Finding a Way
Pairing: Hevy x GN!Reader
Rating: SFW, we’ll say PG-13
Word Count: 2522
Warnings: Explosion at Rishi Station, some angst but plenty of fluff, description of injuries and healing, kissing, cuddling
A/N: This was written for @sinfulsalutations as part of the @rare-clone-fic-exchange. I hope you enjoy this. It's my first time writing Hevy, but I love him.
Summary: This is a Hevy Lives AU. You're a GAR contractor who takes supplies to various outposts, including Rishi Station. You strike up a friendly relationship with Hevy and are devastated to learn of the explosion, doing what you can to reach out to him once he heals, and getting a lot closer along the way.
Other characters mentioned: Domino Squad, 99, and OC clone medic Shots
Hevy did not like Rishi Station. All that training just to get here? The time passed in the usual way. You connected via comms, bringing a shipment of cargo in for the squad. He acknowledged when you asked for permission to land. Your job had you skipping around to various outposts bringing supplies. Sometimes, you were the only outside face they saw for many rotations.
You landed and Hevy greeted you as you got off the ship. Echo confirmed the cargo you brought was exactly what they ordered. Ration bars, dehydrated soup mix, standard issue soap and shampoo, and five sets of spare blacks. The boys all helped you unload the cargo and Hevy decided to walk you back to the ship. He didn’t have to. He wasn’t sure what propelled him forward, but he thought it would be a nice gesture.
“Thanks, Hevy,” you said, just before boarding.
“My pleasure,” he replied. He smiled slightly and gave a small nod. You returned the smile and had a feeling this was going to become your favorite stop on this route.
Every two weeks you would stop at Rishi Station with supplies and every two weeks Hevy would be there to greet you. You got to know Domino Squad well and made sure it was your last stop of the day so that you could take your time without having to worry about where you were headed next. You started including a few things that were not standard issue, just so they didn’t feel forgotten out there. They appreciated the fresh fruit, candy, and puzzles.
“You don’t have to do that,” Hevy said, as he watched his brothers immediately start scrutinizing one of the puzzles, excited for something new.
“I know,” you answered, “I just thought you’d like it.”
“I do,” he said with a smile. “I mean, er, we do. We definitely do.”
He walked you to your ship again, but instead of boarding right away, you stood outside long enough to look at the stars. You didn’t want to stay out too long with the local fauna being what they were, but you loved how clear the sky was tonight and you were really starting to like Hevy. He was strong and loyal to his brothers, but there was a gentleness to him too. You looked at the night sky together and showed him some of the routes you took, your finger tracing a course between dotted planets. Hevy committed them to memory so he could think about you flying around out there, somehow close even if you weren’t there with him.
“If they ever let me off this moon, can I take you on a proper date?” The question escaped his lips before he even had the chance to stop himself.
“I’d like that very much,” you replied. “I live on Coruscant. I’m sure we could find something to do.”
“It’s a date then,” he said, reaching for your hand. You softly clasped his hand in your own, giving it a light squeeze and feeling heat fill your cheeks. You were stuck staring into each others eyes and smiling when your chrono went off, reminding you that you definitely had to leave.
“I’m sorry,” you sighed.
“I understand,” he said, giving your hand a squeeze in return and letting it go. “Until next time.”
You nodded with a grin and got on your shuttle. He watched you fly away before rejoining his brothers.
There was not to be a next time, though. You’d never go back to Rishi Station. Several rotations after you left, there was an attack. You heard about it from some other troopers on your route and your heart dropped to the floor. It was another rotation before Echo managed to find you through a GAR database and managed to contact you. They were back on Kamino with Hevy. He’d nearly died, but somehow, the side panel on the bomb they made managed to stay intact and push him out of the building, protecting him from certain death. Still, he was badly injured and the Kaminoans weren’t sure he would make it. If several jedi generals hadn’t intervened, he might not have found himself in a bacta tank. He had massive burns all over his body and a massive concussion along with internal bruising. The recovery would not be easy. His armor had been mostly destroyed, but it helped save him.
