Star Wars Oneshots

The Decision for a Haircut (TBB)

A/N: Meet Cha-Cha, Howzer's favorite brother who also happens to be genderfluid. A new clone OC lol (image above from Kmerolzzzz picrew). Also this happens before TBB episode 11

Howzer's Point of View

Howzer sighed, looking at his reflection in the small 'fresher mirror. After a sonic, his usually gelled-straight hair, military-standard cut, curled up in an unruly way. He dragged one hand through it. How would it look if he cut it one way, dyed it another....

He frowned, thinking of what had happened earlier that day. Rampart was talking to him and a few other brothers in a debriefing room. When Howzer had spoken, Rampart's back was turned. He agreed, calling Howzer by the name of one of his brothers, Cha-Cha. Their voices were similar, but they weren't that similar! Even if he had been looking at them, the nuanced differences in the faces of the clones would have been lost on Rampart.

Back when he was on Kamino, training, every clone had changed some part of them to be unique, whether that be a tattoo, their armor, or their hair. But now, ever since the Republic was reformed into the Empire, everyone looked the same. They all had eerily similar personalities, too. Sometimes it was hard even for him to tell brothers unfamiliar to him apart.

Just being referred to by a different name made Howzer want to shrivel up and crawl out of his own skin. To get away from it all. To retreat somewhere he could find the brothers he knows. Knew.

Looking at his scar in the mirror, he traced it with one finger. It set him apart, visually. Since clearly the Imperials couldn't be bothered to see what truly made a person.

Howzer mussed his hair further and allowed his eyes to slide shut. It had been a long day, and he really needed to get into bed.

But the 'fresher floor wasn't a horrible place to rest.... 

Howzer dozed off.

• • • • •

When he woke up again, his neck was jacked at an odd angle, and the string of drool hanging from his lip had nearly reached the tiled floor. Howzer checked his chrono and groaned.

It was still much too early to get up for the day, so he reluctantly trudged to his bed in the main room, hitting his knee on a small table in the middle. Even when he laid down on the mattress, which was much squishier and more comfortable than the 'fresher floor, he couldn't sleep.

Howzer briefly considered the sleep medication in the bathroom, but he knew it would knock him out for a full half a rotation.

He let his mind wander, eyes sliding towards the darkest corners of the room. Howzer still couldn't get the idea of the haircut out of his head. It would set him apart, sure, but with all the change happening around him, shouldn't something change about him, too?

Maybe it was flawed logic, but Howzer knew he wouldn't be able to continue being called by the wrong name. With the Jedi, clones were treated with respect, given sick days and called by their chosen names. The Empire used numbers more often than not, and his brothers had been killed if they flubbed an order.

Howzer curled up, feeling his blacks rub against his skin soothingly. They almost felt like a hug, like one Cha-Cha would give after a long day.

What if he did his hair like Cha-Cha's? Shaved on the sides and back, long on the top. Probably no dye, though.

Howzer laid awake for what seemed like ages, tossing and turning. He never slept well alone.

Eventually, he stopped trying to fall asleep and got up, flicking on the lights. In the fresher, he took out a comb and parted the hair where he wanted to shave it. He could probably use a razor for that, Howzer mused.

When the hair was all separated, he took another look in the mirror. He could already envision how he would look with the haircut. People might not take him as seriously, but maybe that was a good thing. Howzer smirked. They could assume he was different, or ranked high enough to warrant his own hairstyle.

He dug out the razor from where it was locked in the medicine cabinet. Howzer lifted it to his scalp and hesitated. Shouldn't he look up some sort of tutorial on the HoloNet?

But really, how hard could it be?

In the end, his cockiness won over and he lifted the razor again; shearing off a thick lock of hair below the part. Impressed at the speed with which that worked, he quickly sheared off the majority of his hair below the part all the way around his head. The razor made for an uneven shave, however, so Howzer went over it again and again until it was smooth and even. If he were to keep up the haircut, he would need to buy a more efficient shaving tool.

The top of his hair curled naturally — all the clones' did. If he dragged a comb through it, maybe? Howzer attempted this and soon realized why Cha-Cha's hair was the way it was. Without gel, it stubbornly refused to stand straight.

He grabbed the bottle of gel and slicked up his hands, running calloused fingers through his hair until it spiked softly.

He admired his new look in the mirror. It was definitely different, but it suited him. Howzer gave a signature smirk at his reflection, the hurried off to send Cha-Cha a selfie.