Technical Devotion, Part Eleven: Co-existing

technical devotion, part eleven: co-existing

content warnings: nightmares, canon-typical violence

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The light of the holoprojector flickered, the image of Rex quivering in the darkened kitchen, the curtains pulled and shutters bolted closed.

“So you’re saying they’ve already built this weapon?” Rex asked, his brow set in a straight line.

“I’m not sure. I believe they have fully realised the tech, as there was some disturbance to devices that were nearby to their warehouse, but I’d wager it would take a lot longer to figure out how to harness that power into a projectile of some kind” Kan replied.

“How do you think they would do that?”

Kan sighed deeply, pulling together her thoughts, “From what I can gather from their reports, the material that they have been mining here is something that draws electrical charge naturally, the material itself is recorded as having disturbed their equipment, and it is located in a place that is somewhat of a local legend. The people here believe that something, some kind of god perhaps, is behind the disturbance, but once the Empire began digging about, they found a repository of this… material, mineral, metal - I’m not sure entirely what it is exactly, their reports are rather vague. The issue is… well, a bigger issue, is that the material seems to store what electrical charge it takes to some extent, so if they were able to create some kind of canon for this, a projectile containing this material could disable a ship, and then implode on itself - especially with the collected power of an entire ship held within it - sending back the signal and thus possibly frying the ship’s circuits, and if it were big enough, perhaps even the people inside would be affected. It could be devastating. Especially to any kind of large ship such as a venator, or something of a similar size which would usually be able to fend off small fighters with no problems”

Rex blew out a long breath, “Kriffing hell”

“Yeah. Kriffing hell” Kan sighed, leaning onto the kitchen table to steady herself.

“This is certainly not what I expected when I sent you guys there, I would’ve sent others as well had I known” Rex said, and scratched the stubble of his five o’clock shadow. He looked particularly worn down, and Kan felt awful to have to put this weight on his shoulders as well. “I need to think on this. I’ll talk to the others and see what they think, and I’ll call you within a few rotations once we have a plan. For now, hang tight and do what you can, but don’t take any drastic action without consulting me first”

“Yes sir” Kan nodded.

“Alright. Good work you two, I’ll see you in a few rotations”

The image of Rex flickered and cut out, enveloping the room in darkness. Kan looked over to Echo, who had been mostly silent during the call, electing to let Kan explain her findings. He didn’t think of himself as stupid when it came to technological pursuits, but with Kan in the room it was hard not to feel that way. After all, Rex had chosen Kan specifically for this mission because of her knowledge of the subject, and with the information they had found, he was now definitely more than a little out of his depth.

“I’ll go and open the windows” He said quietly, and walked over to the door.

He made his way around the kitchen, opening up the shutters and pulling open the curtains from the outside to let some air into the room that had become stuffy, whether because the windows were closed or because the subject of the call was so heavy, he didn’t know. When he made his way back inside, Kan was already back to tinkering with her own tech disruption project, soldering together all the aspects that made up one part of it. Echo saw her lick her lips and instinctively filled a cup with water, placing it next to her working hands on the table.

Since they had been confined in the same space for so long, both Kan and Echo had begun to pick up on little things that the other did. For Kan, it was that when she licked her lips while she was working it meant that she was thirsty. Kan had no idea what her tell was, and was astounded that Echo seemed to realise she was thirsty before she even realised herself, placing a cup of water beside her without so much as a word. For Echo, it was that when he was cold, he would rub his neck a certain way, as if containing a shiver, and Kan would offer him a blanket or a heatpad.

It was these little actions that made their time together so seamless. They seemed to co-exist so naturally, never stepping on each others toes, always having pleasant conversation, and knowing when what was preferred was a comfortable silence.

“Thanks” Kan smiled up at Echo as he sat across from her, and he gave her a small smile.

Echo watched Kan work, admiring how easily her nimble fingers worked, how steady her hands were.

“How did you get into this sort of stuff” He asked after a while.

Kan looked up momentarily, “My dad ran a repairs shop, I just picked up a lot of stuff from him”

“Is that where Master Unduli found you?”

“No” Kan shook her head, dropping the tools in her hands, “When the war came about I left home, I guess I was searching for some kind of purpose but I was just travelling around doing repairs and odd jobs for people, when Luminara came along I figured there wasn't really any better way I could help the war effort”

Echo nodded and Kan resumed her work again. He really found her drive admirable, her desire to do the right thing, or to be a part of something important, something that meant something. She had joined the Grand Army of the Republic, and now she was here, fighting alongside him and his brothers once more, for seemingly the same reason as before - the Republic. He couldn’t help but want to know more about her, about her childhood and her time in the war, but he didn’t want to push, especially as he knew it could be a particularly sore subject for her.

“Kan, what's your real name?” He asked instead.

She smirked a little as she looked up at him, “It's Kandam'aira. Kandam'aira Hynzir” She watched as Echo’s mouth hung open, almost imperceptibly. “It's a lot I know” She shrugged, a little nervously as she knew people didn’t often try to use her full name.

“How do you say it again?” Echo asked, bringing a warmth to her chest.

“Kandam'aira”

He sounded it out by each syllable, “Kan-dan-ei-ra?”

“Almost” Kan smiled encouragingly, “This is how it's spelled”

She pulled her datapad from the mess beside her and opened up a new file, typing out the spelling in aurebesh. She turned the screen to face him, and Echo read it a few times, turning it over in his head, “Kandam'airra”

“It's more… -ŕa, small roll on the R”

“Kandam'aira?” He said perfectly, and Kan smiled.

“Yeah that's it”

“It's really pretty” He looked up to her from the datapad, and Kan blushed a bit.

“Thanks, it's not as cool as Echo but it's whatever” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

“Echo isn't cool” He laughed, “It sounds better when you say it though”

“Oh? Why's that?” Kan asked innocently, her gaze inquisitive.

“Uh- your accent, you have a nice voice” Echo admitted, clearing his throat afterwards.

“Oh” Kan blushed again, “Thank you”

She got on with her soldering again, this time with flushed cheeks, and Echo smirked to himself upon noticing it. It made him feel like being a little bolder.

“Why don't you go by your full name?”

“It's just long and people get it wrong all the time. I won't correct them on it either, so it's just easier”

“Why won't you correct them?”

“I just don't want the confrontation”

Echo smirked, “You corrected me”

“Well you're different” She said with no hesitation.

Echo’s eyebrows shot up, “I am?”

His tone was curious in a particular way, and Kan looked up at him briefly to catch his smirk.

“Uh- Yeah” She gulped, looking down to her work again.

“How so?” Echo pressed, and Kan found it hard to keep her skin from blushing even further.

“I don't know, you're like, easy to talk to, or something”

“Or something” He mumbled with a smirk, “Can I call you Kandam'aira?”

She gulped again, refusing to meet his gaze, “If you want to”

“I think it suits you better than just Kan”

“Really? Why?” She looked up at him briefly, to see that his face was still maddeningly and enticingly pulled into a smirk.

“Because it's a beautiful name”

Kan’s heart hammered in her chest, unsure if Echo really meant what it sounded like he was saying. She just stayed quiet, not looking at him, and feeling her whole body heat up as her blush infected her.

Echo bit the inside of his cheek, following up with, “If that's okay to say”

“Of course it's okay, I dont think I've ever been complimented on my name before”

Echo chuckled, “I wasn't really talking about your name that time”

Kan looked to him, and he stared back at her intently, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Oh” She looked down to her work again with small smile.

Echo watched her, his heart soaring with adoration as she fumbled over her project. For the first time, Echo allowed himself to think, pretend even, that Kan maybe liked him in the way he liked her.

She was running, faster than she had ever run before. She had to escape them.

Their blaster bolts flew all around her as she wound her way around the large trees of Kashyyyk's forest. They were getting further and further away, but she didn't stop running.

Her lungs burned, her limbs ached, but she had to hide.

As she turned to look back at her pursuers, a bolt came straight at her head. She evaded it in time, enough to not be killed at least, but a sharp pain seared at the edge of her cheek. She brought her hand to the pain, and in her distracted state, she tripped over a root. Before she could scramble to her feet again, a foot was pressed to her stomach, keeping her back flat against the mossy undergrowth.

“Kandam’aira Hynzir, you are a traitor to the Empire and shall be dealt with as such”

Her best friend, her ori’vod, Spider, stood above her, blaster pointed at her head.

“Spider please. What’s happening? What Empire?” She trembled. It was hard not to let the fear wash over her like a tidal wave at the sight above her and the feel of his boot heel digging into her.

“Quiet!” He hissed.

She could see the tremble in his hands, and a single tear slipped from his eye. He should have taken the shot by now, but he just stood above her, waiting to find it within himself to do it, or possibly fighting that part of him with everything he had, she didn’t know which.

“Spider please, it’s me, it’s Kan”

“I know who you are, traitor” He spoke with such venom that she almost didn’t recognise him. Spider was soft, he was loving and he cared for her like nothing else. Who was this above her? He had the webbed scar splayed across his jaw that would set him apart from not only his brothers, but every other human, and yet, she couldn’t recognise him anymore.

“Spider” She whispered, her voice displaying every ounce of terror that she felt.

Spider’s first finger pressed into the trigger, still shaking, and a bolt flew right towards her head.

Kan sat up in bed, thrown from her dream. She took a shaky breath and raked her hand through her hair, unsticking the few small strands that had clung to the sweat on her forehead.

It had been a while since she had had a nightmare, and even longer since she had dreamt of that moment.

Kan lifted herself from her bed and tiptoed downstairs, filling a cup of water from the tap. She took a few gulps from it and settled herself in her usual chair, situating herself among the familiarity and comfortability of her work. It was still dark out, the stars of systems far away twinkling brightly at her through the window. She felt the gentle chill of the breeze passing through the window and sighed deeply, centring herself in the moment. That’s when she heard talking coming from Echo’s room.

She didn’t want to eavesdrop, but she wondered who he was talking to so late at night. However, when she pressed her ear to the door she could only hear incoherent mumbling, and she could hear Echo shifting around in his bedsheets. She cracked open the door, and her heart clenched at the sight of him. His face was twisted in agony, and writhing around as if trying to break free from something.

Kan approached the bed, “Echo, wake up” She gently placed a hand on his arm, but he didn’t wake, only breathing more raggedly. She sat down on the edge of the bed, her other hand finding itself on his face, “Echo! Wake up!” She said more firmly.

Echo sat up suddenly, his eyes wild and breath uneven. Upon realising Kan was there, he moved away from her, shame burning at his cheeks.

“I’m fine, go back to sleep” He managed to mumble out, trying to compose himself.

“I wasn't asleep, I heard you mumbling and just wanted to make sure you were okay” Kan spoke ever so softly, “You were having a nightmare?”

Echo refused to look at her, “Yes, but I'm fine, you should get some sleep”

“Echo” Kan placed a hand on his arm again, and he reluctantly raised his eyes to hers, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Not really” He mumbled, looking away again.

“Will it continue if you go back to sleep?”

“I- I don't know, maybe”

“Would you like me to stay with you?”

Echo’s eyes snapped up to Kan’s, “You don't have to do th-”

“Would you like me to?”

He could see such kindness and concern on her face and he desperately craved the comfort of her, so he nodded, “Yes, please”

Kan smiled and made her way around to the other side of the bed while Echo laid down again. She gently climbed into the bed beside him, with him faced away from her. The feel of the dip in the bed, the feel of her being there, was all too much and not enough at the same time.

“Echo”

He hummed quietly in response.

“Can you look at me please?”

He stiffened, but turned over in the bed, looking at her timidly

“Please never feel ashamed in front of me Echo. I would like you to trust me, if you can”

“I do trust you” He said without hesitation.

“I'm glad” Kan smiled. She then grew more serious and bashful, and Echo watched her toy with an idea in her head for a few moments, “Echo, would you…” She bit the inside of her cheek, and her sharp green eyes looked up at him, softened with tenderness, “Would you hold me?”

Echo melted at her expression, the last memories of his nightmare being chased away by the vulnerability in front of him. He nodded and opened his arm for her, and she quickly buried her face in his chest. He leaned into her as well, enveloping her in his embrace and sighing contentedly at the feeling of her gripping to his shirt. He then remembered something she had said previously and frowned.

“Are you okay? Why weren’t you asleep?” He asked, and felt her sigh against him.

“I had a nightmare too” She admitted and Echo instinctively tightened his arm around her.

He tilted his head so he spoke down into her hair, “Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head quickly, “No, just-” She nestled in closer to him, wrapping her legs in his mechanical ones, “Just hold me”

Echo’s heart swelled and ached all at once, and in that moment he decided that he must get Kan to make the arm attachment for his scomp, that he must feel her with two hands, and be able to hold her properly if she asked again.

“Are you comfortable?” He whispered, painfully aware of how cold his metal limbs could be.

