The doors to 79s hissed open only to have billows of stench-imbued vapors assault the men as they crossed the threshold. If not for the bucket he still wore, it might have been suffocating. Fives hated death sticks and hated even more that 79s allowed patrons to smoke them inside. But even that wouldn’t spoil his mood that evening. He and Echo were ARCs. They’d made it. And no amount of thick, malodorous smoke would change that.
He walked shoulder to shoulder with Echo, making their way to the bar. He could hear the hoots and hollers of brothers playing the arcade games on the second level. One of dozens of arm wrestling matches took place at a nearby table. The DJ for the evening had selected a bone rattling musical lineup, heavy on the bass and light on everything else. He and Echo settled onto barstools and gently placed their helmets on the counter. He felt like a shiny with fresh paint adorning brand new ARC armor. He and Echo ordered drinks and settled in for a night of celebration.
The night progressed with hardy congratulatory slaps to the back and the exchange of stories. They shared memories of brothers both fallen and still fighting. Fives could feel the warmth of inebriation start to move from his chest to his head. It was for that very reason he missed the announcement that there was a special guest performance for the evening and when the soft melodic song first touched his ears, he believed it to be simply his imagination. Hazy eyes tracked through the crowded, smoke-filled lower level until his eyes landed on her. His heart leapt into his throat and his mouth hung agape as he beheld the vision before him.
Echo nudged his arm hard. A teasing grin painted his lips. “You’re staring.”
Fives’ mouth snapped shut with a small click and he shot a sharp look at Echo. He returned his attention to the single most stunning creature he’d had the honor to look upon. She was too perfect to be in 79s. Too classy and beautiful and unabashedly radiant. Angelic even.
He rolled his eyes and laughed as brothers threw themselves at her in between songs and one by one she turned them away gracefully. He knew they were harmless. But he also knew they were drunk and lonely. And far less than she deserved.
Echo sidled up to him, sipping an ale. “Go say hi.”
“What?” Fives barked. He balked at the thought. He’d never even been on a date and now Echo was suggesting he approach that stunning young woman?
Echo tilted his head in her direction. “Before you lose the chance. And the choobies.”
Fives swatted at Echo as he laughed and swiftly ducked.
Fives glanced back and watched as she helped get the stage back in order. The insufferable beats chosen by the evening’s DJ began playing through the loudspeakers once more and his skin crawled. It wasn’t music. Not anymore. Only her voice was music now.
Fives squared his shoulders and took the first shaky step. His heart flipped in his throat. Second step. His stomach turned. This may be harder than becoming an ARC.
Before he realized it, Fives was standing at the edge of the stage. And she was looking at him. For a brief moment all he could do was stare at her with big brown eyes, so panicked he was scared he would soon reconnect with all his earlier drinks. She was even more exquisite up close. She looked so sweet and it made him forget how to speak.
“Can…can I buy you a drink?” He finally managed to stammer out without too much difficulty.
He could see her contemplating his request before she gently answered, “I don’t drink. I’m sorry.” The soft and easy twang to her voice made butterflies erupt in his stomach.
Stupid Fives. Stupid. Of course she doesn’t! She’s too sweet for that.
He frantically racked his brain for an alternative. “Right! Of course not! I get it… what about um… cola? Water?” He felt his face growing hotter by the second as she watched him almost expectantly. “Or milkshakes!”
He could see amusement and something else in her eyes as his stomach twisted in anxious knots with every suggestion he nervously spit out.
At last she smiled as a warm flush dusted her cheeks. “I like milkshakes.” Her response was so quiet he almost missed it over the cacophony of brothers laughing and music blaring.
She liked milkshakes… She liked milkshakes!
He could dance. Cry. Leap for joy. He couldn’t help but notice she’d leaned in closer to him.
“N-now?” He didn’t care how eager he sounded, he wanted to talk to her more.
Her shy, closed-lip smile stretched into a pleased grin. “Now is good.”
Fives happily held his elbow out to her and every cell in his body cried out with joy as her slim fingers bashfully slipped into the crook. He grinned from ear to ear as they weaved through the maze of sweaty soldiers and server droids. The whole of 79s melted away as she looked up at him with dazzling eyes that captivated him body and soul.
Once out of the rowdy bar, they strolled leisurely to a nearby diner. They talked in hushed tones as an electric connection sizzled between them. Once seated, Fives remembered just how few credits he had left and a moment of panic set in. With sharp ARC trooper thinking he concocted a solution.
“Let’s split one. You choose the flavor.” He suggested with faux confidence.
“Are you kidding me, Sugar? After all you’ve done for the galaxy? It’s on me, soldier!” She crooned with a playful wink.
His eyes widened at the unexpected offer. “I… well I’ll get the next one then!”
They lost track of time as playful whispers and laughs stole the night from them. Eventually sadness bubbled in Fives’ chest as he noticed the time on the chrono. Echo would come looking for him soon. And he’d have to leave. With that knowledge, he mustered every last ounce of courage in his body and leaned forward.
“May I?” His voice shook as his fingers brushed her cheek. He hoped, no he prayed she would say yes.
She met his gaze, her eyes earnest, eager, and nervous. “Course you can, Sugar.”
