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Fox was sweating under his bucket.
The Corrie Barracks had been without power since last night, and it felt like all of Coruscant’s heat was being dumped into his office.
He knew the planet had a filtering problem, but this felt ridiculous.
Fox blinked away swimming spots from his vision as he nearly tipped over sideways in his chair, and continued to sign flimsiwork that he barely bothered to read anymore.
The door to his office slammed open with perhaps more force than necessary, but such was life. No power meant no automatic doors. Meaning, of course, his Corries could get away with kicking the doors open if they felt like it.
And of course, they did feel like it.
Pathos slammed down a cup of water onto Fox’s desk. He could hear ice clinking around in it. Pathos crossed his arms, and glared pointedly at Fox. “Rigger says you have to drink it.”
“Where in Prime’s name did you find ice?” Fox asked, it being all he could focus on.
“Don’t worry about it, sir.”
Fox didn’t feel like fighting it this time, so he reluctantly pulled his helmet off and placed it on a precarious stack of flimsi.
The two men watched it slide off the desk and hit the floor, rolling into the corner of his chair.
Pathos looked back to Fox. His hair was plastered to his forehead from all the sweat, giving him the worst case of helmet hair he’d seen in a while.
Fox’s skin was paler than it should be, and he looked exhausted.
“You look like osik, sir.”
“Thank you, Pathos. I try my best.” Fox didn’t even have the energy to sound dead pan. He just sounded dead.
Pathos excused himself from the office, doing his best to quietly shut the door behind him. Fox pressed the cup against his jaw, the condensation and the cold plastic doing a little to help with the persistent migraine he’d had for who knows how long.
Just another day for the Coruscant Guard.
An hour or so passed, the heat only seeming to get worse, the pile of forms on his desk continuing to grow, and Fox could feel his hands beginning to shake. His comm chimed with an incoming message. Fox scooped his helmet up from the floor, jamming it onto his head, and answered the comm.
It was Wolffe.
“Where are you, Fox?”
“What?” Fox searched his aching brain for words to say, coming up empty. “Why?”
“Because I haven’t seen you in forever.” Wolffe said. “I miss you. Are you in your office?”
“No,” Fox lied. “I’m not.”
“I’m headed over, don’t even try to run, you know I will catch you.” Wolffe hung up abruptly.
Fox let his head fall forward onto his desk, trying not to cry. He didn’t really want to be even more dehydrated than he already was.
He must have fallen asleep, because his office door hitting the wall startled him. He bolted upright, thankful he had put his helmet on. Wolffe stood in his doorway, looking like someone spit in his soup.
“Why is there no power?”
“I don’t know man, leave me alone.” Fox groaned and put his head back on the desk, refusing to look at his brother.
“Why don’t you know?” Wolffe demanded.
“Because I don’t. Kriff off.”
“No.” Wolffe marched over to the other side of the desk, and reached for Fox’s helmet. “I know this isn’t helping with the heat. Take it off.”
Fox moved at the last second, dodging Wolffe’s attempts to remove his bucket. Fox slid his chair back, and stood up. Wolffe didn’t let that stop him, and kept moving toward him. Fox put the desk between him and his grabby brother.
“Keep your slimy hands to yourself, vod.” He snarled.
“Then take your helmet off.” Wolffe bit back.
“Make me.” That was a mistake. Fox regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth.
Wolffe bared his teeth in a smile.
Fox scrambled to get out of his office as Wolffe leapt over the desk, knocking stacks of flimsi and datapads onto the floor.
He didn’t get very far.
His brother tackled him, bringing him roughly to the floor with freedom in sight.
He hadn’t even managed to cross the threshold.
He thrashed under Wolffe, trying to kick him off, and landing several cheap blows. Wolffe was persistent though, and had soon pried off Fox’s helmet.
“Damn, vod.” He whistled.
Fox found his head falling back once more, hitting the floor pretty hard, and he just laid there. “Happy now?”
Wolffe readjusted himself so he was sitting on top of Fox. “No.” He said. “You haven’t answered any of my questions.”
