Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rex angrily stormed into his apartment. 

Anakin looked up from his position on the couch. He was clearly resting. Upon noticing the big bruise on Rex’s cheek, he rose quickly.

“It’s nothing,” Rex said before Anakin could interfere. 

“Who the hell did it?” Anakin asked.

Rex shrugged. “Just a few idiots who caught me walking past an alleyway,” Rex reassured him. “Don’t worry, they won’t bother us.”

A lie. Some of Hondo’s men, trying to take him out. 

“You sure?” Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow. “We can always go back. Beat them up some more.”

Rex plopped onto the couch. “It’s fine. There were a lot of Republic soldiers, though. Another Separatist attack. They’re really going at it. They attacked the check-in point. The one we use to visit Hondo.”

Anakin swore under his breath. “We won’t be able to hide our operation from the Sith forever.”

“Yeah, and not only that, but I heard that Hondo sold our guns,” Rex said, knowing it would piss off Anakin the most. 

A mix of emotions raged across Anakin’s face. Anger being the most prevalent, for obvious reasons “We paid for those guns!”

Rex’s eyes darted around the room. “Calm down. We don’t want the neighbors to hear us.”

Anakin huffed slightly, and sat back down next to Rex. “Fine. But we need those guns.”

Rex thought back to when Hondo first offered them the guns. They were just a few weapons, but they were old military brands from before Outbreak Day. Those things could withstand hell (really, they already had), and Hondo knew they were trying to get out of the Quarantine Zone (better known as the QZ). With the weapons, they could get out undetected, easily. Because if things went wrong, there’d be no one to report the crime.

“Then let’s go get it,” Rex said with a mischievous smile. 

***

Ahsoka pulled against the handcuffs that kept her to the wall. Personally, she thought it was overkill. It’d been three weeks and she hadn’t turned into anything. She’d much rather be at that stupid Republic Academy than here. At least there, there was shit to do. And at least there, I’d be able to distract myself from–

A woman, the same one from before , walked in. She had pale skin that almost looked like she painted it lighter than it actually was, it was so light. And she had no hair, either, though she did have some tattoos. When she paused at the doorway, Ahsoka stood up as much as she could, with the length of the chain. It was just enough for her to be able to stand up.

“Just get it over with,” Ahsoka  said with a roll of her eyes. 

“State your name, please,” the woman said. Her voice was low and hoarse, filled with bitterness. 

Ahsoka sighed and rolled her eyes. Every damn time.

“Ashla.”

The woman took some notes on her clipboard.

“Count to ten, please,” the woman said. “Slowly and clearly.”

Ahsoka sighed exasperatedly. “Do we really have to fucking do this? We’ve done it every day for three weeks! I’m not one of them, I swear!” 

“Count to ten,” the woman said again, not surprised by her outburst.

Ahsoka narrowed her eyes defiantly. “No.”

Suddenly, another person walked in. He had white hair with a full beard. His clothing was nice, but not enough to be Republic general nice.

“Who the hell are you?” Ahsoka asked defensively. 

“I knew your mother,” the man responded. 

“Great,” Ahsoka scoffed. “You still didn’t answer my question.”

“Right you are,” the man said with a pleased smile. “My name is Count Dooku, the leader of the Separatists.”

“Am I supposed to give a shit?” Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.

“You say you were bit three weeks ago?” Count Dooku asked with a curious expression.

Ahsoka nodded. “Yeah, about three weeks. What does that have to do with anything?”

“It means you’re immune,” Count Dooku sat down next to her. “But if you tell anyone what I’m about to tell you, I can assure you, you will die.”

Ahsoka’s eyes filled with curiosity.

***

Anakin trekked through the tight alleyways, careful not to be too loud. Hondo couldn't know they were coming. 

“Look, that’s one of Hondo’s hangouts,” Rex pointed at a building up ahead. “Maybe he’s there, and if not, someone there can tell us.”

“Let’s go,” Anakin decided. 

So that’s where they went. When the two of them finally reached the entrance, Rex opened it slowly for Anakin to jump in and start shooting. 

But nothing happened. Not even the slightest sound of movement. Instead, there were only bodies. About four of them, total, all shot to death just by the looks of it. Blood coated their chests and heads, and it was smeared over the walls.

“What the hell?” Anakin said aloud, slightly pissed. “Someone got to Hondo’s gang first.”

“Shit,” Rex agreed. “We gotta go before the Republic shows up.”

“Wait,” Anakin said. He pointed to a trail of blood. “That could be Hondo.”

“And if it isn’t?” Rex asked, staring deep into Anakin’s eyes.

Anakin nodded. “It is. I’m sure of it.”

“Then let’s go,” Rex finally said.

The two of them crept upstairs, keeping their guns drawn and on alert. But all they could find was more and more bodies, all shot to death. 