He didn’t wait a second more. He leaned over the table and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. He lingered, hoping she wouldn’t pull away too soon. Instead she leaned in as well. He sighed a happy breath through his nose and he smiled against her lips. She was perfect.
The sudden clearing of a throat pulled him begrudgingly back to reality. Echo stood at the table, both his and Fives’ helmets tucked beneath his arms and a knowing smile on his face.
“Hate to break up the party but we gotta get back to base.”
Fives groaned, his eyes pleaded with his brother for just five more minutes. He looked back at her sadly.
“I’m sorry… have to-“
She cut him off, sliding a folded napkin toward him. “It’s alright, darlin. I understand. Thank you for the best night of my life.”
Fives’ chest ached and he rose to his feet. He paused and kissed her cheek once more before Echo grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away. He waved at her once more before they were out of sight.
He walked quietly, replaying the events of the evening and reveling in the bittersweet feeling of warmth in his chest. He unfolded the napkin which contained a handwritten note: “Thanks for the evening, Sugar. Comm me sometime so you can get the next round of milkshakes! - Sylvie Dee (comm channel 87395.23SF)
Fives face hurt from the beaming ear to ear grin he had and it took Echo three tries to get his attention.
Fives slapped Echo on the back and ignored his brother entirely as he exclaimed, “Echo, I’m gonna marry that girl some day! Just you wait!”
in the dreaming comes the warmth / the domino twins
characters: echo & fives (NOT CLONEC*ST)
description: the ache of missing fives leaves a hole in echo's chest that only his brother's warmth can fill.
warnings: angst. loss. grief. mourning.
echo is still grieving despite being part of clone force 99. it's not mentioned, but i imagine this particular moment of pain is triggered by crosshair's chip activation and leaving him behind on kamino.
this was a request from a lovely twitter mutual who wanted a hug between echo and fives <3 i haven't written for echo before so i hope i did him justice.
also posted this on ao3. feedback is welcomed, reblogs are appreciated <3
Echo knew he was dreaming when he recognised the bright white hallways of Tipoca City, which in the waking world sat submerged in the Kaminoan oceans to fade into rust forever. The hallways were as familiar to him as the curves of his face, memorised and so burned into his memory it was no real shock that he could navigate them as he did now in his sleep.
Echo walked through the corridors, passing what he knew were squads of his fellow troopers with faces identical to his, except his dreaming made them blurry, not fully formed. He passed the gangly Kaminoan’s, their large eyes prominent in the haze of their figures, which seemed to blend with the clinical white of the walls. He didn’t exactly know where he was walking until his feet took him to the junior cadet barracks, the ones he and his brothers shared in their brief childhood.
It was surreal seeing it now, as he walked in, the shapes of the beds and the curves of the walls more defined than the hallways, more distinct in his mind. He took it all in, breathing in the scentless air. The last time he was here, he didn’t even have his name yet – none of them did.
The beds were so much smaller than he remembered. He smiled and sat down on one. He ran a hand he shouldn’t have over the cloth blanket, its fibers feeling as familiar as his own skin. An ache formed in his chest for all he had lost.
The door whooshed open, and his head shot in the direction of the noise. It was then he saw himself run in and climb onto the nearest bed, pulling his knees to his chest and burying his face in his arms.
Echo blinked in surprise.
His child self was curled into a ball, as tight as he could manage, and Echo could only see the curly dark hair of his head. He remembered he used to do that when he got overwhelmed, but he couldn’t remember when he stopped. He watched his child self grip onto the sleeves of his standard issue cadet uniform tightly, the knuckles on his little hands white.
His child self didn’t see him and made no moves to show that he knew Echo was there at all. It was strange to see himself like this. To see a snapshot of the person he was for a short amount of time.
Echo slowly stood up, the urge to know what it was that made his child self cry when the door opened again, and his breath got caught in his throat and his eyes stung when he saw who it was that stepped in the door.
This was not just a dream, but a memory.
Fives’s tiny face was the same as his had been, except his brother’s seemed to be perpetually twisted into a smirk, and if it wasn’t, it itched at the corners of his mouth, ready to bloom at a moment’s notice. But his face now held no impishness, instead, his small brows were furrowed as his gaze landed on his brother’s curled-up body on the bed.
“Hey, 21-0408, why the long face?”
Echo had to sit down and cover his mouth with a hand to stop the sob that dared to escape his throat. His brother’s voice, albeit that of his child self, felt so incredibly comforting. He thought he’d never hear it again, even if it was that little boy’s voice that all clones had as young cadets. To Echo, it just sounded like him; like Fives; like it did in his fuzzy memories.
His childhood had been a fleeting blur of training programs and accelerated growth, so he didn’t remember much of it. But he didn’t forget moments like this, where his brother’s love had engulfed him.
Echo watched his child self slowly peek his eyes out from his arms at his older brother.
“Go away,” Little Echo mumbled.
“Come on, 21-0408,” Little Fives said and climbed up onto the bed next to him, trying to pry open his arms. “What’s wrong?”
Little Echo ripped his arm away and wiped his tear-stained face and nose with his sleeve. Echo grimaced as he saw the dark line that now appeared on the red fabric. He forgot kids could be gross sometimes, even himself.
