"It was me, Cody. It was me who killed Waxer. I'm almost positive about this..." Rex said quietly // If it's not so too late, oh, lovely Angst Igauana
You have awakened something terrible. This idea is exquisitely torturous and Iove it.
Rex hadn't stopped shaking, for days, he'd been shaking non-stop. Even while Cody held him and rocked him in his arms, telling him everything wasn't terrible anymore, he still shook. He still cried and he still wanted to die. The two sat in the barracks, Rex was holding himself as Cody did. The younger brother stared off as the memories flashed through his head, his stomach turning, "Cody, I, I think I know who shot Waxer." He mumbled, eyes not meeting his brother's.
Cody perked up, "What do you mean?" They know who shot Waxer, it was a brother, but it wasn't on purpose and it wouldn't have happened if Krell hadn't been there. "Rex, what do you mean?" He asked again. For a long moment, Rex didn't move, every part of him numb as a hot tear streamed down his face.
"I keep replaying everything in my head and I remember seeing a spot on a helmet, Waxer's helmet." Rex recalled, his voice monotone and broken, "Cody, I killed him," his head at last turned to face Cody, who's eyes narrowed. "He's dead because of me."
"Rex, it wasn't your fault, if you had known-"
"But I didn't!" Rex screamed, jumping to his feet, he stumbled a little as his knees almost gave out. "I didn't know so I shot him!" He continued to scream, causing Cody's throat to run dry as he desperately thought of what to say. "I don't deserve to be a Captain, not when I lead good men to their deaths. I killed so many brothers, I was counting in my head, wanna know how many?" His voice was dry.
Cody stared at his brother, he was sleep deprived, shaky and still in shock. Cody couldn't think of what to say to his poor brother, "Twentynine" Rex inturrupted Cody's thoughts, "I killed twentynine brothers before I realized they were brothers." Rex laughed, tears pouring from his eyes, "Twentynine brothers died by my hand, Waxer died by my hand before I realized, they were brothers."
Cody stood up, reaching out his hand, but just as he was about to speak, a voice cut in. "What did you say?" Both brothers turned to them, Boil. He stood still, "What did you say?" He repeated, taking a step closer. "C-cause it sounded like you said you killed Waxer, d-did you Rex? Kill Waxer?" Boil fumbled over his words. He hadn't been able to sleep, he hadn't been able to breath.
Rex froze as he stared at Boil, he'd never seen him without Waxer by his side. "I did, I killed him." Rex confirmed. Cody shook his head, and as he was about to speak, but found himself cut off yet again as Boil ran into Rex, forcing him against the wall, gripping his shirt collar tightly.
"It was you?!" He screamed, slamming Rex against the wall, "You killed him!?" He screamed, tears of pained rage falling from his eyes, "You killed my brother! My best friend!" He pulled Rex forward slightly before slamming him back yet again. Rex tried to break free, but part of him didn't fight back, for he deserved this. "You killed Waxer, out of everyone it was you?!" He kept slamming Rex back until Cody broke them apart. "You bastard!" He yelled.
"Boil!" Cody screamed as he shoved him off Rex and back, "Take a walk!" He ordered, voice loud and sharp. Rex fell to the ground, sobbing loudly like a child, rocking slightly. "Go-" Cody ordered, watching Boil shake his head, a snarl on his face. He stared at Rex, still shaking his head before leaving the barracks in a rush. Once Boil had promptly exited, Cody turned to Rex and collapsed to the floor next to him, "Hey, Rex, it's okay lil'un," Cody reached his hand out, only to jump when Rex snapped away
"Don't touch me!" Rex wailed as he rocked, whimpering between staggered breaths, "I deserved it! I deserve this!" He continued to ball as Cody felt his own heart crumble at the sight of seeing his baby brother so indescribable hurt. "Leave me alone." Rex whimpered, burying his face in his arms .
"N-no!" Cody blurted as his eyes watered, "I'm not leaving you." He stated, catching Rex's attention as he spoke, for his voice had cracked. Cody couldn't meet the gaze of his little brother, for he was supposed to be strong, he wasn't supposed to cry in front of him.
"Cody." Rex whimpered, becoming more sad that he made his brother cry. "Cody please don't cry, please." Rex begged as he crawled towards his brother, he was frantically wiping his eyes, but the tears were too much. Rex reached his brother and tugged on Cody's arms, but they wouldn't budge "Cody, stop crying," Rex continued to weakly pull his brother's arm as he had when they were young, "Stop crying!"
"I can't!" Cody's head shot up, "I know I'm supposed to be strong enough for us but dammit Rex, I can't take it! I can't take watching you sob and sob and I can't handle the fact that I can't help you or take away your pain!" Cody confessed, face red hot, "You're suffering and I can't help you!" Rex stared wide-eyed at Cody as he thought of what to say, but nothing came in mind. So Rex did the one thing he knew he could, he hugged his brother.
Pulling Cody to him and hugging him tightly. "I love you, Bubby." Rex mumbled, hiding his head in Cody's shoulder and neck. He felt Cody's shoulders drop as his arms wrapped around him, tightly closing his eyes as he held Rex just as tight. "....I know I'm a mess sometimes, you're always there for me, I never stopped to consider that you were a mess too." Rex sighed, his tears finally stopping. Cody whimpered as he rocked the two of them, eyes shut tight.
