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“Fox, please sit back down. There isn’t anything that you need to do other than rest.” Thorn tries to put himself in Fox’s path so he can’t grab his armor, but this is a dance they both know very well so Fox just sidesteps and grabs his chest plate. “Seriously Fox, all the rounds in the Senate Dome are covered, foot patrols in the upper and lower levels are all accounted for, and Thire, Stone, and I have been keeping up with your flimsiwork. Please just stay another day in the medbay.”
Fox rolls his eyes as he snaps the final strap for his chest plate in to place and reaches for his pauldrons. “I appreciate the concern kih’vod, but I have shit to do.”
“But not really, Fox. Everything can wait one more day. One measly, tiny twenty-four hours.” Thorn grabs Fox’s gauntlets and holds them behind his back like a cadet in a last-ditch effort to stop Fox from leaving, Commander status be damned. Fox just smiles up at Thorn exasperatedly and puts his hands on his hips. “Fox, please, gedet’ye, just one more day.”
Fox pulls Thorn down by his neck and ruffles his hair with on hand, latching onto the gauntlets with the other. He lets Thorn pull back with a huff and he starts to put his gauntlets on while Thorn attempts to brush his hair back into place. “Thorn, I’m just doing rounds in the Senate Dome and then I’ll be back in my office doing flimsiwork before midday. Relax, I can handle this.”
“But you don’t have to.” Thorn crosses his arms and pulls out his best tooka eyes as Fox snaps on his second gauntlet. “I can keep watch over the Senate Dome for you. I know who to keep the shinies away from.”
Something tightens in Fox’s chest, squeezing the air out of his lungs, and he can’t quite keep the shake out of his voice as he grabs onto the tops of Thorn’s arms. “NO. No, you don’t get to put yourself in that situation. Promise me.”
Thorn shakes his arms to loosen Fox’s tight grip on them. “I promise, but you have to promise me to be careful ori’vod.”
“Elek, I promise.” Thorn leans down and presses his forehead against Fox’s in a quick keldabe, just savoring the safe feeling his ori’vod gives off, finally standing on his own again.
Wolffe chooses that exact moment to walk into medbay making Fox jump, and Thorn adds Wolffe’s sudden arrival and his general being to his long list of reasons to hate him. Thorn snaps into perfect parade rest while staring the other commander down before barely nodding his head. “Commander Wolffe.”
Wolffe has the decency to at least pretend to be cowed by the icy expression on Thorn’s face as he nods back. “Good morning, Commander Thorn.”
Thorn opens his mouth to snark at Wolffe when he spots Bandage across the medbay making his way towards the group. Deciding that his fear of Bandage outweighed his combined love for Fox and hatred for Wolffe, Thorn bids a quick goodbye and, for all intents and purposes, runs out of the medbay.
“Fox, I was wondering if I could join you on your rounds today?”
Before Fox has a chance to process much less respond to Wolffe’s question, Bandage finally arrives and shoulders Wolffe out of the way to stand right in front of Fox. “Commander Fox. It’s good to see you on your feet again.”
If Fox were a lesser man, the juxtaposition of the medic’s kind words and his stormy demeanor might have Fox agreeing to the medic’s demands before he even voiced them. As it is, Fox just barely suppresses the urge to take a step back from the shorter man. “Good morning, Bandage. Thanks to your gentle, healing hands I am feeling good as new.”
Something dangerous flashes through Bandage’s eyes and Fox does take a step back this time. “Cut the osik, Fox. You better watch yourself today. One toe out of line, one hair out of place, and I will drag you back to this medbay by your scrotum and chain you to the bed. Understood?”
“Yes Bandage.”
Bandage takes a step forward and Fox take another step back. “You will do your rounds in the Senate Dome, and then you will go straight to desk duty for the rest of the day. Got it?”
“Yes Bandage.”
“If you feel any pain, you will come back to this medbay immediately. If you go any faster than a brisk walk, I will drag you back to this medbay immediately. If you get between any Senators and vode, I will drag both you back to this medbay immediately, and then I will stick you in the same bed together to spare myself the trouble of a couple of extra steps between beds. Am I clear, Fox?”
“As a kyber crystal.”
“You will not be alone today, at all. If you have to run an errand, someone will accompany you. If you have to attend a meeting, someone will be there to hold your notes. If you have to piss, there will be a vod on the other side of the door to hand you toilet paper. Tayli’bac?”
“Elek, Bandage. I will not be alone, I will not push myself, I will do what I need to do today and nothing extra. Understood.” Fox raises his hands in a placating gesture and prays to whatever higher power is above that Bandage will not somehow take offense to it.
Bandage whirls around on Wolffe so fast that he doesn’t have time to wipe the fear off his face. “Ah Commander Wolffe, I didn’t see you there. You will accompany our lovely Marshall Commander as he goes about his duties today.” Wolffe nods so quickly Fox worries for a second that his cybernetic eye is going to fall out. “You will make him drink water. You will make him eat at midmeal. You will make sure that he goes straight back to his office from the Senate Dome. You will make sure that he does not push himself too hard. You will make sure to keep both of your eyes, real and implanted, on him. All. Day. Do I make myself clear, Commander?”
“If Commander Fox has to pee, I will be holding the toilet paper roll for him.” Fox takes a moment to be impressed at Wolffe’s ability to even speak back to Bandage, most brothers just nod emphatically the first couple of times that Bandage lets loose on them.
“It’s Marshall Commander Fox, and damn right you will. I expect nothing but perfection gentlemen. Now, out of my medbay, and pray you do nothing to end back up here.” Bandage storms off while Fox and Wolffe bolt as soon as the medic’s aura isn’t holding them down anymore.
They make it a couple of hallways down before either of them feels comfortable enough to talk. “How can such a small man hold so much anger?”
Fox snorts and throws a glance over his shoulder, definitely not checking to make sure that Bandage isn’t there. “He’s closer to hell, it makes him angrier.”
Wolffe laughs quietly and slows his pace to match Fox’s. “I can’t decide if it would be a good thing or a bad thing for troopers to be bred with that temper.”
“Well, maybe we’ll luck out and the Kaminiise will figure out how to splice those genes into the rest of the batches.”
“Oh gods, I hope not.”