“I said, go away, 27-5555,” Little Echo grumbled. “I want to be alone.”
Little Echo had no idea just how much time he would spend alone.
“Why?” Of course, Fives never let up about anything, even as a child.
Little Echo scowled at his shoes on the bed. “I…I keep messing up…”
“This module is hard, vod’ika,” Little Fives placed a hand on Little Echo’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
Fives was barely older than Echo, but his older brother never let him forget it. With the Mando’a nickname ‘little brother’ sticking to Echo for practically as long as he’d known Fives. He pretended to hate it, and he’d give anything to hear it again. So, hearing it now, Echo’s heart seized. He wanted to grab his younger self by the shoulders and tell him to treasure the nickname; to never roll his eyes and pretend to hate it; to call Fives ori’vod in return because he knew he’d get a kick out of it.
“But everyone’s good at this module except me…” Little Echo voiced quietly, not entirely convinced.
Echo tried to wrack his brain for what module his younger self was talking about, but his dreaming made it too hazy to pinpoint; like if his subconscious ventured too far away from the scene in front of him it would fizzle away, and his dream would move onto something else. And he wanted to stay in this for as long as he could.
“You’ll get it eventually; it just takes practice,” Little Fives reassured.
“I’m going to fail…and never be a soldier…” his younger self sniffled. Echo saw his eyes gloss over again with unshed tears.
“Don’t talk like that,” Little Fives chastised, punching him lightly in the shoulder, a furious look on his face. “You’ll be fine. I’ll help you.”
Little Echo’s face lit up with hope. “You will?”
Little Fives nodded. “That’s what brothers do. We look out for each other; have each other’s backs.”
Echo watched his younger self sniffle as he looked at his older brother, who gave him a reassuring smile.
“Promise?” he said.
“Promise,” Little Fives said with so much conviction, that it made Echo’s heart squeeze again. He was always so sure of everything, never faltering – not even for a second. Once Fives believed in something, he didn’t waver. Ever.
Little Echo smiled, and wrapped his arms around his brother, who hugged him tightly. Echo watched them embrace, anchoring themselves to each other. He didn’t realise he was crying until he felt a tear fall on his hands in his lap. He reached up to wipe them away, scoffing lightly at himself.
“Hey, Echo, why the long face?”
Echo’s heart seemed to expand and stop as he turned around, seeing Fives standing there behind him several metres away. He turned back to where their younger selves sat on the bed and saw they had vanished, that the room had melted away into a long bright endless plane.
“Fives?” Echo wiped his face again and he saw Fives grin at him, before walking over. Echo blinked around the tears to take the sight of him. His figure was much clearer than anything else he’d seen so far in his dreams. Fives was adorned in his ARC trooper armour; helmet tucked under his arm with a proud smile stretched across his face. He willed his subconscious to stay in this moment, that it would be cruel to rip him from it with no warning. He needed time with him.
“Don’t look so happy to see me,” Fives joked when he came closer, his mouth quirked in that smirk that was so incredibly familiar seeing it felt like coming home.
Echo laughed tearfully. “Your ugly face is just so scary, I can’t help but cry.”
Fives threw his head back in a loud guffaw before punching Echo lightly on the arm. “It’s good to see you, vod’ika.”
Echo’s heart filled with so much warmth at the affection. “Good to see you too, Fives.”
Fives smiled at him before Echo asked, “What are you doing here?”
Fives didn’t respond, he just looked at Echo thoughtfully. Echo cleared his throat and shook his head. “When they found me on Skako Minor and you weren’t with them…”
He felt Fives’s heavy hand land on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. “I know. But I’m here now.”
Echo felt his lip tremble and he willed himself to take a breath. “I missed so much time with you.”
Fives shook his head. “Don’t think about that.”
“How can I not? I missed everything. I missed…”
“I wouldn’t have wanted you to see that anyway.”
He didn’t need to say the words for Echo to know what he was referring to.
“I…I would’ve believed you.”
“Then you would be dead too.”
Clones were conditioned not to linger on the losses of their fellow brothers. It was the nature of what they were bred for. Born knowing they would die. They were taught to take a moment to mourn, then to keep going. There was no time to let the grief linger in war.
But this was much harder than Echo had been conditioned to think.
Echo’s grief for losing Fives was too complicated for that. Echo lost Fives after the fact. He was mourning him outside of the mourning period, outside of the war. And it was something he didn’t know how to handle. The grief could sit for longer, dawdle almost now that there wasn’t another mission to focus on instead. And it was painful. A never-ending agony that oscillated between a dull ache to suffocating sharpness in the hole of his chest.
Fives had been a constant in his life, from cadets to losing their squad on Rishi Moon, to joining Rex in the 501st, all the way until the fateful night of the Citadel rescue. Fives had been there for all of it. Even thereafter, in the brief lucid moments in cryostasis on Skako, his thoughts would drift to his ori’vod. So, to be released into that mourning, to realise he was free, but without his beloved brother by his side was lonelier than stasis had been.
And hearing how exactly Fives met his end had not made it any easier. It was the unfairest of deaths, and that knowledge almost hurt more. That he wasn’t there. How if he had been, it may have gone differently.
