He Was Starting To Foam In the Heat...

[jedi_librettist]

Ani's bare feet made almost no sound as he trotted up the hallway. Dada didn't make sense. Dada felt too hot. Dada was even starting to scare him a little. Grandma wasn't home. He didn't know where she went. So he would have to find his uncle. Ani thought Dada would prefer Unca Bai, too.

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[middleoftheforce]

Bail was in the hanger, still working on his junker of a ship. One day, he would need to actually call it quits and look about getting something a bit newer, but as long as there was still power in her, he was happy to fly this heap. Or at least that's what he would stubbornly insist to Rey and his mother when they pointed out that he would probably be better off changing sooner rather than later.

He didn't notice the Force signature of his nephew approaching, he was too busy with the work.

[jedi_librettist]

Ani climbed up behind his uncle and tugged on the man’s shirt. “Dada sick,” he announced, reaching for Solo’s hand.

[middleoftheforce]

He looked around at the tugging, surprised at the site. "Ani, you're not meant to come into the hanger without your D... what do you mean he's sick?"

[jedi_librettist]

“Dada too hot.” The child frowned. “He not get up. Said to go away.”

[middleoftheforce]

There was a slight frown. "Okay, let's go see your Dad."

[jedi_librettist]

The toddler grabbed his hand and started tugging him toward the room he and Ben used at Leia’s apartment. “You fix Dada.”

[middleoftheforce]

"It depends what's wrong with him," he tried to explain to the toddler, though he had the feeling it might not work. Ani was incredibly stubborn - just like Ben - and when he had decided something, that was it.

[jedi_librettist]

Ani blinked at his uncle and then kept walking. What he knew was that grownups were supposed to fix everything. “You fix Dada,” he repeated confidently as he opened the apartment.

[middleoftheforce]

Bail rolled his eyes just slightly at his nephew. He wasn't a doctor, it wasn't like he knew how to fix people. Engines, sort of. People? No. He stepped into the apartment and looked around.

"Ben?"

[jedi_librettist]

Ben lay in bed, almost completely hidden from view by a pile of blankets. He tried to sit up when he heard his name but ended up leaning against the wall. “Wasn’t me,” he muttered.

[middleoftheforce]

"Wasn't sayin' you did anything," was the automatic response. He squinted at his brother. "The hell's wrong with you?"

[jedi_librettist]

Ben squinted up at him, not meeting his eyes. “Nothing,” he insisted. “‘M fine.”

[middleoftheforce]

"Yeah and that would work on anyone who wasn't born with a bond to you," another eyeroll. "What's wrong?"

[jedi_librettist]

Ben frowned. No one here should know about that. He tried to get up, shivering as the blankets slid to the bed. “I’m okay,” he slurred. “I can work.”

[middleoftheforce]

"Ben get back in bed," it came out as an irritated sigh. "You're not fit to do anything."

[jedi_librettist]

Ben pulled off his shirt as he sat back down, visibly reluctant. His shoulders sagged.

“Please, master, I...” He broke off, coughing.

[middleoftheforce]

"Mast... put your shirt back on," Bail frowned again. What the hell was going through brother boy's head

[jedi_librettist]

Ben frowned in complete confusion. That wasn’t what most people wanted when they told him to get in bed, especially if they owned him. He looked at the shirt, not really moving to put it on yet.

[middleoftheforce]

"Ben, come on, you've got a fever," Bail moved forward, picking up the shirt and looking to try to at least get it over his twin's shoulders. "You're sick."

[jedi_librettist]

Ben flinched away when the other man stepped closer. He really didn’t want the individual attention. It never led anywhere good.

He got himself back under control quickly, not fighting as the man slipped the shirt over his head. He coughed and then leaned into his master. “Send the kid somewhere else?” he asked quietly. “He’s just a baby. He doesn’t need to see this.”

[middleoftheforce]

How the hell had it gotten so difficult to try to put a shirt on someone? It was like Ben had special... shirt resisting powers. Did that make sense? No, but it was how it felt. Bail paused in what he was trying to do to stare at him, glancing over at Ani. The kid had an equally confused look.

"...He doesn't need to see you sick?"

[jedi_librettist]

“I’m not sick, master,” Ben insisted, glancing at the toddler. He couldn’t figure out why the child looked familiar. He’d free the boy if he could. “Please.” He reached for the Force, threading into his words as he spoke. “He doesn’t belong here.”

[middleoftheforce]

"...I'm no one's master, Ben," he spoke clearly, stepping back and frowning at his brother. "You're... home. With me and Mom?"

[jedi_librettist]

Ben frowned slightly. So it was going to be like that. At least maybe he wouldn’t be cold anymore after. “Yes, father,” he whispered.

He slipped his arms into the sleeves, reaching for the man’s shoulders. “How was work, Dad?” he asked, teeth chattering.

[middleoftheforce]

"Wha.... No, Ben," he held his brother's arms as still as he could. "It's me. Bail."