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As an aide in the Senate, you’re obliged to work for whichever senator needs an extra helper or two on any given day. On this day, you’re working with one of your favorite senators. Padmé Amidala of Naboo. She’s kind and hardworking and shares many of your political views, which makes working for her a dream come true. You hope one day to be assigned to her permanently.
Best of all, when you work with Senator Amidala, you’re more likely to get to see Commander Fox. The senator had set up a caf machine in the little meeting room off to one side of her office and stocked it with a variety of caf pods from around the Galaxy. There was also an excellent array of creamers and sweeteners. You’d noticed many aides and clone troopers making use of the caf at the invitation of the senator.
That was where you’d first met Commander Fox. It was your first day working for Senator Amidala, and you’d been eager to please her, hoping to be called back to work for her again. You’d been hurrying past the meeting room, your arms full of datapads, when you’d crashed into someone exiting the room. Caf and datapads had gone everywhere.
Nearly in tears with worry, you’d dropped to your knees to gather the scattered ‘pads and mop up the spilled caf with some tissues you happened to have in your pocket.
“I’m so sorry,” you’d said, reaching for a ‘pad.
A glove-clad hand collided with yours and you’d looked up in shock. Lovely brown eyes framed by thick black lashes met your gaze, and you let out a soft, “Oh.”
“Are you alright?” a deep, slightly gravelly voice asked.
Your heart had fluttered in your chest at the sound of that voice.
It took you a beat too long to realize you were staring.
“Good, fine,” you stuttered, snatching your hand back. “I’m alright. No harm done.”
“Glad to hear it,” that rich voice said.
You felt your cheeks heat up and you looked up again. The man crouched in front of you wore red armor with white accents. Black curly hair covered his head. You knew he was a clone from his armor, but you’d never seen one of them without their helmet on before. You tore your gaze away before he caught you staring again.
He gathered up the rest of your fallen datapads, then offered you a hand and helped you stand up.
“Thank you,” you’d said, taking the ‘pads. “I’m sorry I crashed into you.”
“No harm done,” he’d said, repeating your words. A little smile quirked up the corner of his mouth.
“I should make you more caf,” you’d said suddenly.
You’d spun toward the meeting room and nearly tripped on the mouse droid that had appeared to deal with the rest of the caf spill. Strong hands closed around your arms and you’d thudded against hard plastoid as you tried to catch your balance.
“Sorry,” you’d muttered, your face aflame. “I’m not usually this clumsy. It’s my first day working for Senator Amidala and I . . .”
You’d looked up and been caught by his dark gaze.
“Maybe you should go a little slower,” he’d said.
Your mouth went dry and you’d nodded. “Yeah.”
He’d released you and stepped back, stooping to grab his helmet from the floor where it had fallen when you’d run into him.
“Let me fix you another caf,” you’d said as he turned to go.
“Another time,” he’d replied.
Then he was gone.
Your cheeks still heated with embarrassment whenever you thought of that meeting, but you apparently hadn’t messed up too badly, because Senator Amidala had called you back to work with her several times since then.
Fox usually stopped in at least once a day for a cup of caf. He’d usually nod at you if you were working in the office, then make up his caf and leave. There were days when he didn’t even remove his helmet. On those days you were assigned to another senator, you’d try to slip away to Senator Amidala’s office for a cup of caf. It always made your chest flutter pleasantly when you ran into Fox there.
* * *
“Fox, you’re doing it again,” Stone said, not looking up from his datapad.
“Doing what?” Fox asked, nose buried in the report he was writing.
“Sighing,” Thorn chimed in from his own desk in the commanders’ shared office.
“Just go see her already,” Stone said. “You’re driving me up the wall.”
“Go see who?” Fox looked, finally looking up.
“Senator Amidala’s aide,” Stone said.
“That aide you like,” Thorn said at the same time.
“Di’kut,” Thire added.
