#ct7567329writes

The rain on Kamino hammered relentlessly against the durasteel of Tipoca City so hard that it seemed to vibrate the buildings themselves. As a Jedi that spent most of their time with the Coruscant Guard, you were used to gray, smog choked drizzle. Having something different was a good change of scenery.

Your official duties had been a laundry list of what you liked to call ‘administrative garbage’. You had spent the last two weeks conducting drills with the latest batch of Guard recruits, coordinating logistics with the Prime Minister, and sitting through meetings that were so boring, it made the council meetings feel fun. It was the kind of work that made your lightsaber feel like a decorative display.

But through it all, there had been a persistent, quiet itch in the back of your mind.

You had seen the transfer order months ago.

Transfer to ARC Program - Candidate 5597. 

When you first saw it, you felt a surge of pride. He had earned it. Jesse’s stubborn, brilliant, reckless streak of his was finally being recognized. But you also knew the reputation of the ARC Program. They were designed to break a man down to his molecular level and rebuild him into something formidable.

In the early days of the war, Jesse was a staple of the Coruscant Guard. His sharp wit and high energy often served as the only thing that kept the long, grueling shifts at the Senate building from becoming unbearable. While most of the Coruscant Guard was known for a certain rigid, humorless discipline, Jesse had a way of mixing his outgoing personality into the mix. He dedicated to being the best soldier he could be. By the end of his run with the Guard, he knew exactly how you liked your caf and which Senators were likely to cause you the most trouble. You grew accustomed to his presence - and you enjoyed that.

Then came the transfer. The Republic’s need for aggressive, front line leaders had spiked, and the 501st Legion was losing more men than ever in the outer rim. 501st leadership looked at Jesse’s training scores from Kamino and his uncanny ability to improvise under pressure. Ultimately, they decided he was wasted on city patrol. You remember the day he traded his crimson markings for the deep blue of the 501st being a quiet one. There was no grand ceremony, just a fresh new set of shiny armor and a lopsided grin. He told you that he would see you on his next shore leave. Except with how busy both you and him have been, that never happened. 

Now, seeing he received an ARC promotion, it was clear he was making a big impact in the 501st.

Unfortunately, taking care of your duties on another planet did not change how busy you were. You didn’t have time to send a comm and were too busy to even think about trying to pull rank to visit the training center. Besides, the training was demanding. He didn't need a Jedi distraction or the comfort of an old friend. He needed to be a soldier. 

Now, the rain of Kamino was finally behind you. The Tranquility was off to Coruscant with both you and Jesse on board. The Tranquility was a stark contrast to the quiet, almost funereal-like atmosphere of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. It was loud, chaotic, and always awake.

As you navigated the corridors toward the on-ship Jedi quarters, you felt it. The Force didn't just nudge you, it pulled you. You turned your heels and pivoted toward Hangar Bay 3.

The hangar was a hive of frantic activity. Gunships were being maintenance checked, and pit droids were screeching as they scurried between the legs of workers. But in a quieter spot, hidden behind a stack of storage containers was Jesse.

He was tucked into the shadow of a crate, sitting on an upturned power cell. He was stripped down to his blacks, his white and blue plates of armor scattered around him like the pieces of a giant, expensive puzzle. The signature ARC double pauldrons were already finished, the 501st blue looking sharp against the grey floor.

But it was the man himself who held your gaze.

Jesse looked different. The soft edges of the Coruscant Guard member you knew had been honed into something lethal. He was broader, more built, and there were fresh bags under his eyes that spoke of the hellish weeks on Kamino. He was hunched over his helmet, a fine tipped brush held in a hand that was visibly trembling. Not from fear, but from the kind of muscular collapse that comes after days of being pushed beyond the limits of human endurance.

You stayed back for a moment, shrouded in the deep shadow of a fighter’s wing. You watched the way he squinted, his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth in a display of concentration that was so "Jesse" it made your heart ache with a sudden, sharp nostalgia. He was trying to trace the intricate circular patterns of the Republic cog on the dome of his helmet, but his eyes were bloodshot and blinking slowly - far too slowly.

He was beyond exhausted. He was running on pure, stubborn Jesse adrenaline. You watched as he dipped the brush, his head nodding forward for a split second, chin nearly hitting his chest, before he jerked it back up with a start. He barely caught himself, a small droplet of blue pigment nearly splashing onto his bare knees.

He was a hero of the Republic, a newly minted ARC trooper, and a friend you had missed every single day since his transfer. And right now, he was currently losing a fight with a cup of paint and his own eyelids.

You didn't want to startle him (well, perhaps a little) but mostly, you just wanted to catch him before he ruined that helmet.

You lingered in the shadow of the ship’s wing for a few moments longer, simply centering yourself. After months of silence and missed connections, the sheer reality of him being a few meters away was exciting. But then his head dipped again, the brush tip dangerously close to the white curve of his helmet, and you knew you had to intervene before he accidentally gave himself a blue facial.

"I heard a rumor they were letting just anyone into the ARC program these days, but I didn't think it was this bad," you chuckled softly, your voice cutting through just enough to over power the mechanical dirge of the hangar.

The effect was instantaneous. Jesse’s head snapped up with such violence you swear you heard his neck pop. The brush flailed in a panicked arc, and he nearly took a tumble off the upturned power cell. He scrambled to find his footing, his steps pressing against the scattered armor as he instinctively tried to snap to attention.

"General! I didn't-"

"Easy, Jesse," you half laughed, stepping into the dim light. You waved him down before he could lock his knees, a small, knowing smile tugging at the corners of your mouth. "If you stand up that fast, you’re going to pass out, and I really don't want to explain to Rex why I found his new ARC in a heap behind a storage crate."

The moment he realized it was truly you, the rigid 'soldier' persona he’d been trying to project evaporated. His face lit up, a genuine, bone deep radiance that seemed to wash away the gray exhaustion for a fleeting second. He sank back onto the power cell, his shoulders dropping as he let out a long, shaky breath that sounded like a deflating balloon.

"You," he breathed, his voice a low, gravelly rasp, "I thought I was hallucinating. Like the paint fumes finally got to me."

"The paint fumes might still be a factor," you countered, walking closer until you were standing in the small circle of his makeshift workstation.

Up close, he looked even more ragged. His fingers were stained with streaks of blue pigment, the ink settled into the creases of his knuckles and under his nails. His typical high energy  was clearly fading, replaced by a heavy, leaden lethality that made his every movement look like it was happening underwater.

"How long has it been since you’ve slept, Jesse?" you asked, your tone softening from teasing to genuine concern.

He rubbed a hand over his face, inadvertently smearing a tiny dot of blue onto his forehead, right near the edge of his tattoo. "I don't know. Thirty six hours? Maybe forty? I had to finish the final qualification rotations, then the debriefs, then the gear pick up and then I realized we were docking in a few hours." He looked down at the helmet in his lap, his gaze hazy,"I can't walk off this ship onto Coruscant in blank armor. I’m an ARC now. I have to look the part. Right?"

"You’re going to look like a mess if you keep this up," you said. You reached down, your fingers brushing his as you gently but firmly took his helmet from his lap. He didn't fight you. "You’re done for now."

"I’m not," he protested weakly, though he didn't move to take his helmet back. "I just need to finish the cogs. If I can just get the symmetry right-."

"You’re coming with me," you interrupted, leaving no room for debate. It was the tone you used when a Senator was being particularly difficult. The perfect blend of Jedi authority and stubbornness you’ve come to learn from Fox.

Jesse blinked up at you,"To the Jedi quarters? I don't think I’m allowed-"

"Not the quarters. And you aren't arguing," you interrupted again, already using a flick of your fingers to levitate his gear and drop it into an empty crate. "If you smudge that helmet or spill that paint pot, I’m telling Commander Fox you’ve forgotten every bit of Coruscant Guard discipline we drilled into you. I’ll tell him you’ve gone completely '501st reckless' and need to be sent back to basic."

That got a genuine, tired chuckle out of him. The threat of Fox’s temper was enough to move him, "You wouldn't. That’s low, even for a Jedi."

"Try me," you winked. "Now, grab the paint and crate and follow me."

He stood up slowly, his joints popping in a way that made your own knees ache in sympathy. You led the way out of the hangar, steering him through the maintenance corridors of the Tranquility. You knew the layout of this ship better than most. Throughout the war, you spent hours studying the schematics to find the pockets of dead space where the crew rarely ventured.

You stopped at a nondescript blast door near the aft of the ship, tucked behind a series of coolant pipes. With a quick bypass code, the door hissed open to reveal a hidden paradise.

It was a small, circular room that had once been used for navigation before the ship’s systems were integrated into the bridge. Now, it was a forgotten sanctuary. A massive, curved viewport offered a panoramic look at the swirling, hypnotic blue of hyperspace, casting the room in a cool blue glow.

The floor was covered in haphazard piles of extra junk that had been shoved in the room, along with a few cushions and heavy blankets you salvaged from the laundry deck. It was quiet. Profoundly, beautifully quiet.

Jesse stepped inside, the crate pressed against chest. He stood there for a moment, simply breathing in the stillness. The chaos of the hangar and the pressure of his new role seemed to fall away the moment the door hissed shut behind him.

"Whoa," he whispered, his voice barely audible, "I didn’t know there was a place like this on the venators."

"It’s the only place on the ship where nobody wants anything from me," you huffed, gesturing toward the pile of cushions, "And right now, it’s the only place where somebody will force you to shut your eyes. Sit. That’s not a request."

He didn't need to be told twice. He collapsed onto the cushions, his heavy frame sinking into the soft fabric with a groan of pure relief. Even as he settled, his hand drifted back toward the helmet resting on the crate beside him, his fingers twitching toward the paint. "I really should just finish-"

"Jesse, stop," you laughed, reaching over to catch his wrist. His skin was warm, his pulse thrumming with frantic, fading energy. "You have two choices. You can stay here and actually get some rest, or, if you really have that much energy to burn, you can put the rest of the kit on and give me a little fashion show. You seem so excited about your new gear. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to seeing the final result."

Jesse froze. In the cool blue light of hyperspace, you could see the tips of his ears turn a deep, sudden red. He looked down at his armor, then back at your face, completely derailed by the suggestion. 

"A fashion show?" he repeated slowly.

"You seem so insistent on showing off your new status," you teased, sitting down and leaning back against your own pile of cushions. "Why wait for the hangar at Coruscant? Now hand me that paint brush and gear up.”

Defeated by a mix of exhaustion and sheer embarrassment, he finally let out a huffed laugh and slid the brush across the floor towards you, "It’s terrifying how convincing you are. Has anyone told you that?"

"Daily," you winked.

Jesse lingered on the edge of the cushions, looking at the pile of blue and white plates with a sudden, renewed spark of energy. Your ‘fashion show’ comment had clearly gotten to his pride. He looked at you, then at the gear, then back to you.

"You really want to see it?" he asked, his voice losing some of its abrasiveness.

"Let's see the upgrade!"

He moved with a surprising grace for someone so exhausted, his muscle memory taking over as he snapped the gear into place. His silhouette changed as he pulled on the heavy double pauldrons. He adjusted the kama, the heavy fabric falling along his sides as he straightened his posture.

He stood in the center of the small room, the blue glow of hyperspace catching the stark white of his new kit. He tried to maintain a formal military composure but his eyes were dancing, and the corners of his mouth were twitching. He looked like a cadet who had just been handed his first real blaster.

"Well?" he asked, brushing his hands across the pocket for his DC-17’s, "Does it meet Jedi standards?"

You leaned back, letting your gaze travel slowly from his boots to the new pauldrons. You didn't hide the smile. "Honestly? It looks incredible. Like it was always meant to be yours."

Jesse blinked, his formal posture faltering for a second. He shifted his weight, looking down at his own chest plate as if seeing it for the first time. "You- you actually mean that? You’re not just saying it?"

"I mean I’d rather the blue be red but,” you paused, “no, blue looks nice on you.”

A flush crept up his neck. He let out a breathless, self deprecating laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Careful, General," he teased, though there was a flicker of deep vulnerability in his eyes, "If you don’t take it easy with the compliments, I might actually start to dream of you having a crush on me or something."

The air in the room seemed to thin for a breath. You didn't look away, letting the silence stretch just long enough to be meaningful before you reached for a small, sealed container hidden behind a box of old navigation charts.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, trooper. I’m just trying to keep your ego inflated enough to keep you awake," you countered, popping the lid of the container.

The smell hit the air immediately. It was sweet, yeasty, and spiked with cinnamon. "Since I was stuck on Kamino doing boring Jedi stuff, I had a lot of time to trade favors with the supply ships. I managed to get my hands on some real Corellian sweet bread and spiced crackers. Want some?"

You held the container out to him.

Jesse’s eyes widened. Still in his gear, he dropped back onto the cushions. All pretense of military decorum was gone, "Real food? Not paste or ration sticks?"

"Real food," you confirmed, handing him a piece.

He took a bite, his eyes fluttering shut as he let out a low groan of appreciation. "I think I owe you multiple rounds for this," he mumbled around a mouthful of spice and sugar.

You laughed, settling into the cushions directly across from him. The space between you was small, your knees nearly brushing. Once he’d finished the first cracker, you held out your hand and cocked your head. He understood immediately. He picked up his helmet and handed it to you so carefully, it made it seem like a sacred relic.

You  dipped the fine tipped brush into the blue paint, your hand steady as you began to paint the first arc of the Republic cog.

"Remember that senate meeting on fuel taxes?" you asked, your eyes laser focused on painting the perfect curve, "The one in the lower Senate chambers where the heating system broke?"

Jesse let out a snort, leaning his head back against the wall so he could watch you work, "Three hours of a senator arguing over liquid hydrogen tariffs? That one? I think I counted every single durasteel panel in that room. You were sitting there looking all formal, but I could see your eyelid twitching every time he hit the table."

