Work Text:
"I love you," Quinlan said as Fox left for his meeting.
Fox gave him a smile. "I love you too." Then he continued on.
Quinlan kept watching with a frown. He had a bad feeling about this. Like this was the last time they would be able to say it to each other.
He decided to follow Fox just to be sure.
It was a strangely late meeting with the Chancellor.
He stayed by the door, listening.
The Chancellor was furious with Fox's performance, ranting about ruining plans, and about how Fox had been disobeying him again.
"I think this time I'll just kill you and dump your body somewhere!" The Chancellor snarled.
Quinlan flung open the door and rushed in. He found himself between Fox and the Chancellor just as the knife came down.
He gasped at the pain. "You'll have to go through me!" he exclaimed, fumbling for his lightsaber.
The Chancellor let out a roar of rage and stabbed him three more times.
Quinlan dropped his lightsaber as his eyes slid closed and he fell to the ground.
Fox stared at Quinlan, then looked up at the Chancellor's deranged smile as he held the bloody knife in horror and disbelief.
The Chancellor laughed. "I suppose you must be good for something if you finally give me a reason to get rid of the Jedi that has come alarmingly close to figuring me out."
Fox didn't think. He lifted his blaster and shot the Chancellor three times. Then three more times just to be sure.
Then he dropped to the ground next to Quinlan and checked his pulse.
"No, no, Quin..." Fox checked again and again, but it was no use. Quinlan was dead.
He took a deep breath and ignored his tears. He had to report the Chancellor's death and turn himself in. And let the Jedi know about Quinlan's death.
Once the calls were done, Fox took off his bucket and picked up Quinlan, sobbing.
Quinlan had given his life for Fox.
Fox didn't deserve it. He didn't deserve to live.
When the doors opened, he didn't even notice. He was too busy sobbing and rocking Quinlan's body.
He did notice when someone gently pulled Quinlan away and guided him over to the couch to get cleaned up.
He heard angry exclamations about the injuries they found under his armor.
Fox didn't care.
It wasn't until days later that he started being more responsive.
That was because he woke up and realized that the person sitting with him to make him eat wasn't a Guard member at all. He wasn't even a clone.
It was Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"...sir," Fox acknowledged hoarsely after he registered the Jedi's presence. It was the first time he had spoken since Quinlan sacrificed himself.
"Hello, Fox. How are you feeling?" Obi-Wan asked gently.
"...You don't need to sit with me."
"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to work right now."
"Why?"
"Quin was my best friend. I am not someone that can be trusted in dealing with the aftermath of the Chancellor's death. I am... not in the mood to be fair."
"You're a Jedi."
"I'm still a sentient with emotions, such as grief."
Fox chose not to acknowledge that. "Why am I not behind bars?"
"The bloody knife still in the Chancellor's hand was damning enough on its own. He killed a Jedi, and had never reported any concerns about Quinlan. There was no sign of a fight, meaning Quinlan hadn't attacked first. And the old injuries that were found on you were also a concern."
"My medics know."
"It wasn't your medics who cleaned you off and found them. It was some Senators who followed the commotion, along with a few Jedi."
"Oh." Fox considered that, then drew in a shaky breath. "Quinlan is dead."
"He is."
"He sacrificed himself. For me . I... I don't deserve that. He should still be alive, being chaotic and happy and doing his job and..."
Fox broke down for the first time since his tears dried up that night.
Obi-Wan pulled him into a hug.
Fox froze.
"His job involves sacrifice," Obi-Wan said quietly. "We knew he could die for any reason with it, that he would sacrifice himself without hesitation if it came down to him or someone else. He would never regret the choice to get between you and the Chancellor, Fox. He adored you. He would be grieving just as hard as you are now if you died. Especially if you sacrificed for him. That's never easy to deal with, knowing it should be you, knowing that you survived and he didn't."
Fox nodded, not moving, but still uncertain.
The door opened.
"Obi-Wan I.... Fox!" Cody darted over and pulled Fox into a hug. "You're actually reacting to things now!"
Fox blinked a few times, a bit surprised to be in his brother's arms. "Uh, Cody, what are you doing here?"
"I was on leave, and the war is over, and I am not leaving my brother to fend for himself. We've all been taking turns-our batch, Obi-Wan, and a few others."
"For me?" Fox hadn't even noticed. How hadn't he noticed? Was he really that out of it with grief?
"Of course for you, we were worried about you. It's hard when someone sacrifices themself for you, and worse when they actually die instead of surviving. We're not going anywhere right now. You get yourself back on your feet, Fox."
"I love-loved him. I don't want him to be gone. He was the only one I had to rely on, I had to be strong for everyone else but not for him and he never backed away and now he's gone because of me."
"No, because of Palpatine," Obi-Wan corrected gently. "It's not your fault, but it'll take you a while to accept that."
"And we'll be here through the worst of it, at least until we're forced back to work." Cody assured him, hugging Fox and not letting go.
Fox wasn't sure what to make of the comfort. But he wasn't in any position to say no, so he let himself cry.