Hnnnng I Told Myself I'd Restrain Myself, Bit I Can't XD Can You Do Oh No Or Double Trouble For Rex XD

Prompt: sleepy Captain Rex

That’s all. Short and sweet. Maybe a little Fives thrown in for fun. 😁

I have made vod fluff 🤷🏽‍♀️ Sorry if you wanted X Reader stuffs anon 😬

these were just some feels that came up... (I blame @lifeofclonewars for encouraging my clone cuddle pile headcanons)

Complete mental and physical exhaustion. There wasn't much else to it. After a long... rotation? (give or take a couple hours) of sorting through mission reports, requisitions... oh hells, when's the last time he ate something? Doesn't matter. He's got about an hour until Kix was heading to the barracks to... actually Rex didn't know if the medic even slept anymore... but he would be coming to the barracks. And maybe two hours before Echo and Fives stumble in from whatever place they're drinking at tonight. He removes most of his armour, placing it on the rack near the entrance to the small barracks room. His feet dragging along the floor as he tries to remember which bunk is his. That doesn't matter either, apparently, as he suddenly trips over something on the floor.

Kix entered the barracks, ready to spend the next couple hours going over patient reports, planning out treatments, and reviewing procedures. Placing his boots and helmet on the rack, he notices the sound of heavy breathing from... the middle of the room? He flicks on the light on his vambrace to see Rex flopped across some matresses that were on the floor for whatever reason. His mind tiredly jumping to how he, Rex, Jesse, and Hardcase used to sleep out in the field. (It always felt safer, leaning against a vod.) He rolls Rex off his stomach, only mildly surprised the when Captain doesn't wake at all. Sitting him up to where he could lean against Rex's back, Kix sat in the position they'd taken up countless times on missions. Fully expecting to sit awake, skimming his data pad until someone comes to help him move the dead-to-the-world captain.

Fives stumbles into the barracks, followed quickly by Echo who is (loudly) shushing him, telling him not to wake anyone. They both stop at the same time as they become aware of light snoring and a dim light in the middle of the room.

"You didn't put the mattresses back?" Fives hissed at his twin.

"I'm not the one who wanted to see how far he could jump off the bunks." Echo shoved Fives' shoulder.

Fives squints in the low light of Kix' data pad. Seeing the Captain and the medic sleeping against each other's backs, heads rolled back on the other's shoulder. He smacks Echo's chest with the back of his hand. "I told you we weren't the only squad to sleep like that."

"Di'kut, I'm not the one who disagreed with that." Echo slurred slightly, as he went to the right side of their sleeping vode. Leaning low so his head wasn't in Rex's face. Fives just shrugs, taking up the left side, making sure his hair wasn't going to brush against Kix if he shifts too much.

For the clone hc thing uhhhh because of the blue shadow virus, Rex's immune system had been compromised leading to him getting sick easier then other clones, but he hates to admit it when it happens so he tries to power through the sickness. It falls to torrent (mostly Kix) to bully him into resting when this happens XD

Protocol 57: Get The Captain To Rest

Summary: Rex’s immune system has never been the same since the Blue Shadow virus. Cue Torrent company holding an intervention.

Pairing: None

Tags: sick rex, caring brothers, torrent company being the best vod, rex is very loved, but also stubborn when he gets sick

Word Count: 922

A/N: This was fun to write! Mando’a translations at the end. Headcanon submitted as part of this post.

|| Masterlist || Tag list ||

Rex gave a disgruntled sniffle as he walked down the halls of the Resolute, shivering lightly even under his full armour. In one hand he held a datapad and a stack of flimsi reports, in the other, a handful of tissues.

Ever since he contracted the Blue Shadow virus the previous year, Rex found he fell sick more often than most of his brothers, and that it hit him harder when he did. But, he was a soldier. He was the Captain of the 501st Legion and he had work to do. He wasn’t about to let a little sickness get in his way. They were at war, for Force sake!

Unfortunately, his vod’ikas had other plans.

----

Jesse was first to spot their ori’vod looking, well, for lack of a better word, osik. If it hadn’t been for the puffy eyes and coughing, the stumbling would have given him away. He tapped a few buttons on his wrist comm, tapping through to Five’s private comm link.

“Fives, we’ve got a protocol 57, spread the word.”

“Damn it, again?”

Fives responded almost immediately with a chuckle, and Jesse could hear shuffling on the other end, then a few beeps and Echo joined them. Before long, the rest of Torrent company was on the comm.

Fives chuckled as he and Echo made a quiet escape from the training room,

“Right, let's have a clean sweep this time, eh vod?”

Dogma laughed,

“Don’t worry, we got this. 34th times a charm, right?”

Tup elbowed him, and Fives continued.

“Echo and I are on point, we’ll run interference at the armoury and push him up to the bridge. Hardcase, you find him and get him to us.”

Jesse rolled his eyes as the rest of his brothers recited their jobs. “I’ll get word down to Kix. Good luck di’kuts.”

Jesse rolled his eyes as the rest of his brothers recited their jobs. “I’ll get word down to Kix. Good luck di’kuts.”

----

Rex was idly rubbing his temples as he headed for the mess hall, too engrossed in his datapad to notice Hardcase approaching him at first. Engrossed may be the wrong word, when really he was just trying to make the words stop moving.

“Captain…” Hardcase jogged to catch up with him. “Sir, are you alright?”