"It's okay." Cody forced out in a clear tone, "That's what big brothers are supposed to do," Cody pulled away from the hug, he forced a soft smile as he reached out and wiped away the tears on Rex's face, "I'm supposed to take care of you." He stated. Rex reached out his hand to wipe away Cody's tears, he then smiled,
"Doesn't mean I can't take care of you too"
@ct7567329 @a-lil-perspective @mageofcole @advcntura @crying-at-ikea @stuckyjacos @crahsystor @obiorbenkenobi @satan-incarnate-666 @kalm421 @passionofthesith @mackstrut @jonathananubian @kamino-mermaid @hotnthorny @jyvorakal @xdangerouslysoftx @big1ron @blue-haired-grace @rangerslayer-97 @alienoresimagines
For the clone hc thing uhhhh because of the blue shadow virus, Rex's immune system had been compromised leading to him getting sick easier then other clones, but he hates to admit it when it happens so he tries to power through the sickness. It falls to torrent (mostly Kix) to bully him into resting when this happens XD
Summary: Rex’s immune system has never been the same since the Blue Shadow virus. Cue Torrent company holding an intervention.
Pairing: None
Tags: sick rex, caring brothers, torrent company being the best vod, rex is very loved, but also stubborn when he gets sick
Word Count: 922
A/N: This was fun to write! Mando’a translations at the end. Headcanon submitted as part of this post.
|| Masterlist || Tag list ||
Rex gave a disgruntled sniffle as he walked down the halls of the Resolute, shivering lightly even under his full armour. In one hand he held a datapad and a stack of flimsi reports, in the other, a handful of tissues.
Ever since he contracted the Blue Shadow virus the previous year, Rex found he fell sick more often than most of his brothers, and that it hit him harder when he did. But, he was a soldier. He was the Captain of the 501st Legion and he had work to do. He wasn’t about to let a little sickness get in his way. They were at war, for Force sake!
Unfortunately, his vod’ikas had other plans.
----
Jesse was first to spot their ori’vod looking, well, for lack of a better word, osik. If it hadn’t been for the puffy eyes and coughing, the stumbling would have given him away. He tapped a few buttons on his wrist comm, tapping through to Five’s private comm link.
“Fives, we’ve got a protocol 57, spread the word.”
“Damn it, again?”
Fives responded almost immediately with a chuckle, and Jesse could hear shuffling on the other end, then a few beeps and Echo joined them. Before long, the rest of Torrent company was on the comm.
Fives chuckled as he and Echo made a quiet escape from the training room,
“Right, let's have a clean sweep this time, eh vod?”
Dogma laughed,
“Don’t worry, we got this. 34th times a charm, right?”
Tup elbowed him, and Fives continued.
“Echo and I are on point, we’ll run interference at the armoury and push him up to the bridge. Hardcase, you find him and get him to us.”
Jesse rolled his eyes as the rest of his brothers recited their jobs. “I’ll get word down to Kix. Good luck di’kuts.”
Jesse rolled his eyes as the rest of his brothers recited their jobs. “I’ll get word down to Kix. Good luck di’kuts.”
----
Rex was idly rubbing his temples as he headed for the mess hall, too engrossed in his datapad to notice Hardcase approaching him at first. Engrossed may be the wrong word, when really he was just trying to make the words stop moving.
“Captain…” Hardcase jogged to catch up with him. “Sir, are you alright?”
Rex snapped out of it, turning to face the trooper. He cleared his throat, balling his tissues in his palm.
“Hardcase, I’m fine, why do you ask?”
“You're headed for the mess and lunch finished an hour ago.” He nodded to the empty mess hall, beginning to guide him away and down the brightly lit hallway. “Are you sure you’re alright? Echo was looking for you to oversee an inventory in the armoury but I can help him if you’d like. I think Kix is still down in medical if-”
“That won’t be necessary. Thank you, Hardcase.”
The man just shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back. “I have the next training session, I’ll walk with you to the armoury, Sir.”
Rex loved all his vod, really, he did. But he did not have the energy for Hardcase right now. Still, he powered through, nodding his head.
Hardcase did. not. stop. talking. and gesturing energetically the entire time. He saluted the Captain as he stopped outside the armour, where Fives and Echo were conveniently just leaving, standing to attention.
He gave them a wink and left them in the company of their now exhausted Captain.
Rex waved his hand to put the arc troopers at ease, nodding inside the inventory and coughing.
“You needed me to do an inventory?”
Echo shook his head, “It’s alright Sir, Fives assisted me.”
“Are you alright, Captain? We can handle the bridge report this evening, why don’t you turn in early? You must be exhausted-” Fives tried, maybe they’d get lucky.
“I’m quite alright, boys.” Rex said suspiciously. “Why do you all keep asking if I’m alr-”
Rex cut himself off with a rather large sneeze, followed by a coughing fit. Fives grinned, giving Echo a look behind his ori’vod’s back.
“I think Tup was looking for your Sir, you might want to catch him on your way to the bridge, it seemed important.”
Rex suppressed his complaints and rubbed his temple, nodding. “Thanks vod.”
He set off again, and Echo was straight on his comm.
“Dogma, he’s all yours.”
----
On his way to find Tup on the bridge, Rex caught Dogma sprinting at the other side of the hallways, a stack of flimsi in his hand. Rex wasn’t in the mood for this, groaning and rubbing his temples.
“Dogma, what did I say about run-”
“Sorry Sir, I wa- wooooah-”
Dogma skidded to a halt in an attempt to salute his Captain and ‘tripped’, landing on the cold durasteel floor and clutching his ankle.
Rex kneeled beside him, shaking his head with a sigh. “Dank farrik, not again. Come on, let’s get you to Kix.”
Dogma let Rex help him up and limped all the way to the medical bay where Jesse was standing with Kix, grinning.
Kix just rolled his eyes and shooed Dogma away, who promptly stood on his perfectly uninjured feet and joined Jesse at the door.