A few minutes later, Anakin burst into a room upstairs. In the middle of it, was an office chair. It was old, with the seams sticking out on all sides, and stuffing falling onto the floor in small tufts, but the interesting part was the person in the chair. Anakin turned the chair to face them, and jumped at the sight of Hondo’s bloody, tortured face. 

“Holy shit,” Rex breathed. “We gotta get outta here.”

Anakin hesitated. “But the guns–”

“We’ll get them later,” Rex insisted. “The Republic's gonna be here any minute and I’d prefer to keep my neck in one piece.”

Before Anakin could make another argument, Rex grabbed the man by the wrist and dragged him out of the room, leading to a new hallway. Only to come face-to-face with a teenager with a knife.

She had dark skin, and white hair, with a blue headband and blue hair ties keeping her two braids in place. She also had bright blue eyes, with black dorky glasses to go with them. She wore a vintage Spaceballs t-shirt, with a dark red hoodie and jeans. Her shoes were black converse and covered in dirt. The kid ran at them with a small knife, but Anakin quickly countered the attack with his forearm, and easily pushed her and her knife to the ground. He stomped his foot onto the knife to keep it in place.

“Ahsoka,” a slightly annoyed voice said. 

Anakin looked to his left to see the one and only Count Dooku. There was a woman, Ventress, next to him. 

“Dooku?” Rex asked, confused. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“It’s none of your concern,” Count Dooku replied curtly. 

“Did you do this to them?” Rex asked incredulously.

The kid scoffed. “Of course not, asshole. They were like this when we got here. We’re not murderers .”

“Ahsoka,”Ventress said with narrowed eyes. 

The kid rolled her eyes at the woman.

“No matter, she is correct,” Count Dooku admitted with clasped hands. “We were on our way to collect something from Hondo and found them like this.”

“What were you collecting?” Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Some guns,” Count Dooku replied.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Great, so the failed terrorist group is expanding their operations with our guns .”

“Hondo didn’t tell us he sold the guns to others,” Ventress stepped in.

Ahsoka reached for her knife, only for Anakin to kick it away. She mouthed a few swear words, but they left it at that.

“We need those guns,” Rex said desperately. 

Anakin could feel Ahsoka glaring daggers at him.

“How about a deal,” Count Dooku offered. “You can do something for me, and I’ll give you the guns and a bit of extra ration cards.”

“Come on, we sure as hell don’t care about ration cards,” Anakin said. “We just want the guns.”

Because once we’re out of here, we’re not going back.

“Then that’s all we’ll give you,” Count Dooku decided. 

Anakin glanced at Rex as he spoke. “What do you need, exactly?”

Count Dooku paused. “I need you to smuggle something for me. To the Capitol building.”

“Okay…what needs to be smuggled and where?” Anakin asked, but he knew the answer as soon as Count Dooku and Ventress’s eyes drifted towards the kid. 

Anakin paused as he looked at the kid. “No.” 

Maybe it was because he wasn’t ready for–

“Deal,” Rex said immediately afterwards. There was no hesitation in his voice, nor regret in his gaze. He looked as confident as ever.

Anakin spun to look at his partner. “What? No. We’ll get to Mandalore by walking.”

“Mandalore’s all the way across the galaxy,” Rex said. “We can’t survive without the guns.”

“We’re gonna have to try,” Anakin said firmly. There was no way in hell he was gonna do this job.

Rex rolled his eyes. “Anakin, you’re being crazy. We need the guns .”

“I’ll owe you.” Count Dooku said.

Anakin looked back at the Separatist leader. “Fine.”

Chapter Text

The three of them waited until it was well past dark to make their escape out of the QZ. 

“Follow me,” Anakin instructed. There was a small passageway underneath the QZ, one that led to the outside. He looked into the pipes first, using a flashlight to make sure it was clear. 

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. The Republic rarely ever went down into the pipes, if ever. And she would know. She went to Republic military school. 

Anakin went into the tunnel first, then Rex moved out of the way for Ahsoka to go in front. She jumped down gracefully, and without hesitation.

A few seconds later she heard Rex jump down behind her. 

“So,” Ahsoka started with a playful grin. “How many people?”

“What?” Rex asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How many people have you killed?” Ahsoka explained. Maybe it was her hyperfixation with death or maybe she just wanted to know how likely it was that she would die.

Anakin scoffed. “That’s none of your damn business.”

“I just wanna know.”

“Just–shut up until we get out of here, okay?”

“Fine,” Ahsoka agreed. “But I’ll be asking about it later.”

A few minutes later, they finally got out. It was a bit of a climb, but Ahsoka did just fine. Her hands hurt, though, from all the climbing past two-decade old debris.

Anakin began sneaking towards an abandoned semi-truck trailer, deciding they could pass through it to get away from the blockade. 

“This way,” Anakin said. “Avoid the lights.”