“Yes, very”

He could feel her smile a little bit against him, and he let a small chuckle escape his lips. Kan could feel the vibrations of it in his chest and snuggled in as close as she could.

gone, but not forgotten

Fives x F!Reader

word count: 4.4k

description: you're a bartender at 79s when the 501st gets back from a gruelling campaign. the clones make a game out of seeing who can successfully hit on you, but the one that catches your eye is the one that doesn't try at all, the one whose shoulders are weighed down by a painful loss.

warnings: nothing much, a little fluff & sad fives (post citadel), mentions of death and war as expected, non-established relationship

a/n: i'm probably gonna do a part 2 to this because it was originally gonna have a lot more to it and I still kinda wanna see that play out, but anyway, enjoy :)

part two here: how to feel again

The low lighting and heavy bass that shook the very bar you were working at were no match for the ruckus that was caused whenever the clones of the 501st entered 79s.

You watched their entry from behind the bar with a small smirk. You spotted their Captain, already shaking his head at his men and bringing up the rear as the men filtered into a booth near the entrance, clearing out the clones who were already sat there.

You were familiar with a handful of the clones of the 501st, and when one of them - Jesse, if you’re remembering correctly - caught your eye, he sent you a wink. You instinctively rolled your eyes, though there was no animosity behind it. Working at a clone bar, people expected you to be sick of the clones, but you couldn't help but find them generally endearing. Sure, they all tried to hit on you, but most of their attempts were so harmless or pathetic that you couldn't find it in yourself to be irritated by it.

As you served a variety of customers, clones and nat-borns alike, you could see the 501st boys looking over at you and then talking amongst themselves, and you quickly realised that you were to be privy to some kind of game of theirs. Between pouring drinks and cleaning glasses, you watched them with suspicion, and you noticed that there was one particularly sullen looking clone among them, one that you hadn't met before. He didn't seem to be interacting with them much, just sitting back with his arms crossed over his chest and a far-away look in his eyes.

The first to approach the bar was Kix.

“Hey there” He said your name in a flirtatious tone, “What's a pretty lady like you doing working in a place like this?” He leant over the bar a little as he spoke, a charming smile painted on his face. If his words weren't so utterly ridiculous and overused, you might have even fallen for it.

“What should I be doing if not working here Kix?” You asked back innocently with a hand on your hip, playing into his game. For now.

“I'm not sure, but someone with a smile so radiant is surely made for greater things” He smiled triumphantly, as if he had just said the most flattering thing and not insulted your career.

“Hm” You tapped your finger on your chin a few times, as if thinking hard about something, “Yeah, it didn't work, nice try though. Can I get you something to drink now?”

“Ugh” Kix slumped down to his elbows in a huff, “I'll just get a fizzbrew”

You laughed at his defeated tone as you reached into the cooler below for his drink, “Come on, did you really think that was going to work?”

“I did! And it's true! Your smile is radiant” He argued as he took his drink from you.

You screwed up your face as he reiterated the compliment, “Kix stop, you failed already, go sit down”

“Alright alright, thank for this” He smiled with a small chuckle as he dropped his credits into your hand.

“No problem”

The next to try it was Dogma.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have the most wonderful hair?” He leaned on the bar and tipped his head to the side a little with a wide grin.

“Oh maker Dogma, that's awful. Is that really the best you've got?” You couldn't help but laugh at his attempt.

“Uh-” He rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Maybe”

You smirked at him and took a glass from the back, “Krilliz?”

His eyes lit up, “You remembered”

“Of course I did, nobody else orders this nightmare fuel”

“Hey! I like it”

“And I'm glad, here” You handed him his drink with a smile, “Enjoy”

He thanked you with a sigh and headed back to the snickering of his squad mates.

Over the next hour, almost every member of the group came up to the bar and tried to flirt with you in some way, and you honestly couldn't figure out what game they were playing. Though, it was hard to know, as you shot all of them down almost immediately.

When it came time for the last clone of the group, you were a little bit worn down by it all.

“I'll get a shot of that Shesharilian vodka stuff”

The regularity of the statement was refreshing, you almost weren't expecting it.

“You're not going to tell me how my hair is so wonderful or my smile is so radiant?” You asked with a smirk, earning a chuckle from the clone in front of you, but it held no mirth.

“I would be blind not to notice, but no, I'm not a part of their little game” He admitted, but you don't entirely buy it.

“Which one are you after then?”

“Which what?” He asked, confused by your question.

“Which lady?” You clarified, nodding out into the bar.

“Oh” He chuckled lightly, if a little sadly, “I'm not after that tonight”

“What are you after then?” You asked, and he paused for a moment before sighing.

“A strong drink”

You could see that there was a certain sadness behind the request, and realised that this was the dejected looking clone that you had noticed earlier.

“Coming right up” You said, offering him a gentle smile.

You sorted the drink, stealing glances at the man, noticing the way the coloured lights along the bar seem to make the bags under his eyes more pronounced. You placed the drink in front of him, but when he went to hand you some credits, you stopped him.

“It's on the house”

“What? I can't-”

“Don't worry about it” You smiled and pushed the drink further towards him, “I can tell you need it”

He looked at you for a moment and offered a thankful smile.

“That's… Thank you…” He trailed off, and you told him your name, tapping on your name tag. He repeated it with another thanks, and told you that his name was Fives.

“I couldn't tell” You smirked, pressing a finger to your temple, where he had an aurebesh tattoo. He chuckled lightly and thanked you again, taking his drink back to the 501st table.

You watched as his brothers all patted him on the back, and he rolled his eyes with a small smile as he settled back into his seat at the edge of the group. You wondered if he had just used the sad boy approach to appeal to your better nature, and win whatever game they were playing, but you soon forgot all about it as you got on with your work.

The bar was particularly busy tonight, so you had your hands full when it came to making drinks. It seemed that there were quite a few clone legions back on Coruscant at the moment, including the 104th, who got roped into the 501st game quite easily. A flurry of clones adorning grey armour sauntered up to you, offering a variety of compliments, and getting more ridiculous each time as you rejected each one of them. Truthfully, there were a number of them that appealed to you, but you weren't going to entertain their silly idea of a good time.

At some point between all the compliments and rejection, the sad clone you now knew as Fives had settled into a seat on the end of the bar. You noticed him sitting there as the bar area became more sparse, most people opting to make their way towards the dance floor.

You slid up to him and leant on the bar, your jaw resting in your hand as you address him. “So Fives, is this wistful look in your eyes authentic, or was it just so you could win this little thing you 501st boys have going on?” You asked with a cocked eyebrow, and he looked up, the ghost of a smirk crossing his lips.

“I meant it when I said I wasn't a part of their game, not that they believed me after you gave me a free drink” He replied matter-of-factly.

You chuckled slightly, standing up straight, “Can I get you anything?”

He looked behind you at the bar for a short moment. “I probably shouldn't, I hear drowning your sorrows isn't a healthy thing to do” He smiled sadly.

“Why ever else would you come to a bar when you're sad?” You teased slightly, and he huffed a laugh.

“Because I was dragged out of bed by my brothers”

You laughed with a warmth, “Ah well, how about just some water then?”

“Sounds good” He smiled genuinely.

You got him the water from the tap and he thanked you for it before you went about sorting drinks for the other patrons that had approached the bar in the time you had been talking to him. You kept an eye on him out of the corner of your eye as you did so, and he just drank his water at a slow pace, watching his brothers dance ridiculously with a small smile and that same far away look in his eye.

As the night went on and he settled into the chair at the bar more and more, a Pantoran woman approached him, and started flirting with him unashamedly. Fives replied to her questions, not wishing to seem rude, but was too distracted by his own thoughts to entertain the kind of ideas that she surely had about the night. You watched as the Pantoran started getting a bit handsy, placing her hands on his arm and his chest as she talked to him. You saw that Fives didn’t react to this very much, but then she got very close, her lips close to his ear, and he backed away a little.

As she was speaking into his ear seductively, he looked over at you and saw you watching. You averted your eyes as you saw his smirk grow, knowing he caught you looking.

You went about busying yourself with cleaning glasses, facing the back of the bar. When you turned around to serve a customer that called for you, you caught the Patoran woman dancing with another clone on the dance floor. You smiled at the sight, she got what she wanted after all.

Fives was still sat at the end of the bar as your shift came to a close and customers were dwindling a little, so you approached him again.

“You didn't fancy the Pantoran?” You asked and he looked to you from the dance floor, turning his body.

“Didn't want to make you too jealous Cyar'ika” He leaned forward with a smirk and you chuckled.

“How considerate” You rolled your eyes a little as you grabbed a cloth and begun cleaning up the bar. “How come you're still here? Doesn't seem like you're really enjoying yourself” You observed and he released a small sigh.

“Just distracting myself really” He admitted, and you felt yourself wanting to ask more.

You approached the subject tentatively, speaking in a gentle voice, “If it's not too much to ask… what are you distracting yourself from?”

Fives paused, and with a deep sigh, looked to your eyes, seeing only an honesty in them, “I lost a brother a week ago, my twin”

“Oh, I'm so sorry, this must really be the last place you want to be then” You offered him a truly sympathetic look, and he smiled a little.

“I don't know, the company's not so bad” He let his smile grow and you reflected the gesture back at him.

“You're not so bad yourself” You grinned, then your mouth dropped as you became more serious, “But seriously” You placed a hand on his, “I'm really sorry about your brother, I know how hard that is”

He gave you an appreciative smile and turned his hand over in yours, giving it a light squeeze, “Thank you, I really appreciate that”

You smiled, and continued wiping the bar, trying to ignore the warmth that lingered on your hand from his touch.

You started doing little chores before you headed off, sweeping the floor behind the bar. As you were doing so, a rather inebriated clone approached the bar.

“Hey there pretty one, three shots of dark lum please”

“Of course” You replied with a gracious smile, and took three shot glasses from below the bar. As you were pouring the customer's drinks, they tried to talk to you some more.

“Say, when do you get off work tonight beautiful?”

You chuckled, “In a few hours”

“How many hours?”

You shrugged dismissively with a polite smile, “A few”

He kept pressing, but Fives interrupted him before he could really embarass himself.

“She's already got company tonight brother” He told him, a hand on his arm to pull him backwards slightly.

“Fives! I didn't see you there” The clone said, surprised, only earning a grunt from his brother. “Alright, good for you man, nice score” He chuckled and took the shots away as Fives rolled his eyes.

“Sorry about him” He shook his head.

“Its alright, I'm used to it” You shrugged, an appreciative smile directed at him.

“I'm sure you are, but I'm still sorry. Some of my brothers can be a bit… crass”

You laughed at that, “I'm aware”

You watched Fives for a moment, then leant on the bar looking at him intently. “So what are we doing when I get off work then?” You said with mischievous glint in your eye.

“Oh, sorry about that, I just said it so he'd leave you alone” He spoke awkwardly.

You tutted, pursing your lips, “That's too bad, I was rather looking forward to it”

Fives’ eyebrows raised, “You were?” He unconsciously leaned forward a little.

“Perhaps” You said, then pushed back, leaning against the back of the bar, “If you were only joking though-”

“Hold on now, I didn't say that” He challenged, and you bit the inside of your cheek, trying to decide if what you had in your head was really a good idea.

“If you fancy it… there's a place I go when I want to be alone. I know there's not many places like that on Coruscant but I figure you could maybe do with some peace and quiet, just to think, grieve, whatever you want. I was thinking of going there anyway” You shrugged as if it was the most casual thing in the world, offering this almost stranger your safe space.

“That sounds nice” He said genuinely, a smile on his face “I'd love to”

“Alright, well I actually get off in 5 minutes, so be ready” You confessed and he laughed, standing from his seat.

You finished cleaning up and took your apron off, hanging it up in the store room out the back. When you exited the building, Fives was waiting, and when he spotted you coming towards him he pushed off the wall he was leaning against, “Where to?”

You gestured your head towards your speeder bike close by to him and got on. As you began getting it ready to drive, you noticed that Fives was just standing next to you.

“Well get on” You laughed and his ears tinged pink. He climbed on behind you, and you were about to depart but then you turned to him, “Are you gonna hold on or…”

He rolled his eyes a little, “Just trying to be respectful” He mumbled as his hands snaked around your waist holding your abdomen gently. You couldn’t deny the way his touch sent a shiver up your spine, a warmth spreading over the area where his strong arms brushed against you.

“Well you won't get the chance if you fall off, so hold on tight”

The speeder zoomed off as you rolled your hands forward on the handlebars, and Fives’ arms tightened around you as he pulled himself into you. The sensation of him being pressed up against you made you a little breathless, despite the thick layer of armour that separated you from the warmth you could feel emanating from him.

It served as a sudden reminder of the strangeness of the situation you had put yourself in. You saw clones in the bar every day, and while you certainly found them attractive, it had never occurred to you to actually seek any kind of companionship from any of them before. You weren't even certain that was what you were doing right now, every decision you had made up to this point suddenly seemed entirely spontaneous, misguided even.