“What the-”
Kix pointed to the nearest cot. “On the cot, Sir, you look like bantha shit.”
Rex opened his mouth to protest, and was hit with a fit of coughing. Scowling, he resigned himself to his fate and climbed up onto the cot. He shot a look at Jesse and Dogma, standing smugly in the doorway wearing matching smirks.
“Di’kuts.”
Jesse and Dogma just grinned as Hardcase, Fives, Echo and Tup’s heads appeared one by one, sticking around the doorframe.
“We love you too, ori’vod.”
---
Vod’ikas - little brothers
Ori’vod - big brother
Osik - shit
Di’kuts - idiots
Vod - brother
Dank farrick - fuck
Gonna write a scene or two for my idea of some clones as vampires because it's in my head and I'm gonna consider it writing practice. Enjoy:
"Rex, you alright?" Rex blinks at Anakin. He's been awake for way too long and he wants nothing more than for this report to be over so he can rest, because that mission was long and slow and he's as exhausted as he is thirsty and this delay is not helping. "Just a little thirsty sir." General Skywalker nods and turns back to the holotable. Cody glances at Rex and subtly taps his wrist. Rex nods. Thankfully the meeting ends shortly after and Cody all but literally drags Rex away. "Really Cody-" "Shut up." Cody replies absently, pushing Rex into his room and following him inside. "How are you and the rest holding up outside of missions?" Rex rolls his eyes. "Mother hen. We're fine. It's the one ration we don't have to really worry about being short of." He finishes taking his armor off, frowns, and says "I could really uses a fresher. I smell terrible." "Drink first. I'm not having you fall over from thirst." Cody sits on the bunk, holding out a raised wrist. Rex rolls his eyes, muttering "mother hen" again, but he sits and takes Cody's wrist so that he can sink his teeth into the delicate veins. Cody barely winces at the bite and watches some of the tension ease out of his little brother's shoulders as Rex drinks, and lifts his other hand to gently run it over Rex's head. "I've got you Rex." Rex hums, gently pulling his teeth from skin to take a breath before sinking back. Cody leans against the wall and lets his brother drink his blood while he turns over the previous mission in his mind, trying to process the reports he'll need to make. When Rex is finished he leans against Cody's shoulder, stealing the small tube of bacta to put it over the tiny marks. "Thanks Cody." "No problem. Come on. You really do need that fresher." "Like you're any better."
Rex, trying to give a motivational speech but then it evolved into him casualty talking about his really really fucked up cadethood:
“-I mean yeah all the other kids bullied me, hated me even, and no one liked me or even came near me. Come to think of it I did get shuffled around a lot, but that’s just because my entire original batch was decommissioned. And yeah I did have a lot of near death experiences, but I only needed to be resuscitated a handful of times. Ha, there was that one time a trainer threw me off a platform because they were sick of dealing with all my paperwork, but I pulled myself up by my bootstraps and hauled myself out of the ocean. You know what they say; you want something done you gotta do it yourself, because no one else is going to do it for you! I think I came out the other side just fine and I’m stronger because of it! :)”
The entire 501st: “…whAT THE FUUUUUCK!”
Prologue here: https://alienficsoutofspite.tumblr.com/post/677031338403151872/curses-cocoons-and-clones-prologue
Im aware this part is short but things are going to get busy for me soon and I’m trying to relax when I can so I’ll be slower with updates but in the meantime, please enjoy.
“Sirs…the floors are glowing.”
Hardcase who was supposed to scouting the building with Dogma while the others used the rain to rinse off all the muck off was poking at loose piece of wood. It was slightly hidden by a pillar in the back of the room. Rex barely contained a sigh. Ahsoka peeked at said lose floorboard and gently pried it open. “Wizard! It looks like a cave system.”
“Maybe the people who lived here used it as a means of escape.” General Kenobi suggested
“Or to hide spice.” Rex grumbled. He was NOT in the mood to find some weird cave that may or may not have something that they weren’t supposed to find. Suddenly he was glad that General Skywalker wasn’t here. He was currently on Coruscant spending time with his secret wife as the Chancellor summoned him for some meetings of some kind. Anakin Skywalker would have gone in went no plan and would probably need a rescue.
Unfortunately, Kenobi although more cautious was curious. With Ahsoka on the team Rex was sure they were going on an spontaneous adventure again.
“What do you think Commander Cody?” Asked Kenobi.
Rex prayed that he would say to ignore it and focus on the task at hand.
To Rex’s dismay, The commander took off his helmet and peered down “I think we should check it out in case the Separatists left something important.”
The cave system was thankfully not a maze but it certainly was a complicated one. Rex it reminded uncomfortably of the labs on Kamino. Some of the other vode must have the same thought as their shoulders were stiff like they were being watched by the trainers. The only source of light were these weird bulbs that grew on the stalactites of the cave.
Cody suddenly stopped in front of large opening. “Cody?” Rex was almost afraid to ask
He waved his hand “Sorry I thought…. Nevermind.” He hurried over to Kenobi. Rex and Fives exchanged looks. Even though the helmets they knew how to read a vode’s body language. Something was definitely wrong. Rex turned to the opening. “Want to check it out?” Asked Fives.
“Let’s see what this place is really about.” muttered Rex and walked further into the cave.
“There was more of the weird glowing eggs things in here.” Rex mused to himself. There was, with them growing thicker and bigger clusters. Rex’s eyes wandered to the centerpiece in the middle of the room. It was a small object on a pillar. It was round and porous with vines and flowers growing in the tiny holes. Fives reached his hand towards it-
“Wait!”
But it was too late a thick pollen erupted from the object covering the room in the stuff.
“Fives!”