Fox felt his jaw muscles twitch as he clenched his teeth. He wished his brothers hadn’t found out about his little crush. Stone was mature about it, but Thorn acted like an actual tubie, teasing Fox mercilessly. Thire would throw in his two credits whenever he felt it necessary.
Fox didn’t deign to respond to his brothers, and instead focused on the datapad in front of him. He was a professional. He didn’t sigh like a cadet with a crush. He intentionally kept his breathing measured until he finished his current report, then pushed to his feet. He felt the other commanders’ eyes on him as he gathered his helmet and gloves.
“Gonna go make moon eyes at your girlfriend?” Thorn said, grinning.
Fox fixed him with an unimpressed look. “I’m going on patrol.”
A knowing smile spread across Thorn’s face. “Sure you are.”
Pulling on his helmet, Fox strode past Thorn, whacking his idiot brother with his gauntlets before pulling them on.
He took all the necessary time for his patrol around the Senate. Fox as nothing if not attentive to his duty. Only after he’d finished his rounds, did he allow himself to stop by Senator Amidala’s offices for a cup of caf, and the hope of getting to see you. To his disappointment, another aide answered the door when Fox pressed the chime.
“Commander, how good to see you,” the senator said, after the aide had announced him.
“It’s a pleasure to see you as well, Senator Amidala,” Fox said.
“Come for your afternoon caf break?” Amidala said with a smile.
She accompanied him into the small office and pulled out a pod of Fox’s favorite blend and set it to brew. Fox nodded a little hesitantly. He wasn’t sure what to think that he’d made enough of a routine for the senator to expect him.
“You have someone new working for you today,” Fox said, nodding to the young man who’d opened the door. “I hope your other aide isn’t sick.”
“She’s not actually mine,” Senator Amidala said. “Rotations came up, and another senator snatched her up before I could.”
Fox’s hand tightened on the mug he held. “Do you know which senator?”
Senator Amidala shook her head, and gave him a sympathetic look. “I haven’t checked. But I can, if you’d like.”
“No. Thank you for the offer, senator,” Fox said. The words nearly stuck in his throat.
He wanted to check on you. To make sure you weren’t with one of the senators you’d expressed dislike for. But senatorial aides were much like clones in some respects. They went where they were told and did the job that was required of them.
Fox hurriedly finished his caf, somehow making small talk with Amidala, before excusing himself. He hurried back to his office finding it blessedly empty. He turned on his dataterminal and began pulling up the senatorial aide duty rosters. It wouldn’t take him long to find out which senator had claimed your services.
* * *
You were currently on a starship with two other senatorial aides; a female Mikkian with orange skin, and a young man from Chandrila.
Senator Mon Mothma had requested the three of you for a tenday to assist her on her trip to an Outer Rim world. The inhabitants were currently members of the Republic, but there were rumors that they were leaning toward joining the Separatists. Mon Mothma was spearheading an effort to keep the planet as part of the Republic.
When you’d first signed on to be a Senate aide, you’d listed on your application that you’d be willing to travel. You were still willing, but you really wished you’d had the chance to see Fox before you’d left. You sighed as you scrolled through your datapad, trying to focus on the communications that the planetary governor had sent to the Senate over the past couple of years. You were supposed to be looking for talking points for Senator Mothma to address, but your thoughts were back on Coruscant. The presence of members of the Coruscant Guard, who were there to protect the senator, as well as you and the other aides, only made Fox’s absence sharper.
“Missing someone?” Zavré, the Mikkian aide, asked. Her pink-tipped orange head-tendrils waved languidly around her face as she looked up from her own datapad.
You smiled shyly. “Is it that obvious?”
“You’ve been sighing since we left Coruscant,” Terloh, the Chandrilan aide said. He sat back in his chair and ran his hands through his wavy black hair. “You’re either missing someone, or regretting coming on this mission.”
