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Cody glared as the Separatist took off his bucket.
"Ah, General Kenobi's commander. We scored with this one. We're not going to kill you, oh no, that would be too easy. Instead we're going to just... Use you."
Cody glared more and ignored the others stripping him of his armor, leaving him in the undersuit. It was a bit uncomfortable to be down just to that. He didn't quite feel naked, but he felt quite exposed and unsafe.
"General Kenobi will never agree to any of your terms."
"Then he will know that he is the cause of your suffering, and so will the galaxy."
.
Cody had endured the whippings and the starvation. That was easy enough. He'd even trained for that sort of thing. It was meant to be used when tortured for information, but this was close enough. He was being used to get to his general, and he was not going to break.
It had been a week. He'd barely eaten anything because they gave him just enough to survive and that was it.
He wasn't able to fight them off because he was so weak. But he still glared at them anyways.
Today it seemed like they were doing something else today.
There was a crackling fire in the center of the room, contained. There was some metal resting on the edge and in it.
Cody eyed it warily but waited.
His fears were confirmed when the first was lifted.
It was a brand. This particular bit of metal had a Separatist symbol on it.
He ignored all their gloating and squirmed uneasily as the metal was brought to him. He was shoved to the ground, and the brand pressed to the back of his shoulder.
He yelled at the searing pain.
It was removed and they stopped holding him for a few moments.
Then the next brand was brought over.
Cody's eyes widened at the sight. This one was the Jedi Order symbol, for some reason.
This was pressed to the back of the other shoulder.
Cody yelled again.
The final brand arrived.
"My personal symbol. All my slaves have it."
Cody was breathing heavily. He tried to brace himself, but he still wasn't prepared for it to be pressed to his for arm.
He screamed. When it was over, he curled up, trying not to cry and breathing through the pain. He wasn't sure what to do. It hurt so much.
There was the sounds of fighting, an exclamation of "Jedi!", and people slamming into walls and furniture.
He opened his eyes as someone stopped in front of him. He blinked in surprise to see Quinlan Vos crouching in front of him.
Quinlan smiled softly at him, worry in his eyes. "Hey, Cody. I know I'm not the Jedi you want to see right now. But I was the one most available. What do you say to getting out of here?"
"Please," Cody managed.
Quinlan helped him up carefully.
Cody felt dizzy.
Quinlan supported him. "I got you."
Cody leaned on him as they made their way out of the base. Cody was a bit surprised to realize that there didn't seem to be anyone left and yet Quinlan was alone.
"Obes was really worried when he requested I help you," Quinlan explained. "I was already undercover, wasn't hard to get here without losing my cover, and then I started dismantling the base until I got to you. They had no clue."
Cody nodded numbly, still a bit stunned by this turn of events. Quinlan Vos was not a Jedi he expected to save him. He knew Quinlan was chaotic and fun loving. He was a bit affectionate, but knew when to back off. He was really good at annoying Obi-Wan and yet Obi-Wan didn't seem to mind it when he was annoyed by Quinlan.
Cody wasn't certain about Quinlan, but he knew better than to give Quinlan the sort of reaction he knew his brothers would. And besides, he knew, despite rumors, that Quinlan had to be a good Jedi. Obi-Wan would not call him a friend if he was not better than everyone assumed. Obi-Wan had standards for his friends. (His padawan was another story).
He saw Cody to a chair, then he started the ship up. Once he was satisfied with the autopilot, he guided Cody over to one of the beds and sat him down.
Without a word he started gently bandaging the wounds, wincing at the sight of Cody's brands. He was very careful and made sure everything was clean.
"Alright, that's everything. We're going to go to Coruscant. Obes will meet us there. He's quite worried about you. So am I."
"Thanks," Cody said quietly, aware he was shaking. "Um, I'm starving, are there any rations?"
Quinlan jumped up and came back with two ration bars and some water. "Eat one, drink some water, wait thirty minutes, then eat the other," he advised. "Eating too quickly won't be good for you right now."
"Right." Cody started eating. Once he was a decent ways through the bar it was difficult not to just scarf the rest down. But he resisted. He knew what Quinlan meant. His stomach wasn't as used to food, and eating too much too quickly would just result in him throwing it back up. So it was better to eat slowly, let it sit a bit to see how his stomach took it, then eat the other bar.
Quinlan cleaned up the area and sat down near him, watching worriedly.
Cody wondered why he was being so gentle. Why was he so worried? Cody was just his friend's commander. Why would that be a concern?
He finished off the ration bar, drank some water and waited.
Quinlan waited quietly and respectfully, though he never stopped looking worried.
At thirty minutes, Cody assessed himself. He didn't feel as lightheaded, and the ration bar seemed to have settled in his stomach. Time to eat the second one. He ate it and then leaned back, only to hiss and sit straight up. He had forgotten about the whip marks and the brands on the back of his shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Cody grunted. He took a few deep breaths and became aware that he was shaking again. But this time, he couldn't pin it on hunger. He stared at his hands, carefully not looking at the bandage on his forearm.
"Cody?" Quinlan asked worriedly. "Is there anything I can do?"
Cody shook his head mutely. He had no idea what to say. He was pretty sure the branding had finally sunk in. It wasn't just about the pain. It was about being branded. Branded as belonging to the Separatists, to the Jedi Order, and to that Separatist as one of his slaves. The Jedi Order was not a bad affiliation to have, but they would never brand anyone.
He gasped for air. Funny, when did breathing get so hard?
Warm arms wrapped around him gently. "Breathe with me," Quinlan murmured in his ear. "In... out. In... out..."
Cody tried to follow his breathing and slowly it became easier. All the while, Quinlan kept hugging him. It was comforting. Cody didn't know he needed a comforting hug until he had one. He rested his head on Quinlan's shoulder and tried not to cry.
"Easy, Cody, it's okay. You can cry. Torture is never easy, on anyone. You did good, and now you can rest, and cry. It's over."
Cody felt tears coming to his eyes. How did Quinlan know what to say?
Quinlan kept hugging him, gently rocking him. As Cody cried harder, he started humming. He didn't move more than was necessary to keep rocking Cody.
It took several minutes for Cody to stop crying, and several minutes more before he pulled away.
"Better?" Quinlan asked gently.
"Y-yeah... sorry. I'm supposed to be better than that."
"You're good at keeping your composure, yes, but you were just tortured. Not many can keep their composure after that... I'm impressed you did as well as you did."
Cody blinked. "What?"
Quinlan pulled him into another comforting hug. "Everyone needs a good cry sometimes. I do. Especially when I've been tortured. Just gotta wait until I'm safe."
Cody took a moment to process that and when it hit him, he felt a bit guilty for not realizing that of course Quinlan would have experience in this. He knew what it felt like.
"Oh."
Quinlan smiled. "I'm glad I could help."
"Why are you helping?"
"I like you," Quinlan said simply.
"What?"
"You keep an eye on Obes but don't stifle him. You keep up with him and enjoy his company. You tolerate me and don't give me an inch if I'm not wanted. It's refreshing when people actually establish their boundaries and stick to them clearly. How can I not like you?"
Cody felt his face heat up. "Uh... Thanks? I like you too? You have a nice hug."
Quinlan grinned at him. "I'm glad you think so. I like giving hugs when people want them... especially when they're needed.
"I need another hug," Cody decided.
Quinlan obliged.