Rex snapped out of it, turning to face the trooper. He cleared his throat, balling his tissues in his palm.

“Hardcase, I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“You're headed for the mess and lunch finished an hour ago.” He nodded to the empty mess hall, beginning to guide him away and down the brightly lit hallway. “Are you sure you’re alright? Echo was looking for you to oversee an inventory in the armoury but I can help him if you’d like. I think Kix is still down in medical if-”

“That won’t be necessary. Thank you, Hardcase.”

The man just shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back. “I have the next training session, I’ll walk with you to the armoury, Sir.”

Rex loved all his vod, really, he did. But he did not have the energy for Hardcase right now. Still, he powered through, nodding his head.

Hardcase did. not. stop. talking. and gesturing energetically the entire time. He saluted the Captain as he stopped outside the armour, where Fives and Echo were conveniently just leaving, standing to attention.

He gave them a wink and left them in the company of their now exhausted Captain.

Rex waved his hand to put the arc troopers at ease, nodding inside the inventory and coughing.

“You needed me to do an inventory?”

Echo shook his head, “It’s alright Sir, Fives assisted me.”

“Are you alright, Captain? We can handle the bridge report this evening, why don’t you turn in early? You must be exhausted-” Fives tried, maybe they’d get lucky.

“I’m quite alright, boys.” Rex said suspiciously. “Why do you all keep asking if I’m alr-”

Rex cut himself off with a rather large sneeze, followed by a coughing fit. Fives grinned, giving Echo a look behind his ori’vod’s back.

“I think Tup was looking for your Sir, you might want to catch him on your way to the bridge, it seemed important.”

Rex suppressed his complaints and rubbed his temple, nodding. “Thanks vod.”

He set off again, and Echo was straight on his comm.

“Dogma, he’s all yours.”

----

On his way to find Tup on the bridge, Rex caught Dogma sprinting at the other side of the hallways, a stack of flimsi in his hand. Rex wasn’t in the mood for this, groaning and rubbing his temples.

“Dogma, what did I say about run-”

“Sorry Sir, I wa- wooooah-”

Dogma skidded to a halt in an attempt to salute his Captain and ‘tripped’, landing on the cold durasteel floor and clutching his ankle.

Rex kneeled beside him, shaking his head with a sigh. “Dank farrik, not again. Come on, let’s get you to Kix.”

Dogma let Rex help him up and limped all the way to the medical bay where Jesse was standing with Kix, grinning.

Kix just rolled his eyes and shooed Dogma away, who promptly stood on his perfectly uninjured feet and joined Jesse at the door.

“What the-”

Kix pointed to the nearest cot. “On the cot, Sir, you look like bantha shit.”

Rex opened his mouth to protest, and was hit with a fit of coughing. Scowling, he resigned himself to his fate and climbed up onto the cot. He shot a look at Jesse and Dogma, standing smugly in the doorway wearing matching smirks.

“Di’kuts.”

Jesse and Dogma just grinned as Hardcase, Fives, Echo and Tup’s heads appeared one by one, sticking around the doorframe.

“We love you too, ori’vod.”

---

Vod’ikas - little brothers

Ori’vod - big brother

Osik - shit

Di’kuts - idiots

Vod - brother

Dank farrick - fuck

i love these two characters. i need to trap them in a collapsed building so they can talk about their feelings as one of them slowly bleeds out.

I just thought of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad au where during Umbara it’s Rex that’s injured and he’s begging Kix to leave him behind so Kix can keep outrunning the tanks. And Kix still tells Rex he sounds like General Krell but he’s more frustrated and afraid than angry. Kix manages to group Rex with the rest of the wounded and Rex orders Kix to leave them behind and initially Kix is like no Fucking way I’m leaving you all out here but Rex reasons with him that he’s the only medic with the company right now and he had to keep moving with the group and Rex would keep an eye on and defend the rest of the wounded. At this point Kix knows he’s right so he leaves with them with a bunch of supplies and keeps going with Torrent. At the end of the battle when their recovering everyone’s like oh Kriff where’s Rex?! Did we loose him?! Is he dead?! And Kix speaks up and tells them he’s with the wounded, which spurts Fives and company to try and go back and look for them but in the name of progress and sacrifice Krell forbids it. He temporarily promotes Jesse to captain because i think at the time he was Rex’s lieutenant but mostly because Krell liked Jesse’s attitude more than he liked Five’s. The rest of the arc continues the way it originally did but with Jesse and fives at the lead. Meanwhile, Rex and like 25 other troops are lost in a foreign environment in the center of hostile territory on a planet far from any republic system, dwindling rations and medical supplies trying their best to live off the land for weeks. Rex had found a cave for the men to hide out in and made a camp there. Since he’s the captain and one of the least injured he goes out trying to locate and contact the gar while finding food and supplies. Between encounters with natural predators and Umbaran squads he always comes back more injured than he left. At this time Anakin gets back and he’s also like umm where’s Rex?? When the 501st tells him what happened he’s pissed and immediately goes out into the jungle to find Rex. And he does, just in time too because Rex had gotten his legs caught in a trap and was too injured to walk or fight and was surrounded by enemy Umbarans. Rex and the others wounded are rescued and get shipped of to a medical station for a while. When they get back hella comfort ensues and torrent is never letting Rex out of their sight again. Over the next few months however it’s clear that Rex has developed a significant amount of trauma and ptsd from the experience and is finding it hard to integrate back into and function within the gar.

