The sky was now hazy and gray with a clouded ceiling. The islands that usually dominated the upper atmosphere were gone, save for a few smaller ones far off in the distance. One would need a pair of scopes to decipher between floating islands or clouds at that distance.

Piercing through the clouds with exact precision, the rays of light radiating from the ancient Jola Star were framing the spot where Ahsoka and Rex now stood. The heat, mixed with the warm moisture of the lagoon, created a sticky humidity, making the air as heavy as the significance of this diversion from their attempt at swimming in the lagoon.

Rex and Ahsoka had reached the mutual decision to allow things to go further. Together, they understood that they would no longer retreat, only advance and without discussion.

All that could be heard on Splendor were the sounds of the waterfall crashing, the river rushing, and the complete absence of any danger.

What could be heard in their immediate vicinity were the sounds of their heated, breathy sighs as their lips were drawing out delicious moans of pleasure from one another. Ahsoka benefited from extrasensory hearing and could hear their heartbeats drumming at a pacing tempo that added to her arousal.

Positioned there by the massive moss-covered rocks at the far end of the lagoon, what was occurring was the result of a uniquely powerful friendship that was always professional and platonic over the years. That oh-so-appropriate, respectful, and supportive partnership was now the very factor that allowed their attraction to each other to escalate so quickly. The invisible shield walls of the past that had kept them from each other were now truly down.

The intensity of their kissing was at a needy and daring level. They shared the common desperation for what was happening right now. Neither Ahsoka nor Rex had ever allowed their bodies to be vessels of complete unbridled pleasure solely.

Ahsoka knew.

Rex knew.

If anyone in the galaxy considered what they were doing right now risky and dangerous, Rex and Ahsoka would completely agree with them. They also simply didn't have the ability anymore to care.

Allowing the familiar rush of adrenaline that came with such peril, their wild physical attraction awakened something else, something new, a new, improved version of trust, respect, and care.

It wasn't a question of whether they enjoyed kissing each other; they knew the answer to that by now. Ahsoka was quickly realizing, as Rex's fingers were gently braving the most intimate part of her, she was beginning to long for what else they could do while kissing each other. Sweetly spoken in her montral, Rex's words had undoubtedly confirmed that they were at the point of no return now,

"Youare going to show me…."

As brave and fearless as she was, Ahsoka was so paralyzed with experiencing this new pleasure she couldn't figure out where to start. Her body was locked up with desire for him to keep his hand there, keep moving his fingers wherever they wanted to go, and kriff if he wanted to, he could yank down her underwear and do whatever he wanted to down there. If she could figure out how to move her arms, she would pull the fabric down herself, but she was too fixated on the feeling of his fingertips caressing over her warmth earnestly.

Here she was, an ex-Jedi, a Force wielder, a restless, driven, natural-born Togrutan warrior huntress, and she was struck still with complete desire by the touch of this one human man, her Rex. It could only be Rex that she would allow to make her so wonderfully vulnerable.

When she felt his fingers begin small circular motions that were just so close to where she wanted it to be, she yelped a moan that got stuck in her throat. The feeling was dizzying and needy, and then the realization finally clicked. Her body was even more sexually complex than his. As soon as she could process this thought, Rex's gentle dexterous movements changed course and applied slightly more pressure; her thighs and abdomen jerked and quivered with delight. Ahsoka's breath hissed an inhale of disbelief as she looked at Rex like she had no idea who he was. How in the galaxy had they waited this long to do this? Her body shuddered a whimper of approval at his exacting touch hitting her like an explosion as her thighs clenched slightly round his hand.

With this revelatory pleasure, her tongue was barely in his mouth now, just nipping at the tip of his tongue. Out in the open, the sensitivity of their released tongues reaching for each other was maddening and animalistic. They even smiled and playfully laughed at each other as their tongue tips were chasing after each other with want and need. They were almost lapping at each other with delight for more. This sent an arousal in her right down to exactly where Rex was beginning to get bolder. He began to trace the fabric to where his fingers almost breached the edges of her panties' narrowest and warmest part to go under and feel her untouched skin that was slicken for this new experience.

She noticed that Rex was now getting excited as she eyed his lower blacks, still glistening and wet from their swim. There was no hiding what was happening to him as there was an outline bulging from under the fabric against his lower abs, at full attention and painfully waiting for its turn.

Half of her wanted to stay frozen there in the slight quivering of their discovery of her body, while the other half wanted to lay down and open her legs up entirely to whatever he wanted to do. Just as she saw Rex had been able to this morning when he let himself go. She now comprehended what all the screaming was about.

Her simple black underwear (turned bathing suit) was now a cumbersome shield of inconvenience. It needed to be dealt with before it rubbed painfully against her sensitivity again as it disrupted the pleasure that Rex was doing his absolute best to give her.

When Rex's warm hand then softly cupped her mound entirely, she felt her knees knock into each other as if preparing for the next sequence of action. It was the same way she would wind up on her anchored foot before landing a roundhouse kick with the leading foot. Her body was winding up, but she didn't know for sure what her next move was. At this moment, she could barely stand. She was bracing herself by gripping his right shoulder with her left hand. Digging her nails into his skin, she was fixated on the flexing muscles of his bicep and forearm moving in time with what his right hand was up to presently.

