war of hearts part iii: injuries, support, and doubts
summary: the juno squadron adores you. that’s it, that’s the summary.
words: 1.3k
beta: @ambereyesandwine
taglist (open): @morganas-pendragons @deathlessdays @obiorbenkenobi
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a/n: this part is mainly focused on her relationship with the juno squadron. things are loosely connected but it’s mainly small drabbles that i’ve written pieced together. we’ll get more cody pining in the next part. i hope you enjoy!
“Phys, I’m fine.”
“Frankly, Commander, you’re not.”
You hissed as he applied bacta-spray to the scrape on your leg. Phys stood up, and you put your hand on his shoulder so you could hop down from the makeshift examination table. “See, all better.”
“There’s still your back.”
Right, that. You huffed, turning around as you loosened the belt around your waist. You bit your lip as pain shot up your back while you attempted to remove layers. After trying for a few minutes, you finally turned around and gave the blonde-haired trooper a sheepish look, “Help?”
“Lift your arms a bit,” Phys said with a smirk. You rolled your eyes, obeying his words. Phys grabbed the bottom of your shirt and started to pull.
“I got some water for the Command – woah!” You peeked over the fabric and see Bailey holding a canteen in one hand. The other was covering his eyes as his face turned red. “Sorry, Commander!” Phys finally got you free of your last shirt, leaving you in your underthings. He gently pulled you to sit down as he got out a few bacta patches and cleaning supplies.
You smiled at your demolitions expert, “It’s alright, Bailey. Phys is just patching me up. That creature was just a bit faster than me.” Bailey finally let his arm drop, face still flushed. He walked over and handed you a canteen. You thanked him with a smile, wincing as Phys began cleaning the gashes on your back.
Bailey took a glance at your wound, “Looks nasty, she gonna be alright, Phys?”
“I am the best medic in the 212th.” At Bailey’s deadpan expression, Phys relented, “She’ll be fine, brother.”
“Good, can’t have Cody on our tails if ‘ya don’t come back how we got ‘ya.” Salem entered the tent, causing Phys to groan.
“She has three giant claw marks on her back, Salem, that’s not how she was before,” Bailey chimed in.
“Ow!” You gasped in pain, hand grabbing onto the nearest stationary object – which happened to be Salem’s arm. The trooper grunted but didn’t move. “Sorry, Salem.”
“S’alright, Pip.” The stoic sharpshooter gave you an uncharacteristic smile, letting you squeeze his arm while Phys finished patching you up.
-
The Juno Squadron watched as you paced next to the LAAT. “If we push it, we could make it to the next base camp by nightfall.” In a span of a few seconds, all seven of the boys seemed to communicate with just expressions. Maverick sighed, conceding to their stares.
“Commander, it might be better for us to camp here for the night. There’s a storm coming in.”
You turned to your Captain, looking much like your Jedi Master with your hand cupping your chin, “Huh?” One look at the rest of the squadron caused your face to flush, “I was doing it again, wasn’t I?”
Maverick came up to your side, “We’ve been to three different camps today, and you personally helped out with two.”
“There were bandits,” you crossed your arms defensively.
“Right.” Maverick knew better than to argue with you. He didn’t mind helping the civilians, but he knew you were exhausted. The boys all knew you weren’t sleeping well, if at all.
You sighed, “You’re right, we can sleep here tonight.”
“We can leave right when the suns come up,” Maverick offered.
“Or we could sleep in!” Flare piped up from where he leaned against the transport. You snorted, smile forming on your lips.
Volts nodded his head, spiky hair barely moving, “I vote for sleeping in.”
“At dawn, boys,” you teased. The plethora of groans caused your smile to widen.
-
The transport had barely landed as you hopped to the ground. You looked around the platform, trying to stop yourself from bouncing on your heels. It had been a couple months since you had last seen Cody, both of you being on missions while the other was back on Coruscant.
“You’re gonna start freaking people out, Pip.” Flare came up beside you, “Relax, I’m sure he’s here. Volts said they came in a bit earlier today.”
“Like saying that will make her less excited about it,” Ziggy’s chuckle came from behind.
Their words flew over you as you spotted familiar yellow armor. Cody was talking to Reed, helmet on his hip. The clone Commander caught your gaze and you felt a wave of peace flow through you.
“Go on, Commander, we got it from here,” Maverick nudged your side. You looked over at him, eyes tired but happy.
“See you boys for dinner?” The boys yelled their affirmatives as they all but shoved you in the direction of Cody.
Salem sidled over to Maverick, “She’s being obvious about it.” The captain grunted in response, watching as you laughed at something Reed said and the longing look in Cody’s eyes.
“She trusts us,” Phys joined the duo, Datapad in hand.
“If that’s the one piece a’ comfort she gets out of this war, then good.” Salem ran a hand through his bleached locks, “We take care a’ her as much as she takes care a’ us.”
Maverick put a hand on his shoulder, “She knows how to handle herself.”
Phys snorted, “Except when she decides to run head-first into a cave to feed the ‘babies’ of the creature that almost killed her minutes before.”
“Right, except for that,” Maverick let a smile appear on his lips as you left the landing platform with Cody.
-
“Salem?”
“Yeah, Pip?”
“Do you ever wish you weren’t who you are?”
The sharpshooter looked at you in the mirror, hands still in his hair. With all the time spent out in the field, his roots had started to show. When he said he was going to bleach his hair later that day, you had asked if you could join him. Salem was not sure what the reasoning behind it was, but he never did when it came to you.
So, there you were, sat on the counter opposite of him. The words that spilled from your lips causing the usually collected trooper to stumble. Salem cleared his throat, “Why’re you askin’?”
You wrapped your arms around your legs, chin resting on your knees, “The war has been going on for so long that I think I’m forgetting what I was like before.”
“We were made for war, us clones wouldn’t be here without it,” Salem took off his gloves, turning around and leaning against the sink. “It’s all I know, so I’m not sure what I’d be if it ends.” You nodded, frowning slightly. He sighed, walking over to you, “Have you talked to the others about this?”
“The Council?”
Salem held your gaze, “The boys. Cody.”
You shook your head, “I can’t – not yet. There’s just too much in my head and I can’t figure it out.”
“Dreams?” Your eyes widen, and he rolled his own, “Us boys talk. And you sleep in the same area we do on missions.”
“I’ve talked to Master Yoda about it, but they’ve gotten worse. I’m not supposed to let fear overtake me; I’ve been taught that since I was a youngling.” Your hands clenched into fists, nails pressing into your palms. “I’m not supposed to be scared but I am, Salem.” You closed your eyes, a few tears sliding down your cheeks.
“Hey,” Salem placed a hand on top of yours, bending down so he can look you in the eyes, “Pip, hey, look at me.” You obeyed his words. “It’s not about not being scared. It’s about persevering even though you’re scared. You can feel fear, you just can’t let it control you.”
You sniffled, “When did you get so wise?”
Salem ruffled your hair, ignoring your protests, “I learned a lot from my Commander.”
A moment of comfortable silence passed, when you asked, “Can we put some purple in your hair? It would match the armor.” The sharpshooter barked out a laugh at your eager expression.
Your boys would do what they could for you. And if that meant letting you dye Salem’s hair, so be it.