There were so many moments where Echo would think of something he wanted to tell Fives, only to realise a moment later that he couldn’t. It was a cycle of remembering he was gone. Those milliseconds of bliss, before he remembered, were bookended by the searing hurt. And there was no one to share that hurt with.
Rex was elusive in his hiding and had gone through his mourning period. And though Clone Force 99 had provided him with a home, a comradery, that he was grateful for, they had not lost anyone the way Echo had lost Fives. They didn’t fully understand.
Echo just wanted the one person who understood him, who knew him inside and out.
In other, much less complicated words, Echo missed Fives so, so much.
And at those lowest moments when he missed him; when the aching felt never-ending and moving forward felt futile, Echo imagined what it would’ve been like had they both found their ends together. How much easier it would’ve been on his heart, to know that his brother was with him even in death. That if there was an afterlife, it would be spent together. That their hearts had stopped at the same time, one not forced to go on without the other helping keep it in rhythm.
The galaxy had not been so kind to grant him that.
“I…I know,” Echo replied quietly, his throat thick.
He watched Fives’ face study him for a moment before his brow settled into a crease, and his hand tightened on Echo’s shoulder. “Echo…don’t be sad.”
Echo looked at him with disbelief. He could see all the texture in his face and feel the puff of breath against his nose. It was as if he wasn’t dreaming at all. “How…how can I not be sad? You’re not here.”
“No, but you are. You have a second chance, Echo. A second chance to live.”
Echo shook his head. “You should be here too.”
“Maybe. But my path was different to yours. You finally get a chance to choose what you do with your life. Nobody else; you, vod’ika. That freedom I was fighting for? You have it now. You have for both of us. Do something good with it. Something we’d both be proud of.”
Echo looked at his brother searching his face for something he couldn’t name. Maybe he wasn’t searching at all, but memorising. Memorising the look Fives was giving him now; the pride, the unwavering belief he had in him. He hadn’t seen it in such a long time. No one had expected anything of him in just as long.
“Promise me you will, Echo.”
He didn’t even need to think about it. “I promise.”
Echo could feel the waking world calling him, so before Fives faded away, he wrapped his arms around his brother. Fives dropped his helmet and didn’t hesitate to embrace Echo back. Arms tightly holding each other, hearts pressed together and beating in time. Echo could feel Fives’s solid chest and his warmth as if he were awake. Everything felt right in the brief, brief moment. That anchor had returned. That pain in his heart had dulled in his dreaming and been replaced with the warmth of his brother he’d been wishing for. He gripped the edges of his brother’s armour, afraid to let go, to leave this moment. But knew he had to. He’d made a promise.
“I love you, Fives,” he choked out.
He felt Fives’s palm run over his hair as he spoke against his ear. “I know. I love you too. Remember, I’m looking out for you.”
Echo jolted awake. His chest heaved as he tried to remember where he was, and his body ached like it just run a marathon. Across the small corridor, Wrecker slept, soft snores sounding. The nightlight in Omega’s space glowed softly through the curtains, and Hunter had fallen asleep on the floor, his back leaning on the wall next to the ladder, no doubt guarding their sister’s bad dreams. He could hear Tech tinkering away in the cockpit, on watch as they flew through hyperspace. Where was Crosshair?
Oh. Right.
Echo ran a hand over his face and turned towards the wall, his eyes stinging with tears. He curled in on himself, wrapping his arms around his middle, ignoring the bulk of his scomp. He tried to preserve the warmth he felt from his dreams which threatened to evaporate in the chill of hyperspace. He pressed his eyes shut, willing himself to go back into that dream, to return to Fives and get one last look at him, but it was no use. He was here. And Fives was there, or somewhere.
It could’ve been a few minutes or an hour when he heard a voice. “Echo?”
He turned to see Tech looking down at him in his bunk, adjusting his goggles. “What is it, Tech?”
“I’m afraid it’s your turn on watch.”
“Great. Thanks,” Echo grumbled.
He tried to inconspicuously wipe his eyes as he swung his metal legs out of the bunk and stood up, stretching his neck. He watched Tech remove his goggles and rub his eyes and sat down on the edge of Echo’s bunk. They had limited space, and Echo didn’t mind sharing.
“Sweet dreams,” Echo told him as Tech lay down, falling asleep almost immediately, as he tended to do.
Echo walked to the cockpit and shut the door so the light from their travels wouldn’t disturb the others. He sat in the pilot’s seat and sighed, putting his head in his hand, no hair on his head to clasp as he tried to recentre himself. He took in some steady breaths, focusing on a screw in the floor panelling. He did everything he could to quell the turning of his stomach and the throbbing in his chest. Just as quickly as it had filled in his dream, the waking world had returned that giant hole in his chest, seemingly aware that something had filled it again briefly, and now it felt the absence more.
When would this feeling of emptiness end?
The Marauder shifted in its hyperspace travels, tilting off course slightly, triggering some alarms. Echo immediately sprang into action, and his hand and scomp grabbed the controls to steady the ship. With a frown, he checked the stabilisers and saw they needed recalibrating. Didn’t Tech just deal with this after they’d left Ordo Moon mere hours ago? He tried and failed not to get annoyed – he just needed to fix this, and quickly so they didn’t veer off course and fall into a star. He sighed, knowing they’d have to come out of hyperspace for these repairs. Maybe the ship had been more damaged than he thought.
