Written for Foxiyo Week 2021, the prompt is “acts of service, words of affirmation.” Uhh I may have written this all in one sitting and haven’t edited it at all, but I couldn’t let the first day of Foxiyo Week pass by without contributing! @foxiyoweek
Fox was having a bad day.
He didn’t know much about civilian life, but he’d wager that most of his days counted as bad days on the civilian scale. But this was a bad day even for him, and he’d been in charge the day of the Zillo Beast attack.
It was the little things--each a tiny inconvenience stacked one on top of the other until finally forming a massive mural that communicated “the galaxy has it out for you.” First it was waking up bleary-eyed and exhausted from a night of insomnia that even the strongest of sleep aids only managed to conquer after several hours of tossing and turning. Then it was the broken caf machine in the cafeteria. Then it was Senator Burtoni making a snide remark about production quotas and damaged goods in front of Senator Chuchi. Then it was Chancellor Palpatine asking him to do the dirty work of evicting a rival senator from his offices.
By the time the smog-filtered light had faded from the Coruscant sky, Fox was about at the end of his rope.
Thorn poked his head into Fox’s office, his eyes bright with stim-induced energy. Fox would have that same gleam in his eyes as well, but his stims had worn off hours ago and the CG medic would kill him for taking more than the recommended dosage again.
“Ready to get the Pantorans?” Thorn asked.
Fox looked up at Thorn blankly, then swore as the distinct memory of receiving the last-minute request several hours earlier returned to him. “Dank farrik, how did the day slip by so fast?”
Thorn’s eyebrows raised as he looked around the chaos of Fox’s office. “I’d imagine a lot of things get lost in here. How do you stand it?”
Fox pursed his lips and glowered at the pile of datapads and flimsiwork scattered across his desk. “I don’t. But what choice do I have?”
“I thought we were all supposed to be organized, but you have to go and be the exception for everything, don’t you?”
“Hah!” Fox barked, amused at the suggestion that there was anything exceptional about him. Yes, he was a commander. But he had the same face, the same crew-cut, the same armor (with only a few slight paint modifications) as anybody else. He was even un-inked, like a shiny. Chancellor Palpatine didn’t like the idea of his personal muscle being tatted up, even if it was hidden under the armor.
“The urge to be organized is still there,” Fox corrected. “I’m just physically incapable of keeping the place tidy with my schedule.”
Thorn looked down at the chrono on his wrist guard. “Speaking of…”
With a sigh Fox got up from his desk. “Right now?”
Thorn nodded. “Yeah. We’ve got about ten minutes.”
“Should be enough.”
Fox followed Thorn out of the barracks, heading off towards the Senate’s transportation facility. One last task for the day, and then he could sleep. Fox was pretty sure he could make it.
“You alright, brother?” Thorn asked him as they made their way to the landing platform to meet the senator’s guests. “Got any more of those Mirialan truffles?”
Fox’s mouth watered at the thought of the candies the Mirialan senator had gifted him the previous week. Well, “gifted” as in “told him he could eat her leftovers,” but that wasn’t important. What was important was that those candies melted in his mouth with a delicious sweetness offset by a slight, fruity tang.
Fox’s face fell. “No, I finished them all yesterday.”
“Damn,” Thorn said. “Maybe you could get some on your next off day?”
“Maybe,” Fox said doubtfully. He was one of the rare clones that handled credits for any reason, but he doubted he’d be able to justify a pricey purchase just for him. “It’s fine. I don’t need them.”
Thorn snorted. “Of course you don’t need them, but this is the first time I’ve seen you indulge in anything. I think it’s good for you.”
“Whatever you say.”
They stepped onto the landing platform and Senator Chuchi and her guests disembarked, Senator Chuchi leading the way. She looked beautiful, as always. The maroon palette of her outfit contrasted nicely against her pale blue skin, and her golden eyes sparkled even in the muted city lights.
