When he’s not away during a mission, the mornings he does spend by your side are short-lived because of his rank
Everyone is always calling on him, making it difficult for him to sleep in, much less ignore the constant buzzing of his comlink
More than once, he’s cussed at it, especially after his first night back from deployment
“Maker, give me a kriffing break…” before burying his face into his pillow, eyes squeezed shut in hopes of whoever is trying to reach him giving up
He really does need a break tho, manz is TIRED
When the buzzing stops, he sighs like the weight of the galaxy rests on his shoulders
You try your best to help him sleep as much as he can, but in the end, both of you know that is not an option
Those first mornings after he was away are the ones most precious to him
After having been gone so long, yearning to be cradled in your arms again and not knowing whether he’ll make it back alive, finally seeing you upon opening his eyes feels like straight up heaven
Breathing, drooling, talking in your sleep? Doesn’t matter what you do, his eyes are giant hearts
Finally, he’s not waking up to blaster fire and the news of another one of his brothers having fallen in the war, but the silence of your bedroom with the occasional rustling of the sheets when you move in your slumber
So yeah, he WILL cuss out that DAMN comlink
A lot of times, you’ll wake up alone, even when he’s not away on a mission, because when duty calls, he’s quick to respond. He has to.
Interrupting your sleep is something Rex never does, because he doesn’t want to impose his terrible sleeping habits on you
Oftentimes, his side of the bed is still warm when you awaken and you curse yourself for not waking up a little sooner, and you (lovingly) curse him for never waking you up too
Or worse: you barely gain consciousness only to hear the door shut, knowing you missed him by SECONDS
Anyway, when you do have a relatively slow and quiet morning, most of it is spent sleeping and reaching out to touch each other in a drunken, slumbering state
There are no romantic mornings. I’d love to be all cutesy, but this is literal war and he’s putting his life on the line every single day. He is traumatized through and through, he doesn’t have time for a cup of coffee and quiet cuddles, no matter how much he wants to. And even when his comlink doesn’t go off the second first light flashes on the horizon, he’s anxiously awaiting it, unable to think of anything else
Either way, Rex is tired like, all the time. And it pains you to see the dark circles under his eyes, because they remind you under how much pressure he constantly finds himself
When he sits up and holds his head in his hands, sighing heavily, your head begins to cloud with sorrow. How long until his body cannot take it anymore? What if he breaks down in the middle of combat? What if he never truly recovers once the war is over, no matter how many nights of peaceful, undisturbed sleep he gets?
I’m gonna stop before I start spiraling about the cruelty of it all
But remember this: he loves you so damn much and cannot even think of a reason you’d stay with him, knowing there will be no normal, domestic mornings or hell, a chance of a normal, domestic life to spend with him
So yes, he sees heaven every time you appear in front of him the second he opens his eyes on that first morning after a long time of deployment
He just wishes he could spend it like he so desperately wants to. Without all the anxiety and paranoia of being a pawn in someone else’s game
I have this headcanon in my head that I finally decided to share
Rex is a poet. He writes really emotional, explicit and grime, long pieces about war. it’s his way of coping. He can also play guitar and a lot of those pieces are specifically written for singing and he will compose his own music for them but HE WILL NOT SING IT. There is no power in this world that will make him actually show it to anyone, not to Cody, not to Anakin, not even to his own wife and kids if he had them.
How about being Rex's barrack bunny. Not realising that he's basically staked claim on you. But that's ok, he takes all your attention and time that it's pretty hard to even think about anyone else.
happy may the 4th! send me star wars requests/headcanons and we'll have a party <3
this post is 18+, minors dni.
Rex wishes that being captain of the 501st meant that he got his own room in their Coruscant barracks. Instead, he gets his own set of bunks, which proves absolutely useless when he wants the second person in his own bed, and not the one above him. The metal bedframe is also incredibly sparse, and does nothing to cover the expanse of your nude body, writhing and sweat-beaded on his mattress.
Rex grunts against the column of your neck, warm and littered with hickies of his own design, "Leg up, mesh'la."
