#jesse reader insert

(Rex, Cody, Fives, Jesse, Hardcase, and Wolffe)

   Rex: He is the epitome of self-control and professionalism.  He’s a soldier, after all.  A captain.  He’s extremely subtle when he’s crushing, and most wouldn’t think much of his careful interaction with you.  It’s those who know Rex best that would pick up on it.  He’s trying just a little too hard to appear composed.  He clips his sentences just a little more than he would with anyone else.  His feelings would grow to incredible depths beneath the surface, but only a fraction of them would be perceivable.  If the object of his feelings happens to be in distress or danger, that facade disappears for a little while as he comes to their aid.

   Cody: He remains professional when it’s important, but he isn’t opposed to a harmless flirt every now and then off-duty.  He ultimately hopes to spare the object of his affection from the kind of life they’d lead with him.  He’s not just a commander; he’s the commander, which is a position that comes with even more responsibility.  It means even more time away.  More risk.  Still, he can’t seem to keep away from his crush entirely.  He finds himself gravitating toward her despite the voice in his head telling him to keep his distance for her sake, dropping in to save her and throw more flirts her way.

   Fives:  Even though he is an ARC trooper and keeps things professional when it comes to his work, underneath it all he is a very passionate man who can’t help but speak his mind.  He will keep feelings to himself for only so long if it’s a brand new crush, and maybe just take advantage of opportunities to be around her.  If his feelings grow to the point where he falls for his crush, he won’t waste time.  He will put all cards on the table if he finds that she likes him too.  He is who he is, a soldier, an ARC trooper...and if you are willing to give things a chance, he is all in.

   Jesse: If he finds someone attractive, he won’t hesitate to engage in harmless flirting.  I’ve seen him characterized as somewhat of a ladies’ man, and I agree.  When he does fall for someone for real, and his feelings go beyond a little crush, it makes him nervous at first.  He might not flirt so much all of a sudden and get strangely quiet when the object of his affection enters the room.  In the end, he is also a man of passion and loyalty (he tattooed the Republic symbol on his face because he believes in it so much).  It’ll click one day, and he will realize that he’ll take the chance on love if she’ll have him.

   Hardcase: This man falls pretty hard and fast.  He loves being a soldier.  He loves the action.  But when he realizes that he’s fallen in love, he is all about that person.  He’d be the most obvious about his crush because he can’t help but talk about her to anyone who’ll listen.  It annoys his brothers at times, but he doesn’t care.  When he’s with his crush, he wants to see her smile, so he’s pulling out all his best jokes and interesting stories in hopes to make her laugh.

(Author’s Note:  Okay, so I keep thinking about the ending of Clone Wars, and I think Jesse just needs some love.  Also, I did some reading to try and keep this fic accurate and learned a lot of interesting and important things about the deaf community. In this fic, Reader uses hearing aids.  She can hear sound without them, but they amplify and make sounds clearer.  Anyway, I gathered info, but if there is something that I got wrong, I’d like to know so that I can improve, and I ask that you bear with me).

   A small shock zapped your fingers, and you withdrew your hand from the panel with an exasperated sigh.  This wiring was being a real pain, and you still had a list of other things to get done aboard this ship.  Not to mention your hearing aids had been beeping for some time now.  It was never a dull moment.

   “You okay?” your coworker, Iris, asked.  She was working on the next panel over, face twisted from the effort as she narrowly missed a shock as well.

   You nodded.  “Yeah, this thing is just being a pain.  What else is new?”

   She gave a laugh.  “True.  We really need to have droids do this sort of thing.”

   “Then where does that leave us?”  You gave her a pointed look.  “If droids are doing all the work?”

   “That leaves us with a promotion,” she grinned.  “Someone’s got to oversee the droids.”

   “Hm, I kind of like that idea.”  As you reinserted your hand into the mess of wires, the dreaded sound filled your ears again.  “Ugh, time for new batteries,” you groaned.  You reached into your bag to find the replacement battery packs for your hearing aids, but your search grew frantic when they weren’t in the usual pocket.  “And looks like I left the replacement batteries at my quarters.”

