A/N: For the next few chapters we're going back a bit to look in on Torrent
Hardcase loved going to Coruscant. Sure, many citizens looked at them like they were the scum of the galaxy, and the Coruscant Guard felt the need to watch them carefully like they couldn't be trusted. Many places wouldn't serve clones, and even if they did it wasn't as though they had a lot of money to throw around. They were given a small leave allowance, and most of it was spent on drinks.
Still, Hardcase always enjoyed their breaks. For just a few days he could breathe easy and not have to worry about when the next campaign was and which of his brothers he might end up losing next. For a short period of time, Hardcase could at least pretend that he was just like everybody else in the galaxy, instead of just a soldier.
Usually he spent most of his leave at 79's, drinking himself to oblivion and gambling away his credits. Sometimes he went to the bar, but stayed sober because it was his turn to be the designated responsible one who made sure everyone in their group made it back safely. Even that could be fun, because he was a lot better at sabacc when he was sober, and it was hilarious to see his brothers make fools of themselves when they messed around.
Being the sober one also meant that he wasn't locked in the drunk tank itself, though he was still escorted to the small building so he could wait for their commander with the others. The drunk tank really wasn't so bad from the other side of the bars.
Hardcase didn't like schedules and plans. He was more of a go-with-the-flow kinda guy. Having plans just took up space in his brain, and then he couldn't focus on actually doing his job. This leave though was different. Hardcase came up with a plan, albeit a sloppy one. Because while this was just another visit to Coruscant, it was the shinies' first time, and they deserved to have a good time.
Hardcase had been especially worried about Dogma. The kid was so tense all the time. He wasn't really looking forward to the break, and Hardcase knew that if it was a bad experience for him then he would just dread all future leaves, and nobody should be made to resent a well-deserved break.
Most shinies relaxed as soon as they got their first drink in their hand, or when they were able to walk on the streets in just their blacks as opposed to their armor. Most of them preferred to wear their armor, but it was nice to have the option.
Dogma wasn't most shinies. Hardcase doubted that he would want to drink anything, let alone get drunk. Dogma probably wouldn't even like going to 79's at all because it was crowded, loud, and full of clones who loved to rant about the injustices of their lives. That was about as far off from fun as things could get for Dogma.
Still, it was tradition to go to 79's on the first day of leave, so when Fives and Jesse started inviting people, Hardcase agreed, and he suggested that Dogma could come along too. Because as awkward as Dogma might feel if he went to 79's, he would feel left out and lonely if he was left behind without even an invitation.
So they'd do 79's on the first day, and then Hardcase would make a tentative schedule that might appeal to Dogma. He wasn't good at this kind of thing, but Hardcase could focus if it was something important to him. And making sure that Dogma had a good time was very important.
The plan was a simple one. Hardcase thought of a few places that were cheap, clone-friendly, and quiet. It didn't leave a lot of options, but they were all the kind of thing that Dogma might be interested in. There were a number of museums on Coruscant, and some of them were even free to the public, including clones. There were some parks that had statues and stuff of significance. It was like a museum, but outside.
Hardcase wanted to show Dogma more than just parks and museums though, because while the kid would enjoy them, it wasn't exactly the stuff of an amazing experience. So Hardcase expanded on his plan a bit. Usually they went to 79's in the early evening, because many of them wanted to take things easy before getting hammered. Hardcase had planned on sleeping in until the afternoon, but because he had things to do he resisted that temptation. Instead, he was one of the first to leave the ship the second they landed on Coruscant.
Hardcase started walking around, talking to people and getting some information. He learned about an old store in the lower levels that apparently sold flimsi and paper books. Physical, antiquated sources of information. Dogma would love that, and Hardcase would love to see the look on his face if he was able to see them, let alone hold or even purchase a book.
Hardcase knew that the books were probably acquired through questionable methods, but hopefully Dogma would be too excited about the books to even think about it.
Hardcase learned about some other places that might interest Dogma. There were some diners that weren't popular because they had food native to planets that people from Coruscant considered to be primitive. The food itself sounded like it was really good, and the owners were happy to serve anybody, even clones. Hardcase thought that Dogma might be fascinated by the different foods and cultures, and he'd probably appreciate the quieter atmosphere of the small diners.
Hardcase stopped at just one more place before heading to 79's. He made his way to the Jedi Temple. He knew it was a sacred place, but it was also found in the heart of the Republic, and nothing on Coruscant was truly private. So Hardcase went to the temple just to ask if there were any tours or something available to the public, or even just to the clones who were serving under a general.
It turned out that they did have occasional tours. They couldn't see most of the temple, just some of the more public areas, but they could walk around a bit and learn more about the culture and teachings of the Jedi. If this wasn't the kind of thing that Dogma would love, Hardcase didn't know what was.