Your thigh trembles as you lift it into his waiting palm, and he hikes it over his hip to drive his cock into your cunt at an even sharper angle. It elicits a cry from your throat, still raw from where you'd kneeled on the concrete and sucked Rex dry, and he mashes a hand over your mouth to silence you.
"Easy. Night shift is sleepin'." He grunts.
"Not anymore." A gruff but familiar voice drawls from a set of bunk beds a few meters to the left, "After this round, can we have a couple turns, Captain?"
"Ne'johaa, Fives," Rex snarls, shifting to cover your bare skin with his broad chest, "Don't listen to them, cyar'ika. Nobody but me gets to put their hands on you."
Ok also I love writing Rex in love or having a crush because he’s so contradictory and so fun to write
He’s both cocky and confident with who he is and his skills and how he talks and interacts with others and the galaxy around him
But he also gets so fucking nervous thinking about talking to someone he likes, trying to flirt or impress them or worse confess how attractive he thinks they are
And like it shouldn’t be this hard just to matter of factly tell you he thinks you’re gorgeous or sexy he should just be able to say it plainly in his own stately definitive candor like he does with everything else
But he can’t. Because he’s also tactical and is actively strategizing every possible reaction you may have to what he says. How you might respond, how you might feel about him, what you might want to do about it etc etc
It’s a lot for him to process while also trying very very hard to focus on being respectful despite the hopefully not obvious physical reaction he always starts to have the second you’re within arms length of him that he has to desperately will away as to not embarrass himself in front of an entire room full of people AND you
Liking someone…it’s a lot for him and he’s way more fucking awkward than he’d ever expected he’d be.
SFW: Likes to be bathed or taken care of in the bath. While it doesn’t happen often, he loves it when you sit on his lap and scrub off the dirt on his skin, slowly massage soap onto his scalp and soothe him. Rex is not used to being taken care of or sitting back and just allowing things to happen without at least a little control, so it’s hard for him personally to come to terms with just how much he likes it, as well as even indulge himself too much when he gets the chance too.
NSFW: He wanted to record you two going at it to watch while he’s away for some time. You’d already sent him photos of yourself, domestic videos of you doing simple tasks, but none very vulgar. Now that he does have that recording, he watches it so damn much. One of his favorite ways to wind down after a hard day. Not that he’ll really admit it…
Tup
SFW: This boy LOVES self-care days. If he has the chance, he’ll beg to do one. Paint each other's nails, wear face masks, braid hair in intricate patterns, moisturize, he lives for it. It's just an excellent way of doing the little things to keep his spirits up, expressing his own self-worth, and showing how much you’re worth it. As well as just having some sweet bonding time with his cyare.
NSFW: Loves receiving a lot. He doesn't really ask for it necessarily, and don't get me wrong, making you buck into his face and gasp from all the pleasure he's giving you is still one of his favorite things to do. He just also really enjoys sitting back and watching the person he loves on their knees, doing their utmost to please him and make him feel good. Also, Maker have you perfected it. The moment he sees you slowly sink down he's already anticipating the filthy noises that will leave his mouth.
Crosshair
SFW: MASSIVE sweet tooth. It's his guilty pleasure for a few reasons. Firstly, well, it's unhealthy of course. They also don't get those kinds of pleasures or indulgences as a soldier. But if he gets a chance? He's gonna munch on some sour candy like a child on Halloween. It's a pretty interesting, delightful sight.
NSFW: Crosshair really, really likes it when you ride him. You rarely do it, mostly because he just can't give up that much control to you, albeit anyone, but on the rare occasions he allows it, Maker he comes so fast. You look so damn sexy on top of him, commanding his movements and taking pleasure for yourself equally without his say being a large contributor. For once, he's not in control, he's in your hands and so vulnerable and desperate... it rubs the strangest parts of his mind.
