Here’s the surprise I was talking about! My bestie @thehannalyzer and I decided to do a collab for this part! She did the art, I wrote the ficlet. So before you read this, go check out her art!!
Now, on to the fluff since you guys got angst for part 1!
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Riyo glanced up from her desk when the door opened, then she dropped her datapad’s stylus.
“Good afternoon, Senator,” Fox greeted softly as he moved the rest of the way into the room, limping slightly.
Without thinking, Riyo jumped to her feet, ran across the room, and threw herself against Fox, earning a grunt of surprise. “I’m so happy to see you out of the medcenter!” She hugged him tighter, earning another surprised noise.
“I’m glad to be out too, but I’m still sore,” he croaked, sounding pained.
Riyo let go immediately, feeling guilty. “Oh! Oh, did I hurt you?!”
Fox put a hand to his belly, where he’d been badly bruised a week ago. “N-nothing serious, ma’am… Just a bit sensitive is all.”
And he’s back to being formal again. “Please, Fox, call me Riyo in private. Is there anything I can do to help with your pain?” He was probably on painkillers since General Ta’em didn’t seem like the type of person to let anyone under her command not take care of themselves, but maybe Riyo could help some other way.
“Not really… I’m just supposed to ice my abdomen and not be on my feet for more than four hours. Bacta doesn’t help internal bruising much. I’m not allowed to do anything except paperwork in my office, so I’m off duty right now,” Fox replied.
“Well if you’re off duty, you can come sit while I get you the cool pack I have,” Riyo said, gently leading him over to the small couch she had in her office. He was in a new set of armor despite being off duty, but he probably felt vulnerable after the bombing that had nearly cost him his life last week, so Riyo didn’t blame him.
“S- Riyo, you don’t have to-“ he started to protest as she fluffed the throw pillows and helped Fox lean back against them. “You don’t need to do this.”
Riyo gently grabbed the sides of his helmet and began pulling it off, hearing the hiss as it disconnected. She gave him plenty of time to resist, but he didn’t, so she set his helmet on the caf table. “I don’t need to do this, no. But I want to. Can you get your armor off? At least your top half so you can ice your bruises?” Fox nodded and sat up slowly before beginning to unbuckle his chestplate. “I’ll be right back,” Riyo said, going back to her desk and pulling out the cooling pack, then turning it on. It already started to cool down as she headed back over to Fox. He was settled against the pillows again, the top half of his armor on the floor.
“Here, use this and see if it helps.” She handed Fox the cold pack and watched as he gingerly set it across his belly.
He relaxed and leaned his head back, looking almost content. There was still a hint of unease in his face, but he wasn’t as tense as he usually was. “Thank you,” he said softly.
Riyo smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. “I should be thanking you for saving my life. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to visit you more while you were in the medcenter. I hope it wasn’t too lonely.” She had wanted to visit him more than once, but there had been so much to do that she hadn’t had time.
Fox shrugged slightly. “General Ta’em stopped by with Xanathe a lot, and Thorn and Thire took shifts staying with me the first couple nights.”
“That’s good.” The two Jedi likely lifted his spirits, and his brothers certainly did. “So you haven’t been in too much pain?” Riyo had a feeling that Fox was downplaying his injuries.
“Not since I was released yesterday, no. The painkillers work, but they make it hard to focus,” he replied, settling deeper into the pillows and blinking sleepily.
Riyo smiled. She’d never seen him tired and content before, only stressed and fighting sleep because he’d been awake too long. Kriff, he’s adorable like this. “I have some paperwork to wrap up, but you’re more than welcome to stay and rest,” she said, leaning down to kiss where his scar met his hairline on his forehead. Fox froze for a couple seconds, then tipped his head up to look at her, his cheeks flushing. Riyo simply smiled and walked back over to her desk. Fox drifted to sleep within five minutes, his steady breathing filling the quiet office. Riyo sighed happily as she went back to work. For just a few hours, things seemed at peace.
HEYYYY WE DID A COLLAB
This was so much fun to do! Y'all go show my friend some love for her awesome writing!