A little of both, you thought to yourself. Aloud you said, “I’m missing someone, but I don’t know if I should. I mean, I like him, but I’m not sure he knows I exist outside of that one time I crashed into him and spilled his caf.”
Zavré leaned forward, grinning. “Do tell. Is he another aide? A senator?”
“I don’t know if I should say.” You bit your lip. Fox was a commander, after all. You were just a lowly aide.
“Senator, then,” Terloh guessed. “Everyone crushes on a senator at one time or another.”
“It’s not like that,” you insisted. You had crushed on a senator, at one time, but you’d gotten over it quickly enough. “He’s a Guard.”
“A Senate Guard?” Zavré asked. “They seem kind of aloof to me.”
Before you could correct her, the whole ship rocked and there was the sound of a distant explosion.
“Little gods preserve us,” Terloh gasped.
* * *
For the first hour after receiving word that Senator Mon Mothma’s ship had been taken by pirates, Fox had been nearly frantic.
After receiving a ransom notice for the senator, which hadn’t included anything about the aides or Guards or crew, Fox had gone icily calm. There was only one course of action at that point. To mount a rescue mission.
Fox, along with Thire, Thorn, and Stone had stayed up all night plotting. They each leveraged their contacts in Clone Intelligence to gather every bit of information on the pirates claiming responsibility for the kidnapping, as well as getting the slicers to try and backtrace the ransom transmission.
It took less than a day after receiving the ransom to locate the pirates. Fox made a comm call and minutes later he was in a speeder headed to 79s.
On the ride over, Fox tried to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. Every time he found his thoughts going to you, and what you might be going through at the hands of the pirates, he wanted to punch something. When he reached 79s, Fox slid the speeder up to the platform and leapt out, leaving the engine and lights running. He strode through the crowd, which parted ahead of him, as if sensing the urgency of his mission.
On the second floor of the club, seated at a table with his squadmates, Fox found his quarry.
“Blackout,” he said, nodding to the other commander.
“Fox,” Blackout returned the greeting.
“Do you still have access to that stealth bird you flew back at Christophsis?” Fox asked, skipping any further formalities.
Blackout sat forward, his expression going sharp with interest. “And if I do?”
“I have a mission for you.”
* * *
You weren’t sure how much time had passed since the pirates had taken the ship. It probably hadn’t been more than a couple of days, but it felt like an eternity.
As an aide for the Senate, you’d been given training on what to do in a situation like this. It wasn’t hard to stay quiet when you were terrified. The pirates kept you, Zavré, and Terloh together in a little dirty cell, but Senator Mothma was being kept elsewhere. You hoped she was alright.
“How long do you think the Republic will take to rescue us?” Zavré asked.
“I had a friend who got kidnapped with the senator she was service with last year,” Terloh said. “It took a month before she got rescued.”
“A month?” Zavré wailed, her head-tendrils drooping.
You silently echoed her sentiment, burying your face in your hands.
“It might not take that long for us,” Terloh said, his tone consoling. “That was probably a bad example to use.”
“You think?” Zavré muttered.
“We can’t fall apart,” you said, trying to pull yourself together. “We’ve got to take care of each other. We’ll get rescued.”
Zavré nodded glumly, but her head-tendrils picked up a little. You looped an arm around her shoulders and Terloh moved closer on Zavré’s other side, putting his arm around her too.
Not long after, a guard came by with your daily meal of gruel and water. As the three of you were eating, the lights suddenly flickered and went out.
“Is it the night cycle already?” Terloh asked.
“No,” Zavré said. “There’s still hours till night.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” you said.
You stood and Zavré and Terloh rose with you.
“Help me push the bed on its side,” you instructed.
The three of you turned the bed over and maneuvered it until it was sitting kitty-corner across the farthest corner of the room from the door. The three of you hunkered down and waited. In the distance, you heard blaster fire. It seemed to draw closer but stopped before reaching the cell where the three of you hid.
“Do you think the Republic won?” Zavré asked.