Rex, Pint-Sized Battlemaster

(Ben and Luke, Ahsoka, Rex, and Leia, Chrono)

Intensely on my mind right now: Rex’s weird role as just That Mando Kid Wandering The Temple in the Uncle Ben and Little Luke verse

He walks in on padawan strategy classes, looking all of ten or twelve years old, and just sits in the back. He waits. He audits. When someone complains about how they don’t need battlefield strategy classes, that they’re Jedi and there hasn’t been a war in so long, when the teacher is just exhaustedly explaining for the fifth time that Jedi are regularly called in to warzones, to negotiate ceasefires or extract Senate representatives, when the teacher tries to impress upon their students that reading a battlefield is important even if you don’t expect to lead a battle…

Rex just sets a dejarik board in front of the padawan, who’s twice his size and can tell that Rex is about as force-sensitive as a barely-more-than-null brick, and says, “If you can beat me, you can claim that you’re good enough at reading a battlefield to skip this class. If you can’t, you’re sticking around. Understand?”

The teacher didn’t agree to this ahead of time, but has seen Rex pull this on other people, including experienced knights and masters, and just. Gestures for them to go ahead. Fuck it! The weird Mando kid is capable of outmaneuvering highly-ranked masters, Force or no! Clearly he knows his shit!

Rex, seasoned battle commander that he is, with literal decades of training and experience, wins easily. The padawan is very upset. Rex doesn’t care, because in his mind, the padawan’s behavior was going to get brothers from Kamino killed fifteen years down the line.

And he just keeps on doing that, to the point where all the masters who run those kinds of classes on war and strategy and tactics just reach out to Ben like “Hey… is this kid legit or just hyperfocused on the subject or–” “He grew up in a military cult.” “…” “For reasons I cannot disclose, yes, he’s legitimately more experienced in this field than most field-ready Jedi masters. Just be glad the military cult in question wasn’t Kyr’tsad, honestly.”

Deadcember Day 17: Dark Night

Ever since he was a cadet fresh out of the tube, CT-7567 has been different.

Yeah, the blond hair is a pretty obvious indicator, but there’s something else. Something below the surface.

CT-7567 was always slightly faster, slightly stronger, slightly smarter than his batchmates. He has the best scores in training. Sometimes he knows which one of them was about to sneak up behind him, even if they weren’t making a sound. All of these inexplicable things added up to an anomaly that the Kaminoans just barely missed, despite them keeping a very close eye on him because of his “cosmetic defect.”

And there was the Voice.

The Voice isn’t his inner dialogue or anything—CT-7567 knows that. He can’t explain how or why, but he just knows. The Voice helps him, will tell him to take a left instead of a right to avoid being caught if he was out past curfew, will tell him when to dodge in order to avoid being shot during a training sim.

During one sim, something went wrong and CT-7570 is killed. The Voice seems to scream in pain and it’s almost as if ’67 feels CT-7570 die.

Such an explanation seems ridiculous, but he can’t think of a better one, and it just fits.

CT-7567 knows that his… quirks are strange and unique (are dangerous, are defects) when he asks one of his closest batchmates about it.

“When ’70 was killed, did you… feel anything? Like, pain or something?” He asks CT-7583, who taken to calling himself Keeli.

Keeli looks at him strangely, as if he had suddenly grown a second head (CT-7567 has heard rumors of such defects, though if they ever existed, the Kaminoans would decommission them at the first sign of abnormality). “No,” his batch mate responds. “Did you?”

“N-no. I just… I felt bad after, I guess.”

Keeli wraps his arm around ’67’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Me too.”

Then Keeli pokes ’67’s side, and they devolve into giggles and roughhousing, the day’s events forgotten.

%#%#%

Sometimes, the Voice is less of a Voice and more of a Feeling, like the day the War begins.

By this point, CT-7567 has received a nickname—Rex. He was also bumped up to the command track. He felt slightly out of place, but CC-2224, who likes to be called Cody, took him under his wing.

Over the past two days, there have been whispers of a Jedi on Kamino. Rex knew they were true: he felt the Jedi as soon as they entered the atmosphere. They glowed, brighter than all of his brothers.

Though no one is exactly sure why the Jedi came, they all knew what it meant—the War was here.

The day they are deployed, Rex wakes up feeling tense, as if he’s in a training sim. There’s this sense of foreboding, and Rex wants to prepare, but he doesn’t know what to get ready for, let alone how to do so.

He’s walking back to his barracks after midday meal, his head pounding, when the announcement comes in.

They’re being deployed to Geonosis. This is not a drill.

Rex turns around and runs to the hangars.

%#%#%

On Geonosis, Rex dies countless times.

He’s never felt so much death, so much despair, and it takes everything he has to keep his blaster up and remain on his feet. He keeps fighting, even as brothers and Jedi alike are shot down right in front of him.

He knows his purpose, knows he was bred to fight and even die for the Republic, but he’s not sure he can take it.

%#%#%

Somehow, Rex had been made a captain—he even earned himself some jaig eyes (no matter how undeserving he felt of them) and was assigned to the recently-knighted Anakin Skywalker. They’re headed to their first deployment when General Skywalker pulls him into his quarters.

“I have a question for you, Rex,” General Skywalker begins. Rex isn’t sure what’s about to happen. Did he already do something wrong? Is he going to get decommissioned?

