Chapter Text
Cut came back to his house after a long day’s work, darkness falling all around. Despite the stress of the last few days, he was content. Happy, in fact. He reached out in the bond to check up on Suu and the kids, hoping to ease their pains, if they had any. Thankfully there was none, however... The kids were too curious and confused for the day to have been normal for them. And Suu was anxious, though still fairly light-hearted.
Cut stretched his senses further and stopped short in his tracks. There was another sentient in his homestead, specifically the barn. Though they barely felt alive, so he was unable to figure out much more about them. Without hesitation, Cut switched his direction of travel towards the barn. Whoever or whatever had broken into his barn would not get a step closer to his family if he had a say in the matter.
The plants barely rustled as Cut pushed through them, and the barn appeared as usual, albeit unlocked. Quietly, he crept forward, pushing the door forward slowly with just his fingertips. Crossing the threshold and readying his staff for an attack, he made his way through the barn, seeing a sleeping figure on the table. The figure was turned away, tossing and turning as if in a poor sleep. Then it stilled.
Suddenly, the figure sat upright, blaster ready to fire. But Cut had warning, and managed to knock the pistol out of his assailant's hand. Then he froze, eyes wide. (Impossible...)
Sitting before him, posture hunched over, blankets trailing off them, with a bandage-covered chest, was a someone with the same face as him. Another clone. But that could not be. He would have felt it if a brother was so close.
The clone(?) stared back at him, face screwed up slightly in either anger or pain. The bond was no help to Cut in deciphering which it was, barely giving off a signal at all that the being in front of him was anything more than a pile of lifeless rocks.
“You’re a deserter.” The stranger hissed out, voice tight. Maybe it was both.
“I wouldn’t exactly say that, imposter.” Cut could not begin to guess why someone would pretend to be a clone. But it could not be for any good reason.
The stranger’s eyes flashed as he straightened, but a moment later he curled up again, making himself smaller. His eyes held fire, but the rest of him was all fear. “Just because I may look different from you doesn’t mean I’m not a clone, deserter.”
(Look different?) It took Cut a moment to realize what the stranger meant, his gaze only catching onto the blonde hair after the stranger raised a hand to his head out of self-consciousness. “I don’t care what you look like, I just know you aren’t one of us.” The stranger’s eyes narrowed, but let Cut keep speaking. “Also, I’m not a deserter. I’m just excising my right to choose.”
“You and I both swore an oath to the Republic. We have a duty toward it. By being here, you are neglecting that, brother.” The emphasis he placed on brother was bitter in a way he had never before heard. It further cemented his belief that the stranger was just that. A stranger, despite appearances.
Then, the stranger grabbed, Cut’s wrist pulling him close with a surprisingly strong grip for an injured man. His voice dropped low. “I assume your continued denial of my origins stems from your inability to feel me in the ‘brother’ part of the brotherbond. So let me make this clear. I am just like you. Minus the intentionally subjecting myself to what other people think of me.”
Cut broke away, conclusions about the clone before him suddenly proved wrong. Nobody knew but brothers. That was the rule since Kamino. (Why would anyone want the world to be silent?) “You and I have a very different idea of duty, CT-...” Cut trailed off, realizing that he had never asked the other’s number. (Does he even have a name?)
“Rex. Captain Rex. Names are allowed now, though I guess you would have missed that. What’s your number?” The relief Cut felt was perhaps unwarranted, considering that he was no longer anywhere near Kamino and had no intention of rejoining the army. But he could not help that he cared for his little brothers, and was glad that they could openly have what he had not.
“My name’s Cut Lawquane. I, too, have a name, though it’s never been spoken aloud by a brother before.” Cut noticed a slight pinch in Captain Rex’s face, a shiver running down his spine. But then it was gone, and Rex once more wore the mask of a disappointed superior officer, albeit a younger one.
Rex looked like he was going to speak, but was suddenly interrupted by shouts of “Daddy!” from the kids. While Cut was hugged them, he instinctively reached out in the
brotherbond to make sure Rex did not feel overly slighted. Yet he felt nothing, as if Rex was merely an illusion. (How is it possible to disappear so completely? It could come in handy...)
“You’re welcome to join us for dinner, Captain.” Cut stood, up, kids near him and Suu approaching from the house. She was worried, but Cut sent her the vague impression of peace. It was not like talking to brothers, but the connection he had with her was strong enough for that much, at least.
Captain Rex hesitated, then gave a sharp, military nod. Cut supposed that the other clone’s hesitance was definitely his fault. He was sure it would hurt if a brother accused him of not being one of them.
Suu arrived, and Cut explained that their guest would be joining them for dinner. She then corralled Jek and Shaeeah into helping her with finishing up dinner.
Cut turned to Rex, offering his shoulder to lean on. “I’m sorry for assuming that you weren’t a brother.” Rex waved aside both the apology and offered help. And because of his bond silence, Cut had no idea why.
“Mistakes are made in war. All we can do is learn from them.” Rex winced as he stepped forward, exiting the barn. “It’s fine, anyway. I’m used to it.”
Cut stopped short. (How can anyone be used to that?) “How come?”
Cut felt judged, piercing gaze heavy despite the weariness of its wearer. “The hair. What else?”
Figuring that the worst he could get at the present time was a no, Cut pressed forward with his true question. “Not the... silence?”
Rex froze, hand tightening at his side, steps faltering. His gaze dropped to the ground, then he spoke at a lowered volume. “No. That’s more of a ‘symptom’ of the ‘problem,’ not the cause.” He mumbled something after that that Cut could not catch. He chose not to pry even further.
Hopefully, he could prove to this young captain two things. First, that he should not be turned in for deserting (Suu, Shaeeah, and Jek had already lost so much...), and second, that the being open to the bond was better even if it was left unused.
Also, he needed to get the kid to teach him how to hide his bond presence like that. Because, wow, not even Shadow had been able to disappear from the senses of other brothers so well.