Echo slowly pulled back the hyperdrive lever and the ship came to a halt in open space. He hoped no one woke up with the disturbance and that this wouldn’t take long. They didn’t have time to waste. He placed the Marauder in idle whilst he scomped in and started recalibrating. It was a lot easier now that Tech had upgraded his cerebral interface, so there was less strain on him. He was able to scomp in and load up the commands without much effort. As the commands processed through the system, he watched the stabilisers respond and recalibrate in his mind’s eye.
It was then he felt a shiver run up his spine.
A monitor beeped, interrupting his realignment, and Echo looked at a screen searching for the alert among the pop-ups when he noticed the time.
05:55. Echo’s breath hitched.
He heard the door behind him slide open but didn’t look away from the monitor. He couldn’t.
“Everything okay in here? I felt something,” Hunter’s voice thick with sleep asked.
Echo kept his gaze on the numerals, and he allowed himself to smile, that warmth he’d been longing for slowly filling the hole in his chest.
Because I need to forget everything I just watched.
He's totally fine and still alive and everything is ok and the chips are discovered and order 66 doesn't happen and everyone lives and nobody dies and all the clones get to live happy free lives and *sobs*
Here's a snippet of something I wrote a while ago when I was deep in my Fives feels. TW for near-death, panic.
Fives remembered water. First fire, a sharp, blinding pain hotter than a star, and then... water.
No. Not water, he thought as his nerves eventually became aware of each of his fingers and toes. Too thick.
Bacta.
His carefully trained eyes darted around the room, noting that the room was meticulously sealed. No windows, but there was no gentle hum of an engine either. An interior room. In a building, or on a docked starship? Judging by how private and unfamiliar it was, probably a building. The gravity felt too real anyway. There were no clear signs as to whether the building was Separatist or Republic, but it was clean and well lit, with no obvious guard in sight. As he scanned himself for injuries, he realized there were more important things to worry about.
Painkillers may have been able to dull the pain in his body to a tolerable ache, but nothing could stop the turmoil in his mind.
A brother! The panic rose unbidden. A brother had killed him. Not killed. Not dead. I think.
Chips. Chips. Why was that important?
Fives' head snapped toward the sound of a door sliding open. "You're awake."
A/N: I’ve had a day. Fives makes everything better. Hopefully I can get to my requests now 🙃.
Warnings: Extreme softness! Fives singing Five, established relationship. I suggest listening to Five - Got the Feelin’ when reading this 🥹.
Word Count: 1.2k+
“Na na na na na na na nah…” his singing reached you before he’d even opened the front door. His key scratched in the lock and he burst in making you duck down deeper into the nest you’d made on the sofa. “If you got the feelin’, jump up to the ceiling! Ah we’re gettin’ down tonight!” He threw his keys, kicking the door closed and danced his way across the floor, taking your attention away from the tv with his ridiculous dance moves. “1 if you gonna, 2 if you wanna, 3 cos everything’s alright.”
You giggled when he pointed at you, biting his bottom lip as he gyrated to the tune that played in his head. “Ah, we’re getting down tonight, it’s just round the corner, tell me if you wanna…” you could see he was trying to make you smile. He knew you’d had a stressful day and he was doing everything he could think of to make you feel better.
He danced towards you, throwing in a daft spin and pointing at you with a wink. “Fives will make you feel alright.” A squeal left you when he dived into your blanket nest, his body a welcome weight as he burrowed in.
“Where is she?” He murmured, you could feel his hands searching, grabbing at cushions and blankets as he tried to reach you through the layers. “Where is my girlfriend hiding? Ah!” You squirmed when his hand grabbed your t-shirt, sliding up inside your warmth and making you gasp from the shock of his cold his hands were.
“Fives!!” You shrieked, trying to escape him.
“Oh baby! Don’t kick me!” He whined. “I’m cold baby, let me in…” his other hand slipped under the blankets and you gasped loudly, writhing against the chill as your skin pimpled with goosebumps.
“Fives!” He let out a dark chuckle, moving to pin you between him and the sofa. He stretched his neck, straining as he planted a firm smooch on your cheek letting his goatee scratch you a little. You faked a pout but he wasn’t fooled, a smirk alighting his features as he settled his chin on your chest, gazing at you with those gorgeous caramel chocolate coloured eyes.
“You ok?” Fives wasn’t serious very often, it was one of the things you absolutely adored about him, but he knew sometimes he needed to check in with you before he derailed completely.
“I am now you’re home,” you admitted. He tugged you closer, shifting another blanket out of the way so he could kiss you without anything getting in the way. His hands slipped behind your back, shoving them as far into your t-shirt as he could get them. “How was your day?” You asked him, slightly breathless from the kiss that had your toes wiggling with happiness. You stroked his hair, enjoying the way the coarse strands spring back to exactly where they were before and he leaned heavily into your touch.