The trio ducked behind an abandoned car. 

“Go on my lead,” Rex decided. They waited until the searchlight passed before running across to the semi-truck. Anakin ran ahead and pulled open the doors, and held them open for both Rex and Ahsoka before closing them. 

“So once we get through this we’re in the clear?” Ahsoka asked, with hope in her voice. Butterflies filled her stomach and she bit the inside of her mouth.

“Not yet,” Anakin said gruffly.

Ahsoka sighed and rolled her eyes as she hopped off the truck and onto the ground, on the other side of the blockade. Only to get hit in the head with the barrel of a gun. 

“Mother fucker !”

“I got three people trying to escape in Area nine,” the Republic officer said into his comlink.

“Walk out of the truck slowly with your arms up,” the other Republic soldier said. 

Ahsoka slowly got up, ignoring the pounding headache starting to form. 

“You ok, kid?” Rex asked sympathetically as he got to his knees.

Ahsoka nodded. 

“On your knees,” the first officer ordered with his gun pointed at them. 

“Alright,” Anakin said as he slowly heaved himself down next to Ahsoka.  

The soldier kicked the inside of Anakin’s knee. Then, the soldier took out his scanner.

Fuck. Ahsoka diverted her eyes. 

The soldier held it up to Rex’s neck first, only satisfied when it came back negative. Ahsoka bit her mouth again. 

She quickly reached for her knife when the soldiers weren’t looking.

They scanned Anakin, too. Like Rex, it was negative.

They moved onto her.

Now or never. Ahsoka pulled out her knife and stabbed it into the soldier's leg once the scanner reached her neck. 

“You little bitch!” he cried out. 

Anakin reached for his gun in that split second, and shot the soldier. Rex had the officer down just as quickly. 

“Holy shit,” Ahsoka gasped. She crawled backwards, so she was facing away from the semi-truck, leaning against it.

Anakin stood by her angrily. His chest was heaving. “What the hell was that for?”

“They would’ve just taken us back to the QZ!” Ahsoka argued. 

“I had a plan,” Anakin countered. 

Ahsoka scoffed. “I’m sure,”

“Anakin,” Rex whispered. 

“Don’t get smart with me,” Anakin said with a pointed finger. 

“Anakin!” Rex yelled. He was holding the scanner. 

Fuck. 

It was bright fucking red. 

Anakin looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Dooku set us up.”

“No, no, no, I’m not infected,” Ahsoka insisted. 

“Then what the fuck is this,” Rex held up the scanner. 

“A fucking lie,” Ahsoka half joked. Upon seeing their unamused faces, she pulled up her right sleeve, revealing the bite.

Anakin and Rex instinctively reached for their guns. 

“See this? It’s three weeks old.”

“Yeah, right,” Anakin scoffed and looked away. “And I’m thirty-six with two perfectly good knees.”

Rex took her arm and examined it. “It’s starting to heal.”

“Because I’m immune.”

“We’ve heard that before,” Anakin said.

“There’s no time to argue,” Rex butted in. “We gotta go.”

Anakin looked at Ahsoka one more time before setting off. 

***

Ahsoka woke to Anakin and Rex across the room, guns in hand. She was of course curled up into a ball, and quickly sat up. “So, any twitching or biting in my sleep?”

“Haha, very funny,” Anakin said dully. 

“Explain to us what the Separatists want from you,” Rex said. 

Ahsoka shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Tell us or we’ll leave you here,” Rex said.

Ahsoka mumbled something under her breath. “They think they can make a cure from me.”

“And you believe them?” Anakin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I have no reason not to,” Ahsoka replied curtly. 

“Did you even know Dooku before you got bitten?” Rex asked. 

“No, but I’d heard of him before,” Ahsoka said. “Are we done with the questions now because I really have to pee.”

Anakin threw a magazine at her. “Back there.” He pointed to a back room.

She began walking over before turning to look back. “Anything bad in there?”

“Just you.”

***

Not even a few hours later, they were blocks away from the capitol building.  

“The normal way is blocked,” Rex said, pointing to the crumbled office building. 

Ahsoka furrowed her eyebrows. “Normal way?”

Anakin swore under his breath. “You’re right.”

“Wait, so then how are we getting to the Separatists?” Ahsoka asked panickedly. Thoughts of Barriss filled her mind. It couldn’t be for nothing. 

“Relax, you’ll get your cure,” Anakin promised. “We can now just go one of two ways.” He gestured to a crumbled parking garage. “Or that one.” He pointed to a museum. 

“The collapsed building seems cool,” Ahsoka decided. There must be tons of cool shit in there. She liked collecting things. Republic military school never let her keep much, so of course she collected everything she found. Unfortunately most of it was left behind the night she was bitten, but she still had her most important items. And her Savage Starlight comics. They were so fucking cool. 