He hadn't been looking forward to coming up with a plan, but once Hardcase got into it he soon lost track of time. It felt like the day had just started, but Hardcase got a message from Jesse, asking if he was going to be coming to 79's. He finally looked at the time and realized that he was running late. Hardcase hurriedly made his way to the bar, after telling Jesse that they should get started without him.
Hardcase got there about an hour later than they'd arranged. He saw Jesse sitting at the bar, and it looked like he was alone. Hardcase joined him, ordering something for himself and another drink for Jesse.
"Did you invite Dogma?" Hardcase asked. Jesse grimaced.
"I tried, but I think I messed it up." Jesse said. "I told you he wouldn't come if I was the one that invited him."
"Dogma thinks you hate him." Hardcase said quietly. It was something the kid had confided in him during one of their sparring sessions, when nobody else was around. "I thought it would help if you extended an olive branch."
"And then I ruined it." Jesse raised his glass. "He said he was busy working. I called him out on his bluff. I was annoyed and kinda frustrated, but I didn't mean to upset him so much."
Hardcase frowned. He remembered when he had seen Dogma the other day. He'd seemed distracted and upset then too, and he'd told Hardcase that he had been busy, even though he shouldn't have had a shift. Either the kid was lying about work because he was trying to avoid them, or there was something actually going on with him, and that was why he was upset.
Well, that was what their leave was for. Relaxing and just forgetting about things that were bothering them. And if Dogma really had been given extra work to do, Hardcase would go right to General Skywalker and demand that the kid get the break he deserved.
Hardcase was tempted to go back to the ship and find Dogma to drag him out of his wallowing and make him spend some time with his brothers. If Hardcase didn't know that Dogma would fight him every step of the way, he would do just that. Hardcase decided to give him tonight. In the morning he would find Dogma and take him to the bookstore or a museum. That should cheer the kid up.
"Do you think Tup knows what's up with Dogma?" Hardcase asked. Jesse snorted and shook his head.
"If he does, good luck getting it out of him." Jesse gestured over his shoulder towards a booth near the wall. Hardcase looked to see Tup sobbing into his drink while Fives held him close and whispered reassurances to him.
They were already here when I got here." Jesse said. "I don't know when they started, but it looks like Tup is a sad drunk."
Hardcase grimaced and watched his brothers for a moment before he turned away. He had never known how to deal with sad drunks, and neither did Jesse. They enjoyed a stiff drink because they liked to have fun.
They didn't judge Tup for crying, but they weren't about to go over to comfort him when it was probably just the alcohol messing with his head. Fives was keeping an eye on him, and they'd make sure he went to see Kix when the night was over. In the meantime, Hardcase was going to be following Jesse's example of turning the other way and trying to ignore it.
"Maybe it's a good thing Dogma isn't here." Hardcase said. "Can you imagine how he'd react to Tup crying?"
Jesse snorted. "Oh, he'd drive himself nuts trying to find a way to fix the problem and cheer up his vod."
"He'd probably try to reason away the drunkenness." Hardcase laughed. He could almost see it. Dogma was even worse with intense emotions than Hardcase and Jesse were. He wasn't devoid of empathy, Dogma was actually very caring, but he didn't know how to show it. Hardcase sometimes felt bad for finding Dogma's efforts amusing sometimes, but it was a little adorable. Like watching a small child struggle with a simple puzzle. You know you shouldn't laugh, but you can't help it.
The evening picked up after that. Jesse's mood brightened now that he was no longer alone. They drank, laughed about nothingness that probably wasn't even funny, and just had a good time, even if it was just the two of them. Hardcase normally went too strong with his drinking, but he tried to have more control this time. He didn't want to be unbearably hungover tomorrow, and he wanted to save some of his spending money.
Jesse was a good drinking buddy. They had fun with each other, but he didn't hesitate to remind Hardcase to take it easy when he started to forget.
"Were you able to find places that our resident stick-in-the-mud would enjoy?" Jesse asked. His tone was both teasing and sincere. Jesse didn't completely understand why someone wouldn't enjoy 79's, but at the same time he really did want Dogma to have a good leave. Jesse wasn't close to Dogma, but they were still brothers.
"I think so." Hardcase said. "He'll like museums, right?"
"Somehow, probably." Jesse shook his head. "You sure you don't want someone to come with you guys?"
"Fives said he was going to show Tup around town." Hardcase said. "And while I appreciate the offer, I know you're not going to like the stuff he likes, and we both know he won't be able to relax if you're there."
Jesse sighed. "I know." There was a pained look in his eyes. Hardcase gave him a sympathetic look.