   “I can take over your panel for you,” Iris suggested.  “Go ahead.”

   “Alright, thanks.  I’ll be back in a few.”  You hurried down the hall, rounding corners, and taking lifts.  At some point, the beeping had ceased, and the sounds that had previously been somewhat clear became a blur of background noises.  Troopers and other officers passed you in the hall, and you tried your best to acknowledge them without inviting them to engage in any extended conversation.  You came to the final lift on your trip back to the quarters.  It was just a short wait until it arrived.

   A tap on your shoulder made you jump slightly in surprise as you turned around to see who it was.  Your face fell at the sight of your boss.  His hands were on his hips, and his expression was tight with irritation.  He spoke, and you could hear the sound, but it was difficult to understand what he was saying exactly.  The noise around you had blurred together.  You only picked up a few words; “work” and “panels.”  Of course in the two minutes you took away from your job, he managed to find you.

   “I’m sorry,” you said, shaking your head.  “Can you say that again?”

   His brows furrowed as his frown grew.  There was a good chance that he didn’t understand what was going on.  Before you could explain, he launched into a complaint, but again, you could only discern a word or two because he was talking so fast and most likely speaking loudly out of irritation.  It made you impatient, knowing that if he would just let you explain, the situation would be resolved.

   Out of the corner of your eye, you locked eyes with a trooper that was passing by with a comrade.  You’d seen him before and even had a few conversations with him.  He was a good-natured fellow who had a sense of humor.  His appearance was striking; his head was shaved, and the Republic symbol was tattooed across the left side on his forehead overlapping his face.  He nudged the trooper beside him and stopped in his tracks.

   As he approached, he offered a smile.  It was easier to understand what he was saying since he spoke rather calmly and at a normal speed.  “What seems to be the problem?”

   You gestured to the hearing aid in your right ear.  “Dead battery,” you said.  “I had to leave my shift for just a minute to get a replacement.”

   Your boss looked rather astonished for a moment as the trooper gave him a questioning look, most likely asking, “well, why didn’t you tell me?”

   You must have hit the nail on the head because your boss looked rather embarrassed when you informed him that it was difficult to understand what he was saying and that he hadn’t given you a chance to explain the situation.

   The trooper observed you, lips twitching up in a smirk as your boss voiced his apologies and continued on his way after you insisted you’d return to your assignment as soon as possible.  You started down the hallway, but paused when you noticed the trooper walking by your side.

   “Mind if I accompany you?” he asked.

   You nodded, and there wasn’t much conversation on the way to your quarters.  You couldn’t decide whether you should think him sweet or annoying for thinking he had to escort you the rest of the way.  You settled on somewhere in the middle by the time you reached your quarters and opened the door.  He remained outside as you inserted the new batteries and switched on the hearing aids.

   “Better?” he asked.

   “Much better.”

   “I’m glad,” he said, extending a gloved hand.  “The name’s Jesse.”

   Your door shut behind you as you stepped back into the hallway to shake his hand with a smirk.  “I’m _________.  It’s nice to meet you, Jesse.  I’ll have you know, I can find my quarters just fine without my hearing aids.”  The warmth of his hand still remained even after you had pulled yours away.  His eyes darted to the floor for a moment, most likely bashful from your comment.

   “I know you can.  The truth is, _________, I wanted to escort you because I’ve seen you around and, well, I think you’re cute.”

   “Is that so?”

   “Yes, and uh, I wanted to ask you out.”

   “Isn’t that...against the rules?”  You raised a brow.  It was a well-known fact that soldiers weren’t supposed to have relationships, though you’d heard rumors that some dated secretly.  Jesse seemed like a nice guy, and quite handsome, but the last thing you wanted was to get him in trouble.

   “Well, not if we go as acquaintances,” Jesse bargained.

   “Acquaintances?” You repeated with a smile as you folded your arms.  “Acquaintances who think the other is cute?”

   He smirked back.  “Sounds about right.”

   You pretended to think it over, dramatically stroking your chin as you hummed.  Jesse chuckled as you paused once more to give him a look.  “My shift ends in a few hours.  Come pick me up then?”

   “Sure thing.”