“Uhhh…..sorry sir?”
Rex groaned it was bad enough being covered in mud.
Rex felt the beginnings of a headache “let’s just go back to the men.”
“Yes sir.”
Fives didn’t argue and as they slowly walked to the others Rex felt his headache worsening. By when he saw Commander Ahsoka and Cody he felt like his entire body was being crushed.
Cody shouted when Rex collapsed. Distantly he was aware of Fives doing the same. The last thing he saw was Ahsoka’s and Cody’s worried faces.
Summary: Sabé and Rex have the worst jobs in the world.
Pairing: Background Anidala
Word Count: 3.8K
Warnings: None
Authors Note: It’s finally done! After months of inactivity! Big thanks to @transfetts for helping me edit this one! And a special shout out to @royalhandmaidens for helping me run with this idea, and being an incredible person to bounce off of ❤️
In all honesty, Sabé wasn’t sure if her day could get any worse.
Her life had been threatened before. That was easy to deal with. She had played the seven-string hallikset in front of millions of people. That was also easy, although in a different way. Sabé had fought the Battle for Naboo in the most uncomfortable outfit she’d ever worn, with a headpiece that weighed down her neck and made her look like a child wearing an oversized bonnet.
But standing here. Looking like an idiot next to the stiffest Trooper she had ever met? Today definitely took the cake as the worst day of Sabé’s life.
Sabé had never actually met a Clone Trooper before. Sure they were everywhere on Coruscant, they were practically everywhere in the universe, but Sabé had never actually met one before. The Coruscant guard didn’t really talk much, and she had only ever interacted with them as Padmé, not as Sabé.
But as soon as she saw Anakin and his trooper outside Padmé’s senate chamber, Sabé knew she would be spending some quality time with a Clone.
“General Skywalker,” Padmé started, and even with her hood covering her eyes, Sabé could practically see that dreamy look in Padmé’s gaze. Ugh. “How unexpected.”
Anakin wasn’t supposed to be back for weeks. He had returned from Umbara after a misunderstanding on the battlefield. Rumor had it that the GAR had suffered immense casualties and every available Jedi had been needed to finish the assault. Sabé wasn’t sure what was propaganda and what was the truth yet, but it seemed messy regardless.
And yet here Anakin was anyway. Sauntering through the senate halls as if nothing had happened and he wasn’t keeping the galaxy's biggest secret.
“Well you know how it is,” He says with a smirk, “I bring word from the Frontlines. I was hoping I could give you an update on our progress.”
What he really meant was, “We should both neglect our responsibilities and make out in your office and make Sabé super uncomfortable.” Or at least, that’s how Sabé heard it.
Playing third wheel was bad enough, but playing third wheel to a secret marriage between the dumbest Jedi and her best friend was possibly the worst way to spend an afternoon.
“Ani, you know I-“ Padmé starts, but he interrupts.
“Just a moment of your time senator,” He grabs at her hands gently, holding them near his chest. “Please?”
And Sabé knows then that Padmé is sold.
“Alright,” Padmé sighs, but she’s smiling. A lovesick type of grin that spreads warmly across her face. “Sabé, would you mind waiting here for a moment?”
“As you wish M’lady.” Sabé says. She actually did mind. A lot. But doing things she didn’t want to do was part of the job.
My hands are yours.
“Rex, why don’t you keep Sabé company for a bit? I’ll be right back.” Anakin winked as if to say “I won’t be right back”.
It took all of her Amidala training to hold back the eye roll.
And thus they stood.
And stood.
And stood.
Being a handmaiden meant a lot of standing around and waiting quietly. Standing behind Padmé as she addressed the Senate. Standing behind Queen Amidala as she addressed the senate.
It was a lot of senate and a lot of standing still. Sabé didn’t mind that. She liked listening and observing. What Sabé didn’t like was listening to her best friend fawn over a Jedi while she waited outside with a stranger.
Although the stranger probably didn’t like hanging around with her either.
Captain Rex hadn’t moved once. Hadn’t even addressed her. He stood at attention, armor faded and dented as he gazed silently ahead. He looked like he had seen better days. The paint was chipping off his arm brace and there was ash on his chest plate.
They must have gone straight for the senate building as soon as they had returned.
He was probably just as exhausted as her. And frustrated. Sabé let out a silent sigh. She was being unfair again. Not liking Anakin shouldn’t mean not liking his trooper.
So, Sabé takes a deep breath, without even moving, and tries to apply that “warmth” Yané always tried to teach her.
“So, see any good holovids latey?” Is the only thing she can think to say. Padme was a master at conversation, and although she had spent almost eight years imitating her, that was the one trait Sabé could not crack.
“I don’t have time off to watch Holovids.” His voice is mechanical under his mask, crisp and echoing.
It wasn’t like they were trying to be subtle or anything.
“Oh.” Is all Sabé says before they fall back into an uncomfortable silence. He seems to pity her though, for Captain Rex tries to start up conversation again after a few moments.
“Do you think we’ll be able to leave soon?”
As if it is the will of the Force, suddenly there's laughter coming from Padmé’s chambers.
“No.” Sabé responds.
And suddenly there’s a crash, like a window shattering.
Forgetting her formalities, or her own embarrassment, Sabé instantly turns and slams into the door, forcing it open. The Captain is right behind her, blaster drawn. He almost runs right into her.
Padmé and Anakin are staring out a window. Anakin is leaning out, as if trying to see something. Padmé turns.
“Sabé. It was a reporter. I left my window open.”
Her heart drops.
Reporter. Open window. Secret affair.
Ruin.