"You know, he really does want to get to know you guys better." Hardcase said. He'd seen Dogma push himself out of his comfort zone to try to spend time with the others. Fives wouldn't let him in, and Hardcase thought that ship had long-since sailed for the two of them. Dogma was just too much like Echo for Fives to even take the chance and get to know the kid and see how he was different from his lost twin.
Dogma's struggle with Jesse was simple, but harder to fix. Hardcase knew that Dogma did best getting to know people one-on-one. Dogma didn't like sparring, but he still did it with Hardcase, and he enjoyed it, because it was something they could do together. Just them. It was why Dogma's favorite thing to do with a brother was to cuddle and either read or just chat.
Dogma could even handle light teasing when he was with just one brother, because he didn't feel like he was being ganged-up on. There had been a few times when Hardcase would say something a little mean, and Dogma would just roll his eyes, smirk, and send back a barb of his own. But he couldn't do it in a group.
Jesse struggled with that kind of interaction. He preferred group activities. If he was with just one other person Jesse would feel pressure to keep the conversation going, and if there was silence he would feel awkward and a little anxious because he wasn't sure if he was supposed to fill the silence himself, or if the quiet was a sign that the interaction was over and it was his cue to leave.
Jesse and Dogma thrived in different situations, and neither of them knew how to get over that hurdle. What made things worse was that Hardcase didn't think Dogma knew about Jesse's struggle with solo interactions. The only reason Hardcase himself knew was because Jesse had told him the last time they'd gotten drunk together and it was just the two of them.
Jesse could handle just a single drinking buddy as long as they were at a bar, surrounded by brothers. As long as Jesse had social energy he could feed off of, he'd be fine. Hardcase thought that might be the key to getting Jesse and Dogma to actually start a real relationship beyond just crewmates. They needed to do something alone, but surrounded by other people.
The problem was that Hardcase wondered if it was too late for that. Dogma now had his walls up around Jesse, and it would take a lot to tear them down. Jesse tried, but he got frustrated with Dogma for not letting him in, and furious with himself for making Dogma feel like he had to put up those walls in the first place.
Jesse rested his head in his hands. "Maybe I can see if he'll want to watch that holofilm I've been wanting to see, and none of you are interested in."
Hardcase smiled. That sounded like a perfect plan. "Just know that he's going to comment on every little inaccuracy. And don't get offended if he reads the whole time."
Jesse snorted. "Sounds like watching something with Kix." He looked more cheerful now. "You know, I think I'll do that sometime. We can do it while we're on Coruscant. The ship is a lot quieter when everybody's out on the town." Jesse was more than capable of accommodating someone else's needs, he just needed a guiding push in the right direction.
They chatted for a little longer before Hardcase decided to call it a night. Jesse usually liked to stay out for all hours, but he didn't like drinking alone, and he didn't want to join Fives and Tup, who was still crying in the corner. They headed back to the ship. While Jesse made his way to the medbay to force Kix to sit down and relax for a few minutes, Hardcase went to the barracks to look for Dogma.
He thought the kid would be reading on his bunk, taking advantage of the quiet ship. He found his bed empty, which wasn't too weird. What made Hardcase stop and think twice about it was that it looked like the bedding had been stripped completely.
They had designated wash days for their were only two reasons why a lone bedding set would be washed before schedule. One, the one who used the bunk would, for one reason or another, not be using it again, so the bedding needed to be replaced with a fresh set for the next brother to use.
Hardcase couldn't imagine that being the case at all, so his mind went to the second option. The bedding needed to be washed because it was dirty. Because Dogma didn't eat food in his bunk, something else had to make it dirty enough for the kid to feel the need to wash it. The only thing Hardcase could imagine was that Dogma was sick, and that was why he'd been so upset these past few days.
Dogma was still fairly fresh off of Kamino. He might still believe that he was supposed to be above getting sick. Hardcase wouldn't be surprised if Dogma was just saying he was working and busy because he was hiding away because he didn't feel well and was hiding his perceived failure.
There was no guarantee that Dogma was sick, or even a real indication of it, but the thought had crossed Hardcase's mind, and his head wouldn't let go of the idea. He was now convinced that this was fact, and that he had a sick little brother who was hiding himself away somewhere because he didn't want to burden anybody.
Hardcase knew his plans with Dogma were probably going to go out the window. He didn't mind. All of this was for Dogma anyway. If the kid needed something else, Hardcase would pivot and see if he could do it.
He just needed to find the kid first. He was probably somewhere on the ship, but there were still a lot of places to search, and he could only cover so much ground by himself. This was probably going to take a while. That was fine. Hardcase would search for Dogma all night if he had to, because somebody had to make sure the kid was okay, and it might as well be him.