Title: Condition

Genre: Romance (?)

Characters: Captain Rex/Ahsoka Tano, Fives, Kix, Echo

Summary: A certain clone Captain comes to a certain realization.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars, obviously.

AN: I haven't written anything in years (for various reasons), so I feel like a complete rookie. I don't know if this will be a one-shot or something longer…

I am also not a native English speaker, so if you notice any mistakes please let me know!

Captain Rex was walking a hole in the floor of his tiny office aboard the Resolute. He was completely lost. He should just let a random clanker put an end to his misery. Why did nobody prepare him for this mess? He was supposed to be a command clone, he was supposed to know stuff. He sighed and ran a hand through his short hair. The problem - which was pointed out to him by Fives of all people - was a serious one. He had been thinking about it almost non-stop for the last few days - every waking hour, and there's been plenty of those lately, and couldn't get it out of his head.

He resumed his pacing. The realization came to him after the last mission, where he started acting irrationally when the Commander put herself in danger yet again.

Ahsoka was shielding a munition's shipment when they hit dirtside of some remote Outer Rim planet. She was unable to leave her post when the droid army had all but overpowered their forces and it was the last possible moment for their legion to retreat. He saw her struggle in the corner of his eye, but when a blaster shot reached her arm, he felt himself go into something that could only be described as a berserker mode.

The Captain quickly turned around and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, avoiding blaster shots and destroying as many clankers as he could. He vaguely remembered voices in his comm yelling at him to pull back, but he ran anyway. The rest of his memory was fuzzy and in the end he did manage to get to Ahsoka in time and out of harm's way. It was hardly anything unusual - a clone protecting a Jedi - but this stunt, especially performed by a seasoned vet like him made some of his subordinates worried. When they finally were safe aboard General Skywalker's flagship Fives, Echo and Kix cornered him in an empty corridor near his quarters.

„Permission to speak freely, Captain." Fives broke the silence first, ever so bold.

„Like you would listen if I said no." muttered Rex and tried to look menacing.

„We've noticed that you've been a bit distracted lately, sir." started Kix warily, glancing at his friends. „We were wondering if maybe you were aware of the reason of your… uh… condition."

„What the fek are you talking about?" the Captain growled and slowly met the eyes of every present clone. „Well?"

„You are infatuated with the Commander, sir, and it's getting worse with every mission." Echo said in an even tone, almost like he was discussing deecee's latest model with a brother, not informing his superior officer about breaking GAR regulations.

„Why would I be infatuated with Commander Cody?" Rex tried to play dumb, hoping they would drop the subject, but the three clones only gave him almost identical sour looks. Fives snorted.

„The other Commander, Captain. And if you say it's about Bly I will seriously start doubting your intellectual abilities. Face it - you have a major crush on Ahsoka!" The ARC kept looking at his Captain smugly while delivering his last line.

„We thought that we should be the ones to confront you about it, before somebody else noticed." Kix continued his brother's thought.

Rex was in too much of a shock to even start to think about refuting the false accusations. Because they had to be false, right…? There was no way in all nine Corellian hells he would EVER…

When he didn't say anything for a few seconds the three brothers decided it would probably be in their best interest to retreat now, before the Captain had a chance to react properly.

„Just… think about it, sir." Fives muttered, looking behind his shoulder at his stunned superior officer and swiftly following Kix and Echo in the direction of the mess hall.

And think about it he did.

He lay awake in his cot. It was way past lights-out, but the words he heard from his brothers kept repeating in his mind like a broken holo-recording. A crush - him? On the small, over-exuberant Togruta Padawan? He snorted quietly. It was as ridiculous as an idea of Hutts running a charity organization. It was logical that he rushed to her rescue, they were trained to protect the Jedi, were they not? It was also perfectly normal that - while he didn't remember what exactly happened during his mad dash to rescue Ahsoka - he distinctively remembered the feel of her against his armor as he carried her through the battlefield and the fact that Kix had to pry his fingers from her waist when he finally reached the medbay. After a short dip in bacta she was cleared to get on with her on-board duties she came to him and thanked him quietly, her lekku twitching in what he learned to interpret as embarrassment.

He grinned at the memory of her - alive and well. It was all he needed. That and making sure his brothers were also taken care of. After Umbara he'd spent a long time pondering his duty to the Republic and the GAR. All his upbringing and training was about following orders, unwavering trust in his superiors and the belief that what they were doing contributed to something much bigger than their individual lives. It felt good to have a purpose, not to question your own existence. He'd been a perfect little Captain, one of hundreds in the well-oiled machine that was the GAR.

General Krell had destroyed all that. Those horrible events made Rex realize that there was no perfect goal they were striving for, no glory in death at the battlefield. The only thing he could do was to fight for those he regarded as his friends and family, and hope that his actions helped them somehow.

Usually he made a point not to share his burdens with anyone, but a nosy little Togruta seemed to go out of her way to get him to talk when he was in a bad mood, sulking in the hangar. Almost as if she was monitoring him through the Force, which seemed improbable.

He told himself he wasn't important enough for her to care so much about his wellbeing; after all, he was just a clone. Every time she appeared by his side during those moments he felt guilty pleasure wash over him. He selfishly wanted her to comfort him, to put a hand on his shoulder and talk only to him.

At one point he almost fell of the crate they were sitting on, when she informed him, quite matter-of-factly, that he was her best friend.

„Wha…? But what about Commander Offee?" he awkwardly tried to cover up his almost-fall by shifting his body away from Ahsoka.

„Well, she is my best girlfriend… But have you ever tried talking to her? I mean, she's nice and everything, but she wouldn't know a joke if it bit her in the bum."

„And I know good jokes?" the clone looked at the Padawan incredulously, trying not to visualize jokes as tiny gundarks chasing the Mirialan, trying to chew on her nether regions.

„Rexter, you know the lamest jokes in the whole Galaxy and I love them. And you have this serious expression on your face when you tell them, it's ten times funnier than the other clones!" she laughed. His heart skipped a beat at the word „love", but he quickly quenched any emotions that threatened to emerge.

„Well, sir, I heard a new one from Fives a while ago." he declared, trying his best to keep his face a stone mask.

„Oh please, do share." Ahsoka beamed.

„Why can't you trust atoms?"

The Togruta raised her eyebrows and looked at him expectantly.

„Because they make up everything."

This time it was Ahsoka who fell off the crate.

The Captain laughed silently at the memory. Over the past two years they shared many such moments, and each one was precious to him. He basked a little more in the positive feelings which the memory unlocked, but after a few moments he frowned again. Even if he felt more for his Commander than he should, he could do nothing. There were GAR regulations and the Jedi Code, and he would not risk her future just to satisfy his needs. He was sure she wasn't interested in him anyway; the meaning of all the private talks, brushes of hands, smiles and pats on the back was surely over-exaggerated by his hyperactive brain. Rex sighed. No use in thinking about something that will never happen. Even if he wished it did.

Which led him to present day: after hours and hours of over-analyzing his and Ahsoka's every word and gesture he had to face the facts.

To put it simply - Captain Rex, a hardened veteran of the elite 501st was in love.

With a superior officer.