"I was three minutes away from using a mind trick to make him suggest a recess," you admitted, carefully filling in a line with paint, "You kept shifting your weight so your armor would clank just enough to distract him. I never thanked you for that."

"Better late than never" he shrugged, “just wanted to help a friend out.”

The conversation drifted, the old ease of your partnership returning as if the year plus of separation were nothing more than a bad dream. But as you worked on the second half of the cog, the tone shifted. You looked up from the paint, meeting his gaze.

"I’m so proud of you, Jesse."

He started to make a joke, but the look on your face stopped him.

"I mean it," you continued, "I know people thought I might be bitter when you got the 501st transfer. But seeing you now, I’m just glad you made it. I’m glad others get to see what I saw back then."

You reached out, not with your hand, but with the Force. You let your presence brush against his, "Your light in the Force, it feels even stronger now. Harder, maybe. More defined. But it’s brighter than it ever was in the Guard."

Jesse went quiet, his eyes searching yours in the blue hyperspace glow. He didn't have a witty comeback for that. Instead, he let out a breath and looked down at the floor. "You know about a month after the transfer went through, I almost put in a request to come back."

You froze, the paint brush hovering just millimeters from the helmet, "What? Jesse, why? You were their top candidate."

"It wasn't about that," he admitted, "It was too quiet. I mean, the 501st is the loudest kriffing legion in the Grand Army, but it was quiet here," He tapped his chest, right over his heart, "I’d be on a long range recon or sitting in a trench on some mud ball in the Mid Rim, and I’d go to make a joke about a Senator, or I’d look to my left to see if you’d caught the same ridiculous thing I just saw and you weren't there."

He looked back up, his expression earnest, "Don't get me wrong. I’d die for General Skywalker. He’s a hell of a leader, and my brothers? Fives, Echo, Rex, they’re the best men I’ve ever known. I’d follow them into the void itself. But General Skywalker can’t replace you. Nobody can."

The confession hung in the air. It was the kind of honesty that usually only came out in the middle of a firefight or after too many rounds at a cantina. Hearing it here, in your secret sanctuary, made your heart do a slow, painful roll in your chest. 

You cleared your throat, feeling the sudden need to break the tension before you did something reckless.

"Well," you hummed, your voice a bit breathier than you intended, "if I’d known you were that miserable, I might have actually put in the request myself. But since we’re both here now, I think we need something a bit stronger than spiced crackers."

You reached back into your hidden stash and pulled out a small, unmarked flask. Jesse’s eyebrows shot up, a familiar glint of mischief returning to his eyes.

"Is that-?"

"A very high quality spiced rum that a freighter captain 'donated' to the Guard's evidence locker," you winked, unscrewing the cap and pouring some into a spare glass, "Consider it a reward for surviving training."

Jesse took the glass, his fingers brushing yours in a lingering contact that sent a jolt up your arm. He took a sip and let out a long, appreciative sigh, "That’s the real deal, huh. It almost feels like the old days. Remember when the war was new? We’d finish a fourteen hour shift and the whole squad would pile into 79’s?"

You rolled your eyes, "I remember you trying to teach me how to play Sabacc. You lost fifty credits to a maintenance droid."

"That droid was cheating," he defended, though he was smiling now. He took another sip, his gaze turning reflective, "Do you still go? To 79’s? With the rest of the Guard?"

You looked into the bottle of rum, "I do. Occasionally. Fox usually drags me along to make sure the shinies don't start a riot." you paused, swirling your drink, "But it’s not as fun without you. The music is too loud, the drinks are too watery, and there’s nobody there to tell me which Senators are secretly dating each other."

Another silence followed, but this one was different. You looked at him again, your gaze lingering on the way the double pauldrons sat on his shoulders.

"I mean it, though," you whispered, "The armor. You look powerful. It really does suit you."

Jesse downed the rest of his drink in one go, his eyes never leaving yours. He carefully took the bottle from your hand and poured himself another glass before setting it down with a purposeful clink on the metal floor.

"You really think so?" he asked. His voice had changed. It was deeper, more confident. He shifted, propping himself up on his knees and shuffling forward.

The cushions crinkled under his weight as he invaded your space, stopping only when your knees touched. He was so close you could smell the spice of the crackers and the sharp tang of the rum on his breath.

"I know how to make it look better," he smirked.

"How?" you asked, your heart hammering against your ribs at his close proximity.

He didn't answer with words. Instead, his hands moved to his shoulders, his fingers working the heavy magnetic clips of his new double pauldron. With a soft clack, it came free. He leaned in even closer and slowly lowered the gear over your head.

It was surprisingly heavy, the cold plastoid resting against your robes, the blue markings of the 501st now draped over your own shoulders. The pauldrons were far too wide for you, making you feel small and protected all at once.

Jesse didn't pull back. He rested back on his calves, just inches away, and let out a soft, breathy smile as he looked at you wearing his colors.

"See?" he grinned, his gaze tracing the way his armor looked on you, "Much better. I think I might have to let you keep it."

You let out a giggle, your hands coming up to steady the heavy plates. "Nah. I’d be executed for treason for wearing blue."

He tilted his head to the side, his expression softening into something so tender it made your breath hitch. He reached out, his hand hovering near your cheek for a second before he pulled back, a ghost of a sigh escaping him.

"I missed you," he exhaled, resting the palm that almost grazed your cheek on his calf. He shook his head as if he couldn't quite believe he was finally saying it. 

"Well," you said, offering a small, lopsided smile as you adjusted the heavy pauldron on your shoulders, "I’m right here."

You expected a quick retort or a flirtatious wink, but Jesse didn't take the bait. He just let out a long, heavy sigh that seemed to rattle in his chest.

"That's exactly it. That. Right there. The way you can just make a joke out of the vacuum of space. I miss the lightheartedness. I miss the way the war used to be."

He continued.

"When I was in the Guard, I was an idiot," he admitted with a bitter little huff of a laugh, "I woke up every day thinking I knew exactly how the next rotation was going to go. I took the shifts, the bad caf, and the boring Senate meetings for granted because I assumed there’d always be another one. It was carefree. I didn't realize how much that mattered until I was standing in a trench on a planet I couldn't spell, wondering if the next grenade was meant for me."

He leaned forward just a small bit, his fingers gripping into his thighs.

"Now? I’m an ARC Trooper. I’m the one they’re going to send in when the odds are suicide. I’m the one who has to lead the charge into the meat grinder. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed for any of us, I know that, but for me? For the 501st?" He shook his head, "Heck, the next few moments of my life aren't guaranteed."

You didn't offer a platitude or Jedi wisdom about the flowing nature of life and death. He didn’t need a General right now, and he certainly didn't need a lecture. You decided to pull him back to the surface.

You leaned in, the movement causing the heavy blue double pauldron to scrape against your Jedi robes with a soft pull on the fabric. The weight of his rank, quite literally, sat heavy on your shoulders, but your gaze was light, flickering with a sudden, sharp spark of mischief. You invaded the last few inches of his personal space until you could see flecks of gold in his eyes, mirrored by the blue hyperspace glow.

"And what exactly are you going to do about that, ARC-5597?" you asked teasingly. By using his designation, you weren't pulling rank. You were throwing down a gauntlet. You were daring the man behind the number to take what he wanted from the moments he claimed were so precious.

Jesse’s vision sharpened instantly. The hazy, exhaustion that had been weighing down his eyelids vanished, replaced by a sudden, predatory focus. He didn't blink. He didn't pull back. Instead, he let his hand slide slowly toward you until his paint-stained knuckles brushed against robe.

"You're playing a very dangerous game," he warned,  "If you keep this up, being caught wearing 501st blue is going to be the absolute least of your concerns."

"Is that right?" You didn't flinch. You didn't move an inch. Instead, you tilted your head, the corner of your mouth twitching into a challenge, "What could possibly be more treacherous than the Jedi General of the Coruscant Guard wearing 501st blue.?"

You were pushing him. You were leaning into the fire, practically begging to be burned. And you wanted him to cross the line. The line you’d both been tiptoeing around back in the Senate halls, over cold caf and shared glances in the city lights.

When Jesse moved, he moved with frantic, explosive release. He lunged forward, his knees digging into the cushions, and his hands coming up to cup your face with a desperation that was almost violent.

The kiss wasn't a question. It was an answer to every unspoken fear he’d just confessed.

When his lips met yours, it was hard and hungry, tasting of the rum and the salt of his own sweat. He kissed you with the kind of crushing intensity that comes from a man who truly believes he might not have a tomorrow. His fingers tangled deep into your hair, his palms rough against your skin, pulling you flush against him until the heavy, cold plastoid of his double pauldron was crushed between your chests.

You gasped into his mouth, the sound swallowed by him. He moved his hands from your face to your waist, his grip bruisingly tight as he hauled you closer, as if he were trying to pull you inside his own skin. He was shaking, not from the exhaustion he’d been fighting for days, but from the sheer, terrifying relief of finally touching you. His kiss deepened, his tongue tracing the seam of your lips with a heat that made the room feel like it was catching fire.

Jesse groaned a low sound that vibrated deep in his throat and echoed against your own teeth. It was the sound of surrender. In this tiny pocket of space, he wasn't ARC-5597. He was just Jesse, and he was drowning in you. He broke the kiss for a fraction of a second, his forehead dropping against yours, both of you panting, your breaths mingling in the cramped, blue lit space..

"I-” he took a deep breath, his words raspy, “I needed to know if you felt that. I needed one thing that was real before they sent me back out there."

Before you could even draw a full breath to answer, he was back, his mouth finding yours again with a renewed, feverish energy. This time, it was slower and deeper, like a long, soul-searing slide of heat that felt like he was trying to stitch his soul to yours. 

However, the feverish energy of the kiss finally began to give way to the sheer, physical reality of the last forty hours.

Jesse didn't pull away so much as he simply tipped forward. He broke the kiss with a soft, lingering ghost of a sigh, his forehead sliding from yours to rest heavily against your shoulder.. His weight was a sudden, dead load against you, his head thumping softly against the very pauldron he’d draped over you minutes ago. The clatter of plastoid on plastoid was the only sound in the room besides each of your ragged, slowing breaths.

A soft, breathless laugh escaped you. The all so mighty ARC trooper had finally reached his limit.

"Jesse?" you whispered, your hand coming up to cradle the back of his head.

He didn't answer with words, just a faint, unintelligible mumble against your neck. You gently shifted, guiding his body down until he was stretched out across the cushions, his head resting securely in your lap. The movement was slow and tender, a stark contrast to the desperation of moments before.

His eyes fluttered open just a crack. He looked up at you, his features softened by a vulnerability that no one else in the galaxy was allowed to see.

"Hey," he offered, a tiny, lopsided smudge of a smile touching his lips. 

"Hey yourself," you nipped back, picking a piece of your hair off his forehead, "Go to bed, ARC Trooper. That’s a direct order."

"Yes, General," he breathed out, the words trailing off into a heavy exhale.

He didn't let go entirely. As his eyes drifted shut, his hand reached out, fumbling blindly until his fingers found yours. He laced them together, his grip firm even in sleep, anchoring himself to you. He nuzzled closer into the soft fabric of your robes, his breathing evening out into a deep, rhythmic cadence that vibrated against your legs.

The silence of the sanctuary returned. It was peaceful.

Using your free hand, you reached for the brush that was now on the floor. The blue paint was starting to dry, but you didn't reach for that color anyway. Instead, you reached into the small kit for the color that defined your time together.

You picked up his helmet with your spare hand and placed it down carefully at your side. You didn't touch the Republic cog or the symmetry he’d been obsessing over. Instead, you turned the helmet over, and on the smooth, hidden interior of the neck guard, right where it would rest against his skin, you painted a small, perfect heart in Coruscant Guard Red.

It was a tiny, secret mark. A splash of his old life tucked inside his new one. You set the brush down and looked back at the man sleeping in your lap, his hand still tight around yours. The 501st could have his skills, and the Republic could have his service, but as the Tranquility hurtled through the void toward the capital, you made sure he’d always know exactly where his heart belonged.

"Fives, I swear if you burned something again, you’re losing kitchen privileges,” you groaned, opening a window to air out lingering smoke.

"It's not burned, it's caramelized," Fives explained, holding the pan up like evidence in his own defense.

Kix squinted at the pan from across the room, “You sure you don’t mean carbonized?”

You finished opening the last window and leaned against the counter with your arms crossed, watching Fives try to salvage the pot of who knows what. "Give it," you sighed, holding out a hand toward the pan. Fives passed it over without argument. You skimmed the burnt layer off the top, gave the food a stir, and handed it back like nothing happened.

Over in the living room, Jesse was sitting on the couch, unusually quiet. When you looked up, you realized he was watching you with the same unreadable expression he'd been giving you more and more lately. He broke eye contact the instant he was caught. You wanted to ask him about it, but with Fives in the kitchen, you figured now wouldn’t be the best time. 

"Ready to eat?" Hardcase asked you, already sliding a plate your way before you even reached the counter.

You glanced down at the plate, "Did Fives make all of it?"

"Hey!" Fives snapped, tossing a dirty dish towel onto the counter. “It’s better than the rations we used to get.” 

"Anything is better than the rations we used to get," Tup muttered, squeezing himself into a spot at the table. 

You joined him at the too small table with too many chairs pulled up around it. The house belonged to nobody and everybody. When the war ended, the Senate was able to set up decommission pensions for all the clones. It wasn’t much, but pooled together, it was enough for a group of 501st boys to get this house. To no surprise, the Jedi Order didn’t give you anything when you left. But, the boys weren’t going to leave their general behind. You were technically ‘just staying’, but before long, the room you were staying in pretty much became yours permanently. In a way, you felt bad, but the boys insisted it was the least they could do after all you’ve done for them during the war. 

