Sequel to The Stalker. Otherwise known as Ahsoka and Barriss embarrass their masters again because... why not? Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Cookies to the one who finds and gets this reference hidden in a story. Hint: Think doctors.
"I don't like this at all. No sir." She glanced around the table at her fellow card players, eyeing each of them individually in between glancing at her hand. She had a bad feeling about this. "You took three?"
"Right." Barriss nodded, her hand obscuring the lower half of her face. Ahsoka would have been tempted to doubt her if she hadn't felt the irritation floating off of her fellow padawan in waves.
"You, Commander?"
"Two." Gree remained hunched over his hand, a concentrated yet guarded look over his face. Ahsoka turned to the last and final culprit.
"And you didn't take any?" A smirk spread across his face.
"No." Rex looked too smug; unfortunately, he had been on a winning streak all night. This wasn't going to be the end of it; she was sure. Some break this was turning out to be. She leaned back, still contemplating her hand.
"How would you like a landmine up your mustache?" Barriss all but growled at the clone captain. Her fellow padawan was as tapped out as she was, and the night was almost halfway done. Why did they want to play poker again? He winked at her as he leaned forward towards Ahsoka. The smirk never left his face.
"10 credits, kid." She gave him a sidelong glance as she shuffled through her deck. No, still the same numbers. Karking cards. Rex's deep baritone voice interrupted her silent cursing.
"I'd like to win this pot while I'm young enough to enjoy it."
"Easy, fungus-face." Although Rex didn't have a full grown 'stache, that sure didn't stop him from trying. Rex may have 'fessed up to loving her, but that wasn't enough to stop him from doing that. The peach fuzz on his face was revolting enough; she didn't want to see the end result. Ahsoka took and slammed down a 10-credit chip in determination. "Call." Barriss's lips tightened as she tossed down her hand.
"Out."
"My call," Gree sang, obviously knowing what cards his fellow clone had. Rex's smirk grew larger as he set down his hand upon the table, cards flicking the hard table surface.
"Full House."
"Agh!" Frustrated beyond measure, Ahsoka threw her cards down onto the table, hand meeting table in a sudden bang. Everyone was too tired to jump. "Three of a kind, all bad." Rex smirked at her, then frowned as he gathered the money towards him.
"I've seen bigger pots." Ahsoka snorted as she lifted her glass of water to her lips.
"Keep away from the mirror," she murmured ever so softly. His lips twitched ever so slightly in response.
"Don't like my mustache, kid?" She almost choked on her water with her reaction. He reached over to pat her on the back. "Don't choke, 'Soka."
"No worries," she said, inhaling quickly. "But you know me well enough by now, Rex, and you have to ask me if I like your mustache?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"I thought I was being funny." Gree laughed.
"I thought you were being funny." Ahsoka pouted.
"I didn't get the joke," she whined. "And even if I did, no, I hate that peach fuzz molding over on your face." Rex acted offended.
"Peach fuzz? I'll have you know that this peach fuzz is foundational to every soldier's mustache out there. You can't start one without it."
"Perhaps," Ahsoka allowed, "but you've been working on it for a couple weeks now, if not longer. When is it supposed to fill out?"
"Soon," Rex defended.
"And how soon is soon?" Gree laughed.
"Sooner than now, kid," he said, ignoring the look Rex was shooting him. "Hate to say it, but you might just need to buy him some formula to help it along." She shook her head mournfully.
"Can't. The money I would've used is sitting right there in Rex's hands. We won't get our next allowance of credits from the Temple for another couple weeks, and who knows what we'll be doing then." Gree winked at Barriss.
"Your buddy could always help you out," he said playfully. The other padawan sighed and shook her head.
"Not this time. I barely have enough credits saved up to talk to Cody." Unbeknownst to the two padawans, the clones shared a nod. Their little gamble (pun intended) had paid off, and now came payday.
"Tell you what," Rex began, "I'll give you both back your credits if you'll do a dare that Gree and I have thought of." He shoved the pile of credits back into the center of the table. Ahsoka's eyes bulged as she gratefully took her credit chips back.