Halfway through the journey, Fives gently leaned his temple onto the back of your head, and your stomach did a flip. Even at the high speed you were going, you could feel his warm, steady breath ghosting over the back of your ear, and you had to really try not to shudder at the feeling of it.

After around 15 minutes or so, you arrived at your destination. You brought the speeder bike into an alley, and lead Fives to the apartment building you were headed towards.

“Was this just a ploy to get me to come back to your place?” He smirked slightly, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

“No” You chuckled, “This isn't my building” You spoke confidently, walking through the front door. Fives followed after you, entirely confused.

“Hey there doll, late shift again?” The Gran on reception called to you as he noticed you enter.

“It was, I'm so tired” You said dramatically, and Fives' face contorted to one of utter amusement and confusion.

“Got someone with you tonight, that's new. Lucky man” The Gran winked at Fives and you laughed slightly awkwardly.

“Indeed” You said, giving a smirky side glance to Fives, who just stayed quiet throughout the exchange. “See you later Faadu” You called as you made it inside the elevator.

You didn't listen out for the answer, and after the doors closed, Fives turned to you, “I thought you said this wasn't your apartment building”

You smirked and shrugged “He doesn't need to know that”

Fives smirked back at you, and your stomach flipped as you realised how close he was to you in the somewhat confined space. You continued to look at each other, inspecting each other's features. There was definitely a certain charm to Fives that inexplicably drew you to him more than the other clones. His eyes were a deep brown, and as you found yourself lost in them, you couldn’t find it in yourself to remember that they were identical to the ones you so often saw in the bar. Fives went to say something, but the elevator pinged and the doors slid open.

“This is it” You stepped out into the darkened hallway, and traced the steps that were so familiar, though you hadn't been here in a long time.

You made it to the end of the hallway, and hooked your fingers into the door, struggling slightly as you pulled it open. You walked into the empty apartment and made your way over towards the balcony, already captivated by the familiar view out of the large windows.

“Woah” Fives spoke quietly, following you to the balcony.

“I know right” You pushed the doors open and walked up to the railing, leaning your weight onto it, “It's the tallest building in the district, but no one lives on the top floor”

Fives joined you, coming to rest beside you on the railing, and you both looked out on the cityscape. There was a gentle breeze, and you felt your hair shift gently. The view was undeniably beautiful, and being able to look upon the city from above was truly something spectacular, though it held some complicated feelings for you. You were glad that someone was here with you, it was nice to share the space.

“I just find that… When I'm here, it makes my problems seem small, insignificant. Like, I see all these tiny little dots that are really people, and all these different lives, and it brings me… comfort, or perspective, I guess”

Fives watched you confess with interest and you turned to see his expression, full of an emotion you couldn’t quite place your finger on.

“Not that your problems are small, they're not, but-”

“I know what you mean” He smiled, a hand resting on your forearm. He left it there as he recalled something you had said earlier, “How come you were coming here tonight?”

“What?” You asked, swallowing as you felt the warmth of his hand through his glove.

“Before, you said you were coming here anyway” He reminded you.

“Oh, I- um” You looked down to your feet, “I lost my brother a year ago today”

Fives viewed you with a newfound reverence and understanding, and his hand found its way down your arm. He interlaced his fingers with your own, and started rubbing circles on your hand with his thumb. It was certainly a welcome feeling, and it kept your tears at bay, staying as a glassy outer layer to your eyes.

“I know it's not exactly the same as with your brother, but… I came here a lot when I was grieving” You looked up to him, “If it would help you, feel free to come here whenever you want. I mean, it doesn't belong to me anyway” You said, ending in a chuckle and looking out to the view again.

“Thank you, it really means a lot” He smiled, though you weren't looking at him. He followed your lead and looked out to the city as he spoke, “Being in the GAR, losing brothers is part of the deal, and you're expected to just move on, but… It's not that simple, especially with-” He swallowed, “The brother that I lost, we'd been together since we came outta the tube, I don't know what life even means without him next to me” He admitted, and you looked to him to see that his eyes were full of sadness, his eyelids half closed as if weighed down by his emotions.

“What was his name?” You asked, and he looked up to you.

“Echo”

“Why was he called that?” You asked. You knew that often clones’ names held some kind of meaning, or a story behind them at least.

Fives chuckled sadly, “He was always driving us mad by repeating the orders we were given”

You smiled, “And… how did you get your name?”

Fives grinned, “Guess”

You thought for only a split second, “You have a lot of fives in your CT number?”

“Bingo” He smiled, then faltered, looking away wistfully “yeah, ARC-5555”

“You're an ARC?” You asked, a small smirk fighting its way on your face.

“Mhm”

“That's kinda hot”

“It is?” Five turned to you with an incredulous look, and you couldn't help but let your smirk grow.

“Oh yeah, I mean, it's not like, Captain or Commander or even Lieutenant-”

“Alright alright” He rolled his eyes, and your smirk transformed into a genuine smile.

“Was Echo an ARC too?”

His amused expression faltered a little bit, “Yeah, we got promoted together” He sighed, a fond smile gracing his features, “He was always more serious about everything, kept me in check”

“You don't seem like someone who needs keeping in check” You said, tilting your head as you looked at him.

He smirked, “I'm not always this reserved. On any other night I would've been performing for your attention like the rest of my brothers”

“That's ironic I guess” You chuckled.

“How so?”

“You're the only one that did get my attention” You admitted, blushing slightly, now feeling a little sheepish under his gaze.

Fives just smiled subtly and brushed his thumb over your knuckles, reminding you of the fact that he was still holding your hand, “I guess I've gotta keep up the sad and lonely act then”

You laughed, “I don't know about that. It worked on me but I'm not sure that other women are into it”

“That's alright, I wasn't really thinking of trying it on other women” He said, dropping his voice just a bit so that it held a slightly gravelly tone.

You bit back a smirk, “Smooth Fives, very smooth”

He chuckled, “I wasn't kidding, I don't just hold hands with anyone”

“Mhm, I'm sure” You shook your head slightly, looking away from his intense gaze.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, letting the noise of the city replace conversation. You could hear the whizzing of speeders and other transports passing by, the noise of the people below very feint from the height of the building. You sighed deeply, remembering your brother, the reason you had come here in the first place. Fives’ thoughts dwelled on the same thing, his own brother.

“Thank you for talking to me about Echo” He spoke just above a whisper and you turned to him, “Most people just give me a sad look and a hand on the shoulder at most. It's nice to actually talk about him”

“I know” You offered him a sad smile, silently telling him you knew how he felt, “Anytime”

Fives smiled and gave your hand a small squeeze.

Being here with Fives was nice, a relief to the mental torment you found yourself enduring when you had been here grieving your brother just after his death. His presence was calming, soothing, and his hand in yours even more so. You found yourself hoping that this wouldn't be the last time you shared this experience with him.

technical devotion, part eight: playing the part

content warnings: minor description of panic around crowds

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“What the-”

Kan jumped as she reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at the droid that was sat lazily at the kitchen table. She then realised it was not a droid at all.

“Echo, you scared me” She laughed slightly, and Echo flipped up the mask of his disguise.

“Pretty convincing right?”

“Yeah, maybe if you weren't sat like a man” She smirked at his distinctly human posture and he chuckled. “I've gotta say, when you said you had a disguise this is not what I was expecting”

“Well maybe that bodes well for my disguise then” He smirked a little, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yep” Kan smiled, grabbing her bag, “Let's get going”

Kan and Echo ventured into town, having heard there was a market in the square today. They were yet to really meet anyone here, and Echo had decided it was easier for him to walk around as a ‘droid’, going unnoticed, instead of trying to explain to people why he was more machine than man, as he often put it.

The square was bursting with life. It was wonderfully decorated with banners and plants, and the large fountain in the middle served as a place of rest for parents and a play area for their kids. There were vendors selling an assortment of things, from food to spare parts and clothes, and it was positively a melting pot of people from all over the galaxy. There was not one presiding race, and Kan was thankful, her olive green Mirialan skin not making her stand out for once.

Despite the cheerful cast of characters in the square, it was lined by men in white plastoid armour, the only ones who managed to stand out in this environment. Stormtroopers.

“You should get talking to some people” Echo said quietly, his voice modulated by his mask. Kan almost didn't realise it was him talking to her.

“Yeah alright, give me a minute” Kan looked around, a little overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things going on. She figured she'd start at a food vendor, somewhere they could actually do with visiting.

“Hello there ma'am, how are you today?” The Weequay vendor smiled warmly.

“I'm well, how are you?” Kan replied.

Echo couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes as Kan got into a conversation with the vendor that could not be described as short. She asked about her life, how she had ended up on this planet and about her family. Though it was sweet how much she truly cared about other people and wanted to connect with them, this really wasn't the time for it.

As they walked away from the stand with a paper bag full of vegetables, Kan got distracted by another stand selling food, and Echo grabbed her arm subtlely to stop her.

“We’re not just here to chat and buy food, start talking to some of the locals” He said quietly.

Kan huffed, “Alright, fine”

“I'm gonna take a walk around, see what I can hear” Echo said, walking off to her right before she got the chance to reply.

Kan looked around the square, and decided to just take the plunge. She approached a friendly looking Zabrak woman who was sat by herself at the fountain, smiling at the children playing in the water.

“Excuse me, I'm sorry to disturb you” Kan began, and the woman looked to her with an openness that made her continue, “I'm new to town, could you possibly tell me a little bit about what goes on around here?”

“Of course” She smiled, and patted the place next to her.

Kan took the seat, and they fell into conversation about the customs of the town, market on every second and fourth day of the week, and a communal celebration every few weeks on the fifth day, which included mostly food stands and dancing, among other festivities. The Zabrak, who had since introduced herself as Rhidi, told her about the mayor, pointing them out amongst the crowd of small children that they were playing with.

“It's lovely here, the community seems to be really thriving” Kan said, looking back to Rhidi to see her hesitancy before speaking.

“It is, I must admit it has been different lately” She said, a twinge of indignance in her tone.

“How so?” Kan asked, feigning innocence.

“There's just… a lot more of an imperial presence here nowadays” She began, trying to gauge Kan's opinion on the matter, “Which is fine! of course, it's just… different”

“Oh right…” Kan said, looking around at the stormtroopers patrolling the square, “When did they get here?”

“Around two standard months ago, there was suddenly double the troops, then triple, it happened so quickly” Rhidi said, keeping her voice hushed.

“Something important must be going on then” Kan prompted her.

“They've set up some kind of base for experimentation, technological I think, but that's all I know about it” She said, then sat up straighter, “But anyway, that's pretty much there is to know around here”

Kan understood and followed suit, “Thank you so much Rhidi, it was a pleasure to meet you”

“And you…”

“Oh! I'm uh- Ech-a” Kan immediately cursed her stupid mouth for speaking before she could think properly about what she was saying. “Short for Gekavi” She tried to salvage her blunder with the reasonably common Mirialan name.

“Well, I hope to see around again Eka” Rhidi said with a smile, standing up and brushing off her skirt as Kan cringed at the use of the name.

“Me too” She managed to smile before Rhidi walked away.

Kan stood and looked around the square for someone who seemed like they might know something more about the imperial presence here. That's when she noticed a man in an imperial officer's clothing watching her, a subtle smirk on his lips. She tore her eyes away and made her way around the outside of the square, and then back towards the man, bumping into him with her shoulder a little too harshly.

“Oh! I'm so sorry, forgive me” She looked up at him with widened eyes and all the innocence she could.

“It's no worry miss” He smiled at her warmly, readjusting his uniform, “You're new around here aren't you?”

“Oh dear, is it that obvious?” She said, her hand on her cheek out of fake embarrassment.

The officer chuckled, “I just don't remember seeing you before”

“Ah well, I've just moved in. I'm Gekavi” She doubled down on the name while holding out her hand and he took it in a soft grasp.

“Captain Levy” He gave his own name. He was truthfully quite a handsome man, dark curly hair that fell over his forehead neatly, dark blue eyes, and a pleasant smile.

“Captain huh? That's impressive” Kan smiled up at him disarmingly.

“Should be Commander soon” The Captain smirked at her a little, and Kan could tell he was all too happy to show off to her. This is too easy.

“Woah, how come?” She asked innocently, a small smile quirking the corner of her mouth.

“Cant tell you that I’m afraid Miss, top secret” He said with a little wink.

“Aw, that’s too bad”

Echo looked around the square from the corner, trying to keep his appearance distinctly droid-like. He finally found Kan, but his breath caught as he saw her fluttering her eyelashes up at a man - an Imperial officer - and touching his arm gently. He couldn't help the feeling of jealousy and borderline anger that bubbled up in his gut, and he made his way towards them slowly.

Kan caught the sight of Echo over Captain Levy's shoulder and felt the need to wrap up the conversation.

“Well I should be getting home, it was nice to meet you Captain, almost Commander” She smirked up at him.

“It’s Drass, but it was nice to meet you too Gekavi” He replied with a charming smile, and Kan waved goodbye before she heard him calling out to her again, “Will you be attending the festivities tomorrow?”

