I have a cuddles request. Female reader and Fives. Reader and Echo were crushing on each other. They never got past the crush stage though. Reader and Fives were buddies too. They liked to flirt, tease and joke around. Now Echo is gone though, and Reader and Fives are devastated. Cuddles prompted 5, 15 and 20. Really they both just need shoulder to cry on. Someone to hold on to.
Snuggle Drabbles #3
Fives & reader | 840 words
Content: angst, grief, hugs for comfort
Prompts: Burying face in their chest, Squeezing them tightly, Clinging to them
Oh the huuuurt with this one! I made myself tear up a little 😥
The presence of absence... It was a thought you found yourself stuck on often these days. How you could feel emptiness, as heavy and distinct as an object in your hand. How you could see vacancy, an outline in the space of every room, your eyes drawn to the void like a moth to a light. How it was possible to notice him when he wasn't there.
Echo wasn't there. And yet, he was. His absence made him present. Existing only as a memory projected into every space he should have been but no longer would be. The voice only you could hear. The face only you could see.
That wasn't entirely true. Fives still felt him, too. You could tell. Even though he did as he was trained and soldiered on, falling into step by the brothers who were still alive, never bringing up the ones who weren't, never spending time on the things that were out of their control, like life and death, and instead sticking to the things that were, like mission strategies and which MRE to have for breakfast... you knew he still noticed the presence of Echo's absence, just as much as you did. And you knew he was hurting just as badly.
They'd both been your friends, but it was Echo you'd dreamed of. Of kissing. Of loving. Echo with his sharp mind and sweet smile, just as no-nonsense as Fives was all-nonsense. Noble and steady and good.
And just when you'd gotten the sense he maybe returned some of your affections, he'd been taken away. Just like that. No more sweet smiles. No more dreams. Just you and his absence.
And Fives.
Some days you could follow his lead and pretend you didn't see the empty spaces. Other days it was like you had to stare through a ghost to even see the face of the living friend in front of you. Today was one such day. Fives had tried a joke, the first you'd heard a while, but all that landed with you was the absence of Echo's laughter. You waited to hear it and it never came. Neither did your own.
You could see Fives's throat bob as he tried to swallow. His hands came up as if wanting to take hold of you but not daring to reach through the space in between. You realized you couldn't remember the last time you had hugged each other in greeting, or felt his playful swat against your shoulder as he teased, or even the warmth of his leg against yours as he sat close to steal a bite of your food.
And then you realized Echo wasn't the only absence you now felt.
"I'm sorry," you rasped, your throat suddenly constricting with suppressed emotion.
Fives quickly shook his head in response. "It's okay."
You stood and stared at each other, unsure how to move forward. There was this thing in between you, a void that threatened to swallow you up if you dared cross it.
"I... I want you to be okay," he said after a while. And then, in a smaller voice, "Echo would want me to make sure you're okay."
You didn't think you could speak but you made yourself try anyway. "He'd want me to do the same for you."
Fives's mouth moved into a smile but it didn't reach his eyes. His eyes, instead, were watering, darting between yours and the walls around, as if searching for something. He wiped at them and then his beard, taking in a sharp breath through his nose, clearing his throat.
"I'm sorry," you heard yourself saying again. "I... I don't want to push you away..."
"It's..." he instinctually started to respond before stopping himself.
It wasn't okay. It wasn't okay to lose one friend and not have the other to lean on. The truth was, you were afraid. Afraid to walk through Echo. To fill the void with anything other than his memory.
"It's okay," he ended up saying.
It's okay.
Fives's mouth had moved but it was Echo's voice you heard. Clear and calm and certain. Delusion or not, it was all the permission you needed.
You threw yourself at Fives, not daring to think beyond your need to feel him. Your arms wrapped around his torso and squeezed his body tightly against yours. Your face buried into his chest. Your fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt. He immediately replicated every movement and held you with all the strength and care he had. Tears fell and mixed between you. Sobbing breaths heaved back and forth against each one another until they eventually ate each other up and left nothing but defeated sighs in their wake. Desperate, clinging grasps loosened into a tender but firm embrace.
You'd taken that empty space and started to fill it again. With a promise. With hope. And it was okay because you knew he was still there, too. An echo of every new memory you and Fives would make in his honor.
Every Character Tag: @dangerousstrawberrypie, @justanothersadperson93, @arctrooper69, @sleepycreativewriter, @techie-bear,
@theroguesully, @cw80831, @cdblake1565
Clone Bois Tag: @kaijusplotch, @rebel-finn, @lucyysthings, @marvel-starwars-nerd, @nekotaetae,
Happy Birthday (Rex x F!Reader, Echo & F!Reader, Cody & F!Reader)
For @diviluscorner, as part of @cloneficgiftexchange ‘s Song Fic Exchange
Your boyfriend Rex, along with his brothers Cody and Echo, have been hiding out at your farmhouse for a few months now. They want to return the favor by giving you the perfect birthday.
