The Lucky Batch ☘️
Another Clone Force 37 story :D
Smelly Stickers?
Ryder silently wandered down the market, looking for a place that sold stickers. It was a strange thing to look for, and he had no idea where to find them. He ran a finger down his braided hair nervously, fidgeting with the plaits Boots had delicately weaved. The dye was still fresh, and the scent of it wafted into his face with every breeze. His buzzed sides did nothing to shield his ears from the chilled air, and he felt them turning pink.
“Excuse me,” he said, walking up to a random vendor.
“Ah, hello there, clone. What can I get ya? Meiloorun?” The vendor asked, leaning forward on his durasteel stand.
“Oh, uh, no, sir. I was wondering if you could help me find something else?”
“Whatcha lookin’ for?”
“Stickers…” he said, an embarrassed flush rising to his cheeks.
“Stickers? You got a kid? Didn’t think clones had children,” the vendor said as he looked at the clone quizzically.
“Ah, no. It’s…it’s for a friend.”
“A friend? Didn’t think you had those either.”
Ryder looked down, shuffling his feet slightly.
“It uh, it would mean a lot if you could help me,” he said, ignoring the vendors comment, still looking at his toes.
“Sure thing. Just keep heading down that way until you pass 9 stands on the right side. Then it’ll be right there.”
“Thank you,” Ryder said before turning and heading down to the direction he was pointed in. When he reached the booth, his eyes went wide at the options.
“Hello, friend! Looking for some stickers today?” An enthusiastic dathomirian vendor asked.
“Yeah, they’re for my friend,” Ryder explained, dragging his eyes away to look at her. She seemed friendly enough. A pang of hurt ran through him as he remembered his old dathomirian General.
“What kind are you looking for? I have lots of options. There’s animals, bugs, GAR themed, Jedi themed, holographic…” She continued to list more, all of it going in one ear and out the other for Ryder.
“Uhh, I’m not sure. I’ll just look around, if that’s alright.”
“Sure thing! Just let me know if you need help,” she nodded, moving to help another customer.
Ryder took his time studying all the different stickers. He really wanted something special, as a thanks for Pepper’s enthusiastic first sticker he had given him. It was a large “FAMILY” sticker, and it had made Ryder so happy, but all he had managed at the time was a weak smile and teary eyed nod. He wanted to make up for his lack of a response, so he decided to get Pepper some more stickers.
After a few minutes, he curiously picked out a pack that said, “scratch and sniff.”
“What are these?” Ryder asked, turning and holding them out for the vendor to see.
“Oh! Those are smelly stickers! When you scratch them, they smell!”
“Smell…good?”
“Yeah! You can also get bad smelling ones for pranks.”
“Oh, okay. I guess I’ll get all the different types of these.”
“ALL of them?” She said, her eyes going wide.
“Yeah…that’s not too much, is it?”
“Uh…no, not if you want to have a full year's supply.”
“That’s perfect! Thank you!” He said, smiling for the first time since dinner last night. The vendor quickly grabbed a bag and filled it up with all her different scratch and sniff stickers, then turned back to him.
“That’ll be 50 credits.” Ryder handed her the money and took the bag, waving as he headed back to the barracks.
~~~
“Ryder! Where have you been? You missed breakfast,” Ballast said as he walked in. “Ooooh, what’s in the bag?”
“Uh, it’s actually a surprise for Pepper,” Ryder said, causing Ballast to halt and look at him curiously.
“A surprise? Is it ready? Can I know what it is?”
“Uh, it’s not quite ready. I have to put it in a different bag first.”
“Oh, well, I know Thumbs has gift bags somewhere.”
“Okay, thanks,” Ryder said before going to find Thumbs.
“Hey, Thumbs,” he said, wandering into the room that had his bunk, “Ballast said you had some gift bags, do you think I could use one?”
“Gift bags? Sure! There’s one right over here.” He got up from his bunk and wandered over to the closet, shoving some things around, a box falling on his head before he pulled back and held a bag out triumphantly. They both watched as everything began to slowly lean forward. Thumbs quickly slammed the closet shut, stopping everything from tumbling out onto the floor.
“Thanks,” Ryder said, earning a double thumbs up from his brother. He let a small smile spread over his lips before he turned and went to his own bunk room. He sat on his bed and quickly took the packs of stickers out, putting a big label on the bag that read, “PEPPER.”
“Hey, Ryder. Ballast said you had a surprise for me?” Pepper said, walking in right as Ryder finished.
“Oh! Yeah, I just finished putting it in here,” he said, motioning to the bag. “I-I wanted to thank you for being so friendly and welcoming to me. My old battalion, I loved them, and I miss them so much, but you guys are different here. I mean, you’re even gave me my name.”
Pepper grinned widely at his brother before pulling him into a tight hug.
“Anything for fellow Lucksters!”
Ryder returned his grin, though not nearly as wide. He held out the bag for Pepper to take, watching anxiously as he stuck his hand in. He pulled it out slowly, looking down at the stickers in his hand.
“Scratch and sniff?” He questioned, looking up at Ryder.
“The vendor said that when you scratch them, they smell.” Pepper’s eyes slowly got wide as he processed Ryder’s words. His mouth dropped before he eagerly began scratching at one. He brought it up to his nose and let out a gag before smiling crazily.
“THIS IS AMAZING! IT SMELLS JUST LIKE DUNG!” He pointed at the dung sticker that he had scratched, his eyes sparkling as if he was staring at the most amazing thing in the galaxy. “THANK YOU SO MUCH RYDER!” He engulfed his brother in another rib crushing hug before pulling back and smiling evilly.
“I HAVE TO GO STICK DUNG STICKERS ON RAFFLE’S HELMET!” He said, his whole body practically vibrating in excitement before running out of the room, stickers flying out of the bag as he went. Ryder finally let a toothy grin break through, proud to have gotten such a good gift for Pepper.
“Did you get him stickers?” Ballast asked while walking in and taking note of the fallen stickers.
“Yeah, they’re a special kind. If you scratch them, they smell.”
“Maker, I bet he loved those,” Ballast laughed.
“Yeah, he does,” Ryder agreed, smiling to himself again.
@lavenderstaars @lynnpaper @foxlock @maygaladon @radbatch @oo-hazel-oo @letsunity @mango-peachjuice @lusiawonder @catboy-tech @cosmicghostie @just-another-dreamerr @longearedowlfromouterspace @generaltano @namesmox I’m sorry if I forgot some Lucky Batch members!