“I'm not sure, I still have a lot of settling in to be doing” She replied a little nervously to invite him to try and convince her.

“Well, I hope to see you there nonetheless” He smiled.

She batted her eyelashes at him for a moment, chewing on her lip, “I'll think about it”. She smiled at him and then left, noting him watching her walk away. Echo came to walk beside her as she rounded the corner to their dwelling, and she jumped a little at his sudden presence.

“That was great” She grinned at him, and his heart sunk just a little.

“It was?” He looked at her, jaw grinding when she nodded, “We're not here to just flirt with Imperials you know”

“I wasn't really flirting” Kan screwed up her face at the accusation, placing down the grocery bag on the kitchen table, “But that man is one compliment away from spilling everything. I think we should go to these ‘festivities’ tomorrow”

“So you can flirt with this man some more?” Echo asked, and Kan looked at him with disbelief and apprehension to his strange line of questioning.

“Fake flirting, there's nothing attractive about being with the empire” She pointed out, “I think he's a good first try in any case, and if we go to this thing tomorrow we might find other opportunities”

Echo conceded with a grunt, “Okay, if you say so”

Kan frowned as Echo walked into his room and shut the door. She was getting a little tired of the way he would suddenly act different around her, and she couldn't help but feel that she had done something wrong, once again. She didn't like the way his mood affected her own thoughts, and didn’t understand why she would let it happen. Had it not been the right thing to do to get the attention of an Imperial Captain? Or soon to be Commander, if he was to be believed - that seemed like a good connection to have made.

“Echo, are you coming this thing tonight?” Kan asked from outside his bedroom door.

Echo had taken to staying in his room any time that he wasn't eating or out walking around town and listening in on conversations. That was the way he had found out where their main base of operations was earlier on in the day.

He opened the door, the crease in his brow softening as he looked down at Kan. She wore a short white sleeveless dress, a red waistcoat with the top button done up, and a pair of brown leather boots. Her collarbones were adorned by a small golden necklace, and her hair tied into two pigtails with white ribbons. She looked positively breath taking, and Echo's breath had certainly been taken.

“Uh- I, um- I might stay here” He stuttered out, rubbing his neck as he looked away from her.

“Oh, okay” She said, her shoulders slumping a little.

He noted her deflated tone, “Did you want me to come?”

“I mean… yes. I'm a little nervous about talking to this officer again… and people in general really. It might just be reassuring if you were there, I don't know” She spoke, looking down at her feet, “It's okay if you don't wa-”

“No, I'll come” He replied quickly, “Let me just get changed quickly”

“Okay” Kan smiled as he closed the door, and she sat down at the kitchen table waiting for him. Within a few minutes, the door opened again and Echo stepped out in his droid disguise. Kan desperately wanted to ask him why he had chosen to disguise himself as a droid for this mission, but she decided that another time would be better.

The pair left their dwelling, into the darkness of the night, and made their way to the park just around the corner, where the event was taking place. Echo noted the way that Kan's hands tightened into fists as she looked around the festivities nervously.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” He asked quietly.

“No, I mean- maybe stay close by, but you don't need to be right here if you don't want to. I- I'll be fine, uh- being by myself, um, if you're nearby” She replied, her brain scattered by the amount of people around.

“Hey” Echo said, pulling her around the corner and out of the view of everyone else. He flipped up his mask to talk to her, “If you're uncomfortable, we can go back, you're under no obligation to get information this way”

Kan looked up into his eyes as he leaned his hand on the wall next to her. She found them entirely captivating, a soft brown colour that was different from any of the other clones she had encountered. The intensity of his gaze calmed her from her previous worries, but his proximity had her heart racing.

“No, it's okay. I just- crowds can be a little much for me, but it's fine”

“Are you sure?” He asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Yes, It'll be fine” She assured him. and he stepped back, flipping his mask down.

“Okay, let's do it” He said, gesturing for her to re-join the celebration.

Feeling emboldened by his actions, and having a need to feel safe, Kan grabbed ahold of Echo's hand, and pulled him gently through the crowd.

Echo felt as if his body had been set alight by the simple touch, and he knew that his cheeks must be bright red under his mask. His knees felt weak just from such a small gesture, but he kept his form rigid, continuing his droid-like appearance. He looked down at their hands and smiled to himself. Kan's hand was so different from his own. It was smaller, with slender fingers, but that made it fit so perfectly into his.

As they emerged from the crowd, they noticed that they were at the edge of a dance floor. Couples danced around giddily, some old, some young. With Echo's hand grounding her in the uncomfortable situation, Kan looked around and truly appreciated the beauty of the moment.

Echo felt Kan slip her fingers between his, and he looked over to her to see her looking around the festival with a smile on her face. His heart lurched at the sight. The orange glow of the warm lights scattered around the park lit her face so perfectly, bringing out each curve and dimple there was to see. For the first time, he noticed a thin scar that ran along the back of her jaw, stretching towards her ear. The urge to reach out and trace his finger along it almost overtook him, but his thoughts were interrupted as someone approached them and Kan took her hand from his.

“Eka! It's good to see you” Rhidi approached Kan with a wide smile, who in turn cringed at the fake name.

“Rhidi, you too” She smiled politely.

“I'm just on the way to find my wife, but I'll see you later!” She waved as she made her way past them, and Kan waved back, though Rhidi wouldn't have seen it.

“Eka huh?” Echo said tauntingly from beside her and Kan rolled her eyes, “Sounds awfully like someone I know…”

“Ugh, I panicked okay?” She looked at the clone, “From now on, if anyone asks my name is Gek-”

“Gekavi! You came”

Kan turned and her eyes landed on Captain Levy, making his way towards her with a wide grin. She plastered a similar expression on her own face as she greeted him.

“Captain Levy, how lovely to see you”

“Please, just Drass is fine” He insisted, “And I must say, you look absolutely gorgeous tonight”

“Oh, thank you Drass” Kan replied shyly, “You look pretty handsome yourself”

Echo felt like throwing up.

“Thank you my dear” Drass held out his hand, “May I have this dance?”

“Oh” Kan said, genuinely surprised, and hooked her pinky finger with Echo's for a moment. The Captain had not acknowledged him at all, and still didn't as he slipped the rest of his fingers into Kan's and gave her hand a firm squeeze - a quick reminder that she didn't have to do this.

“Okay then” She said, and took his hand with her free one. She looked back to Echo as she did, her hand lingering in his as she let herself be dragged away by the other man.

Echo hated the sight of it with a burning passion. His hand dropping from hers and her walking away with another man. His infatuation with Kan was admittedly rather new, but the sight in front of him just felt wrong, and his jaw tightened with indignance. He watched as the man, perfect in all ways as far as Echo could understand, swept Kan off her feet figuratively, and then literally, as the dance called for it. He tried to reassure himself that Kan was just pretending, but either she was a really good actor, or she was genuinely enjoying herself.

Self-conscious thoughts crept into Echo's mind from the dark corners of his brain, clawing their way out from hiding. I could never dance with her like that. Even if she wanted to, I don't have a hand to offer her. She looks much happier with this man, and he's an imperial of all people. And the worst thought of them all, she would never want someone like me.

Echo's breathing became shallow and he struggled to keep his rigid exterior. Kan danced with Captain Levy for a few songs, and Echo just tried to focus on the music, the band playing instruments he had never seen before. If he wasn't so distracted he'd be interested in finding out what they were. It seemed that the pair were talking about something in depth, swapping thoughts on a subject.

Then, it was time for a slow number. Kan looked hesitant, but the Captain seemingly convinced her, and they took up a more intimate position, swaying to the music together. They appeared to still be conversing a lot as they did so, Kan asking lots of questions, as was her inquisitive nature.

Echo was so vividly jealous that he started feeling dizzy.

Luckily, the song ended, and Kan said goodbye to the Captain and made her way back over to Echo. She grabbed his hand and said firmly, “We're leaving”

The feel of Kan's hand in his once more dissipated the rage that his jealousy had caused. She gripped him tightly as she wove her way through the crowd and out the other side. She didn’t relent in her grip until they were back in their dwelling, and she was pacing back and forth.

“What happened? It looked like you were enjoying yourself” Echo noted, and Kan whirled on him, pointing a finger to his chest.

“I was not. That man is nothing if not vile. He-” She said angrily, and Echo was taken aback. He had never seen her be angry at all, let alone so fiercely like this.

“He what?”

“He was- It doesn't matter” She shook her head, “He let slip the nature of what's going on here, among other things”

“Oh wow, you work fast” Echo tried to ease the tension with a small joke, and she did chuckle a little before her face fell.

“It's some kind of weapon, something that can be fitted to one-man fighters, or used on the ground. He didn't say exactly what it did, but he definitely used the word ‘destruction’ more than once” She spoke solemnly.

“Oh kriff” Was all Echo could say.

“Yeah” Kan sighed, and slumped into a kitchen chair. She pulled her knees to her chest as she often did.

“Why didn't you enjoy yourself? What did he do?” Echo asked, taking a step towards her.

“He-” She huffed, “He was just saying some really nasty stuff” She looked away from him, and Echo knelt on the floor in front of her.

“About you?”

“No, about… clones” She admitted.

Echo sighed, “Well, that's to be expected maybe, he is an imper-”

“That's not the point. The clones- you're a person Echo, and people just talk about you like you're a piece of dirt on their shoe. It's disgusting that people can be so cruel”

Echo found his heart melting at Kan's words for the millionth time. Her anger on his behalf was admirable.

“It’s okay Kan, that's just how it is”

“Well it shouldn’t be” She pouted, crossing her arms over her knees. Echo couldn’t help but smirk at her childlike actions as he stood again. “You're laughing at me”

“I'm not laughing” Echo smiled wider, a small laugh escaping.

“Yeah yeah, and I'm the queen of Naboo” Kan rolled her eyes and stood from her seat, making her way towards the stairs.

“Kan” Echo called after her, and she turned to look at him. He hesitated a little before he spoke, “Look, that man may have been an idiot in the end, but… he was right, you look really nice”

Kan smiled broadly at the compliment, her cheeks darkening, “Thanks Echo”

He just smiled at her, “No problem, I'll see you tomorrow” He walked over to the door to his room and disappeared inside.

Kan stayed stood at the bottom of the stairs for a moment longer, her blush only growing deeper. Though she would not admit it, she truly had Echo in mind when she dressed herself for the night's festivities, and despite the devastating news of this weapon the imperials were building, she felt elated that he had acknowledged her appearance, and even complimented it. Maybe I'm getting somewhere with him…

technical devotion, part six: visitors

content warnings: none :)

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“Pliars please”

Kan held her hand out, and Echo placed the requested tool into it. The pair were sat in near silence as Kan worked under the control panel in Echo's ship.

Kan felt that she had broken through a small barrier with Echo. It had been a few days since they got back from their mission on Haidoral Prime, and she had noticed that he now seemed to be more open to spending time with her, even if he didn't say much while he did it. She was just glad that he wasn't avoiding her like the plague anymore.

Echo didn't mean to be so quiet around Kan, but something about her made him lose all ability to speak, to think. He couldn't form a coherent thought around her, let alone speak it aloud, and it was beginning to annoy him.

“So… I overheard Rex saying that your old squad were coming around here soon” Kan tried to spark up a bit of conversation.

“Yeah, should be here anytime now” Echo replied.

Kan nodded, even though the action was obstructed from Echo's view.

“What are they like?”

“Uh…” Echo didn't really know how to answer the question, “They're… different from the rest of the clones”

“How so?”

Echo could never get used to Kan's simple inquisitive nature, but he also couldn't get enough of it.

“I don't know how to describe them, they’re all very different from each other as well”

“Hm, sounds intriguing. Hydrospanner please”

Echo obliged, “Yeah, they're certainly that”

Just then, as if they had been summoned by the topic of conversation, the sound of a ship entering the hangar filled their ears.

“Screwdriver please” Kan held her hand out, but didn't feel the tool being placed into it. She looked out from under the control panel and saw that Echo was no longer there. Kan let out a huff, and reached for the tool herself, a string of unimpressed noises escaping her lips. She finished up with the Phaser rewiring, screwing the cover back into place, and slipped out.

Kan took a rag that was slung over the back of the pilot's seat and wiped her forehead as she stepped out of the ship, her eyes immediately catching the joyous scene of reunion across the hangar.

It was hard for Kan to look away from the Bad Batch's table at lunch time. Though, it wasn't the batch she was looking at, it was Echo.

His eyes were lit up in a way she had never seen, his smile fixed on his face and laughing with his squad, and she thought it was the most wonderful sight. She had seen him smile, but never like this. She almost felt jealous that they could illicit this response from him, and found herself watching intently to find out how she could replicate it herself, not that she garnered much information that way.

She caught herself completely drooling over the sight when Echo looked in her direction. She looked away immediately and sat up straight, taking her hand away from where she had been resting her head in it. She cursed the heat that she could feel creeping up the back of her neck.

