Rex yawned as he stretched out his morning stiffness, sitting on the edge of his bed. The spot next to him was vacant - Ahsoka had left hours ago, continuing on her mission to investigate the Sith lord and his Inquisitors. She'd be gone for a few days, probably, and Rex would most likely be off on his own mission before she returned. They did not see much of each other, and most of their time together was spent planning and strategizing with the other members of the rebellion. Neither one of them really minded. They knew from the start this would be the extent of their relationship, at least for the time being. Duty came first, and fighting the Empire was the more important thing in both of their minds. Besides, their time apart made their time together that much more special.

After their first night together, they laid everything on the table the next morning - their feelings for each other, how their relationship could work, how it couldn't affect their roles in the rebellion. They both agreed it was best to keep their relationship a secret, at least for now. The rebellion had better things to worry about then the private matters of two of their leaders, and Ahsoka didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression of why she brought Rex in, or for the two of them to receive any false accusations of what they could have been up to during the Clone Wars when their relationship would have been much more scandalous. She assured him they weren't going to lie to anyone, if outright asked about it, they would be honest. And when the time was right, they would be more open about it.

Still, Rex felt a little guilty about the sneaking around. They shared glances, brief hand holds, gentle touches on the shoulders, quick moments alone in hallways. To those around them, these were small signs of affections between old friends. To them, it was the way they communicated "I love you" and "I'm glad you're home safe." On the rare nights they were both aboard the Rebel command ship, comlinks were turned off and their cabin door locked. As Ahosoka had said, they would treat every moment they had together like it was their last.

Kanan begrudgingly made his way down the barracks corridor of the Rebel command ship. He was NOT happy about this mission and having to team up with Rex to infiltrate an Imperial cruiser. It wasn't even really the fact that Rex was a clone, something about the guy just irritated Kanan. And of course, the old man had overslept and missed the mission briefing, so Kanan had to go fetch him.

He knocked on Rex's cabin door, a little too roughly. "Rex, it's Kanan."

"It's open," called a gruff voice from inside.

The door whizzed open. "Did you bother to read the mission details yet?" Kanan asked irritably. "We're shipping out in an hour. Zeb's getting our storm-" Kanan surveyed the room. "Don't you and Ahsoka share this cabin?"

"Yeah," Rex shifted uncomfortably. "What of it?"

"Why do you only have one bed?"

"We requested a cot when I came aboard."

"That was three months ago." Kanan's eyes narrowed. "Where have you been sleeping?"

Rex shrugged. "Well, we're rarely on this ship at the same time, so we just share the bed."

"And what do you do when you both need a place to sleep?"

"I sleep on the floor," Rex gestured exaggeratedly. "Being the gentleman I am and everything."

"Uh huh." Kanan rolled his eyes. "Be on the Ghost in an hour so we can grab our stormtrooper gear." He turned to leave. "Oh and Rex," he called over his shoulder. "You might want to skip breakfast. It's gonna be a squeeze getting you into that gear." He grinned wickedly as the door shut behind him, hearing Rex call out some expletives from behind it.

"Rex!" Ahsoka ran to his side, dropping to her knees beside the bed inside their cabin where he was laying. "Are you alright? Hera told me you've been injured." She grasped one of his hands. Rex and Kanan had returned only hours before from their mission to rescue Ezra and Commander Sato, and Ahsoka set course for them immediately after Hera had shared news of what happened.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, don't worry," he assured her. "Just some bruises and burns. Nothing a dose of bacta and a good night's sleep won't cure. I'll be back to normal by tomorrow." He squeezed her hand. "What are you doing back here, anyways? You shouldn't have cut your mission short just to check in on me. I thought we agreed not to do that."

"I was nearly finished," she replied. "It was a dead end anyways. Besides, YOU need to be more careful, mister! You're not the strapping young captain you were fifteen years ago."

"Don't remind me," he said with a weary sigh.