By the time dinner was eaten and the dishes were done, the boys were ready to make their ways to their separate rooms to wind down for the night. You, however, weren’t tired at all.  You slipped out the back door instead, and sat down on the patio sofa, listening to the wildlife wake up for the night. You began to lose track of time sitting out there, when the sudden sound of the door hissing open broke through the silence. 

"Are you asleep?"

You didn't have to turn around to identify who it was. After years at their sides during the war, you were able to pick up the slightest differences in their voices. “Yeah, I am. Out cold actually."

That earned you a laugh from Jesse, "I didn't know Jedi could sleeptalk."

"Former Jedi,” you corrected him. “But, I’m sure we all sleeptalk, even you."

Jesse shook his head as he lowered himself down on the patio sofa beside you. His shoulder brushed yours as he settled. To any onlookers, it would have seemed like a romantic gesture, but after spending so much time in cramped quarters with the very boys you now live with, the gesture became completely meaningless. His one leg was bouncing slightly before he caught himself and attempted to stop it with no luck. It was almost like his body didn't understand that there was nothing left to be restless about.

"You always do this," Jesse noted, picking stray leaves off the sofa. 

"Do what? Sit outside at night? I think this is the most normal thing I’ve done in a long time,” you rolled your eyes and reached out for one the leaves Jesse took off the couch, then threw it at him.

He laughed, flicking the leaf away, "No. I mean coming out here instead of sleeping."

You considered making a joke, but you went with the honest response instead, "I just enjoy the sounds of the wildlife at night. It’s not something you’d ever get on Coruscant or in an active warzone." You glanced over at him, "But hey, you're one to talk. I don't think I've seen you sleep past 0600 since we got here."

"Old habits," he brushed it off, then changed the topic completely, "You remember that mission on Felucia? The one with that deep cliff side?"

You shrugged, trying to pinpoint which of the many missions he was referring to, "Maybe? I just remember it being disgustingly humid for a place so pretty."

"The one where Tup lost his footing and began to tumble down that cliff,” he clarified, shaking his head in disbelief, “You jumped right off that cliff to get him. It looked like you didn’t even hesitate for a second. You just went. I remember thinking, that's the most reckless thing I've ever seen a Jedi do, and I really hope she does that again sometime."

You laughed, "That’s awful! Why would you want me to jump off a cliff?"

"Oh no, I agree. I was just shocked you were willing to do something like that for one of us. I was kind of badass.” Jesse now had his whole body angled toward you without seeming to notice he did it. "Then on Anaxes, when Rex nearly thought he was losing his mind over thinking Echo was still alive. It seemed like Rex was pleading his case to every General and getting speculation in response. But you just have him that look and-"

"What look?"

"You know the look." He gestured at your face, then threw his head back, smiling. "The one that let us all know that you believed in us."

You playfully scoffed, "That's leadership, Jesse."

"Sure, we can call it leadership. But it meant a hell of a lot more than leadership to us." Jesse emphasized the last part, giving you a lazy mock salute. 

You bumped his shoulder with yours. Instead of staying put, he let the motion carry him a little closer to you. "You know Jesse, you seem to remember a lot for someone who just a few months ago claimed he wasn't paying attention half the time during the war."

"Yeah," he admitted, dropping his gaze to his hands in his lap. "Thinking back, I remember a lot of it. More than I probably should. Maybe if I paid closer attention to, I don’t know, formations, different strategies, aiming technique, anything that wasn't you, then maybe I could have gotten the ARC promotion sooner."

You went still. "Wait, you what?"

"I've been trying to figure out how to say this for a long time," he sighed, lacing his hands together tight enough that his knuckles began to go pale. "It all started as just noticing the kind things you did. And then somewhere it stopped being just noticing and started being more than that. There was never a good time to say it, because you were a Jedi, and I was just a clone. No matter how many sleepless nights I spent running each scenario over in my head, each one ended horribly.” 

He glanced at you quickly, checking your face before he kept going, "But then when the war ended you actually left the Order. I can’t even begin to imagine that decision process. I know you did that for your own reasons, but now it means that I can say what I want to say without it being against some code, or something that I have to hide.”

"Jesse. What are you-” 

"I like you," he cut you off, finally getting his feelings off of his chest. "I have for a long time and I didn't want to keep sitting on it because somehow, that feeling keeps growing each day."

At your lack of reaction, he immediately started to freak out. "You don't have to say anything," he stammered, the words coming out fast. "Seriously, you don't owe me anything. I just-"

"Stop," you hushed him, reaching out to take hold of his hands. "You didn’t panic once throughout the war, and this is what finally does it?"

Jesse blinked, a disbelieving chuckle coming over him as he finally let the tension in his shoulders drop. "Right. Yeah, okay." He straightened up, gathering himself. "Would you, or, well, I would like to take you somewhere. Not a come help me with something or a can you come with me to get food from the market, but something planned."

You raised an eyebrow, "So a date?"

Jesse froze for a second. He swallowed hard, his confidence wavering again before he forced himself to hold your gaze and give you a single nod. "Yeah, a date." he confirmed, the word coming out a little breathier than he intended. 

"Alright," you hummed, squeezing his hands gently. "What do you have in mind?"

The smile dropped off his face. His eyes darted around the porch like he was frantically scanning for a threat that wasn’t there. His mouth opened and closed as he realized that he didn’t plan for anything past this point. 

"For the date," you clarified, trying to draw him back in.

"Right. The date. Yes." He nodded several times, pulling his hand from yours and rubbing the back of his neck. "I have a plan. There's definitely a plan."

"So what is it?" You asked, leaning forward just enough to force him to look at you. 

"There is no plan," he admitted, letting his hands fall into his lap, defeated. "I didn’t think I'd get this far. I had, like, three different versions of this conversation ready and every single one of them ended with you turning me down and both of us agreeing to never speak of it again."

You laughed, shaking your head, "Apparently ARC troopers can make thousands of split second decisions, but not when it comes to dates?"

"Hey, war I can handle. I did not expect to get this far with this." He ran a hand over his face again, "We could do dinner! Or what if I taught you some hand to hand combat that I learned in ARC training?"

“Hand to hand combat?” you repeated, biting the inside of your cheek to hold back a laugh. "Remember that time when Fives wanted to go hand to hand with me and I kicked his ass?"

Jesse rolled his eyes, “I’m stronger than Fives.”

"Strength isn't really the deciding factor when you’re fighting a Jedi," you pointed out, crossing your arms across your chest.

"Former Jedi," he corrected sarcastically, earning himself a soft slap on the shoulder with the back of your hand. “Okay, Kix mentioned there's a decent overlook not too far from here. He said it’s a good spot for watching the moon rise."

You took a deep breath, "So the boys already knew about this."

"Apparently, the boys have known about this longer than I have," He down at his hands in his lap, then back up at you, "Is the moon thing bad? Please tell me if the moon thing is bad."

You reached over and took his hands again, “Pick a day and I’ll be there.”

He let out a breath that he felt like he was holding since the war ended, and laced his fingers in yours like it was the easiest thing he'd done all night. "Wait. Seriously?" he asked, a smile finally fighting through the nerves, "You're actually saying yes?"

"Just pick the day," you replied, leaning into his shoulder.

Jesse didn't hesitate. "Tomorrow."

You gave his hand another squeeze, "Tomorrow it is.”

Hesitantly, Jesse slipped one of his hands from yours. He hovered his arm on the back of the sofa as if silently checking to make sure it was alright, before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. You let yourself lean into him, settling deeper against his shoulder. You felt a quiet sigh leave his chest as he relaxed, pulling you closer. Down between you, your other hand stayed securely intertwined with his. Jesse kept glancing down at your joined hands like he needed to keep making sure it was real.

"You keep looking at my hand," you noted, raising your joined hands a few inches. 

“I've thought about this,” he admitted, “Embarrassingly often honestly. There'd be moments during the war when I just needed my mind to be elsewhere.” Jesse’s thumb began tracing the back of your hand. "I remember back on Saleucami, after Rex was hit. You held his hand while Kix patched him up, and as messed up as it was I was jealous. Every time a brother was hurt and you took their hand to comfort them, I just wished it was mine you were holding."

"That is messed up Jesse," you half scolded, half laughed at him, "You don’t have to get shot just to hold my hand. Ask Fives.”

Jesse gasped. "Fives?"

"It was his very first mission with the 501st," you explained, closing your eyes to picture the memory. "The gunship was rattling and right before those doors opened, he looked terrified. So I reached over and squeezed his hand for a few seconds. It seemed to do the trick, he calmed right down."

Jesse let out a dramatic groan, tilting his head back against the back of the sofa. "Oh, come on!"

You shrugged, "For what it’s worth it meant nothing."

"He probably worshipped that hand for a week." Jesse mumbled as he tightened his grip around yours like he was making up for lost time. 

"Are you disappointed?" you asked, looking back at him.

"No, it was worth the wait." He leaned his head to the side, resting the side of his head on yours. "I think I could sit here all night. Just like this. I don't think it gets much better than this."

You took a deep breath, nuzzling your cheek into his shoulder. "If you think holding hands on a cold porch is good, just wait until I kiss you."

Jesse pulled away from you, his head snapping up so fast he almost headbutted you with his chin. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly open as he stared at you in disbelief.

You just leaned back into the sofa with a small shrug, looking up at the night sky. "Well, let's see how tomorrow goes first.”

Before you could spiral too deep into those thoughts, you shook your head, attempting to clear your mind. Order 66 had ruined all of those plans for everyone, and two years later, you still couldn't fully process that.

As you continued down the street, you constantly glanced around for imperial stormtroopers. It felt as if as more time passed from the Jedi purge, your touch with the force faded. You could no longer simply "sense" people's presence without thinking too hard about it.

Roughly one hundred yards away from you was a small group of stormtroopers. Out of instinct,  you threw your hood over your head and tried to blend in as much as possible. As you got closer to the troopers, you ran your fingers along a soot covered bench and smeared it down your cheek, trying to disguise your facial features. On the rare chance any of those stormtroopers were clones, you could easily be recognized. The empire knew you were alive, and you didn't even want to think of the bounty over your head.

You wondered if any of troopers were clones. With there being only a few meters away from the soldiers, you glanced at them as any Corellian would. You felt one of the troopers eyes meet yours though his helmet momentarily. He watched you as you picked up your pace though the crowd, the slow turning motion of this head indicating this. After a minute or so of your quicken pace, you felt as if you were a good enough distance away from the solider that made eye contact with you. You paused and slid into an alley located only a few blocks from the run down apartment complex you call home. You sat on an empty crate and sighed, pulling your hood down. The last time you felt that stare was two tears ago.

Just like the last locked gaze you shared with Fives.

That last glance.

He was shooting at you. Through his helmet, you could sense his tears. Fives didn't want to hurt you, and you knew that. But, he had no other choice. You remember clenching your jaw, holding back tears. There was no escaping with him. You leapt from the building you were in and ran. You ran as far as you could. Far from Fives. Far from your life. Far from everything. Everything you knew was gone.

All you could ever wish for is that forever lasting nightmare to stop replaying in your head every time you saw a stormtrooper. But, that was a hopeless wish.

You ran your soot covered fingers through your hair and sighed. Just as you were about to stand up, the stormtrooper you locked eyes with was standing at the alley entrance, his blaster held lazily as his side. Figuring it was just a routine check, you began to reach for the identification card in your pocket. It was forged of course, but it always seemed to check out with the troopers. The trooper still hasn't spoken when you extended your arm, showing him your identification. His helmet tilted downwards as he read the name.

He chuckled, "Arilani Forrest? Creative!"

"No one has ever called me creative before," you mumbled, "but I best be on my way. I have a shift at the mining yard soon."

"Oh really?" his voice perked up, "would have never imagined you doing that." He began to walk towards you, forcing you to walk deeper into the alley.

You shrugged, "It was the best work I could get. Anything to better the empire." You HATED saying those words, "I'm honored to work for such a great-"

The trooper took off his hemet, making you stop mid-sentence. No wonder that glance felt familiar. It really was Fives.

Anger and passion fought within you as you stared blankly at him. Then fear hit. Quickly, you took a few steps back.

"Get away from me," you spit out.

Fives' smile turned to a frown, "Cyare, let me explain."

"You tried to kill me! You probably still are! And you just expect me to listen to you? To let my guard down and listen to the man who captured my heart and tear it to shreds?!"

"Don't act like that day was any harder for you as it was for me," he begged, stepping towards you, putting his blaster on the ground. "Remember Tup? I took that stupid chip out after that. That's why I cut my hair. I had to keep that a secret. For my safety, for your safety, for our safety!"

"Why should I trust you?" you murmured, trying to hold back tears.

Fives gave you a sympathetic smile, "Because you always used to tell me that I was the best shot in the 501st. You told me that there wasn't a single target I couldn't miss. If you really meant that, then why did I miss every shot I made at you. I wasn't even close. I was never shooting at you. If I didn't follow the order, I would have been killed right then and there. I knew you were capable of surviving. That's why I followed everyone else, knowing you would escape, hoping one day I could find you!" his smile grew, "it took two, long, excruciating years but you're here!"

You were quivering. As he stared at you, awaiting your response, you closed your eyes and exhaled, channeling the force. You came within arms length of him and placed your hands on the side of his head. Your heart skipped a beat at the touch. As you let the force speak to you, you soon came to realize he wasn't lying. There was no chip in his head. You let your arms fall to his neck as you pulled him close to you, your slow tears making his under armor around his neck wet.