Echo looked over at her extremely puzzled, wondering why she had been watching him so intently. He assumed that she was interested in the clones surrounding him, since she had taken an interest in them before, and he left it at that, joining in the conversation again.

Kan didn’t have any other tasks to be getting on with at the moment, so she was listening in on an Imperial comm channel with the device she had made. They used a lot of code names, so it was generally quite hard to decipher, but there were always those who would let protocol slip every now and then. She let out a small sigh as the signal cut out once again, and an even bigger one when it didn’t come back at all this time. With a grunt, she rose to her feet and headed outside to check out the satellite dish.

She could immediately see that it had come out of place and an even bigger sigh escaped her lips. How do I even get up there? She walked around the hangar and found nothing of use, so reluctantly took herself off to the command room, and knocked timidly on the door.

“Come in” She heard Rex shout, and she opened the door.

“Hey Rex, sorry to disturb you, the satellite’s come out of place. Is there a ladder or anything like that around here?”

“Uh…” He thought for a moment, “There should be one in the store cupboard just outside the hangar”

Didn’t know that was there, “Alright, thanks” She smiled gratefully and went and found the ladder.

It was a particularly rickety old thing, and not straight by any stretch of the imagination. Kan felt a little bit scared going up it, but once she was at the top, she felt more in control. Fixing the satellite dish would be easy, it would just take a bit of time doing it by herself.

The ladder swayed with each small change of the wind, and Kan was starting to regret even bothering with it. As she was making one of the final adjustments, reaching around the dish a little more, the ladder began to tip over, and this time Kan was sure she was going down.

“Woah there!” She heard someone call out, and she realised she had stopped tipping to the side. She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw a man - a clone, one of Echo’s squad - holding the base of the ladder. He was the shortest of the group, and wore a bandana over his long hair and blackout face tattoo. Kan finished her final adjustment and quickly scurried down the precarious ladder.

“Thanks for that, I’m Kan” She smiled broadly at him and held out her hand.

“Hunter” He shook it, reflecting her expression back to her, “You must be the technician that Echo told us about”

“Echo told you about me?” Kan raised her eyebrows. She had got little indication that Echo really liked her all that much, so it honestly surprised her that he’d mention her to his squad.

Hunter supressed a smirk at her reaction, “Only good things, don’t worry”

Kan laughed at that, and her gaze shifted when she saw the rest of the squad gathered in the distance. She saw that Echo was watching the two of them, a particularly prominent frown creasing his brow, and offered him a kind smile. His gaze softened marginally, but he was still watching intently.

“Alright, well I should get on” She gestured inside, though nothing desperate was really calling for her attention.

“Why don't you come say hi to everyone? I know Omega was interested in meeting you” Hunter suggested.

“Uh…” Kan hesitated. She was not great in big groups, but she also didn’t want to be rude and decline the offer.

“They don't bite” Hunter added with a small grin, sensing her slightly raised heartrate and the small bead of sweat that broke out from her hairline.

Kan laughed nervously, “Okay then”

Hunter led her over to his brothers as they chatted amongst themselves, and she stood next to Echo. She looked up to him and softly spoke with a smile, “Hey”

“Hey” He replied equally as soft, smiling back at her to try and ease her obvious nervousness, then he turned back to the group, “Omega, this is Kan”

Kan recognised the small blonde girl from watching their reunion in the hangar, and her eyes lit up when she looked to the Mirialan in front of her.

“You're the technician? Echo didn't say you were a girl” Omega gushed, seeming entirely pleased by the fact.

“Heh, yeah that's me” Kan replied, a small grin spreading across her face at the expression of wonder on the young girl’s face.

“Can I see your office? Echo promised me I could see it”

“I didn't promise any-”

“Of course” Kan smiled, “it's very messy though”

“I don't care about that” Omega said matter-of-factly, and grabbed Kan's arm, dragging her towards the compound.

“Omega!” Echo called after her sternly, but Kan just laughed delightedly, looking back at him, and his furrowed brow relieved a little as he watched them go.

“Oh Echo” Hunter chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.

Echo turned to see his amused expression, “What?”

“We leave you for a couple months and you've already found a girl?” Hunter raised an amused eyebrow at his brother.

“What? No! Don’t be ridiculous” Echo denied the claim, shaking his head.

“Oh yeah, how ridiculous of you to like a pretty girl” Crosshair sneered, smirking as he placed a fresh toothpick between his teeth.

“Aw, good on you Echo” Wrecker crushed his shoulders in a side hug, but Echo pushed him off immediately.

“It's not like that, she’s just a… colleague” He glared at his brothers, who all looked at him with matching smirks.

“Whatever you say” Hunter taunted, and walked off in the same direction that Omega had dragged Kan. Echo just rolled his eyes and followed after him, making their way to Kan’s office.

“And that there is the tuner, and you can see on the screen where the signal is coming from”

The two clones stepped into the doorway of Kan's office and saw her and Omega crouched by the transmission interception device.

“That's so cool, did you make this all by yourself?” Omega asked with wide eyes.

“Yeah, I did” Kan smiled, “Are you interested in this kind of stuff?”

“Yeah, my brother Tech taught me a lot of things, but I'm still learning”

Kan noted the use of past tense and the heaviness of her tone, “Well he certainly sounds cool, I can teach you some stuff too if you like?”

“Yes please!” She grinned, and Kan opened up the back panel of the machine

“This is where everything connects, you see that there? That's the main power source, and this bit connects to the satellite, which is how it's able to pick up the signals”

“How do you know where to connect the wires?”

“Let me show you” She grabbed another motherboard and started walking Omega through it, and Echo couldn't help but stare at her in adoration at the way she interacted with his sister.

“So… you said you didn't like this girl?” Hunter said quietly, gaining Kan's attention momentarily. Echo just sent him a stern look, but it was met with a knowing smirk, “Let's leave them to it” He patted his shoulder, moving away. Echo looked back to Kan who was once again teaching Omega about the connections, and comparing with the already completed device. He smiled to himself and walked down the hall after his brother.

Omega and Kan walked into the mess together at dinner time, still engrossed in conversation about anything and everything technical. Omega was definitely the most inquisitive person that Kan had met in a while, and she was enthralled about it. She loved to talk about her work, and to be able to impart any sort of knowledge to someone else made her feel extremely accomplished.

After the two of them collected their food, Kan tried to say goodbye and make her way over to her regular table, but Omega wasn't having it.

“Come sit with us” She said with pleading eyes.

“Oh, I don't want to impose”

“You wont” She smiled sweetly, “I know Echo would like it if you did”

Kan looked over to the table and saw Echo watching her once again. “Alright then” She said, and allowed herself to be dragged over by Omega.

She approached the table feeling a little sheepish and unsure of herself, and took the free place between Wrecker and Omega. Everyone else at the table were already entrenched in conversation, so Kan tried talking to the large clone beside her.

“We haven't been properly introduced, it's Wrecker, right?”

“That's me” He smiled happily

“It's nice to meet you”

“You too, clever lady” He took her in a crushing side hug, and she grinned up at him, feeling more at ease in the group.

The clones joked and laughed together over the course of dinner, as Omega continued to ask Kan questions about her work, completely enamoured by the inner workings of her brain and her profession.

“What's this? Have the Bad Batch stolen our precious Mirialan?” A clone voice asked and placed their elbows on Kan’s shoulders, and she looked up to see it was Howzer.

Kan let the corner of her mouth quirk into a smirk, “Precious? Really?”

“Come on, you know you're our prized possession”

Kan rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink, relaxing into the embrace of the clone behind her. Echo, on the other hand, was anything but relaxed. He felt extremely irritated by the simple fact that Kan was so physically comfortable with Howzer. This only led to him looking down into his food and searching for the reason why it annoyed him so much. Safe to say, he didn't find it.

“Howzer” Hunter nodded to him in acknowledgement, and he nodded back.

“Hunter” He replied, then he looked to crosshair, “Crosshair”

Crosshair glared at Howzer, and Kan looked up to him, seeing he wore his own scowl. She smirked, and a small laugh escaped her lips, accompanied by the roll of her eyes, “Men”.

Omega laughed at her comment, and Howzer shoved her a little.

“Anyway, you better come back soon or Oscar will go mad”

“That sounds like a tempting offer”

“I'm sure he'd have another tempting offer for you if you came back" He said as he moved away, and Kan scrunched up her nose.

“Not on his life”

“I'll let him know you said that”

“Please do”

Echo watched the exchange with an unpleasant feeling in his gut.

Kan was crouched and organising her office — her version of it at least, which entailed making haphazard piles all around her working space on the floor — when she heard a knock on the door. She called for them to enter and looked up to see Hunter stood in the doorway.

“Nice glasses” He grinned, and she realised that they were still on the end of her nose. She laughed and pushed them up onto her head so she could see him better.

“Thanks, what brings you here?”

He leaned onto the doorframe with his forearm, “We're heading off soon, but I just wanted to say thanks, for entertaining Omega”

“Oh it was no problem, she's an amazing kid, and very smart. It was my pleasure” Kan smiled

“Well, you've certainly made an impression on her, she's just been gushing about how clever you are” He raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, I'm sure she's exaggerating” Kan laughed a little, no sure how to respond to any kind of praise.

“I don't know, Echo seemed to agree” He grinned at her, and her cheeks flushed a little.

“Oh, well that was kind of him” She mumbled her words just as the person in question appeared next to his brother with Omega. Echo saw the grin on Hunter's face and the blush on Kan's and immediately assumed that he had been flirting with her. He felt his blood boil at the thought. I told him I didn't like her, I guess I can't be mad.

Omega made a beeline for Kan but Hunter grabbed her arm before she could enter the mess once again, “It's time to go”

“Aw, but Kanda was going to show me how to solder” She whined. Echo noticed that she called her ‘Kanda’ and wondered if Kan had let slip her full name.

“I can show you another time Omega, don't worry” Kan smiled at the young girl, but she just slumped her shoulders.

“Fine” Omega muttered, going back to the door.

“It was nice to meet you Kan, I'm sure we'll see you again soon” Hunter smiled.

“Yeah, it was nice to meet you guys too”

“Bye Kanda” Omega waved as they left the room.

“Bye Omega” She laughed slightly and called out.

Echo waved and remained in the doorway, looking back towards Kan.

“She's a great kid” Kan declared.

“I know” He smiled, a genuine, content smile.

“She reminds me of myself at that age” She noted, fiddling with the motherboard she was demonstating with earlier.

“How so?” Echo asked.

“I guess… always asking questions and wanting to know more” Kan started, a smile curving her lips as she thought fondly of her youth. She thought of working with her father in his workshop, making him detail every single thing he was doing, and then coming home to tell her mother everything she learnt. “And wanting to do something important with her life” She continued, looking up at Echo.

“Did you ever do anything important?” He asked with a little smile.

“I'm here aren't I?” She grinned, and he chuckled in response.

A silence enveloped them for a short moment before Kan spoke up again.

“Hunter seems cool” She admitted.

“Mhm”

Kan noted the tightening of Echo’s jaw at the comment and stopped what she was doing.

“What is it?” She asked, honestly feeling a little upset that she couldn't seem to ever get anything right when it came to him.

“Nothing” Echo turned to leave.

“Echo” She called out for him and he looked back at her reluctantly.

“Have I said something to upset you?” She asked and when he didnt reply immediately she went into nervous rambling, “I didn't mean to insinuate that you seem uncool in comparison or anything. Not that- I mean- I do think you’re cool, just that Hunter seems nice, you know?”

Echo’s jaw unclenched as he watched Kan stumble over her words, her brows pinched together in concern and eyes looking up at him with a startling intensity. He thought she looked incredible.

“Um, or is it something else?” She continued, sinking onto her knees, “I feel like I keep upsetting you and I don't know why”

“You haven't upset me Kan, you couldn't” Echo said softly and left immediately afterwards, not feeling like answering for what he said.

“Oh” Kan said, sitting back on her heels. What does that mean?

technical devotion, part five: objective

content warnings: elusions to violence

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Kan placed down her bag at the end of the bed she would be staying in for that night. She opened it up and took out the few tools she would be taking with her on the mission, and slipped them into a pouch on her belt, looking up to meet Echo's gaze.

“Ready?” He asked.

“As I'll ever be” She replied with a smile.

The weather on Haidoral Prime left much to be desired. The rain that endlessly poured from the sky smelled distinctly unpleasant, like something acidic, sharp. Kan threw on her waterproof poncho as protection as her and Echo made their way through town and towards the imperial facility.

Up until this point, Kan had never seen Echo in his full armour, and particularly not with his helmet on. She had to admit that the design fascinated her, but realised that it was probably best to ask him about it after the mission was complete.

Echo took the lead, having had the time to study the layout of the small settlement. He made sure to keep close to walls to hide their movements, even if they were under the cover of darkness. They came to a stop at the edge of town, the imperial facility just a short distance away.

“There's a vent up there” Echo pointed, “Just big enough for us to fit in”

“How are we getting up there?”

