A place for all of my bits and pieces

A/N: This is just a piece of fluff that I wrote for one of my many WIPs. I am sharing it now as I am proud that I actually wrote some flufff (I usually end up runing it with angst)

It has been a long month since Cody confessed that he had feelings for me, and I am feeling unusually happy. Cody finally had some leave, so I decided to treat him to a meal at one of my favourite places on Coruscant. The only catch is I couldn’t get the day off, so he decided that it would be a good idea to pick me up from work. Luckily for me, my editor is not strict about when I leave, so long as I let her know.

“Hey Nikko, there is someone to see you. He says his name is Cody,” One of my colleagues remarks.

“Thank you,” I say as I get up out of my seat. My actions seem to draw a curious glance from my colleague.

“Remember how I told you that I had a date?” I begin my explanation.

“Yes…Cody is your date then,” he replies. I can hear the scepticism in his voice, but I chose to ignore it as I want to enjoy my night with Cody.

“Yep,” I reply before excusing myself. It doesn’t take long for me to reach the main foyer of the office building. I find myself doing a double-take. The only reason I can spot Cody is the scar over his right eye. I find myself giggling at the idea of seeing a clone out of uniform. I soon feel my cheeks flush with embarrassment. Cody has good dress sense for someone who is usually in some kind of uniform.

“Cyare, what’s wrong?” Cody asks, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Nothing’s wrong…You look good,” I remark as I offer my hand. To my surprise, he takes it. With that, we leave.

It has been a nice ten minutes since then, and we made it to one of the nicest restaurants in the upper levels. As we enter, I notice people turning to stare. I wish they wouldn’t, as whilst Cody was born in a lab, he is still human. He has the added bonus of being a war hero as well. To my surprise, a staff member came to assign us a spot. As we sit down, I notice a troubled look on Cody’s face.

“Are you ok? You seem a little distracted, Cyare,” Cody remarks. That means he hasn’t noticed the people staring. How do I even begin to explain that people are staring because they distrust Clones, born in a lab?

“Well…it’s complicated, but I don’t want to talk about it. Not yet anyway,” I respond before changing the topic entirely. Thankfully, Cody seems to take the hint.

“Whatever it is can wait. Let’s enjoy the time we have together,” Cody confirms. He is right. As a soldier, the time he has left cannot be guaranteed. That is part of the reason that as soon as Cody got back to Coruscant, I arranged a date. It doesn’t take long for us to fall into idle chatter while we look at the menu. It doesn’t take long for Cody to speak up.

“Do you have any recommendations?” He sheepishly asks.

“That depneds on what you like,” I respond before pointing out a few options. I find myself giggling as Cody tries to figure out exactly what he feels like. His face scrunches with a mix of curiosity and disgust. I put it down to the fact that you normally don’t have a choice with rations. Seeing Codwy starting to get overwhelmed is making the giggling worse.

“Fine since you are struggling to chose I will pick for you however you cannot complain,” I give in. As funny as it is to see a war hero struggle with the most basic of problems, he does need to decide.

“Of course,” Cody responds. With that out of the way, we soon placed our order.

As we wait for our food, I find myself enthralled by the way Cody catches me up on what I have missed since my time with the 212th came to an end. It turns out that the only thing that has changed is the location of the battles. You would think I would be bored; however, that is not the case, as Cody is a surprisingly good storyteller. Cody soon stops. He has become self-conscious for some reason.

“You can continue,” I playfully prompt.

“I know…but this date is about both of us. I do want to know more about what you have been up to since you left the 212th,” Cody responds.

“To be honest, the last month has been boring. Since I am not acting as a war correspondent at the moment, I have been following what is going on in the Senate,” I explain. As nice as most senators are, I would rather be part of the action again than listen to endless debates about what is going on.

“So you miss the action?” Cody seems surprised.

“Well, I will put it to you this way; whilst I don’t want to get shot, I would rather be a part of the action. It beats watching endless debates about politics,” I say. Before Cody has a chance to respond, the food arrives. Cody’s eyes widen. Something tells me this is the most luxurious food he’s ever had. We soon fall into silence as we eat our food.

After what feels like an eternity in heaven, we are finally finished. After paying, we leave.

As we head towards my apartment, an idea strikes.

“Why don’t you stay with me tonight? It would be better than returning to the barracks,” I offer. Cody seems to consider my offer.

“Sure. I will need to get a few things first, but I will see you soon,” He responds before parting ways.

A/N: The title was inspired by the idea that the following would be called Tech Support, since Tech is the one who is emotionally supporting the reader (yes as the tags say it is a bad pun)

Tech may not know what is wrong with the latest stray Hunter recruited, but he’s sure something is. Tech is watching them meditate. The clue was that their posture was incorrect. It was too stiff for someone trying to clear their mind. Tech heaved a sigh as he was the least equipped of his brothers to deal with emotions, yet there was something that was compelling him to at least try to help.