"Sure! We'll do it!"
"No, Ahsoka!" Barriss hissed. "We got to find out what it is first." Ahsoka gave her a pleading look.
"But I need my credits to help… er, gift Rex with his predicament," Ahsoka amended. "Come on; it can't be that bad." Barriss thought about it, then agreed with a sigh.
"Okay. Tell us what this dare is." The widening grin on both clones' faces began to scare both padawans.
"We dare you –" Gree began.
" – to swap clothes with your masters," Rex finished. The look on each girl's face was priceless. If only they had thought to bring a recorder.
"Never mind!" Ahsoka dropped her credits back into the pile, Barriss following suit. Together, both padawans shoved the money towards the captain. "You can keep the creds!"
"Too late!" Rex said in a sing-song voice. "You already agreed." Barriss slapped Ahsoka's shoulder.
"Told you we should have waited," she grumped, and her fellow cohort glumly nodded. Then the Togruta perked up.
"Wait, if it's only swapping clothes with our own masters, then I would be swapping with Anakin, and Barriss would be swapping with Luminara. That wouldn't be so bad," she said. Rex shook his head in disagreement.
"Not that kind of swap, kid. You," he pointed directly at her, "would swap with Luminara, and Barriss would swap with Anakin." This created a whole new outbreak of shock.
"I can't do that," Ahsoka said weakly. "For one, I'd never survive."
"Neither would I," stated Barriss. "Why would you think of something like this?"
"We blame you two," Gree said. He looked pointedly at Barriss. "Remember the other night where you stole their clothes?" She looked sheepish but also a tad peeved.
"Why are you looking at me?" She pointed to Ahsoka. "She started that!"
"Oh thanks a lot, partner," the other padawan grumbled, swatting at her arm. "You still helped!"
"That you did," Gree agreed, ignoring Ahsoka's smirk. "Remember how the two Generals flirted with each other as a result?" Ahsoka's montrals darkened.
"They were not, and you know it!" she hissed. Gree smirked at her.
"Kid, Rex told me everything." Ignoring Ahsoka's horror-filled look, he continued. "Even if he was involved with a certain Senator, he's been out of communication range for quite a while. There's no good way to send messages from Coruscant to out here in the middle of nowhere, even though we're supposed to be having a break."
"Also," Rex cut in, "there's been rumors that she hasn't quite been alone, if you know what I'm saying. She had been seeing a certain Senator with suspected Separatist ties, even when we were on Coruscant." An identical smirk grew on his face as he observed Ahsoka begin to squirm. It wasn't often he could make her do that, and she looked too darn cute while doing that. Gree's own smirk grew into a full-fledged grin.
"If nothing else, there's been a rumor flying around since that time that the Generals may have an interest in each other, and we," he gestured to Rex and himself, "may or may not have an interest in that rumor." In other words, money was riding on this.
"Our thinking is," Rex picked up, "we embarrass them again, give Anakin (as well as ourselves) a chance to view Luminara in a skin-showing tight little get-up, and maybe that'll encourage the Generals towards the right direction."
"But my top won't even fit her size!" Ahsoka burst out. Her face now matched her montrals, and Barriss decided the table was a better place to contain her dark yellow blush. Planting her head facedown in the hard metal, she was heard to mumble, "I don't want to know how you know that." Gree coughed.
"Actually, I kind of do," he began, before Rex elbowed him. "Ow!"
"Shut up. Well," he looked across at the two terribly embarrassed padawans. "Are you ready to begin?" They both groaned simultaneously, but acquiesced with short nods. Ahsoka still looked the most irritated.
"It'll take me a while to get… it… adjusted," she warned her captain. That annoying smirk never left his face.
"Do whatever it takes, kid. By tomorrow morning, I want to see both Generals on the bridge in that get-up. Or at least the mess hall," he hastily amended. "Don't worry about how we'll find out. We're pros at getting coverage." Barriss gave him the eye.
"I'm sure," she said sarcastically. "Especially when you get to see my master practically naked." Surprisingly, Gree spoke next.
"That's just a perk." Barriss frowned at him.
"Pervert."