It wasn't just him touching her that added to the quivering of her lips, thighs, and stomach muscles. This view of Rex touching her made her throat dry as her body continued to get wetter around his touch. His chest had some intoxicating effect on her mind. His nipples were smaller than hers but similarly dark and perfectly erect. There were scattered, stubborn splashes of water droplets that still refused to leave his dark skin. Rex had so many scars all over his beautiful human skin. She wanted him to have her for every scar inflicted on his perfect being. And his human hair had a primal effect on her. The slight hint of his chest hair that joined the path down to his stomach muscles reminded her that she now knew it led to that complex and appealing body part of his that seemed to leave her wordless. His…thing that makes her want to lick and bite her lips repeatedly. She had no idea why, but her lips seemed to respond each time she looked at it, her lips pursed, and she wanted to see it again, badly.

She was standing up and leaning against the jagged rock. She decided to shift her legs to open slightly.

When Rex's hand once again left her begging warmth and went up towards her stomach, she let out a whiny moan. Almost furious with him, she put her hand over his to urge him to return to touching her. Rex held his hand there on her stomach, grabbing at her trembling tight lower abs as he now was kissing her lekku gently. Rex didn't even open his eyes, but Ahsoka saw he was smirking that weapon of a grin. Maybe Rex knew she was giving him a look that matched her noisy plea. He then opened his amber eyes right into her wide blue eyes and was now watching to see her face when he made his next move.

Rex's eyes fixed on Ahsoka for her response as he quickly moved his hand from under hers so that it was now over her hand. He darted a glance down, then returned to look for her approval. Ahsoka noticed he was holding his breath with suspense. He guided her hand down with his,

"Ahsoka…you okay if we..?"

She nodded eagerly. She now absolutely understood what Rex was trying to do before and was so very glad he attempted to do it again. He was guiding her to join him, perhaps even take the lead.

Kissing would have to wait for this.

Rex wanted to watch her face for her reaction to touching herself. Ahsoka wanted to watch his reaction to her. They were absolutely on the same page in anticipation of the subtle attack about to occur.

Both of their hands went under the thin, banded hem of wet fabric. When Ahsoka's hand touched herself down there, her body suddenly knew exactly what to do. Her hips grinding towards the source of pleasure as her legs opened up when her left foot took a bracing side step for balance, her foot arched as much as it could. Her fingers were curious wanderers, exploring a realm of an unknown wing in their own home. Rex's hand over hers moved to begin pulling at the fabric to give her hand more room to explore where and what she liked. Having his hand right there with hers was comforting, if not encouraging.

She may have been mistaken, but through her coos and hisses of breath, she heard a distant rumble of thunder. The sun rays were still piercing, but the smell of rain was starting to sink in. It was impossible to address at the moment. The current of ecstasy and empowerment was sweeping her away. She was doing all of this to herself.

Her legs were getting wobbly, and Rex was now even working to keep up. He watched her in awe. Her right hand moved with a combination of tender tracing, then rough and steady rubbing. She would switch from a pleading stare into his eyes just before closing them to register the waves of pleasure washing over her. His hand was there as backup for whatever she needed. Sometimes just to trace and grasp that supple flesh of her inner thighs. Other times, he tenderly explored what her skin felt like on her most sensitive areas. When he saw that she was moving her hips in ways that made this morning seem tame, he had to kiss that beautiful mouth of hers. He had to attend to her. The ignited stiffness below in his body was regulated by the thoughts of his long-established admiration for her.

He could hold out a little longer…he hoped.

As he kissed her, he noticed her left hand went to touch her breast, aggressive in its reach. Ahsoka started pulling at the fabric to pull her bandeau top down. Still kissing her, Rex noticed in the corner of his eye that she now had released her breasts from her top, and he immediately bent down to attend to them. Both of his hands insisted on being there for this part of the mission. As usual, Ahsoka was excelling at her designated task, allowing Rex's two hands to dare to be worthy of touching the most beautiful pair of breasts he had ever seen, hers. She called out his name and swallowed it as quickly when she was hit with a ripple of ecstasy from his gentle squeeze.

He hunched down awkwardly and was willing to stay there for a full rotation in that ridiculous position if needed. As he made his way down to get a closer look at her breasts, he saw something he never knew was always right in front of him. He was staring at the white markings around her dark nipples. Having never seen them, he looked at them almost apologetically. Tracing them lightly with wonder, he then kissed them gently on each breast as if to greet them as welcome guests. From his close-up viewpoint, he could see her breasts and deliciously hard nipples framing the scene below of Ahsoka's hand buried in her panties and pleasing herself. He was utterly unprepared for the intimacy and the extreme arousal of it all, but he wasn't about to panic. He was a Captain, a damned good one too. He could remain steady in any situation and do what he needed, should, and now wanted to do.

A few drops of rain hit the back of his head, shoulders, and even on his tongue as it traced over her right nipple before taking her perky breast in by the mouthful. Ahsoka groaned wildly at his maneuver and grabbed his head to steady herself. The feeling of her nails tracing his scalp caused him to jut his tongue hard at her nipple. She practically growled. He let a prideful laugh escape, delighting in her pleasure as he felt himself twitch with even more excitement under the stranglehold of his damp blacks.

The raindrops turned to a steady drizzle. It was now evident that more rain was indeed on the way.

Her left hand was holding on to his shoulder again as she purred his name over and over. Ahsoka was experiencing so much pleasure at once it was only natural for her to reach out to the Force for some sense of stability. Her Force sensitivity had always radiated from her chest, where her heart was, and flowed out to the tips of her montrals and fingers. Now it seems she had unlocked a new dimension within her body. Also originating from her heart, it emitted a powerful, new feeling right down to where her hand was touching below. She even felt it shoot down to the tips of her toes. She had no idea what any of this meant, why it was happening, or how to control it. She could only trust that its protection was bound to her. Rex was indulging her body with his soft and determined lips, and she was in a lidded state that had only started to build up to more. Physically, her body was endeavoring to keep up with the constant waves of powerful pleasure.