Tech
SFW: This feels a little obvious, but sleeping late. Tech knows it's bad for him, but he just gets so much work done! His brothers aren't up distracting or pestering him, he can be left to his own devices to stray from the task at hand and deviate to another interest of his own volition, it's great! ...Yeah, you have to drag him to bed all the time.
NSFW: 👏Tie👏him👏up! Tech's hands are the most dexterous part of him and give him so much control over things- including you. And if you tie him up and render him subject to whatever you want to do, he becomes a whimpering mess. He'll suddenly be begging for any salvation, bucking his hips up and attempting to grind against you `cause you're just that damn sexy to him.
Wolffe
SFW: Obsessed with holo dramas. Once you caught him screaming at the holo because apparently, the leading lady had made an unwise decision between the two men she was in a love triangle with, and when you asked him about it he immediately denied it. You didn't catch him watching it after that but saw him discreetly trying to find times when he thought you were asleep or working. So then you pretended that you showed interest in the drama to make him feel less bad about watching it. So now you always catch up on the latest episodes when he returns from a dispatch.
NSFW: Enjoys it when you make sorts of animalistic noises in bed. He hasn't expressed it directly, but you're beginning to catch on. He likes to sprinkle on some extra praise if you yelp or howl like a hurt puppy dog, give him those sickly eyes and whimper. And he always comes a little too hard, even letting a few growls rupturing in his stomach out to bless your ears. So in conclusion Wolffe is a furry
a/n: definitely gonna do more of these with other characters, this was really fun! if you guys have any other characters you'd like to see with these headcanons, let me know :) ~ @starstofillmydream @pb-jellybeans @corrieguards @badbatchbabe @ladytano420 @jediknightjana @sleepycreativewriter @shinyshayminflower @thebahdbitch @secondaryrealm
The Bad Batch and Rex Reuniting with Their Jedi Partner After Order 66
I go absolutely insane for Jedi x Clone relationships, and thinking about a Jedi reuniting with their clone after Order 66 gives me the ultimate rollercoaster of emotions so here ya go (wow it feels good to get the writing juices going again)
G/N reader. I made myself cry with all of these, you're welcome
You were a Jedi shadow who occasionally accompanied the Bad Batch on missions. You were with them on Kaller when Order 66 happened but you got away with Caleb. Once Caleb is safely away from the Empire, you make your next move to get any information you can, and the only contact you trust at the moment is located on Ord Mantell. Cid offers you asylum and a place to lay low while you figure our your next move
One day while you're trying your best to reverse the many health code violations in Cid's bar, you feel a presence in the force that hits you like a punch in the chest as 4 clones in black and red armor enter the parlor
Hunter calling your name as you leapt over the river haunted you since Kaller
Seeing him standing in front of your made you unable to breathe
He sensed you the moment he walked in, whether it was your scent or your heartbeat you weren't sure, but he turned his head to you slower than you've ever seen him move before
The small blonde girl next to him noticed him stare, and she followed his eyesight, spotting you across the bar. "Is that a friend?" she asked
He didn't answer, just took a step forward like in a trance, but stopped immediately when he saw your hand instinctively hover where you hid your lightsaber
Slowly he raised his hands like placating a cornered animal, "They didn't activate, sweetheart. You're safe with us. You're safe with me."
You sensed it in the force, the truth in his words
He resumed his slow walk to you, the Batch holding their breath behind him
When he was an arms length away, you jumped into his arms, wrapping yourself around him and nuzzling your face into his neck. You felt him squeeze his arms around your waist, finding the crook of your neck, taking all of you in
No tears were shed. Just relief - slow, long breaths you've held since Kaller leaving you both
You stayed that way, wrapped in each other's arms, nuzzling as close as you can get
"Alright, you four, follow me. Clearly, these two need a minute," you hear Cid say from the safety of Hunter's shoulder
Four pairs of feet shuffle past you, a soft pat on your shoulder gives a warm, brief greeting, Echo most likely, before you're both left basking in each other's warmth
"I've got you, sweetheart. We'll figure this out together," he whispers in your ear. You snuggle closer in response
Wrecker wasted no time shoving through the group as soon as he saw you standing on the other side of the bar, eyes wide with shock
"Maker, what're you do..."
