Work Text:
“Repeat that, Commander Faie, I’m not - I’m not sure I heard you correctly.”
The little blue hologram of Faie on Cody’s wrist repeated, “Fox is alive. We’ve recovered eight Guards, including Fox.”
“How?” Cody breathed. He’s never thought - never even hoped for this. Everyone thought Fox was dead. For the last six months Cody had been trying to accept this, that the war was over but Fox was gone.
Faie shook his head. “Looks like Palpatine took them when he fled.”
That had actually been a theory of Thorn’s, now proven right. The missing troopers had been presumed dead for six months, disappearing at the same time as Chancellor Palpatine. Thorn had been convinced that Palpatine took them, but he’d just also assumed that Palpatine would have killed them by now.
As soon as General Ti had dragged the rogue ARC trooper of the Jedi’s Halls of Healing, the Sith lord’s plot had rapidly unraveled. Jedi had raced to confront him but he’d managed to escape, leaving two Jedi dead and two grievously injured.
The frantic message to all troopers ordering them to shut off comms had managed to reach every battalion, even the Coruscant Guard. All in all, it had been a fairly bloodless power shift, except for the missing eight troopers: Fox and his tac squad, Thorn said.
“But, Cody,” Faie was saying, and Cody dragged his attention back to his comm. “It’s not - it’s not good.”
“What do you mean?”
“The squad seemed fine, once we got their chips out and Windu killed the demagolka,” Faie said slowly, “but Fox didn’t snap back.”
“You took out his chip, though?” Cody demanded.
“Of course,” Faie said, almost offended, then he cut his eyes to the side and softened; at least, as much as it was possible for Faie to soften. “It just didn’t seem to make much of a difference.”
–
Cody was the only one of the batch currently on Coruscant. He paced alone along the edge of the landing platform and waited for the shuttle from the Perseverance to dock. The turbines buffeted him, but Cody wanted to be as close as possible to the arriving transport.
Purple-armored troopers from Faie’s battalion streamed out, bracketing blood-red figures of the Coruscant Guard. Cody shouldered his way through the stream, desperately glancing from face to face, but there was no sign of Fox.
He hurried up the ramp of the shuttle and swept the interior - there.
Faie and another trooper, an ARC, were crouched over a figure in red. Cody rushed closer, only to be brought up short by an outstretched hand from the trooper in purple.
Stop/wait/careful , the trooper said in ARC-sign, and Cody froze. He could only catch glimpses of Fox between the protective forms of Faie and the ARC, but he was on his knees, dark head bowed.
Faie and Fox hadn’t ever been friends, not really, but Faie would have let Fox sit down.
“Fox,” said Faie tiredly. “We’re here. Time to go.”
Fox shuffled forward, still on his knees, and the ARC trooper caught him gently by the shoulders. Bile rose in Cody’s throat, and he lurched towards his brother-
“Don’t,” warned Faie in a low voice. “Penchant’s got it.”
The ARC - Penchant - grimaced. “Maybe we should let him, boss,” he offered. “Cody outranks him, and you won’t - you won’t do it.”
Cody glanced at Faie, utterly confused, but Faie was dragging a hand down his face with a sigh.
“Ok,” he said grimly, and stepped over to Cody. “Listen. He - he follows orders, alright?”
“But the chip-”
“Chip’s out, I already said,” Faie hissed. “He follows orders. I can get him to move, and Penchant’s been able to get him to eat, but…” he trails off with a heavy sigh.
“You - you want me to pull rank?” Cody breathed, incredulous. “What about the Jedi? Did they say anything?”
Faie grimaced. “Completely shuts down if they’re around. He’ll obey, but they make him worse. Windu said to get him to the mindhealers, but it’s not going to be pretty.”
Fuck. Fuck. It sounded like Force bullshit, like Palpatine got his bony little fingers into Fox’s head and did something to make him afraid of all Force users. Still, the Jedi were probably the best bet for helping him.
If that was the case, then Cody would do anything he could to get Fox to the Temple. Even if it was ordering around his own brother, although the thought sent revulsion through Cody’s whole body.
“It’s either this or sedating him,” Faie said hollowly. “And the last time he came out of sedation he lost his shit.”
Unacceptable. Cody nodded, and forced words through his too-tight throat. “No. I can do it.”
The barest hint of relief flashed in Faie’s eyes, and he stepped back with a nod.
Cody dropped to his knees next to Penchant. “Fox,” he breathed, but there was no answer; Fox’s head still hung limply, chin to his chest and too-long curls hiding his face.
“Commander Fox,” Cody forced out. “Look at me.”
The head lifted, rolled back, and Fox managed to look at Cody’s chin before his gaze skittered away to the side. Cody made an involuntary, punched-out sound of pain at the sight.
Fox’s face was littered with scars. The long ropy cut up his jaw was familiar to Cody, but the rest - Cody’s stomach turned. There were scars in various stages of healing through Fox’s lip, his eyebrow, across the bridge of his nose and his cheekbones. Fading bruises ringed his neck, and the top of one ear was missing completely, neatly cut and cauterized.
“Do you know who I am?” Cody said thickly.