His strong arms wrapped around your waist and pressed your body against his. The crappy armor felt uncomfortable on your cheek but you didn't mind. Fives twirled your hair around one of his fingers, the other hand stroking your back. The only reason why he "stayed loyal to the empire" was for this moment, no matter how long he had to wait for it.

Fives released your hair from his fingers and placed his hand on your chin, angling your face towards his. He took his glove off, exposing a clean hand, which he used to rub the soot off you cheek.

"Still as beautiful as ever," he murmured, studying your face as if he would never see it again.

"Fives, I-"

You were interrupted by his com link. He quickly threw his helmet and answered, explaining that he was simply doing identification checks, and he would report back soon. As soon as he ended the conversation, he took his helmet off and chucked in a nearby dumpster.

"I don't want to be a stormtrooper anymore," he sighed, his hands placed on your upper arms. "Please, get me out of here. They don't need me anymore."

You let out a small laugh, "While it will be a loss to the empire, let's get you, or, us, out of this nightmare."

The dark clouds over the Corellian sky finally began to give way, polluted rain hitting every surface. Rain on Corellia was vile, but in that moment, eyes locked with Fives, it didn't matter. He took off the rest of his armor and put it in the same dumpster as his helmet.

Digging through the trash, you found a battered cloak and threw it over him. "This will help you not stand out. I think the imperial logo on your shirt will give a little too much away. But let's get going. The rain is clearing out the streets."

He nodded in agreement and followed you to your apartment building. As you entered the elevator with him, you noticed he had a look of disgust.

"What?" you asked, raising an eyebrow.

Fives shook his head, "would have never expected someone like you to live somewhere so disgusting."

"Exactly. That's why I'm here. You don't get options when the empire is out to kill you," you explained as you unlocked the front door.

The apartment was smaller than Fives expected. He thought the 501st barracks were nicer than your apartment, which was clearly saying something.  He glanced to his right and watched you take off your robes, revealing an outfit similar to the one you wore during the Clone Wars. As much as he loved it, he hated it. He hated knowing that every other man in the GAR would stare at the way it hugged your body, making you look far better than any model on the holonet. But, he loved knowing that you were all his.

"Yes?" you laughed, catching Fives staring at you in awe.

Fives swallowed hard, nodding, "Just looking at the most beautiful thing in the galaxy."  He slowly walked towards you and pressed his lips against the side of your ear, "we have two years of catching up to do."

Smirking, you hopped up to sit on your kitchen counter, "723 standard rotations to be exact," you winked, playfully grabbing his hands.

His forehead met yours as he whispered, "I think I forgot how it feels to kiss you and cyar'ika, I've thought about it every day."

SMUT INCOMING

"Then what are you waiting for," you lustfully groaned into his ear.

That was all he needed to hear. Before you had the chance to take another breath, his lips were on yours, filling your body with a euphoria you haven't felt since the order. It felt as if no time passed at all, he still had every square inch of your mouth memorized. Fives put his hands on your ass, pushing your hips into his, you both instantly feeling the heat coming from the other.

"We need to get you off this counter," he groaned, nibbling on your lower lip. You moaned something inaudible in response as he picked you up and shoved your body onto the nearby couch. Straddling over you, he took a moment to stare at the sight. He longed for the day he could see you under him again.

As Fives grinded his hips against yours, you couldn't help but notice the growth in his blacks on the brink of busting open the cheap fabric. Your hands made their way to his waistband, which you didn't hesitate to pull down, exposing a fully erect Fives. The sight alone was enough to push you over the edge.

"Like what you see?" he smirked, taking the rest of his bottoms off and tossing them across the room. But before you could respond, he pressed a finger against your lips, "Now this isn't fair is it?" he wined, tugging at the hem of your shirt. In one swift motion, your shirt and bra was next to his discarded pants. Still straddled over you, fully exposed, he gawked at the sight in front of him. As he was in la la land, you pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the same toned body that made your knees weak when you first met him. You reached up to touch his left peck, running your fingers down his chest.

"Oh my handsome ARC," you whispered, tracing the outline of his abs. Two years later, pulling rank still sent him over the edge.

"That's it," he groaned, pressing his chest against yours and grinding hander into your hips. You were gasping his name with every push, which only made him push harder. Fives slipped his fingers into your pants and softly ran his index finger up your soaked clit. He pulled his finger out, your moan being music to his ears, and licked his finger dry. Fives knew damn well he was driving you up the wall, and had no plans on stopping.

You quivered at Fives' touch, and pulled the rest of your clothes off. Fives collapsed his body onto yours, the sensation of full skin to skin contact making his body tremor. As you both laid there motionless, taking in the moment, his throbbing cock kept poking at your entrance.

"Fives," you groaned, knowing you didn't even need to finish your sentence.

Slowly, he pushed the tip of his cock into you, listening to you moan under the pressure. As Fives pushed in further, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. He steadily thrusted in and out, giving you enough time to adjust to his size. Every next thrust came faster and harder. Your jaw was clenched as you groaned, trying to hold back the orgasm.

"I know you're close cyare," he said between thrusts, "where do you want it?"

Breathing heavily, you put your hands on Fives' lower back, preventing him to pull out for another thrust, "The damn war is over and we can finally live our dreams," you gasped for air, "it's a risk we can now take." You let go of his back and he continued to pump into you. As soon as you felt as if he was on the verge of splitting you right up the middle, you let out a loud moan as your walls clenched around his cock, which was simultaneously, filling you up. Fives laid down on top of you, still inside you, as you both rode out your orgasms.

"Fives," you panted, running your fingers through his hair. He smiled and shut his eyes, placing his head on your chest, listening to your rapid heartbeat.

"Oh maker, I love you," he wined, nuzzling his head into your neck. He slid his softening cock out of you and got up, grabbing a blanket from across the room. You stared at his naked body, shining with the sweat you two just created. It was like staring at an ancient god. He laid the blanket over you and sat down, pulling you onto his chest.

"Welcome back my love," you smiled, tracing your finger on his chest.

"Hope I wasn't gone too long," he winked, watching you fall asleep in his arms.

It took two years, but finally, the post war dreams you shared were finally coming true.

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Begging Anakin to let the 501st have a few days off on Kamino wasn't too hard to accomplish. He complied to it faster than you expected but you weren't going to complain. There was plenty to do before the reevaluations. Testing new weapons, giving new battle combinations and evaluation their ability to adapt were just a few things that needed to be done. And you had to figure out how to do it.

The only thing you enjoyed about the task was catching up with the troopers. Throughout your time as a special ranks trainer at Kamino,  you've developed many friendships with the soldiers, and unfortunately, you never really got to see them again once they were shipped off.

Your heart jumped a little when you saw the number 7567 on the list. You recognized the number as a Captain named Rex. He was one of the hardest working soldiers you've worked with. Right before he shipped out, he buzz cut his hair and dyed it blonde, making him the only soldier in that captain training program to not have the standard hair cut with brown hair. You admired his willingness to be unique.

Roughly six rotations later, the 501st finally arrived on Kamino, giving the majority of the men a much needed break. You figured Anakin would be in the mess hall so you made your way there to meet up with your long time-no see friend.

It was never difficult to find him. Anakin was always the center of attention. According to his Padawan, he enjoyed telling elaborated stories about before the war to the clones. You approached him from behind as he rambled on about his encounter with a bounty hunter when he was only fourteen.

"Wow, let me guess, you used your lightsaber without holding it. You used the force to levitate it?" you butted it, chuckling slightly.

Anakin turned around and threw his hand up, "(Y/N)! Always a pleasure to see you. Let me introduce you to my new men!"

You smirked and shook your head as Anakin began introducing them. It appeared as if Rex wasn't present.

"And this here is Hard-"

"Case," you laughed, "You forget. I've worked with every solider that steps foot off this planet."

"Great to see you again, General!" Hardcase salutes, "And may I add, your beauty has multiplied since."

You rolled your eyes, "Not even the brutality of the war can take away his charm. But, he takes after his general I suppose."

The men snickered as Anakin gave you a glare.

"Anyway, I sent you a list of men that need their evaluation. I know you're here for a while but of you can let them know to get it done as soon as possible, that would be great. I have thousands of troopers to test."

"You wish is my command," Anakin playfully bowed.

You exhaled and began to exit, "I'll catch up with you all soon!" you called out.

As you exited the mess hall, you began to reminisce on the old days of being a Padawan and filling around with Anakin. The two of you always managed to pull off shenanigans that usually resulted in a conference by the council, but you wouldn't change a thing. You turned the corner to head to your quarters when you knocked into a solider, causing him to drop his helmet.

"Oh my gosh I am so sorry...Rex?" you gasped, once you realized who it was.

Rex's jaw dropped, "General. You remember my name?"

"I remember every soldier's name," you grinned, using the force to pick up his helmet, "especially the special ones." You handed him his helmet.

"Is that a compliment, sir?" he asked, slowly taking his helmet from you.

You bit your lower lip, "Perhaps. How has the war been for the 501st?"

He let out a heavy sigh, "There's always some uphill battles, but I think we are all just glad to be back on Kamino. Even if it's just for seven rotations."

"Me too!" you nodded. Trying to hide your reddening cheeks in his presence was nearly impossible. They say war drains you, but Rex was even more handsome than you remembered.

"Sir? Aren't you always on Kamino though?" he asked, making a confused face.

"Oh no. I mean I'm glad that the 501st is back. You guys are the finest soldiers to come out of my training. My favorite to be around, if I may add."

Rex's entire demeanor when from solider talking to general to a look of more compassion, "You mean that?"

"Lying isn't the Jedi way. And even if I wasn't a Jedi, who would lie to someone like you? Don't sell yourself short, Rex. Don't think just because you're 'just a clone' you're any less than anyone else. And-"

You stopped for a moment, realizing what words. were actually coming out of your mouth.

"And.." you drew out the n sound, "Don't forget to pick a time slot for your evaluation! Can't wait to see how much you've grown on the battlefield!" you rushed to say, before taking off to your quarters at a quick pace.

As you hastily walked away, Rex turned to look at you. He wasn't quite sure what to make of what you said. As far as he could remember, you were always kind to him, compassionate with your words, but never that caliber. Though he would have loved to think of it as a flirtatious encounter, he knew that would be something he could only dream of and continued to make his way to the mess.

"Are you knifing stupid!?" you yelled to yourself as you entered your quarters. In that moment you knew you messed up. If there was anything you were taught as a youngling, is was that admitting your attachments is a tell tale sign you are completely attached. You sighed and flung your body onto your bed, hoping a nap would clear your mind.

Meanwhile, Rex ate his grub hastily. This wasn't common for him at all. Especially since the men of the 501st were used to actually conversing with Rex during meals.

"What's got you eating like a bat out of hell?" Fives asked, turning his head to face his vod.

"Just a little busy," Rex mumbled, stuffing the remaining food in his mouth.

Fives raised an eyebrow, "With what? We have six whole rotations for evaluations, and our evaluator is General (Y/LN). You've said before you two were friendly during your training. I'm sure she'll go easy on you!"

Rex didn't respond.

"And last we heard, you have no interning on becoming Commander Rex," Jesse butted in, "That takes less work off your shoulders. Some of us are looking for promotions."

"You really think you're getting promoted to arc trooper," Hardcase laughed, getting an eye roll in response.

Rex finally got up, "I saw General (Y/LN) in the hall and she asked if I wanted to assist with ARC promotions," he lied, "Just thinking about whether or not I'm fit for that responsibility."

He walked away, wanting nothing more than to find Anakin's droid, R2.

"Told you you should have been kissing Rex's shebs!" Hardcase hummed at Jesse as Rex exited the mess hall.

At last he was alone with his thoughts. He couldn't stop thinking about your conversation with him. As much as his heart told him it was flirtatious, his mind told him other wise. It didn't take Rex long to find R2.

"Hey R2!" he called, the droid rolling towards him and greeting him with a series of beeps.

"I need to know if I have access to know where General (Y/LN)'s quarters are located."

R2 buzzed, telling Rex the location.

"She gave me access?" he replied softly, "strange. Thank you."

Rex made his way through the seemingly never ending halls. He figured the Jedi quarters had to be hidden deep in the halls of Kamino. After what felt like forever he reached the door to your quarters and knocked.

A knock startled you from your nap. In a hurry, you straightened up your bed and laid out your meditation mat, sitting in a meditative state.

"Enter," you called, your eyes shut. As the person entered the room, your eyes were still shut. By reaching out to the Force, you knew it was Rex.

"Captain, you seem a bit, conflicted," you announced opening your eyes to look at him, "take a seat."

The door shut behind him and he sat down across from you on your meditation mat.

"You do know that Captains are not permitted to supervise ARC selection, correct?" you asked, tilting your head slightly.

His lips parted, "Sir?"

You smirked, "Jedi thing. I know what you told your brothers." You stopped for a moment and saw his face drop, "but I would have done the same."

"Huh?"

"What's bothering you, Rex?"

"Uh, nothing. Just nervous about evaluations."

"You think you can lie to a Jedi," you rolled your eyes, cocking your head at him again.

Rex pressed his lips together and looked down at your meditation mat, "you know why I'm here don't you?"

"Perhaps," you shrugged, inching your body towards his.

He swallowed at your closeness to him and he whispered, "so what was it?"

You gave him a shy smile and leaned into him, pressing a soft kiss against his cheek. For being at war for so long, his skin was surprisingly soft.

"That should answer your question, Rex."

Rex's cheeks were flushed, a tan outline of your lips stained on his cheek.

"I'm sorry, Rex," you sighed, moving back to your spot on the meditation mat.

"For? You easily just made me the luckiest man in the galaxy. I've wanted this moment for a long time.  Figured I would be foolish to actually dream of it." Rex's smile remained on his face, "If I don't do my evaluation, do I just get to stay on Kamino until I take it?"