Fox groaned. “If I do, will you get off of me?”
“Hmm.” Wolffe pretended to think. "I grew up with you Fox, I know your tricks.”
“I have things to do.” Fox grumbled.
“What things?” Wolffe asked.
Fox didn’t answer, he closed his eyes, preparing himself for a long wait.
One of them would give in first. He just had to be patient. He could hear footsteps echoing down the hallway, and after a few seconds, they stopped. Right outside the open door. He slid his eyes back open and saw Thorn waiting there.
“Uh, sir?” Thorn said, only mildly concerned. “I was told Commander Wolffe was looking for you, but it seems he’s found you.”
Wolffe grinned, and waved at Thorn. Thorn hesitantly waved back.
“You couldn’t have let me know sooner?” Fox glared at Thorn from his spot on the floor.
“Sorry sir, I came as soon as I knew. Do you… need any help?” Thorn asked. Fox could tell he didn’t really want to help.
“I’m fine Commander, thank you. You can get back to your work.”
Thorn saluted, and with an impressive amount of restraint, managed not to run away. Wolffe licked his teeth, he was clearly very smug. He enjoyed menacing Fox’s commanders a little too much.
“Now, Fox.” Wolffe said, looking down at his little brother. “Back to my questions.”
Fox stilled for a moment, before lunging at Wolffe. He snapped his teeth at his older brother.
“What is wrong with you?” Wolffe lurched backwards. The little hypocrite should have expected that, Fox had to learn biting as a technique from somewhere, after all.
“A great many things. Would you like the list? I can have it on your desk by three.” Fox wasn’t being entirely facetious, there was in fact a list. But it was highly restricted, not just anyone could see it.
“No, thanks.” Wolffe said, more out of habit than because he was polite. He finally started to get off Fox, but before Fox could do anything, Wolffe picked him up and threw him over his shoulder. “You look terrible Fox. You and I are taking my speeder and we are going to go fix this power outage.”
“You don’t even know where to go to do that.” Fox pointed out as he swung back and forth from Wolffe’s shoulders. The motion was making him dizzy.
“I’m a clever guy, I can figure it out.” He said, and threatened to drop Fox when he snorted in response.
Wolffe marched through the Corrie headquarters, Fox managing to catch looks of his Guards watching his humiliation. Some of the shinies looked concerned, like they were willing to jump in and help, but the others, the ones who had been around longer, just looked very pleased.
Fox caught Thire watching. “Help, please.” He whispered, voice sounding strangled.
“Sorry, sir. I can’t do that.” Thire sounded all too amused with this situation.
Wolffe continued. He refused to set Fox down even after they’d made it out of the headquarters, but once they’d made it to Wolffe’s speeder, Fox was dumped unceremoniously into the passenger seat.
“Stay.” Wolffe ordered, a finger pointing at him threateningly.
Fox had been considering running, but the shade outside the building was somehow cooler than inside, and Fox found himself enjoying it.
Wolffe tapped on his commlink for a moment, before hopping into the driver’s side of the speeder.
A thought occurred to Fox as they were pulling into traffic. “Do you even have a driver’s license?” Clones were typically only certified to drive government vehicles, Fox being an exception as he had gone to the DMV near the beginning of his posting on Coruscant.
“No, of course not.” Wolffe grinned again, laughing as they pulled into traffic and nearly hit several others, almost spinning out of control.
“I can tell.” Fox just closed his eyes, and tried to put it out of his mind. The Jedi had probably let Wolffe take one of the speeders, they were also not ones to care about licensing and the legal operation of vehicles.
“What, like you have one. ”
Wait, Wolffe didn’t know? “Yeah, I’ve had one for a while.”
“And you still refuse to drive your poor brothers around the city, huh?”
“I have a job to do, and even if I had time off, I wouldn’t spend it driving you around.”
“Are you implying you don’t have time off?” Wolffe sneered.
“I’m not implying anything.” Fox felt he was practically saying it outright.
“Whatever.” Wolffe rolled his eyes, too distracted trying to avoid the hellish traffic to argue with Fox.