Ahsoka was digging her nails in Rex's skin with an erratic grip that was almost concerning. She was losing her usually steady and sure balance. Rex positively did not want to stop, nor did he want to disrupt the undeniable pleasure she was enjoying with herself. Still, he knew if Ahsoka's balance was off, they needed to reassess and get comfortable elsewhere. He stood up and watched her in her busy bliss. He was used to being the voice of reason. Silently, he promised her he'd make up for being a good Captain once again.

"Ahsoka…do you want to…find a more comfortable spot?"

"I-I don't want to move right now, Rex," she laughed. "I just want to keep doing this."

"Your legs are getting shaky, Tano." Rex smiled. He certainly understood what that felt like. It's what happened to him this morning pressed hard against her delicate softness. It was near impossible to pull himself away from her then.

Ahsoka attempted to focus, even though she looked as though she had been thrown off a spinning BARC speeder, "Wh-where? Where should we go?" Dazed, she moved her head one way, her dreamy eyes another.

Rex could see the blood rush of ecstasy still filled her, even though her hand and hips halted, reacting to his well-intended disruption. She brought her arms to his neck and pressed her face against his chest. Her body was warming his with their closeness, and she tried to catch her breath.

He knew she could be more comfortable, and with the rain coming, he also knew they should make the journey back to the lodge.

"Well, I could carry you over there and lay you down in the dirt and wet grass…in the rain."

"That sounds…muddy."

She snickered, looked up, and kissed his chin, feeling the short bristles of coarse facial hair tickle her lips. Rex continued,

"Or…we can head back to the lodge…"

Her face frowned at the hint of reason in his tone and suggestion.

"Consider yourself warned, Rex. A really sad pout is coming."

He leaned in, stopping shy of a breath between them,

"…and when we get to the lodge, I can lay you down on the nice warm bed. How does that sound?"

Her pout was sent away when her playful smile returned.

"That sounds much better."

They heard another rumble of thunder. It was getting closer. The sunlight from the Jola Star gave its last kiss to the Splendor moon before disappearing behind an overcast ceiling that warned them both of the coming downpours.

They both reacted with a worried glance at each other.

"That's definitely not good. Ahsoka, this rainforest is thick and overgrown. We can walk back and stick to the rocks at the lagoon's edge."

"Rex, we need to hurry then. It'll start storming before we get back."

Rex was pulling up her top for her. Her heart melted when Rex gave a boyish pout adjusting the fabric in place before he spoke,

"You can leap back quicker, I'll be fine. I can't really run right now," Rex admitted and he took the opportunity to adjust himself, finally.

"I'm not leaving you to head back by yourself, Rex! Let me think real quick…hmmm…if I can manage it…I think I have an idea."

Oh boy.

Rex knew the melody of Ahsoka's thinking voice. It usually had a concerning uptick in pitch that flattened out when considering the most dangerous part.

"Let me hear it first before I agree."

The crackling thunder rumbled even closer. Thankfully no lightning had been spotted yet.

"We can get back to the lodge pretty quick and avoid the worst of the rain. I can get us above the forest, I think…if I carry you—"

"Carry me?! Ohhhh no. We're not doing that."

"Rex, it'll work."

"I'm sure you think it would, in some version of your idea in that beautiful mind of yours, but no."

Rex had his own wild idea. He looked out at the clouds, then at the lodge, and finally at the lagoon. When he returned his view to where they stood, Ahsoka was attempting to smooth over the memory of the first (and last) time she had tried to carry Captain Rex away to safety on her tiny shoulders,

"Rex, I know when we tried this on Felucia, well, it's true that it didn't exactly go as planned…."

He did catch that remark, "I'll say! I was already limping, and you dropped me from seven meters up into the slimy goo of that crazy plant.

"At least you landed somewhere soft? I didn't account for your armor being so bulky. And! We were getting shot at from all sides."

"Throw me."

"WHAT?" Ahsoka was sure she misheard him.

"You heard me. Throw me up and over into the lagoon's deepest spot and I'll swim the rest of the way."

"Rex. You said you hated it when I did that."

"To be clear, I said I hated it when you did it without my okay. But I'm telling you to do it now. It's okay."

Ahsoka looked out at the lagoon, the lodge, and finally up to the clouds. She straightened her shoulders and shot him a look of concern. Rex knew how to get Ahsoka on board with his plan, though,

"I'm sure I'll beat you back to the lodge. Force tricks or not."

Her azure blue eyes widened at his challenge, "You don't seriously think I'll fall for that, do you?

Rex held in his smirk, but his eyebrow may have revealed his cockiness.

"Ahsoka, listen to me. You have to get me over there now before the lightning shows up. Don't be upset. I'll just be on the balcony before you.

"Alright, Rexter. On my call–"

"Oh no, I get to call this one."

"That's fair, I'll give you your head start."

Rex smiled wildly, "You ready? On three"

"Wait!"

"What now?"

"I need to find the deepest part of the lagoon first."

"Oh, right. That was part of my plan, wasn't it?"

"You nervous, Rex?"

"Never," he gave her a quick wink like he used to do in the early days of the war when she was new to the 501st. Ahsoka shook her head with a grin just before closing her eyes.

"Okay, Rex. Here we go." Ahsoka's left arm stretched out; her fingers positioned to allow the Force to signal the depth and dimensions of the lagoon's basin. Her eyes closed as she drew in a deep breath, letting it out calmly, "Here's your spot."

Rex's hands had an instinct to throw on his helmet, but he just held them in the air in front of him. He wasn't wearing any armor. He hadn't even worn a shirt this whole rotation. He turned around to look in the vague direction she was pointing at with her hand channeling the Force.

