been having quite a few rough takeoffs recently. I was going to wait until we landed to get it looked at, but since the two of you clearly possess enough skill to repair that TIE I’d rather you just take a look at it now.” 

He led the two of you down a series of long, winding hallways, which you did your best to memorize if a quick escape became necessary. The room he brought you to was a small one, with about a hundred buttons you barely recognized. You may be an experienced pilot, but Empire technology was something else entirely. You just hoped the general wasn’t planning on staying, or you and Han would have to put on a pretty convincing performance.

“So,” Han coughed, “what seems to be the matter?”

“Well since you two are such experienced mechanics, shouldn't you be the ones telling me?” The general questioned suspiciously.

“Of course, Sir,” You turned, praying to god that you could make some sense of this mess in time to keep your cover. “It looks like-”

A loud thud echoed behind you and you whipped around to see Han standing over the unconscious general. He just shrugged, turning to replace the wrench he pried off the wall to club him with.

“Han!” You whisper-shouted, trying not to alert more people than he probably just did by being his typical, impulsive self.

“What? He replied, “He was totally on to us and It was more trouble than it's worth to try and convince him we know anything about Empire tech.”

“Right, so you decided braining him with a wrench was the next best option?”

“We don’t have time for this, Y/N. At this point we’re going to have to sabotage the reactor from the inside, which might take more effort than we anticipated.”

“And what are we supposed to do with him?” You both eyed the unconscious general, and Han shifted his gaze to a utility closet in the corner.

A few good thunks with the wrench for extra measure later, the both of you began to fold, shove, and contort the general into a crate in the navigation room closet. You had taken your helmets off, sweating uncomfortably with the effort it took to lift the fairly bulky man across the room. You wiped your forehead, staring at the now properly concealed general, and shot a concerned glance at Han, 

“How long do you think it’ll take before they notice he’s gone?” 

“I think we’ve got some time,” He said, reaching for his helmet.

It was at that moment that the doorknob began to jiggle, and in a blur of movement Han had you up against the wall with his lips on yours. It didn’t even register at first, shock and adrenaline coursing through your veins hard enough to freeze you completely.You weren’t exactly sure what the rules were in The Galactic Empire about soldiers kissing, but you had a feeling the punishment for being caught would be less severe than killing a high ranking general. Plus, this was probably the easiest way to hide both of your helmetless faces, yours may not be recognizable, but his certainly is. It took a second before you began to kiss him back, but by the time you let yourself reciprocate, you heard the door click shut and Han pulled away. You kicked yourself and your neurotic brain for running through all of the possible plans of action before you even got the chance to soak it in. You’d dreamed of this so many times, and in so many ways, and the one time it’ll probably ever happen you let it get away from you. As you looked back up at Han, he was stuck with the same searching look you couldn’t wipe off your face. You stared back at him for a second, trying to gauge his reaction.

Han butted in, cutting right through your thoughts. “Maybe we should do that again. You know, just in case they come back.” He said, dazed.

“Yeah…” You muttered, “Yeah that might be best.”

His lips crashed back into yours, and you kissed him with a renewed sense of purpose. Han kissed with a passion you had never felt before. With everyone else it had been awkward and fumbling, but the two of you seemed to fit together so naturally. You took a metal note of every part of him, from the rough feeling of his lips to the bold flick of his tongue. You tried to memorize everything you loved about this, because you knew it was never going to happen again. You’re sure you were going to torture yourself with this moment forever, so you might as well remember it as clearly as possible. The way his hands grazed your waist, not grabbing, but just hovering above your hips with a feather-like touch as if he was afraid you were going to burn him. How his adams apple bobbed when you kissed his neck, swallowing hard out of desperation. The way his hands felt in your hair, not tugging, but carding through it with a sort of reverence. He pulled away too soon, tearing you out of your blissful analysis of his body and back into the present tense. 

“We can’t keep doing that,” He said, panting.

“Yeah, I think we’re in the clear and we need to find the reactor” You replied, trying your best to hide how it stung and moving towards your helmet.