“You should talk to them,” Hunter suggests to Tech’s horror. A scowl crosses his face. Unlike the many projects he has strewn across the Marauder, emotions are too complex for his liking.

“Where do I even begin?” Tech responds a little too harshly for his liking. He knew that something was wrong with them. With a playful shove, Hunter sends Tech toward the person. Tech carefully draws in a deep breath. He glances over his shoulder to find that the rest of his brothers watch on. He will have to give Hunter a piece of his mind later. Right now, his priority is figuring out what is wrong with (Y/N).

“(Y/N)?” He carefully calls their name.

“Hey, Tech. Have you come to correct my posture? I could feel you watching,” (Y/N) remarks as her eyes flutter open. So much for meditating. You glance up at Tech, who towers over you.

“Not exactly…,” Tech trails off as he tries to find the right words.

“What do you mean?” (Y/N) asks as Tech sits down next to them.

“Well…for starters, your posture is off, but that is not the only thing that is off. When we came back from our latest mission, you looked like the world ended.” Tech fumbles his response as you get comfortable.

“Every mission reminds me of the fact that the galaxy we live in is changing. I just want to go back to when my life was simple…,” Like Tech, you trail off. You know, once you joined Hunter’s team, there was no going back. A reluctant smile flashes across Tech’s face. When they found (Y/N), they were on the run for simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Tech’s attention is soon drawn to the feeling of his shoulder getting wet. That is the one thing that he hated about his civilian clothing. Not that it mattered at the moment. Tech feels your body shift as you go to wipe the tears that are fighting their way up. Before either of you has the chance to do anything, you carefully grab their wrists.

“Change is overwhelming, so you might as well let it all out,” Tech says.

“For someone who is not good with emotions you sure know how to comfort someone in their time of need,” (Y/N) jokes between sobs. Humour has always been their way of dealing with their emotions. Another scowl crosses my face. They need to take their emotions seriously.

“I don’t think I am providing enough comfort…,” Tech responds as he lets go of your wrists.

“The fact that you even thought about talking to me is a step in the right direction. Also, your shoulder is surprisingly comfortable,” You confirm.

“So…are you ok?” Tech prompts despite already knowing the answer.

“I will be…eventually. I guess I need to get used to the changes,” You reply. What Tech does next catches everyone watching by surprise. Tech turns to face you. With a few carefully coordinated movements, he has his hands cupped around your face. Tech uses his thumbs to clear the tears from your face.

“You’re right. It may all be overwhelming right now, but we will get through it,” Tech reassures you. Once Tech is done He releases you from his grip. After making sure you’re ok, Tech gets up. You follow suit as you don’t want to feel alone again. Not that you were alone to begin with. As you and Tech board the Marauder, you can feel Hunter’s concerned gaze.

“I will tell you what I told Tech. I will be fine eventually. I just need some time,” You remark before turning your attention to Wrecker, who looks like he is bursting at the seams.

Deep breath. Evan Buckley was used to being nervous, but this time it is different. Since coming to terms with his bisexuality, he had the desire to take part in a Pride celebration. Despite his desire, he has been either busy with work or too nervous. Luckily for him, this time his co-worker and good friend, Hen Willson, decided that she was going to drag him to a pride celebration that she drags her wife to every year. Luckily for both Evan and Hen, their partners will be joining them this year.

“I don’t know why you are making a big deal of this Buck. You just show up and be proud of who you are,” Hen says as she makes some final adjustments to the bisexual pride flag that is draped over his back.

“But…this is…all new to me,” Evan sheepishly admits.

“It may be new to you but you should feel comfortable showing off this part of your identity,” Tommy speaks up. He is right. Evan should be allowed himself the rare opportunity to show off and in a way that is healthy. After some back and forth between the small group Evan takes a deep breath.

“Let’s go before I change my mind,” Evan announces. After what feels like an eternity they made it to the venu.

“Welcome Hen, Welcome Karen. Who are your guests?” The security guard asks.

“Evan Buckley and Tommy Kinard,” Hen responds. After some formalities the group finally head into the venu. The first thing that Evan notices is the various pride flags of which he needs to learn the names of. After making some important introductions both Evan and Tommy begin to loosen up.

Pain. It was something that Evan 'Buck' Buckley was used to, but losing the man who believed in him the most was the straw that broke the camel's back. Tommy could see the pain in his boyfriend's eyes, but he felt powerless. There was nothing that he could do or say to ease Evan's pain. After all, what could you say to a man who lost the man who became his father when he needed it the most?

"Evan?" Tommy knows he needs to say something.

"T-," Before Evan has the chance to say anything, the tears begin streaming down his face. Evan knows deep down that he should talk, but the thought of losing someone again stops him. Tommy tries to hug him, but he is stopped by the force of Evan physically pushing him away.