The General continues. “Have you… ever noticed anything different about yourself? Like you know someone’s about to come through the door even if you can’t hear their footsteps, or you can dodge faster than those around?”

Oddly specific questions, but he’s not about to lie to a superior. “Y-yes, sir?”

General Skywalker exhales and smiles. “Cool. I was like 90% sure that I was right, but I had to check.”

“Right about… what, sir?”

“Ok, what do you know about the Force?”

Rex stares.

“Nothing. That’s alright. The Force is like… an energy field. It flows through the entire universe, from the biggest galaxies to the smallest womp rats. Some, like the Jedi, are Force-sensitive, which means they can sense and use it. So basically, um… congratulations, you’re Force-sensitive!”

What.

What.

On Kamino, they learned about the Jedi, how they wield swords made of light and can move objects with their minds. The Jedi sounded mythical, god-like.

And here Rex is, learning that he’s got those same powers.

Oh kriff.

This is it. He’s done for.

“If you’d like, I’d be happy to teach you some stuff. Basic shielding, Force usage, and maybe even some saber training. How does that sound?”

Rex looks at General Skywalker. The man is grinning from ear to ear, not a hint of disgust or deceit on his face.

Trust him, the Voice says. Trust him.

…So he’s not getting decommissioned?

Rex considers the General’s offer. “Do… are you going to tell anyone?”

“No. If you wanna tell people, that’s on you, but I figured, well, if you didn’t know you were Force-sensitive, then it’s not normal for you guys. I don’t want you… getting in trouble or anything. And no need to call me ‘sir.’ Just ‘Anakin’ is fine, at least when it’s just us.”

Rex isn’t quite ready to do that, yet.

After all, he still needs to process that he can potentially move things with his mind.

%#%#%

The war goes on.

Brothers come and are just as quickly caught in death’s chilling grasp. The deaths don’t hurt as much, though, since General Skywalker Anakin taught him how to shield his mind. He’s also learned some basic Force applications. He’s not great at it yet, but he pretty much has the basics down.

He excels at lightsaber training, and enjoys it more than the other things he’s learning. Upon expressing this to Anakin, the Jedi smirks and admits to being much the same.

Despite his protests, Anakin is assigned an actual Padawan, a sassy togruta by the name of Ahsoka Tano. She’s fresh and far too young in Rex’s opinion (like he can talk), but she’s a fast and eager learner. She grows on him and the 501st far faster than he’d like to admit, and for all his initial reluctance, it’s clear that Anakin adores her.

While the Jedi is obviously largely responsible for teaching his Padawan, Rex imparts some of his expertise. Rex learns from her, as well; upon discovering his Force-sensitivity, Ahsoka eagerly contributes to his knowledge and training.

He forges bonds (figurative and literal bonds. Yet another thing you can do when you’re Force-sensitive, apparently) with both Anakin and Ahsoka, which strengthen with every battle fought. It reaches the point where their efficiency and effectiveness are almost unparalleled.

They win battle after battle with minimal casualties. On one memorable occasion, Rex has the opportunity to use his new lightsaber skills, to the shock and awe of his troops.

The tide is turning in the Republic’s favor, and an end to the war is in sight.

Rex isn’t sure what’ll happen to him and his brothers after the war, but he finds himself filled with hope.

And then Ahsoka leaves.

%#%#%

Rex fights battle after battle. He’s lost track of the planets they’ve been on, the brothers he’s lost.

Anakin is more irritable, more prone to giving in to his anger.

Coruscant is attacked.

Count Dooku is killed.

The war is nearly over.

And then—

“Execute Order 66.”

Good soldiers follow orders.

“Yes, Lord Sidious,” CT-7567 replies.

The Jedi are traitors, and they must be dealt with as such, and—

A piercing pain erupts to life on the right side of his head. He staggers, gripping his head. The Force screams and the pain grows and grows and grows—

It explodes in a flash of blinding white light.

%#%#%

CT-7567 Rex wakes up in… a medbay, though he is unsure where he is, exactly. The pain in his head has decreased to a dull throbbing.

His General returns with a new name, confined to a suit because of his former Master’s betrayal. The Jedi attempted to assassinate the Chancellor, Anakin Darth Vader tells him.

The Republic no longer exists and has instead been rebuilt into an empire. The Empire.

Some things stay the same, though. Rex remains at his General’s side, both on and off the battlefield. Vader continues to teach him about the Force, but his methods are far different.

The Force feels twisted and dark, but Rex ignores the unease stirred within him.

After all, he’s right where he should be.

%#%#%

One day, Rex tells Vader of the strange experience he had prior to waking up in the medbay.

“My Master attempted to enslave you,” Darth Vader growls. “Not to worry. One day, I shall possess the strength and skill to strike him down and take his place as Emperor, as is the way of the Sith.”

On the third anniversary of the Empire’s birth, Darth Vader does just that.

Unfettered by his Master’s demands, Vader cracks down on slavery, his justice swift and sure.

He rules with an iron fist, stomping out any signs of dissent, tolerating nothing less than complete loyalty and absolute perfection.

Rex remains by his side, as he always was.

%#%#%

Darth Vader becomes complacent.

Complacency is what gets one killed.

Darth Vader’s problem is that he never suspected his loyal captain, his eager apprentice.

Darth Adenn uses the Force to shove Darth Vader’s body off the throne, stepping on it as he ascends to his rightful place.

Even as the Force plunges ever deeper into the Dark, Emperor Adenn’s eyes glow like the rising sun.