“Uh, no,” Rex said. “That’s the ‘we’re fucking dead’ way.”

“Nice,” Ahsoka said with a grin. Seems fun. 

“Well if you die in there, there’s no cure and we don’t get our guns,” Anakin said. “We’re going through the museum.”

“I guess that’s cool too,” Ahsoka decided. 

***

Not even ten steps into the museum do Anakin and Rex tell her to shut up. Something about ‘clickers.’ Republic military school never got into detail about infected, so she was actually pretty excited to see what she’d be dealing with. The only thing Republic school really told her was that all infected were connected so you’d have to be careful not to step on live cordyceps. 

The trio silently crept up the stairs, Anakin in the lead with his hunting rifle out and fully loaded. On the way here, Ahsoka asked Anakin for a gun but he said no, which she didn’t understand because he has a pistol, revolver, and a hunting rifle. Rex also had a pistol, but that seemed to be it so she didn’t press him as much. 

Seemingly lost in her thoughts, she didn’t remember to watch her step until she tripped on a loose piece of rubble. It stumbled all the way down the circular staircase, clattering against everything it hit.

Anakin looked at her with such worry, it was as if he actually cared about her. 

After a few moments of no one hearing anything, they continued on. Until they entered the next room with glass boxes filled with relics from Before. Immediately the blood chilling sound of clicking filled the void of sound.

Anakin pulled her behind one of the fixtures. Rex was right behind them, but unlike them, he was looking at something.

The clicker. 

It was tall, and fungus grew out of its head, splitting the skull. Its arms sort of looked like dinosaur arms, because they were sort of inward and not stretched out. As for the clothing, it was completely ripped up. There was no sign of who this person could’ve been before they were infected. 

She looked to Anakin for advice with her eyes. He lifted a finger to his lips. She nodded hastily. 

The clicker let out another click, and walked closer to them until it was right there. 

Fear and panic rose in her. Her heart spiked when it leaned in. She placed her hand on her mouth to stop her breath from giving them away. 

The clicker screeched and charged. 

Ahsoka barely registered what came next. Someone was grabbing her away, to safety. They were still running when a second clicker appeared. 

It turned out Rex was the one who pulled her out of the way. He held her hand even as with his other one he shot at the clicker. Most of the shots missed, but it was enough for the clicker to get stunned. 

“Find Anakin,” Rex ordered. 

Ahsoka nodded and ran off as Rex dealt with the clicker. She crouched down and began walking around, looking for Anakin. Until the first clicker began clicking again, so she stayed put. 

Maybe it’s a good thing I was bitten by that runner and not a clicker. Ahsoka thought to herself. What would Barriss say about this whole thing?

The clicker was behind her this time. Ahsoka looked around with panicked eyes, searching for anything to save her. Her eyes met blue ones. 

Anakin.

He had his hunting rifle raised, ready for combat. 

But he wasn’t ready fast enough. The clicker jumped on top of her, screeching and clawing at her body. 

Ahsoka screamed and tried to push it off her with one hand, as her other one reached for her knife. With every beating, she cried out more and more until the knife fell out of her hand. 

The gunshot couldn’t have come soon enough. 

Ahsoka laid there, breathing heavily as she choked on her breath. 

Anakin rushed to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. “You ok, kiddo?”

Ahsoka sniffed, and nodded. “Y-yeah.” 

“Let’s find Rex,” Anakin decided. 

“No need,” Rex came out from behind the wall. “I already dealt with the other clicker. 

Anakin breathed a sigh of relief. “Is everyone clear?”

Ahsoka checked herself, and paused when she reached her right arm. The sleeve was pulled up, revealing a second bite. “I guess if it was going to be any of us, it should be me.”

God, even talking made her chest hurt.

Anakin looked at her warily, but moved on quickly. “Come on, let’s go.”

***

As it turns out, the capitol building was not far from the museum. They rested up a little just outside, and Rex wanted to make sure she didn’t have any broken bones. She didn’t, of course, just really painful bruising, but Rex assured her it would go away soon. 

“I can’t believe I’m gonna save the fucking world,” Ahsoka said proudly. 

“Not with that language,” Rex snorted. 

Ahsoka decided she liked Rex. He was funny, and seemed to actually like her. She’d miss him after he handed her off to the Separatists and collected his reward. As for Anakin? Not so much. He was grumpy and hated her questions and thought she was annoying (she wasn’t, he just doesn't have a sense of humor). She found his lack of humor odd considering Rex said his last name was Skywalker. Someone so boring doesn’t deserve such a cool last name, she decided. 

Outside the building was an abandoned truck. With blood around it, of course. 

Anakin opened the driver's side with his revolver raised. “No driver.”

Rex checked the back. “No one in the back either.”

Confusion spread across her mind. “So then are the Separatists just not here.”

Anakin and Rex gave each other a look. 