You chuckled, "I get this is your home, but trust me, you'd rather be out on the battlefield."

"I can't get cheek kisses on the battlefield," he smirked contagiously.

The two of you looked at each other in an awkward silence.

Rex finally broke it, "Don't get my wrong, your training is flawless, but unfortunately I wasn't given  romance lessons, so I'm going to give this my best try," he paused for a moment, "would you be interested in a late night snack together in the mess tonight?"

"As long as you're interested in late night holovids in my quarters afterwards," you blushed back.

Rex confidently beamed, "It's a date." He reached out for your hand and softly kissed the back of it, "Now as much as I would love to stay, I have an evaluation to practice for."

You looked up at him as he left the room, "A little birdie told me you'll pass."

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Fives was one of your closest friends. No matter what, you always had each other's back and you both frequently let out emotions to each other.

"Have you given it any thought?" he asked, taking a sip of water.

You shrugged your shoulders. He was talking about the Jedi Gala. Once a calendar year, the Jedi generals all got together for a formal black tie attire night where they all celebrate the war efforts and hand out a few awards. Though relationships are strongly forbidden, everyone is allowed to bring a plus one. Ever since you started your position in the 501st, you've always felt butterflies around Rex. Something about him made you feel so special inside.

These feelings were starting to get stronger by the day, and you decided to tell Fives. He is nothing but supportive of it and constantly tells you how adorable of a couple you two would be, but you are always too nervous to tell Rex about it. Your biggest concern was potentially losing the good friendship you already have with Rex.

"I think you should," Fives smiled, giving you a small nod.

You took a deep breath, "I want to. But. I mean. I don't know."

You wanted Rex to be your plus one. It was either you were going with him or you were going alone, and Fives knew this.

"(Y/N), you're beautiful inside and out. You have nothing to worry about. He'll say yes in a heartbeat," he assured you.

"What makes you say that?" you asked, mumbling a little.

Fives laughed, "I don't know. Maybe the whole we're CLONES thing."

"Oh please!," you rolled your eyes, "you know damn well that to me you guys are nothing alike."

"We appreciate that (Y/N). But I'm telling you. You really should ask him to accompany you."

As Fives was finishing his sentence, Rex walked in as if he was on cue.

"Oh look, perfect timing," he whispered to you as your eyes were glued to Rex as he walked by. He still had his helmet on when he grabbed his food. Of course he sat next to Fives, who was sitting across from you.

As Rex took off his helmet and put it on the table next to him, Fives kicked you from under the table, prompting you to talk. You gave him a glare.

"How's the clean up going, Rex?" you asked. Fives was not pleased with your question.

"It's going well, General," he replied, giving you a nod.

Fives extended his arms to stretch and exhaled, "Well, I'm going to get back to work."

You gave him a look, "But you didn't eat much."

"I wasn't too hungry," he quickly replied, giving you a wink.

Rex was still focusing on his food while you let out a small exhale, then moved over one seat so you could be in front of Rex.

"What's up General?" he asked, taking a short break from eating.

"Rex, when off duty its (Y/N)," you softly laughed, trying to keep yourself composed. On the inside, you were freaking out. This was usually the case around Rex. All you could think about is whether or not you were saying the right thing or if you looked okay.

He gave you a soft smile, "Well, what's up (Y/N)?"

"Just thinking as always!" His smile was making you melt and honestly incapable of thinking of words.

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot to think about. We are all really excited for you being nominated for the Most Passionate General Award at the Jedi Gala! The men and I can't wait for you to come back from that with that award. We KNOW you are clearly going to be the winner!" he exclaimed, his cheeks turning slightly rosy.

A smile beamed across your face, "Thank you, Rex. But you're giving me too much credit. And. And. Uh. Yeah!"

"And what?" he joked, continuing to eat.

"Ah, I don't know," you began to say, "We are allowed to bring someone with us. Like a plus one! But I think I'm going to go by myself. I'm not sure the person I want to ask would want to go."

Rex put his fork down and his jaw dropped, "You're kidding right? In my opinion, someone would be an idiot to turn you down. And if this person is in the 501st, I know for a fact all of the men would say yes in a heartbeat."

Was this actually happening?

"Actually, the person I wanted to ask is in the 501st!"

"I'm close with a lot of the men! Let's get you your plus one," he smiled back at you. The smile seemed sincere, yet fake at the same time.

You slowly nodded your head, "Oh trust me, you know him VERY well."

Rex tiled his head.

"Captain Rex, would you like to escort me to Jedi Gala?"

You felt like you were gonna throw up. The words flowed out of you so casually, it amazed you. You could not believe you just did that.

Rex slowly began to smile, more and more by the second, "(Y/N), that would make the the happiest man in the galaxy."

Your smile mirrored his, "I'm glad."

"Truthfully, I've been hoping you would ask me," he admitted, burring his face in his mug.

He looked adorable.

"Really?"

"Yes. I-" Rex began to say but was cut off by his com link.

"Rex, General Skywalker is requesting your assistance immediately in hangar four b."

He sighed, "Duty calls."

"I'll put your dishes away. Continue the talk later?" you asked, hoping for a yes.

"Of course, General," he smiled, putting his helmet back on and leaving the mess.

That night the 501st finally got to leave Kamino and made way to Coruscant for leave.  The Jedi Gala was only in a few days so a lot of the major Legions were on Coruscant for their generals to celebrate.

The men of the 501st decided they all needed to rest so they were all hanging out in the barracks. You, on the other hand, were on the bridge, making sure everything up there was under control.

"So Rex. How was your day?" Fives asked, hoping you finally got the guts to ask him.

Though he tried not to, he couldn't help but smile, "You didn't tell (Y/N) anything I said to you about her, right?"

Fives held his arms up, "Oh no! I would never. But I will tell you that she's been wanting to do this for a while now. I just gave her the courage to do it."

"She wanted to ask me for a while?" Rex asked, his eyes widening.

"Rex, I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but I think it will make both you and her happier. She's also into you. She has been for a good amount of time now. And I know you feel the same." Fives confessed. He felt guilty for doing this, but he felt is was necessary.

Rex was speechless, but his face was giving away everything he was feeling. Fives has never seen such happiness from him.

"The gala is in two days, Rex. We will have one full day on Coruscant. Let's go shopping and make sure we get everything perfect. I mean, she thinks you're attractive in your backs, but this is a nice affair.  This is your chance to finally get her."

"With what money?" Rex asked, becoming somewhat discouraged.

It took him a minute, but Fives finally got an idea, "Ahsoka has access to a Republic Credit Card. We could ask her to borrow it. It's for a special occasion, I'm sure she won't mind!"

"Alright, I'll try," Rex agreed, tapping his foot nervously on the floor.

Fives laughed, "Don't be nervous brother. You've got the master of love on your side!"

"Fives, have you ever even talked to a girl that isn't (Y/N) or Commander Tano for more than ten minutes?" Rex sarcastically replied getting an immediate eye roll from Fives.

Once you landed on Coruscant you wanted to find Rex and finish the conversation you had on Kamino. You went to Jesse, thinking he would have an idea of where he is.

"Hey Jesse, where's Rex?" you asked him while walking towards him.

He shrugged, "I don't know gen. He and Fives booked it off the shuttle together. I'm sure it won't be too long before they show up."

You thanked him and figured you should just go to your quarters at the Jedi Temple. Your master told you that he would make sure to haver a dress for the gala delivered to your quarters before you returned so you were excited to see that for the first time.          

The second you go to your quarters, you looked in the small closet and found the dress in there. Your jaw dropped just looking at it. The dress was form fitting, yet not too tight. It looked as if it was going to hug you in the perfect areas. The sunlight shining through the window made the dark blue sparkly dress shimmer. You tried it on and it was a perfect fit, and you hoped it was the perfect look to impress Rex.

While you were admiring the dress, Fives and Rex were shopping, getting him ready for the big day tomorrow.

"Okay, so we got a suit, which was the second most important thing, but we need a tie that's going to match her dress. Commander Tano is on that. But we are still missing some things," Fives quickly spewed out, stressing Rex out.

"Wait. The suit isn't the most important thing?" Rex questioned, trying to wrap his mind around what Fives just said.

Fives face palmed, "We need to find something special for you to give her. Not just flowers, those are expected, but if you are going to ask her out, we need something more!"

"Such as?"

Fives looked around him frantically, "That. Right there," he pointed.

It's been hours and you still haven't heard from Rex or seen him at all. You made you way to the building between the Jedi Temple and the Senate Building that the Republic built for troopers when they were on leave on Coruscant. He wasn't there. Some of the boys invited you to join then at 79's so you took up the offer, thinking that maybe he would find his way to the popular clone hang out.

79's was always fun. You were never afraid to go a little wild there and the 501st loved it. It was nice for them to see their general being less assertive and more with the flow. The only thing you didn't like about going there was the fact that there was always a clone who managed to be a little too touchy with you. But, ever since you joined the war, you've been with the 501st and you've only ever had eyes for Rex.

Unfortunately, as the night went on, there was still no sign of Rex. You didn't drink too much so you decided to leave early on a speeder and get some rest early. Before you left you told a surprisingly sober Kix to let Rex know to meet you in the Jedi Temple foyer at 1600.

The next morning you woke up much later than you wanted, but you felt refreshed. 1200. "Damn," you thought. You only had four hours get ready for the big night. As you were getting ready, time was flying by. Your nervousness started to kick in. All you wanted to do was look your best for Rex, he deserved you at your best.

Before you knew it, it was 1540 so you did you finishing touches on your hair, sprayed some perfume and put your shoes on. It was your time to shine. You made you way to the temple foyer, awaiting your Captain.

Outside the Temple, Rex was nervous, getting a pep talk from Fives.

"Okay Rex. You have the flowers, do you have the thing?" he asked in a rush.

"Yes!" Rex smiled anxiously.

"Get in there brother, you've got this!"

Rex patted Fives' shoulder, "Thank you for helping me with all of this."

He started to make his way to the temple doors. Not only was he nervous about you, but he was worried that some of the generals there would feel bizarre that you brought a clone as you escort. "Aayla is probably bringing Bly," he thought, which made him feel better.

The second he entered the Temple foyer, his eyes met yours. You instantly smiled, covering your smile with your hand in awe. Rex pressed his lips together in his smile and threw his head back as he walked closer and closer to you.

"Wow," was all he could say when he got to you.

"Rex," you gasped, "you look...so...handsome."

He stood nervously in front of you in a perfectly fitted grey suit. Some of the many medals he has acquired over the years were pinned on. You thought he was probably happy he finally had a moment to show them off.

Rex kept staring you up up and down, "I have never seen anything so beautiful in this entire galaxy," he smiled, reaching for you hand, then kissing it. "You're stunning (Y/N)."

Your heart was melting more and more by the minute.

He handed you a bouquet of flowers, "I had to bring flowers for my gorgeous date."

"You're too kind, Rex," you smiled, smelling the flowers.

Rex's hands were clasped behind his back and he was slowly rocking back and forth. The feelings rushing through him were off the walls. He shut his eyes for a moment and shook his head.

"Come on Rex. Yes she's drop dead gorgeous and she's right in front of you but don't let you mind go there. It would be really noticeable in this suit." he thought to him self before opening his eyes again.

"You ready to go to the gala?" you asked him, reaching your hand out.

"Of course," he smiled, reaching his arm out to you.

The gala was amazing, you even won the award for most passionate general. Rex assured you that this was going to be the first thing he told the men when he got back. But, the best part was by far the one dance the council allowed everyone to have with their plus on. Rex's hand fit perfectly on your hip. The dancing was a little awkward at first, but as the song went on, you found yourself getting closer and closer to him until your head was fully pressed against his chest. Everything in that moment was just perfect.

Being the gentleman he is, Rex walked you back to your quarters after the gala. As you approached your room, he spun you around then pulled you into his arms. Everything was so amazing.

You got to the door and entered the code before walking in. Rex stood outside and didn't follow. You motioned him in, and patted on the bed. He took a seat next to you and you used to force to close your door.

"Thank you so much for tonight, Rex," you smiled, grabbing his hand, "you look amazing."

"Not nearly as amazing as you," he laughed, "Also I believe we never finished a conversation from two days ago."

You responded with an even bigger smile.

"You are a wonderful person, (Y/N). And I've felt this way since the second I saw you," he said sincerely, sliding his hand into his suit blazer, "I got you this."

He pulled out a box and handed it to you. You opened the small box slowly and inside was a stunning Aquamarine gemstone necklace.

"Rex," you gasped, "this is gorgeous. You didn't have to oh my gosh."

He took the necklace out of the box to put it on you, "Aquamarine gems represent the blues of the oceans and a reflector. When you look down at water, you see your reflection. Reality. The meaning of reality. Without love, what is everything worth. What is reality? The point of life?" he clasped the necklace around your neck and you turned around to face him, "I see my answers in you."

You were speechless. Your eyes began to well with happy tears the longer you looked at Rex. HE meant everything he said, you could sense it.

"I'm not as savvy with words," you laugh, "but I feel the same, and always have."

Rex started smiling so hard his eyes began to squint. The longer you stared into each other's eyes, the closer your faces got, until your lips were almost touching.

"(Y/N)," he whispered, maintaining the close distance.

"Rex," you whispered back, moving closer to make your lips meet.

The moment was magical. It was something you have both wanted to do for a long time but were too afraid to tell each other. This was all you both have wanted. It felt like a piece of you, you didn't even know was missing, was found. You draped your hands over his shoulders and pressed harder into him.

After a long, very long, kiss, you both pulled back.

"(Y/N), be mine?" he asked, kissing your cheek.

You happy laughed, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to say yes to that question."