"Ready on three, Ahsoka. One, two…," He turned quickly and kissed the spot where her montrals met on the top of her head. Then he turned back to prepare for his takeoff.

"Rex?!" she exclaimed, but still in control.

"THREE!"

Ahsoka propelled Rex high to achieve the exact trajectory needed for a safe landing in the deepest water. But it was up to Rex's coordination and acrobatic skill as a clone trooper to ride it out and handle his descending dive when he plunged back into the water.

With her eyes closed, she sensed his Force signature was wild, even thrilled. He indeed had no fear of doing this. She felt a shift in her senses and assumed he had landed safely. When she opened her eyes, nothing but a ripple and small circles of whitecap splashes outlined where he landed in the distance.

She wanted to look at the nearest, tallest tree to get the plan going for her race through the trees. She needed to make sure Rex was okay first. When she saw his dark golden head appear above the surface and shake off the water, Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked back to where she was and waved his arm. She heard in the distance Rex's familiar booming voice when it called a battle cry,

"LET'S GO, TANO!"

The feeling of eager determination was back.

Ahsoka's heart was pounding, and senses hyper-focused, she reached out to the Force to propel her body. She darted into a steady sprint, then leaped to the tallest oak's mid branches. She felt the wind whip against her montrals and lekku tails, chilling her wet bandeau. It caused her nipples to harden again with a rush of excitement and enhanced her speed. She swooped her arms to a lift up with the Force as she inverted a flip that would land her on a vine wrapped around a wild, overgrown kapok tree that rose just above the canopy layer of the forest. Swinging to land gracefully on a tall pile of jagged boulders, she screened for clearance. From this vantage point, Ahsoka could see that Rex still had his notorious speed in the water. No brother in the entire GAR could outswim Captain Rex, much to Commanders Cody and Wolffe's dismay. She bounded off to keep up with his pace and looked for the opening to see the lodge. Rex was now running through the water thigh-deep, then knee-deep, as his muscular might pushed through the water's heavy resistance.

She turned back and saw her path to the lodge in two leaps. She'd beat him there for sure. She looked back at Rex's progress. He was now sprinting up the small shore to the stepping path back to the lodge, but he was barefoot. That could slow him down. Just before she closed her eyes to leap, she turned around to assess her next landing point. As she jumped again, she swore that she sensed a presence in the distance. A small bird of some sort, maybe? Was it possibly flying over the lodge?

Who are you?

I am not "who."

I am within you, Ahsoka Tano.

When she opened her eyes, it must have flown and was gone. The rain's drizzle was now pitter-pattering with consistency. She let the reaction to the mysterious visitor wash away so as not to lose her footing for the last leap off of a sturdy sapling in the underbrush. Her aim was precise. The Force was with her from head to toe in a fully controlled state of flight like never before. Ahsoka trusted the Force to carry her on as it always had and always would.

With her last jump, she allowed the Force to propel her body forward as she handled the velocity by maneuvering a forward aerial to land her nimble feet in perfect balance on the balcony's railing.

Rex's feet launched from the second to last step up, and he landed on the balcony's wooden floor. He was hunched over, bracing his hands on his burning thighs, and soaking wet from his swim. He was also completely out of breath. Ahsoka's breathing was as calm as when she was meditating.

"Don't say it, Tano."

"Beat y—"

"No, no! If we got here at the same time, I won," Rex could barely get his words out, "Whew! I-I..I w-win."

"Ha! Is that so?"

"Yes. Ab...ab…absolutely," He was now drawing measured breaths into his lungs and stood up straight and smiling. She felt herself clench at the sight of him. His stance presented his slick muscular frame even more defined than before with his hands on his hips as he walked off his extreme workout,

"Did you hold back?"

"No, sir. I did wait until you came up from the water and took off at your command."

"Oh, good. See? That means I won today."

"You seem out of breath there, old man," she teased him as she walked along the railing closer to him.

"Ha. Ahsoka, I've been out of breath since I saw you in this outfit of yours. Hell, since I woke up this morning," his eyebrow raised, but his demeanor was a little bashful about his last admission,

"Come down from there, already."

With her balance and acrobatics, she lowered her body to sit on the balcony's top railing in one graceful move. Ahsoka was now dangling her boots with her knees pressed together. Her hands were bracing the back of the railing. The rain washed over her as she tasted it to wet her lips, looking at it washing over him.

Rex's breath was now steady but measured with anticipation again. They can't go in from the rain just yet, Rex decided. He approached her and closed the distance between them in a few careful steps.

"Who are you calling old? I'm just a kid, remember?" Rex put his hands on her knees. Ahsoka laughed at his jab,

"Welllllll, I wouldn't go that far, Rex."

As his hands traced her legs to open their attempt at a blockade, her knees surrendered open willingly. He slid his hips right where they belonged, as close to her body as possible. He was steadying a glance at her, knowing one kiss was going to turn him on like crazy again, but Ahsoka was quicker on the draw, grabbing the fabric of his blacks to pull him dangerously closer to her. She kissed him sweetly before squeezing her thighs against his hips,

"You know one day…I too will get older."

"Has to happen sometime," he cupped her face with one hand and traced her stomach with the other, landing his grip to firmly cup her left breast under her lekku, "I bet you'll be as beautiful as you are now."

In his deep sweet tone, Ahsoka only needed that one compliment to set her all ablaze again. She kissed a thank you on his lips as she traced his wet shoulder blades with her fingernails. Her touch became curious and busy, traveling down to get under the fabric of his blacks. Her fingertips skimmed along the inside of his waistband. The rain was not letting up, and neither were the two of them.