“It’s a possibility,” Anakin admitted. 

“We’ll get you there, I promise,” Rex said.

He walked up to the capitol door, with Anakin and Ahsoka right behind him. He threw the door open and ran inside. 

Ahsoka gagged at the sight. “What the hell?”

There were dead bodies. At least five.

Anakin looked over the closest one. “Infected.”

Ahsoka stood there with her mouth open. “So then what does that mean?”

“It means one of them got infected and they all killed each other,” Anakin gathered. 

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and kicked around a few rocks. “No, about the cure, Skyguy.”

“It means it’s all over, Snips ,” Anakin shot back at her with an amused grin. 

“No,” Rex said. “No, no, no.”

Anakin held Rex’s hand, likely to comfort him, but the smuggler pulled away. 

“No, I can’t,” Rex’s hand was shaking. 

Anakin’s brows furrowed. “Hey, talk to me. We can go home now.”

“ That’s not my home, ” Rex snapped.

Ahsoka stared at the man in with her mouth agape. She was only thinking about how she left him alone . She left him alone with a clicker and–

“You’re infected,” Ahsoka blurted out. 

Rex peeled away his parka to reveal a bite mark with veins and cordyceps sprouting from it. “Oops, right?”

“Holy shit,” Anakin swore. He stepped back a few steps. Into live cordyceps. 

Almost instantly, cries were heard from a horde of infected nearby.

Anakin ran to the door, seeing how far the infected were. “We’ve got maybe a minute.”

“Go find Obi-Wan,” Rex ordered. “He was a Separatist, he’ll know where to go.”

Anakin’s eyes were angry, as if he felt betrayed by Rex’s sacrifice. 

Rex grabbed Ahsoka’s arm and pulled up the sleeve. “This is fucking real, Anakin. This is real. So take her and run to Obi-Wan, and if you don’t, I swear to god–”

“–Rex, please,” Anakin interrupted. His eyes were begging Rex to stay. To not be infected. To not leave him with her .

Rex began knocking over the canisters of gas and the boxes of explosives.

Ahsoka stared at him in surprise. He can’t just leave. That’s not–that’s not ok. And they can’t abandon him either. He was part of her crew. 

“Oh, come on, you’re part of my crew. I wasn’t going to leave forever,” Barriss said as Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

In these moments, Anakin seemed to snap out of whatever phase he was in. He pulled Ahsoka’s sleeve down and grabbed her hand. He looked back at Rex. “Good luck.”

He ran out of the room with Ahsoka screaming and begging them to go back. 

The cries from infected got louder.

“You motherfucker!” She screeched. “We can’t leave him!”

She didn’t register when Anakin pulled her outside, finally, and when he placed a hand on her mouth when they finally saw the infected rushing into the building, she finally stopped yelling. He gently pulled her along, behind a car when the explosion finally went off.

Rex was gone.

Part of my crew.

Chapter Text

Ahsoka hopped along the broken road with much enthusiasm. Today felt like a good day. 

“We’re turning right,” Anakin said once they reached a cross in the road.

“Why?” Ahsoka asked. 

“There’s bad stuff if you go the other way,” Anakin replied. 

“I wanna see bad stuff,” Ahsoka said. 

Anakin sighed exasperatedly. “No, you don’t.”

“I do,” Ahsoka said and began walking left. 

Anakin did nothing but follow. 

“I don’t see anything bad. It must just be me again.”

“Can we please just turn back?

Ahsoka shook her head and laughed. “No, this is fine.”

Her eyes drifted to something on the side of the road. Her smile fell and she walked closer, examining the wreckage. 

It was dead bodies, long since decayed. There were a lot of them, too; maybe the population of a small town. 

“What happened here?” She asked solemnly. 

“After Outbreak Day, some of the smaller towns didn’t get the infection,” Anakin started. “So once the QZ’s were made, they began taking people there. These people were told they were going to a QZ, which they were. But only if there was room.” 

“So these people were killed by the Republic?” Ahsoka gathered. 

“No, they were killed by the government before the Republic,” Anakin answered. “The Jedi and Sith. They controlled this whole place and eventually turned into the Republic.”

“Wait, but these people weren’t infected.” Ahsoka’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why were they killed?”

“Dead people can’t get infected.”

Outbreak Day

Wolffe watched the soldiers search the streets with disdain. When they arrived at his house, he reached for his shotgun, but when they finally marked the house as empty, he put it down. He grumbled softly to himself when they put spray paint on his door, but didn’t do much other than that.

When the soldiers finally loaded everyone into their trucks and drove away, Wolffe pulled down his ladder and opened up his secret passage by lifting up the drawer. He quickly climbed out and readied his shotgun in preparation for any stragglers. 

He slowly crept through his house, but upon seeing no one in the general vicinity, he lowered his weapon, and started the car. 

