STAR WARS: Modern Alternate Universe: Scuba Diving!

A/N: Slight Rex/Obi-Wan

Rex watches, amused, as Anakin leads a very exasperated, blindfolded Ben out of the car.

"Anakin, I sincerely hope that whatever your surprise may be-" He yelped in surprise as the sand shifted under him. "Anakin, are you sure the ground is entirely stable-" He began to fumble with the blind fold, and Anakin undoes the knot.

"Don't worry old man! It's just sand!" Was it me or did Ben just get a little pale?

"Yeah!" Ahsoka chirps happily. "Were going scuba diving!"

Ben's voice rose slightly in pitch. "Scuba diving?!"

Ahsoka, misinterpreting his apprehension for excitement, gave a loud exclamation. "Hah! I told you he'd like it!"

Anakin eyed her wearily. "Yeah ok, Snips. Rex, how about you get Ahsoka fitted for some gear…" Rex took the hint and began to walk, Ahsoka skipping along behind happily.

Anakin pulled Ben aside.

"Look, I know you're a little apprehensive about this, but it been 10 years…"

"Anakin, I…"

"Do it for Snips, please?"

Ben sighed an old sigh. "I'll try."

[][][]

As Anakin helped Ahsoka into her gear, Rex brought Ben to the back of the little building for fitting.

"So," he asked, with a voice slightly muffled from the numerus boxes and shelves. "Where you from? I haven't see you around."

"England." Ben replied tersely. "I teach at Oxford."

"No kidding. Here, try these." Rex tosses out a pair of flippers. "What do you teach?"

"Oceanography." Ben says as he struggles with the flippers. Rex, hearing the slight commotion, backs out of the storage space, arms full of supplies.

"You study oceanography and you can't get on a pair of flippers?!" he chuckles. "Here let me see those."

The rest of the prep time is filled with a comfortable silence, and Rex thinks he's one step closer to fulfilling Anakin's wish.

[][][]

The next problem comes when their at the dock, getting ready to board the boat.

"But so many things could go wrong! Like what if the boat gets damaged? Or the motor? Or what if a shark comes and attacks me?"

"You, of all people Ben, should know how unlikely it is for us to come across a shark, let alone have it attack you." Anakin explained patiently.

"But with my luck I'll be in that small percentage to suffer a gruesome death from shark related injuries!" Ben fretted. Anakin sighed, and ran his hand over his face.

[][][]

Rex took Ben into the ship's little cabin.

"Tell me. What's wrong?"

Ben's eyes flickered shyly up to Rex's. "There's nothing to tell." He whispers.

Rex gave a snort and sat down next to Ben. "Nothing to tell, eh? Tell me, have you ever fought in a war?"

"War?" Ben's mouth goes dry and he swallows.

"In war you learn things. Especially faces. You know who you can trust, whose lying, whose hiding something… and, especially, you learn the face of those hiding from the past. Now tell me, Old Ben, what are you hiding from?" he finishes softly.

"His name was Quinn… we met in collage. Roommates." Ben shifted a little in his seat. "He studied oceanography, I chemistry. We grew close, and he invited me to come on his first submarine expedition…" His voice cracked. "Something went wrong, and it imploded on itself from the pressure. I… watched the whole thing from the camera on the boat… and took his place at Oxford."

Rex let him cry a little, and then gently wiped the tears from Ben's cheeks. "Nothing will happen today, alright?" he said gruffly. Ben mutely nodded. "But you're going to do it for the little girl's birthday, alright?"

Another nod.

"Come on then, Ben."

[][][]

And in the end, it was ok.

Ahsoka was definitely enjoying herself, swimming around with excitement (though she didn't understand why the fish keep swimming away, "Maybe I smell bad." "No, Snips. Fish can't smell." "But sharks can! Why..?").

Anakin succeeded in a life long goal of poking a jellyfish (and not foreseeing the consequences of said goal).

And despite it all, Ben found, that after a while, he really was enjoying himself. The colorful fish that swam around the four divers in dizzying clouds was mesmerizing, as well were all the critters on the floor. In fact, he was of certain interest to one bright yellow fish that kept darting around him. But when he looks back at that day, there's one thing that was important.

It's not the fact that Anakin got stung by purposefully provoking a jellyfish (though that's in the top three).

Or how he had overcome his fear of- well, let's not dwell on it, he has for ling enough (but it's a close second).

It's important because that was the first of meny times he would see Rex again, and when they returned to that certain beach together for the second time, you would see a faint metallic glint in their clasped hands.

THE END