"That's not what I mean," Ahsoka responded as she rose to sit on the bed next to him, pulling Rex's head into her lap. "There is no weakness in recognizing your own limitations. It takes strength and humility to do that. And no one wants you to run off on some kind of suicide mission just to prove your worthiness."

"I know," he said firmly. "But we still have a greater mission to accomplish, Ahsoka. We can't be letting personal feelings get in the way."

"You're right," Ahsoka agreed. "Tell you what, I promise not to come running the moment I hear something happened to you, if you promise to be more careful when you're out on a mission."

"Agreed."

Ahsoka traced the bacta patch on Rex's chest with delicate fingers. "So your injuries should be healed by tomorrow?" she asked him teasingly. "A shame you won't be able to participate in any physical activity until them."

Rex caught her meaning and smiled slyly up at her. "I think I can manage for tonight if I'm extra careful." He pulled Ahsoka down with him and in for a passionate kiss.

The next morning, the two laid intertwined in bed. Rex held Ahsoka close, his face buried in the back of her lekku. Ahsoka settled against him, enjoying the heat that radiated off his human skin. He was like a personal space heater. It was getting to be a bit late in the morning, but neither one wanted to move. They hadn't even bothered to get dressed, snuggled intimately against each other, skin to skin. This was one of the first times they had been able to wake up together, without one or the other running off to another adventure. They both had no where to be, no one to see, no meetings to attend, at least for the next few hours.

Ahsoka wriggled against Rex, shifting positions to get more comfortable. "Mmm," Rex mumbled into her lekku. "If you keep that up, we're going to have a problem on our hands."

"Maybe I want to create a problem," she replied teasingly.

Before he could respond, the door whizzed open.

"Hey Ahsoka, I know our meeting isn't until later, but I wanted to talk to you about the-" Kanan stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth dropped open at the sight before him. Ahsoka and Rex bolted upright, Ahsoka pulling the blanket up with her to cover herself. They were speechless, their eyes wide in alarm.

Kanan broke the silence. "I'll... just wait until later." He slammed the door, and they heard him stomp down the hallway.

Ahsoka and Rex shared a worried look. "Well, I guess the secret's out," Rex said flatly.

The door to the Ghost flew open and Kanan stormed inside. "Hey!" Hera called. "What did I say about Force-handling the door when you're angry? My ship can't take much more of that."

Kanan grabbed her arm and guided her into the cockpit. "Rex and Ahsoka," he fumed. "They're shacking up together!"

"There's not a lot of space on the command ship, even the top officers have to share a cabin," commented Hera.

"No, that's not what I mean," Kanan gestured wildly. "They're sleeping together. I just walked in on them naked in bed!"

A grin spread across Hera's face and she raised an amused eyebrow. "Really? I had an feeling something was going on between them."

"Hera, this is serious!" he exclaimed. "I'd expect this kind of thing from Rex, but Ahsoka?! She's the leader of this rebellion! This is totally unprofessional. I mean, was the reason she sent us to get him in the first place just to bring back her old fuck buddy?!"

"Kanan," Hera scolded. "You know that's not true. Rex has invaluable knowledge and experience that has been a huge help to us. Besides, I thought you two had made peace?"

"We did... I think... I don't know!" He paced the cockpit. "It's just wrong. How long do you think this has been going on?! Was he creeping on her during the war when she was a teenager? He's twice her age! And he's a CLONE. They're not supposed to be into stuff like that!"

Hera rolled her eyes. "Kanan, he's still a human being."

"Yeah but..." he trailed off, searching for another reason. "They're not even the same species!"

Hera gave him a pointed look and motioned to herself, then to him.

Kanan waved her off. "That's different."

"It's not." Hera reached for Kanan's hands. "How are Ahsoka and Rex any different from you and me, Kanan? Do you think you'd be part of this rebellion if I didn't ask you to join me all those years ago?"

Kanan sat down. "I don't know," he said quietly. "Probably not. I'd still been wandering the galaxy with no purpose if it wasn't for you."