“I'll give you a boost, and then you can pull me up”

Kan looked up at the vent and back to Echo, “I'm not sure I'm strong enough"

“Sure you are, it's not too high”

“Okay, if you say so”

With that, Echo moved out, Kan close behind him, and they sprinted to the outer wall of the compound. They waited as a patrol passed around the corner and out of their sight, and then Echo locked his hands together, positioning them on his knee. Kan placed her boot into his gloved fingers, finding a good positioning as she looked up at her destination.

“Alright, do it” She spoke quietly.

Echo counted down and then launched Kan upwards, coming to rest under her in case she fell back. Luckily, her fingers found purchase on the vent ledge, and she hung on with one hand as she quietly unscrewed the outer cover. The screws dropped down as they came loose, and Kan cursed quietly as the hood of her poncho fell backwards, exposing her to the unpleasant weather conditions. Shortly after, Kan offered the covering down to Echo, who caught it when she dropped it down to him. He looked back up to her as she curled her arms up, pulling herself inside the vent.

Echo waited patiently, keeping an eye on his surroundings, as Kan manoeuvred herself around and held out her arm down for him to grab. He wasted no time in jumping upwards, his fingers wrapping around her forearm. Kan dug her heels into the edge of the vent, pulling him up with all the effort she could muster. He quickly grabbed onto the edge of the vent, and Kan fell back, taking a deep breath. Echo climbed up into the vent and took his helmet off for a moment to rid it of some of the foul-smelling rain, simultaneously taking in the sight of Kan laid out and breathing heavily.

“See, easy” He said quietly.

Kan looked up to see a mocking smirk on his face, “I'm glad to see one of us is having fun”

Echo then brought a finger to his lips, his smirk still evident as he shushed her. Kan just rolled her eyes, her lazy smile once again making an appearance as she rolled over onto her front and began crawling through the vent. Echo fixed his helmet back onto his head and kept his eyes down as he followed after her.

After a few minutes, Kan came to a stop and turned as much as she could to show Echo that there was a way down below them. He nodded, and Kan brought her datapad from the pouch on her hip, scanning for life forms. When she was satisfied they would not be caught, she carefully opened the hatch and dropped down, Echo following suit.

Kan quickly made her way over to the door panel nearby, taking a cable from her belt and hooking her datapad up to it. Echo stood guard as she did so, making sure no one was coming.

“Got it” She mumbled, taking back her cable, opening the schematics of the building. She looked over the maps, letting out a quiet curse at the information she found.

“What is it?” Echo turned to her and then to her datapad, looking over the plans.

“Comms is on the other side of the building” She pointed to the point on the map of the building.

“Kriff” He said quietly, a hum of agreement coming from Kan.

“We can continue via the vents, though it will take longer”

Echo sighed, “Probably our best bet. We won't be able to come back later if we go in guns a-blazing now”

“I agree sir”

Echo looked to Kan with an utterly confused, yet amused expression.

“Did you just call me sir?” He whispered to her.

Kan's gaze met the visor of Echo's helmet, “Uh- yeah, is that not…?” She trailed off, staying professional though her face felt like it was on fire, “Right, sorry, my bad. Let's get going”

Kan slotted her datapad back into its pouch and jumped up to the vent, grabbing a hold of it and pulling herself up with reasonable ease. Echo just shook his head at the interaction, moving on and hauling himself into the vent behind her, closing it after himself.

It took almost 15 minutes, but the pair of them made it as far as they could in the vents, and Kan had begun sweating profusely at the heated temperature inside. Echo was luckier, his blacks being thermoregulated and allowing him to stay cool aside from the small sliver of skin between the top of his blacks and his helmet.

Kan pulled her datapad and scanned for life forms, the device not reading anything. She motioned to Echo that the coast was clear, and she opened the hatch. This time, the hatch was at the top of a wall rather than in the ceiling, so Kan took extra care not to make any noise as she let the covering hang down against it.

She began to shuffle forwards, but Echo's heart started beating out of his chest as he heard footsteps. It was too late for Kan to slowly shuffle back, so Echo took drastic action, lurching forwards and grabbing her by the waist with his one hand, hauling her back into the vent. He reached ahead of her and hooked his scomp into the vent cover, bringing it back into place as quietly as he could.

Echo’s hand stayed resting on Kan's bare abdomen beneath her poncho, and the two of them held their breaths as a group of imperials passed them by, none the wiser. Echo was so painfully aware of the position that he had put Kan in, he couldn't ignore it even if he tried. He was on top of her, her back pressed flat against his front and breathing right into her ear in shaky breaths. He tried to lift himself off of her as much as he could, but in the confines of the vent, he didn't get far. He kept himself focused, blocking out any unwanted thoughts at the proximity.

Kan, however, was finding it exceedingly difficult to stop her mind from wandering. She already knew she felt somewhat drawn to Echo, but the modulated sound of his breathing in her ear was driving her insane. She was blushing deeply at the intimacy of their position, especially when Echo brushed his thumb gently across her stomach almost imperceptibly. She had to suppress a shiver, fearing moving at all in this position.

“I'm sorry” Echo whispered, slowly edging backwards as the noise of the imperials had passed them by.

“Dont be. Thank you” Kan spoke breathlessly.

She looked back at him, and Echo's heart leapt to his throat at the sight of her. Her hair was stuck to her forehead in a mixture of rain and sweat, her cheeks were a darkened shade of green, and her eyes were blown wide and swimming with something that Echo dared not define, particularly in this position. He was eternally gratefully for his helmet in that moment so that Kan couldn't see his slack jaw and bright red cheeks.

Kan scurried from his grasp and quickly made her way out of the vent. Echo shook his head violently, focusing himself on the task at hand once more, and followed her lead.

The room they were heading towards was undoubtedly going to be guarded, so they closely hugged the walls as they made the short distance there. Kan came to a stop around the corner from the entrance and took a peek, then turned back to Echo.

“Just two guards, I've got this” She spoke assuredly, setting her blaster to stun

Before Echo could even argue, Kan stepped out and fired two rounds, and he heard the guards drop to the floor. He looked at her perfect form, a domineering confidence about her, and had to remind himself to breathe. He laid his back against the wall, still somewhat reeling from their close encounter before, and tried to quiet his mind. When he saw Kan take off her poncho out of the corner of his eye, he gulped. Maker, get ahold of yourself.

“Echo!” Kan hissed from down the hall, and he snapped back into it, quickly rounding the corner and catching up with her.

The communication room was empty, and Kan immediately got to work unscrewing the front panel from the main console. She looked over the inner workings of the machine and mumbled some things to herself. She brought her datapad out from its pouch, took a few photos, and then put the panel back. She then hooked her datapad up to the console and searched for any possibly useful files first of all.

“There's nothing but the transmission” She muttered, then brought her datapad closer to her face, looking over the information, “The signal is definitely going to the prison”

Kan and Echo had managed to retrieve any necessary information for Kan to figure out how to replicate the signal without any issues, and they were now back at their motel. Kan was knelt at the end of her bed, resting her forehead on it and looking down at her datapad, making calculations that Echo had no clue the meaning of. He couldn't help but chuckle at her posture, and he realised that her strange sitting habits were more or less a quirk of hers.

Kan looked up upon hearing Echo's amused huff, “What?”

“You sure sit in some funny positions” He mused, and she let out a small laugh herself and rubbed the back of her neck, sitting back on her heels.

“Yeah I guess I do, I just go with whatever makes me get the work done really”

“I don't think I'd get any work done like that” He said as he sat down on his own bed, beginning to take off his armour.

“Whatever, to each their own” She rolled her eyes and looked back down to her work. It wasn't the first time someone had commented on her less-than-regular sitting habits.

“Indeed” Echo replied.

Kan looked up again to see that Echo had stripped down to his blacks. She chewed her cheek a little, “Are you turning in?”

“Yeah, you should too, you have all of tomorrow to figure that out”

“Yeah, I'll finish up soon” She smiled, and Echo laid down on his bed, turning away.

“Goodnight Echo” Kan offered, and he smiled to himself.

“Night Kan"

Echo awoke and rubbed his hand over his face sleepily. He sat up in his bed and saw that the moon was still spilling through the curtains, not the sun. He sighed. He was a painfully light sleeper nowadays.

Before his brush with the Techno Union, he slept wonderfully. Every night, he was out like a light and relished in a good long sleep after a particularly rough campaign. However now, since being rescued from Skako Minor, he woke up constantly throughout the night. It was frustrating, to know from his own experience how blissful sleep could be, only to never be able to find any peace in the action anymore.

Echo looked over to Kan's bed and saw that it was still made, untouched and clearly having not been used at all. He frowned and looked around the rest of the small room, not finding Kan anywhere. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and rose to his feet, taking the few steps towards the refresher door and knocking firmly. When he got no answer, he opened up the door and she wasn't in there either.

A panic rose in Echo's gut, and he stalked around the room, trying to calm himself and think rationally. There's no way someone could have taken her with me in here, I would have woken up. She's probably just taking a walk or something.

He kept running through his thoughts, but his eyes caught on something, or rather, nothing. Her bag and tools were gone. Has she left? In the middle of a mission? That seemed to be an impossibility to Echo, but the idea bounced around in his head nonetheless.

It was an hour before Kan returned, and Echo was beside himself. When he heard the door zip open, he whirled around, relief seeping into his body as he looked upon Kan’s soaked silhouette.

“Where have you been?” Echo asked urgently, striding over to meet her at the door.

Kan was taken aback, not expecting to find him awake. “Um, I went back. I completed the mission” She let a small smile creep onto her face at the admission.

“What?” He asked, his voice raised slightly in exasperation. He waited for her to say she was joking or anything else, but she stood looking at him in all seriousness. “That was reckless! You shouldn't have gone in without backup!”

Kan said nothing, her high from completing the mission coming crashing down at Echo's accusatory tone. She tried to keep her expression impassive, but the soft crease in her brow was betraying her. Echo noticed it almost immediately, and his own demeanour softened.

“I'm sorry, just- Kriff, when are you going to stop worrying me all the time?” He said, turning away and mumbling under his breath.

“What do you-”

“Nothing, ignore me” He waved a hand to dismiss her prying. He took a seat on his bed and relaxed his posture, feeling like he could relax now, knowing that Kan was safe.

Kan took off her bag and poncho, and approached timidly, sitting opposite him on her own bed, the first time she had touched it.

“I'm sorry if I worried you, Echo. I intended to be back before you woke up” She said quietly.

“Yeah well I dont sleep so well” He replied, a traceable amount of animosity in his tone.

Kan didn't really know what was appropriate to say and just settled on what seemed like the most obvious to her, “Why not?”

Echo looked up and met her eyes, her soft and gentle gaze watching him with no scrutiny, only genuine interest.

“I dont know, I just don't” He lied, something he'd never been good at, and Kan definitely picked up on it, though she didn't press. Echo sat back against the wall, crossing one leg over the other as he lay on his bed.

For a moment, they were both silent, and Echo realised his heart was still beating fast from the unease of Kan being missing. He couldn't quite understand why it had affected him so, but he assured himself that it was just because he felt Kan had a particular innocent friendliness about her that people could take advantage of. Nothing more.

“So… you did it? You doubled the signal?” He asked.

“Yeah, it wasn't too hard, just took a bit of time. I've rigged it so that their signal will break down eventually, so they shouldn't notice anything for a while” Kan laid down on her side and propped herself up on her elbow.

Echo mirrored her, sliding down the bed to meet her gaze, “Have you ever done anything like that before?”

“No” She said quickly, now struggling to hold back how excited she felt about it, “I've gotta say I found it pretty fun”

Echo smirked at the childish wonder in her eyes, “I can tell”

Kan rolled her eyes and flopped onto her back, looking up at the ceiling with a wide smile. She let out a deep breath, the bed was a lot softer than the bunk at base.

“Can I ask you about your armour?” Kan asked out of the blue.

“Uh, yeah” Echo said hesitantly, “What do you want to know?”

“How come it's… different from the rest of the clones?”

Echo was a little apprehensive, but he was beginning to understand that Kan was just inquisitive.

“I was part of a spec ops team” he admitted.

“No way” Kan rolled back over to face him.

Echo's breath hitched as her eyes locked with his again. He couldn't deny that she looked absolutely beautiful, her back illuminated by the light of the moon and dark hair spilling over her shoulders and waist.

“Yeah, I wasn't always, but I joined them towards the end of the war” He spoke before he could dwell on the flurry of feelings in his chest.

“What division was it?” Kan asked eagerly.

“Uh… Clone Force 99” Echo answered, though he wasn't sure it would really mean anything to her.

However, Kan's eyes lit up, “Woah, yeah, I heard about you guys”

“You did?” Echo raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Kan realised her familiarity was showing and pulled back a bit, “Yeah, I mean, you were known by a lot of people before the war ended”

Echo nodded, “I guess yeah”

“Wait, so you're like… genetically enhanced?”