“Better now I’m here, and you’re doing that,” he groaned. He reminded you of a cat, as he rubbed his head encouraging your fingers to scratch harder. “Oh yeah, like that…” he whispered and you giggled again. “Mmm, I like that sound,” he whispered, pressing forward and placing a wet kiss on your cheek that had you scrunching your face up.
“Oh, Fives!”
“Yeah baby, say my name!” He cried burying his face in your neck and this time you laughed properly, trying to push him away but he was too strong. You felt his fingers move and you froze when your bra unclipped. “Oops.” You swatted him playfully on the shoulder only to be rewarded with a teasing kiss at the curve of your neck.
“Get off me you oaf!”
“Oh!” He cried, rearing up and sliding his hands so he was caging you to the sofa between his arms. “Oaf?? I am hurt.” You didn’t miss the mischievous glint in his eye. “Surely I’m a hulk.” Scoffing loudly, you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms, hating the way your bra now felt loose across your body.
“Dream on.”
“Oh I do,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to your lips. “I dream about you all damn, day long.” You planted a hand on his face stopping the next kiss that was no doubt coming and arched an eyebrow. “Of course, I could be lying,” he said with a smushed face into your hand.
“Fives, you couldn’t lie to save your life.” He settled back on the sofa, sitting down and pulling your legs over his. He rucked up your joggers, gently grazing your skin with his blunt nails in the way he knew you loved.
“No, but I could lie to save yours.” He rested his head on the back of the sofa, turned in your direction so he could gaze at you. Your feet flexed when he hit the best spot and he smirked again, glancing down to watch his fingers ghost over your skin. “You hungry?” He asked suddenly. You made a face, the elation of him being home slowly ebbing away at the thought of having to be an adult.
“Not really.” His fingers paused briefly only to carry on running up and down your shin.
“Wanna talk about it?” You picked at the blanket, pulling a loose thread in a repetitive motion as you tried to figure out if you actually wanted to talk about it or not. “We don’t have to,” he reassured you.
“Tomorrow?” You offered, glancing up and he gave you a soft smile.
“Sure, babe. In the meantime…”
“Oh god!” You exclaimed with a groan, tipping your head back.
“Na na na na na na na nah!”
“No, Fives no!”
“If you got the feelin’, jump on to the ceiling!” He stood up, pulling at your arms and dragging you upright to dance with him. “Ah, we’re getting down tonight!” He made you twirl but you put no effort in and he cocked an eyebrow at you. “That won’t do.” He twirled you harder, one leg of your joggers falling down at the motion and finally you giggled. “There she is! 1 if you gonna, 2 if you wanna, 3 cos everything’s alright…” he wrapped you tightly in his embrace, tilting you one way and then the other as he swayed gently. “If you got the feelin’, less of the dreaming…” you tipped your head back and he drank in your features, adoration clouding his expression. “Is Fives making you feel alright?” He asked and you nodded.
“Fives always makes me feel alright.”
“Good,” he murmured. “Good.” His lips slotted over yours, teasing you with a gentle lingering kiss that had him exhaling tenderly over your cheeks. He pulled away but you chased his kiss, deciding your weren’t done with him yet and he smirked against your mouth before obliging you with a deeper kiss that sparked a soft moan in your chest.
“I love you,” he breathed, stroking the hair away from your face as you wrapped your arms around his torso.
“I love you too, Fives.”
“Mmmmhmmm.” He grinned. “Shall we get the rest of your clothes off?” You shrieked in fake outrage but he just laughed, hugging you tighter just thankful that he had cheered you up at least.
The Bet at 79s
(Fives x Reader prequel to A Sniper's Competition)
Summery:
On a night out at 79s, Reader and Fives make a bet while playing drunken darts. What exactly is Fives going to have to do when he loses?
Author's Note:
Ok, this was really fun to write and the exact happy request I needed today. Thank you so much @staycalmandhugaclone for requesting this! I did have to change the idea a little bit because I didn't think they would have access to copies of physical photos. Hope you enjoy it!
To anyone who isn't aware, Fives and Reader were together before he died in my story A Sniper's Competition, which is a Crosshair x Reader fic. These oneshots and drabbles serve as mini prequel stories for that series. Please let me know if you have any other requests for Fives (or Cody if you want another one of those)!
Drunk Fives was a special man. The usually happy go lucky guy was doubly so when he drank and the icing on the cake was his tendency to not think things through while he was inebriated.
For example, when I, his girlfriend who was a professional sniper, challenged him to a game of darts, he agreed immediately. Even better, he had let me make it into a bet. Poor guy never stood a chance.
Even in my tipsy state, my accuracy was far superior to his. He may be an ARC trooper but this was literally my job and what I’d trained my whole life for. I also was not above cheating a little bit by using my minor control of the force to help get the darts where they needed to go.
“So, mesh’la,” Fives said with a bit of a slur. “Guess what you have to do if I win.”
“What will I have to do, Fives?” I asked as I approached with darts in both hands. I handed him a set, the one that was slightly heavier and unbalanced.
Fives leaned in, his arm wrapping around my waist.
“That thing you do with your tongue that I love so much,” he said lowly. I think he thought he was whispering, but thankfully 79s was loud enough that it didn’t matter. I chuckled at his words, knowing I’d probably be doing exactly what he was asking for anyway even after I won.