"It's officially raining. We should go inside," Rex whispered.

"We really should, Rex," Ahsoka whispered back.

"We could warm-up, put on some dry clothes."

"Oh sure. Just so we can take them off again?"

"Well…yes. Bad idea?"

"You've had better."

"Ah. I must be distracted. My apologies…"

"Rex…don't say it."

"…Commander."

She winced at his sentimental wisecrack. Rex saw that his joke had hurt her feelings, which was not what he intended at all.

"When you say that— Rex, I know you were joking. But it's hard for me to hear you say it."

"Ahsoka? I was proud to call you my Commander," he twirled her lekku gently, and she leaned into the pleasure of it by taking his hand. Rex continued,

"Being with you like this, it hasn't changed that for me. I hope you know that."

"I wasn't worried about this…us. Rex, you and I, like this, I don't know…it feels perfect."

Though their initial approach was lustful, they now settled into that caring embrace that seemed to show up exactly when needed. Rex held her in his arms. Ahsoka wrapped her arms around him as well. He breathed in the smell of rain that was falling on them, and his head fit just right above her montrals

"If you weren't worried about this, what…what exactly does upset you when I call you 'Commander'?"

"Because…because I left, Rex."

"Oh. That. That didn't change the way I felt either. We all accepted the choice you made. That's how loved you were. I know that's why I–"

"You really don't have–

"…missed you."

He squeezed her tighter. She was doing the same. They were one being when they held each other like this.

"I missed you too, Rex. I missed you so much . If anything had happened to you…"

He could feel her tears coming down over his heart. Rex's eyes squinted, and his lip quivered. He knew his eyes were watering. Somehow he and Ahsoka had found the exact coordinates where love and pain intersected and needed to press on in one direction or take the other.

Rex let her admission hit him,

She really did miss me. She was worried about me.

Damn Lawquanes, they were right.

Rex pulled back slightly to look at her,

"Hey there," he was ready to brave seeing her beautiful eyes filled with tears again,

"I'm with you now, right?"

"I know," she sniffled as she nodded subtly in agreement.

Rex recalled his agony alone in the shower as the rain poured down. He was never going to feel that way again. One full day alone with Ahsoka, without the war, had given him more freeing happiness than he was ever engineered to experience. He lifted her chin to look at his happy expression that had the slightest trace of held back tears,

"Look at me, Ahsoka. Always know that I mean what I say to you, I could never stop caring about you."

She was looking up at him, now even more broken. He figured out what was going on in there behind her pained expression. He continued as he met her at her fear,

"Even…," Rex took an even bigger measured breath at this moment, "...even if you have to leave me again, Ahsoka."

"I-I don't want to, Rex," Ahsoka's falling tears were being masked by the rain that was now dominating the air around them. Unfortunately, her sobbing shoulders collapsing into him could not be hidden by anything. He let her cry into him and waited before he spoke,

"You don't have to leave today. It's okay, Ahsoka. You don't have to right now," he kissed her to remind her not to waste a single minute they had with each other. And certainly not waste it feeling sorry for themselves. He pulled her thighs up around him and scooped her up. Ahsoka let him carry her inside as she nuzzled her head and montrals into his shoulder and neck.

Rex headed to the sliding glass door of the bedroom. She was curled up around him like a weeping child, though her childhood was left on a battlefield a long time ago. They were both soaking wet from the rain, and the room's chill hit them both.

Ahsoka was pressing her face against his skin to soothe herself. Rex never expected that the sound of someone like her crying for him would fill his heart full to the brim.

He was a man falling in love.

This was not a fantasy, not some story about other people, not a grand epic Mandalorian tale. It was happening to him, CT-7567, Captain Rex. He knew this much was true because all he wanted to do right now was make her happy…and he knew that he could.

There were many things Rex couldn't do that Ahsoka could, but he knew he could love her. He suspected she might even love him too. Regardless of his latter suspicion, he was willing to do what he could to make her feel better right now.

When she reluctantly dismounted and climbed down from his carrying hold, she moved to take off her boots. She was wiping her eyes and still had a solemn look on her face. Rex watched her as she unnecessarily punished herself for no reason. He would wait until she spoke first. He knew she hated uncomfortable silences. So it wouldn't be too long now.

"I, um, Rex, I did put towels out for us on the balcony."

"Yup, I saw. They're soaking wet now," Rex held his chuckle in as he patiently stood by the edge of the bed. He was holding his position to watch for the right moment.

"Oh okay. I'll get some more from the bathroom,"

She was now out of her boots and went to walk past him. His left trigger finger caught the two fingers on her left hand before she could pass him. She slowly turned to him,

"I'm sorry. I ruined the mood," she only allowed the small hook of their interlocked fingers and kept her distance. Rex pulled her to him anyway,

"What mood is that, Tano?"

"You know what I mean, Rex."

"Tell me."

"Rex…," she lowered her eyes humbly. The slightest hint of blush in her face appeared with an even smaller grin. There it was. The moment he needed to break her away from the remorseful shell she was trying to crawl into and hide.

"Ahsoka, I'm going to ask you something. I want you to pay very close attention, okay? It's not easy for me to ask this of you. But if I don't ask now, I'll never forgive myself."

Her curiosity was now slightly piqued. She nodded and looked up at him. Rex held her face in his hands and looked straight into her beautiful but saddened wide eyes,

"Ahsoka, do you…want to take a bath…with me…right now?"

He did absolutely nothing to hide the mischievous grin that knew this precisely was what she needed to hear.