Anakin seems much less panicked than Padmé, straightening himself and shutting the blinds. He looks… relieved? But Sabé has no time to untangle the map of his soul right now.
“What did he look like?” She asks firmly. There was little time for her to act, and she couldn’t waste a second.
“Dark hair, silver speeder bike. He was wearing a blue media jacket. Heading down to the lower levels.”
“Understood.” Sabé turns instantly, already planning the best route in her head. He would have had to take-
“Now wait just a minute.” Anakin. A minute is not something we have, Sabé wants to yell, but she keeps silent. “I’m not going to let Sabé go alone. She’ll never be able to catch that guy by herself.”
Yes I could. Sabé thinks. But still she keeps silent.
“Rex. Accompany Sabé. I want both of you back before we ship out.”
“Understood Sir.” The Captain stands at attention before quickly turning to Sabé.
Great. The one thing worse than being slowed down by Anakin, was being slowed down by his right hand. He had no idea how she operated. And he stuck out like-
Well he stuck out just as bad as a velvet robbed handmaiden.
“Whatever you wish, m'lady.” Sabé says, secretly hoping Padmé will side with her and deny Rex. But of course, she doesn’t.
“It would be helpful to have another person come along.” Padmé says instead, “Just hurry.”
Sabé gives a soft bow before turning on her heel and racing out of the room, the sound of clanking armor following her the whole way.
The Naboo garage was filled with glimmering starships and speeders. Sabé’s personal speeder was not counted among them.
“I’m driving,” Sabé says as she turns on the machine. “You can sit behind me.”
“Right.” He clearly didn’t like handing off leadership, but it seemed he was wise enough to take the metaphorical and literal backseat when he had to. The engine of her speeder roars to life as Sabé settles in the front with Rex quickly following suit.
“You’ll be able to see better than me if you use your scanner to try and spot him,” Sabé yells over the engine.
Her hair was wiping wildly now, flying loose from her hood and into her eyeline. What she would give for a hairpin.
“He’s probably klicks away by now.” Rex says, and Sabé hears the mechanical clinking of his rangefinder shifting into place as he scans the city.
“That’s why I asked you to use your bucket, genius.” Sabé says before pulling into the busy skylanes.
Sabé didn’t like Coruscant. It was too busy, with too many people and too much pollution. And the Underworld was the worst part. Between the smell of burning fuel, the rattling metal and the horrid smell of endless garbage disposals, everything about it made her skin crawl.
But whatever Padmé asked, Sabé would follow through.
“You seem to know your way around.” Rex says.
“I make it my business to know.” She replies. Just because Padmé wanted Anakin’s clone to tag around did not mean Sabé had to like it.
“Right.”
They fall into the motion of the city. With the wind tugging her hair loose and ringing in her ears, Sabé almost misses Rex’s shout.
“I found him! There!” He points over to her left. The reporter in question is six lanes over, blue jacket whipping wildly in the wind. Camera strap around his neck.
“Hang on!” She yells, before pulling a completely illegal six lane change.
Pulling up as close as she can, Sabé tries to settle herself even with the reporter, bikes side by side.
“Pull over and give me that camera!” Sabé yells, and the reporter turns to her with a wild look.
“On whose authority?” The reporter yells back.
“The Grand Army of the Republic.” Rex doesn’t yell, but the speakers in his helmet amplify his voice enough to be heard over. Sabé wasn’t exactly sure they were officially acting on behalf of the GAR, but it seemed to scare the reporter enough to give him pause.
“You’re in possession of private property!”
“I’m in possession of the story of the century!”
“Like hell you are!” Sabé screams.
He was drifting dangerously close now, his bike almost brushing hers. Normally, the auto navigation system would prevent them from getting this close to another vehicle, but Sabé had rewired it months ago in favor of more subtle routes.
He’s still yelling at her about “stories of the age” and “secret affairs” as she reaches out with her right hand and tries to grab his camera. He pulls back, but he could only move so much with both hands on the handle.
Almost-
And suddenly Sabé’s right hand slips off the steering.
And everything moves in slow motion.
Sabé’s bike tilts left, falling straight into the reporter’s. There’s a crunch from her bike, and the engine spits fire and sparks. The speeders are locked together now, her pedals caught in his.
The reporter has this terrified look on his face, and Sabé seizes that split second and rips the camera off the chain around his neck.
And then her bike falls.
And she falls.
And Rex falls right after her.
In the back of her mind, Sabé vaguely hears Rex yelling something along the lines of, “not again” but all she was really processing, was that she was falling to her death.
But instead of dying, Sabé finds her fall cut short as she crashes into a large speeder hood.
The group inside gasps in horror, and reaching as fast as she can, Sabé tries to grasp at the driver's hand, or the windshield or anything, but within an instant, she slips right off. Her sleeve catches on the side of the vehicle and tears in half as she falls again.
And lands directly onto another speeder.
This one is smaller, and buckles under her weight. Dripping off the skylane. The driver lets out a scream, and shakes her bike.
“I won’t be robbed by some crazy lunatic!” She cries.
“I’m not trying to rob you!” Sabé yells over the commotion.
“Liar!” The driver screams, and keeps shaking her bike. Sabé’s grip slips, and she can feel herself falling.
“Stop, stop! I just want to get down!” She manages. But the driver won’t hear it, and gives the bike one hard shake.
And Sabé is falling again, but the fall is quick, as she lands straight into a dumpster.
Despite the gross cushioning, Sabé hits the bottom of the bin with a sick crack, and instantly knows she won’t be sleeping on her left side for a while.
Ow.
Against the will of her body, Sabé pushes herself up and stands. She had to find that reporter, and she had to get out of that terrible, terrible smell.
