Better Be the Chocolate Ones

by Lisa_Spice

Summary:

Conflict is inevitable in all relationships.

What matters is handling it like adults.

(AKA: Fox and Anakin have their first major fight. Thorn looks on in dismay.)

Anakin Skywalker has become a semi-permanent fixture of the Corrie Guard grounds at this point.

He's not always with Fox, although he does spend quite a lot of time in the office, much to Thorn's dismay. He's not pleased to have the napping couch in use for things other than complaining or napping so often.

Anakin has taken to spoiling shinies when Fox is out on senate shifts, offering them bits of chocolate or mantel mix or whatever he's got on hand. One particular shiny, he builds small tinker toys for. He's noticed they have a hard time standing still on shift, (which he still thinks is entirely unnecessary, but whatever,) so he sews them a new set of gloves. These gloves are just an altered set of the standard issue ones, the only real changes being the addition of a few different textures of fabric to the finger pads, some rough and plasticy, some soft, and some that never seem to lose their stick. The gloves are ever so slightly too big, so the shiny is able to move his fingertips inside them without the glove moving at all.

Now, with something to keep his mind occupied, the shiny can stand as still as any ori'vod in the guard - except maybe the commanders.

---

Thire wanders into the mess hall one day to find Anakin has taken apart and is half beneath their long time dysfunctional ration heater. After staring down at him for a few moments, Thire says,

"You can't fix it, they don't make the part anymore."

"Yeah, you've got the keyword there. They don't make it anymore," Ani corrects, waving a wrench in his direction, then curses softly as a loose bolt falls directly onto his face.

"Uh-huh," Thire raises an eyebrow.

But the ration warmer works the next day and the door now hangs levelly and is no longer squeaking.

There are also a lot of tools left on the floor.

The area near the barracks' climate controls is in a similar state of cleanliness, but Grizzer no longer sweats a full puddle when Hound sneaks him in for the night. Merely half a puddle instead.

---

"Uhhh Boss we have a code 'waterrunner' on the senate hall floor," Hound calls in. "I think he might be looking for you."

Fox sighs and rubs his eyes.

"His name is Skywalker. Now where the kark is he?"

"Over by Senator Taa's office," Hound announces. "Think he might have just come back from a meeting with the Prune man."

Fox's stomach goes cold.

"I can try to redirect him back towards you," Hound adds, sensing Fox's hesitation.

"No, it's fine. Stay away from there. I'll collect him."

Fox quickly reroutes himself towards the senate halls and takes off at a brisk pace.

The sooner he can get Anakin off the senate floor, the less likely it is that doing so will make a scene of some sort. Not that the Senators would do anything to Anakin, but if Anakin started talking to his corries within view, then things could go very poorly very quickly if the guard accidentally responded as usual.

Pacing through the hallways, looking through one after another, Fox still doesn't see his di'kut'la cyare. He's just about to call in to Cam and ask for a visual to be routed to his com when a hand on his shoulder nearly has him jumping out of his boots.

Fox feels arms snake around his waist and he freezes.

"There's my favorite commander," Anakin clunks his chin atop Fox's helmeted head. "I'd been looking all over for you."

Fox jerks away and desperately looks back and forth down the hallway to see if any senators had wandered out of their offices inopportunely.

Of course, one had.

It's not Senator Taa, thank the manda.

No, this one would do nothing more than speak.

"I wasss not aware that Jedi were so taken by these... fleshdroidssss," the senator speaks slowly, blinking snakishly. "I thought the hero without fear would have better tasssste."

The senator blinks again, gaze roaming up and down the pair of them, "Perhapssss I've misssss evaluated... Doesss it tasste... rodentiform?"

The senator reaches up and pulls Fox's helmet from his head.

Fox doesn't dare move as the senator leans in and smells him, the tip of their forked tongue glancing across his cheek.

This is much further than this senator has gone before. Depending on how the rest of this interaction goes, Fox may need to change his list placement.

The arms retighten around his waist and Fox finds himself being pulled backward towards Anakin, who quickly attempts to shift in front of him, outrage ringing in his face.

Fox pushes his way back to the front, flashing Anakin a grimace of a smile. He has to salvage this situation before Anakin says something Fox will regret.

"I assure you sir, we clones are uniquely human in taste," Fox says the first words that come to mind - they're undoubtedly less confrontational than whatever Anakin was planning.

"Hmm... Unfortunately, I concurr. How dissssssapointing..." The senator hisses. "It ssssseeemsss thissss one issss claimed already anyway."

Relieved the Senator's interest seems to have been resolved, Fox gives the senator a brief bow before offering to escort him back to his office, leaving a gaping Anakin standing alone in the hallway.

"I will return in a moment, sir," Fox says. "Please stay put."

After depositing the Senator in the Senate dining room, acquiring his drink, and putting in his order (the senator elected not to return to his office), Fox heads back to Anakin.

Thank the manda, he was precisely where Fox had left him, still holding Fox's helmet, which he promptly took from him and shoved back on.

"What the actual Force was that, Fox?!"

"Not here," Fox says quitely, before quickly adding on, "Sir."