“No.” Han put both his hands on your shoulder, holding you in place, “No, we can’t keep doing that because if we do I will want to do it again.”

“What?” You paused, shocked.

“You know what I mean, Y/N, don’t make me say it out loud.”

You stared back at him blankly, truly at a loss for words.

“Jesus Y/N, Do I have to spell it out for you? I’m in love with you!”

“What?” Seemed to be the only word your brain could muster in this moment. You felt as though your whole world view was crashing around you, as though the very ground beneath you was shaking… On second thought, the ground might actually be shaking, because judging by Hans face you weren't the only one feeling the rumbling beneath you.

“We’ll deal with this later.” He shot you a look before grabbing his helmet and running out the door, following quickly after to discover what was the matter. 

It became clear as you walked that the ship was preparing for takeoff, but you weren’t sure why. Your nerves were on fire, and you know you’ve wasted too much time to get it wrong now.

“That general sure wasn’t kidding when he said their takeoffs were rough. We need to get to the reactor before they can get the ship up and running or we’re screwed.” Han said, eyeing you nervously.

“Do you think if we go back to the landing bay we can tell them we have orders to go back to Crait and investigate some of the suspicious activity we saw on-world? If we take a nicer ship than the TIE we came in we won't have to worry about the blasters not being strong enough to take down the ship.” You replied, already in go-mode.

“Sounds like a great plan,” Han said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “except how the hell are we supposed to find our way back to the landing bay with no map of the ship?”

“Just trust me.” You said, grabbing his arm and leading him down the hall. Your freakish memory is good for more than memorizing Hans lips, and you were able to bring the two of you back exactly the way you came. You strode up to the nearest pilot you could find, and with the confidence of somebody who has no other choice, demands he give the two of you access to an ST-70 Assault Ship. 

“For what purpose?” He responds, taken aback by your assertiveness.

“We are the two soldiers who we’re just recovered from Crait, and were ordered back down there to investigate suspicious activity on the planet. We don’t have time for this, just give us the vessel.” Han repeated what you had planned to the pilot, striding towards the ST-70. 

“I haven’t been told of such an order, the two of you are going to need to wait until I receive the command from higher up to authorize use of this vessel.” The pilot replies sharply.

“We’ve already been held up by engine maintenance,” You added, not exactly sure where this was going but hoping you found something convincing to say in the midst of your rambling, “and spent much of that time relaying to a general on this ship the reason for our brief disappearance. We are part of a high clearance mission to uncover rebel activity on the planet Crait, and are close to infiltrating one of the largest branches of their military. We came here to dismiss your vessel, as we were worried your presence would alert the Rebel Alliance of our presence on the planet.”

Han joined in, stepping up to the unarmed pilot with his intimidating stature. 

“If you don’t hand over this vessel, the failure of a months-long plan to eliminate one of the largest branches of the Rebel Alliance will be on your head. Whatever you think we might do with this ship that is ‘unauthorized’ cannot possibly have consequences as dire for you as that will.” Han rolled his shoulders back, taking one more menacing step forward.

The pilot stepped aside, granting you and Han access to the ST-70. If the two of you make it out of here, you would have to be permanently assigned as partners for missions like these. You have never felt more invigorated or on your game than when you were with Han, the idea of the word ‘partners in crime’ finally settling in your skin. You weren’t out of the woods yet though, and as Han began to start the ships engines, a very rumpled looking general marched into the landing bay.

“Shit!” You exclaimed. “Go, Han, Go, go, go go GO!”

“I hear you Y/N!” Han shouted back, kicking the ship into overdrive and jolting you violently into space.

 You got a few feet out from the ship before three TIE fighters started tailing you, and Han took a sharp left before nose-diving under the belly of the ship. You whipped around to the laser cannons, doing you best to aim as Han whipped the ship around to try and find the main engine. Just as you took one TIE out, two more appeared.

“Do you have eyes on the engine Han?” You shouted, limbs tingling as you shot down two more TIE fighters.