He immediately halts when he sees your hand reach for your hip
Of course, the last time you saw him was Kaller, he should've known you'd be suspicious
"It's ok meshla, ours didn't activate. Our chips are defective. Tell them Tech, tell them they're defective." You watch as he looks back at Tech with pleading eyes, body practically vibrating with his need to hold you
Without moving your hand, you move your eyes to Tech's who gives you an affirming nod "He's telling the truth. Our inhibitor chips failed to activate, and we are currently deserters of the Empire"
You didn't hear that last part though as you rushed to Wrecker who met with you equal enthusiasm halfway across the parlor
You were only crushed into his chest for a second or two before he was peppering your face with kisses
You felt yourself freely laugh for the first time since Kaller, playfully shoving him back so you could take in his face
He cupped your cheeks with his big hands, bringing your eyes to meet his
"Maker, I thought I'd never see you again, meshla. I'm so glad you're home"
Home. He was home, and you had no plans to leave ever again
He didn't notice you at first, too caught up in trying to figure out who Cid is
He continued on with his brothers, convinced this was the place for the Jedi contact
While he continued bantering with Hunter and Wrecker, you caught the eyes of Tech which widened when he saw you, but he remained quiet for Echo to discover for himself. His reassuring nod though told you all you needed to feel safe
You waited for the group to stop arguing, but when you saw things hadn't changed and no end was in sight, you couldn't help but laugh
Your laugh, as brief as it was, stopped him short
His back was to you, frozen, and he didn't turn around at first
The rest of his brothers turned in your direction, and Hunter's eyes darted between the two of you, warm smile on his face
What you didn't see was Echo close his eyes, telling his mind to stop playing these cruel tricks on him like it had been since Kaller - hearing your laugh, your soft singing on the marauder while they traveled around
When he finally turned around towards the source of the sound, he dropped his helmet
You gradually make your way to him as he remained frozen on the spot
The rest of the Batch shuffle to make room so you can get to him
As you get closer, your smile slowly grows with each step, tears welling
His eyes never leave yours, remaining wide and unblinking as if you're a mirage that's going to disappear
Finally, you're a hands length away from him, and you slowly raise your hand to rest on his cheek
As soon as skin meets skin, he releases the breath he'd been holding, and leans into the touch, closing his eyes and relishing in it
You let out a happy sob at the sight, your Echo back with you
Faster than hyperspeed, he snakes his arms around you, crushing you into his chest
His hand holds you in place while his scomp rubs soothingly up and down your back
You're full crying now, burying your face in his neck, thanking the Maker for not making you lose him a second time
"Shhh meshla, I've got you. I'm here. I'll always be right here. I'm not losing you again"
You can thank his observation skills and need to take in every detail of a new environment in order to study it for him spotting you right away
You were a bright spot compared to the many health code violations hiding within the bar
You waited on the other side, making your own observations, ready to reach for your lightsaber if needed
"No need for that, darling. Our inhibitor chips did not activate. They appear to be defective, possibly due to our mutations, and we were able to escape the Empire. Hence, why we are here"
You ease at the information, walking to meet Tech in the middle of the parlor
When you're close enough, you see something gleaming in his eyes. Happiness? Pride?