He pulled away with a smacking kiss to my cheek and his smile was absolutely infectious.
“What do you want if you win?” He asked me. “Even though you don’t stand a chance”
I seductively leant towards him, eyes darting between his eyes and grinning lips.
“You’ll just have to wait and find out.”
Twenty minutes later, he was about to get his answer. The level at which I was pummeling him was ridiculous. Groups of clones had gathered around to watch and throw joking insults at Fives. None of them dared be serious though. They knew he didn’t stand a chance against me and that if they said anything seriously insulting, then they may find themselves with a dart hurtling towards their face. It only took one time for that to never happen again.
With a victorious cheer, I watched my last dart hit the bullseye dead center. Most would be upset over losing, but Fives wasn’t like most. He immediately ran over to me, wound his arms under my butt, and lifted me. I steadied myself by catching myself with my hands on his shoulders. He spun me around while many of the other onlooking soldiers toasted to me. The laugh that left me was one of absolute, unmitigated joy. Gripping both of his cheeks, I lowered my lips to his.
When he put me down, the intoxicated man asked what he had to do now that I’d won. My joyous grin turned wicked.
_______
“If I get caught the commander will kill me,” Fives muttered as he peered around the corner to check for incoming officers.
“Cody was still at 79s with Rex when we left. You’ll be fine. Besides, I wouldn’t let him kill you,” I answered, shoving him down the hallway. He stumbled a bit, alcohol still heavily lingering in his system.
“Of course he won’t kill you. He’s probably still dreaming about your ass,” Fives griped. One thing I adored about this man, he had never been jealous of my past relationships.
I keyed into Cody’s door, still having access to his quarters. When the door opened, I strolled right in and made my way to his desk where I knew his data pad would be sitting.
“The honor is all yours,” I told Fives as he took it from my hand. He mumbled under his breath as he tapped a few buttons on the screen.
“There,” he said with a laugh. “The background of Commander Cody’s datapad is now a lovely picture of General Kenobi.”
“And you signed your name?” I questioned as I took the datapad from him. He gestured for me to inspect it myself and I keeled over laughing when I saw the screen.
On it was an official picture of General Kenobi in his uniform, but written next to it was a note that said:
Here’s a picture of your boyfriend. You’re welcome.
Love, Fives
Carefully, I returned Cody’s datapad to where it had been sitting before we broke into his room.
“Now,” I said to Fives as I went to leave. “Onto Rex’s room!”
_______
We were in the middle of switching Rex’s background to a picture of Anakin when I heard the access panel from the hallway beep.
“He’s coming!” I hissed. I looked to the door, ready to make an excuse, but as it whooshed open, I was shoved onto Rex’s bed.
“Every man for themselves!” Fives yelled before sprinting past Rex and out of the room. I sputtered from my sprawled position on the bed, left alone to fend for myself.
“So, Rexxie,” I said with a sheepish grin. “How was your night?”
_______
After I had told Rex what I had dared Fives to do, he had laughed it off and let me leave with a hug and a promise to record Cody beating up Fives tomorrow.
Seeing as we were on leave, I made my way to Fives’ quarters instead of my own. I expected to find him there, but when the door whooshed open, he was nowhere to be found. I checked the connecting refresher, but he wasn’t there either. Maybe Cody had seen him running like a madman through the halls and detained him. I shrugged it off, knowing he’d make his way back eventually, and got ready for bed, throwing on one of Fives’ few non-regulation shirts.
I cuddled into the bed and was almost asleep when the door to the room opened. All I heard was giggling. I rolled over to face him, and saw Fives giddy as a child standing there.
“What did you do?” I questioned with narrowed eyes.
“Nothing,” He answered with faux indignation and the worst salute I’d ever seen. “I am an ARC Trooper. An exemplary soldier who abides by all of the rules and regulations of the GAR.”
He was giggling again by the end of the sentence. I groaned, knowing that I’d eventually find out what mischief he’d been up to. Hopefully, it wouldn’t get me court martialed.
I threw the covers next to me to the side and patted the bed.
“Get your kit off and get your shebs in here,” I ordered. “I’m still going to do that thing with my tongue that you like.”
_______
I was woken by the sound of heavy, incessant knocking on the door. Fives groaned and rolled over, burying his head against my neck to block out the sound.
“Go away,” he groaned. It didn’t take the force to know the man was heavily hung over.
“You’re lucky I love you,” I muttered as I climbed over him and out of the bed. I stumbled to the door and hit the button to open it. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, they widened.
“What can I do for you this morning, Generals?” I asked, crossing my arms and leaning against the doorway.
Obi-wan looked down and glanced my bare legs before averting his eyes, while Anakin just smirked at me.
“We’re here to see your boyfriend,” Anakin said.
“I’m going to need to know why,” I returned. At my comment, Obi-wan looked like he was about to pull rank so I held up my hand to stop him and added;
“I need to know so I’m ready if I need to get my ass out of here and leave him to his own fate.”