She instantly started laughing and covered her mouth apologetically. Rex laughed with her and moved her hand away from her mouth to see her smile. He traced her full, dark lips with his thumb. He watched her laughs turn to a playful yearn. She kissed his thumb and the inside of his palm before returning an equally mischievous look; one of the signature white markings above Ahsoka's eyes raised to signal that she was ready to follow Rex's lead.

Her lips pursed with a snicker of excitement before she answered,

"Yes, Rex. I would love to take a bath, with you, right now,"

"Oh good. I wasn't sure what you'd say."

"I could change my mind, you know?"

"Could you now?"

She was laughing again as she shook her head "no." He relished in his success by kissing her neck as he twirled her lekku then traced it where it fell.

She jumped up on him and wrapped her legs around him, "Will you cut it out and carry me to the bathroom, please ?"

He growled into her neck with laughter causing her to sigh audibly, absolutely overwhelmed with delight.

"Will you get these damn doors open, please ?"

"Already on it, Rex!" She flicked her fingers slightly, and the swing doors opened up before them, then she pressed her concentration further, "I also started the tub. Hope you don't mind that it's really hot."

"Good work, Tano!" They were both giggling as he set her down on the bathroom counter.

She looked up at him, and her expression changed to almost a hint of nervousness. Rex watched as she stood up off the counter. The first thing she removed was that nervous look.

Ahsoka looked at his body, which she had seen all of by this point. She was ready for Rex to see all of her in a way she had never imagined he would.

His expression was now a dazed smile that slowly realized what was about to happen. His face now wore a serious, invested and hungry expression. His lips and clenched jaw were holding back his entire body's attraction to her as he watched her hands pull down her top slowly,

"Will you help me, Rex?"

"Okay, sure," he gently slid her lekku tails to the sides. He then hooked his fingers into the wet fabric and pulled it down to meet the matching underwear, both soaked from the rain and the lagoon. He pulled them down as far as he could, standing up. But before he hunched over, Ahsoka stopped him. She took over the undressing from there as she braced herself by pressing against the muscles of his stomach. His muscles twitched, and his blacks signaled that something had stirred awake. She scooted both garments down to her ankles with a slight wiggle of her legs. Rex grinned and took her hands to help her step out of them.

He first looked into her eyes, not up and down her body, not yet. Their fingers interlaced on either side.

"You're beautiful, Ahsoka. I'm…uh….," now his eyes couldn't help themselves. She felt them look over all of her, only stopping when he saw her delicate vulva that was no longer hidden. He could barely register the new striped markings over her outer folds. He also apparently forgot that he started a sentence.

"Speechless?" She finished the statement for him.

"What?"

He grunted a laugh and rubbed the back of his head as he nodded,

"Right. Speechless."

"Rex, you don't have to say anything else."

"I can say come here, 'Soka. How about that?"

He pulled her to him and pressed his forehead to hers as he let his touch feel her skin unhindered by armor, dresses, or anything else. Ahsoka sighed as his hands were free to touch all over her body pressed against him. He cupped the soft cheeks of her bum that were still damp from her now removed panties. She began moving her hands to his blacks and was surprised when she felt his hands meet hers.

Rex's moves to get out of his blacks were not as graceful but were efficient indeed. She felt her heart beating in her throat at the sight of him naked. She wanted to stare and study his body. She just couldn't help but keep looking back at the expression on his handsome face. Then she couldn't help looking at his manhood and that one last part of him she had yet to see, bashfully hiding behind his thick sandy blonde thatch of human hair. She licked her lips again with wanting curiosity.

Rex was standing before her with no armor, no blacks, just a human man that was made to fight and die on a battlefield but never did. He looked like a living god who was completely unaware of the raw power he wielded.

Rex was evaluating the tub,

"So how does this work? We have to fill it first, right?"

Ahsoka laughed, "Well, usually, yes. But we can sit in there as it fills up. Though it's a pretty big tub, Rex."

"How long will that take?"

"It might take awhile."

"Bah, come on, let's get in. I want to see what the fuss is all about."

He stepped in first and hissed at the burning heat, which then turned to a sigh of approval,

"Here, Ahsoka, take my hand."

He took her hand as she stepped in and soaked in the heat that went up to her ankles. It felt wonderful to her,

"Oh that's nice, Rex."

He sat down by the grand chrome faucet and appeared unsure which way was what in the sizeable rectangular tub,

"So I'll sit here and you?"

His fluster was as surprising as it was cute.

"Sit down that way, Rex."

He obeyed immediately and eased his body over the other way to face the faucet. He let out a steamy moan as he stretched his legs out, "I don't know, Ahsoka. This is little more than nice."

"I can see that," she bit her lip, seeing that the excitement in his manhood was beginning to demand attention. It was the only part of him submerged, but half of it had breached the water level.

Ahsoka's initial worry about being naked in front of him was long gone. She found she was pretty comfortable with no clothes on around Rex. She lowered her body to face the same way, sitting in front of him, his hands guiding her hips down in front of him. She could hear Rex breathe deep as his head collapsed into her shoulder blade. Rex's desire dominated her sense of him.

She had no idea if she should ask, "Can we have sex?" or "Are we going to have sex?" She didn't know exactly how this worked. She turned her head back to look at him,

I'll just tell him, "We're having sex now."

"This will be nice to just sit with each other," he said as he was blushing from cheeks to ears. He traced her breasts and kissed her shoulder, "then later…we can do…more, if you're still okay with that?"

Hmm. Now Ahsoka sensed fear in his desire. This was one of those difficult moments for those who felt the Force. If you revealed someone's fear before they have acknowledged it, it could be more hurtful than helpful.

What could Rex possibly be afraid of? He's done this before, hasn't he?

"Rex, I still want to do more. Do you still want to…have sex with me?"