Climbing over the edge of the bin shouldn’t have been hard, normally Sabé could have scaled a wall in seconds. But her vision was slightly blurred, and not being able to use her left shoulder was a hindrance. Standing on trash bags, Sabé boosts herself over the edge and stumbles out and onto the alley floor.
Her dress is in shambles. The left sleeve had ripped clean off, as had her hood. The once perfect ombré is now stained with mysterious green and brown liquid from the dumpster. Not to mention the pieces of trash that got stuck to the velvet.
Sabé knows her hair is flying free now and dreads the thought of her reflection. If her grease stained and scratched hands are any indication, she isn’t pretty.
Rex is laying on the ground a few feet away, trying to push himself off his stomach. His pauldron has a crack down the middle and several small pieces of his armor are missing. And so is his helmet.
Rex has a thin cut across his face, spanning from his left eyebrow to his chin.
He looks.
Really young.
Younger than she had expected.
It was probably foolish of her to assume he was older than her, Sabé knew most clones were only around ten, with accelerated growth. But she had always assumed he would look like her father or something. All grey and set lines. But Rex appeared no older than Sabé herself. Sure he had a giant cut across his face right now, but she could see past that.
He looks like a kid. Well, teenager. Well. He looked her age. But still. Young.
Too young.
Sabé supposes to most people he would seem handsome. Maybe in a boyish way, that would make the school girls on Naboo giggle, but to Sabé he just looks like-
Like a boy, covered in dirt, who really didn’t want to be here.
“Did you see where the reporter fell?” Sabé asks. Her voice cracks as she speaks, and she can feel an invisible weight sitting on her lungs. Her left rib is definitely cracked.
“No.” He groans. Without his helmet, Rex’s voice was drastically different. “But he can’t have gotten far.”
Sabé studies around them, Rex was right, the reporter couldn’t have fallen that much farther than they had, their bikes were practically locked together-
There.
Crawling off a trash heap, the reporter looks just as stunned as Sabé feels. Although she hoped she was holding it together better.
“Stop!” She shouts.
Sabé groans, and despite her aching limbs, she runs after him. He’s not fast, but in her current condition, neither is she.
Stumbling loosely, Sabé runs until they’re side by side. She doesn’t have enough energy to even yell at this point, so instead she reaches out for the camera and almost-
Suddenly Sabé feels a sharp tug on her hem, and she’s janked backwards, stumbling into Rex. He yelps, and they both tumble onto the pavement.
“I had him!” Sabé says sharply, pushing Rex aside. Red flames tug at her vision.
She just wants to go home. This was stupid, and she had better things to do. And why would Padmé make her run around with some knockoff Anakin-
“I’m sorry.” Rex says. “I guess I’m not quite used to your fighting techniques. I should have been paying closer attention.”
“Oh.”
Maker, she was an idiot.
Rex isn’t Anakin, and this wasn’t his fault. She is a spy and he is a soldier. And while she was playing lone wolf, he was trying to offer support, and she had ignored him.
Maker.
“No I-“ Sabé pauses, and looks at him. “That was my fault.” She can’t find any other words, and mercifully, Rex seems to accept her half apology and changes the subject.
“Fighting General Grievous was easier than this.” He mumbles under his breath.
“You’ve fought General Grievous?” Sabé says.
“Yeah, and it hurt less.”
They both pause. They had crossed a bridge. Both of them serve as the right hands of the ridiculous people they love but can’t see past the end of their noses.
And they’re both exhausted.
He laughs then. It’s an overtired laugh interrupted by a harsh cough, but it’s a laugh. And it makes Sabé laugh too.
In the dim streetlights, Sabé lets herself breathe. And relax.
“This is ridiculous!” She says suddenly, muffled between coughing giggles. “We look ridiculous, and this mission is ridiculous and our friends are ridiculous.”
With a huffed laugh, Rex forces himself to stand, and offers Sabé his hand.
“Let’s get him this time.”
As it turns out, they don’t have to look far. Less than two klicks away, the reporter stands over a garbage can, vomiting. Camera held limply around his neck.
“Surrender your camera, or face the consequences.” Rex says, standing over the reporter as he hurls. He sounds so serious, Sabé tries not to laugh.
“Just take it.” The man mumbles. “Dear maker, just take the kriffing camera.” Reaching around his neck, the reporter unclips his camera and holds it out limply.
Sabé reaches forward and rips it from his hands, cradling it to her chest.
“Thank you for your service, citizen.” Rex finishes, nodding his head politely.
“Whatever.” The man mumbles, “Just leave me alone.”
“All this for a holo.” Rex says. He’s got a playful tone, despite his knee guard missing and all the pieces of trash in his hair.
But Sabé ignores his quip, and wanders to a more secluded part of the alley. She scrolls through the memory files, passing moments and memories and gossip and-
There.
They look ridiculous. Sabé thinks, but she knows that’s not true.
They look happy. Even through the lens, their warmth is captured.
Padmé’s warmth.
The way she looks at Anakin is so warm.
So loving.
Sabé lingers for a moment, holding the camera gently between her hands. Staring.
“My hands are yours.”
Then with all the power she can manage, Sabé throws the camera down and smashes it against the pavement.
Sparks fly and bits of metal shatter this way and that, kicking up dirt and muck. The flickering metal almost looks poetic.
Almost.
Rex is silent for a moment, staring at the unceremonial end, and Sabé can’t seem to find her voice.
Something in her chest ached. It’s probably a displaced rib, Sabé reasons, but she knows that isn’t really it.
Thankfully, Rex seems to know how to defuse uncomfortable situations.
“We should call someone to pick us up.” He huffs, gaze pointed at the endless levels above them. “I’m not walking back.” Sabé almost laughs.