His first stop was Home Depot. They had several supplies he needed, and it’s not like any one else will use them. 

Halfway through his trip, the power suddenly cut. 

“Hm, I thought that’d last longer,” he said to himself. Wolffe just turned on his flashlight and continued shopping.

Afterwards, he loaded all his supplies into his truck and headed over to the power plant. It didn’t take that long to get it running. He’d visited it several times, because of “a love for how it works.”

Little did those poor workers know. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, he opened up one or two of the shops in his town, and he repainted his house. Especially the door. Those military good-for-nothings had no right putting that disgusting red line on his front door. 

His garden was coming along well, too. He had some carrots, which were his favorite, as well as some others. And he’d found some animals, too, so he had a pretty good system. 

And one of the first things he did was set up a long fence around his town. It was barbed wire, and he set some remote control weapons around there as well, just in case. 

That wasn’t even mentioning the extensive traps and security cameras for any wanderers or infected. Because he’d worked too hard to make his town his. And he wasn’t gonna share it with some good-for-nothing all happy and excited and government-loving person. 

So imagine his surprise when five years in, he got an alarm from one of his traps. 

Wolffe went to investigate it quickly. Problems couldn't go on forever, after all. 

It was one of the holes he’d built just outside the fence. He slowly walked towards it, with his shotgun out and ready to kill whatever he’d caught. 

“H-hello?” a voice said. “Is anyone there?”

Wolffe paused. He hadn’t seen another person in…in a while.

“I’m trying to get to Boston–I heard there’s a QZ there,” the voice continued. It was very obviously a man. His voice was low, and sounded wise.

“Are you infected?” Wolffe asked, lowering his voice to sound tougher.

“I don’t think so,” the man said. “My name’s Plo Koon. May I get out of this pit now?”

Wolffe grabbed a ladder, and put it down the hole.The man in the hole had tan skin, and glasses. He wore a brown flannel and some jeans. 

He took the scanner from his belt and held it to Plo’s neck as he came up the ladder. It came back negative.

“Boston’s that way. You’ll make it by nightfall if you don’t stop walking,” Wolffe said.

“May I stay the night?” Plo asked. “I’m just so tired and–”

“I let you stay, and all of a sudden I’ve got people all over at my house eating my food and setting off my traps.” Wolffe replied curtly. “I can’t let you stay for free, and you don’t seem to have anything to offer me. This is not a Dex’s.”

“Well, Dex’s doesn’t let people eat for free.” Plo said. 

“Fine.” 

***

Wolffe came stumbling out of the kitchen, two plates and wine glasses in hand. 

Plo met his gaze with a smile. 

Wolffe hastily set the plates in front of his and Plo’s seats, and then filled their glasses with an 80BBY glass of wine. He’d been slowly savoring it.

On the plates, there were some green beans, carrots, and chicken all roasted and serves with spices and other ingredients to add more of a kick.

Plo took one bite and smiled more than he had before. Which was a lot. For some reason, the guy was always happy. 

“I haven’t had a meal this good in five years,” Plo said. 

Wolffe nodded along. “Uh, good.”

“You made this yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“You don’t seem…”

“The type? I know. My mother taught me.”

“Well she seems like one hell of a chef, then.”

Wolffe smiled a little. “That she was.”

Plo’s eyes drifted to the piano. “Do you play?”

Before waiting for a response, he made his way to the piano and picked out a few books, flipping through them to find one he liked. “Cantina band? Oh, that’s definitely not you. No, no, no.” He tossed some more books to the side. Finally, he found one he liked. “Oh, yeah, Linda Ronstadt. That’s you.”

He opened the book to the first page and began playing and singing along. It was all off. His singing, the playing.

Wolffe played with his fingers, trying to figure out how much longer he could last. Not long, it would seem. “No, no, no.”

Plo seemed to sense his discomfort, and left the bench. “Would you like to try?”

Wolffe gave no answer, instead choosing to jump right into it. He felt every note in his fingertips, every word on his tongue. Every crescendo and decrescendo was there for a reason. It was like nothing he’d ever played before. When he finished, he simply held his hands in his lap and sat there. 

“So,” Plo said. “Who’s the girl?”

“There was none.”

Plo leaned in a little closer. “Well, that was amazing, for there being no girl.”

Wolffe moved over a little so Plo could sit on the bench with him. “Er, thank you.”

“So you’re sure there’s no girl?”

“None.”

And all of a sudden, they were kissing. It was long and passionate, and they held each other’s faces. 

When they pulled away, Wolffe was speechless. 

Plo on the other hand, wasn’t. “What’s your name?”

“Wolffe.”

“Nice to meet you, Wolffe.”

***

It was several years later that Plo revealed that he’d managed to find people in a QZ to trade with. Which was already bad enough because Plo had made Wolffe open up even more stores to “make the town look pretty.”