Lyrics prompts:
● "We were chasing after hopes and dreams, and we're still under the stars" || "And it was written, 'cause the stars said I was yours and you would be mine all along" (Paradise, NSync [Justin Timberlake])
● "And who knows what it'll cost me, or how long it'll last?" // "Cause what I learned from waiting is waiting never lasts" (Homeward, Benjamin William Hastings)
Tags: fire, fluff, SFW
Word count: 1,937
I hope today is your birthday, @diviluscorner. If not, I understand if you read the fic early. I hope you find these boys as sweet as you need them to be!
Rex watched you leave from your farmhouse window. He waited until you crested the hill, dipping out of sight, to turn back to Cody and Echo. This was one of the most important missions of his life, and he couldn’t let you on to his plan. Even though you’d let them use your farm as a de facto base for the Clone Underground these past few months, sheltered a dozen of their defector brothers, kept all their secrets from the Empire. Even though you’d opened your heart to him. In fact, that was exactly why you had to be kept in the dark, why he could only trust two of his most loyal men to pull this off.
Echo and Cody stood up from the kitchen table, still covered with the remnants of the breakfast the four of you had just shared. Rex frowned. He understood full well why his brothers clung to the military discipline they’d had drilled into them their entire lives. Structure was a comfort in a chaotic galaxy. But if the clones were going to live among civilians, they’d have to start adopting some civilian habits. That was part of the purpose behind this mission, after all. Still, it couldn’t hurt to go along with them a little.
“At ease, men. Sit down and let’s start this briefing.” Cody and Echo obeyed, but still eyed their captain expectantly. The mission was as important to them as it was to Rex. He cleared his throat.
“Men, our mission is simple. Using all resources at our disposal, we throw my cyare the best surprise birthday party she’s ever had.”
This was about more than throwing a party. None of the clones had ever celebrated a birthday – they weren’t born so much as decanted. Even the Jedi generals, who’d encouraged the clones’ individuality, didn’t mark their own births with any kind ceremony. Birthdays were a civilian tradition. If clones could throw a successful birthday party, that would prove they could adapt to civilian life.
More importantly, it would show you that Rex could be part of your life. Though you hadn’t been dating long, it was increasingly difficult for him to imagine his own life without you in it. He recalled that first night you shared a bed, your breath gentle and deep as you slept, your face stripped of all guardedness. He knew that, no matter what, he had to protect you. And he knew how hard things had been for you this year, between helping the Clone Underground and keeping up with your own farm chores. Rex and the others helped you when they could, but they had to be away on missions so often and couldn’t always be there. So when you offhandedly mentioned your birthday was in a couple of weeks, Rex remembered and began formulating his plan.
Rex began the briefing by explaining the basic components of a surprise birthday party: the presents, the decorations, the cake, the traditional ambush.
“I thought civvies didn’t like being ambushed.” Echo said. “I mean, no more than a soldier would. Are you sure she’ll like that?”
“We’re not going to attack her, Echo.” Rex waved his arm dismissively. “We’re simply going to jump out and yell ‘Surprise!’ Then we’ll bring out the cake and sing the birthday song – which I expect each of you to have memorized in advance. She’ll blow out the candles –”
“Captain, is the fire really necessary?”
“It’s festive, Echo.” Rex said, pinching the bridge of his nose. Maybe this would be harder than he’d anticipated.
“If you say so, sir.” Echo settled back in his chair. “But this whole birthday business seems dangerous to me.”
“But we trust your judgement, Captain.” Cody gave Echo a pointed look before turning back to Rex. “She’s your girl, you know her best. If you think she’ll enjoy this, we’ll do what we can to help you.”
“Thank you, Cody.” Even if they couldn’t always cut the chatter, Echo and Cody were reliable. Rex trusted them with his life. Perhaps they could pull this off after all. “You’re in charge of the decorations, then.”
Cody frowned, uncertain, but nodded. “I’ll make sure it’s festive, sir.”
“Then I’ll make the cake,” Echo said. “I’m still learning my way around the kitchen, but I’ll do my best. What about you, sir?”
“I’ve got a special gift for her in the works. One of our contacts owes me a favour, and I’m cashing it in.” Rex cut his brothers a smile. “That doesn’t mean you’re off the hook, though. I expect your gifts to be nothing less than outstanding. Understand?”
A week later, on the day of the party, Rex returned from town with a smile on his face. He had felt a pang of guilt that morning – when you’d left to check on the fences, so preoccupied you didn’t even respond to his goodbye, he’d almost let the tooka out of the bag. it was awful keeping secrets from you, even when it was temporary and for your sake. But at least that meant the surprise would stay a surprise. Cody and Echo had already secured their gifts and already started on the preparations when Rex left for town. And the contact had surrendered Rex’s gift to you with a minimum of haggling. Rex patted his breast pocket, where the precious cargo rested close to his heart. Yes, this would all go off without a hitch.
Rex entered the house to find Cody putting up the last of his decorations in the living room. Dozens of candles twinkled throughout the room, illuminating homemade banners, festooned with your name, hanging across the ceiling. “Just like you said, Captain.” Cody spread his arms wide, showing off his handiwork. “Festive.”