[Adenn= Mando'a for "merciless"]

Call of the Sea

Chapter Two - Trust Read on AO3

Summary: Ever since Ashla could remember, she’d dreamed of the sea. Words: 2224 Warnings: near drowning, killing and cleaning of a fish (non-graphic)

 **********

 Ever since Ashla could remember, she’d dreamed of the sea.

 Many of the dreams were lovely; swimming through long kelp fronds, picking up shells from the sandy ocean floor, or simply floating weightless beneath sun-dappled waves. Things she could attribute to trips to the aquarium and vacations taken with her adopted family.

 But some dreams were dark and terrifying.

 Monsters with glowing eyes reaching for her from lightless depths. Blood staining the water crimson. Unspeakable pain that left her shaking and sweating when she woke.

 And a little boy with golden eyes.

Keep reading

Little Brother

Part Five of Te Ori Bal Te Kih

CC-2224 had grown used to seeing the aftermath of a trainer’s abuse, but that didn’t mean it didn’t still piss him off.

To say he was pissed when his batch come across the CT outside the training room was an understatement. He’d thought it would lessen up after Andin and the other trainers Fox scared off left but apparently not quite. 

“What’s your name vod’ika?” He asked as he knelt down in front of the young cadet.

The boy looked up fearfully at the sound of his voice. Besides the fact that he was blond and beat up, there didn’t appear to be anything else wrong with him. 

“Easy, we aren’t going to hurt you,” CC-5052 told him. 

The young clone’s eyes darted to each of the CCs nervously. He hunched his shoulders in to make himself seem smaller. 

“My designation is CT-7567.” He responded quietly.

“Look kid, what are you doing over here?” Wolffe asked. “These rooms are restricted to most of the clones.”

7567 looked up at Wolffe.

“I was training here.”

The CC batch looked at each other.

“You’re modified?” Wolffe asked skeptically. “You’re a CT though.”

7567 narrowed his eyes challengingly at Wolffe.

“Yeah and what of it?”

2224 shot his brother a glare.

“Nothing, we just didn’t know there were modified CT batches that’s all.” 

7567 slumped back a bit. 

“We weren’t intentionally modified. They think some of your tube juice leaked into ours.” The blond buried his chin into his knees. “Only me and another cadet in my batch can grow.” 

-

I'm thinking of posting this story to AO3 soon in it's full and continuous format!

CC-2224 -> Cody; CC-5052 -> Bly; CT-7567 -> Rex

Mando'a: vod'ika - little sibling

something short and ridiculous just for fun. inspired by an idea from @tweenlove-n-hate

///

Listen- Galinda isn’t actually sure how it happens, she swears. All she knows is one minute, Elphaba is there, she is standing in the room as Galinda closes her eyes and clenches her toes and waves that stupid, silly training wand through the air. 

One minute, Elphaba is there. The next, there is nothing but the plant. 

Yes. That’s right. A plant. A small, potted plant, of indiscernible species, rich green in color and with four skinny, slightly pointy leaves sticking out of the dirt. 

Galinda gapes at it, looking around as though waiting for Elphaba to jump out and say “gotcha!” She never does. Heart pounding, panic rising, Galinda steps up to the little pot. She leans down so her face is level with its leaves. 

“Elphie?” she whispers. 

The plant does not answer her, but she swears she sees a leaf wave. Fuck. 

She needs to get Fiyero. 

***

“What do you mean you don’t know?” 

“I mean I don’t know, Fiyero! One second Elphaba was here, and the next- poof! She’s gone! And that is sitting in her place!” 

Fiyero groans, rubbing at his temples. “You turned your roommate into a plant.” 

“I didn’t mean to!” Galinda wails. She’s been going crazy all morning, apologizing to the little plant, moving it into the sun, taking it out of the sun when she worried that would burn it. 

“I don’t know how to take care of a plant, Fiyero, help me!” 

“Oh, well, here’s a thought, how about turning her back into a person!” 

“I’ve tried that!” 

“What about Morrible?”

“Morrible? Madame Morrible? She would kill me!” 

“Well- you may have killed Elphaba!”

“I didn’t kill her- she’s right there!”

“As a PLANT!”

The conversation continues in that vein, none of which is all that helpful. Fiyero eventually leaves, saying he’ll see if he can find anyone who knows more than them about plant care. To care. For the plant. Which is also, possibly, maybe, probably, her friend. 

Galinda has owned exactly one plant in her life. It was a cactus. And it died. 

She may or may not be freaking out. 

***

Taking care of plant-Elphie is stressful. 

She needs water but not too much. Sun, but not too much. The room has to be warm, but not too warm. 

Galinda keeps moving the pot around, trying to find the place where it looks and feels the best. She watches closely for any signs, for the stems to wiggle or the leaves to wave. Something. 

“We have class soon, Elphie,” Galinda whispers. It’s been three hours. She’s already losing hair. 

“I know how much you hate to miss class.” Galinda sighs, tapping her nails on her chin in thought. She could just…bring Elphie with her. Surely, their professor wouldn’t mind. She’s quiet, non-disruptive. She can just sit on Galinda’s desk- that way she’ll still be able to listen to the lesson. 

“Okay, sounds like a plan!” 

Galinda continues to chatter to Elphie as she gets ready, frowning when she realizes that the little red pot Elphie is sitting in will clash with her uniform. “Hm.” Galinda doesn’t have time to wait for paint to dry and she has no other appropriately sized and colored pots on hand. 