Obi-wan finally cracked a smile and the two Jedi shared a look. With a sigh, the older jedi pulled a datapad from his robes and handed it to me. Dread washed over me as I began to guess where Fives had gone last night. My suspicions were confirmed when I looked at the screen and saw a picture of Commander Cody’s helmeted head edited onto a nearly naked body of a very buff man. There was a typed note next to it that said:
Here’s some eye candy for you, General!
Love, Fives
“I’m guessing the same thing is on your datapad, but with Rex’s bucket instead of Cody’s?” I asked Anakin sheepishly.
“That’s exactly what it is,” He confirmed.
“Let me go put on some pants and then you can kill him,” I grumbled, turning to go back into the room, but paused when I saw another approaching figure.
“Can someone please tell me why there's a picture of Wolffe on my datapad,” Master Plo Koon questioned. “And why it says ‘World's best dad?’”
Post the last line you wrote and tag the same number of people as words.
Fives had experienced moments like this several times before, moments during which his muscle memory unleashed such overwhelming powers that the world shrank, and his body seemed to move on a different time plane than the one that defined the flow of reality in seconds and minutes.
I'm a little late to the party, I guess 😅 Buuuut, better late than never, right?
Thanks, @twistedstitcher27, for tagging me.
Tags are a little random, and sorry if you feel bothered, just ignore it. It's my first time. Rest assured, I do feel awkward.
@moonstrider9904 @princessxkenobi @iobsessoverfictionalmen @jedi-archives
I've gone digital!!! My first project was a DTIYS for an artist I met on IG with her OC Captain Phoenix (Phoenix is a woman, and isn't a clone). And me, being me, thought up a ficlet to go with this delightfully hilarious moment.
If you want some amazing art, go check out Rai_jauru in Instagram. Seriously, go do it!
Then only warning is alcohol consumption and and a persistent Fives (nothing new) and he gets knocked down a peg, so it's SWF. Adding a cut to keep your feed clean and tidy.
Hope you enjoy!
One day, he’d learn to keep his mouth shut, though Rex knew it wasn’t going to be that night. No, that particular night, Fives was incapable of thinking clearly and missed the cues that he should have stopped talking while he was behind, instead of on his back outside 79’s with the wind knocked out of him.
It started innocently enough. Fives and Echo were at the club celebrating their recent promotion to ARC Troopers following the battle of Kamino. Echo was content with celebrating with the rest of the 501st, but Fives being Fives spent most of the night circulating through the room in search of fairer company. Eventually he decided to try his luck with a woman who was minding her own business at the bar, enjoying a glass of aged Correlian whiskey.
Rex recognized her immediately, having met her several times before. Captain Phoenix of Vendetta Squadron. Aside from the fact that the squad’s reputation preceded them, Phoenix was as beautiful as she was battle hardened. So, when Fives in his drunken state decided to strike up an unsolicited conversation with her, he knew it wasn’t going to end well.
Her body language was clear. She just wanted a quiet drink and didn’t want to be hassled by a yet another hotshot that couldn’t take a hint. Fives, too drunk to care or notice, seemed to think that bragging about his prowess would be the key to her good side. As she rolled her eyes, she noticed Rex watching them. The look she shot him wasn’t necessarily asking for his help for her sake, more cautioning him that someone should come collect Fives before he got in over his head.
“Come on, you’re only saying no because you know I’ll win,” he persisted.
Rex quickly closed the distance to them, and put a hand on his ARC’s shoulder, “I think that’ll do, Fives. Let’s call it a night.”
“No, no no,” Fives shook free. “We made a deal!”
“Actually, you tried to make a deal. I’m saving you from the embarrassment,” Phoenix corrected smoothly as she drained her glass. “But, if you’re so convinced, let’s get this over with.”
The pair stood from their respective stools, helmets under arm. Echo noticed the commotion and jogged up behind Rex. Together, they all filed outside.
“What’s going on?” Echo asked with a measure of concern.
“Your vod seems to think he can get me on my back,” she announced donning her bucket and continuing through the vocoder. “I’m about to prove him wrong.”
“Fives…” Rex warned one last time.
Grinning like a fool, Fives secured his helmet as well and stood with in a grappling stance. Phoenix did the same, though her shoulders were lower and balance more stable. They circled for a moment before Fives boldly moved in. He managed to grab her forearm and secure a hand on her hip, but when he tried to sweep her legs, she moved faster than he could. Between his delayed reaction time and her general feeling of being done with him, the newly promoted ARC Trooper never stood a chance.
Phoenix ducked out of his grasp and grabbed his arm. Crouching, her shoulder thrust into his gut and her free arm grabbed his leg. She stood, taking the better part of his upper body with her. Fives suddenly felt weightless before his stomach rolled into his throat and gravity came crashing back down. In the blink of an eye, he laid on the deck outside 79’s, wheezing and fighting the desire vomit in his helmet. Doffing her bucket, Phoenix tossed her hair away from her face and stood over him with an expectant look.
“M’Sorry,” he groaned.
“I’m sorry, what?” she clarified, raising her brows.
“I’m sorry, captain,” he corrected.
“That’s more like it.”
From his supine view, Rex and Echo joined her and looked down at him. The latter shook his head in disappointment, while the former ignored him entirely and looked at the victor of the spar.
“Captain Phoenix, can I buy you a drink?” Rex asked.
