Unexpected

chapter fourteen: interrupting

After a much needed night of rest followed by a morning of specific meetings and preparations with Senator Amidala, Elara decides to head to the barracks with the short amount of time she has. As she walks towards the familiar compartment within the building, her mind spins with new information.

Not only did the Senate vote for more clone troops, but Padmé has decided to head back to Mandalore. Now that Elara seems to be on her feet and in better health, the Senator plans on wasting no time in returning to the chaotic planet.

Elara tries to clear her mind as she opens the door. The sight in front of her gives her no choice but to abandon her thoughts. It seems she's interrupted some sort of connect four game—Hardcase and Tup are screaming, Fives is cheering as he teases Jesse, Kix seems shocked, Jesse looks like he'd just been shot, and Echo has a smug look on his face.

"What in the galaxy is going on in here?" Elara laughs as she closes the door behind her.

All eyes turn to her as the yelling comes to a halt.

"ELARA!" Hardcase shouts, tripping over someone's helmet as he runs to her. She laughs as he picks her up and throws her over his shoulder.

"Hey! Be careful with her!" Echo yells at his brother.

Hardcase sets Elara down where Jesse had been sitting, across from Echo.

"I've always imagined being swept off my feet feeling a bit more.. Romantic." Elara giggles as she fixes herself.

Hardcase raises an eyebrow as a smirk tugs at his lips. Before he can make a flirty comment, Tup speaks up.

"We've been going at this for hours. Echo's undefeated." Tup explains. "Jesse was our last hope."

Elara raises an eyebrow as she meets Echo's gaze. "Is that so?"

Echo smirks proudly.

"You've gotta beat him, Ellie." Kix says. "Otherwise he'll never shut up about it."

"I'm going to need a rain check on that offer." She sighs. "I've only got a few minutes with you boys today."

They all furrows their eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Echo asks, abandoning his seat in front of the game.

"Senator Amidala has a few things she needs my help with." Elara speaks vaguely. "I shouldn't be gone more than a few days."

"A few days?!" Jesse rejoins the group as they all talk at once, questioning what things they could possibly be doing.

It hasn't gone unnoticed to Elara that Fives hasn't said a word since she showed up. She glances in his direction to find him already staring back and clenches her jaw as she turns back to the others.

"I wish I could tell you more." Elara sighs. "She'll be expecting me any minute. I should get going." She makes eye contact with Echo as she stands.

"Be careful." Echo stands with her.

"Yeah, who else is gonna cook for us?" Hardcase asks, earning a punch in the shoulder from Jesse.

Elara chuckles at them. "I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." She places a hand on Echo's cheek and they look into one another's eyes until she pulls away. "Take care of eachother while I'm gone."

They all agree, sharing loving nudges and headlocks as they acknowledge one another. Elara smiles at them.

As she exits the room, her eyes meet Fives' once again to find the same stare. She knows their talk last night got intense, and part of her feels bad, but it was bound to happen eventually. She never meant to make him feel awkward.