At a first glance, the Domino Squad seemed like a typical squad of clones. But they acted more like bickering brothers rather than brothers in arms. A typical day of their additional training you provided was usually late night bonding, not necessarily fighting tactics. The boys didn't seem to mind this, except one. CT-782.

CT-782 was the most stubborn clone you've ever met. He refused to have a name other than his CT number, which you constantly told him wouldn't fly with any general. CT-782, of course, didn't care.

One night, you decided a game of 'Who's most likely to?' as a bonding exercise.

CT-782 picked up a card and read it aloud, "Who's most likely to pierce their own ear? This game is kriffing bantha shit!" He flung the card across the room, "How's this going to help us," he passed for a moment before bitterly muttering the last word, "padawan?"

You rested your elbow on your knee and pressed your palm into your forehead, sighing, "Your final test is in three days. This is my last session with you guys. Can you please, please for once take my considerations?" CT-782 got on your last nerve,  but something about that drove you crazy inside, in an almost lusty fashion.

"On behalf of all of us, Commander, we deeply apologize for CT-782's unkind words towards you," Cutup said, giving you a look of sorrow.

Figuring you could make a lesson out of this, you replied,  "You control and dictate your lives and those of the people around you. Remember, when you are cast out to war, you have each other. Don't do something you know can effect your brothers in a negative way. Back when I was a youngling, my squad would always say 'teamwork makes the dreamwork'. Now, I'm sure you've all dreamed of being an ARC Trooper. Well, ARC Troopers always respect and care for those around them, especially their brothers. Remember that boys, because once you master that, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, you all have ARC Trooper capabilities."

This made all of the men smile, except for CT-782 of course.

"Oh yeah. Coax us with dreaming of being an ARC Trooper right before deployment. I guarantee you sweetheart, we'll all be dead within three fights. Just like the rest of us," CT-782 huffed, his arms crossed, "If you're a Jedi, then why can't you give us real training. Something that will actually help us become ARC troopers."

You weren't going to win with him, "You treat everything so heavy. I promise you, everything I've done has done something. Take everything I say with a grain of salt and I promise, you'll end up exactly where you need to be.

Three days later, CT-782 was convinced you've lied to him. Watching the Domino Squad fail their final test pained you. You looked at your master with sorrow in your eyes, "My Padawan, inform the Domino Squad they will be allowed to try again tomorrow."

You nodded, "Of course, Master."

When you made it to their barracks, it was completely empty. Not a single sign of the Domino Squad. Figuring they were eating in the mess or something like that, you left a holopad on all of their bunks with the message from your Master, along with some words of encouragement, personalized for each guy. It was the least you could do.

Later that night, you returned on their barracks to leave another holopad with good luck in their lockers. As you turned the corner to their allotted locker area, you found CT-782 digging through his locker.

"Going somewhere?" you asked, clearly startling him.

He sighed when his eyes met yours, "As far away from here as possible."

You pressed your lips together, "I should report you, but I don't want to do that to you. Here sit down." You patted the bench that was in the middle of their locker area. He was hesitant, but he agreed and sat down next to you.

"Why aren't we good enough?" he asked, setting his Z-6 blaster on the ground, "we all get the same training."

"You could give one thousand men the same training, but you will never have those thousand men fight the same way." you calmly stated, crossing your legs, "Every squad has a different dynamic."

He grunted, "And ours clearly isn't up to your expectations."

"Hevy," you sighed, "I promise you, you all have amazing potential. I wouldn't lie about that."

CT-782 cocked his head, "What?"

"I said you all have amazing potent-"

"No before that," he interrupted you.

You thought back to what you said, "Every squad had a different dynamic?"

"No after that."

"I'm confused?"

He rolled his eyes, "You called me Hevy?"

Then it clicked, "Ohh! That's what General Ti and I call you. We prefer to give our troopers names."

"Hevy, huh?" he huffed, "I think I actually like that. Makes it more special since you gave it to me."

You hummed stiffly between your lips, "So you don't hate me."

He paused. "Why do you have faith in us? In me?"

"Because you're an amazing person, Hevy, inside and out," you answered without thinking.

You didn't realize what you said until Hevy's cheeks became slightly flustered. "I need to go. Good luck tomorrow," you quickly covered yourself up, heading out of the barracks. Hevy remained sitting on the bench, stunned with what he just heard. But now wasn't the time to let feelings getting the way of the upcoming test.

The next morning, you were staring down at the testing arena, eyes locked on the entry way. The Domino Squad was next in line to test. When they finally entered the arena, you stiffened up, anxious of what was soon to come. What usually was a jumble of blaster fire and running into each other was actually an impressive display of skills. For once, it seemed as if the boys were actually fighting together, not just as individuals.

And moments later, Hevy pulled the citadel buzzer out of its place. They actually passed. You felt the weight of not knowing their future slide off your shoulders. They kriffing did it. Hevy ripped off his helmet and looked up at the observation deck, making eye contact, then playfully saluting you. You smiled in response, and gave him a loose salute back.

Later that night, you met up with the Domino Squad in their barracks to congratulate them with their medals. Slowly, you pinned each medal to their cadet uniform.

"I'm proud of you all," you announced, "I'm certain you will accomplish amazing things. I'm probably standing in front of some future ARC troopers."

Hevy and Fives beamed with joy at the mention of them possibly beaming ARCs in the future.

"Don't get too lonely here without us!" Echo chimed in, "We will all miss you greatly."

You brought you hand up to your mouth to try to conceal you soft smile, "I'm leaving too, you know. Off to help command the 212th legion. Which reminds me, I have a meeting soon with General Kenobi. Again, congratulations boys," you began to walk away, "Until we meet again!"

The boys sighed, knowing they would probably never see you again. Hevy wasn't ready for that. Hours later, when the boys were winding down for bed, he snuck out of his bunk and wandered the halls of his home. As he was walking, he realized that he actually didn't know where the Jedi stayed. His head quickly turned to a corridor. You were down there, he felt it.

After taking a deep breath, he opened knocked on the door he believed to be yours. It was a gentle knock, but loud enough for you to hear on the inside.

The knock on the door threw you off guard for a moment. You hastily got up off your bed and sat at your desk, turning on a random holopad. After you felt as if you looked 'presentable enough' for the unknown knocker, you used the force to open the door. A small "huh?" escaped your lips as you saw it was Hevy there.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" you asked as Hevy entered the room, hitting the close button behind him, "what brings you in here?"

Hevy shrugged, "I guess I wasn't ready to say goodbye."

"Take a seat," you offered, pointing to your couch. He was fast to take up that offer. You continued, "I do recall saying, 'Until we meet again'."

"That's true," he nodded, "I just-"  Hevy opened his mouth to continue, then shut it, then opened again, nothing coming out. "I'm sorry," was all he managed to say.

"For?"

"Treating you like Bantha breath. No one deserves that, especially you." Hevy bit the inside of his cheek and looked down, mumbling the next sentence, "I was just intimidated."

You raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

Hevy sighed, "It'sHardToBeTheToughGuyWhenYou'reSurroundedBySuchABeautifulGirl." His words were quick, almost impossible to decipher.

"What now?" you hummed, leaning in closer to him to try to hear better.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked quietly, but still bluntly.

Your face went pale as he started to exhale slowly. His eyes glanced up to meet yours. You saw through him. Reality hit you. The next day, Hevy ships out, shiny and new. The most vulnerable of the clones. You didn't know where he would end up, but truthfully, the chances he'd live to see many more days were painfully low.

Jedi weren't forbidden from kissing. They were forbidden from emotional attachment. What would mean nothing to you, would mean everything to him.

Why not give this soldier the experience of his lifetime?

You reached out towards his sleep tunic and grabbed some fabric in your fist, pulling him in for a kiss. It wasn't long, but it felt eternal. Hevy gasped before the kiss, shocked you actually were okay with it. When you pulled back he had a blank face. He was off the walls ecstatic that it actually happened but devastated it was over.

Hevy tried to speak but he was still tongue tied, completely in awe of the taste of your lips on his.

"You have a big day a head of you. Go get some sleep," you smiled, waiting for him to exit.

"I shouldn't have been so rude to you," he whispered, slowly backing out of your room, "you've been nothing but kind to me."

You shrugged, "Not too late to change that."

He stared at you in silence, softly nibbling on his lip. "I couldn't have been half the solider I am today with out you."

"Well," you sighed as Hevy stepped out of your quarters. He turned his head to acknowledge your words. You continued, "May the force be with you out there, Hevy. Cause I won't!" you winked, closing your door.

You paced back to your bed and laid down, staring at the ceiling.

Jedi can kiss without attachment! One kiss couldn't hurt, right?

Oh, you were so wrong.

Three Months Later

"General?" Commander Cody's voice buzzed through your com link.

"Cody!" you cheered, "So glad to hear your voice. What's going on?"

Just hours prior, the outpost Cody was sent to inspect, completely exploded. The second you got word of what happened, you knew Grievous was behind it, and you were worried over the status of your commander.

"You worry too much General," he laughed, "but I have some soldiers in the medbay who want to speak to you. They told me not to tell you their names."

"Huh. Weird," you shrugged, "I'll be on my way. If any of them were in that blast with you, I think I owe them a drink when we get to Coruscant."

It didn't take you long to get to the medbay. Though the Jedi cruiser was large, you always managed to quickly navigate the halls. You entered the medbay and looked for Cody. Cody was no where to be found. You walked into one of the private outpatient rooms and your eyes caught glimpse of other soldiers you recognized, even though they weren't in the 212th.

"Either I'm on death sticks or that's the Domino Squad!" you laughed, approaching them. They were all gathered around a single cot. The men turned their heads and smiled at the sight of you. That's when you realized that Hevy was the trooper on the cot.

"It was you crazy baffoons that blew up the Rishi Moon station!? Why am I not surprised?" your attention shifted to Hevy, "what happened to you?"

Hevy pulled down his blanket slightly and lifted up his left arm, which wasn't much of an arm anymore. What was his arm was gone, and replaced with a cybernetic arm. "It's nothing pretty, but at least they gave me a hand," he mumbled, pulling the blanket back up over his new arm.

You spent hours chatting with the dominos. It was obvious they missed having you by their side, but you reassured them, it was even more obvious that they are doing perfectly fine without you. As the later night hours approached, the dominos slowly left the room one by one until you were alone with Hevy.

Fives was the last to leave, and as soon as he did, the room fell silent. Hevy was scratching softly at his thigh with his good hand.

"General," he finally said, turning his head towards you.

"You can call me (Y/N)," you quickly interrupted, looking towards him.

He paused and pressed his back against the inclined cot. Even a pin drop could be heard in the room.

"I keep thinking about it," he finally said, his eyes looking at his lap.

You cocked your head, "about what?"

"It," he repeated, still gazing at his lap.

Oh. He was thinking about it. That kiss. That innocent kiss which you thought would be nothing more than make a man you would never see again happy. That.

"Me too," you mumbled, "Me kriffing too."

His glance shot in your direction. You sensed this and did the same.

"(Y/N)," he exhaled, his words full of lust.

As if you were a droid and it was your programming to do so, you stood up from the chair next to his cot and walked over to him. You slid your hand down his still human arm and settled your hand in his.

"I've been thinking about it a lot," you said again, "More than a Jedi should admit."

He shot you a passionate look and did that darn lip nibble again. As if his eyes requested you too do so, you pushed yourself onto the cot and straddled over him, sitting on his lap. As you did so, he cupped your cheek in his hand and sighed.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" he whispered.

You took a deep breath before answering, "I'm not sure, but as long as we keep going, I don't think I care."

One Year Later

Hevy was playing a card game with some of the other men in the 501st, talking about their plans at 79's later that evening when his Captain, Rex, burst into the barracks.

"Anyone holding the rank of Sergeant or higher, or any ARC's, meet me in the briefing room immediately. That is all."

Rex left the room as quickly as he came in, leaving dozens of puzzled looks behind him. Hevy adjusted his ARC pauldron and walked with the rest of the called upon men to the briefing room. Upon arriving there, the usually lit room was dark, the only thing lighting it up was the hologram of Obi-Wan Kenobi and his General, Anakin Skywalker. Hevy noticed that typically, you were by Kenobi's side Turing holotransmissions. He hasn't seen you in two whole years, but the feelings he had towards you were still there. Not seeing you in the transmission made his heart clench. He had a bad feeling about this.

"We regret to inform you all of the passing of Jedi General (Y/N) (Y/LN). We understand (Y/N) was well respected throughout many legions. We wanted to inform the ranked soldiers first."

Hevy's heart sank. You were gone. There were so many things he wanted to say to you that he would never get the opportunity to. The Jedi reported you missing months ago, but at that point, Hevy wasn't too worried. He knew you were strong enough to survive on your own. But dead, that didn't sit well with him. Hevy was fast to get back to the barracks, where he sat on his bunk in silence. He didn't want to go to 79's that night. All he wanted to do was fall asleep, he could wake up from this nightmare.

Hevy was awoken around 0100 to yelling from outside the barracks. He got up off his bunk to find the barracks empty. It seems as if everyone else went to 79's. The yelling got louder and was understandable the closer he got to the barracks door.

"It's not fair! Not to anyone!" Anakin screamed at his master.

"Anakin, the council did what they must." Obi-Wan responded, trying to calm him down, "(Y/N) is in a safer place."

Anakin grunted, "And we must lie to everyone? Tell everyone she's dead?! Rex said Cody is devastated. Is that fair?! Why can't they know the truth?!"

From that point on, the conversation was too muffled to hear more but it was all Hevy needed to hear.

The Next Morning

"Echo, I need your help," Hevy asked his brother, who was peacefully eating his breakfast.

"If it's about (Y/N) I'm upset too," Echo responded, "but we have an important campaign on Ryloth soon and-"

"Please," Hevy begged, motioning Echo away from his food.