When Anakin and Rex arrived, Wolffe didn’t put down his gun. At all. 

Plo made a few comments about it, but seeing that Wolffe wasn’t going to give in, he stopped. 

“So I was thinking we could maybe start trading some of our goods,” Anakin finally said. “By the looks of it, your fence won’t last much longer. I can get you one that will last you the rest of your life–lives and then some.”

“We don’t need your help,” Wolffe grumbled. 

“Be nice,” Plo said. “We’d be happy to start trading. But first, a tour.”

He stood up, and Rex stood with him. 

“I’m fine here,” Anakin said.

“As am I,” Wolffe agreed.

“Alright then,” Plo said. He and Rex quickly made their way into the house, gossiping together as if their lives depended on it.

“So, have you been here a while?” Anakin asked. 

“Yeah,” Wolffe said. 

“You two always been together?” Anakin said.

“That’s none of your concern,” Wolffe said with narrowed eyes.

“What do you both even do here?”

“You already know what I do here. I’ve found my people. Everything from here on out is just protecting them.”

Anakin nodded along. “Ah, I see. And if you lost…your people?”

“Hell better have room.”

***

Six months later, a group of hunters attacked in the middle of the night. Plo woke to gunshots and explosions. He threw on his shoes, and burst out the door. 

The fence was starting to come down, but some of the traps Wolffe had set up were taking down some of the attackers. There was fire and smoke and gunshots. 

And Wolffe was in the middle of it holding his shotgun. He fired, and Plo vaguely saw someone go down. 

“Wolffe!”

The man looked back at him. “Plo! Get–get back inside. It’s–”

Another gunshot rang out through the town and then Wolffe was on his knees clutching his abdomen as blood spilled onto his hand.

Plo’s heart spiked and he ran forward–faster than he had in his life. He put his hands out and held Wolffe in his arms.

A million thoughts ran through his head–

How could Wolffe be so stupid?

Why is there so much blood?

Oh force, is he going to be ok?

But they all faded as Wolffe gasped for breath.

“Hold on,” Plo promised as he dragged Wolffe away from the scene he and his damned fence had caused.

“No, wait–”

“Shut up and stop bleeding.”

Plo kicked the door open and laid Wolffe onto the table. “Stay awake, please , sweetheart, stay awake.”

“The–the code for all the gates is in the safe,” Wolffe gasped for breath. “And ca-call Anakin and T-T-Tess. They’ll kn-know what to d-d-do. And the fence–it’ll take care of the r-rest of those ass–assholess outside.”

“Shush,” Plo said as he pressed bandages against the wound. “You’re not dying today, and I am making sure of it.”

Plo hastily grabbed a bottle of alcohol, and cautiously dumped some of it onto the bullet hole. 

Wolffe groaned in agony–Plo ignored it, even as it hurt to see the love of his life in so much pain.

Force, what had they done to get here?

“I’m taking the bullet out. I’m so sorry–”

***

It had been twenty years since the initial outbreak. Wolffe had wrinkles along his eyes, and a limp from the bullet he’d taken a few years back. His bones ached with every step he took, but at least he could actually walk. He looked to Plo, just across the yard, painting a portrait of him when they had first met.

But Wolffe could see from here how his hand shook, and how the right side was drastically better than the left. 

Plo had developed a brain degenerative disorder–giving him control issues. And it put him in a wheelchair. They got meds from Anakin and Rex every month, but they all knew Plo didn’t have much longer.

It was dinner time when Plo began talking about it. 

“I love you,” Plo said with a smile as Wolffe set up their plates.

“I love you too,” Wolffe squeezed his hand.

“But I have news,” Plo’s smile fell. “Tomorrow is my last day.”

Wolffe raised an eyebrow, and felt his stomach drop. “Is the medication not working?”

“There was never a cure for this before the Outbreak, and I am very tired,” Plo sighed. “So tomorrow, we’ll have fun–we’ll walk around town and enjoy the scenery. We’ll go to the boutique and get married. Then we’ll come back, and you’ll perform for me on the piano. And you’ll cook the best meal I’ve ever eaten, and then you’ll crush up all of my medication and put it in my wine. I’ll drink it, and I’ll fall asleep forever in your arms.”

Tears streaked out of Wolffe’s eyes, and he covered his mouth with his hand. “ Why ?”

“Please, just let me have this,” Plo said. He leaned over and held Wolffe’s hand.

“Fine.”

***

When the two of them woke up, it was bright outside, with barely any clouds. It was like the sky didn’t know what the day would bring.

But Wolffe knew. And he hated it. But he saw the pain Plo was in every time he had to get helped up stairs, or every time he took his medication. So he owed it to him to give him one last good day .

“Do we have to do this?” Wolffe asked gruffly.

Plo nodded. “Yes.”