Rustling around for her spellbook--cringing as she remembers what happened last time--Galinda flips to the bookmarked page for color changes. This is the first spell she ever mastered. Closing her eyes, she carefully casts the spell on the pot. 

Only the pot. 

She blinks one eye open cautiously, carefully, and beams when she sees it’s been a success. The little green plant now sits in a delightfully pink pot. “Perfect!” Galinda cries. She reaches over and pats a leaf gently with a single fingertip. “Pink goes so well with green.”

***

Galinda makes sure to bring Elphie to every class- her friends noting the green girl’s absence but accepting Galinda’s explanation with minimal raised eyebrows and questioning remarks. Galinda keeps a close eye on the pot, making sure it’s not too close to the edge of her desk where someone may bump into it and knock it off. 

In between classes, when usually she’d study with Elphaba, she instead takes some scrap pieces of cloth and stitches Elphie her own little bag, placing it carefully around the pot. She smiles, nodding sharply, and then turns back to her research on reversing spells. 

At lunch, she rocks back and forth on worried heels, eyeing the options and then eyeing the pot. “I don’t think plants eat food, Galinda,” Pfannee reminds her. “Just sun and water.”

“What about fertilizer?”

“Well, that’s to grow, right? How long do you expect Elphie to remain in there?”

He’s right. Galinda sighs. She was meant to go to the library later that day to try and find some new books to help her turn Elphie back. She’s a lovely plant, very pretty really, but Galinda would really rather have a human roommate. 

***

“It’s not working.” Galinda growls under her breath, resisting the urge to run her hands through her perfectly curled hair in frustration. She’s tried every reversal spell she can think of, and Elphie is still a plant. 

At this point- Galinda is going to have to give up and go to Madame Morrible for help. And then she’s really going to want to cry. 

“Oh, don’t be sad, Elphie. I promise I’ll figure it out.”

Galinda has now pinned a small pink bow to Elphie’s pot. Just to make her feel a little prettier. Her leaves were just a touch bland, not that Galinda would ever say anything. She’s not sure why Elphie isn’t a flowering plant. Elphie is much too beautiful to just be a handful of leaves. 

Galinda sighs, slumping down in her chair and reaching over to pull the pot to her chest, one arm wrapped securely around it. “I’ve got you,” she mumbles. “Don’t worry, Elphie. I’ll fix this.”

***

Galinda tries closing her eyes. She tries spinning around. She tries yelling and waving and leaping. She sticks her tongue out. She clenches her butt cheeks. She does just about every trick in the book, wand waving through the air, and she gets no closer to a human Elphie. 

It evening now, and Galinda had almost had a breakdown when she realized there’d be no sun. What if Elphie got cold? What if she got hungry? Plants ate sunlight, right? What if she starved to death overnight?!!

Galinda ends up calling the boys over, getting them to pore over books with her. Elphie sits carefully in front of the stack of books, a pen balanced across the top of her pot because Galinda didn’t want her feeling left out. 

“Anything?” Galinda asks, hours later. 

Both boys shake their heads sadly. Boq leans back on his hands, rolling his neck after hours spent bent over books. Galinda watches him anxiously. She’ll have to tell his girlfriend tomorrow if she still hasn’t fixed this. 

Nessarose deserved to know her sister is a plant. 

Actually. Speaking of--

“Where is Nessa?” she asks. 

Boq blinks at her. “She’s with her father today. He’s in town for something and wanted to meet up, so she’s not getting back until late tonight or early tomorrow morning.”

Oh, right. Elphaba had mentioned something about that. She hadn’t seemed very pleased her father was in town. 

Galinda goes back to her books, muttering spells to herself and glancing up occasionally to see if anything has changed. Elphie remains the same, skinny leaves shining in the lamplight. Eventually, Galinda knows they have to call it quits. 

She’ll need to confess everything in the morning. Dread pools in her stomach at the idea of facing Morrible. 

“Hey, Galinda, I think I figured out what kind of plant she is,” Fiyero calls out. He turns a gardening book around, tapping the page. “She’s an artichoke!” 

Galinda stares, horrified, for all of five seconds before she bursts into sobs. 

***

Perhaps it’s a cruel form of karma. The universe teaching her a lesson for being so very mean those first few weeks of school. 

Galinda shoos the boys out with tears still dripping off her cheeks, slamming the door shut and crossing the room to collapse in front of the little pot. She stares at it, sniffling loudly. 

“I’m so sorry, Elphie,” she says. “I didn’t mean to, I promise.”

Galinda checks how dry the soil is. She inspects the leaves for any spots or discoloration. She triple checks the thermometer telling her how warm the room is. And then, just in case, she wraps the pot in Elphaba’s favorite gray blanket and places it on her nightstand.

She sings to it as she goes about her nighttime routine, voice echoing through the room. Something soft and loving. Something sweet. And then, when there’s nothing else to do, she sits crosslegged on her bed with the pot in her lap, gazing forlornly at Elphie’s tiny leaves. 

The room feels a bit too big and empty with just her in it. She sniffles again, new tears crowding her eyes. She misses Elphaba, even if it’s really only been a single day. Even if she knows Elphie is right here, in her lap. 

It’s not the same. 

Galinda sucks in a shaky inhale. She blinks quickly, wiping at a stray tear with a knuckle. “Hey, Elphie?” she says quietly. “Can I tell you a secret?”