Echo shoved the remaining food in his mouth and followed Hevy, "What is it?"

Hevy nodded his head towards Echo's cybernetic arm that he acquired after a rough mission at the Citadel, "You can tap into the data base with that, right?"

Nodding slowly, Echo inserted his arm into a data port, "What do you need?"

"Open up any information on (Y/N). If it's password protected, try 408588463003. Those are the coordinates of her home planet. "

"I should question why you know that," Echo laughed, but his laugh soon turned to dead silence. "Oh my kriff," he muttered, leaning back on his heels, "she's alive."

"Where can I find her?" Hevy gasped, almost shaking Echo impatiently.

Echo was going to ask why, but truthfully, he was too hungover to worry. All he knew is that this would be his little secret with Hevy, "I think you already know. 408588463003."

"Thank you, brother," he nodded before rushing off. Neither Hevy nor Echo knew, that would be the last time they would see each other for a while.

-

Stealing a ship wasn't easy, but if it had to be done, Hevy knew how to do it. It didn't take him long to find a ship that wasn't only easy enough to steal, but neutral enough to fly into Separatist space undetected. With the push of a new buttons, he was on his way to find the truth. He was on his way to Serenno.

Hevy has never been to Serenno before. Besides, why would he? It has been Separatist controlled since the beginning of the war. But, with its location being deep in Separatist space, it wasn't too hard to land on the planet. Hevy followed his heart, which led him to a wooded area, far from any civilization.

As he exited the small ship, he looked around for any signs of life. Surprisingly, he almost missed the most obvious sign, a door built into the mountain side. Without hesitation, he knocked.

You were bundled up in some blankets on the couch in your home. It's been almost a year since the Jedi Council sent you back to your home planet. It was the last thing you wanted to do, but you understood why. Jedi couldn't get pregnant, yet there you were. You were given only two days to leave the temple and escape to Serenno, alone. Well, except for the medical droid the council was kind enough to provide for you.

For the first time all day, you finally managed to find some peace and quiet. If there was one thing you learned while raising twins, it was that there is never a dull moment. There was a knock on the door. No one ever can out here. You rushed to your children's room and locked it, making sure who ever was at the door wouldn't have access to them. Before opening the door, you draped a blanket over your shoulders to hide your lightsaber you kept on your belt.

Cautiously, you opened the door and nearly screamed at who you saw.

"How the KRIFF did you get out here?!" you yelled, pulling Hevy by the shirt into your house, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Before he could answer, the cried of two babies filled the house. "Great!" you groaned, "the kids are awake!"

About a hundred questions swirled through Hevy's mind. "Kids?" he asked, following you into their bedroom. "Since when did you-" he stopped when he saw the two infants, "Why do they look like me?"

"Very funny Hevy," you huffed, "very-" you paused, "wait. No one ever told you."

Hevy raised an eyebrow, "No one ever told me what? Just two day ago, I was informed you were dead. About a year ago, I was told you went MIA!"

You deeply sighed and picked up your daughter and son, handing your daughter to Hevy. He reluctantly took the baby from you, this was his first time holding an infant. Hevy sat on the floor with your daughter while you sat on a rocking chair with your son.

"What other lies did the council tell you?" you huffed, rocking your son back and forth.

Hevy bit his cheek, "With all due respect, Gener-, I mean (Y/N), I have no idea what's going on."

That's when you explained everything to him. How on that night after the Rishi Moon Outpost explosion, you and Hevy made a decision that would hinder your relations with the Jedi Order forever.  How the Jedi sent you to Serenno to try to protect you and your children. How the Jedi lied about your whereabouts to hide the secret. How these children where in fact his, and there was nothing you could do about it.

Hevy brushed his thumb against the little girl's, his little girl's, cheek as she slept peacefully in his arms. You smiled at the father daughter moment, the first father daughter moment.

"You can stay if you like," you finally said, "they are your children just as much as they are mine. And besides, they wouldn't exist if I didn't feel something towards you."

He slowly looked up, away from his daughter and towards you, "You mean that?"

You nodded, "Yeah, and we can pick up where we left off. Right before our paths separated for what I long thought would be the last time."

"I regret every rude thing I said to you on Kamino and I-"

"Hey," you hushed, "I know. But that's history. This is now. The present." You stood up from the rocking chair and sat next to Hevy, resting your head on his shoulder. "You know, nothing about us is conventional, but I think it might work."

Three Years Later

"Uncle Fives is going to get you!" Fives screamed, chasing your children around in the yard. After the Clone War ended in victory, you and Hevy decided to disclose your location to the rest of the Dominos, and they were more than happy to move in with you two. Echo insisted he only did it to be with his niece and nephew but Hevy knew it was because Echo missed his brother.

"Aghhh!" Fives laughed, throwing his nephew over his shoulder, "gotcha!"

You and Hevy watched Fives run around with your children while you cooked dinner.  Hevy rested his head on your shoulder from behind and swayed back and forth.

"Hun stop!" you giggled, "I have to cook."

"I know," he smiled, "I'm just happy. And everything is exactly how I could have ever wanted it to be."

"You've gotta let it go," Fives groaned, playfully pushing Jesse's shoulder with one hand, a bottle on whiskey in the other.

Jesse rolled his eyes and looked away from his tipsy brother, pretending he wasn't even there.

Fives handed the bottle to Hardcase, "Jesse look, (Y/N) is an amazing girl. But, she's a Jedi. She honors her code. There's so many wonderful girls out there. So many that aren't her. I hate telling you this, I really do, but sometimes, it hurts more to hold on."

Jesse gulped and bowed his head, "It's not that easy."

"You two have a special relationship. She says things to you that she's never said to any of us. You clearly mean a lot to her. I hope that's enough to make you happy," Fives sighed, "Hang in there."

Before Jesse could speak, Rex commanded all the men to the hangar.  It was go time. They all filed into the main hangar awaiting the orders of you and Anakin. You both stood confidently in front of a hologram of the palace in Theed on Naboo. As you began the briefing of the mission, Jesse couldn't help but stare at you through his helmet. You sensed this but continued with the task at hand, pointing to the crucial palace entry ways.

Upon conclusion of the briefing, Fives nudged Jesse and whispered, "Did you even pick up on any of that or were you too busy gawking?". Jesse ignored the statement and made his way to the gunship with the rest of his group, which just so happened to include you.

You spent the majority of the ride sitting down, leaning against the corner, scrolling through miscellaneous battle information on a holopad. The rest of the men were sitting down as well, conversing with each other.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" you asked Jesse, who was sitting next to you.

"Never better," he muttered, biting his lower lip under his helmet.

You weren't buying it, "Well, if you need anything don't hesitate." You sprung up and got ready for landing, leaving Jesse alone with his thoughts.

"It looks like the seppies already started attacking," you announced, "stand by for arrival."

You definitely weren't wrong about that. The gunship doors opened to absolute hell. Shots going in all directions, countless droids, and a droid barrier in front of the palace entrance. Across the landing bay, it was obvious Anakin was distraught about the idea of his wife being stuck inside.

It didn't take long for the 501st to break through the blockade at the entrance, but it was only worse inside. You ordered a split off, with you, Jesse and a few others taking the west wing. You looked over your shoulder and only saw five men. This would never be enough. Your group pushed forward, leaving only seven destroyers to decimate before conquering the wing. One of your men knew what he had to do.

"For the 501st!" he screamed, throwing charges at the destroyers. Knowing how heavy the explosion would be, you fell to the ground and covered your ears. Unfortunately, you were the only one to think to do that. Once the charges exploded, you got up and looked around. All the men were knocked on the ground. Quickly, you approached each solider, ripping off their helmet and taking their pulse.

There were no survivors, until you got to Jesse. You held your breath as you removed his helmet and placed two fingers on his neck. A pulse was there, faint, but there. You picked him up and put him over your shoulder, thanking your Jedi training for providing you with extra upper body strength. Only a few floors up there was a suite which Senator Amidala always let you stay in when on Naboo. You found the nearest elevator and made your way up there, hoping to not run into any droids. To your luck, the elevator doors opened and your hope came true. You hastily made your way to the suite and let yourself in, laying Jesse's limp body on the bed.

Figuring he just had the wind knocked out of him, you began to remove his upper armor to relieve weight off his chest. Starting with his pauldron, and finishing with the gloves. Sighing, you looked at the beaten up ARC. His underlies were dark, heavy, evident of stress. You caressed his cheek, acknowledging how soft it was. Freshly shaved. He would eventually be okay.

"Vaabir nayc chaabar a kebi. Anay kebi Kelir cuyir jate," you softly hummed over and over again, watching his chest slowly rise and fall. You placed a gentle kiss on his forehead and got off the bed,  going to the refresher for a much needed shower.

Upon finishing your shower, you dressed in only undergarments and a short silk robe. It was the only things you could find that were suitable for you. You exited the refresher and went to towards the vanity, beginning to comb through your wet hair.

"General?"

You quickly turned around to see a confused Jesse staring at you.

"What happened?" he asked, shaking slightly. You threw your hair up into a low bun and sat on the edge of the bed.

"There was a pretty bad explosion. Lost everyone, except you. I figured I would bring you here. The Senator usually lends me this room while I'm on Naboo. Didn't want to see anything worse happen to you.

Jesse couldn't help but stare at your glowing skin, watching a single drop of water trail down you arm, "Thank you," he whispered, still in his trance.

"Would you like to freshen up?" you asked, "A warm shower might help you feel better."

He nodded and attempted to get out of the bed, grunting in pain. You rushed to his side and put your arm around his back, "Jesse?"

"I'm sorry General. Just some pain in my back. I've got this," he confirmed, trying to get up again.

"I'll leave some fresh clothes out for you, just holler if you need anything!" you smiled as he hobbled to the refresher.

The second the door locked, you sprung off the edge of the bed and rushed to the mirror. "oh maker," you said under your breath, looking at how disastrous you looked. With one swift motion you took the bun out and combed your hair straight, parting it perfectly in the middle. You dug through the drawers, trying to find anything to make you feel more confident. First,  you found some mens clothing. You put the sweatpants and t shirt next to the refresher door then continued to search for something for yourself. All you could find was a perfume bottle, and dark blue lace under garments. Was this too revealing, absolutely, but it was better than what you had on. You changed and sprayed yourself a few times before sitting back down on the bed, turning something random on on the holovision. Patiently, you sat there and watched until Jesse was finished.

Not too long after you finished up, the water turned off and Jesse opened the door to grab the clothes. When he walked out of the refresher your eyes widened.

"Is something wrong General?" he asked nervously.

You stuttered, "No, but, well, we aren't on the battle field, you can call me (Y/N), but I've just never seen you in civilian clothes. It's so, so different."

Jesse stood there for a moment, silent. "Is that bad or-"

"Oh no. It's actually kind of nice," you interrupted him, "really nice."

Jesse was motionless, standing speechless. "Oh my bad!" you finally let out, getting off the bed and sitting on the nearby futon. "Take the bed, you need it!"

He looked down and walked towards the bed, laying down then sighing, "Do the rest of the men know where we are?"

"Yeah, I let Anakin know what happened and he knows you're here with me. Kix is a little overwhelmed with injuries right now."

"Good," he nodded, wincing in pain.

You noticed the wince and shot up, rushing to his side, "What hurts?"

"My side," he grunted, grabbing his ribs.

"Mind if I take a look?" you asked, pressing your lips together.

"Yeah, go a head," he nodded, taking off his shirt, then laying back down.

Your lips parted as you stared at his bare chest. His extra hours lifting at the gym were evident. You put your hand on his chest and dragged your fingers down to his stomach.

"Gene-(Y/N)?" he asked, confused with what you are doing.

You stopped in your tracks, "Oh right, yes, I am so sorry. I just. Yeah. Lemme take a look at that." Your cheeks flushed pink as you examined his side, realizing he definitely has a broken rib. As you were attending to his wounds, he couldn't help but stare at your robe, which was becoming loose, revealing a portion of cleavage. He swallowed hard, and began to breathe heavy. Jesse was in complete awe that this was actually happening.

"(Y/N)," he finally let out, causing you to direct your attention to his face.

You hummed in response. He tilted his head slightly, looking at you in silence.

"Yes, Jesse?" you whispered, inching closer to him.

His gaze was still locked on your eyes. Yours on his. Not even the loudest explosion in the would could break this.

"What are you thinking," you exhaled, moving closer to him yet again.

"Are you getting closer to me?"

"Perhaps."

"I think I want to k-"

"Me too."

His lips met yours with passion. Your lips fit perfectly upon his. As he deepened the kiss, you laid down on your side, moving your leg over his. His hand ran down your back, resting on your thigh that was thrown over his legs.

Jesse pulled away, looking at the beauty in front of him. He removed his hand from your thigh and placed it on your shoulder, which has been exposed by your robe being pulled down every so slightly.

"I've been wanting to tell you this since the moment I saw you,  but, you are so, so, so, unbelievably stunning," he breathed, smiling at the vision of you.

"I can't tell you how long I've wanted to do this," you smiled back, kissing his chest softly.

With each small motion, your robe fell more and more off your shoulder, revealing much more than Jesse though he would ever see.

His stare of love became evident of agony, trying to prevent the urge of a growing heat between his legs.

You softly laughed and gave him another gentle kiss, "If it's bound to happen, let it happen." You removed the rest of your robe, exposing everything that wasn't covered by the lace.

Jesse could no longer hold it and cupped your cheek, passionately bringing you to his lips.

Though his physical wound may take a while to heal, his broken heart was officially mended.

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Fives looked up at you, his legs dangling off a valley cliff facing westward. Seeing you brought a smile to his face, but he remained silent as you sat down next to him. The moment you hit the ground, your shoulder was met with his arm and the side of his head rested against yours. He closed his eyes a took a deep breath. For once, you sensed tranquility in him.