They dropped down several layers, headed to the block’s central power grid. Wolffe had clearly inquired with other Guard members why the power wasn’t on, and had decided it wasn’t even worth it to check the breakers back at headquarters. Maybe Thorn had given him directions, although Fox didn't know when he had done that. Soon, they arrived.
“Can I leave you in the speeder, or do you still feel like running?” Wolffe asked.
“If you park in the shade, I’ll stay.” Fox didn’t even open his eyes to respond.
“Okay. There’s a water bottle in the glove compartment if you need it. Should still be cold, too.”
Fox hummed, and he felt the speeder slide to a smooth stop.
He was soon dozing lightly, putting the idea of Wolffe yelling at the workers out of his mind. He startled back awake to Wolffe gently shaking his shoulder, eyes snapping open to see Wolffe already moving to the driver's side.
“They fixed it. It was easier than I thought it would be, but I’m not sure they even noticed that section was out.” Wolffe said as he climbed back into the speeder.
“Yeah, they usually don’t.” Fox sighed. He’d had to march down here himself many a time to get them to turn it back on.
Fox listened to Wolffe griping and complaining all the way back, only offering a word or two for responses.
“Did you drink anything?”
He was starting to get on Fox’s nerves again, what with all the nitpicking.
“No, Wolffe. I fell asleep as soon as you parked.” Fox didn’t care to lie, it wasn’t worth it right now.
“How much sleep are you getting?” Wolffe continued with his questions, refusing to give up this time.
“Nunya business.”
“Literally is.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re my little brother. Your wellbeing is always my business.” Wolffe was starting to sound angry. Like he’d had this conversation one too many times. “I can tell you’re not getting enough rest.”
“Prime forbid a clone tries to do his job.”
“This isn’t about you doing your job. This is about you neglecting yourself, Fox.”
“I just don’t have that kind of time, Wolffe.”
“Why?” He asked. “This is Coruscant. It’s supposed to be the easy posting.”
“Well, maybe it isn’t quite as easy as you’d think.”
“I don’t know what to think. I just want you to talk to me, to tell me what’s going on.”
Fox sighed. “I can’t do that Wolffe.”
“Please. I just want you to be safe.” Wolffe didn’t have to sound so broken. That wasn’t fair. Fox was telling the truth.
He couldn't tell Wolffe, or anyone for that matter, what was happening in the Coruscant Guard. The words would choke him, catch in his throat, and he’d be spitting up blood for the rest of the night if he tried.
So it was best if he didn’t say anything. But Wolffe just couldn’t seem to take the hint.
Fox spent the rest of the ride back dodging questions.
Wolffe grew increasingly more irritated, his questions growing more of a bite with each one Fox refused to answer.
When they reached the headquarters and Wolffe had parked, Fox hopped out and started walking back to his office.
He was trying to walk just fast enough to show Wolffe he wasn’t interested in continuing their conversation, but slow enough that he had an excuse. He wasn’t running, he wasn’t trying to get Wolffe to leave him alone.
“Fox, stop.” Wolffe kept up easily, but he wasn’t happy about Fox trying to ditch him.
Despite the power returning to the Corrie Headquarters, the front doors had been broken for quite a while, needing to be manually opened and shut.
He entered the main doors, and while Wolffe got held up holding the door open for a leaving squad, broke into a sprint down the hallway.
Fox rounded the corner to his office at a full tilt, passing a trooper that had heard him coming and had pressed himself as far up against the wall as possible. Fox had accidentally run into his own men once, and they never let him forget it.
He entered his office, and punched in the code to lock the door as soon as it slid shut behind him.
Less than five seconds later, something massive hit his office door.
Fox had faith the office door would hold; it had held before, so surely it wouldn’t give out now.
He couldn’t focus on Wolffe, he had aforementioned things to do.
Eventually, Wolffe stopped throwing himself against the door, and Fox could only hope he had left. He gave it a few more hours before reaching under his desk to open a secret compartment. Fox pulled an ancient slugthrower out, and slipped it into a side holster in place of one of his blasters. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time, and hopefully Wolffe wouldn’t kark everything up.