“Can we eat first?” She asks instead, trying to swallow the strange tears caught in her throat, and rolling her aching shoulder.
“Yeah I could eat.”
“Do you have any money?”
“Nope.” He says with a grin, offering her his arm like they were leaving a charity ball and not crawling out of a dumpster.
That makes Sabé laugh. But she links her arm into his anyway and punches him in the shoulder, ignoring the way he winces.
“Fine. We’ll just charge Senator Amidala’s card.”
“You have access to the Senators bank?”
“Sometimes I AM the senator Rex.”
“Right. Sometimes I forget that.”
Sabé laughs.
“That’s the whole point, dummy.”
The diner they find looks almost as disgusting as they do.
Filled with flickering lights, unkempt floors, and more than a few blaster marks, the establishment doesn’t even react when a beaten up clone trooper and a crazy girl in half a dress show up and ask for a table.
The corner booth smells a bit like garbage, but Sabé reasons she also smells like garbage, so in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a big deal. At least she could eat.
“Their wedding kinda sucked.” Sabé says, voice slightly muffled in between bites of her sandwich.
“I’ve never been to a wedding.” Rex responds, taking another bite of his cushnip. He had a weird taste for someone whose main diet consisted of ration bars.
“They suck. Never let your best friend talk you into attending one.”
“Noted.”
“It was just me, and two droids.” Sabé swallows, “Have you ever had to make conversation with two droids at a secret wedding?”
“I’ve had to make conversation with undead Genioshians.” He tries, pointing his fork at her.
“That’s not the same.”
It’s silent for a moment, Rex still pointing at her, and then they both burst into laughter.
Uncontrollable, over tired laughter. Sabé only stops when her arching chest can’t take it anymore.
“Why are you blonde?” She interrupts suddenly. “I thought all clones were Jango Fett, well, clones.”
“What?” He breathes, coughing at the end, and staring at her in disbelief. “I help you chase a reporter 30 levels, and all you want to ask is ‘why are you blonde?’ That’s the best you can do?”
Sabé tries to laugh again, but her chest hurts so much she stops herself.
“Do I really look that awful?” Rex reaches up and pulls another piece of trash from his blacks.
“Yes.” Sabé says with a smile, “You look ridiculous without your bucket.”
Rex rolls his eyes, pointing at her again.
“You’re the worst.”
“I know.”
Something catches his eye, and Rex glances out the diner window.
“There’s our ride.”
Outside, a Republic landspeeder settles into the parking lot recklessly. There’s an ARC trooper in the driver's seat, white armor painted the same blue as Rex. A member of his battalion no doubt.
Quickly rising, Sabé settles the bill, and follows Rex towards the trooper.
She wants to get out of this hole as quickly as possible. And shower. Twice.
“What happened to you?” The ARC trooper asks, and Sabé can’t tell if his tone is genuine concern or teasing.
Or perhaps both.
“Not now.” Rex mumbles, as he brushes past the trooper and practically falls into the back seat of the landspeeder.
“Hi.” The trooper turns to her now, and even through the helmet's voice altering, Sabé can hear his tone dripping with charisma. She gives a half laugh, but it sounds more like a wheeze.
“Hi.” She responds, “I’m Sabé.”
“I’m Fives.” He replies, “Hang out in the underworld often?”
“Can it, Trooper.” Rex yells from the landspeeder. His head is leaned against the seat, and his brow is furrowed, as if this happens all the time. “Just get us back to base.”
“Yes Captain.” Fives says with a loose salute, but he nods at Sabé, and she swears he winks under his helmet.
Carefully maneuvering around her bruises, Sabé settles into the backseat beside Rex.
“You know.” Sabé starts, “If I’m going to be a third wheel more often, I wouldn’t mind serving with you Captain.”
“It’s been an honor Sabé,” Rex says, and then pauses, “but in all honesty I could never do this again and be just fine.”
Sabés cracked rib hurts too much to laugh.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/38513596
Another one on ao3!!!!
i love these two characters. i need to trap them in a collapsed building so they can talk about their feelings as one of them slowly bleeds out.
Prompt: sleepy Captain Rex
That’s all. Short and sweet. Maybe a little Fives thrown in for fun. 😁
I have made vod fluff 🤷🏽♀️ Sorry if you wanted X Reader stuffs anon 😬
these were just some feels that came up... (I blame @lifeofclonewars for encouraging my clone cuddle pile headcanons)
Complete mental and physical exhaustion. There wasn't much else to it. After a long... rotation? (give or take a couple hours) of sorting through mission reports, requisitions... oh hells, when's the last time he ate something? Doesn't matter. He's got about an hour until Kix was heading to the barracks to... actually Rex didn't know if the medic even slept anymore... but he would be coming to the barracks. And maybe two hours before Echo and Fives stumble in from whatever place they're drinking at tonight. He removes most of his armour, placing it on the rack near the entrance to the small barracks room. His feet dragging along the floor as he tries to remember which bunk is his. That doesn't matter either, apparently, as he suddenly trips over something on the floor.
Kix entered the barracks, ready to spend the next couple hours going over patient reports, planning out treatments, and reviewing procedures. Placing his boots and helmet on the rack, he notices the sound of heavy breathing from... the middle of the room? He flicks on the light on his vambrace to see Rex flopped across some matresses that were on the floor for whatever reason. His mind tiredly jumping to how he, Rex, Jesse, and Hardcase used to sleep out in the field. (It always felt safer, leaning against a vod.) He rolls Rex off his stomach, only mildly surprised the when Captain doesn't wake at all. Sitting him up to where he could lean against Rex's back, Kix sat in the position they'd taken up countless times on missions. Fully expecting to sit awake, skimming his data pad until someone comes to help him move the dead-to-the-world captain.