"I think we can end it," he finally spoke, his head still pressed against yours.

"End what?"

"The war. Ringo Vinda would be a huge step in the right direction and-"

You pushed your index finger against his mouth and softly shook your head, "Remember what I told you. We must take things as they come. If we shoot that high, it will only hurt if we don't achieve."

Fives closed his eyes and nodded, placing his head back where it was, "The last time I shot high, I ended up exceeding my goals," he chuckled, pressing a kiss into your cheek, "I wanted to go on a date with my General and now she's my girlfriend!"

You rolled your eyes and smiled, "Once again, the ARC outplays the Jedi."

Fives mumbled incoherently into your shoulder as his playfully pulled your body onto the ground, allowing you to lay on top of him. You hummed, letting him know you had no idea what he just said.

"Would shooting for making my general mine forever be too high of a shot?" He asked, tilting his head towards yours.

His beautiful honey brown eyes met yours and you shrugged at his question.

"I think it's worth the shot," he smiled, reaching down into his holster, "what do you say?"

You looked at him baffled for a moment before breaking eye contact and looking at the ring between his fingers. Quickly, you sat up and gasped, "Shut up."

"I'm being serious, (Y/N)."

"Fives," your voice cracked, a few tears beginning to well in your eyes. You couldn't get out any other words. You nodded rapidly at him, prompting your favorite smile. He slowly placed the ring on your finger.

"I know you always say day by day, but I don't want a day without you. Ever."

You held your hand up and admired the ring, wondering how he got enough money together for something so beautiful. The glow of the rising sun made the ring sparkle. "You did an amazing job with it," you smiled, your gaze still locked on the ring, "I just wish we could have an engagement-moon!"

Fives chuckled and puller you closer to him, "We'll get one. Someday."

You two spend the last moments of peace together watching the final minutes of the sunrise. Everything was perfect.

Before you knew it you were on a transport to Ringo Vinda with the men of the 501st. The Republic needed extra assistance on the planetary wide space station, so who else would they call besides the "elite" clone company. Fives took his helmet off and exhaled, giving you a soft grin. You looked around at the other men and noticed Tup frantically tapping his foot.

"Everything alright, Tup?" you asked, knowing damn well he wasn't one to be too on edge over a simple battle.

"Just jittery, sir," he quickly responded, diverting his attention away from you. You looked at Fives and shrugged.

The rest of the transport ride was spend sitting in a narrow hallway with the legion, sitting across from Fives. You both had your legs extended, pushing your feet together playfully.

"Ready boys?" Anakin asked as the ship landed on the top of the space station.

You winked at Fives, something you always do before a battle before hopping out of the ship.

In typical 501st fashion, you all had control of another command center soon after arrival. All in all, you were enjoying this battle. There were minimal casualties and you got to fight along side other legions and Jedi Generals.

You, Anakin, and the twin Generals, Tiplar and Tiplee, gathered in the center of the room to discuss the take over of the central command center. The plan seemed pretty straight foward, just a typical attack from all angles alone then together strategy. With all the different corridors though, this meant sperating the 501st into three groups.

"We could put Fives in command of the best troops in the legion. I'll take Appo and you can take Rex. It would be solid group split," you suggested, hating the fact that ultimately, for victory you needed to be separated from Fives for a braid moment.

"I agree," Anakin nodded, "Let's get to it. I'll let Fives know."

Putting the mission at hand in front of your attachment, you led your men towards the east corridor and began the task at hand.

"Oh maker," you mumbled as you reached central commend. Thousands of driods surrounded the Sepertist general.

"Where is everyone else?!" Appo yelled through his comlink, startling you.

As if it was on que, Anakin's and Fives' groups entered the hangar, pushing through the droids like knives through warm butter.

Appo led the men into the heat of battle as you fought your way towards Fives.

"Has any one ever told you that you're the most fantastic ARC this army's ever seen?" You smiled, deflecting blasts away from Fives.

"Well," he dodged a blast and shot down a droid, "this gorgeous Jedi tells me that all the time."

An explosion stopped you before you could respond. "I'm gonna go help them," you groaned, rushing away from Fives' side. On your way to aid the struggling men, you noticed Tup standing in the middle of the battle field, frozen. "C'mon Tup!" You yelled as you ran past him.

Fives turned his head to your direction to make sure you made it to the other side safely when he saw the unthinkable. "Tup!" he screamed as he watched his brother shoot down General Tiplar, then point his blaster towards you. "Tup, stop" he screamed louder, lunging towards him as he managed to get one blast right into your shoulder.

You muttered an explicit then turned around, seeing Fives laying on top of Tup and not too far away, Tiplar's body.

"What the kriff?!" you spit through your teeth with venom, wincing at the pain in your shoulder.

Before you could get an explanation on what happened, Anakin commanded retreat and everyone fell back into that command room you gained control of previously.

After settling Tup with Kix and Rex, Fives rushed to your side and knelt down next to the step you were sitting on, "Are you okay?"

"You were in charge of him, Fives!" you whined moving your body slowly away from his.

Fives glanced up to make sure there wasn't anyone near you, "Cyare, I'm going to get to the bottom of this. You're not in too much pain, right?"

You shook your head,  "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay and just as confused as you are," he placed his hands on your thigh and tapped, "He's a good friend of both of us. We'll figure this out." He got up and went back over to Fives to check on Tup.  You grinned as you watched him walk away. Every time you see him in his full ARC armor, you notice he walks with more confidence, which you find beyond attractive. Once he was out of your line of sight, you closed your eyes to do some quick meditation, thinking maybe the force could guide you through Tup.

Internal Conflict, huh, you thought to your self, wondering what could have caused it. Without thinking, you walked up to the room where Tup was being held.

"Tup, has everything been al-"

You were cut off by Tup lunging at you, yelling inaudibly. Fives quickly sprung between you and Tup to protect you and pushed Tup onto the ground. Your lover turned around, with worry in his eyes. Still shocked with what happened, you retreated back into the command room, asking for Kix to come with.

"You need to bring him to the Jedi Council," you explained to Kix, "unless you can find something that's wrong."

Kix scrunched his forehead, "I'm not sure General. They don't train you for something like this. Maybe a trip to Kamino might be a better idea. Besides, they know clone anatomy better than anyone."

"That works, but (Y/N), we need to get you to the Jedi Council," Anakin butted in. He stopped you before you could give a reason not to, "We can't let that get infected."

"I am just as much as general here as you are!"

"The 501st is going to be on leave after this battle. You won't be without us long!" Fives chimed in, giving  you a wink, "what boys? We have maybe two more rotations left  on this piece of junk!"

After enough begging, you finally complied...until you noticed Appo was escorting you to your ship. "I thought Fives was escorting me back to Coruscant," you noted, stopping in your tracks.

"I'm sorry, General. But Fives was ordered to return to Kamino with Tup."

You pressed your lips together, "Oh! Well I forgot to give him his blaster back! I'll be right back!"

Appo looked at you confused, "General, what blaster?"

"Yes," you nodded, rushing back to the command room. You made you way to Fives and  pulled him out of the room, trying to keep your action on the down low.

"I know, I know. I wanted to escort you but-" you cut him off with a kiss, moving your hands up the back of his head and softly tugging at his hair. His hands rested on your hips, pulling you closer to him. You pulled back slightly.

"Please stay safe," you murmured, giving him a gentle kiss.

He trailed his kisses across your cheek and stopped at your ear and whispered, "Anything for you cyare."

You pulled him in for a passionate hug, "I need to get going."

"Hey, you need to be safe too. That was a pretty damn good kiss, better not be the last!"

"Fives," you sighed, "Don't say that."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

As you walked away to the ship, you glanced back at Fives, assuring yourself that it would be okay. Right now, the only thing you wanted was for your arm to heal for you could get back to the battlefield with Fives. But in that moment, the best thing you could look forward too is sleeping in your Jedi Temple quarters again.

The next morning, you woke up and immediately looked at your holopad, hoping to see a new message from Fives. Nothing. Only a message from Jesse, asking if you would like to join the boys at 79's that night.

"Guess Ringo Vinda ended sooner than I thought," you thought to yourself, getting ready for the day.

Once nightfall hit, you began to get ready for a night of fun. As you put the finishing touches on your makeup, there was a knock of panic on your quarters door. It was Anakin.

"Have you heard from Fives?!" He said in a rush, bursting into your room with Rex.

You gave them a confused look, "I actually haven't. Figured he was exhausted from the mission.  Is everything alright?"

Anakin stopped, "You haven't heard anything?"

"Guys, what's going on?" You asked, concern in your voice.

"Sit down," Anakin sighed sitting on the edge of your bed, "look, Rex and I know about you and Fives. We think you can help."

"Help with what?"

Anakin and Rex looked at each other, then at you, "Fives tried to kill the chancellor and he's on the run. We think maybe you can talk to him."

You looked at them in shock, "you can't be right."

~

"She was supposed to be here already," Jesse noted, taking another sip of his drink.

"I'm okay with that. Gives us more time to think of what we are going to tell her," Kix replied, "besides, she won't believe us."

Jesse chuckled, "that would be a first."

"Anyway, I'm going to head to the 'fresher. I don't care if she has the hots for Fives, I still need to look presentable in front of her!"

"Keep dreaming," Jesse snorted, taking another sip of his drink.

Kix rolled his eyes and made his way to the refresher.  Just as he began to check for any imperfections, the door opened.

"Looks like the 501st is back on Coruscant," the clone said, approaching.

"Yeah, the craziest thing happened on Ringo Vinda," Kix responded, turning to face to clone.

"I know," he mumbled, taking off his hat, revealing his identity.

"Fives?!"

~

"I'm so sorry Kix," you sighed, "I was almost ready to go but something came up with Fives and i-"

"I know. I'm sending over coordinates right now.  He wants you to meet him there," Kix informed you, sending over the coordinates.

"Thank you Kix," you softly smiled into the comlink after turning it off. You turned to head out of the crowded bar but stopped, looking back at Kix. He looked at you with sympathy, yet you could sense his hurt. Fives was hurting, hurting enough to effect his closest brothers.

"Good luck," he mouthed out before motioning you off.

You gave him a half assed smile and took off, desperate to find your lover. On the way to the coordinates, your mind was blank. Not a single thought racing. That was the only way you could get through this confusing nightmare.

The coordinates weren't anything much. Just an old abandoned hangar in the lower levels. With some hesitation, you leaped off your speeder and entered the hangar. Though you couldn't see him, you sensed his presence.

"Fives?" You called out, slowly making your way deeper into the hanger.

"Oh cyare," he sighed behind you, throwing his body into yours. He deepened the embrace and nuzzled his head into your neck, "please believe me."

"Of course I trust you, love," you whispered, running your fingers down his spine. You frowned slightly at the sight of his missing hair. There had to be a story behind it, but you didn't want to probe. Becides, hair grows back. "Fives, what happened?"

He struggled to get words out without weeping, "can we go find some cheap motel to lay down and talk. I just want to hold you close, lay under blankets and explain everything. I'd feel safer there, I'd-"

You pressed two fingers against his lips, "anything you need, we'll make it happen. I promi-"

"FIVES! Let her go!" Screamed Anakin from across the room, Rex accompanying him.

Anakin used the force to rip you out of Fives' arms and towards him. "Fives, how can we trust you alone with her after what you did."

"Anakin!" You yelled, slapping his hand and rushing towards Fives. Anakin couldn't let that happen. He scrambled to the closest control panel and activated a ray shield, making it impossible to reach Fives. "Fives, explain yourself." Anakin demanded, getting a look of rage from you.

"There's a big plan!" Fives began to rant, "A plan to kill the Jedi! It's in the mind of every clone! The chancellor told me. This is bigger than anyone could imagine. You've got to believe me!"

"Fives, why try to assassinate the chancellor?" Anakin asked as calm as possible, ignoring your attempts to break free of the ray sheild.

Before he could explain himself, Commander Fox and his battalion barged into the hangar, weapons drawn. "Surrender Fives!" Fox yelled, getting closer to Fives.

"No no no!" Fives screamed, holding up the pistol he managed to sneak off your belt while he was hugging you.

"FIVES PUT IT DOWN!" You yelled at the top of your lungs, fearing the worst.

Fives looked at you, then back at Fox, then back at you, but it was too late. As his eyes made contact with you again, a single shot went straight into his chest. The pistol dropped to the floor, and not long after Fives.

You screamed his name in agony as Rex and Anakin rushed to his side. Rex cradled Fives as you watched in horror behind the ray shield.

"Get her out of there," Anakin commanded to Fox.

As Fox shot your ray shield down, Fives looked up at Rex, gasping for air, but managed to get out, "Take care of her for me. Please."

The second you were free from the shield, you ran to your lovers limp body. Rex quickly handed him over to you. Tears trickled from your face as you began to stroke his cheek.

"Fives, Fives, listen to me," you struggled to get out. "Hang in there, you're going to be okay. We're going to be okay." You held up your hand with the engagement ring. "See, we're going to have our someday, together. And that someday is super soon and, and, and." You kept rapid firing anything you think could spark live in him, but you knew he was too far gone. You watched a few tears slowly make their way down his face.

With every last bit of energy he had left in him, he softy squeezed your hand, "I love you." he whispered, before fading away.

"No. No. No. Fives Fives," you gasped, shaking his body, "no no don't leave me don't leave me."

"(Y/N)," Anakin sighed behind you.

You closed your eyes, rested your head on your lovers dead chest, and began to bawl in true pain.

Rex took a knee besides you and slowing began to rub your back, making sure he does everything he can to fulfill the promise he made his best friend.

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