"You don't seem surprised to see me" you say to him, reaching for his hand
"Statistically, once you made your escape from Hunter on Kaller, and knowing your capabilities, I knew it was improbable that you would fall victim to Order 66. Although, finding you in a less than reputable bar in the Outer Rim is certainly a surprise"
Oh Tech, your Tech. So matter of fact and to the point
His explanation makes you laugh and shake your head
Not able to wait any longer, you grab him and pull him towards you
He softly smiles down at you as he cups your chin, bringing your lips to his
"What's the probability of us being separated again?" you ask him without pulling apart
"Very low. 0% in fact" he says before softly kissing you again
You reunited with the boys on Ord Mantell and stuck around with them as they figured out the new galaxy. Once you all sprang Crosshair free of the Empire, you removed his chip, and you stayed by his side the whole time as you waited for him to wake up
Every form of meditation in the galaxy could not calm your nerves
Crosshair's chip was removed 2 days ago and he'd been unconscious ever since
You never left his bedside, only eating and drinking when Echo or Omega brought you food and water
You'd laid your head down to rest some time ago when you felt his hand stir, yours laying on top of it
You shot up, holding yourself still as you watched him wake - groaning as his eyes adjusted and he took in the room
Slowly, they made their way to you, and you both froze
Every cell in your body wanted to throw your arms around him, but you gave him time to take in his new reality
"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes"
The laugh that came out turned into a sob as you squeezed his hand
You're patient, spending the next few hours working through his guilt, helping him voice his insecurities, his doubts, his self-hatred, ready to combat each negative notion that dares make itself known
Hours later, you're both sitting in his med bed, leaning against the wall with your head on his shoulder
He has his arm around you, rubbing circles along your arm
After months of explosive run ins and uncertain truths, you bask in the quiet between you both
Whenever the tears escape, he quietly wipes them away, shushing them with soft kisses in your hair
In the night, a quiet confession
"I fought it. Every time I raised my rifle or pistol at you, I fought it. I could feel myself hesitating, yelling at myself in my own head"
You squeeze him tighter to you, nothing to say but letting him know that no matter what he reveals, you only want him closer
He brings you into his lap, legs curled over his, tucking you into his neck
"Thank you for never giving up. Thank you for fighting for me, even when I wouldn't fight for myself"
He places a gentle kiss in your hair before he tucks you further into him, resting his head on yours, letting the peaceful night settle around you both
You were a Jedi shadow in love with a certain captain and who occasionally accompanied the Bad Batch on missions. You were with them on Kaller when Order 66 happened but you got away with Caleb. Once Caleb is safely away from the Empire, you make your next move to get as far away from the Empire as possible
the blaster hole in his pauldron makes me so emotional ok anyway
it would take awhile, weeks even months before the reunion would happen with both of you trying to lay low as long as possible
Rex had the advantage of the Empire thinking him dead, you weren't so lucky
You only used the force once after the events, after you found yourself safely heading towards the outer rim, to reach out and search for Rex's signature
Once you felt it and felt it hadn't changed, unlike the other clones you knew, you immediately cut yourself off from the force going into hiding
It broke your heart cutting yourself off from him, but you knew it wasn't safe for him to be near you - and you still had a lot of questions
Later, settled on a backwater planet far from the Empire's reach and with the galaxy continuing on, you risk a short connection with the force with one thing in mind
You feel him, faintly, but he's still there and he's still your Rex
Months later, one day when you check on him, his signature is the strongest it's been since the war
You're too curious and too lonely, you hold onto it, knowing what you're risking, but follow it through the forest and to the clearing a few kliks from where you've established home
A small, abandoned farm greets you. A ship waits not far from the homestead, and two figures stand just by the porch. He shares the face with millions and is all the way across the clearing, but you'd recognize him anywhere
He's with another clone, and softly you reach out with the force to check their signatures - both unchanged, both not filled with hate and confusion like so many of the other soldiers after the war
It only took two steps into the clearing before you saw him stiffen and whip his head in your direction.
Of course he could sense you without you even opening yourself up to him.
