This scene was inspired by a comment left by DeathGoddesses.

Idk, man, I really love this one. It might just be my favorite so far.

Through the Eyes of Kix

Kix was a medic, and that meant he knew clone anatomy inside and out, and where to press hard because it wouldn't hurt as much and where to be extra cautious around the wound because the nerves were beyond sensitive.

But that was what he knew: clone anatomy, and the girl sitting in front of him was most definitely not a clone.

The new commander - Padawan Commander Tano - was Togruta, and female, and those were two things Kix most definitely did not know inside and out. He'd seen her around, of course he had, wandering the rubble of Christophsis, scaling the cliffs of Teth, dancing and jumping around the halls of the Resolute. But she he hadn't been this close to her yet, where he could see the pulse point in her throat, and he could smell the sweat and carbon discharge and burned ozone on her skin.

The medical tent was quiet, the business of the outside muted to faded bustle of sound. The flaps fluttered in a light breeze, filtering out the stale air. It also meant he was entirely alone in this, in treating with the commander, in being with her.

Big blue eyes blinked up at him and fek, Coric, why can't you do this? Because Coric had been the one to treat her previously, and Kix would, at the moment, much rather it be the senior medic than him.

But it had to be him, so he swallowed and took a discreet breath. "Commander, could you tilt your head a bit? You have a bad burn on your neck I need to check."

She flashed him a quick smile he assumed was meant to be reassuring, but it didn't reassure him one bit. The captain is protective of her, the general, too, oh fek, and everyone else in Torrent. If I mess this up, I should just give myself to the droids.

"Are you okay, Kix?"

His hand jerked at the sound of her voice, the disinfectant wipe pressing against her wound a bit too hard and she hissed softly through her teeth. His face burned with shame and embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, commander."

Even though her teeth were gritted against whatever pain he'd inadvertently caused her, she managed another smile. "Nothing to apologize for, Kix. I didn't mean to startle you."

And now she was apologizing for his mishap, and I really hope no one hears anything about this. He gently pulled the wipe from the burn site, picking up a pair of tweezers. Small bits of debris were stuck to the burned flesh and could cause further damage or infection if left alone.

"Commander, this might hurt a bit."

"Always does, Kix. Just get on with it."

Despite the teasing tone, he glanced at her face momentarily, because her words could mean many different things. Her face reflected her voice, though, soft humor brace against pain, and he managed a small, unsure smile back before focusing his attention on the burn.

"Kix?"

The movement of her speaking moved the wound and he almost pricked raw flesh with the point of the tweezers. Kriff, commander, a little warning. And he heard her voice again, soft and subdued, "Sorry, Kix, I'll let you focus."

And now she thought he'd snapped at her and there was no doubt he was going to be run over by a Star Destroyer as soon as the captain found out. He had to think over his words carefully because he hadn't spoken to her at all yet except for things medical-related.

Silence fell through the tent again as he chewed on his words. "I didn't mean any offense, commander, but when you speak it moves your neck. I'd rather not puncture an artery while having a friendly chat with you, sir."

There he'd said it, and even done his best to inject a bit of humor. In his peripheral, he saw her fingers grip the edge of the table she was seated on, but then he heard what sounded like smothered snickers and risked another glance up. Sharp teeth bit into dark lips as she tried to keep from laughing, and those pale blue eyes sparkled up at him.

She laughed easily then, and was graceful in receiving corrections. She was young, he realized suddenly, picking the last bit of rock from the burn and grabbing a bacta patch. Young and bright and curious, with blue eyes and orange skin and, she's pretty. And that hit him so suddenly he almost dropped the bacta patch.

Of course he'd known she was attractive. He'd heard the others talk about it and he had seen her, he'd just never thought about it. But now he was, and now he realized, and his fingers were trembling slightly as he pressed the patch's adhesive against her skin.

"Can I talk now?"

Her voice broke through the silence of the medical tent, and the tension in his body, playful and teasing and friendly. He looked at her face again, blue to amber, and couldn't help the small smile that curled on his own lips.

"If you must, commander."

She laughed, more a chuckle than a girlish giggle, but that was more fitting, he supposed, more fitting to her situation and her position and her new life.

"Why are you scared of me, Kix?"

Kriff. Of course, he should've know. Jedi, with their mind reading and emotion sensing and the Force. She'd know how he felt about her. His face burned red. "Not of you, commander. Just the situation." She blinked up at him, innocent curiosity, and he sighed even as his blush intensified. "Never treated a female before, commander. And the captain would use me as target practice if anything went wrong."

She could feel his embarrassment, he just knew, but she didn't say a word about it, and that meant she was much kinder than she needed to be. "Aw, no, Kix. I wouldn't let that happen. You're more fun to tease than Coric is. I wouldn't want to lose that so soon."

That didn't help his blush at all, and he ducked his head, intent on blocking everything out except her next wound, a long scrape along her exposed midriff. He couldn't, though, because she laughed, actual laughing instead of chuckling, and it was one of the happiest, most glittering sounds he had ever heard. It echoed around the otherwise quiet tent, curling around the two of them and cutting through his embarrassment.

She didn't say anything else as he cleaned and bandaged the scrape. Her skin was warm beneath his fingers, the heat seeping through his gloves, but he did his best to not think of that. Warm and friendly and pretty and focus, Kix, focus.

He finished treating the scrape and she lifted her leg for his inspection, still silent. His eyes darted to her face long enough to see the amused smile twitching on her lips even though she was doing her best to hide it. In return, he felt his own lips twitch into a smile, and realized this was a game for her, and it could be a game for him, too, if he wanted.

Grasping her calf loosely—it was so small his hand curled around it—he took a small, steadying breath and took the plunge. "So, commander, how do you like the Five-Oh-First so far?" His finger gently probed the forming bruise as he gauged her reactions. She hissed sharply between her teeth and her leg jerked slightly in his hold.

"Oh, you know, all excitement and adventure with you macho boys."

"Hope it's not too exciting for you, commander."

She laughed, her leg moving in his hold as he tried to apply some of the healing bacta gel onto the bruise. He missed, scraping the cold gel right beside the bruise, and that made her laugh harder. He tried, really he did, to keep a straight face, to remain the stern medic, but she was too happy, too bright, and he couldn't help laughing with her.

They must've been louder than Kix thought, because Coric stuck his head in, peering around curiously. "Everything okay in here, commander?"

She stopped laughing long enough to smile at him, a dazzling smile that the senior medic returned almost instinctively, it seemed.

"The thing that sounds like a dying nexu is me, Coric. Kix is killing me with his jokes."

Coric raised an eyebrow even as his smile remained. "I didn't know Kix joked."

The commander shrugged, offering Kix a conspiratorial grin, one that he returned. "Learn something new every day, Coric."

He chuckled and saluted, but it seemed more playful than serious. "Yes, sir, commander." And then he left, and it was just Kix and the commander.

He finished applying the bacta—in the right spot this time—and she jumped off the table. "Thanks, Kix." And then she was out the door, darting and bouncing, no doubt off to pester the captain or general with more questions about this and that.

That wasn't as bad as it could've been. And it wasn't. If she wasn't as happy and friendly and bright, if didn't laugh as easily or share smiles as much, it could've been much worse.

Kix smiled to himself, a small one that was meant only for his memories. He'd have to do some research in his down time, about the anatomy of a Togruta and the anatomy of a female. Though, he realized, tending to the commander's wounds would probably be something no informational text could prepare him for.

After all, none of his informational learnings on Kamino had prepared him a too-small Jedi-girl who smelled like battle and laughed like it was the best day of her life.