“You’re assuming another group of pirates didn’t attack,” Terloh whispered.
Zavré punched him in the shoulder. “Do you ever look on the bright side?”
As they were bickering, you thought you heard someone call your name.
“Quiet,” you hissed.
The voice called out again, distinctly saying your name.”
Your heart leapt.
“Fox?” you called back, standing up from behind the overturned bed.
Zavré and Terloh tried to pull you back down.
“No, it’s okay,” you said, smiling. “Fox, we’re in here.”
You hurried to the door of the cell in time to see the commander come running down the hallway, blaster pistols drawn. He paused next to the door and shot the lock, deactivating the ray shield. Without thinking, you threw yourself at him, wrapping your arms around his waist.
For a moment, Fox didn’t move. You felt shame heat your cheeks. You’d tried to hide your crush for so long, he probably had no idea how you felt. You were about to pull away, when you heard his pistols clatter to the floor a second before his arms wrapped around you. You began to tremble as the feeling of being safe filled you.
“I’ve got you,” Fox said softly.
After a moment, Fox released you and bent to retrieve his blasters. “Come on. The rest of my team is going after Senator Mon Mothma. We should meet them back at our ship.”
You gestured to Zavré and Terloh and Fox led the way through the pirates’ compound. As everyone raced toward the ship you got a look at the long caterpillaresque corvette, and then you were all running up the ramp and into what looked like a cargo hold. Fox’s team was already there with the senator and the rest of the crew from your diplomatic cruiser who’d been taken hostage.
Things were a little hectic as the ship took off under fire from the pirates that remained in the base. You sat with Senator Mon Mothma and the two other aides as the ship shuddered under the barrage and its own engines taking it through the atmosphere. There came a call of, “Jumping to lightspeed! Hold onto your buckets!” and then everything seemed to go still.
As you slumped in your seat, you felt hard plastoid against your side and realized that Fox had stayed with you through the rescue. You looked up at him to thank him and found his helmet in place, visor pointed forward, arms folded over his chest. Hesitance filled you. Had you misinterpreted the earlier hug?
Before you could fall too deeply into your own spiraling thoughts, Fox stood and held out his hand to you. You took it readily, wanting to see where he would lead.
As it turned out, there weren’t many private spaces on the ship. Fox tugged you toward the rear and directed you to sit in one of the seats placed before a large console. He took the other seat and removed his helmet and gloves, placing them on the console.
“Are you hurt?” he asked. He looked nervous. Not looking at you. Hands clenching and unclenching on his thighs. “The pirates, they didn’t . . .”
“I’m fine now,” you said, smiling. You reached out and laid one of your hands over his. His whole body went still. “Nothing happened, except some bad food and a scare.”
Fox looked up and finally met your eyes. “You mean it?”
You squeezed his hand. “I promise. I’m alright.”
Fox let out a long breath and nodded. He clutched at your fingers, and you could feel a fine tremor go through him.
“They should never have taken you,” Fox said. “Senator Mothma is a senior senator. I should have been with you.”
“Fox,” you said.
“I could have prevented the pirates . . .”
“Fox,” you said again, louder.
“Your hands are so soft . . .”
You leaned forward and pressed your lips against Fox’s.
He pulled back almost immediately, a startled look on his face.
“Sorry,” you murmured, sitting back. “I didn’t . . .”
Fox cupped the back of your head and pulled you into meet his hungry kiss. Your startled gasp turned into a sigh of delight as his lips settled firmly on yours. Your hands cupped his face and your insides flipped pleasantly as his mouth slanted over yours.
When the two of you parted a moment later, you were pretty sure you had a silly grin plastered on your face.
“Do that again,” you said. “It feels nice.”
Fox let out a low chuckle and pulled you in again. You buried your fingers in his dark curls and tugged him closer.
“Please don’t ever stop touching me,” Fox murmured against your lips.
“’Kay,” you agreed, before diving in to kiss him again.