"Who was - the karking audacity -"

"Not here," Fox says more firmly, grabbing his cyare's wrist and forcing him to take his elbow to make it look more like an escort than an arrest.

Anakin immediately rounds on him the moment they're out of the halls and into Corrie space.

"What the -"

"Senator Ssss'ork. He's a shebs'palon, that's all. Just something that happens. It's fine. We can handle it."

"He's done that shit before?!" Anakin storms towards Fox's office. "Lend me your comm, I forgot mine in the chancellor's office, but I need to make a few calls -"

"No." Fox says firmly. "I said it's fine. It's normal. We know how to handle it."

"Then why the hell is he still here? Still saying that disgusting osik? Kriffing licking you."

Fox's heart hammers in his chest.

He doesn't know what to do. Doesn't know what to say.

"It's just - it's part of the job, sir."

"Quit calling me 'sir'," Anakin says. "I don't know why you picked that back up. Isn't kissing you enough to convince you we don't need to use titles?"

Ok, ok, redirection. Fox can do that.

"I seem to recall you calling me your 'favorite commander' earlier -"

"Wait a second, now, that's different -"

"Is it though?"

"Fox, karking hells, you're getting me off track, that's not the point -"

Mission failure then.

"That's not okay," Anakin says firmly. "It's important to me that you know that's not okay."

"I know," Fox nods.

"Then why won't you let me do something about it?"

"Don't you think we've tried?" Fox asks, trying hard not to raise his voice, "Do you really think I want to hear that every kriffing day?"

"Everyday? Fox how often -"

"Gods, I'm karking this up -" Fox pulls his helmet off and presses his hands to his eyes. "Cyare, love, it's ok. We know how to handle it. We're used to it."

"Well you shoudln't have to be!"

"But we are," Fox says. "It's not a big deal."

"I don't think you understand what -"

"I understand perfectly,"

"Then why won't you tell me what's been going-"

"Can you just karking leave it alone?" Fox yells, before catching himself and forcing a breath. "It's fine. It happens sometimes. We know how to deal with it. We have training, we have procedures."

"It's not over," Anakin says firmly, frustration leaking through his carefully level voice. "I am so pissed you never told me this was a problem for you, and even more pissed that you won't let me help. But we can give the topic a break for now. Just... this isn't over. We will karking talk about this."

Anakin storms off, only to stop in his tracks just a few steps later and turn back.

Fox looks up at Anakin with his best dead stare, preparing for the argument to rekindle.

Anakin stares back for a long moment, anger burning in his eyes.

Then he reaches up slowly and takes Fox's cheek in his hand.

He proceeds to give Fox a keldabe that is ever-so-slightly more aggressive than normal.

"You fucking suck," Anakin says through gritted teeth, before taking a deep breath, his forehead still pressed to Fox's.

They stay there for a long moment, just breathing.

"I put the good caf and donuts in the rec room," Anakin grumbles, breaking the keldabe. "They might still be warm."

Anakin jerkily offers his hand, refusing to look his cyare in the eyes.

Fox debates for a moment, blood still boiling in his veins, but accepts it.

"Better be the karking chocolate ones," He hisses.

"With sprinkles," Anakin hisses back before starting to tug them both down the hall.

---

Thorn is not sure what just happened.

He is, however, very sure that he does not want to ask.

Thorn watches his lovely ori'vod is sitting across from his jetti snarking harshly at each other and oscillating between glaring and refusing to look in the other's direction. The Jetti swipes Fox's caf cup and sets it down just a little harder than necessary before filling it with more caf. Similarly, Fox refuses to hand Anakin another donut hole and places the bag a top an Os'ika who proceeds to putter over and give a little spin, sending the donut holes flying into Anakin's lap.

The room was mostly empty otherwise, with just a select few vode sitting near the edges of the room, watching the spectacle with raised eyebrows, just as Thorn himself is doing now.

Thorn feels an odd fluctuation in the air behind him, followed by the plop of a chin on his shoulder.

"Yikes," Quinlan says, a stray lock tickling Thorn's ear. "How long they been doing that for?"

"Only the last twenty minutes, so far as I'm aware,"

"Come on, spill the tea, Thorny. This looks juicy."

"I genuinely don't know," Thorn shakes his head in dismay. "I've never seen them like this before."

"Hmm first round of trouble in paradise, huh?" Quin sighs dramatically. "Tough luck. Maybe it was never meant to be..."

Thorn rolls his eyes and shifts his weight, leaving Quin to flail as his support beam removes itself.

"I dunno, I was really starting to think this might work out. I'm still..." Thorn watches as Anakin force catapults the empty donut box into the trash. "Gods, Fox is going to be crushed if it doesn't. To lose two people at the same time?" Thorn shakes his head.

"Two?" Quinlan questions.

"Yeah, Skywalker and me."

"Why would he lose you?"

"Murdering a jetii usually doesn't go well in the courts."

Quin huffs a laugh.

"You laugh because you think I'm kidding,"

"Well, you are," Quin's grin slowly fades. "Right?"

"So long as you straighten out your nephew," Thorn says, patting Quin's arm. "Neither of us will have to find out."

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 8 of Os'ika's Hat