Senator Chuchi nodded her greeting to Thorn and Fox, then walked the Pantoran delegation to the lifts that would take them to the senate conference rooms. Thorn and Fox followed behind, Fox barely managing to keep his attention on their surroundings as his eyes grew heavier and heavier with exhaustion.
The door to the conference room whooshed open and the blue-and-maroon delegation walked in. Fox followed after, but his boot caught on the bottom lip of the doorway as he went and he tripped, sending him sprawling to the floor.
A hand reached down for him and Fox grabbed it, expecting to feel the broad warmth of Thorn’s gloved hand. Instead, his hand closed around delicate, ungloved fingers that barely managed to pull him to his feet. Caught off guard, Fox could only stare into Senator Chuchi’s face once he’d found his footing.
“Are you well, Commander Fox?” Riyo asked.
Somehow, she always knew his name.
“Y-yes, ma’am. My apologies, it won’t happen again,” Fox’s words tripped just as gracelessly from his tongue as his foot had tripped over the threshold.
“It’s no problem, Commander,” she said, her brows knit together in concern. “Only please take care of yourself.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Riyo returned to her guests and Fox retreated to the back of the room, flanking the door along with Thorn as the attendees commenced their meeting. As they switched into Pantoran, Fox’s mind began to wander to the Senator and her consistent kindness to him. To all the clones, really. It probably had nothing to do with him as an individual. She was just a good person, and on Coruscant that wasn’t easy to find.
Soon enough the meeting ended and Fox dutifully accompanied the senator and the Pantorans to their respective accommodations. He was nearing a state of delirium, and only the knowledge that this was his last assignment of the day kept him on his feet.
When he reached the barracks and fell into his bunk, he could hardly remember how he’d gotten home. His insomnia wasn’t able to overpower his deep exhaustion this time, and as soon as he closed his eyes he was asleep.
---
Fox woke the next day feeling, if not rested, at least alive. He rolled out of bed with a groan and wrinkled his nose at the realization that he’d fallen asleep in the same blacks as the night before. Then he checked the time and groaned again when it became obvious he didn’t have time to shower and change.
He pulled on his armor with robotic precision then jogged down the barracks hallway, his feet leading him to his office without any thought. He opened the door and braced himself for the tornado of reports, senator requests, and various flimsiwork that awaited him on the other side, but it never came. He looked around the office, his eyes still heavy with sleep and slow on the uptake. Was this actually his office?
Fox half closed the door and checked the number embossed on the placard outside. Office 1010. Yep. That’s him. He stepped back into what he was now certain was his office, but it was nearly unfamiliar. It was clean--spotless, even. All his datapads had been sorted by date and arranged in an orderly line on the shelves along the wall. He opened the desk and found his flimsiwork in a series of folders, each one neatly labeled with thin, loopy handwriting. A neat trash receptacle had been placed in the corner, and not a speck of dust could be seen in the entire cubicle. It was… perfection.
On the table rested a small gold-and-maroon box, and inside Fox hoped to find an explanation for this minor miracle. He tore the lid off the box and found a square, handwritten note.
Commander Fox,
I hope you don’t mind that I tidied up a bit. Commander Thorn let me inside, and I promise I didn’t read anything classified. Please take care of yourself.
Warm Regards,
Riyo Chuchi
His heart stuttered in his chest and he set the note reverently down on the desk. Later he’d take it back to his bunk and put it somewhere safe. Maybe in his weapons kit. Then his eyes lit on the tiny, brightly-packaged bundles in the box underneath the note. He inhaled sharply through his nose, and the sweet, unmistakable scent of Mirialan truffles filled them.
Fox sat in his chair and unwrapped the first truffle, popping into his mouth and leaning back as he let the candy slowly melt in his mouth. He would savor this for along time, making each one last to the best of his abilities. He thought back to the note, reciting the short message to himself in his mind as the candy slowly melted to sugary goodness.
Riyo Chuchi, he thought the words he’d never say out loud, is a goddess.
Hi, hello there! I have another Star Wars The Clone Wars video for y'all; this time I'm taking a page out of Ryan George's book and making a spoof from this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf_7x...