"Yes! But, I'm okay taking it slow for you. We can pick up where we left off by the lagoon?"

"Do we need to take it slow? I don't really understand what that means. Earlier or even this morning, was that taking it slow?"

Rex paused in thought, "Ummm…yes?"

"Well if that's taking it slow …?"

Rex shook his head. Now he's confused her. It was only fair that he be the one to fix this and tell her,

"Ahsoka, when we do have sex," she felt his manhood against her lower back almost as thick and stiff as it was this morning, "It might…how do say this? It might hurt… you, I think?"

"Hurt me? You're worried about hurting me?"

"It may not be as comfortable or enjoyable at first…for you. That's my limited understanding. You're my first…first-time."

Ahsoka considered what he said. She had been so heated and willing that she hadn't thought about the mechanics; she had no idea what she was doing. Whatever they were doing by the lagoon before was new and wonderful, but maybe actual sex felt very different?

By now, the water level in the tub had barely raised a few centimeters.

"What is this hose attachment here, a shower head in the tub?" Rex pulled on the retractable hose with a sophisticated chrome shower head on it.

"Oh it's an extra shower head…for rinsing off probably."

"Or waiting for the tub to fill," He turned the lever at the base, and water sprayed out across her lekku and shoulders.

Ahsoka gasped, "Rex!" He laughed at her jump, which sent her sliding out of his lap. She turned around to face him.

"Oops," he playfully grinned as he kept spraying at her with the shower head.

"Oh give me that thing, Rex! I'll show y— Oh, Rex. That felt good! "

"It did?" Rex felt his eyes widen, and his mouth went dry at the sight before him.

"You got me here, do it again," she was touching her breasts and even started playing with her lekku over her nipples. Ahsoka's eyes were lidded, and she was licking her lips. Rex dared to spray her again right where her hands were busy touching herself.

Maker of men, she's going to drive me crazy.

"Ahsoka, stand up."

"Oh, but that felt so good , Rex."

"Come over here," even Rex was surprised by the commanding tone in his voice.

This will just be about pleasing her. I can wait. Her first time having sex should be special and comfortable. This is just messing around.

When Ahsoka caught on to what he was thinking, she immediately moved to face him, sliding between his legs, and started kissing him. She took the hose from his hand and let the spray wash over her chest. Rex's hand traced her inner thigh as he looked up at her expression of light arousal. He, on the other hand, was boiling with lust but had to get the words out,

"Turn around, sit like before, 'Soka," he lifted her to help her turn, so she was once again in front of him and facing forward. He figured this would be the best way to keep the focus on pleasing her. He also knew if he had to watch her expressions or had her breasts near his mouth at all, he might not be able to control himself.

She raised on her knees. Rex was given the glorious view of her bum. He grabbed and caressed it without hesitation. The last of her hidden markings were entrancing him. He could stare blankly at the two new diamonds and curved white lines for eternity if he could.

"Okay, Rex, like this? I'm, I'm ready." Ahsoka's voice had that familiar tone of eagerness that he remembered under very different circumstances.

"Yeah. Like that. Go for it."

His hands were all over her. She was ready for whatever was about to happen. Rex didn't know what was about to happen.

But goodness, they were both about to find out.

Ahsoka took the shower head and traced it down below to spray herself. She now knew the difference between water and the sticky wetness coming out of her. She also quickly learned about pressure, specifically the various intensity of water pressure. This shower head had a lot of massaging pressure. She adjusted the position slightly.

Rex then heard her whimper wildly. He felt her whole body jerk, quiver, and she even bounced off him at one point. She was moaning, cooing, and calling out in such rapid succession that his head was spinning to catch up,

Is she already there? That fast?!

She was in a constant state of pleasure, with the shower attachment drowning her sensitive nerves in extreme ecstasy.

"Rex!" She hissed initially, then called out his name repeatedly, grabbing his left arm to hold on. At one point, she was bent forward, almost on all fours, minus the one arm that was occupied at the moment. Rex had to sit up and squeeze himself just to get some relief. He was losing his grip of control quickly. When she suddenly arched her back as she raised back up to her knees again, her montrals were leaning back against his left shoulder. Her breasts stretched out in a fantastic display. Rex's cock was so hard, and his balls were screaming at him from within. She then jerked back down on his lap, and her wet, warm folds barely kissed his cock, making her buck her hips as they shook from stimulation. She whined at the feeling of him so close to being inside of her,

"FUCK," Ahsoka cried out.

"Ahsoka?!"

Rex never thought he'd hear that word come out of her.

She looked back at him with narrowed eyes and laughed. Rex was ignited and laughed as another wave of pleasure jolted her hips, leaving her whimpering with satisfaction again.

Rex was both in shock and insanely turned on. Something about Ahsoka using that word (he could only blame his own damn troops for teaching it to her) made Rex lose control completely.

He wanted her so badly now. She somehow was having one, long, first orgasm from that hose thing. But now, he could hear she was reaching some higher peak of her endless climb. His eyes rolled back as she was grinding into him; his mouth was twisting with need,

"There, Ahsoka. There ya go, love."

Ahsoka immediately whipped her head to look at him. Her divine azure eyes fixed on him like he was a dream she was having. She had a single moment of collected composure as she begged him quietly,

"Rex…I want you to…please, I want y—your penis inside me."

Rex responded immediately and pulled her close to kiss her lekku and whisper to her montral,

"Come here, Ah—" He grunted as his hands handled her to tame her hips, "Ah! Ah- 'Soka. You want my cock in you?"

"Captain Rex!" she grinned as she mocked his earlier hang-up on dirty words.