He walked over to the door, pressing his ear against it for a moment. He held his breath, and could hear nothing on the other side. He decided to risk it, and opened the door.
Wolffe was gone.
Fox set off down the halls of the Corrie Headquarters, and left for the Senate Dome.
Wolffe had plenty of time to spare, and he knew sooner or later Fox would emerge from his office. He cornered Commander Thorn, who agreed to help him after very little pressure. In fact, Wolffe was beginning to suspect that Thorn was excited to help.
Wolffe soon found himself hiding in the vents, one of which was situated right above Fox’s door. The ones that went into Fox’s office were blocked by grates, which was odd certainly, but also expected. Fox was known to be paranoid.
Wolffe was comming Cody about the strange things he’d been doing today, and telling his vod about Fox’s poor state.
Their little brother had Wolffe worried, he hadn’t seemed healthy at all, and Wolffe could tell the stress of the job was getting to him. Cody had recently docked on Coruscant, and was hoping to see his two batchmates that were on Triple Zero.
Cody had just sent a message back when the door to Fox’s office slid open.
The man had put his helmet back on, and his posture betrayed none of the exhaustion Wolffe had seen earlier. He followed Fox down the twisting hallways as best he could, dropping out of the vents into a cleaning closet near the entrance, and continued to follow him to the Senate Building.
They crossed Coruscant Square, Wolffe creeping through the shadows, Fox marching at a hurried pace. Wolffe was sure Fox was onto him, he kept turning around and almost saw him a couple times. But he never said anything.
When Fox entered one of the several elevators to the top of the building, Wolffe decided he’d try the stairs. It felt like it took forever, but he finally reached the top of the building where Chancellor Palpatine’s office was. He watched from the far end of the hall, peeking around the corner, as Fox dismissed the two Guards standing outside, taking their post. Five minutes later, Fox checked the time on his comm piece, and entered the office.
Wolffe stayed where he was, watching the door like a hawk. He wasn’t expecting much to happen, his plan was to wait until Fox exited, then he’d head over.
He changed his plan to wait when he heard something like a crack of thunder come from inside the office.
Wolffe abandoned his hiding spot, and as he sprinted toward the Chancellor’s office, he commed Cody.
He started talking as soon as it connected.
“Whatever you're doing, stop. I need you to get over to the Senate Building now. Something’s happening in the Chancellor’s office, and I think Fox is in trouble. Bring your General, and grab mine if you see him.” He hung up before Cody could reply.
His hands shook slightly as he reached for the door, but Wolffe ignored it.
He pushed open the door, and couldn't help stopping in his tracks. The room was covered in burn marks, and it smelled like smoke.
Fox stood with his helmet off in front of the steaming body of the Chancellor, a strange-looking blaster held in his hands.
Wolffe took a step forward, glancing at the destroyed room.
As he stopped at Fox’s side, just barely in his field of view, he got a closer look at what Fox held in his hands. It was clear Wolffe had been wrong about it being a blaster, and he knew he was looking at a slugthrower.
Where Fox had found one of those was a mystery, and why the Chancellor was dead even more so.
“Fox, can you hear me?” Wolffe gently pried the slugthrower from his brother’s grasp, setting it on the ornate desk before grabbing Fox’s hand.
It had been a long time since he'd had to calm down Fox. Wolffe took his brother's hand and placed it against his chest.
Fox was spacing out, murmuring to himself about self-defense.
“I believe you, Fox, and the Jedi will help us figure out what happened. But I need to know if you’re okay.”
Fox didn’t answer, swaying slightly on his feet. He was covered in the same burn marks that decorated the walls behind Fox, seeming to come from the Chancellor. Blood trickled sluggishly from his mouth.
With his hand still on Wolffe’s chest, he seemed to come back to himself after a moment.
“Ah, Wolffe. I have something to tell you.”
Wolffe leaned closer. “It’s okay, Fox. You can tell me.”
“I’m gonna pass out.”