Fives stumbles into the barracks, followed quickly by Echo who is (loudly) shushing him, telling him not to wake anyone. They both stop at the same time as they become aware of light snoring and a dim light in the middle of the room.
"You didn't put the mattresses back?" Fives hissed at his twin.
"I'm not the one who wanted to see how far he could jump off the bunks." Echo shoved Fives' shoulder.
Fives squints in the low light of Kix' data pad. Seeing the Captain and the medic sleeping against each other's backs, heads rolled back on the other's shoulder. He smacks Echo's chest with the back of his hand. "I told you we weren't the only squad to sleep like that."
"Di'kut, I'm not the one who disagreed with that." Echo slurred slightly, as he went to the right side of their sleeping vode. Leaning low so his head wasn't in Rex's face. Fives just shrugs, taking up the left side, making sure his hair wasn't going to brush against Kix if he shifts too much.
“There’s gotta be something I can call you other than CT-7567. That’s a bit of a mouthful.” No response. “How about… just 67? I mean, technically it’s not a name, it’s a part of your designation. Nothing in the regs that says we have to use our full designations at all times. How’s it sound?” Still nothing. “67 it is.”
Could you do 'Right as rain' with Rex? (also your fics are so good, I really like all your ideas, all your stuff is so cool, like you've got fan art and everything!)
Some notes first— Thank you so much! It means so much to me to hear that you like my stuff so much. And I know right?? The first time I got fan art, I nearly fainted from excitement. It was such a cool moment. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, anon (and @razena88 bc this was one of the ones you mentioned in your reblog— I also have another coming after this that you mentioned in your reblog, too)! To those of you who also requested something— I’m posting these as I write them, so you’ll see yours… eventually. I’ll also post these to AO3 at some point, although when also remains to be seen. Anyways, on with the fic!
Right as Rain— character says they’re fine before collapsing
The debriefing that was supposed to be 30 minutes had turned into a 2 hour long one. The battle had only just ended and Rex hadn’t had a chance to catch a break in between.
On any other day, that wouldn’t have been an issue. On this day, however, it was, although Rex would never admit it to anyone. The planet that they were on had a harsh environment, which included plants that could cause someone who even slightly touched its leaves to become ill. It started with a headache and some dizziness, but soon spiraled into a full migraine accompanied with a high fever. It was nigh impossible for someone who had been infected to keep down any food after awhile, too. It was potentially deadly if not treated soon enough.
They’d all been careful to avoid it and had been covered head to toe for the entire mission, even the Jedi. Rex was starting to think that maybe he hadn’t avoided it as well as he thought he had as the meeting droned on. Still, it wasn’t his place to interrupt a debriefing simply because he had a headache that felt like a herd of bantha was tap-dancing on his head (a comparison lovingly made by Hardcase earlier on in the war when he’d earned himself a concussion due to an impressive explosion). Besides, Rex didn’t really know if the symptoms were because of that deadly plant, or if it was just because he hadn’t slept in awhile. He’d been so well covered during that entire mission that he was inclined to believe that it was the latter.
Of course, that was ignoring the fact that he felt simultaneously cold and hot, chills running down his spine continuously. It was also ignoring the fact that it was getting more and more difficult to keep from swaying on his feet. Rex stood at Ahsoka’s right and Cody’s left, and it was all he could do not to lean into his older brother. Whatever. He was probably fine.
Rex’s awareness of the meeting, however, had become nonexistent, and so he missed when they asked him a direct question. He had been too focused on controlling the head splitting migraine he’d procured and ignoring the horrible chills running through his veins. Cody bumped Rex’s arm with his elbow, causing Rex to jump back into attention.
“Sorry, what was the question?” Rex asked, mentally kicking himself for not paying attention to the meeting (but Force, it was only supposed to have been 30 minutes long).
“We were asking about the status of your troops, Captain,” General Windu said through the holotable, “How they faired on the mission.”
Rex was fairly certain that they’d already covered that in the meeting (he could have sworn that was what Anakin had been talking about for the last hour or so), and he opened his mouth to say that when he realized that that would not be an appropriate response. He was very glad he was wearing his helmet, then, so that the generals could not see his facial expressions as he tried to get his thoughts in order.
“Captain, are you quite alright?” General Kenobi, ever perceptive, asked from across the table. Rex nodded— he thought he did, at least, but it was actually more of a shudder than anything else.
“Rex,” Cody said in a low tone, gently reaching out to rest a hand on Rex’s shoulders.
Rex was vaguely aware that now all eyes were on him, so he gathered up his strength to reply, “Yes, I’m fine.”
He collapsed into Cody’s arms immediately after getting that out, his strength spent. His head was aching, though, and he was so cold and so hot and he couldn’t even see straight. The last thing he remembered before everything went black was Cody ripping the helmet off of Rex’s head and asking him to respond.
Rex woke up an indeterminable amount of time later, finding himself in the medbay stripped down to his blacks, although the top had been peeled off at some point. He still had a hell of a headache, although now it only felt like one bantha tap-dancing on his head instead of a whole herd. He heard a chuckle at his bedside and found Cody was looking at him with an exasperated expression, and he realized that he must’ve said that out loud.
Rex opened his mouth to actually talk with his brother, but Cody held up a hand to hush him.
“Next time,” Cody said, “Just tell us you think you’re sick, okay?”
Rex had the decency to look embarrassed and nodded. Cody rolled his eyes at him and told Rex to get some more sleep. The good captain was more than happy to comply.