You keep walking. He doesn't take his eyes off of you
Suddenly, like his brain needed a minute to catch up, he breaks into a sprint to you, the clone left behind laughing as he watches the stoic captain appear to finally lose it
You don't see him approach you since tears blocked your vision as soon as you saw him start running
Half attempts to wipe the waterfalls from your cheeks are halted when your feet leave the ground and you're crushed into a hard chest, arms wrapping around you tighter than a force choke
Pulling back, you're both crying and laughing, not fully believing this is actually happening
You try to wipe the tears from his cheeks, he pushes the hair that's fallen in your face away
Words are being whispered, whatever can be kissed is kissed
Eventually, you both manage a deep breath, and Rex brings his forehead to yours
For the first time since the war ended, you feel a calm in the force you never thought possible again
omg yES I'd love a part two to the Captain Rex headcanons with an anxious reader with the relationship part since you offered! ;u; I loved the first part so much (and that you included more from the 501st!) tytytyty 💙💙💙
Aw anon I'm so glad! Thank you for coming back as well, and continuing to fuel my feelings for our fine captain. 💙
Warnings and Information: Largely the same as part one. Undescribed fem!Reader with unspecified anxiety/anxious tendencies. Lots of fluff and other good feelings, primarily. Follows bullet point format. No Mando'a used this time. Reader is given different "nicknames" from the Clones to by-pass the use of a name in some cases.
Word count: 2,458
The set-up
The first time he goes to ask you if you'd like to grab some caf together, or go check out that little corner store not too far from the base by speederbike that one of your coworkers mentioned to you in passing, Rex puts in the effort to clean up his armor a bit. Now he doesn't go so far as to polish and repaint all the parts, but he doesn't want to look fresh off a battlefield either where he's caked in mud and dirt and ash. He wants to show you he cares by looking nice when he goes to lay out his offer. You're past the probationary period following your transfer, and he thinks it'd be nice to sort of celebrate that.
You're in your jumpsuit, cheerfully strutting around the hangar to complete the necessary work a little earlier than usual this morning when he first sees you. "Good morning, Captain Rex!" You're all bright-eyed and sunny smiles for so early in the day. Must be in a really good mood now that you feel the weight that comes with being fresh blood in the "office" has been lifted from your shoulders. Can breathe a little easier when there are less eyes scrutinizing your every move. "You're in a good mood today." Rex replies, careful to keep the right balance of being personable and professional within earshot of other civilian staff, as always, "Is there a special reason?" Your grin and your body language tells him everything he needs to know.
"Oh, no reason. Reasons, on the other hand…" you suggest, biting your lower lip to keep yourself from giggling within earshot of those same workers that you've seen him eyeing out of caution. You can afford to be a little braver now, but you should still be cautious. Rex smiles, delighted to hear and see that you're not feeling quite so anxious as you once were. You still have your nervous, self-soothing quirks like fiddling with the wrist-strap of your time device whenever you wear one, or twirling a stylus between your nimble fingers or rocking softly on the balls of your feet. Rex doesn't see you utilize them quite as often these days now that you're off probation, and it makes him feel so much better to see you more relaxed and comfortable here.
He still asks his brothers to keep an eye on you or give you any help in his stead if he senses you becoming overly anxious about anything. Dogma still offers to take any paperwork down to General Skywalker for you (and is certain to remember to knock, now). Fives and Echo still hang out around your desk and your workspace whenever they get the chance. Tup drops by with small snacks or drinks from the mess if you can't spare a moment to get away from your work (and he'll never say no to an offer to help fix up his hair, either). Kix has been by a few times to come sit with you when the anxiety gets really bad, coaching you through your grounding exercises, or acting as a GAR medic (who has authority to treat civilian staff in non-emergency situations) he can administer something to take the edge off. And Jesse has made plausible excuses for you to your boss's face if you've needed to step away and collect yourself, if it's really severe.
They all figure if the captain likes you, and on occasion asks them to check in with you for his "peace of mind" ("Captain Rex has a cruuuuush~" "Hardcase stop before you get yourself in troub-" "It's not just the Captain, Fives. She does too.") they shouldn't be afraid to cement their friendships with you anymore.
“Oh, by the way, Captain,” you call over your shoulder as you walk off to where you’d been summoned, “your armor looks very nice today.” Unfortunately, you were called away to take care of something just as he plucks up his nerve to ask if you’d like to grab a cup of caf with him before the day really gears up, but he doesn’t have to wait much longer for another opportunity.