“Nicely done, soldier. How’s Echo doing with the cake?”
“Should be taking it out of the oven any minute!” Echo leaned into the room. “And the frosting came out perfect, if I do say so myself.” He waved his artificial arm for emphasis – he’d swapped out his scomp attachment for a spatula, which was covered with the gooey foodstuff.
“Excellent, excellent. And she should be home soon. Everyone keep an ear out so we can hide –“
A horrific stench wafted from the kitchen, and Rex’s stomach clenched. Even as he crossed the house to open the oven door, he quailed at what he knew was inside. Smoke billowed out of the oven, revealing the cake, black and scarred as the surface of Mustafar.
“Echo, what happened?”
“I don’t know, captain. I used all the right ingredients! The only change I made was –”
“What.” Rex rounded on Echo.
“Well, the recipe said to bake the cake at one hundred and seventy-five degrees for half an hour. But I was running short on time, so I figured three hundred and fifty degrees for fifteen minutes should do it –"
“Echo, that is not how temperature works –”
A scream from the living room interrupted Rex. He and Echo rushed in to discover flames licking at the caf table, spilling onto the rug.
“The banner fell on the candles! Oh kriff, oh kriff –”
Echo shook his head. “I knew this birthday business was dangerous.”
“Help me put this damn fire out!” Rex grabbed a nearby blanket and started beating at the table, but it took Cody and the kitchen fire extinguisher to put out the flames.
“Well, at least the burnt part isn’t that bad, is it?” Echo gestured at the charred caf table. “Adds character.”
Cody’s face twisted with despair. “Echo, it is that bad.”
“Okay, okay.” Rex ran his fingers through his hair. “We can still pull this off.” They had to pull this off. This had to be good for you. “Cody, you find something to cover up this table. Echo, you fix that cake somehow. We should still have half an hour before she gets back –”
“I’m home early!”
Rex’s throat went tight as you walked into the living room. Your eyes wide, you looked to the men, to him, for some explanation.
Echo plastered a rictus grin on his face, waggled his good arm. “Surprise?”
“Give up, Echo. There’s no salvaging this.” Cody turned to you. “Vod, this is my fault. I should’ve realised fire and flimsi don’t mix.”
“And I ruined your cake. I’m sorry, I –”
“No.” Rex stepped forward. “Echo and Cody aren’t to blame. This was my idea. My responsibility.” His failure. He was a fool to think he could understand your world. To try and make what you felt for him last. You were just too different.
You took Rex’s hand. “You guys did all this for me?”
“Of course, cyare. We know birthdays are important to civvies, so we wanted you to have a nice one.”
“Thank you.” You sank into Rex’s arms. “I can’t remember the last time anyone even tried to do something so nice for me.”
Rex didn’t know what to say. All he could think to do was caress your cheek. How could you be so wonderful? How did he get so lucky?
“So you’re forgiving us? Just like that?”
“Oh no, Cody. You all kriffed up my house, and you have to fix it.” You pulled away from Rex and pointed across the room. “Cleaning products are in there. Water’s in the pump out back. And you’d better make me a proper dinner, Echo. It’s been a long day, and I’m starving.”
Rex laughed. “My general. If you’d been in the war, we would’ve had the Separatists on the run years earlier.”
Dinner was served on the back porch instead of in the house. Cody and Rex managed to throw away the ruined banner and cake and scrub off the burn marks, and Rex had opened up all the windows, but it would still be a few hours before the smell was gone. Luckily for all of you, Echo was a far better cook than he was a baker. He prepared your favorite dishes, and stuck a candle – “Just one!” Cody insisted – in the main course for you to blow out. At the end of the meal, the boys bought all the dirty dishes inside and came out with packages, all wrapped in blue paper and tied with string.
“Aw, you guys! You didn’t have to get me anything, you know.”
“Have to, nothing.” Rex patted your hand. “You deserve it, mesh’la.”
You opened Echo’s gift first: a scarf, which made you smile as you rubbed it against your skin. “It’s made of real gualama wool, from Naboo. And I noticed you wear that colour a lot.”
Cody’s gift was a decorative wooden box, filled of sachets of exotic-smelling herbs. “I wasn’t sure what kind of tea you’d like, so I got you a selection.”
Rex tried to keep his breathing deep and even as he handed you his gift. Even now, he couldn’t be sure how’d you’d react. But when your eyes flew open at the sight of the ring gleaming inside, he relaxed.
“It’s beskar. Mandalorian iron. Usually the smiths use it for weapons and armour – useful things, if you’re a warrior.” Rex took your hand in his again. “I can’t ask you to live that kind of life, cyare. That life was forced on me, and I’d never choose it for you. But a ring means eternal devotion in your culture, doesn’t it?” He pressed a kiss to your knuckles. “That’s what I’m offering. My protection. My devotion. My love.” He smiled up at you. “If you’ll have it.”