“Got it!” He yelled back, and you swiveled to face the ship's surface as he flew at top speed towards the engine.

You began to count down, preparing Han to nose dive the second you blasted this thing out of the sky.

“Three… two.. One!” You fired directly at the engine, and your stomach did somersaults as Han dodged the blast.  

“Yes!” He screamed, and you laughed with manic joy as you felt relief wash over you. 

The TIE fighters following you weren’t prepared to dodge the blast, and the two of you watched joyfully as they went down with the ship. You barreled towards Crait, with more than just a successful mission to show for it. The two of you had just destroyed a high ranking Empire ship, and come back with an ST-70 Razor Crest M-11 ship as your bounty. Han landed the ship and ripped off his helmet, smiling from ear to ear. The excitement was electric, making its way through every limb and out your fingers to charge the atmosphere around you. You turned to Han and before you knew it you were crashing your lips into his, desperate for an outlet. He kissed you back with double the vigor of the last time, and seemed to be determined to explore every inch of you. Your mouth, your waist, your hair, your thighs, he groped and fumbled at all of you as you pushed back with just as much energy. Kissing Han felt like, for lack of better word, winning. Winning your first race as a newly vetted pilot, winning a mission against the empire, winning the man you thought wanted nothing to do with you and you thought you wanted nothing to do with. You laughed into the kiss as he bit your lip, giddy with an amount of energy you didn’t know how to control. 

“What?” He said, sporting that smug grin you always wanted to slap off of his face.

“Nothing,” you replied, deciding firmly that kissing it off was the better option. “I’ve just been so in love with you forever and can’t believe this is happening.”

FIN.

even as a shadow, even as a dream

The tomb preserved everything perfectly. 

Her image was preserved for all eternity in the stained glass. It felt almost larger than life, with her regnal portrait transferred to the stained glass. Her brown tresses framed her face sharply, and her cold eyes carried grace and class in a way that even her best speeches never truly brought on. The immaculate image she sought to cultivate every time that he saw her get ready for in the Senate was perfect. An icon for the ages. 

She stares at him in final judgment; the tone, the serenity, it all carried him back to another woman, with green locks and pale skin, who stood for light and paid the price for her folly. In another life, when his deepest nightmares merely encroached on his reality rather than merge with it, he imagined himself in black with pale skin, holding the weapon shakily as everything bled and suffered to its death. He’d sit the ashes he’d made, hovering over a body, weapon impaling as his bloody hands wrapped around the handle as the Force screamed what did you do. 

My nightmares were always my reality, only I was too weak to see it. I could only hide, and when running was impossible, I crumbled and burned everything else for a chance to escape only to fall into the fire I set ablaze. 

Vader stalks through the mausoleum, footsteps dull and angry despite the hesitance in their master. The doors whistled quietly as they shut, the small thud echoing through the chamber until it became a deafening roar. His cape swished ominously, frighteningly cheery and disturbing large swaths of air. Everything about his presence in the tomb was foul, unnatural and inhumane, yet he felt drawn to it. 

When he finally gained the arrogance to reenter Naboo and attend her mausoleum, he stopped in front of the carved doors for two minutes. His background swirled in that Force-damned red tinge, his limbs weighed him until it felt like agony to simply remain upright, and his breathing so loud it almost managed to drown out the last words of a strangled woman. 

I love you…..Anakin..

Her coffin had her image carved into it, and for a moment he reaches out, to tenderly stroke her face, and he withdraws. He is a monster, she is dead. He will forever hate himself to death, and deny himself the release of impalement, for he would never deserve it. She would remain dead, the galaxy would spin on its uncaring rotation, oblivious to the rage he wreaked upon it. He loved her, oh how he loved her, but that love could not keep her. He'd love her as misery loved him, and even misery's tight fingers felt like a loose grip as he remembered choking the life from her. He once may have proclaimed his desire to move the stars for her joy, to warp reality to her whims, to burn her enemies, smiling at their agonizing screams and to wretch the eyes from her enemies and string them like pearls, but that life was over. None of that weak man, of the lakes of Varykino, of an office corner in Coruscant, of a wine bottle on a speeder exists.

