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“Did I do something wrong?” Boba asked out of nowhere.
Vader blinked in surprise, though the bounty hunter couldn’t see it. “Why would you ask that?”
Boba crossed his arms. “You… you flinched. You always flinch when I touch you.”
Vader’s heart dropped. “Love, you didn’t-“
“If you want me to stop, just tell me.”
“No!” Vader blurted. “It’s not… you. I was… wounded, long ago. I do not flinch because it is you that is touching me. But touch is… painful for me.”
Boba’s eyes widened. “Always?”
“Always.”
“Then, why did you not ask me to stop sooner?”
“That’s not- Boba, I-“ the words would not come out as Vader began to spiral. For the first time in a decade, someone was willing to give him any amount of affection, and he felt as though he would lose it.
In a moment of desperation, Vader placed a hand on Boba’s shoulder and pulled him into an embrace, carefully avoiding the computer on his chest.
“Please.” Vader said, quiet as his vocoder would allow. “Please, do not stop.”
Boba froze, but only briefly. Careful as he could, Boba held Vader in his arms. The pain was worth that fleeting affection.