The plant doesn’t respond, but she really hopes its listening. 

“I really missed you today. We didn’t get to eat breakfast together. Or lunch. Or dinner. And we didn’t study after history. And we didn’t nap together after lunch. And we didn’t take a walk in the gardens before nightfall. And- And-” Galinda swallows hard, a real secret sitting behind her tongue. “And I really missed you.”

She had. It’s the truth. Even running around trying to figure this out all day, she kept turning to look for Elphaba. She kept reaching for Elphaba’s hand. She kept opening her mouth to tell her something or ask a question or seek reassurance. She hadn’t realized how important Elphaba had grown to her everyday life. 

How much Galinda needed her. 

Galinda brushes a fingertip down a soft leaf’s edge. “I need you, Elphie,” she whispers. “Please.”

Her eyes slide shut, her magic swells, and Galinda hopes and hopes and hopes. But when she opens her eyes, all she sees is the same four leaves, still and unmoving and unchanging. 

What if some spells are never reversible? 

Galinda places Elphie gently on her nightstand again, tucking her blanket around her. She has a cup of water waiting nearby in case Elphie is thirsty in the morning. She’s moved her nightstand so it’ll catch the sun’s first rays through the window. 

Lastly, Galinda reaches over and taps her finger gently against the edge of the pot, pulling on her magic and letting a wave of black coat the outer shell of the pot. After all- Elphie would hate to wear pink pajamas to bed. 

“Goodnight, Elphie,” Galinda whispers. “I love you.”

***

Sunlight wakes Galinda slowly, the blonde humming under her breath as she stretches languidly and cracks her jaw on a yawn. She blinks her eyes open, brow scrunching. Was she forgetting something? 

With a gasp, Galinda shoots up, looking over to her bedside table. Which. 

Is empty. 

Galinda screams. 

It echoes around the room, piercing and shrill, her foggy, freshly-woken mind flooded with panic. She’s still screaming when Elphaba bursts out of the bathroom door, toothbrush in her mouth and eyes wild as she searches the room for a threat. 

“What- What is it?! What are you screaming about?” 

Galinda gapes, mouth wide open. She stares and stares, Elphaba staring, bewildered, right back. And. Then. 

Galinda screams. 

It goes on for long enough that Elphaba dives across the bed and slams her hand over Galinda’s mouth. “Galinda!” Elphaba hisses. “You’re going to wake the whole school! What is the problem?”

Her voice softens then, hand loosening. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Galinda thinks she’s still dreaming, actually. “Y-you’re here,” she croaks out. 

“Um. Yes?”

“B-b-but-- The plant?”

Elphaba blinks, rocking back. After a second, her eyes light up with understanding. “Oh! That little guy. Yeah, I put him over there by the window, see? I about knocked him over when I bumped into your nightstand this morning, which- I don’t know why it was all the way out there.”

Galinda follows Elphaba’s finger to a little black pot on the desk by the window, four skinny leaves and a tiny pink bow. “I see you gave him a makeover,” Elphaba teases. 

Galinda swallows hard, mouth dry and head hurting. “He?”

“Uhhh. Or she, that’s fine. I don’t think plants have a preference.”

Galinda thinks she may combust. “You- you aren’t a plant?”

“What?” Elphaba huffs out a startled laugh. “Um, no? No, I’m pretty sure I’m very human.”

Galinda squeaks, scrambling out of her bed. She sways, blinking spots from her vision as Elphaba reaches for her. “You were never a plant?”

“Nnnoo…Galinda are you okay?” 

Galinda looks at the pot. She looks at Elphaba. She looks back at the pot. 

She kind of wants to scream again. 

“I-I-I thought--”

“Wait.” Elphaba’s lips twitch, laughter bubbling in her chest. “Did you think I turned into a plant? That plant?”

Galinda’s veins are shaking. “Yes!”

“Why in all of Oz would you--”

“You weren’t here! You disappeared! And-and- there was just that in your place!”

Elphaba laughs openly now, nearly doubling over in mirth. “Galinda,” she wheezes. “Galinda, I told you I was leaving and going with Nessa into the city. You were so locked in on whatever spell you were practicing that you weren’t paying me any attention.”

Galinda gapes at her, breathless. 

“I got the plant as a joke, remember? From the gardening club?” Elphaba shakes her head fondly. “You weren’t listening to a thing I said yesterday morning, were you?”

Galinda thinks she’d very much like to be a plant now. 

“So, so you were never--” 

“I can assure you, I was never a plant. I was in the city all day. Nessa can vouch for me.”

A beat passes. All the air gusts out of Galinda and she collapses back to the bed with a groan, flopping onto her back and throwing an arm over her face. “I spent all day--” 

Elphaba laughs again. “Well, I guess that explains the black paintjob. Though- a bow? Really?”

Galinda moves her arm to glare upward. “The whole pot was pink yesterday,” she sniffs. 

Elphaba cocks a single eyebrow. 

“Hey! Pink goes well with green.”

At that, Elphaba grins, rolling her eyes fondly. “It so does,” she finishes. 

She’s still chuckling to herself, backlit by morning light in a way that creates a little halo around her figure. Her eyes are mirthful and bright, her teeth flashing in a smile. She looks so--

She’s so--

Oz, Galinda had missed her. 