He settles for kneeling, and almost scoffs at the delusions he enjoys laboring under. For all of his denials, hatred and numb terror, he is powerless at her hands. Death, for all of its unstoppable malice and vitriol, could not crush his weakness. 

The whiteness of everything, the morning star’s light filtering through the stained glass, the marble arches and walkways, her coffin, the last image of her that he would ever see, repelled him. The purity, the kindness, the goodness, it all fell into a mockery of sorts. Everything that she dedicated herself towards, he proved himself to be the antithesis of. Her Republic was overthrown, fallen with him to create his Empire. Her belief in the goodness of the Jedi? Lost to the cold sweeps of times, which would wash the Jedi’s deeds away until they were nothing more than an ancient memory. 

The cold marble seemed to freeze into his joints, almost as a warning. Leave, do not return. Poison this place no longer, demon.  

And when Darth Vader turned to leave, he could feel arms around him. He wasn’t sure whether they were holding him in place or dragging him out: kicking, punching, screaming leave leave before he infected her forever. 

at first sight

“I’m sorry, Padme, but it’s broken.”

“Try again.”

“I’ve tried everything I know!”

“Reboot it.”

“I’ve done that—twice.”

“Sabe, there has to be something.”

“Remembering how we nicknamed you Queen Amidala when we were little…”

A sigh. “I apologize for being bossy. I’m stressed because my laptop isn’t working. I shouldn’t have taken such a high hand.”

“Right out of a textbook on diplomacy. Beautiful. Can I enjoy a treatise on reformation being the best form of apology next?”

“No, because I have no intention of changing.”

“There’s the true Padme behind the poise—no, don’t think I can’t recognize the ‘keep-it-together’ expression you have!”

An ominously loud whirring sound buzzed from the laptop. Sabe ruefully popped her head up from its screen. “Padme…”

No. No. Padme gathered her poise and bestowed a gentle smile on Sabe—one that didn’t fool Sabe an inch, but at least Padme retained the appearance of dignity, despite lacking the substance.

 “I can get a new laptop.”

“You could.”

“I can recreate my important files. There has to be a recovery function for that.”

“It’s definitely possible.”

“This is simply a minor setback. I shouldn’t catastrophize.”

“Or…and hear me out here…you could ask Anakin to help. He’d know how to fix it. He lives in the apartments upstairs.”

No. No. No no no no no. A thousand nos. Unfortunately, Padme would have rather set her laptop on fire than have Sabe guess Padme’s reluctance, so Padme plastered her face with a serene expression. More unfortunately, Sabe took it as concession and tugged her phone out of her pocket. Most unfortunately, Anakin appeared to already be home and was able to ‘be there in 5.’

be there in 5

The terse words seemed uglier than some graffiti Padme had seen scrawled in gas station restrooms. Well, Anakin was always late. He had been late to the meeting where Obi-Wan had introduced them; he’d been late to every gathering Padme was at since; he’d even been late to a party he’d thrown—at his house. Padme still didn’t quite understand how that was even possible.

Not that Padme paid attention to that. She didn’t pay attention to anything Anakin did. If she happened to notice his habits of punctuality, no one could blame her for it. Or question her motives. Motives Padme would rather die a prolonged death than admit. A slow, prolonged death over a firepit on a spit.

Padme definitely did not have a horrible, raging, gut-churning, heart skipping, overwhelming crush on Anakin Skywalker. Forget butterflies; this was butterfly flocks. Her schoolgirl level crush was downright embarrassing for a woman in her twenties. Padme wasn’t afraid to die through self-sacrifice on a spit to prevent anyone from finding out. She’d been dying inside a little bit each day since Anakin had entered her life. At first, she’d simply dismissed her feelings as simple attraction. No matter—Padme didn’t have time for a relationship, and she certainly didn’t have time for a relationship with a blunt and coarse friend of a friend. All of her friends had the same opinion of Anakin. “He’s nice…but also…” Sabe had said heavily after Anakin and Obi-Wan had left. “Antisocial,” Dorme had finished, neatly pinning down group opinion of Anakin in a single word.

