Notes: No warnings. Starts out as a bit of a crack-fic, but gets really sincere towards the end. Established relationship, poking fun at pulp-fiction romance.
Divider by @sinisterexaggerator
"What are you reading?" Hunter sounded aghast and slightly curious.
You looked at the cover of the cheap, flimsiback novella that had been shipped in with the supplies from one of the nearby islands. Living on the run didn't leave extra much extra cash or time to find a new book, but pulp fiction beach reads were one of your greatest weaknesses, and the fact that the Male Main Character of this one happened to be a Clone half-clad in shiny white armor, well, you couldn't help yourself.
"It's called, "The Clone Who Loved Me"," You told Hunter with a straight face.
Hunter blinked slowly, his jaw hanging open.
"Does he have a name?"
"Jesse," You glanced at your current page to be certain, "I'm pretty sure they just chose the most natborn-sounding name from the 501st."
Hunter shuddered, "What's it about?"
"A clone falls in love."
"Well yeah, but what's the plot?" Hunter asked, though his face didn't want to know the answer. He covered his mouth with one hand, the other crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall.
"It's a romance novel. That is the plot," You turned back to the book, hiding your face in the pages as you showed him the cover once more. The said clone love interest was depicted with a rather attractive-looking feminine twi'lek. She had sultry, inflated lips, which stood out from her blue skin. Her shimmering bright blue orbs were closed in the art, but the character herself had waxed poetic about them and how her culture made fun of her for her eyes at least three times in the first chapter alone. Her hips and ass were wide, to balance out the bountiful bosom that threatened to spill out of her dress.
Not nearly as much attention was given to the clone's face, you couldn't make out any minute deviance that would distinguish him from a million brothers. The artist had instead opted to spend more time contouring the abdominal muscles and biceps the caricature used to pin his lover against a wall bathed in neon lights, probably on Coruscant.
Hunter's foot began to tap, and you could hear the blood rushing in his ears. You settled into the navigators seat, thinking he would slink off to pout, your feet tucked beneath you with the book propped up on your knees.
Jesse was telling the main character (Youen? Whyyln? It was hard to remember her name because Jesse kept calling her Cyar'ika and Mesh'la. It was ridiculous, Hunter used pet names less often) that they couldn't be together because he was a monster and she would get hurt, and she was about to insist that she could change him and she didn't care about any of the things he'd done, war crimes he'd committed, people he'd killed, or that he wasn't a real man because her love could change him for the better.
Hunter's cheeks were flushed against his dark skin. He looked extremely uncomfortable, but he still wouldn't pull his eyes off of you or the book in your hands.
Then all at once, you realized what was wrong.
"Sergeant Hunter, are you jealous of a book?" you teased, glancing at him over the top of the page.
Hunter stumbled off-balance and spluttered, trying to find a legitimate excuse.
"You're reading a romance about one of my brothers!"
You burst into laughter, "A brother that doesn't even exist!" You were laughing so hard the book fell out of your hands and onto the floor, losing your place. You didn't care, you stood up and waltzed over to him, cornering him up against the doorframe.
"You know, they've got a whole series about it."
"They- they- who- what?" Hunter asked, and you heard him swallow.
"Apparently it was a controversially popular genre towards the end of the war. People complained that it glorified slavery and the Republic's Military Complex, but it was actually one of the few places that put the Clones of the GAR on equal footing with Natborns."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Their characters are just as underdeveloped and poorly-written as everyone else."
Hunter didn't quite understand your joke. Echo was probably the only one of them who enjoyed reading for fun in his spare time, and even if he did, Literature wasn't a curriculum endorsed on Kamino.
"But you don't have to worry," You told him, wrapping your arms around his waist, pressing yourselves chest-to-chest, "I much prefer the real thing to a fictional romantic lead."
"The real..." Hunter's thick eyebrows furrowed adorably the way it did when he was thinking, and then shot up to his bandana. "Oh!" He murmured, finally landing on the realization of "That's me!"
You grinned, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "You have nothing to worry about. It's all in good fun. Jesse the fake-clone is no match compared to you."
"Really?" Hunter asked, a smug tone creeping into his voice, "How so?"
You grinned as he turned to meet your eyes with one of his arms settling around your waist.
"Well," You rested your hand on his chest, "For one thing, you're much warmer than he is. And you're better at hugging."
"Uh-huh."
"You smell better than he does. This girl will not stop going on about her lover's "natural" musk, and I've never been so glad that you actually take time to shower and wash your hair whenever you get the chance."