“No. Like I said, I joined them later on” Echo replied, laying down on his back.

“Right, cool”

Kan desperately wanted to ask how he ended up with his cybernetic limbs, and if that's what landed him a place on the team, but she recognised it wasn't her place, and his reaction to her last comment had not been received particularly well. Something about Echo really interested her, and she just wanted to understand him and pick his brains about anything and everything.

She instead stood up and grabbed her sleep clothes from her bag, and went to the refresher to get changed. When she reentered the room, she made her way straight to her bed and slipped under the covers, revelling in the softness that she hadn't felt in so long.

Kan felt sleep gripping her quickly, her mind tired from the day's work, but she heard Echo speak through her hazy state.

“Kan?”

“Yeah?”

“Well done, for completing the mission. It's an impressive feat, you should be proud of yourself"

Kan smiled broadly in the dark, “Thanks Echo”

She only wished that he would've said that he was proud of her. I suppose we're not there yet.

let me take care of you

Rex x F!Reader

word count: 5.7k

description: you have been suffering from depression for a few months and have shut yourself off from the world. a few weeks after getting laid off from your job, you get an unexpected knock at the door.

warnings: i'm gonna say this is 16+ just to be safe, heavily implied sex, depiction of depression, suicidal ideation, hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, mutual pining - let me know what I've missed !

a/n: okay so this is sooooo self-indulgent it's actually embarassing. I wrote the first bit of this when I was truly going through it and... yeah, it's just Rex taking care of the reader hehe, with a bit of suggestive stuff but not proper smut. if that's your kinda thing, I hope you enjoy! (also this is the first oneshot that I've actually posted so gimme constructive criticism pls !!)

Everything felt foggy.

For the past months, your life had felt like you were just going through the motions. Wake up, go to work, come home, struggle to sleep, and repeat. You didn't enjoy the things you used to anymore. It had been too long since you had taken a walk in the park, since you had sketched or written, and it hurt that you couldn't seem to even try and do them. Like there was an invisible force stopping you, and yet, there wasn't. It was just your own mind, lacking in whatever hormone would make you happy.

You couldn't find it in yourself to take care of yourself properly, and ever since being laid off from your job a few weeks ago, you had gone into the worst of it. You weren't eating properly, you couldn't sleep, sometimes staying up all night even though you would lay in your bed and just pray for it to be different. You hadn't seen your friends in months, though they would try and check in on you. You always told them you were busy, but you knew they knew what was going on. You had been like this before, though this time it was worse.

You shut yourself off from the world.

You hadn't been out of your apartment at all in days when you heard the knock. You made your way to your front door, and your breath hitched when you peered through the little hole and saw who was behind it.

Rex.

The clone stood in the hallway, his helmet at his hip, looking down the hall, and handsome as ever. There was no way you were letting him in while you were in this state. You hadn't brushed your hair in maker knows how long, you hadn't showered in… maybe a week? and the last time you had brushed your teeth was probably 2 days ago. Your personal hygiene was sorely lacking.

You watched the Captain through the door, your breath fogging up the glass, and jumped back when the knocking of the door reverberated around your small apartment.

What is he doing here?

You hadn't seen Rex since you lost your job, though he was among the few people who checked in with you regularly, trying to ask about how you were or convince you to come out of the house. Your stomach churned at the idea of people fussing about you, and now one of them was standing outside your door. A particular one of them that, in any given other state, you would be dying to see.

Your deep attraction and affection for Rex only made this situation more uncomfortable for you, the thought of answering the door making you feel physically sick.

You then heard your name called from behind the door in a deep, questioning voice, and your knees went weak.

“Are you in there?” He asked, followed by another knock.

You wanted to reply, to say anything, but you couldn't find your voice. What would I say? You elected to just go back to your bed, let him leave on his own, and pretend he was never here.

You scooted backwards but caught your hip on a table, sending a pile of your precious books hurtling to the floor. You held your breath, hoping Rex had not heard the noise, but it was no use.

Rex called your name again, and this time, it was gentler, “…Please let me in”

Your eyes watered as you walked up to the door, your finger hovering over the button that would cause it to slide open.

“I'm fine Rex, you can go” You tried to sound as resolute as you could, but the quiver in your voice was obvious.

“Cyare… let me in. I'm not leaving”

The nickname hit you hard, and you truly felt like clutching your chest as it pulled at the part of you that desired the clone on the other side of the door like no other.

You had met Rex years ago, at the job you had recently been let go from, working as a civilian medic on Coruscant.

The Captain could rarely be convinced by his brothers to take himself to the medbay, much more of the suffer in silence type. However, once you had begun working there, he had started making trips there for every little bump and scratch, and sometimes even when he was in perfect health, he would go claiming a cold or headache. He had always had a soft spot for you, and though he'd never admit it, he made it obvious. Everyone around him knew, everyone around you knew, but for whatever reason, you hadn't cottoned on at all.

He found you exceedingly beautiful, obviously intelligent, and just the most wonderful and bright spark of a person he'd ever met. Though, that was far from what you were feeling like at the moment.

You had also been enamoured by the Captain from the very start. The moment he walked into the medbay and made eye contact with you, you were done for. Whether it was his loyalty to his men, his commanding presence, or his wonderful smile that did it, you didn't know, but you were kriffed from the beginning.

“I can't let you in” You said, leaning your forehead into the door.

“Why not?” He said in a hushed tone that you could barely hear.

“I- I'm just not feeling well okay?” You choked out, vastly minimising the issue.

“I dont mind Cyare, just let me in. Please” He begged, but you just shook your head, squeezing your eyes shut.

You and Rex had grown into good friends quite naturally. In his needless visits to the med bay, he would often stay after hours and help you clean up, and you would fall into conversation about anything and everything. You shared many opinions about a variety of topics and would talk about your respective favourite things. Rex found that he learned a great deal about the wider galaxy from you, and he could hear you talk about art for hours upon end.

You were a fantastic artist, absolutely brilliant in any media, but Rex loved your sketches the most. You had brought him to your apartment once after work, when he had practically begged to see your work. He liked the simplicity of it, creating life with just a few stokes of a pencil. Your drawings held such character, such joy, such sorrow, and Rex thought that they were always so uniquely you. For that, he loved them.

“Rex I-” You didn't know what to say. You sank to your knees on the floor, letting your tears silently fall down your cheeks.

“Please…” He said one more time, and you finally broke.

You reached up and pressed the button, and the door zipped open to reveal your defeated posture to him. You dared not look up at him. You didn't want him to see you like this at all, but the thought of looking him in the eye when you knew how dishevelled, how weak you looked, you couldn't stomach it.

“Oh Cyare” He said softly and closed the door behind him, sinking to his knees in front of you. He tentatively placed a hand on your knee and began rubbing his thumb back and forth. “What's happened? You haven't been in the medbay for weeks”

“I was laid off” You replied quietly.

“What? Why would they do that?” He asked, genuinely confused. You were a talented medic. He could see no reason for it.

“Money is tight. We are at war after all” You chuckled a little bit, knowing that much was obvious to Rex.

“What are you upset about? I'm sure there's somewhere else that would take you, you're a great medic” He asked so innocently that you could almost laugh.

“It's not about that…” You sighed, running a hand over your face, still looking down.

“What is it about?” Rex said softly, shuffling forwards so his armoured knees touched your bare ones.

“I just… I can't do it anymore Rex” You whispered, the first time you had freely admitted it to anyone before.

Rex tensed up. He brought his other hand up and gently grabbed your chin, tilting your head to look at you properly. The look in your eyes already told him the answer to the question he was about to ask, “Can't do what?”

“It. Life. Anything. I just want to disappear” You said, choking on your tears and overwhelmed by the thoughts that weighed you down. Rex's amber irises burned into yours with such an intensity, but not for long, as his arms made their way around your body, and he pulled you into his lap.

You cried into his chest, with him stroking your hair and holding you close to him with the other arm, scared that you would somehow get your wish and disappear in his arms.

He was at a loss for words. He couldn't understand how someone he thought was so wonderful and incredible could be harbouring such hateful feelings about themself. He feared saying anything that would upset you, and the last thing he wished to do was deny how you were feeling by telling you that you were wrong, so he just held you in his arms, silently letting you know he was there for you, no matter what. The sound of your crying was making his heart break, but he stayed like that until it died down.

“How long have you been feeling like this?” He asked tentatively, drawing back and holding your jaw so he could see your face.

“I dont know… four or five months, maybe?” You replied, and it felt like he had been stabbed in the chest.

How had he not noticed anything was wrong? He felt like he had failed you, that your friendship was for nought if he couldn't even tell when you were upset. He didn't place any of the blame on you, but he had to ask…

“Why didn't you tell me?”

You sighed, “I didn't want to concern you with it. It's for me to deal with”

“What? It's not just for you to deal with, of course I'd want to know if you're not okay. I'm so sorry I didn't notice” He said, his tone so heavy with guilt.

“It's okay, it makes sense that you didn't”

Rex almost took offence to the comment, but the small smile on your lips didn't evade him, “Why does it make sense?”

“Uh, I guess I was always happy around you” You admit, “You- Uh we’re good friends, you know? I like spending time with you”

Despite the comment about being friends, Rex's heart soared, “I like spending time with you too Cyare”

“Why are you calling me that all of a sudden?” You asked. You knew what it meant, you'd spent enough time among the clones, and it was impossible to escape when you overheard their unabashed flirting on your few trips to 79s.

“Um” Rex gulped, not feeling like right now was the best time to admit that he was wildly in love with you, “I don't know, I care about you, you know? Like you said, we're good friends”

You nodded, seeming satisfied with the explanation, and Rex breathed out a shaky breath.

“I'm sorry you had to see me like this” You looked down, playing with your fingers as heat rose to your cheeks.

“It's fine, I really don't mind. Besides, you still look good to me” He said, and your eyes snapped back up to his instantly, your breath becoming short. Rex thinks I look good?

“Thanks Captain” You grinned shyly, your face feeling positively on fire at the compliment.

“It's no problem” He smiled, then he became more serious, “Have you eaten today?”

“Uh- no” You looked away again, feeling ashamed.

“Alright, let me fix you some food then” He readjusted his hold on you and picked you up, setting you down on your couch. Your head was spinning from the intimacy of feeling his breath fanning over your face.

“I don't really have any food here” You admitted sheepishly.

“Okay, how about this then” He crouched by the couch so that his eyes were level with yours, “Why don't you go and have a shower, do whatever you need to feel a bit better, and I'll go out and get us some food”

“Rex… I can't ask you to do that for me” You spoke hesitantly, but he shook his head.

“You're not asking, and in fact, neither am I” He said with a playful glint in his eye, “Go and freshen up, that's an order soldier”

You giggled at him and took the hand that he offered to help you up.

“Yes sir” You saluted him and marched off in the direction of the refresher, earning a laugh from the clone.

You stepped into the refresher and looked yourself in the eye for probably the first time in days. You did not look good. Your eyes held bags that looked so heavy that they could weigh down the skin they inhabited, your hair was a complete mess, and your skin was dull and lifeless.

You sighed, grabbed your hairbrush, and decided to start there. It took a few minutes, but soon, your hair was completely knot-free, and you stripped off and stepped into the shower. You took your time finding the perfect temperature, which ended up being almost scalding hot. You leaned your elbows against the wall, letting the water hit your back and relieving some of the tension you could feel there.

Now that you were actually in the shower, you didn't feel like leaving at all. Though, the idea of Rex being outside the door when you finished was enough for you to quickly wash yourself and your hair and hop out again. You brushed your teeth twice and moisturised your clean skin. Looking in the mirror, you looked a lot better than you did before you went in the shower, and you were eternally thankful for that. If you were going to see the person you had been in love with for years, you only wanted to look your best.

You stepped out of the refresher and headed for your bedroom with your dirty clothes in hand.

“Hey, are you-”

You jumped out of your skin when you saw Rex stood in the living area with a bag in hand, and he did too when he saw you with only a towel wrapped around you. Your eyes went wide, and you wrapped the towel tighter around your body on instinct, only fueling the less-than-pure thoughts that were spilling into Rex's brain. You looked so incredible, your hair dripping water over your body, which was seemingly glistening with its new cleanliness, and your towel left little to the imagination.

“Um yeah, you're out, cool, uh- I'll let you get dressed” He turned around and cursed silently to himself for being so awkward.

You just chuckled nervously, feeling utterly mortified, and made your way to your room as intended. You found a fresh oversized t-shirt and pair of soft shorts and slipped into them quickly, rejoining Rex in the other room.

He had taken off the top half of his armour, leaving just his blacks, the Republic insignia adorned proudly on his chest. The tightness of the top showed off his toned physique as if he wasn't even wearing anything, and you had to tear your eyes away from it.

“What did you get?” You asked quietly, sitting down next to him on the couch.

“Noodles, is that okay?” He asked, looking to you a little nervously.