Fox nodded, still looking at the spot of air between Cody and Penchant. “Marshal Commander Cody, CC-2224, of the Seventh Sky, sir,” he recited in a hoarse voice. Cody flinched back at the title, throwing a shocked glance at Faie, who shrugged with a grimace.
Ok. That was something to deal with later. Cody shoved back his revulsion and continued.
“Do you know I’m your brother?”
There was no sound. Penchant’s eyes flicked between Cody and Fox, but otherwise everything was still, save for the audible sound of Fox swallowing roughly.
“Yes, sir,” he whispered, like a secret, then shook his head over and over.
“Call me C-” Penchant suddenly jabbed Cody in the ribs, jerking a hand over his own throat in the signal for stop. “Not now,” he hissed. “You’ll confuse him.”
He was going to burst into tears. Cody was going to collapse into a sobbing mess right here on the floor in front of Faie and his ARC.
But then he wouldn't be able to help Fox, so he dragged himself back together, fists clenched and jaw tight.
“Gurney?” he whispered to Penchant, who shook his head viciously again.
“No lying down. No straps.”
Cody nodded, and took a breath. There was nothing for it.
“Stand up,” he ordered, and as Fox pushed up off his knees he stood too.
Sticking out his hand, Cody said, “Come with me.”
“Yessir,’ Fox mumbled, and slid his hand into Cody’s, limp and unresisting. It was difficult to fight down the urge to throw up, but Cody held on enough to nod gratefully at Faie and Penchant.
“Thank you,” he scraped out.
Faie shook his head. “‘Course,” he said gruffly.
“Keep us updated,” called Penchant, and Cody nodded again, then tugged at Fox’s hand to lead him away.
–
The Jedi Temple was a nightmare. The Healers were kind, of course, and they only wanted to help, but Fox had started shaking at the first questioning touch of the Force and hadn’t stopped. It’s not that he said anything; in fact, Fox was the most compliant Cody had ever seen him. Horribly, heartbreakingly passive, Fox sat there and rattled in his armor, worrying at the scar on his face with his teeth until it reopened and blood ran down his chin.
That was when Healer Che had sent everyone out but Cody.
“But - he needs help,” Cody pleaded, half-standing from his chair next to Fox’s, with his brother’s limp fingers still in his hand.
“I know,” she soothed, placing a blue hand on Cody’s shoulder. “But basic needs come first. Sleep. Water. Food. Comfort. He trusts you, Commander.”
“No, I’m just his superior officer,” Cody said bitterly. Che tilted her head with a sad smile.
“He trusts you,” she repeated, and left them to it.
Cody made Fox drink a bottle of water and eat a ration bar. He made him stand and gently helped Fox strip off his armor. Faie’s crew obviously hadn’t gotten that far; Fox’s base layers stank, the pungent scent of fear-fueled sweat.
Cody got those off too, and had Fox pull on a new pair over the burns and scars, all healed enough to not need immediate medical attention, and then came the hardest part.
“Lay down, Fox, sleep,” Cody said, less of an order than a plea. Fox’s face went even blanker and he made as though to lower himself to the floor-
“No,” Cody sobbed, grabbing Fox’s elbow and pulling him up. “No, on the bed, please, Fox,” and abruptly it was too much. Fox had been dead. Cody had lived for six months thinking Fox was dead, and then he got his brother back and he couldn’t say Fox would’ve been better off dead because that just didn’t even bear thinking about. But he’d been in the hands of that absolute psychopath, not just for six months but for years and Cody hadn’t done a damn thing-
He was crying into his hands, huge wrenching sobs that tore through his chest and forced hot tears from his eyes. Cody tried to force them down, tried pull himself back together and focus on Fox, but only managed a few hiccuping breaths before-
Hands were on his, uncurling them from his face. Cody looked up and Fox still wouldn’t meet Cody’s eyes but was getting closer, staring at the scar around his temple instead.
“Sir - Cody,” Fox mumbled, freezing Cody in place.
“Fox?” he said tremulously, and the fingers on Cody’s hands twitched.
“Yeah,” Fox breathed, and his eyes landed on Cody’s for just a split second before darting away. “Yeah.”
“Okay,” Cody said, trying to settle his panicked breaths. “Okay. How about this.”
It was the work of a moment to detach his armor; for once, Cody didn’t even bother to stack it neatly. He just threw each piece off and clambered onto the bed, sitting up against the headboard and holding his arms out.
“Fox?”
It got a reaction, at least. Fox’s eyes flicked from Cody to the floor to the locked door and back again, and he swallowed.
Hesitantly, Fox lowered one knee onto the bed, then the other, and then Cody had a shivering brother pressed up against one side of his chest.
Cody’s arms closed around Fox, pulling him in gently. He might never let go.
“I’ve got you, Fox, you’re safe,” he whispered.
There was nothing, no change, and then-
A tiny nod against Cody’s shoulder, and Cody exhaled a scrap of tension. Fox’s head was a heavy weight against his chest, breathing slow and deep.
Cody leaned his cheek to the top of Fox’s shaggy head. Tomorrow they’d have to see the Jedi and the medics and let the other commanders know, but for now - for now Cody just held his lost brother and cried.