The first "date"
It comes as a rather impromptu and unofficial thing, with one of the mechanics shouting across the hangar as he wraps up his welding kit that the repairs have been finished on a LAAT that had taken a heavy beating. "Captain! Gunship's good to go!" These guys are good. You get to the gunship before Rex does, admiring the handiwork of the repairmen in awe. "Wow… almost looks brand new, doesn't it?" He agrees with a chuckle, elbow to elbow with you. "What's it like to fly in one of these?" you ask, turning to him with earnest curiosity. It surprises him. "Weren't you transferred to the base in one of these?"
You shake your head, the datapad cradled a little tighter against your chest. "No, I got here by passenger shuttle."
Stay here, he tells you, he has an idea. He just needs to go find where Hawk is.
Hawk takes little time to get kitted-up in order to go take the LAAT for a test flight. Rex boards the gunship first, taking hold of one of the handles overhead before offering a hand out to you to help you up.
You regard the offered hand with mild apprehension, unclear if this is even allowed. "A-are you certain I can be up there? I'm just a civilian. I don't know that I can-" A simple smile is all he needs to calm you, quell your fraying nerves. “I’ll think of some clever excuse if anyone asks.” Rex promises you with one of his charming smiles and playful lift of his brow. He allows you to stand beside him so you feel more secure, showing you where best to grip the support handles as Hawk gears everything up. “Best hold on,” he warns you before you’d feel that lurch in your stomach as the ground falls away fast.
He tells Hawk to take it pretty easy, just a few test laps around the base and not too fast, and Rex keeps his eye on you as Hawk climbs the gunship high enough for his liking. Any sign from you that this was getting to be too much, and he would call it off. But you’re all giddy smiles and awed murmurings as you bravely peek at the ground far below from time to time.
“Beginning aerial test laps, Captain. I promise to go easy, ma’am!” Hawk calls back to the pair of you, beginning to maneuver and swing the gunship out to the right, making you bump hips with the Captain, unprepared to brace for the movement with your legs in addition to your upper body. You go to apologize, but he puts his hand on your opposite hip without a word (at first) to hold you a little closer to him to help you feel secure and steady. Rex apologizes to you for not warning you about the nature of the turns. “Flown in these things more times than I can count; it’s all just second nature to me.” You suppose that makes a lot of sense, surely a little flushed in the face, being so close. On the next turn, you know to anticipate it this time, but you still lean pretty heavily against him.
What happens next however is absolutely not your fault. Hawk purposefully takes a much sharper turn as he completes one of his last laps, and with the centrifugal force you’re really pushed up against Captain Rex, practically chest to chest with him now, and then laughs apologetically from the cockpit. “Whoops, sorry sweetheart! Got a little carried away on that one. You alright?” You’re fine, you answer just loud enough for Hawk to hear, finding yourself still so close against Rex, his hand still on your hip to hold you steady. You and Rex look at each other for one long moment, almost missing what Hawk says about taking you in for a landing, feeling a little lost in the other’s eye…
Once you’re back on the ground, you thank Hawk for letting you come along on the test flight for the repaired LAAT. “Oh, you’re welcome! I hope it was nice despite that one turn. Just got a little ahead of myself and forgot you’re not used to those kinds of ships.” You promise it’s okay, and thank him again. You should probably get back to work now, you explain, a little color in your cheeks after smiling at Rex and bidding him goodbye next.
He makes no mention of the transfer-smear of lip product found on his Captain’s face, one that looks an awful lot like the color you’re wearing this morning, until he’s certain you’re out of earshot. “That’s a nice color on you, Captain.” Rex takes a moment to clean his cheek of the evidence, a gentle pout playing across his features, his broad nose creasing as he responds to Hawk’s compliment. “You swung too wide on that last turn before we landed…”
As partners
It’s not long after that that things kick off. Secretly. There’s no official code or regulation against this (you’d know: Echo and Dogma checked for one extensively, separately and together) relationship taking place, but you’re going to keep it on the down-low for the most part. Rex has a professional image to maintain as a captain of the GAR, and you risk being transferred out should any of your higher-ups feel this partnership of sorts comes as a hindrance or serious detriment to your job as a civilian. (“Do you know how many want to be in your shoes? Do you have any idea just how sought-after this position is?” “A-A very good idea, actually. That’s why I’m here, sir. I promise, I’m not going to make any trouble.” (Oh how Fives and Jesse had wanted to give the civilian staff member you reported to a piece of their minds for talking to you like that.)) You and Rex find a way to make it work, with a little help from his brothers.