Wolffe barely managed to catch his brother, and as he was lowering him to the ground, Cody and several Jedi burst through the door.
The group paused in stunned silence, before Plo Koon spoke up. “Well, Wolffe. It seems Commander Fox killed a Sith.”
Fox hadn't realized how loud slugthrowers were. His ears were ringing as he stood and stared at the Chancellor’s body.
The meeting had gone fairly normally until Fox decided he was done with Palpatine’s dumb shebs.
Palpatine hadn’t gone down without a fight, throwing around lightning of all things, and pulling out one of those Jedi swords from beneath his robes, but the slugthrower struck true, right between the man’s eyes, killing him.
Then, Fox had quickly found he didn’t feel like moving. All of the kark he had put up with over the course of the war would finally end soon. He was relieved, but the relief couldn’t hold off the exhaustion pulling at him.
He’d blinked, and Wolffe was standing in front of him.
Had they really been fixing the power outage just a few hours ago?
Everything felt like a dream.
He stared past his brother, before he startled, catching sight of Palpatine behind Wolffe. He could feel his thoughts churning, and a great sense of importance settled into his mind. He turned to his older brother, and he could see how worried Wolffe was.
He didn’t manage to find much to say, only barely being able to inform his brother of his imminent collapse, before he closed his eyes and let the shadows of sleep wrap around him.
Wolffe was here, he’d be alright.
Fox drifted through several dreams, waking occasionally to the shape of a brother above him, who always gently coaxed him back to sleep.
The blurry world beyond his little existence was not very appealing, so he listened.
He didn’t know how long it had been when he cracked open his eyes and found the world was finally in sharp detail once more.
The ceiling above him was unfamiliar, but when he looked to the side, he saw his brother.
Wolffe sat with a real paper book, quietly turning the pages. Fox wasn't sure what tipped him off, but Wolffe noticed he was awake rather quickly. His brother turned to face him, and he met his brother’s open eyes.
“Finally, I was beginning to think I’d have to wait forever for you.”
Fox didn’t feel like dealing with any of his sappy brothers, let alone Wolffe. He tried to burrow back down into the blankets and fall back asleep, but Wolffe wouldn’t let him.
“Don’t you dare. It’s been three weeks and Cody’s so worried he’s crawling up the walls.”
“Hmmm. Five more minutes.”
“Nope. I’ve already let him know you’re awake. You’re not getting out of this.” Wolffe cruelly pulled the blankets away, the sick freak probably enjoyed the sight of his little brother suffering in the chilly air of whatever medical ward they were in. He relented though, rolling his eyes when Fox whined. “You’re pitiful Fox.”
Fox just wrapped himself in the warm fuzzy blanket, and stuck his tongue out at Wolffe.
“Why’s it so cold in here?” He groggily demanded, voice muffled from the cocoon he’d made for himself.
“The Jedi Temple is always pretty cold, even in the summer.”
Fox frowned in confusion. “Why are we at the Jedi Temple?” He cautiously asked.
“The Jedi are better equipped than clone medics for dealing with Sith-osik.”
“What?” He flatly asked.
“You killed a Sith, Fox. And he hurt you pretty badly. So the Jedi are healing you.” Wolffe sighed. He sat down on the side of the bed close to Fox’s head. “We didn’t know if you’d make it, to be honest. Palpatine was no novice with the dark side of the Force, and no one’s quite sure how you even survived, let alone with no lasting damage from him.” Wolffe sounded close to tears.
Fox reached out of the blanket mess and grabbed Wolffe’s hand.
Wolffe gripped it tightly, the anxiety from the last few weeks had definitely gotten to him.
“Once you’re feeling a bit better, if you’re willing to share, I want to know everything that happened to you on Coruscant.” Wolffe paused to take a deep breath. “The Jedi said you'd be able to talk know. I know there’s not much I can do now, but I want to listen.”
Fox opened his mouth to speak, nothing coming out on the first try. “I’m not sure how much there is to say, but…” Fox slowly spoke. “Please, don’t leave.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”