You chucked at his demeanour, which was decidedly un-captain-like as he looked to you for approval, “It's perfect, thank you”

You both picked up the boxes that held your food and dug in, and your bodies turned to face each other as you rested against oppsite ends of the couch. It was good to have a proper meal, with actually nutritious foods. When you had eaten as of late, it had mostly been ration bars or random snacks you could find in your apartment. You hummed contentedly, and Rex smiled at you.

“Good?”

“Mhm” You smiled, swallowing a bite, “Thank you Rex”

“It’s alright” He said nonchalantly.

“I mean it, thank you for… taking care of me” You said, then looked down, “I'm finding that difficult at the moment, so it means a lot”

“Cyare” Rex moved towards you and placed a hand on your knee, “It's really no trouble, I just want to see you feeling better”

You looked up at him and gave a tight lipped smile, “Well, thank you anyway”

“No problem. You look a little more alive now, by the way” He teased.

“Hey! You're the one that said I looked good before, you cant take it back now” You challenged, and he smirked.

“I'm not taking it back. You just look even better now” He said, but his smirk dropped when you froze up at his comment.

“You dont have to say that just to make me feel better, you know” You said, looking down and taking your final mouthful of noodles.

“I'm not just saying it” He said quietly, and you looked up to see his light frown. You put down your food box as he continued to stare at you seriously.

“What is it?” You ask.

“It's nothing, don't worry about it” He said quickly and put his own food box down as he finished.

“Rex” You scooted closer to him so that your knees were almost touching, “What's the matter?”

“Nothing’s the matter” He avoided your eyes as he spoke, and you used the technique that he employed earlier on, gently taking his chin between your thumb and finger and guiding his gaze towards you.

“What is it?” You asked again, and his eyebrows pinched together as his eyes flicked between the two of yours.

“You're so beautiful Cyare” He said, tentatively placing his hand on your lower thigh.

Your breath hitched in your throat at the gentle touch, and you searched his eyes for any dishonesty but only found them to be as earnest as usual.

“I- I should've been telling you every day since I met you” He said, his voice breaking just a little as he spoke so softly, “I should’ve been telling you how much you mean to me, how much I care for you, how important you are” He stroked his thumb back and forth on your thigh, sending tingles up your spine.

“Rex” You breathed out in a whisper, your hand sliding around to cup his sharp jaw. He leaned into your touch, and you felt as if you could melt at the sight.

“Say something” He urged, his eyes pleading for a conformation that you felt the same way.

“I-” You didn't know what to say. You felt the same, but the words got caught in your throat. It felt wrong to truly admit to your affection for him after bottling it up for so long.

“Rex, I've always cared for you, far more than a medic should care for their patient” You admitted, and his eyes lit up.

“You have?” He asked, and you nodded in reply.

“And for the record, I think you're beautiful too” You let a small grin creep its way onto your face.

“That’s good to know” Rex smirked, bringing his other hand to your cheek.

He looked deeply into your eyes, the eyes that he always found so fascinating, and he leaned his forehead against yours before tilting his head towards your lips. You shivered with anticipation.

“Is this okay? I don't want to take advantage of you if you-”

“Just kiss me Rex” You whispered against his lips, your eyes fluttering shut. He didn't delay after that. With your permission, he couldn't say no.

His lips met yours tentatively, as if testing the waters, but as soon as he felt you kiss him back, he pulled you in more urgently. His lips moved against yours, melding together as if it was how they were made to be. You felt your need for closeness growing, and you pulled him towards you as you deepened the kiss. Rex slid his hand up your thigh, resting it on your hip and tracing small circles with his thumb as his other hand moved to the back of your neck, pulling you impossibly closer as he devoured your lips.

Rex pulled back, his teeth lingering on your bottom lip for a moment, and you both caught your breath.

“I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do that” You said, your breath still short.

Rex grinned widely, “Yeah? I can guarantee it's probably not as long as I have”

“Probably not” You chuckled, “Unless you somehow wanted to before you even looked at me for the first time”

Rex raised his eyebrows, “You've wanted to kiss me the whole time we've known each other?” He asked, and you nodded your head shyly. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“I dont know, I guess I just figured you wouldn't feel the same” You shrug.

Rex just shook his head with a smile and pulled you onto his lap “Oh, how wrong you were”

“Is that right?” You smirked, “I'd love to hear all about just how wrong I was”

Rex smirked back at you, and placed a kiss to your cheek, “I've wanted to kiss those pretty lips of yours ever since I laid eyes on you” He confessed, and your breath hitched as he continued to place featherlight kisses along your jaw. “I thought you were the most beautiful person I'd ever seen” He kissed down your neck slowly, gently nipping at you with his teeth at the point where your neck meets your shoulder, which earned a small whine from you, and you could feel him smirk.

“I've never felt the way I feel about you, about anyone else” He murmured against your skin, burying his nose in your neck and inhaling your scent.

His words were driving you crazy. They were all you had ever wanted to hear from him, and here he was, speaking them aloud as he kissed your skin so gently, as if you would break if he pressed any harder.

“Rex” You whispered, and he looked up at you, waiting for you to continue.

“What is it, Mesh'la?” He whispered back, his lips ghosting yours. You shuddered in his arms, your eyes fluttering closed, and he watched your every move with anticipation.

“Rex, I-” You leaned your forehead against his, needing an anchor before you spoke your next words, “I need you”

Rex's heart skipped a beat. Possibly a few beats. “What do you mean, Cyare?”

“Please, take me to the bedroom” You asked, begged, and Rex took action immediately.

He held you to him as he stood up, and you wrapped your legs around him tightly. He made his way to your bed quickly and gently laid you onto your back, crawling over you so he was holding himself above your body.

“You're sure about this, Cyare? If it's just a lapse in judgement because you're not in your right mind, I understand, no hard feelings” Rex stroked your cheek with his knuckles, looking into your eyes intently.

“Rex, please. My judgement is just fine. I want you. I've always wanted you” You said, the neediness so obvious in your tone. Rex's expression then settled somewhere between amusement and adoration.

“You want me?” He smirked, his lips hovering just above yours.

“Yes” You spoke breathlessly.

“Say it again” He commanded in a whisper, his amber eyes burning into your very soul.

“I want you, Rex”

He breathed out a shaky breath and brought his lips to yours, speaking between chaste kisses, “You have me, all of me. You always have. I've always been yours”

It was almost too much to hear. Your heart was pounding in your ears, and you thought you'd made it all up.

“I've always been yours Rex” You whispered against his lips, and his breath stuttered.

“You're mine?” He asked in a murmur. The flame of desire burning in his eyes was clear.

“Only yours”

He pressed his lips to yours with a newfound desperation, his hand trailing down your body and holding your hips in place as he slipped his leg between yours. You grasped at his body, your hands finding themselves underneath the top of his blacks, and he stopped kissing you to pull it off. You absolutely marvelled at the sight.

In all your time knowing Rex, mending up his various wounds, you had never had the honour of glimpsing at his form without a shirt on. You traced along a scar at the centre of his chest, “How did you get this?”

“I was shot” He shrugged with a grin.

“No big deal for a big important Captain like you, I suppose” You teased and matched his grin as he rolled his eyes.

“Shut up” He mumbled against your skin as he buried his head in your neck, leaving soft kisses and less soft bites. You struggled to keep small moans from escaping your lips at his touch, and Rex noticed you holding back. He wound his way up to your lips, pressing a short kiss to them before he spoke.

“Don't hold out on me cyar'ika, I want to hear you”

You bit your lip and nodded at him, then kissed a trail across his strong jaw, earning a soft groan. As your kisses made their way down his neck, and you brought your hands to trail down his body, he groaned more deeply. The sound was driving you insane. Before you could breach the top of his blacks, Rex gathered your wrists in his hand and held them above your head, your eyes blown wide with desire and longing, your breath ragged.

Rex just looked at you for a moment, committing the intoxicating sight to his memory. His other hand found your face as he shifted the leg that was between yours, earning a whimper, “Don't worry about that, just let me take care of you”

You shuddered at his words, your body tense with anticipation for what was to come.

He looked so perfect, angelic even.

Watching Rex sleep was never a luxury you imagined yourself getting the opportunity to indulge in, but with it right in front of you, you weren't going to let it pass you by.

You had slept for a little while, wrapped up in Rex's limbs, and held closely to his body. You had been completely at peace, every struggle and awful thought that usually plagued you was pushed to the back of your mind and there was only him, his presence enveloping you; his warmth, his scent, the feel of his skin against yours, his breath against your cheek and his chest rising and falling gently. Now, as you moved away from him and watched the cold light of morning creep across his features, you couldn't help but marvel at the sight.

You slipped out of his arms, a soft sigh escaping him in the process. Your heart clenched at the sound, only feeling your adoration for him growing once again.

You reluctantly tore your gaze away from him and went over to your desk, opening the left draw as quietly as you could. You took out your flimsi sketchbook and a pencil and made your way over to the chair that was against the large window overlooking the city. However, that wasn't the focus of your sketching today, not when there was a sight far more beautiful laying in your bed.

You opened up your small sketchbook and looked at the last thing you had drawn. It was a scene from the park. A couple sat on a bench at the edge of the man-made pond and smiling adoringly at each other. You smiled and pushed down the guilt at the realisation that you had drawn this over four months ago.

When you looked up to Rex again, your heart skipped a beat. The sun had risen a little higher in the sky and cast a golden light across the lower half of his face and chest. You took up your pencil and began sketching the view before anything could disturb it.

The sheets were pooled at his waist, showing off his toned physique in all its glory, especially as he slept with one hand tucked under his head. His features were relaxed, more relaxed than you had ever seen. His face often had a sternness about it that was undeniably militaristic, but that was nowhere to be found as he slept peacefully.

You had the outline and were now just adding the details. The small marks on his skin, some that you had fixed up yourself, and the large blaster burn in the centre of his chest. As you were adding some of the shadows to his face, you heard a small grumble, and your head shot up to see Rex opening his eyes, stretching his arms out.

“Don’t move” You spoke gently, and he looked to you, noticing your sketchbook in your hand as you sat curled up in your chair.

He smiled, a warmth spreading across his chest as he settled back into his previous position, “Like this?”

“Mhm” You hummed in reply, taking in the way the shadows on his face changed now that he was awake. “Relax” You laughed as you saw a small crease emerge in his brow.

He chuckled a little and relaxed with a contented sigh.

“Almost done” You said quietly, as if to not disturb your own work.

You quickly added the remaining shading, adding some small details of the bed and the room, wanting to capture the moment perfectly, so that should your mind ever forget it, which you doubted, it would be forever recorded. That was what you loved about using flimi over a datapad. The physicality felt more personal and permanent.

“All finished” You smiled as you closed your sketchbook and went to place it back in your desk.

“Hey! Aren't you going to show me?” Rex asked, and you looked back to him to see the crease in brow had returned.

“It's not very good, it's just a sketch”

“Cyare, I love your sketches. Please, show me” He spoke gently, an edge of seriousness to deny your self-deprecating words.

“Okay” You conceded, opening the sketchbook back up and sitting down on the bed to show him. Rex then grabbed you by the waist and pulled you into him, making you fall back into his chest as he laid down again. A delighted laugh escaped your lips at the sudden contact, and you looked up to Rex's face to see an equally elated expression.

He took the sketchbook from your hand and looked over the drawing of himself, his smile widening with each second.

“It's amazing” He said softly, meeting your eyes again.

“That's because it's of you” You smiled and brushed your nose against his, earning a small chuckle.

“No, it's… You make me look so…” He looked over the drawing and tried to find the right word to describe what he meant, “I'm not sure. It looks exactly like me, but… There's something else to it”

“Well, all the best things are made with love” You said before you could even really process what you were saying.

Rex’s eyes went wide as they snapped back to yours, “Love?” He questioned.

You shrank backwards, wanting the bed to collapse in on itself and swallow you whole, but Rex’s arm tightened around your waist, pulling you against him. You let the word hang in the air for a moment before clearing your throat and swallowing hard.

“Uh… yeah” You said awkwardly, looking away.

Rex said your name in a soft tone, pulling your focus back to him. He rested his forehead against yours, his amber eyes burning into yours, “You love me?”

“I do” You whispered, gnawing your bottom lip at the vulnerability of the admission.

Rex met your lips in a sweet kiss, slow and deliberate, and pulled away a few seconds later. He caressed your cheek with his knuckles before he settled his palm on the back of your neck. “I love you too” He confessed, and your heart leapt to your throat.

“You do?” You whispered.

“I do. I always have. It's like I said, I've always been yours” He confirmed, repeating the words he had said last night. You brought your forehead to his again and closed your eyes, taking in the sweetness of the moment.

“And I yours”

Nothing was fixed. You weren't back to being happy and full of life like you once were, but Rex had reminded you why life was worth living. You were reminded of all the things that made it worthwhile, all of the things you loved to do, the things that brought joy and colour into your life. If you could just take it one step at a time, one day after the other, you would get through this feeling, and best of all, Rex would be there to support you when you needed him.