Which had made Padme’s following predicament all the more humiliating. After the first meeting, a horrific chain of events had followed. Her heart had started skipping a beat whenever she saw Anakin, which she’d dismissed it as silliness that would soon fade, until it didn’t. She had started thinking of Anakin all the time: whenever she saw races on television, whenever she spotted a mechanic’s shop, when she had a spare moment at work, when she ate lunch, when she ate dinner, when she woke up, when she went to sleep. Things had escalated rapidly. It was when Padme caught herself checking for Anakin’s tousle headed hair at a restaurant—halfway across town from where he lived—at a get together he hadn’t been invited to—when he was out of the country—that she knew she had a problem on her hands. So Padme had set her teeth and determinably thought of anything other than Anakin. She could willpower her way through this.

It hadn’t worked. Each interaction with Anakin had only made everything worse. He would grouse about Obi-Wan, or debate spiritual philosophy at length, or curtly tell others exactly what he thought of them. He had tried pulling it with Padme once over a disagreement on her safety, telling her—really, ordering her—on what she should do, but Padme was not Padme Amidala for nothing. Crush or not, she had firmly put him in his place. And then caught herself wondering on the way home if he’d liked it.

“Don’t worry, Padme; I’m sure Anakin will be able to fix your laptop.” Sabe had a comforting tone, spectacularly misunderstanding Padme’s twisted down mouth. “He might be Anakin, but he’s also Anakin.”

Exactly, thought Padme resignedly.

It was then that he arrived.

“Yeah, what do you need?” he said brusquely, shuffling his way over to their café table in—Padme’s eyes nearly widened in horror—was that pajamas?

“Nice of you to dress up for us,” Sabe said tartly.

“If I’m going to be woken up in the middle of my goddamned nap for a goddamned laptop, I will wear whatever the hell I like.” Anakin blearily rolled his head. “So what’s the issue?”

“It won’t turn on,” Padme said with a calmness she felt was worthy of an Oscar.

Anakin shot the two an unimpressed look, reached out a lean hand, and pointedly pressed down the on button.

The cursed, cursed laptop turned on.

More than that, it gave no sign there had ever been an issue. No flickering screen, no whirring, not even an update. Instead, it cheerily flashed the login screen and chimed the login chime as if it had never thought to cause a tech issue in its life. Padme could have ripped it in half.

Instead, with the same performative calmness, she turned to Anakin with a pretended mild humor. “My, you really are efficient. It seems there wasn’t an issue. I apologize for waking you up for this.”

Yawning, Anakin mumbled something unintelligible that sounded like a neighbor of “mmhmm” and shuffled back out.

God, I love him.

The thought startled even Padme. She quickly tamped down on it. No. Absolutely not. Crushes were one thing. Crushes were manageable. School grade. Temporary and shallow. Love…

“I’m surprised he came down here,” Sabe said thoughtfully. “I guess everyone has hidden depths,” Snorting, “The siren call of tech is probably hard for someone like him to ignore.”

“I’m sure it is,” Padme smiled.

Disappointingly, Sabe didn’t keep talking about Anakin, just shrugging, done with a topic Padme personally felt should be explored quite a bit more. Sabe then pulled up the document they’d been discussing and chattering about it again.

Padme deliberately corralled her attention to the document. She could get over this. She could. If nothing else, because Anakin clearly didn’t like her back. She’d simply treat him like any other friend. Someone to call when something wasn’t working. In fact, she could probably ask him to take a look at her oven…it was stuck on broil mode…that was something friends did for each other, wasn’t it? Yes, Padme liked this plan. She’d ask Anakin to come over and take a look. Seeing him in close quarters alone was exactly the thing Padme needed to rid herself of this leech of a crush. The very idea was exciting.

Soon, she’d be free of Anakin Skywalker forever.

--

Author’s note: Reader, she married him.