“Hey, Elphie?” she questions. She swallows hard, looking at the plant one last time. “Tell me a secret.”

“What?” Elphaba blinnks, thrown. “We only do that at night,” she reminds. 

Galinda gives her a shaky, nervous smile. “You weren’t here last night,” she whispers. “And I really missed you.”

Elphaba softens, reaching out and taking Galinda’s hand when the blonde waves it around in the air. She moves closer, standing over Galinda’s flopped down form. “I missed you, too,” she says gently. 

“Really?”

“Really.”

Galinda smiles, dimple popping and eyes crinkling. A feeling like honey spreads through her, slow and warm. She doesn’t want to wait until tonight. She doesn’t want to wait another second. 

“Hey, Elphie?”

“Yeah?”

Galinda slowly turns their joined hands over, palms up, Galinda’s hand cupping Elphaba’s. There, sprouting in the center of Elphaba’s green palm, is a single brilliant poppy. A little plant magic. For luck. 

“What’s this for?” Elphaba asks. 

“For you.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you.”

The poppy quivers, its petals shaking as Elphaba does. She gapes down at Galinda, emerald eyes wide. Then--

“I love you, too.”

Galinda beams. Elphaba blushes. The poppy dances. On the desk by the window- a little plant stretches just a little taller. 

After the Captain

They haunted him at night.

For a while, Rex had convinced himself he was doing okay. He kept moving, place to place, camp to camp, never packing more than he could carry. If it wasn’t in his armor, or tucked into the pockets of his cloak, he didn’t need it. He got up in the morning before the sun, of whatever planet it was today, did. He kept a low profile, watched the gazes of those around him slide over his face without recognition. He collected what he could - bits of data from loosely guarded corners of the networks, bits of food people forgot to chase after, spare parts and necessities from those who forgot to remember them.

In a sense, they’d forgotten him too - him, and the thousands and thousands of people who shared his face. The vode were fading already, sinking to the back of public memory as the Empire hung its gaudy trappings and spread its newly-hatched wings.

But those endless faces never left him alone.

Identical.

Unique. Given the same blank canvas, each person who picks it up will paint something new.

And they had.

He had.

That was the thing. Because he had been one of them, once. There hadn’t been a moment when he hadn’t had someone to turn to, a piece of advice, a shoulder to lean on or a hand to hold or the person next to you, ready to fall in step as you go.

Captain.

They all said it differently, and he did too. It was wry, or joking, affectionate, or sincere, respectful or hopeful or a thousand things he couldn’t name.

For him, it was weighted. Thankful, in a way, desperate, in another. It was the responsibility of all of those faces, all of their newly-painted canvases warped from a galaxy they never knew. But they had never cared, stacking themselves on themselves until someone could make their identity out of the pieces of the others. He could see them without asking their names or finding their faces.

Tup’s smile bled into the horizon, the vod’ika he couldn’t save.

Fives’s laugh echoed in his ears, and something tore in Rex’s stomach every time.

Echo’s hands lingered on his, after the thousandth battle plan, and Rex could only see them shocked thin and wizened and paper-white, abandoned and alone.

Hardcase moved in the corner of his eye, off to his next adventure, and he was gone because Rex hadn’t the strength to stop him.

Kix’s side of the bed was empty, lost to the wind without a word.

Jesse was gone, stolen away, nothing but a body inside of a helmet Rex had helped him paint.

Captain.

There were so many things he could have done. So many things he should have done, would have turned the impossible upside down if it meant saving them for a day, a rotation, a year, a life they never got to live, trauma they never had to have.

Captain.

He heard it in their voices, in Hawk’s voice, in Charger’s voice, in Appo’s and Sterling’s and Koho’s and Vere’s and so many more that he never got the chance to save. He heard it in General Skywalker’s, barely-hidden humor and a kind of sarcastic optimism that infused his steps and his words. He even heard it in Ahsoka’s voice, and he knew she was fine, knew she could take care of herself. But it’s her as barely a Padawan, thrown into a war too big for her, it’s her as a newly-minted commander, it’s her growing into a kind of maturity she shouldn’t have to understand. But he did, because they all did.

It’s Ahsoka’s voice, broken, her hands bloodied and battered from digging their graves. She’s shattered, and there was no one there to hand her a needle and thread and teach her how to sew her scars together.

Captain.

Tup cries, and Fives gasps as his heart fails, and Echo’s hands are cold, and Hardcase closes his eyes before an explosion swallows him whole. Kix’s absence says more than his words ever could, but there’s a ghost of him in all the places he isn’t. And Jesse watches them all. Rex’s mind can imagine what his face looked like, behind his helmet. His eyes glaze and his mouth sets and his newly blank canvas amounts to nothing more than kindling.

Rex wakes up with the salty taste of tears on his tongue. He’s never had to be alone before.

So they haunt him at night, and still he tried to convince himself that he’s okay. He doesn’t deserve not to be. He couldn’t save them. It’s up to him to deal with the ghosts.

He woke before the sun, of whatever today’s planet was. He kept a low profile. He collected what he could.

He kept moving.

*******

oof I hurt myself with this one.

I love Rex. I write for him all the time. But when the prompt was "Captain Rex" I was like....uh....what do I do? (find the full list @clonetober - I can't believe it's been 20 days already.)

It took awhile, but this is what I came up with. What does our boy do after the end of the war?

(it'd be a humanitarian effort to a. give him a many hugs and b. teach him healthy coping strategies.)