#maceponds

https://archiveofourown.org/works/33073144/chapters/101577078

There's a buzzing in Ponds’s head, something vast and numbing and full of a dark sort of rage, and he takes three long steps and puts himself squarely in front of his general.

“Don’t even think about it,” he says, perfectly steady.

Jango pauses, just slightly, and his gaze slides from Mace on the ground to Ponds and back, and Ponds doesn’t have to know mulishness on his own face to see it settle into every line of Jango's expression.

“I'm your Mand'alor,” he says flatly. “Move.”

“You're our Original,” Ponds says, and his heart is beating so hard he can hardly think, but—he knows what he’s doing. Mace is on the ground, and Depa is hurt, and Caleb is unconscious. Ponds has spent twenty years trying to become Jango's heir, he’s almost there, but—

Not for this. Not at this cost. Jango's his Mand'alor, his creator, almost his father, but some things are more important.

“The Jedi are our enemies,” Jango says, and it’s a warning. That’s more than he gives most people, and Ponds knows it. “If you’ve been harboring an enemy, you won't be the only one punished for it.”

Ponds knows that, too. But he knows Razor and Stak and all the others in Lightning Squadron, too, knows just how much all of them love Mace at this point. He’s been with them for two months, and every single day has been enough to drive the thorns in a little deeper.

The clones were made to conquer the Republic and end the Jedi, but Ponds can't. He knows his men can't, either.

And then, soft, there's a breath. “Ponds,” Mace says, rising to his feet, and Ponds can hear the faint heaviness in his movements that wasn’t there before, the way he’s favoring his right side. Jango hit him. Jango hit him because Mace was trying to protect his daughter, his former padawan, and Jango used them as bait.

Honorable mercenaries, that’s what Mandalorians are supposed to be. Ponds wonders if anyone told Jango that.

“No,” Ponds says, steady, stubborn, and holds Jango's dark gaze. Wonders, too, if anyone ever told him that he was supposed to be a father to them, and not just a ruler. Wonders, if he would have cared if someone had, or if he’d just have set all of the command class against each other anyway, waiting to see who would be his heir.

“Ponds,” Jango says, and that’s a warning, too.

“If you go anywhere near them,” Ponds says quietly, “you’ll have to deal with me.”

“Ponds,” Mace says, and a hand touches his side, light, half an instant before Mace sets his shoulder to Ponds’s and joins him, braced and ready as he watches Jango. “Not alone.”

"Ponds,"

"Yes, Cyare?"

"Could we go for a walk?" Mace asked.

"Of course, where to?" Ponds gave a peck on the cheek as he helped his cyare stand up.

"The blue gardens," It was Mace's favorite place to go.

They walked calmly towards the gardens with Mace using Ponds as support, even in his weak state Ponds couldn't help but gaze at his love, he was truly blessed to have been assigned since the start to Mace, he knew that the rest of his men thought the same.

After all Mace had always gone back for every single one of them, he would put his life in danger just for them, they all adored him but not everyone thought the same, the clones knew that not all the galaxy was fond of the Jedi but when the Senate used their power over the Jedi order to trial Tano, that is when they all snapped, they would not let anyone hurt their Jedi.

"Ponds, are you alright?" Mace's question pulled him out of his train of thought.

"Yes, I just got distracted," Ponds smiled reassuringly, he wouldn't let such memories ruin his time with Mace.

"Will anyone else come?"

"No, today is my day with you," Ponds loves his brothers, they all love Mace and Mace is theirs but sometimes they need alone time so they all have one day to themselves to enjoy Mace, their Cyare.

They reached their usual place in the grass in the garden and started to relax in a silence that Ponds wasn't as fond of, he really wishes that they can soon let Mace out of the drugs, he misses the long chats they would have but Mace had been the hardest to put under the first time he couldn't risk him like that.

*It's for his own good,* Ponds thought as he let Mace rest in his shoulder, already tired from their small walk.

It had been almost an hour until Mace spoke again.

"Ponds,"

"Cyare?"

"I'm thirsty," Mace absently informed, the only good thing from having him drugged was that he was more honest,

"I'll go get you some juice, do you want something to eat?" Ponds asked.

"Cake?" Mace sweet tooth also became more evident.

"Just a small piece, vanilla?" Ponds gently helped Mace to one of the arm chairs in the garden.

Mace only nodded clearly still tired, Ponds left the garden to retrieve what Mace had asked for, it didn't take him long to reach the main kitchen.

"Ponds?" Chopper greeted.

"I'm here for some water and vanilla cake, do we still have some?"

"Yup, we still have some, is it for your Jedi?" Chopper asked while retrieving the cake.

"Yeah, he's been having a lot of cravings lately," Ponds explained while he retrieved the water.

"Other Jedi have been the same,"

"Really?" Ponds asked.

"Yup, I think it may have something to do with the drugs," Chopper whispered the last part.

"Are the medics aware?" Copper nodded.

"Then I guess we can only wait," Ponds furrowed his eyebrows.

"Don't worry if it was anything dangerous the-" Chopper was interrupted by their coms beeping.

It beeped red two times and one time yellow.

"Runaway Padawans," They said out loud.

Ponds left one second later to the garden where he had left Mace, even if it was only some Padawans they could be just as resourceful as any adult Jedi and the tracker said that Mace was still where he left him but that wouldn't bring him any peace until he saw Mace again.

He knew that Mace was in one of the safest places in the Temple but when he saw a knocked out brother his blood ran cold.

He ran faster than he had in his life, when he reached the garden there where more knocked out brothers on the floor.

Au where Ponds lives, but through a set of increasingly ridiculous circumstances he’s not able to reach the republic till order 66 where he helps Mace recover from falling out of a window. He even built the general an arm! How you may ask?

Easy, the blaster bolt to the head missed his brain, barely but through the “Force” it was able to cause enough trauma to deactivate the chip(It also cause a scar on the back of his head). He learned how to build prosthetic as a way of funding his mission to get back to his general.

He had to sell and mod his armor but that’s okay! They are now on the run, but with plans to help back the rebellion.