He visits you during work. Often as he can. Sometimes it's planned out in advance, where the two of you have lots of time alone. He makes sure that you're doing okay, and that you're taking care of yourself, of course, but primarily these opportunities to see you are just to spend time with you. Take his mind off of the war. Take your mind off of your job, or whatever troubles you. Sometimes it's discreet, spur of the moment little meetings in empty offices… or secluded corners his brothers have told him about.
"There's a blind spot in the cameras around here," Hardcase explains, unprompted, one afternoon over nutrimush in the mess hall, "You can get away with a lot of stuff right there behind the shelving." He's not sure if he's about to reprimand Hardcase as his Captain or to thank him as a brother for this insight for a long moment. "What do you mean by get away with a lot of stuff, 'Case?" There's quite a few options it turns out. Stash some contraband, (re)paint your armor without being bothered too much, or just… y'know. Have a nap? (Damn, okay, aside from whatever Hardcase means by contraband that sounds like a pretty great spot.) "Maybe I'll… check it out." Rex agrees with a simple shrug.
Oh and if he does, he has to be careful about a certain box on the shelves. Can't put empty snack wrappers back in it otherwise it'll attract ants again, Hardcase says he learned that one the hard way and it took a while to get it back under control just short of throwing away his whole collection of snacks. Two of them are welcome to just about anything they find in the box if Rex takes you there, but the energy drinks are off limits.
"Or just leave Hardcase five credits if you do take one." Echo calls from a little further down the table, pouring over some section of the regulation manual related to your job that you were having trouble understanding. (They used a lot of unnecessary and complicated words because it was translated into Basic from another galactic language.) "Fives and I do it all the time." A few more brothers confirm that they do the same since being let in on Hardcase's little secret. Dogma insists he does not. "I don't like these crazy energy drinks they come up with. 'Trotting Tauntaun' and 'Hyperspace Rush'? Makes me feel sick to my stomach and my heart race…" (It's probably all the caffeine, Kix calls back to him from Rex's left. Dogma might have a low tolerance for it and that's why he doesn't like it.)
This little nook within the hangar becomes the perfect place to decompress whenever Captain Rex notices you are looking more anxious than typical. One of his men has stashed away an old GAR-issue blanket that's stained with various smears of cobalt blue - 501st's Blue - but still plenty warm and comfortable to wrap up in. You can tell that it's Fives who added a little stack of flimsi scraps to write notes on the first time you come back here to this corner of the hangar with the Captain. Rex can see from a mile away that Kix is to thank for the healthier options within the box of Hardcase's snacks.
You're both not sure who scribbled your name along with his under the list of people who were "invited" here, but it makes you cry, in a happy way. To welcome their brother here would be one thing - all Clones had come up with secret, secluded spaces for themselves to have their privacy and establish stealthy boundaries for themselves and their well-being - but they were inviting you too. None of your other colleagues know about this sequestered space. They trusted you to keep their secrets. They liked you. Really liked you.
"To our Captain and his girl" the note begins, waiting for you both on top of the neatly folded blanket when Rex first helped you here, trying to help you settle your nerves after you were badly frightened by a speederbike backfiring outside the base as it whizzed past, "Welcome to our cozy little corner! We hope you like it here and trust that you'll keep it a better secret than General Skywalker and Senator Amidala being a "thing". Speaking of, figured it was time to let the loth-cat out of the bag now that you're both getting as serious as this war allows~. - The 501st"
Don't have a fic taglist for the time being, but I'll likely start one soon if I can figure out how to make those fancy forms some people have since I write a variety of stuff. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (for example just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷
