#cloneshipping | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whiskygoldwings · 1 month

Text

Within Operating Parameters

One shot

Cody/Obi-Wan. Boil/Waxer. Clone/clone relationship mentioned.

Alternative Universe: Soulmates

Warnings: Dehumanization of clones

This kinda hit me out of nowhere, and kept me up until nearly 1 in the morning to finish it, so apologies if there's any errors/disjointedness. Also, I'm not sure who started calling the Negotiator's medic Helix, but it's stuck with me and I can't shake it now!

The clones never removed their helmets. Or, at least, not where anyone other than another clone can see. They spoke in military terms only, introduced themselves with identity numbers instead of names.

It makes Obi-Wan nauseous, even as he smiles gently at CC-2224 and thanks him for his assistance again.

He could FEEL their personalities in the Force, which only made their outward meat-droid presentation all the more painful. It’s unsettled all the Jedi, he knows, but he has always been particularly empathetic, and their fear and anxiety every time any nat-borns are near them makes him want to gag.

It presses at him constantly, the wary avoidance of him, the hopeful hero-worship, tainted by terror and panic. He’s been convinced from the very beginning that the clones are a trap, too conveniently placed to gift them an army when war began. But they are a particularly efficient trap for him. He can feel the curl of the Dark in the violent hatred he feels for the Kaminoans, in the creeping desire to turn the Negotiator to Kamino and rip the foundations asunder.

He breaths deep, drawing in the loving warmth of the Force, and breathing out the pain. His eyes are closed, and he feels a worried pang from one of the helmsmen, but he does his best to ignore it.

It’s the most effective torture that could have been devised.

——

CC-2224 stares at his eyes in the Mirror.

Still matching. Still golden-brown. Still within operating parameters.

He steps away, pulling his helmet on and activating the seals, ceding his spot to the next brother in line. CT-1477 is similary within operating parameters, but he takes the pre-requisite 30 seconds to observe and ensure he is still acceptable before moving to follow CC-2224 to the bridge.

CC-2224 sheds Cody with every step away from the Vode barracks. The clone slips over him, concealing the defective core of the brother from the enemy.

It’s a little harder today, as he steps onto the bridge. General Kenobi turns to him, and there’s a sad smile on his face, that quickly slides into a warm greeting, blue eyes shining at him.

CC-2224 knows the flash of warmth in his heart is defective, but it passes quickly. It is not permanent. It does not require reporting.

General Kenobi’s smile falters, and briefly there’s something painful on his face, before the serene calm washes it all away.

CC-2224 does not ache for the smile to return. He is functional. He reviews the battle scenario presented to him, and devises a strategy. He is not proud when General Kenobi strokes his beard and grins. He is not pleased when General Kenobi tells him it’s an excellent plan. He nods, and issues orders.

Cody bundles the memory in a tiny, precious box in his mind, and holds onto it for later.

——

Cody wakes in the midst of his brothers, warm and comfortable. Boil has a leg over his, Crys’ stomach is under his head. Wooley, the limpet, has drooled on his kriffing bicep again, and Cody can’t quite bring himself to be annoyed about it.

He’s woken, as he always does, at precisely 05.00hrs. He’s the Marshall Commander, he needs to wake before the others. The Kaminoans had trained it into him.

They did not train the extra five minutes he takes to soak up the warmth of his vod into him. That he took for himself.

The others wake around him when the five minutes are up. Wooley wipes his face on Cody’s arm, grinning up at him when he glares down. Crys stretches, careful not to disrupt Cody too much. Boil doesn’t move. He’s always struggled with mornings. Waxer is already pressing kisses into his cheek, dragging him up from the dark with the sheer obstinateness of his love.

Cody sighs, and waits until Boil manages to curl himself away from him, into Waxer, fumbling tired fingers into Waxer’s hair and holding him to him.

It’s time to get up.

Cody rises, stretching out cramped muscles from sleeping on the cold floor. They haven’t had an inspection yet while on the Venator, but the harsh punishments of the trainers and Kaminoans when they’d dragged the mattresses onto the floor still ache in each of them, and they haven’t dared that level of deviance yet. He firmly pushes away thoughts that General Kenobi probably wouldn’t care, would probably be pleased to see the humanity in them, and goes to take a piss and brush his teeth. There’s mirrors all along the wall in the bathroom over the sinks, but they’re not the Mirror, so he doesn’t bother to meet his eyes. Around him, brothers do the same, a mix of grumbling and smiling vode, all going through the morning routine.

Breakfast is caff and porridge. It’s actually not bad. The Generals had argued that ration bars was not enough to sustain an army conducting warfare, so Cody and his vod got real food now. It’s eaten in the confines of their cafeteria, sequestered deep in Vode territory, away from any nat-born eyes, but it makes Cody feel a little more human.

There’s not been a lot of that in their lives.

He finishes first, and stands first. He is always the first. It’s the correct order of things. He feels Cody start to slip away, CC-2224 activating with the measured footsteps towards the armour lockers. None of the other Vode catch his eye, the fond touches of earlier come to an end.

CC-2224 is not their vod.

He strips perfunctorily, and steps into the sonic. Cody looks down at his body, traces the new scar on his shoulder. CC-2224 steps out when it finishes. Pulls on the new set of blacks waiting for him. He settles the pieces of armour into place.

Around Cody/CC-2224 other brothers/clones strip and clean themselves. Deadened eyes, tight jaws. The rare aesthetical defect standing out in the midst of symmetrical bodies.

Cody glances away and walks out. He stutters a moment, dread coursing through him.

What if he didn’t look in the Mirror? Just for one day. What if he didn’t look?

He does, of course. Two golden-brown eyes. Matching. No deviance.

CC-2224 pulls his helmet on and goes to his duty.

——

There’s something tense in CC-2224’s presence today, Obi-Wan observes. Almost like he’s approaching a precipice, and has a choice as to whether he backs away, or continues to the edge. It’s beautiful. Obi-Wan finds himself watching out the corner of his eye, breath held, waiting to see which way he goes.

CC-2224 stays calmly still, hands behind his back, feet shoulder width apart. His chest rises and falls slowly.

Obi-Wan sighs, and looks away. There’s a spark of frustration, before he manages to ease it into the Force. The tense feeling has eased, CC-2224 has walked away from the cliff edge, and Obi-Wan does his best not to feel bitter disappointment.

Perhaps if he’d approached the man...?

He’s very tired of being feared.

It’s a moment of anger, a moment of exhaustion that drives him when he strides over to CC-2224, and puts a hand to his shoulder. It horrifies him in the next second, and he gapes awkwardly at the tilted helmet.

He has never breached their personal space before. It was vile, they had so little autonomy over their own lives; he refused to put them in uncomfortable situations when they were so clearly institutionalised to avoid any nat-borns.

Yet he’s still got his hand on CC-2224’s shoulder. He’s still staring into that visor, blue eyes searching for a glimpse of anything underneath.

CC-2224 doesn’t shake him off, doesn’t move. His external comms must have switched off, because there’s not even the sound of his breathing. He is still, silent, and his Force presence has shrunk to a...

Oh...

Obi-Wan feels his own breath catch, as something delicate and yearning unfurls from the shadow of CC-2224’s mind. The helmet trembles slightly, and a gloved hand comes up to place careful fingers over his own. They stand like that for a moment, two, and Obi-Wan realises the trembling of the helmet is rough, disjointed.

He thinks CC-2224 is shouting in there.

Obi-Wan doesn’t know what compels him. He lifts his other hand to CC-2224’s helmet, places his fingers over the button to unseal his helm. CC-2224’s other hand jerks up, grabbing his wrist. He waits, and CC-2224’s fingers loosen, then slide over the back of his hand, over his own fingers, and press down against them.

The helmet unseals with a hiss.

They stand there for a moment longer, Obi-Wan staring into the visor, the visor impassively staring back. The trembling has stopped, but CC-2224 heaves with every harsh breath that pants out of his mouth, loud in the absolute silence of the Bridge. Obi-Wan suddenly worries for his ability to breathe, bringing both hands to the edges of the helmet, dislodging the gloved ones on top of his, and slides the helmet off.

CC-2224 has wide, golden-brown eyes, a cruel scar around the left one, and a wide, gasping mouth. He stares desperately back at Obi-Wan, who hungrily drinks in every line of his face, the helmet falling to the floor and rolling away as he presses his hands to either side of CC-2224’s face.

He watches, wonderously, as the golden-brown of Cody’s left eye swirls and rivers of blue flow through it’s warm deserts. He feels an odd, warm sensation in his own left eye, and knows sunlight and sand is filling his in turn.

CC-2224’s eyes snap to his own changing one, and he touches a gloved thumb to the edge of Obi-Wan’s eyelid. Obi-Wan can’t help himself, this wonderful, miraculous man in front of him overwhelmes him, and he turns his face and tilts up, pressing his lips to the pad of that thumb. Something broken punches out of CC-2224’s throat He grabs Obi-Wan’s face and slams their lips together.

It’s imperfect, teeth, brutal desparation and terror, but Obi-Wan answers, careful and gentle, easing them into a cautious kiss. He slides a hand into curling, regulation-cut hair, and slowly pulls away. He leaves his forehead pressed against CC-2224’s briefly, watching him come back to himself in fits and starts, and the horror beginning to twist his face.

Obi-Wan steps back, heart heavy as he lets go of CC-2224, as CC-2224’s hands fall away from him. This is his soulmate. His soulmate is terrified of him.

Obi-Wan has gone too far.

He still isn’t really sure what came over him. He steps away, collecting CC-2224’s helmet from where it rolled to, and walking back to him. The man is frozen, the only movement his eyes, wide like a cornered animal as he watches Obi-Wan. It hurts, like nothing Obi-Wan has ever felt before.

He raises CC-2224’s helmet over his head, and carefully brings it down, concealing those beautiful, mismatched eyes, one the colour of golden sands at sunset, one ocean-blue. He brings the helmet down, until it sits snugly where it should, and activates the seals.

He steps away, then turns and leaves. He feels the tears on his cheeks as he goes, and knows CC-2224 saw them before he left.

The other clones on the bridge never turned away from their panels.

——

CC-2224 functions within parameters for the rest of his shift. He does not see the General again. His heart rate is high, his breathing short, but he wrangles them back into acceptable ranges every time they begin to exceed the maximum. The other clones do not react to him. They do not say anything. They do not deviate from their duties.

Only Cody has done that today.

CC-2224 carries them through the rest of their shift. He does not wonder where General Kenobi, and his deviant mismatched eyes are at any point. He does not think about him. Does not remember his chapped, warm lips on his...

CC-2224 breaths carefully, brings them back within parameters, and functions.

It is Cody, when he passes the door to the Vode barracks, who wrenches off his helmet, tearing skin in his haste to pull it off before he releases the seals, and flings it carelessly to the floor. It is Cody who stumbles to the Mirror, desparate and terrified, and looks at his eyes.

Mismatched, deviant eyes.

His right is still regulation golden-brown. His left... His left is wonderful, brilliant stormy ocean blue. He presses stunned fingers to his own cheek, then to the Mirror, not quite able to believe what he sees. He stares, and stares, and stares. It does not change.

His brothers are behind him, helmets off, matching golden-brown eyes all staring at his own not-matching set. There’s wonder, horror, fear and anticipation on each of their identical faces. They are silent, waiting for him to react first.

He does not know what to do.

Eventually, the tableau is broken by Helix.

The Chief Medical officer orders them all to their dinner, placing himself between Cody and the others, arms folded. He stares them all down, until they trickle away, each one looking behind them at their Vod as they go. Wooley is the last to leave, and goes to reach out for Cody before Helix hisses at him. Wooley slopes off with a worried gaze, and finally, Cody and Helix are alone.

Helix turns to Cody, and watches him carefully through the reflection. It’s several minutes before Cody managed to look away from that blue, blue eye and meet Helix’s own regulation golden-brown pair.

Helix’s face is firm, but not angry. He looks at Cody. There’s no pity, or condemnation, he is simply there.

It helps Cody find himself again, in amongst the echoes of the Kaminoans in his head. He takes a deep breath in time with Helix’s own, and closing his eyes, turns away from the mirror.

He only opens them again when he’s turned completely away, and, standing straight-backed and proud, he faces Helix, waiting for his vod to lead him to the medical bay for decommissioning.

——

Obi-Wan hasn’t managed to meditate for the past hour. It’s not for lack of trying. He’d sat on the floor, hands on his knees, eyes (mismatched, wonderful eyes) closed that whole time. His legs are numb; he’s not entirely sure he can get up at this point, and frankly, he still desparately wants to go and find CC-2224 and beg him to please forgive him.

He winces as he unclenched his fist from where he’s dug his nails into his shin again. With a heavy sigh he gives up, awkwardly pulling his legs out from their crossed positions, and flopping back so he’s laid on the floor completely.

Meeting your soulmate was meant to be... The most incredible moment in your life. He’d grown up on stories of eyes meeting across rooms, drawn to each other inevitability. That first curl of colour-shift, that first warmth of knowing each other. Even Qui-Gon had spoken reverantly of it, in those moments he managed to overcome the grief and speak of Master Tahl.

Instead, Obi-Wan felt like he’d violated his soulmate.

He couldn’t help but remember those wide, frightened eyes, the hitch of fear in his soulmate’s breath. His warm brown skin had paled, even as he’d lurched forwards into the kiss.

Obi-Wan shudders, swallowing back bile.

Whatever the Kaminoans had done to the clones, his taking away CC-2224’s right to hide his eyes, to not make that soulmate bond was far, far worse.

He could feel it, delicate and frail in the center of his mind. He curled protectively around it, even as he carefully kept from touching it or strengthening the fragile thread. A soulmate bond with one who was force-sensitive could be a beautiful thing, a gentle sharing of emotions and thoughts of each other.

Obi-Wan refused to intrude upon CC-2224 anymore than he already had. He would allow himself tonight. One night to hover over it, bask in it, but careful not to touch. And tomorrow he would go to CC-2224, apologise for his over step, and seal it. It couldn’t be broken, not now it’d been allowed to form, but he could prevent it from growing any stronger, and give CC-2224 choice in this at least.

He wipes away his tears, and stared at the ceiling.

He was not meant for good things.

——

Cody stares at Helix, confused and frankly, fucking angry. They are in Helix’s office within Vode territory.

Helix has positioned them with Cody’s back to the door, and Helix facing it. He has placed Cody’s helmet in his hands, and set up a proximity alarm, so they will be alerted if anyone approaches. Helix stated he isn’t worried about Vode, that the secret will be kept by their brothers, but the fear of a nat-born inspection hangs over them even now.

Helix is a very good brother. He had spent the last hour explaining soulmates to Cody, and answering his questions. He explains that back on Kamino, those Vode pre-selected and trained to be chief medical officers had been quietly and secretly taught by Trainer Skirata exactly why they had to check their eyes every day, why they weren’t allowed to remove their helmets, why the Vode were trained to be inhuman drones when performing their duties.

Skirata had not been kind, but he had been indignant that this had been taken from them. It had been his small rebellion before he went and committed his full betrayal.

Helix told him of the Manda’s gift, the sign of the soulbond, the person who was made for Cody, and who Cody was made for. He told him that the Kaminoans had hidden this from the Vode, kept it from them for fear that their product would escape their indoctrination. He held Cody’s face and smiled, wide and proud, as he told him that this meant Cody would be loved.

At first Cody was silent, then doubtful, and then, so, so force-damned angry. So angry he shook with it, and thumped his fist on the floor, teeth clenched.

The Kaminoans took everything from them. Produced them. Trained them. Modified their bodies and mind. Gave them only identity numbers and shoddy armour. He didn’t know why this was the final straw on the pile of his resentment, but it was. He roars and bellows, Helix quiet and solid with him as he rages. The sounds of his fury echo off the walls. It isn’t long before the proximity alarm rang repeatedly.

No one enters, and Helix remains calmly sitting, waiting for Cody’s anger to settle.

Eventually, it does. But not into the weary acceptance of before. He feels something delicately warm in the core of him, and he surrounds it with calm revolution. He looks up at Helix with mis-matched eyes, and sees the same anger in him.

Together they rise, and Cody leaves the office, stepping out to the fading whispers of his brothers stood in the hallway, as they all turn to watch him. Boil and Waxer, Wooley and Longshot. So many brothers faces with halting, worried expressions.

He looks back at them, a single set of mismatched eyes within the sea of golden-brown, and tells them the truth.

——

Obi-Wan woke from troubled sleep to a sense that something had changed. For a moment, he stays lying on the floor where he’d eventually fallen asleep last night, and blinked up at the ceiling, struggling to center himself in the Force.

The oppressive fear and anxiety had been swept away by a flood of rebellion and joy. It sang through him, wardrums pounding at the heart of it. His limbs were flush with energy, his heart pounding in time with the beat. He found himself clambering to his feet, unable to resist the pull of fierce jubilance. His saber leapt to his hand, the force dancing playfully, excitedly around him, teasing him towards the door.

He walks dazedly through the hallways, following the curl of something golden dragging at his chest. His feet are bare, he wore only his sleep clothes, hair flattened from lying on the floor, and he didn’t care. He needed to find it, that wonderful bloom of warmth in the center of his mind, that proud, fierce presence that unapologetically called for him.

Blinking, he steps onto the Bridge.

The clones wore no helmets. Identical heads, with identical curled black regulation haircuts stood at their stations. The few nat-born officers were stood quietly, confused, unable to stop staring at the bared clone faces around them.

Obi-Wan could only see one.

CC-2224 stood, turned towards him, face open and proud and mismatched eyes locked with his. His hands are calmly held in the small of his back, posture military crisp. He watches Obi-Wan as he approached, until he stands infront of him, then he reaches out his right hand, placing his thumb on Obi-Wan’s cheek below his golden-brown eye.

“Cody,”

Obi-Wan startles, placing his own hand over the gloved one on his cheek. “What?”

Mismatched eyes crinkle nearly closed with the force of the smile on his soulmates face.

“My name is Cody.”

#star wars #the clone wars #commander cody #star wars the clone wars #obi wan kenobi #codywan #star wars fanfiction #codywan fanfic #cloneshipping #clone trooper waxer #waxer/boil

118 notes · View notes