When you received the message, you read it as quickly as you could, hoping against hope that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. You started crying when you read that Hevy was alive. Although your heart broke every time you got to know a clone and found out the war had taken them, Hevy was special to you. You gave yourself a moment to let the tears flow as relief swept through your being. Once you were ready, you read the rest of the message. Hevy was doing poorly, but they were trying to keep him alive long enough for him to heal. Echo and Fives had joined the 501st and Hevy was set to join too, as long as he pulled through. He was stuck on Kamino in the meantime. He and Fives wanted you to know, but they couldn’t say more than that. You immediately asked if you could come and see him, but the Kaminoans didn’t want that. You didn’t really have a reason to be on Kamino and sneaking you in so you could visit had its risks. Your heart sank again, but in your correspondence, Fives had an idea. He asked if you could send a voice recording for Hevy and they could play it to him to try to help lift his spirits. They didn’t know if he could even hear it while in the bacta tank, but it was worth a shot.
And so, Echo and Fives found themselves standing outside Hevy’s bacta tank playing your recording multiple times a day. Hi Hevy. It’s me. I heard what you did and what happened. I’m proud of you and you need to get better. You still owe me a date. Promise me you’ll be there. When Echo and Fives had to ship out with the 501st for their next mission, they gave the recording to 99, who sat there diligently playing your message at least once a day and keeping Hevy company. After a couple rotations he started to notice Hevy’s hand twitched when he heard the recording.
Hevy heard your voice and his brain was trying to comprehend where he was. Was he alive? How was he alive? He felt himself floating and could hear 99’s voice after yours. He wished more than anything to see his brothers and to see you. He promised himself he’d find his way back to you.
It was only one more rotation and he was out of the tank. He was greeted by 99, a medical droid, and a clone medic named Shots.
“Glad to have you back, Hevy,” smiled 99, as the droid and Shots helped Hevy dry off and lay down.
“Glad to be back, 99,” he replied.
Shots and the droid started scanning Hevy and he just rolled his eyes.
“I just woke up,” he protested.
“Yes, but the faster we scan you and confirm you’re fine, the sooner you can leave,” Shots retorted with a grin.
Hevy sighed and waited, keeping a particular eye on the droid. There wasn’t a single clone he knew who loved the medbay or wanted to spend more time there than they had to.
“Okay, looks like your burns healed, internal bruises are mostly gone, and you have no signs of concussion,” Shots reported. “We’ll get you a training session to see how that goes, but barring any major issues, you should be ready for duty.”
Hevy was pleased with the news. 99 walked him down to his temporary quarters and told him what happened during and after the explosion. Hevy took in the information and accepted that it just wasn’t his time yet. At least they had been successful in defending Rishi Station.
“99?”
“Yes?”
“There was another voice. When I was in the tank. I heard your voice and one other.” He didn’t want to give too much away, but he had to know.
“Oh yes,” 99 replied. “Echo left this for you. Something about communicating with a supplier?”
Hevy smiled. “Thanks 99.”
A couple rotations later he passed a physical exam, was cleared to join the 501st, and headed out into battle, but not before following the instructions Echo left for how to contact you. It all seemed to happen so quickly in your mind. He nearly died and they were already sending him into battle. In his message, he explained what he remembered and promised you he’d be on Coruscant soon. You wanted to see him before he headed into battle, but knew that’s not how the GAR worked.
You kept yourself busy in the meantime, still delivering supplies to the outposts and adding a new stopping point. Every time you went past the old route that would have taken you to Rishi, you smiled to yourself. You missed that stop. You missed him. You were thankful you got to have some text correspondence while he was gone so you knew he made it through each day. He wasn’t allowed to say much about where he was or what he was doing as that was on a need-to-know basis and the army certainly didn’t want to risk soldier’s transmissions being intercepted while communicating with a civilian, but you heard from him and that got you through the day. Your messages started getting more personal, allowing him to know you and asking questions about him. You told him about a cool plant you saw in the market or the new flavor of ration bar which did not taste as good as was advertised.