"Exactly," replied Hera. "Whose to say Ahsoka isn't doing the same thing for Rex? This galaxy is filled with so much death and despair. We need to hold on to the few things we find that bring us happiness." She squeezed his hands. "You and I have each other, and we've built this family and have a purpose to fight for. Don't Ahsoka and Rex deserve that same kind of happiness?"

Kanan sighed. "You're right. Like always."

The cockpit door buzzed open and Ezra hesitantly stepped inside. "Is everything alright?" He looked concerned. "I heard yelling."

"Sorry kid, didn't mean to worry you," Kanan assured him.

"I heard something about Rex and Ahsoka," Ezra asked. "Are they okay?"

Kanan laughed. "Oh, they're more than okay." Hera elbowed him in the ribs. "Err, I mean yeah. They're fine."

Ezra's eyes narrowed. "This doesn't have anything to do with their relationship, does it?"

"What-" Kanan was shocked. "How did you-"

"I dunno, I just assumed." Ezra shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, from the way Ahsoka was talking about him when she asked us to go find him, and the way Rex reacted when we told him she was looking for him. I kinda figured they were a thing. Plus the way they act around each other now, it's pretty obvious."

Zeb's head poked into the doorway. "Rex and Ahsoka are a thing? I knew it!" He jabbed a fist in the air in triumph. "Pay up, Sabine!"

"I didn't even bet against you!" they heard Sabine call from the other room. "I thought the same thing too!"

Kanan threw his hands up in the air. "Am I the ONLY one who didn't notice this going on?"

"Apparently, my dear." Hera patted his head. "You can be quite oblivious at times."

"Well, guess I better go apologize to Ahsoka and Rex," he admitted.

"I'll take care of Ahsoka," offered Hera. "You talk to Rex."

"I knew you were gonna say that."

Rex was picking at the remainder of his breakfast when Kanan approached him in the cafeteria, holding two cups of caf. He reach out and offered one to the old clone.

"That's not poisoned, is it?" Rex asked, half joking.

"Consider it a peace offering," Kanan replied. "Can I sit?" Rex nodded and motioned to the seat across from him. "I'm come to apologize," Kanan began, "For barging in on you and Ahsoka earlier."

Rex ran a hand over his head in embarrassment. "Eh, it's alright. You wouldn't have known."

"I'll make sure to knock next time." Kanan said sheepishly. "Listen, what you and Ahsoka do behind closed doors is your business. I'm not really one to judge, you know?"

Rex nodded. "For what it's worth, we weren't keen on sneaking around. We wanted to be open about it, but so much has been happening lately, it didn't seem appropriate to distract everyone with personal stuff like that. We were waiting for the right time, which I guess is right now."

Kanan laughed. "I don't think there is such thing as the 'right time.' Hera and I have just been winging it for as long as we've been together."

"But it works for you?"

"For the most part."

"Well, here's to winging it," Rex raised his cup, and Kanan clinked it with his own.

They sat in awkward silence for a while, sipping on their caf, until Kanan spoke up again. "So... you're able to... you know... perform?"

Rex nearly choked on his caf at this very personal question Kanan just asked him. "I'm not that old," he said defensively.

"No I meant because you're-"

"A clone?"

"...yeah."

Rex snorted. "Well, I was engineered to be the finest specimen of man in the galaxy." He grinned and Kanan rolled his eyes. "So yeah, everything works fine. I just can't have kids. Reproduction repressor, I think they called it."

"I'm sorry," Kanan apologized awkwardly.

Rex chuckled. "Don't be. Even if we wanted kids, I don't actually think humans and Togrutas can breed."

"Yeah..." Kanan trailed off, looking concerned.

Rex sensed the Jedi's disappointment. "You know, back during the war I met a clone deserter who married a Twi'lek woman. She had two kids from a previous marriage with some other human guy."

"She had kids with a human?" Kanan inquired. "And they were normal?"

"A little splotchy, but other than that, totally normal. Cute kids."

Kanan was deep in thought, a smile on his face. "Thanks for sharing that, Rex."

Rex grinned at his Jedi companion, feeling like the two finally understood each other. "Anytime."