He couldn't believe it himself, but some bolder part of him was laughing with her, cupping her face to bring their lips together for sensual kisses. She broke free to answer,

"Yes…I want your cock, Rex," she grinned at the sound of herself saying the word before she returned another kiss. He snapped at her bottom lip before kissing her wildly.

She was still barely holding the shower head when Rex handled her perfectly, lifting her hips up, then slowly bringing her to a position where she could lower herself on him. In a flash, Rex's body was now in extreme ecstasy from how warm and tight she was around him as she slowly opened her hips more to slide further down with the heaviest of breaths. He was about to start jerking and bucking but stayed controlled as he could hear her deep breathy moans as she was taking all of him in little by slowly. Rex had to grab at her breasts and press his face into her back next to her back lekku. Ahsoka was now at some new level of pleasure that was causing her to wail deeply and practically growl,

"I like it, Rex. Don't…don't stop, please! I want it."

That was it. She gave the order. He quickly shifted onto his knees so he could move his hips better. Ahsoka finally dropped the shower head hose, and it laid there sputtering in the shallow water. She arched her back against his chest. Rex wasn't going to stop himself; he had to finish because she felt so good it was unreal. He couldn't register what exactly was happening. He just knew—

"Oh, ah, ah, Rex!" Ahsoka was now audibly panting with pleasure as Rex held her busy hips as he was swiftly going in and out of her with strong thrusts.

She was spinning from all the pleasure. It soon felt like Rex was seemingly getting bigger inside her.

"AHSOKA!"

He grunted and moaned wildly, and Ahsoka was overwhelmed with a new powerful sense of his climactic finish.

Rex was now bent in half, flopped over her back. His face was resting in her back lekku. Ahsoka was under him beaming. She had a wide smile and tried to catch her breath. Her hips jerked from exhaustion, and Rex's jerked in response. They both hissed at the overstimulation and then laughed. He was still inside her and knew he needed a moment there on her back before pulling out,

"What the hell just happened?!" Rex exclaimed, quickly followed by laughing.

"Aw Rexter, I don't know. But I really, really liked it!"

"You, you did? Well of course you did. Kriff, Ahsoka. That thing made you crazy. That was…that was so sexy."

"It was? I'm not sure what happened the first few minutes."

"Are you okay? Did it hurt when I…?

"You're still in me, Rex!" she laughed at his question but did have an answer, "It does hurt a little, but it also feels good? Wow. We had sex!"

Rex was now shaking his head and grinning from her enthusiasm,

"We did," he kissed her back and slowly brought her up to lean back with him. "Careful, I'm going to pull out now," he slowly pulled out of her, hissing a wonderful wince. He let out a huge exhale as he finally sat back, exhausted with satisfaction for the second time today.

Ahsoka turned around and sweetly kissed him. Their kisses were the complete opposite of the wild lewd display that had just taken place.

"I didn't hurt you?"

"Not too bad, Rex, no."

"I did? Oh, Ahsoka, are you okay?"

"Rex, it's alright. I liked it a lot."

"I think you like that hose thing a lot more," he kissed her, "you said 'fuck', Ahsoka!"

"I did. And you said " my cock," Rex was laughing hard at Ahsoka's repeating the word with her ridiculous "Rex voice." She was giddy and smiling,

"That shower head was…that felt so amazing! But it's only because it was constantly going against me here and here, oh and there it felt really good!"

Rex watched her with delight as she pointed to three specific places he committed to memory.

Rex then looked at the tub, "Wait? Did you stop the water?"

"Yes."

"I didn't even notice you did that."

"Rex, I'm really glad we had sex, because it's a different feeling from what that did to me," she retracted the hose back, and Rex took it and placed it on its holder.

"Oh different, huh? Wait, is that good news for me? Or bad?"

"Very good news. I mean, when you were inside me, that felt really good, Rex. I wanted to keep doing that!" Ahsoka then spread her striped folds open and pointed, "see, the shower hose only felt good on the outside, right here though was almost too much."

"That's probably your clitoris, Ahsoka."

"A clitoris? What does it do?"

"That. It just feels good,"

At least that's where it is for human females." Rex felt so good and appreciative of her. But even he was shocked when he caught his fingers tracing the white stripes on her outer folds.

"What are doing there, Rex?" she curled a grin.

"I just wanted to feel how soft you are here. Do you have hair?

"No, it's not hair like yours, it's just a different texture of our skin. It is much softer down there. And yes, I have markings there," she rolled her eyes.

"I love them."

"You do? I have always hated them."

"No, Ahsoka. They're mesmerizing."

"Oh…are they?"

"Oh don't get all excited, you. I need a quick nap before you get any ideas," he kissed her gently at first, then her tongue met his, and the thought of the immense pleasure just shared between them shifted their kisses into long, wet accolades of achievement.

Nothing about their first time together went the way either of them expected. But they were pretty pleased with themselves defying their expectations. Rex and Ahsoka were now well beyond outside judgment, criticism, or limitation. They had crossed the threshold of physical intimacy and were happily pressing on together.

"C'mon let's get out of this thing."

He stood up and offered her his hand. She looked up at him, smiled, and accepted it.

Outside the window, the rain had been pouring down since they entered the bathroom. It would continue until the early evening.

They dried themselves off, kissed some more, and shared equally satisfied smiles. Ahsoka grabbed the clothes for her and Rex to wear. Rex cleaned up the dirty clothes and washed them in the bathroom sink. They discussed what they had to make (some version of a) dinner.

Then they crawled into bed to watch the rain. They kissed, recalled some of the happy memories of days past, and they laughed.

Eventually, pressed together in their comfiest position, they took a very long and deserved nap.