On his end, Hevy looked for a new message from you every chance he got. They always made him smile. He loved reading about life on Coruscant, learning about your friends and the places you liked to go. He loved all the little details too. He had gotten to know you and really liked you before the accident, but he was seriously falling for you now. He would be on Coruscant soon and felt his heart pound as he wrote, “So what about that date?”
On your end, you had to read the words over and over, just to make sure you still weren’t making it up. You replied, “I’m ready when you are.”
The day came and your mind was only on him. You didn’t pretend to care about work that day, so much as deciding to take the day off so you weren’t distracted while flying. Hevy wore a new set of fatigues and stood a little awkwardly at your predetermined meet-up location, but he didn’t have to wait long. As soon as he saw you he ran to embrace you. It felt like the most natural thing. You held on to his back and shoulders, subconsciously trying to make sure he was really here. You breathed deeply and felt tears coming to your eyes. You pulled away from the hug a little, your hands tracing down each arm and resting on his hands.
“You’re here,” you said, looking up into his beautiful brown eyes. “You’re really here.”
He hugged you again. “I finally made it, cyare.”
There was so much you wanted to show him. You took his hand and led him through that part of town, stopping at one of your favorite places to eat. He wanted to try more food than he could possibly fit in his stomach and you told him you’d just have to bring him there back again and again. Now that he was here you could take your time. Even though the war was still going on, you had this moment right now and you weren’t going to waste it. Hevy loved walking around with you and held your hand the entire time, not wanting to let go. You walked him through a small festival, enjoying the music while lights shown through blown glass art in every color. It was beautiful, but it was even better that you were sharing the experience. You chatted well into the night until the festival was starting to shut down.
“I don’t want this night to end,” you admitted.
“I don’t either,” he agreed.
“When do you ship out next?”
“A week. The 501st boys really needed a break. I just joined them, but they’ve been out there fighting for a long time without shore leave.”
“Hevy,” you retorted with a grin, “You are part of them now and you need a break too. Besides, you just got blown up.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.”
You looked down and thought for a moment.
“What is it,” he asked. “Is something wrong?”
You shook your head. “I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to spend the night at my place. Nothing more than… I don’t know if that would be too much.”
“I’d love to,” he answered. “I’d also love to kiss you.”
You beamed and leaned toward him. His lips planted firmly on yours made you both smile. As he pulled away you surged forward just a bit to leave one more little kiss for him.
He took your hand and let you lead the way. You were just one level down and it wasn’t long before you let him inside, suddenly wondering why you hadn’t cleaned up more. Hevy didn’t mind though. He didn’t even notice. He liked seeing where you live and seeing your personality in the little items you had around your home. After you both took your boots off, he grinned and picked you up, kissing you again.
“Oh! Hevy!” You looked down, a little unsure. He calmly looked up at you, happy to have you in his arms.
“I carry a Z-6 rotary cannon,” he said confidently. Then, a little softer he added, “I could carry you anywhere. Just say the word.”
You leaned down and rested your forehead to his, placing your arms on his shoulders and smiling down at him.
You whispered, “For tonight, how about you just take me that way.” You tilted your head and looked down the hallway toward your bedroom.
He grinned, “I can do that.”
You found yourselves in bed, snuggling against each other. While the environment was new to him, because it was you and your home, he immediately relaxed. Right now, the war didn’t exist. Right now, he was with you. He was alive and here and happy. He settled against the pillow and pulled you a little closer. You kissed him again.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” you said quietly.
“So am I, cyar’ika.”
You listened to his heartbeat and felt his chest rise and fall with each breath. It was comforting. It wasn’t long before you fell asleep in each other’s arms, wanting nothing more than to steal away any moment with him you could get.