So they did. They walked throughout the town, admiring the rolling fields outside of town and the gently growing flowers. Plo commented a lot about how it reminded him of his childhood–and Wolffe listened carefully. Because once Plo was dead, this would be all he had. 

The next stop was the boutique. Plo dressed up in a stunning brown suit, and dressed Wolffe in a matching gray one. 

Wolffe slipped his fathers ring onto Plo’s hand, and Plo did the same to Wolffe with a ring he’d found years ago that the two of them fell in love with. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

And they kissed afterward–and maybe did a little more. 

When they were finished, they headed over back to their house. 

Wolffe made the meal they ate together the day they met, and even had the same bottle of wine. Plo smiled as he brought out the food. They ate it together, laughing about the memories–both old and young. 

And then it came from them to drink the after dinner wine. Wolffe filled up his glass first, then Plo’s. He took out the crushed up pills and made sure his husband watched as he put them into the wine. 

His hand shook as he pushed the glass across the table, but he made sure his face was blank (he didn’t want to give anything away).

Plo drank it without hesitation. The whole thing in one sip. 

And then Wolffe did the same. So it was too late. 

“You put drugs in the bottle,” Plo realized. 

“Yes,” Wolffe admitted. “Enough to kill a rancor.”

“Why?”

“I’m old. I’ve lived a long life. And I’ve loved spending it with you. I am more than happy to put down the gun and fall asleep with you by my side. I’ve had good days–and bad days, but no matter what, you’re what I look forward to seeing right next to me when I wake up. So I cannot imagine a life where you're not right there next to me.”

Plo smiled a sad, thin, smile. “Then we shall go upstairs, and I will lay in your arms. Just the two of us.”

And then they smiled for real–and laughed. Like they were the only ones that mattered. 

Everything was perfect. 

Wolffe carried Plo upstairs, and laid him in bed and tucked him in. Then, he crawled in himself and cradled Plo until they both stopped breathing.

***

Ahsoka personally thought she would have liked Wolffe. When they got to their town, Anakin took her to the basement and there were a shit ton of guns there.

“Shit,” Anakin said. “If Wolffe doesn’t reset the timer every few weeks, it plays eighties music.”

“So something happened?” Ahsoka asked. Can't believe I was right.

Anakin nodded.

“Cool.” 

A moment later, “Can I have a gun?”

“No.”

***

“Hey, Anakin, they have running water!” Ahsoka shouted gleefully. “ I’m taking a shower and then you are.”

Once she was done showering, she snuck into the basement and of course took a gun, and quickly stuffed it into her backpack. 

Then, she headed upstairs, and something caught her eye. It was a letter addressed to Anakin or whoever happened to find the letter, but probably Anakin. 

She opened it and read the contents inside. 

A few minutes later, Anakin came down the stairs.

“Well you look nice and proper,” Ahsoka joked with a grin. “I found this letter. It’s from Wolffe and Plo.”

“Read it.”

“ To Anakin, or whoever happens to find this, but probably Anakin. If you find this, please do not come into the bedroom. We left a window open so the house probably wouldn't smell, but it will probably be a sight. I’m guessing you found this, Anakin, because anyone else would have been blown up or electrocuted by one of my traps hehehehehehe.”

Ahsoka paused to clear her throat. “ Take anything you need. The bunker code is the same as the gate code but in reverse.”

“Skip ahead a little,” Anakin said. 

“ Anyway, I never liked you, but still, it’s like we’re friends. Almost. And I respect you. So I’m gonna tell you something because you’re probably the only person who understands. I used to hate the world and was happy when everyone died. But I was wrong because there was one person worth saving. And that’s what I did. I saved him, and then I protected him. That’s why men like you and I are here. We have a job to do, and god help any motherfuckers who stand in our way. I leave you all my weapons and equipment. Use them to keep–”

Anakin took the letter from her hand. “We’re leaving.”

Ahsoka knew better than to question it. 

***

As it turned out, Wolffe and Plo had a car. And it was super fucking cool. Ahsoka had never been in a car before. 

She stared in awe at all the buttons and switches and–

“You never been in a car before?” Anakin asked with an amused look on his face. 

“Yeah,” Ahsoka replied, still staring around. 

“Well, put your seatbelt on,” Anakin said. 

Ahsoka furrowed her eyebrows. The hell is a seatbelt?

Anakin leaned over and grabbed a gray belt, that was apparently a seatbelt. He buckled it over her and then sat back in his seat. 

“Oh, that’s a seatbelt,” Ahsoka said. She looked around, and found a drawer. So of course she opened it, and found a tape. “Oh, I bet you guys loved this back in the day.”

Anakin took it from her hand. “That was before my time,” he put it in the car, “it’s a winner though.”

It was Linda Ronstadt, apparently. And it was actually good. 

Anakin started up the car, and drove off across the hills and valleys of the galaxy.