Hunter flipped his hair over his shoulder to show off, "I definitely have better hair than he does."
"Definitely," You agreed.
You tapped your fingers against his chest, "You trust me to protect myself. You respect that I can handle things, but you also seem to know exactly when to step in and help me out."
"Does the main character not fight in the book?"
"No," You shook her head, "Jesse's only purpose is to protect the female lead from all the pervy guys who want her and to make love to her all night. It's a wonder he hasn't died from sleep deprivation on the battlefield yet."
Hunter threw back his head with a laugh, "That would make for a depressing story."
You tilted your head to the side as you tried to think of how to explain your last reason. It was more like five reasons all tangled together, but they all contributed to the same reason.
"You also talk to me like I'm a real person. You don't brush me off because I'm not a soldier like you are. You didn't try to push me away because being with you and living this life could be dangerous and you loved me too much to let me get hurt. You taught me how to defend myself when the galaxy took a turn for the worst, and together we decided that the dangers of a life together were inconsequential compared to how we feel when we are together."
Hunter stared at you, lips parted slightly. He didn't speak for a moment, letting your words permeate the air around you like a cocoon.
"Does...Jesse not want to be with the female lead?"
"Oh he does," You shrugged, "He just, 'has a raging darkness inside him' from being raised as a child soldier, and 'loves her too much to see her get hurt'."
"That sounds like a terrible relationship," Hunter winced like he tasted something foul.
"That's the trademark of a trashy novel. Terrible people making terrible choices in an even more terrible relationship."
"If it's trashy, why do you spend so much time reading it?"
The kicked tooka look in his eye let the "and ignoring me?" part go unspoken,
"That's the fun of it. It's so unrealistic, so I can get lost in someone else's world for a little bit and all my own problems don't feel as bad anymore."
"Like, being on the run as mercenaries?"
"Exactly."
Hunter chuckled, and pressed his forehead against yours, "If I didn't have you, I would be a much sadder person."
You bit your lip, "I think I would be too."
"I'm glad I have you, sweetheart."
You smiled softly, though Hunter's eyes were closed, "I'm glad I have you too, Hunter."
It was quiet for a moment, the two of you holding each other in the quiet of the ship. Hunter ran his thumb back and forth across your hip, and you wrapped your arms around his neck.
"Sweetheart?"
You hummed in response, loosening your embrace to allow Hunter to lift his head again.
He took a moment to reply, "Do you think you could...that is, if you're okay with starting over...could I read that book with you?"
You grinned, pulling him back towards the chair, "I thought you'd never ask."
Hunter sat in the chair, and you settled yourself on his lap. Hunter fetched the book from the floor, and you opened to chapter one and began to read out loud.
"Whylen woke from a deep sleep as she tumbled out of bed. Just another ordinary day on Coruscaunt...."
The Little Slave, The Little Queen, The big Villains, The Little Farmer, the Little Princess, and a Little Happy ending,,,
Happy Star Wars day!!!! and happy birthday to me...Veeery late on the day, but I had 6 hours of no electricity nkjs. Anyways, I'm happy i took my time with these <3
Two years ago today the last ever Bad Batch episode aired. I can not believe it’s been that long. Man how fast time flies.
Feels like just yesterday I was sitting at my desk watching the first ever episode of this show and falling even more in love with these characters. This show means so much to me and I will forever grateful that we got a season seven of clone wars so we could be introduced to this awesome batch of clones.
To celebrate, I thought I’d do a little screenshot redraw of the leader of the batch, Hunter.
This show is my favorite Star Wars show, for a multitude of reasons, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Everyone brings a dish to share. A table full of endless choices stands before you. Some dishes are labeled correctly, others arnt. Some are extra spicy so read notes and tags about the dishes.
But as you go down the table, you have the choice for what you put on your plate. Don't pick up the pasta if you're gluten-free. Avoid the stew if you don't like onions.
You have a choice again when you sit down and take a bite. Was the tater tot casserole not really what you wanted anymore? Cool, stop eating it.
Fandom is a potluck and you have a choice to not consume the things you don't like. You don't get a choice over what others bring to the potluck. You don't get to police others for what they want to eat either.
Don't be mad that we brought egg salad when you hate it. You're the one that is forcing yourself to eat it when we told you exactly what it is.
Don't like something? Don't put it on your plate and eat it. You do not get to be a bully and be mad that someone brought it and someone else likes it.
The fandom isn't all about you and your likes. We don't have to cater to you.
Find the dishes you like and just eat them. If you don't find anything you like, maybe it's time to contribute to the potluck yourself.
